ADVERTISEMENT A Confession of Faith put forth by the Elders and Brethren of many Congregations of Christians Baptized upon Profession of their Faith in London and the Country With an Appendix concerning Baptism Printed for John Harris at the Harrow against the Church in the Poultrey 1690. Price bound 1 s. Page 10 line 12 read of a Title for Baptism to them A Solemn Call Unto all that would be owned as Christ's Faithful Witnesses speedily and seriously to attend unto the Primitive Purity of the Gospel Doctrine and Worship Or a Discourse concerning BAPTISM WHEREIN That of Infants is Disproved as having no Footing nor Foundation at all in the Word of GOD. By way of Answer to the Arguments made use of by Mr. William Allen Mr. Sidenham Mr. Baxter Dr. Burthogge and others for the Support of that Practice Wherein the Covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai Exod. 20. That in the Land of Moab Deut. 29. As also the Covenant of Circumcision made with Abraham Gen. 17. 7 8 9. Whereon so much stress is laid for the Support of Infants Baptism are plainly proved to be no other than three several Editions of the Covenant of Works And consequently that no just Argument can thence be deduced for the Justification of that Practice Together with a Description of that truly Evangelical Covenant GOD was pleased to make with Believing Abraham containing the Sum of the Everlasting Gospel then Preached unto him since Proclaimed by the Apostles and which now remains to be yet further Published unto every Nation Kindred Tongue and People for the Obedience of Faith By Philip Cary a Lover of Truth and Peace LONDON Printed for John Harris at the Sign of the Harrow in the Poultrey over against the Church M.DCXC TO THE READER VVE are doubtless brought forth in a Day to which many Glorious Prophecies contained in the Holy Scriptures have a special reference amongst others that which is recorded Dan. 12. 4. Many shall run to and fro and Knowledg shall be increased Antichristian Darkness hath so covered the European Nations for many Hundreds of Years that the Truths and Ordinances of Christ were generally Corrupted and Obscured till our Blessed Reformers Luther Calvin c. were raised up in some good measure to detect the corruptions of Antichrist and to bring to Light that blessed Doctrine of Justification by Faith in the Blood of Christ with several other Truths of great Importance And since that God has been pleased to raise up many Learned Men namely Dr. Ames Mr. Ainsworth and Dr. Owen with others who have Learnedly and with much clearness and strength of Argument made it appear that a true Gospel visible Church is to consist only of such as are Saints by Profession and who give up themselves to the Lord and one to onother by Solemn Agreement to practise the Ordinances of Christ And now of latter Years the Lord hath been pleased to raise up some worthy and learned Men to detect the vanity of Infant Baptism who by solid Arguments have made the unlawfulness thereof appear The main Arguments that are made use of by Paedobaptists for the support of their Practice herein are taken from the Covenant with Abraham Gen. 17. 2 3 4 c. Some of themselves confessing That Arguments taken from the Baptizing of whole Families from Christ's blessing little Children and from 1 Cor. 7 14. have no weight in them And as for those Arguments which are taken from the Covenant made with Abraham above-mentioned several of our Learned Authors have thorowly examined and sufficiently answered Notwithstanding we cannot without Injury to Truth omit to reccommend the Labours of this our worthy Brother who having had the advantage of other Men's Writings that have gone before him and so standing on their Shoulders may see further than they did Yet he hath some Nations of so rare a Nature that he is not beholding to any other for them but only to his own studiousness and dexterity and the Blessing of God upon his Labours We freely acknowledge that many Learned and Holy Men whom we much Honour do differ from us in the point of Baptism yet we must not let go any Truth of God for their sakes And we doubt not but the time is drawing nigh when God will cause the Light of His Holy Word so to shine forth that all remaining Darkness on the Minds of the Lord's People shall vanish away and then Sion's Builders shall no more take a Stone for a Corner nor a Stone for a Foundation of Babylons Rubbish And now Châ—iâ—tian Reader seeing the Author hath taken so great pains in Writing this Treatise for the Information of thee and ohters in a great Gospel Ordinance be thou perswaded to lay by prejudice and read diligently examine it by the Holy Scriptures and if thou meet with any thing of Truth wherein thou wast not before Inlightened subject to it lâ—ast thou be found rejecting the authority of Christ Quod Dei eâ—t agnosce quod hominis est ignosce If any Glory may come to Christ or comfort to his Members hereby it is enough and as much as is aimed at by the Author and thy Soul Friends Will. Kiffin John Harris Rich. Adams Rob. Steed Ben. Keech TO THE READER READER HAving had a sight of this Piece without the Privity of the Author before it went to the Press I Read it with much Delight though in great haste and thought good without his Knowledge or being Desired to give thee if thou beest a Stranger to him this assurance by the way that thou wilt find his Lines altogether free from Lightness as also from Reflections or Reproaches towards those of the Perswasion he contends with which is a thing so rare that it deserves a Remark and savours much of a right serious Christian Spirit I have had Knowledge of him many Years but never knew or heard him otherwise represented then of a very sober Character suitable to his Writings a Man every way free from any of those Temptations that might incline him to espouse any Interest or fall in with any Perswasion otherwise than what he did freely out of pure Choice and as satisfi d with its Purity upon a diligent and conscionable Perusal of the Holy Scriptures in which he has been a very laborious Searcher these many Years and in whom that Text is verified 2 Tim. 3. 15 16. That they make the Man of God wise unto Salvation c. I am assured that his Papers were intended only for private Use and for satisfaction of some that desired to know what he had to say to the Arguments here reply'd to He has all the appearances of a Man low in his own Eyes yet willing in his capacity to serve the Lord Jesus freely without seeking in the least any advantage to himself in the service of the Gospel boing much above those low Ends that too too many are sway'd by of making a Gain by his Preaching and though his
Angel there were great Voices in Heaven saying the Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ Which saith he Includes Infants as well as others that were to be the Members of Christ's Church or Kingdom To this we shall only give this brief Reply That this Scripture hath a plain reference to the time of the New Heavens and the New Earth which we have before spoken of wherein all the Kingdoms of the World shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and all the Dominions of the Earth shall actually Serve and Obey him For then indeed God hath promised that his People shall be all Righteous they and their Offspring also the Branch of his Planting that he may be Glorified Isa 60. 21. which cannot be applied unto the present Administration of things in the Heavens and Earth that now are wherein we cannot say that one of a Hundred much less that the whole Race of Believers are subject unto the Scepter of Christ and consequently far from the true Gospel Characters of Church-membership in the Gospel Church § 3. As for Mr Allen's other Instance concerning the Covenant of the Rechabites wherein the Infants as well as those of Age were Included It is altogether as Insignificant in our present Case as the former concerning the Kohathites or his other Instance concerning those little Children who were said to enter into Covenant with God when their Parents did so Deut 29. 