OF BAPTISME.
CHAP. I. Wherein, of the first and great end of that ordinance, the ſealing up of our union with Christ, and more particularly, of the moſt illustrious tipe of Baptiſmeall ſealing, in the Baptiſme of Chriſt.
THE Scripture holds forth no point with more glory and certainty, then the onenes which we have with Ieſus Chriſt, which union is the riſe2 and ground of all that is good and happy in us: this therefore is the firſt and great thing that is made ours by Baptiſme, wee are baptized into the name of Chriſt; for wee, though wee be baptized into the name of the Father and Holy Ghoſt likewiſe, and have an union with them, yet the Fathers love is made good to us through Chriſt, and the Spirits efficacy is derived through and for Chriſt, who is the Mediatour, the middle perſon, the bond, betweene God and us, ſo Rom. 6.3. Ye are baptized into Ieſus Chriſt. And Gal. 3.27. For as many of us as have beene baptized into Chriſt. This therefore is the3 great ordinance, aſſuring and ſealing up; If God had kept his minde to himſelf touching our eternall eſtate, there had beene a ſureneſſe in it, but there had not beene a ſealing to us; but when he tells us his heart, and his minde, and bids us beleeve it, doubting nothing, & when hee ſhall yet ſpeake more ſenſible to us, to our ſight and to our touch, and ingage almoſt all our ſences, when hee ſhall marke us with ſenſible ſignes and ſeales, and ſpeake viſible words alſo, this muſt needs aſſure; and of all aſſurances there is none ſo great as this firſt peece of our union, to have this ſealed and ſigned, to be4 baptized into Chriſt, to be ingrafted into, and made one with him, how great a matter is it: Now God is not wanting to our faith, in the truth of the repreſentation, betweene the ſigne and the thing ſigned, betweene the ſeale and the thing ſealed, & therefore Abraham in his beleeving, received the ſigne of circumciſion, a ſeale of the righteouſnes of his faith, Rom. 4.11. that is, the righteouſnes which he had by faith, the acceptation hee had, was ſealed up to him by the ſigne of Circumciſiō, by that marke; now what Abraham had by circumciſion, that the Saints have by Baptiſme; for ſo the Apoſtle5 intimates in Coloſſ. 2.11.12. (which place wee ſhall have occaſion to open hereafter) where hee ſhewes the uſe of Circumciſion, which was a figure of things to come; ſo when Cornelius and his companie were baptized, the holy Ghoſt fell upon them, as that to which the ſeale immediately was to be ſet, Act. 10.47.48. But the moſt illuſtrious ſealing of all others was, as it became it to be, in our head Ieſus Chriſt, when he was baptized, Matth. 3.16.17. And Ieſus vvhen hee vvas baptized, vvent up ſtraightvvay out of the vvater: and lo, the heavens vvere opened unto him, and he ſavv the Spirit of God deſcending6 like a dove, and lighting upon him; and lo, a voyce from heaven, ſaying, This is my beloved Son, in vvhom I am vvell pleaſed. There the whole Trinity appeared, to make the Triumph and ratify that affaire; never any ordinance was graced, with ſuch a preſence. And as Baptiſme is a viſible ſeale to our faith, ſo here the Trinity, in whoſe name wee are baptized, made themſelves viſible together; the Father by a voyce, the Son in his body, the Holy Ghoſt like a birde. Firſt there was the Heavens opened, but to him, ſo are the words Marke 10. its ſaid, hee ſavv the heavens opened or cloven or rent; that is, hee ſaw a cleaving7 or rending, ſome great Hiatus; now this was for Chriſt himſelf, for it was as Luke ſaies, as he vvas praying, Luke 3.21. which was, that ſo the voyce & the ſpirit might be knowne to come from heaven, it being a great evidence of the preſence of God there. Then hee ſaw the ſpirit like a dove, lighting upon him; as the multitude in the Acts, ſaw the ſpirit as it were in cloven tongues like ſire, the ſpirit tooke upon him the ſhape of a dove, and reſted and abode on him; that ſealing ſpirit, that ſeales us all, ſealed Chriſt and abode with him, for ſo ſayes Iohn, Vpon vvhom thou ſeeſt the ſpirit deſcending and abiding, that is8 hee. And then there came a voyce, and that admirable and conſiderable; this repreſented God the Father to his eare, as the dove repreſented the ſpirit to his eye, ſo while the ſpirit ſate upō his head, the Father ſpake from heaven, the great ſealing word, This is my vvellbeloved Sonne, in vvhom I am vvell pleaſed: This, that is, this man Ieſus whom I ſhew and point out, by my ſpirits abiding upon him, Is, this is hee whom I have promiſed, now ye have him, or, thou art, (ſpeaking to Chriſt) my Sonne, wee cannot be ſealed to ſuch a Sonneſhip in all reſpects; wee are adopted children, hee was the naturall and proper Sonne,9 the only begottē〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that beloved, many are beloved, but hee was onely beloved, as onely begotten; we are ſonnes, becauſe wee are beloved, but hee was loved, becauſe hee was a Sonne, In vvhom, not in any other who ever he be unles by this One; I am vvell pleaſed; In whom I am cōtented, in whom my minde reſts, that is, who onely and ſingularly pleaſeth me, and in whom there is nothing that diſpleaſeth mee; therefore I delight wholly in him, and reſt in him ſo as every thing will be acceptable to me that hee doth, by whom I ſhall be pleaſed with others, & by whom others may pleaſe10 me; for the Father here intimates, that his love ſo reſts in Chriſt, as it deffuſeth it ſelf to others, ſo as beholding him, he puts of all offence, and anger towards others, whom hee beholds in him, oppoſing him to every thing.
All theſe things were to his perſon, but reſpected alſo his office, which was unſeparable from his perſon. Therefore firſt, to him the heavens opened, whoſe office it was to opē heaven, and to make an entry for us thither, againe to open heaven, and to draw downe the great miſteries of it to us, the doctrine of the Trinitie was here declared, and truth came11 by him alſo, what he had ſeene of the Father, that he revealed.
Secondly the ſpirit came in the ſhape of a dove, as to ſeale us before, ſo to ſhew that hee ſhould converſe here up and downe in a dovelike manner; ſhould have neither weapons without nor gaule within, to offend withall, although his condition was not greatly to pleaſe, therefore ſuch paſſages as theſe, fell ſometimes from him, Learne of me that I am meeke and lovvly; Yee knovv not of vvhat ſpirit you are. This abiding and this uſe of the ſpirit, is that prophecied of him Eſay. 61.1, 2. The ſpirit of the Lord God is upon me, becauſe the Lord hath anoynted12 me, to preach good tidings unto the meeke; hee hath ſent me to bind up the broaken hearted, to proclaime liberty to the captives, and the opening of the priſon to them that are bound: To proclaime the acceptable yeare of the Lord, and to comfort all that mourne; and hee was to be filled with the ſpirit, that it might deſcend upon us his members, and that we might be baptized with the holy Ghoſt.
Thirdly for the voyce, This is my beloved Sonne, in vvhom I am vvell pleaſed; it was then the office of Chriſt to execute and manifeſt the wellpleaſing of God in himſelf, to the redeeming, reconciling and renewing of the world that ſhould beleeve13 in him, and the reſtoring of all things. This is that expreſſion that is to be oppoſed to that other Gen. 6.7. It repents me that I have made man; God can never repent him more that he hath made man, when hee is ſo well pleaſed in the man Chriſt Ieſus, ſo aboundantly ſatisfied & contented, and in him with all his. This Baptiſme of our Saviour was the Epoche or terme, whence they reckoned Acts 1.22. &c. Beginning from the Baptiſme of Iohn, unto that ſame day that he vvas taken up from us.
I have beene the larger in opening this illuſtrious tipe of Baptiſmall ſealing, that the nature and way of it may be ſeene14 in the higheſt patterne.
Wee ſhall be ſealed alſo, with our difference of younger brothers; the heavens in Baptiſme opens upon us; and the Father, the Sonne & Holy Ghoſt, who are viſibly preſent here, are preſent alſo to our ſealing, and ready to give us the ſame witneſſe, but with its diſtinction as before, this is my beloved Sonne, in vvhom I am vvell pleaſed; and as wee are then viſibly united to Chriſt, who ſanctifies this ordinance for us; ſo the ſpirit is ready to ſeale us up; and God by the ſpirit, to witnes every good thing to us, let us therefore put a valew and a price upon this ordinance, more then15 wee have done; and after being once baptized into Chriſt, let us know and be aſſured, that we have a right to what hee hath, and to what he had, & to what he is; for what ever he was or is, as Mediator, hee is for us: with the great difference of elder brother, and having that in his owne right, which wee have in his; and therefore the ſealing of his Baptiſme, belongeth alſo to our baptiſme, as his dying and riſing againe, doth to us, who dye and riſe againe with him in Baptiſme.
To add a word or two of the ſeale, Paul hath two words〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉and〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Signum & Sigillum; a ſtatue, a repreſentation16 may be a ſigne, but it cannot be a ſeale; we ſeale thoſe things which wee would keepe with the greateſt ſecurity, and have remayne untoucht, therefore letters and evidences are ſealed, that no man might doubt of the truth and authentiquenes of them.
Againe, two conſiderations more there is in a ſeale; firſt things ſealed, and marked, are kept for their maſters uſe, My beloved is a fountayne ſealed up, Cant. 4.12. kept onely for the uſe of the ſpouſe; ſo their wells and ſprings were ſhut up in Iſrael, they were not for every body: Amongſt the Perſians they had fountaines of which17 onely the King and his eldeſt ſonne drunke, under capitall puniſhment to all others; in Spayne they have alſo one of the ſame ſort; ſo as we are markt and ſealed for Chriſts uſe our husband, wee muſt not make our ſelves common therefore to the world, & lye expoſed to every luſt, to every love, ſince God hath impropriated us.
Secondly, we ſeale or marke things precious, as coyne, gold or ſuch things, as we ſet a price and vallew upon; God by his ſealing lets us know, what a vallew he puts upon us, how he ſeparates us from refuſe & baſe things, therefore we ſhould not defile our ſelves.
CHAP. II. Wherein of the ſecond great uſe and end of Baptiſme, aſſuring us of our Iustification in the remiſsion of all our ſinnes, together with certain corollaries and inforcements.
