ADVERTISEMENT A Confession of Faith put forth by the Elders and Brethren of many Congregations of Christians Baptized upon Profession of their Faith in London and the Country With an Appendix concerning Baptism Printed for John Harris at the Harrow against the Church in the Poultrey 1690. Price bound 1 s. Page 10 line 12 read of a Title for Baptism to them A Solemn Call Unto all that would be owned as Christ's Faithful Witnesses speedily and seriously to attend unto the Primitive Purity of the Gospel Doctrine and Worship Or a Discourse concerning BAPTISM WHEREIN That of Infants is Disproved as having no Footing nor Foundation at all in the Word of GOD. By way of Answer to the Arguments made use of by Mr. William Allen Mr. Sidenham Mr. Baxter Dr. Burthogge and others for the Support of that Practice Wherein the Covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai Exod. 20. That in the Land of Moab Deut. 29. As also the Covenant of Circumcision made with Abraham Gen. 17. 7 8 9. Whereon so much stress is laid for the Support of Infants Baptism are plainly proved to be no other than three several Editions of the Covenant of Works And consequently that no just Argument can thence be deduced for the Justification of that Practice Together with a Description of that truly Evangelical Covenant GOD was pleased to make with Believing Abraham containing the Sum of the Everlasting Gospel then Preached unto him since Proclaimed by the Apostles and which now remains to be yet further Published unto every Nation Kindred Tongue and People for the Obedience of Faith By Philip Cary a Lover of Truth and Peace LONDON Printed for John Harris at the Sign of the Harrow in the Poultrey over against the Church M.DCXC TO THE READER VVE are doubtless brought forth in a Day to which many Glorious Prophecies contained in the Holy Scriptures have a special reference amongst others that which is recorded Dan. 12. 4. Many shall run to and fro and Knowledg shall be increased Antichristian Darkness hath so covered the European Nations for many Hundreds of Years that the Truths and Ordinances of Christ were generally Corrupted and Obscured till our Blessed Reformers Luther Calvin c. were raised up in some good measure to detect the corruptions of Antichrist and to bring to Light that blessed Doctrine of Justification by Faith in the Blood of Christ with several other Truths of great Importance And since that God has been pleased to raise up many Learned Men namely Dr. Ames Mr. Ainsworth and Dr. Owen with others who have Learnedly and with much clearness and strength of Argument made it appear that a true Gospel visible Church is to consist only of such as are Saints by Profession and who give up themselves to the Lord and one to onother by Solemn Agreement to practise the Ordinances of Christ And now of latter Years the Lord hath been pleased to raise up some worthy and learned Men to detect the vanity of Infant Baptism who by solid Arguments have made the unlawfulness thereof appear The main Arguments that are made use of by Paedobaptists for the support of their Practice herein are taken from the Covenant with Abraham Gen. 17. 2 3 4 c. Some of themselves confessing That Arguments taken from the Baptizing of whole Families from Christ's blessing little Children and from 1 Cor. 7 14. have no weight in them And as for those Arguments which are taken from the Covenant made with Abraham above-mentioned several of our Learned Authors have thorowly examined and sufficiently answered Notwithstanding we cannot without Injury to Truth omit to reccommend the Labours of this our worthy Brother who having had the advantage of other Men's Writings that have gone before him and so standing on their Shoulders may see further than they did Yet he hath some Nations of so rare a Nature that he is not beholding to any other for them but only to his own studiousness and dexterity and the Blessing of God upon his Labours We freely acknowledge that many Learned and Holy Men whom we much Honour do differ from us in the point of Baptism yet we must not let go any Truth of God for their sakes And we doubt not but the time is drawing nigh when God will cause the Light of His Holy Word so to shine forth that all remaining Darkness on the Minds of the Lord's People shall vanish away and then Sion's Builders shall no more take a Stone for a Corner nor a Stone for a Foundation of Babylons Rubbish And now Châ—iâ—tian Reader seeing the Author hath taken so great pains in Writing this Treatise for the Information of thee and ohters in a great Gospel Ordinance be thou perswaded to lay by prejudice and read diligently examine it by the Holy Scriptures and if thou meet with any thing of Truth wherein thou wast not before Inlightened subject to it lâ—ast thou be found rejecting the authority of Christ Quod Dei eâ—t agnosce quod hominis est ignosce If any Glory may come to Christ or comfort to his Members hereby it is enough and as much as is aimed at by the Author and thy Soul Friends Will. Kiffin John Harris Rich. Adams Rob. Steed Ben. Keech TO THE READER READER HAving had a sight of this Piece without the Privity of the Author before it went to the Press I Read it with much Delight though in great haste and thought good without his Knowledge or being Desired to give thee if thou beest a Stranger to him this assurance by the way that thou wilt find his Lines altogether free from Lightness as also from Reflections or Reproaches towards those of the Perswasion he contends with which is a thing so rare that it deserves a Remark and savours much of a right serious Christian Spirit I have had Knowledge of him many Years but never knew or heard him otherwise represented then of a very sober Character suitable to his Writings a Man every way free from any of those Temptations that might incline him to espouse any Interest or fall in with any Perswasion otherwise than what he did freely out of pure Choice and as satisfi d with its Purity upon a diligent and conscionable Perusal of the Holy Scriptures in which he has been a very laborious Searcher these many Years and in whom that Text is verified 2 Tim. 3. 15 16. That they make the Man of God wise unto Salvation c. I am assured that his Papers were intended only for private Use and for satisfaction of some that desired to know what he had to say to the Arguments here reply'd to He has all the appearances of a Man low in his own Eyes yet willing in his capacity to serve the Lord Jesus freely without seeking in the least any advantage to himself in the service of the Gospel boing much above those low Ends that too too many are sway'd by of making a Gain by his Preaching and though his
