of works a poor creature truly interessed in that covenant might break it forfeit his interest and be cast out and rejected out of that covenant from amongst his people as is clearly confirmed in Isaiah 50.1 Thus saith the Lord where is the Bill of your Mothers Divorcement which I have put away or to which of my Creditors have I sold you behold for your iniquities have you sold your selves and for your transgressions is your Mother put away Now beloved a divorce argues a breach and forfeiting the covenant which the body of all Israel was in and we know all along the National covenant was that of Circumcision and they that know in the least measure the nature of the covenant of Grace cannot but know it to be such a covenant out of which a soul cannot be divorced from the Lord. But some may say There are many that are visibly in a covenant of Grace now under the Gospel and yet may be cast out from Gods people yet it followeth not but that it is a covenant of Grace and so then they might be visibly in a covenant of Grace and yet be rejected Answ Persons may now profess to be in Christ and so in a covenant of Grace by an outward profession but this being barely a profession and not in truth in them that profess the same they profess they were in that which in truth they never were For under the Gospel we have no infallible rule to know who is in the covenant of Grace and who not because we have only the confession of themselves who may deceive themselves and us But we have an infallible Rule to judge That Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the seed forward in their Loins or their generations were in this covenant of Circumcision and therefore it is a great mistake for any to evade what hath been said upon such a groundless objection Now consider That it is that great and faithful God that saith and professeth Abrabam his seed and family after him from Jacob forward were in this covenant with him But now it is only poor unfaithful Man hypocritical dissembling proud man that saith he is in the Covenant of life when it proves not so or when it visibly proves the contrary for Saints have a Rule to disown such But this is a most certain truth that God did never put a soul away and make a divorce between himself and any one Soul in a covenant of life and it is as certain that the whole Church of Israel were in reality and truth in the covenant of Circumcision as appears in Gen. 17.10 11. where Abraham and those born in his house are to be circumcised And so Psalm 105.9 10.11 which covenant he made with Abraham and his oath with Isaac and confirmed the same to Jacob by a Law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant saying Vnto thee have I given the Land of Canaan the Lot of your inheritance Now it would plentifully appear if further proof needed That God his own self testifyeth his making and entering into covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob and their seed forward therefore let no man please himself with such a poor groundless objection That the family of Israel were only visibly or in the judgement of Charity in the covenant of Circumcision as Hypocrites are now in the Covenant of Grace For there is nothing more clear than this that Israel were in truth and reality in the covenant of Circumcision expressed by the Mouth of God himself and nothing more certain that Israel were never all of them so much visibly in the covenant of grace For if it were necessary I could multiply places of Scripture to prove the most part of Israel visibly unbelievers living in those manifest fruits of the flesh as Drunkenness Swearing Lying Whoring Stealing Covetousness and palpable Ignorance without faith and knowledge shedding of blood All these notorious sins were constantly in the greatest part of the Church of Israel that they neighed as fed Horses after their Neighbours wives and were given to oppression and horrid Idolatrie All these sins being such manifest fruits of the flesh that such as live in them the Apostle saith cannot enter into the Kingdom of Christ and of God but are visibly the children of the Devil Therefore to say the whole body of Israel were visibly godly and so visibly in the covenant of Grace that is a most gross mistake they were really in the outward National covenant of Circumcision but not the generality so much as visibly in the Gospel covenant of life For it could not be denyed but that those Jews in the 8. chapter of John verse 30. and so forward were Abrahams children interessed in the covenant of works yet Christ is far from concluding their right to the covenant of Sonship the heavenly adoption but rather in that respect concludeth They are of their Father the Devil whose works they did they being Lyars as he was from the beginning and enemies to Christ as the Devil was therefore he excludes them from being the children of God so that the main mass of blindness and darkness lying upon mens minds is this they mix and confound the two covenants made to Abraham the one a spiritual heavenly covenant made to him as a Father of the faithful and to those only who walk in the steps of faithful Abraham and the temporal covenant of Circumcision to the seed according to the flesh frō Jacob forward and those joining themselves to that family So then in a word the covenant of Circumcision must needs be a covenant of works and not of eternal life because it