Men every where to repent and wills that the Gospel which contains this and many other precious Promises should be preached to every Creature And if Baptism may be a Seal of this Doctrine even there where there wants a Principle of Faith as you tell us it may then we may go and baptise every Creature and not higgle as you do about some Infants only but should we do thus God's Word would trip up our Heels as it does yours for tho he has proclaim'd Peace to the World by the Gospel yet he makes Faith necessary to the Pledg of its Reception He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved If thou believest with all thine Heart thou mayst be baptised When they believed they were baptised not one Person admitted without and then what is Mr. Petto that will adventure to give Baptism even there where there is not Faith no nor so much as a Principle of it How shall Baptism be the Answer of a good Conscience without a Principle of Faith And what good will it do you without Faith He quotes Isa 44. 3. I will pour Water upon him that is thirsty I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed c. Well but not in Infancy when was this done to any of your Infants Or has not God made good this Promise in the Gospel Men must be thirsty before this Water be poured out upon them You bring Isa 59. 21. which might have shewed you that these Promises belong not to Infants seeing they cannot understand either the Word or Spirit which yet is here promised to be in the mouth of the Church and her Seed for ever or if you please in the mouth of Christ and his Seeds Seed for ever But Infants are so called saith Augustin à non fando because they cannot speak You bring Psal 25. 13. and 112. 2. where 't is said The Seed of good Men shall inherit the Earth and be mighty upon Earth and be blessed But I think these are unfitly applied to Infants in Infancy and yet if they concern'd them here 's no Proof that they are visibly in the Faith during Infancy But what shall become of the Infants of ill Men by Mr. Petto's Doctrine they are put by him in a Condition contrary to that of the Infants of good Men as if the Infants Blessing or Cursing must be measured out as the Parents are Believers or otherwise Let us see his Scriptures Psal 37. 28. The Seed of the wicked shall be cut off But why must this be applied to Infants Sure he has Mercy for them so as not to turn them into Hell. For he hath told us if those Children of wicked Men which live to years do but turn from the wicked Ways of their Fathers they shall not dy and so equal are God's Ways that if the Son of a righteous Man follow the Ways of wicked Men he shall die as to temporal Judgments I grant the Infants do sometimes suffer for the Sin of their Parents but our Discourse is about their Salvation You bring Rom. 11. again and thence you infer that the Infant-seed of the Jews was broken off for the Parents Unbelief But if this Breaking-off be understood of an Exclusion of Infants to Hells Torments it is a most false Opinion as I shall fully shew anon That Abraham by virtue of his Faith which he had being uncircumcised is a Father of the faithful both Jew and Gentile is very true But that any of them are his Children so as to be Members of the Church militant to do and suffer for Christ without actual Faith is not true nor does Rom. 4. 10 11 12. prove the contrary let us hear your Text How then was it reckoned when he was in Circumcision or in Vncircumcision not in Circumcision but in Vncircumcision And he re-received the Sign of Circumcision a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith which he had being yet uncircumcised that he might be the Father of them that believe though they be not circumcised that Righteousness might be imputed to them also And the Father of Circumcision to them who are not of the Circumcision only but also walk in the Steps of that Faith of our Father Abraham which he had being yet uncircumcised May the God of Heaven give you a good understanding of this Place and then all your struggling for Infant-Baptism would soon vanish For there is nothing more evident than this that none but such as so believe as to walk in the Steps of that Faith which Abraham himself had which was true actual Faith are the Children of Abraham in a visible Church-state to worship God either in Baptism or other Ordinances From pag. 48. You proceed to answer many Objections and in all you say this seems to be your great Stick That Infant-Interest in the Covenant Gen. 17. is not cut off by any thing so objected as you have set them down and unless this be shewed all Objections signify nothing to you 1. To which I answer Infants had as good Right to the Covenant of Grace before Circumcision and have the same Right now which they ever had to that blessed Covenant of this more by and by 2. No Person 's Right to Circumcision did arise out of the Covenant of