find one word or sylâ—…ble in the Scriptures that makes for the repeal â—…d abrogation of the Covenant-right and Church-membership of Believers children 3. Christ came not to put Believers and their chilâ—ren in a worse condition than they were before â—e that would not accuse the woman taken in â—dultery but asked her where her accusers â—ere John 8.10.11 Will he who is so comâ—…ssionate and tender-hearted cast all Infants â—…t of his visible Kingdom without accusation â—oubtless it is a far worse condition to be out of â—…e visible Church of God than in it For orâ—…narily what God may do in an extraordinary â—…y I question not there is no salvation to be had â—…tin the visible Church of Christ This is the family of Christ this is the house of God â—… Tim. 3.15 And the Lord is said to add to the Church such as should be saved Acts 2.47 And they that do not belong to Christs visible Kingdom are said to be Aliens and Strangers from thâ— Common-wealth of Israel and the Covenants 〈◊〉 promise having no hope and without God in thâ— world Ephes 2.12 4. The Kingdoms of thâ—… world shall become the Kingdoms of the Lord anâ— of his Christ Rev. 11.15 Which undoubtedly is meant of the visible Church of Christ in respect of visible Church-membership Ordinanceâ—… and Privileges and if so how can we otherwiâ—… think but that this Kingdom will include anâ— take in the Species of Infants as members thereof It is also prophesied Dan. 2.34.35 Thaâ— the little stone cut out without hands which 〈◊〉 meant of the visible Kingdom of Christ thougâ— it be small at first yet in the later days it shall become a great Mountain and fill the whole earth which certainly will comprehend the Infants 〈◊〉 Believers Yea and when the Jews are re-ingrafteâ— into the Olive tree their children shall be re-iâ—grafted with them and shall be as aforetime Roâ— 11.24.25 Jer. 30.20 By what I have alreadâ— said it is evident that the Covenant interest anâ— Church-membership of Infants is not abrogateâ— 5. If the children of Believers now should 〈◊〉 excluded from visible Church-membership anâ— interest in the Covenant they would be in â— worse condition than the very children of tâ—… Gentiles were before the coming of Chriâ—… For in the times of the Old Testament if aâ—… Gentile or stranger did accept the Covenanâ— and own the God of Israel not only he but his children also were admitted members of the Church and reckoned to belong to the Covenant and Kingdom of God But according to the opinion of our dissenting Brethren if now the Parent accept the Covenant he himself indeed shall be admitted but his Infant-seed shall not be admitted to a visible member-ship of the Church of Christ so that we are in a worse case in this respect than the Gentile Proselytes were in the time of the Old Testament 6. The Lord hath said Exod. 20. That he will shew mercy to thousands of them that love and obey him which certainly extends to the children of the Faithful so far as to admit and entitle them to a visible Member-ship of his Church Doth God take care of Oxen are the very hairs of our head numbered by him and will he not think you visibly own and bless the poor Infants of his people who are so dear to him 7. There are Gospel Prophecies and promises which relate to the children and Seed of the godly The Psalmist tells us that the Seed of the righteous are blessed Psal 37.26 I will pour out my Spirit saith the Lord upon thy Seed and my Blessing upon thine Offspring and they shall spring up as among the Grass Isaiah 44.3,4 The Lord speaking of his people in Gospel times saith that he will make an everlasting Covenant with them and their Seed shall be known among the Gentiles and their Offspring among the people all that see them shall acknowledge them that they are the Seed which the Lord hath blessed Isaiah 61.8.9 And again Chapter 65.17,18,19,20 The The Lord saith there shall be no more an Infant of days nor an old man that hath not filled his days for the child shall die an hundred years old but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed and verse 23. These are the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their off-spring with them It is also prophecied Isai 49.22 of the times of the Gospel how God will lift up his hand to the Gentiles and set up his standard to the people and they shall bring their sons in their Arms and their daughters shall be carried on their shoulders And is it not evident from these and the like Prophetical expressions in the holy Scriptures that there are external visible priviledges of the Covenant and Gospel of Christ belonging to the seed of the Godly which do not belong to others Thirdly Let us consider that whosoever denies the visible Church-membership and Covenant-interest of Believers Infants and holds that the Covenant of Grace doth not visibly belong to such Infants leaves Parents without any visible ground of hope touching the justification and salvation of their Children that die in Infancy I say visible ground of hope As for Gods eternal election or the will of his purpose this is a secret thing and secret things belong to God but revealed things belong to us and our Children Deut. 29.29 If we hold not that the species of Infants do visibly belong to the Covenant and Church of God It will then follow that there is no visible ground of hope concerning them No man woman or child doth or can appear to us to be a member of the invisible Church and mystical body of Christ unless it be declared by God in his word or else by the visible profession and conversation of the party that he or she belongs to the visible Church of Christ In the prosecution of this three things may be noted 1 That sound hope and charity are regulated and guided by Judgment they must be grounded upon the Rule of Gods word and our judgment must have some Scripture evidence to proceed on or else it is but rash and blind Now where there is not so much as an outward appearance or visibility of Church-membership there is no evidence for us to build upon and consequently no right judgment or well grounded hope If therefore the Infants of Believers do not so much as visibly and externally belong to the Covenant and Kingdom of God then they are not visibly in a state of Grace and Salvation and so there is no visible ground of our hope touching their salvation 2 Our hope must rely on a word of promise or else it is but vain hope it must have a word from God to bottom upon as you may see in these Scriptures Rom. 15.4.13 Eph. 2.12 2 Thess 2.16 1 Tim. 1.1 Heb. 6.18,19 1 Pet. 3.15 Rom. 4.18.20 Now take away the visible Church-membership and Covenant-interest of Believers Infants and there is no
