The church-membership of children, and their right to baptism according to that holy and…The church-membership of children, and their right to baptisme according to that holy and…

1. In respect of God. God shows hereby the riches of his grace toward them, in taking them to be his people: In Adopting them to be his children: In preventing them with many special promises aforehand of doing them good, by all which, the Lord doth as it were prevent Satan, in wooing their hearts as it were, so soon to draw them to him before he can actually stir to draw their souls from him. So that I beseech you consider, suppose they cannot as yet understand, and so make profit by all this, yet is it not good for them, or for any of us to partake of Gods grace, before we know how to make use of it? is it not good for God to be good to them that are evil? is it not good for God to glorify & make manifest his grace to man, though man knows not how to make use of his grace? was it not rich grace for Christ to wash Peters feet, and yet he not know at present what it meant, only (saith Christ) thou shalt know it afterward? is it not good for God to give life to us, and to let us be born in such and such a place of the Gospel where it is preached, and to lay in mercy aforehand for us, before we know how to be thankful, or know how to use any of these outward mercies? and is it no mercy or favour to have so much spiritual mercy bestowed on children aforehand, before they can be thankful, or make use thereof? Deut. 7.6, 7. The choosing of them to be his people, above all other people (which you know was from the womb) it's called Gods setting his Love upon them, and the reason of this Love, verse 8. is said to be, ⟨p. 22⟩because God loved them, this love was not Electing, & peculiar love, (for thousands of these perished and went to hell) but it was his external adopting love to choose them to be his people, and to improve all means for their good, and to give them the good of all those means unless they refuse: and to give indefinitely among them, and particularly to many of them, such hearts as that they shall not be able to refuse the good of those means (as hath been showed formerly) this is love, great love & mercy; not shown or promised to any who are not of the visible Church throughout the whole world. By which God is glorified, & let him be so, though we cannot see how to profit by it, when it first break's out; Have not you profited much by considering Gods preventing grace, long before you understood how to make use of it?

1. In respect of God. God shews hereby the riches of his grace toward them, in taking them to be his people: In Adopting them to be his children: In preventing them with many special promises aforehand of doing them good, by all which, the Lord doth as it were prevent Satan, in wooing their hearts as it were, so soon to draw them to him before he can actually stirr to draw their soules from him. So that I beseech you consider, suppose they cannot as yet understand, and so make profit by all this, yet is it not good for them, or for any of us to partake of Gods grace, before we know how to make use of it? is it not good for God to be good to them that are evil? is it not good for God to glorifie & make manifest his grace to man, though man knowes not how to make use of his grace? was it not rich grace for Christ to wash Peters feet, and yet he not know at present what it meant, only (saith Christ) thou shalt know it afterward? is it not good for God to give life to us, and to let us be born in such and such a place of the Gospel where it is preached, and to lay in mercy aforehand for us, before we know how to be thankfull, or know how to use any of these outward mercies? and is it no mercy or favour to have so much spiritual mercy bestowed on children aforehand, before they can be thankfull, or make use thereof?