Discovery of the Unscripturalness of Anabaptism, Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
Of God's Covenant with Abraham, wherein is plainly proved, that that Covenant, in Gen. 17.7. is the Covenant of Grace.
THat God's Covenant with Abraham, in Gen. 17.7. was, and ſtill is, the Covenant of Grace, diſpenſed in a Church way: None of the Orthodox ever did, (or do) deny, that I can find, That the taking that Covenant in this Senſe, is the Foundation Principle, on which all ſound Proteſtants, do maintain and juſtifie, the Right of Believers Infants to Baptiſm, is beyond contradiction.
When the Moſt High, and Soveraigne Lord God ſaw fit to make known his Will and Pleaſure, to be; that his Covenant of Grace, (agreed on, between himſelf, and his Son Chriſt in Eternity) ſhould be Diſpenſed in an Eccleſiaſtical (or Church) way, he ſingles out (above all other men) Abraham his Friend; on whom he Confers the Honourable Title, of the Father of the Faithful, Rom. 4.11. Not that Abraham did, or could (poſſibly) Beget a Believer (as ſuch) or could convey into the Children he Begat (according to Fleſhly Generation) that Noble Grace of Faith, wherewith God's Free-Gift had Bleſſed himſelf. But God opens and propounds his Everlaſting Covenant of Grace and Salvation to him, as a Publick Perſon, who was to Perſonate all true Believers; who (in after Ages) were to be Members of his Viſible Churches, to the ſecond coming of Chriſt.
The Sum and Subſtance of that Covenant, is briefly comprehended in the Words of Gen. 17.7. I will Eſtabliſh my Covenant between me and thee, and thy Seed after thee; in their Generations, for an Everlaſting Covenant; to be a God to thee, and to thy Seed after thee.
This Covenant hath Two Eſſential Parts, as all Right Covenants have, (1.) God's part, held forth in the Words, I will be a God to thee, &c.
The meaning whereof (according to the Analogie of Faith,) muſt be thus underſtood. Tho' thou Abraham, whom I now call, to become my Friend and Favoright, and a Publick Head (or Repreſentative) of all believing Church Members, to the end of the World; be'ſt an undon and guilty ſinner, polluted in thy Nature, and born under Adam's Covenant of Works; liable and obnoxious to its Curſe, and to the Wrath to come; unable to recover or help thy ſelf out of that deplorable Condition, into which thy natural Birth (as Adam's Child) hath put thee. And albeit, thou be no way worthy of any Favour, yet I think fit, to let thee know, what thoughts and purpoſes of Mercy and Kindneſs, I have in ſtore for thee, Abraham: And for the Reſt of mine Elect, whom I have Choſen to my ſelf in Chriſt, (the Promiſed Meſſiah,) of whom, that Son which I have Promiſed thee, is to be a Type: And in whoſe Perſon, all mine Elect, are to be Allegorically (or Typically) Repreſented; and that, as thy Son is to be a Type of mine, in whom I have Elected and Choſen them.
I frankly and freely Pardon and Forgive thee, all thoſe Tranſgreſſions and Sins, wherewith, (as Adam's Child) thou ſtandeſt Chargeable, for breaking that Covenant of Works I made with Adam, thy (and all Mankinds) Natural and Faederal Head.
I Account thee perfectly Juſt and Righteous in my ſight; not by, or for, that Principal of Inherent Holineſs, which the Spirit of Grace (in effectual Calling) hath wrought in thee, (which Inherent Holineſs is (ever) the fruit and effect of a Juſtified State; but never the Procuring (or Meriting) Cauſe. But I account and eſteem thee, as Juſt and Righteous, as if thou hadſt (in thy own Perſon) exactly performed that Legal Righteouſneſs, which the Law Moral requires; on the alone account of my Sons righteouſneſs, which (as the Mediator, and ſurety of this my Covenant of Grace; he is to perform in the behalf of thee, and all mine Elect) I moſt freely impute to thee.
I Sanctifie, and Renew, thy vitiated, and poluted Nature, by my Sanctifying Spirit, that thou maieſt be capable of Communion and Fellowſhip, with me, both here, in my Church Militant: And here after, in my Church Triumphant.
