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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 X 
 
 Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Agnczv Coll. on Baptism, No. 
 
 
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 A N 
 
 INQUIRY 
 
 INTO THE 
 
 Nature and Design 
 
 O F 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 
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 in 2011 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/inquiryintonaturOOIond 
 
A N 
 
 ^INQUIRY 
 
 INTO THE 
 
 ature and Design 
 
 6 F J 
 
 B A P T I S 
 
 IN WHICH 
 
 The Neceffity of it is proved, 
 
 The Qualifications for it explained, 
 
 AND 
 
 The Right of Infants to it aflerted. 
 
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 Go ye therefore and Difcipk all Nations, Baptizing them hi the 
 Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghcf : 
 
 Teaching them to obfernje all things nvhatfocver I have commanded 
 you ; and lo, I am avith you al<way, even unto the end of the 
 world. Amen, matthew xxviii. 19, 20. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed and Sold by J. Wau-gh, in Lombard* 
 Street \ J. Noon, in Cheapfide j J. Buckland, 
 in Pater-Nofier-Row •, W. Fenner, in Pater- 
 Nojier-Row ; and C. Henderson, under the 
 Royal-Exchange. 1J5J. 
 
>. "• 
 
 * * 
 
ITOH 
 
 theqlogica;^ 
 
 S the Subject of the FollowJog 
 Treatife has been handled by fo 
 many Perfons eminent for their 
 Learning and Judgment, it can- 
 not be expected but that many 
 Obfervations will occur herein, which have 
 before fallen under the Reader's notice. The 
 Author has however this to fay in its behalf, 
 that the Plan of it is intirely new, and of his 
 own forming, and that it was formed by him 
 meerly out of what he had obferved in a care- 
 ful Examination of the holy Scriptures on this 
 Point ; though the principal Arguments con- 
 tained herein were digefted and ranged in 
 their proper order many years ago, but a few 
 have elapfed fince they began to be commited 
 to Writing, at the Inftance of a Learned and 
 Ingenious Friend. It would have been great 
 Prefumption to have undertaken the Decifion 
 of a Controverfy fo long, and fo warmly de- 
 bated, without making ufe of what Help 
 might be procured from Writings of reputed 
 excellency on the Subject. 
 
 That 
 
[ vi] 
 
 That no Arguments therefore of Importance 
 might efcape the Author's notice, or be im- 
 paired in their flrength j that no Objections of 
 weight might be let flip unobviated, the 
 Tracts written in the lafl Century by Bifhop 
 Taylor, 'Mr. Baxter, and Mr. Walker, 
 and thofe in the prefent by Whitby, Wall, 
 Gale, and Emlyn were perufed -, to which 
 were added two namelefs, but ingenious and 
 learned Pamphlets,., publifhed in the Years 
 1750 and 1751*. Thefe were all the Wri- 
 tings on the Subject which fell under the Au- 
 thor's infpection at the Time he undertook 
 this Work ; and that they were ferviceable to 
 him in it he is very fenfible, though he is now 
 at a lofs where to make proper acknowledg- 
 ments for thofe affiftances which he received 
 from them. Whatever Obfervations have 
 been drawn from thence, they were fo di- 
 gefted in his Thoughts, and incorporated into 
 his Scheme, as to give him a juft title to 
 them, though he cannot value himfelf upon 
 his being the firft to whom they occuredj 
 and what Improvements they have received 
 under his Management the Reader muft de- 
 termine. 
 
 This, he thinks, mayjuflly be faid of it, 
 that as the Scheme is new, fo the Arguments 
 
 are 
 
 * The Titles of the Pamphlets here refered to are, " The 
 (t Baptifm of Infants a Reafonable Service". And " Diping 
 <c not the only Scriptural and Primitive Manner of Baptizing ". 
 Both of them worthy the Perufal of ferious and intelligent 
 Chriftians. Printed for J. Wauch in Lombard-Street. 
 
[ vii ] 
 
 are let in a new light, as well as reduced into 
 a regular order; and that as far as the Au- 
 thor's reading or difcernment can difcover, 
 there are fome Obfervations contained herein, 
 which are quite new, and not before taken 
 notice of; they were fo at leaft to him 'till 
 the three firft Proportions were fent to the 
 Prefs, and a confiderable part of them printed 
 off, though he has fince had the fatisfaction 
 to find feveral hints of them in a Set of very- 
 judicious and learned Tracts publifhed by Mr. 
 Caleb Fleming in the Year 1745; but 
 intirely unknown to him 'till within a fhort 
 time paft ; thefe, had he been fo happy as to 
 have feen them before, would have afforded 
 him feveral important Obfervations in confir- 
 mation of his Syftem, but all that he can now 
 do, is to declare his Approbation of them. 
 
 There have alfo lately fallen into the Au- 
 thor's Hands fome other Tracts on this Sub- 
 ject without a Name, which contain many va- 
 luable Remarks; but as they are chiefly im- 
 ployed in Proof of the Antiquity of Infant- 
 Baptifm, there is not fo much to be expected 
 from them in furtherance of his Defign, how- 
 ever deferving of his Efteem they muft be al- 
 lowed to be, for the extenfive Learning and 
 critical Difcernment to be difcovered in them *. 
 
 The 
 
 * Thefe Trafts are intitled, «« Psedo-Baptifm, or a Defence 
 " of Infanf-Baptifm in point of Antiquity". " P^do-Bap- 
 " tifm defended; or the Antiquity of Infant-Baptifm further 
 " maintained ". And " Pasdo-Baptifm the fecond Part ; or a 
 
 " Defence 
 
The Difadvantages under which the following 
 Sheets appear in the World befpeak the Rea- 
 der's Candour, at the fame time that the well 
 meant Intention of them, and the Approba- 
 tion of the Judicious Friend under whofe In- 
 spection they are made publick, give incou- 
 ragement to hope they will be ufeful. 
 
 The Author has not the vanity to think 
 them free from all Defects ; the Correction 
 of fuch, or any Improvement which may be 
 made on his Arguments, will be received by 
 him with Pleafure and Thapkfulnefs j but if 
 thev mould be attacked with Paffion and Par- 
 ty- Violence, or upon the Principles of Bigotry 
 and Enthufiafm, fuch an Attack will be treat- 
 ed with the Contempt it juftly deferves. If 
 anything contained herein be deemed repug- 
 nant to the Accounts given of Baptifm by the 
 Primitive Fathers, this matter will perhaps 
 receive a due Consideration, if the prefent 
 Treatife meets with a favourable Reception. 
 
 " Defence of the Authority of Infant-Baptifm, in Anfwer to 
 * the common Objections againft it ". Printed for J. Waugh. 
 
 OF 
 
[ I ] 
 
 
 O F 
 
 THS( 
 
 If 
 >h£C, AH* * 
 
 APTIS 
 
 iOOsOt H E Sacrament of Baptifm is undoubt- 
 5@C x ^ ec ^y an Ordinance of an arbitrary and 
 )«C M pofitive nature, and the obligation to 
 *U8\/%J& obferve it is derived entirely from the 
 Command, and founded on the Authority of Chrift*, 
 fuch an authority he claimed in the courfe of his 
 Miniftry, and he vindicated his right to it not on- 
 ly from the Prophecies of moses and the Prophets 
 concerning him, but by a great number of fur- 
 prizing and unparalleled Miracles : when he came 
 to cloie his Miniftry on Earth, he renewed this 
 claim in a very ftrong and explicit manner, as a 
 foundation for that Commiffion which he gave his 
 Apoftles to carry on that work which he had 
 begun. 
 
 All Power? fays our blefTed Lord, is given unto 
 me in Heaven and in Earth , Go ye therefore and teach 
 all Nations? Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, 
 and of the Son? and of the holy Ghoji , teaching them 
 to obferve all things whatfoever I have commanded 
 you \ and lo, I am with you alway? even unto the 
 tnd of the world. Amen, matthew xxviii. i8, 
 
 B 19, 
 
 v 
 
[ . 2 ) 
 
 19, 20. This Commiffion is of a very compre- 
 henfive and important nature, and contains in it 
 thofe full Powers with which Chrifl invefted the 
 Apoitles for founding and eftablifhing his King- 
 dom. The firfr part of it contains directions 
 for admiting perfons into the Church of Chrifl:, 
 Go ye therefore and teach all Nations, Baptizing them 
 in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 holy Ghoft. And as this is the plainer!: and fulleft 
 account we have of the inflitution of Baptifm, we 
 have reafon to expect the cleared difcoveries of the 
 nature and defign of this Sacrament, from a care- 
 ful and critical examination of this Command of 
 Chrifl. 
 
 That our inquiries therefore into this Subject 
 may be ftrict and impartial, before I make any 
 obfervations with a view to determine the direct 
 intention of this Ordinance, I lhall endeavour, 
 in as plain a manner as I can, toafcertain the fenfe 
 and meaning of the words by which it is injoined. 
 
 All Power is given unto me in Heaven, and in 
 Earth, i. e. 'I have not only declared to you 
 f in my Preaching, but convinced you by my 
 
 * Miracles, and efpecially by my Refurrection 
 e from the Dead, that I am poflefled of a divine 
 « power and authority, qualifying me to injoin 
 « iuch Obfervances as are proper for the founding 
 8 and enlarging that Kingdom of which I am con- 
 
 * ftituted the fupreme Ruler and Lawgiver. In 
 
 * purfuance of this, as I am now about to leave 
 
 * you, and the propagation of that Religion, which 
 
 * I came into the world to eftabiifh, to your care, 
 c I give you, whom I appoint to be the chief Mi- 
 
 * nilters and Adminiflrators of my Kingdom, a 
 ' Commiffion to carry on the great work of con- 
 c verting mankind to the knowledge and profef- 
 J fion of Chriilianity ; you are hereby impowered 
 
 ' to 
 
t 3 ] 
 
 5 to further and accomplish that blefled purpofe 
 * of reforming the world, and I therefore com- 
 c mand you by virtue of that authority, which I 
 ' have received from the Father, to be diligent 
 s and active in the execution of it '. 
 
 Go ye therefore and teach all Nations, p.^mvirxre, 
 teach, i. e. make Profelytes and Difciples in all 
 Nations. Juft as it is faid of Jefus, that he made 
 and baptized more difciples than John, john iv. i. 
 for y.xQuTzv&v and noie-.v /y.a9»Ta?, the original words 
 here ufed, have directly the fame fignification. 
 The word notfimtw is ufed but three times befides 
 in the New Teftament ; in all which places this 
 rendering of it feems moft natural, though it be 
 in fome of them tranflated in a different manner. 
 The firft is matthew xiii. 52. where it is faid, 
 every Scribe inftrutled, [j.o&mtvQc-x, into the Kingdom 
 cf God, &c. but had been more juftly rendered, 
 every Scribe who is difcipled into the Kingdom of God, 
 or become a difciple of the Mejfiah. The next place 
 is matthew xxvii. 57 . where it is related of Jo- 
 seph of arimathea, that he was difcipled to 
 Chrift, Ey-atimivez t« Jturx, or as it is rendered, he 
 'Was Jefus Difciple. The other place is acts xiv. 
 21. where it is faid of paul and barnabas, that 
 they preached the Gofpel at derbe and taught \ 
 y.fhv-\jGe.vTtu i. e. difcipled many, or made many 
 difciples and converts there. 
 
 Thefe places, if rendered literally, and the word. 
 (j-aQiniva be conftrued teach, can fcarce be allowed 
 to be good Engliih ; for 1 apprehend, there can 
 be no proper meaning fixed to a perfon's being in- 
 ftrutled or taught into the Kingdom of Heaven* &<; 7m 
 fi&crix&iciv rav oupavuv ; nor is it ienfe to fay, that Jo- 
 seph -was taught or inftructed to Jefus, wlnws 
 and in the laft Text, though it be good fenfe, yet 
 their being taught is manifeftly included in the 
 
 B 2 words 
 
f 4 ] 
 
 words foregoing, viz. preaching the Gofpel, and 
 muft therefore be added unneceffarily •, whereas, 
 if the word n^nnvu be rendered difciple, every one 
 of thefe paflages admits of ajuft and grammatical 
 conftruction, and fuch as is perfectly agreable 
 with the defign of their being introduced : and I 
 think there can be no room to entertain the leaft 
 doubt of this being the true meaning of the word, 
 if we confider that it is fo ufed by fome of the beft 
 of the Greek authors, who wrote about the fame 
 time with the Evangelifts •, thus plut arch fays 
 of isocrates, " that theopompus was difcipled 
 
 *' to him ", suaQnTives eTj avcco v.a.1 0£jTo/fcTos. PLUT. 
 
 in Vit. isocrat. which is an expreflion exactly 
 parallel to that which relates to Joseph of ari- 
 mathea. matthew xxvii. 57. and the word is 
 ufed in the very fame fenfe by justin martyr, 
 fpeaking of fome perfons then living, of fixty or 
 feventy years of age, who were difcipled, or made 
 difciples to Chrift in their childhood, 01 vl T&iS'ai 
 
 s/aaS»Tfu9H<rav Tfii Xptre. Apol. 2. 
 
 Let me only add, that without allowing this 
 interpretation of the words, there will be a mani- 
 feft tautology in them, and the fame thing will be 
 immediately repeated in a manner quite unfuitable 
 to the dignity of this Commiffion, Go ye therefore 
 and teach all Nations, Baptizing them, and imme- 
 diately after teaching them, &c. For thefe or other 
 reafons moft learned men, however they have dif- 
 fered in their fentiments with refpect to the Sub- 
 jects of Baptifm, have agreed in allowing difciple 
 to be the moft exact and juft tranQation. 
 
 How this -difcipling and profelyting the nations 
 to him is to be performed, is what our blefTed 
 Lord next proceeds to direct, and it confifts of 
 two parts ; firft, baptizing them, £Wn<Ws>'> and 
 then teaching thew y JWWo»r«> for both thefe words 
 
 have 
 
[ 5 ] 
 
 have an equal relation to the verb y.oiQtmv<ra.7i dif- 
 ciple. 
 
 The firft thing Chrift commands them to do is 
 to Bapt izethem ; the word pxvTtfa, Baptize, ufu- 
 ally fignifies in Scripture /<? wet, or ' wafh *, and has 
 its derivation from the religious obfervances of 
 this kind among the Jews •, for we are told, he- 
 brews ix. 10. that a great part of their ritual fer- 
 vice confided in divers wafhings, e/Vapopo/j (ZcnrTK?- 
 /*«?> divers kinds of warnings, baptifrhs of diffe- 
 rent natures, and for different ends : thus Chrift- 
 cbferves of them, that having received it fi 
 the religious Traditions of their Elders, except ii / 
 wafh, pccirTto-covTOif, baptize their hands, they eat not ; 
 and that there were many other things which they 
 received and held, as the wajhings, fionrTteyxs, Bap- 
 tifms of Cups and Pots, brazen Veffels and Tables. 
 mark vii. 3, 4. 
 
 If we look into the Law of moses, we mall find 
 wajhing enjoined upon feveral accounts ; it was 
 ufed by way of purification from legal defilements. 
 leviticus xv. and xvii. 15. it was ufed alfo in 
 the confecration of the Priefts and Levites to 
 their office, exodus xxix. 4. and xl. 12. leviti- 
 cus viii. 6. numbers viii. 7, 21. and whenever 
 the Priefts entered into the Tabernacle for the per- 
 formance of its folemn fervice, they alfo wafhed, 
 exodus xl. 32. There was alfo a wajhing injoined 
 to all the People of Ifrael when they drew near 
 to mount Sinai to receive the Law from God. ex- 
 
 B 2 odus 
 
 * The general and mo#. comprehensive Signification of the 
 word PcLfTa, from which fiuvri^oo is a diminutive, is to nxiet, 
 and it is ufed for wetting either by fprinkling, afFufion, or 
 diping, and that either for the purpofes of nvajhing, dying, or 
 bathing ; as might be made appear from a great number of 
 inftances, had I room for them, and it belonged to my 
 fubjeft. 
 
[ 6 ] 
 
 odus xix. io, 14. and before that time the whole 
 Nation of the Jews was feparated to God, under 
 the conduct of moses, by a religious wajhing, or 
 Bnptifm ; for we find this exprefsly afferted by the 
 Apoftle. 1 Corinthians x. 2. They were all bap- 
 tized unto Mofes in the Cloud, and in the Sea : this 
 could not indeed be called wajhing in the ffrict 
 and ordinary fenfe of the word, they were not 
 plunged, or bathed in water, for we are told, that 
 the waters Jiood upright as an Heap, and were as a 
 Well unto them on the right hand, and on the left. 
 exodus xiv. 22. xv. 8. fo that they could only 
 be weted and fprinklcd by the water that proceeded 
 from the Cloud and the Sea •, and the like may be 
 obferved with regard to their other warnings, that 
 in mod cafes it was not thought neceffary that the 
 whole body mould be warned with water -, indeed, 
 in fome inftances of legal uncleannefs, the whole 
 body was to be wafhed, or bathed in water, leviti- 
 cus xv. 13, 16. 
 
 There was alfo a wafting inftituted to be ufed 
 in the confecration of aaron and his Sons to the 
 Prietlhood, but this appears from the execution of 
 the appointment, related exodus xl. 31. to be no 
 more than wajhing their Hands and their Feet. A 
 lefs degree of wajhing was required of the Peo- 
 ple of Ifrael when they were fanclified and pre- 
 pared for the reception of the Law from God, for 
 then they were only to. waJJo their Clothes, exodus 
 xix. 10, 14. Nor was any more demanded in fome 
 of the lower degrees of Defilement, leviticus xi. 
 25, 40. numbers xxxi. 24. Nay, in the fepara- 
 tion of the Levites to their office, there was only 
 added to this of warning their Clothes, the fprink- 
 ling of water of Purification upon them, numbers 
 viii. 7. And this laft and loweft kind of warning 
 was fometimes allowed of in the purification of 
 
 the 
 
[ 7 ] 
 
 the unclean, without any clfe joined with it. num- 
 bers xix. i 8. Hebrews ix. 13. 
 
 There being fo great a diverfity in the wafh- 
 ings or baptifms injoined by the Law of moses, 
 with regard both to the mode and defign of 
 them, it is reaibnable to think, that when the 
 Rite of Baptifm was adopted by Chrift, it muft 
 be with one or other of thofe views, and in fome 
 or other of thefe modes and forms. 
 
 The mode ufed in the Baptifm of the firft dif- 
 ciples has been fuppofed by many to be that of im- 
 mergtng, or bathing the whole Body in Water •, 
 and this fuppofition is chiefly founded on thofe 
 Texts wherein Chriftians are faid to be buried with 
 Chrift in Baptifm. Romans vi. 4. colossi ans ii. 
 12. but thefe expreffions are plainly figurative, 
 denoting only the inward and moral change form- 
 ed or intended by embracing the Chriftian Pro- 
 fefilon ; and I think require no more of an exter- 
 nal refemblance to explain them, than thole other 
 phrafes, being crucified with Chrift, and circumcifed 
 fivitb the Circumcifion of Chrift, with which they are 
 conjoined. 
 
 If we are to take Metaphors for our guides in 
 this matter, there are others which denote only a 
 partial warning of the body, or a pouring, or 
 Sprinkling water upon it, which have at leaft an 
 equal claim to our regard ; but thefe lafb, I ap- 
 prehend, are more than figurative expreffions, 
 and have a direct reference to thofe Baptifmal 
 Inftitutions, under the Law of moses, from which 
 Chriftian Baptifm is derived ; which (as I fhall 
 make evident in the fequel) are no other than the 
 Confecration of the Priefts and Levites to their 
 Office •, for the former of thefe had only their 
 hands and their feet warned, and the latter were 
 only fprinkled with water for this purpofe : and 
 
 B 4 there 
 
[ 8 ] 
 
 there is a manifeft allufion to both thefe in the a- 
 poftolick reprefentations of Chriftian Baptifm, it 
 is called the Laver, Asrpoi', or wajhing of Regene- 
 ration, titus iii. 5. with reference to the Laver 
 in the Tabernacle and Temple, at which the Priefts 
 were warned when they were confecrated ; and 
 fprinkling is connected with the baptifmal wafbing 
 of the body, Hebrews x. 22. with a view to the 
 fprinkling of the Levites for the fame end : and 
 indeed there are many circum dances attending the 
 Baptifms related in the acts of the Apofties, 
 which afford the higheft probability that they 
 muft have been performed in one or other of thefe 
 ways, but could not by that of a total immer- 
 fion or diping -f\ 
 
 The next article of the Commiffion points out 
 the Perfons into whom, or into whofe name 
 Chriflians are to be baptized, Baptizing them in 
 the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 holy Ghojl ; «? to ovoij.a t« Tarpo?, &c being baptized 
 into a Perfon, or into the Name of a Perfon, fig- 
 nifies, in the New Teftament, being fubjected to 
 the authority, guidance, and protection of that 
 Perfon ; thus the Ifraelites are faid to be baptized 
 into Mofes, e.novMww, when they put themfelves 
 under his protection, and acknowledged him to 
 be their Leader and Lawgiver, of which they 
 gave a molt indifputable proof, by following him 
 into a wide and boifterous fea while the waters 
 Hood up inheaps on each fide of them. 
 
 It is upon this footing that St. paul demands 
 of the Corinthians, a Party of whom had fet 
 
 him 
 
 t The fufHciency of a partial warning or fprinkling in this 
 Ordinance is, I think, much countenanced by the confidera- 
 tion that ^ctti(« is a diminutive from/3*xT<y, and as this fig- 
 nifies/owe/, fo that mult figni fy tonj.et a little, which is done 
 b y Affufjon or Sprinkling. 
 
[ 9 ] 
 
 him up as their Head and Mailer, in opposition 
 toothers who had let up apollos and Cephas 
 upon a level with Chrift, were ye baptized into the 
 Name of Paid? «* ?° «w^« i.e. " Did I ever, 
 " when I baptized any of you, claim an autho- 
 " rity over you, or demanded any SubjecTaoq 
 *' from you, as your Lawgiver and Rui r, and 
 " why then mould you preiume to detract trom 
 " the fovereignty of Chrift, by exalting me in 
 *' opposition to him, who was crucified tor you, 
 " and into whom ye were baptized, and thereby 
 " acknowledged him to be your only Lord and 
 " Mafter " ? Baptizing then into Chrift, or the 
 Name of Chrift, Signifies being Subjected to his au- 
 thority and government, his protection and gui- 
 dance. When therefore the Apoftles are com- 
 manded to Baptize all Nations, in the Name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghoft, the 
 meaning is. " Devote them to the worfhip and Ser- 
 " vice of the great God who created them, to the 
 " love and obedience of Chrift, the Son of God 
 " who redeemed them, and to the guidance and 
 " affiftance of the holy Ghoft, who renews and 
 *' Sanctifies them ; by this means they will be.ad- 
 " mited into that Covenant of Grace which was 
 * c contrived by the Father, purchafed by the Son, 
 " and confirmed and Sealed by the holy Spirit ". 
 
 The next direction contains the other efiential 
 and neceffary part of making difciples, viz. teach- 
 ing them. — Difciple all Nations, baptizing them, and 
 teaching them to cbferve all things whatfoever I have 
 commanded you. 
 
 The word here tranflated teaching, <ft=fW*w«?, 
 is different from that which is tranflated in the 
 Same manner in the foregoing verfe, and properly 
 Signifies the instruction of a Parent or Mafter in- 
 culcated on his Children or Scholars; Such in- 
 
 ftructions 
 
[ IO. ] 
 
 flructions the Apoftles were ordered to convey in 
 confequence of their Baptifm to all thole who 
 were admited into the School of Chrift thereby ; 
 they were to be well informed in the knowledge of 
 the grand Principles of Chriftianity, and directed 
 and perfwaded to an obedience to all its neceffary 
 and ufeful duties •, fome of thefe Chrift had re- 
 vealed to his Apoftles in his preaching, and in his 
 difcourfes to them after his Refurrection, when 
 he opened their Under/landings, that they might under- 
 jland the Scriptures, luke xxiv. 45. And whatever 
 was then omited neceffary to the knowledge or 
 obfervance of Chriftianity, was abundantly com- 
 municated at the pouring out the holy Ghoft upon 
 them foon after Chrift's Afcenfion, according to 
 his promife to them, john xiv. 26. But the Com- 
 forter, which is the holy Ghoji, whom the Father 
 will fend in my Name, he fhall teach you all things, 
 and bring all things to your Remembrance, whatfoever 
 1 have J aid unto you. The fenfe then of this Pa- 
 agraph of the Commiffion is this. " The Nations 
 8 are not only to be admited into my Religion 
 8 by Baptifm, but they are alfo to be taught the 
 1 doctrines and rules of it ; and if they will be 
 c true difciples, and compleat Christians, they 
 8 mult believe thofe doctrines, learn thofe rules, 
 4 and obferve thofe injunctions which I have de* 
 8 clared, or fhall communicate to you, and in 
 8 which you are to inftruct them ". 
 
 The laft claufe of the Commiffion contains our 
 bleffed Lord's promife of the perpetual direc- 
 tion and afiiftance of his holy Spirit, not only to 
 qualify and enable his Apoftles, and their Succef- 
 fors, to perform the duties of their Miniftry in 
 forming and eftablifbing his Church and Kingdom, 
 but likewife to influence thofe who mould become 
 members of it, and beftovv on them thofe privi- 
 leges 
 
[ » ] 
 
 leges or blefilngs, which were intended to be com- 
 municated in confequence of their being admited 
 as his difciples by Baptifm. And to, I am with 
 you alway, even unto the end of the World. i. e. 
 " Though I am now going to leave you, in re- 
 " gard of my bodily Prefence, yet I will continue 
 " with you by means of the holy Spirit, to direct, 
 " aflift, and fupport you and all my followers in 
 " the performance of this and every duty and 
 " exercife to which you (hall be called for the in- 
 " creafe and perfecting my Church ; and that not 
 " for a fhort time only, and *s long as you fhall 
 " remain in the world, but I will continue my 
 " Prefence with all thofe who fhall fucceed you in 
 *' faithfully carrying on the fame work, even un- 
 ff til the period and confummation of all things 5 '. 
 The words in the Original are tut <rwT£K&xs tk 
 atuvos, until the end of the Age •, in order to under- 
 (land the meaning of which expreffion, it muft 
 be obferved, that there are two remarkable Ages 
 or Periods of Time fpoken of in the New Teita- 
 ment, into which the Jews had been accuflomed to 
 divide the time of the World's duration ; one of 
 them previous to the coming of the Median, the 
 other that which fucceeds it ; the former of thefe 
 had its end at the Refurrection of our Saviour, for 
 not till then did he appear as the Mefiiah : fo that 
 when he gives this Commiffion to his Apoftles, 
 and tells them that it was to continue in force to 
 the end of the Age, he mull certainly mean, and 
 they muft certainly underftand him to mean, that 
 Age upon which they were then entered ; for to 
 fuppofe him to mean the former Age, which was 
 expired, is to fuppofe him to appoint an Inftitu- 
 tion which was never to be put in practice ; and if 
 Baptifm is to continue to the end of the latter 
 Period, as it is here appointed by our blelled Sa- 
 viour, 
 
[ 12 ] 
 
 viour, then it cannot be an Ordinance of a tem- 
 porary nature, nor be intended to be confined to 
 the Apoftolick Age, but muft be defigned for all 
 Ages of the World, and for all perfons who 
 ihould be admited into the fchool of Chrift, 
 and have the privilege of being inftructed into the 
 doctrines and rules of the Gofpel. 
 
 Thus have I given you as fhort and as plain 
 an explication of the words of the Commiflion, 
 3s my defign would admit. You will readily 
 perceive that they confift of three Parts. I. A 
 Commiflion or Injunction to the Apoftles, to 
 make difciples amongft all nations. II. An Ac- 
 count of the manner how thefe difciples were to 
 be made, and that was by baptizing them, and 
 then teaching them the doctrines and duties of 
 Chriftianity. III. A promife of all necellary af- 
 fiftance, for the furtherance of this work, unto 
 the end of Time. If you keep this divifion of 
 the words in mind, you will be better able to judge 
 of the propriety of the Obfervations or Propofi- 
 tins which I mall deduce from them, for the dif- 
 covery of the nature and defign of this Ordi- 
 nance, the qualifications of thofe to whom it is 
 to be adminiftered, and the duties and privileges 
 attendant upon it. 
 
 Proposition I. 
 
 The direct intention of the Ordinance of Bap- 
 tiim is to initiate perfons into the Chriftian Reli- 
 gion •, to devote and confecrate them to Chrift, 
 and to make them vifible and acknowledged mem- 
 bers and fubjects of his Church and Kingdom. 
 
 In the explication of our Lord's Commiflion 
 to the Apoftles, I have obferved, that Baptifms 
 among the Jews were of divers kinds, and in- 
 tended 
 
t 13 ] 
 
 tended for different purpofes * -, but I believe upon 
 the niceft and moft critical examination, they may 
 be all reduced to thefe two Heads, viz. Baptifms 
 of Purification, and Baptifms of Dedication or 
 Confecration. 
 
 The Baptifrn of john the Baptift, eminently lb 
 called from the great Numbers which he baptized, 
 I think is indifputably of the former kind •, it is 
 called the Baptifrn of Repentance for the Remiffion of 
 Sins, mark i. 4. like ill. 3. and thofe who were 
 baptized of him are; faid to be baptized confeffmg 
 their Sins, matthew Hi. 6. Now John did no Mi~ 
 racks, john x. 41. neither did he claim any autho- 
 rity, or manifeft the leaft defign, to introduce a 
 new religion among the Jews, and though many 
 took him to be a Prophet, and even the Mefnah, 
 yet he abfolutely difclaims this character, john i. 
 21. and he affumed no other character or office 
 than that of a Treacher of the Baptifrn of Repentance. 
 mark i. 4. acts xiii. 24. and that of a Meffenger 
 fent to prepare the Way for the opening of the Gof- 
 pel Difpenfation. mark i. 2. john i. 23. To make 
 ready a -people prepared for the Lord ; and to go be^ 
 fore the face of -the Lord to prepare his ways, luke 
 i. 17, 76. and all that diftinguifhed him as a Pro- 
 phet was that he was to go before the MeJ/iah in the 
 
 fpirit 
 
 * I do not apprehend that there is a neceflity of a diftincT: 
 proof that the words, cPioapopoi; (Zct7rTW[j.oi<;, do not fignify 
 merely many Baptifms, but fuch as are of different Intentions, 
 fince I have in my explication of the words of Inftitution, 
 produced feveral Jnftances that they were fo. I fnall only 
 therefore add, that this is the conftant fignification of the 
 word JVapopo? in all Authors ; and though it is ufed but once 
 more in the New Teilament, it is plainly in the fame fenfe, 
 Romans xii. 6. Having then Gifts, differing, Kccpt<j-[J.ctTa. fiaipofct, 
 according to the Grace that is gimen unto us, &c. and there are 
 Inftances of their difference immediately adjoined bv the 
 Apoftle. 
 
[ 14 ] 
 
 fpirit and paver of Ellas, luke i. ij. that he was 
 the lad of" all the Jewifh Prophets, and he was to 
 ufher in that great Prophet which was expected to 
 come into the world ; accordingly we never find 
 that any perfons are faid to be baptized into John, 
 or into the Name of John, as they are into moses 
 and Chrift, who were not only Prophets, but Law- 
 givers, and published a new revelation of the di- 
 vine Will. 
 
 If it be afked then, Into what were the difciples 
 of john baptized by his Baptifm ? The account 
 which john gives of himfelf and his Baptifrn will 
 furnifh us with an eafy anfwer, viz. That it was 
 only into a Renunciation of their former Sins and 
 Errors, and into an expectation of the Kingdom 
 of the Median, which was ready to be revealed. 
 But why fhould he baptize them on this account, 
 fince many of the Jewifli Prophets came upon the 
 fame errand with him, exhorting to repentance, 
 and foretelling the appearance of the Mefliah, 
 and yet never prefumed to baptize any ; and as he 
 had no higher pretenfions than theirs, why fhould 
 he take upon him to baptize any more than they ? 
 This was the queftion put to john by the Priefts 
 and Levites, who were of the Sect of the PharifeeSjj 
 a Sect very well acquainted with the religious, cuf- 
 toms and traditions of the Jews. Why baptizeji 
 thou, fay they, if thou be not the Chrift, nor Eiias, 
 nor that Prophet? john i. 25. 
 
 To give light into the reafon of their demand, 
 it mud be obierved, that it was a well known and 
 well eftablifhed cuftom among the Jews, when any 
 perfons became Converts and Profelytes to their 
 religion, from among the Heathens, to admit them 
 with a becoming folemnity into it, by baptizing 
 them with water, denoting by this fignificative 
 Ceremony the warning away their finful Idolatries 
 
 and 
 
[ '5 ] 
 
 and Superftitions, and feparating them to the Wor- 
 fhip and Service of the true God. This cuflom 
 was probably derived either from the Baptifm of 
 moses when he purged the whole nation of Ifrael 
 from thofe Impurities which they had contracted 
 by their refidence among the idolatrous ./Egyptians, 
 in order to enter them into that Religion which he 
 was about to eftablifh, by baptizing them in the 
 Red Sea •, or, as the Jewifh Writers aflert, from the 
 command which moses received and executed, juft 
 before the giving the Law from Mount sinai, to * 
 fanctifyall the people, and let them warn their clothes. 
 exodus xix. 10, 14. by which rite they were put- 
 in order to be confecrated to God, and entered in- 
 to Covenant with him, and prepared for the re- 
 ception of the divine Commandments. 
 
 Whichfoever of thefe gave occafion to the cuf- 
 tom, it was plainly ufed with an intent to prepare 
 them .for Initiation into the Mofaick Religion ; 
 and it was not defigned merely that the new profe- 
 lytes fhould renounce their former Errors by Bap- 
 tifm, but there was aifo a new Religion into which 
 they were to be initiated, and entered thereupon. 
 But the Cafe was very different with regard to 
 John's Baptifm, they were not Heathens whom 
 he baptized, but Jews ; and though he demanded 
 of them Repentance, and a renunciation of their 
 former Errors and Sins, yet he had no new Doc- 
 trine to teach them, he inftituted no frelh Religion 
 to enter them into ; and this was what the Phari- 
 fees could not account for, with regard to his 
 
 Baptifm, 
 
 * The word fanBify in feveral Places of Scripture feems to 
 fignify nxjajb, or baptize ; fan&ifying the Priefts and Levites 
 was performed by warning ; and when perfons were purified 
 from any Uncleannefs by warning with water, they are faid 
 to he fanftijied. leviticus vi. 27. 2 samuel xi, 4. 
 
[ '6 J 
 
 Baptifm, and was the foundation of the difficulty 
 contained in their queftion to him. It is plain 
 therefore, that the Baptifm of john could not take 
 in both thefe intentions, for in that cafe they would 
 not have been at alofs about his baptizing, it mult 
 therefore be intended by way of Purification only, 
 agreably to what he himfelf declares. 
 
 There was another difficulty ftarted by the Jews, 
 on occafion of (Thrift, or his difciples, taking up- 
 on them to baptize, when john had not yet finish- 
 ed his courfe, but continued ftill baptizing in E- 
 r.on, near to Salim. john iii. 25. The queftion we 
 are told arofe between fome of John's difciples 
 and the Jews, and it was about purifying, ^gp, KX . 
 Qz.pnrux, a word frequently ufed in the Old and New 
 Teftament, for warning by way of religious Puri- 
 fication. I think it is evident from the manner of 
 the difciples Hating the queftion to jokn, that it 
 is here meant of Purification by Baptifm ; they re- 
 late the matter thus in the very next words, ver. 
 26. Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to 
 whom thou bear eft witness, behold, the fame baptizeth, 
 and all men come to him. The fenfe of which words, 
 as they have a reference to the foregoing, I appre- 
 hend to be this. " Mafter we are greatly im- 
 " barraffed by an Objection which the Jews have 
 «' thrown in our way againft your Baptifm •, for 
 *' he whom you baptized on the other fide of 
 " jordan, and whom you declared to be fuch an 
 " extraordinary Prophet, that he mould baptize 
 *' with the holy Ghoft and with Fire, this very 
 " fame Perfon is now Baptizing with water, with 
 " a Baptifm of Repentance and Purification only, 
 <c juft in the fame manner as you do ; now we are 
 " much perplexed by the Jews, to account for 
 " this, for in their apprehenfion it fuppofes that 
 " your Baptifm is invalid or infufficient, and what 
 
 " this 
 
[ '7] 
 
 " this man is fent to amend and perfect; and yet 
 " that he is not as you foretold the Perfon who 
 ?* was to come' baptizing with a much higher and 
 f* nobler kind of Baptifm." 
 
 Had this difpute between john's difciples and 
 the Jews been about any of the common legal Pu- 
 rifications enjoined by moses, it would not have 
 been of fufficient importance for them to trouble 
 their Mafter about it, fince it no way concerned 
 him ; or had they been fo impertinent, they would 
 certainly have related the affair in a different way, 
 and have fpecified the particular forts of Purifi- 
 cation which they had a debate about : but as 
 they only propofed their inquiry in fuch a form 
 as evidently mews it to have a relation to his Bap- 
 tifm, and that of Chrift, J think it is plain, that 
 this- was the fubjed of their debate; and as this 
 was a matter in which the honour and veracity of 
 their Mafter was much concerned, they had great 
 reafon to refer the cafe to him, and to expect fatif- 
 faction from him ; fo that this relation is a ftrong 
 confirmation that the Baptifm of john was only 
 a Baptifm of Repentance and Purification, and 
 that the Jews as well as John's own difciples, at 
 this time, underftood it to be fo. 
 
 The Jews indeed had at firft a different notion 
 of John's Baptifm, believing him to be the Mef- 
 liah, and apprehending that he was initiating his 
 followers into his kingdom by this Rite; this 
 feems evident, for had they then looked upon it 
 to be a Baptifm of Purification only, it cannot be 
 fuppofed that they would have exprefled any fur- 
 prize at it, fince thole baptifmal Purifications 
 were fo common amongft them, and were daily 
 made ufe of by all ranks and degrees ; but being 
 fatisfied by john, with regard to their firft diffi- 
 culty, by his declaration that it was not a Bap- 
 C tifrn 
 
[ i8 ] 
 
 tifm of Initiation, but of Purification which he ad- 
 rninillered, they had now fbrted a fecond, found- 
 ed upon this fuppofition, that it was, as he had 
 faid, a BaDtifm of Purification. 
 
 It may perhaps be thought ftrange, that john 
 fhould fix upon fuch a fign of that Repentance 
 and Remiffion of Sins which he preached, as this 
 of Baptifm, or warning by way of Purification, 
 which was fo wretchedly perverted and fuper- 
 ftitioufly ufed by the Jews, and the abufe of 
 which was feverely cenfured by our Saviour. 
 
 JUATTHEW X. 2, II, 20. MARK vii. 6, 7, 8, 9. 
 
 luke xi. 39. But it will be fufficient to account 
 for this if it be confidered, that this ceremony 
 was probably fhown in order that the meaning 
 and defign of it might be readily apprehended by 
 the Jews, it having been at all times ufed by 
 way of purifying the gentile Profelytes from their 
 idolatrous corruptions •, and though it was pretty 
 much the fame as to its form and general inten- 
 tion, it had a much nobler fignincation than their 
 ritual warnings, and fuch as was fufliciently fhewn 
 forth by the manner of its adminillration ; for 
 there was plainly this difference between them, 
 the wafliings practifed by the Jews were private 
 and performed by the perfons themfelves who 
 were fuperftitioufly fond of this ceremony •, that 
 of john was adminiftered by him in a publick 
 character, that of a Prophet ; it was adminiftered 
 by him to a great number of perfons in a publick 
 way, and the whole nation of the Jews were call- 
 ed and invited by his preaching to partake of his 
 Baptifm. - 
 
 There was alfo this yet more material diffe- 
 rence, the Jewifh warnings were intended for their 
 Purification from bodily defilements, or fuch as 
 were merely ritual and peculiar to their Law, but 
 
 the 
 
[ '9] 
 
 the Baptifm of john was defigned as a mark of 
 Purification from internal and ipiritual impurities, 
 from thofe vices nd errors with which their fouls 
 were tainted and defiled ; and when the Jews 
 came to be baptized of him, they were exhorted 
 nor to reft fatisfied with the participation of the 
 external. Rite, as they were wont to do with re- 
 gard to thele ritual Purifications, but to be care- 
 ful that their fouls might be purified and cleanfed 
 from all iniquity, and labour to bring forth fruits 
 meet for Repentance^ which it was the intent of the 
 external ceremony to be an ingagement to. Mat- 
 thew iii. 8. luke iii. 8 15. 
 
 There feems to have been a great expediency 
 for fuch an Inftitution among the Jews, to pre- 
 pare them for the coming of ChrifL They were 
 a people exceedingly degenerate both in doctrine 
 and manners -, they had not only corrupted the 
 doctrines of Religion and made the Command- 
 ments of God of none effeffi by tbeir Traditions. Mat- 
 thew xv. 6. but they were alfo grofsly corrupt 
 and vitious in their moral conduct, fo that john 
 calls them a Generation of Vipers, luke xiii. 7. 
 and the whole nation is defcribed by the Apoftle 
 paul, who had the faireft opportunities of being 
 acquainted with their character, in fuch black 
 colours, that fcarce any thing more fhocking can 
 
 be imagined. Romans iii. 9 19. Such an 
 
 univerfal pollution and degeneracy feems there- 
 fore to have demanded a peculiar Prophet to call 
 them to Repentance and forfaking their fins, and 
 to prepare them for the reception of the fpiritual 
 doctrine and rules of Chriftianity, of which this 
 baptifmal Purification was a very figniflcative fign. 
 
 The former of thefe intentions of John's Bap- 
 tifm was plainly declared, and doubtlefs clearly 
 apprehended by the Jews, but the other end in- 
 C 2 tended 
 
[ 20 ] 
 
 tended by it, probably, was not difcerned of 
 diftinguifhed by them, which was the preparing 
 them for the reception of the Gofpel by baptizing 
 them as Profelytes from the Jewilh Law and Re- 
 ligion •, which was a thing they had no conception 
 of, as it was a general imagination amongfV. them, 
 that their Difpenfation was to be of perpetual du- 
 ration, and was only to be purified and advanced 
 to its higheft perfection under the conduct of the 
 Meffiah ; and yet this is what John declares from 
 the Prophecies of the Old Teiiament. 
 
 I am apprehenfive it may be here alledged, 
 that our blefied Lord was baptized with the Bap- 
 tifm of john, which could not therefore be a Bap- 
 tifm of Repentance and Purification only, fince 
 he had no fin to repent of, no defilements from 
 which he needed to be purified, he did no fin, but 
 was holy, harmlefs, undefiled, and fepar ate from /in- 
 ner s. i peter ii. 22. Hebrews vii. 26, And for 
 what reafon tken fhould Chrifb be baptized, with 
 a Baptifm which was intended only for the Re- 
 in iffion of Sins ? This was a difficulty which john 
 himfelf was very fenfible of, for when Jefus came 
 to be baptized of john we are told, he forbad him, 
 faying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comeft 
 thou to me? matthew iii. 14. i.e. " The Bap- 
 " tifm which I baptize with is defigned for fin- 
 " ners fuch as I am, and therefore it would be 
 " much more proper for me to be baptized with 
 M this Baptifm by you, who are perfectly fin- 
 " lefs." And Chrift plainly allows that john 
 had fufficient reafon for this fcruple by the anfwer 
 he gives him, verfe 15. Suffer it to be fo now, for 
 thus it becomes us to fulfil all right eoufnefs. i. e. as 
 it is ufually interpreted, " I allow there appears 
 " an impropriety in it, yet I entreat you not to 
 " hinder me 3 if for no other reafon yet for this, 
 
 " that 
 
[ » ] 
 
 ** that I may pay my regard for this Inflitution of 
 " Righteoulhefs which you have received from 
 u God, and that by my Example others who 
 " have need of it may be encouraged to comply 
 " with it." 
 
 I think it is evident, from what follows, that 
 there was a further reafon for our Lord's fubmit- 
 ing to be baptized, for we are told in the follow- 
 ing verfes, that Jefus when he was baptized, went 
 up firaitway out of the water •, and lo, the heavens 
 were opened unto him, and John faw the Spirit of 
 God defcending like a Dove, and lighting upon him. 
 And lo, a voice from heaven, faying, this is my be- 
 loved Son, in whom I am well pleafed. This De- 
 fcent of the holy Ghofl upon Jefus was before 
 revealed to john to be the diftinguifhing mark 
 by which he mould know the Median, for he tells 
 us. john i. 33. He that fent me to baptize with 
 water, the fame faid unto me, upon whom thou Jhalt 
 fee the Spirit defcending and remaining upon him, the 
 fame is he who baptizeth with the holy Ghofl ; and 
 accordingly John faw, and bare record that this 
 "was the Son of God, or the Meffiah, VGrib 34. 
 and the voice from heaven was a full confir- 
 mation of this, which declared, Thou art my be- 
 loved Son, in thee I am well pleafed *■: but this 
 heavenly voice was not, I apprehend, intended, 
 merely to be a declaration of Jefus being the 
 Meffiah, but it was an atteftation of his folemn 
 defignation and feparation to that office by his 
 C 3 Baptifm, 
 
 * It is worthy obfervation, that Clemens Alexandrians quotes 
 this Text thus, Thou art my belo-vedSon, this -day have I begotten 
 thee. i. e. " I not only hereby declare thee to be the Meffiah, 
 but conftitute and appoint thee to that office. " Whether the 
 Copies then generally ufed had this reading of the words is 
 uncertain, but it is clear from his application of them, that 
 he underftood this to be their true meaning and deiign. 
 Clemen. Lib. Psdag, Cap. 7. 
 
[ 22 ] 
 
 Baptifm, for Chrift is faid to be anointed with the 
 holy Ghoft. acts x. 38. and this was at his Bap- 
 tifm when the holy Ghoft defcended and refted 
 upon him. 
 
 This exprefiion which the Apoftle peter ufes, 
 in defcribing the delcent of the holy Ghoft upon 
 our blefled Lord, is evidently derived from that 
 antient rite of anointing perfons with Oil, when 
 they were invefted with any high Office or Dig- 
 nity •, and this was an inilitution founded on di- 
 vine authority, it being appointed by God to be 
 ufed in the Confecration of Kings, Priefts, and 
 Prophets, as may be feen exodus xxix. 7. 1 sa- 
 muel xvi. 12, 13. 1 kings xix. 1 6. and in 
 many other places : and as this anointing of the 
 holy Jefus, by pouring down the holy Ghoft: 
 upon him, was done in conformity to the antient 
 ufages religiouily obierved amongft the Jews, fo 
 it is reafonable to conclude, that this Baptifm 
 with water, which accompanied it, was intended 
 with a religious regard to fome other inftitution 
 amongft them of a like fignifkancy •, it may 
 therefore be well fu'ppoied, that when our Sa- 
 viour infilled upon John's permiting him to be 
 baptized, as a means of fulfilling all right eoufnefs^ 
 he had a view to fome particular Law or Ordi- 
 nance by which this ceremony was injoined, and 
 an obedience to which he thought neceffary. 
 
 The Commiffion which john had for Bap- 
 tizing it is plain was not the Command which 
 Chrift had in view, fince john at firft denied 
 him Baptifm-; and the defign of his Baptifm, as 
 a Baptifm of Repentance, v/as utterly incongruous 
 to the ftate and character of our bleffed Lord ; and 
 the acimiting of it upon fuch a footing would 
 have been fo far from acting in conformity to 
 John's CommkTion, that it would have been done 
 
 in 
 
[ 2 3 ] 
 
 in a direct oppofnion to the deCign of it. The 
 fulfilling all righteoufnefs here intended by Chrift, 
 muft therefore have a reference to fome other 
 Precept by which this Baptifmal warning was in- 
 joined, and this could be no where contained but 
 in the Law of moses ; and if we confult this we 
 fliall find, that when the anointing with Oil is 
 commanded there alfo Baptizing or Warning 
 with Water is injoined, both of them aflociated 
 together, and ufed in the fame order as they were 
 in the cafe of our Saviour, and both of them in- 
 tended by way of Confecration and Dedication 
 to God. 
 
 The inftance I have in view is that of the 
 Confecration of the High Prieft, and others of 
 that rank to their office ; the command for this 
 we have exodus xxix. and the relation of its 
 execution leviticus viii. The feveral parts of 
 this ceremony were the wafhing or baptizing 
 them, the anointing them with Oil, puting on 
 the facred garments upon them, and offering the 
 facrifices of Confecration for them > by the per- 
 formance of thefe things they are faid to be fanUi- 
 fied and hallowed, and confecrated. exodus xxviii. 
 41. and xxix. 1,9. words which plainly denote 
 their folemn feparation to their office, and their 
 anveftiture with all its powers and dignities. 
 
 Now this will lead us to an inquiry, what there 
 was in the character of our bleffed Saviour which 
 bears a refemblance to that of the Jewifh High 
 Priefls •, whether he was confecrated to his office 
 in a manner fimiliar to theirs, and, confequently, 
 whether his Baptifm was not an effential and prin- 
 cipal part of this Confecration. Chrift is repre- 
 fented by the Author of the Epiftle to the He- 
 brews under the character of the High Prieft of 
 our Prof effion. Hebrews iii. 1. and the High Priejl 
 C 4 ever 
 
[24] 
 
 ever the Houfe or Church of God. x. 21. And thero 
 is a parallel drawn throughout a great part of that 
 Epiitle between the Priefthood of (Thrift and that 
 of aaron, with an intent to prove the former 
 vaftly more excellent, as to dignity and ufefuk 
 neis, than the latter : and that our Lord's confe- 
 cration, or divine appointment to that office, was 
 alfo in a juft conformity to that of aaron. The 
 iame Writer very plainly afierts. Hebrews v. 4, 
 5 . No Man takcth this honour to himjelf, but he that 
 is called of God, as was Aaron ; fo alfo Chrifi glori- 
 fied net him f elf to be made_an High Priejk 9 but he that 
 faid unto him, thou art my Son, this day have I be- 
 gotten thee. 
 
