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 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/christianordinanOOwill 
 
AMERICAN REVIEWS AND NOTICES 
 
 OF 
 
 NEW WORKS BY THE REV. SAMUEL WILLS, D.D. 
 
 Lately published in New York, and now issued in England by 
 JOHN SNOW, 35, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 SCRIPTURE EXPOSITIONS, OR DAILY MEDITATIONS, &c. 
 
 4 large 8vo. vols., at 4s. 6d. per vol.; or 18s. the set. 
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, &c. 
 
 1 large 8vo. vol., with eight Engravings, 5s. 
 
 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES, & ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 1 vol. post 8vo., 3s. 6d. 
 
 " ' Scripture Expositions, or Daily Meditations' (4 vols.), and ' Seven Churches 
 op Asia' (1 vol.), are titles of works by the Rev. Dr. Wills, of New York. These five 
 volumes contain something short of 400 pages each, very large octavo. We would com- 
 mend them as being written in a devout spirit, with doctrinal correctness, and in a style 
 and method adapted to the ends of their composition and publication. They will be 
 highly valued in the closet and study, and answer, to some extent, as aids in the inter- 
 pretation of Scripture, and making preparation for the pulpit." — Courier, Burlington, Ver- 
 mont. 
 
 " They will be found a valuable companion at the family altar, and in the retirement 
 of the closet." — Motlier^s Journal, Philadelphia. 
 
 " The ' Expositions ' or ' Meditations ' present diversity with harmony, and exhibit 
 a most delightful combination of doctrinal, practical, and experimental godliness. The 
 author evidently possesses mental and moral capacities of no ordinary dimensions, and 
 evinces a profound acquaintance with the oracles of God." — Christian Chronicle, Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 " Convenient, valuable, and useful The work, we trust, will be universally read." 
 
 ■ — New York Sun. 
 
 " The ' Expositions,' so far as we can judge, are excellent in sentiment and style, 
 and the purpose which they are designed and adapted to serve makes the work worthy 
 of liberal patronage and of careful study. It will prove a great help to religious devo- 
 tion." — New York Chronicle. 
 
 " ' Christian Ordinances and Ecclesiastical Observances ' is the title of a 
 recent work by the Rev. Dr. Wills, which we take great pleasure in commending to the 
 attention of our ministry. The work is an able eapose. and refutation of the close commu- 
 nion theory, of which our mi listers and Church members will do well to possess them- 
 selves." — Northern Star, Pocuster. 
 
 " 'Scripture Expositions,' &c. — It is just what a book of this sort should be: rich 
 in instructive reading, without being sectarian; filled with heart-stirring thoughts on the 
 subject of practical Christianity, and free from the spirit of controversy, which unhappily 
 spoils the flavour of many a preparation of Christian ointment. We announced this work 
 when itt first volume made its appearance. The more we see of it the better we like it, 
 and would rejoice to find it holding the honoured place of a domestic companion in every 
 family not already supplied with a similar aid to devotion. The entire work is now in 
 the market, in legible and beautiful type. The Bible and these four volumes, without 
 anything, else, constitute quite a desirable Christian library." — Christian Intelligencer, 
 New York. 
 
" ' Seven Churches of Asia,' &c. — This we regard as a really valuable contribution 
 to our theological literature. The plan of the work is excellent, and is so carried out as 
 to render the work not only instructive to the minister of the gospel or Sabbath-school 
 student of the Bible, but also eminently interesting and attractive to the general reader. 
 .... The work is sound, evangelical, and instructive, and we cordially wish it extensive 
 circulation." — Rev. J. Dowling, D.D., New York Baptist Memorial. 
 
 " ' Scripture Expositions,' &c. — This work is a series of practical reflections on 
 religious life and doctrines, suggested by appropriate passages of Scripture, and adapted 
 to assist the Christian in the maintenance of devotional feeling, and to promote growth in 
 grace. These reflections are marked by sound and orthodox views, correct interpretations, 
 and pious feeling. The style of the work is spirited, suggestive, and clear." — Neiv York 
 Recorder. 
 
 Testimonial. Rev. D. Dunbar, New- York. — " I have no hesitation in expressing 
 my sincere belief, that the 'Scripture Expositions and Daily Meditations,' &c, will 
 become, wherever known, a favourite companion with all persons in the reading commu- 
 nity who are called by the grace of God, sensible of the plague of their own hearts, and 
 hungering and thirsting after righteousness. The respected author has, in my opinion, 
 conferred a specml favour upon the Church of God and upon the community at large, by 
 producing this valuable book at the present time. ... I may be allowed to add, that 
 every minister of Christ, both in this city and Philadelphia, who has seen and examined 
 this book, most cordially approves of its matter, its spirit, and its arrangement . May the 
 smiles of our Lord Jesus Christ rest upon it and its laborious and judicious author, &c." 
 
 Testimonial. Rev. Dr. Cose, Brooklyn, New York. — " My esteemed friend is the 
 
 known author of several excellent works ' Scripture Expositions,' &c. — I am 
 
 free to say that I regard the publication as happy and of good promise. Its contents 
 are in form familiar and devotional, catholic and useful, evangelical and sound, and well 
 adapted to do good to pious and sober persons, assisting their meditations and their 
 
 prayers, as the worshippers of God our Saviour ' Seven Churches op Asia.' — 
 
 No person will grudge the time given to its perusal. The historical sketches are com- 
 plete, and highly interesting. The expositions of the Epistles to these seven ChurcJies are 
 theological^ sound and practical; experimental and devotional, as well as learned. The 
 work is eminently adapted to instruct and benefit every Christian reader ; any plain and 
 honest christian, as well as the erudite and the capacious, may read it with pleasure and 
 
 advantage ' Christian Ordinances and Ecclesiastical Observances.' — 
 
 Though possibly I might differ with my friend in some things, I love the work for 
 its liberal sentiment. The author thinks for himself ; though, while his preferences are 
 with the Baptist denomination, he possesses a mind separate from sectarian bigotry, &c." 
 
 " ' Seven Churches of Asia,' &c. — Dr. Wills is favourably known to the public as 
 
 the author of a series of scriptural expositions adapted to the days of the year, &c 
 
 The expositions of the prophetic announcement to the Churches of Asia are founded on 
 a geographical and historical examination of the localities alluded to, and followed by a 
 practical commentary upon the text, and a warm-hearted and evangelical application of 
 the truths involved to the heart and conscience of the modern believer. The style of the 
 work is clear and pleasing, and it clearly forms a valuable addition to the literature of 
 practical religion." — J. B. Anderson, LL.D., President of Rochester University; New 
 York Recorder. 
 
 " The information possible to be obtained, respecting the ancient and modern history 
 of these celebrated cities, sites of the seven Churches, is here presented in a compact form. 
 It is, therefore, valuable and convenient for use. There are as many parts to the book 
 as cities, and each is preceded by Christ's epistle to the corresponding Church. The 
 historical, geographical, and topographical information, is followed by an exegctical treatise 
 on the Epistle, which is a happy development of the Saviour's message, in thought, spirit, 
 and pungency. We think it quite a valuable book." — Journal and Messenger, Cincinnati. 
 
 "No divine of his ago has distinguished himself more as an author by his theological 
 writings, and the independency of thought and the force and beauty of expression that 
 grace the pages of his volumes, and mark the impress of his mind." — Rev. Dr. Dods, 
 Washington Observer. 
 
CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES 
 
 AND 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES 
 
 RECONSIDERED; 
 
 IN WHICH, AMONG OTHER THINGS, 
 
 THE RESTRICTED COMMUNION OF BAPTISTS IS DEMONSTRATED 
 TO BE ANTI-SCRIPTURAL. 
 
 REV. SAMUEI 
 
 BY THE ; 
 
 i-^ILLS, D.D., 
 
 Prove all things, hold fast that which is good."— 1 Thess. v. 21 
 
 NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY M. W. DODD, BROADWAY 
 
 AND BY 
 
 JOHN SNOW, 35, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 
 
 1854. 
 
> 
 
 c 
 
 A 
 
 PEEFACE. 
 
 A word or two shall suffice to introduce the following 
 pages to the notice of the reading Christian public. The 
 subjects treated of are of vast importance to the prosperity 
 of the church of Christ : how far they have been expound- 
 ed to illustrate that importance is another thing. The 
 writer fears his task is very imperfectly accomplished, 
 though feeling a consciousness that he has not " handled 
 the word of God deceitfully." 
 
 This little treatise would probably never have courted 
 the notice of the Christian community, had it not been that 
 the author's sentiment upon the subject of open communion 
 has been so freely used against his extended usefulness in 
 preaching the gospel of Chr'st. It was never his intention 
 to do more than declare his conviction that, in the New 
 Testament, open communion was " a self-evident princi- 
 ple." Though a baptist, and allowing that ordinance the 
 full importance it demands in the Christian dispensation, 
 he did not feel it to be a paramount object in his ministry, 
 or the ground f<y separating from other Christians at the 
 Lord's table. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The author fully believes that he has demonstrated the 
 principle of restricted communion with baptists to be anti- 
 scriptural ; thus proving that the error concerning com- 
 munion is not with him, but with those who proscribe his 
 views. 
 
 The subjects treated of in this work have led the writer 
 to expose some departures from the principles of the New 
 Testament by perhaps all denominations — it is hoped not 
 in an unchristian spirit, but with the earnest desire that 
 all may be more anxious to take God's book for a guide. 
 
 The work appears in seven parts : the first is a design 
 to show John's baptism to be no Christian ordinance ; the 
 second, the nature of Christian baptism, &c. ; the third, 
 the institute of the Lord's Supper, &c. ; the fourth, the 
 true nature of a Christian church, and that all prerequisites 
 to membership but faith are of man's invention, and anti- 
 scriptural ; the fifth, the contrast of a New-Testament or- 
 ganized society with human organizations under the name 
 of " churches ;" the sixth, the baptist denomination in its 
 rise and progress, <S:c. ; the seventh, the features of re- 
 stricted and free communion in contrast, and the results in 
 their bearing upon society. 
 
 That the reader may "prove all things, and hold fast 
 tliat which is good," is the prayer of 
 
 The Author. 
 
 New York, December, 1852. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART 1. 
 
 JOHN'S BAPTISM. 
 
 1.— History of his Birth pagk 7 
 
 2 — The Harbinger of Jesus Christ 33 
 
 3 —His Call to the Ministry of his Office 17 
 
 4. — The Dispensation under which John ministered 21 
 
 5. — J^sus baptized by John 26 
 
 fi.— The Character or the Rite administered to Christ 30 
 
 7. — Proof demonstrable that John's Baptism was not Christian 37 
 
 8. — The Period when the Christian Dispensation superseded the Jew- 
 ish 44 
 
 § 9. — The Baptism administered by Christ's Disciples before the Day of 
 
 Pentecost 48 
 
 PART II. 
 
 CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 
 
 § 1. — The Circumstances connected with its Institution 53 
 
 | 2. — The Interim brfore its Administration 59 
 
 § 3. — The Character and Effects of the Apostles' Preaching on the Day 
 
 of Pentecost 64 
 
 4. — Nature of the Ordinance of Baptism 69 
 
 5. — The Practice of the Apostles and Early Disciples 75 
 
 6 —The Proper Subjects for Baptism 81 
 
 ?. — Baptism perverted in its Signification and Use 85 
 
 8.— The Things signified in Baprisri 92 
 
 9. — Closing Reflections 97 
 
 PART III. 
 
 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 1.— Preparation for the Paschal Supper 101 
 
 2. —The assembled Company at Supper 105 
 
 3.— The Institution of the Lord's Supper 110 
 
 4. — The Elements used at the Lord's' Supper 113 
 
 5 — The Form of administering the Bread 119 
 
 6 — The Form of administering the Wine 125 
 
 7. — The Time for observing this sacred Feast 134 
 
 8. — The Ends answered in Eating the Lord's Supper 139 
 
 9. — The Rightful Subjects to engage in it 146 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 1. — Preliminary Observations PAGE 149 
 
 i 2.— The Etymology of rh<- Word " Church" ] 53 
 
 3.— Use of the Term " Church" in the Scriptures 157 
 
 4. — The Bodies distinguished under the Title " Church" in the Scrip- 
 tures 163 
 
 5 —The Character of the Assemblies 169 
 
 6. — The Historical Features of the Innovation upon Church Govern- 
 ment 174 
 
 7. — Dent minational Equality no Safeguard against Corruption and Op- 
 pression 181 
 
 8. — The Visibility of Churches and Members 184 
 
 9.— The Ends answered by a Christian Church in the World 192 
 
 PART V. 
 
 ORGANIZED BODIES. 
 
 1 — Scriptura11y-orgnniz°d Borlies 197 
 
 2. — Unscriptu rally-organized Christian Bodies 206 
 
 3.— T^rms of Church-Membership 212 
 
 4 — Modes of Admission to the Church 217 
 
 5. — The Relative Position of Ordinances 225 
 
 fi. — The Authority exercised over the Lord's Table 231 
 
 7. — Restricted Communion of Organized Baptist Churches not author- 
 ized in Scripture 235 
 
 § 8. — The Grounds upon which Restricted Communion is defended . . . 238 
 
 PART VI. 
 
 THE BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 
 
 § 1.— The Baptismal Controversy in the first Fifteen Centuries of the 
 
 Christian Era 245 
 
 S 2. — The Oriarin of the Denomination 251 
 
 ft 3. — Baptist Denomination in Great Britain 258 
 
 § 4. — Circumstances which operated to make Close Communion a cher- 
 ished Principle 266 
 
 § 5. — The Baptist Denomination not without some Men of profound 
 
 Knowledge 271 
 
 5 6.— American Baptists 277 
 
 6 7. — Baptists of the United States under a Yoke 282 
 
 § 8. — Summary Remarks 288 
 
 PART VII. 
 
 FEATURES OF RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 
 
 § 1. — Basis upon which Close and Open Communion rests with Baptists 293 
 § 2. — The Relation Open Communion bears to the so-called Baptist 
 
 Churches 301 
 
 § 3. — The Powers the two Institutions possess to sustain their Govern- 
 ments 308 
 
 6 4. — Operations of the two Systems 313 
 
 6 5. — The Spirit displayed in maintaining Close and Open Communion. 319 
 
 6. — The Destined Influence of Close and Open Communion 325 
 
 $7.— Closing Appeal 331 
 
PART I. 
 
 JOHN'S BAPTISM 
 
 SECTION I. HISTORY OF HIS BERTH. 
 
 The advent of the Messiah was the constant 
 burden of prophetic announcement ; and there 
 was as much anxiety to know the exact period 
 of his coming, on the part of the prophets them- 
 selves, as on that of the people. 
 
 The prophetic revelations opened by degrees 
 a vast amount of information on this subject; 
 and, by a succession of communications, the ex- 
 pectation of the event was constantly agitating 
 the minds of the people for about four thousand 
 years. 
 
 It was revealed by the prophets that there 
 should be, immediately preceding the coming 
 
8 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. • 
 
 of the Lord, a notable person to go before his 
 face, to prepare his way. This individual was 
 sufficiently described to be known, when appear- 
 ing, as the harbinger of the Lord. 
 
 The prophecies having all been delivered re- 
 lating to the coming of the holy and just One, 
 with a circumstantial minuteness in which noth- 
 ing was omitted which bore upon his character 
 or appearance, or the time, place, and circum- 
 stances connected with his advent ; it remained, 
 after the retirement of Malachi from the labors 
 of his office, for the people to expect, in the next 
 prophet who appeared among them, a messen- 
 ger to announce the speedy coming of " the de- 
 sire of all nations P 
 
 The long succession of Jewish prophets hav- 
 ing passed away, an interim of about four hun- 
 dred years rolled on, and there was no other 
 manifestation of the prophetic gift. The canon 
 of the Old-Testament Scriptures had closed up 
 with these announcements : " Behold, I will 
 send my messenger, and he shall prepare the 
 way before me : and the Lord whom ye seek 
 shall suddenly come to his temple, even the 
 messenger of the covenant whom ye delight 
 in," &c. (Mai. 3 : 1). " Remember ye the law 
 
9 
 
 of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto 
 him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes 
 and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah 
 the prophet before the coining of the great and 
 dreadful day of the Lord : and he shall turn the 
 heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart 
 of the children to their fathers, lest I come and 
 smite the earth with a curse" (Mai. 4 : 4-6). 
 
 All, therefore, was waiting for the ushering 
 in of the harbinger of the Messiah ; every cir- 
 cumstance of ancient prediction seemed to gath- 
 er to a point of time then close at hand. The 
 prophetic stars shone in the firmament, but the 
 light they reflected was the borrowed rays from 
 the " Sun of Righteousness," and pointed back 
 to him ; from these the predictions were return- 
 ing as so many lines from the circumference of 
 a circle to the centre, and the whole body of 
 light and truth in revelation was drawn to one 
 focus, concentrating in that period in the his- 
 tory of the world. 
 
 It was announced that John Baptist was now 
 to appear. The circumstances attending his 
 birth were of a peculiar character, as if designed 
 by God to draw more than common attention, 
 that in this individual might be seen the true 
 l* 
 
10 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 "prophet of the Highest," to "go before the 
 face of the Lord." His parents were both well 
 stricken in years, and childless. Zacharias his 
 father was a priest ; and while officiating in the 
 temple at the time of incense, when the whole 
 multitude of the people were praying without, 
 an angel from heaven announced to him the 
 future birth of a son, and acquainted him with, 
 the office and character he was designed to sus- 
 tain. The name by which he should be called 
 was also made known, the holiness and absti- 
 nence of the life he should lead, and likewise 
 that he should be filled with the Holy Ghost 
 from his birth. The event was calculated to 
 give Zacharias joy and gladness, as many were 
 to rejoice at his birth. Moreover, the angel 
 added : " Many of the children of Israel shall 
 he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall 
 go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 
 to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, 
 and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; 
 to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" 
 (Luke 1 : 16, 17). But Zacharias was slow to be- 
 lieve all this, and for his unbelief he was struck 
 dumb. The people marvelled without because 
 he tarried so long in the temple ; but when he 
 
11 
 
 came out, and could not speak, they understood 
 that he had seen a vision. 
 
 John was born according to the angel's an- 
 nouncement, and, when he was circumcised on 
 the eighth day, there was a disposition to call 
 him after the name of his father, but Elisabeth 
 said, "JSTot so, but he shall be called John;" 
 and they made signs to his father to know how 
 he would have him called — when Zacharias 
 wrote, " His name is John" (the grace or mercy 
 of Jehovah). Hereupon his tongue was loosed, 
 and he spake and praised God. 
 
 The spirit of inspiration had subsided for four 
 hundred years, but now it filled the father of 
 John. He broke forth under the powerful in- 
 fluence of the Holy Ghost, saying: "Blessed 
 be the Lord God of Israel ; for he hath visited 
 and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a 
 horn of salvation for us in the house of his ser- 
 vant David ; as he spake by the mouth of his 
 holy prophets, which have been since the world 
 began : that we should be saved from our ene- 
 mies, and from the hand of all that hate us ; to 
 perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and 
 to remember his holy covenant ; the oath which 
 he sware to our father Abraham, that he would 
 
12 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 grant unto us, that we being delivered out of 
 the hand of our enemies, might serve him with- 
 out fear, in holiness and righteousness before 
 him, all the days of our life." Then turning to 
 his infant son, he exclaimed : " Thou child shalt 
 be* called the prophet of the Highest ; for thou 
 shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare 
 his ways ; to give knowledge of salvation unto 
 his people by the remission of their sins, through 
 the tender mercy of our God ; whereby the day- 
 spring from on high hath visited us, to give 
 light to them that sit in darkness and in the 
 shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way 
 of peace" (Luke 1 : 68-79). 
 
 The wonder of the people, at what they had 
 seen and heard, led to much excitement in the 
 whole neighborhood — so that it is recorded: 
 " Fear came upon all that dwelt round about 
 them : and all these sayings were noised abroad 
 throughout all the hill-country of Judea. And 
 all they that heard them laid them up in their 
 hearts, saying, ' What manner of child shall 
 this be V And the hand of the Lord was with 
 him." 
 
13 
 
 SECTION II. THE HARBINGER OF JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 The exciting incidents in the history of Zach- 
 arias and the birth of his son were of a nature 
 to act favorably for the reception of John as a 
 prophet whenever he should make his public 
 appearance, and until then not much has been 
 recorded of his life. 
 
 He was much retired, seeking seclusion from 
 society. " He was in the deserts,!' in those parts 
 of Judea which were little inhabited. Separated 
 from noise, riot, dissipation, and public tempta- 
 tions, he had opportunities of cultivating that 
 sanctity of mind, through communion with God, 
 so highly adapted for the public career which 
 was to follow in his history. He continued in 
 the deserts " till the day of his showing unto 
 Israel," when he entered on his prophetic office, 
 as it were by inauguration, at the age of thirty 
 years. 
 
 He appeared in the wilderness of Judea as 
 the prophet to " go before the face of the Lord," 
 answering his announcement by Isaiah : " The 
 voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, ' Pre- 
 pare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in 
 
14 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 the desert a highway for our God.' Every val- 
 ley shall be exalted, and every mountain and 
 hill shall be made low ; and the crooked shall 
 be made straight, and the rough places plain ; 
 and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and 
 all flesh shall see it together ; for the mouth of 
 the Lord hath spoken it" (Isa. 40 : 3, 4). 
 
 It will be seen in this prophetic allusion to 
 John, that the imagery is taken from the custom 
 of eastern monarchs, who, whenever they en- 
 tered upon an expedition or took a journey, es- 
 pecially through desert and untraversed coun- 
 tries, sent harbingers before them to prepare all 
 things for their passage ; also pioneers to open 
 the passes, to level the ways, and to remove all 
 impediments. John Baptist calls himself the 
 pioneer of the Messiah, whose business was to 
 call with a loud voice upon the people who were 
 dwelling in the deserts, and to level and prepare 
 the roads by which the king was about to march. 
 
 The Jewish church was that desert country to 
 which John was sent to announce the coming of 
 the Messiah. It was at that time destitute of all 
 religious cultivation, and of the spirit and prac- 
 tice of piety. John was sent to prepare the 
 way of the Lord by preaching repentance. The 
 
15 
 
 desert is therefore to be considered as affording 
 a proper emblem of the rude state of the Jew- 
 ish church, which is the true wilderness meant 
 by the prophet, in which John was to prepare 
 the way of the promised Messiah. 
 
 The character, appearance, and office of John, 
 answer exactly to the predictions concerning 
 the one who was to go before the face of the 
 Lord to prepare his way. He again and again 
 declared that this was his true character and 
 office. " I am the voice of one crying in the 
 wilderness, ' Make straight the way of the Lord,' 
 as saith the prophet Esaias." Nor does the evi- 
 dence rest upon his own testimony only ; the 
 evangelists have been particular to confirm the 
 truth. " This is he," says Matthew in his gos- 
 pel, " that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, 
 saying, ' The voice of one crying in the wilder- 
 ness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his 
 paths straight.' " Jesus, too, bore evidence to 
 this character of John, by saying, " This is he 
 of whom it is written, ' Behold I send my mes- 
 senger before thy face, which shall prepare thy 
 way before thee,' " to which the Saviour adds : 
 " Verily I say unto you, among them that are 
 born of woman, there hath not risen a greater 
 
16 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 than John the Baptist : notwithstanding, he that 
 is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater 
 than he. And from the days of John the Bap- 
 tist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth 
 violence, and the violent take it by force. For 
 all the prophets and the law prophesied until 
 John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, 
 which was for to come." Again, we find the 
 disciples asking Jesus, as he came down from 
 the mount, " Why then say the scribes that Eli- 
 as must first come ?" To this Jesus answered : 
 "Elias truly shall first come and restore all 
 things. But I say unto you, that Elias is come 
 already, and they knew him not, but have done 
 unto him whatsoever they listed." ......" Then 
 
 the disciples understood that he spake unto them 
 of John the Baj)tist." 
 
 It seemed necessary to make allusions to John 
 in the way in which he was to appear before 
 the world according to prophetic announce- 
 ment, as it must have direct bearing upon the 
 other duties of his life, which we have to con- 
 sider. We have, therefore, as briefly as tire cir- 
 cumstances would admit, noticed him as the 
 messenger going before the face of the Lord, as 
 the " prophet of the Highest." This will lead 
 
17 
 
 us, in the next place, to observe particularly 
 his public ministry, accompanied with the reli- 
 gious rite of baptism. 
 
 SECTION III. HIS CALL TO THE MINISTRY OF HIS 
 
 OFFICE. 
 
 John remained in privacy, though perhaps 
 fully conscious of the end for which he was 
 born, until the Lord called him forth into pub- 
 lic life. " The word of God came unto John, 
 the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness." He 
 was slow to move till he had that word, but was 
 prompt to act at the command of the Lord. 
 "And he came into all the country about Jor- 
 dan, preaching the baptism of repentance for 
 the remission of sins." 
 
 Everything in his appearance, his manner, 
 and his doctrine, tended to excite a solemnity 
 and seriousness in the minds of his audience. 
 Lie was clothed like the ancient prophets, with 
 a rough garment of camel's hair, and a leathern 
 girdle about his waist. His food was such as 
 the wilderness yielded, " locusts and wild hon- 
 ey." His address partook of the fervor of his 
 soul, nothing vacillating or pusillanimous, but 
 
18 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 was calculated to strike awe into the minds of 
 the people. 
 
 He received his commission from God. Both 
 his preaching, and the rite of baptism, which 
 he administered to the penitent, were given him 
 from heaven. As one that feared not man, nor 
 regarded his favor or applause, he discharged 
 the duties of his office in the wilderness of Ju- 
 dea, calling upon all who came within the reach 
 of his voice, " Repent ye, for the kingdom of 
 heaven is at hand." God was about to visit his 
 people ; the dispensation of grace to be admin- 
 istered by Emmanuel was opening upon them ; 
 and it was needful and essential to their receiv- 
 ing " the author and finisher of salvation," that 
 they who had so far departed from the sincerity 
 of a pious and godlike nation, should manifest 
 signs of contrition, and thereby be a people pre- 
 pared for the Lord. 
 
 John, in preaching repentance to the Jewish 
 people, was engaged in the same character of 
 ministry which preceding prophets had dis- 
 charged. The people were constantly revolting 
 from the living God, and more or less the doc- 
 trine of repentance was a prominent theme in 
 all their ministry. But, in addition, John had 
 
john's baptism. 19 
 
 to bear tidings which others had not ; for though 
 they proclaimed a coming Messiah, yet he was 
 not near at hand : but John, in his commission, 
 had to declare that the time had arrived when 
 the promise should be fulfilled — " The kingdom 
 of heaven is at hand." 
 
 When the Lord gave intimation to his ser- 
 vants that he was about to appear among his 
 people by any special manifestation, they were 
 generally called upon to sanctify themselves, 
 and particularly if they had been defiled by any 
 iniquity. It was in this way they were prepared 
 for the Lord, in the ceremonial sanctification of 
 their persons, and in humility before God. The 
 sanctification of people was by the washing of 
 water ; and, in this particular, though John had 
 his commission directly from heaven, it evident- 
 ly bore the marks of those ceremonial obser- 
 vances under the law, when the people were 
 brought to repentance, and were purified by 
 water, upon the intimation that God was about 
 to visit them. 
 
 There could be no reception for the people 
 into the kingdom of heaven, when the Messiah 
 should appear among them, did they not repent 
 and forsake their sins. John considered all per- 
 
20 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 sons, without exception, as in a state of deprav- 
 ity, guilt, and condemnation ; and as he called 
 upon them to repent, many became contrite, 
 and those who professed deep sorrow of soul 
 were baptized, thereby publicly acknowledging 
 their pollution, their need of spiritual washing, 
 and determination to abandon every evil way. 
 The ministry of John, attached to the reports 
 which had gone forth concerning the circum- 
 stances of his birth, attracted multitudes to him 
 in the wilderness where he was preaching and 
 baptizing. There was doubtless every class of 
 character going out of Jerusalem, and the cities 
 round about the wilderness, to attend on his 
 ministry, and to be baptized of him. And as it 
 was his grand object to fulfil his mission, he was 
 evidently greatly concerned " to prepare a peo- 
 ple for the Lord." Questioning as he did, there- 
 fore, the sincerity of the multitude, who were 
 eager to submit to the baptism he administered, 
 with stern rebuke he thus addressed them : " O 
 generation of vipers, who hath warned you to 
 flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth there- 
 fore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not 
 to say within yourselves, ' We have Abraham 
 to our father ;' for I say unto you, that God is 
 
John's baptism. 21 
 
 able of these stones to raise up children nnto 
 Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto 
 the root of the tree ; every tree therefore which 
 bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, 
 and cast into the fire." 
 
 His words sank deep into the hearts of many ; 
 they became concerned to know and do their 
 duty : numbers manifested a legal repentance, 
 and some, we may believe, a godly sorrow, that 
 needed not to be repented of, all of whom were 
 baptized confessing their sins, Relieving in the 
 speedy appearing of the Saviour, and the visi- 
 ble manifestation of the kingdom of heaven, or 
 the dispensation of the grace of God by Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 SECTION IV. THE DISPENSATION UNDER WHICH 
 
 JOHN MINISTERED. 
 
 ISTow it is evident that, when John commenced 
 his ministry, he knew nothing of the person of 
 the Saviour. Though they were connected by 
 family relationship, and both mothers could con- 
 gratulate each other prior to the birth of either, 
 yet in the providence of God they were kept 
 apart,- so that there was no meeting or inter- 
 
22 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 course. Nothing had appeared of the kingdom 
 of heaven — it was only announced as at hand ; 
 yet John was fulfilling his ministry in baptizing 
 unto repentance. "While, then, the public ap- 
 pearance of Christ in the ministry of his own 
 grace remained to be revealed, and the kingdom 
 of heaven was only proclaimed as being at hand, 
 and not in actual existence, and while John was 
 only a messenger to prepare the way of the 
 Lord, we ask, to what dispensation did John's 
 ministry belong ? It is self-evident that every 
 feature of it bore a striking resemblance to the 
 Jewish ceremonial observances. It was no new 
 thing for repentance and purification to be en- 
 joined upon the people, and John's ministry 
 only differed from what had gone before, inas- 
 much as that it heralded the approach of the 
 holy and just One. 
 
 John was a Jewish prophet, and the last of 
 the prophets. The rite of baptism which he ad- 
 ministered as peculiar to himself (in which all 
 who were baptized were enjoined to believe on 
 Him who should come after him), was. the last 
 of the instituted ceremonies of the Jewish reli- 
 gion, reserved especially for John to introduce 
 and administer. It was the baptism emphati- 
 
23 
 
 cally declared to be from heaven, and was su- 
 perseded by Christian baptism. 
 
 There has been considerable perplexity in the 
 minds of those who have written concerning 
 John as a prophet, to know whether he is to 
 come between the Jewish and Christian dispen- 
 sations, distinct in himself and office from either, 
 or to occupy a place among the Jewish proph- 
 ets, or be considered a prophet of the kingdom 
 of heaven — the Christian dispensation. 
 
 It requires no keenness of discernment to un- 
 derstand that this perplexity has arisen from 
 the desire to endeavor to find a place for the 
 messenger of the Lord to suit the opinions which 
 men may wish to establish. Cast away these 
 conflicting notions ; leave the prophet to find 
 his own true and proper place assigned him by 
 Heaven; come with teachable dispositions to 
 what the Scriptures declare, and there can be 
 no doubt remaining. 
 
 It seems to be a matter passing strange that 
 men — -and learned men too — have ventured to 
 create a nook for him between two dispensa- 
 tions, an idea absurd in the extreme. The Scrip- 
 tures nowhere give the most distant intimation 
 of a break between the two dispensations, with 
 
24 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 a link to bring the two together. The one flows 
 on into the other as the waters run on into the 
 Ocean, and we are not prepared to countenance 
 or allow for one moment the idea, seeing the 
 Scriptures have never given any license for it. 
 
 John was a prophet in either the Jewish or 
 the Christian dispensation. That there should 
 be a difficulty for a moment with any one, who 
 professes to read the Scriptures, to decide which, 
 seems somewhat surprising. The accumulated 
 evidence which would seem to say he was not 
 in the Christian dispensation (and consequently 
 did not administer Christian baptism), if fairly 
 looked at, is overwhelming on every hand. 
 Some of this evidence we shall presently notice, 
 while we now turn to one or two circumstances 
 sufficiently convincing to prove that John was 
 a prophet, and the last of the prophets, under 
 the Jewish dispensation. 
 
 The language of prophecy concerning the 
 character and office of John was, " I will send 
 you Elijah the prophet before the coining of 
 the great and dreadful day of the Lord." If 
 this was to precede the coming of the day of 
 the Lord, it would be strange for us to interpret 
 it as after ; and if the resemblance of his char- 
 
25 
 
 acter and office should so correspond with the 
 prophet Elijah as for him to bear his name, un- 
 der what other dispensation could he exist, for 
 he was never to acomplish among the Gentiles 
 what Elijah did among the Jews, in recovering 
 them from idolatry and backsliding ? When Je- 
 sus said to his disciples, concerning John, "And 
 if ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for 
 to come," it was in the same connection that he 
 testified, " Verily, I say unto you, among them 
 that are born of women, there hath not risen a 
 greater prophet than John the Baptist." The 
 comparison doubtless here must have been with 
 the Jewish prophets ; for if John were not one 
 of their order, and under the same dispensation 
 with them, upon what ground could there be 
 such a comparison? But, in order to give a 
 more definite force to this statement, Jesus adds, 
 " Notwithstanding, he that is least in the king- 
 dom of heaven is greater than heP It seems 
 impossible to attach any other meaning to these 
 words than that the least of the prophets under 
 the Christian dispensation should be so blessed 
 with additional knowledge and privilege, that 
 he should be greater than the greatest prophet 
 under the Jewish dispensation. 
 
26 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 John, in addressing his disciples, said, " Ye 
 yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am 
 not the Christ, but that I am sent before him." 
 Here, again, if he were before the Messiah, how 
 could he be in his kingdom ? He adds : " He 
 that hath the bride is the bridegroom : but the 
 friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and 
 heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the 
 bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is 
 fulfilled." Does he speak here like one in the 
 Christian dispensation, or the Christian church, 
 which is the bride whom the bridegroom hath ? 
 He is only the friend of the bridegroom, as he 
 acknowledges. The truth is beyond doubt that 
 John and his ministry belonged to the Jewish 
 dispensation ; that the repentance he demanded 
 was of a legal character, and the baptism he ad- 
 ministered had relation to a ceremonial obser- 
 vance under the law. 
 
 SECTION V. JESUS BAPTIZED BY JOHN. 
 
 "While John was engaged in the office of his 
 ministry, and multitudes were pressing to hear 
 him, we find Jesus going forth to hear and de- 
 mand of the prophet the rite of baptism to be 
 
27 
 
 administered to him. The stern rebuker of the 
 multitude for their sins, humbles himself before 
 the Lord, and, conscious of his inferiority to Him 
 whose harbinger he was, said, " I have need to 
 be baptized of thee, and comest thou unto me I" 
 
 This was the first meeting between the Lord 
 and his messenger, and it is one calculated to 
 fill the contemplating mind with admiration. 
 The mighty Lord and long-promised Messiah 
 appeared at last in his public character : not in 
 the pomp and grandeur of an earthly prince fol- 
 lowing his pioneer with a court retinue, nor 
 with the attractive pageantry of any earthly 
 greatness ; but with an assembled multitude of 
 lowly sinners, to submit to the observance of 
 the institutions of Heaven, and be reckoned one 
 among the people, in all meekness and lowli- 
 ness. The one who, being in the form of God, 
 and thought it not robbery to be equal with 
 God, yet made himself of no reputation. 
 
 Can we wander in our imagination to the 
 side of the river Jordan, in the wilderness of 
 Judea, and see from every quarter multitudes 
 wending their way to one spot, where an assem- 
 bled group are already congregated? There 
 stands an individual whose presence is the lb- 
 
28 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 cus of attraction, of stern yet amiable aspect — 
 great, yet loving and compassionate ; his cam- 
 el's-hair raiment, fastened around him with a 
 leathern girdle, gives him the aspect of a proph- 
 et of the Lord, and his whole demeanor and 
 ministry confirm the impression, for " all held 
 John to be a prophet." He was, as described 
 by the Saviour himself, " a burning and a shi- 
 ning light." 
 