11 12 which hath been already Discussed For doth it follow that be-because the Children of the Rechahites were Engaged in a severe Ceremonial Covenant together with their Parents that therefore the Children of Believers are comprehended with themselves in the Covenant of Grace This would be indeed to make Christianity to be Hereditary But certain it is that Grace doth not now run in a Blood what ever it shall do neither is the Grace of God now Tied or Entailed unto any Lineage of Men whtsoever Though if it could be proved that all the Children of Believers were really and absolutely Included in the same Covenant of Grace with their Parents yet it follows not therefore that Baptism belongs unto them till capable of making an Actual Profession of their Faith in Christ as hath been already proved For it cannot justly be denied but that the Administration of Ordinances depends meerly upon the Law of Institution and hath varied in several Ages From Adam to Abraham there was no Ordinance to be Administred to Infants In Abraham's time indeed Circumcision was Instituted which belongs peculiarly to the old Testament Administration and was part of Moses his Law which is now Abolished and done away This was the first Ordinance that was Administred to Infants and not to all Infants but only to Male Infants living in Abraham's Family if they did Live to the Eighth day otherwise they had no Right to it though many of them doubtless in the Covenant of Grace and so Saved For want of an Institution the like may be said of Infants now many of whom are in the Covenant of Grace and so Saved by virtue of the Free-Promise yet not to be Baptized if they do not live to the time of Repenting and Believing the only time appointed for Baptism For none ever had a Right to the Administrations of the Covenant any otherwise than by virtue of a Positive Law Now if the Natural Branches the Seed of Abraham had no Priviledge to be Circumcised though in Covenant with their Father but by virtue of a Divine Law Expresly requiring the same neither can we expect that our Infants should have any Right to Baptism without the same Divine Warrant THE FOURTH PART Wherein the Baptism of Infants is further Disproved By way of Answer to the Arguments made use of by Dr. Burthogge and others for the Support of that Practice Wherein the Covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai Exod. 20. As also the Covenant of Circumcision made with Abraham Gen. 17. 7 8 9. Whereon so much Stress is laid for the Support of Infants Baptism are plainly proved to be no other than two several Editions of the Covenant of Works And consequently that no just Argument can thence be deduced for the Justification of that Practice Together with a clear and distinct Explanation of the true Nature and Difference betwixt the Two Covenants that of Works and that of Grace SECT I. WE should here have put a Period to the present Discourse but that there remains yet something further of great Importance which requires a Solemn Discussion and Determination according to the Light that shall be afforded unto us from the Holy Scriptures And that is Whereas Dr. Burthogge in his late Printed Discourse upon the Subject of Infants Baptism Asserts as many others have done before him that the Covenant made with Abraham and his Seed Gen. 17. 7 8 9. is the Covenant of Grace or that Original Grant and Great Charter by which Believing Gentiles always did and do claim Heaven and Earth and all the Promises they have Title to From whence he infers that they are to keep God's Covenant in the Gospel Sign of it that is Baptism and that both by wearing of it themselves and also by putting it on all theirs as Abraham was commanded to do in respect of Circumcision And forasmuch as the Mistakes which the Generality of the World hath for some season Laboured under in reference to the true Nature of the Covenant made with Abraham in the fore-cited Text have been the very Ground and Foundation of most of the Arguments which have of late at least been insisted on in order to the Justification of Infants Baptism We shall therefore the more Solemnly apply our selves toward a Substantial Discovery or Detection threof additional unto what hath been already offered in that respect in the foregoing parts of this Discourse And if it can be Substantially proved that the Covenant made with Abraham Gen. 17. 7 8 9. was not a Covenant of Grace nor a Gospel but a Legal Covenant or a Covenant of Works and consequently that the Gentiles are not concerned therein From hence it will unavoidably follow that all the Arguments thence deduced for the support of the fore-mentioned Practice howsoever they may be formed or framed do of themselves fall to the Ground § 2. In the first place then though we do acknowledge that God did indeed make a Covenant of Grace with Believing Abraham Which is the Great Charter by which Believing Gentiles always did and do claim both Heaven and Earth and all the Promises they have Title to yet that the Covenant of Circumcision for so it is called by Stephen Acts. 7. 8. which God made with Abraham Gen. 17. 7. 8 9 10. though there was Grace in it as there was in all the Covenants that God ever made with Men as hath been before noted is not a Covenant of Grace properly so called nor a Gospel Covenant whereof Christ is
without sufficient Experience of the Gracious Presence and Blessing of Christ with and upon you in your present way I will not deny but take it for granted that so it is Yet this I will say that we are under no Promise of having thc Golden Oyl conveyed unto us but through the Golden Pipes Teach them says Christ to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the World If therefore we step out of Christ's way we cannot rationally suppose our selves to be at least so immediately under the Influence of Christ's Blessing What Christ may graciously afford unto his People that sincerely seek unto him according to the best light they have though the Sanctuary Preparation may in some Points be Defective is one thing and what we may justly expect by vertue of a standing Promise is another Certainly the nearer we come to him and the more Exact and Punctual we are in the Expressions of our Love and Friendship to him the more groundedly may we Expect the Answerable Discoveries of his Loving Favour unto us and we can no otherwise demonstrate our Friendship than by being obedient to him in the Observation of all those things which he hath commanded us and that both whatsoever they are and howsoever he hath injoyned the Performance of them That the Baptism of Believers is appointed by Christ as a Golden Pipe among the rest of the Golden Pipes of the New Testament Church for the Conveyance of the Golden Oyl or the Heavenly Unction from himself to his Members is an undeniable Truth and cannot with any Justness of Pretence be contradicted That the Baptism of Infants deserves that Character is more than what the Scriptures do declare unto us and peradventure at long run you also may see Cause to say the same Indeed if a thorow Reformation in this Point might once be obtained that is if Ministers Teach First and then Baptize such only as Profess Faith in the Lord Jesus and newness of Life evidenced by a Holy Conversation that being the only Practice warrantable by and Exemplified in the Word of God We might then justly hope to see the Accomplishment of the forementioned Divine Prediction A Candlestick all of Gold A Candlestick that hath a Golden Bowl Golden Lamps and Golden Pipes that is a Pure Church-State wholly Constituted and Regulated according to the Divine Prescription and Pattern And then also it would inevitably follow that the Papal Antichristian Church must of Necessity Vanish and Expire Since the Matter of that Synagogue is the Collective Body of the Nations who having been sprinkled in their Infant State are thence beguiled into a Blind and Soul-cheating Delusion that they are good Christians and true Members of the Catholick Church whom yet because of their Unbelief and Prophaneness the Word of God Excludes from the Gospel Church and consequently from Baptism till Converted And I make no question but it will be at last found that to uphold the present Practice of Infant Sprinkling is no other than to uphold and support the main Pillar of that Apostate and Adulterous Church that is by bringing the Church into the World and the World into the Church And when the World is once brought into the Church let us shew any difference if we can betwixt that and the World which yet our Saviour tells us are distinct having chosen his Church out of the World John 15. 19. 'T is true the time will be when the Kingdoms of this World shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ But that cannot be pretended unto in the present Administration of things in the Heavens and Earth that now are wherein we cannot say that one of a Thousand much less that the whole World is subject unto Christ's Scepter and consequently far from the true Characters of Church-Membership according to the Gospel Rule All of Gold Indeed 't is great pity but that every Plant which our Heavenly Father hath not planted should be Rooted up and the present Corrupt Practice of Infant sprinkling among the rest since there is nothing that can be more evident than this that were but this corner Stone that supports the Antichristian Fabrick quite removed the whole Building must of necessity totter and then we might justly hope for a pure Church-State Till which as we cannot groundedly expect true Peace or Settlement in the World so neither can we justly expect that the Name of the City should be called Jehovah Shammah the Lord is there The Occasion of the present Discourse was from a late Treatise of Mr. William Allen Entituled A Serious and Friendly Address to the Nonconformists Beginning with the Anabaptists Or an Addition to a former Treatise of his Entituled a Perswasive to Peace and Unity Wherein he doth Labour with utmost Strength and force of Argument to induce