The grounds and ends of the baptism of the children of the faithful. Opened…The grounds and ends of the baptisme of the children of the faithfull. Opened…

The Spirit begetteth the grace of life, as well in their seed, as in themselves. The greater is the danger of those infants whose Parents (like you) do not believe the grace of Christ can reach unto your infants; and so it is no wonder, if your children be deprived of the grace of the new birth, for your unbeliefs sake. Be it therefore granted which you take for granted in your next words; That for this end (to wit, for begetting the grace of the new birth) God hath ordained in the Gospel preaching and believing to go before baptizing, Mat. 28.9. with Mar. 16.15, 16. yet this only proveth that the preaching of the Gospel, and the begetting of faith by the Gospel is requisite to enstate the hearer in the grace and blessing, or (which is all one) in the Covenant of the Gospel. But if the hearer be a Parent of children, and so do believe the Gospel and Covenant of grace to belong to him and to his seed; both he and they according to the order of the Gospel, and Covenant of grace, are rightly baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. All which persons do join together in making this Covenant, and sealing to it, to be a ⟨p. 146⟩God to the believer and his seed. And if it were not so, the place which you quote out of Mark (Chap. 16. v. 15, 16.) would utterly cut off the children of believers dying in their infancy, from all hope of salvation: which you said even now, you were far from. For if infants for want of hearing the Word in their own persons want faith, and for want of faith may not be baptized, then for want of faith they cannot be saved. For so run the words in Mark, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned. If for unbelief they must not be baptized, for unbelief they must then be damned. But if by the Gospel we understand (as the Scriptures mean) the glad tidings of the Covenant of grace, and so of redemption and salvation by Christ preached and proclaimed to believers and their seed, then all such as do believe these glad tidings, to themselves and to their seed, they are commanded by the Order of the Gospel to be baptized themselves, and their children with them; for their children are by the faith of their Parents wrapped up in the Covenant, and so are become capable subjects both of the Covenant, and of the seal thereof.