Spiritual We say not For it is plain there was no such Inquisition concerning the good or bad qualities the Fruitfulness or Unfruitfulness of the Members of the former Church in 〈◊〉 to Admission thereinto It was enough barely to be of Abraham's Seed or Family to be so esteemed But now saith John the Axe is laid unto the Root of the Trees And they must all be hewn down under the Gospel that have nothing else to pretend unto but that of a Godly Parentage which plainly excludes Infants as well as all other unfruitful Branches from the Gospel Church And to this same purpose is it that he doth further assure them ver 12. That Jesus Christ was now resolved with the Gospel Fan to Purge thoroghly the Floor of the Gospel Church and to gather the Wheat into His Garner Under the Law and before also even in Abrahmam's time the Chaff and the Wheat remained together unsevered but now the Fan must go to Work We read of no such Fanning Work in the former Church state And to what purpose is it else that Christ told the Woman of Samaria as he doth Jo. 4. 23. The Hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth For the Father seeketh such to Worship Him Which plainly sheweth that God expecteth now greater Purity Exactness and Spirituality in such as were to approach His Presence in the Celebration of Gospel Worship And indeed of this the whole fifth of Mat. is a sufficient and convincing Proof giving clear evidence concerning the refinedness and spirituality of the Gospel Administration above and beyond that of the Law For then saith our Saviour it was thus and thus but I am come to tell you a New Doctrine and do call you up to greater Purity and Strictness § 4. Secondly We Answer That that Holiness which was ascribed unto the whole Body of the Jewish Nation was a Typical Ceremonial Holiness and was no other than was ascribed to the whole Land City Temple Altar and divers other things and is therefore now Abolished For if all things under the Law were but a Figure and Shadow of good things to come then such was the Holiness of the Jewish Nation and People also Now this the Apostle in the 9th and 10th Chapters to the Hebrews proves at large shewing that all things under the Law all the Priviledges of the Old Covenà nt with all the Perquisites Dependancies and Appurtenances thereunto belonging are called by such Names as make them evidently appear to be Typical As First they are called a Figure Heb. 9. 9. Which was a Figure for the time then present So verse 24. For Christ is not Entered into the Holy Place made with Hands which are the Figures of the true Secondly They are called a Pattern Heb. 9. 23. It was necessary that the Pattern of things in the Heavens c. Thirdly They are called a Shadow Heb. 10. 1. For the Law having a Shadow of good things to come and not the very Image of the thing◠c. Now the Holiness of the Jewish Nation being an Appurtenance belonging to the Law or the Old Covenant It was but a Figure Pattern or Shadow of all good things to come and was therefore Typical and is now Abolished And if we will know what the Holiness of the Jewish Nation did serve to Typifie or Represent unto us It is evident that as it Typified the Holiness of Christ himself So of all Abraham's Spiritual Seed who are made Holy by Believing in Christ § 5. The Time of Reformation therefore spoken of in the forementioned Scripture Heb. 9. 8 9 10. being come wherein those Imperfect Gifts and Sacrifices with all those Carnal Ordinances which were for a Season Imposed on the Jewish Nation were to be done away and the Gospel-Church taking place in the Room thereof It cannot rationally be supposed but the one doth far exceed the other at least in Purity and Inward Glory For by how much Christ hath now obtained a more excellent Ministry than that of Moses and by how much also he is the Mediatour of a better Covenant Which is Established upon better Promises as the Apostle affirmes Heb. 8. 6. By so much of necessity must the gospell Church exceed in lustre beauty Refinedness and Spirituality the former Administration SECT VIII THE Second Argument in Mr. Allen's Book remaining to be Answered is this That all Persons and so little Children that were of the Legal Church must needs in one Respect or other have been Persons of a Religious or Spiritual Consideration And this considered saith he I know not upon what better to place the Visible Church-Membership of Infants or to Attribute it to than God's Electing and Calling them to his People and their Parents Dedicating and Devoting them to God and his Service And the Scripture useth to reckon little Children as having begun to do this or that when they are but placed in Circumstances that will bring them to it Actually in the Issue And thus the Children of the Kohathites of a Month Old were numbred with their Fathers as with them keeping the charge of the Sanctuary when they were but in a way of being trained up to it And for the same Reason little Children were said to enter into Covenant with God when their Parents did so Deut. 29. 11 12 § 2. To this we Answer First By granting that it was in a Religious Consideration that Children were then Admitted Members of the Legal Church But yet it doth not therefore follow that they are to be admitted Members of the Gospel-Church for the Reasons before rendered The Terms of Admission into that being far more strict and Spiritual than were those under the Law Secondly Whereas he tells us That the Reason of their Admission into the Legal Church was God's Electing and Calling them to that Priviledge This we also grant But then we also say that though the Call and Election of God in Reference to the Inward Substance of the Covenant of Grace or to an Invisible Membership in the Invisible Church is Invariable It doth not follow that the Gifts and Callings of God in Reference to External Membership are therefore also Invariable or Irrevokable as is afterward by Mr. Allen Asserted and unto which we have already in the Second Part of this Discourse given a sufficient Answer For we find by undeniable Evidence that those External Gifts and Priviledges that the Natural Posterity of Abraham were once Invested with are now Rescinded Repealed and Repented of and it cannot be affirmed that in any Religious Capacity whatsoever they are now at all owned by God as his Church and People as once they were neither Parents nor Children But for the most part remain broken off and Unchurched to this Day And if you say That they and their Children being broken off We and our Children are Ingraffed in their Room This is that which remains to be proved and indeed the
without sufficient Experience of the Gracious Presence and Blessing of Christ with and upon you in your present way I will not deny but take it for granted that so it is Yet this I will say that we are under no Promise of having thc Golden Oyl conveyed unto us but through the Golden Pipes Teach them says Christ to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the World If therefore we step out of Christ's way we cannot rationally suppose our selves to be at least so immediately under the Influence of Christ's Blessing What Christ may graciously afford unto his People that sincerely seek unto him according to the best light they have though the Sanctuary Preparation may in some Points be Defective is one thing and what we may justly expect by vertue of a standing Promise is another Certainly the nearer we come to him and the more Exact and Punctual we are in the Expressions of our Love and Friendship to him the more groundedly may we Expect the Answerable Discoveries of his Loving Favour unto us and we can no otherwise demonstrate our Friendship than by being obedient to him in the Observation of all those things which he hath commanded us and that both whatsoever they are and howsoever he hath injoyned the Performance of them That the Baptism of Believers is appointed by Christ as a Golden Pipe among the rest of the Golden Pipes of the New Testament Church for the Conveyance of the Golden Oyl or the Heavenly Unction from himself to his Members is an undeniable Truth and cannot with any Justness of Pretence be contradicted That the Baptism of Infants deserves that Character is more