deem Than other places this though strange it seem I can prove true for in the Gospel day Distinctions of this kind are done away Cathederal It seems then I no holier am then thou In thy conceit but Scripture doth us show There 's holy ground as well as ground prophane Place where God will be worship'd and again Place where he will no Sacrifice accept But th'Off'rer and th' Oblation both reject Jayle The Scripture shews that such esteem there WAS Of Place but shews that such esteem should pass Away from Christians wherefore I say Thy Ground or Place no holier is this day Than other places wherefore every where Men may with holy hearts in prayer appear Cathederal My Place must needs be holy for this cause It builded was therein to teach Gods Laws It consecrated was also by those Whom God to minister his Word there chose So was not every place then thou dost ill Thus to compare thy Place with this my Hill Jayle Were all this proved which thou never can Yet mine 's as holy seeing such a man As Christ hath sanctifi'd each place so far As therein he 'll accept of holy Prayer And Paul i' th Jayle at Midnight sang an Hymn Such as few singers ever sang in thine Cathederal Well I perceive I must with thee engage In a Religious contest ere this Age Doth terminate Then let us now propose The Point to be Disputed and then close In Argument The Question then shall he About the Church Whether 't be Me or Thâ—e Jayle No Question like to this the Church once found Will for our finding all Truth prove a Ground So clear that we no Truth shall need to know But she will strait be ready it to show Then fit thy self thy Church for to maintain For that 's the thing I question to be plain Cathederal Dost question that then that will I defend Against thy Opposition Now descend To some particularities that we The reason of thy doubt may fully see And fairely Answer Then let 's see the ground Thou hast to prove thy Church and Doctrine sound Jayle Well then the first place where I shall detect thee For no true Church now let who can protect thee Is thy Minority or want of Age To be esteemed for that Matron sage Espous'd to Christ 'bove sixteen hundred years Ago whilst thou as yesterday appears Cathederal Blis me Did ever any creature know A Jayl that had a more unshamefac'd brow Than thou in this What do not I well know ye To be of Leidens breed of Munster trow ye For shame leave talking of Antiquity Thou art in no respect so old as I. Jayle Alas I see thou knowst me not i' th least Whilst thou deriv'st my line from that mad beast Of Munster ' gainst whose pranks I did protest Even in those dayes as Cassander hath prest Me forth in Print and sith he doth acquit me Thy Callumny in this case cannot hit me Cathederal What wilt deny thy Father do not each My Pulpits sound thee forth when there I preach For such an Upstart Yea my Doctors all There shew thy Radix this their Volumns shall Attest yea th'Papists whom thou sayst acquit thee Say Munster as thy Patriarch befits thee Jayle Thy Doctors and the Papists sometimes say I am no older than that Germans fray Yet otherwhile they both confess I came Down from th'Apostls times now then for shame Insist not on their witness which appears In its Concordance like two Dogs by th' ears Cathederal Sure thou dost wrong both Papists and my Men Beware how thou dost thus imploy thy Pen For if thou shew not from sufficient ground Where they themselvs in this case thus confound I will requite thee as a false accuser And of these reverend Clerks a great abuser Jayle First Willet in 's Synopsis Papismi Opposing Papists 'bout Antiquity Observes that Bernard names some Sectaries Who Pedobaptisme did much despise They 'r call'd Apostolicks because 't is thought From th'Postles times these Sectaries came out Cathederal I find that Willet speaks to this effect But those bore not the name of thy proud Sect Men may deny to baptize Infants so They may deny Believers Baptism too So then this Instance thee no way assists Vnless these men were prov'd Anabaptists Jayle The Papists in their Book of Motives say Th'Apostolicks were such as at this day Are called Anabaptists yea that name They do expresly give them and the same Thy old Friend Marbeck gives to some in Rome In Anno Dom. One hundred fifty one Cathedral I read these Books and must confess I find These things are so What then Thou art behind Some which do boast of their Antiqâ—ity From such like proves to wit the Papacy But yet all this cannot evince the truth Of their Church-state nor yet of thine forfooth Jayle If I no better Plea in this respect Can shew than th'Papists thou shalt me reject As one that 's noval but at present I Am not engag'd for my Antiquity 'T is thou O Minster which must now engage To prove thy self Christs Church in point of age Cathederal Come on I reason thus from Featly's mouth That Church is of full age whose