be damned Our Saviour saith it is not the Will of his Heavenly Father that so much as one of these little Ones should perish which is as true of Infants as of any Persons in the World. Object II. The Overthrow of both these Generations in the old World is a strange Medium to prove the Salvation of all Infants by Answ The meer destroying of the Infants of those who were called the Sons of God as well as the Infants of others Gen. 6. and 7. I do not say is any Evidence of God's saving any of them But this is that which I say it shews them to be in one State or Predicament And how shall any Man prove the Salvation of so much as of any one of them better than I shall prove the Salvation of them all And shall we suffer it to enter into our Hearts that God sent them all to be damned in Hell By no means When therefore we read 2 Pet. 2. 5. That God brought the Floud upon the World of the Vngodly and Jude 7. 't is said of those who suffered the Vengeance of eternal Fire that they were given over to Fornication and went after strange Flesh May we not perceive some Light which may guide us to believe that God did not plead in such Wrath against the Infant-seed as he did against the wicked themselves And though it is true God suffered the Infants to die with the wicked Parents yet that is no Argument of God's condemning them to Hell. For did not the same God suffer his Servant Sampson to die with the Fall of the Theatre among the wicked Philistines And we see the righteous often taken away by the same common Calamities which have befallen Nations and Cities Let us remember how tender the Lord was of the Infants of Nineveh and that may convince us that the same gracious God could not be cruel to the Infants of the old World and he that made those little ones an Argument to justify his sparing sinful Nineveh against the murmuring of Jonah would certainly make that an Argument for us to believe that had his Judgments proceeded against that City according to the Prophesy of Jonah yet he would have distinguished between the Innocent and the Nocent in respect of future Punishment and Mercy For it was not the Sin of the Infants which cryed to Heaven for Vengeance but of the grown Persons When we consider how hardly Almighty God was drawn to inflict those Judgments upon Mens Bodies in the old World and in Sodom Gen. 18. and frequently where we read of the Execution of his Judgments it might justly seem very strange that Men should think that God can be so easily provoked to damn Infants to Hell For him I say to damn poor Infants to Eternal Fire who was so unwilling to inflict on the Babes in Nineveh so much as a Temporal Judgment nay he is unwilling to destroy the very Cattel for Mans Sin Jonah 4. which are only capable to suffer a short of Death And can it become any Christian to think that God will send Millions of poor dying Infants to Hell Pray what have they done so highly to stirr up his Wrath against them let any Man shew a Reason for it if he can Object III. To the Text Rom. 5. the Free-Gift abounded towards all Men to Justification of Life This all must be restrained to all in Christ Answ But by your Favour there are none so out of Christ in Infancy but that God hath Mercy for them in Christ John 1. 29. so that here is no Restraint to the Justification here spoken of till Men abuse this Mercy of God by sinning against their own Souls Nor can your Restriction which I suppose would limit this Free-Gift to the Elect only hold any Agreement with the Scope of the Place For seeing all Mankind are personated as well in the second as in the first Adam you can no more exclude any from the Justification of Life as having abounded towards them by Christ than you can exclude them from the Condemnation which abounded towards them by Adam For tell me how many came under Condemnation by the Sin of Adam Is there any one or any Infant that can plead Impunity Why even so saith the Apostle the Free-Gift abounded towards all Men to Justification of Life And may we not safely conclude that had Mankind never been guilty of any other Sin but that of Adam's I say upon a Supposition that Adam's Posterity from the time of the Promise Gen. 3. 15. had lived holily and done no Iniquity would you not conclude with me that none should have perished in Hell-Torments And if you grant this then we must either find some Man SO concerned in the Covenant of Grace AS that if he sinned against this Covenant his Posterity is damned with him eternally as all Adam's Posterity was exposed to Condemnation for his Sin or else we must hold that no Infant shall die eternally for Adam's nor for any other Persons Iniquity If you name any Man thus concerned in the Covenant of Grace you can name none so apt for the purpose as Adam seeing we were all in him when the Covenant was made with him and there is no doubt but that he sinned after the Covenant was made Gen. 3. 15. yet where do we find any Sin which he afterward committed imputed to any Part of his Posterity And seeing we cannot prove an universal Resurrection from 1 Cor. 15. 