I Adopt thee to be my Son, by Grace, and by virtue hereof, thou art reſtored to all the Bleſſings, Rights and Priviledges, which Adam (thy Natural and Federal Head) loſt and forfeited, by his Apoſtacy and Defection: Hereby thou art Admitted (as a Free Denizon) into the Family and Houſhold of God: from whence thou waſt caſt out (in Adam) when he was ejected and caſt out, for his Rebellion, witneſs his expulſion out of Earthly Paradice a lively Type of the Heavenly. I Promiſe to Eſtabliſh thee in Grace, ſo as thou ſhalt never (more) be in danger, of looſing thy ſelf, or forfeiting my Love and Favour any more: For ever I will be a Sun, and a Shield, to furniſh and ſupply thee with all neceſſary Accomodations for Life in this World; I will Protect and Defend thee, from all adverſe Powers, Spiritually and Bodily, which ſhall contrive and ſeek thy Ruin. And (finally) I will receive thee into Heaven, when (by Death) thou goeſt hence; where thou ſhalt Live and Reign, with me, Eternally.
And the very ſame Mercy and Favour, which I have (now) expreſſed, and ſhewn to thee; I do oblige my ſelf, by the promiſe of this my Covenant, that I will do to all mine Elect, who are to ſpring from thy Loyns. As alſo, to all mine Elect, who are to come of the Gentile Race; to the end of the World.
(2.) Man's Part; As for thee (Abraham) this thou muſt do, (on thy part) thou muſt walk Humbly and Uprightly before me; thou muſt make the Moral Law (Engraven by the Finger of my Spirit) on the heart of Adam (thy Natural and Federal Head) the ſtanding Rule of thy Obedience, both Negatively and Poſitively. In all the parts of thy Obedience, thou muſt look (exactly) to three things, (1.) To the Subject Matter of thy Obedience, let it be what I Command and Require, not what Creatures Deviſe or Enjoyn. (2.) To the manner, See that thou do it in Faith, keeping thine Eye on Chriſt (my Son) for Acceptance, and Acting all by Strength derived from him. (3.) To the end, See that my Glory be that thou aimeſt at, and deſigneſt, in all thou goeſt about. Thou ſhalt not do my Work and Service in a Mercenary way, as a Servant that Works for Wages; but thou muſt obey my Command as a Son, with freedom of Spirit, and from a Principle of Love and Gratitude, knowing and conſidering, that my Grace and Love hath made Proviſion of all that is needful, to make thee (every way Eternally happy, both here and hereafter. The dreadful Curſe, and Eternal Death, to which (by Sin) thou becameſt obnoxious: My Son Chriſt (Typ'd out by the Ram) hath ſet thee for ever Free from it. And that by his being made a Curſe, and undergoing Death for thee, (as being thy Sponſor or Surety) at his Hands I have Received, the full of that Debt, whereto thou becameſt liable, by breaking my Law, there remains not the leaſt Mite for thee to pay; ſo that (now) thou haſt no cauſe to fear my Vindicative Juſtice; the many and ſharp Afflictions, wherewith thou ſhalt meet, in thy way to Glory, ſhall be but the gentle Chaſtiſements, of thy (dearly) Loving, and Reconciled Father; who (by them) will Purge out, the remains of thy indwelling Corruption: and ſweetly wean thee from the enticing Objects of the vain and bewitching World thou Liveſt in. That Perfect and Spotleſs Righteouſneſs, which muſt Recommend thee to me, and preſent thee Blameleſs, before the Throne of my Glorious Holineſs, in the Third Heaven, is (Subjectively) Inherent, in the Perſon of God-Man, thy Mediator and Surety; to this Mediatorial Righteouſneſs of his, thou ſhalt add nothing, neither thy own Perſonal qualifications; nor yet, the Holineſs of Saints or Angels; (as if thereby) thou couldeſt be made more Acceptable, than that Righteouſneſs of his doth make thee. Thou ſhalt keep my Covenant, both thou and all thy Eccleſiaſtical, (or Church) Seed, throughout your Generations, till my Son comes to Judge the World at the laſt day. Thou, and all thy Church Seed, (which Springs from thee by Fleſhly Generation,) ſhall obſerve to have all your Males mark'd with Circumciſion, the viſible Token and Seal of this my Gracious Covenant, which I have (now) entred into, with thee; for thy ſelf (a ſtipulating Father,) and for all thy Children; who are to be the Members of my Sons Mediatorial Kingdom; or Viſible Church on the Earth.
