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ment, must be granted. Whither then must we go to fetch that account here omitted? I would desire my reader to turn to the first chapter of Luke's Acts of the apostles, where we shall find Christ's last words to his constant followers thus left upon record : “ And “ being assembled together with them, he commanded “ them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, « but wait for the promise of the Father, which, faith « he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized “ with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy “ Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore

were come together, they asked of him, saying, « Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the king« dom to Israel? And he said unto them, it is not for “ you to know the times or seasons, which the Father “ has put into his own power: but ye shall receive

power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, “ and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusa« lem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto " the uttermoit part of the earth. And when he had “ spoken these things, while they beheld he was taken “ up, and a cloud received him out of their sight." Now if the promise of the Father was the pouring out of the Holy Ghost, and if the pouring out of the Holy Ghost be the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and that the baptism of the Holy Ghost was that which qualified them to be his witnesses, as the whole place fully proves; then, “Go, and teach all nations,”* &c. in Matthew, and, “Go ye into all the world,” in Mark, must not have been spoken before these words in the Acts, at least not to take place till they themfelves had been baptized with the Holy Ghost; and consequently the baptism mentioned in that commisfion, must not have been a water-baptism, as John's was, but that of the Holy Ghost, which they were to be baptized with : so that the order of the words, at least in execution, if not in expression, must have been this, " John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall

m Acts i. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

or be

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« be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days « hence then go ye and teach all nations, baptizing " them in (or rather into the name of the Father, Son, " and Holy Ghost: and lo, I am with you always “ unto the end of the world.” Nor is this incredible, when we consider, that without their so baptizing, it had been utterly impossible for them to have os turned them from darkness to light, and from the

power of Satan unto God.” And doubtless they might as well baptize with the Holy Ghost, as “re« concile by the Word: for where the one was, the “ power of the other could not be wanting.

For the third scripture, though water be mentioned, yet what water? will be the question. That it is not meant of outward water, I offer several reasons. be born of water and of the Spirit, is no more than to be born of water, or of the Spirit, xà being here explicative: for were it otherwise, and that by water were understood external water, this absurdity would inevitably follow, that the soul of man, which is fpiritual and internal, could in part be regenerated by water external and elementary: but this place is excellently unfolded, by that notable passage of the apostle Paul in his epistle to Titus, chap. iii. 5. “Not by works “ of righteousness which we have done, but accord

ing to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of “ regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" where we not only have “ the washing of regeneration,to parallel “

“ being born again of water,(which, say we, must be as spiritual as the new birth it produceth) but also “ the renewing of the Holy Ghost, to answer “ being born again of the Spirit:" that as the washing of regeneration, or renewing of the Holy Ghost, are fynonymous, or expressions to the fame purpose; fo being born again of water, or being born again of the Spirit, are equivalent.

But if our adversary will have this water to be material, in honour of his baptism, let him never refuse the like liberty to us in construction of that great Water-baptist's own words; “ But he shall baptize

ç you you with the Holy Ghost and with fire,” that is, material fire. Mat, iii. 11.

Mat. iii. 11. My judgment is, if that were the church of England's baptism, he had never been her son ; though such sons are ready to christen many with that fiery baptism. But if such an interpretation be absurd, let him not esteem his own rational: and if it must be the Holy Ghost or fire, then let it be water, or Spirit; for indeed they are but so many words intimating the various operations of one Divine Power.

In short, John was but a forerunner, therefore not to be perpetuated : he was the water, but Christ the great spiritual Baptist: the former to decrease, the latter to increase: and the least in Christ's kingdom, which is not of this world, is greater than John ;' not than his private state, but outward administration.

