I have reserved Mr. BAXTER for my last Witness, because his Attestation is comprehensive and of a general Aspect. In his Disputations of Right to Sacraments, and other his Writings, he repeatedly declares, "It hath been the constant Principle and Practice of the universal Church of Christ, to require a Profession of SAVING Faith and Repentance, as necessary before they would baptise; and not to baptise any upon the Profession of any lower Kind of Faith. He must shut his Eyes against the fullest Evidence of History and Church-Practice, who will deny this. I desire those otherwise-minded to help me to an Instance of any one approved Baptism, since Christ's Time or his Apostles, upon the Account of a Faith that was short of justifying, and not upon the Profession of a justifying Faith. Hitherto this is not done by them: but the contrary is fully done by others, and yet they confidently except against my Opinion as a Novelty Mr. GATAKER'S Books have Multitudes of Sentences recited out of our Protestant Divines, that affirm ⟨p. 14⟩this which they call new. It is indeed the common Protestant Doctrine, that the Sacraments do presuppose Remission of Sins, and our Faith; that they are instituted to signify these as in Being; and do solemnise and publicly own and confirm the mutual Covenant already entered in Heart. The Jesuits themselves do witness this to be the ordinary Protestant Doctrine.—It seems not necessary to mention the Judgment of our reformed Divines, as expressed in any of their particular Sayings, when their public Confessions and Practices are so satisfactory herein."—Mr. Baxter, however, recites a Multitude of their Testimonies; producing the Judgment of Luther, Calvin, Beza, Pet. Martyr, Piscator, Melanchthon, Altingius, Junius, Polanus, Zanchius, U•sinus, Par•us, Bucanus, Musculus, Professors Leyd.&Salm, Wollebius, Vossius, Wendeline, Keckerman, Bullinger, Alsted, Deodate, Dr. Ame•, Dr. Moulin, the Catechism of the Church of England, and English Divines, Bp Usher, Dr. Willet, Dr. Fulk, Dr. Prideaux, Dr. Whitaker, Mr. Yates, Perkins, Cartwright &c. the Scottish Church in their Heads of Church Policy, and Divines of Scotland, Mr. Gillespy, Mr. Rutherford, and Mr. Wood; the Westminster-Assembly of Divines, their Confession, Catechisms, and Directory, the Annot. of some of those Divines &c. "And for the Reformed Churches in general (Mr.
I have reserved Mr. BAXTER for my last Witness, because his Attestation is comprehensive and of a general Aspect. In his Disputations of Right to Sacraments, and other his Writings, he repeatedly declares, "It hath been the constant Principle and Practice of the universal Church of Christ, to require a Profession of SAVING Faith and Repentance, as necessary before they would baptise; and not to baptise any upon the Profession of any lower Kind of Faith. He must shut his Eyes against the fullest Evidence of History and Church-Practice, who will deny this. I desire those otherwise-minded to help me to an Instance of any one approv'd Baptism, since Christ's Time or his Apostles, upon the Account of a Faith that was short of justifying, and not upon the Profession of a justifying Faith. Hitherto this is not done by them: but the contrary is fully done by others, and yet they confidently except against my Opinion as a Novelty Mr. GATAKER'S Books have Multitudes of Sentences recited out of our Protestant Divines, that affirm ⟨p. 14⟩this which they call new. It is indeed the common Protestant Doctrine, that the Sacraments do presuppose Remission of Sins, and our Faith; that they are instituted to signify these as in Being; and do solemnise and publickly own and confirm the mutual Covenant already enter'd in Heart. The Jesuits themselves do witness this to be the ordinary Protestant Doctrine.—It seems not necessary to mention the Judgment of our reformed Divines, as express'd in any of their particular Sayings, when their publick Confessions and Practices are so satisfactory herein."—Mr. Baxter, however, recites a Multitude of their Testimonies; producing the Judgment of Luther, Calvin, Beza, Pet. Martyr, Piscator, Melanchton, Altingius, Junius, Polanus, Zanchius, U•sinus, Par•us, Bucanus, Musculus, Professores Leyd.&Salm, Wollebius, Vossius, Wendeline, Keckerman, Bullinger, Alsted, Deodate, Dr. Ame•, Dr. Moulin, the Catechism of the Church of England, and English Divines, Bp Usher, Dr. Willet, Dr. Fulk, Dr. Prideaux, Dr. Whitaker, Mr. Yates, Perkins, Cartwright &c. the Scottish Church in their Heads of Church Policy, and Divines of Scotland, Mr. Gillespy, Mr. Rutherford, and Mr. Wood; the Westminster-Assembly of Divines, their Confession, Catechisms, and Directory, the Annot. of some of those Divines &c. "And for the Reformed Churches in general (Mr.
