Book III

OF BAPTISM.

BAPTISM is not an ordinance administered in the church, but out of it, and in order to admission into it, and communion with it; persons must first be baptized, and then added to the church, as the three thousand converts were. Admission to baptism lies solely in the breast of the administrator; if not satisfied, he may reject a person thought fit by a church, and admit a person to baptism not thought fit by a church ; but a disagreement is not desirable not adviscuble. Saul, when converted, was immediately baptized by Ananias, Acts ix. 11—28. I shall,

I. Prove that baptism in water is peculiar to the gospel dispensation, is a standing ordinance in it, and will be continued to the second coming of Christ. There were indeed, divers washings, bathings, or baptisms, under the legal dispensation ; but there was nothing similar in them to the ordinance of water baptism, but immersion only. The Jews pretend, their ances:ors were received into covenant by baptism, or dipping, as well as by circumcision and sacrifice; and that proselytes from heathenism were received the same way ; and this is readily catched at by the advocates for infant baptism, who fancy that John, Christ, and his apostles, took up this custom as they found it, and continued it: but surely if it was in such common use as pretended, though no new pre

cept has been given, there would have been precedents enough of it; but no proof is to be given of any such practice obtaining in those times, neither from the Old nor New Testament, nor from the Jewish Misnah, or book of traditions; only from later writings of the Jews, too late for the proof of it before those times. John was the first administrator ofthe ordinance of baptism, and is therefore called the Baptist, Matt, iii. 1. by way of emphasis; whereas, had it been in common use, there must have been many baptizers before him, who had alike claim to this title: why should the people be so alarmed with it: had it been in frequent use ; and why should the Jewish sanhedrim send priests and Levitesfrom Jerusalem to John, to know who he was, whether the Messiah, or his forerunner Elias, or that prophet spoken of and expected; and when he confessed and denied that he was neither of them, say to him, Why baptizest thou then ? had it been performed by an ordinary teacher, common Rabbi, or doctor, priest or Levite, in ages immemorial, there could have been no room for such a question ; had this been the case, there would have been no difficulty with the Jews to answer the question of our Lord: the baptism of John, whence was it, from heaven or of men? they could have answered, It was a tradition of theirs ; nor would they have been subject to any dilemma : but John's baptism was not a device of men; but the counsel of God, Luke vii. 30. John i. G. 33.

Now John's baptism, and that of Christ and his apostles, were the same. Christ was baptized by John, and his bap. tism was surely christian baptism; of this no one can doubt, Matt. iii. 13—17. and his disciples also were baptized by him; for by whom else could they be baptized ? not by Christ himself, for he baptized none, John vi. 2. And it is observable, that the baptism of John, and the baptism of Christ and his apostles, were at the same time ; they were cotemporaiy, and did not the one succeed the other: now it is not reasonable to suppose there should be two sorts of baptism administered at the same time; but one and the same by both.

The baptism of John and that, which was practised by the apostles of Christ, even after his death, and resurrection from the dead, agreed, 1. In the subjects thereof. Those whom John baptized were sensible penitent sinners, Matt. iii. 6—'8. Mark i. 4. So the apostles of Christ exhorted men to repent, and give evidence of it, previous to their baptism, Acts ii. 38, John said to the people that came to his baptism ; That they should believe. Acts xix. 4, 5. and faith in Christ was made a pre-requisite to baptism, by Christ and his apostles, Mark xvi. 16. Acts viii. 36, 37. 2. In the way and manner of the administration of both. John's baptism was by immersion, as the places chosen by him for it shew; and the baptism of Christ by him is a proof it, Matt. iii. 6. 16. John iii. 23. and in like manner was baptism performed by the apostles, as of the eunuch by Philip, Acts viii. 38, 39, 3. In the form of their administration. John was sent of God to baptize ; and in whose name should he baptize, but in the name of the one true God, who sent him, even in the name of God, Father, Son, and Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity was known to John, as it was to the Jews in common ; it is said of John's hearers and disciples, that they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, Acts xix. 5. The same form 'i9 used of the baptism of those baptized by the apostles of Christ, Acts viii. 16. and x. 48. 4. In the end and use of baptism, Mark i. 4. Acts viii. 38. baptism is a means of leading to the blood of Christ; and repentance gives encouragement to hope for it, through it. Baptism therefore was not limited to the interval of time from the beginning of John's ministry to the death of Christ; but was afterwards continued, Matt, xxviii. 19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them; though water is not expressed, it is always implied, when the act of baptizing is ascribed to men ; for it is peculiar to Christ to baptize with the Holy Spirit, Matt. iii. 11. Acts i. 5. an increase of the graces of the Spirit, and a large donation of his gifts, are promised to persons after baptism, and as distinct from it, Acts ii. 38. The apostles. .

doubtless understood the commission of their Lord and Master to baptize in water, since they practised baptism upon it, Atis viii. 36-*-39. and x. 47,48. And this was designed to be continued even unto the end of the world. Matt. xxviii. 19, 20.

II. I shall next consider the author of it; and shew, that it is not a device of men, but an ordinance of God ; it is a solemn part of divine worship. Indeed, as it is now commonly practised, it is a mere invention of men, the whole of it corrupted and changed. But as it is administered according to the pattern and as first delivered, it appears to be of an heavenly original ; and in which all the Three Persons have a concern ; they all appeared at the baptism of Christ, and gave a sanction to the ordinance by their presence.

III. The subjects of baptism are next to be enquired into, according to the scripture.instances and examples, they are such who, 1. Are enlightened by the Spirit of God to see their lost stan by nature; hence baptism was by the ancients called photismos, illumination; and baptized persons, enlightened ones, Heb. vi. 4. an emblem of this was the falling off from the eyes of Saul, as it had been scales, Acts ix. 18. 2. Penitent persons ; such were the first who were baptized by Jol.n that we read of; they were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins, Matt. iii. 6. such as were pricked to the heart were baptized, Acts ii. 3", 38. 41. and it is a pity that these first examples of baptism were not strictly followed. 3. Faith in Christ is pre.required to baptism, Mark xvi. 16. this is clear from the case of the eunuch, who desiring baptism, to whom Philip said, If thou bclitvest with all thine heuft, thou mayest, Acts viii. 36. and the various instances of baptism recoided in scripture, corfirm the same ; as of the inhabitants of Samaria, and the the Corinthians, Acts viii. 12. and xviii. 8. 4. Such who are taught and made disciples by teaching, are the proper subjects ol baptism; Jesus made and baptized, John iv. 1. and 60 runs his commiasion to them; Go teach all nations, baptizing th.m. 4. Such who have re

ceived the Spirit of God, as a Spirit of conviction, sanctification, and faith, Acts x. 47. The first and carnal birth neither intitles persons to the kingdom of God on earth, nor to the kingdom of God in heaven, for the baptism of such there is neither precept nor precedent in the word of God. 1. There is no precept for it; not the words of Christ in Matt. xix. 14. Rut Jesus said, suffer little children, &c. For, 1. Let the words be said to or of whom they may, they are not in the form of a precept, but of a permission or grant, and signi. fy not what was enjoined as necessary, but what was allowed of, or which might be ; Suffer little children, &c. 2. These children do not appear to be newborn babes. The words used by the evangelist, neither puid'ta nor brephe, always signify such; but are sometimes used of such who are capable of going alone, and of being instructed, and even of one of twelve years of age, Matt. xviii. 2. 2 Tim. iii. 15. Mark v. 39, 42. besides, these were such as Christ called unto him, Luke xviii. 16. nor is their being brought unto him, nor his taking them in his arms, any objection to this, since the same are said of such who could walk of themselves, Matt. vii. 22. and xvii. 16. Mark ix. 36. 3. It cannot be said whose children these were ; if of unbelievers and of unbaptized persons, the paedobaptists themselves will not allow such children to be baptized. 4. It is certain they were not brought to Christ to be baptized by him, but for other purposes. Matthew says, they were brought to him that he should put his hands on them and pray. Mark and Luke say, they were broughc to him, that he should touch them, as he did when he healed persons of diseases : however, they were not brought to be baptized by Christ; for Christ baptized none at all, adult or infants. 5. This passage rather concludes against Paedobaptism, than for it, and shews that this practice had not obtained among the Jews, for then the apostles would scarcely have forbid the bringing of these children, since they might readily suppose they were brought to be baptized. 6. The reason given for suffering little children to come » Christ, for of such is the kingdom of heaven, is to- be understood in a figurative and metaphorical sense ; of such who are comparable to children for modesty, meekness, and humility ; see Matt, xviii. 2. Nor does the commission in Matt. xviii. 19. contain in it any precept for infant baptism; Go teach ell nations, baptizing them, $i?c. For, 1. The baptism of all nations is not here commanded, but the baptism only of such who are taught; for the antecedent to the relative them, cannot be all nations, since the words panta ta elhnc, all nations, are of the neuter gender: whereas, autotis, them, is of the masculine. 2. If infants, as a part of all nations, are to be baptized, then the infants of heathens, Turks, and Jews, ought to be baptized ; yea, every individual person in the world, even the most profligate and abandoned, since they are a part of all nations. 3. Disciples of Christ, and such who have learned to know Christ, are characters that cannot agree with infants : what can an infant he taught to learn of Christ ? to prove infants disciples, that text is usually brought, Acts xr. 10. which falls greatly short of proving it; for infants are not designed in that place, nor included in the character, 4. These two acts, teaching, or making disciples,and baptizing are not to be confounded, but are two distinct acts; so Jerom long ago understood the commission; on which he observes, " First they teach all nations, then dip those that are taught in water; for it cannot be that the body should receive the sacrament of baptism, unless the soul has before received the truth of faith." And so says Athanasius, "Wherefore the Saviour does not simply command to baptize ; but first says, teach, and then baptize thus, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; that faith might come of teaching and baptism be perfected." n. There is no prece~ dent for the baptism of infants in the word of God. Among the vast numbers who flocked to John's baptism from all parts, we read of no infants* And though more were baptized by Christ than by John, that is, by the apostles of Christ, at his order, yet no mention is made of any infant; and though three thousand persons were baptized at once, yet not an infant among them ; and in all the accounts of baptism in the acts of the apostles in different parts of the world, nrtt a singly instance of infant baptism is given. There is, indeed, mention made of households, or families baptized; and which the paedobaptists endeavour to avjyil themselves of; but they ought to be sure there were infants in these families, and that they were baptized, or else they must baptize them on a very precarious foundation ; since there are families . who have no infants in them, and how can they be sure there were any in these the scriptures speak of? We are able to prove there are many things in the account of these families, which are inconsistent with infants, and which make it at least probable there weic none in them, and which also make it certain that those who were baptized were believers in Christ. There are but three familes, if so many, who are usually instanced in: the first is that of Lydia and her household, Acts xvi. 14, 15. but in what state of life she was in is not certain, whether single or married, whether maid, widow, or wife ; and if married, whether she then had any children, or ever had any ; and if she had, and they living, whether they were infants or adult? and if infants, it does not seem probable that she should bring them along with her from her native place, Thyatira, to Philippi, where she seems to have been upon business, and so had hired a house during her stay there: her household seems to have consisted of menial servants she brought along with her, to assist her in her business; they were such as are called brethren, and were capable of being comforted by the apostles. The second instance is of the jailer and his houeshold, which consisted of believers, and of such only ; for it is expressly said, that he rejoiced, believing in God with all his house, verse . 32—34. all which shews them to be adult persons, and not infants. The third instance, if distinct From the household of {he jailer, which some take to be the same, is that of Stepha

