P A Il r I. Reverend Mr. RichardBaxter. 109 in the Difpute with Mr. Tombes, and an Anfwer to a Sermon of his afterward preached, &r. ThisBook God bleffed with unexpeâed Succefs to flopabundance from turning Anabaptifts, and renaming many both in City and Country, ( and tome of the Officers of the Iri(h andEnglifh Forces ) and it gave aconfiderable Check to their Proceedings. Concerning it I fhall only tell the Reader, r. That there are towards the latter, part of it many enigmatical Refleâions upon the Anabaptifts for their horrid Scan- dals, which the Reader that lived not in thofe times will hardly underftand : But the cutting off the King, and rebelling againft him and the Parliament, and the Invading Scotland, and the approving of there, ( with the Ranters and other Setts that fprang out of them ) were the Crimes there intended ; which were not then to be more plainly fpoken of, when their Strength and Fury was lò high. z. Note, that after the writing of that Book, I wrote a Poftfcript againft that Doârineof Dr. Burge, and Mr. Tbo. Bedford, which I fuppofed togoon the other Extream . and therein I anfwered pare ofa Treatife ofDr. Sam. Ward's which Mr. Bedford publilhed; and it proved to be Mr. Thomas Gataker whom I defended, who is Dr. Ward's Cenfòr ; But I knew it not till Mr. Gataker after told me, But after there Writings I was greatly in doubt [ whether it benot certain that allthe Infants of true Believersare ;Lifted and faved if theydye before aâual Sin] My Reafon was, becaufe, it is the fame juftifying faxing Covenant of Grace which their Parents and they are in : And as real Faithand Repentance is that Con- dition on the Parents part which giveth them their right to adtual Remihìon, and Adoption : So tobethe Childrenoffuck, is all the Condition which is required in Infants in order to the fame Benefits: Andwithout afferting this the Advantage of theAnabaptifts is greater than everyone doth imagine. But I never thought with Dr. Ward that all BaptifedChildren had this Benefit, and Qaalirative Sanâifica- tion alfo; norwith Dr. Burgefi and Mr. Bedford, that all converted at Age, had inherent feminal Grace in Baptifm certainly given them; nor with BithopDave- nant that all juftly baptifed had relative Grace of Juftification and Adoption : But only that all the Infants of true Believers who have right to the Covenant andBap- tifus in foro Cali as well as in foro Ecclejiee, have an thereby Right to the Pardonof Original Sin, and toAdoption, .and to Heaven which Right is by Baptifm to be fealed and delivered to them. This I wrote of to Mr. Gataker who returned me a kind and candid Anfwer, but fach as did not remove my Scruple ; and this oc- cafioned him to print Bithop Davenants Difputations with his Anfwer. My Opi- nion ( which I molt incline to) is the fame which the Synod of Dort expreffeth, and that which I conjeâure Dr. Davenant meant, or I aro lure came next to. Here note alfo, that Mr. Tombes follicited me yet after all this, to write hini down my Proofs of Infants Church.memberfhip out of the circumcifed Church, which I did at large, as from the Creation downward, as far as Proof couldbe expeâed in Proportion to theotherHiftories of thofeTimes. Infteadof fending me an Anfwer to my Papers, heprinted tome of them with an infitfficient Anfwer in his tail Book: `Phefe Papers with a Reply to himI have.fince Printed. app. 4. The Fourth Book which I publifhed is a fmall one, called, The rigor Methodfor Peace of Confcience and fpiritnal Comfort, in thirty two Direllions. The Oc- cation ofit was this : Mrs. Bridgis,the Wife ofCol. ÿobn Bridgis, being one of my Flock, was often weeping out her Doubts to me, about her long and great Uncer- tainty of her true Sandtification and Salvation. I told her thata fewhaity Words were not Direlïionenough for the fatisfadtory refolving of fo great a Cafe; and therefore I would write her down a fewof thofe neceffary Direâions which the lhould read and body, and get well imprinted on her Mind. As foon as I had begun I found r. that it would not bewell done in the Brevity which I expeâed. 2. And that when it was done it would be as ufeful to many others ofmy Flock as to her ; and therefore I bellowed more time on it, and made it larger and fit for common ufe. This Book pleafed Dr. Hammond much, and many Rational Perlons, and force of thofe for whom it was written : But theWomen and weaker fortI foundcould not fo well improve clear Reafon, as they cana few comfortable, warm and pret- ty Sentences ; it is Style and not Reafon which doth mob with them : And thine of the Divines were angry with it, for a Paffage or two about Perfeverance ; be- caufe I had faid that many Men are certainof their prefent Sandlification, which are not certain of their Perfeverance and Salvation; meaning all the Godly that are
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