confessed their sins 1. He saith some will have it to imply no verbal Confession but virtual c. which gloss carrieth a strong Probability c. Answ. 1. Such presumptuous glossing contradicting the Text upon such inconsiderable reasons as is the multitude of the baptized deserves no answer 2. It is so much the stronger against him if Baptism be in the very reception a virtual Confession then no man can be Baptized without it 2. He addeth I require more an Engagement to leave sin which their taking on them the name of Christ doth Imply Answ. If the Engagement be only for some distance of time it is such as God accepteth not nor must we If it be an Engagement to forsake sin from that present time forward it is withall a plain Profession of present true Repentance or conversion and consent to leave it yea renunciation of it resolution to take it up no more More to this purpose followeth which I think contains nothing that requireth any more than what is said already to disable it Argum. 2. My first Argument was from the Necessity of a Profession of true Repentance the second shall be from the Equipollent terms or Description to the thing Described Thus. We must baptize no man that first professeth not to believe in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost To believe in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost is saving Faith if sincerely done therefore we must Baptize no man that first professeth not saving faith The Major is proved from Mat. 28.19 Where this is made the form of the words in baptism or at least the End and that which we must insist on Calvin on the words yields the Anabaptists that faith is put justly before baptism Nam alioqui Mendax esset figuraque remissionem peccatorum Spiritûs donum offeret incredulis qui nondum essent Christi membra And that non abs re patris filii spiritûs expressa hic fit mentio quia aliter baptismi vis apprehendi non potest quà m si à gratuita Patris misericordia initium fiat qui nos per filium sibi reconciliat deinde in medium prodeat Christus ipse cum mortis suae sacrificio Et tandem accedat etiaÌ„ spiritus sanctus per quem nos abluit regenerat Denique suoruÌ„ omnium bonorum consortes faciat It appeareth by comparing Mat. 28.19 with Rom. 6 3. and 1 Cor. 1.13 14 15 10.2 that to be baptized into the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost is not only to be baptized by their Authority but also to be thus Initiated into the Relation which the Church standeth in to them and to be consecrated to the Father Son and Holy Ghost as Musculus Diodate the Assembly of Divines Annotations and the generality of Expositors do express See Dr. Hammond Pract. Catech. l. 6. § 2. And especially on Mat. 28.19 Grotius at large and that it comprehendeth or presupposeth a Profession of believing in the Father Son Holy Ghost For no man can devote himself solemnly by our Ministry to the holy Trinity that doth not first Profess to believe in them Therefore the Church ever taught the Câ—techuâ—â—eni the Creed first in which they profess to believe in God the Father Son Holy Ghost And before they actually baptized them they asked them whether they believed in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost To which they must answer affirmatively or not be baptized And for the Minor that this believing in the Father Son and Holy Ghost is saving faith if sincerity done as it is professed is proved 1. In that to believe in God in Christ in the Holy Ghost signifyeth not only the act of the understanding barely assenting but also the consent and Assiance of the Will 2. True saving faith is so expressed in Scripture and the promise of eternal life is added to it Joh. 14.1 Ye believe in God believe also in me Joh. 1.12 To as many as received him he gave power to become the sons of God even to them that believe in his name where believing in his name is made equivalent with Receiving him and hath Adoption immediately annexed to it And all that are baptized must first Profess to believe in his name and so receive him and not only promise to do it hereafter Joh. 3.14 15 16. Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have eternaâ— life But all that are Baptized must Profess to believe in him Joh. 3.36 He that believeth on the son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him He that will distinguish now and say that it is not this believing on the Son here mentioned which must be Professed by all that will be baptized but another believing on him which leaveth him among those that shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him must prove and explain his distinction better then those that have undertaken it have done Joh. 5.24 Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my words and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death to life If any words of Christ can put us out of doubt that believing in the Father and Son is saving faith these asseverations and plain expressions may do it especially being a thing so oft rehearsed So Joh 6.35 He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst Verse 40. And this is the will of him that sent me that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day Ver. 17. Verily verily I say unto you He that believeth on me hath everlasting life So John 7.38 and 11.25 26. and 12.44 46 and 14.12 Acts 10.43 To him give all the Prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins Rom. 3.20 That he might be just and the Justifier of him that believeth on Jesus Rom. 45. To him that workâ—th not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Rom. 9 33. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed So 10 11. 1 Pet. 2.6 1 Joh. 5.10 Tit. 3.8 with many the like From all which it is evident that Believing on or in God the Father Son and holy Ghost is saving faith having more frequent and as express promises of life as anything whatsoever And it is believing in God the Father Son and holy Ghost that we must profess in baptism To this I suppose it will be answered for I know not what else can that there are two sorts of believing in or on God the Father Son and holy Ghost and the Texts mentioned speak of one sort which is saving and that which we must necessarily profess in Baptism is another sort that is a faith not joyned with Charity or
necessity of our holiness and Obedience to him He that denieth the Holy Ghost the Truth of his Miracles by which he sealed Christs Doctrine or the necessity of his Sanctification this man is Notoriously ungodly if he Notoriously deny these for he professeth ungodliness it self So doth he that denieth Christ hath any Church on earth and that denieth to have communion with his Church 2. That man is notoriously ungodly that is notoriously utterly ignorant of God and his son Jesus Christ of the Goodness Wisdom or Power of God of the Incarnation Death and Resurection of Christ and his Redemption of us hereby of the necessity of Faith and Holiness and of the evil of sin and of the everlasting blessedness that is promised to the Saints I will now only say excluding not the rest that the Ignorance of any one of these is inconsistent with true Godliness But I must tell you anon that there is need of much wariness in judgeing of such Ignorance 3. All those are Notoriously ungodly that do Notoriously upon Deliberation and with Obstinacy profess that they will not take God for their God and Governour or that they will not take Christ for their Redeemer and Lord nor be Ruled by him nor Trust in him for pardon and salvation or that they will not believe his word nor will be sanctified by his Spirit 4. All those are Notoriously ungodly that deliberately and ordinarily when they are themselves do Notoriously profess that they set more by the Pleasures Profits or Honors of this world than by the promised Blessedness in the life to come and that they will not part with these for the hopes of that Blessedness 5. All those are such also who though in the general they will say that they will be Ruled by God saved by Christ Sanctified by the Holy Ghost and guided by Gods Laws yet when it come's to particulars do deliberately in their ordinary frame profess that they will not part with their known sins at the command of God but resolve to displease him rather than obey 6. Such also are all those that though in general they profess to prefer Heaven before Earth yet when it comes to practice and trial do Notoriously and deliberately in their Habituated frame profess that they will not let go particular known sins for the hopes of Heaven 7. Such also are all they who living in gross sin and being convinced of it will not promise a sincere endeavour to reform nor will remove from or put away the removeable occasions which draw them to sin nor will be perswaded to use those known means which God hath commanded for the curing of their sin as to hear the Word to change their Company to confess their sin and take shame to themselves and profess Repentance They that Notoriously thus refuse Reformation when by Ministers or discreet Christians they are urged to it or that refuse Gods means which they are convinced he requireth of them and this obstinately are notoriously ungodly though they do not profess it in words For though it be exceeding hard to determine how great many or long the sins of a true Believer may be yet we are certain that he cannot manifest such a Love to them or Habituated unwillingness to be cured of them For that will not stand with true Repentance 8. All those are Notoriously ungodly that profess or express notoriously a Hatred of those that would draw them from their sins not for their harsh or indiscreet management of a reproof nor upon a meer mistaken conceit that the Reprover oweth him ill will but on that very account because they would draw them from known sin For this is Notorious impenitency and shews a Love of sin and the Reign of it in the Will 9. All those are Notoriously ungodly who do by Scorns Threatnings Persecutions or otherwise Notoriously express a Deliberate Habituated Hatred prevailing in their hearts against God Christ the Spirit the Scripture or Godly men because they are godly that is because they do Believe love God and live a Holy life and obey God in those things which they are convinced that he commandeth For this shews that Ungodliness prevaileth in the heart 10. All those are Notoriously ungodly that being convinced that its a Duty to pray to hear the Word to mind the Life to come and prefer it before this and to live a holy Life do yet so far dislike all this or any of this that they profess themselves resolved never to practice it and that they will venture their souls come on 't what will rather than they will make so much ado or live such a life yea though they will not profess this yet if they will not on the contrary be perswaded to profess that they resolve to live such a life and will not be drawn actually to the practice of it in their endeavours thereby manifesting that it is not so much for want of Ability as from a predominant unwillingness to be Holy in Heart and Life I say if this be Notorious then is it Notorious that these people are ungodly and accordingly to be judged and used by the Church Though I understand that many think that it is too rigid to go so far as I have already done in maintaining the Negative of the former Question yet I think it necessary to go further and to determine that It is our Duty to refuse to baptize the Children of more thâ—n the Notoriously Vngodly If you would know who else it is that we must exclude or refuse remember that before I told you of Excommunication from 1. A particular Church for some reason proper thereto or to some more but not common to all 2. From all Incorporated Congregations as such 3. From the society of Christians as such and that this last is either for a time because of the scandalousness of the sin and the credit of the Gospel with those without though we may yet see signs of Repentance in the sinner 2. Or for the Infectiousness of the sin as a Leprosie As if a man take himself bound to perswade all men to some greater and dangerous Error which yet may stand with Grace and Salvation but makes it very difficult and much hindereth it and if no means can convince this man of his Error nor take him off this is a kind of a Heretick who must be excluded from all Christian Communion but is not certainly and notoriously graceless 3. There is also exclusion from the society of all Christians upon an evident Proof that the man is no true Christian that is that he is Notoriously an Unbeliever or Ungodly person This I have spoke to all this while 4. But then there is also an exclusion upon a violent Presumption or very strong Probability though short of a Certainty that such a man is graceless or ungodly Hereupon I lay down what I take to be the Truth in the Propositions following Proposition 1. I may not deny the right of
have much fear of the condemnation of others Yet if it come not to a strong or violent presumption grounded on sufficient evidence we may not suspend or cast them out In a word it is a verbal profession seemingly serious and not again contradicted by a cross profession of word or action that is the evidence of mens Interest in Church-Priviledges particularly of the Baptism of their Infants Quest. What take you for a sufficient disproof of a verbal profession or a ground for such a violent presumption that a man doth lye and dissemble and is no Christian Answ. I mentioned you ten particulars before on which we may judge men Notoriously ungodly Look over those again and ye may see what to take for a violent presumption 1. A man that denyeth any Essential part of Christian Religion though we are uncertain whether he do it resolvedly and deliberately yet if he will not upon sufficient invitation reverse that denial and profess Repentance of it Or if upon a just call a man refuse to profess his Belief of the Chrâ—stian faith It is ground of a violent presumption that he is no Christian or godly man 2. Those that are not only unable to give any account of their knowledge of the Essentials of Religion but also do by their contrary answers when we put them but to affirm or deny shew that they understand them not and this often though its possible they may be amazed or oblivious yet it s a violent presumption that they are utterly ignorant of the Essentials And here I advise all to be very tender how they exclude people on point of meer ignorance if they 1. are but able in private to those that they are familiar with to give a tolerable account of essentials 2. Or if they answer truly with a yea or a Nay when you contrive the matter into your question 3. And if they be diligent in the use of means and willing to Learn and live uprightly And to this purpose consider of these things following 1 Fundamentals or essentials are but few 2. Many poor people are of such natural bashfulness or hesitancy that they cannot speak what they know 3. Specially when Rustical education increaseth it 4. And especially when it is in publike or to a Minister whom they reverence 5. There are indigested ruder Conceptions which may be found and yet not formed ready for expression even in some that can speak well We see some Ministers in Examinations too deficient And the best find sometime a light which they cannot utter and the force of a reason in their minds which is no whit ready for the tongue 6. Scripture examples in this point observed would moderate us What did the Apostles require 7. He that gives a true Yea or a Nay shews that he believes the Truth 8. He that in his life seeks heaven before earth shews that he knows it to be better than earth I speak these things but to moderate some men I add 9. It is commonly as much the Ministers fault that he hath not a satisfactory Answer as the persons I have noted it that most Ministers either speak roughly or indiscreetly discouragingly provokingly or of things not essential and that it is a matter requiring greater wisdom than most have to draw out the minds of the most ignorant sort of our people 10. And if they know not the essentials may we not help them to a tolerable knowledge of them at the present before we part with them At least we should trie 3. While men do wilfully delay upon a sufficient Call to profess their Consent to the matters in the third Article forementioned viz. to take God for their God Christ for their Saviour the Spirit for their Sanctifier the Word for their Rule we must delay our using them as Godly 4. He that professeth to esteem this world more than that to come add reverseth it not though we know not certainly whether he spoke it deliberately must be presumed ungodly till he reverse it 5. He that professeth not to leave his known sins but rather to venture on Gods displeasure though its possible he may speak it hastily in a temptation yet is to be presumed ungodly till he manifest Repentance that he is now of another mind 6. So they that profess that they will venture or lose their Interest in Heaven rather than forsake their sins till they repent manifestly of this are to be presumed to be ungodly 7. So they that live constantly in the commission of gross sins though they profess Repentance and promise Reformation yet have over and over broke their promises and still continue in the sin such mens words are not any more to be credited else all Discipline may be eluded till they actually reform And though we cannot certainly tell just how much gross sin may stand with Grace yet because we must judge by probable evidence and the Apostle telleth us that such shall not inherite the Kingdom of God and that if we live after the Flesh we shall die we must presume that men are what they appear to be Had we such a man as Solomon in his sin to deal with we ought to use him as an ungodlâ— man I think So those that have lately committed scandalous Notorious sin and will not on sufficient perswasion manifest any satisfactory repentance for it we must presume them ungodly till they will manifest repentance For we know except they repent they shall perish and an undiscovered repentance is to us as none And our Divines at Dort conclude that though a Godly man lose not his Justification by gross sinning yet he contracts such an incapacity of coming to heaven in that state that must be removed by repentance or else he could not be saved 8. Those that will not hearken to them that would admonish them but refuse to obey their counsel for the forsaking of known sin and also despise and abuse them meerly for that Though its possible this may be as Asâ— did in a temptation yet we must presume till he repenteth that he is ungodly for we know that he that being oft reproved hardeneth his neck shall be destroyed without remedy specially when it is a Minister of acknowledged sobriety and authority that doth reprove and the Reproof hath nothing in it that should seem injurious 9. Those that do deride or slander or persecute the generality of Godly men about them for their apparent Godly practices in matters of weight in Religion though its possible in a Temptation they may do it upon some mis-reports and mis-apprehensions yet till they manifest repentance we have sufficient reason to presume that they are ungodly men So for those that evidently endeavour the disgracing or extirpation of Godliness 10. Those that either profess to take a godly life as an unnecessary or that being convinced or having full evidence which might convince them do yet refuse to hear the word to pray at all to seek heaven in the
infidelity and doubting and have so much Belief of the truth of Scripture as prevaileth with them to resolve to trust their everlasting happiness only on that bottom though with the forsaking of all earthly things yet are they far short of a full assurance or certainty of the truth of the Gospel and are principally in doubt of the sincerity of this act of their faith Now I would know what Mr. Blake would have these Godly persons do that are not assured of their Dogmatical faith but are oft ready to say I shall one day perish by this Unbelief If he would have them receive the Sacraments without assurance of a Dogmatical faith we have reason to think that they may receive them without assurance of a justifying faith though we make this the condition of their Title as they do the other 3. It is a great controversie among the Reformed Divines whether an unconverted man can have that faith which we call Dogmatical I know but two or three Divines to be of Mr. Blake's opinion though its like enough there may be more And one of them thinks that the nature of justifying faith lieth only in Assent another I have heard in conference maintain that wicked men or the unconverted do not indeed Believe God nor that the word of God is true And if this be so then sure a Dogmatical faith is a justifying faith and he that must be sure of the one must be sure of the other when it is not really another but the same or an essential part of the same This also is the judgement of many Protestant Divines as Bishop Downam Camero and his followers and many more viz. that faith lieth in Assent or a perswasion of the truth of the word and the common opinion of Protestants is that this Assent is one essential part of justifying faith and that it is in the understanding as well as the will I remember scarce any of note besides Amesius that placeth it in the will only and make the act of the Intellect to be but Integral or preparatory And if there be any such thing as Grace or Holiness and Rectitude in the Intellect I do not yet conceive wherein it can consist if not in Light procuring knowledge of and Assent to the truth And how much of this jure vel injuria Mr. Blake yields to the unregenerate see him on sacr pag. 179. As in these words And therefore though the wicked match the Regenerate in assent in their understandings it will not follow that their understandings therefore are truly sanctified I am far from believing that the wicked do match the Regenerate in assent in their understandings But if he can prove this I would fain know what the Rectitude or Sanctity of the understanding is seeing he supposeth that this is not it He that with a deep habitual assent doth Believe that God is the chief good and that for him and that Heaven is more desirable than earth and that there is no salvation but by Christ received as our Priest Prophet and King c. I think he hath a sanctified understanding or else I know not who hath nor what it is But in such great points as this if Mr. Blake have made any new discovery of the nature of sanctity or rectitude in the intellect as a thing differing from assent he might have dealt charitably to have told us what it is and not to have left the world at a loss 4. And I still think that at best if the wicked have a true Dogmatical Belief of the essentials of Religion it is as hard or harder for them to attain assurance of the truth of that Dogmatical Belief in its kinde as it is for the Regenerate to attain assurance of the truth of saving faith in its kind Therefore if the wicked may lawfully claim a Right in both Sacraments without assurance that they are sincere in their kind of faith why may not the Godly claim a Right without assurance of sincerity in their kind of faith And if Mr. Blake will say that neither assurance nor perswasion that we have either the one or the other is necessary to a claim or Right but only a promise of them for the future then Heathens and Infidels have right and may lay a claim For they can promise to be Christians and yet remain Heathens Obj. 3. If you take none to have such a right as may warrant their claim and receiving but only sound Believers then you make election and the covenant and seals to by commensurate which is not to be done Answ. The terms are ambiguous Supposing that we understand each other as to the sence of the word Election I say of the word Covenant that it may mean three differing things 1. If you mean the conditional promise of Christ and life to all that will Believe I say that this is not commensurate with Election For as to the tenor it belongs to all the world and as to the promulgation to all that hear it This is sometime called a covenant in the sense as all Divine constitutions be about our life and sometime as it is the offer of a mutual covenant and sometime as it is seemingly accepted But still God is but conditionally obliged And this is no sufficient Title to the seal For then it were due to open Infidels if not to all 2. If by the word Covenant you mean mans own promise to God or consent to his offer so I say it is either sincere or not sincere Sincere consent to Gods offer is commensurate with election unless you can prove that such fall away totally and finally But unsincere consent as when it only to half the offer or unsincere promising with the tongue without the sincere consent of the heart is not commensurate with election nor doth it warrant the Hypocrite to claim the Sacraments though it may warrant me to give them if he claim them 3. If by the Covenant you mean Gods actual obligation which followeth mans acceptance which is the performance of the condition of Gods promise then I say it is commensurate with election unless you could prove the foresaid doctrine of Apostacy For when God hath promised us Christ and life on condition of our acceptance or consent and we hereupon do sincerely consent then Gods promise doth induce on him as we may speak after our manner an actual obligation and give us an actual Right to the benefits and is equivalent as to that present benefit to an absolute promise And it is only this that will warrant our claim to any of the benefits Obj. 4. Saith Mr. Blake pag. 121. And whereas he so peremptorily determines that though wicked men oblige themselves yet God still remaineth disobliged let him consider whether God be not some way obliged to all that he voucheth to be his people If this be denyed there will be found no great happiness to a people to have the Lord for their God But God avoucheth
