A Discourse of the Two Covenants, Book 2 · Chapter 4 · Section 1
SECT. I. That Children are taken into their Parents Covenant.
§ 1. THE ſubject we have in hand is the Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace, the new and better Covenant; and therein having ſhewed the Perſon that made the Covenant with man, and ſpoken of the free Grace of God, which was the Fountain from whence this Covenant of Grace did flow, we came in the next place to conſider the Perſons with whom this Covenant was made, and they are ſet down in a threefold ſubordination: (1) Firſt and immediately with Chriſt the ſecond Adam: (2) In him with all the Faithfull: (3) In them with their Seed. And this laſt is the head we are now to enter upon, having laid theſe two grounds: (1) That the Covenant that God made with Abraham is the ſame Covenant that all the Faithfull, whether Jews or Gentiles, ſtand under to the worlds end;Rom. 4.16. therefore is Abraham called the Father of us all; though of the Gentiles: foreign. There is cognatio ſpecialis, quae coram Deo locum habet, & Deo nos gratos reddit. Beza. All Believers have a ſpecial Cognation to God by virtue of Abrahams Covenant; and this is not barely by imitation of his Faith, which the Apoſtle Paul aſſerts (verſ. 12.) of thoſe that walk in the ſteps of the Faith of Abraham; but there is … bleſſed reſultance from this, that a man is thereby tranſlated into the Covenant of Abra…am; and there is no diſtinction of perſons, for there is neither Jew nor Greek, Gal. 3.29.neither bond …or free, neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Chriſt Jeſus. Ad jus adoptionis acquirendum, vel minuendum nullum diſcrimen; ſancta eſt in Chriſto aequalitas, quae & unitas, Par.Par. As to the right of Adoption, there is no inequality; all are in Chriſt equal: All therefore that are Chriſts are Abrahams ſeed, and heirs according to the Promiſe, Gal. 4.28.31. we as Iſaac are the children of Promiſe, we are not the children of the bond-woman but of the free. (2) Though in the manner of the Adminiſtration of this Covenant there be a great deal of difference from what it was in ancient times, yet as to the ſubſtance of the Covenant, the perſons that are foederati in it, are the ſame, and taken in upon the ſame grounds, and ſhall be ſo to the end of the world; and therefore as the ſeed were taken into Covenant with their father, the ſame way will the Lord diſpenſe the Covenant to the end of the world, that if he take the Parent into Covenant he will take the ſeed with him; and therefore their children are called the Sons of the Covenant; Act. 3.25.becauſe it's as a Birth-Priviledge, and belongs unto them as they are taken into their Fathers Covenant: And this the Lord ſays ſhall be the way in which he will diſpenſe his Covenant for ever;Act. 2.39. that no man may ſay this was a peculiar priviledge unto Abraham and his ſeed onelyonly; for Abraham is made the Father of many Nations,Rom. 4.12. the Father of the Circumciſion and of the Uncircumciſion, and the Promiſe is to you and your ſeed, and unto them that are afar off, as Gentiles unconverted are ſaid to be, that are yet ſtrangers unto the Church of God,Epheſ. 2.17. and the Priviledges thereof, even to as many as in all ages the Lord ſhall call. And theſe two grounds being laid, this Covenant made with Abraham will give us ground to obſerve this point: Doctrine. That the Children of believing Parents in the Covenant of Grace, are taken into the ſame Covenant with their Parents; the Covenant is to them and to their ſeed, and therefore their Poſterity may well be ſtiled the Children or Sons of the Covenant.
A point it is of great concernment, and therefore to be contended earneſtly for: 1. As that which doth exceedingly advance the Grace of God unto Parents, and makes much for their Conſolation that are Believers, that not only the Lord doth extend mercy to them, but to their ſeed, as he did here extend it to Abrahams ſeed, by which God exceedingly exalts his free Grace, and ſo it's made an argument of ſpecial Love unto Parents, Deut. 4.37. Becauſe he loved thy Parents, therefore he choſe their ſeed after them; Mercy unto their Poſterity is from the Love of God unto Parents: Now as it is a ſpecial Grace of the ſecond Covenant, that wherever Believers come, unto all people where they live they ſhall be a bleſſing;Gen. 12.2. the word in the Hebrew is foreign & eſto benedictio, ſo Montanus; we render it, according to the Septuagint, Thou ſhalt be a bleſſing, but, as Aynſworth has well obſerved, this manner of ſpeaking in the Hebrew is very vehement and emphatical, noting Gods commanding the bleſſing, according to the Expreſſion, Pſal. 133.3. For there the Lord commanded the Bleſſing even life for evermore, &c. And the remnant of Jacob ſhall be in the midſt of many people as dew from the Lord, &c. They ſhall be as dew, the cauſe of a Nations flouriſhing; and to a decaying Nation they ſhall be the root and ſupport, the holy ſeed ſhall be the ſubſtance thereof;Iſa 16.13. how much more ſhall the Grace of the Covenant be exalted in reference to their Poſterity for their conſolation, in that they are nearer, and dearer to them than any other can be, and therefore they ſhall be a bleſſing to them; and this will be much heightned unto them by this, that while they were under the Covenant of Works, while unſtranſlated, they did convey unto them the Curſe of the firſt Covenant, and the Lord doth threaten that he will viſit the iniquity of the Parents upon the Children. Now it were a great terrour to a man, that while he is under the firſt Covenant his iniquity ſhall be viſited upon his Children, if when he is tranſlated into the ſecond Covenant, the grace of the Covenant ſhould no way extend unto them; and …range it were, that all the creatures coming under the Covenant of the Saints, are by t…s means preſerved in their being, and attain many benefits that by reaſon of the curſe of the firſt Covenant they ſhould never have attained, if amongſt all the reſt, their children ſhould have no benefit by their fathers Covenant, and they which are neareſt to them ſhould only be excluded.
2. This is one of the great Arguments that the Scripture uſeth to draw men in to Believe, becauſe not only they ſhall have benefit by it, but their Poſterity: there is a double uſe that I find the Apoſtle makes of that argument: (1) To the Children as a means to bring them in; repent ye therefore and be converted, for you are the children of the Covenant, which God made with your fathers; there is mercy in a ſpecial manner offered to you, and unto you firſt, becauſe you are the children of the Covenant, and therefore have in a ſpecial manner a right to it. (2) To the Parents, Act. 2.38. Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of the Lord Jeſus for the remiſſion of ſins, for the promiſe is to you and your children; not only you ſhall have benefit by it, but your children upon whom you have brought a curſe, and therefore were not parentes ſed peremptores, as Bernard ſpeaks of all men in reference to their children in a ſtate of nature; they alſo ſhall have benefit by it, and by your laying hold of the Covenant be brought in under the ſame Covenant with you; your children, that are now children of the curſe, they ſhall become children of the Covenant. Now as it ſhould be a great argument to keep men from ſin, that therein they wrong their Poſterity, it's a Treaſon that taints the blood; ſo it ſhould be a great engagement unto all Parents to come within the Covenant, that the Grace of the Covenant might alſo be extended in them unto all their ſeed.