might be broken which the covenant of eternal life cannot be 7. Argument to prove Circumcision a Covenant of works The seventh ground to prove the covenant of Circumcision not to be a covenant of Grace is That if we maintain the covenant of Circumcision to be a covenant of Grace to eternal life therein we overthrow many fundamental points of Religion which is a strong ground to prove it is not of Grace but an outward typical covenant For it is impossible that such understanding of Scripture which crosseth plain fundamental points of religion can be true Now for to give you some example for this First you must needs confess that the covenant of Circumcision was made to Abraham and his seed after him in their generations Gen. 17.7 from Isaac and Jacob forward So that being born in the house or Family of Israel or being bought with the money of one of the Israelites interessed a person in that covenant he coming forth of that line was born heir to that covenant and the privileges of the same Now consider To say that the covenant of Grace is entailed on the flesh overthroweth the main fundamental points of our Religion That the chief and precious privileges of the covenant of grace are adoption or Son-ship Justification and the inward work of sanctification all which privileges
is grounded upon an error and a mistake taking for granted that a man may be a believer and in a state of grace and yet void of spiritual power to perform obedience to the Commands of God and that a man that is a Christian may know such a thing to be a Command of God and yet left without ability to perform obedience to the same I judge this is a dangerous error and contrary to Scripture For God doth at the very first conversion put his Law in the heart of his child as in Heb. 8.10 and as in Ezek. 36.26 27. God is said to put his Spirit in them to that end to cause them to walk in his waies therefore in some measure doubtless God doth give his people power to obey him as in Ezekiel 11.19 20. I will give them one heart and I will put a new Spirit within them and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and I will give them an heart of flesh that they may walk in my Statutes and keep my Ordinances and do them and they shall be my people and I will be their God Whence you may observe That Gods main drift in making his Covenant and giving his Spirit into the hearts of his people is that they may keep his Ordinances and be able to walk in his waies Therefore at the first Conversion of Paul God puts in him a disposition to obedience for saith he Lord what wouldst thou have me to do in Acts 9. and so in Acts 2.37 when they through the belief of Peters Sermon were pricked at the heart they cryed out Men and Brethren what shall we do So you see there was a disposition of heart in their first Conversion to be doing what God should command and teach them to be his will So we find God gives them power to submit as soon as his will was revealed for if not so we should lay an aspersion upon God that he should enter into a covenant with a Soul by way of engagement and yet neglect to make good his promise which is to put his Spirit in him and to cause him to walk in his waies And again further God gives to every believer the power of believing by virtue of which he is enabled to fetch virtue from Christ his head to strengthen him to duty and to resist sin therefore the Apostle thus reasons in the 2 Cor. 7.1 â— Dearly Beloved seeing you have these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of God Whence observe the Apostle takes for granted the soul having great and precious promises and faith to draw virtue from them should thereby oppose sin and perfect holiness in the fear of God For though it is true God works to will and to do of his good pleasure yet it is constantly and unfailingly his good pleasure thus to work more or less in a soul that is in him thus by faith And a believer by faith ought to look at himself in a capacity to draw Water out of those Wells of salvation for else what difference between a child of God and a wicked man the form of godliness and the power if a child of God must be forced to live in a course of disobedience to the solemn worship of God for want of power to obey And by the same rule we must take for granted that a child of God may be in a state of Grace and want power to resist sin and upon this ground plead excuse for drunkenness and covetousness and theft or uncleanness and say though he is a believer yet he wants power to resist and conquer these sins Beloved thus for any to plead would be very absurd and contrary to the truth and the nature of a Christian in a state of grace And further observe the deceit lying in this objection Hath not God given thy soul power to hear the word of God and to read and to meditate and to pray and that some times earnestly and fervently to God and is it likely that there wants power to perform obedience to this Ordinance of baptism any more than thou doest perform prayer or other duties which require the same spiritual power upon due examination what enabling power is required in the one more than in the other Again consider thou dost in this walk by sense and not by faith contrary to the Apostle 2 Cor. 5. who saith We walk by faith not by sight it is a very childish thing in a Christian to walk by sense only when he feels strength and power sensibly then he thinks