HAving told you that Baptiſme is the great ordinance of Chriſt, to confirme & ſeale up to us our union with himſelfe, whom having, wee have all things, that wee may further ſee how conſiderable an ordinance this is, wee will beate it out, as far as the Scripture gives light, in the point of Communion, and ſo wee ſhall find, that as it ſeales and confirmes our union with him; ſo it alſo ſeales and confirmes to us, the moſt deſireable thing in the world, which is the pardon19 of all our ſinnes. It is ſafe giving ordinances that notion the Scripture gives them, which while you doe, you will get the true juyce they afford, and you ſhallbe ſure not to erre from the true nature of them: This you have Acts 2.38. Repent and be baptized every one of you for the remiſsion of ſinnes. As if he ſhould ſay, you are now pricked at the heart, & you ſee your ſelves in a loſt condition, and therefore cry out what to doe, as men amazed and at aſtand, ſaith hee there is hope for you, God hath made an ordinance to relieve you in this ſtraight, Repent and be baptized for the remiſsion of ſinnes; This Ieſus whom20 I preach, and whom God hath made Lord and Chriſt, can remit ſinnes (for that is it which gaules you when light comes in) now for this God hath formed an ordinance on purpoſe to confirme and ratify unto us the remiſſion of ſinnes, and that is Baptiſme, therefore be not amazed, but repent and be baptized: So Acts 22.16. when Paul was in an ill condition, being humbled with a witneſſe (it is the greateſt repreſentation of the humiliation of a ſinner that wee have,) and Ananias was ſent to raiſe him; ſaith he, VVhy tarrieſt thou, ariſe and be baptized, and vvaſh avvay thy ſinnes; what can be ſaid more comfortably21 to a diſtreſſed ſoule, then this, that God hath ſet and inſtituted an ordinance on purpoſe, that thou maiſt be acquitted of every ſinne, to witneſſe and ſeale up what is done by faith: Therefore doe not languiſh in this condition, why tarrieſt thou? ariſe & be baptized, and waſh away thy ſinnes; ſo 1. Pet. 3.21. The like figure vvhereto Baptiſme doth novv ſave us, not the putting avvay the filth of the fleſh, but the anſvver of a good conſcence; We know that ſalvation lyes, eſpecially in juſtification and diſcharging all our ſinnes; Baptiſme doth this, it doth novv ſave us, that is, this ſignes and ſeales your ſalvation to you, which22 lyes in juſtification and diſcharge of ſmne; but you muſt not thinke that it is onely the vvaſhing avvay of the filth of the fleſh, not a carnall ceremony onely, but the anſvver of a good conſcience; that is, it is that confidence and aſſurance which we have before God of his reconciliation to us; which this ordinance outwardly doth ſeale & exhibit: it is the ſtipulation of a good conſcience, when a conſcience appeaſed and pacified with the diſcharge of ſin, can cry Abba Father, with a holy ſecurity, can ſpeake to God himſelf; now, ſaith hee, this ſtipulation of a good conſcience, this is that which is the23 effect of Baptiſme, and which Baptiſme ſeales up to you; for what Baptiſme findes it ſeales, although it doth alſo exhibit more of the ſame kind; Baptiſme and ſo all the ordinances of Chriſt, thoſe we call Sacraments, ſeale up what is already, elſe how could it be a ſeale, but doth alſo conveigh more of the ſame.
This ſtipulation of a good conſcience Beza ſaith; clearly refers to the anſwer of the Catechiſts of which there is a pattron 8. Acts 37. when Philip told the Eunuch the condition of Baptiſme, which was to beleeve with all his heart, and he gave the anſwer of a good conſcience,24 that hee did beleeve; that which hee deſired baptiſme ſhould ſeale up to him, here was a plaine ſtipulation, for ſo the word ſignifies; now that ſuppoſeth one aſking or demanding, & another anſwering and making the bargaine, or contract; as when one aſkes do you do this? cā you beleeve with all your heart; and a conſcience voyde of fraude, ſpeaks clearly and evidently what it can doe and doth, then comes Baptiſme.
This they were uſed to doe in the primitive Churches, & in the ſame manner wee find, ſome doe in this age, to infants, who underſtand them not,25 which is not very wiſely done, for ſurely what ever they can doe, they cannot give the ſtipulation of a good conſcience: If they intend the infants which they ſay ſpeake by others, they may well retaine the old forme, but not with any good underſtanding. It is the ſame Baptiſme that ſaves us, that did then, that acquits and diſchargeth us, as the ordinance of God appointed for that end, though it ſuppoſeth eſpecially the inward workes, He that beleeves & is baptized ſhall be ſaved; beleefe muſt goe before, this is that which on Gods part ſeales us, and ingrafts us into Chriſt, & conveyes Chriſt26 to us; and on our part it is the ſtipulatiō of a good conſcience anſwering clearly and boldly to the intent of the ordinance: Thus you have another great uſe of this ordinance, it ſeales the remiſſion of ſins, & it ſeales to us the remiſſion of the ſins of our whole life, for it ingrafts us into Chriſt, and ſeales him up to us for the remiſſion of ſins; and therefore it muſt ever be conſidered for that purpoſe, & when it is ſo conſidered, wee muſt looke upon it, as the diſcharging and acquitting ordinance, which ſeales up, not onely ſinnes paſt, but all ſinnes, paſt, and to come; which ſome not underſtanding, and finding27 that thoſe places for remiſſion of ſinnes were great and comfortable, have refuſed to be baptized till death, as is affirmed of Conſtantine and others, mis-taking the true uſe of it, which is to ſeale up the pardon of ſinnes, and reſpects all ſinnes, in all times.
You ſee what the nature of Baptiſme,coroll. 1what the intention of it is in this particular; Conſider therefore the greatnes of this ordinance, to which, as to the ſigne and ſeale, remiſſion of ſinnes and reconciliation with God is annexed: What ſay you, I beſeech you? you that are ſenſible of the guilt of ſinne, that know the vvages of ſinne is death,28 would you not be glad of ſomething to diſcharge you & eaſe you; would you not be glad of all meanes that ſhould aſſure you, that iniquity ſhould not be your ruine? would you not be glad, to be baptized for the remiſsion of ſinnes, to have your ſinnes vvaſht avvay by baptiſme; to be ſaved by baptiſme in the ſtipulation of a good conſcience, anſwering the ſigne and ſeale. This I thinke is no queſtion to them that are ſtung with ſinne, and pricked in their hearts; then bleſſe God for this ordinance, value it much, let it not be an empty ordinance to you, ſince there is fullnes in it, let it not ſleepe & be a dead thing to you, ſince29 there is life in it, it being the ground of all our life & good; but improve it to its advantage, get the marrow and ſweete of it, for there is much in it.
Secondly, let us underſtand by this that hath bene ſaid, and by the nature of this ordināce, Gods heart, and mind, for the remiſſion of ſinnes; hee who is Lord of all, and able onely to give all, hee is ſo free of nothing as of pardon, becauſe that is the firſt ſteppe to good & happines; if hee will us any good, if hee would have us in any proportion happy, the firſt ſteppe is by pardon of ſinne, & therefore hee is ſo free of nothing as that; when the law condemnes30 a man, and when a mans conſcience condemnes him, hee needs no word to carry him to hell, hee hath that within him, will doe that faſt enough, guilt makes us runne from God, as Adam did, and when we runne from God, wee runne to death; God therefore in goodnes and mercy, hath made the way to pardon ſo open and expoſed, as nothing more. The very name of pardon and remiſſion of ſins, ordinarily implyes offenſe againſt ſome lawgiver, ſome ſtate, ſome great perſon, & implyes guilt which needes that pardon: Now guilt abaſeth & greatnes terrifieth; what can there be more therefore to ſet31 us at a mighty diſtance from God, then guilt, which layes ſo low, and what greatnes terrify us more then his; But God hath provided that wee may come boldly, and he hath done it by two things; firſt by ſetting up a throne of grace, inſteed of a throne of majeſty and juſtice. Secondly he helpes us, by giving us a tender and ſenſible high Prieſt, who ſhall uſher us in, and pleade our cauſe at this barre and diſpatch the buſines with his Father, that wee may obtaine mercy, 4. Heb. 15.16. And to ſhew his heart the more in this worke, hee hath not onely a throne of grace, & a high Prieſt to manadge this32 affaire; but hee hath invented this ordinance of Baptiſme, that wee might have an abundant entrance; In this you may ſee Gods heart for the pardon of ſinne, for as Baptiſme doth it, ſo it is by Gods appointment; Therefore know the mind of God, and labour not anxiouſly about ſinnes, and the pardon of them, which is a great impediment to the comfort & holines of our life. Now, that Baptiſme doth this, you have heard from ſeverall places, ſo as it is a great end of that ordinance, to remit and pardon ſinnes, and aſſure that to us.
But if you aſke how it doeth it? Anſwer, by your being baptized33 into Ieſus Chriſt; by being baptized into his death, by being viſibly ingrafted into his death; & condition, that as hee did conflict with the wrath of God, it brought him to the croſſe, carried him to the grave, kept him there, and layed him low, but at laſt hee get out, we being intereſted in what hee did, as in a common perſon, who did all for us, and in our names might by the helpe of this ordinance (which viſibly and ſenſibly repreſents our communion with him, in that which gaines the diſcarge of our ſinnes, which is his death, into which wee are baptized) have full aſſurance that34 nothing remaynes us of the guilt of ſinne; nothing remayns us, undiſcharged, ſince Chriſt, who was as wee were, that is, made guilty of ſinne, that wee might be as hee is, that is, diſcharged from ſinne, hath broken the cords of death, having made a full ſatisfaction, death having no more dominiō over him, becauſe there is no more guilt upon him; ſo that baptiſme doth it this way, and as many as are baptized into Ieſus Chriſt, into his death, are put into that condition, that he was after his death, and riſing againe; and this muſt of neceſſity be, becauſe hee was as a common perſon, wholy in his35 death and reſurrection; therefore they that makes themſelves of that community, for whom hee acts and trades, and by this viſible ſigne and inſtitutiō of his, ſubmit themſelves to that way of ſalvation, they put themſelves into that ſtate and condition that hee is in after his death and riſing againe. If any aſke, why did Chriſt dye? hee dyed for our ſinnes, ſaith the Apoſtle; and why did hee riſe? for our juſtification, we being baptized into his death, partake of the end of it, which is the diſcharge of our ſinnes, & our juſtification; it is certain therefore, our ſinnes made him dye, and it is as certain, that his36 righteouſnes made us juſt and righteous. Therefore what ſhould keepe any man under the power of death and ſubject to bondage, ſince if Chriſt be any thing to him, the great thing, & which the firſt Chriſtian inſtitutiō, Baptiſme, holds out, is, that hee is pardon to him, and that hee hath dyed & riſen with Chriſt, and therefore may goe boldly with Chriſt unto the throne of grace; and it is well called a throne of grace, becauſe it is not we, that have done this for our ſelves, but it is Chriſt that hath wrought all this good for us, ſo as it is grace to us, even the grace of Chriſt, who perſonally ſuffered what37 we doe miſtically, and by way of communion.
Secondly it is a throne of grace, becauſe it was not wee that did or could make the termes but God, for hee might have required from us, the perſonall payment of our owne debt: Now that God would make this the termes, to take that at Chriſts hand, which lay upō us, as a perſonall debt, it makes it a throne of grace to which wee may goe with all boldnes and liberty of ſpeech, and with the ſame aſſurance, that Chriſt himſelf did, becauſe by vertue of his owne contract ſealed to us by his owne ordinance; wee are what38 he is, and have done what hee did.
CHAP. III. Wherein of a third great uſe and end of Baptiſme, whereby is ſealed our communion with Chriſt in his holines, to wit, a death unto ſinne, and a riſing to newneſſe of life.
WEe come now to another great uſe and end of Baptiſme, which is holines of life, conſiſting of two parts, dying to ſinne, and riſing to holines, and this is eſpecially held out Rom. 6. I ſhall therefore breefly open & analiſe theſe words, not intending a large diſcours, but ſo much as ſuites with the nature of this ordinance.
Firſt therefore in anſwer to that unſavoury objection verſ. 391. Shall vvee ſinne that grace may abounde? The Apoſtle reaſoneth verſ. 2. Hovv ſhall vve that are dead to ſinne, live any longer therein; as if he had ſaid, thoſe that are dead to ſinne, ſhould not live in ſinne, but you are dead to ſinne, therefore you ſhould not live in ſinne; contraries deſtroy their cōtraries, death deſtroyes life, as the privation doth the habit; a man cannot live & dye together.
But now it reſts to be prooved that wee are dead to ſinne, v. 3. Knovv yee not that ſo many of us as vvere baptized into Ieſus Chriſt, vvere baptized into his death? This hee prooves from our Baptiſme, which is the ſeale and expreſſion40 of our faith: If Chriſt be dead to ſinne, then thoſe that are baptized, are dead to ſinne; But Chriſt is dead to ſin, therefore thoſe that are baptized, are dead to ſinne.