3. This is the great and only difference that God hath put in his Word between the children of Believers within the Covenant of Grace, and the ſeed of Strangers who are ſtrangers to the Covenant; that their children belong unto the Family of God, and are own'd by God as ſuch in a viſible way; whereas all the reſt of the Families of the world, that are Unbelievers, belong to the Kingdom of Satan, and are to be looked upon as without;Deut. 4.37. and therefore, Deut. 4.37. the Lord choſe their ſeed after them; it's not ſpoken of an Election to ſalvation; but there is an Election to Priviledges, as well as to Life, and yet both flow from a ſpecial Love; for there is but a two-fold Kingdom, of God, and of the World; and of theſe there is a two-fold God, there is Satan the God of this world, and all they that are in this Kingdom have for their God the God of this world; but there is a Kingdom of God, and all that are in that Kingdom the Lord has taken to be his people, and they have in a peculiar manner the Lord for their God, as Iſrael had the Name of God call'd upon them, and they only had the means of ſalvation; for ſalvation is of the Jews, and the Lord did take them as his peculiar Treaſure, and did avouch them to be his people, above all people of the earth, they were under more glorious Adminiſtrations, under a peculiar Providence and care above all people of the earth, and yet many of them, nay the greateſt part of them wicked, and but a remnant amongſt them according to the Election of grace, and it were apparently to put the ſeed of Abrahams faith into a far worſe condition in reſpect of their poſterity, than the ſeed of Abraham according to the fleſh were, when the Apoſtle, in reſpect of the adoption, made no difference between Jew and Greek, bond and free. And this alſo is the only ground (as I may call it, for though there be other arguments given, yet they all have their ſtreſs from this, and depend upon it) for applying of Ordinances unto the children of Believers, and therein to put a difference between them and the children of Heathen, and this is not a ground of our making, but of the Lords; the Lord takes Abraham into Covenant and his ſeed alſo,Gen. 17.7. and having taken them into Covenant, he doth command him to apply the ſeal of the ſame Covenant unto them, the command of God was the bond of applying the ſeal, but the ground of the command lay in their intereſt in the Covenant, being taken in together with their parents; and ſo whereas it's true, as Tertullian ſaith, fiunt, non naſcuntur Chriſtiani, men are made, Rom. 1.2, 3.not born Chriſtians, it is not a birth-priviledge, ſuch as comes upon them by nature, for by nature one man has no more right to an Ordinance than another, for there is no difference, all men have ſinned and come ſhort of the glory of God; but what they have not by nature,Chryſoſtome in Rom. 4. foreign. they may yet receive by grace, as a birth-priviledge, to which by their fathers Covenant they were after a ſort born, as the poſterity of Abraham according to the fleſh were.
4. It's the only ground that I know that Believers can have of the ſalvation of their children, if they dye in their infancy; I do not now ſpeak of Gods ſecret counſel; for the foundation of God ſtands ſure, having this ſeal, The Lord knows who are his; and what number he has belonging unto the Election of Grace amongſt them that are afar off we know not, ſecret things belong to God; but we find no promiſe of ſalvation made unto any out of the viſible Church of God; ſalvation is of the Jews, and 'tis Gods promiſe that is to be the rule of our faith, and the ground of our hope, and not our counſel.Joh. 4. Now if the children of believing parents be not taken into Covenant with their parents, they have no more a promiſe of ſalvation than the children of a Pagan. For as I told you, this world is divided into two Kingdoms, either the Kingdom of Chriſt, or the Kingdom of Satan,Col. 1.13. He has tranſlated us out of the power of darkneſs into the Kingdom of his dear Son. Now as long as a perſon is a viſible Member of the Kingdom of Chriſt, and under a promiſe of ſalvation that the Lord will be his God, I have no reaſon or ground out of the Word to queſtion their election or ſalvation, but rather in the judgment of charity grounded upon the Covenant to hope and believe, or be perſwaded of the ſame, till they viſibly manifeſt the contrary, though there may be ſome Reprobates amongſt them: on the contrary, though we know Chriſt gathers his Elect out of the Kingdom of Satan, and therefore many of the Elect remain yet under his power, yet I have no ground to hope of any particular perſon, that he is elected of God, being ſtill under Satans Kingdom, till he give ſome teſtimony of the contrary; for either all infants dying in infancy muſt be ſaved, or they muſt all be damned, or elſe there muſt be a difference by grace put between them that are ſaved, and them that are damned; for in nature there is no difference. Now what difference the Lord may put in his ſecret counſel we know not, but there is no difference put in his word, but that which is grounded on the Covenant under which they ſtand, being taken into it together with their parents. What ground had a Jew, if his child died, to hope its ſalvation, but that God promiſed to be his God, and the God of his ſeed alſo? and the ſame ground has a Chriſtian to hope the ſalvation of all his that die in their infancy; becauſe the Covenant is the ſame with both, and the perſons taken into Covenant are the ſame, Thou and thy ſeed after thee.
This truth therefore we had need to be carefully inſtructed in, and which has ſtirred up thoſe that are faithful unto God and his Truth to contend earneſtly for this Doctrine as delivered unto, and this priviledge as conferred on the Saints, againſt thoſe that would put their children into the ſame condition with thoſe who are fartheſt off from God;Jude 3. ſo that though they be the children of their fleſh, yet they are not of their Covenant. There has of late years been much written about it, and therefore I ſhall not enter into the diſputation, as that which you may read every where, and inform your ſelves at leiſure about, but barely lay down the truth in a poſitive way, in which I ſhall but nakedly repreſent unto you what I find delivered by thoſe that hold and love the truth herein. I ſhall firſt begin with the proof of the Doctrine, That children are taken into their parents Covenant together with themſelves, which I ſhall endeavour to make good to you by theſe clear and evident Arguments.
