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THE 
 
 Duty and Doctrine 
 
 O F 
 
 A P T I S M. 
 
 IN THIRTEEN 
 
 SERMONS. 
 
 By THOMAS BRADBURT. 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 14. Continue in the things thou haft 
 learned, and haft been ajfured of. 
 
 2 John ver. 9, 10. Whofoever tranfgrejfeth and 
 abideth not in the do5irine of Chrift, hath not 
 God : He that abideth in the dol^rine of Chriji^ 
 he hath both the Father and the Son. 
 
 If there come any unto you., and bring not this 
 do5frine, receive him not into your houfe, neither 
 hid him Godfpeed. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for J. Davidson at the Angel in the Poultry, 
 T.Trye near Gray' s-Inn Gate in Holhrn, J.Ward 
 in Cornhill, and G. Keith at Mercers-Chapel in 
 Cheapfide : And fold by the Bookfellers of Edinburgh^ 
 GlafgQW, and Aberdeen. 
 
 MDCCXLIX. 
 
Ill 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 HE fir ft and fecond of thefe 
 Sermons were preachedy and pre- 
 pard to be piiblijled^ above eight 
 and tis^enty Tears ago, in pur fin- 
 ance of a T>efign which the fix Minijlers, 
 who fierved the Friday Le^ure at the 
 Weigh- lioufe, had already begun. They 
 had made a T^iftribution ofi the fieveral 
 Tarts^ which related to pra6iical T>u- 
 ties, into the Nature of the JVorky the 
 Argument y^^r /V, the Excellency of it, the 
 Anfwer to ObjeBions, Diredions in it, 
 and an Exhortation to it. 
 
 Upon this Scheme they begun with the 
 Ordinance ^ Singing 5 the Tear fiollow- 
 
 A 2 ing 
 
iv The PREFACE. 
 
 ing they, m the fame Method, confidered 
 the '"Duty of Prayer j then hearing the 
 Word -y and after that reading it j 'vary- 
 ing the feverdl ^arts that the Mtnijiers 
 1:1: ere to take. Thus far for the Space of 
 four Tears "jue '•juent on in T^eace, and ijue 
 had in Vieijo the paring out of this ^efign 
 upon the duties (?/'Baptifm and the Lord's 
 Supper. All the Sermons upon the former 
 were deli%'ered from the Pulpit 5 and 1 
 will "Venture to fay, the whole was ma- 
 naged with that Temper, Candor, and 
 Evidence, that it's pity mine comes alone 
 into the World, which is upon the Head 
 ^Dircdions. 
 
 / may vouch for all the refl of my 
 Brethrefi, that their Compofures were 
 with Temper, Moderation, and Charity ^ 
 not to gender Strifes or evil Surmifings. 
 Several of our Brethren, that are of anO" 
 ther Opi7iion, as to the Mode and Subjeds 
 of Baptifm, defired I would confider fome 
 Negle&s of the Tiuty among themfelves, 
 which I have done with brotherly Kind- 
 ncfs and Charity. All that know my man- 
 ner of Life can witnefs, that I never made 
 any 'Difference of Opinion to be an Article 
 of Fricndpinp, and I fee no Reafon itponld 
 be a Tenn of Communion : Let us receive 
 one another as Chrift has received us. And 
 the Reader will eafily perceive, that with 
 a T>(fgn of fuch an Agreement ajnong 
 
 thofe 
 
The PREFACE. 
 
 thofe that love us in the Faith, a great Part 
 of my Serr/ions is direBed. 
 
 But at theTime that our T)'ifcGiirfes about 
 Baptifm JJjould have come into the IVorldy 
 the Abomination that made ddblatc, '■juas 
 brought among ft us^ upon a Snfpicion that 
 we were not all agreed about a more fub- 
 fiantial Article^ viz. The Doctrine of the 
 ever-blelled Trinity. Our particular View 
 was over-ruled by a previous T>ifpute 
 about Scripture Confequences. Whether 
 this was done with a "Defign to turn us 
 afide from the main ^leftion about the 
 Truth of the ^o&rine^ I miift leave to 
 every Mans Confcience -, but, I confefs, it 
 was always my Snfpicion from the fawn- 
 ing Carriage of fome to the Troublers of 
 Ifrael, and their Shine fs^ Virulence, and 
 Reproaches, to them that had fought a good 
 Fight, and kept the Faith. But God has 
 cut ojf thofe that troubled us. Men have 
 clapped their Hands at them, and hilled 
 them out of their Place. 
 
 Such a Wrangle about Confequences from 
 Scripture Argmnents , would have come out 
 of Time at the Opening of Chriftianity -, 
 for had the Apoftles been called to prove that 
 Jefus of Nazareth was the Meffiah, {which 
 they declared from ^eduBions drawn out 
 of the Old Tcllament) / can hardly think 
 they would have continued the Argiimeiit 
 
 from 
 
 4 
 
vi The P R E F A C E. 
 
 from Morning to Even'mg, or teftified and 
 alledged from the Scriptures that Jefus 
 was Chrifl, 
 
 However by this Artifice our ^efign 
 was blafted j and everfince there has been 
 a Breach of Love carried on under a Pre- 
 tence of Charity. Thefe two Sermons have 
 been preached on the Occafion of Gods 
 bleffing my Family with an Increafe of 
 Childrens Children. 
 
 The other T>ifcourfe about the T^oBrine 
 of Baptifm has been fo well received at 
 Pinners-Hall, that I have had the unani- 
 mous "Defire of thofe that direct the con- 
 cerns of the TuefdayV LeBure to print it, 
 Thofe Sermons alfo were preached fome 
 Tears ago, and they come out without much 
 Alteratio7i. As the 'DoBrine of the Tri^ 
 nity is only revealed in the Bible, fo it is 
 only proved by it. I have done no more^ 
 than brought it from the Fountain-head : 
 And though there is a frequent Return of 
 the fame Argument ; yet, as that was un- 
 avoidable from the T^ijiance between one 
 Sermon and another, fo it ferves to keep 
 the fundamental Article of our Religion 
 always in view. 
 
 I have no more to add^ than as this is 
 what 1 was taught in my Touth, fo I 
 
 hope 
 
The PREFACE. vii 
 
 hope for a Comfort in it "juhen gray Hairs 
 are upon me. To His BleJJing I refign ity 
 whofe Caiife it pleads againji all Gain- 
 
 London, Sept. 1 8, 
 1749. 
 
 Tho. Bradbury. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Pag. 16. 1. 22. for Turn read Term 
 
 37. 1. 8. for Confiders read Conjider 
 54. 1. 1 7. for impart read import 
 79. 1. 24. for three read there 
 85. 1. II. for loTo, read luru 
 170. 1. 8. iox appofite xfiA oppojite 
 
 183. 1. 27. for x«TE;)(;ot read x.a.Ti^u 
 
 184. 1. 20. for o^u'hiy'iCK. read op,oA6yt« 
 
Lately Publified, 
 And fold by the fame Booksellers, 
 
 THE MYSTERY of GODLINESS, 
 confider'd in LXI. SERMONS: 
 
 Wherein the D e i t y of C H R I S T is prov'd 
 
 upon no other Evidence than tht JVord of GOD, 
 and with no other View than for the Salvation 
 of Men. 
 
 In Two VOLUMES. 
 
 By THOMAS BRADBURT, 
 
 Jer. XV. 15, 16. Know that for T h y S a k e I have 
 fuffer'd Rebuke. Thy JVords were found, and I did 
 cPt them, and thy IVord was unto me the Joy and 
 Rejoicing of my Heart, for I am called by tuy 
 Name, O LordGodof Hofis. 
 
SERMON I. 
 
 I Pet. iii. 21. 
 
 
 •Not the putting away the Filth of 
 the Flejhy but the Anfwer of a good 
 Confcience towards God, 
 
 HE Apoflledocs, in thefe Words, Serm. 
 
 let us fee with what a long ex- 
 tended Care Divine Providence 
 has watch*d over good People. 
 We have an Inftance before the 
 Ceremonial Law was given ; and, 
 that is, the Prefervation of 'Noah and his Family 
 in the Ark : And here's another y?//^<? it expired. 
 That, we have through Baptifm by the Refur- 
 region of Jefus Chrifi from the Dead. In the 
 firft, there were but few., that is., eight Souls 
 faved by Water : The Flood that walhed away 
 the World of the Ungodly bare up the Ark, and 
 kept it from dailiing upon the Mountains : And 
 it is a Protedlion of the fame Kind that Believers 
 have now ; They are floating in a Life of Temp- 
 tation and Danger where Thoufands perifh eter- 
 
 B nalljr 
 
 L 
 
2 The Duty of B a^t iTW.'^ ' 
 
 Serm. nally on every Side, but they are inclofed in a 
 I. Covenant^ and fo kept by the Power of God 
 
 1-— V— — ' through Faith unto Salvation. 
 
 He fhews us, that as we are delivered by thie 
 fame Goodnefs that diftinguiflied thofe eight Per- 
 fons, fo there is a Refemblance between the Ark, 
 which was a Means of their Prefervation, and 
 that Ordinance which God has appointed either to 
 convey, or to publifh our^s. The like Figure 
 whereunto Baptifm does now fave us ; that is, as 
 the Ark was a divine Inftitution, an outward vi- 
 fible Sign of God's favour, fo is Baptifm \ they 
 are both of them prepared for a fele5l Number, 
 thofe that are the Heirs of Salvation : They are 
 both defigned to exprefs and to help on the Hap- 
 pinefs orfuch as have a concern with them: 
 But neither of them have this protecting Virtue 
 •in themfelves. The People might have been loft 
 in the Ark as well as out of it, if the tender Eye 
 ,of God had not remembered and watched over 
 them there ; and fo kept that fwimming Houfe 
 from being fwallowed up by the Waves upon 
 which it rode, or crufhed by the vaft Number of 
 • Trees that floated about. 
 
 And fo Baptifm does not fecure to us the Sal- 
 vation that it's appointed for, by ^ny Necefjity, 
 but only avails to that glorious End, by the 
 greater Things that it refers us to. 
 
 We liavc it by the Refurre^ion of Jefus Chrifi 
 that procured it: He made the Title good, being 
 raifid again for our Juflification^ and from the Per- 
 fedion that he went into, the Principles of Reli- 
 gion are lent down : And thus he is the Author 
 
 Heb. v.g, of eternal Salvation to as many as obey him. This 
 is what we profcfs in Baptifm, that our Depen- 
 dance for the Happinefs we are looking after, i? 
 on Him that died for us and rofe again. 
 
 ^ • That 
 
T^he Duty of B a ? r i s u, 
 
 ' That Ordinance is a Seal that he has fet to his 
 Covenant, and we ufe it as a Seal to our Hopes •, 
 by which we declare them, and ratify the whole 
 Opinion that Faith has of a Mediator. So that 
 here is an honourable Correfpondence, a great 
 Tranfa6lion between us, and our God, in the 
 Solemnity of Baptifm. But though this is per- 
 formed by external Adtions, a vifible application 
 of Water, yet do not fuppofe that the ceremo- 
 nial, or the outward Part draws into it all the 
 Happinefs : It does fave us indeed, in the fame 
 Way that the Ark did. Not by the wajhing away 
 the Filth of the Flefh, hut the Anfwer of a good 
 Confcience towards God. 
 
 Thefe Words are inclofed with a Parenthefis, 
 but the Holy Spirit thought fit to wedge in this 
 tremendous Caution as an Antidote againft the 
 Indolence of thefe latter Days, when Men fhall 
 have a Form of Godlinefs but deny the Power 
 thereof: When they would keep up a Round of 
 keligion and imagine it was enough, if they went 
 through the groifer Parts of Duty without any 
 Care about the Temper that led it on, or the /w- 
 provement that followed it. 
 
 What perverfe Difputings have we had from 
 Men of corrupt Minds about this Ordinance. 
 Some can drop an Opinion like a Thunder-bolt, 
 *' That without Baptifm there is no Salvation, 
 <* and without a regular Miniftry there is no 
 *' Baptifm, and without Bifhops no regular Mi- 
 " niftry, and without fomething or other (which 
 " they have not yet determined) no Bifhops." 
 This unprofitable Enthufiafm has come on the 
 Church like an Eaft-Wind on a Garden, it 
 blighted where it blew, it deftroyed our BlolToms, 
 and left Caterpillars upon our Leaves. 
 
 Hence, fome have been perfuaded, as it is 
 called, to rawunce their -Baptifrii, and receive the- 
 
 B 2 Water 
 
T'he Duty o/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 Water over again from more qualified Hands ; 
 but alas ! how little is there in the Doftrine of 
 thefe 1.^eacherSy or the Condud of their ProfC' 
 lytes^ that (hews a Regard to the main Defign 
 of the Inftitution ? They confider not that 
 the great Benefit of the Ordinance is fpiritual, 
 and therefore inward ; and we may change 
 the Apoftle's Words, and yet purfue his Argu- 
 Rom. ii. ment, he is not a Jew that is one outwardly^ 
 28, 29. and as little is any Man a Chriftian for the Sake 
 of his ProfeflTion ; nor is that Circumcifion that is 
 outward in the Fiejh^ not but that it was outward 
 in the Flelh -, but if that is all a Perfon could fay 
 of it, it paiTed for nothing. And we may transfer 
 this reafoning, that is not Baptifm which is exter- 
 nal ; we call it fo, but People are never the better 
 for it, but he is a JeWy and he is a Chriftian who 
 is one inwardly y and Circumcifion or Baptifm, is 
 that of the Heart in the Spirit and not in the Let- 
 ter, whofe Praife is not of Men, hut of God. 
 
 If there was more Care about this, we Ihould 
 not have fo much Noife about Words and Names. 
 It is no matter who it was that baptized either 
 you or me, if we value ourfelves upon this our 
 glorying is not good : It is a greater Concern to 
 know and feel, that what is refembled in this 
 Ordinance is realized in the Confcience. 
 
 So again, it muft be confeffed, on all Sides, 
 that good People have been intemperate with one 
 another, and argued with a Warmth that has 
 done little Service to theCaufe ; firft, about the 
 Subje^ of Baptifm, whether it may be admini- 
 Itered to Infants or no •, and fecondly, about the 
 Manner of performing it, whether by fprinkling, 
 or plujiging. 1 dare fay there are many of both 
 C^pinions, who bewail the Excefles that have 
 come into the Controverfy, and could wifh that 
 the Difputants were Chrijiians as well as Ortho- 
 
 I dox ; 
 
7/5^ Duty ^Baptism. 
 
 dox ; that in maintaining the Truth they would 
 not grieve the good Spirit of God, but let all 
 Bitternefs and Wrath, Partiality, Noile, Cla- 
 mour, and evil- fpeakitig be put away with all Ma- 
 lice ; that the Arguments may be as gentle as 
 the Caufe it maintains. I fay this is what all fc- 
 rious Perfons of both Denominations wifh for •, 
 and well they may, for if they keep my Text in 
 view, we fhall find that its but a very little Mat- 
 ter which of us are in the right, in comparifon 
 of this greater and more important Affair. 
 Though it is the Duty of every one to ht fully Rom. xiv 
 perfuaded in his own Mind, and happy is he that ^z. 
 condemns not himfelf in the Thing that he allows. 
 Yet I have fomething elfe to take up the chief of 
 my Thoughts : That whether I am to be bap- 
 tized by dipping or fprinkling ; I may have 
 either of thefe, and yet no more a change of 
 Nature than an Ethiopian has a change of Skin. 
 
 Let the manner of wafliing be either by pour- 
 ing or plunging, putting away the Filth of the 
 Flejh is not Baptifm, that is, it is not fignificant 
 Baptifm, without the Anfwer of a good Confcience 
 towards God. The Devil would very gladly fct 
 ws a wrangling about the Mode, on purpofe 
 to divert us from the Thing •, for whether we are 
 right or wrong in the Controverfy, it's very pof- 
 fible we may fall fhort of the Grace that is fig- 
 nified by it ; and then what will it avail to have 
 proved from an hundred Arguments, and a 
 thoufand Authors, that we are right in the Man- 
 ner, when God tells us we have no Lot or Por- 
 tion in the Matter ? 
 
 As it is the Defign of my Text, fo I hope you 
 will be convinced its the Defign of this Sermon 
 to carry you above and beyond the Difpute. 
 And my End will be happily fecured, indeed, if 
 you do but go away with this Perfuafion, that 
 - ' B 3 the 
 
The Duty of B kv T i s m": 
 
 the meer Ordinance of Baptifm fignifies nothing, 
 either to yourfelves, or to your Children, with- 
 out the Anfwer of a good Confcience towards God : 
 Without this its only profaned, and therefore your 
 Improvement of the Doflrine muft be aRefolution 
 never to engage in it without a hearty Concern 
 about this great End for which it is appointed ; that 
 you will not be indifferent how it's done, provided 
 it's done at all, but defire to have it in that way 
 that will be pleafing to God, and mod ufeful to 
 yourfelves : That it fhall not be enough for you 
 to walk in all the Statutes and Ordinances of the 
 Lord, but to walk in them blamelefs : That you 
 will ufe your Feet in going to the Houfe of God, 
 and keep your Feet when you come there : Not 
 be content with meer offering a Sacrifice, which 
 may be no more than the Sacrifice of Fools, who 
 conjider not that they do evil : That they do evil 
 in their very Devotions. 
 
 This text, therefore, I believe you will think 
 a very good Foundation for the Part that is af- 
 Hgned to me in the great Subjedl before us. I 
 am to give you Directions how to manage 
 the Ordinance of Baptifm, that you may be 
 i>lejfed in your Deed, and your Labour not be in 
 vain in the Lord. In this it will be apparent to 
 all, that I have no Controverfy with any about 
 the Subjeds or the Modes of Baptifm. Our 
 Brethren that do not adminifter this Solemnity 
 to Infants, will not be angry at the Serioufnefs 
 of thofe that do. Though they may think that 
 the Ordinance is mifapplied, yet it will grieve 
 them worfe to have it profaned by a want of 
 Reverence in the Temper of fuch as go about 
 ■it. And therefore, I am iure, they wifli well to 
 thofe Inftrudions that are only pra(51:ical, and 
 which are as much direfted to them as others ; 
 for whether Pcrfons are tranfafting for their 
 
 Chil- 
 
The Duty of "^ k-^ 'v \^yi, 7 
 
 Children or themfelves, whether it is to be done Serm. 
 by dipping or fprinkling, they ought to take I. 
 Heed to their Spirits^ and none of them deal trea- 
 cheroujly in the Covenant. 
 
 But though I may have no Controverfy with 
 thefe People, yet God knows my Part has put 
 me into a greater War, than any of the reft ; 
 my Debate is with the Lufts of Men, with their 
 Formality in Religion, their Careleflhefs and In- 
 dolence about the Things of God, which are 
 only a more covert Sort of Atheifm. I fhould 
 not be very triumphant to hear that any Profe- 
 lytes are made by the Arguments that have been 
 delivered on this Subjefl, nor will it give me any 
 Uneafinefs to be told that there are none ; buc 
 this is a Lamentation, and Jhall be for a Lamenta- 
 tion, that after all the Warmth of Perfuafion, 
 Men will go on in their ftupid, heedlefs, lifelefs 
 Way : It will be enough for them to wafh away 
 the Filth of the Flejh, and they will expefl in 
 vain the Salvation from that which only comes 
 from the Anfwer of a good Confcience towards 
 God. 
 
 Here you obferve in thefe Words, thefe three 
 Things. 
 
 Firjl, The Faculty engaged in this Ordinance, 
 and that is your Confcience. 
 
 Secondly, The Benefit that arifes from this So- 
 lemnity, and that is the Anfwer of a good Con- 
 fcience } and 
 
 'Thirdly, In this you have very little Concern 
 with Men, but it*s all towards God. You do it 
 to pleafe him, and no other Approbation than 
 his will be of any avail to you. 
 
 Firfi, You fee that being baptized, either 
 offering up yourfelves or Children to God in 
 
 B 4 that 
 
8 l^he Duty of B a ? r i s u. 
 
 that Ordinance, is a Work of Confcience^ which 
 is that Faculty that affirms a Judgment about 
 your Duty, and therefore if all you have to fay 
 for doing it, is, " that it's a Family Practice, 
 " that you tread in the Steps of your Fathers, 
 " it is the Cuftom of the Place where you live s 
 " People will think it ftrange if you negleft it ; 
 " you will have the Reproach of being fmgu- 
 lar." In fhort, if thefe are your beft Reafons 
 for it, though the Thing itfelf is an A&. of Reli- 
 gion, yet in you^ it's no more than a Conformity 
 to th? World : And I fear it may be faid of 
 many a one even in the Duties of Worlhip, that 
 he oniy /(njhions himfelf according to his Luji in thi 
 Days of his Ignorance. 
 
 Confcience has no Part in the Splutter that 
 feme People make about their Devotions, they 
 do not pretend to give you Reafons for jt from 
 the Word of God : If they plead the Authority 
 of the Church it's as high as they will go, but 
 that is a great Way Ihort of the Sacred Rule. 
 Your Duty arifes purely from a Divine Com- 
 mand. If it is with a Senfe of ihis that you offer 
 up cither yourfelves or Children to God, you 
 begin well, but if your Reafons for ferving him 
 are fetched any lower than from himfelf, your 
 Baptifm will be no more, than that of Simon 
 Magus. 
 
 No manner of Doubt of it, it was valid, ac- 
 cording to the wretched Senfe that's put on the 
 Word, in this Difpute. By the Validity of your 
 Baptilm they mean that which every ferious 
 Perfon ought to defpife ; whether it's performed 
 by one who had Authority for it, certainly there 
 can be no Qiieftion but the Apoftle Peter had 
 that : But 1 can tell them, that this Baptifm was 
 tiot Valid, to any good Purpofe ; it paffed for 
 nothing in the Soul of the Man who received it -, 
 
 his 
 
T*he Duty of B a ? t i s m. g 
 
 his Heart was net right in the Sight of God. Serm. 
 And inftead of being indulged by the Talk of I. 
 vain Men in our Day that he had got the Baptif- v—- v— J 
 mal Regeneration, he is bid to repent of hisWick- ^^^^ '^"'• 
 ednefs, \i perhaps the thought of his Heart might ^** 
 he forgiven^ for he had no Lot or Portion in this 
 Matter ; he was in the Gall of Bitternefs and the 
 Bond of Iniquity, notwithftanding his being bap- 
 tized by a Ferfon of undoubted Authority. 
 
 Secondly, You fee further, that the Benefit 
 which arifes from this Ordinance is owing to the 
 Anfwer of a good Confcience. The V/ord 
 sm^ufir\^x figniBes a ^efiion as well as an Jnfwer. 
 A good Confcience is firfi one that's well in- 
 truded about the things of God, it muft have a 
 Correfpondence with his Word. As to the Un- 
 believers, their Mind andConfciences are defiled. Tit.i. 15. 
 
 Secondly, It fignifies the Grace of God in that 
 Faculty, that there \% a Love of the 7^-uth, a 
 Pelight in the Law of the Lord after the inward 
 Man, that it endeavours to make Perfons blarn^- 
 lefs and barmlefs as the Sons of God. 
 
 Now the Anfwer of this good Confcience may be 
 taken two Ways, according to the different Senfe 
 that's given of the Word. 
 
 1. For the Profejfion that it makes ; Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do ? Truly I am thy 
 Servant. Thou art he whofe I am, and whom I 
 would ferve. / am not my own, but bought with 
 a Price. 
 
 2. It may be underflood of the Demand, or 
 Plea, that arifes from a good Confcience. This 
 is an aft of Faith in the Covenant ; and each of 
 thefe belong to the Improveinent of Baptifm ; 
 for as in that we confefs our Dedication by which 
 we are the Lord's -, fo, at the fame Time, we lay 
 hold on the Relation by which be is ours. 1 will 
 be to them a Gcd^ and they fJoall h to me a People, 
 
 is 
 
lO T'he Duty <?/'. B a p t i s m. 
 
 is the Subftance of that Covenant, to which both 
 Parties fet their Seal in the Solemnity of Bap- 
 tifm The Ordinance itfelf, without this, is aThing 
 of Nought ; but they that fay, and do fuch 
 things, declare plainly that they feek a City, which 
 Heb. xi. is an heavenly, ivherefore God is not ajhatned to be 
 *^* called their God. As to others he fhuns the Title, 
 
 it is as it were forced upon him, but thefe he 
 owns with Pleafure : And the Importance of 
 this Anfwer of a good Confcience will appear 
 from 
 
 Thirdly^ The Concern it has with God : It is 
 towards him. Our relation to Churches, or par- 
 ticular Profefibrs, is of a lower Nature. Reli- 
 gion is firft of all an individual Thing, what I 
 have in myfelf and not another : I am the Lord's 
 and his only : Not my own, and much lefs theirs 
 who can have no Share in my Salvation. 
 
 For which Reafon, I wifli fome good and 
 learned Men had not fallen in fo much as they 
 have done with the Popifh Cant., of living within 
 the Pale of the Church. It is plain, x.\\\s Phrafe 
 is ufed in a very felfifh Way, and feldom means 
 any more than the Reputation of a Party : 
 Therefore I was grieved to find this Remark, in 
 an ufeful Annotator upon the Story of Noah^s 
 y^rk. That there is no Salvation but in the Church. 
 If by the Church they mean in Cbrift, the change 
 of the Word is fcandalous -, and if they mean 
 any thing elfe, the Doctrine is falfe. To fay 
 that by being in the Church our Derivations 
 are from k, is, both Foolilh and Wicked : And 
 if by being in the Church, we underftand our 
 Communion with it, there muft be Salvation an- 
 tecedent to That : A Man is fuppofed to be in 
 Chrift, and therefore a New Creature before he 
 is admitted -into the Fellowfhip of the Gofpel : 
 And if he never does complete his ProfefTion, 
 
 eithe;* 
 
*The Duty ^Baptism, ii 
 
 either for want of Opportunity, or for want of Serm". 
 Care -, though the firlt is his Unhappinefs, and I. 
 the latter his Fault, yet to fay that he fhailnotbe 
 faved, is talking at random, for the Fctmdatlcn 
 of Godjiandsfure^ having this Seal not, that the 
 Lord knows them who are Church-Members, 
 but them that are his. 
 
 From thefe Hints, I fhall have my Way very 
 clear to feveral Directions that I would give 
 you for a more ufeful Engagement in the Duty 
 of Baptifm, and I fhall range them under thefc 
 three Heads. 
 
 F/r/?, Some are preliminary to your Concero 
 in that Ordinance. 
 
 Secondly, Some relate to the Work itfelf, and 
 the Temper with which it ought to be per- 
 formed. And 
 
 Thirdly^ Some follow after, and become our 
 Duty when the Solemnity is over : And in all 
 thefe I Ihall confider with an equal Regard, both 
 the Cafe of thofe, who offer themfehes to God, 
 and thofe who bring their Children: For what- 
 ever Difference there may be in their Opinions^ 
 I am fure there is none in their bcft Intereji. 
 
 Now, if you would make Baptifm to be 
 more than the wajhing aivay the Filth of the Flejh -, 
 if in that, you would find the Anfuuer of a good 
 Confcience towards God, I hope you will givq 
 your Teftimony to the following Direclioris. 
 
 Firfi, I fhall begin with thofe which are preli' 
 minary to the Duty : And under this Head I 
 may bring in the whole Practice of that Reli- 
 gion, that's undeiiled before God and our Fa- 
 ther, but I will mention no more than thefe three 
 Particulars. 
 
The Duty of B AV r ism. 
 
 1. That your Converfation becomes the Gof* 
 pel of Chrift. 
 
 2. That thofe of you who defign to devote 
 your Children to God in Baptifm be partakers of 
 the Lord's Supper^ and that fuch who are Adult 
 do enter upon one Ordinance with a View to the 
 other. 
 
 3. That you guard againft the evil and dan- 
 gerous Opinions that fome People have got into 
 about the Nature and Defign of Baptifm. I 
 Ihall purfue, and enlarge upon thefe Directions 
 in their Order. 
 
 I. It is fuppofed, and it muft be fo, that 
 thofe People who are either admitted to Bap- 
 tifm, or whofe Children are brought to God in 
 that Ordinance, have a Converfation becoming the 
 Cofpel of Chrift. 
 
 That's a low Notion of it, "that it is no more 
 than a Civil Badge, to tell the World that we 
 make a Profeflion of the Chriftian Religion as 
 diftinguifhed from others. If it is only that, it 
 is pity we Ihould have it, nor was there any Oc- 
 cafion to deliver it from a Fund of Authority, 
 that comprehends all Power in Heaven and itt 
 Earth. 
 
 A Drunkard, a Swearer, a fcandalous, or an 
 ignorant Man, is no better than an Heathen^ or a 
 Publican ; he has nothing to do to take the Co- 
 venant into his Mouth, much lefs to receive the 
 Seals of it : As in the Lord's Supper fuch an 
 one only eats and drinks Damnation to himfelf ; 
 fo Baptifm to him, will prove like the bitter Wa^ 
 ters that caufe the Curfe. It's only the Profti- 
 tutionof an Ordinance of God to the Formality 
 and Prophanenefs of Men. 
 
 There 
 
l^he Duty ^Baptism. 
 
 There's a dreadful Threatening againft the 
 Man who eats of the Holy Things of the Lord, 
 having bis Unckannefs upon him -, and this obhges 
 to the greateft Care, thofe, who bear the VelTels 
 of the Lord that they be not Partakers of other 
 Mens Sins, but keep themfelves pure. 
 
 This, I think, may be laid down as a Princi- 
 ple, that I am to admit no Child to Baptifm, 
 one of whofe Parents I would not receive to the 
 Table of the Lord : Nor fhould any adult Per- 
 fon be allowed one Ordinance, who gives fuffi- 
 cient Ground of debarring him from the other. 
 I cannot fee any Value in that Objedion, " Why 
 *' Ihould the Child fufFer for the Parents Fault ? " 
 Becaufe I confider the Baptifm of a Child as an 
 A(5l of the Father, it is the furrender that he 
 makes of what God has gracioufly given him : 
 Now, if his whole Life declares that, he never 
 gave himfelf to the Lord, its combining with his 
 hlypocrify for me to aflift him in giving of his 
 Infant. 
 
 We call thefe two Inflitutions of the New 
 Tefiament the Seals of the Covenant, but they 
 never y^^/ what you have not, nor can they y^^/ 
 any thing that you did not. If they are Seals on 
 God's Part, it is, of his Love to you in your 
 Pardon and Sandification : But how can this be, 
 when they are the Things which you defpife ? And 
 if they are Seals on your Part, it is of your Refo- 
 lution to be the Lord's : Whereas you are re- 
 folved not to be his, but are alienated from the 
 whole Life of God, through the Ignorance that is in 
 you. 
 
 ■ I begin with thefe Diredtions, and if you do 
 not begin there too, it is in vain either for me to 
 add, or you to hear any more. If you are 
 Enemies to the Crofs of Chrifl^ it fignifies nothing 
 offering yourfelvcs or your Infants to God in 
 
 Bap- 
 
7^e Duty of B AV T isu^. 
 
 Baptifm. You muft abftain from all Filthinefs 
 both of Flefh and Spirit, or otherwife it will da 
 you no good to wafh away the Filth cf the flejh : 
 For all this, while there is a powerful Reluclance 
 in your Nature, you are not fubjedl to the Law 
 of God, inflead of having the Anfwer of a good 
 Conscience towards God. 
 
 ' I fear there's many a one who would be afraid 
 of leaving his Child unbaptized, and yet he has 
 no other Fear of God before his Eyes : As if he 
 thought Baptifm was more needful to his Infant, 
 than Repentance to himfelf How uneven are the 
 Notions of ungodly Men about Religion ? Who 
 would think they Ihould lay fo great a Strefs on 
 ft revealed Law, that take fo much Pains to 
 break all the Inlaid Commandments of Nature j 
 the Work of the Law in their own Hearts? 
 
 Wilt thou know, oh vain Man ! that there is a 
 thoufand Times more Neceflity of Repentance 
 and Faith, and Fruits meet for Repentance than 
 there is of Baptifm either for thee or thy Child ; 
 and until thy Life is better, thy bringing an In- 
 fant to an Ordinance is an Abomination to the 
 Lord, like Smoke in his Nofe : Until thou hafl 
 done offering thyfelf to Mammon^ thou hadft as 
 good offer thy Child to Molock : Thou knoweffc 
 that the true God, is one, whom thou haft no- 
 thing to do with. And it there is any here 
 whofe Cafe this reaches, may it go into his Con- 
 fcience. If the next Time fuch an one is to 
 think of the Ordinance of Baptifm, he is led to 
 enquire into the Ground ot his own Salvation, 
 he will be very happy in the Argument. 
 
 2. As a Confequence upon this, it is very de- 
 firable that they who offer thevjfches to God in 
 Baptifm, fliould do it with a View of owning 
 the fame Covenant in the Lord's Supper, and 
 that thofe who have thought of bringing their 
 
 Infants 
 
'The Duty of B a? t is u. t^ 
 
 Infants to that Ordinance fhould have engaged in Serm. 
 the other, before hand. I. 
 
 I don't apprehend one fingle Argument, that <— ^v--^ 
 a Perfon can have againft his joining in the 
 Lord's Supper, that does not conclude as much 
 againft the baptizing of his Child. The unfit- 
 nefs that deferves to keep you from the one, 
 will have the fame ill Confequence in the other. 
 
 The two Ordinances of Circumcifion and the 
 PafTover were made equal Parts of ProfelTion 
 among the Jems, and he that negledted bringing 
 the Offering of the Lord in his appointed Seafon, 
 had no claim to the other Solemnity for his Male 
 Child, but was to be cut off from among his 
 People. We have, in the New Tejtmnent, as 
 plain a Command for the Lord's Supper, do this 
 in remembrance of me, as we have for Baptifm of 
 any Sort j and will you become partial in the 
 Law ? 
 
 The Succefs of Chriftianity at firft was re- 
 markable this way, as People turned to God 
 from dead Idols amongft the Gentiles, and from 
 dead Works amongft the Jews, fo they brought 
 forth Fruit meet for Repentance. In the 2d chap- 
 ter of the ABs that vaft Number of Converts 
 were bid to fave themfelves from an untoward 
 Generation in which they lived, to believe and 
 be baptized : And in- Obedience to their Doc- 
 trine they were fo,- and the fame Day they were 
 added to the Church. I fuppofe that Phrafe 
 takes in all the Parts of a Profeflion, as it's ex- 
 plained afterwards : They continued in the Apoflle*s A6ls ii, 
 DoSfrine and FellowfiMp, and in breaking of Bread 4^- 
 and in Prayers. The Converts were very ready 
 to receive Ordinances. 
 
 And here I would take Occafion to give an 
 
 hearty Advice to thofe in this Affembly who are 
 
 of another Ooinion frorri me, and- 1 hope the 
 
 «: dif- 
 
1 6 T!he Duty of B a ? t t s u, 
 
 diflfcrent Caji of Our Notions will not make my 
 Words fall to the Ground, asWaters that cannot 
 be gathered. It is upon this Cafe that I hear 
 there are feveral, who fuppofe that Baptifm is 
 only the Work of thofe that are grown up, and 
 yet negledl it themfelves. My Brethren, who- 
 ever is in the right in Dodrine, you are quite 
 wrong in Praftice : Don't defpife the Advice of 
 one who has more Value for your Happinefs^ 
 than he has for his own Opinion •, I will give 
 you it in the Words of Ananias^ Why tarrieji 
 Afts xxii. thou ? Arife and be baptized, wajhing away thy 
 >6. &»j, and calling on the Name of the Lord. 
 
 You know in what hatle the EunucB was; See^ 
 here is Water, what hinders r,ie that I (hould not be 
 baptized? Peter upon feeing that the HolyGhoft 
 fell on them that heard the Word, foon con- 
 cluded what was next to be done •, What Man, 
 fays he, can forbid Water, that thefefljould be bap- 
 tized who have received the Holy Ghofi as well as 
 we ! The Jailor was baptized the fame Hour of 
 the Night ; and it is but changing one Turn in 
 the Exhortation, and that will ferve thofe of 
 different Sentiments, and with whom my Con- 
 cern chiefly lies. 
 
 Own the Covenant for y&urf elves, in the Way 
 that God expeds it from you, and then it's more 
 regular and uniibrm to own it tor your Children. 
 1 am far from pretending to be either an Exam- 
 ple or a Judge for other Minifters -, but I have 
 along while thought tliat admitting Children to 
 Baptifm, whofe Parents live in a plain Negled 
 of their Duty, has flickered a great Impropriety 
 in Churches : I am fure it's not doing things de- 
 cently and in Order : It's beginning at the wrong 
 End. Put them in Mind how the Covenant 
 runs, / willfirfi be a God to thee, and then to thy 
 Seed after thee. Thus one Ordinance (hall appear 
 
 con- 
 
I'he Duty of B A ? r 1 s M. 
 
 conneded to another. You will be among the 
 Jiving, and praife our God. Tibe Fathers to the 
 Children Jhall declare his 'Truth. 
 
 3. As another Preliminary to your Benefit and 
 Comfort in this Ordinance, do not admit of 
 feme vile and dangerous Opinions, that Men of 
 corrupt Minds have tolled into the World about 
 it J I will mention thefe three. 
 
 1. That it is a regenerating Ordinance. 
 
 2. That there is no Salvation without it. 
 
 3. That the Salvation that comes by it, is ow- 
 ing to the Regularity of the Minifter that per- 
 forms it. 
 
 I . It is a bafe and carnal Opinion to fay that 
 it is a regenerating Ordinance. The Papift tells 
 you very roundly, that it wajhes away Original 
 Sin : If (b, I fuppofe there would be no Occafion 
 in the New Teftament to complain as David did 
 in theOW, Behold I was Jhapen in Biiquiiy^ and in Pfal. li. 5; 
 Sin did my Mother conceive me \ for which he prays, 
 ■purge me with Hyfop, and I Jhall be clean^ wajh 
 mey and I Jhall be whiter than Snow. But, it is 
 apparent, that the Apoftle Paul had no fuch 
 Notion of it. Ananias^ indeed, bid him be bap- 
 tized, and wafh away his Sins : But that refers to 
 his calling on the Lord Jefus : Remiilion of Sins 
 comes with the Sanftification that is by Faith in 
 him. It is the Baptifm oj Repentance for the Re- 
 mijfion of Sins, that is, the Baptifm that obliges 
 to Repentance -, as even John\ did ; and the 
 Baptifm that led up to the Righteoufnefs in 
 which we are accepted and pardoned, and this 
 Saul had before his Baptifm ; he did no more 
 than declare his Confent to, and his Dependance 
 upon thacCovenant in which he was to be bap- 
 tized. 
 
 C , . So 
 
The Duty of ^ hY ^ \^ m. 
 
 So that as to the Guilt of original Sin (and 
 adual too) it was done away, but th*" remains of 
 it ftuck by him as long as he lived : And a great 
 while after his Baptifm he complains, in wf, that 
 is imnyFleJh, there dwells no good thing. wretch- 
 ed Man that I am^ whojhall deliver me from the 
 Body of this Death? It is far from being the 
 Baptifm of Repentance, that is advanced with 
 fuch Notions as fuperfede the Pra<5lice of Re- 
 pentance •, no : Poor Wretches are taught to 
 think that a Minifter has done all that for them 
 which ought to be their chief Care for themfelves. 
 But its plain when the Grace of God comes into 
 the Souls of Men, it.roots up all that the Church 
 has planted. 
 
 We are told in the Office for baptizing In- 
 fants, that *' the Child is conceived and born in 
 Sin ; " then follows a Prayer for fancftifying 
 Grace, and fo when he has got the Water and 
 the Crofs in his Forehead, the Prieft ventures 
 to fay, that " this Child is regenerated and 
 " grafted into the Body of Chrift's Church : " 
 And afterwards this is delivered in a Prayer, 
 " We give thee Thanks, moft m,erciful Father, 
 " that it has pleafed thee to regenerate this In- 
 *' fant with thy Holy Spirit, and to receive him 
 " for thine own Child by Adoption." And 
 Jiow early are poor ignorant Perfons taught 
 to fay " that in their Baptifm they were made 
 *' Members of Chrift, Children of God, and 
 *' Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven ^. " 
 
 But can Regeneration, Adoption and Union to 
 Chrift mean fo little in the Bible^ as they do in 
 that Catechifm ? Are Children to be taught to go 
 aftray, ipeaking Lies as loon as they are born -, 
 for either what they fay is falfe, or if there is 
 any way of making it true, it is not enough to 
 be a Privilege. And its a Notion of the fame 
 4 . ^ Stamp 
 
The Duty <?/*Baptism. ig 
 
 Stamp that doles the whole Office ; that " its Serm. 
 " certain by the Word of God. Children I. 
 '* which are baptized dying before they commit <— —v— — j 
 <' a6lual Sin, are undoubtedly faved." As God 
 himfelf has thrown a Vail over this, fo intrud'mz ^^^- ^^- 
 into thofeThings which we have not feen^ only proves * °' 
 that we are vainly puffed up in our flejhly Minds. 
 But it is very bold to fay that its certain by the 
 Word of God, which the Word of God has 
 never told us a Syllable of. 
 
 Whether your Children are regenerated by 
 Baptifm or no, is more than we can tell : God 
 has not faid it. That they fhail be fanflified and 
 filled with the Holy Ghoft from their Mother's 
 Womb, upon their being received in this Ordi- 
 nance, is making the Blefling of the New Cove- 
 nant come by the Will of Men, and of the Will 
 of the Flefh and not of God : But be not de- 
 ceived, God is not mocked^ don't think fo idly of 
 thofe Favours that come by his Spirit : If he 
 does not more for you than Minifters were capa- 
 ble of doing by Baptifm, if the Regeneration of 
 that Ordinance, is all the Regeneration you have, 
 you are fiill f owing to the Flejh, and mujl reap Cor- 
 ruption. 
 
 2. It is another very dangerous Opinion that 
 there is no Salvation without Baptifm : the for- 
 mer Notion brings you into Stupidity^ and this 
 into Defpair •, but the Comfort i«, that there is as 
 little Ground for the one, as the other. Where 
 has God made either this Ordinance, or any 
 other fo needful to Happinefs ; fo that Perfons 
 who cannot have them, which is the Cafe of 
 many Thoufands, are under a Neceflity of pe- 
 rifliing eternally ? Why will Men talk v/ith fuch 
 a Confidence ? As if they had the Keys of Death 
 and of the unfeen World ; and could, at their 
 own Pieafure, make Pafles either to Heaven or 
 
 C 2 Hell ! 
 
20 Ihe Duty of B a ? r i s u. 
 
 Hell ! Is it in this Senfe that they have the Keys 
 of the Kingdom of Heaven ? We may well fay, 
 as the Scripture docs, upon another Occafion, 
 Wo ! Wo ! Wo ! to the Earth, becaufe of fuch 
 a Plague, that Happinefs and Damnation fhall 
 be difpofed of by a ielfiih and peevifh Order of 
 Men. 
 
 But rejoice^ Daughter of Sion, that thy King 
 reigns ; and there is but One of whom it is faid, 
 that he has the Key of David, He opens and no 
 Man flmts, hejhuts and no Man can open, don't 
 give way to fuch a Notion as will tear the Bowels 
 of tender Parents with unquiet Fears about their 
 Children that die young : Don't think that they 
 are not in the Covenant, becaufe not received, as 
 its called, into the vifible Church. 
 
 We have one Cafe in the Bible that will fhew 
 us how good Men ufed to think upon .this Head, 
 and that is David's Behaviour upon the Death of 
 that Child which he had by Bathjheha : He was 
 not to be circumcifcd until the eighth Day, now 
 he died upon the Seventh, but what then ? Is 
 that any Torture to the Father's Hopes ? No, 
 far from it ; he fpeaks with as much Serenify as 
 if he had lived to the ninth Day, IJhall go to 
 him, but he Jhall not return to me. 
 
 I think there is a Pradice which pays too 
 great a Compliment to this fcandalous Notion, 
 and that is hurrying on the Baptifm of a Child 
 becaule it is fick •, for which I can fee no fhow 
 of Argument, unlefs it fprings from this Root 
 of Bitternefs that I have been fpeaking of. I ra- 
 ther think a dying Creature, one, of whofe Re- 
 covery we have no- Hopes, cannot be the Objedt 
 of Baptifm ; that Ordinance was never defigned 
 to be ufed among Proteftants, as extreme Undtion 
 is among the Papifts, 
 
 We 
 
The Duty (jT B a p t i s m. 
 
 We do, and I think with a great deal of Ju- 
 ftice, refufe to adminifter the Lord's Supper to 
 a Perfon on a Death-bed, and I cannot fee but 
 the Argument is as conclufive againft this Abufe 
 of Baptifm. He that believes makes not hajle. If 
 God has given me a Child, I fhall refign it to 
 him very often, before I do it in a folemn Ordi- 
 nance, and if he denies me an Opportunity of 
 cxprefTing this in the Manner I think it ought 
 to be done, it will be no Part of my Uneafinefs, 
 it it dies unbaptized : It is better I think to 
 leave fuch a Duty undone, than not to have it 
 well done. God never expe6ls it either from you 
 or me, when he has thrown a Bar in our way, 
 that we break it, or leap over it. There is no 
 more Harm in your not doing it, than there was 
 in David's not building the Temple : You had 
 made Provijion for it, and you did well in that it 
 was in your Heart. And though you fhould not 
 haften the Work with fuch an Opinion as this, 
 yet take Care that your Gt)od be not evil fpoken 
 of, that you do not hdjden others in it, and fo 
 become a (lumbling Block to them that are weak. 
 As the Apoftle, in a parallel Cafe, fays. If any »..9<>r- 
 Man fee thee who haft knowledge fit at Meat in the ^''"* *°' 
 Idols Temple •, fhall not the Confcience of him who 
 is weak be emboldened to eat thofe Things which are 
 offered in Sacrifice to Idols ? And through thy 
 Knowledge fhall thy weak Brother periflo for whom 
 Chrifi died', but when you fo fin againft the Brethren^ 
 and wound their weak Confcience, you fin againft 
 Chrifi. The Argument holds good here, per- 
 haps you are not fo much in hafte for the Bap- 
 tifm of your Child, from a Suppofition that 
 there is no Salvation without it ; but what if an 
 uninftruded Neighbour puts this Senfe on the 
 Zeal you fhew to have it done, and conclude it 
 is for the fame Reafon that would have moved 
 
 C 3 him 
 
2 2 The Duty ^Baptism. 
 
 Serm. him to do fo ; you may in this, lay the Foiinda- 
 I. tion of a great Uneafinefs to him if the Provi- 
 *^ dence of God fI:iould do, what we have ten thou- 
 sand Examples of, fnatch away his Child on a 
 fudden ; the Error of his Judgment is enough 
 to throw him into melancholy, and thus through 
 thy Knowledge fhall thy weak Brother olFend. 
 
 3. It is of all others an Opinion the mod 
 fooliili and impudent, that the Salvation which 
 comes by Baptifm is owing to the Regularity 
 of the Minifter that performs it, and that not a 
 Regularity in a Moral Senfe but an Ecclefiajlical 
 one. By his being a fit Minifter to baptize, they 
 do not mean, that he fhall be fober, of good Be- 
 haviouTy oft to teach^ holding fafi the faithful 
 Word', all this avails him nothing without a 
 Lineal Virtue, which if it did not come from 
 Anti-Chrili, it certainly came through him. Nay, 
 fo foolilh have fome been in this unmannerly 
 Doctrine, as to tcil us " the very Immortality 
 ** of our Souls is owing to the Baptifmal Spirit ; 
 '' which, fincc the ApoPcle's Days, is only con- 
 ** veyed by Bifhops : " As if it was not enough 
 to confound the Works of Grace, unlefs they 
 dellroy thofe of the God of Nature. If you 
 proceed to the Ordinance with any fuch Delu- 
 fions in your Head, its no wonder that you fall 
 iliort of the Benefit. Ihe FoolifJonefs of Fcols is 
 ■deceit. You ought to be eftabliflied in the Truth, 
 and the Truth ihall make you free. Be not car- 
 ried about "with every Wind of Borrrine., or fuf- 
 fered to be toiled to and fro, by the Slight of 
 Men, and* the cunning Craftinefs of thofe that 
 he in wait to deceive, ii you offer the Blind for 
 Sacrifice is it not evil .? A wife Man's Eyes are in 
 h-'S Head, but a Fool zvalki in Darknefs. 
 
 R- 
 
the Duty o/" B a p t i s m. 
 
 23 
 
 SERMON IL 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^L ^ 
 
 W\ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 w 
 
 Secondly, ^^^^ Am to give you fome D/- 
 reElions that relate to the 
 Work itfelf, and are to be 
 obferved at the Time of the 
 Adminiftration ; and under this Head I will not 
 croud you with a Multitude of Particulars, but 
 only leave with you thefe three Things. 
 
 1. Be fatisfied that it is performed according 
 to the Rule given you in the Word of God. 
 
 2. If it be pofTible, let it be done in the Publick 
 Aflembly of his People. 
 
 3. There fhould be a great deal of Seriouf- 
 nefs in your Temper, whether you bring your- 
 felves or Infants to God in this Ordinance. 
 
 I. It is of the utmoft Importance to the Be- 
 nefit and Comfort of this Duty, that it be ad- 
 miniftered according to the Word, other wife, 
 though there may be a wafhing away the Filth of 
 the Flefh, there will never be the Anfwer of a 
 good Confcience towards God. As if our Saviour 
 forefaw how much this Ordinance was to fuffer 
 by human Intrufions, he fets a Bar quite round 
 the Inftitution. 
 
 • I. By telling the Apoftles that this Order to 
 baptize into the Name of the Father, of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghoft, was the Refult of his 
 liaving All Power given to him both in Heaven and 
 
 C 4 in 
 
T'he Duty (?/ B A p T I s M. 
 
 in Earth : From which I would conclude, that 
 the Soleinnity is complete as he left it, and that it 
 wants no more to make it efFcdual. And then 
 
 2. He places a Caution on the other Side, 
 teaching them to obferve all 'Things that I have 
 commanded you. And you are to limit the Pro- 
 mife with which he clofes, by the Rules that he 
 had given them j lo, I am with you always unto 
 the End of the World. This Divine Prefence 
 will attend nothing but a Divine Miniftration : 
 When People leave Chrift, and the Method of 
 his Worfhip, he will leave them. He has not 
 publifhed his Laws, as Men do theirs, with 
 thofe Imperfeftions, that they mud be explained 
 and mended ; no, he is the Rocky and his IVork 
 is perfe^y and all his Commandments are Jure. 
 
 The Inftitution itfelf is a Divine Ceremony : It 
 would be of no Value if we had not his Com- 
 mand for it. We never could be of Opinion 
 that either dipping or fprinkling would be of 
 any avail, if we did not find it among the Orders 
 given by an exalted Saviour. Therefore, to 
 throw our Ceremonies among his, is mingling 
 two Authorities together : If he had thought that 
 wafhing with Water was not fufficient without 
 the Sign of the Crofs, he would have told us, 
 and made that fupernumerary Addition more an- 
 cient than it is : For from the Beginning it was 
 not fo. We may call it a Token of Peoples fight- 
 ing manfully ; but its no Token for Good, nor 
 did Mankind ever find any more Courage in 
 thofe that have it, than in thofe that want it. 
 
 Nor does it fcatter among thofe that have rer 
 ceived this Mark in their Foreheads, any Zeal 
 for the Do£lrine of the Crofs. They do not un- 
 derftand better than their Neighbours the great 
 Article of Juftification, from that RighteouT- 
 nefs that was brought in by the Death of the 
 
 Crofs 'y 
 
The Duty of B a ? t i s u. t§ 
 
 Crofs \ nor did we fee that it promotes the In- Serm. 
 fiuence of the Crofs upon our Hearts and Lives, jj. 
 that it makes People more felf- denying, and »_ -^- j 
 mortified to the World : In a Word, it rather 
 tends to crucify our Lord afrelh in the Honour 
 of his Authority, and the Liberties of his Peo-. 
 pie. It has made Men Schifmaticks who walk 
 in all the Statutes and Commandments of the 
 Lord blamelefs ; and is a Token of nothing k> 
 much as this, that other Lords ha'ue had Domi- 
 nion over us. 
 
 And as to that other Piece of human Lumber 
 that's come into this Ordinance of appointing 
 Godfathers : 'Tis fuch an undoing of what God 
 has eftabliflied in the Laws of Nature, fuch an 
 over-ruling and transferring a parental Authority y 
 that it's no Wonder that fo little Good comes of 
 it. That it has fpread a Perjury through the 
 Land, and brought People into a Habit of Pro- 
 mifing and Vowing what they never defigned to 
 perform, is not fo much as denied : And what 
 Benefit may be expected to a poor Child who is 
 offered up to God, with a Solemnity of fo much 
 Falfliood I cannot imagine. Solomon has given 
 fuch a Name to thefe Pradices that Ihould not 
 make us very fond of them : If thou voweji a 
 Vow unto the Lord, defer not to pay it, for he has 
 tio Pleafure in Fools. 
 
 If any fhould object that the Sprinkling of In- 
 fants is a Breach of this Diredtion, that it's not 
 according to the Word of God, and therefore 
 muft be as bad as thofe Abominations that I have 
 now mentioned \ I am fatisfied any Brother who 
 loves the meeknefs of Wifdom will not defpife this 
 Anfwer, becaufe there's a great Difference be- 
 tween mijiaking the divine Rule, and totally lay- 
 ing it afide : The Reafon why we do not act as 
 feme other Chriftians do, is^ becaui'e we think 
 
 thefe 
 
26 Hoe Duty of B a? t ism. 
 
 thefe Demands are not made in Scripture. And 
 though they may think they are, yet both Parties 
 pay a Deference to the Book of God. But it's 
 quite otherwife, when there's no pretence of 
 fetching the Praftice from this Rule, but are 
 going willingly after the Traditions of Men, the 
 Rudiments of the World, and not after Chrill. 
 
 In one Controverfy the Scripture is magnified, 
 though not fully underftood, in the other 'tis 
 depreciated. Keep the Ordinances as they are 
 delivered to you^ and the Commandment pure and 
 unrebukable unto the coming of Jefus Chrifl, or 
 otherwife, inftead of a Blefling we bring upon 
 ourfelves a Curfe. The fecond Commandment 
 relates to the Worfliip of the true God in a right 
 Manner^ and the only Standard of that, muft 
 be the Rule that he has given us : He there 
 fliews us what a different Intail there is on your 
 Children, as Parents keep clofe to the Direcftion, 
 or as they wander from it. He is a jealous God, 
 viftting the Iniquity of the Fathers upon their Chil- 
 dren^ unto the third aiid fourth Generation of them 
 that hate him : He confiders Superftition as no 
 better than a Hatred of God, and therefore this 
 is fo far from being the Way to hereditary Mer- 
 cies, that it is an Iniquity to be vifited upon the 
 Generations that come after them ; but hejhews 
 Mercy unto Thoufands of them that loi^e him, and 
 declare their Love to him by keeping his Com- 
 mandments. You fee then the way that you have 
 for any Hope of obtaining Mercy, cither for 
 yourfelves or for your Infants, in this Ordi- 
 nance. 
 
 id'y. It is very defirable that this Solemnity 
 ofBaptifm fhould be adminiftercd in a publick 
 Affembly. John's was fo : He did it in the 
 Face of Multitudes, and I think the Nature of 
 the Ordinance requires it. 'Tis not fo properly 
 
 my 
 
T^e Duty of ^ kv 'v x ^ m. 
 
 my clofing with God's Covenant either for my- 
 felf or my Child : M it is with my Soul as it 
 ought to be, that muft be done very often in 
 private, with a greater Freedom than I can ufe 
 before any WitnelTes : But when I do this in 
 Baptifm, it is my Declaration to the World, or 
 at leaft to the People of God, that I will be the 
 Lord's. This was plainly the Cafe with that 
 great Shoal of Converts which were brought in 
 by the Draught of one Sermon. Peter bids 
 them repent and be baptized. This Repentance 
 was a fecret Thing, a godly Sorrow that lay 
 within themfelves, but they gladly received the 
 JVord-i and were baptized, about three Thoufand 
 ot thCiTi, and fo were Witneffes to one another. 
 
 The Examples of the Eunuch and the Jailor, 
 are far from concluding againft this Rule. As 
 to the former Philip was alone with him, and fo 
 preached the Gofpel to him, and he was never 
 like to fee him more ; but however, his Baptifm 
 was as publick as the Sermon by which he was 
 converted. The Jailor's Cafe does plainly turn 
 the Argument the other Way, for he was bap- 
 tized with his Houjholdy before all thofe that made 
 up the Auditory. 
 
