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 356 
 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM, 
 
 SET FORTH IN A SERIES OF 
 
 iHeftitatfon* 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS, 
 
 " Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace." Eph. iv. 3. 
 
 " For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all 
 the churches of the saints." 1 Cor. xiv. 33. 
 
 By OBADIAH, 
 
 LONDON: 
 SPETTIGUE AND FARRANCE, 
 
 67, CHANCERY LANE. 
 
 1847. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Christian Reader, 
 
 It is recorded, that Apollos, " an eloquent man, 
 mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man 
 was instructed in the way of the Lord ; and being fer- 
 vent in the Spirit, he spake and taught diligently the 
 things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of 
 John . . . Whom when Aquila and Priscilla heard, they 
 took him, and expounded unto him the way the of Lord 
 more perfectly." And may the Lord grant you the 
 like grace, that, as in these days there are many who 
 know only the baptism of John, you may know the way 
 of the Lord more perfectly, being baptized with one 
 Spirit into the one body ! Could we believe, if we did 
 not personally know it, that godly men, of one faith, 
 should refuse to hold communion together at the table 
 of the Lord 1 Now this schism in the one body has 
 made some persons, baptists, as well as others, to ques- 
 tion whether the one baptism is water baptism : and al- 
 though Dr. Gill states it is, yet there is such a discor- 
 dance in his commentary upon the subject of the bap- 
 tism of the Spirit (1 Cor. xii. 13), and the one baptism 
 in the parallel passage (Eph. iv. 5), that I request your 
 consideration thereof. The Doctor says — 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 13. Eph. iv. 5. 
 
 " For by* one Spirit we are *•' One baptism. There were 
 
 all baptized, &c. This is to be divers baptisms under the law, 
 
 understood not of water bap- but there is but one baptism 
 
 tism ; for the apostle says, not under the gospel ; for John's 
 
 in one and the same water, but and Christ's are the same. 
 
 by or in one Spirit, are we all There are, besides, figurative 
 
 baptized: the baptism of water, or metaphorical ones, which 
 
 and of the Spirit, are two dif- are so in an improper sense, 
 
 ferent things. (See Matt. iii. 2.) as the baptism of the Spirit 
 
 Besides, all that are baptized and the baptism of blood, or 
 
 * The Greek particle here rendered by, is the same as is ren- 
 dered with, in Matt. iii. 11 ; Mark i. 8 ; Luke iii. 16 ; Acts i. 12. 
 
iii 
 
 in water are not baptized in or of sufferings ; but tbere is but 
 
 by the Spirit, as the case of Si- one baptism, literally and pro- 
 
 mon Magus, and that of others, perly so called, which is water 
 
 shew : nor does water baptism baptism ; and which is to be 
 
 incorporate persons into the administered in one and the 
 
 church of Christ ; neither into same way, by immersion in 
 
 the iuvisible church, which is water," &c. 
 the body of Christ, and here 
 meant," &c. 
 
 You will observe, the Doctor admits that the 
 spiritual baptism in 1 Cor. xii. 13, is the essential 
 baptism by which we are baptized into the one body ; 
 but in Eph. iv. 5, the parallel passage, he declares 
 the Spirit's baptism is only figurative or metaphorical, 
 and that water baptism is the one baptism, properly 
 so called. If this were true, then water baptism would 
 be the substance, and the Spirit's baptism no more 
 than a shadow, which the Doctor never meant, and 
 which none but blasphemers would maintain. And 
 you will observe, the Doctor declares Johns and Christ's 
 baptism are the same : but which John positively denies ! 
 How the Doctor could make such an assertion, when 
 the sacred records testify to the contrary, is the more 
 extrordinary, as John declares that Christ's baptism is 
 that essential baptism with the Spirit : which the 
 Doctor admits is not of water ; for water baptism, he 
 observes, does not incorporate persons into the church 
 of Christ. 
 
 The Doctor admits there were divers baptisms under 
 the law. This is true ; and they were from heaven, as well 
 as John's. Was not John's baptism a legal ordinance? 
 The Doctor says, in his commentary upon Matt. iii. 15, 
 " It became Christ to fulfil all righteousness, moral and 
 ceremonial," &c. Does not this prove, that John was 
 administering an ordinance according to the law 1 
 Christ being then a man about thirty years of age — the 
 age legally appointed for a man to enter into the 
 ministerial office — and, therefore, as the Levites were 
 baptized by the water of purification being sprinkled 
 upon them, it became necessary for Christ to fulfil that 
 part of the ceremonial law. Exod. xxix. 4 ; Lev. viii. 6. 
 
 But what do many persons say to the Doctor's one 
 faith, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, &c. ? 
 
IV 
 
 Do not many profess the Sabellian creed, which, the 
 Doctor says, originated with Simon Magus ? Do X 
 many believe the name of the Father, and of the Son, tnd 
 of the Holy Ghost to be assumed names, or covenant names, 
 or office names, &c. ? Do not they generally deny the 
 Father and the Son, as such, to be of one essential na- 
 ture ?f Is not the essential Sonship of Christ almost 
 universally denied 1 Having premised these things for 
 your consideration, it would seem that, although there 
 be but one baptism, which, in the opinion of many is 
 of water, yet there are divers faiths or creeds of human 
 invention, which make it evident, that by water bap- 
 tism in any mode, no one comes to the unity of the 
 faith of God's elect ? 
 
 Water baptism is even considered by some to be 
 essential to salvation ; and the quantity of water, as 
 well as the manner of its administration, is with many 
 persons of greater importance than the one faith or the 
 unity of the Spirit ! But whilst they strain at the 
 quantity of water, they administer leavened bread at 
 the Lord's supper ! But do such persons hold the 
 mystery of faith in a pure conscience ? 
 
 Christian reader, if water baptism was Christian bap- 
 tism, we may be assured godly men of one faith, and of 
 one Spirit, would be all of one mind as regards its admi- 
 nistration ; because they are all made to drink into one 
 Spirit. 1 Cor. xii. 13. Therefore the following medita- 
 tions are written under prayer and searching of the 
 scriptures, in humble hope, the Lord will lead men of 
 one faith to separate themselves from them who are not 
 of one Spirit ; for all of one faith are to endeavour to 
 keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 
 Eph. iv. 1—6. 
 
 f Mr. Henry, speaking of the only begotten Son of God, saith, 
 " Only begotten, is used after the manner of men, to assure 
 us that Christ is possessed of every divine perfection, co-equal 
 and co-eternal with the Father. Heb. i. 2, 3. Should we sup- 
 pose Him begotten as a creature, or a created being, or in a cove- 
 nant way, or so called by adoption, then He would not be the only 
 begotten." What a blessed evidence we have in this man's testi- 
 mony of a spiritual mind divinely taught, compared with the 
 depraved or reasonable explanations of natural men. 1 Cor. 
 ii. 14, 15. 
 
a Christian reader, may the Holy Spirit lead you and 
 i. into all truth ; that, knowing the truth of God by 
 the 1 power of our God, our faith may not stand in the 
 wisdom of men, but in the Holy Ghost and in much 
 assurance. May He direct our hearts into the love of 
 God the Father, and the patient waiting for the coming 
 of Christ. And may the Lord of peace Himself give us 
 peace always, by all means. The Lord be with you. 
 Amen. 
 
 Yours in the Lord, 
 
 OBAMAEL 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 107. Note omitted. — "The font or baptistery in places of 
 worship must have been introduced by Judaizing teachers 
 from the use of the laver. For the apostles and John the 
 Baptist never used a font or baptistery !" 
 
 Page 139, line 30, after " buried together ," read " planted toge- 
 ther, and crucified together. Rom. vi. 4, 5, 6." 
 
 Page 155, line 31, read " baptizeth" for " baptized.'* 
 
MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS, 
 
 MEDITATION I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Christian Reader ! We are exhorted to contend 
 earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints, 
 Jude 3 ; but there is no command or exhortation to 
 contend for water baptism. They who are of the 
 one body are of the one faith, and they are baptized with 
 one Spirit, that there be no schism in the one body ! For 
 this purpose, and to make ready a people prepared for 
 the Lord, there was a man sent from God whose name 
 was John, the same came for a witness, and to bear 
 witness of the true Light, which lighteth every man 
 that cometh into the world. And John did bear wit- 
 ness of Christ, the true Light, for he preached, 
 saying, " there cometh one mightier than I after me, 
 the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop 
 down and unloose. I indeed baptize you (en) with 
 water : but He shall baptize you (en) with the Holy 
 Ghost." Mark i. 7, 8. This is the faithful testi- 
 mony of John, a faithful witness, for " he bare ivitness 
 unto the truth." John i. 7, 8 ; v. 33. Dr. Gill, a Bap- 
 tist minister, in his comment on John iv. 2, confirms 
 John's testimony ; for he observes, " it was a false re- 
 port that was made to the Pharisees ; at least in part, 
 so far as concerns the act of Jesus baptizing ; though, 
 it may be, this is observed, not so much to shew the 
 falsehood of that report, as to correct what is said of 
 Christ's baptizing ; lest it should be understood, as if 
 He baptized in his own person ; whereas He did not : 
 besides, He had another sort of baptism, of a more excel- 
 lent nature, to administer ; namely, the baptism of the 
 Spirit, &c. :" "for (en) with, or by one Spirit we are 
 all baptized into one body." 1 Cor. xii. 13. This is the 
 baptism with which Christ baptizes all His disciples, and 
 to which John bore witness. " For if a man have not 
 the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His ; but he that is 
 
joined unto the Lord is one Spirit. Rom. Tiii. 9; 
 1 Cor. vi. 1/. Dr. Gill hath written the following- 
 excellent note upon 1 Cor. xii. 13. — "For by one Spirit 
 we are all baptized, &c. This is to be understood not of 
 water baptism ; for the Apostle says not in one and the 
 same water, but by or in one Spirit, are we all bap- 
 tized : the baptism of water and of the Spirit are 
 different things; see Matt. iii. 11. Besides, all that 
 are baptized in water, are not baptized in or by the 
 Spirit, as the case of Simon Magus, and that of others, 
 shew: nor does water baptism incorporate persons into 
 the Church of Christ ; neither into the invisible Church, 
 which is the body of Christ, and is here meant." This 
 great and learned man has thus honestly and faithfully 
 declared in his comment upon this Scripture, that the 
 only baptism into the invisible Church, which is the true 
 Church, the body of Christ, is the baptism with or in 
 the Spirit ,• and this is the baptism with which Christ 
 baptizes all his people : therefore water baptism never 
 did, and never will incorporate persons into the Church 
 of Christ, which is the body of Christ I but water 
 baptism, which doth not incorporate persons into the 
 Church of Christ, is used by men as to its mode of ad- 
 ministration to separate Christians of the one faith ; and 
 a schism hath been made in the one body by men who 
 must acknowledge, whether psedobaptists or anti-pse- 
 dobaptists, that they are far from being of one faith 
 amongst themselves, for both denominations are com- 
 posed of various sects, some of whom hold the most 
 awful heresies ! And that water baptism by immersion 
 doth not unite the baptized together in love, we have 
 mournful evidences, in the discord and roots of bitter- 
 ness springing up amongst them : and the frequent se- 
 parations which take place amongst the anti-pcedobaptist 
 churches is a solemn proof, that all their contention for 
 adult baptism by immersion in water, does not prevent 
 discord, or keep them together in peace. These and 
 the following observations are written in the humble 
 hope, they may be the means in the hand of the Lord, 
 of uniting the brethren of the one faith : and of pre- 
 venting the weak in faith from being deceived by the 
 doctrines of men, published in a Tract entitled, " A 
 Concise View of Christian Baptism," wherein the faith- 
 a2 
 
ful testimony of John the Baptist is not quoted, or 
 referred to, or even noticed ! 
 
 There is not a true view of the only Christian bap- 
 tism to be found within the twenty-four pages of the 
 Tract : but it contains several grievous errors. It is 
 not written to make converts to that one faith which is 
 the gift of God, through which we are saved by grace 
 (Eph. ii. 8), but to make proselytes to adult baptism 
 by immersion in water ! For that purpose the writer 
 has not mentioned that one faith of the one body, inse- 
 parably connected with the one true baptism ; which one 
 faith is of (uperbolee) the excellent power of God, Eph. i. 
 19, and is essential to the enjoyment of salvation. 
 
 The Tract has also a tendency to lull the mere formal 
 professor into the fatal security of believing, that if he 
 submits to be baptized by immersion in water, he will " do 
 the commandments of Christ and be blest!" For he 
 states, as they are blessed who do the commandments of 
 Christ, he will have a blessing from his baptism : he will 
 fulfil righteousness in baptism, and have the answer of a 
 good conscience, and " put on Christ ." — Page 9. But he 
 has not given us one scripture in proof, that Christ 
 gave a commandment for His disciples to be baptized 
 in water, or that he said, if they were baptized by im- 
 mersion in water, ihey would have a blessing in or for 
 it, or that they would fulfil righteousness, or put on 
 Christ ! If our Lord had ever given such a command, 
 can it be possible, that any true believer, with the fear 
 of God in his heart, would not most cheerfully submit to 
 it ? How many of the saints of God have submitted to 
 the fiery ordeal for the name of Christ, who never found 
 in God's word a command for them to be baptized by im- 
 mersion in water ? 
 
 But why did not the writer prove the truth of his 
 statement from the Holy Scriptures, and mention what 
 "answer of a good conscience,'" and what blessing Simon 
 Magus had, when he was baptized in water? — which 
 (the writer also states) is to " fulfil righteousness" and 
 "put on Christ." This Simon Magus used sorcery, and 
 bewitched the people of Samaria ; " but when they be- 
 lieved Philip, preaching the things concerning the king- 
 dom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were 
 baptized, both men and women.- Then Simon himself 
 
b'elieved also ; and when he was baptized, he continued 
 with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and 
 signs which were done." Acts viii. 9 — 13. Now this 
 man, it is recorded, believed and was baptized, and yet at 
 the same time, and after he v?a.s baptized in or with water, 
 he was in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of ini- 
 quity. Acts viii. 23. Therefore, it is certain he had no 
 answer of a good conscience, nor a blessing by being bap- 
 tized in water, neither did he fulfil righteousness, or put 
 en Christ, neither was he regenerated by water baptism, 
 nor received the seal of the covenant, nor entered by the 
 door into the Church, nor was he then buried with 
 Christ : he had not the one baptism nor the one faith 
 which is the faith of God's elect, the work of God in 
 the hearts of those who are baptized with the one bap- 
 tism, namely, with the Spirit. Eph. iv. 5 ; John vi. 29 ; 
 Rom. x. 9 ; 1 Cor. xii. 13. When it is said, "Simon 
 Magus himself also believed," it is to be understood as 
 the faith which is of ourselves, and not that faith which 
 is the gift and energy of God ; for Simon Magus be- 
 lieved Fhilip, seeing the miracles which Philip did. 
 Eph. ii. 8. And how many hundreds of christian pro- 
 fessors are baptized in or with water, whose faith stands 
 only in the wisdom of men ! A decided proof, that a be- 
 liever's one baptism is the baptism with the Spirit ! 1 
 Cor. ii. 5 ; xii. 13. 
 
 The Tract is also likely to deceive the weak in faith, 
 by persuading them to believe, if they have not been 
 baptized by immersion in water, the neglect thereof may 
 endanger their salvation. Page 20, 23. The writer's 
 testimony on this subject is an evident proof, that water 
 baptism is not the believer's one baptism ! But the writer 
 of the Tract should have given us some proof of his creed 
 from Holy Scripture ; for neither our Lord or His 
 Apostles have ever said our salvation was endangered 
 by our not being baptized by immersion in water. S® 
 far from it, we find the Apostle thanked God that 
 he had baptized none at Corinth, but Crispus and Gaius, 
 and the household of Stephanas ; and that Christ sent 
 him not to baptize, that is to say, with or in water, but 
 to preach the gospel. 1 Cor. i. 14 — 17. 
 
 Christian Reader ! "We are exhorted to contend, and 
 to contend earnestly, for the faith once delivered to th« 
 jl3 
 
saints : and which we shall do, if we have been baptized 
 with the one true baptism. Eph. iv. 5. Let us, there- 
 fore, take heed we are not deceived by the doctrines of 
 men, which rob our Lord Jesus Christ of the glory due 
 to His name, who hath saved us, as he did the penitent 
 thief, with an everlasting salvation. Isa. xlv. 17. For 
 the doctrines of men would set aside that one baptism, 
 which John the Baptist himself acknowledged he needed. 
 Matt. iii. 14. 
 
 In the before-mentioned Tract, it is writteD, " Our 
 Lord calls His sufferings unto death a baptism. I have 
 a baptism to be baptized with." Luke xii. 50. The 
 writer states, " the sufferings of Christ were literal, but 
 they were not a literal baptism ; nor were they a figura- 
 tive baptism: they are figuratively called a 
 baptism." Page 14. The writer's testimony on this 
 subject is an evident proof, that water baptism is not 
 the believer's one baptism! But this writer should re- 
 member, that the word baptism in Holy Scripture does not 
 always mean baptism by immersion in water ! Neither 
 ought a believer who has been immersed in sorrow, and 
 under distress from the guilt of sin, thus speak of the 
 sufferings of Christ. Dr. Johnson, in his dictionary, 
 has shewn the word immersion doth mean, amongst other 
 things, " a state of intellectual depression" he quotes pas- 
 sages from Addison and also from Atterburys writings 
 in proof thereof. In this Tract there is a chapter to 
 prove the word "Baptism" signifies "immersion;" 
 (Page 12;) and yet the writer asserts, that our Lord's 
 sufferings are only figuratively called a bap- 
 tism !" But he has not, neither can he, bring any 
 proof, to support his direct contradiction to the testi- 
 mony of the Holy Ghost ; for Christ's sufferings are 
 expressly declared to be (antitupon baptisma) the antity- 
 pical baptism which now saves us ! 1 Pet. iii. 21 — 
 which the writer of the Tract must admit, if he believes 
 what he has subsequently acknowledged, namely, that 
 water baptism is emblematical of the sufferings of 
 Christ. Page 21. Therefore, as water baptism is an 
 emblem (which signifies a typical designation) of the 
 sufferings of Christ ; then Christ's sufferiags are not 
 figuratively called baptism, but his sufferings are the 
 true antitypical baptism which now saves us ! The 
 
Christian should attend to what God saith, and not 
 what men say, is the meaning of the word " Baptism.'* 
 If the word " baptism'* doth mean immersion, it does 
 not follow, it only means immersion in water. The 
 Scriptures use the word baptism to express our Lord's 
 sufferings, for he was indeed immersed in sorrows and 
 sufferings, — when in an agony He prayed more earnestly, 
 and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling 
 down to the ground ; Luke xxii. 44 ! and was he not 
 truly immersed in sorrow when He cried with a loud 
 voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ! that is to say, 
 My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me ? Matt, 
 xxvi ; 46. 
 
 The writer of the Tract has truly said, the most 
 severe judgments are denounced against those who add 
 to or take away from the book of God, &c. Page 19. 
 This is a very important observation, and ought to 
 be attended to when reading or interpreting the record 
 of our Lord's words in Matt, xxviii. 19, and Mark xvi. 
 16 ; for we have no authority to add in or with water, 
 to our Lord's command or declaration. The apostle 
 Peter preached (to Cornelius and others) peace by Jesus 
 Christ, &c, and whilst he spake the Holy Ghost fell on 
 all them which heard the word, and they were discipled 
 and baptized with the Holy Ghost : and Peter says, 
 " then remembered I the word of the Lord, how 
 that He said, John indeed baptized with water ; but ye 
 shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost /" Acts x., xi., 
 11 — 16. Therefore it is by the baptism with the Spirit, 
 that we are made true disciples of Christ ! The apostle 
 Paul had the same commission, authority, and power as 
 the other apostles. And he testifies of a greater bap- 
 tism than John's ; for when he met with certain disci- 
 ples at Ephesus " he said unto them, Have ye received 
 the Holy Ghost since ye believed ? And they said unto 
 him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any 
 Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then 
 were ye baptized ? And they said, Unto Johns baptism. 
 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of 
 repentance, saying unto the people, that they should 
 believe on him which should come after him, that is, on 
 Jesus Christ. When they heard this, they were bap- 
 tized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul 
 a 5 
 
8 
 
 had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon 
 them; a?id they spake with tongues and prophesied. 
 Acts xix. 1 — 7. Mr. L' Enfant and many others agree 
 with the learned Beza and Dr. Gill, that Paul did not 
 baptize these disciples anew in or with water ! And 
 this is consistent with the apostle's testimony, that 
 Christ sent him not to baptize with water. And it is 
 evident upon this occasion he baptized with the Holy 
 Ghost. Peter and John went to Samaria, and baptized 
 with the Holy Ghost those persons who had been pre- 
 viously baptized with or in water by Philip. Acts viii. 
 14 — 17.* Therefore in the Holy Scriptures, the word 
 baptism is also used to express the baptism with the 
 Spirit. Matt. iii. 11 ; Mark i. 8; Luke iii. 16; John i. 
 33 ; Actsi. 5 ; 1 Cor. xii. 13. If professing Christians 
 will prefer the emblem to the substance, by calling water 
 baptism the one baptism, instead of the baptism with 
 the Spirit, — as the Jews preferred their shadows to 
 Christ, — is it any marvel, that Christians should be 
 divided as they are into many sects, instead of being of 
 the same mind in the Lord ? Let every believer in the 
 Lord, therefore remember our Lord spake the words of 
 God, and not the words of men, John iii. 34 ; and let 
 him consider whether the true interpretation of the re- 
 cord in Mark xvi. 1 6, is not, — " He that believeth and is 
 baptized with the Spirit shall be saved ;" for water bap- 
 tism is not necessary to salvation ! But the baptism of 
 the Spirit is essential to the knowledge and enjoyment 
 of God's eternal and great salvation ! For there is one 
 essential faith and one essential baptism. Eph. iv. 5. 
 
 But the word Baptism, in the Holy Scriptures, does 
 not always mean immersion ; for the divers washings 
 under the first testament are called divers (baptismois) 
 baptisms, in Hebrews ix. 10. And Dr. Gill, in his com- 
 ment on Eph. iv, 5, states, " there were divers baptisms 
 under the law." These divers washings and carnal 
 ordinances were imposed on the Jews until the time of 
 
 * The apostles were to be sealed in Christ by the Spirit after 
 Christ's ascension, John xiv. ltf — 20, and which they were on the 
 day of Pentecost ; and the saints at Ephesus, after they believed, 
 were sealed in Christ with the Spirit, Eph. i. 13, 14, and so were 
 the disciples at Samaria, and at Ephesus, upon the laying on of 
 the apostles' hands. Acts viii. 14 — 17 ; xix. 1 — 7. And the 
 Apostle John testifies to the same truth. 1 John iv. 13. 
 
reformation, or, as Mr. Ambrose Serle saith, " the ap- 
 pointed season of correction and explanation : the 
 carnal Jews, like too many of our nominal Christians, 
 knew nothing of the substance or matter of them ; they 
 did the work as a work, without the sense of its experi- 
 mental instruction. They were no more cleansed by 
 the Spirit of the law, though they punctually followed 
 the letter of it, than some of our modern professors 
 are by the ordinance of water baptism" — a solemn tes- 
 timony against all persons who dare to call, or believe,. 
 water baptism to be the baptism which now saves us ! 
 
 Reader! if we receive the testimony of God, we 
 ought to follow the counsel of our Lord, and reject the 
 doctrines of men ; for Jesus said, I receive not testi- 
 mony from man, John v. 34, for many may idolize an 
 ordinance, as the children of Israel did, who, knowing 
 that the brazen serpent and its lifting up was an ordi- 
 nance of God's appointment in the wilderness, did 
 subsequently burn incense unto it, 2 Kings xviii. 4, as 
 the writer of the Tract does by water baptism ; for he 
 says, " To suppose that the necessity of water bap- 
 tism is superseded by the baptism of the Holy Ghost 
 is manifestly erroneous ; for supposing every believer 
 were as truly baptized in the Holy Ghost as Cornelius 
 was, this would not diminish his obligation to be bap- 
 tized in water." Page 18. The writer's testimony on 
 this subject makes it evident, that thousands of pro- 
 fessors of Christianity are baptized in or with water, 
 whose faith is only in the opinions of men, or whose faith 
 is only in the wisdom of men, and not in the power of 
 God, 1 Cor. ii. 5 ; a most decided proof that a true be- 
 liever's one baptism is the baptism with the Spirit, and 
 not the baptism in or with water ! For " necessity" is a 
 word which signifies, what is indispensably requisite ; and, 
 as used in this instance, implies, that a believer baptized 
 with the Spirit is not made meet for the inheritance of 
 the saints in light ! But the scriptures declare that he 
 is made meet for the inheritance, immediately that he is 
 delivered from the power of darkness, and translated 
 into the kingdom of God's dear Son! Col. i. 12, 13. 
 In proof thereof, John was meet for the inheritance 
 when he leaped for joy in his mother's womb, being filled 
 with the Holy Ghost ! Luke i. 15, 44. Then, where is 
 
10 
 
 the "necessity" of being baptized by immersion in water 
 after being baptized with the Holy Ghost ? Is the bap- 
 tism with the Holy Ghost imperfect ? Is the believer, 
 after the baptism of the Spirit, to be made perfect in 
 the flesh by water baptism ? Is the Holy Spirit to be 
 thus robbed of the glory and honour due unto His name 1 
 
 It is true, the apostle Peter did baptize Cornelius 
 and others, upon whom the Holy Ghost fell, when they 
 heard the word ; nevertheless Peter had not our Lord's 
 authority for it ! The Holy Three in One glorify each 
 other in their personal acts ! Our Lord never did, or 
 would so dishonour the Holy Spirit, as to direct the 
 apostles to baptize with or in water any one after being 
 baptized with the Spirit ! Much less can it be believed, 
 that our Lord imposed upon His apostles a necessity 
 for it. Our Lord called Matthew the publican, who 
 was afterwards an apostle, and our Lord called Zac- 
 cheus the chief of publicans, and others : but He never 
 commanded them to be baptized with water, nor is 
 there any record that they were baptized with water ; 
 for John was either in prison, or his personal ministry 
 had ceased. But our Lord did declare the necessity for 
 all to be baptized with the Spirit who had been previously 
 baptized with water ! yea, that there was a needs-be for 
 Andrew, and Peter, and Philip, who had been probably 
 baptized with water by John, to be baptised afterwards 
 with the Spirit ; for the Spirit was to testify of Jesus, and 
 to take of the things of Christ, and shew unto them, &c. 
 And then they were to know that Christ was in the Fa- 
 ther, and they in Him, and He in them. John xiv. 16 — 
 20, 26 ; xv. 26, 27. And they were not to preach until 
 they were endued with power from on high ! Luke xxiv. 
 49. The baptism with the Spirit is therefore more than 
 the gift of tongues, and of working of miracles ! 
 
 After our Lord's resurrection, He said unto his disci- 
 ples, " John truly baptized with water ; but ye shall be 
 baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 
 Acts i. 5. For the Spirit was to guide them into all 
 truth, to teach them all things, and to bring all things to 
 their remembrance, whatsoever Christ had said unto 
 them, &c, and to glorify Christ. John xvi. 13 — 15. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that our Lord has given an 
 express command to His disciples to observe the ordi- 
 
11 
 
 nance of the Lord's Supper ; and the words, " Do this; 
 in remembrance of me," are recorded as expressed twice 
 by the Lord : after He had given the bread, He said, 
 " Take, eat ; this is my body which is broken for 
 you." And the command to do is again repeated after 
 He had given them the cup, saying, This cup is the new 
 Testament in my blood : this do ye, as often as ye drink 
 it, in remembrance of me. And the order and mode 
 of the administration thereof was expressly revealed to 
 Paul by our Lord Himself, for our observance. 1 Cor. 
 xi. 23 — 26. But there is not any record that our Lord, 
 either before or after His resurrection, ever gave His 
 disciples a command to baptize by immersion in water : 
 which He most assuredly would have done, if it was 
 to be so observed, as He was so particular after His 
 ascension, to reveal the mode and manner of the admi- 
 nistration of the Lord's Supper. May we not therefore 
 conclude, that the writer of the Tract must have been 
 deceived when he wrote as follows ? — " The Lord's 
 Supper is important, but the Scriptures attach more 
 importance to Baptism," — by which water baptism is 
 meant. Page 21. 
 
 Nevertheless, let all Christians, who zealously contend 
 with each other for the mode and manner of water 
 baptism, consider how regardless they are, as to the mode 
 of administering the Lord's Supper ; for they break 
 leavened bread ! whereas at the feast of the Passover, 
 and at the Supper, it is well known our Lord broke 
 tt/aleavened bread ! but they break leavened bread, the 
 emblem of a depraved nature ; for it sets forth the 
 leaven of malice and wickedness, 1 Cor. v. 7, 8, and not 
 the Mwleavened holiness and love of Christ. Then is 
 the administration of the Lord's Supper of less impor- 
 tance as to its manner, than the administration of 
 water baptism ? 
 
 It is to be regretted the writer of the Tract had not 
 employed his time, and the ability God has given him, 
 in contending for the faith once delivered unto the 
 Saints, and also in defence of the one essential bap- 
 tism ; for John the Baptist testified to the eternal im- 
 portance of being baptized with the Spirit, and also to 
 his personal need of it : for I have need, said John to 
 Christ, to be baptized of thee. Matt. iii. 14. And to 
 
12 
 
 the Pharisees and Sadducees John said, " I indeed bap- 
 tize you with water unto repentance : but He that 
 conieth after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am 
 not worthy to bear : He shall baptize you with the Holy 
 Ghost and with fire." Matt. iii. 11. As^reis an element 
 perfectly distinct from water, so is the baptism of Christ 
 infinitely distinct from John's. God is said to be a 
 consuming fire, as a declaration of the essential holiness 
 and purity of His nature ; for fire consumes every thing 
 not equally pure with itself. Under the Old Testament 
 the Holy Spirit is spoken of, and compared to fire and 
 burning ; " when the Lord shall have washed away the 
 filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged 
 the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the 
 Spirit of Judgment, and the Spirit of burning." Isa. 
 iv. 4, 5. It was by a live or & fiery coal taken from off 
 the altar, which having touched the lips of the prophet, 
 that his iniquity was taken away, and his sin purged, 
 that is to say, his iniquity and sin were taken away 
 both as regards the guilt and filth thereof. Isa. vi. 
 6, 7. And when tbe Apostles received the Holy Ghost 
 on the day of Pentecost, cloven tongues, like as of fire, 
 sat upon each of them, Acts ii. 3, an emblem of the 
 pure and holy nature of the ministry of the Spirit ; for 
 it is written, " Ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but 
 ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and by 
 the Spirit of our God :" and if any man have not the 
 Spirit of Christ he is none of His. 1 Cor. vi. 11; Rom. 
 viii. 9, The Apostles were not sufficient of themselves, 
 for they had no power of their own to disciple and 
 baptize persons (eis) into the knowledge of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, (2 Cor. iii. 5, 
 Matt, xxviii. 19,) for no one can reveal God, but God ; 
 as it is written, " No one knoweth the Son but the 
 Father; neither knoweth anyone the Father save 
 the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal 
 Him." This is not said to the exclusion of the Holy 
 Spirit, for the Spirit beareth witness, 1 John v. 5 — 8 ; 
 and "the things of God knoweth no one but the 
 Spirit of God," and they are revealed in us by the 
 Spirit : for the knowledge of the persons of the 
 Godhead is wholly in themselves : and are only 
 known in us by Divine revelation. Matt. xi. 27 ; Gal. 
 
13 
 
 i. 16. Therefore no mere creature ever did, or can, 
 without the Lord, (matheeteusate) disciple and baptize 
 (eis) into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost : wherefore the Apostles were to 
 tarry in the city of Jerusalem until they were endued 
 with power from on high : and when so endued with 
 power, they went forth, the Lord working with them ! 
 And as they could not so disciple and baptize without 
 the Lord working with them, it is surely from igno- 
 rance or delusion, that any mere creature can conceive 
 he is able to do, what the Apostles could not do but by 
 the Holy Spirit, namely, disciple and baptize (eis) into 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost ; for God only can reveal God ! See Matt, 
 xi. 27 ; 1 Cor. ii. 10—12; Matt. xvi. 12—17 ; Gal. i. 
 11 — 16; John i. 18 ; Luke xxiv. 49 ; Mark xvi. 20. 
 
 The revelation which the God of truth hath made of 
 Himself, is, and must be, fncontrovertibly true ; for He 
 is truth in the abstract ; and His essential attributes are 
 all pledged that the revelation He hath made of Himself 
 is true, even as truth itself; which can never lose its 
 nature! As it is the revelation of God Himself ', it is 
 infinite, and therefore incomprehensible to all finite crea- 
 tures. The revelation of the "mystery o/God" is not 
 given for the comprehension of man's reason, but for 
 our "acknowledgment of the mystery" — "the mystery 
 of faith." Col. ii. 2 ; 1 Tim. iii. 9. 
 
 It was Truth itself, who commanded His servants 
 to teach (matheeteusate), rather to disciple all nations, 
 '* baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Matt, xxviii. 19. He 
 did not command them to teach merely assumed names, 
 as many do, or to baptize in the names, (as in the 
 plural,) but in the name (as in the singular), for the 
 Three which bear record are One ; for there is one Je- 
 hovah, and His name One. Zech. xiv. 9. Neither did 
 He command them to teach in the name of the Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost ; for then, unbelievers might say 
 there was, in the above verse, no positive revelation of 
 the Three which bear record in heaven : but, He com- 
 manded His disciples to teach and baptize in the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; 
 for the prepositive article (ton) of the, is set before the 
 
- 14 
 
 word "Son/ 9 and also before the words "Holy Ghost" 
 as well as before the word "Father," which it would 
 not have been, if three distinct recorders or witnesses 
 had not been set forth in the above Scripture. 
 
 Will any professor of the Christian religion declare, 
 that He, who is the truth, really meant His disciples 
 should teach and baptize in the name of the Father as 
 God, and of the Son as not co-equal and co-eternal 
 with the Father, and of the Holy Ghost as an attribute, 
 or emanation from God ? Let such a professor remem- 
 ber, that by such a declaration he accuses our Lord 
 with directing His disciples to commit an impious 
 breach of the First Commandment, by joining a creature 
 with the Creator in the same doctrine, and by sepa- 
 rating God the Father from the Spirit, by introducing 
 the Son, as not co-equal and co-eternal, between them, 
 and thereby giving a creature the priority, or prece- 
 dence, to the Holy Ghost ! 
 