those of a contrary Perswasion from himself to a Conformity and Compliance with the Church Discipline and Government then Established in these Nations and particularly in Respect of the present Practice of Infants Baptism An Answer to which you will find in the Ensuing Sheets together with Answers to all other the most considerable Arguments which are urged by others also to the same purpose As for Mr. Allen he is a Person altogether unknown to me But though his Apprehensions and mine are different in the present point And though he hath endeavoured to whet up his Arguments with utmost keeness and lays them on with greatest force condemning us as guilty of the greatest Schism and of all those Direful Evils that are the Natural Consequents of a Schismatical Separation from a true Church yet to give him his due his Language is fair and his Discourse free from those Fiery and Passionate Heats that usually attend Discourses of this Nature from other Pens I suppose he will have no Cause to complain of being otherwise dealt with in the present Answer Sure it is That the Wrath of Man worketh not the Righteousness of God I pray God that the present Reply may be made Instrumental to the opening his Eyes that he may see from whence he is fallen and Repent and do his first Works Since the Writing of this I am informed of Mr. Allen's Decease I make no question but that he and others also will sooner or latter be convinc'd that the horrible guilt of Schism and the consequent Evils attendant thereon were so far from being justly Chargeable on us because of our present Practice that these things do rather lie at the Doors of those that thus condemn us I have endeavoured indeed to speak with as much Advantage as I could to the Conviction of him and others that I cannot but apprehend to walk in a corrupt Path in this Respect And having so done I know no Reason any have to be offended if they be in Love exhorted also to their Duty Exhort one another dayly saith the Holy Spirit lest any of
being all Church Members by Regeneration not Natural Generation And therefore we are so far from being Losers by the Bargain that as far as Christ exceeds Moses and Aaron the Gospel the Law the Anti-type the Type the Spiritual Birth the Carnal and the extent of all Nations the Confines of Judea so far are we better and not worse than they Obj. 8. But since by the express Command of God the Jewish Infants were Circumcised Are not our Infants as capable of answering the ends of Christian Baptism as theirs of Circumcision Reply This is a true and a satisfactory Answer that they are not Forasmuch as the Profession of a saving Faith is expresly required in order to Baptism Mark 16. 16. Act. 8. 37. And in like manner Repentance upon the same Account Mat. 3. 7 8. Act. 2. 38. Whereas neither of them were aâ— all required whether of Children or others in Order to Circumcision Abraham 't is true in his own Person received the Sign of Circumcision a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith which he had being Vncircumcised that he might be the Father of all them that believe whether Circumcised or no But it follows not that because thus it was with Abraham the Father of the Faithful that therefore it was either a Sign or Seal of the Righteousness of Faith unto others For as Faith was no where required in Order to the Admission of any to a participation thereof so it is as plain that for the greatest part of the Subjects of that Ordinance they were according to ordinary Rule utterly uncapable thereof such as were Infants of Eight Days Old And as for others who were then to be Circumcised that were of Age there is sufficient Evidence in the Scripture that they were many of them not only destitute of the inward Habits of that saving Grace but for ought as we find did not make so much as any Profession thereof For not only were believing Proselytes to be admitted to that Ordinance but Strangers bought with Money also whether Proselyted to the Jewish Religion or no Gen. 17. 30. So that since it is evident that a Profession of Faith and Repentance is indispensibly required under the Gospel of all that are to be admitted to Baptism which was not at all required neither of Children or those at Age in Order to Circumcision from hence it plainly follows that our Infants are not as capable of Baptism as theirs of Circumcision And there being no Institution in the whole New Testament in reference to Baptism but what concerns such only as are so qualified which Infants are uncapable of we cannot therefore but reckon it a great Prophanation of so sacred an Institution as Baptism is upon an ungrounded Supposition of Analogy or Proportion between that and Circumcision to proceed to an answerable Practice without a Divine Warrant Obj. 9. If this be so then how doth the Blessing of Abraham come on the Gentiles according to Gal. 3. 14. which blessing of Abraham was I will be a God to thee and to thy Seed Gen. 17. 7. In this Objection it is supposed that if the Infants of believing Gentiles are not to be Baptized then neither can they pretend to any share in the Blessing of Abraham mentioned Gal. 3. 14. Gen. 17. 7. To which we Reply First That it follows not that because the Carnal Seed of Abraham had a day wherein they were Priviledged under Circumcision that therefore the Carnal Seed of every Believer should in the Gospel Day be admitted into the visible Priviledges of the Sons and Heirs of Christ It is a very undue Supposition that the Proportion between Abraham in the Flesh and his Carnal Seed in the time when Circumcision was in date should be the same to Abraham in the Spirit who is Christ and the Carnal Seed of every Believer in that season when Circumcision is out of date Secondly If we will know what is this Seed of Abraham to whom God doth here promise to be a God according to the Letter indeed Abraham obtained the Blessing and Priviledges of the whole Inheritance which came by the Law to be the peculiar Inheritance of himself his Fleshly Seed and Family together with all the singular Advantages which thereby were ministred among them for calling and gathering a Seed unto Christ in an Everlasting Covenant whereunto that Covenant in which they stood under Circumcision with the Prerogatives of the Inheritance thereof did Minister as an Example Figure and Shadow The Sum of the Covenant of Circumcision See Gen. 17. 10. This is my Covenant which ye shall keep between me and you and thy Seed after thee Every Man Child among you shall be Circumcised unto ver 15. That Circumcision was part of the Law is plain John 7. 23. And that it obliged all that were under it to the keeping of the whole Law is also as evident Gal. 5. 3. That the Law was a Covenant Ministring as an Example Figure and Shadow of Heavenly Things to wit of the Sanctuary and of the true Tabernacle whereof Christ alone was the High Priest and Minister See Heb. 8. 1 2. 5. Chap. 9. Vers 1. 9. Chap. 10. Vers 1. That the Covenant of Circumcision fell with the Law See Acts 15. 24. Subverting your Souls saying you must be Circumcised and keep the Law As also Col. 2. 14. In this Sense the Blessing of Abraham was not to come upon the Gentiles neither consequently the Birth-Priviledge which had its Institution from that Covenant only and was a principal part of the Blessing thereby given Thirdly The Blessing therefore of Abraham in the Mystery and according to the Gospel is the Manifestation of Jesus Christ with all the Blessings of the Everlasting Covenant to be the peculiar Priviledge Inheritance and Right of every true Believer who therefore are called the Children of Abraham that the Type and the Substance having a mutual and respective Application each to other the mind of God might be clearly seen in them both for the distinguishing of Shadows and Figures which were to be done away from the Substance that was not capable of any Change Which we are manifestly instructed in by the Apostle Gal. 3. 26. Ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jew Greek Bond Free Male Female Mark ye how the Apostle resolves the point in Question at Verse 29. And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abrahams Seed and Heirs according to the Promise not if ye be the Seed of Believers then are ye Abrahams Seed as is suggested And this is the Blessing of Abraham which was to come on the Gentiles even this that Christ with all his Benefits should be given to the Believing Gentiles for a Covenant Objection 10. Then how can Believers be Heirs according to the Promise Gal. 3 29. If their Children should be Excluded from the Promise For the Childrens right to the Promise is a part of the Fathers Inheritance For the Promise unto Abraham was I
