The infants advocate against the cruel doctrine of those Presbyterians who hold, that the greatest part of dying infants shall be damned : in answer to a book of Mr. Giles Firmin's entituled, Scripture warrant, &c. / by Tho. Grantham. Grantham, Thomas, 1634-1692. 1688 Approx. 83 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 17 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A41781 Wing G1538 ESTC R43209 27021099 ocm 27021099 109913 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A41781) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 109913) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1718:16) The infants advocate against the cruel doctrine of those Presbyterians who hold, that the greatest part of dying infants shall be damned : in answer to a book of Mr. Giles Firmin's entituled, Scripture warrant, &c. / by Tho. Grantham. Grantham, Thomas, 1634-1692. 32 p. Printed by J.D. for the author, London : 1688. Imperfect: stained, print show-through, and slight loss of text. Reproduction of original in Bodleian Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO. EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Firmin, Giles, 1614-1697. -- Scripture-warrant sufficient proof. Infant baptism -- Controversial literature. 2007-11 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-11 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2008-01 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2008-01 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE Infants Advocate , AGAINST The cruel Doctrine of those Presbyterians , who hold , That the greatest part of Dying Infants shall be DAMNED . In Answer to a Book of Mr. GILES FIRMIN'S , entituled , Scripture Warrant , &c. By THO. GRANTHAM . Exod. 32. 32 , 33. Yet now , if thou wilt , forgive their Sin ; and if not , blot me , I pray thee , out of thy Book which thou hast written . And the Lord said unto Moses , Whosoever hath sinned against me , him will I blot out of my Book . Matth. 18. 10 , 11 , 14. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little Ones ; for I say unto you , that in Heaven their Angels do always behold the Face of my Father which is in Heaven . For the Son of Man came to seek , and to save that which is lost — Even so it is not the Will of your Father which is in Heaven , that one of these little Ones should perish . London , Printed by J. D. for the Author . 1688. The PREFACE . Honest Reader ; I Could not have thought that a Man reputed wise , an old Professor , and one who so bears himself upon his Father's Covenant ( whom he will have to be a Son of Abraham , and so himself to be Abraham's Son also ) could have given such evident Proof of the contrary , as by his Book he has brought forth . Sure I am , I answered his two Questions in much Love and Faithfulness , according to my Ability , being thereunto desired by some of his Neighbours : And I hope no Impartial Reader will censure me to be a Scoffer , as Mr. Firmin does : But truly I think he was pleased to throw that Dirt , that he might have some pretence to give scope to his ill Spirit , to exercise it self that way . I confess I use these words upon the occasion of his talking so high of his Father's Covenant [ that it would even make a well Man sick , to see what pitiful work he makes of it . ] And here I will give thee an account of it , and then judg of me as thou pleasest . Saith Mr. F. When I could not tell where to lay hold ( meaning in his dismal Temptations ) my Parental Covenant and Infant Baptism was a support to me . So that I bless God , 1. For Abraham ' s Covenant . 2. I bless God that I had Godly Parents . 3. I bless God my Parents were no Anabaptists , &c. Only a word , some may think you had Godly Parents , mine were not so : It may be I had a Godly Grandfather , or a Mother ; Had you so ? no doubt but you may improve the Covenant from him . The second Commandment will help you — others may say , Baptized I am , but my Parents bad enough . Well , art awake ? and art in earnest for Christ and the saving Blessings come by him ? you may improve your Covenant . A Woman putting a Question , how she might know whether ever she had these Qualifications ? Mr. F. tells us , that whilst he was troubled about making out these Qualifications , there comes a Motion into my Mind , ( saith he ) What say you to your Father's Covenant ? you know your Parents were Godly — will you stand to your Father's Covenant ? Here my Qualification was the choice of my Father's God , who was mine before by an external Covenant : But now to have him my God , my Portion by an internal Covenant , and Efficacy , here I was pent up . Will you chuse or refuse him ? &c. Now whether this Discourse will not almost make a well Man sick ( I mean a serious Christian troubled ) to hear a wise Man talk at this rate ? And whether he does not lay his Foundation upon his Qualification ? for by that , saith he , was the choice of my Father's God. And does he not also set up his Will as high as ever any did , in chusing or refusing God to be his God , his Portion by internal Covenant and Efficacy ? Sure he doth . Mr. F's great business is to abuse and disgrace me , by false and foolish Stories , which have been told him by others , which I pass by as unworthy observation . And then he falls in with the Papists against me , in the case of abstaining from , or eating Blood , justifying himself and them in the latter . Tho he confesses the believing Gentiles were forbidden to eat Blood by that Decree , Act. 15. 29. And when these Decrees were repealed ; he cannot tell ; and whilst he makes us for observing them , such as do not believe the Blood of Christ to be our Atonement ; and that we hold some things to be unclean of themselves ; he condemns also the Primitive Christians , who religiously abstain'd from Blood for several hundred Years after Christ , and makes himself wiser than the Apostles ; for had they known such to be the consequence , they would not have made them , nor have deliver'd them to be kept as they did , Acts 16. 4. We know that that which goes into the Man defiles not , and therefore Blood defiles not , but acting against God's Word defiled Evah , even by eating that which was good for Food ; and so may Mr. F. defile himself , for he says he will eat Blood Puddings , S. A. by which he means , Sir Anabaptist : and indeed a scornful Spirit breaths in many Pages of his late Books . He is pleased to throw Dirt upon me very freely , about an escape of the Pen or Press , I am not sure which , and yet he being a Scholar , and acquainted with such over-sights , could not but discern , unless Malice blinded him , that it was an oversight . The Passage is about the time when Transubstantiation came into the World , and the Book which he quarels has it thus : How rigidly do they impose the Decrees of the Trent-Councils : Where note , the word Councils being plural , he might easily have supposed Lateran , which was wanting ; for thus it stands in the Catechism of the Papists ( of which I give notice Pag. 55. ) The Lateran and Trent Councils , and from thence I took the date of Transubstantiation . Not but that I have read the same in other Authors . But here he brands me with gross Ignorance , and I grant I am not so well read as himself , if that will please him . And my rejoycing is this , that in Simplicity and Godly Sincerity I wrote that Book which he despises ; and I hope God will bless my Endeavours , in which I trust , I have no other scope but his Glory and the good of all Men ; heartily desiring that all Truth were restored to its Primitive Purity and Simplicity . As to his three first Chapters , I shall say little to them at present , being very well satisfied with my Answers to his two Questions , notwithstanding all that he has said to render them invalid . The chief thing which I design in this Reply is , to maintain ( what in me is ) the Mercy of God to all dying Infants , against Mr. F. and others , whose cruel Doctrine sends them by Millions to Hellish Torments , as appears by this Book of Mr. Firmin's , p. 8. If all dying Infants shall be saved ; there will be Millions in Heaven ( saith he ) in whom the Spirit of God — had nothing to do in their Salvation . I say , to maintain the Salvation of all dying Infants against those who would thus damn them , is especially my present undertaking . And if Mr. F. be disposed to urge me further , it is a Subject I am willing to debate with him , when and how he pleases , so that we may discourse in Love ▪ as becomes Christians . And as to the Questions about Sacred Baptism , that Work may perhaps be undertaken in a particular Treatise by it self . In the mean time , let it be considered , that it has been granted both by Papists and Protestants , ( and those of the more Learned sort too ) That there is no Scripture for Infant-Baptism . That the Scripture shews us no other way of baptizing , but by dipping . Yea , I lately asked a * Doctor of the Church of England very seriously , Whether he held Infant-Baptism to be of Divine Institution ? Who very freely gave me this Answer , No truly , I only look upon it as a Church-Rite . But then , whether the Church have such Power , as to make Rites and Ceremonies in Religion , and particularly thus to alter the subject and manner of Baptism , as has confessedly been done by the Church of Rome , and in part by the Church of England , is