THIS Epistle, of which our words are a part, was writ­ten by St. Paul to the Church at Rome, the greatest part of which is spent in labouring the decision of many considerable points of Doctrin, to clear up the Truth of things which lay disputable among them, and for the settling of the Saints there in a stedfast belief of the truth of things necessary to be received and believed by them; one of which Doctrins, if not the most considerable, is that of Justifica­tion, the knowledg of which is necessary to our cherishing right Sentiments of it in our own Souls, for the yielding us hope and strong Confidence of a sure and certain security from Sin and Wrath, being thereby encompast with a Wall invincible, not to be shaken by the most furious Efforts that Men or Devils, the Flesh or the World can make against us.

In this and the foregoing Chapter, the Apostle shews by many Arguments, that Man guilty of Sin, and justly condemned by the righteous Law of God to death, is justified by Faith in Jesus Christ, and by Faith only, as Chap. 3. from verse 20, to the end, where the Apostle is refuting the Error of every Justiciary in the World, whether Pharisaical, Papal, or others, who plead for Justificati­on by Works: but it's certain, that by Works no Flesh can be justi­fied; no, tho they be the Works of the Law, Rom. 3.20. By the deeds of the Law there shall no Flesh be justified. If not by the Deeds of the Law, which were not only contrived by infinite Wisdom, but bore the impress of God's terrible Majesty upon them, and were dispensed and given from Mount Sinai, in pure Goodness to Israel: How much less shall Man be justified by Works de­vised by Men, and founded upon no better warrant than humane Authority? It is also certain that Man is become culpable, and liable by Sin to the stroke of God's just Displeasure, and therefore under an absolute necessity of being justified from Sin, in order to [Page 6]his avoiding Misery, and injoying Blessedness: which Blessedness, in the beginning, progress, and first steps of it, stands in God's good Will towards sinners; but more perfectly in his free and full discharging us from the imputation of Sin, through the Righte­ousness which is in our Lord Jesus Christ. And this was the re­ceived Opinion of the Men of God of old, as well as of St. Paul in our words, as is evident by his referring to the Prophet David's Testimony, recorded in Psal. 32.1, 2. So that it's no new Doctrin or novel thing, but what hath been, is, and will be believed to the end of the World, That the Man is Blessed unto whom the Lord imputes not Sin.

In the words we have these three things.

(1.) A Blessedness pronounced, Blessed is: a Happiness consist­ing in a sure security from all Evil, but more especially the evil of eternal Death, and an assurance of all Good and eternal Life.

(2.) You have the subject of this Blessedness, the Man. And that you may know who this Man is, the Apostle describes him by his Privilege, To whom the Lord will not impute Sin; a privilege peculiar to those that are and shall be Happy. Blessed is the Man unto whom the Lord will not impute Sin.

(3.) The time when Man comes to be stated in this Blessedness; and that is in the very instant that God ceases to impute Sin. There is not any thing that Man injoys, which can render him Blessed, whilst God charges Sin upon him; therefore Blessed is the Man: mark, he is Blessed; not shall be, but is, in the present tense; he is, and therefore shall be Blessed —

We shall briefly enquire, 1. What we are to understand by the Lord's not imputing Sin. 2. Who by the Man to whom the Lord will not impute Sin.

(1.) By the Lord's not imputing Sin, we must understand a free Act of Grace in God, which Man of himself neither hath, nor ever could have deserved, being utterly unable to satisfy that Justice he had by Sin offended, or appease that Wrath which his Sin had kindled. Never could Man by his own procurement have rescued himself from that Punishment and Misery he was in­volv'd by Sin; therefore we say, Not to impute, is an act of Mer­cy in God, exprest in his not charging Sin upon the sinners ac­count, so as to exact satisfaction of the Debt from the Trespasser, [Page 7]nor to punish the sinner with eternal Misery, in want of such sa­tisfaction, of his own procurement.

(2.) By the Lord's not imputing Sin, we may understand a free Act of Love and Kindness in God, in pardoning and for­giving Sin, as to the eternal Punishment of it. As when a Creditor is pleased of mere Mercy to forgive a poor Debtor his Debt justly due to him; in such case he will not impute the Debt, nor charge it to account: or when a Governor forgives the fault of a Child or Servant, he will not impute the Crime, nor punish him for it.

2. Who is this Man to whom the Lord will not impute Sin. I conceive it is, (1.) Believing Man. (2.) Infant Man.

(1.) God will not impute Sin to Believing Man. Every Man and Woman that in truth believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, may rest with the greatest Confidence in this Grace of God, who is said to be the Justifier of every one that believeth in Jesus, Rom. 3.26. & 4.3, 4, 5. To which you have the concurrent Testimony of all the Prophets, in that summary Account given us by St. Peter, which is, that whoever believes in the name of Christ, shall receive the Remission of Sin, Acts 10.43. So that none, as I know of, in the least doubt the truth of this, that believing Man is privileged by, and interested in the Grace of God; and that he is not the Man to whom the Lord will impute Sin. But,

(2.) By the Man to whom God will not impute Sin, we may under­stand Infant Man. The little Infant, the new born Babe, is stiled Man in Scripture Phrase, and that truly, because such a one par­takes of the whole nature of Man, tho unable to exert and put forth it self in such Actions (by reason of its natural Weakness and Impotency) as are proper to Men in a grown State, who are ca­pable of exercising their Understanding and Power in things they are imploy'd about. But this incapacity of Infants being na­tural and common to all Men, deprives them no more of the name than the nature of Man: therefore Job speaking of the frailty of humane Life, saith, Chap. 14.1, 2. Man that is born of a Wo­man is of few days, and full of Misery; he cometh up, and is cut down like a Flower: signifying that all the days of Man from his Birth to his Death, in number, are but very few; and as the Flower sometimes is no sooner blown but it's cut down, so Man some­times no sooner breaths in the Air, but he falls into the Dust; is [Page 8]no sooner taken from the Womb, but he is laid in the Grave. But notwithstanding his continuance here is so very short, yet in his Infant state he is truly stiled Man: And so our Lord in John 16.21. saith, A Woman in travail hath sorrow, because her Hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of the Child, she remembreth no more her anguish, for joy a Man is born into the World. And that all Infants living or dying, whilst such, are the Subjects of the Blessedness in our Text, will I trust no less appear if, void of all prejudice, we will consider,

1. That Man in his Infant State is a Sinner only by imputation, not by any choice, consent, or act of his own, whereby he trans­grest any Law of God. For all Sin is the transgression of a Law, 1 John 3.4. But in that sense dying Infants are not Sinners, God never assigning them a Law whereto they should have regard, by any Command of his that I know of: And certain I am, where there is no Law, Sin is not imputed, as our Apostle saith, Rom. 5.13. That Sin is imputed to Infants so far, as to bring them un­der the power of Death, I confess; and even so Sin is imputed unto Believers, for they die as well as others: But since there is no Law given to Infants, we soberly affirm, Sin is not imputed to them, to condemn them eternally to the torments of Hell Fire; and that is what we propose to clear upon this Occasion: Which is further evident, if we consider,

