with it, and therefore very properly called a baptifm, in allufion to baptism by immerfion. I go on, III. To obferve the incouragement, motives, and reafons given to keep this ordinance, as well as others. 1. The apoftle fays, this is the love of God; that is, this fhews love to God; it is a plain cafe, that a man loves God, when he keeps his commandments; this is an evidence, that he loves not in word, and in tongue only, but in deed and in truth. Others may fay that they love God and Chrift; but this is the man that truly loves them, even he that bath my commandments, fays Chrift, and keepeth them; be it is that loveth me: and it is a clear cafe, that such a man has a sense of the love of God and Chrift; the love of the Father is in him; and the love of Chrift conftrains. him to obferve his ordinances, and keep his commands; and fuch may expect greater manifestations of the love of God and Chrift unto them; for of fuch that keep the commandments of Chrift, he fays, I will love him, and manifest myself to him;and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with bim, which is no fmall inducement and incouragement to an observation of the ordinances and commands of Chrift, and among the reft this of baptifm. 2. Another incouraging motive and reafon is, the commandments of God and Christ are not grievous, hard and difficult to be performed. The Lord's fupper is not; nor is baptifm. What is baptifm in water, to the baptism of fufferings Chrift endured for us? And yet how defirous was he of accomplishing it ? The fame writer is pleafed to reprefent this explanation of the baptifm of the Spirit as ridiculous; but fome of greater learning than he can pretend to, have fo explained it, as particularly Dr Cafaubon, famous for his great knowledge of the Greek language; though perhaps this very illiberal man will call the learned doctor a dunce for what he fays; his words on As i. 5. are these, "though "I do not difapprove of the word baptize being retained here, that the antithefis may be full; yet "I am of opinion that regard is had in this place to its proper fignification, for Care is to immerse, "fo as to tinge or dip; and in this fenfe the apoftles were truly faid to be baptized; for the house " in which this was done was filled with the holy Ghoft, fo that the apofties feemed to be plunged "into it as into a pool." In confirmation of which, he makes mention on chap. ii. 2. of an observation in a Greek commentary on it," the wind filled the whole house, filling it like a pool; fince it was promifed to them (the apoftles) that they should be baptized with the Holy Ghoft." It seems to be the fame commentary, Erafmus on the place, says went under the name of Chryfoftom, in which are these words, as he gives them, "the whole house was so filled with fire, though invisible, as a "pool is filled with water."-Our fcribbler, in order to expofe the notion of dipping, as used in the baptifm of the fpirit, and fire, condefcends, for once, to read dip, instead of baptize; “John faid "I indeed dip you with water, but one, mightier than I, cometh, he shall dip you with the holy. "Ghost, and with fire." But not only the word baptize should be read dip, but the prepofition should be rendered in; in water; and in the holy Ghoft; and in fire; and the phrase of dipping in fire, is no unusual one, both in Jewish and Greek authors; as I have fhewn in my Expofition of the place, and of Acts ii. 3. John xiv. 21. • John xiv. 23, it? Luke xii. 50. And therefore why should we think it an hardship, or be backward to comply with his will, in fubmitting to the ordinance of water-baptism? When Naaman was bid by Elisha to dip himself in Jordan, and be clean; which he refented as too little and trifling a thing, and thought he might as well have stayed in his own land, and dipped himself in one of the rivers of Syria; one of his fervants took upon him to allay and reprefs the heat of his paffion and resentment, by observing, that if the prophet had bid him do fome great thing, which was hard and difficult to be performed, he would have gone about it readily; how much rather then, he argued, fhould he attend to the direction of the prophet, when he only bid him wash in Jordan, and be clean? There are many that will go into baths, and plunge themfelves in them for pleasure or profit, to refresh their bodies, or cure them of diforders; but if plunging in water is directed to, as an ordinance of God, then it is a grievous thing; and, indeed, no ordinance is grateful to a carnal mind; but to believers in Christ, wisdom's ways are ways of pleafantnefs, and her paths paths of peace. Chrift's yoke, if it may be called fo, is easy, and his burden light. Now to close with a few words: 1. Let none defpife this command of God, the ordinance of baptism; remember it is a command of his; be it at your peril if you do; it is hard kicking against the pricks; it is dangerous to treat with contempt any of the commands of God, and ordinances of Chrift; beware, left that should come upon you, and be fulfilled in you, behold, ye defpifers, and wonder, and perish". 2. Let fuch who see it their duty to be baptized, not tarry, but immediately fubmit unto it; let them make hafte, and delay not, to keep this command; remembering the motives, and encouragement to it. 3. Let those that yield obedience to it, do it in the name and strength of Chrift; in the faith of him, from love to him, and with a view to his glory. 