brought in if not all yet as great considerable errors into Popery as any That a church is a foundation ordinance of the new covenant we all grant but sayes the Pope as that of the old Testament was rationall and but one in all the world the truthes of God being then confined to a narrower compasse so now since the Gospel is preacht to every creature under heaven by just consequence the Church of God should be universall and Catholike and as then though there were many subordinate Priests and Levites yet there was one high Priest who sate in power and place above all the rest so by just consequence there should be now a Summus Pontifex a high Priest a Bishop of bishops who should be the last object of appeales upon earth and the great moderator under Christ who both then was and still is the invisible head of the church And if you shall object now that the New Testament gives no such extension to the Church nor power to an universall Bishop that those things were typicall and proper to that Testament or covenant which is the same that is said by those who oppose the Baptisme of Infants they will not fayle as well as the patrons of Infant Baptisme to tell you that besides some little footesteps they finde in the new Testament this is par ratio a like reason a due consequence and good reason may be shewed that it is for the honour and safety of the Church that things should be so administred Hence comes the ornaments and vestures of Priests the holynes of Temples and for ought I know the baptizing of bells from the circumcision of trees or what ever else a bold and presumptuous heart may under the title of just consequence intrude into the worship of God I confesse there are some things of common equity the rule of life was the same then that now and the same Christ that now is was the salvation of the elect such things therefore as are of such a common nature may be illustrated and inferred from one Testament to another especially amongst those that doubt of the new Testament and the light of it as the Iewes did with whom our Saviour and the Apostles had to do But in instituted ordinances the reason of which lyes in nothing else but a particular will of the institutor it is bold and unsafe to institute above what is written in the new covenant at least in any essentiall thing concerning either the parts of the ordinance the manner of administration and the subject of them and it is further to imply an infaithfullnes and an unclearenes in the new Testament in things essentiall and necessary to the worship of it The summe is that it is unsafe arguing from one institution to another because the inferrences and consequences cannot be drawne from our reason as not falling under the judicature of common light or spirituall reason in the generall but of a particular distinct independant will in Christ from whence not from the reason of the thing they draw all their vertue and efficacy the reason that makes it good to us being onely the impression of his will upon it but especially this will take place in ordinances of differing covenaÌ„ts for the ordinances of oath covenant are fitted to the meridian of that covenant The rationallity of that church the typicallnes of that which was called holynes and uncleanes amongst them the generality of the subjects which were not onely men women children but beasts birds and trees their very garments their very land to what alone is called holynes and sin now with the subject of it shewes a great boldnes presumption to force institutions in the subject or any of the parts of them by a par ratio or consequence from this old worst first vanishing covenant as the Apostle styles it Hebr. 8. to this new better second covenant as hee styles that under which wee live in the same place Now that circumcision though of use before the law as Baptisme was also before Christ was the great ordinaÌ„ce of the Mosaicall law as I could bring many places if any doubt of it so I will content my self with one or two Acts 21.21 They are informed of thee that thou teachest all the Ievves vvhich are among the Gentils to forsake Moses saying that they ought not to circumcise their children neither to vvalke after the customes where the prime instance of forsaking Moses was not to be circumcised that place more shall suffice Gal. 5.3 For I testify againe to every man that is circumcised that hee is a debtour to doe the vvhole lavv The yooke of circumcision they could beare not the debt to which it obliged them therefore that was the leading ordinance of another covenaÌ„t namely the law Now to make this mayne ordinance of the law institutive to us as touching a great essentiall in our Christian Baptisme namely the subject of it is to make not onely one ordinance institutive to another of which no good accouÌ„t can be given but infinite and visible inconveniencyes follow as wee have seene but to send us to schoole to the old covenant in that which was the leading maine distinguishing ordinance of it which no good Christian I hope will consideringly admit of especially since we are so assured of the sufficiency and saithfullnes of our Law-giver Christ Iesus by whom we have grace and truth and vvho is the vvay the truth and the life to us as well in the matter of his ordinances as in any other thing that concernes our duty as that we need not turne aside