the business for this present Age to take into their most serious Consideration . T. G. The INFANTS ADVOCATE , against the cruel Doctrine of those Presbyterians , who hold , That the greatest part of Dying Infants are DAMNED . Division 1. MR Giles Firmin was pleased to print two Questions , and desires those , whom he calls Anabaptists , to answer them ; and at the request of some of his Neighbours , I wrote a brief , and I hope , a modest Answer to them , not for Contention , but for Satisfaction to such as desire to know the truth in the matters thereby put to the Question by Mr. F. who finds himself aggrieved , tho nothing is done but what he desired ; that is , his Questions answered : And tho he says they are not , yet that shall not provoke me to say much to him concerning them . But seeing by this occasion we are unavoidably fallen upon the business of Infants-Salvation ; Whether God Almighty ordained Baptism , or any other Rite to be necessary to their Salvation ? or , Whether the greatest , or any part of Dying Infants shall be damned in Hellish Torments ? A Question of great weight and importance ; I find my self concern'd to proceed in opposing that cruel Doctrine , which would send Millions of dying Infants to Hell Torments . It was the Judgment of Austin , and many others , that unless Infants were baptized , and received the Lord's Supper , they could not be saved : And Mr. Firmin seems to be of the same Mind with respect to their Baptism : and moreover , he holds that Infants must have Faith and Repentance , as necessary to their Salvation , or they must all perish . I will set down his own words . In Pag. 90. of his Plea , he speaks thus : To return to Infants , They must be regenerate , and have Faith some way , else they must perish . And in his Book entituled , Scripture warrant , &c. he speaks thus , Pag. 76. They who are regenerate , have Faith and Repentance . But all Infants saved , are regenerated : Therefore all Infants saved , have Faith and Repentance . And in Pag. 21. he counts it an Error in me for supposing , If Isaac had died before he was eight days old , he might have been saved . So ( saith he ) this Covenant ( meaning the Covenant of Circumcision ) might have been spared . And in Pag. 40. The same ( saith he ) I may say for Baptism , being Christ's own Institution , This is the Hand of the Spirit accompanying it , when and where he pleaseth , shall be the means to convey Spiritual Blessings to the Hearts of some Infants , and prove to them the washing of Regeneration . So that , I think , I have done him no wrong in the account I have given of his Opinion . To all which I answer . To intermit a little the business of Infants Faith and Repentance , we will consider what he says of Circumcision and Baptism . He tells us , Pag. 39. That he cannot conceive how it can consist with the Wisdom , Holiness , and Goodness of God , to institute an Ordinance in his Church , for spiritual and saving Ends , and strictly to command this Ordinance to be administred to such Subjects as Children of eight days old — and he himself not work with his own Institution , when and where he pleases , to the good and benefit of that Subject to whom it is administred , this Subject having need of the Spiritual Good , signified and sealed thereby . It doth implicitly charge the Institution with Vanity . To which I reply . 1. Considering what Mr. F. says of Isaac dying before the eighth day , ( which I noted before ) his sense is this ; that from the time that Circumcision was instituted , it makes that Covenant of Circumcision a Vanity , to think any of Abraham's Seed ( tho but Infants of eight days old ) could be saved if not circumcised : And then , I pray , what is like to become of all the World beside , who had no Interest in the Covenant of Circumcision ? Must they not all perish ? We shall hear more of that anon . 2. And besides this , tho he makes Circumcision thus necessary to the Salvation of Infants , yet he does not believe that all Infants that were circumcised were saved ; for these words of his [ when and where he pleases ] carry this sense in a Presbyterian Breast , that tho Circumcision did by express order belong to all the Males of Abraham's Seed , being eight days old , yet perhaps but few of many of them should be saved : which I evidently shewed in my Answers to Mr. F's Question , and to Mr. Petto . Now here I do profess to believe , that Almighty God did not thus ordain Circumcision to be absolutely necessary ; because they , to wit , Infants , can neither understand his Will herein , nor desire it , neither hinder it ; it wholly depends on others to do it for them , and why then they should perish if it be not done , no reason can be shewed : but that which is the hardest thing of all , is , that if Isaac had died before the eighth day , he should not be saved , when yet it was not lawful to circumcise him . What is this ? Does God damn Infants for dying before they be eight days old ? or for not having that done to them which by God's Law ought not to be done before the eighth day ? This is the cruelst Doctrine that can be . And I will shew how contrary it is to the Doctrine of Learned Protestants . One saith thus upon Gen. 17. 14. It is no good reading to say the uncircumcised Man-Child , but [ Zachar ] the Male , &c. shall be cut off ; for the Infant of eight days old , mentioned ver . 12. is of purpose omitted here . Hence then it is inferred , that there was no such absolute necessity of Circumcision , that Children wanting it should be damned . Again , This place cannot be understood of Infants that are uncircumcised , 1. That addition , the eighth day , is used only by the Septuagint , it is not in the Hebrew . 2. The words are , qui non circumciderit , he which shall not circumcise . So readeth the Original , the Chaldee Paraphrast , Junius , &c. which sheweth that it must be understood of them that are Adulti , and not of Infants — . If Infants be not circumcised it is the Parents fault — as may appear in the Example of Moses , whom the Lord punished , and not the Child for neglecting it . 3. Concerning Baptism , I do believe it to be a very solemn Ordinance , and also very useful in the Church of God ; yet I do not find that it is the Hand of the Spirit to convey Grace to the Heart of any Infant , seeing what it conveys , it doth it by Faith and by its Figure ; representing the Death , Burial , and Resurrection of Christ , and ours with him , &c. of all which Infants know nothing , being sprinkled , as I formerly shewed , very often when they are fast asleep ; and if awake , they know nothing of the Mystery of Baptism . But Mr. F. brought three Scriptures to prove his Doctrine , we shall now consider them ; Ephes . 5. 26. Christ loved his Church , and gave himself for it ; that he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of Water , through the Word . I allow Baptismal Water to be here meant ; but then we see it does not cleanse but by or through the Word , nor doth the Word profit unless it be mixed with Faith in them that hear it ; Heb. 4. 1 , 2. The Church is purified in obeying the Truth through the Spirit ; 1 Pet. 1. 22. And Baptism saves us , as it is the answer of a good Conscience towards God , by the Resurrection of Christ . And to this agree his other two Scriptures , Tit. 3. 11. 1 Pet. 3. 21. Now Infants being uncapable of being cleansed by Baptism according to the sense of these Scriptures , we may in no wise apply them to Infant-Baptism . Divis . 2. And because it may be most convenient to treat of Regeneration in this place , we will here consider Mr. F's Arguments to prove that Infants have Faith and Repentance . His first Argument is as followeth . Arg. 1. If all , even adult Persons , are passive in the work of Regeneration , then Infants are capable of Regeneration . But the Antecedent is true . Answ . 1. Here we are told that grown Persons are passive ( that is , they do nothing at all ) in the work of Regeneration ; this is the meaning of his Antecedent . Now if this be true , as he says it is , then if they do nothing , they neither hear the Word , nor believe it , nor repent , nor hate nor turn from Sin ; for these are at least some of the parts of the work of Regeneration . Now I would fain know who is active in all this , if the Party regenerate be not ? St. Paul tells us , With the Heart Man believeth unto Righteousness , and with the Mouth Confession is made unto Salvation , Rom. 10. 10. When Peter shewed the Jews their Sin , and preached Christ to them , they were pricked to the Heart : Now observe , they came to hear the Word , they gave Audience , they gave Credit to it , God blessed the Word with Power : Now they cry out , What shall we do ? Peter exhort them to repent , &c. and they gladly receive his word , and had the washing of Regeneration the same day . Now let God have the Glory of this , and all Conversions , who is the first Mover in it , and the Efficient Cause of it ; yet he is absurd that will say , Man is as passive as an Infant that can neither hear , nor receive any Instruction at all . And therefore I deny his Antecedent , it is not true , the Adult are some way active in the work of Conversion ; yea all that know the work , do know what wrestling with Corruption is , and how unable they are to overcome in the Conflict with Satan and Flesh , without Supernatural Strength , or Aid from Heaven , but yet They act , and wait for help in all their actings . 