Persons as such whether they believe or no. But this Holiness descends from Believers as Believers and therefore it cannot be Legitimacy 2. I deny that ever the word Holy is so used in all the New-Testament tho we have it many hundred times and therefore you force this Sense upon it to serve a Turn 3. If Legitimacy were meant then the Apostle would speak false The Words would run thus If the unbelieving Wife be not Sanctified by the believing Husband your Children would be Bastards No their being Husband and Wife would secure their Children from Bastardy Nay and then all the Idolaters and Murderers in the World if Legitimate would be Holy Anti-P But Holiness is not a ground of Baptism if it were then Horses Bells must be Baptized c. Zech. 12. 20. P. Bapt. When you can shew that Bells were once Church-Members that they have Immortal Souls capable of Pardon through the Blood and Merits of Christ of going to Heaven c. then we will baptize Bells too Anti-P But Children are Pure or Holy as all things else that a Believer hath are pure i. e. for Enjoyment To the Pure all things are Pure P. Bapt. Then I am sure Legitimacy is not here meant because if a Person that hath a Bastard be Converted and he truly Penitent that Bastard is also Sanctified to his Enjoyment because all things are But you ought to shew that Pure and Holy are the same Holy doth imply a dedication to God But Meat which the Apostle there speaks of might be clean as many Creatures under the Law which yet were not dedicated to God In short the word Holy is taken as commonly it is in other Places and it includes a visible separation for God and Relation to him Thus the Body of Israel and afterward of a Gospel-Church are called Holy in many Places Arg. 2. From Acts 2. 39. The Promise is to you and to your Children c. This Promise the Infants of Penitent Persons have a right to therefore they have a right to Baptism v. 38. Be Baptized c. Anti-P The Context doth exclude Infants from the Promise and therefore from Baptism The Promise is confin'd to those that the Lord shall Call P. Bapt. If 't were so then Peter just upon receiving extraordinary Wisdom from Heaven would speak Impertinently Whereas he says The Promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off even to as many as the Lord our God shall call He might have left out their Children and they would easily have understood that their Children if once called should be comprehended in those words As many as the Lord shall call And farther supposing your Sense to be true this Paraphrase may justly be put on the Words You grown Jews and ye Gentiles when Called have a right to Church-Privileges but your poor Infants who for many hundred Years past have had the same are now through the gracious efficacy of Christ's Death strip'd of it tho they poor Hearts never did the least to forfeit it Do you think this would have been a good Plaister for their wounded Hearts And can we imagine that neither these nor any tender Parents of all the Jewish Converts would have put in the least Plea to God or Man on the behalf of their poor abject Infants or if they had that the Scripture would have quite buried it in Silence when we have their Contests about Circumcising Infants Recorded Anti-P But Children are not impertinently mention'd for the Jews had brought the guilt of Christ's Blood upon their Children as well as themselves His Blood be on us and our Children He drops a word of Comfort to them with relation to these Children P. Bapt. Yes all these Children and therefore their poor Infants on whom they had brought the Curse as well as an those of riper Years Say they His blood be upon our children whom we have a right in and are concerned for This they spake to spit their Venom against Christ And the Apostle chargeth these Jews with it v. 23. 36. Now the Apostle makes the Plaister as broad as the Wound and assures them That upon their Repentance the Promise and therefore Church-Privileges would belong to their Children with themselves even all on whom they brought the Curse Supposing the Church-Membership of our Infants to be the main thing opposed by you I offer this Argument to prove it Arg. 3. The Infants of converted Jews were not cast out of God's Church therefore the Infants of converted Gentiles are not kept out I prove that God did not cast out the former therefore neither doth he keep out the latter Arg. 1. God did not cast out those Infants in Judgment to them nor in Mercy therefore not at all Not in Judgment For how is it consistent with Infinite Grace to inflict so great a Judgment as deprivation of Church-membership on those who never did the least to Forfeit it themselves and whose Parents are God's peculiar Favourites Nor yet in Mercy to those Infants for how could he in Mercy deprive them of so great a Blessing except he gave them a greater in its room But where 's that