BAPTISM. and all were not Ifrael that were of Ifrael, or of Jacob, ver. 6. The covenant of the priesthood was indeed made with Levi and Phinehas, and their pofterity; and though it is called an everlasting one, it is now made void; nor is there any other in its room with the minifters of the word and their pofterity; and yet no outcry is made of the children of gofpel-minifters being in a worse condition, and their privileges lefs than thofe of the priests and Levites: and as for David, the fad estate of his family, and the wicked behaviour of most of his children, fhew, that the covenant of grace was not made with him and his natural offspring; and whatever covenants those were that were made with these perfons, they furnish out no argument proving the covenant of grace to be made with believers and their carnal feed, and ftill lefs any argument in favour of infant-baptifm *.

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The eleventh argument is; "The feed of believers ought to be baptized "under the covenant of grace, otherwife they would be reckoned pagans, "and the offspring of infidels and idolaters, to whom there is neither a promise "nor any fign of hope; whereas the fcripture makes a difference, calling them holy on account of their relation to the holy covenant, when either their "father or mother believe, difciples; reckoning them among them that be"lieve, because of their relation to the houshold of faith; ftyling them the feed of the bleed, and their offspring with them; accounting them for a "generation to the Lord, as David fays; who, ver. 10. obferves, that God "was his God from his mother's belly; and alfo calling them the children of "God"; therefore they ought to be dedicated to him by that ordinance which "he has appointed for that purpose." To all which may be replied, 1. That the children of believers are by nature children of wrath even as others; and are no better than others; and were they baptized, they would not be at all the better christians for it. Though, 2. It will be allowed that there is a difference between the offspring of believers, and those of infidels, pagans and idolaters; and the former have abundantly the advantage of the latter, as they have a chriftian education; and confequently as they are brought up under the means of grace, there is hope of them; and it may be expected that the promise of God to fuch who use the means will be accomplished. But, 3. the characters mentioned either do not belong to children, or not for the reason given; and those that do, do not furnish out an argument for their baptifm. Children are faid to be holy, born in lawful wedlock; not on account of their relation to the holy covenant, but on account of the holiness of a believing parent, which furely

* Let this also be observed, together with the answer to the first argument of the author of The baptifm of Infants a reasonable Service, &c. p. 14.

a Matt. xviii. 6.

b Ifai. lxv. 23.

YI Cor. vii. 14.

• Pfal. xxii. 30.

z Acts xv. 10. Ezek. xvi. 20, 28.

e 1 Cor. vii. 14.

furely cannot be a federal holiness, but a matrimonial one; the marriage of a believer with an unbeliever being valid, or otherwife their children must be unclean or illegitimate, and not holy or legitimate. The difciples in As xv. 10. are not young children, but adult perfons, the converted Gentiles, on whom the falfe teachers would have put the yoke of the ceremonial law, and particularly circumcifion. The little ones reckoned among thofe that believe in Chrift, Matt. xviii. 6. were not infants in age, but the apoftles of our Lord, who were little in their own account, and in the account of others, whom to offend was criminal, highly provoking to Chrift, and of dangerous confequence. The text, Ifai. lxv. 23. fpeaks of the fpiritual feed of the church, and not the carnal feed of believers; and thefe are the fame who are accounted to the Lord for a generation; even a spiritual feed that shall serve him, Pfal. xxii. 30. and the words in ver. 10. are the words, not of David, but of Chrift. And the fons and daughters born to God, and whom he calls his children, Ezekiel xvi. 20, 21. were fo, not by grace or by covenant, but by creation. And from the whole there is not the leaft reafon why the children of believers fhould be dedicated to God by baptism, which is an ordinance that never was appointed by him for any fuch purpose.