And when Chriſt my Son ſhall come in the Fleſh, and ſhall enter upon his Mediatorial Kingdom, whatever viſible Token or Seal he ſhal appoint to Succed in the Room of Circumciſion, thy Gentile Church Seed (as well as Jews,) who are to believe in him, ſhall (carefully) obſerve to be Sealed therewith, both they and their Infants: And that by Virtue of this my Covenant, I now make with thee, for thy ſelf and them. And to the end, that neither thou, nor thy Children (in ſucceeding Ages) may Be Ignorant of what my Will and Pleaſure is, concerning the Non-Elect, who are to come and ſpring from Believing and Holy Parents, in my viſible Church or Churches. I notifie to thee, and thy Church Seed after thee, (throughout their Generations) that my Soveraign Will and Pleaſure is, that all the Infants of my Believing, Profeſſing Church Membrs, ſhall be markt with the Viſible Token or Seal, of this my Covenant in the Church, whereof the Profeſſing Parent (or Parents) are Members, and that without any regard had to the Elect, or Non-Elect. For, ſeeing that the Secrets of my Decrees and Counſels are known to my ſelf alone, I Will, that thou, and thy Church Seed after thee, (to the end of the World) do, in the Judgm…nt of (rational) Charity, Judge all the Seed, and Infant Poſterity of my Profeſſing People, who have laid hold on my Covenant, (by an Eternal Viſible Profeſſion) to belong to the Election, and to own them for ſuch, untill they (by open Apoſtacy, and final Impenitency) do manifeſt the contrary. For albeit my Viſible Churches do conſiſt of Elect, and Non Elect, and the one as well as the other do partake of the Seal of my Covenant, and are partakers of all Church Priviledges; yet none ſhall ever partake (internally and ſavingly) of the inward Grace and Mercy Signified, and Sealed by the Token and Seal of my Covenant, (in the Church Viſible,) but the Elect only, whoſe Names are (particularly) Regiſtred in the Lamb's Book of Life. And altho' the Non-Elect in my Church, do fall ſhort of the ſaving Benefits of my Covenant of Grace; yet ſhall they find that I am no way behind with them; for, altho' I (the Abſolute Soveraign of the World) be no way obliged to the Creature (eſpecially fallen Rebels,) yet, ſeeing it is my Pleaſure to Employ the Non-Elect in the Service of my Church, (while it is in a Militant State) that thoſe common Gifts (of my Spirit) wherewith they are to be endowed, might be laid out and improved, for the good and wellfare of my Elect and Choſen; I will give them a Place in my Church, that they ſhall be called by my Name, and ſhall have an equal Right (with mine Elect) to the Seal of my Covenant, and all outward helps and means of Salvation, in the Church Viſible; whereby it ſhall plainly appear (in the day of Judgment) that their miſſing Heaven, and falling ſhort of Eternal Life, was of their own Procurement. Notwithſtanding, As is the Service wherein they are Employ'd in my Church, I will give them a plentiful Recompence (viz.) a Temperal Reward, in Lieu of a Temporal Service; Such as Bodily Health, Worldly Wealth, Pleaſures and Honours, &c. which are (every way) more ſuitable to their Spirit, and are more ſought and delighted in (by them) than are the things laid up for my Choſen: Plain Inſtances (hereof) I have ſeen fit to leave on Record, in the Perſons of Iſhmael and Iſaac, both born of Abraham (according to the Fleſh) the one a Reprobate the other Elect; both muſt be of the Church Viſible, and Sealed with the Viſible Token and Seal of Gods Covenant with Abraham. Of the ſame Nature is that of Eſau and Jacob, both born of Iſaac (according to Fleſhly Generation) yet the one a Reprobate and the other Elect; both muſt be of the Viſible Church, and Sealed with the Seal of the Covenant, and paſs (currant) for Church Members, (before men) untill they (themſelves) make the contrary to appear: As did Iſhmael, Eſau, &c.
