James Ussher making exceptions to (and thus DENYING) Romans 1:16:
"But how can an infant be capable of the grace of the sacrament?
Very well. Though infants
be not capable of the grace of the sacrament by that way whereby the
grown are, by hearing, conceiving, believing yet it followeth not that infants
are not capable in and by another way. It is easy to distinguish
between the gift conveyed, and the manner of conveying it. Faith is not
of absolute necessity to all God's elect, but only to those to whom God
affords means of believing. It is the application of Christ's
righteousness that justifieth us, not our apprehending it. God can supply the defect of faith by his sanctifying Spirit, which can do all things on our part which faith should do.
Do we not know that the sin of Adam is imputed to children, and they defiled by it, though they be not capable to understand it; even so the righteousness of Christ may be, and is, by God's secret and unknown way to elect infants: and so to those that are born deaf, and fools, not capable of understanding. For though God tieth us to means, yet not himself: he that hath said of infants, to them belongs the kingdom of God, knows how to settle upon them the title of the kingdom.
And we have no reason to think, but that even before, or in, at or by, the act of baptism, the Spirit of Christ doth unite the soul of the elect infant to Christ, and cloth [sic] it with his righteousness, and impute unto it the title of a son or daughter by adoption, and the image of God by sanctification; and so fit it for the state of glory.
But what is to be thought of the effect of baptism in those elect infants whom God hath appointed to live to years of discretion?
In them we have no warrant to promise constantly and extraordinary work to whom God intends to afford ordinary means. For though God do sometimes sanctify from the womb, as in Jeremy [Jeremiah--CD] and John Baptist, sometime in baptism as he pleaseth; yet it is hard to affirm (as some do) that every elect infant doth ordinarily before or in baptism receive initial regeneration and the seed of faith and grace. For if there were such a habit of grace then infused, it could not be so utterly lost or secreted ["secret," I think--CD] as never to show itself but by being attained by new instruction. But we may rather deem and judge that baptism is not actually effectual to justify and sanctify, until the party do believe and embrace the promises." (James Ussher, A Body of Divinity; underlining mine--CD)