 Here then we have a full declaration, thar our 
 blefTed Lord had a full defignation to his office 
 of Priefthood in like manner. (for thus the word 
 xxtitzTTip ftgnifies in other places of the New Tef- 
 tament) as aaron had •, and accordingly we find, 
 that the very fame words by which the Conse- 
 cration of the Priefts is defcribed, are ufed with 
 regard to our High Prieft, (Thrift Jefus ; thus he 
 is laid to be fanclified, or hallowed ; and this is 
 what he declares concerning himfelf. john x, 36^ 
 Say ye cf him whom the Father hath fanblified, nyuzcrs, 
 (the fame word which is ufed lor therfanclitying 
 the Jewiffi Priefts. exodus xxviii. 41. and xxix. 
 1.) and fent into the world, thou blafphemefl becaufe 
 1 faid I am the Son of God. The word fanclijied, in 
 its proper and genuine fignification, denotes a fo- 
 lemn and formal deftination and feparation to fome 
 office cr fervice, and muft therefore undoubtedly 
 be here ufed in that fenfe by our blefTed Saviour ; 
 and as this is fpoken of as femething already done 
 and-confered on him by the Father, fo it is alfo 
 here fuppofed, that this atteftation had been given 
 him in fo publick a manner as to be a fufflcient 
 
 proof 
 
[ *Sl 
 
 proof to the Jews that he was, what he declared 
 himielf to be, the Son of God. It is as if he had 
 laid. " It feems very ftrange that you fhoiild 
 " charge me with] blaiphemy in taking upon me 
 " this title and character, fince ye all know, or 
 " might have known, that it was given me from 
 " heaven from my Father, and therefore I have 
 " undoubted reafon to lay claim to it." 
 
 This then being an Appeal to the Jews, as to 
 fome publick atteftation from ' heaven to Chrift's 
 being the Son of God, which they were, or might 
 be fuppofed to be, well acquainted with, plainly 
 determines it to hare a -reference either to the 
 Baptifm or the Transfiguration of Chrift, at both 
 which times, and at no other, he was owned and 
 acknowledged by a voice from heaven to be the 
 Son of God : that it could not be the latter of thefe, 
 is evident from its being done in a very private 
 manner, and before very few witnefies, and thofe 
 ingaged to the itricteft fecrecy ; for we are told, 
 that there were only prefent peter, and james, 
 and john ; that it was on a high Mountain apart 
 by themfelres, and that as they came down from 
 the Mountain, Jefus charged them, that they fhould 
 tell no man what things they had feen, until the Son 
 of man was ri fen from the dead •■, and that accord- 
 ingly they kept that faying with themfehes. Mat- 
 thew xvii. i and 9. mark ix. 2, 9, 10. 
 
 This could not be appealed to for the convic- 
 tion of the Jews, who muft be ignorant of the 
 whole tranfadlion, and our Saviour could there- 
 fore only hare a reference to that atteftation to 
 his divine miffion which was given him at his 
 Baptifm -, and this was done in the moll open and 
 publick manner, while john was baptizing in Jor- 
 dan, whither great multitudes of Jews, both Pha- 
 rifees and Sadducees, reforted to him to be bap- 
 tized 5 
 
[ 26 ] 
 
 tized; many of whom were doubtlefs eye-witnerTes 
 of that glorious appearance which defcended from 
 heaven and lighted upon him, and heard the hea- 
 venly voice pronounce thofe words, This is my be- 
 loved Son, in whom I am well pleafed. So that we have 
 here a very plain account, that Chrift was fancti- 
 fied or feparated to his office by his Baptifm, and 
 confequently, that this was the intent and mean- 
 ing of the Baptifm with which he was baptized. 
 
 There is another word ufed in the relation of 
 the folemn Inauguration of the legal High Prieft, 
 which is alfo made ufe of with regard to our 
 bleffed Saviour, which, though it has no direct 
 relation to his Baptifm, I think it proper to take 
 fome notice of, as it may be of fervice in confirm- 
 ing the account I have given of it ; the word I 
 have in view is confecrate, ■nTihuay.m^ it is ufed 
 with regard to aaron and his fons. exodus xxix. 
 9. and it is applied to our bleffed Saviour, he- 
 brews vii. 28. and in both places tranflated in 
 the fame manner : when it is fpoken of Chrift in- 
 deed in other places it is rendered being made per- 
 feci; we have an inftance of this, Hebrews v. 9. 
 Being made perfect, reMiuQsts, he became the author of 
 eternal falvation ♦, and this feems to be the original 
 and genuine fignification of the word ', this is the 
 meaning of it when it is ufed with regard to the 
 Jewifh HighPriefts. exodus xxix. 9. it is fpoken 
 after three parts of the infeaurating fervice were 
 performed, and when only the fourth or finifhing 
 ceremony remained, when it is faid, and thou 
 fhalt confecrate, vikucecu^ aaron and his fons, i.e. 
 " Thus ihak thou compleat and perfect their fo- 
 « c lemn Dedication.* " 
 
 This 
 
 * The original figniiies filling the Hands, or indowing 
 with the full Power and Authority of their Commiflion ; and 
 
 it 
 
[ 27] 
 
 This we find in the following verfes was done 
 by offering the facriiice which was appointed 
 by God for this purpofe, which was therefore 
 called a Sacrifice of ' Confecration ; and the like may 
 be obferved of the application of the term to our 
 bleffed Lord, he is laid to be confecrated or to bc. 
 77w.de perfecl, rtK^uaa^ through fufferings. Hebrews 
 ii. 10. His offering himfelf up on the Crofs was 
 not only a Propitiation for the fins of the world, 
 but it was a facrifice of Confecration to qualify 
 him for that high dignity to which he was exalt- 
 ed, as we are told in the verfe foregoing, that for 
 the fuffering of Death he was crowned with glory and 
 honour ; then it was that he received his full au- 
 thority to .execute every part of his office, the 
 largeft extent of his power and dominion ; and 
 this is agreeable to our bleffed Lord's own account 
 of the intention of his Death j for fpeaking of 
 that he fays, / cafi out Devils, and do Cures to day 
 and to-morrow, and the third Day Ijfhall be perfect- 
 ed, Ttteiovptzi. luke xiii. 32. And we find accord- 
 ingly, that when his fufferings were compleated 
 at his Refurrectlon from the Dead, he is again de- 
 clared by the Father to be the Son of God, with 
 this particular reftriction added, this Day have I 
 begotten thee, acts xiii. 33. 
 
 It was not till after his Refurrection that (Thrift 
 publickly acknowledged himfelf to be the Meffiah, 
 and this afforded the mofl inconteftible proof of 
 his right to that divine authority which he affum- 
 ed, at the fame time that it put him in full pof- 
 fefTion of it ; for thus the Apoftle paul tells us, 
 
 that 
 
 it is thus ufed with regard to the Priefts which Jeroboam con- 
 ftituted and appointed to that office, wbofoever ivould, be 
 confecrated, o (lvhoiJ.zvo<; £7rAnp>s rov ^.Zipa. enira, bim, and be be- 
 came one of the Priefis of the High Places. I kings xiii. 33. 
 .And in feveral other places it has the fame meaning. 
 
[ 23 ] 
 
 that Chrift was declared to be the Son of God. with 
 Power, (or endowed with full Power,) by his Re- 
 furretlion from the dead. Romans i. 4. and there- 
 fore he is called the firft born, and the firji begotten 
 of the dead, coloss. i. 18. revel, i. 5. So that 
 as the fufferings and death of our great High 
 Prieft was the finifhing part of his Confecration 
 to the Meftiahihip, when he was folemnly ac- 
 knowledged and proved to be the Son of God, I 
 think it is evident, that as he was alfo declared by 
 God to be his beloved Son at his Baptifm, that 
 this mull be the initial part of his Dedication to 
 his office, and confequently that his Baptifm was 
 intended by way of Confecration. 
 
 I cannot excufe myfelf from obferving, before 
 I conclude this inquiry into the defign of the 
 Baptifm of our bkfted Lord, that there feems to 
 be an exact and regular conformity between the 
 Confecration of Chrift and that of the High Priefts 
 under the Law of moses, in all the parts of it. 
 "We have an account of three different times when 
 Chrift was publickly declared from Heaven to be 
 the Son of God; the firft of thefe was at his Bap- 
 tifm, the fecond at his Transfiguration, and the 
 third at his Refurreclion from the dead ; at his 
 Baptifm he was warned with Water, and anointed 
 with the holy Ghoft, which bears a very clear re- 
 femblance to the warning of the Priefts at the be- 
 giningof their Confecration, and their fubfequent 
 anointing with Oil : after their Baptifm they were 
 inverted with the holy garments, peculiarly ap- 
 pointed for Glory and for Beauty, exod. xxviii. 2. 
 i. e. " to diftinguilh and adorn them in the per- 
 " formance of their fervice " ; agreeably to which 
 our bleifed* Lord, at his Transfiguration, received 
 from God the Father honour and glory, when there 
 cams a Voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my 
 
 beloved 
 
E*9] 
 
 hehved Son, in whom lam wellpleafed. i pe ter i. ty 4 
 and the glory of his appearance at that time was 
 fo great, that the difciples who were with him fell 
 on their faces by reafon of its refplendent bright- 
 nefs ; for we are told, that his Face did Jhine as the 
 Sun, and his Raiment was white as the Light. Mat- 
 thew xvii. 2, 
 
 This then was a folemn inveftiture of our Lord 
 to his office, with robes of glory, refembling the 
 Shechinah, by which the divine Prefence was ex- 
 hibited under the Mofaick Difpenfation ; and in 
 thefe bright and holy garments our High Priejl is 
 now entered into the holy Place, into Heaven itfelf, 
 there to appear in the Prefence of God for us : this 
 may juftly be concluded from the Virion which 
 St. john had of him after his Afcenfion into Hea- 
 ven, when he appeared clothed nearly in the fame 
 manner as he was at his Transfiguration on the 
 Mount, for his Head, and his Hairs were white like 
 Wooll, as white as Snow •, and his Eyes were as a 
 fame of Fire-, and his Feet like unto fine Brafs, as if 
 they burned in a Furnace -, and his Countenance was 
 as the Sun fljining in its firength. Rev. i. 14, 
 15, 16. 
 
 The Confecration of the Mefliah being thus far 
 carried on, with an exaft agreement to that of the 
 Levitical High Prieft, the only thing that remain- 
 ed to compleat it, was the offering of a Sacrifice 
 of Confecration ; this, as I have already Ihewn, 
 was done by the Sacrifice of himfelf, by which, as 
 he himfelf declares, it was finifhed, Tiithis-at., john 
 xix. 30. and after his Refurrection he folemnly 
 lays claim to that authority with which he was 
 endowed, by afferting, that all Power in Heaven, 
 and in Earth, was given unto him. This confor- 
 mity however was not fo exact, but that there was 
 a manifeft preference given to Chrift in every 
 
 branch 
 
I 3°] 
 
 branch of his Dedication ; for as he obtained a 
 more excellent Miniftry than the legal Hio-h 
 Priefts, fo the manner of his appointment to it 
 had circumftances attending it which manifefted a 
 diftinguifhing fuperiority to ihem. 
 
 Aaron had the Baptifm of his Confecration ad- 
 ministered by moses, a great Prophet ; Jeius was 
 baptized by john the Baptift, of whom it is faid 
 by him, that he was more than a Prophet, and that 
 among them that are born of IVomen, there hath not 
 rifen a greater than John the Baptiji. matthew xi. 
 9, 11. aaron was anointed with Oil com- 
 pounded with fpices, Chrift was anointed with the 
 holy Ghoft ; the garments with which aaron 
 was in veiled, however rich and beautiful, were 
 yet material ones, our blefTed Lord was inverted 
 with robes of light and glory ; moses alone 
 was imployed in puting on the holy garments 
 upon aaron, but both moses the giver of the 
 Law, and elias the Harbinger of the Gofpel, 
 were prefent at the folemn inveftiture of the Mef- 
 fiah •, the Sacrifice which was offered for the Con- 
 fecration of aaron was only that of a Ram, the 
 Confecration of our great High Pried was per- 
 fected by the Sacrifice of himfelf ; a Being incom- 
 parably greater, not only than any of the animal, 
 but even than any of the human or angelick order 
 of beings •, and a Sacrifice which not only anfwered 
 the end of confecrating him to his Priefthood, but 
 in which all the intentions of facrifkes of what- 
 ever nature and kind were united, and which it 
 accomplished in a vaftly more perfeft and effica- 
 cious manner. So that upon the whole I think 
 there is inconteftable evidence, that the Baptifm of 
 Chrift was intended to confecrate him to the office 
 of Mefiiah. 
 
 I have 
 
1 31 ] 
 
 I have been the more careful as well as diffufe 
 in making this inquiry into the nature of the Bap- 
 tifm with which Chrift was baptized, and its dif- 
 ference from that with which john baptized his 
 followers, partly upon account of its being a fub- 
 ject very little treated of, at leaft in a fatisfactory 
 manner ; but I had alio a further view in making 
 this difquifition with exactnefs, which was, that I 
 imagined it would open a way for the difcovery of 
 the delign of that Baptifm which Chrift inftituted 
 for all his difciples •, for I cannot but think it 
 highly probable, that the fame kind of Baptifm 
 with which he himfelf was baptized was. alfo ap- 
 pointed by him for the Baptifm of his followers. 
 
 That the Baptifm which our blefled Lord infti- 
 tuted was of a different nature from the Baptifm 
 of john there is this indifputable proof, that the 
 latter was not deemed fufficient to entitle thofe 
 who were partakers of it to the profeffion and 
 privileges of Chriftianity, but where this had 
 been adminiftered the other was thought neceflary 
 to be fuperaded j we have an inftance of this 
 which is very lull and decifive with regard to the 
 difciples whom St. paul found at Ephefus, who 
 being informed by them that they had been only 
 baptized with John's Baptifm, immediately tells 
 them, john verily baptized with the Baptifm of 
 Repentance, faying unto the People, That they jhould 
 believe on him that Jhould come after him, that is, on 
 Chrift Jefus ; and then it is added, When they heard 
 this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord 
 Jefus. acts xix. 3, 4, 5 *. Befides this there is 
 the higheft probability, that among the Three 
 
 Thoufand 
 
 * I am fenfible that it has been maintained by fome, that 
 the words in the fifth verfe are not St. lxjke's but St. Paul's, 
 and are a continuation of his account of the Baptifm of john 
 
 begua 
 
r 32 ] 
 
 Thoufand who were baptized into Chrift on the 
 day of Pentecoft, there were a great number 
 who had before received Baptifm from the hands 
 of john, for we are told, that thofe who were 
 prefent at that time were Jews and devout men 
 dwelling at Jerufalem. acts ii. 5. Jews and Profe- 
 lytes. v. 10. The Apoftle peter directs his dif- 
 courfe to the men of Ifrael. v. 22. and he con- 
 cludes it with a folemn application to them, 
 Therefore let all the Honfe of Ifrael know affuredly, 
 that God hath made the fame Jefus, whom ye have 
 crucified, both Lord and Chrifi. v. 36. 
 
 Now of all the Jews none were more likely 
 to gather together upon occafion of this defcent 
 of the holy Ghoft upon the Apoftles being noifed 
 abroad, than thofe who had been prepared for it 
 by being baptized with John's Baptifm, at which 
 time he had exprefsly foretold it to them. Mat- 
 thew iii. 11. mark]. 8. luke iii. 1 6, And 
 ifweconfider the vaft multitudes of Jews who 
 were baptized by john, infomuch that it is faid, 
 that there went out to him all the Land of Judea y 
 and they of Jerufalem, and were all baptized of him 
 in the River Jordan, mark i. 5. it can fcarce be 
 conceived pofiible, but that a great many of thofe 
 who were at this time baptized by the Apoftles 
 had been before baptized with John's Baptifm ; 
 and certainly it would not have been repeated had 
 not the Baptifm of Chrifi been of a different na- 
 ture from that of John's. 
 
 What 
 
 begun in the fourth verfe ; intending hereby to fhevv, that all 
 who were baptized with John's Baptifm were virtually and in 
 effecT: baptized into Chrifi; but this interpretation is fo forced, 
 and fo inconfiftent with the account which john hi mfelf gives 
 of his Baptifm, as has been fufheiently fhewn by thofe emi- 
 nent Criticks, grotius, limbcrch, whitey, Sec. that I 
 fhall not fpend any time in the confutation of it, but refer my 
 Reader to the Notes of thofe learned Commentators. 
 
 ) 
 
[33 1 
 
 What has been alledged here of the difference 
 between the Baptifm of john and that of Chrift, 
 and of the infufficiency of the former to con- 
 ftitute men thoroughly his difciples, may per- 
 haps be deemed to lie open to this objection. 
 " .That it does not appear from any of the Gof- 
 <c pels, that the Apoftles themfelves had ever any 
 cc other than the Baptifm of john, which, was 
 " it neceftary, they certainly would have had, 
 " fince if they were not baptized with true chrif- 
 *' tian Baptifm, they could not be in a capacity 
 cc of administering it to others ; and confequently 
 " all the Adminiftrations of this Ordinance by 
 " them, as well as by thofe who have fucceeded 
 " them, muft be deemed invalid, fhould not the 
 " Baptifm of john be fuppofcd to be of the na- 
 " ture of true chriftian Baptifm." 
 
 Now to this I anfwer, that though no evidence 
 could be produced from the Evangelick Writings, 
 that the Apoftles were actually baptized by Chrift, 
 yet this circumftance alone would not be fufficienc 
 to overthrow thofe arguments which have been 
 adduced in proof of its diftinction from John's 
 Baptifm, inafmuch as it muft be fuppofed, and 
 may be clearly proved, that many- things which 
 Jefus did are not written in thofe Books, john xx. 
 30. and this therefore may be omited as well as 
 others. But if I may be indulged to offer a Con- 
 jecture, it may perhaps render it not altogether 
 improbable, that we have fome account of their 
 Baptifm. The place upon which my Conjecture 
 is founded, is that where we have a relation of 
 Chrift's warning the Apoftles Feet, john xiii. 
 4 — 14. and I was led to it by the obfervation of 
 feveral circumftances in that Hiftory. The action 
 was for the mod part the fame with that which 
 was ufed in the Baptifmal Confecration of the 
 D Priefts, 
 
[34] 
 
 Priefls, from which I have endeavoured fa prove 
 chriftian Baptifm to be derived ; for it was a 
 warning their Feet, their Hands probably being 
 warned before Supper, and the time of ad mini- 
 flering this action, which appears to be juft before 
 the Institution of the Sacramental Supper, adds a 
 fanction to this fuppofition, that it was a warn- 
 ing of Confecration, in conformity to that of the 
 Priefts being performed at their entrance upon the 
 Temple Service j and feveral things faid, during 
 and confequent upon this tranfaction, yield yet 
 Further Probabilities of its being of a Sacramental 
 Nature. It may be proper to confider a few 
 of them. 
 
 When our Lord came to St. peter, with an 
 offer to warn his Feet, peter flops him with this 
 demand. Lord, dofi thou wafh my Feet ? v. 6. i. e. 
 as appears by the anfwer. ' For what reafon, and 
 
 * with what view, wilt thou demean thyfelf io far 
 4 as to fubmit to this fervile office of warning my 
 ' Feet ? ' To which our Saviour anfwers. What 
 I do thou knowejl not now, but thoujhalt know here- 
 after, v. 7. i. e. * There is fomething more in- 
 
 * this action than thou now apprehendeft, or is 
 
 * proper for thee to know, but thou fhak fhortly 
 
 * be acquainted with the meaning of it, and be 
 e fenfible of its neceffity ? ' Peter not fatisfied 
 with this anfwer grows more refolute in his re- 
 fuial, for he faith unto him, Thou jhalt never wafh 
 my Feet. v. 8. i. e. c Unlefs I can fee fome reafon 
 
 * for this abafement of thyfelf, I will by no means 
 
 * permit it.* Upon this our Lord, in his reply, 
 vouchfafes to give him a diflant though fuffi- 
 ciently intelligible intimation of the neceffity of 
 this action, and of his defign herein. If I wafh 
 thee not, fays he, thou haft no part with me. i.e. 
 
 * If thou perfift in rejecting the performance of 
 
 * this 
 
[35 ] 
 
 this office, it will be fo greatly to thine own de- 
 .' triment, that thou wilt have no title to the cha- 
 of my difciple, nor any fhare in pro- 
 ' moting and eftablifhing that fpiritual Kingdom 
 ' which I am about to let up/ Peter being 
 now thoroughly convinced of its neceffity, cries 
 out with an affectionate warmth. Lord, not my 
 Feet only, but alfo my Hands and my Head. v. 9,- 
 i. e. « I am content, Lord, if this be the cafe, 
 
 * not only to have my Feet warned, but alfo my 
 ' Hands and my Head, and my whole Body if 
 ' neceffary.' To which our Lord makes this 
 anfwer. He that is wafted, needeth not fave to wafh 
 his Feet, hut is clean every whit. v. 10. i. e. ' The 
 c feparation of you, denoted and made by this 
 *. fervice, requires no more to be done than a 
 ' warning fo fmall a part of the Body as the Feet, 
 
 * by which alone it is fufficiently perfected.' 
 
 Our bleffed Saviour having compleated this 
 office, and being again fat down to Table, pro- 
 ceeds to give his Apoftles fome further informa- 
 tion of the nature and defign of it, for he fays 
 unto them — Know ye what I have done to you? Ye 
 call me Mafter and Lord, and ye [ay well, for fo I 
 am. If I then, your Lord and Mafter, have wafhed 
 your Feet, ye ought alfo to wafh one another's Feet. 
 For I have given you an example, that ye fhould do 
 its I have done to you. v. 12 — 15. i. e. ' In order 
 
 * that you may have fome further knowledge of 
 
 * the fervice I have been performing, you need 
 
 * only recoiled: your' frequent acknowledgments 
 
 * of me as your Ruler and Lawgiver, by which 
 
 * you have very juftly profeffed your fubje&ion. 
 
 * to me as my fervants and followers ; now the 
 ' action in which I have been imployed is a fo- 
 
 * lemn confirmation of this my title, and I have 
 
 * hereby feparated and devoted you in a facra- 
 
 D 2 6 mental 
 
t 36 3 
 
 * mental way to my fervice •, and I have not done 
 
 * this merely for your own fakes, but that yoa 
 ' might learn hereby how to perform the fame 
 6 office to others of my difciples, who {hall here- 
 
 * after be found ready to make the fame acknow- 
 ' ledgments, and devote themfelves in like man- 
 
 * ner to my fervice.' 
 
 I am not fenfible that the reprefentation I have 
 here given of our bleffed Lord's declaration is in 
 the leaft forced or unnatural ; for though it muft 
 be owned there is no determinate defignation of 
 the Baptifmal Ordinance contained in them, it 
 being neceffary that the full inftitution of it 
 fhould be deferred till after the Refurrection of 
 Chrift, as is here intimated, v. 7. yet they con- 
 tain fuch defcriptions as are ufed in diftinguifh- 
 ing that Ordinance, and fuch as prove this fer- 
 vice to be of a fimilar kind with that •, for it rs 
 here declared neceffary to conflitute the Apoftles 
 Chrift's difciples and minifters •, the defign of it 
 is fhewn to be a feparation to his fervice, and it is 
 propofed as a patern of fomewhat they were after- 
 wards to perform to others, who mould enlift 
 themfelves under his banner ; which things I ap- 
 prehend afford a good ground of probability to 
 the Conjecture I have made ; whether it be any 
 thing more than fuch mull be left to the determi- 
 nation of my Reader. 
 
 Since the Baptifm of Chrift then was inftituted 
 for different purpofes from that of John's, as there 
 are but two intentions to be found for which Bap- 
 tifm was ever ufed, viz. for Repentance and Pu- 
 rification, or for Initiation and Confecration; and 
 as the Baptifm of john has been plainly proved 
 to be of the former kind, it evidently follows that 
 chriftian Baptifm muft be of the latter, even the 
 very fame fort of Baptifm with which our bleffed 
 
 Lord, 
 
[ 37] 
 
 lord, who is called our Head, our Elder Bro- 
 ther, our Foreruner, was baptized, which, as I 
 have fhewn, was a Baptifm of Confecration. 
 
 Solemn and formal methods of admiting and 
 feting apart perfons to fpecial offices and charac- 
 ters have been made ufe of in all ages of the 
 world •, the Heathens had their initiatory Rites 
 for entering their Devotees into a participation of 
 their religious Myfteries ; and we are informed by 
 tertullian (de Baptifmo. Ch. 5.) that in fome 
 Cafes, particularly in the Myfteries of apollo 
 and ceres, they made ufe of this very Rite of 
 Baptifm for the purpofe of Regeneration or Ad- 
 mifllon into their Superftitions ; which cuftom he 
 fuppofes them to have borrowed from the Jews, 
 and to have herein imitated the things of God ; 
 from whence it is plain, that Baptifm for Initiation 
 was in ufe both among Jews and Gentiles, before 
 the coming of Chrift, and was probably pitched 
 upon by him becaufe it was an Inftitution, the 
 meaning of which was eafy to be understood by- 
 all to whom the Gofpel was to be preached -, for 
 as Baptifm was fubmited to by himfelf, in con- 
 formity to the Baptifmal Confecration of the Le- 
 vitical High Prieft, fo there is the higheft proba- 
 bility that the Baptifm of his difciples, who are 
 .Partakers of the fame holy Priefthood, was intended 
 to confecrate them to that fervice. 
 
 This will receive further confirmation if it be 
 confidered, that the very fame words by which 
 the Baptifmal Confecration of the Jewiuh High 
 Priefts, and that of the Meffiah is defcribed, are 
 alfo applied to baptized Chriftians, for they are 
 called the fanffified, ctyiu(oiJ.zyoi, 1 cor. i. 2. he- 
 brews ii. 11. And this fanclification is in other 
 places attributed to Baptifm. 1 cor. vi. 11. But 
 ye are zvafhed, but ye are fanflified, but ye are jufii- 
 D 3 fed 
 
[ 38 ] 
 
 fed in the name of the Lord Jefus, and by the fpiri* 
 cf our God. Its being here joined with wafhing, 
 or Baptifm, manifeitly fhews that it has a relation 
 to it •, but elfewhere fanctification is dire6tly de- 
 clared to be the defign and effect of Baptifm; 
 Eph. v. 26. That he might fantlify and clean] e it-, 
 i. e. the Church or collective Body of Chrift's 
 difciples, with the wafhing of water by the word, 
 that he might prefent it to bimfelf a glorious Churchy 
 not having fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing , but 
 that it fhould be holy and without blemifh. v. 27. 
 The way then by which Chrifl conltitutes his 
 Church, and admits perfons to become members 
 of it is Baptifm, and hence the Church of Chrift, 
 the fanclified in Chrifl Jefus, the faints, and the 
 called to be faints, are equivalent expreffions ; as 
 may be feen by confulting the begining of feveral 
 of St. Paul's Epiftles. Chriftians are alfo called 
 the Sons of God. john i. 12. 1 epis. iii. 1. And 
 ,as Chrift, who is the firjl-born among many Brethren, 
 received this appellation at his Baptifm, fo it 
 feems to be applied to his followers upon the 
 fame account, gal. iii. 26,27. For ye are all the 
 children of God by faith in Chrifl Jefus. For as many 
 of you as are baptized into Chrifi, have put on Chrift. 
 And for this reafon they are faid to be born of God. 
 john i. 13. 1 epis. v. 1. becaufe they were born 
 cf water at their Baptifm. john iii. 5. this being 
 the initial part or birth of that new life to which 
 they were begotten by their embracing of Chris- 
 tianity *. Not only are the difciples of Chrift 
 diftinguifhed by the fame titles with their great 
 
 Mafter, 
 
 * 
 
 It cannot, I hope, be thought impertinent to obferve 
 here, that this title of Sons of God is attributed to chriftians 
 upon other accounts befides their Baptifm, as it was to our 
 bleffed Saviour with regard to the feveral parts of his Con- 
 
 fecration ; 
 
1 39] 
 
 Matter, but they are alfo diftinguifhed with cha- 
 j-afters and offices alike noble and important. Our 
 blefled Lord was by his Baptifm confecrated to 
 the Meffiahfhip, to be a Prophet, Prieft, and 
 King to his Church ; and the fame dignities we 
 are alfo allured are confered on all his fincere fol- 
 lowers, for they are all made Kings and Priefts unto 
 D 4 God. 
 
 fecration ; thus the holy Spirit, which was poured out upon 
 tchriftians, is called the Spirit of Adoption. Romans viii. 15. 
 and this Spirit is faid to bear iviinefs that nve are the children 
 of God. v. 16. juft as it did with regard to our bleffed Sa- 
 viour at his Baptifm : and in order (07/ here lignines that, as it 
 alfo does in moll places of the New Teftament) to declare or 
 conftitute us Sons, God is faid to have Jent forth the fpirit of 
 his Son into our hearts, gal. iv. 6. For this reafon chriflians 
 are faid to be anointed, by having the ear?iejl of the Spirit given 
 tbem in their hearts. 2 cor. i. 21,22. and to have received the 
 anointing. 1 john ii. 27. and to have an unclion from the holy 
 one. v. 20. which are manifeft allufions to our blefted Lord's 
 being anointed with the holy Ghofl: after his Baptifm. \w. 
 like manner when chriftians are well eftablilhed in the ways 
 of holinefs by a conformity to Chrift, and following the di- 
 rections and guidance of his Spirit, they have a renewal of 
 this character of Sons confered upon them, for as many as are 
 led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God. Romans viii. 
 i 4. And therefore in allufion to our Saviour's being clothed 
 with light and glory at his Transfiguration, they are faid to 
 put on the Lord JefusChriJi. Romans xiii. 14. gal. iii. 27. 
 To put on the nenv man . eph. iv. 24. col. iii. 10. And this 
 Righteoufnefs with which the Saints are faid to be clothed and 
 arayed. job xxix. 14. rev. xix. 8. is reprefented as a mark 
 and proof of their being the Sens of God, Ye know that every one 
 that doth righteoufnefs is lorn of him. 1 john ii. 29. The con- 
 cluding part of Chrift's Confecration, when he was declared 
 to be the Son of God with Power by his Refurreclion from 
 the dead, is alfo applied to his followers, and they are called 
 the Sons of God upon the fame account; our Lord himfelf 
 exprefsly tells us that they are the children of God, being chil- 
 dren of the Refurreclion. luke xx. 36. And the Redemption of 
 the Body from the Grave is ftiled the Adoption. Romans viii. 
 23. And the fame Refurre&ion is faid to be the Manifeftatioa 
 of the Sons of God. v. 19. in the fame manner as that of 
 our Saviour declared him to be the Son of God. rqmans i. 4. 
 
[ 40] 
 
 God. rev. i. 6. and they are filled a chofen Gene- 
 ration, a royal Priefihocd, an holy Nation, a pecu- 
 liar People, i peter ii. 9. and verfe 5. an holy 
 Prieftbood to offer up fpiritual Sacrifices, acceptable to 
 God by Jefus Chriji. So that I apprehend nothing 
 is wanting, upon the whole, to prove that the 
 Baptifm which is truly and properly chriftian, is 
 different from that of john the Baptift, and the 
 lame as that with which Chrift was baptized, and 
 that it is intended for no other purpofe than that 
 of Initiation and Confecration. 
 
 I have only further to obferve, that as the Bap- 
 tifm of john was different from that which Chrift 
 inftituted, fo it is evidently intended by way of 
 preparation for it ; the Baptifm of john was a 
 Baptifm of Repentance and Renunciation, that 
 of Chrift was a Baptifm of Initiation and Confe- 
 cration ; by the former their abandoning their 
 old errors, prejudices, and fins was declared, 
 by the latter their embracing the truth and holi- 
 nefs of the Gofpel •, by one they renounced the 
 Devil and the world with their lufts and vani- 
 ties, by the other they were devoted and de- 
 dicated to the fervice of God and the obedience 
 ... ot Chrift ; fo that one was plainly introductory to 
 the other, it being neceffary that they fnould firft 
 forfake a falfe and corrupt Profeffion before they 
 could take upon them one that was perfectly true 
 and holy : and this john himfelf declares to be 
 the end and intent of his Baptifm, for upon the 
 demand which the Priefts and Levites made, 
 V/ho art then? And why baptizejl thou? What fayejl 
 thou of thy/elf? That we may give an anfwer to them 
 that fent us. He tells them, 1 am the voice of one 
 crying in the wildernefs, as [aid the Prophet Efaias, 
 prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths 
 Jhaight j every Vally fhall be filled, and every Moun- 
 tain 
 
[4i ] 
 
 0ein and Hill flmll be brought low, and the crooked 
 Jha'tl I e made Jhaight, and the rough ways jhall be 
 made -nooth ; to this end, that all Flejb might fee 
 the Salvation of God. Luke iii. 4, 5, 6. compared 
 with john i. 22,23,25. matthew iii. 2. and 
 
 MARK 1. 3. 
 
 Thefe are figurative expreffions, and the mean- 
 ing of them is plainly this — " The defign of my 
 " Preaching and Baptifm is to form my followers 
 " to fuch a temper of mind as may difpofe 
 " them readily to apprehend and entertain the 
 « c Revelation of the Mefliah, who is fhortly to 
 " appear-, and in order to this they mud divert 
 <c themfelves of fuch corrupt paffions, prejudices, 
 " and fins which would be obstacles in the way 
 ** to their, reception of it. Cajling down, to ufe the 
 " words of the Apoftle, Imaginations, and every 
 " high thing that exaleth it f elf againfi the knowledge 
 " of God, and bringing into captivity every thought 
 " to the obedience of Chrifi. 2 cor. x. 5. The 
 occafion of John's preaching Repentance, he tells 
 us, was becaufe the kingdom of heaven was at hand, 
 matthew iii. 2. and the Baptifm of Repentance 
 which he administered was intended for the Remif- 
 fion of Sins, mark i. 4. for taking away that dis- 
 order and corruption of mind which would hin- 
 der them from imbracing the pure and holy doc- 
 trines of the Gofpel of Chrift *. So that the whole 
 ministry of john was preparatory to the Gofpel 
 difpenfation, and his Baptifm an introduction to, 
 as well as difFerent from, the Baptifm of our 
 blefTed Saviour. 
 
 But though the defign of John's Baptifm, and 
 that of Chrift are fo widely difFerent, yet there is 
 
 good 
 
 * Many Texts might be produced, wherein the forgivenefs 
 of Sins fignifies no more than the removal of bodily or men- 
 tal difeafes. 
 
[ 42 ] 
 
 good reafon to think, that they were united and 
 conjoined in Tome of the firft Baptifms which were 
 adminiftered by the Apoftles after the afcenfion of 
 Chrift; thus we find St. peter having convinced 
 a great multitude of Jews and Profelytes, that 
 "J ejus was the Chrifi, directs them, in confequence 
 of this conviction, to repent, and be baptized every 
 cm of them, in the Name of Jefus Chrifi, for the 
 rcftiijfwn of fins, acts ii. 38. And we have an 
 account in the 41ft verfe, that about Three 
 Thoufand of them were baptized ; here it is 
 evident, that thefe converts were baptized with 
 chriftian Baptifm, for they were baptized in the 
 Name of Jefus Chrifi, and many of them were 
 aifo at the fame time baptized with the Baptifm 
 of repentance for the remiffion of fins, which 
 was the Baptifm of john ; and the reafon of thefe 
 two different kinds of Baptifms being here united, 
 is, I think, plainly this, a great number of thefe 
 difciples were ftrongly prejudiced againft the per- 
 ibn and character of our bleffed Saviour, whom 
 they expected to make a quite different appear- 
 ance, if he was really the Mefliah, than that of 
 adefpifed, ignominious and' crucified perfon: nay, 
 to add to their guilt the Apoflle tells them, that 
 they were acceliary to the death of the innocent 
 and holy Jefus ; Him, fays he, ye have taken, and 
 by wicked hands have crucified andjlain. v. 23. And 
 he concludes his difcourfe with an appeal to the 
 whole nation of the Jews in juftirkation of this 
 charge againft them, therefore let all the houfe of 
 Jfrael know sijjuredly, that God hath made the fame 
 Jefus, whomye have crucified, both Lord and Chrifi. 
 v. $6. 
 
 It is very plain, that this accufation of St. 
 peter frnote their confeiences, and thoroughly 
 convinced them of the heinoufnefs of their crime, 
 
 for 
 
[43 ] 
 
 for we are told in the very next words, that when 
 they heard this they were pricked in the heart, and 
 [aid unto Peter and the reft of the A-poftles, Men and 
 Brethren, what Jh all we do ? Such a deteflable fin 
 as this, it they had been guilty of no other, could 
 not but require a particular repentance before 
 they could be admited to be the difciples and 
 followers of that Saviour whom they had cruci- 
 fied and (lain ; and, accordingly, we find, that 
 the Apoltle immediately exhorts them to repen- 
 tance, as a qualification for Baptifm, and admif- 
 fion into the church of Chrift •, and promifes the 
 remiffion of fin, and the gift of the holy Ghoft, as 
 a confequence of it. v. 38. So that the demand 
 of repentance, and the promife of forgivenefs, are 
 a clear proof that this Baptifm was of the fame 
 nature with that of John's ; and their being bap- 
 tized in the name of Jefus Chrift, and receiving 
 the gift of the holy Ghoft, are an equal demon- 
 stration that their Baptifm was alfo truly and 
 properly chriftian. 
 
 But though repentance is here exprefsly re- 
 quired as a necelTary preparation for Baptifm, 
 there is no mention made of it with regard to 
 others who were baptized by the Apoftles; for in 
 the inltance of Philip's baptizing the people of 
 Samaria, all that was demanded of them was their 
 believing, acts viii. 12. And when the Eunuch 
 made known his defire of being baptized to 
 Philip, he tells him, if thou believefi with all thine 
 heart thou may eft. v. %6, 37. In like manner 
 when the Jailer demanded of paul and silas, 
 Sirs, what muft I do to be faved ? He anfwers, be- 
 lieve in the Lord Jefus Chrift, and thoujhalt be faved, 
 and thy houfe. acts xvi. 30, 31. 
 
 Other inftances might be brought of perfons, 
 where there is no exprefs mention made of re- 
 pentance 
 
[ 44 ] 
 
 pentance as a qualification for it •, and the mod* 
 probable reafon of this feems to be, that there was 
 no appearance in thofe perfons of any prejudices 
 againft Chrift and his religion, and that they in- 
 dulged themfelves in no vicious practices, which 
 might be an obftacle to their reception of it, or 
 hinder its efficacy upon them •, and as far as this 
 was the cafe with them, they were in the fame 
 ftate with thofe who had removed thofe obftacles 
 by a particular repentance : but then it is plain 
 the Apoftles reckoned the number of thofe men 
 to be very fmall, becaufe they make repentance a, 
 principal fubjec~t of their Sermons and Difcourfes, 
 both to Tews and Gentiles, and inforce it as ne- 
 ceflary to their embracing Christianity ; thus St. 
 paul tells the Athenians, that, new, efpecially 
 at the opening of the Gofpel-difpenfation, God 
 eemmandeth all men every where to repent, acts 
 xvii. 30. 
 
 He informs us, that it was his conftant prac- 
 tice, wherever he preached, to inculcate this doc- 
 trine •, that he taught them both publickly, and from 
 koufe to houfe, tefiifying both to the Jews, and alfo 
 to the Greeks, repentance towards God, as well as 
 faith towards our Lord Jefus Chrift. acts xx. 20, 
 21. And in his vindication of himfelf before 
 King agrippa, he acknowledges, that he Jloewed 
 firft unto them of Damafcas, and at Jerufalem, and 
 throughout all the coafts of Judea, and then to the 
 Gentiles, that they foould repent, and do works meet for 
 repentance, acts xxvi. 20. So that the Apoftles 
 feemed to think repentance neceflary for all per- 
 fons to whom they preached, in order to their 
 admiffion into the kingdom and church of Chrift, 
 for this reafon, becaufe having been under the in- 
 fluence of religious principles, more or lefs cor- 
 rupt, and addicted themfelves to practices more 
 
 or 
 
[45] 
 
 or lefs vicious, it was highly proper that thefe 
 fhould be renounced before they could be in a 
 proper difpofition ro entertain the pure and fpi- 
 ritual inftitutions of the Gofpel : where this was 
 apparently the charadter of the perfons to be bap- 
 tized, there a particular repentance and renun- 
 ciation feems to have been demanded, but in 
 other cafes, where there appeared to be an up- 
 right and unprejudiced heart, it was not infilled 
 upon, neither was it necefTary, becaufe it was 
 only into this ftate that repentance was intended 
 to bring them. Such juft perfons, therefore, who 
 upon account of their being free from grofs errors 
 and fins need no repentance, need not to be bap- 
 tized with the Baptifm of john, which was a 
 Baptifm of repentance, neither indeed are they 
 capable of it. 
 
 And this I apprehend to be the very cafe of 
 Infants, they cannot poflibly have any prejudices 
 in their minds againft Chriftianity, and they have 
 acquired no vicious habits which might obftruct 
 its influence upon them ♦, their hearts are open to 
 inftruction and difcipline, and their intellectual 
 endowments capable of being moulded and 
 Formed by the power of education and divine 
 influence for the reception of thofe truths and 
 directions which are inculcated upon them ; fo 
 that as they have nothing in them which may be 
 an hindrance to their entertainment of the Gofpel, 
 or to its efficacy upon them, they cannot be capa- 
 ble of that Baptifm of repentance which was in- 
 tended for the removal of thofe obftacles : but 
 the fame qualities which render the Baptifm of 
 john unneceflfary and unfit for Infants, do alfo 
 put them in a capacity for receiving that Bap- 
 tifm which is truly and properly chriftian ; for if 
 they are free from the prejudices of error and 
 
 vice, 
 
[46] 
 
 vice, and are well difpofed for the reception of 
 the principles and rules of Christianity, as foon as 
 they can be made acquainted with them, what 
 fhould hinder their being initiated into it by Bap- 
 tifm, fmce they are in the fame itate, and have the 
 fame difpofitions of foul with thofe for whom 
 christian Baptifm was intended, and to whom it 
 was constantly and readily administered ? The dic- 
 tates of found reafon declare itrongly both for 
 their right to this priviledge, and their qualifica- 
 tions for it. 
 
 Communities of all kinds, as well religious as 
 civil, have admited Children to the fame privi- 
 ledges with their Parents, as far as they were ca- 
 pable of them. That government would be moil 
 tyanical and cruel, which would exclude the in- 
 offenfive offspring of its Subjects from the protec- 
 tion and advantages which all its other fubjects en* 
 joy from it •, that Parent would be molt unnatural 
 and barbarous, who would deny his heiplefs Chil- 
 dren that food and raiment, that defence and tu- 
 ition which is neceffary for them, and which he is 
 capable of affording them ; and far be it from 
 any to afcribe that to the King of Kings, the molt 
 tender and bountiful Parent of the Univerf\ which 
 would be looked upon as an injurious charge a- 
 gainft any of the human race who have not ex- 
 tinguished every fpark of humanity. 
 
 Infants are poffeSTed of thefe priviledges by 
 birthright, they have a natural and unalienable 
 title to them -, they are born Children, and are 
 born fubjects, and they cannot juitly be diverted 
 of the rights of thofe relations, without a wilful 
 forfeiture of them ; but they are not only born 
 fubjects of the kingdoms of this world, and 
 Children of earthly Parents, but by their birth 
 they become Subjects and fervants of the great So- 
 
[47] 
 
 vereign of the world, and Children of the living 
 and mod High God, who is the common Father 
 of us all •, they, as well as their Parents, are 
 his offspring, he is the former of their bodies, and 
 the father of their fpirits, and upon this account: 
 they are the Sons and Daughters of the Almighty -, and 
 if they are the Children, then they are the Heirs of 
 God, and as fuch are intitled, not only to the pro- 
 tection and fupplies of his Providence, as he is the 
 maker of their bodies, but have alfo a claim to 
 the directions and afiiftances of his Grace, as he 
 is the father of their fpirits ; for if earthly Parents 
 are ready to give not only temporal but fpiritual 
 good things, according to their own ability, and 
 their Childrens necefiity, how much more fhall 
 their heavenly Father beftow on them all things 
 neceffary to their eternal, as well as their prefent 
 happinefs ? 
 
 The mercies of God's Providence vouchfafed to 
 Infants are vifible and indifputable, and can we 
 think that he will take lefs care of their precious 
 and immortal fouls than of their frail and mortal 
 bodies ? The Lord is good to all, and his tender mer- 
 cies are over all his works ; his bounties are fuited 
 to the wants of all his creatures •, Behold the Fowls 
 of the Air, they fow not, neither do they reap, nor 
 gather into Barns ! Tet our heavenly Father feedeth 
 them ; and are not the meanelt of the human race 
 much better than they ? Have they not a fairer 
 claim to the divine protection and bounty ? And 
 in proportion as Infants are lefs able to help and 
 provide for themfelves, and are poffeffed of greater 
 innocence and integrity of mind than any other 
 of the children of men, muft not the mercies of 
 their infinitely great and good Parent be fuppofed 
 to be proportionably more extenfive and liberal to 
 them? Of all the human fpecies therefore their 
 
 infant 
 
[4§ ] 
 
 infant helplefs offspring ftand fairefl for diftin- 
 guilhing tokens of the divine regard, and furely 
 then God will not exclude them from any of thole 
 priviledges which their Parents injoy, if they are 
 capable of them. Do we find that they are denied 
 any of the neceflaries of an animal life •, if they 
 are not, why mould they be denied any thing con- 
 ducive to their fpiritual and divine life ? It is 
 true, the providential mercies of God are convey- 
 ed to Infants by the inftru mentality of their Pa- 
 rents and Friends, and what mould hinder their 
 being made partakers of fpiritual mercies and blef- 
 fings by the like inftruments ? By what means fo- 
 ever any priviledges and bounties are bellowed, 
 they all proceed from God, every good gift, of 
 whatever kind it is, comes from him, though it may 
 be, and perhaps is always, conveyed by the influ- 
 ence and agency of fome other Being ; and what- 
 ever Beings are imployed in carrying on the kind 
 defigns of God, whether they are thofe of his Pro- 
 vidence or Grace, I can fee no reafon why they 
 fhould be restrained from performing their bene- 
 volent offices to fuch helplefs creatures as ftand 
 in moll need of them. 
 
 The fame inftruments therefore who are intrud- 
 ed with communications of bleffings to the Parent, 
 may equally be intruded with the communication 
 of like bleffings to the Child ; God makes no 
 difference in his treatment of them, all Souls are 
 his, as the Soul of the Father, fo alfo the Soul of the 
 Child is his. ezek. xviii. 4. And if God be not at 
 all partial to them, why mould we fuppofe it of 
 thofe wife and holy agents whom he imploys in 
 carrying on his work? He is the God of thefpirits of 
 allflejh, without any diftinclion, and what fhould 
 oppofe his ■pouring out his Spirit upon all flefh m 
 common, not upon the Parents only, but alfo 
 
 upon 
 
[49 3 
 
 upon their Offspring ? It mud be owned there is 
 a great diversity in the divine gifts, neither is God 
 under any obligation to confer the fame privi ledges 
 on every part of the human race ; and alio, that 
 Parents are ufually inverted with a fuperiority both 
 of authority and advantages above their Children ; 
 but thefe are either the gifts of nature, and arife 
 from the relation in which they ftand as under 
 God, the -authors of their beings, or they proceed 
 from a careful improvement of thofe common 
 priviledges, in which their Children are joint par- 
 takers with them •, and in this cafe their fuperior 
 advantages cannot fall under the notion of privi- 
 ledges, but rather of rewards, according to the 
 determination of our blefTed Saviour, matthew 
 xiii. 12. For whofoever hath, to him Jh all be given*, 
 <ind hefloall have more abundance. 
 
 Priviledges are the effects of meer grace and 
 good will, and are beftowed as means to obtain 
 and difpofe for the rewards of happinefs ; and 
 where the happinefs propofed is the fame, there it 
 is reafonable to fuppofe the fame means of ac- 
 quiring it wifl be afforded : whatever advantages 
 therefore are given, previous to any improvement, 
 muff be common mercies, and be diftributed in a 
 general and comprehennVe manner amongff all 
 who are capable fubjecls of them ; and if any pri- 
 viledges are common and general, furely Baptifrn, 
 which is the primary and initial one, muff be fo ; 
 we may therefore juftly conclude, that all thofe 
 who are called to one and the fame Hope, are fub- 
 jecled to one and the fame Lord, and belong to the 
 fame houfhold of Faith, are intitled to one and the 
 fame Baptifrn, by him who is one and the fame 
 God, and Father of all. ephes. iv. 4, 5, 6. 
 
 Baptifrn then being allowed by all to be a pri- 
 
 viledge, and proved to be a priviledge belonging 
 
 E to 
 
to all who are properly difpofed for it, nothing. 
 can exclude Infants from a participation of it s 
 but their own incapacity and indifpofition -, and 
 the fame argument which I have infilled upon, of 
 God being their Father, will alfo afford fufficient 
 proof that he has not created them under any ina- 
 bility of receiving thofe gracious communications 
 which are of the utmoft importance to them, and 
 even necefiary to the. participation of that fublime 
 happinefs for which he defigns them. 
 