1. This ever hath been ſince the Fall, and ever ſince the Father has gathered unto the Lord Jeſus his Son a Church upon Earth, the way of the Lords adminiſtration of the ſecond Covenant, that whenſoever he has taken parents into Covenant with him into his Kingdom and Family, he has taken in their children together with them,Acts 3.25. and has counted them as part of his Family and Kingdom; therefore they are called the Sons of God, Gen. 6.1. and the children of the Lord your God, Deut. 14.1. and amongſt the Gentiles, Gal. 3.26. he ſaith, That you are all the children of God by faith in Chriſt Jeſus; and therefore called the children of the Kingdom: Mat. 8.12. Rom. 9.2, 3.not that they are all born of God, and are inwardly as to the ſtate of their perſons the children of God, but Rom. 9.2, 3. Theirs is the Adoption: it is not meant of an inward and ſpiritual Adoption, but it's meant of an external and viſible Adoption, to be ſeparated from all other people, and to be owned by God as his children; Iſrael is my ſon, my firſt-born, Exod. 19.5, 6. yet there were many in Iſrael that were inwardly and for the ſtate of their perſons enemies to God, and the children of the Devil; and ſo much the Apoſtle does evidently aſſert,Rom. 11.21. Rom. 11.21. Here's a twofold Olive-tree, there is the true Olive-tree, and that is Abraham, Iſaac, and Jacob by virtue of their Covenant,Non quibus à natura ineſſet ſanctitas; ſed quia ex iis erant nati quos Dominus foedere gratuito à reliquis gentibus ſibi ſegregat, Beza. and they that were born of them are called the natural branches; and what is the wild Olive? that is all thoſe that were out of the Church of the Jews, that were not viſibly taken into Abrahams family and Covenant; ſo that now there is a threefold Iſrael of God, (1) There is natural Iſrael, and they are taken into Covenant for their fathers ſake, as they are natural branches growing upon the good Olive-tree. (2) There is ſurrogated Iſrael, thoſe that are grafted in, when they were broken off; therefore as the other did grow upon the root of Abrahams Covenant, ſo do theſe alſo, for they were gathered in, Rom. 11.17. that is, as Beza renders it, for thoſe*Pro ipſis in locum ramorum defractorum. that were broken off; therefore as the others grow upon his root, they and their children, ſo do theſe alſo. (3) The Lord ſhall return again in mercy to his people Iſrael, they ſhall be taken in again for their parents Covenant; for they are beloved for their fathers ſake, and they ſhall be again ingrafted into their own Olive-tree; ſo that it has been the conſtant way of Gods adminiſtration of the Covenant of grace, he has taken the parents into Covenant, and they being ingrafted into a viſible Church of God, they are grafted in as the root, and all their children are as branches growing thereupon.
2. When the parents are diſinherited and caſt out of the Covenant, ſo are the children alſo; therefore when the parents are taken in, the children are taken in, Rom. 11. we read of a breaking off and a grafting in. Now the breaking off and grafting in muſt anſwer to and expound one the other: now how were they natural branches? They were ſo called by reaſon of their birth, growing naturally upon Abraham the root. How were they broken off? They were rejected from being a viſible Church, the Lord called them Loammi, and would owne them for his people no more, deprived them of the adoption which did before belong unto them; they were formerly counted the people of God above all Nations under Heaven,1 Theſſ. 2.16. but now rejected: and this the Apoſtle calls wrath come upon them to the uttermoſt: men that are members of the inviſible Church cannot be broken off, their ſins, though they may vaſtare conſcientiam, yet they cannot excutere fidem, &c. So then as the Lord took in the believing Gentiles and their children into a viſible Church unto himſelf, and tranſlated the adoption unto them, ſo he did caſt off the Jews and their children, he broke off the natural branches, that they ſhould be unto him no longer as a peculiar people; ſo that together with their fathers, the children were broken off; therefore together with their parents the children of the Gentiles are grafted in, and therefore all is put upon the parents Covenant; for their oppoſition to the Goſpel the Lord laid this great wrath upon them and their poſterity.
3. Children are members of the viſible Church where their parents are in Covenant with God: grafting in is admiſſion into viſible memberſhip, as breaking off is a caſting out of viſible memberſhip: ſo Mar. 10.14. Of ſuch (not only of theſe very little ones, but of ſuch as theſe) is the Kingdom of Heaven. Now by the Kingdom of Heaven is meant the viſible Church, and it's commonly ſo put in the Goſpel, ſo that of ſuch is the viſible Church of God conſtituted and made up; therefore little children born in the Church are by Chriſt counted as thoſe of whom the Church and Kingdom of Chriſt in part conſiſts. Now all men by nature are children of wrath, and enemies to God, ſtrangers to the Commonwealth of Iſrael; Eph. 2.12.there is no difference, but only by virtue of the Covenant of grace, which cannot come upon their own, but only in their parents right; no man is born a member of the Church naturally, but 'tis a birth-priviledge that comes upon them by grace through their parents Covenant.
4. Hence it comes to paſs, that there is a holineſs comes upon thoſe children of believing parents,Rom. 11.16. Rom. 11.16. If the root be holy, ſo are the branches; and if the firſt-fruits be holy, the lump is alſo holy; the root is Abraham and the Fathers, and they are ſaid to be the firſt-fruits, becauſe they were firſt conſecrated unto God, and the branches were dedicated in their root,1 Cor. 7.14. and the lump in the firſt-fruits; and ſo 1 Cor. 7.14. Elſe were your children unclean, but now are they holy. What's the holineſs that is here meant? it's not a perſonal and inherent holineſs that's here ſpoken of; for the branches that were thus holy were broken off, which if they had been truly and ſpiritually holy, they could never have been; therefore it's ſpoken only of a federal and derived holineſs from their parents Covenant, as Iſrael is called the holy nation, Exod. 19.6. and the holy people, Dan. 8.24.12.7. that is, a people that God had ſeparated to himſelf of all Nations under Heaven, whom he would in a ſpecial manner owne, and amongſt whom he had ſet up his Ordinances, and would dwell; for federal holineſs is nothing elſe but being ſeparated from the world to become a member of the viſible Church, and thereby to have a right unto the ordinances and priviledges of a viſible member, though he be not truly converted or begotten unto God; and this is called being a Jew outwardly, that is, a member of the viſible Church, and to whom the priviledges of a Church-member did belong; but there is a Jew inwardly, in whoſe heart there dwells converting grace. Now how doth this holineſs flow, ſeeing that by nature all men are alike unholy, and there is no more ſeparation of one man unto God than another, and one man hath no more right by nature unto viſible and external priviledges than another, for all are born in the ſame condition? This is only by virtue of their being taken into their parents Covenant; and becauſe the firſt-fruits are holy, ſo is the whole lump, and becauſe the root is holy, ſo are the branches, there is a holineſs derived from one unto the other.