2. That the degree to which God has exalted his Grace and Mercy in Christ the Second Adam, is not inferior, but rather above the pitch and degree whereto he exalted his Justice in condemning all in the first Adam. Justice makes no more than All Sinners in the first Adam upon his transgression; and Grace makes no less than All righteous in Christ Jesus, or through his Righteousness imputed: For, Rom. 5.18. as by the Offence of one, Judgment came upon all Men to condemnation; even so by the Righteousness of one the free Gift came upon all Men to justification of Life. If up­on all that believe, who have sinned after the similitude of Adam's Transgression, then much more upon them who have not so sin­ned; because the preheminence is given to the free Gift of Grace by Christ, as Rom. 5.14, 15. intimating, that if Adam's Sin was efficacious enough to make all men Sinners, the Righteousness of Christ, which is God's own Righteousness, is much more effica­cious [Page 9]to make them righteous. And truly with reverence we may demand, How can God himself express the extent of his Kind­ness in terms more positive and intelligible than he doth here? And I am very certain, we neither have nor ever had any reason to suspect him as insincere, or to call in question the truth of his Allegation. No, his Word is an exact draught of his Mind; and what he says, he means. As we all believe Infants were condemned in Adam, there's as good reason to believe 'em justified in Christ, and such to whom the Lord will not impute Sin. Which will fur­ther appear if we consider,

3. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in becoming a Propi­tiation for the Sin of Infants; not only for actual, but original Sin; not only for the Sins of the Adult and Believer, but of the Infant also. Had Christ been said to be a Propitiation for the Sins of Believers only, it might have struck our hopes into a stagger­ing posture, with reference to the eternal State of our dying Babes; unless Foederal Holiness so much talked or by some, or the Faith of immediate Parents, could have reliev'd them against the condemning Sin of our remote Parents. But if that were so, the greatest part of Infants are and must be unavoidably misera­ble, as they are the Off-spring of Unbelievers, which the great­est part of the World are. Nay, it may on good ground be con­jectur'd, that one half of those who profess themselves Church-Members, are but little better, since our blessed Saviour compares the Kingdom of Heaven to ten Virgins, of whom five were wise, and five were foolish, Mat. 25.1. But, blessed be God, we have a better Bottom to build our hopes upon, as to the eternal State of dying Babes, than such sandy Foundations as those, viz. Christ's expiating and doing away the Sins of the World by the Sacrifice of himself. And this John Baptist had an eye to when he saw Christ coming, and pointed at him, saying, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sin of the World; enough sure to re­solve all Doubts, and to stop every mouth for ever from contra­dicting what we have alledged, That God imputes not Sin to the eternal condemnation of dying Infants; since Christ died for them, for them indefinitely and without exception.

May we not as warrantably question, whether Christ died at all, as to scruple, much less to deny, that he took away the con­demning [Page 10]guilt of Original Sin by the Oblation of himself; since he is said thereby to take away the Sin of the World? Is there any one actual Sin in the World, that so generally and universally extends it self, as to deprave and corrupt all Flesh, Old and Young, Saint and Sinner, Christian and Pagan? I confess, with grief and sorrow, profane Swearing is very rife; Lying and Dissimulation is very common; Pride, Covetousness, Envy and Hatred, Whore­dom and Uncleanness, Violence, Murder, and profaning the Sabbath of the Lord, is very predominant: yet none of these things are universal; that which is common with one, is abhor'd by another; as the covetous Man cannot endure the approach of Pride, Luxury, and Prodigality. But were any, or all of these Sins of a universal Extent, so as to corrupt all capable of com­mitting them, of what Sex and of what Nation soever; yet our Infant Race is safe, and out of all possibility of being stained by them, or being brought under the power of any of them, from their utter incapacity to commit any of those things by which the Wrath of God is brought upon the Children of Disobedience, and them only. For if no Sin can be intended by the Sin of the World, but Original Corruption, then the Immaculate Lamb of God hath atoned for that, and taken it away; so that it shall ne­ver be of efficacy and power to condemn a dying Infant, any more than it shall be of force to condemn a true Believer; the same reason being rendred for the one, as for the other, by the Apostle John, who speaking of Christ, saith, 1 John 2.2. He is the Propitiation for our Sins; and not for ours only, but for the Sins of the whole World. Mark, not only for ours, in which term he includes with himself all true Believers, of what Rank soever, high or low, rich or poor, respected or despised in the World, whose Sins are done away by Christ's atoning for them: But the Apostle adds, for the Sins of the whole World: Not of the whole World, as it consists of habitual and voluntary Sin­ners, as Swearers, Drunkards, Idolaters, Adulterers, and the like; for such lie under the heavy charge and imputation of Sin, until by Faith in Christ, repentance from dead Works, and obedi­ence to the Gospel, they shall, by the Grace of God, obtain Im­punity. Therefore the whole World, consider'd in an Infant state, and no other, can be intended by the Apostle; whereby [Page 11]the eternal blessedness of dying Infants is secured; since God, ac­cording to the Law of Grace, through the Righteousness and Death of his Son, hath acquitted and discharged Infant Man from the imputation of Adam's Sin, so as that he shall not perish eter­nally for it. But in case Man survives his Infant state, and con­tracts Guilt by voluntary transgression in his own Person, as you and I have done, and be not renewed by Repentance from dead Works, and justified by Faith in our Lord Jesus, according to the Tenour of the Gospel, then we must perish unavoidably and eternally; not for Adam's Sin, but for superadded Sins, Sins of our own against the Law of Grace, and the Love of a Redeemer. Thus God is clear from the death of his Creatures, and Sinners the alone Authors of their own destruction, according to the Scriptures. But for such Infants as survive not their Infant-state, we conclude they are blessed, because God will not impute Sin unto them; as appears, not only from the Law of Grace, but,

4. From the Law of Equity and Righteousness. The Judg of the whole Earth must do right; he cannot but do so; he may as well cease to be, as cease to be righteous in all or any of his Ministrations and Procedures. Men may be rigorous and un­righteous, cruel and preposterous; but God cannot be so; it is con­trary to his Nature, and repugnant to that Law by which he will act and govern himself in all his proceedings with Man. Now I ap­peal to all Men of common sense and understanding, tho but of a small measure of ingenuity and honesty, whether it be consistent with the common Rules of Justice and Equity among Men, to pu­nish the Innocent with the Nocent; the Faultless with the Guilty? Were it your own case, could you think so? Nay, that the Crimi­nal's Offence should be charged upon you, and the Offender him­self go free? The latter of these all Men would decry, as high injustice, and a preposterous proceeding. But so it is in the case in hand, (reserving that only Instance of Christ's suffering for us, and in our stead, by the designation of his Father, and as an evidence of his good Will to us.) We have not only God charg­ing the Sin of Adam upon his whole Posterity; wherein he is perfectly just, Adam considered as our common Head, and we all in his Loins standing or falling in and with him, but letting Adam go free, and inflicting eternal punishment on his Seed: But with re­verence [Page 12]we may demand, What makes vain Man to imagine that God will discharge Adam the actual Offender, giving him imme­diately upon his Fall the promise of a Saviour, and yet bind the guilt of that Sin upon the greatest part of his innocent Posterity, who could neither avoid nor prevent it, to their inevitable ruin and eternal destruction? A Conception most unworthy of God, and his dealing with Men! For whatever Grace and Favour Adam received in so early a Promise of a Saviour, he received it as well for his Posterity, as for himself; and as we had been represented by him under the disadvantages of the Fall, so he being still in the station of a publick Person, matters were negotiated with him as our common Head, for the intitling us to the promised Saviour, as well as before he, and we in him, did so fall.