 The race of mankind are evidently intended by 
 God for intellectual and moral exercifes, for re- 
 ligious and divine imployments, and furely he has 
 not formed them with any difabilities for partak- 
 ing of thofe priviledges which .are every way con- 
 ducive to the promoting thefe great and noble pur- 
 pofes. If we examine into God's dealings with 
 other creatures of a lower rank, it" may give us a 
 ftrong prefumptive evidence, in. what manner he 
 may be fuppofed to have formed thofe Beings 
 whom he has fet at the head of his lower creation. 
 Do we not fee that all the animal race are in- 
 dowed with an inftinclive or difcerning faculty, 
 with regard to fuch things as are necefiary and ufe- 
 ful to the prefervation and furtherance of their ani- 
 mal life ? Even from the very hour in which they 
 are releafed from their embryo ftate, they need 
 no directions to lead them to the dug, or that 
 kind of food which is proper for them ; they have 
 the ufe of their animal fenfes from their birth, and 
 as foon as that which is intended for the gratifica- 
 tion of them is offered them, they readily take* 
 and eafily digeft it, for their nourifhment and 
 growth ; and can it be imagined that the capaci- 
 ties of intelligent and moral agents, for improve- 
 ment in the rational and divine life in their Infant 
 State, are lefs extenfive and efficacious in their 
 
 kind 
 
[5' ] 
 kind than brutal faculties and endowments are ? 
 The intent of God, in creating a world of rational 
 creatures, could be no other than promoting his 
 own honour and their happinefs, and it would be 
 a manifeft counter- acting of his own defign, a con- 
 duct perfectly unworthy oi a wife Being, to form 
 them with difabilities for thoie great purpofes for 
 which they are intended. 
 
 All the arguments that can poffibly be urged 
 upon this head mud terminate in this conclusion., 
 that man is created with moral and religious capa- 
 cities, or he is not created a moral and religious 
 agent; but that men are moral and religious agents 
 their own experience and feeling is fufficient proof, 
 and a little obfervation will convince us, that this 
 Intellectual light has an early dawning in the 
 minds of Infants, and difcovers the beginings of 
 a moral and religious fenfe of things betimes in 
 their hearts : it cannot fail of having been taken 
 notice of by many, that young Children, before 
 they have arrived to the uie of fpeech themfelves, 
 or have been capable of understanding its meaning 
 when ufed by others, have yet had an awful fenle 
 of a fuperior Being imprefled upon their minds, 
 and a diftinguifhing apprehenfion of good and 
 evil, right and wrong, evidencing itfelf in their 
 actions. 
 
 It is remarkable that thefe internal notices of 
 things manifeft themfelves in Infants in the very 
 fame manner as they do in grown perfons, who 
 have been deaf and dumb from their birth ; fo 
 that as no time of their life can be fuppofed where- 
 in children are destitute of the faculty of Reafon, 
 neither can there be any great length of time af- 
 figned wherein they have not fome ufe and exer- 
 cife of it, fo far at leaft, as to make them capable 
 of receiving religious and moral instructions, as 
 
 E 2 well 
 
[ 5*] 
 
 well as fuch as are civil and natural; and confe- 
 quently that there is a very fhort fpace of life in 
 which they are not ripe for initiation into thefe 
 moral and religious principles, which, as I have 
 already (hewn, is the great intent of chriftian 
 Baptifm. 
 
 Thus far I have pleaded the caufe of Infants, 
 and their right to religious Inftitution, by argu- 
 ments derived from the confideration of the end 
 and defign of chriftian Baptifm ; and herein I 
 have imployed Reafon alone as their advocate; 
 Reafon which argues equally ftrong in fupport of 
 the religious, as of the civil rights and priviledges 
 to which they are born •, for it mufl appear abfo- 
 lutely unreafonable and unjuft to exclude them 
 from that birthright in their fpiritual and everlaft- 
 ing concerns, which the judgment of all wife and 
 civilized nations allows them in thofe that are tem- 
 poral and civil. But though thefe arguments may 
 be heard with full conviction by the ear of huma- 
 nity and parental tender nefs, they are not the only 
 arguments by which their caufe is to be vindicated, 
 for I am fully perfwaded, that not only the voice 
 of Reafon and Humanity plead with unanfwerable 
 force in their behalf, but that even Divinity itfelf 
 hath efpoufed their interefts, by evidently afferting 
 their right to this Ordinance ; and this is what I 
 hope to make appear under the fubfequent Propo- 
 rtions. 
 
 Pro- 
 
I 53 ] 
 
 Proposition II. 
 
 Baptifm is a Qualification necefiary For all 
 chriftians, in order to their becoming mem- 
 bers of the Church of Chrift, and to their 
 obtaining a right to the priviledges and blef*. 
 fings of the Gofpel Covenant. 
 
 This Propofition is a direct and plain deduc- 
 tion from the foregoing; for as Baptifm was there 
 fhewn to be the initiating Ordinance of Chriftiani- 
 ty, and its defign to be that of entering perfons in- 
 to the Kingdom and Church of Chrift, fo as 
 thereby to become members of it, and intitled to 
 its priviledges, it is an evident confequence, that 
 none can be fuch who are not admited by this 
 Rite ; this is the Door of Chriftianity, and he 
 who enters not in by this, can have no other than 
 a furreptitious claim to the chriftian Name, and 
 the priviledges and advantages of the Gofpel Dif- 
 penfation. There is a manifeft abfurdity in fup- 
 pofing a perfon to be inverted with any character 
 or office without fuch character or office having a 
 begining; and it can have no other begining than 
 that which is appropriated to its folemn inveftiture 
 and admiffion ; this, in the cafe before us, has 
 been made to appear to be no other than Baptifm 
 into the Name and Profeffion of Chrift and his 
 Religion, which muft therefore be indifpenfably ne- 
 celTary to all who would become his difciples, 
 and be made partakers of his bleffings. 
 
 Whatever advantages we have by Chrift, we 
 
 can expect only to have them in the way of his own 
 
 appointment •, and the way which our Lord him- 
 
 felf has appointed to put us in a condition to re< 
 
 E 3 ceive 
 
[ 54 ] 
 ceive the priviledges of the Gofpel Covenant is, 
 that of being admited by the Baptifmal Ordinance ^ 
 the words of Chrifc's Com million are a ftrono- 
 proof of this, Difctple all nations, Baptizing them. 
 The christian oeconomy is the fchool of Chrift, 
 and the ceremony which he has ordained for the 
 entrance and matriculation of fcholars into his 
 fchool is their Baptifm, none therefore can be his 
 true and regular difciples, unlefs they are introdu- 
 ced by this Rite, hereby they are devoted to his 
 guidance and tuition, and are fu ejected to his di- 
 rection and government, they become his fubjects 
 and iervants, are in lifted into his fervice, inrolled 
 under his banner, and bound to a fubmifiion to his 
 difcipline •, and there can be no pretence to a title 
 to Chrift's gracious protection and instruction, 
 without a compliance with the method which he 
 has appointed for initiating and entering his fol- 
 lowers into the pofieffion of thofe priviledges ; the 
 relations in which we (land to Chrift, the duties 
 we owe him, and the benefits we receive by him, 
 have their primary and initial foundation in this 
 Ordinance, and by confequence it muft be necefia- 
 ry for all chriftians. 
 
 I am fenfible that there is a difficulty which has 
 been frequently urged againft the extenfivenefs of 
 the Baptifmal Ordinance, which has the appear- 
 ance of confiderable weight in it. It is alledged, 
 that Baptifm was intended for profelyting perions 
 from other Religions to theembracement and pro- 
 felTion of Chriftianity. It was ufed with this in- 
 tent, and upon this footing, by the Jews ; when 
 any of the heathen nations declared their refolution 
 of forfaking the idolatries and fuperititions in 
 which they had lived, and their defire to embrace 
 the Jewilh religion and worfhip, they were lepa- 
 rated and introduced by a Baptifmal warning with 
 
 water ; 
 
r 55] 
 
 -water •, thus it feems to have been practifed by mo- 
 uses, when he wafhed all the people of Ifrael from 
 the idolatrous pollutions they had contracted in the 
 land of Egypt, by the miraculous Baptifm of the 
 Red Sea •, and there is very clear evidence, that 
 the fame practice was continued and preferved in 
 the Jewifh nation at the time of our bleiTed Sa- 
 viour's appearance. 
 
 Now it has been generally thought, that when 
 Chrift gave the Commiffion to the Apoftles, to go 
 and profelyte all nations to him by Baptizing 
 them, he took this Jewifh Baptifm of Profelytes 
 Tor his pattern, and ordered his own Inftitution in 
 an exact: conformity to their practice; fo that the 
 warrant for chriftian Baptifm could have no larger 
 extent, or take in any more fubjects, than the 
 cuftom from whence it was derived, unlefs fome 
 particular direction had been given how far they 
 might deviate from it. But the fame authorities 
 which make us acquainted with this Jewifli Rite, 
 give us alfo an account of the redaction with 
 which it was ufed, afiferting in the plaineft and 
 fulled manner, that it was only adminiftered to 
 thofe who were immediate profelytes from other 
 Religions, and was not thought neceffary for thofe 
 who defcended from them, but that the offspring 
 of baptized perfons were always reckoned as bap- 
 tized by the Baptifm of their Forefathers •, and we 
 find accordingly, that though the whole people of 
 Ifrael were baptized by moses, their progeny were 
 not afterwards obliged to an obfervance of that 
 Inftitution ; and in after-ages, whenever any were 
 purified from the defilements of heathenifh idolatry 
 and fuperftition by this Rite, it was difcontinued 
 to be adminiitered to thofe who were born of them 
 after they became Jews ; and their defendants, 
 in all fucceeding generations, were efteemed an 
 
 E 4 holy 
 
I 56 ] 
 
 holy Seed, in the fame manner and extent as thofe 
 who were born originally of Jewifh extraction *, 
 fo that whenever the Root was .holy, the Branches 
 %vere alfo accounted holy. Romans xi. 16. 
 
 And not only the religious cuiloms of the Jew- 
 i1i date, but the civil infiltrations of all regular 
 Governments and Communities feem to counte- 
 nance the admiflion of members into their re- 
 fpective ibcieties with the fame restrictions ; for at 
 the fame time any perfon is naturalized, and in- 
 corporated into any State, all his defendants, at 
 whatever diftance, are fuppofed to be naturalized 
 and infranchifed by the fame Act ; they are free-born, 
 and are poffefTed by their birthright of the priviledges 
 and immunities of that Community of which they 
 are born Subjects •, and why mould it not be the 
 fame in the Kingdom and Church of Christ, who, as 
 the kind and indulgent Saviour and Redeemer of 
 the worlds cannot be fuppofed to lay any unnc- 
 ceflary burthens and restrictions upon his follow- 
 ers ? And as there are no directions given in the 
 New Testament, wherein they were to deviate 
 from the common and eStablifhed cuStom, how 
 could the ApoStles and firfl christians be fup> ofed 
 to apply this Ordinance to fubjects quite different 
 from thofe to whom they knew it was wont to be 
 ad mini tiered, without any warrant to that pur- 
 pofe ? And if they had no authority to make a 
 variation, none of their fucceSTors can have the 
 leaft claim to alter the original practice, but mould 
 continue to ufe it in the fame manner and extent as 
 it was introduced by our blefled Saviour ; efpecially 
 as the great ApoStle St. PAULfeems to have given 
 plain intimations, that the fame Constitution was 
 to continue under the Gofpel Difpenfation which 
 had prevailed under the Jewifli, for he tells us ex- 
 
 prefsly, 
 
[ 57] 
 
 prefsly, that the holinefs which is the effect of Bap- 
 tifm, is not only conveyed to the children and af- 
 ter-defcendants of a Believer, but even to his part- 
 ner in wedlock, fo that they are holy by virtue of 
 that holinefs which he had been made partaker of, 
 for the unbelieving Hujband is fanftified by the Wife* 
 and the unbelieving Wife is fanclified by the Hujband, 
 elfe were your Children unclean, but now are they holy, 
 i corin. vii. 14. 
 
 Upon the whole therefore it may appear to be a 
 juft and reafonable conclufion, that as the defen- 
 dants of Jewiih Profelytes were accounted an holy 
 feed without Baptifm, and the offspring of natu- 
 ralized fubjects have been no where thought to be 
 obliged to a frefh act of naturalization, neither 
 mould the descendants of Baptized chriftians be 
 under any neceffity of being admited into the 
 Church of Chrift by a Baptifmal warning; efpeci- 
 ally as our Lord has given no direction about the 
 altering its ufual method of adminiilration, and 
 the Apoftle paul feems to fpeak in confirmation 
 of it. 
 
 This is the Objection, which I have reprefented 
 in its full force ; but whatever formidable appear- 
 ance it may be thought to make, I am perfvvaded 
 that a clofe and impartial confideration of what 
 has been alledged under the former Proportion, 
 concerning the different intentions of Baptifm, 
 will difarm it of all its ftrength. 
 
 Baptifm was there fhewn to be made ufe of a- 
 mong the Jews for thefe two different pufpofes, 
 that of Purification, and that of Initiation or Con- 
 fecration - y the former of thefe was the Baptifm of 
 john, not a meer ritual warning from legal un- 
 cleannefs, but a purification from religious cor- 
 ruptions and imperfections, a Baptifm of Profely- 
 tifm from the Jewiih Law, in order to their 
 
 im- 
 
[ 58 ] 
 
 Embracing that which Chrift was about to eftablilh» 
 this is what he declares of himfelf, I am the Voice 
 a/ one crying in the IVildemefs, prepare ye the Way of 
 the Lord, make his Paths Jlraight. john i. 23. 
 matthew iii. 3. and the fubftance of his preach- 
 ing was, Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at 
 hand. ver. 2. Theie and other texts make it plain, 
 that the Million and Baptifm of john was only 
 preparatory to that of the Median, it was a Bap- 
 tifm of repentance for their former fins, and re- 
 nunciation of their iormer errors, without any the 
 lead pretence of initiating his difciples into any 
 new profeiTion ♦, and this was the very fame pro- 
 felyte Baptifm which had been ufed by the Jews 
 in profelyting Heathens from their idolatry and 
 wickednefs •, it was plainly derived from their 
 practice, and adminiftered with the fame intent ; 
 tor if the accounts we have of the Jewifh Profe- 
 lytes be duly confidered, it will be very evident, 
 that when they were baptized it was only for the 
 renunciation of their heatheniih impieties, and 
 thst they were not admited and initiated into the 
 Jewifh Church thereby. 
 
 All that are acquainted with the hiftory and an- 
 tiquities of that nation know, that there were two 
 forts of Profelytes amongft them, diftinguifhed by 
 the titles of Profelytes of the Gate, and Profelytes of 
 Righieoufnefs \ the former fort were not admited 
 as members of the Jewifh church and religion, all 
 that was required of" them was, to renounce their 
 idolatrous worfhip and impieties, and to yield an 
 obedience to the moral law, as far as it was con- 
 tained in ihofe that were called the Seven Pre- 
 cepts of noah •, they were as yet accounted to be 
 only in a ftate of nature, bound to the fame du- 
 ties to which thofe of all nations were obliged by 
 the law of Reafon, but not to any of thofe pofitive 
 
 ones 
 
[ 59 ] 
 ones which God had injoined to the Jews as his 
 people by a revelation from Heaven •, and accord- 
 ingly they were not permired to join with the 
 Jews in their religious fervices, or temple wor- 
 ship, and were not allowed to approach any nearer 
 to it than the cuter court, called, for that rea- 
 fon, the Court of the Gentiles. 
 
 The other fort of Profelytes, called Profclytes of 
 Right coufnefs, or, as the Jews themfelves lliled 
 them, Profelytes of the Covenant* were entered into 
 that flate by Circurncifion, and they were by that 
 obliged to an obfervance of the whole law of mo- 
 ses, and intitled to all the priviledges peculiar to 
 that difpenfation ; fo that the circumcifed perfon 
 was efleemed to be a Debtor to do the whole Law, 
 galat. v. 3. and every one that was uncircum- 
 cifed was cut off, or excluded from being of the 
 number of the people of God. genesis xvii. 14. 
 For this reafon Circurncifion is called the Cove- 
 nant, or the token of the Covenant betwixt God 
 and them. ver. 10, 11. it being abfolutely necefiary 
 thereto by the divine appointment. This there- 
 fore was plainly the initiating Ordinance into the 
 Jewifli Religion, that of Baptifm was only fub- 
 fervient thereto, it was declarative of their purga- 
 tion from their heathenifh impurities, and reduced 
 its fubjec'ts merely into that flate in which they 
 would have been born had they been the offspring 
 of Jewifli Parents. 
 
 The Baptifm of Profelytifm cannot then be the 
 Baptifm of Chrift, for this, as I have ftiewn, was 
 a Baptifm of Initiation, and anfwers directly to the 
 Circurncifion of the Jews, and is therefore called 
 the Circurncifion of Chrift. coloss. ii. ir, 12. it be- 
 ing intended to enter perfons into the Church of 
 Chrift, as Circurncifion was appointed to admit 
 fliem into the Jewifh Church ; now though the 
 
 Baptifm 
 
[ 60 ] 
 
 Baptifm of Profelytes was not thought necelTary to 
 be continued to their defcendants, they being fup- 
 pofed to be fufficiently cleanfed from their heathen- 
 ifh impurities by their forefathers Baptifm, yet 
 they could not be admited into the religious 
 Community of the Jews without Circumcifion, 
 which was not only a fign, but afeal, which con- 
 firmed to them all the priviledges of that Cove- 
 nant, romans iv. ii. In like manner, under the 
 Chrifiian Difpenfation, it is neceflfary that all who 
 are converted from other Religions, mould be 
 baptized with the Baptifm of Profelytifm, which 
 was the Baptifm of john, a Baptifm of re- 
 nunciation of their former errors, and repentance 
 for their former fins. 
 
 But thofe who afterwards defcended from them 
 could not ftand in need of that Baptifm, not be- 
 ing born in the fame corrupt and defiled ftate in 
 which their fathers had been, but in that into 
 which they were brought by their Baptifmal Puri- 
 fication from it ; notwithstanding this, both they 
 and their progenitors muft be under a neceffity 
 of being baptized with the Baptifm of Chrift, 
 which is a Baptifm of Initiation, intended to enter 
 them into the Church of Chrift, and' make them 
 partakers of the priviledges of the Gofpel Cove- 
 nant. It is evident therefore that the former of 
 thele muft ceafe whenever Profelytes from other 
 religions ceafed to be admited, but the later muft 
 be continued down to all the fucceeding genera- 
 tions of thofe who make profefilon of Chriftiani- 
 ty, it being an initiating Ordinance equally fitted 
 and intended for all. 
 
 The evidence for the continuance of chriftian 
 Baptifm to the offspring of chriftians will receive 
 yet ftronger light from the confideration of its 
 derivation and original. I think it has been made 
 
 appear 
 
[6t ] 
 
 appear under the former PropoHtion, with a very 
 high degree of probability, that it was derived from 
 the Initiation or Confecration of the Jewiffi High 
 Priefts to their office, and that they were thereby 
 inverted with that dignity and authority which 
 belonged to it ; and it has alfo there been made 
 evident, that not only our blefTed Lord, but all 
 his difciples and followers were to be confecrated 
 to a like honourable and fublime character by 
 this Baptifmal Confecration of Chrift : now it is 
 very plain, that this folemn inveftiture of the 
 Jewifh Priefts was not intended to convey the 
 fame dignity to their defcendants and fucceffors, 
 but that every one of them was obliged to undergo 
 a frefli dedication and confecration to their office ; 
 it was ordered by God to be a Statute for ever to 
 Aaron and his feed after him. exod. xxviii. 43. and 
 whoever of his defcendants that fhould be Prieft in 
 his ftead, was to be confecrated in the fame man- 
 ner. EXOD. XXix. 3O. LEVIT. vi. 22. 
 
 The Jewifh hiftory informs us, that the fame 
 method of Confecration was continued down 
 through every period of that ftate, as far as it 
 was poffible to be ufed. As the Baptifm of chrif- 
 tians therefore is intended for the' fame purpole of 
 Initiation and Confecration to the dignity and pri- 
 viledges which attend the members of Chrift's 
 Church, and as they are declared to be fan£lified y 
 or confecrated to be made the Sons of God, and 
 Kings and Priejls to him thereby, it is evident that 
 it mud be of the fame extent and continuance with 
 the Baptifmal Confecration of the Jewiih Priefts j 
 and that none can be admited or accounted mem- 
 bers of the Chriftian Community without it : for 
 as the Priefts under the Mofaick Difpenfation were 
 not born fo, but only with qualifications for ob- 
 taining that character and office which was after- 
 wards 
 
[ 62 ] 
 
 wards to be confercd on them by a folemn de- 
 signation and appointment thereto, fo alfo the de- 
 fendants of Baptized christians do not derive 
 their chriftian character and denomination from 
 their birth, which only qualifies them for, and in- 
 titles them to it, but are inverted with it by that 
 Baptifmal Confecration which Chrift has appointed 
 jfor that purpofe. 
 
 The fame method of procedure is alfo obferved 
 in civil or political focieties and communities, 
 whenever any perfon is naturalized, or brought 
 over from a foreign government and jurifdiction j 
 by a fpecial act and institution for that purpofe, 
 he is only thereby intitled to the protection and 
 immunities of a common fubjecl, and can receive 
 no claim of honours or imployments in that flate 
 thereby, thefe muft afterwards be confered upon 
 him, by a particular grant from that government 
 of which he is a fubject, and he muft be inverted 
 with them in fuch form, and upon fuch conditi- 
 ons, as the laws and cuftoms of that constitution 
 require : a compliance with thefe may indeed, by 
 the favour of the prince and' his ov/n perfonal me- 
 rit, raife him to offices of truft, power and profit, 
 but thefe muft of necefiity die with him, and can- 
 not in ordinary cafes defcend 'to his offspring, 
 who, like ali other natural born fubjects of the 
 State, of how great antiquity foever their defcent 
 and pedigree may be, muft in perfon acquire the 
 peculiar dignities and prerogatives of the Com- 
 munity in the fame way with their predeceSTors. 
 By Naturalization fubjection to other Govern- 
 ments is renounced and abjured, its Subjects are 
 reduced to a (late of nature, and they are put only 
 in a capacity and condition of natural born fub- 
 jects, till by further ingagements and Stipulations 
 of duty and allegiance, they become candidates 
 
 for 
 
1 63] 
 
 for the lucrative grants and offices of truft and 
 power which are to be confered on them, and 
 with which they are to be invefted according to 
 the rules and inftitutes of that Government into 
 which they are admited as complex Denizens. 
 
 Now it is manifeft, that thefe civil procedures 
 bear an exact refemblance to the religious obfer- 
 vances made ufe of at the time of our blefTed Sa- 
 viour's appearance, in order to admit perfons to 
 become fubjects of his fpiritual Kingdom % by 
 profelyte Baptifm they were naturalized, were 
 drawn over from the fervice of falfe gods, or a 
 corrupt worfhip of the true God, to fubjection and 
 obedience to the Eternal and Supreme God, the 
 Maker of Heaven and Earth, and were hereby 
 obliged only to the performance of thofe duties, 
 and intitled to thofe benefits which Natural Re- 
 ligion demanded and confered ; this prepared and 
 difpofed them for thofe fuperior honours and pri- 
 viledges which Chrift, as King of his Church, 
 was impowered to bellow, and to which by his 
 own appointment they could become intitled no 
 other way, than by a Baptifm of Initiation and 
 Dedication to his fervice. It is plain therefore, that 
 only civil Naturalization, and profelyte Baptifm, 
 are hereditary, but that political Institution, and 
 religious Initiation into civil and facred focieties, 
 are neceffary to all who become compleat and pri- 
 viledged members of them. 
 
 So that the analogy there is between the Bap- 
 tifm of Chrift, and the methods made ufe of both 
 for religious and civil Initiation, as well as its pro- 
 bable derivation from the folemn Confecration of 
 the Jewifh High Prieft by Baptifm with water, 
 yield a very ftrong preemptive argument for its 
 Univerfality and Perpetuity. But this will re- 
 ceive yet further confirmation, if the determina- 
 tions 
 
f 6 4 ] 
 
 tions of Chrift arid his Apoftles about this mat- 
 ter be duely confidered. Wharhas been alledged 
 from the Apoftle Paul Under the foregoing Ob- 
 jection, concerning hereditary and relative holi- 
 nefs, is fo far from being an argument againit the 
 continuance of chriiuan Baptifm, that, upon a 
 Uriel: examiiaation, I am perfwaded it will be 
 found itrongly to fupport it ; the texts refered to 
 are Romans xi. 16. if the Root be holy, fays the 
 Apoftle, fo are the Branches, and i cor in. vii. 
 1 4. For the unbelieving Hufband is fanSiified by the 
 Wife, and the unbelieving Wife is fanclified by the 
 Hufband, elfe were your Children unclean, but now 
 are they holy. 
 
 In order to underftand in what fenfe the holinefs 
 here fpoken of is meant by the Apoftle, it mult 
 be inquired, what the fignification of the word 
 holy \%; as it is ufed in the fcriptures of the Old 
 Teftament; and I believe the moft exact fearch 
 will difcover only two fenfes in which it is taken, 
 one of them of a negative, the other of a pofitive 
 nature •, it is ufed negatively where any perfon or 
 thing is faid to be holy on account of its being ex- 
 empted, or freed from uncleannefs and defile- 
 ment of any kind ; it is ufed pofitively when per- 
 fons or things are folemnly devoted to God, and 
 confecrated to his fervice. I have already given 
 Snftances of the later kind of holinefs in the Confe- 
 cration of the High Priefts and Levites to their 
 office; to which might be added, the Confecration 
 of the Tabernacle and Temple with the Altar, and 
 other veffels belonging to them, and many other 
 things. 
 
 To illuftrate the firft kind of it I mail only fe- 
 lect one inftance out of many, and it is that of 
 animals which were appointed to be reckoned 
 clean or unclean; the later of thefe were deemed 
 
 unholy, 
 
[6 5 ] 
 
 \mholy, and denied thofe who eat of them ; the 
 fdrmer were accounted pure and holy, and might 
 be made ufe of without any defilement arifing 
 from it ; this is plainly afferted to be the defign 
 of that law. levit. xi. 44. Te Jhall not defile youf- 
 f elves with any manner of creeping thing that creepcth 
 upon the earth-, but ye fhall fanclify yourfelves, and 
 ye fhall be holy, for I am holy. I have the rather 
 choien this inftance becaufe there is a manifeft al- 
 lufion to it, in that vifion which was reprefented 
 to St. peter, acts x.- 11, 12 and 13. in which 
 the ftate of the Jews and Heathens was figured by 
 that of clean and unclean Beafis •, and the com- 
 mand which ordered him to kill and eat of them 
 indifferently convinced him that pious and de- 
 vout Heathens were* by the Divine Appointment, 
 to be accounted equally holy and undefiled, and 
 intitled to the fame priviledges with pious Jews ; 
 for he tells us. ver. 34, 35. that by this he per- 
 ceived that God was no refpetler of Perfons, but that 
 in every nation he that feareth God, and worketh 
 right eoufnefs, is accepted of him ; and a little before 
 he tells Cornelius and his companions, Te know 
 how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is 
 a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another 
 nation, but God hath fhewed me that I foould not call 
 any man common or unclean, ver. 28. from whence 
 it appears, that the Jews accounted all befides 
 themfelves to be in an unclean and polluted ftate, 
 even fo far as to caufe defilement to a Jew by con- 
 verfe and intercourfe with them ♦, on the contrary, 
 they efteemed themfelves a people naturally holy 
 and free from all pollution and uncleannefs. 
 
 This preference which they attributed to them- 
 felves, above all others, was not without fome 
 good foundation, for they were the people of 
 God in fuch a fenfe as no other nation or people 
 
 F were, 
 
t 66] 
 
 were, being taken into Covenant with God, where- 
 by they were entitled to peculiar and diftinguifh- 
 ing bleffings ; fo that they are called a holy 
 people to the Lord •, and the Lord is faid to have 
 chofen them to be a fpecial people to himfelf, above all 
 people that are upon the face of the earth, deut. viL 
 6. and xiv." 2. And elfewhere they are called a 
 holy nation, exodus xix. 6. The holy Seed, ezra 
 ix. 2. Isaiah vi. 13. and the righteous nation. 
 jsaiah xxvi. 2. Whereas the uncircumcifed Hea- 
 thens were reekoned to be unclean, isaiah lii. 1. 
 and xxxv. 8. And they are faid by the Apoftle 
 Paul to be aliens from the commonwealth of lfrael 7 
 and fir angers from the covenants of Promife, having 
 no hope, and without God in the world, eph. ii. 12. 
 Now this holy character, on account of which 
 the Jews fo highly valued themlelves, was not ap- 
 propriated to them as a diftincl family and peo- 
 ple from all others, nor was it derived from their 
 Circumcifion, and other ritual obfervances en- 
 joined them by God, for their defendants, be- 
 fore they were circumcifed, were eileemed a holy 
 Seed ; and fuch as became Profely tea to the wor- 
 fhip of the true God were entitled to the fame 
 character before they were admited to a partici- 
 pation of the Jewifli Ceremonies and Worfhip : 
 this will appear evident from a confideration of 
 the derivation and original of this holinefs, it was 
 conveyed down to them from Abraham the Fa- 
 ther of this People, who was entitled to this holy 
 appellation before he was circumcifed, and be- 
 fore God eftablilhed that peculiar and appropriat- 
 ing Covenant with him, by which he and his off- 
 spring were diflinguifhed from all the families 
 and nations of the earth ; for antecedent to this 
 God had promifed to blefs him, to make his name 
 great, and to multiply his Seed to an exceeding great 
 
 nation - 3 
 
1 67] 
 
 nation*, and that he would be his Shield, and his- ex* 
 ceeding great Reward, genesis xii. 2. xxii. 17; 
 xv. 1. And the ground and reafon of thofe favours 
 which God declared he would beftow upon Abra- 
 ham and his Seed, we are told was his Faith, or 
 his Belief and Worfliip of the one true God, in 
 the midft of many idolatrous nations that fur- 
 rounded him ; this Faith of his appeared fo ftrong 
 and illuftrious in his forfaking the land of his 
 nativity, and going to a place he knew not, at the 
 command of God, and in his reliance on the di- 
 vine Promife, that he fhould have a Son born to 
 him, when both he and his wife were pad age, 
 that upon this, and other accounts, God efleemed 
 and declared him to be an eminently righteous 
 and holy Perfon, and for his fake attributed this 
 character alio to his defcendants, his relations, and 
 his whole houfhold ; nay, even to all who were 
 followers of his Faith in the everlaiting and true 
 God§. 
 
 There is the fureft authority for what I have 
 here aflerted from the determination of the A- 
 poftle paul, which exactly correfponds with it. 
 Abraham was blejfed of God, he tells us, in that 
 his Faith was hwputed, or accounted, to him for 
 right eoufnefs. Romans iv. 3. Wherein this blefled- 
 nefs confifts he tells us, v. 7, 8. viz. in the for- 
 givenefs of fin, that fin particularly of Idolatry, 
 in which he had lived before he was called of 
 God ; for there is reafon to think, that abra- 
 F 2 ham 
 
 § Thr.t the words righteous, fimtoc, and holy, otym, are 
 ijfed promifcuouliy to denote a renouncing of Idolatry, and 
 adhering to the Faith and Worihip of the true God, appears 
 from their being ufed in a like oppofition to a ftate of Infide- 
 lity. 2C0R.vi. 14. icoR.vii. 14. And a righteous man is 
 cxprefied by one that feareth God, or a Profelyte to his Wor- 
 ship, acts x, 22, 
 
t 63 ] 
 
 ham was, in other refpects, a juft and uprrghs 
 man before-, but when was he made partaker of 
 this bleiTednefs, and when was this righteoufnefs 
 reckoned to him, the Apoflle tells us, that it was 
 not when he was in circumcifion, but in uncircum- 
 cifion. v. 10. From whence it appears, that God 
 is not the God of the Jews only, but alfo of the Gen- 
 tiles, it being one and the fame God whojuflifies 
 the circumcifion by Faith, and the uncircumcifion 
 through Faith. Romans iii. 29, 30. And there- 
 fore the bleffmg of Abraham muft come on the Gen- 
 tiles, in the fame meafure and extent as it did 
 upon himfelf and the Jews who were his na- 
 tural feed. 
 
 Now the extent of this' blefTihg, as it was 
 granted to Abraham, will plainly appear from 
 obferving who were comprehended in it, when it 
 was further enlarged by God's entering into a 
 fpecial and peculiar Covenant with him, whereby 
 God engaged, in a diftinguifhing manner, to be 
 a God to him, and his feed after him. genesis xvii. 
 7. of which Covenant and the bleflings of it 
 Circumcifion was appointed for a fign and feal •, 
 and here we find that his whole houfhold, not 
 only thofe that were born in his hoafe, but thofe fer- 
 vants that were bought with money, even all over 
 whom he had any authoritative influence were to 
 be the fubjetts of it, and whoever did not fubmit 
 to this Ordinance was to be cut off, or excluded 
 from being of the number of God's covenant people. 
 v. 12, 13, 14. 
 
 So that they mull have been partakers of that 
 holinefs which was afcribed to Abraham before, 
 otherwife' they could not have been entitled to the 
 fuperior priviledge of becoming the peculiar peo- 
 ple of God •, neither can it be laid, that this pri- 
 viledge was granted them on account of their 
 
 being 
 
[69] 
 
 being poffefied of the fame Faith in the true 
 God which Abraham the Father of that Family 
 had, for fince there were three hundred and eigh- 
 teen Servants belonging to his houfhold, capable 
 of bearing arms fome time before this, genesis 
 xiv. 14. it is evident there muft be a great num- 
 ber who were not arrived to an age capable of 
 manifefting their Faith in God 5 and amongft 
 thofe who were arrived to ripeneis of understand- 
 ing, it is very probable that, as they lived among 
 the idolatrous Heathens, very few of them had 
 given any good evidences of the ftrength of their 
 belief in the fupreme God, much lefs fuch illuf- 
 trious ones as Abraham had done, and yet 
 they were made partakers of the divine bleffing, 
 and entered into the peculiar Covenant of God 
 together with him. 
 
 The reafon of this proceeding was, that they 
 were under the care and tuition of faithful Abra- 
 ham, a man mod firmly eflablifhed in the fer- 
 vice of the true God, and devoted to his intereft ; 
 and God himlelf alledges this reafon for the 
 diftinguiming bleffings which he had confered 
 upon Abraham, his family, and his feed, in 
 the next chapter, genesis xviii. 19. For I know 
 him, that he will command his children and his houfe- ■ 
 hold after him, and they /hall keep the way of the 
 Lord, to do ju/lice and judgment ; that the Lord 
 may bring upon Abraham that which he hath fpoken 
 ef him. So that this holinefs which was imputed 
 to Abraham on account of his Faith in God, 
 was not merely perfonal, but was alfo conveyed 
 to all thofe who belonged to his family, and were 
 fubjected to his care ; and a like priviledge was 
 alio confered on all thofe who walk in the Jleps of 
 that Faith of their Father Abraham, which he 
 had being yet uncircumcifed. Romans iv. 12. For 
 F 3 all 
 
[ 7° ] 
 
 all his fucceffors who refembled him in renoun- 
 cing their b^uhenith idolatries and fuperftitions, 
 and difcovering their Faith in the true God, were 
 accounted alike holy with him, and conveyed the 
 lame fancuty to their Defendants and Houfhold; 
 for this reafon Abraham is called the heir -of the 
 ■world, v. 13. bejng the fir ft born of thofe who 
 were entitled to this iacreci character, which 
 others, who were partakers of the fame Faith,' 
 were to inherit after him •, on this account alio 
 he is called the Father cf all them that believe, be- 
 caufe he was the predecefTor and patern of all 
 thofe who renounced their idolatrous worfhip, 
 and devoted themfelves to the fervice of the liv- 
 ing and true God. v. 1 1. 
 
 This fpiritual relation of his, as the Father of 
 Believers, is refered to by the Apoftle as a part 
 of the promiie which God made to. Abraham, v. 
 17. quoted from genesis xvii. 4. I have made 
 thee a Father of many nations, or " a Father of 
 " thofe of all nations, who mail conform them- 
 " felves to thine example by a true Faith in me;" 
 for this promife was not given to Abraham and his 
 natural feed, or his feed by the Law only, but to 
 thofe who were his children by the righteoufnefs of 
 Faith, v. 13. Fbey who are the children of the 
 flefh, ihefe are not the children of God ; but the chil- 
 dren of the promife are counted for the feed. Romans 
 ix. 8. So that they that are of Faith, to whatever 
 nation they belong, the fame are the children of. Abra- 
 ham, galat. iii. 7. And if thofe who are partakers 
 of his Faith are his children, then they are alfb 
 his heirs, heirs of the fame promifes and privi- 
 ledges with him, they are Abraham's feed, and heirs 
 according to the promife. galat. iii. 29 and confe- 
 quently, they muft have the fame priviledges con- 
 veyed to dhem as he himfelf was inverted with ; 
 
 fo 
 
[ 7 1 3 
 
 "fo that as thefe were extended to the offspring, 
 .relations and dependants of Abraham, they muft 
 ■in a like manner be extended to the offspring, re- 
 lations and dependants of flich as are followers 
 of his Faith, It may therefore be juftly conclud- 
 ed, that all who became Profelytes to the Faith 
 of the true God, in after ages, muft convey the 
 fame fanctity to their families and houfholds as 
 Abraham did to his, and muft therefore become 
 •entitled to the priviledges of that diftinguifhing 
 Covenant which was made with him, by which 
 Covenant God engaged himfelf to be a God to 
 him, and bis feed after him. 
 
 And we have not only the undoubted practice 
 of the Jewifh Nation in admiting Profelytes, to- 
 gether with their families, to the priviledges of 
 that diftinguifhing Covenant, to confirm this ac- 
 count of a derivative and hereditary hollnefs, but 
 it is alfo authorized by an exprefs injunction from 
 God. Exodus xii. 48, 49. And when a fir anger , 
 vpocriiXvTos a Profelyte, Jhall fojourn among you, and 
 will keep the paffover to the Lord, let all his males 
 be clrcumclfed, and then let him come near, and keep 
 It -, and he fijall be as one born in the land ; for no 
 unclrcumclfed perfon Jhall eat thereof. One law fhall 
 be to him who Is home born, and to the firanger that 
 fojournsth among you*. From whence it mamfeftly 
 appears, that the Profelyte, or Believer in the true 
 God, became entitled by his Faith to equal privi- 
 ledges with thofe who were born of the ftock of 
 Abraham, for he was accounted as one who was 
 F 4 horns 
 
 * This fame injunction is repeated with little variation. 
 numbers xv. 1 5, 16. And indeed the whole Law of moses 
 fuppofes the Sojourner, or Profelyte, to become intitled by 
 his Profelytifm to the priviledges of the Covenant, in as ex- 
 tenfive a mariner as thofe who were bom of the feed of 
 
 ABRAHAM. 
 
[ 72 ] 
 
 heme born, and conveyed the fame fanftity to his 
 offspring and dependants, with thofe who were 
 original defendants from the family of Abra- 
 ham •, and it is alfo evident from hence, that the 
 Profelyte himfelf could not be admited to a par- 
 ticipation of that diftinguifhing Covenant, unlefs 
 he brought his whole family to a fubmiflion to that 
 Ordinance which was appointed as the initiatory 
 Rite for admiring them into it, which is exactly 
 the fame as God required of Abraham when he? 
 entered into Covenant with him. See genesis xvii. 
 
 So that it is abundantly manifeit, that as Abra- 
 ham was juftified or became holy by his Faith 
 in God, and thereby communicated a like holi- 
 nefs to his offspring and dependants, in the fame 
 manner all fubfequent Profelytes to that Faith, 
 together with their families, were thereby jufti- 
 fied and accounted holy, and had an equal fhare 
 in that Covenant, whereby God engaged himfelf, 
 In a peculiar manner, to be their God : and that 
 this priviledge was not confined to thofe who em- 
 braced the worfhip of the true God, according to 
 the Mofaical Inflitution, may be clearly fhewn ; 
 for though all the people of Ifrael were entitled 
 by Birthright, as defendants of Abraham, to the 
 Covenant made with him, yet they had another 
 Covenant fuperaded to that, which incorporated 
 them into a particular State and Polity, whereby 
 God engaged himfelf to be their civil and politi- 
 cal Governor and Lawgiver, and they became 
 fubject to thofe pofitive and municipal ftatutes 
 and injunctions which were ordained by him. 
 
 That this was a Covenant of a different nature 
 from that made with Abraham, moses himfelf 
 tells us. It was not the Covenant which God made 
 with their Fathers , but with them in per/on who were 
 alive at that day. deut. v. 2, 3. And it aded 
 
 no 
 
[ 73 ] 
 
 no fpiritual priviledges to the former Covenant, 
 but was of a much more retrained and fervile na- 
 ture ; fo that the Jewifh ftate is defcribed by the 
 Apofde, as a State, of pupilage and fervitude. 
 gal at. iv. i, 2, 3. its Laws and Elements as weak 
 and beggarly, v. 9. and the Covenant on which it 
 was founded as gendering unto bondage, v. 24. It 
 is very unlikely then, that fuch a Covenant as 
 this could add any new priviledges to that made 
 with Abraham, or confine thofe which were 
 granted to him and his feed in the fulled and 
 moft extenfive manner within its narrow bounds ; 
 that it did not is afTerted by the fame Apoftle in 
 exprefs words. Romans iv. 13. The promife that 
 he fhould be the Father of them that believe, was not 
 made peculiarly to Abraham, and to his feed through 
 the Law, but to thofe who were his feed through the 
 righteoufnefs of Faith. For, as he argues in the 
 next verie, if they who are of the Law be heirs, 
 Faith is made void, and the promife made of none ef- 
 fecl. And therefore he concludes, v. 16. that 
 the Promife, which God made to Abraham, was 
 made fure to all the feed, not to that only which is of 
 the Law, but to that alfo ■ which is of the Faith of 
 Abraham, who is the Father of us all •, the Father 
 not only of Jews but of Chriftians, who are equal- 
 ly his feed by promife -, and therefore he tells us 
 at the conclusion of the chapter, that Faith was 
 imputed to Abraham for righteoufnefs, but not for his 
 fake alone, but for us alfo to whom it fhall be im- 
 puted, if we believe on him that raifed up Jefus our 
 Lord from the dead. 
 
 This fame argument is further infilled upon. 
 Galat. iii. 16, 17, 18. To Abraham and his feed, 
 the Apoftle tells us, were the Promifes made, by the 
 Covenant that was confirmed before of God in Chrijl ; 
 (or to, or on account of Chrift, for {o the Pre- 
 
 pofition 
 
[ 74 ] 
 
 pofition «« fignifies) the Law therefore, which was 
 four hundred and thirty years after ; could not dlfanui 
 it, (w* a:ivpoi does not deprive it of its fuperior 
 authority and priviledges) fo that it fhoidd make 
 the Fromife of none cffcB. For if the Inheritance be of 
 the Law, it is no more of Fromife ; but God gave it to 
 Abraham by Fromife ; which is what he before pro- 
 pofed to prove, v. 14. That the bleffing of Abraham 
 come upon the Gentiles through J ejus Chrijl *, and 
 which he afferts, yet more ftrongly, in the iaft 
 verfe of the chapter. If ye be Chrijl's, then are ye 
 Abrahams Seed, and Heirs according to the Fromife. 
 Whoever therefore became Profelytes to the Faith 
 of the true God, ,as revealed and confirmed by 
 Chriff, were thereby entitled to all the fublime 
 priviledges included in the Covenant made with 
 Abraham, they were juftified *, and became 
 holy in the fame fenfe and extent as he was, and 
 conveyed a like hclinefs to their offspring and de- 
 pendants. «> 
 
 It is manifefl then that chriflians, whatever 
 their delcent be, as well as the natural defen- 
 dants of Abraham, and thofe that became Pro- 
 felytes to the Jewiih Faith, have a compleat title 
 to the Covenant made with him ; and indeed, that 
 
 this 
 
 * As the word Faith is ufed in different fenfes in the New 
 Teftament, and there are feveral degrees of it fuppofed neceflary 
 to the compleating the diriftian eharafter; fo there is a Jufli- 
 tcation appropriated to the feveral advances we are required 
 to make /'// Faith; there is a progrefs demanded of us in or- 
 der to obtain the juftifying right eoufr.efs of God from Faith to 
 Faith. Romans i. 17. The firft ilep of the chrifians Faith 
 is a perfwafion of the divine authority and miffion of Chriit, 
 and this is fufficient to entitle to an admiffion into his church ; 
 but there are higher improvements in it, fuch as, and are, pro- 
 ductive of Love and Obedience, which are neceffary to final 
 Juftification, and obtaining the reward of thfe inheritance of 
 eternal Life. 
 
[ 75 ] 
 
 this is the very fame Covenant which all chriilian;j 
 are now under : there are but two diftindt Cove- 
 nants made by God, which we read of in the holy 
 Scripture, one 'of them, that of Mount Sinai, 
 which gendereth unto Bondage, on which was 
 founded the earthly Jerufalem, or Jewifh State ; 
 the other, that of Abraham, on which the Gof- 
 pel Difpenfation, the Jerufalem from above, is 
 built, a Difpenfation of freedom and the moll 
 glorious priviledges. 6alat. iii. 24, 25, 26. 
 The former of thefe was long fince abolifhed, 
 and chriilians are every where declared to be 
 exempted from any fubjeclion to it. It is plain 
 then, that the only Covenant which chriftians can 
 be under mult be the latter of thefe, which is 
 faid to be a better Covenant, and eflablifhed upon 
 better ■ Promifes, and is called an everlafiing Covenant. 
 genesis xvii. y. fuch as with regard to its na- 
 ture and defign, its priviledges and bleffings was 
 never to have an end, but was to be continued to 
 all the ages and families of the world. 
 
 The chriftian Covenant- has indeed the title of 
 .a new Covenant given it, being publiihed afrefh, 
 and its terms and priviledges more fully explain- 
 ed, and more flrongly ratified and confirmed by 
 Chrift, to whom it had an original view, and on 
 whofe account it was granted ; but that it is no 
 other than the Covenant which was made with 
 "Abraham, is evident from its having the fame 
 priviledges annexed to it, and its requiring the 
 fame qualifications and difpofitions of thofe who 
 were to be partakers of it. 
 
 The general Promife contained in the Gofpel- 
 Covenant, and that of Abraham, is the very 
 fame, viz. 1 zvill be a God to thee, and to thy feed 
 after thee, genesis xvii. 7. / will be to them a 
 God, and they fhall be to me a People. Hebrews 
 
 viii. 
 
[76 ] 
 
 viii. 10. And the particular bleffings contained 
 in this Promife are the fame alio in both •, the 
 forgiveness of fins is aflerted to belong to the Co- 
 venant, made with Abraham, by the Apoftle 
 paul. Romans iv. 7. And the fame priviledge 
 is afcribed to the chriftian Covenant, by the wri- 
 ter to the Hebrews. Chap. viii. 12. The promife 
 of the Spirit is alfo reckoned as one of the bleffings 
 granted to Abraham, galat. iii. 14. And the 
 fame is every where afferted to be a priviledge 
 pertaining to the Gofpel Difpenfation. See acts 
 ii. 28. Hebrews viii. 10. Nay, even the moft 
 glorious of all the bleffings which are afcertained 
 by Chrift, the Refurrection of the Dead, and a 
 State of everlafting Happinefs is contained in the 
 promife made to abraham, on which the Co- 
 venant with him is founded ; this is what 
 our Lord inconteflably proves. Matthew xxii. 
 
 The qualifications alfo required for inheriting 
 the priviledges of the Gofpel Covenant, and that 
 of Abraham, are not at all different; the de- 
 mand of that from Abraham was Faith in the 
 living and true God. genesis xv. 6. romans iv. 
 3. that of Chrift had the very fame difpofition 
 required in order to partake of it. Romans iv. 24, 
 and there were the very fame manifeftations and 
 effects of Faith infilled upon in both of them ; 
 thofe demanded from Abraham were, walk 
 before me, and be thou perfect, genesis xvii. 1. 
 (tvaftsu ivctvTicv i[Mt Koti ym cliasutttos, be thou well 
 pleafing and without blame) The terms of the 
 chriftian Covenant are, Be perfecl, even as your 
 Father in heaven is perfe5i. matthew v. 48. Walk 
 worthy of the Lord unto all pleafing, being fruitful in 
 every good work, colos. i. 10. Be blamelefs and harm- 
 Icfsy the fons of God without rebuke, phi lip. ii. 15. 
 