5. We meet with very glorious promiſes that God has made to the poſterity of the Saints, Deut. 30.6. The Lord will circumciſe thy heart and the heart of thy ſeed: Eſa. 59.21.fear not Jacob my ſervant, and thou Jeſhuron whom I have choſen; I will pour my Spirit upon thy ſeed, and my bleſſing upon thy off-ſpring, and they ſhall ſpring up as the graſs and as the willows, &c. My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put into thy mouth ſhall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy ſeeds ſeed henceforth and for ever. Now though theſe promiſes ſhall not be made good unto every particular perſon in the Church, yet it is the Church of God that is the proper ſubject unto whom they ſhall be made good, and in an ordinary way they ſhall be acccompliſhed unto none elſe. And by nature one man has no more right to a promiſe than another, nor ground to expect it, only the Covenant of God makes the difference, they are all heirs of the promiſes, as they are children of the Kingdom and Covenant.
Laſtly, This is Goſpel, and therefore to be believed, and laid hold upon as well as any other part of the ſecond Covenant; for a Believer in the exerciſe of his faith is to take in the whole Covenant, as in the obedience of faith he is to take in the whole Commandment. A mans faith, if it be ſincere, muſt be univerſal, as well as his obedience: that this is Goſpel, and a Goſpel-promiſe, I ſuppoſe that no man will deny; I will be thy God and the God of thy ſeed. Now how does the Lord become the God of the parents? it's only by Covenant; and ſo he is ſaid to be the God of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; he ſaith, I aſcend unto my God and your God; and, My God, my God why haſt thou forſaken me? It's ſpoken with reference unto the Covenant, into which Chriſt had entred with the Lord: now being the parents God in Covenant, he ſays, He will be the God of their ſeed, that is, theirs in Covenant alſo. We may obſerve that God hath revealed this as Goſpel, and alſo that the people of God have believed it, and exerciſed their faith upon it as Goſpel in the behalf of their children.
1. This God has revealed as Goſpel and part of the ſecond Covenant. The firſt diſcovery that we have of the Goſpel in Scripture is that,Gen. 3.15. Gen. 3.15. where the woman being firſt in the tranſgreſſion, the Lord was pleaſed to enter into Covenant with her, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy ſeed and her ſeed. Adam and Eve were a ſeminal viſible Church, for by them the Church (as well as the world) was to be built; and at the ſame time when the Lord did reveal …s grace unto her, he joyns alſo her ſeed with her. Now the combatants in that war and enemies Interpreters do obſerve to be three. (1) Satan and the woman. (2) The ſeed of the woman and the ſeed of the ſerpent. (3) One principal ſeed, the ſeed of the woman by way of eminence, and that's the Lord Chriſt, the promiſed ſeed; and that old Serpent the Devil. So then in the firſt dawning of the Goſpel, the Lord took the ſeed of the woman into the ſame Covenant, and made unto them the ſame promiſe, as unto the woman. The next mention of the Covenant that we read of is with Noah, Gen. 6.18.and the Lord intending to bring a Floud upon the Earth, renews this Covenant with him, and this is twice renewed with him. It's true, the Covenant here ſpoken of is the Covenant of grace, but it's but one particular branch of it, namely a temporal deliverance, for the Covenant of grace takes in temporal as well as ſpiritual and eternal promiſes,Pareus. eſt novi foederis appendix de promiſſione terrena. (1) The Covenant was renewed in delivering Noah himſelf from the Floud that was then to come on the Earth, and therein his ſeed alſo was taken in; for ſo it runs, with thee and thy ſons, &c. and alſo after the Floud in reference to himſelf and his poſterity, that the Lord would not deſtroy them by a floud as he had done their forefathers,Gen. 9.9. Gen. 9.9. I eſtabliſh my covenant with you and your ſeed after you: ſo that the covenant ſtill runs in thoſe terms; the Lord never made a covenant with the parent, but he took his ſeed into the ſame covenant expreſly. The next mention we read of the covenant, was with Abraham, when the Lord would take his family into covenant with himſelf; wherefore the covenant is ſaid after a ſort to begin in him, Mic. 7.20. Mercy to Abraham, and truth unto Jacob; and ſtill it runs, with thee and thy ſeed, and not onelyonly his immediate ſeed, but alſo his ſeed in many ſucceeding generations, from one age to another, unto the end of the world; thy ſeed after thee in their generations; and therefore Abraham is call'd, the rock out of which they were hewed, Iſa. 51.1.and the hole or the pit out of which they were digged; and he is call'd Rom. 11. the root upon which they did grow, and out of which they did ſpring, not onelyonly in their natural eſtate, but alſo in their covenant ſtate, the covenant did as it were begin in him: And the next perſon with whom the covenant of grace was eminently renewed, was David; 2 Sam. 7.14.19. Pſal. 89.28, 29, 30.the Lord did not only ſpeak of David's perſon, but of his houſe for a great while to come; and when the Lord took a whole Nation into Covenant, (as he did the Nation of the Jews) it was not made only with them that were preſent and then alive or men grown up, but with their ſeed alſo: ſo that their children were taken into the ſame covenant with their parents, though they were not able to underſtand the nature of the covenant nor to reſtipulate, and not only they that were preſent, but (Deut. 20.15.) with him that is not here with us this day: Deut. 29.11, 13, 14, 15.who are they that are hereby meant? their Poſterity, unto whom this covenant did alike belong; there was a foundation laid for them to come into this covenant as ſoon as they ſhould be born into the world;Ipſos Deus anteverterat gratiâ ſuâ, multis antequam nati eſſent ſeculis. Calvin. Meaning thereby their Poſterity in all ſucceeding generations. and therefore Eezek. 16.18. I entred into covenant with thee, and thou becameſt mine, and then verſ. 20. Thou haſt taken thy ſons and thy daughters whom thou haſt born unto me, and haſt ſacrificed them to be devoured, &c. this is only ſpoken in reference to the covenant, ſo they were children born unto God, and ſo the Lord was their God.