 The Benefits of a publick Adminiflration 
 ought to turn the Scale. I believe both Mirii- 
 fters and People find a great deal of Difference 
 in the Frame of their Spirit, when they are 
 pulled at once out of the Noife of the World, 
 and can hardly fhake off the Cares that hang 
 about them, and when on God's own Day they 
 have given a folemn Difcharge to every Incum- 
 brance of that Nature. It is certainly defirable 
 in this Ordinance, as well as in others, to attend 
 on the Lord without Didradion. Befidcs, as all 
 Things are to be. done to the Ufe of edifying^ fo 
 whatever does molt anfwer that End, will be 
 
 chofen 
 
2 8 l^he Duty of B a ? r i s u, 
 
 chofen by a Man who would keep a Confciencc 
 void of Offence towards God. Now, as the 
 Affembly has an Opportunity of being inftrudted 
 about the Nature and Improvement of the Duty, 
 fo the Party baptized, is received under a larger 
 Confluence of Prayer. However, I leave you 
 to judge of this Rule by your Confent to the 
 next, and that is, 
 
 ^dljy Let it be done with the greateft Meafure 
 of Serioufnefs. Abraham fell on his Face when 
 God talked with him, and gave him the Cove- 
 nant. 'Tis indeed an awful Tranfa6lion, when 
 you call Angels and Men, as Witneffes to the 
 Surrender that you make either of yourfelves or 
 your Children. When Jojhua had engaged the 
 Promife of the Ifraelites^ that they would not 
 forfake the Lord God of their Fathers, he fet up 
 a Stone^ and tells them, this Stone had heard all 
 the Words that he had fpoken. The Meaning is 
 not according to the Sound of the Expreffion, 
 but it fignifies thus much, that when they faw 
 that Stone, it might put them in Mind of what 
 they had faid. 
 
 But, in this Cafe, we have living Witneffes. 
 We can appeal to the People of God : They 
 have heard you profefs your Confent to the Co- 
 venant, and they who are like to fee how you 
 bring up your Children, know what you have 
 promifed for them, and would you have your 
 IFickednefs fhown before the whole Congregation ? 
 Angels are in our Aflemblies, and would it not 
 grieve you to know they make this Remark. 
 " There's a Wretch who compaffed God about 
 *' with Lies, who engaged himfelf to do the 
 " Parent's Part in a Chriftian way, and yet 
 " brings up his Children to the Deftroyer." 
 Nay, every one of the Affembly have their Eyes 
 upon you, and therefore they will be looking 
 
 after 
 
The Duty ^Baptism. 
 
 after you ; and if your Care is but a Counter- 
 Part to your Promife, Tou -pay your Vows in the 
 Courts of the Lordy and among all his People. I 
 have often wondered at fome Profeflbrs who fliew 
 fo much Serioufnefs at the Lord's Supper, Ihould 
 make any Abatement of it in Baptifm. They 
 are but two Seals to the fame Covenant, and 
 ought to be attended to with equal Reverence. 
 Nay, if there is to be any DiftiAftion, it*s on the 
 Side of Baptifm, becaufe that's only once done 
 for ourfelves, or for that particular Infant : 
 Whereas we are often called to eat this Bread, 
 and drink this Cup, and fhew forth our Lord's 
 Death until he come. 
 
 It mull ftrike you with an Awe to confider 
 what you are doing ; you have conveyed to your 
 Children a Nature, that without the Grace of 
 that Covenant that you own in Baptifm,will make 
 them unhappy for ever ; and therefore you owe 
 that Infant, who, by yourfelves, is made a pol- 
 luted Creature, the utmofl Care that he may 
 have zfecond Birth. In the Dedication of him 
 to God, you confefs a lineal Stain that's derived 
 from one to another, and how deep ought the 
 Senfe of this to go into your Souls ? 
 
 And then again, refiedl upon the Hope that is 
 fet before you •, the Ordinance of Baptifm is a 
 Memorial that God has confecrated for us a new 
 and living Way : That when we lie in our Blood, 
 he paffes by with a Look and Voice of Love, and 
 fays unto us, live. What an Honour is it upon 
 you now ? And what an Earneftof the Satisfadion 
 above, if you are Parents to a Child of God ? If 
 what he has graciouQy given x.o you, he has more 
 gracioufly owned to be his ? 
 
 They are dear to you, your Lives are bound 
 up in theirs, but what if both you and they are 
 in the Bundle of Life with the Lord your God ? 
 
 A 
 
T'he Duty of B a ? t i s m, 
 
 A Perfon who has devoted himfelf to fuch Me- 
 ditations, who feels the Horrors of a polluted 
 Nature, and breathes out his Defires after a re- 
 newed one, will have his whole Soul engaged. 
 
 And when I am recommending to you a feri- 
 ous Performance of this Duty, fuifer me to tell 
 you that there is one Practice, which, if it is not 
 inconfiftent with it, looks very unfuitable to it, 
 and that is any fenfual Joys upon thefe Occafions. 
 We are told, that the /Ii^k was an Emblem or 
 Figure of our Baptifm, and when Noab entered 
 into it, we read of Abundance of Eating and 
 Drinking, but he was not among that Number. 
 What we call a Chrijlening Dinner^ is but a poor 
 Attendant on our putting on the Lord Jefus 
 Chrift, and rather looks like making a Provijion 
 for the FleJJj to fulfil the Lujls thereof. We read 
 that Abraham made a great Feaft the fame Day 
 that Ifaac was weaned, and that feems to be the 
 Seafon of Life that Nature itfelf has directed us 
 to rejoice in : When God has preferved a Child 
 through the Weaknefs a«d Dangers of Infancy : 
 But to follow Baptifm with an excefs of Riot, is 
 turning the Grace of God into JVantonnefs. I 
 Ihould think, that if I had been owning the 
 Covenant for myfelf or for my Child, my Soul 
 would be fo full of it for one Day, that I fhould 
 not have Leifure for Revellings, Banquettingy 
 and abominable Idolatries, 
 
 Q,dly, I am to give you fome DireBions which 
 concern your Practice after the Solemnity is over. 
 You may be pleafed with the Ordinance, and 
 yet never the better for it : As in preaching the 
 Word, Herod heard John gladly : Many with 
 Joy received the Gofpel ; and fo it may be du- 
 ring the Adminiftration of Baptifm, your Afi'ec- 
 tions may be touched ; but if it goes no deeper, 
 that Water had as good been fpilt on the Ground •, 
 
 and 
 
^he Duty of V> h-^ "v \ 'i m. ^ i 
 
 and therefore, whether you have been offering Serm, 
 yoiirfelves or your Children to the Lord, if you II. 
 would have the Anfwer of a good Confcience 
 towards God, charge thefe four Things on your 
 Soul, and keep them upon the Imagination of 
 the Thoughts of your Heart. 
 
 17?, Oftentimes remember what you have 
 been doing. 
 
 2^/y, Don't think you are baptized into a 
 Party. 
 
 3^/y, Follow all by earnefl Prayer. And 
 
 ^thly^ The v/hole Work mufi: be looking unto 
 Jefus. 
 
 ly?. Oftentimes remember what you have 
 been doing iox your f elves ^ and when your Chil- 
 dren are capable of it, let them know what you 
 did for them. When thy Sons ajk thee in time to 
 come what mean you by thefe Statutes F Let them 
 be convinced how early a Care you had about 
 them. I don't rememberany thing that (truck me 
 fooner with religiousThoughts in my Youth, than 
 my Father's telling me how greatly his Soul was 
 inlarged when he gave me up to God in Bap- 
 tifm : And if ever I have tailed that the Lord is 
 gracious, I hope it's in confequence of that Sur- 
 render. 
 
 'Tis certainly a proper A.rgument to ufe with 
 a Child in very affeding Language, which King 
 Lemuel's Mother fpake to him, What my Son ? Prov. 
 ^he Son of my Womh^ and the Son of my Vozvs ? ^^^^^- 2- 
 And for a Father or Mother to fay, " I was glad 
 " that a Man was born into the World, but a 
 *' Care about thy immortal Part foon found its 
 " way into my Soul ; and the firft great A6t of 
 " my Love to thee as an Infant, was returning 
 " thee again to the Gcd that gave thee ; and 
 
 " wilt 
 
7Z^ Duty (p/' B A p T I s M. 
 
 " wilt thou not (land to the Agreement ? Shall 
 " the Tranfadion pafs for nothing ? I am then 
 
 clear of this mine Oath, and having been a 
 
 Witnefs for thee, muft at the great Day of 
 *' Accounts come forth as a Witnefs againft 
 " thee." 
 
 If fuch an Exhortation as this, delivered with 
 the Tendernefs and Authority of a Parent, does 
 not make an Impreffionj'tis a Sign that Confcience 
 is far gone into Stupidity. But do your Chil- 
 dren ever hear you talk at this Rate } Are they not 
 rather tempted to think that you baptized them, 
 juft as you feed- and cloath them.'' They were 
 Things of courfe. What Pains will you take to 
 make a Son know the Privileges he was born to ? 
 The Title and Extent of his Eftate, and what he 
 is like to be Mafter of, by his relation to you ? 
 You'll fit him by Education to enjoy, and per- 
 haps to inlarge the Inheritance of his Father : 
 And it's a mighty Trouble to fee that the Fruit 
 of your Pains, fliall be a Sacrifice of his Folly. 
 And what, is there to be no Concern about the 
 Tranfadion you had for him with the great God ? 
 Have you given him up in a Covenant of Pardon 
 and San6lification ? And is he never to hear 
 of it ? 
 
 Nay, telling your Children is not all, but you 
 are to bring them up in the Nurture and AdmO' 
 nition of the Lord. Your Care fhould be to 
 form their Thoughts and Inclinations to the Blef- 
 fings you defire for them. What lamentable 
 Cries have we from Parents, who live to fee their 
 Children defpife both God and them ? Then 
 they defire Minifters and Chriflian Friends to 
 plead the Promife of the Covenant ; when either 
 by their Negledt or Indulgence, nothing has been 
 done to make them fenfible that they were bap- 
 tized at all. Whilft they are young you gratify 
 
 2 their 
 
7he Duty of B A p T J s M, 
 
 their Humours, and when they are grown up, 
 their divers Lufts and Pleafures •, and when you 
 come to fettle them, the chief Inquiry is about 
 a Portion in this Life. Now this is fo much the 
 Reverfe to your whole Profeflion that you made 
 in Baptifm, that it's no wonder that the Biaft of 
 God follows this fliuffling and trifling Temper, 
 and fo inftead of defiring that he ihould be the 
 God of you and your Seed ; you throw Reli- 
 gion out of your Families by an afier-Bargain : 
 You make fure by Settlements and Artie ies of 
 every thing elfe •, but leave the Worlliip of God 
 to fhift for itfelf. 
 
 Is this training up a Child in the way that he 
 Jhould go when he is young ? Is this laying in 
 againft Apoftafy ? That when he is old he will 
 not depart from it ? 'Tis a Wonder that the 
 Churches of Chrift continue, if we refle6t upon 
 the Folly, the Pride and worldly Mindedncfs of 
 many ProfefTors in the Difpofal of their Children ; 
 and the natural Confequence of thefe Things, 
 that as they are taught to cad off God, God is 
 provoked to caft off them : So that our Aflem- 
 blies are not filled with fuch Families as they 
 ufed to be •, but Sinners are awakened and brought 
 in from the Eaft, and the Wefl, the North and 
 the South, while the Children of the Kingdom 
 are caft out. 
 
 And fo it will be, he will be found of them 
 that feek him not, when he is neglefted by the 
 Defcendants of thofe that ufed to leek his Face. 
 He will never want a People : But thefe dege- 
 nerate Plants of a noble Vine, v.'ill fooner or later 
 com.e to find that they want a God. 
 
 Endeavour to awake fuch Thoughts in your 
 Children, tell them what you have done, and 
 what they mult do. As they grow up, let them 
 know the Scriptures which are able to make them 
 
 D wife 
 
34 7>^^ Duty o/* B A p T I s M. 
 
 Serm. wife unto Salvation, and be fure to acquaint 
 II. them, that though they were paffive in the Or- 
 
 ^•V'Vi^ dinance of Baptifm, yet that they muft be aflive 
 in the Lord's Supper. Perfuade them to own 
 that Covenant in Perfon, which they were re- 
 ceived into by Proxy, that fo they may be no 
 longer confidered as Defcendants from you, but 
 placed on a level with you. Heirs with you of the 
 fame Promife. And if Parents would take fome 
 fpecial Time for this, I believe it would turn to 
 an Account. 
 
 As for Example. On the Birth-Day of your 
 Child, inflead of bloating him with Vanity, and 
 giving him a loofe to Riot ; what if fome Time 
 of that Day were fpent in ferious Prayer both 
 with him and for him. We read of Job\ Sons 
 that they went and feafted every one, on his 
 Day, which is probable might be the Day of his 
 Birth ; but when thefe Days of feafting were gone 
 
 Job i. 5. about. Job fent and fanhified them^ and rofe up 
 early in the Mornings and offered Burnt -Offerings 
 according to the Number of them all, for he faid it 
 may be my Sons have finned and cur fed God in 
 their Heart. 1'hus did Job continually. Thus 
 you may have, as it were, an anniverfary Bap- 
 tifm, and give a yearly Revival to the Solemnity 
 of that Ordinance. Take the Rule of your Prac- 
 
 Pfal. cxi. tice from that good "Word j He has given Meat 
 
 5* unto them that fear him, he will ever be mindful of 
 
 his Covenant. Be you fo too, fay as David did 
 
 1 Chron. to Solomon his Son, Know thou the God of thy 
 
 xxviii. 9. Father, and ferve' him with a perfe5l Heart, and 
 with a willing Mind : For the Lord fearches the 
 Heart, and underfiands all the Imaginations of the 
 thoughts ', if thou fcek him he will be found of 
 thee, but if thou for fake him he will caft thee off 
 for ever, 
 
 idly., 
 
'The Duty oj Baptism. 
 
 idly. Don't think, whether you have given 
 np yourfelves or your Infants to God in this Or- 
 dinance, whether it be by Dipp;ng or Sprink- 
 ling, that you are baptized into a parncular De- 
 nomination. In all thefe little Varieties, as there 
 is but one Body and one Spirit, and one Hope of Eph. iv. 
 your Calling, one Lord., one Faith, fo there is hut 5- 
 one Baptifm. The Charafter that*s taken from 
 the Manner in which the Duty was performed, ;s 
 taken very low, and looks as if I had rather be 
 conlidered in my Diftindlion from God's People 
 than in my Union with them. From hence 
 come Strifes, Railings, evil Surmifings, and per- 
 verfe Difputings. The Man that defpifes me, 
 that denies me his Converfation as a Friend, and 
 will not admit me to Communion, as a Chriftian, 
 merely becaufe I am not baptized in the way 
 that he thinks beft, may be right in his Notion, 
 but I am fure he is wrong in his Pradice. 
 
 Certainly to quarrel about this, is to forget the 
 main Defign of the Ordinance. The baptizing 
 of my Infant does not throw me one Step further 
 from a Perfon who thinks it unlawful to do the 
 fame by bis, and the Reafon is very plain, that 
 though there is a Difference between us, yet it's 
 a fmall one. There are feveral Things in which 
 both Sides are agreed, and not only fo, but with 
 a Harmony of Temper, as well as Principle. As 
 for Example : 
 
 1/?, It is confeflfed, on all Hands, that a Be- 
 liever ought to give himfelf unto the Lord, and 
 take hold of his Covenant. 
 
 idly. That we fhould make fuch a Surrender 
 as this, of all that we have, our Ellates, our 
 Honours, our Reputation, and indeed every 
 thing elfe, therefore 
 
 ~ D 2 S^fyi 
 
T^he Duty ^j/" B A p T I s M. 
 
 o^dly^ A good Man, whatever his Opinion is 
 about this Ordinance, will, and does make a 
 folemn Dedication of his Children to the Lord 
 that gave them ; he is prompted to it by a Love 
 to them and a Zeal for God. 
 
 j\.thly^ In this Work he will plead the Cove- 
 nant, that is, be earneft for the Bleflings con- 
 tained in it ; he will beg the Lord may be a God 
 both to him and his Seed, that his Children may 
 be pardoned by the Blood of Sprinkling, and 
 may have the wafhing of Regeneration, and the 
 renewing of the Holy Ghoft ; nay, 
 
 5/%, He confefles his Obligation to bring 
 them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the 
 Lord : And though he cannot join with fome of 
 his Brethren in the Ordinance of Baptifm, yet he 
 heartily begs that they may join with him, in 
 their Prayers for his Children, and their Advice 
 to them. Thefe two Chriftians can bow the 
 Knee together to the fame Lord Jefus, he is 
 both their Lord and ours : Only here's the Dif- 
 ference, the one thinks his Motions and working 
 of his Soul about his Polferity may be expreffed 
 in Baptiim, and the other thinks not. So that 
 upon the whole you may conclude, 
 
 \fiy That neither of them want a Love to 
 their Children, and inward ferious Thoughts for 
 their eternal Welfare. 
 
 idly^ Neither of them defpife the Covenant of 
 God, or any Blefllng contained in it : Nay, 
 
 3^/)', There's no Contempt on the Ordinance 
 on cither Side : He that omits it does not live 
 in the Negleift of a known Duty i but carries the 
 fame Senfe of a Relation to his Infant without 
 Baptifm, that another does with it. He that 
 obfervcs it, ought by no Means to be charged 
 with a Profanation. He that is fo careful about 
 
 every 
 
The Duty ^Baptism. 37 
 
 every other Solemnity, and fo ferious in this, Serm. 
 may be in a MilUke, but he has given ail the II. 
 Evidence that Charity can defire that his Heart ^-'>^'^^ 
 is right in the Sight of God. 
 
 And upon the whole I cannot fee any Sin at 
 being prefent at an Ordinance, when my Judg- 
 ment does not approve the Adminiftration : Con- 
 fiders the Apoftle's Argument, Why am I 
 evil fpoken of for that, for which I give God 
 fThanks ? That which is an Offence, or Matter 
 of Scruple to my Brother, may be an inward 
 Satisfaction to me, as he pleads, one Man ejieems Rom. xiv. 
 one Day above another 5 another Man ejieems every 5- 
 Day alike ; he that regards the Day, regards it 
 unto the Lord, and he that regards not the Day, 
 to the Lord, he regards it not ; that is, he thinks 
 it to God's Glory to negleft it. He that eats^ 
 eats to the Lord, and gives God 'Thanks ; he that 
 eats not, to the Lord he eats not ; he makes it a 
 religious Omifl'ion, and he gives God Thanks. 
 The former praifes him for the Senfe he has of 
 his Chriftian Liberty, and the latter for the Con- 
 vi(5lion he fuppofes to have of his Duty ; now if 
 God be thanked, why fhould they be worried ? 
 
 Such a Temper as this would be more Credit 
 to Religion, than a Capacity of gaining Profe- 
 iytes. I had rather let my Light fhine before 
 Men in Meeknefs of Wifdom than in a furious 
 Courfe of Argument. The Wife, the Scribe, the 
 Difputer of this World, is not the moll fignificant 
 Perfon in the Church of Chrift : And I am fo 
 far from being offended at the Strength of rea- 
 foning on the other Side, that I can fmcerely blefs 
 God, that though his People differ from one 
 another, yet the common Adverfary cannot re- 
 proach either Opinion with Folly. 
 
 D 2 There's 
 
The Duty of B a v t i s u. 
 
 There's many an Argument that has not con- 
 vinced me, that yet has delighted me. I have not 
 thought a Perfon either the worfe or the weaker 
 for his having other Notions, no more than for 
 having another Complexion. 
 
 If any fay this deftroys Chrijlian Unity, I mufl: 
 confefs, my Thoughts are quite the reverfe to that 
 Infinuation. It gives a greater Evidence to the 
 World of that Charity which is the Bond of Per- 
 fe£lnefs^ by managing our Differences with Tem- 
 per than by doling it with Uniformity ; and 
 therefore, for People to charge Conclufions upon 
 one another, which they will not own, is unfair. 
 • — On the one Hand, to fay that the baptizing 
 of a Child, is no more than the fprinkling of a 
 Dog, or that a Child of a Believer, unbaptized, 
 is in the fame State with that of an Infidel, is 
 but foaming out our own Shame. Such Language 
 is the Froth of unmortified Nature, the Stench 
 of a carnal Mind, that's Enmity againft God : 
 And the Serious on both Sides would hate thofe 
 Tongues as an unruly Evil, they favour not the 
 Things that be of God. 
 
 The fame Difpofition of Soul you may carry 
 through the other Branch of the Difpute, that is, 
 about the Mode of Baptifm. Certainly the Bene- 
 fits of the Ordinance may be conveyed either 
 Col. ii. way. We are faid to be buried with Chriji in 
 Baptifm, Would it not be cruel for any of our 
 Brethren to fay, that becaufe we mifs the Symbol 
 of his Burial, that therefore we have not the thing. 
 I believe the Defign of thefe Words is neither to 
 exprefs one Form, nor another : But as we are 
 faid to be circumcifed in ChriJl, in the Verfe be- 
 fore, by the Circumcijion made without Hands, 
 which is but the putting away the Sins of the Flefh ; 
 fo we are buried with him, and this muft be un- 
 derftood of fomething done without Hands too. 
 And though I may think that the Words allude 
 
 to 
 
 12. 
 
T%e Duty ^Baptism. 
 
 to the Manner how the Work is to be performed, 
 yet the Senfe of the Expreflion carries my 
 Thoughts to fomething that is more than twenty 
 fuch Allufions, for it fignifies no lefs than my 
 Intereft in Jefus Chrift. Whatever phrafes the 
 Apoftle ufes he is defcribing the State of the Soul, 
 and no Forms of Adminiftration. Know ye not 
 that fo many of us as were baptized into Chriji^ Rom.vi. 
 were baptized into his Deaths therefore we are bu- 4- 
 ried with him by Baptifm into Death. What ! Is 
 it to be convinced that ours is the right Way ? 
 No, but like as Chriji was raifed up from the Dead 
 by the Glory of the Father , fo wefhould walk be- 
 fore him in newnefs of Life, for if we have been plant- 
 ed together in the likenefs of his Death, we fhall 
 alfo be in the likenefs of his Refurre^iion. Is this 
 Simihtude to tell us the Way how the Duty 
 fhould be performed : Alas ! that's a little Mat- 
 ter indeed : No, it is to put us in Mind of that 
 which is not refembled at all, knowing this, that 
 our old Man is crucified with him, that the Body 
 of Sin may be deflroyed, that henceforth wefhould . 
 no longer ferve Sin. 
 
 As many as have been baptized into Chrift 
 have put on Chrift : And I may invert the Pro- 
 pofition, that as many as have put on Chrift, 
 who are clothed with his Righteoufnefs, and con- 
 formed to his Image, thefe are baptized intp 
 Chrift, whether it is by Dipping or Sprinkling. 
 Obferve the Latitude of the Expreflion, ye are 
 baptized into ChriJl, not into this or that Denomi- 
 nation of his People. It's pity that we are known 
 among Men by meer Circumftances : The Narne 
 fhould not be taken from the Quantity of Water 
 that is ufed ; for God never did by the Church, 
 as he has done by the Earth, founded it upon the Pfal. 
 Seas and efiablifhed it upon the Floods. 2. 
 
 %dly. Follow what you have done by earneft 
 Prayer. When you have owned the Covenant of 
 
 D 4 Godj 
 
4-0 The Duty ^/Baptism. 
 
 Serm. God, it*s undoing all again, if you lay afide Fa* 
 
 II. mily Religion. All the good of this Ordinance 
 
 *— — \'— ^ either for yourfelves or your Children, comes 
 
 Exod. from the Fountain of Life. If he is your Gody 
 
 XV. 2. prepare him an Habitation ; if you confider him 
 
 as your Father* s God, be fure that you exalt him. 
 
 If the Solemnity of Baptifm was adminiftered to 
 
 yourfelves fince you were capable of thinking or 
 
 choofing, then you have profefTed before the 
 
 World your relation to the Father of Mercies : 
 
 That you hope to live in his Houfe, and will 
 
 you not be often knocking at his Door ? 
 
 Your Baptifm is alfo in the fecond Place, a 
 Symbol of the Relation you ftand into God's 
 People ; it may be faid of you now, as it was 
 I Cor. of thofe of Old, All our Fathers were under the 
 X. I- Cloud, and ALL pajjed through the Sea, and were 
 ALL baptized unto Moles in the Cloud, and in the 
 Sea. And they did all eat the fame fpiritual 
 Meat, and did all drink the Ja^ne fpiritual Drink. 
 So that you may look upon your Brethren as Fel- 
 low-Heirs of the fame Body, and Partakers of the 
 Promifc in Chrift by the Gofpel. 
 
 Learn then to pray for them and with them, 
 if you are Heirs together of the Grace of Life, 
 that your Prayers may not be hindered ; this is 
 the molt endearing Work that you can be em- 
 ployed in : It fhews the beft of your own Love, 
 and engages the warmeft of theirs : This is the 
 Fdlowfmp of the Spirit. 
 
 Let me in the fame Exhortation put thofe Peo- 
 ple in mind of their Duty who have given up 
 their Children to the Lord. You have feverai 
 Occafions to feel the Parent : In their Sicknefs, 
 their Cries, their Dangers : At thefe Times 
 pra(5t:ife the Chrifiian. You are afraid of their 
 Itarving, and therefore provide for your own ; if 
 you did not (o, it would be denving the Faith. 
 
 But 
 
T'he Duty of B a? r isu. 
 
 But are there no other Negledls that will be 
 called your denying the Faith ? That your Sur- 
 render ot them to God, and the reft of your Be- 
 haviour be all of a Piece ? That when your Child 
 is capable of afking you, why you are at fo much 
 Pains to inftrud him, fo afraid of his doing ill, 
 fo importunate for him on your Knees, you'll be 
 able to fay, this is no more than following the 
 Baptifmal Vow. 
 
 4thfy, There muft be always a looking to Je- 
 fus. This may be called a general Dire6lion that 
 comes into every Duty : But here it ftands under 
 a particular Mark, for the Apoftle fays that 
 Baptifm faves us by the Refurre^fion of Jefus 
 Chrij% who is gone into Heaven., and is on the 
 right Hand of God, Angels and Principalities and 
 Powers being made fuhje^ to him. 
 
 A Regard to him is that which animates our 
 Practice, as well as maintains our Hope. The 
 Apoftle argues in the beginning of the next 
 Chapter, forafmuchas Chrifi has fnffered for us in 
 theFlefh^wefhouldarm ourf elves with the fame Mind -, 
 for he that hath fuffered in theFlefh, hath ceafed from 
 Sin, that hefhouldno longer live the reft of his 'Time in 
 theFlefh, totheLufisof Men, but to the Will of God. 
 And the fame Plea is drawn from that Article of his 
 Story that is mentioned in my Text, His Refur- 
 redion : That as we are buried with him in Bap- 
 tifm, fo in that we are alfo rifen with him through CoL ii. 
 the Faith that is of the Operation of God, who 12. 
 raifed him from the Dead : And you being dead 
 in your Sins and the Uncircumcifion of your Flefh, 
 he has quickened together, having forgiven you all 
 I'refpajes. 
 
 This will keep you to the Purity of Worfhip, 
 for it you be dead with Chrifi, as you ought to 
 be in Baptifm, to the Rudiments of the Worlds 
 why, as though living in the World, are you fuh- 
 jeH to Ordinances after the Commandments of Men ? 
 
 This 
 
42 The Duty ^'Baptism. 
 
 Serm. This will give a heavenlinefs to our Converfa- 
 II. tion : If ye he rifen with Chrijl fet your Jffe^ions 
 
 ^— V— *^ on Things above^ where Chrijl fits at the Right Hand 
 
 Qolm.i.^jTQ^^^ And this will make you dare to die, 
 knowing what Confignments you have made, 
 for ye are dead^ and your Life is hid with Chrifi in 
 God, that when he who is our Lifejhall appear ^ 
 we alfo fhall appear with him in Glory. 
 
 Let thefe be the Heads of Nurture and Ad- 
 monition that you give your Children, that they 
 may have the Knowledge of the Truth as it is in 
 Jcfus : Defire that they may learn Chrift, and be 
 found in him. We have a mighty Run now 
 againft revealed Religion, by thofe that do not 
 much exceed their Brethren in what's called na- 
 tural. But remember that you are baptized not 
 only in the Name of the Father, but of the Son 
 and the Holy Ghofi : And fhall your Children be 
 brought up as without C^n^? P Or ever fay to you 
 as feme Dilciples at Ephefus did to Paul^ We have 
 not fo much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghofi ? 
 We may well anfwer to fuch a Proteflion, as he 
 did, unto what then were ye baptized? We find 
 the Danger of thofe Impreflions made upon thofe 
 that never had any Education, or through a 
 
 a Pet. great deal of Sloth have loll it. Tou therefore^ 
 ^^' beloved, feeing that you know thefe 'Things, be- 
 ware leji you being led away by the Error of the 
 Wicked, fall from your Stedfajlnefs : But grow in 
 Grace, and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Sa- 
 viour Jefus Chrijl. 
 
 In this, you'll fee your Perfons accepted, 
 your Iniquities pardoned, your Debates with one 
 another reconciled. He has united you in Prin- 
 ciple. You have obtained the like precious Faith 
 , through the Right eoufnefs of God and our Saviour. 
 He has united you in Character, for^j many of 
 you as have been bapti^iied into Chrifi, J^ave put on 
 
'The Duty <9/'Baptism. 
 
 'Chr'ift^ there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is 
 neither Bond, nor free, Male or Female, Sprink- 
 ling or Dipping, but ye are all one in Chriji, 
 And he will unite you in Habitation : You arc no 
 longer to be fcattered or feparate Afiemblies by 
 Confcience or Prejudice. Our various Opinions 
 about this Ordinance, fhall hinder none of us 
 from that common Salvation that we have in 
 him, v/ho has baptized us with the Holy GhoU, 
 And to him that has loved us, and wajhed us from 
 cur Sins in his own Blood, to him be Glory and 
 Dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 SER- 
 
#######ol########t 
 
 THE 
 
 DOCTRINE 
 
 O F 
 
 BAPTISM, 
 
 PROVING 
 
 That it is in the Faith of the Trinity. 
 
The DoSirine of B a ? t i s u. 47 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 The Improvement of Baptlfm is a Tiling of 
 more Value than the Mode and the Sub^ 
 je6ts. It was appointed by Chrift, admi- 
 niftered by Teachers : Always defired by 
 Converts. To be performed in the Ufe of 
 Water ^ in the Name of God, (which makes 
 it one of the greateft Works in Life) /. e, 
 with regard to his Authority, Command, 
 Perfedion, Honour, Favour, Bleffing, 
 Image, Mercy, Capacity, and the Com- 
 munion of his Saints. It was not a Prac- 
 tice borrow'd from the 'Jews, Chrift's 
 Deity argued from the Ordinance. We 
 are univerfally rcligned to him ; worfhip 
 him as God, with an open Profeffion. 
 
 & £1 )& lie & )St )!E( j& }1( )&}!£( )S( & }St 4 iSc jSc & lie )lt )!{ )iEt )lt & vEc & ]i(>|( & 
 
 Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 "—Baptizijig them into the Name of the 
 Father^ and of the Son^ and of the Holy 
 Ghoji, 
 
 Have not chofen thefe Words to enter- 
 tain you with any doubtful Difputa- 
 tions about the Subje^ or the Mcde of 
 Baptifm, but upon a fuperior Defign ; 
 and that is, a right Improvement of the Ordi- 
 nance. The other way of preaching minijlers 
 
 qiie- 
 
 iTlm, 
 i. 4. 
 
48 Tie DoSirine ^Baptism. 
 
 Serm. quejiions^ rather than godly edifying that is in 
 
 I. Faith ; what I aim at, is a Point in which we 
 
 Uipi y ir are all united. It's a more awful Queftion what 
 
 it is to be baptized, than who Ihould be the Per- 
 
 fons, and how it ought to be performed. 
 
 I think it no hard Matter for fincerc Chriftians 
 
 to be convinced, that it's poflible to differ with 
 
 equal Love to God, and equal Charity to one 
 
 another. There's no Occafion, on this account, 
 
 Rom. to judge and fet at nought your Brother. If you 
 
 xiv. 10. fee there's a Spirit of Religion in the People, 
 
 take Care you do not ruin it in the Manner of 
 
 this Debate ; don't fpeak of that with Contempt 
 
 which others obferve with Reverence ; but re- 
 
 Rom. ceive one another as Chriji has received us to the 
 
 XV- 7- Glory of God. Let not that which is Matter of 
 
 Confcience to them be matter oi Ridicule to you. 
 
 I have all the Conviftion that can be defired, that 
 many who offer their Children to God in Bap- 
 tifm durft not be guilty of profaning an Ordi- 
 nance, and that many who take another Method 
 durfl; not be guilty of neglecting a Duty. Each of 
 them gives God Thanks, and obey what they take 
 to be /^/j Will. He has a Glory from them both ; 
 they are equally accepted by him. Religion has 
 not made either Opinion a Term of Communion 
 with God, and I fee no Need that it fhould be a 
 Eph. Term of Communion with Men. As we have one 
 *v-S' Lord, and one Faith, fo we have no more than 
 one Baptifm. 
 
 'Tis poffible that People may agree in their 
 Notions upon the Manner of Adminiftration, 
 and be never the better for it. Whatever my 
 Opinion is about Dipping or Sprinkling, with- 
 out the wafhing of Regeneration and the renewing 
 •of the Holy Ghoft, 'ris all as Water fpilt upon 
 the Ground, that cannot be gathered. What 
 fignificd the Circumcifion of Ifhmael in his In- 
 4 fancy. 
 
*The DoBrine of B a ? t i s u, 4.9 
 
 fancy, or the Baptifm of Siwon Magus in his Serm. 
 riper Years ? They were each of them called the I. 
 external Seals of a Covenant, which the Perfons '— y-^i-J 
 knew nothing of : The one was a Mocker, and Gen. 
 the other in the Gall of Bitternefs. And there- ^^ 9-... 
 fore, as I faid, 'tis of much greater Importance, 2i\ 
 to know whai it is to be baptized ; for as many Rom. 
 of you as have been baptized into Chrijl, have put '■'^- ^' 
 on Chrijl. 
 
 I don't fpeak this with any Contempt of the 
 outward Sign. I believe the Ufe of fVater in 
 this Solemnity is by the Appointment of Chrift 
 JefuSj and what he has bound upon his Churches 
 to the End of the World. But it's the Spirit y 
 the Meaning, the Inftrudlion, the Advantage of 
 the Ordinance, that you and I are concerned in. 
 
 The Words of the Text are well known to 
 give us fome Account of both, they are the lad 
 Orders that our great Law- giver left with his 
 Difciples, after he had finifhed Tranfgreflion, 
 and made an End of Sin ; after he was raifed to 
 the Right Hand of God, and had received all 
 Power both in Heaven and Earth. In this Ful- 
 fiefs of Authority he direds thofe whom he had 
 chofen and ordained to go into all Nations. 
 
 His Empire was now unconfined -, He himfelf 
 was fent only to the Loft Sheep of the Houfe of 
 Ifraely but his Servants were to make Difciples 
 every where. To which Purpofe he does not 
 only appoint the preaching of the Gofpel, but a 
 new Solemnity^ in which they exprelTed their De- 
 dication to him, being baptized into the Name 
 of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. 
 
 The Perfons employed in this Work were the Luk« 
 fame who fiiould be endued with Power from on ^^'iv. 48, 
 high, and lent out as Witnefles to Him. 'Tis a ^^' 
 Part of the miniflerial Office, and joined with our 
 teachifjg Men to obfcrve all Things that he has 
 
 £ com- 
 
Tie DoSirlne of B a? t isu, 
 
 commanded. We find that the Preachers of the 
 Gofpel always did it, and the People who gladly 
 received theWord, defired it. How indifrerent fo- 
 ever it appears to fome in our Day, yet the Grace 
 of God never failed to ftir up an early Regard to it 
 in Times of Old. The three Thouflwd Souls 
 Afts ii. converted at Peter's Sermon, were baptized and 
 4'- added to the Church the fame Day. Though we 
 
 do not read that Philip did any more to the Eu- 
 nuch than preach Chrift Jefus from the 53" of 
 Jfaiah^ yet the Spirit that opened his Under- 
 ftanding to a My fiery did the fame to an Ordi- 
 nance. As they came to a certain Water, the 
 Eunuch makes the Propofal •, he was not 
 prompted to it, or pufh'd upon it, but fpeaks as 
 Afts viii. foon as he faw ; here is Water., what hinders me 
 36- to be baptized ? And though Saul after his Con- 
 
 verfion was not thus hafty, yet Ananias would 
 xxii. 16. have made him fo ; why tarrieft thou '^ Arife 
 and be baptized, and wafh away thy Sins, calling 
 on the Name of the Lord. And thus faith Pe- 
 X. 47. ter upon the Succefs of his Miniflry at Cefarea, 
 can any Man forbid Water., that thefe fhould not 
 be baptized ? 
 
 The Words of our Lord's Inftitution, baptize 
 them into the Name of the Father^ Son, and Holy 
 Ghoft, lead us to confider this great Solemnity ; 
 firfi., as it is an external Acflion ; and, fecondly^ 
 as the Defign and Meaning of it is explained at 
 large. The external Sign is baptizing ; the 
 Heart, the Soul, the Signification of it is, that 
 it's done in the Name of the Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghofi. 
 
 I. The Thing that he direds them to is Bap- 
 iifm, which fignifies the Ufe of Water upon the 
 Body. That the Adion itfelf is of no Value, 
 we can own as readily as they who deride it : 
 But the Queftion is, whether it is not the Will 
 
 of 
 
'The DoSirine ofBAPTisu, ^i 
 
 of" God concerning us. Has he not bid us do Serm, 
 it ? Have we not received it of the Lord Jefus ? L 
 
 The Argument drawn from this for human <— v-<*i 
 Ceremonies is of no Weight at all. We may 
 juftly contend againft any Subjedion to the Will 
 of Man^ upon Reafons that are never to be ufed 
 againft an Inftitution of our great Law- giver. 
 The Queftion is not whether there are Shadows, 
 Ceremonies, and outward Signs in his Worfhip, 
 but who has the Right to appoint them. 
 
 He begun with Figures of Religion in Para- 
 dife, making the Tree of Knowledge to be the 
 Teft of Adani's Duty, and the Tree of Life the 
 Pledge of his Acceptance. He was worlhipped 
 by Sacrifices from the firft Revelation of a Mef- 
 fi ah : Righteous Abel brought a Lamb of the 
 Flock •, no doubt of it, by divine Appointment, 
 this was a Type of God's Defign, and a Token 
 of AheFs. Faith in the Lamb, who takes away the 
 Sins of the World. He gave Circumcifion to 
 Abraham^ and the Paflbver to Mofes, and the Soul 
 who neglefledeitherof them v/asto be cut off horn 
 among his People. Thefe were each of them carnal 
 Ordinances in their Nature, as afterwards they Heb^ ixj 
 are called in Contempt ; things outivard in the '• 
 Flefb^ bodily Exercifes : Neverthelefs, as none but 
 a God could appoint them, none but a God could 
 dijolve them, and fet up others. Now, he that 
 had ail Power both in Heaven and Earth, from 
 a divine Authority, from a Fulnefs of Godhead, 
 font forth his Servants to difciple all Nations, bap- 
 tizing them into the Name of the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghoft. 
 
 That this is to be done by Water appears from 
 all that the Scripture has told us, both before the 
 Inftitution that Chrift gave, and afterwards. John 
 was called the Baptijf^ from that which was to 
 be the chief Part of his Miniftry •, he fent me, 
 > E 2 faith 
 
52 7X^ DoBrlm of B a ? t i s u* 
 
 Serm. faith he, io baptize with JVater. The Apoftles 
 
 I. afted in the fame Way. Though there is a Spi- 
 
 ^— y— -' ritual Baptifm, and the other fignifies nothing 
 
 Johni.31, .^j^ere that is not ; yet, if this was all that our 
 
 Lord defigned, if there was no outward Adion, 
 
 there had been no Occafion for the Eunuch to (lop 
 
 his Chariot, and for him and Philip to get out 
 
 of it when they faw Water. 
 
 I have no Inclination to draw out this Matter 
 any farther; becaufe all this while, I am held 
 back from my chief Defign. But, as my Friends, 
 I ought to warn you, that the main Debate in a 
 little Time will be, not how much Water fhould 
 be ufed, but whether any at all. They who de- 
 ny the Doflrine of the Trinity are fo uneafy at 
 the Form of Words, that our Saviour has made 
 elTential to Baptifm, that they have a great Mind 
 to lay afide the Ordinance, as Socinus did in 
 Poland. They write and argue that it is not ne- 
 cejfary, by which if they mean any thing that's 
 worth our heeding, it mull be, that it's not com- 
 manded. For though we dare not fay that it's 
 neceffary to God's Grace, yet the Queftion is 
 whether he has not made it fo to our Duty. And 
 when they aflc you whether a Man may not be 
 faved without it, do you afk them, whether he 
 is obedient without it, whether he ftands compleat 
 in all the Will of God, whether he fulfils all 
 Righteoufnefs ; or whether he ncglefls to do, 
 what the Scripture told him he ought to do. 
 
 I would therefore hope that by Baptifm, you 
 underftand the wajhing with Water. I do not 
 determine whether this Water fliould be applied 
 to the Body, or the Body to it ; let every one 
 be fully perfuaded in his own Mind •, happy is 
 the Man who condemns not himfelf in the Thing 
 that he allows, nor condems others in the Thing 
 that they allow. But that 'tis an external Ordi- 
 n nance. 
 
Tide DoEirim of B a ? t i s u, 
 
 nance, a bodily Aftion, that we fhould never 
 have regarded without a divine Appointment, is 
 very plain. 
 
 2. He opens out the Meaning of his own In- 
 ftitution ; 'tis to be in the Name of the Father.^ 
 Son, and Holy Ghoji. So that, though the pour- 
 ing of a Httle Water, or plunging the whole 
 Body into a greater Quantity, is no more than a 
 wafhing away the Filth of the Flefh, yet the 
 Explication Chrift has given us of it, makes it 
 the greateft Affair we can ever engage in. 
 You fee, 
 
 1. That Baptifm is in, or into a Name. 
 
 2. This Name is no lefs, than that of the 
 Father^ Son, and Holy Ghcji \ thefe are the two 
 Proportions that 1 defire to confider. 
 
 1. I would fliow you what it is to be baptized 
 into a Name ; and 
 
 2. What the great and glorious Name is that 
 BeUevers and their Children are baptized into, 
 that of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. 
 
 I. What is the meaning of the ExprefTion, 
 when we fay that our Baptifm is into the Name 
 of God ? This is what we fhould enquire into 
 with Reverence and a godly Fear ; and it calls us 
 to mind what the generality of ProfelTors feldoni 
 think of, that perhaps it's the greatefi Sokfnnity of 
 your Lives. I have been amazed to fee how 
 little of a ferious lemper has appeared at a Bap- 
 tifm, among thofe who woula be afhamed to 
 ufe no more at the Lord's Supper. Far be it 
 from me, to make any Comparifon between chem ; 
 but I fhould think, that if either Ordinance re- 
 quired a greater Care and Preparation, it is tnat 
 of Baptifm ; as it is what we do no more than 
 
 E 3 once. 
 
Ithe DoSiriite <?/" B A p T i s m. 
 
 once, eitiier tor ourfelves, or the particular Child, 
 who is then given up. And therefore to hurry 
 it over, as it it was only complying with a 
 Falhion, or an Introdudion to Kevellings and 
 Banquettings, is an Argument that though thofe 
 People remember the Water ^ yet they forget the 
 i^ame in which it is applied. 
 
 The Ordinance, you know, is the firft of 
 thofe in which you give up either yourfelves or 
 your Children to be the Lord's : Now, what 
 do you mean in doing fo ? Or rather, what has 
 the Scripture told us was the Defign of Chrift in 
 direding the Pra6tice ? That you do it in the 
 Name of the Father^ Son^ and Holy Ghojl, is 
 true. We have no Authority to change the 
 very Form of thofe Words, but what do they 
 impart ? I anfwer, there are no lefs than thefe tea 
 Particulars comprehended in being baptized into 
 the Name of our God. 
 
 1. That we confefs his Authority. 
 
 2. That we are devoted to his Cojnmand. 
 
 3. l^hat we adore his Perfe^icns. 
 
 4. That we profeis our Homage to him alone 
 before all the World. 
 
 5. That we depend upon his Acceptance and 
 Favour. • 
 
 6. That from him we are to have the particu- 
 lar Bkjjings of this Ordinance. 
 
 7. That we would be conformed to his Imc'ge. 
 
 8. That we do it with a Hope of his Mercy to 
 eternal Life. 
 
 9. That we are fatisfied he can give us all 
 this. 
 
 10. That we join with the whole Number of 
 his devoted People. Thefe are Duties compre- 
 hended in Baptifm, or Felicities revealed by it : 
 ■/Ind if our Souls are not tmployed upon them, 
 
 we 
 
Tthe DoBrine (p/* B a p t i s m. 55 
 
 we do but take the Name of the Lord our God Serm. 
 in vain. I. 
 
 I. They who are baptized in the Name of 
 God do in that very Acftion confefs his Autho- 
 rity : That he is the only Law-giver who is able 
 to fave and to deftroy. This was ever the Senfe 
 of a divine Inilitution ; what God meafit by it, 
 and what Men ought to oJ^ferve in it. Circum- 
 fifion was an ad; of Homage paid to the God of 
 Abraham^ Tfaac^ and Jacob : Any of their Pofte- 
 rity who negleded 'That negledled Him : They 
 <iifown*d his Authority over them. On the 
 other Hand, they who fubmitted to it, whether 
 of their own Nation or of Strangers, did in that 
 very A6lion declare themfelves to be the People Pf. xlvii. 
 of the God of Abraham. ^• 
 
 And to the fame Purpofe are we baptized that 
 it may appear we are among them, who ferve 
 and call on the Name of the Lord Jefus Chrijl in i Cor. i. 
 every Place^ both theirs and ours. As many ^• 
 fay, they will not have this Man to rule over 
 them, fo we fay we will, that one is our Mafter, Matt. 
 even Chj'ifl. Abraham did not receive the Order xxiii. lo, 
 of Circumcifion from Melchizedecky but from the 
 moft high God himfelf : And by the fame Au- 
 thority are we called to Baptifm. None but 
 He who had all Power in Heaven and Earth, 
 was able to iffue the Commiffion you find in my 
 Text, 'tis the Declaration of God himfelf ; be- 
 hold, / create new Heavens and a new Earth, I^a. Ixv. 
 and the former fhall not be remembered, nor come '7' 
 into. Mind. And yet it's the Work of Cbrifi ; 
 for, he that fat upon the Throne, faid, behold, Rev. xxi. 
 1 make all Things new. 5. 
 
 I know, it is faid, that the Jews had a Me- 
 thod of baptizing among them, and that our 
 Saviour only fixed it with his Difciples as he 
 
 E 4 found 
 
The DoSirine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 found it with his Countrymen \ and they who 
 tell us fo, quote the great Name of Grotius as 
 the Champion of that Opinion. Indeed, I don't 
 wonder to find any thing of that Nature in the 
 "Writings of one who has committed fo many 
 Robberies upon the Deity of our fupreme Lord ; 
 and is famous for a Number of Imaginations and 
 high Thoughts that exalt themfelves againft 
 the Knowledge of God •, but the Bible itfclf will 
 not allow m.e to think as thefe Men do, what- 
 ever their Learning is. 
 
 Nothing can be more apparent, than that the 
 Jews expeded that the Perfon who brought 
 Baptifm amongft them mud be either the Mef- 
 fiah himfelf, or one of his Fore-runners. This 
 was the Queftion of the Priefts and Levites who 
 came from Jerufalem to afk John^ whether he 
 was the Chriji^ or Elias, or that Prophet. And 
 they who were fent were of the Pharifees, a 
 People diligent to know the Law, and zealous 
 to advance it. Therefore they afk him farther, 
 John i. why baptizeji thou then, if thou be not the Chrift, 
 ^5- nor Elias, nor the Prophet ? And John in his An- 
 
 fwer Ihews us, that though the Jews miftook in 
 aCircumftance, yet they were right in their No- 
 tion. I knew him not, fays he, but that he 
 Ver. 21. fhould be manifeft to Ifrael, therefore am I come 
 baptizing with Water. 
 
 What he preached was the Baptifm of Repent- 
 ance for the Remifiion of Sins, as it is written 
 in the Book of the Prophet Efaias, the voice of 
 one crying in the V/ikiernefs, Prepare ye theJVay 
 cf the Lord, and make his Paths flrait ; and all 
 along he bore Teftimony to this, I baptize you 
 with Water, but there is one among you, who is 
 mightier than I, he Jhall baptize you with the 
 lioly Ghofi and with Fire. And the Apolfle in 
 his Sermon at Antioch^ (though he abounded in 
 
He DoSirine of B a ? t i s ^t, 57 
 
 Jewi^ Learning) feems to fay, that they never Serm. 
 heard of any baptizing before Jchn. ]ohnf rjl I. 
 preached before Chrift the Baptifm of Repent- »— v— < 
 ance, to all the People of Ifrael ; and, as he ^^^ ^"'* 
 fulfilled his Courfe, he faid, whom think ye^ that ^^' ^^' 
 I am F I am not he. 
 
 From which Things I conclude, that the firft 
 Time that ever the Church heard of Baptifm, 
 was in Reference to a Perfon who was actually 
 then among them, and after a few Weeks was to 
 be declared and fhown forth to Ifrael. We read Afts xix. 
 of fome that had not been baptized into the 3- 
 Name of the Holy Ghoft, but, as they fay, un- 
 to John^s Baptifm : Paul tells them, John verily 
 baptized with the Baptifm of Repentance, faying • 
 to the People that they fhould believe on him, who 
 fhould come after, that is on Chrifl Jefus. And 
 now when the Ordinance is compieat we have it 
 from Chrift himfelf. 
 
 And do you fuppofe that we can underftand 
 him to be a Creature ? They who deny his Deity 
 give an aukward Turn to that Text, He thought P^'^- "• 
 it no Robbery to be equal with God ; they tell us, 
 it ought to be read, he did not catch at the Rob- 
 bery of making himfelf equal with God : A 
 wonderful A61 of Humility indeed ! but the - 
 Subject I am upon, gives us an Inftance, that he 
 did make himfelf equal with God •, and though 
 thefe People count it a Robbery^ he thought it 
 none, and that is, in giving us the Ordinance of 
 Baptifm. 
 
 Or otherwife, I am fure 'tis out of my Power 
 to defend our Caufe againft a Jew^s, fuppofing 
 that he fhould plead to this Furpofe ; "By 
 *' what Authority are you baptized, but that of 
 *' Jefus ? Yourfelves own him to be a Creature, 
 *' an inferior dependant Being ; whereas our Cir- 
 '♦ cumcificn was ordered by the moft high God -, 
 
 '>' and 
 
7he DoEirine of B a? t i^u. 
 
 and why fhall One, that is not God, bring in 7^ 
 
 Solemnity of his own to juftle out the Ordi- 
 " nance of him that is ! Why muft a God, by 
 " Office, fupercede the Appointment of him 
 *' who is God by Nature.** 
 
 Our Lord a6ls in the Form of God when he 
 gives Rules to his own Houfe. The Jews came 
 to him with a Qiieftion about the Miracles that 
 he wrought, by what Authority doft thou thefe 
 Things, and who gave thee this Authority ? 
 That was a proper Time for him to have fpoke 
 of a derivative Empire, if he had not known 
 that there was but one Throne for God, and for 
 the Lamb for ever. But the Anfwer that he 
 gives them is to the Purpofe ot the Argument 
 before us: I, fays he, will afk you one Queftion, 
 ■the Baptifm of John, whence was it, from Hea" 
 Ven or of Men ? 
 
 Had Grotius lived in thofe Days, or had the 
 •'^ews known their own PracSlice as well as he 
 pretends to do, they might have anfwered, that 
 John had his Baptifm irom a Cuftom among 
 themfelves \ but though they durft not fay it was 
 from Heaven, they knew it was fo ; from whence 
 I argue, that Baptifm never came by another 
 Authority than that of Heaven. And if I did 
 not believe, that when Chrift appointed it, he had 
 all Power in Heaven, (and yet none but God 
 has prepared his Throne there) I would no more 
 obey a Creature by a new Ordinance, than I 
 would believe an Angel upon his preaching a new 
 Gofpel. I would no more take a Sacrament from 
 ChriiV, than I would from Anti-chrift,- if he was 
 not God ; for nothing can be more fcandalous to 
 the New Teftament^ than that all the Solemnities 
 under the Law fnould be appointed by God, and 
 thofe under the Gofpel by a Creature. 
 
 2. Baptizing in the Name of any one, is 
 
 giving up ourlelves to his command > 'tis making 
 
 5 him 
 
The DoSirim ^Baptism, 
 
 him the Head of our Intereft. This way the 
 Apoftle turns his Argument when the Corinthians 
 begun to glory in Men. Every one of you faith, 
 / am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, 
 and I of Chrijl j was Paul crucified for you, or 
 were ye baptized into the name of Paul ? The 
 Strength of his Reafoning lay in this, that the 
 very baptizing into any Perfon's Name is a vir- 
 tual Surrender of ourfelves to his Authority, 
 and therefore as this was never done to any other 
 than Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, we declare 
 ourfelves by it to be the Servants of God. 
 
 What is there lefs in this Solemnity than a 
 Profefllon that we will be the Lord's in all the 
 Latitude of Duty and Devotion ? That whatever 
 he commands v/e will obey, 'Tis entring our- 
 felves under an Obligation to walk in all the Sta- 
 tutes of the Lord blamelefs. 
 
 And this is faid of Chrift \ nothing fhort of 
 an univerflil Refignation to his Will, is what he 
 claims and what we owe. Chrift is a Son over Heb. Hi. 
 his own Houfe, whofe Houfe we are ; wherefore 6, 7. 1 2, 
 as the Holy Ghoft fays, To Bay if ye will hear ''*" 
 HIS Voice. — And with regard to him, we are 
 exhorted to take Heed, lefb there be in any of 
 us an evil Heart of Unbelief in departing from 
 the living God ; for, fays he, we are made Par- 
 takers of Christ. 
 
 We are faid to be under the Law to Chrijl; i Cor. ix. 
 and certainly then he is the great Law-giver-, 21. 
 for the Law is the Demand of an Authority over 
 us, and our ProfelTion of Subjedion to him. 
 This is the perpetual Language of the New 
 Tejla?72ent, fo he that is called being a Servant is the \ Cor. vii. 
 LoRD'^/ri?^ man \ and he that is called being free ^'^' 
 zjChrist'j Servant. 
 
 Mofes was the Servant of the mod high God ; 
 and does the Apoftle enter into any lower Cha- 
 racter, when he calls himielf the Servant of 
 
 Jesus 
 
6o "The DoBrine <9/'Baptism. 
 
 Jesus Christ ? That Paflage in the Old T'efta- 
 
 ment would have made us afraid of faying fo 
 
 [other Lordi be/ides thee have bad Dominion over 
 
 us^ but now we will mention thy Name, even 
 
 thine only'] if we had not known that the Name 
 
 of Jesus is above every Name. When we read 
 
 Col. ui. thm- of the L,ORDy we fhall receive the Inheritance^ 
 
 **' it is explained that we ferve the Lord Christ. 
 
 Nor jfbould we ever have been baptized into this 
 
 great Name, if he was not that Lord, who bids 
 
 us give him our Hearts, and to vv-hom we fay 
 
 Aftsk. 5. without any Limitation, Lord^ what wilt thou 
 
 Ro:n. have us to do ? For whether we live, we live unto 
 
 aav. s, g. ^^^ Lord -, and whether we die, we die unto the 
 
 Lord \ whether therefore we live or die, we are 
 
 Z/.?^ Lord's -, and who this Lord is you learn 
 
 from the following Argument j for to this end 
 
 Christ both died and rofe again, and revived, 
 
 that he might be the Lord both of Dead and 
 
 Living. 
 
 3. Being baptized into the Name of any one 
 intimates that we adore his PerfeSfions. This is 
 the uttermofb Ad of Duty, the fartheft that our 
 Obedience can go. I believe Paul to have been 
 one of the beft Chriftians, and the moft accom- 
 pHfhed Minifter that ever lived ; but the Reafon 
 why I would not be baptized into the Name of 
 Paul is, bccaule he is not my Creator. AU 
 the Value I have for him does not rife into an 
 Adoration : His Qiialifications were not Per- 
 fections. 
 
