Of Baptism, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI. Wherein is ſhewed the agreements and differences that the word preached hath with the Sacraments, together wïth certain Corollaries giving light to the preſent controverſy.
HAving out of the Scripture conſidered the uſe & ends of Baptiſme, to which the ceremony appeares to be extreamely proper and oppoſite, wee will now to bring further light to this ordinance, and in order to a diſcours of the proper ſubject of Baptiſme, and of the controverſy thereabout conſider the agreements that are common to it, with the adminiſtration of the word, and that wherein theſe two ordinances ſeeme to differ.
They agree firſt in the efficient cauſe: Baptiſme and the other Sacrament, have the ſame author and inſtitutor that the word hath; ſcil. the King, Prieſt, and Prophet of his church; and as the ſame efficient, ſo the ſame adminiſtring cauſes, thoſe that were to teach had order to baptize, Mat. 28.19. Goe therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, &c. And 1. Cor. 4.1. Let a man ſo account of us as of the Miniſters of Chriſt, and ſtevvards of the myſteries of God.
Secondly they are both inſtruments in the hands of the Holy Spirit for edification and ſalvation, the word is a dead letter without the Spirit, and ſo alſo is Baptiſme, it ſpeakes no more then it is bid; the bleſſed Angels that are ſo farre above ſinne and corruption, have no quickning vertue in themſelves, the fleſh of Chriſt hath no vertu but from his Godhead: Now if there be no vertue in the fleſh of Chriſt, but by the perſonall union, how ſhall bodily actions about bodily elements confer grace, but by the mediation of the Spirit.
Thirdly they agree in the principall matter, for the ſame Chriſt with all his benefits is offered and confirmed to us in the word and Sacraments, the ſame union, the ſame communion in the death & the reſurrection of Chriſt, and they which looke for more in the Sacraments, then the word promiſes and holds out, makes an Idoll of them.
Fourthly they agree in the end, for God by them builds up and edifies his Church till it come to be perfect.
Fifthly they agree in the inſtrument, which renders both profitable to us, both word and Sacrament are ineffectuall without faith, 3. Iohn 36. Hee that beleeveth on the Sonne, hath everlaſting life.
Sixthly they agree in the effects, They are the ſavour of life unto life, or the ſavour of death unto death, &c. So, He that beleeveth & is baptized, ſhall be ſaved.
From the firſt you learne, coroll. 1 not to depart from the inſtitution, but as to preach the Goſpel according to the analogie of faith, ſo to adminiſter the Sacraments according to Goſpel inſtitutions, for it is alike ſinne to tranſgreſſe in the adminiſtratiō of the one, as in the preaching of the other, ſince they both hold of the ſame Lord & inſtitutor; and as hee which in preaching the Goſpel ſhall add workes to faith, in the point of juſtification, perverts the word and preaches another Goſpel, and therefore is accurſed, Gal. 1.1. So he that ſhall alter in the adminiſtration of the Sacraments, but in a ceremony, ſince the ordinance lyes in a ceremony, and ſhall be bold to inlarge the ſubject of this ordinance, or contract it, will be found a breaker of Gods boūds, & be found guilty of the curſſe that is the portion of ſuch as add or detract, ſo as what wee doe herein is of great moment and conſideration.
coroll. 2 From the ſecond to exſpect ſucceſſe from the Spirit, to be in the Spirit, that you may receive it: Secondly the Sacraments worke not Phiſically.
From the third, coroll. 3 to be lead by all adminiſtrations into the knowledge of Chriſt, to judge them beſt that hold out moſt of Chriſt, and moſt purely. Secondly to magnify Chriſt the head and end of all inſtitutions.
coroll. 4 From the fourth to be comforted and confirmed in this way of ſalvation, wherein wee are, for wee have enough till wee come to God, and need no more.
coroll. 5 From the fifth not to reſt in the worke done, to thinke it enough when you have heard or communicated, if it be not mingled with faith, it profits not, vvithout faith it is impoſsible to pleaſe God.
coroll. 6 From the ſixth then play not with theſe tooles, it is a great matter you have in hand, when you meddle with the ordinances of Chriſt, and when you are under them, it cannot be without much good or hurt to you, it is a bleſſing or a curſſe to the perſons upon whom it falleth, even the greateſt: light & meanes are the greateſt agravations of ſinnes, Heb. 2.1.2.3.
