only that I have been perswaded to make these Letters publick I have not so much as made the Style gawdy with any high-flown Strains Ornament and Rhetoric was none of my aim but Sincerely Faithfully and to the utmost of my mean Abilities to shew the naked truth and whether I have hit or miss'd my Aim you may now be pleas'd to examine and Judge I am My very good Friends and Brethren Your very much obliged and most humble Servant T. Hewerdine From March 7 Aug. 1699. LETTER I. SIR YOURS of the Third Instant has just now surpriz'd me wherein at the very first dash of your Pen you somewhat bluntly require and charge me as I will answer it at the dreadful Day of Judgment when the Secrets of all Hearts shall be disclos'd to tell you freely and plainly whether I do in my Conscience believe That the way of Baptizing now used in the Church of England namely by Sprinkling or Pouring on Water is a good and justifiable way of Baptizing Good Sir You have known me some hundreds of times Baptize after this manner and I wou'd sain hope that I have not by any practice of mine given you the least just Cause to suspect me of Hypocrisie I don't say this with any intent to give the Go-by to your Request and Charge but since you have put me to 't I do here solemnly protest and wou'd enter the same Protestation tho' I was immediately to appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ That I do in my Conscience believe that the Mode of Baptizing now used in the Church of England by Sprinkling or Pouring on Water is a good and justifiable way of Baptizing And thus far I 'm sure I am in the right My Conscience bearing me Witness But Sir You next pretty flatly put it upon me to inform you how this Mode of baptizing is to be defended and justified Now in good Truth I cou'd be very well contented to save my self this Trouble by referring you to those Books and Pages of Books wherein this Matter is industriously debated and the Mode of baptizing which you now seem to call in Question sufficiently defended and justified so as not to be gainsay'd but by the stiffest Obstinacy But lest you should construe this as a giving up the Cause I will here venture to say what you so earnestly desire to hear from me namely upon what Grounds it is that I my self am perswaded in my own Conscience concerning the Validity and Lawfulness of this way of Baptizing I will be very brief and yet go to the Bottom and rise by such Steps and Degrees as shall help to carry us over all difficulties and shew us the truth of the Matter in some light And therefore I begin at our Catechism in which we are well and truly taught that in the Sacrament of Baptism there 's The outward Sign and The Thing Signified The outward Sign is Water wherein the Person is Baptized in the Name of the Father c. And Sir I will not here spend either Ink or Paper in the Proof of this presuming that we are still agreed thus far But then The Inward part of this Sacrament or the Thing Signified is the Holy Spirit or the Gifts and Graces of the Holy Spirit such as these mention'd in our Catechism A Death unto Sin and a New Birth unto Righteousness c. for you must know that wheresoever we read in Scripture of God's giving or of Man's receiving the Holy Spirit by the Holy Spirit must be meant The Gifts and Graces of the Holy Spirit and This I say is the Inward part or Thing Signified by the Water in Baptism And this was represented by the Descending of the Holy Ghost upon our Saviour at his Baptism Matth. 3.26 and there seems to be a plain Evidence of this in those Words of John the Baptist I indeed Baptize you with water but He speaking of Christ shall Baptize you with the Holy Ghost The Baptist and I add all the Ministers of Christ do but baptize with Water 'T is Christ himself who does the Inward part and baptizeth with the Spirit and so says ours Saviour himself A Man must be born of Water and of the Spirit For as it is said of Circumcision That the outward Circumcision of the Flesh is as no Circumcision without the Inward Circumcision of the Heart too Rom. 2.28 29. So to compleat the Sacrament of Baptism there must be the Inward part as well as the Outward For except a Man be Born of Water and of the Spirit He cannot enter into the Kingdom of God John 3.5 And thus St. Paul in his description of Baptism not only speaks of the external Washing of Regeneration but of the Internal Renewing of the Holy Ghost Tit. 3.5 And so again putting some of his Corinthians in mind of their being baptiz'd Ye are Washed and Sanctified says He that is not onely Washed with Water but Sanctified with the Holy Ghost 1. Cor. 6.11 And to mention but one place more for all Be Baptized and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost says St. Peter Act. 2.33 From whence 't is very plain That when the Ministers of Christ baptize with Water Christ himself baptizeth with the Holy Ghost which as I have said before is the Inward part or Thing Signified by the Water in Baptism And with great Reason therefore do we pray in the Office of baptism Give O Lord thy Holy Spirit to this Infant that He may be Born again and also Wash him and Sanctifie him with the Holy Ghost For to clear this Matter to the most Vulgar Capacity As when we pray in the Communion-Service Hear us most merciful Father we most humbly beseech thee and grant that we receiving these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine may be Partakers of Christ's most blessed Body and Blood 'T is as much as to pray that we may not only be Partakers of the outward Part of that Sacrament the Bread and Wine but also that we may be Partakers of the Inward part or thing Signified likewise which is the Body and Blood of Christ So when we pray for the Baptized That He may have the Holy Spirit given him and that he may be Sanctified with the Holy Ghost 't is as much as to pray That he may not only be baptized with the outward part of Baptism which is Water but also that he may be baptized with the Inward part or thing Signified by Water which is the Holy Spirit And hence it is likewise that as the other Sacrament is sometimes express'd with allusion to the Outward part when we speak of receiving the Bread and Wine and sometimes with allusion to the thing Signified when we speak of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ so Baptism is sometimes express'd with allusion to its outward part when we speak of baptizing with Water and washing with Water as the Apostle calls it and sometimes with allusion to the Inward part or thing
SOME PLAIN LETTERS In the DEFENCE of Infant Baptism And of the Mode of Baptizing Now generally used in the Church of England By Sprinkling or Pouring on Water Which may serve For â—â—â—TUTATION of a small Treatise INTITULED The Reason why not Infant-Sprinkling but Believers-Baptism ought to be Approved c. When you bring your Children to be Baptized see that you do most sincerely give them up to God and devote them to his Service with firm Resolutions to bring them up in his Fear if God spare your Lives and theirs and earnestly pray for his Grace to be given into their Souls Christian Monitor Pag. 37. LONDON Printed for R. Wilkin at the King's Head in St. Paul's Church-yard 1699. TO THE JOINT-PARISHIONERS OF March Doddington Wimblington and Benwick IT will not my Brethren it will not concern you to know the particular occasion of these Letters nor am I Licens'd to Publish his Name who gave the occasion but this I will say That he did very Fairly and very Ingenuously and as it became a wise Man and a good Christian to do For he did not as some have indiscreetly and loosely done listen with both his Ears to the Objections against Infant-Baptism and so rashly condemn it without any more a-do No but he was very Concernedly desirous and forward to hear what could be said in the Defence of it too As I remember I have read of that fam'd Conqueror Alexander the Great that when a Friend of his was Complain'd of to him he stopt one of his Ears he lent but one Ear to the Complaint that was made against his Friend and kept the other to hear what his Friend cou'd Reply in Answer to it And thus should we constantly do in the Case of Religion when ever any Point or Doctrine of our Religion is call'd in Question we should always reserve one Ear to hear what may be said in its Vindication and Defence And indeed the greatest and plainest Truths are liable to be spoken against and even Jesuits Socinians Antinomians and the other Adversaries of our Faith will raise such Objections against the clearest Articles of it as are not to be Answer'd by every one amongst us at the first hearing It was a Witty Fiction of Old that once upon a time Truth came down to this Earth from Heaven but here among the Sons of Men being but coldly received and finding no very welcome entertainment she e'en took wing and was flying to Heaven again but in her flight she chanc'd to drop down her Mantle which Error immediately finding took up and put on and has worn it ever since This is the Fable and the Moral of it is That no Error does ever appear in the World but 't is clad in Truth 's Mantle and the disguise is not always so thin or so easily and readily to be seen through as never to escape a discovery No But indeed my Brethren you ought to think more Modestly than to think every Objection unanswerable which you cannot Answer it is not expected from you that you should be able to Defend every point of your Religion against all Gain-sayers But then Will you presently Condemn what you cannot Defend Or immediately let go a Truth because of an Objection which you cannot Answer Will any one among you part with an Acre of Land upon the same account Namely because he is not himself able to Defend his Title to it And shall we not hold the profession of our Faith as fast as we do a clod of Earth shall we not take advice and counsel before we be perswaded to quit any part of our Religion as well as we shall be sure to do before we be perswaded to quit our Interest in the least parcel of an Estate But how then will they answer it to God and to their Consciences who in the great and