the sprinkling of a little Water upon the Face Thirdly It appears to be so from the Practice and Usage we find hereof in Scripture and the Opinion of the Learned upon it First in the Story of Christ's Baptism we read Mat. 3. 5. That Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be Baptized of him And ver 16. When he was Baptized he went up straitway out of the Water The Learned Cajetan upon the place saith Christ ascended out of the Water therefore Christ was Baptized by John not by sprinkling or by pouring Water upon him but by Immersion that is by dipping or plunging in the Water A Second Scripture considerable is that of John 3. 23. And John was Baptizing in Aenon near Salim And the Reason why he pitch'd upon this place is given because there was much Water there Piscator upon the place tells us This saith he is mentioned to signifie the Ceremony of Baptism which John used in Dipping or Plunging the whole Body of a Man standing in the River Whence he saith Christ being Baptized by John in Jordan is said to ascend out of the Water A Third Scripture worthy our notice is Acts 8. 36. 38. As they went on their way they came unto a certain Water and the Enuch said See here is Water and they went down both into the Water both Philip and the Enuch and he Baptized him And when they were come up out of the Water c. Upon which place Calvin saith We see what Fashion the Ancients had to Administer Baptism for they Plunged the whole Body into the Water The use is now saith he that the Minister casts a little Water only upon the Body or upon the Head A Fourth Scripture we shall mention is Rom. 6. 4. Buried with Him in Baptism Where the Apostle elegantly alludes to the Ceremony of Baptizing into Death and Resurrection with Christ Cajean upon the place saith Thus we are Buried with Him by Baptism into Death by our Burying he declares our Death from the Ceremony of Baptism because he who is Baptized is put under the Water and by this carries a Similitude of him that is buried who is put under the Earth Now because none are buried but dead Men from this very thing that we are buried in Baptism we are Assimulated to Christ buried or when he was buried Keckerman Syst Theol. l. 3. c. 8. Says that Immersion not Aspersion was the first Institution of Baptism as it doth plainly appear from Rom. 6. 3. The Assemblies Annotations upon the place do say That in this Phrase the Apostle seemeth to allude to the Ancient manner of Baptizing which was to dip the Party Baptized and as it were to bury them under Water for a while and then to raise them up again out of it to represent the Burial of the Old Man and our Resurrection to newness of Life The like saith Piscator and Diodate upon the place Dr. Cave also a great Searcher into Antiquity in his late Book called Primitive Christianity saith p. 320. That the Party Baptized was wholly Immerged or put under Water which was the almost constant and universal Custom of those times whereby they did most notably and significantly express the great end and effect of Baptism c. And most remarkable is the Testimony that Mr. Baxter himself gives to this Truth As to the manner saith he It is commonly confessed by us to the Anabaptists as our Commentators declare That in the Apostles times the Baptized were dipped over Head in Water though we have thought it lawful to dis-use the manner of dipping and to use less Water In his Third Argument against Mr. Blake All which Arguments from the Genuine Sense of the Word Nature of the Ordinance usage of the Ancients were excellently Inculcated by the Learned Dr. Tillotson in a Sermon Preached at the Lecture in Michael's Cornhill London April 15 1673. From Rom. 6. 4. Therefore we are Buried with Him by Baptism into Death c. Proving from thence that Dipping or Plunging was the proper Ceremony and Rite in the Ordinance And how naturally Arguments did arise from that Sign in Baptism to inforce Holiness and Mortification the Thing Signified thereby Therefore to alter this Rite from Dipping to Sprinkling spoils quite the Symbole and makes it another thing And you may as well take a Wafer Cake or a whole Loaf to represent Christ's broken Body as sprinkling a little Water to represent or figure out his and our Death Burial and Resurrection by And how cometh it to pass that many are so exactly curious about that other Ordinance of the Supper so as to make the gesture of Kneeling a ground of Separation and yet to be so Negligent and Inconsiderate in this And if it be Evil in Papists not to break Bread nor to Eat but to lift up shew and Swallow down whole the Host when Christ did break Bread and bade eat it then it necessarily follows that it is as Evil when He bids Baptize not to do it but to Rantize and instead of Baptizing into the Name of Christ Dead and Risen to Water him that hath no Understanding thereof So that when the Minister saith I Baptize thee to an Infant and doth no more he speaketh that which is not true and deceives those that take it at his Word for Christian Baptism So that thus then we have distinctly and plainly proved you to be defective both in respect of the Internal and External Constituent parts of this great Ordinance that is both in Matter and Form both which are Essentially requisite to the true Constitution or Being of it by which it is manifest that Infants Baptism is a meer Nullity and that which Christ will not own And if it be said that the right Words of Baptism were used it being done in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit We Answer that so there was also in Baptizing of Bells and Churches which yet in your own Judgment is so far from making it a right Ordinance the true Subject being wanting that it is no less than a great Prophanation thereof and a miserable taking the Name of God in vain And therefore certainly Jesus Christ one Day will discover that he takes it not kindly at the Hands of his Professed Friends that of their own Heads and without his Warrant upon a Presumptuous Supposition of unwritten Indulgence having taken it upon them to alter the Subject as well as the manner of the Administration of an Ordinance so Sacred and Venerable as Baptism is As for the Cavils of unseemliness and hazarding of Health to the weak in the way of our present Practice as they are the Fruits of Carnal Wisdom and Vnbelief so it is no other than to reproach the Wisdom of Christ that so Ordained it telling us however the World may call it undecent yet that thus it becometh us as it did himself to fulfill all Righteousness And as they that have or shall see the
shall be a peculiar Treasure unto me above all People for all the Earth is mine ve 6. And ye shall be unto me a Kingdom of Priests and an Holy Nation And if this was a Covenant of Works as the Apostle doth plainly Affirm it is Rom. 10. 5. from Lev. 18. 5. Why not that made with Abraham also since the terms are the same as well as the Promises are the same The like account the Scripture gives us of the Covenant mentioned Deut. 29. You have seen saith Moses there ver 2 3. all that the Lord did before your Eyes in the Land of Egypt unto Pharaoh and all his Servants the great Temptations which thine Eyes have seen and those great Miracles ver 4. Yet the Lord hath not given you an Heart to perceive and Eyes to see and Ears to hear unto this day ver 5. 6. And I have led you forty years in the Wilderness your clothes are not waxen old upon you That ye might know that I am the Lord your God ver 9. Keep therefore the words of this Covenant and do them that ye may prosper in all that ye do The same Language with that Exod 19. 5. and Lev. 18. 5. compared with Rom. 10. 5. So that we cannot but plainly see that all those fore-mentioned Covenants are of one and the same Nature what the one is the others are the same And therefore if the Covenant made with our First Parent before the Fall and that made with Israel at Mount Sinai were neither of them a Covenant of Grace nor a Gospel Covenant whereof Christ is the alone and only Mediator For the same Reason neither was that mentioned Deut. 29. nor that Gen. 17. 7 8 9. as being all of the same tenor and the Promises in them all of a like Nature § 6. The whole entire Nature saith Dr. Owen of the Covenant of Works consisted in this That upon our Personal Obedience according unto the Law and Rule of it we should be Accepted with God and Rewarded with him Herein the Essence of it did consist And what ever Covenant proceedeth on these terms or hath the Nature of them in it however it may be varied with Additions or Alterations is the same Covenant stiil and not another As in the Renovation of the Promise wherein the Essence of the Covenant of Grace was contained God did oft times make other Additions unto it as unto Abraham and David yet was it still the same Covenant for the Substance of it and not another So whatever Variations may be made in or Additions unto the Dispensation of the First Covenant so long as this Rule is retained Do this and Live it is still the same Covenant for the Substance and Essence of it Dr. Owen in his late Discourse Entituled The Doctrine of Justification by Imputed Righteousness p. 397. SECT II. BUt forasmuch as Mr. Roberts Mr. Sedgwick and many other Divines who have Written upon the Covenants do affirm that the Covenant at Mount Sinai was a Covenant of Faith or which is all one a Covenant of Grace At least that it was Subserviently the Covenant of Grace Or a Covenant of Grace for the Substance of it though propounded in a more dark way and in a manner fitting for the State of that People and that present time and Condition of the Church And for as much as it will unavoidably follow that if that was a Covenant of Grace So also was that made with Abraham Gen. 17. 