A most sure and strong defence of the baptism of children, against [the] pestiferous…A moste sure and strong defence of the baptisme of children, against [the] pestiferous…

¹Fifthly we do thus reason upon the use & custom of the Apostles. The Apostles of Christ did direct all their doings to the conveniency & example of the old testament. This we do prove by the. iiii. Evangelists, ⟨image 34⟩[…] ⟨image 34⟩[…] ⟨image 35⟩the Acts of the apostles, by the epistles of the Apostles, Rom. xv. ii. Cor. ii. ii. Tim. iii. ii. Peter .i. chap. Ergo, they did order baptism after the Analogy and figure of the old Testament. The going through the red sea,² was a type & figure of the baptism that was to come .i. Cor. x. cha. Children were in the figure (for both men and women went through with their children) Ergo the apostles did not deny baptism unto the children. The custom & manner of the scripture (which custom and manner is used almost among all nations) is not to rehearse by name, women & children, and yet nevertheless it doth include them, for in the name of the father of the family, or of the good man of the house, all his whole family is comprehended, as in the chief or head. If this were not, women should be in no small jeopardy, if therefore they were not of god, because that they be not circumcised. Al these things are done, by the means & help of a figure that is called Synecdoche. The sixth argument shall be taken out of the manifest and express testimonies of the apostles. The apostles did baptise all whole households and families, ergo they did baptise children also, for the children are in the number of the family or ⟨image 35⟩household. This we do prove by the .xvii of Gene. For Abraham doth circumcise all the male children that were in his house. For he understood the promise of god, that saith. I shall be thy god, & the god of thy seed. Likewise in the new Testament, when the goodman of the house, had herd & believed the gospel, that is to say, ye god was his god, & the god of his seed also, he caused all them that were in his house both great and small, to be baptized. Thus the apostles did baptize hole households and families. That the children do pertain unto the fathers household & family, it is plain & manifest by the .xii. of Exodus & ii. of the Acts: this do I inculcate & beat the oftener into mens heads, because that I see the Anabaptists to be at this point that they do exclude the children from the family & household. for they can not deny but ye hole households were baptized by the Apostles. But who doth not see, that this cometh of mere contention?