 The Difciples worfliipped our Lord, when he 
 
 appeared in the Likenels of finful Flefh •■, but 
 
 John i. had they not feen his Glory ^ the Glory of the only 
 
 '+• begotten of the Father, they would not have done 
 
 it, nor would he have fuffered it any more than 
 
 he did the young Man's falling down before him. 
 
 Luke I'hcy alio did it alter he was gone from them, 
 
 xxiv. uk. .which 
 
The DoBrim of B a ? t i s u, 
 
 which fliows they believed his Omniprefence, 
 for they would never worfhip a God afa'r off ; 
 and much lefs a Creature afar off. And when 
 they held him by the Feet and worJJjipped^ it was 
 no Rebuke to thefe Exceifef^, to tell them . fo 
 foon afterwards, that all Nations were to be bap- 
 tized into his Name, and by his Authority. 
 
 Thus would he open the Womab of the Pro- 
 phefy, that all Kings Jhall fall down before him^ P^- Ixxii. 
 and all Nations fhall fervehim : It is the Seizure "• 
 that he makes ^'i the whole Earthy which is to be '^^^- ^^* 
 the Lord's, and he the Governor among the Na- 
 tions. 
 
 Adoring is not making him what he Is not, but 
 owning him for what he is i fliould we adore and 
 worfhip a Creature, he is no better for the Ac- 
 tion, and we are the worfe. Worfliip gives no- 
 thing to God, but acknowledges that every thing 
 is in him : 'Tis faying with Job, I know that Job xlii 
 thou canji do every thing, and that no Counfel can ^' 
 be with-holden from thee. 
 
 For a Perfon to be baptized who does not take 
 Chrift for the Supreme God, is either to carry a 
 Lie in his Forehead, or to roll in the Waters of 
 Deceit and Falfliood ; to be called by the Name 
 of one whom he does not worfnip is to have that 
 Name in vain ; and to worfliip any thing but an 
 infinite Nature is the Grofs of heathen Idolatry. 
 To fay that God may command us to worfhip a 
 Creature is giving him the Lie, for he has faid, 
 I will not give my Glory to another. He has 
 forbid it in the Old and New Teftament, and to 
 think that he will eflablifh fuch an Iniquity by a 
 Law makes his People the Servants of Idols and 
 him the Patron. 
 
 4. Being baptized is a publick Profejfwn of our 
 Homage to him before all the World. We are 
 not alliamed of the Tejiinmiy of the Lord : And 2 Tim. 
 
 there- i- 8. 
 
62 Tloe DoElrme of B a? r isiu 
 
 Serm. therefore this Solemnity is as heavy a Load upon 
 
 I. them that do not own him, as it is upon thofe 
 
 t— V— ' that openly deny him. Are we called by his 
 
 Name, and is it a Name that we are aihamed of? 
 
 Remember how well he has fpoke of thofe who 
 
 Rev, iii. kept bis Faith, and did not deny his Name. 
 
 ^' There was fome Name or other which at that 
 
 Time the Enemy ftruck at \ fome revelation that 
 
 he made of himfelf which went heavily down, 
 
 and his faithful People had rather part with all 
 
 than part with this. 
 
 3 John 7. 'Tis/^r his Name^sSake that Minifters go out 
 
 A£ls V. to preach the Gofpel -, 'tis for his Name that we 
 
 4'- fuffcr Reproach •, and yet under all theRevilings 
 
 Cant. i. of Men this Name will be as Ointment poured forth 
 
 ^' to thofe that love him. 
 
 And indeed this is what all Parties in the 
 
 World mean by their Religion. The God who 
 
 is not to be owned is a God that has no Servants. 
 
 Mich. iv. jill People will walk every one in the Name of his 
 
 5- God^ and we will walk in the Name of the Lord 
 
 our God for ever and ever. Pafs over to the IQes 
 
 Jer. ii. 11. of the Gentiles, and you will find they have not 
 
 changed their Gods, which yet are no Gods. 
 Matt. X. Chrift knew there would be fome afhamed of 
 33* him in a corrupt and an adulterous Generation, 
 
 and of thofe will he be aihamed before his holy 
 Angels. 
 
 We have called this Ordinance a Sacrament 
 which they tell us is a military Word, and fig- 
 nifies the Oath of Fidelity that the Army took. 
 Now for a baptized Perfon to be filent in the 
 Caufe of the 'Trinity, by which Name he is 
 called ; this fhows him to be a cowardly Soldier, 
 and he ought to be turned out of the Camp. 
 This Title belongs to Minifters in the New Te- 
 fiament : The Apoftle calls thofe who labour in 
 the Word and Dodrine Fellow- Soldiers, and ad- 
 
 vifts 
 
T^he DoSirim of B a ? r ^ s u, 
 
 vlfes Timothy to endure Hardnefs, as a good Sol- 
 dier of Chrijl Jefus : And therefore any Cowar- 
 dice and Treachery in them is a thoufand Times 
 worfe than in others. They make themfelves ^ '^^^- "• 
 vile Examples of an Indifference that tney ought '^* 
 to reprove, rebuke, and oppofe. 
 
 But I (hall be treacherous to you, and guilty 
 of profaning the Solemnity itfelf, if I do not 
 tell you, that the Name called upon you is never 
 to be concealed; he has trufted it with you, and 
 he will require it of you : The fearful and tin- Rev. xxi,; 
 believing are both of them called abominable. ^* 
 
 I cannot now proceed to the other important 
 Things contained in this Ordinance ; thofe that 
 I have mentioned exprefs your Duty^ and the 
 reft relate to your Happinefs ; 'vhich fhews that 
 Chrift is never behind-hand with all the Faith, 
 and Zeal, and Self-denial of his People, for his 
 Countenance does behold the Upright. 
 
 SER- 
 
64 T^e DoSlrine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 Baptlfm is the Seal of a Righfeouffiefs, and 
 that of Faith as Circumcifion was. How 
 that Phrafe is to be underftood. What 
 the Anfwer of a good Confciencc means. 
 What it is to be buried with him in 
 Baptifm. What to be baptized for the 
 Dead. Baptifm ought never to be the 
 Badge of a Party. 
 
 E I K G baptized into the Name of 
 our God fignifies the Dependance 
 that we have upon his Favour and 
 Acceptance in an everlalling Cove- 
 nant. The whole Tranfadion between God and 
 Man has been in a Covenant of Grace, and all the 
 external Marks and Figures that he ever ap- 
 pointed, were but to many Patterns of Things in 
 the Heavens. Thus Abraham received the Sign 
 Rom. iv. of Circumcifion as a Seal of the Rigbteoufnefs of 
 "* that Faith which he had, being yet uncircum- 
 
 cifed. Though the Sign was new, yet the 
 Thing fignified by it was what he had before, 
 and that is the Rigbteoufnefs of Faith. This is of 
 more Value than all the Ceremonies in the World, 
 whether they are of divine or human Appoint- 
 pointment. For though by the external Fart of 
 that Ordinance Abraham had no other relation 
 
 tharx 
 
l['he DoSirine of B a ? r i s m. 65 
 
 than to his carnal Seed, yet the Myftery, the Serm. 
 Principle, the Benefit that is figured by it makes II. 
 him, as the Apoftle fays, ibe Father of all them 
 that believe, though they be not circumcifed, 
 that Righteoufnefs may be imputed to them alfo. 
 
 The fame Interpretation is put upon Baptifm ; 
 it may be called, a Seal of the Righteoufnefs of 
 Faith. Both thefe Solemnities, that which God 
 appointed to Abraham, and that which Chrifl, 
 with equal Authority, gave in Commiffion to his 
 Difciples •, have their Sen fe, their Meaning, their 
 BlefTing, their Accomplifliment, in the fame 
 Good-will towards Men, Whatever Difference 
 there is in the Manner of Adminiftration, yet the 
 Doctrine of the Action is the fame in both ; the 
 thing fignified by them is the Righteoufnefs of 
 Faith. 
 
 In thefe two Words you fee the Bleffing of the 
 New Covenant •, Firfi, that by it and in it we 
 receive a Righteoufnefs j and 2dly, that this is 
 the Righteoufnefs of Faith. With what a fwel- 
 ling Joy would Abraham fubmit to the Pain and 
 the Peculiarity of Circumcifion, a Thing never 
 heard of before, and not likely to be approved 
 of then, when he underltood what it meant ? 
 It was both a Token of the Righteoufnefs that he 
 received from God, and an Emblem of the Faith 
 by which he had it. 
 
 Firft, Each of thefe divine Ceremonies, Cir- 
 cumcifion and Baptifm, are a Contradi-ftion to a 
 Maxim that ought to obtain among all our degene- 
 rate Nature, that Man after his Fall can never be 
 Righteous with God. This is what our whole 
 Race is bound to believe, and yet by thefe Ordi- 
 nances you fee, there is a Righteoufnefs for us ; 
 not merely a Pardon, for that may be given in a 
 way of fovereign Mercy, but the Believer is 
 
 F Righteous 
 
66 7'he DoEirine of B a ? t i s u. 
 
 Right ecus with God, and the two external Seals 
 of the Covenant will tell him fo. 
 
 It founds very odd to thofe that either do not 
 know what God has faid, or do not heed it, that 
 Men Ihould be both Guilty and Righteous, ac- 
 quitted by the very Law that had condemned 
 thru : That God fhould be jufh, and yet the 
 Juflifier of him who had finned. Thefe Things 
 appear as Contradiftions to human Nature. 
 They would have no other Sound in thofe Places 
 where the Gofpel never came, and indeed they 
 have no better Treatment among them who do 
 not believe the Report, and to whom the Arm 
 of the Lord is not revealed : And yet, if God is 
 true, his Word is true, and if that is true, thefe 
 Dodtrines are fo too •, that our Pardon from 
 him, and our Acceptance with him, are upon 
 the Grounds of an unalterable Equity, Righ- 
 
 pf. Ixxxv. teoufnefs and Peace have kijfed each ether. 
 
 ]°' ... What Advantage then has the Jew ? Or what 
 
 Ivorn 111. 
 
 1 &c. ' profit is there in Circiimcifmn ? Much every way : 
 Chiefly^ becaufe to them were committed the Oracles 
 of God. Thefe Oracles by which that Ordinance 
 was appointed, and by which it was explained : 
 The outward Sign, v/hich went no farther than 
 the Flefh, the Apoftle will not allow to be Cir- ' 
 cumcificn, i. e, it has no Connexion in that Per- 
 fon to the Blelfing fignined by it : But as he goes 
 on with his Argument, what if fome did not be- 
 lieve ? To them Circumcifion was no n^iore than 
 ' a Scar or a BlemiHi ; yet, floall their Unbelief 
 
 7nakc the Faith of God of none Effeti ? Were 
 there none v/ho knew what had been done to 
 tfiem and for them ? What if IflwiaeU who had 
 the Mark upon him, could be guilty of mock- 
 ing at the Covenant ; he was a Son merely after 
 - the Flefb^ but there are Children by Promife. 
 lb thofe that believed this Righteoufnefs 
 Chrift is precious j they felt the Need of it, 
 
 they 
 
"The DoBrine (p/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 they faw a Glory in it, and thus in Baptifm is he 
 held forth to be a Propitiation for our Sins^ through 
 Faith in his Bloody to declare the Righteoufnefs of 
 God in the Remijfion of Sins that are pafi, to de- °™- 
 dare at this 'Time his Righteoufnefs, in the very -ev'tq; ^Cv 
 Moment and Article of-Remiffion : That when ''="'=^- 
 he freely forgives our Iniquities, he does it 
 with Regard to the Juftice of his Nature. There 
 would be a Difcord in his Attributes and a Flaw 
 in his Glory, if they did not all come in for 
 equal Shares. 
 
 Secondly, There is another Thing that both 
 Circumcifion and Baptifm gave a Sort of vifible 
 Teftimony to, and that is the Righteoufnefs of 
 Faith. The Holy Spirit has fo delighted in this 
 Language, that the Church has it with great 
 Variety. Sometimes v/e read that Abraham be- 
 lieved God, and it was counted to him for Righ- Rom. iv. 
 teoufiefs : And it is faid to him, who zvorks not, j* ^' 5* 
 ^ut believes in him, that jujlifies the Ungodly, that 
 his Faith is counted for Righteoufnefs. And again, 
 David defcribes the BlefJ'ednefs of the Man to whom Ver. g, 
 the Lord imputes Righteoufnefs without fVbrks, 
 After this he faith that Faith was reckoned to 
 Abraham for Righteoufnefs ; and, he is the Fa- 
 ther of all them that believe, that Righteoufnefs 
 may be imputed to them alfo. Thus again it is 
 faid, that the Promife is made to Abraham and 
 to his Seed, not through the Law, but through Ver. ijj 
 the Righteoufnefs of Faith. 
 
 We might have hoped, that this happy Variety, 
 in which the Holy Spirit has turned the Phrafe, 
 would have made it very eafy to fee what the 
 Righteoufnefs is, that is imputed to us, and ac- 
 cepted for us. I fnould quickly think, it can- 
 not be a Principle of Faith within us, or any 
 Ads or Opsratio?is that are performed by us j ' 
 r. F 2 this 
 
68 The DoEirme of B a ? r i s u» 
 
 Serm. this is no more our Righteoufnefs, than Charity 
 II. or Juflice is. 
 
 17?, That which is in us can fcarce be faid to 
 be imputed or reckoned to us. I fhould appre- 
 hend that fuch a Manner of fpeaking fignifies 
 that one thing is to pais for another : As it is 
 faid of the Perfon who oflfered his Sacrifice in an 
 Lev, xvii unappointed Place, Blood fhall be imputed to 
 4- that Man : The Meaning is, that his fhedding 
 
 of Blood in a wrong way, fhould make him as 
 guilty as if he had taken it from a wrong Crea- 
 If. Lxvi. 3. ture. He that kills an Ox^ is as if he Jlew a 
 Man : He that facrijices a Lamb^ as if he cut off 
 a Dog's Neck. And fo when a Righteoufnefs ii 
 imputed to us, 'tis fuppofed by the Sound of the 
 Words, that antecedent to the Imputation it was 
 Phil. iii. not in us. Our own Righteoufnefs which is of the 
 9- Law, is diftinguiflied from the Righteoufnefs 
 
 which is of God by Faith. Then 
 
 idly., The whole Defign of this Doftrine, and 
 thofe Seals that gave it a Solemnity, was to ad- 
 vance the free Goodnefs of God. It is of Faith 
 that it might be by Grace., and therefore if it's 
 put upon any thing in ourfelves, the whole De- 
 fign of the Covenant is defeated. Boafting is ex- 
 cluded, not by the Law of Works, but only by 
 Rom. iii. the Law of Faith. For to him that works, the 
 27* Reward is, reckoned not of Grace, but of Debt: 
 
 And therefore David fpeaks of the Man to whona 
 the Lord imputes Righteoufnefs without Works, 
 For if our own A<5tions are that upon which we 
 are juftified. Faith is made void \ nay, according 
 to this Notion, Faith makes void itfelf. If 
 -Roin. iv. Abraham was jufiified by Works., he has whereof ti 
 glory ^ but he has no fuch thing before God. 
 
 Q^dly., The whole Employment of Faith upon 
 this Occafion is going out to another, and rely- 
 ing 
 
 2. 
 
"the DoBrine (jT B a p t i s m. 69 
 
 ing upon him. It fuppofes a total Diffidence in Serm. 
 the Creature, and it can have no Confidence in II. 
 itfelf. AhrahmrC^ Faith led him off" from every *-— v-*^ 
 thing in himfelf that might either help it or hin- 
 der it. He conjidered not his own Body now dead, Ver. 19, 
 when he was about an hundred I'ears old ; that ne- ^' ^i, 
 ver made him fiagger at the Promife of God ^A 25! 
 through Unbelief -, but being flrong in Faith ^ he 
 gave Glory to God ; being fully perfuaded that 
 what he had promifed he was able to perform, 
 and therefore it was counted to him for Righteouf- 
 nefs. JVhat was fo counted to him ? His own 
 A5iion ? Did that make him Righteous ? Did 
 that fulfil the Law ? No -, but the Seed which 
 he had his Eye upon with whom the Promife 
 was made, and the Obedience of Chrift which 
 Abraham faw with Giadnefs, this is what he 
 reached to as a Rightcoufnefs, and it was counted 
 to him for it. Now this is written not for his 
 Sake only, that it fhould be imputed to him : 
 that he fhould have a Son when he was an hun- 
 dred Years old is all Perfonal ; that was for his 
 Sake only, therefore it mufl: be (bmething elfe 
 that's imputed to «j, if we believe on him who 
 raifed up Jefus our Lord from the Dead, who was 
 delivered for our Offences, and role again for our 
 Juftification. 
 
 /^thly. Upon the v/hole, it appears that Faith 
 is the Inftrument of receiving this Privilege. 
 *Tis a Grace that God has implanted, by which 
 ■ a Believer looks after it, takes hold of it, and 
 feels a Comfort in it. Therefore, we read of 
 being juftified by Faith as an Inftrument of re- 
 ceiving •, and, in another Place, that we are faved 
 by Grace, through Faith, as a Medium of Con- %h. H. 8. 
 veyance. Thus it is faid of Noah, that he was ^^"' '^'' 
 a Righteous Man in his Generation, you may 
 underftand it of his upright Walking with God ; 
 F 3 but 
 
T'he DoEirine ^Baptism. 
 
 but there is fomething elfe attending upon that 
 Character, and indeed fuperior to it ; and that is 
 believing God concerning things not feen as yet ^ 
 by which he became an Heir of the Righteoiifnefs 
 that is hy Faith. 
 
 You mean the fame Thing by Baptifin, that 
 this holy Man did by preparing the Ark. The 
 Apoftle has brought them together from a long 
 
 I Pet. iii. Diftance of Ages. It is faid that the Long-fuf- 
 
 20, 21. fering of God waited in the Days of Noah, 
 whillt the Ark was preparing, wherein few, that 
 is eight Souls, were laved by Water, the like Fi^- 
 gure whereunto does Baptifm now fave us, by 
 the Refurredion of Jefus Chrifb, who is gone 
 into Heaven. What do we learn by his going 
 into Keaven, but the Doctrine that he himielf 
 taught us } The Spirit fhall convince you of 
 
 John xvi. Rtghteoufnefs^ becaufe I go to my Father ., and ye 
 
 *°* fee me no more. Therefore 
 
 A Perfon who is either baptized himfelf, or 
 knows what he is doing for his Infant, does by 
 that Action declare that Salvation is come to the 
 Gentiles. That Sinners are made Righteous 
 with God -, the Law has no more to fay^ and 
 Juitice has no more to do againft them ; but 
 then tliis Righteoufntfs is not in themfelvcs, they 
 behold it in another, they fetch it from him,. 
 We through the Spirit wait for the Hope of 
 
 Gal- V. 5. R'igbleoufnefs by Faith. 
 
 6. Being baptized into the Name of our God 
 fignifies that we depend on him tor the particular 
 Bleffing*! of this Ordinance. 'Tis not meerly 
 taking upon us a Badge that's to be worn for 
 Life, but 'tis an act o^ JVorfhip to our God, and 
 of Communion with him. As the Scripture has 
 diredted us to this Adion, he guides us in it ; 
 tflls us what we fhould mean, and v;hat we are 
 |;o aim at, I have (howp you, that 'tis a Seal of 
 
The Do Br me ^Baptism. 
 
 the RighteoLifnefs of Faith. And what does this 
 Righteoufnefs iffue in, with refped to curfelves ? 
 I cannot give a better Anfwer to that, than in 
 the Language of the Bible. 
 
 Johji preached the Baptifm of Repentance for 
 the Remiffion of Sins, becaufe the Kingdom of 
 Heaven was at hand. That Kingdom was now 
 to be opened, that called, for Repentance from 
 Sins, and proclaimed a Remiffion to them. 
 Here's a Sovereign, a King of Saints^ the blefild ^^^- ^^'• 
 and only Potentate, to whom we ihould bow \'^\^^ yj 
 with Repentance and godly Sorrow, and who i6. 
 himfelf has bowed the Heavens with all the 
 Treafures of Salvation and Pardon. Not that the 
 external A6lion did any more than fignify thefe 
 Things. The Sadducees and Pharifees came to 
 his Baptifm, as People warned to flee from a 
 Wrath to come. They thought they had a vifi- 
 ble Claim to any Ordinance in the Church of 
 God, having Abraham to their Father ; but he Matt.iii. 
 exhorts them not only to appear in the Signs of 7> ^» 9- 
 Repentance, but 'to bring forth Fruits that are 
 meet for it. Or otherwife, though the King of 
 Sion was come among them having Salvation, yet Ver. 12, 
 his Fan was in his Hand, and he will thoroughly 
 purge his 7^/^or, as well as fill his Garner. 
 
 And fo Baptifm faves us, not by wafhing away 
 the Filth of the Flefh, but by the Anfwer of a 
 good Confcience towards God. What's that ? 
 I believe, though it includes our Integrity, yet 
 it relates to a great deal more, for it is the Blood 
 of Chrift, who through the eternal Spirit offered 
 himfeU without Spot to God, that purges our Heb. ix. 
 Confciences from dead Works, toferve the living H- 
 God. A good Confcience fignifies that a Ferfon 
 is in a State of Pardon. If our Hearts condemn '.J°^-" 
 us noty then have we Confidence towards God, . "*• -*• 
 
 F4 Thus 
 
The DoBri?:e <?/ B a p t i s m. 
 
 Thus does Ananias explain it to Saul \ now 
 why tarrieft" thou, arife, and be baptized, wajh' 
 ing away thy Sms^ and calling upon the Name of 
 the Lord : Not that theVirtue lay in the Aftion i 
 a Flood of Water does no more than the Blood 
 of Bulls and Goats to take away Sin ; and there- 
 fore he fpeaks of this in connexion with his 
 calling upon the Lord. So that though a Perfon 
 who is baptized, ought not, cannot, and dare 
 not fay, that this Ordinance is a Token of his 
 being pardoned, yet he knows it is the Emblem 
 of that Blood, by which alone he can be fo. 
 Therefore, 
 
 There is an Application in this Solemnity, 
 whether I do it for myfelf or my Child ; 
 '' Lord, in this way of thine own appointing I 
 " come to thee for Mercy ; I am looking to 
 " Jefus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and 
 " the Blood ot Sprinkling that fpeaks better 
 " Things than that of JbeL The Privilege is 
 " not fecured by this Duty, but it is reprefent- 
 *' ed and may be conveyed ; let my Perfon, my 
 " Garments, my Children be wafiied indeed in 
 " the Blood of the Lamb, 'tis this that takes 
 " away the Sins of the World." 
 
 Simon Magus was baptized but not pardoned ; 
 Aftsviii. he fbill continued in the Gall of Bitternefs, though 
 ^3- he had paflfed under that Ordinance, which to 
 
 Mark others is a Token for Good. He that believes 
 XVI. 1 6. ^^^ i^^ii j-jg (iiamned, whether he is baptized or 
 no •, they will be bitter IVaters to him •, though 
 he makes his Body never fo clean, God will 
 plunge him in the Ditch, and his own Cloaths 
 fhall abhor him. Wartiing does no more change 
 the Nature of an hfidel than it does the Skin of 
 an Ethiopian : But he that believes, and is bap- 
 tized, fhall be faved, /. e. He that believes what 
 Baptifm fignifies, and is baptized as an a6t of his 
 
 Faith, 
 
The DoSirine of '^ k"^ t \%u. 
 
 Faith, and an Emblem of a juftifying Righteouf- 
 nefs, he fliall be faved. And if you do not 
 mean all this by it, either you do it not in the 
 Name of God, or you take that Name in vain. 
 
 7. Our being baptized into this great Name 
 fignifies that we muft be conformed to his Image. 
 Circumcifion was a Seal of the Covenant ; and 
 therefore Abraham meant by the Sign what he 
 meant by the Covenant itlelf, that the Lord Gen. xvii. 
 would be his God, and that he was obliged to '* 
 walk before him and be perfect. Baptifm car- 
 ries the fame Demand along with it. It is a Re- , 
 liance upon the Death and the Refurreftion of 
 Chrift, as that by which he brought in a Righ- 
 teoufnefs -, but, befides that, it alio calls us to a 
 Fellowfhip in his Sufferings, [oht Partakers of y\A.'\-^. 
 his Death y and to feel the Power of his Refur- 10. 
 reel ion. 
 
 I will turn you to the Apollle's Argument 
 upon this Head, which may excufe me from 
 making any of my own. He obferves, that Be- Rom. vi, 
 lievers are dead to Sin, and therefore cannot live ^' 3» 4» 
 in it ; upon this he argues. Knew ye not^ that fo ^' 
 many of us as were baptized into Jefus Chriji^ were 
 baptized into his Death ? Whether this refers to 
 the Manner of Baptifm, is a Queftion very trivial, 
 in Comparifon of what I now bring it for. If 
 you think that being under the Water is all that 
 is meant by this Burial -, or that it is eflential to 
 it, that there cannot be the one without the other, 
 you make a poor Bufinefs of it indeed. The 
 Apoftle tells us what he means by the Phrafe -, 
 that we are therefore buried with him by Bap' 
 tifm into Deaths that like as Chrift was raifed up 
 from the Dead by the Glory of the Father, even 
 fo we fhould alfo walk in Newnefs of Life ; fo. 
 if we have been planted together in the Likenefs 
 of his Death, we fhall he alfo in the Likenefs of 
 
 his 
 
74 ^^^ DoSirtne of '^ k -? t \ ^ u, 
 
 Serm. his RefurreEHon. And to let you fee that what 
 II. he Ipeaks of in thele AUufions has nothing to do 
 V— V-*-' with external Forms \ he binds an Interpretation 
 upon his own Words, that is all fpiritual -, 
 Knowing this^ that our old Man is crucified with 
 him^ that the Body of Sin may be defiroyed^ that 
 henceforth we fhould not ferve Sin. So that 
 
 The whole Defign of the Ordinance is to re- 
 prefent and inforce our Conformity to him, who 
 lived as one dead to this World, and whole Con- 
 Col, iji, verfation was all in another. Thus he pleads 
 *7- again -, as many of you as have been baptized 
 
 into Chrift have put on Chrifl : You are to look 
 I John jjj^g j^jj^-j^ j.^ walk as he alfo walked •, tFie Life 
 ^' you live in the Flefli fliould be by Faith in him, 
 that you may have Boldnefs in the Day of Judg- 
 ment. I'he Phrafe ot putting on Chrifl fomttimcs 
 relates to your Juftification, and fignifies a Being 
 found in him, not having on our own Righteoul- 
 nefs, but it is alfo ufed in another Branch of 
 your Chara6ler: And it is thusexprefTcd to fnow 
 Epi.iv. the Entirenefs of this Conformity, that as you 
 ^^' put oft the old Man with all his deceitful Lufts 
 
 and Deeds, fo you put on the new Man ; and 
 it is what you fliould defign, underftand, and 
 Col. ii, promote by this Ordinance. In him ye are cir- 
 \\, 12. curacifed with the Circumcijion 'made without Hands ^ 
 in putting off the Body of the Sins of the tlefio^ by 
 the Circumcijion of Chrift^ buried with him in Bap- 
 tifm, wherein alfo ye are rifen with him through 
 the Faith of the Operation of God. 
 
 8. When We are baptized into the Name of 
 God, we do it with a Hope of his Mercy to 
 eternal Life. It is a temporal Ordinance, but it 
 carries an everlafting Senfe -, it relates to fpiritual 
 Eph. i. 3. Blefiings m heavenly Places. In the Lord's Sup- 
 per we fhew forth not only his dying, but his 
 coming again ; we eat and duink at his Table in 
 ' view 
 
I'he DoBrim <?/" B a p t i s m. 75 
 
 view of the new Wine in our Father's Kingdonti, Serm,' 
 and fo it is here. Circumcirion was the Token II. 
 of an everlafting Covenant : The Sign itfelf was <>-■ - v— *i 
 to be abohihed at a certain Period, and fo fliall Gen.xvii. 
 Baptifm at the Confummation of all Things ; 7- 
 they are both of them but Patterns of Things in 
 the Heavens ; but the Covenant that each of them 
 related to is everlajling in its Form, its Security, 
 its Benefits, and its Effects. 
 
 This is the plain Senfe of a certain Text, if 
 you will take it unpuzzled with Criticifm, and 
 the Folly of thole, whofe Bellies being filled 
 with the Eaft-wind, do rcafon with unprofitable 
 Talk. IVbat Jhall they do who are baptized for i Cor, xv; 
 the Dead ? If the Dead rife not at all, why are ^9- 
 they then baptized for the Dead ? This PafTage 
 has put many learned ^e.v(Qns,u^on fir iving about 
 Words, and, I think, to no Profit. Sometimes 
 a Scripture has the fame Fate with Interpreters 
 that Job has with his Comforters -, they came 
 with a good Meaning, but did not a<5l very much 
 to the Purpofe. The Apoftle quite through that 
 Chapter is proving the Refurreftion of the Dead, 
 that Chrill's has been and ours fhall be. He ar- 
 gues it from the Miniftry of the Word, that 
 otherwife our preaching is vain, and your Faith is 
 vain i and then he does it from another Ordi- 
 nance, People are baptized for the Dead, that is, 
 with a profeffed Subjeclion to Chrift who is 
 railed from the Dead, and with a declared Hope 
 that vfe fjali be fo. Now, as he faith, if there 
 be no Refurrcdion from the Dead, why was 
 this ever made the Signification and Import of 
 Baptifm ? In this Solemnity as we look to a Sa- . 
 vioLir, fo we look/<?r him : We wajh thefe vile 
 Bodies, and he will change them by a Power that Phil. iii. 
 can fubuue all Things to himfelf. ^^' 
 
The DoBrim ^Baptism. 
 
 9. We are baptized into the Name of our 
 God, upon a full Sacisfadlion that he is able to 
 do all this that we are waiting for. Our Privi- 
 leges in him and by him, are Pardon, Accept- 
 ance, Conformity to him, and Felicity with him: 
 And as thefe are our Defire, fo thfy are our 
 Phil. i. Earneft Expe£fation and Confidence^ that in nothing 
 20. we jhallhe ajhamed. To depend for Pardon up- 
 
 on one that cannot give it, or for Holinefs upon 
 him who cannot work it, or for Heaven upon a 
 Hand that cannot bring us to it, would make us 
 afhamed of our Hope. How dreadful would it 
 be for thefe Expedations to raife us up to Hea- 
 ven, and then upon a Difappointment, to go 
 down, both fneaking and howling into Hell. 
 
 But, as v/e are baptized upon his Command 
 who has all Power both in Heaven and Earth, 
 his Power upon Earth can preferve us irom fall- 
 ings and his Power in Heaven will prefent us 
 Judc 22. Faultlefs with exceeding Joy. We durft not 
 have taken his Name upon us, if he was not our 
 Sovereign : We durft not have done it with 
 Confidence if he was not omnipotent : But he 
 Pf.lxxxix. has a mighty Arm, ftrong is his Hand, and 
 ^» 7' high is his right Hand, who is 2ifirong Lord like 
 unto him, or to his Faithfulnefs round about 
 him ? His Faithfulnefs will declare his Strength, 
 his Strength will fecure his Faithfulnefs, he (hows 
 a greater Majefty in a Covenant than he does in a 
 Creation. 
 
 What do you mean by being baptized ? It is 
 declaring plainly to the World, that you feek a 
 City, which is an heavenly, whofe Builder and 
 Heb. xi. Maker is God. For in this Ordinance God is 
 *6* not afhamed to be called your God, and from 
 
 thence you may conclude that he has provided 
 for you a City. Behold what manner of Love he 
 has beftowed upon you, that you fhould be called 
 
 the 
 
The DoElrtne ^Baptism. 
 
 the Children of God ! He has called you fo by 
 appointing Baptifm, you call yourfelves fo by 
 obferving it. By this it appears what you are, 
 the Sons of God, and though it does not fully ' J°^'^ "^ 
 appear what you fhall be, yet here is a happy ' 
 Conclufion in the General, that we fhall be like 
 him, by feeing him as he is. 
 
 lo. Being baptized into the Name of God 
 exprefles the common Intereft that all Believers 
 have in him. It was never defigned to be thi 
 Badge of a Party, but of a Chriftianity that is 
 now diffufed among all Nations ; and it belongs 
 to all that in every Place call upon the Name of 
 the Lord Jefus, both theirs and ours. The Di- 
 ftinflion of Kingdoms, Languages, and Sexes, 
 (and I fhould think it of particular Opinions too) 
 ought to be fwallowed up in it. As many of you Gal. Hi. 
 as have been baptized into Chriji have put on ^7> 23'- 
 Chriji. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is 
 neither Bond nor Free, there is neither Male nor 
 Female, for ye are all one in Chriji Jefus. You 
 fee the Apoftle makes the Name of Baptijl to be 
 of the fame Extent with that of Believer ; not 
 that Believers fhould think themfelves divided 
 by it, but united in it. As the Body is one, and i Cor. xif. 
 has many Members, and all the Members of that '^» '3- 
 one Body, being many, are one Body : So alfo is 
 Chrifi. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into 
 ^ne Body, whether we be Jews cr Gentiles, whe^ 
 ther we be Bond or Free, and have been made all to 
 drink into one Spirit. 
 
 Hence it appears, that what is only external is 
 a very little Matter -, we are faid to drink into 
 one Spirit, to let us fee that fpiritual Baptifm is 
 fomething within us. He has faid that we have 
 but one Lord, one Faith, and one Baptifm -, and 
 therefore, let us not charge fome Perfons with 
 having tio Baptifm, and others with having two. 
 I It's 
 
The DoSirine of B a ? r i s u, 
 
 I'm fure a Variety of Opinions, upon this Headj 
 never was to me fo much as a Bwfs of Friend- 
 ^ Jhipt and I hope it never will be in my Practice 
 a Term of Communion. Chrift has made it an 
 Ordinance fo wide as to comprehend us all j 
 and I Ihall not inclofe what he has left open. 
 
 By being baptized you declare yourfelves 
 Chriftians, and in this are diftinguifhed from 
 Eph. i. none but thofe who do not own Chrift Jefus to 
 21, 22. be head over all Things to his Church ; or, 
 which comes to the fame Thing, do not believe 
 him to have the Fulnefs of him that fills all 
 in all. 
 
 And thus have I confidered this ExprelTion in 
 a more general Way, what it imports to be bap- 
 tized, into a Name. What that Name in parti- 
 cular is, you fee by the perpetual Form of the 
 Ordinance, it is that of the Father^ of the Son,- 
 and of the Holy Ghoft, which brings the firft Ar- 
 ticle of our Religion into the firil Ad of our 
 ProfefTion. 
 
 
 SE R- 
 
The DoBrine (t/* B a p t i s m, 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 Baptlfm compleated by Chrlft, and an Ar- 
 gument of his Omnipotence ; he gave the 
 Form of it, which exprelTes the firfl Ar- 
 ticle of Religion^ a Trinity of Perfons in 
 an Unity of Godhead. We are baptized 
 in no other Name than that of God. The 
 lirft Command unrepealed. None but 
 God can give the Bleffings of the Ordi- 
 nance, Pardon, and Purity, which are 
 afcribed to the Son and Spirit. Baptifm 
 is into the Name of one God. This was 
 very little known among the Heathen. 
 The Charge of Tritheifm falfe and impu- 
 dent. 
 
 T is very evident, that to be hap- Serm.- 
 tized into the Name of any one is the jj[_ 
 greatell Homage we can pay to fuch «.,,.--,/-.«j 
 a Being ; it fhows that all our Devo- Pralm 
 
 Xionxstohim^ and all our Springs are in him,^^^^^^'"^* 
 
 And therefore, 
 
 II. Let us enquire what that Name is, that, 
 by our Lord^s Appointment, we are baptized 
 into, who is tliree in Heaven or in Earth, that is 
 equal to a Surrender of all that we have, and can 
 anfvver our Dependance in all that we hope for ? 
 5 ^-^~ 
 
The DoBrine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 Serm. Certainly it is a Tribute given only to God, and 
 III. the Bleding of it is derived from him alone. And 
 
 v^-v'N^ therefore the Name by which we are called in 
 this Solemnity muft be ahove every Name^ if you 
 do but confider thefe four Things. 
 
 o 
 
 1. Baptifm is what you may call the Frontif- 
 piece of the Chriftian Religion. It is the firft 
 publick Declaration that we make of our Adhe- 
 rence to the Meffiah. And therefore Peter prefles 
 the converted Jews to it immediately, repent 
 
 Afts ii. and be baptized every one of you in the Name of 
 3^' Jefus Chrift. The Baptifm of John was to pre- 
 
 pare the way of the Lord, to let them know they 
 Ihould now fee the great Salvation that had been 
 promifed and expected, which God had fpoke of 
 xxvi. 7. in Types, and Believers in Prayers. To this 
 hope of Ifrael the twelve Tribes inftantly ferving 
 God Day and Night did hope to come. And 
 therefore they that underflood his Baptifm looked 
 upon it as the opening of the everlafting Gates : 
 Pf. x,xiv. The Kingdom of Heaven was now at hand, and 
 9- , ... the King of Glory, the Lord of Hofls, was enter- 
 ic. ' ^^i ^^' The People were mufing in their Hearts 
 concerning John, whether he was the Chrifi or 
 no ; from the Day of his fhowing to Ifrael, he 
 was to give them the Knowledge of Salvation in 
 the Remifiion ot their Sins, through the tender 
 Mercy of their God ; whereby the Day-fpring, 
 the bright and Morning Star had vifited them. 
 Therefore, 
 
 2. It is an Ordinance more explained and en- 
 fohn iii. larged by Chriii himfelf. John was to decreafe, 
 39f 30- being only the Priend of the Bridegroom, and 
 
 rejoiced to hear his Voice. For as John's Bap- 
 tifm was a Declaration that he that fhould come 
 was come, neither look we for another -, fo Chrift's 
 Baptifm is a Tcftimony not only to his Arrival, 
 
 but 
 
'The DoSirine of B a ? t i s u, 8i 
 
 hwt his, Ace ompUJIrment of all that he came for. Serm. 
 That he had glorified the Father on Earth, and III. 
 finijhed the Work that was given him to do, ' — v-*-J 
 that the Pleafiire of the Lord had -proffered in his J°'l" 
 Hand. By Johti's Baptifm, they who believed "' '^' 
 gave a Token to the Convidtion within them, 
 cliat the Fulnefs of Time was come, that the 
 Work of a Redeemer was begun •, by ours we 
 declare that it is all over. That by one offer- 
 ing he has for ever perfected them that are fane- Heb. x. 
 tified. '4- 
 
 The Doflrine of their Baptifm was, that a 
 Son is born, a Child is given -, that of ours is, that 
 the Mejfiah is cut off . They proclaimed in the De- 
 ferts the Highway of their God, and told the World 
 that he was come ; we make the fame Declaration 
 that he is gone as a faithful high Prieft within 
 the Vail. Chrifl appointed it, when he had no 
 more to do on Earth, and was exalted by the 
 right Hand of the Father, to fit with him upon 
 his Throne in Heaven. The firfl: uncorred: 
 Edition of Baptifm was Chriftianity in the Dawn^ 
 and now it is the Badge of that Religion in it's 
 more perfeEi Day. By Baptifm we tell the World, 
 that we look for no oxhtx Saviour than Jefus Chrift, 
 and for no othtr Salvation than what he has wrought. 
 'TistheMarkof ourReligion as diftinguiflied from 
 the Heathen, and as tranfcendant to the Jews. 
 
 3. It is altogether the Contrivance ot Jefus at 
 the 'Time when he afferted his Right to do it. It 
 was not agreed on by a Council of Apojlles, as 
 what feemed good to the Holy Ghoil and to 
 them ; but it is delivered to them by their Lord 
 in Perfon, after they had feen his Glory forty 
 Days, and heard him fpeaking T\\mg^ pertai?mg ,\6i%i. 3. 
 to the Kingdom of God. They wanted no Con- 
 vidion that he had ail Power in Heaven and 
 Earth ; not only great Power, but all Power, 
 
 G that 
 
82 The DoSirine ^j/' B a p t i s m. 
 
 Serm. that is Almightinefs •, for any Limitation to the 
 III. Word is a Contradiction to it, a Power that is 
 
 « — V ' confined and bounded is not all Fewer. He had 
 
 (hown his Superiority to the l-*owers on Earth, 
 rot only Kings and Priefts, but the Devils, the 
 Col.ii. PrincipciUties cf Darknefs. He had fpoiled thefe 
 '5- in his Death, and by the Refurrection of his Body 
 
 had torn the Prey from the Mighty, difarmed 
 the Strength of Death, by loofing the Bands of 
 it : He had infulted tiie Grave, and over-ruled 
 all itsViftory. 
 
 His having all Power on Earth, they believed 
 from what he did^ and his Omnipotence in Hea- 
 ven, they believed upon what he faid. For, 
 would he dare to tell them a Lye, after the Fa- 
 ther had fo highly exalted him ? Would he ex- 
 ercife himfelf in Things too high for him at the 
 very Opening of his Kingdom ? They faw that 
 in him the Father was well pleafed, and' there- 
 fore could never fuppofe that at fuch a Time as 
 this he would be guilty of an Ufurpation \ as, 
 that when he had fo lately drank of the Brook in 
 Pf. ex. the way, and was juft beginning to //// up bis 
 ^^'- Head en higl\ he fliould then be chargeable with 
 
 the Robbery of making himfelf equal with God, 
 ©r indeed of provoking the Eyes of his Glory. 
 Would he carry an Arrogance to the Throne, or 
 awaken any jealoufy round about it .'' No, no ; 
 what he then faid after he had prevailed in the 
 Ifa. Ixlii, greatnefs of his Strength he /poke in Righteoufnefs^ 
 *• as one ?>7,^Z^/v to fave. And therefore, Baptifm 
 
 Heb.i. 6. J^ "o apojtohccil Conjlitution, no Solemnity at the 
 fecond Eland, but an Order from the firjl be- 
 gotten^ who was newly brought again into the 
 World with the Sound of a Trumpet, that all 
 the Angels of God might worfhip him. There- 
 fore, 
 
I'he DoEirine ^j/* B a p t i s m. ^'^^ 
 
 4. The Name into which we are baptized is Serm. 
 oj his appointing. He has not left it to the Hu- III. 
 mourof JVIen to contrive what they imagine the '^ — v — • 
 moil proper Signification of our Allegiance. It 
 is by the Ordinance of Baptifm that ^ye confefs 
 Jefus is Lord. It is he alone who has infcribed, 
 on his own Orders, theSenfeand Meaning which 
 they are to carry all over the World. It is a 
 Name that is not to depart out of our Mouthy nor Ifa. lix. 
 out of the Mouth ol our Seed, nor out of the "^'• 
 Mouth of our Seeds Seed from henceforth even 
 for ever. Baptifm is a wafhing, not a doing 
 away the Filth of the Flefli, but it is done in a 
 Nafne, and that is no other Name than of Chrift's 
 own choofing. In this Ordinance here is your 
 firft Action as Profelfors, in Teftimony to your 
 firft 'Principle., as Believers. 
 
 Baptifm itfelf is both an Introdu6lion to your 
 Religion, and an Abftrad: of it. It fignifies 
 your Pardon from Chriil, your Conformity to 
 him, your dying and rifing with him : And the 
 Name that you do it in is the Subflance of that 
 Faith which was once delivered to the Saints. 
 Every other Truth either flows from it, or flows 
 to it : This is the Original, and this is the Cen- 
 tre. Here do all the Heads of Revelation begin, 
 and here they end. There are five Things that 
 you may obferve in this Form ol found Words. 
 
 (i.) The Name into which we are baptized 
 muft be that of the moft high God. 
 
 (2.) That it is the Name of no more than one 
 Beings there cannot be two or three Supremes ; 
 the Word is put in the fingular Nuniber. He 
 does not fay we fhould be baptized into the 
 Names of three, which might have led us to fup- 
 pofe aDifl:in(5tionof Nature, but into the N^me 
 •3,3 only of One, and. yet 
 
 G 2 (5) 
 
84 'The DoSirine ^Baptism. 
 
 Serm. (3.) The Form itfelf cells us of no lefs than 
 III. three^ Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft -, though 
 
 ' — »v — -^ the Ordinance reveals them all under one Name. 
 Whatever Strife there is about the Validity of 
 
 Deut. another Text, there is no need to fend over the 
 
 XXX. 13. Sea for Vouchers to this. Here is a Word nigh 
 to us in our Mouths and in our Hearts, and 
 whether or no John has faid it in his Epiftles, 
 we are fure Matthew has it in his Gofpel, that 
 there are Three who bear Record in Heaven, the 
 Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghoft, and 
 thefc three are one. 
 
 (4.) lliefe three are different from one ano- 
 ther. They are fpoken of in thefe relative Terms 
 of Father and Son, to fliew that they cannot be 
 the fame Perfon. There are Things afcribed to 
 the Father that are not true of the Son, as there 
 are many of the Son which cannot with any Pof- 
 fibility be faid of the Father -, the Father is nei- 
 ther Son nor Spirit, the Spirit is neither Father 
 nor Son. We read of the moft high God, in his 
 own Word, under no lefs a Diftinction than a 
 Trinity, and under no greater. There are no 
 more than three, and there are no fewer •, yet 
 
 (5.) It is plain from the Language of this 
 Form, and the whole Defign of the Ordinance, 
 that thefe three are One in Nature, in the Power 
 they have over us, and the Glory they have from 
 us. So that theDodrine of Baptifm, the Thing 
 declared and publiflied by it is a Trijtity of Per- 
 fons in an Unity of Godhead. He that denies this 
 breaks x.\\q firjt Command in having other Gods j 
 he that conceals it, breaks the Third, by taking 
 the Name of his God in vain. 
 
 I. We are baptized into no other Name than 
 that of the mofi high God ; we do not furrender 
 
 our- 
 
"The DoSirine <?/* B a p t i s m. 8 5 
 
 ourfelves or Children to any Creature in Diftinc- Serm. 
 tion from him, or inConjundion with him. III. 
 
 (i.) To fuppofe that Baptifm is adminiftered 
 in the Name of a Creature, is a vifible daring 
 Infult upon the firil and the great Command- 
 ment : T^hoti jhalt have no other Gods before me. 
 
 Indeed fome tell us that this is repealed. But 
 it is time enough to have faid that, when Heaven ^^^^t- '• 
 and Earth are pajjed avjay ; nay, it will be too ' ' 
 foon to do it then, for when thofe are gone, not 
 one forai or Tittle of the Law fhall perifh : And 
 much lefs fhall the Foundation of the v/hole be 
 rafed. Did Chrift come to fulfil the minuter 
 Parts of the Law, and would he flrike out the 
 greatefb Commandment of all ? Was he fo zea- 
 lous that his Father's Houfe fhould not be a Den 
 of "Thieves, and has he himfelf made it to be- John ii. 
 come the Habitation of Idols ? They that fpeak '^• 
 againfl his Dodlrine revile his Perfon, and rather 
 than allow his Deity will number him among 
 the Idols, the Gods that have not made the Hea- Jcr. x. i 
 vens^ and who fliall perifli from under thefe 
 Heavens. 
 
 Baptifm is not only a part of our Homage, 
 but an Introdudion, an Obligation, and a Badge 
 to the whole. All our Duty is begun by it, 
 and comprehended in it. It is the whole Life of 
 God, the entire Obedience of the Believer and 
 his Seed. Whatever we do afterwards, is no 
 more than the ratifying and expanding of our 
 Baptifm. And fhall we confefs all this Allegi- 
 ance to any other befides the living and true 
 God ? We are fure that Faith cannot make void 
 the Law, and (hall Unbelief do it .? Our Bufi- 
 nefs in preaching Faith as aDodrine, and ufing it 
 as a Principle is to eflabiiflj the Law, but they 
 G 3 who 
 
86 I'he DoBrine of B a ? t i s \u 
 
 Serm. who deny this Faith are pulling down the 
 
 III. Law. 
 <-— V-— ' It was the Glory of the written Law, that it 
 gives us no more than one God, and can any 
 thing be more fcandalous of the Gofpel than to 
 fay it has given us two or three ? When Jojhua 
 circumcifcd the Children of IfraeU the Cafe was 
 clear, there was no ftrange God among them. 
 And when Peter baptized thofe three thoufand 
 in one Day, was it more involved ? If fo, 
 though they might call the Place of Circumcifion 
 Gilgal^ becaufc it rolled away the Reproach of 
 Egypt^ our Baptifm muft be Gilgal reverfed^ by 
 bringing back all the Egyptian Darknefs and 
 Idolatry. BlelTed be God, he has written the 
 great Things of his Law, and there is nothing 
 greater in it than the Unity of his Nature, and 
 the Prerogative of his Worfhip, but iome have 
 cither counted them, or made x.\\tn\jlrange '•Things. 
 (2.) The Surrender we make of ourfelves is 
 too little for God, if Creatures are to fliare it 
 Zeph. !. \ij\i\\ him. We do not worfhip and fwcar both 
 ^* by the Lord and by Malcham. What we pro- 
 
 fefs in Baptifm is, that we will be the Lord's. 
 It is a virtual difclaiming of any other Autho- 
 rity. Other Lords, befides thee, hai'e had Do- 
 minion over us •, and it Baptifm has joined them 
 with him, then we may fay other Lords befides 
 thee Jhall have Dominion over us -, but how 
 frightful is fuch an Interpretation of an Ordinance 
 to thofe who have faid, by Thee only will we 
 make mention of thy Name ! If the Father is the 
 only God exclufive of the Son and Holy Ghoff, 
 by making mention of them, we recognize other 
 Lords befides him. We give his Glory to another, 
 which he will never do himleJf, nor allow in his 
 People, 
 
 (3-) 
 
T^e DoBrine ^Baptism. 
 
 (3.) The Bkfftngs we expe6t from that Covenant 
 of which Baptifm is the Seal, are what none but 
 the moft high God can bellow. And therefore, 
 if he had made the Son and Holy Ghoft only 
 minijiring Spirits^ he would have taught them 
 their Diftance, as he has the Angels : They 
 would never have been fpokc of in fuch a way 
 as to put us upon giving them Adorations, in 
 which they ought not to htfoarers^ if they are 
 not equals. 
 
 In Baptifm v/e declare our Hope of two 
 Things that God has always kept in his own 
 Hand, though we receive them from the Son 
 and Spirit : The one is 'Pardon and the other 
 Purity. 
 
 Baptifm is a Pledge to the RemiJfio7t of our 
 Sins. And what titular God can do this ? PFhat ^ic. v 
 God is like to him, or has fo much as the Rcfem- 
 blance of him, who pardons Iniquity, and pafies 
 by the TranfgrefTion of his Heritage ? It is he, 
 even he, who blots out our Sins for his Name^s 
 Sake -, i, e. in Declaration to that Name, which 
 would be to no manner of Purpofe, if another 
 could do it as well as he. 
 
 To fay that Chrift does it in a Name fuperior 
 to his own, is a Matter that ought to be proved, 
 and not delivered at Random. If an Angel had 
 ever pronounced a Pardon, he would have taken 
 the fame Care that the Apoftle did, to fhew us 
 that it was not done in his own Name. And in 
 whofe would they do it then ? Peter did it in the 
 Name of Jefus ; Faith in his Name gave the poor Adls iv. 
 Man ^ perfect Soundnefs. How eafy then would *^- 
 it have been for our Lord to have fprinkled 
 a few Qualifications upon fome of the numerous 
 Cafes in which he faid without any referve, Son, 
 Daughter, thy Sins are forgiven thee ? 
 
 G A It 
 
88 T^he DbBrine ^/Baptism. 
 
 It is this that we defire and hope for in the 
 Ordinance of Baptifm, and therefore do it in the 
 Name of that Jefus in whom we have Redemp- 
 tion through his Blood, the Forgivenefs of our 
 Sins. 
 Col. i. 14. And thus it is as to our San5!ification. He 
 that works us for the felf-Jame thing is God, i. e. 
 for Heaven ; he draws a Plan within of the eter- 
 nal Houfe which he has prepared above. It is 
 one Hand begins and carries on the change. It 
 Phil. li. is God that woiks in us both to will, and to do 
 1 3- . of his own good Pleafure, and yet they who are 
 J ;.V born of God, are born of the Spirit. As we are 
 I Cor. xii. baptized into one Body, fo we drink into one 
 n. Spirit. For the walhing of Regeneration we are 
 
 Tit. lu. 5. renewed by the Holy Ghoji. It is the Spirit that 
 t% "xvi ci^ickens. It is he who draws out the whole 
 8. Length of Convidion, who reproves the World 
 
 of Sin, and Righteoufnefs, and Judgment. Thefe 
 Things are as truly the Operations of the Spirit 
 as they are the Peculiars of God. We make no 
 doubt that a Creature cannot do them, and we 
 are as certain that the Holy Ghoft has done 
 them. 
 
 Baptifm fives us by the Anfwer of a good Con- 
 1 Pet. iii. fcience towards God -, and it is by the Blood of 
 21- _ Jefus that our Confciences are purged from dead 
 ^^ • ^^- "Works to ferve the living God, and what is it 
 that applies the one to the other ? We are chofen 
 according to the Fore-knowledge of God the 
 I Pet. i. Fatlicr, but it is the San^fification of the Spirit^ 
 2- that brings us to Obedience through the Sprink- 
 
 ling of the Blood of Jefus. He is a peculiar 
 Agent in this Ordinance of Baptifm -, we are 
 born of Water and of the Spirit. The Difciples 
 were baptized with the Holy Ghoji and with Fire. 
 It was he who fell upon them, and had the 
 fuprcme controul of the greateft Miracles that 
 1 the 
 
The DoSirine of B a ? t i s u^^ 
 
 the World ever faw, or that the Church ever 
 
 felt. 
 
 Indeed the main Security that we have either 
 of Heaven or Hohnefs, is God's dwelling in us. i John 
 Angels or Minifters are the Helpers of our Joy, ^^- '^• 
 but they are never laid to be in us, or we in 
 them. Though thefe Words fignify more than 
 we can now explain, yet it's eafy to fee, that 
 whatever they mean can be true of none but a 
 God ', now Chrift is faid to be in us as our Hope Col. I, 27. 
 of Glory. There is no Medium between his be- ^ C^''- 
 ing in them, and your Reprobation. ■''"'■ ^' 
 
 And thus much is affirmed of the Third Perfon 
 as well as the Second. If any Man have not the 
 Spirii of Chrift he is nope of his. He is to be Rom. viii. 
 in us, and to dwell wilh us for ever. Your 9- 
 Body is ibe Temple of i he Holy Ghojl, and yet x^^,"^. 
 you are no other than the Temple of the living i Cor. vi. 
 God, as God has faid I will dwell in them and '9- 
 walk in them. Fie makes Interceffion in us, ^ Co*"- ^^' 
 and he who fearches the Hearts knows what is Rojii. viii. 
 the mind of the Spirit. Not that this is any Con- 27. 
 tradidtion to his Throne in Heaven, or exclufive 
 of his eternal Prefence and Glory there. 
 
 (4.) God himfelf will never bear the joining 
 of any other with him in the Solemnity of our 
 Worfhip, to whom will ye liken God, or what Ifa. xli. 
 Likenefs will ye compare to him ? As Deity is a 18. 
 Peculiar in him, fo we acknowledge that, by 
 making Worfhip a Peculiar to him. As there is 
 an infinite Diftance between Him and the moft 
 exalted Creatures, fo he will have his People 
 fhow it. 
 
 Solomon's, Impiety was not denying the Supre- 
 macy of the Father ; he had always the chief 
 Place in the Temple, but it was bringing other 
 Deities thither, and giving them any Place at 
 all : It would have been as vile to have reared up 
 
The DoBrine of B a ? r i s m, 
 
 a Statue for Gabriel or Mofes, as to do it for 
 Chemojh or Milchom^ and put it into the Houfe 
 that God had called by his N:.me. His Name 
 alone was Jehovah, and the Houfe was built for 
 no other. He was not to make it (as Micah did 
 his) an Houfe of Gods •, and theretorc hac he 
 pleaded that the other were entitled to no more 
 than inferior Worjhip, that he made them no 
 more than fiibordinate 'Deities, it would never 
 have done ; becaufe that very thing itfelf of in- 
 ferior Worfhip was idolatry, and tne Adion of a 
 fubordinate Deity is Nonfence, and fiiall a Chrif- 
 tian Ordinance come under the fame Rebuke ? 
 