And thus, having as plainly and as briefly as I could, (for the information of thoſe who are yet Ignorant of Abrahams Covenant) Explained and ſhewn the Subſtance and Tenure of Gods Covenant with Abraham, for himſelf and all his Eccleſiaſtical, or Church Seed, both Jews and Gentiles, to the end of the World.
I come now to lay down ſome Scriptural Arguments, to Prove, that Gods Covenant with Abraham, (as now Explained) is the Covenant of Grace; which God Propounded to Abraham, in Gen. 17.7. And not a Covenant of Works, as the Anabaptiſts Teach it is.
That it is the Covenant of Grace, and no other, will evidently appear to any, who look not aſquint on the Arguments following.
Arg. 1. The firſt Argument is this, If God never yet made a Covenant of Works, with any (mee…) Man, but that which he made with ſinleſs Adam (the Natural and Federal Head of all Mankind) in the State of Innocency, before the Fall: Then God's Covenant with Abraham, is the Covn ant of Grace, and not a Covenant of Works. But God never (yet) made a Covenant of Works, with any meer Man, but that which he made with ſinleſs Adam, (the Natural and Federal Head of all Mankind) in the State of Innocency, before the Fall: Therefore, Gods Covenant with Abraham, in Gen. 17.7. is the Covenant of Grace, and no other. Plain it is, and none (without Lying againſt God) can deny it, that God made a Covenant of Works with Adam, and in him with all Mankind.
The Condition whereof was, do and Live; ſin and Dye. And as plain it is, that Adam Fell, by Tranſgreſſing that Covenant, by which Fall he loſt the Bleſſed Image of God to himſelf, and all his Poſterity, whereby he and his Poſterity became (utterly uncapable of Life and Salvation by that Covenant.
Now, Abraham being (by natural Birth) a Son of the firſt Adam, and (as ſuch) born under the Curſe of Adam's Covenant, and partaker of a ſinful and polluted Nature; which rendred him as uncapable of performing any Work, which (as a condition) can Anſwer the Laws demand; as a man naturally dead, is uncapable of raiſing or quickening himſelf; or as a Sparrow is uncapable to remove, or carry on its Back, the greateſt Mountain in the World. To what end ſhould the only Wiſe God make a Covenant of Works, with ſuch a fallen ſinner.
Arg. 2. If to hold and Teach, that God's Covenant with Abraham, (in Gen. 17.7.) is a Covenant of Works, and not a Covenant of Grace, be a high Reflection on God; and alſo deſtructive to the Souls of Men; then is God's Covenant with Abraham (in Gen. 17.7.) the Covenant of Grace, and not a Covenant of Works. But to hold and Teach, that God's Covenant with Abraham, (in Gen. 17.7.) is a Covenant of Works, and not a Covenant of Grace, is a High Reflection on God; and deſtructive to the Souls of Men.
Therefore, God's Covenant with Abraham, (Gen. 17.7.) is the Covenant of Grace, and not a Covenant of Works.
For rendring this Argument Unanſwerable, Two things want confirmation. Firſt, That to hold and Teach, that God's Covenant with Abraham is a Covenant of Works, is a high Reflection on God. And Secondly, That the ſame is Deſtructive to the Soules of Men.
The Firſt of theſe will evidently appear, to the unprejudic'd and Impartial Reader, if he (ſeriouſly) conſider, how Inconſiſtent it is, with the Divine Attributes of God, to make a Covenant of Works, with a Lapſed, Polluted Sinner, whom he knows to be (altogether) Dead in Treſpaſſes and Sins, and (every way) as unable to will, or do, any Work that is (Spiritually) good, as a Dead Man is able to quicken and raiſe himſelf.
