Latin Church, all of which give glorious Teftimonies for Infant Baptifm; even Cyprian before thefe affures us, that in his days there was no doubt of it; and Origen before him could fay, 'Twas from the Apostles that the Church took up the Baptifm of Infants; and Clemens Romanus before bim could fay, That Children

should be Recipients, of the Difcipline of Chrift; befides what plain Evidence we have in Irenæus and Juftin Martyr: And that the very Arguments with which fome of the Antients did fuperftitiously advife the Delay of Baptifm, do at the fame time confess the Divine Right of Infants in it.

A

S our laft Sheet went into

an

the Prefs, there came to our Hands another Piece, call'd Confidence Corrected, &c. 'Tis a magifterious Title, and calls for our humble Thoughts; therefore fince we have told the World we would, in these twelve Numbers, give an Anfwer to all the Anabaptifts have written, we fhall take notice of what it contains: but upon examination we find nothing material in it but what we have already fwer'd, only fome new Expofitions aud a few Catches, like drowning Men, at whatever they think may befpatter and render us odious. Amongst the reft, we'll only examine thofe Expofitions that feem to anfwer any of thofe three Points we have before laid down; to which (we hope) we have justly reduc'd all this tedious long Difpute betwixt us, which may continue to Eternity, if we follow 'em in the long Chafe of impertinent Circumftances that have fo little

relation to the matter in hand.

are

As we remember (fo we may be pardon'd for tautologizing fince our Papers at the Prefs) the Heads are thefe, which if ye anfwer, the Caufe is your own.

1. Since Children by God's immediate Appointment and exprefs Command were rec'kon'd and included with their Parents as proper Subjects for Incovenanting, where are they by God's immediate Appointment and exprefs Command excluded again?

2. Difprove our Testimonies either of the Jews or Primitive Fathers.

3. Or bring one credible Inflance where Infant-Baptism is mention'd as Inorthodox, before many credible Instances that we have and can yet farther fhew, where 'tis mention'd as Orthodox in the first Ages of the Church.

We defire the Reader to pardon our flating these Heads again, fince we have done it (our Papers being abfent) not

only

tings of fuch as convers'd with the antient Presbyrers who were contemporary with the Apoftles themselves.

What you urge about Antiquity, as to the true Marks of it, is obfcure, fince you have not given us your true Marks of it. And as for your fay ing, From the Beginning it was not fo, it lies upon you to prove when it began. We have given you Authority that it was practis'd before our Saviour, as alfo in the time of those who convers'd with the Contemporaries of the latter Days of the Apoftles.

Ye fay, pag. 39. that Childrens Faith is not to be prov'd from that Text, Little Ones which believe in me, &c. We'll examine this by and by, when we confider your Poftfcript, particularly that of Childrens beholding God's Face in Heaven, and the Inference from it.-. An Ordinance once repeal'd, &c. pag. 4. See it ftated to your better Satisfaction in the firft of our three Heads; and we expect a full Answer to it, or elfe that you'll hold your Tongues, and not perfecute every Body's Ear with Abufes, Nonfence, and impertinent Inferences. as of a Man bringing a Chizzel to cut out a Doublet, &c. What you there offer is nothing near it; Mr. C. understood what we meant, and bid faireft for an Anfwer; to which we have rejoin'd, and if you can help him out, do.

And now to your unchriftian fcandalous Poftfcript:

Here we are treated very

meanly; the occafion is, because we ask'd you for an Inftance of Female-Baptifm. Could you not have given it in mild and plain Terms, and then you had done all thar could be expected? ftead of that you leap at the poor Queftion, like a Cat at a Moufe; and having faften'd upon it, you grumble, play, and tantalize the poor thing, till you are weary with its Difgrace and then out of Pity end its Expectation, bringing a purring Syllogifm to prove it lawful. Generously done! but you did not confider, that whether there was, or was not any fuch Inftance, it made our Cafe of InfantBaptifm neither better worfe, which fhews your Quarrel lies at whatever you can catch: tho' after all, we have to tell you there are three or four more fuch Queftions, if you could have feen 'em, which we ask'd on purpose, not that we want to be fatisfy'd in them our felves.

nor

The next Quotation which we are fo feverely check'd for, is a Paffage which we think fit to cite again, to fhew the World how much Malice and Ignorance appears in their Comments upon us : The Words are thefe, If God be pleas'd to irradiate upon the Souls of Children in Heaven, and they do behold the Face of God (as our Saviour fays) then it follows that they have Faith in heaven, and why not on earth? To behold the Face of God is an Act of Faith, Heb. II. 17, Let the Reader take notice, that here

Inftances

in

we are fuppofing, that if Faith were abfolutely prerequifite to Baptifm, Children have it from our Saviour's Words, Thefe Little Ones which believe in me. And that our Saviour's Words may as well be expounded of Infants as of fuch who are meek and humble like Infants, we have brought fome unquestionable our first Paper, where these Words are cited, of Infants who have had ftrange Effects of actual Faith, even before they had the proper ufe of their Reafon. From whence we spoke as above, and meant no more by it than this, That if God, who is in Heaven, was ́pleas'd to irradiate and shine upon the Souls of Children (who are upon Earth, for we don't plead for the baptizing thofe Children who are in Heaven, that's not our Defign) and that thefe Children, by a Reflex of this Irradiation, do fee God, or behold Jefus Chrift, who is the object of their Faith in Heaven,why may'nt their Faith ferve for an Ordinance on Earth, as Baptifm, &c? That we mean Children upon Earth, is plain alfo from the Text cited, Heb. 11. 17, where St. Paul fpeaks of a Subject upon Earth, and not of a Subject of the beatifick Vifion. But why fo malicious and piteful an InVerfion of the Order of our Words? Why not on Earth? to therefore on Earth, and from thence to fix nonfenfical Syllogifms and irrational ConfeConfequences upon us? But to teach thefe Perfons a little Juftice and Reason, we'll fhew them how they might make our

'Tis highly reasonable, that if Children are capable by Faith to apprehend God, or Chrift Jefus in Heaven, which is a great matter, they may apprehend Baptifm upon Earth, which is a leffer Matter.

But Children are capable by Faith to apprehend, c. er. go, c.

ex.

The third thing you ridicule in your Poftfcript is our Query, How the Faith of the Parent can put the Child farther off from God, and how Children can lofe by Chrift's Coming, &c. We think there's but little Abfurdity in it; for if Children had the Happiness of being in the Covenant with their Parents under the Law, it must be an Unhappiness if they are cluded out of the Covenant from their Parents under the Gofpel: If fo, Children have loft by Chrift's Coming, which we don't meet with any where under the Gofpel; and if you do, it lies upon you to prove it, and then we'll yield our Inference an Abfurdity. See the firft Head of our Proposals to you, as above.

The laft fcurrilous Reflection gives to Pedo-Baptifts the Character of the Faculty of fawning one upon another,only becaufe we inferted a Poftfcript which mentions Mr. Elliot; tho' at the fame time we told the World it was fent to us from an unknown Hand. The miferable ftuff that follows it has our pity; especially when we find fuch an humble fubmiffive

M 4

Perfon