 Professors of the Christian faith should never give a 
 carnal, or an wwscriptural, interpretation to the term, 
 " only begotten Son," in John i. 14, 18, or elsewhere, 
 when applied to Christ the Lord. They would not 
 venture to give a carnal or un scriptural interpretation 
 to the term, " bosom of the Father." (Oudeis) no crea- 
 ture hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son 
 which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared 
 Him. John i. 18. These words express in plain 
 language the perfect oneness or unity of essence and 
 nature in the Father and in the Son, and their distinct 
 personality, as in John xiv. 1 1, and x. 30. They also 
 express the love and the secret purpose of God, to be 
 the eternal purpose purposed (en) in and with Christ 
 Jesus our Lord, the Creator, Eph. iii. 9, 11, the Word 
 Jehovah, by whom all things were made, who was 
 made flesh and dwelt among us ; and glorified the 
 Father on earth. " How often (said the late Dr. 
 Hawker) have I lamented to hear some of God's chosen 
 ones lost, in attempting to account for the different 
 appellations given to Christ as Christ, as first-born, &c, 
 until they have lost sight of His own eternal, inherent, 
 and undivided Godhead." For the term first-born, as 
 applied to Christ, was set forth in the type of the male 
 that opened the womb, which was sanctified and set 
 
15 
 
 apart to be the Lord's, Exod. xiii. 1,2; for Christ as 
 the seed of the woman is the only male that ever did 
 open the womb by birth ; for Mary was a virgin that 
 conceived and brought forth that Son, who is Emma- 
 nuel, God with us, Matt. i. 21 — 23: therefore in the 
 birth of Christ, we see that prophecy fulfilled concern- 
 ing Christ as of the seed of David, — " I will make him 
 my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth," 
 Psm. cxxxii. 11, lxxxix. 27, 35 — 37 ; for "she (Mary) 
 brought forth her son (ton prototokon) the first-born, 
 which is Christ the Lord, Luke ii. 7, 1 1, who is over 
 all, God blessed for ever, Amen, Rom. ix. 5 ; the Lord 
 over all, Rom. x. 12 ; the Lord of all, Acts x. 36 ; the 
 God of glory, and the Lord of glory, Acts vii. 2, I Cor. 
 ii. 8 ; the first-born brought into (oikoumeneen) the 
 earth, worshipped by all the angels, who sang His 
 praise, saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on 
 earth peace, good will towards men. Hallelu-JAH. Heb. 
 i. 6 ; Psm. xcvii. 7 ; Luke ii. 13, 14- 
 
 Of all such persons as deny the essential Sonship of 
 Christ, it may be said, that as the Jews sought to 
 kill our Lord, because He said God was His Father, 
 making Himself equal with God ; (John v. 18 ;) so do 
 they justify the Jews for crucifying Christ ; for they 
 did not crucify Christ for saying, He was the Son of 
 Man ; but they crucified Him for saying, He was the 
 Son of God ; for saying that God was His (patera idion) 
 own Father, making Himself equal with God. John v. 
 18; xix. 7. And by so doing, do they not crucify to 
 themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an 
 open shame? Heb. vi. 6. Surely, of all such pro- 
 fessors, it may be justly observed, where the Mystery of 
 the Faith begins, their Religion ends. Remember, be- 
 liever, that Antichrist "is he that denieth the Father 
 and the Son!" 1 John ii. 22. As there were many 
 Antichrists in the days of the Apostles, so there are 
 many Antichrists in our days : for the essential Son- 
 ship of Christ is the Stone of Stumbling, and Rock of 
 Offence, to many who are baptized by immersion in 
 water, which stumble at the word now, as well as then ! 
 Compare Isaiah viii. 13, 14, with 1 Peter ii. 8. 
 
 Can any sane mind charge the God of truth with 
 hypocrisy, by saying He hath given a feigned, an as- 
 
16 
 
 sumed, description of Himself, and that His name of 
 Father, and of Son, and of Holy Ghost, represent Him 
 acting, as the ancient players did, under a mask or false 
 character ? But this horrid blasphemy is very prevalent 
 amongst those professing Christians, who call that gra- 
 cious revelation which Jehovah hath made of Himself 
 assumed, or adopted names. We are exhorted to contend 
 earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints ; 
 but there is no command to contend for water baptism : 
 it is therefore oar duty to issue tracts in defence of the 
 one faith, and of the one essential baptism, rather than 
 to issue 100,000 tracts to persuade persons, that adult 
 baptism by immersion in water, is " Christian baptism /" 
 May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 give unto us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the 
 knowledge of Jesus, that the eyes of our understanding 
 may be so enlightened, as to have Christ revealed in our 
 hearts, that we may know Him, and the power of Hia 
 resurrection, and the fellowship of the baptism of His 
 sufferings, being conformed to His death, and live unto 
 God ; rejecting, for Christ's sake, the opinions of 
 men, who seek honour one of another, who glory in any- 
 thing save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 whereby the world is crucified unto us, and we unto the 
 world ! May the Lord bless this, and the meditations 
 which follow on the doctrine of baptisms, — an earnest 
 endeavour of one in the Lord, to persuade all the breth- 
 ren of the one faith to keep the unity of the Spirit in the 
 bond of peace. And may the Father of Glory grant us 
 according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened 
 with might by His Spirit in the inner man ; that Christ 
 may dwell in our hearts by faith ; that we being rooted 
 and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with 
 all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, 
 and height ; and to know the exceeding love of Christ, 
 which pusseth knowledge, that we may be filled with 
 all the fulness of God: unto whom be glory in the 
 Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 OBADIAH. 
 
r 
 
 
 +A 
 
 MEDITATIONS 
 
 St 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS. 
 
 
 MEDITATION II. 
 
 " OF THE BAPTISM IN THE CLOUD AND IN THE SEA." 
 
 In the epistle to the saints at Ephesus, which is ad- 
 dressed to the faithful in Christ Jesus ; we are exhorted 
 to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ; for 
 there is one body, and one Spirit, one hope of your call- 
 ing, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father 
 of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 
 Eph. iv. 4 — 6. As there is but one faith, and one body ; 
 they are not of the one faith, who are not of the one body. 
 But they who are of the one baptism are always of the one 
 faith ; because they who are born from above are of the one 
 body, and are always baptized with the one baptism ; for 
 without the one baptism they would not be of the one body, 
 it being expressly declared that (en eni Pneumati) with one 
 Spirit we are all baptized into one body. 1 Cor. xii. 13. 
 And this baptism with the Spirit, Dr. Gill declares, is the 
 baptism which incorporates us into the invisible church, 
 or body of Christ. The one baptism with the one Spirit, 
 is essential to the exercise of that one faith, which is the 
 power of God unto salvation. 1 Pet. i. 5. We ought, 
 therefore, to take heed to the word of God, Heb. xiii. 7, 
 which is the word of faith, Rom. x. 8 ; as the author of 
 " a concise view of Christian baptism," very properly 
 observes, for "the writings of the fathers, the traditions 
 of men, and the customs of the church, are no authority 
 on the subject of Christian baptism." Which is cer- 
 tainly true, if such writings, traditions, or customs have 
 not our Lord's command for our observance under the 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 Gospel dispensation. Therefore we must search the 
 scriptures, for they record the true sayings of God. 
 
 The Greek word for baptisms, in the plural number, 
 occurs four times in the New Testament ; twice in the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews. Heb. vi. 2 ; ix. 10. It is, 
 therefore unquestionable, that the scriptures in Heb. ix. 
 10, testify of divers baptisms of divine appointment under 
 the Old Testament dispensation ; and they were as truly 
 from heaven as John's baptism was from heaven. It 
 will be observed, that our translators have called them 
 divers washings, and the Holy Ghost testifies they were 
 divers baptisms ; and although they were of divine ap- 
 pointment, yet he declares such divers baptisms were car- 
 nal ordinances until the time of reformation, &c. These 
 divers baptisms by divine appointment were to continue 
 until the legal dispensation was at an end, until our 
 Lord Jesus Christ had fulfilled all righteousness ; and 
 which he had fulfilled when he said, " It is finished," 
 and bowed his head, and gave up the Ghost. John xix. 
 30. It was under or during the continuance of the legal 
 dispensation that John the Baptist came, preaching in 
 the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye, for the 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matt. iii. 1, 2. For 
 John's baptism with water was a legal ceremony which 
 it became our Lord to fulfil : if it had not been a legal 
 ordinance, our Lord would not have said to John, 
 "suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil 
 all righteousness." Exod. xxix. 4 — 7 ; Lev. viii. 6 — 9 ; 
 Matt. iii. 15 — 17. Dr. Doddridge says, "It is strange 
 to me, that any should doubt whether baptism with 
 water was known to the Jews, when it is plain from 
 express passages from the Jewish law." For water 
 baptism was not in itself a new ordinance to the Jews 
 when John came baptizing with water : their enquiries 
 of John were personal, " who art thou ?" They that 
 
* 19 
 
 were sent to make the personal enquiry of John, were 
 of the Pharisees, who held the tradition of washing, 
 called (baptismois) the baptizing of cups and pots, 
 brazen vessels, and of tables. Mark vii. 4. They 
 enquired of John his personal authority for baptizing 
 with water, as he was not the Christ, nor Elias, 
 neither that prophet. John i. 25. The next day 
 John stated why he baptized ; for when he saw Jesus 
 coming unto him, he said, " Behold the Lamb of God, 
 which taketh away the sin of the world. But that he 
 should be made manifest to Israel, therefore, am I come 
 baptizing with water." John i. 29, 31. John, verily, 
 baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the 
 people that they should believe on him which should come 
 after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. Acts xix. 4. And 
 as John baptized in the name of Christ Jesus, so did the 
 apostles, as appears by the record in the Acts, for there 
 is not an instance upon record of their baptizing in or 
 with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost. Acts ii. 38 ; viii. 12, 13, 16, 
 38; ix. 18; x. 48; xvi. 15, 33; xxii. 16* After- 
 
 • An antipsedobaptist says, " that the passage in Matt, xxviii. 
 19, 20, is the main ground and foundation of the ordinance of 
 baptism, and the sole authority and rule, even for the holy apostles, 
 in this matter; &c," and " it has been universally allowed in the 
 church, from the beginning, that if the person baptised has an 
 erroneous faith, and not a true faith, and if the baptism is not ad- 
 ministered in that only regular FORM of words the institutor pre- 
 scribed, that baptism is ipso facto void." If this be true, then all 
 the baptismal ordinances administered by the apostles, as recorded 
 in the Acts of the Apostles, were ipso facto void, according to this 
 antipsedobaptist's testimony, for the apostles do not appear to 
 have administered the ordinance of water baptism in the regular 
 form of words in any one instance ! Therefore, they must have 
 understood the passage in Matt, xxviii. 19, 20, as referring to the 
 baptism with the Spirit, with which they were baptized to preach 
 the doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
 and which preachinjj is the ministration of the Spirit; for no man 
 can know " The Three which bear record in Heaven," but by the 
 Holy Spirit, who bears record in earth. 1 John v. 7, 8; 2 Cor. 
 iii. 6—10, 17, 18. 
 
 B 2 
 
20 
 
 wards, we find a question arose between some of John's 
 disciples and the Jews about purifying : and from what 
 follows in the next verse, it is evident by purifying is 
 meant water baptism. John iii. 25, 26. Dr. Gill saith, 
 " the contention was about their various washings of 
 persons and vessels." 
 
 By the law of Moses, all the Jews, and also the pro- 
 selytes when they were admitted to the commonwealth 
 of Israel, were all under the legal covenant to observe 
 the divers baptisms, which God had appointed until the 
 time of reformation. For there was but one law to the 
 stranger or proselyte, and to the home-born Israelite. 
 See Exod. xii. 48, 49. In the times of Hezekiah, the 
 keeping of the Passover was deferred to the second 
 month, because the priests had not sanctified themselves 
 sufficiently, at which feast there were proselytes, who 
 came to eat the Passover. 2 Chron. xxx. 2, 3, 25. And 
 Dr. Gill truly states, " it was as incumbent on these 
 proselytes to observe the divers washings, as on the 
 Israelites ;" for as they were circumcised, they were 
 debtors to do the whole law. Gal. v. 3. As there 
 were divers baptisms under the legal dispensation 
 and Levitical priesthood, the apostle exhorts the be- 
 lieving Hebrews, Heb. iii. 1,2, to seek after a perfect 
 knowledge of evangelical truth, and not to rest in " the 
 doctrine of baptisms," Heb. vi. 1, 2, which Dr. Gill inter- 
 prets to be " the divers baptisms" among the Jews, 
 spoken of in Heb. ix. 10, divers (baptismois), rendered 
 divers washings ; which divers baptisms, Dr. Gill saith, 
 had a doctrine in them ; which doctrine was abused by 
 the tradition of the elders, who held the baptism of 
 cups and of pots, &c. Mark vii. 4, 8. But the divers 
 baptisms of which the apostle speaks, are not the 
 traditions of the elders, but such as were of divine ap- 
 pointment, and were well known to these believing 
 Hebrews. 
 
21 
 
 But the first baptism which ought to be noticed, is 
 " the baptism of the children of Israel in, the cloud and 
 in the sea." I Cor. x. 1, 2. The Israelites are said to 
 be baptized (eis) into Moses,* when they were led and 
 conducted through the sea on dry ground. Dr. Light- 
 foot and Estius's arguments in defence of infant sprink- 
 ling or baptism, are as strong as Dr. Gill's and Gataker's 
 are ingenious in favour of immersion ; but neither of 
 them have holy scripture authority for their opinions 
 respecting the baptism here mentioned. Who were im- 
 mersed in water ? The Egyptians. Were the Israelites 
 sprinkled or immersed ? Not that we can tell ; for the 
 scripture is silent. And the pillar of the cloud in 
 which they were baptized was upon this occasion, to the 
 children of Israel, a pillar of fire. Exod. xiv. 20. 
 Therefore spiritual baptism, as well as literal baptism, is . 
 here expressed. But what are we to understand by the 
 cloud and sea in which they were baptized? The cloud 
 differed from other clouds in several respects. It was 
 of such an height that all Israel could see it ; for it was 
 •' in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all 
 their journey J' Exod. xl. 38. It was one and the same 
 cloud which was a covering by day, and the appear- 
 ance of fire by night. Numb. ix. 15, 16. It was not 
 dispersed by the wind, nor moved but by the Lord 
 Himself. In this cloud the Lord spake to Moses ; 
 and there the glory of the Lord appeared to the 
 people. Exod. xvi. 10; xxxiii. 9 ; xxxiv. 5 ; Lev. xvi. 
 2 ; Numb. xi. 25 ; xii. 5 ; Deut. xxxi. 15 ; Psm. xcix. 
 7. When the tabernacle was erected, the cloud abode 
 thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 
 Exod. xl. 33 — 38. It was a most wonderful phenome- 
 
 * They were baptized into the doctrine which Moses was to 
 teach them from God. — Dr. Doddridge. 
 
 B 3 
 
'22 
 
 non, and expressed a variety of sacred truths. The 
 Lord went before them by day in the pillar of the 
 cloud, to lead them the way ; and by night in a pillar 
 of fire, to give them light ; to go by day and night. 
 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor 
 the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. 
 Exod. xiii. 21, 22. And when the Egyptians had over- 
 taken the Israelites at Pihahiroth, between Migdol and 
 the Red Sea, " the angel of God, which went before 
 the camp of Israel, removed, and went behind ; and the 
 pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and 
 stood behind them : and it came between the camp of 
 the Egyptians and the camp of Israel ; and it was a 
 cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by 
 night to these ; so that the one came not near the 
 other all night. And Moses stretched out his hand 
 over the sea ; and the Lord caused the sea to go back 
 by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea 
 dry land, and the waters were divided. And the 
 children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon 
 the dry ground ; and the waters were a wall unto them 
 on their right hand, and on their left." And the 
 Egyptians went in after them to the midst of the sea. 
 " And it came to pass that in the morning watch the 
 Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians, through 
 the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host 
 of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that 
 they drave them heavily : so that the Egyptians said, 
 let us flee from the face of Israel ; for the Lord fighteth 
 for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said to 
 Moses, stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the 
 waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their 
 chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses 
 stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea re- 
 turned to his strength when the morning appeared; 
 
23 
 
 and the Egyptians fled against it : and the Lord over- 
 threw the Egyptians in the midst of the sea." Exod. 
 xiv. 19 — 27. Here it may be observed, how impro- 
 per it is to interpret the scriptures by the words which 
 man's wisdom teacheth, instead of the words which 
 the Holy Ghost teacheth, 1 Cor. ii. 13 ; for if the 
 word baptism be interpreted always to mean " immersion 
 in water," then the Egyptians were the baptized ; for 
 the Israelites were not immersed in water. Neither 
 is there any mention made of the way or manner the 
 children of Israel were baptized in the cloud and in the 
 sea : but as they went through the sea on dry ground, 
 which the Egyptians assaying to do, were drowned in the 
 sea ; it is quite certain they were all literally baptized 
 (en) in or with the cloud, and (en) in or with the sea ; 
 but many of them were baptized with the Spirit : of 
 which all those baptized Israelites were partakers, 
 who by faith did eat the spiritual meat, and who by 
 faith did drink the spiritual drink, who drank of that 
 spiritual Rock that followed them, which Rock was 
 Christ ; for those Israelites who were so spiritually 
 baptized, did eat and drink not only literally, but spi- 
 ritually by faith : whereas the others did eat the 
 same meat, and did drink the same drink, yet not in 
 the same manner ; for they ate and drank only by 
 sense, and not by faith as the others did, who fed on 
 Christ, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is 
 drink indeed. Thus, in the Lord's Supper, some feed 
 on Christ by faith : but there are others who eat and 
 drink damnation, or condemnation, to themselves, not 
 discerning the Lord's body, 1 Cor. xi. 29 ; which was 
 the case with those Israelites who were not spirit- 
 ually, but literally baptized, who did eat the manna 
 literally, and not by faith : therefore those only 
 who were spiritually baptized did eat it by faith, so as 
 
24 
 
 to discern the Lord's body, whereby they shewed forth 
 their faith in him who was to come. 1 Cor. x. 1 — 4. 
 The Old Testament saints were therefore baptized by 
 Christ with His Spirit, into the mystery hid under the 
 shadows of the legal dispensation which was given by 
 Moses. The reader should not overlook' the way the 
 Lord God of Israel was pleased to manifest Himself 
 unto His people in former ages. All the manifestations 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the legal dispensation, 
 were through the medium of the cloud and shadowy ordi- 
 nances : for as the cloud and glory of the Lord filled 
 the tabernacle when it was erected, so did the cloud 
 and glory of the Lord fill the temple when it was 
 finished. As our glorious Lord was hidden under that 
 cloud and shadowy dispensation, so he was " verily the 
 God that hideth himself, the God of Israel, the Saviour, 
 in the day of his flesh upon earth." Isa. xlv. 15; Rom. 
 ix. 5. For had the princes of this world known Him, 
 they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 
 1 Cor. ii. 8. 
 
 But as those shadows are done away, may our gracious 
 God grant us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the 
 knowledge of Him, that the eyes of our understanding 
 may be enlightened to behold as in a glass the glory of the 
 Lord, the Sun of righteousness, that we may be changed 
 into the same image, from glory here to the eternal 
 weight of glory to be revealed, by the Spirit of the Lord. 
 For all the fathers were not spiritually baptized, namely, 
 the many with "whom God was not well pleased" 
 who were overthrown in the wilderness : those, there- 
 fore, with whom the Lord was well pleased, were spirit- 
 ually baptized into the knowledge of the mystery of 
 Christ's person, set forth in the pillar of the cloud and 
 of fire : and they were also spiritually baptized in the sea, 
 typical of their redemption by Christ's blood, and of the 
 
25 
 
 destruction of all their enemies : and so Moses and the 
 children of Israel sang, as recorded in Exod. xv. 1 — 13. 
 The eternal importance of being baptized with the 
 Spirit, evidently appears in the history of the children 
 of Israel, who were overthrown in the wilderness. 
 There are two important facts concerning them, which 
 ought to be remembered, and occasionally mentioned 
 by the Lord's servants in their ministry, namely, that 
 in whatever way the children of Israel may have been 
 literally baptized into or unto Moses, that not one of 
 " the little ones, the children, which had no knowledge 
 between good and evil," were overthrown in the wil- 
 derness! Numb. xiv. 31 ; Deut. i. 39. But those with 
 whom God was not well pleased, who were overthrown 
 in the wilderness, were baptized adults, who were not 
 baptized with the Spirit. It is recorded concerning 
 these adults, that they lusted after evil things, Num. xi. 1 
 — 6, 33, 34 ; they were idolators, Exod. xxxii. 1 — 6, 15 
 — 28, and fornicators, Numb. xxv. 1 — 9 ; they tempted 
 Christ, Exod. xvii. 2 — 7 ; Numb. xxi. 5, 6 ; Psalm 
 lxxviii. 17, 18, 40, 41 ; and murmured against Moses, 
 &c, Numb. xiv. 36, 37 ; xvi. throughout ; Psalm cvi. 
 24. Now all these persons are our examples, that we 
 should not lust after evil things as they also lusted : 
 therefore, love not the world, neither the things that 
 are in the world. If any man love the world, the love 
 of the Father is not in him ; for all that is in the 
 world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, 
 and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the 
 world : and the world passeth away, and the lust 
 thereof : but he that doeth the will of God abideth for 
 ever. 1 John ii. 15 — 17. Beware of covetousness or 
 anything that is loved more than God : mixing with 
 worldly minded persons, and partaking of their carnal 
 joys, is a species of idolatry ; for such persons by their 
 
26 
 
 actions seem to say, we cannot find perfect happiness 
 in God, therefore we seek it here. Beware of fornica- 
 tion, it is a gross sin ; and beware of spiritual fornica- 
 tion against Christ, the Lord and Husband of his 
 church. Beware you provoke Him not in the wilder- 
 ness, by limiting His power, or tempting Him by pre- 
 suming on His grace and power to keep you when you 
 run wilfully into temptations, and the snares of the 
 devil. Psalm lxxviii. 40, 41. And beware of murmur- 
 ing against God's sovereignty, and thereby fall into the 
 sin and gainsaying of Korah : for God is holy in all His 
 dispensations, in purpose, in creation, in providence, 
 and in grace. He is known to be holy by His judg- 
 ments ; and His chastisements are for our profit, that 
 we might be partakers of His holiness. Heb. xii. 10. 
 Now, as all the things which happened unto the 
 children of Israel are for ensamples, and are written 
 for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world 
 are come, wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth 
 take heed, lest he fall. 1 Cor. x. 6, 11, 12. 
 
 In the miraculous cloud, the Angel Jehovah our Re- 
 deemer went before Israel, to lead and guide them in 
 the way, through the waste howling wilderness : and 
 He led them about, He instructed them, and He kept 
 them as the apple of His eye. He was their covering by 
 day from the heat, and fire to give them light in the 
 night. Thus the spiritual Israel had a visible symbol 
 of Emmanuel's presence with them ; and that He who 
 had redeemed them from their bondage in Egypt, and 
 had overthrown their enemies in the sea, would never 
 leave them nor forsake them ! Surely the spiritual 
 Israel now may learn from it, the certainty of the pro- 
 mise recorded for the exercise of faith, " I will instruct 
 thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go : I 
 will guide thee with mine eye, or I will counsel thee ; 
 
27 
 
 mine eye shall be upon thee." Psm. xxxii. 8. And the 
 Lord shall guide thee continually, Isa. lviii. 1 1 ; and will 
 be thy God for ever and ever : He will be thy guide even 
 unto death. Psm. xlviii. 14. The assemblies of His 
 people now, have His gracious spiritual presence with 
 them, Matt, xviii. 20, and His promise is that, " He will 
 create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and 
 upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by diy, and the 
 shining of a flaming fire by night : for upon all the glory 
 shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for 
 a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of 
 refuge, and for a covert from storm andfrom rain." Isa. iv. 
 5, 6. As the cloud rested with Israel, moved on before 
 them, guided and protected them in all their journies, so 
 our glorious Lord is the same to all, aud to every individual 
 believer, for it is written, " the Lord will go before you ; 
 and the God of Israel will be your rereward." Isa. lii. 1 2. 
 But what a record of the Lord's mercy, grace, long- 
 suffering, and abundant goodness, doth the spiritual 
 history of Israel in the wilderness afford for our comfort 
 and strength of faith in the Lord, and the power of His 
 might, whilst we are coming up out of the wilderness of 
 this present evil world ! His mercy towards Israel is re- 
 corded in the 78th and the 106th Psalms. Surely His love 
 exceeds all thought, and His salvation exceeds all praise. 
 We, like His spiritual Israel, have not only His spiritual 
 presence, but also our spiritual bread is certain, and our 
 spiritual water sure ; His righteousness is the garment of 
 salvation with which we are clothed, which will never 
 wax old ; and our shoes, the preparation of the gospel of 
 peace, like iron and brass, shall protect us from the 
 roughness of the way, and the persecutions and tempta- 
 tions of this present evil world. Gal. i. 4. Israel's re- 
 bellions, sins, forgetfulness, and unmindfulness of God's 
 mercies, together with their ingratitude, afflictions, and 
 
2S 
 
 troubles, may cause us, if we have any true knowledge 
 of ourselves, to say, " Who is a God like unto thee, that 
 pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of 
 the remnant of His heritage ? He retaineth not His 
 anger for ever, because He deligheth in mercy. He will 
 turn again, He will have compassion upon us ; He will 
 subdue our iniquities, and will cast all our sins into the 
 depths of the sea." Mich. vii. 18, 19. Israel's journey 
 through the wilderness declares, that here God's spiritual 
 Israel have no continuing city ; that this world is not 
 their rest ; and that through much tribulation they are to 
 enter into the kingdom. And as, notwithstanding Israel's 
 sin and sinfulness, the pillar of the cloud never departed 
 from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night ; so 
 now, the Israel of God shall find Him faithful, who hath 
 said, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
 the world. Amen." 
 
 Blessed Lord Jesus ! during this wilderness state, and 
 while exercised with wilderness dispensations, ever give 
 me to believe, that, however rough and thorny the way, 
 still it is the right way to the city of habitation. Be 
 thou my pillar of cloud by day, going before in grace 
 and wisdom to direct me, and be thou my pillar of fire 
 by night, to defend me from all my enemies, and to 
 warm my heart with love divine, until I enjoy the 
 fulfilment of that blessed promise, which thou hast 
 made : for thou hast said, I will come, and receive you 
 unto myself, that where I am, ye may be also ! Halle- 
 lu-jah! 
 
 OBADIAH. 
 
MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS. 
 
 MEDITATION III. 
 
 THE BAPTISM OF AARON AND HIS SONS. 
 
 Christian Reader! "We have meditated upon the 
 baptism of the children of Israel unto Moses, i. e., 
 baptized into discipleship to Moses as their teacher, &c, 
 when the Lord divided the sea before them, so that they 
 •went through the midst of the sea on the dryland, whereas 
 their persecutors were immersed in the deeps, as a stone 
 in the mighty waters ! But, the antipcEdobaptists call 
 this baptism of the children of Israel in the cloud and in 
 the sea, " dry baptism." Mr. Medley says, in his reply to 
 Mr. De Courcey, " the Israelites went through the cavity 
 of the sea on dry land ; they were in the cloud and in 
 the sea, and this surely favours ' immersion." " If Mr. 
 Medley really meant what he stated, then dry immersion 
 must be in his opinion the true believer's baptism ; and 
 the Egyptians' immersion in the sea must be the 
 antichristians' mode of baptism by immersion in water. 
 The author of a concise view of christian baptism, calls 
 the baptism of the children of Israel in the sea and in 
 the cloud " dry baptism :" but he does not notice the 
 water immersion of the Egyptians ; if he had, it would 
 have been a concise view, that Christian baptism was 
 the baptism with the Spirit ! From the scriptures we 
 understand, " the clouds poured out water whilst the 
 people were led through the sea on dry land by the 
 hand of Moses and Aaron." Psm. lxxvii. 17 — 20. 
 Reader, notwithstanding the provocations of the chil- 
 
 P 
 
30 
 
 dren of Israel, the Lord in His manifold mercies forsook 
 them not in the wilderness : the pillar of the cloud de- 
 parted not from them by day, to lead them in the way ; 
 neither the pillar of fire by night to show them light, 
 and the way wherein they should go : moreover He gave 
 His good Spirit to instruct them, He withheld not His 
 manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their 
 thirst ! He remembered for them His holy promise and 
 Abraham his servant (Psm. cv. 39, 42) ; and although 
 they broke the covenant He made with them at Sinai, 
 yet he remembered/or them His covenant, and repented 
 according to the multitude of His mercies. Psm. cvi. 
 45 ! Eeader, our own history in the wilderness, if we 
 are taught of God, will testify to that solemn but gracious 
 truth, "it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not 
 consumed, because his compassions fail not, they are 
 new every morning : great is His faithfulness." Lamen. 
 iii. 22, 23. 
 
 The believing Hebrews, baptized with the Spirit, 
 understood their legal ceremonies to be typical of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. For the first covenant had ordi- 
 nances of divine institution and a worldly sanctuary. 
 There was a tabernacle made divided into two parts, 
 the first was called the sanctuary, and the second the 
 holiest of all. The furniture of the tabernacle was of 
 divine ordination : and the priests are stated to ac- 
 complish the service of divine worship always in the 
 first tabernacle or sanctuary, for the High priest alone 
 went into the holiest of all ; and he entered but once in 
 a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself 
 and the errors of the people. 
 
 The institution of the priesthood was typical of the 
 gracious mediatorial work of Christ in the redemption 
 of his people. So infinitely great is the holiness, and 
 justice, and righteousness of God, that it was to declare 
 siH righteousness that Christ was set forth a propitiation 
 
31 
 
 through faith in His blood : it did not become Him, 
 for whom are all things, to pardon a sinner except 
 through the mediation and sacrifice of Christ. Rom. 
 iii. 25. Christ's priesthood, which is without begin- 
 ning of days or end of life (Heb. vii. 3), is a gracious 
 testimony that God's love in Christ is eternal, immuta- 
 ble, and inseparable; His mercy is from everlasting 
 to everlasting upon them that fear Him. Psm. xc. 2 ; 
 ciii. 17. Sin separated man from God in the way of 
 immediate communion ; but it does not separate the 
 redeemed from the mediate communion with God in 
 and through our Lord Jesus Christ by one Spirit! 
 The sacrifices and the blood that was shed after the 
 fall of man, testified, that the life of man was for- 
 feited by reason of sin : and as the sacrifices were 
 appointed by God, they also testified, there was forgive- 
 ness with Him, that He might be feared. As the people 
 came to God through the intercession of the High 
 Priest, it was thereby manifest that a sinner's approach 
 to God is in and through the Mediator Christ Jesus. 
 Looking, therefore, unto Jesus, the author and finisher 
 of faith, we may triumphantly say, * the Lord is good, 
 and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all 
 that call upon Him." Psm. lxxxvi. 5. 
 
 The High priest under the law of a carnal command- 
 ment was but a shadow of the Great High Priest of our 
 profession, the Son of God (Heb. i. 1 — 3 ; iv. 12, 14 ; 
 vii. 28), for the Aaronic priesthood had a beginning 
 and an end to it ; but Christ's priesthood is without 
 beginning or end ; He is a priest after the power of an 
 endless life. The priests under the law of a carnal 
 commandment could not continue by reason of death; 
 but Christ ever liveth. They were made without an 
 oath; but Christ with an oath. They were not sureties ; 
 but Christ is the Surety of a better Testament- They 
 d 2 
 
32 
 
 died as priests, not as a sacrifice ; but Christ died as a 
 sacrifice, and not as a priest. 
 
 The High Priest was distinguished from the other 
 priests in sundry particulars, he was to be free from 
 blemish or spot in his skin, and without any defect whatso- 
 ever in his person ; he was clothed with peculiar garments 
 of glory and beauty, to wit, a breastplate, an ephod, a 
 robe, a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle, with the 
 Urim and Thummim y and precious stones in the breast- 
 plate and in the shoulders of his ephod, and a crown 
 or plate of gold upon his mitre 1 On the great day of 
 atonement, he alone went into the holy of holies ; 
 no priest or Levite was allowed to be even in the 
 tabernacle of the congregation, when he went in to 
 make an atonement before the Lord. 
 
 The High priest appointed, and afterwards con- 
 secrated, offered both gifts and sacrifices for sin. In 
 the institution of a sacrifice for sin, a memorial was 
 kept up of man's sin and guilt : and the repetition of 
 the sacrifices set forth the impossibility that any sinner 
 could make an atonement for his sin. Under the 
 Levitical dispensation and services, there was a con- 
 stant solemn remembrance of Christ's one sacrifice, 
 and the everlasting virtue thereof, and of the all pre- 
 valent nature of His intercession, and also of His power 
 to command the blessing, even life for evermore. The 
 true Israel of God understood by divine teaching in the 
 daily services performed in the tabernacle, that there 
 was forgiveness with God for all their sins through the 
 glorious mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ ! As there 
 was no oil poured upon, or frankincense put on, the 
 offering of jealousy, because it brought iniquity to 
 remembrance (Numb. v. 15), so the daily offerings with 
 oil a ud frankincense set forth to the spiritual worshippers, 
 the glory of Christ's mediation, that God would be 
 merciful (propitious) to their unrighteousness, and their 
 
33 
 
 sins and their iniquities He would remember no more ! 
 Heb. viii. 12. Truly the Lord is good to Israel, yea, 
 abounding in goodness and in truth, ready to forgive, 
 and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon Him ! As the 
 High priest went alone, and but once in a year, into the 
 holiest of all, but not without blood, the Holy Ghost 
 thereby signified, that the way into the holiest of all 
 was not made manifest whilst the first tabernacle was 
 standing ; for none of the gifts and sacrifices there 
 offered could take away sin, or make the offerer perfect 
 as pertaining to the conscience ! Sin in its nature is 
 hatred to, and rebellion against the sovereignty of 
 God : and hatred to God is Deicide, for hatred is murder. 
 1 John iii. 15. Therefore such sacrifices as were offered 
 by the law could not take away sin, nor purge the 
 conscience of sinners from dead works to serve the 
 living God. The gifts and sacrifices offered by the 
 priests, did not make the priests which did the 
 service perfect, nor make the people perfect whom the 
 priest represented, and for whom he did the service ; 
 because those services stood only in meats and drinks, 
 and divers (baptismois) baptisms, &c, carnal ordinances 
 imposed on them until the time of reformation, that is, 
 until Christ had fulfilled all righteousness, and finished 
 the work which the Father gave him to do, and had by 
 his own blood entered into the holy place, not made with 
 hands, but into heaven itself, having obtained eternal 
 redemption. John xvii. 4; Heb. ix. 6 — 11, 12. 
 
 Our translators have rendered baptismois, washings, not 
 to pervert the meaning of the word, but to show that 
 such was one of its meanings in Holy Scripture ! 
 
 The divers washings or baptisms under the law were 
 of divers kinds. The Greek word "baptizo'" is inter- 
 preted by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament to 
 mean " wash," as Luke xi. 38. The Pharisees marvelled 
 d 3 
 
34 
 
 that " Jesus had not first washed before dinner ;" in 
 Greek, "was not first baptized." Can it be supposed that 
 they marvelled He did not immerse Himself in water ? 
 Dr. Watts, in his sermon entitled " Christian Baptism," 
 saith (Mark vii. 4), the Pharisees when they come 
 from the market, eat not, except they are washed, i. e., 
 baptized; surely it cannot mean, except they were 
 dipped. And if this should be restrained to signify a 
 washing their hands only, yet it does not necessarily 
 signify dipping them, as Elisha poured water on the 
 hands of Elijah, 2 Kings iii. 11. Yet further, they 
 practised the washing of tables (in Greek, of beds, as in 
 Matt. ix. 2), as well as cups and vessels. Now beds 
 could not usually be washed by dipping. The Jews had 
 divers washings (in Greek, baptismois) which were sprink- 
 ling and pouring water on things, as well as plunging 
 them. 1 Cor. x. 2. The children of Israel were bap- 
 tized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea ; not that 
 they were dipped in the water, but they were sprinkled 
 by the clouds over their heads, and perhaps by the 
 water which stood up in heaps as they passed by." 
 
 Dr. Gill, in his commentary on Heb. vi. 2, saith, 
 " the divers baptisms among the Jews had a doctrine 
 in them to that people ; teaching them the cleansing 
 virtue of the blood of Christ, and leading them to it, 
 to wash in for sin and for uncleanness, &c." 
 
 The washing or baptizing of Aaron, upon his conse- 
 cration to the high priest's office, was of divine 
 appointment : and to that baptism as part of the 
 ceremonial law our Lord referred, when He said to 
 John, " suffer it to be so now, for it becometh us to 
 fulfil all righteousness! Matt. iii. 15. Aaron being 
 the appointed High priest, the Lord commanded Moses, 
 saying, Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the 
 door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall 
 wash them with water; Dr. Gill says, "out of the laver 
 
35 
 
 which stood between the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation and the altar," Exod. xxx. 18: he 
 also states, that the Targum of Jonathan says, " this 
 washing was performed in forty seahs of living or 
 spring water, which was sufficient for the immersion of 
 the whole body, which it is highly probable was the case ; 
 and so Jarchi interprets it of the dipping of the whole 
 body, and which seems to have been necessary upon their 
 entrance on their office, to denote their complete purity 
 and holiness, though afterwards when they entered on 
 service, they only washed their hands and feet, see 
 Exod. xxx. 18 — 21, to which our Lord seems to allude, 
 John xiii. 10 ; this washing shews what purity and 
 holiness were necessary to the priests of the Lord ; and 
 that they ought to be clean that bear the vessels of his 
 house, or minister in his sanctuary, and which were in 
 Christ in their full perfection ; for such an High 
 Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, and undefiled, 
 and so could offer himself without spot, and was a fit 
 person to take away sin by sacrifice, and to be an advo- 
 cate for his people : this may point to his baptism, 
 which he submitted to before he entered on his office in a 
 public manner, and which was performed by immersion ; 
 and in this way (Dr. Gill adds) ought all his priests, 
 his saints, to be washed, as well as with the washing of 
 regeneration, &c." If Dr. Gill be correct, that the 
 baptism or washing of Aaron's sons is the order to be 
 observed by all the saints, then the saints must be 
 baptized as Aaron's sons were, namely, before the ap- 
 plication of the blood to the ear, &c, and before they are 
 anointed, t. e„ sealed with the Holy Ghost ; for this was 
 God's appointed order ! And if this legal ceremony is to 
 be continued under the gospel dispensation, any devia- 
 tion from the divine order as regards the sons, must 
 be dis-order : and consequently, such a deviation has 
 made a schism in the church of God ! 
 
