Ans. Children are paities of the covenant of grace. The covenant was made with them. Gen. xvii 7,, " I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and thy seed after thee." And Acts ii. 39., " The promise is unto you and to your children." The co- venant of grace may be considered either, (1.) More strictly, as an absolute promise to give saving grace ; and so none but the elect are in covenant with God. Or, (2.) More largely, as a covenant containing in it many outward glorious privileges, in which respects the children of believers do belong to the covenant of grace : the pro- mise is to you and to your seed. The in- fant-seed of believers may as well lay a claim to the covenant of grace as their pa- rents ; and having a right to the covenant, thev cannot justly be denied bai)tism, which is the seal. I would ask this question of them who deny infant baptism, it is cer- tain the children of 1 elievers were once vi- sibly in covenant with (io<l, and did receive the seal of their admission into the church
OF BAPTISM.
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now wlierp clo we fiiid this covenant-inte- rest, or clmrcli nieinhersliij) of* infants, was ever repealed or made void .'' Certainly Je- sus Christ did not come to put believers and their children into a woise condition than they were in before. If the children of believers should not be baptized, they are in a worse condition now than they were 1!! before Christ's cominfj. Before I come to prove the baptizing^ of infants I shall an- swer the objections made against it.
Ob J. 1. IVie scripture is silent hereiv, and doth not mention in/'ant-haptism.
Ans. Thouffh there is not the word in- fnnt-hn}>fi>^in in scrij)t(ire, yet there is the thinti;'. There is not menti(»n niad<' in scrip- ture td" wiUTien's receiviiig the sacrament, but who doubts but the command, " Take, eat, this is my body," concerns them ? J)oth 7iot their faith need strengtlu'ninji^ as well as others ? So the word Trinilti is not to b(; found in scripture, but there is that which is equivalent, 1 Jolin v. 7., " There are Three that bear record in heaven, the Fa- ther, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one." So, though the word infant-baptism is not mentioned in scripture, yet the practice of baptizing infants may be drawn out of scripture by undeniable con- eequence.
Quest. Hoiv is that proved?
Ans. The scripture mentions whole fami- lies baptized : as the household of I.ydia, Crisj)us, and the jailor. Acts xvi. 33., " He was bajjtized, he and all his house." Wherein we must rationally imagine that there were some little children. If it be said, tliere is no mention there made of children : I answer, neither are servants named, yet it cannot be supposed but that, in so great a family, there were some ser- vants.
Obj. 2. But infants are not capable of the end of baptism : for baptism, siynijies the washing away of sin by the l)lood of Christ. Now infants cannot understand this ; there- fore, uhal benefit can tiaptixm be to them ?
An>. Whereas it is said, infants cannot understand the mystery of baptism, neither could the child that was to be circumcised understand circumcision; vet the ordinance of circumcision was not to be omitted or deferred. An infant, though it understand
not the moaning of ba])tism, yet it may par- take of the blessing of baptism. The littlo children that Christ took in his arms, un- derstood not Christ's meaning, but they had Christ's blessing, Mark x. 16., " He put his hands upon them and l)lessed them."
Quest. But what benefit can the chihl have of baptism, if it understand not the nature of baptism ?
Ans. It may have a right to the promise sealed up, which it shall have an actiuil in- terest in when it comes to have faith. A legacy may be of use to the child in the ' cradle, though it now understand not the legacy, yet when it is grown up to years, it is fidly possessed of it. But it may be ! further objected :
Ob.i. 1. The party to be baptised is to be enyaytd to God ; but how can the child en- gage i
Ans. The parents can engage for it, which (lod is ])leased to accept as equivalent to the child's personal engaging.
Obj. 2. If baptism comes in the room, of circumcision, only the males were circumcised, Gen. xvii. 27. Then what warrant is there for baptizing females ?
Ans. The f(Mnales were included, and were virtually circumcised in the males. What is done to the head is done to the bo- dy; the man thereAne being the head of the woman, 1 Cor. xi. 3. What was done to the male sex was interpretatively done to the female. Having answered these ob- jections, I come now to pi*ove by argument, infant-ba])tism.