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ing Jews, who were fuperftitiously fond of circumcifion, and prejudiced against baptifm, as an injurious innovation, are by the apostle perfuaded to fubmit themselves to it, Acts ii. 38, 39, affuring them that the fame promife, viz. I will be a God to thee, and to thy feed after thee, is now as effectually fealed to them and their children by baptifm, as it was in the former age by circumcifion: And that the Gentiles, which are yet afar off, whenever God fhall call them, fhall equally enjoy the fame privilege, both for themselves and for their children alfo.

We alfo find a commiffion given by Chrift to the disciples, Mat. xxviii. 19, 20. To difciple all nations, babtizing them, &c. from which difcipleship, infants ought not to be excluded, Acts xv. 10. Yea, we find, that as at the inftitution of circumcifion, Abraham, the father and master of the family, was first circumcifed in his own perfon, and then his whole houthold, Gen. xvii, 23, 24. anfwerably as foon as any perfon by converfion, or public profeffion of faith become a visible child of Abraham, that perfon was first baptized, and the whole houshold with him or her, Acts xvi. 15, 33. It is unreasonable to put us upon the proof, that there were infants in those houses; it being more than probable that in fuch frequent baptizing of houtholds belonging to believers, there were fome infants; but if there were none, 'tis enough for us to prove from their foederal holiness, I Cor. vii. 14. And the extent of God's promises to them, Acts ii. 38, 39. if there had never been fo many infants in thofe houtholds, they might and ought to have been baptized. How the true fenfe and scope of the two last mentioned fcriptures are maintained and vindicated against Mr. Cary's corrupt gloffes and interpretations, fee my Vindiciae Legis et Foederis, p. 90, 91. We do not lay the ftrefs of infants baptifm upon fuch strictures as the baptizings of the houfholds of believers, or Christ's taking up in his arms, and bleffing the little ones that were brought to him. These and many other fuch things found in the history of Chrift, and Acts of the apostles, have their use and service to fortify that doctrine. But if we can produce no example of any believer's infant baptized, the merit of the caufe lies not in the matter of fact, but covenant-right. For our adversaries themselves, if we go to matter of fact, will be hard put to it to produce us one inftance out of the New Teftament of any child of a believing Christian whose baptifm was deferred, or by Chrift or his apostles ordered to be deferred, until he attained the years of maturity, and made a perfonal profeffion of faith himself.

Thesis 7. The change of the token and feal of the covenant from

ciremcifion to baptifm, will by no means infer the change or diverfity of the covenants, especially when the latter comes into the place, and ferves to the fame use and end with the former, as it is manifeft baptifm doth, from Col. ii. 11. 12. as hath been, I think, Jufficiently argued against Mr. Cary's gloffes and exceptions, pag. 100, 101. of my Vindiciae Legis et Foederis. The covenant is ftill the fame covenant of grace, though the external initiating fign be changed. For what is the fubftantial part of the covenant of grace now, but the fame it was to Abraham and his feed before? Is not this our covenant of grace, Heb. viii. 10. I will be to "them a God, and they shall be to me a people?" And in what words was Abraham's covenant expreffed, Gen. xvii. 7. "I will "establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy feed "after thee in their generations for an everlafting covenant, to "be a God unto thee, and to thy feed after thee." This makes

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Abraham's covenant, fealed to him and his feed, as truly and properly the covenant of grace, as that which baptifm now feals to believers and their feed. The rafh ignorance of thofe that affirm, God may become a people's God in the way of a special intereft, by virtue of the broken and abolished covenant of works, rather deserves sharp reprehension, and fad lamentation, than a confutation; which, nevertheless out of refpect to my friend Mr. Cary, I have given it in its proper place in this rejoinder.

I hope by this time I have made it evident, that the defenders of infants baptifm, as it is established upon God's covenant with Abraham, Gen xvii. have not fo mistaken their ground, as Mr. Cary hath, by his endeavours to carry that covenant, as an Adam's covenant of works, through such a multitude of other errors and abfurdities, as he draws along with it in his way of reafoning.

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Refolved not to disturb my mind with your paffionate provoking language, at least whilft I was bufily employed in fearching for reafon and argument, (two fcarce commodities) amongst heaps of vain and fulfome words: Nor will I now imitate your folly and rudeness, left I become an offender, whilst I am to act the part of a reprover. When I read your title, Ajuft

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and fober reply, and prefently fell in among rude infults, filly e vafions, and fuch inartificial difcourfes as follow, in your book, I began to challenge you in my thoughts for matching fuch bad ftuff with fo fair and lovely a title: But a fecond thought quickly corrected the former; for I confidered, no man living could justly forbid the marriage betwixt your book and its title, fince there is not the leait kindred, or relation, between them.

Had your anfwers been juft, you would have obferved the rules of a refpondent, which you have not done; and if they had been fober, you had never been fo free in your reproaches, and fparing in your arguments, as you have been. Is this the man, of whom it is faid, in the Epistle to his Solemn Call, That his lines are free from reflection and reproach, towards thofe of the perfuafion he contends with? Is this my old friendly neighbour? It calls to my mind the Italian proverb, God keep us from our friends, and we will do what we can to keep ourselves from our enemies. And though you act the part of an enemy, you fhall be my friend, whether you will or not. If you will be my friend out of love, I will make you fo by a good improve. ment of your hatred.