The untoward Jews entertain'd such a conceit as this of God, insomuch that by the vent they gave it in their Discourses, it was taken up as a Proverb in Israel, That the Fathers had eaten sowr Grapes, and the Childrens teeth were set on edg, Ezek. 18.2. But doth God take this kindly at their hands, to represent him so unequal in his proceedings, as to punish the Innocent with the Guilty? No, he resents it with great indignation and displeasure, abhorring the thoughts they had of him, and the measure by which they represented him, as manifestly reflecting on the Goodness of his Nature, and the Justice of those Rules and Eter­nal Laws of Righteousness by which he proceeded. Wherefore he solemnly declares, and that upon Oath, That thenceforth they should have no more any occasion to use it as a Proverb: As I live, saith the Lord God, all Souls are mine; as the Soul of the Father is mine, so also the Soul of the Son is mine; but the Soul that sinneth, it shall die, as you read in the 3d and 4th Verses. How positive and plain is the Lord in these terms, to satisfy all, and to rectify Is­rael's mistake, whose Notions and ill-form'd Apprehensions had been very unworthy of him, and who had without any ground conceiv'd him rigid and cruel. Therefore, Israel, change your Opinion of me; think of me no more as inequitable in my judi­cial proceedings with Man; I tell you again, The Soul that sinneth shall die; the Son shall not bear the Iniquity of the Father, and so on, in the 20th Verse—And this Justice and Righteousness of God's dealings, is abundantly illustrated in that Passage, wherein [Page 13] Moses expresses great tenderness and strong affection to sinning and revolting Israel, in his intercession with God for them. His Love inclin'd him willingly to be made a Sacrifice for them that had sinned, rather than God should cast off all regard for 'em, and enter the Lists as an Enemy against them: Lord, says Moses, if thou wilt not pardon thy People, blot me, I pray thee, out of the Book which thou hast written, Exod. 32.32. To which the Lord, replies, as it were, No, no, Moses, thou hast not sinned; and tho thou hast sufficiently expressed thy love to an undeserving People, yet should I do as thou desirest, it would be to act con­trary to the Rules of perfect Equity and Justice, from which I will not, I cannot swerve; and therefore it is only they that have sin­ned against me, that I will blot out of my Book, as vers. 33. My love to my People hath been very great, exprest by manifold acts of kindness; but in case they sin, as they have now done, my Justice and Faithfulness will not let them go unpunished; much less punish thee an innocent Person for their sin, and acquit them thereupon from the sin and punishment due to it. From all which it's evident, that God will not impute Sin to dying Infants, to their eternal condemnation; and that in both these respects, that Man is blessed, Infant, as well as believing Man, unto whom the Lord will not impute Sin.

The Doctrine from the words is, ‘That he, and he alone is blessed, whose Sin is not imputed; and that dying Infants are assuredly blessed on that account.’

I confess there are many in the World, who from the prosperity of their present state and condition, think all is well with them; they are not under wracking pain, nor pinching poverty; they have their Wants supply'd, and it may be more than their hearts can desire, Psal. 73.4, 5, 7. The Language of whose Hearts is the same with that of Babylon's, Rev. 18.7. I sit as a Queen, and shall see no sorrow: whereas their Sun may he declining; and, as Zephar says, Job 20.5, 6, 7. their Prosperty is very short; the remainder of their days may be fill'd with trouble, perplexity, and disappointment, and nothing remain but a sad prospect of mourning and sorrow in utter darkness, if not prevented by a [Page 14]timely and hearty Repentance. All is not Gold that glisters: 'tis too common for Man to mistake his own state, and to think with Laodicea, Rev. 3.17. because of their full enjoyment of this World's Wealth, accompanied with a profession of the Christian Religion, that they are Rich and have need of nothing, when as in truth they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. The rich Man in the Gospel was no less mistaken at last as to his own state and condition.

Most certain it is, that Nature has not power to endow us with Features so amiable, and Faculties so excellent, as to insure us of Blessedness. The greatest Beauty is oft spoiled by a fit of Sickness, as the Small Pox, &c. and sometimes not only defaced, but turned into a frightful Visage by Death, whether natural or violent, as Absalom's was, whose Beauty surpassed that of Women. What is Wit but a Flash? and tho it be excellent and deservedly coveted by all; yet, alas, how soon is the sharpest Wit spoiled and con­fus'd by Melancholy or Phrensy! And as of these, so it may be concluded of all the rest of Nature's Endowments; which loudly proclaim that true Blessedness is not in them.

Nor is it in the Goods of Fortune. I confess Fortune may render you very prosperous, in having the Advantage of her fa­vourable and beneficial gales; but the most she can do for you, is to raise you by the wings of Fame, exalt you to the highest pitch of Honour, set upon your Heads a fading Diadem, and waft you into the port of your wish'd for Possession; Wealth enabling you to accommodate your selves with every thing desirable to the Heart, and delightful in the Eyes of vain Man, as in the case of Solomon: But it's not in Fortune to make you happy, tho she would at once empty her self to fill you. If Crowns or King­doms could make Men happy, then Saul, Ahab and Nebuchadnezzar had been blessed. Neither can Honour or Wisdom; else Haman and Ahitophel had been Blessed. Nor can Riches and great Pos­sessions; if they could, the young, and rich Man in the Gospel had been blessed, who from his increasing Goods thought him­self a very happy Man: he sang a Requiem to his Soul, and ca­ressed himself with a Come, eat, drink and be merry, thou hast Goods laid up for many Years, Luke 12.19. as if he had said, ‘Come, Soul, forbear to weary and perplex thy self with plod­ding, [Page 15]contriving, and projecting Means and Artifices for the gaining of more; cease to weary thy self by toilsome Labour; take thine ease, thy fill of Pleasure; eat, drink, and be merry; thou hast Goods laid up for many Years.’ But notwithstanding the great Advantage he had of other Men in appearance, he was in truth no wiser than a Fool, nor happier by his trusting in those things, than one miserable beyond all Expression; as is evident from the Lord's own estimate of him, and what he says to him in the 20th Verse: And God said, Thou Fool, this Night shall thy Soul be required of thee; then whose shall these things be which thou hast provided?