 The scenes and excitement here had contin- 
 ued for some time, the prophet preaching re- 
 pentance and baptizing penitents in Jordan ; 
 they confessing their sins, and he pointing them 
 to look for the speedy appearance of the Sav- 
 iour, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand." But now a new feature is given to the 
 increasing excitement : another person appears, 
 who is greater than John. There goes the meek 
 and lowly Jesus to this same spot of interest ; 
 and, by the intimation of Heaven, John recog- 
 nises the One whom he had been constantly af- 
 firming to the multitude was at hand : therefore 
 he was sent baptizing with water. Now he could 
 say: "There standeth one among you, whom 
 ye know not ; he it is, who coining after me is 
 preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am 
 
29 
 
 not worthy to unloose." The great prophet is 
 abased before the Lord, and declares his con- 
 sciousness that the lowest menial servitude he 
 is not worthy to discharge for such an august 
 and glorious being as he who now stands in the 
 congregated audience. 
 
 But Jesus sues for the baptismal rite to be 
 administered to him at the prophet's hands, 
 amid all the conscious unworthiness felt, and 
 the scruples made, by John. Hear the prevail- 
 ing words of the " Messenger of the covenant," 
 the Lord of life and glory : " Suffer it to be so 
 now : for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righ- 
 teousness." It became as binding on John to 
 administer, as it was on Christ to submit to, the 
 rite of baptism. 
 
 But here another fresh incident occurs. The 
 Saviour is baptized, and coming up out of the 
 water ; John is looking up, when the heavens 
 open to his view, and he sees the Spirit of God 
 descending like a dove, and lighting upon Jesus, 
 while a voice from heaven proclaims, "This is 
 my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
 Oh, how solemnly majestic is the scene at Jor- 
 dan, in the review of such events ! 
 
 The Saviour is baptized in obedience to the 
 
30 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 institutions of Heaven. The Spirit honors him 
 in his descent, and the voice of God expresses 
 his delight in his dear Son. John receives the 
 definite testimony that Jesus is the true Mes- 
 siah, and speaks of it as the confirmatory testi- 
 mony ; he could now unhesitatingly point to Je- 
 sus and say, "Behold the Lamb of God, which 
 taketh away the sin of the world !" He gives 
 this reason for so speaking of Jesus : " I knew 
 him not" (that is, not as now, in the character of 
 the Saviour's office and work), " but he that sent 
 me to baptize with water, the same said unto 
 me, ' Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit de- 
 scending, and remaining on him, the same is he 
 which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.' And I 
 saw, and bare record, that this is the Son of 
 God." 
 
 SECTION VI. THE CHARACTER OF THE RITE AD- 
 MINISTERED TO CHRIST. 
 
 Having noticed the historical features of the 
 baptizing of Jesus by John in Jordan, the ques- 
 tion now is : ' What was the character of that 
 baptism which Jesus received at the hands of 
 John — was it Christian, or was it an ordinance 
 
31 
 
 to be classed with the institutions of the legal 
 dispensation V 
 
 Some great men have labored to display their 
 weakness in attempting to prove it to be a Chris- 
 tian ordinance — the same with the baptism now 
 enjoined upon Christians to observe. Some men 
 of considerable literary attainments have ven- 
 tured to expose their folly in favor of their own 
 dogmas, in exhibiting Christ as a pattern of 
 Christian obedience, thinking to give greater 
 significancy to an ordinance in the minds of the 
 vulgar and untutored than it possesses as a mere 
 command of Christ's. 
 
 Is it not a common thing at the baptismal wa- 
 ters to hear the administrator of the Christian 
 institute dilate upon the acts of John Baptist, 
 and the historical features of Christ's baptism, 
 telling the candidates that they are following 
 their Divine Lord in the holy institution, while 
 they pervert the words of the angel who point- 
 ed Mary to the tomb of Jesus, and apply them 
 literally to the water, saying, " Come see the 
 place where the Xord lay" ? Yast multitudes 
 of baptists, in the simplicity of ignorance, have 
 taken hold of this sophistry, and attached the 
 idea of greater significancy to their Christian 
 
32 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 baptism, under the belief that in this they had 
 trodden exactly in the footsteps of the Saviour, 
 who himself yielded to this Christian rite. 
 
 So prone have the generality of the baptists 
 been to turn their minds to Christ, as their ex- 
 ample in observing the ordinance of Christian 
 baptism, that, to view it as an institution of 
 Christ's, enjoined by him upon all his disciples 
 as his requirement, has comparatively little or 
 no weight upon their minds ; so that, were they 
 to be convinced that the notions which had 
 given so much extra importance in their esti- 
 mation to baptism, had no existence at all in 
 reality, they would be ready to regard the or- 
 dinance with comparative indifference. Such 
 would be the consequence of erroneously en- 
 deavoring to strengthen the force of a rite which 
 has its legitimate influence in being a positive 
 institution of the Christian dispensation. 
 
 It really seems too absurd to need a word in 
 refutation of so monstrous an incongruity as 
 that which seeks to make John's baptism a 
 Christian ordinance, and the baptism of Jesus 
 by John, Christian baptism. Yet, since there 
 is no vulgar error but what multitudes will be 
 found to embrace it, particularly if it has rela- 
 
33 
 
 tion to religious doctrines and institutes — nor 
 no self-evident principle to which every dispas- 
 sionate man of common sense might bow, but 
 what some rigorous partisan will stumble over 
 — it may be necessary perhaps to ask of those 
 who are infatuated with their own folly, that 
 which is in itself evidently impossible : * How 
 could Jesus be baptized into the faith of that 
 of which he himself was the author and finish- 
 er % how could he submit to a rite which takes 
 its existence from his own lips ? how could he 
 be baptized into the Trinity, himself a party in 
 that Trinity V These and other absurdities must 
 have been, if Christ had received from John 
 Christian baptism. 
 
 It seems also next to impossible that there 
 could be any difficulty in the way of under- 
 standing the nature of the Saviour's address to 
 John, which prevailed over all his scruples in 
 administering baptism to Christ. "It becom- 
 eth us to fulfil all righteousness," clearly proves 
 that whatever God had instituted and enjoined 
 upon the Jewish people for their observance, it 
 was meet that he as a Jew should rigorously 
 observe. 
 
 Jesus was a Jew, of the city of Bethlehem, 
 
 2* 
 
34: CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 of the tribe of Judah, and of the seed of David. 
 He was made under the law, and in the time 
 when all the religious institutions were as much 
 in force as they had ever been ; as yet none 
 were abrogated. He stood as one of the peo- 
 ple, subject to every moral and religious duty, 
 and as much required to yield obedience as any 
 one in the nation. In no one particular did he 
 fail to observe the requirement of the strict let- 
 ter of the law. 
 
 All the ceremonial institutions had relation 
 to the character of the people as sinners ; and 
 though Jesus was holy, harmless, undefiled, and 
 separate from sinners, in his own nature and 
 character, he felt himself under obligation to re- 
 gard with religious devotion every ceremonial 
 enjoined by God upon the people. The insti- 
 tution of baptism by John was of heavenly ori- 
 gin; and, notwithstanding Jesus was not one 
 who needed repentance nor ceremonial purifi- 
 cation, yet, as one of the nation, it was obliga- 
 tory on him to observe Heaven's high laws, sub- 
 mit to what God had enjoined, and so fulfil all 
 righteousness. 
 
 "We can readily understand how important it 
 was that He, who was to be the only mediator 
 
35 
 
 between God and man, should himself pay due 
 regard to everything enjoined by God for reli- 
 gious observance. Could he who was holiness 
 itself treat with any indifference what was righ- 
 teously commanded ? could he who had to plead 
 the cause of his people, entreat on their behalf 
 that mercy for his sake should be extended to 
 them, when he himself had failed even in one 
 particular to do honor to the laws of Heaven ? 
 ]STo, it behooved Jesus to fulfil all righteousness. 
 Born into the world while as yet, of necessity, 
 the legal and ceremonial dispensation was in 
 full force, nor could come to an end until he 
 abolished it in his death (for under it he was to 
 live and fulfil the law), he bowed a willing sub- 
 mission, and demanded that in his own person 
 the last religious institution under the Jewish 
 disj:)ensation should be honored and obeyed. 
 
 The sequel of that devout submission is 
 crowned with glory and blessedness. The heav- 
 ens open — the Spirit descends upon Jesus — 
 and the Father's voice is heard to proclaim, 
 " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased." The Father and the Spirit conjoin to 
 publicly honor the Son, who had thus done hon- 
 or to the institutes of Heaven before men. Nor 
 
36 CHRISTIAN" ORDINANCES. 
 
 is this all, inasmuch as it would here seem to 
 be manifest that he was solemnly inaugurated 
 to the acts of his public ministry and life. 
 
 The mission of the Lord Jesus was publicly 
 accredited ; and, as he was to be the High-Priest 
 over the house of God, to offer gifts and sacri- 
 fices for the people — so, like the Aaronical 
 priest, he was initiated into his office by wash- 
 ing and anointing : he was washed by the bap- 
 tism in water, and anointed by the descent of 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 So far, then, we have seen that John's bap- 
 tism and its administration to Christ is in no 
 sense a Christian ordinance, neither has in it 
 Christian example. All the attempts that have 
 been made to sustain such a view must fall to 
 the ground as utterly worthless in the estima- 
 tion of every candid inquirer after truth, and 
 it is high time that such unjustifiable notions 
 should be put aside by baptists. If they wish 
 to maintain any credit for sincerity and truth- 
 fulness, they must drop such an untenable po- 
 sition, and turn to the commission of Christ and 
 the observances under the Christian dispensa- 
 tion, to advocate the rite of Christian baptism, 
 and the views which, as a denomination, they 
 
37 
 
 seek to sustain. How far some of them can be 
 defended we have yet to examine. 
 
 BAPTISM WAS NOT CHRISTIAN". 
 
 There are circumstances open to investiga- 
 tion, of which we would here avail ourselves, 
 confirmatory of the opinions advanced in reject- 
 ing John's mission, ministry, and baptism, as 
 belonging to the Christian dispensation, and for 
 regarding it as having a place in the Jewish 
 economy and closing events connected with the 
 ancient institutions of the Jewish church. 
 
 It has been affirmed that John's baptism cor- 
 responded in all particulars with the baptism 
 administered by the apostles and disciples of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, after they had received 
 their commission from him to baptize. Noth- 
 ing can be more easy than to make broad asser- 
 tions : they have been doubtless made in this 
 particular from such impression of mind having 
 been received ; but if not to be sustained, we can 
 only conclude that those impressions were the 
 effect of ignorant simplicity and superstition. 
 
 When we turn to the scripture record, to see 
 
38 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 if we can trace any such corresponding features 
 as are affirmed to exist between the two ordi- 
 nances, we are surprised to find that in every 
 particular but one they are at variance. They 
 bear no resemblance but in the submerging of 
 the candidates in water. Robert Hall thus speaks 
 upon this particular of the baptism of John, and 
 the Christian ordinance : " In order to consti- 
 tute an identity in religious rites, two things are 
 requisite — a sameness in the corporeal action, 
 and a sameness in the import. The action may 
 be the same, yet the rites totally different, or 
 Christian baptism must be confounded with 
 legal Jewish purifications, the greater part of 
 which consisted in a total immersion of the 
 body in water." 
 
 John's baptism and Christian baptism are di- 
 rect contrasts in the effects which accompanied 
 them. The rite administered by John was a 
 mere immersion in water, unaccompanied with 
 the effusion of the Spirit, except in the instance 
 of the baptism of Jesus, and even that differed 
 from the miraculous gifts and graces which at- 
 tended Christian baptism at the commencement 
 of the Christian dispensation. John speaks some- 
 what disparagingly of his own baptism, when, 
 
39 
 
 contemplating tjie grandeur of Christ's, he said : 
 " I indeed baptize you with water unto repent- 
 ance : but he that cometh after me is mightier 
 than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear : 
 he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and 
 with fire." St. Chrysostom here observes of 
 John : " Having agitated their minds with the 
 fear of future judgment, and the mention of the 
 axe, and the rejection of their ancestors, and the 
 substitution of a new race, together with the 
 double menace of excision and burning, and by 
 all these means softened their obduracy, and dis- 
 posed them to a desire of deliverance from these 
 evils, he then introduces the mention of Christ, 
 not in a simple manner, but with much eleva- 
 tion : in exhibiting his own disparity, lest he 
 should appear to be using the language of com- 
 pliment, he commences by stating a comparison 
 betwixt the benefits bestowed by each. For he 
 did not immediately say, ' I am not worthy to 
 unloose thelatchet of his shoes;' but, having 
 first stated the insignificance of his own bap- 
 tism, and showed that it had no effect beyond 
 bringing them to repentance (for he did not 
 style it the water of remission, but of repent- 
 ance), he proceeds to the baptism ordained oy 
 
40 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 Christ, which was replete with aji ineffable gift" 
 (Homily XL, on Matthew). 
 
 John did not receive his commission to bap- 
 tize from the Lord Jesus Christ, but from the 
 Father, and he makes the marked distinction in 
 the persons of the Trinity, that it might be un- 
 questionably clear. "We ask, can that be a Chris- 
 tian institution which is declared to be received, 
 not from Christ, but from the Father ? And, be- 
 ing so plainly stated by John, does it not seem 
 something like arrogance to profess to know 
 more about the prophet's commission than he 
 knew of it himself, and to contradict every state- 
 ment which John has made concerning this sub- 
 ject? We may ask such to what oracle they 
 have been for their wisdom to venture upon a 
 contradiction of such a plain statement as this : 
 " I knew him not, but he that sent me to bap- 
 tize with water, the same said unto me, ' Upon 
 whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and 
 remaining on him, the same is he whicli bapti- 
 zeth with the Holy Ghost.' " Could it be a Chris- 
 tian ordinance, which was for some time prac- 
 tised before Christ was made known to John ? or 
 could that be a Christian ordinance not founded 
 on Christ's authority, and whicli in one particu- 
 
41 
 
 lar was designed to make him manifest % It is 
 truly absurd so to reason. 
 
 John's baptism was unto repentance, and his 
 message was, " Prepare ye the way of the Lord." 
 He demanded of the people reformation, as a 
 preparation for the approaching kingdom of 
 heaven ; in other words, for the coming Messiah. 
 But the baptism commanded by Christ was with 
 the acknowledged faith in his appearance, and 
 not only so, but in the belief of his death and 
 resurrection. There was no baptizing into the 
 name of the Trinity of persons in the Godhead 
 by John, nor into any one of the names of Deity, 
 but simply into a state of repentance. The bap- 
 tism administered as Christian necessarily bears 
 the name of Christ, and that in connection with 
 the Father and the Holy Spirit. 
 
 The baptism of John was confined to the Jew- 
 ish people, and those who might have been pros- 
 elytes to the Jewish religion : but not so the 
 Christian — that was for all nations ; and in the 
 commission of Jesus it is emphatically laid clown 
 that, contrary to all the restrictions which had 
 gone before, they were to preach the gospel to 
 every creature, and baptize all nations as they 
 taught them the truths of Christianity. 
 
42 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 John's baptism was no proselyting or initia- 
 ting ordinance to the Christian dispensation. It 
 was an external purification for an acknowl- 
 edged religious people, who were not required 
 to relinquish their former religious notions, and 
 adopt a new system of worship, but to return to 
 the purity of that which they had forsaken, to 
 hold fast what they had received, and to look 
 for a yet greater mercy, in the speedy advent 
 of the long-promised Messiah. He who should 
 lead them on from Judaism to Christianity, or 
 otherwise, what could be meant when it was 
 said of John, that " he should turn the hearts 
 of the fathers to the children, and the disobedi- 
 ent to the wisdom of the just ?" Surely nothing 
 but that a restoration of the spirit of religious 
 worship which was in the patriarchs should be 
 revived, and that the children should be con- 
 verted to pure Judaism by John, in the true 
 spirit of Elias, who recovered through his min- 
 istry the people from idolatry to worship the 
 true and living God, according to the institu- 
 tions of Moses. 
 
 John's baptism was not Christian, or there 
 never would have been the rebaptizing of his 
 disciples. Some have attempted to pervert the 
 
43 
 
 sense of as plain and simple a sentence of com- 
 mon language as could have been possibly writ- 
 ten, where it is recorded, in Acts 19th, that 
 twelve of John's disciples were commanded by 
 Paul to be baptized in the name of Jesus. Doubt- 
 less there were hundreds like the disciples at 
 Ephesus who had been baptized by John, among 
 the thousands of the first converts to Christian- 
 ity, who were rebaptized in the name of Jesus. 
 These are but cursory remarks upon some of 
 the things which give prominent distinction to 
 the baptism of John, as being in no way con- 
 nected with the Christian dispensation. It is 
 difficult, in so short a space, to bring before the 
 mind a subject so replete with decisive evidence 
 in favor of John being a Jewish prophet, exer- 
 cising his ministerial commission under the Jew- 
 ish dispensation. But in so brief a review there 
 may be some things convincing to many ; and 
 should they lead only to a prayerful and dispas- 
 sionate investigation, the end must be attained 
 which is here sought — viz., the disabuse of 
 many minds long held in error in reference to 
 an institution which in itself points out its true 
 and proper nature. 
 
4A CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 SECTION VIII. THE PEEIOD WHEN THE CHRISTIAN 
 
 DISPENSATION SUPERSEDED THE JEWISH. 
 
 There is another feature of importance per- 
 haps connected with the subject of John's bap- 
 tism that must not be lost sight of in this place. 
 An inquiry will naturally arise concerning the 
 period of the commencement of the Christian 
 dispensation, if it did not begin with the life of 
 John or Christ. Chronologists have fixed the 
 commencement of the Christian era about the 
 third or fourth year after the advent of our Lord, 
 but an e230ch of time so fixed by men is no guide 
 in determining a period for the commencement 
 of a dispensation of a religious order. There 
 have been conflicting opinions upon this partic- 
 ular. Some have considered that the Christian 
 dispensation commenced with the birth of Christ, 
 others with the ministry of John ; some, again, 
 with the ministry of Christ ; others with the death 
 of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the time 
 when lie gave commission to the apostles and dis- 
 ciples ; and, again, his ascension, and the day of 
 pentecost. With all these points of time before 
 the mind, not a few have come to the conclu- 
 
45 
 
 sion that it is difficult to determine when the 
 Christian dispensation may be truly said to have 
 had its commencement. 
 
 It ought to be determined so far, that the 
 Christian dispensation could not have had a 
 commencement before the crucifixion of Christ, 
 or the passover which was prepared for him to 
 celebrate immediately before his death. The 
 reason for such a conclusion arises from the con- 
 sideration that there must be a perfect harmony 
 in the economy of religion, so that two different 
 dispensations could never be in force at the same 
 time. Judaism and Christianity could not ex- 
 ist together : the one must cease at the com- 
 mencement of the other. The instant the Jew- 
 ish dispensation was abolished, the Christian 
 one began : and can we, then, find a more defi- 
 nite period for this than when Christ exclaimed 
 upon the cross, "It is finished" and then ex- 
 pired ? 
 
 Jesus was made under the law not only the 
 moral but the ceremonial law, and was the end 
 of both for righteousness to every one that be- 
 lieveth. He fulfilled the moral law for his peo- 
 ple ; and, as to the ceremonial, it was necessary 
 that all things should have their accomplish- 
 
46 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 rnent in Mm, as well as that in religious wor- 
 ship he should observe all the institutions of 
 Heaven. That the Christian dispensation could 
 not be in existence while Christ lived is certain, 
 inasmuch as the people could not yield obedi- 
 ence to both it and the Jewish dispensation. If 
 Christianity existed in the lifetime of Christ, we 
 should now be fully justified in observing all 
 the Jewish rites and ceremonies, and should be 
 transgressors of the law of God if we did not, 
 for Jesus observed them, with his disciples, as 
 obligatory. He kept the Jewish feasts to the 
 end, and, with special regard to the feast of the 
 passover, he sent his disciples to make ready 
 for its due observance. That the Jewish dis- 
 pensation was in existence when he specially 
 commanded the preparation for observing one 
 of its feasts must be admitted, or we throw the 
 economy of Heaven into confused and conflict- 
 ing elements by making two dispensations to 
 exist at the same time. 
 
 There was no Christian dispensation in exist- 
 ence while as yet the law or any part of it re- 
 mained unfulfilled by Christ, or while the things 
 in the law concerning him had not as yet had 
 their end. When Christ gave permission to 
 
47 
 
 Judas to go and complete his traitorous designs, 
 lie had finished for ever the duties connected 
 with the institutions of the Jewish dispensation. 
 But one thing remained, which was of a passive 
 nature : it was that he, the antitype of the pass- 
 over, should be slain, and suffer the ignomini- 
 ous death of the cross, upon which, in death, he 
 declared, " It is finished." 
 
 Here, then, virtually, the Jewish dispensation 
 had an end ; and, if there could have been any 
 period in which for a moment it could be sup- 
 posed that the Jewish dispensation was abol- 
 ished, and the Christian one not in existence, it 
 must have been on the Jewish sabbath when 
 Jesus rested in the tomb, though doubtless in 
 paradise the Spirit of Jesus was proclaiming the 
 victories of his cross, and declaring among the 
 congregation of the spirits of just men made 
 perfect that the kingdom of heaven had com- 
 menced among men. 
 
 The morn of his resurrection was a hallowed 
 period : the Sun of Righteousness had risen ere 
 the sun of nature had enlightened the horizon 
 of the tomb. Jesus left the grave to take to 
 himself his dominion — his both by conquest 
 and gift — and to declare, " All power is given 
 
48 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 unto me in heaven and in earth." The Chris- 
 tian dispensation is a sabbatism of which the 
 Jewish sabbath was typical ; so that, now, " he 
 that believeth hath entered into rest." The res- 
 urrection day of our Lord openly made it mani- 
 fest that the Christian sabbath or dispensation 
 had commenced, and we specially honor the first 
 day of the week in religious worship, and so 
 perpetuate the glorious remembrance of the 
 commencement of the kingdom of Christ among 
 men. 
 
 SECT. IX. THE BAPTISM ADMINISTERED BY CHRIST'S 
 
 DISCIPLES BEFORE THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 Let us suppose one other inquiry started con- 
 cerning the determination of John's ministry 
 and baptism, and it is perhaps the only remain- 
 ing one that can possibly be mooted : it bears 
 upon the baptism administered by the disciples 
 of our Lord Jesus during his life on earth. It 
 may be said that, 'if John's baptism was not 
 Christian baptism, what was that which these 
 disciples practised, and which aroused the jeal- 
 ousy of John's disciples, when they saw more 
 converts made to Jesus than to John ? and if 
 
49 
 
 John did not baptize in the name of Jesus, is it 
 not reasonable to suppose that they did who 
 made converts to Christ ? If the baptism prac- 
 tised by these disciples was not the same as 
 John's baptism, was it not manifest that they 
 administered the Christian ordinance V 
 
 Turn to the conduct of the apostles and disci- 
 ples whom our Lord sent out, to seek the solu- 
 tion of this matter. We read the commission 
 given to the apostles in Matt. 10 : 5-8 : " These 
 twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, 
 saying : ' Go not into the way of the Gentiles, 
 and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye 
 not : but go rather to the lost sheep of the house 
 of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, " The 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand." Heal the sick, 
 cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out dev- 
 ils,'" &c. In Luke 10: 1, we read: "After 
 these things the Lord appointed other seventy 
 also, and sent them two and two before his face 
 into every city and place, whither he himself 
 would come," &c. We find the commission de- 
 livered to them is to the same effect as that de- 
 livered to the twelve, and in nearly the same 
 words, embracing the same particulars in refer- 
 ence to their own conduct ; and as they wrought 
 
50 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 miracles upon the people, they were to say, 
 " The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." 
 
 Here it is evident that the disciples had from 
 the lips of the Saviour the very preaching which 
 John had from heaven, as to the announcement 
 of the approach of the kingdom of heaven. 
 They had no command to baptize, and it is cer- 
 tain that they could not have baptized in the 
 name of Jesus, as he had not enjoined it. The 
 import of their mission was, that as yet he had 
 not appeared to set up his kingdom — his dis- 
 pensation had not begun. They had the same 
 ministry intrusted to them by Jesus as was given 
 to John from heaven : thus the Saviour avoided 
 anything like collision. The disciples preached 
 and practised as did John : they preached, " The 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand," and baptized 
 into the faith of that approaching kingdom. 
 
 But it may be asked : ' Upon what ground, 
 then, could there be anything like jealousy ari- 
 sing in the minds of John's disciples about these 
 disciples of Jesus ? and upon what ground could 
 they regard the distinction between their bap- 
 tism and that of John V The whole distinction 
 lies here, and the ground which excited jealousy 
 is evidently to be traced to this one circum- 
 
51 
 
 stance : John did no miracle, but these disci- 
 ples were empowered to work miracles as well 
 as preach ; so that a greater multitude were at- 
 tracted to them, and were baptized by them — 
 which led the disciples of John to complain to 
 him of the fact. 
 
 We have now touched upon every necessary 
 topic to illustrate the nature of John's baptism, 
 and to prove that the ordinance of Christian 
 baptism had no existence in the lifetime of 
 John, or prior to the day of pentecost, though 
 the- commission was delivered to the apostles 
 before the ascension of Christ. But apart from 
 any attempt to make plain that which should 
 be considered self-evident, one question alone 
 is sufficient to overthrow all the useless argu- 
 ments of those who wish to claim for John's 
 baptism, or the baptism practised by the disci- 
 ples of Christ during his life upon earth, the 
 title of Christian baptism : l How can an insti- 
 tute of a kingdom be in existence before the 
 kingdom itself is set up ? or what can be more 
 certain than that a kingdom at hand is not as 
 yet a kingdom V 
 
 We conceive that, to every candid inquirer 
 after truth, it must be manifest that there is no 
 
52 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 room for even the shadow of conjecture, to sup- 
 pose that John's baptism was a Christian ordi- 
 nance. It follows, therefore, of necessity, that 
 it was not the Christian ordinance administered 
 to Christ, but decidedly a rite instituted for ob- 
 servance under the Jewish dispensation, and 
 abrogated by the law of the kingdom of Christ, 
 when Christian baj:>tism. was enjoined. 
 
 Here the first stronghold of baptists in sup- 
 port of their rigorous practice of restricted com- 
 munion is demolished. The platform of the 
 great oracle, Abraham Booth, is swept away. 
 Good and gracious as he was, his weakness and 
 erroneous views on this point are but too mani- 
 fest ; and multitudes of baptists, in the exercise 
 of judgment and candor, if they will suffer Truth 
 to lift up her voice, will be ready to exclaim, in 
 consternation and surprise, ' Where are we V 
 The answer must be — 'Just where you have 
 suffered yourselves to be carried by partisans ; 
 and the sooner you make your retreat, and turn 
 to the word and testimony of Eternal Truth as 
 a guide, the better for your peace of conscience, 
 and prosperity of soul before God.' 
 
PART II. 
 
 CHRISTIAN BAPTISM, 
 
 SECTION I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH 
 
 ITS INSTITUTION. 
 
 Christian baptism will now come under con- 
 sideration, as a positive institute of the dispen- 
 sation under which we live, and be reviewed in 
 its particular bearings in relation to the disci- 
 ples of Jesus. 
 
 In treating of John's baptism we have re- 
 moved the Christian ordinance from any con- 
 nection with it, and made it sufficiently clear 
 that, prior to the death of Christ on Calvary's 
 cross, Christian baptism had no existence. It 
 is, therefore, open now for calm investigation, 
 disencumbered from other institutions, and fair- 
 ly separated from the confusion into which it 
 
54: CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 has been too often cast by introducing it with 
 the history of events immediately preceding the 
 Christian dispensation. 
 
 Jesus Christ lived, suffered, and died in our 
 world, in the fulfilment of a commission, which 
 he received from the Father. As the servant 
 of the covenant of grace, he was ready to de- 
 clare that it was his meat and his drink to do 
 the will of Him that sent him, and to finish his 
 work. But in all that Jesus did and suffered, 
 he had his mind onward to the full recompense 
 of reward. A kingdom was promised him by 
 the Father, which he was to inherit by gift and 
 by conquest. It is certain this was in some par- 
 ticulars the animating prospect to which the 
 prophet refers : "He shall see of the travail of 
 his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53 : 11) ; 
 and is what Paul speaks of when writing about 
 the sufferings of Christ as the Christian's pat- 
 tern : " Who, for the joy that was set before 
 him, endured the cross, despising the shame, 
 and is set down at the right hand of the throne 
 of God" (Hebrews 12 : 2). With such like pros- 
 pects Jesus addressed these inspiring words to 
 his apostles : " Ye are they which have contin- 
 ued with me in my temptations. And I appoint 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 55 
 
 unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appoint- 
 ed unto me ; that ye may eat and drink at my 
 table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging 
 the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22 : 28-30). 
 
 By the power of God the Father, Jesus was 
 raised from the dead, to receive the kingdom ; 
 in anticipation of which, he was the surety of 
 the covenant to bleed and to die. The resurrec- 
 tion of Jesus was the seal of his finished work, 
 and the basis of the Christian's hope. When he 
 came forth from the chambers of the dead, he 
 rose in the triumphs of a mighty victor, in- 
 vested with authority, as King of kings and 
 Lord of lords. Now his kingdom begins, and 
 he declares, "All power is given unto me in 
 heaven and in earth" No longer as a servant, 
 but as a prince — now the dispensation of the 
 kingdom of his grace commences. 
 
 The proclamation of the commencement of 
 any government, under which a community at 
 large is to be fostered, displaying every concern 
 for liberty, prosperity, and happiness, will be 
 ever after regarded with feelings of interest and 
 delight, particularly if that which had preceded 
 it, in the history of the people, had been of an 
 oppressive, fearful, and debasing nature. The 
 
56 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 movements which advanced the people from 
 degradation to glory, from bondage to liberty, 
 from misery to happiness, could not fail to pro- 
 duce sensations of delight; the events could not 
 be buried in oblivion, nor the benefactors re- 
 garded with other than cherished feelings of 
 reverence and love. 
 
 But no -advantage in a nation's history will 
 bear the slightest comparison with the benefits 
 effected by Christ in his death for his peoj^le, 
 and the blessings which were brought to them 
 when the kingdom and dispensation of his grace 
 commenced. Surely, then, the resurrection of 
 Jesus from the dead marks the period of the 
 commencement of so blessed a government as 
 the reign of his grace. Christians should look 
 back to this event, and glorify God for it, and 
 for so many infinitely blessed things made sure 
 to them by it. 
 
 The kingdom being now virtually taken, the 
 Lord proclaims to his disciples the power and 
 authority with which he is invested, and issues 
 his great commission to his servants, saying: 
 " Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, bapti- 
 zing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 57 
 
 observe all things whatsoever I have command- 
 ed you : and lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
 the end of the world" (Matthew 28 : 19, 20). 
 
 Nothing remained but for them to be invest- 
 ed with the power of the Holy Spirit, for the 
 discharge of this important and blessed commis- 
 sion. The Saviour, therefore, said unto them : 
 " Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon 
 you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, un- 
 til ye be endued with power from on high" 
 (Luke 24 : 49). Invested with such power, they 
 were to go forth in the discharge of the minis- 
 try with which they had been so solemnly in- 
 trusted. 
 
 Jesus makes his departure from this world 
 from the mount of Olives. In the presence of 
 his assembled apostles he ascends up to heaven, 
 and a cloud receives him out of their sight. He 
 enters the heaven of heavens as the King of 
 glory, the Lord God, mighty in battle ; acknowl- 
 edged so by the myriads who inhabit the skies. 
 He takes his seat on the throne of glory, at the 
 Father's right hand (which position he continues 
 to occupy) in the midst of the throne. There 
 he receives gifts for men, even the rebellious 
 also, that the Lord God might dwell among 
 
 3* 
 
58 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 them. The Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus, now de- 
 scends, in confirmation of his parting promise ; 
 and the wondrous benefits of his rich and heav- 
 enly gifts on the day of pentecost have often 
 been considered by us with admiring interest. 
 
 Under the mighty influences of the Holy Spir- 
 it, the apostles and disciples of Jesus are now 
 made a spiritually-armed force in the kingdom 
 of their Saviour. They preached, baptized, and 
 wrought miracles before, but it was in anticipa- 
 tion of the coming kingdom — it was to prepare 
 the people for this great event — it was while as 
 yet their Lord was in humiliation and suffering 
 — when he was a servant, and had not died, nor 
 abrogated the Jewish institutions : but now they 
 were abolished, the old tilings of the ceremonial 
 law had vanished away, and the dispensation of 
 the Spirit and power had come. The legal dis- 
 pensation, from which they had just merged, 
 had no glory, by reason of that which excelled. 
 
 Truly, the apostles and disciples did not know 
 for themselves the full blessings of the dispen- 
 sation into which they were now so gloriously 
 conducted. From their long-cherished rites of 
 Judaism, they seemed but little prepared (not- 
 withstanding the exalted notions they had of 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 59 
 
 the blessings of the kingdom of heaven) to em- 
 brace so much freedom as that which was se- 
 cured to them by their Lord and King. There- 
 fore, though, the Jewish dispensation had virtu- 
 ally seen an end, and its institutions been an- 
 nulled, they could not so suddenly yield up all, 
 and declare themselves free. They laid hold 
 with a tenacious grasp of some of their most 
 approved ceremonials, and clung fast to their 
 national prejudices; but by degrees they re- 
 laxed their hold, and yielded up, one by one, 
 till at last, by the increased light they enjoyed 
 under the influence and teaching of the Holy 
 Spirit, they gloried in declaring themselves free, 
 and in uttering their strong conviction that old 
 things had passed away, and all things had be- 
 come new. 
 
 SECTION II. THE INTERIM BEFORE ITS ADMINIS- 
 TRATION. 
 
 The Christian dispensation was specially de- 
 signed to be the dispensation of the Spirit and 
 power ; therefore, though proclaimed by Jesus 
 immediately after his resurrection, nothing was 
 done for its promulgation among men till the 
 
60 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 descent of the Holy Spirit. Jesus abode forty 
 days with his disciples, instructing them in things 
 pertaining to his kingdom ; and, after delivering 
 to them all his gracious commands, he left them 
 with this injunction, that they should do noth- 
 ing in his kingdom till the Spirit, in his ruling 
 power, took up his abode among fhem. " Wait," 
 said he, " for the promise of the Father, which 
 ye liave heard of me. For John truly baptized 
 with water ; but ye shall be baptized with the 
 Holy Ghost not many days hence." This latter 
 sentence intimated that John had gone before 
 with water-baptism, proclaiming the near ap- 
 proach of the kingdom of heaven, but that they 
 should be baptized with the Holy Ghost, in con- 
 firmation that the kingdom was in actual exist- 
 ence, that it was now set up among men, and 
 that the Spirit was the ruling and governing 
 power presiding therein. 
 
 "When the Saviour ascended to heaven, the 
 apostles returned to Jerusalem, in obedience to 
 his last command, to wait for the promised bles- 
 sing of the Spirit, that, under the power be- 
 stowed on them, they might enter upon the 
 public duties of the ministry of the kingdom. 
 But in the interim they must needs be doing 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 61 
 
 something ; had it been only that they continued 
 with one accord in prayer and supplication, 
 which we read they were engaged in, they 
 would have well done, for this was the proper 
 posture of waiting for the descent of the Spirit ; 
 but they must needs set to work about some- 
 thing : and as the number of the twelve apostles 
 was lacking one, by the awful apostacy and end 
 of Judas, they were for making their original 
 number up, hefore the coming of the Spirit into 
 the kingdom. With much solemnity and prayer 
 they sought the Lord to decide, through their 
 ballot, the man whom he would approve of to 
 occupy that vacancy. The lot fell on Matthias, 
 who apparently was a godly man, and in every 
 way qualified to occupy the important post. 
 
 But this act of the apostles in filling up their 
 number never appears to have been ratified in 
 heaven. Though they were unquestionably sin- 
 cere in what they did, they should, notwithstand- 
 ing, have rather observed the strict letter of the 
 command, " Wait;" for Jesus had an apostle in 
 reserve whom they knew not of — one whom he 
 would reveal in his own time and pleasure — 
 one whom he intended should be, as the apostle 
 expresses it, " born out of due time." The Lord 
 
62 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 himself in his glory came from heaven to arrest 
 Saul of Tarsus, that he might see Jesus, be the 
 witness of his invested glory, and an apostle 
 specially sent to the Gentiles. 
 
 These particular circumstances are entitled to 
 grave consideration. They impress us with the 
 fact of the entire suspension of all operation, in 
 the newly -proclaimed kingdom of heaven, until 
 the day of pentecost. Christ would have noth- 
 ing publicly done from the time of his resurrec- 
 tion until the descent of the Spirit ; only among 
 themselves, as disciples, their religious worship 
 and service were acceptable to him. The Spirit's 
 presence and power was to give sanction and 
 validity to their ministry in preaching and bap- 
 tizing, and in discharging all the duties which 
 Christ had commanded them. The power and 
 dominion given to Jesus upon his resurrection 
 was the kingdom of -heaven among men, but 
 then it wanted the presiding power to give va- 
 lidity to its sanctions ; it was a thing formed, 
 but wanted animus. 
 