 The 
 
t77l 
 
 The righteoufnefs required under the Covenant 
 made with Abraham, and that of the Gofpel, is 
 alio the very fame, even the righteoufnefs of Faith, 
 or a fincere and upright conduct arifing from a 
 principle of Faith in God : and the defcription 
 which the Apoftle paul takes from moses, of 
 the way of difcovering wherein this righteoufnefs 
 does confift, and applies to the Gofpel Covenant, 
 affords a full confirmation, that there is not the 
 leaft difference between them. Romans x. 6, 7, 
 8. deut. xxx. 11, 12, 13, 14. the words of 
 moses are *, For this commandment which I com- 
 mand thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither 
 is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou Jhouldeft 
 fay, Who jhall go up for us into heaven, and bring it 
 unto us, that we may hear it, and do it ? Neither is 
 it beyond the fea, that thou fhouldeft fay, Who fhall 
 go over the fea for us, and bring it unto us, that we 
 may hear it, and do it ? But the word is very nigh 
 unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thoti 
 mayefl do it. Which words the Apoftle quotes, and 
 
 explains 
 
 * That moses Is here defcribing the Covenant made with 
 Abraham is plain, not only from the Apoftle's declaration, 
 but alfo from a view of the place itfelf. At the fifth chapter of 
 Deuteronomy, moses begins his recital of the Laws of the 
 Horeb Covenant, which he tells them nvas not the Covenant God 
 ?nade with their Fathers ; and this is continued to the end of the 
 28th chap. The 29th begins with an account of another Cove- 
 nant, which moses was commanded to make with the Chil- 
 dren of Ifrael in the Land of Moab, befides the Covenant 
 which he made with them in Horeb ; and that this was a re- 
 newal of the Covenant made with Abraham appears from, 
 its having the fame promife annexed unto it by God, that 
 they mould be a People unto himfelf, and that he would be unto 
 them a God, as he had fivoorn unto their Fathers, to Abraham, and 
 to Ifaac, and to "Jacob, v. 1 3 . and alfo from its having the 
 fame fubjecls who were entitled to it, viz. Their little ones, 
 their wi-ves, and the fir angers in their camp ; and not only fuch as 
 were then prefent, but thofe alfo who were not with tbem in that 
 day. v. II, 15. 
 
1 78 ] 
 
 explains in the following manner. The righteoufnep 
 which is of Faith, fpeaketh on this wife, Say not in 
 thy heart, Who fhall afcend into heaven ? i.e. to bring 
 Chrijl, or the Will of" Chrifb, down jrcm above : or 
 whojhall defcend into the deep? i. e. to bring tip the 
 Commandments of Chrift from the dead. But what 
 faith it? The word, or Law ofChrift, is nigh thee, 
 even in thy mouth, and in thy heart. Thine own 
 reafoR and confcience, affifted by the holy Spi- 
 rit, is fufficient to direct thee what the Will of 
 Chrift is. Romans x. 6, 7, 8. 
 
 This correfponds directly to the account which 
 the author to the Hebrews gives of the New or 
 Gofpel Covenant. This is my Covenant that 1 will 
 make with the houfe of Ifrael, after thofe days, faith 
 the Lord ; 1 will put my Laws into their mind, and 
 write them in their hearts. And they jloall not be un- 
 der a necdfity to teach every ?nan his neighbour, 
 and every man his brother, faying, know the Lord., 
 or his Will ; but all fhall know me, or be in a capa- 
 city of knowing me, from the leaf to the greatefl. 
 Hebrews viii. 10, 11. quoted from jere. xxxi. 
 3%, 34. I fnall add no more, in proof of the 
 identity of the Gofpel Covenant with that of 
 Abraham, but the afTertion of the Apoftle, that 
 the Covenant made with Abraham had ori- 
 ginally a refpect to Chrift, and was granted upon 
 account of him. // was ratified or confirmed before 
 of God in Chrift, «? Kp/rov. galat. iii. 17. For 
 which reafon the Gofpel, i. e. the terms, as well 
 as the glad tidings of Salvation by Chrift, is laid 
 to be preached before unto Abraham, v. 8. 
 
 It appears then from the foregoing pages, that 
 Abraham was juftified, or acquired an holy 
 character, by his Faith in the living and true 
 God, and that he conveyed this Cmctity to his 
 progeny and relations, and to their defendants, 
 
 through- 
 
[79]' 
 
 throughout all fucceeding generations, by the 
 fame Faith. It is alfo apparent; that this privi- 
 Jedge was not confined to the natural pofterity of 
 abraham, but that all thofe who, like him, re- 
 linquifhed Idolatry, and embraced the Faith and 
 Worihip of the true God, were made partakers of 
 a like hvlinefs, and confered it alfo on their fuc- 
 ceflive defendants in after ages. It is likewife 
 evident, that this facred denomination was not a 
 prerogative peculiar to the worfhipers of the true 
 God under the Mofaick Difpenfation, but that 
 believers under the Gofpel have an equal right to 
 this holy character, are juftified in as full and ex- 
 tenfive a manner as Abraham was, and enjoy a 
 like priviledge of confering this fanclky on their 
 relations and offspring ; and it is even manifeft, 
 that the Covenant or Promife which God made 
 to abraham is the very fame with the chriftian 
 Covenant, and that all who embrace the Faith of 
 Chrift are interefted in every priviledge and blef- 
 fing of it. 
 
 Now this is exactly agreeable to the reprelen- 
 tation which the Apoftle paul gives us of the 
 priviledges of chriftians under the difpenfation of 
 the Gofpel, in thofe two texts which I quoted un- 
 der the Objection againft the continuance of Bap- 
 tifm, at the entrance upon this Proportion. Ro- 
 mans xi. 1 6. For if the firft fruit be holy, the lump 
 is alfo holy ; and if the 'root be holy, fo are the 
 branches, i Corin. vii. 14. For the unbelieving 
 hufband is fanclified by the wife, and the unbelieving, 
 wife is fanulified by the hufband; elfe were your 
 children unclean, but now are they holy. In the 
 Former of thefe texts the Apoftle afierts -the right 
 which thofe of the Jewifli nation, who embraced 
 Chriftianity, had of being accounted the People 
 of God, and of being admited into the chriftian 
 
 Church, 
 
J 
 
 f So] 
 
 Church, on account of their defcent from Abra- 
 ham, and alfo the equal right which converts 
 to the fame Faith from among the idolatrous 
 Heathens had of being made partakers of the fame 
 chriftian priviledges. In the latter he proves, that 
 theie priviledges were not confined to the perfons 
 themfelves, whether Jews or Gentiles, who em- 
 braced the Faith of Chrift, but were alfo convey- 
 ed, on their account, to their relations and off- 
 fpring, in the fame manner as they had been com- 
 municated to the defendants of Abraham, and 
 other Profelytes to the Faith, under the Mofaick 
 Difpenfation. This will plainly appear from a 
 diftinct examination of the texts. 
 
 In the fir ft the Apoftle declares, that if the root 
 be holy^ the branches are alfo holy ; not only thofe 
 branches which immediately fprung and grew out 
 of abraham their root and flock, but thofe 
 likewife who were grafted in among/} than, by 
 their embracing of the Faith of Chrift, were en- 
 titled to an holy character, and had a right to an 
 admiffion into the Church of Chrift : for as Faith 
 gave them this title, fo unbelief excluded them 
 from it, and for this reafon a great part of the 
 Jewifh nation, thofe natural branches had broken 
 themfelves off from the ftock on which they grew 
 by their unbelief, or their rejecting the authority 
 of God, in difregarding thofe religious Injunc- 
 tions which he had revealed by Chrift. v. 1 7. But 
 in lieu of this, there was a large fupply of con- 
 verts to the Church of Chrift, from the Gentiles 
 and idolatrous nations, who by embracing the 
 Faith, became entitled to the fame priviledges 
 with thofe who were naturally of the ftock of 
 abraham, in the fame manner as they had 
 ufually been received under the Jewifh Law. In 
 their former ftate, they were branches of a wild 
 
 Olive 
 
f*& 
 
 [ 8i ] 
 
 Olive Tree, but by their Faith in God they were in* 
 grafted into a good Olive Tree amongft the natural 
 Branches, and partook of the fame fatnefs, the fame 
 priviledges with them. ver. 17, 24. But then the 
 Apoftle warns them, that though they were ad- 
 mited to this honour and happineis, they were in 
 equal danger with the Jews of being again broken 
 off by a departure from the Faith, becaufe if God 
 /pared not the natural Branches, it could not be 
 fuppofed that he would fpare them, hut they alfo 
 fhould be cut off. ver. 21, 22. And he aflures them 
 that the Jewifii Nation, notwithstanding their a* 
 poftacy, when they mould return to the Faith, 
 fhould be taken in again, and, together with the 
 fullnefs of the Gentiles, mould be admited into 
 the Church of Chrift, and become God's Covenant 
 People, ver. 23, 24, 25. 
 
 So that it appears from this difcourfe of the 
 Apoftle, that all true believers, of whatever na- 
 tion or family, were rendered holy and branches 
 of the Hock of Abraham, and were intitled to an 
 admiffion into his Church by their faith in God; 
 and therefore it may rationally be concluded, that 
 they had not only the fame right of enjoying, buc 
 an equal power of conveying the fame priviledges 
 with thofe who were originally defcendants of 
 Abraham. And this is what the Apoftle afierts 
 in the fecond quoted text. 1 corin. vii. 14. which 
 words are plainly introduced in anfwer to a que- 
 stion which had been difputed amongft the Co- 
 rinthians, whether it was lawful for a Chriftian 
 and an Infidel to live together in a married ftate 
 after the converfion of one of them * ? The A- 
 
 poftle 
 
 * This doubt feems to have been occafioned by an in- 
 junction of the Law of moses contained in deut. xxiii. ver. 
 2, I, £cc. whereby thofe of certain nations were excluded 
 G from 
 
[ 32 j 
 
 poftle directs, that though the partner in wedlock 
 mould happen to be an unbeliever, yet there was 
 no neceiTitry of their feparation upon that account, 
 unleis the unbelieving party was lb refolved •, and 
 the reafon he gives is this, that the unbelieving 
 Hufland is fanftified by the Wife, and the unbe- 
 lieving Wife is fanftified by the Hufband. i. e. 
 «' In like manner as under the Jewifli oeconomy, 
 «< when a perfon became a profelyte to the faith 
 * c of the true God, his relations and dependants 
 " were thereby ufually fan&ifted, and became in- 
 " titled to an admiffion amongft the number of 
 U God's people, fo is it alfo now without any ex- 
 " ception ; whofoever of you are Chriflians, 
 " you convey a facred character to your Partners 
 <c and Families, they become holy on your ac- 
 " count, and if they per fill not to refufe, they 
 " may be admited into the Church of Chrift in 
 " the fame manner with yourfelves". 
 
 The Apoflle adds, by way of confirmation of 
 this, elfe were your Children unclean, but now are 
 they holy. i. e. " You are convinced and allow 
 «' that your Children are fanftified, and have ob- 
 «' tained a right of admiffion into the Church of 
 ct God by means of your converfion to the faith. 
 " Infants of profelytes had a title to this priviledge 
 <c under the Mofaick Difpenfation, and derived 
 " it from the grant made to Abraham, which 
 «' Grant has never been revoked ; now the fame 
 «' promife which confered this right on the Chil- 
 " dren of Profelytes, confered it alio on their near 
 €C Relatives and Dependants; if your offspring 
 41 therefore are holy, and have a title to the Co- 
 
 " vcnant 
 
 from the Congregation, or Church of the Jews, notwithfhmd- 
 ing their marriage with thofe of that Community, and this ex- 
 clufion was extended to their offspring, to the third and foine- 
 simes to the tenth generation. 
 
[^ 1 
 
 tc venant, as you mull be ready to acknowledge, 
 " fmce they have been entered into the chriftian 
 " Church by Baptifm together with, yourfelves, 
 " your Partners alio have the fame title founded 
 " upon the fame Grant and Promife, for your 
 " priviledges are now the fame under Chriftianity 
 " as they would have been under the Jewifli oeco- 
 " nomy had you been profelytes to that; and 
 " every perfon who embraces the faith of Chrift, 
 *' is to be admited into his Church upon the fame 
 <c terms as then, and conveys the fame rights to 
 " his Relations and Defcendants as he would have 
 " done under that Difpenfation". 
 
 It is abundantly evident then, that all believers 
 in the true God, both under the Jewifh and Chri- 
 ftian Difpenfation, have a right by their Faith to 
 be admited into his Church amongft the number 
 of his Covenant People, and alfo that this Faith. 
 of theirs confers the fame priviledge on their 
 houfehold, and their progeny throughout all fuc- 
 ceeding generations. The only queftion now re- 
 maining is, " Whether there be any external 
 * c Sign, any formal Rite required by the Law of 
 u moses, or the Gofpel of Chrift, as necefTary to 
 6i the admiflion of profelytes and their pofterity 
 ** to the priviledges of thofe Difpenfations " ? 
 Now it is undeniable that under the former of 
 thefe, Cireumcifion was injoined as an obfervance 
 of an indifpenfable obligation for that purpofe, it 
 is called the Sign and Seal of the Covenant, that 
 which gave them a title to its priviledges, as the 
 figning and fealing a deed confers a title to an 
 eftate ; all who were admited to a Covenant Rela- 
 tion to God were required to be entered by this 
 Rite, and every one who was not initiated in this 
 manner, was cut off from a participation of the 
 character and the priviledges of God's chofen peo- 
 G 2 pie j 
 
[ 84 ] 
 
 pie ; and this obfervance was appointed to be con- 
 tinued down to all fucceeding generations, not 
 only of the «defcendants of Abraham, but of all 
 others who embraced the faith and worfhip of the 
 true God. See genes, xvii. 9. exod. xii. 48, 
 49. ROMANS iv. 11. 
 
 But* as Circumcifion, together with the Jewifh 
 Law, was abolifhed by Chrift, it remains to be 
 inquired, " Whether any other Initiatory Ordi- 
 " nance has been appointed by him to be fubflitu- 
 <s ted in the room of it"? I think it is very evi- 
 dent from the words by which it was inftituted, 
 that Baptifm is this Initiatory Ordinance, and 
 that it is altogether as necefiary to Chriftians as 
 Circumcifion was to the Jews ; it is for this rea- 
 fon, and it can be for no other, that Baptifm is 
 called the Circumcifion of Chriji. colos. ii. 11, 12. 
 in which text Chriftians are iaid to be circumcifed 
 with the Circumcifion made without hands, cLX ei P 07rmT ®> 
 a Circumcifion not by manual operation, in which 
 only a fmall part of the filth of the flefh is put a- 
 way, but fuch as requires the whole body of fin 
 to be put off ; which is done by being buried with 
 Chriji in Baptifm, which may therefore be fitly 
 called the Circumcifion of Chriji, as anfwering the 
 fame kind of intention, though in a much more 
 noble and exteniive degree. And as the general 
 end and intention of Baptifm is the fame with that 
 of Circumcifion, fo it is founded on the fame pro- 
 mife, and has the fame priviledges annexed to it, 
 even thofe which were granted to Abraham at 
 the appointment of Circumcifion. 
 
 The Apoftle peter having convinced the Jews 
 and Profelytes, to whom he addreffed his difcourfe, 
 of the divine authority of Chrift, infomuch as to 
 put them upon an earneft inquiry what they mould 
 do to obtain falvation by him, anfwers them in 
 
 thefe 
 
[ §5 ] 
 
 thefe words, acts ii. 38, 39. Repent and be Bap- 
 tized, every one of you, in the Name of Jefus Chrift, 
 for the Remiffion of Sins, and ye fhall receive the Gift 
 of the holy Ghojl ; for the Promife, viz. that of your 
 admiffion into the Chriftian Covenant, and receiv- 
 ing the fpirit of adoption as the fons of God, is 
 made not only unto you, for your own private and 
 perfonal benefit, but to your Children and offspring 
 alfo ; nay, even to thofe that are afar off*, rots &$ 
 lAacKptxv, to fuch as are ftrangers amongft you, and 
 natives of the nations of the heathen, in the very 
 fame manner as this Promife, when it was firffc 
 made to Abraham, was extended not only to 
 his natural defcendants, but to thofe who became 
 profelytes from among the idolatrous Gentiles ; 
 even as many as the Lord our God fhall call, fhall be 
 called and intitled by their Faith to the fame pri- 
 viledges with Abraham, the Father of them that 
 believe ; amongft which, as I have already fhewn, 
 the forgivenefs of fins, and the gift of the holy 
 Ghoil are included. 
 
 So that Baptifm having the fame end with Cir- 
 cumcifion, being founded on the fame promife, 
 and having the fame priviledges annexed to it, it 
 may rationally be concluded, that it mud be of 
 equal neceflity under the Chriftian Difpenfation, as 
 Circumcifion was under that which took its rife 
 from Abraham ; and that none can be admited 
 into the Chriftian Covenant, and be made parta- 
 G 3 kers 
 
 * The word y.a.x.pocv is ufed twice in one chapter in the very 
 fame fenfe as I have here given it. ephes. ii. 13, 17. In the 
 former place, they who are faid to have been afar off, are call- 
 ed in the preceding verfe aliens from the commonwealth of If- 
 reel, and Jlraxgers to the Covenant of Promife ; in the later, thofe 
 that were afar off are diltinguifhed from thofe that were nigh, 
 in that before they were Strangers and Foreigners, but were now 
 becotne felloiv-citizens with the faints, and of the houfehold of God; 
 ver. 1 a, 
 
t 86] 
 
 kcrs of its bleffings without it. But I (hall not 
 reft the proof of the univerfal and perpetual ne- 
 cefllty of Chriftian Baptifm on this argument a- 
 lone, fince there are feveral other texts in the 
 New Teftament which are exprefs and full in al- 
 fertins; of it. 
 
 The firft text therefore which I fliall confider, 
 iliall be that which contains the determination of 
 our blcfled Saviour himfelf with regard to this 
 matter in John iii. 3, 5. In this place he tells ni- 
 CODEMUS," that except a man be born again, he can- 
 not fee the Kingdom of God ; and that except a man be 
 born of Water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into 
 the Kingdom of God. I cannot but think that it 
 deferves to be taken notice of, that thefe words 
 were applied to Ghriftian Baptifm, and urged to 
 prove the neceflity of it, by all the Fathers who 
 lived in the jfr/2 Centuries after Chrift; and this 
 carries fame weight with it, as they mud be fup- 
 pofed to have the beft opportunities of knowing in 
 what, fenfe they were ufed by our blefTed Lord : 
 but I mail not lay the ftrefs of the argument con- 
 tained in them upon their authority, for I hope to 
 make it appear that they had fufficient reafon for 
 thus interpreting them, both from a careful exa- 
 mination of the meaning of the feveral phrafes 
 ufed in them, and an impartial confideration of 
 the fcope and defign of their delivery. 
 
 The firft phrafe 1 (hall inquire into mall b j that 
 of Kingdom of God; now it is evident and indif- 
 putable that- there are two fenfes in which thefe 
 words are ufed in the New Teftament ; in one of 
 them they muft be underflood of the Kingdom or 
 Church of Chrift here upon Earth ; in the other 
 they fignify the Kingdom of Glory in Heaven ; 
 that they are ufed in the later fenfe I fuppofe I mail 
 have no occafion to prove, as it is a thing acknow- 
 ledged 
 
[ 87] 
 
 [edged by all ; that they are alfo taken in the 
 former fenie the evidence I think is not at all in- 
 ferior ; thus Chrift tells the Pharifees, who were at 
 the fame time charged with the unpardonable fin 
 of Blafphemy againft the holy Ghoft, that the 
 Kingdom of God was come unto them, matthew 
 xii. 28, 31. and furely this could not be the King- 
 dom of Glory ; in another place Chrift threatens 
 to take the Kingdom of God from the Jews, and give 
 it to another Nation, which cannot mean the hea- 
 venly Kingdom, as they were not in poffefiion of 
 it. matthew xxi. 43. And when the Pharifees 
 demanded of Chrift, when the Kingdom of God 
 fljould come, his anfwer was, the Kingdom of God 
 cometh not with obfervation ; neither fhall they fay, 
 Lo here, or Lo there, for behold, the Kingdom of God 
 is withinyou. luke xvii. 20, 21. 
 
 In thefe texts it is manifeft, that the meaning 
 of the phrafe is confined intirely to the Kingdom 
 and Church of Chrift here upon Earth •, and there 
 are many other texts where it muft necefiarily 
 have the fame fignification •, I fhall only refer you 
 to the following, matthew iv. 17. matthew 
 
 Vi. 33. MATTHEW xiU. 41. LUKE X. 9, I I. MARK 
 
 i. 15. and Romans xiv. 17. fori mould be too 
 tedious if I were to quote them all. But though 
 there is fuch plain evidence for this double fenfeof 
 the words, Kingdom of God, I think they may both 
 be fairly reduced to one, and that Without the leaft 
 wrefting or mifapplication of them ; they may be 
 fuppofed to fignify the whole of the Gofpel Dif- 
 penfation, from its infancy and begining in this 
 world, to its maturity and perfection in Heaven ; 
 for the Kingdom of Heaven is but one and the 
 fame ftate, viz. a ftate of Holinefs, and of Hap - 
 pinefs refulting from it, whether it be confidered 
 as growing and advancing in the militant Church 
 
 G 4 of 
 
[ 88] 
 
 of Clirifb on Earth, or arrived to its utmoft fplen* 
 dor and exaltation in his triumphant Church in the 
 regions of Glory •, and as the words are capable of 
 being underftood in this large and comprehenfive 
 fenfe, I think there is not only juft reafon, but an 
 abfolute necefiity of interpreting tHem fo in the 
 text I have now under confederation. 
 
 The verbs to which thefe phrafes are joined feem 
 to require this fignification, for in the third verfe 
 it is faid, except a man be bom again, he cannot fee 
 the Kingdom of God ; and in the fifth, except a man 
 be born of Water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into 
 the Kingdom of God ; that feeing the Kingdom, and 
 entering into it, do not mean one and the fame 
 thing is very evident, the former denotes only a 
 knowledge and acquaintance with the laws and 
 inftitutions of the Gofpel Difpenfation, which 
 was not allowed to any but fuch as had voluntari- 
 ly and publickly entered themfelves to be Chrift's 
 difciples -, for thus Chrifh tells them in a place ex- 
 actly parallel and fimilar to this, mark iv. n. 
 Unto you it is given to knozv the Myftery of the King- 
 dom of God, but to them that are without, i. e. are 
 not admited into my Church, all thefe things are 
 done in Parables-, or, as St. Matthew exprefles it, 
 to them it is not given, matt hew xiii. 1 1. and the 
 very fame word is ufed in the next verfe as well as 
 in matthew, to denote this knowledge which St. 
 john ufes, [jm tow, fo that feeing the Kingdom of 
 God is plainly equivalent with knowing its myfte- 
 ries, or its doctrines and duties. 
 
 The other phrafe, enter into the Kingdom of God, 
 is, I think, of a much larger extent, and feems 
 equivalent to an expreffion frequently ufed in other 
 places, viz. inheriting the Kingdom of God, or being 
 ilibject. to its laws and injunctions, and acquiring 
 a pofleflion ot its high priviledges and rewards ; 
 
 thus 
 
1 89] 
 
 thus it is reprefentcd by our blefled Saviour as a 
 matter of the greateft difficulty for tho&wbo trujl 
 in Riches to enter into the Kingdom of God \ i. e. to 
 yield a due fubjeelion and obedience to its morti- 
 fying and felf- denying duties, mark x. 24. And 
 in the fifteenth verle of the fame chapter it is faid, 
 ivhofoever Jhall not receive the Kingdom of God, as a 
 little Child \ i. e. who does not entertain the doc- 
 trines and precepts of the Gofpel with a like ready 
 and good difpofition of mind, he jhall not enter 
 therein : it is ufed in the fame fenfe matthew xxi. 
 31. but in other places it feems to have a peculiar 
 reference to the being put in poffeffion of the re- 
 wards and glories of Chrift's future and everlaft- 
 ing Kingdom, mark ix. 47. and acts xiv. 22, 
 and this difference of fignification which I have 
 fuppofed there is betwixt feeing and entering into 
 the Kingdom of God, will be further illuftrated 
 and confirmed by confideririjg the meaning of the 
 words with which they are connected, and which 
 point out the way and means of acquiring a title 
 to thofe priviledges •, for the former it is required 
 that we muft be born again, or -from above, avaQtvi 
 for the later it is neceffary that we be born both of 
 Water and of the Spirit. 
 
 The expreffion born again, though it be fome- 
 times ufed by heathen authors in a like fenfe, was 
 undoubtedly taken by our blefied Lord from a com- 
 mon way of fpeakingufed amongft thejews-,when 
 any perfon among them entered upon a new ftate, 
 where there was a profpeel of his injoying fome 
 valuable priviledges and bleffings, he was faid to 
 have a new Birth given him, in the fame manner 
 as the word is frequently ufed in our own language ; 
 but notwithstanding it was applied by them to civil 
 and common affairs, it had a peculiar and diftin- 
 guifhing application given it, to that change of 
 
 ftate 
 
[ 9° ] 
 
 ftate and condition which profelytes to their Re- 
 ligion underwent by their renouncing Heathen- 
 iimj and imbracing the faith and worfhip of the 
 true God •, by this they were faid to be regenerate, 
 and to be born again, or from above, they entered 
 upon a new, a heavenly life, became Subjects and 
 Children of God, and were intitled to the pro- 
 tection and priviledges of his peculiar people ; 
 and the Rite by which they were admited to thi,s 
 dignity is univerfally ailerted by the Jewifh wri- 
 ters to be Baptizing, or warning them with wa- 
 ter •, and this is the origin of the fecond expref- 
 fion made ufe of by our blefied Saviour, except a. 
 man be born of Water. 
 
 This fignificative cuftom of Baptizing Chrift 
 had adopted as the initiating Rite of admiting pro- 
 felytes into that pure and holy Religion which he 
 was feting up in the world, and had pofitively or- 
 dained that none fhould become members of his 
 Church,, or fubjecls of his Kingdom, without be- 
 ing made partakers of it ; and as Circumcifion 
 was to be abolifhed, he appointed this to be the 
 only Initiatory Ordinance by which all perfons 
 whatever, in all ages of the world, fhould be in- 
 titled to the bleffings of the Gofpel Covenant : 
 but then to the being born of Water, Chrift alfo 
 adds the being born of the Sprit, as a thing of ab- 
 folute neceffity to their being made partakers of 
 its higheft and moft glorious advantages ; by the 
 former they are admited to a participation of its 
 external priviledges, and become nominal and vi- 
 fible members; of Chriil's Church-, by the later 
 they become real ones, have divine and heavenly 
 Graces planted in their hearts, which, if rightly 
 cultivated and improved, will grow up into a holy 
 and religious temper and conduct;, and bring forth 
 
 fruit 
 
t 9' ] 
 
 fruit unto evei lading life *. So that being horn. of 
 Water, or being Baptized, is neceffary to an out* 
 ward profeffion of Chriftianity, and the knowledge 
 of its laws and myfteries; 3nd what is confequent 
 to it, a being born of the Spirit ', or having the gra- 
 cious influences of the holy Spirit of God cornered 
 upon us, is equally requifite to our partaking of 
 ins moil fubiime blefimgs, and its moll glorious 
 rewards. 
 
 My next inquiry mufl be, " How far this in- 
 *' terpretation which I have given of the words, 
 " is agreeable to the fcope and intention of our 
 " blefled Lord in this difcourfe ". nicodemus 
 v;ho gave cccafion to it, we are told, was a man 
 of great power and authority among the Jews, 
 and he was alfo a Pharifee, a Seel who made the 
 moft folemn pretentions to Religion, and were 
 ftrongiy bigoted and attached to the Mofaick Law 
 and Ceremonies, inafmuch as to look upon them 
 as of a neceifary and unalterable obligation ; this 
 relblute attachment to the Religion of his Coun- 
 try appears from the manner of his coming to 
 Jefus, which was by night, with the utmoft fecre- 
 cy, that he might avoid the obfervation of thofe 
 who were of his party •, and the manner of his ad- 
 drefs was equally cautious, though infinuating.-, 
 Rabbi, we know that thou art a 'teacher come from 
 God, for no man can do thofe Miracles that thou doeji, 
 except God be with him. i. e. ' We have reafon to 
 
 * apprehend from the extraordinary miracles 
 
 * which you perform by a power which feems to 
 
 ' be 
 
 * What is here called being horn of the Spirit, is in other 
 places expreffed by the phrafes born of God, a renewal of the 
 mind, and of the fpirit of the mind, the renewing of the holy 
 Ghoji, &c. which expreffions evidently denote an inward 
 change in the temper and difpofition of the foul formed in the 
 followers of Chrift by his Word and Spirit. 
 
[ 92 ] 
 
 « be from God, that you are a Prophet fent by 
 fc him with fome important meffage to us his peo- 
 6 pie, we are therefore defirous to know what your 
 
 * com million and meffage is \ That our Saviour 
 tinderftood the words of nicodemus as implying 
 a queftion of this kind, is very plain from his an- 
 fwer to him ; Verily, 'verily, I fay unto thee, except 
 a man he born again, he cannot fee the Kingdom of 
 God. i. e. 'I perceive by the manner of your ad- 
 ■ dreffmg me, that you are defirous of my ac- 
 6 quainting you with thofe difcoveries which, as a 
 c Teacher from God, I have a commiffion to 
 6 make •, but I allure you this requeft cannot be 
 8 granted, except you partake of that new Birth 
 c which is neceffary for all who will become my 
 
 * difciples '. 
 
 The expreffion born again, which our Lord 
 makes ufe of, was fo common among the Jews, 
 that there was no reafon to think nicodemus could 
 have been at a lofs to comprehend the meaning 
 which he intended by it •, and doubtlefs he would 
 not, had he not been prepoffeffed by the opinion 
 which prevailed amongithis own Sect, that the Jew- 
 ilh Religion was unalterable, by the profeffion of 
 which he was already one of the people of God, 
 and therefore needed not to be born into that, or 
 any other Religion, as profelytes from Heathen- 
 ifm did ♦, this erroneous conceit reduced him to 
 the abfurdity of interpreting the words in a literal 
 and proper fenfe, of a natural and flefhly birth, 
 for thus he replies, How can a man be born when he 
 is old ? Can he enter the fecond time into his mother's 
 womb, and be bom ? i. e. ' I am fenfible that the 
 c phrafe, born again, is frequently applied amongfl 
 6 us to the folemn ad million of profelytes from 
 c Gentile Nations to our Religion, but as. I was 
 f born and educated in it, and have always made 
 
 * a zealous 
 
[93 ] 
 
 c a zealous profefilon of it, I cannot imagine thafc 
 ' you can inculcate the neceffity of my being en- 
 
 • tered into it afrefli ; and I know of no other fenfe 
 ' in which your words can be taken, but that of 
 ' a literal and natural birth, which feems to me 
 ' to be equally impoflible \ 
 
 The whole of our Saviour's reply to nicode- 
 mus affords a flrong confirmation, that this was 
 the difficulty which ftaggered him, for in the fifth 
 verfe Jefus anfwers, Verily, verily, 1 fay unto thee, 
 except a man be born of Water and of the Spirit, he 
 cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. i. e. ' What- 
 ever opinion you may have entertained of the 
 unchangeablenefs of your Religion, this I allure 
 you, that I am appointed to declare and eftablifh 
 a new and more perfect one, into which it is ne- 
 ceflary that all who become my difciples mould 
 be entered, by Baptizing them with water, in 
 the fame manner as profelytes are admited into 
 your Church -, and as that Kingdom and Church 
 of God, of which I am conftituted Head, is of 
 a fpiritual nature, it is necefTary alio that the 
 temper and difpofition of their fpirits fhould be 
 renewed, and brought to a conformity to the 
 pure and holy nature of my Religion, which 
 change muft be wrought in them by the influ- 
 ence of the holy Spirit, and of that divine Doc- 
 trine which fhall be communicated by his gui- 
 dance and infpiration '. Ver. 6. That which is 
 born of the Flefh is Flefh, and that which is born of 
 the Spirit is Spirit, i. e. * Were the fuppofition, 
 
 * you have made, pofiible, yet ftill fuch a Birth 
 ' could only produce an animal and flefhly fub- 
 « fiance, endowed with fuch bodily fenfes and ap~ 
 8 perites as you now have, and you could be in- 
 ' titled thereby to no priviledges fuperior to thofe 
 ' which belong to an animal life j whereas the re- 
 
 c generation 
 
[ 94) 
 
 e generation I am fpeaking of is of a fpiritual na- 
 fc ture, proceeding from the Spirit of God, and 
 
 * evidencing itfelf by a renunciation of error and 
 
 * vice, and a renovation of the heart and life 
 ' to a heavenly and fpiritual temper and con- 
 6 ducV. 
 
 'Verfe the feventh, Marvel not that I [aid unto 
 thee, ye mufi be born again, i. e. ' Ycu have no 
 6 reaibn to befurprized that L expect a compliance 
 ' horn you, who are a Jew, with this appoint- 
 
 * menf, in order to your becoming my difciple, 
 6 fince being born of water is what you yourfelves 
 
 * count neceflavy to all who become profclytes to 
 4 your Religion; and an unprejudiced attention 
 6 will as clearly difcover the neceHity of a fpiritual 
 c Birth, and remove all difficulties with which you 
 ' may be imbarraffed concerning it; with this 
 
 * view I am therefore willing to affift your appre- 
 
 * henfion by a familiar illustration'. Verfethe eighth* 
 The wind blcweth where it lifteth, and thou hearefi 
 the found thereof, but canji' not tell whence it cometh, 
 or whither it goeth ; fo is every one that is born of the 
 Spirit, i. e. ' You know there is fuch a thing as 
 
 * wind by the found it makes, and the effects it 
 ' produces, yet it is a thing abfolutely invifible, 
 6 and you are unacquainted whence it derives its 
 ' force, or how far its power extends ; in like 
 6 manner you may difcover this new and fpiritual 
 6 Birth, though invifible to fenfe, by the change 
 4 it makes in a man's temper and conduct, though 
 
 * you may be ftill ignorant in what way the Spirit 
 
 * of God effects this change, or in what meafure, 
 6 and to what objects its influences may be com- 
 6 municated '. 
 
 Notwithstanding our bleffed Saviour had thus 
 clearly explained what he meant by being born a- 
 gain, nicodemus appears ftill to be either unable 
 
 or 
 
t 95 ] 
 
 or unwilling to comprehend it, for the anfwer he 
 gives him, verfe the 9th, is, How can theft things 
 be ? i. e. ■ All that you have faid cannot yet con- 
 ' vince me of the poffibility or necefllty of this 
 
 * Birth, which you infill upon as aneceffaryqualifi- 
 
 * cation for all who will become your difciples'. 
 To which Jefus replies, verfe the 10th, Art thou 
 a mqfier in Ifrael, and know eft not theft things ? i.e. 
 
 * I am greatly aftonifhed, that you who fill fo 
 
 * high a ftation in the Jewifh Church, and mu-fl 
 « on that account have a thorough acquaintance 
 
 * with its ufages and doctrines, mould ftill de- 
 « clare yourfelf at a lofs to underftand fuch 
 
 * things as are evidently derived from thence ; 
 
 * you cannot furely be ignorant, that all who be- 
 
 * come profelytes to your Religion are obliged to 
 
 * be baptized, and that hereby they are faid to be 
 ' born again-, and you might have as well known, 
 ' what being born of the Spirit means, had you 
 « attended to your own Prophecies, which plain- 
 6 ly foretel that large effufion of the Gifts and 
 4 Graces of the holy Spirit which is to be be- 
 
 * flowed on the People of God in the days of the 
 f Mefliah, which are now begining'. 
 
 I might have continued this Paraphrafe through- 
 out the whole of our Saviour's difcourfe to nico- 
 demus, fo as to make it appear not only perfect- 
 ly confident with my interpretation of the New 
 Birth, but affording a ftrong confirmation of it j 
 but I apprehend this will be thought needlefs, as 
 the foregoing explication makes it abundantly evi- 
 dent, that being born of Water can mean nothing, 
 elfe but being baptized with it ; that this is 
 equally neceffary to all, in order to their being 
 entitled to the priviledges and rewards of the 
 Chriflian Covenant, with being born of the Spirit - 9 
 and that therefore none can have a right to the 
 
 denomi?- 
 
[96] 
 
 denomination and character of a Chriitian without 
 it. And this interpretation which I have given of 
 the words will receive great ftrengrh from com* 
 paring it with a paflage parallel to it, which we 
 have, titus iii. 5. According to his mercy he [creed 
 us by the wafinng of regeneration, and renewing of the 
 holyGbcfi. The warning here mentioned can fig- 
 nify no other than Chriftian Baptifm, and this is 
 ftiled a wajhing of regeneration, i. e. a Baptifm of 
 Initiation, by which they were born into a new i 
 religious ftate •, or, as our Lord expreffes it, born 
 again, or born of Water •, and this external regene- 
 ration was alfo accompanied with a renewing of the 
 holy Ghofi. i. e. with an internal fpirituai change 
 of the heart and temper, which our Saviour calls 
 being born of the Spirit; and by both thefe they were 
 faved. i. e. made true difciples of Chrift, and put 
 into a (late of lalvation •, and therefore both the 
 external and internal Birth muft be abfolutely ne- 
 ceffary to the obtaining falvation by Chrift. 
 
 There is another text which I cannot pafs by, 
 as it affords a convincing proof of the neceffity of 
 Baptifm to all the profeffors of Chriltianity, and 
 that is the declaration of our blefTed Lord to his 
 Apoftles juft before his Afcenfion, which is re- 
 corded, mark xvi. 16. He that believeth and is 
 baptized, (hall be faved ; but he that believeth not^ 
 Jhall be damned. Now it is evident from the verfes 
 going before and following thefe words, that be- 
 lieving here fignifies Faith in Chrift, and fuch a 
 Faith only as is a fufficient qualification for Bap- 
 tifm into his Religion ; and this, as I (hall here- 
 after make it- fully appear, is no more than be- 
 lieving him to be the Median, or that Prophet 
 whom God had promifed to fend into the world 
 for the inftruction and edification of his Church. 
 
 The 
 
[97 ] 
 
 The only words which require a critical exami- 
 nation here, are thofe of being faved and being 
 damned. That thefe muft not be taken in their 
 fulleft and moft abfolute fenfe of a final and un- 
 alterable fentence of Salvation and Damnation, I 
 think there is ftrong reafon to conclude, for it 
 would be a very fevere impeachment of the wif- 
 dom and goodneis of the Father of mankind, to 
 fuppofe him determining the eternal (late of his 
 creatures and children, only by their obfervance 
 or neglect of two fingle acts ; efpecially, as one of 
 them is confeffedly no more than an external and 
 pofitive Ordinance, and the other is out of the 
 power of many perfons, who are, without any 
 fault of theirs, ignorant of Chrift, though they 
 have otherwife proper difpofitions for believing in 
 him : and I know not how.it can be reconciled 
 with the juftice of God to reward the vileft of 
 Baptized Christians with an eternity of happinefs, 
 while- the moft pious and virtuous of thofe who 
 are unavoidably without the knowledge and faith 
 of Chrift, are upon this account adjudged to the 
 Damnation of Hell. It is certainly much fafer to 
 conclude, that judas and simon magus, though 
 they believed and were Baptized, yet were not 
 thereby faved, becaufe the Scripture fays of one of 
 them, that he was the Son of Perdition; ^nd of the 
 other, that he was in the Gall of Bitternefs, and in 
 the Bond of Iniquity. On the other hand, it is a 
 much more reafonable fuppolition, that enoch 
 and noah, not to mention many of the pious 
 Heathens, are not among the damned, though 
 they had no clear difcoveries of Chrift, or Faith 
 in him, fince it is faid of both, that they walked 
 with God ; and of one of them, that he was tranf- 
 lated alive into Heaven. The words under con- 
 sideration muft therefore be reftrained to a more 
 H limited 
 
1 98] 
 
 limited fenfe, in order to avoid thofe inconvenien- 
 ces which would flow from an unguarded expli- 
 cation of them. 
 
 Should it be faid, " That though the promife of 
 " Salvation is made to Baptifm and the Faith which 
 " accompanies it, yet it is only on condition of a 
 " final perfeverance in that Faith, and a careful im- 
 " provement of that Baptifm-, and that Unbelief is 
 " only damning, when it is wilfully continued in, 
 *' notwithstanding the belt means of conviction are 
 ** offered." — I have nothing to object to this, as it 
 does not oppofe but rather confirm the meaning 
 in which I apprehend the words ought to be 
 taken, which, upon a thorough confideration, I 
 perfwade myfelf, will be found to be this, vim. 
 That Faith in Chrift openly profefTed by being 
 Baptized into his Religion, puts the Baptized per- 
 fon into the way of Salvation, and entitles him 
 to the moft efficacious helps and advantages for 
 attaining it ; whereas Unbelief debars a man 
 from thefe aids and priviledges, fo that hereby he 
 is in the direct way to expofe himfelf to everlaft- 
 ing Condemnation. Being faved then here only 
 fignifies a being brought into a ftate of Salvation, 
 and being damned no more than being in a ftate 
 which will probably ifTue in Damnation. 
 
 I mould not have prefumed to have put this 
 conftruction upon the words, had I not found the 
 fame incapable of any other fenfe in divers places 
 of Scripture, fome of which will be necefiary to 
 prefent to your view for the confirmation of it : 
 and here, I fuppofe, I need mention no more than 
 thofe which reprefent Chriftians in general, very 
 foon after their Ccnverfion and Baptifm, as being 
 actually faved, or put in poffeffion of Salvation 
 by Chrift ; thus acts ii. 47. thofe that were ad- 
 ed to the Church are called the faved, ™« aofy^ivev? - s 
 
 and 
 
 
[99] 
 
 and i cor in. i. 18. thofe who were converted 
 by the preaching of the Gofpel, are faid to be 
 fuch as are faved -, and thus alfo thofe who were 
 called to the profeffion and priviledges of the 
 Church of Chrift, are declared by the Apoftle to 
 be already faved. 2 timothy i, 9. In the fame 
 manner it is faid of zaccheus, upon his acknow- 
 ledgment of Chrift's authority, This day is Sal- 
 vation come to this Houfe. luke xix. 9. And by St. 
 paul, that Salvation was come unto the Gentiles, in 
 confequence of their belief and profeffion of the 
 Gofpel of Chrift. acts xxviii. 28. Romans xi. 11. 
 Nothing, I think, can be more evident, than that 
 thofe who are in all thefe texts faid to be faved, 
 and to have Salvation come to them, were not at 
 that time, and perhaps many of them never will 
 be, in poffeffion of everlafting Salvation ; they 
 were, only by their converfion, in a fair way to 
 obtain it, and upon this account alone they are 
 faid to be faved : and as this fignifkation of the 
 word is moft agreeable to our Saviour's decla- 
 ration concerning Baptifm, and refcues it from 
 unfurmountable difficulties, I imagine there can 
 be no doubt but that it was intended to be thus 
 underftood. 
 
 And that being damned is alfo ufed here in a 
 like qualified fenfe, is equally apparent from its 
 plain meaning in other places ; thus Chrift tells 
 nicodemus, while he is difcourfing to him on 
 the fame fubject, that he that believeth not, is con- 
 demned already, john iii. 18. The word in the 
 original is, Mx-pra^ damned, being the fame word 
 which is ufed by our Saviour in the the text under 
 confederation, only with an omiffion of the com- 
 pounding prepofition, mik, which makes no al- 
 teration in the fignification, the being ufed pro- 
 mifcuoufly in other paffages of Scripture -, thus 
 
 H 2 ROMANS 
 
[ IOO ] 
 
 Romans xlv. 23. it is faid, that he that eateth is 
 damned if he eat, xa.T&ux$n»t^ he is in a ftate of 
 condemnation, becauie in a ftate of fin. I 
 might mention other texts to the fame purpofe, 
 but thefe, I apprehend, will be fufficient to mew, 
 that the word damned is not always ufed to denote 
 actual Damnation, for none of thofe here mention- 
 ed were actually damned, but only in a condition 
 by which they were expofed to Damnation •, or, as 
 it is exprefled, mark iii. 29. were in danger of 
 eternal Damnation ; and if the words of our Saviour 
 be taken in this fenfe, they will be a plain and eafy 
 rule, and will not be liable to any difficulty, or 
 uncertainty of conftruclion. 
 
 Upon the whole then, I think it is abundantly 
 evident from this text, that there is the fame ne- 
 ceflity of Baptifm as of Faith to entitle perfons to 
 Salvation by Chrift ; and that whether the words 
 faved and damned . fignify actual Salvation and 
 Damnation, or only ftates tending to thefe •, for if 
 Baptifm is neceffary to put a man into a ftate of 
 Salvation, it muft be neceffary to his actual par- 
 ticipation of it, and one or both thefe fenfes muft 
 be intended in the fore-examined words ; fo that 
 imlefs a perfon be Baptized, and thereby entered 
 into the Gofpel Covenant, he can have no title to 
 the means of Salvation by Chrift ; nor, confe- 
 quently, to that everlafting happinefs wherein it 
 confifts ; though it would be an harfti and unwar- 
 rantable conclufion from hence, that every one 
 who is Baptized, fhall upon that account be final- 
 ly and actually faved ; or that any one who is not 
 Baptized, fhall meerly for that reafcn be eventual- 
 ly damned. 
 
 There is no need, I imagine, to add any thing 
 to the foregoing affertions of our blefled Saviour, 
 as a further proof of the neceffity of Baptifm to all 
 
 the 
 
[ ioi ] 
 
 the profeflbrs of his Religion ; however, as there 
 is one text more which relates to Baptifm, and 
 has a near connection, in its intent and meaning, 
 with thofe I have lafi: confidered, I hope my 
 Reader will indulge me in a brief examination of 
 it, which I am the more defirous of, as I would 
 omit no part of Scripture which appears to have 
 any relation to this Inftitution. The text I refer 
 to is that in the i peter iii. 20, 21. When once the 
 long-fuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, 
 while the ark was preparing ; wherein a few, that is 9 
 eight fouls were faved by water. 'The like figure where- 
 unto, even Baptifm doth alfo now fiave us, (not the 
 puting away the filth of the fiejh, but the anfwer of a 
 good confidence towards God) by the Kefurretlion of 
 Jefius Chrifil. In thefe words there is a manifeft 
 comparifon formed between the Ark, by means 
 of which noah and his family were preferved 
 from the flood, and Baptifm, by which chriftians 
 are delivered from a greater destruction * ; and if 
 we carefully attend to the fimilitude we may 
 eafily difcern wherein the correfponding parts of 
 it do confift. 
 
 The Ark was only an arbitrary and appointed 
 inftrument, and means of preferving noah and 
 his houfe •, infinite wifdom and almighty power 
 might have ordained many other ways for his de- 
 liverance, but this particular way was what God 
 H 3 faw 
 
 * That the Antithefis is here placed right betwixt the 
 Ark and Baptifm, and not betwixt the Water and it, will ap- 
 pear from a view of the words. The Ark was that in which 
 thofe few Souls were faved, Ki/3<aro? ei<; nv JttfaBwctv, and 
 it was by Water d\ uJVtos, by means of its floating on the 
 Water : Baptifm is that by which Chriftians are faved, Ban- 
 Tioy/a vvv aw(fii, and this is by the Refurre&ion of Chriil, 
 <T/ avctratTEcy? Kp/rou, by means of the virtue and efficacy of 
 his Refurredion. KifZaros here plainly anfwejs to B«C7TT/f/!/££» 
 and eTi t/^etroj to ft #v»s"cwssy$ Kpcrsv. 
 
[ 102 ] 
 
 faw fit to appoint, and for this reafon, becaufe it 
 afforded an illuftrious proof of the, Faith of no ah, 
 maniieiled in his affent to the truth of God fore- 
 telling this univerfal Deluge, and in his puting 
 himfelf to immenfe labour and expence in build- 
 ing this Ark which God had commanded him to 
 prepare for his prefervation ; ib that noah's Faith, 
 evidenced by his conformity to the divine direc- 
 tion, was the immediate and efficacious caufe of 
 his deliverance and falvation •, whereas the reft of 
 tmit corrupt generation were destroyed by the 
 overflowing flood, through their unbelief, this 
 caufina them to difregard the warnings of God 
 given by noah, the preacher cf right eoufnefs. i pe- 
 ter ii. 5. fpr which reafon noah is faid, not 
 only to have fir.ved him f elf, but to have condemned, 
 x.a7ZKpin damned, the world by his Faith. Hebrews 
 xi. 7. Not that his Faith was the caufe of con- 
 demnation to all the reft of mankind, but only it 
 produced fuch a difference in their conduct as put 
 believing noah into a ftate of falvation, and left 
 the unbelieving world in a ftate of deftrudtion. 
 
 The like figure whereunto, even Baptifm doth alfo 
 now fave us, or as the words may be more lite- 
 rally .rendered, the Antitype, olvtitwov, to which, 
 Baptifm doth alfo now five us. Baptifm is the ap- 
 pointed means of Salvation to us, as the Ark was 
 to noah, but not the caufe of it, with regard to 
 us, any more than the Ark was to him, both of 
 them being arbitrary appointments from God, 
 and depending upon him for their efficacy and 
 fuccefs •, that- which makes Baptifm effectual to 
 Salvation, is the Faith and Obedience which 
 accompanies it, without which the meer out- 
 ward Ordinance is unavailable, though prepa- 
 ratory thereto-, for as the Apoftle adds, it fives 
 us, not as it is a means of puting away the filth of 
 
 the 
 
t 103 ] 
 
 the fle/h, not as it purifies from bodily defilements 
 or ceremonial uncleannefles, but as it includes in 
 it the enfwer of a good Confcience towards God, as it 
 implies and promotes a correfponding purification 
 of the heart and confcience from error and vice, 
 and all the evil v/orks of the flefh : both the ex- 
 ternal fign and the internal Grace of Baptifrn, are 
 therefore neceffary to Salvation by Chrift, the for- 
 mer by his own appointment, the latter by its 
 aptnefs to fit and qualify for it, one of them put- 
 ing the perfon into a ftate of falvation, the other 
 entitling him to it. 
 
