Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	covenant_n	grace_n	justification_n	7,486	5	9.7652	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52051	A sermon of the baptizing of infants preached in the Abbey-Church at Westminster at the morning lecture, appointed by the honorable House of Commons / by Stephen Marshall ...	Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.	1644 (1644)	Wing M774; ESTC R876	44,378	66

Turkes dying in their Infancy as well as some of the Infants of Christians and so carry salvation by Christ out of the Church beyond the Covenant of grace where God never made any promise That God hath made a promise to bee the God of believers and of their Seed wee all know but where the promise is to bee found that hee will bee the God of the seed of such Parents who live and die his enemies and their seed not so much as called by the preaching of the Gospel I know not These men say the Covenant of grace made to the Jewes differs from the Covenant of grace made with Us but I desire to know whether in the one or in the other they find any promise of salvation by Christ to any Infants dying in their Infancie whose Parents no way belonged to the Family of GOD or Covenant of Grace The matter then being of such consequence and many amongst us in such danger of being seduced further then is easie to imagine through the subtilty activity and diligence of such as with a great shew of Scriptures and under a pretence of zeale doe creepe into Houses yea proclaime these things openly in Pulpits I take my selfe bound upon this occasion to shew you upon what grounds the Orthodox Church hath hitherto retained this practise and shall bring all that I intend to speake of it under two Arguments and under them shall indeavour to Answer whatsoever I have found of any moment objected to the contrary My first Argument is this The Infants of beleeving Parents are foederati therefore they must bee signati they are within the Covenant of grace belonging to Christs body kingdome family therefore are to partake of the seale of his Covenant or the distinguishing badge between them who are under the Covenant of grace and them who are not The ordinary Answer to this Argument is by denying that Infants are under the Covenant of Grace onely some few deny the consequence that although they were within the Covenant yet it followes not that they must bee sealed because say they the Women among the Jewes were under the Covenant yet received not Circumcision which was the seale of the Covenant but this receives an easie answer the Women were Circumcised in the Males else could not God have said that the whole house of Israel were Circumcised in the flesh else could not the whole Nation of the Jewes bee called the Circumcision in opposition to all the World beside who were called the Uncircumcision But for the better clearing of this whole Argument I shall indeavour to make good these five Conclusions First that the Covenant of Grace hath alwayes for substance been one and the same Secondly God will have the Infants of such as enter into Covenant with him bee counted his as well as their Parents Thirdly God hath ever since Abrahams time had a Seale to bee applied to such as enter into Covenant with him Fourthly by Gods owne order the Seed or Infants of Covenanters before Christs time were to be sealed with the seale of admission into his Covenant as well as their Parents Fifthly the priviledge of such as are in Covenant since Christs time are as honourable large and comfortable both to themselves and their children as they were before Christs time and these five Propositions made good the Argument will be strong and undeniable The first is That the Covenant of grace for substance hath alwayes been one and the same both to the Jewes and to the Gentiles Which to understand know that the new and living way to life was first revealed to Adam immediately after his fall and that blessed promise concerning the Seed of the woman was often renewed and the Patriarchs faith therein and salvation thereby recorded plentifully in the Scripture but the first time that ever it was revealed under the expresse name of a League or Covenant was with Abraham and therefore we shall need looke no higher then his dayes who because he was the first explicite Covenanter is called the father of the faithfull and ever since clearly hath all the world been divided into two distinct bodies or families the one called the Kingdome City Houshold of God to which all who owne the way to life were to joine themselves and these were called the Children of God the Sons of Abraham the Children of the Kingdome all the rest of the World the Kingdom of the Devill the Seed of the Serpent Strangers from the Covenant of Grace without God in the world c. Now I say that this Covenant of Grace hath for substance been alwayes the same for substance I say for wee must distinguish betwixt the Covenant it selfe and the manner of administration of this Covenant The substance of the Covenant on Gods part was to be Abrabrahams God and the God of his Seed to bee an Al-sufficient portion an Al-sufficient reward for him to give Jesus Christ to him and Righteousnesse with him both of Justification and of Sanctification and everlasting life On Abrahams part the substance of the Covenant was to beleeve in the promised Messiah to walke before God with a perfect heart to serve God according to his revealed wil to instruct his family c. The manner of administration of this Covenant at the first was by types and shadowes sacrifices c. And foure hundred and thirty yeeres after the Law was added with great terrour upon Mount Sinai not as a part of this Covenant but as the Apostle saith expressely it was added because of Transgressions to bee a Schoolemaster to whip to Christ Plainly in that giving of the Law there was something of the Covenant of workes made with Adam in Paradise yet in order to the Administration of the Covenant of grace there was a rehearsall of the Covenant of workes under which all men lie by nature untill they bee brought under the Covenant of grace and this was delivered with great terror and under most dreadfull penalties that they who were prone to seeke justification in themselves by finding the {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the impossibility of their keeping the Law might be driven to seeke for a better Mediator even the Lord Jesus Christ as was excellently shadowed out Exod. 20.18 19 20. Deut. 5.24 when they cryed out to Moses that they might no more heare this dreadfull voice which would kill them but that they might bee spoken unto by a Mediator and GOD said they had well spoken and presently accepted Moses for their typicall mediator and by him gave them the Gospel in their Tabernacle Ordinances And there was also somthing of the administration of the Covenant of grace partly because all the threatning and cursing part of it was intended as a preparative and meanes to fit them for Christ and partly because the directing part of it containes that very rule whereby Abraham and all his Seed were ordered to walke in

