Infant Baptism Gods Ordinance, Title page – Dedication
INFANT BAPTISM God's Ordinance: OR, CLEAR PROOF That all the Children of Believing Parents are in the Covenant of Grace; And have as much a right to Baptiſm the now Seal of the Covenant, as the Infant Seed of the Jews had to Circumciſion, the then Seal of the Covenant.
Rom. 16. 17, 18. I beſeech you brethren mark them which cauſe diviſions and offences, contrary to the doctrine ye have learned, and avoid them: For they that are ſuch, ſerve not our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, but their own belly; and by good words and fair ſpeeches deceive the hearts of the ſimple.
By MICHAEL HARRISON, Miniſter of the Goſpel in P's P.
LONDON: Printed for Thom. Cockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey, over-againſt the Stocks-Market. 1694.
To all into whoſe hands this may fall; eſpecially thoſe who ſit under my Miniſtry.
Dear Friends,
THERE are two things which do moſt evidently prove man by nature a loſt Creature.
The one is the exceeding propenſity and inclination in the heart of every man to actual ſin, Pſal. 58.3. Job 15.16. Though every man is not actually guilty of every ſin, yet is there not a ſin in the world, but is ſeminally and vertually in every one's Nature.
The other is that ſtrange infatuation the Ʋnderſtanding lieth under, and its proneneſs to miſtake darkneſs for light; damnable and deformed Errors for beautiful and ſaving Truths: And that which is ſaddeſt of all, a tenacious adherence to, and a reſolved perſeverance in, theſe by-paths of Error, is very oft a mournful conſequence that follows them.
Now as theſe two things do ſhew the fearful ruines and miſerable condition of all by Nature: So there are two things which all Goſpel-miniſters ſhould vehemently urge upon their people as effectual remedies againſt ſo dangerous and pernicious a malady.
The one is the abſolute and indiſpenſible neceſſity of the new birth; Joh. 3.3. Except a man be born again, he cannot ſee the kingdom of God. This new birth is no leſs than a renovation of all the Powers and Faculties of the Soul, a putting off the old man, and a putting on Chriſt; a changing that heart into a new gracious tender heart, that was by nature an old unbelieving ſtony heart; any thing that perſons reſt in ſhort of this new birth, is ſhort of Salvation.
The other is, ſoundneſs of judgment in the Doctrine of Chriſt; it is not like that the Life ſhould be holy, if the Ʋnderſtanding be corrupt; there are damnable Principles as well as damnable Practices, 2 Pet. 2.1.
Indeed all Erroneous Opinions are not alike dangerous; ſuch as ſtrike at the fundamental Articles of Chriſtianity are moſt deadly; ſuch as err in leſſer Points, are not in ſo much danger.
Therefore, as the more fundamental and noble a Doctrine is, the more earneſtly ſhould we contend for it; ſo the more directly any Erroneous Opinion ſubverts ſame fundamental Truth, the more zeal and indignation we ſhould ſhew againſt it; as alſo the greater care to antidote our ſelves and others againſt it.
Now amongſt thoſe Erroneous Doctrines that have been like pricking Briars, and wounding Thorns, ever ſince the beginning of the Reformation, to the Proteſtant Churches, thoſe wild and Erroneous Doctrines that have been broached by the Antipedo Baptiſts, on Anabaptiſts, have not created the leaſt trouble to the Church of Chriſt, but have been a perpetual vexation and trouble to all our godly Reformers, as is evident by the ſad complaints of thoſe godly men in their Books, as who will but read the Works or Lives of Calvin, Luther, Zuinglius, Melancton, Oeculampadius, Muſculus, &c. and our Engliſh Divines, may be abundantly ſatisfied. The danger many of you were in of being ſucked in among the Anabaptiſts, or at leaſt to join with them in excluding your Infants from Baptiſm, the Seal of the Covenant, was that which firſt put me upon preaching upon this Subject; and it is the earneſt requeſt of ſeveral of you, that makes me conſent to the Printing of it. The Sermons you have lately heard upon this Text, have been (glory to Free Grace) of admirable uſe to eſtabliſh and ſettle thoſe of you that were ſtaggering in this Doctrine; that whereas there was many ſcruples in many perſons about Infant Baptiſm, yet now there are very few, if any, of thoſe that conſtantly frequent this Congregation, but have attained great ſatisfaction.