 Baptifm is the Confecration of a living Tem- 
 ple to no other than the God of Ifrael. Suppofe 
 we were left to contrive the Form ourfclves, 
 and take the Son and Spirit to be Creatures, 
 Ihould we here have dared to join them with our 
 God ? And can you imagine if Chrift had been 
 of that Opinion, he would not have taken Care 
 to exprefs the Matter with more Diftindlion ? 
 He would never lay fuch a Snare for his People. 
 
 Did he think that Baptifm was no ?di of Wor- 
 fhip ? Then we make more of it than he did, 
 or did he fuppofe that we might worfhip another 
 befides the great God ? Then he deftroyed the 
 Law and the Prophets. If he was a Creature, 
 he had no Authority to change that Law, for 
 there mull be as great a Power in taking it away, 
 as there was in gi'i'ing it. Or, would he throw 
 Things together with a dangerous Confufion, 
 bidding us take the Name of one who is God, 
 and of two who are not, without explaining 
 himfelf upon the Difference there mufl be in the 
 threefold Homage ? 
 
 Really, that is faying as ill a thing of him as 
 
 the Jews ever did, and making him a Deceiver 
 
 indeed ; and yet I muft think fome ot thefe 
 
 I Par- 
 
Ihe DoEirine of B a v r i % m^ 
 
 Particulara. to be the Cafe, if I am driven out 
 from this Chain of Doclrines •, firft, that he de- 
 figned Baptifm to be an ad of the greateft Ho- 
 mage and Adoration. SecondJy, That he di- 
 rected this by his own Order, to no other than 
 the mod high God ; and, thirdly, that he fpeaks 
 of this one God, in the Name of Father^, Son, 
 and Holy Ghoil. 
 
 II. Another Article of Faith contained in the 
 Form of Baptifm is the Unity of the Godhead. 
 This you will colled; from an Obfervation that 
 I gave you before, that we are baptized not into 
 Names, as if there were Gods many and Lords 
 many, but into the Name of God, to {how that 
 there is no more than one. Now that the Lord 
 has extended his Empire, and is King over all 
 the Earth, in this Day there fhall be one Lord, Zech. 
 and bis Name one. xiv. g. 
 
 This was ever the grand Article of revealed 
 Rehgion, as you may lee by comparing our Sa- 
 viour's Words with the Preface to the Ten Com- 
 mandments. In the original Edition of them v/e 
 read it thus : / am the Lord thy God, who brought Exod. 
 thee out of the Land of Egypt, and the Houfe of xix. 2, 
 Bondage. I believe it is eafily proved, tliat the 
 Perion, in the Divine Nature, who fuffered him- 
 felf to be vifible, on that Occafion, was the Son. 
 He appeared to Abraham in Mefopotamia, to AAsvii.3. 
 Jacob at Luz, to Mofes at Horeb ; the Similitude 
 of the Lord did he behold, though no Man had 
 feen the Father at any Time. And yet when John vi. 
 Chrift has Occafion to fpeak of this, he does it 4^- 
 with a Teftimony, not to the Concern of that one 
 Perfon, nor to the Three who bear Record 
 in Heaven, but to the Unity that was among 
 them. 
 
 The 
 
The DoEirim of B av t is, u. 
 
 The Scribes having afked him which was the 
 firft Commandment of all, he anfwers the firft 
 of all the Commandments is this, Hear, O Ifrael, 
 the Lord our God is one Lord ; from whence you 
 may argue, that though he then made known 
 himfelf as rejoicing in the habitable Parts of the 
 Earth, yet what he did was in the fame Nature 
 with the Father and Holy Spirit j and this is the 
 Senfe of thofe Words, the Son does nothing of 
 John V. himfelf -, i. e. He a6ls in an eternal Unity of 
 '9- Nature with the Father •, the Expreilion cannot 
 
 import any Inferiority, becaufe it's faid in uni- 
 verfal Terms that whatever Things the Father 
 does, thefe does the Son Hkewife. The Scribe 
 himfelf faith to him, well, Mafter, thou haft 
 faid the Truth, for there is one God, and there 
 is no other but he. Nor does our Lord contra- 
 di<5t him, but owns that he anfwered difcreetly. 
 
 This Unity of the Godhead is the Foundation 
 of the Apoftles and Prophets. There is no Va- 
 riety of Doctrines upon this Head between the 
 Old and New 'Tefiament : And in this it is diltin- 
 guifhed from all the Light of Nature, I mean 
 fince the Fall, by which the Light that is in us 
 became Darknefs. There were indeed fome 
 Sketches of this Truth among the Gentiles -, 
 Rom. i. an eternal Power and Godhead may be argued 
 2»- from the Things that do appear : But we know 
 
 how deficient they were in this matter \ though 
 it feems fo eafy to human Reafon, now that Re- 
 velation has fet it a thinking. 
 
 I, It was in all Ages and Countries the unde- 
 niable Docbine that God revealed. We read of 
 fome few among the learned Heathen that con- 
 feflcd it, but it was fo far from being the uni- 
 verfal Opinion, that one Perfon died a Martyr 
 for it. Now wherever Revelation comes it's fo 
 eftablilhed, that they all know it from the leaft 
 
 to 
 
T^he DoEirim ^Baptism. 
 
 to the greateft. It was not the Difcovery of one 
 more eminent than all the reft, but they who are 
 only Babes in knowledge feceive it upon the 
 greateft Evidence. Such Care does the Holy 
 Spirit take to keep all thofe under his Inftrudion 
 from the Pradice of Tritheifm^ though fuch is 
 the rant of Herefy, that it will not fuffer us to 
 be kept from the Charge. We know of no 
 more than one Lord, one Faith, one Baptiftn, one Epli.iv.5, 
 God and Father of all. 
 
 2. Revelation always told us who this One 
 God was. It is not a national Difpute as it ufed 
 to be, whether the God of the Philijiines or the 
 Moabites was fuperior : But we are as much de- 
 termined upon the Queftion, who is the Lord^ 
 as that there is but one. This is what the People 
 of Ifrael pleaded in their Arguments, and this he 
 pleaded among them by his Miracles. They 
 tell Pharaoh, that their God was over all the 
 Earth. The Shepherd of Ifrael had the Earth in Pr. xxiv. 
 his Hands and the Fulnefs thereof. Naaman the ^• 
 Syrian owned, that there is no God but in Ifrael. 
 
 The Name that he went by to diftinguifti him 
 from other Deities was that of Jehovah. This 
 Daniel profefles, there is a God in Heaven that Dan. ii. 
 reveals Secrets ; and Nebuchadnezzar owns, of a 28, 47. 
 Truth, your God is a God of Gods, and a Lord 
 of Kings, and a revealer of Secrets. 
 
 3. They always underftood by this one God a 
 Being that made the World, not by Proxies or 
 Deputies. They knew it was the Dignity of 
 
 their God to breathe out a Creation ; he fpake P^. xxxiii. 
 and it was done, he commanded and it flood f aft. 9- 
 The Egyptians and Per/tans had fome Notions of 
 the fupreme Deity, but they fuppofed him not 
 to be the Maker of the Univerfe, and imagined his 
 Glory like that of their own Kings to confift in a 
 flothful Grandeur. It is from their wooden Di- 
 ' " vinity, 
 
T^he DoSlrine ^Baptism. 
 
 viiiity, that we have the fliipid Notion of God's 
 creating the World by an Infirument \ whereas 
 the Bible has taught us to think of the moft 
 High, as pofiVfling his Glory in a perpetual 
 
 Heb.i. 3. £nergy •, upholding all Things by the Word of 
 his Power. The Father works hitherto, and 
 Chrift works, not a Spa:row falls to the Ground 
 
 Rom.xi. without our i^^/^^r. 0[ him^ and to him, and 
 through him, are all Things. 
 
 4. In fpeaking of one God, according to the 
 Language of Revelation, all inferior Deities are 
 
 Pf.lxxxvi. (truck off. Among the Gods there is none like 
 
 ^* unto thee O Lord, neither are there any Works 
 
 like to thy Works ; but afterwards he fweeps 
 them out of the Comparifon, thou art great and 
 doeft wondrous Things, thou art God alone. We 
 do not only confefs a Supreme, but that there is 
 no other -, no Communication of the divine Na- 
 ture, no Diftribution of the divine Llonour, nor 
 Partnerfhip in the divine Worfhip. The Hea- 
 then had their Gods many, and Lords many, but 
 
 1 Cor. to us there is one God the Father, of whom are 
 ^- all Things, and one Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom 
 are all Things. It is this that v/e mean in Bap- 
 tifm. Should we fuppofe that the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghoft were one God and two Crea- 
 tures, our Diftinftion from the Heathen would 
 not be in the Unity of the Godhead, but only in 
 the Names oi thofe that are neareft to him. And 
 thus we may be fuppofed not to quarrel with 
 them about the true God, but about the Minifters 
 of State, thofe that fee the King'5 Face, and fit 
 firft in the Kingdom. 
 
 VIU 
 
 SER- 
 
7'he DoBrine of B a ? t i s u. 95 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 The Unity of the Godhead is to be under- 
 (lood of the divine Nature. Neither 
 more nor kfs than a Trinity of Perfons. 
 Reafons why Baptifm is in the Name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, or IVord ^ 
 a Comparifon between thefe two Titles. 
 He is our Creator, Redeemer, Sovereign. 
 And of the Spirit being called our Ma- 
 ker, God, and Saviour. 
 
 HOUGH this Form of Words Serm. 
 fignifies our Adoration to no IV. 
 more than one God, yet it gives ^-' »~"^ 
 us an Account of three, into 
 whofe undivided Name we are baptized. And 
 this agrees to the perpetual Revelation of the 
 Bible, for there we read of the moft high God, 
 either with Regard to his Ejfence, or with a De- 
 claration of his Perfonality, 
 
 I . He is often mentioned in the Unity of his 
 Nature. The Names of God, and Lord, or 
 Jehovah, the Almighty, the Eternal, and Seve- 
 ral other Titles, are ufed v/ith an individual Ap- 
 plication •, they are given to no more than one. 
 Thus it's faid, ^'hsu art God, even thou alone, pf.ixxxvi. 
 
 i. e. 8. 
 
The DoEirine of B a ? T i s u. 
 
 i. e. there is a meaning of the Word that is only 
 thine : Creatures may have the Name, but with- 
 out the Senfe that it contains when it belongs 
 Pf. Ixxxiii. to thee. So again. Thou whole Name alone is 
 '^- Jehovah •, and hear Ifrael, Jehovah our God is 
 
 Deut. vj. one Jehovah : Jehovah is one and his Name one 
 4- in ail the Earth. There is but one Almighty i 
 
 it is the Attribute, not of a Perfon, but a Na- 
 ture, to diftinguifli it from all that are derived 
 1 Tim. and limited. He is the King eternal, immortal, 
 *• '7- invifible, the e;;/y wife God. 
 
 Then the fevcral divine Perfe6lions of Wif- 
 dom, Goodnefs, Truth, and Purity, are laid 
 down in the Bible, as the Glories of that one Be- 
 ing, of whom it is faid that he is, and that there 
 is none hefides him. They are applied to him as 
 they never can be to any other. What the Crea- 
 ture has of them is in a Degree fo much lower, 
 that they ftill continue in the Language of the 
 Old and New Tejlament to be the Attributes of 
 I Sam. no more than one. Thus faith Hannah.^ there is 
 ^- 2- none holy as the Lord, for there is none hefides 
 him '■) and Cjirift himfelf in his human Nature 
 lays no claim to what is totally divine \ there is 
 Matt, xix, none good but one.^ and that is God ; and the Apo- 
 17- file brings it in among the Heads of Adoration, 
 
 Rom. xvi. to God only wife be Glory and Dominion for 
 27- ever. 
 
 This is the Voice of Nature, the Doftrine of 
 the Creation, the eternal Power and Godhead be- 
 long to no more than one, and the Glory owing 
 to it is what he will never give to another. To 
 that Supreme undoubted Article does the whole 
 Revelation of the Bible agree •, that there is 
 but one only, the living and true God. We 
 deceft the Opinion, of two or three Deities, as 
 much as of three Hundred. To fuppofe that any 
 fuch Error is to be found in Scripture, is to 
 
 make 
 
"The DoBrine ^Baptism. 
 
 make the holy Writings devour themfelves : 
 They are vifibly defigned againft all Idolatry, 
 and can never build up the thing which they iiave 
 fo heartily dellroyed. 
 
 I prefs this Matter vs^ith a Fervency, to fhew 
 that we are fallen into the Hands of wicked and 
 unreafonahle Men^ as they are who have not 2 Thefl' 
 Faith : Falfe Witnefles rife up againft us, and ^"* ^' 
 Jay to our Charge things that we know not. 
 When any tell us, as a Number of vain Talkers 
 do, that we are for the Tritheiftick Scheme, for 
 three confcious Minds, againft all our Declara- 
 tions for ONE ONLY Ih'ing and true God^ it ftiows 
 that People are refolved to fet their Mouths 
 againft the Heaven, and their Tongue runs wild 
 ^nd uncontrouled over the Earth. The Unity of 
 the divine Nature is always a facred Part of our 
 good Confejfion^ as well as a Trinity of Perfons, 
 If Men are determined to dafli the one of them 
 againft the other we cannot help it : The Scrip- 
 ture has made them confiftent, harmonious, and 
 certain : And if any are refolved that God fliall 
 not be juftified in his Sayings, they will find, 
 that whofoever falls upon this Stone fhall be 
 broken to Pieces, but upon whomfoever it falls, 
 it will grind him to Powder. 
 
 2. Though the moft high God is no more 
 than one, yet he has revealed himfelf with a 
 DijiinElion neither greater nor lefs than that of a 
 trinity. We cannot by all our Searching find 
 out more than three, and we muft wink hard 
 upon a Cloud of Witnefles to make x\\t\xi fewer. 
 Ifaiah the Evangelical Prophet, and John the 
 Prophetical Evangelift, had their Vifions much 
 alike ; they each of them heard the Cherubims If. vi. 3. 
 cry out Holyy holy^ holy Lord God Almighty. ^^^"^ iv. 
 The fame Manner of fpeaking obtains in the 
 Church below -, Lord hear, Lord forgive^ Dan. ix. 
 
 H '9- 
 
T*he DoEir'im (j/ B a p t i s m. 
 
 Lord^ hearken and do. There is no Occafion to 
 pafs off thefe Repetitions for a I'reffure of Zeal, 
 as if they were a Rapture and not an Argument, 
 becaufe they agree to the reft of the Bible. 
 
 We are plainly told of neither more nor lefs 
 
 1 Johnv. than three that bear Record in Heaven ; the Fa- 
 7- ther, the Word, and the HolyGhoft, and that thefe 
 
 three are but one. It is much eafier todifqualify 
 fuch a Text than it is to anfwer it. That was the 
 old Trick of Satan, when he could not over- rule 
 the Authority of a Command, he difputed its Va- 
 Gen. iii. lidity ; yea, has God /aid it ! And when once he 
 *• brought our Parents to queftion a Revelation, 
 
 he foon brought them to difobey it. 
 
 But is this the only Form of Words that tell 
 us of one God in three Perfons ? If People are 
 determined not to admit of that Verfe, has the 
 Bible given us no other ^ Yes, we have the 
 Truth, and we have it more abundantly. What 
 Senfe can we pofilbly fix upon Words, if there 
 is no Trinity in the divine Nature ? What does 
 the Apoftle mean by the Form of BlelTing, or 
 
 2 Cor. our Saviour by that of Baptifm .'' The Grace of 
 xiii, u/f. Q^j. Lord Jefus Chrijl^ the Love of God^ and the 
 Rev. i. 5. Communion of the FIolyGhoJl. So again, Grace 
 
 be to you, from him who is, was, and is to 
 come ; and from the feven Spirits before his 
 I Pet. i. 3. Throne, and fromjefus Chrift : So, you are elc6l 
 according to the Fore-knowledge of God the Fa- 
 ther^ through Sanclification of the Spirit., and the 
 Sprinkling of the Blood of Jefus. 
 
 Thus did the Apoftlcs talk to People after 
 their Baptifm, agreeable to the Inltruftions 
 they had btfore it. Vv'hen they entered thcm- 
 felves into the Family of God by that Ordinance, 
 they were not left to do it in their own Words ; 
 the Form was provided betore hand, they did it 
 in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy 
 
 Ghoft. 
 
I'he DoEirine i?/* B a p t i s ivi. 
 
 Ghoft. There is an Uniformity in thefe Me- 
 thods of fpeaking that the Bible gives us ; whe- 
 ther we are baptized or blefled it is into the 
 Name of three. The Number is never enlarged, 
 and never diminiflied. If the Scripture had not 
 defigned we fhould have fpoke of fo many in 
 pur Profeilions and Adorations, we fliould never 
 have had their Names : But it is plain, that 
 though our Surrender in Baptifm, is to the only 
 living and true God, yet we cannot leave out 
 2ny iingle Peribn in the Trinity. I fliall en- 
 deavour to fiiow you in what regards the Be- 
 liever gives up either himfclf or his Infant, to 
 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
 
 1. This is done in the Name of the Fa- 
 ther, though it is the Appointment of our 
 bleffed Lord, and a IVIemorial of his Authority 
 over the Churches, yet he was not fetting up a 
 feparate Empire. Thus I underftand what he 
 lays as cxprelfing not a Subje^iion^ but a Commu- 
 nion in the Godhead. My Father works hitherto, 
 and I work : The Son can do nothing of himfelf, 1°^-'^ ^' 
 but what he fees the Father do ; for whatfoever '"' ^^' 
 Things he does, thefe does the Son alfo. I can 
 cf my own felf do nothing •, as I hear, I judge. 
 Every Perfon in the divine Nature has a Concerli 
 in our Salvation. In the Council of Peace, where Eph. iv. 
 it was laid., in the PubHcation of the Gofpel, 4> 5» ^' 
 where it is revealed., and in the adual Gift by 
 which it is conveyed. Thus we read of one Spi- 
 rit, one Lord, and one God and Father. As 
 B'lptilm is a Declaration of the Hope that is in 
 us, \Ve do it with regard to him from whom it 
 comes. Doubtlefs thou art our Father^ v/e are If i^-'JiJ- 
 called by thy Name. ^^> '9- 
 
 Indeed the Father was never incarnate, he is 
 
 not God manileft in the Fiefh, nor will he in 
 
 H2 Perfon 
 
lOO 'The DoEirine of B a ? r i s u. 
 
 Perfon judge the World : But yet there is no 
 Danger of his being left out in the Homage of 
 our Worfhip, who has fo great a Place in the 
 Revelation of the Word. Believers cannot over- 
 look him, as fome vainly imagine. There is no 
 Foflibility of adoring the Son above the Father, 
 Mr. Em- as it is flanderoufly reported, and as fome affirm 
 i'"' that we do. 
 
 The Father's being the Fountain of the Deity 
 is a foolifli and dangerous Expreflion, the Scrip- 
 ture has given us no Authority for thefe Simili- 
 tudes. The great God is the Fountain of Life, 
 and the Fountain of living Waters, but to talk of 
 Divinity as a Thing derived by one, and fpring- 
 ing from another, is profane and vain-babbling. 
 
 The Word Father, is plainly relative, and 
 the relative to it is a Son, nor is there any prio- 
 rity to be concluded from the Ufe of thefe 
 Words. No Being can be a Father "till he has 
 a Child, and therefore his antecedent Exiftence 
 to it muft be fetched from another Name : That 
 of Father does not prove it. Our Fathers were 
 Men before they became Fathers, but will any 
 one d^re to carry fuch an Argument into the di- 
 vine Nature .^ 
 
 The Ordinance of Baptifm agrees to the whole 
 
 Dodrine of the Chriftian Faith, and by that we 
 
 are taught, that as our Salvation is the work of 
 
 the moft high God, fo every Perfon who is known 
 
 by that Name, has a Part peculiar to himfelf in 
 
 this great Affair. 
 
 Johnx. The jF^//^<?r fanftified, and fcnt our Redeemer 
 
 36- ... into the World •, he owned him at his Baptifm, 
 
 16. "'' ^y a Title that was never given to any of the 
 
 Heb. i. 5. Angels ; for to 'which of them was it faid, thou 
 
 art my Son ? The Holy Ghoft appeared in a vifi- 
 
 ble torm, the Father in an audible Sound. A 
 
 Voice came from Heaven, which the People 
 
 thought 
 
The Do&rine ^Baptism. ioi 
 
 thought to be Thunder. He received this Ho- Serm* 
 nour from God the Father in the Mount of IV. 
 Transfiguration, who fpoke out of the excellent v— ^^—j 
 Glory j nay, the Works that the Father had gi- J°^" '^"• 
 ven him to do, bore Witnefs of him ; that the 2 Pet^^*. 
 Father was in him and he in the Father, becaufe 17. 
 the Father who dwelt in him did the Works j he ^iv. 10. 
 refigned himfelf back again in his laft Prayer, 
 Holy Father I come to thee. He was raifed from xvH. 1 1. 
 the Dead by the Glory of the Father. He was 
 the fame way rewarded and admired for what 
 he had done ; the Lord faid unto our Lord^ fit Pf. ex. i,' 
 thou at my Right Hand. His Deity is pro- 
 claimed, his Title to univerfal Duty eilabliflied 
 by the Mouth of the Father, for it's He that fays 
 to the Son, ^hy Throne, O God, is for ever and Heb. i. 6. 
 ever. 
 
 Befides, what he does as the Father of our 
 Lord Jefus Chrifl, he is revealed under a perfo- 
 nal Friendfliip to his People. The God and 
 Father of our Lord Jefus Chrifl: has bleffed us Eph. i. 3. 
 with all Spiritual Blefllngs in heavenly Things, i Pet. i. 2. 
 We are ele6V, according to the Fore- knowledge .'..J°^" 
 of God the Father. It is the Father who has be- jaj^j jg^ 
 flowed this Love upon us, that we Ihould be ver. 27. 
 called the Sons of God. It is He., who, of his Johnxvii. 
 own Will, has begotten us again, by the Word {,'' . 
 
 D xd ' J K.om. IV. 
 
 of Truth : Pure Religion is a thing before God and 24. 
 
 our Father. This holy Father keeps us through Rev. i. 4. 
 
 his own Name, Our Faith and Hope fixes up- ^"^^ ^"• 
 
 on him., who raifed up the Lord from the Dead. ^^' 
 
 Grace, Mercy and Peace come from him, it is 
 
 the Father^ s good Pleafure to give us the King- ' 
 
 dom. 
 
 We have no other Word than that of Father, 
 
 to exprefs his ferfonal Honour. To fay that he 
 
 alone is called God, or that he is diflinguiflied 
 
 by the Name Jehovah from the Son and Spirit, 
 
 H 3 will 
 
102 T^he Docirine ipy B a p t i s m. 
 
 will fo entangle a great Number of Scriptures* 
 that we Hiall be hard put to it to find eithe^ 
 Truth or Senfe in them. — Religion has taken 
 Care, in all our Homage to him, who bought us 
 with his own Blood, to prefer ve a Duty to the 
 Father whom no Man has feen, nor can fee. 1 he 
 t John ii. Apoftle* John calls him Anti-chrift who denies the 
 22. Father and the Son^ and goes on with his Argu- 
 
 23. ment, who ever denies the 6' on, the fame has nci the 
 Father. They have no feparatelntereft or divided 
 
 24. Glory. Let that therefore, faith he, abide in you, 
 which ye have heard from the Beginning. If that 
 which ye have heard from the Beginning remain in 
 you. ye alfo fhall continue in the Son, and in the Fa- 
 ther. And in his ftcond t'pjftlc he repeats what he 
 
 2 John 9. faid in the firft, whoever tranfgrelTes and abides 
 
 not in the Doiftrine of Chrift has not God, he 
 
 that abides in the Dodrine of Chrift has both the 
 
 T John Father and the Son. Truly our Fellowfhip is 
 
 i. 2. with the Father, and zvith his Son Jefus Chriji. 
 
 2. We are alfo baptized into the Name of 
 THE Son as plainly as that of the Father. As 
 Peter exhorted the Jews, repent and be baptized 
 Aftsii.38. in the Name of the Lord Jefus -, fometimes it is 
 ^'•.4^- called the Name ot tht Lord. The Jailor was 
 ^'^' ^'' to believe on the Lord Jefus Chrift, and then he 
 was baptized. His Communion in thofe Titles 
 that are ufed to fignity the divine Nature you 
 Ifa. ix, 6. have often heard. He is called the mighty God^ 
 the Judge of all the Earth, the everlafting Fa- 
 ther. This is not to exprefs his Perfona'ity, but 
 either to fhow that he thought it no Robbery to 
 be equal with God, or to fignify that he is the 
 Author of eternal Life to Men and Angels. 
 He is Jehovah, the God of Ifrael^ to whom 
 every Knee fhall bow and every Tongue con- 
 fefs, 
 
 In 
 
Hjb DoEirlm (^^ B a p T i s m. 
 
 In this Ordinance of Baptifm we are to con- 
 fider him two Ways. Firft, as one with the 
 Father in Nature and Perfeftion -, and, fecondly, 
 as diftin^f from him in Charader and Operation. 
 He is that Life who was with the Father y and is i John 
 manifefted to us. '• 2. 
 
 The Titles that exprefs this Difference are 
 chiefly thefe two ; the Word and the Son of 
 God. The former fignifies a Nearnefs of Com- 
 munion, the latter an Identity of Nature. Tho' 
 each of thefe Names are iifed among Men -, yet, 
 in this Cafe, they are as much above all Reafon 
 and Argument as they are above all Bleffing and 
 Praife. For who has afcended up into Fleaven P^ov. 
 or defcended, who has gathered the Wind in his ^^^' '^' 
 Fifts, who has eftablifned the Ends of the Earth, 
 who has folded up the Waters in a Garment ? 
 W^hat is his Name, and what his Son^s Name^ 
 if thou canll tell ? 
 
 The Father has been pleafed to reveal himfelf 
 under no other perfonal Name, but what figni- 
 fies a Relation to the Son. The Son indeed goes 
 by thefe two, but when he takes them both, it 
 is to Ihow us, that we muft not compare fpiri- 
 tual Things with carnal. We are not to think, 
 as we fpeak, after the Manner of Men. A JVord 
 is nearer to us than a Son -, it is either a Princi- 
 ple within us, or the Voice that is uttered by us : 
 It is what we either have or do from ourfelves ; 
 but it can never be a Perfon, it is only our own ; 
 the moil intimate Friend has nothing to do with 
 it. On the other Hand, a Son muft be a Perfon 
 as ditl:in6t from us as any other Man in the 
 World ; no nearnefs of Relation hinders a fepa-f 
 rate Subfiftence. 
 
 Thefe two Names can never meet in a Crea- 
 ture. It would be ridiculous to call a Word a 
 Scn^ it is not fubftantial enough -, and as abfurd 
 
 H 4 would 
 
104 T^he DoSirhte <?/ B a p t i s m. 
 
 would it be to call 2, Son a Word, becaufe he is 
 too fubftantial for the Name. No Mortal ever 
 talked oi begetting a Word, or of /peaking a Son : 
 And therefore God never defigned, in ufing this 
 Language, that we fhould confound and entan- 
 gle it with our ovvn, The very Names them- 
 felves are wonderful. There is not Diflinction 
 enough between a Man, his Word, and his Spi- 
 rit, to be called three ; and yet there is too 
 much Diftinftion between a Father and a Son to 
 have them called one in Perfon. If Chrift had 
 never gone by another Name than that of the 
 Word, we fhould not have imagined his Diftinc- 
 tion trom the Father ; and if he had never been 
 called any thing but zSon, it would not have fig- 
 nified, that intimate, infeparable, and eternal 
 Union, that he has with him. But when he is 
 faid to be the Word of God^ it fliows us that he 
 has his Nature ; and when he is faid to be his 
 Son, it declares that Nature under a perfonal Di- 
 ftinftion. 
 
 To this Son, this Word, are we refigned in Bap- 
 tifm ; we confider him as that Sovereign whofe 
 Name is called upon us. We defire to be known 
 in our Relation to him, and declare the fame 
 Homage to him that we do to the Father ; For 
 thefe Reafons, 
 
 I. This Son has made us, and therefore in 
 
 Baptifm we only take our Share in that univerfal 
 
 Duty that he demands from the whole Adlion. 
 
 Why do we worfhip and bow down before the 
 
 Pf. xcv. Lord ; but becaufe he is our Maker^ we are the 
 
 6, 7- Work of his Hands, and the Sheep of his 
 
 Pafture .? This is faid of Chrift, if the Apoftle 
 
 Heb. iii. has underftood David right. Take Heed, fays 
 
 i2» H- he^ left there be in any of you an evil Heart of 
 
 Unbelief 
 
The DoBf^ine of B A ? r i s u. log 
 
 Unbelief in departing from ihe living Gody for Serm. 
 we are made Partakers of Christ. IV^. 
 
 Of this Homage Baptifm is both an Entrance " »r--^ 
 
 and an Earneft. We read that the Ge?inks turned 
 from dead Idols to ferve the living and true God. • ThelT. 
 How did this appear ? What was the firft Evi-^" 9" 
 dence they gave of it to the World, but in being 
 baptized ? The Argument to turn them from 
 their Idols was this, that they were now bowing 
 to Gods who never made them, whofe Off-fpring 
 they were not ; and that pure Religion called 
 for their Duty to Him, in whom we live and 
 move and have our Being. And it would have 
 been in vain for the Apoflle to perfuade their 
 taking upon them the Name of the only true 
 God, if that Name was given to any Perfon who 
 is nof God. 
 
 This is an Article of meer Revelation. The' 
 the Light of Nature might tell them there was 
 one fupr erne Cnufe, who by the Things that are Rom. i. 
 made, had given Proofs of his eternal Power and '^^• 
 Godhead •, yet could that ever tell them of the 
 Son of Gody and that all Things were made i^_y Heb. i. 3. 
 him? Would this ever have let them know,J°^^"*' 3« 
 that there was a Plurality of Perfons in the di- 
 vine Nature, or have attributed the Frame of 
 the Univerfe to any more than one .^ And yet 
 
 This is the plain Language of the Bible, that 
 hy Chrifi Jefus all Things were created, whether Col.i. \6. 
 in Heaven or in Earth, vifible and invifible. 
 Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, and Powers, 
 all Things were created by him, and for him : 
 And therefore, when this Doflrine of the Scrip- 
 ture was to be overthrown, it was the fafeft way 
 to write an Appeal, not to a Jew or a Chrillian, 
 but to a Tia-k or an Indian : They, to be fure, 
 will give it for the Appellant. When the Saints 
 come to judge the World, we may guefs how 
 
 the 
 
o6 The DoBrine <9/Baptism. 
 
 the Caufe will go, but when the World is fet in 
 
 Judgment over the Saints, we can never think 
 
 that the Chriftian's God will be jpftified in his 
 
 Sayings. Though it is our Comfort that he will 
 
 If. \\v. be true, and every Man a Liar. For he who 
 
 22- calls the Ends of the Earth to look to him is the 
 
 ^^- ^^- Creator of the Ends of the Earth. 
 
 2. The Name of Chrift is called upon us from 
 the other Right that he has in us, for by him 
 v/e are bought with a Price. This was always the 
 Argument of Revelation in the Old Teftmnent^ 
 and It continues to be fo in the Neiv. Mofes 
 Deut. plead:-, as Paul does. Is not he thy Father that 
 x..x;i 6. jias bought thee, has he not made thee and re- 
 deemed thee ? And fo fays the Apoftle, ye are 
 I Cor. 1. not your own, but bought with a Price, there- 
 '9> 20. j^^j.g glorify God in your Bodies and Spirits 
 which are God's. If that God whofe ye are is 
 not He that has bought you v;ith a Price, what- 
 ever Claim he may have to your Duty from any 
 antecedent Work, yet he has none at all from 
 Redemption ; you are not to glorify him upon 
 the Argument that is here ufed. 
 
 But when Chrift gave himfelf for your Ini- 
 quity, it was not only that he might purify a 
 Tit.ii. 14. peculiar People, but purify thein to himfelf. They 
 Jf. xliii. are his peculiar People, as he ufed to fay, every 
 7» 21. one that is called by my Name I have created him 
 for my Glory. And, this People have I formed 
 for inyfelf, they fhall fhow forth my Praife. 
 
 The Right of Redemption lay in him, as all 
 
 the Rights flowing from it belong to him. We 
 
 take his Name, becaufe we are his Purchafe. 
 
 And therefore an Apoftate denies the Lord that 
 
 2 Pet. ii, b-ought him. lie did not buy us for another, 
 
 7 . becaufe to this Purpofe he both died and rofe 
 
 again, and revived, that he might be the Lord 
 
 ^' both 
 
The DoBrlne <?/' B a p t i s m. 
 
 both of Dead and Living. I don't fay this (as 
 
 Chrift himfelf does not) with any Exclufion to tiie 
 
 Father's Intereft in the Ranfomed of the Lord ; 
 
 for, as he fpeaks, fo miift we. All mine are John xvii. 
 
 thine ^ and thine are mine^ and I am glorified, in i^- 
 
 them. 
 
 3. The Name of Chrift is called upon us as a 
 Token of his Supremacy over all 'Things to the 
 Church. The Church has no other Head of 
 Jurifdi<ftion or of Influence, but Him who has 
 all Things under his Feet. In Baptifm we re- 
 cognize his Authority and depend upon his Energy \ 
 the former is [u-preme^ the latter is omnipotent. 
 He could not be equal to cither of thefe, if he Eph. i. 
 had not the Fulnefs of him who fills all in all. '"^* 
 From this Almighty Dominion and Virtue are 
 they quickened who were dead in Trefpafies and 
 Sins. 
 
 You give aTeftimony in Baptifm, both to his 
 Government and to his quickening^ that he not 
 only judges the Dead, but that he raifes them. 
 Lie directed you to this Solemnity upon the 
 Ground of his having all Power both in Heaven 
 and Earth. If he had lefs than this, he would 
 never abolifh an old Ordinance, and bring in a 
 new one. The Phrafe that this Power is given 
 him ought not to be received as an Argument 
 againft his eternal neceffary infeparable Title to 
 it. For if it was not in him, antecedent to any 
 Grant, the Worfhip paid him will be brought to 
 prove, what we know is impofllble to be true, 
 that God has given his Glory to another. 
 
 3. The Name of the Holy Spirit is called 
 upon us in Baptifm. We have but one Word to 
 fignify his perfonal Charadler ; Lloly Spirit or 
 Holy Ghoft. I am not yet got fo far into my 
 Subje6t as to confider his Diftinclion from the 
 Father and the Son ; at prefent I have no more 
 
 before 
 
io8 l^he DoSirine (t/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 Serm. before me, than to (how why bis Name is men- 
 IV. tioned in the firft A(5b of our profefled Subjcdtion 
 to the Gofpel of Chrift. 
 
 1. This could never be allowed, if he was 
 not, as Chrift is, the Creator of the Univerfe, 
 Thus we read of him in very diftant Cafes, that 
 he has garnijhed the Heavens ^ and his Hands have 
 formed the crooked Serpent : All the Hofts 
 above were made by the Breath (or Spirit) of the 
 Lord. He was one in that great Confultation ; 
 when it was faid, let us make Man •, for Elihu 
 fays the Spirit of the Lord has made me, and tlie 
 Breath of the Almighty has given me Life : He 
 moved upon the Face of the Waters, and faid 
 let there he Light, when Darknefs was upon the 
 Face of the Deep. He is the God who com'> 
 tnanded Light to Jhine out of Darknefs. 
 
 2. His Equality and Communion with the 
 divine Nature, is what the Apoftle argues from 
 his Name. We know that fecret Things belong 
 to God, and to no Creature at all. None can 
 know the Mind of the Lord : With whom has 
 he taken Counfel ? And yet the Spirit fearches 
 all Things, yea, the deep Things of God. So 
 that, fuppofing him to be an Agent, the Om- 
 nifcience of God is his Oije^, and can we think 
 it is not his Chara^er ? Does he know as much, 
 as He does, who knows all Things ? Nay, he 
 feems to have his Name for this very Purpofe, 
 As no Man knov/s the Things of a Man, but the 
 Spirit of Man who is in him, fo that Things of 
 God knows no Man, but the Spirit of God. No 
 wonder then, when Bapcifm is a Surrender of our- 
 felves to the m.oft high God, that we are called 
 by the Name of one whofe Underjlanding is infi- 
 nite. This is fo clear from the Language of 
 Scripture, that they who cannot deny his Perfec- 
 tion 
 
 Job xxvi. 
 »3- 
 
 Pf. xxxiii. 
 6. 
 
 Gen. i. 
 
 26. 
 
 Job xxxiii. 
 
 4- 
 
 Gen. i. 2, 
 
 2 Cor. 
 iv. 6. 
 
 Deut. 
 xxix. ult. 
 
 I Cor. ii. 
 
 |0. 
 
 pf. cxlvii. 
 5r 
 
The DoBrine of B a ? t i s u, 109 
 
 tlon relieve their Caufe, by turning Jugglers, Serm. 
 and cajiing a Figure upon his Perfonality. IV. 
 
 3. It is the Spirit who makes efFeduai the <— v— J 
 whole Redemption of the Saints ; by him they 
 are faved, and therefore by his Name they are 
 called. He overfhadowed the Virgin in our Luke i. 3; 
 Saviour's Conception. It is the Spirit who railed ^om. viii. 
 up Jefus from the Dead ; and he was declared to ": 
 be the Son of God with Power hy the Spirit of johniii. c. 
 Holinefs. Converts are born of the Spirit. He xvi. 8, 9, 
 convinces them of Sin, that is of Unbelief, and 'o* 
 in convincing them of it dehvers them from it, 
 by fhowing them a Righteoufnefs in Chrift's going 
 to the Father. And it is by him they have Vic- 
 tory, for he convinces them of Judgment that the 
 Prince of this World is judged : As they live. Gal. v. 
 they walk, in the Spirit. Through him they 25. 
 mortify the Deeds of the Body. f °'"- ^"^• 
 
 It is he by whom the Bible was given : Holy 
 Men of God fpake as they were moved by the 2 Pet.'i. 
 Holy Ghoft. In reading this we hear what the^^- ^ ... 
 Spirit faith unto the Churches. It is he who „/^J" "^' 
 came down upon the Apoftles with cloven 
 Tongues of Fire ; they were then baptized with Ads i. j. 
 the Holy Ghojl. This Spirit who is good, leads ^^- cxliii, 
 us to the Land of Uprightnefs. "We are bap- ^°* 
 tized for the Remiffion of Sins ; now, though 
 he who has purchafed this bellows it ; yet it is ^P'^- *^' 
 the Spirit who feaJs it to us till the Day of Re- ^°' 
 demption. 
 
 Baptifm is a Surrender of ourfelves for Pro- 
 te<5lion as well as Homage •, and therefore we 
 muft have a Regard to that Comforter, who John xiv. 
 abides with us for ever. It is he who invites us '^* 
 up to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb -, for 
 the Spirit and the Bride fay come, and whofoever Rev. xxii, 
 will, let him take of the Water of Life freely. '7- 
 
 S E R- 
 
no 'The DoElrine of B a v r i s m. 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 A Diflin(5lIon of Perfons in the divine Na- 
 ture to be received, though not explained, 
 upon no other Evidence than Scripture. 
 The Arians chargeable with Tritheifm, 
 The Trinity does not lignify three Gods ; 
 but it denotes more than three Names or 
 Powers. The Notion of an analogical 
 figurative Perfonality confuted ; it is as 
 abfurd as the Anijna nmndi. The Di- 
 ftincflion of Perfons in Names, Relations, 
 Communion, Worfhip, and Operations. 
 Objediions anfwered, viz. that the Term 
 Perfon is unfcriptural and theatrical. That 
 it deftroys the Unity of the Godhead. 
 That clear Ideas would convince the 
 Enemy. The Perfonality is only an eaft- 
 ern Figure. 
 
 Sekm. IV. 
 V. 
 
 NOTI-IER Myftery contained in 
 this fundamental Article of our 
 Religion, is the Diftin^ion between 
 thofe three, into whofe individual 
 Name we are baptized, the P'ather, the Son, and 
 the Holy Ghofi:. We are as much bound upon 
 the Authority of nieer Revelation to conids a 
 ^Trinity of I'crfons, as to believe an Unity of Na- 
 ture, 
 
T'he DoSirine of B a ? r i s u. m 
 
 tLire, becaufe the fame Word of Truth has made 
 an equal Declaration of both. To fay thefe two 
 are inconfiftent, is no lefs than refufing the Re- 
 cord of God, and making him a Liar. It is 
 unbecoming thofe who are but of Yefcerday to ""'■ 
 enquire how it can be. When the Father of Lights 
 has exprefsly told us, thus it is. 
 
 He will be adored tor Perfedions that we can- 
 not comprehend, and reports that we cannot ex- 
 plain. We may as well pretend by fearching to 
 find out the Fulnefs of his Being, as to defcribe 
 the manner of it. Had all his Words come down 
 as low as our Apprehenfions, and revealed no 
 more than Man's Wifdom teaches, he had not 
 fpoke like a God : But as his Ways are not ours, 
 fo neither are his Thoughts. He has told us as I^- Ix- 8. 
 much as he would have us know, and by faying 
 no more, has thrown a Bar upon all fooIiOi and 
 unlearned Queftions, that we may not break 
 through to gaze. We may fay of Faith as Chrift Exod. 
 does of Duty, what is written? How readeji ^^^- ^^' 
 thou ? And leave all Diviners, and Dreamers, 
 and Difputers of this JVorld^ to talk like thofe 
 who know nothing of another. 
 
 The Qiieftion is not whether we Ihould have 
 imagined any Plurality of Perfo7is in the divine 
 Nature, or how many of them there are, but 
 v/hat the Scripture itfclf has told us, and what 
 the Spirit who fearchcs the deep Things of God 
 has bound upon our Belief. No matter whether 
 Eye has feen it, or Ear has heard it, whether it 
 is to be matched with Similitudes and Illuftra- 
 tions of our own j or whether the Heart of Man is 
 :ible to conceive it under clear and diftinft Ideas : 
 \Vc believe it, becaufe he has faid it j and with- 
 out a Faith fo unlimited and abfolute, we receive 
 the Record of God with no more Veneration 
 than we do that of Man. 
 
 If 
 
He DoBrine of ^ av r is m. 
 
 If there are ten thoufand Difficulties in con- 
 ceiving that there fliOLild be three Pcrfons, they 
 all diffolve in the Report of Him that cannot lye. 
 He has a Right to tell us what he pleafes, and 
 we can no more pals a Judgment upon a Doc- 
 trine, than we do upon a Command : We are 
 doers of the Law and not judges, receivers of the 
 Truth, and not choofers. If he has avowed a 
 Trinity, it is a Trial of Skill and Wifdom with 
 him, when we dare to deny it. If we receive 
 
 I John the Witnefs of Men, the JVit?iefs of God is greater, 
 
 V. 9. which he has given of his Son. 
 
 There is a Myfiery in no more th:in one God,- 
 and no fewer than three Perfons •, becaufe, it is 
 true, we cannot difpute it ; becaufe it is myfte- 
 rious, we cannot explain it: And therefore the 
 only Thing our Souls have to do in the whole 
 Enquiry, is to examine whether God has faid it. 
 How far the Diftinction of Perfons reaches, and 
 how much the Unity of Nature comprehends, is 
 a Matter une({ual, to thofe who are but of Yef- 
 terday, and know nothing : But when we read of 
 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that there is a 
 Dfference between them, we conclude it from the 
 very Sound of the Words. There are certain 
 Boundaries fixed to the Minds of Men, that they 
 make it neither too much, nor too little. We 
 have an open Road between two Extrcm.es, and 
 can cafily tell what is falfe, though we are not 
 able to fathom all that is true. Let thine Eyes 
 
 ^l^'^T' ^^^^^'^ *''S'^^ °"' ^^^ thine Eye-lids Jlrait before thee. 
 Po'dder the Path of thy Feet., and all thy IVays jhall 
 he efiahliped. 
 
 1 . It is making the Diftinction too great to fay 
 they are three Gods. 
 
 2. It 'is making it too little to fay, they are 
 only three Names, or Powers, and Relations. 
 
 J. 
 
 2 
 
The DoBrine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 I. There is nothing in this Form of Baptifm, 
 that will fufFer us to wander into the Conceit of 
 three Gods. Wicked and unreafonable Men 
 have determined to da(h us upon one of thofe 
 Rocks, Sabellianifm or Triibeifm, but God has 
 thrown us upon neither, and the Faith once de- 
 livered to the Saints, keeps us clear of both. 
 They are equally our Abhorrence, the Scripture 
 has poured out a Flood of Arguments againft 
 them : And we need not confront the one with 
 the other, but reject them both at once, as divers 
 and Jirange DoSfrines. 
 
 Indeed the Arians have made the Notion of a 
 Trinity abominable, who tell us of one unori- 
 ginated God, and of two derived ones j one fu- 
 preme, and two fubordinate. They are the only 
 People who have made three Gods, or rather two 
 and a half -, for as to the Holy Spirit, to Ihow 
 how little he knows of them, it's apparent they 
 know nothing of bim : They have taken none of 
 his Counfel^ or covered with his Covering. If.xxx. i, 
 
 I call them by the Name of Arians, though 
 they are fomewhat diftinguifhed from them. 
 I would call the French by the Name of Papijis, 
 though they do not adhere to all the Peculiars of 
 Rome. They have the Grofnefs of their Idolatry 
 and the Spirit of their Perfecution, whatever De- 
 grees they may want of a compleat Subje(5lion 
 to the Man of Sin. And fo it is here •, from 
 thefe People alone we have had a Plurality of 
 Gods : They are the only Fadion, that have 
 the Confidence to talk of a Repeal of the firji 
 Commandment. 
 
 Now though this Form of Baptifm tells us of 
 thofe whofe Name is called upon us, yet there is 
 no Divifian of Nature, no Subordination of Exift- 
 
 I ence. 
 
1 14 "fhe D'oElrhf^ <?/ B a p t i s M. 
 
 Serm. encc, for lie who is not fupreme, independent, 
 V. and eternal, is not God over all. 
 
 (r.) The Notion of three Gods is againft all 
 the Light of Nature, I mean as we come to the 
 right Ufe of it fince we had the Key of Reve- 
 lation. If any one delineates the Religion of Na- 
 ture with a Bible in his H'and, \\e will make it 
 a quire different Thing from what he finds it in 
 the beil; of human Philofophy. 
 
 The grcateft Attainments that we read of 
 among the Gentiles avhj firfl:, in the Wifdom of 
 Egypt J the.n, in the Learning of the ChaldeanSy 
 and lailly in the polite Searches of the Atheniafis : 
 And yet it may be faid of them all, the leaft in 
 the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than they. 
 They' never knew the true God, they never 
 adored him as Ofie, they paid no Deference to 
 his Perfedtionr, but rather fuppofed he might be 
 Afts xvii. worpiped with Mens Hands, as though he needed 
 V' , ... fomething. A She»?p was the Abomination of 
 2(5. ' 'the Egyptians -, Nebuchadnezzar had a Treafure- 
 Dan.i. 2. Houle for his God ; and the Grecians thought 
 that the Godhead was like to Silver and Gold, 
 graven by Art and Man's Device. But where- 
 evcr Chnflianity came, Reafon began to open its 
 Eyes, and to feel its Way •, fo that a Chriilian is 
 as unfit to fettle the Religion of Nature as a Pa- 
 gan is that of Revelation. 
 
 The Jews held out this in the Front of their 
 J, aw, that the Lord their God is one Lord. 
 ChriRians in all the Parts of the Earth are at a 
 Point about this as a Maxim in Nature, that 
 there can be no more than one fupreme eternal 
 Caule, who gives to all Life, and Breath, and 
 . all Thli;<;<?. He to the Heathen was an un- 
 '^'^''- knoivnaU. 
 
 (2.) 
 
T*he DoSirine (j/'Baptism. T15 
 
 (2.) The Do(5lrine of three Gods is what the Serm'. 
 whole Revelation of the Old Tejlament is kvel'd V. 
 againft. When the Lord called Abraham out of wv-"*-/ 
 Ur of the Cbaldees, he drev/ him away from hife- 
 rior Deities, aad ftill took care that his Pofterity 
 Ihould never relapfe into that Opinion. And 
 therefore had we been baptized into three Names^ 
 our Saviour had dejiroycd the Law, which he Matt. v. 
 came to fulfil. But his appe^il to Mofes, his '7- 
 Improvements upon him, his Connexion of Doc- 
 trine with him, let us fee that they both adled 
 according to the Pattern in the Mount. The 
 one in giving Images of Things in the Heavens, Heb. ix. 
 and the other in the heavenly Things tbemfehes. ^^' 
 
 A Jew would never dare to be a Convert 
 among us, if we put new Gods upon him, Gods Deiit. 
 whom his Father knew not. 1 hey feem.ed to '^^^^^- '7- 
 fhake off their Idolatry with their laft Captivity, 
 and does Chriftianity bring them back to it 
 again ? No, no, they had got enough of fubor- 
 dinate and originated Deities already. The Scribe 
 knew that our Lord had taught no fuch Doctrine, 
 when he told him, Mafter, thou haft faid the 
 Truth, for there is one God, and there is no Mark xii. 
 other God but he. And in this Confeffion he 32? 34- 
 anfwered difcreetly, as one not far from the 
 Kingdom of God. 
 
 (3.) The Notion of three Gods would make 
 our Religion a very wrong one for the Conver- 
 fion of the Gentiles, and yet they are to come to 
 our God from the End of the Earth : faying. 
 Surely our Fathers have inherited Lyes, Vanity, 
 and Things wherein there is no Profit ; they had 
 xnade themfelves Gods which were no Gods. It Jer. xvi. 
 was their Pradice and their Crime to worfhip '9» 20. 
 thofe who by Nature were no Gods •, they had Gal.iv. 8. 
 Gods many and Lords many, and would it have ^S'"^• 
 1 2 lignmed ^ 
 
1 16 'The DoEirine (j/* B a p t i s M. 
 
 Serm. fignified any thing to tell them, that Chriftianity 
 
 V. reduced the whole Number to three ? 
 
 <^-— V— -^ The Prophets of Old ufed to declare againft 
 
 Jer. X. lo Gods 'ccho made not the Earth and the Heavens^ 
 
 let them be never fo few, or never {<:i great •, and 
 
 the Apoftle followed the fame Clue of Argument, 
 
 that there was but One who created all Things 
 
 by himfelf. Our Gofpel calls People from their 
 
 I Their. Idols to the only living and true God. When 
 
 ^- 9* they were baptized it muft be in the Faith of 
 
 Pfabn JDavid, among the Gods there is none like unto 
 
 \jixMi.io. j^^^^ Q Lqj.(^^ Thou only dofi wondrous Works : 
 
 'Thou art God alone. 
 
 If they were not able to deliver this Form of 
 Words in my Text from the Notion of one Su- 
 preme, and two fubordinate Deities, they had as 
 good have flayed where they were, and never been 
 baptized at all. The Difpute was not between 
 Jupiter and Jefus ; who was the Mediator, who 
 Ihould have the Name of a Titular God^ or who 
 Ihould have the Honour of inferior Worjhip^ but 
 whether there was any more than one God. 
 I Cor. xii. Whilft they were Gentiles, they were carried away 
 
 ^A , • o to dumb Idols i at that Time they knew not 
 Gal. IV. g. ^ , ' 
 
 God. 
 
 (4.) The very Form of Baptifm itfelf dafhes 
 down all the Notion of three Gods. For had 
 there been fo many, their different Names muft 
 have born fome Proportion to their different Na- 
 tures, but here it*s faid to be all in one Name. 
 As Jehovah is one, fo his Name is one. Thus 
 God tells the JewSy behold I fend mine Angel 
 
 Exod. before Thee Beware of him and obey 
 
 ^^» his Voice, provoke him not, for he will not par- 
 '"' don your Iniquities, for my Name is in him, 
 thou fhalt obey his Voice, and do all that I 
 fpeak. 
 
 'Tis 
 
 xin. 
 21 
 
T^e DoBrine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 'Tis againft all the Rules of talking to fay we 
 are lifted in the fingle Name of the King, the 
 Chancellor, and the General of the Army. The 
 Plurality of Characters, under which they are fo 
 much diftinguiflied, would have been exprefled 
 in another Way, But when we read of one Name 
 only, we muft tear the Words afunder, and 
 empty them of all their Senfe, if we conceive of 
 any more than one Being. 
 
 (5.) This is contrary to the Profeflion of God*s 
 People in all Ages ; they have never owned the 
 Triiheijlick Scheme. Though the Arians have 
 charged them with it, I believe it's more than 
 ever the Heathens did -, fuch perverj^e Things A^s xx. 
 were only to be fpoke by Men that arofe from 3°- 
 among themfelves'. Their Confefllons, Creeds, 
 and Catechifms, that are fo much condemned, 
 will clear them of this Charge. 'Tis no great 
 Argument of Modefty for any to fay of them 
 that they did not underftand themfelves. 
 
 When Chriftianity, like the Day- Star from on 
 High, vifited the World fo long ago, and the 
 Reformation, as a Light, fprung out from a cloudy 
 and dark Day, were they both condufled by a 
 Company of Fools, who worfliiped three Gods, 
 and did not know it ? 'Tis ftrange that both 
 learned and wayfaring Men, who do Juftice, 
 love Mercy, and walk humbly with their God, 
 fhould miftake their way in every A61 of Devo- 
 tion. What would the moft illiterate Believer 
 fay, if you told him he was refting his Soul upon 
 more than one God ? He has no hard Words to 
 defend his Faith, no fcholaftick Dreams to open 
 it, but you would amaze him to fay there is 
 any more than ont Jehovah fpoke of in the Bible. 
 This is what I would offer to you againft one 
 Extreme of Interpretation that Men put upon 
 thofe Words. We are baptized into the Name 
 
 I 3 of 
 
r 1 8 l^ie DoSirim ^Baptism. 
 
 Serm. of three, but the whole Generation of the Faith- 
 V. ful declare with one Voice againft thref Gods. 
 
 2. As this Notion makes too nnuch Difference 
 between thein, fo another makes too little. The 
 Sabellians faid that Father, Son, and Spirit, were 
 but three Names for one Perfon. That the Fa- 
 ther was incarnate, only in that Condition he 
 took the Title of Son^ and it is but giving new 
 Rags to an old Rottennefs, to fay that the Son 
 and Spirit are two Powers of the Father -, and 
 that, though thcfe are fpoke of in all the Lan- 
 guage that belongs to Perfons, yet their Perfo- 
 nality is on\y figurative and analogical. But, 
 
 Are the Realities of our Faith to be fhammed, 
 and the great Subftantials of the Chriftian Doc- 
 trine licked up in a Figure ? When fome are 
 robbing Chrift of his Worfhip, (hall others take 
 away his very Being ? The Jrians allow him no 
 more than a Titular Deit)\ and another Scheme 
 brings him down to a Titular Exifience ? Whi- 
 ther will Men go, who do not refrain their Feet, 
 but love to wander ? Here obferve, 
 
 (i.) I have as much Argument to prove that 
 the Son and Holy Ghofl are Perfons, as we have 
 to prove the Father fo in all the Language of the 
 Bible. There was an old foolifh Piece of Pliilo- 
 fophy and vain Deceit, called anima inundiy the 
 Soul of the World, which they who writ againft 
 it, and they who writ for it too, could make 
 nothing of. But it feems as if they would afcribe 
 no Perfonality to the Creator of all Things. We 
 in Oppofition to them, fay, that the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghoft made the Creation •, now fup- 
 pofe they tell us, that thefe are not Names of 
 Perfons, but meer Figures of Speech for that 
 fame univerfal Spirit they talk of i and that the 
 Scripture does not mean Perfonality in what it 
 
 fays 
 
7he DoBrine ^Baptism. 
 
 fays of any of them ? Rcallyj according to a late 
 Notion, their Way lies pretty clear, for here is 
 two Thirds of the Work done to their Hands. 
 But, 
 
 I mufh anfwer thofe who deny the dilVindl 
 Subfillence of the fecond and third Feifons, as I 
 would tliofe who oppofe the firft. Would it not 
 be a good Argument, that the Father is not 
 any Property or Power of this univerfal Spirit, 
 becaufe he is fpoke of as contriving, ad.ing, and 
 declaring ? -1 read of his Counftls, his Words, 
 his Nature, his Works, When I hear of One 
 who has laid a Foundation, diftinguiihcd tlie 
 Rooms, and raifed a Fabrick with Heighth and 
 Strength ; I conclude, wiih the ApoUie, tiii^t 
 ■every Houfe is built by fom Man. 'Twa& not Heb 
 an invifible Spirit in the Stone and Timber that 3- 
 brought them together, but it is done by an 
 Agent : So evident is it, as the fame Apoftle 
 fays, that he who built all 'Things is God. And, . 
 
