sonings, and what arguments to have ufed in favour of adult-baptism, and against infant-fprinkling. What I complain of is, that he has not made his friend to act in character, or to answer the account he is pleased to give of him:, However he has a double end in all this management; on the one hand, by representing his antagonist as a man of ingenuity and confiderable reading, he would be thought to have done a very great exploit in convincing and filencing fuch a man, and reducing him to the acknowledgment of the truth; and, on the other hand, by making him talk fo weakly, and fo eafily yielding to his arguments, he has acted a wife part, and taken care not to fuffer him to fay fuch things, as he was not able to answer; and which, as before observed, seems to be the view of writing in this dialogue-way.

CHA P.

II.

Of the Confequences of renouncing Infant-Baptifm.

ΤΗ THE minifter, in order to frighten his parishioner out of his principle of adult-baptifm, he was inclined to, fuggefts terrible confequences that would follow upon it; as his renouncing his baptifm in his infancy; vacating the covenant between God and him, he was brought into thereby; renouncing all other ordinances of the gospel, as the miniftry of the Word, and the facrament of the Lord's-Supper; that upon this principle, Chrift, for many ages, muft have forfaken his church, and not made good his promife of his prefence in this ordinance; and that there could be no fuch thing as baptifm in the world now, neither among Pædobaptifts, nor Antipædobaptifts.

ift, The first dreadful confequence following upon a man's espousing the principle of believers baptifm, is a renunciation of his baptifm; not of the ordinance of baptifm, that he cannot be faid to reject and renounce; for when he embraces the principle of adult-baptifm, and acts up to it, he receives the true baptifm, which the word of God warrants and directs unto, as will be feen hereafter: But it feems it is a renunciation of his baptifm in his infancy and what of that? it fhould be proved first, that that is baptifm, and that it is good and valid, before it can be charged as an evil to renounce it; it is right to renounce that which has no warrant or foundation in the word of God: But what aggravates this fuppofed evil is, that in it a perfon in his early infancy is dedicated to God the Father, Son, and holy Ghoft; it may be asked, by whom is the perfon in his infancy dedicated to God, when baptifm is faid to be admi-, niftered to him? Not by himself, for he is ignorant of the whole transaction; it must be either by the minifter, or his parents: The parents indeed desire

the

the child may be baptized, and the minifter uses fuch a form of words, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the holy Ghost'; but what dedication is here made by the one, or by the other? However, feeing there is no warrant from the word of God, either for fuch baptifm, or dedication; a renunciation of it need not give any uneafinefs to any perfon fo baptized and "dedicated.

2dly, To embrace adult-baptifm, and to renounce infant-baptifm, is to vaCate the covenant into which a perfon is brought by his baptifm, page 4. by which covenant the writer of the dialogue means the covenant of grace, as appears from all his after-reafonings from thence to the right of infants to baptifm.

1. He supposes that unbaptized perfons are, as to their external and visible relation, strangers to the covenants of promise; are not in covenant with God; not so much as vifible chriftians; but in a state of heathenifm; without hope of falvation, but from the uncovenanted mercies of God, p. 4, 5, 6. The covenant of grace was made from everlasting; and all interested in it were in covenant with God, as early, and so previous to their baptifm, as to their fecret relation God-wards; but this may be thought to be fufficiently guarded against by the restriction and limitation, "as to external and visible relation : " But I ask, are not all truly penitent perfons, all true believers in Christ, though not as yet baptized, in covenant with God, even as to their external and visible relation to him, which faith makes manifeft? Were not the three thousand in covenant with God vifibly, when they were pricked to the heart, and repented of their fins, and gladly received the word of the gospel, promifing the remisfion of them, though not as yet baptized? Was not the Eunuch in covenant with God? or was he in a state of heathenifm, when he made that confeffion of his faith, I believe that Jefus Chrift is the Son of God, previous to his going down into the water, and being baptized? Were the believers in Samaria, or thofe at Corinth, in an uncovenanted state, before the one were baptized by Philip, or the other by the apoftle Paul? Was Lydia, whofe heart the Lord opened, and who atended to the things that were spoken; and the Jailor, that believed and rejoiced in God, with all his house, in an uncovenanted state, before they submitted to the ordinance of baptifm? Are there not fome perfons, that have never been baptized, of whom there is reason to believe they have an interest in the covenant of grace? Were not the Old Teftament faints in the covenant of grace, before this rite of baptifm took place? Should it be faid, that circumcifion did that then, which baptifm does now, enter perfons into covenant, which equally wants proof, as this; it may be replied, that only commenced at a certain period of time; was not always in ufe, and belonged to a certain people