Neither can the highest attainments in Tongues and Langua­ges, make Men Blessed; else Herod had been happy, who in his Oration to the People, delivered himself so exquisitely, that they concluded it rather to be the Voice of a God, than of a Man, Acts 12.22. Also on this foot of Account the Learned Greeks had been Blessed, whose attainments in the Learning of the Schools were such, as raised them above the having any ve­nerable esteem of the Wisdom of God; accounting Christ, in the ministration of the Gospel, to be but Foolishness, 1 Cor. 1.23.

Now were it possible for Man to possess himself of most, or all these good things at once, he might notwithstanding be of all Men the most Miserable, as may be concluded from that ama­zing and direful outcry to the weighty Hills and Mountains to fall upon them, and crush them, as it were, into nothing, so that they might be but hid from the Presence of God, and the Wrath of the Lamb, Rev. 6.16. But who were these that thus courted the Hills and Mountains to fall on them? Were they any other than the silly shrubs of the Earth, poor Men, Men of a mean Figure in the World? Yes, for the 15th Verse tells you, that they were Kings of the Earth, that is, such Kings only whose Sins the Lord had marked and imputed, upon their living re­pugnant, and walking in a course that ran counter to those Laws which the King of Heaven and Earth had given them, and by the Conduct whereof they should have order'd all their Affairs, in obedience to him their Rightful Lord and Soveraign. With these also you find ranked great Men, rich Men, mighty Men, [Page 16]and chief Captains; which may serve as a Memorandum to the Rich and Mighty of this World, that they do not crush the Poor, nor hurt the Needy; nor by their Power and Austerity, unjustly force the Poor from their Right; nor by the use of Violence and Oppression increase their Wealth; insulting over the distressed, like that Imperious Pope, of whom I have read, that trod upon the Emperor's Neck, to help himself on Horse­back. For a day of Accounts will come, when such will be con­vinced with great Horror and Dread, that it is not in the pow­er of Riches and Royalties to make Men Blessed.

And on the other hand, there is no Distress so great, nor Po­verty so extreme, nor Affliction so deep, as to render that Man miserable, whose Sin is not imputed. Such a Man is taught to believe that his present Evils, with respect to his Afflictions, shall work for his good, and turn to his Advantage, by the dispo­sition of God's good Providence, which is ingaged for him. Else the Royal Prophet had never proclaim'd it good for him that he was Afflicted, Psal. 119.71. Nay further, by Faith in the Promises, the Good whereof is that Man's Portion alone whose Sin is not imputed, he is helped to peirce the Clouds of the thickest darkness, and look into that delightsome Region of Heaven it self, and there behold the smiles of a loving Father towards him; the endeavours of a wise, faithful, and compas­sionate Advocate for him, yielding him such a taste and sense of the sweetness of Divine Love, as raises him above the sense and bitterness of Affliction. It was this that made St. Peter and John rejoice, that they were counted worthy to suffer Stripes for the Lord Jesus. It was this that made St. Paul and Silas, tho laden with heavy Shackles, and their feet made fast in the Stocks, to sing the Praises of God, Acts 16. 'Tis not the Evil Acci­dents, or Indisposition that attends our Bodies or Interests in the World, that can make the Man whose Sin is not imputed, unhap­py or miserable; for the wise Man tells us, That the Spirit of a Man sustains his Infirmities, Prov. 18.14. A Man may have a sound Spirit in a weak and sickly Body; a free and chearful Spi­rit in a Body closely confin'd, and oblig'd to undergo the last Se­verities of Art and Physick, as blistering, blooding, cupping, and dismembring; nay, in a Body sinking by the power and pre­valency [Page 17]of a Distemper into dissolution, which of all things is most dreadful to humane nature. But under such a Circumstance, what matter of Joy would it be to a Man to have his weak and languishing Body restored to a sound and healthful frame and ha­bit? for which, how are Physicians courted, their assistance sol­licited; and some Men do let their Gold fly as if they had no re­gard unto it. But to have Sin pardoned, and be freed from the imputation of its guilt, is much rather, and more truly a ground of joy to the Soul, tho dwelling in a Body weak and impotent; as is certain from what our Blessed Saviour says to the Man sick of the Palsy, Son, be of good chear, thy Sins are forgiven thee, Mat. 9.2. Mark, it's not be of good chear, for thou art made whole; but thy Sins are forgiven thee: This is enough to make the Lame to walk, the Deaf to hear, the Blind to see; here's that which is sufficient to turn our Weeping into Laughter, our Mourning into Rejoicing, our Death into Life; and to settle us in a belief that he, and he alone is blessed, whose Sin is not imputed. Now such are blessed,

1. In Life, as thereby God takes the Children of Men into a state of Grace and Favour with himself: For God's not imputing Sin, is the removal of that which begot the difference, and hath maintain'd the distance betwixt him and his Creatures, Isa. 59.2. Of all Evils, Sin is the greatest, because it hath not the least mix­ture of Good in it to make it tolerable; nor doth it produce the least good to any Creature. It was Sin that turned the Angels out of Heaven, that cast Man out of Paradise, that brought the Curse upon the Creation, and Wrath upon Sinners. To be freed therefore from so great an Evil, is one part of our Happiness; and that which compleats it, is God's taking us into Favour, whose Favour is better than Life, as the Psalmist says, Psal. 63.3. in whose Favour you may rest assured of all Advantages necessary to render you happy in this Life, as the supply of your Wants, Psal. 34.9, 10. Prov. 10.3. protection from Dangers, Psal. 33.18. & 34.10. guidance in all your Ways, Psal. 37.23, &c. Prov. 3.6: strength against Temptation, 1 Cor. 10.13. a sanctified use of Afflictions, Rom. 8.28. and deliverance out of Trouble, Psal. 34.19, 22. Such unto whom the Lord imputes not Sin, may no less rest con­fident of Peace: For being justified by Faith, we have Peace with [Page 18]God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom. 5.1. Which Peace of God will fill our hearts, and keep us in peace when others are in trou­ble; and quiet, tho the World be in an uproar. And tho many are hurried to and fro by cutting Perplexities, fretting Disap­pointments, and growing Fears, God will make their Habitations quiet resting-places; there is scarcely any thing that shall offend and molest them, for Peace is always the sure Effect and Fruit of Righteousness to Justification, as Isa. 32.17, 18. As they have Peace and Provision, so they shall have every thing necessary to render them blessed in Life, Psal. 84.11. for God will withhold no good thing from them to whom he will not impute Sin.