 There is but one remark more which I think 
 necefiary to be made on this laft text, which is, 
 that noah's Faith was efficacious not only for his 
 own Salvation, but likewife for that of his Family ; 
 for we are told by the Author to the Hebrews, 
 ch. xi. 7. that hereby he faved both himfelf and his 
 Houfe, upon which account he is called at the end 
 of the verfe, (as Abraham and all Believers are) 
 an Heir of the Righteoufnefs which is by Faith. So 
 that the Faith of noah appears, both by its nature 
 and its effects, to be typical of, and to bear an ex- 
 act refemblance to, that Faith which is the foun- 
 dation of the Abrahamick or Gofpel Covenant ; 
 by virtue of which I have already fhewn at large, 
 both the believer and his defcendants were made 
 joint partakers of its bleftings, and of that Rite 
 by which they were appointed to be admited into 
 it ; and alfo that the fame priviledge was convey- 
 ed down to all fucceeding generations, until then- 
 own perfonal unbelief excluded them from the 
 Covenant, and all the advantages therein contain- 
 ed. This is a ftrong confirmation of what I have 
 before proved, that all Believers, as well under 
 the Chriftian as the Mofaick Difpenfation, confer 
 on their Relatives and Offspring a right of admif- 
 H 4 fion 
 
[ io 4 ] 
 
 fion into the Covenant, by virtue of that Faith on 
 account of which they themfelves acquired a title 
 to it: and as I have likewife fhewn, that Circum- 
 cifion was the Rite and Sign of admiflion into the 
 latter of thefe, which being abolifhed, Baptifm 
 was appointed by Chrift to fucceed in the room of 
 it, I think it is manifeft that Baptifm mull be ap- 
 pointed for the fame end, and with an equal ne- 
 ceffity •, and I have accordingly demonftrated, 
 that the intent of Baptifm was to initiate per- 
 fons into the Church of Chrift, as Circumcifion 
 was before -, and alfo, that as all who were not 
 partakers of Circumcifion before Chrift, were for 
 that reafon cut off from being of the number of 
 God's People, fo under the Gofpel Conftitution 
 none can be fubjects and members of it, or be 
 entitled to its priviledges without Baptifm, fince 
 our Lord afierts it to be abfolutely necefiary to 
 every one, in order to his entering into the King- 
 dom of Heaven, and that no one can be favcd, or 
 be put into a (late of falvation, unlefs he become 
 a partaker of it. 
 
 Baptifm then being proved to be abfolutely ne- 
 cefiary for all Chfiftians, the only queftion now 
 remaining to be decided is, " What is the moil 
 *' juft and proper time of life in which it ought 
 " to be adminiftered ? " Now the neceffity, of 
 this Ordinance to the chriftian character and pro- 
 feflion affords a ftrong prefumption, that all who 
 have a title to it ought to be put into this State as 
 early in life as pofHble, that they may not be in 
 danger of miffing the benefits of it : but this pre- 
 sumptive argument will be railed into a very 
 powerful and conclufive one, by confidering at 
 what Age the Rite of Initiation into the Covenant 
 was appointed to be adminiftered at its firfb infti- 
 tution, and this was in the molt tender Infancy of 
 
 Children, 
 
X. 
 
 1 105] 
 
 Children, even * hen they were no more than 
 Eight Days old. c-r- r s xvii. 12. At this age 
 they were admitea into the Church of God, and 
 were made partakers' of the priviledges of that 
 everlafting Covenant which God made with Abra- 
 ham and his fpiritual Seed after him ; and when 
 this Covenant was again renewed by all the Peo- 
 ple of Ifrael, after forty years fojourning in the 
 wildernefs, their little ones, and the ftr angers in 
 their camp were included in it, as well as all the 
 grown men of Ifrael. deut. xxix. 10, 11. 
 
 Now that the Chriftian Covenant is the fame 
 with this I have alfo proved, which mud there- 
 fore confer a title to its priviledges at the fame 
 time of life as it did at its firft inftitution ; no- 
 thing then but a plain and exprefs Repeal can de- 
 prive Infants of this right of being admited into 
 Covenant, which they had enjoyed from the days 
 of Abraham to thofe of Chrift : and there is the 
 higheft probability, that the gracious and bene- 
 ficent Saviour of mankind would not deprive the 
 mod innocent and well difpofed part of his ra- 
 tional creatures of that priviledge, which they 
 had without interruption injoyed throughout fo 
 large a number of ages, without any fault or for- 
 feiture of theirs. Had it been our Saviour's de- 
 iign to annul this grant we fhould certainly have 
 had fome plain intimation of it from him, but 
 there is not the le t a earance of fuch a Repeal 
 in the whole New Teftament ; nay, we have there 
 very ftrong arguments to evince its continuing in 
 full force. Our blefled Lord pofitively declares, 
 that Infants are fit Members of his Church, and 
 Subjects of his Kingdom, and they could not 
 therefore be defbiute of a right of admiffion into 
 it; and the Apoftle paul makes, it an unquef- 
 tionable fuppofuion, that the Children of Be- 
 lievers 
 
[ io6 ] 
 
 lievers under the Gofpel Difpenfation are holy, 
 and by confequence have a right to be admited 
 into the Covenant by Baptifm. Thefe, with other 
 texts which might be alledged, are a fufficient 
 proof of this grant's continuing ftill in force ; and 
 I am confident nothing equivalent or comparable 
 to this can be urged from the word of Chrift in 
 proof of a Repeal of this priviledge of Infants, 
 which yet mult be abiolutely neceflary to their 
 deprivation of it. 
 
 Should it be faid, as it has been often faid, 
 " That the nature of the Inftitution implies an 
 " exclufion of Infants from it, becaufe they are 
 " incapable of underftanding its meaning, and 
 " complying with its defign, while they are in a 
 tt ftate of Infancy ". I anfwer. The fame argu- 
 ment is equally conclufive againft the admiffion 
 of Infants under the Jewifh Difpenfation, and 
 even from the firft inftitution of the Covenant, 
 becaufe they were during all that time under an 
 inability of comprehending its fignification, and 
 furthering its intention •, and if this was a difquali- 
 fkation, there were very few perfons in propor- 
 tion to the whole who were actually in Co- 
 venant with God from Abraham unto Chrift, and 
 perhaps not many more from that time unto this 
 day ; and I am fure fuch a fuppofition' would imply 
 an unwarrantable diminution of the largenefs and 
 comprehenfivenefs of the divine Covenant, as well 
 as utterly contradict a great number of the decla- 
 rations of Scripture. 
 
 If it fhould.be ftill urged, " That if our blefTed 
 " Lord intended Infants lhould be made partakers 
 «* of Baptifm, there can be no good reafon given, 
 " why he did not particularly mention them 
 " when he gave the Commiffion to Baptize ; 
 " nor why there is no hint of any fuch injunction 
 
 " in 
 
[ io 7 ] 
 
 " in the writings of the Apoftles, or any inftance 
 " of the practice of it in the Hiftory of their Acts". 
 It may be readily anfwered, that this very plain 
 and convincing reafon may be given for ir, viz. 
 That fuch a particular injunction was altogether 
 needlefs, for it was very well known at that time, 
 that the Baptifm in life among the Jews was ad- 
 miniftered to the Children of Profelytes at the fame 
 time, and in the fame manner, as it was to their 
 Parents •, and none could be ignorant, that Infants 
 had been admited into Covenant with God during 
 the whole continuance of their Difpenfation -, nei- 
 ther could any who attended to the intent and 
 meaning of the Commiflion which Chrift gave for 
 Baptizing, be infenfible that it was an Ordinance of 
 Initiation, or Admiffion into Covenant with God, 
 and they had therefore the utmoft reaforj to con- 
 clude, that it muft be intended for all t^ie fame 
 fubjects as were before profelyted and entered into 
 the Covenant. 
 
 It is impoflible they fhould think otherwife, ti% 
 lefs the Commiffion had contained fome exprefs 
 exception to reflrain it from this interpretation ; 
 and had the Jews entertained the lead imagination 
 that their Children were excluded by this appoint- 
 ment from that priviledge which they had fo long 
 injoyed, it would have been an unfurmountable ar- 
 gument againft their imbracing Chriftianity, and 
 thereby depriving their harmlefs Infants of that 
 moil invaluable right of having God to be their 
 God in Covenant. The Apoftles themfelves were 
 fo tenacious of their antient priviledges, that they 
 would certainly have made fome remonftrances 
 againft fuch a deprivation; and though they fhould 
 have acquiefced in it, yet we muft doubtiefs have 
 found many objections in their writings from thofe 
 Jews whom they endeavoured to convert ; but 
 
 fince 
 
[ .o8 ] 
 
 fin^e there is nothing of this kind to be met with, 
 it is plain the Commifiion for Baptifm was never 
 underftodd by them as excluding Infants from it, 
 and it was therefore unneceiTary to caution them 
 againft it. 
 
 The fame reafon which rendered it needlefs that 
 our Lord mould infert an exprefs injunction for 
 Baptizing Infants in the Commifiion or elfewhere, 
 made it alio needlefs to mention any particular 
 inftancp of the Apoftles Baptizing Infants in their 
 Hiftory. The admitihg the Children of be- 
 lievers into Covenant was fo common and notori- 
 ous to all, that there was no occafion to urge any 
 examples in behall of it; it was not then in the 
 lead doubted, and there was no reafon to think 
 that it would ever be doubted that Infants have a 
 right to this Ordinance ; had any fcruple of this 
 kind been likely to arife, it would certainly have 
 been guarded againft, either by precept or ex- 
 ample, and the want of thefe is a plain proof that 
 there was no fuch thing then thought of ; it can be 
 no wonder therefore, that in fo concife an Hiftory 
 as the Acts of the Apoftles, there is no account 
 given of the Baptizing of Infants, fince there was 
 no apparent end to be anfvvered by it at that 
 time. 
 
 Notwithftanding we have no exprefs mention 
 of the Apoftles Baptizing Infants in that Hifto- 
 ry, it mult however be allowed, that there is great 
 reafon to conclude from thence, that fome Infants 
 were actually Baptized by them, though the Au- 
 thor of it, not. imagining it would ever be called in 
 queftion, did not think it needful to give a parti- 
 cular relation of it, any more than our Saviour 
 did in his Commifiion which he gave for Baptizing. 
 Several inilances may be alledged, wherein this 
 appears with great. probability. Thus when St. 
 
 PETER. 
 
t 109 ] 
 
 peter had, by his firft Sermon after the defcent 
 of the holy Ghoft, convinced a great number of 
 his hearers of the divine authority of Chrift, and 
 had incouraged them to be Baptized into his Re- 
 ligion by this argument, that the promifeofad- 
 miffion into the Covenant was not only made to 
 them, but to their Children* we are told immediate- 
 ly after, that they who gladly received his word were 
 Baptized, and the fame day there were added Unto 
 them about 'Three Thou/and Souls. Now I think it 
 cannot be imagined, that amongft all this multi- 
 tude there were none who had any Children, for 
 if they had, it is evident they mud have joined the 
 Baptifm of their Children to their own, fince the 
 promife by which they were induced to it was 
 equally inclufive of both, and they had the fame 
 reafon for Baptizing their Children which they 
 had for their own Baptifm. 
 
 Other inftances may be added which contain a 
 like probability in them of Infants being Baptized, 
 fuch as that of lydia, who being converted by 
 St. Paul's preaching, we are told was Baptized, 
 and her Houfehold. acts xvi. l$. and that of the 
 Jailor in the fame chapter, who was miraculoufly 
 awakened to a folicitous inquiry, what J?e Jhould do 
 to be faved ; to whom the Apoftles anfwered, Be- 
 lieve in the Lord Jefus Chrift, and thou Jh alt be faved, 
 and thy Houfe ; and we are informed, that in the 
 fame hour he was Baptized, and all his firaitway. 
 ver. 31 and 33. To which may be adjoined what 
 St. paul fays, 1 corin. i. 16. that amongft the 
 few which he had Baptized at corinth, he Bap- 
 tized the Houfehold of Stephanas. Nothing can 
 evade the force of thefe inftances but the unrea- 
 fonable and improbable fuppofition, that in all 
 thofe Families there were no Children -, for if there 
 were, it is plain they muft be Baptized, fince they 
 
 mutt 
 
L "°] 
 
 muft undoubtedly be included in the term Houfe- 
 bold, according to its conftant fignification ; nor 
 could it be faid confiftently with truth, that the 
 Jailor and all his were Baptized, unlefs his Chil- 
 dren, if he had any, were taken into the number. 
 
 So that upon the whole, fuppofmg what I have 
 already attempted to prove be true, that Infants 
 were admited into Covenant with God in the days 
 of our Saviour, and that Baptifm was his appoint- 
 ed Sign and Rite of admiffion, every injunction 
 and fact relating to Baptifm muft naturally be de- 
 livered in the fame form and manner in which they 
 now ftand in the New Teftament, and there could 
 be no occafion of laying down any rules, or pro- 
 ducing any examples lor Baptizing of Infants, as 
 their title to it was then known and acknowledged 
 by all. . 
 
 But that my Reader may have a perfect appre- 
 henfion and conviction of this matter, I hope he 
 will indulge me in my further illuftration of it by 
 a parallel cafe. I will fuppofe for inftance, that 
 after the fettlement of Virginia was effected in the 
 Reign of Queen Elizabeth, this wife and virtu- 
 ous Princefs mould have iffued an order to the Go- 
 vernor of the Province, that all the Natives who 
 would fubmit to her government, and injoy the 
 protection of fubjects, fhould be clothed in a 
 manner fuitable to what was ufedin her home Do* 
 minions ; and that the edict was made with a 
 view not only to diftinguifh thofe who fubmited 
 to her authority from Aliens, but for the fake of 
 preferving decency and chaftity amongft them-, 
 the Governor to whom this injunction was direct- 
 ed muft neceflarily conclude from fuch an abfo- 
 lute and unlimited order, that not only grown 
 perfons, but their Children alfo were to be clothed 
 in the fame manner as they were in the Englifh 
 
 Nation ; 
 
1 I" ] 
 
 Nation-, and fhould he neglect to conform to it 
 with regard to the Children of the Natives until 
 they arrived to the age of fourteen or fifteen years, 
 none I believe would think that he had fully exe- 
 cuted his order; nor that it would be fufficient for ■ 
 him to alledge in his vindication, that llich young 
 perfons were not capable of underftanding the end 
 and defign of this appointment, and could not be 
 tempted to unchaflity through the omiflion of it; 
 nothing could have juftified him in his neglect, but 
 an exception of this kind, plainly exprefied in the 
 Commiffion he had for this purpofe. 
 
 Let it be fuppofed again, that this edict was 
 Toon after recorded in the Annals of that Province, 
 and that the conformity of the Natives to it was 
 alfo there related in the fame general , terms in 
 which the order was delivered, without mention- 
 ing their Infants, but only their Families at large 
 being fubjected to it, would there be any reafon 
 to doubt at the prefent diftance of time, whether 
 the Children were then clothed together with their 
 Parents ? Certainly the fact could admit of no dis- 
 pute with any who know that at the period when 
 this injunction was given, the Children in England 
 were clothed as univerfally as their Parents, and 
 that in the aforementioned Province they had all 
 been kept clothed from time immemorial : and 
 fhould a few of thofe who were originally Natives 
 of the country, now refufe to clothe their Children 
 upon this pretence, " that there was no law for it, 
 " nor any proof of its being practifed when their 
 " anceftors were firft fubjected to the Englifh Go- 
 " vernment", I apprehend fuch perfons would be 
 deemed extremely weak or obftinate, and unde- 
 ferving of the protection and priviledges of fub- 
 jects. 
 
 Let 
 
[ "2 ] 
 
 Let this ill u Oration then be applied to the cafe 
 of Baptifm. From the firft inftitutidn and eftab- 
 lilhment of the Covenant and Church of God, it 
 is certain there was a folemn form of Inveftiture 
 appointed for ad million into it ; by this form In- 
 fants were inverted with this dignity together with 
 their Parents, and the fame method of Invefliture 
 was continued without interruption for many hun- 
 dred years, even to the time of our Saviour's ap- 
 pearance ; when our blefTed Lord, by divine au- 
 thority, renewed and confirmed this priviledge 
 without the leaft reftriction, but only with a fmalj 
 alteration in the Rite of admiflion, and extended 
 it beyond the bounds of that Nation to which it 
 had been before confined, fo as to include all the 
 people of the earth who fhould fubjecl: themfelves 
 to his government. That all fuch perfons as were 
 before intitled to it, muft then alfo have a right 
 to this grant, is a thing which can admit of rto 
 difpute ; and as Infants had at all times before been 
 ad mi ted to wear the badge of the Covenant, it 
 could not be doubted but they were ftill to be ar- 
 rayed in the Livery of the Church, and were in- 
 titled to put on Chrift by Baptifm as well as their 
 Parents ; their right to this Ordinance is conveyed 
 to them by the fame decree with that of their Pa- 
 rents, and it muft therefore be the higheft piece of 
 injuftice to exclude them from it. 
 
 For a conclufion of this Propofition, fuflfer me 
 only to addrefs myfelf to fuch as make a profeffi- 
 on of Chriftianity, and yet flight or oppofe this 
 Institution of Chrift, either with refpect to them- 
 felves or their Children. The abfolute neceffity 
 of it, in order to the partaking the Chriftian Cha- 
 racter and Profeflion, and injoying its priviledges, 
 has been made abundantly evident ; it is the Rite 
 which Chrift has appointed for admiffion into his 
 
 Church, 
 
[ "3 ] 
 
 Church, for matriculation into his School, and 
 for entering into his Kingdom ; it mult therefore 
 be indifpenfably requifite to the becoming mem- 
 bers, difciples, and fubjecls of Chrift ; without it 
 you are incapable of puting on Chrift, and of re* 
 ceiving vital nourilhment and growth from him, 
 you have no title to the influences and aids of his 
 Spirit, or to any of thofe glorious bleffings and 
 advantages which he offers you -, without: it you 
 are aliens from the commonwealth of his Church, 
 ftrangers to his Covenant of Promife, without hope 
 in him, and out of the way of lalvation by him. 
 Let not this reprefentation of your cafe feem harfh 
 and fevere to you, for there is no more feverity in 
 it than what Chrift and his Apoftles have laid a 
 forEcient foundation to charge it with, as you may 
 fee by confulting many places of Scripture before 
 quoted. Let me befeech you then not to contemn 
 this Appointment of Chrift by a continued refufal 
 of compliance with it, for in refufmg it you reject 
 the counfel of your beft friend, your only Saviour; 
 you reject that counfel which would be unfpeak- 
 ably advantageous to you •, you reject it againft 
 yourfelves, and to your own irreparable hurt and 
 lofs. luke vii. 30. 
 
 Thus far indeed you are only injurious to your 
 own true and beft intereft, enemies to your fouls 
 and their everlafting falvation. But the injury 
 which attends your conduct is not confined to your 
 own perfons, for the fame delufion which prevents 
 your entering yourfelves into the Chriftian Cove- 
 nant by Baptifm, muft unavoidably reftrain you 
 from conveying this priviledge to thofe dear and 
 tender parts of yourfelves, your Children, You 
 may indeed profanely give up your Birthright by 
 an inconfiderate contempt of it, or you may for- 
 feit it by an unbelief in Chrift, or a difregard of 
 
 I his 
 
[ "4 I 
 
 his authority in appointing this Inflitution, but 
 your Infants can neither forfeit or reject it ; it is a 
 portion given them by their heavenly Father, and 
 confirmed to them by the mofl folemn Covenant 
 and Promife, an unalienable inheritance, derived 
 down to them from the firfl of their believing An- 
 ceftors ; no human authority can therefore be im- 
 powered to deprive them of it, it is the gift of 
 God to them equally with their Being, and as you 
 are inftruments of conveying the one, they have a 
 right to receive the other alfo from you. 
 
 Through your means your Children are made 
 partakers of a natural Birth, are born into a world 
 where they are expofed to fin and fuffering, and 
 will you deny them that fpiritual Birth which gives 
 life to their fouls, and puts them in pofTelfion of 
 fpiritual and divine bleffings ? You would be 
 thought, and you would think yourlelves, very 
 inhuman and unjufl mould you deprive them of 
 that food and raiment which is neceflary to the 
 fupport and itrength of their bodies, their animal 
 and mortal part, and can you judge yourlelves 
 lefs criminal in denying them that fpiritual nou- 
 rifhment which is alike neceffary to the life of their 
 precious and immortal fouls ? God has made fuf- 
 ficient provifion for both, and has given you an 
 equal charge of conveying it to them, what excufe 
 then can you alledge for witholding from them 
 the richer! and molt valuable part of that fu fie- 
 ri ance to which their heavenly Father has given 
 them an irrevocable right ? No attainments of your 
 own, no advantages you can confer on your ofF- 
 fpring, can compensate for the lofs of thofe blef- 
 fings which Baptifm will make you partakers of ; 
 your conduct is unjutliriable in excluding yourlelves 
 from them, it is more fo in defrauding both your- 
 felves and your Children of this priviiedge \ but 
 
 partiality 
 
 
t »5 ] 
 
 partiality and want of affection mud be added to 
 the charge if you lay hold oi it yourfelves, but 
 deny it to thole who ought to be as dear to you, 
 and have an equal title to it j your duty therefore 
 to them, and. to yourfelves, earnellly demands 
 your compliance with this Inftitution, for it is the 
 means which Chrift has appointed for communi- 
 cating a new and fpiritual Birth both to them and 
 you, and for conveying thofe gracious influences 
 which are neceffary to your growth in holinefs, and 
 your attainment of everlafting bleffednefs. Be no 
 longer then regardlefs of this priviledge, a privi- 
 ledge which contains nothing lefs in it than hav- 
 ing the all-fufficient God to be a God to you, end to 
 your Seed after you -, and what greater character, 
 what nobler relation, what fuperior bleffing can 
 you fuftain or poffefs, than that which Baptifm. 
 confers on you and your offspring, of having the 
 mod high God to be their Father and ycur Fa- 
 ther, their God and your God ? 
 
 Proposition III. 
 
 The only Qualification requifite for Baptifm is 
 a well-difpofed and teachable mind, or a 
 temper and fpirit free from all prejudice a- 
 gainft the Doctrines and Laws of Chrift, and 
 ready to receive and entertain them when 
 fairly propofed. 
 
 The moil proper and likely way of difcovering 
 what preparatory qualifications are neceffary for 
 the participation of Baptifm, is a careful obferva- 
 tion of its nature and deiign ; for thefe being 
 known, whatever enables a perfon to comply with 
 them is fufficient to qualify him for it. Now the 
 I 2 intent 
 
[ n6 ] 
 
 intent of this Ordinance I have abundantly proved* 
 under the firft Propofition, to be nothing more 
 than to devote and dedicate the fubjects of it to 
 the fervice of Chrift, and to initiate them into his 
 Church and Religion ; fuch a temper of mind 
 therefore as will difpoie them to entertain the truths 
 which Chrift reveals, and to yield obedience to 
 the duties he injoins, muft be a proper qualifica- 
 tion for this initiatory and confecrating Institution. 
 The Commiffion by which Baptifm was appointed 
 declares its deflgn to be difcipling, or making 
 difciples to Chrift, and what more can be neceiTary 
 to fit perfons- for becoming his difciples and fcho- 
 lars than a teachable difpofition, a mind open to 
 inftruflion, and ready to receive thofe propofals 
 which he, as a Teacher from Heaven, was au- 
 thorized to make ? By reprefenting'the Chriftian 
 Confbtution as his School, our blefied Lord there- 
 fore gives us to underftand, that all who are dif- 
 pofed to learn of him have fufiicient qualifications 
 for being initiated and matriculated as his Scholars 
 by the Baptifmal Ordinance, 
 
 This receives further confirmation from the 
 other representation which Chrift gives of Baptifm 
 in the third chapter of John, "as the Rite of Inve- 
 ftiture into his Kingdom and Church, by which 
 his adherents are entered among!! the number of 
 his fubiects, and are intitled to the priviledges of 
 his chofen and peculiar people ; and muft it not 
 be fuflkient to qualify them for this, that they are 
 well difpofed to fubmit to his authority, to own 
 him as their Lord and King, and to rely on him 
 for affording that protection, and thofe favours, 
 which this relation encourages them to expect from 
 him I And if Baptifm be confidered as the inftru- 
 ment and token of Regeneration and Adoption, I 
 cannot fee that any thing more is- neceiTary to the 
 
[ "7} 
 
 receiving the character of the Sons of God, than a 
 temper of mind difpofmg to filial duty and obe- 
 dience. So that in whatever light the Scripture 
 reprefents this Sacrament, I am perfwaded it dif- 
 covers nothing more as a neceffary qualification 
 for it than an humble, obfequious, unprejudiced 
 diipofition. 
 
 I am not without apprehenfion that it may be 
 here faid with great propriety — " That there are 
 *' pofitive and exprefs qualifications required in 
 " the holy Scripture for admiffion to Baptifm, 
 " and that thefe ought much more to be regard - 
 " ed than any deductions from the nature and de- 
 " fign of the Ordinance, or from fuch characters 
 " under which it is reprefented ; for whoeyer ex- 
 " amines the accounts we have of the adminiftra- 
 " tion of Baptifm in the Acts of the Apoftles, 
 '* will find that Repentance towards God, and Faith 
 * 6 in our Lord Jefus Cbrifl, are demanded as ne- 
 *' ceffary preparations 'for it. There is an inftance 
 " of the former in what peter required of the 
 '* firft converts, acts ii. 38. Repent, and be Bap- 
 il tized every one of you ; and of the latter in 
 *' philip's anfwer to the Eunuch, for when he 
 " inquired what mould hinder him from being 
 " Baptized, he tells him, If thou believ eft with all 
 " thy heart, thou-mayeft. acts viii. 36, %y. Now 
 c ' as thefe qualifications were efteemed neceffary 
 " to the participation of Baptifm by the Apoftles 
 " of our Lord, how can any thing (hort of this be 
 " at. any time deemed a fufficient preparation 
 " for it."? 
 
 I have no other anfwer to make to this objec- 
 tion, but that I allow what is alledged in it to be 
 very juft and reafonable, provided the words Re- 
 pentance and Faith be rightly underftood, and a- 
 greeably to the fenfe in which they are always uled, 
 I 3 when 
 
[ "M 
 
 when they are applied to reprefent the qualifica- 
 tions necefiary to Baptifm •, for I am perfwaded 
 that, upon the ftricteft examination, thefe qualifi- 
 cations will amount to no more than what is af- 
 ferted in this Propofition, and that nothing elfe is 
 intended by this demand from the Candidates for 
 Baptiim, than a renunciation of their erroneous 
 and corrupt principles and practices, and a readi- 
 nefs to entertain and obferve the doctrines and du- 
 ties which Chrift fhould propofe. But as thefe, 
 two qualifications are in themfelves diftinct, it 
 will be neceflary to allow them a feparate examina- 
 tion. 
 
 The fir ft of them, and that which was prepa- 
 ratory to the other, is that of Repentance -, this, 
 as has been already (hewn, was the qualification 
 required by john for his Baptiim, which was for 
 that reafon called the Baptifm cf Repentance, mark 
 i. 4. acts xix. 4. and what the nature of "this Re- 
 pentance was may eafily be difco^ered by confi- 
 dering the reafon and argument which he makes 
 ufe of to invite his hearers to it, Repent, for the 
 Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Matthew in. 2. i.e. 
 
 * Lay afide thofe perverfe difpofitions and corrupt 
 
 * prejudices which you have contracted, for thefe, 
 ' if maintained and indulged, will be an infur- 
 
 * mountable obftacle to your imbracing the Reli- 
 
 * gion.of the Median, who is now about to ap- 
 ' pear'. In other places alfo where john declares 
 his Baptifm to be a Baptifm of Repentance, he 
 immediately fub joins the intent and defign of it to 
 be fubfervient and preparatory to the reception of 
 Chrift, and a more excellent kind of Baptifm by 
 him, thus he fays, matthew iii. 11, 12. I indeed 
 Baptize you with Water unto Repentance, but he that 
 connth after me is mightier than I\ he fhall Baptize 
 you with the holy Ghoft and with Fire ; whofe Fan is 
 
 in 
 
I IJ 9 ] 
 
 in his Handy and he will throughly purge his Floor 
 s.nd gather his Wheat into the Garner ; but he will 
 burn up the Chaff with unquenchable firti The fenfe 
 •of this paffage will be bell illustrated by an ex- 
 ample of a like nature. Let it be fuppofed then, 
 that an Officer of high dignity had a Com million 
 from his Prince to offer a pardon to a considerable 
 number of rebellious Subjects, upon condition of 
 their repentance of their fault, and laying down 
 their hoStile arms, would it not be natural for him 
 to addrefs them in a manner fimilar to that of john 
 in this text ? 
 
 ' I am fent (he would probably fay) to con- 
 1 vince you of the heinoufnefs of the crime of your 
 
 * rebellion, and to make a tender of forgivenefs 
 
 * to you upon your forfaking it ; and I am im- 
 s powered to confirm this pardon to you under 
 i* the feal-of my Royal Mailer, and to give you af- 
 
 * furance of his readinefs to confer yet more va- 
 6 Juable priviledges upon your compliance ; but 
 45 if you reject this offer, you may depend upon it 
 
 * that your affronted Lord will Shortly come upon 
 
 * you with a pomp and power vaftly Superior to 
 
 * mine, and will make an awful distinction be- 
 
 * tween the obedient and the rebellious -, for as 
 
 * an hufbandman carefully feparates the chaff from 
 
 * the good corn, burning up the former, and re- 
 
 * ferving the latterfor his own ufe and fervice, fo 
 
 * will your righteous, though merciful Lord, di- 
 
 * ftinguiihing between thole that are penitent, and 
 
 * thofe that are irreclaimable among you, devoting 
 c thefe to utter destruction, but rewarding the 
 4 other with fpecial marks of his favour and 
 
 * bounty*. 
 
 This was the wretched condition both of Jews 
 
 and Gentiles at the time of John's ministry, they 
 
 were rebels againft God and his government, they 
 
 I 4 had 
 
f 220 ] 
 
 had rejected the divine authority, and fubmited 
 to the dominion of the Devi], who is for that rea- 
 fon called the Prince of this "Acrid, john xii. 31. 
 xiv. 30. xvi. 1 1. The God of this world. 2 cor in. 
 iv. 4. The ruler of the ddrknefs of this world., ephes. 
 vi. 12. The Prince of the power of the Air, the Spi- 
 rit which was then working in the children of difobe- 
 dience. ephes. ii. 2. This tyranical domination of 
 Satan diffufed itfelf over the whole moral and in- 
 tellectual world, in the fame manner.as the air dees 
 over the natural, and like that too infinuated its 
 influence into the internal habit and oifpofition of 
 the fouls of men, as the breath of the body does, 
 tk nvzvij.a.7os 7« jvsp^a,"To?, exerting its penetrating 
 energy and vital power throughout the whole con- 
 flitution of his rebellious varlals. Upon this ac- 
 \ count the whole world is faid to lie at that time 
 under the power of the wicked one, *v to <xw$u, 
 1 john v. 19. Yea, even the Devil himfelf had 
 the infolence to lay claim to this authority over all 
 the kingdoms of the earth, and to tempt our blef- 
 fed Lord with the offer of being his vicegerent, on 
 condition that he would withdraw his duty and 
 allegiance from his Father, and acknowledge him 
 as his fovereign, by falling down and zvorjhiping 
 him. matthew iv. 8,9. luke iv. 5, 6, 7. 
 
 It cannot, I think, be judged impertinent to 
 mention a few instances wherein this dominion of 
 the Devil difcovered itfelf both among Heathens 
 and Jews, efpecially in what they accounted facred 
 and religious fervices. The worfhip of the Hea- 
 thens was directed to demons, or the gholls of 
 dead men, or to deities formed by poetick iiction 
 and their own vain imaginations, or to irrational 
 and inanimate creatures ; and their moft folemn 
 and devout adorations of them confuted of ridi- 
 culous, lewd, fottifn, and in many cafes, barba- 
 rous 
 
1 1» ] 
 
 rons and inhuman obfervances; and agreeably 
 to the conceptions which they formed of their 
 Gods, they became, in imitation of them, lewd, 
 covetous, revengeful, implacable, unjuit, deceit- 
 ful and cruel in their i moral and focial conduct. 
 That this account of the general character of the 
 Heathen World is not ex agge rated, is apparent 
 from its being the defcription which the Apcftie 
 Paul gives of them in the firfi chapter to the 
 Romans, which is alio greatly confirmed by the 
 reprefentation made of them by their own writers, 
 and that not only of the uncivilized and favage 
 nations among them, and fuch as -the polite and 
 learned States or Greece and Rome efteemed and 
 denominated Barbarians, but even of the moll ac- 
 complifhed in knowledge, and the moil exalted 
 in dignity among themielves ; and there never 
 was a time when both learning and power were 
 advanced to a greater height than then. Here 
 then we have very evident marks and proofs of 
 the dominion of the Devil over the Heathen 
 World -, the attributes they afcribed to their Gods 
 were diabolical ones, and their Gods themfelves, 
 if they had any intelligent exieftence, w*ere no 
 other than Devils ; the worihip they paid to them 
 was devilim, fuch as Satan himfelf would defire 
 and enjoin -, and they were, as to their moral de- 
 portment, the very images and (laves of the De- 
 vil ; fo that the religion which prevailed among 
 the Heathens at the coming of Chrift was the 
 religion of the Devil, or in the language of the 
 Apoftle, it was earthly, fenfual, devilifh. james 
 iii. 15. 
 
 Norjwas the character of the Jewifh Nation, at 
 that time, much fuperior to that of the Gentile 
 World ; they indeed retained the knowledge and 
 wormip of the true God, and were favoured with 
 
 his 
 
I 122 ] 
 
 his fpecial protection and a particular Revelation 
 of his Will, but this Revelation, which they re- 
 ceived from the mouth of God, they had greatly 
 corrupted by an unwarrantable addition of their 
 own traditions, and had violated his worfhip alfo 
 by a great number of fuperftitious obfervances, 
 dishonouring God thereby almoft as much as by 
 Heathenifh Idolatry into which they had likewife 
 often fallen •, and as to their morals we are in- 
 formed by St. paul, that they were in no wife 
 better than the Heathens, but were guilty of the 
 hime vices, and had this aggravating circum- 
 ftance attending their guilt, that by reafon of 
 their fuperior advantages they much more dif- 
 honoured God thereby, romans ii. i, 3, 23. iii. 
 
 9 19. As the vices of the Jews therefore bore 
 
 fo near a refemblance to thofe of the Heathens, 
 there is the frgheft probability that they were 
 equally fubject to the dominion of Satan ; but this 
 is not meerly probable but abfolutely certain, for 
 our bleiied Lord puts the matter out of all doubt, 
 by telling them in exprefs words, Te are of your 
 Father the Devil, and the'lujls of your Father, the. 
 Devil, ye will do. john viii. 44. So that it is evi- 
 dent, that both jews and Gentiles were at that 
 time the fubjects of Satan, they were entangled in 
 the fnare of the Devil, and were led captive by 
 him at his Will. 
 
 Now the errand upon which john was fent, 
 v/as to recover men out of this (late, to call them 
 to a repentance of their Idolatry and Superftition, 
 to grant them a remiflion of thofe fins in confe- 
 quence of it, and to afcertain it to them by a Rite 
 which had been often ufed for the fame purpofe 
 under the Mofaick Difpenfation. The offence 
 then, for which this pardon was offered by john, 
 being of a publick nature, levelled againft the 
 
 divine 
 
[ I2 3 ] 
 
 divine authority and government, it is plain that 
 the repentance which was required as a qualifi- 
 cation for this pardon, muft be of the fame kind, 
 not a particular repentance of private and perfonal 
 fins, but a more general one of fuch fins as di- 
 rectly attacked the fovereignty and dominion of 
 God over his rational creatures •, and fuch a re- 
 pentance as this was both neceffary and fufficient 
 to procure a fubmifiion to that authority which 
 God had then delegated and conveyed to his Son, 
 it being impoffible that they mould fubmit to his 
 government unlefs they previoufly renounced the 
 principles and abjured the leaders of that Rebel- 
 lion in which they had been engaged ; but this 
 being done, there could be no obftacle to hinder 
 them from fubjecling themfelves to the obedience 
 of their rightful Lord. 
 
 Every fin indeed, of whatever nature or kind it 
 is, includes in the notion of it an oppofition to the 
 divine authority and government, as it is known, 
 or might be known, to be a breach of God's Law ; 
 but as there are many fins which are only of a pri- 
 vate nature, and others which are only injurious 
 to our fellow-creatures as the immediate objects 
 of them, fo there are fome which are primarily 
 and directly oppugnant to God and his honour, 
 fuch as the fins of Idolatry and Superflition, with 
 which Jews and Gentiles were at that time charge- 
 able ; 2nd thefe contain, in the very effence of 
 them, a withdrawing of a juft allegiance to the 
 true God, or feting up falfe Gods in oppofition 
 to him-, and it was neceffary that thefe capital 
 and treafonable principles fhould be renounced, in 
 order to procure a due fubjection to the govern- 
 ment of Chrift, which was the thing which john 
 was fent to make preperation for. The difpo- 
 fition therefore required by john for his Bap- 
 
 tifm 
 
[ I2 4 ] 
 
 tifm could be no other than an abhorrence of 
 that traiterous ufurpation to which mankind had 
 been iubjecled, and a divefting themfelves of 
 thofe prejudices and averfions to the government 
 of Chrift which they had contracted thereby. 
 
 And that it was the defign of our blefled Sa- 
 viour to recover mankind out of this flate of (la- 
 very to Sin and Satan, and to fet up the Kingdom 
 of God in oppofition to that of the Devil, may be 
 proved with equal evidence, for this is what the 
 Apoitle declares of him. i john iii. 8. For this 
 purpofe the Son of God was manifefled, that he might 
 dejiroy the works of the Devil. And the Commiffion 
 which Chi ill gave to St. paul upon his con- 
 version was no other than this, To open their eyes, 
 (thofe of Jews and Gentiles) and to turn them from 
 d,arkncfs to light, and from the power of Satan unto 
 God. acts xxvi. 1 8. And when our Lord him- 
 felf entered upon his Miniftry, he gave evident 
 proofs of his defign, and famples of his power, 
 to overthrow the Kingdom and Dominion of the 
 Devil-, for among the great number of miracles 
 he performed there is no particular fort more 
 frequently repeated than that of calling out De- 
 vils, which had poffefled the bodies of men, and 
 at the fame time compelling them to acknowledge 
 that he was the Sen . of God, the Mefliah, and the 
 holy one of Ifrael, to requeft lenity and mercy from 
 him, and to fubmit to his direction and*difpofal. 
 luke iv. 34,41. viii. 28,31,32. 
 
 The fame power over Devils and unclean Spi- 
 rits was alio confered by Chrift on his Apoftles ; 
 and it was the fir ft and principal part of that au- 
 thority which he communicated to them, for we are 
 told, that when he had called unto him his Twelve 
 difciples, he gave them power againft unclean Spirits, 
 and to cafi out Devils, matthew x. i, 8. And 
 
 we 
 
f i*S.] 
 
 vre are informed, that in confequence of it they 
 cafi out many Devils, mark vi. 13. When our 
 Lord enlarged the number of his Minifters, by 
 adding Seventy difciples more, it is plain that he 
 alio renewed this grant unto them, for returning 
 again unto him they fa id, Lord, even the Devils 
 are fubjecl unto us, through thy Name, luke x. r, 
 1 7. And the anfvver which Chrift gives them in 
 the next verfe evidently (hews the principal in- 
 tent of his endowing them with this miraculous 
 power, to be the overthrowing of the Devil's 
 Kingdom, for fays he, I beheld Satan as Lightning 
 falling from Heaven ; hereby infinuating that his 
 downfal v/as already commenced, and would 
 fpeedily be compleated with inconceivable fwift- 
 nefs and amazing force : and this entire conqueft 
 over the Devil was obtained by our Lord's vic- 
 torious Death and Refurre&ion, for the Author to 
 the Hebrews acquaints us, That through Death 
 Chrift deftroyed him that had the power of Death, that 
 is, the Devil, chap. ii. 14. And St. paul tells 
 us, that by his Crofs he fpoiled Principalities and 
 Powers, and made afhew of them openly, triumphing 
 over them, colos. ii. 15. And this victory over 
 Satan and deftruclion of his kingdom, was about 
 the fame time clearly proved and made manifert 
 to thofe who were the fubjeds_of it, by confound- 
 ing their divinations and filencing their Oracles, 
 which were the principal means by which the 
 Devil had kept them m fubjec~tion to him, and 
 fupported his authority in the world. 
 
 Let us now fee what the Preaching was which 
 accompanied this powerful and victorious oppo- 
 fition to the Devil's dominion over mankind ; 
 and here we (hall find, that both the fubjecl; of 
 it, and the motive by which it was enforced, were 
 the fame with thofe of joHNTthe Baptift j the in- 
 tent 
 
[ "6 ] 
 
 tent of it being to perfwade them to renounce 
 their fubjection to the authority of Satan, in ex- 
 pectation cf a mere glorious and beneficial go- 
 vernment which was to be eftablifhed in the room 
 of it, for immediately upon our blefled Lord's 
 entering upon his Miniitry we are told, that from 
 that time Jefus began to preach, and to fay, Repent, 
 for the Kingdom of Heaven is at band, matthew iv. 
 j 7. mark i. 15. The fame inftruotions he gave 
 alio to his Apoftles when he fent them forth to 
 preach, matthew x. 7. mark vi. 12. 
 
 Now fince the Preaching of Chrift, and of his 
 Apoftles alfo before his Refurre&ion, was the 
 fame with that of John's, we have hence great 
 reafon to believe that the Baptifm adminiitered 
 by them was of the fame kind, viz. a Bap- 
 tifm founded only upon a repentance and renun- 
 ciation of their former impiety and rebellion ; for 
 that it could not be the Baptifm which is truly 
 and properly Chriftian is evident, becaufe that 
 was not inftituted till after the Refurrection of 
 Chriil, and there was no other Baptifm which 
 could be adminftered by our Lord's difciples but 
 that of john the Bapt:ft, which I have already 
 fhewn to be preparatory to the opening the Gof- 
 pel Difpenfation, and to be intended as a token 
 of its fubjects renouncing thofe corrupt princi- 
 ples, whether human or diabolical, which they 
 had entertained, and which had been productive 
 of a conduct alike vicious and impious: the quali- 
 fication of repentance therefore required for this 
 Baptifm could be nothing more than a diverting 
 themfelves of all attachments to that falfe Re- 
 ligion in which they had been educated, or to 
 which they had voluntarily addicted themfelves, 
 that they might not be thereby prejudiced a- 
 gainft the reception of thofe religious doctrines 
 
 and 
 
[ I2 7 ] 
 
 and laws which were to be revealed and inftituted 
 by Chrift. 
 
 Since therefore this renunciation of corrupt 
 principles and attachments in Religion was the 
 only qualification for the Baptifm of john, we 
 may hence be enabled to difcover what fort of 
 perfons could be proper fubjects of his Baptifm ; 
 and it is evident, that it could be neccfTary for 
 none but fuch as had lived in the prcfeffion and 
 obfervance of a falfe Religion, and Worfhip, which 
 was to be openly renounced by their fubmiting 
 to this Baptifm •, whereas others, who had con- 
 tinued ftedfaft in the Faith and Worfhip of the 
 true God, were efteemedj 'lift perfons, had no need 
 of Repentance, nor confequendy of that Rite to 
 which it was a preparatory qualification. The 
 Baptifm of john mult therefore be fuperfeded, 
 and rendered ufelefs in all places where the know- 
 ledge and fervice of the true God is maintained 
 in its purity, and efpecially where they are exalt- 
 ed to their higheft perfection by a regard to thofe 
 divine difcoveries and rules which our Lord has 
 revealed and enjoined concerning them. 
 
 It is therefore evident, that all perfons who 
 have been educated from their birth in the Faith 
 and Profeffion of Chriftianity, muft.be utterly in- 
 capable of John's Baptifm, forafmuch as they 
 cannot ordinarily have any religious errors and 
 impieties to renounce, or at leaft none that have 
 been maintained in opposition to the divine go- 
 vernment, and are inconfiftent with their fubmif- 
 fion to it as it is adminiftered by Chrift. And if 
 the Baptifm of john be incompatible to Adult 
 Chriftians, it mult be much more fo to their In- 
 fant-offspring, who, it is certain, can have con- 
 tracted no prejudices againft the government of 
 
 God, 
 
t 128 1 
 
 God, nor have been guilty of any voluntary op- 
 pofition to it. So that the Baptifm ot johnt, or 
 that of Repentance muft be abfolutely annulled 
 and rendered ufelefs to us Chriftians, who have at 
 all times maintained the Faith and Worfhip of the 
 true God as revealed by his Son Jefus Chrift. 
 
 Having now fufficiently explained the 1 qualifi- 
 cation required for John's Baptifm, which ivas 
 Repentance towards God, our next bufinefs is to in- 
 quire what is comprehended in the qualification 
 for that Baptifm which is properly Chriitian, viz: 
 Faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift ; and as the former 
 appears to confifl; only in renouncing and abjur- 
 ing thofe falfe and corrupt principles to which 
 thofe who became his difciples had been attached, 
 and that ufurped authority under which they had 
 been thereby fubjecled, there is good reafon to 
 prefume, that by the latter there is no more 
 meant and intended than to fubmit and yeild due 
 allegiance to the government of Chriit, and to 
 maintain fidelity to him. The authority- with 
 Which our blefTed Lord was inverted for erecting 
 a fpiritual and divine government, in oppofition 
 to a fenfual and diabolical one, required this dif- 
 pofition, and it required no more from thofe who 
 would fubjecl themfelves to it ; for as Chriit was 
 commiffioned to make a new Revelation from 
 God, fo he gave full proof of his divine Com- 
 mifllon by performing a great number of fur- 
 prizing Miracles, fufficient to convince every 
 unprejudiced perfon of his authority to exercife a 
 legiflative and ruling power in the Kingdom and 
 Church of God •, and their conviction and belief 
 of this was all that was neceffary to their fub- 
 mifiion to his government ; and as the former 
 Baptifm fignified a renunciation of all other fpiri- 
 tual 
 
[ I2 9 ] 
 
 tual dominion-, that of Chrift muft evidently be 
 defigned to require and denote nothing dfe but a 
 ready fubjection to his divine authority. 
 
 But in confirmation of what is here aflumed 
 from the relation of the Baptifm of John to that 
 of Chrift, it may perhaps be thought neceffary 
 that fome account mould be given of pur blefiea 
 Lord's commifiion and undertaking to eftablifh 
 a Kingdom of a fpiritual and divine nature, arid 
 of the particular qualifications he required of thofe 
 whom he intended to admit as fubjecls and mem- 
 bers of it. The former of thefe demands requires 
 little evidence to be produced in anfwer to it, for 
 nothing is more plainly afferted in the writings of 
 the New Teftament, than the authority and de- 
 iign of Chrift to conftitute a regal dominion in 
 oppofition to that of Satan, which is there called 
 the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Heaven^ 
 in contradiftinction to that of the Devil and of 
 darknefs •, and the deft ruction of the latter is 
 there declared to be the intent and earned of the 
 eftablifhment of the former of them •, this is what 
 our bleffed Lord very plainly intimates to the un- 
 believing Pharifees. matthew xii. 28. If I caft 
 out Devils by the Spirit of God, then the King- 
 dom of God is come unto you. And it is the Apoftle 
 Paul's declaration, that it was the defign of God 
 the Father, in delivering men from the power of 
 darknefs, that they might be tranjlated into the 
 Kingdom of his dear Son. colos. i. 13. It would be 
 needlefs to bring together all thofe texts wherein 
 a fupreme royal authority is afcribed to our Lord, 
 it is fufficient to obferve that he himfelf afTerts his 
 right to this Kingdom, as appointed to him by his 
 Father, luke xxii. 29. and that he lays claim to 
 it in a folemn manner before the Roman. Gover- 
 nour, at the fame time profefilhg that his Kingdom 
 K -was 
 
[ *3° J 
 
 was not of this world, john xviii. 36, 37. Ic wa$ 
 a fpiricual Kingdom that Chriit was to eflabliihy 
 a Kingdom not founded on worldly policy, or 
 fupported by human power, but a dominion in- 
 tended to regulate the moral and religious temper 
 and conduct of mankind. 
 
 And not only did our bleiied Lord afTert-and 
 claim a right to this fpiritual dominion, but 
 proved his divine defignation to it by the Mi- 
 racles which he wrought, which are fufficient to 
 convince all unprejudiced perfons, that he was 
 lent from God with a Commiffion to adminifter 
 Government, and to give Laws, of a religious 
 nature, to the world ; to produce a conviction of 
 this is what he himfelf declares to be the intent of 
 performing thofe miraculous works. The Works, 
 fays he, / do in my Father* s Name hear witnefs of 
 me. jokn x. 25. v. 36. The Works which the Fa- 
 ther hq,th given me to finifh, the fame Works that I 
 do, bear witnefs of me, that the Father hath fent me. 
 And having thus eilablifhed his divine authority 
 by the Miracles of his life, and mod inconteftably 
 confirmed it by his Rcfurrettion from the dead, 
 our Lord, before his Afcenfion into Heaven to 
 take full poffeffion of his glorious throne, gave 
 a regal Commiffion to his Apoftles, or Minifters 
 of his Kingdom, to admit all who were capable 
 of becoming fubjects and members of it, in a 
 folemn manner, by Baptizing them in his Name \ 
 ihh Commiffion and the authority upon which 
 it is founded are both evidently contained in the 
 declaration by which Chrift infbituted the Bap- 
 tifmal Ordinance. All Power is given unto me in 
 Heaven and in Earth ', Go ye therefore and difciple all 
 Nations, Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the holy Ghojl : Teaching them 
 to obferve all things whatfoivet I have commanded 
 
 you-y 
 
[ >3* ] 
 you 5 and to, I am with you- alway, even unto the 
 •end of the world. Amen, matthew xxviii. i8 ? 
 19, 20. 
 