2. Men are commanded to hear , that their Souls may live , Isa . 55. If they hear and obey not , they sin against God , Rom. 10. 16 , 17 , 18. We grant that the Power Converting , is not of the Creature ; We are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves . All our Faculties are given us of God. It 's our duty to put these Faculties into Act ; to hear , repent , and believe , is Man's Duty . It is not the Duty of Infants to hear , repent , believe , &c. therefore they are not regenerated this way . What you urge from the Shunamite's Son and Lazarus , being both dead , and so equally passive as to rise from Death , is wholly impertinent , and being put into Argument , is false ; for thus you must argue , if you say any thing , Infants dead are as capable to rise as the Adult , being dead . Ergo , They are as capable of hearing , beleiving , and repenting as the Adult . The Consequence is false ; many Instances we have of the Adult , who hear , believe , and repent ; but no Instance of one Infant ever regenerated this way . 3. As for your captious Demands about our being quickned , &c. you may well spare them , till you give better Evidence of your own Conversion ; for your Books do evidently shew , that a jeering idle Spirit has dominion in you . Howbeit this we say ; The Original Cause of our Conversion , is the Love of God : The meritorious Cause , is the Blood of Christ : The ministerial Cause , is the Evidence of Truth , or the Word of Truth : The efficient Cause , is the Power of God's Grace , John 1. 12. The formal Cause , is believing and obeying the Truth through the Spirit : The final Cause , is God's Glory and our Salvation ; to the obtaining of which all our Faculties of Hearing , Understanding , Will , and Affection , are given us of God to be put into Act. This is not required of Infants ; and how they are sanctified by the Spirit , God only knoweth . 4. But now , saith Mr. Firmin , I will not have him for my God , who cannot most omnipotently make me both will , and do what he will. But I reply , These are great swelling words of Vanity , and nothing to the purpose : We dispute not what God can do ; for he can , of a Stone in the Street , make a better Man than either of us . And we deny not , but God hath sometimes , and may still , if he please , convert some by miraculous Operations . But to say that all Conversions are miraculous , as Mr. F. does , is very false . Paul was converted miraculously , so was not Lydia . What I say upon Ephes . 1. 19 , 20. is mistaken by you , for I extend it further than to the Resurrection of the Body ; for I expresly say he has power to do whatsoever he pleases , and so to raise us up , &c. but if I was short or obscure , this is my meaning , The Faith of Christians is agreeable to the power which God shewed in Christ when he raised him from the dead ; and I think 1 Pet. 1. 3. doth very well explain Ephes . 1. 19 , 20. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , which according to his abundant Mercy , hath begotten us again to a lively Hope , by the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead . Mr. Firmin argues thus ; They who are regenerated , have Faith and Repentance : but all Infants saved , are regenerated : Therefore all Infants saved , have Faith and Repentance . Answ . 1. Here is a fault in your Logick , * your Major should have been universal , or else you conclude nothing rationally . 2. Therefore I deny the Major , and say , Some may be regenerated ( I mean cleansed from Sin , renewed by Christ , and made fit for Heaven ) without Faith and Repenuance , namely , Infants ; and sure I am Mr. F. shall never be able to prove his Major , being taken universally ; and if he like not to mend his Major , I reject his Argument , and retort it thus . 3. They that are regenerated , do continue in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship , and in breaking of Bread , and in Prayers . But all Infants saved are regenerated . Ergo , All Infants saved continue stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship , and in breaking of Bread , and in Prayers . Now as this Argument is fallacious , so certainly is yours . Again , 4. You that make all Conversion miraculous , how can you tie Regeneration to Faith and Repentance , as it respects Infants ? Do not you contradict your self , Mr. Firmin , in this ? May not God sanctify Infants what way he pleaseth , but must be limited to your Methods ? Sir , what he doth in the Regeneration of Infants is a Secret , let it alone to him . 5. But let us hear Dr. Taylor , one of your own Mind as to Poedo-baptism , yet he saith , Let Infants be pressed with all the Inconveniencies which are consequent to Original Sin ; yet it will not be laid to their Charge , so as to condemn them : Or if it could , yet the Mercy and absolute Goodness of God will secure them , if he take them away before they can glorify him by a free Obedience — For as Infants without their own consent — contracted the Guilt of Adam ' s Sin , and are liable to all the Punishments which can with Justice descend upon his Posterity , who are personally innocent : so Infants shall be restored — by the second Adam , by the Redemption of Jesus Christ , by his Righteousness and Mercies , applied either immediately , or how , or when he pleases to appoint . And here Mr. F. may learn from Dr. Taylor , how Infants may be guilty of Sin , and yet Innocent ; which he would make a Contradiction in me . Mr. F. tells us his Major ( last denied ) is clear from our own Confession , in that we say Faith and Repentance are the two parts of Regeneration : but he that grants this , extends it only to the Adult , of whom these are things required ; and not to Infants , of whom they are not required ; so that this is a meer Caption , unbecoming a grave Disputant . But let us hear how he proves his Minor. They ( saith he ) who are born unclean , that are sinful and corrupt by Nature , must be regenerated before they can be saved . But so are Infants born . Therefore , &c. Answ . It is not denied by us that Infants are born unclean , and we grant that before they come to Heaven they must be cleansed , so that you might have spared this Argument . The thing you are to prove is , That Infants cannot be cleansed without Faith and Repentance . But this you cunningly slide over , and you will find it to be an undertaking too hard for you , and I think you are the first Man that ever attempted it . It is not your telling us again of your Seminal Faith that will do it , which , as you refer it to Infants , is a meer Chimera of your own Brain . But when you speak of the Adult , you seem to speak sense in these words , When God regenerates an Adult Person , he doth first infuse the Principles , Seeds , Habits of all the Graces of the Spirit . When the Sower went out to sow , Mat 13. 3. it was but the Seeds of Faith and Repentance which he did sow , which was first received , and these Seeds grew up , Mark ▪ 4. 27. Now , Sir , if you will stand to this , and these Texts to govern your Speech , we may very well come to agree . What then is the Seed here spoken of ? Our Saviour tells us , it is the Word of God , which Men hear preached unto them ; Is this the Seminal Faith and Repentance which you talk on ? Then this Seminal Faith is not in Infants , for as they cannot hear the Word , so no Sower , or Preacher is sent to them . And I suppose you would not baptize an Adult Person , tho he has heard the Word , unless you see some effect of it , at least that the tender blade appear : for Persons are not made Disciples or Christians by being baptized ; but they are baptized because they are made Disciples , John 4. 1. Mat. 28. 19. Mathetusate panta ta ethne Baptizantes autous . And Disciples may be called Christians , Acts 11. Now with what Conscience then can you baptize an Infant , that never to your knowledg received this Seed at all ? But Mr. F. bids us twy-fallow and try-fallow our Ground , and sow no seed , for according to your Doctrine ( saith he ) you may have a Crop without it . But by his favour this is not our case , but his own , for he sows no Seed to Infants , and yet he will have a Crop of them ; for he will have them baptized asleep or awake by force . Now Baptism is an Act of Obedience springing from the Word ( the Seed ) sown ; Acts 2. 38 , 40. Act. 8. 12. Nay more , he exacts this Crop of Infants not only before he sow any Seed , or before any be sown by any other that he knows of , but also before he so much as Twy-fallow , or plow at all . And thus whilst he thought to kick the Husbandman on the breech , he hath kick'd up his own Heels . Mr. F. quotes 1 John 3. 9. It is the Seed which remains . Peter ' s Faith failed sadly ( saith he ) as to the Act , but the Seed remained . This would lead us to another Question [ as it is his manner to confound his Discourses with Diversities ] but I shall hold him to the Parable of the Sower , alledged by himself Mat. 13. And then I may tell him the Seed only remains in good and honest Hearts , but not in every place where it is sown , nor in every place where it is received ; remember the High-way , and the Stony and Thorny Ground . Mr. F's Arg. 2. No unclean Person shall see God ; Heb. 12. 