The Firth- Priviledge and Covenant.- holineifi Ch.4 3 The fecpnd is the obfervation of what he affirmes ; After a vaine quarrel of words With Mafter Stephens, he concludes page 37. with force candor, The Author it fames meaner this, That to whomfoever Chrifi is promifed, or God hash promifed to be their God, to them there is a command to be baptized, and that they fhould baptize their infants. But here hle laies not down (as I conceive) his whole meaning, To whomfoever Chrift is prorniled, or God hath promifed to be their God, and this promife is embraced and received, there is a command that thefe should be baptized and their Infants; where upon Covenant, God avoucheth himfelfe to be the Godof a people, and they avouch thenifelves to be his people, there is a qualification for Baptifine. Here Matter Tombes comes in with his Concef ion, Concerning 7,P hid/ (faith he) I grant, if the perfons be beleeversor difciples of e'hriß that they having the promife, are alto commanded to be baptized: But they are not commandedto be haptized barely in that they have the promife, but in that they are beleevers or difciples; But to have the promife to belong to a perlon, and to be. a difciple or beleever, are not all one. And I (hall be as free in my grant as he, that if a man be a contra- dic`ler, and blafphemer of the promife, and rejec`I the councell of God againft himfelf, he is not to be baptized , but fuch have no promife, but are defpifers of it. To have a pro ife in Scripture - ph6fe, is to poll -arc it, as thofe Jewes after the th did pofefle, Rop m 9. 4. And how co pofkeffe a promife without ith, I do not yet urxter(land. He goes on, A man is not a difciple'àr -I eleever till he is called;but to be a childe of the promife, Rom.9. 8. ù'all one with to be an clef! perfon, 45 Ifaac and Jacob, ver. to, 11,12. were children of the prom fe, to Whom the promife Was made afore they were borne. To have a promife, and to be a childe of promife, are two different things in Scripture,elfc(according to Mafter?ombes) all the Jewes according to the flefh were eledperfors ; They had the promifes, yea thofe that were ac`lors in Chrills death, Ails z. 39. which he mull yeeldto be an abfurdity; Though force learn- ed men have judged that to be borne after the promife, is to be c- left, yet others as learned have determined otherwìfe, CO be borne by promife to be no other but by a miraculous power,as Ifaac was, aand not according to the courfeof nature as was !Amid , and the fame birth, whereas thoie words, Gal. 4. 28. are brought Ifaac being borne by promife, all his pofterity originally were of or th
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=