That his Family, Church or Kingdom, belongs to fuch as are fo qualified?

Again, when any Perfon is admitted into a School to be a Difciple, Scholar or Learner in that Place, either he himself (if he be of Years of Dif cretion capable to do it) or his Parents, or Guar dians in his Name (if he be under Years of Difcretion) muft Covenant with the Master on this Occafion. And if the Covenant is intended to be binding and ftrong, and to tye both Parties to the Performance of it for a certain Term, as is the Cafe of Apprentices, who are put out and bound for several Years, the Covenant, Contract or Agreement must be fign'd and feal'd. The Difciple or Appren tice engages to be dutiful and obedient to his Mafter, and the Mafter engages to maintain, and make all due and proper Provifion for the Apprentice or Difciple, and to inftruct and teach him the Myfteries of his Profeffion. And tho' the Perfon thus bound be under Years of Difcretion, he is nevertheless a Scholar, Difciple or Apprentice to his Mafter, and they are both bound to perform the Conditions of the Covenant, fo far as they are capable of doing it. The Difciple or Apprentice is bound to be du tiful and obedient to his Mafter, fo far as he is able, and the Master to provide for, maintain and instruct him fo far as he is capable of Learning. And the Cafe is the fame, whether the Contract were made by the Disciple or Apprentice himself immediately, or by others in his Name.

It is plain therefore, that Infants or Children under Years of Difcretion, are not unqualified or uncapable of being made Difciples, that is Scholars, Learners or Apprentices. Since the Contract or Covenant which makes a Difciple, may be, and ufually is made, not directly and immediately by the Difciple, Learner or Apprentice himself, but by others in his Name, When our Bleffed Saviour

then

then gave his Apoftles Commandment, to make all Nations Difciples, that is, to make all People his Scholars or Apprentices, to covenant with them that they fhould be dutiful and obedient to him; and that then he would take them into his Church, Family or Kingdom; provide for them, maintain them, and inftruct them in those holy Mysteries, which fhall qualifie them to enjoy that eternal Happiness, which he has prepared for them, and to Seal this Covenant by Baptizing them; And then to teach them all things whatfoever he had commanded: He very plainly fhew'd, that he by no Means intended to exclude Infants from this Blefling. Becaufe, Infants are no less capable of being put under the Care and Conduct of a Master, to be difciplined and inftructed by him, as they fhould become capable of Learning, than Perfons of riper Years. Nay, if we believe our Lord himself, little Children are indeed naturally better qualified, to be made his Difciples than elder Perfons: For, before Perfons of riper Years can be qualified to enter into his Difciplefhip, into his Church, or the Kingdom of God, they must take Pains to make themselves what Children are by Nature. Verily I Say unto you, fays Matth. Christ, Except ye be converted and become as little xviii. 3. Children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whosoever therefore, fhall humble himself as this little Child, the fame is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, You fee therefore, even in our Saviour's own Opinion, that Children have one Qualification for Difcipleship, which elder Persons naturally have not, and that is Humility.

4

This Virtue of Humility is abfolutely neceffary for a Difciple. For, it behoves a Learner to be fenfible of his own Ignorance and Want of Understanding, in thofe Things wherein he defires to be inftructed: For, if he judges himfelf to be as wife as his Master, he will have no Regard to his Master's Inftructions;

He

He will difpute and argue against his Doctrines, and examine the Reasonablenefs of his Commands, before he will be prevailed with to obey them. This is certainly very unbecoming a Difciple: A Mafter will foon be weary of that Scholar, that thinks he is wifer than himself, and regards not his Inftructions; or of that Servant, who will continually dif pute and argue against the Reasonableness of his Commands. So Chrift cannot approve of fuch Difciples, as will not believe his Doctrines or obey his Commands, unless they be fuch, as they by their own natural Understanding judge to be reasonable. For his Doctrines are fome of them mysterious, beyond the Capacity of human Understanding: And his Precepts are many of them harfh and fevere, difagreeable to the Conftitution of Flesh and Blood, in their mere natural Capacity. And therefore Children, or thofe who humble themfelves as Children, and rely not on their own Knowledge and Understanding, fo much as to bring it into any Competition with that of their Mafter, are, according to our Saviour's own Declaration, most capable, and beft qualified to be his Difciples: Of fuch, fays he, is the Kingdom of Heaven: That is, his Difciples, for whom the Kingdom of Heaven is prepared, must be qualified with that Humility and Submiffion to Chrift, which Children naturally fhew to their Governours and Inftructors. And if Children are thus naturally qualified to fubmit and obey, which is the proper Accomplishment or Qualification of a Difciple, even according to our Saviour's own Doctrine, fhall we fay, that they are unqualified to. be made Chrift's Difciples?