than what the Scriptures do declare unto us and peradventure at long run you also may see Cause to say the same Indeed if a thorow Reformation in this Point might once be obtained that is if Ministers Teach First and then Baptize such only as Profess Faith in the Lord Jesus and newness of Life evidenced by a Holy Conversation that being the only Practice warrantable by and Exemplified in the Word of God We might then justly hope to see the Accomplishment of the forementioned Divine Prediction A Candlestick all of Gold A Candlestick that hath a Golden Bowl Golden Lamps and Golden Pipes that is a Pure Church-State wholly Constituted and Regulated according to the Divine Prescription and Pattern And then also it would inevitably follow that the Papal Antichristian Church must of Necessity Vanish and Expire Since the Matter of that Synagogue is the Collective Body of the Nations who having been sprinkled in their Infant State are thence beguiled into a Blind and Soul-cheating Delusion that they are good Christians and true Members of the Catholick Church whom yet because of their Unbelief and Prophaneness the Word of God Excludes from the Gospel Church and consequently from Baptism till Converted And I make no question but it will be at last found that to uphold the present Practice of Infant Sprinkling is no other than to uphold and support the main Pillar of that Apostate and Adulterous Church that is by bringing the Church into the World and the World into the Church And when the World is once brought into the Church let us shew any difference if we can betwixt that and the World which yet our Saviour tells us are distinct having chosen his Church out of the World John 15. 19. 'T is true the time will be when the Kingdoms of this World shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ But that cannot be pretended unto in the present Administration of things in the Heavens and Earth that now are wherein we cannot say that one of a Thousand much less that the whole World is subject unto Christ's Scepter and consequently far from the true Characters of Church-Membership according to the Gospel Rule All of Gold Indeed 't is great pity but that every Plant which our Heavenly Father hath not planted should be Rooted up and the present Corrupt Practice of Infant sprinkling among the rest since there is nothing that can be more evident than this that were but this corner Stone that supports the Antichristian Fabrick quite removed the whole Building must of necessity totter and then we might justly hope for a pure Church-State Till which as we cannot groundedly expect true Peace or Settlement in the World so neither can we justly expect that the Name of the City should be called Jehovah Shammah the Lord is there The Occasion of the present Discourse was from a late Treatise of Mr. William Allen Entituled A Serious and Friendly Address to the Nonconformists Beginning with the Anabaptists Or an Addition to a former Treatise of his Entituled a Perswasive to Peace and Unity Wherein he doth Labour with utmost Strength and force of Argument to induce those of a contrary Perswasion from himself to a Conformity and Compliance with the Church Discipline and Government then Established in these Nations and particularly in Respect of the present Practice of Infants Baptism An Answer to which you will find in the Ensuing Sheets together with Answers to all other the most considerable Arguments which are urged by others also to the same purpose As for Mr. Allen he is a Person altogether unknown to me But though his Apprehensions and mine are different in the present point And though he hath endeavoured to whet up his Arguments with utmost keeness and lays them on with greatest force condemning us as guilty of the greatest Schism and of all those Direful Evils that are the Natural Consequents of a Schismatical Separation from a true Church yet to give him his due his Language is fair and his Discourse free from those Fiery and Passionate Heats that usually attend Discourses of this Nature from other Pens I suppose he will have no Cause to complain of being otherwise dealt with in the present Answer Sure it is That the Wrath of Man worketh not the Righteousness of God I pray God that the present Reply may be made Instrumental to the opening his Eyes that he may see from whence he is fallen and Repent and do his first Works Since the Writing of this I am informed of Mr. Allen's Decease I make no question but that he and others also will sooner or latter be convinc'd that the horrible guilt of Schism and the consequent Evils attendant thereon were so far from being justly Chargeable on us because of our present Practice that these things do rather lie at the Doors of those that thus condemn us I have endeavoured indeed to speak with as much Advantage as I could to the Conviction of him and others that I cannot but apprehend to walk in a corrupt Path in this Respect And having so done I know no Reason any have to be offended if they be in Love exhorted also to their Duty Exhort one another dayly saith the Holy Spirit lest any of
And if the visible Church be the same Why should not the Subjects be the same viz. Children and the Priviledge be the same viz. an External Badge and Cognisance given to the Children of the Church now as well as under the Law We Answer That true it is the Church of the Jews and that of the Gentiles is one and the same in reference to the true Essence or Inward Substance of either In which respect as we have said before the Believing Gentiles according to the Apostles Metaphor are here said to be Graffed in amongst them and with them to be made Partakers of the Root and Fatness of the Olive Tree And in reference hereunto it is rightly added by the Apostle that the Gifts and Callings of God are without Repentance The Inward Substance of the Church and of the Covenant of Grace whereon 't is Founded being Invariable and that which shall remain for ever Immoveable But it doth not therefore follow that there should be no Alteration in respect of the Outward Form or Administration of either For in this Respect as hath been already proved there is a wide Difference between them For barely to be of the Natural Seed of Abraham was sufficient to be admitted a Member of the Jewish Church but not so under the Gospel unless we be of the Seed of Abraham according to the Spirit And till this be Evidenced neither therefore doth the External Badge or Cognisance belong unto us And thus it may appear that this Illustrious Scripture is very much darkened by applying that Holiness and Incision here spoken of to Outward Dispensations only in the visible Church which is meant of Saving Graces in the Invisible by Faith And whilst you make every Believer a like Root to his Posterity as Abraham the Father of the Faithful was to his Since no Believer in the World whether before or since had ever the like Priviledge or Prerogative conferred upon him to be Called the Father of the Faithful as Abraham was But for the further support of Infants Baptism It is Objected First That since Infants stood visible Members of the Church for 2000 Years under the Legal Administration It is unlikely they should be now Excluded To this we Answer First That they stood Excluded altogether as much above 2000 Years before Circumcision as they do now So that an Ordinance for their Church-member-ship was not so from the Beginning but came in by special Institution long since Secondly The other Administration in which they stood was Established with a Seed to be Propagated by Natural Generation according to express Command Gen. 17. 