Children born in Covenant.

204 PATT 111. It is evident that God confiders children born of his visible covenant people, as born in covenant with himfelf; Ezck, xvi. 20, 21," Thou haft taken thy fons and thy daughters, whom thou haft borne unto me, and these haft thou facrificed unto them, to be devoured. Is this of thy whordoms a fmall matter, that thou haft flain my children ?"* Here God exprefsly afferts that the children are born his, that they are his children. Will any to avoid this, fay, this is old Teftament? Then I will go into the new again. There we find not only Peter before noted; but Paul afferting the fame Idea refpe&ting the Gentiles, 1 Cor. vii. 14. There the Apoftie afferts, that if either of the parents, is a believer, the children are holy. This being holy,, he puts in oppofition to the uncleannefs, in which the children of unbelieving parents are born. This being holy, mult certainly mean fomething; fome diftinction between the children of believers, and unbelievers. It can mean no lefs, than that they are in a vilible relation to God; which the others are not. We know of none, faving in that covenant he made with Abraham, above confidered; and it mult doubtless be by that claufe in the cov

It appears by many places of Scripture, that God con fiders and challenges, the children of believers or profeffors, as born his children; and his name put upon them, they are niembers of his family, as truely and effentially, as of the natural family where they are born. They are therefore members of the visible church,in full and compleat standing according to what they are. They are as fully and compleatly members of the natural family, where they are born; as foon as they come into the world, as they are in any flage of their lives afterward. And there is nothing they can do in any stage of life, which will make them more fully members of the family, than they are when they are first born. They are alfo inhabitants of the town, and members of the ftate, as fully, the moment they are born, as ever

PART III.

Children in Covenant.

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enant, where God fays he would make, Abraham a father of many nations; and make nations of him; for this was written to a gentile people, who were not of the feed of Abraham. Therefore, the child. ren of believers are born in that covenant God made with Abraham.

Hence there is an exprefs command of God that they shall have the token of God's covenant applied to them, or they are cut off from God's people.

The token or feal of this covenant, which God gave to Abraham, perhaps no body will deny or doubt was circumcifion. This being before Chrift hed his blood, was a bloody inftitution, and denoted the puting off the body of the fins of the flesh. But after Chrift's blood was fhed, there was no more propriety in fheding of blood in religious inftitutions. Chrift after his resurrection, inftituted baptism in the name of the Trinity, fignifying or

they are, or can be. They are born inhabitants of the town and members of the ftate. They are born feized of a right to all the benefits and privileges of the Family, Town and State But they are then paffive members, and have an absoJute right to all thofe benefits which are neceffary, to nourith them up to manhood; and if the parents, town or state do not do it for them, as circumftances require, they defraud them of their right. But the parents, &c. doing their cove nant duty, to the child, the child becomes under covenant obligation to its parents, to obey their commands.

In the fame fenfe God confiders and speaks of children of profeffing people. They are born his, members of his family, here upon the earth; viz. his visible Church. But they are paffive members in God's family, as well as in their natural family, and can be nothing elfe, in the infant stage of their existence, But when they grow up to an active fate, they ought to be active in the duties of the family to which they belong, both in a natural and religious fenfe. When the father commands or directs the child to do any thing, the child ought to anfwer, I go fir, and proceed according. But the child's faying, he will go, is not that

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Children in Covenant.

PART III. denoting the fame thing with circumcifion,; viz. the cleanfing away fin, and ingrafting into the faith of Abraham; thus it takes the place of circumcifion, and flands as a token of the fame covenant, for he requires no other token, but afferts that those who believe and take upon them this token, fhall be faved. And it is very plain that Peter by divine inspiration, introduced the firft inftance of chriftian baptifm, by adducing God's promife or covenant with Abraham as a reafon why they fhould be baptized, which could not have been juft, if baptifm was not now, under the chriftian difpenfation, the proper token of that fame covenant or promife, which he alleged. Therefore it is plain that the Holy Ghoft by the Apoftles, introduced and practifed baptifm in the chriftian Church, as the feal or token of God's covenant with Abraham, exactly in the place of circumcifion.

which forms the obligation, to do what his father commands him; neither if he neglects to fay, he will go, is he one whit the more excufable for not doing his father's will; in fome refpects he is more blame worthy, for it flows a degree of fullennefs to make no anfwer; when he ought with all readiness and alacrity, both fay, and do his father's will.

