THE Reader must here take notice that I am not here called to prove Infants Church-membership out of the New Testament, but to show out of the Old that they were visible Church-members before by a Grant or Covenant, which Christ hath not repealed. The rest (out of the New-Testament) I have done long ago in my Treatise of Infant Church-membership and Baptism, which Mr. T. is so much displeased at. And indeed I think that the proofs are plain, though many objections may be difficult to be answered, ⟨p. 160⟩especially by those who have not throughly considered the case. When I set together Christs own Infant membership, and his kind reception of Infants, and his chiding those that would have kept them off, and his offers of taking in all the Jewish Nation into his Church, and that they were broken off by unbelief, and consequently the seed of Believers not broken off from the Church universal, and that whole households are oft said to be baptized, and that Paul pronounceth Believers children holy, and that Christ expressly, Matth. 28. commandeth his Ministers as much as in them lieth to Disciple all Nations baptizing, and it's prophesied that the Kingdoms of the world shall be made the Kingdoms of Christ, and there is no Nation or Kingdom on earth that Infants are not members of; All this and much more seemeth to me a plain revelation of Gods will, that as he never had a Church which excluded Infants, so he doth not now exclude them. And it is expressly said of the Jews that they were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 1 Cor. 10.2. where doubtless the Apostle in the name had respect to our being baptized into Christ, of which theirs was a typical Baptism; And it is not said in vain that they were [all baptized] including their Infants, but as part of the Analogy, as if he had said [As we now are all baptized into Christ.]
THE Reader must here take notice that I am not here called to prove Infants Church-membership out of the New Testament, but to shew out of the Old that they were visible Church-members before by a Grant or Covenant, which Christ hath not repealed. The rest (out of the New-Testament) I have done long ago in my Treatise of Infant Church-membership and Baptism, which Mr. T. is so much displeased at. And indeed I think that the proofs are plain, though many objections may be difficult to be answered, ⟨p. 160⟩especially by those who have not throughly considered the case. When I set together Christs own Infant membership, and his kind reception of Infants, and his chiding those that would have kept them off, and his offers of taking in all the Jewish Nation into his Church, and that they were broken off by unbelief, and consequently the seed of Believers not broken off from the Church universal, and that whole housholds are oft said to be baptized, and that Paul pronounceth Believers children holy, and that Christ expresly, Matth. 28. commandeth his Ministers as much as in them lieth to Disciple all Nations baptizing, and it's prophesied that the Kingdoms of the world shall be made the Kingdoms of Christ, and there is no Nation or Kingdom on earth that Infants are not members of; All this and much more seemeth to me a plain revelation of Gods will, that as he never had a Church which excluded Infants, so he doth not now exclude them. And it is expresly said of the Jews that they were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 1 Cor. 10.2. where doubtless the Apostle in the name had respect to our being baptized into Christ, of which theirs was a typical Baptism; And it is not said in vain that they were [all baptized] including their Infants, but as part of the Analogie, as if he had said [As we now are all baptized into Christ.]
