do not fay that all good men have; but the most learned have, and fome who have appeared very pious. But you will fay, Why have they not practifed differently, if they have thus believed? I am not answerable for their practice; but, if the Lord will, I fhall, ere long, give you the reasons which they affign. I fhall only add, for the present, two or three confequences, and then leave the fubject for tion. your confidera I. The Baptifts have, against our practice, and for theirs, that kind of evidence which is, perhaps, in all cafes but the prefent, confidered the most unequivocal and certain. This evidence is given in by a cloud of witnef-· fes, who, whilft they are bearing their. teftimony, condemn themselves every fentence they utter. If thefe men, who are confeft by both fides to be both pious and learned, may be believed, the cause will most certainly be determined against us; for there, was never a clearer cafe. They unitedly teftify that the fcripture mode of baptism is immersion, but omit the practice.. In this they condemn themselves. 2. The fcripture fenfe, and, for aught appears, the only fenfe, of baptism, is, dipping, immerfion, burying, in water, being overwhelmed, and the like.. 3. We are brought to this dilemma, either to com-mence Baptifts, as to the mode, or do as our fathers.. have done, confefs the truth in theory, and neglect it in, practice. THE MODE AND SUBJECTS OF BAPTISM. SERMON III. MATTHEW XXVIII, 19, 20. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft; teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever I have commanded you: And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. MEN, brethren, and fathers, we are still upon a've ry important fubject-a subject which highly concerns us as Christians—a subject in which our feelings, our reputation, and our peace too, may not be a little concerned. Many things, not to fay every thing, call upon us not to go too fast; and, at the fame time, obedience to our common Lord forbids all backwardnefs, in pursuing where his truth and Spirit lead us. All which I requeft of you is, with candour hear, with readiness obey, what truth fhall dictate. Should we, after long and ferious deliberation, be obliged to believe and practise differently from what we have heretofore done, we fhall be much expofed to two things; one is, to be reviled; the other, to revile again. What What we fhall need is, patience to bear the one, and grace that we may avoid the other. Perhaps human nature is more inclined to nothing than to an overbearing fpirit. It is perfectly confonant with human nature to make ourselves, and not the scriptures, the standard of both faith and practice. The natural confequence of this is cenfure against all who dare to think, or act, as we do not. To guard you againft un reasonable and common prejudice, I will, for your confideration, fugget a thought, which we may do well to remember; and it is this: many, who fhall believe and practise as we have long done, may be as honeft and faithful as we then were. This being true, the following confequence is plain, that the line of conduct which the Baptists ought to have practifed, in months and years paft, towards us, the fame, if we be Baptifts, will it be come us to pursue with relation to others. It requires not much forefight to difcover, that we fhall need much of that wisdom which is profitable to direct. Whilst it may be indifpenfable with us to ufe every prudent mean to diffufe that light which God may graciously afford us, it will be our wifdom to do every thing in fuch a manner as not to heighten, but, if poffible, to lower, the prejudices of good people, Whilft you, my dear friends and people, know that light chafeth away the darkness, and that truth will ultimately prevail against every error; I folicit your can, dour and prayerful attention, that error may not be retained, or prevail against any of us, to our wounding. Our attention hath already been called to the definition of a number of words, which relate to the ordinance of baptifm, to the fcripture account of baptifm, together with fome other texts, which were fuppofed to throw light upon the subject, and also to some evidence in fupport of the given definitions. As the great question turns upon what is commanded, and as that cannot be otherwife known than by making fure the import of the words ufed, we shall therefore fearch for additional light and certainty, by inquiring 4. How the apostles and primitive Christians under, ftood this matter, and how they practifed. If this can be made plain, then, perhaps, your mind will be fatisfied, and your judgments made up. I proceed to lay the evidence before you. There appears no neceffity of spending time to pro duce evidence that the apoftles understood the matter to be as I have proved to you that it was: for they, no doubt, understood the words which Chrift fpake, and the commands which he gave; befides, if the apoftles and primitive church practifed thus, it is evident that they thus understood it; for doubtless they, efpecially the apoftles, were honest men, and practifed as they understood Je, fus Chrift to have directed them. I will here make two obfervations to you; and I wifh you to remember them. The firft is, no perfon fhould, especially in important matters, make up his judgment, that any particular subject is true, till he has evidence of its truth. The other is, the best proof which the nature of any cafe admits of, may and ought to be confidered as evidence, and fo received by us, as to thofe things we are called to believe and practife. There are different degrees of evidence: the highest kind produces knowledge. When the evidence is fmall, it produces a weak and dubious belief. But where it is fuch that, on fuppofition the thing be true, the evidence could could not be greater than it is, there we are obliged to yield our affent, and we do violence to our reason if we will not believe. The evidence, which we have with refpect to the prac tice of the apostles in the matter of baptizing, differs in degree, and, in fome measure, in kind, from the evidence which we have refpecting the practice of the church in later ages as to the fame matter. But if we have, with respect to the practice of both, the best evidence which the different cafes admit of, we are under obligation to believe the evidence good, and the facts true which are fupported by it. We have much the fame kind of evidence with refpect to the practice of the apoftles, which we have as to the practice of the church for many ages after them. Mr. Baxter, bifhop Hoadly, and others, teftify, that the apoftolic practice was, immerfion. We have, moreover, as to their practice, a much higher kind of evidence. In fupport of their practice, I fhall produce the best kind of evidence, and afterwards, whilft fpeaking of the practice of the church in fucceeding ages, may oc cafionally bring forward fome of the other kind of evidence, in fupport of the apostles' practice. As to the practice of the apoftles, in the adminiftration of baptifm, I obferve, we have in the fcriptures four distinct fources of evidence. The ift Is this. When baptifm is mentioned by the difciples and apostles, and the common word is not used, they uniformly employ one particular word, and this word is of very determinate fignification, and expresses the bathing, or washing, of the body in water, as Heb. x. 22: Having our bodies (leloumenoi) washed with pure water. Aas xxii. 16. Arife and be baptized, and (apo loufai) |