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<DATE>2013-01-28</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE Dippers Plunged In a Sea of ABSVRDITIES OR AN ANSVVER TO Doctor Chamberlaine CONCERNING <HI>Sprinkling</HI> the <HI>Baptized.</HI></P>
<P>By <HI>Thomas Bakewell.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>John Dallam,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop in <HI>Black-Fryers,</HI> neer <HI>Carter Lane.</HI> 1650.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="2" REF="2">
<HEADNOTE>
<P>A Re&s;olution to a Que&s;tion publi&s;hed in print by Doctor <HI>Cham|berlain,</HI> which being fir&s;t &s;ent in writing to him, although &s;ome|thing briefer, de&s;iring his An&s;wer, Whether is gave &s;atisfaction or not, and having waited longer then the time limited by pro|mi&s;e to give me an An&s;wer, and yet none comes, I thought good to publi&s;h it at the reque&s;t of &s;ome friends for their &s;atisfaction.</P>
</HEADNOTE>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>PRovidence hath brought to my hand a printed Paper, with your name <HI>Peter Chamberlain,</HI> directed to Doctor <HI>Gouge,</HI> whom you do much in&s;ult over for not an&s;wer|ing your former Letters about this que&s;tion, <HI>viz. Whe|ther that &s;prinkling of Infants in Baptis&s;m is of God or man?</HI> Now becau&s;e the Doctor is ancient, and had not need to be dayly trou|bled with all the vain Queries that Anabapti&s;ts may put unto him, although in re&s;pect of his mini&s;terial abilities I doubt not but that he is able to <HI>non-plus</HI> all the Sectaries in <HI>England;</HI> yet in con&s;ideration of his age, and in regard you put your Que&s;tion in print to the view of the world, I &s;hall endeavor, till &s;ome bet|ter pen &s;hall move herein, to give you &s;atisfaction, and I am con|fident I &s;hall, unle&s;s that apparent pride of your heart, expre&s;&s;ed in the la&s;t words of that paper, do not hinder, wherein you pray the Lord to <HI>&s;ubdue his Spirit to the truth, and to know you as you are;</HI> but this prayer of yours is like that of the Phari&s;ee, <HI>I thank God I am not as this Publican, Luk.</HI> 18.11. when as the Publican was ju&s;tified, rather then he: &s;o you cen&s;ure that grave judicious Mini&s;ter to have erred from the truth, and yet you &s;ay he hath not an&s;wered your Letters, but for your &s;elf you take upon you the title of <HI>Tyrus, Full of Wi&s;dom, and perfect in beauty, Ezek.</HI> 28.12. <HI>He that is fir&s;t in his own cau&s;e, &s;eemeth ju&s;t, but his neighbor cometh and &s;earcheth him, Prov.</HI> 18.17. If you were &s;o perfect in knowledg, you do but mini&s;ter que&s;tions of &s;trife, ra|ther then godly edifying, which &s;hews, that <HI>you are turned a&s;ide to vain jangling.</HI> 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.4.6. But <HI>knowledg without charity puffeth up: And &s;uch a one thinking that he knoweth any thing, knoweth nothing as he ought to know,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.1, 2. <HI>Paul</HI> calls him&s;elf <HI>the lea&s;t of Saints,</HI> and <HI>the chiefest of &s;inners, Ephe&s;.</HI> 3.8. 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1 15. For <HI>God re&s;i&s;ts the proud, and gives grace to the humble:</HI> Surely it is meet to be &s;aid unto God, <HI>That which I
<PB N="3" REF="2">&s;ee not teach thou me; and if I have &s;inned, I will do no more, Job</HI> 34.32. <HI>Who can under&s;tand his errors? clean&s;e thou me from &s;ecret faults, and keep me from pre&s;umptuous &s;ins, P&s;al.</HI> 19.12. But I ha&s;ten to &s;atisfie your Quere, which is not rightly &s;tated, whereby to give a right An&s;wer; for &s;prinkling tho&s;e of full age is not at all here que&s;tioned, but is either waved, or granted to be of God, and not of man; and dipping or plung|ing infants is al&s;o either waved, or granted to be of God, and not of man.</P>
