gifts to the foul, can be observed in an infant when fprinkled, which is not confcious of what is done to it?

3dly, Whereas, he fays, "it is not improbable but the apostles baptized by fprinkling, fince feveral were baptized in their houses, As ix. 17, 18. and xvi. 33. and others, in former times, fick in their beds:" it may be replied, that it is not probable that the apostle Paul was baptized by fprinkling'; fince had he, he would have had no occafion to have arofe in order to be baptized, as he is faid to do, As ix. 18. It is moft probable, that when he arofe off of his bed or chair, he went to a bath in Judas's house; or out of the house, to a certain place fit for the adminiftration of the ordinance by immersion; and fince there was a pool in the prifon, as Grotius thinks, where the Jailor washed the apostles ftripes, it is most probable, that here he and his houfhold were baptized; or fince they were brought out of the prifon, and after baptifm brought into the Jailor's house, ver. 33, 34. it is most likely they went out to the river near the city where prayer was wont to be made, and there had the ordinance administered to them, ver. 13. As for the baptifm of fick perfons in their beds, this was not in the times of the apoftles, but in after-times, when corruptions had got into the church; and fo deferves no regard.

4thly, In favour of fprinkling, or pouring water in baptifm, he urges that "it is a fign of the pouring or fprinkling of the holy Ghoft, and of the blood of Christ" but it fhould be obferved, that baptifm is not a fign or fignificative of the sprinkling of clean water, or the grace of the Spirit in regeneration, or of the blood of Chrift on the confcience of a finner, all which ought to precede baptifm; but of the death, and burial, and refurrection of Chrift; which cannot be represented in any other way than by covering a perfon in water, or an immersion of him.

5thly, "Water in baptism, he says, is but a fign and feal; a little of it is "fufficient to fignify the gifts which Chrift has purchafed, as a fmall quantity of "bread and wine does in the other facrament, and as a small feal is as much "fecurity as a larger one." But as baptifm is no fign of the things beforementioned, fo it is no feal, as we have seen, of the covenant of grace; wherefore thefe fimilitudes are impertinent to illuftrate this matter: and though a fmall quantity of bread and wine is fufficient in the other facrament, to fignify our partaking of the benefits of the death of Chrift by faith; yet a small quantity of water is not fufficient to fignify his fufferings and death, with his burial and refurrection, themselves. And though we do not expect benefit from the quantity of the water, yet that beft expreffes the end and defign of the ordinance.

VOL. II.

3 B

i A&ts ix. 17, 18.

* Ezek. xxxvi. 25. Heb. xii. 24.

6thly,

6tbly and lafly, He obferves, that "fprinkling of water on the face, a part of the body, is a fign fufficient for the whole; fince the nature of the foul appears more in it, and often in fcripture fignifies the whole man." But be it fo that it does; fprinkling water on the face is not a fufficient fign for the whole; for this ordinance represents a burial, and sprinkling a little water is not sufficient for that; the ordinance fo performed cannot be called a burial, or a person said to be buried in it; cafting a little earth upon the face of a corps, can never be fufficient for its burial, or be accounted one.

I have now gone through the confideration of the several arguments of this author, with respect both to the subjects and mode of baptism; should he upon reading this anfwer, and after he has confidered the advice of the wife man, Prov. xxvi. 4, 5. which he proposes to do, think fit to reply, perhaps, upon the like confideration, a rejoinder may be made to what he shall hereafter offer.

A LETTER wrote by a Welch Clergyman on the Duty of Catechifing Children.

Intended chiefly for the ufe of Diffenters of the Baptift Denomination in Wales.

WHEREAS Diffenters from the church of England are frequently charged

with fchifm, and their feparation is represented as unreasonable, and they are accounted an obftinate and contentious people; it may be proper to give some reasons why they depart from the Established church; by which it will appear that their feparation does not arise from a spirit of fingularity and contention, but is really a matter of conscience with them; and that they have that to say for themselves, which will fufficiently juftify them, and remove the calumnies that are caft upon them; and our reasons are as follow.

I. We dislike the church of England because of its Conftitution, which is human; and not divine: it is called The church of England as by law Established; not by the law of God, but by the law of man: it is faid to be the best conftituted church in the world, but we like it never the better for its being constituted by men: a church of Chrift ought to be conftituted as those we read of in the Alts of the Apostles, and not established by Acts of Parliament; as the articles, worship, and difcipline of the church of England be; a parliamentary church we do not underftand; Chrift's kingdom or church is not of this world; it is not established on worldly maxims, nor supported by worldly power and policy.