36 
 
 The reader will observe the consecration of Aaron 
 differed from that of his sons ! Aaron was baptized 
 by washing, then clothed, crowned, and anointed. 
 After he was so clothed and anointed, then, his sons 
 were baptized by washing, and clothed ; and after they 
 were clothed they were not anointed as Aaron was, but 
 the blood of the ram of consecration was applied to Aaron 
 and also to his sons ; and after the blood was applied, 
 the anointing oil was sprinkled upon Aaron and his 
 garments, as it was also upon his sons and upon his 
 sons' garments, &c. Exod. xxix. 1 — 21. 
 
 Aaron's sons being baptized before the blood of the 
 ram of consecration was applied to their right ears, 
 &c, points out the ordinance of water baptism 
 under the law was to be administered by divine 
 appointment before they had heard by faith the joyful 
 sound of the forgiveness of their sins through the blood 
 of Christ, and before they were anointed with the Holy 
 Spirit, &c. Dr. Gill and other antipcedobaptists con- 
 tend this ordinance was administered by immersion : 
 the Doctor in his comment on Exod. xxix. 4, saith, 
 " and in this way ought all his (the Lord's) 
 
 PRIESTS, HIS SAINTS, TO BE WASHED, OS well OS with 
 
 the washing of regeneration, and with the blood of 
 Christ ; and which is necessary to their officiating as 
 priests, or drawing nigh to God, and requisite to their 
 communion with God and Christ." If all the anti- 
 pcedobaptists profess, that in this way all the Lord's saints 
 ought to be washed or baptized; not one of the antipcedo- 
 baptists observes the way as divinely ordered; for 
 they refuse to baptize any one who has not previously 
 heard by faith the joyful sound of the forgiveness of 
 sins through the blood of Christ, or has been anointed 
 with the Holy Ghost. Therefore, whilst they contend 
 for immersion, as they say, baptism was administered 
 under the law, they tftsregard the divinely appointed 
 
37 
 
 order under the law ! Dr. Gill, speaking of the bap- 
 tism of Aaron, saith, this " may also point to Christ's 
 baptism which He submitted to be/ore He entered on His 
 office." And in the Doctor's comment on Matt. iii. 15, 
 he saith, " it became John to administer the ordinance 
 of baptism to Christ, as he was his forerunner, and the 
 only administrator of it, and that he might fulfil the 
 ministry which he had received; and as it became 
 Christ to fulfil all righteousness, moral and c2remonial, 
 and baptism being a part of His Father's will, which 
 He came to do, it became Him to fulfil this also." 
 
 As it became Christ to fulfil all righteousness, moral 
 and ceremonial ; and John to administer the ordinance 
 of baptism as for Christ to be washed or baptized by 
 John, as Aaron was by Moses, as part of the ceremonial 
 law to be fulfilled by Christ, then this legal ordinance of 
 water baptism is certainly abolished, for the Holy Spirit 
 declares it was a carnal ordinance until the time of 
 reformation. Heb. ix. 10. Dr. Gill confirms the 
 same in his body of divinity, for he saith, that Christ 
 was made under the ceremonial law, that by fulfilling it he 
 might abolish it and put an end to it ; for when it was 
 fulfilled it was no longer useful; and there was a 
 necessity of the disannulling of it, because of its 
 weakness and unprofitableness. Does not this statement 
 confirm John's testimony of Christ's baptism, and also 
 our Lord's testimony, that his disciples should be 
 baptized with the Spirit, and is not John's baptism 
 a legal ceremony, and abolished? The Jews as well 
 as the baptists say, this legal ordinance of baptism was 
 by immersion; but they differ as regards its adminis- 
 tration, for the Jews were, and are to this day, bap- 
 tized naked, as they say Aaron and his sons were ! If 
 Moses washed, or, as Dr. Gill states, baptised them by 
 immersion, they could not have had on their clothes; for 
 they were to be clothed by Moses after they were washed. 
 
38 
 
 Is it probable they were washed by immersion naked ? 
 There is no record that they were immersed: and 
 we are not to add to God's testimony the opinions of 
 men. Baptismal garments are evidently of human in- 
 vention; the Jews do not make use of them, for 
 they immerse the person naked in the water. It is 
 probably observed by them as an ordinance of humilia- 
 tion, for by being baptized naked, the baptized may 
 be understood to confess his sinful state, and to ac- 
 knowledge he was obnoxious, or subject to the wrath 
 of God for his iniquity and transgressions — that 
 he had no righteousness of his own to cover his na- 
 kedness ; but that he felt his need of being washed 
 from his iniquity and cleansed from his sin (Psalm li. 2), 
 and to be clothed with the robe of God's righteousness. 
 Isa. Ixi. 10; Gen. iii. 21; Hosea ii. 3; Rev. iii. 18. 
 There is one particular respecting the Jewish baptisms 
 which ought never to be forgot, namely, that the Holy 
 Spirit hath declared them to be carnal ordinances until 
 the time of reformation. 
 
 Our Lord Jesus Christ said unto John (Matt. iii. 15. 
 Aphes arti onto gar prepon, &c), "Suffer it to be 
 now so,* for it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." 
 Water baptism is no part of the moral law ! If it be 
 understood to be part of the law which came by Moses, 
 it was far from being all righteousness, because water 
 baptism was merely part of the ceremonial law: and 
 John saith, that why he came baptising with water was 
 that Christ might be manifest to Israel; and therefore it is 
 of importance for us to know who are the "us" it became 
 to fulfil all righteousness ? Not John the Baptist, nor 
 
 * The particle outo occurs but once in the Greek text; it 
 precedes " gar" for, and is rendei'ed " so," and, therefore, the 
 particle " thus" ought not to have been in our version of the New 
 Testament : it is not in Wiclif's translation. 
 
39 
 
 all the angels or saints in heaven or in earth. Jesus Em- 
 manuel is Jehovah our righteousness. Jer. xxiii. 5. 6. 
 His righteousness is the righteousness of God, 2 Pet. i. 1 ; 
 Eom. x. 3, 4 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Phil. iii. 9. He brought 
 in an everlasting righteousness. Dan., ix. 24. The 
 righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. Rom. i. 
 17. (Prepei) as it became Him to fulfil all righte- 
 ousness, so (prepei) it became us to have such an 
 anointed High Priest, Jesus the Son of God, who is holy, 
 harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and higher 
 than the heavens, who is the end of the law for righteous- 
 ness to every one that believeth. Heb, vii. 26 ; Rom. x. 4. 
 He fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law. Luke xvi. 1 7. 
 He had the Holy Spirit given to Him without measure, 
 and as the anointed High Priest, He, through the eter- 
 nal Spirit, offered Himself, for us, without spot to God 
 the Father, and was obedient unto death, even the death 
 of the cross. John iii. 34 ; Heb. ix. 14 ; Phil. ii. 6, 8. 
 And (prepei) it became God the Father, for whom are 
 all things, and by whom are all things, to make the 
 Captain of our salvation perfect through ! sufferings. 
 Heb. ii. 10. The works which Jesus Emmanuel 
 wrought were the works the Father gave Him to finish. 
 He said, I must work the works of Him which sent Me 
 — I have finished the works Thou gavest me to do. 
 John v. 36 ; ix. 4 ; x. 37 ; xi. 33 ; xvii. 4. As God created 
 all things by Jesus Christ (Eph. iii. 9), so God was in 
 Christ reconciling the world unto Himself by Jesus 
 Christ. 2 Cor. v. 19. God set forth Christ a pro- 
 pitiation through faith in His blood, to declare his 
 righteousness in the remission of sins that are pasty 
 through the forbearance of God, and to declare at this 
 time His righteousness, that He might be just and the 
 justifier of him which believed in Jesus. Rom. iii. 25, 
 26. Therefore the "us" it became to fulfil all righte- 
 ousness, are the Holy Three which are One; for (1) 
 
40 , 
 
 Christ fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law for us ; 
 (2) as the anointed High Priest of His church He did, 
 through the unction of the Holy Spirit, offer Himself 
 up for us without spot to God, a sacrifice of a sweet 
 smelling savour ; and (3) it is through His propitiation 
 God the Father declared His righteousness in the 
 forgiveness of sins, previous to Christ's sacrifice for sin, 
 and declares at this time his righteousness, in that He is 
 hist and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 
 
 The consecration of Aaron differed from that of his sons, 
 for after Aaron was baptized, and clothed, and crowned, 
 the anointing oil was poured upon his head (Exod. xxix. 
 4 — 7), to which the psalmist alludes in 1 33d Psalm, where 
 he saith, " Behold how good and how pleasant it is for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity ! It is like the precious 
 ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even 
 Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his 
 garments." Our Almighty Aaron was anointed with the 
 oil of gladness above and for his fellows : and unto His 
 seed is given grace according to the measure of the gift 
 of Christ. Psalm xlv. 6, 7; John iii. 34; Eph. iv. 7. 
 The consecration of Aaron was typical of Christ's con- 
 secration, when the Lord of Glory was baptized of John 
 in Jordan ! Aaron was baptized and anointed by Moses 
 with the holy oil composed of material things ; but 
 Christ's human nature was filled with the Spirit, and all 
 the fulness of grace immediately in its conception and 
 union to His divine person. When He was baptized in 
 or with water to fulfil all righteousness, the Holy Ghost 
 visibly descended and abode on Him, for Him did God 
 the Father seal, and by a voice from heaven declared 
 Him to be His beloved Son (en) in, with, and through 
 whom He was well pleased ! John iii. 34 ; Luke ii. 11, 
 40 ; John i. 33 ; Isa. xi. 1 — 5 ; Matt. iii. 1 7 ; Luke iv. 
 18, 19. The High Priest in his office was a type of 
 Christ, and represented the whole church of God; his 
 
41 
 
 garments were two-fold, the mitre and the crown, and 
 the golden plate with its inscription " holiness to 
 the Lord," or, as rendered by some, " the Holy 
 One of Jehovah," were upon his head, as typical of 
 Christ the Head of the church : but the whole of his 
 body signified the church of Christ in union with Christ. 
 Now as the body of the High Priest was covered over 
 with the glorious long robe, it set forth how the whole 
 body of the elect, chosen in Christ, stand clothed and 
 covered with the righteousness of Christ, in whom they 
 are complete before God : for it is written, " Beware lest 
 any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, 
 after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the 
 world, and not after Christ ; for in Him dwelleth all the 
 fulness of the Godhead bodily ; aud ye are complete in Him 
 which is the Head of all principality and power : in whom 
 also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made 
 without hands by the circumcision of Christ." 
 Col. ii. 8 — 11. As Christ was circumcised with the 
 circumcision made with hands, He made Himself a debtor 
 to do the whole law, so it became Him, as the Great High 
 Priest over the house of God, to be baptized with water as 
 part of the ceremonial law, for it behoved Him to fulfil 
 all righteousness for His body the church, of which He is 
 the Head ! His church being chosen in Him were re- 
 presented by Him ; and therefore they are represented 
 as circumcised with Christ, as crucified with Christ, as 
 buried together with Him in baptism, quickened together 
 with Him, and raised up togetherto sit together in heavenly 
 places, or in heavenlies, in Christ Jesus. Gal. ii. 20 ; 
 Eph. i. 4 ; ii. 5, 6. There is a stress upon the words " in 
 whom also ye are circumcised" to teach us that we have 
 no need of the circumcision made with hands, for Christ 
 hath fulfilled all righteousness, therefore it is written, 
 " if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 
 For every man that is circumcised, he is a debtor to do th e 
 
42 
 
 whole law." Gal. v. 2, 3. Therefore to accomplish our 
 salvation, it became Christ to fulfil all righteousness : 
 although He were a son, yet learned He obedience by the 
 things which He suffered ; and being made perfect, He 
 became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that 
 obey Him. Heb. vii. 26 ; v. 8, 9. Reader, as the Lord of 
 Glory was consecrated to the officeof the priesthood, think 
 how important is His office, to which the priesthood under 
 the law was a mere shadow ; for Christ's priesthood is 
 without beginning of days or end of life, not made as 
 the High Priests under the law without an oath, but 
 with an oath, by Him that sware and will not repent, 
 thou art a Priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec ! 
 The High Priest under the law was ordained for men 
 in things pertaining to God, that he might offer both gifts 
 and sacrifices for sins — who could have compassion 
 (metriopathein), bear with the ignorant, and pity them, 
 notwithstanding their provocations and infirmities. He 
 was to perform the daily and other services in the 
 sanctuary in a solemn manner, and with a tender 
 sympathy and affection towards the people. As he was 
 a man, convinced that he was a sinner and compassed 
 with infirmity, from the experimental knowledge of 
 himself, he would discharge his office in a merciful and 
 faithful manner on behalf of the people. If any of 
 them were gone out of God's way by transgressing the 
 law, falling into sin by infirmity, or from ignorance of 
 the revealed will of God, the High Priest was to ex- 
 press his pity for them, offer the sacrifice for their sin, 
 and make intercession with God on their behalf. His 
 office was for the benefit of the people. He was ap- 
 pointed to it for that purpose, and he was to approach 
 God on their behalf as their representative. Let their 
 state, personally considered, be ever so aggravated, the 
 atonement was to be made for them, by which their sin 
 was typically covered ; his intercession for them and 
 
43 
 
 their interest in it was always the same by the divine 
 appointment, and he was to close the sacred service by 
 pronouncing the benediction in faith, that the Lord 
 would confirm the blessing according to His gracious 
 promise. Numb. vi. 24 — 27. In all these holy services 
 our Lord Jesus Christ in His merciful and gracious 
 office was typically represented and shadowed forth ! 
 The High Priest bore the names of all the twelve tribes 
 inscribed in the twelve precious stones in his breast- 
 plate, which represented the elect, the Israel of God, as 
 loved by Christ with an everlasting love, and as having 
 them in everlasting remembrance. The High Priest 
 also bore the names of the twelve tribes on the shoul- 
 der-pieces of the ephod, to set forth Christ bearing with* 
 or upholding His people with their burthens of sin and 
 misery, and as supporting His whole church with the 
 arm of His power. Moses may allude to it when he 
 says, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath 
 are the everlasting arms." And Isaiah refers to it, 
 saying, " Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is 
 given ; and the government shall be upon His shoulder." 
 
 How exceeding precious is the Lord Jesus Christ to 
 that person who knows, by divine revelation, that Christ 
 is the Word — Jehovah, who was made flesh, and dwelt 
 among us, full of grace and truth ; the Great High 
 Priest of His church, who searcheth their hearts and 
 their reins! There is not any creature that is not 
 manifest in His sight ; for all things are naked and 
 opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to 
 do. Seeing then, that we have a Great High Priest 
 that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, 
 let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an 
 High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling 
 of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like 
 us, yet without sin. Let us therefore come with holy 
 confidence unto the throne of grace, that we may 
 
44 
 
 obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 
 Therefore be strong in the grace that is in Christ 
 Jesus ; for He is the same yesterday, and to day, and 
 for ever. Whosoever cometh unto Him, He will in no 
 •wise cast out. John vi. 37. 
 
 The washing of regeneration is the spiritual interpreta- 
 tion of the washing of Aaron's sons. Titus hi. 5. Our 
 blessed Lord in His discourse with Nicodemus (John hi. 
 5), said unto him, " Except a man be born of water (kai 
 Pneumatos), even the Spirit, he cannot see or enter into 
 the kingdom of God ; for that which is born of the flesh 
 is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Dr. 
 Gill, in his comment on this scripture, saith, " by water 
 is not meant material water, or baptismal water ; for 
 water baptism is never expressed by water only, without 
 some additional word which shews, that the ordinance 
 of water baptism is intended : nor has baptism any re- 
 generation influence, as a person may be baptized, as 
 Simon Magus was, and yet not born again. Water is 
 an emblem used by our Lord for the Holy Spirit." See 
 John iv. 10, 14 ; vii. 37—39. 
 
 Xicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews ; he 
 had a form of godliness, he observed the ordinances under 
 the legal dispensation ; but he knew not that they were 
 merely carnal ordinances, a shadow of good things to 
 come, for he sought to establish his own righteousness by 
 his observance of them, whereby to inherit eternal life. 
 Our Lord's miracles had made so deep an impression on 
 his mind, that he was convinced our Lord was a man sent 
 from God ; and, therefore, he came to enquire of Christ 
 about the kingdom of God. As Jesus knew what was 
 in man, he knew the state of Nicodemus' mind, and 
 immediately draws his attention away from the carnal 
 ordinance of water baptism to the washing of regenera- 
 tion, by saying, " Except a man be born of water, even 
 the Spirit, he could not see or enter the kingdom of 
 
45 
 
 God." This greatly astonished Nicodemus, for he had 
 no knowledge of the washing of regeneration, signified 
 by water baptism ; indeed, he was so confounded with 
 our Lord's discourse, that in amazement he said unto 
 Jesus, " How can these things be ?" Our Lord im- 
 mediately took advantage of his surprise, and saith unto 
 him, " Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these 
 things?" Dost thou take upon thyself to teach others, 
 and art so ignorant of the spiritual substance of those 
 carnal ordinances, that you do not know so great and 
 fundamental a doctrine, which might be learnt from the 
 law and prophecies in the Old Testament? " If I have 
 told you," saith our Lord, " earthly things," what is 
 wrought by the Spirit in men, "and ye believe not, how 
 shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things," the 
 great mystery of godliness, namely, " no man hath 
 ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from 
 heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven" — 
 which is in heaven even when on earth ! Our Lord then 
 proceeds to lead Nicodemus from trusting in the typical 
 sacrifices which could never take away the venom of the 
 old serpent, and to look at the ordinance appointed for the 
 cure of the Israelites who were bitten by the fiery ser- 
 pents, as typical of Himself the Son of Man, and of the 
 death He should die, saying, "As Moses lifted up the ser- 
 pent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted 
 up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 
 but have eternal life." Thus did the Lord of life and 
 glory condescend to lead this ruler of the Jews and 
 master in Israel from trusting in the typical sacrifices, 
 to look to the only way of salvation from the wrath to 
 come ; and from looking at the carnal ordinance of 
 water baptism to the washing of regeneration, for unless 
 a man be born of the Spirit he cannot see and enter 
 into the kingdom of God. Therefore, from the baptis- 
 mal washing of Aaron's sons, we learn this comfortable 
 
46 
 
 doctrine, that every sinner, poor in spirit, convinced of 
 sin, and stript of all self-righteousness, shall surely 
 enjoy the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of 
 his sins ; for as the blood of the ram of consecration 
 was applied to Aaron's sons after they were washed, so 
 will Christ through the Eternal Spirit purge the con- 
 science of all who are washed by regeneration, from 
 the guilt of sin, and from all dead works to serve the 
 living God ; and all, so purged from guilt, shall be also 
 anointed as Aaron's sons were, that is, sealed (to pneumati 
 tes epaggelias to agio) with the Spirit of promise, with 
 holinesss ; which sealing is after believing or receiving 
 the atonement. Eph. i. 13. 
 
 May our Great and Glorious Lord deeply affect our 
 hearts with this truth, that all the divers water bap- 
 tisms were but shadows of the substantive baptisms 
 without water under the gospel dispensation. And 
 may all who are baptized with the Holy Spirit never 
 forget they are brethren, and keep the unity of the 
 Spirit in the bond of peace ! 
 
 May the Lord remember us with the favour He 
 beareth unto His people, by sending forth His light and 
 truth into our hearts, that His word may dwell in us 
 richly in all wisdom and spiritual understanding ! As 
 He has given us the ear of faith to hear what His Spirit 
 saith unto His churches, may we all stand fast in one 
 spirit, with one heart and one mind, striving together 
 not about water baptism, but for the faith of the gos- 
 pel ! May the Lord grant it for His sake whose Name 
 is above every name that is named, not only in this 
 world, but also in that which is to come ! Amen. 
 
 OBADIAH. 
 
MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS. 
 MEDITATION IV. 
 
 THE BAPTISM OF THE LEVITES. 
 
 We learn from the sacred scriptures that some of God's 
 servants had their inventions : Aaron offended in the 
 matter of the golden calf, and Moses spake unadvisedly 
 with his lips. Psm. xcix. 6 — 8. Therefore, we ought 
 not to be surprised, though we ought to lament, that 
 such men as Dr. Stennett should affirm what is 
 untrue, namely, that the word baptize, properly and 
 only signifies " dipping /' and that it is impossible for 
 any one to give it a different meaning ! If God's servants 
 will not follow the example of the Apostle Paul ; but 
 on the contrary, they will speak and write in the words 
 which man's wisdom teacheth, and not in the words 
 which the Holy Ghost teacheth, they not only deceive 
 themselves, but they induce persons to pin their faith 
 in the wisdom of men, whose word will eat as doth a 
 canker ; for they cause them to err from the truth ! 
 Reader, are we to believe Dr. Stennett and his anti- 
 paedobaptist brethren ? or are we to believe Dr. Watts 
 and his peedobaptist brethren ? Does the word baptize 
 only signify dipping ? What saith the scripture ? In 
 Meditation III., page 34, the testimony of Dr. Watts 
 is recited, confirmed by the testimony of God, namely, 
 that the word (i baptize" doth signify to wash: and the 
 reader, by comparing scripture with scripture, will find 
 the words " sprinkle" and " baptize" as having in some 
 scriptures the same signification. The Redeemer him- 
 self, upon vanquishing His enemies, and treading the 
 
48 
 
 wine-press alone, is heard by the prophet saying, and 
 their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments. Isa. 
 lxiii. S ; and when John the apostle saw in vision the 
 Redeemer as treading the wine-press, he was clothed 
 with a vesture dipped in blood, " bcbammon aimati" bap- 
 tized with blood. Rev. xix. 13 — 15. Thus, " sprinkle" 
 in Isaiah lxiii. 3, signifies " baptize " and (r baptize," 
 in Rev. xix. 13, signifies "sprinkle." Again; the 
 Spirit of prophecy, speaking of Christ, saith, " So 
 shall He sprinkle many nations, Isa. lii. 15, that 
 is, shall baptize them with the Holy Ghost ; for water 
 is an emblem used by our Lord for the Spirit : and 
 as our Lord never baptized with water (John iv. 2), 
 His sprinkling many nations refers to our Lord 
 baptizing with the Spirit. If it might be permitted 
 to add a testimony from men, that baptize does not 
 only signify to dip, it may be observed, that the 
 learned and judicious Leigh, in his Critica Sacra, states, 
 ** though the word baptize be derived from bap to, to dip 
 or plunge into water, yet it is taken more largely for 
 any kind of washing, rinsing, or cleansing, even where 
 there is no dipping at all." And Dr. Gill, by his com- 
 ment on Isa. lii. 15, proves, sprinkling is used in the 
 same signification as the Septuagint use baptize in 
 Dan. iv. 33. For the Doctor, commenting on the words, 
 " So shall He sprinkle many nations" saith, " it seems 
 best of all to interpret it of the doctrine of Christ, 
 which is compared to rain and dew, and is dropped, dis- 
 tilled, and sprinkled, and falls gently upon the souls 
 of men,*' &c. Mr. Medley, another antipsedobaptist, 
 in his reply to Mr. Be Courcey, refers to Dan. iv. S3, 
 where the Septuagint reads, "apo tes drosou tou oura- 
 nou to soma autos ebaphe, ?. e ., from or by the dew of 
 Heaven his body was baptized, which our translators have 
 rendered "and his body teas wet with the dew of 
 
49 
 
 Heaven :" upon this passage of scripture Mr. Medley 
 observes, " Nebuchadnezzar was wet (ebaplie) with the 
 dew of Heaven ; the Greek word is the original of baptizo. 
 Now we all admit that the dew did fall down from Heaven. 
 But this was not intended to he intimated by the aforesaid 
 Greek word, but the idea of his being overwhelmed in the 
 dew" Therefore, Mr. Medley admits the falling of the 
 dew upon Nebuchadnezzar was baptizing, overwhelm- 
 ing him with the dew I And, from the united testi- 
 monies of Dr. Gill and Mr. Medley, we have the truth 
 admitted, that to be sprinkled with water is to be bap 
 tized with water ; for what the one declares to be 
 sprinkled with dew, the other declares is to be 
 baptized or overwhelmed with dew, therefore, to 
 baptize, does not only signify to dip, for it does also 
 signify to sprinkle ! But we do not need the testimony 
 of men when we have God's word, scriptural proof, 
 from Isa. lxiii. 3, and Rev. xix. 13 — 15, that to be 
 sprinkled with blood is to be baptized with blood. 
 
 Our faith is not to stand in the wisdom of men, but in 
 the power of God (1 Cor. ii. 5), and we who desire the 
 sincere milk of God's word, will not allow it to be per- 
 verted by the words which man's wisdom teacheth ! 
 
 Reader, the foregoing observations were necessary as 
 introductory to the baptism of the Levites, for they were 
 sprinkled with water, and were appointed to minister 
 and assist the priests in the services of the tabernacle, 
 for the priesthood was confined to Aaron and his sons. 
 
 The appointment and consecration of the Levites is 
 recorded in Numb. viii. 5 — 26. They were subordinate 
 ministers to the priests in the outward services and 
 ministrations of the temple; for they were excluded 
 from the ministrations of the sanctuary and altar. 
 They were to bear the tabernacle and all the holy 
 vessels, throughout the journies of the children of 
 
50 
 
 Israel in the wilderness. They were to assist the priests 
 in the offering the sacrifices. They were to teach 
 the people in the law of the Lord. They were to judge 
 the causes and to determine controversies among the 
 people (Deut. xvii. 8, 9 — 12), but the supreme judg- 
 ment was with the High Priest. They were to sound 
 the trumpets, to sing the Lord's songs in the temple, 
 and the temple music was under their direction. Con- 
 cerning their ordination, 
 
 " The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the Le- 
 vitesfrom among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 
 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them, 
 sprinkle water of purification (the Hebreiv version 
 reads, water of sin, i. e., Dr. Gill saith, water that 
 purifies from sin in a ceremonial sense), upon them, and 
 let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their 
 clothes, and so make themselves clean." 
 
 " Then let them take a young bullock with his meat 
 offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another 
 young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering." 
 
 " And thou shalt bring the Levites before the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the 
 whole assembly of the children of Israel together : and 
 thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord : and the 
 children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Le- 
 vites : and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord 
 _for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may 
 execute the service of the Lord." 
 
 " And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads 
 of the bullocks : and thou shalt offer the one for a sin 
 offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the 
 Lord, to make an atonement for the Levites." 
 
 " And thou (Moses) shalt set the Levites before Aaron, 
 and before his sons, and offer them for an offering 
 unto the Lord. Thus shalt thou separate the Levites 
 
51 
 
 from among the children of Israel : and the Levites 
 shall be mine. And after that shall the Levites go in 
 to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation : 
 and thou shall cleanse them, and offer them for an offer- 
 ing. For they are wholly given unto me from among 
 the children of Israel j instead of such as open every 
 womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children 
 of Israel, have I taken them unto me : for all the first- 
 born of the children of Israel are mine, both man and 
 beast : on the day that I smote every firstborn in the 
 land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself: and I 
 have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the chil- 
 dren of Israel." 
 
 ,f And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to hit 
 sons, from among the children of Israel, to do the service of 
 the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, 
 and to make an atonement for the children of Israel : that 
 there be no plague among the children of Israel, when 
 the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary." 
 Numb. viii. 5 — 19. 
 
 The Levites so baptized and cleansed by sprinkling 
 upon them the water for the purification of sin, &c, 
 were taken from the children of Israel for the minis- 
 terial service ; and. they were to teach Jacob the 
 Lord's judgments, and Israel the law. Deut. xxxiii. 10. 
 For that purpose the Urim and the Thummim were to be 
 with Levi : and the scriptures record, that in the reign of 
 King Jehoshaphat, " the Levites went about throughout 
 all the cities of Judah with the book of the law of the 
 Lord, and taught the people." 2 Chron. xvii. 7, 9. And 
 in the reign of King Hezekiah they assisted the priesta 
 in offering of the sacrifices. 2 Chron. xxix. 34 ; xxx. 16. 
 
 The legal ceremony of the application of water for the 
 purification of sin, appears to have been observed, in the 
 days of the apostles, by thousands of Jews who were 
 
52 
 believers, and even by the apostles and elders themselves 
 at Jerusalem. Acts xxi. 20 — 24. 
 
 When Saul of Tarsus was called by the Lord, he was 
 three days without sight, abiding in the city of Damas- 
 cus ; in which city there was a disciple named Ananias, a 
 devout man according to the law, having a good 
 report of all the Jews which dwelt there. Acts xxii. 12. 
 " To him the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he 
 said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said 
 unto him, Arise and go into the street which is called 
 Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one 
 called Saul of Tarsus : for behold he prayeth, and hath 
 seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and put- 
 ting HIS HAND ON HIM, that HE MIGHT RECEIVE 
 
 his sight." Acts ix. 10 — 12. And the Lord said 
 unto Ananias, Go thy way ; for he is a chosen vessel unto 
 me, to bear my name hrfore the Gentiles, and kings, and the 
 children of Israel. For I will show him what 
 great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And 
 Ananias went his way, and entered into the house ; and 
 putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the 
 Lord (even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way as 
 thou earnest) hath sent me that tuov mightest receive 
 
 THY SIGHT, AND BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 
 
 Ver. 13. It will be observed, there is no authority 
 whatever given to Ananias to baptize Saul in or with 
 water. The command given to Ananias, as appears 
 upon record, and from Ananias' address to Saul, 
 was to lay his hands upon Saul that he might receive his 
 sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, saying unto Saul, 
 " The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou 
 shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and 
 shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt 
 be His witness unto all men, of what thou hast seen 
 and heard." Acts xxii. 14, 15. 
 
53 
 
 It will be observed, Ananias did not baptize Saul "in 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost," but only for the washing away of sin in 
 a ceremonial sense. That Ananias was an observer of the 
 ceremonial law is certain, from the fact that he had a 
 good report of all the Jews ; which good report he 
 would not have had, if he had not been zealous of the law ! 
 See Acts xxi. 21 — 24. The baptism administered by 
 Ananias upon this occasion was the legal ceremony, as 
 appointed for the cleansing of the Levites when they 
 were set apart to the ministry ; for as they were bap- 
 tized with water for the washing away of sin in a ceremo- 
 nial way, when they were set apart to the ministry, so 
 Ananias baptized Saul with water for the washing away 
 of sin in a ceremonial way, when Saul was set apart to 
 the ministerial office ; for it was after Ananias had laid 
 his hand upon Saul, separating him for the work of the 
 ministry, that Ananias said unto Saul, " And now, why 
 tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized, and wash away 
 thy sins:" and with prayer, " calling upon the name of 
 the Lord," then the ordination of Saul was concluded ; 
 and " straightway (it is said) Saul preached Christ in the 
 synagogues, that He is the Son of God !" Acts ix. 20. 
 
 Reader, it is evident Ananias did baptize Saul after 
 the legal ceremony observed upon the baptism of the 
 Levites, because our Lord Jesus Christ has not autho- 
 rized His apostles or ministers, under the New Testa- 
 ment, to administer water baptism for the washing 
 away of sin ; nor is it in the power of any man to 
 cleanse himself or his brother from his sins ; the Ethio- 
 pian may as soon change his skin, or the leopard his 
 spots, as an apostle or minister do this ; nor is there 
 any efficacy in water baptism to remove the filth of sin : 
 therefore, when Ananias said to Saul, "Arise and be 
 baptized, and wash away your sins;" he meant in a 
 
 F 
 
54 
 
 ceremonial way, outwardly, to sanctify to the purifying 
 of the flesh, as the Levites were, when they were set 
 apart to the ministry. At that time Ananias did not 
 know, nor do the apostles appear to have known until 
 some years after our Lord's ascension, that the ceremo- 
 nial law was abolished. And yet, after the apostles and 
 elders did know the legal ceremonies were abolished, it 
 appears by the sacred record of their proceedings, they 
 themselves continued to observe the purifications, and to 
 walk after the legal customs, so long as we have any 
 account of them in the Acts of the Apostles, although, 
 " as touching the Gentiles which believe, they had written and 
 concluded that they observed no such thing," Acts xxi. 
 18 — 25. It is evident, if the apostles had not been men 
 of like passions with ourselves (Acts xiv. 15), they would 
 not have practised what they instructed the Gentiles not 
 to do. When they knew the ceremonial law was ubolished, 
 they taught the Gentiles not to observe those customs ; 
 yet they themselves from fear of offending the Jews, 
 ** acted not vprightly according to the truth of the Gos- 
 pel,' ''but dissembled, as Peter did upon another occasion. 
 Gal. ii. 12 — 14. These failings are recorded of the 
 apostles and elders, to shew us, that notwithstanding 
 the sanctity of their character, and the greatness of 
 their office, they were not infallible. 
 
 If the legal ceremony of baptism or washing as admi- 
 nistered by Ananias upon this occasion be not abrogated, 
 then, every person, when he is set apart to the minis- 
 terial office, ought to be baptized as Saul was, previous 
 to his entrance upon the work of the ministry. It 
 was after the laying on of hands, that Ananias baptized 
 Saul ; and immediately or " straightway Saul preached 
 Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God." 
 Actsix. 17, 18, 20. Christian reader, do you admit the 
 baptism administered by Ananias, after the laying of 
 
55 
 
 hands on Saul, was a legal ceremony ? And is it now 
 abolished? Or, is wafer baptism to be administered after 
 the laying on of hands, as it was administered by Ananias? 
 These three questions are so far important, that no pcedo- 
 baptist or antipcedobaptist can come to any other just 
 conclusion than, that either all the pcedobaptist or anti- 
 pcedobaptist ministers, who have not been baptized with 
 or in water, after they were set apart by the laying on 
 of hands for the work of the ministry are wwbaptized 
 preachers ; or that Ananias administered a legal ceremony, 
 which is now abolished. Remember, every word of God 
 is pure : and they who desire the sincere milk of God's 
 word (i Pet. ii. 2) ought not to allow men to adul- 
 terate or dilute it with their interpretations : for they 
 who truli/ revere the work of God will surely be deceived, 
 if they do not reject the opinions of men. 
 
 The whole tribe of Levi were chosen and separated 
 from all the tribes of Israel for the divine services of the 
 tabernacle : Aaron and his sons, to which family the 
 office of the priesthood was confined, were of the tribe 
 of Levi, and the residue of that tribe were set apart for 
 the Lord, instead of all the first-born of Israel that openeth 
 the womb : the Lord having hallowed unto Himself all 
 the first- born of Israel as His own peculiar people, on the 
 day the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt. 
 Numb. iii. 12, 13. The Levites so set apart were to do 
 the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle, to 
 make an atonement for them, that there be no plague 
 among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel 
 came nigh to the sanctuary. Numb. viii. 19. Thus our 
 Lord Jesus Christ was set forth in type, as appointed by 
 God the Father from everlasting as the Redeemer of 
 Israel, to do all that the holy law and justice of God 
 required for the salvation of " the church of the first-born, 
 which are written in heaven," and to make an atonement for 
 f2 
 
56 
 
 them, that they might draw nigh to God, even to enter with 
 holy confidence into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 
 the new and living way which He hath consecrated for 
 us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. Exod. 
 iv. 22; Heb. xii. 22; Eph. v. 2; Rom. v. 10, 11; 
 Heb. x. 19, 20. 
 
