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not doubt, from fome few hints I have obferved in this conference, he has a value and respect, and whom I perfuade myfelf he will allow to be an impartial man of judgment, and to whofe judgment he will always pay a deference: His note upon this text, is this; "Geographers write, fays he, that these two towns, "Enon and Salim, were not far from the confluence of Jaboc and Jordan, nigh "to which they place Scythopolis. Moreover, from thofe words we may gather "that baptifm was performed by John and Chrift, by a plunging of the whole body under water," and I think we may conclude this very fairly too, whatever Mr B. W. may think of it. But,

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5thly, Our ingenious author, by a new turn and mighty ftretch of thought, has found out another reason, befides that of conveniency, for baptizing, which made John fix upon, and determined him in the choice of this place, there being much water there, and that is, that the vast multitudes which flocked to, and attended upon his miniftry, might be refreshed; as alfo their horses, or their camels, or whatsoever we may fuppofe many of them did ride upon; by which, I suppose, he means affes. I cannot but obferve, that he feems to speak this with some caution or guard upon himself, as he does alfo in p. 17. where he fays, speaking of the people which flocked to John's miniftry, "a great number of them, doubtlefs, muft travel many miles; and we muft fuppofe, many on foot, and many "otherwife:" and this I cannot but attribute to a felf consciousness in him, that he deserved to be numbered among those animals, or at least, to his being aware that this would be turned upon him, for his foolish and ridiculous gloffes on the facred writings. What feems the most to ftrengthen him in his folly, and upon which he lays much stress, is the vast multitudes of people which followed John, and attended upon his miniftry; and the unwife part John would have acted, if he had not chofe places where refreshment might be had for themselves and their cattle: But furely the man forgets himself, or at least, does not give himself time to confider, that John was now upon the declining hand, and had not those vaft numbers and multitudes following him as formerly he had; the crowd was now after Chrift, and not John; and though he had fome which came to him, and were baptized, yet they were but few in comparison of what he had formerly, or what now followed Chrift; as he might eafily have observed, by reading this third chapter of John; and therefore there was no need for him to be fo folicitous for accommodations for the people and their cattle, as is here by our author intimated; and to make his fenfe appear the more plaufible, he tells us, that "by John's baptizing, we are to understand John's preaching, adminiftering in his office, and fulfilling his courfe;" for which he cites, Matt.

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8 Fuiffe autem duo hæc oppida Enon & Salim, non procul à confluente Jordanis & Jaboc tradunt geographi, quibus viciniam faciunt Scythopolim. Caeterum ex his verbis colligere licet, baptifmum fuiffe celebratum à Joanne & Chrifto totius corporis fubmerfione. Calvin in joh. iii. 23.

Matt. xxi. 25. Ats x. 47. It is readily granted, that fometimes by John's baptism, we are to understand his whole ministry, and particularly the doctrine of baptifm, preached by him, as diftinét from the administration of the ordinance; but that by his baptizing here is meant his preaching, must be denied; for that it intends his adminiftration of the ordinance of water-baptifm, not only his act of baptizing, but the people's fubmiffion to it; for the text fays, they came and were baptized, manifeftly prove it; to fay nothing of the place where it was performed, being a place of much water, the thing now in debate. He alfo infinuates, that great part of the land of Judea was fandy and barren; but not fo barren as his arguments are. "You may understand, fays he, what fort of a 66 country, for water, a great part of that land was, from the great contentions "between Ifaac's fervants, and others, about digging, finding, and enjoying "wells of water;" but these contentions did not arife fo much from the fcarcity of water, as from the envy of the Philistines on the one hand, and from Isaac's servants, ftiffly infifting upon their right and property, on the other: For though perfons may have never fuch plenty of things, yet they are not willing to be defrauded of what is their juft right.