 Here it will be seen that baptism as an insti- 
 tution of this new dispensation could not have 
 been administered from the time of the resur- 
 rection of Christ down to the pentecostal effu- 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 63 
 
 sion of the Spirit, though expressly commanded 
 by the Lord Jesus Christ, much less could it 
 have been practised before Christ abolished the 
 Jewish ceremonials, and laid in the tomb with 
 his own body their rites and their dispensation. 
 Away, then, and for ever, w T ith unfounded no- 
 tions for which the Scriptures find no place ! 
 
 The expediency of Christ's departure, and the 
 necessity for* the descent of the Holy Spirit, will 
 bear no other definite interpretation but that 
 the dispensation of Christ would remain station- 
 ary till the Spirit set it in motion. The letter 
 is nothing, the word is nothing, the law is noth- 
 ing : it is the Spirit that giveth life to the Chris- 
 tian dispensation. Look, then, to the effect of 
 .his descent : what a mighty revolution ! "When 
 the world first began to move upon its axis, in 
 the performance of its own revolution and its 
 revolution in its orbit around the sun, the cen- 
 tre of its gravity, there was displayed the effect 
 of the application of the will of the mighty Cre- 
 ator: this mainspring of action, as with the 
 touch of the finger, led off into infinite space 
 inert matter with all its relative movements. 
 So, when the Holy Spirit came forth into the 
 Christian dispensation, Tie gave that power which 
 
64 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 invested its laws and institutions with validity ; 
 and their effects, through the instrumentality 
 of the apostles and disciples of Christ, were 
 seen immediately — by his almighty, life-giving 
 touch, the whole was put into operation on that 
 memorable period of his descent with gifts and 
 graces from the glorified Saviour. Henceforth, 
 around the ascended " Sun of Righteousness," 
 the dispensation of the grace of God, and the 
 kingdom of Christ among men, is seen revolving 
 — he the true centre of gravity. 
 
 SECTION III. THE CHARACTER AND EFFECTS OF THE 
 
 The apostles opened their commission, and 
 began to preach the gospel of the kingdom in 
 various languages and dialects, as the Spirit 
 gave them utterance. The confusion of tongues 
 formed no barrier to their understanding what 
 was going forward ; every man heard the as- 
 tounding and animating mysteries of the king- 
 dom in his native language, and the truths uttered 
 found their way to the hearts of the audience. 
 Oh, what a time was that, when Peter addressed 
 the assembly with such heart-stirring comniuni- 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 65 
 
 cations ! and what an amazingly blessed effect 
 was produced as conviction grappled with their 
 consciences ! " What shall we do ?" was their 
 agonizing and despairing cry. And the joyful 
 intelligence, as with magnetic operation, re- 
 turned — "Repent, and be baptized every one 
 of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the re- 
 mission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
 the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2 : 38). 
 
 It may here cross the mind that there is a 
 similarity between the preaching of Peter and 
 the ministry of John, particularly as the advo- 
 cates for making John's baptism the Christian 
 ordinance have laid hold of this, and have upon 
 this ground unhesitatingly affirmed that it con- 
 stituted both baptisms of the same nature. — 
 Though it may appear to be taking up what we 
 have professedly dispensed with, yet as it falls 
 in our way, and, if unheeded, might leave a 
 doubt upon the minds of some that this is one 
 particular not made clear to them : for their 
 sakes, then, we say, in words there is a likeness 
 of sound: repentance, baptism, and remission 
 of sins, are the same expressions, but the appli- 
 cation and design of # their use are often vastly 
 different ; after comparing these words and find- 
 
66 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 ing them the same, there is nothing else in what 
 John and Peter said that bears resemblance, as 
 we shall see. 
 
 John calls for repentance, and fruits meet 
 for repentance. Those fruits he describes as 
 charity, honesty, humanity, truthfulness, and 
 contentment. The Jews had become a shame- 
 fully-iniquitous people, and, though attending 
 to some of the externals of religion, by observ- 
 ing instituted rites, their hearts had departed 
 from the Lord. They were, therefore, to repent 
 of their conduct, and practise a legal reforma- 
 tion. But Peter charges his audience with mur- 
 der — the dreadful murder of the Son of God. 
 They become convicted of the crime in the court 
 of their own consciences, and cry out, " What 
 shall we do ?" They are enjoined to repent, for 
 there is the promise of ])ardon for this their aw- 
 ful crime, if they truly repent before God. 
 
 We see that John baptized into a penitential 
 reformation in morals, and into the faith of the 
 speedy coming of the Messiah. But Peter com- 
 mands baptism in the name of Jesus Christ as 
 the Saviour now come, to whom they had dune 
 whatsoever they pleased, in hanging him to a 
 tree, but who was raised from the dead to be a 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 67 
 
 Prince and a Saviour to give both repentance 
 and remission of sins. So that while John bap- 
 tized into a legal repentance, and the promise 
 of remission of sins upon the ground of faith in 
 a coming Saviour — just as it was in relation to 
 the Jews as far back as Abraham's days — Peter 
 spoke of the remission of sins to those whom he 
 addressed upon their repentance and baptism 
 into the name of Jesus Christ — into the faith 
 of the sacrifice of Christ, and the dispensation 
 of the gospel of his grace ; the repentance and 
 faith both the gift of Christ, as we read in Acts 
 5 : 31. 
 
 John makes no allusion to the Spirit, but Pe- 
 ter declares that the genuine penitents shall re- 
 ceive the gift of the Holy Ghost. There needs 
 not a word of comment here. * The Scriptures 
 will at once discover that all the likeness to be 
 found between John's ministry and Peter's, to 
 give the idea that their baptisms were the same, 
 may be also said of every Jewish institute in its 
 resemblance to the Christian dispensation ; and 
 upon such construction there would be nothing 
 Jewish and nothing Christian, really, but a con- 
 fused amalgamation. 
 
 The conclusion to which the mind seems to 
 
68 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 be drawn is this : that God in infinite mercy has 
 made the thing plain that the Jewish dispensa- 
 tion was at an end when his Son suffered upon 
 Calvary ; and that the Christian dispensation 
 had its commencement from that time, and was 
 declared by Jesus when he arose from the dead, 
 and testified, "All power is given unto me in 
 heaven and in earth." It can not be mistaken, 
 when men cease to search for evidence to back 
 up their fostered notions of error, and come with 
 sincerity to know what is of God. And, more- 
 over, it is also as conclusively demonstrable, 
 that, until the dispensation was emphatically de- 
 clared to be the dispensation of the Spirit by 
 his descent on the day of pentecost, no institu- 
 tions of the Christian dispensation, though given 
 as laws of the Kingdom by Christ to his apos- 
 tles, could have been valid if observed before 
 that time. It is set forth in such a manner as 
 to amount to a certainty, that, had the apostles 
 preached in the interim of Christ's ascension 
 and the descent of the Spirit, no beneficial re- 
 sults would have followed ; and had they bap- 
 tized, though in the name of their risen and 
 ascended Lord, during that interim, such bap- 
 tism would have been invalid. They were com- 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 69 
 
 missioned, but not installed into the ministry : 
 their Lord had laid out to them their duty, but 
 they were themselves unbaptized. The rite of 
 Water-baptism as a Christian institute they were 
 not to receive ; but, as the administerers of it, 
 they were first to be baptized with the Holy 
 Ghost (the expression of- the Saviour, "Ye shall 
 be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days 
 hence," is remarkable). If, therefore, multitudes 
 had been baptized by the apostles before the de- 
 scent of the Holy Spirit, Heaven would not have 
 stamped such baptisms as valid, and all would 
 doubtless have been rebaptized after the day of 
 pentecost. The apostles and disciples invested 
 with the Spirit went forth preaching and bapti- 
 zing in the discharge of their great commission. 
 
 SECTION IV. NATURE OF THE ORDINANCE OF BAP- 
 TISM. 
 
 Baptism, as an ordinance of the Christian dis- 
 pensation, is to be practised in connection with 
 the preaching of the gospel till the end. 
 
 Words are the signs of ideas, and carry for 
 the most part the sense and true signification 
 of what is in the mind. "VVe therefore look to 
 
TO CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 the word " baptize" (baptizo) as the symbol of 
 the idea in the mind of the great Lawgiver, 
 when he said, " Go, teach all nations, baptizing 
 them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost." It is necessary also 
 that a word, as a symbol of an idea, should be 
 familiar to all engaged in colloquy ; otherwise 
 the individual speaking, though expressing his 
 own mind, does not convey his ideas to those 
 with whom he converses. But words for the 
 most part in language are not symbols limited 
 to convey but one idea : a word may be the 
 sign of several ideas, and in such cases its defi- 
 nite signification must depend upon its connec- 
 tion with other words. The multiplication of 
 words serves to express the conceptions of the 
 mind, and constitutes the language of a commu- 
 nity or nation. In living languages, especially 
 in the English, we find that, by general consent 
 and usage, some words often change their sig- 
 nification, for they are signs only of certain 
 ideas so long as usage permits, while some be- 
 come obsolete. 
 
 The word baptize has been made to signify 
 indiscriminately to dip, plunge, pour, or sj)rin- 
 kle / but it is referable to its original, there we 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 71 
 
 believe that to baptize is not to pour, or sprin- 
 kle, or to wash, in the sense we understand to 
 wash, but to submerge. If the word baptizo had 
 been translated into so variable a language as 
 the English, the word to express it might have 
 been as far removed from its signification as 
 the word charity is, or even farther, and not 
 have been even traceable to the word baptizo, 
 of which it was the translation. We see, from 
 present abuse, to what innovations an ordinance 
 of the Lord might be exposed by variable sig- 
 nification of words. 
 
 The Greek bapto and baptizo are two forms 
 of the verb : bapto is the primitive, and baptizo 
 the derivative. These changes have been so 
 often rung in the ears by controversialists as to 
 become wearisome sounds ; therefore it is unne- 
 cessary to dwell upon them here. It shall suf- 
 fice to say but little upon the word, though by 
 the common usage of the symbol at that time 
 when used by the Lord, we are definitely to un- 
 derstand what ceremony the Lawgiver enjoined 
 in the institution of baptism. The primitive 
 and derivative verbs generally agree in their 
 leading and primary signification ; but as in 
 some cases meanings are taken up by the one 
 
72 CHRISTIAN" ORDINANCES. 
 
 which may not be by the other, it would be 
 necessary, if entering fully upon the significa- 
 tion of the verb, to treat it only in respect to its 
 derivative form, inasmuch as the rite of baptism 
 is always designated by baptizo ; but, in both 
 primitive and derivative forms, we are satisfied 
 it is in favor of to plunge, to dip, to immerse, 
 &c, and must be proved so far as we know by 
 linguists that such was the signification attached 
 to it by Jesus when he gave his commission to 
 the apostles to baptize. 
 
 It would be far better for men, who go about 
 to raise a doubt in reference to the signification 
 of the Greek word, to leave that matter as it is ; 
 for they are constrained, after investigating ev- 
 ery doubtful example, to yield, evidently with 
 great unwillingness, and to say, with Professor 
 Stewart, " It is probable, though not quite cer- 
 tain, that baptizo in the New Testament signi- 
 fies to immerse." 
 
 Let there be this much of candor on the part 
 of those who have departed from the original 
 law of baptism : let them say, if they can con- 
 scientiously so look upon the matter of the com- 
 mand, that they are not bound to adhere to the 
 original form of the institution, since it is an 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 
 
 73 
 
 external rite, and that they feel safe and ap- 
 proved by the Great Lawgiver, as virtually ob- 
 serving his command, though they do not sub- 
 merge in water, but pour, sprinkle, or in any 
 other way apply water, in the name of the Fa- 
 ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 We may look upon the command differently, 
 and decide that they did not baptize at all ; yet 
 they themselves, concluding they had received 
 a valid baptism, and feeling that what they did 
 was conscientiously done, virtually answering 
 every purpose of the command, we leave them ; 
 to their own Master they stand or fall : but when 
 they attempt to give any other signification than 
 that of an overwhelming or immersion to the 
 word daptizo, as used in the New Testament, 
 they weaken their position, so we think. 
 
 It ought to be received as an undoubted truth 
 that Jesus delivered himself in terms to be fully 
 comprehended by his apostles and disciples, 
 when he commanded them to baptize. There 
 was nothing doubtful or ambiguous to them, 
 when he enjoined upon them the discharge of 
 certain duties that they were to teach others to 
 observe. He doubtless conveyed a definite sig- 
 nification in the word he used, and such a one 
 
 4 
 
Y4 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 as they fully comprehended ; for this reason we 
 find no inquiry by the multitude, who believed 
 and were commanded to be baptized, what it 
 was to be baptized. 
 
 There was such a marked observance in de- 
 livering the ancient ritual to the Israelites, that 
 there could be no possibility of mistake about 
 what was enjoined; so that Moses could say to 
 the people : " This commandment which I com- 
 mand thee this clay, it is not hidden from thee, 
 neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that 
 thou shouldest say, - Who shall go up for us to 
 heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear 
 it, and do it?' Neither is it beyond the sea, 
 that thou shouldest say, ' Who shall go over the 
 sea for us, and bring 'it unto us, that we may 
 hear it, and do it?' But the word is very nigh 
 unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that 
 thou may est do it" (Deuteronomy 30 : 11-14). 
 Thus the servant of God declared of the intelli- 
 gible nature of that which God. had command- 
 ed : it was in their mouth and in their heart 
 (that is, I conceive, in the language they used), 
 their vernacular tongue, conveying right con- 
 ceptions of God's requirements. 
 
 Was, then, the law given by Moses, and all 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 75 
 
 that the nation had enjoined on them, so intel- 
 ligible — and shall we suppose that the institu- 
 tions of the gospel were shut up in a mist, or 
 assumed no definite form, by reason of the am- 
 biguity with which Jesus delivered them % Im- 
 possible. The Great Master made all clear, and 
 so definite, that there was no doubt in the minds 
 of the apostles as to what they were to do when 
 baptizing. 
 
 SECTION V. THE PRACTICE OF THE APOSTLES AND 
 
 EARLY DISCIPLES. 
 
 The apostles understood their commission — 
 and doubtless they baptized uniformly the same, 
 without deviating in one single instance from 
 the way and manner in which they understood 
 Jesus to imply. They dare not do otherwise 
 than he required of them ; and I ask the candid 
 reader of the New Testament, was it by sprin- 
 kling, or pouring, or washing, or submerging? 
 for, whichever way it .was, that way they prac- 
 tised, and but that one way. With such over- 
 whelming evidence in the examples, and with 
 the statements in relation to those examples, it 
 is manifest the mode was that of burying the 
 
76 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 candidate, for the ordinance of Christian bap- 
 tism, in the watery element, i. e y it is so to us. 
 
 Having taken this short cut, we come at a 
 rational and philosophical conclusion, and evade 
 the irksome task of wading through those laby- 
 rinths of wordy discussions about the preposi- 
 tions in or into^ and as to what relation they 
 bear to the waters where baptism is said to have 
 been administered by the apostles. Hundreds 
 and hundreds of pages have been written, ac- 
 complishing nothing but a play upon the little 
 words of a sentence, while the signification of 
 the whole passage stands out in bold relief, so 
 that a child of common comprehension might 
 laugh such performance to scorn. 
 
 Now let the history of the church supply us 
 with some reflections ; for it is there, after the 
 closing up of the canon of the New-Testament 
 Scriptures, that we learn of first deviations from 
 the letter of the law of Jesus. We need not 
 regard the history of the church for the first 
 century, as the Scriptures carry us down to that 
 period. From them, therefore, the examples 
 should be gathered, and to them we have re- 
 ferred. 
 
 In traversing through ecclesiastical history 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 
 
 77 
 
 of the second century, there is no innovation 
 upon the command given by the Lord Jesus to 
 his apostles. What is said upon the ordinance 
 of baptism, reflects back upon what the apostles 
 practised. Barnabas, Justin Martyr, and others, 
 are definite in what they say. Barnabas re- 
 marks : " We go down into the water full of 
 sins and pollution, but come up again bringing 
 forth fruits, having in our hearts the fear and 
 hope which is in Jesus by the Spirit" (Epistle, 
 §11). Justin Martyr said — in referring to the 
 universal practice of Christians, which he de- 
 scribed to the Roman emperor — "Those who 
 believe are led to some place where there is wa- 
 ter, and then are bathed in the water" (1 Apol- 
 ogy* p- 61 )- 
 
 At the commencement of the third century, 
 we find no deviation from this uniform practice ; 
 but, about the middle of it, we have intimation 
 of occasional departure. Inquiry was made of 
 Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, whether those 
 ought to be regarded as legitimate Christians, 
 who, on account of languor and sickness, had 
 not been, bathed in salutary water, but only 
 wet with water poured upon them. Here was 
 evidently an innovation upon baptism, suggest- 
 
78 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 ed by necessity, but not otherwise tolerated. 
 The reply of the bishop was : " So far as my 
 own humble - opinion goes, I do not thiuk that 
 the Divine benefits are in any degree dimin- 
 ished, nor that anything of Divine bounty is 
 at all diminished," &c. (Epist. ad Magnum. Edi. 
 Paris, 1643.) While we see, both in the ques- 
 tion and the answer, that there had been a grow- 
 ing into the mystery of iniquity, and that saving 
 benefits were then attached to the ordinance of 
 baptism — so that it was looked upon as some- 
 thing more than when it was administered by 
 the apostles — yet it /was evident that the mode 
 of administeriDg the rite was the same — that is, 
 by immersion. A little earlier in this century, 
 we find another kind of innovation, which was 
 that of three immersions in baptism. 
 
 In the fourth century, there were not only 
 three immersions, but three invocations. Pas- 
 sing on to the eighth century, it was asked of 
 the pope if " it w T as lawful, in case of necessity, 
 occasioned by sickness, to baptize an infant by 
 pouring water on its head, from a cup, or the 
 hands," to which he replied, " Such a baptism, 
 performed in such a case of necessity, should 
 be accounted valid" (Apud Labbei Concilia, 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 79 
 
 tome 6, p. 1650. In the thirteenth century, St. 
 Thomas Aquinas says, "It is safer to baptize 
 by the mode of immersion, because this has cus- 
 tom and usage in its favor ;" and, in Article 8, 
 he says : " The minister sins grievously, who 
 baptizes otherwise than by immersion ; since he 
 does not observe the rite of the church." 
 
 In the fifteenth century, Erasmus says, " With 
 us they have water poured on 1iiem in baptism, 
 in England they are dipped ;" so that with the 
 Dutch we find the practice of immersion in dis- 
 use at this time, but not so in England. At the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century, the English 
 church required immersion, except in cases of 
 weakness. It was a little before the closing of 
 the first half of this century that sprinkling was 
 introduced into England. In 1643, it was de- 
 bated in the assembly of divines at Westmin- 
 ster whether immersion or sprinkling should be 
 adopted as the practice of the church : it was 
 decided in favor of sprinkling, by a vote of 
 twenty-five to twenty-four. 
 
 Could anything be more satisfactory in con- 
 firmation of the baptism of the first Christians 
 by immersion, than what the history of the 
 church presents? Professor Stewart, though 
 
80 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 the advocate for infant sprinkling, says : " The 
 mode of baptism by immersion the oriental 
 church has always continued to preserve, even 
 down to the present time." Now the Greek 
 church embraces a very large portion of Chris- 
 tendom. Dr. Wall remarks, in his " History of 
 Infant Baptism," concerning those who practise 
 immersion, that " all the Christians in Asia, all 
 in Africa, and about one third part of Europe, 
 are of this last sort, in which third part of Eu- 
 rope are comprehended the Christians of Grse- 
 cia, Thracia, Servia, Bulgaria, Rascia, Wallachia, 
 Moldavia, Russia, Nigra, and so on ; and even 
 the Muscovites, who, if the coldness of the coun- 
 try would excuse, might plead for a dispensa- 
 tion with more reason than any." 
 
 So much, then, for the practice of the church, 
 and the construction which linguists of all Chris- 
 tian nations have put upon the word haptizo. 
 They did not attempt to imply, even long after 
 they had made alterations in God's ordinance, 
 and perverted it, that the Greek word signified 
 what they practised. No — it is the men of 
 very modern times who have turned lexicogra- 
 phers, to give other meanings to words from 
 those formerly understood ; but it is very much 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 81 
 
 better that we should adhere to the original : 
 and, having done so, we may be satisfied that 
 baptism is the submerging the baptized in 
 water, and may confidently let this rest, to in- 
 vestigate another feature of the commission of 
 the Saviour. 
 
 SECTION VI. THE PROPER SUBJECTS FOR BAPTISM. 
 
 From the wording of the commission, we 
 should think that the subjects suited for baptism 
 may as clearly be understood as the mode of 
 administering the ordinance. The letter of the 
 commission is : " Go ye, therefore, and teach all 
 nations, baptizing them, in the name of the Fa- 
 ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : 
 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
 J have commanded you" (Matthew 28 : 19, 20). 
 In Mark 16 : 15, 16, it is thus worded: " Go ye 
 into all the world, and preach the gospel to ev- 
 ery creature. He that believeth and is baptised, 
 shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall 
 be damned." It is evident, from the wording of 
 the commission, that the gospel was first to be 
 preached to the people, then their faith in it was 
 to be declared, and then they were to be bap- 
 
 4* 
 
82 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 ti^ed ; after which, as Christians, they were to 
 be instructed more fully in all things pertaining 
 to the commands of Jesus, which may embrace 
 the whole relating to the grace of salvation, with 
 the doctrines of Christianity. 
 • The very letter of this commission was ob- 
 served by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 The proceeding of Philip with the eunuch gives 
 a clearness to the particular steps observed by 
 the apostles, in following their commission. 
 Philip preached Christ to the eunuch, showing 
 how the prophecy in Isaiah had been accom- 
 plished in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (Isa. 
 53). The truth was received by faith, and the 
 rite of baptism sought by an inquiry if ther'j 
 could be any impediment to baptism, to which 
 Philip replied, none, if indeed he did believe 
 with all his heart. A ready confession of his 
 faith was then made, and he was baptized. 
 
 When Peter enjoined repentance on the mul- 
 titude, before baptism, it was a repentance upon 
 the ground of faith manifested in their concern 
 about the charge of being the murderers of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ: faith in the whole history 
 of Jesus, as the true Messiah, led to the anxious 
 inquiry, a What must we do ?" Now it is evi- 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 83 
 
 dent that teaching came first, which teaching is 
 definite : it is' the preaching of the gospel. 
 
 The communication of the grace of the gospel 
 was not to be limited to the Jews, as it was be- 
 fore the Jewish dispensation had an end. When 
 Jesus sent out the twelve and the seventy with 
 the express command to proclaim that the king- 
 dom of heaven was at hand, then they were not 
 to go into the way of the Gentiles, nor into any 
 city of the Samaritans ; but now they are ex- 
 pressly commanded to " go into all the world, 
 and preach the gospel to every creature." Faith 
 was to come by hearing, and hearing by the 
 word of God. Therefore, when evidence was 
 given that this teaching was received and cor- 
 dially and sincerely believed in, for the salva- 
 tion of the soul, they were to be baptized. Men 
 may reason and write, to the end of time, con- 
 trary to this ; but, witli so plain a commission, 
 it is to us conclusive, apart from every other 
 consideration, that believers' baptism is the one 
 baptism contained in the commission. 
 
 They that were to be baptized had been taught 
 — and, as old heads can not be put upon young 
 shoulders, no more can reason be given to ba- 
 bies; for God has ordained that, in the first 
 
84: CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 stages of humanity, the senses shall have exclu- 
 sive government ; at least till reason has dawned 
 in the infant mind, there can be no teaching 
 those things which require the exercise of rea- 
 son to embrace : therefore, if Jesus intended 
 that infants should be baptized, he gave a com- 
 mission which in no way included the idea. 
 Now this must be believed before it can be 
 considered that infants are proper subjects for 
 the baptismal font. 
 
 Again, if it were obligatory on parents to 
 bring their children to be baptized, there would 
 be a command for it ; but no such command is 
 to be found. The duties of parents are stated 
 definitely enough with regard to their religious 
 responsibilities, but there is nothing even to fos- 
 ter the most distant idea that they are required 
 by the Lord to have their children dedicated to 
 him in baptism ; and were it not that a general 
 feeling has possessed the sensitive minds of pa- 
 rents that there were some saving benefits in the 
 ordinance, they could not entertain the idea 
 that it was their duty to seek baptism for their 
 children. 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 85 
 
 SECTION VII. BAPTISM PERVERTED IN ITS SIGNIFI- 
 CATION AND USE. 
 
 Palpable errors can easily be traced to their 
 origin. Baptism, after the second century, be- 
 gan to be clothed with superstitions notions : it 
 was called " the salutary water" and people 
 were told that "the benefits of GocVs grace" 
 came with baptism. It was regarded as wash- 
 ing away guilt, and absolutely necessary to save 
 from Adam's sin. It was then called with great 
 emphasis "the wetter of regeneration ;" and it 
 was firmly believed that, in baptism, the indi- 
 vidual was renewed by the Holy Ghost. Then 
 it was as confidently asserted, and as implicitly 
 believed, that all who died unbaptizecl were lost, 
 as under the curse of God. 
 
 What the priest's lips uttered was regarded, 
 perhaps, as immutable truth, and the sensibili- 
 ties of the parents were at once fully alive to 
 the best interests of their offspring. "We have 
 seen that the innovation was made upon believ- 
 ers' baptism by first administering sprinkling or 
 pouring in cases of dangerous sickness, and then 
 afterward it followed as a general practice. 
 
 
86 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 It is possible that in the present day, through- 
 out Christendom, three fifths of those who j>rac- 
 tise what is called infant baptism believe that 
 there is no salvation without it; and that to 
 withhold their infants from the baptismal font, 
 or rather from having water administered to 
 them by sprinkling, would be to level them- 
 selves with the barbarous heathen. They verily 
 believe, when giving them up in baptism, that 
 there are religious benefits secured for their 
 children should they live, and certain salvation 
 should they die. The other two fifths, perhaps, 
 almost without exception, have adhered to it as 
 a Christian rite, which they are bound to seek 
 for their tender offspring: they think there is a 
 duty incumbent upon them as Christian parents 
 to dedicate their children to the Lord, and that 
 they may hope more reasonably for the Divine 
 blessing upon them if they attend to their bap- 
 tism. 
 
 Now, baptism is no dedication. When pa- 
 rents, who are really devoted Christians them- 
 selves, consider that to take their offspring in 
 earnest prayer and faith to the Lord is the best 
 and only dedication they can make of them, and 
 that under the Christian dispensation no benefit 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 87 
 
 can be secured to them by any religious cere- 
 mony, in the same way as civil, national, and 
 legal religious benefits were secured by circum- 
 cision to the offspring of the Jews, it is to be 
 hoped that many will yield up that which is 
 only a perversion of the ordinance of baptism, 
 seeing that they are more likely to incur dis- 
 pleasure than approval from the Lord when 
 they professedly bring them to an ordinance 
 not instituted for them. 
 
 We have somewhat digressed, in following 
 out this feature of innovation upon the Chris- 
 tian ordinance of baptism, before fairly consid- 
 ering the practice of the apostles of Christ in 
 due order after noticing the wording of the com- 
 mission. Reverting to that, we shall discover 
 how far there can be any justification of the 
 supposition that they understood other baptisms 
 to be intended for their practice and observance, 
 besides what the wording of the command sets 
 forth. 
 
 In the first place, no mention is made of the 
 baptism of infants ; in the next place, no infer- 
 ence can be gathered, from any of the practices 
 of the apostles or disciples, that they did bap- 
 tize them. Questions have been created about 
 
88 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 the baptized households, and all suggestions of 
 a supposititious nature have been fully written 
 on, as a pretext for infant baptism ; but all this 
 has been entirely exploded, so as not to require 
 any further remark, but that learned and sage 
 pedobaptists, who have written upon this fea- 
 ture of the discussion, have admitted that it 
 amounts to what may be regarded as certain, 
 that the baptized of those households spoken of 
 in the New Testament were none of them in- 
 fants, but were all of them such as could both 
 act for themselves and believe the message of 
 the apostles and disciples. In the third place, 
 did the apostles enjoin any such duty upon pa- 
 rents? If they understood, from the commis- 
 sion, that baptized parents were to have all their 
 children baptized, certainly in some of their wri- 
 tings we should find some allusion to it. They 
 enjoined duties on parents, which they have 
 fully understood, and which even Nature might 
 have taught them without religion ; therefore 
 they did not, as some have supposed, omit to 
 enjoin it upon the ground that parents were 
 well acquainted with it. 
 
 Is it possible that so much could have been 
 said in the New Testament about baptism, and 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 89 
 
 nothing about this vast multitude of children 
 being baptized, if indeed they were baptized? 
 It would have been a strange event in the his- 
 tory of parents^ if they could have gone with 
 their little, and in some cases numerous tribes, 
 to have them baptized, without creating some 
 excitement, which might incidentally, at least, 
 have called forth remarks in the writings of the 
 apostles. Surely no one who knows human na- 
 ture at all will believe that this could have been 
 done so quietly and secretly as not to leave a 
 trace to bear witness that it was done at all. 
 
 The language of the commission, and the 
 practice of the apostles and disciples of the 
 Lord Jesus, are demonstrable proof that no bap- 
 tism was authorized or known in the first cen- 
 tury of the Christian era but the baptism of be- 
 lievers, as verbally contained in the direction 
 which Jesus gave to his apostles. After that 
 time, we have to depend upon ecclesiastical his- 
 tory for information ; and it is not a little mat- 
 ter of satisfaction to baptists, on coming to a dis- 
 passionate decision, that there is no such thing 
 as infant baptism in the New Testament — to 
 find that learned pedobaptists, who have la- 
 bored hard to defend their practice, have con- 
 
90 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 fessecl that there is neither u express precept no?* 
 example" for it in the Bible. Even Luther says 
 of infant baptism, though he defended and prac- 
 tised it — "It can not be proved by the sacred 
 Scriptures that infant baptism was instituted by 
 Christ, or begun by the first Christians after the 
 apostles." 
 
 In the first half of the second century, there 
 is no evidence that infant baptism was known. 
 Some have, without foundation, asserted that 
 Justin Martyr and Irenseus (both of this century) 
 admitted that infant baptism had been brought 
 into practice ; but nothing can be found in their 
 writings to substantiate it. Tertullian at the 
 close of this century wrote, and alluded to the 
 baptism of " little ones," and he opposed the 
 baptism of such. He says : " It is, therefore, 
 most expedient to defer baptism, and to regu- 
 late the administration of it according to the 
 condition, the disposition, and the age, of the 
 person to be baptized — and especially in the 
 case of the little ones" (Robinson's " History of 
 Baptism," p. 175). Curcelloeus says : " The bap- 
 tism of infants, in the first two centuries after 
 Christ, was altogether unknown ; but in the 
 third and fourth was allowed by some few. In 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 91 
 
 the fifth and following ages, it was generally 
 received. The custom of baptizing infants did 
 not begin before the third age after Christ was 
 born" (Inst. Relig. Christ., lib. i., cxii.). Rhien- 
 wald says (p. 313) : " The first traces of infant 
 baptism are found in the western church, after 
 the middle of the second century, and it was 
 the subject of controversy in proconsular Africa 
 toward the end of this century. Though its ne- 
 cessity was asserted in Africa and Egypt, in the 
 beginning of the third century, it was even to 
 the end of the fourth century by no means uni- 
 versally observed — least of all in the eastern 
 church. Notwithstanding the recommendation 
 of it by the fathers, it never became a general 
 ecclesiastical institution till the .age of Augus- 
 tine." In Professor Halm's " Theology," p. 557, 
 we read : " Neither in the Scripture, nor during 
 the first hundred and fifty years, is a sure ex- 
 ample of infant baptism to be found ; and we 
 must concede that the numerous opposers of it 
 can not be contradicted on gospel ground." 
 
 It is unnecessary to traverse through succeed- 
 ing centuries to notice the practice of the church, 
 and the perpetual disputation occasioned by in- 
 novation upon the primitive institution of bap- 
 
CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 tism. Let it suffice that the most able men who 
 have written upon the controversy, and in favor 
 of infant baptism, have yielded such concessions 
 as those we have recorded. It seems to be in 
 the spirit of triumphant exultation that Bossuet, 
 the most able of the Roman catholic controver- 
 sialists of his time, in referring to the contro- 
 versy between Luther and his followers with 
 the baptists, says : " Experience has shown that 
 all the attempts of the reformed to confound the 
 anabaptists by the Scriptures have been weak, 
 and therefore they are at last obliged to allege 
 to them the practice of the church" (Stennet to 
 Russen). 
 
 SECTION VIII. THE THINGS SIGNIFIED IN BAPTISM. 
 
 "VVe have seen that baptism, as a symbolic ordi- 
 nance in use under the Christian dispensation,was 
 of necessity an ordinance of Christ's instituting. 
 It was not given from heaven by the Father, 
 but by Christ upon earth, as the risen Saviour, 
 the Lawgiver, and Head of the church, the sole 
 Founder of the Christian dispensation. It was 
 given by him to be an institution of his dispen- 
 sation, not to be abrogated after the days of the 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 93 
 
 apostles, but to be perpetuated to succeeding 
 generations. It was an ordinance so clearly 
 made known by the Almighty Saviour in his 
 commission, when he authorized its practice, 
 that it could not be mistaken ; and in all the 
 departures from it, and the controversies which 
 have sprung from forsaking it, there has been 
 no attempt on the part of enlightened pedobap- 
 tists to deny the fact that, what Christ commis- 
 sioned his disciples to do, and what apparently 
 they uniformly practised, was, to baptize those 
 who had first been taught, or who at least ac- 
 knowledged their belief, that Jesus was the 
 Christ : they were then baptized by immersion. 
 Dr. Thomas Chalmers observes, in his lecture 
 on Romans 6 : 3-7 : " The original meaning of 
 the word 'baptism' is immersion ; and though, 
 we regard it as a point of indifference whether 
 the ordinance so named be performed in this 
 way or by sprinkling, yet we doubt not that the 
 prevalent style of the administration in the apos- 
 tles' days, was by the actual submerging of the 
 whole body in water." 
 
 The things signified in Christian baptism are 
 of vast moment : the ordinance in itself is noth- 
 ing without it. It comes in with the first sin- 
 
94 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 cere profession of Christianity, and symbolizes 
 what lias taken place in the character of the 
 baptized, and the power by which that change 
 has been effected. In the contention 'about 
 baptism, it is certain this main feature is lost 
 sight of; and then baptism is nothing in the es- 
 timation of the Lawgiver, any more than was 
 the ceremony under the law, when the rightly- 
 appointed beast in sacrifice was offered without 
 the heart being right in the service of God ; for 
 it is said, " He that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he 
 cut off a dog's neck." 
 
 Baptism signifies the answer of a good con- 
 science toward God ; the sincerity of the soul 
 of a believer in what is symbolized, viz., a death 
 unto sin, and a life unto righteousness ; a burial 
 with Christ into his death, and a resurrection 
 into newness of life ; a planting in the likeness 
 of his death, and a likeness also of his resurrec- 
 tion. It is in this sense it can be said, " If any 
 man be in Christ, he is a new creature ;" he is 
 a spiritual man, and lives to God. 
 
 But this is not all in baptism. While this is 
 symbolized in the act of baptism itself, there is 
 something in the element which is also symboli- 
 cal. There is very great danger here of stop- 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 95 
 
 ping short of the whole of that which is repre- 
 sented in the believer's baptism. The Christian 
 dispensation is emphatically the dispensation of 
 the Spirit ; and we are bold to affirm, what has 
 been before implied, that an essential feature 
 of Christian baptism is wanting if the blessed 
 Spirit's office and work are omitted. For this 
 reason it is palpably plain that no baptism, prop- 
 erly called Christian baptism, could have been 
 administered before the day of pentecost. 
 
 What ! represent in a principle of Christian 
 baptism that which did not exist at the time, in 
 the manner represented % This mighty change 
 in man, when he savingly believes in Jesus — 
 this death and burial with Christ felt in his 
 soul, and this coming forth into a new and spir- 
 itual life, with holy desires longing for God, 
 seeking more and more of spirituality, engaging 
 in all spiritual exercises — in fact, this new cre- 
 ation is tvhatf If not demonstrably the great 
 work of the Spirit in the Christian dispensation, 
 decipher the mystery. If it were possible to 
 take any other view of it, we should be com- 
 pelled to adopt the monstrous error of baptis- 
 mal regeneration, and of course should then 
 affirm, as consistent reasoners, that the Spirit 
 
96 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 in the Christian dispensation, npon which Jesus 
 laid so much stress, was a superfluity. But we 
 spurn such abuse and blasphemy. It is the 
 simple principle and support of Christianity, 
 that the Spvrit is the mighty and blessed agent 
 in all the change wrought in the soul of man, 
 making him a genuine Christian / and that 
 baptism equally sets forth the mighty power 
 effecting the transformation, and also the change 
 itself passed upon the soul. These two must be 
 combined, or baptism is a dead letter. 
 