nas; but It is certain it consisted of believers in Christ, they were the first fruits of Achiia, the first converts in those parts, and ivho addictedthemselves to the ministry of the saints, 1 Cor. xvi. 15. There being neither precept nor precedent in the word of God for infant baptism, it may be justly condemned as unscriptural and unwarrantable. m. Nor is infant baptism to be concluded from any things or passages recorded either in the Old or in the New Testament. 1. It is not fact as has been asserted, that the infants of believers have, with the•.r parents, been taken into covenant with God in the former ages of the church, if by it is meant the covenant of grace; the first covenant made with man, was that of works, made with Adam, and which indeed included all his posterity; which surely cannot be pleaded in favour of the infants of believers. After the fall, the covenant of grace, and the way of life and salvation by Christ, were revealed to Adam and Eve, personally, as interested therein ; but not to their natural seed and posterity; for then all mankind must be taken into the covenant of grace, and so nothing peculiar to the infants of believers. The next covenant we read of, is that made with Noah, which was not made with him and hisimmediate offspring only, but with all mankind to the end of the world, and even with every living creature, the beasts of the field, promising security from an universal deluge, as long as the world should stand; and so had nothing in it peculiar to the infants of believers. The next covenant is that made with Abraham and his seed, on which great stress is laid, Gen. xvii. 10—14. and this is said to be the grand turning point on which the issue of the controversy very much depends ; and that if Abraham's covenant, which included his infant children, and gave them a right to circumcision, was not the covenant of grace ; then it is confessed, that the main ground is taken away, on which the right of infants to baptism is asserted, and consequently the principal arguments in support of the doctrine are overturned. Now that this covenant was not the pure covenant of grace, in distinction from the covenant of works, will soon be proved ; that it is not the covenant of grace is clear, 1. From its being never so called, nor by any name which shews it to be such ; but the covenant of circumcision, Acts vii. 8. Now nothing is more opposite to one another than circumcision and grace, Gal. v. 2—4. Nor can this covenant be the same we are now under, which is. a new covenant, or a new administration of the covenant of grace, since is it abolished, and no more in being and force. 2. It appears to be a covenant of works and not of grace ; since it was to be kept by men, under a severe penalty: in case of disobedience, a soul was to be" cut off from his people ; all which shews it to be, not a covenant of grace, but of works. 3. It is plain, it was a covenant that might be broken ; of the uncircumcised it is said, He hath broken my covenant, Gen. xvii. 14. whereas the covenant of grace cannot be broken, Psalm lxxxix. 34. 4. It is certain it had things in it of a civil and temporal nature; as a multiplication of Abraham's natural seed, and a race of kings from him ; things that can have no place in the pure covenant of grace. 5. There were some persons included in it, who cannot be thought to belong to the covenant of grace, as Ishmael, and a prophane fisau ; there were some who were living when this covenant of circumcision wa9 made, and yet were left out of it; who nevertheless, undoubtedly, were in the covenant of grace; as Shem, Arphixad, Melchizedek, Lot, and others. 6. Nor is this covenant the same with what is referred to in Gal. iii. 17. said to be enprmed of God in Christ, which could not be disannulled by the law, four hundred and thirty years after ; the distance of time between them dees not agree; but to some other covenant and time of making it; even to an exhibition and manifestation of the covenant of grace to Abraham, about the time of his call out of Chaldea, Gen. xii. 3. 7. The covenant of grace was made with Christ, as the federal head of the elect in him: if the covenant of grace was made with Abraham, as the head of his natural and spiritual seed, Jews and Gentiles ; there must be two heads of the covenant of grace, contrary to the nature of such a covenant, and the whole current of scripture. No mere man is capable of covenanting with God. Whenever we read of a covenant made with a particular person or persons, it is to be understood of the manifestation and application of it, and of its blessings and promises to them. 8. Allowing Abraham's covenant to be a peculiar one, and of a mixed kind. That the temporal blessings of it belonged to its natural seed, is no question ; but that the spiritual blessings belong to all Abraham's seed, after the flesh, and to all the natural seed of believing Gentiles, must be denied ; see Rom. ix. 6, 7. It is only a remnant, according to the election of grace, who are in this covenant; and If all the natural seed of Abraham are in the covenant, it can scarely be thought that all the natural seed of believing Gen. tiles are ; it is only some of the one, and some of the other, who are in the covenant of grace ; and this cannot be known until they believe. 9. If their covenant interest could be as. certained, that gives no right to an ordinance, without a positive order and direction from God. It gave no right to circumcision formerly, and gives no right to baptism now. 10. Notwithstanding all that is said about Abraham's covenant, Gen. xvii. it was not made with him and his infant seed, but with him and his adult offspring: the parents were by this covenant obliged to circumcise the children ; yea, others, who were not Abraham's natural seed, were obliged to it; He that is eight days old, shall be circumcised among you, which is Not Of Tut sEED, Gen. xvii. 12. Which leads on to observe,

2. That nothing can be concluded from the circumcision *if Jewish infants, to the baptism of the infants of believing Gentiles; had there been a like command for the baptism of the infants of believing Gentiles, under the New Testament, as there was for the circumcision of Jewish infants under the Old, the thing would not have admitted of any dispute ; but nothing of this kind appears. For, 1. It is not clear that eVen Jewish infants were admitted into covenant by the right of circumcision ; for Abraham's female seed were taken into the covenant, as well as his male seed, but not by any visible rite or ceremony : the males, as well as females, were in covenant from their birth. The Israelites, with their infants at Horeb, had not been circumcised, nor were they then, wheu they entered into covenant with the Lord their God, Deut. xxix. 10—15. 2. Circumcision was no seal of the covenant of grace under the former dispensation ; nor is baptism a seal of it under the present: it is called a sign or token; a typical sign of the pollution of human nature, and of the inward circumcision of the heart; it is indeed called, A seal of the righteousness of faith, Rom. iv. 11. but only to Abraham him* self, assuring him, that the righteousness of faith, which he had before he was circumcised, should come upon the uncircumcised believing Gentiles ; and therefore it was continued, On his natural offspring, until that righteousness was preached unto, received by, and imputed to believing Gentiles. 3. Nor did baptism succeed circumcision; there is no agreement between one and the other ; not in the subjects, to whom they were administered : the use of the one and the other is not the' same: and the manner of administering them different: baptism was administered to Jews and Gentiles, to male and female, and to belivers only. The use of circumcision was to distinguish the natural seed of Abraham from others; baptism is the answer of a good conscience towards God, the one re by blood, the other by water.

Now as there is nothing to be gathered out of the Old Testament to countenance infant baptism, so neither are there any passages in the New.

1. Not the text in Acts ii. 39. The promise is unto you and to your children, tfc. It is pretended, that this refers to the covenant made with Abraham, and to a covenant promise made to him, giving his infant children a right to the ordinance of circumcision; and is urged as a reason with the Jews, why they and their children ought to be baptized; and , with the Gentiles, why they and theirs should be also, "when called into a church state. But, 1. There is not the least mention made in the text of Abraham's covenant, or of any promise made to him, giving this infant seed a right to circumcision, and still less to baptism ; nor is there the least syllable of inlaw baptism, nor any hint of it, from whence it can be concluded; nor by children are infants designed, but the posterity of the Jews, who are frequently so called in scripture, though grown up; and unless it be so understood in many places, strange interpretations must be given of them ; wherefore the argument from hence for paedobaptism is given up by some learned men, as Dr. Hammond and others, as inconclusive. 2. The promise here, be it what it may, is not observed as giving a right or claim to any ordinance ; but as an encouraging motive to persons in distress, under a sense of sin, to repent of it, and declare their repentance, and yield a voluntary subjection to the ordinance of baptism ; when they might hope that remission of sins would be applied to them. 3. The promise is no other than the ' promise of life and salvation by Christ, and of remission of sins by his blood, and of an increase of grace from his Spirit: and seeing the Gentiles are sometimes described as those afar off, the promise may be thought to reach to them who should be called by grace, repent, believe, and be baptized also: but no mention is made of their children; and had they been mentioned, the limiting clause, Even as many as the Lord our God shall call, plainly points at and describes the persons intended.

2. Nor Kom. xi. 16. Sec. If the first fruits be holy, fcfe. For, 1. By the first fruits, and lump, and by the root and branches, are not meant Abraham and his posterity, but the first among the Jews who believed in Christ, and laid the first foundation of a gospel church state who being holy, were a pledge of the future conversion and holiness of that people in the latter day. 2. Nor by the good olive tree, after mentioned, is meant the Jewish church state, the believing Gentiles were never ingrafted into it; the ax has heen laid to the root of that old Jewish stock, and it is intirely cut down, and no ingrafture is made upon it. But, .3. By it is meant the gospel church state, in its first foundation, consisting of Jews that believed, out of which were left the Jews who believed not in Christ, there is not the least s\ liable about baptism, much less of infant baptism, in the passage ; nor can any thing be concluded from hence in favour of it.

3. Nor from 1 Cor. vii. 14. For the unbelieving husband is sanetijiedby the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband ; else were your children unclean, but now are they holy : which is by some understood of a federal holin.ss, giving, a claim to covenant privileges, and so to bap'ism. But, 1. It should be told what these covenant privileges are; since, as we have seen, covenant interest gives no right to any ordinance, without divine direction, whether imaginary or real; by some it is called reputed, and is distinguished from internal holiness, which is rejected from being the sense of the text; but such holiness can never qualify persons for a New Testament ordinance ; nor has the covenant of grace any such holiness belonging to it. 2. It is such a holiness as heathens may have ; unbelieving husbands and wives are said to have it, in virtue of their relation to believing wives and husbands, and which is prior to the holiness of their children, and on which their's depends ; but surely such will not be allowed to have Jederal holiness, and yet it must be of the same kind with their childrens; if the holiness of the children is a federal holiness, that of the unbelieving parent must ^be so too. 3. If children, by virtue of this holiness, have a claim to baptism, then much more their unbelieving parents, since they are sanctified before them, by their believing yokefellows, and are as near to them as their children ; and if the holiness of the one gives a right to baptism, why not the holiness of other and yet the one are baptized, and not the other ? not, though sanctified, and whose holiness is the more near; for the holiness spoken of, be it what it may, is derived from both parents, believing and unbelieving; yea, the holiness of the children depends upon the sanctification of the unbelieving parent; for if the unbeliever is not sanctified, the children are Unclean, and not holy. But, 4. These words are to be understood of matrimonial holiness, even of the very act of marriage, which, in the language of the Jews, is frequently expressed by being sanctified; the word to sanctify, is used in innumerable places in the Jewish writings, to espouse; and in the same sense the apostle used the word agiazo here, and the words may be rendered, the unbelieving husband is or has been espoused, or married, to the wife, for it relates to the act of marriage past, as valid; and the unbelieving wife has been espoused to the husband; the preposition en translated by, should be rendered to, as.it is in the very next verse; God hath called us en eirene to peace; the apostle's inference from it is, else were your children unclean, illegitimate, if their parents were not lawfully espoused and married to each other ; but now are they holy, a holy and legitimate seed, as in Ezra ix. 2. see Mai. ii. 15. and no other sense will suit with the case proposed to the apostle, and with his answer to it, and reasoning about it; and which sense has been allowed by many learned interpreters, ancient and modern; as Jerom, Ambrose, Erasmus, Camerarius, Musculus, and others.

There are some objections made to the practice of believers baptism, which are of little force, and to which an answer may easily be returned.