weighty Cause of Religion have taken the Advice only of her Adversaries And without any further Examination or Tryal have forthwith condemn'd whatsoever it has pleased these Adversaries to pass their Sentence upon Was this fair Dealing Was it to judge righteous Judgment Or does it look like Sincerity or any real concern for Religion when the bare accusation of an Enemy has been taken for good proof against her My Brethren I doubt not but our Adversaries have told you that the Baptism which you receiv'd in your Infancy was no Baptism because Baby-Sprinkling as they vainly term it is no Baptism but pray be so just to your selves as to enquire of them whether any Person who has been twice Baptiz'd be not a perfect Anabaptist Nay be plain be plain and ask them if you have not Sinn'd by your second Baptism if it be prov'd that your Infant-Baptism was a right Baptism if they dare to confess the Truth they must tell you that you have and that you ought to Repent of that Sin of that second Baptism if your first Baptism was rightly administer'd Well but then certainly you ought to have been very sure that your Infant-Baptism was no Baptism before you had run the hazard of Sinning by Anabaptism or by your being Baptized a second time I have some hopes and earnest desires that if you will give these following Letters a fair reading you may Consider what you have done and what you ought to have done and what you ought now to do But I forbear because I would not here be thought to reflect too much upon any Person or Persons among us no more than I have done in the following Letters God is my Witness that I bear ill-will to none of their Persons whose opinions I have here oppos'd to confess the Truth I have no cause Nay but I will take this opportunity publickly to acknowledge that I have found very great respect and civilities from the most and the best of them that I know Besides I always endeavour to bear in mind the Apologue of the Sun and the Wind contending for the Travellers Cloak The Wind made a great bluster and would have forc'd it from him But this mad way of contending was so notoriously in vain that the stronger the Wind blew it made the Man but hold his Garment the faster But then the Sun shone forth and Saluted him with a chearful Ray and warm'd him with a gentle Gleam and so indeed was the Man prevail'd upon to suffer his Garment to fall from him And thus the Sun did by fair means what the Wind with all it's Bustle and Rage could not The meaning is That Men will sooner be perswaded out of their Mistakes and Errors by Candidness and fair Respects than hector'd out of them with Noise and Roughness I have not I hope been Guilty of any such Roughness or Clamour or Bitterness or Evil-speaking in these Papers I have been careful not to give any such offence And let me add that I have studi'd to speak plain too Yea I will not be ashamed to confess that it is for their plainness
Signified when he speaks of baptizing with the Holy Ghost or baptizing with the Spirit for so says the Apostle again By one Spirit we are all Baptized 1 Cor. 12.13 I add That it is no new thing for the Holy Spirit to be figur'd or represented by Water for thus in the Prophet of Old when God had said I will pour Water on him that is Thirsty He interprets himself immediately I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed Isai 44.3 and again when he had said in Ezekiel I will Sprinkle Clean Water upon you he adds as the meaning of it I will put my Spirit within you Ezek. 36.25 27. And again with allusion to Water is the promise of the Spirit express'd by pouring out I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh Joel 2.28 and to clear this matter from all doubt St. John quoting these Words of our Saviour He that Believeth in me out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of Living Water This he spake says that Evangelist of the Spirit which they that believe in him should receive John 7.38 39. Sir If you would see more and larger proofs of this you may read Mr. Mede's Discourse upon Titus 3.5 Indeed I cou'd hardly have thought that there cou'd have been any difference among Catechetical Writers as to this matter only I find in that same discourse of Mr. Mede that some would have the Blood of Christ to be the thing signified by the Water in Baptism as it is by the Wine in the other Sacrament To which he replies That the Blood of Christ is not once mention'd by the Fathers of the Primitive Church as the inward part of this Sacrament of Baptism no more than it is in our Liturgy and he further adds That the Opinion is Novel and That the Lutheran Divines make it peculiar and proper to the Followers of Calvin But now Sir give me leave to observe to you That Calvin himself seems not to have been always of this Opinion nay but he plainly asserts That the Holy Spirit is the Thing signify'd by the Baptismal Water For complaining of the Church of Rome for feigning Confirmation to be a Sacrament by which the Spirit of Regeneration is conferr'd he adds That they transferr'd to Confirmation what was proper to Baptism meaning that they made the Spirit of Regeneration which is the Inward part of Baptism to be the Thing signifi'd by the laying on of hands in Confirmation Calv. in Heb. 6.1 2. And here Sir if I was minded to enlarge I could confirm this Matter with abundance of Testimonies out of the best Writers and Fathers of the Primitive Church but I forbear being pretty confident that there is no great need of their Evidence in so plain a Case And now my good Friend are not your Eyes open Don't you clearly see from what I have said of the Inward part of Baptism how rightly the Outward part may be administred by Sprinkling or Pouring on Water The Gift of the Holy Spirit the thing signified in Baptism is exprest by Sprinkling or Pouring on And is there or can there be any Reason given why the Thing Signifi'd should be exceeded by the Sign God himself thought it not necessary but makes Sprinkling or Pouring on Water sufficient to represent and signifie his giving or pouring on the Spirit for when He I say promises his Holy Spirit he does not no not so much as once in the whole Bible say I will dip or plunge into Water but I will sprinkle or pour on Water Isa 44.3 and Ezek. 36.25 Dr. Towerson who had once said something which was a little too harsh as himself confesses against this way of Baptizing by Sprinkling whose very words our Adversaries have catch'd hold of and have boasted of him as a brave Man on their side yet when he came to enquire more narrowly into the Matter he industriously defends it and amongst other Arguments uses this very Text Ezek. 36.25 and proves from Maimonides That the Words were spoken with reference to the Times of the Messiah and affirms That they cannot be better interpreted than of the Water of Baptism applying them as I have here done as very well expressing the Outward Sign of that Sacrament And shall Men be wiser than God Or think it any Wit to mock at and deride his Words And be at the pains of making a Greek word English to make their mockery the plainer Sprinkling forsooth out of Sport and Rallery must be call'd Rantizing and Baptism when administer'd by Sprinkling or Pouring on Water must be nicknam'd Rantism But let me tell you Sir and you may tell the Author of your little * A little Book call'd The Reason why not Infant-Sprinkling but Believers Baptism ought to be approv'd c. Book you boast of That when he so merrily calls our way of Baptizing Rantizing and our Baptism Rantism He makes a mock of the very Words of God himself and according to his reproachful way of Speaking when God promises to Sprinkle clean Water upon his People he must not then promise to Baptize but only to Rantize This puts me in mind how I had once the misfortune to hear a wild Wretch call the Lord's Supper He seem'd to quarrel with my Friend for calling that Sacrament the Supper of our Lord A Supper said he A Bite and a Sip you mean And he had as much to say for the Profane expression as any one can have for calling our Baptism Rantism Why Sir He urg'd that a Supper ought to be a full Meal that to Signifie our receiving the Body and Blood of Christ we ought to eat a piece of Bread as big as his Body and to drink as much Wine as he shed Blood And is it not at a like Rate that some plead against Baptizing by Sprinkling You have heard the reason why That profane Wretch call'd our way of Receiving the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper a Bite and a Sip and is it not for a very like reason that our way of Baptizing is by some call'd Rantizing I will not here say with the Psalmist What shall be done to the false Tongue but rather with our most charitable Lord Father forgive them for surely they know not what they say or do But this 't is to be so Zealous for Externals when Men think that they can never have enough of the outward Signs of the Sacraments when yet perhaps the thing Signified which is the main and principal thing is as much neglected But Sir When we receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper if we Spiritually eat his Flesh and drink his Blood which is the inward part of this Sacrament as to the outward part it will not matter much how little Bread we eat or how little Wine we drink So when any are baptized if their Souls are purifi'd and cleans'd with the Holy Spirit which is the Inward part of this Sacrament as to the outward part it will not matter much how little Water