He goes on: "Glad at heart they were when they found plenty of water, for "their own refreshment, and the refreshment of their cattle." One would be almost tempted to think that the man was defcribing the fandy deferts of Arabia, rather than the fertile land of Canaan, and reprefenting the travelling companies of Dedanim who being almoft fcorched with heat, are thrown into a transport of joy, at the fight of a spring of water; but who will it be most proper to give credit to, Mofes, an inspired writer, who told the people of Ifrael, that God was bringing them into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that spring out of valleys and bills; or our blundering geographer, who represents it as a desert and wilderness. Moreover, it seems, that there need not be much water for the plunging of perfons, and therefore John need not have chose this place upon that account; but I hope, fo much is needful, as will cover the perfons all over. And there is one thing therefore that we need not be afraid of being preffed with by our author, as we are by fome, and that is, the fcarcity of water in some parts. But what he fays of the practice of our friends in London, is entirely falfe, which is, that they plunge in little holes or tubs; for I cannot fee, but he muft mean them, and not those in other places; because he adds, rather than the Thames, that is just by. Now there are but two places, in and about London, that I know of, which are made use of for the adminiftration of this ordinance, the one is in the midst of a public meeting-houfe, and the other in an open place, where there are conveniencies for a large number of spectators; and it is very rare that this ordinance is administered by us

in a private manner, as fome other performances commonly are, in a lying-in chamber; and that only in the presence of a midwife, a nurse, and two or three goffipping women.

As for the inftance of a certain plunger in the country, performing the ordinance in an horfe-pond, in the middle of a town, I fhall fufpend my thoughts about it, and neither condemn nor commend his practice, unless I had a better account of it, with its circumftances, than Mr B. W. has given; though I can fee no great damage in it, as he has related it, provided the water was not dirty and filthy: But I suppose he defigns it as a banter upon us, and a diversion for his reader; much good may do him with it, and let him make the best of it he

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The third argument infifted on, in favour of plunging or dipping, as the right mode of baptizing, taken from the practice of the apofiles, and particu larly from the inftance of the Eunuch's baptism in A&s viii. 38, 39. with the cavils and exceptions of Mr B. W. against it, confidered.

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HE next argument which our author, p. 18. produces, as infifted on by us, for the proof of baptifm by immersion, and which he excepts against, is taken from the practice of the apostles, and particularly the instance of Philip's baptizing the Eunuch, recorded in As viii. 38, 39. thus; And he commanded the chariot to stand ftill; and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the Eunuch, and be baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, &c. Here I must again observe, as I have already, in a parallel case, that we do not from this instance infer plunging, merely from Philip and the Eunuch's going down into, and coming up out of the water; for we know, as well as he, that perfons may go hundreds of times into water, as he says, without any design of plunging, or of being plunged; but we argue from both of them going down into the water; the one in order to adminifter the ordinance of water-baptifm, and the other to fubmit unto it; and from their coming up out of it, as having performed it; from whence we think we have fufficient reafon to conclude, that this was performed by immersion, or a plunging of the whole body under water; for to what purpose should they both go down into the water, if the ordinance was to be performed any other way? or what need would there have been of it? But if plunging cannot be inferred from hence, I am fure it is impoffible that pouring or sprinkling should. But let us fee what Mr B. W. will infer from this instance, and has to except against our argument from hence. And,

It, From Philip and the Eunuch's both going down into the water, and coming up out of it, in a profane and irreligious manner, he infers, that neither of them were drowned there. Does this become a minister of the gospel, to treat the facred writings, and the accounts they give of a folemn ordinance of Christ, after this manner? Whatever profane loose he may give himself in his attempts to be witty on the mode of baptizing by immersion, which he supposes to be unscriptural, yet, at least, he ought to set bounds to himself, and not be so free in playing with, and bantering the very words of the holy Ghost. But,

2dly, If that is rejected, why then he infers from hence, that they were both plunged over head and ears in the water. This, I fuppofe, is defigned to fhew the abfurdity of our way of reasoning, as he imagines: But does not the man confider, that the one went down as an administrator, the other as a subject of baptifm; the one to baptize, the other to be baptized? But fuppofe the ordinance was administered by pouring or fprinkling water, might it not be as juftly inferred, that because they both went down into the water, one to perform, and the other to have it performed, and came up again out of it, when it was done, therefore they both had water poured upon them, or were sprinkled with it? And then,