1. That though it may be allowed, that persons, such as repent and believe, are the subjects of baptism, yet it is no where said, that they are the only ones: but if no others can be named as baptized, and the descriptive characters given in scripture of baptized persons are such as can only agree with adult, and not with infants ; then it may be reasonably concluded, that the former only are the proper subjects of baptism. 2. It is objected to our practice of baptizing the adult offspring of christians. But our practice is not at all concerned with the parents of the persons baptized by us, whether they be Christians, Jews, Turks, or Pagans; but with the persons themselves, whether they are believers in Christ or no ; to give instances of those who were born of christian parents and brought up by them, as baptised in adult years, cannot reasonably be required of us: but on the other hand, if infant children were admitted to baptism in these times, upon the faith and baptism of their parents, and their becoming christians; it is strange, exceeding strange, that among the many thousands baptized in Jerusalem, Samaria, Corinth, and other places, that there should be no one instance of any of them bringing their children with them to be baptized, and claiming the privilege of baptism for them upon their own faith. This is a case that required no length of time, and yet not a single instance can be produced. 3. It is objected, that no time can be assigned when infants were cast out of covenant, or cut off from the seal of it. If by the covenant is meant the covenant of grace, it should be first proved that they are in it. If by it is meant Abraham's covenant, the covenant of circumcision, the answer is, the cutting off was when circumcision ceased to be an ordinance of God, which was at the death of Christ; if by it is meant the national covenant of the Jews, the ejection of Jewish parents with their children, was when God wrote a Lo-ammi, upon that people, as a body politic and ecclesiastic. 4. A clamorous outcry is made against us, as abridging the privileges of infants, by denying baptism to them ; making them to be the lesser under the gospel dispensation than under the law, and the gospel dispensation less glorious. But as to the gospel dispensation, it is the more glorious for infants being left out of its church state ; that is, for its being not national and carnal, as before, but congregational and spiritual; consisting not of infants, without understanding, but of rational and spiritual men, believers in Christ: and these not of a single country, as Judea, but in all parts of the world: and as for infants, their privileges now are many and better, who are eased from the pain. £ul rite of circumcision; it is a rich mercy, and a glorious

•

privilege of the gospel, that the believing Jews and their children are delivered from it; and that the gentiles and theirs are not obliged to it: to which may be added,their being born of christian parents, and having a christian education, and of having opportunities of hearing the gospel, as they grow up> and that not in one country only, but in many ; are greater privileges than the Jewish children had under the lormer dispensation. 5. It is objected, that there are no more exptess commands in scripture for keeping the first day of the week, as a Sabba;h ; nor for women's partaking of the Lord's su p r, and other things, than for the baptism of infants. As for the first, though there is no express precept for the observance of it, yet there are precedents of its being observed for religious services, Acts xx. 7. 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2. and though we have no example of infant baptism, yet if there were scriptural precedents of it, we should think ourselves obliged to follow them. As for women's right to partake of the Lord's supper, we have sufficient proof of it; since these were baptized as well as men ; and having a right to one ordinance, had to another, and were members of the first church, communicated with it, and women, as well as men were added to it, Acts viii. 12. and i. 14. and v. 1. 14. we have a precept for it; I.ct a man, a word to both common genders, and equally signifies man and woman, examine him or herself, and so let him or her eat, 1 ,Cor. xi. 39. and we have also examples of it in Mary the mother of our Lord, and other women, who, with the disciples, constituted the gospel church at Jerusalem ; and as they continued with one accord in the apostles doctrine and in prayer, so in fellowship, and in breaking of bread; let the same proof be given of the baptism of infants, and it will be admitted. 6. Antiquity is urged in favour of infant baptism; it is pretended that this is a tradition of the chunh received from the apostles; though of this, no other proof is gW en, but the testimony of Origen, none before that; and this is taken, not from any of his genuine Greek writings, only fiom some Latin translations, confessedly in

terpolatetl, and so corrupted, that it is owned, one is at a loss to find Origen in (Jrigen. No mention is made of this practice in (he first two centuries, no instance given of it until the third, when Tertullian is the first who spoke of it, and at the same time spoke against it. And could it be carried up higher, it would be of no force, unless it could be proved from the sacred scriptures, to which only we appeal, and by which the thing in debate is to be judged and determined. We know that innovations and corruptions very early obtained, and even in the times of the apostles ; and what is pretended to be near those times, is the more to be suspected as the traditions of the false apostles;* the antiquity of a custom is no proof of the truth and genuineness of it ;f The customs of the people are vain, Jer. x. 3. I proceed to consider,

IV. The way and manner of baptizing; and to prove that it is by immersion, plunging the body in water, and covering it with it. Custom, and the common use of writing in this controversy, have so far prevailed, that for the mo.it part immersion is usually called the mode of baptism ; whereas it is properly baptism itself; tos'y that immersion or dipping is the mode of baptism, is the same thing as to say, that dipping is the mode of dipping; for as Sir John FloyerJ observes, " Immersion is no circumstance, but the very act of baptism, used by our Saviour and his disciples, in the institution of baptism." And Calving expressly says, " The word baptizing signifies to plunge ; and it is certain that the rite of plunging was used by the ancient churches." And as for sprinkling, that cannot, with any propriety, be called a mode of baptism ; for it would be just such good sense as to say, sprinkling is the mode of dipping, since baptism and dipping are the same ; hence the learned;Selden,|| who in the former part of his life, might have seen infants dipped in ff.uts, but lived to see immersion much disused, had reason to say, " In England of late years, I ever thought the parson baptized his own fingers rather than the child," because he dipped the one, and sprinkled the other. That baptism is immersion, or the dipping of a person in water, is to be proved,

• Quod lonpinquitas temporis objicitur, eo major suspicio inesse debet, emanasse illas iraditiones a Psrndo apostolis; qui mirandum in modum conturhaverunt lanctns apostolos; quo magis cavendum est, viri christian!. Aonii Palearii Testimonium, c. 2. p. 238. t Consuetudo sine veritate vetustas erroris e»t, Cypi,ian epist. 74. p. 195. J Essay to Restore the Dipping of Infants in Baptism, p. 144. $ Institut. 1, c. 4. 15. 9. 19 || Opera, vol. 6. col. 2008.

I. From the proper and primary signification of the word baptize, which in its first and primary sence, signifies to dip or plunge into: and so it is rendered by our best Lexicographers, mergo, immergo, dip or plunge into. And in a secondary censequential sense, abluo, lavo, wash, because what n dipped is washed, there being no proper washing but by dipping; but ntver per/undo or aspergo, pour or sprinkle; so the lexicon published by Constantine, Budaeus, &c. and those of Hadrain Junius, Plantinus, Scapula, Stephens, Schrevelius, Stockius, and others ; besides a greatnumber of critics," as Beza, Casaubon, Witsius, &c. which might be produced. By whose united testimonies, the thing is out of question.' Had our translators, instead of adopting the Greek word baptize, in all places where the ordinance of baptism is made mention of, truly translated it, and not have left it untranslated as they have, the controversy about the manner of baptizing, would have been at an end, or rather have prevented ; had they used the word dip or immerse, instead of baptize, as they should have done, there would have been no room for a question about it.

Ti. That baptism was performed by immersion, appears by the places chosen for the administration of it; as the river Jordan by John, where he baptized many, and where our J,ord himself was baptized by him, Matt. iii. 6.13. 16. but why should he choose the river to baptize in, and baptize in it, if he did not administer the ordinance by immersion ? had it been done any other way, there was no occasion for any confluence of water, much less a river ;* a bason of water would have sufficed.

* Some respresent the river Jordan, from Sandy's account of it, as if it was a shallow river, and insufficient for immersion; but what Sandy'* says of it, is only that it was not navigably deep, not above eight fathoms broad, nor except by accident heady. Travels, b. III. p. 110. ed. 5. But Mr .Maundrel says, for its breadth, it might be about twenty yards over, and in depth it far exceeds his height. Journey from Aleppo, 8cc. p. 83. ed. 7. rid. Reland. de Palestina, 1. 1. p. 278. & Adamnan. in ib. And therefore must be sufficient for immersion. And Strabo speaks of ships of burden sailing through Jordan, Gcograph. 1. 16. p. 509. Aud that it was a river to swim in, and navigable, according tothe Jewish writers, sec Dr. Gill's Exposition, of Matt. iii. 6.

John also, it is said, was baptizing in /Enon^near Salim, because there was much water, Johniii. 23. which was convenient for baptism, for which this reason is given ; and not for conveniency for drink for men and their cattle, which is not expressed nor implied; from whence we may gather, as Calvin on the text does, " That baptism was performed by John and Christ, by plunging the whole body under water:" and so Piscator, Aretius, Grotius, and others on the same passage.

III. That this was the way in which it was anciently administered, is clear from several instances of baptism recorded in scripture, and the circumstances attending them ; as that of our Lord, of whom it is said, that when he baptized, he went up straightway out of the water, which supposes he hadbeeninit: and so Piscator infers, of this going down there would have been no need, had the ordinance been administered to him in another way, as by sprinkling or pouring a little water on his head, he and John standing in the midst of the river, as the painter and engraver ridiculoushj describe it; and certain it is, he was then baptized in Jordan, the evangelist Mark says into Jordan, Mark i. 9. not at the banks of Jordan, but into the waters of it; for which reason he went into it, and when baptized, came up out of it; not from it, but out of it apo and ex signifying the same, as in Luke iv. 35. 41. So the prepasition is used in the Septuagint version of Psalm xl. 2. ex and apo, are equipollent, as several lexicographers from Xenophon observe. The baptism of the eunuch is another instance of baptism by immersion; when he and Philip were come unto a certain water, to the water side, which destro) s a little piece of criticism, as if their going into the water, after expressed, was no other than going to the brink of the water, to the water side, whereas they were come to that before ; and baptism being agreed upon, they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he bapiized him; and when they were come up out or the water, &c. Now we do not reason merely Irom the circumstances of going down into, and coming up out of the water ; we know that persons may go down into water, and come up out of it, and never be immersed in it; but when ii is expressly said, upon these persons going down into the water, that Philip baptized, or dipped the eunuch, and when this was done, that both came up out of it, these circumstances strongly corroborate, without the explanation of the word baptized, that it was performed by immersion: a man can hardly be thought to be in his senses, who can imagine that Philip went down with the eunuch into the water to sprinkle or pour a little water on him, and then gravely come out of it; hence, as the learned Calvin, on the text says, " Here we plainly see what was the manner of baptizing with the ancients, for they plunged the whole body into the water; now custom obtaining, that the minister only sprinkles the body or the head.'* So Barnabas, an apostolic writer of the first centun, and who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, as a companion of the apostle Paul, describes baptism by going down into, and by coming up out of the water; " We descend," says he, " into the water, full of sin and filth, and we ascend, bringing forth fruit in the heart, having fear and hope in Jesus, through the Spirit."

tv. The end of baptism, which is to represent the burial of Christ, cannot be answered in any other way than by immersion, or covering the body in water; that baptism is an emblem of the burial of Christ, is clear from Rom. vi 4. Col. ii. 12. It would be endless to quote the great number, even of pasdobaptist writers, who ingeniously acknowledge that the allusion of these passages, is to the ancient rite or baptism by immersion; as none but such who are dead are buried, so none but such who are dead to sin, and to the law, by the body of Christ, or who profess to be so, are to be buried in and by baptism, or to be baptized ; and as none can be properly said to be buried, unless put under ground, and covered with earth; so none can be said to be baptized, but such who are put under water, and covered with it; and nothing short of this can be a representation of the burial of Christ, and ours with him; not sprinkling, or pouring a little water on the face; for a corpse cannot be said to be buried, when only a little earth or dust is sprinkled or poured on it.

v. This may be concluded from the various figurative and typical baptisms spoken of in scripture. As, 1. From the waters of the flood, which Tertullian calls the baptism of the world, and of which the apostle Peter makes baptism the antitype, 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21. When the fountains of the great deep were broken up below, and the windows of heaven were opened above, the ark, with those in it, were as it were covered and immersed in water. 2. From the passage of the Israelites under the cloud and through the sea, when they were said to be baptized unto Hoses, in the cloud and in the sea, 1 Cor. x. 1,2. There areS/everal things in this account which agree with baptism: but chiefly this passage was a figure of baptism by immersion; as the Israelites were under the cloud, and so under water, and covered with it, as persons baptized by immersion are ; and passed through the sea, that standing up as a wall on both sides them, with the cloud over them ; thus surrounded they were as persons immersed in water, and so said to be baptized. 3. From the divers washings, bathings, or baptisms of the Jews; called divers, oecause of the different persons and things washed or dipped, as Grotius observes; and not because of different sorts of washing, for their is but one way of washing, and that is by dipping; what has a little water only sprinkled or

pouring on it, cannot be said to be washed. The Jews had theit sprinklings, which were distinct from washings or bathings, which were always performed by immersion ; it is a rule, with them, that " wherever in the law washing of the flesh, or of the clothes is mentioned, it means nothing else than the dipping of the whole body in alaver—for if any man dips himself all over except the tip of his little finger, he is still in his uncleanness.