we believe divers persons who are to us of divers degrees of Credibility And if after all this we be deceived in the most the sin is only in the deceiver And as for us 1. We proceeded upon that evidence which Nature it self directeth us to take even a mans words as the sign of his mind 2. And upon that Evidence which the holy Examples of the Apostles of Christ have directed us to take who were not rashly venturous nor prophaners of Gods Ordinances 3. And if we be indeed deceived in the most or in many it s rather a sign that we are in Gods way than out of it for as Charity believeth all things credible so Christ hath told us that the tares and wheat must grow together and that many are called and few chosen and that in the end he will take out of his Kingdom all things that offend and them that work Iniquity therefore such there will be Object 2. But it is now the custom of the Countrey and a matter of credit to be Christians in Name and therefore all will be so and if you ask them whether they Repent or Believe they will say Yea Therefore this is no credible Profession though theirs was in the dayes of the Apostles when it hazarded their lives Answ. 1. The hazard that attendeth a mans words is not necessary to make them simply credible though as to the Degrees it makes them more credible else we must believe no man but he that speaks to the hazard of his life 2. The Prosperity of the Gospel will not warrant us to alter the Rule of Nature and Scripture else the Church must Incurre greater difficulties in prosperity than in Adversity if prosperity forfeit all mens credit and so men should be kept out in prosperity who may be admiâ—ted in adversity when the Church had peace and were edified Act 9 31. the Apostles altered not their practice 3. We have great cause to rejoyce when Christianity is in so good credit as that all profess it and so respectively we may be glad when there are so many Hypocrites that is when persecutors befriend the truth which they persecuted and when the Gospel is in so much honour And though I am not of their mind that think it the first prescribed End of the Institution that Sacraments and Church-state should be the means of Conversion yet I doubt not but God foreknowing that many hypocrites would unjustly Intrude hath so fitted his Ordinances as to be advantagious to their Conversion when they have Intruded He calleth not any to come into his Church without saving Faith and Repentance nor is he consenting to any mans lying Profession nor unworthy approach to Baptism or the Lords Supper but yet they that do come unworthily and unwarrantably do find that there which tendeth to their Conversion and frequently effecteth it and this I think is the true mean between their Doctrine who maintain that the Sacrament is prescribed as a converting Ordinance and the unconverted are called to it and theirs that say simply it is not a converting Ordinance Object 3. This is the way to fill the Church with hypocrites and ungodly ones and that breeds all our stir while they scandadalize their Profession and will not be ruled Answ. 1. It is Gods way and then no Inconvenience will disgrace it 2. We are foretold as is said that many are called and few chosen and the Church will have many unfound Professors to the end of the world 3. When they are in the Church they are under teaching and Discipline to inform them or if they be oâ—stinate in gross evil to reject them 4. God will have a wide difference between the Church in heaven and on earth Object 4. Then we must admit a drunkard or whoremonger that still lyeth in his sin if a bare Verbal Profession will serve the turn Answ. No. You must see that with his Profession of Repentance he do forsake the sin repented of or else he contradicteth and invalidateth his Profession If a man in his drunkenness come to be baptized and profess to hate drunkenness he actually giveth his tongue the Lye If a man swear that he hateth swearing he contradicteth himself and we have no reason to believe him If a Whoremonger keep his Concubine while he professeth to repent he doth one thing and saith another so that this doth not follow Object 5. It was believing with all the heart that Philip required of the Eunuch and such a believing aâ— had the Promise of Salvation as Paul and Silas required of the Jaylor Answ. True and it s such that we require But Philip and Paul took a bare present Profession as the Evidence of that faith which they must accept and so must we Object 6. But then we shall apply the Seal to a Blank Answ. By a Blank if you mean One that you ought not to apply it to and that hath no right in foro Ecclesiae I deny it but if you mean one that is not actually the subject of Gods promise and to whom God is not actually obliged but conditionally as he is to Heathens and one that hath no proper right coram Deo or Deo judice as shall justifie his claim and receiving before God so I grant that we set the seal to a Blank But that 's not our sin but his And here I desire the Objectors carefully to note that it is Gods design in the Gospel so to order things that the actual Application shall first be the act of the sinner himself God by his Ministers indeed will be the first offerer and the Spirit in the Elect shall be the first Exciter But the first actual apprehender must be the sinner and then the Ministers application by the seals is in order to come after mens own application For man is to be the chooser or refuser of his own salvation which Clemens Alexandrinus giveth as a reason why in those times of the Church When some as the custom is have divided the Eucharist they permit every one of the people to take his own part For every mans own conscience is best fitted to the act of choosing or refusing Stromat lib 1. pag. 2. so that we are but to follow them with the seal and therefore the applying or refusing act must be first theirs and theirs as professed is the Director of ours And therefore as it is their sin and not ours if they reject Christ and their faith and not ours by which he is chosen to be theirs so it is their sin and not ours if a misapplication be made of the External Ordinance by them and so we take not an invalid profession we are bound to follow their profession for God never appointed heart searchers to administer his seals Object 7. But wicked men know not their own hearts and therefore are uncapable of making a credible profession Answ. They may know them better them I can The Intellect hath naturally a power of knowing it self
as to their more profitable use of Ordinances but make no other conditions of their Right then God hath made 4. It is onely a Profession that 's serious voluntrary not contradicted prevalently by word or life which you must take as is before described And do you take it to be so unreasonable a matter to believe a man fide humana who speak's of his own heart which another cannot see when you can bring no evidence to disprove his words If you know any thing by his life that certainly proves his Profession false admonish him of it in the order that Christ hath directed you to till he either hear the Church or be rejected by the Church or at least by not hearing the Church do give you cause to take him as a Heathen or Publican but be not so much against the Scripture and 2. All discipline that ever the Church hath used And against common justice and reason as to do this by men on your own private judgement without evidence and a just tryal and once hearing them speak for themselves and many do that will unchurch a whole Parish and gather a new one on supposition of the invalidity of a bare Profession and on supposition that most are ignorant and ungodly before they have ever once accused them particularly or dealt with or excluded any of them in the way that Christ appointeth If I certainly knew that in this Parish there were 4000 unregenerate Persons and not 400 or 100 truly regenerate and yet knew not particularly which the unregenerate Persons were I ought not to cast out one man from the Church upon any such account Object But with what comfort can the Godly have communion with the societies that are so mixt with multitudes of the ungodly Answ. If they do not their duty in admoishing the offenders and labouring to heal the diseased members and to reform the Church in Christs appointed way Mat. 18.17 Then you may well ask With what comfort can such Professors live in the sinful neglect of their own duty But if they faithfully do their own part how should the sins of others â—e their burden unless by way of common compassion And how have Gods servant in all ages of the Church to this day received comfort in such mixt Communion These Objectors shew that they seek more of their comfort in men then is meet or that they discomfort themselves with their own fancies when they have no cause of discomfort given them from without but what must be born to the end of the world by al that wil walk in the waies of Christ. Object But it is the Communion of Saints that we believe and must endeavour Answ. True internal spiritual Communion with hearty Saints and External communion with professed Saints For real Saints in heart are unknown to us Ob. But the greater part do not so much as Profess to be Saints Answ. They that profess to believe in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and to renounce the world the Flesh and the Devil do profess to be Saints so do they that profess to repent of all sin and to be willing to live according to the word of God But I meet but with very few that will not profess all this Object They will say these words indeed but in the mean time they will scorn at godliness or disclaim it by their lives Answ. Those that do so must be dealt with in Christs way as Church-members till either they hear the Church or be rejected for their impenitency but you must not dare upon this account to unchurch whole Parishes nor ordinarily any one Person that hath not been dealt with in the order that Christ hath appointed To conclude this Disputation I find that the two things before mentioned are great occasions of the proneness of many godly people to schism The one is because they do not understand that Christ hath so contrived in it the Gospel that every man shall be either the Introducter of himself by Profession or the Excluder of himself by the rejection of Christianity And so that all Church admissions or rejections shall be but the consequents of his own choice that the chief comfort or the blame may be upon himself And this is partly from the admirable freedom and extensiveness of Gospel Grace which the sons of Grace should glorifie and rejoyce in and not murmur at and dishonour and partly from the wise dispensations of our Legislator that he may deal with men on clear grounds in their absolution or condemnation before all the world 2. The other cause of the schismatical inclination of some godly people is the great mistake of too many in confining all the fruits of Christs death and the mercies or graces of God to the Elect and so not considering the difference that there ever was and will be between the visible Church of Professors and the invisible Church of true Believers Alas Brethren in the name of Christ let me speak it to your hearts do you grudge a few common Priviledges to common Professors when you have the best and choysest part your selves you have Christ himself and do you grudg them the name of Christians or the bare symbole or signs of his body and blood You have sincerity of faith and Repentance and answerably you have true Remission and Reconciliation They have the profession of Faith and Repentance and do you grudg them the empty signs of a Remission which they have lost by their hypocrisie and Unbelief You have Inward communion with Christ in the Spirit as you have Inward faith Do you grudg an Externâ—l communion with the Church to them that have the External profession of Faith O Remember that the Net of the Gospel bringeth good and bad to the shore and the tares must grow with the wheat till harvest and then is the time that you shall have your desire The second Disputation Quest. Whether Ministers must or may Baptize the Children of those that Profess not saving faith upon the Profession of any other faith that comes short of it IT may seem strange that after 1625. years use of Christian Baptism the Ministers of the Gospel should be yet unresolved to whom it doth belong yet so it is And I observe that it is a Question that they are now very solicitous about And I cannot blame them it being not only about a matter of Divine appointment but a practical of such concernment to the Church I shall upon this present occasion give you my thoughts of it as briefly as I can which contain nothing that I know of which is new or singular but the Explication and Vindication of the commonly received truth We here suppose that Baptism is still a needfull Ordinance of Christ and that Infants are to be Baptized and that Ministers are the persons that should Baptize them so that it is none of our work at this time either to defend the Ordinance it self against the Seekers nor the
Of which I have spoken before Of Acts 10.47 hereafter The sense of the third Argument is that the Sacrament of the Lords Supper giveth us New food viz. the Flesh and Blood of Christ. Therefore it supposeth the new Birth and Life To this Mr. Blake saith 1. Metaphors are ill Materials to make up into Syllogisms Repl. 1. They are such as Christ used John 6. and frequently in Reasoning and therefore I am resolved to believe they are good Materials 2. We must use Metaphors or no words in some of the greatest Points in Divinity about God 3. We cannot easily find fitter terms here then New Bâ—rth Life and Food And if you had rather have many words then one change Food into special means of continuing or encreasing our New Life But this is a long term for a Syllogism 2. Saith Mr. Blake A difference may be put between ordinary and quickening food Repl. You should have told us your difference how it concerneth our case if you would have had us taken notice of it 3. He saith The word gives new Food and yet supposeth not new life 1 Pet. 1. â— Rep. The clean contrary is the scope of the Text you cite As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby The Word therefore as Food doth suppose new Birth and Life Christ as our first life is given in the Word to those that had not life before but Christ as our Food is given after both in the Word and Sacrament But you say There is a Sacramental work preceding our eating and there Christ is set forth to the aggravation of sin to carry on the work of Contrition and Compunction Rep. It s a sorry arguing that because there is that in the Sacrament which may benefit an ungodly man to see that therefore he hath right to receive it yea or is like to have benefit by it He that will not consent that Christ shall be his full Saviour may be moved to consent by seeing a Sacrament True though it is not appointed to such ends yet its possible But how should he be moved to consent by receiving it and so signaâ—ly Professing to consent when he doth not that is by lying The fourth Argument is from Rom 4.11 Circumcision was a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith therefore so is Baptism therefore so is the Lords Supper therefore it belongeth only to justified Believers To this Mr. Blake answereth 1. Then Ismael and each male were justified Rep. 1. He whom you answer spoke only of the Adult and then you should have said only then Ismael and all the males that had true right to Circumcision were either justified believers or the children of such or as to Church right of those that Professed themselves such And that is true 2 And it is lis sub judice yet whether the Synod of Dort Davenant c. or Mr. Gataker were in the right and so whether all the seed of justified persons have an Infant justification with them or not You add that Abrahams Circumcision there is not made a proof of hâ—s justification Repl. He that maketh it the Instituted Nature or use of Circumcision to be a Seal of a Righteousness of Faith which the person had before doth make his Circumcision a proof of his foregoing Righteousness of faith But so did Paul concerning Abraham therefore c. 2. Paul may give us a full proof of it though he spake those words to another intent The fifâ—h Argument is to the same purpose with the former as Mr. Blake reciteth it and therefore I shall say no more to it his answer requiring no more The sixth Argument he passeth by himself The 7. Argument is from the Necessity of a wedding garment I confess I do not think that it is the Sacrament only that is meant by thaâ— feast but it is Christ as offered in the Gospel with his benefits which in the Sacrament is specâ—ally represented and coming in is their coming into the visible Church by Profession and the scope of the Parable is to shew these two things 1. That he thaâ— invited them to come in did intend that they must come in that case and with that preparation as is answerable to the nature of the feast and is for the Honor of the Bridgegroom or Master of the Feast and therefore they should so have come 2. That because they so came not they shall only suffer as those that came not but also be cast out into a greater degree of misery that is because they come not with an upright penitent true believing heart disposed to Obedience Now the thing that Mr Blake should answer is whether it be not hence proved that men should have the Wedding garment of sincere faith before they come into the visible Church they or their Parents and much more before the Lords Supper God saith Friend how camest thou in hither not having on a Wedding garment But of this more anon Where Mr. Blake saiâ—h The world may lay as fair a claim to this wedding Feâ—st as the Supper I reply Neither one nor the other is it simply considered in it self but as a Church priviledge or a sign of our Church-membership And so the word of promise claimed or other parts and uses of it proper to Church-members are included with the Sacraments but not the word as preparing and common to those without The Lord of that Feast saith not Friend why wast thou invited hâ—ther for it was done by his own appointment but Friend how camest thou in hither that is I Invited thee not to come without the wedding garment to disgrace my house but to bring it with thee This therefore of Mr. Blakes is no answer The 8â—h Argument is That ordinance which is not appointed to work Faith is no coverting ordinance but c. Faith comes by hearing c. To which Mr. Blake answers that reading and seeing Miracles may also convert and so may Sacraments as not being opposite but subordinate I reply Hearing as the chiefest way of Reception is put for all the rest It is the word heard or read or some way received that is the appointed means of Conversion It s possible the Sacrament may be a means too but give us as good proof that it was appointed to that use or may be used to that end purposely by the unconverted as we shall prove the same of the Word and you shall carry the Cause The ninth Argument is That Ordinance which hath neither the promise of the grace of Conversion annexed to it or any example in the Word of God of any converted by it is no converting Ordinance But c. Ergo. To this 1. Mr. Blake answers ad homineÌ„ which is not worth repeating that examples will not satisfie his Adversary 2. That we have as many examples of mens conversion by the sacrament at we have of their receiving strength and nourishment Repl. A
