Baptism.

1. ’TWas a good way to persuade Men to be christned, to tell them that they had a Foulness about them, viz. Original Sin, that could not be washed away but by Baptism.

2. The Baptising of Children with us, does only prepare a Child against he comes to be a Man, to understand what Christianity means. In the Church of Rome, it has this Effect, it frees Children from Hell. They say they go into Lim∣bus Infantum. It succeeds Circumcision, and we are sure the Child understood nothing of that at eight Days old; why then may not we as reasonably baptise a Child at that Age? in England of late years I ever thought the Parson baptiz’d his own Fingers rather than the Child.

3. In the Primitive Times they had God-fathers to see the Children brought up in the Christian Religion, because ma∣ny times, when the Father was a Chri∣stia• the Mother was not, and some∣times, when the Mother was a Christian, the Father was not, and therefore they made choice of two or more that were Christians, to see their Children brought up in that Faith.