Marginalia1555. Decemb.neither for fire neither for water. Let vs pray for our weak brethren and sisters sake, that it may please God to alleuate the greeuous and intollerable burden of these cruell dayes. But touching our selues, let vs hartily beseeche our Saueour to vouchsafe to geue vs this gloryous gyft to suffer for his Gospels sake, and that we may thinke the shame of the world to be our glory, as it is in dede. God increase our faith & open our eyes to behold what is prepared for vs. I lacke nothing, prayse be to God. I trust my mariage garment is ready.  

I wyll send you my examinations as soone as I can get them written, if you be desirous of them.

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God of his mercy fyl your mercyful hart with al ioy and consolation of the hope to come. Out of the Colehouse, the xix. of Nouemb.

Your own louer, Iohn Philpot.

MarginaliaA letter of M. Philpot stablishing a certayne brother in the matter of baptising of infantes.THe God of all light and vnderstandyng lighten your hart with all true knowledge of his worde, and make you perfecte to the day of our Lorde Iesus Christ, whereunto you are now called through the mighty operation of his holy spirite. Amen.

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I receyued yesternight from you deare brother S. and felowe prisoner for the truth of Christes Gospell, a Letter wherein you gently require my iudgement concernyng the Baptisme of infantes, whiche is the effect thereof. And before I doe shewe you what I haue learned out of Gods woord, & of his true & infallible church touchyng the same, I thinke it not out of the matter first to declare what vision I had the same night whiles musing on your letter I fel asleepe, knowing that God doth not without cause reueale to his people who haue their myndes fixed on hym, speciall and spirituall reuelations to their comfort, as a taste of their ioye and kingdome to come, whiche fleshe and bloud can not comprehende.

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MarginaliaA vision reuealed to M. Philpot vpon a letter to be answered.Being in the myddest of my sweete rest, it seemed me to see a greate beautifull Citie all of the colour of Azer, and white, foure square in a marueilous beautifull composition in the middest of the skie, the sight whereof so inwardly cōforted me, that I am not able to expresse the consolation I had therof, yea the remembraunce thereof causeth as yet my hart to leape for ioy, and as charitie is no churle but woulde others ro be partakers of his delight, so me thought I called to others (I can not tel whom) and whiles they came, & we together behelde the same, by and by to my great griefe it vaded away.

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This dreame I thinke not to haue come of the illusion of the senses, because it brought with it so muche spirituall ioy, and I take it to be of the working of Gods spirite for the contentation of your request, as he wrought in Peter to satisfie Cornelius.MarginaliaThe vision expounded.Therfore I interprete this beautifull Citie to be the glorious Church of Christe, and the appaerance of it in the skie, signifieth the heauenly state thereof, whose conuersation is in heauen, and that accordyng to the Primitiue Church which is now in heauen, men ought to measure and iudge the Church of Christ nowe in earth, for, as the Prophete Dauid saith, The foūdations therof be in the holy hylles, and glorious thinges be spoken of the Citie of God. And the marueilous quadrature of þ^e same, I take to signifie the vniuersal agreement in the same, MarginaliaThe primitiue example for vs to follow.and that all the Church here militant ought to consent to the Primitiue Church throughout the foure partes of the worlde, as the Prophet affirmeth, saying: MarginaliaPsal. 67.God maketh vs to dwell after one maner in one house. And that I conceyued so wonderful ioy at the contemplation thereof, I vnderstande the vnspeakable ioy which they haue that be at vnitie with Christes Primitiue Church: For there is ioy in the holy ghost and peace which passeth all vnderstanding, as it is written in the Psalmes: As of ioyful persons is the dwellyng of all them that be in thee. And that I called others to the fruitiō of this vision, and to behold this wonderfull citie, I conster it by the wyl of God this vision to haue come vpō me, musing on your letter, to þ^e end that vnder this figure I might haue occasion to moue you with many others to behold the primatiue church in al your opinions cōcerning faith, and to confirme your self in al poynts to the same, which is the piller & stablishment of truth, & teacheth the true vse of the sacramentes, and hauyng with a greater fulnes then we haue now the first fruites of the holy Ghost, dyd declare the true interpretation of the Scriptures accordyng to all veritie, euen as our Saueour promised to send them an other comforter, which should teache them al truth.

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And since al truth was taught and reueled to the Primatiue Church which is our mother, let vs all that be obe-

dient children of God submit our selues to the iudgement of that Church for the better vnderstanding of the articles of our fayth, and of the doubtfull sentences of the Scripture. Let vs not goe about to shewe in vs by folowyng any priuate mans interpretation vpoon the worde, an other Spirite then they of the Primatiue Churche had, least we deceyue our selues. For there is but one fayth and one Spirite, whiche is not contrary to hym selfe, neyther otherwise nowe teacheth vs then he dyd then. Therfore let vs beleue as they haue taught vs of the Scriptures, and be at peace with them, accordyng as the true Catholike Churche is at this day: and the God of peace assuredly wyll be with vs & deliuer vs out of al our worldly troubles & miseries, & make vs partakers of their ioy and blesse, through our obedience to fayth with them.

