A REPLY to Mr Philip Cary's folemn Call A friendly preface to the author,
ےک [ 158 ] Vindiciae Legis et Foederis :
OR, A EP LY R To Mr. PHILIP CARY's SolemnCall ; Wherein he pretends to answer all the Arguments of
Mr. ALLEN,
Mr. BAXTER,
Mr. SEDGWICK,
Mr. ROBERTS , and BO For the Right of Believers Infants to BAPTISM.
By proving the Law at Sinai, and the Covenant ofCircumci-
ſion with Abraham, were the very ſame with Adam's Covenant ofWorks, andthat becauſe the Gofpel-covenant is abſolute.
AfriendlyPREFACE to the AUTHOR ofthe Solemn Call, and the more difcreet and charitable oftheParty concernedwith him in this Controverſy.
Christian Friends, WH HEN we open our Bibles, and read that text, 1 Cor. i. 10. we have cauſe to deal with it as Origen once didbyanother fcripture, even cloſe the book and weep over it, inconfideration ofthe weak andfeeble influences ſuch melting words, delivered with ſuch a pathos, have upon the hearts of profeffors this day.
" Now, I beſeech you, brethren, by the " name of our Lord Jesus Chriſt, that ye all ſpeak the fame
" thing, and that there be no diviſions among you, but that " ye be perfectlyjoined together inthe fame mind,and inthe
" fame judgment."
1befeechyou] He dips the nail in oil,that itmaydrivethe eafier.
I beseech you, brethren] A compellation breathing ſweetneſs and affection, and ſhoulddrop from our lips into each others ears with the fame effect that word once did upon
Afriendly Preface to the Author.
the ears ofBenhadad's ſervants, My brother Benhadad.
Sirs, (faidMoſes to the ſtriving Ifraelites) yeare brethren. O when ſhall the church become a true Philadelphia !
I beseech you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Chrift] or as you love Jeſus Chriſt, ut quantum ipfum amant, tantumftudeat concordiae, faith Calvin : Be as ſtudious ofconcord asyou are free in profeffing love to Chrift.
That there be no diviſions] or rents among you : a Σχισμα, ſchiſm, or rent in the church, is muchthe fame, and altogether asdangerous as a Στασις, orſedition inthe commonwealth, and harder tobe cured.
For as the Lord Verulam trulyobſerves,Differencesamongſtperfecuting enemies andthechurch, are like the ſtrivings ofthe Egyptian with the Ifraelite, which Moſes quickly ended, byknocking down the Egyptian ; but diffentions inthe church are likethe ſtrivingofoneIfraelitewith another ; and all that Mofes cando to quiet and part theſe, is only by fair and gentle words, and reminding them that they are brethren.
Great is the miſchief ofdiviſions among Chriſtians ; and theleſsthe grounds and cauſes are,the greater always is the fin and miſchief of them.
In the primitive church contentions grow fervent about meats lawful and unlawful, whichdidnot profit, the meaning is, it greatly damnified them that were occupied therein, Heb. xiii. 9. Practical religion among them grew cold, as difputations abouttheſe trifles grew fervent.
The readiest way tocool ſuch heats is, bydiſcovering the trivial natureofthe matter contended about ; as Demofthenes appeaſed the tumult among the people raiſed by a ſmall occafion, by relating tothem the ſtory of a man that hired an afs to carry him ajourney, but the fun ſhining fervent, he was forced to quit her back, and betake himself to her ſhadow ; the owner withſtood him, alledging, that he had hired the body of the aſs, but her shadow, was not inthe bargain ; and ſothe contentionbetweenthem grew as hot as the fun. Many ſuch trifles have raiſed great contentions in the world, witneſs the great contention betwixt the Eastern and Western church about keeping ofEaſter.
Other points there are of greater moment, about which good men contend, and yet theſe oftentimes are magnified much above their true intrinſical value.
