Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	holy_a	scripture_n	speak_v	14,888	5	5.2608	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96995	The covenants plea for infants: or, The covenant of free grace, pleading the divine right of Christian infants unto the seale of holy baptisme. Against the rusticke sophistry, and wicked cavillations of sacrilegious Anabaptists: being the summe of certaine sermons had in the parish-church of Cranham, neere the city of Gloucester, in Gloucester-shire, with the exceptions of certaine Anabaptists against the foresaid sermons, and the authors answers thereunto. Very seasonable for weake consciences in these unsettled times of schisme and apostacie. By Thomas Wynell minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.	Wynell, Thomas, b. 1599 or 1600.	1642 (1642)	Wing W3778; Thomason E115_17; ESTC R8440	86,631	137

winne upon them they grow in grace and submit unto Gods word in all duties And certainly God doth not ordinarily work by a false ministery and a false Sacrament I say God doth not thus ordinarily by false and unlawfull meanes though sometimes He brings light out of darknesse Now I challenge all the Brownists and Anabaptists in the world to answer me this one thing though nothing bee more rife with them then to condemne our Ministers and Baptisme as false and Antichristian Certainly God would not ordinarily give testimony to a false Ministery and false Sacrament by making them effectuall to the proper ends whereunto the true Ministery and Sacraments are appointed in the Gospell The Apostle Paul useth this very argument to prove his calling to be right and from the Lord. 1 Cor. 9.1 2. saying Am I not an Apostle Am I not free Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord Are not you my work in the Lord If I bee not an Apostle to others yet doubtlesse I am to you for the seale of mine Apostleship are yee in the Lord. 1 Cor. 4.15 Reason 5 Fiftly and lastly we baptize Infants of Christian parents because it is the practise of other reformed Churches which God hath blessed in that way with great increase of heavenly gifts Now if we should forbeare by virtue of a divine restraint as we pretend then wee should lay iniquity upon whole kingdomes and godly societies as taking liberty where God hath put a restraint And how should we justifie our practise and condemne theirs by the word of God For they would tell us that we put restraint upon mens consciences where God hath put none And that we misinterprēt the 28. of Matth. verse 19. And that our inter pretation of the text is absurd and ridiculous and that neither Christs Commission nor the Apostles practise doth any way countenance our cause Againe they would tell us that wee doe evade the evidence of 1 Cor. 7.14 against us by a base and beggerly shift plainly derogatory to the Majesty of the holy Scriptures in saying that children of a beleever are said there to bee holy in opposition to bastardy as if they were holy for no other more noble cause but for their being meer legitimates a notion too low for the Spirit of divine Oracles a notion plainly ridiculous in the apprehension of every ordinary capacity the Scriptures no where terming children holy but for the holy Covenants sake under which they were borne Now for us to pretend Apostolicall imitation and walking according to Christs primitive Commission and yet to put off Apostolicall Authority with such a bastardly glosse would give other Churches which we oppose just cause to think that our way is rather a diabolicall delusion then an ordinance of Christ and that phantasticall humours doe rather sway with us then conscience Againe they would tell us that our way of rebaptizing hath been alwayes condemned in all reformed Churches by the holiest and ablest Christians for an heresie and that paedo-baptisme was never so condemned in any reformed Church but practised and maintained an Ordinance of Jesus Christ under the Gospell and that God ordinarily hath blessed it by making the same effectuall to the comfort and sanctification of the baptized Furthermore they would tell us that denying Baptisme unto Infants of baptized parents is grounded upon an hellish foundation and is the inlet of many hatefull heresies which have been alwayes found with the abettours of this practise though at their first entrance into this trade they have not been so vile and loathsome Yet for the maintaining of this way when opposed by the Churches and Ministers of Christ they have been enforced to hold many grosse and palpable heresies which our Anabaptists will be driven unto though as yet they deny not the doctrine of predestination orginall sinne in Infants the morality of the Christian Sabbath the Person of the Holy Ghost c. I say though as yet they seem to be more tolerable they must be driven unto these and many moe such abominations or else they cannot hold up their trade Finally