to other guides and teachers CHAP. XI Wherein is discussed the third particular in answer to the argument drawne fâ—om circumcision sâ—â— Hâ—w we are ingrafted into Abrahams covenant and by what title wee are call'd Abrahams children A Third consideration is how wee are ingrafted into Abrahams covenant and by what title we are called Abrahams children In the 4. Rom. 16. you have this affirmed that Abraham is the father of us all That place seemes to be understood of all beleevers and therefore when hee saith in the same verse the promise is of faith to the end that it might be sure to all the seede hee makes a distribution Not to that onely vvhich is of lavv but to that also vvhich is of the faith of Abraham as if hee should say this whole seede to whom the promise is sure is either the beleeving Iewes or the beleeving Gentiles which have no other pretence or clayme to the promise but by a like faith even as the Iewes also pretend to this fatherhood no other way but by their faith for so verse 12. And the father of circumcision to them vvho are not of the circumcision onely but also vvalke in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham vvhich he had yet being uncircumcised It is not enough to be of the Circumcision but they must walke in the steps of the
abominate also the Christian education of their children so as in this respect the unbeleevinge husband or wife and the children also though themselves for the present unbeleevers by reason of the willingnes of the one to cohabite and the subjection of the other to Christian education may in that sence be said to be sanctified or made holy being as it were deputed to it and in the way of preparation for it so as the unbeleeving parent the childrē of that mixt birth may be called as Tertullian sayes Candidati timoris and as afterward by others Candidati fidei Probationers or compettitors for feare and faith the words following vers 16. seemes to favour such an interpretation For vvhat knovvest thou O vvife vvhether thou shalt save thy husband or hovv knovvest thou O man vvhether thou shalt save thy vvife there being already wrought a good pleasure or willingnes to abide and cohabite on the unbeleevers part husband or wife and the children in that respect being subjected to Christian education and to the beholding of holy examples true cōversion and faith which brings them into estate of salvation may be in time accomplisht in them to which they seeme in some sort destin'd by the providence of God in such a yoake-fellow or such parents So sanctification is predicated of those who are destined or prepared to such an end so God sayes of the Medes and Persians Esay 13.3 I have commanded my sanctified ones that is such as I have prepared for so Calvin upon that place sayes that sometimes sanctification is referred to regeneration which is peculiar to the elect of God sometimes it signifies to prepare or destine to a certain end so those unbeleeving parents by their willingnes to abide with beleevers their children in regard of the opportunity of a holy education seeme to be as it were destined or prepared for regeneration and for that state which accompanies salvation and in that respect as in a large sence may be called sanctified or holy Which consideration if it may give them a greater accesse to ordinances proper for them or stirre up others to lay out themselves in a more peculiar and particular manner for their conversion I shall not hinder it but on the contrary thinke that such providences speake much and that as they give grounds of hope and so of endeavour so there may be much of duty towards them in regard of the opportunity that families and churches that parents masters ministers have to doe good to such who though strictly they may not be called church members no more then strictly sanctified that is regenerated by the holy Spirit yet so farre as in the respects before mentioned they may be tearmed sanctified that is by a providence destin'd as it were and prepared for God so farre the church within whose pole they seeme by a providence to live and to be cast ought to have a more especiall eye after them and care of them by vertue at least of that generall injunction As you have opportunity doe good to all men especially to the houshold of faith under the shadow of which these are come But whether you take either of these sences or both for they may both stand in severall respects and regarding the text with a different aspect you will surely find nothing to ingraft Baptisme upon For whether the children are sanctified to the beleeving parents use as all other things are not unholy in themselves which to the unbeleever are not or whether in the second sence they are sanctified that is as it were destined for holynes of which by vertue of a great providence in respect of their education they are made Candidati that is probationers or competitors as when men stand for a place or office and as the Catechumini of old were called yet can they by no meanes in either of these respects be qualified for or made the subject of Baptisme which presupposeth as hath formerly bene shewed another kind of holynes proper to and inherent in the party namely regeneration and nevvnes of life not such an one as is competible to an unbeleever either parents or children It was but necessary to speake something