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A87257 Infants baptizing proved lawfull by the Scriptures: objections against it resolved and removed. Aug. 24. 1644. Imprimatur, John White. 1644 (1644) Wing I162; Thomason E8_31; ESTC R15802 13,658 16

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of Abraham while they continued members of the visible Church and were not excommunicate had Covenant-right to Church-priviledges for them and their children and though some of them had not true faith and so attained not an interest in the invisible grace of the Covenant yet that unbeliefe made not the Covenant and faith of God without effect Rom. 3.1 2 3. So it is under the Gospell Vbi eadem ratio idem ju● de similibus idem est judicium And lastly This is further evinced by the whole tenour of the Scriptures in the a Contr●●iorum eadem est ratio contrary which is the portion of the wicked and of their children that are not in the Covenant of grace or being once within the outward and visible grace thereof deprive themselves thereof by becomming degenerate and prophane and are justly therefore excommunicate The curse is alwayes extended to their seede as well as to them Deut. 28. 18. Exod. 20.5 and though this be not executed upon all their seed but that free election manifested by their regeneration restores them to be vessels of mercy yet that makes not the curse of God of no effect neither doth the generall revealed will hinder the operation of the secret free grace of Gods election or of reprobation Abrahams seed Rom. 4.16 is distinguished into the seed which is of the Law and the seed which is of faith and neither excluded but both included within the Promise And Rom. 9.6 the distinction is betweene the naturall and the spirituall seed among the naturall as well as others and none of them are excluded from interest in the Covenant but first all are included in the outward grace of the Covenant vers 4. all Israelites to whom pertained the adoption and the glory and the Covenant and the Promises Secondly Some are excluded the invisible grace of the Covenant by the secret counsell of divine preterition as others were included by election vers 6 11. all which further confirmes and cleeres what I have said and both parts of the Covenant are free grace even the outward Psal 147.19 20. God shews his word statutes and judgements to Israel he hath not dealt so with others Ob. It is objected by one That this Promise is made to Abraham not as any believer but as a person chosen by God freely Sol. To which I answer That which is spoken to Abraham as a believer is common to all believers because they all are subjects capable of it they all are persons chosen by God freely and have the same hand of faith to receive it and there is no colour to assert that God is not the God of every believer as well as of Abraham or that the children of every believer are not beloved for their fathers sake as well as Abraham And it is a Promise made not to believers as a species but to individuals beleevers as acted with faith The Promises of God are not notions nor predicable of universals but actuall but whatsoever generall Promise is made to any man as a believer is made intended and applicable to all to every to any believer That they are beloved for the fathers sake is true of every believers children as well as of Abrahams for if the roote be holy so are the branches Rom. 11.16 28. though some of them be broken off by personall unbeliefe as it was with Abrahams seed vers 17. And that God doth sometimes make particular promises of particular grace which is not applicable to all believers to some persons that believe is nothing materiall or pertinent to this question as the Promise to Phineas concerning the Priesthood Num. 25.13 and the Promise of the Keyes to Peter Mat. 16.17 18 19. For first the Promise to Phineas was not made to him as a zealous man for then it would have been common to all zelots though God tooke occasion from his zeale and in reward thereof to make that Promise unto him but God made it unto him as a Priest in which respect only he was capable of it and by the matter it selfe appeares it was peculiar and not common but to be the God of his people is common and communicable to all believers as our Promise now in question so far are these cases from similitude as they have no resemblance And so the Promise to Peter is not of a thing common to all believers as the Promise in question but of a matter intrusted unto the Ministers of the Gospell and made to Peter as such not as a believer and though made to Peter is applicable to all Ministers of the Gospell and common to the rest of the Apostles And whether the inferring of such instances to prove the promise in question to be a peculiar of Abrahams be not cavilling rather then candid arguing or seeking the truth let the Reader judge And it is apparantly a like meere cavill to say that Isa 59. 20 21. is not applicable to all believers and all times because the Apostle Rom. 11. 26. applies it to the Jewes for by the context of the originall place it is a generall promise made expressy and extended to all to whom the Redeemer shall come and the applying thereof to the Jewes a branch only of them to whom he came is so far from limiting it as applying animal rationale to John to prove him a man limits it to him alone excluding all other men when that instance confirmes it to all of like case and condition and declares it appliable to them also and upon the same reason And Exod. 20 6. That God will shew mercy to thousands of them that love him is cleerely a Promise to the believer and his children who though not expresly yet by the antithesis of the context comparing it with the former verse upon which it depends and is inferred are necessarily included and it is a Promise to every believer as generall as the curse in the former verse which extends to all that hate God extending to all that love him and not matter contingent but certaine to them And so Psal 112.2 The Promise that the seed and generation of them that feare the Lord and delight in his Commandements shall be blessed is not made to John or Thomas only but in common to all that feare and delight in God and both these Promises are as large as blessednesse including Heaven as well as earth Ob. But it is further said That the childrens obedience is alwayes expressed or implied Psal 103.17 18. Sol. To which I answer That God promising blessednesse to my children a Isa 54. 13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord. undertakes their faith and obedience b Isa 49.25 I will save thy children without which they cannot be spiritually blessed These two are some of the good things included in the Promise and Covenant and performances thereof and are implied as effects not as motives or causes of the promise which is most freely made by the Lord.