14. But Infants by Nature are unclean . If the Scripture be believed , they must bear the Image in which they were created by God , that ever see the face of God. Answ . Should I retort this Argument , I might shew the infirmity of its form . But I shall take your Sense . I suppose by the Major you mean no unclean or wicked Person , as such , shall see God. And by the Minor you mean that Infants are born of sinful Parents , polluted by Original Sin , and so under Condemnation ; And therefore before they can come to Heaven they must be cleansed from these Pollutions , &c. If this be your Sense I agree with you . But then your Argument touches not the Question , which is , Whether Infants are not made clean from their Pollutions , and freed from Condemnation , without having Faith and Repentance ? I say they may , because God requires not these things of Infants . But you argue further . Mr. F. All the Members of the Kingdom of Heaven are holy : but Children are Members of the Kingdom of Heaven : Not by Birth , it is by Regeneration . Answ . First , Here I think you have given your Cause its deaths blow . It seems now that the Infants of Believers are no more holy by their Birth of believing Parents than others ; and whether they be regenerated you cannot tell , for you do not hold that all the Children of Believers are saved . What is now become of the Birth-priviledg so much gloried in by Mr. Baxter , and others ? We have been told Infants are holy by Birth , if one Parent be but a Believer ; and that Children of Believers are holy by Prerogative of Seed . But now you confess the Truth , and I grant Infants are not holy by Birth , let their Parents be never so Christian . And I have already granted that Infants must be cleansed from all Sin before they come to Heaven . But yet you touch not the Question , Whether they cannot be cleansed from Sin without they have Faith and Repentance ; one would think you begin to be afraid of the Question , and I am sure you have cause so to be . Arg. 3. Mr. F. tells us , If Adam had continued in Innocency , his Children had born the Image of God from the Birth : I never heard it denied . That which I infer hence is , that Children are capable of the Image of God , and receiving the Seeds of all Grace it was so then , why not now ? Answ . What manner of the Image of God Infants should have born , had Adam continued innocent , is unknown to Man ; and 't is but vain to concern our selves about that which cannot be known : but this we know , it should not have stood in Faith and Repentance as now , because in both these we confess our selves Sinners , and this is enough to shew the vanity of your Question , if so then , why not now ? But you proceed thus ; Mr. F. Shall the sin of one Person be so mischievous , to deprive Adam and all his Posterity of the Image of God , and bring the Seeds of all Corruption into their Nature , and shall the Grace of God be denyed to renew his Image in little Children , when and where he pleaseth ? Children being a great part of the World , shall the Spirit of God have nothing to do in their Hearts ? Answ . I know no Man more faulty than Mr. F. in this matter ; for he will not allow the Grace of God to have any thing to do with the greatest part of Infants . I doubt not but God doth all things needful for them , to make them holy , by the Blood of Christ ; his Grace and Spirit . But all this shall be done without Faith and Repentance ; because God does not require it of Infants ; if he does , name your Text. Mr. F. now tells us ▪ Adam's Disobedience far ▪ exceeds the Obedience of Christ , which he compares in Justification , Rom. 5. 16 , 17 , 18. for his Disobedience could defile all his Posterity , but Christ's Obedience doth not cleanse and regenerate one Child . Answ . Come St. Paul , thou hast told us that such as thou art by Letters when absent , such thou wilt be indeed when present , 2 Cor. 10. 11. Wherefore I shall give place to thee to answer for thy self , by the very places which Mr. F. has quoted out of thy Epistle to the Romans , Chap. 5. 16 , 17 , 18. And not as it was by one that sinned , so is the Gift : for the Judgment was of one to Condemnation ; but the free-Gift is of many Offences to Justification . For if by the Offence of one , Death reigned by one much more they which receive abundance of Grace and of the Gift of Righteousness , shall reign in Life by one , Jesus Christ . Th●refore as by the Offence of one , Judgment came upon All Men ▪ to Condemnation ; even so , by the Righteousness of one , the free-Gift came upon All Men unto Justification of Life . And whereas Mr. F. boldly tells us , that Christ's Obedience doth not cleanse and regenerate one Child . I ask him whose Obedience then does cleanse Infants ? Let St. Paul answer again , ver . 19. As by one Man's Disobedience many were made Sinners : SO by the Obedience of one shall many be made Righteous . Blessed Paul , thou hast answered to the Life . Mr. Firmin says , Christ's Obedience doth not cleanse and regenerate one Child . Thou sayst , Christ's Obedience made many righteous ; and they that are made righteous are clean and regenerated sufficiently . Blessed Apostle ! thou hast turned the Wisdom of the Wise into Foolishness . What follows in this Paragraph is answered before , and for his uncivil Expressions in the close of it I shall pass them by . Mr. Firmin's Arg. 4. If all Children dying such are justified and saved , then there will be Millions in Heaven , in whom the Spirit of God , as the third Person in the Blessed Trinity , had nothing to do in their Salvation . Answ . First , I take notice that Mr. Firmin by this Argument would have Millions of Infants damned , because in his Judgment the Spirit of God hath nothing to do with Millions of them in the business of Salvation . This , this is that wicked Doctrine which I oppose . 2. But how will he prove that the Spirit hath to do in the business of the Salvation of any of them , more than I shall prove he hath to do in the Salvation of all dying Infants ? He would prove it by two things , ( 1. ) Because the distinct Subsistences have their distinct manner of working . ( 2. ) Because Regeneration is given to the Spirit . Now , suppose this be true , it does not prove that some Infants have the assistance of the Spirit , and some dying Infants have no assistance from him . Thus he beats ▪ the Air , but proves not any thing at all relating to the Point in Question . 3. But I will prove that all dying Infants have all that assistance of the Spirit ( in the business of Salvation ) which is any way needful for them . I do it thus : All those dying Infants , for whom Christ shed his precious Blood , have sufficient assistance from the Spirit , in the business of their Salvation . But Christ shed his precious Blood for all dying Infants : Ergo , All dying Infants have sufficient assistance from the Spirit in the business of their Salvation . The Major is evident , because no dying Infant does resist the Holy Ghost , and because God is no Respecter of Persons . The Minor is evident because Christ died for all , tasted Death for every Man ; he bought them that deny him , and bring upon themselves swift Destruction : And seeing his tender Mercies are over all his Works , the holy Spirit is not wanting to further the Salvation of any dying Infant . Deut. 10. 17 , 18. 1 Tim. 2. 6. Heb. 2. 9. 2 Pet. 2. 1. Psal . 145. 9. Come Mr. Firmin , let me come near you ; it may be you have had some Children that died in their Infancy as well as I. Shew me a reason now why my dying Infants might not have the application of Christ's Blood by the holy Spirit , as well as yours ? As for the manner of the Spirit 's operation herein , I suppose we know it both alike , that is , not at all . Nevertheless I do believe the Father , Son , and holy Spirit does what is needful in their respective operations , tho I know not in all Points how it is done in the case of dying Infants . It is enough that we have Christ's Testimony , that to them belongs the Kingdom , that is , to all in that state , for he rejects not any one of them , neither in these words , nor in any other that proceeded from his sacred Lips , nor from the Pens of the Writers of the Holy Scriptures ; And then what is Mr. Firmin that he should by this presumptuous Argument send many Millions of them to Hell ? because in his conceit , the Holy Ghost has nothing to do with them in the business of their Salvation ; the Spirit 's Operations being limited by him herein to the Infants of Believers only ; and if you look well to his Notions , there is not a few of them too , who have no help from the holy Spirit , for they being not all elect , must be damned for all their Baptism ; and this is the kindness he has to write a Plea for Infants . Divis . 3. Wherein is considered , whether the Covenant of Grace was taken from the whole World , and appropriated only to Abraham and his Seed , from the time of the making the Covenant of Circumcision , Gen. 17. Mr. Firmin , p. 20. ] Now I come to my Question , and shall make it appear your Answer signifies nothing . You tell me of a Covenant of Grace made with the whole World in the promised Seed to Adam , &c. I tell you , while Adam , Noah , and Abraham lived under that Covenant made with the whole World , God was pleased to make a Covenant with Abraham , and with none other but Abraham , to be his God , and the God of his Seed , and sealed this Covenant , by which Covenant and Seal , God did separate and divide all Abraham's Seed from the World , living under the Covenant you speak of . Answ . 