 Since the Baptifm then which our bleffed Lord 
 inftitqted was grounded upon his divine authority 
 and miffion, and was intended only to be a token 
 of fubjection to his government, the qualification 
 for this Baptifm it is plain can be no more than 
 a ready difpofition of mind to fubmit to his au- 
 thority, and to yeild a fincere and hearty alle- 
 giance and fidelity to him ; and this is what I ap- 
 prehend to be meant by that Faith which is re- 
 quired by Chrift and his Apoftles as a neceffary 
 difpofition to become fubiects of his Kingdom, and 
 to be admired into it by the Baptifmal Ordinance. 
 That this Faith could not comprehend a clear 
 and diftinct belief of all thofe doctrines which our 
 Lord intended to reveal, is manifeft from their 
 not being preached and difcovered till after a very 
 great multitude had been Baptized into the Faith 
 of Chrift -, for previous to the Baptifm of the Three 
 Thoufand, at the time of pouring fout the holy 
 Ghoft, the Apoftles themfelves it is plain knew 
 little if any thing of the peculiar doctrines which 
 our Lord was commiffioned to reveal, and could 
 not therefore inftruct others in the knowledge or 
 belief of them ; and all that thefe firft converts 
 were required to believe was, " That Jefus had 
 ** approved himfelf to be a Perfon authorized by 
 * 4 God to make known his Will to them, by the 
 " Miracles he wrought, particularly his railing 
 ** himfelf from the dead, from whence they 
 <f might with certainty know that God had made 
 " the fame Jefus both Lord and Cbriji." And as 
 this was a Faith fufficient to qualify them, and fo 
 great a number of them for Baptifm, it is abun- 
 dantly evident, that no more than fuch a Faith 
 K 2 can 
 
t *3 B ] 
 
 can be neceflary to entitle any others to a partici- 
 pation of this Ordinance ; or that all who have a 
 difpofition of mind to fubmit to the authority of 
 Chrift have a right to be admited into his King- 
 dom by that Baptifmal Right which he appoint- 
 ed for this purpofe. 
 
 But though this inftance. may, with great juf- 
 tice, be allowed as fufficient to determine the na- 
 ture of that Faith which is a proper qualification 
 for Chriftian Baptifm, it may not be thought un- 
 neceflary to inquire, what is comprehended in the 
 notion of that Faith which our Lord inculcated 
 in his Preaching, and what declaration thofe who 
 became his followers made of their Faith in him ; 
 and I am perfwaded that the iiricteft examination 
 can difcover nothing more to be contained in it, 
 than a perfwafion and confeffion that he was a 
 Perfon commiffioned by God with a legiflative 
 and governing authority in his Church ; and that 
 there were predictions of him under this charac- 
 ter contained in the Prophecies of the Old Tefta- 
 ment, m which he was diftinguifhed by the titles 
 of the Mejfiab, and the Son of God. The mention 
 of two or three texts will be deemed a fufficient 
 proof of this. 
 
 Thus when Nathaniel made this confeffion 
 of his Faith, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou 
 art the King of Ifrael, he of whom Mofes and the 
 Prophets did write. Jefus in his anfwer to him ac- 
 knowledges the fufficiency of this to make him a 
 difciple, and owns him as one who did truly be- 
 lieve in him. john i. 45- 50. In like manner 
 
 the declaration which our Lord made to the wo- 
 man of Samaria was no other, than that he was 
 the Meffiah. john iv. 26. And the report which 
 fhe made to her fellow-citizens of her conver- 
 fation with him concluded with a confeffion of 
 
 her 
 
[ i33 3 
 
 her apprehending him to be theChrijl. v. 29. And 
 when many of the Samaritans believed alfo, partly 
 on account of the teftimony of the woman, and 
 partly by reafon of what they themielves heard 
 from his own mouth, they made this profeffion of 
 their Faith, and this only. Now we believe and 
 know that this is indeed the Chriji, the Saviour of the 
 World, v. 42. It was a Faith of the fame kind 
 wirh this that was declared by thofe who were 
 cured of their feveral difeafes by our blefTed Lord, 
 as may be feen in many inftances, particularly 
 
 MATTHEW ix. 27, 28, 29. JOHN IX. 35, 38. 
 
 and mark x. 47 52. And that it was the de- 
 
 fign of thofe Miracles to beget fuch a Faith only, 
 is what the Apoftle john fully and plainly de- 
 clares, john xx. 30, 3 1 . Many other Signs truly 
 did Jefus — But thefe are written, that ye might be- 
 lieve that Jefus is the Chrifl, the Son of God. 
 
 I thall fubjoin but one inftance more of the 
 Faith and Confeffion which our Lord required of 
 his difciples, and this is a fundamental and de- 
 cifive one, and may be looked upon as a ftandard 
 fixed by him for the meafure of that Faith which 
 is neceflary and fufficient to entitle all perfons 
 whatfoever to an ad million into his Church and 
 Kingdom. The confeffion I have in view is that 
 which St. peter made in anfwer to our blefTed 
 Lord's demand of his difciples, Whom think ye 
 that I am ? And it was no other than this, Thou 
 art Chrijl, the Son of the living God. To which de- 
 claration Jefus anfwered and faid, Thou art Peter, 
 and upon this Rock I will build my Church. Mat- 
 thew xvi. 16, 17, 18. It has been made abun- 
 dantly evident by learned and ingenious writers, 
 that it was not St. peter's P erf on, though our 
 Lord alludes to the name which he had given 
 him probably upon this account, but the Rock, 
 K 2 the 
 
[ J 34 ] 
 
 the Confeffion which he made that he was tic 
 (Thrift *, one divinely commifiioned from God, 
 on which he determined to fix the foundation of 
 his fpiritua! dominion in the world, and which he 
 kid down as a proper qualification to be required 
 ot all thole who would become fubjects of it, and 
 be entitled to its priviledges and bieffings. 
 
 This text then may juftly be confidered as our 
 Lord's authoritative determination of the quali- 
 fying difpofition which he expe&ed in all thofe 
 who were to be admited into his Church by the 
 Baptifmal Ordinance •, and that no other qualifi- 
 cation than fuch a Faith, as was here profefled by 
 S(, peter, was required by the Apofcles from the 
 Converts to Chriflianity, may clearly be demon- 
 itrated by an examination of the feveral inftances 
 recorded in the acts, of fuch perfcns as were 
 Baptized with the Baptifm of Chrill", and or the 
 nature of that Faith which was required of and 
 profefled by them for that end ; and as thefe are 
 relations of fads, with all the material circum- 
 ftances attending them, a careful inquiry into 
 them muft put the matter out of ail doubt. 
 
 The Inftance of the Three Thoufand converted 
 by the Apoftle peter's firit Preaching, and their 
 
 con- 
 
 * There is here a mamfeft diftinclion to be cbferved be- 
 tween the Rock on which the Church was to be built, and the 
 Foundation which was to be laid on it, though both are called. 
 Foundation : the Rock was this Confeffion, but the Foundation of 
 the Church of Chrill: were thofe who firfl made this Confeffion ; 
 for thus the after difciples, or living f ones of this building, are 
 faid to be huiltufVn the Foundation of the Apoflles, and Prophets, 
 Jefs Cbriji being the chief corner -f one. EPH.ii. 20. And that 
 this is tlit fundamental doctrine on which the whole building 
 ofChrii'arnk, ,s to be railed, and that no other is fufficicnt or 
 cr necefTary, is ? ; 1 fo plainly aflerted by the ApofHePAUL. 
 i cor. iii. ii. Other Foundation can no titan lay then that is 
 laid,- 'which is Jejus Chrif. h)am o XfSof, fe[us tbeCbriJl. 
 
[ *35 ] 
 
 confequent Baptifm as a proof of the fufficiency 
 of a belief of the divine authority of Chrift,' as 
 a qualification for that Ordinance, has been al- 
 ready quoted, but this proof may, I think, 
 be further illuftrated and flrengthened by a re- 
 mark or two which this hiftorical relation offers 
 to our consideration. Nothing can be more ob- 
 vious to every impartial reader of St. peter's 
 difcourfe, than that the belief which he endeavour- 
 ed to inculcate upon his auditory, was the very 
 fame which he himfelf had before profefTed to our 
 blefTed Saviour, viz. That he was the MeJJiah^ a 
 Perfon who came from God with a regal autho- 
 rity and commiffion, one who had been foretold 
 by their own Prophets, and expected among them 
 under this character ; and one who had abundant- 
 ly juftified his pretenfions to this authority by the 
 Miracles which he had wrought, and efpecially 
 by that furprizing one of his raifing himfelf from 
 the Dead. It is needlefs to refer to the feveral 
 parts of St. peter's Sermon in which thefe 
 things are afTerted, becaufe the whole of it con- 
 tains nothing more than thefe afTertions inter- 
 fperfed with particular quotations of the Pro- 
 phecies, wherein thefe diftinguifhing characters 
 of the Median were foretold. 
 
 It is worthy obiervation alfo from this hiftory, 
 that St. peter had the preference given him to 
 all the reft of the Apoftles, in his being imploy- 
 ed to open the Gofpel Difpenfation ; there were 
 others of them who were not lefs dear to our 
 blefTed Lord upon fome account than St. peter 
 who had been guilty of a fhameful denial of him, 
 which we do not find any other of them to have 
 been charged with, and the reafon of this dif- 
 tinguifhing regard which was paid to him could 
 be no other than the Readinefs and Priority of his 
 K 4 acknow- 
 
[ 136 ] 
 
 acknowledgment of Jefus being the Chrift-, he 
 was the firft of the Apoflles who received and 
 believed in him under this character, and was 
 therefore commiffioned to be the firft Preacher of 
 that Faith, and to lay the Foundation of the 
 Church of Chrift which was to be built on it. 
 This priviledge was promifed to him by our 
 blefled Lord immediately upon his confefiing him 
 to be the Mefiiah, and in a way of a reward for 
 it i for as foon as peter had made this decla- 
 ration, Thou art Chrift, the Son of the living God, 
 and Chrift had declared his approbation of it as a 
 proper Foundation on which to build his Church, 
 he prefently adds, and I will give unto thee the Keys 
 of the Kingdom of Heaven, i. e. ' J appoint thee to 
 ' be the Perfon who fhall firft be imployed in the 
 ' ad million of fubjecls into that Spiritual Confti- 
 6 tution which I am about to eftablifh in the 
 ' world j inverting thee with the primary power 
 4 of Preaching the Gofpel of my Kingdom, and 
 * entering converts into my Church.' And this 
 priviledge was actually confered and the power ex- 
 ercifed in peter's admiting the Three Thoufand 
 Jews and Profelytes on the Day of Pentecofl, be- 
 fore mentioned, and by which the Kingdom of 
 Heaven was ojbened to the Jews \ and this Com- 
 mifiion was again executed in his granting the 
 primary admiffion of the Gentiles into the Church 
 to which he was called by a double vifion, as well 
 as by an exprefs command from God, in a way of 
 manifeft preference to all the reft of the Apoftles j 
 the vifions -both of peter and Cornelius, Pe- 
 ter's Preaching to him and his kinfmen and 
 near friends, which was accompanied with the 
 pouring down of the holy Ghoft upon all of 
 them in like manner as before on the Jews, and 
 
 was 
 
[ i37 ] 
 
 was immediately followed with their Baptifm, arc 
 all recorded in the Tenth Chapter of the acts. 
 
 I have only one remark more to make on this 
 hiftory of the firft converfion to Chriftianity, and 
 that is, that this was done in the prefence of all 
 the Apoftles, for we are told in the firft verfe of 
 the chapter, that they were all with one accord in 
 one Place; and verfe the fourth, that they were all 
 filled with the holy Ghofi -, from whence it is obvi- 
 ous to conclude, that this firft Preaching of St. 
 peter in order to qualify and difpofe perfons for 
 Baptifm, was intended as a pattern for every one 
 of them to follow in making converts, after they 
 were parted one from another in the feveral di- 
 ftricts of their travels, and they had ftrong encou- 
 ragement to purfue the fame method, from ob- 
 ferving what a great number of Souls were 
 brought into the Church of Chrift by this fingle 
 Sermon. 
 
 But let us now examine how far this example 
 of St. peter was imitated by the Apoftles, and 
 what that Faith was which was inculcated by their 
 Preaching in the feveral confequent converfions 
 made by them. We have a good number of thefe 
 recorded in the book of their Acts ; and I am per- 
 fwaded we fhall find, upon the ftricteft inquiry, 
 that in all the inftances there related the Preaching 
 was the fame, and the Faith required the fame as 
 in this firft Difcourfe •, but it will be necelfary to 
 confider them diftinctly. 
 
 The next account then we have of any converts 
 being made was alfo by the Miniftry of St. pe- 
 ter, and by a Preaching exadtly fimilar to his 
 foregoing Sermon ; for having ingaged the atten- 
 tion, and excited the wonder of a great multitude 
 of Jews, who were then aflembled together in the 
 Temple, by healing a lame man of his infirmity, 
 
 he 
 
[ >38 ] 
 
 he takes this occafion to declare unto them, that 
 the Miracle was wrought by a power derived from 
 Jefus, who had been lately crucified among them, 
 but whofe innocence and authority God had open- 
 ly vindicated, by raiftng him from the dead, where- 
 of they were witnejfes ; and that this was a fact they 
 had abundant reafon to give credit to, it being 
 foretold by Mofes, and all the Prophets from Samuel^ 
 andthofe that followed after , they themfelves being the 
 Children of the Prophets, and of the Covenant which 
 God made with their Fathers, faying unto Abraham, 
 in thy Seed Jhall all the Kingdoms of the Earth be 
 bleffed. See the whole of the third chapter of the 
 Acts. This was the fubftance of pete r's Preach- 
 ing, and we have an account of the Faith it pro- 
 duced in the fourth verfe of the fourth chapter. 
 Howbeit many of them that heard the word believed, 
 end the number of the men was about Five Thoufand. 
 Now what could this Faith be but that which was 
 inculcated in the word which peter had juft be- 
 fore delivered, viz. that Jefus was theCbrijl? 
 
 In the fifth chapter, at the fourteenth verfe, we 
 are told again, that Believers were added to the Lord, 
 multitudes both of men and women ; and that this 
 was effected by the Miracles which the Apoftles 
 wrought we learn from the twelfth verfe, and as 
 we have no account here of their Preaching, the 
 belief muft be fuch as arofe from the conviction 
 begotten by thofe miraculous works, which could 
 therefore be no other than that or the divine power 
 and authority of Jefus ; for this is what they after- 
 wards continued to preach and teach in the Temple, 
 and in every Hcufe, that Jefus was the Chrifi, Uo-tv 
 iov xpirov; as may be (een in the laft verfe of that 
 chapter. In the fixth chapter, after the hiPiory of 
 the inliitution of Deacons, and Stephen's being 
 cholen into that office, we are informed that the 
 
 numbtz 
 
[ i39 ] 
 
 number of difciples multiplied in Jerufolem greatfy, 
 and that a great company of the Priefts were obedient 
 to the Faith, ver. 7. and that this conviction was 
 produced chiefly by means of Stephen is plainly 
 intimated in the following verfes, where it is faid, 
 that he was full of Faith and of Power, that he did 
 great Wonders and Miracles among the People, and 
 that they were not able to refiji the Wifdom and the 
 Spirit by which he [pake -, but as there is here no 
 account of the fubject of his Preaching, the only 
 judgment we can form of it muft be taken from 
 what he laid in the fubfequent defence of himfelf 
 before the High Prieft and Council ; and in this 
 there are but two paffages which have any refe- 
 rence to our blefifed Lord, one of them is the pro- 
 phecy of moses, that God would raife up a Prophet 
 unto them of their Brethren, like unto himfelf. chap- 
 ter vii. ver. $j. the other is that in ver. 52. where- 
 in he declares, that all the fucceeding Prophets 
 had fhewed before of the coming of the Meffiah, (or 
 the jufl One, as he is here and elfe where called) of 
 whom they had been the Betrayers and Murtherers. 
 To which I (hall only add Stephen's declaration 
 after he had doled his difcourfe, Behold, fays he, 
 / fee the Heavens opened, and the Son of Man, or 
 Jefus, as it is in the foregoing verfe, ftanding at 
 the right hand of God. ver. $5, 56. Now all this 
 amounts to no more than that Jefus was foretold 
 as the Me Mi ah by all the Jewifh Prophets, and 
 was fully declared to be fuch by his being now a- 
 live after that he had been crucified and (lain by 
 them j or, which is the fame thing, that he was a 
 Perfon commiffioned by God to reveal his Will to 
 mankind, and impowered to make laws for the 
 government of their moral and religious con- 
 dud. 
 
 It 
 
[ Ho ] 
 
 It will eafily be obferved, that though all the 
 lad mentioned Converts are faid to have believed, 
 yet there is not any notice taken of their being 
 Baptized •, but as all the Apoftles knew this to be 
 an appointment of our blefled Lord, necefiary to 
 be obferved confequently to the Faith of every 
 one, and as it had been a fhort time before admi- 
 niftered by St. peter, and the reft of the Apo- 
 ftles, to Three Thoufand at once, there can be no 
 reafon to think that Baptifm was with-held from 
 any of thofe who are here declared to have believ- 
 ed : but in the next chapter we have fome very 
 clear and determinate narrations, which difcover 
 what the nature of that Preaching and that Faith 
 was by which converts were made, of their being 
 thereby intitled to Baptifm, and having it imme- 
 diately administered to them ; thefe converfions 
 were made by the miniftry of philip, not the A- 
 poftle, but the Evangelift of that name, and they 
 were made at Samaria, where but a few years be- 
 fore Jefus himfelf had convinced a great number 
 of his being the Meffiah ; on which account, as I 
 have already fhewn, they were declared to believe 
 in him, and this was a good preparation for their 
 imbracing the Faith of Chrift as inculcated in the 
 Preaching of philip, who declared no other doc- 
 trine to them than what our Lord had before de- 
 livered, viz. that he was the Chrift ; thus we are 
 told verfe the fifth, that he preached Chrift unto 
 them, iov Xpisoi; the Chrift, or Meffiah •, and verfe 
 the twelfth, that he preached the things concerning the 
 Kingdom of Gvd, and the Name of Jefus. i. e. he 
 declared to them the glad tidings of the opening 
 of the Gofpel Difpenfation, and the authority (for 
 fo Name may be fhewn to fignify in feveral places ) 
 of Jefus, as being the fuprcme Head and Legif- 
 lator in it j and to convince them that he was ac- 
 
 tually 
 
[ 14' 1 
 
 tuallypoflfeiTed of this fovereign dominion, philip 
 wrought many Miracles by the power which he de- 
 rived from him, in confequence of which they 
 not only attended to the things which were fpoken 
 by philip, but believed them, and were according- 
 ly Baptized, both Men and Women. 
 
 But amongft thefe Samaritan converts there 
 was one whofe cafe deferves a particular conside- 
 ration, this was simon magus, a perfon who pre- 
 tended to iupernatural powers, and had deluded 
 the people into a perfwafion of his being pof- 
 fefTed of them. This man, when he faw the fur- 
 prizing Miracles wrought by philip, we are told, 
 believed, and was Baptized, together with the reft : 
 foon after this the Apoftles at Jerufalem, hearing 
 that the Samaritans had received the Faith of 
 Chrifl, fent peter and john to confer on them 
 the gift of the holy Ghoft. The beftowing thefe 
 miraculous powers, by laying on the hands of the 
 Apoftles, being feen by simon, and perhaps ha- 
 ving the fame gifts communicated to himfeif, noc 
 being content herewith, but being defirous of ha- 
 ving the fame power with the Apoftles, of con- 
 fering thofe gifts on whomfoever he mould think 
 proper, he offers them money to prevail with them 
 to convey this power to him. This offer was re- 
 jected with the greateft indignation by the Apo- 
 ftles, and he was reprimanded in a very fevere 
 manner by St. peter on account of it. Thy mo- 
 ney, fays he, perifh with thee, thou haft neither part 
 nor lot in this matter, and thy Heart is not right in 
 the fight of God -, for I perceive that thou art in the 
 Gall of Bitternefs, and in the Bonds of Iniquity, verfes 
 20,21 and 23. Here then we have an inftance 
 of a very wicked man believing in Chrift, fo far 
 as to intitle him to Baptifm, one who could have 
 no notion of the true intent and defign of Chri- 
 
 ftianity, 
 
t *42 ] 
 
 ftianity, and one who could have no Inclination to 
 comply with it had he known it, and yet this man 
 is fa id to have believed in Chrift, and was Baptized 
 jfequence of that belief. In what then did 
 his Faith confift ? Not in an afient to the divine 
 Lial doctrines which Chrift revealed, nor 
 i fadinefs to comply with thofe holy and 
 x>us laws which he inftituted, but only in a 
 conviction of the iuperior power and dignity of 
 our Lord, manifested by the Miracles which were 
 wrought in his name ; this was the Faith which 
 procured his adrnifTion into the Church of Chrift 
 by Baptifm, and this was the Faith which intitled 
 the other Samaritans to it, who heard the fame 
 Preaching, and were witnefles to the fame Miracles 
 with hi.ji. So that there was nothing more re- 
 quired of them than a perfwafion of .the divine 
 authority of Chrift in order to their being entered 
 as fubjects of his Kingdom by Baptifm. 
 
 But this chapter affords another relation of a 
 very eminent and illuftrious Convert to the Faith 
 of Chrift, a perfon of very high rank and exalted 
 flation in the world, for he was an Eunuch, of great 
 authority under Candace Queen of the Ethiopians, 
 being her chief treafurer ; and he was a perfon 
 who was no lefs diftinguifhed by a ready difpofi- 
 tion of foul to entertain divine difcoveries than 
 by his honourable advancement ; for we are told, 
 that he was a worjhiper of the true God, though at 
 the head of an heatheniih and idolatrous Court, 
 and was fo zealous for his honour, that he came 
 from a vail diftance to Jerufalem to pay him 
 that folemn fervice which he required. In his re- 
 turn from thence he imployed his time on the road 
 in an inquifitive ftudy of the Jewifh Prophets. 
 philip, by divine direction, was ordered to fall 
 in his way, and join himfelf to his chariot, and 
 
 he 
 
1 143] 
 
 he found him ingaged in reading the Prophecy of 
 Isaiah concerning Chrift •, upon which he in- 
 quired of him, whether he comprehended the 
 meaning of what he was then reading ? The Eunuch 
 ingenuoufly acknowledged his ignorance of it, and 
 that he knew not whether the Prophet /pake of him - 
 felf or fome other perf on. His declaring his doubt 
 affords philip an opportunity of (hewing him, 
 that the pafTage on which he was fo intent, was a 
 Prophecy that related to Jefus the Mefllah, and 
 particularly to his death, and that this had its ac- 
 complishment by our Lord's being but a little 
 while before crucified by the Jews. 
 
 The Eunuch appears to be immediately con- 
 vinced by philip's reafoning, that Jefus was this 
 extraordinary Perfon; and when they came to a 
 ftrcam of water, defired of him that he might be 
 Baptized, and entered into Chrift's Religion. 
 This requeft was immediately granted him, upon 
 his fole confeffion and declaration, / believe that 
 Jefus Chrifi is the Son of God, i. e. 'I am con- 
 * vinced that Jefus is a Perfon indowed with divine 
 ' authority, and the fame who was foretold by 
 c the Prophets under the character of the Mef- 
 c fiah'. This was the fubftance of the Eunuch's 
 Faith, and this was all which philip inftructed 
 him in ; for the pafTage 'here quoted from isaiah. 
 relates only to the death of Chrift, though there 
 are other parts of the fame chapter which have a 
 further view, in explaining of it therefore he could 
 only acquaint him, that the death and fufferings 
 of Chrift, which he muft have heard of before at 
 Jerufalem, were events necefTary to the accom- 
 plifhment of the Prophecy concerning him ; to 
 which he might probably add the evidence there 
 was for his being rifen from the dead ; and the 
 belief of this was fufficient to procure the Eunuch 
 
 an 
 
[ *44 ] 
 &n admiffiort into the Church of Chrift. by Baptifm : 
 for upon his demand, What doth hinder me to be 
 Baptized? philip faid unto him, If thou belicveji 
 with all thy Heart, thou may eft. Whereupon, de- 
 claring his belief that Jefus was the Chrift, they 
 went down both into the Water, and Philip Baptized 
 him. 
 
 The next Chapter contains the hiftory of the 
 mod extraordinary convention that perhaps was 
 ever made to the Chriftian Faith, it is that of 
 saul, a moft outrageous perfecutor of the difci- 
 ples of Jefus, afterwards named Paul, called to 
 be an Apoftle of Chrift, and diftinguifhed by a moft 
 zealous regard for his Religion, and the moft un- 
 fhaken refolution and unweariednefs in the pro- 
 moting of it ; and as his conduct, both before 
 and after his converfion, was of a very extraordi- 
 nary nature, fo the manner in which this was ef- 
 fected was very extraordinary and remarkable. 
 He was at that time going to Damafcus with a 
 Commifiion from the Jewifh High Prieft, to ap- 
 prehend all the followers of Chrift he could meet 
 with, and to bring them in Bends to Jerufalem. 
 When he was almoft arrived to the end of his 
 journey, both he and thofe that attended him were 
 iurprized by a light from Heaven exceedingly 
 bright and dazling, the luftre of which ftruck 
 ■him to the ground, and he heard a voice which 
 proceeded from this glory, faying, Saul, Saul, 
 why perfecuteft thou me? The aftonifhment he was 
 in, great as it muft be fuppofed to be, did not 
 hinder him from making this anfwer, Who art 
 thou, Lord ? To which he had this reply immedi« 
 ately made him, I am Jefus whom thou perfecuteft-, 
 it is hard for thee to kick againft the pricks, i. e. 
 « I am that divinely commiffioned Perfon whofe 
 * authority thou oppofeft, but it is in vain for 
 
 1 thee 
 
[ *45 ] 
 
 * thee to contend with me, for my power will be 
 ' to hard for thee, and, if thou perfifteth, will 
 
 * be exerted to thy utter confufion '. This amaz- 
 ing light, and thefe awful Words, in an inftant 
 fubdued the before relentlefs perfecuting fpirit of 
 St. paul, to a ready fubjection to the Faith and 
 Obedience of Chrift ; for, trembling and aftonim- 
 ed, he directly inquires, Lord, what wilt thou 
 have me to do ? Nor did he wait for an anfwer, for 
 the Lord faid unto him, Arife, and go into the City* 
 and it jhall be told thee what thou muji do. Upon 
 this being led into the City, for he was ftruck 
 blind by the dazling fplendor of the light, a dif- 
 ciple of Chrift refiding there, called ananias, 
 was directed by a vifion to give his attendance 
 upon paul, who had alfo a vifion to prepare him 
 for a compliance with the orders of ananias. Ori 
 his arrival he laid his Hands on him, miraculoufly 
 reftored his fight, and gave him a promife of his 
 receiving the holy Ghoft, upon which he forth' 
 with arofe, and was Baptized. 
 
 Here then it is manifeft there was no revela- 
 tion of the Doctrines and Rules of the Gofpel made 
 to St. paul previous to his Baptifm, but only a 
 convi£lion wrought in him of the divine authority 
 of Jefus, whofe Religion and Followers he had 
 perfecuted : to produce this Faith was the intent 
 of that heavenly light which ftruck him with a- 
 mazement to the earth, and for this end our Lord 
 appeared to him in a vifible and glorious form *, 
 that he might demonftrate to him the truth of his 
 
 L being 
 
 * That Jefus appeared perfonally to St. paul at this time 
 is evident from what is faid ver. ij and 27. of this chapter 
 hy ananias and barn abas, and from the account which 
 paul gives of his own converfion. acts xxii. 14. and 
 xxvi. 16. To which may be added what he declares to the 
 Corinthians. 1 coRiN.ix. 1. andxv, 8. 
 
[ i 4 6 ] 
 
 being rifen from the dead, and his being exalted 
 to the higheft dignity and dominion by the Fa- 
 ther ; but he difcovered nothing to him, not even 
 when St. paul with the greateft humility and fear 
 inquired, Lord., what wilt thcu have me to do ? Nor 
 did ananias give him any infrruclions when he 
 came to him, but only confirmed his Faith in the 
 divine authority of Chrift by miraculoufly reftor- 
 ing his fight, and immediately Baptized him. 
 acts xxii. 1 6. 
 
 Indeed, in St. Paul's defence of himfelf be- 
 fore king agrippa he mentions fome other 
 things as declared to him by the Lord at the time 
 of his converfion, but it was only this, that the 
 defign of his appearing to him was to qualify him 
 to be a Minifter and Witnefs to the Gentiles, for 
 the propagating his Religion amongft them ; nay, 
 the words directly fubjoined afford a plain proof 
 that there were many things yet referved to be re- 
 vealed to him afterwards, for it is added, Thou 
 JJjalt he a Witnefs of thofe things which thou haft feen^ 
 and of thofe things in which I will appear unto thee. 
 act's xxvi. 1 6. Upon the whole then, it is evi- 
 dent that this extraordinary Convert, this eminent 
 Apoftle, could have no higher knowledge of 
 Chrifc than that of his divine authority, nor con- 
 fequently any fuperior degree of Faith in him pre- 
 vious to his Baptifm. 
 
 1 cannot pafs over the remainder of this chap- 
 ter without taking notice of two accounts we 
 have, at the clofe of it, of a confiderable number 
 of perfons- who were converted to the Faith of 
 Chrift ; both of thefe conventions were made by the 
 miniftration of St. peter, and bothiof them by 
 Miracles which he wrought ; the firft of them was 
 his healing eneas who had kept his Bed Eight 
 2"e?.rs y fick of the Palfy ; the other was his railing 
 
 tabitha 
 
r H7 1 
 
 taritha to life, after fiie had been fome time 
 dead. — The confequence of the former of thefe 
 Miracles was, that all who dwelt at Lydda and Sa- 
 rcifi, and faw the perfon whofe ftrength was re- 
 fiored, turned unto the Lord ; and that of the later 
 was, that it was known throughout all Joppa, and 
 many believed in the Lord. See from the thirty- 
 third verfe to the end of the chapter. Now fince 
 we have no mention made of any Faith Preached 
 to thefe converts, the converfions muft be attri- 
 buted to the efficacy of the Miracles wrought ; 
 and it is plain that thefe could produce no other 
 Faith and Conviction than that of the divine pow- 
 er and authority of Chrifl, in whofe Name they 
 were performed. 
 
 The hiflory of St. peter's being fent to con- 
 vert the Gentiles, and admit them into the Church 
 of Chrifl, fills up the tenth chapter. I have al- 
 ready taken notice of the preference given to pe- 
 ter above the other Apoftles, in his being intrud- 
 ed with the power of the Keys, and his being 
 commiffioned to open the Church of Chrifl both 
 to Jews and Gentiles ; the manner in which he 
 executed this, with regard to the firft of them, 
 has been confidered above, and a view of the nar- 
 ration now before us will be fufficient to convince 
 us, that the admiffion of the Gentiles was per- 
 formed in the fame way, and by the fame means 9 
 as well as by the fame perfon. 
 
 It would be needlefs here to rehearfe the feveral 
 fleps by which the Apoftie and the devout con- 
 verts were brought together; thefe being of a mi- 
 raculous nature not only removed Peter's aver- 
 fion to communicate the Faith of Chrifl to the 
 Heathens, but prepared them for a ready enter- 
 tainment of thofe truths which he difcovered. To 
 the confideration of thefe I fhall therefore confine 
 L 2 myfelf, 
 
[ »48 ] 
 
 rnyfelf, and (hall only take notice of what he 
 Preached to them on this occafion. Of this we 
 have an account from the thirty- fixth to the forty- 
 fourth verfe, and the fubilancc of it is,- That Jefus 
 was the Chrift, and Lord of all •, that God was with 
 him ; that he was inverted with this divine autho- 
 rity by his being anointed with the holy Ghoft, and 
 having the Power of the Spirit of God confered 
 upon him •, that he had abundantly proved his be- 
 ing pofTeffed of this authority and power by the 
 miraculous cures which he performed, of which 
 he and the other Apoftles were witneffes •, that 
 after he had been crucified and Jlain by the Jews, 
 Godraifedhim up on the third Day , and foewed him 
 openly to a very confiderable number of witneffes, 
 who were ready to give an unquestionably faithful 
 testimony to the truth of it ; and that they, the 
 Apoftles, had received a Commandment from 
 God, to declare that the final judgment of all 
 mankind was commited to him. 
 
 Now all this is no more than an affertion and 
 proof of the divine CommifTion and Appointment 
 of Chrift to be fupreme Lord and head of the 
 Kingdom and Church of God ; and the Argu- 
 ments which the Apoftle makes ufe of for this end, 
 are the very fame with thofe which he had before 
 urged to the Jews at the firft converfion. Indeed, 
 the laft mentioned branch of our Lord's authority 
 here fpecified, viz. that ot his being ordained of 
 God to be the Judge of quick and dead, or his having 
 a judicial and remunerative power confered on 
 him, as well as a legiflative one, may be thought 
 to be fomewhat more than had been before de- 
 clared to any converts ; but I think this is alfo 
 fuppofed, wherever the kingly authority of Chrift 
 is afferted, as it is wherever he is declared to be 
 the Median 5 and it is plainly implied in what St. 
 
 PETER 
 
[ H9 ] 
 
 peter adds at the clofe of his firft Sermon, that 
 Chrift was exalted at the right band of God, and 
 was to fit there till he had made all his Foes his Foot- 
 jlool. This is what peter Preached unto the 
 Gentiles, and this Preaching produced in them 
 fuch a proper degree of Faith in Chrift, that the 
 holy Ghojl immediately fell on all that heard him. 
 This being an abundant proof of the validity of 
 their Faich, peter makes this demand of thofe 
 that accompanied him, Can any man forbid Water y 
 that thefe fhould not be Baptized, who have received 
 the holy Ghojl as well, and in the fame manner, as 
 we at our firfl converfion ? And then he directly 
 commands them to be Baptized in the Name of the 
 Lord. 
 
 The eleventh chapter contains but pne inftance 
 of an addition to the number of Believers which 
 was made at antioch, and it was effected by the 
 Preaching of fome difciples, who had fled from 
 Jerusalem on account of the Perfecution which 
 arofe about Stephen. 'After pafllng through 
 other places they arrived at antioch, and there 
 we are told they fpake unto the Grecians, Preaching 
 the Lord Jefus ; and that the Hand of the Lord was 
 with them, and a great number believed, and turned 
 unto the Lord. ver. 20, 21. The Faith here in- 
 culcated then was no other than that Jefus was the 
 Lord, and it was confered by Miracles wrought 
 by a power derived from him, infomuch as to 
 convince them' that Chrift was indowed with a 
 divine authority from Heaven. 
 
 There is no account in the following chapter of 
 any converts being made to the Chriftian Faith, 
 but the thirteenth affords feveral inftances of fuch. 
 The firft there mentioned is that of sergius pau- 
 lus, a man of high rank, being theT)eputy or 
 Proconful of the Ifland of Cyprus, who having 
 L 3 heard 
 
[ '5° ] 
 
 heard the extraordinary character and works of 
 Paul and Barnabas, and being a prudent man^ 
 «v«p avviros, a peribn of good underftanding and 
 difpofition, fent for them, and defired to hear the 
 ivord which they Preached -, in this they were op- 
 pofed by bar-jesus, zfalfe Prophet and a Sorcerer 9 
 on which account he was alio called elymas; bue 
 paul perceiving his endeavours to hinder the De- 
 puty from unbracing the Faith, determines, by 
 working a Miracle at once, to awaken the Sor- 
 cerer to a feni'c of his wickednds, and to convince 
 the Proconful that a divine power attended him. 
 Having therefore firft reprimanded elymas with 
 juft feverky, and threatened him with an awful 
 judgment, he immediately inflicts it on him, 
 ilriking him with blindnefs, fo that there fell on 
 h'm a Mi ft and Darkncfs, and he went about fe eking 
 fome to lead him by the Hand. This Miracle 
 wrought in the prefence of the Deputy had its pro- 
 per effect upon him j for when he faw what was 
 done, we are told he believed, being aftomfhed at the 
 Voclrine of the Lord -, (o that his Faith was plainly- 
 founded on the Miracle which had been wrought 
 before him, and confuted in nothing elfe but a 
 conviction, that Jefus whom paul Preached was 
 a Perfon divinely commiflioned from above -, and 
 this is all that is meant by the Doclrine of the Lord, 
 verfe the twelfth, as may be feen by comparing 
 acts v. 28. with the following verfes. 
 
 The next inflance of a Converfion recorded in 
 this chapter, was made at antioch in pisidia, 
 .where paul entering into the Synagogue on the Sab- 
 bath-Dry, was permited by the Rulers of it to 
 Preach the Faith of Chrift to the Congregation af- 
 fembled; and as this was made up chiefly of Jews 
 and religious profelytes, he begins his difcourfe 
 with a redisal of the gracious difpenfations of God 
 
 towards 
 
1 151 ] 
 
 towards them as his People. Having brought 
 down his account fo far as the Reign of david, 
 he takes occafion from thence to put them in mind 
 of the Promife which God had made by the Pro- 
 phets of a Prince defcended from him, whofe Go- 
 vernment fhould be of an everlafting duration ; 
 and then tells them that Jefus was this very Per- 
 fon, who upon that account was eminently called 
 the Son of David, and Meffiah the Prince : in proof 
 that Jefus was really this extraordinary Perfon, he 
 alledges the teflimony of john the Baptift, who 
 pofitively declared him to be fuch to the Jews ; 
 but notwithstanding this declaration, and the pre- 
 dictions which the Prophets had before delivered 
 concerning Chrift, they through ignorance fulfilled 
 them by puting him to death ; however, this did 
 not put a period to the authority of Jefus, but was 
 a means of eftablifhing it, for God raifed him from 
 the dead, of which there were many witneffes, who 
 afterwards faw and converfed with him ; and this 
 Refurrection of Chrift he tells them was alfo fore- 
 told and promifed, particularly to david, which 
 he proves from the fecond and (ixteenth Pfalm. 
 
 The Apoftle then appeals to them for the rea- 
 fonablenefs of their Faith in Chrift, and encou- 
 rages them to it, by afluring them that in confe- 
 quence of it, they would receive the forgivenefs of 
 their former Sins, and would be deemed righteous 
 before God in fuch a manner, as they could not 
 have been by their obfervance of the Law of Mofes ; 
 and then he concludes his Difcourfe with caution- 
 ing them againft fulfilling fome other Prophecies 
 by a wilful and obftinate unbelief. What the 
 effect of all this Difcourfe was we are told in the 
 fcrty-fecond and forty- third verfes, viz. That the 
 Gentiles befought that thefe words might be Preached 
 to them the next Sabbath-Day ; and that many of the 
 L 4 Jews 
 
[ '52 ] 
 
 Jews and religious Profelytes immediately followed 
 Paul and Barnabas. It is evident then, that the 
 whole of this fpeech of St. Paul has the very- 
 fame defign with thofe which were delivered by 
 peter in his feveral fuccefsful attempts to bring 
 over Converts to the Faith of Chrifb, and that the 
 belief inculcated herein is nothing elfe but that of 
 our Lord's divine Authority and Com million. 
 
 The only remaining Converfion related in this 
 chapter was the effect and confequence of the 
 foregoing Preaching, or at leaft a repetition of it, 
 in compliance with the requeft which the Gentiles 
 had made the preceding Sabbath ; and we are 
 told, that almojl the whole City affembled to hear it. 
 This was a fight extremely ofFenfive to the envious 
 Jews, and occasioned their contradicting St. paul 
 in a reproachful and opprobrious manner ; upon 
 which paul and barnabas were animated with a 
 fufficient degree of refolution to inform them, that 
 as by the appointment of God they had firft 
 Preached the Gofpel to them, but they by reject- 
 ing it had difcovered an indifpofednefs to partake 
 of that Eternal Life which it offered, they were now 
 determined to turn their views and labours to the 
 converfion of the Gentiles, to which they were 
 encouraged by a divine prediction and promile 
 of fuccefs : when the Gentiles heard this we are 
 told, they were glad, and expreffed their high ap- 
 probation of the words which had been fpoken to 
 them, and that as many of them as were difpofed to 
 receive the offers of Eternal Life, propofed in the 
 Gofpel, believed. So that as the Preaching was the 
 fame, their Faith mufl be the fame, as it was 
 fhewn to be in the foregoing inftance. 
 
 In the firft verfe of the fourteenth chapter we 
 are informed, that the ApofHe being removed to 
 iconium, went into the Synagogue of the Jews, 
 
 and 
 
1 153] 
 
 and lb fpake that a great multitude loth of the Jcz&s 
 and Greeks believed ; what the fubjeft of their 
 Preaching was is not mentioned ; whatever it was 
 we are acquainted in the third verfe, that the Lord 
 gave teftimony to it, and granted Signs and Wonders to 
 be dene by their hands •, from whence it appears that 
 their Preaching, as well as their Miracles, was in- 
 tended to beget a conviction of the divine power 
 and authority of Jefus, and that this was the whole 
 of the Faith wrought by them. At the twenty- 
 firft verfe of this chapter we are told, that the A- 
 ipofttes preached the Go/pel at derbe, and taught ', 
 of difcipled many, y-vMiivaxym mxvxs, making 
 fuch as were well difpofed difciples ; but on what 
 topicks they Preached is not faid, only that it was 
 the Gofpel, which in other places fignifies the glad 
 Tidings of the Meffiah, and Salvation by him. 
 This was what they taught, and this was what 
 thole who became difciples believed. 
 
 We have no further account of any addition to 
 the number of Believers in the remainder of this, 
 or in the next chapter, but the fixteenth fupplies 
 us with two inftances which deferve to be confider- 
 ed. The fir ft there recorded is that of lydia, an in- 
 habitant of Philip p 1, a worjhiper of the true God y 
 and a conftant attendant at a place appropriated to 
 that purpofe nigh to the City ; to this Profeucha 
 St. paul repaired with his Companions, and fpake 
 to the women who were affembled there ; lydia, 
 being one of the number, was greatly affected, 
 with St. Paul's Difcourfe, infomuch that he 
 thought her duely qualified to become a difciple of 
 Chrift, and accordingly admited her as fuch by 
 Baptizing both her and her Houfehold. Here we 
 have no account of the fubject of Paul's Preach- 
 ing, but the manner in which lydia's Conver- 
 fion is expreffed, clearly fhews that it confifted in 
 
 no 
 
[ »54 ] 
 
 no more than a readinefs of mind to receive in- 
 fur uction from the Apoflles, as the divinely com- 
 miffoned Servants of Chrift, whofe authority they 
 afferted, for it is faid, that the Lord opened her 
 Heart, that Jhe attended to the things which were 
 ffokm of Paul-, and that after her Baptifm, fhe re- 
 queued him to come unto her Houfe and abide there , 
 doubticfs with a view to receive further instructions 
 from him. Verfes 14 and 15. of this chapter. 
 
 The other Converfion related in this chapter is 
 that of the Jailer, to whofe cuftody paul and si- 
 las were commited by order of the Magistrates 
 of the City of philippi ; and it was effected in 
 this manner. At Midnight while they were praying 
 and fraifi-ig God, in the Prifon where they were con- 
 fined, there was fuddenly a great Earthquake, fo that 
 the Foundations of the Prifon were fnaken, the Doors 
 of it opened, and all the Prifoners Bands were loofed. 
 The Jailer being awakened by the concuffion, and 
 finding the Prijon Doors open, was about to kill 
 himfelf to avoid the confequences he apprehended 
 from fuch a difafter. This defign being difco- 
 vered by St. paul, he immediately interpofes to 
 prevent it, by informing him with a loud voice, 
 that the Prifoners were all fafe. The Jailer now 
 convinced that the whole affair was miraculous, 
 and knowing that paul and si las were commit- 
 ed to his cuftody, on account of their Preaching 
 the way of Salvation by Chrift, with great earneft- 
 nefs applied himfelf to them, faying, Sirs, what 
 fh all I do tobefaved? To which inquiry they di- 
 rectly anfwered, Believe in the Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 and thou jhalt be faved, and thy Houfe. And when 
 they had fpoken to them the Word of the Lord, the 
 fame Hour of the Night, we are told, that he and all 
 his were Baptized, and that he believed in the Lord 
 with all his Houfe. The Word of the Lord here 
 
 Preached, 
 
[ i5S ] 
 
 Preached was evidently no other than that which 
 is mentioned in the foregoing verfe, that the Lord 
 Jefus was the Chrijl, or a Perfon inverted with an 
 authoritative Commiffion from God ; and in this 
 ienfe the fame Phrafe is ufed acts x. 36, 37. xi. 
 1, 19, 20. This was all the Doctrine which the 
 Apoftle taught him, and this was all which he re- 
 quired him to believe, in order to his being admit- 
 ed into the Church of Chrift by the Baptiimal Or- 
 dinance. 
 
 The feventeenth chapter begins with an ac- 
 count of a great number of Converts to the Chri- 
 flian Faith made at thessalonica. Paul, accord- 
 ing to his ufual cuftom, entered into the Synagogue of 
 the Jews, which was in that City, and for three 
 fucceffive Sabbath-Bays reafonedwith them out of the 
 Scriptures of the Old Teftament, proving from 
 thence that it was appointed and foretold that the 
 Meffiah Jloould fuffer, or die, and rife again from 
 the Dead ; and that Jefus, in whom thefe Predic- 
 tions were known to be fulfilled, muft therefore be 
 the Cbriji. Some of the Jews who heard the Apo- 
 ftle's Preaching we are told believed, but a- much 
 greater number of the devout Greeks, among whom 
 there were many Women of Rank and Diftinction. 
 And what did they believe ? It mull be that, and 
 that only, which paul had been Preaching to 
 them , that Jefus was the Chrijl. 
 
 The Apoftle, with his companion silas. being 
 driven from thessalonica by a Perfecution raifed 
 through envy of the unbelieving Jews, traveled to 
 be re a, and there alio entered into the Jewifh Syna- 
 gogue, where it is evident that he Preached the fame 
 Word as he had before done at th e ssa lon 1 c a, viz. 
 that Jefus was the Meffiah prophecied of in their 
 Scriptures -, this doctrine we are told they received 
 with great readinefs of mind, and made a ftric~t 
 
 fearch 
 
[ i 5 6 ] 
 
 fearch into the facred Writings, carefully examin- 
 ing whether thofe things were fo fpoken of there, 
 as they had been reprefented by St. Paul ; upon 
 which we are informed that many of the Jews be- 
 lievedi befides a considerable number of Gentiles, 
 both men and women, who were perfons of note 
 and figure amongft them. So that here alfo their 
 Belief could include no more than what had been 
 inculcated by the Apoftle, and what by their own 
 frudy and examination of the Scriptures they were 
 convinced of, that Jefus was the Chrift. 
 
 The malice of the Jews not fuffering paul to 
 remain quiet at this place neither, he departed pri- 
 vately to Athens* a City whofe inhabitants were 
 renowned for their fuperior wifdom, but were not- 
 withstanding extremely given to Idolatry ; here 
 the Apoftle takes all opportunities for propa- 
 gating the Gofpel amongft them, Preaching to 
 them Jefus and the Refurrctlion, firft in the Jewifh 
 Synagogue, then in the Markets and other Places 
 of publick concourfe : while he was thus imployed 
 fome of the Epicurean and Stoick Philoiophers met 
 with him, and brought him before the AfTembly 
 of the Areopagites, a Court of fupreme authority 
 in the Athenian State. Here they required him to 
 declare, what that new Doctrine was which he had 
 Preached in the City •, paul taking occafion from 
 an Infcription which he had feen on an Altar there, 
 dedicated to the Unknown God, infinuates thence the 
 knowledge of the true God hitherto unknown to 
 them. This God he tells them is the Maker of 
 the World, and all things therein, the fupreme 
 Governor of Heaven and Earth, Immenfe as to 
 his Effence, univerfilly beneficent as to his Provi- 
 dence, but more efpecially diftinguifhed by the 
 endearing character of his being the Father of 
 Mankind s from hence the Apoitle (hews the'm 
 
 how 
 
t i'57 ] 
 how abfurd it was that fuch rational creatures, as are 
 the Offspring of God in a peculiar manner, mould 
 endeavour to reprefent him by Images of their own 
 Invention and Formation •, this he tells them was 
 the effect of their Ignorance, which God had indeed 
 hitherto let pafs without exemplary notice, but 
 henceforth all mankind were laid under the ftrongeft 
 obligation to repent of their former Idolatry and 
 Wickednefs, becaufe God had given a Commiffion 
 to his Son Jefus to call them to an account at the 
 final Judgment ; which authority he was fuffici- 
 ently proved to be poffeffed of, by his being raifed 
 from the Dead. 
 
 The firft part of this Difcourfe of the Apoftle, 
 as far as he inforces the belief of the only true 
 God, his Perfections and Providence, feems to 
 have been heard with attention and candour by 
 them ; but when they were told of the Refurrec- 
 tion of the Dead, fome of them, probably the E- 
 picureans, derided him ; others, who may be fup- 
 pofed to be of the Se£t of the Stoicks, faid, We will 
 hear thee again of this matter : but notwithftanding 
 St. Paul's arguments were received either with 
 fcorn or doubting by the Philofophers, they were 
 effectual to the producing of Faith in fome perfons 
 of eminence in that City, for we are told that cer- 
 tain Men clave unto him, and believed, among whom 
 was Dionyfms, one of the Judges of the fupreme 
 Court of Areopagus, and a Woman named Damaris, 
 and others with them. Now the nature of their 
 Faith may be eafily difcovered from the defign of 
 the Apoftles Preaching, which was to convince 
 them of the Perfections and Providence of the only 
 true God, the abfurdity of their idolatrous wor- 
 fhip, and then to lead them to an acknowledg- 
 ment of the divine authority of Chrift, in his de- 
 iignation to be the Lord and Judge of all Man- 
 kind j 
 
1 158 ] 
 
 kind •, i. e. to induce thern to believe in the only 
 true God, and in J ejus Chrijl when he had fent. 
 