2 Kings v. 13. • Acts xiii. 40, 41. INFANT A VINDICATION of a Paragraph in a PREFACE to a Reply to Mr CLARKE'S Defence of INFANT - BAPTISM. To which is added, A POSTSCRIPT, containing a full and sufficient Answer to Six Letters of CANDIDUS, on the Subjects and Mode of BAPTISM, &C. BEING called upon, in a public manner, to give proof of what I have faid concerning Infant-baptifm, in a Preface to my reply to Mr Clarke's Defence, &c. or to expunge it; I readily agree to the former, and fhall endeavour to explain myself, and defend what I have written; but it will be proper first to recite the whole paragraph, which stands thus: "The Pædobaptists are ever "restless and uneafy, endeavouring to maintain and support, if poffible, their "unfcriptural practice of Infant-baptifm; though it is no other than a pillar " of Popery; that by which Antichrift has spread his baneful influence over "many nations; is the bafis of national churches and worldly establishments; that which unites the church and world, and keeps them together; nor can "there be a full separation of the one from the other, nor a thorough reforma"tion in religion, until it is wholly removed: and though it has so long and "largely obtained, and still does obtain; I believe with a firm and unshaken faith, that the time is haltening on, when Infant-baptifm will be no more "practifed in the world; when churches will be formed on the fame plan they "were in the times of the apostles; when gofpel-doctrine and discipline will "be restored to their primitive luftre and purity; when the ordinances of bap "tifm and the Lord's fupper will be adminiftered as they were firft delivered, "clear of all prefent corruption and fuperftition; all which will be accom"plished, when "the Lord fhall be king over all the earth, and there shall "be one Lord and his name one." Now the whole of this consists of several articles or propofitions, which I fhall re-confider in their order. I. That "Infant-baptifm is a part and pillar of Popery; that by which An"tichrift has spread his baneful influence over many nations:" I use the phrase Infant-baptifm here, and throughout, because of the common use of it; otherwife the practice which now obtains, may with greater propriety be called Infant-fprinkling. That, unwritten traditions with the Papifts are equally the rule of faith and practice, as the holy fcriptures, will not be doubted of by any converfant with their writings.. The council of Trent afferts, that "traditions refpecting both faith and manners orally delivered and preferved fucceffively "in the catholic church, are to be received with equal affection of piety and "reverence as the books of the Old and New Teftament;" yea the Popish writers prefer traditions to fcripture. Bellarmine fays, "fcriptures without tradi❝tion, are neither fimply neceffary, nor fufficient, but unwritten traditions "are neceffary. Tradition alone is fufficient, but the fcriptures are not suffi"cient." Another of their writers afferts, that "the authority of ecclefiaftic "traditions is more fit than the fcriptures to afcertain any thing doubtful, even "that which may be made out from fcripture, fince the common opinion of "the church and ecclefiaftical tradition are clearer, and more open and truly "inflexible; when, on the contrary, the fcriptures have frequently much obfcurity in them, and may be drawn here and there like a nofe of wax; and, as a leaden rule, may be applied to every impious opinion." Bailey the Jefuit, thus expreffes himself, "I will go further, and say, we have as much "need of tradition as of fcripture, yea more; because the scripture ministers "to us only the dead and mute letter, but tradition, by means of the ministry "of the church, gives us the true fenfe, which is not had distinctly in the scrip"ture; wherein, notwithstanding, rather confifts the word of God than in the "alone written letter; it is fufficient for a good catholic, if he understands it "is tradition, nor need he to enquire after any thing else." And by tradition, they mean not tradition delivered in the scripture, but diftinct from it, and out of it; unwritten tradition, apoftolical tradition, as they frequently call it, not delivered by the apoftles in the facred fcriptures, but by word of mouth to their fucceffors, or to the churches: that we may not mistake them. Andradius • Sefs. 4. Decret. de canon. fcript. b De Verbo Dei, c. 4. fe&t. 1, 6. Pighius apud Rivet. Cathol. Orthodox. Tract. 1, qu. 6. p. 99. Apud. ibid. p. 142. dius tells us, "that of neceffity thofe traditions also must be believed, which "can be proved by no teftimony of fcripture:" and Petrus a Soto still more plainly and openly affirms; "It is, fays he, a rule infallible and catholic, that "whatsoever things the church of Rome believeth, holdeth and keepeth, and "are not delivered in the fcriptures, the fame came by tradition from the apos "tles; alfo all fuch obfervations and ceremonies, whofe beginning, author, "and original are not known, or cannot be found, out of all doubt they "were delivered by the apoftles "." This is what is meant by apoftolic tradition. Now the effentials of Popery, or the peculiarities of it, are all founded upon this, even upon apoftolic and ecclefiaftic tradition; this is the Pandora from whence they all fpring; this is the rule to which all are brought, and by which they are confirmed; and what is it, be it ever fo foolish, impious and abfurd, but what may be proved hereby, if this is admitted of as a rule and test? It is upon this foot the Papifts affert and maintain the obfervation of Eafter, on the Lord's-day following the 14th of March; the falt of Quadragefima or Lent; the adoration of images and relicks; the invocation of faints; the worship of the fign of the cross; the facrifice of the mafs; transubstantiation; the abrogation of the use of the cup in the Lord's-fupper; holy water; extreme unction, or the chrism; prayers for the dead; auricular confeffion; fale of pardons, purgatory, pilgrimages, monaftic vows, &c. Among apoftolical traditions Infant-baptifm is to be reckoned, and it is upon this account it is pleaded for. The first person that afferted Infant-baptifin and approved it, reprefents it as a tradition from the apostles, whether he be Origen, or his tranflator and interpolator, Ruffinus; his words are, "For this (that is, for original fin) "the church has received a tradition from the apostles, " even to give baptifm unto infants"." Auftin, who was a warm advocate for Infant-baptifm, puts it upon this footing, as a custom of the church, not to be despised, and as an apoftolic tradition generally received by the church; he lived in the fourth century, the fame Ruffinus did; and probably it was from his Latin tranflation of Origen, Auftin took the hint of Infant-baptifm being an apostolic tradition, fince no other ecclefiaftical writer speaks of it before.as fuch; fo that, as Bishop Taylor observes, "This apoftolical tradition is but a testimony of one person, and he condemned of many errors; fo that, as he " fays, to derive this from the apoftles on no greater authority, is a great ar VOL. II. h 3 U • See the Abstract of the History of Popery, part 2. p. 252, 253. f Origen. Comment. in Epift. ad Roman. 1. 5. fol. 178. 1. De Genef. 1 10. c. 21. & de Baptifmo contr. Donat. 1. 4. c. 23, 24. Liberty of Prophefying, p. 320. gument |