is expresly said That last of all Died the Woman also Sir I should have despis'd to take notice of such Childish Reasonings as these had I not observ'd with what confidence they are written to impose upon Vulgar Understandings In the 33d verse of the same Chapter we read of the Jaylor that he was Baptized and all his The Original words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and signifie all that were of him or in other words his Off-spring But 't is objected that they were not Children because 't is imply'd in the next verse that they were all Believers and rejoyced The Jaylor rejoyced believing in God with all his House To which Mr. Horn has answer'd that the Original words may be interpreted as speaking of none but the Jaylor himself and may signifie Word for Word that he rejoyced House-wholly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he having believed in God He rejoyced House-wholly that is upon the Account of his whole House that all were Baptized as well as himself And certainly his thus rejoycing upon the account of his House may perswade us that there were some in it that were very near and dear to him and These undoubtedly were the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Off-spring or Children Baptized with himself See Mr. Horn's Cause of Infants c. p. 58. Again Acts 18.8 We find some Corinthians Baptized and Acts 19.3 5. 'T is said of some who had been Baptized unto John's Baptisms that they were Baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus And these last indeed were about Twelve Men but that all the Corinthians were Men and no Children will not so easily be prov'd 'T is true 't is said that they heard and believed and yet there might be Children among them for all that as I have just now shewn there will be Infants in the happy number at the Right-hand of the Judge when it shall be said to them I was an hungred and ye gave me Meat Tho' Infants I say cou'd not do this yet this will be said of the whole Blessed number whereof Infants will be a part And so the Scripture very frequently ascribes such things to Companies as are not within the power of Children to do and yet those very Companies may consist of Children as well as of Elder People All Judah stood before the Lord with their little Ones their Wives and their Children when Jahaziel said to them that they shou'd do yea and 't is also said that they did much greater things than cou'd be affirm'd of Children 2 Chron. 20.13 14 15 16 c. And thus I say again that Children may be in a Company even tho' such things are said to be done by that Company as the Children in it are not capable of doing Lastly St. Paul tells his Corinthians that he Baptized none of them but Crispus and Gaius and the Houshold of Stephanas 1 Cor. 1.14 16. And here I will observe that of all the Households that we find to have been Baptiz'd there is not the least exception as to Infants or Babes nor can I believe them to have been all Barren and Childless Families because there 's not the least Syllable or Circumstance denoting any such thing I know 't is said that there were no Children in this Houshold Baptized by St. Paul because no Children are mention'd and may not I as well say that here was no Faith no Repentance nor any such thing as some contend for to qualifie for Baptism viz. Because here is no mention made of any such thing and again for the same reason that some deny there were Children another may deny that there were Servants and another that there were any Relations and all by the same Rule and for the same reason still and so at length at this rate of Denying any Children to have been in it may the Houshold of Stephanas be deny'd into an Houshold of mere No-Bodies And this Sir is all that I find in the New Testament to have been practis'd by the Apostles in this Case of Baptizing after our Lord's Ascension into Heaven and in so short an account as this is we have as clear hints of their Baptizing Children as can well be expected For You Sir may venture to assure your self that the Scripture has acquainted us but with little very little in Comparison of what was really done by the Apostles in this Case even by those very Apostles who had receiv'd the Command to Baptize all Nations Nay but as St. John tells us that over and above the Scripture-accounts there are many other things that Jesus did so I will add that there were many other things which his Apostles did which if they should be written every one I suppose that even the World it self could not contain the Books that should be written John 21 25. As in this particular case of Baptizing we do not in all the New Testament find the Hundredth part of what the Apostles did so that if we must believe no more in this matter than what the Scriptures tell us of the Acts of the Apostles we must believe but very little and not a word of above two thirds of these Apostles not a syllable of St. Andrew or St. Thomas or St. Simon or St. Jude or St. James or St. Bartholomew or St. Matthias or St. Matthew for of their or of any of their going out into the world to Baptize we must not speak a word if we must say nothing but what we can quote Chapter and Verse for And yet Sir Notwithstanding this profound Silence of Scripture I verily believe that no Man who has read Books can doubt but a credible account has been and may be given of the Travels of these Apostles and of the Nations Discipl'd and Baptized by them The ancient Writers have some of them been pretty punctual in these matters and in the Histories of all Countreys 't is seldom or never omitted by what Apostle or by whom the Christian Religion was first planted among them And unless all these Historians who agree in these matters can be suppos'd to have laid their Heads together tho' as far distant from one another as the East is from the West yet I say unless they can be suppos'd to have laid their Heads together to Cheat and Impose upon the World we have no reason to disbelieve their reports But then Sir I add that we have no reason to disbelieve Infant-Baptism for we have the very same Histories and the very same Authors bearing witness to this who bear witness to the other matters For Instance 't is generally agreed among Writers that Christianity was first planted in the Eastern Indies by St. Thomas and 't is very well known that the Christians there are to this day call'd St. Thomas-Christians and 't is altogether as well known that they do as they have always done practise Infant-Baptism I cou'd trace the other Apostles into the many Cities and Nations whither they severally went Discipling and Baptizing and
Proof as the Learned Defenders of our Faith are forc'd to make use of against the Macedonians to convince them that the Holy Ghost is God And thus I have enquir'd how Infant-Baptism was taught by our Saviour in his Life-time I should now in the Second Place Enquire whether Infant-Baptism was taught by him after his Death and Resurrection before he Ascended into Heaven But this shall be the Subject-matter of my Next which you may expect by the next opportunity from Good Sir July 9. 1698. Your c. T. H. LETTER VII Sir I Go on as I engag'd my self in my Last to enquire Secondly Whether Infant-Baptism was Taught or Commanded by our Saviour after his Death and Resurrection before he Ascended into Heaven And all that he Taught or Commanded concerning Baptizing with Water at that time may be readily found in these two Texts Mat. 28.19 and Mark 16.15 16. Both which it is my design at this time very particularly to Consider Now the Words of the first of these Texts are these in our English Bibles Go ye therefore and Teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost But Sir Be pleas'd to know that the Word Translated Teach expresly signifies Disciple Go ye therefore Disciple all Nations c. For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are the same thing and are rightly render'd to make Disciples John 4.1 For the understanding of which you must know that our Lord as himself has told us was not sent but to the lost Sheep of the House of Israel Mat. 15.24 His first endeavours were to Disciple the Jews and accordingly it was only in Judea that any were Discipl'd and Baptiz'd by him or by his Disciples during his Life-time as you may see by Comparing John 3.22 with John 4.1 Well But now that he was a leaving the World Now that the Partition-Wall was to be broken down he enlarges his Commission to his Disciples and they were not for the future to Disciple and Baptize in the Land of Judea only but they were now to Disciple and Baptize all Nations even the whole Gentile World Go ye therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Disciple all Nations Baptizing them c. Which Command and Commission was first given to those Eleven Apostles Mat. 28.16 who were all by Nation Jews or as St. Paul expresses it Israelites according to the Flesh Rom. 9.3 4. But pray now good Sir Let us here Consider what then was and had always been the way of Discipling or Proselyting these Gentiles to the Jewish Church Truly 't is most certain that when any of these Gentile Nations were converted to Judaism that not only themselves but their Children together with themselves were also Circumcis'd and receiv'd into that Ancient Church when the Door was open'd to take in the converted Parents not the least of their Infants being but Eight Days old was excluded Nay but no sooner was the Gentile Proselyte Circumcis'd and made a Member of the Jewish Church but by the very Law of Circumcision were all his Male-Children at eight Days Old to be Circumcis'd and made Members likewise Thus stood the Case between the Jews and Gentiles then the Gentile-Children together with their Parents were Discipl'd and Receiv'd into that Church of Old But then certainly the Apostles who had so lately been of that very Church and knew no other way of Discipling the Gentile Nations but this of Discipling their Children together with their Fathers Certainly I say these Apostles could not otherwise understand the Command to Disciple and Baptize all Nations than as obliging them to Disciple and Baptize the Children as well as the Fathers For here was no exception to exclude them The Command was general Go Disciple all Nations Baptizing them c. All Nations without exception and Children are a part of the Nations Yea and a very great part too and therefore why they should not be Discipl'd and Baptiz'd as well as any others for my part I can see no Reason Nay but certainly unless it was the will of our Lord that Children should be Discipl'd and Baptiz'd with the rest of the Nations he would have said something to except them he would have told his Apostles that they must not Disciple or Receive