SPIRITUAL PEACE AND COMFORT. ,4,11 is so with the infants of believers, 1 have fully proved in my Book of Baptism ; but mark what grace I mean. The grace of remis- sion oforiginal sin, the children of all true believers have at least a high probability of, ifnot a full.certainty ; their parent accepting it for himselfand them, and dedicating them to Christ, and engaging them in his covenant, so that he takes them for his people, and they take him for their Lord and Savior. And for the grace of inward renewing of their natures or disposition, it is a secret to us, utterly unknown whether God use to do it in infants or no. 3. God's first ordained way for the working of inward holiness is by parents' education of their children, and not by the public ministry of the word ; ofwhich more anon. 4. All godly parents do acquaint their, children with the doctrine of Christ in their infancy, as soon as they are capable of receiving it, and do afterwards inculcate it on them more and more. 5. These instructions of parents are usually seconded by the workings of the Spirit, according to the capacity of the child, opening their understandings to receive it, and making an impression thereby upon the heart. 6. When these instructions and inward workings ofthe Spirit are just past the pre- paratory part, and above the highest, step of common grace, and have attained to special saving grace, is ordinarily undiscernible; and therefore, as I have showed already, in God's, usual way of working grace, men cannot know the just day or time when they began to be in the state of grace. And though men that have long lived in profaneness, and are changed suddenly, may conjecture near at the time, yet those that God kath been working on early in their youth, yea, or afterwards by slow degrees, cannot know the time of their first receiving the Spirit. 8. The memories of all men are so slippery, and one thought so suddenly thrust out by another, that many a thousand souls forget those particular work- ings which theyhave truly felt. 9. The memories of children are far weaker than ofothers and therefore it is less probable that all theSpirit's workings should by them be remembered. 10. And themotions of grace are so various, sometimes stirring one affection and sometimes another, sometimes beginning with smaller motions, and then moving more strongly and sensibly, that it is usual for lat- er motions, which are more deeply affecting, to make us overlook all the former, or take them for nothing. 11. God dealeth very variously with his chosen in their conversion, as to the accidentals and circumstantials of the work. Some he calleth not home till they have run a long race in the way of rebellion, in open drunk- enness, swearing, worldliness, and derision of holiness: these he usually humbleth more deeply, and they can better observe the several steps of the Spirit in the work ; (and yet not always nei- ther.) Others he so restraineth in their youth, that though they
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