Grace but did only issue from the Command of God otherwise all good Men then living must needs be circumcised for they were in the Covenant of Grace as well as Abraham 3. As Circumcision did not give Abraham's Seed an Interest in the Covenant of Grace so the Abrogation of Circumcision did not take that Interest from them Nor did the omission of it when in being cut Infants off from the Covenant of Grace It only cut them off from the Land of Canaan and the external Priviledges of the Jewish Churchstate For the delay of the Circumcision of Moses's Child did not cut it off from the Covenant of Grace nor did the omission of it fourty Years in the Wilderness cut them Infants off from the Covenant of Grace who died in that time howbeit before they possessed the Land of Canaan they must be circumcised which evidently shews that the Covenant of Grace and the Covenant of Circumcision are to be distinguished And therefore though Infants have now no Part in the Covenant of Circumcision yet they lose nothing by it because though it was very useful till Christ came for the Ends for which it was ordained respecting the Church-state of the Jews and the Birth of our Saviour of that Seed according to the Flesh yet the Removal of it was a great Mercy whether we respect the Severity of the Service it self or the Obligation to which it bound all that were circumcised Neither does any Man's Right to the Covenant of Grace arise from the Covenant of Circumcision neither does his Right to Baptism arise from the Covenant of Grace without a Divine Command appointing to whom and how it should be performed Now the Gospel being preached for the Obedience
are Abraham 's Seed and hence he would infer their Baptism He has many Words and very often repeated the substance of all has I think already been answered however seeing he talks here of a threefold Seed of Abraham under the Titles of Natural Spiritual and Ecclesiastical Seed I will seriously consider the Scriptures which he brings to prove Infants to be the Ecclesiastical Seed of Abraham For the Scriptures which he brings to describe the Spiritual Seed of Abraham speaks not one word of Infants Gal. 3. 8 9. shews that God would justify the Heathen through Faith and concludes thus So then they which be of Faith are blessed with faithful Abraham This is not spoken of Infants yet they shall be blessed The Texts he brings to prove Infants to be the Ecclesiastical Seed of Abraham are many first Matth. 25. 1 2. where the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to wise and foolish Virgins but I suppose no wise Man takes Infants to be of either sort for they are neither wise nor foolish but they are innocent Two Texts more we have Rom. 11. 20. John 15. 6. where we learn that the Jews were broken off for Vnbelief and the Gentiles stood by Faith that some Branches in Christ not bearing Fruit are taken away and those which bear Fruit are purged to bring forth more Fruit But what all this is to Infants no Man can tell He quotes these over again and with them Matth. 19. 14. Mark 10. 13 14. Luke 18. 15. Matth. 16. 18. Rom. 16. 16. 1 Cor. 12. 27. Rev. 1. 12 13 20. Now he that from these Texts would prove Infants to be Abraham's Ecclesiastical Seed must prove that in the three first Texts the Word Kingdom must needs signify the Church-militant and that Christ admitted these Infants into the Church by Baptism or else that they have Authority to do more than Christ himself did For if these very Infants were not baptised they must have very great Confidence that can pretend from hence to find ground to baptise others The next Christ tells Peter that he would build his Church upon a Rock But must all that are saved be Abraham's Ecclesiastical Seed Sure some Infants may be saved who were never baptised for all this Rom. 16. 16. bids Christians salute one another with an holy Kiss and tells them also that the Church of Christ salutes them I see nothing from hence to prove Infants visibly Christ's so as to be Abraham 's Seed sure his Proposition will fail of Proof The Apostle 1 Cor. 12. 27. tells the Corinthians that they were the Body of Christ and Members in particular But not one word to prove that there was one Infant of this Communion Yet all Members of that one Body were partakers of that one Bread in which their Unity was demonstrated Rev. 1. 12 13 14. only describes the Vision that John saw of the Son of God and the seven Golden Candlesticks But no Man can yet find in any of these Candlesticks so much as one Infant concern'd bearing up the light of Truth in the profession of the Gospel Now for his Argument I would know the meaning of this Speech Some Infants are visibly Christ's If he means some Infants only are Christ's by Redemption how can he possibly know the Redeemed from the Damned for so they are supposed to be in this Mans destiny The work of Redemption is visible because God's Word tells us who Christ died for and that is for every Man Heb. 2. 