 The name Levi, signifies " my united;" and as Christ 
 and the Father are One (John x. 30), so God the Fa- 
 ther speaks of Christ by that name, saying, " And ye 
 shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, 
 that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of Hosts. 
 My covenant was with Him of life and peace, and I gave 
 them to Him, &c. ;" that is, the blessings of eternal life, 
 and the fulness of all blessings in covenant for the church 
 of the first born. Mai. ii. 4, 5 ; Psm. xxi. 4 ; 2 Tim. 
 i. 1 ; 1 Johni. 1,2; v. 12; John xvii. 2. That our 
 gracious Lord is the antitypical Levi, appears from the 
 blessing of Moses, the man of God ; for when he blessed 
 the tribes of Israel before his death, he said of the tribe 
 of Levi, " Let thy Thummim and thy Urim, i. e., thy 
 lights and thy perfections be with thy Holy One/' &c, 
 (Deut. xxxiii. 8), which they are in Jesus, "for in Him 
 dwelleth all the fulness of the Godheai> 
 bodily." Col. ii. 9. 
 
 The Levites so set apart for the work of the ministry 
 were to bear the tabernacle, and all the holy vessels of 
 it, whilst the children of Israel were in the wilderness : 
 in which respect they were also typical of our Lord, the 
 minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle 
 which the Lord pitched, and not man ; for He bears 
 and supports the whole church of God, and all the 
 anointed vessels, with all their burdens, in their journies 
 through this world of tribulation. And so He spake by 
 the prophet, saying, " Hearken unto me, house of Ja- 
 cob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which 
 
are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from 
 the womb : and even to your old age I am He (that is, 
 eternally the same) ; and even to hoary hairs will I carry 
 you : I have made, and I will bear, even I will carry, and 
 will deliver you." Isa. xlvi. 3, 4. As David had a 
 gracious experience of his Lord's mercy, power, and 
 faithfulness to sustain him in the wilderness of Ziph, 
 he therefore encourages every one in tribulation to "cast 
 their burden upon their Lord," saying, " and He shall 
 sustain thee." Psm. lv. 22. 
 
 The priests and the ministers were of one tribe ; and 
 as the name " Levi" signifies " united," it may denote 
 the union of Christ and His people ; for Christ is one 
 flesh with them (Eph. v. 30 — 32), and they are one 
 Spirit with Him, for they who are joined to the Lord 
 are one Spirit. 1 Cor. vi. 1 7. 
 
 Secondly, the Levites did not take the honour of the 
 ministerial office to themselves, but were appointed of 
 God ! The sprinkling of water for the washing away of sin 
 upon them, was for making them clean in a ceremonial 
 sense ; and was typical of the blood of Christ, which is 
 called the blood of sprinkling ; for Christ's blood, through 
 the Holy Spirit, purges the consciences of his ministers 
 from dead works, that they may be qualified for the 
 ministerial office, as the Levites were, to serve the living 
 God. The Levites did not cleanse themselves, but Moses 
 or Aaron, as typical of Christ, were directed to purify 
 them ; of Him it is written, "He shall sit as a refiner 
 and purifier of silver ; and He shall purify the sons 
 of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an of- 
 fering in righteousness. Then shall the offerings of 
 Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in 
 the days of old, and as in former or ancient years." 
 Mai. hi. 3, 4. They were to shave all their flesh, i. e., to 
 cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh, and 
 f5 
 
58 
 
 to lay aside all superfluity of naughtiness, i. e., the over- 
 flowings of malice ; but their shaving of all their hair 
 may signify, they should forsake carnal things, and not 
 entangle themselves with the affairs of this life, but give 
 themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. 
 2 Ti. ii. 4; Acts vi. 4. They were to wash their 
 clothes, i. e., their outward walk and conversation was 
 to be according to godliness, and be also washed and 
 made white in the blood of the Lamb. Rev. vii. 14. 
 
 The two bullocks, the one for a burnt offering, and 
 the other for a sin offering, were typical of the sacrifice 
 of Christ, who gave Himself for us an offering and a 
 sacrifice unto God, of a sweet smelling savour, and who 
 gave Himself for our sins, &c. Eph. v. 2; Gal. i. 4. 
 The faith of the Levites in the sacrifice of Christ for 
 them, and of their sins being imputed to Christ was 
 expressed, by their laying their hands on the head of 
 each offering ! 
 
 As the Levites were brought before the tabernacle of 
 the congregation, and also before the Lord ; and the 
 children of Israel put their hands upon the Levites, it 
 may signify the congregation's approbation and accept- 
 ance of the person whom the Lord had appointed to the 
 ministerial office ! 
 
 As Aaron offered or waved the Levites after they 
 were made clean before the Lord, for an offering of the 
 children of Israel, that they might execute the service 
 of the Lord ; the same set forth the gracious office of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, as the great High Priest of His 
 people, who washes His ministers from all their sins, 
 and presents them faultless before the presence of His 
 glory with exceeding joy, Jude 24. Who also presents 
 for acceptance the prayers of His people on behalf of 
 their ministers : and to which the apostle, when he wrote 
 to the saints at Rome, may refer, when he said, " that I 
 
59 
 
 should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, 
 ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up (the 
 prayers) of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified 
 by the Holy Ghost." Rom. xv. 16. 
 
 Thirdly, as the sons of Levi were all given to Aaron, 
 they, as given to Aaron, do set forth the whole elect 
 people of God, separated from the world, who are given 
 to Christ the Lord, to be for ever with Him. The 
 antitype always exceeds the type as it does in this 
 instance ; for our glorious Lord washes His people from 
 all their sins in His own blood, and makes them all 
 kings and priests unto God and the Father ! Rev. i. 5. 
 The Lord's church is the Lord's inheritance ; the ser- 
 vants are the bishops or presbyters : tli3 apostles were 
 no more than servants to the church. 2 Cor. iv. 5. 
 The name "clergy" as appropriated exclusively to the 
 ministers of the gospel, is contrary to the word of God ; 
 for the Lord's people, or the congregation of believers 
 who meet for worship, are called the Lord's kleron, or 
 clergy, which our translators render " heritage," over 
 whom the bishops or presbyters are not lords (1 Peter 
 v. 3) ; for as the apostles were only servants, it is 
 evident the bishop's and pastors or presbyters are no 
 more ! The question has been asked, " Who then is 
 Paul, and who is Apollos ?" And the answer is recorded, 
 they are " but, diakonoi, servants, by whom ye believed." 
 There is, therefore, no such vain distinctions in the 
 church of God under the New Testament dispensation 
 as clergy and laity, or priests and people; for the 
 Lord's people are the clergy, and the Lord makes all 
 His people to be priests unto God and the Father, so 
 that the laity must mean the Mr/regenerate and ungodly. 
 
 The name "Levi" it has been observed, signifies 
 "united;" therefore, the Levites so given to Aaron 
 may be typical of all believers in our Lord Jesus 
 
60 • 
 
 Christ, for all who are joined to the Lord are one 
 Spirit (1 Cor. vi. 17) ; for with one Spirit they are all 
 baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whe- 
 ther bond or free ; and are all made to drink into one 
 Spirit. 1 Cor. xii. 13. And another scripture saith, 
 there is neither male nor female, for they are all one in 
 Christ Jesus! Gal. iii. 28. This high and glorious 
 union was communicated by the Lord Himself to His 
 disciples : this union they were to know and enjoy when 
 the Spirit of truth was given unto them, who would 
 dwell with them, and be in them, and abide with them 
 for ever .' (i At that day (said Jesus) ye shall know that 
 I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and 1 in you."' Various 
 figures are used in the holy scriptures to express this 
 union, but the text in John xiv. 20, exceeds them all ! 
 The union between the vine and the branches imports a 
 vital influence, living in Christ ; from Him all our fruit 
 is found ; and without Him we can do nothing. The 
 intimate love and communion there is between Christ 
 and His people is set forth by the marriage union : the 
 church saith, "My beloved is mine, and I am His." The 
 foundation and the building is another description of 
 the union of Christ and believers ! "Christ is the Rock 
 foundation which supports the building. It is written, 
 " Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone, a tried 
 stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation (or a 
 foundation of foundations) : he that believeth on Him 
 shall not be confounded." The Holy Ghost doth set 
 forth this mystical union by that which is between the 
 head and the body of a perfect man : we have several 
 texts where Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things, in 
 His incarnate state and office is set forth in His Head- 
 ship, but in a peculiar manner, as the Head of His 
 people : and the Church as His body, for He is 
 Head over all things to the church. Col. i. 18; 
 
61 
 
 Eph. i. 22. Christ is the Head, from whom the whole 
 body, fitly joined together, and compacted by that which 
 every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in 
 the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body 
 unto the edifying of itself in love. Eph. iv. 16. Again : 
 He is the Head/rom which all the body, by joints and 
 bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, 
 increaseth with the increase of God. Col. ii. 19. Christ 
 is the Head of all arches, that is to say, of arc-angels, for 
 Beelzebub is called an arc-devil, Matt. xii. 24 ; Christ is 
 therefore the Head of arc- angels and powers. Col. ii 10 ; 
 He is the Head of every man, 1 Cor. xi. 3 ; He is the 
 Head of the church as the husband is the head of the 
 wife. Eph. v. 23. But the scriptures do not say that 
 Christ is Head unto all things, but Head over all things 
 to the church, which imports, that although He be Lord 
 over all, yet He is a proper and peculiar Head to the 
 church, for He is united to it, not so to all things ; 
 though all things are under Him, yet all things are 
 not His body. He is, therefore, an all-sufficient 
 Head to the church ; and His universal power will 
 protect and preserve His church against all the designs 
 and assaults of her enemies! He is such a Head 
 to His body, the church, that as the head cannot 
 live without the body, nor the body live without 
 the head, the union between Christ and His church 
 is inseparable. God is in Christ (2 Cor. v. 19j, and 
 Christ is in God (Col. iii. 3) ; and the saints are in 
 Christ (Col. i. 2), and Christ is in them (Col. i. 27) ; 
 therefore, their place of defence is in the munition of 
 rocks, i. e., impregnable fortresses of rocks (Isa. 
 xxxiii. 15), for their life is hid with Christ in God, and 
 when Christ their life shall appear, then shall they also 
 appear with Him in glory. Col. iii. 3, 4. This is one 
 of the great mysteries ; all the shadows of it are not to 
 
62 
 
 be compared with this, that they all shall be one, as 
 Thou Father, said Jesus, art in Me, and I in Thee, that 
 they also may be one in us ? John xvii. 21. 
 
 The Levites were evidently typical of the whole elect 
 church of God, for they were all numbered from a 
 month old and upward : and our gracious Lord hath 
 told us there are children in the book of life, and that 
 of such is the kingdom of Heaven (Mark x. 14) ; and 
 whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in 
 Jesus, it were better for him that a millstone were 
 hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in 
 the depth of the sea. Matt, xviii. 6. 
 
 The Levites were not distinguished from other 
 Israelites by any prescribed garments, nor were they 
 consecrated as the priests : but they were solemnly set 
 apart publicly by God's appointment, so that all Israel 
 knew the Levites did not take this honour to themselves, 
 but were called of God to it, and solemnly devoted to 
 God to do His service, and were all given to Aaron. 
 Now, to the weak in faith, who are anxious to know 
 whether they are Christ's, who can find no rest for their 
 souls in this state of tribulation out of Christ ; to such 
 bruised reeds, our Lord speaks these gracious words, 
 " No man can come to Me, except the Father which 
 hath sent Me draw him (John vi. 44) :" these words 
 are very important, the Great Shepherd of the 
 sheep, in proof that He carries the lambs in His 
 bosom, knowing there were present some that believed 
 not, repeated them in the 65th verse, "Therefore said I 
 unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it 
 were given unto him of my Father :" for men have no 
 power naturally to come to Christ ! They can attend, 
 and they ought to attend, the preached gospel ; but it is 
 beyond the power of any minister of the gospel to draw 
 them to Christ ! Ministers can only speak to the ear : 
 
63 
 
 for God only can speak to the heart ! And when God 
 so speaks, it is with such energy, that the awakened 
 sinner is made willing to come, and is also drawn to 
 Christ ! The glory therefore is the Lord's : it is called 
 His glorious power ! Col. i. 1 1 . But as no one can 
 come to Christ, except the Father draws him, so no one 
 is ever drawn by the Father to Christ except those 
 whom the Father hath given to our Almighty Aaron ; 
 therefore, in the 37th verse, it is recorded, Jesus said, 
 " All that the Father giveth me, shall come to 
 me ;" and then observe, Jesus added these gracious 
 words, " and him that eometh to me I yvill in no 
 wise cast out ;" that is to say, I have most graciously 
 and willingly put such an obligation upon Myself, 
 that I will never cast one away, nor in any wise cast 
 one of them out : for they were all given to and chosen 
 in Him from everlasting, from the beginning, before the 
 foundation of the world. 1 Pet. i. 2 ; 2 Thess. ii. 13 ; 
 Eph. i. 4. Does any sinner say, I fear lest I should 
 not be one of this blessed number ? You have reason to 
 fear, if you have not come to Christ as a poor, ruined, and 
 helpless sinner to be saved. But are you deeply con- 
 cerned to know, what all the unregenerated world 
 care nothing about, whether you are one of God's 
 elect ? Art thou one that cannot find any rest for thy 
 soul's distress out of the Ark, Christ Jesus ? Then be 
 of good cheer, for Jesus invites you, and all such 
 who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him, and 
 He will give you rest, and in no wise cast you out : 
 for as He came to seek and to save the chief of sinners, 
 so He will freely receive the chief of sinners, and give 
 them that rest which remaineth for the children 
 of God. No maivel that all the angels round the 
 throne, who are witnesses of such acts of grace, should 
 join with the elders who had obtained a good report, 
 
64 
 
 and the number of them was ten thousand times ten 
 thousand, and thousands of thousands, whom John 
 heard, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb 
 that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 
 and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 
 Rev. v. 11, 12. 
 
 Blessed Lord of Life and Glory, Thou hast declared 
 Thy Father's will, that all whom the Father hath given 
 Thee shall come to Thee ; that Thou wilt give them 
 Eternal Life, that they shall never perish, neither shall 
 any one pluck them out of Thy hand: and Thou 
 hast also declared Thy will, that they whom the Father 
 hath given Thee, be with Thee where Tbou art, that 
 they may behold Thy Glory : and for this purpose 
 Thou didst condescend to become one flesh with them in 
 nature, that they might be one Spirit with Thee, that 
 they all might be one as the Father is in Thee, and Thou 
 in Him, that they might be one in the Almighty Us. 
 Grant, I beseech Thee, Almighty Lord, for Thy great 
 name's sake, that both the writer and the reader of this 
 tract may so enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, 
 and be so kept by Thy power in the enjoyment of Thy 
 love with Thy holy fear in our hearts, that from living 
 by faith in the assurance of Thy gracious promise, that 
 where Thou art we shall be also ; we may be looking 
 for that blessed hope, the hope of blessedness, Thy 
 glorious appearing, when Thou wilt come to receive us 
 to Thyself, and to be glorified in us, and to be admired 
 in all them that believe ! And when it shall please Thee 
 to come to receive us to Thyself, then strengthen us by 
 Thy power to say, " Lo, this is our God ; we have 
 waited for Him, and He will save us ; this is the Lord ; 
 we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in 
 His salvation." Amen! 
 
 OBADIAH, 
 
MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OP BAPTISMS. 
 
 MEDITATION V. 
 
 THE BAPTISM OF THE LEPER. 
 
 The leper, and his ignorance of being so diseased, 
 until convinced of it by the priest, is a shadow and 
 figure of all sinners dead in trespasses and sins ; and 
 the various outward spots of the leprosy answer to 
 the various transgressions of sinners : and although the 
 spots differed in appearance, the disease, if leprous, was 
 the same in all. But the most awful figure of the deadly 
 disease of sin was the leprosy in the forehead, as in the king 
 Uzziah, 2 Chron. xxvi. 16 — 23 ; which is the state all men 
 who are living under the guilt of the sin of presumption, 
 that of drawing nigh to God in their own persons, as 
 Cain did, presenting their sacrifices of prayer and praise 
 in their own censer, instead of coming unto God by faith 
 in and through the alone mediation of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. In all such awful characters, it is evident, sin 
 has so depraved the mental power and understanding of 
 men, that the wise and prudent amongst them, and all, in 
 an unregenerate state, are only wise to do evil, for to 
 do good they have no knowledge. Jerem. iv. 22. If men 
 were not wise to do evil, they would not profess to be 
 more liberal than God, for the Lord God of Israel doth 
 not allow of, but on the contrary He hath prohibi- 
 ted, all idolatrous worship ; and will cast that nation, 
 where false prophets are suffered to teach and seduce 
 His servants, into a bed of great tribulation. 
 The scripture account of the leprosy of the body is 
 
 G 
 
66 
 
 emblematical of the sin of the soul, for it was incurable 
 by any human art or means ; and the leper could only 
 be cleansed by the ordinance divinely-appointed for 
 that purpose. 
 
 Leviticus xiii. " The Lord spake unto Moses and 
 Aaron, saying, When a man shall have in the skin of 
 his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in 
 the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy, then he 
 shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of 
 his sons the priests : and the priest shall look on the 
 plague in the skin of the flesh : and when the hair in 
 the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be 
 deeper than the skin of his flesh: it is a plague of leprosy, 
 and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him un- 
 clean" ver. 1 — 3, All men by nature are conceived in 
 sin and are shapen in iniquity, which renders them, like 
 the leper, infectious and abominable. The signs and 
 marks of the spiritual leprosy may be seen in sinners 
 who are without strength to keep the law of God, or to 
 do any thing that is spiritually good ; for in his flesh 
 dwells no good thing ; his heart is desperately wicked ! 
 
 " If the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after 
 that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, 
 he shall be seen of the priest again : and if the priest 
 see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then 
 the priest shall pronounce him unclean ; it is a le- 
 prosy," ver. 7, 8. This is an emblem of the evil of sin, 
 which reigns over all the powers and faculties of the 
 soul, and in the members of the body : spreading in the 
 skin denotes, that sin deceives, hardens, and will end in 
 man's destruction, if grace does not prevent it. 
 
 " When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he 
 shall be brought unto the priest ; and the priest shall 
 see him ; and, behold, if the rising be white in the 
 skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be 
 
67 
 
 quick raw flesh in the rising, it is an old leprosy in the 
 skin of the flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him 
 unclean," ver. 9 — 11. A sinner insensible of the le- 
 prosy of sin, and of his misery, has no will to come to 
 Christ, the Great High Priest, for cleansing ; but one 
 that is sensible of it, and of Christ's ability to make 
 him clean, will come freely, and earnestly seek Him, for 
 he is drawn by the Father to Christ, made willing in the 
 day of Christ's power. John v. 40 ; vi. 37, 44 ; Matt, 
 viii. 1—3; Psm. ex. 3. An old leprosy denotes 
 man's original sin, and his corruption from his con- 
 ception in the womb. Psm. li. 5. 
 
 " And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, 
 and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the 
 plague, from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the 
 priest looketh ; then the priest shall consider : and, 
 behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall 
 pronounce him clean that hath the plague : it is all 
 turned white, he is clean," ver. 12, 13. The mystical 
 or spiritual meaning of this is, that when a man sees 
 himself to be a sinful creature, that in his flesh there 
 dwells no good thing, that he is all sin in himself, and 
 all his righteousness to be filthy rags ; he is one that 
 wholly trusts to, and depends upon, the grace of God 
 in Christ for salvation, and the righteousness of Christ 
 for his justification and acceptance with God; such 
 a man is clean, for the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth 
 him from all sin. 1 John i. 7. 
 
 " But when raw flesh appeareih in him, he shall be 
 unclean. And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and 
 pronounce him to be unclean: it is a leprosy," ver. 14, 15. 
 
 " The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, 
 
 was a boil, and is healed, and in the place of the boil 
 
 there be a white rising or a bright spot, white, and 
 
 somewhat reddish, and it be shewed to the priest ; and 
 
 g2 
 
68 
 
 if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower 
 than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white ; the 
 priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of 
 leprosy broken out of the boil," ver. 18—20. This is 
 an emblem of apostacy ; a man having been seemingly 
 healed and cleansed from his sin, returning to his 
 former sinful course of life, and to all the impurity 
 of it. 2 Peter ii. 21, 22. 
 
 " But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be 
 no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the 
 skin, but be somewhat dark ; then the priest shall shut 
 him up seven days. And if it spread much abroad in 
 the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it 
 is a plague," ver. 21, 22. 
 
 " Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there 
 is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have 
 a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white ; then 
 the priest shall look upon it ; and, behold, if the hair 
 it) the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight 
 deeper than the skin; it is a leprosy broken out of the 
 burning : wherefore the priest shall pronounce him un- 
 clean : it is the plague of leprosy. But if the priest look 
 on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright 
 spot, and it be no lower than the skin, but be some- 
 what dark ; then the priest shall shut him up seven 
 days : and the priest shall look upon him the seventh 
 day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then 
 the priest shall pronounce him unclean ; it is the plague of 
 leprosy" ver. 24 — 2/. 
 
 " If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or 
 beard : then the priest shall see the plague : and, 
 behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin, and there be 
 in it a yellow thin hair ; then the priest shall pronounce 
 him unclean : it is a dry scall, a leprosy upon the head 
 or beard," ver. 29, 30. This is an emblem of errors in 
 
69 
 
 judgment, of false doctrines and heresies imbibed by 
 persons, which are in themselves damnable, and bring 
 ruin and destruction on teachers or hearers, unless 
 they be recovered from them by the grace of God. 
 
 From ver. 31 — 41. Various descriptions are given 
 of the plague of the scall, emblematical of the different 
 appearances of sin. The spots which appear without 
 may differ, but the disease is the same, the plague is 
 within ; out of the heart proceed both evil thoughts 
 and murders, &c. Matt. xv. 18 — 20. 
 
 " If there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white 
 reddish sore ; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, 
 or his bald forehead. Then the priest shall look upon 
 it : and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white-reddish 
 in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy 
 appeareth in the skin of the flesh ; he is a leprous 
 man, he is unclean : the priest shall pronounce him 
 utterly unclean : his plague is in his head." Ver. 
 42 — 44. This is an emblem of persons who receive the 
 testimony of men who add to, or take away from, the 
 word of God. All such persons who hold deadly errors, 
 as the traditions of the Pharisees, who made void the 
 word of God; or any doctrine which denies Jesus 
 Christ is without beginning of days or end of life, for 
 the eternity of the Christ of God is the foundation of 
 the Christian religion. The previous eternity of 
 the Christ of God is plainly recorded in the scrip- 
 tures of God, to the confusion of all unbelievers, as well as 
 to the confusion of the seed of the serpent, those ene- 
 mies to the seed of the woman, the Arians and the Sa- 
 beUians, who believe in a Christ that waxeth old ! A 
 previous existent angel or man — a Christ of their 
 own invention — which they prefer to " the Christ of 
 God." Luke ix. 20; Heb.vii. 2; Eph.iii. 9; Heb.i. 2, 
 10 — 1 2 ; xiii. 8. The plague in the forehead of the leper 
 g3 
 
70 
 
 is also emblematical of a man who openly professes and 
 maintains any deadly heresy. Of such, it is written, "it 
 is a people of no understanding " therefore He that made 
 them will not have mercy on them : and He that formed 
 them will show them no favour. Isa. xxvii. 11. If 
 men speak not according to the law and to the testi- 
 mony of God, it is because they have no light in them ; 
 such were Hymeneus and Philetus, and all who turn 
 unto fables, or who hold the traditions of men, after 
 the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Isa. 
 viii. 20; 2 Tim. ii. 16, 18; Matt. xvi. 6; Col. ii. 
 8. It is written, they have no light in them, that is, 
 God hath not slimed in their hearts the light of the 
 knowledge of the glory of God in the the face of Jesus 
 Christ. 2 Cor. iv. 6. They have not the fear of God 
 in them ; for the fear of God is wisdom, and to depart 
 from evil is understanding ; and by the people of no un- 
 derstanding is meant such as are wise in their own eyes, 
 and prudent in their own esteem. Job xxviii. 28 ; 
 Matt. xi. 27. 
 
 "And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes 
 shall be rent and his head bare, and he shall put a 
 covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, un- 
 clean." Ver. 45. So every sinner when convinced of 
 the leprosy of sin in his nature, will confess to God, as 
 the prophet did, "Woe is me! for I am undone; be- 
 cause I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst 
 of a people of unclean lips ; for mine eyes have seen the 
 King, the Lord of Hosts." Isa. vi. 5. 
 
 " All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he 
 shall be denied : he is unclean ; he shall dwell alone ; 
 without the camp shall his habitation he" Ver. 46. This 
 law concerning lepers shows, that whilst men are living 
 in sin, they are not to be admitted into the communion 
 of saints : that all who are not washed and made white 
 
in the blood of Christ, shall not inherit the kingdom of 
 God. ICor. vi. 9, 10; v. 7, 11. 
 
 The sinner having been described in his sinful state 
 as a leper, his life and conversation is set forth under 
 the metaphor of leprous garments. From ver. 47 — 5'J, 
 the law is set forth relating to the leprosy in a garment 
 of linen, woollen, or of skin. (1) The garments 
 infected with a fretting leprosy were to be burnt in the 
 iire ; (2) and if the plague did not spread in the gar- 
 ment, it was to be washed ; and if, after it was washed, 
 the plague had not changed its colour, it was to be 
 burnt in the fire ; (3) but if, after it was washed, the 
 plague had departed from it, then it was washed a second 
 time, and was pronounced clean. The leprosy in the 
 body was an emblem of the sinful nature of man ; but 
 the leprous garments denote, that the life and conver- 
 sation of sinners is spotted by the flesh. See Jude 23. 
 So true is that sciipture, " We are altogether as an 
 unclean thing, and all our righteousness as filthy rags." 
 
 (1) The fretting leprosy in the garments set forth the 
 sinful walk and conversation of wicked men who die in 
 sin ; their garments being burnt with fire, denote the 
 wrath their sins deserve. (2) The garments washed 
 where the plague did not change its colour, may denote 
 the walk and conversation of men who are reformed or 
 moral in their lives, but have not the love of God in 
 their hearts ; and their garments being burnt with fire 
 denote, that as their good works did not proceed from 
 love to God, they justly deserve Divine wrath. 1 Cor. 
 xiii. 1 — 3. (3) And the garment, when washed, and from 
 it the plague had departed, and was then washed a 
 second time and pronounced clean ; it denotes a rege- 
 nerated man's walk and conversation as becoming the 
 gospel of Christ, which nevertheless needs washing 
 from impurity, for there is iniquity even in his holy 
 
72 
 
 things. Exod. xxviii. 38. And the second washing 
 denotes, that the robes or garments of the saints must 
 be washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. 
 Rev. vii. 14. For who can understand his errors? 
 well might David pray, "Lord, cleanse thou me from 
 secret faults !" 
 
 Original sin is signified by the leprosy in the body, 
 and actual sins are signified by the boils and sores ; for 
 original sin is like the leprosy overspreading the whole 
 person. The leper, before he was brought to the priest, 
 was shut out of the camp, as typical of an unregenerate 
 sinner, who hath no communion with the people of God. 
 The leprosy was not a disease to be cured by medicine ; 
 the leper was not to be sent to a physician ; but he 
 was to be brought to the priest to be made clean. In- 
 deed, it was thought daring presumption on the prero- 
 gative of God, to attempt to heal it. And is not this 
 the case in respect to our guilt ? For who can forgive 
 sins but God? Mark ii. 7. The apostles and pro- 
 phets never presumed to forgive sins. And the man who 
 assumes, or presumes he has the right to forgive sins 
 committed against God, is guilty of presumption ; and 
 he is not far from committing the great transgression. 
 Psm. xix. 13 ; Matt. xii. 31, 32. 
 
 The ignorant state which all mankind are in, until 
 convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, was set 
 forth by the leper being ignorant of his disease until 
 he had been seen by the priest, and pronounced un- 
 clean. 
 
 As the leper was an emblem of a polluted sinner, so 
 the priest was a type of Christ, to whom leprous sin- 
 ners must be brought for cleansing : they cannot come 
 of themselves to him, that is, they cannot believe in 
 him, except it be given unto them, for faith is the gift of 
 God ; but they must be drawn by the powerful grace of 
 
73 
 
 God, by which souls are made willing to come to Christ, 
 and enabled to believe in Him, and to cast themselves 
 at His feet, saying, as the leper who came to Christ, 
 " Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.'" The 
 same grace which drew the leper to Christ was imme- 
 diately shewn by Christ in receiving him ; for Jesus, 
 moved with compassion, put forth His hand and touched 
 him, and said unto him, I will ; be thou clean ; and 
 immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was 
 cleansed. Mark i. 41, 42. 
 
 The typical representation of the cleansing of a sin- 
 ner was set forth in the purification of the leper. For 
 the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 
 "This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his 
 cleansing : he shall be brought unto the priest ; and 
 the priest shall go forth out of the camp ; and the priest 
 shall look, and behold if the plague of leprosy be 
 healed in the leper." Lev. xiv. 1 — 3. 
 
 The leper was not brought into the camp, for all 
 communication between the congregation and an un- 
 clean person is forbidden. But the priest was en- 
 joined to go forth out of the camp to see the leper. 
 The priest was not liable to the infection by visiting the 
 leper ; and thereby our Lord Jesus Christ was set forth, 
 who is holy, harmless, undefiled, &c, who visited us 
 in our sinful state, because His mercy endureth for 
 ever. And He still visits sinners in the day He calls 
 them from darkness into His marvellous light. 
 
 " Then shall the priest command to take for him that 
 is to be cleansed, two birds alive and clean, and cedar 
 wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. And the priest shall com- 
 mand that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel, 
 over running (or living) water. As for the living bird, he 
 shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the 
 
74 
 
 hyssop, and shall dip them* and the living bird in the 
 blood of the bird that was killed over the living water ; 
 and he shall sprinkle vpon him that is to be cleansed from 
 the leprosy, seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and 
 shall let the living bird loose into the open field. And 
 he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave 
 oft all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may 
 be clean : and after that, he shall come into the camp, 
 and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. But 
 it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all 
 his hair off his head, and his beard, and his eyebrows, 
 even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash 
 his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he 
 shall be clean. Ver. 4—9. 
 
 The reader will observe the lepers were to shave all 
 their flesh, and wash all their clothes, and make them- 
 selves clean. The birds may be considered as typical 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may denote His wil- 
 lingness to help His people, and His tenderness to- 
 wards them in distress ! The birds being clean, may 
 denote His holiness and purity, and His fitness to be 
 a sacrifice, and His suitableness as food for His people. 
 The number two is supposed to signify His two natures, 
 Divine and human, in both which He lives, and is pure 
 and holy ; but they rather signify His two estates of 
 humiliation and exaltation; His death by the s/ambird, 
 and His resurrection by the living bird. The cedar 
 wood may be an emblem of the incorruptibility of 
 Christ, and of the durable efficacy of His sacrifice; 
 
 * Dr. Gale, an antipcedobaptist, in his reflections on Mr. Wall's 
 history, saith, " I readily allow, that the word laptize does not 
 necessarily imply a total immersion." And he illustrates it from 
 the hyssop being dipt in the blood, which was not dipt all over ! 
 
75 
 
 the scarlet a type of His bloody sufferings, and the 
 hyssop denotes the purgative or cleansing virtue of 
 His blood ; and the running or living water mixed with 
 the blood, may denote the sanctifying grace and power 
 of the Holy Ghost. The dipping of the living bird in 
 the blood of the slain bird, sets forth Christ, who through 
 the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, 
 or the virtue of Christ's blood as a sacrifice in union with 
 His Divine nature, He being the living God. The sprink- 
 ling of the leper, seven times to be cleansed from his 
 leprosy, is typical of Christ's blood of sprinkling, and of 
 the perfect and effectual application thereof by the 
 Spirit ; for the leper was sprinkled with the blood and 
 the living water together, and not separately, and Christ, 
 through the Holy Spirit, purges the conscience of a sinner 
 from dead works, and the Holy Spirit purifies the heart by 
 faith in Christ to serve the living God. The leper pro- 
 nounced clean, denotes the enjoyment of the forgiveness 
 of sins through Christ's blood, by the word of truth and 
 power of God. The letting the living bird loose into the open 
 field, was a figure of the resurrection and ascension of Christ 
 as the Head and representative of His people, and of their 
 freedom from all condemnation through Him, and also 
 of His being received up into glory (Rom. viii. 1 ; 1 Tim. 
 iii. 16). It may be also an emblem of the preaching of 
 the everlasting Gospel of Christ, as it were in the open 
 firmament, in the view of all men, as that phrase, flying in 
 the midst of Heaven, imports, in Rev. xiv. 6 . The washing 
 of the leper's clothes, and then shaving off all his hair, 
 and washing himself in water, is similar, and after the 
 manner of the cleansing of the Levites. Numb. viii. 7. 
 See observations thereon, pp. 57, 58. But the leper was 
 to repeat the shaving of himself, and the washing of his 
 clothes and of his flesh on the seventh day after he was 
 first brought to the priest, and then he was clean. The 
 
76 
 
 repetition of this shaving and washing, may denote the 
 insufficiency of those ceremonial washings to cleanse 
 from sin. The first washing and shaving may de- 
 note the washing of regeneration, and the repetition 
 thereof may signify the renewings of the Holy Ghost 
 shed upon us abundantly through Christ Jesus (Titus 
 iii. 5) ; for the disciples of Jesus were clean (John xv. 3), 
 being washed they needed not save to wash their feet. 
 John xiii. 10. 
 
 " On the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs with- 
 out blemish, and one ewi-lamb of the first year without 
 blemish, and three tenth-deals of fine flour for a meat 
 offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil ; and the 
 priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is 
 to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at 
 the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." Ver. 
 10, 11. The three lambs, one was for a burnt-offering, 
 another for a trespass-offering, and the third for a sin- 
 offering, were typical of Christ, the Lamb of God : and the 
 meat-offerings were also typical of Christ, the bread of 
 God (John vi. 33) ; and the oil, an emblem of the oil 
 of gladness, the Holy Spirit given to Christ without 
 measure. John iii. 34 ; Psm. xlv. 7. 
 
 The leper, with his offerings, was not introduced into 
 the tabernacle, for he needed expiation : and until that 
 was done he could not be admitted ; but he was set at 
 the door of the tabernacle. The leper was not suffered 
 to present his own offerings ; for it was the priest's 
 office to do this. So all our holy things, as well as our 
 persons, can only be presented by Jesus, and accepted 
 in and through Him. 
 
 " And the priest shall take one he-lamb, and offer 
 him for a trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and wave 
 them for a wave-offering before the Lord. And he shall 
 slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin- 
 
offering and the burnt-offering in the holy place : for 
 as the sin-offering is the priest's, so is the trespass- 
 offering ; it is most holy. And the priest shall take 
 some of the blood of the trespass-offering, and the 
 priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that 
 is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, 
 and upon the great toe of his right foot. And the priest 
 shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the 
 palm of his own left hand : and the priest shall dip his 
 right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall 
 sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the 
 Lord. And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand 
 shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him 
 that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right 
 hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the 
 blood of the trespass-offering. And the remnant of the 
 oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the 
 head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall 
 make an atonement before the Lord. And the priest shall 
 offer the sin-offering, and make an atonement for him 
 that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness, and after- 
 ward he shall kill the burnt-offering ; and the priest 
 shall offer the burnt-offering, and the meat-offering upon 
 the altar : and the priest shall make an atonement for him, 
 and he shall be clean." Ver. 1 1 — 20. 
 
 The mingling of the blood and of the oil figuratively 
 set forth, that both the sacrificial blood of Jesus, and the 
 unction or baptism with the Holy Ghost, are essential 
 in their united operations to the knowledge and enjoy- 
 ment of salvation by an awakened sinner. The lamb 
 slain for a trespass-offering, set forth Christ the Lamb 
 of God as wounded for the transgressions of our life ; the 
 lamb for a sin-offering set forth Christ as made a sin- 
 offering for the sins of our hearts ; and the lamb for a 
 burnt-offering set forth Christ as bruised for the iniquity 
 of our nature, conceived as we all are in sin, and shapen 
 
 H 
 
78 
 
 in iniquity. Isa. liii. 5, 10, 5 ; Psm. li. 5. Thus, the 
 perfection of Christ's offering and sacrifice for his 
 people was set forth in figure, as well as the blessedness 
 of receiving the atonement : for thus saiththe Lord, " I 
 will be merciful, or propitious, to their unrighteousness or 
 transgressions, and their sins, and their iniquities will I 
 remember no more." Heb. viii. 12. 
 
