yet though this be wickedness and disorder yet the Church may proceed against them and so it may against their Children who are bound to own the Covenant made with God and of God with them in their Parents as well as any Church-Members are to own their own Covenant by their own personal profession What disorder therfore will come in as you conceive this way will come in by your own way and what course you should take to heal the one by the same you may heal the other Object 3. If Children say you be members then their seed successively untill they be either dissolved or excommunicated and if so then what Churches shall we have Answ. 1. What Churches shall we have Truely not allway Churches of Angels and faints but mixt with many chaffy hypocrites and oft times prophane persons But still I say this objection holds as firm against gathering Churches of visible professing believers For God knowe's what Churches we may have of them even heaps of hypocrites and prophane persons for I know not what can give us hope of their not apostatizing but only Gods promise to be a God to them and to preserve them and truly the same promise being made to their seed gives me as much ground of faith to hope well of Churches râ—sing out of the seed of the godly as of the professing Parents themselves I know one may have more experimental charity concerning some few professing the fear of God but my Church-charity is equal about them especially considering that those whom God receiv's into Church Covenant he doth not only take them to be a people to him but to â—stablish them to be such viz for time to come And hence God is said to establish his Covenant with Isaac not Ishmael who was to be rejected Gen. 17.19 and God is said to gather them into CovenaÌ„t to establish them to be a people both young old present posterity and that which was to come Deut. 29.11 15. 2. God was as Holy and as exactly requiring holiness from the Jewish Church as well as from Christian Churches now do you think that the Covenant which then wrapt up the Iews children into Church-membership was an high-way of prophaness and unholyness in the members thereof of defiling polluting Gods Church or was it a way and meanes of holiness and to keep them from being prophane to affirm the first is somthing Blaphemous and very false for 't is expressly said Ier. 13.11 that as the girdle cleaveth to the loynes of a man so he caused the whole house of Israel not grown men only to cleave to him that they might be to him a people which was by Covenant and for a name for a praise and for a glory Gods name Glory praise was the end and the Covenant was the meanes hereunto and therefore it was no way or meanes of unholyness in that Church but if you say it was a meanes of holiness why then should we fear the polluting of Churches by the same Covenant which we have proved wraps in our seed also indeed they did prove universally prophane in the Jewish Church so they may in ours but shall man's wickedness in abuseing God's grace and forsaking hâ—s Covenant tye the hands or heart of God's free grace from taking such into Covenant what â—â—oâ—gh some did not Believe saith thâ— Apostle Rom. 3.3 4. â—â—all their unbelief make the Faith of God without effect God forbid 3. Suppose they do prove prophane and corrupt Churches yet even then when they are corrupt they are such Churches where ordinarily God gathers out his Elect and out of which till purer are gathered or these wholly rejected there cannot be expected ordinarily any salvation for so saith our Saviour salvaâ—ion is of the Iews Iohn 4.22 even in that very corrupt and worst estate of the Church that ever it was in Object 4. If children be members then they must come to the Lords Supper for you know no difference between member and member in point of priviledge unless they be under some sin Answ. 1. Yes verily there is a plain difference between member and member though professing believers in point of priviledge though they lie under no sin for a man may speak and prophesy in the Church not Women A company of Men may make a Church and so receive in and cast out of the Church but not Women though professing Saints 2. All grown men are not to be admitted though professing Believers to the Lords Supper my reason is A man may Believe in Christ and yet be very ignorant of the nature use and ends of the Lords Supper now such may be Baptized as soon as ever faith appeares Mark 16.16 but they may not be admitted to the Lords Supper because they will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord if they through their ignorance cannot discern the Lord body I know no reason but ignorant persons may be as well suspended from the use of this priviledge though they be true believers for faith may consist with much ignorance as well as distracted persons who notwithstanding may be believers also 3. If therefore children be able to examine themselves and discern the Lords body they may then eat and herein there is no difference in this priviledge between member and member 4. Children not being usually able to examine themselves nor discern the Lords body hence they are not to be admitted to the use of â—â—is priviledge and yet they may be such members as may enjoy the benefit of other priviledges even that of Baptisme for baptisme seales up our first entrance into the Covenant This first entrance is not allway by peâ—sonal profession of Faith but by Gods promise of working or of vouchsafeing the meanes of working of it now Children as is proved being under this Covenant as we see all the posterity also of Abraham was hence though children cannot profess faith nor actually examine themselves yet they may receive and must receive baptisme being allready under Godâ— Covenant but because the Lords Supper doth not seal up this first entrance and first right to the Covenant but our growth and fruition of the Covenant hence this act on our part is required to participate in this which the Apostle calls self-examination and the act of takeing and eating Christ and of discerning the Lords body and of doing this in remembrance of Christ which every baptised person and Church-member is not allway able to do A child may receive a promise aforehand of a rich estate given him and this promise sealed up to him his father receiving it for him but it is not fit that he should be put to the actual improvement and fruition of that estate untill he is grown up understands himselfe and knows how to do it so 't is here the Sacrament of the Lords Supper requires ability 1. To take Christ as our own 2. To eat Christ that is to take fruition of him the which acts of saith