The twelfth argument is; "The feed of believers are to be baptized, because "church-relation belongs to them, as citizenship belongs to the children of "freemen; and it is by baptifm that they are first admitted into the visible "church; and there is neither covenant nor promise of falvation out of the "church; for the church of Chrift is his kingdom on earth, and Christ says "this belongs to children." In answer to which, 1. There is a manifest contradiction in the argument. Church-relation belongs to infants, that is, they are related to the church, and members of it, and therefore should be baptized; and yet they are first admitted into the church by baptifm; what a contradiction this in it, and out of it, related, and not related to it, at one and the fame time. 2. Church-membership does not pass from father to fon, nor is it by birth, as citizenship, or the freedom of cities; the one is a civil, the other an ecclefiaftical affair; the one is of nature, the other of grace; natural birth gives a right to the one, but the fpiritual birth or regeneration only intitles to the other. 3. Church-membership gives no right to baptism, but rather baptifm to church-membership, or however is a qualification requifite to it; perfons ought to be baptized before they are church-members; and if they are churchmembers, and not regenerate perfons and believers in Christ, for such may be in a church, they have no right to baptifm. 4. To talk of there being no covenant or promife of falvation out of the church, fmells rank of popery. The

covenant

Vide ibid, p. 24.

Mark x. 13, 14.

BAPTISM. covenant and promise of salvation are not made with and to perfons as members of churches, or as in a visible church-ftate, but with and to the elect of God in Christ, and with perfons only confidered in him; who have an intereft in the covenant and promise of falvation, though they may not be in a visible churchstate; and doubtless many are faved who never were members of a visible church: 5. The kingdom of God, in Mark x. 13, 14. be it the church of Chrift on earth, or eternal glory in heaven, only belongs to fuch perfons who are like to little children for their meeknefs and humility, and freedom from malice and rancor, as ver. 15. fhows. 6. Could infants in age, or the feed of believers as fuch be here meant, and the kingdom of God be understood of Chrift's visible church, and they as belonging to it, it would prove more than this writer chufes; namely, that they have a right to all church-privileges, and particularly and especially to the Lord's fupper.

The thirteenth argument is; "Children are the lambs of Chrift's flock and "fheep; and the lambs ought not to be kept out of Christ's fold, nor hindered "from the washing that is in his blood; he particularly promises to be their

fhepherd; and his Spirit has declared, that little children fhould be brought "to him under the gospel, in the arms, and on the shoulders of their parents On which may be obferved, 1. That there is indeed mention made of the lambs of Chrift in Ifai. xl. 11. John xxi. 15. which he gathers in his arms, and ordered Peter to feed; yet not infants in age are intended in either place, but adult perfons, weak believers, who, in comparison of others, because of their small degree of knowledge and ftrength, are called lambs; and are to be gently and tenderly dealt with; and fuch as these are not kept out of Chrift's fold, but are received into it, though weak in the faith, but not to doubtful disputations; and are fed with knowledge and understanding, which infants in age are not capable of. 2. The infant-feed of believers are no where called the fheep of Chrift, nor has he promised to be the fhepherd of them; let the paffages be directed to, if it can be, where this is faid. 3. Those who are truly the lambs and fheep of Christ, are not hindered from the washing of his blood; though that is not to be done, nor is it done by baptifm; perfons may be washed with water, as Simon Magus, and yet not washed in the blood of Chrift: Canticles vi. 6. does not intend washing in either fenfe; but either the regenerating grace of the spirit, or the purity of converfation, and refpects not infants at all. 4. Nor is it declared by the Spirit of God, that parents should bring their children to Christ in their arms, and on their fhoulders; the paffage in Ifai. xlix. 22. brought in fupport of it, speaks of the fpiritual feed of the church, and not of the carnal feed of believers; and of their being brought, not in the arms and on the shoul

VOL. II..

3. A
3.A

h Ifai. xl. 11. and xlix. 22. Cant. vi. 6. John xxi. 15.

ders

ders of their natural parents, but of the Gentiles; and not to Chrift, but to the church, through the miniftry of the word in the latter day, in which the Gentiles would be very affifting.