1. It is evident , that either Mr. Firmin holds , That the Covenant made with Adam , Noah , and Abraham , before that mentioned Gen. 17. was not the Covenant of Grace ; or else that Covenant , Gen. 17. was not the Covenant of Grace ; or that the Covenant of Grace was now taken from all the World , and appropriated and restrained to Abraham and his Seed only . The latter is clearly his sense , that God was now only the God of Abraham and his Seed in the Covenant of Grace , and of none other . But this Doctrine is most false and absurd , as I evidently shewed to Mr. Petto , to this effect . We ought to understand that Abraham and his Seed was not the only Persons in the World , which were under the Covenant of Grace , at that time when God made with Abraham the Covenant of Circumcision , Gen. 17. For ( as Mr. Broughton observes ) Sem lived 50 Years after the Covenant of Circumcision was made with Abraham ; and divers other holy Men lived long after the Covenant of Circumcision was made ; who were all true Worshippers of God according to the Covenant of Grace : Melchisedeck blessing Abraham , ( from whence St. Paul infers , that he was greater than Abraham , Heb. 7. 7. ) yet neither he , nor the rest of the Patriarchs were concern'd in the Covenant of Circumcision . And as neither these , nor their Infants or Posterity , were liable to any loss of the Covenant of Grace , by their not being Circumcised after the manner of Abraham ; so neither Job , nor other Worthy Men that were not of the Seed of Abraham , had no necessity at all to be concern'd in the Covenant of Circumcision : From whence it must needs follow , That God did not intend the Sign of Circumcision , as necessary to entitle Men to the Covenant of Grace , nor that none could be Saved who were not under the Covenant of Circumcision . But certain it is , the Covenant of Circumcision was appropriate to Abraham , and to his Seed , for very great Ends , respecting special Preservation to the Family of Abraham , as being now the Family from whence Christ should proceed according to the Flesh : And with whom God would presence himself in a Land of Promise , by a distinct way of Worship from all other Nations , who were then falling very fast to Idolatry . Again , Mr. F. telling us , That God made that Covenant of Circumcision with Abraham , and none other . By this he has given a fatal Blow to his Cause , which he is so zealous to defend . Because by this , it is evident , that the Covenant made with Abraham , Gen. 17. considered as it was peculiar to him and his Seed , and no other , no not of the Patriarchs then living , it was therefore ( at least so considered ) not the Covenant of Grace . But it was only , so considered ; the Covenant of Circumcision , as it is also called , Acts 7. 8. without any such adjunct as the Covenant of Grace ; as if all that were not in that peculiar Covenant throughout the World , must be damn'd without Mercy . No , no , God had his tender Mercies for others , tho this Covenant was peculiar to Abraham . God was no such respecter of Persons when he made the Covenant with Abraham , Gen. 17. But in every Nation , from the beginning even to the end of the World , all that feared the Lord , and wrought Righteousness , found acceptance with him . This old Truth , Peter himself ( being tinctured with this Notion , that God had no Grace for any but Abraham's Seed ) could not perceive , till God by Miracle did reveal it to him ; no tho his Commission , Mat. 28. 19 , 20. did oblige him to teach all Nations , and to preach the Gospel to every Creature , yet till now he durst not preach to the Gentiles , Acts 10. And therefore it is the less strange , that Mr. Firmin , and such as he , who take themselves to be Abraham's Seed , because they are born according to the Flesh of such as they take to be Believers , should be so cruelly dark in this glorious Truth , that God is no respecter of Persons . Nor do I see any thing more liable to puff Men up with Pride , than this , that they were in the Covenant of Grace from their Infancy , because their Parents were Believers , or at least one of them , or their Grandfather , &c. was so ; as Mr. F. words it . This Opinion undid the Jews generally , and I doubt it has spoiled many of the Gentiles . Our blessed Saviour , John 8. has a long Disputation to deliver the Jews from this their vain Confidence , which they built upon their being Abraham's Seed . And St. Paul bent his Stile against the same thing , Rom. 2. 26 , 27 , 28 , 29. and Chap. 3. ver . 19. to the end . But the more they laboured to undeceive these deceived Jews ▪ the more they were hated by them ; and if we meet with the same measure , we must bear it . For indeed , scarce any so fierce against us , for extending the Grace of God to all Men , as being therein no respecter of Persons , and yet shewing to Sinners the necessity of actual Repentance towards God , and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ , as necessary to their Membership in the Church Militant , by the Baptism of Repentance for Remission of Sins ; I say , none so fierce against us , as those who boast they are Abraham's Seed , because descended from Gentiles , who they suppose to be Believers . But let me have a care , I must now Answer for my self , for Mr. Firmin demands of me , Page 21. By what Scripture-Warrant do you reduce our Children , into the state of the Children of Adam , or Noah , &c. since we are never called their Children , but only Abraham ' s , whose Seed differ from theirs by a special Covenant made with Them , and sealed with Them. To which of them did God say , I will be the God of thy Seed , and I will seal it ? But I reply . These seem to me to be great swelling words of Vanity , much worse in a Gentile than in a Jew . And I would know what special Covenant hath God made with Mr. F. and his Seed , which he hath denied to Tho. Grantham and his Seed ? But to the Question . 1. I am far from denying Abraham's Fatherhood over the Faithful Christians ; but I deny that every Believer that hath an Infant , is the Father of the Faithful . And I deny many to have any right to that Title , who boast much of it , because they do not the works of Abraham , but despise those that worship God according to his Will. Thus did not Abraham : But thus does Mr. Firmin . 2. I find that Adam was the Son of God , Luke 3. Whether called so meerly for his Creation , or for that after the Promise , Gen. 3. 15. He walked with God , or for both , I will not dispute . And I find that Christ's Descent is reckoned from Adam , and the Saviour of the World was first promised to him , and to proceed from him ; and therein was the Covenant of Grace in the first place made with him , and in him with all Mankind who then were in him : Nor do I find that this gracious Covenant was ever repealed , but is in force to this day , as is granted by Mr. Baxter . 3. I find that Noah found Grace in the sight of the Lord , being righteous before God. And I know that Mr. Baxter , and other Learned Christians , acknowledg the Covenant made with Noah and his Generations , to be a Covenant of Grace , and of perpetual Duration , being indeed the renewal of the Covenant made with Adam . I find also , that Noah became Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith , and that his Faith did lead him to believe that which was as difficult to Sense , as that Abraham should have a Son , viz. That the whole World should be Drowned : His Faith also was made perfect by Works , for , Whatsoever the Lord Commanded , that did Noah . 4. I find that all men from the time of the Flood , are the Generations of Noah , and that he was perfect in his Generation , a Just Man , and one that walketh with God ; and as one of his Sons proved wicked , so did one of the Sons of Abraham . I do also find in Scripture , that we are all called the Sons of Adam ; To you , O Men , I call , and my Voice is to the Sons of Adam , or Man , Prov. 8. 4. And as the Sons of Adam , God shews them what is Good , even to do Justly , to love Mercy , and to walk humbly with their God , Mich. 6. Now from these Scripture-Warrants , I honour my Great Grandfather Adam , because to him was committed the first Oracles of God , making known the Covenant of Grace : I honour my Grandfather Noah , because he was Heir of the Righteousness of Faith , and had the second Edition of the Covenant of Grace , extended to all his Generations , till by Sin they eject themselves . I likewise honour my Father Abraham , because he had the third Edition of the Covenant of Grace , as a Blessing to all Nations , or to all the Families of the Earth , Gen. 12. And also for that God was pleased to choose his Posterity , as the People from whom Men should look for their Saviour , with respect to his Descent according to the Flesh , and of this Covenant , as also of the Land of Promise was Circumcision given as a Sign to his Posterity , that they might not mix with other Nations , in Life or Religion ; but to Abraham himself , as a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith , which he had near 30 Years before he was Circumcised . But for all this , I know that in Gospel-times , unless we crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts , we cannot be Abraham ' s Seed , nor Heirs according to the Promise , Gal. 3. 