so fierce against us for extending the Grace of God to all Men as being therein no respecter of Persons and yet shewing to Sinners the necessity of actual Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ as necessary to their Membership in the Church Militant by the Baptism of Repentance for Remission of Sins I say none so fierce against us as those who boast they are Abraham's Seed because descended from Gentiles who they suppose to be Believers But let me have a care I must now Answer for my self for Mr. Firmin demands of me Page 21. By what Scripture-Warrant do you reduce our Children into the state of the Children of Adam or Noah c. since we are never called their Children but only Abraham ' s whose Seed differ from theirs by a special Covenant made with Them and sealed with Them. To which of them did God say I will be the God of thy Seed and I will seal it But I reply These seem to me to be great swelling words of Vanity much worse in a Gentile than in a Jew And I would know what special Covenant hath God made with Mr. F. and his Seed which he hath denied to Tho. Grantham and his Seed But to the Question 1. I am far from denying Abraham's Fatherhood over the Faithful Christians but I deny that every Believer that hath an Infant is the Father of the Faithful And I deny many to have any right to that Title who boast much of it because they do not the works of Abraham but despise those that worship God according to his Will. Thus did not Abraham But thus does Mr. Firmin 2. I find that Adam was the Son of God Luke 3. Whether called so meerly for his Creation or for that after the Promise Gen. 3. 15. He walked with God or for both I will not dispute And I find that Christ's Descent is reckoned from Adam and the Saviour of the World was first promised to him and to proceed from him and therein was the Covenant of Grace in the first place made with him and in him with all Mankind who then were in him Nor do I find that this gracious Covenant was ever repealed but is in force to this day as is granted by Mr. Baxter 3. I find that Noah found Grace in the sight of the Lord being righteous before God. And I know that Mr. Baxter and other Learned Christians acknowledg the Covenant made with Noah and his Generations to be a Covenant of Grace and of perpetual Duration being indeed the renewal of the Covenant made with Adam I find also that Noah became Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith and that his Faith did lead him to believe that which was as difficult to Sense as that Abraham should have a Son viz. That the whole World should be Drowned His Faith also was made perfect by Works for Whatsoever the Lord Commanded that did Noah 4. I find that all men from the time of the Flood are the Generations of Noah and that he was perfect in his Generation a Just Man and one that walketh with God and as one of his Sons proved wicked so did one of the Sons of Abraham I do also find in Scripture that we are all called the Sons of Adam To you O Men I call and my Voice is to the Sons of Adam or Man Prov. 8. 4. And as the Sons of Adam God shews them what is Good even to do Justly to love Mercy and to walk humbly with their God Mich. 6. Now from these Scripture-Warrants I honour my Great Grandfather Adam because to him was committed the first Oracles of God making known the Covenant of Grace I honour my Grandfather Noah because he was Heir of the Righteousness of Faith and had the second Edition of the Covenant of Grace extended to all his Generations till by Sin they eject themselves I likewise honour my Father Abraham because he had the third Edition of the Covenant of Grace as a Blessing to all Nations or to all the Families of the Earth Gen. 12. And also for that God was pleased to choose his Posterity as the People from whom Men should look for their Saviour with respect to his Descent according to the Flesh and of this Covenant as also of the Land of Promise was Circumcision given as a Sign to his Posterity that they might not mix with other Nations in Life or Religion but to Abraham himself as a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith which he had near 30 Years before he was Circumcised But for all this I know that in Gospel-times unless we crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts we cannot be Abraham ' s Seed nor Heirs according to the Promise Gal. 3. 29. And the Seal of our Sonship and Right to the Inheritance is the Holy Spirit Ephes 1. 13. Gal. 4. 6. Ephes 4. 