to this place which beares amongst many the weight of so great a building as infant Baptisme though if I could find here such a holynes for infants as wee all wish to ours namely justifying faith regeneration yet I should no more judge it meete to baptize them then to preach to them or to administer the Lords supper to them they being as capable of the word as baptisme and of one mysterious ceremony as well as another which hath bene a reason I doubt not why many formerly and many at this day doe administer the Lords supper to infants by vertue of a parallell ordinance to Baptisme Nor doe I know the reason why the one should be refused where the other is deem'd a due But enough I hope for this which truely the contests of others rather then any scruple which hath fallen upon my spirit from these words hath made me say so much of CHAP. XV. In which the authority of the Fathers and the practise of antiquity touching the subject of Baptisme is considered THe authority of the Fathers and the practise of ancient times is to many a great argument for the Baptizing of infants to me that looke upon such argumentations as not of the first magnitude collaterall and such as may truely and as often be brought for the patronising of errors as truth they are of no great consideration yet to satisfy others more then my self there must be something spoken to this head In which I shall consider especially these two things first whether by the witnesse of story Infant Baptisme have injoyed a quiet and peaceable possession in the church from the Apostles times downeward till of late it was interrupted by some few evill spirits in the times of Luther as some men would give us to beleeve Secondly upon what grounds those Fathers which are alleadged for the chief patrons of Infants Baptisme went for if they have erred in the reason of the foundation it will be easilyer beleeved that they did also in the building We will consider first of this latter I will give you their grounds either as I have reade them my self or as I find them quoted by Bellarmine Tom. 3. lib. cap. 8. whose quotatiōs I shall take for truth till I find the contrary for here hee hath to doe with the Anabaptists enemies in this point alike common to him with most of those that are tearmed Protestants First hee quotes the testimony Dionisij Areop qui lib. Eccles Hier. c. ult part ult ab Apostolis traditum affirmat ut infantes baptizentur Iusti five quicunque est auctor earum quaest qu. 56. parvulos baptizatos salvari alios non item That infants baptized are saved others not Orig. lib. 5. in cap. 6. ad Rom. Ecclesia inquit ab Apostolis traditionem
gentiles which you despise and for their hardnes and distance not in place but in the knowledge of God are as stones of such can God raise children to Abraham for the ordinances I pretend to are not bottomed upon carnall generation or priviledges but thinges of another nature namely true holynes which is seene and manifested by the fruit it brings forth Bring forth therefore fruit meete for repentance The next place considerable to this purpose is that Iohn where hee shewes that this excellēt person the sonne of God that came to bring life light was rejected by the world and after by his owne not onely the vvorld vvhich hee had made and in which he had shewed great sufficient evidences of himself knevv him not by which the miserable blindnes of corrupt nature appeares they can doe nothing spirituall but by a light of another kind then theirs is to wit spirituall and divine But vvhen he came to his ovvne they received him not The people of the Iewes were his peculiar hee vvas in the vvorld but hee came to them that is first hee presented himself to them they received him not that is though he were offered and shewed they tooke him not to them which shewes a great deale of mallice joyned to blindnesse by which they resisted the holy Spirit offering to inlighten them by words and miracles But least Christ should suffer as a person generally neglected and slighted he tells you Christ came not in vayne there were those that received him and made much of him As many as received him for now the hedge was pulled up the partition wall brokē down those he magnifies wonderfully they had this povver that is this dignity this priviledge as in the margent given them to become the sonnes of God that is though they were strangers and afarre of naturally yet the honour of adoption was given them to be made be the sonnes of God If you aske now but what was this receiving or how came this about Hee tells you this was effected by faith by beleeving in his name But now whereas the fashion of this world in adopting children is to respect either the greatnes of their birth or the excellency of their parts or some glory of their actions he tells you nothing of all this mooved God but his meere grace and will which provoked him to doe this great good to the vyldest and unworthiest for sayes hee those vvere borne not of bloods The Iewes pretended the dignity of their race that they were the seede of Abraham because they drew their originall from Abraham by a series of many successions so they were more noble by their antiquity therefore he sayes bloods this blood saith he did them no good and by consequence the carnall generation from godly and just parents will doe no good simply considered