That Chriſt is dead to ſinne, and how, you ſhall heare v. 10. For in that hee dyed, hee dyed unto ſinne once. But the propoſition that thoſe that are baptized, are dead to ſin, becauſe Chriſt is dead to ſinne, he ſhewes you from the end of baptiſme, which is to witnes & confirme to you your union and communion with Chriſt: And firſt of all with his death, which both diſcharges you from the guilt of ſinne, and deſtroyes and kills41 ſinne in you.
Now that this is the particular end, he ſhewes you from the generall, verſ. 3. Knovv ye not that ſo many of us as vvere baptized into Ieſus Chriſt, vvere baptized into his death; yee are baptized into Chriſt, therefore into his death; hence verſ. 4. VVee are buried vvith him by baptiſme into death; yee are ſo ſurely dead with Chriſt, that ye are buried alſo, to be ſure he is dead that is buried. In this verſe hee prooves further this communion in holines, by the contrarie to death, namely our riſing againe, that like as Chriſt vvas raiſed up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even ſo vve alſo ſhould vvalke in nevvnes of42 life. For as Baptiſme witneſſes to you that you are dead with Chriſt, ſo the ſame Baptiſme witneſſes that ye are riſen with him, ſo that as wee are dead to ſinne by vertue of the death of Chriſt, ſo wee are alive to holines by vertue of the riſing of Chriſt, that as Chriſt was raiſed from the dead to a new glorious and heavenly life, ſo wee are raiſed to a life, new and holy: Now the reaſon of this witneſſe ariſeth from the analogie and proportion that the ſigne hath, with the thing ſignified, that Baptiſme hath with the thing witneſſed: Thoſe that are baptized, they are drowned and buried, and43 brought againe alive out of the water; ſo by our union with Chriſt, wee have the communion of being crucified & buried with him, and of riſing againe to a new life. Verſ. 5. If vve have bene planted together in the likenes of his death, vvee ſhall be alſo in the likenes of his reſurrection. This word planting ſhewes the reality of theſe ſignes & ſeales, this ordinance witneſſes our planting and grafting into Chriſt, who is the ſtock with whom wee live and dye; as wee feele death with him, ſo life alſo, this is the great ſtay, the great comfort, wee are planted into Chriſt the true vyne, by God the Father, and now wee ſhall44 runne his fortune in life or death, as the plant & ſtock dye and live together. ver. 6. Knovving this that our old man is crucified vvith him, that the body of ſin might be deſtroyed, that henceforth vvee ſhould not ſerve ſinne: Here he inſiſts in the former argument, namely our communion in the death of Chriſt, which death hee declares by the kind of it, namely crucifixion, & ſhewes that as Chriſt for our ſinnes dyed, ſo the body of ſinne in us by the death of Chriſt is crucified, the power and force is abated, that wee ſhould not ſerve ſinne, and live to ſinne.
Verſ. 7. For hee that is dead, is freed from ſinne. Hee that is free45 from ſinne, is no longer obliged to ſinne, but beleevers baptized, are freed from ſinne, becauſe they are dead to ſinne; dead with Chriſt therefore we are free from ſinne.
Verſ. 8. Novv if vve be dead vvith Chriſt, vvee beleeve that vve ſhall alſo live vvith him. This is to ſhew the communion ſtill, and to uſher in the next verſe of our communion with the life of Chriſt.
Verſ. 9. Knovving that Chriſt being rayſed from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. Here he illuſtrates the life of Chriſt, from the perpetuity of it, that from thence hee might gather, the condition of the Saints, in their perſuance of46 holines, which ſhould be evermore.
Verſ. 10. For in that he dyed, he dyed unto ſinne once; that is, to blot out ſinne, but in that hee lives, hee lives to God; a glorious life and to the glory of God the Father.
Verſ. 11. Likevviſe reckon yee alſo your ſelves to be dead indeed unto ſinne, but alive unto God, through Ieſus Chriſt our Lord.
There is the concluſion of all that went before, reaſon your ſealnes, therefore to be dead to ſin once, when Chriſt died to deſtroy the power of it, therefore ſinne hath nothing to doe with you. On the contrary, you are as Chriſt, alive to God, to that glorious and new47 life, & all this through Chriſt, whoſe union and communion is notified to you in Baptiſme.
This is for holines, which conſiſts in mortification and newnes of life, which Baptiſme both ſignifies and ſeales to us. It ſignifies it, by the analogie & proportion, which is betweene the ſigne and the thing ſignified, and in that it ſignifies a thing paſt, it ſeales it to us, for when God will give you a ſigne and reſemblance of a thing, it is but to confirme it to you, and aſſure you of it.
CHAP. IV. Wherein is ſhewed the report which the ceremony of Baptiſme hath, to the forementioned ends and uſes of that ordinance; alſo ſome Corollaries.
HAving ſpoken of the uſe & ends of Baptiſme, it will not be unmeete in the next place to diſcourſe ſomething of the Ceremony, that we may ſhew the report which the ſigne & ceremony hath to the thing ſignified and repreſented.
Now the ſignification is moſt apt; for the externall forme or Ceremony of Baptiſme lyes properly in three things, Immerſion, or Drowning, or Burying, by putting under the water; ſome ſtay under it, and49 emerſion, or riſing out of it.
Firſt the element which is uſed, is water, extreamely fit & proper to repreſent our cleanſing, both from the guilt and ſtayne of ſinne. Ariſe and be baptized, and vvaſh avvay thy ſinnes, ſayes Ananias to Paul Acts 22.16. So Chriſt gave himſelf for his Church, that hee might ſanctifie and cleanſe it vvith the vvaſhing of vvater by the vvord, Eph. 5.26. So Tit. 3.5. According to his mercy hee ſaved us by the vvaſhing of regeneration. So as this waſhing of water repreſents our cleanſing, that is our juſtification and ſanctification. The Iewes had many ſprinklings with blood, fit for their groſſe capacities, but50 which indeed rather ſerve to make ſpots, then to cleanſe them.
Firſt therefore the dipping or drowning in the water, ſignifies the great depth of divine juſtice, with which Chriſt for our ſakes was ſwallowed up; & ſo we are dead and buried with him, reaping in a ceremony the fruit of that which he ſuffered indeed, pertaking of his death for ſinne, and thereby obliging our ſelves to death to ſinne.
Secondly the ſtay under the water, though never ſo little, repreſents unto us, Chriſts deſcending to hell, that is, the loweſt degree of his abaſement,51 when hee was ſeald up and watcht in the grave, and was as it were cut of from amongſt men; of this abaſement wee reape the fruit by Baptiſme, & are hereby ſecured againſt that abaſement, and everlaſting deſtruction from the preſence of the Lord; to which ſinne would have brought us; & therefore ſinne as it is deſtroyed in us in reſpect of the guilt, and cut of by this abaſement of Chriſt, ſo it ſhould be apprehended by us for our juſtification, and it ſhould be utterly dead & mortified to us, in reſpect of its power and vigour; dead and buried to ſinne.
Thirdly the Emerſion, or riſing52 out of the water, is a repreſentation to us of that victory, which Chriſt being dead and buried, got over death, and in his riſing, triumphed over it, with whom alſo we riſe triumphing over ſinne & death, and all evill whatſoever, clearly above the guilt of all ſinne, and ſecure againſt the evill of ſin, riſing up to holines & newnes of life. And thus there is a ſweete and excellent proportion, betweene the ceremony and the ſubſtance, the ſigne, & the thing ſignified, and wee are confirmed to be of the union and communion with Chriſt in every thing that is for our good and comfort.
53Now having ſhewed the ſeverall ends of Baptiſme, & how the ceremony makes them all good to us, I ſhall gather ſome Corollaries from the mayne notiō of this ordinance, which is our being dead with Chriſt, and riſing againe, according to the forementioned place of Rom. 6.11. Reckon your ſelves to be dead to ſinne, but alive to God through Ieſus Chriſt our Lord. Reckon, that is, build upon this; this is a thing exceeding ſure.
Firſt if wee be dead to ſinne,Coroll. 1. and ſealed up to this death by Baptiſme into the death of Chriſt, then let us be in the world as dead men in that reſpect; let us not underſtand the54 reaſonings of ſinne, nor hearken to the perſuaſions of ſinne, nor looke upon the baites of ſinne; the Apoſtle made this an argument in a better thing, If you be dead vvith Chriſt from the rudiments of the vvorld, vvhy as though living in the vvorld, are ye ſubject to ordinances, touch not, taſt not, handle not, Col. 2.20. Theſe things had once a good being, but were become old, but ſinne was never of any worth or account. Barzillai 2. Samuel 19. thought it reaſon to refuſe the Kings table, becauſe his appetite and ſences were decayed, hee was eighty yeares old; but our ſences are not decaying, but dead, and ſinne is not old,55 but dead; it is dead in a miſtery, it is dead in Chriſt, and wee have the Sacrament upon it; therefore if luſts tempt, turne not onely a deaf, but a dead eare to them; perſuaſiōs ſhould not worke on a dead man, objects ſhould not take or affect a dead man.
Secondly if we be riſen and alive with Chriſt, & Baptiſme ſeale that alſo; then act not onely as a living man, but as a riſen man, moove and walke, & reaſon, & conclude, as a man raiſed from the dead, have your ſences and your reaſonings as quick to God, as taking of ſpirituall things, as they are dull and ſhut up to things below;56 breath in the ayer of another life, haſten after the full and reall poſſeſſion of another life; let God and Chriſt & heavenly things be great unto you, though they be little to the world, and what ever is great to the world, let it be little to you, proportionating your object to your life; love thoſe ordinances, thoſe times that feed your life.
Thirdly the worke of this ordinance or dying and riſing, is advanced much by holy reaſonings, both in the time of communicating & afterwards, for wee are apt to forget our ſelves and our conditions, as he that would have forgot that he57 was an Emperour, if he had not bene remembred of it by others. Thinke therefore much on theſe things, what you have done in this ordinance, what are the conſequences & reſults of it, which wil be a mighty not onely help, but ingagement to faith & holines, it is a ſeale on both ſides, wee ſeale to God as well as he to us, it is in our owne choyce no more, wee are ingaged by our owne act; wee have ſubſcribed and can recall no more, and certainely this as it ingages much, ſo it helpes much: to act an act of faith in thought is much, but to ſpeake it is more, but to ſigne & ſeale it in an ordinance, by profeſſing58 ſubjection, by going downe into the water, by ſuffering your ſelves there to be drowned, or buried, by riſing or coming out againe, all as a ceremony or ordinance for ſuch an end, is both a great ingagement and a great help to us in beleeving.
CHAP. V. In which the proper ceremony of Baptiſme is vindicated by the force of the word, Scripture practiſe, the ſuffrage of learned men, and the uſe of ancient times.
IN the proceeding diſcours wee have taken it for graunted, that the antient and uſuall forme of Baptiſme, hath bene by dipping or plonging the whole body under the water, according to which notion we59 have found what great proportion the ceremony hath to the ſubſtance, and the ſigne to the thing ſignified: But becauſe the poſſeſſion which the Churches have had of a long time of ſprinkling, is become a ſtrong argument in the thoughts of many for that ceremony, it will be neceſſary to ſpeake ſomething more particularly to this point, and to ſhow that as the ceremony of dipping, ſutes with the ends and uſe of Baptiſme, ſo it agrees perfectly with the force of the word, the Scripture practiſe, and the uſe of antient times.
