More Proofs of Infants Church Membership and Right to Baptism, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI. Of Mr. Danvers's frequent Citations of my Words.
§. 1. WHen I read Mr. Tombes his twenty Citations of me as againſt my ſelf, which Mr. D. provoketh me to anſwer, and when I find Mr. D. ſo often imitating them, and alledging my words, as juſtifying his cauſe, I have no conviction on my mind that it is lawful for me to waſt my time and the Readers, about a particular vindication of my words, ſo triflingly and vainly uſed by them.
§. 2. Either it is the authority of the Writer which they ſuppoſe will ſerve them, or the force of the arguments; or elſe it is only to make the Reader believe that the Writer is ſo fooliſh as not to know when he contradicteth himſelf. The firſt I may well preſume it is not: If it were, the ſame perſons authority would be as much more againſt them as his judgement is. If it be the ſecond, why do they uſe any arguments of mine, when they are able to form ſuch of their own as ſeem much more uſeful to them than any that I can give them? And why then do they not inſiſt only on the Argument and neglect the Author? But ſeeing I muſt believe that the laſt is their buſineſs, I can have leiſure to ſay little more than this to them, that it is not my buſineſs to prove my ſelf no fool but to prove Infants Church-members; nor will it make me ſmart if all of their mind in England ſo judge of me; But yet I am not ſo fooliſh but that I know my own mind better than they do, and can reconcile my words when they cannot. If this ſatisfie not them, it ſatisfieth me.
§. 3. In ſumm, the words of mine which they alledge againſt my ſelf need but theſe two things to be ſaid for them againſt ſuch ſilly cavils: 1. That moſt of them ſpeak to the Queſtion [What is the kind of Covenant conſent required in baptiſm? Whether a meer dogmatical faith profeſſed? Or the profeſſion of a ſaving faith? as to the matter believed and the ſincerity of the belief and conſent?] And I prove that it is no other ſort of faith, but a true ſaving faith as to object and act which is required and accepted of God the ſearcher of hearts, as the Condition of his Covenant: And that it is not the Profeſſion of any lower ſort of faith (as to object or act) but of this ſaving faith, which the Church muſt accept to the admiſſion of members: A lower profeſſion will ſerve for none. 2. But I ſtill maintain (and I think fully proved) that God ſo far taketh the child as if he were a part of the Parent (nature and grace having committed him to his will and diſpoſal for his good till he have a will to chooſe for himſelf) as that by this ſort of faith and conſent the Parent is to enter his Child into Covenant with God as well as himſelf, and that in Gods acceptance the Child doth thus truly conſent by the believing Parent, and doth Covenant with God, as a child Covenanteth and conſenteth reputatively among men, who by his Parents is made a Party in a Contract, as in a leaſe for his life, or the like. Not that in ſenſu phyſico the perſon of the Child being the ſame with the Parents doth conſent in his conſent; but that the Parent having the treble intereſt in the Child, of an Owner, a Governour and a Lover, God by Nature and Grace conjunctly alloweth and requireth the Parent to dedicate the Child to God, and to conſent that he ſhall be a member of Chriſt and his Church according to his capacity, and by that Covenanting conſent to oblige the Child to live as a Chriſtian when he cometh to age: And this ſhall be as acceptable to the Childs Covenant-relation and rights, as if he had done it himſelf; and in this ſenſe may be ſaid reputatively to have conſented or Covenanted by his Parents, which in proper ſpeech, is, They did it for him at Gods Command.
§. 4. He that is not ſatisfied with this General Anſwer, let him either peruſe the words themſelves in my Writings, with thoſe before and after that explain them, or elſe if he will do as this man doth, abuſe his own underſtanding and his ignorant Readers, by ſuch ſilly wranglings animated by partiality, let him bear the Conſequents, and know that I have ſomewhat elſe to do with my few remaining hours, than to write books on ſuch inſufficient invitations and expectations.