9 10. Thou shalt keep my Covenant therefore thou and thy Seed after thee in their Generations Verse 10. This is my Covenant which ye shall keep Every Man-Child among you shall be Circumcised But where have we Command for the like in this Administration For though it should be granted that the Believing Gentiles are intended as the proper Subjects of the general Obligation mentioned Verse 9. which yet cannot be for the Reasons given in the latter part of this Discourse upon that Subject Yet the Baptism of Infants cannot thence be justly Inferred For there God only saith Thou shalt keep my Covenant therefore thou and tby Seed after thee in their Generations It is true by the Seed there spoken of you understand the Spiritual Seed in the Gospel Day and by keeping the Covenant their keeping it in the proper Sign of it belonging to the Gospel that is Baptism But where lies the Ground for Infants Baptism in all this Is there a Syllable there concerning Infants that they also must be Signed To keep the Sign of GOD's Covenant say you is to wear it themselves and to put it upon all theirs The Believing Gentiles are to keep the Sign of GOD's Covenant Therefore the Believing Gentiles are to wear it themselves and to put it upon all theirs But who told you so Or what Scripture is there that proves that thus stands the Case with the Believing Gentiles That is that they are not only to wear the Sign of the Covenant themselves but to put it upon all theirs All that you can prove is that thus it was with Abraham and His under the former Administration and when you can also prove that thus it must be now you say something otherwise all you say is Impertinent The Covenant of Promise 't is true Gen. 12. 2 3. Gen. 22. 16 17 18. is one and the same to them and to us but the Covenant of Circumcision Gen. 17. 7 8 9 was plainly Typical and Temporary and in a Figure it Ministred unto the ends of the Everlasting Covenant And therefore it sufficed as unto that Administration if the People the Children thereof were of the Natural Seed of Abraham because by that shadowy Covenant Young and Old Good and Bad were all alike Covenanters and all alike in a Capacity to be the Subjects of an Administration which was to serve unto the Example and Shadow of Heavenly things till the Seed should come to whome the Promise was made Gal. 3. 19. But the Gospel Administration that brings Christ and all the Mystery of His Grace in the Truth and Reality and not in the Figure and Example is not Receptive of Children as to the Principle upon which it stands any other way than upon some visible Demonstration of Faith whereby CHRIST comes to be received who are therefore called the Sons of God John 1. 12 13. As many as Received Him to them gave He Power that is the Right or Priviledge to become the Sons of GOD Even to them that Believe in His Name Born not of Blood nor of the Will of the Flesh nor of the Will of Man but of GOD. Thus the Apostle Gal. 4. 28. Calls the Saints of the Churches of Galatia Children of the Promise in Opposition to the Seed according to the Flesh Verse 7. Neither because they are the Seed of Abraham are they all Children but in Isaac shall thy Seed be called that is they which are the Children of the Flesh these are not the Children of GOD but the Children of the Promise are counted for the Seed Whereunto many other Scriptures might be added yea the whole Stream of the New Testament witnesseth to a Seed ' according to Calling and as to the 〈◊〉 of their Admission all Living Stones for the Constitution of the Church of GOD and not one Word in Favour of a Seed according to the Flesh as to Admission into the Church upon that Principle of Birth Priviledge We are told indeed that the Believing Gentiles are now Graffed in not upon the Legal Branch but upon the Root Olive which affordeth all the Nourishment that either the Jews had or the Gentiles have Which Root Olive is the Covenant of Promise that was 430 Years before the Law Now into that State of things say you wherein not the Law but the Gospel Preached unto Abraham did Obtain God was a GOD
not only to the Father but to the Children yea to all his Family And the Father of the Family did not only give Himself but all his Children and even his Servants all His to GOD to take his Sign upon them and so it must be now To which We Reply that it is indeed the unspeakable Blessedness of the Believing Gentiles to be Graffed in upon such a Stock not upon the Legal Branch but upon the Root Olive which affordeth all the Nourishment that either the Jews had or the Gentiles have that Root Olive being no other than Christ Himself who was given for a Covenant of the People and a Light to Lighten the Gentiles The Gospel of whose Grace was indeed Preached to Abraham 430 Years at least before the Law was given But what then Doth it therefore follow that the Believing Gentiles are put into that very State of things as under Circumcision Where is that Scripture that affirms it Evident it is that though Circumcision was in use before as well as under the Law and though Jesus Christ Himself is by the Apostle Stiled the Minister of the Circumcision for the Truth of God to confirm the Promises made unto the Fathers yet as it cannot be denied but that it was adopted into the Legal Family And that it was also adopted unto the Nature and Quality of the Legal Dispensation So it is as evident that it is now Abolished And we can meet with no one Text in all the New Testament that tells us that Baptism is appointed to have the same Place and Vse in the Church of God that Circumcision had but rather much to the contrary as hath been already proved And it being manifest that the External Administration of the Covenant is changed to what it was in Abraham's Time it plainly follows that there is an Alteration of the Rule that must direct us in our Practice in that Respect Obj. 2. If this Interpretation hold good there would be a very great Change in the Extent of the Covenant narrower under the Gospel than it was under the Law and yet no notice in all the Book of God given of such a Change We Reply First That the Covenant of Grace hath one and the same Extent before under and since the Law in Respect of the Substance of it or considered singly in its self as hath been already declared In Respect of the Administration of it indeed it is Changedble and hath been often Changed Secondly we say that the Administration under the Gospel is not narrower than that under the Law because it admits not Infants Baptism The Administration under the Law was Circumscribed to a little Land and a small People the Bounds of the other are stretched from Sea to Sea and from the River to the ends of the Earth That was restrained to the Seed and Family of Abraham the other extends to the Seed and Family of Christ That had its Existence but 2000 Years upon an Occasional Temporary Principle the other is suited to Answer a Principle existing from Everlasting to Everlasting That Administration was the Shadow Figure and Example the other the Substance That was the Handmaid the other the Mistress And if the Case be thus between these two Administrations can we Reasonably Charge the Gospel Administration with more narrowness than the Law because of the Discontinuance of the Birth-Priviledge Thirdly Although the Grace of the Gospel be extended far beyond the Grace under the Law yet as to Persons the Children of the Gospel are formed to so strict and refined a Qualification that in that Respect we grant that the Law had a Latitude beyond the Gospel But yet with this Mark that the Indulgence of the Law was one of the great Imperfections which the Gospel came to Reform Mat. 3. 