 Baptism is a very blessed and important sym- 
 bolical ordinance, when observed in the true 
 spirit of its most glorious Author. It seems 
 amazing that any Christian, who has not sub- 
 mitted to it in the way and manner instituted 
 by Christ, can hold back from it. Such an out- 
 ward setting forth of the triumphs of Divine 
 mercy and grace in our restoration to God and 
 to the image of his moral perfections, seems 
 stamped with Divine authorship. None but 
 Jesus could have ordained it ; and every inno- 
 vation upon the letter of the institution seems 
 to mar it, as much as any deviation from the 
 pattern of the tabernacle, showed to Moses in 
 the mount, would have marred that wondrous 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 97 
 
 structure. Not that this remark is intended to 
 imply that Jesus gave a like injunction to that 
 given to Moses, when he said, " See that thou 
 make all things according to the pattern showed 
 thee in the mount." 
 
 SECTION IX. CLOSING REFLECTIONS. 
 
 In bringing this review of the Christian ordi- 
 nance of baptism to its close, it is, of course, 
 manifest that many considerations pressing up- 
 on the mind, connected with it, have not been 
 touched ; the embarrassing feeling has been, to 
 decide what would best fall in to make the in- 
 stitution appear as definite, according to the 
 mind of its blessed Author, as possible. But, 
 after all that has been said, we must ever set a 
 watch upon our feelings, lest we remove this 
 ordinance from its right place, or destroy its 
 signification by attaching either more or less to 
 it than that which the Lord designed. 
 
 It is no saving ordinance, and it is a fearful 
 error to esteem it such. This idea, alas ! has 
 been too extensively cherished, and relied on, 
 for the welfare of the church universal. Even 
 where such error is discountenanced, it has some- 
 
 5 
 
CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 how or other engendered something of its es- 
 sence or spirit, so that the ordinance is looked 
 at beyond the simple design of Jesus in com- 
 manding it. 
 
 It is no doctrine of the Christian dispensation 
 ■ — it is not a thing to be believed in to the sal- 
 vation of the soul. To bring it to the position 
 of any one of the doctrines of saving faith, would 
 be as erroneous, on the one hand, as to reject it 
 altogether from a place in the Christian dispen- 
 sation, on the other. The altering it from its 
 original is not to be considered as an error equal 
 to a rejection or perversion of some fundamental 
 doctrine of Christianity. 
 
 Too much stress has always been laid upon 
 baptism from the earliest period of uninspired 
 church history. It was soon regarded as an 
 efficacious ordinance. It was conceived that 
 baptismal water had that virtue which is only 
 to be found in the blood of Christ for washing 
 away sin, and that virtue which is only with 
 the Holy Spirit in regeneration. It merely 
 symbolizes that which, alas! in itself it was 
 soon believed to accomplish ; that is, the change 
 in state and feelings of the regenerate soul. 
 Now it is evident that this leaven of heresy has 
 
CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 99 
 
 pretty much leavened the whole lump, inasmuch 
 as, with all Christian denominations, too much 
 is thought of baptism ; it is raised up out of its 
 place, and other things necessary to salvation 
 are often passed over in comparison with this. 
 
 Baptism "is not a sine qua non in the Chris- 
 tian dispensation, with all the labor of man to 
 make it such. In the Scriptures of the New 
 Testament it stands a simple, independent ordi- 
 nance, one and but one of the things which 
 Christ has enjoined upon his disciples. Truly it 
 is a symbolical ordinance, and one, as we have 
 said, setting forth some most blessed and inspi- 
 ring truths ; but, after all, symbolical institutions 
 are secondary, and have no more claim to be 
 enforced than any and every one of the relative 
 duties of Christianity. 
 
 Let us regard with affectionate and due inter- 
 est all that Christ has enjoined. True, genuine 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the covenant 
 relation which he sustains, as the only Saviour 
 of sinners, renders an individual eligible to be 
 a candidate for baptism, and for every other 
 privilege and duty of the Christian dispensation, 
 and he that denies this frustrates the grace of 
 God. 
 
100 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 If faith be the prerequisite to baptism, as a 
 Christian duty and privilege, it is so to all that 
 is enjoined upon the believer. So, then, bap- 
 tism can be no prerequisite to another privilege 
 or duty of the Christian dispensation : else bap- 
 tism is the prerequisite to faith— -that is, the 
 prerequisite to that which was its own prerequi- 
 site — which not only frustrates the grace of 
 God, but is an absurdity. 
 
 Now, all this misconception has evidently 
 sprung out of the idea of baptismal regenera- 
 tion, though advocated by many who denounce 
 an error so gross as that water should possess 
 virtue of itself to renew a soul. 
 
 That God may in infinite mercy save us from 
 error, recover us where we have departed from 
 truth, and make us steadfast in every good word 
 and work, is a prayer we all need to offer con- 
 tinually ; while, under a sense of our own im- 
 perfection, we shall in humility display the true 
 Christian spirit wherever we see the image of 
 Jesus, and not persecute and despise those who 
 conscientiously can not see eye to eye with us. 
 
PART III. 
 
 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 SECTION I. PREPARATION FOR THE PASCHAL 
 
 SUPPER. 
 
 Immediately connected with the passover- 
 feast we have the institution of the Lord's Sup- 
 per ; and, by some reference to the preparation 
 for eating this Jewish feast, we shall arrive at the 
 important symbolical ordinance which is to pass 
 under our review, in its design and bearings. 
 
 The mind becomes impressed with a hallowed 
 solemnity — a commingled feeling of pleasura- 
 ble sacredness and sobriety fills the soul — in 
 approaching an ordinance, the substance of 
 which fills heaven and earth with solemn admi- 
 ration and praise. 
 
 Our thoughts nt)w recur to events which his- 
 
102 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 tory records of places and tilings more than 
 eighteen hundred years ago, when the inhabit- 
 ants of Jerusalem were in all the excitement of 
 preparation to commemorate one of the three 
 great national festivals which gave a distinctive 
 feature to their history, and the elate of a new 
 epoch of time. It was the feast of the passover. 
 The institution of the passover, together with 
 all the observances which God enjoined upon 
 the Israelites for its commemoration, have di- 
 rect bearing upon the institution of the Lord's 
 Supper, and the latter has been given to super- 
 sede the former ; so-that, in many respects, the 
 feast of the Lord's Supper is to the Christian 
 what the feast of the passover was to the Jew. 
 Paul exhorts Christians to " purge out, there- 
 fore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, 
 as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our pass- 
 over is sacrificed for us : therefore, let us keep 
 the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the 
 leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the 
 unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 
 5 : 7, 8). Such an allusion to the passover, as 
 typical of the sacrifice of Christ, leads us to con- 
 sider the circumstances of that institution in its 
 general features, as setting forth that which re- 
 
103 
 
 lates to the dispensation of God's grace by Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 The inhabitants of Jerusalem, in making prep- 
 arations for the celebration of the feast of the 
 passover, provided suitable domestic apparatus, 
 either entirely new vessels for cooking-purposes, 
 or they brought out those that had been dedi- 
 cated solely to the feast of the passover, and 
 had been safely laid aside, from the time of the 
 foregoing feast. It was with great carefulness 
 that they observed the command to remove all 
 leaven from their houses. In addition to these 
 things, there were not less, perhaps, than two 
 hundred and fifty thousand lambs pent up, to 
 be examined, as fit to be offered in sacrifice, for 
 the paschal feast. But, at the time to which we 
 refer, there was one Lamb to be led to the slaugh- 
 ter, whose one sacrifice should eclipse the whole 
 of the countless numbers which had been legally 
 slain from the memorable night of the passover, 
 in Egypt, to that time ; and be so vicarious to 
 all generations, as that the senseless, innocent 
 lamb should never more be required, and all 
 typical feasts and sacrifices be abolished for 
 ever : — 
 
 "Tis Christ, the heavenly Lamb, takes all our sins away." 
 
104 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 Jesus was not less interested about the ap- 
 proaching feast than any devout Jew in Jerusa- 
 lem, as the following colloquy between him and 
 his disciples will prove. We read in Luke 22 : 
 8-13 : " He sent Peter and John, saying, l Go 
 and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.' 
 And they said unto him, ' Where wilt thou that 
 we prepare V And he said unto them, ' Behold, 
 when ye are entered into the city, there shall a 
 man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water ; fol- 
 low him into the house where he entereth in. 
 And ye shall say unto the good man of the 
 house, " The Master saith unto thee, c Where is 
 the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the passo- 
 ver with my disciples?'" And he shall show 
 you a large upper room furnished : there make 
 ready.' And they went, and found as he had 
 said unto them : and they made ready the pass- 
 over." 
 
 The Mosaic dispensation had not then seen 
 its end, but the eve of its dissolution had ar- 
 rived. Jesus was made under the law, and felt 
 bound to fulfil all the moral and ceremonial 
 enactments of Heaven. Every moral and reli- 
 gious duty that devolved upon the people, he 
 rigorously discharged, as the fulfiller of all righ- 
 
105 
 
 teousness, until by his death he himself should 
 become the end of the law for all righteousness 
 to every one that believeth. The disciples made 
 ready for keeping the feast, little anticipating 
 how it was to end. 
 
 SECTION II. THE ASSEMBLED COMPANY AT SUPPER. 
 
 Jesus and the twelve apostles proceeded to 
 this upper chamber; and it was there, when 
 finishing an ordinary meal, or the paschal sup- 
 per (there have been differences of opinion about 
 which it was), that he said : " With desire I 
 have desired to eat this passover with you hefore 
 I suffer / for I say unto you, I will not any 
 more eat thereof, until it he fulfilled in the 
 kingdom of God" 
 
 There has been much written in favor and 
 much against the circumstance of Christ eating 
 this passover. Some have concluded that the 
 preparation was made, but the feast not cele- 
 brated, as it was the night before the appointed 
 time for keeping the feast, and that Christ ac- 
 tually died on Calvary at the very time appoint- 
 ed for killing the lambs for the paschal sacri- 
 fice : consequently that they could only have 
 
 5* 
 
106 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 partaken of a common meal in the upper cham- 
 ber, when he disclosed to them the feelings with 
 which he hailed this approaching feast, and even 
 his own sufferings in all that was designed to be 
 set forth by it. 
 
 It would be foreign to our present object to 
 enter upon the investigation of this particular, 
 interesting as it might be. We shall, therefore, 
 briefly state what appears to be a solution of 
 the circumstances which have furnished matter 
 for the discussion, and pass on to the subject in 
 hand. The Jews were guided by the appear- 
 ance of the new moon, for counting the days of 
 the month ; and it so happened, that sometimes 
 they were not so certain about the appearance, 
 so that, in reckoning, there was a difficulty in 
 fixing on one of two days. Such may have 
 arisen at that period, and then it was allowable 
 to keep the passover two days successively. It 
 may be that the Jews generally fixed on the 
 latter of the two, but Jesus may have decided 
 to keep it on the first, which perhaps he might 
 have known to be the one corresponding with 
 the first keeping of it in Egypt. This, then, 
 would have really brought Jesus to the house, 
 and he would have kept the feast with his apos- 
 
107 
 
 ties, as we should understand lie did, from what 
 Luke records ; and then, at the time when the 
 Jews would have been offering up the paschal 
 lambs in sacrifice on the following day, Christ 
 expired on the cross. We can not pause to ex- 
 patiate on the Divine providence in all this, but 
 the circumstances will at once impress our minds 
 with the glorious displays of its admirable work- 
 ings in these events. It is probable, in that year, 
 that the multitude of the Jews were not able to 
 keep the feast ; and if some did not on the day 
 before, when we suppose Jesus did, it is likely 
 that, though the preparation was made, no feast 
 was kept. 
 
 In Dr. Adam Clarke's notes at the close of 
 Matthew 26, he says : " It is more than proba- 
 ble £hat the passover was not eaten in the whole 
 land of Juclea on this occasion. The rending of 
 the vail of the temple (Matt. 27 : 51 ; Mark 15 : 
 38 ; Luke 23 : 45), the terrible earthquake (Matt. 
 27 : 51-54), the dismal and unnatural darkness 
 which was over the whole land of Judea from 
 the sixth hour (twelve o'clock) to the ninth hour 
 (that is, three o'clock in the afternoon), with all 
 the other prodigies which took place on this 
 awful occasion, we may naturally conclude were 
 
108 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 more than sufficient to terrify and appall this 
 guilty nation, and totally prevent the celebra- 
 tion of the paschal ceremonies. Indeed, the 
 time in which the killing of the sacrifices, and 
 the sprinkling of the blood of the lambs, should 
 have been performed, was wholly occupied with 
 the most dreadful portents ; and it would be ab- 
 surd to suppose that, under such terrible evi- 
 dences of the Divine indignation, any religious 
 ordinances or festive preparations could possi- 
 bly have taken place." 
 
 We return from this digression to contemplate 
 Jesus and his apostles in the upper chamber. 
 There, whether he ate a common meal, or the 
 real paschal supper, we view him as having 
 commanded all the preparation to celebrate the 
 institution of the passover ; and at the close of 
 that supper he thus addressed his apostles: 
 " With desire I have desired to eat this passo- 
 ver with you before I suffer ; for I say unto you, 
 I will not any more eat thereof, until it be ful- 
 filled in the kingdom of God." It is very im- 
 portant to observe how every feature of this 
 commemorative feast is typical of its antitype. 
 " Christ our passover is slain for us." 
 
 The institution of the Lord's Supper was de- 
 
109 
 
 signed to keep the true paschal sacrifice, and 
 has been religiously observed by Christians al- 
 most generally from its ordination down to the 
 present time. It answers spiritually the same 
 end and purposes that were answered literally, 
 ceremonially, and typically, by the ancient Jew- 
 ish paschal feast. Therefore it may be that we 
 shall often have occasion to revert in the follow- 
 ing pages to the end and design of certain things 
 in that significant institution, and then look to 
 the Christian institution for its corresponding 
 features, the one serving to illustrate and point 
 out what is designed in the other. Thus, we 
 shall understand that, when the Lord said of the 
 passover, that it should be " an ordinance for 
 ever," is set forth first, in the paschal lamb typi- 
 cally, the deliverance by Christ till the passion 
 and death of Christ; and then, henceforward, 
 the Lord's Supper, in which bread and wine, 
 taken symbolically in commemoration of his 
 crucifixion, should be the continual representa- 
 tives of that sacrifice to the end of the world. 
 
110 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 SECTION III.' 
 
 SUPPER. 
 
 The Lord's Supper, or the antitypical passo- 
 ver, was instituted immediately upon eating in 
 the upper chamber with the twelve, where the 
 preparation had been made for the passover. 
 Before the institution of the ordinance, the whole 
 of the twelve being then present, Jesus said, 
 " Yerily, I say unto you, one of you shall be- 
 tray me." The remark at once filled the disci- 
 ples with sorrow and concern, each apparently 
 fearful lest he should be the monster. At last, 
 Jesus pointed out the one, by the answer given 
 to his question — "Master, is it I?" Jesus re- 
 plied, "Thou hast said." Having been dis 
 missed by the Saviour, Judas entered upon his 
 diabolical design without delay, though arrpa- 
 •rently none of the disciples understood for what 
 purpose he had left the assembly, they suppo- 
 sing that the object of his business was to pur- 
 chase some things needful for them. 
 
 But now, alone with the eleven, Jesus in af- 
 fecting language solemnly proceeds to ordain 
 the sacred feast, to symbolize his death. It is 
 
Ill 
 
 recorded : " Jesus took bread, and blessed it, 
 and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and 
 said: 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he 
 took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to 
 them, saying: 'Drink ye all of.it; for this is 
 my blood of the new testament, which is shed 
 for many for the remission of sins. But I say 
 unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this 
 fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it 
 new with you in my Father's kingdom' " (Matt. 
 26 : 26-29). 
 
 Some have been of opinion that Judas had 
 not left the company at the administration of 
 the Lord's Supper ; they consider their opinion 
 confirmed by Luke, who, having related our 
 Saviour's words at its institution, says that Je- 
 sus added, " The hand of him that betrayeth me 
 is with me on the table." But it is easy to 
 suppose that Luke, in his narration, may have 
 passed on from describing the supper to the in- 
 stitution of the eucharist, without stopping to 
 inform us of what Jesus said concerning Judas, 
 and then afterward referred to that saying. It 
 is certain the other evangelists lead us to the 
 conclusion that what took place between Judas 
 and the Saviour was at the supper, and that, 
 
112 CHBISTIAN OEDINANCES. 
 
 after his departure, the Lord proceeded to dis- 
 pense the memorials of his body and blood. 
 
 Calmet closes his remarks upon the opinion 
 of Judas being present at the institution of the 
 Lord's Supper with the following sentences : " It 
 is, therefore, evident that Judas went out du- 
 ring the paschal supper, but the eucharist was 
 not instituted till after the paschal supper had 
 been concluded ; and the last action of that sup- 
 per was what gave opportunity to the institu- 
 tion of the new rite. To suppose that Jesus 
 would give to Judas the sacramental cup in 
 token of his blood, ' shed for the remission of 
 sins' — of sins which Judas had traitorously com- 
 mitted, or which he designed traitorously to com- 
 mit, is to trifle with- this most solemn subject; 
 and, indeed, is a contradiction to the evangelist, 
 who says, ' When he [Judas] was gone out, Je- 
 sus said, " Now is the Son of man glorified," ' 
 &c. He then warned Peter of his frailty, and 
 all his disciples of their instability," &c. 
 
113 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 SUPPER. 
 
 It is necessary that we should consider what 
 elements Jesus used in this symbolical feast. 
 They were two, bread and wine, and were prob- 
 ably among the things which had been provided 
 when Peter and John went to make ready for 
 celebrating the feast of the passover. 
 
 The question is, 'What kind of bread was 
 this that our Saviour used V To such a ques- 
 tion the answer is perfectly clear, that it was 
 unleavened bread, though some have disputed 
 it. At that time there could have been no other 
 bread in all Judea, it being the first day of un- 
 leavened bread, when the Jews, according to 
 the command of God, were to purge away all 
 leaven from their houses ; and, to have diso- 
 beyed the command, would have incurred the 
 penalty of being cut off from the congregation 
 of Israel : and, as we have seen, Peter and John 
 had there, by express command of Jesus, made 
 ready to keep the passover. 
 
 The allusion of Paul to the Divinely-insti- 
 tuted custom of removing all leaven previously 
 
114 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 to the paschal feast, is very significant, when 
 exhorting the Corinthians to pnt away those 
 who were engaged in wickedness, and contrary 
 to true religion and sincerity in the service of 
 Christ : " Know ye not that a little leaven leav- 
 eneth the whole lump ? Purge out, therefore, 
 the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as 
 ye are unleavened. For even Christ our pass- 
 over is sacrificed for us ; therefore let us keep 
 the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the 
 leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the 
 unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 
 5 : 6-8). 
 
 We can not doubt, then, about what bread 
 the Saviour used in the institution of this ordi- 
 nance. Nor can we question for a moment but 
 that unleavened bread was the most suited, as 
 typical of the body of Christ, which was free 
 from any contaminating or corrupting princi- 
 ple ; but that it was used with such a design we 
 can not say. It was the bread then at hand, 
 and the only kind in use : therefore it is not so 
 easy to say that any importance should be at- 
 tached to it. 
 
 But as the ordinance is symbolical, and the 
 bread used in it designed to set forth the body 
 
115 
 
 of Christ, it might be deemed preferable to use 
 unleavened bread for commemorating the Lord's 
 Supper, though not with any superstitious feel- 
 ing, such as the papal church indulges, for their 
 wafer is a perversion of the common significa- 
 tion of eating bread ; and their doctrine of tran- 
 substantiation is an exhibition of enthusiasm 
 amounting to insanity. 
 
 There is, perhaps, something worthy of our 
 serious consideration in what Dr. Adam Clarke 
 has said upon this subject. He remarks : " Now 
 if any respect should be paid to the primitive in- 
 stitution, in the celebration of this. Divine ordi- 
 nance, then unleavened, unyeasted bread should 
 be used. In every sign or type, the thing sig- 
 nifying or pointing out • that which is beyond 
 itself should either have certain properties, or 
 be accompanied with certain circumstances, as 
 expressive as possible of the thing signified. 
 Bread, simply considered in itself, may be an 
 emblem apt enough of the body of our Lord Je- 
 sus, which was given for us ; but the design of 
 God was evidently that it should not only point 
 out this, but also the disposition required in 
 those who should celebrate both the antitype 
 and the type ; and this the apostle explains to 
 
116 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 be sincerity and truth, the reverse of malice 
 and wickedness. The very taste of the bread 
 was instructive : it pointed out to every com- 
 municant, that he who came to the table of God 
 with malice or ill-will against any soul of man, 
 or with wickedness, a profligate or sinful life, 
 might expect to eat and drink judgment to him- 
 self, as not discerning that the Lord's body was 
 sacrificed for this very purpose, that all sin 
 might he destroyed ; and that sincerity (eikli- 
 rimia), such purity as the clearest light can 
 discern no stain in, might be diffused through 
 the whole soul ; and that truth, the law of righ- 
 teousness and true holiness, might regulate and 
 guide all the actions of life. Had the bread 
 used on these occasions been of the common 
 kind, it would have been perfectly unfit, or im- 
 proper, to have communicated these uncommon 
 significations / aud as it was seldom used, its 
 rare occurrence would make the emblematical 
 representation more deeply impressive, and the 
 sign, and the thing signified, have their due 
 correspondence and influence. 
 
 " These circumstances considered, will it not 
 appear that the use of common bread in the sac- 
 rament of the Lord's Supper is highly improper ? 
 
THE LORD'S SUPPER. 117 
 
 He who can say, ' This is a matter of no impor- 
 tance,' may say, with equal propriety, 'The bread 
 itself is of no importance ;' and another may say, 
 i The wine is of no importance ;' and a third may 
 say, *■ Neither the bread nor wine is anything, 
 but as they lead to spiritual references, and the 
 spiritual references being once understood, the 
 signs are useless.' Thus we may, through af- 
 fected spirituality, refine away the whole ordi- 
 nance of God ; and, with the letter and form of 
 religion, abolish religion itself. Many have al- 
 ready acted in this way, not only to their loss, 
 but to their ruin, by showing how profoundly 
 wise they are above what is written. Let those, 
 therefore, who consider that man shall live by 
 every word which proceeds from the mouth of 
 God, and who are conscientiously solicitous that 
 each Divine institution be, not only preserved, 
 but observed in all its original integrity, attend to 
 this circumstance. The Lutheran church makes 
 use of unleavened bread to the present day." 
 
 Wine was the other element introduced at 
 the time of the institution of this ordinance — 
 whether red or white, it is not said. The best 
 wine was ordered to be used at the passover, 
 and the red generally was esteemed such. In 
 
118 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 the absence of direct proof, it is more reasona- 
 ble to come to the conclusion that it was red, 
 the pure blood of the grape — that which was 
 suited to bear so far the true resemblance of 
 blood, designed to typify the blood of Jesus 
 Christ. Some have concluded that it was mixed 
 with water. So early as Justin Martyr's time, 
 this had come into use, and superstitious and 
 fanciful notions have been entertained about its 
 representing the blood and water which flowed 
 from the side of Christ when pierced ; but with 
 these opinions we have nothing to do. Jesus 
 tells us the wine symbolized his blood, and this 
 is enough for us to contemplate in the wine. 
 
 Of these two elements, Dr. John Gill thus 
 writes : " Now the bread and the wine, being 
 two separate articles, may denote and show 
 forth the death of Christ : the body or flesh be- 
 ing separated from the blood, and the blood 
 from that in which the life is, death follows ; 
 and these being distinctly attended to, is expres- 
 sive of that separation ; and yet both together 
 make a feast, and afford nourishment, refresh- 
 ment, and delight. With food there must be 
 drink, and when with bread, wine — both made 
 a banquet." 
 
119 
 
 SECTION Y. THE FORM OF ADMINISTERING THE 
 
 BREAD. 
 
 In this feature of the sacred rite to which our 
 attention is now directed, every word strikes us 
 as of importance, and, when connected in their 
 sentences, give the full force of the true design 
 of the institution. 
 
 Three of the evangelists describe it in their 
 gospels, and they sweetly harmonize in their 
 accounts. They clearly prove how they regard- 
 ed the institution of that wondrous feast — in 
 which they endeavor to give the sentences as 
 uttered by the lips of the Saviour. Added to 
 these descriptions, we have an account by Paul, 
 so distinct in all its parts, and orderly in its ar- 
 rangement, that, as we read his account, the 
 event seems as reacted before us. He says: 
 " For I have received of the Lord that which 
 also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, 
 the same night in which he was betrayed, took 
 bread : and when he had given thanks, he brake 
 it, and said, ' Take, eat : this is my body, which 
 is broken for you : this do in remembrance of 
 me.' After the same manner also he took the 
 
120 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 cup, when lie had supped, saying, 'This cup is 
 the new testament in my blood : this do ye, as 
 oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me,' " To 
 the above, Paul, as an inspired apostle of Jesus 
 Christ, and of course by the Spirit of inspiration 
 directing him, adds : " For as often as ye eat 
 this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the 
 Lord's death till he come. "Wherefore, whoso- 
 ever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of 
 the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body 
 and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine 
 himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and 
 drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drink- 
 eth unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation 
 to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" 
 (1 Cor. 11 : 23-29). 
 
 The first act was to take the bread, bless it, 
 or give thanks and break it. He took it and 
 made it the symbol of his own body, not by 
 any literal formation or likeness — it was still 
 bread in his hands, the unleavened bread as used 
 for the passover. Let his taking it into his own 
 hands lead us to think of the voluntary offering 
 of himself a sacrifice unto God. He blessed 
 it, or gave thanks. From the circumstance of 
 its being found, in Matthew's gospel, that " He 
 
121 
 
 blessed it," some have thought that he did bless 
 the bread, and this was sanctifying it to the use 
 to which it was to be applied ; but it is not so. 
 The word it should not have been supplied — it 
 ought not to have been there. He blessed God, 
 or gave thanks to God, is the true intent of the 
 passage. 
 
 Jesus here followed the constant Jewish cus- 
 tom of acknowledging God as the author of ev- 
 ery good and perfect gift, by giving thanks on 
 taking the bread, and also, afterward, on taking 
 the cup. Every Jew was forbidden to eat, 
 drink, or use any of God's creatures, .without 
 rendering him thanks ; and he who acted con- 
 trary to this command, was considered as a per- 
 son who was guilty of sacrilege. On taking the 
 bread, they say, "Blessed be thou, our God, the 
 King of the xmiverse, who bring est forth bread 
 out of the earth /" And, on taking the cup, 
 they say, "Blessed be thou, our God, the King 
 of the universe, the Creator of the fruit of the 
 vine /" 
 
 He " brake it" — that is, the bread, which was 
 thin, hard, and brittle ; it needed not a knife to 
 cut it, and a knife was never used for such pur- 
 pose by the Jews. But little is thought of this 
 
122 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 act : it is considered of no importance in what 
 way the bread first appears on the Lord's table ; 
 and, for convenience, it is generally cut into 
 pieces, the administrator thinking it sufficient 
 to divide these pieces into smaller ones, and in 
 some instances to dispense even with that act. 
 But it can not be dispensed with in the rightful 
 administration, for the bread in its first appear- 
 ance on the table is symbolical, and in its bro- 
 ken pieces is symbolical. The bread, of what- 
 ever shape or size, should be a whole loaf, not 
 cut or pared in any way. In this bread, the 
 Lord first presented his whole body — not yet 
 bruised nor broken for the sin of man, but free 
 from any bruised, or pierced, or divided form, 
 and then not fit to be eaten, as not being of any 
 nourishing or saving benefit to sinners. But, 
 in breaking it, he showed forth what he was to 
 suffer in making atonement upon -Calvary ; and 
 it appears to be a very important feature in the 
 ordinance that this should be solemnly attended 
 to,' in the presence of the assembled communi- 
 cants : let them see, by the symbol, the whole 
 body, and so have communion with Christ in 
 his death and sufferings. And, were it only 
 from one of the names by which this wondrous 
 
123 
 
 institution, as a symbolical act, is often desig- 
 nated by inspired penmen in the Scriptures, 
 namely, " breaking of bread," it were enough 
 for every administrator duly to observe it. 
 
 The bread being broken, we have its distri- 
 bution and address to the receivers. " He gave 
 it to his disciples." It was a gift ; and who can 
 contemplate the mercy and grace made known 
 in this gift, without being inspired with love 
 and gratitude to the Giver? He " gave himself 
 for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God," and 
 he gave himself to his people, that in all the 
 riches of his glory, the magnitude of his perfec- 
 tions, the completeness of his obedience, and 
 the intenseness of his agonies, he might be 
 theirs. The wealth of worlds could not pur- 
 chase what this broken bread set forth as given 
 to the disciples. No powers could have effect- 
 ed the surrender, which was the voluntary act 
 of our blessed Jesus, when " he who was rich, 
 for our sakes became poor, that we through his 
 poverty might be rich." All the blessings of 
 God to man are set forth in this gift, wherein 
 the broken body of Christ is symbolized in this 
 broken bread, distributed by the hand of the 
 dear Redeemer. The act was voluntary, the 
 
12 J: CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 grace amazing, the worth beyond all price, and 
 the blessing infinite. 
 
 But hear the address with which the gift was 
 accompanied: "Take, eat: this is my body, 
 which is broken for you : this do in remem- 
 brance of me." In the immediate prospect of 
 his agony and bloody sweat, his cross and pas- 
 sion, did the dear Lord and Saviour thus bles- 
 sedly set forth the mystery, and in this strain 
 of compassion did he address the disciples. 
 
 The receiving and eating the broken bread 
 are nothing, even when taken in the prescribed 
 form of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, un- 
 less faith discerns the mysteries intended to be 
 conveyed thereby ; faith must discover that 
 which is spiritual in every word and every act. 
 It is Christ's body, not literally, as we have be- 
 fore observed — the bread is bread still — it is 
 broken bread to show forth a broken Christ, and 
 this with a definite object — "ftroken" says the 
 Saviour, "for you" The substitutionary death 
 of Christ is here plainly declared — he died for 
 his people ; and who can thus commemorate the 
 Lord's Supper without having the Eye upon 
 him ! He is rememoered / the whole scene of 
 his humiliation, and suffering, and death, passes 
 
the lord's supper. 125 
 
 as in review before the contemplative mind ; 
 and the condescension, love, and grace, of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, fixes the adoring spirit, while 
 it exclaims, ''He gave himself for me P 
 
 SECTION VI. THE FORM OF ADMINISTERING THE 
 
 WINE. 
 
 Jesus proceeded to take the cup, after his dis- 
 tribution of the bread, and address to the apos- 
 tles, and in the same way as with the bread he 
 proceeded to give thanks to God. 
 
 Whether the grapes had long been bruised 
 and compressed in the wine-vat, and the liquid 
 wrung out, or whether done at that time, and 
 forced out into the cup for use, we are not in- 
 formed ; therefore the particulars relating to the 
 wine, further than what is declared by the evan- 
 gelists, is not of importance for us to know, and 
 we can safely leave all considerations and in- 
 quiries, that may arise connected with it, as un- 
 profitable speculation. 
 
 He took the cup into his own hands and gave 
 thanks. It was the symbol of his blood. It 
 was not for his own comfort or consolation or 
 salvation that he held it in his hands and 
 
126 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 thanked God. No — the crip of trembling and 
 of wrath was for him ; the cup he was about to 
 drink contained a terrible draught, indeed, as 
 Justice put it into his hand that same night, in 
 the garden of Gethsemane, when prostrate with 
 his face to the ground, he prayed these affecting 
 words : " O my Father, if it be possible, let this 
 cup pass from me : nevertheless, not as I will, 
 but as thou wilt." And again : " O my Father, 
 if this cup may not pass away from me, except 
 I drink it, thy will be done." The cup of poi- 
 son was put into his hand; it contained the 
 deadly draught, which we merited by sin, but 
 he took it for us and drank it to the very dregs 
 in his death. But in this institution of mercy, 
 he takes into his hands the cup of mercy for 
 man, and thanks God for such a cup : though 
 symbolical of his own blood in death, yet it was 
 the cup of salvation to give to his people. 
 
 He gave it to his disciples, saying : " Drink 
 ye all of it. For this is my blood of the new 
 testament, which is shed for many for the re- 
 mission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not 
 drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until 
 that day when I drink it new with you in my 
 Father's kingdom." It is with apparent empha- 
 
THE LORD S SUPPER. 
 
 127 
 
 sis that the Saviour enjoins the personal, indi- 
 vidual act of drinking: "Drink ye all of it." 
 It is therefore not one of the elements only, but 
 both, which are to be taken in the Lord's Sup- 
 per — -the cup being essential to this solemn 
 feast; and it appears to be distinguished and 
 marked by our Lord, that (if we may so speak) 
 it should be regarded as the very essence of the 
 institution. 
 
 The paraphrase of the original wording of this 
 part of the address of the Saviour, by Dr. Adam 
 Clarke, is particularly expressive : "For this is 
 that blood of mine, which was pointed out by 
 all the sacrifices under the Jewish law, and par- 
 ticularly by the shedding and sprinkling of the 
 blood of the paschal lamb ; that blood of the 
 sacrifice slain for the ratification of the new cov- 
 enant ; the blood ready to be poured out for 
 the multitudes, the whole Gentile world as well 
 as the Jews, for the taking away of sins — sin, 
 whether original or actual, in all its power and 
 guilt, in all its internal energy and pollution? 
 
 The cup was the symbol, in Christ's blood, of 
 the new testament. New testament means no 
 other than the new covenant. The legal or old 
 covenant was sealed bv the blood of the beasts 
 
128 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 offered up to God in sacrifice, and was only for 
 the ceremonial and outward purification, and 
 remission of sins. But the new covenant, often 
 distinguished by the title " covenant of grace," 
 was sealed and established by the death of 
 Christ, through whom alone spiritually men can 
 draw nigh unto God. 
 
 Dr. Lightfoot remarks upon this expression 
 of the Saviour, that " this my blood of the new 
 testament" is " not only the seal of the cove- 
 nant, but the sanction of the new covenant ; 
 the end of the Mosaic economy, and the con- 
 firming of a new one. The confirmation of the 
 old covenant was by the blood of bulls and 
 goats (Exodus 24 — Hebrews 9), because blood 
 was still to be shed : the confirmation of the new 
 was by a cup of wine, because under the new 
 covenant there is no further shedding of blood. 
 As it is here said of the cup, ' This cup is the 
 new testament in ?ny blood,' so it might be said 
 of the cup of blood (Exodus 24), ' That cup was 
 the old testament in the blood of Christ' " 
 
 It was blood " which was shed for many," or 
 " poured out for many," that the cup of wine 
 symbolized. Here the significant act of the 
 sacrifice of lambs, whose blood was poured out 
 
129 
 
 at the foot of the altar, comes before our view. 
 The work of blood-shedding formed a consider- 
 able part of the priests' office, generation after 
 generation. Paul observes : " Almost all things 
 are by the law purged with blood ; and without 
 shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9 : 
 22). Christ was God's lamb, the one of his own 
 appointing to be offered up in sacrifice ; and in 
 contemplation of this, the inspired prophet says : 
 " We did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, 
 and afflicted ;" and again, " He is brought as a 
 lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before 
 her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his 
 mouth ;" also, again, " He hath "poured out his 
 soul unto death" (Isaiah 53 : 4, 7, 12). 
 
 Can we look into Gethsemane on that memo- 
 rable night, and see the immaculate Lamb of 
 God, bound by law and justice, and, as in the 
 agonies of death, witness the blood in large 
 drops pouring down this mystic sacrifice, after 
 that the heavenly Father had said, as foretold 
 in prophetic language by Zechariah (13: 7) — 
 " 'Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and 
 against the man that is my fellow,' saith the 
 Lord of hosts" — and not understand the import 
 of what the precious Saviour set forth, when he 
 
 6* 
 
130 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 said, "This is my blood of the new testament, 
 which is poured out for many"? O that our 
 comprehensions may not only embrace the truth 
 conveyed, but that our dull, cold hearts may be 
 quickened to go forth in the warmth of devout 
 affection to that blessed Jesus, " who gave him- 
 self an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet- 
 smelling savor," when " he poured out his soul 
 unto death, and was numbered with the trans- 
 gressors ; and bare the sin of many, and made 
 intercession for the transgressors" ! 
 