possibility of mens erring in such Cases as are committed to humane determination that will warrant us to condemn that way or to cast about for some more Infallible or easie course such contrivances will have but the Popish success and will lose us the credit of our honest just Authoritative decision while we will needs pretend to an Infallibility that the world may discern that indeed we never had it The common-course of quarrelling with all Government where there is a possibility or danger of any great abuse and evils thereby doth directly conclude in the simple rejection of all Government by man and almost any thing else that man must be the agent in for as long as such vile imperfect wretches are the Governors how can you think the actual administration will be perfect Get Angels to Govern immediately or stay till men be as Angels of God and then you shall have a cure for all these Inconveniences but till then expect not good without evil nor that so bad a creature as Man even the best of men should govern any Society or do any considerable work without leaving upon it the Impression of his sinfulness and many Imperfections 2. Having shewed what this Profession must be in the General and the Nature of the Act I must next shew what it must be Materially and in Specie as it is morally specified from the subject matter And in general the thing to be Professed is that the Professor is a Christian or that he is a true penitent Believer in Christ. Object It is not his own belief qua creditur which he is to make Profession of but the Christian belief quae creditur that is the Doctrine of the Gospel Answ. 1. This is a contradiction He that professeth the Gospel to be true doth eo nomine profess his own belief of the truth of it For will he profess it to be true when he takes it not to be true otherwise he either speaks but the words while he takes it himself to be false which he speaks or else he only meaneth or saith that other men think it to be true though he do not 2. We need not to ask any man for a profession to Evidence the Gospel to be true but only to evidence his own Belief of it The Gospel needs not their testimony much less a testimony which they beleeve not themselves which is as none 3. Infidels are meet to be admitted to Baptism if there be no Profession of their own faith required But I suppose I need not to use more words against this objection More partâ—cularly as Christianity in sensu famosiori is the saving entertainment of Christ in the soul and faith in sensu famosiori is that which is called Iustifying saving Faith and a Church member in sensu famosiori is such a true Christian so it is true Faith and Christianity whose Profession is thus necessary and if there be but a bare profession without the thing Professed these are called Christians or believers but Analogically or as our Divines commonly tell the Papists Equivocally The Faith thus to be professed must be considered in its Acts and in its Objects The first Act is the understandings assent to the truth of the Revelation upon the credit of the Revealer which Implyeth yea formally containeth a crediting of his Veracity and so an Affiance therein 2. A Consent or Willingness that Christ be ours on the Gospel terms or an Accepting Christ and life as offered which Scripture calleth the Receiving of Christ Jesus the Lord Joh. 1.10 11. Col. 26. which is stil implyed in the Affiance or Recumbency by which the Act of Faith is so oft entitled in Scripture and which must be added As the act of faith must needs be both of the Intellect and the Will so the Object must be answerably the Truth of the Gospel and the goodness of the benefits there revealed and offered The Church is more agreed about the particulars of the Latter then of the Former for as the Papists would make us believe that the Fundamentals and Essentials of the Christian Faith cannot be known as distinct from the rest but that all which the Pope saith is de fide is of necesâ—ity to salvation so among our selves we are not well agreed whether Fundamentals that is Essentials can be enumerated There is no doubt but we may easily enumerate them in General terms and so our whole Christian Faith is contained in our common Profession at Baptism I believe in God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost If we yet descend to some particulars the case is clear that to believe in God the Father is to believe that he is the most Wise and Great and Good and our Maker and Ruler and our chiefest Good to believe in God the Son is to believe that he is God and man the Redeemer and Saviour ransoming us by his blood and overcoming death by his Death and Resurrection and procuring us pardon and everlasting life by his Merits to believe in God the Holy Ghost is to believe that he is the Sanctifier of the people of God that shall be saved Thus much is Evidently Essential to the Christian Faith and nothing but what is contained in this But then the great difficulty lyeth here whether a more particlar belief of some truths contained under these comprehensive terms be not Essential to Christianity To which I only say in general 1. That the belief of the Truth of the Promise or other verities being necessary in order to the determination of the Will to the Acceptance of the good revealed therein there is therefore so much of the doctrine of Necessity to be believed as is of Necessity to the determination of the Will to accept God for our God by Creation and Jesus Christ for our Saviour by Redemption and the Holy Ghost for our Sanctifier 2. All that is essentially contained in these Relative Titâ—es our God our Saviour and our Sanctifier must be particularly conceived of and believed 3. The foresaid Explicatory terms well understood seem to contain all such Essentials 4. He therefore that upon a true understanding of â—hem doth believe all these doth believe all that is Essential to the Christian Faith 5. Some persons can understand the Matter contained in these words without any more words having first the Grammatical and Scriptural Explication of them others have not yet had such Explications or at least understood them not and so must have more particular express expository terms that they may understand 6. It is Matter that is primarily Essential and Fundamental and that Propter se Words are to be called Essential or Fundamental but secundarily and propter aliud viz. so far as they are Means without which the Matter cannot be received but no further and therefore no particular words are properly fundamental or essential to our Religion seeing that he that never heard those words and yet believeth the matter by equiplloent terms or any
the Credit of their wordâ— hath Evidence of Credibility therefore they ought to be believed The Major is undeniable taking the measure of belief to be according to the measure of that Evidence The Mâ—nor I prove 1. From the ordination of nature 2. From the consent of the world and certain experience 1. Nature hath not given one man an inspection into the breast of another nor hath God made any Minister a searcher of hearts and beholder of mens thoughts 2. God hath made man capable of knowing in his own thoughts though its true that the heart is so deceitful that there is a great difficulty of knowing them of our selves yet the meaning of that Text Jer. 17 9 10. is concerning others who can know it that is who can know anothers heart But yet for all the deceitfulness a certain measure of knowledge may be had For 3. Man hath a certain knowledge of the Evil of lying and so a certain credibility naturally or by the light of nature as the examples of the very Heathens can witness 4. The tongue was created to be the Index of the mind Though mans actual language be acquired yet his tongue was made for that use All this set together shews ex natura rei that though the Evidence be imperfect yet an Evidence it is Moreover if there be such a thing as fides humana due among men then there is such a thing as Evidence of Credibility But the Antecedent is true Therefore so is the Consequent He that denyeth the Antecedent 1. I suppose will consent that no man believes him 2. And would not sure have any more converse used in the world 3. And I would put it to the consideration of the contrary-minded whether if ordinarily there be no Evidence of Credibility in mens word and Professions be not to be taken as signs of the thing professed it were not best either to cut out mens tongues or else forbear teaching our children to speak and so let language perish from the earth For if it be ordinarily understood as meer lying it would seem the best way to extirpate it by this means 2. And I have also the consent and experience of the world on my side of the Credibility of the words even of common men in general 1. All Societies are established on the credit of mens words Princes and people enter their Covenants upon the credit and confidence in each others words 2. All affairs are managed on this Supposition The freest men in England do hold all their Estates and Lives upon the credit of the words and common fidelity that it is even in unregenerate men They are sufficient Witnesses at any Bar. Two of these by a false oath might put a man to death and yet how seldom are such things done Moreover how much doth all History depend upon the word of of man Yea how much of humane credit do we make use of to assure us that these which we now have are the same Scriptures that the Apostles writ and that they are uncorrupted and how far and that these only are Cannonical c. Argum. 5. It is most suitable to the End of Baptism that the Adult should be Baptized upon a bare Profession For Baptism is to be the Sign and means of their solemn Entrance into the Church and reception of a Sealed pardon of sin c. Now if you would stay till men prove their sincerity by their holy lives you will have them grow before they are well planted and give you full Evidence of Church membership before they are rightly entred Members And sure this is not like to be a regular course Argum. 6. My last Argument is from the continued Custom of the Church of God which with Paul was somewhat I confess the Churches after the Apostles daies did for divers ages prepare men long before they baptized them True they were Catechumeni before they were fideles or baptized But 1. That was not that they might have experience of the sanctity of their lives as the necessary qualification of the persons to be baptized but it was that they might instruct them in the Christian Faith that they might know what they did and be fit to make an acceptable Profession and then when they were prepared for such a Profession they took the bare Profession it self as the evidence of the truth of the thing professed still supposing that it was such a Profession as is before described and were not invalidate by contradiction or the like and therefore they did indeed expect that those that lived in notorious scandalous sins should stop their course and forbear the committing of them as well as profess Repentance for them because that it would have nullified their Profession if they had commited the sin even when they professed to repent of it Therefore Austin in his Tractate de fide operibus on that subject would have none baptized that were guilty of living with Concubines in fornication unless they would actually put them away and then promise to forsake them for the time to come but he did not advise that they should after all this delay yet longer to see whether they would make good that promise by their performance I conclude therefore that the Apostles and all the Church having so long accepted of a bare verbal Profession we must do so too Objection 1. If we shall believe the Professions of all or most men we shall believe that to be true which is not true and we shall believe more Lyes than Truths for there are more that make false Profession then a true and moreover we shall administer the Ordinances of God upon the credit of a Lye which seemeth a prophaning them Answ. 1. A known Lye you may not you cannot believe and should you administer the Ordinances upon a Profession which is notorious false you should prophane them 2. But if I believe a Lyer when I cannot prove him such that 's none of my sin nay its mâ— duty God made mens tongues to shew their minds and so I am to take their words but if they will abuse them to lying that 's their own sin and not mine 3. If you would believe no man till you are sure that he saith true then you must believe no man in the world For though you may know the thing to be true by other Evidence yet belâ—eving him can give you no certainly of thâ— truth for belief dependeth on the credit of the speaker Your Argument therefore tendeth to the destroying of all humane faith which is not to be endured 4. It is but with a humane faith that we believe them and therefore we believe them but as deceitful fallible men who may possibly deceive us It is not with such a faith as we owe to God wherein we conclude the thing revealed to be so unquestionably true as that it cannot possibly be false because God cannot Lye yea it is with a divers degree of Faith that
the will though its true that the wicked have many difficulties in the way 2. They profess now that they are not wicked but converted therefore you must not take it for granted that they are wicked because they were so unless you can prove it and if you prove them wicked when they profess the contrary then indeed you invalidate their profession but not by proving that they were formerly wicked Object 8. But though all this hold of Heathens or Infidels newly pretending to be converted and so coming for Baptism yet it will not hold of professing Parents that bring their children to Baptism or of such as come to the Lords Supper For such have been long in the Church already and therefore must follow the truth of their Profession by a holy conversation Answ. I grant this and withall that the Pastor should be as diligent as he can to know the conversations of his people But withall I still say 1. That as it was sufficient at his first admittance that he made a verbal Profession so the same Obligation lyeth on the Minister and people to believe his word still till he forfeit his Credit as it did at the first A Verbal profession is still as Obligatory to us for belief though more be required in him to second it 2. And therefore I say that if a Minister through the numero usness of his flock or want of ability or opportunity or other causes yea culpable in himself shall be ignorant of the lives of his people he is to credit their Profession and not on that account to deny them Gods Ordinances 3. They therefore that will exclude any for want of a holy life must bring a certain Proof of his unholiness of life for they can require no more Proof from him of his holiness but that he professeth it And so I grant that as he professed Repentance and Faith at first entrance so he is now to profess that he continueth therein and walketh holy before God And if he do but say that he doth this no man can reject him till he first disprove him supposing him to be a member of his pastoral charge or otherwise obliged to administer it to him if fit Those therefore that will have any mans children kept from baptism for their parents unholiness or persons kept from the Supper must not expect that men bring proof to them of their holiness beyond their profession of it but must deal by them as by other notorious offenders even admonish them of their unholy Carriages and if he hear not take witness and then call the Church and if he hear not the Church then he must he rejected and not denyed the Communion of the Church upon every mans uncharitable presumptions or so heavily punished before he be judged or heard 4. And they must know that it is hainous evils indeed that will prove a Professor certainly ungodly and therefore they must look well to the validity of their proof Obj. 9. But they have forfeited the Credit of their words by their Covenant-breaking and wicked lives Answ. It must be a breach of the Covenant as owned by themselves at age that must be sufficient to prove that 2. And that more then once For once failing doth not forfeit the Credit of a man's word 3. And these violations must be proved and not barely affirmed 4. Yea it must be proved that he doth at the present or hath of late lived in violation of former covenants Otherwise Repentance manifested by Reformation repaireth his Reputation Obj. 10. The text cited in the following Disputation proveth that the Apostles took all the members of the Church to be Saints Adopted Justified c. But we cannot think thus of all that now Profess themselves Christians without being unreasonable Answ. Sometimes the Apostles denominate the whole Church from the better part as we call that a corn-field which hath many tares And sometimes being not heart-searchers nor knowing the falshood of Particular men's Professions they speak of them according to their Profession which the Law of nature and of Christ commandeth us to believe though only with such a humane faith as may be mixt with much jealousie and fear of the contrary concerning many of them which the same Apostles also frequently manifested But yet as they must believe charitably so must they speak charitably of the Professors of true Christianity Besides those Objections many particular Texts are urged by some to prove that it is only the Regenerate and such as shall be saved that are to be added to the Church which I shall not now stand to answer particularly but only give this general answer to them all If they mean only such as are Really sanctified and sincere or elect then we must admit none because we know not one man to be such but if they mean only those that seem to be such I have proved already that their own Profession of what is in their hearts out of our sight is to be taken for such a seeming and doth qualifie them to be visible members of the Church For as the Matter of the Church as Invisible is true Beleivers and Saints so the Matter of the Church as visible is the Professors of that faith and holiness and their seed Besides what hath been said in general Arguments to prove the Proposition I had thought to have gone over many particular Arguments from several Texts of Scripture partly giving us examples of such as by Gods approbation have taken Professions as credible Evidences of the things Professed and partly in precepts requiring a charitable credulity towards our brethren but because I conceive the last so plan as to need no more I wâ—ll forbear this till I hear that it seemeth necessary But yet there 's one other Objection to be met with Those that feel this Proposition pull down the Principles of schism or unjust separation which they are engaged in or inclined to do Object that if a bare Profession may admit to baptism then it may admit to the Lords Supper and to the Priviledges of â—hurch-members and so Church-Ordinances and Priviledges shall be dispensed upon bare words and formalities and so made nothing of To which I answer Are you able to search and know the heart can you discern sincerity by an infallâ—ble judgment I know none but Mr. Trask that pretended to it And if you cannot and know you cannot then you must be found to take up with fallible signs your selves And those signs you may as well call meer formalities as you do this in question 2. And if we must needs take up with fallible signs is it not better to follow the Scripture examples proposed to our imitation then to frame a new way of our own especially when the Law of nature and nations doth consent with Scripture and the contrary opinion proceedeth from a dividing principle and tendeth to division 3. Make as diligent search as you can after the sincerity of your flock
subjects as to their age against the Anabaptists nor the Agents against the Papists or others Nor are we now to enquire who are those Ministers that are authorized hereto or what is necessary to their calling and authority But supposing these matters already determined our present business is to enquire what that faith is that qualifieth persons to be the just subjects of Baptism or to be such whose Children may receive it upon the account of their faith or Profession I shall not needlesly spend time in seeking to make plain those terms that are already as plain as I can make them 1. What Professing is I have shewed in another Determination of the like nature and I think all understand that it is as much as palam vel publicè fateor 2. By Faith we mean not the Object of faith the doctrine believed only or primarily but the persons own Belief of the doctrine and reception oâ— Christ. 3. By saving faith we mean not to intimate that any faith of its own nature can procure our salvation nor that it doth of its own nature in specie as the nearest reason justifie a sinner nor is any way a proper efficient cause natural or political instrumental or meritorious or any other of a sinners justification but that it is that which the Donor of Christ and Life hath made the condition of our participation of his free-Gift and so doth morally qualifie the subject to be an apt recipient 4. Because there are many other Competitors we comprehend them all under the next words upon the Profession of any other faith that comes short of it 5. We enquire whether we either must or may Baptize such and suppose that the licet and the oportet do here go together so that what we may do we must do supposing our own call as no doubt what we must do we may do But yet that I be not mistaken which is a danger not easily escaped when I have done the best I can to be understood I shall further tell you what I mean by saving faith that is what I take it to be 2. What I mean by profession and what I take that to be 3. What are those other sorts that stand up in Competition with this as a sufficient qualification 4. And then I shall adjoyn some necessary distinctions 5. And so lay down my thoughts in some propositions 6. And then prove that which determineth the question 7. And lastly I shall answer the Arguments that are brought against it and for the contrary Claim And note through the whole that if I do at any time call this profession a Ttile it is in compliance with other mens language it being my own sence that neither the â—aith nor the profession is properly a Title which is fundamentum juris and so an efficient cause but only a condition of a Title 2. That if I say it giveth Right or Title I mean not efficiently as if we could give a Right to our selves but only that it is the condition which performed by us doth morally qualifie us to receive it as freely given 1. By saving Faith I mean an unfeigned Belief of the truth of the Gospel with an unfeigned acceptance of Christ who is there ofâ—ered to be our sufficient and only Saviour from the guilt of sin by his blood and merits and from the power of it by his spirit also and to bring us to glory in the fruition of God Or it is a sinners assent to the truth of the Gospel in the essentials and a sincere consent that God be immediately our only God and Christ our only Saviour and the Holy Ghost our only Sanctifier and we his people in these Relations I say immediately that is at present because if it be only a consent to be such hereafter it is not saving Or as the Assembly say it is the embracing of Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the Gospel Or it is a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the Gospel It is in those respects that are essential to the Office o the Redeemer and Saviour 2. By Profession I mean in the proper sense that which hath something present for its Object or subject professed and difference it from a Promise which is onely of something future For it is a present Assent and consent that is to be professed though withal the object of this professed consent must be both the present and future relation to Christ viz that he be our Saviour and we his saved people from this time forth and for ever So that a certain Promise de futuro in the strength of grace may be said to be made in that a man must profess his consent both de presente et de futuro But still though it be to a future Relation to Christ as well as a presenâ— yet is it ever to a preesent as well as a future It is a present consent that Christ be presently my only Saviour or a present acceptance of him to be presently my only Saviour that I must Profess Note also that it is not a Profession that this faith of mine is indeed sincere justifying or saving faith that I speak of but it is a Profession of such a faith as indeed is justifying For many a thousand Profess that faith which is justifying and yet know it not to be justifying while they Profess it nor know not that they do with a saving sincerity believe Not one Godly person I think of ten thousand would deny consent that Christ shall be presently their Saviour and yet most of them know not that this consent is saving If you ask them Are you heartily willing to have Christ to save you both from the guilt and reign of sin and to glorifie you and they will say yea withal their hearts or at least yea if I know my own heart And yet at the same time may doubt whether they be true believers But as it is the having of saving faith that is necessary to salvation and not the knowledge that we have it so a man may Profess that faith which is saving and yet not Profess that he knows it to be saving and it is not the latter but the former that the Minister must expect from people in Baptism 3. We are next to consider what are the Competitors which we now exclude There are divers qualifications that are pleadded as necessary to those that must be Baptized and our question is which of all these is it indeed that may warrant a claim or warrant our Practice 1. The condition that some require in all that must be baptized is Assurance or firm perswasion that they are true Believers or have their sins pardoned by Christ by his promise which they now come to have sealed 2. Another condition pretended as necessary is not such Assurance it self because we know it not but a Profession of such Assurance to the