such Infants into the Christian Church as were Receiv'd and Discipl'd into their Jewish Church No he would have said you must not mistake me tho' I have commanded you to Disciple and Baptize all Nations yet I hardly mean one half of the Nations for I do not mean so much as one Child or Infant belonging to them And thus Indeed must our Lord be supposed to have Interpreted his Command to his Apostles had he excluded Infants out of the Command And then again had they been thus taught to Disciple and Baptize no Infants not one of all the Nations but the Adult and grown Persons methinks some Charitable Body or other in the Name of the Poor Children should thus have lamented and condol'd their Case And is it the Christian Church that is now the true Church of God Time was when the Jewish Church was only so and then was the the happy time for us Poor Babes and Children For had our Gentile Fathers been then Converted Circumcis'd and Receiv'd into that old Church of God We their little Infants must not have been left behind No but the Door into which our Fathers must have enter'd then would likewise have stood open for us their Children too But now in the Christian Church it seems 't is otherwise Alas the Door is now close shut and barr'd to keep us poor Infants out There is no place for us in this New Church of God No but tho' our Fathers are Baptiz'd and Grafted into the good Olive-Tree as the Christian Church is call'd Yet We God help us We must remain Branches of the Wild Olive still as the Heathen World is term'd And thus when the Apostles Discipl'd and Baptiz'd the Gentile Nations into the Church of Christ had they excluded such Infants and Children as with their Parents were receiv'd into the Jewish Church of Old the Case of these Infants and Children might justly have been thus Condol'd But our Lord who was once an Infant himself and as such receiv'd into the Jewish Church he has not indeed forbidden Infants now to be receiv'd into his No he has given no such occasion of Complaint against him for the Command is Plain and Clear for the Discipling and Baptizing all Nations not an Infant excepted that I can find But Sir The grand Objection follows in the next Verse Teaching them to observe all things Whatsoever I have commanded you Mat. 28.20 And from hence our Adversaries very confidently argue That none are to be Discipl'd and Baptiz'd but such as are Capable of being taught too which Infants and Children they boldly say are not But to this I answer First 'T is said of
have already taken notice of upon another Occasion 'T is said Mat. 25.32 That all Nations shall be gathered before the great Judge at the last Day and it follows That some shall be set on the Right and some on the Left-hand of the Judge and that he will say to those on his Right-hand I was an Hungred and ye gave me Meat and to those on his Left I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat c. Now because none of this can be said to Infants must I conclude that they are no part of the Nations which shall be gathered before the Judge at the last Day Truly with as much Reason and Truth may Children be excepted against as not meant by the Nations to be gathered before the Judge as they can be excepted against as not meant by the Nations to be Discipl'd and Baptiz'd For thus Our Adversaries will not have Infants to be meant by the Nations to be Baptiz'd Because these Nations are to be taught too which Infants cannot be And so it may be argu'd that Infants are not to be meant by the Nations to be gathered before the Judge Because it must be said to these Nations When I was an Hungred You gave me Meat Or ye gave me no Meat Which to Infants cannot be said But most certain it is that Infants are meant by all the Nations to be gathered before the Judge Mat. 25.32 and why they should not be meant by all the Nations to be Discipl'd and Baptiz'd I must say again that I can see no reason The Command is plain enough and large enough to reach Infants as well as others Go ye Disciple all Nations Baptizing them For if all Nations are to be Baptiz'd then are Infants and Children to be Baptiz'd among the rest unless you can shew me that they are here excepted which I am well assur'd you cannot for That the following words Teaching them to observe all things c. are no exception to their being Discipl'd and Baptiz'd I hope that I have abundantly clear'd to you after a very plain and undeniable manner And thus I am Heartily perswaded that I find Infant-Baptism here taught by our Saviour after his Death and Resurrection before he Ascended into Heaven Go ye Disciple all Nations Infants not excepted Baptizing them in the Name of the Father c. But then At the same time between his Resurrection and Ascension we find that he also Commanded his Apostles to go into all the World and to Preach the Gospel to every Creature He that Believeth and is Baptized shall be saved but he that Believeth not shall be Damned Mark 16.15 16. And here Sir we have another very terrible Objection to be Answer'd for from these words He who believeth and is Baptized our Adversaries are very Hot and Noisy in their Assertion That none but Believers are to be Baptized and therefore no Infants But to this I Answer First That Infants either have Faith according to the Sense of this Text or they have not if they have such Faith then they may be Baptized as our Adversaries themselves will grant But if they have not Faith according to the meaning of this Text what shall I say then E'en the Lord have Mercy upon them that they may not Die in that Faithless Infant-state for the Text says positively That he who Believeth not shall be Damned Nothing can be plainer than that this Text speaks of Faith in such a sense as makes the want of it Damning but that Infants want Faith so as to be Damned for the want of it May my Tongue cleave to the Roof of my Mouth rather than say so Secondly It might truly be said that he who Repenteth and Believeth shall be saved and yet it wou'd not thence follow that Men ought first to Repent before they Believe for that is impossible to be done 'T is Impossible that any Man should Repent and turn unto God but he must first believe that there is a God And thus As it could not be true That Men ought first to Repent and then to Believe tho' it should be said That he who Repenteth and Believeth shall be saved So neither is it necessarily true That we ought first to Believe and then to be Baptized because it is said That he who Believeth and is Baptized shall be saved Thirdly I dare say That he who serveth God faithfully all the days of his Life and is Baptized shall be saved But what then You will not I hope from hence Conclude That none are to be Baptized till they have served God faithfully all the days of their Lives or till they are just a Dying Even so when it is said He who believeth and is Baptized shall be saved you ought not from hence to Conclude that none are to be Baptized till they have Believed 'T is indeed the very same Case If none but Believers are to be Baptized because it is said He who believeth and is Baptized shall be saved Then none but dying Persons are to be Baptized because it may as truly be said That he who serveth God truly all the days of his whole Life and is Baptized shall be saved Lastly Tho' you and I were Baptized in our Infancy yet at the day of Judgment that great day of Salvation when the Judge shall ask what we have done to be saved I doubt not Dear Sir but we may then chearfully Answer that we have Believed and were Baptized And assure your self that the Merciful Judge will not then reply But did you first Believe before you were Baptized For Good Sir there is no such Condition of Salvation in the whole Bible It is not written in Scripture That except you Believe you shall not be Baptized or he who believeth not shall not be Baptized or let a Man first Believe and then let him be Baptized No there are no such Texts Indeed there is a Text which says Except ye become as little Children ye cannot enter into the Church or Kingdom of God But it is no where said That little Children must first become Men before they shall enter into the Church or Kingdom of God And now Sir I presume that I may have your good leave to Conclude for this time Having sufficiently Consider'd the Texts wherein we find all that our Saviour Taught from his Resurrection to his Ascension concerning Baptizing with Water and I am perswaded that in the two Texts put together there is not one Syllable against Infant-Baptism but clear Proof for it in the first Text yea and the second Text does so far plead for the Baptizing of Infants as it makes Baptism generally Necessary in order to Salvation He who Believeth and is Baptized shall be saved And now in the Third and Last Place I am further to enquire whether Infant-Baptism was taught or Commanded by the Apostles of our Lord after his Ascension into Heaven But this shall be my business in one Letter more which I design upon