to intitle us to become the sonnes of God or consequently to the ordināces which seale up that sonneship therefore they vvere borne not of bloods nor of the vvill of flesh nor of man that is no free-will no resolutions no morall indeavours though they should ingage never so much can effect this birth Nor the vvill of man no heroïcall workes no excellency or dignity can effect this adoption this title but onely God this proceeds onely from the will of God Iames 1.18 Of his ovvne vvill bégate he us by the vvord of truth which by the way should cause us to love God who finding nothing in us hath so freely loved us Here you see in the second place that in respect of adoption and sonneship to God of which baptisme is especially in the first place a seale the birth of bloods the descending of such parents whether Iewes or gentiles saving for the order of the offer as before doth no good but wee all in that matter lye open exposed to the free will and grace of God so as whē a Iew comes to baptisme he must come even as wee and bring other characters with them then of having Abraham to his father if hee will pretend to this or any new Testament ordinance The equality in this respect will appeare by that place also of Acts 10.34.35 Then Peter opened his mouth and said Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons But in every nation hee that feareth him and vvorketh righteousnesse is accepted vvith him God seemed formerly to have bene a respecter of persons some men as some meates were borne cleane insomuch as circumcision other ordinances were their due as a birth-right those which were Iewes by nature were holy and those that were gentiles that is by birth were accounted sinners now this acception of persons was not a vice in God contrary to distributive justice because God was not obliged to dispense his ordinances as in any certain manner so nor to any certain men or to all in generall because no man had right to them or could merit them at his hands but hee is free as a rich man at a doale to give to whom he will or a King to his subjects so as the acceptance of persons in this sence was once just and according to the will and pleasure of God But now Peter was taught by God by the meanes of the vision hee had seene to admit men to ordinances upon other considerations then legall denominations of cleane or uncleane namely upon fearing of God and vvorking righteousnes and no other which is a thing not generated and conveighed by birth but by the new birth and the spirit of the living God Now this Peter expresses I perceive of a truth the word signifies to gather or collect by reasōs signes and conjectures as Calvin expounds it to wit the signes hee saw before viz. that of the vessell vers 11. Now then you see new qualifications to denominate a man accepted of God qualified for ordinances this in this covenant and way of worship was common to both without any difference for so you have it Acts 15.9 And put no difference betvveene us and them purifying their harts by faith the purity is not by birth as formerly Thus you see the Iewes come to Baptisme and be called the sonnes of God not by their pretention to Abraham for their father nor for the honour and advantage of their descent and blood And the Gentiles they were admitted without any consideration of persons or personall prerogatives in respect of their birth but upon their fearing God working righteousnes and having their hearts purified by faith therefore the old way advantage of birthright and in that respect of accepting of persons is ceased long agoe on both sides alike To conclude in a word all birth priviledge is by the title of Abrahams covenāt if therefore the naturall seede of Abraham could not at all pretend to new Testament ordinances a right by that title much lesse the adopted seede by any such way of naturall generation but if you speake of
unbaptized since it is not my part here to proove that infant Baptisme as well as many other unwarrantable practises crept not in betimes but to shew by story what was the most usuall and authenticke practise of the administration of this ordinance or what was the opinion and judgement of the most antient and learned men about it The next authority I shall bring is of Nazianzen another Greeke Father a man of great esteeme authority he plainly councells that Baptisme should be differred Donec pueri de fide sua aliquid possint respondere till children should be able to ansvver something of their faith and therefore councells to deferre Baptisme at least till the third yeare of their age Wherein although hee made hast not being altogether perhaps free from the superstition of the daunger of dying without Baptisme which crept in betimes yet overcome by the truth and the reason of the ordinance hee judged it fit to deferre it till such time as they were capable of having manifesting actuall faith This famous authority of a man so great and learned Bellarmine answers onely thus That other Fathers vvere of another minde and that the commodity is very little but the daunger to wit according to his opinion of the necessity of Baptisme to salvation is very great The next and last authority I shall bring shall be that of Tertulliā who flourished about 203. yeares after Christ the most famous of the Latin Fathers of him Hierom in an epistle of the Christian