Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A85020
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The infants advocate of circumcision on Jewish and baptisme on Christian children. By Thomas Fuller, B.D.
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Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661.
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1653
(1653)
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Wing F2447; Thomason E1431_1; ESTC R202071
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87,089
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272
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of the State is by the courtesie of the camp enrolled in the souldiers list on his birth-day and by the allowance of the State receives pay from the time of his nativity In the Christian warfare though Christ alone be our Captain every common souldier male or female enlisted under him derives this priviledge to all his children that from their very births they are thus far entred into the muster-roll of the Church as to receive pay I mean the right and title to the Sacrament of Baptism as being by their very extraction not unclean but Sacramently holy CHAP. XI The third Reason taken from the Holy Spirit which is given to little Infants THe Third Reason out of Scripture is thus framed Such who receive the Spirit of God may and ought to be Baptized but infants receive the Spirit of God therefore they may and ought to be Baptized The Major hereof is in effect the words of the Text Peter saith Acts 10. 47. Can any man forbid water that these should not be Baptized which have received the holy Ghost as wel as we Can he that is can he justly can he lawfully can he so do it as to avouch it to God and man when he hath done it Though I confesse too many de facto do it now adayes Can any man we can do nothing saith the Apostle against the Truth but for the Truth 2 Cor. 13. 8. It is not strength but weaknesse for one to be able to do that which he ought not to do Can any man Be he an Apostle or even Peter himself MAN He must be either worse then a man for his Envy or lesse then a man by his Ignorance The Minor remains to be proved that Infants receive the Spirit of God whereof we have two pregnant proofs one in the old Testament Jer. 1. 5. Before I formed thee in the womb I knew thee and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee and ordained thee to be a Prophet unto the Nations Object This sanctification of Jeremy intends not such as accompanieth the salvation of the soul but meerly importeth a designation of him to the Prophetical function with qualification for the discharge thereof It is therefore impertinently alledged to prove that Infants have the saving Spirit of God Answ It is confessed that Jeremy his destination to be a Prophet was a principal part of his sanctifying here mentioned Yet was it not the total thereof as being but a sprig and branch of the same which extended to Gods forming him according to his knowledge of approbation and hallowing him as yet unborn to be his Saint and servant The second instance in the new Testament is that of John the Baptist Luke 1. 41. Leaping in his mothers womb at the salutation of the virgin Mary Not that as some have mistaken it that then his Mother was first sensible that she quickned of him seeing it was said before vers 36. This is the sixth moneth with her which was called barren but as it is vers 44. the babe leaped in my womb for joy knowing and acknowledging Christ the Saviour of mankind and transported with transcendent gladnesse for the same Object But Jeremy and John the Baptist were Jeremy and John the Baptist I mean signal persons of extraordinary stature of grace above the size of common Christians Your Logick is but bad if from the induction of two instances you infer a general conclusion As soundly you might prove that all Davids worthies were equal in valour and atchivements 2 Sam. 23. 19. unto the first three as that al infants of Gods children may for their abilities be matched with these two by you alledged Answ I grant no lesse That these two instances were extraordinary However thus much advantage we gain thereby that they plainly prove the state of Infancy to be receptive of grace and of ability to entertain the same Let none look on Infants as so indisposed and unorganized by reason of their weaknesse but that the lownesse of their age is capable of the elevation to sanctity Secondly though we acknowledge such redundancy of the Spirit in the extraordinary and miraculous proportion thereof confined to a few persons in Christs and the Apostles time yet we may no lesse truly then confidently maintain that a sufficiency thereof as to salvation is conferr'd on all Gods servants now adays as well as before Nor is Gods Spirit super-annuated with aged Naomy Ruth 1. 11. or grown so barren or effete but that it is still procreative and produceth the effects thereof in Gods servants now as vigorously as ever before Otherwise most doleful yea indeed desperate were the conditions of Gods servants now adays if devoid of the Spirit of God as to the essentials thereof having now a fiercer foe and worse weapons to encounter him then the Christians had in former ages A fiercer foe Satan himself growing subtiler with the addition of fifteen hundred years experience and crueller Rev. 12. 12. because the shorter his reign the sharper his rage Worse weapons if we be left altogether naked of the offencive and defencive armor of the Spirit of God And here I cannot but admire at the practice of some persons now adayes boasting of strange measures of the Spirit bestowed upon them and we must needs believe them for they say so themselves yea such prodigious proportions thereof whereby per saltum they conceive themselves enabled for such offices for which they were never fitted by their education And yet the self-same persons who are thus prodigal in the praise of their own perfections assuming so much of the Spirit to themselves are most miserably nigardly to others and especialy to Infants denying the least degree of the Spirit unto them Whereas let matters be beheld with an unpartial eye and it will appear that it is more probable children should partake of the company of the Spirit then men now adayes May it not justly be suspected that the spiritual pride uncharitablenesse self-interest sinister respects cruelty and oppression of many men do fright away the spirit from them how highly soever pretending to holinesse whereas the mildnesse meeknesse silence humility and patience of a childe may invite the society of the spirit the sooner unto it and the Dove converse rather with Doves then with Vultures To put all out of doubt we can plainly demonstrate the fruits of Gods Spirit and Sanctification in Infants dying Infants and therefore the root therof must be granted to be in their hearts which we thus prove Whatsoever is saved is fully sanctified for Ephes 5. 5. no unclean person hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ But many children especially of Godly parents dying children are saved Therefore they are fully sanctified He wants judgement that denies the Major or former part of the syllogism And he lacks as much charity who questions the Minor hereof otherwise Herod the cruel Tyrant who killed only the bodies of the babes in and about Bethlehem
