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A85020 The infants advocate of circumcision on Jewish and baptisme on Christian children. By Thomas Fuller, B.D. Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661. 1653 (1653) Wing F2447; Thomason E1431_1; ESTC R202071 87,089 272

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stolen from infidel parents if by the pious charity of any Saints it be brought to holy baptism and by and by so soon as it hath been baptized depart this life is made the heir of God and coheir of Christ However because some may think this goes too far and that a difference ought to be made betwixt children of Christian parents who have as Tertullian phraseth it Seminis praerogativam The priviledge of the seed whence they spring and those of meer Heathens And because all things ought to be done in the Church decently and in order it is fittest and safest that the baptizing of such infants be deferred till they be able in their own persons to give an account of their faith Such cautious deferring of the Sacrament offereth no injury nor occasioneth any danger unto them but will tend at last to their greater advantage When Mr Cranmer after Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and Martyr was appointed in Cambridge Poser extraordinary of the sufficiency of such who Commenced in Divinity he denyed many their Degrees for want of competent ability for the same Some of these compelled by their repulse to an harder study of the Scriptures arrived at eminency afterwards and by name Mr Barret of Norwich and would commend and extoll Dr Cranmer who by putting them back put them forward to attain a better degree of knowledge and perfection If the Church bestows her negative voice on such children of Pagans refusing to baptize them till responsible for themselves they will have cause hereafter to blesse God and thank the Church for the same when the principles of Religion shall be more firmly fastened and the practice thereof more kindly ripened in them by such forbearance of Baptism CHAP. XX. Two historical Observations on the Adversaries of Infants Baptism IT is worth our observation to consider who was the author from whom and what the company with whom this opposition of Infants Baptism began For the first I find one Balthasar Pacimontanus about the year of our Lord 1527. first spreading this doctrine pretending belike that he fetcht the first principles thereof out of Luthers works which gave Luther the occasion to writ against him justly to assert himself herein This Balthasar was afterward burnt at Vienna for an Heretick I cannot learn what heretical opinions this man maintained that the demerit of them should deserve death If it were only for denying infants baptism I conceive all the spectators at his suffering bound to have endeavoured by their tears to have quenched the fire Indeed I would have all of his opinion burnt but how as Luther saith Igne charitatis and as Solomon said long before him Prov. 25. 22. By heaping coals of fire on their heads of meeknesse and moderation if in any competent time they might be reclaimed Possibly Vienna being the Emperours Court where the Roman faction managed all at their pleasure some mixture of Protestant Doctrine in his opinions might sharpen the rage of Papists against him But it is more then suspicious that not this but the complication of other pernicious tenents caused his execution The rather because we find that the Transylvanian Ministers Anno 1567. set forth two books one against the Trinity the other against the Incarnation of Christ and at the end of both added their thirty six arguments against the baptizing of infants Men who are dark and conceal'd in themselves lying at a close guard are best discovered by their society Company is the clearest comment on the text of a reserved person True this held not in our Saviour being piety it self though conversing with Publicans and sinners for whose conversion he was sent and ordained But generally it fails not but that men conjecture and conclude the inclinations of persons from those with whom they constantly associate Would it not therefore make any conscientious Christians justly wary to entertain the doctrine of Anti-pedo-baptism when he sees it ushered into the world with two such hideous and hellish Heresies going before it Some will say there was no affinity in kindred or familiarity in acquaintance nor dependency of interest but a meer casual coincidency betwixt these three Treatises Who knows not but an honest man may on the road accidentally travel with strangers whose faces he never saw before without any privity to their bad designs For my own part I was never bred in the school of Tyrannus and am loath to load the doctrine of Anti-pedo-baptism with the burden of more badnesse then it hath of it self yet give me leave to say it may ought be taken on suspicion because coming in the company of two such Blasphemous books from the same Authors yea let it be confined and kept in durance until it hath cleared its own innocency which must be done by shewing better testimonials for the truth thereof then any which hitherto it hath produced My prayers shall be that what is said of Jeconiah Jer. 22. 30. write ye this man childless So this error in denying baptism to infants may not be procreative of any other in the maintainers thereof May he who binds the Sea in a girdle of sand and saith to the waves thereof Job 38. 11. Hitherto shalt thou come and no farther erect strong rampiers to bound and bank the defenders hereof that here they may stop stay stand still without making their progresse into worse and more dangerous errours Amen The Infants Advocate CHAP. XXI How we ought to behave our selves to those of a different judgment herein in order to reclame them Preacht in a Sermon at Mercers Chappel Febr. 6. 1652. Phil. 3. 15. And if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto you 1. IT is no less pleasant than profitable for a Christian soul seriously to consider the admirable unity and comfortable concord which was betwixt the Saints and Servants of God in the infancy of the Church after Christs ascension Acts 1. 14. These all continued with one accord Acts 2. 1. They were all with one accord in one place 2. 46 Continuing daily with one accord in the Temple So again Acts 4 24. Lift up their voice to God with one accord And again Acts 5. 12. All with one accord in Solomons porch 2. Some perchance may impute this their unity to the paucity and fewness of the Professours of the Gospel in that age It is no wonder will they say if an handfull of men did agree which is impossible now adays in the numerosity of so many Christians But know that even then there were enough even amongst the three thousand Converts made by S. Peters Sermon to furnish out allowing a Leader and Follower to each Faction fifteen hundred several Divisions No it was not their small number but the vigorous acting of the Spirit of unity on their Hearts which kept them in such agreement God foreseeing Rents would quickly ruine his Infant Church bound them together the faster in the hand of Peace 3. But alas