c 4. Hereby they may not only hope and Pray but are incouraged to Believe concerning their Children and the rest of those who are in Covenant among them that God will do them good as they conclude mercy to the remnant forgivness of their sins with faith upon this ground thou wilt remember the Truth to Iacob and thy Mercy to Abraham sworn unto our Fathers in dayes of old Micah 7.18 20. This indeed is the childrens faith for themselves and their children but so it may be a ground of Parents faith And if we pray for our children why should we doubt leaving only secrets to God if we see them dy before they reject the Gospel positively I see no reason for any man to doubt of the salvation of his child if he dyes or that God will not do good to his child in time if he lives 5. This stirrs up their hearts to be the more sincerely holy and keep in with God because of their children and to educate them with more care and watchfullness because they are the Lord's Children as well as theirs they are not common but holy vessels and therfore let them see that they be not defiled and hence we find that when God exhort's to any duty of holiness in Scripture he oft makes this the ground of it I am your God and hence God aggravates their sin in offering their children to Molech Ezek. 16. because they were his children that should have been better used 3. In respect of themselves the good is very great 1. It is a special meanes to prevent sin Deut. 29. I make this Covenant not only with him that is present but with your seed also who are not here verse 15 Lest there should be among you man or woman family or tribe whose heart turnes away from God and lest there should be a root of gall and wormwood and indeed it mightily workes on the heart to think shall I whom God hath chosen to be his be my own or be the Divels or be my lusts c 2. 'T is a strong motive engagement upon them to forsake sin even the uncircumcision and sin of their hearts as is evident Deut. 10.15 16. The Lord had a delight to choose the seed of your fathers even you to be his people as it is this day what follow 's Therefore Circumcise the foreskin of your hearts and be no more stiff-necked 3. 'T is a special help as to avert their hearts from sin so to convert turn them to God to make them look toward God that he would turn them when perhaps they are without any hope in other respects of mercy or of being able by any meanes they can use to turn themselves this is evident Acts 3.19 with verse 25. Repent and be converted for you are the children of the Covenant which God made with our fathers this drawes their hearts when they see how God call's them to return Ier. 3.22 Come unto me ye back sliding children c we câ—me unto thee for thou art the Lord our God When backsliding Ephraim could not convert himselfe he cryes unto God oh turn me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God Ier. 31.18 which places cannot be meant of being their God only by internal Covenant in giving to them the special benefits of the Covenant for then they should be in Covenant with God and have remission of all their sins c before they were turned or before faith and therefore it 's meant of being a God in outward and external church-Covenant which is no smal motive and loadst one to Believe And although many do not believe and will not be turned yet this Covenant is an high priviledge and great favour fitt in it self to draw to God though many believe not and hence the Apostle saith that the priviledge of the Iew is great in having God's Oracles which contain God's Covenant committed to them though some believe noâ— which unbelief make's not he saith the faith of God i. e. God's promise or Covenant of none effect or an uneffectual and fruitless Covenant for this word of God's Covenant shall take some effect among some such as are in it which therfore is a priviledge though many perish as is evident Rom. 9.4 6. 4. 'T is a special meanes of binding them fast to God when they are turned Ier. 13.11 as the girdle cleaveth unto a man so have I caused the whole house of Israel to cleave unto me that they may be for a name and glory Deut. 30.20 thou shalt cleave unto him because he is thy life and the length of thy dayes he was not their life spiritually and savingly for many thus exhorted were dead and in their sins but federally or in outward Covenant 5. If they shall forsake and break loose from God and from the bond of his Covenant and have as much as in them lies cast themselves out of Covenant by their own perfidiousness breach of Covenant that one would think now there is no more hope yet it is a special meanes to encourage their hearts to return again even when they seem to be utterly cast off and therefore it 's said Ier. 3 1. though thou hast committed whoredome with many lovers wherby the covenant was broken yet return unto me so Deut. 4. If when you are scattered among the nations and shall serve wood stone and be in great tribulation if from thence thou seek the Lord thy God