man which is corrupt accordâ—ng to the deceitful lusts of the flesh He that signally professeth his present Consent to be washed by the blood of Christ from his former filthiness and guilt and to lay by the filthiness of Flesh and Spirit doth eo nomine profess saving faith and Repentance But all that are baptized with the baptism of Christs Institution do by the very voluntary Reception of Baptism so profess therefore they do thereby profess saving Faith and Repentance 3. Quo ad modum It s commonly confessed by us to the Anabaptists as our Commentators declare that in the Apostles times the Baptized were dipped over head in the water and that this signified their Profession both of believing the Burial and Resurrection of Christ and of their own present renouncing the World and Flesh or dying to sin and living to Christ or rising again to newness of Life or being buried and risen again with Christ as the Apostle expoundeth in the fore-cited Texts of Col. 3. Rom. 6. And though as is before said we have thought it lawful to disuse the manner of Dipping and to use less water yet we presume not to change the use and signification of it so then He that signally professeth to dye and rise again in baptism with Christ doth signally profess Saving Faith and Repentance But this do all that are baptized according to the Apostolical practice therefore c. Object about Nullity But it will be objected that this Argument goeth so high that it will prove that all mens baptism is a Nullity who do not profess Saving Faith and Repentance and so that they must be baptized again Answ. 1. This concerneth the Opponents to answer more than me 2. There are no such persons that I know of and therefore they are not to be re-baptized We distinguish between the secret Intention of Professing and the signal Interpretative Professing which the Church is bound to take as really intended And so I say that when Christ hath Instituted baptism for such a signification if any man seek and receive that baptism he doth thereby Interpretatively profess to seek and receive it as such to the use and Ends to which it was Instituted seeing then all the baptized do apparently as far as the Church can judge profess Saving Faith and Repentance even by receiving baptism there is no room for the conclusion of this Objection When they bring us forth one baptized Person who did not make such a signal Profession then we shall give them a further answer 3. If they did by word of mouth say that they believe with a saving Faith these words are but signs of their minds and whether counterfeit or not the Church cannot tell And the same may be said of the Baptismal Action and Reception 4. Therefore the Church must not take the external Sacrament for a Nullity every time a mans secret Intentions agree not with his signal Profession for then we should not know whether ever we baptize any one But when it is discovered after that he had other Intentions that which was wanting must be yet done viz. his sincere Intentions or saving faith and not that which was not wanting be done again viz. The external Administration and Reception of Baptism 5. It is confessed to be essential to the Sacrament that the Receiving of the washing by Water doth signifie the receiving of the souls washing by the Blood of Christ. Now suppose I can prove it of abundance of Parents that when they presented their Children to Baptism they did not understand that the water signified the blood of Christ or the washing our cleansing by it from sin and therefore had no such Intention in Baptism would the Opponents baptize all these again Let them answer this for themselves and they shall answer for us Or if the Case of Infant-baptism be quarrelled at let them suppose that it were the Person himself that had been so baptized though I am satisfied that its all one Argum. 4. If we must baptize none that profess not their Consent to enter themselves presently into the Covenant of Grace with God in Christ then we must baptize none that profess not saving faith But the former is true therefore c. Also if the very Reception of Baptism be a Profession of present entering into the Gospel-covenant with Christ then is it a Profession of saving faith But so it is therefore c. This Argument was implyed in the former but the Medium that I now use is the Identity of this covenanting and the profession of saving Faith supposing the Identity of Heart-covenanting and saving faith it self The Antecedent I think will be granted by many of the Papists and it is the common doctrine of the Protestants and therefore as to them I need not prove it I confess some of the Anabaptists and some few others do question whether Baptism be a Seal of the covenant of Grace But the quarrel is mostly if not only about the bare word Seal for they confess that in sense which we mean by sealing and particularly they confess that we do in Baptism enter into the covenant of God and that it is a professing and engaging sign on our part as well as an exhibiting notifying confirming sign on Gods part The consequence is thus proved He that doth ore tenus or by profession enter into the covenant of God doth profess saving faith therefore if we must not baptize them without a professed entering into covenant then nether must we baptize them without a profession of saving Faith Only the Antecedent requireth proof And if I prove either the Identity of profest covenanting and profest true believing or else the inseparableness of them I prove the Antecedent But I shall prove the Identity or the inseparability yea I doubt not of the first which is the most full proof And here we must first consider what the Covenant is we are to enter 1. And it is confest it is the covenant of Grace and that there is but one covenant of Grace This Mr. Blake aknowledgeth for all the mention of an outward covenant 2. It is also a confessed thing on all hands that it is God that is the first Author and Offerer of the covenant that it is he that redeemed us who made the promise or covenant of Grace upon the ground of Redemption and that this is frequently called a covenant in Scripture as it is a divine Law or constitution without respect to mans consent as Grotius hath proved in the preface to his Annotations on the Evangelists Much more out of doubt it is that it is called a covenant before man consenteth as it is a covenant offered and not yet mutually entered In the former sense the word is taken properly but in another sense and for another thing then in the later But in the later it is taken Tropically viz. Synecdochically it being but a covenant drawn up and consented to by God conditionally and offered to us
the Disciples with their Infants and that it is Reconciliation Adoption and the Inheritance of salvation that are sealed up to Parents and children by Baptism Paraeus in loc saith Cum Baptismus sit signum faederis testificans baptizatos recipi a Deo in gratiam haud dubiè Pater filius spiritus sanctus sunt unus verus Deus baptizatos in gratiam foedus recipiens And he expoundeth this from Mar. 16.16 shewing that as the order is credere baptizari so that this is a true saving faith lâ—st autem credere Evangelio non solum assentiri doctrinae quod vera sit sed fiducia certa sibi applicare promissionem gratiae nos recipi in gratiam nobis remissa esse peccata propter Christum Commendat vero nobis fidem baptismum duabus rationibus una ab utili salvabitur h. e. vitam aeternam consequetur For my own part I have before entered my dissent to such descriptions of justifying faith as make it to be a Believing that our sins are pardoned but yet I agree with him and the rest in the main that it must be an Act of the will embracing or accepting an offered Christ as well as of the understanding and that the Profession of it must go before Baptism But I shall further prove the Minor from some other Texts of Scripture viz. that they are not Christs Disciples that Profess not saving faith or are not the Infants of such Luke 14.26 27 33. If any man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brothers and Sisters yea and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple and whosoever doth not bear his Cross and come after me cannot be my Disciple whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my Disciple This is spoken of true Disciples in heart the first significatum by him that knew the heart From whence I argue thus If none are Christs Disciples in heart nor can be but those that value him above all and will forsake all for him if he require it then none can be his Disciples by external Profession but those that Profess to esteem him above all and to be willing to forsake all rather then forsake him But the former is proved by the Text The consequence is clear in that the world hath hitherto been acquainted but with two sorts of Christians or Disciples of Christ the one such sincerely in heart and the other such by Profession and the latter are so called because they profess to be what the other are indeed and what themselves are if they sincerely so profess And it is the same thing Professed which makes a man a Professed Christian which being found in the heart doth make a man a hearty Christian. Of these two sorts of Disciples people of God I spake as plain as I could speak pag. 4. of the Saints Rest But Mr. Blake never sticks when he meets with such passages to perswade the world that they are my self-contradictions and that they make for him as if it were all one to Profess a saving faith even the Acceptance of Christ and to Profess a faith short of saving But I perceive by this how he is like to use other Authors that cannot speak for themselves that would perswade men that I speak for him even where I expresly speak for the same cause which I now maintain against him John 13.35 By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye love one another Here Christ giveth a certain badg by which his true Disciples may be known If only those that love one another are true Disciples in heart then only those that Profess to love one another are Disciples by Profession But c. And that this Love is a special Grace and Inseparable concomitant of saving faith is manifest in that By this we know that we are translated from death to life because we love the Brethren 1 Joh. 3.14 Joh. 8.31 If ye continue in my word then are ye that is you will approve your selves my Disciples indeed If only those are Christs Disciples indeed as to the heart that have the Resolution of perseverance and those only his Practical conquering Disciples who actually persevere then only those are his Professed Disciples that Profess a Resolution to persevere But c. Ergo c. All this that I have said is no more then we have ever practised when in Baptism we renounced the World Flesh and Devil and promised to fight under Christs Banner to our lives end Saith Piscator on John 13.35 Si pro Christianis id est Christs discipulis haberi volumus oportet ut nos mutuò quà m ardentissimè diligamus c. Object Joh. 6. â—0 61 66. Those are called his Disciples that were offended at his word and went back Answ. 1. That 's none of our question whether Professed Disciples may not forsake Christ we easily acknowledge it But let it be proved that these did not before Profess a saving faith 2. This makes as much against the Opponent as me for it was the very want of a Dogmatical faith that they here manifested being offended that Christ should tell them that they must eat his flesh Object Act. 19.1 They are called Disciples that had not heard whether there be a Holy Ghost or not Answ. If they had not heard then it was not an article of necessity to their Justification They had been baptized and professed that faith which was saving when John baptized 2. This is spoken only of that extraordinary gift of the Holy Ghost Obj. Any one is a Disciple that is willing to learn of Christ. Answ. No such matter In an improper sence you may so call them but not in Scripture sense where 1. A Disciple and a Christian are all one Acts 11.26 But every one that is willing to learn of Christ is not a Christian therefore not a disciple 2. A Disciple of Christ is one that will take him for the great Prophet of the Church which whosoever heareth not shall be cut off from Gods people and will learn of him as of the Christ. But so wil not all that will learn of him for a man that taketh Christ but for a common wise man as Socrates or Plato may be willing to learn of him and so may be his Disciple in another sense but not in the Christian sense as a Christian. 3. He that is sincerely a Disciple of Christ in heart doth take him for one that by redemption also hath Propitiated the offended Majesty and as King hath authority to rule him and submitteth to him in his whole office as he is the Christ For he cannot be truly a Christian that taketh not Christ as Christ and believeth not in him in all that is essential to his office and so to the object of our faith As he that believeth that Christ is God only or Man only is no Christian so he
that believeth in him as a Teacher only for that is no more then to believe in him as in Moses or Elias 4. He that is sincerely a Disciple in heart must take Christ for his only Teacher in the way to everlasting life renouncing all other except as they stand under him and must be willing to be taught and guided by him in all things therefore he that is a professed Disciple must profess all this And that is to profess saving Faith For without saving faith no man can so believe in him or be heartily willing to be taught by him The lessons that they are to learn of him are self-denial and the contempt of this world and the love of one another and to be meek and lowly in heart that they may find rest to their souls Mat. 11.27 28. And these he proclaimeth when he inviteth men to his school But no ungodly man is willing to learn any of these and therefore unwilling are they to be his Disciples Argum. 8. We ought not to baptize those persons or their Infants as theirs who are visible members of the Kingdom of the Devil and his children or that do not so much as profess their forsaking of the child-hood and Kingdom of the devil But such are all that profess not a saving faith Ergo. The Major is proved thus If we must Baptize none but for present admission into the Kingdom of Christ then we must baptize none but those that profess a present departure from the Kingdom of the devil But the former is true therefore so is the latter The Antecedent is granted by those that I have to do with The reason of the consequence is evident in that all the world is divided into these two Kingdoms and they are so opposite that there is no passing into one but from the other The Minor of the first Argument I prove thus All they are visibly in the Kingdom of the Devil or not so much as by Profession removed out of it who Profess not a removal from that conditionâ— in which the wrath of God abideth on them and they are excluded by the Gospel from everlasting life But such are all that profess not a justifying faith Therefore I express the Major two waies disjunctively lest any should run to instances of men that are converted have not yet had a cal or opportunity to profess it If such are not visibly in the Kingdom of the Devil at least they are not visibly out of it The Major is proved in that it is the condition of the covenant of grace performed that differenceth the members of Christs Kingdom from Satans and so it is that condition profest to be performed that visibly differenceth them before men It is the promise of grace that bringeth them out of Satans Kingdom therefore it is only done invisibly to those that profess the performance of the condition Moreover to be out of Satans Kingdom visibly is to be visibly from under his Government but those that profess not saving faith are not visibly from under his Government Lastly to be visibly out of Satans Kingdom is to be visibly freed from his power as the Executioner of Gods eternal vengeance But so are none that profess not saving faith The Minor is proved from John 3.36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son or obeyeth not shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him where it is plain 1. That the unbelief spoken of is that which is opposed to saving faith even to that faith which hath here the promise of everlasting life 2. And that this leaves them visibly under the wrath of God So in Mar. 16.16 compared with Mat. 28.19 In the later Christ bids them make him Disciples and in the former he describeth those that are such and those that remain still in the Kingdom of Satan He that blieveth and is Baptized shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned Here it is evident that the unbelief threatned is that which is contrary to and even the privation of the faith that Salvation is expresly promised to and that all that profess not this saving faâ—th are not so much as professedly escaped a state of Damnation and that this is the differencing Character of Christs Disciples to be baptized of which yet more afterward so Acts 26.18 It is the opening of mens eyes and the turning them from darkness to light and the power of Satan to God that they may receive Remission of sins c. which is the true state of them that are Christians in heart and the Profession of this that proveth them professed Christians and they that do not profess to be thus enlightned and converted do not profess to be brought from under the power of Satan for that is here made the terminus à quo So Col. 1.13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son Here the passing into the Kingdom of Christ is by passing from the Kingdom of darkness so that he is not Cordially in one that is Cordially in the other and consequently he is not by Profession in the one who is not by Profession past from the other He that professeth not such a faith as proveth men in Christs Kingdom professeth not so much as may prove him out of Satans And expresly it is said 1 John 3.8 10. He that committeth sin is of the Devil In this the Children of God are manifest the Children of the Devil he that doth not righteousness is not of God c. These passages will be further touched when we come to the Argument from the true visible Church Argum. 9. If it be the appointed use of all Christian Baptism to solemnize our marriage with Christ or to seal or confirm our union with him or ingraffing into him then must we baptize none that profess not justifying faith Because this is necessarily prerequisite and no others can protend to union marriage or ingraffing into Christ But the Antecedent is true Both Antecedent and consequence are evident in Gal. 3.27 28 29. For as many of you as have been baptized into Chrâ—st have put on Chrâ—st Ye are all one in Christ Jesus And if ye be Chrâ—sts then are ye Abrahams seed and heirs acccoding to promise Here 1 We see that it is not an accidental or separable thing for baptism to be our visible entrance into Christ our putting him on our admittance by solemnization into the state of Gods Children and heirs acording to promise For this is affirmed of all he baptized with true Christian Baptism If we be truely baptized we are baptized into Christ. If we we are baptized into Christ then are we Christ's and have put on Christ and are all one in Christ and are Abrahams seed and heirs according to promise If any object that the Apostle speaks this but of some of them even of the
wonderful confidence If Mr. Blake will bring as good proof of any converted by it as we can that the eleven Apostles that the Church at Jerusalem Acts 2. and 4. and the rest of the Churches were strengthened by it he will make good that Assertion 3. What he saith of our not having precedents by name is nothing to the purpose If he can prove it of any named or unnamed specially of Societies it will suffice 4. He tels us that The examples of Conversion by the word perhaps well examined would prove short of such Conversion as is here intended The Conversion in Gospel-Narratives is to a Christian profession Repl. 1. This is too unkind dealing for any Preacher of the Gospel to use with that Word which converted him and hath brought in so many thousands to Christ and which he himself preacheth for the conversion of others I should offend the patience of the Reader to stand to confute this by proving that the Word hath been a means of true saving Conversion yea the ordinary means I refer Mr. Blake to what I have said before of the state of the Churches that Paul wrote to Was there not one sort of Ground that received the seed in depth of earth and brought forth fruit Was not Paul sent by preaching to open mens eies and turn them from the power of Satan to God Act. 26 v. 18. Doth not Paul in all his Epistles speak of the Saints as converted savingly by the word of the Gospel What heaps of clear Testimonies might we bring out of his Epistles How contrary is this new Doctrine to the Word and all the ancient Churches and all approved Protestants Judgements I would we had such Evidence of true Conversion now among our Professors as the multitude of Converts gave Act. 2. and 4. and as the Jaylor gave Act. 1.6 and the Eunuch Act. 8. and as Lydia and many other 2. But what if the Word had not truly converted them its somewhat to be brought to an outward Profession of true faith which the rest were that were then Church-members But the Profession of your faith of another species is not the Profession of a Christian Faith though you call it so If you will give me but as good proof of any one baptized person that was brought but to the Profession of this lower Faith as I will give you of multitudes that were brought to true saving Faith by the Word and more to the Profession of it I will say that you have done that which never man did before you I pray make tryal for the proof of some one Well! But the main strength of the Argument which you had to answer was concerning the Promise To which you say 1. When the adversary shall bring a Promise made to the Sacrament for spiritual strength it will happily be found of equal force to the giving of a new life Repl. You next say Implicite Promises may serve Shew but one such You say Every Promise made to the Word is made to the Sacrament Repl. Prove that and take all Though we have no Promise particularly of converting this or that man by the Word yet we have that it shall convert many in general Shew where is a word of Promise that the Sacraments shall convert any one Sure if Paul had but had such a Promise of converting men by Baptizing them as he had of converting them by Preaching Act. 26.17 18. and elswhere he would never have said I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus c. for I am not sent to baptize but to Preach the Gospel 2. We find where in that Sacrament men have Communion of the Blood of Christ and of his Body and are partakers of the one Bread and have communion with one another and are helped by it in calling to Remembrance Christ death in hope of that coming all which are undoubtedly strengthening 1 Cor. 10 16 17. 11.25 26. Act. 2 c. But you cannot shew where ever any was either united first to Christ or his mystical Body by the Lords Supper or where it was appointed to be used to any such end or where ever any generaral or Implicite Promise of such a thing is made The tenth Argument was from the expresse danger of unworthy receiving 1 Cor. 11.17 The summ of the answer is That This Argument would take off every Ordinance from the honor of Conversion Repl. But I conceive that the strength of the Argument or that which ought to be its strength is wholly overlookt which is not from the Necessity of a Preparation in general but of a special Preparation or Worthiness which is not so pre-requisite to the fruitful use of converting Ordinances There is a saying by the superfluity of naughtiness malice c. requisite before a man can in reason expect that the Word should convert him and yet it may convert thousands that are not so far prepared by doing that and the rest But the Worthiness of a Partaker of the Lords Supper must be more than this For 1. That which the Church is Judge of must be that the Receiver be a Church-member professing true Faith and not contradicting that Profession by a scandalous life 2. Himself is required to examine himself for more that is whether he be sincerely what he Professeth and Christ be in him or else he is a Reprobate and not to take the childrens bread 2 Cor. 13.5 and also that he have a Particular Preparation according to the nature of the Ordinance It s expresly Necessary 1. That he discern the Lords Body 2. That he do this in remembrance of Christs death and with a hope of his coming and 3. For communion with Christ and his Church and to be partakers of the one bread 4. And with a Heart to take Christ and Eat that is to feed on him by Faith when he takes the bread But all this cannot be done by the unregenerate nor is this prerequisite before a man come to the Word that it may convert him That Preparation which is pre-requisite in a meet receiver of the Lords Supper it was not instituted to effect unless as it may do it when God sees good in an unworthy or prohibited use But true Faith and Repentance are Preparations pre-requisite Ergo c. You cannot say that to the hearing of the Word as a means of conversion true faith and Repentance is so requisite The text you mention 1 Pet. 2.1.2 I say again speaks of the confirming and edifying use of the word and not of the converting use The converted must bring true saith to the Word if they will expect encrease of it but the unconverted must not needs bring true faith if they will be brought to believe by it 3. Yet remember that we say not that men ought to forbear coming that are unconverted but that they ought to come but how To believe and repent and so to come and to do it in this order and no