this Subject and which you may expect by the next return of this Bearer from Sir July 15. 1698. Your c. T. H. LETTER VIII SIR I Am now to enquire in the Third and Last Place whether infant-Infant-Baptism was taught or Commanded by the Apostles of our Lord after his Ascension into Heaven And here the very first time that they taught and practised Baptism what great Reason we have to believe that they then practised Infant-Baptism I have formerly shew'd you and now again by the good help of God I will endeavour still farther to shew you that Infant-Baptism was taught and Commanded by them at the same time likewise See Acts 2.38 Repent and be Baptized every one of you said St. Peter there to such an Assembly as can never be supposed to have been without Children for it was a Throng which was occasion'd by a sudden Report of a very wonderful and surprizing thing 'T was such a mixt Crowd as is wont to flock together when a Fire happens or any Fray is Fought or Game is Play'd or Show is Seen as Mr. Walker has represented that sudden Assembly And this indeed is not much or very heartily deny'd But our Adversaries Object and say That tho' St. Peter spoke to such an Assembly and bid them be Baptized every one of them yet He cannot be supposed to have spoken to the Infant-part of the Assembly because he bid them first Repent Repent and be Baptized every one of you To which I might Answer First That he may very well be supposed to have spoken to Infants and Children even when he said Repent for I find in Scripture that Children have been concern'd in the Exercises of Repentance as in that great Fast-day proclaim'd by Jehosaphat When all Judah gather'd themselves together to ask help of the Lord you may meet with their little Ones and their Children among the rest 2 Chron. 20.13 Yea and when the Prophet Joel Exhorted to a general Repentance even to Sanctifie a Fast and to call a Solemn Assembly he not only directed that the Elders should be Assembled but even that Children and such as suck'd the Breast should be so too Joel 2.16 But Secondly Tho' it was true that Children could not be concern'd in St. Peter's Exhortation to Repent yet this would be no just Cause or Impediment why they might not be concern'd in the following Words Be Baptized every one of you For pray Dear Sir Had the Apostle then said Sell your Estates and give to the Poor and be Baptized every one of you Would you from thence have concluded that none but Landed Men ought to have been Baptized none but such as had Estates to sell or would the Poor Man have been excluded from Baptism for want of Lands and Tenements to dispose of No certainly But had the Apostle so said Sell your Estates and give to the Poor and be Baptized every one of you he could only have meant that the Rich Men should Sell their Estates and give to the Poor but that they should be Baptized every one of them Rich and Poor together and as well they who had no Estates as they who had And just so When he said Repent and be Baptized every one of you he could only mean that they should first Repent who stood in need of Repentance but that they should be Baptized every one of them not only the Penitent but they who needed not Repentance likewise Or suppose again that the Apostle had said Forgive your Enemies and be Baptized every one of you What think you Sir might not the happy Men who had no Enemies have been Baptized because they could not first forgive their Enemies Yes surely tho' they could forgive no Enemies who had no Enemies to be forgiven by them yet nevertheless they might have been Baptized as well as they who having Enemies did first forgive them For upon this supposition that the Apostle had really said Forgive your Enemies and be Baptized every one of you he could only have meant that Persons qualified for Baptism ought not to be in a state of Enmity and hence it wou'd have follow'd that they who were not at Enmity with any were the very Persons so qualify'd and fit to be Baptiz'd without any more ado But they who were in a State of Enmity they indeed were first to get out of that State by forgiving their Enemies before they could be fit for Baptism And thus as he has said Repent and be Baptized every one of you he can only mean that Persons qualifi'd for Baptism ought not to be in an impenitent State And hence it follows that they who are not in an Impenitent State as Children are not are the very Persons qualify'd and fit for Baptism without any more ado but they who are in an Impenitent State they indeed are first to get out of that State by Repenting before they can be fit for Baptism And now Good Sir excuse the Repetition whilst I briefly set these things together Suppose St. Peter had said sell your Estates and be Baptiz'd every one of you he must needs have meant that all should be Baptiz'd as well they who had no Estates as they who had and only that they who had Estates should first be obliged to sell them Or Suppose he had said forgive your Enemies and be Baptiz'd every one of you he must needs have been understood as exhorting them all to be Baptiz'd as well them who had no Enemies as them who had and only that they who had Enemies should first be oblig'd to forgive them And so As he has said Repent and be Baptiz'd every one of you he must needs mean that every one of them should be Baptiz'd as well the happy Part of the Company who needed no Repentance as the Part that did and only that they who needed Repentance should first be oblig'd to Repent And accordingly our Blessed Lord and Saviour himself who needed no Repentance and therefore did not first Repent was yet Baptiz'd as well as they who did first Repent because they needed Repentance And thus the way so far thus clear'd I will now venture on to the Promise annext to this Exhortation of St. Peter whereby it will still more evidently appear that he has here taught the Baptism of Children For to perswade them to be Baptiz'd every one of them Be Baptiz'd said he and ye shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and least they should mistake him as not meaning their Children together with themselves he expressly adds For the Promise is to you and to your Children The Promise was the same to them and to their Children and they were to receive it by the same means viz. by Baptism for if the promise might have been receiv'd without Baptism in vain did the Apostles urge it as an argument to perswade them to be Baptiz'd So that 't is very plain that Baptism was the Means whereby the promise of the Holy Ghost was to
be receiv'd and therefore as their Children were to receive it as well as themselves it follows that their Children as well as themselves were to be Baptiz'd that they might receive it And so says the Apostle Be baptiz'd every one of you and ye shall receive c. But here perhaps you may be ready to ask whether Baptism be necessary to our Receiving the Holy Ghost or whether none else do receive it but they who are Baptiz'd To which I answer that Baptism is as necessary to our receiving the Holy Ghost as a diligent Hand is necessary to make one Rich. The Diligent hand maketh Rich says Solomon And therefore as Riches do sometimes indeed by God's over-ruling Providence fall to the share even of the Lazy and the Slothful So by God's extraordinary Mercy is the Holy Ghost sometimes indeed given even to the Vnbaptiz'd But what then shall a Man hope to be Rich without Diligence because the Lazy are sometimes so In like manner shall any one hope for the Spirit without Baptism because the Unbaptiz'd do sometimes receive it It would not be wisely argued should a Man thus dispute Solomon tells us indeed that a Diligent hand maketh Rich well and it may be so but let them be ty'd up to his Rule that will for my part I shall hold my self excus'd hoping that Riches may be had in an easier way even as I sometimes see the Slothful have them And yet just such is his Argument who thus disputes 'T is the Apostles rule indeed Be baptiz'd and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost well and it may be so but let them be ty'd up to his Rule that will for my part I shall hold my self excus'd hoping for the Holy Spirit without any such Condition even as I sometimes see that the Unbaptized receive it But still further 'T is objected on the other hand that if the promise of the Holy Ghost was so annext to Baptism methinks we should see more and better Fruits of it in those that are Baptiz'd To which I answer That tho' it be very true that a diligent Hand maketh Rich yet it is not every diligent Man that becomes Rich for want of a good Use and wise Improvement of what his diligent hand acquires and gives him a just Title to So tho' Baptism has the promise of the Holy Ghost made to it yet the Baptiz'd do not all bring forth the Fruits of the Spirit for want of a good Use of that Spiritual grace and Influence which their Baptism acquires and gives them a Right and Title to But tho' the Diligent do not all become Rich for the aforesaid Reason yet Diligence is still to be Exhorted to as a great and necessary means of becoming Rich and so tho' the Baptized do not all bring forth the fruits of the Spirit for the like Reason aforesaid yet Baptism is still to be Exhorted to as a great and necessary means of receiving the Spirit Be baptized says St. Peter and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit And this indeed seems to have been the great and standing Argument of this Apostle It was his usual way to Argue from the Inward part of this Sacrament to the Outward For When the Holy Ghost fell upon Cornelius and them that were with him Can any Man forbid Water said our Apostle that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we Act. 10.47 So here in this Text The promise of the Holy Ghost says he is to you and to your Children and therefore be Baptized every one of you that you may receive it But Sir Here is one Difficulty more to be Encounter'd still for here it is that our Adversaries have started an Objection to which they Boastingly say that we can give them no Answer but truly Sir the Reason is because they will receive no Answer and we cannot help that And therefore to deal fairly both with you and them you shall first hear their Objection in its full force and then our Answer and you shall Judge between us Their Objection is this That Children are not capable of Receiving the Holy Ghost and that therefore 't is all folly to Baptize them upon that account And farther St. Peter's saying to that great Assembly Act. 2.38 Be baptized every one of you and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost makes it very plain that he Exhorted none to be Baptized but such as were capable of receiving the Holy Ghost but of this the little Children were not Capable and therefore were not to be Baptized This Sir is their mighty Objection and I am pretty Confident they will acknowledge that I have not minc'd the matter but have set it before you with all its strength And now then to give a satisfactory Answer to it I shall make it my business to prove to you that even Infants and Children are capable of receiving the Holy Ghost and this I shall endeavour to do with all the plainness and brevity and closeness that I can And therefore First