For Illuſtration ſake, let it be conſidered, How unbecoming a Wiſe and Prudent Man it would be, to ſtrike a Covenant (or Bargain) for ten, or twenty thouſand Pounds, with an Inſolvent Perſon, who is well known not to be worth ten Farthings in the World; and (which is yet worſe) who hath neither Wit to contrive, nor Health or Limbs to Work to get a Penny towards paying ſuch a vaſt Sum. I cannot ſo much as doubt of any (worldly Wiſe) Mans unwillingneſs to be guilty of ſuch an overſight as this: And ſhall the (Unerringly) Wiſe God, be guilty of ſo great an Abſurdity?
S…condly, As this Principle Reflects on God; ſo it is Deſtructive to the Souls of Men. This appears (beyond all contradiction,) in that it raſeth the very Foundation of Men's Salvation: by denying that Covenant to be a Covenant of Grace, which Abraham and Iſaac, with Jacob, and all the Old-Teſtament Believers depended on for Eternal Salvation; and by which, we (Gentile Believers) hope to go to Heaven. For, moſt plain it is, that by this pernicious Principle, Abraham is loſt, with all who died truſting to the Grace exhibited in that Covenant. And if Abraham (the Father of the Faithful) be, truſting to a Covenant of Works; I cannot ſee, how any of his Eccelſiaſtical Church Seed can be Saved, any more than he is. For, by a Covenant of Works, no meer Man, ever was, or ſh…ll be juſtified and Saved.
Arg. 3 If the Scripture no where, (either directly or by conſequence) calls God's Covenant with Abraham, (Gen. 17.7.) a Covenant of Works; then it is a Covenant of Grace, and not a Covenant of Works. But the Scripture no where (either directly or by conſequence,) calls God's Covenant with Abraham, a Covenant of Works: Therefore the Covenant of God with Abraham, is the Covenant of Grace, and not a Covenant of Works.
If it cannot be Demonſtrated from the written Word, or by Arguments Deducible therefrom, that Abraham's Covenant, Gen. 17.7. is called, (or can be proved) a Covenant of Works; They who ſo hold and Teach, will be found ranked among thoſe who call good evil; and evil, good; and who put Light for Darkneſs, and Darkneſs for Light, Eſa. 5.10. For Men to take on them, to term Abraham's Covenant a Covenant of Works, without any Warrant Divine, is (to me) an Argument of an ignorant, raſh and preſumptuous Spirit: from which Charge, let ſuch Men ſee how they can Acquit and free themſelves.
Arg. 4. If Abraham was Juſtified by Faith, and not by Works; then the Covenant which God made with him, is the Covenant of Grace, and not of Works. But Abraham was Juſtified by Faith, and not by Works; Therefore the Covenant which God made with him, is the Covenant of Grace, and not the Covenant of Works. That Abraham was Juſtified by Faith, and not by works, the Scripture is expreſs, and clear, Rom. 4.2, 3, 4. Gal. 2.5, 6, 7.
Arg. 5. If God hath made no other Covenant of Grace with Abraham, diſtinct from that in Gen. 17.7. then, that Covenant in Gen. 17.7. is the Covenant of Grace: but God made no Covenant of Grace, with Abraham, diſtinct from that in Gen. 17.7. Therefore, that Covenant in Gen. 17.7. is the Covenant of Grace, and not the Covenant of Works.
That which will determin the Point in Controverſie, is this, let thoſe who (herein) oppoſe me, lay down a Scriptural definition of the Covenant of Grace; and that in ſuch Terms, as beſt pleaſe themſelves; and in Caſe, their own definition, do not agree (at leaſt for Subſtance) with Gen. 17.7. if it be according to God's Word, then am I freely willing to own my ſelf (herein) miſtaken: If they refuſe to comply with ſo fair a Propoſal, let the Judicious and Impartial Reader Judge, who is at the Loſs (herein,) they or I?
I conclude this Chapter with this Dilemma, (viz.) Abraham, (the Father of the Faithful) he is e…ther Sav'd, or elſe he is Damn'd; one of theſe two the Adverſaries (I now oppoſe) muſt grant, for there is no middle State for Souls Departed.