So I am fure it is in the controverſybefore us. Mr. Cary tells us, that theſe things willbe found at length to be ofhighest concernment untous, and muſt therefore be our moſt ſerious practice, p. 243.
If fo, then the proper ſubject ofbaptifm must be one ofthoſe
Afriendly Preface to the Author. that is of greatest weight, and the profeffion thereof thevery
Schibboleth to diftinguiſh one perſon from another in matters of religion.
No wonder therefore the fires of contention are blown up to ſuch a vehement heat, evenin ſuch an improper ſeaſon ; much likethe contentionsamong theEngliſhfugitiver at Frankfort, when their brethrenwere frying in the flames at Smithfield.
Juſt ſo muſtwebe ſcuffling,whilst thousands of our brethren are bleeding inIreland. Had we a true ſenſe of the quality of the ſubjects, or the unſeaſonableneſs of the time, it ſhould certainly allay theſe heats among us. Didwe ſee who ſtand by, and look with pleaſure upon our follies, it would quickly allay our heats.
Tertullian tells the Chriftians ofhis time, that they were like the Funambulones, ormenthat walkupon ropes,the leaſt tread awry might be their ruin, fo narrowly did their enemies watch them.
Sirs, the peace, ſafety and honourofthe diffenting intereſt are things oftoo greatvalue to be hazarded amongst the hands ofour common enemies. You may fancy they will neglect the advantage you give them; but ifthey do, the devil will callthem fools for it. Mr. Herletells us of aking's fool, who wrote down the king himself inhis tableamong his brotherfools, becauſe he had trusted an African ſtranger with four thouſand pounds to buy Barbary horſes. The king afkedhim how hewouldmake him amends, ifthe ſtranger ſhould come again ? Why then (faidhe) I'll blot your name out ofmy tableoffools, and write downthe African inyour ſtead. Think not our enemies are ſuch fools to neglect the advantage we caſt into their hands.
It isa weighty note of Livy, Confilia non dant homines rebus,fed res hominibus ; Mendo not counſel things, but time andthings counſel men.
Methinks the poftures of times and affairs give us better counſels than we ſeem to be governed by inſuch work as this.
Diviſions of forty years ſtanding and more, about infants baptifm,have eaten up thetime, waſted the ſpirits, and alienatedthe hearts of En gliſh profeffors, divided them both inſociety and love ; by reaſon whereof God's pleaſant plant inthis reſembles the bramble, which taking root atboth ends,by reaſon ofthe rencounters of theſap,commonlywithers inthe middle.
Your brethren, in their Narrative from their General-Affembly, makeafad and ſenſible complaint of withering in the power of godliness. And truly we as well as theymay complain with the church, We doallfade asa leaf: The Lord help us to difcern the true cauſe, whether itbe not the miſplacing of our zeal, ourbeing cold where we should be fervent, and fervent
Afriendly Preface to the Author.
hotwhere it ſhouldbe cold; and whetherthe eating up of fo much time and ſtudy about baptizing of infants, have not keptus theſe fortyyears in the infancy of our graces ?
I well remember that bleſſed time, when ours andyours were terms almoſt unknown amongst profeffors in England.
When their affections and prayers meltedand mingledtogetherſweetly in days ofhumiliation, and other duties of edifyingandheavenly communion ; and then churches began to flourish, and the graces ofChriſtians every where flourished, and became fruitful: but no ſooner did the ſaints divide in focietyandaffection, buttheſepleaſantbloſſoms were niptby it, as by a froſty morning; the church formed itſelf as it were,into two armies, fet inbattalia against each other.
It wasnowwith us much like as itis ſaid of the amphisbena, thathath anhead at either end, ofwhich neither canwellmove withoutthe conſent ofboth; but, ifeach movea contraryway, thebody tears inthe middle.
