child among the Jews, ver. 14. "The uncircumcised man-child shall be cut
baptism is the same to us, that circumcision was to them; "circumcision was a seal of the righteousness of faith," Rom. 4:11. as well as baptism; and none will say, that the grace of God is more narrow under the New Testament than it was under the Old. The minor is no less manifest, if ye consider these four things. 1. The universality of the command with respect to circumcision, Gen. 17:10. "Every man-child among you shall be circumcised;" which command is repeated ver. 12. Here is no exception. 2. The punishment or censure to be inflicted on the uncircumcised manchild among the Jews, ver. 14. "The uncircumcised man-child shall be cut off from his people." 3. Consider the practice of Joshua, who at God's command circumcised the children of Israel at Gilgal, Josh. 5. where it is expressly said, "When they had done circumcising all the people," ver. 8.; yet these were the children of them whom God for their wickedness kept out of Canaan, who fell in the wilderness, who vexed his Holy Spirit forty years, so that he sware they should never enter into his rest And they themselves cannot be supposed to be all visible believers. 4. We never read of any of the Israelites' children that were debarred from that ordinance on any pretence whatsoever. From all which it is evident, that the impiety of the Jewish parents did not debar their children from circumcision, and therefore as little can the impiety of Christians debar theirs from baptism. Here is a grant of the first seal of the covenant, yea, a command to receive the same, directed unto the children of all that are externally in covenant with God, as Christians and their seed are. If any will say, it is now done away, and concerns not us under the New Testament dispensation; they must acknowledge themselves obliged to shew us the repeal thereof in the sacred records, otherwise confess it still stands in force.
ARGUMENT IV. This doth further appear, if we consider that Scripture, Acts 2:38, 39. "Repent therefore, and be baptized every one of you. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Now, what is that promise he speaks of, but the great promise, "I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed." The apostle hereby means to stir them up to repentance, and to be baptized; and for their encouragement he tells them, the promise is to them and their seed. Note, that the promise is to them antecedently to their repenting; this is plain, because the apostle's argument is truly thus,