10 11 12. And of this Change the Book of God doth give abundant Notice Gen. 21. 10. Cast out the Bond-woman and her Son c. Shortly after the Institution of the Ordinance of Circumcision for the Priviledge of the Seed according to the Flesh The Lord brings forth a Prophetical Instance in the very Family of Abraham wherein this great Change of Church Priviledge was revealed viz. That it was to be taken from the Carnal Seed and that it should be given to the Seed according to Grace under the Gospel Administration And to put that matter out of Question we have the unvailing of this Prophetical Instance to the very same purpose in Gal. 4. 30. So also Isa 14. 1. Sing O Barren thou that bearest not What she was the Apostle tells us Gal. 4. 26 27. ver 5. Thy Maker is thy Husband the Lord of Hosts is his Name and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel At ver 13. We have the Refined Qualification of her Children and People And all thy Children shall be Taught of the Lord Where we have a Prophetical Description of the Gospel Church State which the People of a Fleshly Extraction only from the most sanctified Saints cannot possible compare unto It must therefore necessarily be understood of another Seed even of a Seed begotten of God by the Word of Truth Jam. 1. 18. the Gospel People And this was a fair Notice given of the Change in Question to wit narrower as to the Qualifications of the Persons but more extended in Grace Another fair warning for the Fleshly Seed is Isa 65. 15. For the Lord God shall slay thee and call his People by another Name In all which we find plain notice given of the Change of the Old Administration which gloried in the Seed of Abraham after the Flesh and as plainly foretelling the Cessation of that Propagation to give place to the New Administration and the true Seed of Abraham the Seed according to the Spirit And indeed the Change of the Administration necessarily removes the fleshly Seed because it hath a standing by no other Right than what it had under that Covenant As for the New Testament it every where abounds with Evidence to the Proof hereof as appears from the several Scriptures that have in part been already opened and discussed in the former part of this Discourse Wherein it hath been proved that though Infants were comprehended with their Parents in the Jewish Church yet none but such as are capable of making an Actual Profession of Faith and Repentance with some competent Measure of Fruitfulness answerable thereunto are to be admitted to the Priviledge of Church-Membership under the Gospel To this purpose we are told Mat. 3. 7. That when many of the Pharisees and Sadduces came to be Baptized of John Though their being of the Natural Seed of Abraham was a sufficient ground why they should be Circumcised yet it was no sufficient ground why they should be Baptized And therefore their Birth-Priviledge notwithstanding John rejects them as a Generation of Vipers and bids them bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance 'T is true those that John had now to deal with were Men at
Flesh but He of the Free-Woman was by Promise There was an Infinite difference in the Propagation of the Seed of the former Church-state and of the Seed of the Gospel-state no less than between Nature and the power of God as was in the Types Ishmael and Isaac Secondly Neither hath this Change brought any other loss upon the Child But First The Interest which it had in the Everlasting Covenant under the former Administration it still retains Secondly The Benefits and Advantages which it had by the Parent are so much bettered by how much the Spiritual State of the Parent under the Gospel by Baptism after Faith is better ratified than under the Law Thirdly All other and further Benefits from the Covenant are more freely and fully tendred and with many enforcing Advantages brought near to be had and enjoyed Fourthly It is an Advantage that as a Token of the Expiration of the Bondage Church State their Signing upon the Natural Birth is also at an end and their Signing into all these Priviledges transferred to an Ordinance upon the visible Test of their New Birth Without which no Word of GOD can be found to raise them to the visible Dignity and Prerogative of the Sons and Heirs of Sarah the Gospel Covenant or Administration Thirdly There is no Colour or Warrant from the Word of GOD that Jesus Christ in the Day of His Appearing did Establish any one Ordinance in the Church which did Import a Communion in his Intercession to be practicable duly by a Person in an unregenerate State or at least that makes not an External Profession thereof Object 4. But what hope can we have of our Infants if they must not be admitted unto Christian Baptism nor reputed as Members of the Common Body and Church of the Faithful We Answer First If the Hope of the Parent for the Childs Salvation be grounded upon the Administration of an Ordinance in Infancy then neither had the Patriarchs for above 2000 Years Hope of their Children which we find untrue by Noahs Prophecy Gen. 9. 26 27. Secondly We demand what Hopes are intended and by what Scriptures the same are Annexed to the Administration of an Ordinance in Infancy Thirdly We justifie a Holy Hope in Believers in behalf of their Children which is grounded upon plain Scriptures without Infant Baptism Fourthly This Argument seemeth to carry in it this Conclusion That Christian People by Infants Baptism are by Scripture Grounds assured according to Gospel Hope of the Salvation of their Children But there wants a Proof for it and we suppose it is not received as a Truth by many that Oppose us in this Point Object 5. If Children may not now be Baptized this makes the Priviledge of Believers under the Gospel to be less than was theirs under the Law For their Children were all admitted as Members of the Visible Church by the Ordinance of Circumcision and we cannot but conclude that our Priviledges for our Selves and for our Children are at least as Honourable Large and Comfortable as theirs and therefore our Infants are to be Baptized To this we Answer That it is true our Priviledge is the same with theirs in respect of the Substance of the Covenant of Grace But neither was that made to the Jews Natural Posterity as such nor is it made to ours As for Circumcision It was indeed a Priviledge to the Jews in comparison of the Heathens but a Burthen in comparison of us And it is accordingly so termed by the Apostle Acts 15. 10. Now therefore why tempt ye God to put a Yoke upon the Neck of the Disciples which neither our Fathers nor we were able to bear And to the same purpose the Apostle Paul also exhorts the Believers Gal. 5. 