4. From the sufferings of Christ being called a baptism; / have a baptism to be hiptized with, &c. Luke xii. 50. his sufferings are called so in allusion to baptism, as it is an immersion ; and is expressive of the abundance of them, sometimes signified by deep waters, and floods of waters, Psal. lxii. 7. and lxix. 1, 2. 5. From the extraordinary donation of the holy Spirit, and his gifts unto, and his descent upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost, which is called baptizing, Acts i.

5. and ii. 1, 2. expressive of the very great abundance of them, in allusion to baptism or dipping, in a proper sense, as the learned Casaubon observes, '.* Regard is had in this place to the proper signification of the word bmptizein, to immerse or dip ; and in this sense the apostles are truly said to be baptized, for the house in which this was done, was filled with the Holy Ghost; so that the apostles seemed to be plunged into it, as into some pool." Al. which typical and figurative baptisms, serve to strengthen thi. proper sense of the word, as it signifies an immersion and dipping the body into, and covering it with water, which only can support the figure u»ed. Nor is this sense of the word to be set aside or weakened by the use of it in Mark vii. 4. and Luke xi. 38. in the former it is said. Except they wash, baptiz°ntai, baptize, or dip themselvesy they eat not: and in it mention is made of baptismZn, washings or dippings of cups and pots, brazen vessels, and of tablt i or beds; and in the latter, the Pharisee is said to marvel at Christ, that he had not first ebaptisthe, washed or dipped, brfare dinner; all which agrees with the superstitious traditions of the elders, here referred to, which enjoined dipping in all the cases and instances spoken of; for the Pharisees, upon touching the common people or their clothes, as they returned from market, or from any court of judicature, were obliged to immerse themselves in water before they eat; and so the Samaritan Jews:* " If the Pharisees, says Maimonides,f touched but the garments of the common people, they were defiled all one as if they had touched a perfluvious person, and needed immersion.'' or were obliged to it; and Scaliger,^ from the Jews observes, " That the more superstitious part of them, every day before they sat down to meat, dipped the whole body; hence the Pharisees admiration at Christ, Lukexi. 38." And not only cups and pots, and brazen vessels were washed by dipping, or putting them into water, in which way, unclean vessels were washed according to the law, Lev. xi. 32. but even beds, pillows, and bolsters, unclean in a ceremonial sense, were washed in this way, according to the traditions of the elders referred to; for they say,J "A bed that is wholly defiled, if a man dips it part by part, it is pure." Agatn,(l " If he dips the bed in it (a pool of water) though its feet are plunged into the thick clay (at the bottom of the pool) it is clean." And as for pillows and bolsters, thus they say,Tf " A pillow or a bolster of skin, when a man lifts up the mouth of them out of the water, the water which is in them will be drawn ; what must be done ? he must dip them and lift them up by their fringes." Thus, according to these traditions, the several things mentioned were washed by immersion ; and instead of weakening, strengthen the sense of the word pleaded for.

* Epiph. contra Hzres. I. 1. Hxres. 9. f 1" Mian. Chagigah, c. 2. s. 7. ^De Emend. Temp. 1. 6. p. 771. || Maimon. Hilchot Celim. o. B6. •' 14. S Mian. Mickvavot, c. 7. 8. 7. H Ibid. s. 6.

The objections against baptism, as immersion, taken from, some instances of baptism recorded in scripture, are of no force , as that of the three thousand, in Acts il. not with respect to their number; it may be observed, that though these were added to the church in one and the same day, it does not follow, that they were baptized in one day; but be it that they were, there were twelve apostles to administer the ordinance, and it was but two hundred and fifty persons apiece; and besides, there were seventy disciples, administrators of it, and supposing them employed, it will reduce the number to six or seven and thirty persons each; and the difference between dipping and sprinkling is very inconsiderable, since the same form of words is used in the one way as in the other: and therefore it might be done in one day, and in a small part of it too.* Nor with respect to convenience for the administration of it; as water and places of it sufficient to baptize in: nor with respect to clothes, and change of garments; it was only every one's providing and bringing change of raiment for himself. Another instance objected to is, that of the baptism of Saul, Acts ix. 11. supposed to be done in the house where he was; but that does not necessarily follow, but rather the contrary, since he arose from the place where he was, in order to be baptized; and admitting it was done in the house, it is highly probable there was a bath in the house, in which it might be performed, since it was the house of a Jew, with whom it was usual to have baths to wash their whole bodies in on certain occasions ; and had it been performed by sprinkling or pouring a little water on him, he needed not to have risen for that purpose. Besides, he was not only bid to arise and be baptized, which would sound very oddly if rendered, be sprinkled [or poured, Acts xxii. 16. but he himself says, that he, with others, were buried by or in baptism, Rom. vi. 4.

* Ten thousand were baptized in one day by Austin the monk, in the river Swale, if our historians are to be credited. Fox's Acts and Monuments, rol. I. p. 154. Ranulph, Polychron, 1. 5. c. 10. The twelve sons of Wolodomir, grand prince of Russia, with twenty thousand Russians, in cent. 10. were baptized in one day by a missionary of Photius, the Patriarch ; and the ancient Russians would allow no person to be a christian, unless he had been dipped quite under water. Strablenberg. Histor. Geograph. Descript. of the Nothern and Eastern Part of Europe and Asia, ch. 8. p. 283, 286. Vid. Fabricii Lex Evangel, p. 475. No doubt assistance was had in both instances ; but these shew what numbers may be baptized in a day.

Another instance is that of the jailor and his household, Acts xvi. 33. in which account there is nothing that makes it improbable that it was done by immersion; for it seems to be a clear case, that the jailer, upon his conversion, took the apostles out of prison into his own house, where they preached to him and his family, verse 32. and after this they went out of his house, and he and his were baptized, very probably in the river without the city, where the oratory was, verse 13. for it is certain, that after the baptism of him and his family, he brought the apostles into his htuse again, and set meat before them, verse 33, 34. upon the whole, these instances produced, fail of shewing the improbability of baptism by immersion: which must appear clear and manifest to every attentive reader of his Bible, notwithstanding all that has been opposed unto it. The next thing to be considered is,

V. The Form in which this ordinance is to be administered ; which is in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Matt, xxviii. 19. This form is sometimes a litde varied and otherwise expressed; as sometimes only in the name of the Lord Jesus, Acts viii. 16. which is a part of the form for the whole. Cornelius and his family were ordered to be baptized in the name of the Lord, Acts *• 48. that is, in the name of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit; for Kurios, Lord, in the New Testament, answers to Jehovah in the Old.

VI. The ends and uses for which baptism is appointed, and which are answered by it. I. One end of it, and a principal one, as has been frequently hinted, is, to represent the sufferings, burial, and resurrection of Christ; which is plainly and fully suggested in Rom. vi. 4, 5. Col. ii. 12. 2. It was practiced both by John and by the apostles of Christ, for the remission of sins, Mark i. 4. Acts ii. 38. not that that is the procuring and meritorious cause of it, which only is the blood of Christ; but that they who submit unto it, may, by means of it, be encouraged to expect it from Christ. And so, 3. In like manner it is for the washing away of sin, and cleansing from it; A,iseand be baptized, and wash away thy sins, Acis xxii. 16. this only is really done by the blood of Christ: baptism neither washes away original nor actual sin, but is a means of directing to Christ the Lamb of God. 4. A salutary or saving use and effect is ascribed unto it; The tike figure where unto, baptism, both also now save us; should it be asked how, and by what means ? the answer follows, By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. iii. 21. that is, by leading the faith of the person baptized to Christ,as delivered for his offences, and as risen again for his justification 5. In the same passage it is said to be of this use, and to serve this purpose, The answer of a good conscience towards God; a man who believes baptism to be an ordinance of God, and submits to it as such, discharges a good conscience, the consequence of which is joy and peace. 6. Yielding obedience to this ordinance of Christ, is an evidence of love to God and Christ, 1 John v. 3. and such who trcm a principle of Jove to Christ keep his commandments, may expect, according to his promise, to hare fresh manifestations of his and his Fatners, love, and to have communion with Father. Son, and Spirit, John xiv. 15, 21,23. This is an end to be had in view, in obedience to it, and a very encouraging one.

OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.

Baptism is to be administered but once, when we fir3t make a profession of Christ, and of fakh in him; but the ordinance of the supper is to be frequently administered, it is called, the body and blood of Christ, Matt. xxvi. 26, 28. The communion of the body and blood of Christ, 1 Cor. x. 16. This bread and this cup of the Lord, I Cor. xi. 27. breaking of bread, Acts ii. 42. and xx. ". The Lord's Table, 1 Cor. x. 21. in 1 Cor. v. 8. the feast. But its most significant and expressive name, and which is commonly in use, is, The Lord's supper, 1 Cor. xi. 20. I shall consider.

I. The author of it, and shew it to be an ordinance of Christ peculiar to the gospel dispensation, a standing ordinance in it, and which is to continue until his second coming i. It was instituted by Christ himself; Take, eat, this is my body; drink ye all of this, for this is my blood; this do in remembrance of me, Matt. xxvi. 26, 27. Luke xxii. 19. Paul expressly declares, that what he delivered concerning this ordinance, he received from the Lord, 1 Cor. xi. 23. n. This ordinance is peculiar to the gospel dispensation. It was indeed typified by what MeLhizsrdeck did, who brought forth bread and wine to refresh Abraham and his weary troops, and was pointed at in propht.cy, respecting gospel times, Isai. xxv. 6. but was not instituted nor practised till the night in which Christ was betrayed. In. This is a standing ordinance in the church of Christ. It was not only ktpt the first night it was instituted and observed ; but in after times, at Jerusalem, at Troas and at Corinth. Justin Martyr gives us a very particular account of the celebration of it in his time, which was in the second century, and so it has been continued in the churches of Christ ever since to this day. iv. It is to continue to the end of the world, Matt, xxviii. 2o. this is plainly suggested by the spostle Paul when he sav», As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord^rs death till he come, 1 Cor. xi. 26. nor is it an objection of any force, that types, figures, shadows, and ceremonies are now ceased; for though the shadows of the ceremonial law, are ended there are figures and representations of him as come, and commemorative of him, 1 Pet. Hi. 21.