Neither was this diſpenſation of the covenant of grace to the Jews only, but alſo unto the Gentiles, for Rom. 11. they were grafted in to be the ſeed of Abraham, by vertue of the covenant of Abraham, for he was the father of us all: now as the natural branches were broken off, ſo were the others grafted in, but the Jews were broken off themſelves, and their Poſterity diſinherited for many generations; therefore the Gentiles are grafted in, they and their poſterity, and thence Act. 2.39. The promiſe is to you and your children, and unto them that are afar off; Epheſ. 2.17.i. e. the Gentiles alſo and their children; the promiſe belongs to them whomſoever the Lord ſhall call, it's for themſelves and for their ſeed after them. Zacheus a Publican being converted,Luk. 19.9. Chriſt tells him, ſalvation is come to his houſe; where by ſalvation coming to his houſe, cannot be meant unto himſelf, or his perſon, but that his whole Family is taken into covenant with God thereby; and the reaſon of it is given, becauſe that he himſelf is a ſon of Abraham, that is, he is brought under Abraham's Covenant, the tenure of which Covenant is not only to a mans ſelf, but alſo unto his family and his ſeed,Act. 16.31. &c. and ſo Paul to the Jaylour, Believe in the Lord Jeſus, and thou ſhalt be ſaved and thine houſe; the meaning is not, that all of them ſhould be ſaved eternally, as if one man could be ſaved by another mans faith, but ſalvation is commonly put for the ordinary means of ſalvation, Acts 28.28. Now this Covenant-way is the only ordinary means of ſalvation,Heb. 2.3. and when the Jews ſhall be taken in, in the latter days of the world, though it's ſaid, that the Lord will make a new Covenant with them in thoſe days, yet its but the old Covenant renewed, they ſhall be taken into the Covenant of their fathers; for ſo Rom. 11.24. the natural branches that were cut off ſhall be grafted in again to their own Olive-tree; as they were caſt off, Parents and children diſinherited, ſo ſhall their grafting in again be; ſo that 'tis a part of the Goſpel, and a g…orious doctrine of the covenant of grace, that children are taken into the ſame Covenant with their Parents; and there is never a Covenant made with the Parents in the Scripture, but the children are expreſſely mention'd as coming under it, and therefore our faith is to receive it and rely upon it.
2. The People of God have believed it and exerciſed their faith upon it, and that both Parents for their Children, and the Children for themſelves. (1) Parents for their Children; it was this that Adam did rejoyce in immediately after the revelation of the ſecond Covenant, in behalf of himſelf and his Poſterity, when he (Gen. 3.20.) called his wifes name Evah, Gen. 3.20.becauſe ſhe was the mother of all living; and this is conceived by Interpreters to have a threefold reſpect: [1] As an Expreſſion of his own Faith in the Promiſe, to ſhew that the woman that ſhould have brought Death into the world, and was firſt in the tranſgreſſion, and ſhould have been the mother of none but dead children; now he ſaith, That ſhe ſhould be the mother of all the living, the Covenant of grace and life beginning in her, for life and immortality never ſaw light till the Goſpel. [2] An expreſſion of thankfulneſs for ſo great a mercy, that he might keep the mercy in memory: and that was the ancient manner, to give names ſometimes to places; Jacob call'd the place Bethel the houſe of God, as the Altar, Jehovah Niſſi, &c. and ſometimes the Monument of his mercy preſerved in a child, Samuel, one asked of God; and here Adam continues the memory of his mercy in the name of his wife; it's ſpoken by way of gratitude,Merc. ut vel ipſo nomine beneficium tantum agnoſceret, Merc. The Name is a Memorial of the Mercy. [3] An expreſſion of conſolation; the woman being firſt in the tranſgreſſion, was much affected with the diſpleaſure of God, from which they fled, and of the miſery that ſhe had brought upon her ſelf and all her Poſterity if the Lord ſhould prolong her days, that they ſhould labour in the ſweat of their brows till they were turn'd to the earth, &c. Adam now comforts her, and tells her, Be of good cheer, there is a ſeed yet that ſhall come from thee, that ſhall overcome death, and him that had the power of death, that is the Devil; and therefore he doth not call himſelf the Father of all living, but her the Mother of all living: and thus Adam did comfort himſelf with the Promiſe made unto his Poſterity in the Covenant as ſoon as it was revealed. And ſo did Evah exerciſe faith this way, firſt in Cain, as ſome conceive,Gen. 4.1. Gen. 4.1. ſhe ſaid, I have gotten a man from the Lord; the Septuagint render it, foreign, and the Vulgar anſwerable, per Dominum, by the Lord: Trem. adds à Domino; but Luther renders it by appoſition, Virum Dominum, a man the Lord; and Solom. Glaſſ. follows him,foreign and makes the particle foreign but an expreſſion of the Accuſative caſe, and thereby ſhe did manifeſt quanto deſiderio expectaverit promiſſionis complementum, &c. with how great deſire ſhe expected the fulfilling of the Promiſe; ſhe was miſtaken in the perſon, yet it ſhews the exerciſe of her faith upon the Promiſe, that her ſeed ſhould bruiſe the Serpents head. And when Cain had ſlain Abel his brother, and the Lord had given her another ſon, ſhe called his name Seth, God hath appointed me another ſeed inſtead of Abel, Gen. 4.25. It's obſerved to be both Sermo & verbum fiduciae, Gen. 4.25.& prophetiae, a fiducial and prophetick ſpeech; that this ſeed ſhould not be untimely taken away as Abel was, but he ſhould be fundamentum eccleſiae ſubſequentis, Par.quae in hujus poſteritate propagetur, & ſervetur uſque ad Chriſtum, the foundation of the Church, &c. of Cain ſhe had no hope, for he was excommunicated and caſt out from the preſence of the Lord, though his life was prolonged, yet all the Church Priviledges were taken away and forfeited, as Gen. 4.11, &c. now was there not a man to be a ſeed to the Church of God in after-times; yet then ſhe had reſpect to the Covenant, and ſhe looked for a ſeed that God had promiſed her, in whom, as well as in her own perſon, the Covenant that God had made with her ſhould be fulfilled. Noah afterward exerciſed faith in reference to his Poſterity, Gen. 9.27. God ſhall perſwade Japhet, &c. he had a Spirit of Prophecy,Gen. 9.27. which doth foreſhew it ſelf in that, Canan and his Poſterity ſhall be ſervants; but as for Shem, the Church of God ſhould be continued in him for the preſent, and for time to come God ſhould perſwade Japhet; which either has reference to the converſion of the Gentiles, when they ſhall be converted upon the rejection of the Jews, and come into their Tents, that is, become the Church of God in their room; they being the wild Olive, but grafted into the true Olive, when the natural branches are broken off, ſo the Gentiles are ſurrogated Iſrael; or elſe when the Jews ſhall be a Church, the Gentiles, the poſterity of Japhet, ſhall come in unto them, either as Proſelytes; and be added unto them, or elſe when they ſhall be again converted they ſhall lay hold of the skirt of a Jew, and ſhall come into the ſame fold together with them, and ſo both make up one fold under one Shepherd. And thus doth David pray when he came to dye, 2 Sam. 23.5. Thou haſt made with my houſe an everlaſting Covenant, ordered and ſure, and this is all my hope, and m… ſalvation, though the Lord make it not to grow: he did foreſee, that there was a cloud and a darkneſs coming upon his family, but then though the Lord did not make it to grow, he could rejoyce in the Covenant that God had made with him in reference to his Poſterity; for he had ſpoken of his houſe for a great while to come; and ſo Pſal. 102. laſt verſ. The children of thy ſervants ſhall continue, and their ſeed ſhall be eſtabliſhed before thee, &c. (2) Children have exerciſed Faith by vertue of their Parents Covenant; and pleaded to God their Covenant-intereſt. So David, Pſal. 86.16. O turn unto me and have mercy upon me, give thy ſtrength to thy ſervant, and ſave the ſon of thy handmaid; truly I am thy ſervant and the ſon of thy handmaid; and ſo doth Ethan afterward,Pſal. 116.16. Pſal. 89.49. Where are thy former loving kindneſſes which thou ſwareſt to David in thy truth? Remember the reproach of thy ſervants, and how I do bear in my boſom the reproach of all the mighty people. Thus we ſee that this is a truth of the Goſpel, That under the ſecond Covenant Children are taken in with their Parents, and all the People of God have believed it, and in all Ages exerciſed their faith thereupon; and when I obſerve the Spirit of God in Scripture ſpeaking ſo much of this, it makes me the more wonder at thoſe men that ſo much deride and ſcorn this Doctrine, and the derivative right, which they in ſcorn (ſome of them) call imputative.