Doctrine's Truth Perpetual unchanged and I say Such is my Doctrine wherefore now I may Conclude with him that thus my Church is true Thy Answer now bring forth to open view Jayle I do deny thy Minor and I say Thy Doctrine which gives enterance to thy way Of Church-ship is not true nor yet so old As in the Scriptures to be found enrol'd For thou without Christs Soul-converting Word Thy Church with carnal members hast bestor'd Cathederal 'T is true my Members now are wholly such When I receive them as no word can touch In order to Conversion yet I say The holy Scripture will evince my way Was not our Father Abra'm and his Seed Brought into one Church-state search now and read Jayle I search and find That unto every Nation To every Creature good news of Salvation For Faith and for Repentance must be taught Before into Christs Church they can be brought Contrary-wise 't is clear that Abr'ams Seed Had no such Obligation that we read Cathederal The Parents do believe and so the Child For Abra'ms Seed in Holy Writ are stil'd Gods Covenant which Abram is the same That 's made with us now therefore here again See how thou err'st making Parental-Faith So needful to let in to th'Churches Path. Jayle The Scripture shews most plain that Abrams Seed In Gospel-times are such as own his Creed Also the Scriptures quite dissolve that Plea Of Parent-interest in a Gospel-day The Jews are Abrams Seed and yet 't is plain That makes them not in 's Covenant remain Cathederal I tell thee Christian-Infants are as free To Gospel-Priviledges as we see The Children of the Jewes were in their time To Legal Rites thus doth my Doctrine shine And is most Antient being not deny'd Till such
O my Lord why am I busied here Thou knowst from war my heart and hands are clear And yet O Lord I pray thee teach me fight Couragiously that warfare which thy might Only can mannage sith it 's war Divine And Lord I thank thee that thou dost encline My heart and hand thereto and hast assisted My soul therein since what time I was listed Within thy Roll and in this undertaking I pray thee keâ—p my hand and mind from shaking That so the Truth with comely boldnesse I May practise preach write teach and testifie For Lord if Truth be Truth and still the same In nature worth and usefulness then blame Must be their Lot who are right bold to speak it In times of Peace and afterwards for sake it Because the times do turn O God forbid That I should for such cause let Truth lye hid In fleshly fears O God how great would le My shame when I thy glorious face shall see In that great Day the Day of final Sentence When none their loss regain can by Repentance The thoughts whereof O Lord doth give me boldness To speak for Truth though in a day of coldness Wherein the Waâ—ers are not more congeald Than mens cold Zeal hath all thy Laws repeal'd For what do they less than repeal thy Law Who of poor mortal flesh stand S O in awe As they 'l not act nor speak one word for thee But as great men do give them liberty But Lord I speak of Truth which all confess To be more worth than all that men possess But thou Lord know'st how doubtfull in this day It is become to find that blessed way Of Truth for though there 's nothing more pretended Yet surely there is nothing less befriended What one man saith is true another man Doth say is false yea even such as can Skill all the Sciences and Liberal Arts Are so divided into sects and parts That there 's no end of their most hot Divisions Yea such the multitude of their Confusions As thou Lord know'st cannot be lightly number'd And herewith Europe hath been greatly cumber'd What then shall I poor dust now signifie In Truth 's behalf will any think that I Have found this Pearl or can assign the Field Or Church which doth this precious Treasure yeeld Well whether I have found that Church or no Let him that readeth judge But this I 'll do I 'll shew the Church I 've found even the Truth Which I have fallen in love with from my youth That so if I be right another may By this means get some help into the way Of blessed Truth Or else if I be wrong throng Some one that 's right may break forth through the And sheâ— me that Old Way where Rest and Peace May be obtain'd that my own wayes may cease For is not this that which poor soules desire Where is the good Old Way others enquire Where 's blessed Sion Mother of the Saints Yea for a sight of her some hearts now faints Yea thou my soul remember canst the Dayes The Weeks the Months the Years and dolful wayes Wherein thou Pilgrim-like didst mournful walk And in thy Solitudes wouldst often talk With thy Creator by Pray'rs Vows and Tears That if he would but free thee of thy fears Which these crook'd wayes did minister to thee And of his Sion once but make thee free To set thy feet upon that holy Hill Then wouldst thou wholly yeeld up to his Will To be to do to suffer Gods good pleasure