II. The matter of the ordinance, or the outward elements of it, the bread and wine, which are the symbols of the body and blood of Christ, t. Bread; whether the bread was leavened or unleavened bread, has been a matter of warm dispute between the Greek and Latin churches; but it seems to be quite an indifferent thing what bread is used in the ordinance, be it what it may, which is used in any country for common food; such was the bread the disciples used at Troas, when they met to break br^ad, which was several days after the Jewish feast of unleavened bread was over, and so that sort of bread was not then in use. However, the round wafers of the papists cannot be allowed of, they being not properly bread nor so made as to be broken and distributed in pieces, nor palatable, nor fit for nourishment; and so improper emblems of what is spiritually nutritive.

Now the bread in the ordinance of the supper is a symbol of the body and flesh of Christ; The bread, says Christ, that I will give, is my flesh, John vi. 51, 55. so says the apostle; The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 1 Cor. x. 16. The words. This is my body, i. Are not to be understood in a. proper sense, as if the bread was transubstantiated into the real body of Christ; this is contradicted by the testimony of the senses, it is contrary to reason, that accidents should be without a subject; that the qualities and properties of bread should remain, and not the bread itself; that a body should be in more places at one and the same time, and Christ have as many bodies as there are consecrated wafers. It is contrary to the nature of Christ's body, which was like ours when on earth, and at the time of the institution ; and after his resurrection was visible and palpable, and is not every where, as it must be, if its real presence is in the ordinance in all places, it is contrary to the very nature and design of the ordinance; it confounds the sign and the thing signified; it is impious and blasphemous for a priest to take upon him, by muttering over a few words, to make the body and blood of Christ, and then eat them. 2. The phrase, is to be understood in afgurative sense the bread is a figure, symbol, and representation of the body of Christ; many scriptural phrases are so to be understood; as when Joseph aaid to Pharaoh, The seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; so seven kine and ears signified, or were symbols of seven years of plenty ; and the lean kine and thin ears, so many years of famine. Again, in the parable of the sower, the seed and tares, signified such and such persons, and were emblems of them. Also, That rod was Christ, 1 Cor. x. 4. that is, was ure and representation of him; so the bread is the body

of Christ, a figure, sign, and symbol of it, John xii. 24, 11. The wine is another part of this ordinance, and of the matter of it, and one of the outward elements of it, a symbol of the blood of Christ. Ii is a question, whether the wine used at the first institution of the ordinance was red or white. I cannot but be of opinion, that the red, called the blood of the grape, is most expressive of, and bears a greater resemblance to the blood of Christ, of which it is a symbol. It is also a question, whether, the wine used was mixed or pure: since it was usual with the Jews, whose wines were generous, to mix them, Prov ix. 2. but there is no need to dilute them in our climates; and as the quantity is so small drank at th« ordinance, there is no danger of intoxication in those who are least used to it; though it is certain, mixing wine and water very early obtained, even in Justin's time; but that there should be a mystery in it, signifying the blood and water which sprung from the side of Christ when pierced, and the union of the two natures in him, seems too fanciful. However, 1. The wine is a symbol of the blood of Christ, Matt. xxvi. 29, 22. and 2. A symbol of the love of Christ, We will remember thy love more than wine, Cant, i- 2, 4.

III. The next to be considered are the significant and expressive actions used by the administrator and the receiver; bodi with respect to the bread and the wine. 1. with respect to the bread by the administrator Christ, in his own person, at the first institution of the ordinance, and by his "ministers, under his direction, and by his orders and example, 5n all succeeding ones. Christ took the bread, He blessed it; or as another evangelist has it, he gave thanks. Matt. xxvi. 26. Luke xxii. 19. This is what is sometimes called the consecration of it; but is no other than its destination to this peculiar service. He brake it. From this action the whole ordinance is denominated, breaking of bread. Acts ii. 41. and xx. 7. an emblem of his sufferings, how his body was broken for us, 1 Cor. xi. 24. and an emblem of the communion of the many partakers of the one bread and of the one body o|

Christ, 1 Cor. x. 17. He gave it to the disciples, Matt. xxvi. , 26. So the minister now gives the bread to the deacons and they distribute it to the people; and thus they did in the times of Justin Martyr.

There are other significant actions respecting the bread used by the receiver. He is to take the bread, or receive it. • This action of taking the bread, is an emblem of the saints receiving Christ by the hand of faith and all the blessings of grace with him, John i. 12. The receiver is to eat the bread, being taken, it denotes a participation of Christ, and of the blessings of grace by him. 11. There are also very significant actions to be performed, both by the administrator and receiver, with respect to the wine- By the administrator: after the exam, pie of Christ, who took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, the disciples, Matt. xxvi. 27. Other actions were to be performed by the receiver: particularly one, every one was to drink of the cup ; Drink ye all of it: which drinking is to be understood in a spiritual sense, as eating before ; the wine is not to be drank as common wine but as a symbol of the blood of Christ; the encouraging motive is, This is •my blood of the New Testament, shed for the remission of sins.

IV. The subjects of this ordinance, or who are the proper persons to be admitted to it, as communicants. i. Not infants, they are not capable of examining themselves. In the third century, infant communion was admitted of, on a mistaken sense of John vi. 53. Indeed, infants have as good a right to this, as to the ordinance of baptism, which they were ad'mitted to in the same century, on a like mistaken sense of John iii. 5. and which practice of infant communion continued in the Latin churches six hundred years after, and still does in the Greek church, it. Persons who have the use of reason, and know what they do, are the proper subjects of this ordinance yet only regenerate persons; to others it must be a dry breast, and of no use. in. Ignorant persons are unfit for this ordinance. Such who partake of it, ought

to know themselves, and to have knowledge of Christ, and him crucified, Iv. Persons scandalous in their lives. are by no means to be allowed subjects of this ordinance ; with such we ought not to eat, described 1 Cor. v. 11. that is, at the Lord's table. v. None but penitent sinners, and true believe trs, and those baptized, upon a profession of their repentance and faith arc to be allowed communicants at this ordinance, 1 Cor. xi. 28. 2 Cor. xiii. 5.

V. The ends of this ordinance: to shew forth the death of Christ; to commemorate his sacrifice ; to remember his love ; to shew our love to him, and to maintain love and unity with each other. But by no means is this ordinance to be used to qualify persons to bear any office under any government, and in any city or corporation. This is a vile and scandalous prostitution cf it

VI. The adjuncts of this ordinance. i. The time of administering it is to be considered; not the time of day, morning, noon, or evening, which latter is most suitable to a supper; but what day of the week or year; some were for keeping it every day in the week, and considered it as daily food,. others were for observing it four times in the week; and others every Lord's day, which Dr. Goodwin thinks is the stated fixed time for it in scripture: and so ochers. The disciples at Troas met together on the first day to break bread; but whether they did so for that purpose every first day is not clear and certain. Some kept it once a month, as many churches do now; at length it came to be observed only three times in the year, at the three grand festivals; and even to once a year. But though the precise time seems not to be ascertained in scripture, yet it is plain that it ought to be often practised, as may be concluded from the apostle's words, As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, &c. and from the nature of the ordinance, it being in memory of Christ, which ought to be frequent; and a spiritual repast for souls, which ought to be often repeated. 2. The gesture of the body to be used at it, whether kneeling, standing, or sitting ; the former of theSe looks too much like the adoration of the host; sitting is to be preferred being a table gesture. 3. The place where celebrated ; not in private houses, but in the public place of worship, where and when the church convened ; so the disciples at Troas came together to break bread; and the church at Corinth "came together in one place to eat the Lord's supper, Acts xx. 7. 1 Cor. xi. 18. 20. 33. This being a church ordinance, is not to be administered privately to single persons, but to the church in a body assembled for that purpose. 4. When the supper was ended, an hymn was sung by Christ and his apostles, Matt xxiv. 30. to this Pliny may be thought to have respect when he says, that christians at their meetings sung an hymn together to Christ, as to a God ; and by a sacrament, bound themselves no: to commit such and such sins. 5. A collection was made for th,. poor and distributed to them; which, perhaps, the apostle may have some respect unto, 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2. and so Justin says, When prayer and thanksgiving were finished, the richer sort, and as many as would, freely contributed what they thought fit; and what was collected was deposited with the president, out of which were relieved the fatherless and widows, the sick, and those in bonds, and strangers ; and a very fit season this to make a collection for the poor, wnen the hearts of believers are regaled with the love of Christy and enlarged by it. 6. The continuance of this ordinance is to the second coming of Christ. 1 Con xi. 26. this ordinance will continue to the second coming of Christ, and then all will cease.

OF THE PUBLIC MINISTRY.

I. The public ministry of the word is an ordinance of Christ in the New Testament, and to be continued till his second coming, t. There was something similar to it from the beginning, during the Old Testament dispensation. 1. In the patriarchal state; the gospel was first preached by the Son of God to Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden, Gen. iii. 71. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophecied or preached of the second coming of Christ. Noah was the

eighth prearher ofrighteousness; for so the words in 2 Pet. 2. 5. may be rendered.* As Abraham had the gospel preached to Mm, so he preacned it to others, as he had opportunity, Gen. xvi. 14. In the rimes o* Job, who seems to have lived bef..re ihe ;riving of the law, the sons of God, professors of religion, met together on a certain stated day, to present themselv. s, sou* and b.dy, to th. Lord, in the performance of relig.ous duties, Jo'i vi. 10. 2. Under the Mosaic dispensation there was a tabernacle pitched, called, the tabernacle of the congregation ;"we read of a teaching priest, and that the priesCa lips should keep knowledge, and publish it, 2 Chron. xv. 3. Mai. ii. 7. In the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, they r' ad the book of the law, in the hearing of all the people ; and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reuding_y Neuem. viii. 8. 3. Uiider the first and second temples, were prophets, who also were interpreters and expounders of the law ; hence we read of companies, or schools of the prophets, , at Nainth, Bethel, and Jericho. The prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others, were delivered as the word of the Lord, and published seperately and singly, as sermons and discourses to the people ; and particularly it is observed of Ezekiel, that the people came in a body and sat before him, and heard him. 4. Sometime after the Babylonish captivity, synagogues were erected, and synagogue worship setup; one part of which lay in public reading and preaching the law in them every Sabbath day ; and this was a practice which had obtained of old time, long before the times of Christ and his apostles, as appears from Acts xv. 21. In these synagogues our Lord himself taught. And so the apostles of Christ preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. n. The public ministry of the word more dearly and generally obtained under the new Testament. The first public preacher of this kind, and under this dispensation, was John the Baptist; the law and the prophets were until John, Luke xvi. 16. Our Lord Jesus Chiist, whose forerunner John was, w is the mmister of the circum* Vid. Poli Synoptm in lowr k alios critisei., Zegerum, Drusium, Ice?.

cision, the minister of the word to the circumcised Jews. The apostles of Christ were called and sent forth by him to be public ministers of the word ; to teach all nations, and preach the gospel to every creature, m. The public ministry of the word is an ordinance of Christ; there are private teachings, which are not only commendable, but are obligatory on men ; as of the heads of families, parents, and masters..but it is the public ministry of the word, which is the special ordinance of Christ for public good and for general usefulness. iv. The public ministry of the word is a standing ordinance, to be continued to the second coming of Christ; until all the elect of God come to the unity of the faith ; to the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man ; unto the measure of the statute of the fulness of Christ. I proceed to shew,

II. That the ministry of the word is a work ; it is called the work of the ministry, Eph. iv. 13. not a sine.cure; there is business to be done, and a great deal of it; it is a laborious work, which requires much reading, prayer, meditation, and study, much zeal and affection, and an expense of the animal spirits, 2 Cor. xii. 15. It is a work pleasantly, profitably, and honourably good ; it is the work of the Lord and of Christ, 1 Cor. xvi. 10. I go on to enquire,

III. Who are fit and proper persons to be employed in this work. They must be of a good moral character; partakers of the grace of God in truth; endowed by Christ with ministerial gifts, Eph. iii. 7, 8. studious in the scriptures, 2 Tim. jii. 16,17. They must be sent forth, they must have a mission from Christ, and that by the church, Rom. x. 15. and be counted faithful, as the apostle Paul was, 1 Tim. i. 12. They are to exercise this ministry as a trust committed to him, and to fulfil it, Ai:ts xx. 24. Col. iv. 17. They should be both able and apt to teach, and study to shew themselves workmen that need not be ashamed.