 Can the Words bear any other Senfe, when 
 we read of the Son that he was with God ; that Jolmi 2 
 his Goings forth have been of old irorn evpriafl- 
 ing i that at the Creation of the Earth he vv'as 
 there, as one brought up with the Father, and 
 rejoicing always before him : [You fee, I men- 
 tion only thofe Things that were antecedent to his 
 Incarnation] When we tind that all Things were 
 created by him, and without him was not any 
 thing made that was made, why mull fuch an 
 Account as this, if it was given of the Fa- 
 ther, figniiy a Per/on, and when it is faid ol the 
 Son, be no more than a Power or a '^ality ? 
 
 When the Angels fall down to him that fits on 
 the Throne, they tell him, that for his Fl^afure 
 all Things are, and were created , now, is it pof- 
 fible to underiland this of any other than a Per- 
 fon ? And when the Scripture fays ol Cbrifi, 
 
 ) I 4 that 
 
 Mic.v. 2. 
 Piov. viii. 
 
120 77v DoBrim of B A ? t i s u. 
 
 Serm. that ty bm were all Things created in Heaven 
 
 \'. and Earth, vifihle and inN'Uible, whether they be 
 
 ^'T-^'—J Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, or Powers, 
 
 ^f*'- ' all were created by him and tor him ; and he is 
 
 before all Thing--, and by him all Things confift, 
 
 is this fame He, whofe Title is carried through 
 
 the whole Story, no more than a Faculty ? 
 
 When the Spjrit isfaid to move upon the Face 
 of the Waters, to gamifli the Heavens, are not 
 ihc\epfrfoKt7l ASuns^ as well as giving the Hcrfe 
 bis Stren^tk, and clothing his Neck with Thun- 
 der r We are told what C hrift fays in view of 
 If. riviu. his Incarnation. I have not fpoke in Secret, 
 from the Brginning, from the Time that it was 
 there /sm /, and now the Lord God and his Spi- 
 rit has Lnz sne : Does not the ver)- Sound of the 
 Worc^s lead us into fome DiiHntflicn between 
 thi5 Lord and his Spmf^ as if there was a Con- 
 currence of two Agents ? Was it ever faid of 
 any that a Man and his Spirit gave out a Com- 
 miflion, that a King and his Soul publifhed a 
 Decree ? 
 
 A late nameleis Author, in a very little Book, 
 has hung a vrhile upon this Argument, that we 
 are faid to fear the Lord and his Goodnefs -, you 
 may guefs at the reft of the Performance by this 
 Paflage, and learn not ex UJigue kcnefny but ex 
 ccudd murem. ' Tis eafy for any one to fee, that 
 the MeiJ^ing there is, that as the Lord will bt 
 adored, fo in a particular Manner, upon the Ac- 
 count of his Goodnefs, in the later Days •, but 
 whether (uch an Interpretation can be driven into 
 the other Scripture the Lord God and his Spirit, 
 I fhall leave to every ones Judgment •, nor 
 fhould I have m.entioned an Argument fo very 
 low as this, but only to fhew you the Men and 
 their Comm.unication. 
 
 (2.) 
 
TU DcBrine of B a ? i i s \a, 
 
 (2.) Thde dvce are daStioEt io thai Rt: 
 CO one anodier. A Fjdier and a Son aaxng 
 Men arc as modi two Peribm ai a King and a 
 Subjed. A Son has die lame Nature^ Faanlj, 
 lobentaoce, and Coacern ; be is nearer to Ins 
 Father b all tfaeie than a Scr au g p i ; bat be is as 
 truly czifient sqxvt from him, as one who nerer 
 hw his Face. I don't briiig you this as a corn- 
 pleat VznSkAj for to whom fhail we rciemble 
 God, or wbaf Ukeiufs fkM ne umpare uhiml I£ zfL it. 
 There is csrtmilj b et ween the fiift and leoMid 
 FaQxi in the Trinity an Union, that no faoman 
 Relation does to moch as maute. ; I mm im the Jckm^m. 
 Faiber, and the Father im wu. The Sod of fi4an <^' 
 is glorified, and Gn^f/^^!^^'^^^^^ and God 2^.31. 
 ihall ^ori^ him inbinS^, 32- 
 
 ''3.) They are diftind in the Com mu nion diat 
 a BeiieTer has with them ; as you wiD iee qine 
 tfaroi^ an excellent Book, cslled Csmmmmtnwitb 
 Father^ 8am, ami HtHj Spirit, by dmittddjMtd 
 oniform writer Dr. Oiear, wlio was rooted and 
 cfiabGflied in the Faith, oj he had heem tamght, 
 and abounded in it. Our Lord cells the Vkia- 
 ples, if any Man lore me, my Father will loire 
 him, and we wiO come and make mr Abode Jobsir. 
 with him. The OppoGtioo made by Hypocrites 25. 
 and Unbefirvers is to each Yctk/n, The Mattfr 
 Stephem charges ihtjem withlxxnfiagand mar- AEari. 
 doing the hei;^ amdjm/f Ome, and alio with r^- '- 
 imi the Hefy Ghff^. And (6 lakh Chrift, datj -- xr. 
 have hated h^h mte and ar^ Father . ^ 
 
 (4^) They are diftiDa in die Pri : i- 
 
 ▼cn, and the Glory that is poflt^?: 
 read of him who was, and is :, ^J=^ '*- 
 
 of Jefas the £ntfafal and tree . - x. .-. 
 
 Jeueu Spirits that are befive the 
 a compleat Title for Mr «n/ /r 
 Salracioo, Hoooar^ -BieSiog, 
 
 •1. ^riwed 
 
Rev. xii. 
 
 lO. 
 
 J22 The DoElrine ^Baptism. 
 
 Sjerm. afcribed to him that fits upon the throne and to 
 V. the Lamb for ever. Now is come Salvation to 
 our God and the Power of his Chrijl. We are 
 Kings and Priells to G&d and the Lamh ; and 
 Neh. i. 8. ^^^ i:'ather faith to the Son, thy 'Throve-i O God, 
 Rev. xxi. is for ever and ever. The Glory of the Lord is 
 23- to lighten tliat City, and the Lamb is ti^ Light 
 
 xxii. 3. thereof. The Throne of Goiand of the Lamb is 
 16, 17. ift it, and his Servants lliall ferve him. 1 Jefus 
 teftify thefe Things •, and immediately after, the 
 Spirit and the Bride fay, come. The Book is 
 called the Revelation oi Jefus Chrij}, which God 
 gave to him, and yet it's what the Spirit ia.\d un- 
 to the Churches. 
 
 (5.) They are diftin6l in their Operations. 
 There are feveral 1 hings in promifcuous Lan- 
 guage afcribed to every one of them ! As the Crea- 
 tion of the World, the Redemption of a chofen 
 People, their Eledlion, Sanclification, rifing from 
 the Dead and future Glory. Each of thefe are 
 fometimes attributed to the Father, fometimes to 
 the Son, and every one of them to the Holy 
 Spirit, which argues an equality of Nature. But 
 there are others that we never read of in any 
 other Language than as perfonal A6lions. The 
 Father does them, and not the Son ; the Son, and 
 not the Spirit •, the Spirit, and neither Son nor 
 Father. 
 
 1 . The Father is faid to fend his only begotten 
 
 Son into the World. Sending and coming are 
 
 indeed only circumftantial to the Errand, or the 
 
 Johnx. Work, but they muft be Adions of different 
 
 56. . Perfons. I came 7iot of niyfelf, faith Chrift ; the 
 
 Father fandified and fent him into the World. 
 
 He came from the Father, and came into the 
 
 John viii. World, and again he left the World and went to 
 
 »7- the Father. And therefore he argues very juftly 
 
 I with 
 
'The DoEirine of B Af t is u» 
 
 with his Enemies -, it is written in your Law 
 that the Teftimony of iwo Men is true, / am 
 one that bear Witnefs of myfeJf, and the Father 
 who fent me bears Witnefs of me. When Phi- 
 lip faid, fhow us the Father, in his Anfwer tp 
 him he afferts an Unity of Nature^ he that has 
 feen me has feen the Father ; but when the Jevjs 
 afk him the fame Queftion, he anfwers it upon a 
 Dijiin^ion of Perfons, where is thy Father ? Saith 
 he, ye have not heard his Voice at any Time, 
 or feen his Appearance. And again, he that fent John vii. 
 me is true^ whom ye know not. ^^• 
 
 2. The Son did many Things pecuHar to him- 
 
 felf, which are never afcribed either to the Father ^\ '^- 4- 
 or the Spirit. He alone was made of a Womm-, , ]q\^^i' 
 and made under the Law-, he did by himfelf 2, 
 purge away our Sins •, he is that eternal Life who 
 was with the Father and manifeft to us, whom 
 they looked upon and handled : He is the firfi Rev. i. 
 begotten from the Dead\ he loved us, and wafhed 5' ^• 
 us from our Sins in his own Blood. 
 
 3. 'The Spirit is faid to tnove the holy Men pf 
 God before Chrift came, and to make Apoftles 
 and Overfeers of the Churches afterwards. He 
 
 is not the Son, but ajiother Comforter j he is -not Afts xx. 
 the Father, but fent by him. We know Chrift 24. 
 no more after the Flelh, but here is one who 
 fhall abide with us for ever. All the three Per- 
 fons are mentioned in that fhort Account, that 
 Chrijl being raifed by the Right Hand of God, 
 had received of the Father the Promife of the Ads ii. 
 HolyGhoJi. 33- 
 
 Upon the whole, then I exhort and teftify 
 that this is the true Grace of God wherein ye fiand. ' P^t. v. 
 This is the Faith once dehvered to the Saints, '^* 
 and muft be delivered back again by them pure 
 and unrebukeable, at the coming of Jefus Chritl. 
 But as it is our Work both to call up the High- 
 way, 
 
The DoBrim of B a ? t i s u, 
 
 way, and to remove the ftumbling Blocks out 
 of the way of the People, fo let me give you an 
 Anfwer to what has been lately publiflied by 
 fome Gain-fayers, who are ftriving to draw away 
 Difciples after them *. 
 
 Olfj. I. 'Tis a meer Spurt of Vanity to tell us 
 that the Word Per/on is not fcriptural, and that 
 it bears an uncertain Signification : And one 
 would think it is to fhow whence their Learnins: 
 comes, and whither their Devotion is a going, 
 when they fay 'tis a Term taken from the Play- 
 houfe, and that a Per/on is one who reprefents 
 another. But 
 
 1. Is not this talking againft all the Senfe of 
 Mankind ? Has the Word Per/on beeft fo under- 
 ftood for above a thoufand Years ? It is ufually 
 faid that the Word Knave once fignified only a 
 Servant, but I believe none of them would think 
 me excufed by any Antiquity if I fhould call him 
 fo. The Word Villain imports no more than a 
 Tenant, but does not every one know what it 
 means ? When we talk of three Perfons, we in- 
 tend by it that one is not another -, that the Fa- 
 ther is not the Son, and the Son is neither Fa- 
 ther nor Spirit. And there is no great Learning 
 fhown by infulting our Ignorance •, how far this 
 Difference reaches, when it is univerfally owned, 
 that we cannot tell what the Principle of Indivi- 
 duation is. Let them firft determine what it is 
 that makes a DiftincStion of Perfons among Men, 
 before we go any farther. 
 
 2. I am fure, that to fpeak of God and his 
 two Powers, that Chrift is the intelligent cognofci- 
 five Power, and the Spirit is an intelligent volitive 
 Pozver, is lefs fcriptural, and a great deal more 
 barbarous. Muft the Doftrine of three Perfons in 
 
 one 
 
 * See a Book iKiritten hy a Layman. 
 
'The DoSirine of B a ? t i s u» 
 
 one Nature be called vulgar^ fcholajiick, and 
 Popijh^ to make room for this rumbling Talk ? 
 
 3. This way of fpeaking has long obtained 
 in the Church of God, and till we find a better, 
 we ought to keep as we are. " Three diftin6t 
 " conlcious Minds, one Perfon, and two Pow- 
 ** ers, or two Principles of Operations," only 
 fhows that when People will not cojifeni to whole- 
 fome Words, they grow impatient of Contra- 
 didtion, doling about Sluefiions and Strifes of 
 Words. This has proved a Root of Bitternefs ; 
 from hence we have, as the People of God al- ' Tim. vi. 
 ways had, Backbitings, evil Surmifings, and 3- 
 perverfe Difputings. Minifters lived in Peace, 
 and Churches were edified, till thefe clear Ideas 
 have thrown a fhameful Darknefs upon all our 
 Glory. I fee neither Truth nor Peace that is got 
 by feeking out many Innovations. The Defign 
 of God's People, in all Ages, has been to fe- 
 cure the Unity of the Godhead, and exprefs the 
 whole of that Dillindlion that the Scripture has 
 revealed among the Three that bear record in 
 Heaven. 
 
 Obj. 2. Without allowing a figurative Perfo- 
 nality, we cannot fecure the Unity of the divine 
 Nature. I anfwer, 
 
 I . It has been fecured without it 1 700 Years 
 already, and will be fo when their Root is Rot- 
 tennefs and their Bloflbm gone up as Duft. Mi- 
 nifters have preached, and People have received 
 the Love of the Truth in greater Demonltration 
 of the Spirit, than either you or I have feen fince 
 the Arrival of thefe divers and ftransie Do6lrines. 
 I was much affefted with a Paffage in Dr. Owen, 
 *' Let us, faith that great Man, carefully remember 
 " the Faith of them who went before us in this 
 " Nation, in the Profeflbrs of the laft Age. I 
 
 am 
 
^he DoSirine of B a v r i s m, 
 
 am apt to think there was not a more glorious 
 t'rofefTion for a thoufand Years upon the Face 
 of the Earth, than among the Profeffors of 
 " this Nation : And pray what Faith were they 
 " of ? Were they half Arminian, half Socinian, 
 •* half Papift, and haJf I know not what ? Re- 
 ** rtiember how zealous they were for the Truth, 
 ** and how little their holy Souls would have 
 ^ " born with thofe publick Defedions from the 
 
 ** Dodrines of Truth, which we fee and don't 
 " mourn over, but make nothing of in the Days 
 " wherein we live. God was with them ; they 
 *' lived to his Glory, and died in Peace, whole 
 *' Faith follow and Example purfue j remem- 
 '* ber the Faith they lived and died in ; look 
 ** round about, and try whether any of thefe 
 *' new Creeds have produced a new Holinefs to 
 " exceed theirs.'* 
 
 Were thcfe holy Men at a Lofs either In be- 
 lieving or defending the Unity of the divine Na- 
 ture ? Had they fuch clear Ideas of God*s love, 
 and none at all of his Being .'* Yes furely, they 
 ftood in the good old IVays, and fo found Reft to 
 their Souis : As for thofe who fay they will not 
 walk therein, we muft leave them to their own 
 crooked Ways : It is by the VVord that we have 
 heard from the Begmiing that Peace fliall be upon 
 Ifrad. 
 
 2. If I cannot explain the Confiftence of one 
 
 I Tim. Dodrine to another, it only proves that without 
 
 *"• 6- Controverfy great is the Myjlery. In revealing 
 
 deep Things that we cannot comprehend, God 
 
 afts like himfelf. This Objc6tion may be urged, 
 
 as it once has been againft the Refurredion of 
 
 ?he Dead. The Apoftle afferted no more than 
 
 the Fa6f, and People begun to enquire about the 
 
 Manner which is only the Wriggle of Unbelief. 
 
 T Cor. r/. Thou- Wilt fay, ^<?^ are the Dead raifed, and 
 
 5-'" With 
 
Th& DoElntm (^/'Baptism. 127 
 
 with what Body do they arife? He gives the Serkt. 
 Man his proper Title that makes the Objedion, V. 
 thou FO0I, that which thou foweft is not quick- ^.tf-v—^ 
 ened except it die •, but he never comes down 
 into an Exphcation of what is ail invifible and 
 furure. 
 
 Ohj. 3. Thefe clear Ideas, as fome have the 
 Vanity to call their own Imaginations, are to de- 
 fend the Truth and bring over the Enemy. I 
 anlwer, 
 
 1. That is to be determined by the IlTue, and 
 till I hear that one Jrian is brought over, I 
 muft needs think that the Lord has reje^ed their 
 Confidences, and they Ihall not profper in them. Jer.ii. 36. 
 Infidelity has got two creeping Holes inftead 
 
 of one ; and it looks rather like the rally- 
 ing of Error in a new Form, after it has been 
 baffled in the old One. 
 
 2. By thefe Concefiions the Worship of the 
 Spirit is given up and left to human Prudence, 
 for a very ilrange Reafon, viz. becaufe he is re- 
 prefented as dwelling in the Believer. Little did 
 1 think to hear that Chrift dwelling in us as his 
 Temple, or that God's being in us, fhould be 
 pleaded as an Abatement to the Worfhip he is 
 to have from us. 
 
 Obj. 4. The Perfonality that the Scripture 
 gives to the Son and Spirit, is only an eaftern 
 way of fpeaking. I anfwer, 
 
 I. No matter for that, if it comes from God, 
 it is a Form of found IVords, whatever Quarter of 
 the Earth it begun in. From the rifing of the 
 Sun they firft called upon his Name, and from 
 them the Word has founded forth to the Ifles 
 afar off. 
 
 2. 
 
128 
 
 Tthe DoSlrifie (p/'Baptism. 
 
 2. We may as well make all the Attributes 
 of the divine Nature Perfons, as his Underftand- 
 ing and his Power. His Juftice, Holinefs, 
 Goodnefs, and Truth, are as often perfonalized 
 in Scripture. But I refer you for a fuller Ac- 
 count of thefe Arguments, with a noble judici- 
 ous Anfwer to a late Book, entitled, The Scrip* 
 ture Do^rine of the Trinity vindicated, in Op- 
 pqfition to Mr. Watts' s Scheme of one proper 
 divine Perfon, and two divine Properties, Pow- 
 ers, and Faculties : By a Diffenting Country Gen- 
 tleman. 
 
 SER- 
 
The DoEirine (^/"Baptism. 129 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 It is only by an open Profeillon of the Truth 
 that People are honeft in Baptifm. Hea- 
 thens underftand the Form as we do. The 
 three Perlbns are equal in Perfedion of 
 Nature, as appears by what each of them 
 does diftindly j in their Influence upon 
 the Saints, as to Pardon, Holinefs, Per- 
 feverancc. Communion, Refurrcdlion, 
 Happinefs 5 and in Glory. 
 
 H E laft Thing that we profefs S e r m. 
 
 in the Ordinance of Baptifm, by VI. 
 
 ufing that Form of Words which 
 
 Chrill himfelf has given us, is, 
 that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, are one 
 in 'Nature^ and equal in Power and Glory. This 
 Propofition is not diftin6l from fome of the 
 former, but rather the full Refult of them all ; 
 they are clofed by it, they are rolled up in it. 
 
 Firji^ I have proved that we cannot, without 
 Idolatry, be baptized into any other Name than 
 that oi God ; as it is the Beginning, the Figure, the 
 Obhgation to all Practice in Religion, fo we 
 dare not offer it to any but the moft High. 
 Then, 
 
 Secoijdlyy 
 
 V 
 
I 30 T'he DoEiri7ie (?/ B a p t i s m. 
 
 Se^m. Secondly^ I have fliown you, that this God 
 VI. who is owned either by ourfelves or our Parents, 
 
 ^— — \'— ' can be no more than ofie. In To great a Work 
 as Baptiim . we are not whiffling v/ith the Name 
 of God, and going about it in Sport : To fay 
 that one has it by NatT.ire and two by Title, is to 
 make a Jeft of the Word, and reduce the Sen- 
 tence that Chrifb has given us into vain Babbling. 
 The Form in which we are baptized has not led 
 us into any of thefe Diitindlions -, and fliall we 
 dare to come and play the Fool before him that 
 is able to fave and to deftroy ? As one Man 
 mocks another, do you fo mock him ? Shall we 
 fpeak deceitfully for God, not only in his Prefence^ 
 but in his Covenant ? 
 
 I have expofed to your Contempt the Notion 
 of fubordinate Deities, as unworthy of all Reli- 
 gion, whether natural or revealed. Nor can we 
 ■ be refigncd to the Son and Holy Ghoft, if they 
 are not one God with the Father, but under the 
 Skrecn of a mental Refervation. If we have Mean- 
 ings not agreeable to the Words, we make them 
 not a Form of found Words that cannot be con- 
 demned •, but corrupt and lying Speeches, fit for 
 the Mouths of thofe who lie in wait to deceive. 
 Chrift defigned by this very /;7/?//«//^;z that we fhould 
 tell theWorld what we believe j but by fuch Inter- 
 pretations ourProfefflon is hid . At that Rate a Turk 
 or an Indian fliall neither know what we are, nor 
 what our God is. They explain the Words as we 
 do, and fo reject them. They cannot fuppofe 
 that we mean one God and two inferior Beings, 
 but conclude that Baptifm pays an equal Homage 
 to Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft., They fee 
 that there is no Sub'ordination in the Term ; but 
 an undiftinguifhed Adoration to no lels than three. 
 And they muft be of this Opinion, if the Words 
 are to be taken in their proper Senfe. Shall we 
 
 mve 
 
The DoEirine z?/" B a p t i s m. 
 
 give them Occafion to think, that the Profcffion 
 we make in the greateft Ordinance of our Reli- 
 gion is not to be underftood. 
 
 Thirdly^ I have farther proved, that here is 
 mention made neither of more nor fewer than 
 three^ into whofe Name we are baptized. If we 
 conceive of a Godhead without a Trinity, it is 
 not that which the Scripture fpeaks of, or that to 
 which we are furrendered. We have no more 
 Authority to drop the Names of Son and Holy 
 Ghoft in the Adminiftration, than that of the Fa- 
 ther. A Baptifm to no more than one Perfon 
 may be Indian or Mahometan^ but it can never be 
 Chrijlian. 
 
 Fourthly^ The Form we are to ufe makes it 
 plain, that thefe three are diftinil from one ano- 
 ther, or otherwife they would never have been 
 mentioned as three. How oddly would it found 
 to baptize into the Name of the Eternal, the 
 Almighty, and the Omnifcient, of the holy One, 
 the Juft, and the Gracious .? That would be only 
 multiplying Words without Wifdom. The 
 Scripture has given us no fuch confufed and 
 empty Forms, that are all found and little Senfe ; 
 God does not ufe to fpeak of himfelf, and his 
 Properties, as if they were thus diftinguiihedy 
 and efpecially in a Form that is to hold as long 
 as the World does. That which wants explain- 
 ing wants mending •, and if it was never under- 
 ftood until our Age, it's pity chat other Ages had 
 it at all, or fhould all along be tempted to take 
 thofe for three Perfons., whom v/e have diminifhed 
 into two Pozvers. 
 
 Now, as I faid before, if all thefe /(?z/r Propo- 
 rtions are true apart, they are true together, and 
 muft combine in this that I have made xhtfifthy 
 that thefe three Perfons are the fame in Nature or 
 K 2 Sub- 
 
132 The DoSirine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 Serm. Subftance, and equal in Power and Glory. For 
 VI. if there is no more than one God, and no fewer 
 <— v-»^ than three Perfons, then we are to confider them 
 as equal. 
 
 r I. In their own Perfedlions. 
 ^2. In their Influence over us. 
 (3. In their Glory from us. 
 
 I . The Form of Baptifm gives us their Equa- 
 lity in Perfe(5t:ion and Nature, as you will fee by 
 thefe two Particulars. Firjl, They all go by one 
 Name ; and Secotidly^ The Operations by which 
 they are diltinguifhed, do reprefcnt each of them 
 to be God. 
 
 (i.) It is apparent, as you have often heard, 
 that we are only baptized into one Name^ by 
 which Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, are equally 
 called. Remember the Form of Words, it is 
 not faid baptize them into Names, as if they were 
 many, which might lead us to conceive of dif- 
 ferent Natures, but as the Lord is one, fo his 
 Name is one in that Ordinance that is to reach all 
 over the Earth. Thus is a Chriftian to fpeak of 
 him quite through the Nations, that the Father 
 is not the Son, and that neither of them is the 
 Spirit, you will foon apprehend from their feve- 
 ral Titles, and what then is the one Name under 
 which our Faith comprehends them, but that 
 Deut. glorious and fearful Name the Lord our God ? 
 <xxviii. 58. 'pj^Qugh they are three, yet we muft fome way 
 or other apply to them as one, and make the nrft 
 Ordinance of the Gofpel agree to the Brfl Com- 
 mand in the Law, thouflmlt have no other Gods 
 before me. 
 
 On which Account I fee no Reafon for trine 
 Immerjion or trine /ifperfioHi either Dipping or 
 
 Sprink- 
 
l%e DoBrine ^Baptism. 
 
 Sprinkling thrice, as the Manner of fome is. 
 The Unity of that Name in which we are bap- 
 tized does HOt need it, and I think cannot bear 
 it. In the whole Solemnity we are given to no 
 more, to no other than the great Jehovah. Our 
 Concern with the Father in this Ordinance is not 
 meerly as he is a Perfon, but as he is God. And 
 as the Son and Holy Spirit have this Name with 
 him, fo it is with a Regard to that eternal Deity 
 that we are theirs as much as his. The Believer 
 may fay as the Prophet does, / am called by thy Jer. xv. 
 Name^ O Lord of Hojis -, and with the Church, 1^- 
 by thee alone we will make mention of thy Name ; , . ^^^^' 
 and we will remember the Name of the Lord our Pi~. ^. j. 
 Cod. 
 
 (2.) I have fliown you that they are diflincl in 
 their Operations. The Scripture affirms fome 
 Things of the Father, which are never applied to 
 the Son ; and fome of the Son, which are not true 
 of the Spirit ; and fome of the Spirit which are 
 peculiar to himfelf; but every one of them 
 proves a Deity in that Perfon that does it ; they 
 are wondrous Works that are done by God alone. 
 "We are faid to be elefl according to the Fore- 
 knowledge of God the Father^ through Sandlin- > Pet.i. 2. 
 cation of the Spirit unto Obedience, and the 
 Sprinkling of the Blood of Jefus. Now this 
 Sanflification, this Eleftion and Sprinkling are 
 what no Creature could ever give us. God has 
 revealed himfelf as doing all that, / will take you Ezekiel 
 from among the Heathen, 1 will fprinkle clean Wa- '^^f^'^■^^^> 
 ter upon you ^ ye fhall be my People, and 1 will be " 
 your God, 
 
 I. It was the Father's Appointment upon 
 
 which the Son came into the World, and the 
 
 very fending of a Saviour can be no other than 
 
 the Work of God. When the Fulnefs of Time 
 
 K 3 came 
 
The DoSirine (j/' B a p t i s m. 
 
 came God fcnt forth his Son made of a Woman, 
 made under the Law. Bleffed be the Lord God 
 of Ifraei, who has vifited and redeemed his Peo- 
 Gal. IV. p|p^ ^j^^ raifed up a Horn of Salvation. The 
 Lukei. Devils themfelves owned that he was the holy 
 68,69. one of God. Nicodemus, before he waseftabHfhed. 
 in the Faith, could fay, that no Man can do thefe 
 Things except God was with him. Upon this 
 , does the blind Man purfue a noble Argument. 
 Johnix. Herein is a marvellous Thing that ye know 
 3o» 33- not whence he is, and yet he has opened mine 
 Eyes. — If this Man were not of Gcd^ he could 
 do nothing •, and thus does Nathaniel make his 
 fir ft Proienion, Rahul., thou art the Son of Gody 
 John xvi. thou art the King of Ifrael : The Difciples in full 
 30. Faith acknowledged, now we are fure that 
 
 thou knoweft all Things, by this we believe that 
 thou cameft forth from God. And to this Con- 
 viftion docs Chrift himfelf give his Teftimony, 
 xvii. 8. I have given to them the Words that thou gaveft: 
 m.e, and they have received them, and have 
 known furely tlut I came out from thee, and they 
 have believed that thou didjl fend me. He bears 
 viii. 42. Witncfs to this Truth am.ong the Jews. If God 
 were your Father ye would love me, for I pro- 
 ceeded forth and came from God, neither came I 
 ofmyfelf, but he fent me: And again, if I ho- 
 nour myfelf my honour is nothing ; it is 7ny Fa- 
 ther that honours me, of whom ye fay that he is 
 your God. 
 
 2. The Son has thofe Things affirmed of him, 
 that are peculiar to his Perfon. He alone in the 
 divine Nature was a Child born, a Sacrifice for 
 Sin, and the firft begotten from the Dead. And 
 though thefe Accounts belong to the human Na- 
 ture, .yet the Redemption that he fulfilled by 
 them will prove the Divine j he who was of the 
 Rom. i. 2. Seed of David according to the Flelb, muft be 
 
l^he DoEirlne of ^ ix"? r i'^ m. 135 
 
 o^^er all God blejfed for ever. None bur a God Serm. 
 could be incarnate, fo as to redeem them that VI. 
 are under the Law, that they might receive the '- — v-*^ 
 Adoption of Son<. Had an Angel been made 
 Partaker of Flefii and Blood, he might have 
 lived and died, but he could never have recon- 
 ciled us to God. His Blood would not have been 
 able to do away one Sin. He would not have 
 trod the Wine-prefs •, Chrift did that alone. 
 And therefore the Seed of the Woman was no t Tim. 
 other than God manifeji in the FleJJj. In him was "i- j6- 
 Life. The Child born was to be the mighty J""^"'- ^' 
 God, the everlafting Father : And though he 
 was really a Man both in Soul and Body, yet the Afts xx. 
 Church is what God has purchafed by his own 28. 
 Blood. 
 
 In order to the fini filing of his great Defign, 
 he is to reign over the Houfe of Jacol^ for ever Lukei. 
 and ever, and of his Kingdom there is no end : 33- 
 Now, it is only true of God, that his Throne is 
 for ever and ever. He was in the Form of God, Phil- il 6. 
 and thought it no Robbery to be equal zvith God. J"^" ''*• 
 He that was the Refurredlion mult be the Life ; ^^^q^^ ^v 
 the'laft Adam^ is a quickening Spirit. Nor was it 45. 
 enough that he loofed the Pains of Death, but 
 he did it upon this Ground, that it was impoffible A'^su. 24. 
 he fhould be holden of it. 
 
 3. The Holy Spirit has Things fiid of him 
 which are not attributed either to Father or Son, 
 in a perfonal Way ; fuch as furnifhing out Pro- 
 phets, Apoftles, Pallors, and Teachers-, fancli- 
 fying, comforting, and fecuring Believers ; and 
 yet thefe do all of them fuppofe and declare a 
 divine Nature. The Scriptures of the Prophets 
 were given by Infpiration of God, and yet holy 2 Tim, iii. 
 Men of God fpake as they were maved hy the » 6. 
 Holy Ghoft. The Apoftles had a greater Un6lion ^ ^^^' '• 
 from the holy one, than ever any received before, 
 
 K 4 or 
 
 21, 
 
28 
 
 Exod. iv. 
 
 IS 
 
 The DoSJrme ^Baptism. 
 
 or I believe fliall do again, and it was by the 
 
 Holy Ghoji's coming down upon them, that they 
 
 were endued with Power from on high. It is 
 
 God alone who would give Pafiors, after his own 
 
 Heart, to feed us with Knowledge and Under- 
 
 Adls XX. {landing. This is no other than the Holy Ghoft 
 
 who made them Overfeers. God put Words into 
 
 Aarojt's Mouth, and the Difciples fpake as the 
 
 T^it. iii. 5. Spirit gave them Utterance. You are faved by 
 
 the waihing of Regeneration and the renewing 
 
 o^ the Holy Ghcft^ and yet furely it is a Matter 
 
 above all Difpute that Uod alone can fandify ; 
 
 John i. he that is born of the Sprit is born of God. The 
 
 "m X SpJ^'t abides with us for ever ^ that is, accord- 
 
 Heb.xiii. J^g to his own Fromife, God will never leave us 
 
 5. nor forfake us ; fo that we may boldly fay, the 
 
 herd is my Helper. 
 
 2 Cor. i. He is the Comforter, and yet it is God who 
 
 ^' comforts them that are call down. The Joys of 
 
 the Holy Ghoft are the Confolations of God ; 
 
 for when he fpeaks Peace,who can give Trouble ? 
 
 aCor.vi. You are the Temple of the Holy Ghoji -, that is, 
 
 ^9- . Go^ dwells in you; and by this Relation to the 
 
 jg'_ ■ ■ third Perfon of the Trinity, you are called the 
 
 Temple of the living God. Your Perfeverance 
 
 is owing to the Spirit, who fliall guide and lead 
 
 you into the Land of Uprightnefs : This is no 
 
 Pf.lxxiii. other than God's guiding you by his Counfely 
 
 ^4- and receiving you up to his Glory. 
 
 2. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are 
 equal in their Influence upon the Believer, which 
 is fuppofed, profefTed, and implored in the Or- 
 dinance of Baptifm. The Blefllngs we have in 
 our Eye, as fecured by the everlafting Covenant, 
 come trom each Perfon j as our Acceptance and 
 Pardon, our Sanftification and Holinefs, our 
 Security and Perfeverance, our Communion and 
 Fellowfliip, our Rcfurreccion from the Dead, 
 
 our 
 
The DoBrine of B av t i^u, 
 
 our Admittance into Heaven, and our Enter- 
 tainment there : Thefe are the Bleflings of Bap- 
 tifm, fealed by it, promifed in it, fignified and 
 figured in every right Ufe of it ; and, yet Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Holy Ghoft, are faid to do 
 them. 
 
 I.) Our Acceptance and Pardon, which is the 
 great Blefling of the New Covenant, are equally 
 fpokc of with Regard to the Three that bear Re- 
 cord in Heaven. It is God that juitifies, and Rom. viif, 
 Chrifi that died. It is the Father who makes us J.^', H- 
 accepted in the beloved. The God and Father ^ ' *' ^' 
 of our Lord Jefus Chrift has blelTed us with all 
 fpiritual Bleflings in heavenly Things in Chrift John xvi, 
 Jefus. The Father himfelf has loved you. ^7' 
 
 And is not this faid of the Son ? Forgivenefs 
 belongs to him, that he may be feared. It ap- 
 pears by his fovereign Way of beftowing it on 
 Earth, that it's he pardons Iniquity, Tranfgref- 
 fion, and Sin. 
 
 And though the Spirit is not reprefented either 
 as fhedding the Blood of Atonement or accepting 
 it, yet it is he who fprinkles it upon the Con- 
 fcience. Chrift came both by Water and Blood, i Jolm 
 and it is the Spirit who bears Witnefs, for the ^■•6- 
 Spirit is Truth. Te are wajhed^ ye are jufiified^ i Cor. vi. 
 ye are fan5fified^ in the Name of the Lord Jefus, ' ' • 
 and by the Spirit of our God. 
 
 2.) Our San6tification and Holinefs is derived 
 from each Perfon in the divine Nature ; none can 
 come to Chrift except the Father draw him. Johnvi. 
 The God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, 4-i- 
 according to the Riches of his Glory, enlightens ,^ ^' 
 the Eyes of our Underftanding ; that we may 
 know what is the Hope of his calling. W^hen 
 Peter made that noble Confeflion, thou art the 
 Chrift the Son of God ; blefted art thou, faith 
 
 our 
 
l^e DoEirine f?/* B a p T i s m, 
 
 our Saviour, Flelh and Blood has not revealed 
 this unto thee, but my Father who is in Heaven : 
 And yet. 
 
 This Work is attributed to our Lord in thofe 
 
 great Words, both he that fan^i fie s and they who 
 
 Heb. ii. are fanctified are all of one, wherefore he is not 
 
 »o. afhamed to call them Brethren. When we are 
 
 faid to {tt him as he is, it is immediately added, 
 
 that he who has this Hope in him purifies him- 
 
 1 John 111. fclf even as he^ that is Chrift, is pure ; for it is to 
 ^' ^" be underftood of him who was manifejled to take 
 
 2 Cor. iii. away our Sins. We behold as in a Glafs the 
 J^* .. Glory o^ the Lord, that is, of the Lord Jefus, the 
 */ ^ ' Lord of Glory., and are changed into the fame 
 
 Image from Glory to Glory. He fent the Apoftle ' 
 A£lsxxvi. to turn the Gentiles from Darknefs to Light ; 
 '^* that, fays he, they may receive Remiffion/oF 
 
 their Sins, and an Inheritance among them that 
 are fanctified by. Faith that is in me. 
 
 I need not ftay to prove, that the Holy Ghofi is 
 
 the Author of this Change. He convinces of 
 
 Sin, and Rightcoufnefs, and Judgment. He 
 
 John vi. takes the Things of Chrift, and reveals them 
 
 ^3* to us. It is /^^d" 5^/n/ who quickens. 
 
 3.) Our Security and Perfcverance are from 
 I Pet. i. 5 the Father, Son, and Lloly Ghoft, who are kept 
 by the Power of this God, through Faith to Sal- 
 vation. 
 
 Thus runs the Prayer of Chrift, Holy Father^ 
 
 John xvii. keep through thine own Name thofe whom thou 
 
 "• haft given me: And ytt, vjc arc preferred in 
 
 J^'^^^- Chrift Jefus and called : It is the Will of him 
 
 that fcnt him into the World that he fliould lofe 
 
 nothing, but raife it up at the laft Day. He 
 
 JoKnx. gives to them eternal Life, and they ftiall never 
 
 ^7- perifli, neither ftiall any pluck them out ot his 
 
 Hand, Neverthelefs it is the Spirit who abides 
 
 for 
 
T^he DoElrine ^Baptism. 139 
 
 for ever with us, and will do fo, till we go up Serm. 
 to be for ever with him. VI. 
 
 Thefe Things have no Contradidions in them, * — v-"-^ 
 they only lliow us the Unity ot the divine Na- 
 ture. We give Thanks to the Father who makes Col. i. \z. 
 us meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance with 
 the Saints in light. We rejoice in Chrijl Jefus, 
 by whom we have received the Atonement. 
 And he who has invited us to Heaven, will pre- 
 pare us for it ; the Spirit and the Bride fay 
 come. 
 
 4. Our Communion and Fellowfhip is equally 
 with the whole Trinity. li" any Man love me^ 
 faith Chrifb, he fliall be loved ot my Father ; and John xiv. 
 we will come to him, and make our Abode with ^°- 
 him. Verily our Fellowfhip is with the Father ijohni. i. 
 and with his Son Jefus Chrift. We pray to our Matt. vi. 
 Father who is in Heaven. We call on xhtFa- 9- 
 thcr, who, w'.thout Refped of Perfons, will ' ^^^' '• 
 judge every Man according to his Works. And Jf^^ j;^ 
 yet, by Communion with Chrijl we tafte that the 3, 4, 
 Lord is gracious, the Lord who was chofen of 
 God, and precious. By the .holy Boldnefs and 
 Courage that appeared in the Difciples, others 
 took Knowledge they had been with Jefus. Now, Ads iv. 
 we could have nothing of this Fellowfhip with- '3- 
 out the Spirit. He helps our Infirmities ; he Rom. viii. 
 makes Interceffion in us according to the Will of 26. 
 God. He fearches the deep Things of God and i Cor. ii. 
 reveals them to us, that we may know the '°- 
 Things that are freely given to us of God. By 
 the Holy Ghofi we are fealed to the Day of Re- Eph. iv. 
 demption. Pie that flabiilheth us in Chrilt and 3°; 
 has anointed us, is God, who has fealcd us and \^ "^^^^ 
 given the Earnell of the Spirit in our Hearts. 
 
 5.) Our Refurreclion from the Dead is the 
 Work of each Perfon. As Chrift was raiftd by 
 the Glory of the Father, fo mull we. Thofe 
 
 that 
 
The DoSirine of B a ? r i s u, 
 
 that fleep in Jefus will God bring with him. And 
 yet, as the Father quickens the Dead, and raifes 
 them, even fo Chfiji quickens whom he will. 
 They that are in their Graves fhall hear the Voice 
 of ibe Son of Man, and they that hear Ihall live. 
 This IS the Lord who is to defcend from Heaven 
 with a Shout -, whom the Dead in Chr/fi arc to 
 meet in the Air, and the whole Generation of 
 the Faithful (hall be caught up to -, for they are 
 all together to be ever with the Lord. 
 
 • And yet, the Spirit is mentioned as the God 
 who quickens the Dead. Chrift himfelf was de- 
 clared to be the Son of God with Power by the 
 Rom. i. 4. Spirit of Holinefs in the Refurreftion from the 
 viu. II. j5^.^^^ If the Spirit of him who raifed up Jtfus 
 from 'he Dead av l1! in your mortal Bodies, he 
 that raifed up Chrift from tiie l>ead,fliu 11 quick- 
 en your mortal Bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth 
 in you. Baptifm is an Em.blem, a Token, an 
 Affurance of this. In that Ordinance you are 
 rifen with Chrifi, as a Figure of your rifing after 
 him j and that which makes it fo is not wafliing 
 W!th Water, but being baptized with the Holy 
 Ezek. Ghofl and with Fire •, this is the Breath that is to 
 xxxvn. 9. breathe upon thefe flain, that they may live. It 
 is the Spirit of the Lord that enters into them, 
 and fcts them upon their Feet, and then they 
 fhall be numbered among the Armies in Hea-» 
 ven. 
 
 6.) Our Admittance into Heaven is applied to 
 
 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Fear not httle 
 
 Flock, faith Chrift, \\syo\\v Father^ s good Plea- 
 
 fure to give you the Kingdom. They are in- 
 
 MatcxAv. vited thither in thefe Terms, come ye blefted of 
 
 h'k •• f^^y Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you. 
 
 jg^ '^^' He is not alhamed to be called /)6^/y God, be- 
 
 caufe he has prepared for them a City. Chrift 
 
 him- 
 
7*he DoBrine <?/ B a p t i s m. 141 
 
 himfelf went to his Father, and our Father to his Serm. 
 God, and our God. And yet, VI. 
 
 'Tis the Son who went to prepare a Place for v-^v-^ 
 us, and who comes again to receive us to him- J°^" -'^^• 
 felfy that where he is he may be alfo. Our Robes '^.j^, ^ 
 are made white in the Blood of the Lmnh^ by Rev. vif, 
 which alone we have a Right to enter through H- 
 the Gates into the City. Upon this Foundation 
 we are before the Throne of God, and ferve him 
 Day and Night in his Temple. And yet again, 
 
 'Tis the Work of the Holy Spirit^ who has 
 produced Faith in us, fo that we die in Faith. 
 'Tis through the Power of the Holy Ghojl that 
 we are kept in the Love of God. He that Ihews 
 the Things of Chrift to us here, will fhew them 
 hereafter \ as we find by the Apoftle's Argu- 
 ment ; the Lord is that Spirit^ and where the 2 Cor. Ui. 
 Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty : We '7. »8. 
 all with open Face beholding, as in a Glafs, the 
 Glory of the Lord, are changed into the fame 
 Image from Glory to Glory, as by the Spirit of 
 the Lord. Indeed, thefe Words relate to the 
 greatDifcoveriesof theGofpel, as tranfcendent to 
 thofe of a legal Difpenfation : But they will never 
 have their fuUSenfe, till we fee no longer through 
 a Glafs, but Face to Face. And if the Spirit is 
 the Author of thofe Vifions by which we are 
 brought into the Church below, 'tis fromliim 
 we fhall have thofe of a fuperior Kind above. 
 
 The whole Paffage is a Qiiotation from 
 Exod. xxxiv. 33, 34. Till MofesWi'^ done fp?ak- 
 ing with the Children of Ifrael^ he put a Vail on 
 his Face, but when he went in before the Lord, 
 he took the Vail off. Well, faith the Apofrle, 
 we do not as Mofes, put a Vail upon our Fact s ; 
 that was an Emblem of the Imperfection of their 
 Fellowfliip with God, that the Children 0/ Ifrael 
 could not look ftedfaftly to the End of t-ac 
 
 winch 
 
l^he DoElrine of B a ? t i ^ u. 
 
 which is abolifhed. Their Minds are blinded, 
 for until this Day remains the fame Vail untaken 
 away in the Reading of the Old Tejlc^.mentf which 
 Vail is done away (tons) in Chrilt, neverthelefs 
 ■when it [that is Ifrael'] fhall turrt to the Lord^ 
 then fliall the Vail be taken away, l^hcy are now 
 as Mcfes was out of the Mount, but they fhall be 
 as he was in it, with no Vail upon them. He 
 went without a Vail to fee the Lord : Now, faith 
 he, the Lord is tbe Spirit, v*^hom they are to fee -^ 
 and we are changed into this Glory by the Lord 
 [or Jehovah] the Spirit. 
 • 7.) Our Entertainment in Heaven is from each 
 Rev. 1.4. Perfon in the divine Nature. From him who is^ 
 and was, and is to come, from the feven Spirits 
 that are before his Throne, and from Jefus Chrilt 
 the faithful Witnefs. In that Day we fhall know 
 that Chrift is in the Father, and the Father in 
 him, and he in us. Fie prefents us to the Father in 
 thefe Words, behold here am I, and the Chil- 
 dren whom God has given me. He prefents us 
 to himfelf a holy Church, without Spot or 
 Wrinkle, or any fuch Thing. We have no 
 higher Notion of that Happinefs than to be with 
 Jefus : For the Lamb that is in the midft of the 
 Throne fliall feed us, and lead us to F'ountains of 
 living Water, and God fiiall wipe away all Tears 
 from our F-yes. And, will not the Spirit, who 
 bids us come, make us welcome ^ Shall we not 
 have above what v/e fo often hear or below, the 
 2 Cor. Grace of our Lord Jefus Chrifi, the Love of 
 xiii. 14. QqJ^ 2pjj^ jj^g Communion of the Holy Ghofl ? 
 
 Now, is any one able to fuppofe, v.hen all the 
 Glories of the new Covenant are laid down in 
 tliis promifcuous Language, as the Gift of the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, that they are not 
 equal in Power ^ Why fhould the Scripture cn- 
 fnare us, by making no Difference in thi: Diredlion 
 
 of 
 
 John 
 20. 
 
 xiv. 
 
 Heb. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Eph. 
 27. 
 
 V. 
 
 Phil 
 Rev. 
 
 i.23 
 vii. 
 
 17. 
 
 
T^he DoBrine of ^'a? i: i s u., 143 
 
 of our Faith and Hope, if there was a Difference Se rm. 
 of Nature among the Perfons upon whom we VI. 
 depend ? «— -V---J 
 
 3. They are declared to be equal in the Glory 
 we give them, of which Baptifm is a Part and a 
 Pledge. It fignifies no lefs than Dependence, 
 Worihip, Profeflion, and eternal Praifes. 
 
 (r.) In Baptifm we profefs our Dependence 
 on that God by whofe Name we are called. We 
 give up ourfelves or our little Ones to be the 
 Lord's. And is this to any lefs than Father, Son, and 
 Holy Spirit ? Don't we defire an Union to each 
 of them .Mn dating the Covenant that's ordered 
 in all Things and fure, Daiid tells us what the 
 Spirit of the Lord fpake by him, and what the 2 Sam. 
 Words were that he put into his Mouth. xxiii. 1. 
 
 'Tis plain, that we are given up to the God 
 and Father of us all., who is above all, and with Eph. iv. 
 all, and in us all. And yet, how often is Chrift "' 
 Jefus called our Hope., which is too great a Name i Tim. i. 
 for us to give, or tor him to take, rf he is not '• 
 God. Curled be the Man that makes f lefh his Jer. xvii. 
 Arm •■, and bleifed alone is he v/hofe Hope is in ^• 
 the Lord his God. He is the Hope of Tfrael., and ^^^- "3- 
 the Saviour thereof in a Time ot Trouble. They 
 ufed to call God the Hope of their Fathers., and 
 yet the Promife of a Redeemer is that Hope to A«^s xxvi. 
 which their twelve Tribes ferving God Day and 7" 
 Night expe6Led to come. Our rejoicing is in 
 Chrifl Jefus., though the Salutes are only to be 
 joyful in the Lord. In him we have believed, 
 and are perfuaded that he is able to keep what 2 Tim. i. 
 we have committed to him againfl that Day. '2. 
 
 *Tis the Spirit we depend on for that Blefilng, John vi. 
 without which the Flefli profits nothing. What ^4- 
 is it that we truft to for the Communion, the 
 Holinefs, the Security, the Heaven, that are 
 
 fignificd 
 
7^^ DoEli^me (?/" B a p t r s m. 
 
 fignified in the Ordinance of Baptifm, but the 
 Holy Ghoji dwelling in us ? For if any Man have 
 not the Spirit of Chriji, he is none of his. *Tiil 
 he comes and blows upon the Garden, our Be- 
 loved has nothing to invite him thither. If this 
 If. Ixlii. Spirit is vexed, as he was of old, he will turn 
 »o- againfl; us, and be our Enemy, but where he 
 
 dwells, though the Body is dead becaufe of 
 Sin, the Spirit is Life becaufe of Right eoufnefs. 
 
 (2.) Worfhip is another thing fignified, per- 
 formed, and confefled in Baptifm, and we pay 
 it to all the Three. In giving up ourfelves to 
 be the Lord*s, we engage to a Ncwnefs of Life, 
 in a perpetual Covenant, that lliall never be for- 
 Pf. Ixxx. gotten : That if he quickens us, we will not turn 
 nit. back, but call upon his Name. 
 
 Now, is it not the Spirit who quickens ? We 
 
 live and walk in the Spirit, and don't we adore 
 
 Phil. il. that God who works in us both to will, and to 
 
 H- do of his own good Pleafure ^. He that creates us 
 
 anew does it to good Works •, and if our Works 
 
 John iii. are wrought in God, fhall they not be devoted to 
 
 '9- him.'' Muft he live in a Temple, and not be 
 
 ferved there ? Are you the Temple of the Holy 
 
 Ghoft, and is not the Holy Ghoft to be worfhiped 
 
 in Places of his own Confecration, in the Hoiife 
 
 that is called by his Name ? 
 
 We trult in Jefus, we pray to him, we de- 
 rive from him, we have Communion with him, 
 and is not this Worfliip ? If not, it is Idolatry. 
 Shall we give up ourfelves to him equally with 
 the Father in Baptifm, and afterwai-ds draw back ?" 
 Then, his Soul will have no Pleafure in us. If 
 iCor.i.2. we take his Name upon us, *tis the Name we are 
 If.xlv, 22. to call upon in every Place. He makes the Pro- 
 clamation, Look unto me, and be ye faved, all 
 the Ends of the Earth, for / ain God, and there 
 is none elfe. I have fworn by myfclf, that to me 
 
 every 
 
The DoEirme ^t/' B a p t i s m. 
 
 every Knee fhall bow, and every Tongue fhall 
 fwear. The Apoftle gives us no otHer Expofi- 
 tion of that Paifage than that in the Name of Je- 
 fus, every Knee lliould bow, of Things in Hea- P^^il-"* 9- 
 ven. Earth, and under the Earth, and every 
 Tongue confefs that Jefus is Lord or Jehovah. 
 
 (3.) Another Glory we pay in Baptifm, and 
 obhge ourfelves to go on with, is a couragious 
 Profeflion of the Name we have owned in every 
 Article belonging to it. One Greek Teftament, 
 that I have, reprefents thofe Words in another 
 Manner than our TranQators have writ them, 
 Heb. X. 22. Having cur Bodies wajhed with pure 
 Water ^ let us hold faft the Profejfion of our Faith 
 without wavering, for he is faithful who has pro- 
 mifed. The Pcilon he fpeaks of is Chrijt Jefus, 
 the High-Prieft over the Houfe of God, who in 
 another Part of that Epiftle is called the High- 
 Priefi of our Profeffion. The Profeflion that we 
 make is of an equal Devotion to Flim with the 
 Father and Spirit. This we are to hold fad 
 without wavering. Many would take it from us, 
 or weaken it in us ; but we mull hold it ayJavv, 
 without any leaning to the one Side or the other, 
 without any incBting to the Enemy, or declining 
 from the Truth, and to that we are obliged by 
 having our Bodies waihed with pure Water. A 
 baptized Cov<'ard is a Scandal to his Chara6ler ; 
 an Antitrinitarian Baptift is a Fugitive from his 
 Principles •, luch as thefe have Uamnation, he- 
 caufe they caft off their firft Faith. That Water 
 had better have been fpilt upon the Ground. 
 'Tis of no Service to have it fprinkled on the 
 Foreheady if the Name of Chrift is not always to 
 be read there •, and of as little V^alue is a greater 
 Quantity, if it's only wafl:iing away the Filch 
 of the flelh, and not attended with the Anfwer 
 of a good Confcience towards God. 
 
 L (4.) 
 
146 The DoSirine (?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 (4.) To Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we 
 Ihall give eternal Praifes in Heaven j as appears 
 by all the Accounts we have of what they do in 
 that World. The Throne of God and of the 
 Lamb is in it, and hii Servants Jball ferve him. 
 There is but one 'Throne for both Perfons •, and 
 the Honours of Salvation and Power, Glory 
 and Strength, are equally afcribed to him that 
 fits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for 
 ever. 'Tis from thence, that the Spirit fpeaks 
 unto the Churches, 'tis there he will be adored 
 when he has fetched us all up. I fhall there- 
 fore now conclude, as I hope to begin the Work 
 of Heaven, with Glory to Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghoft, as three diftindl Perfons, and one 
 living and true God for ever and ever. Amen and 
 Amen. 
 
 SER- 
 
l^he DoSirme ^Baptism. 14' 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 Baptifm is the peculiar and beginning of a 
 Chriftian Profeffion, and is therefore pub- 
 lick. By this we declare who our God is, 
 which fliould be done intelligibly, in a 
 certain Form of Words, and thefe taken 
 in their natural Senfe. Baptifm obliges 
 to a Profeffion. Faith fometimes the 
 fame with Hope ; both taken objectively, 
 and both the Matter of our Profeffion. 
 Wafhing with pure Water no Argument 
 for Dipping ; but is an Emblem of fpi- 
 ritual Benefits. An Account of Spirit, 
 Soul, and Body. 
 
 Heb. X. 22. 
 
 Havi?ig our Bodies ivaJJjed with pure Wafer. 
 
 S the Bleffing of God, upon my own Serm. 
 Family, led me to enquire what Bap- Wl, 
 tifm was, fo I took it juft as the Lord 
 himfelf has left it. Thus it was at once 
 delivered to the Saints ; baptize them into the 
 Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft ; 
 thefe are the Words of our Lord Jefus Chrift. 
 
 L 2 There 
 
148 T'he DoSirine (^/'Baptism. 
 
 Ser M. There are feven Things to be regarded in that 
 VII. Ordinance, whether you furrender yourfelves or 
 ^— v-*^ your Children to the Lord. 
 
 1. It is ^peculiar to Chriftianity. It begun 
 indeed to be adminiftered by John the Bapiiji^, 
 
 Luke i. who was ordained a Prophet of the Higheji, and 
 ^^^^ ... in all his Acflions only prepared the way of the 
 22 Lord. The Kingdom of Heaven was then at 
 
 Hand -, and the Inflitution was compleated, ap- 
 pointed, and eftabliflied by Chrijt himfclf, as the 
 Refult of his having all Power both in Heaven 
 and Earth. 
 
 To fetch it from the Jews, and efpecially from 
 thofe traditional Services that obtained in their 
 Church, is a wild Imagination, and no better 
 than feeking the Living among the Dead. They 
 Hcb. ix. had divers Wajhings and carnal Ordinances, but 
 -°- our Baptifm was not one of them -, for thefe 
 
 were only impofed on the People till the Time of 
 the Reformation. And therefore, as they were 
 all to be aboliflied, we cannot fuppofe, that any 
 of thofe worldly Elements fliould be tranfplanted 
 into our Religion, to leave any remains of Bon- 
 dage upon the glorious Liberty of the Sons of 
 God. Peter fpeaks to thofe that knew nothing 
 of that Ordinance, as if it was a thing entirely 
 Adsii. new among them, repent, and be baptized every 
 38- ^ one of you -, and it's faid we are baptized into 
 Chrifi. 
 
 2. It is the heginning of a Profcfiion, either 
 adive or pallive, either in ourfelves or our Chil- 
 dren •, for thus runs the Promife, they are the 
 
 IL Ixv. 5^^^ of the hleffed of the Lord, and their Offspring 
 ^3- ijoith them. 'Tis the firft thing that a Believer 
 
 does in a way of publick Declaration to tell what 
 Religion he is of-, and they who, in this Man- 
 ner, bri.ng their Infants to Jefus, take an Oppor- 
 tunity 
 
 Rom vi 
 3 
 
"The DoEirifie ^Baptism. 
 
 tunlty of founding their Faith Abroad, and tell- 
 ing Mankind what they believe themfeives, and 
 by what Rule of Dodlrine they will bring up 
 their Children in the Nurture and Admonition of 
 the Lord. 
 