If he thereto would fill thee with his treasurâ— And now my soul what i' st wherein thy Lord Hath failed of in making good his Word In setting thy bound feet free from the band Of miry paths and in his blessed Land His dearest Church hath given thee a Station A dwelling place in his beloved Nation Yea thou a name and a rememberance Hast there obtain'd with an Inheritance So rich so full so ample every way That what it is no words can fully say Now then my soul see thou perform thy Vows Lest thy Engagements prove but empty Shows What Truth thou knowst the same communicate That others may thereof participate Remember how the Labours of the Saints In former times did much supply thy wants And so do still yea some the Seed-time knew And thou camst but to reap their Harvest true Yet thou a Seed-time with respect to those That are to follow must perhaps disclose Or at the least my Muse bring forth thy gains Which thou achieved hast by others pains That so the Sower and the Reaper may Rejoyce in mutual profiting that day Which shall in Praises to our Lord be spended And yet nor Day nor Praises shall be ended But now my Pen stay here and let us muse Upon the subject which thou must peruse Use seriousness for they are Divine things For the most part whereof thy Muse thus sings Gods precious Statutes are the chiefest Objects Implore his ayd in handling so great Projects To clear his Laws wherein men do abuse them And to declare how rightly they should use them Again there 's many things which thou here blam'st Speak of them seriously when thou them nam'st For some do deem as highly of those doings As of th' Apostles Precepts Walks or Goings Yea some are maâ—ked so they think those wayes Had their beginning in th' Apostles dayes As Pedorantisme and other things Which their procedure had from humane springs And whereas thy most weighty subject is About the Church that heavenly place of Bliss Deal clearly in this point for that indeed In this one Question lies both Fruit and Seed Defend her in thy place she 'l thee defend Yea God will him protect that is her Friend Dispute for Truth then will the Truth approve thee See to thy charge my Muse it doth behove thee Bear in thy mind the dayes wherein thy thought Was no way's like to that which I am taught More by Tradition humane than by those Instructions which the Scriptures do disclose This if thou do'st remember it may serve To lay thee low and in thy self preserve A due respect to those that do not see The errour of their way But if there be Any that do malitiously oppose The Truth see thou give them the sharper blows Fear not my Muse if Truth be on thy side As he which fanned Babel well hath cry'd That Truth is strongest by it thou wilt be Made Victor unto all Eternity My Muse sith thou a Prisoner art this day Because thou canst not walk in th' Minsters way Now therefore go thee forth in form of Jayle To Dispute with the Minster do not fail If she sound Reason with the Truth produce I do conjure thee make with her a Truce But if of these thou destitute dost find her Then freely of her fallacies remind her And if she mind thee not appeal to him Whom she pretends to serve and so come in To Goal again till Liberty from Heaven Thee
hands being sent to a Friend of mine The party sending it supposing it gave very clear evidence against the Anabaptists I therefore searched what it said in that respect and found in their Answer to the ninth Question the very thing which we hold in the point of Baptism clearly asseâ—ted and proved The Question and Answer are verbatim as followeth Question What are the publick means which Christ hath appointed to Salvation Answer Christ hath appointed that fit men shall be ordained his Ministers to disciple the uncalled and to baptise all that are Disciples Mat. 28. 19 20. Mark 16. 15. This is all they say in that Book concerning Baptism nor quote they any other Scriptures whereupon I wrote is followeth What! shall nigh fixty of wise learned men Yea of the prime be contradicted when After no small debate they published This Book which seems with Zeal and Truth bespred Our Catechisers grave learned all How can a work by such performed fall Good Reader bow thine heart to understand What 's true though 't be from an unlearned hand The wisdom of the wise must come to nought For so it was foretold and now is brought In part to pass since thus much may be said Ev'n of these men they quite destroy the trade Of their so much adored baptizing Of Infants Wherefore them this song I 'l sing Our Catechisers must be catechiz'd How and what persons ought to be baptiz'd For here they lie i' th dark and will not see What 's true what 's false though by themselves it be Made manifest in this their little Book To every Reader who doth please to look In page the one and thirtieth where they say Concerning Baptising This is Christ's Way That