a fudden, have their Children baptifed? Not allowing Time either to themselves or others, for that Chriftian Preparation, which the Nature and Solemnity of fuch an awful Ordinance and Adminiftration calls for: That it is not to be caufelefly delayed, was before afferted; but, that it fhould be with Precipitance, and without Thought and holy Preparation adminiftred, can never be justified.

tism.

T

HE Matter of this Chapter is of very ingreat Import; concerning thefe there have been many Difputes, both of old and of late: And it cannot bt be of fpecial Concern to us, that we be particularly informed who are the Perfons that, by Divine Authority, may adminiftrate Baptifm, and how it is to be gone about. Wherefore, that I may offer fomewhat thereupon, I fhall endeavour, Firft, To confider who are the Adminiftrators of this Ordinance. And, 2dly. The Adminiftration.

SECT.

:

Infidels,

dren.

SECT. I.

Of the Administrators of Baptifm.

ALL

LL Adminiftrations neceffarily fuppofe an Administrator; but the Queftion is, Who it is that may lawfully perform this holy and folemn Part of the Service of God? In Anfwer to which, I offer the following Conclufions.

Conclufion I. That it cannot be done by InfiIt cannot dels, Idiots, Mad-men, nor Children. For, the be doneby laft Three are intirely incapable of fuch an. Of Idiots, fice, and altogether unmeet for fuch a PerforMad men, mance; tho' we are told, That of old fome funor Chil- ftained Baptifm as valid, tho' adminiftrate by Children (1). And as to. Infidels, whether they be Jews, Mahometans, or Pagans, feeing they are without the Church, and open Enemies to our Chriftian Doctrine, furely they can never validly, adminifter an initiating Seal of the great Things which this our holy Religion contains.

Not by Laicks.

Conclufion II. Neither is this Ordinance to be adminiftrate by fuch as have no Call to the Office of the Ministry, whether these be Men or Women, Magiftrates or more private Perfons: This Conclufion is in Oppofition to Papifts, Soeinians and Anabaptifts, who admit Baptifm by private Hands (2), as we are informed many of old did (3). And of late fome plead, That Baptifm by Laymen was ordinarily fuftained and admitted by the Church of England, yea, when it was performed by the Midwife (4); but in no Cafe

(1) See Bucani Loc. Com. Page 616. Queft. 177. (2) See Gilbey Mifcellan. Page 86. (3) Calvin Inftit. Lib. 4. Chap. 15. Sect. 20. (4) The Judgment of the Church of England, in the Gafe of Lay-baptifm, Part 1ft and 2d. Calamy's Hiftory of Baxter's Life, Vol. I. Page 198.

I

,་

Argu

ments to

prove this.

Cafe is this to be allowed. For, First, The
Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are not given
to any who lift, but to Perfons fpecially appoin-
ted, and for that Purpofe feparate and fet apart
from others, Matth. xvi. 18, 19. zdly, God hath
inflicted moft fevere Punishments upon Perfons
not appointed to the Office of the Miniftry, be-
caufe of their ufurping it, and prefuming to do
the Work proper thereto, Numb. xvi. 31.
2 Chron. xxvi. 21. are forbid
3dly, Women
publickly to teach, or fo much as. to Ipeak in the
Church, I Cor. xiv. 34, 35. 1 Tim. ii. 12.
4thly, This Allowance of Lay-perfons to bap-
tife, is built upon a very unfound Foundation,
viz. The abfolute Neceffity of Baptifm, in Order
to Salvation; and indeed it is natural for one
Error to beget and make Way for another. And,
5thly, Should this be allowed, it will bring
Anarchy and Confufion into the Church of God;
take away the Distinction betwixt the Shepherd
and the Flock; betwixt Minifters and thofe mi-
niftred unto, contrary to 1 Cor. xii. 29, 30. It will
deprive the Ordinance of its Solemnity, expofe it
to the Contempt and Ridicule of the Prophane,
and to the Fancy and Difcretion of the Ignorant;
and fo open a Door for the Administration of it
to fuch as have.no Title to it, and in fucha Man-
ner as it fhould not be. Finally, There is not
the leaft Inftance of this in all the New Tefta-
ment, either of God's allowing it, or the Saints
of God, who were not Minifters, their practising
it. And the Learned inform us, That it was
first brought in by Marcion the Heretick (5),
and that upon very bad and unallowable
Grounds.