himself able to perform duty and resist sin but when he feels not ability and power then to neglect it Whereas contrary to this Christ saith to Paul in the 2 Cor. 12. My power shall be made perfect in your weakness my grace shall be sufficient for you and as after Paul expresseth himself When I am weak then am I strong When Paul was made most sensible of his own weakness in himself then was the time for Paul to be made most strong by Faith in the strength of another Therefore in Isaiah 45.24 In thee Lord have I righteousness and strength In him shall they boast And the Psalmist saith in Psalm 73 â—4 Though my heart fail and flesh fail yet God will never fail he is the strength of my life and my portion for ever So that when in a mans own sense his heart fails his flesh fails then is the only time for God strength to appear in his weakness this is the way of living by faith and the way which Gods believing children have been carryed therefore we find Jonah when in his own sense he was cast out of Gods sight then he resolved to look towards Gods holy Temple and cryed to God out of the belly of Hell as in Jonah 2. therefore surely this objection hath no weight in it Object But some other soul may say I grant the practice of baptism to be an Ordinance of God and the way of such Churches that walk under the baptism of believers to be that only justifiable practice in the Gospel and could willingly walk with them and be baptized were it not for their rigidness in that they will have no Communion with any though godly that are not baptized Answ To this I answer by way of distinction between Church-union and Communion and personal Union and Communion Now if we find a soul not baptized nor joined to any Church and happily ignorant of baptism yet if I have ground in my own heart to judge that soul to be godly and not an enemy to the truth and Gospel of Christ but a soul willing to hear and learn what truth God shall further reveal unto him and so having ground to judge such a soul to have union and personal communion with the Lord in such a case I ought to immitate the Lord in owning a Communion with such a Christian in
THE Doctrine of Baptism And the Distinction of the COVENANTS OR A Plain Treatise wherein the four Essentials of BAPTISM Viz. 1. Who is a Lawfull Minister thereof 2. What is the true Form thereof 3. Into whose name it is to be administred 4. Who is a fit Subject thereof Are diligently handled As also the business of the two Covenants wherein is proved that the Covenant of life is not made to the seed of Believers as coming out of their Loins and therefore that the baptism of Infants is drawn from thence by a false Consequence By THOMAS PATIENT a Laborer in the Church of Christ at DUBLIN Acts 22 16. And now why tarriest thou Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins calling one the name of the Lord. Ephes 2.12 Being aliens from the Common wealth of Israel and strangers to the Covenants of promise John 3.5.6 Jesus answered verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God For that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit London Printed by Henry Hills and are to be sold at his house at Sir John Old Castles in Py-corner 1654. The Epistle to the Christian Reader to whom the Author wisheth all grace and peace from God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. THere being but a small moment of time from the Lord alotted to men in this life to run that Christian race set before them And considering what Christ saith That whilest it is day we ought to work for the night commeth when no man can work And further considering that Christ Jesus is gone to fetch a Kingdom and to return having left his Servants several Talents to be accounted for at his comming when every mans reward or punishment shall be according to his works which ought to provoke and stir up every Christian to a consciencious and carefull improvement of his strength for Gods glory and the service of his generation in this pilgrimage These among many other motives prevailed with me to present this Treatise to thy view being also pressed thereunto by many of Gods People formerly in England and of late in Ireland who have heard me upon the same Subject deliver the substance of what is herein conteined both in England and in Ireland Beloved Reader I know the World is filled with many Books stuffed with very much of mans wisdome which though the Apostle saith is enmity against God yet we find such discourses most pleasing to the carnal hearts of men in our age Therefore if that be the thing that thy itching ears do thirst after thou maiest spare thy self that labour for thou wilt finde that with as much simplicity and plainness as possibly I could I have herein given out by clear Scripture-evidence what the Lord hath made known to me For the clearing of this weighty point which God by his mighty power hath subjected my heart to believe the which formerly by reason of my ignorance and error I was much averse unto For after it pleased God to reveal his Son in me and to work a change in my heart the great and weighty thing that God presented to me was to make my calling and election sure which I found to be a work filled with many difficulties considering how far Hypocrites might attain in the profession of godliness and that they might come to have the counterfeit of all the Grace in the Child of God And this the rather appeared more difficult because I found my own heart so desperately wicked and full of deceit as Jerem. 