greater Blessing vouchsafed to Infants 2. Not one Privilege of the Covenant of Grace was ever taken away by the death of Christ in whom all the Promises were Yea and Amen Therefore the Church-membership of Jewish Infants was not taken away by the Death of Christ And if not by his Death then not at all I prove That Church-membership is a Privilege of the Covenant of Grace It must be of the Covenant of Grace or of Works but it cannot be of Works therefore it must be of Grace No other Covenant but that of Grace hath set up a Church in the World since the Fall of Man or admitted any into it Anti-P Have all Church-Members then a right to the Covenant of Grace P. Bapt. They have a Visible right to it We ought so in Charity to judge while they are rightful Members None could justly Exclude those Jewish Infants that were regularly Circumcised from a visible Right to the Promises of the Covenant of Grace Because Circumcision made them Debtors to the whole Ceremonial Law Gal. 5. 3. And God never yet divided the Promises from the Precepts of that Law and these together made up the Covenant of Grace Those who are visibly under the preceptive part of this Covenant have visibly a right to the promissive part of it But the Jewish Infants were to be manag'd by it and as they grew up obedient to it and so were under the preceptive part of it Therefore c. Now if no part of the Covenant of Grace and so neither this Privilege which the Infants of the Jewish Converts had were ever taken away then such Converts were never cast out of Gods's Church upon Christ his Death or their Parents Believing And from hence We may conclude 2. That the Infants of Gentile Converts are
up out of the Water therefore he must be Dipped P. Bapt. The Greek Preposition for Out of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be render'd From See Mat. 24. 31. Luke 1. 78. Mat. 12. 42. And those words Mat. 3. 16. may be render'd Christ went up from the Water Now I offer a fair Paraphrase of these Texts consistent with our way Iohn Preached in the Wilderness near Iordan Ierusalem and all Iudea came to him and Christ among others The Multitude being so great he goes to Iordan as he did another time to Enon takes a step into the Water those that are Baptized do the like it being Refreshing rather than Afflicting in that hot Country and there Iohn doth Baptize or Wash them by pouring Water on them and then they go up out of or from the Water which alway runs in a lower Place This is much more probable than that Iohn or the Apostles Acts 2. should Dip according to your way Hundreds it may be Thousands in a day That Person had need have Sinews of Brass that could according to your Custom bear the weight of lay down and raise up so many in so little time Besides his Limbs and Body must be soundly soak'd I am sure the words will well bear our Sense And Probability is much stronger on our side than yours Anti-P But the Eunuch is a clear Instance for us Acts 8. 38 39. They came to a certain Water went both down into and came up out of the Water P. Bapt. This Instance doth you not the least Service The Greek Prepositions for to into out of may be render'd fairly By To From. And without the least Violence the Text may be thus Translated They came by a certain Water and went both down to the Water and came up from the Water Anti-P But could not Water be brought to them in the Chariot if a little were sufficient P. Bapt. Do you think there was convenient room in the Chariot to place themselves in a praying Posture or that they were so Irreligious as not to Pray at all Anti-P But Baptism doth represent a Burial Rom. 6. 4. Col. 2. 12. Buried with him in Baptism c. Therefore it must be administred by Dipping P. Bapt. It is one thing to be Buried with Christ in Baptism and another for Baptism to represent a Burial A Person is obliged in Baptism to die and be buried with Christ to Sin and the World but it 's not necessary that Baptism should represent these In the Lord's Supper we are obliged to this Burial Doth it therefore follow that the Lord's Supper must represent a Burial 2. But supposing not granting that Baptism must represent a Burial pouring Water on the Face the most remarkable part of the Body doth represent a Person 's being under Water and raising him up represents the Resurrection Anti-P This is like burying with a Turf on the Head P. Bapt. What then A Person may be Buried as well with a Turf on the Head as Feast abundantly at the Lord's Supper with a bit of Bread and a sup of Wine a small quantity of the Element is sufficient for its Sacramental use Anti-P But let us keep strictly to the significancy of a Burial P. Bapt. Then I am sure the Baptized Person must not go into the Water to his Wast Do dead Men walk into the Grave half bury themselves and wait for the Sexton to bury their Head and Shoulders Anti-P But the whole Body is under