Scripture either of Precept or example where any person in baptism or the Lords Supper doth engage or is required to engage to begin to believe with a saving faith or to believe with a faith which at the present he hath not Shew but one word of Scripture to prove this if you can if you cannot I may conclude that therefore we must not require that which we have no Scripture ground to require 2. This Engagement to believe savingly is either for a remote distant time or for the next instant â—ut no unbeliever as to that faith is called to promise in Baptism such a saving faith either at a distant time or the next instant therefore not at all 1. Not at a distant time For first that were to resolve to serve the Devil and be an unbeliever till that time 2. And no man is sure to live any longer time 2. Not at the next instant For first that instant cometh as soon as the word of Promise is out of his mouth even before Baptism and therefore by that Rule he must believe savingly before 2. We may as well stay one minute or instant to see whether he will perform his Promise as to baptize him upon that bare Promise of believing the next minute 3. It is a ridiculous unreasonable conceit that any man should say I believe not savingly yet but within a minute of an hour I will and that this should be required in baptism and the Lords Supper 3. God makes it not the condition or qualification of them that are to be admitted to Baptism or the Lords Supper that they should Promise to do that which they have no Moral Power to do I mean such as the seed or habit of Grace containeth as to the act But the unregenerate have no Moral Power to believe with a saving faith Ergo c. The Major is proved thus 1. To promise to believe savingly is to Profess that they are truly willing to believe savingly but no wicked men are truly willing so to believe therefore they are not called to promise it for that were to be called to profess an untruth and so to lye Unless as they are called to be really willing and promise both and that is but to be sincerely faithful and to promise to continue so 2. It is not found any where in Scripture that I know of that God doth call any wicked man to promise to be a godly man or true believer before he is so but only commandeth him to be so And if God never call such men to such a promise at all then is it not the condition or qualification of persons to be admitted to the Sacraments We still speak of the aged The Minor is proved from many Scriptures and is the common Doctrine of all Antipelagians at least We are dead in trespasses and sins and must we baptize and give the Lords Supper to such dead men upon a Promise that they will be alive Out of Christ we can do nothing Without faith it is impossible to please God It is God that giveth to will and to do of his good pleasure And no wicked man can tell whether God will give him the grace of saving faith therefore he cannot promise to have it But I shall speak more to this under the last Argument Argum. 16. If there can be no example given in Scripture of any one that was baptized without the Profession of a saving faith nor any Precept for so doing then must not we baptize any without it But the Antecedent is true therefore so is the Consequent What is pretended this way we shall examine anon among the Objections In the mean time let us review the Scripture examples of Baptism which might afford us so many several Arguments but that I shall put them together for brevity 1. I have already shewed that John required the Profession of true Repentance and that his Baptism was for Remission of sin 2. When Christ layeth down in the Apostolical Commission the Nature and Order of his Apostles work it is first to make Disciples and then to Baptize them into the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost And as it is a making Dâ—sciples which is first expressed in Matthew so Mark expoundeth who these Disciples are as to the aged by puâ—ting Believing before Baptism and that we may know that it is Justifying faith that he meaneth he annexeth first Baptism and then the Promise of salvation Matth. 28.19 Mar. 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved This is not like some occasional Historical mention of Baptism but it s the very Commission of Christ to his Apostles for Preaching and Baptism and purposely expresseth their several works in their several places and Order Their first task is by teaching to make Disciples which are by Mark called Believers The second work is to Baptize them whereto is annexed the Promise of their Salvation The third work is to teach them all other things which are afterward to be learnt in the School of Christ. To contemn this Order is to renounce all Rules of Order For where can we expect to find it if not here I profess my conscience is fully satisfied from this Text that it is one sort of faith even saving that must go before Baptism and the Profession whereof the Minister must expect Of which see what is before cited out of Calvin and Piscator That it was saving faith that was required of the Jews and professed by them Acts 2.38 41 42. is shewed already and is plain in the Text. Acts 8. The Samaritans believed and had great joy and were baptized into the name of Jesus Christ ver 8 12. Whereby it appeareth that it was both the understanding and will that were changed and that it was not a meer Dogmatical faith and that they had the Profession of a saving faith even Simon himself we shall shew anon when we answer their objections Acts 8.37 The condition on which the Eunuch must be baptized was if he believe with all his heart which he Professed to do and that was the Evidence that Philip did expect Paul was baptized after true conversion Act. 9.18 The Holy Ghost fell on the Gentiles Acts 10.44 before they were baptized and they magnified God And this Holy Ghost was the like gift as was given to the Apostles who believed on the Lord Iesus and it was accompanied with Repentance unto life Act. 11.17 18. Acts 16.14.15 Lydia's heart was opened before she was baptized and she was one that the Apostles judged faithful to the Lord and offered to them the evidence of her faith Acts 16.30 31 33 34. The example of the Jaylor is very full to the resolution of the question in hand He first asketh what he should do to be saved The Apostle answereth him believe in the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved and thy house so that it was a saving faith that here is mentioned He rejoyced and believed with all
necessarily as the other And I would fain know of him how meer Dogmatical believers are sure that they have a Dogmaticall faith 1. Many of them know not what that faith is nor what the essentials of Christianity are nor know not those essentials themselves as I before said from sad experience They might therefore be sure that they have not a true Dogmatical faith but not that they have it and yet they are as confident they have it as other men 2. Many that believe the same truths as others believe them but side humanâ and not divinâ and therefore have no true Dogmatical faith 3. Many do but half believe them and think they may be true they may be false and cannot tell whether they may believe them or not but indeed do not their unbelief being more predominant and therefore from it must be denominated 4. Many true saving believers are sorely tempted about the Truth of the Gospel and troubled with doubts and their Dogmatical or Historical faith is but weak and mixed with much unbelief so that they cannot tell whether their belief or unbelief be predominant and consequently whether they believe or not And for my part I see no reason but that it should be as hard to a true Christian to know whether he truly believe the Dogmata Christiana the Articles of Faith the truth of the Gospel as to know whether he truly rest upon Christ or love God above all And I know many learned wise and godly men to all appearance that are in doubt and long have been of the truth of their assent to the Gospel and are troubled with no other doubtings of their sincerity in any great measure but only as the doubts of this doth cause them Some of the ablest men that ever I knew have groaned out many a complaint O I am afraid I am an Infidel I cannot believe the Word of God! I know not whether I believe it or not A Turk may have some thoughts or motions that it may be true but if he be more perswaded of the falsness than of the Truth he is not to be denominated a believer Now if Mr. Blake will but tell us plainly how he would deal with these that doubt of their very historical faith and what he would have them do then I will tell him the like by them that doubt of their saving faith 5. Nay see what a desperate plunge he puts his believers to He requireth them to perform impossibilities They must engage to believe savingly that is they must profess a consent so to do And this they must know that they do sincerely or else they cannot do it in faith as the Objection saith when as it is a thing that no unregenerate man can do sincerely If he engage to believe savingly he doth it not sincerely but ignorantly or dissemblingly At least few of them know that they do it sincerely as themselves will here confess what then must these do in such a case 6 At least let the heart and light of a godly man and an ungodly be compared and I will appeal to Mr. Blakes own judgement whether a Godly man be not as likely to know his sincerity in saving faith as an ungodly man to know that he haâ—h truly a Dogmatical faith and doth truly engage to believe savingly I could soon shew such disadvantages that a wicked man hath to know his own heart even in this point that me thinks might easily determine this Controversie if it were needfull to stand upon it 7. It is the duty of the godly to give God thanks for his saving Grace for converting them giving them the Holy Ghost Justifying Adopting them c. Must none perform this duty but they that have attained Assurance of their Conversion Justification Adoption c Then it is not many that must perform it But if others may and must do this on the same ground they may and must perform the other It is the duty of every child of God to pray and praise God in the relation of a child in a special sense and to call God Father in a special sense and to plead those Promises with him that are the proper portion of his Children And must all omit this that have no assurance or subjective Certainty It it the duty of each member of the mystical body of Christ to love the Saints and assist them as fellow-members Must none do this that is not certain of his own member-ship If I should instance in all the particulars of Christian Duty that this case extendeth to you would see that this your principle reduced to practice would make buâ— unhappy work in the Church and would do much to the extirpation of a very great part if not the far greatest of the service of God 8. In all such Cases our Actions must follow the smallest prevalent perswasions of our Judgement though far short of full Assurance If a true Believer do think himself to be such he may profess himself such When so far as he knoweth his own heart he doth believe and repent he may profess that he doth believe and repent implying or expressing that he speaketh according to the knowledge he hath of his own heart We are so strange to our selves that if only Certainty must move us to Action I think we should sleep out the most of our lives He speaks sincerely that speaks according to his perswasion and as he thinks though he be not certain 9. In such cases it condemneth not to act in doubting but the same man that doubteth may act in faith Indeed if the doubting be so predominant that a man is more perswaded that he doth not believe than that he doth whether dogmatically or savingly then he may not profess that he doth believe that is he may not think one thing and speak another and speak or do against his Conscience And also if it be in an indifferent thing as about meats or drinks or indifferent daies where he is certain to be innocent if he forbear and uncertain to be innocent if he act then he must take the safer side and therefore forbear And the Apostles words will reach no further than to these two points He that hath unbelief and therefore doubing may say Lord I believe help thou mine unbelief 10. The thing that is necessarily required to the Sacramental participation is not an Assurance that our faith is sincere and saving but that it be really that Faith which is sincere and saving whether we know it so to be or not Many a man knoweth that he hath that faith which is saving and yet knoweth not that it is saving And many one knoweth that he performeth the saving act but through vain scruples understandeth not whether he do it sincerely And many think or hope they are sincere that yet doubt of it I have met with many that have lived in deep distress for want of perceiving the truth of their faith that have cried out
I have no true faith I cannot believe Faith is a perswasion of Gods love to me or a resting on him for salvation and I cannot be perswaded of his love to me nor can I rest upon him And when I have convinced them that the Gospel is 1. a Narrative of what Christ is and what he hath done and suffered for us and 2. an offer of Christ and life to all that will accept the offer And therefore that faith is 1. an Assent to the truth of his Report and 2. a Consent to be Christs and that he shall be ours And when I have asked them whether they do these two things or not whether they believe the Gospel to be true and are willing that Christ and Life be theirs and that they be Christs they profess very cheerfully both this Assent and Consent they are wâ—lling to have Christ if they know their own hearts and yet they dare not say that they are true believers partly through general fears and partly because they know not that this which they profess is saving faith Now in such a case we are to let them know that it is the thing and not their Certainty of the thing that God hath mâ—de necessary And therefore we do not nor must not ask them in Sacramental Administrations whether they have saving faith by meer name without description but whether they believe in God the Father Son and the Holy Ghost and renounce the World Flesh and Devil and whether they are willing to have God for their only God and Christ for their only Saviour and the Holy Ghost their Sanctifier And he that saith yea doth profess a saving faith though he know it not so to be And what would Mr. Blake do with him if he say neither Yea nor Nay Having thus vindicated the Proposition against their Objections and shewed the vanâ—ty of all other waies and that we can have no certainty what Profession to expect if we expect not a Profession of saving Faith I may well sum up all and still insist on the 19th Argument that we must expect the profession of a saving Faith seeing if we take up with any other we are utterly at a loss Mr. Blake cannot agree with himself what faith to require nor hath given any certain description of it when he hath so voluminously talkt for it and what he or others seem to require as a thing distinct from saving faith we see sufficient Reason to reject as being wholly unproved and by us proved insufficient to this use I shall now therefore proceed to my 20th and last Argument for the Proposition which is drawn from the constant practice of the Universal Church of Christ. It hath been the constant practice of the Catholike Church since the Apostles daies till now to require that Profession of saving Faith and Repentance as necessary before they would baptâ—ze and not to baptize any upon the Profession of any lower kind of Faith Therefore it must be our practice also And here I must confess my self in as great an admiration at the words and dealings of Mr. Blake and some godly learned Divines that go with him in this Cause as ever I was brought to by the groundless confidence of such men He must shut his eyes against the fullest Evidence of Historie and Church-practice that will deny that it hath been the practice of the Universal Church of Christ to baptize upon the profession of a saving faith and not otherwise Insomuch that I must profess that I am not for my own part able to prove that ever any one person since the daies of the Apostles was baptized upon the profession of any other faith by any save the gross Hereticks even those whose Baptism was accounted invalid I desire Mr. Blake or his Neighbours of his mind to help me to an instance of any one approved Baptism since Christs time or his Apostles upon the account of a faith that was short of justifying and not upon the Profession of a justifying Faith Hitherto this is not done by them the contrary is fully done by others and yet to my admiration they as confidently affirm that all the Church of Christ hath gone their way or that it hath been their constant practice and that they should forsake the example of the Church if they should do otherwise and they except against my Opinion as novelty I must confess that such Experience hath brought me to lower thoughts of the credit even of good men than formerly I have had and to resolve to try before I trust One would think that the matter of fact in such a point as Baptism which we all pass through should have been out of question before this day For the proof of the Churches practice 1. I have already said enough about the Apostles own practice and the Church in their daies Even when they describe the faith which they require expresly by assent alone yet they shew that it is a saving Assent which they require and the promise of pardon and salvation is in the same or other Scriptures affixed to that Assent But this I shall not recite now 2. The constant practice of the Church since the â—postles to this day is undoubtedly known 1. by the very form of words in Baptism and 2. be the historie of their proceedings therein 1. It is certain that the Church did ever Baptize into the Name of the Father Son and holy Ghost And as I have proved before the voluntary seeking and reception of that Baptism containeth the actual profession of a saving Faith 2. It is certain that the persons to be baptized if at age did profess to believe in the Father Son and holy Ghost whâ—ch as is shewed is saving faith 3. It is also certain that they did profess to renounce the Flesh the World and the Devil which is a profession of saving Repentance 4. And it is certain that they promised for the future to live in new obedience which is the consequent of saving faith and thus they publikely entered the three stipulations Crediâ— Credo Abronuncias Abrenuncio Spondes Spondeo And no man can do this that hath not saving faith therefore the professing of it is not without the professing of a saving faith Nay indeed it containeth the profession of that faith 5. Moreover it is a known case that the ancient Churches commonly took all those that were duly baptized to be in a state of salvation That they supposed them to have the pardon of all their sins I think none doubteth that ever read much of their writings Davenant in his Epistle of Baptism giveth many proofs and many hundred more may be given if any be so blind as to deny it All the doubt is Whether they also ascribe Regenerating Renewing Grace to all the rightly baptized And though Davenant deny that they ascribe the infusing of habits to it as to infants yer 1. he denieth it not as to the Adult nor 2. that they ascribed
that I know not of any man else living esteemed a Christian Pastor that baptizeth upon any lower faith without the profession of a justifying faith and that Repentance which is its constant concomitant I had gathered a great many expressions of the Antients which I had thought to have inserted to shew their judgement But perceiving it wholly needless because of the forementioned Evidence I supersede that labour And it seems not very necessary to mention the judgements of our reformed Divines as expressed in any of their particular sayings when their publike Confessions and Practises are so satisfactory herein I have recited many of their Testimonies before and more that conduce to this end I shall reserve to the following Disputation and therefore shall here add the fewer Calvin in Act. 8.37 saith Quòd non admittitur Eunuchus ad baptismuÌ„ nisi fidem professus hinc sumenda est universalis regula Non ante recipiendos esse in EcclesiaÌ„ qui ab ea prius fuerant alieni quam ubi testati fuerint Christo se credere Est enim Baptismus quasi sidei appendix ideoque ordine posterior est Deinde si datur sine fide cujus est figilluÌ„ impia nimis crassa est prophanatio Here note 1. That Baptism as received is the seal of our faith how much soever denied by Mr. Blake as it is the seal of Gods Promise as administred 2. that the constant order is that baptism follow faith 3. And that it is no better than an impious profanation of it if it go without faith that is 1. If the party seek it without the Presence of faith 2. If the Pastor administer it without the Profession of Faith And that it is no other than true Christian saving Faith that he means appears by his following words Sed scriptura totum cor saepe accipit pro sincero non fucato cui opponitur Cor duplex Ita non est quod perfectè credere imaginemur qui ex toto corde credunt quando infirma pusilla sides in eo esse poterit cui tamen integer erit animus omni fictione purus Sic accipere convenit quod David juctat Se diligere Dominum ex toto corde c. Fides ergo totius cordis est quae in corde vivas radices habens ad quotidiâ—nos tamen profectus aspirat The foresaid passage of Calvin is lately cited by some Ministers that put forth certain propositions tending to Reformation of the Parish Congregations in England pâ—inted for the Norwich Bookseller 1655. p. 16. who p. 17. answer Mr. Blakes opinion Calvin in Act. 2.38 Tametsi in contextu verborum bâ—ptismus remissionem peccatorum hìc praeceâ—it ordine tamen sequitur quia nihil aliud est quam bonorum quae per Christum consequimur obsignatio c. See the rest there before cited See him also at large Institut lib. 4. cap. 15. where he shews that Baptism is appointed to seal up the present pardon of sin and to shew our mortification and newness of life c. And so that it is to be administred to them that believe Yet he maintaineth that the use of it is also for the pardon of sin through all our life after but that is only to be given as the consolation of the truly penitent Beza confess sid cap. 4. § 46 17. pa. mihi 28 29. knows no faith but one and that the saving faith which all must bring to the Sacrament that will have the thing signified and all that are without it he reckoneth hypocriets and knows no other baptized ones but elect believers and hypocrites and saith that upon the confession of true faith in baptism we are to take them for faithfull till they shew themselves hypocrites Affiâ—mamus signa exteriora naturali modo percipituÌ„ à fidelibus tuÌ„ ab infidelibus sed contâ—aâ—io proâ—sus eventu Fidâ—les praeter signareâ— ipsas percipiunt c. Res ipsa baptismi est aspersio sanguinis Christi in missionem omnium peccatorum Mortificatio Regeneratio c. Fides antem illud unum est per quod homines rem Sacramenti sibi applicant c. Fides haec non oritur à nobis sed gratuito communicatur electis c. Interea Charitas jubet ut pro fidelibus agnoscamus quotquot veâ—ae fiâ—ei ConfessioneÌ„ edunt tantis per duÌ„ hypocritae patefiant Also in his Absters Calum Heshusiit pag. 333. ad 7 mam Cal. he is more full shewing that Faith and Adoption go before Baptism yet that the Church doth judge ex probabilibus conjecturis an aliquis ad Christum pertineat putà in infantibus si quis ex infidelibus sit prognatus in adultis si quis Christianam fidem se amplecti profiteatur Ecclesiae per baptismum inseri roget And by the next words he shews that he means by being in Covenant and belonging to Christ believing that which is proper to the elect Nam potest quidem esse ex Reproborum numero qui ex fidelibus est prognatus potest aliquis simulare se ChristianuÌ„ sed occulta haec Deo c. Et postea Meritò arbitramur infantes FideliuÌ„ in peculio Domini censeri Spiritu sancto profundi that is before baptism And yet more fully in his Question Respons n. 106 c. pag. 343. Q. Quid significat In Nomen R. Sic declaratur Baptismus esse solenne jusjurandum quo baptizandus sese totum addicit uni Deo trino c. Vid. reliq Now it is certain that he that professeth se totum Deo addicere professeth no less than a saving faith 6r else there is no profession of it Pag. 345. Q. 123. Sed multos etiam ex sanctissimis prognatos ad Foedus nihil pertinere declarat Esavi exemplum quotidiana experientia Mark that he makes ad foedus pertinere proper to the elect R. Multi quoque ex adultis fidem ore profitentibus hypocritae sunt He talks of none but sound believers and hypocrites sed occulta illa particularia judicia Deo relinquenda sunt Benè autem sperare nos inâ—genere de iis omnibus qui ex fidelibus noscuntur foederis forma indefinita jubet charitas monet And the next Question and Answer shews that he speaks of saving Faith And pag. 346. Q. 127. Ergò servantur omnes ex pio parente oriundi R. Certè meritò praesumuntur servandi ut qui in foedere comprehensi videantur probabili neque imaginariâ duntaxat conjecturâ Sed hoc interea nihil praejudicat occultis particularibus Dei judiciite excipiendos esse liquet qui cùm adoleverint illam Gratiam suâ incredulitate excutiunt Pag. 347. Q. 133. Sed quum is qui Papista est non sit verè Christianus non ejusmodi hominem adulium nec dum baptizatum ad Baptismum admitteres R. Nequaquam nisi priùs Catechumenum factum Papismo renunciantem Q Ejusmodi verò