17.9 and also found the wiles and subtilties of the Devil to be various and I constantly under several temptations and deep desertions when God though for a little season withdrew himself and the light of his countenance from me At which time I judged it my onely thing necessary to prove whether CHRIST were in me and my faith right as also my sincerity to the Lord. At which time I found but little settled rest or peace till the Lord had put that great question out of doubt in giving me a sure and well grounded confidence of my interest in him till which time I found little disposition to search narrowly into other truths which I then thought to be too remote for me to exercise my self in having received so much spiritual benefit in communing with God and mine own heart and searching out the difference betwixt the speaking of Gods Spirit my own spirit and the spitit of Satan But when I came to some good measure of settlement in my confident and well grounded hopes that I was the Lords then presently was I tempted touching the main and material fundamental points in Religion Which temptations as they were a great cause of trouble and restlesness in my soul so they occasioned me with great eagerness night and day in use of the best means God presented to me to seek satisfaction in the same at which time the Lord did carry on my soul with much vehemency after him so with much unweariedness For usually as one case and weighty question was answered to my satisfaction and comfort another was stated in my soul too hard for me in which experiences I for many years was exercised with all in which time I was ignorant of the true way which Christ would have his people to walk in But presently being convinced of the unwarrantableness of the Government of the Lordly Prelates and the Liturgy in the Church of England and the mixed Communions in the Parish Assemblies I was resolved God willing to examine all Religion as well in worship and the order of Gods house as I had done in other points But I at this time being by the divine power of God converted from the Church of England though with a great deal of difficulty being well furnished with arguments from Pulpit and Print and divers able Disputants for the defence of that false way but God breaking in by the power of his Spirit with clear Scripture-light subjected my heart to the obedience of the truth so that I found my heart closing with those truths in the love thereof At this time many godly Christians going to New England and being come up in my judgment to the way of New England in Faith and order went over thither being not convinced of my error and great darkness in sprinkling the carnal seed of Believers But verily I thought I had good warrant for that practise having then in substance the same grounds for the defence thereof that generally to this day is urged for the same Yet having in my heart so clear a light discovering how shamefully in many things I had been deluded and that by those which I could not but have charity to think were the Lords own Servants and finding the danger of receiving truths by Tradition was resolved to examine that point of Baptism And so I
that generation must needs be born heirs to if they were born heirs of a covenant of grace which if this should be asserted as it is by those who defend childrens baptism Then this fundamental point of Religion must needs be denyed that all mankind are by nature the children of wrath Ephes 2.2 and that all both Jews and Gentiles are charged under sin Rom. 3.9 And there is none righteous no not one But be it known to you this is a fundamental doctrine of truth generally acknowledged by all the godly That we are dead in sins and trespasses wherein in times past we walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom also we had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh and of the mind and were children of wrath by nature as well as others Now the Apostle Paul affirmeth this to be equally the state of himself who was born in the Church of Israel as well as the Gentiles and David doth affirm this of all in general Psalm 14.2 3. which the Apostle Paul urgeth in Rom. 3.9 forwards speaking of himself and the rest of the National Churches of the Jews What are we saith he better than they meaning than the Gentiles No in no wise for we have before proved that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin as it written there is none righteous no not one there is none that understandeth there is none that seeketh after God they are all gone out of the way they are together become abominable there is none that doth good no not one And in Psalm 51. David saith I was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity who was a child of the Church of God as it is usually termed But beloved this doctrine is clear in Scripture and clearly experienced by every Godly Christian which truth must needs be overthrown if the whole body of Israel were born adopted Sons and heirs of a covenant of eternal life born heirs of Justification then they were never heirs of wrath nor in a state of damnation nor never proved nor charged under sin nor never all unrighteous because born heirs of a covenant of Grace aad of righteousness nor never born dead in sins and trespasses for that is inconsistent with being in a covenant of grace and life This opinion of holding the covenant of grace to be intailed in the flesh opposing it self so directly against this forementioned foundation of Religion must needs be a gross error so considered The second fundamental point of Religion that this error opposeth it self against is stability in a covenant of eternal life it cannot be imagined that I should much insist upon proving this Doctrine of stability in grace to be a fundamental truth I shall take that for granted from the nature of the new covenant in several Scriptures before recited as in Psalm 125. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion which cannot be removed but as the Mountains are round about Jerusalem so shall the Lord be about them from this time forth and for ever And in Psal 89.33 If thy children sin I will afflict them with the rods of men but my loving kindness will I not utterly take from them nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my mouth But taking this for granted to be a truth that all born in the Church of the Jews were born heirs of his stable Covenant and so were really and in truth in the covenant of grace then most of the Church of Israel that were in a covenant of grace were damned and not saved as Isaiah 10.22 23. Though Israel were as the sand of the Sea yet a Remnant of them were saved only And so Isaiah with Rom. 9.27 28 31. But Israel which followed after the Law of righteousness hath not obtained to the Law of righteousness Paul saith Rom. 11.5 There was a Remnant according to the election of grace and in verse 7. how they obtained it but the rest were hardened all but the remnant were blinded and hardened Therefore if such multitudes as the sand of the Sea were all really in a covenant of grace most of them must be understood to fall out of the covenant and so to fall out of the covenant of life This is another fundamental truth that this opinion is fully against defending that souls may be truly in a covenant of eternal life and yet perish and be damned The third foundation that this error overthrows is The necessity of Conversion or Regeneration which doctrine is eminently confirmed by Christ in the Gospel as a fundamental truth John 3.4 5. where Christ speaking to Nichodemus tells him th except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God And likewise in John 8.24 Except ye believe that I am he ye shall dy in your sins And John 3. two last verses He that believeth not the wrath of God abideth on him and he shall not see life The before mentioned errors that holds a covenant of life running in the flesh upon the carnal seed opposeth it self against this for might the carnal seed of Israel say to Christ why do you preach such a doctrine to us That except you be born again you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven We affirm the contrary seeing by the first birth we have an interest in the covenant of grace and eternal life already without believing and being born again and so are entered into the Kingdom of God and the privileges thereof Whereas you say That except you believe that I am he you shall dy in your sins why doth Christ pronounce death without believing seeing we are acquainted with another way to enter into life than the way of believing which is to be begotten of one of the church or a believer We find the Holy Ghost in the 1 John 5. saith He that hath Christ hath life he that hath not Christ hath not life No saith this error there were thousands that were interessed in life without having Christ that is to say by carnal generation Saith the Apostle There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved but by the name of Jesus Yea saith this error There is another name by which we may come into a covenant of eternal life and so to be saved so that here lies the case where Christ in the Gospel powerfully affirms no other way to life but by believing regeneration and coming to Jesus Christ This opinion destroys all these testimonies opening another door of entrance into the covenant of life besides this and that by fleshly generation though Christ saith to Nicodemus Joh. 3. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit as if souls were
infatuated and had no ears to hear his plain word They of this opinion do defend the contrary to what purpose should any man seek the conversion of any of Believers children whether formerly of the nation of the Jews or now the nations of the believing Gentiles seeing they are born heirs of a covenant of eternal life and so are in as good a state without conversion and believing and being born again as any other soul by believing and by new birth can be brought into This doctrine tends to justify the Rebellious Jews against John Baptist and against Christ the Sadduces and Pharisees came to Johns Baptism Matthew 3. Saith John O ye Generation of Vipers who hath forwarned you to fly from the wrath to come bring for 〈◊〉 fruits meet for repentance and think not to say within your selves we have Abraham to our Father John you see would have this people to be converted to intitle them to this covenant of Grace and so to baptism which is an Ordinance of the same covenant and not so much as think so erroneously as if being children to Abraham according to the flesh should intitle them to the same therefore saith he think not within your selves