ing now to refide in his Kingdom of Heaven. For, faith he, All Power is given to me in Heaven and Earth; Ga ye therefore and teach all Nations: Ás he alfo faith elsewhere to them, As my Father bath fent me, even fo fend I you, John xx. 21. as if he should have faid, My Father having committed to me all Power and Authority both in Heaven and Earth, I therefore authorize and commiflionate, yea, and command you to go and teach all Nations, &c.

This therefore is part of the Commiffion which our Lord and Master left with his Apoftles immediately be fore he parted from them. Thofe being the laft words which St. Matthem records him to have spoken upon Earth; and therefore they muft needs contain matter of very great Importance to his Church; and it must needs highly concern us all to understand the true Meaning and Purport of them. Which that we may the better do, in treating of them, I shall obferve the fame Method and Order as he did in fpeaking them.

First, Therefore, here is the Work he fends his Apoftles about; Go ye there fore and teach, Пosebérles van tevole,

which more properly may be rendred, Go ye therefore and difciple all Nations, or, make the Perfons of all Nations to be my Difciples, that is, Chriftians. That this is the true meaning of the words, is plain and clear, from the right notion of the word here used, μabnleúw, which coming from us, a Difciple, it always fignifieth either to be, or to make Difciples, wherefoever it occurs in all the Scriptures, as avis, Mat. xiii. 52. which is Inftructed, fay we, the Syriack better, that is, made a Difciple, aon that is, not only a Scholar or Learner, but a Follower or Profeffor of the Gospel, here called the Kingdom of Heaven. ther place where this Word occurrs is, Matt. xxvii. 57. iμaditeuse Tys 'Inox, where we rightly tranflate it, was Jefus Difciple. Another place is, Acts xiv. 21, και μαθητεύσαντες ἱκανὸς, which we improper ly render, having taught many, the Syriack and Arabick, more properly, baving made many Difciples. And these are all the places in the New Teftaftament where this Word is used, except those I am now confidering, where all the Eaftern Languages render it according to its notation, Difciple. The Perfian paraphraftically expounds it, Go

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ye and reduce all Nations to my Faith and Religion. So that whofoever pleads for any other Meaning of these words, do but betray their own Ignorance in the Original Languages, and, by confequence, in the true Interpretation of Scripture.

I should not have infifted fo long upon this, but that the falfe Expofition of these words hath occafioned that no lefs dangerous than numerous Sect of Anabaptifts in the World; for the old Latin Tranflation having it, Euntes ergo docete omnes Gentes; hence the German, where Anabaptifm firft began ; and all the modern Tranflations render it as we do, Go ye therefore and teach all Nations, baptizing them. From whence it was fuppofed by fome that were not able to dive into the true Meaning of the Words, that our Saviour here commanded, that none fhould be baptized, but fuch as were first taught the Principles of the Christian Religion, which is the greatest Mistake imaginable; for our Saviour doth not fpeak one word of Teaching before Baptifm, but only after, ver. 20. áonovles, his Meaning being only that his Apoftles fhould go about the World, and perfwade all Nations to forfake their

former

former Idolatries and Superftitions, and to turn Chriftians, or the Difciples of Jefus Chrift; and fuch as were fo fhould be baptized. And therefore Infant-Baptifm is fo far from being forbidden, that it is exprefly commanded in these words; for all Difciples are here commanded to be baptized; nay, they are therefore commanded to be baptized, because Disciples. And feeing all Difciples are to be baptized, fo are Infants too, the Children of Believing Parents, for they are Difciples as well as any other, or as well as their Parents themselves: For all that are in Covenant with God muft needs be Difciples: But that Children were always efteemed in Covenant with God, is plain in that God himself commanded the Covenant fhould be fealed to them, as it was all along by Circumcifion. But that Children are Difciples as well as others, our Saviour puts it out of all doubt, faying of Children, of fuch is the kingdom of God, Mark x. 14. And therefore they muft needs be Difciples, unless such as are not Difciples can belong to the Kingdom of God, which a Man must be ftrangely diftemper'd in his Brain before he can so much as fancy.

And

And befides, that Children, fo long. as Children, are looked upon as part of their Parents; and therefore as their Parents are, fo are they: If the Parents be Heathen, fo are the Children; if the Parents be Jews, fo are the Children; if the Parents be Chriftian, fo are the Children too; nay, if either of the Parents be a Chriftian or Difciple, the Children of both are denominated from the better part, and fo looked upon as Chriftians too, as is plain, I Cor. vii. 14. But now are they boly, that is, in a Federal or Covenant-fense they are in Cos venant with God; they are Believers, Chriftians, or Difciples, because one of their Parents is fo.

Now feeing Children are Disciples as well as others, and our Saviour here commands all Difciples to be baptized, it neceffarily follows, that Children muft be baptized too. So that the Opinion which afferts, That Children ought not to be baptized, is grounded upon a meer Miftake, and upon grofs Ignorance of the true meaning of the Scripture, and efpecially of this place, which is moft ridiculously mistaken for a Prohibition, it being rather a Command for InfantBaptifm.

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