they would produce many learned authours that have condemned our practice and refuted our tenents which to this day are not answered by any of the contrary party Now for us to make so pitifull a schisme from all the Churches of God and not to refute those that have written against us would argue rather obstinate folly then conscience and zeale And so much for this first Generall THE COVENANTS Plea for INFANTS vindicated Anabaptist A Briefe answer unto Mr WYNNNELS arguments and reasons that hee delivered in publique for to prove the lawfulnesse of Infants Baptisme with propositions annexed Answer A full reply to your answer vindicating the arguments and reasons for paedo-baptisme against your frivolous exceptions with an answer to your annexed propositions Anabaptist First you argue from the difference of state and time of the Pagan Gentiles in the Apostles times and us now under the Gospell For you say that they were such as had their severall country Idols and that they were strangers to the Common-wealth of Israel and without God in the world For answer unto this First we grant that this was the generall state and condition of the Pagan-Gentiles but there were many particular persons as Cornelius and others is the Acts who were men truly fearing God and such as were called out of the state of Paganisme unto the profession of the Gospell and therefore they were not all under Paganisme and yet we doe not find that any of the seed of those persons were baptized but only such that did heare the word and beleeve Act. 10. latter end Answer Well If this were their state in generall that is as much as I require And for particular extraordinary instances they cannot infringe the truth of an ordinary and generall canon However to the point Shew one example that any of the seed of Cornelius or of any Jew or Gentile converted to Christianity were baptized when they were able to answer for themselves and not before and then and not before then the cause is yours Iohn Baptist baptized a world of people And from Iohn Baptist to the end of the Acts was about forty yeares But shew that any one of the posterity of those John baptized or of those the Disciples baptized who were more then those Iohn baptized Jo. 4.12 I say give one example of any one such baptized when growne up and then you speak to the purpose Else give over calling for examples Anabaptist Againe further Admit we grant you that this were the condition of them all in particular as well as in generall yet this would make nothing for your purpose For wee Gentiles are all Generally as bad in our naturall condition as they were and we are such as know not God nay are open and professed enemies to God as well the seed of beleevers as other stand therefore seeing our condition by nature

if nothing how dare they deny the initiall seale of this Covenant unto the children of this Covenant Now many honest-hearted Christians carried away with the faire shew of these men doe not see the high iniquity of this practice 3. The practice of debarring infants of baptized parents from baptisme for the loose lives of their parents is no better than high sacriledge For such children being not Pagans borne out of the Church but Christians borne within the Church and of the holy seed borne I say under the Covenant of Grace are therefore to have as their birth-right that Covenant under which they were borne put under seale unto them For the miscarriage of the parents cannot deprive the children of their portion in Gods Covenant of Grace seeing workes are not the ground of that right of theirs but Gods free grace in Christ and the childe hath as primitive a right unto this Covenant as the parent For the words of the Covenant are I will be they God and the God of thy seed after thee in their generations And therefore however vitious parents are to bee kept backe from the Lords Supper for their reformation yet their infants cannot be kept backe from Baptisme and so put a stop unto the Covenant of Grace where God puts none Fourthly and lastly as this is a new way so it 's grounded upon new-Divinity which none of the orthodox Divines in the Church of England were ever principled in in the Schooles of the Prophets for if that the personall sinne of the immediate parent be a barre against insants baptisme then there are more sins imputed besides the first sinne of Adam but there is no other sinne imputed but onely the first sinne of Adam And thus you see that I am as great an adversary against those whose practises doe any way oppugne the nature of the Covenant of Grace as I am against you For my purpose is to maintaine the quarrell of Gods Covenant against all opposers as 't is my duty and office and I hope my Brethren and Fathers in the Universities and in the Countrey will assoord me their pious ayde and assistance And that all good Christians will beseech God at the Throne of Grace to carry on His owne worke