2. They are blessed also in Death, because God's not imputing Sin is to dispoil Death of all Power that otherwise might render it hurtful to us. Guilt, which is Death's fiery Sting, is taken a­way, and he ceases to be a King of Terrors. They fear him not, how terrible soever he may be in his march towards them. They whose Sin is not imputed, are ready to receive and entertain him, knowing that in this his last and most violent Effort, he is like to go away with a poor Conquest; the greatest execution he can do upon them, is to cut the Thread of Life, and send their frail, brittle, weak, and sickly Bodies to the dust, for a while to sleep in the Grave, whilst blessed Angels wait the fatal stroak to take the fleeting Soul into their embraces, and with Wings extended car­ry them swiftly into the happiness of Abraham's Bosom. I con­fess there is reason enough for the Man, whose Sin and Guilt is bound upon him, to dread the approach, and tremble at the sight of such an Enemy, arm'd with nothing but Terrors, and ready to wound the Soul with his flaming and siery Sting, ready to cut the thin-spun Thread of Life; which when done, he is violently seized by some of the Infernal Crew, and hurried un­avoidably to the Confines and Region of utter Darkness, to suffer the Pains of Eternal Fire. O that Sinners would timely consider of this, to break off every vicious Course by Repentance, laying hold on the Righteousness of Christ by a lively Faith, exprest by sincere obedience to the Commands of the Gospel, lest their Sin hasten Death, and in death proves their ruin! But Death is so far from being hurtful to the Man whose Sin is not imputed, that it is truly necessary, as the only means by which blessed Souls are conveyed [Page 19]from sojourning in these tottering houses of Clay, to live for ever with their Saviour in that house and building not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens. This made holy Paul chuse rather to die than live, that he might be with Christ, which was best of all, Phil. 1.23. and 2 Cor. 5.1, 2. So that the Man to whom the Lord imputes not Sin, is blessed in Death; and not only so, but in the

3d place, Such are blessed after death, in that death lands them safe on that shore, where they shall for ever rejoice in celebrating the Memory of the Grace of God in not imputing Sin unto them. Their entrance into Heaven is made sure, and every thing re­moved that otherwise might obstruct it, who shall there be bles­sed and happy in the highest degree; if we consider,

First, The perfect freedom they shall have in Heaven from all Evil. On Earth holy Souls have often the greatest share of Af­fliction and Trouble; as one Link follows another in the Chain, or as one Wave another, so deep calleth unto deep, Psal. 42.7. Here with Lazarus they have their evil things, Poverty, Pain, Sickness, Sores, Crosses, Troubles, Temptations, Afflictions, Diseases, and Death; but all these evil things and more shall be left behind them in death, and in Heaven they shall have no sense of them: For God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away, Rev. 21.4. Tho it will be quite otherwise with the Wicked, who here on Earth had their good things, but shall then have their evil things; they shall no more enjoy the precious things their Souls lusted af­ter; and the things that were dainty and goodly being departed, they shall find them no more at all, Rev. 18.14. no, not one drop of Water to cool their flaming Tongues. Such as affect Sin here, tho God so earnestly sollicites them to the contrary, must, for their contempt of his Grace, be content to lie down in everlasting burnings, where without relief they must roll in tormenting flames, and shall have no rest day nor night, Rev. 4.8. The Wicked then shall have their evil things, but the Godly their good things, who shall be for ever raised above the sense of any thing afflicting: and in this respect they are blessed.

Secondly, The Man whose Sin is not imputed, is blessed after Death, considering he is then put into such a condition, as ren­ders it utterly impossible for him to forfeit this Grace, or to lose so desirable a Happiness as that of Heaven is. Serious and devout Souls on Earth are, or at least ought to be fearful of no­thing more, than of losing the Favour of God, or that they re­ceive not his Grace in vain. O the Fears and Tears, the Cares and Prayers, the Watchings and Strivings of the truly pious! all which speak forth the possbility of it, as well as the many sad Instances we have upon Record, to the end we may not lust as they lusted, 1 Cor. 10.6. but avoid the Rocks on which they split. But such is the state of the Godly in Heaven after Death, that it renders their Abiding certain, stable, and unalterable. There is no Evil there, much less any Sin; not a Temptation to incline the Will to offend; no, both Will and Power will be wanting in Heaven to make a forfeiture of it. There is a Gulf fixed betwixt the saved and the damned, which makes it impos­sible for them to change their Stations, or to pass from one place to the other, Luke 16.25, 26. But,

Thirdly, That which compleats the Blessedness of the Man, to whom the Lord will not impute Sin after Death, is the Hap­piness he shall actually and for ever enjoy in his Person in Heaven: There he shall behold the Face of God and the Lamb; there he shall partake of the Fulness of God's Glory, be satisfied with the delights of his Presence, and the Pleasures and Treasures that be at his right hand. There the Righteous shall not only hear the Holy Quire of Blessed Angels and Saints triumphant, warble forth the Praises of God, but shall join with mouths full of Hallelujaths to God and the Lamb, in a grateful memory of that kindness the Lord shewed them, in not imputing Sin unto them. There they shall be set upon stable and fixed Thrones, their Heads crown'd with unfading Diadems, and their Faces shine with rays of un­conceivable Glory, with greater luster and brightness than the Sun in the Firmament. In a word, it is a Blessedness too great to be expressed by the Tongue, or to be conceiv'd by the Heart of man, 1 Cor. 2.9. The most raised Imagination cannot reach it. Thus we have shewed you that he, and he alone is blessed, whose Sin is not imputed.

If this be the assured Happiness of such unto whom the Lord will not impute Sin, and more, as is suggested; it may be worth our inquiry how we may come to know certainly that we have obtained Impunity, that this Act of Grace in the High Court of Heaven is past for us, that our Names are there inrolled, that we are the Men and Women to whom the Lord imputes no Sin, and are consequently blessed.

Sirs, 'Tis certain there are Properties and Characters common to such as are thus privileged; and among many, I will name four, which we shall find common to all on whom the Lord char­ges no Sin. The

First is sincere Love and Affection to God. As it is the Fruit of Divine Love to be freed from the Imputation of Sin, so 'tis the property of every blest Soul to love the Lord. The Law of his Mouth is the Law of Love and Kindness; his Soul is delight­ed in the contemplation of God's Love to him, and according­ly goes forth with strong and hearty Love to him again. A Man sensible of the greatness of that Wrath from which he is deli­vered, and the greatness of that Happiness to which he is in­titled, cannot but express, with hearty Affection, the kind and respectful sentiment he hath of such Grace and Favour. From hence it was that David ingages himself to love the Lord, and declares his resolution therein, Psal. 116.1. I will, says he, love the Lord, because he hath heard the Voice of my Supplication: He hath now put me into the injoyment of that which I have long, often, and earnestly sued unto him for, and which is in truth the an­swer of many Prayers; therefore I will love him. I cannot but love him; his Love constrains me to love him, because he loved me first, 1 John 4.19. And this is further evident from what our Blessed Saviour says in the Parable to Simon the Pharisee, tel­ling us, That Mary loved much, because her Sins, which were many, were forgiven her, Luke 7.47. God is in himself the only worthy Object of our Affection, as he is perfectly amiable, and altoge­ther lovely, were we not under an Obligation flowing from his Kindness in taking away our Sin; but where a Soul is under this Obligation, there will be a care to make some sutable return of Love; and indeed our Love must be very great, if it bears any [Page 22]proportion to the Love of God exprest in his not imputing Sin unto us. But,

