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…

¹The opposite doctrine (if you mean the doctrine of the Baptism of infants) teacheth as the Apostle doth, that all by nature are the children of wrath, (even believers and their seed as well as others) neither did I think that any had been so ignorant, as to believe or teach, and affirm, that any are naturally born in grace, and so (that is naturally) are believers from the womb; I never heard nor read of any such before, nor do I believe it now. All that for ought I know do hold the Baptism of infants, they teach, that by nature all Infants (Christ only excepted) are born in sin, and children of wrath: and none of them born in grace naturally, but only by virtue of the Covenant of grace, which is above nature. Neither do they say that all that are born under the Covenant, are borne believers (or partakers of faith) from the womb, but that some by the blessing and grace of the Covenant are made partakers of faith, and of the holy Ghost from the womb: and that all are capable of the same grace from the womb; yea, and God hath promised to work the same sooner or later, in all the elect children of the Covenant absolutely: in the rest according to his Covenant, he offereth to work the same in his own time, if neither their parents nor themselves reject or neglect the means which the Lord offereth them. For as the second Commandment (whereby the instituted means of grace and worship are established) is moral and perpetual: So is the sanction or ratification of that Commandment moral and perpetual also. Now in the sanction of that Commandment, as God threatened to visit the neglect of his ordinances (which are the means of grace) upon the fathers to the children, to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him; so he promiseth to show mercy unto thousands of them that love him & keep his Commandments, Exod. 20.5, 6. whence it was that God promised to bring upon Abraham all the good which he had spoken to him of (which was chiefly to be a God to him and to his seed) because he knew that Abraham would command hi• children & and his household after him, to keep the ways of the Lord, Gen. 18.19

¹The opposite doctrine (if you meane the doctrine of the Baptism of infants) teacheth as the Apostle doth, that all by nature are the children of wrath, (even beleevers and their seed as well as others) neither did I think that any had been so ignorant, as to beleeve or teach, and affirm, that any are naturally born in grace, and so (that is naturally) are believers from the wombe; I never heard nor read of any such before, nor doe I beleeve it now. All that for ought I know doe hold the Baptisme of infants, they teach, that by nature all Infants (Christ onely excepted) are born in sin, and children of wrath: and none of them born in grace naturally, but onely by vertue of the Covenant of grace, which is above nature. Neither doe they say that all that are born under the Covenant, are borne beleevers (or partakers of faith) from the wombe, but that some by the blessing and grace of the Covenant are made partakers of faith, and of the holy Ghost from the wombe: and that all are capable of the same grace from the wombe; yea, and God hath promised to worke the same sooner or later, in all the elect children of the Covenant absolutely: in the rest according to his Covenant, hee offereth to work the same in his owne time, if neither their parents nor themselves reject or neglect the meanes which the Lord offereth them. For as the second Commandement (whereby the instituted meanes of grace and worship are established) is morall and perpetuall: So is the sanction or ratification of that Commandement morall and perpetuall also. Now in the sanction of that Commandement, as God threatned to visit the neglect of his ordinances (which are the meanes of grace) upon the fathers to the children, to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him; so he promiseth to shew mercy unto thousands of them that love him & keep his Commandements,