As God that knows my heart, can teſtify for me, that it is not yours, but you, that I ſeek, your preſent holineſs and eternal happineſs; ſo my greateſt joy amongſt you will be to find that my labour is not in vain; that you are gained to Chriſt, and joined to him by ſo firm a faith as the gates of Hell may never prevail againſt.
I bleſs God for that encouragement I have had amongſt you, many of you that ſprung from Parents of the oppoſite Perſuaſion, having ſo chearfully liſted your ſelves in Chriſt's Service, and by receiving Chriſt's Preſs-money, have more ſolemnly engaged your ſelves to be his Servants for ever. And that ſo many of you, and many even of adult age, have thought it their honour to be catechiſed in the Publick Congregation, which, I hope, will be followed by many others.
In ſhort, Your exceeding willingnſs to wait on the Miniſtry with thoſe ſaving impreſſions which, I hope, God hath made on many of your hearts, are to me a ground of hope, that what is ſo hopefully begun amongſt you, will be as comfortably finiſhed in the glory of God, and your Eternal Salvation.
If any demand a reaſon, why one who willingly acknowledges himſelf to be the unfitteſt of a thouſand, hath attempted this work, which hath been ſo well performed by ſeveral abler Pens? I only anſwer, That what others have done, being either too voluminous, or Anſwers to other Books, were therefore not ſo proper: Beſides, they that know my Circumſtances, the confident repeated Challenges, the reſtleſs Inſinuations of the Anabaptiſts, together with the various Attempts that the Perſons of that Perſuaſion have made to enſnare and draw away my Hearers (though I bleſs God with no ſucceſs) to their own way; will ſee that I lay under a kind of neceſſity for what I have done.
Chriſtian, ſtudy thy own heart, love all that fear God, though differently perſuaded in ſome leſſer things. And pray for him who deſires to ſerve thee in our common Saviour,
Michael Harriſon.
INFANT BAPTISM GOD'S Ordinance.
GEN. 17.7.
And 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 unto thee, and thy ſeed after thee.
GOD having in Gen. 12.3. promiſed Abraham, that in him all nations ſhould be bleſſed; comes now in this 17th Chapter in a more expreſs and formal manner to eſtabliſh his Covenant with Abraham: In which obſerve three things.
1. The Perſons covenanting.
1. Ex parte Dei; God ſtands on the one ſide of the Covenant: O the Infinite Condeſcention of the Great God, to take any notice of loſt Sinners! that when we had broken the Firſt Covenant, that he ſhould condeſcend to make a Second Covenant, a Covenant of Grace with loſt Sinners!
2. Ex parte Abrahami; Abraham and his Seed ſtand on the other ſide of the Covenant; with thee and thy ſeed after thee: This Seed of Abraham is to be limited according to Scripture; not in Iſhmael, nor his Seed by Ketura, but in Iſaac ſhall thy ſeed be called, Gen. 21.12.
Abraham had a two-fold Seed.
1. A Natural Seed by Generation, which are Abraham's Seed by promiſe; Rom. 9.7, 8. Neither becauſe they are the Seed of Abraham, are they all Children, but in Iſaac ſhall thy ſeed be called.
2. A Spiritual Seed; and theſe were either the Proſelited Gentiles under the Law, who did believe in, and worſhipped the God of Abraham; and ſo were by Circumciſion, the then Seal of the Covenant, taken into Abraham's Family; or elſe all Believers under the Goſpel; who though they are not of Abraham's Natural Poſterity, are yet Abraham's Spiritual Seed; Rom. 4.16. Therefore it is of faith, that the promiſe might be ſure to all the ſeed, not only that which is of the law (viz. the Jews) but to that alſo which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all; i. e. the Gentile Believers. So Gal. 3.29. By both which places the Apoſtle aſſureth the Gentiles, That if they are by faith tranſplanted into Chriſt, then were they Abraham's ſeed, and might claim all the Promiſes and Priviledges of the Covenant made with Abraham, as if they had been Abraham's Natural Seed by Generation from Iſaac.
