Ch. Ixii. 21. 40 Zipporah justified in circumcising her Child: BOOK V. action must needs fall into her hands; whose fact therein whether we interpret as some have done, that being a Midianite, and as yet not so thoroughly acquainted with the exercise of Jewish rites, it much discontented her, to see herself through her husband's oversight, in a matter of his own religion, brought unto these perplexities and straits, that either she must now endure him perishing before her eyes, or else wound the flesh of her own child, which she could not do but with some indignation shewed, in that she fumingly both threw down the foreskin at his feet, and upbraided him with the cruelty of his religion or if we better like to follow their more judicious exposition which are not inclinable to think that Moses was matched like Socrates, nor that circumcision could now in Eleazar be strange unto her, having had Gersom her elder son before circumcised, nor that any occasion of choler could rise from a spectacle of such misery as doth* naturally move compassion and not wrath, nor that Sephora was so impious as in the visible presence of God's deserved anger to storm at the ordinance and law of God, nor that the words of the history itself can enforce any such affection, but do only declare how after the act performed she touched the feet of Moses saying, "Sponsus tu mihi es sanguinum," "Thou art "unto me an husband of blood," which might be very well the one done and the other spoken even out of the flowing abundance of commiseration and love, to signify with hands laid under his feet that her tender affection towards him had caused her thus to forget womanhood, to lay all motherly affection aside, and to redeem her husband out of the hands of death with effusion of blood; the sequel thereof, take it which way you will, is a plain argument, that God was satisfied with that she did, as may appear by his own testimony declaring Presumption thence in Favour of Lay Baptism. 41 Ch. Ixii. 22. how there followed in the person of Moses present release of BOOK V. his grievous punishment upon her speedy discharge of that duty which by him neglected had offended God, even as after execution of justice by the hands of Phineas* the plague was immediately taken away, which former impunity of sin had caused; in which so manifest and plain cases not to make that a reason of the event which God himself hath set down as a reason, were falsely to accuse whom he doth justify, and without any cause to traduce what we should allow; yet seeing they which will have it a breach of the law of God for her to circumcise in that necessity, are not able to deny but circumcision being in that very manner performed was to the innocent child which received it true circumcision, why should that defect whereby circumcision was so little weakened be to baptism a deadly wound? [22.] These premises therefore remaining as hitherto they have been laid, because the commandment of our Saviour Christ which committeth jointly to public ministers both doctrine and baptism† doth no more by linking them together import that the nature of the sacrament dependeth on the minister's authority and power to preach the word than the force and virtue of the word doth on license to give the sacrament; and considering that the work of external ministry in baptism is only a preeminence of honour, which they that take to themselves and are not thereunto called as Aaron was, do but themselves in their own persons by means of such usurpation incur the just blame of disobedience to the law of God; farther also inasmuch as it standeth with no 66 * Psalm cvi. 30. †T. C. lib. iii. p. 142. "Seeing they only are bidden in the Scrip"ture to administer the sacraments "which are bidden to preach the "word, and that the public ministers "have only this charge of the word; " and seeing that the administration "of both these are so linked together "that the denial of license to do one " is a denial to do the other, as of "the contrary part license to one is license to the other; considering "also that to minister the sacra"ments is an honour in the Church "which none can take unto him but "he which is called unto it as was 66 Ch. lxiii. 1. 42 Interrogatories in Baptism touching Faith. BOOK V. reason that errors grounded on a wrong interpretation of other men's deeds should make frustrate whatsoever is misconceived, and that baptism by women should cease to be baptism as oft as any man will thereby gather that children which die unbaptized are damned, which opinion if the act of baptism administered in such manner did enforce, it might be sufficient cause of disliking the same, but none of defeating or making it altogether void; last of all whereas general and full consent of the godly learned in all ages doth make for validity of baptism, yea albeit administered in private and even by women, which kind of baptism in case of necessity divers reformed churches do both allow and defend, some others which do not defend tolerate, few in comparison and they without any just cause do utterly disannul and annihilate; surely howsoever through defects on either side the sacrament may be without fruit, as well in some cases to him which receiveth as to him which giveth it, yet no disability of either part can so far make it frustrate and without effect as to deprive it of the very nature of true baptism, having all things else which the ordinance of Christ requireth. Whereupon we may consequently infer that the administration of this sacrament by private persons, be it lawful or unlawful, appeareth not as yet to be merely void. Interrogatories in bap ing faith, and of a Christian life. LXIII. All that are of the race of Christ, the Scripture