 Any who think that Baptlfm fuppofes a perfo- 
 nal ProfefTion, muft needs make it the great So- 
 lemnity of that Profefiion -, by that, they give 
 out themfeives to be Chrijlians^ as diftinguifhed 
 from the Heathen, who know not the true God, 
 and from the Jews who do not receive the true 
 Mefllah. When the Eunuch^ who had been for 
 fome Time a Profelyte to the JcwiJIj Religion, 
 became a Chriftian, he wanted to be baptized. 
 Saith Philip to him, if thou believeji with all thine 
 Heart, thou mayeft •, upon this the other anfwers, ^^^^^ ^,jjj 
 / believe that Jefus Chriji is the Son of God. 37. 
 Therefore, 
 
 3. In the Nature of it, Baptifm is a puhlick 
 Ordinance ; appointed on Purpofe for a Profcjfion 
 of Faith, that it may come Abroad unto all Men j 
 'tis not a Thing to be done in a Corner. But in 
 giving up either yourfelves or your Children, your 
 Allegiance to Chrift, and your Dependance on 
 
 him ought to be feen and read of all. Your R^m j 3 
 Faith fhould be fpoken of throughout the whole 
 World i nor is there to a private Chriftian a 
 greaterOpportunityofconfeffingChriftbeforeMen, 
 than in the Adminiftration of this Solemnity. 
 
 4. The particular Declaration that you make 
 in this Ordinance, is o^ the God, whofe you arc, 
 and whom you ferve. 'Tis the Thing for which 
 you're baptized, to let the World know the 
 Name of the Lord that is called upon you, and 
 to whom you have bound yourfelves by a per- 
 petual Covenant that fliall not be forgotten. 
 There are feveral Obligations contained in Bap- 
 tifm j but the immediate, the principal, the 
 
 L 3 fupreme 
 
lie DoElrtne of B a? r ibm. 
 
 fuprcme Defign of the Inftitution itfclf, is that 
 you may mention the Na^ne of the Lord your 
 God. He fays, thou art my People, and they 
 Jh all Jay the Lord is my God. Therefore, 
 
 5. This Frofeffion is made in fuch a way that 
 Mankind may nnderjiand it. If they miflake 
 you, and arc not able to tell, whether you wor- 
 fhip one God or three •, whether three Perfons or 
 two Powers -, whether three Equals or two 
 Subordinates, whether as united in one Nature, 
 or diftinguiflied into three ; the very End of 
 Baptifm is lofl, and inftead of convincing the 
 "World, you only confound them. 
 
 6. As this is an Ordinance of Chrift Jefus, it 
 muft be adminiftered in that certain Form of 
 Words., that he himfelf has chofen. With this 
 Order he opened out the Gofpel Difpenfation, 
 and as that Difpenfation will laft to the End of 
 the World, fo fhall this Solemnity. 
 
 7. The Words ought to be taken in their 
 plain and natural Senfe., becaufe they are a lad- 
 ing Form to the End of Time. For Chrifl to 
 give us ExprefTions that People cannot undcr- 
 ftand, would be only to abufe them. 'Tis un- 
 worthy of him, who is the Light of the W'orld, 
 in whofe Mouth there was no Guile. By this 
 Form they muft know to ivhat God I furrender 
 either myfelf or my Infant ; and if the Words 
 have not a certain Sound, we are only fpeaking 
 into the Air. There are five Particulars contained 
 in them. 
 
 (i.) That the Name into which we are bap- 
 tized is above every Name, and can be no other 
 than that of the mofi high God. It contains, in- 
 troduces, and allures a full Surrender of all that 
 we are, that we have, or that we do. This can- 
 not be done to a Creature v/ithout Injuftice, Idol- 
 atry, 
 
The DoBrine of B a ? r i s u, 
 
 atry, and Darknefs. We owe it only to him 
 that made us, who is the Rock of our Salvation. 
 'Tis not a Tribute to Principalities, Powers, and 
 Dominions in heavenly Places ; but to Him 
 whofe Name alone is Jehovah, the moft High 
 over all the Earth. 
 
 (2.) By this Form of found Words that we 
 are to hold faft, it appears that this God is no 
 more than One, and therefore we are faid to be 
 baptized not into Names as of many ; but we are 
 given up to Jehovah who is One, and his Name Zech. 
 one in all the Earth. They who call us Triiheijls ^'^'- 9- 
 are guilty of belying both the Lord and his Peo- 
 ple : If we are fo, this Sentence will not f.t our 
 Mouths. 
 
 (3.) There are neither more nor fewer than 
 three comprehended in the glorious individual 
 Name that is called upon us. When Chrift told 
 them how it was to be adminiftred, he a(5led, 
 as it is faid in that Day he would do, not give 
 them Proverbs, or Parables, or rhetorical Fi- Johnxvi. 
 gures, and Words of a dubious Meaning, but he 25. 
 Ihowed them plainly from the Father. 
 
 (4.) Thefe three are dijlmguijhed in the divine 
 Nature, as Perfons are in the human -, one is not , t^Jj^ 
 another. There are three that bear Record in v. 7. 
 Heaven. 'Tis no Objection, that we cannot 
 explain Perfonality in God -, alas ! you know not 
 the Principle of Individuation in any thing. 
 
 (5.) 'Tis plain from the whole Form, that if 
 there is but one God and three dillind Perfons, 
 then thefe three mull be the fame in one Nature, 
 and equal in Power and Glory. TheQueilion is not 
 whether we are able to conceive of fuch a Being, 
 and much lefs whether it lies irt our Power to 
 unfold it ; but whether this is the Meaning of 
 thole wholfome Words that the Lord Jefus 
 Chrift has given us .'' Don't the People that hate 
 
 L 4 our 
 
The DoBrim 0/ B a p t i s m. 
 
 our Religion underftand them thus ? Is not our 
 Saptifm an Abomination to the learned Heathen, 
 becaufc the Doi5lrine involved and eftabliflied in 
 it is incompreh.iinble ? 
 
 Thtfe feveral Propofitions I have defended 
 and maintained as the Dcfign of this Ordinance, 
 and the perpetual Revelation of the Bible. This 
 was the FiofefTion of Faith tiut we made in Bjp- 
 tifm, and from that Period are ob'iged to hold 
 it faft without wavering, that we do not profane 
 
 Matt. ii. the Covenant of our Fathers. 
 
 10. The Words that I have now chofen will Ictus 
 
 fee the Glory and Importance of that Faith into 
 which you were baptized, and the NeceiTity that 
 is upon us to hold faft, not only the Faith itfeif, 
 but the Profejfton we have made of it before all 
 the World. 
 
 There are two Things that a little furprize me 
 in our TranQation. 
 
 1. The Connexion of the Words. ThatClaufe, 
 ■having our Bodies waflded with pure Water comes 
 in at the End of a Senttnce that we had before, 
 as if it was an Argument for drav^ing nigh to 
 God with a true iieart, and a full Afiurance of 
 Faith. And in that View we muft range the 
 whole Paragraph to this Purpofe, that thi^- Duty 
 is confidered three Ways, in our Encourage- 
 ment for it, our Temper in it, and our Obliga- 
 tions to it : And each of thefe are twofold. 
 
 Firfi^ our Encouragement for this Privilege is 
 derived from two Things ; firfi^ the Sufferings 
 of Chrift •, we have Boldneis to enter into the 
 holieft of ail through the Blood of Jefus ; fe- 
 condJy., his Exaltation, we have an High-Prieft 
 over tlie Houfe of God. 
 
 Secondly^ 
 
T'he DoBrine ^Baptism. 153 
 
 Secondly, our Temper in drawing near to God Serm. 
 includes two Things ; ift. Sincerity towards him, VII. 
 which is called a true Heart. 2dly, Satisfa^ion 
 in him, or a full AfTurance of Faith. 
 
 Thirdly^ The Obligation to this Work arifes 
 alfo from two Particulars ; 17?, The Nature of 
 our Privilege in the Duty of Prayer ; we have 
 Hearts fprinkled from an evil Confcience j 2^/y, 
 the Defign of the Profeflion that we made in 
 Baptifm, our Bodies are wafhed with pure Water. 
 
 This is the Difpofition that our Tranflators 
 have made of the Context -, but I have lately 
 confuksd eight or nine feveral Editions of the 
 Greek Tejiament, and I find no more than one of 
 them, that agrees to it. For thefe Words, 
 havmg our Bodies wajhed with pure Water, are 
 brought in at the beginning of the 23d Verfe, 
 and connedled, not to what went before, but to 
 what follows, let us hold fafi the FrofeJJion of our 
 Faith without wavering. 
 
 I (hall therefore caft the whole Argument into 
 another Scheme. We read of the full Atone- 
 ment that Chrifl made by his Death, of which 
 we have the greateft Evidence from his being an 
 High-Pried at the Right Hand of God. Now, 
 there are two Things all along quite through the 
 Epiftle deduced from this Dodrine, a Liberty of 
 Prayer before God, and a Boldnefs in Profejfion 
 before Men. 
 
 (i.) From the Blood of Tefus upon the Crofs, 
 and the Exaltation of his Perfon in Heaven, the 
 Apoftle pleads in this Chapter as he had done in 
 the 4th, that we may come boldly to the Throne of 
 Grace : We do it, as he had faid before in 
 Hopes of obtaining Mercy, or with a full 
 AfTurance of Faith 5 and that we may find 
 
 Grace 
 
The DoEirine ^Baptism. 
 
 (jx?sit to help in a Time of Need, that is with a 
 true Heart really defirous of this Grace. 
 
 (2.) 1 he other Duty that he always impreflcd 
 from thefe Confiderations, is a ProlelTion of our 
 Faith j as you fte in the 4th Chapter, feeing 
 that we have a great High-rrieft who is pafled 
 into the Heavens, Jcfus the Son of God, let us 
 hold fafi our ProfeJJion -, and here he does it again, 
 hold faft the Proteffion of your Faith without 
 Wavering. 'Tis not enough that we may fpeak 
 to God, but we muft fpeak /cr him. The In- 
 terceflion of this great High-Priefl: has made the 
 former our Privilege, and the latter oftr Duty. 
 He is our Advocate in Heaven, we are his upon 
 Earth. 
 
 This range of the Particulars contained in the 
 Text, docs not only agree with moft of the Greek 
 I'ejiaments that 1 have feen, but feems the mod 
 uniform and regular, firfi^ the Argument is 
 open and clear, why you draw nigh v/ith a full 
 AfTurance of Faith, becaufe of what is done with- 
 inycu •, your Hearts are fpiinklcd from an evil 
 Confcience. Secondly, your Obligation is equal, 
 to hold fafl your Profefilon from what is done 
 upon you in the Eyes of the V\ orld, your Bodies 
 are wajhed with pure Water. The former is in- 
 ternal, the Operation of the Holy Spirit •, the 
 latter is external, your own voluntary Action. 
 When you were baptized, you made that Profef- 
 fion •, and he in whofe Name you did it, experts 
 you will hold it fait, and not let it go, keep it, 
 for it is your Life. 
 
 2. There is another thing that furprizes me in 
 cur TranOation, and that is, the Word Faith 
 oiJ.oXoyiix. iXTTi^og, is a Profeffion of Hope : There is 
 no falfe Doflrine in the Alteration ; the Thing is 
 altogether the fame. 
 
 The 
 
l^he DoBrine of B a? r i s u, 155 
 
 The two Graces of Faith and Hope maybe Serm. 
 diflinguifhed, but 1 cannot fay that in the Scrip- VII. 
 ture they always are Jo. They are different <— v-— .* 
 Names from one Employment of the Soul. ^ The 
 Objeft of Faith is fomething invifible, the Obje6t 
 of Hope is fomething future. The Glory that 
 jhall be revealed is expofed to them both. As it 
 is not yet revealed we believe it, as ix. Jhall be re- 
 vealed we hope for it ; as it's unfeen our Faith is 
 employed upon it, as it*s future our Hope is 
 drawing towards it, Looking Jor and hajiing to. 2 Pet. ilf. 
 
 But the Holy Spirit has not always obferved '^* 
 this Diftindlion. Hope is defcribed as Faith 
 fhouid be. Hope that is Jem is not Hope, for ^o'""- '"■■^"« 
 what a y\.zx\ Jees why does he yet hope tor ? But ^4- 
 if we hope for that we Jee not., then do we with 
 Patience wait for it. On the other Hand, Faith 
 is a Subftance of Things hoped Jor ^ and the Evf- Hcb.xi. i. 
 dence of Things not fcen. 
 
 Sometimes they are each of them taken objec- 
 tively, not for the Principle, but the Things be- 
 lieved and hoped for. Thus Paul faith, he v/as 
 an Apoftle of Jefus Chrifc, according to the 
 Faith of God's ElecSt, and the acknowledging of li'^- »• i- 
 the Truth that is after Godlinefs. His Labours, 
 his CommifTions, his Qualifications, were agree- 
 able to what he calls cliewhere dvocXoyU nririw;^ 
 the Analogy, Rule, or Syftein of Faith. And 
 thus he ends that Epiflle to 'Titus., greet them 
 that love us in the Faith •, that is, in the Doftrine 
 that we believe •, the Matter of our Gofpel and 
 of their Adherence. For as he faitli in another 
 Place, whofoever is the Preacher, fo we preachy i Cor. xv. 
 and Jo ye believe. n- 
 
 Thus has the Scripture revealed our Hope, 
 not only as a Grace in the Heart, but as an Ob- 
 ject upon which it fixes. Sometimes Chrift Je- 
 fus is called our Hope^ and no wonder, when it i Tim. 
 
 I was *• *• 
 
The DoSirine <?/' B a p t i s m. 
 
 was the Name that the Church of old always 
 gave to the molt high God, and to no other. 
 O, thou the Hope of Ifraelj or the Hope of our 
 Fathers. To this Hope, faith the Apoftle, our 
 twelve Tribes expected to come •, and he means 
 the fame in that Profeffion, for the Hope of Ifrael 
 am I bound with this Chain. 
 
 Sometimes this Name is given to the Joys and 
 Immortality that fliall be brought to Light. We 
 
 Tit.ii. 13. look for that blejfcd Hope, and the glorious Ap- 
 pearing of our great God and Saviour : Nay, 
 'tis the Title of the happy Difpenfation we are 
 
 Heb.vii. now under •, the Lav/ made nothing perfe6l, but 
 
 »9- the bringing in of a better Hope did, by which 
 
 Hope we now draw nigh unto God : Or it comes 
 to the fame Thing, if you underftand it of what 
 the Difpenfation contains and reveals, the Per- 
 fon or Righteoufnefs of Chrift, the AlTiirance of 
 Salvation *, thus we flee for a Refuge to lay hold 
 on the Hope fet before us, which Hope we hav^e 
 as an Anchor, fure and ftedfaft, and enters into 
 that within the Vail, whither Jefus our Fore- 
 runner is for us entered. 
 
 Several Times, Faith and Hope are Names of 
 that Do6lrine that we fhould make known 
 Abroad. Thus we read of continuing ftedfaft in 
 
 Col.i. 22. the Faith. We -are to be eftablifhed and ftedfaft 
 in the Faith, and not moved away from the Hope 
 of the Gofpel. We contend for the i^^/7/6 once 
 delivered to the Saints -, your Faith is fpoke of 
 throughout the Vv^orld, /. e. not only your be- 
 lieving, but the Thing believed ; for it would 
 have made a ridiculous Story through theWorld, 
 to have People fpoke of as Believers, and no 
 Mortal to know what they believed. 
 
 Col. i. 5. So we read of the Hope laid up for us in Hea- 
 ven, which brings forth Fruit in thofe who re- 
 ceive it i and accordingly, we muft be always 
 
 I read y 
 
"The DoSirim (j/'Baptism. 157 
 
 ready to give a Reafon of the Hope that is in us. Se rm. 
 In thefe two Verfes he fpeaks of Faith and Hope VII. 
 as what fhould be known by the Boldnefs that u,-v— 
 we have through the Blood of Jefus. As to ' ^^^- "'• 
 Faith, there is a zsXy\fo(po^ioe-^ a full-hearing ; an ^^' 
 Afllirance. 'Tis completely laden, it carries as 
 much as it can hold in drawing near to God. 
 There's Boldnefs, Accefs, and Confidence, thro' 
 the Faith of Jefus. As to hope there's a 
 oy-oXoyici, a /peaking together, a Profeffion that it Eph. iii. 
 makes in common with others. The former of '2. 
 thefe we are to have without doubting, the latter 
 to hold faft without wavering. So that the Sub- 
 ject I am upon confifts of two Parts. 
 
 1. Here's a needful Duty recommended to us, 
 and that is a fteddy, couragious, uniform, and 
 perpetual Adherence to the Do^irine of three equal 
 Ferfons in one tmdivided Nature ; hold faft the 
 ProfclTion of your Faith without wavering. 
 
 2. Here's an Argument for it, drawn from 
 the Inflitution of Chrift, that we have complied 
 with, having our Bodies wafhed with pure Water. 
 
 But I rather choofe to take thefe Particulars in 
 the order that our Text has given them •, and 
 fhall proceed to a diftincl Confideration of two 
 Things. 
 
 1 . That which has been the Pra5lice and Pri- 
 vilege of God's People, to be given up to him 
 in Baptifm, their Bodies are wafloed. in pure 
 Water. 
 
 2. Their unavoidable Obligation to hold faft 
 the Dodlrine they owned in Baptifm, that there 
 is but one Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, 
 that was called upon them. 
 
158 The DoSirine (?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 I begin with the firft of thefe, 
 
 Having our Bodies 'u^ajhed 'with pure Water^ 
 J don't lee that any thing is to be concluded 
 from thefe Words about the manner of Baptifm. 
 1 fhould think that Man's reafoning very weak, 
 who would pretend to prove fprinkling from the 
 former Claufe, your Hearts fprinkled from an evil 
 Confcience. This is meer jingling upon Words. 
 And indeed I think the Argument no better, if 
 any fhould attempt to demonftrate, that wafhing 
 fignifies dippings your Concern and mine from 
 thofe Words, and in this Ordinance, is about 
 greater Things. 'Tis the Dodtrine engraven and 
 expofed upon our Baptifm, that we are to con- 
 tend earneftly for. It fignifies nothing with what 
 Quantity of Water that Man was baptized, who 
 either denies or conceals the Trinity of Perfons 
 in the Unity of the Godhead. If he v^Sisfprinkkdy 
 he carries a Lye in his Forehead, if he was plunged 
 it had as good iiave been in the Ditch, for his 
 Cloarhs will abhor him. 
 
 The Word wafhing denotes no particular way 
 of making clean •, it may be done by fprinkling 
 as well as dipping. It was a common Thing in 
 thofe Ages and Countries to wafh the Feet of 
 l.uke vii. Strangers ; and I am fure this was once done by 
 ^^" fprinkUngy when the poor Woman did it with 
 
 I'ears. But I don't \o\tflriv;ng about IVcrds to 
 no Profit. Let us join in this, that according 
 to the Revelation God has made of his Will to 
 us, we fpeak the fame things that is, about the 
 great Defign of this Ordinance. 
 
 It will never lead me into any^Qiiarrel, if they 
 
 who. call themfelves baptized Believers take Care 
 
 to approve themfelves believing Baptifls, that we 
 
 may know what is within them by the acknoiv- 
 
 V\.\ltv^. 6. Icdging of every good Thing. That they may not 
 
 be 
 
The DoSirine (j/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 be like that Generation who are pure in their 
 own Eyes, and yet are not wafhed from their 
 Filthinefs. Wafhing an Infidel is but like wafh- 
 ing an Ethiopian. However, the Phrafe in which 
 the Holy Ghoft has fpoke of Baptifm, may lead 
 us into feveral Things that are defigned by it. 
 
 1. *Tis a Pledge of our Juftification. Hence 
 
 we read of the Baptifm of Repentance for Remif- Mark i. 
 fion of Sins. This is fometimes conveyed to us 4- 
 under the Similitude of Water. IVafJ:) me tho- Pf- li- 2. 
 roughly, faith David, from mine Iniquity, and 
 ckanfe me from my Sins j and thus runs the Pro- 
 mife, though your Sins be as Scarlet they Ihall 
 be white as Snow, though they be red like Crim- Ifa. i. 18. 
 fon, they fhall be as wool. Thus I choofe to take 
 the Metaphor as our Saviour ufes it to Peter, 
 when he went to wafh his Feet ; he tells him, it 
 was an Emblem of fomething that he ihould 
 know hereafter ; and explains himfelf thus, if I Joh. xiii. 
 wafh thee not, thou haft no Part with me. That ^* 
 which makes me apply this to his Juftilication is 
 what he adds, he that is wafhed needs not fave to 
 wajh his Feet, but is clean every whit -, this can 
 hardly be underftood of their Sanflification. 
 Thus he told them in the Days of old, I will 
 pour clean Water upon you, and ye fhall be clean, Ezek. 
 from all your Filthinefs and all your Idols I ^-'^■'^^i- 2?. 
 \v\\\ ckanfe yow ; i. e. from the Guilt of them ; ijoh. i. 7. 
 for we know that the Blood of Chrift cleanfes 
 from all Sin. Thus does Ananias fpeak of the 
 Ordinance to Saul, why tarrieft thcu ? Arife Afts xxii. 
 and be baptized, and wafh away thy Sins, calling ^6. 
 on the Name of the Lord. 
 
 2. *Tis an Emblem of our Sanctification. We 
 
 are faved by the wafhing of PwCgeneration, and 2 Tit. 
 the renewing of the Holy Ghoft. To call Bap- "'• 5* 
 tifm the Laver of Regeneration is dangerous, falfe, 
 
 and 
 
1 60 Hhe DoEirim of ^ k -^ 'v 1 ^ u. 
 
 SerM. and foolifh. That 'tis a Token, a Sign, or a 
 VII. Reprefentation of it, is true ; but to fay that it 
 
 Ui^y-> is the Means or the Efficient of a thorough 
 Change is wrong, and only ferves to make Peo- 
 ple truft in a Lye. However, the external Ac- 
 tion is fpoke of in the fame way with the Influ- 
 
 1 Cor.vi. ence of the Holy Spirit. Te are waflied, ye are 
 
 1 1 . jujlified^ ye are [anSlified in the Name of the Lord 
 Jefus, and by the Spirit of our God. 
 
 3. It fignifies our Growth in Religion. Tho' 
 the Ordinance is adminiftered but once,, yet the 
 Obligation arifing from it to a Dependance upon 
 Chrilt, and a Derivation from the Holy Spirit, 
 continue all along. We are to ht fanfrified through- 
 out in our whole Spirit, Soul, and Body. Thefe 
 "Words, in my Opinion, carry in them no Dif- 
 covery of three Parts in us, but rather only of 
 two. For the Prayer of the Apoftle is, that our 
 whole Spirit AoV.A>ipov to' -usviZ^.u, our entire Frame, 
 which is called Spirit in honour to the Change 
 that is wrought upon us, and the glorious Au- 
 thor of it, who is the Spirit (as the Believer is 
 caWed a. fpiritual Man) This is to be prefer ved. 
 And he diftributes what he means by this general 
 Word Spirit into two Particulars, xccl i -^txjx^ ««'» 
 TO (Tw/iAa, both your Soul and even your Body. 
 Thefe are to be fan6lified every Day. 
 
 4. It fignifies our Devotednefs to the Lord. 
 'Tis the Badge, the Mark, the Signature of our 
 Subjection to him. By Baptifm we declared our- 
 felves to be entered into his Service, and into his 
 Family. 
 
 5. It engages us to a continual Attendance 
 upon the Means of Grace : Becaufe he that fanc- 
 tifies us through the wafliing of Water, docs it 
 
 Eph. V. by the Word. Baptifm is the Figure of our be- 
 
 26. ing faved -, now we are faved by Faith, and 
 
 Faith comes by hearing. They that fcparate 
 
 themfclves bcin^^ fenfual, and havins not the 
 
 Spirit, 
 
l^he DoEirine of B A ? r i s u. i6i 
 
 Spirit, have no Benefit by their Baptifm, but are Serm. 
 blind and cannot fee afar off, and have forgotten VII. 
 they were purged from their old Sins. Such as u— v^-i^i 
 were baptized upon Pefer's Sermon continued jied- z Pet. i. 9. 
 fajily in the Apoftle's Dodlrine, and Fellowfhip, 
 and breaking of Bread, and in Prayers. 
 
 6. 'Tis an Emblem of thofe Joys and Com- 
 forts that a Believer may hope for. Out of his 
 
 Belly fhall flow Rivers of living Water. A chear- John vii. 
 ful Life and Temper is very properly fet out by 38. 
 this Figure. Let thy Garments be always white, 
 and let thy Head lack no Ointment. Baptifm Eccl.ix.8; 
 reprefents both the Satisfadlion Chrift made for 
 our Sins by his Blood, and the Viftory he has 
 over them by his Grace. And how happy a 
 State is that, a Fountain of Gardens, a Well of 
 living Waters^ and Streams from Lebanon. Cant. iv: 
 
 7. 'Tis an Earneft of the Felicity above. 15. 
 There our Robes are to be wafhed in the Blood of Rev. vii: 
 the Lamb, there our Perfons are fanflified, to H- 
 
 be without Spot or Wrinkle, or any fuch Thing. 
 There our Entertainments are from a pure River xxii. 3^5 
 of Water of Life, clear as cryftal, proceeding 
 out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb ; 
 he leads to the Fountains of living Waters^ and 
 wipes away all Tears from our Eyes. 
 
 Application i. If Baptifm contains all this, 
 what need have we to take Care that we loi'e none 
 of it! 
 
 2. How great is our Obligation to be fteddy in 
 the Dodrine that is engraven upon this Ordi- 
 nance ! Holding fall the Profeffion of our Faith 
 without wavering. 
 
 M SER^ 
 
1 62 Ti^e DoBrme of B a v 1 1 s u. 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 The Dodrlne of Baptifm fummed up. *Ti9 
 a Profeffion of our Hope. We have a 
 Hope. This is to be owned, upon cer- 
 tain Grounds, an inward Perfuafion. How 
 far Religion is founded on Reafon, and 
 in what refped:s contrary to it. Our Con- 
 feffion is publick, harmonious, intelligi- 
 ble, in a certain Form of Words ; where 
 it is not laid down in Confequences, 'Tis 
 the chief Dodrine of the Ordinance. 
 Fundamental. 
 
 ^C*€*€*#€^€>€*€«€*#€<>€«^#€*€<>C*####€^ 
 
 Heb. 
 
 X. 
 
 23' 
 
 Serm. 
 VJII. 
 
 Let us holdfaji the Profeffion of Faith with- 
 mit wavering, 
 
 HAVE confidered Baptifm with Re- 
 gard to the Privilege contained in it, 
 and am to open the Duly arifing from 
 it. 'Tis the peculiar of the Chriftian 
 'tis our Entrance into it ; 'tis thus we 
 declare the Name of God which is called upon 
 us. This is done with a Defign that the World 
 may know who he is^ and therefore we muft do 
 it in fuch a way as they may underftand us. 
 
 In 
 
 Religion 
 
The DoSirim <?/' B a p t i s m. 
 
 In order to this, Chrift himfeif has given us a 
 Form of Words, that are fet up as a Monument 
 of his Authority, and a Declaration of our Be- 
 lief. But neither of thefe Ends will be anfwered, 
 if the Meaning of the Sentence is not open and 
 eafy. It would be quite wrong to make ufe of 
 Figures and dark Sayings^ and oriental Idioms, 
 in a Confeflion of Faith. If he has not called us 
 to utter Words eafy to be tinderjiood, our Doctrine 
 is vain as to others, and fo is the Ordinance of 
 Baptifm as to ourfelves. 
 
 Now, I do not fee how it is pofTible that Be- 
 lievers or Infidels fhould either deny or forget, 
 that by the plain Words which are put into our 
 Mouths, we are called to own thefe five Parti- 
 culars. 
 
 1. The Supremacy of God, 
 
 2. The Unity of his Nature. 
 
 3. A Trinity of Perfons. 
 
 4. A Diftindion among them. 
 ^. Their Equality in Power and Glory. ' 
 
 If any of thefe is not right, the Form of 
 Baptifm is zvrong. Chrift knew that the World 
 would ■ thus underftand it ; and, I'll venture to 
 fay, the Holy Spirit has taken Care his own pe- 
 culiar People fhall do fo. "To them that helicve it 2 Pet. ij, 
 is precious, a Foundation, a tried corner Stone ; 7> 8. 
 to thofe that are difobedient it is a Stum.bling- 
 Block ; but it is certain xh^y Jlumble at the Word 
 itfeif. Thus the Mahometan, thus the Indian 
 takes it, and for that he defpifes it -, thus the 
 Spirit of Grace has opened it to thofe whom he 
 t -aches in every Kindred, and Tongue, and Peo- 
 p'?, and Nation. Every one that offers either 
 h mfelf or his Infant to God, if he knows what 
 hj does, if he does i^ot bring the Sacrifice of 
 M 2 Fools^ 
 
1 64 The DoSirine of ^ k ? 1 1 % u. 
 
 Serm. Fools, has made a Declaration of his Belief, his 
 VIII. Adherence, and Devotion to three equal P erf arts 
 
 \^\^>m/ in one glorious undivided Nature. This is not 
 only a Doftrine that Chrift has eftabhfhed in thq 
 Ordinance, but what he would have all his Peo- 
 ple to publilh by it. And therefore, 
 
 The Apbftle having put us in Mind of the 
 firft Vows of God that are. upon us, when our 
 Bodies were wajhed with pure Water, he lets us 
 know what a perpetual Duty arifes from it •, hold 
 fafi the Profejfwn of your Faith, or your Hope, 
 without wavering, or fhuffling, faultring or faint- 
 ing, where you may obferve thefe three Things. 
 
 1 . The great Truft that is committed to us in 
 Baptifm, and that is a Profeffwn of Faith and 
 Hope. 
 
 2. Our Temper of Mind, or Bufinefs of Life, 
 with regard to it, and that is to hold it f aft. 
 
 3. The Manner of doing this is without wa- 
 vering. 
 
 I. Here's a Truft committed to us in Baptifm, 
 and that is the Profeffwn of our Faith and Hope. 
 This is the main Defign of the Ordinance ; we 
 Ihould never have had it, but for an Opportu- 
 nity of telling the World what it is we believe 
 and hope for ; who our God is, and what we 
 expeft from him. 
 
 1. It is here fuppofed of thofe who are bap- 
 tized and joined to the living in Jerufalem, that 
 concerning them there is Hope. 
 
 2. In the Solemnity of Baptifm there is a PrO' 
 feffion of this Hope. 
 
 I. Baptifm takes it for granted that there is 
 
 Hope in Jfrael^ concerning thofe whom God 
 
 5. ^^s 
 
H^e DoStrim <?/* B a p t i s m. 165 
 
 has made to be his own in an everlafting Co- Serm. 
 venant. VIII. 
 
 (r.) The Grace of Hope is implanted in them, 
 that is, the Principle by which we are enabled to 
 lift up our Faces before God. This is the Pro- 
 duiflion of the eternal Spirit, for if you abound 
 in Hope it is by the Power of the Holy Ghojl. ^°'"' '^* 
 Without his Almighty Creation we fhould lie 
 down in Shame, our Hope would be as the Spi- 
 der's Web, wrought out of our own Bowels, 
 hung upon fomething that will not hold it, and 
 brulhed away at Death. But it is the God of 
 Hope who fills us with Peace and Joy in be- 
 lieving. 
 
 (2.) The Thing itfelf that our Hope fixes upon, 
 and muft be working to, is an Inheritance with 
 the Saints in light. This is the Hope that is laid ^o^- '• 5* 
 up for us in Heaven. The Matter of our Con- 
 fidence is, that when this earthly Houfe of our 2 Cor. v. 
 Tabernacle is diffolved, we have a Building of '• 
 God, an Houfe not made with Hands, eternal 
 in the Heavens. Our whole Profefiion, the main 
 Current of Life and Duty declares plainly that 
 we feek a city^ which is an heavenly, whofe ^^^' ^^' 
 Builder and Maker is God. By the Ordinance '°' 
 of Baptifm we tell the World, that ourfelves or our 
 Children are given up to him, who fandlifies the 
 Church, that he may prefent it to himfelf without Eph. v. 
 Spot, or Wrinkle, or any fiich thing. We do ^7- 
 every thing in hope of eternal Life^ which God Tit. i. 2. 
 that cannoi lye promifed before the World began. 
 
 (3.) The Ground of this Hope is the Gol'pel 
 Difpenfation. There's nothing at all in Nature to 
 tell us of any fuch Portion, or quicken any fuch 
 Principle, and therefore they who are without 
 Chrift are yy/z>«i to theCommonwealthof Ifrael^ they Eph. ii. 
 are not free or brought into the glorious Liberty of • ^* 
 M 3 the 
 
1 
 
 £1. 
 
 1 66 Tlje DoBrlne of B a? r isn. 
 
 Serm. the Sons of Gol They are Strangers to the 
 VIII. Covenant of i^romife, to them it does not ap- 
 L— -kT*-' ptrtain, and therefore they have no Hope, and 
 are no better than People without a God in the 
 World. *Tis only from the Incarnation, the 
 Crucifixion, and the Afccnfion of a gloiious Re- 
 deemer, that we have any Hope towards God. 
 Hence it is faid, that we flee for a Refuge to lay 
 Heb. vi. hold on ihe Hope that is fet before us. Though 
 »8. the Holy Spirit gives us the Power of looking 
 
 and waiting for the great Adoption, yet it is 
 . with an Eye to the Merits and Empire of him 
 whowasdead, and is alive, and lives for evermore. 
 I Pet. i. 2. We are begotten again to a lively Hope through 
 the Refurreftion ot Jefus Chrift from the Dead, 
 After this Refurreftion he appointed Baptifm, 
 and therefore in that Day declares that we are 
 Fet. in. pj.jj-(jjigys of Hope. And it is thus, that Baptifm 
 does now fave us, not the wafhing av/ay the 
 Filth of the Flefh, but the Anfwer of a good 
 . Confcicnce towards God by the Refurre5lton of 
 Jefus Chrifi who is gone into Fleaven ; Angels, 
 Principahties, and Powers, being made fubject 
 to him. 
 
 (4.) This Hope h peculiar to Chrifl-ians. They 
 who have not that Name upon them cannot /i? 
 much as pretend to it, and they that have only the 
 Name can do no more than pretend. When the 
 Heathen mourn over their Dead, they forrow as 
 , Theff. thofe that have no Hope. All their Imaginations 
 iv. 13- of future Bleflednefs are only a random -thought, 
 an Expedation at a Venture. Our Comforts 
 arife out of Things they never heard of ; that is, 
 we believe that Jefus died and rofe again, and 
 fo thofe that fleep in Jefus will God bring with 
 him. To baptize a Perfon who knows nothing 
 of ChriiVs abolilhing Death and bringing Life 
 and Immortality to Light, is only mocking God 
 
 and 
 
T*he DoSirim of B a? t i % u, 167 
 
 and deceiving Men. The very Ordinance fup- SsRivf.' 
 pofes that he's inftruded about that kiter Hope VIII. 
 by which we draw nigh to God. And when we u--v---iJ 
 comply with it, either for ourfelves or our Chil- ^^^' ^"' 
 dren, it is no lefs than giving the Reafon of tbe 1%^^^ jjj^ 
 //i?/>(? that is in us. 15. 
 
 2. Of this Hope there is a Profession made 
 when the Body is wafhed with pure Water. The 
 Word is Oju.oXoyia, and you cannot feparate the 
 following Particulars from it without garbling 
 the Solemnity of Baptifm, and making it good 
 for nothing. 
 
 1. 'Tis fuppofed that for this Hope we have 
 certain Grounds in the Book of God. 
 
 2. That of this our Souls are filled with an 
 inward Perfuajton. 
 
 3. That the Reafons within us we declare 
 Abroad for the Convidion and Eftabliftiment of 
 others. 
 
 4. That we do this in Union with all the Peo- 
 ple of God. 'Oy.oXcytx is a fpeaking together. 
 
 5. That therefore Chriftians knoiv the Minds 
 of one another in this common Faith. 
 
 6. That there are fome whoifoine Words to 
 which they confent. 
 
 7. That this uniting Profeffion was made at 
 their Baptifm. There is but one Faith in Jefus, 
 and but one Baptifm to declare it. 
 
 (i.) If we are to profefs our Hope of an eter- 
 nal Life with God, 'tis fuppofed there are cer- 
 tain Grounds for it, and tliefe can be no other 
 than what the Scripture has revealed. To fay 
 that God is merciful, is true ; but no Comfort 
 arifes from any Schemes which Men talk of v/ith- 
 qut Book. Thoufands are damned eternally who 
 
 M4 depended 
 
'fhe DoSirine ^Baptism. 
 
 depended on the divine Goodnefs, and yet it's 
 infinitely above what we can fay or think. 'Tis 
 by making the Captain of our Salvation perfeft 
 through Sufferings^ that the Plan is laid for bring- 
 ing many Sons and Daughters to Glory. 'Tis 
 xiii. 20. the Blood of the everlajling Covenant that has 
 opened the way for the great Shepherd of the 
 Sheep to arife himfelf ; and fecure the whole Train 
 of thofe that follow him : By his Obedience to the 
 Law, Death is difarmed of an awful Sting, and 
 the Grave prevented of a total Victory, By his 
 J)eity he is able to fave, for our Salvation is of 
 God. By his Death he is worthy to redeem, by 
 his Grace he is fure of Succefs. If he was not the 
 /ifts V. Prince of Life, he would not be a Saviour to 
 «i* give Repentance to Ifrael and Remiffion of 
 
 Sins. 
 
 Thefe are the Reafons of the Hope that is in 
 Heb. X. us, that by one Offering he has for ever put away 
 '*• Sin, and by that one Offering he will for ever 
 
 perfect them that are fandlified. Our Baptifm is 
 a Declaration of the Confidence we have in the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft ; in him by whom 
 we are elefted, in him who has made the Pur- 
 chafe, and in him who has wrought the Change, 
 PC Ixviii. 'i['his our God is the God of Salvation, and to him 
 ^^' belong the Iffues from Death. 
 
 They that don't own him in this Diftinftion of 
 
 Perfons and Union of Nature, are baptized in 
 
 a Name they know nothing of Ihey are given 
 
 up to an unknown God, and though they make 
 
 If. xlviii. mention of the Lord, 'tis not in Truth and Righ- 
 
 '• teoufnefs. They compafs him about with hyes 
 
 Hof. xl. and Deceit, and as their ProfefTion is Vanity, fo 
 
 J*- Vanity fliall be their Recompcnce. They know 
 
 •J^ *^* not him, and he will profcfs that he knows not 
 
 them. They have prepared lying Words, if 
 
 they 
 
I'he DoSirine of B a ? t i s u, 169 
 
 they life any Form of their own, or they have Serm. 
 perverted the Words of the living God. VIII. 
 
 (2.) 'Tis fuppofed that we have an inward v^i^^v-.^;' 
 Perfuafion of thefe Grounds upon which a Be- 
 liever's Hope is built. He that believes on 
 the Son of God has ibe JVttnefs in himfelf. We i John v. 
 jnuft be rooted and fettled in the Faith, and not ' °j . 
 moved away from the Hope of the Gofpcl, ' ' '* 
 
 The Man that brings his Child to Baptifm 
 has the fame Obligations as if he offered 
 himfelf. He ought to know in whom he has 
 believed, and examine his Confidence towards 
 God. He is to prove his own Work. Faith 
 and Hope are pcrfonal Things, that he may have 
 rejoicing in himfelf alone, and not in another. He Gal. vi, 4, 
 fliould be always ready to give an Anfwer to 
 every Man that afks a Reafon of the Hope that 
 is in him ; and this can never be, unlefs he 
 fearches the Scriptures, becaufe in them alone we 
 have eternal Life. 
 
 In this Senfe ours is a rational Faith. What 
 we have Reafon and Argument to carry us 
 through. Suffer me to diftinguifh upon that 
 Word. Religion may be fuppofed rational thefe 
 two Ways. 
 
 17?, If we take Reafon for that Principle, that 
 is now corrupt, and vitiated with all the other 
 Faculties of human Nature, we may fay that the 
 Doctrines of Chriftianity are not rational ; lYiSX. 
 is, as the Apoltle tells us plainly, the natural 
 Man does not receive them, they are Foolijhnefs i Cor. ii, 
 to him ; the World, by all their Wifdom, is '4* 
 not able to knov/ the only living and true God. 
 Their Reafons are to be fantflified and I'ubdued 
 as well as their Wills. 1 hus it was widi as 
 learned an Infidel as ever lived ; he thought that Afts xxvi. 
 he ought to do many Things contrary to the 9' 
 
 Name 
 
The DoEirine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 Name of Jefus of Nazareth. He was guided 
 by his Reafun in all the Blafphemy and Perfecu- 
 tion of thefe evil Days. His Enquiry and Free- 
 thinking, his polite Attainments carried him in full 
 Career againft Chrift and his Gofpel. *Tis in 
 that Senfe and no other, that we ever aflerted that 
 the Principles of Revelation were contrary to Rea- 
 fon, not only incomprehenfible, but appofite. But, 
 if you do not like the Phrafe, that they are 
 againji Reafon^ we will change it, and fay Rea- 
 fon is againji them ; of which we have Acknow- 
 ledgments in thoil' that are converted, and noto- 
 rious Evidence in thole that are not. 
 
 idly. By Reafon wc oftentimes mean a Ground 
 cf Perfuajion •, the Argument that gives a Biafs 
 to our way of thinking. And in this Senfe the 
 I John V. Chrillian Religion is the moji rational Thing in 
 *°- the World, becaufe it goes upon the Record of a 
 
 God that cannot lye. Such a rational Religion we 
 are for, and defire to keep it fo ; and I may 
 take this Opportunity to affirm, that to look for 
 Salvation from a depending or a created God, to 
 truft in any one who is not Almighty, to believe 
 in a God who is not a Perfon, has nothing ratio- 
 nal in it. 
 
 (3.) At Baptifm there is a Profeffion j that is, 
 we declare abroad the Reafons of the Hope 
 within us. It is a publick Ordinance, and that 
 Rom. i, 8. can never be without a publiok Sound of Faith. 
 Silent Meetings are fit for none but thofe who 
 are neither Believers nor baptized ; who turn the 
 Form of the Ordinance into Spirit, and the Spi- 
 rit of it into nothing. You may be Partakers of 
 Chrift without ever being baptized at all ; but 
 Chrift has called you to this Ordinance, that 
 others may know what you think ; that your 
 Light be not fmothcred in a Bufhel, but blaze 
 out to the Conviction of all Men, 
 
 He 
 
7'he DoSlrtne of ^ h "^ i: \ ?> \i. 
 
 He has given you a Tongue as your Glory, 
 and if you are filent in his Doctrine, you turn 
 your Glory into a Shame. He has mentioned 
 your Faith and your ProfefTion together, as equal 
 Parts of an Homage to him, and a Care about 
 yourfelves. If thou believe that Jefus died, and 
 confefs that God raifed him again from the Dead, Rom.x.g. 
 thou fhalt be faved •, a dumb BcHever is like a 
 dumb Bell, all Lumber and no Melody : And 
 the Reafon is given for the one as well as the 
 other, that with the Heart Man believes unto 
 Righteoufnefs, and with the Mouth Confejfion is 
 made to Salvation. He that confejfes Chrift be- Matt. x. 
 fore Men, him will the Son of Man confefs be- Be- 
 fore the Angels that are in Heaven. 
 
 But, this Duty I have in a publick Manner 
 enforced, and taken all the Rubbifh out of the 
 way that fome trifling Objeftions have thrown 
 into it. I have there fliown how falfe and 
 wicked it is to charge it. with a-Denial of Chrift*s 
 Authority, the Sufficiency of the Scripture?, to 
 reprefent it as a Breach of Charity, or a Ruin of 
 Liberty. See twenty-eight Sermons concerning 
 Offences, Revilings, and a Confeffion of the 
 Faith. 
 
 (4.) This Profeffion is v/hat we make in Union 
 with the People of God. The Word o[j.oXoyix 
 fignifies a /peaking together, not in Time, but in 
 Subftance. We are to fpcrik the fame thing, and i Cor. i. 
 be perfectly joined together in the fame Mind '°' . 
 and the fame Judgment. With one Mind, and 
 one Mouth, we are to glorify God. 
 
 We have our feveral Opinions even about 
 Baptifm itfelf, but we are united in one co.mmon 
 Faith; which is a living diffufive Argument, that 
 the Spirit has done his Office, by leading Be- 
 lievers into all Truth. The Churches of the Re- 
 formation v/ithout any Concert or Management 
 
 have 
 
The DoBrine ^Baptism, 
 
 have agreed in the Doftrine of the Trinity, and 
 
 in their feveral Languages begun with that, as 
 
 fundamental to every other Article. Thus it 
 
 appears that we are baptized into one Body, and 
 
 are made to drink into one Spirit -, and as for 
 
 thofe who depart from the good old Way, in 
 
 which fo many Thoufands have got to Heaven, 
 
 we know not what Spirit they are of. They 
 
 Ejek. xiii. follow tbeir own Spirit^ and have feen nothing. 
 
 3' (5 ) If Profeflion is a fpeaking together, then 
 
 Chriftians are to know one anothers Minds. I 
 
 thank my God, faith the Apoftle, l\\diX. your Faith 
 
 is [poke of throughout the whole World. And, 
 
 Rom. i. B. I long to fee you, that I may impart unto you 
 
 **' '^- fome fpiritual Gift, to the End you may be 
 
 eftablifhtd ; that is, that I may be comforted 
 
 together with you by the mutual Faith both of 
 
 you and me -, and when he could no longer for- 
 
 I Theff, bear, he fent to know the Faith of the Thejfalo- 
 
 ^' 3- nians, left by fome Means the Tempter fhould 
 
 have tempted them, and his Labour be in vain. 
 
 I fhould be very loth to have it faid of our Faith, 
 
 that by long hoarding up, the Ruft and Canker 
 
 of it witncfles againft us. A filent Believer has 
 
 no Claim to brotherly Kindnefs and Charity, 
 
 He fuffers himfelf to be no greater in the Church, 
 
 than a Heathen Man or a Publican is out of it. 
 
 Tit. iii. We greet them that love us in the Faith. As 
 
 *5r. . the Bnd of the Commandment is Charity, it muft 
 
 . * * be out of a good Confcience and Faith unfeigned. 
 
 3 John The Brethren that fpoke of Gaius teltified of the 
 
 6» 6. 'Truth that was in him, as well as bore Witnefs 
 
 of his Charity. 
 
 (6.) This joint Profeffion lets us fee, there muft 
 be a confent to fome wholfome Words. I do not 
 mean to the Rumbling or Sound, but to theSenfc 
 contained in them. How dangerous would it be 
 to ufe the Words of Chrift in Baptifm, as the 
 
 Eae- 
 
I'he DoBrine of 1^ a ? r i s U. 1^3 
 
 Enemies did his Body ? /. e. hang them upon a S-erm. 
 Crofs, ftrain them in all the cruel Ways that Vlll. 
 can be invented, running their foolifh and un- v.— v "* * 
 learned Queflions into them like fo many Spears, 
 that bring out nothing but Blood and Water ? 
 
 I declare, that when I have baptized a Perfon, 
 I fliould think myfelf guilty of deceiving the 
 World and infulting the Lord Jefus, if 1 meant 
 any more than one God, or any fewer than three 
 Perfons. I believe the Form that is put into 
 my Mouth reveals both this Diftinftion and their 
 Union. If ever this appears to be faife, I would 
 revoke my Baptifm, and renounce the Words 
 that difcovered the Do6trine. This is the plain 
 and natural Senfe of the Words •, and therefore, 
 to twine and torture them with Conjedlures and 
 mayhe's is making Chrift not a Teacher, but a 
 Barbarian^ by not uttering Words that are eafy 
 to be underftood. I never did, and never durfb 
 baptize any into three Names, becaufe that would 
 have infmuated three Gods, one Supreme and two 
 Subordinate •, I would never make them equal in 
 Devotion that are not equal in Nature -, and it 
 would be as vile to fay that you are baptized in- 
 to one Perfon and two Powers : The Form men- 
 tions three Perfons as plainly as one. I know 
 what God does, it Iliall ht for ever, nothing can Ecd, iii. 
 be put to it, nor any thing taken from it, and '4' 
 God does it that Men fhould fear before him. 
 Chrift's own Words would have done without 
 any Explication, if Men had not perverted them : 
 But when four or five Schemes are argued from 
 one and the felf-fame Form, it's Time to look 
 into the Things that we have wrought ; this is 
 putting the Ark of God into the Houfe of 
 Dagon, when Men refifb the Truth, being of 
 corrupt Minds, and reprobate concerning the 
 Faith. 
 
 (50 
 
The DoElriite o/' B a p t i s M. 
 
 (7.) This Profefllon, in which we are all unitecU 
 was made when we entered either ourfelves or 
 our Children into the Chriftian Faith •, 'tis the 
 original Contra^ •, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft 
 is become our God, and we are his People. 
 Cannot any of us tell whether we were devoted to 
 one God or three ? To two Povjers or three Per- 
 fons ? What a Jcft will the World make of our 
 Religion, if the initial Form in which we em- 
 brace it is not to be underftood or determined ? 
 
 May not the Jews infult us, and fay, " We 
 •' know that God fpake by Mofes^ but as to this 
 *' Jefus wc know not whence he is, and excufc 
 *' us in faying fo, for your own Writers know 
 " not what he is. Some of your learned Men 
 *' are offended, as our Fathers were, that he 
 *' made himfelf equal with God; we called itblaf- 
 ** phemy, and you call it rheiorick^ but both 
 '*■ Sides are agreed in the main, that he has ?wt 
 *' a jiriuf and proper Deity. 'Tis the Unity of 
 ** the Godhead that you contend for, and fo do 
 *' we. We made his Words Criminal, and you 
 *' make them figiirati've ; 'tis pity he had not 
 " his Free-thinkers, his critical Difputants about 
 " him then ; for their Diftindlions and Dijferta- 
 *' tions would have foftcned his Dodrine and 
 " faved his Life." 
 
 And as to the Holy Spirit, if the Form of 
 Eaptifm does not declare both his Deity and his 
 Perfonality, our Chriftian Religion is no longer 
 diftinguifhed from the Jewijh and the Mahome^ 
 tan \ but rather fliared between them, and 
 like a Couple of Eagles they are hovering over 
 their Prey to fee wliith of them fhall have it. 
 P'or, as I read in Dr. Owen, *' All the falfe Ap- 
 " prehenfions concerning the Spirit may be re- 
 " duced to two Heads : Firft, that of the mo- 
 ♦* dern Jews^ who affirm the Holy Ghoft to 
 
 "be 
 
'The DoSirine ^6aptism« 
 
 ** the influential Power of God ; which Conceit is 
 ** entertained and promoted by the Socinians, 
 " and, fecondly ; that of the Mahometans, who 
 *' make him an eminent Angel, which Opinion 
 *' they got from the Macedonians.*^ 
 
 So that inltead of having the Form of Baptifm 
 honoured, we fee it ufed, as its Author was, 
 crucified between two Malefa6tors. And thus 
 thofe Words that fhould declare us to be Chrif- 
 tians, do only diftribute us among the two great 
 Enemies of our Faith. A Form of Words is no 
 better than a Form of Godlinefs, if you deny the 
 Power. It lets us fee that the Arian Scheme 
 comes not half fo well out of the Mouth of an 
 Englijh BifljOp as it would from a Turkiflo Mufti : 
 'Tis not the Leflbn of the Bible, but the Alkoran. 
 And the Notion of making the Spirit only the 
 influential Power of God, is very little becoming a 
 Diffenting Meeting Houfey but rather fmells rank 
 of the Jewifh Synagogue. 
 
 But, my Brethren, ftand by your Baptifm -, Mic. iv. 
 i. e. walk up and down in the Name of the Fa- 5' 
 ther. Son, and Holy Ghoft, that Name of God 
 that was called upon you. If you either tremble 
 or trifle in the Dodrine of the Trinity, the very 
 Badge of your Chriftianity is gone. This is the 
 main, the adequate, the original Senfe of Bap- 
 tifm. There are indeed feveral Articles of Faith. 
 That you may argue from having your Bodies 
 waQied with pure Water ; as, 
 
 I. The Supremacy of Chrlft over his Church. 
 If you comply with this Ordinance, upon his 
 Authority, you pay him as great a Deference as 
 ever Abraham did to the moil high God, when 
 he was circumcifed. Chrift in this adted as a Son Heb. iii. 
 ever his own Houfe. ^• 
 
 2. 
 
ty6 T^e DdSirine of B a ? t t s u, 
 
 Serm. 2. You may plead from hence the Atonement 
 VIII. that he has made, becaufe Baptifm is for the 
 
 *-— vf-' Remiflion of Sins, from which he has waftied us 
 r h ^ ^^ ^^^ ^"^^ Blood. This is he who came not 
 
 6. " ^' ^y Water only but by fVaier and Bloody for with- 
 
 Heb. ix. out xhtjhedding of Blood there could be no Re- 
 
 22r miflion. 
 
 3. Sanflification of the Spirit is another Doc- 
 trine belonging to this Ordinance. Wafhing is 
 
 Tit iii, 5. an Emblem of Regeneration, and the renewing of 
 the Holy Ghoji. Therefore, all thefe Truths that 
 relate to the Neceflity and Sufficience of a Grace 
 from above are included in your Profefiion. 
 
 4. The Refurredion from the Dead is a thing 
 of which Baptifm is a Figure, an Earneft, and 
 an Introduction. If the Dead rife not at all, 
 
 I Cor. XV. why are we baptized for the Dead ? That is, 
 a9* (without any Buzz of critical Learning) why arc 
 
 we baptized in Hope of this Refurredlion ? 
 
 5. Eternal Life is another Article of Faith 
 that we may argue from Baptifm. Thefe and 
 feveral more are not only Doflrines of the Gof* 
 pel, but they are refembled and hinted at in this 
 very Ordinance ; but a Trinity of Perfons, in 
 the Unity of the Godhead, is flill more confpi- 
 cuous in the ProfelTion that you made when 
 your Bodies were wafhed with pure Water. 
 
 I. This is not declared with a Train of Con- 
 fequences, but is the plain unaftlfted Interpreta- 
 tion of the Words ; 'tis impolTible to avoid it. 
 In many Scriptures we prove the Deity and Per- 
 fonality of the Son and Holy Ghoft by rational 
 Dedudlions, comparing fpiritual Things with 
 fpiritual. But in the Ordinance of Baptifm 'tis 
 the immediate Propofition itfelf. We don't take 
 any length of Argumentation. It comes like 
 the Light of the Morning, even a Morning 
 
 with- 
 
The DoEirine of B A ? r i s ul 177 
 
 v/ithout Clouds ; it demonftrates its felf, and Serm. 
 fiiines with no other Evidence than its own. VIII. 
 There needs no Chain of Thought, no connect- 
 ing of one Thing to another ; but it lies open at 
 firll look, he that runs may read it, 
 
 I think, we are obliged by this A61 of Pro- 
 feflion to believe the Imputation of Chrift's 
 Righteoufnefs, the Efficacy of his Grace, and 
 the Reality of his Empire ; but thefe are Things 
 afar off in Comparifon of the plain and primitive 
 Declaration that we have made, of one glorious 
 Name, belonging equally and dijlin^ly to Father^ 
 Son, and Holy Ghoft. 
 
 2. This is the only "DoEfrine that is exprefled 
 in the Ordinance -, and therefore to drop this is 
 to lofe all. Others, as I faid, are fuppofed by it, 
 and may be deduced from it, but Baptifm is com- 
 menfurate to the Article of the Trimly. It in- 
 cludes no lefs, and it reaches no farther. 'Tis- 
 the whole Senfe of that Solemnity. I think that 
 Baptifm may .be pleaded againft a Peh.gian or 
 Arminian^ but I'm fure it mujt againft an Anti- 
 trinitarian. 
 
 The Lord's Supper is a Ihowing forth of 
 Chrift's Death, and a Declaration of our Hope 
 in his coming again ; fo that if a Perfon denied 
 either of thefe Articles, he would rather contradict 
 the Ordinance than obferve it. Theie are the 
 particular immediate Profefiions that we make in 
 partaking of the Body and Blood of the Lord ; 
 and, in like Manner the Truth connected to the 
 other Sacrament, is that of one divine Nature in 
 three diftinft and equal Perfons. 
 