If they ſay he is Damn'd, then is there no ground left us to hope, that any of Adam's Poſterity ever were or ſhall be Sav'd; for we have no other Covenant whereby to expect Salvation, but that of Abraham: And if he Periſhed under that Covenant, ſo muſt we.
If they grant, that Abraham is in a State of Salvation, (as they muſt, if they ſpeak by the Spirit of Chriſt) then Abraham was Juſtified and Saved by a Covenant of Grace, and if by a Covenant of Grace, then that Covenant mention'd in Gen. 17.7. muſt needs be the Covenant of Grace; for beſides that Covenant the Scriptures know no other.
Againſt what I have ſaid, (and all Orthodox Proteſtants conſtantly …old and aff…m) conce…ning Abraham's Covenant being a Covenant of pure and abſolute Grace; this is Obj…cted by the Adverſaries.
Object. The Land of Canaan was a Temporal Bleſſing, therefore ſuch was the Covenant, of which Circumciſion was a Temporary Seal.
I Anſwer in two Particulars. Firſt, The Promiſe of the Land of Canaan is no Eſſential part of the Covenant of Abraham. Let the Words in the 7th Verſe be Read without prejudice. The laſt Clauſe of the Verſe doth fully comprehend the ſum and ſubſtance of the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham. The Promiſe of the Land of Canaan is only by way of Addition or Overplus. No Eſſential part of the Covenant it ſelf. The Covenant is briefly comprehended in theſe Words; I will be a God to thee, and to thy Seed after thee: For in theſe Words God Engages himſelf (by free and abſolute Promiſe) to Abraham and to his Elect Church-Seed, that he will be a God to him and them, to do all things for them, which are needful to compleat their Happineſs, both here and hereafter.
Secondly, The Land of Canaan was promiſed, not as it was any Eſſential part of the Covenant of Grace; or, as if real Bleſſedneſs conſiſted in the actual Enjoyment thereof: But as the ſame was a Temporary Type of Heaven. And for want of underſtanding and conſidering this very thing, many, who have thought themſelves Wiſer (in the Myſteries of the Goſpel) than their Neighbours, have prov'd themſelves ſhort of true Wiſdom; in this Particular at leaſt.
To convince of this Miſtake, let that of our Saviour (in Mat. 6.33. But ſeek ye firſt the kingdom of God, and the righteouſneſs there of, and all theſe things ſhall be added to you) be weighed in the Ballance of an unprejudiced Conſideration; and to an Impartial Eye, that looks not Aſquint at theſe two places of Holy Scripture, Gen. 17.7. and Mat. 6.33. it will moſt plainly appear, that Temporal Bleſſings are held forth in one, as well as in the other. And if it muſt needs be granted, that becauſe God made the Promiſe of the Land of Canaan to Abraham, &c. that therefore God's Covenant with him and his, was a Covenant of Works: It will (as neceſſarily follow, that Believers to whom Chriſt directs his Speech in Mat. 6.33. are now under a Covenant of Works, as well as Abraham was. And ſo, neither Abraham (the Father of the Faithful) nor any of his Seed, (the Elect I mean) either of the Jewiſh or Gentile Race, are like to be Saved or Enjoy God for their Portion. And by this way of Arguing, it will evidently appear to any ſeeing Man, (who ſhuts not his Eyes for fear of being convinced) that while the Adverſaries (I now Oppoſe in this Controverſy) were employed in deviſing this Shift to prove God's Covenant (with Abraham) to be a Covenant of Works; and that (on purpoſe) to exclude poor Infants from that Covenant, and from Baptiſm (the now Seal thereof,) they have (inſenſibly) ſhut both Abraham and themſelves too, out from being Saved: And what advantage will (hereby) accrew to their Cauſe, let it be improved to the utmoſt.
Object. 2. It is again Objected, If the Covenant in Gen. 17.7. be a Covenant of pure Grace, and not a Covenant of Works, and that all Abraham's Children be alike Intereſted therein, then doth Grace come by natural Generation, contrary both to Scripture and Reaſon.