Water when a Person is Baptiz'd in our way P. Bapt. But the Administrator dips but one half And Doth he speak Truth when he tells the World that Baptism is dipping the whole Body under Water and that he doth according to his sense of the Word Baptize i. e. dip the whole Body under Water when he dips but one half And dare he to affix the Name of Father Son and Holy Ghost to an Untruth Do you think Iohn the Baptist and the Apostles did so And if not then you have not the least Precept or Example for your Practice Is our way attended with this Inconvenience But further Baptism is designed to signify the pouring out of Christ's Blood Spirit and Blessing the application of this Blood which is expressed by Sprinkling to signify and excite to a submissive frame of Spirit Is your way so well adapted to all these ends Can any be thrust into the Spirit or Blessing of Christ or are Persons like to be so Composed supposing them Adult when striving for Life especially in Frost and Snow as when a little water only is poured on them Anti-P But many Learned Paedo-Baptists acknowledge that our way is most agreeable to Scripture P. Bapt. 1. Will you stand by the Authority of these Men in other Matters If not why would you have us in this 2. Do any of these say that to Wash is not the New-Testament sense of the Word Or Do they prove us in the Wrong We take not Men's Opinions upon Trust but Tryal 3. Who of those Authors have not adhered to that Mat. 12. 7. I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice to justify their Baptizing with a little Water in these cold Countries 4. Will not the Opinion and Practice of your Brethren in Holland argue as strongly against you as the Opinion of these Men had their Practice been Dipping also do against us 5. Will not the Opinion and Practice of so many Thousand Men great for Learning and Piety at this day argue more strongly for us than these Mens Opinion only without their Practice do against us Anti-P But all you can pretend to for your Way is Probability it may be so and it may not P. Bapt. We acknowledge The New-Testament hath not fixed the quantity of Water and therefore we must have recourse to a Moral Precept Mat. 12. 7. I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice And this carries us beyond Probability even to a Certainty which is this That we must so Administer it as shall consist with the safety of the Subject Christ v. 2 3. justifies David's eating the Shew-Bread from these words tho a positive Ritual Law were therein broken Then certainly Christ will justify the Practice of applying a little Water in these cold Countries where Life might be endanger'd by Dipping especially when neither Gospel Precept nor Example doth in the least oppose us Nay and knowing that Christ hath appointed for the strongest Christians a Sacrament as pleasant as Eating and Drinking we cannot imagin that he would appoint one so very sharp as Plunging in Frost and Snow for the Weakest I proceed to offer an Argument or two more P. Bapt. I Argue from 1 Cor. 7. 14. Else were Children unclean but now are they holy Arg. The Infants of Believers are Holy therefore they have a right to Baptism Anti-P Legitimacy is there meant by Holiness and therefore this doth not entitle them to Baptism P. Bap. Legitimacy cannot descend from Believers as Believers but from Married
not kept out Because Jews and Gentiles have the same Privileges in Christ. This I suppose no Anti-Paedo-Baptist will deny Col. 3. 11. Other Arguments might be offered as the Reader may observe in the Abridgment of Mr. Chandler's Sermons prefix'd to our Impartial Account But a design of Brevity forbids here to add them Anti-P But after all the best Arguments you can offer for Infant-Baptism are but Consequential Let us have somewhat Express P. Bapt. Shew me where an Adult Person is expresly Commanded to be Baptized Anti-P Adult Persons making a credible profession of Faith are Disciples of Christ therefore brought to be Baâ—â—â—zed P. Bapt. And what is this but Consequence Such a one is a Disciple therefore by consequence he ought to be Baptized This Argument is convincing I add a Believer's Infant is in a Scripture sense Holy a Church Member hath a visible right to that Promise Acts 2. 