 The application of the blood of the trespass-offering 
 upon the leper's right ear, and upon the thumb of his 
 right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, 
 was the like ceremony as was done at the consecration 
 of the priests (Exod. xxix. 20 ; Lev. viii. 24), for our 
 Lord makes all His redeemed priests unto God and the 
 Father ; and with the ear of faith they hear the joyful 
 sound ; with the hand of faith they receive the atonement ; 
 and with the feet of faith they walk : and for that pur- 
 pose also, the oil was applied after the like manner as 
 the blood to the leper, three times, denoting he was 
 sanctified to hear the word of God, to understand and 
 mix faith with it ; to receive the truth in the love of it, 
 and to walk according to and as becometh the glorious 
 gospel of the blessed God. 
 
 The blood of the trespass-offering was applied to the 
 leper, before the application of the oil, to show that the 
 washing of regeneration, and the renewings of the Holy 
 Ghost, is shed upon us through Jesus Christ, who 
 gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity and 
 purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
 works : and all, for whom the atonement was made 
 by the blood of Christ, are sanctified by the Spirit of 
 Christ. Titus iii. 5, 6 ; ii. 14; 1 Cor. vi. 21. The 
 pouring of the remnant of the oil in the priest's hand 
 upon the head of the leper, may denote the Lord 
 the Spirit of judgment filling His sanctified ones with 
 the knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual 
 understanding, that they might walk worthy of the 
 
79 
 
 Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good 
 work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Col. i. 
 9, 10. The leper being presented clean before the Lord, 
 may denote the gracious act of the only wise God, our 
 Saviour, who is able to keep us from falling, and to 
 present us faultless before the presence of his glory, with 
 exceeding joy. Jude 24, 25. 
 
 As the leper, convinced of his leprous state, is an 
 emblem of a sinner convinced of the exceeding sinful- 
 ness of his sin, the baptism of the leper becomes an 
 important and interesting subject for meditation, for it 
 is typical of the one true Christian baptism, with which 
 every sinner chosen unto salvation must be baptized. 
 There are three important, amongst other, things in the 
 baptism of the leper, which ought to be particularly 
 regarded, namely, that the leper was baptised by the 
 sprinkling of the blood of the bird killed in an earthen 
 vessel over living water, so that the blood and the living 
 water were sprinkled together upon the leper. Secondly, 
 that the leper was sprinkled seven times. And, thirdly, 
 that the leper was thus baptized by the priest. 
 
 It is the privilege of all the children of God to be 
 taught of God ; and to compare scripture with scrip- 
 ture in humble dependence upon the Holy Spirit's testi- 
 mony, and to learn the mind of the Spirit by the words 
 which the Holy Spirit useth ! The reader is therefore 
 reminded, in pp. 47 — 49, it hath been undeniably 
 proved, that the word sprinkling is used synonymously in 
 Holy Scripture with the word baptism ; and further, that 
 this scriptural testimony is disregarded by the antipce- 
 dobaptists ; for although Dr. Gale, an antipcedobaptist, 
 in his reflection on Mr. Wall's history, readily allows the 
 word baptize does not necessarily imply a total immer- 
 sion, yet he insists that it signifies dipping : and he illus- 
 trates it by the hyssop being dipt in the blood, which 
 was not dipt all over. Dr. Stennett and others also affirm, 
 
80 
 
 that the word baptize properly and only signifies dipping. 
 But they did not learn the meaning of the word baptize 
 from the Holy Spirit's interpretation thereof : for surely 
 the sevenfold sprinkling of the leper with the blood and 
 living water set forth the one perfect baptism, the effectual 
 and essential baptism, without which no man ever was 
 baptized, or baptized into the one body, of which Christ 
 is the head, or made meet for the inheritance of the 
 saints in light. 1 Corin. xii. 13. Humble christians 
 receive not testimony from man's wisdom ; the Bible is 
 their dictionary; it is God's word; the word of Him 
 who teacheth to profit; and therefore we ought to 
 reject all the interpretations of men, that either directly 
 or indirectly contradict or make void the meaning of 
 any biblical word in scripture, or that makes the scrip- 
 ture contradict itself; therefore, the biblical meaning 
 of a word is the rule of the Christian's faith and prac- 
 tice. This important fact is premised, that the reader 
 may see the folly and impropriety of the antipcedobap- 
 tists' interpretation and limitation of the word baptize, 
 namely, that it properly and only signifies dipping ; in 
 other words, they would have us believe, that the hys- 
 sop dipt in the blood and living water was baptized ; 
 but the leper sprinkled seven times with the blood 
 and living water, was not baptized at all ! But, reader, 
 we are come to the blood of sprinkling, if we have been 
 baptized with that baptism, which Christ said unto the 
 sons of Zebedee, " Ye shall be baptized with." For our 
 Lord meant the baptism of His sufferings, which He 
 was to be baptized with, and was straitened until it 
 was accomplished. Mark x. 39 ; Luke xii. 30. 
 
 Secondly, the leper was baptized by sprinkling seven 
 times. Besides the common signification of the word 
 seven, it is also used in scripture as a number of per- 
 fection, or denoting perfection, for when God's work of 
 creation was perfect, He rested the seventh day. Now 
 
81 
 
 the baptism of the leper with the blood and living water, 
 which was sprinkled seven times upon him, set forth two 
 things, the perfect baptismal sufferings of Christ with 
 the baptism of the Spirit, and which baptism never was 
 or will be administered in vain by the Great High 
 Priest of our profession ! 
 
 Our Lord said to His disciples, " I have a baptism to 
 be baptized with," &c. (Luke xii. 50), by which our Lord 
 meant, as He had been already baptized with the Spirit, 
 the baptism of His sufferings, a baptism in blood for 
 the sins of His people, a perfect baptism : for it became 
 Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all 
 things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the 
 Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 
 Heb. ii. 10. Therefore the baptism our Lord meant, 
 was set forth in figure by the bird being killed in an 
 earthen vessel over living water, which living water was 
 an emblem of the Spirit ; and the bird being slain over 
 the living water did also set forth, how Christ through 
 the Eternal Spirit would offer Himself without spot to 
 God! Heb. ix. 14. This is the baptism of blood with 
 living water, which our Lord said to the sons of Zebe- 
 dee, " Ye shall be baptized with." Mark x. 39. It was 
 a baptism they had not been baptized with ; it was not 
 a figurative baptism in or with natural water ; for the 
 leper was baptised with blood and living water toge- 
 ther ! It will be observed, that after the leper had 
 been sprinkled seven times with the blood and living 
 water, the living bird was let loose into the open field : 
 which may denote, that all the redeemed were repre- 
 sented by Christ in His death and resurrection. This 
 blessed truth is plainly set forth in the epistle to the 
 Colossians, where we correctly read, according to the 
 Greek text, " Suntaphentes, Buried together with Him in 
 baptism, en o, in whom also, sunergertheete, you are 
 risen together, through faith of the energeias, energy of 
 
82 
 
 God." Col. ii. 12. For believers are effectually bap- 
 tized with the Spirit and with the blood of Christ ! 
 
 Thirdly, Christ was to baptize all his people, for 
 the leper was baptized by the priest that offered the 
 sacrifice ! As the blood of the bird set forth the 
 blood of Christ, and the living water set forth the 
 Holy Spirit, the baptism of the leper was with the 
 blood and the water together, so the people of God 
 are elected unto the sanctification of the Spirit and the 
 sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (I Pet. 1, 2), 
 and being so elected they are baptized by Christ, 
 as it is written, how much more shall the blood of Christ, 
 through the Eternal Spirit, purge your consciences from 
 dead works, the leprosy of sin, to serve the living God, 
 And this is the one essential Christian baptism, with 
 which all the elect are baptized, as it is written, " ye are 
 washed, ye are sanctified, and ye are justified, in the name 
 of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God, 1 Cor. 
 vi. 11; for Christ washes them from all their sins in His 
 own blood, Rev. i. 5 ; Christ sanctifies them by His 
 own blood, Heb. xiii. 12 ; and they are justified by His 
 blood, and by the Spirit of the living God. Rom. v. 9. 
 
 But the sons of Zebedee were not only to be baptized 
 with the baptism that Christ was to be baptized with, 
 but Christ said unto them, " Ye shall drink indeed of 
 the cup that / drink of." There is an emphasis in the 
 word indeed, which will not allow of any interpretation 
 to be given to the word " cup" but what is given of it 
 in the Holy Scriptures. As the sons of Zebedee were to 
 be effectually baptized into Christ's sufferings and 
 death, not by water baptism, for they were never after- 
 wards baptized in or with water ; so they were to drink 
 indeed of the cup that Christ drank of, namely, the cup 
 of the New Testament in His blood. A cup of blessing, 
 1 Cor. x. 16; for all spiritual blessings wherewith God 
 the Father hath blessed His people are in Christ, yea, 
 
83 
 
 all the blessings of the new covenant flow through the 
 glorious and gracious mediation of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. And it is written of Him, " The king shall joy- 
 in thy strength, O Lord, and in thy salvation how 
 greatly shall He rejoice." Ps. xxi. 1. And of this, 
 His cup of rejoicing they drank ; for they were to take of 
 the cup of salvation, and their cup was to run over with 
 joy, for His joy was to remain in them and their joy was 
 to be full! Ps. cxvi. 13 ; xxiii. 5 ; John xv. 11. To this 
 end, when Jesus instituted the ordinance of the Lord's 
 Supper, He took the cup of blessing, and gave thanks, and 
 gave it to His disciples, saying, Drink ye all of it, this is 
 the cup of the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for 
 you, for the remission of sins. Luke xxii. 20. And the dis- 
 ciples did all drink of His cup, who, for the joy that was 
 set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, 
 and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 
 By the sprinkling of blood with the living water toge- 
 ther, the preaching of the everlasting gospel was set 
 forth to the Old Testament saints ; for the ministration 
 of the Holy Spirit is the testimony of Jesus, for He 
 enlightened the eyes of their understanding to see 
 Christ by faith, set forth as an High Priest of good 
 things to come ! Believers under the law, and before 
 the law was delivered at Mount Sinai, as well as be- 
 lievers under the gospel, in every ministration and in 
 every service, looked by faith to the Lamb slain from 
 the foundation of the world. Their services and all 
 the vessels of the sanctuary, yea, the book of the law, 
 and all the people, were sprinkled with blood, called the 
 blood of the covenant, Exod. xxiv. 6 — 8; Heb. ix. 19, 
 22. David's farewell testimony declared his faith in 
 an eternal covenant, ordered in all things and sure, 
 which was all his salvation and all his desire, 2 Sam. 
 xxiii. 5. And our privilege now, is to come to Jesus 
 the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of 
 
84 
 
 sprinkling, yea, blood that speaketh, and which speaketh 
 better things than that of Abel's, or of Abel's sacrifice ; 
 for that was only a shadow of Christ the substance that 
 was to come, Heb. xii. 24. If it be asked, why is 
 Christ's blood called "the blood of sprinkling ?" the 
 Scripture replies, it is the substance of the typical 
 sprinklings of blood under the Old Testament. And 
 the elect, according to the foreknowledge of God, are 
 brought to the knowledge of their election through 
 sanctification of the Spirit, and the sprinkling of the 
 blood of Jesus Christ, whereby they know that God 
 hath not appointed them to wrath, but to obtain salva- 
 tion by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for them, that 
 whether they wake or sleep, they should live together 
 with Him ! The preaching of the everlasting gospel is 
 the ministration of the Spirit : and as all the servants of 
 God preach the word of truth by the power of God, so 
 the people of God are brought into the knowledge of 
 their election by the gospel coming to them not in word 
 only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in 
 much assurance, 1 Pet. i. 3 ; 1 Thess. v. 9, 10; i. 5. 
 
 Blessed be God the Father of mercies, and God of 
 all consolation, that remembered us in our low estate, 
 and sent His Son the propitiation for our sins, and to 
 cleanse us from our leprosy. And blessed be the Lord 
 Jesus Christ that He gave Himself for our sins, to deliver 
 us from this present evil world ; and that He sanctifies 
 and cleanseth us with the washing of water by the word, 
 that he might present us unto Himself a glorious church, 
 without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that we 
 should be holy and without blemish. And blessed be the 
 Holy and Eternal Spirit, by whose gracious application 
 of the Saviour's blood and righteousness the hearts of 
 poor leprous sinners are purified by faith from all sin. 
 Hallelujah! Amen. OBADIAH. 
 
MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS. 
 
 MEDITATION VI. 
 
 THE BAPTISM OF THE UNCLEAN. 
 
 The divers baptisms, Heb. ix. 10, of the Lord's appoint- 
 ment until the time of reformation, have a doctrine in 
 them, and, therefore, we read of the doctrine of baptisms : 
 the washing of Aaron and his sons taught the washing 
 of regeneration; but all the other baptisms were by 
 sprinkling, and teach us the cleansing virtue of the 
 Redeemer's blood. We, who are called Protestants, 
 reject all the interpretations of men which contradict 
 the interpretation which God hath expressly given of the 
 meaning of the word baptism. For God spake unto the 
 fathers by the prophets, and He hath positively declared 
 that Christ's vesture was baptized in blood by being 
 sprinkled with blood, when He trod the wine press alone. 
 Rev. xix. 13 — 15; Isa. lxiii. 3. And if any one in time 
 past hath presumptuously said or declared that the word 
 baptize, properly and only signifies dipping, it is a duty 
 he owes to the Church of God to confess his sin and 
 blasphemy in contradicting God's testimony. For what 
 is said upon another occasion will equally apply here : 
 " Let God be true; but every man a liar!" Rom. iii. 4. 
 
 In the 12th and loth chapters of Leviticus, we have 
 a solemn testimony of the evil consequences of our sin- 
 ful state, that every thing connected with it is unclean. 
 The desires of nature are corrupt, and the multiplying 
 of our species is in sin. Psm. li. 5. If we spiritualize 
 the contents of the chapters before mentioned, we may 
 consider them as emblematical of the heart of man, 
 
86 
 
 which is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. 
 Jerem. xvii. 9. The running issues from the old man 
 which is corrupt, are innumerable, " for out of the heart 
 proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, 
 thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Matt. xv. 19 ; Isa. 
 i. 4 — 6. Who can understand his errors? In many 
 things we offend all: every sin is sinful. Psm. xix. 12; 
 James hi. 2. But what a precious relief to a man, sen- 
 sible of the exceeding sinfulness of his sin, is the know- 
 ledge of that fountain which the Lord hath opened for 
 sin and for separation from uncleanness. And the Lord 
 who opened that fountain hath promised to baptize His 
 people, by pouring upon them the Spirit of grace and 
 supplication, and they shall look upon Him whom they 
 pierced, and mourn with godly sorrow for their sin and 
 sinfulness : and that He would baptize them by sprinkling 
 clean water upon them, and cleanse them from all their 
 iilthiness, and from all their idols. Zech. xiii. 1 ; xii. 10 ; 
 Ezek. xxxvi. 25 — 27. And blessed is that man in whom 
 those promises have been fulfiled, and who lives by faith 
 in the experimental knowledge of that great truth, " the 
 blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth from all 
 sin." 1 John i. 7. 
 
 The cleansing from sin, or the sanctification of the 
 unclean, was set forth in the Old Testament Church by 
 baptism; by sprinkling the unclean with the ashes of the 
 red heifer, mixed with living water, as recorded in the 
 19th chapter of the Book of Numbers. Which cere- 
 monial purification, typical of the true spiritual cleans- 
 ing from sin, called dead works, is set forth in the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews in the following words: "for if 
 the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer 
 sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the 
 flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who 
 through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot 
 
87 
 
 to God, purge your consciences from dead works to serve 
 the living God?" Heb. ix. 13, 14. 
 
 Numb. xix. 1, 2. " The Lord spake unto Moses and 
 unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law 
 which the Lord hath commanded, saying, speak unto 
 the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer 
 without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which 
 never came yoke ! " This was a type of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who sanctified the people with His own blood, 
 when He suffered without the gate. Heb. xiii. 12. It 
 being an heifer may denote, that when our Lord became 
 incarnate, Himself took our infirmities ; and the red 
 colour of the heifer may refer to Him as the second 
 Adam ; for the name Adam signifies red earth. Hence 
 to the manhood of Jesus this redness is peculiarly 
 applicable, for the children being partakers of flesh and 
 blood, He Himself likewise took part of the same ! The 
 church sings, " my beloved is white and ruddy, white in 
 allusion to His spotless purity, and ruddy in allusion to 
 His blood and sufferings. Or the red colour of the heifer 
 may refer to the sins of His people, which were laid 
 upon Him, which are described as crimson and as scarlet. 
 The heifer being without spot, wherein there was no 
 blemish, may denote the perfection of Christ in His 
 person, obedience, and sufferings, and the holiness of 
 His manhood! The heifer was never to have been 
 yoked, which may denote, that it was by His own 
 voluntary will He was made under the law; for He 
 delighted to do the will and commandments of God the 
 Father; Love was in all His obedience and sufferings! 
 Without love His sacrifice would not have been accepted. 
 1 Cor. xiii. 3. " Therefore, said Jesus, doth my Father 
 love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it 
 again. No man, or no one, taketh it from me, but I lay 
 it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and 
 i2 
 
88 
 
 / have power to take it again. This commandment have I 
 received of my Father." John x. 17, 18. Jesus was also 
 free from the servitude of sin, &c, and He most freely 
 and willingly engaged Himself in the business of our 
 redemption and salvation. 
 
 " And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that 
 he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall 
 slay her before his face." Ver. 3. Eleazar was to bring 
 her forth, and not Aaron, because the ceremony to be 
 performed in this service rendered the minister himself 
 unclean for a season ; and, therefore, it was not given to 
 Aaron, that he might not be defiled, that he be not 
 hindered from ministering in his high priestly office on 
 behalf of the people. And though the heifer was not 
 slain by Eleazar, yet it was slain before him without the 
 camp ; which denotes the putting of Christ to death, 
 which was done in the presence and with the approba- 
 tion of the priests and elders of the people. The cere- 
 mony of slaying the sacrifice without the camp, was 
 not confined to the sacrifice of the heifer, for the same 
 ceremony was also required in the sin-offering. Lev. iv. 
 12. This is expounded at large in the epistle to the 
 Hebrews, for it is written, " We have an altar, whereof 
 they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For 
 the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the 
 sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, are burned without 
 the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify 
 the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. 
 Let us go forth, therefore, unto Him, without the camp, 
 bearing His reproach /" Heb. xiii. 10 — 14. As Christ 
 suffered without the gate, and bore the reproach and 
 false accusation of being a malefactor, a blasphemer, &c, 
 we must, therefore, be content to suffer with Him under 
 the same unjust charges and reproaches ; for the apostles 
 were accounted the filth of the earth, and the off-scour- 
 ing of all things. 1 Cor. iv. 13. 
 
89 
 
 " And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with 
 his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before, or 
 towards, the tabernacle of the congregation, seven times." 
 Ver. 4. The priest is spoken of as standing without the 
 camp where the heifer was slain, and he was to sprinkle 
 the blood towards the camp, and so towards the taber- 
 nacle. The divine authority which appointed the sacri- 
 fices did also direct the sprinkling of the blood, and 
 where the blood was to be sprinkled. And the sprinkling 
 seven times denotes the perfect efficacy of the blood of 
 Christ, 1 John i. 7 ; for seven is a number of perfection, 
 and, therefore, seven is often used in those shadowy 
 dispensations ! 
 
 "And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her 
 skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall 
 he burn." Ver. 5. We may here see the shadowy re- 
 presentation of the dolorous sufferings of Christ, when, 
 in the day of atonement, the wrath of God took venge- 
 ance of our sins, and the holy sufferer's heart ivas like 
 wax melted in the midst of His bowels; when His strength 
 was dried up like a potsherd, and in His agony He cried out, 
 "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me!" 
 Dr. Gill observes, it denoted the extent of Christ's 
 sufferings ; and the shame and reproach that attended 
 them was signified by dung. 
 
 " And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, 
 and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning 
 of the heifer. " Ver. 6. The cedar is noted for its ex- 
 cellency, and the scriptures do sometimes use it in a 
 metaphorical way, and apply it unto Christ, as in Song 
 v. 15, where it is said of Christ, " His countenance is as 
 Lebanon, excellent as the cedars" The cedar wood 
 being incorruptible and durable, may be an emblem of 
 the incorruptibility of Christ, and of the durable and 
 perpetual efficacy of the sufferings and death of Christ, 
 i 3 
 
90 
 
 who, by the offering of His body once for all, sanctified 
 all His people according to the will of God the Father, 
 Heb. x. 10 ; xiii. 12. The hyssop being purgative and of 
 a good smell, may denote the purging nature of Christ's 
 sacrifice, who by Himself purged our sins ; and also 
 denote the sweet odour of His sacrifice. Heb. i. 3 ; 
 Eph. v. 2. And the scarlet may denote the sins of His 
 people which are compared to scarlet, from which His 
 people are cleansed by His blood. 1 John i. /. The 
 cedar, the hyssop, and the scarlet cast into the midst of 
 the burning of the heifer may denote our sins were laid 
 upon Christ, and that when He made his soul an offer- 
 ing for sin, He did by His one sacrifice put away our sins 
 for ever, and, by His one offering, perfected for ever them 
 that are sanctified. Isa. liii. 6, 10 ; Heb. x. 12, 14. 
 
 " Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall 
 bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come 
 into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the 
 even. And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes, 
 and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until 
 the even." Ver. 7, 8. This was typical of Christ, made 
 sin for his people; and may signify that though the 
 crucifixion of Christ was a very great sin, and done by 
 wicked hands, yet was pardonable through the very 
 blood that was shed by them. Acts ii. 23, 36, 38, 41. 
 
 " And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes 
 of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp, in a 
 clean place," ver. 9; which may set forth Joseph of 
 Arimathea, a just many and a disciple, who took the body 
 of Jesus, and laid it in a new tomb or sepulchre hewn in 
 stone, wherein never man before was laid. Matt, xxvii. 
 60; Luke xxiii. 53. And it may also set forth the 
 preciousness of the death of Christ ! Concerning the 
 ashes of the heifer, it is written, " it shall be kept for the 
 congregation of the children of Israel for a water ofsepara- 
 
91 
 
 tion; it is a purification for sin, or from sin itself" 
 ver. 9 ; which evidently denoted the everlasting sanctify- 
 ing and cleansing virtue of the blood of Christ, as well 
 as the all-sufficient satisfaction of Christ's one offering 
 and sacrifice. 
 
 "And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall 
 wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even : and it 
 shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger 
 that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever." 
 Ver. 10. Which denotes there is iniquity even in our 
 most holy things, even when obeying the Divine com- 
 mands. The Psalmist was conscious of this, when he 
 said, " Who can understand his errors ? cleanse thou 
 me from secret faults." Exod. xxviii. 38 ; Psm. xix. 1*2. 
 
 " He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be 
 unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with it on 
 the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean : 
 but if he purify not himself the third day, then the 
 seventh day he shall not be clean."* Ver. 11, 12. The 
 original reads "the dead {nephesh Adam)f soul man" 
 which signifying a natural man dead in sin, who neither 
 receives nor can know, naturally, the things of the 
 Spirit of God, 1 Cor. ii. 14; for all men in an unrege- 
 
 * The learned Julius Bate observes, " the raising up of Jesus 
 on the third day, and remission of sins through faith in Him, is 
 here set forth, and that all so purified shall be clean on the seventh 
 or last day," i. e., the Sabbath or rest which remaineth to the 
 children of God. Heb. iv. 9. 
 
 f It is worthy of remark, that in the Old Testament, and also 
 in the New Testament, the natural descendants of Adam are called 
 soul men, in Hebrew, nephesh Adam, in Greek, psuches Anthropou, 
 Numb. xix. 11, 13; and psuchikos Anthropos, in 1 Cor. ii. 14 ; for 
 they are the offspring of the first Adam, psuehen zosan, a living 
 soul, 1 Cor.xv.45 : but in consequence of the fal'., theyarein their 
 natural unresenerate state called dead soul men ; and their wisdom 
 psuchike, soul or natural; they are said to be psuchikoi, soul or 
 natural, not having the pneuma, spirit; and, therefore, it is 
 written, the natural or soul man receiveth not the things of the 
 
92 
 
 nerate state are dead in sin ; their conversation is cor- 
 rupt, and any communion with them will defile the 
 conscience. Whosoever is cleansed from his sins, is in- 
 terested in the death and resurrection of Christ, he shall 
 enter into rest by faith here, and join hereafter the spirits 
 of just men made perfect. But whosoever is not cleansed 
 from his sins by the blood of Christ shed for the remis- 
 sion of sins, and is not justified from all things by 
 Christ who rose from the dead the third day, will 
 never be cleansed hereafter, or enjoy that sabbatism 
 which remains for the people of God. Heb. iv. 9. 
 
 We have here set forth the experience of all the 
 regenerated children of God, who in the common avoca- 
 tions of life, and in their dealings with the people of the 
 world, get defiled ; although washed, they need to wash 
 their feet. John xiii. 10. And every one defiled, who 
 shall not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the 
 Lord ; and the soul not purified was to be cut off from 
 Israel, his uncleannessbeingupon him. See I Cor. v. 4 — 7. 
 
 " Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that 
 is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle 
 of the Lord ; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel : 
 because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon 
 him, he shall be unclean ; his uncleanness is yet upon 
 him." Ver. 13. The original reads, the dead nephesh 
 Adam dead, signifying a natural man dead in sin, who 
 hath departed this life in an unregenerate state ; death is 
 the wages of sin, and his dead body is of a defiling na- 
 
 Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he 
 know them, because they are pneumatikos, spiritually discerned. 
 James iii. 15 ; Jude 19; 1 Cor. ii. 14. Therefore, the distinction 
 between the [first man, Adam, a living soul, and the last Adam, 
 pneuma zdopuioun, a quickening spirit, is infinite: and great indeed 
 is the difference between their respective seeds, for the respective 
 bodies of the children of God are sown, soma psuchikon, a soul 
 body, but raised, soma pneumatikon, a spiritual body, 1 Cor. xv. 
 44, 45 ; for every seed will have its own body ! 
 
93 
 
 ture. Now, such is the state of fallen man, that a man is 
 defiled if he toucketh even the dead body of a man who 
 dies in sin : and if he purifies not himself according to 
 this Divine ordinance, and presumptuously joins with 
 the assembly of the Lord's people to worship, he defiles 
 the temple of the Lord ; and for so doing he is to be 
 excommunicated, " because the water of separation was 
 not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean :" as all are who 
 are not sprinkled with the blood of Christ, that is, bap- 
 tized with the baptism of Christ's sufferings. Mark 
 x. 39 ; Luke xii. 50 ; and such a presumptuous sinner's 
 iniquity is marked before God. Jerem. ii. 22. 
 
 " This is the law when a man dieth in a tent: all that 
 come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be 
 unclean seven days. And every open vessel, which 
 hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean." Yer. 14, 
 15. The meaning is, that all persons who come into a 
 tent or house where a dead body is, are equally unclean 
 as those that were in it when the person died ; and all ves- 
 sels not covered, were defiled, from the air of the house 
 being defiled by the dead body, getting into the unco- 
 vered vessels. But what is every uncovered vessel? 
 Surely a sinner exposed to the wrath of God ; and this 
 ceremonial uncleanness, from being in the same house 
 with a dead body, shews our miserable state, out of 
 Christ, from the sinfulness of our corrupt nature. 
 
 " And whosoever toucheth one slain with a sword in 
 the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or 
 a grave, shall be unclean seven days." Yer. 16. All 
 this ceremonial uncleanness hath respect to the defiling 
 nature of sin, which is the cause of death and the cor- 
 ruption of the grave. And as all so defiled were to be 
 purified, or they would be cut off for defiling the taber- 
 nacle of the Lord, we may perceive, if Jesus had not 
 interposed on our behalf, and by his obedience, sacrifice, 
 
94 
 
 and death, had not sanctified us by His own blood and 
 by His Spirit, we should have been unclean for ever. 
 
 " And for an unclean person they shall take of the 
 ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and 
 running water shall be put thereto in a vessel : and a 
 clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, 
 and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the ves- 
 sels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon 
 him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or 
 a grave: and the clean person shall sprinkle upon 
 the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day : 
 and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash 
 his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be 
 clean at even." Ver. 17 — 19. In this typical cere- 
 monial law may be seen the precious provision made for 
 the removal of the sin and uncleanness of our fallen 
 nature. As the ashes of the heifer pointed to the 
 atonement of Christ, so the running or living water 
 represented the gracious office of the Holy Ghost. The 
 ashes and the water were mixed together; for when 
 Christ baptizes his people with the Holy Ghost, he bap- 
 tizes them at the same time with the baptism of His bloody 
 sufferings, and this is the baptism He told the sons of 
 Zebedee they should be baptized with. Mark x. 39. 
 The ashes, some have thought, were laid up in various 
 cities and places in the country, as well as at Jerusalem, 
 that they might be had upon every occasion, and as 
 soon as the law required for the purification of a denied 
 person. As regards the sprinkling of the ashes and 
 living water, see the note on verse 12 ; for all persons 
 baptized with the blood of sprinkling, are at the same 
 time baptized with the living water (Heb. xii. 24 ; 
 Ezek. xxxvi. 25) ; and after this baptism they are clean; 
 for they are washed, yea, they are sanctified, yea, they are 
 justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spi?*it 
 
95 
 
 of our God (1 Cor. vi. 11) ; for the ashes of the heifer 
 were not sprinkled separately from the living water, but 
 were sprinkled mixed with the living water. 
 
 " But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not 
 purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the 
 congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of 
 the Lord : the water of separation hath not been 
 sprinkled upon him, he is unclean. And it shall be a 
 perpetual statute upon them, that he that sprinkleth the 
 water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that 
 toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even. 
 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be 
 unclean until even." Ver. 20 — 22. See notes on verses 
 13 and 10. 
 
 As the ashes of the heifer pointed to the atonement 
 and righteousness of Christ, so the running or living 
 water represented the gracious office of the Holy Ghost, 
 in His revelation of the person and offices of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ; for the sprinkling of the ashes mixed 
 with living water set forth the essential work and offices 
 of both, for if ashes were not mixed with the running 
 water, they were not used! And it should be observed, 
 that although the unclean were commanded to purify 
 themselves, they did not make themselves clean, for no 
 one but a clean person was appointed to sprinkle the 
 ashes of the heifer mixed with the living water.* 
 
 This legal ceremony of cleansing the unclean set forth 
 metaphorically the preaching of the everlasting gospel. 
 For as the ashes were sprinkled mixed with the living 
 water, so the ministers of the everlasting gospel preach 
 
 * It would seem the ceremonial law was by some persons so 
 little understood, that in Mr. Walker's Doctrine of Baptisms we 
 are informed iu the first century after the apostles, a person sick 
 on his journey was baptized by sprinkling of sand; and that, 
 though the pastor at Alexandria expressed his disapprobation of 
 the element, he sanctioned the mode. 
 
96 
 
 and baptize, that is to say, they preach the gospel with 
 the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven. As the Spirit 
 of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus, so the Spirit of 
 preaching or the ministration of the Spirit is the testi- 
 mony of Jesus. The clean person who sprinkled the 
 ashes mixed with the living water, denotes a minister of 
 the everlasting gospel, whose conscience is purged from 
 all dead works by the blood of Christ, through the 
 eternal Spirit, to serve the living God.* The ministers 
 of God's appointment are not sufficient of themselves to 
 think anything as of themselves ; but their sufficiency is 
 of God, who makes them able ministers of the New Testa- 
 ment; not of the letter, but of the Spirit ; for the letter 
 killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. The word of God is 
 not a dead letter, or it would not kill ; and the scriptures 
 are called the lively oracles of God. Acts vii. 38. The 
 preaching of the glorious gospel of Christ, the blessed 
 God, 1 Tim. i. 11; 2 Cor. iv. 4; Rom. ix. 5, is the 
 ministration of the Spirit : 2 Cor. iii. 5 — 8 ; and the 
 ministers of Christ's sending, having the same Spirit of 
 faith as the apostles, 2 Cor. iv. 13, approve themselves 
 as the ministers of God, amongst other evidences, by 
 the word of truth, and by the power of God, not by 
 
 * He that preacheth must have the same faith and purity which 
 he preacheth to others ; and his own clothes, his outward walk 
 and conversation, -and ministerial services must be washed from 
 impurity. Ministers who turn many to righteousness, shine in 
 this world as stars ; the angels of the churches are called stars, 
 Dan. xii. 3 ; Rev. i. 20, because Christ is their light, and their 
 light shines before men : but as all the children of God, both 
 ministers and people, are called unto the obtaining of the glory of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Thess. ii. 14, they shall all shine, when 
 time shall be no more, as the brightness of the firmament, and as 
 the Sun in the kingdom of their God and Father for ever and 
 ever. Dan. xii. 3 ; Matt. xiii. 43. John saw the church of God 
 in the likeness of a woman clothed with the sun, Rev. xii. 1 ; for all 
 the saints will be like Christ when they see Him as He is. 1 John 
 iiL 2 ; Matt. xvii. 2 ; Rev. i. 1 6 j x. 1. 
 
97 
 
 the word only, but by the word and the power of God. 
 2 Cor. vi. 4—7. The church of the Thessalonians 
 knew their election of God by the gospel, which came 
 not unto them in word only, but also in power, and in the 
 Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, 1 Thess. i. 1, 4, 5; 
 because God had from the beginning chosen them unto 
 salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of 
 the truth, whereunto God called them by the gospel of 
 Christ, 2 Thess. ii. 18, 14 ; for as the apostles' ministry 
 was the ministry of the Spirit, they knew nothing 
 amongst men but Jesus Christ and Him crucified; and 
 the faith of believers stood not in the wisdom of men, 
 but in the power of God, 1 Cor. ii. 2 — 4 : for the minis- 
 try of the Spirit is the testimony of Jesus, as the ashes 
 of the heifer and the living water were sprinkled to- 
 gether. 
 
 Our gracious Lord, after His resurrection, said unto 
 His apostles, " As My Father hath sent me, even so send 
 I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, 
 and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost : whoseso- 
 ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them : whosesoever 
 ye retain, they are retained.* John xx. 21 — 23. But 
 they were not to minister until they were endued with 
 power from on High, Luke xxiv. 49 ; for they were to 
 go in the strength of the Lord God, Adonai Jehovah, 
 Psm. Ixxi. 1 6, and the Lord promised to be manifestly 
 with them, " And, lo ! said Jesus, / am with you alway, 
 
 * The commission given to the Apostles in the remission and 
 retaining of sins, was only ministerial and declarative by the 
 preaching of the glorious gospel of Christ, the same as the power 
 given to Jeremiah, which was ministerial and declarative, to root 
 out, and to pull down, and to destroy, that is, to foretel God's judg- 
 ments that such kingdoms and nations should be destroyed, as a 
 building is. And also to build and to plant, that is, to foretel the 
 preservation, restoration, and establishment of the Jews, who 
 would be carried into captivity. Jerem. i. 10. 
 