tism touch-nameth them "children of the promise*" which God hath the purpose made. The promise of eternal life is the seed of the Church of God. And because there is no attainment of life but through the only begotten Son of God, nor by him otherwise than being such as the Creed apostolic describeth, it followeth that the articles thereof are principles necessary for all men to subscribe unto whom by baptism the Church receiveth into Christ's school. All points of Christian doctrine are either demonstrable conclusions or demonstrative principles. Conclusions have strong and invincible proofs as well in the school of Jesus. Christ as elsewhere. And principles be grounds which require no proof in any kind of science, because it sufficeth if either their certainty be evident in itself, or evident by the light of some higher knowledge, and in itself such as no * [Galat. iv. 28.] Interrogatories in Baptism touching Faith. 43 Ch. lxiii. 1. man's knowledge is ever able to overthrow. Now the prin- BOOK V. ciples whereupon we do build our souls have their evidence where they had their original, and as received from thence we adore them, we hold them in reverent admiration, we neither argue nor dispute about them, we give unto them that assent which the oracles of God require. We are not therefore ashamed of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ because miscreants in scorn have upbraided us, that the highest point of our wisdom is believe*. That which is true and neither can be discerned by sense, nor concluded by mere natural principles, must have principles of revealed truth whereupon to build itself, and an habit of faith in us wherewith principles of that kind are apprehended. The mysteries of our religion are above the reach of our understanding †, above discourse of man's reason, above all that any creature can comprehend. Therefore the first thing required of him which standeth for admission into Christ's family is belief. Which belief consisteth not so much in knowledge as in acknowledgment of all things that heavenly wisdom revealeth; the affection of faith is above her reach, her love to Godward above the comprehension which she hath of God. And because only for believers all things may be done, he which is goodness itself loveth them above all. Deserve we then the love of God, because we believe in the Son of God? What more opposite than faith and pride? When God had created all things, he looked upon them and loved them, because they were all as himself had made them. So the true reason wherefore Christ doth love believers is because their belief is the gift of God, a gift than which flesh and blood in this world cannot possibly receive a greater ‡. And) as to love them of whom we receive good things is duty, because they satisfy our desires in that which else we should want; so to love them on whom we bestow is nature, because in them we behold the effects of our own virtue. Seeing therefore no religion enjoyeth sacraments the signs Apostatæ maledictum, οὐδὲν ὑπὲρ τὸ πίστευσον τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐστὶ ropías. Naz. Orat. i. contr. Julian. [§. 97. t. i. 97 B.] † Ὑπὲρ νοῦν, ὑπὲρ λόγον, ὑπὲρ κατάληψιν κτιστῆς φύσεως τὰ ἡμέ Matt. xvi. 17; John i. 12, 13. Ch. lxiii. 2, 3. 44 Renunciation of Christ's Enemies in Baptism. BOOK V. of God's love, unless it have also that faith whereupon the sacraments are built; could there be any thing more convenient than that our first admittance to the actual receipt of his grace in the Sacrament of baptism should be consecrated with profession of belief *, which is to the kingdom of God as a key, the want whereof excludeth infidels both from that and from all other saving grace. [2.] We find by experience that although faith be an intellectual habit of the mind, and have her seat in the understanding, yet an evil moral disposition obstinately wedded to the love of darkness dampeth the very light of heavenly illumination, and permitteth not the mind to see what doth shine before it. Men are "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of "God." Their assent to his saving truth is many times withheld from it, not that the truth is too weak to persuade, but because the stream of corrupt affection carrieth them a clean contrary way. That the mind therefore may abide in the light of faith, there must abide in the will as constant a resolution to have no fellowship at all with the vanities and works of darkness. [3.] "Two covenants there are which Christian men," saith Isidore, "do make in baptism, the one concerning relinquish"ment of Satan, the other touching obedience to the faith of "Christ." In like sort St. Ambrose, "He which is bap"tized forsaketh the intellectual Pharaoh, the Prince of this "world, saying, Abrenuncio, Thee O Satan and thy angels, "thy works and thy mandates I forsake utterly §." Tertullian having speech of wicked spirits, "These," saith he, "are the angels which we in baptism renounce ||." The declaration of Justin the Martyr concerning baptism¶ sheweth, how such as the Church in those days did baptize made 66 Spiritus Sanctus habitator ejus “ templi non eficitur quod antisti“tem non habet veram fidem.” Hieron. adv. Lucif. c. 4. † [2 Tim. iii. 4.] * Isid. de Offic. Eccles. lib. ii. § Ambros. Hexam. lib. i. cap. 4. κόμενα καὶ λεγόμενα εἶναι, καὶ βιοῦν οὕτως δύνασθαι ὑπισχνῶνται, εὔχεσθαί τε καὶ αἰτεῖν νηστεύοντες παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν προημαρτημένων ἄφεσιν διδάσκονται, ἔπειτα ἄγονται ὑφ ̓ ἡμῶν ἔνθα ὕδωρ ἐστὶ, καὶ τρόπον ἀναγεννήσεως ὃν καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ ἀνεγεννήθημεν ἀναγεννώνται. Justin. Apol. [ii. p. 93. ed. 1615. In later editions it is the first Apology.] |