Nor will the Grounds fome offer for this, bear Objections. the Weight of the Conclufion they build upon anfwcrot.

them.

(5) See Bucani Loci Com. Pag. 612, 613. Spanhemii Difp. Mifcel. Theol. Pars Prim Page 350.

them. For, First, The rafh and fingular Practice of an enraged Woman, Exod iv. from Verfe 24. as it will not juftify the Fact, fo neither can it be made an Example. And tho' the Angel was pleafed, when Mofes Son was circumcifed by Zipporah his Wife, yet this will not infer, That he approved of her doing it, nor of the Manner wherein fhe did it. For, as thefe People, 2 Kings xvii. were delivered from the deftroying Lyons, upon their adding fomewhat of the Worship of the True God to their own idolatrous Practices yet it will not hence follow, that God approved of fuch an unbecoming and inhallowed Mixture; And fo it is here. But, 2dly, Supposing that the Deed, when done,, was fuflained, yet we are to obferve, That at this Time, the Adminiftration of this initiating Ordinance was not confined and appropriate to peculiar Perfons and Offices, as af terwards it was, and Baptifm now-is. And then, 3dly, If this Argument prove any Thing, it will be too much, for Zipporah did this before the Face of Mofes the Great Prophet fent of GOD; but thofe who contend for Laicks, their baptifing, will by no means allow it, if fo be a lawful Minifter is prefent. Neither is the Inftance of Philip of any more Weight: For as he did baptife, Acts viii. 38. fo he was not only a Deacon, but alfo an Evangelift, Acts xxi. 8. And as to that of Ananias, Acts ix. his baptifing Paul, there is no perfwading Argument that he was only a private Perfon, but very probable Ground to judge, that he was a Teacher and Preacher, and it may be, at this Time, Paftor to the Church in Damafcus. And tho' we fhould fuppofe with our Adverfaries, that he was only a Laick, yet it is to be noticed, that what he now did, he had the Divine, tho' extraordinary, Call thereto, Verse 1o. which in the Cafe before us, is not, and cannot be pretended. And so,

A

J

to be done

Obferves

A Third Conclufion I offer, is, That this Sa- It is only erament of Baptifm may only be difpenfed by a by a lawMinifter of the Gofpel, lawfully called and or- ful Minidained unto the Work of the Miniftry (6). As fter. to which, we are carefully to diftinguish betwixt a real and true, tho' incompleat Call to the Miniftry, whereby Ordinances adminiftred by fuch are valid; and a real, true, and compleat Call, according to the Word of God: For, the first may not only be, but frequently is, where the upon this laft is not Seeing, to this it is requifite (7), that the Perfon be tried and approven by the proper Judges, as to his Life and fuitable Qualifications for the Work of the Gofpel; that he be nominate and chofen by the Church, thofe particularly to whom he is to be ordained a Paftor and Overseer, Acts vi. 3, 5. Acts xiv. 23. Acts ipc23, 24, 26.18 And, that he be folemnly fet apart to this great Work, by Fafting and Prayer, with the laying on of the Hands of the Presby tery, Acts xiii. 3. Acts xiv. 23. Tim. iv. 14. 1 Tim, v. 22. Which Things, when had, cannot but give great Peace to the Minifter, and fpecial Encouragement to the People, to receive Or dinances from his Hands: Yet all of them are not to be reckoned. fo abfolutely neceffary to the Being of a Minifter, as that, if any of them be wanting, Ordinances difpenfed by fuch are null and void: For, fo far as I know, the Learned are agreed, That Impofition of Hands is not ef fential, abfolutely requifite, and indifpenfibly neceffary to the very Being of the Minifterial Office (8). And that there may be fome fpecial, and fometimes invincible Defects in a Perfon's Call

(6) See Confeffion of Faith, Chap. 27. Sect. 4. and Chap. 28. Sect. 2. (7) See the Affembly's Directory for Qrdination. (8) See the Anfwer to fome Prelatical Pamphlets, by the late Laborious, Learned and Eminent Mr. Forrester, Page 159, 251, to 273. Gillespy's Miscellan. Pag. 108, 62, 63, 64,