we hear it very often from our Adversaries in a Challenging and Triumphant way that if we could but shew in all the New Testament any one Infant to have been Baptized they would no longer dispute that Case with us But Sir we can shew them an Infant in the Old Testament yea and an Infant in the New Testament too that receiv'd the Holy Ghost And why then will they dispute this any longer We know that it is the Holy Ghost that Sanctifies us and yet we read in the Old Testament that the Prophet Jeremy was Sanctified even before he came out of the Womb Jer. 1.5 And if we will take an Angel's word for it we are assur'd in the New Testament that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost even from his Mother's Womb Luke 1.15 And here I will add what I before observ'd of the little Children who were brought unto Christ and whom he took up in his Arms viz. That he blessed them with Spiritual Blessings and therefore 't is evident that even these little Children did then receive the Holy Spirit for we must mean nothing else by receiving the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit but receiving the Graces and Blessings of the Holy Spirit Secondly The Holy Job has most truly taught us That a Clean thing is not to be brought out of an Vnclean Job 14.4 No but all are conceived and born in Sin as well as he who said Behold I was shapen in Iniquity and in Sin did my Mother conceive me Psal 51.5 But then if all our Children are so conceived and born and cannot be brought clean out of an unclean thing I am ready to tremble at the thought what would become of them if they were not capable of some Spiritual Cleansing certainly Dear Sir they are or else 't is most certain that no unclean thing can enter into the Kingdom of God Again Our
Lord has told us That that which is born of the Flesh is Flesh sinful Flesh of sinful Flesh John 3.6 and there he also teaches us that what is only so born cannot see the Kingdom of God for says he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 except one be born again that is born again of Water and of the Spirit he cannot see the Kingdom of God And this therefore would be another hard saying for our Children if they were not capable of being born again of the Spirit And further If Children are Holy they must be made so by the Holy Ghost For it is that Holy Spirit which Sanctifies or makes Holy and therefore must the Children needs be so Sanctified who are said to be Holy 1 Cor. 7.14 And indeed unless they are so tho' their Angels may behold the Face of God yet how shall they themselves ever come to see that Blessed Sight Since we are expresly told that without Holiness no one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Original word and signifies no one be it who it will Man or Child Without Holiness no one shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 Thirdly Dr. Fuller has observed That the great cause of Men's mistakes in this matter is this They make the Body the Standard of the Soul and are apt to think that the Soul grows bigger as the Body does even as if our Souls were very little things when we are Infants in comparison of what they are when we become Men Which is a very gross mistake indeed for our Souls are not capable of any such growth but as to that are the very same when first infused into our Bodies that they are ever after the same in our Infancy that they are in our Old Age and therefore why our Souls which as to their Substance are the same in every period of our Life why they should at any time be incapable of receiving the Holy Ghost or of being Sanctified thereby Let them give you a Reason who can find out a Reason to give for I can find none But some there are who will not yet believe the Spirit of Sanctification to be in Infants no not in Baptized Infants because they can see no Sign or Expression of it To which I farther Answer with the admir'd Bishop Taylor That it is no good Argument to say Here is no Seed in the bowels of the Earth because there is nothing green upon the face of it Nor is it a good Argument to say That an Heir so long as he is a Child is no Heir because so long as he is a Child he differeth nothing from a Servant or we see no sign of his being Heir and Lord of all as the Apostle speaks Nay and further When a Branch is Engrafted into the good Olive-Tree it receives from it a kind of new Life and Nourishment tho' we do not immediately see any fruits of its doing so Even so when Infants are grafted into Christ by Baptism and made Members of that True Vine as he calls himself John 15.1 they are thereby made Partakers of a new Spiritual Life and Nourishment tho' we do not presently see the good fruits of their being so Again Christ's Body is his Church and the Soul of that Body is the Holy Spirit and when Infants are Baptized and Incorporated into that Body they are thereby put under the Communications and Influences of the Spirit as every the least Part or Cubit added to our Statures is thereby put under the Influences of our Souls For thus Baptism says Dr. Sherlock is our Regeneration or New Birth the Beginnings of a New Life because it Incorporates us into Christ's Mystical Body which puts us under the Influences and Communications of his Life and Spirit as when a Branch is Engrafted into a Stock it receives nourishment and life from it Discourse concerning the Nature of Vnity c. p. 24. And says Dr. Scott another of your justly Admired Authors It is by his Blessed Spirit that Christ hath promised to be with us to the end of the World Mat. 28.20 And Christ himself hath assur'd us that upon his Ascension into Heaven He would pray his Father and he should give us another Comforter meaning this Holy Ghost that he might abide with us for ever Joh. 14.16 And accordingly the Holy Ghost is vitally united to the Church of Christ even as Souls are united to their Bodies For as there is one Body or Church so there is one Spirit which animates that Body Eph. 4.4 So that when by Baptism we are once Incorporated into this Body we are Entituled to and do at least de Jure participate of the vital Influence of the Holy Ghost who is the Soul of it Christian Life Part 2. Vol. 2. Chap. 7. p. 76 77. Indeed we know not how every particle of Flesh that grows to our Bodies is immediately enliven'd by our Souls and yet so it is And just so tho' we know not how every Member that 's added to the Body of Christ is quickned by that Holy Spirit which as the Soul of that Body Communicates all its Spiritual Life to it And Lastly That the Holy Spirit may be where we see no signs or expressions of it is plainly taught by our Saviour himself The wind bloweth where it lifteth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth so is every one that is born of the Spirit John 3.8 And so is every Infant that is born of the Spirit The Spirit comes upon it though thou canst not tell how nor whence And all this I hope is very sufficient Proof that even Infants and Children are capable of receiving the Holy Spirit and then according to St. Peter's Argument who can forbid Water that they should not be Baptized who can receive the Holy Ghost as well as we Act. 10 47. And in short Our Adversaries great Objection is this when St. Peter said Be baptized every one of you and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost he plainly taught that none are to be Baptized but such as are capable of receiving the Holy Ghost But of this say they little Children are not capable and therefore are not to be Baptized To which I will now Answer That when St. Peter said Be Baptized every one of you and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost he plainly taught that all are to be Baptized who are capable of receiving the Holy Ghost But of this I have now prov'd little Children to be capable and therefore they are to be Baptized And thus I am perswaded that the Baptism of Children is most certainly taught by St. Peter in this very Text Repent and be Baptized every one of you for the Remission of Sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the Promise is to you and to your Children The plain sense of which Text is this The promise of the Holy Ghost is to you and to your
not Faith and Repentance save us without Baptism To which I answer First That in some extraordinary Case the want of Baptism as the want of Circumcision was in the Wilderness may be dispens'd with when by reason of Impossibilities or insufferable Inconveniences the hearty desire and will to be Baptized may be accepted of for the Deed. And because I would not be misunderstood I will here take leave to clear to you my meaning after this plain manner Should a Gracious Prince covenant with his People to give them large Possessions great Freedoms and Privileges upon some very easie Conditions which he might therefore require that they should be severally oblig'd to the performance of under their own Hands and Seals Now should any of his Subjects be any ways hindred from Setting their Hands and Seals to such an advantageous Covenant tho' they very much desir'd and endeavour'd so to do I cannot think but a gracious Prince would in such a Case excuse and dispense with their not Sealing and would by no means deprive them of the benefits of the Covenant for an unwilling Omission which they could no ways help But then should any of them refuse to set their Hands and Seals to the Covenant out of meer Wilfulness and Stubbornness this sure would be interpreted to be perfect contempt and a down-right rejecting of the Covenant it self and it is not to be imagin'd that the most gracious Prince in the World would bestow the benefits of such a Covenant upon such wretched Despisers of it And this is our Case The most Gracious King of Heaven covenants to give us all the Richest Blessings both of this World and the next upon very easie Conditions which he therefore requires that we should be oblig'd to the performance of by our Baptismal Engagements But now when it so happens that Baptism is not to be had tho' it be never so much desir'd or sought for I doubt not but our gracious God will hold us excus'd