writers affirmes that nothing vvas more learned or acute a man of that authority with the famous and antient Cyprian that hee called him his master and as Hierome affirmes of him hee never past a day vvithout the reading of Tertullian This Tertullian in a treatise that hee hath of Baptisme towards the end hath these expressions first in the generall Baptismum non temerè credendum esse sciant quorum officium est That Baptisme is not slightly or rashly to be committed to any let them knovv vvhose duty it concernes To give to every one that asketh belongs to almes rather consider this Give not that vvhich is holy to dogs nor cast your pearles to svvyne And lay hands suddainly on no man least you partake of their sinnes then hee apologizeth why the Eunuch Paul were so soone baptized then goes on Itaque pro cujusque personae conditione ac dispositione etiam aetate cunctatio baptismi utilior est praecipue tamen circaparvulos Therefore in regard of the condition and disposition of each person the differring of Baptisme is more proffitable especially for young children for vvhat necessity is it sayth hee for the vvitnesses to expose themselves to daunger c. It is true the Lord saith do not forbid them to come to me let them come therefore vvhen they grovvolder vvhen they learne vvhen they are taught vvhy they come Fiant Christiani quum Christum nosse potuerint Let them be made Christians vvhen they can knovv Christ Then he tells them They deale more vvarily in secular things that divine thinges are given vvhere they vvould not betrust earthly And lastly concludes that they vvho understand the vveight of Baptisme vvill rather feare the attaining then the differring of it adding that Fides integra secura est de salute An intier faith is secure of salvation Thus the excellent antient Tertullian Nor can that stand to any purpose which some who are loath to have so great and antient an authority against them in the point of infāt Baptisme alleage that parhaps Tertullian speakes here of the Baptisme onely of those infants whose parents were unbeleevers because hee speakes of the daunger of the witnesses or suerties for where the parents are Christians there the witnesses seeme not to be exposed to that daunger To which I answer that the witnesses were not freed from daūger though the parents were Christians for though the parents may help with the witnesses to the education of the child yet they cannot secure themselves nor others that they shall stand to that covenant which is made for them Besides the reason of his assertiō against infant Baptisme runnes upon principles common to all infants of what ever parents they be borne for hee would have none come till they be capable of learning being taught why they come hee would have none declar'd Christians by that ceremony till they can know Christ and concludes that hee would not have divine mysteries be trusted with infants whom wee would judge it improper uncomely to be trust with earthly and secular affaires I shall content my self with what hath bene said already to this head having neither the desire nor the commodity to make a large and generall search besides that a few of the most authentique most antient writers after the Scriptures ought to be of more authority then many hundreds if there could so many be found of latter times it being my undertaking to proove that most antiently beginning with Christ and the Apostles times the subjects of Baptisme were persons professing faith and repentance not infants and that the most authentique and primitive Fathers were of this minde and judgement We have done therefore with this head wherein if the most authentique antient authority be ours and the rest necessitated to their opiniōs by false premises and principles by no meanes to be received or allowed and which also as rationally produce other cōsequences which in these times men are loath to admit of no men I hope will blame us for our present beleefe concerning the subject of Baptisme nor object hereafter as an argumēt against us the authority of the fathers CHAP. XVI In which is handled whether Baptisme be to be repeated but more especially whether such as were baptized in infancy should be accounted baptized or are to have that ordinance administred to them HAving givē the due bounds to the ordinance of Baptisme in respect of the subject of it and sayd what I judged cōvenient to that purpose there is a very considerable question yet remaining and which cannot be left out in this discourse and that is If infants ought not to be baptized whether such as were baptized in infācy should be baptized againe Wherein first will come to be considered whether Baptisme be to be repeated or no I answer there have bene some of that opinion as Mercion and his followers who had their first second and third baptisme Also a religion called the Hemerobaptistae that is the every day baptizers that avowed because wee sinned every day therefore wee should be every day baptized and practised accordingly Secondly according to the received opinion that I conceave it is not to be repeated First because the covenant of grace is but once made and struck with every man this is the seale of the Covenant it is the Sacrament of regeneration initiation and incorporation but these things are not capable of being reïterated therefore the seale and