30. Mr. Firmin Now suppose that were true which is the great business of your Pamphlet to prove that all dying Infants are saved That thereby you may take off the Odium which lies upon you for shutting the Children of Believers out of the Church and denying them Baptism they being under the Covenant of Grace made with Adam as you say Tell me Is this Covenant of God with Abraham's Seed in vain Does the holy One make vain Covenants As to his Seed they were well enough before If Isaac die before the 8th day he is saved so that this Covenant might have been spared Answer 1. I havâ— said enough to shew that Abraham's Covenant Gen. 17. was not in vain but I am sure you here make a vain use of it For had Isaac died before he was Eight Days old in your Judgment he had not been saved and consequently no Male Infants which died before they were Circumcised were saved This is that wretched Doctrine which I oppose And seeing you make Baptism as necessary to Salvation as Circumcision was and call it the Seal of the Covenant you either make Infants which die unbaptized saved by an unsealed Covenant as you speak or else you damn all Infants which die unbaptized No other sense can be made of your strange Questions P. 73. Your Question is this Are they all Justified and Saved then it must be by a Covenant of Grace And shall they be under the Covenant so as to be in a justified and saved state by it and not have the Seal of the Covenant As if the Covenant of Grace were of no use to poor Infants without the Crossing Sprinkling or as you Pouring a little Water on their Forehead for which you have no Rule at all in the Word of God. I cannot but admire your great Blindness 2. The Covenant of Circumcision might not now be spared because God had now designed to honour Abraham's Faith and to make him and his Posterity famous both for Multitude Religion and other Excellencies but chiefly to point out all Nations from whence to look for a Saviour which
Original the Chaldee Paraphrast Junius c. which sheweth that it must be understood of them that are Adulti and not of Infants If Infants be not circumcised it is the Parents fault as may appear in the Example of Moses whom the Lord punished and not the Child for neglecting it 3. Concerning Baptism I do believe it to be a very solemn Ordinance and also very useful in the Church of God yet I do not find that it is the Hand of the Spirit to convey Grace to the Heart of any Infant seeing what it conveys it doth it by Faith and by its Figure representing the Death Burial and Resurrection of Christ and ours with him c. of all which Infants know nothing being sprinkled as I formerly shewed very often when they are fast asleep and if awake they know nothing of the Mystery of Baptism But Mr. F. brought three Scriptures to prove his Doctrine we shall now consider them Ephes 5. 26. Christ loved his Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of Water through the Word I allow Baptismal Water to be here meant but then we see it does not cleanse but by or through the Word nor doth the Word profit unless it be mixed with Faith in them that hear it Heb. 4. 1 2. The Church is purified in obeying the Truth through the Spirit 1 Pet. 1. 22. And Baptism saves us as it is the answer of a good Conscience towards God by the Resurrection of Christ And to this agree his other two Scriptures Tit. 3. 11. 1 Pet. 3. 21. Now Infants being uncapable of being cleansed by Baptism according to the sense of these Scriptures we may in no wise apply them to Infant-Baptism Divis 2. And because it may be most convenient to treat of Regeneration in this place we will here consider Mr. F's Arguments to prove that Infants have Faith and Repentance His first Argument is as followeth Arg. 1. If all even adult Persons are passive in the work of Regeneration then Infants are capable of Regeneration But the Antecedent is true Answ 1. Here we are told that grown Persons are passive that is they do nothing at all in the work of Regeneration this is the meaning of his Antecedent Now if this be true as he says it is then if they do nothing they neither hear the Word nor believe it nor repent nor hate nor turn from Sin for these are at least some of the parts of the work of Regeneration Now I would fain know who is active in all this if the Party regenerate be not St. Paul tells us With the Heart Man believeth unto Righteousness and with the Mouth Confession is made unto Salvation Rom. 10. 10. When Peter shewed the Jews their Sin and preached Christ to them they were pricked to the Heart Now observe they came to hear the Word they gave Audience they gave Credit to it God blessed the Word with Power Now they cry out What shall we do Peter exhort them to repent c. and they gladly receive his word and had the washing of Regeneration the same day Now let God have the Glory of this and all Conversions who is the first Mover in it and the Efficient Cause of it yet he is absurd that will say Man is as passive as an Infant that can neither hear nor receive any Instruction at all And therefore I deny his Antecedent it is not true the Adult are some way active in the work of Conversion yea all that know the work do know what wrestling with Corruption is and how unable they are to overcome in the Conflict with Satan and Flesh without Supernatural Strength or Aid from Heaven but yet They act and wait for help in all their actings 2. Men are commanded to hear that their Souls may live Isa 55. If they hear and obey not they sin against God Rom. 10. 