 3. As this Do6trine is initial to our Profefllon, 
 fo it is fundamental to it. Every other Truth 
 has its Dependancehere. You will eafily fee how 
 vain it is, to fpeak of our Eledion according to 
 the Fore- knowledge of the Father, if we do noc 
 
 N la/ 
 
The DoSirine ^t/* B a p t i s M. 
 
 lay the Ground of all in this, that the Father is a 
 divine Assent. To ai'cribe Adions to him fup- 
 pofes him to be a Ferfon^ to expedt a Glory from 
 him, takes it for granted that he is God. If there- 
 fore we ihould ever doubt either of thefe •, if we 
 make him no more than a Power or a Faculty, 
 no higher than a Creature or a dependent Being, 
 all the Scheme of his Decrees, Operations, and 
 Defigns, will fall to the Ground. Th^ Man 
 who does not own thefe two Characters in the 
 eternal Father, would be only guilty of building 
 in the Air, let him write never fo well of Crea- 
 tion, Providence, and Grace. We (hould ex- 
 pe(5t if any one was to acquaint us with the De- 
 crees, the Works, the Defigns, the Promifes, 
 and Laws of the Father, that he fhould firft be 
 at a Point who this Father is. We could not 
 have Communion with an Attribute, we could 
 not have Salvation from a Creature. 
 
 And juft fo it is, when we fpeak of the Son 
 and Spirit. If the Son is called God^ and is not 
 a Perfon, he is but the Power of the Father, and 
 therefore not diftinguifhed from him. If he is 
 called a 'Perfon^ and yet not God, he is but a 
 Creature derived from the Father, and therefore 
 not united to him ; and in both thefe Turns the 
 Form of Baptifm would be impatient j and if 
 either of them be true, I can have no perfonal 
 Communion with him, or no entire Dependance 
 on him ; becaufe my Communion and Depen- 
 dance are not concerned with any additional 
 (ilory that he may receive, but what he is iji 
 himfelf, in his own original Nature. 'Tis in vain 
 to tell one of the Redemption that he wrought 
 out, and the Righteoufnefs that he brought in, 
 if I mud not know who it is that did all this. 
 For if he has Perfonality in no other Nature than 
 the Humane, he is a nuer Marty and has no more 
 
 Divinity 
 
I'he DoBrine of B a ? r i s u. 179 
 
 Divinity than God might have communicated Serm. 
 to any other Creature. He is no more a God VIII. 
 than the Sanduary or the Temple was, for the v.— -v— ' 
 Fulnefs of the Godhead, according to fuch an 
 Explication, dwelt in them. 
 
 And thus it is as to the Holy Spirit : If he is 
 below the Son in his Exiftence, and the Son him- 
 felt no more than a Derivation from the Father, 
 I dare never truft him for what none but the 
 Supreme God can do, and will never give him 
 a Glory which none but the Supreme God fhould 
 have. He is too low to fandily a Sinner, to 
 preferve a Saint, to infpire a Prophet, to furnifh 
 an Apoftle, to make a World, and to fill a Hea- 
 ven. Either this Scheme faith too little, or the 
 Scripture has faid too much. If he is only an 
 Attribute of the divine Nature, I will never di- 
 ftinguifh him from the Father, any more than I 
 would his Holinefs, Juftice, or Mercy, but ra- 
 ther fpeak of God under iwo Trinities inftead 
 of one. 
 
 So that, 'till the firft Profefilon is fettled, all 
 Religion is at a Stand. We know not who our 
 God is. There ought to be a Sufpence of Bap- 
 tifm ; an Embargo laid upon the Ordinance, 
 or elfe upon the Mouths of thofc that pervert the 
 Do6trine. A Perfon who pretends to rcflify the 
 Foundation defigns no lefs than to pull down the 
 Building. For if the Foundations are dejlroyed^ pf. xi. 3. 
 or, if they are rotten and uncertain, what can 
 the Righteous do ? We are to begin again. 
 
 I am in the next Difcourfe to (how you the 
 Duty and NeceflTity of holding faft this Profeffion 
 without wavering j and ihali confider the Argu- 
 ments againft it. As, 
 
 Firji, That " it's definable there fhould be an 
 
 *' Union of all the Trinitarian Schemes, Atha- 
 
 N 2 *' nafianj 
 
i8o T'he DoEirim of B av r i s m; 
 
 Serm. " nafian, Arian, and Sabellan.'* But let me 
 VIII. tell you, that fuch a Medley and Jumble as that 
 is fitter for Babel than Zion. 
 
 Secondly, *Tis urged that " we muft not con- 
 " tinue to lie down in Darknefs, that this is a po- 
 '* lite Age, and that Men will not be put off with 
 " the Notion that a Dodrine is incomprehenfi- 
 ** ble." Such Talk as that favours of too much 
 Arrogance and Vanity. 
 
 Thirdly, 'Tis faid that " the primitive Church 
 " and the Jewijh Writers take the Matter other- 
 " wife.'* And, again, it is propofed that Men 
 deftroy the Faith for the Sake of Charity j but I 
 hope it is not impoffible to put to Silence the 
 Ignorance of foolifli Men. 
 
 SER- 
 
T^he DoElrim of B a ?*t i s u, i8i 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 Holding fafl: the Dodrine fuppofes that we 
 beUeve it to be true, upon no other Evi- 
 dence than that of Scripture ^ 'tis the Re- 
 fult of an Examination. The Story of 
 the Bereans told fairly. We fee it to be 
 our own Concern. We go no farther 
 than Revelation, without any Enquiry 
 about the Modus. We profefs it, we 
 defend it j in an Unity with the Saints; 
 all Errors come in with a Pretence of 
 clearer Ideas. We are willing to run all 
 Hazards in promoting and abounding ia 
 the Faith. 
 
 HAVE confidered the great and aw- 
 ful Truft that is committed to us in 
 the Ordinance of Baptifm, thofe Vows 
 of God that are upon us ; and that is- 
 a Profefllon of the Faith or Hope, in regard to 
 which our Bodies are waflied with pure Water. 
 The Matter of this Faith, the Thing we profefs 
 to believe, the Reafon of the Hope that is in us 
 is no other than the Do(5lrine of three Perfons in 
 one undivided Nature. When any Convert took 
 up the Chriftian Name, the World of Jews or 
 N 3 Hea- 
 
1 8 2 The DoSirine o/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 Serm. Heathen who were round about him, would not 
 
 IX. only know what he did, but what he believed : 
 
 *— -V— *-* Their Faith was /poke of throughout the whole 
 Rom.i.8. Yv^Q,|j^ 
 
 The JSIion of Baptifm was publick, by which 
 they declared their Homage to the Lord Jefus ; 
 now this would be only to glory in a Ceremony, 
 unlefs the Do5irine of Baptifm was publick too. 
 'Twas not the Water but the Article •, not wafh- 
 ing away the Filth of the Flefh, but the Anfwer 
 of a good Confcience to that awful Truth, that 
 is fo much above the Comprehenfion of all 
 created Nature -, that there is but one Name be- 
 longing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft ; that 
 thefe are three^ or otherwife they had never been 
 diflinguifhed -, if one of them is a Perfon, then 
 all are lb. That we are given up to each with equal 
 Devotion, Dependance, and Duty : And yet tho* 
 they are no fewer in number than tbreCj in Nature 
 and Title, they are no more than one. We are 
 not baptized into ibree Names, but as the Form of 
 found Words tells us, into one and no more. 
 
 This is the Faith delivered to us in the Bible ; 
 the initial and principal Dodrine of Chriftianity, 
 and therefore engraven upon that Ordinance, in 
 which we are given up to be the Lord's. He 
 that is baptized profefTes himfelf in that very 
 Solemnity to be a Trinitarian. If he does not 
 take the Words in their natural Senfe, and as all 
 other People do, he trifles both with God and 
 Man. 
 
 The Jews hate our Baptifm, not becaufe it*s 
 managed either by Sprinkling or Plunging -, *tis 
 not the Water that gives them any Offence, for 
 they have divers Wafhings among themfelves : 
 But that which makes it Foolifhnefs to them, is 
 our being equally devoted to the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Spirit. So that it's upon the Unitarian 
 
 Prin- 
 
He DoSirine ^Baptism. 
 
 Principle that they objedl againll the very En- 
 trance into our Religion. They fbumble at that 
 ftumbling Stone, which is to us a Foundation. • 
 
 In Oppofition to them and the Heathen too, ^^°"'' ^*^- 
 we are baptized ; that is our vifible Diftinclion 
 from them ; and in doing fo, we declare our 
 Faith in a Doftrine which they cannot receive, 
 an Unity of Nature fubfifting equally in a Tri- 
 nity of Perfons : 'Tis this that denominates us 
 Chriftians ; this is the Profeffion of Faith and 
 Hope that we made in Baptifm. 
 
 II. I am now to confider the Duty incum- 
 bent on us with regard to this Profefiion of 
 Faith ; and that includes both the Temper of 
 our Minds and the Bufinefs of our Lives, we are 
 to hold it f aft -, and muft do this, as 1 may fhow 
 you under the third general Head, without wa- 
 vering ; without fhrinking back, leaning, or in- 
 clining to the Extreams of Error, on the right 
 Hand, or on the left. In this Affair, above all 
 others, we are to be (leddy, fixed, and at a 
 Point. Jefus Chrift is the fame Tefterday, to Bay, Heb. xiii. 
 and for ever ; therefore be not carried away with ' ^' 
 divers andftrange Doctrines. 
 
 I fhall no,w endeavour to fhow you what this 
 holding faft of our Profeffion means. The 
 Word nx^Ti^oi is what we often meet with in the 
 New Teftament •, and whatever it is applied to, 
 it never fails to fignify a Refolution, a Care, a 
 full Purpofe of Heart, not to lofe what we have. 
 It intimates a Poffeffwn, and it expreffcs a Firm- 
 nefs of Soul to keep it. If you therefore confider 
 what a Perfon owns to be his Faith, when he 
 gives up either himfeif or his Child to God in 
 Baptifm ; what the Profeffion is which he then 
 makes, what Form of Words Clirift has put in 
 his Mouth •, his holding this faft through all the 
 N 4 Toil 
 
1 84 'The DoSirine of B a? t isu. 
 
 Serm. Toil and Length of Life comprehends the fol- 
 IX. lowing Particulars. 
 
 1. It fuppofes that he knows from the Scrip- 
 tures that the Do6lrine is true. 
 
 2. That this Knowledge is the Fruit of perfo' 
 nal Trial and Examination. 
 
 3. That he finds the Concernment of his own 
 Soul in it. 
 
 4. That he binds up himfelf within the Reve- 
 lation that is given him ; he believes neither more 
 nor lefs than the Bible has told him about it. 
 
 5. That he will never keep it as a Secret ; for 
 we do not only hold faft our Faith, but the very 
 Profejfion of it. 
 
 6. That he believes himfelf obliged to defend 
 jt againft all Gainfiyers. 
 
 7. 1 hat in domg this he prefcrves an Unity 
 with God's People ; For the Proftfiion we hold 
 fait is not a private Opinion, a Spark of our 
 own Kindling, but a <>//.«Aoj^/a we fpeak toge- 
 ther. 
 
 8. That he will run all Hazards in his Repu- 
 tation and Tntereft : The very Comman:; to keep 
 jt does plainly infmuate that it's no eafy Matter. 
 
 9. That he will fpread and promote it to th? 
 Uttermoft. 
 
 10. That he will endeavour to be farther 
 eftablifhed, abounding in every Do5frine to which 
 he has attained. This is to hold faft the Profef-» 
 fion of Faith and Hope that we made in Baptifm, 
 and without fuch a Temper of Soul towards the 
 Dodrine, and fuch a Care of Life to maintain it, 
 the Water applied to us is no better than Water 
 fpilt upon the Ground, that cannot be gathered. 
 
 I. *Tis fuppofed both in our making this 
 Profeflion and holding it faft, that we believe it 
 
 to 
 
"the DoBrine of B a ? r j s u, 1 85 
 
 to be true. Thou art to know the Certainty of Serm, 
 the Wurds of 'Truths that tiiou mayeft anfwer the IX. 
 Words of Truth to them that lend unto thee. ' — ,r-y 
 The Argument of this Faith, is, not its Agree- ^^° ^^''* 
 ment to human Reafon ; no, I cannot fee, that ' 
 revealed Rdigion, is any more fuited to our Rea- 
 fon than it is to our Lufts -, that is, no more to 
 the Lufts of the Mind than to thofe of the FJcfli : 
 Imaginations and high Thoughts exalt themfeives 
 (i^ainfi I he Knowledge of the Son of God. ' 2 Cor» 
 
 I don't fpc ak of Reafon, as it was before the ^' 3* 
 Fall, for there is no fuch Thing in the World \ 
 I would be underftood of a Reafon that we have, 
 not or one that we have not : /'. e. a corrupted 
 Faculty, which the Scripture has called by the 
 Name of a carnal Mind, or the natural Man^ Rom, viil. 
 and of which we are exprefsly told, that it re- 7- 
 csives not the Things of the Spirit of God, be- ' °^' "* 
 caufe they are Foolifhnefs to it, neither can it 
 know them, becaufe they are fpiritually difcerned. 
 Our Underffandings are darkened by a Vanity of Eph. Iv. 
 Mind, being alienated from the Life of God ^7. '3. 
 through the Ignorance that is in us, becaufe of ^^'"' ^' 
 the Blindnefs of our Hearts. We are meer 
 Darknefs. 
 
 To fay there is nothing in the Do(5lrines of 
 the Gofpel oppofite to a corrupted Reafon, is 
 talking both againft Grace and Nature, We are 
 plainly told that the World by theirlVifdom knew not ' Cor. I. 
 God. I queftion whether tne meer Lightof Nature ^** 
 ever taught any after the Flood, that there was but 
 one God, or that he alone was to be v/orfhiped. 
 The firft Commandment of the Law llrikes as 
 much at all the Sentiments of the Heathen as the 
 firft Do6trine of the Gofpel does, Thoufhalt have 
 no other Gods before me. ' The Num. her of their 
 Deities v/as a growing thing, and indeed they 
 iprung very faft. Some of the beft Morality 
 
 that 
 
1 86 The DoSirim ^'Baptism. 
 
 Serm. that we have among the Philofophers is from 
 IX. thofe who talk of 30,000 Gods and Goddefles j 
 v-^-v-^^J fo wild and wanton was the Reafon of Man un- 
 der the leaft Attainments of Learning : And leaft 
 of all can I think they had any Imagination 
 about a trinity of Perfons. The Quotations I 
 have met with from thofe who ftudied their 
 Writings, are poor, confufed, and empty Fan- 
 cies. So that a Perfon who believes, as he is 
 called to do, that there is but one Name belong- 
 ing to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, does not 
 receive it as a Thing that Man's IVifdom teaches. 
 There's no Book in all the World that would 
 reveal it, but one •, and our Affent to it is upon 
 no other Ground than the Teftimony of God. 
 We don't believe it as we do many Things upon 
 ocular Demonftrations, for he is one whom no 
 I Tim. vi. Man has feen^ nor can fee ; Nor is it by rational 
 16. Deduction, and a Train of Thinking •, for can'ft 
 
 Jobxi. thou by fearching /W (?a^ Gody can'ft thou find 
 7' ^' out the Almighty to Perfedion .'' No, it's higher 
 than Heaven and deeper than Hell, what can'ft 
 thou know ? But it's the Account that God, who 
 alone comprehends his own Nature, is pleafed to 
 give us of it : And though I would neither have 
 fuppofed it, nor am I able to explain it, yet he 
 has faid it v/ho cannot lye. 
 
 In many Cafes the Charafler of the Witnefs 
 depends upon the Evidence of the Teftimony : 
 If he fays a true 'Thing we know him to be a 
 true Perfon ; but here the Evidence of the Tefti- 
 mony depends upon the Charadter of the Wit- 
 nefs : We cannot prove he fays it, becaufe it^s 
 true •, (we have no Ideas of it antecedent to his 
 John ill. Teftimony) but it is trut becaufe he has faid it. 
 33- He that receives the Teftimony has fet to his 
 
 Seal that God is true. His meer Authority 
 
 goes 
 
The DoSirine of B at r is u. 
 
 goes as far in a Docflrine as it does in a Com- 
 mand. 
 
 I'll not let my Thoughts loofe upon a copious 
 Argument, whether the Scripture has revealed 
 to us a Trinity of Peifons in the Unity of the 
 Godhead. Keep but to the Form of Baptifm. 
 Here's a Man called to this Ordinance -, he does 
 it in Obedience to Jefus Chrift, who has all 
 Power both in Heaven and Earth j and is head 
 over all Things in the Church. Well, Chriff, 
 in directing him to the Praflice, has told him 
 what he means by it. 
 
 This Form muft be intelligible. He has gi- 
 ven me no Explication of it, which fuppofes that 
 he thought it plain enough. Now, if there had 
 been never a Syllable in all the Bible about the 
 Equality of the Son and Spirit with the Father, 
 and their Diftindion from him ; the very Decla- 
 ration that I make in Baptifm by his own Ap- 
 pointment i's enough. I muft conclude this is 
 the Faith delivered to the Saints, becaufe it was 
 fo early profefTed by the Saints. If the Dodrine 
 is falfe, Chrift has put a Lye in my Mouth, if 
 the Words are not eafy, he has put a TnJIe there. 
 He has called me to a ProfeiTion that I cannot 
 believe, and that others cannot underftand. But 
 that be far from him, the Words of the Lord 
 are pure Words •, we receive the Truth as it is in 
 Jefus. We know that the Son of God is come, 
 and has given us an Underftanding, that we may 
 know him that is true^ and we are in hini that is i John 
 true ; this is the true God, and this is eternal v. 20. 
 Life. 
 
 2. Holding faft this Profeflion fuppofes that 
 we know it to be the Dodrine of the Scriptures, 
 from a particular Trial and Examination. 'Till 
 you have proved all Things you will never hold 
 faft that which is good. The Bereans are migh- 
 
 I tily 
 
Hoe DoSirine ^Baptism. 
 
 tily extolled by fome in our Days, (I wifh they 
 were as much imitated) for taking nothing upon 
 Truft. For obferve what is faid of them, upon 
 which they are more noble than thofe of The/- 
 falonica. 
 
 A^sxvii. Firfi^ That they received the Word with all 
 -H' Readinefs of Mind : They were glad to hear it ; 
 
 they did not call the Preachers a Company of 
 Impoftors and Enthufiafts, or reje6l the Doftrine 
 without Enquiry ; for though they received no- 
 thing uponTrz^, yet they admitted every Thing 
 upon Trial. 
 
 Secondly^ They fe arched the Scriptures daily 
 whether the Things were fo or no, which is an 
 Argument that they looked for no higher Au- 
 thority, and no greater Evidence. If they found 
 the Do6trines there, they never brought them to 
 the Bar of human Reafon, or ftrained them up- 
 on Maxims of Philofophy, but were glad to own 
 whatever God was pleafed to fay. 
 
 We have had, through the gracious Hand of 
 Providence, the firft Principles of the Oracles of 
 God in a proper Light. Ours has been the Val- 
 ley of Vifion. Our ferious Parents had the bed: 
 Catechifm in all the World in their Hands, and it 
 was early put into our Mouths : But without 
 any Defign to diminifli the Reputation of the 
 Bible -, the People that fay this are as foolifli as 
 they are rude. There's not a 'Jhiki that has 
 learned two Anfwers in that Catechifrn but is able 
 to confront them : For the fecond Anfwer is, that 
 the Word of CJod contained in the Scriptures of 
 the Old and New Tejiament is the only Rule 
 (not meerly a good one, or the beft, but the 
 only Rule) that God has given us^ how we may 
 glorify and enjoy him. And therefore, * 
 
 * Men 
 
The DoSirine of B a ? t t s u, 1 8g 
 
 Men who infinuate that we fet up this Form Semr. 
 of found Words as a Rival to the Bible, have IX. 
 taught us not to heed what they fay, for it's v— ^/-* 
 plain they do not heed it themfelves. The feve- 
 ral Propofitions there have a Guard of Scriptures 
 fet about them, which every one that reads the 
 Book calls by no other Name than Proofs. The 
 Catechifm itfelf is proved and tried, and after 
 this we hold it fall. 
 
 I may therefore apply to any one who was 
 brought up in this Nurture and Admonition of 
 the Lord, as Paul did to Timothy -, continue in the 
 Things that thou haft heard and been affured of, 2 Tim, 
 knowing of whom thou haft learned them. And *'^- '+' 
 who were thefe ^. Not the Apoflle himfelf, for 
 he fpeaks of what Tiinothy had learned antece- 
 dent to their Acquaintance. Though I know the 
 Liberty that fome have taken with our Educa- 
 tion, yet Timothy^s was from his Mother and 
 Grandmother, for his Father was a Greek ; and 2 Tim. 
 he puts it at laft upon this, that from a Child '• i" . 
 thou haft known the holy Scriptures, which are 2. 
 able to make thee wife. 
 
 We muft be able to fpeak from perfonal En- 
 quiries as they did to the Woman of Samaria ; 
 now we believe, not becaufe of thy faying, for 
 we have heard him ourfehes, and know that this John iv; 
 is indeed the Chrift, the Saviour of the World. 4-2- 
 
 That Propofition, [There are three Perfons in 
 the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghoft, and thefe three are one God, the fame in 
 Subftance, equal in Power and Glory,] is coht- 
 menfurate to the Form of Baptifm. If the Words 
 are taken in their eafy genuine Senfe, they fig- 
 nify neither more nor lefs, than that v/e are bap- 
 tized into the Name of the Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghoft, If there had not been three Perfons 
 in the Godhead we Ihould never have made 
 c, mention 
 
H^e DoElrlne jj/'Baptism. 
 
 mention of them in Baptifm : And if thefe three 
 were not one God, we fhould never have been 
 baptized into one Name. If they had not been 
 three Ferfons, they would never have been di- 
 ftinguiflied in the fame way of fpeaking that 
 three Perfons always are. And if they had not 
 been the fame in Nature, Subftance, or Effence, 
 then we muft conceive of more Gods than one. 
 And if they are not equal in Power and Glory, 
 their Inequality ought to be exprefled in the' 
 greateft A61: of Surrender, that we can poflibly 
 make of ourfelves or our Children. 
 
 3. 'Tis fuppofed in holding fall this Profeffion 
 of Faith, that we find the Concernment our Souls 
 1 Tim. have in it. We are nourijhed up in the Words of 
 iv. 6.^ Faith and good Do6trine ; they are wholfome 
 ^'* ^' Words, We are not called in Baptifm to de- 
 clare, whether the Sun or the Earth moves, 
 whether fome of the Stars are not bigger than 
 either of our great Lights -, becaufe, though 
 thefe Things may be true, they make us neither 
 better nor worfe. But 'tis of the lad Importance 
 to my Religion now and my Happinefs for ever, 
 to know with whom I have to do •, whether I am 
 to worfhip one God or three •, I am fenfible the 
 latter is Idolatry. Whether I am devoted to 
 three Perfons, or only to one, I fee that the latter 
 of thefe is Impiety. I have as much Reafon to 
 Heb. xii. think that Jellis is the Author and Finijher of my 
 J- .. .. Kaith, as I have that it is only God who works in 
 ' ' '■ me both to will and do, I depend upon the Holy 
 Spirit for Light and Grace, for Comfort and 
 James i. Heaven, as I do upon the Father cf Lights the 
 ' 7- God of all Grace, the God of all Confolations, the 
 
 - * Lord cf Heaven and Earth. And therefore. 
 Matt. xi. I cxprefs by the very Words that Chrift has 
 25. given me the equal Confidence and Intereft of 
 
 my Soul in all the Three. I cannot do without 
 
 the 
 
The DoBrim of B A ? r i s u, 
 
 the Son ; // he makes me free I am free indeed^ 
 
 but it I have not the Son of God, I have not Life. 
 
 Nor can I want the Holy Spirit, for as many 
 
 as have not the Spirit of Chrift are none of his. 
 
 This one God, thefe three Perfons, are revealed 
 
 as Sharers, Partners, and Equals in the Bulk of v. 
 
 my Salvation, and yet ever diftinguiflied in the ^°n^- viii. 
 
 various Diftributions that are made of it. Our |°iQUn : 
 
 Fellowfhip is with the Father and with his Son ,. 
 
 Jefus Chrifl. Take away my Baptifm, and you 
 
 ruin the Frontifpiece of my Profeflion j the 
 
 Thing that I firft did under the Title of Chrif- 
 
 tian. Take away the Doftrine of the Trinity^ 
 
 and you fap the Foundation of all that I have 
 
 as a Believer, and all that I hope for as an Heir 
 
 of Salvation. 
 
 4. 'Tis fuppofed in our holding faft this Pro- 
 feflion that we bind up ourfelves within the Re- 
 velation that God has given us -, that we believe 
 neither more nor lefs than the Scripture has faid. 
 Our Faith lies open to any Do6lrine that's con- 
 tained there, but not a Breath farther. We 
 have nothing to do with Philofophy and vain 
 Deceit, the Rudiments of the World, after the Col. ii. 8. 
 Traditions of Men, and not after Chrift. And 
 therefore thofe People have a Mind to pervert 
 the Gdfpel, who will needs darken this Counfel 
 of the Lord by Words without Knowledge, and ' 
 
 only draw us into new Terms, that they may rob 
 us of the old ones. As Satan comes not but to 
 kill, and to fteal, and to deftroy, fo 'tis a 
 thievilh Trick in Argumentation firft to lead 
 you out of the Road, and then to pick your 
 Pocket. 
 
 The Phrafe of three Perfons in one Nature we 
 have been long ufed to ; each of thefe are to be 
 maintained by a Flood of Scriptures, Rivers of 
 living Waters, and Streams from Lebanon : But 
 
 to 
 
7he DoStrine of B a ? t i & ul 
 
 to put it upon meer Whims, whether they are" 
 f^ree confcious Minds or one, three Intelligences^ 
 three Powers^ and a great deal more of that Lan- 
 guage, is all rattle and rumble ; and I hope 
 God will defend his Churches, by bringing down 
 If. XXV. 5. this Noife of Strangers, and making the Blaft 
 of the terrible One like a Storm againil a Wall. 
 
 I mull therefore differ from a late Projedor 
 of Schemes, who fays there " may be a certain 
 " Modus or Manner of Expreflion, wherein 'tis 
 *' true," and goes on to tell us, that " we 
 *' ought to fearch it out, and not lie down fatif- 
 *' fied in Darknefs : '* And concludes thus, 
 ** furejy we may venture to fay a more clear and 
 " intelligible Explication of this divine Doftrine 
 " of the Trinity, would be an unfpeakable Blef- 
 " fing to the Church and to the World." That 
 his Attempts this way have darkened the Doc- 
 trine, and bewildered the World, may be eafily 
 proved. 
 
 I am fo far from thinking this defirable, that 
 I fee the Humour to it is dangerous. Thoufands 
 have got to Heaven without it, and whether they 
 know the Modus of it there is more than I can 
 tell : If they do, they were never to have it 
 fooner *, and if they do not, they are happy 
 Pev. iv. 8. enough without it. They are full of Eyes, and 
 If. vi. 2. fay holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, but 
 they have each of them fix Wings, with two of 
 which they cover their Faces. 'Twill never be un- 
 eafy to them, that God dwells in that Light to 
 which none can approach. 
 
 The main Queftion before us is, whether the 
 Spirit has revealed the Modus of the I'rinity. if 
 he has not, I believe we may venture to fay he 
 will not, for 1 expe6l no Additions to the Bi- 
 ble : If he has, 'tis much that fo many vain Men 
 who would needs be wife, have got into a Wil- 
 
 derntfs, 
 
5^^ Do&rine of B a v r i s u, 
 
 dernefs, under no more Management than a wild 
 Afs's Colt. For my Part, I defire to be guided 
 by this Rule j When the Scripture has a Mouth 
 may I always have an Ear ; when that is filent, 
 let me be fo too. Secret Things belong to God, Deut. 
 and fo they ought to do -, he has held back the xxix. ult. 
 Face of his Throne -, Things revealed are enough J° ^^^'* 
 for us and our Children. The Dodrine of three "* 
 Perfons in one Nature has held for 1700 Years. 
 
 5. Holding fall: our Profeflion fignifies that 
 we will not keep it as a Secret. If it had been 
 only faid hold faft your Faith or your Hope, we 
 might have kept the Secret of God with us ; but 
 holding faft a Profejfion is continuing to be as 
 open as we begun. There is a Faith that we may ^o'"- ^^^i 
 have to our/elves before God ; but there's one of ,^ ^hef 
 another Nature, the Apoftle could no longer iii, 5. 
 forbear, but fent to know their Faith. 
 
 Minifters are fet up as Lights in the World, 
 and none but Men of ill Dcfigns will put them 
 into a dark Lanthorn. All Christians are to hold Phil.il. 16. 
 forth the Word of Life \ I own that Expreffion 
 fignifies their doing it in Things, but it certainly 
 includes their doing it in Words. IVe have be- 
 lieved^ and therefore have we fpoken, is an In- 
 ference that no honeftMan can deny. But, I have 
 fo largely confidered the Nature of this Duty, 
 theNeceffity that is always upon us to obferve it, 
 and anfwered the angry Arguments, the railing 
 Accufations that are brought againft it, that I 
 muft refer you to the 28 Sermons upon that 
 Subje6t. 
 
 6. Holding faft this Profeflion calls us to de- 
 fend it, both the Do6lrine itfelf that we believe, 
 and the Pra6tice of making it known to others. 
 They that labour in the Word and Doctrine are 
 to endure Hardnefs ^s good Soldiers of Jefus ^ Tim. ii. 
 Chrift. He that comes into the Miniftry, and 3. 
 
 O for- 
 
Matt. 
 
 The DoBri?ie ^t/" B a p t i s m. 
 
 forgets that he is in a Field of Battle, has miftaken 
 his Errand and deceived himfelf. You don't fee 
 in your Preachers Men cloathed in foft Raiment ; 
 fuch are only to be found in King's Houfes, but 
 2 Tim, ^^ 2re, or ought to be Warriors, that don't entangle 
 ii. 4. tbeiufehes with the Affairs of this Life^ that they 
 may pleafe him zvho has chofen them to befoldiers. 
 
 Why do they give themfelves to Reading and 
 Exhortation ? What are all the Pains they take 
 to have their Minds furnifiied with Learning ? 
 Why do they turn over fo many Vplumes, is it 
 only to fay how much they have done^ and not 
 care hew little they have^i?/. Are all the Argu- 
 ments tliey lay up from Antiquity, Criticilm, 
 Obfcrvation, and Reafoning, to lie by like fo 
 much riiHy Armour that's only to be looked at ? 
 No, no ; if they are faithful, they will have 
 Occafion for it. all. And lb will all the People 
 of God. There's not any Believer, but as he 
 has the Inftru6tion of the Spirit for his own 
 Eftablifhm.ent -, fo he is, in fome Meafure, qua- 
 lified to plead the Caufe of his great Redeemer. 
 God has ordained Strength out of the Mouths of 
 Pf. viii. z. 'Bales and Sucklings^ to Jlill the Eneny and the 
 Avenger. 
 
 Hum.an Learning is very ufcful, and it has 
 been wonderiully blefied to the fecuring of this 
 fundamental 'J 'ruth. My Heart is tov/ards thole 
 great Men in Ifrael^ who have Vv'illing'y offered 
 themfelves among the People \ but ftili the Suc- 
 cefs has fometimes gone along by Demonftration 
 of the Spirit and of Power. The Story is fo fre- 
 quently told, that it mull be commonly known 
 of a cunning Philofopher, who had baffled fome 
 of the greateft Dodtors in Chriftianity, 'till a 
 plain illiterate Man attacked him ■, and then, as 
 himffli tell . the Matter, fays he., " I could op- 
 " pofc Reafon to Reaion, i_earning to Le-.rning, 
 
 *' ^nd 
 
7Z^ DoEirine of B a ? t i s m. 
 
 " and Authority to Authority j but I could 
 " oppofc nodiing to the Spirit I yielded to him 
 " at once." 
 
 You're not called to difpute about the cognofi- 
 tive and volitive Powers of God, about three con- 
 fcious Minds, about a numerical or fpecifical 
 Identity, or indeed about any thing, which nei- 
 ther you nor the Adverfary can underftand ; but 
 I truft you are eftablifhed, and have many Scrip- 
 tures within reach to maintain, 
 
 That there is but one living and true God : 
 That this great Name, and the Works peculiar 
 to it are equally affirmed of Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghoft: : That there are as properly three 
 Perfons as there is one j that I need no other 
 Arguments that the Son and Holy Ghoft are 
 Perfons, than thofe that are owned to prove the 
 Father fo. If the Queilion is, whether thefe 
 Things are to be explained tell them no, 'tis im- 
 pious to attempt it -, if the Queftion is whether 
 they are revealed, tell them yes, and it is impious 
 to deny it. 
 
 7. In holding faft your ProfeiTion you pre- 
 fer ve an Union with the People of God, not only 
 in your own Age and Country, but in all thofe 
 afar off either as to Place or Time ; nay, v/ith 
 them that come after, Jefus is the fame 2^ejlerda)\ Hcb. xiii. 
 to Day, and for ever. The Oppofition now made 8. 
 to the Truth, and the fhuffling Arts that are ufed 
 againft it, are what they have met with who v/ere 
 of old Time before us. Men have tried their 
 feveral Ways, to embarrafs this Doclrine, and 
 not one of them with any other Pretence, than to 
 give clear and diflin£t Ideas, and to fecure the 
 Unity of the Godhead ; and ftili after thefe trou- 
 bled Waters have caft forth all their Mire and 
 Dirt, the Truth has refined and fettled juft in the 
 fame Way. 
 
 O 2 The 
 
"The DoBrine (?/" B a p t i s m. 
 
 The Faith we contend for is not a Thing yet 
 unknown, a Futurity, a Referve for fome politer 
 Age, and fome inquifitive Genius, but it is once 
 delivered to the Saints. The Word aVa^ figni- 
 fies both that it's delivered already and at once. 
 We have not this Doftrine, as fome others \ like 
 the Light of the Morning, fhining more and 
 more, but the Spirit gave it in perfed Day. The 
 Church of Chrift has got no farther in this Arti- 
 cle, than they did at the Beginning, and I hope 
 never will. And therefore for Perfons to be 
 pleafed with Imaginations of fome Difcoveries 
 that are yet to come, looks as if they thought 
 the Secret of God was with them, and they had 
 reftraincd Wifdom to themfelves. May I never 
 deliver any thing but what you have heard /r<7W 
 the Beginning. We write no other Things to you 
 2 Cor. i. than what you read and acknowledge, and I 
 '3- truft Jloall acknowledge them to the End. 
 
 I obferved that the Word Profeflion o/y-oAoj/ia 
 fignifies a fpeaking together. 'Twould be all 
 Confufioa for every one to have a Pfalm, every 
 one a Doflrine : It argues an Imperfection in the 
 Scripture, a Deficiency in the Holy Spirit j but 
 what God has done iliall be for ever, no Man can 
 put to it, nor any Man take from it. There's no- 
 thing that the Holy Ghoft has expreflcd more of 
 his Contempt againll, than the Humour of thofe 
 who would be thought the Wife, the Scribes, 
 
 1 Ccr. i. the Difputers of this World, or the Enquirers 
 2°- c-jC^y^Yira,]^ who arc always doting about ^lejtions. 
 
 And becaufe there are fome who value them- 
 felves upon an inquifitive fearching Humour, 
 jct me only put you in Mind of what the Scrip- 
 ture itfelf has faid againft thofe v/ho feek out 
 many Inventions. 1 he Things that thou haft 
 
 2 Tim. ii. heard of me amiOng many \\ itnelfes, the fame 
 2- commit thou to faithful Men, who fliall be able 
 
 ot 
 
 1 Tim. vi 
 4- 
 
'The Do^rine ^Baptism. 
 
 to teach others alfo. We read of fome, who 
 creep into Houfes, and lead captive filly Women 
 laden with Sins, and led away with divers Lulls : 
 Ever learning, and never able to come to the Know- zTim ni. 
 ledge of the T'ruth \ now as la'rmes and lambres ~~ 
 did refill Mofes, fo do thefe alfo refill the Truth, 
 Men of corrupt Minds, and reprobate concerning 
 the Faith : But they fhall proceed no farther, 
 for their Folly fhall be manifell as theirs alfo was ; 
 but thou hd.^ fully known my Dooirine, manner of 
 Life, Purpofe, Faith, Long-fuffering, Charity, 
 ^c. Evil Men and Seducers fhall wax worfe Ver. 13, 
 and worfe, deceiving and being deceived. If '+• 
 we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gal. i. 8, 
 Gofpel than that we have preached, let him be 9- 
 accurfed. As we faid before, fo fay I now again, 
 if any Man preach any other Gofpel to you, 
 than you have received, let him be accurfed. A Tit. i. g. 
 Bifhop is to hold fall the faithful Word as he has 
 been taught, that he may be able by found Doc- 
 trine both to exhort and convince the Gain-fayers. 
 Whoever denies the Son the fame has not the 
 Father, Let that therefore abide in you which i Johnii. 
 ye have heard from the Begi)mi?ig •, if that which 23, 24. 
 ye have heard from the Beginning fnall remain 
 in you, ye Ihall continue in the Son and in the 
 Father. 
 
 8. If we hold fad our ProfefTion we mull 
 run all Hazards both in our Reputation and 
 Intereil. The Man who is not content to be 
 called a Fool or an Enthufiaft for Chritt's Sake, 
 has more of flelhly Wifdom in him than the 
 Grace of God. All that will live godly in Chrift ^ Tim. 
 Jefus fl^all fuffer Perfecution. A timorous cau- 
 tious Temper that makes us afraid to fpeak what 
 we think, and to teftify what we know does but 
 prove that Men are lovers of themfelves. 
 
 O 2 There 
 
 111. 
 
1 93 T^he DoEirine ^/Baptism, 
 
 Serm. There are Riches not only in the Perfon and 
 
 IX. Do6trine but in the Reproach of Chrift -, Mofes 
 
 thought fo, when he had no other Choice before 
 
 him but either of a Palace or a Brick- kihi. And 
 
 j^ the Apoft'.e took Pleafure in Infirmities, in Re- 
 
 lo. proaches^ in Neceffities, in Perfecutions, in Di- 
 
 ItrefTes, for Chriil's Sake. 
 
 'Tis a plaufible Excufe, but it will fcarce ever 
 hold in a Day of Temptation, that we are to live 
 Matt. X. in Peace. Chrift tells us, nay ; he came into 
 ^\ the World to fend Divifton ; that is, if Men 
 
 22. ' will feparate you from their Company, and fp -sk 
 all Manner of Evil againft you for his Sake, \rx 
 them go on, commit yourfelves to him that 
 judges righteoufly. 1 have been pleafed with a 
 Paflage in Dr. Owen^ and hope I can adopt it into 
 my own Cafe. " I can frtcly fay, that I know 
 *' not that Man in EnglancL who is willing to go 
 " farther in Forbearance, Love, and Commu- 
 *' nion with all that fear God, and hold the 
 " Foundation, than I am ; but this is never to 
 " be done by a Condefcenfion from the Exad:- 
 " nefs of the Icaff Apex of Gofpiil-Truth." 
 
 9. Holding this faft is promoting it to the 
 uttermoft. This is what you owe to Chnft by 
 way of Homage, and to the Souls of Men by 
 way of Pity. 
 
 10. Endeavouring to be more eftablifhed in it. 
 We ought often to hear of thofe Truths that we 
 are always to ufe. This is like your daily Bread ; 
 there's not a Prayer that you put up, but it muft 
 regard three Peribns in one glorious Nature. 
 Thus as ye have received Chrift Jefus the Lord, 
 
 Col. ii. fo walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and 
 ^> 7- eftabliflied in the Faith, as ye have been taught, 
 abounding therein with Thankfgiving. 
 
 SER- 
 
72^ DoBrine ^Baptism. 199 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 The Principles upon wliich People waver 
 in the Faith j a Conceit of our own Ca- 
 pacity to difcovermorc of God tlian others. 
 A modern Inftance of this in our Scheme- 
 makers. A Fancy that we have found out 
 the great Secret. Human Inventions as 
 bad in Dodrine as in Worfhip. {^Calvin 
 and Dr. Owen, compared with another 
 Author,) a Suppofition that God wants 
 •our Help to clear up his Revelation. A 
 Love of Praife. An ungodly Charity. A 
 wrangling Humour, An lndiftx:rence. 
 An Independence upon Divine Teaching. 
 
 HE Apoftle has told us with what Serm. 
 
 an Unity of Conduct, what Tern- X. 
 
 per of Mind, and Stability of Soul, *- — \/ — 
 
 we are to hold faft this ProfeiTion 
 of our Faith and Hope -, it mull be done ay.Xir/t 
 without wavering. We are not to waver either 
 about the Faith itfelf that God has delivered to 
 us, or the Profejfion in which we deliver it to 
 others. The Faith is to be kept pure and un- 
 corrupted, our Profeflion of it open and ii neon- 
 founded. Each of thefe are to be held faft with 
 Steddinefs and Refolution. Watch ye, Jland fajl i Cor. 
 in the Faith, quityourfelves like Men, be ftrong. ^vi. 13. 
 *Tis in Profeffion as it is in Practice, we have 
 
 O 4 but 
 
200 'The DoSlrine ^Baptism. 
 
 Serm. but one Rule for them both. Let thine Eyes 
 X. look right on, and let thine Eye-lids look 
 X-— v-^' ftraight befor'^ thee ; ponder the Path of thy 
 Prov. viii. Fett, and Ici. all thy Ways be eftablifhed, turn 
 ^^' ^^'> not to the Right nor to the Left^ remove thy Foot 
 ^' from Evil. 
 
 You fee by this Caution, that i"'s not enough 
 wc don't deny the Truth, but we are to hold it 
 faft without any Poil'ure of Cowardice, not like 
 Jamesi. 8. the double-minded Man, who \% unfichk in all 
 his Ways. Not allowing ouriHves in the leaft 
 Appearance of a Departure from the Things we 
 have received and been afilired of. 
 
 There are feveral Ways of Shuffling and Wa- 
 vering that don't amount to a grofs Infidelity, 
 (/. e. there are Hypocrites as well as Unbelievers) 
 but they bring us into the Danger of going far- 
 ther. A Man may indulge himfejf to th^ Hu- 
 mour of a ^ar'ffi^ fo long 'till he grows an 
 2 Tim. ii. Apofiate. There are profane and vain Babblings 
 *^- that will increafe to more Ungodlinefs. The 
 
 Principles by which many are defiled, you fee in 
 the following Collection, 
 
 1. A Conceit of our own Capacities, as if by 
 fearching we could find out the Almighty unto 
 Perfection. This Boldnefs makes us venture, 
 where Humility would make us tremble, to un- 
 ravel Myfterief, and arraign the Things of Faith 
 at the Bar of Reafon. 
 
 2. Another Root of Bitternefs is an Opinion 
 that we have found out the great Secret of Know- 
 ledge, which other Ages have laboured at in 
 vain. 
 
 3. There's the Vanity to fuppofe, that God 
 ftands in Need of our Help, to make what he 
 fays more (afy and evident. 
 
*The DoSirine of B a? r is u. 201 
 
 4. There's a Love to carnal Eafe and worldly Serm. 
 Reputation -, a Delight in the Praife of Men. X. 
 
 5. There's a falfe ungodly Charity, a ftrange 
 Fire that proceeds not from the Lord : A Cha- 
 rity that gives up the Honour of ReHgion, 
 meerly becaufe we will not be at the Pains to 
 defend it. 
 
 6. There's the Pride of a wrangling Humour ; 
 as if the Church of Chriji was only a Stage of 
 Battle, and his Name no more than an Engine of 
 Reputation. 
 
 7. Above all there's an Indifference or Chilncfs 
 of Confcience to the great Dodtrines of Godli- 
 nefs, they lofe their own nourifhing Quality, and 
 turn all into Phlegm and Choler. 
 
 8. There's an Infenfibility of the Need we are 
 under to be taught of God, enlightened with the 
 Spirit of Truth, and trained up in what we have 
 attained to. 
 
 Thefe are the Things that make us waver, 
 either in the Faith itfelf that is revealed to us, or 
 in the Profeffion that fhould hold forth the Word 
 of Life. You will eafily fee upon them all ; 
 that when Religion comes to be our own Con- 
 cern, when it is experimental, pra6lical, and in- 
 ward, when the Heart is efiablifhed with Grace, 
 when we receive the love of the Truth in order to 
 be faved, then are we rooted and grounded in the 
 Faith, and not moved away from the Hope of 
 the Gofpel. 
 
 I. One Principle that keeps us wavering, is, 
 a Conceit of fome Capacity in ourfelves to make 
 greater Difcoveries in the divine Nature. This is 
 what they who feared the Lord have never dared 
 to attempt ; or if they did, they foon came out 
 of it with Shame and Sorrow. 
 
 How 
 
202 
 
 J°^ ... 
 
 xxxviii. 2 
 xlii. 3. 
 
 TZ^ DoSirme of B av r i s u. 
 
 How vain is it to fet about any curious fearch- 
 ing into the Being of God ? To fpeak of bis 
 Nature with a Relemblance to our own ? We 
 Pf. xcvii. know that Clouds and Darknefs are round about 
 -• him. Job is accufed of prefllng too deep with 
 
 thefe Enquiries -, though he feems to examine no 
 farther than into the Windings of Providence : 
 He faid nothing fo grofs about the Perfections of 
 the Deity, as all our Scheme-makers have done. 
 But it's plain he took a length of Imagination 
 that did not become him. I ground this not only 
 on the Complaint of his Friends, but chiefly on his 
 own Confeflion. God has charged him with 
 darkening Counfcl by Words without Knowledge, 
 and he charges himfelf with uttering Things that 
 he knew 'not. Things too wonderful for him that 
 he underflood not. He comes out of his Free- 
 thinking vnih. the Blufhes and Pains of a Penitent, 
 behold 1 am vile, what fhall I anfwer, I will lay 
 my Hand upon my Mouth, once have I fpoken, 
 but I will not anfwei', yea twice, but I wiil p-o- 
 ceed no farther. He afcribes it to God ^is a Pre- 
 rogative, I know that thou canft do every 
 Thing, and that no Comifel c-iin he mih--hdM'eH 
 from thee. 
 
 The Pfalmift wanted to ?^vfe {^kar I^'eiis of the 
 divine Conduct ; and, no dtoubt of it, during 
 the Operation of his Fancy he thought himfelf 
 wife and humble : But afte'rwards he calls it ^I 
 Folly and Ignorance, and fays he w4s 'no Viewer 
 than a Beaflr. He attempted to know it, but it 
 was too painful for him. H^ 'gct^s more by one 
 Hour in the Sanctuary, than by al-l his Specula- 
 tions in the Clofet, Agur i|)eaks with an Indig- 
 nation at himfelf, farely I am more bi^utifli -dktfn 
 any Man, and have not the UnderftarKlling of -a 
 Man. I neither learned Wifdom, «or hav6 the 
 Knowledge of the Holyy and by the particular In- 
 I vifibles 
 
 Pf. Ixxiii. 
 
 22. 
 
 Prov. XXX 
 2> 3» 4- 
 
The DoBrine of B a ? t i s u, 
 
 vlfibles of God that he mentions afterwards, we 
 may fuppofe what Subjefts he had been dabbling 
 with, who has afcended into Heaven or de- 
 fcended ? Who has gathered the Wind in his 
 Fifts ? Who has bound the Waters in a Gar- 
 ment ? Who has eftabhflied the Ends of the 
 Earth ? IVhat is his Name, and what is his Son*s 
 Name, if thou canft tell. 
 
 Solomon faid he would be wife, but it was far 
 from him : That which is exceeding deep, who 
 can find it out ? The Apoftle Paul, when he was 
 caught up to the third Heaven, heard Things 
 there which he never heard upon Earth ; but 
 they were both unlawful and impoffible to be ut- ^ ^^r. xii. 
 tercd in any other Place. Touching the Almigh- |*, 
 ty we cannot find him out. xxxvii. 23. 
 
 Let us bring this Obfervation to the great 
 'Doctrine of Baptifm, the Profeffion of Faith that 
 we made when our Bodies were wafhed with 
 pure Water. The Form of Words then ufed 
 was of our Lord's appointing ; we have no Au- 
 thority to make them more or Jefs. The Senfe 
 of them is fo eafy and unincumbered, that he 
 thought them fufficient to tell both Jews and 
 Greeks, what Faith we are baptized into. If 
 there was never another Sentence in the Bible, 
 that declared who the Chriftian's God is, every 
 one that hears his ConfefTion will underftand it, 
 though the whole World of Infidels v.'ill con- 
 demn it. 
 
 By this Form v/e learn that the Lord is one, 
 and his Name one, in all the Earth. We are 
 baptized into no more than a fingle Name. 
 
 'Tis alfo plainly faid, that there are Three, 
 neither more nor fewer that are known by this 
 Name, and adored in this Ordinance. 
 
 Thefe three, by their perlbnal Titles of Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Holy Ghoil, are perfonally di- 
 
 Jiinei. 
 
204 'The DoEirine (p/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 ftinEl. They are not fpoke of as Attributes, 
 Powers, or Properties -, and yet. 
 
 They are equal in the Revelation made to us, 
 and the Surrender made by us. 
 
 This is the Account that the great God has 
 been pleafed to give us of himfelf. And all that 
 we have to do, is to examine whether he has done 
 fo or no. If he has given us an Explication, let 
 us have it -, if he has not, let us wave it, he has 
 told us as much of his Nature as he defigned we 
 Ihould know -, and will, by no Means, luffer us 
 to become fo vain in our Imaginations with the 
 Bible as the Heathen have been without it. 
 
 People that talk of " the divine Nature's be- 
 " ing communicated from one Perfon to another 
 " in fame unknown Moment of Eternity^'' are 
 ftretching thcmfelves beyond the Meafure of the 
 Line. The Perfections of God are peculiar to 
 himfelf, not one of them given to any other. 
 2 Sam. H. There's none holy as the Lord, for there is none 
 2' hefides thee, neither is there any Rock like unto 
 
 Deut. our God. See now, fays he, that I, even I am, 
 xxxii. 39. and there is no God with me. To whom will ye 
 Matt uix ^^^^" God, and what Likenefs will ye compare 
 17. to him ! There is none good hut one, and that is 
 
 I Tim. vi. God. He only has Immortality. 
 ^^' It's eafy to Ihow that the old mufty Schemes 
 
 which are revived in this projedling Age, are 
 only fo many high Thoughts and carnal Imagi- 
 nations -, fo many GuclTes in the Dark, at 
 Things that we never heard. If this is Wifdom 
 it's being wife above what is written. The Arians 
 tell us, that though the Son is both above and 
 before the Creation, yet there was a Time when 
 he was not ; that he was not in the Beginning, 
 but after the Beginning -, that the Father pro- 
 duced him by a vokintary A61. And to fliow how 
 much their foolifh Heart is darkened, they keep 
 
 ramb- 
 
*The DoEirine of B a ? t i s u, 205 
 
 rambling on, and fay that the Father and Son Serm. 
 together made the Spirit ; though of bis Original X. 
 the Scripture has not faid a Word, fo, that their u.-v'— J 
 Scheme may be called the Book of the Generation 
 of the Son and Spirit. Heathen Authors can give 
 us the Genealogy of their Gods, but after the 
 glorious Gofpel of Chrift is committed to us, 
 I thought we fliould never have taken up the Pf. xvi. 7. 
 very Names of derived and originated Deities in- Jer. x. i. 
 to our Lips. The Gods that have not made the 
 Heavens and the Earth, even they fhall perifh 
 from the Earth, and from under thefe Heavens. 
 
 The other Scheme that condemns the y^rian 
 for talking of any Time when the Sen ivas not ; 
 yet dares, with the fame Confidence, to make a 
 Partition of the Deity ; they are bounding what 
 the Scripture has called infinite. They allow him 
 to be eternal, and yet derived -, to have received 
 a Beginning, and yet always to have had it •, to 
 have proper Deity without Independance, di- 
 vine Perfeftions, and yet not abfolute Sovereign- 
 ty ; that he has Divinity in fome of its Diftinc- 
 tions, and yet not with all its EJfentials ; that is, 
 they will pretend to adjuft the Rights of Empire 
 between Father and Son : But where has the moft 
 High called them thus to divide the Inheritance 
 of unfearchable Glory ? May it not be faid, vain 
 Man would be wife ? 
 
 Though no Man can teach the Spirit of the 
 Lord what he fhall do^ yet here's a Generation 
 that venture to tell him what he fliall have. They 
 will rufli into the Light wherein he dwells, a 
 Light to which none can approach. We know 
 no farther what he is than as he himfelf has told 
 us. And fliall we prefume to tell him the Pe- 
 riod, Bounds, and Extent of his Nature.'' And 
 indeed the very Language of all thefe Schemes 
 lets us fee that the Authors are not employed in 
 
 declaring 
 
2o6 The DoSirine (j/'Baptism. 
 
 Serm. declaring wliat God has faid of himfelf, but in 
 
 X. giiefling out a Deity, making Gods to themfelves^ 
 
 v^V>«' which by their own Defcription are no Gods, 
 
 letting up in their Heads ibe Likenefs of Things in 
 
 Heaven above. 
 
 I will give you the Words of one among our- 
 felves, who profeffes that " he cannot allow a 
 " proper PerfonaUty of the Son and Spirit, with- 
 " out deftroying the Unity of the Godhead ; " 
 though by all the Generations of the Faithful, 
 thefe Things were equally believed and owned ; 
 and therefore draws out a Plan only of Things 
 that MAY BE when the whole Revelation of the 
 Bible is of no other than 'Things that are. But 
 it's apparent, according to this way of talking, 
 that we are yet to feck for our God. We are 
 got no farther than ftarting Fancies and doting 
 about ^ejlions ; as if the Truth in which our 
 Souls are to be eftablifhed and edified, was only 
 a Work upon the Wheels, and not yet prepared 
 to receive the finifliing Hand of the Maker. 
 
 I will give you his own Scheme in his own 
 Words j " May we not fuppole the Logos, or 
 " Word confidered as fomething in the God- 
 " head, analogous to a Power or Virtue, to be 
 " infinite, uncreated, co-elTential, and co-eternal 
 " with God the Father, as being of his very Ef- 
 " fence, and in this Senfe true God ? May not 
 *' this fometimes be reprefented in a perfonal 
 " Manner as diftind from the Father ? ■ 
 
 " May we not fuppofe alfo that in fome un- 
 " known Moment of the divifie Etern'.ty God, by 
 " his fovereign Will and Power, produced aglo- 
 " rious Spirit in an immedile Manner, -and in 
 '* a very near Likenefs to himfelf, and called 
 ^' him his Son, his only be^' .otten Son ^ Might 
 " not this be that Logos .)f the antient J^zc^j, 
 " who was called the firll-born of God, the 
 
 " eldell 
 
"The DoBrtne of B a ? t i s u, 
 
 " elded Archangel, the Man after God's own 
 *' Image, and may not this be ibe human Soul of 
 " our bleffed Saviour ? " 
 
 ** Suppofing farther, this angelical Spirit to 
 " be aifumed into perfonal Union with the di- 
 *' vine Logos from the firft Moment of his Ex- 
 " iftence, may he not be called the Son of God 
 *' alfo upon this Account ? May it not be faid, 
 ♦' that the true Godhead is communicated to the 
 *' Son of God in this Manner by the free Will 
 " of the Father." This fuppcfes as much as 
 ever the Avians wanted, that Chriil might not 
 have been produced, or that this Union of the 
 divine Attribute to him might not have been 
 given. 
 
 A grofier Expreflion I don't remember ever 
 to have met with than what follows : " Though 
 " the Godhead of the Logos^ or divine Wifdom, 
 *' be effential to the Nature of God, and eter- 
 *' nally independent, yet it might he communi- 
 *' caied^ that is united to an inferior Sprit by the 
 ** Will of the Father." That is, God can make 
 an inferior Spirit like himfeif, and give his Glory 
 to another. 
 
 He goes on, *' Might not this Logos in the 
 " complex Character ot God and a Creature, or 
 " the Son of God inhabited perfonally by eter- 
 " nal Wifdom in the Fulnefs of Time, alTume hu- 
 " man Fleili and Blood into Union with himfeif." 
 Had the Scripture told us of thefe Things, there 
 was no Need to put them into the Form of 
 mayht's •, but nothing fo v-ain or bold is to be 
 found in that Book, as that an Attribute inhabits 
 a Sprit perfonally. 
 