For he doth by words or deeds or both profess that he will not be ruled by Christ that he will not be sanctified or released from his sin that he will not take God and Glory to come for his chief Good but the things of this life and will obey the flesh before God It it be in plain known sins which they can find no vain excuse for some of them will say words of equal force to these but though most will not do so yet their Actions openly profess it But because this is the thing that will be denyed I add further 1. Actions are capable of signifying a mans mind as well as words though not ordinarily so soon or easily yet some Actions do yea and much more certainly 2. God plainly tels us of some that profess that they know God yet in works they deny him so that works can speak as plain as words and deny God and unsay what a deceitful tongue hath said 3. If these persons in question do not thus deny Christ by their works or do not Profess to be no Christians then either it is because ungodliness is consistent with Christianity or doth not comprehend or imply Infidelity or else because the Notoriousness of this ungodliness is no Profession The first cannot be said For 1. As Godliness in a Christian sense comprehendeth Christianity and even the true acknowledgement of the God-head it self so ungodliness containeth the disowning of God and the refusing of all true Love of him or seeking him as our End and it comprizeth in it the refusal of Christ to bring us back to God and of the Spirit to conform our souls and lives to his Will As therefore God is the Ultimate End and Christ as Mediator but the means or way and as loving God is a more excellent duty than believing in Christ in it self considered so ungodliness which is contrary to the Love of God is a greater sin than unbelief in it self as to Jesus Christ the Mediator yea and ever containeth this unbelief as its second and lower part though it be denominated from the opposition to God as the greater part of the sin 2. However no man will deny but that they are concomitant and that every ungodly man is an unbeliever 3. Yea as ungodliness is contrary to our subjection to the Lord Redeemer it is a real part of Infidelity it self I may well conclude therefore that to be Notoriously ungodly is to be Notoriously no Christian but an Unbeliever 2. And that this Notoriousness is a certain profession is evident For 1. the mind is declared by it Christ himself telleth us that out of the heart come Murthers Adulteries c. and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh If you say men may do such and such things against their will I answer 1. Then they are not Notoriously ungodly if they do not Notoriously shew their wilfulness 2. The Will hath the command of the outward man 2. And as it declareth the mind so doth it certainly declare it For first else still it were not notorious ungodliness 2. Words may be easier counterfeited than Deeds especially the scope of a mans life 3. And hence it is that the Lord Jesus himself when he comes to Judgement will try more by Deeds than verbal Profession and will reject such Professions when they are contradicted by evil actions as Mat. 7. Not every one that saith unto one Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father Mat. 25. Christ will convince those by their not feeding cloathing c. his members that they were no true Believers who still go about to justifie themselves And they that shall say Lord have not we eat drunk c. Cast out Devils preacht in thy name shall be answered with a Depart from me ye workers of iniquity I know you not Men shall all be judged according to their works It is clear then that Notorious ungodliness is a Profession or signification of the very mind and will yea and a profession most certain for it cannot be dissembled He that is notoriously ungodly is most certainly no true Christian But the profession which this contradicteth is not so certain nay it is most certainly false So that as God doth so man must take mens works and lives for a Discovery of their mind and judge them by it I have stood the larger on this because that profession of Christianity is the common title that is pleaded for such persons and therefore I have shewed that they are not to be reputed for credible Professors If it be not a probable sign it is not to be taken for a valid profession But words contradicted by the Notorious tenor of the life are no probable sign but these works are a certain sign of the contrary Ergo. If any man yet do think that any words though not probably signifying the mind are a valid profession and to be taken for a Title then it will follow that if a man should laugh in your face and foretel you that he will come and make a profession in scorn of Christ or if he tell you that though he speak such words it is not from his heart but through fear or to get some honour with men or if when he baptized his child in the name of Christ he tell you that he intendeth not that he shall serve him or if he say of himself he will baptized in tht name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and renounce the world flesh and Devil but he intendeth not to stand to it nor to do as he promiseth c. any of these must be taken for a Profession and this man for a Christian which no wise man I think will affirm If an affirmation presently contradicted by words as express and certain be not to be taken for a profession then much less is an affirmation more certainly contradicted by the tenor of the life yea and too oft by professed impenitency The sum is this We must not baptize him into the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost or his children for his faith who we are sure doth not believe in the Father Son and Holy Ghost But such is every Notorious Ungodly man Ergo Or we must not baptize him or his child as a Christian that certainly decâ—areth himself to be none But so doth c Ergo. So much of the fourth Argument Arg. 5. We must not baptize those that certainly declare to us that they repent not nor any for their sakes But all notorious ungodly men do certainâ—y declare that they repent not unless equivocally Ergo. The Major is proved in that Repentance is a necessary condition in him that hath right to Baptism before â—od and the Profession of it necessary to him that we muâ—â— baptize The Apostles râ—quired it The Minor needeth no proof I think Arg. 6. We must not bapâ—ize him or any for his sakâ— that will
not renounce the world flesh and the Dâ—vil oâ— that declareth certainly that he will not renounce thâ—m at that time But such are all notorious ungodly men Therefore the Church hath ever required this in Baptism Arg. 7. We may not baptize those whom we notoriously know to be at present uncapable of receiving remission of sins for that is the use of the Ordinance according to Gods institution But such are all the notoriously ungodly Therefore I need not here I suppose with those I deal with answâ—r the Antinomian's Objection from Rom. 4. of justifying the ungodly I have said enough to that against Lud. Colvinus and others Arg. 8. Men that be notoriously unfit for Marriage with Christ to be solemnized are unfit by us to be baptized or any for them But such are all the notoriously ungodly Ergo c. Arg. 9. We may not baptize those that we know do notoriously dissemble in making the Baptismal Covenant But such are all notoriously ungodly Ergo c. Arg. 10. We may not give him the Seal of the righteousness of Faith who notoriously declareth that he hath not that Righteousness But such are all notoriously ungodly Ergo c. Arg. 11. From Matth. 28.19 20. Before we baptize men or any for their sakes we must see in probability that they are made Disciple But so are not the notoriously ungodly Ergo c. Arg. 12. Those that we must Baptize or any for their sakes must seem to believe with all their hearts Acts 8.37 And to receive the word gladly Acts 2.38.39 41. And to believe with a saving faith Mark 16.15 16. Acts 16.31 â—2 33. But so do not any that are notoriously ungodly Ergo. These Texts and many such like are our Directory whom to Baptize Arg. 13. From 1 Cor. 7.14 Else were your children unclean If one of the immediate Parents be not a Believer their children are unclean and consequently not to be baptized But notorious ungodly ones are not Believers Ergo As they must be Believers that they may have Right and be Holy so must they seem Believers that they may seem to have Right and so be baptized by us warrantably But such seem not to have Faith who are notorioâ—sly Ungodly It is Objected that this Text determineth of one way of Covenant-Right to Infants but doth not thereby deny all other Answ. 1. It is peremptory in the Negative Else were your children unclean as well as in the Affirmative but now are they Holy 2. It therefore excludeth expresly all other wayes of interest in the Covenant by Birth-Priviledge Else how could that Negative be true But I confess it doth not exclude all means else of an after acquisition or reception of Covenant-Right For he that is born unclean may become by purchase or contract the child of a Believer or at age may believe himself And then he ceaseth to be unclean 3. At least it seems yielded by thâ—m that if both Parents be unbelievers the child can have no Right Aâ— theirs or on theâ—r account It s Objected that this was true of the Corinthians whose Ancestors â—ere Infidels and themsâ—lves the first Converts their children were unclean if one of them were not a believer but it holdeth not of them that had pious Ancestors Answ. 1. This yieldeth the point which is now in question that is that On their Parents account such children have no right 2. It contradicteth the Apostle's express Affirmation who saith that they are unclean which can extend to no less than the denyal of Holiness by Bâ—rth-Priviledge 3. Noah was the Progenitor remote of those Corinthians and he was not unclean Yet that makes not them Holy Else no man shoul'd be unholy Arg. 14. Rom. 11. The Israelites and their children with them are broken off because of Unbelief Therefore Notorious Unbelievers and their children are to be judged as no Church-members nor to be baptized And that all Notorious Ungodly ones are Notorious Unbelievers I have proved and may yet refute the ordinary Objections to the contrary Arg. 15. We may not lawfully baptize those children for their Parents sake whose Parents are ipso jure Excommunicated from the society of Christians as such or are justly to be pronounced No Members of the Universal Church Visible or Invisible But all Notoriously Ungodly are in one of these ranks Ergo. To explain my meaning in this Argument Observe 1. that I take not the common doctrine for true that a particular Political or Organized Church or incorporated Society of Christians is a meer Homogeneal part of the universal Visible Church All the Universal Church doth not consist of such Societies no more than all this Common-wealth doth consist of Corporations For a particular Church is as a particular Body-Corporate and all the Members of the Universal are not so Though all ought to be so that can attain it yet all cannot attain it and all do not what they ought Even in an Army a Souldier may be lifted by a General Officer into the Army in general long before he is placed in any Regiment or Troop yea there are some that are Messengers and for other employments that are not to be of any Regiment So sometime a man is baptized as the Eunuch before he be entred into any particular Church perhaps long And some were of Churches which are dissolved and stay long before they can joyn themselves to others And some live as Merchants in a moveable travelling condition And some are bound for the good of the Common-wealth to be Embassadors or Agents or Factors c. resident among Infidels where is no Church And some may be called to preach up and down among Infidels for their conversion as the Apostles did and fix themselves to no particular Church And some may be too ignorant or neglective of their duty in incorporating with any And some upon infirmity and scrupulosity hold off So that its apparent that all the Visible Church is not thus Incorporated into particular Churches 2. I do firmly believe that Baptism as Baptism doth list enter or admit us only into the Universal Church directly and not into any particular Church but yet consequentially it oft doth both And as the Parent is so is it supposed that the Infant is If the Parent live an itinerant life and bring his child to Baptism that child is entered into the Universal Church only except he leave the child resident in any particular Church and desire it may be a member of it But if the Parent be a member of a particular Church when we Baptize his child we receive it first into the universal Church and then into that particular as an imperfect member For we justly suppose it is the Parents desire which is it that determineth this Case 3. I firmly believe that the common opinion is an Error that All that are cast out of a particular Church are cast out of the universal 4. Yea or that he that is put out of one particular
incorporated Church must be avoided by all other such Churches 5. Yet do I believe that it is a worse Error to say that all that are cast out of one such Church may be received into communion by other Churches or single Christians 6. I do therefore distinguish of such Exclusion as we commonly call Excommunication or casting out of Churches or suspending from communion 1. As to the ground and cause of the Exclusion 2. As to the Terminus ad quem or the in quantum or intended effect of the Exclusion 1. It is one thing to be excluded on a cause that is supposed exclusive of Christianity it self and another thing to be excluded on a cause that supposeth him uncapable of the Priviledge of all incorporated Churches and a third thing to be excluded on a cause that makes men uncapable of Member-ship with that one Church only or some particulars and not all 2. So as to the effect It is one thing to be excluded from the number of Christians as such Another thing to be excluded from all Incorporated Churches as such And a third thing to be excluded from one particular Church only or some more on the like ground that are in the like case Besides all this I distinguish between an Exclusion upon the certain Nullitie of the Title and a suspension while the Title is under tryall upon a just occasion of questioning it From hence I hold as followeth 1. That there may be just reason to cast a man out of a particular Church who yet is not denied to joyn with other particular Churches For example if a member of this particular Church hold me to be no true Minister and that he may not communicate with me supposing him to mistake or if he hold it his duty to contradict the Doctrine and Practice of Infant-Baptism or the like he may make himself utterly uncapable of communion with this Church who yet may be capable of communion with other Churches The like oft falls out where Churches differ about lesser Doctrines or Ceremonies or Ordination of Pastors a man that will in a troubling zeal suppose himself bound to be a continual disquiet to that Church where the occasion is may be cast out from that and uncapable of joyning with any of that same opinion and way and not with others that are of his own way and Opinion 2. A man may be cast out of a particular incorporated Church as such and consequently be at present uncapable of being a member of any such particular Church on Earth and yet not be cast out of the Universal Visible Church or number of Christians much less of the Invisible As for example If a man hold and maintain that there are no true Ministers in Office in any particular Church on earth by reason of an interruption in the succession of Ordination that man is become uncapable of being a member of any such Church and yet while he holdeth the whole Doctrine of Christianity besides and openly professeth it and supposeth that private gifted-men may Teach and Baptize he may still be a viâ—ible Christian and therefore not fit to be cut off from the Universal Church of Christians So in any the like Case Quer. Whether this be not the Case of those that place all Church-power in the Major vote of the people so that the Church must be governed only by such Vote and the Pastor is but the mouth of the People to act according to their Vote Whether men of this judgement declaring and professing it be capable of being members of any true incorporated Church on Earth though they may be members of such Societies as their own of humane invention contrary to the Word and to the very Essence of a true Political Church 3. I also distinguish between the excluding of a man from communion as No true Christian and excluding him as a scandalous or infectious Christian. As it was one thing for the Jews to remove the dead and another to remove a Leper from the camp And I suppose that 1. Ordinarily we are not to exclude any from our communion for a scandalous sin openly repented of 2. Yet it is possible that it may be of so hainous a nature that for the Credit of Religion and the avoiding of all occasion of Reproach by those without it is not meet to admit such an Offender into our communion till after some convenient time and larger manifestation of our disowning their crime and of their extraordinary repentance of it But this is but temporary 3. It is possible also that a man may have such an itching zeal to propagate a false opinion though consistent with Christianity that we may be bound to exclude him our actual communion to avoid the infection of the Church As also that his crime may so induce others to imitation that though it be consistent with Christianity we must exclude him as an infectious Leper because a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump 4. I conceive that an open Apostate needs no decisive sentential Excommunication but only declarative We cut off no man from Christ but declare who they be that cut off themselves from that Christianity which they seemed to have 5. Yet I conceive that an actual Apostate that is not totally an Infidel but renounceth only some parts of the essentials of Christianity and is loath to confess himself no Christian and will intrude into the communion of Christians whether to avoid shame or disquiet of conscience or danger c. I say such a One is the fittest object for the sentence of highest excommunication even from the number of Christians supposing him notoriously to be such As if a man should call himself a Christian and thrust into their communion and yet maintain that Christ is but a Prophet such as Mahomet or as the Arrians that he is not God or that there is no Resurrection or Life to come or that there is no Holy Ghost or that Christ is not to be obeyed when the Flesh is against it and that every man may live the life that best pleaseth his flesh or that he himself will obey his flesh before Christ or not let go his sin for the hopes of Glory at the command of God Among these I reckon a Notorious ungodly man who will in words call himself a Christian but by a more certain discovery make known that indeed he is none Here the Church is not only to declare him none but to sentence him none For a meer Declaration supposeth not a Controversie but a Sentence or Decision doth and his vain pretence and unjust intrusion made it a Controversie as between him and the Church though to the Church the Case be notorious This man then is cast out as No-Christian when I conceive that such a man as David Solomon c. were they now with us while they lay in that sin should be removed from actual communion as Lepers or scandalous Christians or at most as such as