98 
 
 unto the end of the world. Amen!" Matt, xxviii. 20. 
 The Apostles, therefore, went forth in the Lord's 
 strength, the Lord working with them, Mark xvi. 20, 
 sprinkling the ashes with the living water ; for they 
 ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ, teaching 
 and baptizing, for they ministered the Spirit, Acts v. 42 ; 
 2 Cor. iii. 3 — 8 ; Gal. iii. 5 ; and they preached repen- 
 tance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus, with 
 the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven. Luke xxiv. 47 ; 
 1 Pet. i. 12. And they taught and baptized, not in 
 water, but in the name of the Holy Trinity, for the 
 Lord the Spirit worked with them, Mark xvi. 20, to give 
 the knowledge of salvation unto His people by the 
 remission of sins. Luke i. 77. In proof thereof, it is 
 recorded, they preached peace by Jesus Christ, testify- 
 ing, He is Lord of all ; that God (the Father) anointed 
 His son Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with 
 power, &c, and that Christ commanded them to preach 
 unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was 
 ordained of God the judge of quick and dead: that to 
 Him gave all the prophets witness, that through His 
 name, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of 
 sins. And while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy 
 Ghost fell on all them which heard the word ; Acts x. 
 36 — 44. And Peter further testifies, " the Gentiles by 
 my mouth heard the word of the gospel, and believed. 
 For God, which knoweth the hearts, bore them witness, 
 giving them the Holy Ghost, even as unto us ; and put no 
 difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by 
 faith." Acts xv. 7 — 9. For they were made clean by 
 the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit 
 offered Himself without spot to God. Heb. ix. 13, 14. 
 And it was the Holy Ghost who purged their consciences 
 from dead works, and purified their hearts by faith in 
 the name, and blood, and righteousness of Jesus ; for 
 
99 
 
 God only can forgive sins : neither did the Apostles ever" 
 assume any such power to themselves, or pretend to 
 exercise it ; they knew, if they had, it would be usurping 
 the prerogative of God ; they would have been guilty of 
 a presumptuous sin, which might end in the commission 
 of the great transgression. Psm, xix. 13. But, as the 
 servants of Christ, they did preach, as all faithful minis- 
 ters of Christ do now, the glorious gospel of the blessed 
 God, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. 
 And this was their faithful saying, that Christ Jesus 
 came into the world to save sinners, even the chief. 
 1 Tim. i. 11 — 15. For the ministry of the Spirit is 
 exceedingly more glorious than the ministration of 
 death, in that it declares the glad tidings of redemp- 
 tion, and the full remission of sins through the blood 
 of Christ, according to the riches of God's grace, and 
 all that believe are by Christ justified from all things, 
 from which they could not be justified by the law of 
 Moses. 2 Cor. iii. 7—11 ; Eph. i. 7 ; Acts xiii. 38, 39. 
 As the faithful servants of Christ they laboured in 
 the Lord, not in their own strength, — and to the Lord 
 they gave all the glory. And as their labour in the 
 Lord was never in vain, and as the Lord made them 
 more than conquerors, so they gave all the glory of the 
 victory to Him, to whom all the glory is due, saying, 
 *' Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth 
 us to triumph," a perpetual triumph, in Christ, and 
 tnuketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in 
 every place. For we are a sweet savour of Christ in 
 them that are saved, and in them that perish : to the 
 one, who die in their sins, we are the savour of death 
 unto death ; and to the other, whose hearts the Holy 
 Ghost purifies by faith, whose sins are remitted, the sa- 
 vour of life unto life. 1 Cor. xv. 57, 58 ; 2 Cor. ii. 
 14 — 16. How truly glorious is the gospel of the 
 k 2 
 
100 
 
 blessed God, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
 save sinners, even the chief; for, speaking after the 
 manner of men, the Lord Himself so delights in the 
 preaching of the everlasting gospel, the glorious gos- 
 pel of Christ, that His servants are a sweet savour 
 unto God, whilst they are preaching the sweet smelling 
 savour of Christ's offering and sacrifice for his people. 
 1 Tim. i. 11, 15; 2 Cor. iv. 4; Eph. v. 2; Gal. i. 4. 
 
 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God! 
 Matt. v. 8. They are privileged to see God in Christ by 
 faith now, yea, to live as Moses did, as seeing Him who 
 is invisible. Heb. xi. 27. Their earthen vessels are 
 filled with the treasure of the light of the knowledge of 
 the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 
 6, 7 ; whom having not seen they love ; in whom, though 
 now they see Him not, yet, believing, they rejoice with a 
 joy unspeakable and full of glory : receiving the end of 
 their faith, the salvation of their souls. Dr. Gill saith, 
 " In the other world they shall see God in Christ with 
 the eyes of their understanding ; and after the resurrec- 
 tion they shall see with the eyes of their bodies, God 
 incarnate : which sight of Christ, and God in Christ, is 
 unspeakably glorious, desirable, delightful, and satisfy- 
 ing; it will be free from all darkness and error, and 
 from all interruption ; it will be an appropriating and 
 transforming one, and will last for ever." In accord- 
 ance with this testimony, the 1 7th Psalm, which is the 
 first Psalm entitled a Prayer of David, or a prayer of or 
 concerning the Beloved, the Psalmist closeth his prayer 
 by saying, " As for me, / shall behold thy face in righ- 
 teousness : I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy 
 likeness." And the apostle John, after expressing his 
 astonishment at the manner of God the Father's love, 
 exclaimed, " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and 
 it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know 
 
101 
 
 that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him ; for we 
 shall see Him as He is ! 1 John iii. 2. And then, we 
 shall know even as also we are known. 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 
 
 Surely every one renewed in the Spirit of his mind 
 must be deeply affected with this distinguishing mark 
 of God's rich mercy, both in the greatness of God's 
 love as it is in itself, as in the manner of it as shown to 
 him, a child of wrath by nature, deserving of God's 
 wrath and indignation, as those who die in their sins. 
 Even now, every one born of God, though burdened in 
 his earthly house, is a son of God by adoption ; and he 
 hath a building of God, an house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens. 
 
 Christian reader, let us meditate on the gracious con- 
 descension of our God, who did in type and figure, thus 
 manifest the purgiug of our consciences from dead works 
 with the blood of Christ by the Eternal Spirit. Every 
 sacrifice in the Old Testament of God's appointment 
 set forth the infinite love of God the Father in giving 
 His Son ; and the infinite love of God the Son in sancti- 
 fying Himself for our sakes, that we might be sanctified 
 through the truth; and the infinite love of God the 
 Spirit, thereby signifying that the way into the holiest 
 of all was not made manifest whilst the first tabernacle 
 was standing. "Which was a figure for the time then 
 present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, 
 that could not make him that did the service perfect, 
 as pertaining to the conscience, which stood only in 
 meats and drinks, and divers baptisms, and carnal 
 ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reforma- 
 tion. But Christ being come an high priest of good 
 things to come, by a greater and more perfect taber- 
 naele, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this 
 building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, 
 but by His own blood, he entered in once into the holy 
 k3 
 
102 
 
 place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For 
 if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an 
 heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purify- 
 ing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of 
 Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself 
 without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead 
 works to serve the living God ? And for this cause He 
 is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of 
 death, for the redemption of the transgressions that 
 were under the first testament, they which are called 
 might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. " 
 Heb. ix. 9 — 15. And thanks be to God that His regene- 
 rated people are now " washed, and sanctified, and 
 justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the 
 Spirit of our God." Lead us, gracious God, to see in the 
 consecrated ashes, the incorruptible and everlasting 
 efficacy of the righteousness and blood of God our 
 Saviour; and in the living water, the preciousness of 
 the sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost, that we may 
 drink of that river which flows from under the throne 
 of God and the Lamb, to make glad the city of our 
 God. May it be our portion thus to be cleansed daily 
 from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and may the Lord 
 make us perfect in every good work to do His will, 
 working in us that which is well pleasing in His sight, 
 through Jesus Christ ; to whom be glory for ever and 
 ever. Amen. 
 
 OBADIAH. 
 
MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS. 
 
 MEDITATION VII. 
 
 THE BAPTISM OF THE PRIEST'S HANDS AND FEET. 
 
 The gospel mystery of all the Levitical baptisms or 
 washings amount to this, that the blood of Jesus Christ 
 the Son of God, cleanseth from all sin. To this truth 
 John bare witness, when he came baptizing with water, 
 that Christ might be made manifest to Israel, for he 
 testified, saying, " Behold the Lamb of God, which 
 taketh, or beareth, away the sin of the world.'*' John i. 
 29. Christ is the antitypical spiritual laver, which is 
 opened, for sin and uncleanness to the house of David 
 and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Zechariah 
 xiii. 1. 
 
 Dr. Gill states, Christ is called " a fountain, not so 
 much for the quantity of blood shed, as for its full 
 virtue and efficacy to cleanse from sin ;" and a fountain 
 opened, because of its continued virtue to cleanse from 
 sin ; it is not sealed, but opened, as was the laver, 
 " and always stands open, setting forth the free access 
 every convinced sinner hath to Christ for pardon and 
 peace, for there was no hinderance or obstruction 
 in coming to the laver : they that have no money 
 may come to the waters ; even the chief of sinners 
 may come ; it is open to all the family of Christ, the 
 Son of David, and to all that belong to the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, even the whole church of the first born, 
 whose names are written in heaven:" a fountain open 
 for sin, and for uncleanness ; for sin has defiled all the 
 natural descendants of Adam, and nothing can remove 
 
104 
 
 the guilt and pollution of sin but the blood of Christ 
 sprinkled on the conscience. 
 
 Mr. Ralph, Robinson saith, " Christ is a fountain set 
 open. His blood is the only scripture bath; the word 
 of God mentions this and no other. See the following 
 places, I John i. 7; Rev. i. 5 ; and Heb. i. 3. The Holy 
 Ghost tells us, that Christ did by himself purge our 
 sins. No creature contributing so much as one herb 
 towards the cleansing medicine. Christ is the only 
 propitiation for sin. 1 John ii. I, 2. The gospel mys- 
 tery of all the Levitical washings did amount to this, 
 that the blood of Christ did meritoriously purge away 
 sin. It is called a fountain in five respects, (1) to shew 
 the fulness of his merit ; (2) to shew the lastingness of 
 his grace ; (3) to shew the purity of his blood ; (4) to 
 shew the freshness and lively efficacy of it ; (5) to shew 
 the freeness of it." And he is called a fountain opened 
 to shew, " whosoever cometh unto him, he will in no 
 wise cast out ; and Calvin saith it shews the clearness 
 of the gospel revelation above the law." And also the 
 free access which every humbled sinner has to Christ 
 for all he needs ! This blessed truth was set forth from 
 the open place God appointed the laver should stand. 
 
 Under the Levitical dispensation the Laver was not 
 only a type of Christ as the fountain open for sin and un- 
 ci eanness, but to the virtue of His blood did all the bap- 
 tisms and washings in the laver refer. Exod. xxx. 1 7, &c. 
 " The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt also 
 make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash 
 withal : and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of 
 the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water 
 therein. For Aaron and Ms sons shall wash their hands 
 and their feet thereat. When they go into the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, 
 that they die not ; or when they come near to the altar 
 
105 
 
 to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord. 
 So they shall wash their hands and their feet* that they 
 die not : and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even 
 to him and to his seed throughout their generations." 
 The laver was anointed and sanctified for its use. Lev. 
 viii. 11. The Holy Spirit doth not say, they shall 
 wash their whole bodies therein, but only their hands 
 and their feet thereat. It is probable the high priest 
 did wash his whole person therein on the day of atone- 
 ment, previous to the commencement of the services ! 
 Lev. xvi. 4. 
 
 All the Lord's people are made priests unto God and 
 the Father (Rev. i. 5) ; and as their hands are the in- 
 struments of doing, and their feet of walking, so their 
 daily work, and conversation, must be washed in the 
 laver of Christ's blood. Rev. vii. 14. The laver stood 
 near the door of the Tabernacle, and the priests washed 
 their hands and feet thereat before they entered, though 
 they might be clean, for they might have washed their 
 hands and feet at home ; nevertheless, when they went 
 to the Tabernacle, before they performed any service, 
 they were so to wash " that they die not : " a solemn 
 testimony that God will be sanctified in them that come 
 nigh unto Him (Lev. x. 3), and in the death of Aaron's 
 sons we see that death is the wages of sin, and sin is the 
 sting of death. 
 
 This typical washing was to be observed until the 
 Messiah should come, fulfil all righteousness, sanc- 
 tify His people with His own blood, put away their 
 sins for ever by His one sacrifice, and by His one offer- 
 ing perfect for ever them that are sanctified. Blessed be 
 His adorable name for ever ; this He hath done ! 
 Heb. x. 5 — 14. Believers are, therefore, exhorted to 
 
 * The baptism of the hands and feet in water was repeated 
 twice in the daily services. 
 
105 
 
 " draw nigh to God with a true heart, in full assurance 
 of faith, having their hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 
 science, and their bodies washed with pure water (Heb.x. 
 22) : as having our hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 
 science was typically set forth in the ceremonious? 
 sprinklings of the blood of the sacrifices under the law, 
 so having our bodies washed with pure water, as it stands 
 in connexion with those sprinklings, alludes to the 
 divers legal baptisms, among which were the priests 
 washing their flesh in water, &c., before they went into 
 the presence of the Lord. Dr. Gill considers it means 
 "the grace of the Spirit, which is often compared to 
 water in scripture. The body as well as the soul needs 
 washing and renewing ; internal grace influences out- 
 ward actions which adorn religion, and without which 
 our bodies cannot be presented holy to God." But, it 
 surely means, our hearts are to be purified by faith in 
 the blood of Jesus, as well as our bodies, our outward 
 deportment must be washed from all sin in the foun- 
 tain opened for sin and for uncleanness. 
 
 The laver was made of brass. In Ezekiel's vision, he 
 beheld a man (Ish, which denotes a person of dignity 
 and valour) whose appearance was like brass. Ezek. xl. 
 3. And when Christ appeared to John in Patmos, his 
 feet were seen like unto fine brass, as if they burned in 
 a furnace. Rev. i. 15. As brass is an emblem of 
 strength, it may set forth Christ's ability to wash us 
 from our sins in his own blood (Rev. 1. 5), and to pre- 
 sent us faultless before the presence of his glory with 
 exceeding joy. Jude 24. 
 
 The basis of the laver, or the foot of brass, may set 
 forth the immutability of Christ ; for the foot of the 
 laver is mentioned expressly, as often as the laver is 
 mentioned, in the book of Exodus xxx. 18; xxxi. 9 ; 
 xxxv. 16 ; xxxix. 39 ; xl. 1 1. 
 
107 
 
 The foot or base of brass, it is thought, was so con- 
 trived as to receive the water, let into it out of the 
 laver ; for Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands 
 and feet at this laver, every time they went in to 
 minister. For this purpose clean water was put into 
 the laver fresh every day. 
 
 As both the laver and his foot were anointed and 
 sanctified by the Lord's command (Exod. xl. 1 1 ; Lev. 
 viii. 1 1), there cannot be a doubt but the laver and his 
 foot set forth, Christ the Lord's anointed, and the per- 
 petual cleansing virtue of Christ's blood. 
 
 The laver stood between the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation and the altar of burnt-offering, which was by 
 the door of the tabernacle (Exod. xl. 29 — 30), evidently 
 setting forth that the washing of regeneration, and the 
 renewings of the Holy Ghost are shed upon us abun- 
 dantly through Christ Jesus (Titus iii. 5), for it is written, 
 " I will pour upon the house of David, and the inhabi- 
 tants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplications, 
 and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, 
 and mourn," &c. Zech. xii. 10. 
 
 As the laver stood between the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation, and the altar which was by the door of the 
 tabernacle, the same set forth the need and free access 
 every believer hath to our Lord Jesus Christ, for the 
 renewings of the Holy Ghost ; as John the Baptist said 
 to Jesus, " I have need to be baptized of Thee." 
 Matt. iii. 14. And to the same effect, the Apostle John 
 testified, saying, "if we," the Apostles, " say we have 
 no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 
 us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
 1 Johni. 7—9. 
 
 Had not our Lord a regard to the typical washing of 
 the hands and feet in the laver, when, before the feast of 
 
108 
 
 the Passover, -when He knew that His hour was come 
 that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, 
 having loved His own which were in the world, He 
 loved them unto the end? — It is written, supper being 
 ended, &c, "he laid aside his garments, and took a 
 towel, and girded Himself: after that, He poureth 
 water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples feet, 
 and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was 
 girded. Then cometh He to Simon Peter : and Peter 
 said unto Him, Lord dost Thou wash my feet? Jesus 
 answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not 
 now ; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto 
 Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered 
 him, Jf I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me.* 
 Then Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, not my feet 
 only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to 
 him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his 
 feet, but is clean every whit." John xiii. 1 — 10. 
 What our gracious Lord said to Peter, He saith to all 
 His disciples. For this mystical washing did represent 
 that spiritual washing of which every one partakes 
 who is appointed unto salvation. This is the washing 
 which the disciples were to know, but not until after 
 our Lord's resurrection, when the Spirit was come; for 
 the Spirit was to guide them into all truth ; amongst 
 other important truths, that they had part with Christ, 
 that they were in Him, and He in them. The mystical 
 washing of the priest's hands and feet set forth, that we 
 must be washed by Christ from all our sin, in order to 
 
 * As the antitypical baptism of the saint's feet by Christ him- 
 self was accompanied with the blessing of an eternal interest in 
 Christ, what benefit can the saints have now from the literal 
 baptism of the whole person in water by a creature like them- 
 selves t The antipoedobaptists do truly call their water baptism 
 & literal baptism, for the discord so frequent among themselves 
 prove it is not the spiritual Christian's baptism ! 
 
109 
 
 our being partakers with him. For to have part with 
 Christ is to be joint heirs with Him. He and all that 
 belongs to Him is made ours. Now this washing or 
 cleansing is by Christ's blood, both by the shedding 
 and by the application of it. 
 
 By the shedding of Christ's blood above 1800 years 
 ago, upon the cross, all believers were virtually and 
 meritoriously washed. There wa3, when Jesus was 
 baptized with that baptism, a general expiation made 
 for all their sins (Luke xii. 50) ; for His one sacrifice 
 offered to God was all sufficient for the sins of His people 
 for ever. Christ then purged our sins (Heb. i. 3), and 
 in and through his blood we have the forgiveness of 
 sins, according to the riches of divine grace. Eph. i. 7. 
 
 The blood of Jesus Christ, considering its value, 
 may well be typed by the Brazen Sea of such great 
 dimensions as Solomon had made, and also as pro- 
 phetically described as a deep sea into which he hath 
 cast all our sins (Micah vii. 19) ; so that if the sins of 
 His redeemed be sought for, they shall not be found. 
 Jerem. 1. 20. As with His own blood He made an 
 atonement for our guilt, so also He cleanseth our persons 
 from all unrighteousness, as it is written, " I will 
 cleanse them from all their iniquity whereby they have 
 sinned against me, and I will pardon all their iniquities 
 whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have trans- 
 gressed against me." Jerem. xxxiii. 8. As all things by 
 the law are purged with blood, and without shedding 
 of blood there is no remission (Heb. ix. 22), wherefore 
 Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with His 
 own blood, suffered without the gate. Heb. xiii. 12. 
 
 Secondly. It is by the sprinkling of Christ's blood 
 upon the conscience of believers, they come to the per- 
 sonal enjoyment of the forgiveness of their sins, and of 
 being cleansed from all unrighteousness. There must 
 
110 
 
 be a particular application of the merit of that blood by 
 the Eternal Spirit, purging the consciences of the re- 
 deemed from sin and unbelief, yea, from all dead works, 
 to serve the living God, The purging of the conscience 
 is the work of God, and not the work of man, for the 
 Holy Ghost purifies the heart by faith in the blood of 
 Christ. Heb. ix. 14; Acts xv. 8, 9. Believers are 
 therefore commanded to draw near to God, with a true 
 heart, in full assurance of faith ; for by the will of God 
 they were sanctified by the offering of the body of Christ 
 once for all; by His one sacrifice He hath put away their 
 sins for ever ; and by His one offering He hath perfected 
 for ever all them that are sanctified; and they are to draw 
 nigh, having their hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 
 science, and their bodies washed with pure water. Dr. 
 Gill states, " not baptismal water, which is often com- 
 pared to water in scripture, but, by the grace of the 
 Spirit ; for the body as well as the soul needs washing ;" 
 external as well as internal sanctification of heart and 
 hand, and lip and life. David also alludes to this in the 
 51st Psalm, called the Penitential Psalm, " Have mercy 
 upon me, God, or my God, according to thy loving 
 kindness ; according unto the multitude of thy tender 
 mercies blot out my transgression. Wash me throughly 
 from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Purge 
 me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I 
 shall be whiter than snow." This baptism was pro- 
 mised under the Old Testament (Ezek. xxxvi. 25) ; 
 " then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall 
 be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all your idols 
 will I cleanse you." And this cleansing is God's work, 
 for according to His mercy, He saves us by the washing 
 of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, 
 which He sheds on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ 
 our Saviour. Titus iii. 4^6 . Man in his unregenerate, 
 
Ill 
 
 sinful state, neither can nor will ever purge or cleanse 
 himself. Solomon's challenge is unanswerable : "Who 
 can say, I have made my heart clean ?" Prov. xx. 9. 
 We are no more able to cleanse our hearts than we are 
 able to believe to the saving of the soul through any 
 natural power of our own. Christ is the Author and 
 Finisher of faith. And they who have that faith which 
 is of the (energias) operation or energy of God (Col. ii. 
 12), will truly pray, " create in me a clean heart, 
 God, or my God, and renew a right spirit within me." 
 Psalm li. 10. 
 
 Christ washes us by His word instrumentally : for 
 •' He loved the church, and gave Himself for it ; that 
 He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of 
 water by the word : that He might present it to Himself 
 a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any 
 such thing; but that it should be holy and without 
 blemish." " The words of the Lord are pure words" 
 (Psm. xii. 6) ; so our Lord tells his disciples : " Now 
 are ye clean through the word that I have spoken unto 
 you ;" not that the word alone, without the Spirit's 
 energy, makes a sinner clean ; but the Spirit bears wit- 
 ness with the word, of the cleansing virtue of Christ's 
 blood to the heart prepared of the Lord, for the prepa- 
 ration of the heart, and the answer of the tongue is of 
 the Lord. A sinner so prepared of the Lord has no- 
 thing in himself to glory in, but, on the contrary, what 
 calls for shame and confusion of face ; and being thus 
 prepared of the Lord, he will glory in that the Christ 
 of God is made unto him wisdom, and righteousness, and 
 sanctification, and redemption. 1 Cor. i. 30 ; 2 Cor. vi. 7. 
 
 As the washing of the hands and feet was one of the 
 
 divers baptisms under the legal dispensation, is not 
 
 this gracious act of our Lord's love and humiliation 
 
 towards his disciples worthy of great consideration 1 
 
 l2 
 
112 
 
 For this is the only water ordinance our Lord did minis- 
 ter, and it is the only water ordinance our Lord com- 
 manded His disciples to observe ! It is also remarkable, 
 there is no record in the Acts of the Apostles, a period 
 of thirty years, that the apostles ever did once observe 
 this divine commandment ! Then what great cause 
 have all the children of God to bless the Lord for 
 the epistles of God the Spirit's inditing, of which 
 the apostles Paul, and James, and Peter, and Jude, 
 and John were the penmen. Therein the Lord's 
 supper is expressly commanded to be often adminis- 
 tered, and the order of its administration expressly re- 
 vealed : and therein is an acknowledgment on the part 
 of an apostle, that the apostles had no authority to 
 baptize with water, as they did, and as recorded in the 
 Acts ; but the washing of the saint' sfeet was to be ob- 
 served, for no widow was to be maintained by the 
 church, unless, amongst other things, she had washed 
 the saints' feet. 1 Tim. v. 9, 10. Christian reader, 
 where shall we find this, our Lord's commandment, ob- 
 served, either literally or spiritually ? In either case, 
 we should not cast dirt upon their feet by tale bearing 
 and evil speaking. 
 
 It is recorded, our Lord said to Peter, if I wash thee 
 not, thou hast no part with me, and that the mystical 
 nature of the washing he was to know thereafter. It 
 was not a mere external washing that our Lord meant, 
 for the putting away of the filth of the flesh, nor a mere 
 outward reformation of life that will save the soul from 
 hell. Judas might have had his feet washed, and yet 
 his conscience continue defiled. This of itself would 
 have had no more virtue in it than eating and drinking 
 in the presence of Christ, which will not entitle any 
 worker of iniquity to inherit the kingdom of God, 
 Luke xiii. 26. It is, therefore, to be understood of the 
 
113 
 
 internal purification of the heart from an evil conscience, 
 which is always from an eternal interest in our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ. For the words, " thou hast no part with me, 
 if I wash thee not," imply, that they who are washed 
 by Christ, have part in him. To have part in Christ is 
 used in the New Testament for an interest in Christ.* 
 Peter tells Simon Magus, who had been baptized in or 
 with water, and who would have bought the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost with money, " Thou hast neither part nor 
 lot in the matter." Acts viii. 21. So it is used at 
 the close of the Book of Revelation, xxii. 19, that if any 
 man should take away from the words of the book of 
 that prophecy, " God would take away his part out of 
 the Book of Life, and out of the holy city." And 
 therefore to have part with Christ is to be so interested 
 in Christ, that He, and all that belongs to Him, is ours ; 
 that we are interested in all He is, and in all His 
 obedience, sufferings, death, and resurrection, and life, 
 yea, even to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ! To partake of Christ is more than to be lords 
 of this world, or to have empires and kingdoms at our 
 disposal. A title to Christ gives a right to all spiritual 
 blessings in Him, and to all the promises in Him, and 
 to God Himself as our inheritance, for believers are 
 heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. 
 
 To be in Christ is to be united to Him, as branches 
 in a vine, by real spiritual conjunction, for they who 
 are joined to the Lord are one Spirit. 1 Cor. vi. 17. 
 For all they who are baptized with the one Spirit into 
 the one body are all members in particular. 1 Cor. xii. 13, 
 27. If we are not thus united to Him, we can enjoy 
 no interest in anything that is His. To substitute 
 
 • To have no part with another, signifies having no inheritance 
 or communion with him, no interest in him, or benefit by him. 
 Deut. xiv. 27 ; 2 Sam. xx. 1 ; 2 Cor. vi. 15. 
 
 L3 
 
114 
 
 water baptism in any mode in the place or stead of the 
 baptism with the Spirit, would destroy all the blessings 
 of the gospel. Without me, or separate from me, saitb 
 Christ, ye can do nothing. John xv. 5. The glorious 
 mystery of Christ's incarnation lies in His taking of our 
 nature into union and oneness with His Divine Person : 
 and the mystery of our spiritual union to Christ, lies in 
 our union with the Person of Christ by His Spirit ; so 
 that the Head and the members make but one body : 
 for we are complete in Him who is the head. Col. ii. 
 9 — 1 1 . And He is not complete without us ; as He fills 
 all in all with His fulness, so the church is His fulness. 
 Eph. i. 22, 23. 
 
 To have part with Christ includes an interest in all 
 He is, and in all His offices, and in all he did I— for us 
 He became incarnate (Heb. ii. 13, 14) ; for us he suf- 
 fered (1 Pet. iii. 18) ; for us He died (2 Cor. v. 15) ; 
 for us He rose again (Rom. iv. 25) ; for us He entered 
 within the veil as the forerunner (Heb. vi. 19, 20); 
 for us He appears in the presence of God (Heb. ix. 24) ; 
 and also maketh intercession for us (Rom. viii. 34). 
 He is gone to prepare mansions for us, and He will 
 come again to receive us to Himself, that where He is 
 we shall be also. John xiv. 3. As this is a most im- 
 portant subject for the peace and comfort of the children 
 of God in their present earthly house, wherein they do 
 groan being burthened with, and distressed on account 
 of, the sin that dwells in them ; the Holy Spirit hath 
 wonderfully set forth for their comfort in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, that they of God are in Christ Jesus, who of God is 
 made unto them wisdom, and righteousness, and sancti- 
 fication, and redemption : that, according as it is written, 
 He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 1 Cor. i. 
 30, 31. And in Christ we have redemption through 
 His blood, and the forgiveness of sins, according to the 
 
115 
 
 riches of God's grace. Eph. i. 7. Therefore, the children 
 of God are exhorted to be kind one to another, tender 
 hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's 
 sake hath forgiven them. Eph. iv. 32. 
 
 To have a part with Christ implies to be joint heirs 
 with Christ. For all believers in Christ are predestinated 
 by God the Father unto the adoption of children by- 
 Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure 
 of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace. 
 Eph. i. 5. And, therefore, they are predestinated to be 
 conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be 
 the first born among many brethren (Rom. viii. 29) : 
 they have the Spirit of the Son sent forth into their 
 hearts, crying, Abba, Father (Gal. iv. 6) ; for they are 
 heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. Rom. viii. 1 7. 
 
 To have part with Christ implies communion with 
 Him and with the Father, by the communion of the 
 Holy Ghost. The first epistle penned by John is written 
 for the express purpose that the children of God should 
 enjoy fellowship with each other, and also fellowship 
 with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 
 i. 3. And they who walk in the light of the Holy 
 Scriptures by faith divine, have fellowship one with 
 another, and in the laver, or fountain opened; for the 
 blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth them from all sin. 
 1 John i. 7. There were, in John the apostle's day, 
 some souls mourning from in-dwelling sin, who were 
 not experimentally acquainted of the use of the laver, 
 standing, as it immediately did, open, and before the 
 altar of burnt offering in the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation ; in other words, " they were not so 
 strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, as to live in 
 the blessed experience of the fulness of grace in Him, 
 who never did cast out any humble and broken hearted 
 sinner that came to Him for salvation. For them John 
 
116 
 
 wrote, he calls them little children, saying, "These 
 things write we unto you, that you may have fellowship 
 with us, and that your joy may be full; for truly our 
 fellowship is with the Father, and with His son Jesus 
 Christ !" But how did John enjoy this fellowship? 
 John does not say one word about the highly favoured 
 privileges he had of seeing Christ in the Mount of 
 Transfiguration, or of the divine testimony he heard 
 from the excellent glory : but from sitting with the dis- 
 ciples at the Lord's supper, and leaning his head on 
 Jesus' bosom ; his heart was so full of Jesus' love to the 
 little children, that John assures them, he is a man of 
 like passions with them ; for if he was to say he had no 
 sin, he should deceive himself, and the truth would not 
 be in him! But, the in-dwelling sin which made John 
 to groan within himself, did not keep him from the 
 enjoyment of his privilege, for he tells them, he did daily 
 enjoy fellowship with the Father, and with His Son 
 Jesus Christ ; for he confessed his sin ; and God the 
 Father was faithful and just to forgive him his sin, and 
 to cleanse him from all unrighteousness, because the blood 
 of Jesus Christ cleanseth (present tense) from all sin. 
 1 John i. 7 — 9. Thus, John lived by the faith of the 
 Son of God, who loved him and gave Himself for him. 
 •' The little ones of the family, said a just man, are as 
 truly the children of the Highest, as those that are of full 
 age and of larger growth : and, therefore, it was happy 
 news to all the followers of Christ, when Mary Magdalen 
 told them what she had heard at the sepulchre from 
 the Lord's own mouth, namely: I ascend unto my 
 Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God ;" 
 for all the children have an equal interest in Christ. 
 
 The Holy Spirit testifies in the scriptures, there is 
 even now no condemnation to them which are in Christ 
 Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit : 
 
117 
 
 that one great end of God's sending His own Son into the 
 world was, " that the righteousness of the law might be 
 fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after 
 the Spirit." Rom. viii. 1 — 4. A just man hath truly 
 said, <( They that are become one with Christ, can no 
 more be condemned than He now can. Christ fulfilled 
 all righteousness for us, and so the righteousness of 
 the law is said to be fulfilled in us. It was necessary 
 such a righteousness should be fulfilled ; for a righ- 
 teousness that was imperfect, how sincere soever, could 
 not suffice : it was impossible that we should fulfil 
 such a righteousness in our own persons, after the 
 fall, when the law as to its justifying power is said to 
 be weak through our flesh. God, therefore, appointed 
 His own Son to do this in our stead ; and when He had 
 so done, God accepted it on our behalf (2 Cor. v. 21) ; 
 and we are, therefore, looked upon in Christ, and for 
 His sake, to be as just and righteous as if we had 
 done all ourselves. We have the benefit of all that 
 obedience which filled up and adorned the life of 
 Christ." We have also part in His victory over all our 
 spiritual enemies ; sin and Satan, death and hell ; and 
 Christ, through that death which was due to us for our 
 sins, destroyed him, the devil, that had the power of 
 death, and Christ will deliver us from the bondage fear 
 of death. When the Apostle had spoken of many 
 afflictions and distresses which Christians are exposed 
 to, he adds, " in all these things we are more than con- 
 querors through Him that loved us." The same apostle 
 exclaimed, under a feeling sense of his wretchedness 
 from in-dwelling sin, " Thanks be unto God, who giveth 
 us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ;" and 
 again, " Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us 
 to triumph in Christ." And the very God of peace will 
 bruise Satan under our feet shortly. Rom. viii. 37 ; 
 
118 
 
 vii. 25 ; xvi. 20 ; 2 Cor. ii. 14. In short, as Christ was 
 a partaker with us in our afflictions and sorrows, we 
 shall be partners with Him in His joy and blessedness. 
 We are to enter into His joy, the joy of our Lord; not 
 another joy different from His, but the fulness of joy at 
 His right hand. For thus saith the Amen, the faithful 
 and true witness, the beginning and the end of the crea- 
 tion of God, for all things were created by Him, and for 
 Him : " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with 
 Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and am set 
 down with My Father upon His throne." Rev. iii. 21. 
 Christian reader, remember the words of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, " If I then, your Lord and Master, have 
 washed your feet ; ye also ought to wash one another's 
 feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should 
 do as I have done to you." John xiii. 14, 15. Behold 
 what manner of love, and of meekness, and of humilia- 
 tion, our blessed Emmanuel hath manifested towards His 
 people ! We are commanded to wash one another's 
 feet as He hath washed their feet, and to forgive one 
 another as Christ hath forgiven them. To love one 
 another as Christ hath loved them. And to do every 
 kind act to one another, however humble, as Christ 
 hath done to them. To wash the saints' feet literally 
 is to remove the dust and filth from them! 1 Tim. 
 v. 10. " But as Christ did never baptize His disciples 
 with water, or give them any command to baptize with 
 water in any mode, but to wash each other's feet, we 
 may, without neglecting the literal performance thereof, 
 be understood to wash the saints' feet spiritually, that 
 is, to speak evil of no one, but to manifest that 
 love for them which covers a multitude of sins. 1 Pet. 
 iv. 8. To accuse them, to speak evil of them, is to 
 throw dirt upon them, and is contrary to Christ's com- 
 mandment ; it is following the example of the devil. 
 
119 
 
 Rev. xii. 10. Our God is so infinitely gracious, that He 
 doth not call Lot an incestuous person, but He calls him 
 righteous Lot. Nor doth He call Noah a drunkard, 
 but He calls him righteous Noah ! Nor doth He call 
 David a murderer and an adulterer, but He calls him the 
 man after His own heart ! " Be ye therefore followers, 
 mimeetai, rather imitators, of God, as dear children, and 
 walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us. Eph. v. 1, 2. 
 To behold things in the Heavens, in the upper and holy 
 places, is wonderful condescension in Him that inha- 
 biteth eternity ! To behold things on earth, amidst the 
 universal corruption and wickedness induced by the 
 fall, is wonderful humility ! But to behold Him wash- 
 ing the feet of poor sinful worms of the earth, is such 
 an act of grace as exceeds all praise ! ! thou glorious 
 Lord, thou art love, and meekness, and humility in the 
 abstract ! In all things that are excellent, Thou hast the 
 pre-eminence! Oh! Christian reader, eternity will not 
 exhaust our songs of blessing and of praise, and of 
 adoring Him that sits upon the throne, whose name is 
 above every name that is named in this world, or in the 
 world to come. Strengthen us, blessed Lord, to praise 
 Thee, to love Thee, to live to Thee ; that we may in- 
 crease every day with all the increase of God, in praising 
 the God of our salvation upon earth, for the greatness 
 of His love, meekness, and humiliation, until we come 
 to the everlasting enjoyment of the Lord, and the 
 glorious vision of Him, to sing His praise, and give Him 
 glory for ever. Amen! 
 
 OBADIAH. 
 
MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS. 
 
 MEDITATION VIII. 
 
 THE BAPTISM OF JOHN. 
 
 John the Baptist, the son of Zecharias the priest, of 
 the course of Abia (Luke i. 5), was a man sent from 
 God, to testify of Christ, the Bridegroom of the church. 
 John was a man in God, for in Him he lived, and moved, 
 and had his being. Acts xvii. 28. And John was full 
 of the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb ! Luke i. 
 15, 44. 
 