§. 2. Let us now come to take a view of the Reaſons, why the Lord will take children into their Parents Covenant, and not take in the Parents alone, and leave their children in the condition in which they were by nature: the grounds of it are theſe.
1. To ſhew the Extent of the Grace of the ſecond Covenant: the Lord hath not dealt with men as he did with the Angels, he did make a particular Covenant with every particular Angel, but he doth not ſo with men; he has always delighted to take in man into a Covenant made with Parents for them, that men might ſee that Grace prevented them, and that they were engaged unto God, and his Promiſe was out of Grace entailed upon them as a birth-right; and therefore as in the firſt Covenant God takes in Adam and all his poſterity, and the ſecond Covenant is made with the ſecond Adam and all his poſterity, ſo, that there may be a reſemblance hereof kept in the world, he hath taken in the children into their Parents Covenant, that they may ſee Grace extended beyond their perſons, even to their poſterity. It's a wonderfull enlargement of the Grace of God in the firſt Covenant, that all the creatures came under man's Covenant; and becauſe they did ſo, therefore they all fell in him, or elſe why ſhould the curſe of Adams ſin come upon the creatures? Curſed be the ground for thy ſake; And ſo in the Covenant of Grace, there is a Promiſe that they ſhould be all renewed in Chriſt; and therefore the creatures do wait for the manifeſtation of the liberty of the Sons of God, Rom. 8.22. becauſe when we ſhall be delivered, then ſhall they be alſo from the bondage of corruption under which now they groan; and thence when God is reconciled to his People, and takes them into Covenant, Hoſ. 2.21. Then I will hear the heavens, and they ſhall hear the earth, and the earth ſhall hear the corn, &c. and if this be a great manifeſtation of grace to take in creatures, which are but a mans ſervants, how much more to take in the children, which are bone of his bone, and fleſh of his fleſh, Even as Noah curſed Cham, Gen. 9.25. and denounced that the bleſſing of the Covenant ſhould never come upon him and his Poſterity; There ſhall be no Canaanite in the houſe of the Lord for ever. Zach. 14.21.and dearer to them than any creatures can be? And therefore the Lord, out of his abundant and overflowing grace, in the ſecond Covenant, is pleaſed to make the childrens federal intereſt to be the Parents priviledge; and therefore 'tis ſaid, Gen. 48. of Jacob, that he bleſſed Joſeph; and wherein did the bleſſing conſiſt? not ſo much upon Joſephs perſon, as upon his poſterity, and that was, that the name of Abraham and Iſaac and Jacob ſhould be called upon his two ſons Ephraim and Manaſſeh: this is ſpoken only in reference to the Covenant and the benefits thereof, which was to deſcend upon them from their Parents, and it became their right, becauſe it was their Parents priviledge; and therefore though they had other perſonal names, Ephraim and Manaſſeh, yet this was a name given them from their federal right, and is called the bleſſing of Joſeph in his childrens covenant-bleſſing; for it is a conveying of the benefit of the covenant, from Gods abundant grace, not only to himſelf, but to his poſterity; and ſo David looks upon it, and admires the mercy, 2 Sam. 7.18, 19. Lord, who am I and what is my houſe, that thou haſt brought me hitherto? And yet as if this were a ſmall thing in thy ſight, O Lord, thou haſt ſpoke of thy ſervants houſe for a great while to come: and is this the manner of men, O Lord? for thy Word ſake, and according to thy own heart haſt thou done all theſe great things, to make thy ſervant to know them. It is therefore to manifeſt the extent of the grace of the ſecond Covenant, that God takes in their ſeed; and gracious Parents do exceedingly rejoyce therein in behalf of their Poſterity, and look upon it as a ſpecial priviledge and their childrens peculiar right.
2. God has ſo ordered the eternal decree of Election, that the great number of the Elect of God do proceed out of the loyns of his own people; and therefore the Promiſes being but the indefinite expreſſions of his D…crees, they run to parents called, and unto their children, becauſe the great number of them that ſhall be called, are their children. It's true, that God hath a ſeed of Grace that runs through the loyns of the wicked, and the Lord will take Proſelytes from amongſt the Heathen, and they ſhall be added to the Church; but this is not the ordinary way, but a more extraordinary way of ſalvation, and very many of the children of believing parents within the covenant are wicked, which we ſee in Cain, Cham, and Iſhmael, yet in their Poſterity hath the Church of God been continued, there is yet a Seth, and a Sem, and an Iſaac, in which their ſeed ſhould be called, and anſwerable to the Election of grace continued: and this doth appear undeniably by this argument; the viſible Church of God is made up of Parents in covenant, and of their ſeed; and therefore while the Church of God was oeconomical and in families onelyonly, they were the families of thoſe that were in covenant, in which the Church was continued; and after it did ſpread into a Nation, they and their ſeed make up a Church unto God. Now though there be many in the viſible Church that are not ordained unto life, for many are called but few are choſen, and many ſhall ſeek to enter in at the ſtrait gate, and ſhall not be able, &c. yet the Church inviſible is gathered out of the viſible Church, they are hid there amongſt the Hypocrites and falſe-hearted men as wheat is hid amongſt the chaffe; now the Promiſes of God are ſuitable to his Decrees, and the events anſwer unto both: wherefore if the greateſt part of the Elect proceed out of the loyns of a people in covenant, as they do, then the promiſes of the ſecond covenant being but indefinite, it was neceſſary that they ſhould run unto them and to their ſeed, upon whom if you look diſtributively, there are many that ſhall periſh, yet if you look upon them collectively, you can and may ſee the ſeed of the Lord is there, and there are many amongſt them that are ordained unto life, and the perſons upon whom God has ſet his everlaſting love are amongſt that number, though we know not particularly who they are, that's a ſecret that the Lord has hid in himſelf.
