Apostles they were no infants and as for thos e scattered they were no infants for they went every where preaching the word which infants that cannot speak nor understand cannot possibly do Therefore no such infants in the Church at Jerusalem Obj. But questionless there were women scattered as well as men and then it must follow they preached also and then we have women preachers I answer Although the Ministers in out days would have neither women nor men a preach but themselves yet the Scripture telleth 1 Cor. 11.4 5. that in those days women did use to pray and prophesie and they did it with their heads covered and Philip had four daughters virgins and they did prophesie Act. 21.9 and the Lord saith he will pour out his spirit upon all flesh upon his servants and handmaids and they shall prophesie Act. 2.17 18. and they that do prophesie do speak to men to edification exhortation and comfort 1 Cor. 14.3 therefore women may preach or declare the mind of God to others to edification exhortation and comfort if they be indued with gifts and abilities provided they do not usurp authority over the men 1 Tim. 2.12 And thus is the objection answered Argument III. My third Argument is from 1 Cor. 1. where Paul saith in the second verse he wrote to them at Corinth which were Saints by calling with all that in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus c. and in ver 10. he exhorts and beseecheth them to speak all one thing ver 12. he saith that Every one of them did speak and one said I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo and I am of Cephas and I am of Christ But infants that cannot speak nor understand cannot call upon the name of the Lord Jesus as ver 2. nor speak all one thing as ver 10. for they cannot speak at all neither can they say for their parts who they are of whether of Paul Apollo or Cephas or Christ Therefore no infants that could not speak nor understand were members of the Church of Corinth its evident for every one that was a member there could speak and say they were of one of these Argument IV. My fourth Argument is from 1 Cor. 6.4 If then ye have judgements of things pertaining to this life set them to judge that are least esteemed in the Church That he meant them that are least esteemed for wisdom and judgement is plain in the 5. verse But infants of eight or ten days or weeks of age cannot either judge or speak in such cases Therefore I conclude there were none such members of the Church at Corinth Argument V. My fifth Argument is from 1 Cor. 10.16 17. compared with ch 11.28 29. which words are these The cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of Christ and the bread that we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ for we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread and Whosoever doth eat of this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord and eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lords body c. But infants that can neither speak nor understand cannot discern the Lords body from the world as it is sanctified and separated from it by faith and obedience neither can they discern his body broken nor his blood blood shed for them which is so lively represented and holden forth in this bread and cup to every discerning believer till he come ver 26. Therefore such infants are no visible Church-members or if Mr. Baxter or any will yet have it so then we must needs conclude with the Scripture 1 Cor. 11.29 that they eat and drink damnation to themselves not discerning the Lords body which would be absurd If any object and say that Infants must not nor do not eat of that bread and drink of that cup till they be of riper age Answ They discover abundance of ignorance like those 1 Tim. 7. which desired to be teachers of the Law and yet knew not what they said nor whereof they affirmed for if they be Church-members as Mr. Baxter and Mr. Cook say then they are to partake both of the bread and the cup for the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 10.16 17. that both the cup and the bread are the Communion of the body and also that the members of the body being many are all partakers of that one bread c. Therefore either little infants that can neither speak nor understand are no members or else if they be they eat and drink damnation to themselves not discerning the Lords body as aforesaid let Mr. Baxter Mr. Cook or any man alse avoid this absurdity if they can Argument VI. My fixth Argument is from 1 Cor. 10.17 compared with 1 Cor. 11.28 in these words for we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread c. whence I argue thus If all that are members of the body do partake of that bread and they that do partake of it must examine themselves and so eat then little infants that can neither speak nor understand are no members visible of Christs body the Church for they can neither examine themselves nor none else for them because they cannot speak nor make answer But all that are members of the body do partake of that one bread 1 Cor. 10.17 and all that do partake of it must examine themselves and so eat of that bread c. Therefore no such infants are visible members of Christs body which is the Church Object If any shall object that we may as well exclude women as children for the Text saith Let a man examine himself c. I Answer first it discovers but a wicked cavilling spirit for conscience telleth them that both men and women did partake of it because its the communion of the body as I have proved and that women are members of the body of Christ which is the Church Eph. 1.22 23. I think none fearing God dare deny but lest any should I shall prove it Gal. 3.27 for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ There is neither Jew nor Gentile bond nor free male nor female but ye are all one in Christ c. and we read when they believed Philips preaching they were baptized both men and women Act. 8.12 Again that women are members of the body is evident for Paul writing to the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 11.4 5. Saith Every man that prayeth or prophesieth with his head covered dishonoureth his head but every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head and ver 11. he saith the man is not without the woman nor the woman without the
