366 The Birth - Priviledge and Covenant- holinef Ch.42 indeed it wrought with Mailer Tombes to provoke paflion, but the words which he thus charges, being fo full of reafon and void of paffion , holding out no other then a Scripture- weapon; it had been more for Mailer Tombes his reputation, and the hon- our of bis party to have fubdued his own paffion , and to have attempted to have fubdued me with reafon , and made it appear that this which he calls a farce fetcht confequence, to be an incon- ? fegence. But in this, here is all filence ; I never went about to Matt Mailer Tombes his name I h ave been more tender of it then great flicklers of his own party ; and I fuppofe I could make it appear then moil of his acquaintatice, neither did I ever go about to hinder his peace. But let me deale plainely with Mailer Tombes, the truth ofJefus Chrift , and the Churches peace is more to me then either ; and the validity of that confequence I Tall maintaine againft all Mailer Tombes his oppofition of it; when I charge nothing upon him but his own words vifibly ap- pearing to the Reader on the top of many pages. He bath low thoughts of Magifirates, to think that this (which with him is fo farre fetcht a confequence) can thus move them. I had faid (faith he) to lldafler Martha!, that if the Cov°nant of Grace be rightly un deraood , Mailer Martha! excludes infants as much from the Cove- nant of Grace as 1 do. And I will fay, that no man that ever fet pen to paper to fpeakof the Covenant, hath leffe contributed then Mailer Tombes to the right underftanding of it, and few have done more to darken it. He proceeds, As for .4lr. Blake, not only page 14. of hisTriviledge, but alto page 23. of his An- fwer to my Letter he expre f fely maintaines, that the Birth-right he maintaines as a fruit from the Covenant of free grace, to all in the Faith and their feed, only entitles to outward priviledges: How cloth this (land with that which he alerts, Chap. 3. Seilt, 2, of hrr Anfwer to my Letter, page, 13. that Infants of Beleevers have fal- vation if they die in their infancy by vertue of the Covenant ? For ifthe Covenant entitle only to outwardpriviledges, haw loth it entitle to falvation ? fo that to 'leak plainly klafier Blake cloth but play fall and loofe, fametimes afferting a certainty of falvatian from the Covenant , fometimes only a right to outwardpriviledges. The two firft of thefe I own,the third to make it up into contradiSion (as I have Ihewen) is Mafter Tombes his invention ; but fuppofe all had been mine is it;any thing to exclude Infants from falvation? His
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