7 8 9. We shall therefore the more Intently apply our selves toward the Discovery of their great Mistakes in this Respect it being of so vast an Importance to the Church of God to be set at rights herein on which as all will grant So much of the Superstructure of the Christian Faith and Practice depends For this purpose therefore Additional unto what hath been already said we shall only premise two Arguments proving that the Covenant at Mount Sinai mentioned Exod. 19. and Exod 20. was no other than a Covenant of Works And then proceed to Answer those Scripture Objections which are usually urged by way of Opposition hereunto § 2. In the first place then that the Covenant at Mount Sinai before mentioned was no other then a Covenant of Works We thus prove First that Covenant that is not of Faith cannot be a Covenant of Faith but of Works But the Apostle doth Expresly affirm that the Law is not of Faith Gal. 3. 11 12. Which is most plainly to be understood of Mount Sinai Covenant therefore that Covenant cannot be a Covenant of Faith but of Works Secondly that Covenant which is now Repealed could not be a Covenant of Grace but of Works But the Apostle doth plainly Affirm that the Covenant which God made with his People at Mount Sinai when he took them by the Hand to lead them out of the Land of Egypt for the faultiness thereof is now Repealed Heb. 7. 18. Chap. 8. 7. 13. 2. Cor. 3. 7. 11. Col. 2. 14. Therefore it could not be a Covenant of Grace but of Works The Covenant of Grace being every way Immutable and perfect and therefore unrepealable and Eternal 2. Sam. 23. 5. Isa 55. 3. Heb. 7. 21 22 24 25. Heb. 13. 20. And the Gifts and Callings thereof without Repentance Rom. 11. 27. 29. And if Mount Sinai Covenant was no other than a Covenant of Works and accordingly now Repealed It cannt be denied but that the Covenant Gen. 17. 7 8 9. Was of the same Nature and therefore also now Repealed Act. 15. 10. 24. Col. 2. 14. § 3. If any shall Object that it is unlikely that the Covenant of Works should be Renewed after Mans fall and after the Covenant of Grace had actually taken place as it did in the first promise Concerning the Womans Seed that was to bruise the Serpents Head We answer that how absur'd so ever it may seem to us it is plain matter of fact that so it was and we ought not to Impeach Infinite Wisdome that so appointed it And if we will know the reason why the Covenant of Works should be thus Renewed after the Fall the Scripture Expresly tells us That the Law was added because of Transgressions till the Seed should come to whom the Promise was made Gal. 3. 19. The Apostle had before told us ver 17. That the Covenant that was Confirmed before of God in Christ the Law which was 430. Years after could not Disannul that it should make the Promise of none Effect wherefore then saith he ver 19. Serveth the Law To which himself gives this Resolution That it was added because of Transgressions till the Seed should come to whom the Promise was made And elsevvhere the same Apostle Informs us That the Law entered that the Offence might abound Rom. 5. 20. Or as he Expresseth it Chap. 7. 13. That Sin by the Commandment might become exceeding Sinful It being Evident that the Lavv vvas appointed as a School-master to Christ Gal. 3.
the words of this Law to do them The promises I now make you are full and Glorious enough But these are the Terms on which you must Expect if ever you come to the Fruition of them This is the Substance of the Preface and after Explication that God himself makes unto and concerning the Covenant which he now made with Moses and with Israel even with the whole Body of that People which was by the Finger of God himself Written and Ingraven in Stones And is accordingly mentioned at large Exod. 20. In the several ten Branches Commandments or main Heads thereof § 4. In the next place if we Enquire into the Nature of this Covenant What sort of Covenant it was Whether a Covenant of Grace or a Covenant of Works As it is Evident that it could be no other than a Covenant of Works since we see it required perfect Obedience as the condition of obtaning the mercies therein promis'd wherein the very Essence of that Covenant Consisted So in order to a further discovery of the true nature of the Covenant in question We must compare some passages in Exod. 34. with 2 Cor. 3. and Col. 2. 14. In Exod. 34. 1. The Lord said unto Moses hew the two Tables of Stone like unto the first And I will Write upon these Tables the words that were in the first Tables ver 4. And he hewed two Tables of Stone like unto the first And Moses went up unto the Mount Sinai as the Lord Commanded him and took in his hand the two Tables of Stone ver 28. And he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights and he Wrote upon the Tables the words of the Covenant the ten Commandments And it came to pass when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two Tables of Testimony in Moses's hand when he came down from the Mount that Moses Wist not that the Skin of his Face shone while he talked with him And when Aaron and all the Children of Israel saw Moses behold the Skin of his Face shone and they were afraid to come nigh him If we will know therefore the true Nature of the Covenant we shall find that the Spirit of God by the Apostle doth give us a clear determination thereof in the fore-mentioned 2. Cor. 3. 5 6. Our Sufficiency saith he is of God who hath also made us able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit that is not of the Law but of the Gospel For the Letter Killeth but the Spirit giveth Life But saith he ver 7. If the Ministration of Death Written and Engraven in Stones was Glorious so that the Children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the Face of Moses for the Glory of his Countenance which Glory was to be done away how shall not the Ministration of the Spirit be rather Glorious So again ver 9. If the Ministration of Condemnation be Glory much more doth the Ministration of Righteousness exceed in Glory Wherein we cannot but observe that the Apostle doth evidently Reflect upon the fore mentioned Passage in Exod. 34 28 29 c. Where we are told that Moses Received from God the two Tables of Stone wherein the words of the Covenant even the Ten Commandments were Written and Engraven by the Finger of God himself and this Expresly under the Denomination of the Covenant which God then made with Israel Deut. 4. 13. Which made Moses his Face to shine so that Aaron and all the Children of Israel were afraid to come nigh him 'T is clear then that this is the Covenant that Paul hear speaks of And what Character or Description doth he give thereof Why saith he The Law Written and Engraven in Stones how Glorious soever it was in it self was of a Killing Nature it was the Ministration of Death and Condemnation and that which was to be done away To which same purpose the same Apostle also tells us Col. 2. 14. That Christ hath Blotted out the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and hath took it out of the way nailing it to his Cross Where the Apostle speaks plainly of the same thing and to the same purpose as he doth to the Corinthians for there he speaks of the Law Written in Stones which saith he was a Ministration of Death and Condemnation And hereof the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us and contrary to us as the Law must needs be if it was indeed no other than a Ministration of Death and Condemnation as the Apostle describes it But is the Covenant of Faith of this Nature Or was the Covenant of Grace a Ministration of Death and Condemnation as the Apostle Affirms the Law written in Stones to be Was the Covenant of Grace against us Contrary to us and therefore now Blotted out done away taken out of the way and Nailed to the Cross of Christ as the Apostle speaks of the Hand-writing of Ordinances or the Law written in Stones These are Solâ—cisms too strong for Digestion It can never be imagined And yet all this must needs follow if the Law was a Covenant of Grace as is Affirmed 'T is true there was a Covenant of Grace that ran Current therewith as hath been before declared whereby Moses and all the Elect among that People were delivered from the Curse of that Fiery Burning Law that was thus given them But shall we therefore call the Ministration of Death a Ministration of Grace Or the ministration of Condemnation a Ministration of Life and Righteousness which the Apostle doth so plainly set in Opposition thereunto Or shall we say that that which was against us and contrary to us was a Covenant of Grace or for the Substance of it such The Apostle as we have already seen tells us the quite contrary And so he doth Rom. 7. 9 10. When the Commandment came saith he Sin Revived and I Died And the Commandment which was Ordained to Life I found to be unto Death And how then can it be justly Affirmed that the Law was a Covenant of Gospel-Grace or that it was such for the Substance thereof when the Apostle found it by Experience to be a Ministration of Death § 5. Indeed the World Groans under the Burthen of such Subtile Sophistical Distinctions whereby the Truths of the Gospel have been so long Obscured as they have been and are in respect of the present Point a Point of such vast Consequence and Concernment to the Church of God For what can be of greater Moment than the Two Covenants the Truths concerning which are as the two Master Veins that branch themselves forth and lye dispersed up and down throughout the whole Body of the Scriptures If therefore it shall be found that we have been all this while Mistaken in our Notion about the Covenants what they are and which they be or that we have given the Appellation of the Covenant of Grace to a Covenant of Works and hereon