 John lived under the legal dispensation ! As the 
 Priests and Levites were baptized in or with water, 
 before they were sprinkled with blood or anointed 
 with oil ; so John came baptizing with water unto repent- 
 ance. Matt. iii. 11. But he came to bear witness of 
 Christ : and that Christ should be manifest to Israel, was 
 the therefore, he came baptizing with water. John i. 
 6 — 8, 31. When the Priests and Levites demanded of 
 John, who he was, and why he baptized, and made 
 disciples, if he was not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the 
 prophet they expected, of whom Moses wrote ? (Deut. 
 xviii. 15 — 19.) John testified, and said, "I am the 
 voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the 
 way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah ! 
 
 John declared his baptism was with water ; but that 
 Christ's baptism was infinitely beyond that of water; 
 for he that cometh after me (saith John) is mightier 
 than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear ; He shall 
 baptise you with the Holy Ghost and fire.* John i. 
 
 * See Meditation I., page 12. 
 
121 
 
 19 — 25; Matt. iii. 11. Therefore John's testimony 
 is, that Christian baptism is not with water ; for the 
 name Christian signifies one whom Christ hath baptized 
 with the Holy Ghost! It ought to be remembered, 
 that fire is of a more purifying nature than water : and 
 as fire consumes every thing not equally pure with it- 
 self; so the hearts of men are purified by the Holy 
 Ghost whom Christ baptizeth. Acts xv. 8, 9. 
 
 John's ministration of baptism was from heaven : it 
 was expressly appointed for the purpose, that Christ 
 should be made manifest to Israel. John i. 31. John's 
 testimony in this respect is very important ; for John 
 did not know Christ until the Holy Ghost descended 
 and abode on Christ : John saith, " / knew Him not ; 
 but that He might be made manifest to Israel, there- 
 fore am I come baptizing with water. And I saw the 
 Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode 
 upon Him. And 1 knew him not : but He that sent me 
 to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon 
 whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remain- 
 ing on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the 
 Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is 
 the Son of God. Again, the next day after, John 
 stood, and two of his disciples ; and looking upon Jesus 
 as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God." 
 John i. 31 — 35. From John's testimony we learn, 
 that John's baptism with water was for the outward 
 manifestation of Christ to Israel : but Christ is now 
 inwardly manifested to believers, and formed in their 
 hearts the hope of glory. 
 
 The Jews were zealous of their legal ceremonies; 
 they were not conscious the law made nothing perfect ; 
 they thought their sacrifices were sufficient for the 
 taking away of sin, and their divers baptisms to be 
 effectual purifications : therefore John's baptism was 
 from heaven, that Christ might be outwardly manifest 
 
 M 
 
122 
 
 to Israel as the substance of those legal ceremonies. 
 John, as a* faithful witness, testified that Christ is the 
 antitypical Lamb which beareth away the sin of the 
 world. John i. 29 ; Heb. x. 12. That all the purifi- 
 cations for sin and uncleanness under the law set forth 
 typically, the virtue of Christ's blood, which cleanseth us 
 from all sin ; therefore John came baptizing with water. 
 
 The laver was a type of Christ the fountain opened 
 to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jeru- 
 salem for sin and uncleanness : and that Christ might 
 be so manifest to Israel, John baptized in a fountain 
 near to Salim : Dr. Gill and Dr. Guyse say, Enon 
 signifies a fountain ; for there was no such place as 
 Enon near to Salim. John iii. 23 ; Zech. xiii. 1. 
 
 It was foretold by the prophet Malachi, that John 
 would be sent as Christ's messenger, to prepare the 
 way of the Lord ; and that Christ should be " like a 
 refiner's fire — that He should sit as a refiner and purifier 
 of silver : and should purify the sons of Levi, and 
 purge them as gold and silver, that they might offer unto 
 the Lord an offering in righteousness." Mai. iii. 1 — 3. 
 Therefore John testified, saying, " Hndeed baptize you 
 with water unto repentance : but He that cometh after 
 me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to 
 bear j He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire: 
 whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge 
 His floor, and gather His wheat into His garner ; but He 
 ivill burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt. 
 iii. 11, 12. 
 
 That Christ might be manifest to Israel, John did 
 also "preach the baptism (not of water, but) of re- 
 pentance for remission of sins" (Mark i. 4), for 
 water baptism could not remit sins ! But John, by 
 preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of 
 sins, testified that Christ should baptize his disciples 
 with the baptism of repentance, and with the Holy 
 
123 
 
 Ghost : for in one Scripture we read of Christ " being 
 by the right hand of God exalted, and having received 
 of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, shed forth 
 or baptized (his disciples and their hearers) with the 
 Spirit. Acts ii. 33. And in another Scripture we 
 read, " Him hath God exalted with His right hand, a 
 Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, 
 and forgiveness of sins." Acts v. 31. John did there- 
 fore baptize with water, and preach the baptism of re- 
 pentance for the remission of sins ; that Christ might be 
 manifest to Israel as the giver of repentance, and the 
 remitter of sins ! 
 
 John was baptizing near to Salim, when the question 
 arose between his disciples and the Jews about bap- 
 tizing or purifying : for the legal purifications were 
 baptisms, of which there were divers kinds ! Heb. ix. 10. 
 Upon this occasion, John said to the Jews, " Ye your- 
 selves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, 
 but that I am sent before Him. He that hath the 
 bride is the bridegroom : but the friend of the bride- 
 groom which standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth 
 greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy 
 therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must 
 decrease." John had previously testified that Christ 
 was the Husband of the Church, for he said, " This is 
 He of whom I said, After me cometh Aneer which is 
 preferred before me, for He was my (protos) chief. 
 He that cometh from above is above all : he that is 
 of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth : He 
 that cometh from heaven is above all ; for He whom 
 God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God 
 giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The 
 Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into 
 His hand." John i. 30 ; iii. 23 — 35. John's ministry 
 was at this time nearly at an end. As Christ's mes- 
 senger, he did faithfully bear witness to the eternal 
 m 2 
 
124 
 
 dignity of Christ's person, saying, " All things are 
 given into His hand," which they could not have been, 
 if Christ had not been a divine person equal "with the 
 Father ; for Jehovah giveth not His glory to another ! 
 
 John did also bear witness to his Lord's exceedingly 
 glorious ministry, saying, " He whom God hath sent 
 speaketh the words of God ; for God giveth not His 
 Spirit by measure unto Him." The prophets only spake 
 as they were moved at sundry times by the Holy Ghost ; 
 but Christ always spake the words of God ! As the 
 purpose for which John came was nearly accomplished, 
 he finally declared that Christ's baptism and ministry 
 was so exceedingly glorious compared with his, that he 
 said, " He must increase, but I must decrease." John 
 iii. 30. For the legal ministration of death was glori- 
 ous, but the ministration of the Spirit is so exceedingly 
 glorious, that the legal ministry had no glory in this re- 
 spect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 2 Cor. iii. 
 7 — 10. Nor had the divers baptisms in or with water 
 any glory, compared with the baptism with the Spirit. 
 
 When it is said, the Pharisees had heard, that Jesus 
 made and baptized more disciples than John, it is ex- 
 pressly declared, Jesus Himself baptized not. John 
 iv, 2. Dr. Gill saith, "it was a false report that was 
 made to the Pharisees, at least in part, as far as con- 
 cerns the act of baptizing ; lest it should be understood, 
 as if Christ baptized in His own person." The Doctor 
 further saith, "Christ had another sort of baptism, of a 
 more excellent nature to administer, namely, the bap- 
 tism of the Spirit." This is an important truth ! 
 For as Christ baptized not with water, it is very certain 
 Christ was not sent to baptize with water. Christ was 
 baptized with water by John, because it became Christ, 
 saith Dr. Gill " to fulfil all righteousness, ceremonial as 
 well as moral." This is an important truth, for Christ 
 is the end of the law for righteousness to every one 
 
125 
 
 that believeth. Rom. x. 4. Christ was about thirty- 
 years of age when He was baptized by John, that being 
 the age appointed under the law for the Levites to 
 begin their ministry. Luke iii. 21 — 23; Num. iv. 3. 
 And as Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law, therefore 
 John's water baptism must have been part of the cere- 
 monial law, or Christ could not have fulfilled it. The 
 baptism which makes a man a Christian, is spiritual : 
 the unction from the Holy One is the baptism with 
 the Spirit, with which Christ baptizes all His disciples. 
 Christ washed the feet of His disciples, but it is parti- 
 cularly recorded, that He never baptized any in or with 
 water. He had submitted to the legal ceremony at the 
 age appointed for entrance into the ministerial office, 
 because it became Him as one of the Holy Three to 
 fulfil all righteousness. See p.p. 38 — 40. Neither did 
 our Lord, previous to His resurrection, give His disci- 
 ples any command to baptize in or with water. The 
 command He gave to His disciples is recorded, to wit, 
 " Go not in the way of the Gentiles, and into any city 
 of the Samaritans enter ye not : but go rather to the 
 lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, 
 saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the 
 sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils : 
 freely ye have received, freely give." Matt. x. 5, 8. 
 
 Two or more of the apostles had been the disciples 
 of John the Baptist. John i. 37 — 44. During the 
 continuance of the legal dispensation, and for about 
 thirty years after the ceremonial law was abolished, 
 they observed their water baptisms or legal purifica- 
 tions. But they had no authority to promise men or 
 women, they should receive the Holy Ghost if they 
 would repent and be baptized in or with water ! Yet 
 Peter made this promise to the Jews who were pricked 
 in their hearts on the day of Pentecost. But it is much 
 more probable they had previously received the Holy 
 m 3 
 
126 
 
 Ghost ; for there is no record of their receiving the 
 Holy Ghost after they were baptized in or with water. 
 Actsii. 38—41. 
 
 There is but one Lord to be believed in, and there is 
 but one faith of God's elect to be received, and there is 
 but one baptism which unites the members of the one 
 body together. 1 Cor. xii. 13 ; (see p. 3.) And it is 
 certain the one Lord is not the author of confusion or 
 of schism, but of peace in all the churches of the saints. 
 1 Cor. xiv. 33. His baptism is not in or with water, 
 for it never produces the schism which hath been made 
 in the churches by the disputes about water baptism. 
 Then as Christ is not the author of confusion or of 
 schism, it becometh us to enquire who is the author 
 thereof ? For it is a remarkable fact, the apostles, as 
 appears by the record of their acts, never did baptize in 
 or with water in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost. But when they did bap- 
 tize in or with water, the record is, they baptized only 
 in the name of Jesus, which was Johns baptism. Acts 
 ii. 38 ; viii. 16 ; x. 48 ; xix. 5. 
 
 For several years after our Lord's resurrection, the 
 apostles did not know the ceremonial law was abo- 
 lished, which may account for their manner of admi- 
 nistering water baptism ! It appears to have been 
 eight years after our Lord's ascension, before the apos- 
 tle Peter knew the ceremonial law was abolished. This 
 fact appears upon record in the 10th chapter of the 
 Acts of the Apostles. When Peter was at Joppa, in the 
 house of one Simon, a tanner, " he went up upon the 
 house top to pray about the sixth hour : and he became 
 very hungry, and would have eaten : but whilst they 
 made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven 
 opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it 
 had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let 
 down to the earth : wherein were all manner of four- 
 
127 
 
 footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creep- 
 ing things, and fowls of the air. And there came a 
 voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, 
 Not so, Lord, for I have not eaten any thing that is 
 common or unclean." " This shows (saith Dr. Gill) that 
 Peter as yet closely adhered to the ceremonial law, nor 
 did he know it was abolished by Christ." But after Peter 
 did know it was abolished, for fear of the Jews who 
 were zealous of the law, he compelled the Gentiles to live 
 as did the Jews. Even the apostles James and Paul, 
 and the elders at Jerusalem, were guilty of the like 
 dissimulation for fear of the Jews : and this dissimula- 
 tion was nine years after the apostles and elders had 
 sent chosen men with Barnabas and Paul unto the 
 brethren which were of the Gentiles, with directions 
 unto them not to observe the legal customs ! " We 
 should learn from such sinful weakness,'* saith an emi- 
 nent divine, " that the greatest of men, even the apos- 
 tles, were but men, and their frailties are recorded in 
 the Acts to teach the church of God to cease from men, 
 and to look only to thus saith the Lord." The 
 apostles never considered themselves infallible : so far 
 from it, the apostles Barnabas and Paul, at Lystra, con- 
 fessed they were men of like passions with ourselves : 
 and therefore we find upon record some acts of the 
 apostles for which they received no command from our 
 Lord to observe, such as circumcision, vows, #c. ! And 
 we are therefore the more indebted to the Holy Spirit, 
 that " all scripture the prophets, the apostles, and the 
 evangelists wrote, were given by inspiration of God/' 
 
 Dr. Gill hath proved from the Rabbinical writings, 
 the Jews did not make proselytes by baptizing them. 
 The Doctor, at the close of the Body of Divinity, 
 saith, " Upon search it will be found that the rite of 
 receiving proselytes by baptism among the Jews, is 
 nowhere mentioned in any writings before the times of 
 
128 
 
 John and Christ, nor in any after, nearer than the 
 third and fourth centuries." The Doctor refers to the 
 plain and express law in the Book of Exodus for the 
 admission of proselytes to the Jews' religion (Exod. xii. 
 48, 49) ; and saith, there were proselytes in the times 
 of Hezekiah, who came out of the land of Israel to eat 
 the passover, and who must have been circumcised ac- 
 cording to the said law ! 2 Chron. xxx. 25. And he 
 admits " there were divers bathings, baptisms, or dip- 
 pings, incumbent on the Israelites, and so upon such 
 proselytes who were upon an equal footing with the Is~ 
 raelits, and equally under obligation to obey the ceremonial 
 law." It is therefore worthy of remark, we have no 
 positive testimony upon record in the Acts, that any 
 but Jews or proselytes to Judaism were baptized in or 
 with water : this may account for baptism being admi- 
 nistered only in the name of Jesus, as the Baptist did. 
 Acts xix. 3 — 5. 
 
 As they did not baptize in or with water to make 
 proselytes, it does not appear the Gentile converts at 
 Antioch and elsewhere were baptized in or with water, 
 for they had not been circumcised ! and as the men 
 which came down from Judea taught the Gentiles, that 
 except they were circumcised after the manner of 
 Moses, they could not be saved, which circumcision, ac- 
 cording to Dr. Gill, preceded the legal baptisms : and as 
 these Gentiles had not been circumcised, we have there- 
 fore no account in the Acts, that they had been baptized 
 in or with water. Now as Paul and Barnabas had no 
 small dissension and disputation with these Judaising 
 teachers, it was determined that Paul and Barnabas, 
 and certain other of them should go up, as they did, 
 to Jerusalem, unto the apostles and elders about this 
 question. Acts xv. Antioch in Syria was the first 
 noted church of Gentile Christians ; and the synod at 
 Jerusalem having met, "it pleased the apostles and 
 
129 
 
 elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of 
 their own company to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas, 
 namely, Judas, surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief 
 men among the brethren : and wrote letters by them 
 after this manner : The apostles, and elders, and breth- 
 ren, send greeting unto the brethren which are of the 
 Gentiles in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia. Forasmuch 
 as we have heard, that certain which went out from us 
 have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, 
 saying, ye must be circumcised, and keep the law (to 
 whom we gave no such commandment) : it seemed good 
 unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen 
 men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul ; 
 men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and 
 Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. 
 For it seemeth good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to 
 lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary 
 things : That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and 
 from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornica- 
 tion: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do 
 well. Pare ye well." Acts xv. 22—29. The reader 
 will notice, that circumcision, water baptism, or sacri- 
 fice, are not among the necessary things to be ob- 
 served : four things are mentioned — abstaining from 
 meats offered to idols, from blood, from things stran- 
 gled, and from fornication. 
 
 When attempts are made to corrupt the peculiar 
 doctrine of the gospel, it is high time to contend 
 earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. 
 The peace of God does not come from water baptism ; 
 for the Holy Spirit testifies, the divers baptisms under 
 the law were carnal ordinances ! But as men contend 
 for the corporeal presence of Christ, who never enjoyed 
 His spiritual presence, so men may contend for water 
 baptism, who have never been baptized with the Spirit. 
 
130 
 
 It is a faithful saying which Dr. Gill hath recorded ill 
 his comment on John xvi. 33. — " Spiritual peace does 
 not arise from any duties, services, or performances of 
 men ; no, not from an attendance on the gospel, or the 
 ordinances of it ; not from the graces of the Spirit, but 
 from Christ ; it is in Him, and in Him only /" Therefore 
 in all things we should attend to, and be obedient 
 to our Lord's command — "Search the scriptures." 
 Therefore, it is our duty to examine the Acts of the 
 Apostles wit h the law and testimony of God ; for they 
 did not always speak and act, although they wrote as 
 moved by the Holy Ghost : what they therefore spake 
 or did, should be carefully examined with what saith 
 the Lord. What then can we say for Peter, whom 
 Paul found at Antioch offensively acting contrary 
 to the principles which it seemed good to the Holy 
 Ghost the Gentiles should observe ; and contrary to 
 the principles which Peter himself had avowed in the 
 synod ? For when some Judaizing zealots came to 
 Antioch from Jerusalem, Peter, for fear of offending 
 them, declined all familiar converse with the Gentiles, 
 and compelled the Gentile believers to live as did the 
 Judaizing zealots, by a religious observance of the 
 abolished legal ceremonies. It appears that even Bar- 
 nabus was so deceived by the dissembling of the Jews 
 with Peter, that he also was carried away with their 
 dissimulation. Gal. ii. 11 — 16. 
 
 And we find even Paul did not always live up to the 
 liberty of the gospel ; for although the ceremonial law 
 was abolished, yet at one time he had so far complied 
 with the law as to take upon him the vow of a I\aza- 
 rite, and to signify the expiration of it by shaving his 
 head at Canchrea (Acts xviii. 18), according to the 
 custom of those who lived at a distance from the tem- 
 ple ; and we find the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, 
 years after they knew the ceremonial law was abolished, 
 
131 
 
 advising Paul to join four men who had a vow upon 
 them, and to offer the sacrifice of a Nazarite ; to purify 
 himself with them according to the law ; and to be at 
 charges with them, in buying sacrifices for this so- 
 lemn occasion, and to join with them in the sacrifice ! 
 And this Paul did, that the Jews who were zealous of 
 the ceremonial law might be so deceived, as to believe 
 that Paul walked orderly and kept the law and cus- 
 toms. Upon which Mr. Matthew Henry observes, 
 " some persons think this advice was prudent and good, 
 and Paul's following it was justifiable. But as such 
 dissimulation may lead men to do evil under the pre- 
 tence that good may come, more judicious persons have 
 blamed this occasional conformity to the ceremonial 
 law ! Was it faithful in James and the elders at Jeru- 
 salem to connive as they did at this error in the thou- 
 sands of Jewish believers, that they must wheedle Paul to 
 countenance them in it ? Had it not been better, when 
 they had told Paul how zealous the believing Jews were 
 for the law, if they had desired him, whom God had 
 endued with such excellent gifts, to take pains with 
 their people to convince them of their errors ; and to 
 shew them that they were made free from the law by 
 their marriage to Christ, than to urge him to encourage 
 them in it by his example V That their advice was of 
 fleshly wisdom is very evident ; for Paul's compliance 
 with their advice did not produce the effect they in- 
 tended, but the contrary : " sin always misses its mark !" 
 Acts xxi. 18 — 35. 
 
 From this time we have no account of any adminis- 
 tration or observance of water baptism by the apostles ! 
 But the history of the church furnishes us with the 
 awful account how early the mystery of iniquity did 
 work. 2 Thess. ii. 7. Dr. Gill saith, " There never 
 was such a set of impure wretches under the Chris- 
 tian name, so unsound in principle and so bad in practice, 
 
132 
 
 AS WERE IN THE APOSTLES DAYS, AND IN THE AGES 
 
 succeeding, called the purest ages of Christi- 
 an ity." For it appears by the writings of the men 
 called the fathers, they gave the glory of God to the 
 watery element : they gave the glory of the great 
 work of regeneration to water baptism ? And, in proof 
 that water baptism was administered as a legal cere- 
 mony, some in the second or third century objected to 
 the baptism of infants, saying, they had no sin to wash 
 away. But it may be questioned, whether their awful 
 heresies are more vile than the belief in the necessity 
 of water baptism after the baptism with the Holy Ghost. 
 Are there two baptisms under the gospel dispensation ? 
 Is the baptism with the Spirit imperfect and inefficient, 
 without the addition of water baptism ? The evil con- 
 sequences of such awful principles prove water bap- 
 tism is not christian baptism, for there is but one 
 Lord, one faith, and one baptism. And for that faith we 
 ought to contend earnestly, remembering John's testi- 
 mony; the infinite distinction there is between his water 
 ordinance, and the baptism with the Holy Ghost. " I 
 indeed baptize you (said he to the Jews) with water ; 
 but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire." 
 " I have need (said he to Jesus) to be baptized of Thee.'*' 
 Though John was filled with the Holy Ghost, even from 
 his mother's womb (Luke i. 15), yet he stood in need 
 of Christ's baptism as much as the sons of Zebedee. 
 Matt. xx. 23. 
 
 Blessed Lord Jesus, thou great baptizer with the 
 Holy Ghost, do thou baptize continually the writer and 
 the reader of this meditation with the dew and unction 
 of thy Holy Spirit's grace, that the savour of the 
 knowledge of Thy name, and of Thy great salvation, 
 may so fill our hearts, that we may glorify Thee in our 
 body and in our spirit, which are Thine, in life and 
 in death. OBADIAH. 
 
MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS. 
 
 MEDITATION IX. 
 
 THE BAPTISM WITH THE SPIRIT. 
 
 cc If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none 
 of His" (Rom. viii. 9) ; therefore he is not a Christian 
 that is not baptized with the Spirit. 
 
 Our Lord, after His resurrection and before His as- 
 cension, commanded His apostles not to depart from 
 Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father ; for 
 Jesus said, John truly baptized with water, but ye shall 
 be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 
 Acts i. 4, 5. It should be observed, our Lord reminded 
 them of John's faithful testimony, namely, that Christ's 
 baptism was with the Spirit ; and with which baptism 
 they were to be baptized, for they stood in need of 
 it personally as well as ministerially ! Our Lord had, 
 previous to his baptism of sufferings, informed them it 
 was needful and expedient for them that He should go 
 away, that the Spirit of truth might come and lead 
 them into all truth ! For their knowledge of Christ 
 was very obscure ; and their conception of His king- 
 dom was of a carnal or worldly nature : nor did they 
 know the mystical meaning of Christ's washing their 
 feet. John xiii. 7. Our Lord could have led them into 
 all truth ; but it is evident He did not, for He said, 
 " I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot 
 bear them now, howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is 
 come, He will guide you into all truth : for He shall 
 not speak of Himself, but He shall glorify Me : for He 
 shall receive of Mine, and shall shew them unto you. 
 
 N 
 
134 
 
 All things that the Father hath are Mine : therefore 
 said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shew them unto 
 you." John xvi. 12 — 15. A3 the apostles were igno- 
 rant of the eternal dignity of Christ's person, and His 
 oneness with the Father, they were to be baptized with 
 the Spirit, not into the names, but into the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, for they 
 were to know the Son was in the Father, and the Fa- 
 ther in the Son, and that Christ was in them, and that 
 they were in Christ. John xvi. 12 — 14 ; xiv. 20. These 
 great mysteries they were ignorant of until they were 
 baptized by Christ with the Spirit ; and by His unc- 
 tious baptism they were to know all things, yea, all the 
 truth they did need to know for their own personal and 
 eternal welfare, as well as for the ministerial office. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, John the Baptist did not 
 know Christ in the eternal dignity of his person, until 
 the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon Christ; 
 neither did the apostles know Christ was one with the 
 Father, until they were baptized with the Holy Ghost ! 
 And it is to be lamented, that any person professing 
 godliness should be so opposed to the baptism with the 
 Spirit, as to declare John's baptism and Christ's bap- 
 tism are the same ; for all such oppose both John and 
 Christ's testimony ! 
 
 The conduct of the apostles when our Lord was be- 
 trayed, and the discourse of the two disciples with our 
 Lord after his resurrection, in their way to Emmaus, 
 prove the apostles were ignorant, until after our Lord's 
 resurrection, of the dignity of Christ's person as one 
 with the Father ; and also, that He came to take away 
 sin by the sacrifice of Himself. As they stood in need 
 of this divine instruction for their own personal welfare, 
 therefore they were to be taught and led by the Spirit 
 into all truth, as well as to be endued with the gifts of 
 
135 
 
 tongues and the power of working miracles. Therefore, 
 all who profess the Bible to be the rule of their faith 
 and practice, should stand fast in one Spirit, with one 
 mind, against all who limit the baptism with the Spirit 
 in the days of the apostles, to the gifts of tongues and 
 the working of miracles. For we do well to follow our 
 Lord's example, and to receive testimony from no man 
 unless confirmed by the word of God. It was the true 
 saying of an eminent minister of the gospel — " there is 
 a greater disposition in man, since the fall, to believe a 
 lie, than to receive the truth. " And another godly 
 man saith, " It is natural to us all to mistake error for 
 truth, fancy for faith, the heat of animal passions for 
 love. Yea, and also to be very confident herein." If this 
 were not true, we should never hear men professing 
 godliness, talk of fulfilling righteousness, and of the 
 joy they had in being baptized in or with water. 
 
 As Christ was anointed with the Spirit to preach the 
 gospel, so were the apostles also anointed with the 
 Spirit of Christ for the work of the ministry. Without 
 Him they could do nothing ; without Him they could 
 not execute His commands. 
 
 In the evening of the day our Lord rose from the 
 dead, He manifested Himself unto His disciples, and 
 said unto them, " Peace be unto you : as my Father hath 
 sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, 
 He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the 
 Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are re- 
 mitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, 
 they are retained." John xx. 19 — 23. As Christ was 
 sent to preach the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent 
 down from heaven (Isa. lxi. 1 — 3 ; Luke iv. 16 — 21), 
 even so He sent his disciples. Acts ii. 1 — 21. And 
 when Peter preached peace by Jesus Christ to Corne- 
 lius and his household, the Holy Ghost fell on all them 
 N 2 
 
136 
 
 which heard the word. Acts x. 44. Therefore the gos* 
 pel was preached, as Peter saith, with the Holy Ghost 
 sent down from heaven. 1 Pet. i. 12. As Christ was 
 not sent to baptize in or with water, even so He did not 
 send His disciples to baptize in or with water. This 
 truth is confirmed by the apostle Paul in the epistle to 
 the Corinthians, 1 Cor. i. 17. Our Lord never said, 
 Go and make disciples, and afterwards baptize them in 
 or with water. For baptizing with the Spirit was to 
 make disciples, for that baptism is effectual ; but 
 water baptism, the antipcedobaptists admit, never made 
 a disciple. It was one of the sins of the Scribes and 
 Pharisees, that they made the word of God of none 
 effect through their tradition : and is it not a sad evi- 
 dence of our fallen state, that godly men should follow 
 the example of the Scribes and Pharisees, and render 
 our Lord's words, who always spake the words of God, of 
 none effect by their intepretation ? For Jesus said unto 
 His disciples, " Go ye into all the world, and preach 
 the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is 
 baptized, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, 
 shall be damned." Mark xvi. 15, 16. These are the 
 words of God! It is not disputed. The words, "He that 
 believeth," do signify one that hath the faith of God's 
 elect ; for it is that one faith which is inseparable from 
 the one baptism (Eph. iv. 4, 5), wherewith all are bap- 
 tized into the one body. 1 Cor. xii. 13. To say our Lord 
 meant by the words, " and is baptized," water baptism, 
 which is not essential to salvation, is either making our 
 Lord's words of no effect, or it is giving that honour to the 
 watery element, which is only due to God the Holy Ghost ; 
 for our Lord spake of the baptism which saves ! 1 
 Pet. iii. 21. These words, "and is baptized," being the 
 words of God, are not to be made void by the interpreta- 
 tions of men ; because he that believeth in his heart is 
 
137 
 
 baptized with the Spirit ; for no man can truly call 
 Jesus Jehovah, but by the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. xii. 
 3, 13. The baptism which saves is not in or with 
 water ! Dr. Gill saith, " Water baptism is not essential 
 to save : the thief on the cross went to heaven without 
 ity and Simon Magus went to hell with it" The reader 
 should observe, our Lord's words, " and is baptized, 
 shall be saved" are coupled with believing, because there 
 is one faith and one baptism essential to salvation. Eph. 
 iv. 5. Therefore he that believeth not hath never been 
 baptized ; and all such unbelievers shall be damned. 
 
 As u he that believeth and is baptized shall be 
 saved," so true disciples are only made by the baptism 
 with the Spirit. No water baptism, in any mode, can 
 make a man a Christian or a true believer. Therefore 
 our Lord's words, recorded in Mark xvi. 15, 16, lead us 
 to the true interpretation of His words recorded in Matt, 
 xxviii. 19. For the words "baptizing in (eis) or into 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost, are explained by an apostle, who was not 
 a whit behind the very chiefest apostles. We do not 
 find in his inspired epistles any attempt to make our 
 Lord's words, (< and is baptized," of no effect, by repre- 
 senting our Lord as speaking of water baptism ; but we 
 find him, in the epistle to the saints at Corinth, giving 
 God thanks that he baptized in or with water so few of 
 them ! And two reasons are recorded for his thanks- 
 giving, namely, (1) lest any should say that he baptized 
 in his own name : (2) but as the slander of many 
 would not have been his justification, if he had been 
 commanded to baptize in or with water, he therefore de- 
 clares the more important cause of his thanksgiving was, 
 that Christ sent him not to baptize in or with water, but 
 to preach the gospel. 1 Cor. i. 14 — 17. And lest they 
 should imagine there were two baptisms, because he 
 n3 
 
138 
 
 had baptized Crispus and Gaius, and the household of 
 Stephanas, he declares that true disciples are made by 
 the one baptism ; "for no man can say Jesus is the 
 Lord, but by the Holy Ghost ,-" " for as the body is one, 
 and hath many members, and all the members of that 
 one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ; for 
 (en) with one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, 
 whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free ; and 
 have been all made to drink into one Spirit." 1 Cor. 
 xi. 3, 12, 13. As the apostle Paul was not sent to bap- 
 tize in or with water, it is certain the rest of the apos- 
 tles had no command for it. Neither did they in any 
 one instance ever baptize in or with water in the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 If they had been commanded so to do, or if they had 
 so done, we may be assured it would have been re- 
 corded in the Holy Scriptures, as we have so particu- 
 larly and expressly recorded the order for and also the 
 administration of the Lord's supper.* 1 Cor. xi. 
 23—29 ; Acts xx. 7. 
 
 As the Author of eternal salvation hath said, "he 
 that believeth and is baptized shall be saved " and the 
 scripture or words of God cannot be broken (John iii. 
 34 ; x. 35), what an awful sin they commit, who make 
 the words of God of no effect, by representing our Lord 
 as speaking of water baptism. But on what evidence 
 
 * In all controversies in religion this must be the question, 
 " What saith the scripture? It is not what this man, or the 
 other good man saith, but what saith the scripture ? Ask 
 counsel at this Abel, and so end the matter, 2 Sam. xx. 18. To 
 the law and to the testimony (Isa. viii. 20) , thither is the best ap- 
 peal. Our Lord hath commanded us to bring our little children 
 to Him ! He did not baptize with water, for that would not do 
 them good — but he took them up in His arms, put His hands 
 upon them, and blessed them. As our Lord never commanded 
 His disciples to baptize in or with water, is it any marvel that 
 men should be left to differ about a shadow — a literal baptism. 
 
139 
 
 do they found their opinion, which represents our 
 Lord's words of a wem-essential import or meaning ? 
 For no true Christian believes, there is any salvation in 
 water baptism ; he knows, by experience, water baptism, 
 in any mode, never made him a believer. Neither is 
 water baptism the antitypical baptism which now saves 
 us. 1 Pet. hi. 21 ; see p.p. 6. Christ the Lord is the 
 only Saviour, and all He has saved He hath or will 
 baptize with His Spirit in tothe one body : and all who 
 are baptized into the one body are baptized into Christ ; 
 for he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit. 1 Cor. 
 vi. 17. And all such are the children of God by faith 
 in Christ Jesus. For as many as have been baptized into 
 Christ, have put on Christ. Gal. iii. 26, 27. It would 
 be blasphemy to assert, as many as have been baptized in 
 or with water have put on Christ ,- for Simon Magus did 
 not put on Christ. Neither do Socinians or Arians, 
 who are baptized in or with water, put on Christ. But 
 if there are any professing Christians so presumptuous 
 as to assert, that they who have been baptized in or with 
 water have put on Christ, they may be likened unto 
 those unlearned and unstable persons who are de- 
 scribed as wresting the scriptures unto their own 
 destruction. But there is one never failing baptism ; 
 for they who are joined to the Lord are one Spirit, 
 1 Cor. vi. 17 ; and the original scripture in Colossians 
 ii. 12 reads, "Buried together with Him in baptism, in 
 whom also ye are risen together, through faith of 
 the operation or energy of God, who hath raised him 
 from the dead. It also reads buried together in Rom. 
 vi. 6. 
 
 Our Lord spake unto His disciples, saying, " All 
 power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, 
 therefore, and teach all nations, which in the margin of 
 the New Testament we read, ' make disciples or Christians 
 of all nations,* baptizing them in (eis) into the name of 
 
140 
 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
 commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway, unto 
 the end of the world. Amen !" Matt, xxviii. 18—20. 
 Making disciples, &c, was to be by preaching the gos- 
 pel, for it is recorded in Mark, Jesus said unto them, 
 " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
 creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall 
 be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be damned. 
 Mark xvi. 16, 17. But as they could not make disci- 
 ples by preaching the gospel without the baptism of 
 the Spirit, with which Christ said they should be bap- 
 tized, we find it is recorded they were to wait for the 
 promise of the Father, Acts i. 4, 5 ; for Jesus said, 
 " Behold, I send the promise of the Father upon you : 
 but tarry ye at Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power 
 from on High. Luke xxiv. 49. As all power given to 
 our Lord, and the promise of His presence, is the 
 " therefore" they were to go and make disciples, bap- 
 tizing into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost, we may be sure the baptizing was 
 essential to the discipleship ; for baptizing was to make 
 true disciples. The author of "A Concise View of 
 Christian Baptism" observes, "The most severe judg- 
 ments are denounced against those who add to or take 
 away from the Book of God." We ought not therefore 
 to add to our Lord's command the words " in or with 
 water ,-" for as our Lord's words, " and is baptized," in 
 Mark xvi. 16, mean the essential baptism, so the word 
 baptizing in Matt, xxviii. 19 must mean with the Spirit. 
 No godly man, after a prayerful consideration of our 
 Lord's words, could believe the words, "and is baptized," 
 meant a wow-essensial baptism ; for if he did, he would 
 represent our Lord's command, " baptizing (eis) into 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost," to be a now-essential baptism. Therefore 
 
141 
 
 all true Christians, who have been led to misunderstand 
 our Lord's words and command by the erroneous inter- 
 pretations of men, should consider that the liberty 
 such men have taken of adding their own thoughts to 
 our Lord's words and command, they would not allow 
 to be taken with their own words or writings. 
 
 The preaching of the everlasting gospel is the minis- 
 tration of the Spirit. After the Reformation had made 
 great progress in France, the French Protestants de- 
 clared the preaching of the glorious gospel of the 
 blessed God (1 Tim. i. 11) was the first and greatest 
 ordinance in the church of Christ. They observed a 
 man would not be saved for being baptized in or with 
 water, or for observing the ordinance of the Lord's 
 supper: nor would a man be damned for not being 
 baptized in or with water, or for not observing the 
 ordinance of the Lord's supper: but he would be 
 damned if he did not receive and believe in his heart 
 the glorious gospel of Christ. And this testimony 
 appears to be consistent with the scriptures, for it is 
 written, " How shall we escape, if we neglect so great 
 salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the 
 Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard 
 Him: God also bearing witness, both with signs and 
 wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost, according to His own will." Heb. ii. 3, 4. 
 Therefore, he that believeth and is baptized shall be 
 saved; because there is one faith and one baptism 
 inseparable from each other ; for there is a believing 
 which is not the faith of the energy of God (Luke viii. 
 13) : but as under the Old Testament dispensation the 
 leper was made clean by the blood and water, and as 
 the unclean were sanctified by the ashes and water 
 being sprinkled together upon them ; so the one faith 
 is inseparable from the one baptism with the Spirit. 
 