Secondly, Obedience to his Commands, without which 'tis not possible to know our selves to be privileged Persons, nor shall we ever be able to read our Names written in the Roll of Heaven. There is no other way wherein we can express the truth and strength of our Love to God, than by obedience to his Commands, John 14.23, 24. All love, not so evidenced, is nothing but dis­simulation and mere pretence; neither is there any Command that a Man will boggle at, to whom the Lord imputes not Sin. A sense of this Grace will wonderfully incline and quicken us to do his Will. Isaiah's Lips were no sooner touched with a Coal from God's Altar, importing the purging and taking away his Sin, but it presently disposes him to God's Service: When the Voice said, Who shall go for us? immediately the Prophet presents himself, saying, Here am I, send me: I am now ready for any Errand, to ingage in any business for thy Glory, Isa. 6.7, 8. If God is so kind to break our Fetters, and to unloose the Cords that bound us, and so set us at Liberty, it is not that we should use our li­berty as an occasion to the Flesh, Gal. 5.13. and sin with a higher hand against God, whose Grace abounds, Rom. 6.1, 2. but that we should love the Lord our God, and serve him, Deut. 10.12. which St. Paul did with all readiness, not once conferring with Flesh and Blood: He demur'd not, nor was discouraged by those floods of Troubles, Tumults, Perils, Distresses, Afflicti­ons and Persecutions, that he might raise up against himself; none of these things hindred him from a vigorous ingaging in the Work of God's Service, but he was obedient to the Heavenly Vision, Acts 26.19. And as it is thus evident, that Obedience is the Property of such as are in truth thus privileged with the Grace of God: so I doubt not, but we who have some good ground to hope that we are blessed upon God's not imputing Sin unto us, have oftentimes avowed our selves to be the Lord's Servants, and to render him the Service he calls for at our hands. Which is,

1. Sincere Obedience. Obedience without Sincerity, is no more that which God calls for, than a stinking Breath flowing [Page 23]from corrupt Lungs, is naturally sweet, that is only made so by the help of some strong Perfume in the Mouth, as we may learn from our Blessed Saviour's reprehending the Hypocrisy of the Jews, saying, as Mat. 15.8. This People draws nigh unto me with their Mouth, and do honour me with their Lips; but their Hearts are far from me. Every Law of God calls for an inward as well as an outward conformity; it would be unworthy to put off God with the Shell and Husk of our Services, who requires Truth in the inward Parts, Psal. 51.6. And not only so, but,

2. God calls for Constancy in Obedience. 'Tis not enough that we are obedient by fits and starts, for a spurt and away, but that we abide and continue in the Work of the Lord. And what more reasonable, than that we, who are always under the in­fluence of his Goodness, and benefits of his Grace, should ex­press constancy in our Obedience? Want of this was the procur­ing cause of the many miseries and calamities that afflicted Israel; and as it could not go well with them because of their inconstan­cy, so it cannot go well with us till we be stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the Work of the Lord, as is evident from the Lord's wishing that it were so with Israel, that it might go well with them and their Children for ever, Deut. 5.29. And,

3. The Lord calls also for Universal Obedience. Partiality in God's Service will never characterize us to be such whom he fa­tours, any more than it did King Saul in sparing Agag King of the Amalekites, with the best of their Sheep and Oxen, which God gave him commandment to destroy, as you may see at large in 1 Sam. 15. To do some things in Religion, which may bid fair to crown us with fame and reputation; inrolling our Names a­mong those who by Men are accounted devout, while we leave undone those things which 'tis like if done, may prove to our cost, and procure the contemptible eye and frowns of Men upon us, would be as arch Hypocrisy in us, as it was in the Scribes and Pharisees to tithe their Anise, Mint, and Cummin, while they omitted the more weighty matters of the Law, as Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, Mat. 23.23.

Now as we would be universal, 'tis necessary that we be regular in our Obedience: for disorder and confusion in the Lord's Ser­vice, [Page 24]will never evince us the Men to whom the Lord imputes not Sin. It would be Sin in us to neglect a due regard of the rules God hath given us for the right methodizing of our Obe­dience, as we might shew from that instance of Nadab and Abi­hu's crooked and preposterous proceeding in the Lord's work, Levit. 10.1, 2. Therefore as Solomon ascended his Throne by steps, so we in God's Service, must proceed from one Duty to another, and all in order, as we shall briefly demonstrate.

(1.) As all Men have sinned (I mean the Adult) so it is in rea­son the duty of all Men to repent, and to lie prostrate at the foot of God's Mercy, as a posture best becoming such Traitors and Rebels as we have been: Nay, 'tis incumbent upon all to re­pent, as inforced by the Authority of God's Law commanding. Tho God winked at the times of Ignorance, yet now he requires all Men every where to repent, Acts 17.30. Again, Repent, and be converted, that your Sins may be blotted out, Acts 3.19.

(2.) Upon a sense of Sin, and our misery by Sin, 'tis our Duty by a vigorous and lively Faith, to lay hold upon Jesus Christ and his Righteousness for our Justification, who is the alone Redeemer and restorer of lost Creatures. If it be the demand of any poor Sinner, What they must do to be saved? the Answer is, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Acts 16.31. So also John 6.28, 29.

(3.) Having repented of Sin, and profest Faith in Christ, and by the Grace of God in a good measure reformed our Lives, 'tis no less our Duty by God's Command to be Baptized or Dipped in Water, in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as Matth. 28.19, 20. And upon our Obedience to God herein, we have the pardon of Sin assured to us, Acts 2.38. and 8.37, 38. and 22.16. We confess with Grief that this Ordinance, through the corruption of Men, is become a de­spicable, low, and contemptible thing in the eyes of the World, who are held in hand by too many of the Learned, with an Opinion that they were Baptized in their Infancy, altho in truth they were not, nor was it needful they should: yet the generality of Men are contented to be thus put off with one thing for another, to wit, Rantism for Baptism. But let all [Page 25]have a care they do not entertain light Thoughts of this Duty, to a neglecting of it, since God hath been pleased to intail the pardon of Sin upon a conscientious performance of it; and not only so, but it states us in an undeniable Right to all the pri­vileges of the Church of Christ: into which being thus entred by Baptism, we are not there to rest as if all our work was done; but

(4.) It remains that we there abide, attentively to hear, and diligently to learn what the Lord shall teach us from time to time to be his Will and our Duty; that by doing his Will, and suffering his Pleasure, we may appear to be good proficients, grow­ing up to such a degree of Holiness, as may render us Orna­ments to our holy Profession, be sutable to the holy Vocation wherewith we were called, and to the Place and Privileges wherein God hath stated us, and so may never want an Evidence to our Comfort, that we are those to whom the Lord imputes no Sin. The