in such a Case nor will he deprive us of the Benefits of the New Covenant for want of that Baptism which is the Seal of it when we can no ways have it But then should we Willfully and Stubbornly refuse so to Seal or to come under any Baptismal Engagements This certainly wou'd be look'd upon as holding the Covenant it self in despight nor cou'd it be expected that our Gracious God shou'd bestow the benefits of such an advantageous Covenant upon them who shou'd so dare to despise it And therefore Secondly They who are so Confident that Faith and Repentance will ordinarily and always save us without Baptism They seem to me either to have too high thoughts of their Faith and Repentance or too low thoughts of Salvation 'T is indeed a popular Argument to say that sure God will never deny Salvation to a poor penitent Believer tho' he shou'd refuse to be Baptized But Sir I may as well say that sure you will not deny your Estate to any One who shall yearly pay you a Pepper-corn for it tho' he refuse to Seal any Contract to that purpose For as a Pepper-corn without a Contract or by it's own pure worth and merit can never be thought a valuable Consideration for your Estate so Faith and Repentance without a Covenant or by their own pure worth and merit can never be sufficient to purchase our Salvation For pray Dear Sir what is our Faith and Repentance worth in comparison with Salvation Truly not so much as I said before as a Pepper-Corn is worth in comparison with your Estate And therefore as it is necessary that there should be a Contract to that purpose and that That Contract should be first Seal'd before your Estate can be laid claim to upon the poor Terms of paying a Pepper-Corn for it so it is necessary that there be a Covenant to That purpose and that That Covenant be first Seal'd before Salvation can be laid claim to upon the poor Conditions of our Faith and Repentance And yet 't is true I do not for all this absolutely deny Salvation to a good Man for being Unbaptized even when he might have been so for God's Mercies are Infinite and he may do more than he has promis'd and save even them whom he is not oblig'd by any Covenant to save Just Good Sir as you may dispose of your Estate to whom you please tho' you be under no obligation of promise or covenant so to do But who can wisely or with any good assurance expect this at your Hands Such an uncontracted uncovenanted bounty is more than can be reasonably hop'd for And certainly 't is much a wiser Course to secure to our selves an Inheritance by a Covenant-right and Title to it than to depend for it upon any Man 's unknown Will and Pleasure And so 't is certainly much safer to have a Covenant-title to the Kingdom of Heaven than wholly to rely upon an uncertain extraordinary kindness and to depend for it upon God's unknown and uncovenanted Mercies In short the Summ of what I have now said is this God will in some Cases save us without Baptism viz. when Baptism is not to be had tho' it be desir'd and sought for Yea and for ought we know to the contrary by his extraordinary uncovenanted Mercies he may save some who might be baptized but are not But this is a great Uncertainty such an Uncertainty as no wise Man will rely upon or venture his Salvation upon such a perillous hazard nay but without the Covenant it would be Pride and Presumption in the best Man upon Earth to pretend to an ASSURANCE of Salvation or to claim any Right to be saved meerly upon the account of his own worthless Performances But then on the other hand when the New Covenant has been seal'd in Baptism God is even then oblig'd to fulfil his Promises made in that Covenant to them who perform the Conditions of it And as he is faithful in all his Promises and just in all his Dealings he cannot will not do otherwise No but tho' our best Performances come infinitely short of Salvation in Worth and Merit Yet as God has covenanted to save us upon such worthless Conditions we are hence ASSURED that he will do so But now Sir let me ask First Who can dispose of your Estate upon any Conditions much less upon very mean Conditions and seal Covenants to such purpose in your Name Who I say can do thus unless you do your self impower and commission him so to do that is unless it be some prime Servant or Steward whom you have your self first Authoriz'd in that behalf But then Who is it that in the Name of God may Contract and Covenant with us to give us his Heaven and Happiness upon any such worthless Conditions as we are Capable of performing Who I say dares take this power upon him unless it be given him from above that is unless he be a Lawful Minister of Christ and a
Steward of the Mysteries of God 1 Cor. 4.1 In a word When we baptize we do in God's stead and in his Name Contract and Covenant with the Baptized Persons and so we take upon us to oblige God himself to make good the Promises of that Covenant whensoever the Conditions of it are perform'd But certainly then when we take thus much upon us even to bring God himself into Bonds and under Obligations it infinitely Concerns us to be throughly satisfy'd by what Authority we do this and who gave us this Authority You must needs understand this says an excellent Author that they who shall pretend to act in any Office by the King's Authority without a true Commission The King will be so far from reckoning himself oblig'd to confirm what they shall act in his Name that he will punish the presumption of such Officers and those that adhere to them and Dear Sir I will leave it to you to make the Application But then Secondly Let me ask again Are there any more New Covenants than one Or are not we and our Children to be saved by the same Covenant And why then may not our Children together with our selves be admitted to a Partnership in it It was their Ancient Privilege to be admitted with their Parents in to Covenant with God as you may plainly see and pray Sir take your Bible and look the place Deut. 29.10 11 12. And it is no strange thing for Children to be bound in Covenants as Copartners with their Parents For may not a Parent says Mr. Baxter take a Lease for Himself and his Child Yea says he it is a plain natural Duty of Parents to Covenant for their Children when it is for their Good And he asks the Question Were it not a Sin in that Parent who would refuse to engage his Child in an advantageous Covenant when else the Child would lose the benefit of it And says our very Learned Bishop of Ely A Parent may Contract with God on his Child's behalf as a Guardian does in behalf of a Minor or one under age which passage with more of the same Nature is in That his admirable Discourse call'd Aqua Genitalis And now Good Sir That I may clear and conclude this whole matter very briefly I will only farther ask leave to exercise your Patience with this very plain Case Should some great Person make the kind offer to lease out his Estate to his Tenants and to their Children upon Condition that they shall be bound as oft as they shall be required to do some little Suit and Service to him Should you then ask me What is requir'd of such Persons as are to have these Leases Seal'd to them I could answer That they are to promise and do some little Suit and Service to their Landlord whensoever they shall be required so to do And should you ask again But why then are Children bound in such Leases when by reason of their tender Age they can neither promise nor perform that Suit and Service Now to this I could likewise answer Because their Parents or Guardians promise and engage for them which is a very usual thing which Promise and Engagement when they come to age themselves are bound to perform And should you ask again But how can Parents or Guardians promise truly for their Children that they shall do such Suit and Service when perhaps they may not live to do it or else when they come to age they may prove Undutiful and Stubborn and may refuse to do it Even to this I could likewise answer First That if they do not live till they are capable of performing the Promises made for them then 't is most certain that they do not live till they are capable of Breaking them and so far therefore all 's well enough I hope And Secondly If when they come at age they prove Stubborn and Disobedient and will not be perswaded to do the Suit and Service which their Parents or Guardians promis'd in their Names Well Sir even in this Case of the Childrens disobedience their Parents are still blameless nor do their Promises made for their Children become Lyes and Falshoods as some foolishly speak for they were Covenant-promises and all the meaning of them was that their Children should perform them or else forfeit their Leases So that if their Children do not perform them they must e'en forfeit accordingly and there 's an end of that matter And thus In the New Covenant whereof Christ Jesus is the Mediator Heb. 8.6 and which was the purchase of his Blood as is intimated in that saying wherein his Blood is called the Blood of the New Covenant that is the Blood whereby the New Covenant was purchas'd Mat. 26.28 In this New Covenant I say which God through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ makes with all that will enter into it He obliges himself on the one hand to bestow Heaven and Happiness upon the Conditions of Faith and Repentance and they who enter into this Covenant do on the other hand Promise and Engage to perform these Conditions And now Sir If you ask What is required of Persons to be Baptized into this Covenant You have an Answer in our Catechism Repentance whereby they forsake sin and Faith whereby they steadfastly believe the Promises of God made to them in that Sacrament And if you ask again Why then are Infants Baptiz'd when by reason of their tender age they cannot perform them The Answer follows in the same Catechism Because as in the aforesaid Case they Promise them by their Sureties which Promise when they come to age themselves are bound to perform And if you ask again How can Sureties truly promise for such Infants that they shall perform these Conditions when perhaps they may not live to perform them or else if they live to 't they may prove Stubborn and undutiful and refuse to perform them To which I Answer as before First That if they do not live to perform then neither do they live to break them nor consequently is there any breach of promise thus far to be accounted for And Secondly If when they come at Age they prove Stubborn and Disobedient and will not be perswaded to perform what their Sureties promised for them Well Sir Their Sureties may be still blameless nor do their promises become Lyes and Falshoods as some Ignorant Peoples are apt to speak for it is here to be noted that they are perfect Covenant-promises and the meaning of them is that the Children shall perform the Conditions of the Covenant or else forfeit and loose the Benefits of it And thus doubt not Good Sir but their Sureties may safely Promise for our Children That they shall serve God truly all the days of their Lives for the Enjoyment of Heaven and Happiness at the end of them And let us not say that we dare not so Promise for them lest they should not perform and so we become Liars Oh let us