29. And the Seal of our Sonship and Right to the Inheritance , is the Holy Spirit , Ephes . 1. 13. Gal. 4. 6. Ephes . 4. 30. Mr. Firmin . Now suppose that were true which is the great business of your Pamphlet , to prove that all dying Infants are saved . That thereby you may take off the Odium which lies upon you for shutting the Children of Believers out of the Church , and denying them Baptism , they being under the Covenant of Grace made with Adam , ( as you say ) Tell me , Is this Covenant of God with Abraham's Seed in vain ? Does the holy One make vain Covenants ? As to his Seed , they were well enough before : If Isaac die before the 8th day , he is saved , so that this Covenant might have been spared . Answer . 1. I hav● said enough to shew that Abraham's Covenant , Gen. 17. was not in vain ; but I am sure you here make a vain use of it . For had Isaac died before he was Eight Days old , in your Judgment he had not been saved , and consequently no Male Infants which died before they were Circumcised were saved . This is that wretched Doctrine which I oppose . And seeing you make Baptism as necessary to Salvation as Circumcision was , and call it the Seal of the Covenant ; you either make Infants which die unbaptized , saved by an unsealed Covenant , ( as you speak ) or else you damn all Infants which die unbaptized . No other sense can be made of your strange Questions , P. 73. Your Question is this . Are they all Justified and Saved ? then it must be by a Covenant of Grace . And shall they be under the Covenant so , as to be in a justified and saved state by it , and not have the Seal of the Covenant ? As if the Covenant of Grace were of no use to poor Infants , without the Crossing , Sprinkling , or ( as you ) Pouring a little Water on their Forehead , for which you have no Rule at all in the Word of God. I cannot but admire your great Blindness . 2. The Covenant of Circumcision might not now be spared , because God had now designed , to honour Abraham's Faith , and to make him and his Posterity famous both for Multitude , Religion , and other Excellencies , but chiefly to point out all Nations from whence to look for a Saviour ; which accordingly was foreknown and expected by many other Nations , by means of the Covenant made with Abraham . But you add : If their Seed die while little ones , I hope they are not further from Salvation by this Covenant , nor Parents the less hope — two strings to a Bow are good . But I answer : 1. You so string your Bow of Salvation for Infants that you break it , and so kill more Infants than you save , yea , an Isaac himself cannot escape you , but must perish , if he die before the 8th day . Pray , Sir , what manner of Doctrine is this ? is it in the power of Infants to live till the 8th day ? And if God take them away before the 8th day , will God damn them because they were not Circumcised , when yet by his own Law they might not have it ? Are these the comfortable Strings you give Parents to the Bow of Infants Salvation ? 2. Hence it is evident that it is you , not I , that make Infants further off from Salvation by the Covenant of Circumcision . For I say , ( though all the Commands of God be good in their place and use ) yet he never ordained any Rite , to be necessary to the salvation of poor Infants . But according to your Doctrine , if Infants died before the Covenant of Circumcision was made , whether the first , second , third , fourth , fifth , sixth , or seventh day , their Salvation was never the more doubtful for that . But now the Case is very hard , for if Isaac himself die before the 8th day he is lost , according to your sense of the Covenant . What follows , I have answer'd before . Mr. Firmin . Yet again , as to that Notion wherein you so much glory , I have made five remarkable Demonstrations , as you call them , to prove it ; you must make three more Demonstrations , or else these five will not do the Feat . 1. That God does save those that are under that Covenant , without any Condition in it . Name that Text , I pray . Answ . 1. Here observe again , Mr. Firmin is in good Earnest , that no Infants can be saved , unless they keep the Condition of the Covenant . And he makes Heart-Circumcision , and the Circumcision of the Flesh , both necessary Conditions of the Covenant , for Infants Salvation in the time of the Law , or ever since Abraham's time . And Repentance , and Faith , and Baptism , the Condition in the Gospel . 2. I am to demonstrate the contrary , which with much ease ( by God's Grace ) I shall do . I say then , Almighty God made a Covenant of Grace with Adam in the Promised Seed , Gen. 15. in which Covenant stood the Salvation of all dying Infants ; and yet no Condition was there to be annexed on the part of Infants ; howbeit , Faith was necessary on Adam's part , or else he had sinned in not believing the Promise * . And its evident , Abel had Faith in this Promise by his offering a Lamb , a Figure of Christ the Lamb slain from the foundation of the World. See Diod. on Gen. 4. To prove that God requires nothing of Duty , as a Condition of the Covenant on the part of Infants in order to Salvation , I will set down two Texts , Deut. 11. 1. to 10. Rom. 5. 14 , 18. And I also give you this Argument : Circumcision it self was not appointed to be a Condition of the Covenant of Grace , necessary to the Salvation of so much as one Infant . Ergo , There was never any thing imposed or required of Infants as a necessary Condition of the Covenant , for the Salvation of Infants . The Consequence I suppose will not be denied , because nothing can be pretended with so much probability this way , as Circumcision : And for the Major it is clear from the case of Moses's Child , Exod. 4. 24 , 25. where we find that God sought not to kill the Child , because it was not Circumcised the 8th Day , but he sought to kill Moses ; which shews the Child was not guilty of Sin in this Case . And that this Note may be the more acceptable , I shall make some Addition to the Testimonies formerly given , and here shew the Judgment of some Learned Writers in this Case . Cajetan ( a Man no less Zealous for Infant-Baptism than Mr. Firmin , yet ) writes thus : Consentaneum est , &c. It is sit that none should be Punished , but they which had committed the Fault : But Infants can commit no Fault , therefore the punishment here assigned doth belong to the Adult only , they only be rightfully Punished , which only are justly blamed for the omission of Circumcision . And saith a Protestant Doctor upon this Sentence , Put Baptism ( meaning of Infants ) in the place of Circumcision , and this Sentence is most true of the one , as well as of the other . Yea , the Ancients , quoted by the said Doctor , tell us , Circumcision did not profit the Soul , but was only a sign of Grace : For Children when they understand not what is done to them , can reap no profit thereby to their Souls , Chrys . Hom. 9. in Gen. And Irenaeus is alledged to say , Circumcision was only given as a Sign to the People . The conclusion is , that as it is certain that Infants shall be cleansed and renewed , before they come to Heaven ; so God hath not tied this Mercy to any Ritual , or thing to be done by us , but by the Obedience of Christ , and his Free-Grace , sanctifies them in a manner unknown to us . Mr. Firmin . 2. You must demonstrate ( saith he ) that by this Covenant he saves those who have lost the Image of God , and are corrupt by Nature , for Infant-Regeneration , and Heart-Circumcision , is denied by you , and yours . Answ . This Demonstration also will easily be made , or else I am sure Mr. Firmin and my self , shall not be Saved , for that we are as corrupt by Nature , and have lost the Image of God as much as any Infant ; nay , we are sent to Infants to learn the Qualifications we want . And as all have sinned , and come short of the Glory of God ; so they are Justified freely by his Grace , through the Redemption which is in Christ Jesus ; Rom. 3. 23 , 25. And tho Christ is set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood , for the Remission of Sins that are past through the forbearance of God ; yet this Faith is not required of Infants , because they cannot believe on him of whom they have not heard , Rom. 10. And tho you reply , That this is spoken of the Adult , yet you are to know as it is the Adult only to whom the Gospel is preached , so it is the Adult only who are required to believe . As for the Way of the Almighty in the business of Infants Regeneration , 't is a thing not revealed ; and therefore you do but vainly pretend to know it . And seeing it is said , That we know not the Way of the Spirit , nor how the Bones do grow ▪ in the Womb of her that is with Child . It is strange that Mr. Firmin should know after what manner the Hearts of Infants are Circumcised , and how they are Regenerate . It is enough for us to know that they are redeemed by Christ , and saved by Grace ; for in knowing this , we know our Gracious God will deny them no Supplies which is needful for them . If this do not satisfie Mr. F. then let him give some account to the World now he is grown up , how the Spirit did work in the business of his Regeneration in his Infancy ; and if he can give no account of his own Infant-Regeneration , then , I think , it will be hard for him to give it of the manner of the Regeneration of other Infants . Mr. Firmin . 