16 17 18. We grant that the Power Converting is not of the Creature We are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves All our Faculties are given us of God. It 's our duty to put these Faculties into Act to hear repent and believe is Man's Duty It is not the Duty of Infants to hear repent believe c. therefore they are not regenerated this way What you urge from the Shunamite's Son and Lazarus being both dead and so equally passive as to rise from Death is wholly impertinent and being put into Argument is false for thus you must argue if you say any thing Infants dead are as capable to rise as the Adult being dead Ergo They are as capable of hearing beleiving and repenting as the Adult The Consequence is false many Instances we have of the Adult who hear believe and repent but no Instance of one Infant ever regenerated this way 3. As for your captious Demands about our being quickned c. you may well spare them till you give better Evidence of your own Conversion for your Books do evidently shew that a jeering idle Spirit has dominion in you Howbeit this we say The Original Cause of our Conversion is the Love of God The meritorious Cause is the Blood of Christ The ministerial Cause is the Evidence of Truth or the Word of Truth The efficient Cause is the Power of God's Grace John 1. 12. The formal Cause is believing and obeying the Truth through the Spirit The final Cause is God's Glory and our Salvation to the obtaining of which all our Faculties of Hearing Understanding Will and Affection are given us of God to be put into Act. This is not required of Infants and how they are sanctified by the Spirit God only knoweth 4. But now saith Mr. Firmin I will not have him for my God who cannot most omnipotently make me both will and do what he will. But I reply These are great swelling words of Vanity and nothing to the purpose We dispute not what God can do for he can of a Stone in the Street make a better Man than either of us And we deny not but God hath sometimes and may still if he please convert some by miraculous Operations But to say that all Conversions are miraculous as Mr. F. does is very false Paul was converted miraculously so was not Lydia What I say upon Ephes 1. 19 20. is mistaken by you for I extend it further than to the Resurrection of the Body for I expresly say he has power to do whatsoever he pleases and so to raise us up c. but if I was short or obscure this is my meaning The Faith of Christians is agreeable to the power which God shewed in Christ when he raised him from the dead and I think 1 Pet. 1. 3. doth very well explain Ephes 1. 19 20. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again to a lively Hope by the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead Mr.
Infants are not made clean from their Pollutions and freed from Condemnation without having Faith and Repentance I say they may because God requires not these things of Infants But you argue further Mr. F. All the Members of the Kingdom of Heaven are holy but Children are Members of the Kingdom of Heaven Not by Birth it is by Regeneration Answ First Here I think you have given your Cause its deaths blow It seems now that the Infants of Believers are no more holy by their Birth of believing Parents than others and whether they be regenerated you cannot tell for you do not hold that all the Children of Believers are saved What is now become of the Birth-priviledg so much gloried in by Mr. Baxter and others We have been told Infants are holy by Birth if one Parent be but a Believer and that Children of Believers are holy by Prerogative of Seed But now you confess the Truth and I grant Infants are not holy by Birth let their Parents be never so Christian And I have already granted that Infants must be cleansed from all Sin before they come to Heaven But yet you touch not the Question Whether they cannot be cleansed from Sin without they have Faith and Repentance one would think you begin to be afraid of the Question and I am sure you have cause so to be Arg. 3. Mr. F. tells us If Adam had continued in Innocency his Children had born the Image of God from the Birth I never heard it denied That which I infer hence is that Children are capable of the Image of God and receiving the Seeds of all Grace it was so then why not now Answ What manner of the Image of God Infants should have born had Adam continued innocent is unknown to Man and 't is but vain to concern our selves about that