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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A25966 The ministration of publick baptism of infants to be used in the church, or, A disswasive from baptising children in private by Edm. Arwaker ... Arwaker, Edmund. 1687 (1687) Wing A3900; ESTC R23012 18,374 39

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THE MINISTRATION OF Publick Baptism OF INFANTS To be used in the CHURCH OR A DISSWASIVE FROM Baptising Children in Private By EDM. ARWAKER M.A. Despise ye the Church of God 1 Cor. 11. 22. LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Edward Poole at the Ship over against the Royal Exchange in Cornhil 1687. IMPRIMATUR Jo. Battely RRmo P. ac Dno Dno Wilhelmo Archiep. Cant. à sacris Domesticis July 12 1686. Ex Aedib Lamb. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AND Right Reverend Father in GOD HENRY Lord Bishop of LONDON My LORD AMong the unhappy Irregularities that crept into our Church in the licentious days of Vsurpation none has proved so difficult to be reformed as that of Baptizing Children in Private Houses when there is no necessity requiring it and that too with the Publick Form of Administration For not only they who are Dissenters from us in the main but alas too many who profess themselves of us and would take it ill not to be reputed very good Sons of the Church of England persist obstinately in this Error and what is worse are apt to express a high resentment if the Clergy deny to comply with them while they at the same time refuse to hear the Church But it is our happiness that their Obstinacy tho' great cannot exceed or tire the pious Industry and unwearied Diligence of the Religious Prelacy to reduce us to that primitive Decency and Order for which our Church has been ever as Venerable as Eminent Of this your Lordship is a very signal instance whose Zeal to free our Church from this vile Corruption is proportionate to that Authority which you deservedly bear in it and has gone a great way so successfully in the Cure of that part which you more immediately adorn and govern that we are almost assured to see it perfected there by Your Lordship's Hand as we are encouraged to hope it will be through the Kingdom by the healing Applications of its Chief and worthily Most Reverend Metropolitan And since what is acted by our Governours in a higher Sphere commands our imitation in our inferior Stations I who am not in circumstances of manifesting my obedience in a Reformation can only testifie my good inclinations towards it in a weak endeavour of another kind the following Treatise that takes sanctuary under the Vmbrage of Your Lordship's name For which while I offer it to Your Lordship as an humble acknowledgment of former favours I must beg the additional one of Your Pardon and I cannot despair of that for any thing that wishes well to a design You have still been forward to promote And in that have added to many others one more grand Evidence of our happiness in Your Presidency over us which labors to reduce our Practice to the Purity and Splendor of those Rules that ought to influence and direct it But My Lord I fear to offend as much by a tedious Apologie as by the unworthy Present I would excuse and shall make only this for the Imperfections of this Piece That the Author has so much of the Cares and so little else of the World as not to be supplied with leisure and Books for an elaborate performance such as might be fit to offer to the Churches Service and Your Lordship's Patronage than which there is nothing more in the Ambition of My Honoured Lord Your Lordship 's Most dutiful Son and most devoted Servant EDM. ARWAKER MINISTRATION OF Publick Baptism OF INFANTS To be used in the CHURCH AS it is an Affliction that through a strange Deservency of the Primitive Zeal in the exteriour Worship of our God so Solemn and Eminent a part thereof as the Publick Celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism should be so much neglected not to say oppos'd as to stand in need of Patronage and Assertion so it is an Advantage to engage in the defence of a Practice as Antient as Christianity it self and as generally received till of late without Contradiction or Dispute Since therefore that devout and excellent Office labours under such unhappy Circumstances and that no other Pen has been purposely employed to redress the Grievance One of the meanest of its Admirers has ventur'd to expose his Weakness for its Cause rather than suffer it by appearing Friendless to fall into more contempt Let him not be thought herein to presume on his own Abilities which he is conscious how small they are since he espouses a Cause so arm'd with Truth Antiquity and Reason that it cannot be a sufferer ev'n by the weakest management Which makes him imitate the Hebrew Champion accosting the Philistin Giant and despise the Armour of fallacious Sophistry as sufficiently guarded and secur'd by the Nakedness of that Truth which he maintains And he cannot doubt but that the better it is discern'd it will have the greater Prevalency and in spite of Opposition become more than Conqueror For the Conviction then of such who refuse to bring their Children into the place of Publick Worship the Church to receive their Initiation into the Christian Religion by the Sacrament of Baptism there in the Face of the Congregation but either through Obstinacy Pride or Ignorance contend to have that Office perform'd within their Houses It may perhaps be pertinent to proceed in this Method and propose to their consideration First The Rubrick of our Church prefix'd to the Office of Publick Baptism of Infants Secondly The Consent in this particular between the Eastern and Western Churches Thirdly The Ground of this Rubrick upon what strength of Antiquity and Reason it relys Fourthly The Power of the Church to make this Injunction and the indispensable Obligation that lies on them to obey it And lastly To answer the most material Objections that are usually made against the performance of this Duty But here while the necessity of bringing Children to the Church to receive their Baptism is asserted it must be understood to mean it with a Supposition of their being in a condition fit to be carried abroad for in case of Sickness and extream necessity where there is danger of their dying Unbaptiz'd the Church has allow'd St. John the Baptist performing it in Publick and the Apostles afterwards when they were at Liberty so to do for it was done in the Assemblies of the People for the most part which is one main thing requisite to make any performance Publick and then it was done too in the publick places of Worship such as were consistent with the State of Christianity at that time the other great requisite to compleat a publick Office Thus Justin Martyr who flourish'd early in the Church speaking of the manner of administring Baptism says They meaning the Persons to be baptized are carried by us to the place where the Water is and are regenerated the same way that we had been before And again he says The Name of the God and Father of all things is mention'd and we invoke that alone leading the Person to be