3. You must demonstrate , that tho Infants have not actually sinned against the Covenant of Grace , yet they have not unbelief and impenitency seminally , which are quite opposite to the Covenant of Grace . Answ . 1. I conceive nothing can be spoke more irrationally , nor unrighteously , than to suggest that poor Infants have Unbelief and Impenitency in them . And yet so 't is , the seeds of those Impieties at least Mr. F. will have to be in them : And I demand of him , how he knows this ? And how he can tell when these Sins against the Covenant of Grace , are purged from Infants ? Seeing he has told us they are not holy by their Birth , I would know whether they be purged before their Birth , or after ? But let us hear our Saviour's Judgment of little Children , which all will grant to be more worth than Mr. Firmin's . He speaks of some just Persons which need no Repentance , whom he opposes to such as have gone astray . I will not presume , that this is only meant of Infants , to whom our Lord tells us the Kingdom of Heaven belongs ; but I humbly conceive , as it is true of them , so it does include them , as being of that Number . Again , He tells us , Except we be Converted and become as little Children , we cannot see the Kingdom of God. But if Infants be guilty of Vnbelief and Impenitency , in such a degree , as these Sins in them are quite opposite to the Covenant of Grace , we should have but little benefit by such Conversion : And thus he reflects upon Christ in his Directions to his Followers , as if Christ gave not good Counsel herein . St. Paul exhorts Christians , as touching Malice , to be Children ; in which Speech he is directly contrary to Mr. F. And St. Peter would have us like new-born Babes , i. e. to lay aside all Malice , Guile , Hypocrisie , and evil Speaking . But if Unbelief and Impenitency be in them Seminally , these Impieties are there also ; and then they are bad Presidents , being as wicked as it is possible for them to be , in Mr. F's judgment . However , Mr. F. is compelled to confess , Infants are not guilty of any Actual Sin against the Covenant of Grace . And then , who made you a Judg of their Hearts , Sir ? Sure this is an Attempt too high for any Man. But I must demonstrate that Infants have not unbelief seminally . Well , I will plead their Cause as well as I can ; and I Argue for them thus : They who have no object of Faith propounded to them seminally , can have no unbelief seminally . But Infants have no object of Faith propounded to them seminally . Ergo , They can have no unbelief seminally . If Mr. F. deny the Minor , I will hold him to his own Law , Affirmanti incumbit probatio . If he affirm that Infants have an object of Faith propounded to them seminally , let him prove it . As for the Major , our Saviour's words , John 15. 22. do establish it ; and indeed , This is the Condemnation , that Light is come — , and Men love Darkness . He that has no Light cannot be blamed , because he cannot see . Our Lord charges not the sin of Unbelief , till means to believe was rejected ; And will he be more unkind to the Infant , than to the grown Person ? Who can have so vile an opinion of the Almighty ! But I must demonstrate also , that Infants have not Impenitency seminally , yea , such Impenitency as is quite opposite to the Covenant of Grace . Well , I reply , first , by way of Admiration , That ever such wild Notions should issue from a Learned Head , that so he might have some specious pretence to damn poor Infants : But God hath said , He will turn the Wisdom of Wise Men backward , and make Diviners mad , Isa . 44. 25. 2. Impenitency supposes the Party charged , first , to be guilty of some Sin committed , or desired , or conceived . But nothing of this can be justly charged against Infants . Consider them acquitted of Original Sin , by the Mercy of God in their Redeemer ; Who shall lay any thing to their charge ? What have they done ? Mr. Firmin . Do you ask what have they done ? Did you never see Revenge , Wrath , Pride , Envy , Rebellion against , and Striking of Parents , acting in little Children ? Answ . 1. These are not Infants of Eight days old , &c. but such who by the ill Example of their Tutors , quickly may learn these things . Otherwise , if the Child thinks it has cause to be Angry , and to make Defence , it does no more than you will vindicate in your own Cause . And why does not Charity make you think the best of Infants , seeing you ought to think no evil of the weak actions of grown Persons ? O , thou that canst see such Beams , as Revenge , Wrath , Pride , Rebellion , &c. in the Eyes of poor Infants ! pluck these Beams out of thine own , which evidently are thy Distempers from the Books which thou hast written , in which , not many Pages are free from Tincture of some of these Diseases . But you add : Blessed Austin observed a Sucking Child , that was not able to articulate one word , look with a Countenance even pale with Envy , upon his fellow-Suckling , which shared with him in the same Milk ; which made the holy Man cry out , Ubi , Domine ? Quando , Domine ? Reply , How did Austin know that the Child was pale with Envy ? Suppose this good Man himself had sat down to Dinner , and another snatch it all away from him , perhaps he would have look'd Pale also ; for such we must suppose the Child's case to be , when another takes the Breast , it thinks all is gone , for it yet understands not the Rules of Hospitality , or Good-fellowship , being unsensible of the others Necessity . The poor Child attended its own preservation as Nature taught it ; a poor ground on which to build so severe a Charge . Should the best of God's People be tried , how duly they make others sharers in their Blessings , who have need of Relief , they may perhaps be more justly charged than that Sucking Child ; Judg no poor Infants , lest ye be judged . To conclude : Seminal Faith , Seminal Repentance , Seminal Vnbelief , and Seminal Impenitency , are things of which we have no account in Scripture . And though I would not offend Mr. Firmin , nor at all disparage his Scholarship , which I acknowledg to be abundantly more than mine ; yet when I consider Learning in Saint Paul's sense , 2 Tim. 3. 14. I cannot but think these to be very wild and unlearned Notions , which no Man can be assured of , nor give a good account that he learned them of any of the Master-Builders , the holy Apostles . And who ever asserts these things , shall never be able to prove them , viz. That some Infants have Faith and Repentance seminally ; and others have Vnbelief and Impenitency seminally . And ( which is another Impossibility ) no Man can distinguish the Infants one from another . Nor can it ever be proved , that Seminal Faith and Repentance ( if yet any Body can tell what it is ) do give us any ground to baptize any Body . For , Suppose we take this Seminal Faith and Repentance to be the faculties of Credence and Sorrow : Or suppose some take them to be some secret Inspirations of the Spirit , yet sith they appear not to us , it is as if they were not . For that Rule is good in this Case , De● non apparentibus , & non existantibus eidem est ratio . It is the profession of Faith and Repentance , that qualifies a Person ( in respect of us ) for Sacred Baptism ; the Church is not judg of of Hearts , they are only known to God infallibly . Division 4. Concerning Original Sin. It would even grieve a Sober Christian , to read the strange Immaginations which Men have Published about Original Sin ; and the Extreams they have run into on the Right Hand , and on the Left , censuring one another very severely for their differing apprehensions in this Matter . And it is remarkable , how cruelly Censarious Mr. Firmin is against my self in particular , representing me as a Master among the worst sort of Anabaptists , who , he says , denies Original Sin. Concerning which , he tells you , we are Rotten . That the foundation of Anabaptism lies in denying Original Sin. That in this we are given up to more blindness than the Heathens , &c. To all which I Answer : 1. If I be one of the worst of my Brethren in this Point , I hope the rest will be better thought of by Men of Moderation for my sake , when they have had ( what violent Mr. Firmin hath not ) patience to consider what I have published upon the account of Original Sin , ( and that long before I heard there was such a Man in the World as Mr. Firmin ) in my Christianismus Primitivus , Book 2. Pag. 77 , 78. thus you read me . 2. For the better attaining to a powerful conviction of Sin , and a sence of Man's wretchedness by reason of Sin , it is necessary to understate the general state of Transgression , into which Mankind is involved ; concerning which we find the Scripture gives this Testimony , That all have sinned , and come short of the Glory of God , Rom. 3. 23. And that by one Man Sin entred into the World , — for that all have sinned . And that the whole World lieth in wickedness ; which is also evident by common Experience , every Nation being greatly corrupted through the abounding of Iniquity ; and the universality of the ways of Sin does evince the same — that the Apostle might well say , Both Jew and Gentile are all under Sin. 3. The Sin of Mankind is either Original , or Actual . The first is come upon all , even the very Infant-state of Mankind lie under it , of whom that saying is true , They have not sinned after the similitude of Adam ' s Transgression ; yet , Death reigning over them , proves the Transgression of Adam to be upon them . This is that Root-Sin , called the Sin of the World , John 1. 