after Breaches do Else why doth the Apostle tell us as he doth concerning the same Sinai Covenant that it is dis-annulled Heb. 7. 18 For there is verily a dis-annulling of the Commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof So likewise Heb. 8. 7. For if that first Covenant had been faultless there should no place have been sought for the second And Vers 13. In that he saith a New Covenant he hath made the first Old Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away Though the Sinai Covenant therefore was Renewed after the first Breach thereof yet the Scriptures do give us a Positive Assurance that at length it was utterly and irreparably broken And so broken that at last it was dis-annulled made to Expire and vanish away which is utterly Inconsistent with the Nature of the Covenant of Faith according to the whole Scope and Tenour of the Scriptures So that we see that without a Manifest and Palpable Absurdity there is no Resisting the force and Evidence of the forementioned Objection The Conclusion whence Resulting is therefore highly Rational and remains firm and unshaken That since the Sinai Covenant is both by the Prophet and Apostle plainly opposed to the New Covenant and is said to be broken and so broken as to Expire and vanish away Therefore it is not a Covenant of Faith which is Everlasting and cannot be broken but a Covenant of Works that was but Temporary and liable thereunto As for the unchangeable nature of the Covenant of Faith at least on Gods part whatever it is on ours besides a multitude of other Testimonies that might be produced the 89. Psalm gives us a clear and convincing Evidence thereof Vers 30. c. If his Children forsake my Law and walk not in my Judgments if they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments Then will I Visit their Transgression with the Rod and their Iniquity with Stripes Nevertheless my Loving kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my Lips Once have I Sworn by my Holiness that I will not lie unto David his Seed shall endure for ever and his Throne as the Sun before me It shall be Established for ever as the Moon and as a faithful Witness in Heaven The like Assurance we have concerning the Promise made to Abraham Wherein saith the Apostle Heb. 6. 17 18. God willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the Immutability of his Counsel Confirmed it by an Oath that by two Immutable things in which it was Impossible for God to lie we might have strong Consolation c. So that we see the Covenant of Faith or which is all one the Covenant of Grace is every way perfect unchangeable unrepealable and Everlasting Whereas the Sinai Covenant was of a faulty decaying vanishing Nature and accordingly was at last disannulled and therefore could not possibly be any other than a Covenant of Works § 8. The Second Absurdity is this Whereas Mr. Roberts pag. 772. of his forementioned Discourse pretending to Answer the Seventh Objection against his Assertion the Objection it self as himself states it runs thus Object 7. The Condition upon which Life and Happiness is held forth in the Law or Sinai Covenant is Perfect Doing For Moses describeth the Righteousness which is of the Law that the man which doth these things shall live by them Rom. 10. 3. with Lev. 18. 5. Gal. 3. 12. And he denounceth a Curse upon the least failing Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them Deut. 27. 26. Gal. 3. 10. But the Condition upon which Life and Happiness is tendred in the Covenant of Faith is Believing in Christ Rom. 10. 6. to 12. Doing and Believing Works and Faith are two Contrary Conditions of Life Consequently the Law or Sinai Covenant which requires Doing unto Life cannot be a Covenant of Faith but must needs be a Covenant of Works The Answer which Mr. Roberts returns unto this Strong and Substantial Objection first of all in general runs thus This Objection saith he as it is most Obvious to every one that reads the Epistles of Paul to the Romans and Galatians so it is in my judgment of greatest difficulty to be clearly and satisfactorily Answered And yet it is of great Consequence and Necessity to be Cleared because otherwise the true Nature and Intent of this Sinai Covenant as a Covenant of Faith in Christ Jesus will not be fully and sufficiently evidenced Several Answers are given I shall propound them and pitely upon such as afford best satisfaction And accordingly he proceeds to give an Account of the several Answers given thereunto by Mr. John Ball and Peter Maâ—â—yr by D. Pareus and Mr. Anthony Burgess but neither of these fully pleasing him p. 775. I add therefore saith he for the unfolding of this Mysterie more clearly and for Answering of this Objection more fully First That the Sinai Covenant was purposely so dispensed as to tender Life and Happiness upon two Opposite and Contrary Conditions viz. Works and Faith Perfect Doing and Believing This is clear saith he by Paul's Epistles without Dispute And to deny this which is so clear will but tend to weaken Paul's Authority to darken many Scriptures both of Moses and Paul and to strengthen the Objection And so proceeds to make out this Notion § 9. Reply But if ever there was an Absurdity or plain Contradiction imposed upon the Scriptures we think we may justly and truly say that here it is For though 't is true there are those that labour to fasten an absurdity upon such as affirm that Gods People of old were under two Contrary Covenants at one and the same time yet was it ever known that the same Fountain did at the same time send forth Bitter Waters and Sweet Or can it ever be rationally imagined that the same Sinai Covenant was purposely so dispensed as to tence life and happiness upon two Opposite and Contrary Conditions For though 't is true two Opposite Covenants may be allowed to be purposely so dispensed as to tender Life and Happiness upon two Opposite and Contrary Conditions Works and Faith yet it is utterly impossible that the same Covenant should be so dispensed For as the Apostle reasoneth concerning Election Rom. 11. 6. So it is here If by Grace then it is no more of Works otherwise Grace is no more Grace But if it be of Works then it is no more Grace otherwise Work is no more Work So that we see according to the Apostles reckoning it is utterly impossible that two Opposite and Contrary Conditions should be able to consist together in one and the same Covenant Either the Sinai Covenant therefore is a Covenant of Grace or it is a Covenant of Works If it is a Covenant of Grace
3. 10. And is it not as plain that from hence even that from hence it is that the Apostle calls it as he doth a Ministration of Death and Condemnation Against us and Contrary to us c. Besides it ought to be duly considered that the Gospel and Covenant of Grace it self was liable to aâ— great an abuse as the Law by being turned into Lasciviousness as the Scriptures tells us it was and yet the Apostle never thunders against the Gospel as he doth against the Law because Men had abused it 'T is true he tells us concerning the Gospel that to some it is the savour of death unto death to others it is the savour of life unto life that is to those that Reject it it is the savour of death unto death to those that Receive it it is the savour of life unto life But this is vastly different from the character he gives of the Law For saith he By the deeds of the Law there shall no Flesh be justified in his sight Rom. 3. 20. And therefore whether it is Received or Rejected it is as the Apostle calls it a Ministration of Death c. Whereas the Gospel is such only to those that Reject it and do not give a saving entertainment to it So that the Distinction we now oppose is altogether without Scripture Warrant and is indeed no other than to impute unfaithfulness to Paul and Moses also in declaring the Nature of the Law as they do And accordingly hence we have just reason to conclude that the Law was never instituted as a Covenant of Faith or as a Covenant of Grace that hath such Epethites fixed thereon by the Spirit of God himself § 3. 