but also with reference to their children eyâ—…g the Covenant of Grace as comprehending both â—hemselves and their Infant-seed And accordingâ—… they have improved and pleaded the Covenant â—ith God when they have made their addresses to him this godly parents have formerly done and this we ought to do still For the proof and confirmation of this point take a few instances out of Scripture 1 We find David 2 Sam 23.5 pleading Gods Covenant made with him not only for himself but for his house and children though my house saith he be not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant it being usual in Scripture when housholds are spoken of to intend the children though they be not particularly mentioned Gen. 30.30 Gen. 45.11,18,19 Exod. 4.1 2 Sam. 27.3 Prov. 31.15 Luk. 12.42 Yea the children are chiefly intended by the houshold 1 Sam. 20.15 2 Sam. 9.9 1 Kings 17.12.13.15 Psal 127.1.3 Prov. 12.7 Isai 31.2 Hos 1.4 Hab. 2.9,10 1 Tim 3,4,5 and 1 Tim. 5.4,8,14 compared with 2 Tim. 1.16 children being the ordinary instruments to continue and uphold the house as in natural and civil so in religious and ecclesiastical respects And hence they are builden of the house both ways as the hebrew radix signifies from which the word used for sons and daughters is derived And hence also we have that phrase of Gods building the women houses Exod. 1.21 And here in this instance of David that godly man where he saith although my house be not so with God yet c. he exerciseth faith in the Covenant which was a gracious Covenant with respect unto his house and therefore it is said to be all his salvation and all his desire not only touching himself but his house and children also When he reflected upon the great disorders and miscarriages which were amongst them 2. To go up far highâ—… 〈◊〉 higher than Davids time Our great Grandmother Eve also did thus eye and improve the gracious promise of God as made not only with reference to Adam and her but to their Infant-Church seed Abel being slain and Cain having rejected the grace of the promise when her Infant Seth was born she believed that God had for his coveâ—ant's sake looked graciously upon her in that Inâ—ant of hers and she called his name Seth for saith â—…e God hath appointed me another seed instead â—f Abel whom Cain slew Gen. 4 25. This she spake â—f him not as a meer natural child born accordâ—ng to the course of nature but as of a Covenant â—nd Church-seed and therefore she compares him â—o Abel and not to Cain and calls him by such a â—…me as signified her faith touching the Covenantâ—ate and interest of this Infant nor did she thereâ—… fail of her faith and hope as appears vers 26. â— This was likewise the practice of other parents â—embers of the Church of God Lamech when â—oah was born looking to the promise of God â—…ve his Infant the name of Noah Gen. 5.28.29 â—…lieving that that Child should be as it were a â—…ot to the Church and people of God though the â—…rrupt wicked world should be destroyed 4. â—…s for Abraham the father of the faithful there 〈◊〉 no question to be made but that he exercised â—…th in Gods Covenant both for himself and his â—…d the covenant being expresly renewed with 〈◊〉 and his Infant-seed Gen. 17.7,8 c. Which â—…s an everlasting gracious covenant And this â—…venant did comfort and support Abraham in reâ—…ence to his posterity and made him put up that â—…ly wish and prayer mentioned ver 18. O that Ishmael might live in thy sight But yet long before Abraham was born this was the practice of the servants of God even in dark times when the Covenant and promises were not so clearly revealed and much more ought it to be our practice now 5. It is further evident that the Saints of old did exercise faith touching the Foederal estate or Covenant-interest of their children by comparing Psal 102.25,26,27,28 with Heb 1.10,11,12 which referrs to Jesus Christ the Surety and Mediator of the Covenant in whom they pleaded with God and expected a Blessing from him for their children and that by vertuâ— of Gods Gracious Covenant Nor was it meerly a temporal vanishing good to their children which they looked for and expected but thaâ— their children might be established before Goâ— in the Spiritual Blessings of the Covenant aâ— you may see in that Psalm 102. Verse 25 26 27 28. compared together And there is the liâ—… ground for the exercise of our Faith in the Câ—venant touching our Infants now under tâ—… New Testament Administration For the fuller satisfaction herein I will lâ—… down these five Propositions Propos 1. That children are so comprehendâ—… and involved in their Parents by the dispenâ—…tion of God that the Parents act is counted tâ—… childrens act and the Parents neglect thâ—… neglect as we may plainly see in the case of Câ—…cumcision That Soul shall be cut â—ff that is 〈◊〉 circumcised for he hath broken my Covenant saâ—… the Lord Gen. 17.14 And yet the Infant hiâ—self was not capable of a personal neglect And though our Saviour required personal Faith in grown ones as to their own bodily cure yet as for their children it was accepted when their Parents believed on their behalf John 4.50,51 Mark 9. v. 12. to 18. Matth. 15 22. to 29. Not that the Parents Faith is meritorious only this we say That upon a Believers accepting the Covenant for himself and his Seed there doth result in the sence formerly expressed not only a personal right to a mans self but a parental right also to his children so as to render them capable of some privileges of the Covenant Propos 2. That this is one part or branch of the Gospel of Christ which is to be preached in the extent and latitude of it Namely that the Infants of Believers are Confoederates in and with their Parents being taken into one and the same Covenant together with their Parents What is the Gospel of Christ I pray you but good News Glad Tydings a Joyful Message And is it not good news that God hath made a Gracious Covenant with us and our children And that God owns and hath respect not only to us but also to our little ones As when one conveys or makes over a House or a piece of Land to a man and the Heirs of his Body it is a far greater privilege and more acceptable to the Grantee than if it were only made over to the man himself And in this latitude and extent the Gospel or Covenant of Grace was eyed and improved by the faithful from the beginning of the world as I have shewed And so it shall be in the purer times of the Gospel towards the end of the world when the power of Antichrist is destroyed and when all the Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of Christ Rev. 11.15 When nations shall flow into