people only; whereas there were many before that, who were in the covenant of grace, and many after, and even at the fame time it was enjoined, who yet were not circumcifed; of which more hereafter: From all which it appears, how false that affertion is.

2. That a man is brought into covenant by baptifm, as this writer affirms; feeing the covenant of grace is from everlafting; and thofe that are put into it, were put into it fo foon; and that by God himself, whofe fole prerogative it is. Parents cannot enter their children into covenant, nor children themselves, nor ministers by sprinkling water upon them; it is an act of the fovereign grace of God, who fays, I will be their God, and they shall be my people: The phrase of bringing into the bond of the covenant, is but once used in fcripture; and then it is afcribed to God, and not to the creature; not to any act done by him, or done to him, Ezekiel xx. 37. and much less,

This man must

3. Can this covenant be vacated, or made null and void, by renouncing infant-baptifm: The covenant of grace is ordered in all things, and fure; its promises are Yea and Amen in Chrift; its bleffings are the fure mercies of David; God will not break it, and men cannot make it void; it is to everlafting, as well as from everlasting; thofe that are once in it can never be put out of it; nor can it be vacated by any thing done by them. have a strange notion of the covenant of grace, to write after this rate; he is faid to have wrote against the Arminians with some success; if he has, it must be in a different manner from this; for upon this principle, that the covenant of grace may be made null and void by an act of the creature, how will the election of God ftand fure? or the promise of the covenant be fure to all the feed? What will become of the doctrine of the faints perfeverance? or of the certainty of falvation to those that are chofen, redeemed, and called?

3dly, Another confequence faid to follow, on efpoufing the principle of adultbaptism, and renouncing that of infants, is a renouncing all other ordinances of the gospel, as the ministry of the word, and the facrament of the Lord's fupper, practically denying the influences of the Spirit in them, and all usefulness, comfort and communion by them. All which this author endeavours to make out, by obferving, that if infant-baptifm is a nullity, then thofe, who have received no other, if ministers, have no right to administer facred ordinances, being unbaptized; and, if private perfons, they have no right to partake of the Lord's fupper, for the fame reafon; and fo all public ordinances are just fuch a nullity as infant-baptism; and all the influences of the Spirit, in converfion, comfort, and communion, by them, must be practically denied, p. 5, 6. To which may be replied, that though upon the principle of adult-baptifm, as neceffary to the communion of churches, it follows, that no unbaptized perfon is regular

ly

ly called to the preaching of the word, and administration ordinances, or can be a regular communicant; yet it does not follow, that a man that renounces infant baptifm, and embraces believers baptifm, muft renounce all other ordinances, and look upon them juft fuch nullities as infant-baptifm is, and deny all the comfort and communion he has had in them; because the word may be truly preached, and the ordinance of the Lord's fupper be duly administered, by an irregular man, and even by a wicked man; yea, may be made useful for converfion and comfort; for the ufe and efficacy of the word and ordinances, do not depend upon the minifter or administrator; but upon God himself, who can, and does fometimes, make use of his own word for converfion, though preached by an irregular, and even an immoral man; and of his own ordinances, for comfort, by fuch an one, to his people, though they may be irregular and deficient in fome things, through ignorance and inadvertency.