2. Here is the duration of this Covenant; an everlaſting, a perpetual, or an eternal Covenant; a Covenant to laſt for evermore; ſo the Hebrew word foreign Gnolam properly ſignifies: This Covenant was not to be taken down by Moſes, no nor by Chriſt, but was that everlaſting Covenant which was ratified and ſealed with the Blood of Chriſt, Heb. 13.20.
3. Here are the Conditions of this Covenant; on God's part, I will be to thee a God, which carries in it all manner of Temporal, Spiritual, and Eternal Bleſſings; as Pardon, Sanctification, and Eternal Life, Pſal. 144.14, 15.
And on Abraham's part; he and his Seed were to be the Lord's peculiar People, to walk before God in holineſs, and ſincere obedience, Gen. 15.1.17.8, 9, 10.
Doct. That Covenant of Grace which God made with Abraham, of which Circumciſion then was, and Baptiſm now is the Seal; is a Covenant in which all Believers and their Children are comprehended.
In ſpeaking to this Doctrine, I ſhall by Divine aſſiſtance do theſe five things.
1. Briefly ſhew you the nature of the Covenant of Grace.
2. Prove this Covenant made with Abraham to be a Covenant of Grace.
3. That Circumciſion then was, and Baptiſm now is, a Seal of this Covenant.
4. All Believers are in it.
5. That all the Infants of Believing Parents are in this Covenant, and have as much a right to the now Seal of the Covenant, which is Baptiſm, as the Infants of the Jews had to the then Seal of the Covenant, which was Circumciſion.
1. The nature of the Covenant of Grace.
The Covenant of Grace is God's gracious Promiſe of delivering from a ſtate of Sin and Death, and bringing into a ſtate of Salvation by Jeſus Chriſt, all that by faith fly to, and lay hold on him.
In which Covenant we may take notice,
1. The Parties in covenant; God is on the one part of the Covenant, and Believers and their Children on the other part, as has been proved.
2. That on our part Chriſt is the principal Head and Repreſentative in this Covenant; for this Covenant was made with Chriſt as the Second Adam, and in him with all the Elect, as his Seed, Gal. 3.16. Rom. 5.15. to the end. Iſa. 53.10, 11.
3. Jeſus Chriſt is the Mediator of this Covenant, 2 Tim. 2.5.
4. Herein God promiſes Life and Salvation to all Believers, 1 John 5.11, 12.
5. The Condition of the Covenant on our part is Faith, Mark 16.16.
6. Herein the Holy Spirit is abſolutely promiſed to work Faith and all other Graces in us, Prov. 1.22. Ezek. 36.27. and the firſt graces of Converſion is abſolutely promiſed us without any reſpect to the will of man, Ezek. 36.25, 26.
This Covenant God made with Abraham was a Covenant of Grace; it muſt either be a Covenant of Works, or a Covenant of Grace; but a Covenant of Works it is not, for that requires perſonal perfect Obedience from all; and in caſe of ſin lays the Sinner under an curſe, Gal. 3.10, 12. Rom. 10.5.
It is a Covenant of Grace, as is evident.
1. This Phraſe, I will be thy God, and you ſhall be my people, is never found but in a promiſe of the Covenant of Grace; as Gen. 15.1. Exod. 29.45. Jer. 24.7.31.33.32.37, 38, 39. Ezek. 11.18, 19, 20.34.22, 23, 24, 25.37.23. Zech. 8.8. 2 Cor. 6.16. Rev. 21.3.
2. It was the Covenant of Grace; for it's an Everlaſting Covenant, which is a property of the Covenant of Grace, 2 Sam. 23.5. Heb. 13.20.
3. It's a Covenant of Grace; for we find that in all After-diſcoveries and Repetitions of the Covenant of Grace, the Spirit of God hath reſpect to this; as Deut. 29.10, 11, 12. Pſal. 105.42. Acts 2.39.
