P AR T II. ReverendMr. Richard Baxter. 313 It is diforderly that the Parents are neither of them required (ordinarily) to be prefent, and prefent their Childto Baptifm, but it is left to Godfathers and God- mothers, that have nopower to confersfor them, or enter theminto the Covenant, unlefsit be in the Parentsname, or they be Pro.parents, taking the Child as their own. And it fruftrateth due Enquiry aidAffîltance ,.when the Parents.may choofe whether they will come beforeto the Minifter to be inftructed about the Nature and Ufeof Baptifm ; and may choofe whether they will let him know of it till the Night or Morning before. The Exhortation before Baptifm is very defective, omitting many weighty Points. So are the twoPrayers before it : where alfa it is inconveniently faid , That God by Chri/'s Baptifm didfanttifre the FloodJordan, and all other Waters, to tbemyfti- .cal wafhisigawayofSin. The afcribingof the Gift of the Holy Gholt to Infants by their Baptifm, as irs ordinary EffeEt and neceffary to their Regeneration, is to bring an undetermined uncertain Opinion into our Liturgy. . The Arguments for Infant -Baptifm are fo defectively expreft, as have tempted ma- ny into Anabaptifm. The third Prayer faith very little; bist What was faid in bile of thofe fore- going. Sureties that have not the Parents power, are unjuftly required to promifein the Infant'sName, or the Infant by them : And fo iris a doubt whether many Infants have,ever indeed been entred into the Covenant of God, when they cannot be laid to Promife or Covenantby Perlons, whom neither Nature or Scripture , or any fufficient Authority bath enabled to that Office. TheSuretiesare unjuftly and irregularly required, to profefsprefent Actual Faith in the Infant's name, whetsit is a thing not required of the Infant; but 'only that he be the Child of a Believer, and by the Parent:dedicated to God in Baptifm, and there engaged in his Covenant, to Believe and Obey when he is ca- pable. Of the Crofs in Baptifmwe havePaid more in due place ; but here only add that it is a very great diforder ( betides the other faults) to exprefs the Terms of the Covenant as fignified by the Crofs , more fully than as fignified by bapti- zing ; viz. [We f,gn him with the fsgr of the Croft, in token that hereafter be fhall-not be afhamed to confeß the Faith of Chriil crucified , and manfully to fight under his Banner, againfi Sin, the World andthe Devil, and to continue Chrift'rfaithful Soldier and Servant unto his lives end : Amen]. TheConclufion that [the Child is Regenerate] and the Thankfgivingfor [Rege- nerating it by the Spirit] are doubly faulty: First, in concluding that all Children baptized are 'Regenerate, when we admit thofe (before mentioned) wholelnterelt in the Covenant, which Baptifm leal'eth, cannot be proved : that is, fach whole Pa- rents can lay no jolt claim to the Grace of the Covenant: At leaft , here is a pri- vateOpinion thrult into our Liturgy. Secondly in concluding all Infants regene- rate by the Holy Gholt, when fo many Learned Divines think that it is but a Relative Regeneration, that is afcertained them; and the Controverfie is yet un- decided. The Exhortation to the Godfathers .and Godmothers impofeth on them the Dutyof the Parents, to fee to the holy Education, which ordinarily they can- not do, nor are to be required to do ; nor is it ordinarily done, and yet we ge on in theabufe. The concludingRubrick halteneth Children too faon toConfirmation, contrary toforce Claufes in the Rubrick forConfirmation. Divers Defekts betides thefeexpreiRd, will appear, by comparing this part of the Common Prayer, with the Formswhich we offer. In the Private Baptifm it is diforderly to make the Godfathers end God- mothers tenon folemnly the Covenant-Ingagemenr of the.Child , when before we ar6 to [certife them that all is welldone, and according to due order] ; and the folemnizing of the Cotenant is the principal ole' of Baptifm.; fo that its doubtful whether the repeating of fo great a part of Baptijrn, be not a great part of Anbaptifm. . And it isnot orderly that twice we mull fay to the Godfathers and Godmothers [ Dofr thou in the Name ofthis Child] as if we fpoke but to one Of them: and the third time we fay [Do you in his Name]. S s Alfó
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