in me and in all that shall endeavour to hold forth the Truth of God unto His people that godly hearts and tender consciences may not bee mis-led by the good words and faire speeches of Satans agents And for you that are carried away into this way of re-baptizing the Lord give you to see where you are And for those of the Separation the Lord shew them wherein they doe exceed for their wayes are not right before the Lord nor justifiable by His Word And now for you to say that you will turne neither to us nor to those of New-England unlesse you see better grounds We must tell you that you must bring better exceptions against the grounds that wee have laid for Paedo-baptisme or else we must conclude that you blaspheme the Name of God in desiring his helpe for to strengthen you in your way Anabaptist Againe you alleadge the qualisications of some men that hold against as which you say are as good as any of the Anabaptists and as loving is one another as any of the other side But this we confesse may be But Sir this doth ill appeare sometimes for there be some of your coate that are ready to bite and devoure one another for a small triste many times and that good men too for which they are too blame Answer To what end I alleaged the qualifications of good men you may see in my fourth reason and what doth all this prove But that good men yea Ministers sometimes have their failings for which you say well they are too blame But what This is one of your expletives to fill up your paper and to make your answerer work Anabaptist Nay you said further that they were as humble as the proudest Anabaptist of them all Now S● you did well to compare the best of your selves to the worst of them For wee account him that is proudest to bee the worst man of them And you compare your humble men with our proud men but we passe by this and take it only to be your mistake in the heat of your expressions and not any way to bee the meaning of your intentions Answer If I said any such thing I was mightily overseen indeed for Anabaptists are all so proud as if each particular strove for the supremacy And I was much mistaken in you also for I thought you had been truly burthened in conscience and would only have alleadged such things as might have tended to the satisfaction of conscience about paedo-baptisme but now I see nothing but scorning and sleighting of what you cannot ●●fell I pray pardon me this mistake too But it should seem that this merry passage is none of the arguments you build your faith upon but passe it by as a null and judge it a mistake in the heat of expressions as wee judge of your baptizing in Severne to bee a null and mistake in the heat of your fiery zeale and therefore you chose so cold a season and so great a river to allay it Anabaptist Further you demand of us where we can bring any example of any Church gathered that did deny Infants Baptisme But we will quickly answer you that we have no example of any Church gathered or ungathered that did baptize their Infants And so your question is frivolous and as you said to us wee returne the like to you where the Holy Ghost hath no tongue wee will have no eare Answer You say no Church gathered or ungathered doth baptize Infants but ere now you speak of reformed Churches and here no Church baptizeth Infants Your meaning is that Baptisme is the forme of a Church and so no Baptisme no Church and Baptisme of Infants is no Baptisme as though you were members of no Church till you were baptized If of no Church then no members of Christ and so dying not to be saved but haply I mistake your meaning You confesse that you can bring no example of any gathered Church in the new Testament that did deny Baptisme unto Infants whose parents were baptized and in the state of Christianity Neither doth the Holy Ghost any where in the new Testament either expressely or by necessary deduction deny Baptisme unto such children And therefore Anabaptists in denying Baptisme unto children of baptized parents are not therein led by the Spirit of God The Holy Ghost speakes expressely that children even of one beleeving parent are Saints 1 Cor. 7.14 and no such thing was predicated of any Gentiles children before faith in Christ put that honour upon them and yet many yea most of them borne in wedlock And Lamb your Master doth acknowledge the married spoken off 1 Cor. 7.14 to bee married nay lawfully married before faith came to make either their marriage

