But to come more closely. The only reason why they are said to be incapable of faith is, because they cannot exercise it. Now, that they are not incapable of faith, though they cannot exercise it, I shall prove by several instances. This supposition will seem to infer that it may be so. If infants had been born of Adam in innocency, they had been capable of original purity and of the principle and root of all faith, and assent to the word of God would naturally have been in them, which in time, and according to the degiees of age, would have put forth itself. Infants in their measure should have been as Christ Avas. As soon as he was born, he was filled with the Holy Ghost, yet he grew in wisdom and knowledge, Luke ii. 40-52, The graces of the Holy Ghost did exert and put forth themselves in Cln-ist by degrees. Now this, according to their measure, would have been the condition of infants born of Adam, if he had stood in innocency ; therefore there is no repugnancy, but that by a supernatural work the seed and root of grace may be in them. I say, it is no more inconceivable than the original purity of infants, if they had stood in Adam. And I shall show you by another instance. Take nature as it is now corrupted ; if they are capable of sin by nature, why not of grace, by a work of the Spirit of God above nature ? Now we see that they are capable of the root of sin, which lies hid in infants, and bewrayeth itself in time ; and if they are capable of sin, which is one habit, why are they not capable of grace, if the Spirit of God will work it, which is another habit? They are sinners not by any act of their own, but by an hereditary habit, or vicious nature received from Adam, though not exerting and putting forth itself by any act. So they may have grace, though not exerting and discovering itself by any acts yet lying hid and sliut up in the habitual ])rinciple of grace. As they are defiled ])y the sin of Adam, though they be not capable to understand it, so they may be sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, though they be not sensible of the merit of Christ, nor capable of understanding the way and the work
VeR. 6.] SEKMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 85
of redemption. To take off the prejudice of incapficity, take some resemblances of it ia common things. We see that infants are capable of reason, though not of discourse; the,y are rational creatures. In- fants have reason and understanding, though it lie hid for a while. The whelp of the wolf has a pi-inciple of rapacity, which discovers it- self afterward. The vital and vegetative force in any plant lies hid in the seed and root, which to appearance is dead and dry, and afterwards plainly discovers and puts it forth ; so infants, though they have no actual sense and knowledge of the redemption of Christ, yet they may have some impressions of the divine image upon their souls, which in time shows itself by light in the understanding, by purity in the heart, and by conformity in the life to the law of God. Again, that it is not impossible appears by those expressions in scripture, where some are said to be sanctified from the womb ; as of John Baptist, it is said, ' He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb,' Luke i. 15. Grant it to be a peculiar privilege of John, but it is not so in all elect infants ; yet it may be so. So those expressions of trusting God from the mother's womb, David speaks it of his own person, as a type of Christ : Ps. xxii. 9, ' Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts ; ' and Job saith, chap. xxxi. IS, 'From my youth he was brought up with me as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb ; ' meaning, he had an indoles, or disposition of pity, put into him at his nativity. So also, why may not a principle of faith be put into us in the womb, if God will work it ?
2. I shall prove that it must be so ; how else should infiints be saved ? There is no salvation without the covenant, and in the cov- enant there is no salvation but by faith in Christ. By their natural birth, all children are children of wrath, enemies to God, guilty before God. As we read it, the word is v7r68iKo<i, liable to the jn-ocess of divine justice : Rom. iii. 19, ' All the world is become guilty before God,' and so are infants ; there is no reason to exempt them. They are all dead in sin ; and the scripture saith expressly, ' He that believeth not, is condemned already,' John iii. 18 ; that is, liable to the sentence of condemnation ; so that believers they must be, or else they must be damned ; and regenerate they must be, or else we know there is no way of entering into the kingdom of God. Let any one show us any way or pleasing God without faith, or of entering into heaven without regeneration. John iii. 3, Christ hath expressly said, ' Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' In the first com- mission of the apostles, when they went forth to preach the word of life, this was the tenor of the gospel : Mark xvi. 16, ' He that believ- eth shall be saved ; and he that believeth not shall be damned.' Let men show any ground in scripture of a middle sort of men, between believers and unbelievers, or any other way of salvation but by Christ ; and in Christ, but by faith in Christ. If men say, All those places belong to grown persons, or those that are of age ; by this shift j^ju may elude any scripture ; and where then shall we have a rule whereby to judge of infants ? which, how^ comfortless it will be to parents, and liow derogatory to the grace of the covenant, anyone cannot chooso but see.