Firſt therefore the word〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉ſignifies properly mergo,60 ſeu immergo, that is, to drowne, or ſinke in the water, to dip, to overwhelme, to plunge, ſo mergere aliquem ſub aequore, or in undis, to drowne them; ſo Chamier ſayes that immerſion expreſſes the force〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉: it ſignifies alſo tingo, to dye, or coulour, quod fit immergendo: which is done by dipping into the coulour, overwhelming and drowning in it. So Walleus, a learned Profeſſour of theſe partes, ſayes that the antient Latines expreſſed the word〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉per tinctionem & inundationem; inundatio is an overflowing. This therefore is the proper and naturall force of the word, wee will ſee in the next place what aſpect the61 Scripture beares in ſeverall paſſages to the acceptance of the word in this ſence.
Firſt in the ſtory of Chriſts baptiſme, the greateſt and fayreſt example of the kind, as ye read it Mat. 3.13. Then cometh Ieſus from Galilee to Iordan unto Iohn to be baptized of him; yee ſee he went to Iohn, who baptized in the river Iordan, a place proper for immerſion & dipping, where at laſt hee was baptized, that is, dipt or plundged in the vvater, for ſo ye have it verſ. 16. He vvent up ſtraightvvay out of the vvater: that is, as the word is tranſlated generally, hee aſcended out of the vvater. Novv if any one, ſaith Maldonat, aſke vvhy the Euangeliſts62 uſe the vvord rather of aſcending, then goeing out, they ſeeme to be ignorant that the earth is higher then the rivers; ſo as Chriſt aſcended or went up out of the water, in the which he had bene dipt or drown'd. Lucas Brugenſis, upon the place, ſayes this, Chriſt aſcended upon the land, for he had diſcended into the river (after the manner of others that vvere baptized) as deepe as his thighes, or his navell, for the reſt of his body (ſayes he) vvas dipt by Iohn, not ſprinkled onely vvith vvater. Others have thought that it was the cuſtome of Iohn to hold the people up to the neck in water, till they confeſt their ſinnes.
The learned Cajetan upon the63 place, ſayes, Chriſt aſcended out of the vvater, therefore Chriſt vvas baptized by Iohn, not by ſprinkling, nor by povvring vvater upon him, but by immerſion, that is, by dipping or plunging in the vvater. Beſides the evidence of the thing, many more teſtimonies might be brought to this purpoſe, of men that for the preſent content themſelves with ſprinkling for their infant baptiſme, but theſe ſhall ſuffice.
The next place we ſhall conſider, ſhall be that of Iohn 3.23. And Iohn vvas baptizing in Aenon neere to Salim, becauſe there vvas much vvater there. The reaſon why he pitcht upon this place is given, becauſe there vvas much64 vvater there, which was not ever found in that country, & much water was needfull to his Baptiſme. Piſcator upon the place ſayes,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, ſignifies many rivers, as〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉in the ſingular number ſignified the river Iordan, this, ſayes he, is mentioned to ſignifie the Ceremony of Baptiſme vvhich Iohn uſed; immergens ſcil. totum corpus hominis in fluvio ſtantis; dipping, or plundging the vvhole body of the man ſtanding in the river, vvhence, ſaith he, Chriſt baptized of Iohn in Iordan, is ſaid to aſcend out of the vvater, Mat. 3. the ſame manner Philip obſerved Acts 8.38. And in his obſervations upō the place, ſayes, that the antient manner of Baptiſme vvas, that the vvhole body vvas plundged65 into the vvater, & thence dravvn out againe; the one ſignifying the mortification of the old man, and the other the vivification of the nevv, as Rom. 6.3.4. thus Piſcator. Cornelius a Lapide, upon the place, From hence (ſaith he) you may gather that Iohn ſo baptized, as hee vvaſht not onely the head in vvater, for a little vvater vvould have ſerved for that, but the vvhole body. Many Authors might be quoted for this purpoſe, but the place ſpeaks ſo clearly for it ſelf, that I ſhall adde to what I have ſaid already onely the judgement of Calvin upon theſe words: From this place, ſaith he, you may gather that Iohn & Chriſt adminiſtred baptiſme by plundging the vvhole body66 into the vvater, although he adds alſo his opinion; Yee need not be much carefull, ſaith he, of the outvvard Ceremony, ſo it agree vvith the ſpirituall truth, and the ordinance and rule of our Lord; and ſo ſay I alſo.
You ſee what light this place affoords to the clearing of the primitive practiſe for dipping or plundging in baptiſme.
The third place we will examine ſhall be that of Acts 8.36.37. &c. where you have the ſtory of the baptizing of the Eunuch by Philip; As they vvent on their vvay, they came unto a certain vvater, & the Eunuch ſaid, See here is vvater,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that is, as Piſcator interprets it, fluvium, vel amnem,67 vel ſtagnum ſome river, or a poole, or ponde; after this diſcovery of a fit place for Baptiſme, the Eunuch deſires it, and Philip having taken an account of his faith, which was to give him his qualificatiō for that ordinance, it is ſaid in the 38. verſe, that they vvent both dovvne into the vvater. So Beza tranſlates it, Deſcenderunt ambo in aquam, they deſcended both into the vvater: So the French, Deſcendirent enl'eau, as Deodat. and the baptiſme being done, verſ. 39. they came up out of the vvater, in the which they had bene before. So Beza, Quum autem aſcendiſſent ex aqua, vvhen they had aſcended out of the vvater; the French, Quand ils furent remontez68 hors de l'eau; vvhen they vvere remounted or aſcended out of the vvater; all which expreſſe not a going to the water onely, as ſome would have it, but a going downe into the water for Baptiſme, and a coming out of it againe. Lorinus upon the words, quotes Carthuſianus, ſaying, Eunuchus magnam familiam habuit, nec tamencoram illis ſe nudare ac lavari erubuit, dum coram Deo de proprijs verecundabatur peccatis: The Eunuch had a great family, and yet hee bluſht not before them to make himſelf naked, and to be vvaſht, vvhilſt he vvas aſhamed of his ſinnes before God. By which, ſaith Lorinus, they are confounded, that reverence and feare the preſence69 of men more then God: And adds alſo, That this diſcent, going dovvne, ſignified by all meanes immerſion, that is, plundging, or dipping, and it is probable, that by vvhat meanes it moſt conveniently could, & vvas moſt expreſly vvaſhing, the Eunuch vvas baptized.
There will not need to be ſaid more to this place, I ſhall onely conclude it with the words of Calvin, as I did the other, which I am inforced to give you in his french, becauſe his latine edition is not by me. Nous voyons icy qu'elle faconles anciens avoyent d'adminiſtrer le Bapteſme; car ils plongeoyent tout le corps dedans l'eau: L'uſage eſt maintenant que le Miniſtre jette quelques gouttes70 d'eau ſeulement ſur le corps, ou ſur le teſte: VVe ſee here, ſayes Calvin upon the place, vvhat faſhion the antients had to adminiſter Baptiſme, for they plundged the vvhole body in the vvater; the uſe is novv, ſayes he, that the Miniſter caſts a fevv dropps of vvater onely upon the body, or upon the head. Whereby you ſee both what his opinion was for the practiſe of the moſt antient and primitive times in generall, & how cleare hee was that the Baptiſme adminiſtred here to the Eunuch, was by dipping, or plundging.
The fourth and laſt place I ſhall conſider to this purpoſe ſhall be that of the 6. Rom. and the beginning, where the Apoſtle71 elegantly alludes to the ceremony of Baptiſme in our death, and reſurrection with Chriſt, but having handled this before largely, and by it ſelf, I ſhall onely give you the ſence of expoſiters about it for our preſent end.
The learned Cajetan upon the 4. verſe (vvee are buried vvith him by baptiſme into death) ſaith; By our burying he declares our death, from the Ceremony of Baptiſme, quia, ſcil. qui baptizatur ſub aqua ponitur; becauſe he vvho is baptized is put under the vvater, and by this carryes a ſimilitude of him that is buried, vvho is put under the earth: Novv becauſe none are buryed, but dead men, from this very thing that vve are buryed72 in Baptiſme, vve are aſsimulated to Chriſt buried, or vvhen he vvas buried. Thus Cajetan.
Eſtius upon the place, having ſaid out of Auſten, that vvhat ever vvas done in the croſſe of Chriſt in his burying and reſurrection, &c. vvas ſo done, that to thoſe vvords and actions, the life of a Chriſtian ſhould be conformed; Ads, the like miſtery the Apoſtle puts in the Ceremony of Baptiſme, for the immerſion (that is dipping) of Chriſt, repreſents to us burying, and ſo alſo death; for the ſepulcher is the Symbole of death, and the emerſion (or riſing out againe) vvhich follovves that dipping, hath the ſimilitude of the reſurrection; therefore in Baptiſme vvee are conformed, not onely to the death of73 Chriſt, but alſo to his ſepulcher and reſurrection. Where you ſee hee clearly places the ceremony of Baptiſme, both of Chriſts, and ours, in immerſion, or putting under the water, & emerſion or riſing up againe, exactly conformable to what is to be ſignified to us by it, namely our dying and riſing againe with Chriſt. So Cornelius Alapid. upon the place ℣ 4. 〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, in mortem, id eſt, in ſimilitudinem mortis Chriſti baptizati ſumus; qui enim baptizantur & aquis immerguntur Chriſtum mortuum, & ſepultum repreſentant allegoricè, &c. Into his death, that is, vvee are baptized into the ſimilitude of the death of Chriſt; for they vvho are put under74 the vvater, repreſent Chriſt dead & buried allegorically.
I ſhall add but one or two quotations more in a thing ſo evident, Deodati in his annotations upon the place verſ. 4. hath theſe words, Ce qu'au Bapteſme nous ſommes plongez dedans l'eau (ſelon l'ancienne ceremonie) nous eſt un ſigne ſacré qu'il faut que le peché ſoit eſtouffe en nous par l'Eſprit de Dieu, comme c'eſt un ſeau du lavement de nos ames devant Dieu. That in Baptiſme vvee are plundged into the vvater (according to the antient ceremony) it is a holy ſigne to us, that ſinne ſhould be ſtiffled in us by the Spirit of God, as it is a ſeale of the vvaſhing of our ſoules before God.
I ſhall conclud with the judgement75 of Piſcator upon the place verſ. 4. Sepulti igitur ſumus, videtur (inquit) reſpicere ad veterem ritum, quum toto corpore in aquam mergebantur, atque it a quaſi ſepeliebantur, ac mox rurſus extrahebantur, tanquam è ſepulchro. The Apoſtle (ſayes he) ſeemes here to have reſpect to the antient ceremony, vvhen as the vvhole body vvas dipt into the vvater, and vvas by and by againe dravvne out, as out of a grave. So Piſcator.
Having thus farre carried on this notion for dipping, or plundging in the ceremony of Baptiſme, which wee have found to have its riſe from the naturall & proper force of the word, & to have accorded fully76 with Scripture practiſe and example, which is the coppy to which we muſt conforme, I ſhall conſider a little to diſcharge my ſelf more abundantly to this point, what hath bene the practiſe of the times wee commonly call primitive, that is, thoſe after the times of Chriſt and his Apoſtles, and what the judgement of the Fathers and antient writers have bene to this purpoſe.