not because the argument is sensuall and groundlesse but because you cannot answer it Moreover I told you that circumcision was the seale of the righteousnesse of faith and that this seale was imprinted on very Infants in their infancy And is this a groundlesse and sensuall argument not worth the answering Alas alas you cannot answer it And therefore for ought you have said or can say my doctrine must stand good and the gates of hell cannot prevaile against it View it over againe and consider it more punctually And then haply you will either be † Hodson an Ambaptist in the city of Glocester growne as light to the head since he was new baptized as he was light in the heart before Hodson-peevish or of another mind And now having made so manly an encounter let us see whether your valour will endure the brunt of the battell Let us heare your killing exceptions against my reasons that I had for paedo-baptisme Reason 1 The first reason for paedo baptisme Anabaptist Because you say that children are holy therefore they may be baptized 1 Cor. 7.14 Now we would know what holinesse you meane Answer I did not say that children are holy that 's too generall but that children of Christian parents are holy And wee therefore say so because the Apostle Paul the pen-man of the Holy Ghost speaks it And so when you aske me what I meane by holinesse in this discourse you demand withall what the Apostle meanes by it for I only relate his words The meaning then of the Apostle is the same as was the meaning of the Prophets when they said that the Iewish Infants were holy because borne under an holy Covenant Iewes by nature and not sinners under the Gentiles So the meaning of the Apostle is that the children of Christians are holy i. e. Christians by nature and birth not sinners of the Pagans unto which Pagans God hath not committed His Oracles nor put them under His seale But goe on and we will follow you Anabaptist If you say an inward holinesse then grace must come successively from parents And so by this rule wee shall make our parents the authors and conveighers of grace and so mightily wrong the Lord Jesus Christ For there is nothing doth make us truly holy but grace for by nature wee are all filthy and corrupt from top to toe and by this ground we draw grace from our parents loynes which to affirme is most grosse and false and no lesse then high blasphemy against the Spirit of God and the Lord Jesus Christ Answer What holinesse we meane you may see in our answer immediately going before But if we should say that it was inward holinesse How doth that inferre that grace must come successively from parents Seeing parents and children doe not derive inward holinesse and grace from one another but as joint-confederates they both derive and draw holinesse from the Covenant of Grace under which they both are For the expresse words of the Covenant are I will be thy God and the God of thy seed jointly as co-partners in the same Covenant And therefore you erre not knowing the Scriptures nor the nature of the Covenant The Sadduces endeavouring to overthrow the doctrine of the Resurrection drew an argument ab absurdo wherein there were more words then matter like the arguments of you and your brethren of the separation Matth. 22.23 28. thinking to puzzle their answerer with multitude of words seeing they wanted weight of argument So you use many words and sport your selves with your owne fancies But as Christ answered the Sadduces that they did erre because they neither knew the Scriptures nor the power of God So say I to you that you therefore erre not knowing the Scriptures nor the Nature of Gods Covenant of free Grace with His people And who wrongs Christ think you You or I You in making the grace of God of lesse extent by the comming of Christ in setting Moses above Christ For Moses allowed Infants of Gods Covenant people the initiall seale in their infancy but Christ denies it unto them if your Divinity will hold Or I in setting Christ above Moses both for clearenesse and extent of grace Now if Moses in his typicall ministration afford unto the Infants of Gods Covenant-people the initiall seale and Christ denies it in His Gospell-ministration then surely the shadow is to bee preferred before the substance And herein you shew your selfe to bee as stout an advocate for the obstinate Jewes agaist Christ as if from them you had received thirty peeces of silver to betray Him But what high blasphemy against the Spirit of God and the Lord Jesus Christ have you found out spray you Oh this namely that children shoul● draw grace from their parents loines● But who a ●irmes this you or ●● If ● then the Apostle affirmes it for ●d only said that children of Christian parents are holy and so saies the A●ostle An● is the Apostle an high blasphemer in saying so But goe on I pray I know you love not to be interrupted in so weighty a case of conscience as this is Anabaptist Againe if this be true then the unbelieving wife is made holy too and shee may be baptized as well as the children although shee be an infidell which is agaist your owne affirmation Answer T is true that children of Christian parents are holy if that be your meaning and upon this ground are to bee baptized as is said in my Sermon-notes But how doth it hence follow that the unbeleeving wife though holy to the beleeving husband is therefore as well to be baptized