21 22. unless Mankind be equally concerned in the Death of Christ we must necessarily believe whole Mankind to be interessed in him and as interessed in him they are in a saneable State from that Wrath which lay against them by reason of the Sin of Adam So then Infants being justified from the Guilt of Adam's Transgression by Christ the Lamb of God who shall lay any thing to the Charge of poor Infants that may justly cast them into Hell-fire Sure it is but meet that Men should be able plainly to convict them before they thus condemn them Yea you that hold the eternal Damnation of Infants ought you not to bring substantial proof for so dreadful a Doctrine And when you have done your worst that way you have only destroyed your own Hope concerning your own dying Infants For I am perswaded you are not so unwise to think whatever you make others believe that your Infants are saved because of your pretended Church-membership and Baptism Nay Mr. Petto plainly tells us that all Infants that are baptised are not saved as I have shewed above And it is impossible without a Miracle for him to know this or that any one of them is saved unless he comes on this Foundation that none of them shall perish Object IV. To assert the Salvation of all dying Infants seems to imply that God's destroying the old World and Sodom c. were eminent Acts of God's Mercy rather than of Justice c. help me over this Difficulty Answ Although it
Innocent was ejected with the Guilty For this is God's Order It is he only that sinneth whom he will blot out of the Book of Life Exod. 32. 32 33. And therefore neither the Method which God took with Noah in setling the Covenant of his Grace nor yet that Order which he observed with Abraham Gen. 12. was exclusive of any Infant in the World as to the Grace or Mercy of eternal Life no more than the Establishment of it by Christ in the Gospel in a far more excellent way for distinguishing the precious from the vile is in any wise no not in the least iota exclusive of any dying Infant of ill Men but contrary-wise the Right of Infants without excepting any of them is asserted by Christ in this last and most ample Edition of the Covenant of Grace Nor can any Man shew either by Scripture or Reason that God will shut out all the dying Infants of wicked Men from Life and Salvation by Christ no nor so much as any one of them For we are sure that the Judgment of God is according to Truth that the Judg of all the Earth will do Right That the condemned shall all be judged according to the Deeds done in the Body But as for poor Infants what Evil have they done Demonstration 2. That this Covenant was made with all Mankind because it was made with Adam without the least Intimation of the Exclusion of any part of his Posterity as they proceed from him to the End of the World. Neither has God himself explained the Covenant of Grace to be exclusive of any but for the Cause of their own Iniquity And this was evident first in the case of Cain who not being faithful in his Offering was not accepted yet God was pleased to tell him how he might be accepted Gen. 4. 7. If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted It should seem God never rejected Cain till now neither did he now delight to reject him but graciously expostulates with Cain to convince him of his Evil and assures him of Acceptance if he did well If then Cain had an Interest in the Grace of God who can we suppose to be shut out of it Or how should Infants be cast out of his Favour till they with Cain shut themselves out of it Evident it is that the Covenant of Grace extended to those Rebels in the old World because we read that the Long-suffering of God waited in the Days of Noah upon them and he gave them time of Repentance and sent a Preacher of Righteousness even the Righteousness of Faith among them Heb. 11. 7. 2 Pet. 2. 5. therefore it is said Christ went by his Spirit and preached to them 1 Pet. 3. though none of them believed his Word Now such Acts on God's part are great Evidences of his Graciousness towards Men and shews that he remembers his Covenant made in Christ for them even for them that rebel against him and so perish And then how should we think that he should not be gracious to poor Infants who never rebelled against him Demonstration 3. The Covenant of Grace Gen. 3. 15. was never repealed by God. For if it be there is now no Covenant at all Nor can it be repealed to one Man but it must be repealed to all Men. 'T is true Men may forfeit the Mercy of God held forth in that Covenant but the Covenant cannot be repealed for then there can be no certainty of Mercy for Sinners Christ our Lord may as soon be made null as this Covenant For what if some do apostatize shall this make the Grace of God without effect God forbid When we continually see the Covenant of God's Grace displayed making Overtures of Kindness to Sinners by beseeching them to be reconciled to God 2 Cor. 5. What shall we say Has the chief of Sinners this Benefit by the Covenant of Grace And shall poor innocent Babes have no Benefit by it Is he not worse than the chief of Sinners that is thus exposed to Damnation Sure there are better things with God for poor Babes and chiefly in this he has not given Parents power to make void the Covenant of his Grace with respect to their