9. and here Infants are equally Christ's visibly But so long as Mr. Petto thinks that Christ died but for some Infants only and those very few in comparison of the whole he cannot name one for whom Christ died it being impossible for them to give any Demonstration by which he may know such a thing and therefore he can have but small comfort in baptizing any of them if indeed it were lawful to baptize some Infants as he supposes Nay were he as sure that Christ died for some particular Infants as I am that he died for them all yet would it not follow that they are Abraham's Ecclesiastical Seed so as to be baptized for Christ knew that the Infants whom he took in his Arms were his and yet he did no such thing to them and I shall never think Mr. P. wiser than our Saviour nor so kind to poor Infants as he was Mr. Petto argues thus Some Infants are visibly of the Faith and so are Abraham's Seed Here I deny the Antecedent I say no Infants are visibly of the Faith. And Mr. P. tells me in this very place That he does not say that Faith semenal and habitual or actual is in all Infants baptized for then saith he all of them must be saved which they are not or else they might lose that special Faith But they are invisibly invested in the Covenant or Promise which is the Word of Faith and may bear that Name c. I answer Here are two kinds of Faith which the Scripture knows nothing of i. e. seminal and habitual However I perceive he knows not one Infant that has any of these kinds of Faith he therefore has found out a fourth and that is a reputative Faith or a thing which he says may bear that name Sure these are meer Dreams and Fancies and so let them go Actual Faith Infants have none and this is all the Faith that Man can make Judgment of by God's Word He does indeed grant all Infants which are baptized have not this Faith and if he dare affirm it â—f any of them all the Experience of the World will confute him and so he has lost his Argument as a meer Story without Truth and against all Experience For seeing Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God he cannot without a Miracle shew any Infant to be visibly in the Faith for the poor Babe knows not its right hand from its left He might as well say some Infants are visibly in Repentance and I marvel why the Poedobaptists do not insist upon that as well as Faith to entitle their Children to Baptism Mr. Petto tells us If Infants have not Faith for the present yet visibly they are under a Promise of it which Promise Baptism may be a Sign and Seal of it may seal a Doctrine of Faith even where a Principle of it is yet wanting These and what follows are meer Dictates and Presumptions without Proof Yet he brings Deut. 30. 6. where God promises to circumcise the hearts of the Israelites and the heart of their Seed to love the Lord with all the heart and with all the soul But God spake not this to Infants nor as a thing to be done to them in their Infancy for when they should thus be circumcis'd they should be able to know the Lord very well for they should love him then with all the Heart and Soul. Now this Promise is made to all Men upon future Contingencies for God commandeth all
anon and Acts 21. 4 5. This Place informs us That the Disciples told Paul by the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem Is it possible that * Infants who are not mentioned here should be of the number of these Disciples It is true 't is said that the Wives and Children went with Paul to the Sea-shore and kneeled down and prayed But are all Children Infants Or if there were any Infants did they kneel down upon the Sea-shore and pray with Paul And if not to what purpose has he brought these Scriptures 4. He brings a Cloud of other Scriptures in Figures for had he read them his Folly would have been seen with more ease Let us hear what these Scriptures say 1 Pet. 1. 15. As he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of Conversation Heb. 7. 26. For such an high Priest became us who is holy What must these Places prove I will set down your own Words As to the Name of the Trinity that of being holy is attributed often to Father Son and Holy Spirit And this very Name of the Lord holy he hath imposed upon the Children of Believers But what a wretched Consequence is here as if it would follow that all for whom Christ offered up himself or for whom he was God's High-Priest has thereupon the Name of Father Son and Holy Spirit on them Why according to this Logick Saul had the Name of Father Son and Holy Spirit upon him when he persecuted all that called on that Name And the Scripture is very plain that whilst we were Enemies Christ died for us but we had not then the Name of Father Son and Holy Spirit imposed on us And how follows it that because Christians are exhorted to be holy in all manner of Conversation that therefore Infants are discipled so as to have the Name of Father Son and Holy Spirit upon them Might not a Man by this kind of reasoning prove that all the Infants in the World have the Name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit upon them I am sure that God is the God of the Spirits of all Flesh and that all Nations are in respect of his gracious Providence his People and Sheep of his Pasture and exhorted to enter into his Ways with Praise and Thanksgiving Psal 100. The Places you bring from the Epistle to the Ephesians cap. 1. 