<P>Now if this be the &s;ence of the que&s;tion, to know, <HI>Whether &s;prinkling the baptized be of God or man, be they Infants or of full age,</HI> I &s;hall an&s;wer, and prove, <HI>That &s;prinkling of the baptized is of God, and not of mans invention.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Becau&s;e the Lord foretold, That in the times of the Go|&s;pel <HI>his people &s;hould be &s;prinkled with clean water, Ezek.</HI> 36.25. And the water in Bapti&s;m is the &s;ign of the blood of Chri&s;t, which is called <HI>the blood of &s;prinkling, Heb.</HI> 12.24. Therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>To &s;prinkle our hearts from an evil con&s;cience, and to wa&s;h our bodies with pare water, Heb.</HI> 10.22. Thus <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;prinkled the people, and &s;aid, <HI>Behold the blood of the Covenant, Exod.</HI> 24.8. that both the Jewi&s;h and Chri&s;tian Sacramental Signs may both re&s;emble the thing &s;ignified: Therefore &s;prinkling the baptized is of God, and not of man.</P>
<P>Secondly, The Sacrament of Bapti&s;m mu&s;t be vi&s;ible to our corporal eyes, that by beholding it we may be put in mind of the thing &s;ignified: <HI>The Rainbow being the token of the Covenant, &s;hall be &s;een in the Clouds, Gen.</HI> 9.11.14. And as I &s;aid, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> bid the people <HI>behold the blood of the Covenant, Exod.</HI> 24.8. But he that is plunged under water can neither behold the &s;ign, nor hear the words of In&s;titution, to put him in mind of the thing &s;ignified, they cannot have their &s;en&s;es exerci&s;ed in that Ordi|nance as they ought, <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.14. and therefore as unfit to u&s;e that Ordinance, as a man that is mad or drunk, being out of their element under water.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Many were baptized in their hou&s;es, as <HI>Paul,</HI> and <HI>Cor|nelius,</HI> and others, <HI>Acts</HI> 9.17, 18. and 16.25, 48. and the Jaylor and all his were baptized in the pri&s;on, and at midnight: But what ve&s;&s;el could they have in their hou&s;es and pri&s;ons &s;ufficient to plunge them in? and who &s;hould fetch all that water the
<PB N="4" REF="3">&s;ame hour of the night to do it? &s;ee <HI>Acts</HI> 16.33. And what ve&s;&s;el had <HI>Peter</HI> to plunge three thou&s;and per&s;ons in? and if not all at once, how often was it emptied? and who fetched all that water? And did <HI>Peter</HI> &s;tand in the ve&s;&s;el all that time? or how many times went he in? or was he in at all? And &s;o of the re&s;t which would beget a thou&s;and Ab&s;urdities, if we &s;hould deny, that &s;prinkling is of God, and hold it to be mans invention.</P>
<P>Fourthly, The Sacraments mu&s;t be admini&s;tred where the Word is preached: The text &s;aith, <HI>Preach and baptize, Mat.</HI> 28.19. And as I &s;aid, many were baptized in their hou&s;es, as <HI>Corne|lius,</HI> and others, immediately after Je&s;us Chri&s;t was preached unto them; neither is it &s;aid, preach in one place, and then go to another place to plunge them: In this the Anabapti&s;ts do but imitate the Popi&s;h Pilgrimage, for Chri&s;t hath in&s;tituted Bapti&s;m to be admini&s;tred in the A&s;&s;embly where plunging can|not be.</P>
<P>Fifthly, If a man &s;hould &s;tand on the bank, and plunge the baptized under water, in &s;o doing he may break his neck, if the water be &s;hallow, and drown him, if it be deep; and if one &s;hould &s;tand in the water to &s;ave him, while the other ca&s;ts him in, there mu&s;t be two at the lea&s;t to baptize one man, flat again&s;t all examples in Scripture. Now to avoyd all the&s;e Ab&s;urdities, the baptized mu&s;t be &s;prinkled, and not plunged under water.</P>