IV. The subject matter of the work of the ministry, is next to be inquired into. This may be learnt, 1. From the names by which it is called; the ministry of the word, Acts vi. 4* the ministratien of the Spirit, 2 Cor. Hi. 8: the ministration of righteousness, 2 Cor. iii. 9. the word of righteousness ; and the ministry of reconciliation, 2 Cor. v. 18. Observe, 11. What the ministers of Christ are directed to preach: The gospel; Acts xx. 24. Christ and hiin crucified; every thing respecting doctrine; and the several duties of religion. not the cunningly devised fables of men are to be attended to, but the word of God, Jer. xxiii. 28.

V. The manner in which the work of the ministry is tb*)e performed may next be observed. i. It should be done diligently, and constantly, with great sedulity and perseverance, in season and out of season, 2 Tim. iv. 2. 2. With great flatness and perspicuity, 2 Cor. iii. 12. and iv. 2. 3. Fully and completely, 2 Tim. iv. 5. 4. Faithfully, 1 Cor. iv. 1, 2. 5. Sincerely, 2 Cor. ii. 17. 6. Fervently, Acts xviii. 25. 7. With certainty, and not with doubtfulness, Col. ii. 2.8. boldly, not intimidated with the. threats and menaces of men 9. consistently: the trumpet should not give an uncertain sound. 10. Wisely ; it requires that they should have the tongue of the learned, to speak a word in season to him that is weary.

VI. The utility of the public ministry of the word may be next considered. In general; its use is for the enlargement of the interest of Christ in the world ; for the conversion of sinners ; for the perfecting of the saints; For the edifying of the body of Christ, Eph. iv. 12. The principal end and use of it, to which all the others tend, is the glory of God, and which ought to be chiefly in view in the performance of it, 1 Pet. iv. 11.

OF PUBLIC HEARING THE WORD.
Concerning which may be observed by the following

things:

I. The object of hearing, or what is to be heard ; this is a matter of moment, and about which men should be cautious; our Lord's advice is, take heed what you hear, Marl; iv. 24.

II. The act of hearing, whiph is two fold, internal and external, i. There is an internal hearing of the word ; when it is so heard as to be understood, and when men know it to be the word of the Lord, as the flock of Christ do, even the poor

"of the flock, and can distinguish the voice of Christ from the voice of a stranger ; He that is of God, who is born oi God, heareth God's words, internally and spiritually, John viii. 47. Ii. There is an external hearing of the word, which is both a duty and a privilege, and it is therefore to be heard constantly, Prov. viii. 34. eagerly, Luke xxi. 38. ,attentively 1 Kings xx. 33. with reverence; with faith. Heb. iv. 2. and should be carefully retained, aud not let slip, Heb. ii. 1. I proceed to consider.

III. The various hearers of the word; for all men do not hear alike, and to like profit and advantage. Some writers distribute hearers into four sorts some are like sponges, which attract and suck in all, both good and bad; the best in those hearers is, they are not difficult but are easily pleased. Others are compared to hourglasses in which the sand runs quick out of one glass into another; so some hearers, what they hear with one ear, they let out of the other, as is usually said. A third sort are compared to strainers, which let all the good liquor pass through, and retain the dregs and lees.

♦ A fourth sort are compared to a sort of sieves, which let pass ,, every thing that is good for nothing and only retain the good; these are the best of hearers, and who are fed with the finest of the wheat. Our Lord, with much greater propriety, has divided hearers of the word into four sons also; one he compares to seed that falls on the way side, which the fouls of the air pick up and devour ; another sort, to seed that falls on sto. ny ground, or on a rock, which springing up hastily, soon withers and comes to nothing; a third sort, to seed that falls among thorns, which growing up with it, choke it, and it be. comes unfruitful; an«l a fourth sort, to seed that falls on good ground, and brings forth fruit of various degrees, Matt. xiiL I go on to observe.

IV. What is requisite to the right hearing of the word* both before it, at it, and after it. Such who are desirous of hearing the word to profit and advantage, should pray for the minister, and for themselves; there should be a previous consideration of the nature, use, and end of this service, and an appetite to the word. it. There are some things necessary whilst hearing the word. A man should try what he hears, and whilst hearing, he should take to himself what he hears. Some hear not for themselves, but for others; but to you is the word of this salvation sent, Acts xiii. 26. Faith is to be mixed with the word, Heb. ir. 2. ui. After hearing the word some things are to be done, which may be of service: there should be a recollection of what has been heard; persons should retire privately, and meditate ; the beasts that were accounted clean under the law, were such as chewed the cud. When two or more meet and converse together about what they have heard; this may tend to much profit. It is proper for persons to consider how it has been with them, whilst hearing the word ; if they have been careless, wandering, and indifferent; or if their souls have been enlarged; and what they hear is put in practice, James i. 22.

V. The utility of hearing the word, or the advantages which under a divine blessing arise from it, are many ; conviction of sin, 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25. conversion, Psalm xix. 7. gifts and graces are conveyed into the heart, Gal. iii. 2. faith usually comes this way, Rom. x. 17. the joy of faith, Phil, b 25. comfort, 1 Cor xiv. 3. knowledge, 2 Cor. ii. 14. love* Luke xxiv. 32. and nourishment. Hearing seasons are some* times sealing ones, Eph. i. 13.

OF PUBLIC PRAYER;

I SHALL,

I. Take notice of the various sorts of prayer; there is a praying with all prayer. There is mental prayer, or prayer in

the heart, 2 Sam. vii. 27. James v. 16.1 Sam. i. 13. and there is prayer which is audible and vocal; I cried unto the Lord with my voice, ifc. Psalm iii. 4. and v. 2, 3. there is a private prayer, to which our Lord directs, Matt vi. 6. and social prayer; our Lord says, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there Iam in the midst «/" f Awn, Matt. xviii. 19, 20. there is family prayer, Josh. xxiv. 15. 2 Sam. vi. 20. Acts x. 2. 30. and public prayer; for prayer always was made a part of public worship. This part of divine worship was set up in the , days of Enos, for then began men to call upon the name of the Lord, Gen. iv. 26. Under the Mosaic dispensation, whilst the tabernacle was standing, this practice was used, Exod. xxvii. 21. In the temple, both first and se. cond, public prayer made a part of divine worship; hence the temple was called the house of prayer, Isai. lvi. 7. we read of two men going up to the temple to pray, and what they pray, ed, Luke xviii. 10. Acts iii. 1. Public prayer was a part of synagogue worship, and which may be learned from what our Lord says of the hypocrites, who loved to pray, standing in the synagogues, Matt. vi. 5. Under the New Testament dispensation, prayer was always a part of public worship in the several churches; this practice obtained in the earliest times of christianity, and is still continued in christian assemblies. .

II. The object of prayer is not a mere creature, animate or inanimate; nor saints departed: Abraham is ignorant of his sons, and Israel acknowledges them not: nor angels, who have always refused worship from men: God only is and ought to be the object of prayer; My prayer, says David, shall be unto the God of my life, who gives life and breath to all. God in his Three Persons; sometimes the Father is prayed unto singly, 1 Pet. i. 17. sometimes the Son of God, Acts ix. 14. at others the Spirit of God, 2 Thess. iii. 5. and the blessings of grace are prayed for from all three together, 2 Cor. xiii. 14. Rev. i. 4, 5. The next to be considered

III. The parts of prayer, of which it consists; the apostle, in Phil. iv. G. uses four words to express it by; and he also uses four words for it, with some little difference, in 1 Tim. ii. 1. Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks. In prayer there should be a celebration of the divine perfections ; an acknowledgment of our vileness and sinfulness; a confession of sin; a deprecation of all evil things, which our sins deserve; a petition for good things which are needed; it should always be accompanied with thanksgiving. At the close of this work it is proper to make use of doxologies or ascriptions of glory to God, of which we have many instances, either of which may be made use of, Matt. vi. 13. Eph. iii. 21. 1 Tim. i. 17. Jude verses 24, 25. Rev. i. 5, 6.

IV. The persons to be prayed for may be next considered. Not devils; for as God had not spared them, nor provided a Saviour for them. But men; yet only the living, not the dead; for after death the final state of men is inevitably fixed; we may pray for unconverted friends and relations, for all saints, of every country, of whatsoever denomination ; for all sorts of men, for all in authority, for civil magistrates, that they may be terrors to evil doers, and a praise to them that do well. Nay, we are to pray for our enemies, Matt. v. 44.

V. The manner in which prayer is to be performed is worthy of attention. It must be done with or in the Spirit; with the understanding; in faith; with fervency in Spirit; in sin. cerity; with submission to the will of God; and.with assiduity and watchfulness.

VI. The time of prayer, with the continuance in it; and duration of it: it should be always; Praying always with all prayer, Eph. vi. 18. hence these exhortations; Continue in prayer; Pray without ceasing, Col. iv. 2. 1 Thess. v. 17. Not that men are to be always on their knees, and ever formally praying;* but it is desirable to be always in praying frames, and the heart to be ready for it on all occasions, a day. should not pass over without prayer.

* There were some in the fourth century, called Euchetx and Massa. Hans j who, neglecting all business, pretended to pray continually, ascribing their whole salvation to it, Aug. de, H*rei. c, ST. fc Dansus

inib.

VII. The encouragement to prayer, and the advantages arising from it. Saints may be encouraged to it. 1. From the concern which God, Father, Son, and Spirit have in it; which has been taken notice of already. 2. From the interest saints have in God, to whom they pray, they have encouragement to it; he is their Father by adopting grace. 3. From the call of God in providence, and by his Spirit, to it, and his delight in it, Psalm xxvii. 8. 4. Many promises are made to praying souls ; as of deliverance from trouble &c. Psalm 1, 15. and xci. 15. 5. The experience the people of God in all ages have had of answers of prayers, serves greatly to animate to this duty, Psalm xl. 1. 6. It is good for saints to draw nigh to God; a pleasant good, a profitable good. Of all the fruits which faith produces in christians, genuine prayer, is the principal one.

OF THE LORD'S PRAYER.

In which may be observed, a preface, petitions, and a conclusion, with a doxology.

I. A preface; Our Father which art in heaven; in which the object of prayer is described, by his relation to us, Our Father, and by the place of his habitation, which art in heaven. t. By the relation he stands in to us Our Father ; which may be understood of God, essentially considered : or of God personally, the consideration of God as our Father, to command in us a reverence of God, to encourage us to use freedom with him to give us boldness at the throne of grace, to inspire us with sentiments of the tenderness of his heart, to fill us with gratitude for the many favours which he has bestowed and to teach us subjection to him, the Father of Spirits, in all things we ask Addressing him as our Father, instructs us to pray for others as well as for ourselves, even for all saints. H. The object of prayer is described by the place of his habitation and residence; which art in heaven. Not that God is limited, included, and circumscribed in any place, for he is every where, but as such is the weakness of our mind that we cannot conceive of him but as somewhere, in condescension thereunto he is represented as in the highest place, in the height of heaven ; such a view of him will lead us to some of the divine perfections, as the omniscience and omnipresence of God, and should draw off our minds from the ear th, to God in heaven.