4. It was a Covenant of Grace; for Circumciſion, the Seal of it, was a Goſpel-ordinance; Rom. 4.11. it was a Sign and Seal of the Righteouſneſs of Faith, i. e. of Chriſt.
5. It's a Covenant of Grace; for that Phraſe, I will be to thee a God, contains all Goſpel-bleſſings in it, Heb. 11.9, 10, 13, 14. Gal. 3.18.
6. Many Scriptures teſtify it was ſo; Micha 7.19, 20. Luke 1.72, 73, 74.
3. That Circumciſion then was, and Baptiſm now is, the Seal of this Covenant: That Circumciſion then was a Seal, is evident, Gen. 17.10. Rom. 4.11. Whoever would be a viſible Church-member muſt be circumciſed.
Circumciſion is now aboliſhed by Chriſt, Eph. 2.15. 1 Cor. 7.19
And Baptiſm now ſerves to the ſame purpoſe; whoever will be a Member of the Chriſtian Church, muſt be baptiſed; there's no change in the Covenant, only the Rite of admitting Members is changed, Matth. 28.18, 19. Acts 2.41. Col. 2.10, 11, 12.
4. All Believers are in this Covenant; this is abundantly evident, Rom. 4.11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Gal. 3.29. The Covenant was made with Abraham as a Believer, and with all Believers as well as him. Perſons may be ſaid to be in covenant in a twofold reſpect.
1. Internally and inviſibly; as united to Chriſt, living Branches, knit to Chriſt by a vital union; and thus only the Elect are in covenant: The Covenant thus conſidered is not the ground of Baptiſm; if we muſt baptize none but ſuch as are vitally in Chriſt, then muſt we baptize none; becauſe tho we ſee the outward profeſſion, we do not know who belong to the Election of Grace.
2. Perſons are externally and viſibly in covenant, Deut. 29.10, 11, 12, 13. Thus all who profeſs Chriſt, Tares and Wheat, wiſe Virgins and fooliſh, Matth. 25.1, 2, 3, 4. This is the ground of Baptiſm; we do not baptize perſons as the Elect of God, or Infants as the Infants of the Elect, but as making a viſible and credible profeſſion of Religion; ſo the Apoſtles did preſently baptize ſuch as did profeſs repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jeſus Chriſt; Act. 2.41. Simon Magus, in barely profeſſing to believe in Chriſt, was baptiſed.
Thus all thoſe who viſibly profeſs Chriſtianity, and are baptiſed in the name of Chriſt, and do not ſcandalous Sins, notoriouſly contradict their Profeſſion, are to be accounted Believers in Covenant, and their Children to be baptiſed, Ezek. 16.20, 21.
3. That all Infants of ſuch believing Parents are in the Covenant of Grace, and have as much a right to Baptiſm, the now Seal of the Covenant, as the Infants of the Jews had to Circumciſion, the then Seal of the Covenant.
This is the principal thing deſigned from this Text.
There are, you know, a ſort of reſtleſs people amongſt us, who are perpetually letting fly, and with great indignation ſpurning at Infant Baptiſm; telling you, your Infants have no right to the Seal of the Covenant, and thereby tempt you to be cruel to the Children of your own Bowels, ſetting them among Pagans and Infidels.
Therefore I hope it will be an acceptable ſervice to plead the Cauſe of your poor Infants, who cannot yet ſpeak a word for themſelves; to aſſert and prove their right to the Covenant, and the initiating Seal thereof, which is Baptiſm. I hope to find very few amongſt you who will join with the Enemy of Infants, but rather put to a helping hand to reſtore them thoſe Priviledges God allows them. In ſpeaking to this, I ſhall
1. Lay down ſome Concluſions to clear the Doctrine of Infant Baptiſm.
2. Prove the Doctrine by ſeveral Arguments.
3. Shew the dangerous Conſequence of denying Infant Baptiſm.
4. Anſwer Objections.
5. Prove that Dipping over head in baptizing in theſe cold Countreys, is no Ordinance of God, but a grievous Sin.