question I plead not for any Error of the Antients in keeping men from Baptism that were fit for it but only mention such as were but in preparation to such fitness Argum. 23. That Doctrine is at least much to be suspected which by contradicting the very Natural Principles of Religion doth tend strongly to disgrace Jesus Christ and tempt the world to Infidelity But such is the Doctrine which we oppose Ergo. For the proof of the Minor Note 1. That it is a natural certain Verity that the Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness and that he is a hater of sin in whomsoever and delighteth in that Holiness which is his very Image and that God is no Accepter of persons but in every Nation he that feareth him and worketh Righteousness is accepted of him 2. Note That the Doctrine which we oppose holdeth that Jesus Christ doth set so much by the bare believing that He is the Son of God yea the verbal profession of it and so little by Holiness that if men will but make that profession let them live how they will let them be Adulterers Murderers of Fathers or Mothers perjured to God and Man c. yet they lose not their Right to this Priviledge that even the children of their bodies shall be of the family of Christ upon their Interest or Account yea though themselves will not so much as soberly promise to amend yea though they be Persecutors of any that would reform them or any other way notoriously ungodly Doth not this strongly tempt men to imagine that Jesus Christ came not to cure souls and bring men back to God and save them from sin but to seek himself and his own honor and that he preferred the acknowledgement of his dignity before the Interest of God and mens souls Doth it not tempt men to think that Christianity is no better than the other Religions of the world when it owneth such Monsters as the Children of the Church When we justly condemn a Seneca Cicero Fabritâ—us Socrates c. as miserable for not believing in Christ whom they never heard of most of them and priviledge the children of one worse than Nero Surdanapalus Machiavel and that for the sake of such a Parent and as a member of him to be in Covenant with Christ and of the beloved Society and Houshold of Faith In my opinion this will he a horrid stumbling block to those without and give them such cause to blaspheme our holy profession as our Lord never gave them who came purposely into the world to destroy the works of the Devil and to bring back revolted man to the Holy Image and obedience of his Maker and who professed himself but the Way to the Father and therefore established and valued faith in himself but in order to the acknowledgement and love of God and so of Godliness and Holiness as its end and a greater good yea that hath purchased us by his blood to a glory which doth consist in the fruition of God in the perfection of Holiness and hath sent forth his spirit into the souls of men to be in office their Sanctifier and to make such wondrous changes on mens hearts as shameth all the rest of the Religions of the world yea who hath made his Kingdom to consist in Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost and the heavenly wisdom to be first Pure then Peaceable Gentle easie to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits and who hath sanctified to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works and makes so strict and holy a Law to guide them as he hath done In my opinion so loose a doctrine should not be pinned on the sleeve of so Holy a Saviour Argum. 24. That doctrine and practice is not by good Christians to be received which besides the forementioned evidence of Scripture contradicteth the doctrine and practice of all the Primitive Church But such is this Ergo. I admire that grave men among us and Godly who will stretch their wits to the uttermost to defend that which is the more common opinion of Divines of best repute among whom they live before they will differ from them can yet make so small a matter of differing from the Fathers and universal consent of the Primitive Churches as far as we have any means to disprove it That it was their Judgement and practice to refuse to baptize any Notorious ungodly person while such appears past all doubt 1. By their requiring a profession of Repentance 2. And a profession of Believing in the Father Son and Holy Ghost and renouncing the world the flesh and the Devil and promising a new life 3. By their Judging the Baptized to be in a state of salvation which was on supposition of their true sanctification 4. By their too much care in delaying the Catechumeni in later times lest they should be unmeet Let me recite the testimonies of one or two of our own and one of those Antients each of the highest Authority in the present case 1. Mr. Gilespie Aarons Rod. l. 3. ch 15 pag. 544. saith It were a Profanation of the Sacrament of Baptism to Baptize a Catechumene a Jew or a Pagan professing a Resolution to turn Christian he being manifestly under the power of abominable Reigning sins and being still a prophane and wicked liver although he were able to give a sound and orthodox Confession of Faith From whence he argueth that therefore the same men are not to be admitted to the Lords Supper 2. Spanhemius Epist. ad D. Buch. pa. 14. gives three reasons to prove that Athrists Epicures Profane men qui vitam inter flagitia traducunt aperte ostendunt se non habere fidem quâ creditur nec spiritum sanctificationis secundum ullum ejus gradum quamdiu in ista impietate perstant nec poenitentiam tum profitentur tum spondent may not lawfully be baptized And our Divines commonly say In Baptism we engage our selves to a holy Life those therefore which live not holily are covenant-Breakers and herefore have not Right to the benefits of the covenant See Piscat in Mat. 3. Obser. ex v. 6 8.10 in Mat. 28. v. 19. Davenane is Col. 2.12 Peter Martyr in Rom. 6.3 Zanch. in Ephes. 5. loc de Bapt. cap. 3 Thes. 37. many more I omit 3. The Doctrine of the Antients I have given a touch of elsewhere as to these points All that I shall now say is to desire the learned Reader that hath not done it to peruse all over that book of Augustine de fide operibus which is wholly written on this subject There were then some Christians whose opinion was that if a Heathen lived in whoredom when he turned Christian he was not to be refused Baptism till he would promise Reformation and would put away his whore but because that the Apostles baptized upon believing and required obedience afterward and works are to be the consequent fruit of Faith therefore the Pastor
Godly may both scorn in press and pulpit persecute and kill each other As one Godly man may persecute another for some Truths and Duties which he knows not to be such so in particular it is possible that such may imagine that private Meetings tend to schism or proud singularity and so may deride them Or he may by strangeness to them entertain some false report of the stricter Professors of Religion as if they were proud humorous schismaticks disobedient and differed only in these things and not in true piety from others And I believe I have known some in former times that were such who had such thoughts as these of all the Godly that were not conformable and of others that used any private Meetings living where they had little acquaintance with any of them save two or three that by scandals increased their prejudice and hearing no better language of them these persons would reproach them as bitterly as most that ever I heard and yet themselves lived not only uprightly to men but so piously that they seemed to hate all profaness and spent more time in secret prayer and reading then most I have known It is not therefore all scorn or persecution of Godly persons Doctrines or Duties that will prove a man to be Notoriously Graceless or Ungodly But again left any Ungodly person take occasion of presumption from all this let me add this much more 1. Though another cannot know such to be certainly ungodly yet they may know it by themselves who know their own ends and reasons better then we can do And alas the souls of such are never the safer because we are bound to judge charitably of them This is but to prevent our wronging them but it will not prevent their damnation 2. Though we know them not to be certainly ungodly yet God doth and it is he that must judge them And therefore he will put many a thousand out of heaven whom we may not put out of the Church When the Tares and Wheat are so mixed that we cannot pluck up the Tares without plucking up the Wheat that is in doubtfull inevident cases there we must let both grow till the time of harvest both in forbearing persecution by the sword and Excommunication but then God will sever the wicked from the just and gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend and them that work iniquity and cast them out into the lake of fire 3. And our selves may see cause enough to bewail the misery of many as too probable whom yet we cannot certainly conclude to be miserable yea we have cause to call them out of our communion of which more anon I must therefore intreat two sorts of Readers that they do not mis-interpret these foregoing passages First The Vngodly are desired to beware that they pervert not this to their own delusion nor to the opening of their mouths against the teachings and censures of the Church I cannot but fore-see that such will be prone to draw venom out of necessary truths and to say I may be godly and be saved though I pray not in my family though I swear or be drunk c. But such must know 1. That they cannot be saved if in the bent of their lives they live after the flesh and if God be not dearer to them than all the world and if their hearts be not more on heaven than on earth and if the main aim and business of their lives be not for God and the life to come nor can they be Godly or saved unless they truly hate their sin and long to be rid of it and are willing to be at the cost and labour of using Gods means by which they may be rid of it unless in the bent of their lives they overcome gross sin and live not in it and groan under their infirmities desiring to be rid of them feeling the need of a Saviour and flying to his blood for pardon and to his word and spirit for cure All this must be in every one at age that will be saved Now though we may be uncertain of a mans ungodliness by one or more such fals as Peters or Davids were when the bent of his life appeareth to be holy yet if the bent of your lives be carnal and you have not all this that I have now mentioned then you may be sure that you are Graceless though you never commit any scandalous sin much more when you live in them 2. And remember that you may know your own hearts and secret lives when we cannot It s no comfort to you therefore that a Minister is not certain of your Gracelesness if you be indeed Graceless what if we must hope the best who know not the worst alas this will be no relief to your souls Nor should you be offended if Ministers in preaching and personal reproof do speak terror to you for all this For 1. they preach to you as described in a graceless state and not named 2. They must tell you what every sin deserves and whither it leads and tell you of the sad probabilites of your damnable state though they have not a certainty 2. I foresee also that some Godly people will think that these passages though true may accidentally harden the wicked in their sin and therefore that this will do more harm than good To whom I say 1. That the wicked will draw evil from the most certain truths and all must not be concealed which they will abuse 2. Yet I must confess that my own heart made this Objection which caused me to think this Paper my self unfit to be published and so I did this two years lay it by And had I not understood that from the Coppy which I sent one friend so many are communicated and at such a distance into the hands of strangers and that somewhat defective and had I not been acquainted that they will print it if I will not it might have yielded still to this Objection for ought I know for had I been left to my own choice I should have laid it in the dark Now for the Affirmative I will shew you whom we may take for Notoriously ungodly and then I will shew you whom we must judge probably to be godly and whether we must not exclude some persons and refuse their Infants who yet are not Notoriously ungodly 1. A man that not inconsiderately or in a Temptation but deliberately and obstinately denieth any fundamental Article of the Christian faith is notoriously ungodly for he cannot have a godly heart that excludeth the necessary principles of Godliness from his head I mean those Truths without which there is no salvation for surely without them there can be no Grace He that denieth thus the God head or the Goodness Wisdom or Power of God or the Incarnation Holiness Death Ransom of man thereby Resurrection Rule or Judgement of Jesus Christ or the everlasting life that he giveth to Believers or the
ought will be excluded or suspended And the fruit of Discipline its like will be judged scarce worth the trouble so few causes will be brought as will bring it to be strange But Discipline must not be so eluded Ergo. Argum. 5. Christ telleth us that by their Fruits we should know them therefore by fruits of Godliness or ungodliness we must judge of men as Godly or Ungodly as to these acts of administration and communion We must judge that to be a Vine which hath Grapes and that to be no Thistle that hath Figgs We judge not usually of the certainty of mens Impenitency or Infidelity but of the strong probability It s possible a mans own words may be false Argum. 6. We must admit of a weak presumption or probability for admitting men to Priviledges therefore we may admit of strong presumption for denying them If we must take a probability in one then in the other only allowing the difference as aforesaid that we must have a stronger presumption for denying than for granting is necessary For we must be content with less evidence for a man than against a man Quest. 1. But what is that we may take for a sufficient reason of a mans claim And. 2 Quest What must we take for a violent presumption of the unsoundness of his claim To the first I say in brief 1. If a Heathen that yesterday was guilty of the grossest sin do come to me this day and with seeming sorrow confess his fault and with seeming seriousness profess to believe in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost that is to believe all the essential Articles of Christian Religion and profess his consent to take God for his only God and portion Christ for his only Redeemer and the Holy Ghost for his Sanctifier renouncing the World Flesh and Devil I shall take this Verbal profession for a sufficient Reason of his claim unless any just Bar of exception be put in against him to invalidate it 2. The same Title I shall take for valid for the Baptism of his Infants 3. If a man have made the same profession and after long continuance in the Church doth offer his Child to Christ in Baptism and offer to renew that profession and enter his child into the same Covenant I shall suppose his claim just till some sufficient reason be brought to prove it unjust 1. I find that the Apostles took such a profession as a sufficient proof of the justice of the claim at the Parents own baptism Not as being it self the Condition called by many the Title but as being such an evidence of the Title to us as we are bound to accept 2. In equity and reason if the condition of a mans interest or his Title as they call it do lie in the heart out of mans reach we must take his own profession as evidence sufficient unless he give himself the lye and give us other reason to discredit him If a man say he is a Believer and profess himself to be a godly man that is a Lover and Honorer of God I will take him for a Believer and a godly man till I can disprove his profession I am not not bound to believe an evident Lye but I am bound to believe a man till the falshood of his speeches be evident Charity believeth all such things and thinketh not evil without sufficient evidence I need not go to a mans life for his evidence of his first Title And for his Right to after-communion and priviledges though other mens Testimony of a Godly conversation be a good confirmation yet I am not alwaies bound to seek or require that nor yet to have a personal knowledge of it But if any from his life will bring a cross evidence to disprove his own verbal profession of faith and obedience I will take it into consideration And I could wish that all Christians would proceed according to this Rule and call no man ungodly when they cannot prove hâ—m to be such at least so far as to a strong presumption But that they would take all for Godly that say they are Godly till they can disprove them I know they will say then you will miscall men and call those Godly that are not and then you must not difference the Precious from the Vile this is large charity indeed To which I answer 1. We call them but what they seem and 2. what God warranteth us to call them the Apostles telling such themselves that they were all the Sons of God by faith heirs saints justified c. Gal. 3. 1 Cor. 1.1 6.2 We difference as far as we have evidence to lead us and further we must not As I said before we must imitate God in this where the mixture is such that the Tares cannot be pulled up without pulling up the Corn both must grow together till the Harvest we must not think to difference so exactly and search and sift so neer to the bran as God will then do If the case be so uncertain and inevident that we may on such Grounds condemn the Righteous with the wicked we must let Righteous and wicked go together as if all were Righteous and call the whole field a Corn field for all the Tares Obj. Then must we judge falsly for we must judge men to be what they are not Answ. 1. If it were so it is no sin in you but in them that profess falsly When ever you judge the most glorious hypocrite to be Godly you judge falsly but not sinfully for every mistake is not our sin 2. But I say you are not to judg falsly neither For you are not to judge that it is certain that these are Godly men but only that its probable And note well that there is a difference to be made within the Church between the better and worser Members as well as between the Church and those without And observe that there are divers degrees of this probability of mens sincerity some do so fully second their profession by a Godly life that we have a very strong confidence of their sincerity though not a certainty Some do give us some good hopes but not so strong a perswasion Some are so dull and negligent and faultie in their lives that we have much fear of their perdition though we are bound because of their profession to keep up some hopes of them as being not without some probability of their honesty I doubt the common sort of Christians are but such as these And therefore we may even in the Church preach for mens Conversion and Regeneration because though we know not certainly who they be that are unregenerate yet we know that many such there are that profess Religion and have great cause of fear and jealousie concerning many in particular So that we must place a great difference between those whom we must permit in the same Church-communion and must administer the same Sacraments to we rejoyce in our hopes of some we
doubt of their Dogmatical faith as of any Now what will you do with all these If you take their faith it self though common to be their Title then they must according to you all keep a way while they doubt of it And if it be but the verbal profession of that Dogmatical faith that is their Title before God and their own Conscience then any infidel may make himself a Title at pleasure by a lye and the bare opus operatum of speaking the words which he never believed but derideth the sence while he uttereth the terms As you will save your own Communicants from condemning themselves then for want of Assurance of their Lower faith so shall you direct us to do by ours I will only add this Question What Description must that man give of the faith short of Justifying which entitles to Baptism who takes Justifying faith it self to lie but in Assent You know my meaning It will be certainly another kinde of faith than Mr. Blake describeth that such a man must require I had thought I had done with you at this time and this day I received a Book of Mr. Prins writing containing the fruit of your Doctrine and therein I finde a passage of yours cited from pag. 125. which makes me think it may deserve further consideration than I thought to have taken of it You say Giving and Receiving being Relata all those Texts that prove it the duty of any to Receive the Sacrament doth eo nomine oblige the Minister to deliver it to them or admit them because posito uno Relatorum ponitur alterum Answ. Must Logick do the deed at last If so it will give us leave to distinguish between Relata secundùm dici secundùm esse simplices duplices relationes c. Ponitur autem hoc unum Relatorum vel in esse vel in debito If you speak of the former then you know 1. that our Giving is not effectual Giving but Offering when it goes before Receiving and 2. that as scibile may be sine scientiâ as existent so Offering may be without Receiving though not Receiving in our present sense without Offering therefore one of these may be put without the other But I suppose it is Debitum offerendi recipiendi which you think are thus related But 1. here the debitum offerendi goes first and the debitum recipiendi comes after and is but conditional and not actual till the very act of oblation You may be bound to Offer your people the Sacrament and not perform your duty they are not bound to Receive it when you are bound to Offer it but only on condition or supposition that you actually do Offer it so that it is not your duty and theirs that are connexed as Relata else they should be bound to Receive that which is not offered them for you may neglect your duty Nor is it your actual Offering and their actual Receiving that are inseparably connexed as perfect Relates for you may offer it when it shall be refused But you 'l say At least the thing intended stands good that posito recipiendi debito ponitur etiam debitum offerendi I answer Not alwaies so neither unless you take the Duty of Reception to be actual and absolute and not conditional For you may be bound to Receive on supposition that I offer both this and many other things which I am not bound to offer Much less am I eo nomine as you strongly say obliged to deliver it to you You may be obliged to give me Thanks supposing I bestow a Benefit on you and your thanks hath relation to my Benefit and yet I do not yet understand that I am eo nomine obliged to give you that Benefit because you must be thankful if I do Your Obligation to receive is plainly consequential and hypothetical supposing I actually offer it and that cannot so necessarily infer the duty of Offering For I make little doubt to prove that in many Cases when the Minister sinneth in his Offer it is yet the Peoples duty to receive it if he do offer it The Scribes and Pharisees might unjustly usurp the Chair of Moses and yet it may be the peoples duty to hear them The Priests may usurp their place and yet the cleansed Leper may be bound to shew himself to them Nero may sin by asking Tribute when it may be my duty to give it him if he ask it If Mr. Prin had thought that your Argument would justifie a Thief in taking his purse by the high way I do not think he would have cited it Giving and Taking here are Relatives too If a Thief demand your purse resolving to kill you if you deny it it may be your duty to Give it to save your life when in my opinion it is not eo nomine his duty to Demand or Take it Well! but this is not the chief part of my answer to you If you had laid better grounds for it and well limited it I might well grant you that when the People are bound to Receive it implyeth the Ministers duty to offer it them But then you must take duty as you finde it entirely at least essentially and you must not cut off a piece of a duty yea leave out the essentials and turn it into a sin God commandeth people first to Repent and Believe and then to profess it by words and sacramental actions and therewith receive the seals of his special grace This is your Duty Perform your duty so far as is antecedent to mine and I shall confess that mine will follow and I must offer you the Sacraments But if you will refuse to repent or Believe or to profess that you do so in a credible sort or will by word or life profess that you do not so and yet will demand the Sacrament you do not your duty and so I am not obliged Prove that it is a mans duty to receive the Sacraments without Faith and Repentance yea or a credible Profession of them or to profess by that Reception that he Takes Christ and Believeth in him when it is a lie and then you say somewhat All men are bound mediately to receive the Sacrament that is first to seek after the Word and then to hear it and then to believe and repent and then to seek the Sacraments but it followeth not that they may do the last first and receive before they repent Moreover as the Receiver is bound ad ordinem modum and not simply and any how to receive so I am bound ad ordinom modum and not any how to give And therefore I must first know my call to it as a Pastor and I must do my best to help the people to a due preparation and I must do it Decently in Order and to Edification and the miss of one of these may turn the duty into a sin I am not therefore of your opinion as you next express it that there is as