<P>Sixthly, To plunge them naked is again&s;t mode&s;ty: <HI>Let all things be done decently, and in order,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14 40. <HI>Paul</HI> rejoyceth in beholding <HI>their order, Col.</HI> 2.5. The Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t is <HI>comely as the Curtains of Solomon, Cant.</HI> 1.5, And to plunge them na|ked were a great temptation: <HI>David</HI> by &s;eeing a naked woman was tempted to adultery, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 11.2, 4. And Chri&s;t hath taught us to &s;ay, <HI>Lead us not into temptation, Mat</HI> 6. Neither may they have drawers appointed for that u&s;e; this were to make them, the holy breeches of <HI>Aaron, Exo.</HI> 28.42, 43. as bad as the Prelates Sur|ple&s;s; and for women to wear them, being mans apparel, it were <HI>an abomination to the Lord, Deut.</HI> 22.5. and the water by that means not touching them all over, they had as good be &s;prinkled on one p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">rt for all: And tho&s;e in Scripture were not plunged in their clothes, for <HI>Lydia</HI> and the <HI>Jaylor fea&s;ted the Apo&s;tles &s;traightway, Acts</HI> 16.15, 34. neither do we find that they &s;hifted them&s;elves, nor that they &s;ate dung wet at meat with them:
<PB N="5" REF="3">Therefore to remove the&s;e Ab&s;urdities it mu&s;t be granted, that they were &s;prinkled at their Bapti&s;m, and not plunged under water.</P>
<P>Seventhly, <HI>John</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I baptize with water, Mat.</HI> 3.11. he doth not &s;ay, I baptize you in water; but always the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>with water, Ephe&s;.</HI> 5, 26. <HI>With the wa&s;hing of water, and with pure water, Heb.</HI> 10.22. Yea, to read, <HI>in water,</HI> when it is &s;aid, <HI>with water,</HI> were as great an error, as to <HI>bow at the Name of Je&s;us</HI> in &s;tead of <HI>in the Name of Je&s;us:</HI> For ob&s;erve the Scripture, <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith to <HI>Timothy, When thou comest, bring my cloak with thee,</HI> not in thee, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.16. <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;aid to the young men, <HI>Abide here with the A&s;&s;e, Gen.</HI> 22.5. not <HI>in the A&s;&s;e;</HI> &s;o baptize <HI>with water,</HI> not <HI>in the water:</HI> So on the other &s;ide, <HI>Levi payd tythes in Abraham: He was in the loyns of his father when Melchi&s;edec met him, Heb.</HI> 7.9, 10. Now it were very improper to read it thus; <HI>Levi paid tythes with Abraham; He was with his fathers loyns when Melchi&s;edec met him:</HI> So Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>You believe in God, believe al&s;o in me;</HI> now it were ab&s;urd to read, <HI>You believe with God, believe al&s;o with me:</HI> And to bapt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ze <HI>in the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> to read, <HI>with the Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> Chri&s;t never gave that power to any man, <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith, <HI>He that cometh after me baptized with the Holy Gho&s;t, Mat.</HI> 3.11. All that were bapt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">zed with water were not baptized with the Holy Gho&s;t, as <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> and others: So where it is &s;aid, <HI>Sprinkle the door po&s;ts with the blood in the ba&s;on,</HI> it were ab&s;urd to read thus, Take <HI>the door po&s;ts,</HI> as <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> did on his &s;houlder, and plunge them in &s;ome river: So ab&s;urd it is, to take any Chri&s;tian and plunge him under water, when as they are on|ly required to be baptized by &s;prinkling with water.</P>
<P>Eighthly, The Anabapti&s;ts who plead &s;o much for plunging, condemn them&s;elves in their own practi&s;e, while they &s;uffer the baptized to wade into the water up to the middle without their help, and then they plunge in the other half: Now, either they mu&s;t acknowledg that the party doth and may baptize half him|&s;elf, or el&s;e grant, that the lower half was not at all baptized, for they did not put that under water, but our Mini&s;ter holding the water over the baptized, doth put the baptized under the water. Thus their own practi&s;e condemns their plunging, and ju&s;tifies our &s;prinkling the baptized to be of Gods In&s;titutions.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="4">