such as are uncall'd must first be taught Now Infants are uncall'd and therefore ought By their direction not to be baptized And yet as though all this had not sufficed They further tell us All that are Disciples Baptiz'd must be into the sacred Titles Of Father Son and Spirit Then they cite Mathew the eight twenteth which gives light With Mark the sixteenth full to what they say And we say th' same and thus they cast away Their Infant Baptisme sith Infants can Be no Disciples made by th' wisest man That is amongst this Catalogue I mean Or else their skill is more than we have seen For sith Disciple doth import a Learner By others teaching he 's a weak discerner That taketh new-born Infants for to be Disciples Thus we may mans folly see Cathederal As for the Presbyters let them maintain Their plea. But for Tradition 't is most plain It stands with me And tho thou hast now shown Some few who did thy way of Baptism own Thou dost not prove that ever these men taught ' Gainst Infant Baptisme yet this thou ought To shew but this can in no wise be shown For 't is most clear they did my Baptim own Jayl Because I hate disingenuity I grant some Antients did with thee comply But yet I say th'most Antient if not all Such doctrine taught as doth in question call Thy Infant Baptisme And some did so Oppose it that their lives they did forgo In opposition to it in our Nation When first upon our Land it made invasion But ere I come to speak of these sad dayes We 'll cast our eye on some doctrinal rayes Of th' Antients that the mist they may expel And clear our way First Jerom doth us tell The Lord commanded first to teach and then Baptise such as appeared faithful men And Justin Martyr doth the same avow And Athanasius doth that truth allow Haimo avoucheth this for verity And Rabinus the same doth testifie Beda is of this mind and plainly saith Th' Apostles did instruct men in the Faith And then baptise them So Strigelius Did likewise teach So did Eusebius Basil and Austin do this Doctrine own Cyprian before them did the same make known With others whom I now refuse to name Sith these are persons of the greatest fame And now O Minster pray thee well observe What strength I have from Records which preserve The mem'ry of our Nations first reception Of Gospel-light see therefore this collection Out of Fabian his right ancient story In the fifth part where though he greatly glory Of that great Monk Augustine call'd by name Yet unto his and thy no little shame He doth confess that Brittons Bishops did Refuse to baptise Infants tho much chid By that great Monk Their reason was they say Such things had not been taught them till that day Yet they the Gospel long before obeyed And in the love thereof were firm and stayed But now alas for this their just denyal Of Austins motion they strait met with tryal For Fabian relates how they were slain And Fox upon Augustine layes the blame At least in part and can assign no cause But that they did not bow to Austins Laws Now Minster if we take the perfect time When in this Land the Gospel first did shine Which was more than four hundred years before Austin the Monk set foot upon our shore During which time no persons were baptized That I can find till they were catechised Then 't is most clear my Baptism thine out dates Four hundred years as Fabian relates In this our Island and in other places Mine hath the old foot-steps thine noval traces But why do I thy doing daign to name Baptisme for in truth it is a shame For to vouchsafe it such an appellation Only I use it ' cause our disputation Doth so require But Sprinkling never can Suit with God's Word delivered unto man For his direction in that Ordinance Of Baptizontes sith that clear instance In John the third and twenty third hath said The Reason why John Baptist us'd his trade In Enon was because of plenitude Of Water which doth Sprinkling Clear exclude From being Baptisme As also doth The act of Philip and the Eunuch both Sith both went into th' Water for to act What Baptisme requires in th' outward fact Yea Christ our Lord who knew the Father's will Went Into Water Baptism to fulfill Now whether Scripture or thy Doctors be The safest guide herein I leave to thee Cathedral Doubtless O Jayl in this bend of quotations Thou' rt guilty of no small falsifications I ask thee whether thou hast read each Father Whose words in this sort thou hast scratch'd together If not as doubtless not sith thou' rt unlearned O how presumptuous then art thou discerned Jayle I answer freely some I 've read not all The Works of these whose witness forth I call The most I 've read even as they are translated By those to whom thy self art ' sociated Which therefore must more claim thy estimation Than if they were the fruit of my translation Cathederal Whereas my Sprinkling thou so ill dost brook Thou mayst remember if thou please to look Into