hands upon them and blesse them because the Kingdom of God belongs to them who have such like qualities who resemble children in some select properties By the very same ground if any had brought doves and Sheep to Christ to put his hands upon them and blesse them the Disciples had been liable to the same reproofe because of such is the Kingdome of God such as are partakers of the Kingdom of God must be indued with such like properties Beside what one thing can be named belonging to the initiation and being of a Christian whereof Baptisme is a seale which Infants are not capable of as well as grown men they are capable of receiving the Holy Ghost of union with Christ of adoption of forgivenesse of sins of regeneration of everlasting life all which things are signifyed and sealed in the Sacrament o● baptism And it is further considerable that in the working of that inward grace of which baptism is the sign and seale all who partake of that grace are but meere patients and contribute no more to it then a childe doth to its own begetting and therefore Infants as fit Subjects to have it wrought in them as grown men and the most grown men are in no more fitnesse to receive this grace when it is given them in respect either of any faith or repentance which they yet have then a very little childe it being the primary intention of the Covenant of Grace in its first worke to shew what Free Grace can and wil do to miserable nothing to cut miserable man off from the wild Olive and graffe him into the true Olive to take away the heart of stone to create in them a heart of flesh to forgive their iniquities to love them freely what doth the most grown man in any of these more then an Infant may do being onely passive in them all and of this first grace is the Sacrament of Baptism properly a seale and who ever will deny that Infants are capable of these things as well as grown men must deny that any Infants dying in their Infancy are saved by Christ Against this Argument severall things are objected which I shall indevour to remove out of the way First It is said that although Infants are capable of these things and they no doubt are by Christ wrought in many Infants yet may not we baptize them because according to the Scripture pattern both of Christs command Matth. 28. in his institution of Baptisme where this was injoyned and John the Baptist Christs Disciples and Apostles They alwaies taught and made them Disciples by teaching before they baptized any I answer First that of Matth. 28. is not the institution of Baptisme it was instituted long before to be the Seale of the Covenant it 's only an inlargement of their Commission whereas before they were to go onely to the lost sheepe of the House of Israel now they were to go unto all the world And beside it is no where said that none were baptized but such as were first taught and what reason we have to beleeve the contrary you have before seen Secondly It is said indeed that they taught and baptized and no expresse mention made of any other but the reason is plain there was a new Church to be constituted all the Jews who should receive Christ were to come under another administration and their Infants were to come in only in their right and the Heathen Nations who were to be converted to Christ were yet wholly without the Covenant of Grace and their children could have no right untill themselves were brought in and therefore no marvaile though both John and Christs Disciples and Apostles did teach before they baptized because then no other were capable of baptism but when once themselves were instructed and baptized then their children were capable of it by vertue of the Covenant If any in the Jewish Church had received Commission to go and make other Cities Proselytes to them their Commission must have run thus Go teach and circumcise would it therefore have followed that none might be circumcised but such as were first taught But it is expresly said That hee that beleeves and is baptized shall bee saved Faith in Christ is the Condition upon which men may be baptized and this is the most common objection among the Anabaptists Unbeleevers may not bee baptized children are unbeleevers therefore they may not bee baptized We have say they cleare evidence that Faith is a condition required in those that are to be baptized no evidence of any other condition that makes them capable of Baptism Others of them adde that under an affirmative command the negative is to be included beleeving is the affirmative unbeleeving is the negative therefore where beleevers are commanded to be baptized unbeleevers are forbidden to be baptized this objection they much glory in and some of them dare all the world to answer it I Answer first but if this argument have any strength at all against the Baptizing of infants it hath much more strength against the salvation of infants it is said expresly he that beleeveth and is baptized shall be saved but he that beleeveth not shall bee damned there yee have both the negative and affirmative set downe Hee that beleeves shall bee saved hee that beleeves not shall bee damned now I frame their owne argument thus against the salvation of infants All unbeleevers shall bee damned all infants are unbeleevers therefore they shall bee damned now look at what doore they will goe out for the salvation of infants at the same will we go out for the baptizing of infants how ever they will evade the one we shall much more strongly evade the other if they say this Text is meant of growne men of the way which God takes for the salvation of grown men Infants are saved another way upon other conditions the same say we of infants baptisme the Text means of the condition of baptizing of grown men infants are baptized upon other conditions if they say infants though they cannot have actuall Faith they may have virtuall Faith Faith in the seed and roote the same say we if they say though infants have not Faith yet they may have that which is Analogous to faith the same say we they have somwhat which hath analogy to faith and as effectuall to make them capable of baptism as of salvation Secondly I answer it is no where said Unbeleevers or rather Non-beleevers it should be said may not bee baptized it is said indeed hee that beleeveth and is baptized shall bee saved and it is said that he that beleeveth with all his heart may be baptized it is no where said that he that beleeveth not may not be baptized Therfore I deny the consequence if all beleevers must be baptized then no Unbeleevers or Non-beleevers may be baptized these two are not here intended by way of opposition Christ excludes Infants neither from baptism nor from salvation