<P>La&s;tly, I &s;hall &s;hew, That &s;prinkling one part of the baptized is &s;ufficient: Fir&s;t, Becau&s;e one drop of water is as truly water as the whole Ocean Sea. 2. There is no mea&s;ure of water pre|&s;cribed, only it mu&s;t be water. 3. The baptized may be under one drop, as well as under a tun. 4. We &s;hall &s;ee this cleared by the Conference of Je&s;us Chri&s;t with <HI>Peter</HI> about wa&s;hing of his feet, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 13. &s;aith <HI>Peter, Thou &s;halt never wa&s;h my feet,</HI> ver&s;. 8. but &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>If I wa&s;h thee not, thou ha&s;t no part in me:</HI> This &s;hews, that that wa&s;hing was Sacramental, and that it was ne|ce&s;&s;ary that the Command of Chri&s;t &s;hould be fulfilled, and that to contemn the Ordinance is damnable, without repentance, al|though I doubt not but where it cannot be had, God will have <HI>mercy, and not &s;acrifice:</HI> But then <HI>Peter,</HI> who would not be wa&s;hed at all before, now he is in the other extream, he, like the Anabapti&s;t, would be plunged all over, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 9. but &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>That needeth not, becau&s;e he is clean every whit,</HI> ver&s;. 10. Hence I conclude, That to wa&s;h all over by plunging is needle&s;s, and to wa&s;h one part is &s;ufficient, therefore to &s;prinkle one part of the baptized is of Gods In&s;titution, and the other extreams, one is abominable, and the other more then &s;ufficient.</P>
<P>But Anabapti&s;ts will have &s;omething to &s;ay for plunging, although to &s;mall purpo&s;e: Fir&s;t, That <HI>Ie&s;us when he was bapti|zed went out of the water: And Philip and the Eunuch went both into the water, Acts</HI> 8.38. therefore they were plunged un|der the water.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer: Every pit or river in tho&s;e hot Countries were not always full of water up to the brim, but &s;ometimes a man might go down into the pit or river to the water, and not go in the water: but &s;uppo&s;e it were granted, that they did wade into the water, yet that is not plunging them under the water; and to wade in till they came where it was clear, and then to &s;prinkle them <HI>in the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> may very well &s;tand with the text, and the contrary cannot be proved without all the former Ab&s;urdities.</P>
<P>But they will &s;ay, <HI>Many came and were baptized of Iohn in Iordan, Mat.</HI> 3.6. and the Greek word &s;hews, that was by plung|ing them into that river.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> They might wade in, and yet be &s;prinkled, as I &s;aid be|fore; and the Greek word as well &s;ignifies to &s;prinkle, as to
<PB N="7" REF="4">plunge; but in regard plunging is accompanied with &s;o many Ab&s;urdities, &s;prinkling is to be cho&s;en rather then planging. I might add more Ab&s;urdities, thus: Either this Ordinance mu&s;t be laid a&s;ide all the Winter, when as Chri&s;t never &s;aid, Baptize in Summer, and cea&s;e that Ordinance in Winter, which would be a great prejudice to the Church; or el&s;e, if ob&s;erved, it would endanger the lives of tho&s;e that &s;hould be &s;o plunged in the mid&s;t of Winter; yea, we can tell the Anabapti&s;ts, that &s;ome, whom they have plunged in the cold of Winter, have dyed im|mediately, and God will require their blood at their hands one day; for God, that would have us to perform all duties in <HI>love and charity,</HI> will not put us upon duties &s;o ridged, which cannot be performed but by murthering of one another: all which &s;hews plainly, that this is not the ea&s;ie yoke of Chri&s;t, nor the duty required of a gracious God, but rather his invention who was a murtherer from the beginning, who murthers the bodies in Winter of tho&s;e that ob&s;erve it, and the &s;ouls of tho&s;e that neglect it.</P>