 It was for many that he shed or poured out 
 his blood. To the many we are fully justified 
 in adding people or nations. The sacrifice of 
 Christ was not confined to one nation, as were 
 the ceremonial sacrifices under the law. When 
 the paschal lamb was slain in Egypt, it was not 
 observed beyond the boundary of the habita- 
 tions of the Israelites. The blood of the victim 
 was not sprinkled upon the door-posts or lintels 
 of any other houses but those inhabited by the 
 Israelites. The destroying angel that night had 
 respect to none other in Egypt but the houses 
 bearing the signs of blood as prescribed, and 
 no others went free to serve the Lord but those 
 whom he spared. But now, in the antitypical 
 
131 
 
 paschal sacrifice — in Christ our passover slain 
 for us — we have many nations. The prophet 
 emphatically marks this out as a distinctive fea- 
 ture in Christ's sufferings and death : "So shall 
 he sprinkle many nations" (Isaiah 52 : 15). His 
 blood and his gospel are for all who believe 
 among the nations of the earth. 
 
 He states that the definite object in the shed- 
 ding of his blood for many was, " for the remis- 
 sion of sins." Sin, in the Scriptures, is often 
 spoken of as the obligation of a debt. Sin com- 
 mitted was the act of incurring certain obliga- 
 tions to God, for which the law of God held the 
 sinner responsible. The law relaxes nothing, 
 but demands the full payment, which is impos- 
 sible for the sinner to make. Let us, for the 
 sake of illustration, suppose a case that neither 
 does, nor from the nature of things can exist : 
 let us suppose an individual having once sinned, 
 but retaining the entire power to lead a perfect 
 life, and never more to transgress against God : 
 the individual, by such a course, could not re- 
 lieve himself from former obligation. 
 
 Such is the true nature of " remission of sins ;" 
 therefore remission was often referred to the 
 sabbatical year, the year of iubilee, when all in 
 
132 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 the land of Judea were released from their obli- 
 gations. The one who had sold himself was no 
 longer in bondage — he became a free man; 
 and they who had sold their estates had them 
 again restored. It was the law of God: "Ye 
 shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim lib- 
 erty throughout all the land, unto all the inhab- 
 itants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you, 
 and ye shall return every man unto his posses- 
 sion, and ye shall return every man unto his 
 family" (Leviticus 25 : 10). "Ajphesis" rendered 
 " remission," signifies to announce liberty to the 
 captive, to release the obligation of a debt. But 
 " the remission of sins" was not to be a favor 
 shown by the violation of law, or at the expense 
 of justice ; therefore, both in the Old Testament 
 and in the New, it is connected with sacrifice. 
 Paul, in referring to the blood of the sacrifice 
 under the law, says, " Without shedding of blood 
 is no remission" (Hebrews 9 : 22) — that is, until 
 the proper sacrifices were offered, the priest 
 could not pronounce the transgressor free from 
 the consequences of his transgressions. So, un- 
 der the gospel dispensation, which the Mosaic 
 typified : the Lamb was offered up — that Lamb, 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, called " the Lamb of God, 
 
133 
 
 which taketh away the sin of the world." Full 
 satisfaction was given to law and justice, and 
 God's honor and glory were maintained, by such 
 an infinite sacrifice as the person of God's dear 
 Son. His blood was shed for many, for the re- 
 mission of sins, which the cup of wine symbol- 
 ized as given in that sacred feast to the disci- 
 ples. 
 
 The verbal form of this wondrous institution 
 we have as briefly noticed as the importance of 
 the subject would allow. The object has not 
 been in this to controvert the many erroneous 
 practices, perversions, and doctrines, which have 
 obtained footing among professing Christians in 
 relation to this ordinance ; but a simple and 
 concise setting forth of what the primitive or- 
 der and wording conveyed. These, faithfully 
 and sincerely followed, will correct all abuses 
 much more successfully than the greatest dis- 
 play of talented argument brought forward in 
 refutation of errors which men who depart from 
 the faith insidiously propagate. 
 
134: CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 SECTION VII. THE TIME FOR OBSERVING THIS SA- 
 CRED FEAST. 
 
 The time when Christ instituted the breaking 
 of bread, as a sacred feast for future ages to ob- 
 serve till he come, was on " the same night in 
 which he was betrayed" — the night when, for 
 the last time, he went to celebrate the feast of 
 the passover. In connection with that feast, the 
 new ordinance was given and commanded for 
 future observance. It is certain that it was de- 
 signed to supersede the passover, and is spoken 
 of as such. It is essential to the nature of laws, 
 that the new ones should repeal the old whose 
 place they are designed to take. The feast of 
 the Lord's Supper was instituted to set forth, for 
 the future, that which the paschal feast typified, 
 as well as to commemorate an event in the his- 
 tory of the people. Upon this ground, Paul, in 
 speaking of the Lord's Supper, says : " Christ 
 our passover is slain for us ; therefore, let us 
 keep the feast." 
 
 From that time the breaking of bread was cele- 
 brated on the first day of the week, by the apos- 
 tles and first disciples of Christ. It is true that 
 
135 
 
 Christ lias not enjoined any particular time for 
 its observance : all that he has said is, "This do 
 in remembrance of me ;" and an inspired apostle 
 has made it clear that this applies to both the 
 bread and wine — that, as oft as they did it, it 
 was to be in remembrance of Christ. But we 
 suppose that the apostles understood this to be 
 a part of Divine service under the Christian dis- 
 pensation; for which reason, it may be, they 
 uniformly observed it on the Lord's day. 
 
 We read that, when Paul came to Troas, he 
 tarried there seven days. This evidently ap- 
 pears to be with a design, which is set forth — 
 leaving, beyond all doubt, that it was to meet 
 with the disciples when they assembled for wor- 
 ship. It is said, " And on the first day of the 
 week, when the disciples came together to break 
 bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to de- 
 part on the morrow." Here it is evident that 
 the first day of the week was a day set apart for 
 Christian worship, and that the principal object 
 regarded was the Lord's Supper, but not to the 
 exclusion of the other institutions of Christ. We 
 are not told that they came together to read, 
 pray, or praise — though these things doubtless 
 were engaged in — but to break bread. 
 
136 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, 
 says : " When ye come together into one place, 
 this is not to eat the Lord's Supper ; for in eat- 
 ing, every one taketh before others his own sup- 
 per," &c. These remarks evidently were for 
 the correction of abuses of a disgraceful charac- 
 ter, in commemorating that sacred feast. But 
 it may be said that no time is specified here 
 when they did it, only that it. was wdieri they 
 came together ; but in the sixteenth chapter he 
 tells us expressly that it was on the first day of 
 the week that they did come together. 
 
 Turning from apostolic times to the days of 
 Justin Martyr (he wrote about forty -four years 
 after the death of the apostle John), he says : 
 " On Sunday, all Christians in the city and coun- 
 try meet together, because it is the day of our 
 Lord's resurrection, and then we hear read to us 
 the waitings of the prophets and apostles. This 
 done, the president makes an oration to the as- 
 sembly, to exhort them to imitate and do the 
 things they hear ; and then we all join in prayer ; 
 and after that we celebrate the Lord's Supper, 
 and they that are willing and able give alms." 
 We see, then, that it was the uniform practice 
 of the first disciples in the Christian dispensa- 
 
137 
 
 tion. The Holy Spirit doubtless caused these 
 things to be written for our instruction, and this 
 primitive practice restored would doubtless be 
 for the spiritual advantage of the church of 
 Christ. 
 
 It is said we have no command so to keep it. 
 To which we may reply, we have no command 
 to keep the first day of the week. The obser- 
 vances go together in the New Testament. The 
 same arguments which might be used to over- 
 throw the weekly observance of the Lord's Sup- 
 per, would also subvert the sanctification of the 
 Lord's day. If we take the scripture example 
 (lor there is no express command to guide us), 
 the two must be observed and sustained togeth- 
 er or fall together ; nothing justifies the weekly 
 regard of one, and the laying aside of the other, 
 but the fanciful whims of men. 
 
 But we revert again to the time of the insti- 
 tution, when ordained by Christ for another 
 purpose. It had the same correspondence in 
 relation to the Christian dispensation as that of 
 the passover had to the Jewish. It was for 
 commemoration after they were brought out 
 of Egypt, though the passover was kept and in- 
 stituted for their deliverance while bondmen. 
 
138 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 There is the exact analogy in the institution of 
 the Supper: the Jewish dispensation had not 
 passed away on that memorable night — it was 
 the eve of its dissolution. The blood was not 
 then shed for the remission of sins, and in that 
 sense they were not free. We can not now 
 dwell upon this, but the position will be fully 
 sustained in the next section. 
 
 Let it suffice that we ask, ' What could be the 
 meaning of the words of the Saviour, when he 
 said to the disciples, " I will not drink hence- 
 forth of this fruit of the vine, until that day 
 when I drink it new with you in my Father's 
 kingdom" V Evidently there is an allusion to 
 the new dispensation just about to be intro- 
 duced, which will be fully proved when we 
 come to consider it more largely. Then what 
 is the meaning of such passages as the follow- 
 ing : " Now once in the end of the world hath 
 He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of 
 himself" ? The expression " end of the world" 
 we know signifies the end of the age or dispen- 
 sation. This, then, is the sense of the passage : 
 'In the end of the Jewish dispensation hath He 
 appeared to abolish the sin-offering by the sac- 
 rifice of himself? He put an end to the Mo- 
 
139 
 
 saic economy by the one offering of himself. 
 The time, then, of the institution of the Supper, 
 was undoubtedly at the closing of the Jewish 
 dispensation, and the approaching of the Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 SECTION VIII. THE ENDS ANSWERED IN EATING 
 
 In the observance of this institution, certain 
 definite objects are designed, of considerable 
 moment ; they are severally set forth by the 
 Saviour himself, and by the apostle Paul. It 
 was to be done by the disciples of Jesus, so far 
 as concerned themselves, in memory of their 
 dear Lord ; so far as others may be regarded, it 
 was to symbolize his death till he come. Thus 
 it has respect in these two objects to the disci- 
 ples of Jesus, and the world at large to which 
 the gospel was now to be published. 
 
 As a memento to the disciples of the blessed 
 Jesus, how imposing and affecting ! It sets 
 forth his mercy : he saw us in our sinful degra- 
 dation under the oppressive nature of our ser- 
 vitude, and was moved to pity. Jesus had our 
 grief at heart, for such we are to consider the 
 
140 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 signification of mercy. In the true sufferings 
 of our natural estate, God and Christ had pity 
 toward us. The mercy of Christ was equal with 
 the mercy of the Father and the Holy Spirit, 
 wh n the plan was laid for salvation, in which 
 the Lord, the mighty Saviour, engaged to be- 
 come human, to deliver through death from the 
 bondage of sin and death : — 
 
 " With pitying eyes the Prince of Peace beheld our helpless grief; 
 He saw, and oh! amazing love, he ran to our relief." 
 
 It is a memento of his love — such love as 
 brought him into direct union and contact with 
 suffering creatures. Love led him to take a hu- 
 man body, to redeem and save. The love of 
 God shone conspicuously in the manner of his 
 espousing the cause of his people while suffer- 
 ing in Egypt, and the judgments by which he 
 avenged their wrongs upon their oppressors. 
 The love of Jesus shines to all eternity, by 
 espousing the cause of his people, and so com- 
 ing into union with them as to be like one of a 
 family, or the husband of a wife. It is said, 
 " Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers 
 of flesh and blood, he likewise took part of the 
 same" (Hebrews 2 : 14). The symbols of this 
 flesh and blood are here. Mark his words : 
 
141 
 
 "This is my bocty, which is broken for yon" — 
 " This is my blood of the new testament, which 
 is shed for many." 
 
 It were love, indeed, snch as history never 
 yet chronicled, which ^oulcl bring a prince from 
 his throne, and from the splendor of his palace, 
 surrounded by obedient and admiring attend- 
 ants, to dwell with the meanest, suffering pau- 
 per of his dominion — a rebel, too, to mingle 
 with his suffering state, and take his sorrows. 
 But the Prince of heaven did this ; and when 
 love brought him from the highest, uncreated 
 glory, to the lowest state of suffering creation, 
 it is recorded himself took our infirmities and 
 bore our sicknesses. It therefore was a me- 
 mento of his love — " love which passeth knowl- 
 edge," exclaimed the apostle Paul. Love made 
 him the surety for his people, and it was the 
 intense love of his heart which led him to say, 
 " I lay down my life for the sheep," &c. Again : 
 " Greater love hath no man that this, that a man 
 lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my 
 friends if ye do whatsoever I command you." 
 And again : " Henceforth I call you not ser- 
 vants; for the servant knoweth not what his 
 Lord doeth : but I have called you friends ; for 
 
142 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 all things that I have heard of my Father, I 
 have made known unto you." 
 
 It was a memento of his grace. He was full 
 of grace. Grace resides in Jesus as waters in a 
 fountain, and grace went forth from him as the 
 spontaneous stream from the spring. He w T as 
 grace itself; the lovely Jesus was fairer than 
 the sons of men, and as Paul describes him (in 
 Hebrews 1 : 3), he was " the brightness of the 
 Father's glory, and the express image of his 
 person." His very speech was savored with 
 grace ; truly did they say who listened to his dis- 
 course, " Never man spake like this man" (John 
 7 : 46). The freeness of his favor and love, as 
 he communicated the intent of his heart, and 
 displayed it in all his conduct, fixed itself upon 
 the souls of his disciples, and they could not 
 but love him supremely. He is indeed still to 
 every real believer " the chiefest among ten 
 thousand" — "the altogether lovely." 
 
 By this sacred feast the benefits secured and 
 conferred are brought to remembrance. " Christ 
 gave himself for us !" exclaim the worshipping 
 souls, " and these elements are a memorial to 
 us." The whole of his life and his death, with 
 the merciful and gracious design therein of free- 
 
143 
 
 dom from the bondage of sin and death ; liberty 
 to serve God in newness of life ; the establish- 
 ment of peace with God ; the adoption of sons ; 
 the remission of sins, with justification, sancti- 
 fication, and glory. What a remembrancer is 
 this sacred feast ! what blessed reflections, when 
 we come by faith to break bread and drink of 
 the cup ! There our blessed Lord is seen, and 
 it is good to be there. 
 
 But, secondly, there is the exhibition of a 
 momentous truth before others. It sets forth 
 His death till he come. The symbols of flesh 
 and blood are here separate — the flesh set forth 
 by the bread, the blood by the wine in the cup. 
 Blood poured out and separated from the body 
 is death. The emblems, then, show for,th death. 
 It is the death of the Son of God — not a mere 
 man, but God's only-begotten Son — concerning 
 whom he again and again bore testimony that 
 he was well pleased. The death was a terrible 
 death, as the elements proclaimed. There was 
 bread broken to pieces ; he was broken, as torn 
 by nails, and scourges, and spears ; they made 
 long furrows in his back, they pierced his hands 
 and his feet, and all his bones were out of joint. 
 He was broken in spirit, and " a wounded spirit 
 
14A: CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 who can bear ?" He was broken in heart : it is 
 asserted that he died literally of a broken heart. 
 Oh, what anguish in his death, as he cried, " My 
 God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" 
 
 The wine showed forth that he died a terrible 
 death, for it was produced by the bruising and 
 compressing of the grape, which is of so many- 
 separate drops. The aggregate in the cup was 
 made up of such drops ; and Jesus, in agony, 
 pressed in the winepress of the wrath of God 
 and justice, "sweat as it were great drops of 
 blood." 
 
 It commemorates the sacrifice of Christ for 
 sinners. He was oifered up, not for himself, 
 but for the sins of his people. " He died, the 
 just for £be unjust, to bring sinners to God." 
 His sacrificial death had this object in it, "the 
 remission of sins." The paschal sacrifice set 
 forth the release of the people from the hand of 
 their oppressors. This sacrifice shows forth to 
 men the only way by which they can be set free 
 from the bondage of sin and death. The act of 
 commemorating the death of Christ in the sa- 
 cred rite of the Lord's Supper, is a declaration 
 of the only way of salvation, and of the only 
 ground of solid hope for the sinner, being in the. 
 
the lord's supper. 145 
 
 death of Him who suffered, to bring us to God. 
 Here is displayed the only method by which 
 God will forgive the sins of the guilty, and show 
 favor to such as deserve his wrath. 
 
 It displays the efficacy of His atonement. 
 There were many things wrought by the hands 
 of Moses, in judgment upon the Egyptians. But 
 it was the passover that secured the release of 
 the Israelites ; it was that judgment upon the 
 wicked, and that favor to God's people, which 
 procured their freedom. It was once done, and 
 done for ever. The commemoration annually 
 was all that followed to set forth to succeeding 
 ages what God had wrought for his people. 
 Christ died but once. "He appeared in the 
 end of the world," or dispensation, "to put 
 away sin by the sacrifice of himself." — " For 
 in that he died, he died unto sin once ; but. in 
 that he liveth, # he liveth unto God." — "For 
 Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just 
 for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." 
 The repetition of sacrifices for sin under the law 
 showed that sin was not put away, only cere- 
 monially ; but Christ having suffered once, to 
 die no more, declares in the showing forth that 
 "sin is really atoned for. 
 1 
 
146 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 The setting forth of His death in this institu- 
 tion is a silent but impressive way of preaching 
 the gospel. It tells the convicted of a salvation 
 provided, and an atonement made, and it woos 
 the soul of the penitent to embrace, by faith, Je- 
 sus crucified for remission of sins, justification, 
 salvation, and glory. This showing forth his 
 death is like the lifting up of the brazen serpent 
 in the wilderness, upon which the bitten and 
 dying Israelites might look and live. Such 
 were the objects designed to be set forth in the 
 sacred supper of the Lord. 
 
 SECTION IX. THE RIGHTFUL SUBJECTS TO ENGAGE 
 
 IN IT. 
 
 We have now, in a few closing remarks, to 
 take some brief notice of the rightful subjects 
 to participate in the celebration of the Lord's 
 Supper. As there is a correspondence between 
 it and the passover-feast, so there might be ex- 
 pected a correspondence between the people 
 who kept the one and the other, and so we find. 
 The blood was to be upon the door-posts and 
 the lintels of the houses of the Israelites. So 
 the blood of Christ must be, by faith, upon the 
 
147 
 
 consciences and hearts of such as commemorate 
 his sacrificial death. 
 
 The institution of the Lord's Supper was for 
 all his disciples who lived by faith upon him, 
 thus discerning the ends of infinite mercy, love, 
 and grace, in the institution. Where there could 
 be such a discernment by faith of the sacrificial 
 death of Christ, and reliance upon his atoning 
 sacrifice for remission of sins, there were to be 
 found the rightful subjects to commemorate his 
 death. The symbols are spread out, and Jesus 
 says, 'Eat, O friends — drink, O beloved!' 
 
 The Scriptures demand no other qualification, 
 in coming to the Lord's Supper, but faith in the 
 mysteries symbolized by the elements. He who 
 discerneth not the Lord's body and blood is the 
 unworthy communicant, and eateth and drink- 
 eth condemnation unto himself. But he whose 
 faith apprehends the blessed doctrines of salva- 
 tion by Christ crucified, and is feeding by that 
 faith upon these mysterious glories, is a worthy 
 communicant. Christ enjoined no other quali- 
 fication, the apostles demanded no other, and 
 we have no right to institute any other. There 
 are other things desirable to observe, but none 
 other essential, or enjoined in the word of God, 
 
148 CHRISTIAN ORDINANCES. 
 
 but faith. But we shall have occasion to dwell 
 more fully on this when treating of those duties 
 which it is desirable for every Christian to ob- 
 serve in coming to the Lord's table. 
 
 When our blessed Lord had gone over these 
 solemnities of the sacred feast which established 
 it a Christian ordinance, he with his disciples 
 sang a hymn of praise for the goodness and mer- 
 cy of God, and left the sacred spot for scenes 
 which filled their hearts with sorrow and ama- 
 zing agonies, and which brought the Saviour to 
 that death he had just symbolized out in the 
 feast. The hymn spoken of was probably the 
 recitative chant used by the Jews at the feast, 
 which was Psalms 113-118. 
 
 Who could find in his heart, if rightly influ- 
 enced by the Holy Spirit, a disposition to thrust 
 away any sincere soul from commemorating the 
 dying love of his Lord and Saviour, and from 
 having fellowship with Christ in his sufferings? 
 The greatest violence must be done to every 
 sensibility of the renewed soul and sanctified 
 heart to do it. There must be the hardening of 
 the heart, toward not only the disciples of Jesus, 
 but toward him also, to shut out any devoted 
 follower from participation in this sacred feast. 
 
PART IV. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 
 
 SECTION I. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 In the foregoing chapters, it appears that 
 many errors and misconceived opinions have 
 gained ground extensively with the professing 
 Christian church in relation to the two symboli- 
 cal ordinances which are given to us by Christ 
 himself. That the errors are not all on one side 
 or with one section of the Christian church in 
 the world, but, upon close investigation, with 
 every section, more or less in some particulars, 
 is evident ; all of which have arisen from false 
 constructions put upon the letter of the ordi- 
 nances, or a combination of the two in a manner 
 never designed, and which, when fairly exam- 
 ined, they do not admit. 
 
150 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 But while these things must have become 
 undeniable to every serious, honest, reflecting 
 mind, they have been brought out and exhibit- 
 ed, not so much by any argument — for this has 
 been studiously avoided — but by the simple 
 exhibition of the institutions, with their bear- 
 ings, as set forth in the Scriptures. These means 
 must be eventually successful, for sooner or later 
 every error must fall before truth, and truth, 
 alone shall stand. 
 
 But it is in the present and following lectures 
 that the fallacy of restricted communion, which 
 some baptists so strenuously advocate, will be 
 brought out and exposed. The strength of their 
 position lies upon the consideration that the com- 
 mission, which embraces the institution of bap- 
 tism, and the practice of the apostles, is every- 
 thing needed to give authority for the course 
 they adopt. They say : * We are first to preach ; 
 then baptize the believer into the faith of the 
 gospel, in the name of the Trinit}', by immersing 
 in water; then receive him into the church — 
 and, as the Lord's Supper is a church ordinance, 
 so to the table of the Lord. This is the only 
 way we know of, and the only thing we prac- 
 tise. , 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 151 
 
 This may appear to be authority to many, and 
 so simple and truthful as not to allow of a doubt 
 as to the correctness of the position taken. But 
 it assumes no more weight in defence of restrict- 
 ed communion than a small particle of dust does 
 upon the scale of the balance. Supposing the 
 verbal statement to be sustained as to the prac- 
 tice laid down in the New Testament, has it any- 
 thing to do with the spirit and design of the in- 
 stitution? If that be misunderstood and lost 
 sight of, of what force is a verbal arrangement ? 
 And suppose the notion of a church now is 
 perfectly contrary to the notion of a church as 
 Christ and his apostles regarded it, and suppose 
 that in the scriptural view of a church, it ap- 
 pears that disciples were of the church of Christ 
 before they were baptized, and that the much- 
 talk of their being " added to the church after 
 baptism" was only that welcome with which 
 visible followers of Christ will receive others 
 when their conversion becomes manifest — then 
 what becomes of the authority assumed, and 
 where is the truthfulness of this kind of stereo- 
 typed order about which there is apparently 
 such triumphant boasting? 
 
 If the arguments put forth by restricted-corn- 
 
152 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 munion baptists in defence of their practice be 
 correct, and according to the spirit of Christ, 
 then they are in no way reconcilable with the 
 wording and spirit of his institutions, for in 
 them he has nowhere even implied a depen- 
 dence one upon the other; they have distinct 
 bearings, and must necessarily be viewed sepa- 
 rate, in order that they may be suitably observed. 
 Yet, while Clirist has never bound them togeth- 
 er, men have ventured to make them fast by a 
 sort of vital cord or ligament. If restricted- 
 communion baptists have Christ's authority for 
 excluding any disciple of his from communing 
 at his table, then they have authority to make 
 men disobey a positive institution Of his — a 
 standing ordinance for the Christian's obser- 
 vance to the end of time ; while the wording of 
 the institution never so much as makes allusion to 
 any preliminary qualification but faith in Christ 
 as the Saviour. Their position, substantiated, 
 can be nothing less than Jesus Christ versus Je- 
 sus Christ, and a kingdom divided against itself. 
 Ifow this can not be. Clirist can not command 
 an institution to be observed, and yet give au- 
 thority to some to make those to whom the com- 
 mand applies nullify it against their consent : 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 153 
 
 well, then, it must be evident that officious men 
 have mistaken their commission, and thereby at- 
 tempted to make the word of God of none effect. 
 We have now to turn to the consideration of 
 a Christian church, that will bring out more 
 fully the basis of all Christian obligations, and 
 the relative nature of all the ordinances of 
 Christ. It is upon the scriptural nature of a 
 church, and not upon any artificial combination 
 of society suggested by man, that the views we 
 entertain of church ordinances must stand or 
 fall ; so, also, the rightful subjects to participate 
 in such ordinances must be those, and only those, 
 pointed out by the Lord himself. 
 
 SECTION H. THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD 
 
 " CHURCH." 
 
 It is necessary to take into consideration, at 
 the outset of our inquiry, the etymology of the 
 term church / also the proper signification of 
 the original of that word. These are essential 
 in leading us to the proper conclusion of what 
 the Scriptures set forth, when we find the word 
 church used in relation to a Christian society, 
 as much as the signification of the word baptize 
 
154 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 is determined by an appeal to the original Greek 
 word baptizo. 
 
 Church or kirk is precisely the same word in 
 a varied orthography. Kirk is still retained 
 by the Scotch; but church is, by corruption, 
 from the Saxon kirik, changing the hard c in 
 eh. These words kirik and kirk are from the 
 Greek words kuriou oikos, which is " house of 
 the Lord," and which refers to some of the 
 primitive assemblies in houses, such as that in 
 Philemon's, of which Paul thus writes : " The 
 church in thy house." These Greek words be- 
 came contracted into kurioik and kuriake, from 
 which we have the Saxon kirik, or church, and 
 the Scotch kirk. The above has relation, then, 
 to assemblies for worship in houses, which were 
 not unfrequent in primitive times, especially 
 where there were but few Christians in a town 
 or district. 
 
 In another sense the word church has been 
 used, from the most remote period, to represent 
 the Greek term ekklesia, which often occurs in 
 the New Testament, which was adopted into 
 the Latin language without any change, and 
 which gives us our words ecclesiastics and eccle- 
 siastical, corresponding with the Saxon terms 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 155 
 
 churchmen and of churchmen. The meaning 
 of the word, among classical Greek writers, is 
 meeting, or assembly ; and in this, or the some- 
 what modified sense of community, it was adopt- 
 ed by the writers of the New Testament. Meet- 
 ing or assembly may apply to any congregation 
 of people, good or bad ; therefore the nature of 
 it is to be understood from connecting circum- 
 stances. Some have derived it immediately 
 from the Hebrew word kel, an assembly, which 
 in the Old Testament is most commonly trans- 
 lated congregation, but sometimes multitude, 
 company, &c. ; so that the word kel came to be 
 a kind of appellative by which the Israelites 
 were designated, and distinguished from Moses 
 and Aaron their leaders, and are therefore fre- 
 quently denominated "the congregation of Is- 
 rael," " the congregation of the Lord," and this 
 is the most extensive application of the word. 
 
 The word elchlesia, which for the most part 
 we translate church throughout the New Testa- 
 ment, seems to be derived from ekkaleo, to call 
 out of, or from; and is commonly applied to 
 an assembly of citizens, or a company gathered 
 out of a multitude by a civil magistrate or some 
 of the existing authorities, which would be called 
 
156 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 a lawful assembly ; but if otherwise convened, 
 for riotous purposes, it would bear the designa- 
 tion of an unlawful assembly. Such was the 
 mob, or confused assembly, which we read of in 
 Acts 19 — which, through the excitement cre- 
 ated by one Demetrius, a silverworker, at Ephe- 
 sus, against Paul, a tumultuous assembly wa8 
 raised, which having been appeased by the ju- 
 dicious interference of the town-clerk, the as- 
 sembly was quietly dispersed from the theatre 
 where they had been convened, with the advice 
 that, if any just complaint could be made against 
 Paul and his companions, it should be deter- 
 mined in ennomo eklclesia, a lawful assembly. 
 
 The word eJcJdesia, then, requires some other 
 word or words conjoined, to convey any idea 
 of the nature of the assembly. In its appropri- 
 ated application to a religious use, it is " the 
 church of God" — the congregation collected by 
 God, and devoted to his service. The church 
 of Christ comprises the whole company of Chris- 
 tians, wheresoever found ; because by the preach- 
 ing of the gospel they are called out of the 
 spirit and maxims of the world : and refers like- 
 wise to all small assemblies convened in the 
 name of Jesus Christ, to worship and serve him. 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 157 
 
 SECTION in. USE OF THE TEEM 
 
 THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 Here let us investigate the use of the term 
 church in the sacred Scriptures, as describing 
 religious congregations. It is necessary to state 
 that it is now very seldom regarded as originally 
 applied; and this is one principal reason why 
 many who are sincere, but who have not de- 
 voted their attention to the use of ecclesiasti- 
 cal phrases, have often sustained certain opin- 
 ions which they have conceived to be correct, 
 from the false construction put upon the terms 
 used by the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, or 
 by wresting words from their originul meaning, 
 to make them bear some other meaning. 
 
 Clnistianity became corrupt by designing 
 men, more or less led by the evil spirit, from 
 its earliest establishment. The Christian dis- 
 pensation was no sooner introduced among men, 
 than Satan made some successful attempts to 
 mar it, as he did the beautiful creation of God 
 at the first in man's transgression. Whenever 
 ambitious or designing men have wished to es- 
 tablish their dogmas, they have done so by falsi- 
 
158 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 fying the meaning of scripture language : they 
 have corrupted the word of God so as to make 
 it of none effect. Nearly all error is traceable 
 to this. 
 
 Power and authority have been exercised in 
 the church by misconstruction of the Scriptures. 
 Then, under this assumed bearing of the word 
 of God, men have boldly asserted such power 
 and authority to be from God, and that which 
 has followed upon it has been written in blood. 
 The assumption of power, as expressly delegated 
 by God to men from the Scriptures, has led 
 them to coerce to uniformity in all things ; what- 
 ever their corrupt minds have invented, they 
 have either sought to maintain these notions as 
 the word of God, or deducible therefrom. As- 
 suming the power to constrain to submission, 
 even when conscience has declared against the 
 subscription to their proposed terms, or doc- 
 trines, they have dealt out vengeance to the full 
 upon the declared contumacious. 
 
 Thousands of the conscientious children of 
 God and of the true spiritual church have en- 
 dured the most cruel punishments that Satan 
 could invent, and even suffered the most tor- 
 menting deaths by the command of the so-called 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 159 
 
 high authorities over the church of Christ. But 
 these prominent monsters, who have trampled 
 on and destroyed God's beautiful heritage, are 
 not the only individuals to be noticed. 
 
 It is an ingredient of fallen humanity to de- 
 sire to rule and coerce ; and according to the 
 facilities for exercising power, and the want of 
 gracious influence to restrain from seeking one's 
 own ways and doing one's own works, so it has 
 ever been made manifest in religious matters. 
 Errors in doctrine and practice have been en- 
 forced, and persecution in some shape or other 
 has been the penalt} 7 of non-compliance, from 
 his exalted holiness, the so-called vicar and apos- 
 tle of Jesus Christ, the pope, down to the mod- 
 est, unassuming baptist, who in all meekness 
 and lowliness of mind esteems others better 
 than himself. He, too, professes to take Christ 
 for his example, and piously declares that he 
 has delegated authority to open and to shut up 
 the door to the feast of the kingdom of heaven 
 to whomsoever he pleases : and here is the true 
 secret of restricted communion. 
 
 The use, or rather the abuse, of the term 
 church, has not been among the least of the er- 
 rors which has brought schisms, heresies, and a 
 
160 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 long list of evils in their train, such as debates, 
 envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisper- 
 ings, swellings, tumults ; it has been foremost 
 in them all, the vanguard of a terrible army. 
 The unscriptural uses of the term church at the 
 present time are many. For example, every 
 denomination bearing the Christian name as- 
 sumes the title of church; so that there are 
 constant rival (so-called) churches, each aiming 
 at ascendency, in some cases aided by political 
 governments, and in others striving together 
 for mastery. And who does not see that all the 
 evils enumerated above, and many more, have 
 sprung out of the misapplication of the term 
 church to the multiplied denominations of Chris- 
 tians? ■ ; . 
 
 Then there are minor divisions of these sev- 
 eral heads of various shades holding a diversity 
 of doctrine. Under these distinctions, numbers 
 are grouped, hoisting alike their banner of strife. 
 Take, for instance, the baptist denomination, in 
 respect to one association of that body, viz., the 
 " Hudson River Association." A respectable 
 pastor of that body silenced the scruples of an 
 individual, whose views of doctrine did not com- 
 port with the articles of faith subscribed to by 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 161 
 
 that association, by saying that the churches in 
 that body varied so much, one from the other, 
 in doctrinal views, that every shade might be 
 found there, from churches holding hyper-Cal- 
 vinism to the lowest doctrines of Arminianism : 
 all these are organized bodies under the dis- 
 tinctive name of baptist churches. But is there 
 any authority for the use of the term " church" 
 for any, from the papal dominion down to the 
 smallest baptist conventicle, where a few are 
 enrolled as members of a church, bound by 
 laws partly Divine and partly human, covenant- 
 ed together as organized churches? We say, 
 " To the w r ord and the testimony ;" and we shall 
 soon find how the word has been perverted to a 
 sense in which the Holy Ghost never used it. 
 
 The term church, under whatever circum- 
 stance used in scripture, has no application to 
 those combinations of Christians as existing in 
 the present day. They had their bishops and 
 deacons, but they were not organized bodies, 
 covenanted together in what is called " church 
 relationship," with names entered in church- 
 registers, and consisting only of such individuals 
 thus bound together, who had put themselves 
 under certain regulations of human invention. 
 
162 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 Call them combinations of Christians, if yon 
 please ; regard them as religions societies, com- 
 pacted by man, and not by God ; look upon 
 them as worthy Christians where their conduct 
 justifies it — they have engaged together to 
 worship God, as in the general holding the same 
 views, and are combined to sustain and help for- 
 ward certain religious institutions for the ad- 
 vancement of the kingdom of Christ among men : 
 but, if we designate them churches, we miscall 
 them ; we circumscribe our ideas of the term 
 church by doing so ; and we make the church 
 the society of man, whereas, God the Holy Spir- 
 it declares it to be the congregation of God or 
 of Christ. 
 
 Here is an error fruitful to an incalculable 
 degree, bearing a multitudinous progeny, de- 
 structive of all that is good. What we call 
 " churches 1 ' are in truth nothing but combina- 
 tions of professedly religious bodies; and, until 
 we see this, we shall never be right in our ideas 
 of churches, or the duties of churches. 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 163 
 
 SECT. IV. THE BODIES DISTINGUISHED UNDER THE 
 
 TITLE "CHURCH" IN THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 Look at the churches, or some of them, which 
 shall serve to describe the whole, in the sense 
 in which scripture has pointed them out. 
 
 In its most extended latitude, the term church 
 embraces the whole family of God (called out 
 from the world and the spirit of the world by 
 the Holy Spirit, visible or invisible to us, from 
 the days of Adam onward to the end of time), 
 who are redeemed unto God by the blood of his 
 Son — comprehended under the idea of a nu- 
 merous family, of which Christ is the head, as 
 it is recorded, " He is the head of the body, the 
 church" (Colossians 1 : 18). It is said : " Christ 
 loved the church, and gave himself for it; that 
 he might sanctify and cleanse it with the wash- 
 ing of water by the word. That he might pre- 
 sent it to himself a glorious church, not having 
 spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it 
 should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 
 5 : 25-27). So, in Hebrews (12 : 23), it is said : 
 "Ye are come to the general assembly and 
 church of the first-born, which are written in 
 
164: ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the 
 spirits of just men made perfect." These pas- 
 sages embrace the universal church ; they treat 
 of the whole redeemed family unto God by the 
 blood of Jesus. 
 
 It is used in reference to the Jewish church, 
 the whole professing community and nation as 
 a people called out and brought out of Egypt, 
 to go into Canaan. That nation, as distinguished 
 from other nations, as the people of God, and a 
 nation who worshipped and served the only liv- 
 ing and true God, were so designated ; and for 
 this reason, it may be, that the Hebrew word 
 %el came to be a kind of appellative by which 
 the Israelites were designated, and frequently 
 denominated the " congregation of Israel," the 
 " congregation of the Lord," the " church in the 
 wilderness," &c. 
 
 What we generally denominate the Jewish 
 church, or the church of God under the Jewish 
 dispensation, is designated a house over which 
 Moses was appointed as servant, as explained 
 by Paul : " Moses verily was faithful in all his 
 house as a servant for a testimony of those things 
 which were to be spoken after" (Hebrews 3 : 5). 
 Moses was not the builder or maker of the church 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 165 
 
 (or, as it is in the above quotation, house), but a 
 faithful servant, observing everything enjoined, 
 for all was typical of the Christian church, as 
 well as, that in their own existence they were 
 the church of God — the called-out to be his. pe- 
 culiar people, and to show forth his praise among 
 men. 
 
