I · h Church that hrings forth children to God by the minillcry of his word, and i; ,~c\~c children of this mother, we mull: feed on that milk which flows from her two brcail:s, the OLI and New Teil:ament; .As new born babes, (fatth the Apofl:le) defre the fncerc mil/z.ofthe Word, thatye maygrow thereby, I Pet 2,- 2. In a word, out of the Church there is no falvation: Who ha7>e not the Ch11rch for tlmr mother, cannot have God for their Father, was the faying of old ; and good reafon, for out of the Church there is no means of falvatton, no Word to teach, no Sacraments to confirm, but all thefe, and all 0 thcr means are in the womb of the Church ; it is here, and here onely, where the Spirit 0f immortal feed bcgers grace m the heart, and fo a man IS born agThis ;,~_,,,] fome read ,.; 1 .,'.J;r•,from heaven,] and fo the word runs·, Except a man be bornfrom above.] From above zt ".that everygood er perfect gift cometh: .A man can receive nothing, e:<eept tt begtven hzmfrom heaven, John 3· 27.. But how then faith our Saviour of the wmd (to which hecompareth every one that ts borne of the srmt) that we know not whence itcometh, ""dwhithtr itgoeth ? I anfwer, this [whena] re· fpe<'ts more the caufe than place; we know the winde comes from the South, or North, or Eafl: or Well: but why fo and fo, we cannot tell; we know the Spirit is above, and thc'newbirth ~r regeneration comes from the Spirit: But 11 .Mu why it is fo, or what moves the Spirit tv do fo, befides his ivJ'oxi~,, thegoodpleafitre cf his will, we cannot tell. Or if we read d.·'""1l "'""", as others do, the words then run thus, Except a"'"" be borr~ again.]To this Nicodemus's reply feems more direct, How canaman be born when he is old f can he entlr the fecond time into his mothers womb ? No quefl:ton he took Chrifl:s d'•"'""' pro , J•, , only thus he mifl:ook, that the fecond birth lhould be after the mannc'r of the firfl: birth; & therefore he faith, Can a 11WI that is old (fuch as he himfelf Was) be born auain? No, f11th our Sav10ur, thattvhzch u born of the jlejh, u f/ejl,, and there isbut on~birth after this manner; but to be bornagain] is to be born after the Spirit,and this is that fecond birth : .A man u firft born oftheJlejh, and he nmft be again born of the Spint. . Hence appears the difference. of the firfl: and fecond birth; the firil: birth is of the . urth, "'' thly; the fecond btrth ts •fthe Lordfrom heaven, hravenly; the firil: birth is of nature, full of fin; the fecond IS of grace, full of fan:fity : the lirfl: birth is originally offlelh and blood, the fecond buth IS ongmally of the Spirit 11nd water: In a word the firll birth kills, the fecond gives life; generation loll: us, it mull: be regeneration' that recovers us: 0 ble!fed btrth, Without which no buth IS hapJ>y, mcomparifon ofwhich (th~ugh it were to be born heir of the whole world) all is but mifery! this was MofeJ praife, that he efteemed the reproach of Chrijl above all the trcafitres in Egypt; rather would he be the S?nne of God,. than to be called thefon of Pharaohs daughter, Heb. 1 r 24. No qnefl:Ion It IS a great dtgmty to be called thefon zn Latr> to a King, but nothing in comparifon ofbeing the Son of God: this fonlhip is that degree, above which there needs no afpiring, and under which there is no happine!fc, no heaven no kingdom : Except a man be born "lain] he cannotfee the kingdom ofGod. ' Thus far of the manner oi the words, which contain the new birth i~1appears in them, the Father ofit is God, the feed of it the \Vord, the Mother of it the Church, the place of It, whence? from heaven: the time of it, when? after a man IS once born, then he muft be again bom: Except man be born again.] Secondly, as you fee tne mannerof the words, containing the ne1vbirth; fo now the manner of the ncwbmhcontainedm,the words. lknowit is not wrought in all after <;>ne manner, nor IS the manner knowp to us, but onely fo far forth as it is fenfible ri'r~:~ and therefore we mull: confider man before baptiGne, in baptifme, after bapIn fome is the the new birth wrought before baptifme, as in the Eunuch under Cand ~e~nofthe Ethiopians, Acts 8. 37· and in Cornelius theCaptain; together w7;h IS .· mfmen and near fncnds, .Arts to. • 47 . and m Lydi", Acts r6. If. and fo our c~al!ty tells us, th~t every.mfant dying before baptifme, is renewed by the Spirit: but ~~d~Ianner of tillS workmg we know not, for it is one of the fecrets of th~ Spirit of Inboth:rs is the new birth wrought in Baptifme, which indeed is the Sacrament of the new trt , and feal ofRegencratio11; but howfoevcr in P«do-Baptifme, we fee the out. · war& Doll; John 3 27i Vcrfc 8. Beda,&: EC •afin par"th•lil l1c, Do{f; Hc:b, Ir, 24; 1 Sam,•!. ''' Ails 8. ;7. Alls 10. 47· Alls11;. 14; Tir. 2~' S•
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