Wee come now to the difference of theſe ordinances, which will contribute more of light to what wee have propoſed.
They differ firſt in the manner of the adminiſtratiō of the ſame Goſpel. The one is an audible word, the other is a viſible word, the word ſignifies according to ſuch expreſſions as men have given a vallue unto, to ſignify thinges by, but the Sacraments repreſents by ſuch ſimilitudes and proportions as the ſignes have with the things ſignified; therefore we read the word and heare the word, but we ſee & feele the Sacraments: In a word they are Hierogliphicks; it was the cuſtome of the Egyptians to teach by viſible repreſentations, which ſignify ſuch and ſuch things, theſe are of that nature, that whereas the word ſtrikes the eare onelyonly, which is the uſuall and ordinary ſence of diſcipline, thoſe ſignes and viſible elements affect the ſences outward and inward, the ſences conveigh the object to the underſtanding, there the Holy Ghoſt takes them, and brings us into the preſent enjoyment of things, as if we ſaw Chriſt with our eyes, toucht him with our hands, felt him by our taſt, and injoyed him with our whole man: all this in a rationall and diſcourſive way, rayſing an analogy & proportion betweene the ſigne and the thing ſignified.
Secondly they differ in the meaſure of their ſignification, the word eſpecially teacheth, the Sacraments eſpecially ſeale and confirme: the word indeed ſignifies and applyes ſpirituall things, but the Sacraments more efficatiouſly repreſent & apply.
Thirdly the word is ſimply neceſſary to actuall beleevers, and ſo to the ſalvation of beleevers, and ſufficient, as in Cornelius; for faith is by hearing, and hearing by the vvord of God; but the Sacraments are not abſolutely neceſſary to all, nor without the word are they ſufficient to ſalvation, for to what purpoſe are ſeales without the writing.
Fourthly (for I will not trouble you with many) the word belongs to all mankind, the Sacraments belong onelyonly to beleevers; therefore for preaching, ye have, preach the Goſpell to every creature under heaven; But for the Sacraments, teach them, ſaith Chriſt, that is, diſciple them, and hee that beleeves and is baptized, ſhall be ſaved; ſo for the other Sacrament, let a man examine himſelf, and ſo let him eate and drinke; and the people vvere baptized in Iordan, confeſsing their ſinnes, of vvhichwhich they repented; and after the Eunuch was taught, there was faith required before hee was baptized; if thou beleeveſt vvith all thy heart, thou mayeſt; and no Baptiſme or Sacrament find we adminiſtred otherwayes in the new Teſtament, the reaſon is evident, becauſe the word begets faith, the Sacraments confirmes it, the word is the writing, the Sacraments is the ſeale, for it carries this with it, and ſpeakes this language; as certainly as thou uſeſt this ceremony, and eates this bread, ſo aſſuredly Chriſt dwells in thee, and as thou entreſt this water, and art therein buried, ſo aſſuredly thou art made one with Chriſt, planted into his death, & thou art buried with Chriſt, and thou riſeſt with Chriſt, as thou riſeſt out of the water; every thing ſpeakes this, thou art Chriſt, and Chriſt is thine, and therefore ſuppoſes faith, which is the tye and the union on our part, and you ſee how curious Paul is Rom. 4. to proove, that Abraham vvas juſtified by faith, before hee received the ſigne of circumciſion, which was to him a ſeale of his faith, & his righteouſnes thereby, ℣. 10.11. Hovv vvas it reckoned vvhen hee vvas in circumciſion, or in uncircumciſion? Not in circumciſion, but in uncircumciſion, and he received the ſigne of circumciſion a ſeale of the righteouſnes of the faith, vvhichwhich hee had yet being uncircumciſed, &c.