1 2 3 4. to stand fast in their Christian Liberty and not to be Intangled again in their former Yoke of Bondage in this respect And therefore it is so far from being a Priviledge to our Children that they should have either it or any other thing in the place and use of it that the Truth is it is a great Priviledge that they have neither it nor any other thing in the stead of it but Christ manifested in the Flesh And the Parents lose nothing by denying Baptism to Infants in the place and use of Circumcision but it is indeed if rightly considered a Benefit to them to want it God not appointing it nor making a Promise of Grace to be confirmed by it to the Infants of Believers Clear it is that we have no better Promises in respect of the Substance of the Covenant of Grace now than they had then only the Administration of the Covenant is now better than it was to them Then it was with Expectation of Christ to come now with Assurance of Christ already come in the Flesh and accomplishing what was foretold of Him Then Christ was shadowed with dark Types now we see Him unvailed in a plain History So that though it be true that the Priviledges of Believers are now many ways Inlarged in some respects yet simply the Covenant of Grace is not inlarged in respect of the Substance of it The Promises of Grace are still belonging to the Elect and Believers and to no other In respect of the Covenant made with Abraham Gen. 17. 7 8 9. it is plain the Jews had some Priviledges above us but the want of some Priviledges which they had is abundantly recompenced unto us by other Priviledges which they had not Particularly in respect of the clearness of the Revelation of the Gospel Covenant and also in respect of the universal tender and publication of it in as much as now not only the small Nation of the Jews but also of all Nations Believers are brought into the participation of the same together with the more abundant Communication of the Holy Spirit To which purpose we are told that the Holy Spirit was not yet given to wit neither in that manner nor measure as afterward because Christ was not yet Glorified Jo. 7. 39. So that it is no Absurdity to grant that the Jews might have more Privilebges in some things than we and yet our Case and Condition to speak simply better than theirs by reason of other Priviledges we have above them which abundantly recompence the defect of those Priviledges of theirs whether real or supposed And the Truth is Priviledges are so Arbitrary and Various that God gives them as He thinks good oft times without assigning any special Reason So that no Argument can be drawn thus GOD gave such a Priviledge to the Jews therefore we must have such a Priviledge too except we can prove it is GOD's Will it should be so And therefore this Argument is of no force without an Institution to attempt to prove that because the Jews had a Priviledge to Circumcise their Infants therefore we must have a Priviledge to Baptize ours Nor indeed is there any Scripture that proves that Baptism of Infants is a Priviledge
24. For so it vvas to the Jevvs that is to shevv them the Nature of Sin and the Holiness and Righteousness of God to convince them of their Sin and Misery vvithout Christ and their necessity therefore of a Saviour Rom. 7. 7 12. 13. And for this purpose it still serves to all Men in an unregenerate State Rom. 3. 19. But though the Lavv doth indeed shevv us our Necessity of Christ and our Misery vvithout him yet it doth not bring us to Christ as our Translation hath it for that is the Work of the Covenant of Faith only Rom. 10. 6 7 8 9. And that as it stands opposed unto the Legal Covenant ver 5 6 c. § 4. There is a double Enquiry made by the Apostle saith Dr. Owen on Gal. 3. vvith respect unto the Law or the Covenant of Sinai 1. Vnto what end in General it served 2 Whether it were not contrary to the Promise of God Unto both these the Apostle ansvvereth from the Nature Office and Work of that Covenant For there vvere tvvo things in it First a Revival and Representation of the first Covenant of Works vvith its Sanction and Curse Secondly A Direction of the Church unto the Accomplishment of the Promise From these tvvo doth the Apostle frame his Ansvver unto the double Enquiry laid dovvn And unto the first Enquiry Vnto what â—nd it served He Ansvvers It was added because of Transgressions The Promise being given there seems to have been no need of it Why then vvas it added to it at that Season It was added because of Transgressions The fulness of time vvas not yet come vvherein the Promise vvas to be Fulfilled Accomplished and Established as the only Covenant wherein the Church was to Walk with God or the Seed was not yet come as the Apostle here speaks to whom the Promise vvas made In the mean time some Order must be taken about Sin and Transgression that all the Order of things appointed of God vvere not Overflovved by them And this vvas done tvvo vvays by the Lavv. 1. By Reviving the Commands of the Covenant of Works vvith the Sanction of Death it put an Avve on the minds of Men and set Bounds unto their Lusts that they should not dare to run forth into that Excess vvhich they vvere Naturally inclined unto It vvas therefore added because of Transgressions that in the Declaration of God's Severity against them some Bounds might be fixed unto them For the knowledge of Sin is by the Law 2. To shut up Vnbelievers and such as vvould not seek for Righteousness Life and Salvation by the Promise under the Povver of the Covenant of Works and Curse attending it It concluded or shut up all under Sin saith the Apostle ver 20. This vvas the end of the Lavv for this end vvas it Added as it gave a Reviveal unto the Covenant of Works Dr. Owen's Exposition on the Hebrews 3 d. Vol. p. 231. § 5. It is true that Scripture Gal. 3. 24. vvhere the Apostle tells us that the Law was our School-Master to Christ that we might be Justified by Faith is strongly urged by some to prove that the Law must needs be therefore a Covenant of Faith But it is Evident that the School mastership of the Lavv and the Covenant of Faith are tvvo quite different things as appears by the Words before and after ver 23. Before Faith came saith he we were kept under the Law shut up unto the Faith which should afterward be Revealed ver 24. Wherefore the Law was our School-master to Christ that we might be justified by Faith ver 25. But after that Faith is come we are no longer under a School-master So that the Schol mastership of the Lavv is one thing and the Covenant of Faith another For vvhen the one cometh the other ceaseth When the one takes place the other vanisheth The Lavv therefore could not be a Covenant of Faith it being here so plainly Opposed or Contra distinguished thereunto Accordingly the Apostle elsevvhere assures us that the Law Written and Engraven in Stones was a Ministration of Death and Condemnation 2. Cor. 3. 6. 7. 9. And consequently gave no hopes of Relief to the Miserable Sinner as the Covenant of Faith doth It convinc'd him indeed of the dreadful Nature of Sin and of the Infinite Purity and Holiness of Gods Nature and Being against whom it had Sinned but it left no Room for Repentance For Cursed is every one saith the Law that Continueth not in all things which are Written in the Book of the Law to do them Therefore it is calld the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us which Christ took out of the way nailing it to his Cross Col. 2. 