thou shalt find him he will not forsake thee and what is the reason of it viz. his remembrance of the Covenant with their fathers for so 't is Deut. 4.27 28 29 30 31. But I forbear to name more such things as these which come by outward Covenant to Inchurched Members 4. In respect of others their good is very great for 1. now they may enjoy the special watch and care of the whole Church which otherwise they must want 2. They hereby have the more fervent Prayers of others for their good and hence Rom. 9.1 2 3. we see how Paul upon this ground had great zeal in his prayers for the Jews not only because his countrymen but especially because to them did belong the Adoption and Covenants they had gracious Fathers c. so Psal 89.49 Lord remember thy former loving kindnesses which are sworn to David in truth And hence we see Moses oft pleads and prevailes with God in prayer for the sinning Israelites viz. oh Remember Abraham Isaac and Iacoâ— Now I pray you lay all these things together and then see whether you have any cause to say What profit is there by Covenant and Church-membership of persons not yet able to profess the faith of Jesus Christ Quest. 2. You say when families were Churches all of the family were of the Church and when a Nation was a Church all that were of that nation were of that Church But now Believers being matter of the Church what if none were admitted till
they can hold forth visible faith would not many of these things be more clear Answ. In these words there is a threefold mistake 1. That all of the family nation in former times were of the Church this 〈…〉 for God never took â—â—y to be his Church but 〈◊〉 they were Believers at 〈◊〉 eâ—ternally In that Nation I say Believers which either are professed believers or promised believers such as by outward Covenant shall have the meanes to be made believers in y â— Nation and hence you have heard that the Nation of the Jews stood by Faith and were broken of by unbeliefe and if any rejected the Covenant as Ishmael and Esau they were not of that Church though they did and might dwell in y t nation as doubtless thousands did 2. You think that Visible pâ—â—sonal Faith only makes the Church and members of it which â—s an errour as may appear from many thingâ— already said for Children may be in Gods account professors of y â— Faith parentally as well as personally i. e. in the profession of their parents as well as in their own And hence you shall find that the Covenant God entered into with the Parents of Church-members personally the Children are said to have that Covenant made with them many hundred yeares 〈◊〉 See for this purpose among hundreds these few Scriptures Haggaâ— 2.5 In Haggal's time God is said to make a Covenant with them then when they came out of Egypt which was not personally but parentally so Hosea 12.4 5. when God entred into Covenant with Jacob at Bethel God is said to speak with US who lived many yeares after and hence the Children many yeares after challenge Gods Covenant with them which was made with their Fathers for them Micah 7.19 20. Hence also those Children are said to Come to Christ who were not able to come themselves but only were brought in the armes of others to Christ. It 's a known thing among men that a Father may receive a giâ—â— or Legacy given to him and his heires and he and his heires are bound to perform the condition of the Covenant and promise by which it is conveyed and that the Child doth this in his Father 3. You think that if men only grown up and able to profess Faith should be of the Church then all things would be more clear aboâ—â— Children Truly I believe the quite contrary upon y â— grounds before laid dowâ— For 1. Hereby pollution of Church shall not be avoyded but rather introduced to excluâ—â— Children from an holy-making Covenant as we have proved 2. Hereby that good and benefit of their Covenant should be lost not gain'd by excluding them out of Covenant untill they can personally profess and make use of the Covenant The wisdome of man furthers not the Righteousness of God And here let me conclude with the naked profession oâ— my Faith to you in this point which is â— Bulwark of defence against all that is said by Anabaptists against baptising of Infants 1. That the Children of professing Believers are in the same Covenant God made with Abraham Abraham was a Father of many nations and not of one nation only and hence the same Covenant made with him and the believing Israel in that nation the saâ—â— Covenant is made with all his believing seed in all other nations 2. That Baptisme is a seal of our first entrance and admission into Covenant and therfore is to be immediately applyed to children of believeing parent as soon as evâ—â—â—hiâ— be in Covenant and that is as soon as they become the visible seed 〈…〉 faithfull for so the Covenant to Abraham run's I will be thy God and the God of thy seed not only his elect-seed but Church-seed as hath been shew'd not only of his seed in that one nation but in all Nations These two things I cannâ—â—â—ell how to avoid the light of they are so clear and the ignorance of these makes so many Anabaptists as they are called and I never yet met with any thiâ—â— written by them and much I have read that was of any considerable weight to overthrow these But I forget my selfe and trouble you My prayer is and shall be That the Lord would gâ—ve you understanding in all these things FINIS Errata Preface Page 4. Linâ— 20. read wonted p. 6. l. 7. r. y t have fought p. 7. l. 28. r. spiritâ—â—â— page 18. liâ—â— 29. for 〈◊〉 r. anâ— In y e Book page 11. line 34. for now r. were Instances hereof see in the pâ—eface to â—â—e act of the Synod held aâ— Boston 16â—2 Touching Bâ—ptism Consociation of Churches Cap. 4. Pag. 14. Keyes Cha. 4 Pag. 15. Act. mon. vol 3. Pag. 606 610. s. m. Argum 1.