because he is baptized and professeth Regeneration and is entered extrinsecally into a new society And the lower sort of Believers is said to be regenerate but only because he hath some common work of another species so that Regeneration is equivocally spoken of these 5. So also is Justification It s clear that it is not the same thing that is called Justification in the one sort and in the other as I suppose will be confessed 6. The same also I may say of Adoption as is undeniable 7. And the same I may say of being in Covenant with God For 1. ex parte Dei with the Regenerate God is actually in Covenant that is as it were obliged to them but to the rest it is but conditionally which will induce no actual Obligation or Debitum till the Condition be performed 2. And on their own part the regenerate are said to Covenant with God principally because they consent to his terms and heartily Accept his Covenant as it is which Scripture calleth sometime their Believing If thou believe in thy heart c. and sometime their Willing whosoever will let him drink of the waters of Life freely so that the Regenerate mans Covenating is alwaies with the Heart and comprehendeth all the Essentials and sometime with the Mouth also But the bare Professors Covenanting is but with the mouth alone and the lower Believers is wanting in the internal Essentials so that it is plain that it is not the same thing that is called Covenanting in them and therefore the word is equivocal And then by this it is put out of doubt that they are equivocally called Church members Because the things forementioned that constitute their Church-membership are not the same If any Papist should here set in and with Bellarmine plead that it is Profession and Engagement to Church Politie that constituteth all Members and that the Church in its first notion signifieth only the visible Body and that Faith and Holiness or any thing intrinsick is not necessary to make a Member but only to maâ—e a living Member 1. I shouâ—d desire such to be at the pains to see what our Dâ—vines Amesius Whitaker and abundance more have said already to shew the vanity of this yea and its self-contradiction 2. Were it not done by so many already I would shew such from many Scriptures and Fathers that the word Church in our Christian sense doth principally signifie the number that are cordially congregate unto Christ and united to him 3. But whomsoever the word is first applyed to it is certain if it be applyed to both that it is equivocal unless you will say that it signifieth some Generical nature in common to both which cannot be as is aforesaid and if it were granted 1. It would exclude the spiritual aggregation to Christ to be the Ratio nominis contrary to Scripture and 2. It would exclude all Saints that have not the opportunity of a visible profession and conjunction with the Visible Body from being of the Church and so from Salvation Or 3. It would make two Churches specifically distinct which both Papists and Protestants do so vehemently disavow Having thus given my Reasons from the common description of Equivocals and the nature of the things why I say that meer Professors and consequently visible Members as such are but equivocally called Believers Christians Saints Members c. I shall next come to Authority and enquire what is the Custom of Divines in this case seeing that Custom is so much the master of Speech and it is only Protestant Divines that I shall alledge because it is for the sake of Protestants that I write to disswade them from siding with the Papists in this point For between them and us it is so antient and well known a Controversie that with men that are exercised in such Writings my allegations will be needless but for the sake of some confident men that have derided the common â—ssertions of Protestant against Papists as if they were singularly mine I shall annex some of the words of our most esteemed Writers by which these men may discern the minds of the rest wishing that such men would rather have been at the pains to have read the Authors themselves than to suffer their passions and tongues to over-run their understandings 1. Calvin in 1 Cor. 12. His interea duobus ep thâ—tis declarat quinam habendi sint inter vera Ecclesiae membra quâ— ad ejus Communionem pr priè pertineant Nisi enim vitae sanctimoniâ Christianum te ostendas delitescere quidem in Ecclesiâ poteris sed ex eá tamen nâ—n eris Sanctificari ergò in Christo oâ—ortet omnes qui in populo Dei censeri volunt Porrò â—anctificationis verbum sâ—gregation in signâ—ficat ea sit in nobis quum per spiritum in vitae novitatem regeneramur ut serviamus Deo non Mundo Unà cum omnibus invoc Et hoc commune est piorum omnium Epitheton Quod exponunt quidam de solâ Professione mihi frigâ—dum videtur ab usu Scripturae alienum est Idem Institut lib. 4 cap. 1. sect 7 De Ecclâ—siâ visibili qué sub cognitionem nostram cadit quale judicium facere conveniat ex superioribus â—am lâ—quere existimo Diximus enim bifariam de Ecclesiâ Sacras Literas loqui Interdum quum Ecclesiam nominant tam intelligunt quae reverâ est coram Deo in quam nulli recipiuntur nâ—si qui Adoptionis gratiâ filii Dei sunt spiricûs sanctificatione vera Christi membra Saepe autem Ecclesiae nomine universam hominum multitudinem in orbe diffusam designat quae unum se Deum Christum colere profitetur In hâc autem plurimi sunt permixti hypocritae qui nihil Christi habent praeter titulum speciem plurimi ambitiosi avari invidi maledici aliqui impurioris vitae qui ad tempus tolerantur vel quia legitimo judicio convinci nequeunt vel quia non semper ea viget disciplinae veritas quae debebat 2. Beza in Confess Christ. fid p. 34. c. 5. sect 8. De veris Ecclesiae membris Vera sunt Ecclesia membra qui characterem illum habent Christianorum proprium id est fidem Fidelis autem aliquis ex eo agnoscitur quòd unicum Servatorem Jesum Christum agnoscit fugit peccatum studet Justitiae Ãdque ex praescripto Verbi Dei. Nam quod ad rel quos homines attinet cujuscunque tandem sint statû◠vel conditionis non sunt numerandi inter Ecclesiae membra etiam si ut ità loquar Apostolatu fungereÌ„tur Sed hîc cavâ—ndum est nè vel ulteriùs progrediamur quà m par sit vel temerè judicemus expectandum enim est Dei judicium in detegendis hypocritis falsi fratibus Et pag. 32. sect 2. he shews unam duntaxat esse veram Ecclesiam and therefore he speaks here of that one Church 3. Junius
without so great sin or offence as shall cast so Reverend a man into trembling and tears no doubt in compassion of me I think its time to lay by this kinde of work I have been it seems also a temptation to him to tell the world such stories of my self as I little thought such a man would have reported As Mr. Robertson talks so confidently of his discourses with Mr. Hothkis who professes he never saw him or spoke a word to him so doth my dear friend Mr. Blake tell the world as truly once on the credit of his Informer but again absolutely without such limitation that I have given out that I have made some body my Convert who professeth now to be satisfied in his Book Whereas he might as truly have told them that I take my self to be King of France or Spain If he will bring his tale-carriers face to face and prove by any faithful witness that I ever boasted of any man as my Convert or ever said of one man living that I had made him my Convert in any matter of such opinions I will give you leave to spit in my face and call me lyar As fairly doth he cast his censures on the credit of his Informers at the Wocestershire combination as he termeth it that the most prophane where the Minister carries any Authority are as forward as any with more of the like whereas if he had been unsatisfied in their proceedings there are many Reverend Brethren there that would have readily given him an account of them and a better information And he was publickly told by them and me that we were not gathering Churches or taking in members and therefore not discerning who were meet but only discerning who did account themselves as such and profess themselves such already And as fairly doth he report that he hears I bring in the name of Reverend Mr. Ball to give honor to this that the Doctrine of the Church of Rome and the reformed Churches is one and the same or inconsiderably differing in this of justification And then tels us that he heard it himself and told Mr. Ball of it and that he disclaimed it Whereas 1. It was not half this much that I spake 2. And do not know that ever I spake it to three men or more 3. And I must profess to the world that the man I had it from was Mr. Blake himself and only him and that at too several times once mentioning the Papists doctrine and the other time the Arminians about justification and that he reported the neerness of us to them as Mr. Ball 's saying but never told me with it one word of his disowning it 4. And I never spake this my self as approving the conceit that the Papists and we did so inconsiderably differ herein And now let the equity of Mr. Blakes dealing be judged of whether he were a fit man publickly to accuse me of this crime who was my only Author I would never have mentioned these things if he had not thus necessitated me Though I am in doubt that he will take it ill that in all these things I deny his Accusations and do not by my silence interpretatively belye my self And as to the main bulk of his Disputes against me I must needs say that there is such ordinary mistaking the sence or quite overlooking the drift of my Arguments and Answers and obscuring the matter with meer shifts and confusions that if I should give a punctual answer to such a book I think the perusal of it would be ungratefull to the Reader For what profit can it be to any man to be convinced at so dear a rate how much Mr. Blake hath miscaried in his arguing I know my censures of his labors are like to be provoking But who can help that Had I thought him in the right I had never contradicted him Or could I yet see that I have erred I must needs approve that light which did reveal it And if I be in the wrong it is no news for an erring man to think that he doth not err and if he think not so he doth not err in minde but in word But if I prove in the right if it will not excuse me that I do but ward off the blow that he giveth me not that I plead for Gods truth at least let it excuse me that some evidence is cogent and some light so constraining that I cannot chuse but think as I do think till I have better evidence to the contrary than doth appear in Mr. Blakes Reply And so little is my understanding at the disposal of my will that if my life lay on it I could not choose but be perswaded in my heart that Mr. Blakes Reply is so full of mistakes and built upon such misunderstanding of the words that he Replyeth to that it tendeth more to darken the truth than to clear it and to pervert the inconsiderate that will take things on trust or think his cause best that hath the last word to colour it and put a gloss upon it and that there needs no more with the judicious Reader that is willing to try before he trust and thinks the truth is worth his labour than impartially to read over the words that Mr. Blake doth Reply to for the manifesting of the insufficiency of his Reply as to the main of the cause He will think this is great confidence but what Remedy I think he is neer as confident though both be not in the right And I doubt not but Dr. Owen can see the height of my Pride in this confidence But certainly when ever I come to be so humble as to believe all that such Reverend Brethren say I must needs be so Proud as to disbelieve those that contradict them For I see it a matter not to hoped for that ever they that are so offended with me should come to an agreement among themselves As Dr. Owen and Mr. Blake are against me so Mr. Blake and I are against Dr. Owen and so its runs round And if I should be so humible as to agree with one of them what shall I do for another inconsistent humilitie to make me of the others minde that is against him I must confess that there is one part of the contest between Mr. Blake and me at least that I think well worthy a review and that is the question about the nature of that faith which gives Right to Sacraments For as it is a matter that comes so frequently into practice and of such moment to particular persons to Ministers and to the welfare of the Church so I do not know of any that hath said so much for that cause which I yet account so bad as Mr. Blake hath done and indeed he hath put a fairer gloss on this than on any of the rest And yet in my judgement he hath left it so naked that a little diligence and impartially may do much to discover his opinions
respect of the Parents Faith which is his condition of Title I should think I made a new covenant and a new Baptism I mean If I Baptized any without the present profession of justifying faith and Repentance upon a promise that they will begin to Repent and Believe savingly for the time to come Indeed the first faith and Repentance unto life are so much above corrupted nature and so much the special gifts of God which he hath given no man assurance of in particular that hath them not already that we must stay till men have them before they are meet to be admitted upon promise that they will perform them It hath pleased some of the great Calumniators agents to censure me as an Arminian or half one because I run not so far on the other hand as they But it s a hard case that I am in who must needs be an Arminian and yet must be forced to dissent from so dear a friend as Mr. Blake for fear of becoming one I am confident that Mr. Blake in those points is Orthodox but so could not I be if I should entertain his opinion For if I did believe that upon the acts of common Grace men have covenant or promise-right given them by God to be Baptized I must needs believe that they had Right to Remission of sin in Christs blood seeing God appointed no Baptism but what is for the Remission of sin upon which account I have mightily displeased some Reverend friends that before over-valued me who are favourers of the Arminian way meerly because I oppose Mr. Blake in this point For my part I still take faith to be the very internal covenanting with God in Christ and not a condition of our own covenant though it be the condition of Gods covenant or promise and so that condition of Gods covenant and our own actual covenanting are one and the same thing our very first covenanting with him or consent to his terms is that faith on which he promiseth us Justification though there be a further performance required to our Salvation It is all one in my account to believe in Christ and to become a Christian and Baptism commonly called our Christening is not to engage us to begin to be Christians hereafter but it is the solemnization of the Christian contract or marriage between Christ and the Soul which is supposed to be made in heart before so that they are then actually Christians inaugurated or publickly manifested And for all that Mr. Blake hath said to the contrary he that professeth any faith only that is short of justifying faith is not a Christian in the covenant-sence but is only Equivocally or Analogically so called And whereas Mr. Blake makes it more tolerable if I had used the word Analogically then to use the word Equivocally if he had pleased to observe it I frequently put them together as here Equivocally or Analogically so that if that will satisfie him he might have been satisfied sooner Yet I take the Scotists controversie to be yet undecided whether some terms be not both Analogical and Univocal and some both Analogical and Equivocal which they handle on the Question Vtrum Ens dicatur Vnivocè de Deo Creaturâ or rather that the later clause is past doubt and therefore in our ease it is both Nor am I yet perswaded that his old Testament covenanters which are the great moving instance did profess only such a faith as was short of Justifying and they that lived in such scandal as was inconsistent Notoriously with their profession were by the law to be put to death and then they were past begetting Children to plead a right in Circumcision And whereas he is so confident that according to my opinion the Baptism of the unjustifyed is a Nullity and that they must be Baptized again and saith that its much to be feared if not certainly to be concluded that the Major part by far of the Worcestershire combination consists of unbaptized persons c. pag. 142 143. I answer 1. it is a meer naked unproved assertion that any such consequent doth follow on these grounds Nor can he ever prove it If the outward ordinance were rightly administred and the inward covenanting of the heart were not performed it is not that which was well done that must be done again but that must be done which was at first omitted even sincere internal covenanting or believing 2. But it is much more disputable according to his principles whether all that he should so Baptize must not be rebaptized For as the ancient Councils which were against Cyprians and the rest of the Carthaginians Rebaptizing did yet decree that all should be rebaptized that were Baptized by the Paulionists not that they allowed really of twice Baptizing but that the first was but Baptism Equivocally so called because they Baptized not into the Name of the Trinity so if we should upon the new Doctrine take up a new Baptism upon a meer Dogmatical faith which is not a believing in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost but only a Believing that there is a Father Son and Holy Ghost and add if you will a Promise to believe in them hereafter I should be hardly put to it to prove these persons truly Baptized and that it being a Nullity all were not to be done again and yet some Brethren of Mr. Blakes minde think that my Judgement opens the way to Rebaptizing when I doubt it will be hard to avoid it as to every person in the way that he disputeth for Not that I think that any one should be rebaptized that is Baptized by Mr. Blake or any of them For I am confident that neither he nor they did ever practice their own doctrine nor ever Baptized one person but upon the profession of justifying faith it self 3. But why do they not see that on their own grounds many of their own Baptizings would be Nullities and the persons be Rebaptized If a Dogmatical faith it self be of necessity to the Being of Baptism then what shall be done with those many hundred Children among us whose Parents discover to us that they have not that Dogmatical faith How many have we oft occasion to speak with that marvail when we tell them what Christ is and hath done and suffered for us as if they had never hard it before when yet they sit under our teaching day by day like Dr. John White 's Catechumene that being asked what Jesus Christ was answered that she did not know she was never taught so far but sure enough it is some good thing or it should never have been put into the Creed Would Mr. Blake have the Children of all these rebaptized or not If yea then he is more than I for rebaptizing if not then how will it follow any more from my judgement that the Children of the unjustifyed must be Rebaptized I cannot conceive what he can say without going to the right of remote ancestors or the
Church which is no more for him than for me but only that it is the profession of a Dogmatical Faith and not the Faith it self that is necessary to give this Right But a man would think that if it be not enough for an evidence in our case of an Analogical Right Coram Ecclesiâ that a man subscribe the Covenant of God of which Mr. Blake pag. 143. then it can be no good evidence in his cause of a Right Coram Deo Ecclesiâ that a man subscribe or speak that which he never understood or if his Profession of Dogmatical Faith without the Faith itself be a good Title then the Profession of a justifying Faith without the Faith it self may so far serve turn as to justifie the Baptizing and to prohibite rebaptizing 4. And to Mr. Blakes censure which I will not censure as it deserves of the Major part by far of the Worcestershire combination as he speakes whether it be that he know them better than I which is unlikely when he professeth to conjecture on reports or whether I be more charitable or less rigorous in judging of mens sincerity or what ever else makes the difference of our censures I will be bold to say that I know not one person of all the Worcestershire combination as he calls them whom I know to be an unjustified unsanctified person that I can remember though I confess I have no small doubts and fears of many Nay more I have more hopes than fears I mean I rather think that they are truly Godly than that they are not of the far greatest part of them that I know even of many to one and more comparatively then I will now mention And whereas Mr. Blake doth instead of answering cast aside above twenty of my Arguments as not concerning him and so put them off with a wet finger I say that 's too easie a way of answering to satisfie me how ever it may do by those that are more easily satisfied and with a word I shall restore and reenforce them as with a word he puts them by It is one thing to ask whether the profession of justifying Faith be a duty to all that come to be Baptized Another whether it be so necessary that they ought not to come nor we to admit them without it and a third whether Baptism without it be a Nullity Mr. Blakes general assertion did in the proper sence express the first And thereupon because I took his words as he spoke them he better expoundeth them and confesseth that justifying Faith is a duty prerequisite to Baptism but not such a duty without which Baptism is Null or we may not Baptize and therefore he puts off above twenty Arguments at once and saith that they make nothing against him But I restore them all or most at once though one is enough by telling him that they prove that the profession of a Faith that is justifying must be expected by the Church and found in all that are admitted to Baptism and that none ought to be Baptized upon the profession of any lower Faith This they prove and this is the controversie In conclusion I will add but these two things and I should think such two might serve the turn 1. Consider when the Right that I denyed is a Promise-right whether Mr. Blake after all his pains do not yield up the cause when he expresly saith pag. 124. So that I conceit no promise of these ordinances made to such a faith but an actual investiture of every such believer in them What means this if it yield not the cause and unsay not the rest if no promise then no Right by promise and I seek no more What is the actual investiture but actual Baptizing and Receiving the Lords Supper and he knows that I did not deny that they actually received it 2. Me thinks Mr. Blake and my Reverend Brethren of his minde that marvail at my maintaining of this cause should bear some reverence to Augustine who so diligently defendeth it Besides what he saith in Enchirid. ad Laurent cap. 67 68. he hath a well known treatise purposely on this very subject or on that doth not considerably differ There were some voluptuous persons especially at Rome that kept concubines and yet professed to be Believers and would have been baptized but would not yet put away their concubines whereupon when the Ministers denyed them baptism some lay-men that desired the increase of the Church and misunderstood the doctrine of justification by faith only did plead that because by faith only we are justified and works are to follow as the fruits of faith therefore these persons upon their believing might be baptized and afterward they should be dealt with for the reforming of their lives Whereupon Augustine writes that Treatise de fide operibus to prove the contrary that they cannot be justified or saved by any faith but that which works by love and that they must not be baptized till they actually put away their Concubines and other the like sins and promise also to forsake them for the future so that as it was not any presbyters but lay-men that raised this doubt so both they and Agustine seem agreed that the same faith that is saving is requisite to baptism or as to the Church the Profession of it And therefore Austin thus repeats the occasion in his Retractions lib. 2. cap. 38. pag. Edit Paris Missa sunt mihi nonnulla quae ità distinguerent à bonis operibus Christianorum fidem ut sine hâc non posse sine illis autem perveniri suaderetur ad aeternam vitam Quibus respondens librum scripsi cujus nomen est de Fide Operibus in quo disputavi non solùm quemadmodum vivere debeant gratiâ Dei regenerati verùm etiam quales ad lavacrum regenerationis admitti If I cited but a line or leaf you might say I dismembered it and left behind me the sence but when the whole book is to this very purpose no such thing can be said see especially cap. 21. so that if I err I have no worse a man then Augustine to lead me the way As for Mr. Blak's impotent accusations of my owning the cause of the Papists against the Protestant cause in the matter of Justification because I misliked the by extream opinions of some men as if all had agreed in these opinions or the Protestant difference with the Papists in the matter of Justification did lye either only or principally in these I look upon it as such dealing as must be expected from angry men and as Children of the same Father do sometime use against one another when they fall out It was doubtless my sin that I was no more cancelor◠of provoking him as it is his to be carryed to such injustice by his passions as that and many other passages do contain But I am confident he forgiveth me and I am certain I forgive him and I am perswaded