3dly, When he is afked why he could not have concluded, that one was plunged and the other not: he replies, "Why truly, fays he, because I thought it out of the way of all sense, reason and revelation so to infer." I hope he will not fay that it is out of the way of all fenfe, reafon, and revelation to infer, that the one went down in order to adminifter the ordinance of baptifm, and the other to have it administered to him; but I fuppofe he means that it is out of the way of all fenfe, reafon and revelation, to infer plunging from hence: But how then came the judicious Calvin to be fo much out of the way, to conclude from hence that plunging was the antient mode of baptizing, as he does, when he fays, "here "we fee what was the rite of baptizing with the ancients; for they plunged the "whole body into water?" How came this great man to be guilty of making such a vain conjecture as our author fays it is? especially when he affirms there is not in facred history, the leaft fhadow of a foundation for it. But to proceed,

4thly, In order to elude the force of our argument, from their going down into the water, he obferves, that whofoever goes to any water, efpecially out of a chariot, must go down to it. But he is defired to obferve, that it is not faid, that they both went down to the water, but they both went into it. As for the text in Pfalm cvii. 23. which speaks of perfons going down to the fea in fhips, I hope our author does not think that they went by land in fhips to the fea-fide: If he would know what is meant by this, let him read ver. 26. where the diftrefs Hic perfpicimus quifnam apud veteres baptizandi ritus fuerit: totum enim corpus in aquam mergebant. Calvin in Act. viii. 38.

trefs that feafaring men are often in, is thus elegantly and beautifully defcribed, they mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths, their foul is melted because of trouble; and what this means, thofe who have used the feas know full well, when their fhips have been toffed up as it were to the heavens, and then again plunged into the depths of the fea, where they have been immersed in, and covered over with the waves thereof for a while, and on a fudden, have sprang out from thence. It is then they fee the wondrous works of the Lord, in his remarkable appearance for them, and providential preservation of them.

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5thly, He tells us, that had he been in the Eunuch's place, he should not "have chofen to have water poured upon him in the chariot, but for several "reasons should have been entirely for going down to the water." He does not tell us what thefe reafons are, that we might have confidered them; but with his ufual air of confidence affirms, that "there was no ftripping, nor plunging, nor putting on change of raiment in the cafe ;" and all the reafon he has to affign for it, is, because "Philip was directly caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the Eunuch immediately went on his way rejoicing:" But I hope he will allow that Philip was come up out of the water first, before he was caught away, and that the Eunuch was got into his chariot, before he went on his way; and to fuppofe fo much time as was neceffary to change their raiment, is no way contrary to the account in the facred text, and he would alfo do well to confider, that thofe words directly, and immediately, are not to be found there.

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6ibly, He argues, that if thofe who were baptized by the apoftles were plunged or overwhelmed, "then what prodigious labour muft the apostles go

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through, when three thousand were baptized in one day, yea perhaps in less "than half of it!" To which I anfwer; There does not seem to be any neceffity of concluding from Acts ii. 41. that they were all baptized in one day; but if they were, when we confider that there were twelve apoftles, and feventy difciples, who were employed in the miniftry of the word, Luke x. 1. and fo no doubt in baptizing, it will not appear fo prodigioufly fatiguing as our author intimates; for a fingle perfon, without having the strength either of Hercules, or Samfon, and without much fatiguing himfelf, may baptize, in this way, a confiderable number in a very little time. But then here is another difficulty behind, and that is, "What great trouble must they be at in stripping, and shift་ ing, and changing apparel! and what abundance of plunging garments they "must have ready!" To which I reply, no more trouble than a single perfon has for himself, and no more plunging garments to be provided than every one to provide for themselves, which is no more trouble than when five or ten perfons only are baptized: and when we confider how much bathing was in use

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