as the children of the beleeving parent For the Covenant is I will be thy God and the God of thy seed not I will be thy God and the God of thy wife though an infidell It 's one thing to be under an holy use another thing to be under an holy conditition The beleeving party is said to have a sanctified use of the infidell but the infidell is not said to be holy as the children are For such children are not said to bee sactified unto the parents but holy in themselves by reason of the holy Covenant under which they were borne as children of a parent in Covenant with God and joint-confederates In the originall the unbeleeving party is said to bee holy not to but in the beleeving party Not that one of them absolutely considered were sanctified in another for wee are sanctified only in the Lord Jesus Christ but as considered in the relation of husband and wife in lawfull matrimony so the infidell party is sanctified in the beleeving party for conjugall society and for raising up of an holy seed unto God And if you can but look into the originall and consider the scope of the place you cannot but suffrage with me But goe on Anabaptist But you say it is such an holinesse as hath the promises of the Kingdome of heaven If so then thus we affirme

holinesse of the children spoken of here can be no other but that which is opposed to bastardy Here this wise man maintains the contradictory of your opposites conclusion He saies that the holines of the children doth not arise from that one parent was a beleever But how proves be this Surely testimonium dicentis is full en●ugh he being a man of such an infallible a spirit that a bare I say must serve your turne But whence then doth this holinesse arise From this saies he that the unbeleever was sanctified to or by the beleever Very good because the unbeleever was sanctified to the beleever therefore the children of such were holy And why was the unbeliever sanctified to the believer Was it not because hee was a beleever and so made pure by faith and then unto the pure all things are pure Tit. 1.15 Now then because hee was a believer therefore the infidell was sanctified to him for conjugall societie and because the infidell was sanctified to the beleever for conjugall societie therefore the children of such were holy and so by necessary consequence because one of the parents was a beleever therefore the children were holy Faith made the conjugall societie holy the holy conjugall society made the children holy and therefore faith made the children holy Quest But how can the faith of the parent make the children holy Answ Surely not by infusing of sanctifying grace into the children but by putting the parent into Christ Now faith puts the parent into Christ and Christ puts the parent so put into Him into the Covenant of grace and the Covenant of grace is I will be thy God and the God of thy seed and hence is it that the children of such parents are holy namely because of the holy Covenant And therefore the holinesse spoken off here may be and is somewhat else then that which is opposed to bastardy namely the holinesse of the Covenant which the saith of the parent puts him into for himse●fe and his seed For Goodman-Cocks-combe how can the children of those be bastards that are lawfully married But you acknowledge that the parents of the holy children here spoken off were lawfully married before you meane while in the state of infidels And therefore it must be the holinesse of the Covenant of grace which the faith of the parent put himselfe and his children under But you say in the last paragraph of your letter to your Disciples that Infants were in the Covenant legally but not Evangelically and that when the law ceased this being in Covenant ceased with it But for so saying you deserve a pillory not a Pulpit You might be better imployed in looking to your Sope or Candles then in filling mens heads with such hellish notions If this be your care and diligence that you shew for your Disciples as you say in your foresaid letter you may sit still The devill himselfe can shew such care and diligence fast enough But how prove you that childrens being in Covenant with their parents is now ceased under the Gospell You say so And your I say must stand as an Oracle with such as are willing to be seduced by you And personall faith in your sense is no more requisite to the being of Infants in Covenant with their parents under the Gospell then under the law For it 's the same Covenant of free grace in Jesus Christ now as then And thus for ought I see your master and you are in hot emulation who shall excell in speaking of non sense And yet you are so confident of the truth of your cause that had you a 1000. lives you would lay them all downe for the confirmation of the same Stout words But should you lay downe that one you have for it it would bee judged rather madnes then martyrdome and you not a Martyr but a