Third Property common to such, is a compassionate, merci­ful, and charitable temper of Mind. The Mercy of God hath raised them to a good degree and pitch of Generosity and Kind­ness; they are like their Heavenly Father in a great measure, apt to forgive, not of a quarrelsome, injurious, and revenge­ful Temper; not as it is with many, but a word and a blow; not for the taking their fellow Servants by the Throat, with ri­gour exacting the utmost farthing and satisfaction from, them. No: but under the influence of the divine Bounty; are sweetly disposed to forgive Wrongs, to pass by Injuries and Offences, in imitation of a Meek and Holy Jesus, and of his faithful Ser­vant Stephen, who in Compassion to his very Persecutors before his Death, seeing Heaven opened to him, prefer'd his Petiti­on to God, that he would not lay their Sin to their charge, as Acts 7.60. But the

Fourth and last Property I shall name common to every Man to whom the Lord imputes not Sin, is that of Thankfulness. The design of his whole Life is to express the gratitude of his Soul to God; the Language of his Heart is that of Praise, and his Mouth is full of Hallelujahs and thankful Acknowledgments of [Page 26]the divine Goodness: David says, Bless the Lord, O my Soul, and all that is within me bless his Holy Name, who forgiveth all thine Iniquities, &c. Psal. 103.1, 2, 3. And if here is not enough to ingage us in the unwearied celebrating of God's Praises, what will or can? since they whose Sins are not imputed, are ad­mitted to a Happiness above all expression: and when once they have entred the Heavenly Region, and are ranged there among the Blessed, will think Eternity little enough to be spent in ascribing Praise and Glory to God who sits on the Throne, and to the Lamb, in discharging us from the Guilt and Punish­ment of Sin, and in stating us in so great, high, and lasting a Happiness, as the fruit of his not imputing Sin: for, I say, Blessed is the Man unto whom the Lord imputes not Sin.

We now proceed to shew you on this foot of Account, that dying Infants are Blessed, being such on whom the Lord will not charge Sin to their eternal Condemnation. And truly I can­not but hope my work is more than half done, from the cor­dial desires of our Hearts that it may be so. The thing is cer­tainly very desirable, especially to such as have long mourned, (being doubtful in the matter) not knowing what the eternal State of their deceased Babes may be. To remove their fears, and satisfy all, I shall, tho the more briefly, because of what has been said already, labour to clear up the Safety and Happiness of dying Infants, through the Grace of God in not imputing Sin unto them; and that from these Considerations.

(1.) Consider the unparallel'd and incomparable Goodness of God towards all. There is no rank of Creatures, no not the silly Ant in the Earth, or Fly in the Air, but partakes of di­vine Bounty and Goodness, being always under the beneficial influences of that God who is Gracious, Merciful, of Long suffering, abundant in Goodness and Truth, as he stiles him­self, Exod. 34.6. And he is not so in himself only, but he is diffusively so; he upholds and communicates of his goodness to all his Creatures: so says the Psalmist, Psalm 145.8, 9. The Lord is gracious and full of Compassion; slow to Anger, and of great Mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his tender Mercies are over all [Page 27]his Works. If over all, even the meanest of his Creatures; then why not over innocent and dying Babes, who never had either Will or Power in their own Persons once to offend? Can there be thought a more meet object in all the World of the Goodness of God, than innocent and dying Infants, who have Souls more valuable than the whole World, and are capable of the joys of a blessed, or undergoing the Woes of a miserable and doleful Eter­nity? Hath God in his goodness a care of every hair of your heads, so that not one shall fall to the ground without his permission, Mat. 10.29, 30. and shall he have no compassion nor tender re­gard to the precious Souls of dying Infants? I pray, in what sense could the Royal Prophet in truth say, The Lord is good to all, if not in this sense good to Infants, who it may be no sooner breath, but die, and are violently hurried from the confines of the Womb, to the confines and region of Hell it self, to suffer the punishment of Eternal Fire? Is this consistent with Goodness it self, to have no regard to so great and noble a Part of his Workmanship, as Man in his Infant-State is, and in which State he is but merely a passive Creature; and not only so, but to let him drop, nay to cast him with indignation into those Flames that were originally and intentionally prepared for the Devil and his Angels, Mat. 25.41. for what they could not possibly avoid, and that without the least Remedy? This is rather to strip God of his Goodness, which by Man ought to be esteemed the very Perfection of his Nature, who is so good, that in comparison of him, as our Lord says, there is none good but God, Mat. 19.17.

(2.) That dying Infants are blessed and happy, we may be as­sured from Christ's dying for them. And such is the virtue and efficacy of the Death and Blood of the Lord Jesus, that by it the Salvation of all dying Infants is secured; else Christ in dying did not tast Death for every Man, according to the intent and purpose of God in his Grace towards Man, as the Apostle de­clares in Heb. 2.9. But that he tasted Death for every Man, is certain, since he is truly stiled the Saviour of all Men, tho more especially of them that believe, 1 Tim. 4.10. it is not only of them that believe, but also of all Men. And so in Chap. 2.6. He gave himself a Ransom for all. If for all, then for dying Babes; for [Page 28]who shall exclude them, since Christ hath by his Death expia­ted and done away the Sin of the World? But enough of this, having toucht on it before.

(3.) That dying Infants are blessed, is evident from the utter impossibility of its being otherwise: 'Tis not possible they should perish, since there is not any that can or will damn them; God will not, and Men cannot; they cannot damn themselves, being under the Power of no Law; and where there is no Law, there is no Transgression, Rom. 4.15. and where there is no Trans­gression, there is no Damnation, for that is the Wages of Sin, Rom. 6.23.

Man cannot damn them. I confess Men may destroy them as to a temporal Life, Mat. 10.28. they may murder and ruin them in their Passion and Madness, or in their blind Zeal may make them Sacrifices to their Idols, as in the case of Moloch.