3. To ſhew his peculiar love to their ſeed,Deut. 7.6, 7, 8. & 10.15. therefore he will gather out of their ſeed a viſible Church; and if ſo, he muſt make with their ſeed a marriage-covenant. And therefore if any ſay, Why doth not the Lord leave their children till they enter into covenant themſelves, and give teſtimony of their faith and converſion? The reaſon is, becauſe God will make them a Church to himſelf, and therefore will make a Church-covenant with them. Now the children of believing parents are taken into a viſible Church, Deut. 4.37. Becauſe the Lord loved your parents, therefore he choſe their ſeed after them: There's a two-fold election as there is a two-fold adoption, an election to life, and unto Church-priviledges.it's not an election to life that is there ſpoken of, but as Zac. 2.7. the Lord ſhall yet chuſe Jeruſalem: as he had rejected them and caſt them off from a Church-ſtate, and called them Loammi; ſo now he will chuſe them again in reference to a Church-ſtate. And thus he is to chuſe their children after them, not unto life, for that is grounded only upon his own love unto the perſons of men, but it's ſpoken in reference to a Church-ſtate, which was grounded upon his love unto their parents; therefore when parents were converted, there was a Church in their houſe, and the poſterity and family was looked upon as a Church unto God, and theirs was the Adoption, the priviledges of ſons externally belonged to them, and God owned them for his above all other families in the whole earth: now thoſe that were taken into a Church-ſtate, unto them and their poſterity there did belong a Church-covenant, and that's the meaning of Ezech. 16.8. I entred into covenant with thee, and thou becameſt mine.
4. This is the ſureſt ground of a mans judgment in reference to perſons, whether it be a private Chriſtian or a choſen Officer. There are ſome perſons to be admitted into the viſible Church, and there are ſome priviledges of the viſible Church that are to be diſpenſed by judgment in the perſon that doth diſpenſe or adminiſter them; for we are not ſent to baptize all mankind, nor to adminiſter Sacraments and cenſures unto all mankind, as we are ſent to preach the Goſpel; neither are we to expect a ſatisfactory convincing ground that this perſon is inwardly and ſpiritually holy and ſavingly intereſſed in the covenant of grace, for that we cannot infallibly judge of; but though it cannot come under our judgment, yet our judgment muſt not be blind charity, we muſt take the rule of the word, and keep cloſe to it. And what is the ſureſt rule? There are two that are known, either the mans profeſſion, or elſe the promiſe of God in reſpect of the childs Church-ſtate by the Fathers priviledge. Now as to the firſt of theſe my judgment may be deceived, and I may adminiſter it unto one that hath ſpiritually no right to it, as we ſee in the Scripture, the Apoſtles themſelves were deceived; but Gods promiſe in giving the children an intereſt in the fathers priviledge is a ſure ground to go by, more than any mans believing or profeſſion in the world can be for himſelf; and therefore a man is bound to believe, that his ſeed is taken into covenant, and that they do belong to the Election of grace, and are truly juſtified, ſanctified, adopted, and accepted in Chriſt, till they manifeſt the contrary; and we have more than a negative ground for it, that we know nothing to the contrary; for we have a poſitive ground, and that is the indefinite promiſe which we have cauſe to interpret in the moſt favourable ſenſe; and I am ſure is a more certain ground for me to paſs a judgment upon, than any mans profeſſion can be, ſeeing that I know my judgment is not infallible in either, but I may be deceived in reference to the perſon to whom it's applied: therefore conſider, that (1) Children, while in their infancy, are members of the viſible Church of God. (2) They have always been taken into memberſhip in the ſame Church with their parents, and accounted as of the ſame Church with them.
1. Children, while they are infants, may be members of the viſible Church of God, before they come to years to be able to underſtand the nature of a Church, or to conſent unto the Duties unto which they are obliged in that relation; and that will appear Luk. 18.16. Mar. 10.13. (1) What children were thoſe ſpoken of? they were not children in meekneſs and harmleſneſs, as ſome would have it, but foreign, infants, young children, teneri & adhuc ab uberibus pendentes pueruli, Beza: the ſame word is uſed of new-born babes: 1 Pet. 2.2.and ſo much do the words alſo import, foreign, he took them in his arms, which notes that they were children in their infancy. (2) What doth he ſay to theſe children? he ſaith, That the kingdom of heaven did belong to ſuch: what doth he mean by the Kingdom of Heaven? the Kingdom of Heaven is put for the Kingdom of Grace here in a viſible Church, or elſe for the Kingdom of Glory, Mat. 8.11, 12. Many ſhall come from the Eaſt, and ſhall ſit down with Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, i. e. ſhall be added unto the Church upon Earth, and ſhall enter into the Kingdom of glory; when the children of the Kingdom of the Jews, the natural branches, born children by an external right, ſhall be caſt out. And Mat. 16.19. I give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: it's meant of the Kingdom of Grace here, the Church, and the Kingdom of Glory in Heaven: for he gives him power to bind on earth, and looſe on earth, and promiſes that it ſhall be ratified in Heaven, but yet all Officers are for the viſible Church, and all their power is to be exerciſed in the viſible Church; and though it be for the good of the Elect, the Church of the firſt-born, the Church inviſible, yet that is not the proper place thereof, but Officers are for the viſible Church. So then theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, not only they ſhall be ſaved, and ſo fill up the Kingdom of glory, but alſo they belong to the Kingdom of grace, and the Subjects of this Kingdom here are members of the viſible Church, they are actually Subjects of this Kingdom. (3) Neither doth he ſpeak of theſe very individual children, as a priviledge which belonged unto them alone, he by his omniſcience knowing them to be elected of God, but he ſaith, Of ſuch as theſe are—delivering it therefore as an ordinary rule of our judgment in the like caſe of all other children of parents in covenant unto the end of the world; therefore children that are infants are members of the viſible Church, and therefore taken into a Church-covenant with their parents; for by nature no man is a Church-member,Eph. 2.12. but all ſtrangers to the Common-wealth of Iſrael, and men afar off; for if any man were ſo by nature, then all men by nature muſt be ſo; therefore it's a priviledge by grace that they are taken into their parents covenant, and are members of the ſame Church with them.