Infants For he hath said the Son shall not bear the Iniquity of the Father The Soul that sinneth it shall die Demonstration 4. No Infant did ever abuse the Grace of the Covenant made with them in Adam therefore no Infant was ever cast out of it Although it is most true that Original Sin is come upon Infants and Death by Sin Yet this is as true That Original Sin was not committed against the Covenant of Grace And therefore Infants are not guilty of any Sin committed against the Covenant of Grace and consequently are not deprived of the Benefit of it Otherwise if the Sin of subsequent Parents should make void the Grace of the second Covenant as the Sin of Adam made his Posterity guilty of the Breach of the first Covenant we may then cry out who then can be saved But therefore was our Saviour the Mediator of the New Testament for the Redemption of the Transgressions which were under the first Testament Wherefore seeing Infants stand acquitted from the Trespasses committed by Adam against the first Testament or Covenant and having not sinned against the Grace of the second Testament they cannot come in the Condemnation of Hellish Torments The Church of Rome who make Baptism as necessary for Infants as any Body does yet they have so much Kindness as to condemn Infants only to a State of Loss but not of Torment Whilst those of Calvin's Spirit do send them by their Doctrine to yell among the damned in Hell-fire Sure this is no part of the Gospel I will not call it so Yet I will say those that reject that great Salvation held forth in the Gospel are justly condemned but this is not the case of Infants Demonstration 5. That all dying Infants are Members of that vast Body of which Christ is the Saviour finally and so of his Church considered as universal is evident because they are in a visible State of Salvation And I think no Man will deny the Catholick Church to contain the whole Number of the saved I have nothing more to do but to prove all Infants in a visible State of Salvation which shall be done more particularly by answering such Objections as I have met with more especially from Mr. Barret Objection I. I gave you thanks for some things before granted concerning Insants and I here promise more Thanks if you will prove the same of all Infants Answ When I speak of the Right which Infants have to Life by Christ I intend it only of that Right derived to them by the first Edition of the Covenant of Grace Gen. 3. 15. wherein they are equally concerned and so have the same or equal Right And I hope you cannot charge them with forfeiting the Grace of that Covenant and then they cannot
is not unjust for God to take Infants out of the World at any time yet his Justice in destroying them in the old World and Sodom lay not against the Infants as I proved in the precedent Answer But in Justice he punished those wicked Parents in putting a Period to their Posterity And did not God in the Days of Noah destroy the Beasts and Fowls of Heaven yet who so weak to think that he was offended with them Was the Lord angry with the Beasts of the Field God was just in taking away David's Child 2 Sam. 12. 14. yet who so rash to say that God did this in Justice against the Child much less that the Child was damned or that God was angry with the Child David was far from such an Opinion for tho that Child was conceived and born in Sin as much as any yet David nothing feared the Damnation of the Child but rather shews his Confidence of its Salvation when he said I shall go to it For had it gone to Hell Torments he would not have comforted himself with Thoughts of going to it Object V. We do not say that Infants do perish purely for anothers Sin but for their own contracted Answ I cannot see any Agreement with God's Justice in this Objection nor Truth in it self I can hear Men talk big Words against Infants as if they were very great Sinners yet I never saw any Proof that any Infant had any Sin of its own for which you would here make them perish The Scripture saith Sin is the Transgression of a Law and tells us also where no Law is there is no Transgression You must therefore either shew some Law to be given to Infants or else you cannot make them guilty of any Sin of their own And seeing you have granted that none shall perish purely for anothers Sin it remains for you or some body else to shew what Sin has been committed by them or any of them for which they incur the Damnation of Hell. You may talk of Infants contracting Sin of their own but I am to learn how this can be said of those who neither act nor consent to Sin at all Such Scriptureless Notions are fitter to be exploded than embraced And though you seem to have some Charity for those and their Seed who only come up to the Covenant of Grace made with Adam and Noah though they never heard the Gospel whilst you say you do not rank them with Imsdels yet this is but a slender Kindness you do not say they shall be saved and you are positive in this that Infants are not saved by the Covenant of Grace if they be neither Believers nor the Seed of such How this Doctrine will stand with the Justice of a gracious God I cannot conceive when I consider that God hath not given to Infants either Capacity to believe or Liberty to choose whether they will be the Seed of Believers or Unbelievers Will you yet say a gracious God will be more harsh in Acts of Justice than the Rules will bear which he hath given to Men Deut. 22. 