this unity was too fine ware to have much measure thereof The virginity of it was first lost Acts 6. 1. about a money-matter and money we know parteth the dearest friends many differences arising about the question what should be jure divino and what jure humano but more about meum and tuum the unequal conceived distribution of the collection-money for the Poor The Heathen Philosopher bitterly inveighed against the Schismatical Number of Two which durst make the first defection and departure from the intireness of One But we have too just cause to bemoan this unhappy difference which first brake the Ranks made the first jarring in the musick of the Primitive Church 4. The second sad difference was Acts 15. 1. about the unseasonable and unreasonable pressing of Circumcision by some as absolutely necessary to salvation Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved 5. The third dolefull falling out we finde in the same Chapter v. 39. being so much the sadder than either of the former because happening not btwixt infirm and ignorant though pious people but those who for grace and knowledg were most eminent and formerly had been familiar and intimate bosom-friends Paul and Barnabas Then the Devil endeavoured to deal with Gods Church as Sampson served the Temple of Dagon Judg. 16. 29. He took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood and on which it was born up and no doubt by shaking and clashing them together had shattered the whole Fabrick had not divine providence prevented it sanctifying their division into the multiplication of the Gospel 6. It is enough to satisfie if not to surfet us to insist onely on this first three these original dissentions in the Primitive Church which ever since have too truly been copied out As lately in the Acts of the Apostles we often met with one accord with one accord with one accord so looking into their Acts who though no Apostles are Christians we more frequently finde with many discords with many discords with many discords such their dissenting in opinions and disagreeing in affections It will therefore be a seasonable subject for us to treat of how we ought to behave our selves to such Brethren as for the present dissent from us in judgment and what hope we may justly conceive of their future agreement with us Hearken herein to my Text out of which we may extract not onely counsel what to do but also comfort what to hope in this kinde And if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto you 7. The words though short in themselves contain the Uuhappiness and the happiness of the Servants of God And know to your comfort the Unhappiness is first and the Happiness comes after to close and conclude all and and all is well that ends well yea the unhappiness is but suppositive what may be the happiness positive what shall be The unhappiness is this a possibility of good men in matters of religion to be otherwise minded one from another The Happiness is a gracious Promise that such who erroniously dissent from their Brethren shall in due time agree when the Truth shall be revealed to them In the supposition the Emphasis of two words must be examined And if in ANY thing YE 8. Ye that is literally ye Philippians in the pale of Gods Church However let us give this Ye the true dimensions thereof Let us not extend it too far as to include Pagans or such pretended Christians as willingly overturn all the foundations of Religion Nor let us contract this Ye too small as to confine it to the Philippians alone which reacheth all Christians though dissenting in the superstructures consenting in the Fundamentalls of Religion If there be a Ye or a Your in all this Epistle to the Philippians as Chap 4. 5. Let your moderation be made known to all men which enjoyneth any precept certainly all Christians as well as the Philippians are obliged and engaged to the performance of it at their own pain and perill of the neglect thereof Wherefore by the same rule of proportion Every Christian may justly claim a right and interest in all promises made to the Philippians and this among the rest the Revelation hereafter of truths unto them hitherto concealed from them 9. And if in any thing Any thing Far be it from us to shrink a larg Text with a narrow comment S. Paul sayeth any thing let not us say somthing Be they otherwise minded in matter of Fact or of Faith or of Doctrine or of Discipline what ever it be for it needs must be nothing which comes not with the reach or compass of any thing God will reveal it unto them Here let us take notice what was the last matter which immediately moved S. Paul to fall on this expression In the foregoing verses S. Paul had propounded a Riddle or seeming contradiction to flesh and bloud for he had said Vers 12. Not as though I were already perfect c. Vers 15. Let us therefore as many as be perfect c. That perfection which first he denyed in himself presently he avoweth both in himself and many others This Riddle it seems it would not sink into the Heads of some of the weaker Philippians how the same Person at the same time should be imperfect in deed execution performance yet perfect in desire intention endeavour But well it is for us that some amongst the Philippians through ignorance were otherwise minded whose error herein gave the happy occasion to S. Paul from Gods mouth to pronounce this comfortable promise both to them and us and all dissenters that if any be otherwise minded God will reveal even this unto them 10. DOCT. Godly men as long as they live in this world will dissent in many matters of religion The reason is because none know either Perfectly or Equally in this life Not perfectly 1 Cor. 13. 12. Now we know in part Not equally for though men understood imperfectly in this life yet if all understood equally imperfectly upon the supposition of equal ingenuousness to their Ingenuity that is that they would readily embrace what appears true unto them all would be of the same judgment But alas as none sees clearly so scarce any two see equally some are thick-sighted some short-sighted some pur-blind some sand-blind some half-blind and the worst of them blessed be God better then stark-blind These different degrees of sight cause the difference of judgment amongst Christians 11. A sad instance hereof we have in the differences about the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords Supper What by divine goodness was intended and instituted to unite and conjoyn Christians hath by mans frailty and Satans subtilty been abused to make many Rents and divisions About the time when the Parties on whom the manner how Baptism is to be administred But where Baptism hath divided her Thousands the Lords Supper hath divided her Ten Thousands 12.