which cannot be known but this we know it should not have stood in Faith and Repentance as now because in both these we confess our selves Sinners and this is enough to shew the vanity of your Question if so then why not now But you proceed thus Mr. F. Shall the sin of one Person be so mischievous to deprive Adam and all his Posterity of the Image of God and bring the Seeds of all Corruption into their Nature and shall the Grace of God be denyed to renew his Image in little Children when and where he pleaseth Children being a great part of the World shall the Spirit of God have nothing to do in their Hearts Answ I know no Man more faulty than Mr. F. in this matter for he will not allow the Grace of God to have any thing to do with the greatest part of Infants I doubt not but God doth all things needful for them to make them holy by the Blood of Christ his Grace and Spirit But all this shall be done without Faith and Repentance because God does not require it of Infants if he does name your Text. Mr. F. now tells us Adam's Disobedience far exceeds the Obedience of Christ which he compares in Justification Rom. 5. 16 17 18. for his Disobedience could defile all his Posterity but Christ's Obedience doth not cleanse and regenerate one Child Answ Come St. Paul thou hast told us that such as thou art by Letters when absent such thou wilt be indeed when present 2 Cor. 10. 11. Wherefore I shall give place to thee to answer for thy self by the very places which Mr. F. has quoted out of thy Epistle to the Romans Chap. 5. 16 17 18. And not as it was by one that sinned so is the Gift for the Judgment was of one to Condemnation but the free-Gift is of many Offences to Justification For if by the Offence of one Death reigned by one much more they which receive abundance of Grace and of the Gift of Righteousness shall reign in Life by one Jesus Christ Thâ—refore as by the Offence of one Judgment came upon All Men to Condemnation even so by the Righteousness of one the free-Gift came upon All Men unto Justification of Life And whereas Mr. F. boldly tells us that Christ's Obedience doth not cleanse and regenerate one Child I ask him whose Obedience then does cleanse Infants Let St. Paul answer again ver 19. As by one Man's Disobedience many were made Sinners SO by the Obedience of one shall many be made Righteous Blessed Paul thou hast answered to the Life Mr. Firmin says Christ's Obedience doth not cleanse and regenerate one Child Thou sayst Christ's Obedience made many righteous and they that are made righteous are clean and regenerated sufficiently Blessed Apostle thou hast turned the Wisdom of the Wise into Foolishness What follows in this Paragraph is answered before and for his uncivil Expressions in the close of it I shall pass them by Mr. Firmin's Arg. 4. If all Children dying such are justified and saved then there will be Millions in Heaven in whom the Spirit of God as the third Person in the Blessed Trinity had nothing to do in their Salvation Answ First I take notice that Mr. Firmin by this Argument would have Millions of Infants damned because in his Judgment the Spirit of God hath nothing to do with Millions of them in the business of Salvation This this is that wicked Doctrine which I oppose 2. But how will he prove that the Spirit hath to do in the business of the Salvation of any of them more than I shall prove he hath to do in the Salvation of all dying Infants He would prove it by two things 1. Because the distinct Subsistences have their distinct manner of working 2. Because Regeneration is given to the Spirit Now suppose this be true it does not prove that some Infants have the assistance of the Spirit and some dying Infants have no assistance from him Thus he beats the Air but proves not any thing at all relating to the Point in Question 3. But I will prove that all dying Infants have all that assistance of the Spirit in the business of Salvation which is any way needful for them I do it thus All those dying Infants for whom Christ shed his precious Blood have sufficient assistance from the Spirit in the business of their Salvation But Christ shed his precious Blood for all dying Infants Ergo All dying Infants have sufficient assistance from the Spirit in the business of their Salvation The Major is evident because no dying Infant does resist the Holy Ghost and because God is no Respecter of Persons The Minor is evident because Christ died for all tasted Death for every Man he bought them that deny him and bring upon themselves swift Destruction And seeing his tender Mercies are over all his Works the holy Spirit is not wanting to further the Salvation of any dying Infant Deut. 10. 17 18. 1 Tim. 2. 6. Heb. 2. 9. 2 Pet. 2. 1. Psal 145. 9. Come Mr. Firmin let me come near you it may be you have had some Children that died in their