But it is objected, that notwithstanding all this, it is very evident, that the Apostles, to whom this Commiffion was given, required Faith and Repentance in those whom they baptized. That St. Peter in his firft Sermon, after the Defcent of the Holy Ghoft, fays,

Repent

A&t. ii.

Act. viii.

37.

Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of 38, 41. Jefus Chrift. Then they that gladly received his Word were baptized. That when the Eunuch defired to be baptized, Philip faid, If thou believeft with all thine Heart thou mayeft. And he answered and faid, I believe that Jefus Chrift is the Son of God. And then Philip baptized him. With feveral other like Inttances. It is also faid, that this is the Doctrine of the Church of England; for when it is asked in the Church Catechilm, What is required of Perfons to be baptized? The Answer appointed to be given to that Question is, Repentance, whereby they forfake Sin; and Faith, whereby they ftedfaftly believe the Promifes of God, made to them in that Sacrament. So that, both according to the Scriptures, and the Doctrine of the Church of England agreeable to the Scriptures, both Faith and Repentance are plainly required in Perfons to be baptized. Confequently that Infants, who cannot repent and believe, ought not to be baptized.

In Answer to which, it is to be observed, that every Difciple fhould be at Peace with his Mafter, because, if there be any Enmity between the Scholar and Mafter, it will be a great Obstruction to the Discharge of thofe Duties which the Scholar owes to his Mafter, and of thofe Benefits which he should receive from him. Now our Sins fet us at Enmity with God, and all Perfons who live to Years of Discretion commit fuch Sins as to provoke God to that Degree, that we may be well affured, He will not receive them to be his Difciples, without Repentance and Promifes of Amendment. Therefore, when Perfons of riper Years are to be baptized, it is neceffary that Repentance be required of them, in order to their being made Difciples of Chrift. But Infants have no fuch Sins to repent of, as all Perfons of riper Years have: They neither are, or can be guilty of any actual Tranfgreffions. There is nothing in them, befides the Original Corruption of

Nature,

Nature, which we bring into the World with us, that can be in the leaft offenfive to God: And their Innocence as to all actual Sin, plainly gives them as good a Title to the Grace of Reconciliation, as the Repentance of another Perfon. And therefore the Apostles requiring Repentance from those grown Perfons they baptized, is no Argument, that Infants are to be excluded from that Sacrament, because they cannot repent: For as they cannot repent, fo neither can they fin, which is the only thing that makes Repentance neceffary. And he that is innocent or free from actual Sin, is certainly in as good a Cafe, as he that has committed Sin and repented of it. Would not any of you be at least as well pleased with, and as willing to fhew Kindness to a Man that never offended you, as to one that had offended and beg'd your Pardon?

Again, the Apostles indeed required, that grown Perfons, whom they baptized, fhould believe, and make Profeffion of their Faith: And it is freely granted, that this alfo was neceffary. If a grown Person think it convenient to become a Difciple to any Man, that is, to put himself to School to him, or to be his Apprentice; it is certain, that he must believe that Man to be both able and willing to teach and inftruct him in that Profeffion he defires to learn, that he may obtain a comfortable Subfiftence by it. But this hinders not, but that a Child may be put under the Care and Tuition of the fame Master, though he himself neither knows or believes any thing for want of proper Capacities: And in this Cafe, the Belief of the Parent, Guardian or other Perfon, who puts him under the Care of that Mafter, is plainly fufficient: And if the Child does believe as he grows up, and comes to Years of better Understanding, that his Mafter is both able and willing to inftruct him, in the Profeffion he is defirous to learn, that he may have a comfortable SubC fiftence