I have been mufing with myfelf, what might be the true cause of all your rage against my book; one while I thought it proceeded from want of difcretion, that you were not able to diftinguish betwixt an adverfary in a controverfy, and an adversary to the perfon; but thought every blow that was given to your error, muft needs be a mortal wound to your reputation. But, Sir, how clofe, and fmart foever my difcourfes against your er. rors be, I am sure they are more full of civility, and respect to you, than fuch a reply as you have made deferves: And if, in expofing your errors, your reputation be expofed, you must blame them for occafioning it, and not me.

Sometimes I thought it an effect of your policy, that when followed close, and hard put to it, you endeavoured an escape this way. Camero, speaking of this kind of fubtilty in his adverfaries, faith, Faciunt quod quarundum ferarum ingenium eft, ut faetore et graveolentia, defectae jam viribus, ac fractae, venatorem abigunt. Some cunning animals, as foxes, &c. when pursued at the heels, drive away both dogs and huntfmen with their intolerable stench. And Hierom, long ago, told Helvidius, his adversary, Arbitror te veritate convictum, ad maladičta converti ; being vanquished by truth, he betook himself to ill language. After the fame manner you act here, being no longer able to defend yourself by folid and fober ratiocination, you trust to your

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faculty in crimination; bad causes only drive men into fuch refuges.

In a word, I am fatisfied that nothing but your extravagant zeal for your idolized opinion, could have thrown you into fuch di fingenuous methods, and artifices, as thefe. The Ephefians were quiet enough, till their Diana began to totter. Your paffionate outcries fignify to me, fomething is touched to the quick, which you are more fondly in love with than you ought. When one told Luther what hideous outcries his enemies made against him, and how they reviled him in their books; I know by their roaring (faith he) that I have hit them right.

You tell me, in your reply, p. 24. That you perceive I have a mighty itch to find out your abfurdities. I with, Sir, you were no more troubled with the itch after them, than I am after the difcovery of them. Had I affected fuch employments, I could eafily have gathered three to one out of your book, more than I did; and have represented those I gathered, much more odiously (and yet justly) than I did: but friendship constrained me to handle them (because yours) as gently as I could.

I might have juftlycharged you from what you fay, p. 174, 175. of your Solemn Call, where you place all the believers on earth, without exception of any, under the covenant of works, as a ministration of death and condemnation, and the severelt penalties of a dreadful curfe: I might thereupon have justly charged you for prefenting to the world fuch a monftrous fight as was never seen before, fince the creation, víz. a whole church of condemned and curfed believers. This I might as well have charged upon your position, and done it no wrong.

I could tell you, from what you fay, p. 76. of your reply, That God doth indeed, in the covenant of works, make over himSelf to finners, to be their God in a way of Special intereft; but it being upon fuch hard terms, that it is utterly impoffible, that way, to attain unto life, &c. I could justly have told you, that these paffages of yours drop pure nonfenfe upon the readers understanding; as if falvation were impoffible to be attained by the fame covenant, wherein God becomes our God, and makes over himself by way of special interest to us.

Had I had an itch to expofe the burlesque, and ridiculous ftuff which lies obvious enough in your book, I fhould then have told your reader, That according to your doctrine, how opposite and inconfiftent foever the two covenants of works and grace are, yet the fame fubjects, viz. believers, may, at

once, not only ftand under them both, but that the fame common feal, viz. circumcifion, equally ratifies, and confirms them both: For you allow, in your Call, p. 205. That it fealed the covenant of grace to believing Abraham, and yet was a feal of the covenant of works, yea, the very condition of that covenant, as you frequently affirm it to be. Vide p. 31. of your Reply, and Paffim.

I could as easily and justly have told you, That the most malicious Papift could fcarcely have invented a more horrid reproach againft our famous orthodox Proteftant divines, than you (I dare not fay maliciously, but) ignorantly have done; when you charge fuch men, as Mr. Francis Roberts, Mr. Obadiah Sedgwick, and, indeed, all that affert the law, complexly taken, to be an obfcurer covenant of grace; that they comprise perfect doing with the confequent curfe for nonperformance, and believing in Chrift unto life and falvation, in one and the fame covenant: This is an intolerable abuse of yours, p. 5 of your Reply. They generally affert the law, in that complex fenfe and latitude you take it, to be a true Covenant of grace, though more obfcurely adminiftred; and that the diftinction of the covenants into old and new, is no parallel diftinction with that of works and grace, or Christ's and Adam's covenant. Your public recantation of the injury you have done the very Protestant cause herein, is your unqueftionable duty, yet fcarce a due reparation of the injury.

In a word, I cannot but look upon it as a discovery of your great weakness, That when you meet with fuch a difficulty as pofes your understanding, and you cannot poffibly reconcile with your notion; as that of Panl's circumcifing Timothy, and you affirming that the very act of circumcifion did, in its own nature, oblige all, on whom it paffed, to the perfect obfervation of the law for righteousness, you will rather chuse to leave the blessed apostle in a contradiction to his own doctrine, than to your vain notion: For what do you fay, p. 95. of your Reply? That however the cafe flood, in that refpect, this is certain, &c. It also argues weakness in you, to insist upon, aggravate, jeer, and reproach at that rate you do, p. 38. of your Reply, for the mistake, and mifplacing of one figure, viz. Gen. xii. for Gen. xvii. as if the merit of the whole cause depended on it. The like I may fay of your charging me with nonfenfe, for putting Gen. xvii. 7, 8. for Gen. xvii. 9, 10, when yet yourself, p. 205. of your Call, tell us, That circumcifion was appointed as a fign, or token of the covenant, Geø. xvii. 7, 8, 9. What pitiful trifles are thefe, to raise such a

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