c. but this is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those daies saith the Lord I will put my laws in their mind and write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God they shall be to me a people and they shall not teach every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying Know the Lord for all shall know me from the least to the greatest c. This is the new Covenat of grace Now that Children that cannot speak nor understand cannot be in it is evident by the following reasons 1. Because they that are in this Covenant have the Laws of God put in their minds and written in their hearts but little babes that cannot speak nor understand have not the Laws of God in their minds nor written in their hearts therefore they are not in this Covenant Now that such little Children are not in a capacity to know the mind and Laws of God is most plaine Isa 7.14 15 16. Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call his name Immanuel butter and hony shall he eat that he may know how to refuse the evil and chuse the good for before the child shall know how to refuse the evil and chuse the good the Land that thou abherrest shall be for saken of both her Kings Thus its evident that even the Lord Christ as he came in the flesh of the seed of David there was a time in which he was not capable of discerning between things which differ and therefore it is said againe that he grew and waxed strong in spirit and the grace of God was upon him Luke 2.40 And againe Jesus increased in wisedome and stature and in favour with God and man ver 52. From all which I conclude that if it were thus with the Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh as he was man much less do other Children understand the Laws of God in their non-age to have them written in their hearts and minds and therefore not in Covenant Obj. But it may be some for want of wisdome will object that upon this account Christ will be excluded the Covenant in his infancy Answ To which I answer Such people know not what they say for the Lord hath given him for a Covenant of the people and for a light of the Gentiles Isa 42 6. chap. 49 8. And he is the Mediator of the new Covenant Heb. 12.2.4 And his blood is the blood of the everlasting Covenant chap. 13.20 with Luke 22.40 And he is the seed to whom all the promises were made and in him they are yea and in him amen Gal. 3.15 with Cor. 1.20 and without him could be no Covenant of life and peace for he is the substance and life of the Covenant Therefore vain and foolish it would be for any man to make such an objection Again those that are in the new Covenant shall know the Lord from the greatest to the least Heb. 8.11 but little babes born of the flesh of a week or a month old cannot know the Lord for they know not their own parents nor their right hand from their left Jonah 4.11 therefore the Lord saith plainly that children are innocent yea the children of those which worship and do sacrifice to the devil Psal 106.37.38 in these words They sacrifice their sons and daughters to devils and shed innocent blood even the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan therefore little babes though innocent are not nor cannot be in Covenant for that which is born of flesh is flesh but the new Covenant is a spiritual Covenant and they which enter into it must be born again for those that worship God must worship him in Spirit and in truth Joh. 4.24 Thus have I plainly proved that little babes that cannot speak words nor understand Reason cannot possibly be in the new Covenant Obj. But now followeth that great and unanswerable objection as Mr. Cook and Mr. Baxter supposeth which is this If children be not in Covenant they cannot be saved therefore saith Mr. Baxter in his 21 and 22 Arguments pag. 71 72. that Doctrine that leaveth us no sound grounded hope of the justification and salvation of any dying infants in the world is certainly false Doctrine But that Doctrine which denies any Infants to be members of the visible Church doth leave us no sound grounded hope of the justification and salvation of any Infants in the world therefore it is certainly false Doctrine The same saith Mr. Cook in his 13. Argument pag. 44. That Doctrine and practice is to be abhorred as most contrary to the Covenant of God which puts the Infants of Christians into the same condition with the children of Turks and Infidels and leaves them in the visible kingdom of the devil as no visible members of the Church c. But the Doctrine of the Anabaptists is such therefore to be abhorred To all which I answer first denying that any children are saved by vertue of visible Churth-membership or being in the Covenant as believers are and let Mr. Baxter Mr. Cook or any for them prove it by the Scriptures if they can Secondly I answer there is no difference between the children of believers and unbelievers in their non-age for the children of believers are but innocent when we make the best of them and the children of unbelievers also are innocent Psal 106.37 38. yea though their parents be such as worship and do sacrifice to the devil yet the Lord hath pronounced them innocent ver 38. saying They shed innocent blood even the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed unto the Idols of Canaan Thus it is plainly proved by the word of the Lord that the children of the murtherers and Idolaters that worshipped and sacrificed