39. a Disciple therefore he ought to be Baptized Is not this Arguement as convincing as the other Pray how would you clear up your Right to future Happiness Anti-P I would endeavour to prove myself a Believer an Holy Person And finding Eternal Life made over to such and not finding upon the most strict enquiry one word in all the Book of God to exclude such from it I should conclude my right to future Happiness unquestionable P. Bapt. Well then I have proved the Infants of Believers Holy Persons Church-Members Disciples and this in a Scripture sense such I have proved entituled to Baptism And not finding upon the most strict enquiry one word in all the Book of God to exclude them from it I conclude their right to Baptism unquestionable Arguments for the Baptism of an Unbaptized Professing Christian nay for the true Christian's Salvation are Consequential and yet most Convincing Why then should Arguments for the baptism of Believers Infants be slighted because Consequential when they are so many and so clear from Scripture POSTSCRIPT Reader TO Prevent unjust Reflections our design in this Dialogue was not strictly to confine our selves to the words of the Disputation but to present thee with the Strength thereof therefore something then omitted on both sides are here Inserted others more intelligibly express'd and we think nothing of Weight then deliver'd is here Concealed And whereas other Arguments here totally passed by might be urged to good Purpose particularly from Rom. 11. some Hints of which are given in our Impartial Account Page 4. Second Edit We hope necessary confinement to Brevity will be a sufficient Excuse to the Ingenious BOOKS Printed for Abr. Chandler AN Impartial Account of the Portsmouth Disputation with some Just Reflections on Dr. Russel's pretended Narrative By Samuel Chandler William Leigh and Benjamin Robinson With an Abridgment of those Discourses that were the Innocent occasion of that Disputation and an Healing Preface to the Sober Anabaptists The Second Edition with a Postscript Price 1 s. The Young Scholar's Guide through the English to the Lattin or Writing-School Wherein the Nature and Use of Vowels Consonants Diphthongs c. are demonstrated by plain Tables and the Rules for Dividing long Words into Syllables made useful to Children by sutable Examples to each Rule by which a Child that hath learned his Letters may be speedily taught to Read English Exactly c. With some useful Observations in Orthography Price Stitch'd 3 d. Sacramental Discourses on several Texts before and after the Lord's-Supper By Mr. Iohn Shower Of the Duty of Grace Or a Discourse concerning the Possibility and fear of its being past before Death Shewing the groundless Doubts and mistaken Apprehensions of some as to their being finally Forsaken and Left of God With the dangerous Symptoms and Approaches of others to such a sad State In Four Sermons from Psalm 81. 11 12. By Mr. Iohn Shower * See our Account p. 70 71. for further Answer * See our Account pag. 74. See our Account * See our Account p. 73 74. * I refer it to the Learned whether this be not the fairest Translation of the Words * Thus the 〈◊〉 taken Mat. 13. 47. 48 49. comp with v 41 Mat. 11. 11. Mat. 25 1. Mat. 5. 19. See our Impartial Account p. 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40. See our Account page 37 38. See our Account p. 75 76 77. The Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may well be rendred Custom See our Account p. 81. See our Account p. 78 79. * 1 Cor. 5. 8. Can't 5. 1. * Isa. 44. 3. Heb. 12. 24. 1 Pet. 1. 2. * Deut. 7. 6. * 1 Cor. 3. 17. * The great advantages of Infant Church-membership see in our Account p. 8.
with that Acts 15. 1. Anti-P But how do you know any Infants were among these P. Bapt. From v. 22 23. which tell us That the Christians of Antioch Syria and Cilicia and therefore a great number who must have Infants were concerned in this matter Anti-P But v. 9. They are said to have their Hearts purified by Faith P. Bapt. And cannot God give Infants the Seed of Faith and purifie their Hearts by so doing May he not purge out old Principles by putting in new 2. But those v. 9. are the Gentiles of Caesarea not those at Antioch and therefore not the Disciples here meant as the Context will shew Anti-P But Circumcision cannot be the Yoak here intended because Infants did bear Circumcision but this neither they nor their Fathers were able to bear P. Bapt. This Expression signifies no more than that it was a very burdensome Yoak Thus Prov. 30. 21. For three things the Earth is disquieted and for four which it cannot bear and yet you may see in the Context That they are such as the Earth hath born to this day but it is burdened with them So Prov. 18. 14. Anti-P But Circumcision binds to keep the whole Law therefore the whole Law is here intended Pedo-Bapt Then I am sure Circumcision one of the prime and most painful parts of the Law and the only Part particularly mention'd must be intended and therefore Infants must be some of those Disciples on whom they would impose this Yoak QUESTION II. Whether according to our Lord's Commission Baptism ought to be administred by Dipping Plunging Overwhelming only and not otherwise Anti-P I Affirm and offer this Argument Christ hath appointed it so to be Administred only Therefore it must I prove this first from the signification of the word Baptize Lexicographers say it signifies to Dip. P. Bapt. They say it signifies also to Wash and this is the usual Scripture Sense of the word And Scripture is its own best Expositor Now to say it signifies to Dip in those Texts where the Ordinance is mentioned and which are especially the Subject of our present Controversy is but barely to Assert and not to Prove the thing in Question Therefore let us first go to those Places where the Word is mentioned and the Ordinance not intended and consider other Texts afterwards Anti-P I say the Scripture Sense of the word is to Dip. P. Bapt. I have Seven Places at hand wherein the word is used and the Ordinance not meant in none of which is Dipping necessarily included 1. Mark 7. 