we have Abraham to our Father and we are his children according to the flesh and therefore we need not a work of conversion or true Repentance to intitle us to the privileges of the covenant such as was baptism And also in John 8.31 and forwards saith Christ unto some Jews unto whom he spake If you abide in my words then are you my Disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free and then you shall be free indeed They answered him We be Abrahams children and never were in bondage to any How sayest thou then We shall be made free Where you may observe these wicked obstinate Jews were of the same opinion that they were in a state of happiness good enough by generation by being Abrahams seed according to the flesh Jesus answereth Who so committeth sin is the servant of sin and the Servant abideth not in the house for ever We find Christ afterwards tells these Sons of Abraham that they were so far from being the adopted sons of God in a covenant of life that they were of their Father the Devil and these same persons Christ speaks to in verse the 24. telling them Except they believed Christ was he they should dy in their sins Christ was far from this opinion as to think that covenant of Circumcision to be a covenant of life but he doth throughly reprehend them for this groundless confidence which error was the main obstacle that hindered the Jews from faith and repentance because they thought it intituled them to happiness enough to be of the stock of Abraham and to be born heirs of the covenant of Circumcision This very rotten opinion was to them one of the Devils sleights to lull them asleep in a carnal and unconverted condition they thought that needed not which thought of theirs had been true enough provided all the children of Abraham had by generation interest in the covenant of life which other men could have no interest in without regeneration But Christ you see presseth a necessity of conversion to these children of Abraham that at the present were as fully interessed in the covenant of Circumcision as Abraham himself even to Nicodemus which was a Ruler of the Jews Christ presseth a necessity thereof to him and also labours by a parable in Luke 16. to convince those sottish Jews that one might be the seed of Abraham according to the flesh and yet be irrecoverably damned and therefore he brings in the rich man in Hell speaking thus Father Abraham I pray thee send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue And Abraham is brought in owning him to be his Son speaking thus My Son remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things Where you may observe That the man in Hell irrecoverably damned owns Abraham to be his Father and Abraham also doth acknowledge him to be his Son My Son saith Abraham where you clearly see man may be a Son of Abraham and yet damned thou hadst thy good things in this life but Lazarus his evil things Ezekiel 18.9 10. where a just man is presupposed to beget a son that is a Robber and a Shedder of blood and that goes out in all manner of wickedness and that in Israel Wherein observe Abraham owns no other privilege belonged to the rich man by virtue of being the Son of Abraham but what was in this life or in this world Hell was his best portion in the world to come which if he had been born heir to the covenant of life how then could Abrahams affirmation have been true Beloved Let all ingenuous Spirits that are not willing to walk blind-fold consider how contrary to the whole tenor of the Gospel this opinion is and how destructive to this fundamental principle of the Gospel the necessity of Christ of Regeneration and destroys all sense of the necessity of conversion and helps to harden men to destruction as it did the blind Jews who as it appears were fully blinded in the receipt of that opinion that being Abrahams seed according to the flesh interessed them in happiness and eternal life Fourthly This opinion destroys the doctrine of the new covenant and the nature of it and the manner of Gods making of it with the soul for to make a new covenant with the soul is to write the Law of God in a mans heart and in his mind and to infuse saving knowledge and faith by which God unites the soul to himself and so pardons all his sins and without any condition considered in the creature binds over himself to be their God freely in Christ and binds over himself to own them to be his people And only thus and no otherwise is God said to make his new covenant with a poor soul Whereas this dream would seem to bear you in hand that a whole nation may be in a new covenant and have it made with them and yet have none of all this work wrought in their hearts Fifthly This opinion destroys the doctrine of Justification by faith in Christ only seeing that it doth hold out another way than by faith to come to Justification which is by carnal birth of beleeving parents for if a soul be admitted into a Covenant of life I hope you are not ignorant that Justification is a great privilege in the new covenant and really the portion of all that are in that covenant Sixthly This opinion destroys the Doctrine and foundation of all Gospel Churches where it is held which will appear by two things First It destroys the matter of the Church you know that this is a fundamental truth that the matter of the Church ought now under the Gospel to be Saints by calling 1 Cor. 1.2 Spiritual