142 
 
 The apostles were not commanded to teach or make 
 disciples of all nations, and after they had made dis- 
 ciples to baptize them in or with water : but they were 
 to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them (eis) 
 into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost. It was therefore by baptizing them into the 
 name of the Father, &c, the apostles were to make dis- 
 ciples. And the fathers, so called, understood baptizing 
 was to make disciples, for they erroneously believed in 
 water regeneration, and in the washing away of sin by 
 water baptism. Their erroneous opinions they imbibed 
 from Judaizing teachers, and from the legal ceremonies 
 being observed by the apostles ! 
 
 The baptizing into the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which our Lord commanded, 
 would effectually teach and make true disciples. But 
 the apostles admit, they were not sufficient of themselves 
 to think any thing as of themselves ; but their sufficiency 
 was of God; who made them able ministers of the New 
 Testament ; not of the letter, but of the Spirit : for the 
 letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life, 2 Cor. iii. 5, 6. 
 As the apostles were not sufficient of themselves for the 
 making of disciples, they were commanded by the Lord 
 to tarry in the city of Jerusalem until they were endued 
 with power from on high, and they were to wait for the 
 promise of the Father, which, Jesus said, ye have heard 
 of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall 
 be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 
 Acts i. 4, 5. Water baptism was John's ministry ; 
 Christ's baptism was with the Spirit, for the ministra- 
 tion of the Spirit was to supersede the legal ministry ; 
 and therefore the baptism with the Spirit was to su- 
 persede the baptism with water. Our Lord's words are, 
 "for John truly baptized with water (observe, He speaks 
 of it in the past tense), but (for the future) ye shall be 
 
143 
 
 baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." 
 Acts i. 4, 5. And so they were ! For on the day of 
 Pentecost our Lord did baptize His disciples by pouring 
 forth of the Holy Spirit upon them, in the place where 
 Christ had suffered, and been despised and rejected of 
 men : for the word of the Lord was to go out from 
 Jerusalem according to the Spirit of prophecy. Isaiah ii. 
 2, 3 ; Micah iv. 1, 2. At Jerusalem a gospel church 
 was to be formed, and many thousands of Jews to be 
 converted. This baptism with the Spirit was not only 
 in an extraordinary and in an abundance of gifts for 
 the ministry, but also of grace for themselves ; for the 
 Spirit was to teach and guide the apostles themselves 
 into all truth, #c. See p.p. 133 — 135. This baptism was 
 not merely the gifts of tongues and the power to work 
 miracles, but an internal baptism which the apostles 
 themselves stood in need of! The scripture records 
 this truth, and the apostle Peter confirmed it, when the 
 apostles and elders met together upon a particular 
 occasion. " And when there had been much disputing, 
 Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, 
 ye know how that, a good while ago, God made choice 
 among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear 
 the word of the Gospel and believe. And God which 
 knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the 
 Holy Ghost, even as unto us ; and put no dif- 
 ference BETWEEN US, PURIFYING THEIR HEARTS 
 
 by faith." Acts xv. 7, 9. Therefore the apostles 
 partook of the internal baptism on the day of Pentecost, 
 even as the Gentiles did when the Holy Ghost was given 
 them, purifying their hearts by faith. 
 
 The apostles were also baptized with the Spirit for 
 the work of the ministry — for baptizing into the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost was 
 to make disciples ; and which they did on the day of 
 Pentecost, when they were personally and ministerially 
 
144 
 
 baptized by Christ with the Spirit : for on that day Peter 
 preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven 
 (1 Pet. i. 12), and three thousand of all nations were made 
 disciples ; Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the 
 dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, 
 in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, 
 and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers 
 of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians, 
 were spiritually baptized into the one faith, namely, into 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost ! For the gospel which Peter preached with the 
 Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, was the glorious 
 doctrine of the Trinity in Unity! "Men and brethren," 
 said Peter, " this Jesus (the Son of God) hath God 
 raised up, whereof we all are witnesses ; therefore, being 
 by the right hand of God exalted, and having received 
 of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He 
 hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear.'* 
 Acts ii. 22, 23. Here we see our Lord's command 
 effectually began of discipling by baptizing into the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost : and the three thousand of all nations continued 
 in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking 
 of bread, and in prayers. 
 
 Our Lord did not command His apostles to teach bap- 
 tizing in the names, as in the plural, but in the name, 
 in the singular; for the Three which bear record are One. 
 Neither did He command them to baptize only in His 
 own name, or to make disciples, baptizing in names 
 assumed, or in names of office ! Yet there are professing 
 Christians, zealous of water baptism, who do not hold 
 the mystery of faith in a pure conscience, for they bap- 
 tize in or with water in names assumed, or in names of 
 office ! And this is an evident proof that water baptism 
 is not the one baptism, of which all of one faith are 
 partakers, being joined to the one Lord with one Spirit ! 
 
145 
 
 Our Lord did not command His apostles to make 
 disciples baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost ; for then, unbelievers might pretend there 
 was in our Lord's command, no positive revelation of 
 the Three which bear record in heaven : but He com- 
 manded His apostles to make disciples, baptizing them 
 into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost ; for the prepositive article tou, of 
 the, is set before the word " Son," and also before the 
 words " Holy Ghost," as well as before the word 
 " Father ;" which it would not have been, if three dis- 
 tinct recorders or witnesses had not been set forth in 
 the above scripture, as the one faith in -which true dis- 
 ciples are spiritually baptized ! Dr. Gale, an antipcedo- 
 baptist, justly observes, (t we should have no other rule 
 of faith beside the sacred word of God, for if we 
 admit of any other, we give up our cause, and expose 
 ourselves to all the impositions of Popery," and to 
 all the Kflscriptural opinions of men : and Dr. Gill 
 faithfully declares we ought to reject all suppositions and 
 pretended apostolical tradition, and every thing that goes 
 under that name not found in the Bible. To this good 
 advice we should strictly attend, for it is written, " To 
 the law and to the testimony, if men speak not according to 
 this word, it is because there is no light in them." 
 Isa. viii. 20. Then what authority is there for baptism 
 in or with water, to be administered in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ? It 
 appears upon record, the apostles never did baptize in 
 or with water in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost : nor does it appear upon 
 record, they ever received any command so to do ! Dr. 
 Gill faithfully declares we are, and so we ought, to re- 
 ject all suppositions : and therefore we ought to reject 
 all suppositions as to the acts of the apostles not recorded 
 o 
 
146 
 
 in the scriptures ! The sacred record sets forth, that the 
 legal baptisms or purifications were observed by the 
 apostles and elders at Jerusalem for twenty-seven years 
 after our Lord's resurrection : at which time many 
 thousands of Jews were believers who were zealous of 
 the law ! But after that year, we have no account of 
 any administration of water baptism by any one of the 
 apostles. 
 
 They who have read the writings and opinions of 
 " the fathers" (so called) respecting water baptism, must 
 conclude, that Dr. Gill spake the truth concerning 
 many of them. See p.p. 131, 132. Many believed 
 water baptism was spiritual regeneration ; that it washed 
 sinners from their sins : and some doubted whether 
 their sins would be forgiven which were committed 
 after they had been baptized in or with water. And 
 the scriptures inform us of some deceivers who had 
 crept into the church at Corinth, and these deceivers, 
 like Hymeneus and Philetus, it appears, erred concern- 
 ing the resurrection of the dead, for they denied the 
 resurrection of the dead, having not the knowledge of 
 God (1 Cor. xv. 12, 34) : yet they administered water 
 baptism to some persons (uper) for the dead (1 Cor. xv. 
 29) : it may be, they pretended the dead would be thereby 
 washed from their sins ; as the Papists pray for the 
 dead, supposing they can pray them out of purgatory ! 
 But the apostle, in the Epistle to the Church at Corinth, 
 cautions the saints from being deceived by them ; and 
 he exposes the falsehood of these deceivers by their 
 practice, saying, " if the dead rise not at all, why are 
 they (not ye) then baptised for the dead ?" And, as he 
 anticipated these deceivers would reply " How are the 
 dead raised up ? And with what body do they come ?" 
 He answers them, saying, " Thou fool, that which thou 
 sowest is not quickened, except it d& : and that which 
 
147 
 
 thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, 
 but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some 
 other grain. But God giveth it a body as it pleaseth 
 Him, and to every seed his own body/'* &c. The 
 apostle's arguments were well understood by the saints 
 at Corinth, for they were baptized with one Spirit 
 into the one body (1 Cor. xii. 13) : and if our com- 
 mentators had examined the apostle's words more care- 
 fully, they would not have obscured this scripture with 
 their various suppositions and opinions ; for they would, 
 have seen the apostle did not say to believers, why are ye 
 baptized for the dead ; but he asks why are they — (thf 
 some amongst them that said there is no resurrection of 
 the dead, verse 12) — why are they baptized for the dead ? 
 whom the apostle, under the plenary inspiration of the 
 Spirit, calls fools, icho had not the knowledge of God ! 
 
 As the Sadducees held the same heresy, and yet ob- 
 served the divers baptisms, and as the apostles for 
 some years observed the legal baptisms, as well as 
 many thousands of Jews who believed, surely to the ob- 
 servance of the Jewish customs, and to the Judaizing 
 teachers may be traced, in the third century, the sub- 
 stitution of water baptism in the place and stead of 
 circumcision ; and which some Christians, since the 
 Reformation, have called " the circumcision made with- 
 out hands." But in the epistles to the saints, written 
 under the plenary inspiration of the Holy Ghost, we 
 learn, in words as plain as can express the fact, that the 
 apostles were not sent to baptize in or with water, but 
 to preach the gospel. And in the sacred record we 
 read, that on the evening of the day our Lord rose from 
 the dead, Jesus said unto His disciples, " Peace be unto 
 you : as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."* 
 
 * The Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the 
 o 2 
 
148 
 
 John xx. 21, 22. Therefore, as our Lord was not sent 
 to baptize in or with water, even so He sent them not 
 to baptize in or with water. And as there is not a 
 word said about water baptism in the commission given 
 to the apostles, to be found in either of the records 
 penned by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we have 
 a positive and unequivocal testimony, that the schism 
 which has been made in the one body by the continu- 
 ance, and the disputes about the mode, &c, of the ad- 
 ministration of water baptism, is not of God ; "for He 
 is not the Author of confusion, but of peace, as in all 
 the churches of the saints.'' 1 Cor. xiv. 33. 
 
 There is no mention in the apostle's charge to 
 Timothy, or to Titus, nor in any of the epistles to the 
 saints, to administer water baptism : Peter saith, the anti- 
 typical baptism which now saves us is not in or with water, 
 1 Pet. iii. 21; see p.p. 6 ; and Paul saith, the apostles were 
 never sent to baptize in or with water. 1 Cor. i. 1 7. But 
 we have the undeniable testimony, there is one body, &c, 
 one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, Eph. iv. 4, 5 ; 
 and by comparing scripture with scripture, we learn 
 that one baptism is with the Spirit ; for believers are 
 baptized with the Spirit into the one body : and they 
 are all of one faith, and they are made to drink into one 
 Spirit, 1 Cor. xii. 12, 13; and therefore are all of one 
 heart, and of one faith, and of one mind in the Lord. 
 For with the Spirit's baptism they are made true disci- 
 ples ; and only such baptized believers shall be saved. 
 Matt, xxviii. 19 ; Mark xvi. 16. This truth is con- 
 firmed in and by the experience of every one born of 
 God ; for the elect according to the foreknowledge of 
 God, know the truth thereof through the sanctification 
 
 apostles' hands. And they also preached the gospel with the 
 Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Acts viii. 17, 18; xix. 6; 
 1 Pet. i. 12. 
 
149 
 
 of the Spirit, unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood 
 of Jesus Christ. 1 Pet. i. 1,2. And they are washed, and 
 they are sanctified, and they are justified in the name of the 
 Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Cor. vi. 11. 
 There is but one baptism, which is not in or with water, 
 but with the Spirit : and that the same may more plainly 
 appear, the ineffectual nature of water baptism shall be 
 placed in juxta position with the all-sufficient baptism 
 with the Spirit. 
 
 Water Baptism. 
 
 1. It is not essential to sal- 
 vation. 
 
 2. It is external and literal. 
 
 3. It is said to be emblemati- 
 cal, i. e., a hint of the suffer- 
 ings, the death, the burial, and 
 the resurrection of the Re- 
 deemer. It is symbolical, i. e., 
 typical of the most important 
 change that can possibly be 
 effected in the human charac- 
 ter — a death unto sin, and a new 
 birth mito rignteousness. It is 
 also emblematical, i. e., a hint 
 of the most important privi- 
 leges enjoyed on earth — the re- 
 mission of sins, the washing away 
 of ii/is by the blood of Christ, 
 conformity to, fellowship with, 
 and interest in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, in the purpose and be- 
 nefit of His sufferings, death, 
 burial, and resurrection. It is 
 likewise a solemn profession 
 of BELIEF in the gospel, in the 
 doctrine of the Trinity, and in 
 the resurrection of the dead. See 
 rt A Concise View of Christian 
 Baptism," p. 21. As this au- 
 thor admits it is only emblema- 
 tical and symbolical, it is abo- 
 lished, as well as are all the 
 other typical ordinances. 
 
 The Spirit's Baptism. 
 
 1. It is essential to salva- 
 tion. 
 
 2. It is internal and spiritual. 
 
 3. It is quickening us toge- 
 ther with Christ, buries us toge- 
 ther with Him, in whom we 
 are risen together through His 
 divine energy. See Greek 
 Test., Eph. ii. 5 ; Col. ii. 12. 
 It is the substance of typical 
 water baptism ; for it is a death 
 unto sin, and a new birth unto 
 righteousness. It is a revela- 
 tion in the heart of the for- 
 giveness of sins, purging the 
 conscience with the blood of 
 Christ from all dead works to 
 serve the living God. It is 
 the fellowship of the Spirit by 
 whom we have fellowship with 
 the Father and His Son Jesus 
 Christ, and an interest in the 
 sufferings, death, burial, and 
 resurrection of Christ. It is 
 likewise a believing in the 
 heart the gospel, and in the 
 name of the Fattier, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost 
 (but not in assumed names, or 
 names of office), and in the re- 
 surrection of the dead ; and it 
 produces the fruit of the Spirit. 
 See Gal. v. 22, 23 ; Eph. v. 9, 
 10; Col.iii. 12— 16\ it being 
 a substantive ordinance, it will 
 never be abolished. 
 
150 
 
 4. When administered by im- 4. But the person receives 
 mersion, the water receives the the Spirit. 
 
 person. 
 
 5. It does not regenerate a 5. It regenerates a sinner, 
 sinner. 
 
 6. It does not put the bap- 6. It puts the baptized into 
 tized into Christ, nor do they Christ, and they put on Christ, 
 thereby put on Christ. 
 
 7. It does not incorporate 7. It does incorporate per- 
 persons into the church of sons into the church of Christ, 
 Christ, which is the one body. which is the one body. 
 
 8. It does not make men of 8. It makes men of one 
 one faith. faith. 
 
 9. It does not unite all the 9. It unites all the saints 
 saints together in love. together in love. 
 
 10. It is wo* the seal of the 10. The Holy Spirit is the 
 covenant. seal of the covenant. 
 
 As the grace of God teacheth us to deny all ungodli- 
 ness, may we, therefore, through the same grace be 
 preserved from a lying spirit ; and then, we shall never 
 prefer a shadow to the substance, nor call literal water 
 baptism the Christian's baptism. The author of "A 
 Concise View of Christian Baptism" calls baptism by 
 immersion in water, "literal baptism'' (p. 14) : in this 
 respect he spake truly, for it is not "spiritual baptism." 
 All the divers water baptisms under the law were all 
 " literal baptisms ;" and they are called in scripture 
 " carnal ordinances." Heb. ix. 10. The same author 
 saith, water baptism by immersion is emblematical, a 
 hint of Christ's sufferings, &c. But supposing it to be 
 used by men as typical of His sufferings, it is then 
 virtually like all the other typical ordinances, if they 
 were now kept and observed, a denial that Christ the 
 substance is come, and hath finished the work which 
 the Father gave Him to do ! 
 
 The same author saith, that they fulfil righteousness 
 in submitting to water baptism by immersion ! This 
 is generally believed by the antipcedobaptists ; which is a 
 strong proof of its being a legal ordinance. But the 
 righteousness they fulfil in observing water baptism is 
 
151 
 
 not the righteousness of God ; therefore their righteous- 
 ness, and their legal joy in observing a legal ordinance, 
 is not " the righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy 
 Ghost. Rom. xiv. 17. Men under the law, it is writ- 
 ten, may have a zeal for God, but not according to 
 knowledge ; for they being ignorant of God's righte- 
 ousness, and going about to establish their own righte- 
 ousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteous- 
 ness of God. Rom. x. 2, 3 ; see p.p. 4. There is even 
 in godly men a legal disposition ; for they are too fre- 
 quently looking to, or deriving comfort from, some- 
 thing they can or have done for God's service, rather 
 than looking to, and having their hearts comforted 
 with, and their minds fixed on, what God hath done 
 for them. May the Lord preserve us from such a legal 
 spirit, and grant us grace to say, " Thou only art my 
 Rock, and my Salvation, and my Defence. I will go 
 in the strength of the Lord God : I will make mention 
 of Thy righteousness, of Thine only !" Psm. lxii. 
 2, 6 ; lxxi. 16 e 
 
 There are generally admitted by Protestants but two 
 ordinances or sacraments which Christ hath ordained in 
 His Church. And one great ordinance is the ministra- 
 tion of the Spirit ; the preaching of the everlasting 
 gospel ; and with which Christ hath promised his pre- 
 sence ! Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. And we are commanded 
 not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. 
 See p.p. 141. The administration of the Lord's Sup- 
 per is the other ordinance ; it is not a typical or em- 
 blematical ordinance; for it is the memorial of the 
 blood of Christ, and the memorial of the body of 
 Christ ; and they who are baptized with the Spirit do 
 by faith divine find the cup of blessing to be the com- 
 munion of the blessings which come through the blood 
 shedding and atonement of Christ ; and the commu- 
 
152 
 
 nion of the blessings which come through the body, the 
 incarnation, and life of Christ. "The communicants 
 being baptized with one Spirit, being many, are one 
 bread and one body." 1 Cor. xii. 13; x. 16, 17. Our 
 Lord has expressly commanded the observance of this 
 ordinance by all His disciples in remembrance of Him. 
 And the manner of its administration He expressly 
 revealed to the apostle. But He has never commanded 
 His disciples to be baptized in or with water ; which He 
 would have done, if it had been an ordinance of His 
 appointing ! And there is a full and satisfactory an- 
 swer why he has not ; namely, because our Lord 
 would not substitute a shadow for the substance, or set 
 up John's ministry or water baptism in the place and 
 stead of His own essential ministry, or baptism with 
 the Spirit. And as our Lord by His ministry glo- 
 rified the Spirit, so the Spirit by His ministry glorifies 
 Christ. 
 
 Our Lord has expressly commanded the washing of 
 each other's feet, and has left us an example that we 
 should follow his steps. John xiii. 14, 15. But why 
 is it not observed? Washing each other's feet will not 
 make any schism in the one body. AVe should remem- 
 ber, as the author of " A Concise View of Christian 
 Baptism" observes, it is written, " Blessed are they 
 that do His (Christ's) commandments, that they may 
 have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through 
 the gates into the city. And the scriptures promise salva- 
 tion to those who do the will of God — and declare that none 
 but such shall enter into the kingdom of heaven" Page 23. 
 And Christ saith, " if ye love me, keep my command- 
 ments." John xiv. 15. Then, what sort of love do 
 they shew to Christ who make a schism in the one 
 body, by teaching for commandments the doctrines 
 and opinions of men ? Or that make our Lord's words, 
 
153 
 
 in Mark xvi. 16, of no effect? Who contradict the 
 faithful testimony of John the Baptist concerning 
 Christ's baptism with the Spirit ? That say there are 
 two baptisms, when the scripture saith there is but 
 one? Or that teach men, they fulfil righteousness 
 when they are baptized in or with water ? And that 
 shew their contempt of oar Lord's express command- 
 ment, by never washing the saints' feet? 
 
 Jesus saith of His church, ff My dove, my undefiled 
 is but owe" (Song vi. 9), one body composed of various 
 members, hence called His own body (Eph. i. 22), for 
 they are joined to Him by one Spirit. 1 Cor. vi. 17. 
 All such are most dear to the Lord. He nourisheth 
 and cherisheth them. For they are members of His 
 body, of His flesh, and of His bones. Eph. v. 30. He 
 is their one Lord, and His name is One. Zech. xiv. 9. 
 This is a most true doctrine, for there is one Lord, one 
 faith, one baptism. Eph. iv. 5. And this doctrine is most 
 sweet in experience, for by one faith we believe in, and 
 live in, and walk in the Spirit with, and enjoy holy fellow- 
 ship with, our one Lord and Head. And whatever is re- 
 corded in the scriptures of our one Lord, is enjoyed in 
 experience by this one faith. By it the heart fixes upon 
 the one atonement, the one righteousness, the one 
 mediation, and the one salvation of the Son of God. 
 As it looks to nothing else for hope : so by it Christ is 
 most precious to the soul : and by faith Christ keeps 
 the soul unto salvation. Happy partakers of this one 
 faith are made happy in the one Lord by one baptism ; 
 for by one Spirit they are baptized into the one body, 
 and joined to the owe Lord. 1 Cor. xii. 13; vi. 17. 
 If the Lord baptizes us with His Spirit, then our 
 hearts will burn with the fire of His love to Himself and 
 to one another. They that dwell in love, dwell in God, 
 for God dwells in them, because love is of God, and 
 God is love ! 
 
154 
 
 Believing parents! no one of Adam's posterity can 
 enter the kingdom of God unless born from above ! 
 Jeremiah was sanctified before he came forth out of his 
 mother's womb (Jerem. i. 5) ; and John the Baptist was 
 filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb 
 (Lukei. 15) : and when his mother heard the salutation 
 of Mary, he leaped in her womb. Luke i. 41. These 
 are precious testimonies of the baptism of the Spirit ; 
 for as children in the womb may be filled with the Holy 
 Ghost, you have a solid foundation for your faith, and 
 for obedience to your Lord's command, to bring your little 
 children to Christ ; for Christ saith, "of such is the king- 
 dom of God !" And he took them up in his arms, put HIS 
 hand upon them, and blessed them ! Mark x. 
 13—16. 
 
 It is recorded that the disciples rebuked them that 
 brought their little children to Christ : but this greatly 
 displeased our Lord, and He rebuked them for doing 
 so. Therefore we should not limit the Holy One of 
 Israel, whose praise is perfected out of the mouths of 
 babes and sucklings ! Know therefore that the Lord 
 our God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth 
 covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep 
 His commandments to a thousand generations 1 Deut. vii. 
 9 ; see Ezra i. 8 ; ii. 3. 
 
 Our Lord hath commanded godly parents to bring 
 their children to Him for His blessing : and which they 
 may do now by prayer and faith ; for He is of one mind, 
 the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. Heb. xiii. 8. 
 If it be from unbelief that any godly parent lives in a wilful 
 act of disobedience to the Lord's command, let all such re- 
 member, that He who hath promised to keep covenant and 
 mercy with them that love Him and keep His command- 
 ments to a thousand generations, did greatly commend her 
 faith who came to Jesus on behalf of her child, and who 
 under all discouragements persevered in prayer, and 
 
155 
 
 obtained His blessing! Matt. xv. 21 — 28. See also 
 an example of one who had little faith that brought his 
 child to Christ, and obtained mercy ! Mark ix. 1 7 — 27. 
 But if any godly parents shall yet object, because they 
 or their teachers may prefer a legal ordinance to an act 
 of faith, let them remember what Peter and the 
 apostles said to the high priest and the council, upon 
 another occasion, which will equally apply here, " We 
 ought to obey God rather than man." 
 
 But what shall we say for those professing Christians, 
 who, in their vain zeal and controversy for the mode of 
 administering a legal ordinance, have shewn an un- 
 gracious disposition towards each other, that we cannot 
 say of them, " see how these Christians love one 
 another V They are not like Priscilla and Aquila, who 
 were willing to lay down their own necks for Paul, 
 Rom. xvi. 3, 4. But why not 1 Because they are 
 baptized in or with water, and not with the Spirit ! 
 And therefore they do not obey our Lord's command- 
 ments ; they do not love their enemies, or bless them 
 that curse them, or do good to them that hate them, or 
 pray for them which despitefully use them, and per- 
 secute them ! Matt. v. 44. Neither do they love one 
 another, as Christ hath loved us ! John xiii. 34. 
 
 To have the Spirit of Christ is to be a Christian ; 
 " know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ 
 is in you, except ye be reprobates. The bodies of the 
 saints are an habitation for God through the Spirit's 
 baptism, for they are the temples of the Holy Ghost," 
 1 Cor. iii. 16 ; vi. 19. The Spirit is spoken of as the 
 living water with which Christ baptized all His seed, 
 and is in them as a well of living water, springing up 
 into everlasting life. John iv. 14 ; vii. 38, 39. Thus 
 Christ spake of His Spirit's baptism, with which His 
 people should be baptized after He was glorified. And 
 
156 
 
 all who are thus spiritually baptized, the Spirit of 
 adoption witnesseth with their spirit, that they are the 
 children of God, heirs of God, for they are all God's 
 first-born in Christ (Exod. iv. 22, 23 ; Heb. xii. 23), 
 and joint heirs with Christ. The Lord himself is the 
 portion of the saint's inheritance (Numb, xviii. 20), for 
 they are joint heirs with Christ, the heir of all things ; 
 because true believers, being baptized with the Spirit into 
 Christ, are joined to the Lord (Gal. iii. 27 ; 1 Cor. vi, 
 1 7) ; and by virtue of their union to Him, shall inherit 
 all things. Rev. xxi. 7. They that now partake of His 
 Spirit are His brethren, and they shall partake of His 
 glory (John xvii. 24), and sit down with Him upon 
 His throne. Rev. iii. 21. Reader, if thou art baptized 
 with the Spirit, thou art one with Christ ; as such, thou 
 art a true spiritual baptist, and a member of the one true 
 spiritual church of Christ ; therefore come out from 
 among the literal water baptist church of any description j 
 for there is no union without the Spirit. The letter 
 Jcilleth, but the Spirit giveth life ! 
 
 Christian, the anxiety to make proselytes to John's 
 baptism, and the blasphemy of them who maintain a 
 necessity for water baptism after the baptism 
 with the Holy Ghost, may remind us of those 
 Judaizing teachers, of whom it is written, " As many 
 as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain 
 you to be circumcised, that they may glory in your 
 flesh." But God forbid that I should glory, save in the 
 Lord, and in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by 
 whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
 world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision 
 availeth anything, nor un circumcision, but a new 
 creature. And as many as walk according to this 
 rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel 
 of God. Gal. vi. 12 — 14, 16. So prays yours in the 
 Lord. OBADIAH. 
 
(157) 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 While the last Meditation was in the press, a Sermon 
 entitled "One Baptism," by that eminent servant of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, John Bradford, of Wadham College, 
 Oxford, came to hand : by the following extracts it will 
 be seen, that eminent divine confirms with his testimony the 
 truths set forth in the eighth and ninth Meditations. After 
 tracing the different dispensations committed to Noah, to 
 Abraham, to Moses, and to David, Mr. Bradford states, 
 "That God did send John to baptize with water is admitted, 
 but I deny that Christ ever did send any one to baptize with 
 water ! This is coming to the point : here I stand ; and 
 challenge any man to shew me when and where Christ ever 
 commanded any one to baptize with water." 
 
 " The commission to baptize is grounded, I know, upon 
 these words, * Go teach all nations ; baptizing them in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost.' First, I ask, what baptism is here intended ? Is it 
 the Spirit's baptism, or is it water baptism ? Here is 
 nothing said about water : therefore I conclude that it is the 
 baptism of the Holy Ghost. There were divers washings 
 and carnal ordinances before the gospel dispensation, which 
 is called the ministration of the Spirit, as being administered 
 by the Spirit, and as extended to the spirit, the mind, and 
 consciences of those who are brought into that dispensation ; 
 in which there are not two baptisms but one. John says, ' I 
 indeed baptize with water ; He shall baptize you with the 
 Holy Ghost and with fire.' Here are two baptisms spoken 
 of; one with water, and the other with the Holy Ghost and 
 fire. Which of these baptisms is meant ?" 
 p 
 
158 
 
 " I say the Spirit's baptism was certainly intended by 
 these words, baptizing into the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It maybe said, that I have 
 not quoted the words as they stand in the translation ; for 
 it is there written in, and not, into the name. If our transla- 
 tors sometimes make mistakes, is it not proper such mistakes 
 should be corrected ? Now I say that the preposition eis 
 means into ; and so it is translated in other places, baptized 
 into Christ, baptized into one body ; the words in the original 
 are eis to onoma, that is, into the name ; had it been in the 
 name, I presume it would have been en to onomati — and I 
 must say that no commission to baptize with water can be 
 drawn from these words, because water is not mentioned: 
 because our Lord is here speaking of His own baptism, 
 which is with the Holy Ghost and fire, and not of John's 
 baptism, which was with water : because in the original it is 
 into the name, not in the name ; now water baptism cannot 
 answer any such end as this, but the Spirit's baptism does 
 make believers really partakers of a divine nature." 
 
 a To baptize into Christ, to baptize into the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, must be 
 ascribed to nothing short of a divine power, whereby the 
 soul receives divine communications from Christ, is brought 
 into a state of communion with Christ, and is espoused to 
 Christ, bears His name, and is for ever one with Him." 
 
 " Amidst all our discouragements there is, however, this 
 encouragement to preach the gospel ; that is, the promise 
 of success, and of the Lord's presence and blessing ; His word 
 shall not return void j and our Lord says, ' Go, preach the 
 gospel, and I will be with you alway, even unto the end of the 
 world.' — ' Without the baptism of the Spirit all our preaching 
 is vain, and whatever faith any one may seem to have, or 
 profess to have, if it be not the work of God, and of the 
 operation of His Spirit, all such faith is vain. Therefore our 
 Lord says, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. 
 Does our Lord mean here baptized with water ? If so, we 
 must read it thus : He that believeth and is baptized with 
 water shall be saved. What ! are none to be saved but 
 those who are baptized with water ? are none believers but 
 
159 
 
 those who are baptized with water? When our Lord says: 
 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, He means 
 to shew the difference between a dead faith and a living faith : 
 James says, can faith save ? by which he means, believing 
 some historical fact as true or false, or some proposition as 
 right or wrong ; can a mere notion, opinion, system, or 
 sentiment save a soul ? No. Nothing can save, but that 
 faith which is the work of God j therefore, our Lord 
 says, He that believeth and his baptized shall be saved ; as 
 much as if He had said, that faith alone can save, which is 
 wrought by the Holy Ghost ivith whom every believer is 
 baptized : and every one who is not thus baptized is an un- 
 believer/' 
 
 " Some say, as our Lord was baptized with water, it be- 
 hoveth us to fulfil all righteousness. What ! does it behove 
 such weak worms, such fallen sinners, as we are, to fulfil 
 all righteousness ? As well may any of us pretend to make 
 a world as to fulfil all righteousness. No one can do this 
 but He in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead 
 bodily.'' — " Some insist upon the example of Christ having 
 been baptized with water as a rule for us ; but I ask, is the 
 example of Christ having been circumcised a rule for us ? 
 Jf His example is a rule in the one instance, why not in the 
 other F But we have the example of Jesus, namely, Jesus 
 Himself baptized none. 
 
 We read of certain disciples whom Paul found atEnhesus, 
 who had been already baptized with water, to whom Paul says, 
 Have you received the Holy Ghost ? They answered, We 
 have not, &c. Then Paul said, John verily baptized with 
 water to repentance, saying unto the people, that they 
 should believe in Him who should come after him, that is, 
 in Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized 
 (with the Spirit), but not with water; for with that they 
 had been baptized before. For after Paul had laid his 
 hands upon them, they received the extraordinary gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost. We have an instance of preaching being at- 
 tended with the same effect, as on the day of Pentecost, in 
 the house of Cornelius : whilst Peter was preaching, the 
 Holy Ghost fell on all them who heard the word. That 
 
160 
 
 Peter did baptize them must be allowed; but that Peter 
 did right is to be proved. For if Christ did not send Paul 
 to baptize with water, so neither did He send Peter. I believe 
 all the apostles did it at first, because they had been used to 
 it (under the legal dispensation) ; and it is a hard matter to 
 leave off old customs, and break through long and deep 
 rooted prejudices/* 
 
 " The disciples often did wrong, for they did that which 
 they had no right to do. They chose Matthias to be an 
 apostle in the room of Judas ; this they had no right to do I 
 Peter dissembled when he was at Antioch, for which Paul 
 reproved him. Paul afterwards did that for which he 
 blamed Peter ; he shaved his head, and pretended to have a 
 vow. We are to follow the apostles as they followed Christ, 
 and no further. — The apostles did what they had no right to 
 do, as Paul did : and he was afterwards convinced of his 
 mistake, and confessed it. He tells us, in so many words, 
 that God did not send him to baptize ; yet, at first, he thought 
 he was to do as others did." 
 
 " The baptism which saves us, Peter saith (is not water), is 
 not the washing away of the filth of the flesh ; water baptism 
 cannot save ; it cannot give the answer of a good consci- 
 ence towards God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from 
 the dead : it must be the Spirit's power which can reach the 
 heart, and purge it from an evil conscience; by this baptism 
 we are buried with Him into His death, and we are made 
 conformable to Him in His death, we are made partakers of 
 the fellowship of His sufferings, and by this baptism we are 
 risen with Him, through the faith which is of the operation 
 of God, who hath raised Him from the dead ; so that like as 
 Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, 
 even so we also should walk in newness of life ; if we have 
 been planted in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in 
 the likeness of His resurrection. In this manner we obtain 
 the answer of a good conscience, by the resurrection power 
 of Jesus : for those who believe, experience the exceeding 
 greatness of that power, which was put forth at the resur- 
 rection of Jesus Christ from the dead." " True baptism is 
 not external form, but a life giving power." "The washing 
 
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 of water is by the icord, and the washing of regeneration 
 means the renewing- of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 "John was to prepare the way fur Jesus, and his baptism 
 with water was to prepare for a baptism with fire ; which 
 fire was to lick up the water. John never attempted to give 
 satisfaction to any, so neither will his baptism give true 
 satisfaction to any seeking soul. Whenever any came to 
 John, he referred them all to Jesus." 
 
 "John and Moses were both servants, and though each of 
 them were faithful in the work committed to them, yet, as 
 servants, they were not to abide for ever; but the Son 
 abideth for ever. As servants they must needs be inferior 
 to the Master whom they served." " Have we been 
 baptized with the Holy Ghost ; and shall we go back to the 
 baptism of John ! This is strictly and properly to backslide ; 
 this is going back from the Master to the servant; from the 
 substance to the shadow."* " Jf baptized with the Spirit, if 
 baptized into Christ, we are in a higher dispensation than 
 that of John. May the Lord help us to stand fast, and not 
 to backslide from the life, the truth, the power, and spiri- 
 tuality of the gospel." 
 
 As Christ is the only lawgiver in His church, it is a ques- 
 tion I must ask again and again, by what authority does any 
 man baptize with water ? Let him shew bis commission, if 
 he can ; and if he cannot, how does he dare to excom- 
 municate all those who are baptized with the Holy Ghost? 
 
 
 * Mr. Bradford's testimony is confirmed by another of the 
 Lord's highly favoured servants, who saith, " The apostle, writing 
 to the Hebrews, cautions us, lest we be tempted to suppose there 
 would be no harm in observing the shadows of the law, and still 
 to look to Christ. To prevent this, and show the danger of such 
 conduct, the apostle solemnly points out that such a wilful per- 
 version of the truth, in looking to the shadow, now the sub- 
 stance was cojir, became virtually a denial of the full and 
 complete sacrifice of Christ. This was the case with the churches 
 of Galatia, which was composed of a mixture of legal ceremonies 
 and of the gospel. And we know that in our day, too many 
 there are that mingle law and gospel ; and but few who live 
 wholly upon Christ."