4. Except they Wash Greek be Baptized they eat not Were they dip'd over Head and Ears when they did Eat No they were zealous for the Traditions and Customs of their Elders and therefore did imitate their two Great Prophets Elijah and Elisha See 2 Kings 3. 11. It was Elisha's Custom to pour water on the Hands of Elijah Therefore in all probability they had Water poured on their Hands And why may not a Person be Baptized with pouring Water on his Face as well as with pouring Water on his Hands 2. In the same Verse they hold the Washing Greek Baptisms of Tables or Beds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Did they plunge their Tables or Beds into Water 3. v. 8. Washing Greek Baptisms of Cups i. e. from Ceremonial Pollution Burial is not the thing here intended but Washing And Washing the Hands was commonly us'd to cleanse from Ceremonial Pollution Therefore Pilate in compliance with the Iews Custom washeth his Hands when he would declare himself pure from the Blood of Christ. 4. Luke 11. 38. The Pharisee wondred that Christ had not first Washed Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was not first Baptized Did he wonder that Christ was not plunged over Head and Ears before Dinner The Greek word to a Letter is the same with that Mark 1. 9. And pray why may it not signify applying a little Water in Mark 1. 9. as well as in Luke 11. 38 5. Heb. 9. 10. Diverse Washings Greek Baptisms Such as those Exod. 30. 19 20 21. Aaron and his Sons are bid to Wash i. e. Their Hands and Feet Num. 19. from the 8th to the 19th The word in the Original signifies purely to Wash yet th◠Apostle calls these Baptisms If washing the Hands or Feet be Baptism why may not washing the Head 6. Baptized in the Cloud and in the Sea 1 Cor. 10. 2. Not Dipped be sure for they went through the Sea as on dry Ground Is any dipp'd in the Sea when he hath dry Land under him and only the droppings of the Rain and Sea upon him I must take liberty to dissent from the Reverend Author of the English Annotations in this Matter I never heard that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 much less 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did signify plunging under Water unless the Water were applied not by drops but in a great quantity 7. Acts 1. 5. I will Baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with Fire Is it proper to say I will Dip you with the Holy Ghost and with Fire Anti-P But Acts 2. beginning The Holy Ghost came upon them and there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and filled the house c. So that they were as in a Fish-pond says Causabon overwhelmed with the Holy Ghost P. Bapt. But it was the Sound that filled the House The resemblance of the Holy Ghost were the cloven Tongues of Fire and certainly they could not be overwhelmed with these And may not a Man be Baptized with Water when poured on him as well as with Fire when descending only in Cloven-Tongues upon him Here are seven Places and more might be added where the word is used and not one of them doth necessarily include Dipping Anti-P But it signifies to Dip in Scripture He that dippeth with me in the dish Mat. 26. 23. P. Bapt. The word there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And pray remember The Holy Ghost never expresseth the Ordinance by the word Bapto but always by Baptizo Anti-P But in those Places where the Ordinance is mentioned the word must signify to Dip as Mark 1. 9. Christ was Baptized of Iohn in Iordan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into Iordan He could not be washed into Iordan therefore he must be Dipped See various places where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies into 1 Tim. 1. 15. Iohn 3. 17. Luke 4. 16. P. Bapt. I shewed before That the Greek word there for Baptized to a Letter signifies in Luke 11. 38. Washing and that when applied to the Hands only And now whereas you produce three Places where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies into I can produce more than three times three where it signifies in See Mat. 2. 23. Mat. 10. 41. Mark 3 16. Luke 11. 7. Mark 5. 34. c. Therefore the words may be fairly render'd He was Washed of John in Jordan Anti-P But compare with this Mat. 3. 16. Christ when he was Baptized went