29. whereof none are free . Nor is it convenient to extenuate or lessen this Sin , either in its nature , or the punishment it brings with it ; it being indeed the Filum certissimum , or Leading-Thred to all other Iniquities , Mankind being hereby corrupt Ab Origine , and wholly deprived of the Glory of God , without the intervening Mercy of a Saviour . And hence we find David , when complaining of his sinful state , looks back to his corrupt Original , amongst the rest of his Iniquities , complaining , Psal . 51. 5. Behold , I was shapen in Iniquity , and in Sin did my Mother conceive me . Knowing as Job saith , None can bring a clean thing out of an unclean one . So that they are not to be despised , who say , that in our Humiliation for Sin , we ought to bewail this our Sinful Original , which had been to Adam's Posterity like the Sin of Traytors , which bringeth with it corruption of Blood to their Off-spring , for which they must bear the shame of such Transgressions . How do we find that the Sin of Progenitors was wont to be lamented by their Off-spring among the Israelites ? And is there not the same reason Adam's Children should do the like , as being sensible of the evil Consequences thereof ? We also may say , Our Father hath sinned , and we have born his Iniquity . 4. And hence I like the saying of Irenaeus well , which I will give in English , because Mr. F. is pleased to lock it up in Latine . Omnes enim venit , &c. Christ came to save all by himself , all I say , who are born again in God ; Infants , Little ones , Boys , and Young Men , and Old Men : But as for his , Ideo per omnem venit aetatem , I let that alone , for I do not find that Christ passed through the age of Old Men ; yet I say , he came to Sanctifie every Age , and therefore every Age who do not profane the Blood of Christ by which they were Sanctified ( as I am sure no Infant doth ) they shall certainly be Saved by him , and hence the Salvation of all dying Infants , is apparent enough . But how Infants are born again in God , is a secret , and not to be Demonstrated by Mr. Firmin , nor any other . Surely had I written as Irenaeus doth , he would have said I exclude the Operation of the Holy Ghost ; for Irenaeus says , he came to save all by himself , yet as 't is certain that the Holy Spirit is not wanting to the Aged Sinner , there is no ground to doubt of his care of poor Infants . Division 5. Of Free-Will . Concerning Free-Will , Mr. F. calls it our Diana , and an Imperial Majesty , representing us to deny God to be most Blessed , because if his Will be resisted , he failing of his End , is to want a degree of Blessedness , &c. I Answer : 1. Then it seems , according to Mr. F. all that God wills to be saved , must , and therefore shall be Saved ; and the rest he wills to be Damned , and they shall therefore be Damned . But how he can reconcile his Doctrines to these Scriptures , I cannot tell , which saith , I live , I Will not the death of the Wicked . And that this is good in the sight of God , &c. who will have all Men to be Saved . 2. Was it God's Will , that when he brought Israel out of Egypt , that their Carcases should fall in the Wilderness ? If it were not , then he wanted a degree of Blessedness . Was it God's Will that Adam should fall , and bring himself and his Posterity into so many Miseries ? If not , God was not most Blessed , because he failed of his End. If you say , it was God's Will that Adam should fall , and that Israel must fall in the Wilderness , you had as good tell us , that God has Decreed all the evil Actions that Men do , and that they must do them , else God cannot be most Blessed , because he should fail of his End , if these evil Actions were not done . This is his Logick , let him look to it . But , 3. What I conceive to be Truth concerning Free-Will , I will give you a short account from what I have formerly published in a little Catechism , where in Page 21. I put these Questions and Answers following . — What mean you by the third part of Repentance ? Answ . I mean , first , a boly loathing of Sin , because it is of the Devil , 1 John 3. 8. and because God hates it . And because Christ died because of it . 2. To abstain from the act of Sin , in Desire , Word , and Deed , as much as possible . God saw their Works , that they turned from their Evil Ways . Break off thy Sins by Righteousness : Repent ye therefore and be Converted . This is to bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance . Quest . Hath Man any liberty of Will , and any measure of Power thus to hate and forsake Sin ? Answ . 1. By the Bounty of God , Man hath some liberty and power this way . He is not chained to his Sins of Necessity . Chuse you this day whom you will serve . To day if ye will hear his Voice , harden not your Hearts . Mary hath chosen the good part . 2. Man's infirmity in the exercise of this Liberty and Power is so great , that he is not to depend upon this Liberty and Power , but upon the Strength of God in the use of them , Hos . 14. 2. 2 Cor. 3. 5. Now let any Sober Christian tell me , how it is possible to make the Will of Man an Imperial Majesty out of my Words , that is , a Majesty that hath no Peer ; for no less than such a Slander would serve Mr. Firmin to fix upon us , especially upon my self ▪ For what cause he is so inveterate , I know not . But come , Mr. Firmin , will the Doctrine of a chief Man of your own please you ? if so , you and I may agree in his Sentence . Thus he speaks ; Austin as well as Pelagius ▪ Calvin as well as the Arminians ; the Dominicans as well as the Jesuits , all generally maintain that Man hath Free-will . Origen is condemned by Epiphanius , for saying that Man had lost the Image of God ▪ — This Image is two-fold , 1. Natural , i. e. Reason and Free Will. 2. Qualitative , or Ethical , i. e. Our Holiness , and this is lost , and by Grace restored . No Man of Brains can deny , that Man hath a Will naturally free ; it is free from Violence . — It 's a self-determining Principle , but is not freed from evil Dispositions ▪ Mr. Baxter's Preface to his Call to the Vnconverted . I think I need say no more to a Wise Man : And I am sure , this is as much as any Wise Man among us will say in this Matter . CONCLVSION . Mr. Firmin seems displeased at the multitude which will be Saved ; if my Opinion be true , that all Dying Infants shall be Saved : I will give you his own words . I pray ( saith he ) whose Opinion are you of , Huberus ? the promiscuous Salvation of all . Or are you of Caelius Secundus Curio ' s Opinion , That the number of the Elect and Saved is much greater than the number of the Reprobate and Damned ? Whether you , or these , or Christ , be truest , ( Mat. 7. 14. few find it ) the Day of Judgment will determine . Here , Sir , you shew your Spirit . But for answer : Although I know that God is not willing that any should Perish , but that all should come to Repentance , 2 Pet. 3. 9. 1 Tim. 2. 4. yet I see too much cause to fear , that but very few of the many , to whom God is so long suffering to lead them to Repentance , will consider his Goodness therein : And that the far greater part will despise the Riches of God's Goodness , and treasure up unto themselves Wrath against the Day of Wrath , and Revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God. And in this very respect , I fear , some old Professors , such especially as have been Teachers of others , and yet have not learned either Civility , or Honesty , in treating those who differ from them in Opinion . As to the Text , Mat. 7. 14. blessed be God , Infants are in no danger by it , they may all be Saved , and so the number of the Saved be much the greater by them ; for seeing they none of them are walking in the Broad-way which leads to Destruction ; they must needs go the Way which leads to Life , Tho as it is a strait way of Faith and Obedience , and many Crosses for Christ's sake , they can neither seek nor find it ; yet their Redeemer hath found it for them , and has declared their Right to Heaven , and will therefore in his own Time and Way , bring them to the Enjoyment of that Kingdom which he hath prepared for them , as well as others . But here also we see , you are unkind to many Dying Infants , whilst you are sending them to Hell with those who walk in the Broad-way . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A41781-e150 * It was not the Bp of Norwich , for I never saw him , nor did I ever dispute any Doctor out of the room , as Mr. F. hath both foolishly and falsly reported in Print , with no less than six other false and very frivolous Tales , in half a Page ▪ Notes for div A41781-e950 Dr. Willit Hexap . in Gen. p. 196 , &c. Notes for div A41781-e1670 * You bid me understand what that Fallacy Ignoratio Elenchi is , and here you are fallen into that Fallacy your self . Notes for div A41781-e3610 * In the Book of Wisdom , we read , That Wisdom preserved the first Father of the World , and brought him out of his Offence , Chap. 10. 1. which is agreeable to the Canonical Scripture , Luke 3. 38. because Adam is called the Son of God. Dr. Willit . Hexap . in Gen. p. 56. See Diodat . upon Gen. 17. 14. who is also clear in this Point .