II. The petitions in this prayer, are six, some make them seven; the first three respect the glory of God; the other our good, temporal and spiritual. The First petition is, Hallowed be thy name; which teaches to begin our prayer with the celebration of the name of God, and with a concern for his glory, hallowed is an old English word, now in little use, and is the same as sanctified. He is sanctified by himself when he makes a display of his perfections, as he does in all his works ; in the works of creation, of providence and redemption, and particularly of his holiness and Justice, Psalm cxlv. 17. his name may be sanctified by others; by civil magistrates, when they act for the punishment of evil doers, by ministers of the word, when they speak according to the oracles of God, and by com. mon saints, when they sanctify the name of the Lord, 1 Pet. ii. 14. in the exercise of faith, fear, and love. The Second petition is, Thy kingdom come; the Jews have a saying, that prayer, in which is no mention of the kingdom, that is, of God, is no prayer. It may be inquired, i. Whose kingdom.this is ; by the connection of the petition with the preface, it seems to be the Father's kingdom; Our Father—thy kingdom come ; but as the Father and the Son are one in nature and power, their kingdom is the same. i1. It may be further inquired, which of these kingdoms it is, the coming of which is to be prayed for, as future, the kingdom of providence, may be prayed for, But the gospel dispensation, often called the kingdom of God, and of heaven, may be meant, which when this petition was directed to, was not yet come, though near, but this kingdom will come in greater glory, and which is yet to come, and so to be prayed for, Rev. xix. 1—6. 2. Tim. iv. 1. The third petition; Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. The will of God is either secret or revealed; the secret will of God is the rule of his own actions, in creation, providence, and grace, Eph. i. 11. This is unknown to men, until it appears, either by phrophesies or by facts and events, with respect to every event it should be said, The will of the Lord be done, Acts xxi. 14. in imitation of Eli. Job, David, Hezekiah, and others. The revealed will of God is either what is made known in the gospel, or signified in the law. The rule of doing the will of God, as expressed in this petition, is, as it is done in heaven; meaning not the starry airy heavens, though the inhabitants of them do the will of God, in their way, in a perfect manner. But rather the third heavens are meant, the inhabitants of which are glorified saints, the spirits of just men made perfect, and are perfect in their obedience, and the holy angels, who may be chiefly designed ; these readily, cheerfully, and voluntarily do the commandments of God, hearkening to the voice of his word, at once to fulfil it; The Fourth petition is, Give us this day our daily bread; by which is meant, either spiritual or corporal food: some understand it of spiritual food; as the word read, preached, and heard, but it seems best of all to understand it of corporal food, which sense the order oi the prayer directs to ; and which, if not intended, would be imperfect; since then there would be no petition in it for temporal mercies, which yet is necessary. Bread, with the Hebrews, includes all the necessaries and conveniencies of life; see Gen. iii. 19 and xxviii. 20. the epithets of it are, our bread and daily bread: ours, not by desert, for we are not worthy of the least mercy ; ours, what we have in a lawful way, by inheritance from our parents, by legacies from our friends, by our own labour and industry, surs, and not another's. The manna of the Israelites might with great propriety be called their daily bread. The petition i«, Give us our daily bread; which shews it is to be

prayed for, and to be expected as ih« gift of God, from whom every good gift comes ; and it may be expected, because promised. The Fifth petition is, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors ; by debt are meant sins, as appears from Luke xi. 4. where the same petition is. Forgive us our si?is ; this we are to pray for daily, since we are daily sinning, in thought, word, and deed. The reason or argument made use of to enforce this petition is, as we forgive our debtors; or, as Luke has it, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us; pecuniary debts are to be forgiven when the debtor is unable to pay and criminal debts or sins, and injuries committed by one christian against another, are to be forgiven, as Christ has forgiven them, this is an argument taken from God's own grace, in the hearts of his people, and as an evidence of it. Nor is it to be expected, that God should forgive us our sins without our forgiving the sins of others ; nor can we put up such a petition without forgiving others. The sixth petition is, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, which some make to be a sixth and seventh; but they seem to be two parts and branches of the same. i. Lead us not into temptation. There are various sorts of temptation, 1. Some are of God, as, by enjoining things hard, difficult, and trying; so God tempted Abraham, Gen. xxii 1—12. and sometimes by laying afflictions upon his people, 1 Pet. i. 6, 7. but not by soliciting any to sin, James i. 13. 2. Others aie more immediately from Satan himself; hence he is called tie tempter, Matt. iv. 3. 1 Thess. iii. 5. 3. There are other temptations, which are from the world; some from the beter things in it, as from riches, he. Some temptations arise from what may be called the evil things of the world ; as poverty. And afflictions of various sorts. 4. There are temptatons from the flesh, from indwelling sin, from the corruptim of nature, which of all are the worst and most powerful; Ivery man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusi, and enticed, James i. 14. Now in this petition, Lead us net into temptation, we pray to be kept from every occasion of sinning, and inclination to it, that he would not suffer us neither to enter into, nor to fall by a temptation; but that we may be able to be victorious over all. ii. The other branch of the petition is, but deliver us from evil; either from the evil of afflictions, Luke xvi. i:5. or from the evil of sin, from committing it; this was the prayer of Jabez, 1 Chron. iv. 10. or from evil men, 2 Thess. iii. 2 and especially from the evil one, Satan, and from his temptations.

III. This prayer is concluded with a doxology, or ascrip* tion of glory to God ; For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever; and these may be considered as so many reasons, pleas, and arguments for obtaining the things requested, and to encourage faith therein.

OF SINGING PSALMS, AS A PART OF
PUBLIC WORSHIP.

Sut I shall treat of it as an ordinance of divine and public service; and endeavour.

I. To shew what singing is: it may be considered either in a proper or in an improper sense. When used improperly, it is ascribed to inanimate creatures ; the heavens and earth, the pastures clothed with flocks, and the v allies covered with corn, are said to sing and shout for joy. Singing, taken in a strict ut d proper sense, and as a natural act, is an act of the tongue ot voice. It is not any clamour of the tongue, or sound of tht voice, that can be called singing; otherwise, why should tht tuneful voice and warbling notes of birds be called sing, ing Cant. ii. 12. any more than the roaring of the lion, the bellowng of the ox, the bleating of the sheep, the neighing of the hors, the braying of the ass, or the barking of the dog ; the clarmurous noisy shouts of conquerors, and the querulous notes shrieks, and cries of the conquered, are very different from he voice of singing: when Moses and Joshua came down from tie mount, says Joshua, There is a noise of war in the camp, and hi (Mcses) said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery; neither is it the voice of them that cry for Being' overcome ; but the noise of them that sing do I hear; that sung and danced about the calf. Singing musically with the voice, as a religious action, is distinct from prayer, 1 Cor. xvi. 15. from giving thanks, Matfc xxvu 26—30. and from merely praising God ; for alt praising is not singing. It is different from inward spiritual joy. Is any merry? Euthumie tis, is any of a good mind, or in a good frame of soul: let him sing psalms : but then the frame and the duty are different things. Though there is such a thing as mental prayer, there is no such thing as mental singing, or singing¹ in the heart, without the voice. Speaking or preaching without the tongue, are not greater contradictions, than singing without a voice.

II. To prove, that singing the praises of God has always been a branch of natural or revealed religion, in all ages and periods of time, and ever will be. t. It was a part of the worship of God with the heathens. A modern learned writer? observes, that " though religions the most different have obtained in various nations and ages, yet in this they all agree; that they should be solemnized in hymns and songs.** The whole science of music was employed by the ancient Greeks in the worship of their gods, as Plutarch attests. Remarkable is the saying of Arrianus the Stoic philosopher; " If, say» he, we are intelligent creatures, what else should we do; both in public and private, than to sing an hymn to the deity ? If I was a nightingale, I would act as a nightingale, and if a swan, as a swan ; but since I am a rational creature, I ought to praise God, and I exhort you to to the self same song:-^ this is my work whilst I live, to sing an hymn to God, both by inyself, or before one, or iriany.* 2, It was practised by the people of God before the giving of the law by Moses; the lxxxviiith and lxxxixth psalms are thought by some to be the oldest plecesof writing in the world; being lost before the birth of Moses, composed by Heman and Ethan, two sons of ZeT*h\ the son of Judah; the one in the mourning' elegy deplores the miserable state of Israel in Egypt; the other joyfully sings prophetically their deliverance out of it. Moses and the children of Israel, sung a song at the lied sea, which is still on record, and it seems will be sung again when the antichristian powers are destroyed by the christian conquerers, ExocJ. xv. 1. Rev. xv. 2, 3. this being before the law of Moses, when first sung, it was not done by virtue of that law.

3. It was not a part of divine service peculiar to Israel under the law ; David called upon and exhorted the nations of the earth, to sing the praises of God; Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands, or all the earth ; let the people, even all the people, praise thee; let the nations he glad and sing for joy ; sing unto the Lord all the earth J cfc. Psalm Ixvi. 1, 2.

4. When the ceremonial law was in its greatest glory, and legal sacrifices in highest esteem, singing of psalms and spiritual songs was preferred unto them, as more acceptable to God, Psalm lxix. 30, 31. 5. When the cerimonial law, with all its rites, was abolished, this duty of singing the praises of God remained in full force, Eph. ii. 14,15, &c. 6. That the churches of Christ under the gospel dispensation were to sing, have sung, and ought to sing the praises of God vocally, ap. pears, from the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning it, Isai. lii. 7—9. from express precepts and directions given to gospel churches concerning it, Eph. v. 19. Col. iii. 16. and from New Testament instances and examples, Matt. xxvi. 30. 1 Cor xiv. 26. This practice obtained in the earliest times of Christianity, and has continued to the present time/

III. What that is which is to be sung, or the subject matter of singing; and the directions are to these three, psalms hymns, and spiritual songs, Eph. v. 19. Col. iii. 16. But inasmuch as the word of God and Christ in general furnishes out matter for singing his praises, I deny not, but that such hymns and spiritual songs composed by good men, uninspired, may be made use of; provided care is taken that they are agreeable to the sacred writings, and to the analogy of faith, and are expressed as much as may be in scripture language ; of such sort were those Tertullian speaks of, used in his time, as were either out of the holy scripture, or depropria ingenio, of a mans own composure*

IV. The manner in which psalms 8cc. are to be sung, may be next considered. 1. Socially, and with united voices; so Moses and the children of Israel sung at the Red sea; thus the churches are directed in Eph. v. 19. Col. iii. 16. 2. With the heart along with the mouth, heartily as well as vocally, which is making melody in the heart, Eph. v. 19. 3. With grace in the heart. Col. iii. 16. 4. With the Spirit, 1 Cor. xiv. 15.^ 5. VV"; h the understanding also, with the understanding of what is sung, and in such language as may be understood by others. 6. We should have in view the glory of God ; for we are to sing unto the Lord, not to ourselves; to gain appl Mse from others, by the fineness of our voice, and by observing an exact conformity to the tune. What remains