2. Children have been always taken into the ſame covenant with their parents, and have been members of the ſame Church with them. When the Lord made a covenant with Abraham he took in his family to be a Church; when he took in the Jews, he took in their children alſo to be unto him a holy and a peculiar people; and when he did caſt out the children of the Kingdom, and did give them a bill of divorce, removing the candleſtick, he did excommunicate and diſinherit their children; and when he takes the Gentiles into covenant alſo, it is with them and with their ſeed in their generations; and therefore the maſter of the family being converted, ſalvation is come to his houſe, and there is a Church in his houſe, his family becomes of thoſe of whom the viſible Church is conſtituted; for the Gentiles were grafted in as the Jews were broken off, and that was in reference to a Church-ſtate for themſelves and their poſterity; and ſo were the Gentiles grafted into a Church-ſtate for themſelves and their poſterity; and the Lord has given us a rule for it, Deut. 29.14.Deut. 29.14, 15. when he enters into a Church-covenant with that people and with their little ones, that they ſhould be a people unto himſelf, that is, a Church unto God, verſ. 15. Neither with you only do I make this covenant, but alſo with him that is not here with us this day. If you underſtand it of the Jews only, this leaves to us theſe two things. (1) That children are included in their fathers covenant, though they be not of themſelves able to reſtipulate. (2) That it is the will of God it ſhould not only be ſo at that time, but in after-ages with them and their ſeed in their generations. But if we underſtand by [them that are not here this day] all that ſhall be taken into the ſame covenant in time to come (as it may be) then it will leave a door open to bring in all the believing Gentiles and their ſeed to the end of the world. Thus the Lord out of love unto the parents doth take not only them, but their ſeed alſo into a viſible Church, that they may be a holy and a peculiar people unto himſelf.
5. They that have a right of memberſhip are to be admitted into the viſible Church, and to be looked upon as having a right,Mat. 16.19. for the Lord has appointed the power of the Keys in his Church unto this end: Church-power and authority is commonly expreſſed in Scripture by the name of Keys, the ſign being put for the thing ſignified, and the enſign of authority for the authority it ſelf; and this power is either Monarchical in Chriſt the Churches Head, the only King and Law-giver, to whom all power is given in heaven and earth, Mat. 28.18.Rev. 3.7. He hath the key of the houſe of David; or elſe it is Miniſterial whether in the Church (as ſome) or in the Officers (as others) as in its proper ſubject. I ſhall not now inquire, whether in the Church radicaliter, radically, and in the Officers formaliter, formally, &c. as ſome do ſpeak; but (1) the uſe of thoſe Kyes is to bind and looſe, that is, to open and ſhut the Kingdom of Heaven, either to receive men in, or to caſt men out; for ſurely they that have authority to caſt out, have power to take in, and it is an authoritative act to admit as well as to eject, &c. (2) It's an act that is to be denied unto none that have right to admiſſion; if ſo, the power of the Keys is abuſed, for it is not uſed unto that end for which it was appointed by the Lord; for all the Churches power is but miniſterial, and muſt be according to Chriſts order; therefore as to caſt them out that ought not to be caſt out, as the Phariſees did, if any man confeſſed Chriſt he ſhould be put out of the Synagogue, Joh. 9.22. and Diotrephes, Joh. 3.10. he caſt them out of the Church, and Antichriſt, Rev. 13.7. he caſt them out, no man ſhould buy and ſell that had not the mark of the beaſt; and to keep them in that ought to be caſt out, as the inceſtuous Corinthian, and Rev. 2.2. as to be able to bear them that are evil, and not reject them is an abuſe of Church-power; ſo not to admit thoſe that ought to be admitted, and have a right to it, is but an abuſe of the ſame power. (3) It's a power therefore to be exerciſed with judgment, 1 Cor. 5.12. we judge them that are within. It's true, a judgment of certainty and infallibility it cannot be, and therefore it's commonly called a judgment of charity; but yet that muſt be more than a good hope, or ſome negative judgment, that I judge ſo, becauſe I know nothing to the contrary, there muſt be a good rule, and ſomething poſitive, that muſt be the ground of this judgment, it muſt be a judicious charity, ſomething there muſt be that may be a ground to build a judgment upon, that a man may be able to ſay by this rule, I admit this perſon, and open Heaven to him, and by this rule I do not admit of another. Thoſe that I cannot know to have a title to memberſhip, I cannot in faith, by the power of the Keys, admit; therefore if it be done in faith, it muſt be an act of judgment, and I muſt have a ground to go by therein. (4) In admiſſion, the Lord that has always loved variety, has taken two ways; ſome are in covenant by their own perſonal right, and ſome have been taken into the Church by their parents right, and as it were their birth-priviledge, being born of parents in covenant; as all the Church of the Jews were taken into a Church-covenant with their parents, though they were not able to reſtipulate; and therefore they are called the Children of the Kingdom, thoſe born in it; others were men born out of the Church, and as Proſelytes were added thereunto. Now the ground that a man muſt go by in admiſſions of the one and the other, muſt be viſible; for they are admitted into the viſible Church; into the inviſible Church their admiſſion is an act of God only, and by a work of faith, which no men are imployed in; therefore it muſt be ſomething viſible; and ſo Chriſt ſays of infants, Suffer them to come to me; therefore it might be judged who thoſe infants were of whom was the Kingdom of Heaven, or elſe how ſhould we know to whom this injunction is directed, Suffer them to come to me and forbid them not? Now there is a double ground of this judgment ſuitable to the condition; there is the profeſſion of the Adult, and there is the parents covenant and Gods promiſe; in men grown, if they be admitted, the ground of judgment is the mans profeſſion. Now in reference to an inward and ſpiritual right, I may be deceived in both, but I may make as true a judgment upon the one as upon the other; nay I look upon the promiſes of God taking in the children into the parents covenant to be a far greater and ſurer ground of judgment in the one, than any mans profeſſion can be in the other: ſo that the Lord will take them into covenant to ſhew his love to their parents, and this ſhall be the ground of their being a viſible Church of Chriſt, and their being thus taken into covenant ſhall be the ground of a judgment in thoſe that have the power of the Keys for their admiſſion into the viſible Church unto whom of right it does belong.