4thly, Another confequence following upon this principle, as fuppofed, is, that if infant-baptism is no institution of Christ, and to be rejected, then the promife of Chrift, to be with his minifters in the adminiftration of the ordinance of baptifm, to the end of the world, Matt. xxviii. 19, 20. is not made good; fince for feveral ages, even from the fourth to the fixteenth century,, infant baptifm univerfally obtained, p. 6-8. To which the following answer may be returned; That the period of time pitched upon for the prevalence of infant-baptism is very unhappy for the credit of it, both as to the beginning and end; as to the beginning of it, in the fourth century, a period in which corruption in doctrine and difcipline flowed into the church, and the man of fin was ripening apace, for his appearance; and likewife as to the end, the time of the reformation, in which fuch abuses began to be corrected: The whole is a period of time, in which the true church of Chrift began gradually to disappear, or to be hidden, and at last fled into the wilderness; where he has not been forfaken of Chrift, but is, and will be, nourished, for a time, and times, and half a time; this period includes the grofs darkness of popery, and all the depths of Satan; and which to fuffer was no ways contrary to the veracity of Christ, in his promise to be with his true church and faithful ministers to the end of the world. Chrift has no where promifed, that his doctrines and ordinances fhould not be perverted; but, on the contrary, has given clear and ftrong intimations, that there fhould be a general falling-away and departure from the truth and ordinances of the gospel, to make way for the revelation of antichrift; and though it will be allowed, that during this period infant-baptifm prevailed, yet it did not univerfally obtain. There were witneffes for adult-baptifm in every age; and Chrift had a church in the wilderness, in obfcurity, at this time; namely, in the valleys of Piedmont; who were, from the beginning of the apostacy, and witneffed against it, and bore

their testimony against infant-baptifm, as will be feen hereafter, and with thefe. his prefence was; nor did he promise it to any, but in the faithful miniftration of his word and ordinances, which he has always made good; and it will lie upon this writer and his friends, to prove the gracious prefence of Chrift in the administration of infant-baptifm.

5thly, It is faid, that, upon these principles, rejecting infant-baptifm, and. efpoufing believers-baptifm, it is not poffible there fhould be any baptifm at all in the world, either among Pædobaptifts or Antipædobaptifts; the reafon of this confequence is, because the madmen of Munster, from whom this writer dates the first oppofition to infant-baptifm; and the firft Antipædobaptifts in England, had no other baptifm than what they received in their infancy; that adult-baptifm must first be adminiftered by unbaptized perfons, if infant-baptifm is no ordinance of Chrift, but a mere nullity; and fo by fuch as had no claim to the gospel ministry, nor right to adminifter ordinances; and confequently the whole fucceffion of the Antipædobaptift churches must remain unbaptized to this day; and fo no more baptifm among them, than among the Predobaptifts, until there is a new commiffion from heaven, to renew and restore this ordinance, which is, at prefent, loft out of the world, p. 6, 8, 9. As for the madmen of Munfter, as this writer calls them, and the rife of the Antipadobaptifts from them, and what is faid of them, I fhall confider in the next chapter. The English Antipædobaptifts, when they were first convinced of adult-baptifm, and of the mode of administering it by immerfion, and of the neceffity of fetting a reformation on foot in this matter, met together, and confulted about it: when they had fome difficulties thrown in their way, about a proper administrator to begin this work; fome were for fending meffengers to foreign churches, who were the fucceffors of the ancient Waldenfes in France and Bohemia; and accordingly did fend over fome, who being baptized, returned and baptized others. And this is a fufficient anfwer to all that this writer has advanced. But others thought that this was a needlefs fcruple, and looked too much like the popifh notion of an uninterrupted fucceffion, and aright conveyed through that to adminifter ordinances; and therefore judged, in fuch a cafe as theirs, there being a general corruption as to this ordinance, that an unbaptized perfon, who appeared to be otherwife qualified to preach the word, and adminifter ordinances, fhould begin it; and juftified themselves upon the fame principles that other reformers did, who, without any regard to an uninterrupted fucceffion, fet up new churches, ordained pastors, and administered ordinances: It must be owned, that in ordinary cafes, he ought to be. baptized himself, that baptizes another, or preaches the word, or adminifters. other ordinances; but in an extraordinary cafe, as this of beginning a reformaVOL. II. tion

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