'T is true as you say the Law was our School-master to Christ to Convince us of our Necessity of him And Christ is also said to be the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth that is he was the accomplishment thereof he having perfectly fulfilled its Commands submitted to its Curse and answered its Penalty on our behalf whereby it received the Greatest Honour that could be given it a greater by far than ever could be given it by us in our own persons For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the Flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful Flesh and for sin or by a Sacrifice for Sin condemned Sin in the Flesh that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us that is in the Person of our Sureâ—y for us Rom. 8. 3 4. But then it is so far from being true that the Law was therefore a Covenant of Faith that it is so much the more Convincingly Evident that it was no other than a Covenant of Works For as much as it is plain that as such Christ himself submitted thereunto on our account And it is as plain that as such it would else have lighted on us in our own Persons in the Execution of its most dreadful Curses and Threatnings But if we will rather have the sense of the words to be as you suggest it is that Christ was the End or Scope of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth that is that it was God's design thereby to drive them to Christ their only Remedy by Convincing them of their Necessity of him It still comes to the same Reckoning For though 't is true there is a plain subserviency in the Law towards the promoting of the Designs of the Covenant of Grace yet as we have already seen it no way follows that the Law is therefore the Covenant of Grace it self or the Handmaid the Mistress her self For saith the Apostle Gal. 4. 24. 25 26. These are the two Covenants the one from Mount Sinai which gendereth to Bondage and is in Bondage with her Children The other Answereth to Jerusalem that is above which is free and is the Mother of us all And if these were the two Covenants and those two essentially different the one from the other in the nature and tendency of either as it is plain by the Apostles scope they are so they must be kept Two they were and two they still remain to be so as what the one is the other is not Hagar had indeed a plain subserviency to Sarah But yet as were the Types so are the Antitypes themselves Essentially different so as that the Bondage Covenant can with no more Sense nor Justice be called a Covenant of Faith because it hath a subserviency thereunto than the Covenant of Faith can wish any shadow of pretence be called a Covenant of Bondage § 4. Besides when the Apostle speaks of the two Covenants these were the two Covenants the one from Mount Sinai meaning the Legal the other the Gospel Covenant He doth sufficiently Intimate that there were never but two General Covenants made with Mankind in all that is the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace And if so then if there were any such thing as a Covenant of Works made with our first Parent before the Fall as we all affirm there was it must of necessity be Included in the Sinai Covenant And that both Materially Considered and Intentionally also Else there were three Covenants and those Specifically different each from other whereas the Apostle tells us but of two To say it was Included in the Gospel Covenant is wholly Absurd Therefore it must of necessity be Included in the Sinai Covenant so as that both together make up that first or old Covenant which the Scripture speaks of For when the Apostle Heb. 8. calls the Sinai Covenant by the Name of the first or Old Covenant as he there doth several times over it cannot possibly be understood that it was therefore the first Covenant that God ever made with Men in respect of time for there had been an Express Covenant made with Abraham and with Noah also long before And we also acknowledge that there was an Implicite Covenant of Works made with our first Parent upon his first Creation besides the Promise of Grace that followed soon after the Fall Therefore the Sinai Covenant must of necessity be called the first or old Covenant because of its Congruity Harmony and Identity with the Covenant of Works made with our first Parent And that both in respect of the matter and Intention thereof also Or else iâ— could never with any Propriety or fitness of Expression be called the first or old Covenant as by the Apostle divers times over it is in the forementioned 8th to the Hebrews § 5. The Law therefore could not possibly be a Covenant of Gospel Grace as by many the most Learned and Worthy Divines and it may be the far greater part of Moderns at least it hath been confidently affirmed to be For as we have before acknowledged though there was never any Covenant that God ever made with Men but hath more or less of Grace therein Since it is an Infinite Condescention
Transgression and Sin That Covenant can never be a Covenant of Grace but of Works But the Legal Covenant is plainly in Scripture opposed unto the Gospel Covenant in all these Respects Heb. 12. from the 18th to the 24th Gal. 3. 10 11 12 13 14. Gal. 4. 21 c. Therefore the Legal Covenant could not possibly be a Covenant of Grace but of Works § So that notwithstanding all the most plausible Arguments which are usually urged by way of opposition to what we have now Asserted unless we must shut our Eyes there can be nothing more plain than this That the Law given by Moses to the Seed of Abraham at Mount Sinai instead of being a Covenant of Faith in Christ Jesus or a Covenant of Gospel Grace as many Divines famous for Learning and Piety do confidently affirm it is was no other than a Covenant of Works and that which is therefore now done away 2 Cor. 3. 7 8 9 11. Col. 2. 14. Heb. 8. 7 13. From whence it plainly and undeniably follows that the Covenant of Circumcision mentioned Gen. 17. 7 8 9 10. which God there promised to Establish betwixt Himself Abraham and his Seed after him in their Generations being the same thing and of the same nature as hath been already proved is therefore now also Repealed and done away therewith Acts 15. 10. Gal. 5. 3 4 5. Col. 2. 14. And consequently all the Arguments thence deduced howsoever or by whomsoever formed for the support of Infants Baptism do of themselves vanish THE FIFTH PART Containing a Description of that truly Evangelical Covenant God was pleased to make with Believing Abraham Wherein lies the Sum of the Everlasting Gospel then Preached unto him since Proclaimed by the Apostles and which now remains to be yet further Published unto all Nations for the Obedience of Faith Rom. 16. 25 26. Rev. 14. 6 7 Wherein the true Nature and Difference betwixt the two Covenants that of Works and that of Grace is further Explained Rev. 11. 19. And the Temple of God was opened in Heaven and there was seen in his Temple the Ark of his Testament and there were Lightnings and Voices and Thundrings and an Earth-quake and Great Hail SECT I. § 1. BUT though the Covenant of Circumcision which God was pleased to make with Abraham Gen. 17. 7 8 9 10. was no other than a Covenant of Works as the Covenant at Sinai was and are both therefore now done away yet as we have already declared it is evident and undeniable that God was also pleased to enter into a Covenant of Grace with Believing Abraham even such a Covenant as was purely Evengelical and that which never shall be abolished And it is also as evident that this Gospel Covenant had been Established and Preached unto Abraham long before the Covenant of Circumcision was made with him For both Abraham and all true Believers in that Age were in the Covenant of Grace long before the Covenant of Circumcision was made and would have been so if that had never been which Covenant of Grace or Gospel Covenant which God was thus pleased to make with Believing Abraham is indeed the great Charter by which the Believing Gentiles always did and do claim Heaven and Earth and all the Promises they have title to For in this respect it is that the Apostle tells us as he doth Gal. 3. 8. That the Scripture foreseeing that God would justifie the Heathen through Faith preached before the Gospel unto Abraham saying in thee shall all Nations be Blessed Which he quoteth not from Gen. 17. 7 8. but from Gen. 12. 2 3. Where before Abraham's removal out of his own Country and therefore long before the Covenant of Circumcision was in being God enters into a solemn Covenant with Abraham saying I will make of thee a great Nation and I will bless thee and make thy Name great and thou shalt be a Blessing And I will Bless them that Bless thee and Curse him that Curseth thee and in thee shall all the Families of the Earth be blessed § 2. If we are to seek therefore of the Covenant of Grace that God made with Abraham which is the Great Charter of the Gentiles hope behold and see lo here it is a Covenant of Grace indeed A Covenant truly Evangelical as being every way Extensive Full Free Absolute and without those Conditions that the Covenant of Circumcision was manifestly clogged withal And therefore called the Covenant of Promise in the forementioned 3d of the Galatians for having told us vers 8. of the Promise that God had made unto Abraham that in Him should all Nations be Blessed And having also told us vers 14. 