And firſt the Apoſtolicall conſtitutions, which are of great antiquity, being attributed to Clement the 4. from Peter in the order of Biſhops, according to the Roman account, they injoyne the office of Diaconniſſes,77 or ſhee-Deacons, to be to aſſiſt for the unclothing of women at Baptiſme; the words are〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. To miniſter to the Preſbyters vvhilſt the vvomen vvere baptized, for comelines ſake. Conſt. Apoſt. lib. 8. cap. 32. this I find quoted by Chamier lib. de Baptiſt. cap. 2. p. 240. who brings it to proove, that from the beginning, as hee ſayes, it vvas the cuſtome to dip the vvhole body, vvhich expreſſes (ſayes he) the force of the vvord〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, vvhence it vvas (ſayes he) that Iohn baptized in a river, and hee affirmes that it is uncertain, vvhen or vvhy the change began, to baptize by ſprinkling, ſaving that he addes that78 it vvould ſeeme that 3000 could hardly be baptized in one day, by ſo fevv Apoſtles, if they vvere all dipt, or that the Iaylor had not perhaps a veſſell at hand, big enough for dipping the vvhole body. But firſt you ſee that his opinion is cleare, that Baptiſme in the beginning was by dipping or plundging the whole body, to proove which hee brings the force of the word, the example of Iohn, and after the Apoſtolicall conſtitutions: onely he knowes not how ſo well to accommodate theſe two inſtances, but that ſprinkling alſo might be uſed: I ſhall take therefore this occaſion, to anſwer once for all to theſe conſiderations. Firſt that79 when wee have a clearnes of Scripture practiſe, agreable as is confeſt to the force of the word of inſtitution, and expreſſing it, which alſo accords, as wee have already ſhowne aboundantly, with the uſe and end of the ordinance, which is the ſcope and intent of it, and apparently conformable to the moſt evident antient practiſe, it were a boldneſſe (to ſay no more) to leave or deſert that practiſe, which upon the former grounds, wee know to be ſafe and warrantable, for another, which we have little reaſon to beleeve was uſed, but becauſe wee ſee not how in ſome inſtanced particular circumſtances80 it could be well otherwayes; And as it is ever dangerous, to depart from knowne & approoved Scripture practiſe in the matter of ordinances, upon our owne ſurmiſes, ſo it can be no where of worſe conſequence then in ſuch ordinances (of which Baptiſme & the Lords Supper are) the being, and good of which lyes much in the right adminiſtration of a ceremony.
It would be ſafe to follow the cleare & aſſured way, and for the other, unleſſe they implyed a ſimple impoſſibility, (which the practiſes inſtanced in will by no meanes be found to doe) not to be much troubled81 about them.
But truly I am jealous that thoſe who find ſprinkling moſt commodious for infants, and are not willing to depart from the notions of infant Baptiſme, trouble themſelves more with the objectiōs mentioned, then they would find cauſe to doe, if they did not find it needfull to raiſe objections from theſe places for the patroniſing of baptizing by ſprinkling, which as was ſaid before is ſo proper for their infant Baptiſme: For the thing it ſelf, to inſtance, firſt in that of the Iaylor, how eaſily may it be conceaved, that in thoſe eaſterne and hotter countryes (this being at82 Philippy in Macedonia, Acts 16.12. where bathing was of great and continuall uſe) this keeper of the priſon might be provided with ſome veſſell fit for bathing and waſhing the whole body, which might ſerve for the uſe of Baptiſme, as the Chriſtiās afterwards, when they came to injoy fixt places of meetings for worſhip, had their veſſells affixt to their temples, which veſſell they called〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Bucan. p. 666. being of a great continent fild with water for the uſe of Baptiſme, which the Latine calls piſcina, or lavacrum, a veſſell proper to bath in, or font, from whence the cuſtome of our little diminitive83 fonts in Churches hath come, ſince ſprinkling (more proper for children as Chamier affirmes) hath bene the ceremony uſed in Baptiſme, with excluſion to dipping or plundging the whole body: I ſay it is eaſy to ſuppoſe that the Iaylor might be thus provided for his Baptiſme, and ſafe to ſuppoſe this or any other way that doth not imply a contradiction, then to thinke that the Apoſtles altered the uſuall ceremony for Baptizing uſed to Chriſt and by Chriſt and his Apoſtles, as (appeares evidently & clearely) and which ſo much accordes with the intent & ſcope of the ordinance in that which84 the Ceremony ſignifyes and exhibits to us, namely our being buried with Chriſt, and riſing againe, as wee ſhow'd already.
As for the other objection, that it would ſeeme difficult for three thouſands to be baptized in one day by ſo few Apoſtles, if dipping the whole body, not ſprinkling were the ceremony uſed; I anſwer it will not appeare much leſſe difficult if ſprinkling were the ceremony, and it is the objection that Bellarmine & the Papiſts bring againſt our Divines, to proove that in certain caſes the Laycks may baptize; This Chamier anſwers by Salmeron the Ieſuite,85 one of their owne, tract. 15. in Acta, who ſayes it is no way impoſſible, and brings for proofe one Franciſcus Xavier, who baptized in one day amongſt the Indians 15000, now if one man could baptize fifteene thouſand, twelve Apoſtles could baptize three thouſand, beſides if they want Miniſters, and will not admit of the aſſiſtance of Brethren out of office (whoſe miniſtry to ſome will not ſeeme ſo improper for aſſiſtance in certain caſes of publike affaires by publike authority) wee can furniſh them with more helpe, namely the ſeaventy Diſciples, whom our Divines will by no86 meanes admit at that time to be Laycks, ſince Chriſt had called them before to the miniſtry of the Goſpell, and had conſtituted them as publike workemen in his harveſt, and had ſent them with a publike and particular commiſſion, ſaying, Thoſe that heare you, heare me, Luke 10. ſo that according to this account, the number of regular & lawfull Baptizers, will be 82, namely 12 Apoſtles & 70 Diſciples. Thus farre wee are helpt by our Proteſtant Divines in their oppoſitiō againſt Lay-Baptiſme. Now if you diſtribute the baptizing of 3000 to the worke of 82 perſons, there will fall under 40 to the87 ſhare of every one, as might be eaſily reckoned, ſo as the baptizing of that number either way, by dipping or ſprinkling, might be accompliſhed in one day, though the Baptizers were not indued with the dexterity of Franciſcus Xavier, and why not as well by dipping or ſprinkling (for all that can be ſaid to the contrary, by the number of thoſe, who were baptized) ſince wee ſuppoſe thoſe that were baptized, to offer themſelves willingly to come into the water, and preſent themſelves ready, and the ceremony of dipping requiring very little time more by him that adminiſters it, then that of ſprinkling, and88 which by ſo many hands might eaſily be diſpatcht.
It was neceſſary to ſpeake ſomething to this, ſince it is all which I have met with (and that all you ſee how little it is) which might give the ſhew of a reaſon from Scripture practiſe, for baptizing by ſprinkling, and that onely too by way of objection, which you ſee accommodated.
Thus you have a cleare proofe brought by Chamier, for the antient manner of Baptizing, by dipping, from the Apoſtolicall conſtitutions, which that alſo conſidered as an objection, why at any time it might ſeeme to be varyed, and89 you ſee, that as the objection to the generall rule was but conjecturall, ſo the ſolution is very eaſy, and the other practiſe, to wit, by dipping, moſt cleare and evident.
In the ſecond place, VValleus de Baptiz. p. 84. (a reverent Author, whom we have formerly mentioned) ſhewing that the antients Baptized by an immerſion of the whole body, ſayes, That antiently the dayes of Baptiſme (for they uſed ſome ſolemne dayes, as vvee ſhevv in another peece of this tract) had their name, from the ceremony, therefore it vvas called Dominica in albis, the Dominicall or the Lords day in vvhites, becauſe being unclothed for their Baptiſme,90 vvhich vvas as before by dipping or plundging, they put on vvhite or linnen garments, vvith vvhich they vvent into the Baptiſterion, a veſſell as we have formerly ſaid, fitted for that ceremony of immerſion: and therefore the Papiſts at this day, who retaine every thing of antient ceremony, though they corrupt the uſe of it, give a white garment to the baptized child in one part of their ceremony, which Bellarmine ſayes they are to vveare a Sabbato ſancto uſque ad Dominicam in albis, from the holy Sabaoth, to the Dominicall in vvhites, Tom. 3. p. 83. That is that Dominicall, which VValleus mentions, when thoſe who were baptized for comelines91 ſake, clothed themſelves with white linnen garments, whence the ſame Author ſaies, That thoſe vvho vvere to be baptized, vvere called Candidati Chriſtianiſmi, Candidates of Chriſtianity, with alluſiō to the clothing in white, with which they were accommodated for Baptiſme by immerſion.
In the third place I find the opinion of Bonaventure, quoted by a late and learned writer, vvho though hee allovves ſprinkling, yet more commends immerſion, or dipping, either of the vvhole body, vvhen there is vvater enough, or if there be but a little vvater, of the head and breſt, or of the head alone, or of the face onely, becauſe there are all the92 ſences, and there doth eſpecially flouriſh the operation of the ſoule, and vvee take the image or picture of a man eſpecially from his face; which ſeverall reaſons he gives to that purpoſe, ſo as if you will ſprinkle, ye muſt fall upon a new queſtion, which may for ought I know be much diſputed, and that is, what part is to be ſprinkled; or if you will ſprinkle the whole man, which cannot be done exactly, to be ſure not eaſily, it were better to follow the ceremony of immerſion; but by what reaſon, aſperſion, or ſprinkling, came into uſe in the world, inſtead of immerſion, or dipping, ye ſhall find faſtned upon two conſiderations;93 of charity to ſicke and weake perſons, and charity to tender children, although as the ſame Author affirmes, merſion was more uſuall even for children, to the dayes of Gregory (who was Biſhop of Rome Anno 590) and Iſiodor. For Gregory giving an account of the threefold dipping, hath theſe words, Ʋt dum tertiò infans ab aquis educitur, reſurrectio triduani temporis exprimatur; vvhilſt the child is dravvne out of the vvater three times, the reſurrection after three dayes buriall may be ſignified. Epiſt. Greg. lib. 1. Epiſt. 41. An account of this charity for ſicke perſons, ye have expreſt in an epiſtle of Cyprian to Magnus lib. 1. 94Epiſt. 6. In the times of Cyprian there was a queſtion mooved concerning Baptiſme, by aſperſion or perfuſion, that is, powering water, to wit, hovv they vvere baptized, vvho in reſpect of infirmity, or ſicknes could not be dipt, vvhether ſuch ſprinkling vvere to be accounted for true baptiſme; by which demaund you may perceave, that in Cyprians time, immerſion or dipping was ſo much the uſuall and received forme for Baptiſme, as it was made a great queſtion, whether they were rightly baptized, who deſired Baptiſme, and yet by reaſon of infirmity, could not receive it, but by ſprinkling or aſperſion: Cyprian anſwers modeſtly and95 ſayes, Hee vvould not have his opinion be a prejudice to any other mans either opinion or practiſe, but his charity extends rather to thinke, that in ſuch caſes, Baptiſme may be received by ſprinkling; it were to long to quote his expreſſions wherein he is large.
But to conclude all, you ſee by a current of authority from Scripture eſpecially, and after by Authors antient and moderne, that dipping, or immerſion hath bene the old way of Baptizing, even for children in the dayes of Gregory, a reaſon of the alteration I have in part ſhewed you, from the quotation out of Cyprian. A more particular account Iacobus Pamelius96 ſhall give you, as you may read in his annotations upon the 76 Epiſt. of Cyprian, his words are theſe pa. 215. Quum propter aegritudinem immergi ſive intingi (quod propriè Baptizari eſt) aegri non poſſent, aqua ſalutari perfundebantur, ſive aſpergebantur; eademratione ab Eccleſia occidentali primum obſervari caepiſſe conſuetudinem adſpertionis, qua nunc utimur, exiſtimo, ob teneritudinem nempè infantium, quum jam rariſsimus eſſet adultorum baptiſmus: VVhen in reſpect of vveakeneſſe thoſe vvho vvere ſicke, could not be dipt, or plundged (vvhich is properly to be baptized) they had vvater povvred upon them, or vvere ſprinkled vvith it; from the ſame reaſon I ſuppoſe the cuſtome of ſprinkling,97 vvhich vve novv uſe, to have bene firſt obſerved by the vveſterne church, to vvit, for the tenderneſſe of infants, vvhen as novv the baptiſme of thoſe of age vvas very rare; then he goes one, Olim certè tum in occidentali, tum in orientali Eccleſia immergi ſolere veteres ſuis ſcriptis manifeſtum faciunt, & Romae id adhuc uſitatum aetate Gregorij manifeſtum ſit ex ipſius Sacramentorum libro: idque apud Anglos etiamnum obſervari ad marginem adnotavit Eraſmus. Certainly, that of old time, in the eaſterne and vveſterne church, they vvere uſed to dipp, the antient make manifeſt by their vvritings; and that it vvas uſed at Rome, in the time of Gregory, is manifeſt, from his booke of the Sacraments, and that it vvas yet uſed98 amongſt the Engliſh, Eraſmus hath noted in the margent. So Pamel.