 Far be it from my Soul to afk what I know 
 no humble Creature will dare to anfwer, or exa- 
 mine what the great God tnay be or inay do. If 
 thefe are fecret Things, they belong to him ; 
 
 only 
 
7he DoSirine <?/'Baptism. 
 
 only revealed Things belong to us : Believing is 
 adling upon a Report^ and not upon a Suppojition. 
 Solomon writ that we might know the Certainty of 
 .the Words of Truth, and be able to give an An- 
 fwer to thofe that enquire of us. Foolijh and un- 
 learned ^ejlions are always about Things out of 
 our Reach, and thefe are what gender Strifes, as 
 we both read and feel. 
 
 This then is one Principle of wavering, and 
 will be fo, 'till that God who knows the 
 Thoughts of Men to be vain, makes us know 
 them to be fo too. Under the Power of his 
 Pf.'cxxxi. Grace we (hall not exercifeourfelves in Things /c« 
 \; , .. high for us ; then our Hearts will not be haugh- 
 ty, nor our Eyes lofty. They who intrude into 
 Things that they have not feen, vainly puffed up 
 in their flefhly Mind, do not hold the Head. We 
 may wifh, upon thefe Occafions. as Zopkar did ; 
 Job xi. thou haft faid my Do5irine is pure ; but oh that 
 ^» ^* God would fpeak and open his Lips againft thee, 
 and that he would fliow thee the Secrets of Wif- 
 dom, that they are double to that which is. Who 
 fhall declare the Generation of the Son of God, or 
 pretend to dig up the unfearchahle Riches of 
 Chrift .? 
 
 The beft way to be of the fame Mind with 
 
 one another is what the Apoftle direfts to, not to 
 
 mind high Things, or be wife in our oivn Conceit. 
 
 Let us not like Children be tofled to and fro, 
 
 Eph. iv. and carried about with every JVindof Doolrine by 
 
 '4- the Slight of Men, and cunning Craftincfs of 
 
 thofe who lie in wait to deceive ; may I fpeak 
 
 AQ.S xxvi. the Words not only of Truth, but of Sohernefs. 
 
 ^^' 2. Another Principle that makes us waver is 
 
 a Fancy that we have found out the great Secret 
 
 of Knowledge, that which fo many Ages have 
 
 1 Tim. fought in vain. This is the Snare of the Devil ; 
 
 '"• 6. and therefore the Perfon who is a Novice, newly 
 
 ""'"®'' planted 
 
 Col. ii 
 i8, 19 
 
The DoSirine ^Baptism* 209 
 
 planted or engrafted, is in Danger of being lifted Serm, 
 up with Pride: The Pretences, upon which X. 
 People indulge themfelves to the Humour of v— v*-^ 
 endlefs Enquiries, I may hereafter confider ; at 
 prefentjet me only take Notice, that the Scripture 
 has barred our way by Cautions, Commands, 
 and Reproofs in Abundance. This the Apoflle 
 faid to every Man among them, not to think of 
 himfelf more highly than he ought to think, but 
 to think foberly^ as God has given to every Man Rom. xlt, 
 the Meafure of Faith. If any Man thinks he 3- 
 knows any thing, he knows nothing yet as he 
 ought to know. This is the Knowledge that puffs 
 up. We know that all the Perfecutions in the 
 World have arofe from Mens driving in their 
 own Inventions -, and they are as bad in Do^lrine 
 as they are in Worfhip. 
 
 There are two great Men, whofe Names will 
 be dear to the Churches, wherever their Works 
 are read, of whom we have a different Character. 
 One is Calvin^ his vail Reading, his quick Judg- 
 ment, his capacious Memory, his lively Fancy, 
 and harmonious Language, made him as capable 
 of feeking out many Inventions as any of the Age 
 that he lived in, and yet he had no Ncjirum^ no 
 Opinion peculiar to himfelf, as he often profeffes; 
 and the Writer of his Life obferves, there was 
 not one Article in which he differed from the re- 
 formed Churches. Whether the Perfons who 
 love to hear and fpeak fome new Things have ex- 
 ceeded him in the whole Furniture of a Scholar, 
 a Divine, and a Chriflian, I Ihall take no Pains 
 to enquire, becaufe it takes no Time to deter- 
 mine it. He continued in the Things that he 
 had learned from the Beginning, and held faft the 
 faithful Word J as he had been taught. 
 
 The fame Thing is true of Dr. Owen. Thofe 
 Principles that he received at firll, he maintained 
 
 P to 
 
210 The DoElrine ^Baptism. 
 
 to the laft. And if any will fay, it was for want 
 of critical Learning, impartial Thought, or fuf- 
 ficient Capacity, 1 believe you, and 1 will think 
 fuch a Man either above Confutation, or be- 
 low it. 
 
 Each of thefe holy Perfons might have all the 
 Temptations that are fupplied by Wit and Va- 
 nity -, but God withdrew them from their Pur- 
 pofe, and hid Pride from the Men. He trained 
 them up for his Service, through the Difcipline 
 of fevere Convidions : They bowed under the 
 Terrors oi the Lord in a heavier way than many 
 do -, and therefore were taught by feeling never 
 to talk new 'Things about the Guilt and Corruption 
 of human Nature, or the Perfon and Satisfaftion 
 of Jefus Chrift •, they ftudied the Truth, not to 
 receive Glory from Men, but what they found 
 in the Word^ they found in their ovv^n Souls. 
 'Twas not their Bufinefs to puzzle and entangle 
 the Churches with a nevj Gofpel^ but to ftand in 
 
 Col. ii.' the good old way. Every Reader may behold /i*^ 
 
 5» ^' 7- Stedfafinefs of their Faith ^ as they received Chrift 
 Jefus the Lord, fo they walked in him, rooted 
 and built up in the Faith, as they had been tattght. 
 The greateft Humility becomes us in fpeaking 
 of what is our own. When grievous Wolves 
 creep in they fpare not the Flock, fpeaking per- 
 
 Aflsxx. V erf e Things^ to draw away Difciples after them. 
 
 29, 30. J fcarce ever knew an Author' who had a Nofirum 
 in Divinity, a Contrivance of his own, but he 
 was more impatient to promote that, than the 
 great Fundamentals of Chriftianity. He could 
 argue againft the Man who denies the Truth with 
 more Temper than againft one who is afraid of 
 his Scheme. There can be the Meeknefs of a 
 Lamb to the former, but the Fury of a Bear to 
 the latter, who would rob them of their TVhelps, 
 which are oply lo\'e>y, becaufe they are their own. 
 
 Elihu 
 
Tha Do&rine ^Ba'ptism. 211 
 
 EUhu thought it dangerous that the great Men 
 about him fhould fay, we have found out Wifdom. 
 
 I fear 'tis too much that a certain Author has 
 faid of his Scheme. " If we fuppole the Mef- J^^xxxii. 
 *' fiah or Logos in his pre-exiftent State, as well p^g^ .g, 
 " as after his Incarnation, to be a complex or 
 " compounded Perfon ; and that divine Logos, 
 *' eternal Word, alTumed a fuper-angelick or in- 
 " lerior Nature, called alfo Logos, into Union 
 " with himfelf, before he took Flefli upon him : 
 " This would reconcile all the Ideas which feem 
 *' inconfiilent, and fcatter the Darknefs that hangs 
 " over the ancient Writers, and over the Scrip- 
 *' ture itfelf^ if this Opinion is not admitted.'* 
 To this I cannot forbear to anfwer in the Words 
 oi Eliphaz. Art thou the firft Man that was born .'' Job xv. 
 Or waft thou made before the Hills ? Haft thou 7. 8, 9, 
 heard the Secret of God^ or rejlrainejl thou JVifdom ^ '' ' ~' 
 to thy f elf ? W^hat knov/eft thou that we know 
 not, what underftandeft thou that is not with us ? 
 Is there any fecret 'Thing with thee ? Why does 
 thine Heart carry thee away, or what do thine 
 Eyes wink at ? 
 
 By this Account the Divinity of Chrift is only 
 an Attribute, his Perfon is a Creature j his hu- 
 man Soul is an angelical Spirit. He has no more 
 of God than a Property^ and no more of Man 
 than Fleflj and Blood. This Logos., as we are of- 
 ten told in that Book, is the effential Power of the 
 Deity., and has no more than a figurative Per- 
 fonality. 
 
 We are bid to confider " to what a fuperior 
 " Height this Doftrine advances the whole Per- 
 " fon of Chrift -, " but the little Fling that fol- 
 lows might have been fpared, " Let not thofe 
 " who love the Lord Jefus in Sincerity be afraid 
 *' to hear of his various Glories." They who 
 love the Lord Jefus in Sincerity delight to hear 
 
 P 2 of . 
 
212 TZi^ DoSirim ^Baptism. 
 
 of his being humbled, and made in all Things 
 like to themfelves. They think that the human 
 Nature confifts of a human Soul as well as Body ; 
 and yet, 
 
 We are farther told, that " this Scheme lays 
 *' a Foundation for reconciling the Contentions that 
 *' have troubled the Church in all Ages : And as 
 " it would be a mighty Happinefs if there was 
 " any Pofiibility ot uniting the contending Par- 
 " ties into one Scheme of Trinitarian Doflrine ; 
 " fo the Author fays, He knows no Hypothejis 
 " bids fo fair for it as this^ And yet. 
 
 At the End of his Book he falls off from this 
 fame confident Boafling^ and fays, that " he is not 
 *' fo vain as to think this Hypothecs will imme- 
 " diately relieve every Difficulty that attends the 
 " facred Dodrine of the Trinity." Thus he 
 leaves us as confufed and undetermined as he 
 found us, alas, for thofe who truft in a Co- 
 vering, which the very Man that brought it owns 
 to be too narrow. 
 
 3. Another Principle of Wavering is a vain 
 Suppofition that God ftands in Need of our Help, 
 to make what he has faid more eafy or evident. 
 I think the Words made ufe of in the Form of 
 Baptifm are plain enough. Chrift either defigned 
 to fet them out in the Light of one of thefe 
 Schemes, or he did not : It he did, why has he 
 not given it himfelf •, if he did not, why are we 
 to have it from others ? 
 
 All our Difpute is about the plain Meaning of 
 a Sentence. I am fure here is nothing in the 
 Terms oi Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to 
 make us think of one Agent and two Powers^ or 
 of one God and two Creatures. No Mortal 
 upon the Face of the Earth would fuppofe that 
 we intended by it any other than three Perfons^ 
 who are diflind:, and yet who are equal. 
 
 God 
 
l^e DoStrine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 God appointed, when they made him an Al- 
 tar, it fhould not be of hewn Stone, for which 
 he gives this Reafon, that reaches to every thing 
 in Revelation, // thou lift eft up thy Tool upon ity E^o^^-xx. 
 thou haft polluted my Altar. But with thefe Tools ^' 
 is the great Altar of all polluted. 
 
 4. Sometimes we are tempted to waver from 
 carnal Eafe and a Love of Reputation. How can John v. 
 ye believe, who receive Honour one from another^ 44- 
 and neglefl the Honour that comes from God 
 only? Many of the Rulers believed on Chrift, Johnxii.- 
 but becaufe of the Pharifees they did not confefs 42» 43- 
 him ; for they loved the Praife of Men more than 
 the Praife of God. 
 
 Thefe vile Principles can eafily cover them- 
 felves with the Names of Temper, Charity, Mo- 
 deration, and Forbearance ; but thole glorious 
 Things are not to be confounded with Luke- 
 warmnefs, Self-feeking, Lazinefs, or Ignorance. 
 The fearful and unbelieving go together. Such Rev, xxi. 
 Profeffors as thefe Chrift is fick of, and therefore ^• 
 threatens to fpew them out of his Mouth. As Rev. iij. 
 there is a Cloke of Covetoufnefs, fo there is a '7- 
 Cloke of Fear and Cowardice : And you are to 
 be ftript before you are tried : Not he who com- ^ ^°'"- '^• 
 mends himfclf is approved, but he whom the 
 Lord commends. The Pharifees were they who 
 juftified themf elves before Men, but God knew Lukexvk 
 their Hearts, for what is highly efteemed among 'S* 
 Men, is an Abomination in the Sight of God. 
 
 Many of us could have been as eafy in Z/c«, as 
 well as our Brethren, and given up the Name of 
 Chrift to have preferved our own. There is no 
 Pleafure in Reproaches, and being feparated from 
 the Company of Men. Thefe are Trials that 
 we would have kept out of, if it could have 
 been with a clear Confcience. But I believe 
 Chrift never defigned that a Chriftian Preacher 
 
 P 3 ftiould 
 
iTje DoEirtm (j/* B a f t i s m. 
 
 fhoLild be an Arian Favourite ; the Man, whom 
 the Enemy admires, is feme way treacherous. 
 There is no Communion between Chrifi and Be- 
 lial^ nor between him that believes and an Infidel. 
 
 5. There is a falfe ungodly Charity that gives 
 up the Honour of Religion, merely becaufe it 
 will not be at the Pains to defend it. You're 
 never to make Peace with Men at the Expence 
 of any Truth, that is revealed to you by the 
 great God ; becaufe that is offering up his Glory 
 in Sacrifice to your own. Let us aim at the 
 
 Rom. ii, Praife that is not of Men, but of God. And there- 
 
 29* fore let no Man deceive you with vain Words. 
 
 Don't difmember the Chriftian Religion, but 
 
 take it alt together •, Charity was never defigned 
 
 to be the Tool of Unbelief. See how tiie Spirit 
 
 has 'connc(5led both our Principles and Duties. 
 
 Heb. xii. Follow Peace with all Men, and Holinefs ^Without 
 
 13. which no Man lliall fee the Lord. Seek after 
 
 Rom. xiv the Things that make for Peace^ and thofe 
 
 19- wherein one may edify another. 
 
 We are to pleafe all Men in all Things to their 
 Edification. Hut there is a feeking to pleafe Men 
 which is inconfiftent with our Service to Chrifi j 
 whetfer it is poffible, or indeed defiraWe to find 
 out a Scheme that will reconcile the contendins; 
 Patties, Arinns^ Sahellians^ Jthanajians^ and So- 
 cinifins, is what I fliall confider in another Ser- 
 mon. 
 
 6. There is the Pride of a wrangling Humour, 
 which I take to be very dangerous, becaufe *tis 
 ufualiy carried on without any Reverence or god- 
 ly Fdar. By fome Books that are lately printed, 
 we fnould be led to think the New Tefiament 
 Do^rine of the Trinity to be the moft imperti- 
 nent and volatile Speculation that ever the Mind 
 of Man could be diverted with. They will ar- 
 gue with a thoufand Times more Gravity about 
 
 the 
 
 XV. 2. 
 
^The J^oSlrine ^Baptism. 215 
 
 the Motion of the Earth or the Sun, the Caiife Serm. 
 of the Tide, the World in the Moon ; and fe- X. 
 veral other Subjeds that make a Man neither 
 wifer nor better. 
 
 In order to fet out the Article of one God in 
 three Perfons to the Ridicule of the World, they 
 drefs it up in barbarous Queftions, about con- 
 fcious Minds, fpecifical and numerical Identity, 
 and then having turned a Windmill into a Giant^ 
 they begin the Battle. Whereas after all the 
 rumbling and moulding they are able to give the 
 Dodrine, the praftical View we muft have of it 
 is this j 
 
 Is Chrift to be worjhiped as the mod high God 
 or no } If not, what is the Length of our Duty 
 to him, how far muft it go, and where ihall it 
 ftop ? Has the Scripture encouraged me to bow 
 down before any more Gods than one ? And yet 
 is it not plain that upon Chriji I am called to 
 reft, and depend that I rnay be faved } 
 
 Is it an Indifference, whether I adore the Holy 
 Spirit as an Attribute of the Father, or a diftinft 
 Perfon from him ? Is it the fame Thing v/hether 
 I own him as a fuper angelick Spirit, or as the 
 moft high God ? If he is more than the former, 
 1 muft be guilty of Irreligion^ if he is lefs than 
 the latter, I muft be guilty of Idolatry. 
 
 7. Above all there is an Indifference or Chil- 
 nefs of Confcience to the great Dodtrines of God- 
 linefs. What fignifies it to a Man who lives in 
 Lafcivioufnefs, Lufts, Excefs of Wine, Revel- 
 lings, Banquettings, and abominable Idolatries, 
 whether Chrift is a God or a Creature } He owns 
 no God but his Belly. What's the Deity or De- 
 rivation of the Spirit to one who defpifes all his 
 Influence from the firft Conviction of Sin, quite 
 up to Faith in dying and Perfeftion in Heaven ? 
 When Men caft off Fear and reftrain Prayer be- 
 P 4 fore 
 
2 1 6 7"'/6^ DoBrtne <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 Serm. fore God, then any new Scheme may ferve as 
 X. a Bawble for the Confcience, to keep it at ■playy 
 becaufe they dare not keep it at work. 
 
 8. We begin to waver when we grow infen- 
 fible of our NecelTity to be taught of God, and 
 enlightened with the Spirit of Truth. Our beft 
 way to keep out of Danger, is ftill to believe that 
 we may be in it. The prudent forefees the Evil 
 and hides himfelf, but the Fool rages, and is 
 confident. 'Tis the Office of the Spirit to lead 
 into all Truth ; and if we think there can be any 
 Advances this way without him, he may leave us 
 to the Vanity of our own Experiment. With 
 fuch Principles as thefe do we either waver in the 
 Faith, ox Jhuffle in a ProfeiTion. 
 
 SER- 
 
The DoBrine ^Baptism. 217 
 
 SERMON XL 
 
 People waver from Unfteddinefs and Igno- 
 rance. Pride and Vanity, an Inclination 
 to Error, Fear, and Cowardice. The 
 
 . Pretenfions anfwered, of our living in a 
 polite Age, that will allow nothini: mys- 
 terious. But 'tis an Age in which the 
 Proteftant Religion and pradical Holinefs 
 are finking. Our Obligations to grow in 
 the Knowledge of Chrift. This does not 
 fuppofe new Schemes, but a Steddinefs in 
 the old Ones, for our Faith is bounded. 
 Clearer Ideas. The Unity of the God- 
 head. The reconciling of all Parties. 
 Antiquity pleaded in vain. 
 
 HAVE fhown you what thofe Prin- 
 ciples are that lead Men to waver in 
 the great Articles of Chriftianity which 
 we profefs in Baptifm. And by the 
 
 Account you have had, it is eafy to fee that there 
 
 may be a wavering. 
 
 I. From Unfteddinefs and Ignorance. They 
 who ought to be Teachers of others, have Need 
 to be taught again ike firji Principles of the Heb. v. 
 
 Oracles '^* 
 
Iloe DoEirim ^Baptism. 
 
 Oracles of God. God complains, my People are 
 deftroyed for lack of Knowledge •, becaufe thou 
 haft rejecled Knowledge, the Lord has rejected 
 thee, that thou fiialt not be a Prieft to him. It 
 is a good Thing that the Heart is eftablifhed 
 with Grace, and not with Meats, i. e. with Doc- 
 trines of the Gofpel, which are called the Grace 
 of God bringing Salvation, and not in thofe Opi- 
 nions about Meats or Drinks, which, whether 
 they are right or wrong, have not profited them 
 who were occupied therein. 
 
 What is it ro the good of ray Soul, to the 
 Pardon of my Sins, the Peace of my Confcience, 
 or the Compafs of my Duty, whether it be law- 
 Rom, ful to eat Blood } Not but that every one ought 
 xiv. 22. to be fully perluaded in his own Mind, and hap- 
 py is he who condemns not himfelf in the Thing 
 that he allows. There fhould be no Strain upon 
 Vcr. 14. Confcience ; as the Apoflle fays, I know, and 
 am perfuaded that there is nothing unclean of 
 itfeli, but to him who efteems any thing to be 
 unclean, to him it is unclean. But whether my 
 Opinion be right or wrong in this Matter, it 
 neither promotes Holinefs nor hinders it •, as the 
 Error is of no great Danger, fo the Truth is of 
 no great Value. 'Tis not one of thofe Things in 
 which I am either accepted oj Gcdy or approved of 
 Men. 
 
 But what is this to the Deity of the Son and 
 
 Spirit, which are Do^rines that my Soul is to be 
 
 I Tim. nourifDcd up in. The Godhead ot the Son makes 
 
 j^' 6. him the Objed of my Reverence, the ftrong hold 
 
 of my Faith, the Plope that is fet before me. 
 
 From his Divinity, and from nothing elfe, do I 
 
 argue the Satisfaction he has made, the Intercef- 
 
 {jon that he now purfues, and indeed hi^ Capa- 
 
 Heb, vii. city of faving to the uttermoft. *Tis becaufe he 
 
 -4' continues for ever, that he has an unchangeable 
 
 4 Prieft- 
 
T'he DoBrine <?/' B a p t i s m. 
 
 Prieflhood ; 'tis from this that he brings in an 
 everlajling Righieoufnefsy and becomes Head over 
 all Things unto the Church, becaufe he has the 
 Fulnefs of him 'who fills all in all. ^f^- *• 
 
 I am therefore baptized in the Name of the " ' 
 Holy Ghojl, that I may depend upon him, as the 
 God who reiiores my Soul, the Father of Lights, 
 the Fountain of Confolation ; He cf whom I am John iii. 
 born^ and by whom I am fecured and prepared 3- 
 for eternal Life. 
 
 What fignifies all the Orthodoxy in the World 
 to a Man who wavers in the Foundation ? And 
 therefore they who are more zealous in com- 
 manding to al?ftain from Meats, than they are for i Tim. iv; 
 the grand Inherent of Baptifm, the Truth that 2- 
 enters into the Soul of it, only make a God of 
 their Belly •, as if what is to be offered there was 
 a thing of more Importance, than the real Divi- 
 nity and diftind: Perfonality of thofe three to 
 whom we are equally devoted. What fignifies 
 it to make a Noife about the BJood of Beafts and Heb, x. 
 Fowls, whilll the Blood of the Covenant is a p9- _ 
 common Thing .'' But we have not fo learned ^q jT* 
 Chrifi, if fo be we have heard him and been 
 taught by him, as the Truth is in Jefus. Eefides 
 this, there is a wavering that arifes. 
 
 2. From Pride and Vanity. Men love to have 
 fomething of their own. But where is the Wife, 
 where is the Scribe, where is the Difputer of this i Cor. i. 
 JVorld ? Has not God made fooliHi the Wifdom 20. 
 of this World ? There is no Reputation got by 
 ftanding in the good old way : And therefore, 
 they fall a doting about ^efiions, and ftriving , Tim. vi. 
 about Words, to no Profit. But fliall wtfpeak 3. 
 wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for him ^ J^'' ^"'' 
 Is it good that he Ihould fearch us out, or as ^' * 
 ' one Man mocks another, do we fo mock him ? 
 
 Has 
 
2 20 The DoBrine ^"Baptism. 
 
 Has Chrift appointed a Form of Words 1700 
 Years ago, by which he defigned his People 
 fhould own^ and all the World fhould hear^ that 
 there are three Perfons in one Nature -, and muft 
 they have a new Senfe put upon them in our 
 j)gm^ Age ? Are we defirous of Gods whom our Fathers 
 xxxii. 17. knew not^ derived Gods, figurative Perfons ? 
 Are we for more than one Lord, one Faith, and 
 one Baptifm ? 
 
 That all who went before us were fallible 
 MeUy is true ; and I don't fee, but they who 
 come after may take the Liberty to throw us in- 
 to the Number -, we are not better than our Fa- 
 thers. But does that prove they were actually 
 deceived^ in the greatelt Article of their Faith, 
 and the perpetual Dependance of their Souls ? 
 Did they live in a Mift and die in a Dream ? Are 
 ant lent hand-marks to be removed, which they 
 of old Time have fet ? Had the Spirit who 
 leads into all Truth no Favour towards them ? 
 Is it but in our DaySy that he has begun to do 
 his Office? 
 
 I may take the Liberty to repeat what has 
 been formerly publifhed- 'Tis a Paffage that I 
 read with an Awe a great many Years ago, and 
 I hope it has been like Ballaft to my Soul -, 'tis 
 calculated for them who become vain in their 
 Imaginations, by profelTing themfelves to be wife. 
 I found it among the Directions that Dr. Owen 
 gives to thofe who are engaged againft JrianSy 
 SocinianSy or any other Enemies to the Deity of 
 the Son and Spirit. " Above all Things, fays 
 he^ " take Heed of the Snare of Satan in affed:- 
 *' ing Eminency by way of Singularity. We 
 " fliould ftrive to excel inlCnowledge and Light 
 "as well as Flolincfs and Obedience. To do 
 *' this in the Road is difficult. Ahimaar had 
 " not outrun Cufhis^ but that he took a By-path. 
 
 *' Many 
 
^he DoSirine <9/*Baptism. 221 
 
 " Many finding it impofllble to emerge into any Serm. 
 
 ** Confideration by walking in the beaten Path XL 
 
 *' of Truth, and yet not being able to conquer 
 
 '* the Itch of being counted r'mq ixsyoixoi, turn 
 
 '* afide into By-ways ; and turn the Eyes of all 
 
 '* Men to them by fcambling over Hedge and 
 
 *' Ditch, where the fober Traveller is not at all 
 
 *' regarded." He takes Notice, " that the Doc- 
 
 ** trine of the reformed Churches was raifed 
 
 " fome Time ago to a great Height as to the 
 
 *' Evidence given for it, and great Perfpicuity, 
 
 " in the Manner of making it known, which 
 
 " fome that came after could not imitate, and 
 
 " therefore took new Ways of their own con- 
 
 " triving." Again, there may be a wavering, 
 
 3. From an Inclination to the adverfe Party. 
 Inviting them over, or flriving to bring them 
 in by any other Methods than a plain Manifefta- 
 tion of the 7" ruth will never do. As Dr. Owen 
 obferves, " thefe Reconcilers feldom fail to be 
 *« taken Captives, and leave the Principles with 
 " which they firft fet out ; 'till, by Degrees, in- 
 '* Head of winning others they lofe themfelves.'* 
 There's alfo a wavering, 
 
 4. From Fear and Cowardice. The Fear of Pro- xxix. 
 Man brings a Snare. On this Account fome Peo- ^5- 
 
 pie will think it Charity not to turn a Sinner from James v. 
 the Error of his way, but let him go on with it. 
 Thefe prudent Men will keep filence in an evil 
 Day -, and if they hold fait the Faith, they hold ^o™- '• 
 it in Unrighteoufnefs, they do not hold forth the ' ' 
 Profeflion of it before Men. They have a Love 
 for the Truth, but a greater Love to themfelves, 
 and quit the Reproach of Cbriji, that they may ^^b- '"• 
 have the Treafures of Egypt. 
 
 In 
 
22 2 l^he DoSirme (^/Baptism. 
 
 In our Day we have had feveral Arguments 
 thrown into the World to unfettle the Minds of 
 Men from the Foundation that God has laid, and 
 upon which they themfelves pretended to build. 
 I can fcarce fuppofe but you muft have read 
 them or heard them, if you converfe either with 
 Books or Men. To anfwer them at large is fuch 
 a Proftitution of the Pulpit as a Minifter of the 
 Gofpel comes into with Pain. Were it not for 
 your Eftablifhment, you fhould never hear from 
 me, fuch Heaps of Ignorance and Deceit : But 
 Cant. ii. we are to take the Foxes, yea, even the little 
 ' Foxes, that fpoil the Vines, for our Vines have 
 
 tender Grapes. 
 
 1. It's pleaded that " we live in a polite Age, 
 *' which profefles to receive nothing that is 
 *' called myfterious." Th's is fpeaking out for 
 every high Thing that exalts itfelf againft the 
 Knowledge of God. 
 
 2. It is alfo faid that we are to " grov/ in the 
 " Knowledge of God our Father, and Chrift our 
 " Saviour." 
 
 3. Here's a Pretence of giving us " clearer 
 ** Ideas of the Dodrine " than former Times 
 were blefled with. 
 
 4. 'Tis urged that we have " no other way of 
 *' fecuring the Unity of the Godhead, than ei- 
 *' ther by making the fecond and third Perfon 
 *' inferior^ or making them figurative.'* 
 
 5. This is propofed as " a Means ot Recon- 
 " ciliation among the contending Parties." 
 
 6. Every one of thefe new Schemes lays a 
 Claim to the" great Names of thofe who either 
 lived in the primitive Times, or have been Men of 
 Note fince the Reformation. 
 
 7. Some People would endeavour to give us 
 a Shock in our Faith with the Piety and Learn- 
 ing 
 
The DoBrtne (^/'Baptism, 223 
 
 ing of the Men, who bring in divers and ftrange Si;RM, 
 Dodlrlnes, and determine to make every Defence XL 
 of the Truth in which we are baptized, to be an u — y — 
 ill Ufage of them that oppofe it. 
 
 I Ihould hope indeed, that the Naming of 
 thefe ObjeAions which are fo weak and triRing 
 would be enough to confute them. Expofing 
 them to Light is expofing them to Shame. But 
 as they are the beft the Caufe can afford and the 
 Party can bring, fo we are to take them as we 
 find them. They muft be Children indeed, that Eph.iv. 
 are toffed to and fro with every Wind of Doc- i^- 
 trine, every little puff of Vanity, by fuch Rea- 
 Ibns as thefe. But 'tis the Will of God, that 
 we put to filence the Ignorance of foolijh Men. 
 
 I . Can any thing be more confident and airy 
 than to tallc of thefe polite Days in which we 
 live ? Could we ever think that Perfons ac- 
 quainted with theHoHnefs and Learning of former 
 Times, and who have prepared themfelves to the 
 Search of their Fathers, fhould fufier fuch Words 
 to go out of their Mouths ? One among us re- 
 joices that " he lives in a Day when Mefi are 
 " returned to the Scriptures." And another 
 fays, that " in this enlightened Age of Search 
 " and Enquiry, Men will not be fatisfied to hear 
 «' us make Ufe of inexplicable and myfterious 
 «' Terms, and tell them that the Senfe in them is 
 <« never to be known : They will not think that 
 *' Doftrine can be of fo much Importance to us 
 « which muft be wrapt up in perpetual Dark- 
 *' nefs, and can never be underftood." But 
 can any one think the Riches of Chrift are the 
 worfe for being unfearchable, or the Joys of Hea- Eph. iii. 
 ven for being unfpeakahk ! To this I anfwer, ^' 
 
2 24 ^^ DoSlrim of B a ? t i s u^ 
 
 (i.) As to the greater Attainments in Learti-^ 
 ing that are now pretended, I am in the Opinion 
 of thofe whofe vaft Compafs of Reading makes 
 them more able to defend it, that we are far be- 
 low the Men, whofe Praife has fo long been in 
 all the Churches of Chrift. Calvin, UJher, Jewel, 
 Cariwright, Goodwin, and Owen, are not much 
 exceeded as far as I can find. The Lights that 
 the Holy Spirit kindled up at our Reformation, 
 and whom he employed either to begin or defend 
 it, have made this Land to be the Valley of Vi- 
 fion for above 200 Years. The Volumes they 
 writ, the Care and Strength with which they ar- 
 gued, and above all, the Rehgion that animated 
 both their Books and their Lives, has given them 
 If.xxiv. an everlafting Remembrance. Thefe were £//^^rj 
 3'- „ that ferved the Lord, and h?i^ feen all the IVorks 
 ^" ^ "■ that the Lord had done for Ifrael ; but when that 
 Generation were gathered to their Fathers, ano- 
 ther Generation rofe after them which knew not 
 the Lord, nor the Works that he had done for 
 Ifrael. But, 
 
 (2.) If this Age v/ill not allow any thing that 
 is myjierious, we cannot help it. We fay, with- 
 out Controverfy, great is the Myjlery of Godli-* 
 Matt.xiii. nefs. To fome it is given to know the Myjleries 
 ^ ' • of the Kingdom, and to others it is not given. 
 
 Rom xvi. We preach the Revelation of the Myjlery that was 
 ^5- kept fecret fince the World began. We fpeak 
 
 1 Cor. ii. the Wifdom of God in a Myjlery, even the hidden 
 7« Wifdom that God ordained before theWorld unto 
 
 our Glory. We are to make all Men fee what 
 Eph.iii.9. is the Fellowfhip of the Myjlery, that from the 
 Beginning of the World has been hid in God. 
 Pray for us that Utterance may be given to us, 
 that we may open our Mouths boldly to make 
 - 19. known the Myjlery of the Gofpel. You are to 
 
 acknow- 
 
The DoBrine ^Baptism. 225 
 
 ^xMno^hdgt the Myjiery of God, and of the Fa- Serm. 
 ther, and of Chrift. Deacons are to hold the XI. 
 Myjlery of Faith in a pure Confcience. Let a u.— y—^* 
 Man fo account of us as Minifters of Chrift and ^^•. "• ..-/ 
 Stewards of the Myfieries of God. We defire to 
 cry out as the Apoftle does, O the Depth of the i Cor. iv. 
 Riches both of the Wifdom and Knowledge of '• 
 God ! how unfearchable are his Judgments, and °™' ^'' 
 his Ways paft finding out ! 
 
 The Article of the Trinity is not the only 
 Thing that we muft believe, and yet cannot ex- 
 plain. If the Objeftion is of any Value here, 
 we may carry it quite through the Gofpel. I 
 believe the Refurreftion of the Dead, that in my Job xix. 
 Flefh I fhall fee God, and yet that Flefh and 26. 
 Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom. But when ' ^°''* ^^'' 
 Mortality is to be fwal^o\v\:d up of Life, what 
 there will be of this Body to make it my own, 
 and what thofe Changes are by which it becomes 
 glorious and Ipiritual, are Things of th^t Nature 
 that I fhall never know *till I have them : And 
 therefore, if fome Man does fay, how are the 
 Head raifed up ? And with what Bo ay do they 
 rife ? I muft anfwer him as the Apoftle does, 
 thou Fool, that- which thou foweft, is riOt quick- 
 ened except it die. 
 
 (3.) This polite Age, that is fuppofed to outdo 
 all that went before it, has plainly betrayed and 
 weakened the Protejlant Religion. The Glory is 
 departed from our i_.and both in Worfhip and 
 Doctrine. That Simplicity of Devotion in v/hich 
 the Caufe was opened is over- run with Superfti- 
 tion, Form.ality, and the Commandments of 
 Men. And th^ Truth, as it is in Jefus, which 
 our Fathers maintained with the Sweat of their 
 Brows and feaied with the Blood of their Hearts, 
 this is changed into a Lye. 
 
 "^Q. The 
 
2 26 "The DoSlrine ^/Baptism. 
 
 The great Pillar and Ground of Truth that 
 they fct up againfl; the Man of Sin was Jujiifica- 
 tion by the Merits of Chrift. They who bring 
 in any other Righteoufnefs than this are going 
 back into Popery. If we build again the Things 
 that we have deftroyed, we make ourfelves 
 TranfgrefTors. As many as feek to htjujlified by 
 the Law are fallen from Grace. And fo, the 
 Neceflity of Almighty Grace to change our Na- 
 tures, the Witnefs of the Spirit to revive our 
 Souls, the Stability of the Covenant, the Perfe- 
 verance of the Saints were the Glories that dwelt 
 in our Land •, and yet thefe are gone into Con- 
 tempt and Darknefs. There is a Cry of all Sorts 
 againll them. 
 
 In our Fathers it was Fanaticifm, in us 'tis 
 Entbiifiafm. Thefe are the Weeds that fprung 
 up iince our laft Liberty. And whether they 
 who have all gone afide from what we were 
 taught about the Juftification of a Sinner, the 
 Renewal of his Nature, and the Acceptance of 
 his Perfon •, whether they who have deftroyed the 
 whole Peculiar that we have as Protejlants, are to 
 give us a new Foundation in which we are to 
 build as ChrifiianSy I muft leave to the End of 
 all Things. 
 
 (4.) That in this Age there is a Decay of Re- 
 ligion in Families, a want of Integrity in Con- 
 verfation, a Departure from the Simplicity that 
 kept our Fathers unfpotted from the World, is 
 not to be denied. Whether greater Light is to 
 be ftruck out of prayerlefs Houfes, and better 
 Notions can be expeded from worfe People ; 
 whether they who take Liberties, at which their 
 Parents would have trembled, are to be the In- 
 iirudtors of the World will foon be determined. 
 11 throwing away their Time at Home in Cards 
 ufid Dice, and giving up that Abroad to Plays 
 
 and 
 
7he DoBrine ^Baptism. 
 
 and Taverns, are Means of critical Learning, we 
 Ihall have it. 
 
 But among thefeMen who feem to befomewhat^ 
 what I would now obferve is thtir notorious Hy- 
 pocrify^ trampling on every Principle which they 
 have once maintained, as if they were not aiiiam- 
 ed to declare that Gain is Godlinefs. The Doc- i Tim. 
 trine of the Trinity they have refufed to own: ^^- 5- 
 Subicribing to it they have loaded v/ith as hard 
 Names as are owing to the greateft Wickednefs. 
 It has been made rebellious againft the Autho- 
 rity of Chrift, and the Sufficiency of the Scrip- 
 tures. 'Tis called an Inquifition, a Breach of 
 Charity, a Yoke of Bondage. 
 
 And yet how eafily has the 'Tail of the Dragon Rev. xii. 
 drawn down thefe Stars of Heaven to the Earth, 4- 
 and make them do the very Adion they ab- 
 horred, own the very Principle they denied, 
 build up again the Things they have deftroyed, 
 upon no otlier Motive than Preferment, xht grofs 
 JVages of Unrighteouf:efs ? Woe unto them, for 
 they have gone in tlie way o^ Cain, and ranjudeii. 
 greedily after the Error of Balaam for Reward. 
 As if in the mofl literal Senfe of the Word they 
 would carry a Lye in their right Hand. This is 
 a Politenefs which would have kept our Fathers 
 out of Jail j but they chole rather to fufrer Af- 
 flidtion with the People of God, than to enjoy 
 the Pleafures of Sin for a Seafon. They had 
 Trials of cruel Mockings and Scourgings, yea 
 moreover of Bonds and Imprifonments. 
 
 There was no Need for them to quit the pom- 
 pous Advantages that they who defpife them are 
 ftretching to, if they could have adted with fuch 
 a Maftery over Confcience : But Deftruction 
 from God was a Terror to theni. And what- 
 ever IrAaifFerence they are treated with, may my 
 Soul be fou!~id at laft among the Generations of 
 
 0^2 the 
 
2 28 72^ DoBrine <?/* B a p t i s m. 
 
 Serm. the Faithful, and have no Portion in either 
 XI. Worh.i v/ith Hypocrites and Unbelievers. 
 
 ' V-— ' 2. Another Argument is taken from our Ob- 
 
 JigRtions to grow in the Knowledgt of Jcfus Chrift. 
 That this is what we are bound to cannot be 
 denied, but that ever it fhould be pleaded as a 
 Rcafon lor our wavering in the Faith is matter of 
 Trouble and Wonder. You fliall have the Ob- 
 jeftion in the very Words of the Man that made 
 it, '' Since the Scripture bids us grow in the 
 " Knowledge of God our Father, and of Chrift 
 '* our Saviour •, this Age will not count it a 
 ** profane Thing to attempt to turn afide the 
 " Vail of Ignorance, and endeavour at leaft in 
 " fome Meafure to know God, and underftand 
 *' what they are required to believe concerning 
 '-' him." I anfwer, 
 
 (i.) Growing in the Knowledge of Chrift re- 
 
 cjuires no new Sche^nes^ any more than growing 
 
 in Grace implies new Principles. 'Tis fuppofed 
 
 that we do know him in liis Nature and his 
 
 Perfon. We are not waiting for another Jefus, 
 
 -'. C©r. ;:!. diftii^idt from what we have received ; or another 
 
 4- Spirit befides what we have accepted. The Apo- 
 
 ftk John^ who preached up Love and Charity, 
 
 made Confcience to declare nothing but what 
 
 1 Joim i. they li;:d heard from the Beginning. But if v/e 
 
 *• are to be unfettled with new Schemes contrary to 
 
 Roni. '-cvi. the ].)oclrine, that, v:e have learned 'tis not 
 
 ^7- growing in Knowledge but in Ignorance, There- 
 
 Ilekjciii. lore, be not carried about with divers ^ni^Jirange 
 
 '''"■ Dodrincs, for ]t^X\?, Chn'it h the fame Tefierdayy 
 
 to Day and for ever. 
 
 (2.) The Scripture has put a great Honour 
 upon Steddinefs in the Faith, which therefore 
 cj.nnot be inconfiftent with our Growth in Know- 
 ledge : It fliows us, that we are r.ot to fee 
 
 Things 
 
 o~ 
 
un. 1. 
 
 l!he DoBrine o/* B a p t i s m. 229 
 
 Things in another Light, but know thtm to a Surm. 
 better Purpofe, to have the FeUow/hip of thore XI. 
 Doflrines, and feel their Power in cur own Souls. <—— s--— ~j 
 Timoihy isdirefted to hold Faith and a good Con- ^P*^- '^i- 
 fcience, which fome ha/ing put away concerning , -[^ 
 Faith have made Sbipzareck. The Apoi'lf^ tells 19. 
 him, that in the latter Times feme fhaii .^cp.^rt w. t. 
 from the Faith, giving Heed to feducing Spiiits •, 
 and yet, there never was any of thefe vvho did 
 not pretend to a Growth in Knowledge •, buc he 
 is charged, keep that which is comi^ittcd to thy 
 Trufi, avoiding profane and vain Babblings, and 
 the Oppofitions or Wranglings of a Science, a 
 Knowledge, falfely fo called, which fome proftf- 
 fing have erred concerning the Faith. 
 
 Nay, he calls the unfeigned Faith that dv/elt 
 in him the very fame that had dvvelt in his 2 Tim. 
 Grandmother Lois, and his Mother Eunice. '• 5- 
 We have been infulted for adhering to the Doc- 
 trine of a Catechifm that v/as learned in our In- 
 fancy. Indeed had this been one of our own 
 mjaking, we ought to put it away among other 
 childifh Things. But our Parents had thcle Prin- 
 ciples of the Oracles of God as Timothy^s Grand- 
 mother and Mother had theirs, they knew of 
 ij^hnm they^ had learned theni. 
 
 Again, he is ordered to charge fome, that they 
 teach no other Doctrine, nor give Heed to Fables, 
 which minifter Queftions ratp.er tlian godly edi- 
 fying that is in \.he Faith. And he tells him, 
 that fome have fwerved from the Faith, and 
 turned afide to vain Jangling, underfcanding not 
 what they fay, nor whereof they affirm. So, in 
 another Place 'tis faid, that the:y who confent not 
 to wholfome JVords are proud, knowing nothing, 
 they give OccaHon to Strifes, Railings, and evil 
 Surmifmgs. And, as it he could not be too 
 abundant upon this Head, he bids him commit 
 
 0^3 the 
 

 The DoBrhie of B a ? r i s lu 
 
 the Things that he had heard of him among many 
 Witnefifes, to faithful Men, who fhall be able to 
 teach others alfo. 
 
 Some indeed tell us with a Heavinefs of 
 Thought as well as Anger, that " the Stability 
 I am prcffing you to, will do very well for 
 thole who do not give themfelves the Trouble 
 " of much thinking •, '* but it is an ill Sign upon 
 any that they are ever learnings and never able to 
 come to the Knowledge of the Truth. This is 
 waxing wanton againfl Chrift, and brings Dam- 
 
 I Tim. V. nation, becaule they have cafl off their firfl Faith. 
 
 ti,iz. 'Timothy is ordered to continue in the Things that 
 he had heard and been affured of 
 
 •Nor does he write in another v/ay to Titus, 
 
 Tit. i. 4. whom he calls his own Son after the common 
 
 Ver. g. Jpaith ; he would have a Bifhop hold faft the 
 
 faithful Word as he had hcen taught. And thus 
 
 writes another Apoftle \ for they had not their 
 
 feveral Schemes, but one and the felf-fame Spirit 
 
 1 Johnii. guided them •, it that abide in you which ye have 
 
 ^4* heard from the Beginning., ye fhall continue in the 
 
 Father and the Son. The anointing teaches you 
 all Things, and even as it has taught you, ye 
 fhall abide in him, and not be afliamed before 
 him at his coming. From thefe plain Declara- 
 tions I conclude, that there is a Form of found 
 Words, a Proportion or Analogy of Faith, by 
 which we are to judge of every Dodf rine whether 
 it be of God. I marvel that feveral are fo foon 
 removed from him that called them to another 
 Gofpel. There are fome that would trouble you 
 and pervert the Gofpel of Chrift ; but though 
 we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other 
 Gofpel, than that we have -preached, let him be 
 accurfed. 
 
 (3.) At this Rate we fhall never have our 
 
 Faith bounded, but left uncertain to the End of 
 
 * I the 
 
'The DoEirine ^j/" B a p t i s m. 
 
 the World. If Authors take a Liberty of vary- 
 ing from themfelves, Believers will be like a 
 Weather-cock, blown about by every Whiff that 
 rifcs in a proje6ling Fancy. I could never have 
 thought that a certain Minifter lliould deny the 
 proper Perfonality of the Son and Spirit, \y\\o but 
 five Years before has given us this as thefupreme 
 Degree of BlefTednefs, that there are three 
 GLORius Persons in the Trinity ; the Title of 
 the Sermon is blejfed Saints, blejfed Saviour, and 
 blejfed Trinity. He might as well make them all 
 figurative as the laft of them. 
 
 In that Difcourfe, he fpeaks of " their inef- 
 *' fable Union and Communion in one Godhead. 
 *' That they are eternally one God, and therefore 
 " eternally blelfed. He tells us, each facred 
 " Person poflelTes an unknown Pleafure.'* 
 And adds thefe Words, *' befides the general 
 " Glories of the divine Nature, we may fuppofe 
 *' that a full and comprehenfive Knowledge of 
 *' the Samenefs, the Difference, the fpecial Pro- 
 " perties, and the mutual Relations of the 
 " THREE DIVINE Persons (which he allows 
 *' to be utterly incomprehenlible to Mortals, 
 " and perhaps far above ail created Minds -,) 
 *' this is the incommunicable Entertainment of the 
 " Holy Trinity." 
 
 He then owns, that " in Reference to this 
 " Myftery, God may be faid to dwell in thick 
 " Darknefs or Light inacceffible ; we are loPc in 
 " this glorious and divine Abyfs, and overcome 
 " with dazzling Confufioii ; but the ever 
 ** BLESSED Three behold their Unities and 
 " DiJiin5fions in the cleared Light.'* At that 
 Time it was no Objeftion that the Dodrine is 
 wrapt up in Darknefs. Nay, 
 
 He fuppofes *'■ the BlefTednefs of the facred 
 " Three to confift of mutual Love, an eternal 
 
 0^4 '' Ai> 
 
T'he Do Brine (^y B a p t i s m. 
 
 Approach to each other with infinite Compla- 
 cency, an eternal Embrace of each aiher, with 
 Arms of inimitable Love and with Senlations 
 of unmeafurable Joy." The Propriety of all 
 this Rapture I (hall pafs no Judgment on -, but if 
 the Son and Spirit have only afgurat've Perfo- 
 nality^ I am lure thcfe are great fwellii^.g Words 
 of Vanity, all Noife and no Meaning. 
 
 He goes on to fay, that " the lljjed Three 
 " have an unknown Communion in the God- 
 " head, and an unfpeakable Nearnefs to one ano- 
 " thers Persons, inconceivable in being and in 
 " dwelling in each other .^^ And there he ac- 
 knowledges, that *' in vain we run through all 
 " the Names and Powers of Nature and Art, to 
 " feek the Refemblance of the blefled Three.** 
 And that our Faith may be either faid or fung^ 
 (after his ufual Manner) he clofcs with a little 
 Hymn. 
 
 But oh what Words, or Thoughts, can trace 
 
 The bleffed Three in One ! 
 Here reft my Spirit, and confefs. 
 
 The hifinite unknown. 
 
 Why his Spirit did not reft there after fuch 
 melodious Advice J cannot tell. Nay, he goes 
 farther than any that I have met with, " in fup- 
 " pofing fome DiftinElions in the divine Being of 
 " eternal Ncceffity, in order to complete the 
 " Blefled nefs ot the Godhead;" and concludes 
 upon the whole, that " the Differences which 
 *' we call ■perfonal Dijiin^ions, in the Nature of 
 *' God, are as ahjolutely necejfary to his Bkfled- 
 " ncls, as his being or any of his Perfedions.** 
 That after all thefe Flights and bold AfTertions, 
 the Pcribnality of the facred Three, fhould in 
 lefs than two Years be funk into a meer Figure, 
 
 an 
 
The DoBrine of B av t is>u, 233 
 
 an eaftfrn Form of Speech, (that is into nothing) Serm. 
 is unaccountable. XI. 
 
 3. There are none who draw you off from the 
 common Faith, but they pretend to clearer Ideas 
 of the Doctrine. To which I anfwer, that, 
 
 (i.) Diflinguifliing the Trinity into one Per- 
 fon and two Powers cognofcitive and volitive^ is 
 only a Rumble of Words without Knowledge. 
 If any one is enlightened by this Sort of Talk, I 
 own 'tis more than I am. Nor do I wonder 
 that the tattling Advocates of the Author, and 
 his Scheme tell us that very few underfland it ; 
 if fo, there is no great Clearnefs in thofe Ideas -, 
 'tis far from being fo plain that way-faring Men, 
 though Fools, fhall not err therein. 
 
 (2.) Thefe Terms are new in the World and 
 in the Churches. We have not proved them. 
 The Truth has been believed, defended, relifhed, 
 and adored without them : And therefore, if I 
 Ihould begin to talk about the Trinity in this 
 Language, I fhall be a Barbarian to all my 
 Hearers, and they to me. We defire to ufe 
 great plainnefs of Speech. 
 
 4. I need only name another Argument, and 
 anfwer it by denying the Fad ; that " without 
 " fuppofing a figurative Perfonality in the Son 
 " and Spirit we cannot maintain the Unity of 
 *' the Godhead." All the Flerefies in the World 
 have fet out with a Zeal upon this Head. The 
 Sabellians thought there v/as no other way to af- 
 fert only one God, than by making Father, Son, 
 and Spirit, to be three Names of the fame Per- 
 fon. Arius faw they were too diftind: tor fuch a 
 Notion, and therefore his Scheme for the divine 
 Unity was placing the Godhead only in the Fa- 
 ther, 
 
The DoEirine ^Baptism. 
 
 ther, and making the Son and Spirit to be 
 fubordinate Beings. But all thefc Enemies miift 
 own that they are contending for what is never 
 denied : Nor are there any whom they call Tri- 
 nitarians in a way of Reproach, that are not Um- 
 tartans as much as themfelves. 
 
 5. *Tis pleaded that " a Scheme may be 
 *' found out for the reconciling of all contentious 
 " Parties." And one Author among us thinks 
 he has got a Sight of it. He Ihows the Arians 
 and Semi-arians, that in his Notion there is the 
 fame Exaltation of the Son as a fuper-angelick 
 Spirit which they contend for : He tells the So- 
 cinians, that there is luch an Union of the divine 
 Attributes to him as makes him the Obje6t of 
 Worfhip : And yet ventures to afTure the Aiha- 
 naftans^ that here is a proper Deity given him ; 
 though he knows, and fo do all the World, that 
 thefe lad contend for three equal proper Perfons 
 in one undivided Nature. But, 
 
 (i.) The Event proves they are not united. 
 We have only new Strifes with every new Scheme ; 
 full of Backbitings, Whifperings, Swellings, and 
 Tumults. 
 
 (2) I don't know that fuch an Union is defir- 
 
 able. There muft be Herefies that they who 
 
 are approved may be made manijefi among you. 
 
 There's no Communion between Truth and 
 
 Error, Light and Darknefs, Chrid and Belial^ 
 
 one that believes^ and an Infidel, The Scripture 
 
 has dire(5led us to no fuch Agreements. If any 
 
 z Tim. V. yi2X\ confent not to wholfome I'Fords, from fuch 
 
 2 Tim withdraw thyfelf. From fuch turn away. He 
 
 iii. 7. that knows God hears us ; he that is not of God, 
 
 1 John iv. hears not us -, hereby know we the Spirit of 
 
 ^' Truth and the Spirit of Error. 
 
 6. 
 
7'he DoEirme of B a v r i s u. 231 
 
 6. As to the Pretence that this is a Doftrine of Se r m. 
 Antiquity, and that fume great Men of late are X. 
 gone into it, 1 am amazed that it's talked of ; 
 becaufe 'tis arraigning the Sinctrity or Capacity 
 of thofe learned Perfons who have fo lately proved 
 the contrary. An Author, among ourfelves, has 
 quoted Dr. Goodwin (whom he calls a learned 
 Enquirer) as in his Scheme. I read him with all 
 the Care I could ufe, and do aver that I cannot 
 find one Pafifage that looks like it, but above a 
 Hundred quite the other way •, I may therefore 
 be excufed from believing what he fays of thofe 
 that I have not read, when he makes a Sham- 
 boaft of thofe that I have. Did any of thefe 
 great Minifters ever deny the Perfonality of the 
 Son and Spirit ^ If they ilretch beyond their Line 
 in gu effing at the Manner how the Father, Son 
 and Spirit are one, and how they are three^ let 
 what they fpoke without Light be covered with 
 Darknefs. But they never imagined that any of 
 their Succejfors vrould bring them in, either as 
 fhuffling or trifling in the firfl: Article of our 
 Religion. 
 
 One Paflage of Dr. Owen I'll now take Leave 
 to give you from his fecond Volume upon the 
 Hebrews, p. 40. He had proved, that by the 
 eternal Vv^ord of God we are to underftand a 
 Perfon, and then brings in a Quotation from fome 
 of the Socman Writers, who would have the 
 Scriptures that he mentions taken in a figurative 
 Senfe, as fo many Profopopa^as, upon which the 
 Do6lor has this Remark ," That the Pretence of 
 *' a Profopopcva, or a Fid;ion of Perfon, is of great 
 *' Ufe to the Anti-trinitarians : By this one En- 
 " gine they prefume to defpoil the Holy Ghofi of 
 " his Deity and Perfonality : Whatever is fpoke 
 " of him in Scripture they fay is by a Profopo- 
 
 pcea^ 
 
The DoSirine <?/ B a p t i s m. • 
 
 •pcea^ thofe Things being afli ,ned to a Quality 
 or Accident, which really Kelong to ?. Perfon 
 only j " but, fays thelearried Author, "as to 
 what concerns the Holy Spirit, I have el fe where 
 " taken this Engine out of their Hands, and 
 *' caft it to the Ground, fo that none of them 
 " alive will erefl it again : " Little did he ima- 
 gine, that after this Triumph over the Sccinians, 
 one of his own Succejfors fhould do it for them. 
 
 7. As to their Endeavour to unfcttle us from 
 the Piety, Learning, and Humility of thofe, 
 that are fpawning out their new Schemes, 'tis 
 not worth an Anfwer. If Comparifons upon 
 this Head were proper they are not impolTible : 
 There is fo much Vanity in the Pretence, fuch a 
 Contempt of thofe whofe Memories will be ever 
 blefled, and fo falfe a Turn given to the Courfe 
 of Thinking, that we fhall leave the Argument 
 to take the Fate of a fudden Vapour, to appear 
 for a while, and then vanifli away. 
 
 I have Ihown you what the Faith is that you 
 profeffed at Baptifm, and the NeccfTity o\ hold- 
 ing it fajl ■, let me only give you two Diredlions 
 about it. . 
 
 1. That Chrift, whofe Deity you plead, is 
 able to carry you through all the Dangers of this 
 Caufe, and into all the Glory of it. He is faith- 
 ful who has promifed. 'Tis he who keeps you 
 from falling, and will prefent you before his 
 Glory with exceeding Joy. The Trial of your 
 Faith, which is much more precious than that of 
 Gold, that peri flies, will be found unto Praife 
 and Glory at his appearing. 
 
 2. Depend on the AfTiliance of that Perfon in 
 the divine Nature, by whom you were firft en- 
 lightened, and are to be eftabiiihed. V/e have not 
 
 received 
 
The DoSirine of B a ? r i s u. 237 
 
 received the Spirit of this World, but the Spirit Serm. 
 which is of God, that we may know the Things XI. 
 that are freely given to us of God. Thus ftand 
 faft in the Faith, that we lofe not the Things we 
 have wrought •, but in the Day of Chrift Jefus 
 may rejoice, that we have not preached in vain, 
 nor run in vain. 
 
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 Aurtlius Antonius, newly tranQatcd trom the 
 Greek •, with Notes, and an Account of his Life. 
 Glafg. Pr. 3 s. 
 
 P-5^