The revealed will of God in this Covenant concerning the good of my children is the rule to the Church and me what to beleeve hope and expect concerning them and what to doe to and for them to prepare and enter them as much as in us lies into and for the whole good of this Promise The secret counsell of God how my children shall prove in the end belongs not to us is no rule for us to walk by towards them till it be revealed And this Promise holds out unto us First A ground comfortably to believe and hope that God will fulfill the whole of the Covenant unto them whence we have as cleere a ground to expect their spirituall as their temporall good and upon this promise we may ground a prayer of faith for both for the children Secondly This Promise binds us to use in faith all meanes that the children are capable of for the interessing of them in the good of this Covenant and among other to baptise them Infants are capable of grace to such belongs the Kingdome of Heaven and for ought we know the Spirit hath sanctified the believers children and from this promise we have ground to hope that it is so they being within it expressely and this Covenant gives them a right to the seale of it and this revealed will is the rule by which the Church and we are to judge leaving secret things to God and therefore without incurring the guilt of infidelity and breach of the command included in this promise of using meanes and without manifest injury to the children and contempt and slighting of this great mercy and kindnesse expressed and assured in this Covenant to believers neither the Church nor they can withhold Baptisme from their children Hence it appeares that this Objection is cast in impertinently to trouble the cleere waters of this sweet Promise and weaken our faith in it What God hath undertaken it being his work and not ours we are to rest upon his truth and faithfulnesse in accomplishing it and not trouble our hearts or heads about it but doing our duties believe in his truth revealed and submit to his soveraignty the exercise whereof is unknown unto us when he shall reveale it It is true that the election only obtaines the invisible grace of this promise as the Apostle saith of Abrahams seed but what is that to us before God manifests who are in his election and who not It ought not being secret to impeach our faith in this Promise nor withhold us from using all meanes to our children for the obtaining of that grace Ob. It is further objected That Baptisme requires a spirituall use and children cannot make such spirituall use of it and by experience it is cleere that many baptised in Infancy after deny it Sol. To which I answer That the spirituall use of Baptisme is either by the Spirit of God and that that is done in the children of believers we have from this Covenant good ground to beleeve or by the Church and parents in bringing the children unto this ordinance in faith which is done in the right administration of it or lastly by the children themselves who being passive in this ordinance it is not necessary that at present they expresse the fruits of it in any activity of theirs no more then in circumcision but this is to be beleeved and expected that God who hath promised will produce it in time And though it fall out that some denie their Baptisme afterwards as some did their circumcision that is not materiall in this question being secret and therefore not considerable in the dispensation of the outward visible grace and priviledges of this Covenant which such children have Covenant-right unto Which also is by this further manifested that though many of them that receive Baptisme at full age after deny it and declare by their apostacy that they are in the gall of bitternesse and bond of iniquity as Simon Magus yet that hinders not the Church to administer Baptisme to others of full age upon their profession of faith and repentance For we are to walke by the revealed will of God and not be hindred by future events which being secret are to be left and referred to God And we are incouraged so to doe in the case in question not only from the Covenant of God but also from the experience of his gratious performance thereof who hath made good this promise to the children of beleevers and professors in the uttermost extent of it specially where there hath been no fault in the believers either in not beleeving this gratious promise or not using the meanes sanctified for the obtaining of the performance of it Ob. It is further objected That religious parents have no other priviledge concerning their children then from the meanes of knowledge for them which unbeleevers have not Sol. To which I answer It is plaine by what I have said that the Scriptures speake great and excellent things of the seed and generation of the godly which it not only excludes the seed of the wicked from but speakes sad and dreadfull things of them of the seed and children of beleevers the holy Scriptures testifie that God is their God will circumcise their hearts to love him poure out his Spirit and blessing upon them will shew mercies to thousands of them they shall be blessed the promises belong unto them and the Kingdome of Heaven they are holy beloved for the Fathers sake c. but of the children of unbelievers they speake no good but contrarily that they are cursed God will visit the iniquities of their fathers * Num. 14.18 Deut. ● 9 Ier. 32.18 Iob ●● 19. upon them unto the third and fourth generation that they are a ● Cor. 7. ●4 uncleane the seed of the serpent farre from safety Job 5.4 God will make their plagues wonderfull Deut. 28.59 c. And by this appeares that there is a broader difference between the children of beleevers and of unbeleevers then that beleevers have the meanes of knowledge for their children Besides many unbeleevers as Papists and open profane persons among us have the meanes of knowledge for their children and so between them and the children of beleevers is no difference nor the condition of the children of beleevers better then of unbeleevers Into what a bottomlesse pit of absurd opinions doth the spirit of error hurry men that turne from the truth and forsake it Ob. It is further objected That this ordinance is not appointed for children Sol. To which I answer First That God includes the children of beleevers in the Covenant Secondly To whom the Covenant belongs the seale belongs b They ●hat have the th●●g signifi●● may not be denied the signe ●f capable of it 〈◊〉 47. A●t ● 7 They hav●ng the lik● 〈◊〉 and promise as we to deny th●m baptisme is to withstand God all Gods Covenants are sealed Covenants Thirdly The children of beleevers are capable of this