Idoubtnot but many that differedfrom usbelongedtoChriſt,the famehead with us ; and yet itis paſtdoubt, that manywho ſeemed to be of us were headedbySatan; and quicklydiſcovered themselves tobe ſo, byrunning farther than we firſt, or you next, imagined, even intoQuakeriſm, Socinianiſm,Ranteriſin, and the fouleft puddleandfinkofcomplicatederrors; ofwhich animpartialftranger,underthename ofHonoriusReggius, αναγραμματικώς, GeorgiusHornius having heard the report in his own country, cameoveronpurpoſe intoEngland forhis particular and perfect information, and hath giventhe foreign churches a full andfad account thereof ina Latin narrative, which I have by me; whereby I find, that, if the Lord in mercytous had not let inathirdpartywith the common calamity upon us all, we ourſelvesmuſt inall probabilityhave mutually ruined each other. ButGod ſaw otherhands fitter for fuch dirty work than ours; andnow itwastime to reflectupon former follies, and tenewour ancient acquaintance in the common goals. And, through thegoodriefs ofGod;thisdid fomewhat allaytheheats ofgoodmen,andgave us freſh hopesof an heartyandlasting
redintegration. We hopedthe furnace might have purged our droſs,andmeltedourhearts intounity, bothby discoveringthe evils for which the Lord afflicted us, and the fincerity of the fufferershearts underthoſe trials.
Chriſtians, (faithMr. Jenkins) if we mustdie, let us die like men, byanunanimous holy contentionagainstthe common enemy; not like fools;
VOL. VIII:
Afriendly Preface to the Author.
**by giving him our ſword, and destroying one anotherby fchifms in our own bowels.'
Butalas ! alas ! no ſooner is the rod off our backs, and a refpite from fufferings given us, butwe are preſently founding an alarm to the battle again, and, to myforrow, myſelf unavoidably engaged therein.
Friends, I have a witneſs in many of your bofoms, how peaceably and reſpectfully I have always carried it towards you, even to fuch a degree as began to bring me under the fufpicion offome ofyour party, that I was inclining totheir opinion, though Idid not openly profeſs it.
Butthe true reaſons ofmymoderation in this pointwere, (1.) That I ever did, and ſtilldolook upon many ofyou as Chriftians,found in the other great doctrines ofthegoſpel. (2.)That there are difficultiesin this controverfy which may puzzle the minds of well-meaning Chriftians. (3.) I highly valued the peace of the church, anddurftdo nothing that tended to keep open the breaches upon acontroversy ofthis nature,youbeingforpurity in doctrineandworship in most othercontroverted points, as well as we. (4.) I obſerved how rare athing it is for engaged parties to give ground.
Quivelit ingenio cedere, rarus erit .
• Mad difputants to reaſon ſeldom yield.'
(5.) My head, heart, and hands have been filled with better employments, from which I am extremely loth to be diverted.
IfBellarmine turned with loathing fromſchool-divinity, becauſe itwanted the ſweetjuice of piety, much more may Iturn from fuch perverſe diſputes as theſe : Sure Imay find as fair expofitions ofſcripture, and as accurate and legitimate diſtinctions among the ſchool-men, as in Mr. Tombes's
Examen andApology ; or (which for the most part is but a tranſcript ofboth) inMr. Cary'sSolemnCall. But Ifee Imust notbe my own chufer ; I cannot now be both filent and innocent; fer in this SolemnCall I find the great doctrines of God's covenants abuſed bymyneighbonr ; the books diſperſed intomanyfamilies related to me in this place, one ofthem delivered to meby the Author's own hands, with a preſſingdefire togivemyjudgmentupon it: Several objections which I privately and ſeaſonably fent him, to prevent the fin and folly of his attempt, pretended tobe answered fromp. 164. adp . 183 .
Thus am I neceffarilybrought into the field of controversy : whitherI comenot a vohunteer, but a preſſed man ; not out of choice,butneceffity. Andnow I am here, I refolve tobe.onJyAdverfarius litis, nonperfonæ, an adverſary in the contro-