 Some time after this we are informed, that; 
 paul departed from Athens and came to corinth ; 
 during his flay in this City, he Reafomd in the 
 Synagogue every Sabbath , perfzuadtng the Jews and the 
 Greeks that "J ejus was theChrift. Here again the Jews 
 were offended, arid oppofed him with opprobrious, 
 language, which obliged him to defift from Preach- 
 ing to them, and apply himfelf to the Converfion 
 of the Gentiles in that City ; with this intent paul 
 took up his refidence in the houfe of one Justus, 
 a devout Greek, where he became fuccefsful in 
 converting not only many of the Corinthians, but 
 with them crisp us alfo, the chief Ruler of the 
 Synagogue, who believed on the Lord with all his 
 Houfe, and were all Baptized. So that the Faith 
 of thefe Converts was this only, that Jefus was 
 Lord or Chrifi, for this was what paul teftified 
 in the Synagogue, and what the Corinthians 
 hearing believed. Compare verfes 4th and 5th 
 with the 7th of this chapter. 
 
 No other inftance of a Converfion occurs till 
 we come to the end of this 1 8 th chapter, and 
 this, if it was any thing more than a confirming 
 the difciples in the Faith, as feems to be intimated 
 in the 27th verfe, was made at corinth, where 
 paul had before converted many, and it was ef- 
 fected by the Miniftry of apollos ; this man was 
 by Nation a Jew, one of great eloquence and very 
 well verfed in the Scriptures of the Old Teftament, 
 herein he had clearly diicovered many Prophecies 
 of the MefTiah, and of his appearance about that 
 time, on account of which he had been Baptized 
 into the expectation of Chrift by John's Baptifm : 
 aquila and priscilla, who were Jewifh Con- 
 verts, meeting with him at ephesus, and hearing 
 
 him 
 
1 159] 
 
 him preach things concerning the coming of the 
 Meffiah, with great readinefs acquainted him 
 with his actual appearance, and that Jefus was 
 that very Perfon ; apollos being thoroughly con- 
 vinced of this left them to purfue the work of 
 Converfion there, and went himfelf to corinth, 
 where we are told, that he mightily convinced the 
 Jews, /hewing by the Scriptures, that Jefus was the 
 Chriji. This was the Faith which they either then 
 received or were eftabliihed in, that Jefus was a 
 Perfon endowed with divine authority, and the 
 very fame who was defcribed in their Scriptures 
 under the character of the Meffiah. 
 
 I know not whether what is mentioned in 
 the begining of the 19th chapter, concerning the 
 Twelve Difciples at ephesus, will be deemed a 
 frefh Converfion any more than that contained in 
 the foregoing account ; however, I think it de- 
 fer ves a brief examination. It is thus related. 
 "When paul, having paffed through other parts, 
 came to Ephefus and found fome difciples there, he 
 inquired of them, whether they had received the 
 holy Gtibfl, to which they anfwered, that they had 
 not heard of any gifts of the holy Ghoft being 
 confered on the difciple? The Apoftle with 
 fome furprize puts this further queflion to them, 
 Unto what then were ye Baptized ? And they faid unto 
 Johns Baptifm. Paul upon this difcovery de- 
 clares to them, that the Baptifm of john was 
 only a preparatory one, a Baptifm of Repentance 
 for their former errors and fins •, for at the fame 
 time that he baptized any, he exhorted them to a 
 Belief in a much fuperior Perfon who fhould come 
 after him, and this St. paul tells them was Jefus 
 who is the Chrift. When they heard this, we are 
 told, they were Baptized in the Name of the Lord 
 Jefus. It is probable that the perfons here fpoken 
 
 of 
 
of were inftructed by apollos while he was" at 
 ephesus, and knew only the Baptifm of John , they 
 are indeed called difcipies, but this is no other 
 title than what many were diftinguifhed by who 
 had been only Baptized with John's Baptifm; 
 and knew nothing of Jefus being the Chrift, as 
 may be feen in a great number of inftances in the 
 GoipeJ ; and this feems to be the cafe of the dif- 
 cipies at ephesus, for paul tells them, that it was 
 the defign of John's Preaching to lead his hearers 
 to a belief of the Mefliah, who was about to ap- 
 pear ; and then having convinced them, that 
 Jefus was the Chrift, he Baptizeth them in his 
 Name, and bellows on them the gifts of the holy 
 Ghoft ; fo that in this, as well as in the precede 
 ing cafes, all the Faith required, as necefTary to 
 Baptifm, was, that Jefus was the Chrift. 
 
 The Apoftle tarried at ephesus more than two 
 years after this, imploying great part of his time 
 in a laborious application to the making Converts 
 among them ; at the begining of his refidence 
 there, he went into the Synagogue of the. Jews and 
 /pake boldly, reafoning and perfwading the things 
 concerning the Kingdom of God : but here he met 
 with little fuccefs, for a great number of the Jews 
 were hardened and believed not* but fpake reproach- 
 fully of Chrift and his Religion before the Peo- 
 ple ; this obliged paul to leave them, and having 
 feparated the difcipies he had made from the un- 
 believers, he reafoned daily in a publick School 
 belonging to one tyrannus-, this gave both Jews 
 and Greeks an opportunity of hearing the Word 
 of the Lord Jefus, the truth of which was con- 
 firmed by many fpecial Miracles which God 
 wrought by the Apoftle's hands ; fo that by thefe 
 means a very considerable number of both thefe 
 forts of perfons were converted and believed, and 
 
 the 
 
[ Iff! ] 
 
 the word of God grew mightily and prevailed. 
 Now all that paul taught them was nothing elfe 
 but the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and 
 the Word of the Lord Jefus, which Phrafes have 
 been already (hewn to denote the divine Com- 
 mhTion and Authority of our bleffed Saviour. 
 
 The only remaining account in the Ads of the 
 Apoftles of any converts being made to the Faith 
 of Chrift, is contained in the laft chapter of this 
 hi (lory ; this was done at rome where paul 
 was brought a prifoner, but having leave to re- 
 fide in a houfe which he hired, a few days after 
 his arrival he called together the chief of the 
 Jews who were in that City, and having given 
 them a fhort relation of the occafion of his im- 
 prifonment, they requefted of him that he would 
 let them know what do6trine he taught, and whaG 
 were the tenets of his Seel which every where met 
 with fo much oppofition : having fixed a day for 
 this purpofe, a large number of Jews aflembled 
 at his lodging to hear what he had to fay, to 
 whom we are told he expounded and teflified the 
 'Kingdom of God, or the Meffiah, periwading them 
 to believe that Jefus was the Peribn, by argu- 
 ments taken from the Law of moses, a^nd the 
 fucceeding Prophets. The confequence of this 
 Preaching was, that fome believed the things which 
 were fpoken, and fome believed not. In this cafe 
 therefore it is plain, that all the Faith which the 
 Apoftle inculcated was that of Jefus being the 
 Chrift, which he made evident to many of them 
 by arguments drawn from their own Scriptures. 
 
 Thus I have carefully and impartially examin- 
 ed all the accounts I can meet with in the hiftory 
 of the Acts of the Apoftles of any perfons being 
 converted to the Chriftian Faith, and I believe 
 upon the niceft fcrutiny it will appear, that all 
 M the 
 
 f* 
 
■I I 
 
 [ 162] 
 
 the Faith to which they were converted, and by 
 which they were intided toxlie Name of Believers, 
 and to an Admiffion into the Chriftian Church by 
 Baptifm, was no more than a convi6lion of the 
 divine authority of the Lord Jefus ; this is what 
 the Apoftles Preached, what their hearers Believed, 
 and into this they were Baptized. 
 
 Perhaps it may be here faid, " That though 
 <c this is all that is recorded of the Apoftles 
 " Preaching, there can be no certain proof de- 
 " rived from hence, that they delivered no more 
 * c than this to thofe whom they endeavoured to 
 *' make converts of, for they might poflibly 
 
 V make further difcoveries of the Doctrines and 
 I s Duties of Chriftianity, which the concifenefs 
 " of the Apoftolick hiftory would not admit 
 " a relapion of; and there feems to be good 
 *< ground for fuch a fuppofition, from what is 
 « faid at the clofe of St. peter's firft Sermon, 
 " that with many other words he tejlified and ex- 
 
 V horted them, faying^ fa-ve your J "elves from this un- 
 " toward Generation. Now this may be the cafe 
 " in other Difcourfes of the Apoftles, and it muft 
 " therefore remain doubtful, whether a Faith in 
 «' the divine authority of Chrift was all that 
 " was demanded by them as a qualification for 
 " Baptifm." 
 
 To this I anfwfr* by allowing that the A- 
 poftles did give further inftrudtions to thofe 
 whom they converted, not indeed previous to 
 but confequent upon their Baptifm •, for accord- 
 ing to our blefTed Lord's Commiftion to his A- 
 poitles, they were firft to be initiated into his Re- 
 ligion by Baptifm, and afterwards to be taught 
 its diftinguifhing tenets and injunctions ; and the 
 Hiftorian's account of their proceeding evidently 
 difcovers this to be their practice, as in all his 
 
 relations 
 
[ * 6 3 ] 
 
 relations of the Converfions they made he men- 
 tions nothing more than their demanding a be- 
 lief in Chrift as a divine Teacher, and it mud be 
 abfurd to fuppofe that he mould omit any thing 
 neceffary to qualify them for an admiffion into the 
 Chriftian Church, at the fame time that he is 
 giving us a hiftory of thefe Converfions and the 
 methods by which they were made. All the 
 arguments indeed by which the Apoftles en- 
 deavoured to beget this Faith in their hearers 
 may not be related, but the Faith itfelf muft be 
 defcribed by this infpired Writer, otherwife his 
 narrations muft be exceedingly imperfect, if not 
 utterly impertinent. When St. peter therefore 
 is faid to have tefiified and exhorted his hearers with 
 many other words, it is plain they were only fuch 
 as were intended to fhew them the reafonablenefs 
 of their believing in Chrift, and the danger of 
 their rejecting him, and thereby bring them to a 
 fpeedy and effectual refolution to fave themfehes 
 from that perverfe and wicked Generation. The 
 Hiftorian's meaning is not that there were any 
 additional Doctrines, which he had omited to 
 mention, delivered to them, but only that they 
 were further perfwaded and exhorted by an awful 
 reprefentation of their wrerched and dangerous 
 ftate to imbrace that Faith which he had before 
 Preached as neceffary to their efcaping it, and 
 puting themfelves into the way of Salvation by 
 Chrift. 
 
 As there is no inftance then to be produced 
 wherein any thing more than a belief in the di- 
 vine authority of Chrift is required, as neceffary 
 to an admiffion into his Church, it is evident, 1 
 think, that this Faith alone is a fufficient qualifi- 
 cation for Chriftian Baptifm : had there been but 
 M 2 one 
 
 
[ i64) 
 
 one precedent of this kind which had no peculiar 
 circumftance attending it, I know not why it 
 would not have jullifted the ad million of others 
 upon the fame terms in all fimilar cafes •, how 
 much more then muft the concurrence of 
 all the inftances of Converfions which we have 
 any account of, in which there is no more than 
 fuch a Faith inculcated or demanded, be a de- 
 monftrative proof of its being not meerly fuf- 
 ficient for, but of its giving an abfolute title to 
 Baptifm ; for if a belief in the divine million of 
 Chrift was not a proper qualification for an ad- 
 miflion into his Church, the Apoftles mull be ex- 
 tremely faulty in their requiring nothing further, 
 but if they who were enlightened and directed by 
 the holy Spirit of God, in a diftinguilhing man- 
 ner, allowed its fufficiency for this end, it muft 
 be very great arrogance in others to demand any 
 thing further. 
 
 This then being the only qualification required 
 For Baptifm, let us next inquire, " With what 
 " view it was appointed, and what may be fup- 
 <e pofed to be included in it ". And I think no- 
 thing can be more evident than that the intent of 
 requiring this degree of Faith and no more was, 
 that thofe who embraced the Religion of Jefus 
 might be difpofed to entertain thofe Doctrines 
 and Laws which were delivered by him under 
 the fanclion of that divine authority which he 
 claimed and they acknowledged ; and where- 
 ever there was fuch a readinefs of mind, nothing 
 elfe could be necelTary to their admiftion into the 
 Kingdom and Church of Chrift, or to entitle them 
 to become his difciples and fubjects. - All there- 
 fore that is included in this Faith which quali- 
 fies for Baptifm can be only a proper difpofed- 
 
 nefs 
 
[ i65] 
 
 nefs of heart to afTent to the divine Truths and 
 obey the religious Precepts which our Saviour 
 promulged by Revelation from God. 
 
 The next inquiry we are led to is, " Who are 
 " the moil proper Subjects of Baptifm in thefe 
 *' later ages of the Gofpel Difpenfation ? " Now 
 befides thole few perfons who may chance to be 
 converted to Chriftianity from Judaifm, Maho- 
 metifm, or Heathenifm, I fuppofe it will be readi- 
 ly allowed, that the defcendants of Chriftians by 
 profeffion, who have themfelves been admited in- 
 to the Chriftian Covenant by this Ordinance, may 
 fairly be prefumed to have a due qualification 
 for it. The matter is without all doubt with 're- 
 gard to thofe who have received and firmly ad- 
 hered to a religious Education and Instruction 
 from their Parents, or others, in the Knowledge 
 and Faith of Chrift ; or fuch who have been 
 taught, and accordingly believe him to be a Per- 
 fon inverted with divine authority, whofe Doc- 
 trines they are for this reafon obliged to give 
 credit to, and whofe Laws they are bound to obey ; 
 for this has been fhewn to be all that was requir- 
 ed by the Apoftles of the firft Chriftians ; and 
 being in fuch a ftate, they muft not only be 
 deemed free from thofe prepofTefiions and pre- 
 judices againft the authority of Chrift, which the 
 primitive difciples were embaraffed with, but 
 their early attachment to him as their Lord and 
 Lawgiver (if no contrary principles be imbibed) 
 muft become fo firmly rooted as to be abundant- 
 ly productive of loyalty and obedience to him. 
 
 But it may be here faid, " That in the pre- 
 " fent age, wherein Infidelity, Scepticifm and 
 " Immorality have a growing prevalency, there 
 *' is great danger of unfteady Youth being alienat- 
 ** ed from the Faith of Chrift, prejudiced againft 
 M 3 *« his 
 
[ i66 ] 
 
 <; his authority, and indifpofed to his obedience, 
 " by the time that they arrive to ripenefs of un- 
 « 4 derftanding, and then may thereby be difqualU 
 " fied for the Baptifmal Inftitution. A vocal 
 " Profefiion of Faith in Chriit is not in itielr fuf- 
 " ficient for this pnrpofe, for in many cafes there 
 " may be reafon to doubt of the fmcerity of it, 
 " and much greater reafon now than in the times 
 ct of the ApciL'es, fince a variety of worldly views 
 •* and advantages now concur as inducements to 
 " perions to enter themfelves into the Church of 
 «' Chriit, all which in the firff. aees ran counter to 
 " the Profefiion of Chriitianity, as it could not 
 •' be then made without an expectation of many 
 " temporal lofles and fevere perfecutions on ac- 
 *' count of it. And if in thofe days, fuch as were 
 11 divinely infpired could be deceived and impofed 
 " upon as to the truth and reality of that Faith 
 te which was profefled to them, as they were in 
 " the cafe of simon magus, much more may the 
 *' prefent Adminiflrators of Baptifm be miftaken 
 " in the fincerity of thofe who offer themfelves as 
 " Candidates for that Ordinance ". 
 
 Now all this I am ready to allow, not only 
 with regard to thofe who are at this time convert- 
 ed from other Religions, but thofe alfo who have 
 been bred up from their Birth in Chriftian Na- 
 tions, and have not been initiated into the Church 
 of Chriit before their arrival to years of Maturity. 
 Without the knowledge of the heart, which is 
 the peculiar prerogative of the all-wife God, it is 
 impofiible that the molt penetrating and cautious 
 among the Minifters of Chrifl mould difcerri the 
 Principles and Ends which ingage perfons to offer 
 themfelves to Baptifm, and be certain that they 
 have fuch a readinels of mind to receive and com- 
 ply with thofe Rules and Inilructions of Chrift, as 
 
 is 
 
 
[ i6 7 ] 
 
 is made a neceflary qualification for partaking 
 of it. 
 
 The Baptifm of Adult Believers in Countries 
 where Christianity is eftabliihed by Law, and has 
 many temporal advantages annexed to the profef- 
 fion of it, mult therefore be administered with 
 great uncertainty whether the Subjects of it are fit 
 for its reception : but though there is fo great a 
 hazard in Baptizing thofe that are grown up to 
 ripenefs of understanding, without their having a 
 due meafure of Faith, or readinefs of mind to en- 
 tertain and comply with the Difcoveries and In- 
 junctions of Chrift, there are other Subjects of this 
 Ordinance of whom there is not the leaft room 
 to doubt that they are in all refpects qualified and 
 difpofed for it, and they are the Defcendants of 
 Chriflians, while they are in a ft ate of Infancy 
 and Childhood. Under the foregoing Propofition, 
 I think, I have fufficiently proved their right to 
 it, and wherever there is a title to a priviiedge 
 confered by God, there mud certainly be a proper 
 difpofednefs to partake of that priviiedge. The 
 qualification for Baptifm has now been (hewn to be 
 no more than a readinefs to receive thofe divine 
 Truths and Instructions which are revealed by 
 Chrift, and that Infants have this difpofition of 
 mind is what both Reafon and Revelation concur 
 in the proof of. 
 
 The dictates of Reafon as to this matter have 
 been already confidered under the firft Propofition, 
 and nothing I think can be more evident than 
 what is there afferted, that as they are intellectual 
 and moral creatures of God, and derive both their 
 Bodies and Spirits from him, they cannot be form- 
 ed by him with any difqualifications for thole reli- 
 gious purpofes for which they are by their nature 
 defigned, but mult have a proper difpofednefs to 
 M 4 ■ receive 
 
[ i68] 
 
 receive fuch divine InftrucYions as are neceffary to 
 form them to an holy and religious temper, and 
 enable them to anfwer the important ends of their 
 creation. A flight observation of the difpofition of 
 Infants will be fufficient to difcover in them fuch 
 a tendernefs and docility of mind as is the belt 
 foundation for Instruction and Difcipline; and it is 
 certain that they can have no prejudices to render 
 them averfe to entertaining and believing the great 
 Truths of the Gofpel when they are taught them ; 
 and that they are much eafier to be directed to 
 a conformity to its holy Precepts than grown per- 
 fons, who have more or lefs lived in a courfe of 
 fin and difobedience. Innocence, Humility, and 
 Teachablenefs, are the diftinguifhing Characler- 
 ifticks of their Infant- Age, thefe they are pofTeiTed 
 of in a much higher degree than any who are 
 more advanced in years, and thefe are the proper 
 difpofitions which qualify for Chriitian Baptifm. 
 What then mould hinder them from being Bap- 
 tized ? 
 
 This is what natural Reafon urges in favour of 
 the qualifications of Infants for Baptifm, and it is 
 abundantly confirmed by the account given of their 
 temper and difpofition in the Gofpel of Chrifr. ; 
 for proof of this I fhall only refer you to the de- 
 clarations of our Lord himfelf concerning the fit- 
 nefs of Children to be admited into his Church 
 and Kingdom in their early time of life, matthew 
 xix. 14. mark x. 14. and luke xviii. 16. Suffer 
 Little Children to come unto me, and forbid them not t 
 for of fuch is the Kingdom of Heaven, or the King- 
 dom cf God, tw ycf-p Toiwav sr» m (ZxeiX&u rav ovpavuv. 
 
 i. e. ' Thefe and fuch as thefe are the only proper 
 ' fubjecls of that fpiritual Kingdom which I am 
 ' about to eftablifh in the world \ and all who 
 * have like difpofitions with thofe Infants are duly 
 
 ■ qualified 
 
[ *6 9 ] 
 
 c qualified to become Members of my Church, 
 6 and can upon no other Terms be admited 
 6 into it'. 
 
 This is yet more fully afferted by our bleflcd Sa- 
 viour matthew xviii. i — 4. Upon occafion of 
 the difciples inquiry, who is the greatefb in the 
 Kingdom of Heaven, Jefus called a Little Child unto 
 him, and fet him in the midfi of them, and /aid, 
 Verily, 1 fay unto you, except ye be converted and be- 
 come as Little Children, yejhall not enter into the King- 
 dom of Heaven. Whofoever therefore Jhall bumble 
 himfelf, {Tairenvcomi £dvTov } fhall become fubmiflivc 
 and tradable, for the word has fometimes this 
 lignifkation) as this Little Child, the fame is great eft 
 in the Kingdom of Heaven, i. e. ' If you want to 
 ' know who have the beft qualifications for be- 
 6 coming my difciples and fubjects of my King- 
 c dom, look upon this Little Child, and behold in 
 
 * him a temper in all refpects fited for fubjection 
 6 to my Government, a difpofition which, unlefs 
 
 * you yourfelves are in a good degree converted to, 
 c you cannot poffibly be admited into my Church ; 
 
 * and whoever among you mall attain to an equal 
 e obfequioufnefs of mind with this Little Child, I 
 c will efteem him, and he will really be the mod 
 
 * deferving fubje<5t of that Kingdom which I 
 c eftabliuV. There is another text in which our 
 blefTed Lord repeats this affertion with no lefs pre- 
 cifion and energy, mark x. 15. luke xviii. 17. 
 Verily, I fay unto you, whofoever fhall not receive the 
 Kingdom of God as a Little Child, he fhall not enter 
 therein, i. e. • Allure yourfelves, that whofoever 
 c does not bring with him a mind alike harmlefs, 
 4 unprejudiced, and tradable with that of a Little 
 ' Child, is not fit, neither fhall be admited to 
 
 become one of my difciples, or a fubject of my 
 
 Kingdom 
 
 From 
 
[ 17° ] 
 
 From every one of thefe laft quoted texts it is 
 abundantly evident, that Infants have the moll 
 proper qualifications for an admiffion into the 
 Kingdom and Church of Chriit, for that this is 
 the meaning of the Phrafes, Kingdom of God, and 
 Kingdom , of Heaven, has been already fhewn, viz. 
 a dominion under Chriit commencing in Grace, 
 eitablifhed by Holinefs, and perfected in Glory ; 
 of this Government Infants are allowed to be pro- 
 per fubjects, of fuch it is declared to confift, they 
 are qualified to receive it, and none but fuch as 
 become like them in fimplicity and purity can be 
 admited into it •, this is what our biefied Saviour 
 declares of the qualifications of Little Ones for a re- 
 ception into his Kingdom; and of his readinefs to 
 receive them into it he gives a yet further proof, 
 by his taking them into his Anns, and Bleffing them, 
 thereby allowing them to be objects of his gracious 
 regard, and afferting their capacity to receive thofe 
 Influences, and be made partakers of thofe Privi- 
 ledges which belong to every true Member of the 
 Church of Chriit. 
 
 Should it be here faid, " That if it was the in- 
 *< tendon of our biefied Lord to declare the right 
 " and capacity of Infants for an admiffion into 
 " his Church by this token of his regard to them, 
 " it feems ftrange that he did not at the fame time 
 *f Baptize them; which, had he approved of their 
 " Baptifm, he might have done with as much 
 *' eaie as giving them his folemn Benediction ". 
 It will be a furficient anfwer, that Jefus did not 
 Baptize any, but his Difciples did it. john iv. 21. 
 Should the Queition be again put, " Why then 
 " did he not order his Difciples to Baptize them " ? 
 To this it may be replied, that they only Baptized 
 perfons with the Baptifm of Repentance as john 
 did, which thofe innocent Children, by our Sa- 
 viour's 
 
[ W 1 
 
 viour's own account of them, could have no need 
 pf ; but that the Baptifm which is truly Chriftkm, 
 was not ordained or practifed till it was inftituted 
 by our blefTed Saviour after his Refurrection, and 
 therefore no kind of Baptifm could pofiibly be ad- 
 ministered to Infants at the time when Chrift mani- 
 fefted thefe diftinguiihing favours to them. 
 
 I am apprehenfive it may be yet urged, " That 
 '" whatever deferving qualifications Infants are 
 " poffefled of, yet there is one which, by reafon 
 " of their want of underftanding, they muft be 
 " abfolutely incapacitated for, and that is Believing 
 " in Chrift, and this muft be indifpenfably necef- 
 " fary to Baptifm, becaufe it was required by him 
 * c as the condition of it, and was demanded by 
 ", the Apoftles from all, previous to their admi- 
 " niftration of it ". To this I anfwer, that Infants 
 have this qualification alfo in as high a degree 
 as is necefiary to their being Baptized, for they 
 have the fame difpofition of mind which was re- 
 quired by Chrift and his Apoftles in order to Bap- 
 tifm, and the very fame difpofition to which they 
 gave the denomination of Faith in him ; for they 
 have all that readinefs of mind to fubmit to the 
 authority, and receive the inftru&ions of our bleffed 
 Lord, which was ever demanded of any who were 
 Baptized into his Name and Religion. I may 
 therefore prefume to fay, that Infants do really 
 believe in Chrift ; and I fay it with confidence, be- 
 caufe our Lord himfelf hath faid it. matthew 
 xviii. 6. Whofoeoer fhall offend one of thefe Little Ones 
 who believe in me, it were better that a Millflone was 
 hanged about his neck, and that he was drowned in 
 the depth of the Sea. 
 
 It has not efcaped my obfervation, that this text 
 has been generally interpreted by the Learned as 
 only relating to fuch Adult Perfons who have like 
 
 difpofition s 
 
[ i;2 ] 
 
 difpofitions with Little Children, joined with a ca- 
 pacity of openly acknowledging Jefus to be the 
 Meffiah, or a Perfon inverted with divine authori- 
 ty ; but for what reafon its meaning mould be re- 
 trained to fuch, I cannot by any means difcern : 
 to me it feems abfurd, I fpeak it with all due de- 
 ference, to fuppofe that our Saviour mould give 
 the title of Little Ones to all who become his difciples, 
 or are qualified to be fo-, that he fhould derive this 
 appellation from thofe who were Little Ones as to 
 age •, that he mould own and diftinguifh them as 
 the moft worthy fubjecTs of his Kingdom, and 
 propoie them as a pattern for the imitation of 
 others, and yet mould immediately after give 
 fuch a defcription of his difciples, as muft necef- 
 farily exclude thofe Infants, whom he had before 
 acknowledged, from being of the number of them, 
 How incompatible muft fuch a conduct be to him, 
 who was the Wifdom of the Father, and who had 
 the Spirit of Wifdom without meafure ! 
 
 It has always been efteemed a felf-evident max- 
 im, that whatever is afTerted of the whole of any 
 kind of Beings, is afTerted of every part of that 
 whole •, the whole number of thofe who were qua- 
 lified to be the fubjecls of Chrift's Kingdom are 
 here characterized under the denomination of Little 
 Ones -, and fince it is afTerted of all in the general 
 that they believe in Chrift, it muft be aflerted of 
 every particular, not only of the Adult, but alfo 
 of Infants, to whom this appellation equally be- 
 longs. The human fpecies is ufually diftinguifhed 
 by the character of a rational and intelligent race 
 of animals, and mould it be faid by any, that 
 Young Children are not rational and intelligent crea- 
 tures, and confequently are not of the human fpe- 
 cies, becaufe they have not the full ufe of their 
 Reafon and Underftanding, fuch an afTertion would 
 
 certainly 
 
[ i73 ] 
 
 certainly be judged extremely ridiculous. The 
 cafe is the fame here, only the order is inverted, 
 Children of the human race are called Men, becauie 
 they have the faculties and growing capacities of 
 Men ; the Adult difciples of Chrift are called Little 
 Ones, becaufe they refemble them in good meafure 
 in the purity and teachablenefs of their difpofi- 
 tions, but whether older or younger they are Men 
 and Little Ones, on account of that Reafon and Faith 
 with which they are in a greater or lefs degree in- 
 dowed. 
 
 Infants have the capacity of Reafon and Faith 
 too, though not the compleat exercife of it ; and 
 indeed both Reafon and Faith are more incorrupt 
 and unprejudiced in them, than they are or can be 
 in any who have lived any confiderable time in a 
 fenfual and vicious world. Infants are therefore 
 Believers in Chrift in the pureft and moil genuine 
 manner •, i. e. they have the moll ready difpofition 
 of any to receive and comply with the inftru<ftions 
 of Chrift when communicated to them; and their 
 inability to declare this readinefs is no more a proof 
 of their being deftitute of it, than their inability to 
 difcover their rational faculties by rational ads and 
 exercifes is an argument of their being void of 
 intellectual capacities : nay, I will venture to fay, 
 that there is much ftronger evidence of Infants be- 
 ing pofieffed of a true Faith in Chrift, in that 
 fenfe wherein I have fhewn it to be neceffary to 
 Baptifm, than can poflibly be derived from the 
 moft open and moft exact profeffion of it. The 
 confeffion of the mouth is only intended to difcover 
 the belief and fincerity of the heart, and how far 
 this may be counterfeit Scripture inftances fuffici- 
 ently evince, but in the hearts of Infants there can 
 be no infincerity or deceit, and there is not the 
 leaft room to doubt of their being fully poffefled 
 
 of 
 
1 174] 
 
 of that Faith in Chrift, which he himfelf. who is 
 the iearcher of hearts, has declared to be in 
 them. 
 
 What has been here faid is no more than a fair 
 and rational deduction from what our Saviour has 
 afierted of Little Ones in general, and by confequence 
 of fuch as are fo in age, that they believe in him. 
 But it may be proper to examine whether this in- 
 terpretation be agreable to the fcope and defign 
 of our bleiTed Lord's Difcourfe on this head. It 
 was fhewn, when I quoted the words preceding 
 this text, that our Lord propofed Infants to his 
 difciples as patterns of thofe difpofitions which 
 were neceflary to qualify them to become fubjecls 
 of his Kingdom, and that he allowed them to be 
 the moil worthy of an ad million into it; now I 
 think it is highly probable that this declaration of 
 Chrift in favour of Infants railed a fpirit of jealoufy 
 and difguft in the difciples, they thought it hard 
 that thofe who had done nothing for him Ihould 
 be fo far prefered before them, who had given 
 fuch full proof of their fidelity to their Mafter ; 
 and this their antipathy to Infants difcovered itfelf 
 foon after very plainly, in their endeavours to pre- 
 vent the bringing of Little Children to our Lord for 
 his Bleffing ; the forefight of this, together with 
 his difcernment of the prefent working of their 
 fpirits, made it neceffary for him to lay in a cau- 
 tion againft this averfion which they had entertain- 
 ed to his Infant difciples* 
 
 Our Saviour therefore tells them verfe the fifth, 
 
 * That as he had before declared his fuperior ap- 
 4 probation of the difpofitions of Little Children, 
 
 * their regard to them alfo would be the beir evi- 
 e dence of their attachment to him, and that he 
 
 * fhould efteem their receiving of them to a par- 
 
 * ticipation of his favours, with the fame appro- 
 
 * barion 
 
t l 75 1 
 
 c bation as their receiving and acknowledging 
 6 himfelf '. On the other hand, he tells them, 
 verfe the fixth, * That mould they be initru mental 
 
 * in rejecting and debaring, * o? cT av cKea/fuMm, 
 ' thofe Infant favourites of his from his gracious 
 8 regard, of which they were moft worthy, they 
 ' would expofe themfelves to fuch vengeance from 
 
 * him, as would be exceeding more terrible than 
 ' the fevered of bodily punifhments \ Verfe the 
 feventh Chriffc tells them, ' That the corrupt and 
 ' felfifh difpofition of mankind would render in 
 ' unavoidable that offences muff come, or that 
 c many would be hindered from imbracing his 
 
 * Religion by means of the perverting infmuations 
 ' and examples of thofe who have an influence 
 ' over them, but that their cafe would be very 
 
 * dreadful who mould by any means be the au- 
 c thors and procurers of fuch oppofition to him, 
 < and to the inlargement of his Kingdom'. In 
 verfes 8 and 9. our Lord proceeds to warn 
 his difciples of their own danger of being per- 
 verted from their fidelity to him, and telis them, 
 
 * That if any mould endeavour to difTwade and 
 4 prejudice them againft yielding a due fubjection 
 4 to him, however clofely they might be connect - 
 ' ed with them, it was their duty to reject and 
 ' caft them off with the greateft abhorrence ; and 
 
 * if it behoved them to be fo cautious of their be- 
 « ing alienated from Chrift and his ways, he ac- 
 ' quaints them in the tenth verfe, that they 
 
 * ought much more to beware leaft they mould 
 
 * defpife, {y.arcLippovwm, be evil-minded towards) 
 ' any of thofe Little Ones, becaufe they are not only 
 
 ' highly 
 
 * The fenfe in which I take the word GKu.v£a.\ilw here, is 
 the very fame with that in which it is ufed in all other parts of 
 the New Teftament, viz. hindering any from being fubje£t to 
 the authority, or obedient to the injunctions of Chrift, 
 
[ 176 ] 
 
 < highly efleemed by him, but have moreover the 
 ' moft exalted of the inhabitants of Heaven al- 
 * ways refiding in the court of the moil high God, 
 ' as their moft zealous protectors to efpoufe their 
 ' caufe, and avenge any (lights or wrongs that 
 ' may be offered to them '. 
 
 It appears from hence, that the whole of our 
 Saviour's Difcourfe is directed againfb any offenfive 
 or contemptuous behaviour towards thofe whom 
 he was ready to receive as his difciples and fub- 
 jects ; and who were they whom the difciples 
 were in danger of defpifing and rejecting ? Not 
 fuch grown perfons as difcovered an inclination to 
 become Fellow-Chriftians with them, for it was 
 their imployment, and they feem to have been 
 very zealous and affiduous in it, to make converts 
 to Chrift, and they could therefore have no aver- 
 ilon to the receiving fuch converts ; but their op- 
 pofition was directed againft thofe Young Children 
 who were fo high in the efteem of our bleffedLord, 
 and whom they imagined he had injurioufly pre- 
 fered before them •, for this they are blamed, a- 
 gainft this they are cautioned by our Saviour, and 
 he does it for this reafon, becaufe they are fuch as 
 believe in him, and confequently have the beft dif- 
 pofitions for becoming his difciples and fubjects of 
 his Kingdom. 
 
 The Baptifm of Infants is therefore a Baptifm of 
 Believers, fuch as are fo with the greateft certain- 
 ty, and fuch as are fo in the higheft degree ; their 
 qualifications for Baptifm are propofed by Chrift 
 as moft excellent in themfelves, and worthy the 
 imitation of all others •, they have thefe qualificati- 
 ons in fuch perfection as is fcarce attainable by any 
 befides them, and there is ftronger evidence for 
 their being poflfefled of them than the Apoftles 
 themfelves could produce, though they had left 
 
 all 
 
[ l 77 ] 
 
 all to follow Chrift: in the prefent age therefore 
 wherein' a great concurrence of worldly advantages 
 confpires to induce perfons to imbrace the Chriftian 
 ProfeiTion, the higheft proof of Faith and Sincerity 
 which can be given by an adult profeflbr mufl 
 fall vaftly fhort of that which is to be found in the 
 Infant difciple. Infants therefore are not only the 
 beft fubjects of Baptifm, as they were allowed to 
 be by our blefled Lord at the time of his Miniftry, 
 but I may venture to fay, they are the only ones 
 in a Chriftian Country whofe qualification for it 
 is capable of full proofs for if our Lord judged 
 thofe whom he himfelf converted to be lefs worthy 
 of it than Infants, and if the firft Minifters of his 
 Church were deceived by a falfe profeffion of Faith 
 in any whom they admited to Baptifm, much more 
 may the prefent Adminiftrators of that Ordinance 
 admit perfons utterly unqualified for it, fince it is 
 poffible they may offer themfelves to it from cor- 
 rupt and unworthy principles, which it is impof- 
 iible for them to difcern. 
 
 Having finifhed the demonstrative part of this 
 Propolition, I fhall (hut it up with a brief but fe- 
 rious and tender Expostulation with thofe who re< 
 fufe or neglect to confer the Baptifmal Dedication 
 on their Infant Offspring -, and I would found my 
 Expostulation on that of our blefled Saviour, Suf- 
 fer Little Children to come unto me, and forbid them 
 not, for of fuch is the Kingdom of God. They have 
 the mod proper qualifications, as well as the molt 
 indifputable right, to be admited into the King- 
 dom and Church of Chrift, and will you not do 
 what is in your power, and what appears to be 
 your duty, to put them in pofTefiion of this privi- 
 ledge ? Will you wilfully exclude them from that 
 bleffing which he hath intended for them, and 
 which your regard for them requires you to con- 
 N vey 
 
vey to them ? Be allured that Chrift will highly 
 relent this contempt of his Grace and Authority,. 
 for if you offend, or hinder from a participation of 
 his favours, any of your Little Ones, it were better 
 that a Millftone was hanged about your Neck, and 
 that you were drowned in the Depth of the Sea. No 
 temporal punifhment you can expofe yourfelf to 
 will be equivalent to that which you will deferve, 
 by an exclufion of thofe Favourites of our Lord 
 from a mare in that Covenant to which he graci- 
 oufly admits them, by a rejection of that Ordi- 
 nance which is neceffary to give them a title to it. 
 I think you muft be convinced that thofe Off- 
 fprings of your bodies are extremely dear to Chrift, 
 and fited to become members of his myftical body, 
 and furely they ought to be equally dear to you ; 
 as their Advocate then, fuffer me to intreat and be- 
 feech you, that as you are the Parents of their 
 Flefh, you would alfo in this refpect become the 
 Fathers of their Spirits. If there be therefore any 
 Confolation in Chrijl, if any Comfort of Love, if any 
 Fellowfhip of the Spirit, if any Bowels and Mer- 
 cies, fulfil ye my Joy, in being like-minded towards 
 them. 
 
 r o« 
 
[ m ] 
 
 Proposition IV. 
 
 Inftruction in the Principles and obfervance of 
 the Duties of Chriftianity are indifpenfable at- 
 tendants of Baptifm, and are abfolutely ne- 
 cefiary to render the Subjects of it compleac 
 difciples of Chrift. 
 
 This Propofition is very plainly contained in 
 the words of the Baptifmal Commiffion. The two 
 effential requirements for making difciples there 
 mentioned are the Baptizing and Teaching of 
 them, Difciple all Nations,' Baptizing them, and 
 Teaching them to obferve all things whatfoever I have 
 ■commanded you. And as teaching is the confequenc 
 in the order of the words, it may fairly be pre- 
 iumed to be fo in the order of practice. It has 
 been fhewn, under the firft Propofition, that Bap- 
 tifm is the Initiating and Confecrating Ordinance 
 of Chriftianity, and that its primary intention is 
 to enter difciples into the School of Chrift ; and it 
 follows from hence, that its adminiftration muft 
 be previous to their participation of its priviledges 
 and their inftruction in its diftinguifhing Rudi- 
 ments and its fublime Myfteries. 
 
 An obfervation of the conduct of the Apoftles 
 will alfo be fufficient to convince us that Difcipline, 
 or Inftruffion, was intended not to go before, but 
 to fucceed Baptifm ; for every inftance produced 
 under the foregoing Propofition, as a proof of 
 their Preaching no other Doctrine as neceflary to 
 Baptifm than that of Faith in Jefus as the Chrift, 
 is alfo a proof that any thing more than this is at 
 leaft needlefs, if not altogether improper and un- 
 fcafonable ; for had they thought it proper and ne- 
 N 2 ceffar/" 
 
r 18a ] 
 
 celTary to i.iftruft thofe v.hom they endeavoured 
 to make converts of in the diftinguilhing Doc- 
 trines and Duties of Chriftianity, previous to their 
 admiiTion as fuch by Baptifm, we fhould certainly 
 have had fome intimations of it recorded in the 
 hiftories of the many converfions they made, and 
 the total filence of the Writer of their Acts is, I 
 think, an unanfwerable argument that they did 
 not convey any fuch inftructions to them. 
 
 But though we do not find the Apoftles com- 
 municating any fuch peculiar tenets of Chriftianity 
 to their converts before they were Baptized, there 
 is abundant evidence that they did it afterwards, 
 and it was abfolutely neceffary they mould ; the 
 nature of their office, as well as the Baptifmal 
 Commiflion, muft convince them of its neceffity, 
 and ingage them to it ; and we find, that after 
 they had made difciples in any City, they were far 
 from being negligent in giving them all due in- 
 (Iruclion in the knowledge of thofe divine Truths 
 with which they were inlightened by the Infpira- 
 tion of Chrift, and the Revelations of the holy 
 Spirit. Thus we are told that at antioch, when 
 a great number had believed and turned unto the 
 Lord, the Church at Jerufalem fent forth Barnabas 
 to Antioch, who exhorted them all, that with Purpofe 
 cf Heart they would cleave unto the Lord ; and hav- 
 ing afterwards found Paul, they affembled themfelves 
 a whole year with the Church, and the Difciples were 
 called Chriftians firfi at antioch. acts xi. 22 — 26. 
 deriving their appellation, probably, from their 
 early attainment of the mod compleat knowledge 
 of the Chriftian Doctrine. We have another in- 
 flance of the application of the Apoftle to the in- 
 ftru&ion of the difciples after their Baptifm, and 
 that was at rome, and at the time when he was a 
 prifoner there ; we are informed that there were 
 
 many 
 
[ i8i ] 
 
 many brethren or difciples there before his arrival, 
 who went forth to meet him, and that during his 
 abode at rome he dwelt a whole Tear in his own 
 hired Houfe, and received all that came unto him* 
 preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching thofe 
 things which concern the Lord Jefus Chrift, o\c/W*<yu 
 to. srspi t« ^ypj« i«<tk xp/rs. See ACTSxxviii. 15 and 
 21. I fhall add but one text more among many- 
 others which might be quoted to this purpofe, and 
 that contains St. paul's appeal to the Elders of the 
 Church at ephesus, that he had kept- back nothing 
 that was profitable to them, but had taught them both 
 publickly, and from Houfe to Houfe, and that he had 
 not f/ouned to declare unto them the whole. Counfel of 
 God. acts xx. 20 and 27. 
 
 It being evident then that the Apoftles were ve- 
 ry careful in instructing their converts in the Prin- 
 ciples and Laws of Chrift after their Baptifm, it 
 will be proper to inquire what thofe Laws and In- 
 junctions were which were inculcated by them on 
 his fervants and followers-, and this we may learn 
 from a consideration of the words contained in the 
 order for Baptifm, and alfo from a recollection of 
 what has been fhewn to be our Lord's defign in 
 constituting and eftablifhing his Church and King- 
 dom. By the words of Institution the Apoftles 
 were directed to teach thofe, whom they had made 
 difciples by Baptizing them, to obferve all things 
 whatfoever he had commanded them. The Com-" 
 mands of Chrift then delivered to them in the 
 courfe of his Preaching, muft be the principal fub- 
 J£&s of their Teaching and Instruction, the Funda- 
 mental Principles of his Religion ; and what thefe 
 are, as to their fcope and defign, may be judged 
 from the well known, intent of our Lord in feting 
 up his Church and Kingdom in the world, which 
 was the overthrowing the ufurped dominion and 
 N 3 power 
 
[ 182 ] 
 
 power of the Devil over it, for we are told that it 
 was for this Caufe that the Son of God was manifejlea\ 
 that he might deft roy the works of the Devil, i jo *& 
 iil . 8. And what the works of the Devil were, and 
 wherein his dominion and laws confided, the fame 
 verfe informs us, he that commiteth Sin is of the 
 Devil, for the Devil fineth from the Begining. The 
 conftitution of Satan's Kingdom then is that of 
 Impiety and Vice, that of Chrift muft therefore be 
 a confutation of Godlinefs and Holinefs ; and by 
 this character they are as widely difUnguifhed from 
 each other as light from darknefs, and the fub- 
 jects of them mull be of an equally contrary tem- 
 per and conduct:, for this is what the fame Apoftle 
 tells us in the tenth verfe, In this the Children of 
 God are manifeft and the Children of the Devil, who- 
 foever doth not Right eoufnefs is not of God, neither he 
 that loveth not his Brother. 
 
 And if we take a view of the Laws and Com- 
 mandments of our blefled Lord, as they were pro- 
 mulgated by him in his Preaching, we fhall find 
 them to be nothing elfe but a fyftem of the moil 
 fublime Piety, and the mod exalted Morality % 
 the love of God and the love of our neighbour are, 
 according to his account, comprehenfive of the 
 whole of our duty, mat the w xxii. 40. The only 
 condition which will intitle us to his favour, and a 
 participation of everlafting happinefs, is declared 
 by him to be an obfervance of thefe Precepts. 
 If thou wilt enter into Life, fays he, keep the Com- 
 mandments, matthew xix. 17. and it is reprefent- 
 ed as the grand intent of communicating his Gofc. 
 pd to men for their falvation, that denying ungodli- 
 nefs and worldly Lufts, they fJwuld livefoberly, right- 
 eov.fly, and godly in this prefent world, titus 
 ii. 12. 
 
 It 
 
1 183 ] 
 
 It would be a ncedlefs tafk to enumerate the 
 many Moral Precepts and Commands which we 
 find in the Gofpels ; it is fufficient to obferve, 
 that the Fear and Love of God, Truft in and Sub- 
 miflion to him, Honour and Worfhip manifefted 
 by humble Prayer, devout Praife and ferious at- 
 tendance upon his Inftitutions; Juflice and Mercy, 
 Fidelity and Truth, Meeknefs and Patience, So- 
 briety and Temperance, are the elTential and ne- 
 cefTary Duties required by Chrift of his followers. 
 The Laws of Virtue and Moral Goodnefs are 
 therefore the Laws of Chrift's Kingdom, thefe .are 
 what he commanded the Apoftles, and thefe are 
 what he injoined them to inculcate on all the con- 
 verts they made in confequence- of their Bap- 
 tifm. 
 
 And that thefe were the chief fubjects of the A- 
 poftles fubfequent Teaching, will appear from an 
 examination of the Epiftles they wrote to the 
 Churches they had founded, which befides adjuft- 
 ing fome particular matters which occafioned 
 doubts and difputes amongft them, do intirely 
 confift of Moral Precepts urged with great ftrength 
 and plainefs on thofe to whom they wrote ; thefe 
 may be feen throughout the whole body of fome 
 of the Epiftles, but are generally compacted toge- 
 ther in fhort but expreffive Aphorifms towards the 
 clofe of almoft all of them ; and they are for the 
 mod part inculcated on Principles purely Chri- 
 ftian, and are fhewn to arife from that relation in 
 which we ftand to Chrift, and to be indifpenfably 
 neceffary to our participation of his bleffings. 
 
 It cannot indeed be denied, that befides thofe Mo- 
 ral Virtues which are fo ftrictly injoined in the New 
 Teftament, there are matters alfo contained of a 
 fpeculative nature, and fuch as are required of us 
 as articles of that Faith, without which it is impojpble 
 N 4 to 
 
[ "84 ] 
 
 to pleafe God ; but upon a careful confideration 
 of them, we mall not find any there propofed as 
 matters of meer {peculation for the imployment 
 or entertainment of the understanding, but only 
 fuch as have an influence on the Will and Conduct, 
 fuch as are either fundamental to Religion, or 
 powerful helps and encouragements to virtuous 
 practice ; and thofe only can be Fundamental Doc- 
 trines of Chriftianity, which have a tendency to 
 promote Holinefs and Virtue in the hearts and lives 
 of the profefTors of it. 
 
 Some Doctrines there are which are neceffary 
 and Fundamental to all Religion whatsoever, fuch 
 as the Exiftence of God, the Univerfality and Mo- 
 rality of his Government, and t lie Effential Differ- 
 ence of Good and Evil, Virtue and Vice; there 
 are others which are Fundamental to Chriftianity, 
 as being abfolutely neceffary to fupport the fuppo- 
 fition of its truth, fuch as the divine Authority 
 of Chrifb as a Prophet and Lawgiver, a King 
 and Judge in his Church and Kingdom ; now thefe 
 are neceffary Fundamentals, and fuch as if taken 
 away unavoidably overthrow the whole of Reli- 
 gion, whether Natural or Chriftian. 
 
 But there are other Doctrines befides thefe which 
 are neceffary to be believed on account of that en- 
 couragement they give to the Practice of Piety and 
 Moral Goodnefs, and the more they contribute to 
 this, the more they deierve the character of Fun- 
 damental Doctrines of our holy Religion. Some 
 of thefe are fited to promote our reverence of 
 Chrift, and ourfubjection to his government, others 
 have a tendency to incite us to a chearful and per- 
 fevering obedience to his Laws and Command- 
 ments. Of the former fort are the Divinity of our 
 bleffed Lord, his eternal Exiftence and intimate 
 Union with the Father, his Refurreftion, by a di- 
 vine 
 
[ iS 5 ] 
 
 vine Power, from the Dead, his Afcenfion into 
 Heaven, and Exaltation to the molt fovereign 
 Glory and 'Dominion at the right hand of God, 
 and his appointment to the final Judgment and 
 Recompence of the whole world •, a due belief 
 and consideration of thefe it is evident cannot but 
 have a powerful influence on Chriftians in form- 
 ing them to a reverential awe of Chrift, and 
 humble dependance upon him, and are therefore 
 neceflary to be inculcated as a proper means of in- 
 forcing an obedience to his religious and moral 
 Precepts. 
 