[ now is only,

V. To answer to some of the principal objections made to this duty ; th..se are chiefly made against the matter and manner of.singing, and the persons, at least some of them, who join in this service, i. The matter and manner of singing, particularly David's psalms; to which are objected, 1. That they were not written originally in metre ; and therefore are not to be «ung in such manner; nor to be translated into metre for such a purpose. The contary to this is universally allowed by the Jews, and appears from the different accentuation of them from that of other books, and is asserted by such who are best skilled in the Hebrew language, both an. cients and moderns. Jerom, who, of all the fathers best understood the Hebrew tongue, takes the psalms to be of the Lyric kind, and therefore compares David to Pindar, Horace, and others; and for the metre of them appeals to Philo, Josephus, Origen, Eusebius, and others. 2. It is doubted whether the Book of Psalms is suited to the gospel dispensation, and proper to be sung in gospel churches. Nothing more suitable to it, since it abounds with prophecies concerning the person and offices of the Messiah, §cc. 3. It is objected, that cases are often met with in this book we cannot make our own: and to sing them, it is suggested, would be lying to God. To which it may be replied, that singing cases not our own, are no more lying to God than reading them is, singing being but a slower way of pronunciation, in a musical man. ner. Besides, when we sing the cases of others, we sing them as such, and not our own. 4. It is urged, that to siirj David's Psalms, and others, is to sing by a form, and then Why not pray one ? I answer, the case is different; the one may be done without a form, the other not; the Spirit is promised as a Spirit of supplication, but not as a Spirit of poetry; we have a Book of Psalms, but not a book of prayers. 5. It is observed, that David's psalms were sung formerly with musical instruments, as the harp, timbrel, and cymbal, and organs; and why not with these now ? I answer, these are not essential to singing: the above instruments were used only when the church was in its infant state, and what is showy, gaudy, and pompous, are pleasing to children ; and am an ancient writer observes, " these were fit for babes, but in the churches (under the gospel dispensation, which is more manly) the use of these, fit for babes, is taken away, and bare or plain singing is left." As for organs, of which mention is made in Psalm clth, the word there used signifies another kind of instruments than those now in use, which are of a later date, device, and use ; and were first introduced by a pope of Rome, Vitalianus, and that in the seventh century, and not before, n. There are other objections, which lie against some persons singing: as, 1. Women,because they are ordered to keep silence in the churches ; and are not permitted to speak, 1 Cor. xiv. 34, 35. but this is to be understood only of speaking and teaching in public, in an authoritative way, J Tim. ii. 11, 12. the God of nature and grace has given women faculties capable of performing it; and having a voice suited for it to join in harmonious concert, ought to be exhorted to it, and, encouraged, and not discouraged and discountenanced. Miriam, and the women with her, sung at the Red sea; and Deborah sung with Barak; and it is a prophecy of gospel times, that women should come and sing in the height of Zion, Jer. xxxi. 8—12. 2. The singing of unbelievers, and singing with them, are objected to by some ? but then this supposes that it is the duty of believers and is allowed of; or otherwise the objection is impertinent. Singing the praises of God, as well as prayer, is a moral duty, and so binding on all men. It may be as well objected to their admission to public prayer, as to public singing : and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to know who are such in public assemblies. Besides, it has been the practice of the saints in all ages, to sing in mixed assemblies, Psalm xviii. 49. and li. 9. and, indeed, some ends of this ordinance cannot be otherwise answered, Psalm ix. 11. and xcvi. 3. this has been an ordinance for conversion ; it was of great use in forwarding the reformation from popery, as Burnet, in his history of it, relates; and it has been made very useful to souls under their first awakenings. Austin speaks of it from his own experience ; " How much says he, have I wept at thy hymns and songs being exceedingly moved at the voices of thy church sweetly sounding. These voices pierced into my ears ; thy truth melted into my heart, and from thence pious affections were raised, and the tears ran, and it was well with me." 3. It is urged, that singing is not proper for persons in any distress, only when in good and comfortable frames; and which is very much grounded on James v. 13. the sense of which is, not that such are the only persons that are to sing psalms, or this the only time for doing it; any more than that afflicted persons are the only ones to pray, and the time of affliction the only time of prayer; but as affliction more especially calls for prayer, so a good and joyful frame on account of good things, for singing of psalms. What more distressed condition could a man well be in, than that in which Heman the Ezrahite was when he | penned and sung the lxxxviij. Psalm?

QF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF PUBLIC WOR. SHIP, AS TO PLACE AND TIME.

Before the times of Christ, there was a controversy between the Jews and Samaritans, whether the temple at Jerusalem or mount Gerizzim, were the place of worship ; this was decided by our Lord, who declared that the time was coming, that neither at the one place nor at the other, should God be worshipped; but every where, John iv. 20, 21. and indeed, since under the gospel dispensation it was foretold the name of the Lord should be great among the Gentiles, from the rising of the sun to the going down of it; and offering of prayer and praise should be offered to him in everyplace, Mali. i. 11. No one place could be fixed on for all the nations of the earth to meet and worship in; and saints are now therefore at liberty to build places of worship for their convenience wherever they please, as the first christians did, and continued to do. But the circumstance of time, or a steady day of worship, requires more particular consideration. It will be proper to enquire,

I. What day has been, or is. observed, as a stated time of public worship; with the reasons thereof,

First, It has been thought and asserted, that the seventh day from the creation was enjoined Adam in a state of innocence, as a day of public and religious worship, and so to be observed by his posterity in after times; but if it was enjoined Adam in his state of innocence, it must be either by the law of nature written on his heart, or by a positive law given him. i. It does not seem to be the law of nature written on his heart; for then he must be bound to keep a Sabbath before the institution of it. There would have been some remains of it in his posterity after the fall; and even among the Gentiles for these have the law written in their hearts. Was this the case, it would have been re-inscribed with other laws in more legible characters on the hearts of God's people in regeneration. Nor, ii. Does it seem to be enjoined Adam₄ by any positive law. The proof of such a law, with respect to the Sabbath, is founded principally on Gen. ii. 2, 3. where it is said, that God having ended his work, rested on the seventh day, and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. But, 1. No mention is made of a Sabbath, and of the sanctification of that, as in the fourth command, Exod. xx. 11. only of the stventh day, and not of that as a Sabbath. 2. The words are a narrative of what God did himself; but do not contain a precept of what Adam should do. 3. At most they seem only to design a destination of that day to holy sacrifice thereafter. Besides, 4. The words in Gen. ii. are understood by many learned men proleptically, or by way of anticipation ; as other things are in this same chapter. Moses writing his history of the creation, after this precept was given, took the opportunity of inserting this whole passage, to give the greater sanction to it with the Israelites. 5. After all, be it that the text in Genesis enjoins the keeping the seventh day from the creation as a Sabbath ; which seventh day now cannot be known by any people or persons whatever, it could never be the same with the Jewish seventh day Sabbath; for that was to be observed after six days labour of man. Adam, in innocence, had no man servant nor maid servant, nor any cattle in a state of bondage, groaning under burdens, to rest from their labours. This is a law merely calculated for sinful men.

Secondly, there is no proof of the patriarchs from Adam to the times of Moses observing such a day. For, i. We no where read of any law being given them for the observation of the seventh day Sabbath. Many of the religious actions of the patriarchs are taken notice of, but not a word of their observance of a seventh day Sabbath. The sins of men, both before and after the flood, are observed, but Sabbath breaking does not appear among them. It was the general opinion of the ancient fathers of the christian church, that the patriarchs did not observe a Sabbath, nor were obliged to it; but were righteous men, and saved without it. Thirdly, There is no mention of a Sabbath before the descent of the manna in. the wilderness of Sin, the seventh day from the descent of the manna is expressly caHed a Sabbath, Exod. xvi. 23—26, and is the first we hear of. Fourthly, The seventh day Sabbath, as it was declared on the descent of the manna, was peculiar to the Jews, The Lord hath given you the Sabbath ;—so th& people rested the seventh day, Exod. xvi. 29, 30. For the whole decalogue, or ten commands of the law of Moses, as such, were given to the Jews only. The fourth command is particularly and expressly declared as peculiar to them ; My Sabbath shall ye keep saith the Lord. The time and place when and where this precept was given, with the reason of it, shew that it was peculiar to the Jews. The law of observing the seventh day Sabbath is not of a moral nature , was it, it would be binding on all mankind, Jews and Gentiles; and could not have been dispensed with, nor abolished. 6. It is impracticable and impossible, that a seventh day Sabbath should be kept by all ptople, in all nations of the world, at the same time exactly and precisely; such an hypothesis proceeds upon a false notion that the earth is a plane, and has every where the same horizon, and is not globular, nor having horizons, and meridians, and degrees of longitude different in every place and country ; which latter is most certainly true. If the earth is a globe, constituting of two hemis. pheres, when it is day on one side of the globe, it is night on the other; so that let the Sabbath begin at what time you please ; if from sun setting, as the Jews begin theirs, and continue it to sun setting the next day ; when it is sun setting with us, it is sub rising with those in the other hemisphere; when it is midnight on one side the globe, it will be midday, or noon, on the other: so in each case there must be half a' day's difference in the exact time of the Sabbath ; and accord* ing to the variations in horizons, meridians, and longitudes will the day differ. It may be said, the same objection will lie against the first day as the seventh. It is granted; but then we observe that on another footing, as will be seen pre

sently. Fifthly, The first day of the week, or Lord's day is now the day of worship observed by the generality of christians; upon what account, and by what authority, must be our next inquiry. Not by virtue of any positive precept, or express command of Christ, for which there is none ; but the practict and examples of the apostles of Christ, men inspired by the holy Spirit, who wrote, taught, and practiced no other than agreeably to the commandment* of the Lord, Matt. xxviii. 20. 1 Cor. xiv. 37t carry in them the nature, force, and obligation of a precept, we observe the first day of the week, as being, 1. The most proper and suitable day. for divine worship ; to testify to the world our faith of Christ's coming, death, and resuirtttion from the dead. 2. The observation of this day is confirmed by the practice and examples of the disciples' of Chri.t, and of the first churches; for, On the very day Christ rose from the dead, which was the first day of the week, the disciples assembled John, xx. 19, 29. The apostles met together on the day of Pentecost, which was the first day of the week, Acts ii. U It was on the first day of the week that the disciples at Troas met together to break bread, when Paul preached unto them, Acts xx. 7. The apostle Paul gave orders to the church at Corinth, as he had to the churches of Galatia, to make a collection for the poor saints on the first day of the week, when met together, 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2. This is the day John means by the Lord's day, when he says, livas in the Spirit on the Lord's day Rev. i. 10. Ignatius, who died but eight or ten years after the apostle John, says, " Let us keep the Lord's day, on which our life arose." And Tertullian, in the beginning of the third century, speaks of the acts of public worship, as Lord's day solemnities, Such an account of time as is made in whatsoever place a man lives, is to be taken, and of which every man is capable ; It does not require he should be a skilful mathematician ; a man that uses the spade, or follows the plough, is capable of counting six days, on which he ha3 wrought, and when he comes *» the seventh, he must know it is not his own, but the Lord's; and such an account a man may keep, let him live on what side of the globe he will.

II. In what manner the Lord's day is to be regarded or observed ; not to ourselves, to our own profit and pleasure; but to the Lord, to his service and glory. 1. Not as a Jewish Sabbath; with such strictness and severity as not to kindle a fire, dress any manner of food, and travel no further than what is called a Sabbath day's journey; though perhaps these were not enjoined with the strictness some have imagined. But, 2. We are not to do our own work ; that is, to follow any trade, business, or occupation employed in on other days, otherwise there are works of piety, mercy, and charity to be done; and also of necessity, for the preservation of life, the comfort and health of it, our own or others. 3. It is to be employed more especially in acts of public worship; and, 4. In private acts of devotion. 5. The whole of the day should be observed, from morning to evening; the early part should not be indulged in sleep, nor any part spent in doing a mans own business, in casting up his accounts, and setting right his shop books; nor in carnal pleasures and recreations, in games and sports ; nor in walking in the fields ; nor in taking needles journies. But besides public worship, men should attend to reading the scriptures, prayer, and meditation, and christian conferences; and in such pious exercises should they spend the whole day.