I have bene large in this ſubject, but I hope it will be of uſe to us, both for the aſſuring of our practiſe in this particular, & the anſwering of ſuch, whoſe peremptory perſuaſion the other way (for ſome there are ſo perſuaded) give themſelves, and their friends trouble.
I ſhall take a knit from this, to obſerve (with which I ſhall conclude) what a tyrant cuſtome is, that dares ſtand up & contradict a thing ſo evident in it ſelf, ſo agreable to the reaſon of the ordinance, to the cleare phraſe and expreſſion of Scripture, to the practiſe of antient99 times, in ſo much that in Cyprians time, it was a queſtion mooved in the Church, whether thoſe that in reſpect of infirmity, could not receive baptiſme, the antient and uſuall way, and yet earneſtly deſired it, might be rightly baptized, by ſprinkling; vvhether ſuch (as Cyprians vvords are to Magnus) might be accounted lavvfull Chriſtians, that is, whether their Baptiſme ſo adminiſtred, were right, or a nullity; I ſay, you ſee here the tyranny & boldneſſe of cuſtome, that having ſhaped (as it is apt to doe) our mindes to one way, dares now pretend for that alone, with the excluſion of others, and would perſuade100 us, that nothing ſhould be, but what wee have ſeene to be, and counts every thing error, that hath not fallen under our ſence or experience: In things civill and indifferent, I can be content that cuſtome ſhall be my guide, & ſhall take that for good coyne, that the world ſtampes, but in matter of ordinances, and things ſacred, the rule of which lies in inſtitution, and not in our liberty, or choiſe, and the bleſſing of which lyes in conforming to the rule, and inſtitution: I beſeech you let us be wairy to judge with righteous judgement, and not by that appearance, which the cuſtomes of101 this world, upon their worldly and carnall, though ſeeming wiſe conſiderations, hold forth to us.
CHAP. VI. Wherein is ſhewed the agreements and differences that the word preached hath with the Sacraments, together wïth certain Corollaries giving light to the preſent controverſy.
HAving out of the Scripture conſidered the uſe & ends of Baptiſme, to which the ceremony appeares to be extreamely proper and oppoſite, wee will now to bring further light to this ordinance, and in order to a diſcours of the proper ſubject of Baptiſme, and of the controverſy thereabout conſider102 the agreements that are common to it, with the adminiſtration of the word, and that wherein theſe two ordinances ſeeme to differ.
They agree firſt in the efficient cauſe: Baptiſme and the other Sacrament, have the ſame author and inſtitutor that the word hath; ſcil. the King, Prieſt, and Prophet of his church; and as the ſame efficient, ſo the ſame adminiſtring cauſes, thoſe that were to teach had order to baptize, Mat. 28.19. Goe therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, &c. And 1. Cor. 4.1. Let a man ſo account of us as of the Miniſters of Chriſt, and ſtevvards of103 the myſteries of God.
Secondly they are both inſtruments in the hands of the Holy Spirit for edification and ſalvation, the word is a dead letter without the Spirit, and ſo alſo is Baptiſme, it ſpeakes no more then it is bid; the bleſſed Angels that are ſo farre above ſinne and corruption, have no quickning vertue in themſelves, the fleſh of Chriſt hath no vertu but from his Godhead: Now if there be no vertue in the fleſh of Chriſt, but by the perſonall union, how ſhall bodily actions about bodily elements confer grace, but by the mediation of the Spirit.
Thirdly they agree in the104 principall matter, for the ſame Chriſt with all his benefits is offered and confirmed to us in the word and Sacraments, the ſame union, the ſame communion in the death & the reſurrection of Chriſt, and they which looke for more in the Sacraments, then the word promiſes and holds out, makes an Idoll of them.
Fourthly they agree in the end, for God by them builds up and edifies his Church till it come to be perfect.
Fifthly they agree in the inſtrument, which renders both profitable to us, both word and Sacrament are ineffectuall without faith, 3. Iohn 36. Hee105 that beleeveth on the Sonne, hath everlaſting life.
Sixthly they agree in the effects, They are the ſavour of life unto life, or the ſavour of death unto death, &c. So, He that beleeveth & is baptized, ſhall be ſaved.
From the firſt you learne,coroll. 1not to depart from the inſtitution, but as to preach the Goſpel according to the analogie of faith, ſo to adminiſter the Sacraments according to Goſpel inſtitutions, for it is alike ſinne to tranſgreſſe in the adminiſtratiō of the one, as in the preaching of the other, ſince they both hold of the ſame Lord & inſtitutor; and as hee which in preaching the Goſpel ſhall add106 workes to faith, in the point of juſtification, perverts the word and preaches another Goſpel, and therefore is accurſed, Gal. 1.1. So he that ſhall alter in the adminiſtration of the Sacraments, but in a ceremony, ſince the ordinance lyes in a ceremony, and ſhall be bold to inlarge the ſubject of this ordinance, or contract it, will be found a breaker of Gods boūds, & be found guilty of the curſſe that is the portion of ſuch as add or detract, ſo as what wee doe herein is of great moment and conſideration.
coroll. 2From the ſecond to exſpect ſucceſſe from the Spirit, to be in the Spirit, that you may receive107 it: Secondly the Sacraments worke not Phiſically.
From the third,coroll. 3to be lead by all adminiſtrations into the knowledge of Chriſt, to judge them beſt that hold out moſt of Chriſt, and moſt purely. Secondly to magnify Chriſt the head and end of all inſtitutions.
coroll. 4From the fourth to be comforted and confirmed in this way of ſalvation, wherein wee are, for wee have enough till wee come to God, and need no more.
coroll. 5From the fifth not to reſt in the worke done, to thinke it enough when you have heard or communicated, if it be not108 mingled with faith, it profits not, vvithout faith it is impoſsible to pleaſe God.
coroll. 6From the ſixth then play not with theſe tooles, it is a great matter you have in hand, when you meddle with the ordinances of Chriſt, and when you are under them, it cannot be without much good or hurt to you, it is a bleſſing or a curſſe to the perſons upon whom it falleth, even the greateſt: light & meanes are the greateſt agravations of ſinnes, Heb. 2.1.2.3.
Wee come now to the difference of theſe ordinances, which will contribute more of light to what wee have propoſed.
109They differ firſt in the manner of the adminiſtratiō of the ſame Goſpel. The one is an audible word, the other is a viſible word, the word ſignifies according to ſuch expreſſions as men have given a vallue unto, to ſignify thinges by, but the Sacraments repreſents by ſuch ſimilitudes and proportions as the ſignes have with the things ſignified; therefore we read the word and heare the word, but we ſee & feele the Sacraments: In a word they are Hierogliphicks; it was the cuſtome of the Egyptians to teach by viſible repreſentations, which ſignify ſuch and ſuch things, theſe are of that nature, that whereas the110 word ſtrikes the eare onely, which is the uſuall and ordinary ſence of diſcipline, thoſe ſignes and viſible elements affect the ſences outward and inward, the ſences conveigh the object to the underſtanding, there the Holy Ghoſt takes them, and brings us into the preſent enjoyment of things, as if we ſaw Chriſt with our eyes, toucht him with our hands, felt him by our taſt, and injoyed him with our whole man: all this in a rationall and diſcourſive way, rayſing an analogy & proportion betweene the ſigne and the thing ſignified.
Secondly they differ in the meaſure of their ſignification,111 the word eſpecially teacheth, the Sacraments eſpecially ſeale and confirme: the word indeed ſignifies and applyes ſpirituall things, but the Sacraments more efficatiouſly repreſent & apply.
Thirdly the word is ſimply neceſſary to actuall beleevers, and ſo to the ſalvation of beleevers, and ſufficient, as in Cornelius; for faith is by hearing, and hearing by the vvord of God; but the Sacraments are not abſolutely neceſſary to all, nor without the word are they ſufficient to ſalvation, for to what purpoſe are ſeales without the writing.
Fourthly (for I will not trouble you with many) the112 word belongs to all mankind, the Sacraments belong onely to beleevers; therefore for preaching, ye have, preach the Goſpell to every creature under heaven; But for the Sacraments, teach them, ſaith Chriſt, that is, diſciple them, and hee that beleeves and is baptized, ſhall be ſaved; ſo for the other Sacrament, let a man examine himſelf, and ſo let him eate and drinke; and the people vvere baptized in Iordan, confeſsing their ſinnes, of vvhich they repented; and after the Eunuch was taught, there was faith required before hee was baptized; if thou beleeveſt vvith all thy heart, thou mayeſt; and no Baptiſme or Sacrament find we adminiſtred otherwayes in the113 new Teſtament, the reaſon is evident, becauſe the word begets faith, the Sacraments confirmes it, the word is the writing, the Sacraments is the ſeale, for it carries this with it, and ſpeakes this language; as certainly as thou uſeſt this ceremony, and eates this bread, ſo aſſuredly Chriſt dwells in thee, and as thou entreſt this water, and art therein buried, ſo aſſuredly thou art made one with Chriſt, planted into his death, & thou art buried with Chriſt, and thou riſeſt with Chriſt, as thou riſeſt out of the water; every thing ſpeakes this, thou art Chriſt, and Chriſt is thine, and therefore ſuppoſes114 faith, which is the tye and the union on our part, and you ſee how curious Paul is Rom. 4. to proove, that Abraham vvas juſtified by faith, before hee received the ſigne of circumciſion, which was to him a ſeale of his faith, & his righteouſnes thereby, ℣. 10.11. Hovv vvas it reckoned vvhen hee vvas in circumciſion, or in uncircumciſion? Not in circumciſion, but in uncircumciſion, and he received the ſigne of circumciſion a ſeale of the righteouſnes of the faith, vvhich hee had yet being uncircumciſed, &c.
We come now to deduct Corollaries from theſe differēces.
From the firſt,coroll. 1Then to the participation and uſe of the Sacraments, the uſe of reaſon is115 neceſſary; our reaſon muſt be moſt buſy & active whilſt our ſences are ingaged, the hearing of the tone or ſound of the word ſpoken doth no good, therefore wee preach it not to children or fooles, ſo the ſeeing of the coullors of things, to feele the water cold or hot, the touch or taſt is not the thing, but what the elements and ceremonyes about it teach us, which muſt be diſcerned by the uſe of reaſon, in comparing the thing ſignified according to the Scripture application, & the proportion it holds, ſo as here is a knowledge of things already layd in, and reaſon in the act required. So the teaching116 by ſimilitudes or reſemblances, doth not require leſſe reaſon, or leſſe the uſe of reaſon, but the advātage it brings, is, that by the mediation of ſeverall ſenſes, it ſtrykes our reaſon differently & more ſtrongly; and God deſcends to that way of teaching, that he might more forcibly worke upon our reaſon, & ſpeake to it all manner of wayes.