mad-man in so doing And truly if you can say no more for your cause give over writing and take Physick Talke no more of your conscience but see your folly Now say on Anabaptist For we have examples in Scripture where children that are borne of two parents that were lawfully yoked together were called to bee holy and a godly seed by birth As for instance Mal. 2. Ezra Levit. and other examples Answer The meer being of the two parents lawfully yoked together is not sufficient to denominate the children of such parents holy by birth but their being within the holy Covenant The Covenant under which the parents are is the cause why the children of such are holy by birth and so called by the Spirit of God in the Scripture and for that reason only And those very instances where you find them in the old Testament where children are said to be holy will cut the throat of your owne cause for you cannot shew that the Scripture doth so much as once call the children of the Gentiles and Pagans an holy seed as is doth the children of the Church The holy Covenant of God I say under which the parent or parents is or are is the onely cause why the Scriptures terme children holy And I challenge you to bring me one instance where children of parents are said to be holy for any other reason Anabaptist Againe we doe not find any warrant in Scripture for to give the seales of the Covenant of grace upon imputed holinesse but upon personall holinesse and confession Acts 16. Mat. 3. Mark 1. For the signe of circumcision was not given by vertue of any imputed holinesse in the child that it did draw from the parents but by vertue of Gods Commission unto Abraham that he gave him for to circumcise his seed and so ought the seale of Baptisme to be given by vertue of Christs Commission and not by vertue of any holinesse that is imputed unto the child Answer By imputed holinesse I conceive your meaning to be imputative righteousnesse And by personall holinesse inherent righteousnesse or holinesse in a mans personall practice and confession And by seales the initiall seales of Gods Covenant Now I finde the initiall seale of the Covenant of grace to be given upon the ground of imputative righteousnesse for the righteousnesse of faith is imputative righteousnesse but I find it to be administred upon this ground and therefore upon the ground of imputative righteousnesse And circumcision unto the Infants of the Jewes was a seale of righteousnesse but not of righteousnesse in their personall practice and confession and therefore of imputative righteousnesse And thus I have brought unto your hand what you could not finde And then for your instances Act. 16. Matth. 3. Mark 1. they will not serve to help you For the matter in controversie is whether children of parents already in the state of Christianity bee to bee baptized in their infancy or no And now you bring instances of such whose parents were not in the state of Christianity which is a quite contrary case But prove by Scripture that the children of the

that succeeding Churches must not look for like And whereas you intimate that the Apostles were to teach all nations to follow their practice in teaching the persons to be baptized before they admit them to Baptisine herein you utter strange confusion For all that you can conclude from the 20. verse of Matth. 28. which is teaching them to observe whatsoever I command you redoundes only to this viz. Teach them to observe whatsoever I command you to teach them but not to this viz. Teach them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you to doe in your extraordinary and Apostolicall ministration that command them to doe in their ordinary and pastorall ministration And yet your strict urging of the letter will necessarily redound to this and so every ordinary Minister must plant foundations have an unerring spirit deliver a new canon of divine faith and worship and confirme their doctrine by miracles And thus you see how for want of distinguishing you bring your selves into straights and puzzle the simple which cannot discerne the depths of Satan in you And whereas you intimate that the cause of Anabaptists is the cause of Christ you therein speak blasphemy for your cause is the cause of the divell and not the cause of Christ And you corrupt and adulterate every text of Scripture that you alleadge for the maintenance of your tenents which is not a note of Christs Disciples but a character of the devills factours Anabaptist Further you affirmed in your first Sermon that whatsoever was set up as an ordinance in the worship of God must have its warrant from Christ so say we and close with you but the baptizing of Infants hath no expresse warrant from Christ therefore may not be set up as an ordinance Answer Your whole trade lies in shifting and shuffling and I think you as well understand what I said as your A. R. understands Greek But as that Grammarlesse Asse