Anſw. The ground of the Objectors miſtake, Lyes in two things: Firſt, His not diſtinguiſhing or conſidering, that the Children of Believing Abraham, are ſaid to be in Covenant two Ways, or in a twofold Reſpect: Firſt, Internally, by Virtue of God's Election: And thus none are (or ever ſhall be) in Covenant, but Abraham's Seed, (viz) The Elect, who are in Scripture (by way of diſtinction) ſtyled, the Children of Promiſe, Typ'd out in the Perſon of Jſaac, Gal. 4 28.
Theſe (and they alone) Partake in the ſaving benefits of the Covenant; and have alſo a right to the viſible Sign or Seal of the Covenant in the viſible Churches of Chriſt, under the Goſpel Diſpenſation.
Secondly, Externally, by Virtue of the External Profeſſion made in the Church: And thus the Non-Elect (as well as the Elect) are ſaid to be in Covenant with God, in his Churches Viſible, (here on Earth.) Theſe Albeit, they never partake in the ſaving Bleſſings of the Covenant; yet by Virtue of the External Profeſſion made, they and their Infant-Seed, (though not Elect,) have an External Right (in the Church Viſible) to the Token (or Seal) of Abraham's Covenant; and to all other Priviledges and Ordinances in the Church, whereof they are capable, according to the Revealed Will of God: By Virtue hereof it is, that God calls ſuch his People; and he will have his Church to call and own them for ſuch too, until they manifeſt themſelves to be otherwiſe; and that by a voluntary Defection, and final Apoſtacy. Plain Inſtances hereof are (Graphically) ſet down in God's Word, in the Perſons of Iſhmael and Eſau (in whoſe Perſons the Reprobate Seed of Abraham were (Allegorically) typ'd out as the Elect Seed) were Allegorically and Typically repreſented in the Perſons of Iſaac and Jacob: The former of theſe Sprang from the Fleſh of Abraham, as well as the latter: And on this account, they had a place in the Viſible Church, and were marked with the Seal of God's Covenant, as well as the latter. They were eſteemed and reckoned as God's Children, and true Members of the Church, until (by Defection and Apoſtacy) they diſcovered themſelves to be otherwiſe. If this Diſtinction be not allowed, I cannot ſee how God can be (orderly) Worſhip't by any Viſible Church on Earth.
This is the Summ and Subſtance of God's Covenant, made with Abraham in Gen. 17.7. and with his Elect Seed, &c. And by Virtue of this Promiſe, Abraham and (with him) all his Elect Seed would have been moſt Happy and eternally Bleſt, had no Promiſe been made of the Land of Canaan. So (in like manner) ſhall all true Believers (with their Elect Seed, be eternally Happy and Bleſt, being made Partakers of the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt, (intended in Mat. 6.33.) Albeit ſuch Believers (and their Elect Seed) ſhould (with Lazarus) Die on a Dunghil, for want of thoſe Temporal Bleſſings held forth by Chriſt, in the abovementioned Promiſe, which plainly demonſtrates, that the Promiſe which God made to Abraham, of giving to him and to his Seed, the Land of Canaan, was no more an Eſſential part of the Covenant made with him and his Seed, than the Promiſe held forth by Chriſt, in the place (abovenamed) proves, that Believers and their Elect Seed are (now) under a Covenant of Works. All the difference which I can find between theſe two places, is, that the Promiſe in Gen. 17.7. was Typical of the Kingdom of Heaven: The other is not ſo. Were this Covenant of God made with Abraham, (the Father of the Faithful) as he was a Stipulating and a Covenanting Repreſentative (in a Church Viſible,) but rightly underſtood and believ'd with Application to Mens own Souls, I am perſwaded there would be neither Anabaptiſts nor Arminian in the World.
The Church of Rome Holds and Teaches that Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion: I am not aſhamed to ſay, it is the Mother of all Errors in Religion. Neither am I afraid to affirm it to be both the Mother and Nurſe of Anabaptiſm and Arminianiſm.