is called a seale of the Covenant therefore our Sacraments are seales of the Covenant because circumcision might be administred but once being the seale of initiation therefore Baptism being also the seale of initiation is also to be administred but once But that circumcision was to be administred upon the eighth day onely was an accidentall thing and therefore bindes not us the Jewish Passeover being to be yearely repeated binds us to have a repetition of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper which came in roome of it because this belongs to the substance of the Covenant both of them being Sacraments for spirituall nourishment growth and continuance in the Covenant as the other was for birth and entrance but that their Passeover was to be eaten in an Evening and upon one set Evening in the yeare was accidentall and so binds not us The like instance I give in our Christian Sabbath the fourth Commandement binds us for the substance of it as much as ever it bound the Jewes There God once for all separated one day of seven to be sacred to himselfe and all the world stood bound in all ages to give unto God that one day of seven which should be of his owne choosing Now untill Christs time God chose the last day of the seven to be his Sabbath and having by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus put an end to the Saturday Sabbath and surrogated the first day of the weeke in stead thereof to be the Lords day we need no new Commandment for the keeping of the Lords day being tyed by the fourth Commandment to keep that day of seven which the Lord should choose the Lord having chosen this the fourth Commandment binds us to this as it did the Jews to the former so in like manner I say in the Sacrament of Baptisme When God made the Covenant with Abraham and promised for his part to be the God of him and his seed what God promised to Abraham we claime our part in it as the children of Abrahams and what God required on Abrahams part for the substance of obedience we all stand charged with as well as Abraham we as Abraham are tyed to beleeve to love the Lord with all our heart to have our heart circumcised to walke before God in uprightnesse to instruct our children and bring them up for God and not for our selves nor for the Devill to teach them to worship God according to his revealed will to traine them up under the ordinances and institutions of Gods owne appointment all these things Gods command to Abraham charges upon all the children of the Covenant though there were no expresse reviving these commands in any part of the New Testament and therefore consequently that command of God to Abraham which bound his seed of the Jewes to traine up their children in that manner of worship which was then in force bindes the seed of Abraham now to traine up their children in conformity to such ordinances as now are in force And the same command which injoyned Abraham to seale his children with the seale of the Covenant injoynes us as strongly to seale ours with the seale of the Covenant and that command of God which expressely bound Abraham to seale his with the signe of Circumcision which was the Sacrament then in force pro tempore doth vertually binde us to seale ours with the signe of Baptisme which is the Sacrament now in force and succeeds in the roome of the other by his owne appointment There is one command by cleare consequence another you shall find Matth. 28. where our Saviour bids them goe and teach all Nations Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Sanne and of the Holy Ghost Where you have two things First What they were to doe Secondly To whom they were to doe it They were to preach and teach all things which he had commanded them that is they were to preach the whole Gospel Mark 16.15 The whole Covenant of Grace containing all the promises whereof this is one viz. that God will be the God of beleevers and of their seed that the seed of beleevers are taken into Covenant with their Parents This is a part of the Gospel preached unto Abraham and they were to Baptize them that is to administer Baptisme as a Seale of the Covenant to all who received the Covenant Secondly wee have the persons to whom they were to doe this all Nations whereas before the Church was tyed to one Nation one Nation onely were Disciples now their Commission was extended to make all Nations Disciples every Nation which should receive the faith should be to him now as the peculiar Nation of the Jewes had beene in time past In a word Nations here are opposed to the one Nation before Now we know when that one Nation of the Jewes were made Disciples and circumcised their infants were made Disciples made to belong to Gods Schoole and circumcised with them when that nation was made Disciples in Abrahams loynes and circumcised their seed also was the same when that Nation was taken out of Egypt and actually made Disciples their children were also with them and we know that in every Nation the children make a great part of the Nation and are alwayes included under every administration to the Nation whether promises or threatnings priviledges or burthens mercies or judgements unlesse they be excepted so are they in Cities in Families it being the way of the Scripture when speaking indefinitely of a People Nation City or Family to be either saved or damned to receive mercies or punishments expresly to except Infants when they are to be excepted as we see in the judgement that befell Israel in the Wildernesse when all that rebellious Company that came out of Egypt was to perish by Gods righteous doome their little ones were expresly excepted Num. 14.31 and in the Covenant actually entred into by the body of the Nation Neh. 10. it is expresly limited to them who had knowledge and understanding And the Disciples who received this Commission knew well that in all Gods former administrations when any Parents were made Disciples their children were taken in with them to appertaine to the same schoole and therefore it behooved the Lord to give them a caution for the leaving out of Infants in this new administration that they might know his mind if that he intends to have them left out which that ever he did in word or deed cannot be found in the Scriptures If it be said they are not capable of being Disciples I answer even as capable as the Infants of Jews and Proselytes were when they were made Disciples and beside they are devoted to be Disciples being to be trained up by the Parents who are from their infancy to teach them the knowledge of Christ and at the present they are capable of his owne teaching and sure I am in Christs owne dialect to belong to Christ and to