 The term church, as applied to the Israelites, 
 is to be regarded in a twofold point of view. 
 The whole nation, as an outwardly professing 
 people in religious observances, were called the 
 church/ but the true church, as spiritually 
 called out from the world, were within this ex- 
 ternal : there was a church within a church — 
 all were not Israel which were of Israel ; nei- 
 ther, in the true sense of the spiritual church, 
 were all embraced who were the descendants 
 of Judah, for " he is not a Jew that is one out- 
 wardly." 
 
 It is used in reference to the whole commu- 
 nity of professing Christians, but not acknowl- 
 edged so by the Lord. He has truly marked 
 out the distinction between a nominal church 
 and a spiritual church. The church of Christ, 
 under the Christian dispensation, is no national 
 church, but universal as applied to all who are 
 
166 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 disciples of Christ, and who savingly do believe 
 in him. Extensive as may be any Christian so- 
 ciety bearing a denominational name, it can not 
 properly bear the title of catholic church; it is 
 only part, at best, of the universal church, and 
 there is great absurdity on the part of the papal* 
 church in assuming the term catholic. The uni- 
 versal church is specially referred to by Jesus, 
 when he said to Peter, in alluding to his ac- 
 knowledgment of the Messiah, and confession 
 of the doctrine of Christ — " Upon this rock will 
 I build my church." Upon such an acknowl- 
 edged faith as this, the universal Christian 
 church under the Christian dispensation shall 
 be raised, bidding defiance to the powers and 
 counsels of hell. But the papists gay, ' No, it 
 is Peter upon whom the church is built.' "We 
 demur, and they burn us as heretics. The re- 
 stricted-communion baptists say, 'It is water — 
 water makes the visible church.' "We demur, 
 and they excommunicate us. There is the burn- 
 ing of palpable fire, and the burning of excis- 
 ion — the one, to be sure, more dreadful upon 
 the body than the other, but the spirit in both 
 alike consuming. 
 
 Church applies to all living Christians in any 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 167 
 
 one period of time — the called, and separate, 
 and chosen, who are living to God and to Christ, 
 evincing that they are not of the world, but cho- 
 sen out of the world. The church in her mili- 
 tant aspect, girded with the armor of the Lord, 
 fighting the fight of faith, walking in the ordi- 
 nances of the Lord blameless : to such we have 
 already made allusion where it is said, "The 
 Lord added to the church daily such as should 
 be saved" (Acts 2 : 47). Paul, relating his per- 
 secution against the church in his unconverted 
 state, when writing to the Philippians, says, 
 . . . " concerning zeal, persecuting the church." 
 And to the Corinthians he writes, " I am not 
 meet to be called an apostle, because I perse- 
 cuted the church of God." These statements 
 applied universally to the Christian church, and 
 are thus emphatically expressed in giving an ac- 
 count of his conversion, in Acts 22 : 4. He says 
 of his conduct on to the time Christ arrested 
 him — "I persecuted this way unto the death, 
 binding and delivering into prisons both men 
 and women" — signifying that his persecutions 
 were directed against all indiscriminately who 
 called upon the name of Jesus, wherever he 
 found them. 
 
168 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 The word has also numerous applications to 
 limited congregations, and to every one such 
 meeting in any given place ; and it is either ex- 
 pressed or implied, in speaking of such churches, 
 that they are distinguished by locality or name, 
 so as to be known as one assembly convened to 
 worship God. A few, convened in a house, 
 were as much a church in that house, as the 
 large assembly in a commodious place were a 
 church, or as that the universal multitude were 
 the church. The few were, if we may so speak, 
 in miniature what the others were upon the more 
 extended scale. When speaking of a district or 
 country where several such churches were, they 
 were referred to in the plural, as " the churches 
 of Asia." Having briefly referred to the uses 
 which the Holy Spirit has made of the term 
 church in the sacred Scriptures, we pass to an- 
 other feature of the subject. 
 
 SECTION V. THE CHARACTER OF THE ASSEMBLIES. 
 
 It is of the first importance to regard the char- 
 acter of the assemblies pointed out as the church 
 or churches of Christ in the Scriptures ; so that, 
 in forming a contrast between them and the so- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 169 
 
 called modern churches, some idea may be given 
 of the unfounded nature of the systems, which 
 many believe to be the exact likeness of that 
 which existed in the apostles' days. 
 
 Faith in Christ, and nothing but faith in Christ, 
 constituted those who believed the members of 
 the universal church, according to the sacred 
 Scriptures. The term church was used to de- 
 note the whole body of Christians, and all the 
 disciples of Christ, without regard to questions 
 about the instructions of Christ and his apostles 
 which divided the opinions of Christians even 
 in the earliest times. 
 
 But we are told that there is gospel order, by 
 which the church of Christ in the world has a 
 visible existence, or by which individuals be- 
 come connected with the church, whether re- 
 garded as the universal or a smaller assembly. 
 It is at this point that men diverge from the 
 truth ; and, by this once departing from the 
 simple and plain statement of a church given 
 by the Holy Ghost, the errors that are now so 
 prevalent have arisen. Mark well, then, that 
 the church is neither more nor less than the 
 called out : they believe in Christ, they hold to 
 the head, and are the household of God. They 
 
170 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 are the true church whenever they are assem- 
 bled for religious purposes. They become mem- 
 bers of the church as soon as they believe in 
 Jesus Christ with the heart ; and no other qual- 
 ification do the Scriptures require for a visible 
 member of the church ; then it is that all Chris- 
 tian duties are laid before every individual mem- 
 ber of the church, symbolical ordinances and 
 all other ordinances, and everything which the 
 Lord has enjoined upon his disciples, but not 
 one of them necessary to make visible member- 
 ship of the church : if anything else be regarded 
 necessary, the term church, as used by the Holy 
 Spirit, is destroyed. 
 
 Nothing can be more simple than the ideas 
 of the church of Christ, if men will let it be 
 what God the Spirit declares it. It is the com- 
 ing together of believers in one place. Methinks 
 we hear some say, l Baptized believers? We 
 could certainly wish all believers to be bap- 
 tized, but not more do we wish them to observe 
 that rite than every other which Christ has en- 
 joined. But it may be said, 'This is the first 
 duty the Lord has enjoined to be observed.' 
 We say so too, and desire it to be attended to 
 the first. But again, it may be said, 'It is the 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 171 
 
 way into the church.' Then, if so, we say, with 
 all reverence : ' All that God the Spirit has said 
 about the church you must make to be false ; 
 for he has said the church is an assembly of the 
 called out : Christ is the door, and faith in him 
 the actual entering in. Baptism is one of the 
 ordinances of Christ for his called out. As a 
 symbolical ordinance, it is in one particular to 
 set forth regeneration by the Holy Spirit, where- 
 by we come to believe savingly in Christ.' 
 
 Men, to establish their own dogmas, often 
 make gross mistakes. It is not because in sev- 
 eral instances converts, almost simultaneously 
 with conviction, were baptized, and described 
 almost in one breath to have been added to the 
 disciples, that baptism had aught to do with 
 their being of the church. This notion would 
 not have been entertained, if men, to support 
 their systems, did not catch at bare words, like 
 drowning men at straws ; for, had they followed 
 up the reading, they would have soon come to 
 a statement which would have convinced them 
 that baptism had nothing to do with their being 
 added to the disciples; for it is written, "The 
 Lord added to the church daily such as should 
 be saved." If he did it by the calling them out 
 
172 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 from the world by liis Spirit, it certainly was 
 not done by baptism. We could go into every 
 particular, and prove beyond doubt that there 
 is not an inch of ground which these reasoners 
 against revealed truth can find to stand on ; 
 but we must leave the remarks made to find 
 their way to the understanding of sober, pious, 
 reflecting people, and they will read for them- 
 selves, and see the fallacy of human systems, 
 when compared with the word of God. 
 
 Consider the churches of the present day, in 
 the light in which the Holy Spirit presents the 
 Christian church, and there is about as much 
 likeness between the one and the other as there 
 is between a gracious soul and a worldly man. 
 As soon as souls were converted to God, they 
 were of the church, and went to their own com- 
 pany ; if they had heretofore been desperate 
 characters, and no knowledge had come to the 
 church of any change, then they of the church 
 would desire to be satisfied that tin's profession 
 was not a design to be pla} r ed off for wicked 
 purposes : but as soon as they could know that 
 the work was of God, such new converts were 
 allowed to enter in as of the church. It was so 
 in the case of Saul. 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 173 
 
 The additions to the church were made by 
 the Lord's separating grace, when individuals 
 went voluntarily and gave themselves up to the 
 worshipping company. But in the now-denom- 
 inated churches, the company take upon them- 
 selves to say who among those that believe shall 
 be of the church. They admit by their suffer- 
 ance, or reject at their discretion ; and it may 
 be the most godly disciples they spurn away, 
 because they can not subscribe to some of their 
 cherished heretical dogmas. They have their 
 rules and laws of uniformity. The one question 
 may not be thought of — 'Have you received 
 Christ into your heart by faith V — but, ' Do you 
 believe this, that, and the other?' — anon-essen- 
 tial, perhaps, a lie against God's truth it may 
 be, or a matter of doubtful disputation. Then, 
 4 Do you subscribe to our rules, and will you 
 adopt our church covenant, and abide by it?' 
 After all this cross-examination, if they like you, 
 they take you in among their number by their 
 sufferance ; and if not, they reject you — no mat- 
 ter to them what the Lord has done for you, by 
 calling you out and giving you a name among 
 his children. 
 
 The true church of Christ gives the most per- 
 
174 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 feet liberty for tlie full and entire exercise of 
 private judgment in every matter. The doc- 
 trine of Christ must be believed, to make it 
 manifest that God has called out : further than 
 this perhaps no two individuals may see eye to 
 eye in all things. We are not to be gagged, or 
 padlocked, or disciplined for the exercise of 
 private judgment, nor for speaking our own 
 thoughts in love one to another, as the restrict- 
 ed baptists would discipline ; for it is mainly 
 by the free interchange of thoughts, views, and 
 feelings, under the blessing of God, that we 
 grow up into Christ in all things. Why do we 
 see the church withered and blasted, as it is in 
 the present day, its numerical force maintained 
 by artificial means, and for the most part with 
 dead professors ? . The answer is, ' Men's systems 
 have overspread the church, and these societies 
 have despised the operations of the Spirit, and 
 trodden down the heritage of the Lord.' 
 
 SECTION VI. THE HISTORICAL FEATURES OF THE 
 
 INNOVATION UPON CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 
 
 It is full of instruction and warning to mark 
 in the historical features the gradual manner in 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 175 
 
 which the church has become so changed from 
 the simple and glorious appearance in which 
 she is presented by the Holy Spirit in the New 
 Testament. 
 
 It was soon regarded as. essential to the idea 
 of a church, that believers should be bound to- 
 gether by a sort of mutual pledge, and form a 
 compact and united body. How true it is that 
 the wisdom of man is foolishness with God ! If 
 the love of Christ were not the bond to unite 
 the body in close compact, how could it be ex- 
 pected that any human pledge should ? Certain 
 outward forms of profession came to be regard- 
 ed as requisite for every member — such as bap- 
 tism and the partaking of the Lord's Supper, as 
 introductory to the church (observe, baptism 
 was not the only ordinance to be observed as a 
 prerequisite to the church, but the Lord's Sup- 
 per also, when men began to make terms of 
 church-fellowship) ; then certain officers, as bish- 
 ops, pastors, and deacons, were regarded as es- 
 sential, instead of appendages ; also certain uni- 
 form services, and the acknowledgment of cer- 
 tain propositions as containing a just exposition 
 and summary of the doctrine of Christ and tho 
 apostles. 
 
176 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 Efforts were thus made from a very early pe- 
 riod in the history of Christianity, and continued 
 to bring the body of professing Christians into 
 this state of consistency and uniformity. It pro- 
 gressed in this direction, and ultimately the 
 bishop of Rome, who was represented as the 
 direct successor of Peter (the rock, as they say, 
 on whom the church was to be built), received 
 by almost universal consent a kind of headship 
 or supremacy. About him was gathered a coun- 
 cil, consisting of other bishops, pastors, deacons, 
 &c, forming a supreme authority in this com- 
 pact community, and a court of ultimate appeal. 
 These things grew darker and darker for the 
 church until the period of the Reformation. 
 
 At the Reformation, certain states of Europe 
 separated themselves from the papal usurpation. 
 The separation was made on various grounds, 
 which the history of the Reformation fully ex- 
 plains. The movement was not made, at the 
 first, with the idea of separation, but for cor- 
 rection of abuses. But the resistance which 
 was made to the efforts of the reformers, com- 
 bined with other things, rendered this imprac- 
 ticable ; and nothing remained for the states in 
 which the call for reformation was the loudest, 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 177 
 
 but to break off from the great confederacy, and 
 to renounce entirely all connection with popery 
 and the so-called papal church. Then arose oth- 
 er ecclesiastical bodies, assuming the name of 
 church, as the church of Geneva, the church of 
 Scotland^ the church of England, &c, meaning 
 the Christian members of those political confed- 
 eracies, or belonging to those nations, when re- 
 garded under the aspect of being professed be- 
 lievers in Christ. 
 
 The protestant churches (for so they have 
 been denominated, of whatever country or order 
 differing from the papal church), as national 
 churches, when the bodies of such nations broke 
 off their allegiance to the pope, became a sort 
 of national independency. Each protestant na- 
 tion had its own church, and regulated its own 
 affairs according to the principles upon which 
 it was established, without communication with 
 other protestant people. 
 
 These, as national establishments, were not 
 universally approved. Many of the people of 
 each nation dissented from the principle of such 
 national establishments, and accordingly adopt- 
 ed such regulations as they regarded scriptural. 
 They formed themselves into little bands o£ 
 
 8* 
 
178 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 Christians, though in some countries they met 
 with much opposition and persecution by their 
 declaration of nonconformity to national insti- 
 tutions. These little groups, holding to the 
 head, even Christ, by faith, as they assembled 
 in rooms or whatever places they could for Di- 
 vine worship, without organization by man or 
 human laws, were more in conformity to the 
 primitive model of the New-Testament churches 
 than any that had been known in the world 
 since the early departure from the simplicity 
 of Christ's churches by the adoption of outward 
 forms of profession, and uniformity of practice 
 and faith as declared by man. 
 
 But it was not long that these little, oppressed 
 companies of Christians were contented to be 
 such imitators of the glorious and simple models 
 of the churches of the Holy Spirit, in the New 
 Testament. They began to organize under their 
 several banners and denominational characters ; 
 and in proportion as toleration was exercised, 
 and it was regarded as common right for men 
 to worship God according to the dictates of 
 their own consciences, so in proportion the ori- 
 ginal simplicity of these nonconformist bodies 
 passed away, and every one more or less has 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 179 
 
 fallen into the error which they so deprecated. 
 They have certain creeds and rules of govern- 
 ment, to which every one of the body must sub- 
 scribe, thus going into the same path of error 
 which led to that dreadful state of things when 
 popery was rampant, with all its evil conse- 
 quences ; and uniformity by submission to all 
 that was required was finally demanded at the 
 peril of persecution unto death, wherever Con- 
 science lifted her voice to protest against any 
 unscriptural heresy or oppressive enactment. 
 
 In countries such as the United States, where 
 there is no national religious establishment, no 
 state church supported and defended by legal 
 enactments — all religious denominations being 
 alike countenanced and protected by law — we 
 see the various denominations struggling to- 
 gether as rivals. The interests of this denomina- 
 tion and that denomination are common house- 
 hold terms in matters pertaining to ecclesiasti- 
 cal bodies ; and what is this but a dreadful fea- 
 ture of antichrist ? Is Christ divided? Can the 
 interests of one denomination be spoken of in 
 opposition to another, without in spirit being 
 schismatics, dividing the church, which is but 
 one, every member being equally precious to 
 
180 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 Jesus, ransomed by his blood, and called out by 
 his Spirit, and as essential to the unity of the 
 body of Christ as an arm or a finger to the per- 
 fection of the human frame I 
 
 SECT. VII. DENOMINATIONAL EQUALITY NO SAFE- 
 GUARD AGAINST CORRUPTION AND OPPRESSION. 
 
 The equal footing upon which all denomina- 
 tions of Christian bodies are placed in the Uni- 
 ted States-is in itself a glorious feature of liber- 
 ty ; but with regard to the denominations, at 
 least to one of them we may speak, this liberty 
 is wofully abused. There are stringent enact- 
 ments in the ecclesiastical polity of the restrict- 
 ed-baptist denomination, which destroy the right 
 of private judgment which God gives to every 
 man to enjoy, and is both cruel and persecuting 
 to a large portion of its members. 
 
 Christianity has lost her simple and beautiful 
 dress, to be decorated with the uncomely orna- 
 ments of man's making. Religious societies, 
 established upon a compact system of subscri- 
 bing and submitting to certain rules and dog- 
 mas of man's compiling, and making such the 
 terms of membership, are called " Christian 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 181 
 
 churches" — when in these, in many instances, 
 godly as the life and character may be, the right 
 of private judgment in civil relations, and reli- 
 gious rites and observances, is denied if it differ 
 from the measures of conformity laid, down ; and 
 if determined to exercise it unceremoniously, 
 the character is cried down at large, the indi- 
 vidual must be shunned as a pestilence, and ex- 
 communicated, to drift in a dismembered con- 
 dition upon the wide world. 
 
 If the people were only to awake up to this 
 ecclesiastical oppression, so as to be fully alive 
 to this assumed authority over their consciences 
 and their rights of private judgment, they would 
 possess the true moral courage of Christ's free- 
 men, of which now so many seem comparatively 
 destitute ; they would laugh such discipline and 
 disciplinarians to scorn, and would soon recover 
 something of the primitive simplicity and free- 
 dom of Christian churches ; while their oppres- 
 sors would, from shame, seek the dark corners 
 of the earth in which to hide themselves. 
 
 In this outline review of what now exists in 
 relation to the Christian church, it is manifest 
 that there is something radically wrong in the 
 nature and constitution of Christian societies, 
 
182 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 called churches. We here quote from Tassey's 
 work upon "The Supreme and Exclusive Au- 
 thority of the Lord Jesus Christ in Religious 
 Matters." Referring to the misapplication of 
 the term church, and its abuse by religious so- 
 cieties, at page 89 he says : " Nothing can be 
 clearer than this, that the system, whatever it 
 may be, that obliges its adherents to use either 
 the language or phraseology of scripture in a 
 sense in which neither was ever used by the 
 Holy Spirit ; or to apply an appropriated appel- 
 lation to something that is essentially different 
 from that to which it is applied by the Oracles 
 of Truth, betrays a bad cause, and shows that 
 it rests upon a sandy foundation. On the other 
 hand, that plan which obliges its defenders to 
 use the words and phrases of scripture in exact 
 correspondence with the import of them, as ap- 
 plied by the Holy Spirit, will be found, upon 
 close investigation, to come nearest to the pat- 
 tern which God has exhibited for our imitation." 
 To the above quotation we would add anoth- 
 er from the same work (page 87), bearing upon 
 the simplicity and sufficiency of the Scriptures 
 pertaining to the things concerning the church : 
 " Let it not be supposed that his [the Saviour's] 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 183 
 
 instructions are dark and mysterious, and be- 
 yond the reach of vulgar minds : if so, the gos- 
 pel was never intended for the poor, and ceases 
 to be glad tidings to the needy and destitute. 
 Nor let it be imagined that regarding both the 
 individual and social conduct of his children, 
 that ample directions are not furnished them. 
 If this were true, then the Scriptures are an in- 
 different rule, and Christ is not an all-wise law- 
 giver. Then his wisdom, his foresight, and his 
 prudence, which ought to have embraced every 
 case and provided against every exigency, all, 
 all tumble to the ground ; and instead of having 
 infallible principles to guide the conscience, we 
 must become the dupes of every designing lord- 
 ling, the obedient and willing slaves of fallible 
 and erring mortals. Nay, more, we must re- 
 sign our liberties into the safe-keeping of a cer- 
 tain privileged order of men, and no longer dare 
 to assert the rights of conscience, or refuse obe- 
 dience to the sweeping mandates of- self-consti- 
 tuted authorities. But enough of this. The 
 human mind is free, naturally free from every 
 ecclesiastical yoke. It is only for it to assert 
 and maintain its rights, and not resign its liber- 
 ties into the hands of others. The Christian is 
 
184 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 the Lord's freeman. ' To stand fast in the lib- 
 erty wherewith Christ has made his people free,' 
 lie feels to be his duty and privilege. ' He is 
 to call no man master upon earth, for one is his 
 master, even Christ.' " Then a paragraph from 
 Miller's " Letters" (vol. 2, pages 72, 73) follows : 
 "'His word is the sole standard by which, as 
 Christians, or as churches, we must stand or fall. 
 Happy will it be for us if we can appeal to the 
 great Searcher of hearts, that we have not fol- 
 lowed the traditions and inventions of men, but 
 the sure word of prophecy, which is given to us 
 to be a light to our feet and a lamp to our path, 
 to guide us into the way of peace.' " 
 
 SECTION VIII. THE VISIBILITY OF CHURCHES AND 
 
 MEMBERS. 
 
 We must not pass over here the visibility of 
 the church and the visibility of individual mem- 
 bership. Ghurch is not a term for an idea, or 
 sensibility, or even a spirit, but for a material 
 substance — an assembly of rational, active be- 
 ings, demonstrated to be such by seeing, hear- 
 ing, feeling, judging, &c. The grand question 
 is, ' What constitutes the visibility of the church 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 185 
 
 as it exists in this world V The question is grave, 
 but nothing is more simple than the answer it 
 demands. 
 
 An assembly of believers in Christ constitutes 
 the visibility of the church. Their acts of reli- 
 gious worship may more fully demonstrate the 
 fact to the unacquainted spectator of the assem- 
 bly, but the assembly itself constitutes its visi- 
 bility. We have heard much talk about the 
 visible character which the church must assume, 
 and the requisitions to constitute the church vis- 
 ible. All this is mere verbal nonsense. 
 
 "When the Israelites were brought from the 
 house of bondage into the wilderness, did it 
 want anything more to demonstrate their exist- 
 ence than that they were a congregation of peo- 
 ple there ? and did it want anything more to 
 prove that, for forty years, they were there as 
 the Lord's church in the wilderness, than that 
 as a religious assembly they were wandering 
 about for that space of time ? The term church, 
 or ekklesia, signifies as much a called-out assem- 
 bly, as the word baptize or baptizo does " put- 
 ting under water." The baptists never ask, 
 4 What is the visibility of the ordinance of bap- 
 tism?' — there would be no sense in doing so; 
 
186 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 neither is there in asking for the visibility of 
 the church. 
 
 But it may be that the inquiry is more in re- 
 lation to the character of the assembly than to 
 the assembly itself. ' How is it visibly distin- 
 guished as a Christian church from a worldly 
 congregation, or a congregation of Jewish wor- 
 shippers?' By the profession of faith in Christ 
 Jesus as their Saviour — by the ready answer 
 they would give to every interrogater who would 
 say, 'What assembly is this?' — 'An assembly 
 of Christians ;" for doubtless they should " be 
 ready always to give a reason of the hope that 
 is in them with meekness and fear." 
 
 If you go into an assembly convened for po- 
 litical purposes, though you may have been be- 
 fore a stranger to the object of the assembly, 
 yet you will not have listened long to the speak- 
 ers before you will rightly decide that it is a 
 political meeting, and to which side of political 
 wranglers they belong. So, if you go into a 
 congregation convened as a temperance society, 
 you can in the same way soon decide the nature 
 of the meeting from the addresses of those who 
 hold forth. In either of these examples, the 
 object of .the assembly, and the views they ad- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 187 
 
 vocate, are known without reference to rules 
 and laws of combination. These assemblies 
 need no such compact, nor have they subscribed 
 to uniformity of sentiment. They regard one 
 object j this brought them together, this gave 
 the distinctive features to the assembly, and 
 made it a visible political meeting, or a visible 
 temperance-meeting. Such, too, is the very con- 
 stitution of a New-Testament church. It is not 
 visible by human laws, or covenant agreement, 
 or by endorsing articles of faith, but by union 
 to Christ, as is the temperance-congregation by 
 union to temperance, and the political assembly 
 by union to a certain political head. But alas ! 
 multitudes want something more to make a 
 Christian church than that which the Holy Ghost 
 lias declared to be a Christian church. 
 
 'But what constitutes a visible Christian?' it 
 may be asked — 'seeing that of such individuals 
 brought together there is the visible body or 
 church?' The answer is here also simple — 
 nothing more so : 'It is a profession of faith in 
 the doctrine of Christ, and obedience to the pre- 
 cepts of the gospel, and that not so much the 
 ceremonial as the moral ; these are the outward 
 things, and by these only the world can judge.' 
 
188 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 But the true Christian seeks to press farther — 
 wishing to discover, in every visible member of 
 the church, the heart-experience of the truth, 
 the teaching and comforting of the Holy Spirit ; 
 to discern, by the relation of what the Lord has 
 done for the soul, that there has been the con- 
 viction of sin by the Spirit ; a godly sorrow felt, 
 and faith in the blood of Christ as an atonement 
 for sin experienced, with other evidences of a 
 gracious state, soon discoverable where the Lord 
 has regenerated the soul by his Spirit. But the 
 experience, as satisfactory evidence to other real 
 Christians, is one thing ; the visibility of Chris- 
 tian discipleship is another. 
 
 It may be asked, ' Is this profession of faith 
 in Christ enough to make a visible member of 
 the visible church V It is all that Christ has 
 enjoined, all that the Holy Spirit asks, and all 
 that the apostles demanded. Men, who have 
 formed ecclesiastical societies, have demanded 
 confessions, subscriptions, and promises, to all 
 that they in their severally-confederated clubs, 
 societies, or churches, as they are by common 
 consent called, have seen fit to enjoin ; but there 
 is a satisfaction in knowing that no unwilling- 
 ness to bow to their dogmas, no desire on their 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 189 
 
 part to keep from their societies or excommuni- 
 cate, can thereby ever hinder any from being 
 of the visible church. They may persecute, and 
 bring their regulations to bear in severing from 
 their societies, but no such act truly affects the 
 Christian in the sight of the Lord : human laws 
 can never have influence over his church. Their 
 excommunications as such societies, and on such 
 grounds as alleged, are mere farcical acts, which 
 may serve to terrify children, but which men 
 may laugh at. Such excommunications are 
 nothing more than an assumed serious threat to 
 sever the head from the body : the effigy is pro- 
 duced, then the executioner and the block, and 
 off comes the head of the e^-gj in the place of 
 the head which was threatened to be taken away ! 
 It is a religious and sacred mockery, the prac- 
 tice of foolish, erring men ; but, alas ! it is tri- 
 fling with sacred things. 
 
 But, returning to the question — it may be 
 asked, ' Is not baptism such a profession as the 
 apostles demanded to constitute visible disciple- 
 ship V Designing men, filled more with party 
 names and party dogmas, have told you so, and 
 multitudes unsuspectingly have reposed confi- 
 dence in the truthfulness of the answer. But 
 
190 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 exercise your own judgments; ask yourselves 
 what are the evidences these partisans have 
 given you : what further can they say than that 
 the apostles did baptize believers, according to 
 the commission Jesus gave them ? You will 
 then see that this has nothing to do with the 
 question, and will at once say that they bap- 
 tized because Christ commanded It ; but if they 
 did not say it was to make visible disciples, what 
 right lias any one to say so, any more than the 
 papist has to say that it makes them children 
 of God, regenerates them, and so on ? Here you 
 will come to the honest conclusion that, if no 
 better evidence can be found, it is no evidence 
 at all, and you will consequently reject it from 
 your creed for ever. 
 
 The apostles did not require baptism to con- 
 stitute visible disciples of Christ, for many rea- 
 sons : two may here be given. The first is, it 
 would have been assuming what Christ never 
 authorized them to assume ; he " added to the 
 church," and not they by any ordinance which 
 they were to administer; faith and not w T ater 
 constituted discipleship, therefore the apostles 
 did not require it, for Christ himself did not; 
 and if on no other ground than that he did not 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 191 
 
 require it of them, it were enough to evidence 
 that they had no authority in requiring it of 
 others for that purpose. The second reason is, 
 it would fail of the design. They could have 
 been baptized in a minute, and no one have 
 been present to have witnessed the ceremony, 
 as in the case of the eunuch. What visibility 
 did it give to his Christianity ? The baptism of 
 yesterday, in the presence of multitudes, does 
 not make a visible member of the body of Christ 
 to-day. Could it have been possible that, in 
 stretching beyond the requirement of Christ, 
 the apostles had even demanded baptism to de- 
 monstrate the visibility of the church or of in- 
 dividual membership, they would have soon 
 dropped it upon discovering that it did not an- 
 swer the end sought. 
 
 This part of the inquiry relating to a Chris- 
 tian church has been reasoned in the above cat- 
 echetical way, that the simplicity of it may in- 
 duce many in their own minds to add to these 
 questions, upon subjects relating to ecclesiasti- 
 cal matters, and detect more of the unscriptural 
 demands of unreasonable men, who lord it over 
 God's heritage : but here is enough to prove 
 that faith, and not baptism in any sense, is the 
 
192 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 way of entering, by Christ, the door into the 
 church. We follow on to the concluding re- 
 marks upon this review of the church. 
 
 » 
 
 SECT. IX. THE ENDS ANSWERED BY A CHRISTIAN 
 
 CHURCH IN THE WORLD. 
 
 It is of vast importance to consider what pur- 
 poses are designed by the Lord in maintaining 
 the visible church in this world. There is noth- 
 ing that the Lord has designed or ordained, with- 
 out a special end in view ; and it is certain that 
 a church called out from the common mass of 
 human, sinful beings, must have high and ex- 
 alted designs to answer. Let us contemplate 
 two or three, at least. 
 
 It is a witness for God and truth. The church 
 is the ground and pillar of truth. It is a living, 
 standing miracle among men — a supernatural 
 phenomenon in the world, above the compre- 
 hension of natural men. John says, " Beloved, 
 the world knoweth us not, for it knew Him not." 
 As it was with Abraham, who was called out 
 from the idolatrous of mankind, that he and his 
 descendants should be a distinguished and pe- 
 culiar people in the earth, living witnesses, serv- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 193 
 
 ing and worshipping the only true God, so the 
 church lias ever answered this end, whether re- 
 garded in the patriarchal, Levitical, or Christian 
 dispensation. She is a standing miracle of Di- 
 vine grace, witnessing in a sinful world the 
 faithfulness of God — the covenant God of truth. 
 How essentially important it is, then, that this 
 church should always be a spiritual assembly, 
 living above the character of a common society 
 ■ — a worldly combination of men ! 
 
 The church is a light in a dark place. " Dark- 
 ness hath covered the earth, and gross darkness 
 the people ;" but the church is a light, and is 
 therefore to " arise and shine." To this end 
 was the exhortation of Jesus to his disciples : 
 "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, set- 
 teth it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that 
 it might give light to all that are in the house." 
 And again : " So let your light shine before men, 
 that they, seeing your good works, may glorify 
 your Father which is in heaven." If religion 
 does not make the character purer — that the 
 church, or the called-out of God, may reflect 
 his mighty goodness and perfection — what is 
 the use of the church in the world? Are we 
 not called u out of darkness into his marvellous 
 
 9 
 
194 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 light, to show forth his praises" who hath called 
 us ? Can this be done by biting and devouring 
 each other; by division and worldly clubs, cal- 
 ling themselves churches; by seeking to be ri- 
 vals — by one sect saying to another sect, " Stand 
 by, I am holier than thou ;" by making the Lord's 
 table a partisan, a denominational table ; by di- 
 vision, strife, and envy ? JWo, says the Saviour : 
 " by this shall all men know that ye are my 
 disciples, when ye have love one to another." 
 Worldly societies set themselves up one against 
 the other for worldly, party interests; but it 
 must not be so with Christians. Ye are one, ye 
 are brethren, and therefore by union and love 
 should seek to glorify God. If we let the love 
 of Christ rule in our hearts, we shall have love 
 to all the brethren ; and the party-spirit of shut- 
 ting up the table of the Lord from all that do 
 not see eye to eye with us, will perish from our 
 thoughts, with all" other such antichristian no- 
 tions. In this way the universal church will be- 
 come like a light in the world, answering the 
 grand end to which she is here called of God. 
 
 The church is a blessing in the world ; she is 
 said to be the salt of the earth. By the gracious 
 Spirit she savors of holiness and God ; therefore 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 195 
 
 the world is preserved from the destruction 
 which would otherwise arise from the leprosy 
 of sin and the putrefaction attendant upon uni- 
 versal wickedness. But the church only savors 
 of Divine grace, as she lives a spiritual life to 
 God. She must be seasoned with grace herself; 
 but how can she be while she seeks conformity 
 to the world, preferring human governments to 
 the government of the Holy Spirit? how can 
 she be, as factious and divided into piecemeal, 
 contending for human distinctions when she 
 should be a compact body, holding to Christ 
 the head, and as Paul says — "speaking the 
 truth in love, may grow up into him in all 
 things, which is the head, even Christ : from 
 whom the whole body fitly joined together and 
 compacted by that which every joint supplieth, 
 according to the effectual working in the meas- 
 ure of every part, maketh increase of the body 
 unto the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4 : 
 15; 16). 
 
 We must cast away worldly legislation in 
 the church; — and, though not seeing eye to 
 eye, and having our different denominational 
 names among men, we must see and feel that 
 we are one church, and love as brethren : with- 
 
196 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 out this there will be no gracious influence, and 
 where is our saltness without it? Jesus said, 
 " Have salt in yourselves," when explaining its 
 importance thus : " If the salt hath lost its savor, 
 wherewith shall it be salted % it is thenceforth 
 good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden 
 under foot of men." O that we may be more 
 than ever concerned for this grace and love ! 
 
 So far as we* have adhered to the word of God, 
 and the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the New 
 Testament, so far we have dealt out a death-blow 
 to the idea of organized societies being Christian 
 churches. The wound may be covered up, and 
 many may drink of the cup of error, with which 
 they have long made free ; they may attempt 
 to " heal the hurt of the daughter of my people 
 slightly, saying, ' Peace, peace,' when there is 
 no peace ;" they may linger on through the re- 
 maining dark days of the Gentile times; but 
 the period is not far distant when judgment will 
 begin at the house of God, and then these world- 
 ly systems must go — and, in the millennial dis- 
 pensation, the truth of what has been here so 
 feebly set forth shall shine as the sun in his 
 strength. 
 
PART V. 
 
 ORGANIZED BODIES, 
 
 SECTION I. SCRIPTURALLY-ORGANIZED CHURCHES. 
 
 We have seen in the foregoing part, upon the 
 church, that the way in which " church" is used 
 by modern Christian societies is a perversion of 
 the term ; and that such institutions, governed 
 by their own laws, as compact bodies, without 
 any intention to adopt regulations for their ob- 
 servance that might oppose the letter and spirit 
 of the Scriptures, are not in that compact rela- 
 tion churches. They may be good and useful 
 societies, and appendages to the church or 
 churches of Christ in the world, but are not 
 churches. Therefore, though in themselves in- 
 nocent things, yet, by assuming the title of 
 church, in the exercise of authority over the 
 
198 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 consciences of the true members of the body of 
 Christ, and by asserting such right as the legit- 
 imate church, they become fearful indeed. 
 
 There is a sense in which the true church is 
 an organized body, but not by human construc- 
 tion. It is vastly different to the societies ob- 
 serving human laws. The called-out by God 
 in the character of a congregation or assembly 
 of spiritual worshippers is a compact and uni- 
 ted assembly, the resemblance of which can not 
 be found among the most-approved and well- 
 governed societies in the universe. The Holy 
 Spirit is present with the church. The several 
 members, inspired with grace in their hearts, 
 move to the one company as bone moved to 
 bone in Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry 
 bones. God said it, and it was done : " Behold, 
 I will cause breath to come into you, and ye 
 shall live : and I will lay sinews upon you, and 
 will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you 
 with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall 
 live, and ye shall know that I am the Lord" 
 (Ezek. 37 : 5, 6). 
 