From the ſecond,coroll. 2it is ſuppoſed the word ſhould go before, for that is the way of teaching by thinges of leſſer repreſentation to things of fuller; when Iacob heard of Ioſephs meſſage, he was mooved, but when he ſaw the Chariots, that affected117 him exceedingly, that ſpoke a clearer language; it was fit the meſſage ſhould goe before the chariots, ſo the word before the Sacraments.
From the third,coroll. 3ſee one prerogative the word hath, men may be ſaved by hearing without the Sacraments, to comfort thoſe that want them, but ſlight them not: Secondly ſee the order, firſt the word muſt be, as firſt the writing, for the Sacraments are but the appendix.
From the fourth,coroll. 4Then the word hath much a larger compaſſe of motion then the Sacraments, and as the word may be where the Sacraments are not,118 ſo the Sacraments cannot be but where the word hath bene; for the word ſuppoſeth nothing, but comes at aventure to every creature under heaven, but the Sacraments ſuppoſeth faith wrought already by the word; to make this playner, we muſt know that men are by nature children of wrath, by the diſobedience of Adam all vvere made ſinners, Rom. 5.19. And the Lord lookt dovvne from heaven, and ſavv that all vvere gone out of the vvay, vvee neither perceive nor knovv the thinges of God, 1. Cor. 2.14. And though the light ſhine in darknes, the darknes comprehends it not, and our carnall mind is emnity againſt God; our vvhole ſoule is filled vvith all unrighteouſnes,119 Rom. 8.7. and 1.29. Now while men are in their infancy, they lye onely expoſed to Gods inward and ſecret workes, if they belong to the election of grace, hee knowes how to deale with them, and worke wonderfully in wayes wee know not, nor can conceive of; ſo long wee cannot cōmunicate our ſelves to their ſoules at all, nor can reatch them any otherwayes then by our prayers, for all things are here ſecret, if there be a change wrought, it is more then wee know, or can conceive the manner of it. But when they come to yeares of underſtanding, and to be capable of ordinances,120 the firſt thing wee doe to them, is to bring them under the ordinance of the word, and to leade them into a right knowledge of themſelves, to convince them of their naturall eſtate, to preach to them converſion, repentance & faith in Ieſus Chriſt, that they may have life; when wee find this operate, and that by their profeſſion and by their workes, which is the onely way of evidencing their faith to others, they make it appeare they beleeve, then we gladly goe one, and leade them into further ordinances, give them the Sacraments to confirme them: & thus wee make things runne121 parralel as they muſt doe: There is an outward preaching of the word, there is a converſion and change of heart, made viſible by workes, and ſo a faith evidenced, and the viſible and outward ſeales and markes are given them, to ſeale them up to themſelves and to others. Thus you ſee a naturalnes, a coherency, and a comelines in things thus layd and ſtated, by which alſo as by a right rule, you may be help'd in diſcerning errours.
CHAP. VII. In which is layd downe the relative and perſonall qualifications by which infants are uſually intituled to Baptiſme, by our most conſiderable Proteſtant Divines.
122BY what hath bene ſaid, wee have fully ſhewed the nature of Baptiſme, what is the proper and adequate ſubject of this ordinance, namely a beleever, one qualified by the uſe of faith and reaſon, for the confirmation & ſealing up to him by this great ordinance, his ingrafting into Chriſt and union with him by faith; ſecondly as an immediate fruit thereof, his juſtificatiō, of which we largely ſpoke, and alſo his adoption, by being conſecrated to the Father, Sonne and holy Ghoſt, and baptized in their names. Thirdly his ſanctificatiō, conſiſting in the death of ſinne, & the life of holynes, & as a fruit123 of that, and which cannot be ſeparated from it, his glorification, Rom. 6.8. Novv if vvee be dead vvith Chriſt, vvee beleeve vvee ſhall alſo live vvith him: To which on the other ſide, the party baptized puts his ſeale, and makes his ſponſion, to be to God and Chriſt in all thoſe relations.
But now becauſe it hath for a long time, and almoſt generally obtained, that children ſhould be baptized, wee muſt conſider how they can pretend to theſe qualifications, what right they have, or by what title they hold it.
The right which the world gives them to it, is a right imputative,124 a right derivative from Father to Sonne, a right of ſucceſſion, a birthright, this is that which they call a foederall holynes. Nor doe children onely clayme by this derivative imputative title, but alſo thoſe who are adopted by Chriſtian parents, for as by adoption in Chriſt wee are rendred the children of God; ſo by the adoption of Chriſtian parents, ſuch are to be accounted for their children, as ſome argue. Ger. p. 582. Alſo thoſe who by lawfull meanes, as juſt warre, bargaine, gifte, fall into the hands and governement of beleevers, and whom Chriſtians will anſwer for, that they ſhall125 for the future be inſtructed in the Chriſtian faith, and this appeares by divine inſtitution, they ſay from the parallell of circumciſion, ſince not onely Abrahams children, but his ſervants, & thoſe bought with his money, were circumciſed, Gen. 17.12. And hee that is eight dayes old, ſhall be circumciſed among you, every man-child in your generations, hee that is borne in the houſe, or bought vvith money of any ſtranger vvhich is not of thy ſeede. This alſo ſome illuſtrate, & apply more particularly from that place Acts 2.39. For the promiſe is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afarre of, even as many as the Lord our God ſhall call; where126 they ſay Peter witneſſeth that the divine promiſe belongs to thoſe, which by reaſon of their birth are farre of; but by the wonderfull providēce of God, are called to that ordinance by lawfull meanes, ſuch as theſe before named, and Chamier, the great protectour of our religion againſt Bellarmine (not to trouble you with what the Papiſts ſay) affirmes, that if our ſervants vvere truely ſervants, ſuch as Abrahams vvere, they then drevv a right from their maſters for Baptiſme; for vve read, ſayes he, that Abraham circumciſed all his ſervants, but ſuch ſervants as for the moſt part vve have novv a dayes; becauſe indeed they are free men, hee thinkes ſhould127 not be ſo handled; in the ſame capacity hee thinkes to be alſo ſuch as by the right of vvarre are ſubjected to Princes, for ſuch kind of ſubjects alſo remaine free; which if it be true, and that that exception onely lyes againſt their Baptiſme, with all the great things it ſeals and conveighes to us, I ſhould much bewayle the loſſe of ſlavery to the Chriſtian world, ſince one good man by that tenure might have made a hundred and a hundred infidels, by being ſubjected to one man, might have bene Chriſtians in a moment. Thus you ſee how farre they make the covenant extend, & indeed the parallell of circumciſion, carryes it128 ſtrongly, and for one as well as another; you ſee therefore that which qualifies for infant Baptiſme, is ſome good and pertinent relation to a beleever; but if you aſke me now what denominates this beleever, and qualifies him for communicating this Chriſtian qualification. Chamier ſayeth, vvee allovv not all infants to be baptized, but thoſe onely of beleevers, that is of baptized perſons; So that as the Baptiſme in the parent qualifyes for baptiſme in the infant, Tom. 4. p. 270. Not to inlarge in this, the charity of the world is very great, and if Mr. Davenport mistooke not in his complaint in his writing to the Claſſis of129 Amſterdam, hee ſaith that there was required of him an unlimited baptizing of all infants, which were preſented in the church, of what nation or ſect ſoever, although that either of the parents were Chriſtians, were not otherwayes manifeſt, then by anſwering, Yea, at the reading of the liturgie of Baptiſme publikely, or by nodding their head, or ſome other geſture, they ſeemed to be willing; Booke of complaints 1.2.
And that you may ſee this further cleare in the authority of a learned man, who ſpeakes not onely his owne judgement, but the judgement of other orthodoxe130 with him; VValleus a reverend Profeſſor of Leyden, in his treatiſe De Baptiſ. infant. p. 494. ſaith thus: Quaeritur ergo de infantibus eorum quorum parentes ſunt impij, etſi nomine Chriſtiani, &c. It is demaunded concerning the children of them, whoſe parents are wicked, although Chriſtians in name, or whoſe parents are excommunicated, or whoſe parents are hereticks, or Idolaters, as the infants of Papiſts, Anabaptiſts, &c. By way of anſwer hee allowes all ſuch children to be baptized; VVe thinke (ſaith he) that Baptiſme is not to be denyed to thoſe, qui ex ſtirpe ſunt Chriſtiana, which are of a Chriſtian ſtock,131 and which without an interruption of a publike Apoſtaſy from the faith, may referre their kindred to the faithfull, ſuch as in Chriſtian commonwealthes are thoſe procreated of Chriſtian and baptized parents; onely he would not have them baptized againſt their parents conſent, becauſe they be their goods and poſſeſſion, and hee would have their parēts, or thoſe which offer them to baptiſme, anſwer that they will bring them up in the Chriſtian profeſſion; vvhich if they doe, vve judge, ſayes he, that all infants, vvhich come from a Chriſtian ſtock, ſhould be baptized, if they be offered to baptiſme, according to the order of132 the Church, although their next parents ſhould labour vvith unholines of life, or hereſy, or the crime of idolatry. And this hee goes on to proove ſtrenuouſly (as well he may) from the manifeſt & perpetuall practiſe of the whole Church of Iſrael, in the adminiſtration of circumciſion, which as in a maine proportion it helpes to the baptizing of infants, ſo it will help alſo to ſeverall ſuch conſequences as thoſe are; from this opinion ſo ſtated of the learned, and orthodoxe, you may ſee that it is no ſuch great honour to be able to intitle infants to baptiſme, which is common to you with unholy perſons, with excommunicate,133 and with Idolaters: And ſecondly that it is an effect of great charity, to intitle the children of ſuch a parentage to regeneration, and the Holy Ghoſt: For to proceed;
Though now in the derivative title for the chayne of Baptiſme, they all agree, that what ever title the child hath, comes by vertue of the fathers covenant, yet the immediate qualification is inherent in the infant; for they affirme that Chriſtian infants have repentance, faith and regeneration: The Lutherans are ſo much of this opinion, if you will beleeve Bellarmine Tom. 2. p. 294. f. that they beleeve that infants, vvhilſt they134 are baptized, uſe reaſon, heare the vvord of God, beleeve, love, vvhich as hee affirmes, vvas publikely determined in the Synode of VVittenbergh An. 1536. Which as hee ſaith doth ſo openly repugne to the truth, as it doth injury to humane ſence; for how is it credible (ſaith he) that an infant, which cryes, and reſiſts what he can when hee is waſhed, or ſprinkled, ſhould underſtand what he doeth.
The Calviniſts and more orthodoxe Divines receive it generally and aſſuredly, that infants bring to baptiſme, as their immediate qualification, regeneration, faith, repentance, &c. though not actuall, or by way135 of declaration to others; they argue thus, If infants naturally are ſome way capable of Adams ſinne, & ſo of unbeleefe, diſobedience, & tranſgreſſion, then Chriſtian infants ſupernaturally and by grace, are ſomeway capable of Chriſts righteouſnes, and ſo of faith, obedience, and ſanctification; but the forner is true, therefore the latter: The conſequence they proove hence, that elſe they would not ſee the kingdome of God, Iohn 3.5.6. Ieſus anſvvered and ſayd unto him, Verily, verily I ſay unto thee, except a man be borne of vvater and of the ſpirit, hee cannot enter into the kingdome of God; that vvhich is borne of136 the fleſh is fleſh, and that vvhich is borne of the ſpirit is ſpirit; but Chriſtian infants dying in infancy, ſhall ſee the kingdome of God, and not be damned; therefore they are borne againe of the ſpirit, and ſo muſt needs in ſome meaſure have repentance, faith and holynes.