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The fourteenth argument runs thus: "The feed of the faithful ought to be "baptized, because they were partakers of all the former baptifms mentioned "in fcripture, as the children of Noab in the ark; the Ifraelites at the Red sea, "and in the cloud. Several children were baptized with the baptism of the Spirit, for feveral were filled with the holy Ghost from their mother's womb; "all the children of Bethlehem under two years old, with the baptism of mar"tyrdom'; and many children with John's baptifm, fince he baptized the "whole country." But, 1. It unhappily falls out, for the caufe of infantbaptifm, that Noab's children in the ark were all adult and married persons ". 2. That there were children among the Ifraelites when they were baptized in the cloud, and in the fea, is not denied; but then it should be obferved, that they did all eat the fame spiritual meat, and did all drink the fame fpiritual drink; and therefore, if this does not give a fufficient claim to infants to partake of the Lord's fupper, neither will the other prove their right to baptifm: moreover, if any arguments can be formed from this and the former inftance, for the adminiftration of baptifm under the New Teftament, they will clearly fhew, that it ought to be administered by immersion; for, as in the former, when the fountains of the great deep were broke up under them, and the windows of heaven were opened over them, they were as perfons immerfed in water; fo when the waters of the Red sea stood up on each side, and the cloud was over the Ifraelites, they were, as it were overwhelmed in water. 3. Though this writer fays, that feveral children were filled with the holy Ghost from their mother's womb, yet we read but of one that was fo, John the Baptist, a very extraordinary person, and extraordinarily qualified for extraordinary work, an instance not to be mentioned in ordinary cafes; befides, it is a rule in logic, a particulari ad univerfalem non valet confequentia, "from a particular to an univerfal, the confequence

is not conclufive." Moreover, in what sense John was filled with the holy Ghost so early, is not eafy to fay; and be it what it will, the fame cannot be proved of the feed of believers in general; and could it, it would give no right to baptifm, without a positive inftitution; it gave no right to John himself. 4. That the infants at Bethlehem were murdered, will be granted, but that they fuffered martyrdom for Chrift, will not eafily be proved; fince they knew nothing of the matter, and were not confcious on what account their lives were taken away. 5. That many or any children were baptized with John's baptifm

A Pet, iii. 20.

m Gen. vii. 7.

1 Cor. x. 1, 2. Exod. xii. 37.

1 Matt. ii.

we

we deny, and call upon this writer to prove it, and even to give us one fingle inftance of it; what he suggests is no evidence of it, as that the whole country in general were baptized by him, who could not be all childless; but I hope he does not think, that every individual perfon in the country of Judea was baptized by John; it is certain, that there were many even adult persons that were refused by him, and fuch as were baptized by him, were fuch as confeffed their fins, which infants could not do": and as to the probability of the displeasure of Jewish parents, fuggefted if their children had not been baptized by John, fince they were used, and under a command of God, to bring their children to the covenant and ordinances of God, it deserves no regard, fince whatever probability there was of their displeasure, though I fee none, there could be no juft ground for it; fince in the inftances given, they had the command of God for what they did, for this they had none.

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The fifteenth argument is: "It is contrary to the apostle's practice, to leave any unbaptized in christian families; for they baptized whole families when "the heads of them believed; as the families of Lydia, the Jailor, and Ste"phanas; and it is evident, that the words, family and houfhold, in fcripture, "mean chiefly children, fons, daughters, and little ones "." To which I reply, that whatever these words fignify in fome places of fcripture, though in the paffages mentioned they do not chiefly intend new-born infants, but grown perfons; it should be proved, that there were infants in families and housholds that were baptized, and that these were baptized together with the head of the family; for it is certain, there are many families and houfholds that have no little children in them; and as for those that are instanced in, it is not probable that there were any in them; and it is manifest, that such as were baptized, were adult perfons and believers in Chrift. It is not evident in what ftation of life Lydia was, whether married or unmarried, and whether he had young children or not; and if she had, it is not likely they should be with her, when at a distance from her native place, and upon business; it is most probable, that those that were with her, called her houfhold, were her fervants, that affifted her in her business, and it is certain, that when the apostles entered her house, those that were there, and who doubtlefs are the fame that were baptized, were called brethren, and fuch as were capable of being comforted"; and the Jailor's houshold were fuch as had the word of God spoken to them, and received it with joy, took pleasure in the company and converfation of the apostles, and believed in God together with him, and fo were adult perfons, believers.

■ Matt. iii. 5-7.

3A 2

• Gen. xvii. Deut. xxix. 10, 13. Joel ii. 16.

▸ Compare Exod. i. 1, 7. with Gen. xlvi. 5. and xlv. 18, 19. compare 1 Sam. xxvii. 3. with chap. xxx. 6. 1 Tim. iii. 8. Gen. xxx. 30. Numb. iii. 15. • Acts xvi, 15, 40.