Paul, whose commission was larger than any priest's in England, tells us, “ He was not fent to baptize (with water) but to preach :" and instead of enjoining the practice of it upon others, “ he thanks God that he “ baptized but very few himself:” which surely he had never done, if it had been part of his commisfion, or the durable baptism of the gospel: for he had just reason to suspect fome disaffected would make that ill use of his liberty, that it was to ingratiate and • fet up himself, being conscious that he had no au• thority for what he did.' This he farther gives us to believe in that pertinent paffage to our purpose; “ There is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” If more baptisms than one, then more bodies, spirits, lords, faiths, gods, and fathers of all, “ who were above “ all, and through all, and in them all,a” unto whom Paul wrote. If this be absurd, and that there is but one baptism, I hope it will not be denied to be that of the Holy Ghost; which is both most suitable to the evangelical ministration, and the peculiar baptism

1 Cor. i. 15, 16, 17. Ephel iv. 5,6. Pag. 28. 29.

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“ should walk in newness of life.” Sthly, And this the parenthesis in the verse undeniably proves, being an islustration of the baptism intended, “not the put

ting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer “ of a good conscience towards God,” or, as some have it, interrogatio, stepartnud, inquisition, or enquiry, alluding to the oracle Urim and THUMMIM, by which men have boldness and access to God; so as to render the verse, “ Cui etiam ex adverso oppofitus, nos servat baptismus, non is quo carnis fórdes abjiciuntur, fed is

quo fit ut bona conscientia Deum interroget per refurrec« tionem Chrifti,i. e. * To which the directly opposite • baptism also now saveth us, not that by which the « filth of the Aesh is cast off, but that by which it is

effected, that a good conscience may ask God by the " resurrection of Jesus Christ.' From all which two things result; first, that the verse ought to be thus rendered, “ Answerable to which figure, baptisın now “ also faveth us, not the putting away of the filth of “ the flesh, but the account of a good conscience to « God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” And indeed the most disputable part of this verse is abundantly confirmed on our side, by the simplicity of the ancient English, French, and Spanish translators. And I wonder that any man of common sense, not greatly abused by prejudice or custom, can think, that the baptism mentioned should be that of water, when the middle of the verse provides this material distinction, « Not the putting away of the filth of the Aeth (the « effect of outward water) but the answer of a good a conscience to God,” (the fruits of the Holy Ghoft “ alone) to that very end that people should not think « so; I mean, that it was a water-baptism.

Secondly, it may not be improper for us to observe, that if one verse hath fuch variety of copies, readings, transpositions, and senses; as hath been noted, beside what we could yet produce ; they are at a miserable pass for an universal, conftant, and unerring rule, who

• Jacob Capell. Salm. Sac. Ling. Profeff. in loc.

esteem

esteem the present scripture such, exclusive of the Spirit, which time, variety of transcribers, translators, interpreters, and expositors, have rendered so uncer tain. But if we had been unprovided of all this to our defence, what has our adversary to do to charge us with a discontinuance of water-baptism, till he had first cleared his own opinion from popish innovation and invention? What scripture, or pure antiquity, has he for infant-baptism, one of the unscriptural and senseless ceremonies of his religion, about which such as he make more ftir than about that of the Holy Ghost ? A man may guess what a Christian he is, and how well he is versed in Christ's doctrine, who can call a little water, shed by a priest's hand, “ the door into “ God's kingdom.” How much is this short of the Romish priest's making his God, who says, “The

bread is Christ after consecration,' since Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever, faith, “He is that “ door,” which H. Hallywell will have his infant water-baptism to be.

S. 5. Of the SUPPER.

But he saith of us and the Familists, "By the same diabolical spirit, wherewith they are possessed, they lay aside the sacrament of the Lord's supper, as a

thing too carnal (page 30, 31). In opposition to which he produceth Matt. xxvi. 26, 27. how that Christ “ took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and

gave it to his disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is

my body: then he took the cup, and gave thanks, " and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it.” · St. Mark, chap. xiv. repeats the very fame, and says, they all drank of it: but St. Luke, chap. xxii.

19. and St. Paul, 1 Cor. xi. 24. added these words, “ Do this in remeinbrance of me,” which import

both a commission and direction to use and continue " them.'

Ans. It is granted, that Christ, eating the passover with his disciples, did familiarly represent that fesh VOL. III. K

and

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