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Therfore God commaundeth vs in Iob,MarginaliaIob. 8. to aske of the elder generation, and to search diligently the memorie of the Fathers. For we are but yesterdayes childrē, and be ignorant, and our dayes are like a shadowe, and they shall teache thee (saith the Lord) and speake to thee, and shal vtter wordes from their harts. And by SalomonMarginaliaPro. 6. we are commaunded, not to reiecte the direction of our mother. The Lorde graunt you to direct your steppes in all thyngs after her, & to abhorre all contention with her. For as S. Paul writeth:Marginalia1. Cor. 11. If any man be contentious, neither we, neither the Church of God hath any such custome.

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Hitherto I haue shewed you good brother S. my iudgement generally of that you stande in doubt and dissent from others, to the whiche I wishe you as myne owne hart to be conformable, & then doubtles you can not erre but boldly may be glad in your troubles and triumphe at the houre of your death, that you shall dye in the Church of God a faythfull Martyr, and receyue the crowne of eternall glory. And thus much haue I written vpon the occasion of a vision before God vnfained. But that you maye not thinke that I goe about to satisfie you with vncertayne visions only, and not after Gods word, I wil take the ground of your letter and MarginaliaProofe by testimonyes and scriptures.specially answeare to the same by the scriptures and by vnfallible reasons deduced out of the same, and proue the Baptisme of Infantes to be lawfull, commendable, and necessary, wherof you seeme to stand in doubt.

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In deede if you looke vpon the Papisticall Synagogue onely, which hath corrupted Gods worde by false interpretations, and hath peruerted the true vse of Christes sacramēts, you might seeme to haue good handfast of your opiniō agaynste the Baptisme of Infantes. MarginaliaBaptisme of infantes of olde antiquitie in the Church.But for as much as it is of more antiquitie, and hath his beginnyng from Gods woorde and from the vse of the Primatiue Churche it must not in respect of the abuse in the popish Church, be neglected, or thought not expedient to be vsed in Christes church.MarginaliaEuery thing abused in the popes Church is not therfore to be reiected, but the Antiquitie thereof to be searched, and to be reduced agayne to the same. Auxentius,  

one of the Arrians sect with his adherēts, was one of the first that denyed the baptisme of children, & next after hym Pelagius the heretike,   and some other there wer in S. Bernards   tyme, as it doth appeare by his writinges, and in our dayes the Anabaptistes, an inordinate kynde of men styrred vp by the deuyll, to the destruction of the Gospel. But the Catholike truth deliuered vnto vs by the scriptures plainly determineth, that all such are to be baptised, as whom God acknowledgeth for his people, and voucheth them woorthy of sanctification or remission of their sinnes. Therfore since that Infantes be in the number or scroll of Gods people, and be partakers of the promise by their purification in Christ, it must needes folow thereby, that they ought to be baptised as wel as those that can professe their fayth. MarginaliaThe People of God is to be iudged by his free promise and not by their confession.For we iudge the people of God as well by the free & liberal promise of God, as by the confession of fayth. For to whom soeuer God promiseth him selfe to be their God and who he acknowledgeth for his, those no man without great impietie may exclude from the number of the faithfull. But God promiseth that he wyl not only be the God of such as do professe hym, but also of infantes: promising them his grace and remission of sinnes, as it appeareth by the wordes of the couenant made vnto Abraham:MarginaliaGene. 17.I wyll set my couenāt betweene thee and me (saith the Lord) and betweene thy seede after thee, in their generations, with an euerlastyng couenant, to be thy God, & the God of thy seede after thee. To the which couenaunt Circumcision was added to be a signe of satisfaction as wel in children as in men, & no man may thinke that this promise is abrogated with Circumcision and other ceremonial lawes. For Christ came to fulfyl the promises,MarginaliaMath. 5. & not to dissolue them. Therefore in the Gospel he saith of infants, that is, of such as yet beleued not: MarginaliaMath. 10. Math. 19. MarginaliaMath. 12.Let thy litle ones come vnto me, and forbyd thē not, for of such is the kingdome of heauen. Agayne: It is not the wyll of your father whiche is in heauen, that any of these litle ones doo perishe. Also: He that receyueth one such litle childe in my name, receyueth me. Take heede therefore that ye despise not one of these babes, for I tell you, their Angelles

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