16. that the blessing of Abraham was to come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the Promise of the Spirit through Faith He adds vers 17 18. And this I say that the Covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ the Law which was 430 years after cannot disanul that it should make the Promise of none Effect For if the Inheritance be of the Law it is no more of Promise but God gave it to Abraham by Promise Which clearly argues the Absoluteness of this Gospel Covenant For if it had not been Free and Absolute but Conditional as the Covenant of Circumcision was and as the Legal Covenant at Mount Sinai was then according to the Scope of the Apostles Reasoning it had not properly been a Covenant of Promise but a Legal Covenant and so the Inheritance had been of the Law For wherein differs the Law from a free Promise but that the one is Conditional the other Absolute The one promiseth Life upon condition of Obedience the other without Mony and without Price Isa 55. 1. And therefore the Covenant which God made with the Israelites at Mount Sinai though it had many Glorious Promises in it that God would be their God and they should be his peculiar People and Treasure c. Yet these Promises being clogged with Conditions of Obedience impossible to be performed That Covenant therefore is never presented to us in the Scripture under the Notion or Denomination of a Covenant of Promise but under the Denomination of the Law or as a Covenant of Works only For Moses saith the Apostle describeth the Righteousness of the Law that the man that doth these things shall live by them Rom. 10. 5 And so likewise Gal. 3. 10. As many as are of the Works of the Law are under the Curse For it is written Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the Book of the Law to do them And vers 12. The Law is not of Faith but the man that doth them shall live in them And for the same Reason therefore is the Covenant of Circumcision represented to us also under the same Denomination of the Law Rom. 4. 13. as shall be afterward shewn because though it is true it had Promises in it that were
Confirmation thereof As neither had the Legal Covenant at Mount Sinai for the Confirmation of that But the Promise which the Apostle here speaks of hath a plain Reference unto the Evangelical Covenant before mentioned which was first made with Abraham before his Removal out of his own Country Gen. 12. 2 3. which was afterward Repeated and Confirmed unto him by an Oath Gen. 22. where God tells him Vers 16. 17 18. By my self have I Sworn saith the Lord that in Blessing I will Bless thee the same words the Apostle useth and in Multiplying I will Multiply thy Seed as the Stars of Heaven and as the Sand which is upon the Sea Shore And thy Seed shall Possess the Gate of his Enemies And in thy Seed shall All the Nations of the Earth be blessed which is a full and a plain Repetition of the Covenant which God first made with Abraham Gen. 12. 2 3. Saying I will make of thee a great Nation and I will Bless thee and make thy Name great and thou shalt be a Blessing And I will Bless them that Bless thee and Curse him that Curseth thee And in thee shall all the Families of the Earth be Blessed In both which Scriptures we have a fair and full Recital of that truely Evangelical or Gospel Covenant which God made with Abraham And upon which all the Hope and Comfort of Believing Gentiles is firmly built and founded And it is plain that this is the onely Covenant which the Apostle speaks of and as it were points with his Finger unto it Reciting the very words and expressions of it without taking any notice at all of the Covenant of Circumcision or of any Expressions therein contained as having been Confirmed before of God in Christ Gal. 3. 17. And that as he here tells the Hebrews both by word and Oath that by two Immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie there might be strong Consolation afforded unto all the Heirs of Promise § 2. No wonder therefore that the Apostle tells us as he doth Gal. 3. 16. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promises made not a single Promise onely but the Promises For as it is evident that there is a Plurality of Promises and Blessing◠contained in this Gospel Covenant in reference to Abraham The like we cannot but observe in reference to Christ himself the Promised Seed Unto whom God doth not onely here Promise That in him should all the Nations of the Earth be blessed But also That he should Possess the Gate of his Enemies Both which are most full and Comprehensive Promises And that as well in respect of the Blessings of this World as of that which is to come Upon which account it is highly observable That as all the Promises both of the one sort as well as of the other do all run unto Christ the Inheriting Seed so from and by him alone they are to be Communicated to all his Members Forasmuch as he needs them not for himself And therefore when God told Abraham That in his Seed should all the Nations of the Earth be Blessed as he doth therein promise to be our God through Christ the Mediator And by him to bless us with all Spiritual Blessings by giving unto us an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away which is reserved in Heaven for us So in like manner When God tells Abraham That his Seed should Possess the Gate of his Enemies God doth herein Promise to give unto us through Christ the Blessings even of this World also For so it is Explained in Reference to Christ himself Psal 2. 1 6 7 8. Why do the Heathen rage c. Yet have I set my King upon my Holy Hill of Sion I will declare the Decree The Lord hath said unto me Thou art my Son this Day have I begotten thee Ask of me and I shall give thee the Heathen for thine Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy Possession To which same purpose we are also told Rev. 11. 15. That upon the Sounding of the Seventh Angel there were Great Voices in Heaven saying The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall Reign for ever and ever From both which we may clearly discern the meaning of that Promise That Christ should Possess the Gate of his Enemies Even that the Actual Soveraignty of the whole World should at length be Committed unto him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords For which very purpose he now sitteth at the Right Hand of God from henceforth expecting till his Enemies be made his Footstool Heb. 10. 12 13. which Promise as it is plainly made unto Christ himself so it is of mighty Consequence unto his People also Since upon the foot of this Promise depends all their happiness in this World As upon the other their happiness in that that is to come For if Christ be Exalted in this World so shall his People also And if the Kingdoms of this World are to become The Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ so also shall the Kingdom and Dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom and Dominion under the whole Heaven be given to the People of the Saints of the most High Dan. 7. 27. So that since Christ is here promised that he shall Possess the Gate of his Enemies upon the same bottom have his People sufficient ground to expect that they shall Possess the Gate of theirs also Forasmuch as the same Blessedness that i◠Conferred upon the Head shall in due Season be derived to all his Members And indeed for this Reason are all the Promises first made unto Christ himself that he might have the single Honour in the Distribution of the Blessings therein Contained among his Servants and followers Rev. 5. 9 10 11 12. They sung a New Song Saying Thou art Worthy to take the Book and to open the Seals thereof For thou wast Slain and hast Redeemed us to God by thy Blood out of every Kindred and Tongue and People and Nation And hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests And we shall Reign upon the Earth Therefore Worthy is the Lamb that was Slain to receive Power and Riches and Wisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing SECT IX MOreover That the Gospel Covenant before mentioned and that alone is the great Charter of the Gentiles hope is yet further evident from Gal. 3. For the Scripture foreseeing saith the Apostle Vers 8 that God would Justifie the Heathen through Faith Preached before the Gospel unto Abraham The Gospel What Gospel Was it the Promises contained in the Covenant of Circumcision wherein God promised Abraham that he would be a God unto him and to his Seed after him in their Generations By no means For that was plainly a Covenant of Works and concerned onely Abraham and his Natural Posterity which could yield no Comfort therefore to the Heathen