13. and 4. 30. informs us that after Men believed they were sealed with the Holy Spirit this shews these Persons were no Infants Rom. 11. 16. shews that an holy Root has holy Branches 1 Pet. 2. 9. tells us Christians are a chosen Generation a royal Priest-hood a holy Nation a peculiar People that you should shew forth the Praises of him that hath called you out of Darkness into his marvellous Light. As for Rom. 11. 16. it evidently refers to the great things which God will do when he calls the Jews which were cast off and so it little concerns our Question otherwise it were easy to shew that at that time how holy soever Abraham had been yet his Children were prophane enough But Mr. Petto's Drift is to make Men believe that each of them whom he calls Believers are as holy a Root in respect of conferring Church-Priviledges as Abraham was and so their Children must needs be holy for Baptism But this is a very unlawful consequence seeing Abraham never did nor ever can confer that Holiness upon so much as one of his Offspring which shall entitle them to Baptism because every particular Person 's Repentance and Faith is required as the true Antecedents to Baptism as is granted by the Church of England in her Catechism But how well she keeps to her Doctrine therein admits of consideration Upon 1 Cor. 7. 14. you teach that Infants are holy by separation to God and his Service But Sir can you tell us what Service of God Infants are fit for If other Men may judg as well as you then as they are not able to serve God in spiritual things so God requires it not of them whilst Infants But so strangely are you transported here that you tell us from Mr. Cotton That Sin it self is sanctified to Believers This is another Strain of new Doctrine and will it not follow from your Doctrine that Sin hath the Name of Father Son and holy Spirit upon it Let Mr. Cotton look to it You must have a care how you take up such Notions You will by no means admit the Holiness here mentioned to be meant of a Matrimonial or Legitimate Holiness And yet I pray what Sanctification of the Unbeliever can that be but Matrimonial so as the believing Husband and the unbelieving Wife might cohabit together as Husband and Wife without Sin The Childrens Holiness is derived from this Sanctification of the Unbeliever as the Word else being rightly referred does shew it doth This Holiness therefore in true Construction of the place is most fitly interpreted as Erasmus doth expound it of Legitimacy and so did the eminent Man Augustine of Hippo long before Erasmus take the sence for he tells us whatsoever that Holiness is it is certain it is not of Power to make Christians or remit Sins 5. The Figures which you give us out of the Old Testament are Lev. 19. 2. and 20. 7. Exod. 16. 6. Deut. 7. 6. and 14. 2. and 26. 19. and 28. 9. All which do shew That God was the Lord that Israel should know that he is the Lord that he is a holy God and that they should be a holy People But what is all this to your purpose God spake not these things to Infants he tells us so himself Deut. 11. 2. And know you this day for I speak not with your Children which have not known and which have not seen the Chastisement of the Lord your God his Greatness his mighty Hand and stretch'd out Arm c. ver 7. but your Eyes have seen c. Therefore ye shall keep all the Commandments c. Sure you have not proved your Argument by any thing you have yet brought for that purpose For By all that you have said it appears not that some Infants are so discipled as to have the Name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit upon them Nor are you able to name so much as one such Infant now in being and consequently you can with no shew of Reason baptise them I consider again Who must do this previous Work to Infant-Baptism Must the same Minister do both And what Order have you to put the Name of Father Son and Holy Ghost upon Infants twice once before you sprinkle them and then again when you sprinkle them There is one thing remarkable from your self and others in these later times who espouse this Controversy You all seem to be convinced that none are to be baptised but Disciples according to Matth. 28. 19. and indeed the Text is so very clear to that purpose that it cannot be
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