25 26. Here he will not have a Damsel punished though her Body be defiled because she could not help it And yet you would have him send Infants to Hell for that which they cannot help It is not the part of a wise Legislator saith one to recede from his own Laws much less to destroy them by acting contrary to them It must be a fault then in you thus unjustly to represent the God of Justice Is the Covenant of Grace set upon such a little Point as that the greatest Part of Infants cannot possibly have any Benefit by it So you teach who affirm Infants cannot be saved unless they be Believers or the Seed of Believers Why call you a Covenant made with Infants on such Terms a Covenant of Grace sure such absolutely impossible Terms in any Covenant are not very gracious when the Non-observation of them is Damnation without remedy and that of the Innocent too You would condemn this in Men you would abhor to hear or receive such Terms of Man yet thus you make many believe that God deals with the greatest part of poor Infants Object VI. According to your Doctrine the taking away the Infants of the old World and of Sodom was a great Mercy because had they lived to Age many of them might have been damned for Wickedness Answ The taking away by Death of the Infants of the old World and Sodom is neither an Instance of Justice nor Mercy to Infants in the main any more than the taking away thousands of Infants daily by Death throughout the World For whenever they die they are taken away from ALL EVIL TO COME and so it is always a Mercy ' and such was the Mercy of God to Infants in the Old World and in Sodom But whenever they are taken away we know it is for Sin even that of Adam And sometimes their Death is hastened for the Sin of their Parents as in the case of David's Child and the Old World and Sodom and thus their being taken away is always a Judgment And the Judgment lieth much in this that Mens Posterity is either quite cut off or much weakened thus was the Old World and Sodom punished their Succession was cut off And though it is true if those Infants in the Old World and Sodom had lived to Age many of them might have been damned for Wickedness yet not to insist upon the Prescience of Almighty God to ballance that it is as true that a far greater Multitude in few Generations both of Infants and others which might have proceeded from them might have been saved So that though we have no ground to doubt of the Salvation of these dying Infants in the Old World and in Sodom yet we may see a just Judgment executed in both Object VII Should the French King destroy all the Infants of the Pagans would not this be a Judgment Sure had the World your Light and Knowledg they ought not to be sorry for the spoiling of their Cities and depopulating their Countries Answ What if the French King should do thus it follows not that here is not a Judgment in all this neither yet that God hath no Mercy for those murthered Infants But pray consider whilst we all condemn such Cruelty in Tyrants we must by no means think or say that our gracious God when the Tyrant has murthered them will take these Infants and cast them into Hellish Torments Were not this to represent Almighty God to be the worst of Tyrants And let no Man murmur against God for saving such Infants or all Infants who when Men have done their worst he will prevent that which would be far worse to poor Infants than the worst that Man can do And though I may be satisfied that my Child or Friend is gone to Heaven yet I may lawfully be sorry for both so that I sorrow not as one without
Hope Object VIII What shall we make of Ephes 2. 3 12. And were by Nature Children of Wrath even as others That at that time you were without Christ without Hope If there be no Ground to doubt the Salvation of their Infants is there not some Hope Answ I grant that all Adam's Posterity with himself were Children of Wrath and take that Wrath in as large a sense as you please it hurts not my Cause at all Seeing it is evident that Christ abolished that Wrath and Death and brought Life and Immortality to Light by the Gospel which he preached to whole Adam Gen. 3. 15. and then took whole Adam into Grace and Favour so that till they or any of them become the Serpents Seed they stand in a State of Favour and Grace which shall deliver them from Wrath and Death And it is most certain no Infant is the Serpents Seed it being out of his Power to beget them to be his Off-spring seeing they are out of the reach of his Temptations during Infancy Howbeit this Place Ephes 2. is best interpreted of the Adult or grown Persons for these of whom it was said they were without Hope c. it is said they were dead in Trespasses and Sins and walked according to the Course of this World according to the Prince of the Power of the Air which now worketh in the Hearts of the Children of Disobedience such as had their Conversation in the Lusts of their Flesh fulfilling