Discretion adviseth us to refuse not onely poyson but unwholesom food and we ought to condemn a falshood quatenus a falshood though it may be consistent with salvation But if damnable be taken actively in which sense it is used 2 Pet. 2. 1. Who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them for that which damneth or condemneth the maintainer thereof then onely fundamental errours in Religion are damnable doctrines This premised we answer to the question Gods goodness so keepeth his servants that he will not suffer them to fall into damnable errours in the last and worst acception thereof As for smaller errours which deserve to be condemned but are not so pestilent as to destroy the maintainers thereof they are pardoned through the mercy of God and merits of Christ on the death-bed of such as defend them 23. All good Christians pray with David if not in the same words to the same sense Psal 19. 12. Cleanse me from my secret sins Whereby is meant not onely such sins as we desire and endeavour to hide and keep secret from men but also such as are hidden and kept secret from us such our ignorance as not to know or self-love as not to acknowledg them to be sins Now all such errours consistent with salvation are remitted unto the maintainers thereof under the mass bulk and heap of secret sins though they be not and indeed cannot be particularly repented of because concealed from him who committeth them 24. Come we now to shew how men ought to prepare their own hearts for the more speedy receiving and sure retaining of such Revelations Say not all such preparations are useless The Dove of the Spirit will not build in a Nest of this making but in one of her own providing For such previous disposing of our selves is acceptable to God and will expedite the coming of Revelations unto us Indeed in the first act of Conversion we are purely passive and can in no degree prepare our selves being dead in trespasses and sins But being once freed by grace we are free and may and must by lawfull means move Gods Spirit to move us according to S. Pauls counsel 2 Tim. 1. 6. Stir up the grace of God that is in thee 25. First divest thy self of Pride What saith Solomon Prov. 13. 10. Onely by pride cometh contention Onely by pride as if such were the pride of pride that it scorneth and disdaineth to admit a partner or fellow-cause with it self to cause contention And although pride sometimes be pleased out of state to accept of other vices in raising of Discords yet still she preserveth her self Paramont making use of all the rest onely as subservient unto her 26. Now proud men create to themselves two needless fears which make them so obstinately embrace their errours The first is that if they alter their opinions they must confess that formerly they have erred which confession stabbeth Pride and Pride is dextrous in stabbing others under the fifth rib For all men by nature desire to be and to be accounted petty Popes having the spirit of infallibility fastened unto their chairs so that their opinions shall pass for oracle of undeniable truth 27. The other is that they shall be branded by men for levity and inconstancy if once they offer to change their judgments This makes many of them to say sullenly and surlily with Pilate John 19. 22. What I have written I have written What I have said I have said what I have done I have done what I have defended I have defended I will not abate an ace remit a tittle recede an hair from my former opinions Whilest others turn as fast as the Weather-cock I will stand as firm as the Steeple the rather because otherwise I shall incur the infamy of inconstancy 28. Whereas let it be but seriously considered and the renouncing of an errour which we formerly maintained argueth not frailness but firmness not levity but constancy in us For this is or ought to be the grand and general resolution of all Christians to imbrace any truth which appeareth unto them out of the Word of God Wherefore when a Christian renounceth a particular errour this is not inconstancy because crossing the late and lesser boughs but it is constancy because concurring with the first and fairest Root of his Resolution namely always to those with the revealed truth 29. This hath been the practise of pious people in all ages The hand of S. Augustine never seemed so fair and so handsom as when he wrot backward I mean when he wrot his Retractations Pale faces which otherwise are well proportioned never look so lovely as when they are casually betrayed to a blush which supplies that colour in their cheeks which was wanting before Good men who once maintained an errour never appear more amiable in the eys of God and the godly as when blushing with shame not to be ashamed for at the remembrance of their former faults which maketh them more thankfull to God more humble in more carefull over themselves and more charitable to others 30. Well in the first place devest thy self of pride and know that David tels us how all those ought to be qualified whom God intendeth to teach Psalm 25. 9. The meek will he guide in judgment and the meek will he teach in his way The proud are improper to be Gods Scholars who conceive themselves able to be his Teacher and wise enough to instruct him 31. Secondly devest thy self of Passion than which nothing more prejudicial to the judgment Fire is accounted an hurtfull object to the eye as water is esteemed an helper thereof to look upon it comforting and uniting as the other scattereth the visive beams What then when the beholder is all fire I mean all passion and choller is it probable that during this temper the spirit will descend upon him Observe the carriage of Elisha 2 K. 3. 15. being in an high rapture of anger with Joram King of Israel for his submissive applications unto him in his distress when he and three Armies were likely to die of thirst and now saith he bring me a Minstrel namely by Musick to pacifie himself and to dispose his soul for the regular reception and solemn entertainment of the spirit which accordingly came to pass when the Minstrel played the hand of the Lord came upon him 32. See we here in the first place that it is lawfull to use all good means to invite the Spirit to descend upon us The Spirit of the Prophets was never so subject to the Prophets as to come at their call and command Secondly though Eshishah in anger for the man was holy anger justly offended with King Joram for making Idolatrous Priests his choise in prosperity and Gods Prophet his refuge in adversity yet he was sensible to himself that he was disturbed and discomposed therewith And though the cause of his anger was just and matter of his anger commendable