Againe they ſay, that if wee cannot object Gods worke in nature, but doe beleeve that our infants are reaſonable creatures, and are borne not bruit beaſts, but men, though actually they can manifeſt no reaſon nor underſtanding more then beaſts; then neither can we juſtly object Gods worke in grace, but are to beleeve that137 our infants are ſanctified creatures, and are borne beleevers, not infidels, though outwardly they can manifeſt no faith or ſanctification to us; Ainſworth pag. 49.50. whom I quote, as being by all acknowledged a learned man, & in this opinion wherein hee concurres as wee ſhall ſee with the ſtreame of our Divines, not to be ſuſpected.
The like to this ſaith Walleus de Bapt. Infant. p. 493. Infants are to be reckoned amongſt beleevers, becauſe the ſeede or ſpirit of faith is in them, vvhich ſome call a habit, others an inclination; from vvhence by degrees, through the hearing of the vvord, actuall faith is formed, ſometimes ſooner, ſometimes later. 138This in the next pag. 494. hee prooves, Becauſe elſe they vvould not be ſaved, Rom. 8.9. If any have not the ſpirit of God, he is none of his. And Iohn 3.5. No uncleane thing ſhall enter into the kingdome of heaven; but infants by nature are uncleane, & are purged by the blood of Chriſt, the kingdome of heaven belongs to them, & they pleaſe God, &c.
This is layd for a ground amongſt the Calviniſts concerning Baptiſme: That Baptiſme is onely a ſigne and ſeale of regeneration already wrought; Oecolamp. de verb. Dom. cap. 3. Aqua myſtica in Baptiſmo non regenerat, nec efficit filios Dei, ſed declarat; the myſticall vvater in Baptiſme139 doth not regenerate, nor make men ſonnes of God, but declares.
So Zwinglius, Baptiſmus non aliter Eccleſiae Chriſti ſignum eſt quam exercitus aliquis ſignatur, non quod ſignum hoc conjungit Eccleſiae, ſed qui jam conjunctus eſt, publicam teſſeram accipit. Baptiſme is the ſigne of the Church, as the enſigne of an army, it doth not joyne you to the Church, but it declares you joyned.
So Beza, Nihil obſignatur, niſi quod jam habetur; nothing is ſeald, but vvhat is there already; of this opinion is Calvin fully, as it were eaſy to quote him, ſaving that in anſwering the Anabaptiſts, he ſayth; This objection is anſvvered in a vvord, by ſaying that children are baptized into faith and repentance140 to come; actuall he meanes (for he addes according to the firſt opinion quoted) of vvhich though vvee ſee not the appearance, nevertheleſſe the ſeede is planted there by the ſecret operation of the holy Spirit; ſo as hee would have faith and repentance there in the habit, that God may not ſeale to a blanck, nor give a lying ſigne: The like ſaith Pemble, a late and able Divine, That vvhich is ſignified in our baptiſme, is our juſtification by the blood of Chriſt, and our ſanctification by the Spirit of Chriſt; Baptiſme is the ſeale of both unto us, and infants may be partakers of both, being vvaſht from the guilt of ſinne by the blood of Chriſt, in vvhom they are reconciled to God,141 and actually juſtified before him, and alſo purified in part from the uncleanneſſe of ſinne, by the infuſion of grace from the Holy Ghoſt; vvhat then ſhould hinder, vvhy thoſe infants ſhould not be vvaſhed vvith the vvater of the Sacrament. So alſo Davenant in his comment upon the 2. chapt. of the Coloſſians to quote no more, where conflicting with the Anabaptiſts, he ſaith, As for infants becauſe they are not ſinners by their ovvne act, but by an hereditary habit, they have the mortification of ſinne, and faith, not putting forth it ſelf, but included in an habituall principle of grace: Novv that the Spirit of Chriſt can and doth ordinarily vvorke in them an habituall principle of grace, no vviſe man142 vvill deny. From all thoſe teſtimonies wee may obſerve, that the cleare reaſon of the thing inforces men to allow as neceſſary to Baptiſme in generall, the qualification of regeneration, faith, &c. how this now will fit infants Baptiſme, wee ſhall conſider hereafter; for the preſent wee joyne iſſue with them in theſe three things.
Firſt that a perſonall holynes, not derivative, or imputed onely, muſt be the ground of Sacraments.
2 That this holynes muſt be regeneration.
3 That the habits of faith and repentance, are to be eſteemed ſuch, I proove not theſe143 things, becauſe they are cleare in themſelves, and taken for graunted by thoſe already quoted, onely in theſe things wee joyne with them, and ſo farre agree together.
CHAP. VIII. In which are contained ſeverall queries and conſiderations, raiſed from the premiſſes, declaring what little ground there will appeare from their owne principles and conceſsions to conclude for Infant Baptiſme.
THeſe things thus ſuppoſed, I make theſe doubts about the baptizing of the infants of beleevers.
Firſt I would aſke whether all infants of beleevers have neceſſarily and aſſuredly thoſe habits, which muſt of neceſſity144 be concluded, ſince it is their perſonall qualificatiō for Baptiſme, and therefore you muſt have good grounds to judge that they have it, one as well as another. Firſt of all Peter Martyr ſayes, that, I vvill be the God of thee, and of thy ſeede, is not an univerſall promiſe, but hath place onely in the predeſtinate; and therefore upon 1. Cor. 7.14. elſe vvere your children uncleane, but novv are they holy, he ſaith, Promiſsio non eſt generalis de omni ſemine, ſed tantum de illo in quo rectè conſentit electio, alioquin poſteritas Iſraelis, & Eſau fuerunt ex Abraham. And therefore affirmes, that the children of the ſaints are borne holy, vvhen they are predeſtinate; and this agreeth145 with reaſon, for if you make that holynes, as before, the infuſion of gratious habits, yee muſt ſuppoſe election without which ſuch gratious habits are never infuſed, unleſſe to make good this opinion, you will allow falling from grace, which I am ſure our ſelves, and thoſe we deſire to ſatisfy, will not do.
This being ſaid, I would aſke upon what ground the Saints can ſuppoſe all their children to be elected, or why they ſhould deny any infants baptiſme, ſince experience tells us, that the children of many unbeleevers (if we will judge by the fruites and effects, which is the ſureſt judgement) are elected,146 and many children of beleevers reprobated; eſpecially now ſince the ſluce is taken up, & the Goſpel preached to every creature under heaven.
Againe conſider how cold a ground this is for infants baptiſme, your children are holy by being borne of you, that is, regenerated, and ſo qualified for ordinances, if at leaſt they be elected, and I ſeale to them their holynes & the kingdome of heaven, if they be elected; as if a King ſhould ſay, I confirme this towne to you and yours, if at leaſt it hath pleaſed me, or ſhall pleaſe me, to give it you.
But if you ſay, wee have reaſon to hope well of them, according147 to that, elſe vvere your children unholy, but novv are they holy, for ſo ſaith Peter Martyr upon that place, Bene ſperantes quod ut ſunt ſecundum carnem ſemen ſanctorum, ita etiam ſunt electionis divinae participes, & Spiritum Sanctum, & gratiam Chriſti habeant; Hoping vvell, that as they are according to the fleſh, the ſeed of the Saints, ſo they are alſo partakers of Divine election, and have the Holy Spirit, and the grace of Chriſt.
I anſwer, that if you will hope of them, you neede diſpaire of none, eſpecially where the ſound of the Goſpel is, and it is but ſtretching the line of your hope and charity a little farther, and you may baptize all.
148Secondly it is not a hope you muſt goe upon for the giving of ordinances, holy ſeales, but a judgement. Paul called the ſaints poſitvely faithfull and elect, and ſaid it vvas meete for him to judge and thinke ſo of them all; and when we come to admit members, if they give but onely ground of hopes, wee let them ſtay for their owne profit, and the diſcharge of our duty, till they can give us ground of a judgement.
Thirdly the Apoſtle ſayes poſitively they are holy, and therefore what ever holynes it is, it is no longer the ſubject of your hopes, but your judgement; yee ought to judge them149 ſo, & to aſſure your ſelves they are ſo.
If therefore by a generall conſent the infuſion of holy habits depends upon election, we muſt conſider upon what election depends, before wee can make up a judgement; for the infuſion of habits, if that depends upon the holynes of the parents, you ſay ſome thing, but ſurely every honeſt heart will graunt, that as holy parents themſelves, are both loved & elected for Chriſts ſake, ſo God loves and elects their infant children, not for their ſakes, but both them and their children for Chriſt alone: and to make God conſider (as the150 object of childrens election) the faith of their parents, is worſe then the opinion of the Arminians, who make faith & workes foreſeene the object of every particular mans electiō; ſo as if election muſt precede the infuſion of holy habites, which muſt qualify for infant baptiſme; & experience ſhewes ordinarily (by the rules which Chriſt hath left us to judge by, the fruites and effects) that the children of godly parents proove not ever holy, and that the election of God for the child, depends not upon the holynes or faith of the parent, but upon his owne free grace in Chriſt: Then the judgement151 will ſeeme to riſe up very coldly and lamely for the Baptiſme of infants of holy parēts, which muſt, as themſelves confeſſe, be firſt qualified with the infuſion of holy habits.
But ſecondly, I would know of theſe men, why for the making good of their infant Baptiſme, they ſhould determine God, ordinarily to an extraordinary way of working & converting (which is the infuſion of gratious habits in that age) for faith in the ordinary way comes by hearing; but this way of being borne Chriſtians, that is, charged and qualified with holy habits, is not by hearing, but by an immediate revelation,152 and in a way ſo extraordinary and ſtrange to us, that though we find cauſe to aſſent that it is ſometimes done, yet how it is done is a mighty miſtery, & altogether unknowne to us.
And if you object that though this may be extraordinarie to men of age, yet it is a way of converting, ordinary to children, who are not capable of the other way.
Anſw. I am ſure that all men of age were children once, and wee find by the effect it is not ordinary to ſuch, for wee find them ſo farre from being borne againe, though borne of Chriſtian parents and baptized, that153 a great part of their life is often ſpēt in an unregenerate eſtate, and their converſion prooves very viſible & evident to themſelves and others, ſo as it appeares not to be the ordinary way of converſion, but at the beſt the extraordinary and particular way to ſuch infants, as fall under election, and come not to that uſe of reaſon and underſtanding by which they might receive faith, by hearing: now certainly an extraordinary way of working, muſt never proove to be the ground or qualification of an ordinary adminiſtration. But then thirdly, I would aſke why this holines, that is, this faith and converſion154 in infants, being wrought (if it be at all) in a hidden ſecret and inviſible way, we ſhould ſeale it and confirme it to them, and conveigh alſo more of the ſame, by a ſenſible & intelligible ordinance; That it is ſo, wee are forc't to reaſon our ſelves into it, becauſe no uncleane thing ſhall enter into the kingdome of heaven, and therefore how it can be cleanſed, and ſanctified, though wee know it not, yet wee ſuppoſe it is, if it be ſaved: Now it ſeemes ſtrange that that faith which we know not how to goe about to worke, or to beginne, yet we know how to ſeale, and how to confirme; we uſe to ſay thinges155 are preſerved and nouriſht as they are made, the way ſuppoſed to convert, is immediately from God, the way uſed to ſeale and confirme, this is mediate by an ordinance; the way of converſion is inviſible, myſticall, ſecret; the way to ſeale it is evident, viſible and teaching; for the Sacraments conveigh to us, more concionis, after the manner of a ſermon. Now the underſtanding cannot be moved, but by underſtanding, nor the eye but by ſeeing, nor the eare but by hearing; to ſay therefore that faith is ſealed, or faith is increaſed, by an outward teaching ordināce, which ſhall neither ſtryke our ſence156 nor our underſtanding, is very hard