 The Holy Spirit is the acknowledged presi- 
 dent in the church of Christ. By his gracious 
 influence the law of love cements and binds the 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 199 
 
 whole together as one body. He fills all with 
 his gracious, illuminating presence and influ- 
 ence, and there is a society, a church holding 
 to Christ the head, as the bond of true heavenly 
 union, called out by the Divine Spirit, and liv- 
 ing and worshipping in the unity of the faith 
 and in the bond of peace. Can there be such 
 an organization as this, where every part is so 
 arranged for the usefulness of the whole, as that 
 like bone to bone in the human frame so they 
 unite ? Paul, under the figure of a body, thus 
 expresses himself concerning the organization 
 of the church : " Holding the Head, from which 
 all the body by joints and bands having nour- 
 ishment ministered, and knit together, iucreas- 
 eth with the increase of God" (Colossians 2 : 19). 
 And, under the figure of a building, he thus 
 writes to the Ephesians : - - Ye are no more stran- 
 gers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the 
 saints, and of the household of God ; and are 
 built upon the foundation of the apostles and 
 prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
 corner-stone ; in whom all the building, fitly 
 framed together, groweth into a holy temple in 
 the Lord : in whom ye also are builded together 
 for a habitation of God through the Spirit" (Eph. 
 
200 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 2 : 19-22). Such is a church in the scriptural 
 sense — an organized assembly of the called-out, 
 holding to Christ the head, fitted into a body 
 for usefulness by the presiding influence of the 
 Holy Spirit, and cemented in a living spiritual 
 temple for the true worship of God by the love 
 of the Eternal One. 
 
 But in other respects the company of believ- 
 ers may be regarded as an organized assembly, 
 whether they be few or many. The great Head 
 of the church having promised his presence with 
 the congregated few assembled in his name, and 
 he being the bond of union, there is a church ; 
 and in its organization for religious observances 
 he has mercifully given gifts unto men. In this 
 relation a church is a well-ordered assembly, 
 for, as Paul says — "He gave some, apostles; 
 and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and 
 some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting 
 of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for 
 the edifying of the body of Christ : till we all 
 come, in the unity of the faith, and of the knowl- 
 edge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, 
 unto the measure of the stature of the fulness 
 of Christ" (Ephesians 4 : 11-13). 
 
 The church under such an organization is a 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 201 
 
 worshipping assembly. There are suitable gifts 
 bestowed, and these exercised are for the edifi- 
 cation and increase of the whole. Prayer, praise, 
 exhortation, preaching the word, breaking of 
 bread, and other instituted ordinances of Heav- 
 en, make the assembly manifestly a church of 
 Christ and of God, " the pillar and the ground 
 of the truth." E"o threat of discipline will be 
 required to constrain the members of such a 
 body to assemble for such' glorious and blessed 
 purposes — no covenant to which they need be 
 called to subscribe, pledging themselves to at- 
 tend at those seasons when the church is con- 
 vened together in one place ; for if they decline 
 in spiritual things, and despise their privileges, 
 a word will seem to quicken them : " Forsake 
 not the assembling of yourselves together as the 
 manner of some is." 
 
 The church, too, as an organized society, has 
 authority for the exercise of suitable and neces- 
 sary discipline. The laws necessary for the cor- 
 rection of misconduct and abuses are simple 
 and forcible. The unchristian conduct which 
 one member may show toward another is thus 
 to be observed : " If thy brother shall trespass 
 against thee, go and tell him his fault between 
 y* 
 
202 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 thee and him alone : if he will hear thee, thou 
 hast gained thy brother ; but if he will not hear 
 thee, then take with thee one or two more, that 
 in the mouth of two or three witnesses every 
 word may be established. And if he shall neg- 
 lect to hear them, tell it unto the church : but 
 if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto 
 thee as a heathen man and a publican" (Matt. 
 18 : 15-17). The act must be a very grave one 
 to which reference is made, by the very course 
 pursued, and we see that the w T hole line of con- 
 duct to be observed, is designed to set forth de- 
 sire and concern to bring the offender to contri- 
 tion and restoration. 
 
 In the same chapter from which the above 
 quotation is made, we find Peter inquiring to 
 what degree forgiveness may be extended to an 
 offending brother. He says, "Lord, how oft 
 shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive 
 him? till seven times?" To which Jesus re- 
 plied, ; - 1 say not unto thee, until seven times, 
 but until seventy times seven." Discipline is 
 to be exercised after the most extended forbear- 
 ance and long-cherished mercy, as the Lord 
 shows by the way in which we as continual sin- 
 ners are forgiven by him. 
 
OKGANIZED BODIES. 203 
 
 In acts of immoral life, and in renouncing the 
 faith, there is the power invested in the church 
 to excommunicate, without further forbearance ; 
 but, upon godly penitence being manifested, 
 there is to be restoration. Paul directs this 
 course concerning the incestuous person in 1 
 Corinthians 5 : tt, 5 : "In the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, 
 and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the 
 destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be 
 saved in the day "of the Lord Jesus." And it is 
 evident, from what follows, that they were not 
 to eat the Lord's Supper with such an offender 
 among them, but to purge out this leaven, that 
 they may be unleavened. So in reference to 
 the restoration of the same individual, who had 
 manifestly become penitent, repenting of his 
 sin before all. "We find the apostle again thus 
 addressing the church concerning him : " Suffi- 
 cient to such a man is this punishment, which 
 was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye 
 ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, 
 lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up 
 with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you 
 that ye would confirm your love toward him," 
 
204 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 The above few examples may lead the mind 
 to contemplate what is set forth in the ISTew Tes- 
 tament with regard to the authority invested in 
 the church to exercise discipline, and also the 
 spirit in which it should be done. We shall 
 find that, as an organized body in the scriptu- 
 ral sense, there is no license for coercive treat- 
 ment, or the exercise of any discipline for mat- 
 ters of private judgment, or differences of opin- 
 ion relative to ordinances, &c. It relates to 
 graver matters affecting the apparent sincerity 
 of discipleship to Christ ; and how tenderly and 
 cautiously this is proceeded with may be left 
 for the reader to judge who prayerfully peruses 
 the word of God. Whatever is done to any 
 individual member of the professing church of 
 Christ, in which the discipline is exercised in a 
 spirit of self-gratification, pride, or revenge, is 
 neither approved nor recognised by God. 
 
 Every society of true believers, as a church, 
 ought to have interest one in the other, and 
 should be mutual sympathizers and mutual help- 
 ers, for they have need one of the other. It is 
 also certain that, though a little assembly is des- 
 ignated a church, and is truly so, yet there is no 
 exclu^iveness about it, so as to be shut up to it- 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 205 
 
 self. In a most important sense, its state, and 
 every action, has relation to the one universal 
 church, the whole body of Christ; therefore, 
 while feeling a sort of independence, as owning 
 no Lord but one, and feeling responsibility only 
 to Christ, yet there is an indissoluble union to 
 the whole body, and the relative duties bind us 
 to the whole, so that really there can not exist 
 that independence which is now becoming a cur- 
 rent doctrine, and even boasted in, as though 
 there were free license to treat other sections of 
 the church of Christ at pleasure. The universal 
 church is compacted as every several company, 
 and they make the whole body of which Christ 
 is the head complete. 
 
 When we regard the church of Christ so con- 
 stituted in the observance of his laws, and the 
 discharge of wholesome and salutary discipline, 
 what a picture is presented of tenderness, sin- 
 cerity, sympathy, and firmness, all crowned with 
 the grace of humility ! Everything is pointed 
 out, and every provision made, by the Head of 
 the church, to administer to her prosperity; 
 and, by the proper observance of all, under the 
 guidance of the Holy Spirit, the church must 
 constantly look forth, " fair as the moon, clear 
 
206 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 as the sun, and terrible as an army with ban- 
 
 SECTION II. UNSCRIPTURALLY-ORGANIZED CHRIS- 
 TIAN BODIES. 
 
 Christian organized societies, now commonly 
 called churches, among all denominations, pre- 
 sent a perfect contrast to those we have just no- 
 ticed. We call them churches, to be under- 
 stood, because by universal adoption they are 
 distinguished by the name, though not author- 
 ized by scripture. They truly bear the open 
 stamp upon them that they are the work of men, 
 from the hierarchy of the pope down to the most 
 insignificant and obscure body of partisan Chris- 
 tians in the world. Wherever other obligations 
 and requirements are presented to notice, either 
 apart from or as an appendix to those contained 
 in the New Testament, antichrist is clearly to 
 be discovered. 
 
 The first prominent feature in such organiza- 
 tions is the invented terms of church-member- 
 ship. This takes the whole matter of the church 
 out of the hands of Christ. Nothing can be 
 more certain than that Christ himself makes the 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 207 
 
 true members of his church, and puts them into 
 that relationship, to be owned as such by the 
 whole body when they are renewed by the Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 JSow it is manifest that, in societies called 
 churches, a discretionary pleasure is exercised 
 concerning what believers in Jesus they shall 
 receive into the church, and what believers they 
 shall cast away. This is a most awful assump- 
 tion of power. All that believe in Christ to the 
 salvation of the soul are his church on earth, 
 and his only visible church. It w T ould be as 
 impossible really to alter this state of things as 
 it would be to overturn the heavens : they are in 
 the church by faith, and none can put them out. 
 
 But existing regulations among Christian so- 
 cieties disown this church, and trample Christ 
 and his church under foot. They proclaim that 
 they have to make churches, and sit in council 
 upon the maintenance and increase of them: 
 therefore terms of admission are boldly declared. 
 
 It would be an unheard-of assumption of au- 
 thority, if, upon an addition to a numerous fam- 
 ily, some of the children were to group together 
 and say of the new-born infant — ' Before we 
 allow this child to be one of us, to share the 
 
208 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 common rights and benefits of the family, we 
 will require certain things to be observed, and 
 then we will decide whether this little stranger 
 shall be the child of our common parents' ! — 
 though the father had actually put the babe 
 among his children, and given it participation in 
 the inheritance of his home to share parental care, 
 a father's blessing, protection, and support. The 
 usual terms of admission to church-membership 
 and the Lord's table display all this folly of the 
 family group ; and, further, fearfully usurp 
 rights, and so rebel against Christ in his author- 
 ity over the church. 
 
 It may be thought by many that the way in 
 which we have brought out the scripture devel- 
 opment of Christian ordinances and the gospel 
 church or churches, that we have exhibited ma- 
 ny things which are universally admitted to be 
 in the New Testament, and which all denomina- 
 tions have agreed to consider non-essential. The 
 agreement of Christians upon essential and non- 
 essential points is a nice matter to judge. "We 
 presume that it ought to be taken for granted 
 that, in the wisdom of God, no non-essential 
 things are set forth in the New Testament. It 
 is not a book of words, simply for the sake of 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 209 
 
 making a book, but every sentence is a sentence 
 of inspiration, and written for our learning, to 
 describe what God requires of us. But if we 
 consider the term non-essential to apply to the 
 matter of our salvation, we then say there is 
 nothing essential to salvation but believing in 
 the Lord Jesus with all the heart ; and faith is 
 only the means to an end, by laying hold of the 
 salvation which Jehovah has provided for us. 
 Therefore it is written : " He that believeth on 
 the Son hath everlasting life : and he that be- 
 lieveth not the Son shall not see life ; but the 
 wrath of God abideth on him." 
 
 It may be said that, to turn back to the Scrip- 
 tures to follow exclusively what is there for rule 
 and government, would be to revolutionize pres- 
 ent Christian churches. If such would be the 
 consequences to follow upon lifting up the mir- 
 ror of truth, and examining professedly religious 
 societies called churches in the light of Divine 
 revelation, we can not help it. We ask, ' Is the 
 likeness drawn a likeness? Is there faithful 
 dealing by us with God's word — the mind of 
 the Spirit in the New Testament V 
 
 To reason about consequences of certain prin- 
 ciples laid down were folly, without this pri- 
 
mary question concerning what God saith ; and 
 to reason about consequences after it is estab- 
 lished, that what is advanced is in accordance 
 with the mind of God, is nothing more nor less 
 than to say that the systems of men are better 
 suited to accomplish a desired end, and to main- 
 tain proper order in their accomplishment, than 
 that which the Lord has laid down in his word. 
 
 The question must be, ' Have we dealt faith- 
 fully in what we have exhibited from God's word, 
 in relation to the two symbolical ordinances of 
 the Christian dispensation, and the character of 
 a Christian church given us by the Holy Spirit V 
 We cast off all the sophistry of irrelevant argu- 
 ment, to which recourse has hitherto ever been 
 had, to give a plausible aspect to error. Much 
 precious time has been worse than wasted, and 
 many books been written proving nothing, yet 
 answering an evil end, like casting dust in the 
 eyes of men to prevent their seeing. 
 
 We say, truth must be exhibited, and that 
 alone will stand before God : if it offend, or de- 
 molish our cherished plans and purposes, it is 
 the more evident that we have followed a per- 
 verse way, and to persist in what scripture dis- 
 allows is a fearful omen. " Wo unto him that 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 211 
 
 striveth with his Maker!" is written for our 
 warning. 
 
 But the plan pursued in bringing forward the 
 New Testament, has not been so much with the 
 view to insist upon the observance of the minu- 
 tia, as it has been in some respects to confound 
 the foolish boasting of many, who profess to fol- 
 low exactly the words of inspiration in all mat- 
 ters, and demand the same from others as terms 
 of communion. It is not an uncommon thing 
 to hear the advocates of certain men-invented 
 systems, when apparently defending every par- 
 ticular connected therewith, exclaim, if any dis- 
 position is offered to demur, " See thou make all 
 things according to the pattern showed to thee 
 in the mount" ! — applying the charge given by 
 the Lord to Moses respecting the making of the 
 tabernacle, recorded by Paul in Hebrews 8 : 5, 
 to the Christian church ; and presuming they 
 have " thus saith the Lord" for all that they ob- 
 serve, they ignorantly conclude they have a 
 victory by this mere use of words. Take their 
 words, or rather the direction given to Moses 
 about the tabernacle and its vessels, and apply 
 it to the things which they advocate and call a 
 true imitation of the plan, and ordinances, and 
 
212 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 churches, in the New Testament — and, behold, 
 there is juxtaposition (as we shall proceed to ex- 
 plain) to all we meet with in the New Testament, 
 in either requirement, observance, or spirit. 
 
 SECTION III. TEEMS OF CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP. 
 
 There are various requirements made besides 
 faith in Christ, before admission to what are 
 called Christian churches can be obtained. Each 
 society of Christians has something peculiar to 
 itself as terms for admission. But, without re- 
 garding other requirements, it is enough to con- 
 sider the one of baptism. It is plain that this is 
 nowhere required in God's word. It was never 
 considered so in the first and second centuries 
 of the Christian church. That it was enjoined 
 on all believers to be baptized must be admit- 
 ted ; but to be baptized in order to be members 
 of the church — the family of God — the assem- 
 bly of saints — is not true. Nothing but the 
 idea of baptismal regeneration, or, in other 
 words, that baptism made Christians, gave rise 
 to this error. 
 
 They who maintain that baptism is a prere- 
 quisite to membership in the church of Christ, 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 213 
 
 and deny that baptism makes Christians, are 
 most inconsistent : they drop that part which is 
 repugnant to their spiritual minds (of the error 
 introduced by the working of the man of sin, 
 and the mystery of iniquity), and hold to that 
 which is less offensive ; if they renounce bap- 
 tismal regeneration, which Antichrist makes the 
 door to the church, they should reject the whole, 
 and return to the pure principles of Christianity. 
 Baptism must either precede regeneration, 
 and professed faith in Christ, or follow upon it. 
 If it precede it, it makes Christians, and is, as 
 multitudes affirm, " the door to the church." If 
 it follow it, it is after they are members of 
 Christ's church, and so can not be a prerequi- 
 site for membership, but a Christian ordinance. 
 There can be no third position. The truth is 
 palpably manifest: there is no ground for as- 
 serting that baptism is a door to the church, 
 and yet reject baptismal regeneration. It is an 
 antichristlan doctrine to affirm that baptism is 
 a door to the church ; by saying so, it is made 
 a term of membership, and goes to destroy the 
 acknowledgment of the true church of Christ ; 
 by such a term the authority of Christ is super- 
 seded by being invested with men. 
 
214 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 But it may be said, this is an extreme view, 
 which may be true in relation to the papal 
 church, and some protestant churches maintain- 
 ing baptismal regeneration, but not so with oth- 
 ers. It may be said, there are those who believe 
 in baptism only as an outward ordinance by 
 which there is the avowed profession of Chris- 
 tianity; and it is by this outward profession 
 that they are received to the outward visible 
 church ; it is an open acknowledgment of their 
 conversion and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 But this is only gilding over the error, like using 
 different devices to palm off counterfeit coin. 
 Baptism is for no such purpose ; the Master re- 
 quires no such thing ; he makes the members 
 of the visible church, and the change of char- 
 acter, by the experience of what the Lord has 
 done for the soul, will evidence it — baptism 
 can not. The vilest hypocrite can be baptized, 
 but he is no member of the invisible, nor ought 
 he to be considered of the visible church. It 
 fills one with amazement to hear baptists pro- 
 claim that the practice of infant baptism and 
 baptismal regeneration fills the professing Chris- 
 tian world with hypocrites, and is subversive of 
 the true interests and spirituality of the church, 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 215 
 
 while they are introducing a host of hypocrites 
 to the church by making baptism the door to 
 the church ! 
 
 We care not what yon demand as terms of 
 fellowship to any particular society. You may 
 have your organized companies, and demand 
 the consent and approval to all the things you 
 choose to invent, be it an acknowledgment to 
 a certain creed which you have adopted ; a sub- 
 scription to certain laws, by which all shall be 
 governed ; baptism as a prerequisite to the fel- 
 lowship of this society ; or whatever else you 
 may please, in order to keep together a snug 
 and compact society: but in such a capacity 
 never pretend to say that your society is the 
 church of Christ, or to exercise authority over 
 any of Heaven's institutions, ordinances, or priv- 
 ileges, belonging to his church ; otherwise, the 
 wo denounced by Jesus upon the scribes and 
 Pharisees, who made void the law of God by 
 their tradition, will come upon you, and we can 
 not but fear that the commencement of its exe- 
 cution has already fallen. The Spirit's influ- 
 ences are restrained, and, with all your human 
 inventions and organizations of Christian socie- 
 ties, instead of being like united bodies, in peace 
 
216 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 and love, they are disjointed and scattered 
 abroad, as the dry bones through the valley of 
 vision, which was the true picture of God's an- 
 cient people when they forsook his fear, and 
 walked not in his commandments. 
 
 From the circumstance of there being no au- 
 thority in the word of God to make baptism the 
 door to the visible church, or a prerequisite to 
 church-membership, those who advocate it point 
 with a kind of triumph to universal church prac- 
 tice. It is easy for the baptist to say, ' Chris- 
 tian denominations generally so regard it ;' but 
 if the same answers were made to them concern- 
 ing some other things which they have discoun- 
 tenanced, they would be indignant at being re- 
 ferred to such authority. Tell them that they 
 must hear the voice of the church — that be- 
 cause she says baptismal regeneration is true, 
 and infant sprinkling is Christian baptism, they 
 must regard the voice of the church — will they 
 not say, "To the word and the testimony" — 
 that they esteem nothing as binding on them 
 that they have not a " thus saith the Lord" for? 
 But now, faith in Christ makes members of 
 Christ's church. He proclaims nothing else, 
 the Scriptures require nothing else ; yet these 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 217 
 
 very individuals, who denounce church author- 
 ity, because in this case they can not appeal to 
 the word and the testimony, they want some- 
 thing else, and say, 'Hear the church' — and 
 turn to the systems of men, ready to acknowl- 
 edge that they follow them even in their heresy. 
 
 SECTION IV. MODES OF ADMISSION TO THE CHURCH. 
 
 Another regulation of organized bodies where 
 human laws subvert the authority of Christ, is 
 discovered in the mode of admission to mem- 
 bership. Members in baptist churches at least 
 are admitted by the vote of the body. Now we 
 ask, who ever discovered such a system in the 
 New Testament ? It may be found in carnal 
 and worldly clubs, originated by men devoid 
 of all religious sentiment, but it is a most bare- 
 faced infringement upon the authority of Christ. 
 It would seem necessarily to follow upon the 
 subversion of Christ's power over the church ; 
 for his church once cast down, and men's sys- 
 tems set up, we can look for nothing else in all 
 that follows but mere human authority. 
 
 Here stands out most prominently the absurd- 
 ity of what we considered in the foregoing sec- 
 10 
 
218 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 tion, where part of the heresy of antichristian 
 doctrine was rejected, and the other part re- 
 tained. By thus retaining one part, there is 
 now in what we are considering a development 
 of still grosser error as a consequence, such as 
 that into which the papal church has never yet 
 fallen. Her doctrine of baptismal regeneration 
 is a cursed heresy, but she keeps to the whole, 
 she makes Christians, consequently she makes 
 them members of the church by baptism ; and, 
 by the right of being Christian, which was se- 
 cured to them in baptism, they are acknowl- 
 edged members : so that she pretends to no fur- 
 ther power. Being Christians, they can not be 
 kept out of the church, as it would be usurping 
 the headship of Christ more than that flagrant 
 antichristian church has yet ever done. 
 
 Now mark — close baptists say faith in Christ 
 must be, or there can be no membership. So 
 says Christ : " I am the door : by me if any 
 man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in 
 and out and find pasture" (John 10 : 9). On 
 the contrary, they who believe not are not 
 members of the church, as Christ said: "Ye 
 believe not because ye are not of my sheep, as 
 I said unto you" (John 10 : 26). Faith, then, is 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 219 
 
 a prerequisite ; it makes manifest the called out 
 from the world to the company of the congre- 
 gation of believers. Then they add, ' Baptism 
 is a prerequisite, it is the door of the church — 
 and none are members of the church till they 
 are baptized.' So says not Christ, but it is the 
 voice from the papal church, because baptism 
 regenerates and makes Christians. (Baptism 
 stands as an ordinance of Christ's kingdom — a 
 blessed ordinance — and can not be put aside, 
 or treated with indifference ; but it is no prere- 
 quisite to union with the visible church. Christ 
 adds to the church when he calls sinners by his 
 grace — not when they are baptized, or there 
 would be the highest pretensions established 
 for the false doctrine of baptismal regeneration : 
 they are shut up to the belief that baptism is an 
 ordinance of the church, or an ordinance by 
 which individuals are made Christians, which 
 has before been intimated, or there is no truth 
 in saying two and two make four.) Then with 
 the baptists there is a third requisite before com- 
 ing into the church. Faith is not enough ; then 
 comes faith and baptism: but these are not 
 enough — but the vote of the church is para- 
 mount, and decides if the baptized believer shall 
 
220 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 be a member or not ! This is too gross for the 
 mother of harlots and the great antichristian 
 apostacy. We question if the devil himself 
 would be so bold, that, after Christ's prerequi- 
 site is witnessed, by faith in his name for salva- 
 tion, and the antichristian prerequisite is ob- 
 served in baptism — a third party should stand 
 up, claim supremacy, decide the matter, and it 
 may be in a moment, at will and pleasure, veto 
 the decision of both Christ and Antichrist ! 
 
 But the above are not the whole of the re- 
 quirements : they may be styled the first-class 
 prerequisites to admission to these organized 
 societies called " churches." The second class, 
 which we will call minor prerequisites for ad- 
 mission, are multiplied beyond all idea. They 
 vary as circumstances vary, and well they may, 
 for, after the boundary of the l^ew Testament is 
 passed, they can have no other law to guide 
 them but the passions and inclinations of a ma- 
 jority. But, to obtain the sufferances of the 
 society, their prerequisites must be subscribed 
 to : it may be that you are not to be a member 
 of a benefit-society, or freemasons' lodge, or any 
 odd-fellow society ; that you shall be an aboli- 
 tionist, or not an abolitionist ; or a member of a 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 221 
 
 temperance-society, &c. These may be prere- 
 quisites in some so-called churches, and many 
 other things equally absurd. Whatever such 
 churches demand you must yield, or they veto 
 your being a member, 
 
 It may be inquired, ' How is the church to 
 be preserved from amalgamation with the world, 
 and how to be preserved from being entirely 
 overrun with unchristian characters, but by the 
 exercise of discretionary power V Again : \ If 
 the church has no voice in the admission of 
 members to her body, who is to say how long 
 she is to continue a Christian church V 
 
 There is reason in all such questions, and they 
 ought to be duly regarded. It unquestionably 
 is obligatory on the part of the church to keep 
 herself as free as possible from the world and 
 from men of the world — very much more so 
 than is done at the present, with all the process 
 of admission to fellowship. It is but too evi- 
 dent that societies bearing the name of Chris- 
 tian churches, under the present plan of voting 
 in members to the body, have not shone very 
 brightly. Though members have been required 
 to subscribe to such a diversity of regulations, 
 and promised to abide by certain observances, 
 
222 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 and have passed through so many preliminaries, 
 it has done nothing to keep the church pure, or 
 from being crowded out by lifeless professors 
 and characters unsound in the faith. 
 
 In this view of the state of professing Chris- 
 tian societies, it may be asked, 'How does it 
 come to pass V We shall probably find a solu- 
 tion by considering how little is thought of god- 
 liness as the primary and one grand considera- 
 tion in augmenting numbers, and how much is 
 thought of the various things invented as grounds 
 of admission to their societies ; and, since the 
 reception or rejection is to rest upon sanction- 
 ing these whims and fancies of men, it is more 
 favorable for hypocrites than for sincere and 
 truly-converted souls. These with the New 
 Testament would say, ' They want to lay such 
 burdens upon my conscience as neither Christ 
 requires nor I am able to endure, if I bow to 
 his supreme authority.' Hypocrites, who have 
 no conscience in the matter of true Christianity, 
 for the sake of the name of being reckoned 
 among Christians in their societies will say 
 1 Amen' to ail thai is demanded, and obtain the 
 vote of the majority to be reckoned among the 
 body ; while the minority, trodden down, are 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 223 
 
 afraid to speak : the padlock is put upon their 
 lips, while they groan in spirit, and cry out to 
 the Lord, as another and another is added to 
 the body — 'Alas, no evidence there, O Lord, 
 of thy gracious work upon the heart !' 
 
 The church has no authority to exercise any 
 action in the way of vote for the addition of 
 members. The interests of the church are bet- 
 ter guarded by the Holy Spirit than by human 
 enactments. We are required by the Scriptures 
 of the New Testament to receive those whom 
 Christ has received ; and the way of knowing 
 them is by their communicating, perhaps by 
 another, the merciful dealings of the Lord ; and 
 where there is a pastor, it may be more proper- 
 ly through him. If the church be a spiritual 
 assembly, it will soon feel and recognise the 
 hand of the Lord in this work : a union of spirit 
 will be the result, and with it a cheerful ac- 
 knowledgment that Christ has added another 
 soul to the church. 
 
 Let this be the only way into the church — 
 let it bear the aspect of a spiritual body, disen- 
 cumbered of worldly laws and worldly policy 
 — and we shall find but very few who are not 
 sincerely converted to God, applying for fellow- 
 
224 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 ship with the church. But should any not 
 taught by God apply, it would at once be seen 
 by the presiding pastor and the members also 
 that there was not a change of heart, and then 
 it would be said to such : ' We do not see that 
 you are converted by the grace of God ; you 
 had better examine yourself by the word of 
 God' — pointing out to such what is necessary 
 to be done by Christ for the soul in order to be a 
 member of his church. Such remarks, with the 
 promise of the whole body to pray earnestly 
 for the conversion of the individual, may be a 
 blessing to such and to the church. 
 
 If such a course could be adopted, and all the 
 systems which men have invented be laid aside, 
 there is no doubt but there would be such pu- 
 rity in the church, such prosperity in spiritual 
 things, such heavenly light and joy, that the 
 church would appear like a new creation, and, 
 if continued, would evidence the presence and 
 power of the Divine Spirit in a way and man- 
 ner that has not been known perhaps since the 
 closing of the first century of the Christian era. 
 The purity and distinction of the church from 
 the world is not to be by human schemes, but by 
 a close observance of the requirements of Christ 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 225 
 
 and dependence upon the gracious Spirit. We 
 may rest assured that, if the members be holy, 
 the world will not intrude upon the church. If 
 we must have our denominational societies, let 
 us have them in such a way that in the ordi- 
 nances of Divine institution we may feel that 
 we are one with the universal church, and no 
 schismatics. 
 
 SECT. V. THE RELATIVE POSITION OF ORDINANCES. 
 
 The way in which the two symbolical ordi- 
 nances given by Christ for his disciples to ob- 
 serve are made relatively to bear one upon the 
 other is an assumption of organized societies. 
 These two symbolical ordinances we have con- 
 sidered. They have been exalted by the church 
 out of their place, and in the maintenance of 
 this sinful magnitude of two simple institutions 
 the church has been rent into a thousand pieces ; 
 they have been made to subserve the grossest 
 heresies hell could invent, such as baptismal re- 
 generation and the doctrine of transubstantia- 
 tion. Under false notions on these two ordinan- 
 ces every denomination of Christians has been 
 racked, pained, and tossed upon the waves of 
 10* 
 
226 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 bitter controversy. Every law of Heaven for 
 the Christian church has been constantly tram- 
 pled under foot in the maddened excitement 
 about these two ordinances, while comparative- 
 ly no notice has been taken of the dishonor done 
 to other institutions of Christ. 
 
 We have not now to turn to the institutions 
 themselves ; the views entertained of them have 
 been given under their respective heads. Our 
 inquiry now is, how far they are relatively com- 
 bined ; what relation the one bears to the other ; 
 and how far there can be necessity to neglect 
 the observance of the one until the other has 
 been obeyed. 
 
 It is maintained, by baptists advocating re- 
 stricted communion, that they are so connected 
 the one to the other, and have such a relative 
 dependence the one upon the other, that it is 
 ecclesiastically impossible to get at the one with- 
 out first duly observing the other. These prem- 
 ises are decidedly false : they are so upon the 
 very ground that positive institutions of a dif- 
 ferent nature must of necessity be independent 
 one of the other, unless by an express law they 
 are united, as were circumcision and the pass- 
 over. 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 227 
 
 Turn to the law of the institutions from the 
 great Lawgiver himself — and there can not 
 be the slightest inference that Christ ever in- 
 tended that the one should have any relation to 
 the other. As positive institutes of the king- 
 dom of Christ, they differ nothing from every 
 other command of Christ, only that they are 
 symbolical ordinances. They have a bearing 
 one upon the other just as much as all the com- 
 mands of Christ have, and no more. 
 
 It is affirmed that baptism has the first claim 
 to attention as an initiatory ordinance to the 
 Christian church, and then the Lord's Supper 
 as a church ordinance should afterward be ob- 
 served, and that this order ought not to be dis- 
 turbed. Baptism doubtless has the first claim 
 to the Christian's attention, but not upon the 
 ground of its being the initiatory ordinance to 
 the church ; the fallacy of this assumption has 
 already been exploded. It is therefore enough 
 here to say that this is not in the word of God. 
 It may be, for aught we know, in some of the 
 heretical writings of some of the first apostates ; 
 but in the New Testament Christ added to the 
 church, and then they were baptized, as a pro- 
 fession of that faith which they had, the result 
 
228 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 of their being by his Spirit made members of 
 Christ and heirs of the kingdom. But in point 
 of time, when the ordinances were instituted, 
 there is no ground for regarding baptism as hav- 
 ing priority of claim ; it is unquestionably false 
 to say that baptism was instituted before the 
 Lord's Supper, and we are compelled to con- 
 clude that there is not an individual who would 
 assert it, were it not that they can not find suf- 
 ficient props to sustain their cherished dogmas 
 and exclusive denominational creeds without 
 dragging in John's baptism, and making it a 
 Christian ordinance : but that sophistry we have 
 exploded. The eucharist or Lord's Supper was 
 the first symbolical ordinance instituted : this 
 was on the memorable eve of the crucifixion of 
 Jesus. The ordinance of Christian baptism was 
 not instituted till after Christ's resurrection, nor 
 observed until the day of pentecost. 
 
 It is affirmed that there is such a connection 
 existing between the two ordinances, that none 
 have a right to commemorate the Lord's death 
 till they have been baptized. We ask for proof, 
 for we have never found it in the word of God, 
 nor the shadow of semblance to defend the as- 
 sertion ; all the evidence adduced is to this effect 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 229 
 
 (quotation from R. Fuller on " Terms of Com- 
 munion," page 190) : " By the standards of all 
 churches, baptism is required before any candi- 
 date is admitted to membership ; and this is the 
 reason why baptism has always been regarded 
 as a prerequisite to the supper." Such is the 
 " proof" of a stickler for restricted communion 
 among baptists ; surely he had better have gone 
 to sleep than to have written it ! What does it 
 amount to? Is it not, in effect, saying — 'I 
 have no scriptural authority ; but never mind, 
 hear the church — that will do when we can not 
 get better evidence' ? 
 
 We now turn to scripture for proof that the 
 position is a glaringly false one. The supper 
 was eaten before the institution of the ordinance 
 of baptism, and that, too, as administered by 
 Christ to the assembled apostles before he suf- 
 fered, as Paul emphatically describes — -"the 
 same night in which he was betrayed." And, 
 after his resurrection, he was known to the two 
 disciples at Emmaus as he brake bread and gave 
 to them ; and probably on other occasions, be- 
 fore his ascension, he administered the supper 
 to his disciples. They were unbaptized, for the 
 ordinance of baptism had not then been insti- 
 
tuted. The words of Jesus in administering the 
 supper prove that nothing was required of the 
 communicant but a discerning of 'the Lord's 
 body and blood ; and is it possible that Jesus 
 could have designed that the unbaptized should 
 have been prohibited from commemorating his 
 death, when he was the cause of such a striking 
 example to the contrary, and enjoined its repe- 
 tition, and practised it, too, without any provis- 
 ion of the kind ? Again : when he instituted 
 baptism, he would of course have said that in 
 future time baptism must be observed by all 
 disciples, or they must be prohibited from eat- 
 ing his supper ; but not a word to this effect 
 proceeded from his lips. It is, in truth, just 
 about as evident that the one is depending upon 
 the other, as that the salvation of man is de- 
 pending upon either, which all will assuredly 
 reject as a fatal error. 
 
 We are advocates for baptism, to occupy its 
 right position, and for it to be administered in 
 its true scriptural, way to the legitimate sub- 
 jects. We would be second to none in enjoin- 
 ing the observance of all things whatsoever the 
 Lord hath commanded ; but if any do not ob- 
 serve the obligation as we regard it in the Scrip- 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 231 
 
 tures, but verily believe they have obeyed the 
 command in another way, then God forbid that 
 we should lord it over his heritage, and take 
 rule and authority which he has never delegated. 
 What, say to the people whom Christ redeemed 
 with his own blood, ' You shall not come to com- 
 memorate his precious death, because you have 
 not trodden in the steps that I approve' ! Mul- 
 titudes do this, and think they verily do God 
 service, as much as did Saul of Tarsus when he 
 persecuted the saints of God. 
 
 SECTION VI. THE AUTHORITY EXERCISED OVEB 
 
 Christ has spread a table in this wilderness, 
 to which he has, without exception, invited all 
 his family to come. It is spread for the chil- 
 dren, and there they are to eat and drink by 
 faith, and partake of such memorials of his body 
 and blood as he has instituted, which are bread 
 and wine. "What can be more simple, what 
 more significant, what more unrestricted, than 
 what the Lord has here required of all to ob- 
 serve ? 
 
 This feast is for a company, few or many, 
 
232 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 when come together; all are welcome whom 
 Christ has called by his Spirit from the world 
 into the fellowship of his gospel and kingdom 
 of his grace. In this company no one engages 
 to do what he does as accountable to his fellow- 
 man, or as judging his brother, or the motives 
 of any present ; the one thing is to have fellow- 
 ship with Christ in his sufferings, to discern 
 him in all that is now done at the feast, and to 
 seek the personal realization of the blessings of 
 salvation — an interest in the substitutionary 
 sacrifice of Christ. No heretic should be there ; 
 no immoral person should be there ; no unre- 
 newed person should be there : each of such 
 class of characters, so far as we can discern 
 them, should be shut out. Everything so far is 
 clear in the word of God ; all the rest are made 
 holy by the Spirit in regeneration, and are liv- 
 ing by faith upon the Son of God : they are the 
 welcomed and invited guests by Jesus. 
 
 They who have given themselves to a church, 
 and are of the visible company, and in the habit 
 of assembling with the disciples of such a local- 
 ity as they reside in, for Divine worship, have 
 undoubted right to the table of the Lord any- 
 where and everywhere within the compass of 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 233 
 
 the whole universal church — the table never 
 being spread for a society of Christians in the 
 scriptural sense, but for the church. It there- 
 fore can only be required of any individual, 
 travel where he may over the globe, and be of 
 whatever denomination of faithful and true 
 Christians, to report himself as a brother in 
 Christ, and of an assembly or a church in a cer- 
 tain locality, and his right is common with all 
 to the Lord's table. This is the true spirit of 
 the New Testament, and according to the laws 
 of Christ and the observances of the inspired 
 apostles. Baptized or unbaptized was never 
 the question : the fact of belonging to a church 
 of the faithful was a passport to the table of the 
 Lord all over the world. 
 