14. So that the Law could not possibly be a Covenant of Faith It being constantly represented to us in the Scripture as being of a vastly different Nature therefrom and that in the very Essence or Substance thereof The one being a Ministration of Death and Condemnation the other a Ministration of Life and Peace SECT III. WE are told indeed by Mr. Obadiah Segdwick in his Discourse upon the Covenant of Grace p. 175. That the Covenant made with the People of Israel at Mount Sinai was at least subserviently the Covenant of Grace a Covenant of Grace for the Substance of it though propounded in a more dark way and in a manner fitting for the State of that People and that present time and condition of the Church § 2. But this is but an Evasion and serves for no other purpose than to darken the Truth For the thing is plain that the Law was as much a Covenant of Works as that made with our First Parent The Jewish Legal Covenant saith Dr. Annesly in his Sermon upon the Covenant of Grace Morning Exercise p. 122 Neither admitted of Faith in the Redeemer nor Repentance of Sin For Pardon of sin and Curse for Sin are Inconsistent Gal. 3. 10. As many as are of the Works of the Law are under the Curse For it is Written Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are Written in the Book of the Law to do them As many as depend upon the Works of the Law for Justification are under the Curse And the Law saith he discovered no other way of Justification but by Works Mr. Cooper also in the same Morning Exercise p. 117. tells us That Moses his Law is opposed to the Covenant of Grace as another Covenant upon this very distinguishing account of Obedience and Faith Works and Grace as you may see saith he at large among other Places Heb. 8. 6 7 8 9 10 c. § 3. The Law therefore was not so much as Subserviently a Covenant of Faith much less for the Substance of it so for it is quite another thing and is constantly so represented unto us in the Scriptures The Apostle saith indeed The Law was our School-master to Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He doth
the words of this Law to do them The promises I now make you are full and Glorious enough But these are the Terms on which you must Expect if ever you come to the Fruition of them This is the Substance of the Preface and after Explication that God himself makes unto and concerning the Covenant which he now made with Moses and with Israel even with the whole Body of that People which was by the Finger of God himself Written and Ingraven in Stones And is accordingly mentioned at large Exod. 20. In the several ten Branches Commandments or main Heads thereof § 4. In the next place if we Enquire into the Nature of this Covenant What sort of Covenant it was Whether a Covenant of Grace or a Covenant of Works As it is Evident that it could be no other than a Covenant of Works since we see it required perfect Obedience as the condition of obtaning the mercies therein promis'd wherein the very Essence of that Covenant Consisted So in order to a further discovery of the true nature of the Covenant in question We must compare some passages in Exod. 34. with 2 Cor. 3. and Col. 2. 14. In Exod. 34. 1. The Lord said unto Moses hew the two Tables of Stone like unto the first And I will Write upon these Tables the words that were in the first Tables ver 4. And he hewed two Tables of Stone like unto the first And Moses went up unto the Mount Sinai as the Lord Commanded him and took in his hand the two Tables of Stone ver 28. And he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights and he Wrote upon the Tables the words of the Covenant the ten Commandments And it came to pass when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two Tables of Testimony in Moses's hand when he came down from the Mount that Moses Wist not that the Skin of his Face shone while he talked with him And when Aaron and all the Children of Israel saw Moses behold the Skin of his Face shone and they were afraid to come nigh him If we will know therefore the true Nature of the Covenant we shall find that the Spirit of God by the Apostle doth give us a clear determination thereof in the fore-mentioned 2. Cor. 3. 5 6. Our Sufficiency saith he is of God who hath also made us able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit that is not of the Law but of the Gospel For the Letter Killeth but the Spirit giveth Life But saith he ver 7. If the Ministration of Death Written and Engraven in Stones was Glorious so that the Children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the Face of Moses for the Glory of his Countenance which Glory was to be done away how shall not the Ministration of the Spirit be rather Glorious So again ver 9. If the Ministration of Condemnation be Glory much more doth the Ministration of Righteousness exceed in Glory Wherein we cannot but observe that the Apostle doth evidently Reflect upon the fore mentioned Passage in Exod. 34 28 29 c. Where we are told that Moses Received from God the two Tables of Stone wherein the words of the Covenant even the Ten Commandments were Written and Engraven by the Finger of God himself and this Expresly under the Denomination of the Covenant which God then made with Israel Deut. 4. 13. Which made Moses his Face to shine so that Aaron and all the Children of Israel were afraid to come nigh him 'T is clear then that this is the Covenant that Paul hear speaks of And what Character or Description doth he give thereof Why saith he The Law Written and Engraven in Stones how Glorious soever it was in it self was of a Killing Nature it was the Ministration of Death and Condemnation and that which was to be done away To which same purpose the same Apostle also tells us Col. 2. 14. That Christ hath Blotted out the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and hath took it out of the way nailing it to his Cross Where the Apostle speaks plainly of the same thing and to the same purpose as he doth to the Corinthians for there he speaks of the Law Written in Stones which saith he was a Ministration of Death and Condemnation And hereof the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us and contrary to us as the Law must needs be if it was indeed no other than a Ministration of Death and Condemnation as the Apostle describes it But is the Covenant of Faith of this Nature Or was the Covenant of Grace a Ministration of Death and Condemnation as the Apostle Affirms the Law written in Stones to be Was the Covenant of Grace against us Contrary to us and therefore now Blotted out done away taken out of the way and Nailed to the Cross of Christ as the Apostle speaks of the Hand-writing of Ordinances or the Law written in Stones These are Solâ—cisms too strong for Digestion It can never be imagined And yet all this must needs follow if the Law was a Covenant of Grace as is Affirmed 'T is true there was a Covenant of Grace that ran Current therewith as hath been before declared whereby Moses and all the Elect among that People were delivered from the Curse of that Fiery Burning Law that was thus given them But shall we therefore call the Ministration of Death a Ministration of Grace Or the ministration of Condemnation a Ministration of Life and Righteousness which the Apostle doth so plainly set in Opposition thereunto Or shall we say that that which was against us and contrary to us was a Covenant of Grace or for the Substance of it such The Apostle as we have already seen tells us the quite contrary And so he doth Rom. 7. 9 10. When the Commandment came saith he Sin Revived and I Died And the Commandment which was Ordained to Life I found to be unto Death And how then can it be justly Affirmed that the Law was a Covenant of Gospel-Grace or that it was such for the Substance thereof when the Apostle found it by Experience to be a Ministration of Death § 5. Indeed the World Groans under the Burthen of such Subtile Sophistical Distinctions whereby the Truths of the Gospel have been so long Obscured as they have been and are in respect of the present Point a Point of such vast Consequence and Concernment to the Church of God For what can be of greater Moment than the Two Covenants the Truths concerning which are as the two Master Veins that branch themselves forth and lye dispersed up and down throughout the whole Body of the Scriptures If therefore it shall be found that we have been all this while Mistaken in our Notion about the Covenants what they are and which they be or that we have given the Appellation of the Covenant of Grace to a Covenant of Works and hereon