3 B 2

II. We

II. We are not fatisfied that the church of England is a true church of Chrift because of the form and order of it; which is national, whereas it ought to be congregational, as the first chriftian churches were; we read of the church at Jerusalem, and of the churches in Judea befides, so that there were several churches in one nation; and alfo of the churches of Macedonia, and likewife of Galatia, and of the feven churches of Afia, which were in the particular cities mentioned; yea of a church in an houfe, which could not be national; there were alfo the church at Corinth, and another at Cenchrea, a few miles diftant from it, and a fea-port of the Corinthians. A church of Christ is a congregation of men who are gathered out of the world by the grace of God, and who feparate from it and meet together in fome one place to worship God; and to this agrees the definition of a church in the XIXth Article of the church of England, and is this; "The vifible church of Chrift is a congregation of faith"ful men:" which is against herself; for if a congregation, then not a nation; if a congregation then it must be gathered out from others; and if a congregation, then it must meet in one place, or it cannot with any propriety be fo called; as the church at Corinth is faid to do, 1 Cor. xi. 18, 20. and xiv. 23. but when and where did the church of England meet together in one place? and how is it the visible church of Chrift? where and when was it ever seen in a body together? is it to be feen in the King, the head of it? or in the Parliament, by whom it was established? or in the upper and lower houfes of Convocation, its reprefentatives? To fay, that it is to be feen in every parish, is either to make a building of ftone the church, which is the ftupid notion of the vulgar people;' or to make the parishioners a church, and then there must be as many churches of England as there are parishes, and fo fome thousands, and not one only.

III. We object to the matter or materials of the church of England, which are the whole nation, good and bad;' yea, inasmuch as all the natives of England: are members of this church, and are fo by birth, they must in their original admiffion, or becoming members, be all bad; fince they are all conceived and born in fin, and great part of them as they grow up are men of vicious lives and converfations; whereas a visible church of Chrift ought to confift of faithful men, as the above mentioned Article declares, that is, of true believers in Chrift; and fuch were the materials of the first christian churches; they were made up of fuch as were called to be faints, fanctified in Chrift Jefus, and faithful brethren in him; as were the churches at Rome, Corinth, Ephesus and Coloffe: these were churches of faints; but the church of England is a church of the world, or confifts for the most part of worldly men; and therefore we cannot hold communion with it.

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IV. We are diffatisfied with the doctrine preached in the church of England, which generally is very corrupt, and not agreeable to the word of God; and ! therefore cannot be a true church of Chrift, which ought to be the pillar and ground of truth; for the visible church of Chrift, as the XIXth article runs, is "a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of God is preach"ed;" of which pure word, the doctrines of grace are a confiderable part; fuch as eternal election in Chrift, particular redemption by him, juftification by his imputed righteousness, pardon through his blood, atonement and fatisfaction by his facrifice, and falvation alone by him, and not by the works of men; the efficacy of divine grace in converfion,, the perfeverance of the faints, and the like; but thefe doctrines are scarce ever, or but seldom, and by a very few, preached in the church of England: fince two thousand godly and faithful minifters were turned out at once, Arminianism has generally prevailed; and scarce any thing else than Arminian tenets and mere morality are preached, and not Chrift, and him crucified, and the neceffity of faith in him, and falvation by him; wherefore we are obliged to depart from fuch a communion, and seek out elsewhere for food for our fouls. And though the XXXIX Articles of the church of England are agreeable to the word of God, a few only excepted; yet of what avail are they, fince they are feldom or ever preached, though fworn and fubfcribed to by all in public office; and even thefe are very defective in many things: There are no articles relating to the two covenants of grace and works; to creation and providence; to the fall of man; the nature of fin and punishment for it; to adoption, effectual vocation; fanctification, faith, repentance, and the final perfeverance of the faints; nor to the law of God; christian liberty; church-government and discipline; the communion of the faints; the refurrection of the dead, and the laft judgment.

V. We diffent from the church of England, because the ordinances of Baptifm. and the Lord's fupper are not duly adminiftered in it, according to the word of God, and fo is not a regular church of Chrift; for, as the above Article fays, "The vifible church of Chrift is a congregation of faithful men, in the which "the facraments be duly miniftered, according to Chrift's own ordinance, "in all those things that of neceffity are requifite to the fame:" but the faid ordinances are not duly adminiftered in the church of England, according to, the appointment of Chrift; there are fome things which are of neceffity requifite. to the fame, which are not done; and others which are not of neceffity requifite,. which are enjoined, and with which we cannot comply.

First, The ordinance of Baptifm is not adminiftered in the faid church, according to the rule of God's word: there are fome things used in the adminif ration of it, which are of human invention, and not of Chrift's ordination;

and