Exactly fo, all children of profeffors, are members of God's family, his visible Church; and when they are grown up, and instructed in the knowledge of God, and in the meaning of his commandments and ordinances, they ought to come forward as dutiful children, and with all readiness profefs, that all that the Lord hath faid, they will da, and be obedient. And fo long as they neglect to do this, they live in violation of covenant obligations: For they are grown out of a ftate of mere paffive membership, and ought to exhibit it, by a frank profefiion, and prompt obfervance of all things, whatfoever Chrift has commanded.

And the Church, instead of treating them as aliens and frangers, ought to treat them as fellow citizens, and of the household of God, inviting and encouraging them to come forward, to all his ordinances.

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And it is evident by what the Apoftle Paul fays, about the olive tree, Rom. xi. 17, and onward, that he understood that the visible Church under the chriftian difpenfation, was exactly the fame which God eftablished in his covenant with Abraham, and that that was the root of the vifible Church; that the visible Church is what he means by the good olive tree is evident, because he speaks of branches being broken off, which could not be faid of the invifible Church. And there are a multitude of places in the New Teftament, speaking of Abraham as the father of all fuch as believe; and that chriftians in every nation, are effentially his children.

By all which confiderations about God's covenant with Abraham, it appears that God's covenant with him, inftituting circumcifion as a Seal or Token of it, did by the exprefs words of it, fairly and fully comprehend all profeffing chriftians, in every nation, to the end of the world. Therefore effentially includes us: And is in as full force now, as ever it was. Baptifm by divine authority, taking the place of circumcifion, as a fign or token of the fame covenant. Hence also, that the children of profeffing believers are born in covenant: And if they are not baptized, it is a violation of God's covenant, and God declares them cut off from their people, that is, God's vifible Church, and when this is through their parents neglect, I have no doubt but God is as angry with them, as he was with Mofes for neglecting to circumcife his child.

We may further learn from the above confiderations, that to baptize on any other ground, than as a token of God's covenant, taking the fubjects from a state of death and distance from himself, and cleanfing them from all impurity, and his be

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Four general Covenants.

PART III.

ing a God to them and theirs, it is not a baptifm which God has inflituted.

If they make Chrift being baptized, or following him into the water, or imitating his burial, the ground of their baptizing; it is not what God has inftituted. And whatever others may think of it, I fhould not dare to do it, on any confideration.

Thus, I have confidered the four general cove nants, God has made with, or refpecting mankind in general, with their Sacramental Seals, or the manner in which they are exhibited to human fenfes.

The firft was the covenant of life, made with Adam. I have confidered, that the Sacramental Seal of this covenant, was, God's referving from Adam, the fruit of one of the trees in the garden. have in the course of my Treatife confidered, both how this was a Sacramental token; and how it was a feal of the covenant God made with Adam.

I have alfo confidered the covenant of Redemption, which was made between the perfons of the Deity, refpecting man; and exhibited to human fenfes, by the incarnation, fufferings, death and refurrection of Chrift. This, Chrift has inftituted, that we fhould maintain it, in our minds, by the fenfible fign of the Holy Supper. This covenant of redemption, is the only fource and foundation of all the good, fallen man can have or enjoy. Therefore, as it refpects man is a covenant of grace. Hence all propofals or promifes, which God makes of any good to man, are grace; and

whatever covenant he has ever entered into with man, fince the fall, is a covenant of grace.

Thus the covenant with Noah; which is the next covenant, respecting mankind in general, was properly a covenant of grace; though it was more efpecially of the things of this world, yet, it in an