<P><HI>But we are &s;aid to be buried with Chri&s;t by Bapti&s;m, Rom.</HI> 6.4. therefore <HI>the baptized is to be plunged under water.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> In this text is no mention made of <HI>baptizing with wa|ter,</HI> which is the <HI>outward form of Bapti&s;m;</HI> only we are &s;aid to be <HI>baptized into the death of Chri&s;t,</HI> and after death, <HI>buried with him by Bapti&s;m.</HI> Now Je&s;us Chri&s;t, along time after he was baptized of <HI>Iohn</HI> in <HI>Iordan,</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I have a Bapti&s;m to be baptized with, Luk.</HI> 12.50. which was his death and burial: And he &s;aith to the &s;ons of <HI>Zebedee, Ye &s;hall drink of my cup, and be baptized with my Bapti&s;m, Mat.</HI> 20.23. that is, they &s;hall dye, and be bu|ried, and ri&s;e again at the la&s;t day, and al&s;o they &s;hall receive the things &s;ignified; that is, the body of &s;in &s;hall dye by the death of Chri&s;t, and their &s;in &s;hall be buried or covered by the bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ial of Chri&s;t, and they &s;hall ri&s;e to newne&s;s of life by vertue of the Re|&s;urrection of Chri&s;t; and the&s;e are all expre&s;&s;ed in that text, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.2, 4. This is the Doctrine of Bapti&s;m &s;poken of, <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.2. But I &s;ay here is no mention of the form of Bapti&s;m there|fore no warrant from this text to plunge the baptized under water. Now if we &s;hould bring all tho&s;e texts that &s;peak of Bapti&s;m to prove the outward form, we &s;hould run into &s;uch a Labyrinth, that we &s;hould not be able to get out: As for exam|ple,
<PB N="8" REF="5"><HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks of baptizing the body when it is dead, &s;aying, <HI>If the dead ri&s;e not at all, why are they then baptized for the dead?</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.29. Now although here be more in this Text to prove the form of Bapti&s;m then in that, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6. yet we may not at all ground any form of Bapti&s;m from it: Fir&s;t, Becau&s;e the party is dead, and &s;o unfit to make a Member of the Church by that &s;olemn admittance. 2. Any woman may wa&s;h the body when it is dead, but none may baptize any Chri&s;tian with that form of Bapti&s;m given to the Church, but the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel which are &s;ent to preach and baptize, <HI>Mat.</HI> 28.19. 3. This wa&s;hing the dead carka&s;s was done without any words of In|&s;titution, therfore not the form of Bapti&s;m given to the Church: So then, from &s;uch Texts as the&s;e we have no warrant to plunge the baptized in, or under the water.</P>
<P>But I &s;hall here end with one caution, which is this, Our Mi|ni&s;ters are lawfully called and authorized by Je&s;us Chri&s;t to preach and baptize; and they do admini&s;ter this Ordinance of Bapti&s;m in a right form, that is, <HI>in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> and with the right matter, being water, and on the right parties, being either men of years, converted to the Chri&s;tian Faith and Religion, or el&s;e to Infants born of Chri&s;tian Parents; and to a right end, to di&s;tingui&s;h <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> from <HI>Turks</HI> and <HI>Infidels;</HI> and as a &s;ign of their ingrafting into Chri&s;t, engaging them to obey the Go&s;pel, and make Profe&s;&s;ion of the <HI>true Chri&s;tian Religion.</HI> La&s;tly, That Chri&s;t &s;hould ratifie that outward form, and baptize many of us with the Holy Gho&s;t: Who&s;oever is thus baptized in our Church, ought not to re|nounce his Bapti&s;m, le&s;t he both renounce the Seals and the Co|venant of Grace al&s;o: for many of tho&s;e that have fir&s;t re|nounced their Bapti&s;m, have at length denyed that there is either God or Devil, Heaven or Hell, Grace or Glory, and call them|&s;elves Seekers of the fore-mentioned things, which for the pre|&s;ent they have lo&s;t.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>March</HI> 28. 1650.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="imprimatur">
<P>Imprimatur,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>JOHN DOVVNAME.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<PB REF="5">
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