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
deprive them of the seale of it is in a spirituall sense farre more heavy And I dare appeale to the tender bowels of any beleeving Parents whether it were not easier for them to thinke that their Infants should be dashed against the stones and yet in the meane time to die under Christs wing as visible Members of his Kingdome Church and Family rather then to have them live and behold them to have a visible standing onely in the Kingdome of the Devill These men know not how much they provoke Christs displeasure against themselves He was greatly displeased with his owne Disciples for forbidding little children to come unto him one day such men will know that he is much more displeased with them who with so great violence oppose the bringing of beleevers children unto his holy Sacrament that with unspeakable wrong injury and slander they prosecute all the Ministers of Christ who give Infants this their due condemning them for Ministers of Antichrist and limbes of the Beast yea some of them proceeding so farre as condemning all the Churches of Christ to be no Churches who cast not their children out of the Covenant of Grace and the seale of it and doe cry out upon the Baptizing of Infants as one of those great sinnes which bring and continue all our judgements upon us The Apostate Emperour Julian is justly cryed out upon for his cruelty against the Christians for denying to their bodies humane Sepulture how much more cruell is it to deny to the souls of Infants the just priviledge and benefit of the Covenant of Grace We know he did it out of hatred to Christianity which I am farre from charging upon these men but if we compare the sentence and fact of the one with the other we shall find the latter be their principle what it will farre more injurious to the Church of Christ then the other The Lord in mercy give them to see how unjust that sentence and how heavy that doome is which they thus passe not only upon Infant Children but upon all the Churches of Christ and seriously to consider whether the Lord who once in his displeasure threatned to dash their Infants against the Stones who had dasht the Infants of the children of Israel against the Stones will indure it at the hands of any to expunge the Seed of the faithfull out of his Covenant and to drive them from his City and Kingdom after this cruell manner Secondly how much may this comfort the Soule of every beleeving Parent to behold this great love and goodnesse of God in his Covenant of Grace to them and their posterity that not only themselves but even their Infants for their sakes should be reckoned to the household of God put into the Arke wrapped up in a Covenant of love brought under the wing of God When God had promised to David that he should have a son to whom God would be a Father and that all his posterity should after such a gracious manner be regarded his heart was even ravished with it O Lord God said he what am I and what is my house that thou hast brought mee hitherto and this was yet a small thing in thy sight O Lord God but thou hast spoken also of thy servants house for a great while to come and is this the manner of men O Lord God And even so should Christian Parents break out into admiration of his goodnesse in taking their children into that gracious Covenant which is not only the womb and vessell but also the well-head of so many mercies which are terminated not in themselves but flow down to their posterity from generation to generation And this is yet more admirable in our eyes when we seriously consider how uncleane and filthy how viperous a brood they are as proceeding out of our loines empty of all goodnesse full of all wickednesse an uncleane leprosie having bespread them from the crown of the Head to the sole of the Foot fit only to be cast into the open field to the loathing of their persons in the day that they are born as all the rest of the world are and that God should set his heart upon such as these to take them thus neere unto Himself when he passes by both Parents and Infants of all the world beside now would our hearts melt in his praises if we could consider these things 2. How should this ingage all Christian Parents to look to the education of their Children to bring them up in the nurture and feare of the Lord It 's a wofull thing to consider the wretched carelesnesse of many Parents yea not onely carelesnesse but ungodlinesse of many Parents who prostitute their children to the Devill and his service after they have consecrated them to Christ by baptisme train them up in ignorance profanenesse c. To whom God may say as he did to that Harlot Ezek. 16. Thou hast taken my Sonne and my Daughter whom thou hast born unto mee and these thou hast sacrificed unto Devils A generation of wretched men who take more care of their Hogs and Dogs then they doe of their Infants immortall soules nourishing the former murdering the latter that we may say of them as Augustus did of Herod that it is better to be Herods Dog then his Son I have often heard a sad Story of a wretched Woman who perswaded her Daughter to yeeld to the lust of a rich man in hope he would marry her as he had promised to doe which she did and presently after fell sick and died The wretched mother hereupon grew distracted and in her madnesse cryed out O my Daughters soule my Daughters soule I have damned my Daughters soul Verily thus may many Parents cry out upon themselves for murthering their childrens soules and their children may wish that they had beene either dogges or swine rather then their Sons or Daughters miserable children of miserable Parents what will such Parents answer God when he comes to demand his children of them Suppose a Prince or Noble man should put a Child to Nurse unto some mean man and pay them well for the education of it or rather suppose a Great man should adopt the child of a poor man to be his own and should say unto this poore man as Pharaohs daughter said to Moses mother Bring up this Child for mee and I will give thee thy wages afterward comming to see this Child should find they had lamed the Child and taught it nothing but to speake evill of them and to fight against them thinke I pray you what they would say or doe to this wretched man How much more abominable is the sin of many Parents who by their own carelesnesse and vile example leaven their children with principles and lead them in wayes quite contrary to the Covenant of grace tending to nothing but to dishonour God and to their own destruction If any of you have