not deprive them of the Benefits of the New Covenant out of any such vain and foolish fear for thus runs the Covenant whereof Baptism is the Seal God promises Heaven upon such and such Conditions and their Sureties promise for our Children that they shall perform these Conditions for that Heaven that is they promise for our Children that they shall perform these Conditions or else forfeit that Heaven which is not otherwise to be had or hop'd for but upon these Conditions And this is the true nature and meaning of those Promises which are made by Parents and Sureties in the Names of Baptized Infants and you now plainly see I hope that there is no such danger in them as some poor silly people whom you know and have heard will be talking of And the danger wou'd be less still did but all Sureties strictly observe what they are most excellently taught in the Exhortation made to them at the Conclusion of the Office for the Publick Baptism of Infants in our Common Prayer-Books And indeed When you have made an Advantageous Covenant for your Children as you desire that they should reap the Benefit of it you must be sure to take care that as soon as they shall be able to learn they may be instructed in the Nature of it and be taught the Conditions required of them together with the Advantages which will accrue to them by their performance of these Conditions as also the great Damages which they shall sustain by their wilful neglect of them Even so it is not enough for their Sureties to engage Infants and Children in Covenant with God but they must be sure to take care especially in case of the Parents Death or neglect that the Children be taught as soon as they shall be able to learn what they are bound by that Covenant to perform and what infinite Gainers they shall certainly be by a Conscientious observance of the Conditions required of them and what infinite Losers by their wilful and continued failure in the performance of these Conditions Those for whom you stand as Sureties you ought says the Pious Author of the Christian Monitor to do your utmost towards their good Education in the knowledge of God and Religion according to the Charge given you Especially if the Parents Die or prove negligent Pag. 37. And Dear Sir In case of the Parents Death the State has provided that Children shall not want Guardians to take care of their Temporal Inheritances and shall any blame the Church for taking as good care of their Souls as the State has done of their Lands and Possessions Or why may not why should not the Church require that in case of the Parents Death their Children should have Sureties oblig'd to take care of their Eternal Affairs as well as the State requires that they shall have Guardians oblig'd to take care of their Temporal Certainly were we but as mindful and concern'd what may become of our Childrens Souls after our Decease as we are concern'd what may become of the Estates which we leave them we should then be as willing and careful to provide good Sureties for them who are oblig'd to look after their Souls as now we are careful to appoint them good Guardians who are oblig'd to look after their Estates And Sir Let the Ill-advised World say what they please there is as much Popery in the State for requiring Guardians as there is in the Church for requiring Sureties for Children unless the same care may not without Popery be taken of their Souls which may without Popery be taken of their Estates But perhaps you will say That Sureties very seldom take this care of the Children's Souls which I am speaking of I Answer That neither are all Guardians Faithful and Just as they ought to be so that you cannot still blame the Church for requiring Sureties because of that general neglect of their Duties which you observe among them but you must also blame the State for requiring Guardians because of that too general unfaithfulness which among them likewise is both observ'd and lamented in this Age. And then again in case of the Parents negligence As it is at the Request of those Parents that we become Sureties for their Children we do thereby acquire some kind of Authority over those very Parents themselves as well as over their Children and we may roundly reprove even those very Parents if they bring not up their Children in the Practice of those Christian Duties which themselves desired and procured us to Promise in their Children's Names and much more may we Reprove and Rebuke their Children being grown to years of discretion if then they neglect those duties And thus if Sureties are bound thus to give such Reproof and Christian Admonition to those Parents and Children for whom they have undertaken to the Church it is but a very necessary Duty that they are thus bound to and which all Christians are oblig'd to perform towards one another as there is occasion Those very Duties which we are oblig'd in General to perform towards one another we are but more Particularly oblig'd to perform them towards those Children for whom we become Sureties And therefore They who shun the Charitable work of becoming Sureties for Children because they are thereby oblig'd to Advise Counsel Exhort and Reprove them as they find occasion they may e'en as well refuse to become Christians because by their very Christianity they are oblig'd if there be a like occasion to Advise Counsel Exhort or Reprove all their Fellow-Christians And further If some wou'd have all Sureties at Baptism to be laid aside Because there are but few such Sureties that Conscientiously perform what they undertake might not the same reason perswade others to lay Baptism it self aside viz. Because there are but few who are Baptized that Conscientiously perform their Baptismal Engagements For thus Here comes a bold Man and makes a Noise and quarrels with the Church for Requiring that Children shall have Sureties to undertake for their Instruction and Education in the Christian Religion and all the Reason that he can give against the use of such Sureties is because so few of them do as they say or perform what they promise And Dear Sir May not another bold Fellow be thus Encouraged to quarrel with the Church for putting it upon all Persons to Renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh at their Baptism viz. Because but few who are Baptized do so Renounce these Spiritual Enemies in their Lives and Practices as by their Baptismal-Engagements they are oblig'd to do Surely if the general neglect of Sureties as to the Obligations laid upon them be a good Reason why there should be no Sureties at all then the like general neglect of Baptized Persons as to the Obligations laid upon them too may be thought a good Reason why there should be none Baptized at all But Sir When People have nothing to say against the use of Sureties but that the Duties which they take upon themselves are seldom regarded These very People may soon help to remove the Objection Namely by their undertaking for and performing these Duties towards Children whereby the usefulness and advantage of having such Sureties would be seen and felt and the good and Charitable meaning of the Church would be understood and applauded where she requires that there shall be for every Male-Child to be Baptized two God-Fathers and one God-Mother and for every Female one God-Father and two God-mothers Upon the whole matter Let us take care that our Children as well as our selves be admitted into the New Covenant by Baptism For 't is the one and onely Covenant by which both we and our Children are to be saved and let us remember how heavily God complain'd by his Prophet of some who took away his Glory for ever from little Children Micah 2.9 'T is true When our New-born Infants die Unbaptized before we can possibly bring them to that Holy Sacrament we may reasonably hope that in such a Case the want of Baptism will neither be required of them nor us But when we refuse or neglect to have them Baptiz'd when we neither want time nor opportunity so to do then whatever happens to the Innocents says the Seraphick Bishop Taylor we may well fear lest God should require their Souls at our hands We know indeed says he that God is good infinitely good but we know that it is not at all good to tempt his Goodness and yet he tempts God's Goodness who expects to meet his Children in Heaven when himself shuts the Door which is Baptism against them which for ought he knows is the only Door that stands open And now Sir As you put it upon me to begin these Letters with a very Solemn Protestation so I will here take leave to Conclude them with one too and therefore in the Apostle's words 2 Cor. 1.23 I call God for a Record upon my Soul that I would not for all the World have any Child of mine die unbaptized through my fault or negligence Dear Sir I say the Truth in Christ I lye not as the same Apostle protests again And you may assure your self that I speak the Truth likewise when I tell you that I am SIR July 29. 1698. Your very sincere and faithful Servant T. H. FINIS