We come now to deduct Corollaries from theſe differēces.
From the firſt, coroll. 1 Then to the participation and uſe of the Sacraments, the uſe of reaſon is neceſſary; our reaſon muſt be moſt buſy & active whilſt our ſences are ingaged, the hearing of the tone or ſound of the word ſpoken doth no good, therefore wee preach it not to children or fooles, ſo the ſeeing of the coullors of things, to feele the water cold or hot, the touch or taſt is not the thing, but what the elements and ceremonyes about it teach us, which muſt be diſcerned by the uſe of reaſon, in comparing the thing ſignified according to the Scripture application, & the proportion it holds, ſo as here is a knowledge of things already layd in, and reaſon in the act required. So the teaching by ſimilitudes or reſemblances, doth not require leſſe reaſon, or leſſe the uſe of reaſon, but the advātage it brings, is, that by the mediation of ſeverall ſenſes, it ſtrykes our reaſon differently & more ſtrongly; and God deſcends to that way of teaching, that he might more forcibly worke upon our reaſon, & ſpeake to it all manner of wayes.
From the ſecond, coroll. 2 it is ſuppoſed the word ſhould go before, for that is the way of teaching by thinges of leſſer repreſentation to things of fuller; when Iacob heard of Ioſephs meſſage, he was mooved, but when he ſaw the Chariots, that affected him exceedingly, that ſpoke a clearer language; it was fit the meſſage ſhould goe before the chariots, ſo the word before the Sacraments.
From the third, coroll. 3 ſee one prerogative the word hath, men may be ſaved by hearing without the Sacraments, to comfort thoſe that want them, but ſlight them not: Secondly ſee the order, firſt the word muſt be, as firſt the writing, for the Sacraments are but the appendix.
From the fourth, coroll. 4 Then the word hath much a larger compaſſe of motion then the Sacraments, and as the word may be where the Sacraments are not, ſo the Sacraments cannot be but where the word hath bene; for the word ſuppoſeth nothing, but comes at aventure to every creature under heaven, but the Sacraments ſuppoſeth faith wrought already by the word; to make this playner, we muſt know that men are by nature children of wrath, by the diſobedience of Adam all vvere made ſinners, Rom. 5.19. And the Lord lookt dovvne from heaven, and ſavv that all vvere gone out of the vvay, vvee neither perceive nor knovv the thinges of God, 1. Cor. 2.14. And though the light ſhine in darknes, the darknes comprehends it not, and our carnall mind is emnity againſt God; our vvhole ſoule is filled vvith all unrighteouſnes, Rom. 8.7. and 1.29. Now while men are in their infancy, they lye onelyonly expoſed to Gods inward and ſecret workes, if they belong to the election of grace, hee knowes how to deale with them, and worke wonderfully in wayes wee know not, nor can conceive of; ſo long wee cannot cōmunicate our ſelves to their ſoules at all, nor can reatch them any otherwayes then by our prayers, for all things are here ſecret, if there be a change wrought, it is more then wee know, or can conceive the manner of it. But when they come to yeares of underſtanding, and to be capable of ordinances, the firſt thing wee doe to them, is to bring them under the ordinance of the word, and to leade them into a right knowledge of themſelves, to convince them of their naturall eſtate, to preach to them converſion, repentance & faith in Ieſus Chriſt, that they may have life; when wee find this operate, and that by their profeſſion and by their workes, which is the onelyonly way of evidencing their faith to others, they make it appeare they beleeve, then we gladly goe one, and leade them into further ordinances, give them the Sacraments to confirme them: & thus wee make things runne parralel as they muſt doe: There is an outward preaching of the word, there is a converſion and change of heart, made viſible by workes, and ſo a faith evidenced, and the viſible and outward ſeales and markes are given them, to ſeale them up to themſelves and to others. Thus you ſee a naturalnes, a coherency, and a comelines in things thus layd and ſtated, by which alſo as by a right rule, you may be help'd in diſcerning errours.