the Desires of the Flesh and of the Mind And S O were by Nature the Children of Wrath. But what is all this to the innocent Babes of the Gentiles they were not thus the Children of Wrath no nor out of the Covenant of Grace as made with Adam having never abused the Grace of that Covenant So that there was Hope or Ground of Hope concerning the dying Infants of the Gentiles whether their Parents understood it or not but no Hope concerning themselves considered in their wicked Courses Neither could the Hope of these Gentiles when they believed concerning their Infants stand upon the same Grounds on which their own Hope was founded seeing these were saved through Faith and built up an Habitation of God through the Spirit Only this is very true they now understood the Riches of God's Grace to Mankind and that God had pitty for them when they were dead in Trespasses and Sins And therefore they could not rationally doubt of his good Will towards their dying Infants For still his Unwillingness to destroy the actual Sinner is Argument enough that he will never destroy the innocent Child eternally What Hope there is of all Infants entring into Heaven however it may be hid from the Pagans is evident enough from our Saviour's Speech Except ye be converted and become as little Children ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Now suppose I take the Infant of a Jew or Pagan for my Pattern and labour that my Conversation may answer to such a Precedent in point of Innocency Humility and Simplicity will not this as well accord the Intent of our Saviour's Words as if I took the Child of a Christian for my Pattern certes it would And indeed our Saviour here speaks as much for our Comfort concerning all little Childrens Capacity to enter into Heaven as for any one of them as also when the Apostle exhorts us as touching Malice to be as Children Does he not hereby justify the whole in that State of Infancy to be devoid of that Evil And why even of our selves do we not judg what is right Could any Man from the Beginning to this Day bring the least Charge against one Infant more than another Unless God by Miracle shew some special Power upon them no Difference can be seen in them in point of Innocency Object IX But have you not forgotten that you told us you do not doubt but the Promises made to the Seed of the Righteous and the Promises of shewing Mercy to them that love God remain unrevoked Answ I have not forgotten that but still believe that there are many more Blessings pertaining to the Seed of the Righteous according to the Texts by you alledged than to others And that they may be better considered I will set that down in Words which you write in Figures Psal 102. 28. The Children of thy Servants shall continue and their Seed shall be established before thee This had doubtless been the Portion of the Sons of God in the Days of Noah had they not sinned with the rest of Mankind Psal 103. 17. The Mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to them that fear him and his Righteousness to Childrens Children to them that keep his Covenant and remember his Commandments to do them Prov. 20. 7. The just walketh in his Integrity his Children are blessed after him Now what do these Places prove sure nothing less than that no Infants shall be saved but the Infants of Believers c. and if not how do they suit your Case They prove indeed that God will bless the Posterity of his faithful Servants if they keep his Covenant and remember his Commandments to do them I think David well expounds this Place in Psal 37. 25. And yet I grant though you prove it not that there are very many other Blessings even in Infancy does attend the Seed of the Righteous They being a Seed of many Prayers and devoted to God from the Womb as far as their pious Parents has Authority to do it whilst God knows others are destitute of these Blessings being crossed and exorcised among the Paedobaptists and offered to Molech among the Jews and the like among the Heathens And yet for all this I can see no Ground to think that the righteous God will punish with Hellish Torments those dying Infants for the Wrong which their Parents have done them It being inconceivable how it can stand with his Attributes either of Mercy or Justice both which must have Effect upon them His Justice hath its Effect on Infants in Diseases Sickness and Death Now either his Mercy must have Effect upon dying Infants in the next World or not at all if not in that World how shall that Saying be true His tender Mercies are over all his Works Will he never shew tender Mercy to Infants who only lived to cry and die in this World and must they now die eternally in Hell Is this your tender Mercy to Infants O ye cruel Paedobaptists Object X. If the Blessing of Abraham came upon the Gentiles through Faith Gal. 3. 14. how does it reach to the Infants of the Gentiles which do not believe Answ I told you that the Blessing in respect of Eternal Life was not peculiar to Abraham and his Seed but was made as well to Adam and his Seed and so common to Mankind and may well be called the common Salvation being derived from Christ promised Gen. 3. 15. before Abraham was who is