of Faith mentioned Deut. 30. And again on the other hand to say as Mr. Roberts doth that the Sinai Covenant is a Covenant of Faith and that Moses draws the Righteousness of Faith from that Covenant would be plainly to contradict Mr. Baxter and not onely so but would be point blank to contradict the Interpretation given thereof by Paul himself in the forementioned Rom. 10. 5 6. where he doth clearly oppose the Righteousness of Faith to the Sinai Covenant § 13. Indeed the Principal ground of Mr. Roberts his mistake or that which he seems to lay the greatest stress upon when he affirms the Sinai Covenant to be a Covenant of Faith is this because the Description that Paul gives of the Righteousness of Faith Rom. 10. 6 c. is drawn from the Description that Moses gives thereof in the 30th of Deuteronomy as if because the Law was given by Moses the Description he there gives of the Righteousness of Faith must needs be understood of the Sinai Covenant whereas it is Evident that Paul was of another Mind For he makes the Description that Moses gives there of the Righteousness of Faith to be quite opposite to the Description that Moses elsewhere gives of the Law or Sinai Covenant Moses saith he describeth the Righteousness of the Law that the Man which doth these things shall live by them which he cites from Lev. 18. 5. and Deut. 29. 9. Whereas the Righteousness of Faith or the Gospel Covenant speaketh after quite another sort That if thou shalt believe thou shalt be saved which he quotes from Deut. 30. From whence what can be more Evident than that he brings in Moses describing two Opposite and Essentially different Covenants in respect of the terms of Life propounded in either Besides though the Law was given by Moses whereof he was the alone and onely Mediator yet it is evident that even Moses himself doth give sufficient notice of another Covenant that was to take place in after times and that not onely in the forementioned 30th of Deuteronomy but in the 18th Chapter which is also noted by the Apostle Peter Acts 3. 22. Moses truly said unto the Fathers a Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your Brethren like unto me him shall yea hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you Moses therefore gives them sufficient notice of another Covenant and not onely so but of another Prophet also that God would raise up unto them to be the Mediator thereof And that this other Prophet was to be the Mediator of another Covenant is plain from what the Author to the Hebrews tells us Chap. 8. 6. But now saith he hath he obtained a more Excellent Ministry to wit than that of Moses spoken of in the foregoing Verse by â—ow much also he is the Mediator of a Better Covenant which was Established upon Better Promises § 14. So that it is Evident that the Covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai Exod. 19. and 20 which was afterward renewed with them in the Land of Moab Deut. 29. is another Covenant and Essentially different from the Covenant of Faith or the Gospel Covenant mentioned Deut. 30. Rom. 10. 6 c. And that not onely since the Terms are Essentially different but since it hath also another and far different Mediator Wherefore the forementioned Objection notwithstanding the Apostles Testimony remains firm and cannot be Evaded That the Law is not of Faith And accordingly whatever Subordination or Tendency the Law hath to drive us to the Covenant of Faith for Relief and Shelter to be sure the Law it self gives us no Relief For neither chiefly nor Ultimately doth it propound Faith as the Condition of Life but Doing onely and consequently is another Covenant and Essentially different from the Covenant of Faith to which it drives us The Law saith Moses requireth Doing unto Life The Gospel saith Paul requireth Faith And these saith he Gal. 4. 24 25 26. are the two Covenants the One from Mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to Jerusalem that now is the Other to Jerusalem that is above the one gendering to Bondage the other to Liberty the one a Ministration of Death and Condemnation the other a Ministration of Life and Righteousness 2 Cor. 3. 7 8 9. Now whom shall we believe Whether Paul who affirms that these are two Covenants and who in effect also affirms that these two Covenants are Essentially and Specifically different in respect of the terms propounded in either as well as also in respect of the consequent Issues thereof to such as are under them Or those that affirm that the Sinai Covenant was purposely so dispensed as to tender Life and Happiness upon two opposite and contrary Conditions § 15. But we shall Proceed no further in the Confutation of this Un-scriptural Notion What hath been already said being if we mistake not sufficient to overthrow the whole of what Mr. Roberts delivers in his Voluminous Discourse toward the Proof of his grand Position That the Law was given to Israel at Mount Sinai as a Covenant of Faith in Christ Jesus Onely it ought to be duely Considered that it will be of no small Consequence to the Church of God if it shall be at last found that such Doctrines as these have sadly tended to the Obscuring and Confounding many Gospel Truths But sufficient hintâ— of this Nature having been already given we shall leave it unto the Godly Wise to determine upon the whole of what hath been said in these Respects Thus far by way of Answer to Mr. Sedgwicks and Mr. Roberts his Arguments SECT X. BUT whereas we have Asserted that the Covenant which God made with Israel at Mount Sinai was as much a Covenant of Works as that made with our first Parent We are told That the Covenant of Works made with Adam in the state of Innocency when he was able to have kept it was never Revived or Renewed after the fall to the same Intent and Purpose it waâ— first made with him that is to Obtain Life and Righteousness by Personal Obedience to it For had God Promulged the first Covenant again at Sinai to the same use and Purpose it was first made with Adam then in Establishing this he had utterly subverted the New Covenant Gal. 3. 21. Life and Salvation was not then its end that is in it self it neither was nor could be given after the Fall for such a design and purpose And therefore though it is Evident that the Sinai Covenant Materially Considered is the same with Adams Covenant yet Intentionally it is vastly different § 2. To this we Reply That it is indeed too Evident fairly to be denied but that the Law given from Mount Sinai wâ—â— a Covenant of Works Since your selves cannot but acknowledge that Materially Considered it is the same with Adams Covenant But then say you Intentionally it is vastly different But how doth that Appear For though 't is true God never designed