to the devil as ver 37. were innocent and those that are innocent God will not destroy See Exed 23.7 with Job 22.30 and Prov. 6.16 17. Again there can be no difference between the children of believers and unbelievers because no such children have actual sin and the best of children of men have that which is called original sin viz. the sin that came by Adams transgression for which they must all dye and return to their dust even the best of Saints as well as the worst of sinners for it s appointed for all once to dye and after that cometh judgement but the Scripture doth not say that any shall be judged according to their original sin or condemned for Adams transgression but it saith They shall be judged according to their works Rev. 20.13 and that every one shall receive according to that he hath done in his body whether it be good or bad 1 Cor. 5.10 therefore no ground to fear the salvation of children dying in their non-age for although they must dye for Adams sin yet Christ is become their Resurrection and they have no actual sin to
how have you laid aside the Common prayer-Book or why do you lay it aside and yet retain the baptisme that you had according to it and the rules prescribed in it is not this plain dissembling deceiving your selves and mocking of God consider it well in the fear of God before it be too late had you ever any baptisme but that you had in your infancie or were you baptized since you believed if you were not then you are still unbaptized persons and no visible Christians by profession because you have not put on Jesus Christ by being baptized into him since you believed See Gal. 3.26 27. you have but received Common-prayer-Book-baptism which is full of lyes and deceit as I have already proved at large shewing that the Godfathers and Godmothers stood by and said they desired to be baptized when they never meant it and then their taking the poor Babes that said nor knew nothing of their doings and baptizing them and making them Christians as they think before they know either Christ or their owne Parents or their right hand from their left Thus have you the third reason at large why we separate or dissent from the Church of England which is the Priests lying and deceiving the people by false baptism instead of a true Our fourth and last Reason is the Priests their teachers cruelty and blood-thirstiness for they are them that would build up Sion with blood Jerusalem with iniquity as Mic. 3.10 11. for they do not onely preach for hire and divine for mony but they would have the life and blood of all that will not be of their minde and judgement and the weapons of their warfare are not mighty through God by his Spirit and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God to cast downe high imaginations of men and to stop their mouths by sound doctrine as 2 Cor. 10.4 5. with Eph. 6.17 but the weapons of their warfare are carnal and mighty through the Magistrates to pull downe mens houses and hale them to Prison and convert them with Prisons and stocks and whips and Gallowes these are the weapons of their warfare men must believe as they believe or else be hanged or banished or at least be imprisoned and disabled to get an honest living by the labour of their hands And how doth this their doings agree with that saying in Rev. 13.16 17. which saith that none might buy or sell but they that worshipped the beast and his Image and received his Mark c. let all that fear God and understand themselves judge Object But they do not persecute now for now all opinions have liberty enough Answ We will never thank them for it for we know it is against their wills witness Mr. Baxters incensing the Magistrate against us to cut us off as soon as highway-murderers and their dayly preachings and printings extant therefore praised be the great God in whom we trust who hath changed the times and seasons at his pleasure for the good of them that fear him and hath given his Churches rest for a little season to the end we might renew our strength and walk in the comfort of the holy Ghost and be edified And thus have you four reasons at large of our dissenting or separating from the Church of England 1. Because of the Priests or Ministers covetousness as appeareth by their taking tythes and forced maintenance greedily looking every one for his gaine from his owne quarters as Isa 56.11 2. The Ministers pride in advancing themselves by reason of their humane learning above those that have the Spirit and truth of God in them more then they 3. Because of the Ministers deceit and falshood in administring Antichrists baptism piecing and patching of it together with lyes and deceits to make the poor people believe it is the baptism of Christ 4. Reason is their cruelty and bloodthistiness as aforesaid in that they would have all suffer that are not of their minds and believe as they believe being the same that is done at Rome to those that will not believe as the Church believe From all which I reason thus If these things be in the Teachers and Leaders of the people what may we expect from the poor deluded people thus blindly led but onely Christs words fulfilled viz. If the blind lead the blind they will both fall into the ditch Thus having laboured to manifest the truth of Christ to those that know it not and to vindicate the truth against those that do speak evil of it and the professors of the same I having also laboured to make the folly and wickedness of deceivers who transform themselves into Ministers of righteousness manifest to all I commit my lines to the view of all both friends and enemies not doubting the favourable acceptance of the one not at all fearing the subtilty nor malice of the other but desiring the blessing of God upon my weak and unworthy labours for the good of all men I remain Yours engaged in the service of Christ Henry Haggar FINIS