 There are other Doctrines contained in the Gof- 
 pel which have a tendency to render our obfer- 
 vance of the Laws of Chrifl chearful and perfe- 
 vering, and muft therefore make a neceffary part 
 of thofe inftructions which are to be conveyed to 
 his difciples, and they are the Condefcenfion of 
 his Incarnation, the Holinefs and Exemplarinefs 
 of his Life, but above all, his humbling himfelf 
 even unto Death, and thereby becoming a Propi- 
 tiation for the fins of the whole world j for by the 
 Jaft of thefe he purchafed a Power of confering 
 the Forgivenefs of Sins on all that are truly peni- 
 tent, he obtained a new Covenant founded on the 
 gracious terms of a fincere though imperfect obe- 
 dience ; he procured the affiftance of the holy Spi- 
 rit to aid, ftrengthen, and comfort us in. our weak 
 and often ineffectual endeavours after Holinefs, and 
 acquired an authority to beftow an eternity of hap- 
 pinefs on all who believe in and obey him. 
 
 And what noble incitements are the laft men- 
 tioned Doctrines to a fteady and willing obedience 
 to the Laws of Chrift ? A firm belief and frequent 
 recollection of thefe is fufficient to remove every 
 diftreffing doubt and defponding folicitude which 
 would be a hinderance to our progrefs in the holy 
 
 and 
 
[ 186 ] 
 
 and divine life, and to be more than a balance a- 
 gainft the melancholy reflections on the frailty of 
 our nature, the ftrength of temptations, and the 
 difficulties attending a courfe of piety and virtue. 
 There is no need of a particular reference to the 
 feveral Scriptures on which thefe Doctrines are 
 founded, fince they are well known to all who 
 have a tolerable acquaintance with the Principles 
 of Chriftianity •, neither is there any necefficy of 
 proving that the promoting of Holinefs and Vir- 
 tue was the defign of their being revealed, fince 
 they are fo admirably and exactly calculated to fur- 
 ther that defign •, our chief care mould be, that 
 they be fo inculcated as to become moil inftru- 
 mental to the fervice of Religion and Virtue, for 
 then they will beft anfwer the end of Chrift in re- 
 vealing them to us. 
 
 Since therefore it appears that the Laws of Piety 
 and Virtue are the principal part of the Chriftian 
 Code, and that other things contained therein 
 were intended only to be fubfervient to thefe Laws, 
 it is eafy to determine which of thefe ought to have 
 the preference in the Teaching and Instructing of 
 Chrillians j for fu rely thofe Commands which our 
 Lord gave the Apoltles, and which he injoined 
 them to inculcate on others, muft have a clear 
 preheminence above any Doctrines or Rules which 
 are calculated only to be affifting to the obfervance 
 of thofe Moral Precepts. Inftruction in Morals 
 is therefore true Chriftian Inftruction, fuch as 
 Chrift himfelf ufed, and fuch as he commanded 
 his Apofries and Minifters to imitate and fucceed 
 him in. 
 
 It cannot have efcaped the obfervation of many 
 that Moral Inftruction, as well as Morality itfelf, 
 are held in great contempt by numbers of the 
 prefent age who call themfelves Chrijlians; and 
 
 that 
 
[ «*7l 
 
 that they ha- T e their place, too often fupplicd by 
 fenfelefs Rants, nice Speculations, or Points of 
 Doctrine which have not the leaf!: tendency to pro- 
 mote Chriftian Morality, but oftentimes a quite 
 contrary, by which means the end of Chrift in 
 publishing his Gofpel, and making difciples, is 
 defeated, and a wide breach opened for the ad- 
 miffion of a torrent of Impiety and Immorality ; 
 which, I fear, will one day or other overwhelm 
 the Land in utter deftruction : and I cannot but 
 think that a great part of that Wickednefs, De- 
 bauchery, and Impiety, which general obfervation 
 declares to have a growing prevalency amongft us, 
 takes its rife from a want of inftruction of perfons, 
 efpecially fuch as are of younger years, in the ex- 
 cellent Morals of the Gofpel. 
 
 With whatever fcoffing and derifion therefore 
 Moral Virtue may be treated by fome, fure I am 
 that it is in itfelf a qualification of the higheft ex- 
 cellency, and as it is inforced by the command of 
 Chrift, it is an abfolutely necefTary qualification 
 for becoming his difciples indeed, for obtaining an 
 intereft in his favour, and a title to that happi- 
 nefs which he has propofed for our attainment. 
 Morality is a necefTary part of the divine nature, 
 and of the image of God on the Soul, and thofe 
 defpifed Moral Virtues, when enobled by Chriftian 
 Views and Principles, become Divine and Chriftian 
 Graces, and are true genuine fruits of the Spirit ; 
 for the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Long- 
 fuffering, Gentlenefs, Faithfulnefs, Meeknefs, and 
 Temperance, gal at. v. 22, 23. 
 
 Having thus feen what the Subjects of that 
 Teaching are which Chrift injoins in confequence 
 of Baptifm, let us next inquire, " Who they are 
 " to whom this Teaching is commited, or who 
 * are appointed to be Instructors in the Chriftian 
 
 " Rtidi- 
 
[ i88 ] 
 
 " RLldiments. ,, If we again look back upon the 
 the words of the Commiflion, we fhail there find 
 very plain directions in this matter, for it is evi- 
 dent from thence, that the Charge of Teaching 
 belongs to the fame perions with that of Baptiz- 
 ing, they are both directed to the Apoftles who 
 received the Commiflion -, but neither of them ap- 
 pears to be confined to them, for both Baptifm 
 and Jnftruction were intruded to the care of all 
 the Minifters of the Church of Chrift, and were 
 appointed to be adminiftered in common by all 
 of them. 
 
 But there feems to be a fet of men whofe de- 
 fignation was originally appropriated to the work 
 of Teaching and Instructing the new converts to 
 Chriftianity, and they were the Prejbyters, or El- 
 ders of the Church ; it was for this purpofe chief- 
 ly, that the Apoftles ordained Elders in every City, 
 where a Church was planted, acts xiv. 23. ti- 
 tus i. 5. and it was a qualification required of 
 thofe faithful men, to whom the word of God 
 was commited, that they jhould be able to teach o~ 
 then alfo. 2 timothy ii. 2. And thofe Teachers 
 are in feveral places diftinguifhed from the A- 
 poftles, the Prophets, and Paftors of the Church, 
 with a view to the particular imployment they 
 were ingaged in. See 1 cor. xii. 28. eph. xv. ii. 
 Romans xii. 7. 
 
 As the Minifters of Chrift therefore have the 
 office of Baptizing commited to them, fo they 
 muft alfo have that of Teaching as their province; 
 not indeed that others are hereby excluded from 
 inftruciing Chriftians in the knowledge of that 
 Religion into which they have been Baptized, for 
 it is every man's duty to inftrucr. thofe with whom 
 he converfes in the great and important Truths of 
 the Gofpel, efpecially if he has been inftrumen- 
 
 tal 
 
[ i8 9 ] 
 
 tal in converting any of them from Infidelity ; 
 but this care is more ftrictly incumbent on thofe 
 to whom the Preaching of the Gofpel is commut- 
 ed, who ought to give themfelves continually to the 
 Minijiry of the Word, acts vi. 4. 'To preach the 
 Word, to be inftant in feafon, and out of feafon -, to 
 reprove, rebuke, exhort with all Long-fuffering and 
 DoElrine. 2 timothy iv. 2. 
 
 But it may be inquired, " Whether a fhare in 
 *' this office of Inftrudtion does not belong to 
 * c others as well as the Minifters of the Gofpel ?" 
 Doubtlefs a very great one. Every Head and 
 Matter of a Family is under a ftrong obligation 
 to inftrucl thofe who are fubjected to his authority 
 in Moral and Chriflian Duties, for the fake of his 
 own honour and comfort, and for the furthering 
 of the temporal and eternal intereft of thofe who 
 are dependant upon him. Parents efpecially are 
 utterly inexcufable if they are negligent in the re- 
 ligious Education of their Offspring ; they have 
 the bed opportunities, and the moft commanding 
 influence to enable them to carry on this impor- 
 tant work; their Children have a claim to their 
 utmoft diligence and care in the difcharge of this 
 duty to them •, and their own happinefs, which is 
 infeparable from the virtue and piety of their De- 
 fcendants, has an entire dependance upon their 
 fidelity in it. But, I hope, I have no need to 
 ufe many arguments to convince Matters and Pa- 
 rents, that the religious Instruction of their Fami- 
 lies is a duty to which they are indifpenfably 
 obliged- 
 
 This which I have lad infifted upon is an obli- 
 gation of nature, but the cultivation of Chriftian 
 Knowledge ought not to be left under the fole in- 
 fluence of that, there are ingagements and ttipu- 
 lations to be entered into by thofe to whom the 
 
 care 
 
[ *9° ] 
 
 care of religious Inftruction does properly belong, 
 and Baptifm was certainly intended to enter thofe 
 who offer any to a participation of that Ordinance 
 into fuch an ingagement, and to confirm it by a 
 folemn vow for that purpofe ; it was, doubtlefs, 
 for this reafon chiefly, that Sponfors or Sureties 
 in Baptifm took place in the firft: ages of the 
 Chriftian Church : there was a neceffity that all 
 who were Baptized mould be taught the impor- 
 tant Principles and Duties of Chriftianity, and 
 there was an equal neceffity, that this charge 
 Jhould be commited to fuch as were bell quali- 
 fied and difpofed for the execution of it ; and 
 who could be more ib than thofe who were either 
 inftrumental in the converfion of the Baptized 
 Converts, or where otherwife ingaged by friend- 
 fhip, affinity, or natural authority to apply them- 
 felves to it in the mod ferious and careful man- 
 ner ? Parents therefore, and Matters of Families 
 were, probably, the perfons who ufually bound 
 themfelves by folemn ilipulation in behalf of their 
 Offspring and Dependants. 
 
 There feems indeed to be another ufe of 
 Sureties and Sponfors in the Primitive Church, 
 which was to ingage for the ftedfaftnefs of the 
 new Converts, and to fecure them from the danger 
 of Apoftacy to which they had ftrong tempta- 
 tions, from the violence of Perfecution, and the 
 inticing allurements of the world and the flelh ^ 
 by thefe many were drawn off from that profef- 
 fion of Chriftianity which they had embraced, 
 and into which they had entered themfelves by 
 Baptifm ; and in both thefe views the appoint- 
 ment of Sureties muft be allowed to be an ufeful 
 and equitable inftitution ; and though in the later 
 of thefe refpecls there does not feem to be much 
 need of their continuance in the prefent age, yet 
 
 in 
 
[ J9 1 ] 
 
 in the former they are now equally necefTary, and 
 will continue to be fo in all ages of the Chri- 
 itian Church. 
 
 The continuance of thefe Sponfors to the pre- 
 fent time is therefore by no means to be con- 
 demned 5 the only Qiieftion which remains to be 
 decided is, " Who are the moil proper perfons 
 " to undertake this Stipulation and Suretimip for 
 «' the religious and moral Inftruclion of thofe 
 " who are Baptized ?" And as adult Converts 
 to the Faith of Chrift are now very rare, and 
 they are altogether unneceflary for thofe who have 
 been inftructed in the Knowledge of Chriftianity, 
 previously to their Baptifm, the inquiry will turn 
 entirely upon the fitnefs of the perfons who are to 
 bind themfelves by this engagement for the In- 
 flrudtion of Baptized Infants: and here, I think, 
 it muft be allowed, that the Parents of thofe In- 
 fants have generally the beft capacity and op- 
 portunity for their religious Inftrudtion ; their 
 authority over them, and conftant abode with 
 them, give them an advantage, fuperior to that 
 • of any others, for inftilling religious Knowledge 
 and moral Principles into their minds ♦, and there 
 is the flrongefl obligation in the world on thofe 
 to whom Children owe their beings, to be care- 
 ful to cultivate that Knowledge and Virtue in 
 their Children, which alone would render their 
 beings a blefling to them, by bringing them up in 
 the nurture and admonition of the Lord, unto whom 
 they are Baptized, eph. vi. 4. 
 
 But though Parents feem to have a natural 
 right to this office of inftructing their Baptized 
 Offspring, and on this account are moft fit to 
 take upon them the Baptifmal Vow for this pur- 
 pofe, yet there may be, and frequently are, cafea 
 wherein this charge may be more properly com- 
 
 mi ted 
 
[ I 9 2 ] 
 
 fnited to other pious Chriftians, who are difpofed 
 and qualified to undertake and difcharge it. Grofs 
 ignorance and irreclaimable wicked nefs are, alas, 
 too frequent and notorious in Parents to render 
 them proper Guardians for the religious Edu- 
 cation of their Children •, and as in the cafe of 
 civil Property beftowed on an Infant, if there be 
 a danger or probability of its being wafted by 
 the Parents, and not imployed for its ufe, Guar- 
 dians are appointed for him by publick authority, 
 fo when that Right which Children have to re- 
 ligious and moral Inftruction is in danger of 
 being with-held from them by the Fathers of 
 their Flefh, nothing can be more equitable than 
 that this truft fhould be commited to fuch pious 
 Godfathers and Godmothers as are ready to bind 
 themfelves by the moft folemn ingagements to be 
 faithful in the execution of it. 
 
 The retaining of Godfathers and Godmothers, 
 when viewed in this light, can therefore have no? 
 thing culpable in it ; and it would give me great 
 pleafure could I alfo obferve, that there is no- 
 thing culpable in the manner of thofe Sponfors , 
 taking upon them the folemn charge, and their 
 confequent fulfilling of it ; but as I have feen, fo 
 I cannot but declare with the deeped concern, 
 the trifling, the vain, the impertinent manner in 
 which this Service is commonly performed -, the 
 little regard which is paid to the moft folemn 
 ingagements, and, I may even fay, the profane 
 mockery too often difcoverable in entering into 
 them. How generally is it looked upon as a 
 matter of meer Form and Show, and intended 
 only to give the Child a Name, as they ufually 
 defcribe itj which, when they have done, they 
 reckon themfelves difcharged from all future Ob- 
 ligations to it, and are utterly regardlefs as to 
 
 fur- 
 
[ m ] 
 
 furthering their Improvement in Knowledge, or 
 their Eftablifhment in Virtue and Hplinefs. 
 
 Whether therefore the Parents become Sureties 
 for their Children, or others are taken in to fup- 
 ply their deficiency, let me intreat all who under- 
 take this Charge, that, as they value the welfare 
 of their Children, the happinefs of their Country, 
 and the prefervation and growth of Religion in 
 the world, all which do in great meafure depend 
 upon the right Education of the rifing Gene- 
 ration, that they would exert themielves to the 
 utmoft in inftructing their tender Pupils in the 
 knowledge of that excellent Religion into which 
 they were admited by Baptifm, and in engaging 
 them to a diligent and chearful obfervance of and 
 compliance with it. 
 
 I would only further recommend it to the Bap- 
 tifmal Sponfors, that they would make it their 
 principal care to inftil the Principles of Morality 
 and Virtue into the minds of their Infant Charge, 
 to kindle in their hearts a love to it and defire 
 after it, and to be always cautious that they do 
 not divert their attention to thofe great and 
 weighty matters of the Law, by puzzling their 
 heads with abflrufe Notions, and vain unprofita- 
 ble Speculations, to the great hinderance of their 
 progrefs in holinefs here, and hazard of their at- 
 taining happinefs hereafter. It is fuch a way of 
 Education, and fuch only, that can, by the blef- 
 fing of God, revive the greatly decayed and al- 
 moll: lofl interefl of real Religion ; fuch a way of 
 Education will afford the trueft comfort to every 
 pious and ferious perfon to whom the care of 
 Children is commited; and fuch a way of Edu- 
 cation is beft fited to fecure to thofe Young 
 Favourites of Chrift the continuance of his ten- 
 O der 
 
/ 
 
 t 194 ] 
 
 der regard to them, and to qualify them for 
 the injoyment of his glorious and everlafting. 
 Rewards. 
 
 I have now finilhed my Reflexions on the Du- 
 ties of thofe to whom the care of inftructing Bap- 
 tized chriftians is, or ought to be commited, 
 and am hence led to the confideration of the Du- 
 ties incumbent on the Baptized in confequence of 
 their Baptifm ; for as the former were appointed 
 by the Commifiion to Teach, it is manifeft that 
 the later are under an obligation to learn the 
 Principles and Laws of Christianity. Knowledge 
 is the foundation of all religious and virtuous 
 conduct, and without it neither heart nor life can 
 be good •, but it mud be allowed, that the know- 
 ledge which has a tendency to rectify the heart 
 and direct the conduct is preferable to all other 
 kinds of knowledge. No man can be the better 
 for that knowledge which has no fitnefs in it to 
 make him better, and the importance of all 
 knowledge mull be determined by its influence 
 On the religious and moral character of the per- 
 fon who attains it. 
 
 In our inquiries after Chriftian Knowledge 
 therefore, we fhould be directed by the tendency 
 of it to our improvement in holinefs •, curious 
 and fubtle fpecuiations ought to have little of 
 our regard, in comparifon with thofe Truths 
 which have a religious and moral influence on the 
 heart ; and the more they have of that, the more 
 they ought to be the fubject of our ftudy and con- 
 templation. - But it would be ufelefs to recapitu- 
 late here what was but juft now faid, about the 
 inftructions to be given in confequence of Bap- 
 tifm, fince whatever preheminence is there allow- 
 ed to any, fuch ought to have a diftinguhhing 
 
 regard 
 
t 195 ] 
 
 regard paid them by thofe who are inftructed, as 
 well as by thofe who are appointed to be In- 
 ftruclors. 
 
 But it is not fo much the knowledge as the ob- 
 fervance of the Laws and Duties of Chriftianity, 
 which Chrift inculcated in the Baptifmal Com- 
 miffion •, for when he commands his Apoftles to 
 teach his Difciples to obferve all things wbatfoever 
 he -commanded them, it is evidently fuppofed and 
 implied, that they were not only to learn but 
 to obferve and practice thofe things which were 
 taught them •, it is plain, that a man cannot be a 
 thorough difciple to any mafter without both 
 learning and complying with thofe rules in which 
 he is inftructed •, our blefled Lord puts this mat- 
 ter out of all doubt with regard to his own Dis- 
 ciples and Followers, for he fays to the believing 
 Jews, If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my 
 Difciples. john viii. 31. i.e. " If ye not only 
 ** believe, but practice thofe things in which I 
 " have inftrutfred you, then mail ye truly deferve 
 61 the Name of my Difciples and Followers/' 
 And again, john xv. 8, and 14. Chrift fays un- 
 to them, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear 
 much Fruit, fo pall ye be my Difciples j ye are my 
 Friends, if ye do wbatfoever I command you. i. e. 
 "This will be the beft proof that you are real 
 €i chriftians, by this you will give the greatefl 
 *' honour to God, and manifefl the trued friend- 
 " fhip to me, if your lives difcover the fincerity 
 " of your attachment to my fervice. " 
 
 This was plainly the great end and defign of 
 Baptifm, to fit and difpofe perfons for a. confor- 
 mity to that Religion into which they are Bap- 
 tized, by puting them into the School of Chrift, 
 and giving them the beft opportunities for in- 
 ftruction in his Laws ; and this the holy Scripture 
 O 2 declares 
 
[ 196 ] 
 
 declares to be the intent of Baptifm, for thus it 
 is faid, that we are buried with Chriji by Baptifm 
 into Death, with this view, that like as Chriji was 
 raifed up from the Dead, by the Glory of the Father, 
 even fo we alfo jhould walk in newnefs of life. Ro- 
 mans vi. 4. And that the Baptifm which javes us, 
 is not the puting away the filth of thefiefh by the 
 warning of water, but the anfwer of a good confcience 
 towards God. 1 peter iii. 21. And I think Bap- 
 tifm feems to lay an additional obligation on the 
 perfon Baptized, though it be done in Infancy, 
 to ufe the moft earned endeavours for the attain- 
 ment of the higheft perfection in holinefs and 
 virtue ; for as thofe who were circumcifed, all of 
 whom except new converts were Infants, became 
 Debtors thereby to do the whole Law of moses. 
 galt. v. 3. fo they that are Baptized become 
 thereby obliged to obey the whole Law of Chrift ; 
 for this reafon Baptifm is called the Wafhing of 
 Regeneration, becaufe the Baptized perfon is en- 
 tered thereby into a ftate of more perfect purity 
 and holinefs, cherifhed by divine Influences and 
 the renewing of the holy Ghofi. TiTusiii. 5. 
 
 And this obligation to fuperior degrees of ho* 
 linefs arifes from Baptifm chiefly, as it is a means 
 of puting thofe who are Baptized into a better ca- 
 pacity of knowing their duty, and affords greater 
 helps for the performance of it. Indeed I am 
 perfwaded, that it is common for perfons to look 
 upon Baptifm more as a Priviledge than as an 
 Obligation, and to value themfeives upon it as the 
 Jews did upon Circumcifion. phil. iii. 5. with- 
 out attending to or endeavouring to attain the 
 great end and defign of it; and it is even a 
 fhame to Chriftianity, to obferve how little dif- 
 ference there is between perfons Baptized amongft 
 us and thofe that are not ; but as Circumcifion only 
 
 profit- 
 
[ i97 ] 
 
 profiteth thofe that keep the Law, but if they he 
 breakers of the haw their Circumcifwn is made Un- 
 circumcifwn. Romans ii. 25. fo alio we are Cir* 
 cumcifed with the Circumcifwn made without hands, 
 only by means of puting off the Body of the Sins of 
 the Flefh, buried with him in Baptifm, which is the 
 Circumcifion of Chrift, or Chriftian Circumcifion. 
 coloss. ii- 11, 12. 
 
 Let this therefore be our principal care as many 
 of us as are Baptized into Chrift, that we put on Chrift, 
 galat. iii. 27. Let us be clothed with his Righ- 
 teoufnefs and bear his Image, for as that only is 
 true Circumcifion, which is that of the Heart, in the 
 Spirit, and not in the Letter, whofe Praife is not of 
 Men but of God. Romans ii. 29. So if we are 
 Baptized to any good end and purpofe, we muft 
 have our Hearts fpr inkle d from an evil Confcience, as 
 well as our Bodies wafhed with pure Water, hebr ews 
 x. 22. 
 
 Suffer me then to intreat all who are become 
 Members of the Church of Chrifl by Baptifm, to 
 behave and a<5t as fuch. You are chriftians, you 
 have by Baptifm acquired a right to that honour- 
 able name, and the only way to deferve it is to be 
 chriftians, not in Name and Profeffion only, but 
 in Deed and in Truth. Our holy Religion is of 
 the molt noble and excellent nature, it contains 
 the befl Morals and Rules of Life that were ever 
 laid down, and it propofes the rnoft cogent and 
 exalted motives to ingage us in the obfervation of 
 them; let us not then flight or neglect any of its 
 Inftitutions-, let all its divine Precepts be writen in 
 our hearts, and be religioufly obferved in our 
 lives ; and let us be always aiming after the higheft 
 perfection which our natures are capable of, and 
 which our Religion is admirably adapted to train 
 us up to the attainment of. 
 
 O 3 An 
 
[ '98 ] 
 
 And as Baptifm has a near connexion with that 
 other, and the only other Pofitive Inftitution of 
 Chriftianity, the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
 I cannot allow myfelf to conclude this Propofition 
 without urging a more general and regular obfer- 
 vance of it ; its near relation to, and clofe depen- 
 dance upon the Sacrament of Baptifm, mult ap- 
 pear evident to e^ery one who attentively confiders 
 their natures. ' By the later of thefe we are initiated 
 into the Chriftian Profeflibn, by the former we 
 publickly declare our free choice and approbation 
 of it ; by one we are admited Members of the 
 Church of Chrift, by the other we folernnly ac- 
 knowledge Chrift as our Head, and maintain 
 Communion with him and our Fellow-Members. 
 By one we are dedicated and confecrated to Chrift, 
 by the other we ratify and renew this Dedication 
 and Confecration ; and both thefe duties are of 
 equal obligation, they have the fame authority to 
 inforce them, and there are Commands equally 
 plain on which they are founded ; and I am per- 
 fwaded that the neglect of complying with this 
 Duty, and obfervance of this Inftitution, is one of 
 the principal occafions of the fcandalous mifcar- 
 liages of many who call themfelves chriftians. 
 Should I tell you, that if you do not partake of 
 this Ordinance you are no friends to Chrift, you 
 may think the charge too fevere, but I mould not 
 fay it if he himfell had not laid it, Te are my Friends? 
 if ye do whatfocver I command you ; the Command of 
 Chrift by which it is injoined is, I am fure, as. 
 plain as any in the Gofpel, to do this in Remem- 
 brance of him ; and to fhew forth his Death till he 
 come, i cor in. xi. 24 and 26. And what pretence 
 or claim can we have to the name or priviledges of 
 chriftians if we wilfully flight, as wilfully it muft 
 be, one of his moft plain and important Com- 
 mandments, 
 
[ *99 ] 
 
 mandments. I befeech all into whofe hands thefc 
 Sheets fhall fall, ferioufly to confider this ; for 
 though a confiderable number are admited into 
 Memberfhip with the Church by Baptifm, few, 
 very few, join themfelves to the Church by enter- 
 ing into its Communion ; and it would be my 
 great rejoicing to find, that for every one that was 
 Baptized, there was one added to the Church by a 
 full participation of its Ordinances. 
 
 Proposition V. • 
 
 There are many Bleflings and Priviledges pro- 
 mifed and communicated by Chrift to Bap* 
 tized chriftians, on account of their Bap- 
 tifm. 
 
 In my explication of the words of the Commit 
 fion for Baptifm, by way of Introduction to the 
 feveral Propofitions which I have endeavoured to 
 confirm, I obferved towards the clofe of it, that 
 the Promife contained in the laft Claufeis not con- 
 fined to the Apoftles of Chrift and their Succeflbrs 
 in the Miniftry, 'but is extended to all his faithful 
 followers, and comprehends in it bleflings of the 
 largeft extent and molt valuable worth. Lo, I am 
 with you alway, even unto the end of the world. 
 
 That this Promife could not be made good by 
 the perfonal abode of Chrift with chriftians upon 
 earth is evident and certain, for he was very foon 
 after this taken up into Heaven, and will not de- 
 fcend from thence till he comes to judge the world 
 at the final confummation of all things j it can 
 only therefore relate to Chrift's gracious prefence 
 with his difciples by his Spirit, and his conveying 
 of divine and faving Influences by that means. 
 O 4 This 
 
[ 200 ] 
 
 This was what our Lord promifed his Followers 
 before his crucifixion, I will pray the Father, and 
 he /hall give you an ether Comforter, that he may abide 
 with you for ever, john xiv. 16. And he afterwards 
 tells them who this Comforter is, and enumerates 
 fome of thoie advantages and bleffings they might 
 expect to derive from him. But the Comforter, 
 which is the holy Ghcfl, he fhall teach you all things \ 
 nnd bring all things to your Remember ance whatfoever 
 1 have fatd unto you, verfe 26. And this Pro- 
 mife was confirmed to them by Chrift in his Infti- 
 tution of Baptifm juft before his afcenfion into 
 Heaven, with a particular afiurance that it fhould 
 be in a very fhort time fulfilled, acts i. 5. And 
 we have an account that it was aceompliihed ac- 
 cordingly in a very furprizing manner on the day 
 of Pentecoft, by a defcent of the holy Ghoft on 
 the Apoftles, difcovering his prefence and abode 
 with them by the moft aftonifhing effects, and 
 moft miraculous operations. 
 
 This pouring out of the Spirit was intended in- 
 deed to enable the Apoftles and firft chriftians 
 more fuccefsfully to propagate the Religion of Je- 
 ms, but the gift of the holy Ghoft was not a privi- 
 ledge confined to the Apoftles, nor were thole mi- 
 raculous effects the only ones which were intended 
 to be communicated by this gift ; for all chriftians 
 have a prcmife equally to be relied on, that God 
 will give the holy Spirit to than that ajkhim. luke 
 xi. 1 J 3. And that this gift of the holy Spirit is 
 dependant upon, and an appendage to Baptifm, is 
 evident from its being fo clofely connected with it in 
 feveral texts of Scripture. Thus we are told john 
 iii. 5. that except a Man be born ofV/ater, and of the 
 Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. 
 Being born of the Spirit is here accounted a com- 
 mon and joint priviledge with that of being born 
 
 of 
 
[ 201 ] 
 
 of Water, or being Baptized, and has an imme- 
 diate connection with it ; and again, the Wafhing 
 of Regeneration, or Baptifm, is conjoined with the 
 renewing of the holy Ghoft, as infeparable one from 
 the other, titus iii. 5. and ephes. iv. 4, 5. 
 There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called 
 in one Hope of your Calling, one Lord, one Faith \ 
 one Baptifm. All thefe are reckoned up as the 
 joint participations of chriftians, and are all of 
 them connected with their Baptifm. Let me add 
 one text more to thefe, and that is the Apoftle's 
 application of the promife of God's Covenant to 
 all Baptized chriftians, and his afluring them of 
 the gift of the holy Ghoft in confequence of their 
 Baptifm. acts ii. 38, 39. Repent, and be Bap- 
 tized, every one of you, in the Name of Jefus Chrift, 
 for the Remiffion of Sins, and ye jhall receive the Gift 
 of the Holy Ghoft ; for the Promife is unto you, and 
 to your Children, and to all that are afar off, even to 
 as many as the Lord our God Jhall call. 
 
 In this laft text the remiffion of fins is fet before 
 the gift of the holy Ghoft, but this was the di- 
 ftinguifhing priviledge of John's Baptifm, which 
 ■was a Baptifm of Repentance for the remiffion of 
 fins, and as this was confidered under the firft Pro- 
 portion, where I treated that Point, I fhall now 
 confine myfelf to the other part, the gift of the ho- 
 ly Ghoft i and as this promife was made equally 
 to all chriftians as an appendage of their being Bap- 
 tized, let us inquire, ct What priviledges and blef- 
 " fings are contained therein ". And if we care- 
 fully examine what is faid of it in other places of 
 the New Teftament, we fhall find it to be com- 
 prehenfive of many great and valuable advantages. 
 That which is contained in the firft of thofe texts, 
 which were juft now quoted, is the bleffing or 
 grace of Regeneration, or being entered into a new 
 
 and 
 
[ 202 ] 
 
 and highly advantageous ftate of life by the influen- 
 ces of the holy Spirit. This is defcribed in other 
 Scriptures by the figurative reprefentations of put- 
 ing off the old Man, which is corrupt according to the 
 deceitful Lujis, and pitting on that new Man , which 
 after God is created in Right eoufnefs and true Holinefs. 
 ephes. iv. 22 and 24. And in this refpect chri- 
 ftians are called the Worhnanftoip of God, created in 
 Chrijt Jefus unto good Works, ephes. ii. 10. And 
 this new Man is faid to be renewed in Knowledge^ 
 after the Image of him that created him. coloss. iii. 
 10. This is ib great a change, that it is compared 
 to a tranflation out of a ftate of Darknefs into one 
 of Light, ephes. v. 8. a quickening from Death 
 to Life, ephes. ii. 1. 
 
 I would not have it fuppofed that I reprefent this 
 regenerating change as a phyfical and necefTary 
 effect of the Baptifmal warning, for I have no other 
 conception of it than that o'f a moral one, produced 
 by the influence of the holy Spirit given in confe- 
 quence of Baptifm, and wrought by a moral, 
 though for the mofb part an imperceptible energy ; 
 and being productive of fuch admirable effects, it 
 very well deferves to be defcribed by the figurative 
 reprefentation of a new Birth, by which the chri- 
 flian is begoten again from a ftate productive of 
 fin and mifery to one that has the greateft advan- 
 tage for the attainment of holinefs and happinefs, 
 and fuch as if he be not wanting to himfelf he will 
 certainly attain •, and furely this is a priviledge 
 of Baptifm highly worthy our efteem and grati- 
 tude. 
 
 But there are other blefTings attendant upon 
 Baptifm, arifing for the moft part from this Jaft: 
 mentioned one, which are powerful engagements 
 to the practice of it -, for by this Baptifmal Rege- 
 neration chriftians are admited into a new and gra- 
 cious 
 
[ 20 3 ] f 
 
 cious Difpenfation, vaftly fuperior to that of Na- 
 ture, or that or" the Jewifh (Economy, being 
 entered hereby into the New Covenant purchafed 
 and confirmed by Chrift, a Covenant of Grace, 
 granted upon eafier Terms, and eftablifhed upon 
 better Promifes, than the reft of mankind were 
 partakers of. Hebrews viii. 6. The Gentile 
 Nations were in a ftate of enmity to God, flaves to 
 Sin and Satan, and the Jewifh Difpenfation was a 
 ftate of fervitude and bondage to worldly elements 
 and carnal obfervances, but the Chriftian Difpen- 
 fation is a ftate of liberty, in which God is to be 
 worfhiped in a fpiritull manner; and fincerity is all 
 that is required in that and other duties, inftead of 
 an exacl and finlefs obfervance of them, for this is 
 the Covenant that I will make with the Houfe of 
 Jfrael, after thofe Days, faith the Lord, I will pit 
 my Laws into their Minds, and write them in their 
 Hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they fh all be 
 to me a People. Hebrews viii. 10. 
 
 There is another priviledge attendant upon Bap- 
 tifm, or that ftate of Regeneration into which we 
 are brought thereby, and that is our Adoption into 
 the family of God as his Sons. Before the coming 
 of Chrift the people of God had no higher cha- 
 racter than that of Servants, or at ieaft tit Children 
 under tutors and Governors, and on that account 
 nothing differing from Servants ; they were in Bondage 
 under the elements of the world, but when the 
 fullnefs of Time was come, Godfent forth his Son to 
 redeem them from this fervitude, that they might re- 
 ceive the Adoption of Sons, galat. i. i — 5. And 
 this Adoption or Sonfhip is the effect of the holy 
 Spirit given unto us in Baptifm, for as many as are 
 led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God^ as 
 the Apoftle tells us Romans viii. 14. and that this 
 Sonfhip has a direct depend ance upon our Baptifm 
 
 we 
 
[ 20 4 ] 
 
 we are alfo informed gal at. iii. 26. For ye are all 
 the Children of God by Faith in Chriji Jefus, for as 
 many of you as have been Baptized into Chriji, have' 
 put on Chriji. 
 
 And this priviledge of Adoption or Sonfhip has 
 another character connected infeparably with it, 
 which is that of Heirs, for if we are Children, then 
 we are Heirs, Heirs of God, and Joint -Heirs with 
 Jefus Chriji. Romans viii. 17. Which character is 
 alfo declared to be founded on our Baptifm, for 
 having put on Chriji thereby, as was jutl now ob- 
 ferved, the Apoftle adds in the next verfe but one, 
 if ye be Chriji* s, then are ye Abraham* s Seed, and Heirs 
 according to the Promife. gal at. iii. 29. And a 
 principal end of the Wafhing of Regeneration is faid 
 to be this, that being Jujiified by his Grace, we jhould 
 he made Heirs according to the Hope of Eternal Life. 
 titus iii. 7. 
 
 And not only are christians intitled by Baptifni 
 to the character of Heirs, but to that alfo of being 
 Joint -Heirs with Jefus Chriji. There is a very 
 near relation, a very clofe union betwixt our blef- 
 fed Lord and his followers, He is not afhamed to call 
 them Brethren. Hebrews ii. 11. and he only claims 
 this fuperiority, that he is their Elder Brother, and 
 the firjl-born among many Brethren. Romans viii. 
 29. And chriftians are not only thus nearly related 
 to (Thrift, but are alfo admited to a fpiritual union 
 with him •, he is our Head, and we are his Mem- 
 bers, for he is called the Head of the Body, the Church. 
 coloss. i. 18. The Head of the Church, and the Sa- 
 viour of the Body, ephes. v. 23. And we are faid to 
 be Members of his Body, of his Flefh, and his Bones. 
 verfe 30. And to this Head the whole Body being by 
 Joints and Bands united, has Nourifhment minijlered, 
 is knit together, and increafeth with the Increafe of 
 God. coloss. ii. 19. And that this near relation 
 
 ® t0 > 
 
f 2 o 5 ] 
 
 to, and intimate union with Chrift, arifes from our 
 being Baptized into him, is declared with equal 
 precifion and plainefs, for as the Body is one, and 
 hath many Members, fo alfo is Chrift -, for by one Spi- 
 rit we are all Baptized into one Body, whether we be 
 Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, i co- 
 rin. xii. 12, 13. And again, There is one Body and 
 cm Spirit, even as ye are called in one Hope of your Call- 
 ing, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptifm. ephes. iv. 
 
 4* 5- 
 
 Nor is this all, for as we are Joint-Heirs with 
 Chrijl, fo we are, together with him, Heirs of God, 
 Heirs to a Being infinitely fuperior to the moft opu- 
 lent and magnificent Princes on earth, and confe- 
 quently Heirs to the richeft and moft ineftimable 
 bleflings, even to a Crown of Glory, an Inheritance 
 incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 
 1 peter i. 4. and v. 4. And to this happinefs we 
 are begoten by Baptifm, for it is by the Wafoing of 
 
 Regeneration, and the renewing of the holy Ghojl 
 
 that we are made Heirs according to the Hope ofEter- 
 nalLife. titus iii. 5 — 7. And being hereby made 
 the Children of God, we fhall alfo be the Children of 
 the Refurreclion. luke xx. 36. A Refurrection from 
 aftate of death and corruption, to one of immortal 
 and unchangeable happinefs •, for as by Baptifm 
 we have been planted together in the likenefs of ChrifTs 
 Death, we Jh all alfo be in the likenefs of his Refur- 
 reclion. romans vi. 5. and fhall be glorified together 
 with him. Romans viii. 17. 
 
 And as we have the promife of Eternal Life 
 through Chrift, fo we have likewife an affurance 
 from him, that we fhall be made partakers of all 
 thofe Means and Helps which are proper to dif- 
 pofe and qualify us for the injoyment of it ; for 
 v this end it is that Chrift vouchfafes us the privi- 
 ledges of his Word and Ordinances ; his Gofpel is 
 
 the 
 
1.206 ] 
 
 the Power of God unto Salvation. Romans i. 16. And 
 the Grace of God manifefted herein bringeth Salva- 
 tion, titus ii. ii. It is therefore called the Word 
 of Life, philip. ii. 1 6. And this ingrafted Word 
 is declared to be able to fave our fouls, james i. 21. 
 By this Word alio, in concurrence with Baptifm 
 and the holy Spirit, we are laid to be juftined and 
 fanctified •, thus the Apoftle tells the ephesians, 
 that Chrift loved the Church, and gave him f elf for it, 
 that he might fanftify and cleanfe it, with the Wajhing 
 of 'Water, by the Word, ephes. v. 25, 26. 1 co- 
 rn n. vi. 11. Such were fome of you, but ye are wafoed, 
 but ye are fanJlified, but ye are jujiified, in the Name 
 cf the Lord Jefus, and by the Spirit ofouf'God. 
 
 Thefe are fome of the principal bleffings and 
 advantages promifed by Chrift in confequence of 
 Baptifm, and connected with it-, and as they are 
 no way restricted or appropriated to any particular' 
 perfons, but allowed to be common to all the Bap- 
 tized, I can fee no reafon why Infants, if they have 
 a right to Baptifm, and are capable of it, as I 
 hope I have proved, mould be denied a participa- 
 tion of any of thofe priviledges, or be deemed in- 
 capable of them -, certainly their all-wife Lord and 
 gracious Redeemer would not call them to Bap- 
 tifm, without conveying thofe bleffings to them 
 which he bellows on all others •, and for the fame 
 reafon it would be the moffc daring prefumption in 
 any to fay they have no capacity to receive them. 
 For what mould hinder their being born again into 
 a fpiritual and divine life by the Influences of the 
 holy Spirit ? What mould exclude them from a 
 fhare in the new Covenant procured by Chrift ? 
 W T hat is there in them to difqualify them from be- 
 coming the Sons and Children of God, any more 
 than their being made the Children of men ? Have 
 they any way forfeited the character of Heirs to 
 
 their 
 
[ 20 7 ] 
 
 their heavenly Father, or a title to the injoyment 
 of his heavenly Inheritance ? May not the holy 
 Spirit convey his fanctifying graces to them as well 
 as to thofe of riper years ? And may they not be 
 admited to a participation of the Word and Ordi- 
 nances of Chrift as foon as their age will put them 
 in a capacity for it ? No man, I am fure, ean an- 
 fwer thefe Queries in the negative, without 
 knowing more of the Mind and Will of Chrifl, 
 than he has any where revealed in his Gofpel ; nay, 
 I may even fay, without contradicting the general 
 fcope and tenor of it. Infants have nothing in their 
 difpofition and character to incapacitate them for 
 the reception of Grace, or the inheriting of Glory ; 
 but on the contrary, their Innocence and Humility 
 are the bed and moil fufficient qualifications for it j 
 and we may with certainty conclude, that their Fa- 
 ther in Heaven will not difcover fuch a partiality 
 in his dealings, as to deny thofe priviledges to In- 
 fants which he bellows on all others who are Bap- 
 tized into the Name of Chrifl, when there is no 
 poflibility of their having by any means forfeited 
 them. 
 
 But perhaps it maybe here faid, " That if thefe 
 •* Priviledges are confined to Baptized perfons fo 
 " as to be confered on no other, is not this an un- 
 *« warrantable limitation of the divine Goodnefs 
 *' which is univerfal, and boundlefsly communi- 
 *' cative ; and is it confident with the perfect wif- 
 <e dom of God, that he mould bellow his beft 
 •■ bleffings as a proper reward for fo low an act 
 V of Obedience as that of being Baptized '* ? 
 
 To this I anfwer. That I readily allow the Uni- 
 verfality and Diffufivenefs of the divine Goodnefs, 
 that God is good to all, that his tender mercies are 
 over all his works ; and that I am fully perfwaded 
 that no man will be a lofer, but an unfpeakable 
 
 gainer 
 
[ 208 ] 
 
 gainer by every thing which he does in obedience 
 to the divine Will, whether difcovered by Reafon 
 or Revelation ; and yet I am as fully perfwaded 
 that there are many bleffings which are Peculiari- 
 ties of Christianity, and which Chrift alone has 
 power to bellow, by virtue of that Authority and 
 Prerogative which he has received from the Father. 
 Chrift is the Mediator of the New Covenant, and 
 whatever priviledges there are belonging to that, 
 fuch can only be communicated by him. Now all 
 thefe fruits and rewards of Baptifm which I have 
 mentioned are peculiar to this Covenant of Grace, 
 to which this Ordinance is introductory, and for 
 that reafon can be conveyed to none but thofe who 
 are within the Bounds of it : the Church of Chrift 
 is his Kingdom, his Inheritance in a very appro- 
 priated manner, and it can be in no way a ftrange 
 fuppofition that he mould appropriate fome pecu- 
 liar immunities and priviledges to thole who enter 
 themfelves fubjefts of it ; fome meafuies of Grace, 
 and fome degrees of happinefs, are doubtlefs be- 
 llowed on all that are truly good, though they 
 are not interefted in Chrift as their Mediator and 
 Lord, and thefe may be of vaftly fuperior value to 
 any thing they have a proper claim and title to; 
 but that which is properly Gofpel Grace, muft be 
 the portion of thofe only who are profeflbrs of the 
 Gofpel, and the admiffion into that which is pecu- 
 liarly Chrift's Heavenly Kingdom can be granted 
 to fuch only as are fubjects of his Kingdom here on 
 Earth. 
 
 I would not have it apprehended that I fuppofe 
 all who are not admited into the Church of Chrift 
 by Baptifm, will be excluded from any fhare in a 
 heavenly happinefs, however innocent or virtuous 
 they have been ; for our Lord tells us, that in his 
 Fathers Houfe there are many Man/tons, john xiv. 2. 
 
 Manfions 
 
V. 
 
 [ 2°9 ] 
 
 Manfions fuited to the proficiency and advanced 
 ment of thofe for whom they are intended, but all 
 of them in a higher or lower degree Manfions of 
 Happinefs and Glory •, and certainly fuch of them 
 as are alloted to the faithful Followers of Chrifl 
 will be diftinguifhed by the mod refplendent glory, 
 and be flted for the injoyment of the mod fublime 
 happinefs, for this is what he intimates in the 
 words immediately following, / go to prepare a 
 Place for you. The Habitation intended for true 
 Chriftians in Heaven is of Chrift's own preparing 
 and building, he has raifed it, and he has fur- 
 nifhed it with all the materials of happinefs. 
 
 So that it is more than probable that there are 
 various degrees of happinefs in a future world, a- 
 dapted to the characters and difpofitions of the 
 truly wife and virtuous, though they are ftrangers 
 to Chrifl and his Religion; and even fuch who 
 have been born in Chriftian Nations, but have not 
 been entered into the Church of Chrifl by Bap- 
 tifm, if it has not been owing to their own wilful 
 neglect and contempt of that Ordinance, are un- 
 doubtedly intided to advancements in happinefs 
 equal to thofe of the virtuous Heathen*, but 
 whatever mercies either of them have a claim to, 
 it is plain they cannot be Covenant Mercies, be- 
 caufe they were never entered into it by Baptifm ; 
 and therefore it lays no reftriction on Chrift in his 
 bellowing fome better things on thofe who have a 
 right to thofe better Promifes on which the Cove- 
 nant of Grace is founded : and it would be an evi- 
 dent reftraint of the Grace of Chrift, a limiting 
 this holy one of Ifrael, to deny him the priviledge 
 of confering thofe peculiar favours, which he has 
 the power to give, on thofe who have behaved 
 themfelves as his faithful fubjects and fervants, 
 .and have been fieafafi in his Covenant; and as Eter- 
 
 P nat 
 
. [ 210 ] 
 
 nal Life is the Gift of God, only through J ejus Chrift 
 cur Lord, Romans vi. 23, it is manifeft that all 
 thofe priviledges and graces "which are preparatory 
 to, and qualifications for it, muft alfo be his gift, 
 and be bellowed on thofe who by profeffion of his 
 Religion are called by his Grace, and are Heirs of 
 the Kingdom. 
 
 But it muft not be imagined that thefe great and 
 glorious priviledges are the certain and unalienable 
 pofTeftion of all who are Baptized, for this mani- 
 fold Grace of God may be received in vain. 2 cor in. 
 vi. 1. We may rejiji the holy Ghofi, quench the Spi* 
 rit, and frujlrate the Grace of God •, and though we 
 have a promife left us of entering into Reft, we may 
 at laft come jhort of it. Our improvement and 
 edification by the Word, and our compliance with 
 the Influences of the holy Spirit, are neceflary to 
 our advancement in Holinefs, and a Meetnefs for the 
 inheritance 'of the faints in Light. We are there- 
 fore exhorted to give Diligence to make our- Calling 
 tind cur Eleclion fure. 2 peter i. 10. To walk 
 worthy of the Vocation wherewith we are called, e - 
 phes. iv. 1. To grow in Grace, and in the Knowledge 
 bf our Lord Jefus Chrift. 2 peter iii. 8. To be re- 
 newed in the Spirit of our Minds, ephes. iv. 23. 
 To add to our Faith, Virtue, Knowledge, Temperance, 
 Patience, Godlinefs, Brotherly Kindnefs, and Charity, 
 fSr fo an Entrance fhall be adminiftered to us abun- 
 dantly into the everlafting Kingdom of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jefus Chrift. 2 peter i. 5, 6, 7, and 11. 
 
 To conclude. Let all of us who make a pro- 
 fefiion of Chriftianity, and are admited into the 
 Kingdom and Church of Chrift by Baptifm, 
 efteem it our indifpenfable duty, our moft impor- 
 tant concern 3 to walk worthy of God, who-hath called 
 us unto his Kingdom and Glory. As many of us as 
 are Baptized into Chrift let us put on Chrift ; and as 
 
 we 
 
[211 ] 
 
 we have thereby received the Adoption of Sons fron> 
 God, let us labour to be conformed to the Image of 
 his Son, who is the firft-born among many brethren* 
 As we are partakers of Baptifm, let it be our 
 chief care that we comply with the End and Defign 
 of it; we are thereby begoten again in Chrift Je- 
 fus, and we have thepromife of his Spirit to main- 
 tain the life of God in our fouls ; but it mud be 
 our bufinefs alfo to cherifh thofe Principles which 
 are planted in our hearts, and to be continually 
 growing and improving in the chriftian life. We 
 are not real if we are not throughout Chriftians. 
 Let our whole conduct then be directed by the Pre- 
 cepts and the Example of our bleffed Saviour, 
 then fhall we be an Honour to that Religion which 
 we profefs, and our Light will fo fhine before Men, 
 that they feeing our good Works ^ will learn alfo to 
 glorify our heavenly Father* 
 
 THE END. 
 
'To be corrected* 
 Line. 
 
 1 6. for demanded r. demand. 
 
 •12. for MATTHEW X. r. MATTHEW XV. 
 
 for mown r. chofen. 
 23. for luke xiii. r. luke iii. 
 3. in the Note, for rov Xetpa. r. rm %«p#« 
 10. in the Note, r. and fuch as are. 
 5. for Right r. Rite, 
 dele and. 
 
 for 'ranre.vuaiAi r. rxTretvatrn. 
 for %yf>ns'T. Kt/pia. 
 
 for GALAT. i. r. GALAT. iv„