would wipe off a just aspersion that is cast upon you as if no Scholler would countenance your cause or makes a great flourish with his Greek and yet scarce ever learned his Greek Alphabet so you make a great flourish with your Commission and warrant as if in the name of Christ you would convent the whole world before your tribunall and every truth that Ministers doe utter must speak the language of an Anabaptist What if I affirmed that whatsoever was to bee set up as an ordinance in the worship of God must have its warrant from Christ Doth this warrant your inference viz. Baptizing of Infants hath no expresse warrant from Christ therefore no warrant from Christ at all Your speech implies as if you could not deny but that there is warrant from Christ for baptizing of Infants of Christians but you would shift off the matter by calling for an expresse warrant I thought that a generall proposition had been enough to warrant its particulars As every man is a reasonable creature ergò an Anabaptist is a reasonable creature But haply though the Antecedent be true yet the consequent will not hold So likewise all the children of the Church are baptized or to bee baptized ergò Infants of baptized parents are baptized or to be baptized This consequence will hold with all reasonable men but not with Anabaptists ergo Anabaptists are no reasonable men And thus in all your discourses you doe nothing but toye and bassle However I think your disputations to be as good as your preaching and farre more warrantable I said that in that all power is given unto Christ by vertue of His glorious resurrection therefore wee are to set Him up as the Lord of our faith and as our King and Law-giver and so yeeld unto Him divine worship and honour obeying Him in all things that Hee shall say unto us And all this is wholesome and good but how well this doth warrant your inference let all men judge Anabaptist If you aske what become of Infants in the state of infancy if they dye before Baptisme which is a question that many doe aske and therefore we thought good to answer it thus That we must commend them to Gods free election and extraordinary meanes of salvation For a child is not capable of the ordinary dinary meanes as the world and Sacraments Now the Apostle saith that faith comes by hearing and an Infant is not capable of hearing so as to understand the word and so consequently not of faith wrought by the ordinary meanes and without faith wee cannot please God neither can wee bee saved So then by the ordinary meanes that God hath appointed to bring men to salvation we cannot judge Infants by this meanes to be saved But children are and may bee saved and therefore wee leave them to Gods extraordinary meanes to bring them to heaven Answer Here you look upon me as a man confuted in all his tenents and standing almost mute and having but a question or two to propound unto his antagonist even ready to subscribe unto the contradictories of his owne conclusions You have sate in Commission upon me and found matters very foule on my side By sound evidences of Scripture and demonstrative reasons you have answered all my arguments and more you would if I had alleadged them And now to prevent future scruples that might arise in my conscience and to confirme me in your expresse way of pious sacriledge you assoile another doubt which might deterre weak consciences from your Apostolicall practice The question which here you unanswerably resolve and which many have propounded unto you is what becomes of Infants that dye unbaptized And here you answer that wee must commend such Infants to Gods free election and extraordinary meanes of salvation And your reason for this is very pregnant namely because such children are not capable of the ordinary meanes Well you say that such children are saved by Gods free election as the cause And for the meanes they are extraordinary But what those extraordinary meanes are wee are as farre to seek as if you had said nothing I thought they had been saved by Christ and the spirit of grace as the internall ordinary meanes of salvation appointed of the Father for the salvation of His elect But I pray are such Infants as you speak off saved by regeneration or without regeneration If without regeneration such Infants are saved and goe to heaven then flesh and blood may enter into the Kingdome of heaven persons without regenerating grace and so persons in their natural estate may be glorified among the Saints in light If by regeneration then children are capable of regeneration in their infancy and often are regenerated in their infancie for they often die in their infancie and goe to heaven by your owne confession Now if they are capable of regeneration in their infancie then they are capable of Baptisme the seale of regeneration in their infancie And hence I forme this enthymeme viz. Children of baptized parents are regenerable in their infancie