The Devil cannot damn them; at most he can but tempt, sol­licite, and allure, by such Means and Arguments as he judges most likely to prevail. But who can be so weak as once to imagin that Satan ever levels his fiery Darts against innocent and dying Babes? They cannot rationally be the Subjects he sollicits, the Per­sons he tempts, or the Tinder he drops his fiery Sparks upon, be­cause they have no knowledg between Good and Evil, Deut. 1.39. they discern not betwixt things that differ; they know not their right hand from their left, Jonah 4.11. nor have any power to chuse the Good, and refuse the Evil. Tho Parents should be so wicked by their Sin and Apostacy, to forfeit their title to the happiness of a promised Canaan, yet Parents cannot destroy their Childrens Right, by such defection from God's Law, to the hap­piness of the Celestial Region. No, thither are dying Infants bound, and hastning under the happy advantages of Wind and Tide, let Men or Devils do what they can, as you may see to perfect satisfaction, Numb. 14.30, 31. No interposition can hinder their passage, or obstruct their entring the Port of Eter­nal Blessedness—And as these cannot, so God will not damn them; you have his Promise to the contrary, and he is faithful to perform; besides, Christ hath died for them, in whom they are made alive, 1. Cor. 15.22. Rom. 5.19. But our

Fourth Consideration is taken from the capacity and fitness of little Children for Heaven and Glory. Our Lord Jesus Christ had so high an opinion of them, and their fitness, that he sets them before his Disciples as a Copy to write after, an Example to imi­tate, and as Persons not only worthy, but necessary for them to resemble; as appears by his taking and setting a little Child in the midst of them, and with a solemn asseveration asserting, That except they be converted, and become as little Children, they should not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. If little Children dying such, do not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, is it not most absurd that our Lord should so solemnly and expresly injoin his Disci­ples to become like them, in order to their entring into his King­dom? Were it not so, that little Children have a sitness for Heaven, Disciples and Christians in becoming like them, where­unto they are most strictly obliged, would thereby become unfit for Heaven and Glory. But,

Fifthly and lastly, That dying Infants are blessed, appears from as good Reason as we have to believe any thing for truth that is contain'd in all the Sacred Records; for more plain and positive proof we have not for the belief of any Article of the Christian Faith. The Evidence I here offer you is Christ's own Testimo­ny, who without scruple tells us, they belong to the Kingdom of Heaven; Mat. 19.14. Suffer them, says Christ, to come unto me; they are the undoubted Heirs of it, they have an unquestionable Right to it; by the Grace of God theirs it is, and into it they enter when they die. If we will not believe Christ, who shall we believe? Take away the credit of his Evidence, and what shall we receive for Truth? Had we no other Testimony in all God's Book asserting the blessedness of dying Infants, this is suf­ficient to resolve all Doubts about it, they being such, as is ap­parent from what hath been said, to whom the Lord will not im­pute Sin. I once more say, to their Eternal Condemnation.

And if so, to conclude, I account it highly unreasonable, that Man should attribute the Salvation of dying Infants to any per­son or thing short of the Grace of God in Christ Jesus, upon which Foundation alone the Salvation and Blessedness of dying Infants standeth, and that most fure. Most unworthy therefore [Page 30]of God and Christ do they speak, who talk of a Foederal Holi­ness, making the Faith and Holiness of Parents the Basis on which they build the Blessedness of their Infants. What is this less, than to set themselves up for Saviours, or at least to make themselves Partners with Christ in the Work of Salvation? Is not this apparently to charge the Grace of God as deficient to save dying Infants, without the Faith and Piety of Parents concur­ring? At this rate of arguing, what must become of those Chil­dren who have not the advantage of the Faith and Holiness of Parents, who may either be taken away by Death, leaving their little ones behind them; or else if they live, they may be whol­ly void and destitute of Saving-faith, and manifest Slaves to Sin and the Devil, as too many in this professing Nation are? And in either of these cases, which be very common, what must become of their poor dying Infants, if the Grace of God in Christ be not sufficient to save them without the Holiness of Parents? But as this Pretence reflects unworthily on God, so it is very false in it self, as we could shew were that our business: We confess, that the Children of Believers have a great advantage of others, in point of a pious Education, but not one jot in point of Salvati­on, their Infants dying before they come to reap the advantage of such Education; to say otherwise, is to assert that which is not many degrees short of Blasphemy. But,

Secondly, If dying Infants are blessed upon God's not imput­ing Sin unto them, then how vain and fruitless is that pretence and practice of Baptizing Infants, as they call it, in order to their making them Members of the Church, Children of God, and Heirs or Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven? But if be­fore they be baptized they are in truth the Children of God, what doth their Baptism avail them? are they afterwards any more the Heirs of God's Kingdom than they were before? Or can it be ra­tionally supposed, that God hath left it to the liberty, choice, and within the power of a Priest to save or damn Souls, by com­plying, or refusing, upon every Summons given him on the weak­ness of a languishing and dying Infant, to come and baptize it? O no, their Salvation is secured upon a better Bottom; altho the generality believe, that if their Infants die before they be bap­tized [Page 31]or sprinkled, they be not much, if one whit better than Beasts in their death, nor must by any means have a Christian Bu­rial, with our Parson's Vote, but be cast into a Hole behind the Church, or some other place where they bury the Excommuni­cated, Self-murderers, and the like, without the usual Solemni­ties appointed for the burial of the dead: and therefore when a weak Child is midwif'd into the World, what running and scour­ing there is to call the Parson, as if a few drops of Water out of his hand were enough to quench the Flames of Hell. This well considered, must be judg'd highly ridiculous in the Sentiment of every wise Man; ten thousand pities it is, that God's Ordinance is so changed, that poor people are so amused; and that our Learned and pious Doctors of the Church do not rectify this prevaling Mistake the People are under, by their sincere and de­vout labours to restore Sacred Baptism to its Primitive Purity; at whose door it lies, that their Priests in administring of that Ordinance, may in point of practice as apparently agree with that of the Apostles, as 'tis evident they desire to be accounted their Successors. But,

Thirdly, and to conclude, If dying Infants are blessed upon God's not imputing Sin unto them, then here is comfort to sor­rowful Mothers who have been long afflicted, refusing, with Ra­chel, to be comforted for their Children: If this will not relieve you under your Distresses, what will? Here's enough to remove all your Fears, and to satisfy your Minds with reference to the Eter­nal State of your deceased Babes. Let this stop the Springs that have been opened, and wipe away all those trickling Tears which have been as so many Evidences of your compassion and passionate concern to and for your beloved, tho deceased Infants. Fear not, dear Souls, God who hath a better right to them than you had, has more tender compassion of them than you can have: If you have ( who are evil, Mat. 7.9, 10, 11.) so much goodness as to wish them Heaven, God is much more good, and will give them Heaven. Therefore give no longer way to needless scrupu­losity and fear on their account, whose happiness renders them capable of exhorting you to spend your Cares, Fears, and Tears, on some other Subject, saying, as Christ to the Daughters of Je­rusalem, [Page 32]Luke 23.28. Weep not for me, but weep for your selves and your Children, that is, your sinful and miserable Posterity nay, rather rejoice and comfort your selves, for 'tis better with us than you have imagined, being such unto whom the Lord imputes no Sin. Nothing remains now, but that we who survive our deceased Babes, do give all diligence in the practice of Ver­tue, whereunto we are called, to make our own Calling and Electi­on sure, 2 Pet. 1.10, 11. that so an abundant entrance may be gi­ven us into Glory, there to rejoice, not only in our own Blessed­ness, but in a more certain assurance of our Childrens also, if such a thing can be, since our Apostle so expresly says, Blessed is the Man unto whom the Lord will not impute Sin.