 But is this regarded and practised ? It is not ; 
 and hence has arisen the strong party-feelings 
 leading to every evil, and the adoption of the 
 most flagrant errors. Christ's beloved and bride 
 is one, but usurpers and dogmatical fanatics 
 have torn her limb from limb ; they have piece- 
 mealed her out, as plunderers and robbers will 
 divide their booty. Imperfect men, though 
 Christians, are not now destined to see eye to 
 eye ; they have therefore to bear and forbear 
 
234 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 with each other's differences of opinions, while 
 they hold to Christ by faith for salvation. 
 
 Authority exercised over the Lord's table so 
 as to exclude from it any of the members of the 
 visible church, is a presumption, and nothing 
 short of rebellion against Christ in his kingdom.. 
 He has said to all his followers, " Come /" but 
 they stand in the way of approach, saying to 
 whomsoever they will, 'You shall not comeP 
 Can there be more determined opposition to the 
 .will of Christ than this ? This is the plain state- 
 ment of the case between Christ and those of 
 his professed disciples who claim any right to 
 keep from his table a single individual member 
 of any church. It can not be supposed, for a 
 moment, that any true Christian could assume 
 this solemn position with wilful determination, 
 but under the conviction that there is full per- 
 mission given by the Saviour ; yea, that he re- 
 quires of his disciples this exercise of discretion- 
 ary power. Therefore, we do not view the act 
 in the light of wilful rebellion against Christ, or 
 a wicked disposition to lord it over the saints, 
 but as the fruit of misguided zeal ; and though 
 this may sound harsh to some, yet it allows no 
 qualification: it is a monstrous practice, and 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 235 
 
 the most favorable Christian construction that 
 can be put upon such unfounded claim to au- 
 thority must be, that " they know not what man- 
 der of spirit they are of." 
 
 Governed, then, by an erroneous impression 
 that a power is invested with them, we must 
 endeavor to examine some of the grounds upon 
 which it is said to be supported, and expose the 
 fallacy of the system. Our attention is more 
 particularly drawn to the restricted communion- 
 ists of the baptist denomination. It is with them 
 we have to do, and with them we find the most 
 intolerant conduct pursued toward other Chris- 
 tian denominations — at least of all the protest- 
 ant denominations throughout Christendom — 
 in dogmatical pretensions and assumed power 
 over Christians and churches. 
 
 SECTION VII. THE RESTRICTED COMMUNION OF OR- 
 GANIZED BAPTISTS' CHURCHES NOT AUTHORIZED IN 
 SCRIPTURE. 
 
 We are not aware that, among all the advo- 
 cates for restricted communion (that is, for pow- 
 er to shut up the Lord's table to their little par- 
 ties), there has been any appeal to the word of 
 
God, as directly authorizing it. The authority 
 .therefore must be acknowledged as inferential ; 
 no baptist in his exclusiveness professes to find 
 higher authority than this. 
 
 They have sought in vain for direct precept, 
 or any sentence, however obscure, that could 
 bear any turning to appear like a precept. It 
 is true in some of their writings we find them 
 saying that i Christ has commanded that bap- 
 tism should precede eating the Lord's Supper,' 
 and that * Christ has commanded that baptism 
 should be a prerequisite to the table of the Lord.' 
 But such sentences, which often appear in the 
 writings of the advocates for restricted com- 
 munion, are only a mere flourish of words, and 
 perfectly untrue. Therefore they never give 
 scripture for it, because they can not, but sup- 
 port the assumption that it is Christ's command 
 by appealing to the sayings of early Christians 
 and their practices — to the Romish church, and 
 forsooth to protestant pedobaptists — while they 
 most fully declare, throughout their writings, 
 that pedobaptism is not Christian baptism at all. 
 
 "Where is the consistency of this ? It is a mis- 
 erable subterfuge upon which to found so sol- 
 emn an act 'as that of shutting up the table of 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 237 
 
 the Lord to a little party, saying, 'It is dele- 
 gated authority from Christ,' without one word 
 in the Booh to prove that any authority is given, 
 but, on the contrary, every word bearing on the 
 subject in the New Testament, and in the spirit 
 of the Revelation, leading to conclusions per- 
 fectly at variance with the assumption. 
 
 But now it is admitted by some candid bap- 
 tists, who have studied the subject, that restrict- 
 ed*communion is sustained by inference. In a 
 forensic sense, inferential testimony is often con- 
 sidered the most conclusive. This may be for 
 many reasons, when it relates to matters of a 
 worldly nature between man and man, where 
 at best they are sinners and erring mortals ; pos- 
 itive testimony may be foresworn, while inferen- 
 tial may be convincingly truthful ; but in infer- 
 ential conclusions in matters of religion, where 
 it regards God and man, the position is vastly 
 weakened. 
 
 Strictly speaking, inferential conclusions in 
 almost all matters of a weighty bearing on reli- 
 gion are to be discarded, because the great Law- 
 giver has in every such instance taken care that 
 decisions shall not be so arrived at by fallible 
 men in relation to the government of his king- 
 
238 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 dom. The proper position here to take is — 
 ' What saith the Master in this particular mat- 
 ter of doubt V And if the answer is, ' He hath 
 said nothing,' it is evidently going out of the 
 true and legitimate way to suppose he meant 
 something, hut did not speak concerning it, up- 
 on the ground that his people might draw infer- 
 ences in after-times from what others may have 
 been supposed to have done, and thus establish 
 the ground of authority. 
 
 We must confess that no inferences would do 
 for us in matters so grave, even could they be 
 made to border on precept. Nothing but a di- 
 rect command from Christ could make us favor 
 restricted communion. The matter itself is man- 
 ifest, in the light of truth, that nothing short of 
 an absolute command should induce any to shut 
 out Christ's followers from the table which he 
 has spread in the emblems of his body and blood, 
 seeing his command to observe it is unrestricted. 
 
 SECT. VIII. THE GROUNDS UPON WHICH RESTRICT- 
 ED COMMUNION IS DEFENDED. 
 
 In the inferential testimony for restricted com- 
 munion, the following are the most weighty, and 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 239 
 
 perhaps all the reasons adduced, worthy of no- 
 tice, to justify the practice: — 
 
 1. The priority of baptism to the Lord's Sup- 
 per, as an institution of Christ's kingdom. But 
 this is not true ; and if it were, it is nothing to 
 the purpose — which would be unnecessary to 
 explain, having demonstrated the position to 
 be false when proving John's baptism not Chris- 
 tian. The thing is altogether reversed, and what 
 is advanced upon this ground of authority turns 
 out to be in favor of unrestricted communion. 
 This, therefore, is swept away from under these 
 advocates of restricted communion. 
 
 2. From the apostolic commission to baptize, 
 it is said that " the commission clearly indicates 
 that baptism preceded the Lord's Supper, and 
 is prerequisite to it" (J. B. Taylor on restricted 
 communion, page 7). Doubtless baptism is an 
 ordinance instituted for observance at the very 
 outset of a Christian career ; it was designed for 
 the beginning and not for the middle or end of 
 a Christian life ; but a profession of Christianity 
 can be made without it, and is by nine tenths 
 of Christians, as baptists allow, for they do not 
 admit that those have been baptized who were 
 sprinkled in infancy, and have a right to the 
 
240 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 table of the Lord in their own denominations. 
 But where is the prerequisiteness to admission 
 to the Lord's table in baptism ? has it anything 
 to do with a positive institution of another or- 
 der? or, did Christ give it forth as his will that 
 the one should rest upon the other? He abso- 
 lutely makes the observance of the one and the 
 other rest upon faith, a common prerequisite to 
 both. Is it not unaccountable that men should 
 contend that the observance of one of these or- 
 dinances is a prerequisite to the other ? Besides, 
 as we have shown in the foregoing section, Christ 
 administered the supper to the un baptized ; — 
 surely this is sufficient of itself, without another 
 word, to clear away this second inferential au- 
 thority. 
 
 3. Apostolic example is adduced as another 
 evidence confirmatory that there is right to the 
 exercise of this authority. But where is the 
 apostolic example ? do we find any instance on 
 record where a believer was rejected by the 
 apostles from the table of the Lord because he 
 was not baptized ? JVo, not one. ' But this is 
 not what we mean,' they will say, ' by apostolic 
 example, but that of unbaptized believers going 
 to the Lord's table.' That they did not, is only 
 
supposititious — we do not know it for certain. 
 But let us grant this : what then ? how does it 
 support the assertion that the apostles required 
 baptism as a prerequisite to the Lord's table ? 
 We say it does not, and we prove it. Paul says 
 not a syllable about baptism, but shows that his 
 mind embraced nothing but faith as the qualifi- 
 cation, and sums up what he had to say thus : 
 " He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eat- 
 eth and drinketh damnation to himself, not" — 
 being baptized f no, mark — " not discerning the 
 Lord's body." There is no apostolic example, 
 then, for restricted communion, but rather apos- 
 tolic example favors unrestricted communion. 
 
 4. The nature and design of the two institu- 
 tions are affirmed to be authority. Their sym- 
 bolical representations, of course, are here meant 
 — and, as stated by Dr. Howell (" Terms of Com- 
 munion," page 47) : " Baptism being the emblem 
 of the reception of life, and the eucharist of the 
 food by which we are sustained, the metaphori- 
 cal representation requires that baptism should 
 always be received as a condition of commun- 
 ion." Strange that men, who have recourse to 
 such weak positions, do not see themselves that 
 
 their miserable shifts are powerful arguments 
 11 
 
242 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 against their own systems ! It is about the most 
 puerile manner of going about to defend an as- 
 sumed position that any zealot could be guilty 
 of. Then J. G. Fuller (on " Communion Conver- 
 sation," 3) says : " You have no more scriptural 
 evidence that faith is an indispensable term of 
 baptism, than we have that baptism is an indis- 
 pensable term of communion." How could a 
 man ever read the Scriptures, and state such a 
 palpable untruth? — for Christ demands faith as 
 a prerequisite to baptism, while the baptists ad- 
 mit that " the New Testament does not prohibit 
 the unbaptized from receiving the Lord's Sup- 
 per" (Kinghorn — " Baptism a Term of Commun- 
 ion," page 32). And this Mr. Fuller endorses, 
 and thereby condemns his own assertion. But 
 this is no uncommon position with these writers 
 — in one breath they affirm, what in another 
 they deny. One asserts one position to be the 
 stronghold, while another demolishes it and sets 
 up another. 
 
 The grand position of restricted communion- 
 ists is, that believers' baptism is an indispensa- 
 ble qualification for communion at the Lord's ta- 
 ble. Now see how they contradict themselves : 
 " We admit that our brethren" (that is, pedobap- 
 
ORGANIZED BODIES. 243 
 
 tists) " are entitled to the Lord's Supper" (J. G. 
 Fuller on " Commun. Conversation," 3.) " There 
 is no reason why we should breathe a murmur 
 against them because they take the Lord's Sup- 
 per in their own churches" (Curtis on commun- 
 ion, p. 190). " On his own principles" (that is, 
 a pedobaptist), " he is entitled to approach the 
 Lord's table" (Howell, " Terms of Com.," p. 100). 
 Do they not impeach themselves ? Who need 
 take much trouble in writing against a system, 
 while its defenders so effectually beat it down % 
 5. Eeference is made to the analogy subsisting 
 between the Lord's Supper and the passover. 
 Here it is adduced that, as circumcision was by 
 Divine command an indispensable qualification 
 in every male for a participation of the Jewish 
 passover — so, reasoning analogically, Mr. Booth 
 says, " Baptism is equally necessary to commun- 
 ion at the Lord's table." Mr. Booth may twist 
 this matter how he pleases, and his friends too, 
 but his position is as powerful an argument in 
 favor of infant baptism as pedobaptists can de- 
 sire. As baptism did not come in the place of 
 circumcision, neither is there any law in the 
 New Testament to make it requisite for baptism 
 to be essential to eating the Lord's Supper — 
 
244: ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 though there was a law fully laid down, prohib- 
 iting any but the circumcised from eating the 
 paschal supper. Here is another subterfuge, 
 and it does not want much depth of discernment 
 to see that this can be no authority for restricted 
 communion ; it flies like chaff before the wind, 
 as each of the others have done. We now come 
 to what may be considered the last prop. 
 
 6. We are told that the universal church is 
 agreed that " baptism has been held in all ages 
 and by all denominations to be a Divinely-pre- 
 scribed preliminary to the Lord's Supper" (How- 
 ell, "Terms of Com.," p. 51). They are upon 
 the old hack at last — "Hear the churchP The 
 appeal here is to all denominations of pedobap- 
 tists in the world. If the church be authority 
 in one thing, it must be in another, especially 
 where there is uniformity of testimony : conse- 
 quently, the church, apart from the baptists, 
 witness that infant baptism is scriptural ; and, 
 upon this mode of reasoning, away goes baptist 
 restricted communion and the doctrine of be- 
 lievers' baptism altogether ; so that the last prop 
 is gone, and the close communion of baptists, 
 in both scripture and reason, " like the baseless 
 fabric of a vision, leaves not a wreck behind !" 
 
PART VI. 
 
 BAPTIST DENOMINATION, 
 
 SECTION I. THE BAPTISMAL CONTROVERSY IN THE 
 
 FIRST FIFTEEN CENTURIES OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 
 
 We think we have shown to every candid 
 inquirer after truth, that no foundation can be 
 established for restricted communion by any 
 command in the word of God, or by any depen- 
 dence which may possibly be founded on the 
 idea of one positive institute being made to gov- 
 ern another, without a direct command for such 
 dependent connection. We have shown, too, 
 that restricted communion has not any justifia- 
 ble pretext for defence in scripture precedent, 
 nor have its advocates any authority for com- 
 pelling any who may violate one enactment of 
 the Saviour's to violate others. In civil, moral, 
 
246 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 or religious law, such monstrosity was never 
 thought of. What! because an individual vio- 
 lates one law, he must be thrust onward against 
 his will in the violation of another! We have 
 also shown that the immediate successors of the 
 apostles, and those who followed them, never 
 set up any pretence for restricted communion 
 when first there were innovations made upon 
 the ordinance of baptism ; they were unques- 
 tionably involved in similar disputes to those 
 which the controversy now assumes, restricted 
 communion excepted. 
 
 We may say that in the foregoing parts of 
 this work it has been clearly demonstrated that 
 restricted communionism is untenable if viewed 
 in relation to the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the in- 
 stitution of baptism, the design of the two ordi- 
 nances, the commands of Christ, and the prac- 
 tices of the apostles and disciples of the Lord 
 Jesus. We conceive that we have not left it 
 any ground to stand upon, but in the dogma of 
 partisan discipleship. 
 
 Seeing, then, that this rule in the baptist de- 
 nomination, held with such tenacity and confi- 
 dence, has evidently no scriptural authority for 
 its introduction, by Christ or his first disciples, 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 247 
 
 we are compelled to tarn our attention from in- 
 spired to uninspired ecclesiastical history. We 
 look at the records of the church in the first 
 two or three centuries of the Christian dispen- 
 sation : there we find no division with the mem- 
 bers of the body of Christ when observing tlje 
 Lord's Supper, on the ground of baptism, nor 
 any distinct society setting up a right to exclude 
 others from the table because the apostolic mode 
 of baptism was not adhered to. 
 
 Some may suppose that there was no depart- 
 ure in these early times from what is recorded 
 in the Acts of the Apostles, bearing upon bap- 
 tism ; but we have clearly shown, from ecclesi- 
 astical records, that there was. Not a few ques- 
 tions were agitated, but not a syllable do we 
 find advanced about any dissension upon com- 
 munion at the Lord's table. 
 
 In passing on from the first two or three cen- 
 turies of the Christian dispensation, we discover 
 the innovations upon the mode of professedly 
 administering the ordinance of baptism had be- 
 come general, and pouring and sprinkling were 
 by no means uncommon. But not to pause at 
 these examples, where the separation would 
 doubtless have taken place had there been scrip- 
 
248 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 tural grounds for it, we find that when the inno- 
 vation had acquired an extensive practice, and 
 the agitation still remained unabated, while the 
 universal adoption of man's invention was urged 
 
 with considerable 
 
 qgor, 
 
 in relation to both the 
 
 "mode of administration and the subjects for the 
 ordinance — even at this juncture, there was 
 nothing mooted about division of the church at 
 the Lord's table. 
 
 None were adventurous enough to declare 
 themselves justified in separating and setting 
 themselves up to claim exclusive authority over 
 the table of the Lord, or to shut out any be- 
 liever who was a member of a visible church, 
 upon the ground of the controversy. We see, 
 then, that through the fourth century, innova- 
 tions upon the ordinance of baptism were made, 
 multiplied, and perpetuated, without at all dis- 
 turbing the fellowship of the church, in break- 
 ing bread to commemorate the Lord's death till 
 he come. 
 
 In the fifth century, the question of baptism 
 was brought before different councils, whose 
 decisions were given in favor of infant baptism. 
 The opposite opinions were therefore anathema- 
 tized, and those who held them incurred the 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 249 
 
 penalties attached to heresy. The baptismal 
 controversy is alluded to in the writings of sev- 
 eral of the fathers, some of whom did not scru- 
 ple, in spite of edicts and decrees, to condemn 
 the practice of baptizing infants, as a deviation 
 from scripture, and the early custom of the 
 church. 
 
 The same view of the subject was very prev- 
 alent in the eastern provinces of the Roman em- 
 pire. Disaffection, because of baptismal and 
 other innovations, became so popular, that in 
 the ninth century that powerful schism arose 
 which led to the formation of the Greek church. 
 This was one of the articles in which an irre- 
 concilable difference of opinion prevailed be- 
 tween the new communion and the old — the lat- 
 ter adhering to its established custom of sprin- 
 kling infants, while the former baptized them 
 by three immersions. 
 
 The schism which had occasioned such a de- 
 fection from the church of Rome, did not re- 
 move the cause of controversy concerning bap- 
 tism, but, on the contrary, increased it by the 
 intolerant proceedings which were taken against 
 those who refused to be silenced. Driven from 
 the bosom of their own communion, they took 
 11* 
 
250 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 refuge in the churches of the Waldenses, in the 
 valleys of Piedmont ; and at a later period they 
 joined the disaffected sects in Germany and 
 Flanders, among whom they sowed the seeds 
 of their own doctrines. 
 
 The zeal with which they labored to spread 
 the opinions wherein they differed from the 
 church of Rome, only made them a more con- 
 spicuous mark for persecution. Imprisonment, 
 exile, or death, was the fate of those who per- 
 sisted in their adherence to this so-called heresy. 
 All the terrors of the church were invoked to 
 extinguish the offensive tenet; but so rapid was 
 its growth under persecution, that the number 
 of those who professed it in the beginning of 
 the twelfth century is said by Mosheim to have 
 amounted to eight hundred thousand. 
 
 From this time to the commencement of the 
 Reformation, Germany was the chief seat of the 
 baptist reformers, whence, following the course 
 of the Rhine, they spread over Holland. Being 
 thus scattered over that part of the continent of 
 Europe in which the doctrines of the Reforma- 
 tion were agitated, they availed themselves of 
 the opportunity of gaining attention to their 
 own views. 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 251 
 
 From this great epoch in the history of reli- 
 gious opinions may be dated a new era in the 
 history of baptism. Up to this time the doc- 
 trine, though so tenaciously maintained through 
 sufferings, persecution, and death, does not ap- 
 pear to have bestowed any particular designa- 
 tion upon those who held it, nor did they advo- 
 cate the restricting of themselves to their own 
 party in the communion of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 SECTION II. THE ORIGIN OF THE DENOMINATION. 
 
 The rise of a society is a consideration of 
 some importance in its onward progress and 
 pretensions. So in reference to the history of 
 the Baptist Denomination; and it may be a 
 matter to be somewhat regretted that there are 
 circumstances connected with the origin of the 
 body, as a distinct ecclesiastical denomination, 
 that occasion grief. 
 
 We can not turn to the first movements of 
 baptists, in acquiring a religious distinction 
 among Christians, without agitating events of 
 a revolting character. They display a cast of 
 moral deformity which leads us almost to shud- 
 der to remove the covering which time has cast 
 
252 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 over it : but history has chronicled it, and we 
 can not revert to the commencement of the de- 
 nomination and pass the events by unnoticed. 
 The cause of truth demands us to say something 
 relating to these facts, as identified not only 
 with the origin of the denomination, but of the 
 particular features of restricted communion. 
 
 We will endeavor to use a sparing hand, and 
 in this review scan the circumstances as briefly 
 as we can, without penetrating to exhibit the 
 enormities of the moral delinquents who first 
 moved on the continent of Europe for distinc- 
 tion as baptists, and which marks the epoch of 
 the commencement of the history of baptists, 
 and as a denomination which led on to the idea 
 of restricted communion. 
 
 In directing attention to ecclesiastical history, 
 it will be seen that in the agitation created by 
 Martin Luther, when he* brought about the 
 Reformation, there was a movement on the part 
 of some, who embraced and cherished the bap- 
 tist view r s. 
 
 The leading men of this movement were Mun- 
 zer, Stubner, and Storck. They had been dis- 
 ciples of Luther, and began to preach in their 
 new character as baptists in the town of Wit- 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 253 
 
 tenberg, in Saxony, in the year 1521. Their 
 followers, composed almost exclusively of the 
 lowest rabble, in 1525 rose in a general rebel- 
 lion against the established authorities through- 
 out that province, Suabia, Thuringia, and Fran- 
 conia. We must here bear in mind that the in- 
 surrection was partly of a political character, 
 occasioned by the oppression to which the peas- 
 antry were subj ected. They were soon defeated, 
 and Munzer himself was taken and put to death. 
 In 1532, fresh disturbances arose. A numer- 
 ous mob of these professed disciples, conducted 
 by John Matthias, a baker of Haerlem, and John 
 Boccoldt, a tailor of Leyden, suddenly attacked 
 the city of Miinster during the night, and made 
 themselves masters of the place. Their adhe- 
 rents immediately nocked thither from all quar- 
 ters. Matthias named Miinster " Mount Zion," 
 and proclaimed himself the king. Having, with 
 only thirty followers, madly undertaken to at- 
 tack and disperse the forces which came to re- 
 cover the town, he perished, with all who ac- 
 companied him. John of Leyden then assumed 
 the royal dignity, and under his conduct the 
 multitude is said to have proceeded to wilder 
 excesses. The city was, however, recaptured 
 
254 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 by the army which the bishop had brought up 
 against it, on June 24, 1535 ; and Boccoldt, fal- 
 ling into the hands of the victors, was soon after 
 executed, with the most terrific cruelties which 
 hatred and revenge could dictate. 
 
 Most extravagant tenets and conduct have 
 been ascribed to the baptists of Munster; and, 
 tl ough the accounts of a proscribed sect by 
 their enemies only ought to be unquestionably 
 substantiated, yet there is enough in their his- 
 tory, well accredited, to fill us with loathing 
 disgust : though we would hope and cherish the 
 belief that there were some sincere Christians 
 who had no part or lot with the wicked multi- 
 tude, but history classes all together. 
 
 In briefly noticing some of the principles with 
 which they were justly charged, may be named 
 that of their holding the unwarrantableness of 
 all civil government, the emancipation of the 
 faithful from subjection to either laws or taxes, 
 and that among the saints all tilings ought to 
 be common. They maintained that God made 
 his will known to them individually by special 
 inspirations; and are said to have expressed 
 themselves with some degree of indifference, al- 
 most amounting to contempt or disparagement, 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 255 
 
 of the written word. Besides the internal im- 
 pressions, which they called inspirations, they 
 had dreams and visions in which they put much 
 confidence. Some of them conceived themselves 
 to have the prophetic gift,*which they were spe- 
 cially accustomed to exercise in predicting the 
 speedy approach of the end of the world. 
 
 The light in which baptists have generally 
 regarded the feelings of Luther toward these 
 desperadoes, and the baptists in general, be- 
 cause that great and godly man denounced such 
 baptists, has often been a matter of surprise. 
 The enemies of Luther among the papists would 
 take occasion to bring the sins and rebellion of 
 this party upon him, and attach their proceed- 
 ings to what they called " the detestable Lu- 
 theran heresy." Luther was but a man of like 
 passions with ourselves ; and, in review of all 
 the circumstances, his patience and forbearance 
 toward such a set might more reasonably fill us 
 with surprise. That he did denounce them, and 
 proclaim their death, may be deplored in these 
 days, but is not to be wondered at when regard- 
 ing the practices and circumstances of the times. 
 
 These men of the sixteenth century were the 
 first movers toward restricted communion. Bap- 
 
256 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 tism did not affect the relation of Christians in 
 their communion at the Lord's table before this 
 time. Compulsion and not choice, we should 
 conclude, first brought it about ; it is never re- 
 ferred to as the result of enlightened conviction 
 upon the subject, nor as a willing, voluntary- 
 act, under any honorable impression. No, the 
 position was from necessity, because of the ill- 
 odor of the sect, occasioned by the sinful and 
 detestable moral practices of some. 
 
 From these men emanated the onward course 
 for the denomination and restricted communion. 
 Those who were baptists were shunned, and 
 none could commune with them. Prejudice 
 ranked the worthy with the most vile ; and, as 
 those Minister baptists were like Ishmaelites 
 indeed, with hand against every man, every 
 man's hand was against them. With the op- 
 probrious epithet of anabaptists, all were cast 
 together, and all suffered the same reproach. 
 
 By watching this progress, we see something 
 of the grounds of restricted communion. On 
 account of those fanatics to whom we have just 
 referred, the baptists on the continent of Europe 
 were destined to additional persecution. For 
 a long time it was dangerous, particularly in 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 257 
 
 Germany, to profess an adherence to the doc- 
 trine of adult baptism — all those who held that 
 tenet being most absurdly classed as belonging 
 to the sect of the Miinster anabaptists, as they 
 were called, but who in reality had no connec- 
 tion with those wicked insurgents. Of these 
 were the Me?inonites, so called from Menno Si- 
 monis. They always disclaimed any fraternity 
 with the baptists of Miinster. They now form 
 a numerous body in Holland, and are found in 
 various parts of Germany and Prussia. Others 
 were called Waterlandians^ from the place of 
 their principal church ; and others bajptists, &c. 
 In these brief references to some of the cir- 
 cumstances giving rise to the history of the bap- 
 tist denomination and restricted communion, 
 we can not attach much importance, either to 
 the purity of spirit, or desire for the glory of 
 God, in the men who first moved for the object ; 
 and we can see pretty clearly that, however the 
 baptists' sentiment may commend itself to us, 
 and however strenuously we may advocate the 
 duty of Christians to regard the ordinance of 
 baptism as instituted by Christ and practised 
 by the apostles, there is nothing in the consid- 
 eration of assuming authority over the table of 
 
258 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 the Lord, but what may lead us to connect it 
 with the spirit of ignorant bigotry or antichris- 
 tian usurpation. 
 
 SECTION III. BAPTIST DENOMINATION IN GREAT 
 
 BRITAIN. , 
 
 In turning from the consideration of the move- 
 ment of the baptists on the continent of Europe, 
 to the position they assumed in England, &c, 
 we observe that little is known of them there 
 before the sixteenth century. Their name then 
 appears among the various sects who were strug- 
 gling for civil and religions freedom, but suffer- 
 ing from the augmented disadvantage of being 
 classed with the continental insurgents and fa- 
 natics. 
 
 The general name by which the baptists were 
 distinguished in England was the same as that 
 given to the Miinster rioters. Anabaptist was 
 a name of opprobrium, and the people shunned 
 the sect as a moral and religious pestilence. 
 The name anabaptist is to the present day used 
 by some opponents of the baptists in denomina- 
 tional disputes and controversial writings, with 
 the intention of treating with contempt the bap- 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 259 
 
 tists • though generally none who can sustain a 
 reputation for honorable Christians would con- 
 descend to the use of the term, it being almost 
 universally admitted to be a vulgar and unjus- 
 tifiable reflection. 
 
 The application of the name anabaptist is un- 
 warranted when applied to the baptists, and 
 they have always protested against it, not only 
 because it was given to those first scandalous 
 movers who led to the distinct denomination of 
 baptists, but because they do not practise or 
 sanction a new or second baptism-. The baptists 
 have from the earliest period maintained that 
 there is no validity in what is designated " in- 
 fant baptism." Two successive baptisms there- 
 fore have never been countenanced nor thought 
 of by the baptists. Adult believers are required 
 to be baptized by the baptists upon the ground 
 that, whatsoever was practised upon them in 
 infancy, was no baptism at all. 
 
 The features of our belief as baptists with re- 
 spect to that ordinance is, that baj:>tism com- 
 menced with the Christian dispensation, and was 
 peculiar to it, bearing no analogy to circumcis- 
 ion, nor in any sense derived from previous 
 enactments, but revealed as a positive law of 
 
260 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 the kingdom of Christ; that baptism is only 
 scriptural as administered by submerging the 
 whole body of the baptized in water ; that it 
 can not be scripturally administered to any but 
 on a profession of faith in Christ Jesus ; that, 
 as a command of the New Testament, it is ob- 
 ligatory on all who profess faith in Christ ; and 
 that, holding such as conscientious views of 
 what Christ requires in the ordinance of bap- 
 tism, it is so far right to discountenance every 
 substitute, and deny it the right to the title of 
 Christian baptism at all. Such views are proof 
 that there could be no just cause for designating 
 these " anabaptists." 
 
 It would have been in the present day unne- 
 cessary at all to have referred to any elucida- 
 tion of this circumstance, but that it seems re 
 quisite to show that, with the whole body ot 
 baptists in England, as well as on the continent 
 of Europe, in the distinctive feature of their 
 springing into a denominational sect, restricted 
 communion was entirely accidental, and not re- 
 garded by them at the time as essential to the 
 duties they owed to Christ and his institutions. 
 
 In the sixteen tli century, the opinions of the 
 baptists were sufficiently popular in England to 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 261 
 
 attract the notice of the national establishment, 
 as is evident from the fact that, at a convocation 
 held in 1536, they were denounced as u detesta- 
 ble heresies, utterly to be condemned." Proc- 
 lamations followed, to banish the baptists from 
 the kingdom ; their books were burnt, and sev- 
 eral individuals suffered at the stake. The last 
 person who was burnt in England for his reli- 
 gious opinions was a baptist, of the name of 
 Edward Wightman ; he was not, however, burnt 
 as a baptist, but upon the charge of blasphemy 
 and heresy. 
 
 The first baptist congregation in England that 
 we know of, is reported to have been formed by 
 Mr. Smyth, a clergyman of the church of Eng- 
 land, who, having embraced the baptist view, 
 resigned his living, and opened a place for pub- 
 lic worship on the principles of the baptists, in 
 London, in 1607. This step encouraged others to 
 follow his example, who had hitherto concealed 
 or privately professed their opinions. The bap- 
 tists, who were mingled with the independents, 
 separated from them about the year 1638, and 
 set up for themselves. They sent over one of 
 their number to be immersed by one of the 
 Dutch baptists of Amsterdam, that he might be 
 
262 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 qualified to baptize his friends in England after 
 the same manner. 
 
 The forms of worship in the general adopted 
 by these congregations that sprang np in vari- 
 ious parts of England and Wales, did not mate- 
 rially vary from the practice of the puritans. 
 The reformed churches on the continent of Eu- 
 rope furnished a model for all the sects in Eng- 
 land which then contended for the rights of 
 nonconformity, and are generally spoken of un- 
 der the name of the "Three Denominations of 
 Protestant Dissenters." Among these the bap- 
 tists were not the least distinguished for the 
 consistency of their conduct in maintaining the 
 right of private judgment, and in advocating 
 the principles of universal toleration in matters 
 pertaining to religion. But their baptist views 
 (though at this time many of them did not favor 
 restricted communion) were a barrier to their 
 close affinity to the other denominations. 
 
 The baptists, with other nonconformists, had 
 to struggle on through a series of oppressive 
 evils ; persecution, banishment, imprisonment, 
 and death, were visited upon many for their re- 
 ligious views. Soon after the Reformation, for 
 about one and a half centuries, except during 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 263 
 
 the brief space of the commonwealth, they con- 
 tinued to be persecuted by a succession of re- 
 strictive and penal laws of almost constantly- 
 increasing severity. From the suspension of 
 these cruel assaults upon dissenting denomina- 
 tions, it has taken more than another century to 
 raise them from being merely tolerated bodies 
 to a free participation in the rights of their fel- 
 low-subjects, in which no steps were taken till 
 toward the close of that period. 
 
 Here it will be seen that the various sects of 
 religionists had no space for civil, religious, or 
 mental growth. They were driven into corners ; 
 and when we reflect upon the particular views 
 of the baptists — that they were shut out from 
 the sympathies even of some other proscribed 
 denominational sects — it could not be other- 
 wise than that they should fraternize upon the 
 basis of their own particular sentiments, so that 
 nearly the whole of the baptist societies in Eng- 
 land became restricted communionists : though 
 there were always some who would not imbibe 
 this principle, and among these stood the far- 
 famed Roger Williams, whose principles, ex- 
 pounded by both his life and writings in Eng- 
 land and America, claimed for all men perfect 
 
264: ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 liberty of sentiment and conscience in reference 
 to religious views. His political principles were 
 ever of that liberal cast which but few in those 
 days could appreciate, so that he suffered for 
 them in his fatherland, and, what is yet more 
 astounding, in the land where he sought a home, 
 and from the very people too, who, alike with 
 himself, had sought, in a far-distant continent, 
 an asylum where conscience might be free ! 
 He could not mix with baptists, though himself 
 a baptist, in either England or America, because 
 in the matter of communion they bound the 
 consciences of those who would know no mas- 
 ter but Christ, and be his freemen. In Scotland 
 and Ireland, the baptists never have been so nu- 
 merous as in England and Wales. 
 
 We have been as brief as the circumstances 
 would possibly admit, in this review of the bap- 
 tist denomination, in its distinctive form, and in 
 its relation to restrictive communion. Nearly 
 a millenary and a half of years passed over in 
 the history of the Christian dispensation, and 
 nothing was heard of the denominational dis- 
 tinction of baptists, nor of refusal to meet other 
 Christians at the table of the Lord, upon the 
 grounds of their difference of opinion in the 
 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 265 
 
 baptismal controversies, though the disputes 
 commenced early in the history of the Christian 
 church, and have continued onward to the pres- 
 ent time. 
 
 In the sixteenth century, the agitation for 
 reformation on the continent of Europe, by some 
 mysterious (that is, to us mysterious) coinci- 
 dents, gave birth to this distinctive feature in 
 the religious world, of the baptist denomination. 
 We can not, as we have seen, look back upon 
 the first movers with any feelings of compla- 
 cency, though that fact does not militate against 
 baptists being a distinct body, giving force to 
 their conscientious impressions, and maintain- 
 ing strict adherence to the form of administering 
 one of those positive institutions of the Christian 
 dispensation which Christ has left to be observed 
 and practised. 
 
 We have seen that, with this movement, fol- 
 lowed restrictive communion. There being dis- 
 tinct baptist churches* for fellowship and wor- 
 ship, they were not any longer dependent upon 
 any other society of Christians for the services 
 of public worship. They adopted exclusion, and 
 became isolated as churches from all other Chris- 
 tians ; though we can not say this was by choice 
 12 
 
266 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 in such societies as the Minister baptists, for 
 what sincere Christians would have had fellow- 
 ship with such disgraceful societies? If they 
 boasted of restricted communion, it must have 
 been upon the principle of making a virtue of 
 necessity. But as no such extravagant follies 
 and sins are chargeable upon the baptists of 
 Great Britain, we may suppose that for denom- 
 inational purposes, and as we learn also by the 
 suggestion of the independents, they did, about 
 the year 1638, become distinct baptist churches, 
 embracing mostly the principles of close com- 
 munion. 
 
 SECTION IV. CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH OPERATED TO 
 
 MAKE CLOSE COMMUNION A CHERISHED PRINCIPLE. 
 
 The baptists discontinuing to be mixed with 
 other Christian bodies, and communing no long- 
 er at the table of the Lord with other devoted 
 Christians, were moulded into a habit of exclu- 
 siveness. 
 
 We have seen from the first that close com- 
 munion did not arise from the conviction that 
 mixed communion with other devoted followers 
 of Christ would be in opposition to the will of 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 267 
 
 Christ, or that there was anything in the spirit 
 of the New Testament or in the conduct of the 
 first disciples of Christ to warrant it. The cir- 
 cumstances of the times, together with the con- 
 viction that they were right in their views of 
 the Christian ordinance of baptism, consum- 
 mated this plan undoubtedly. 
 
 The first hundred and fifty years which passed 
 over their history was attended with such a suc- 
 cession of trials and sufferings, in common with 
 other nonconformists, that they had enough to 
 do to L'ok for their escape from calamities which 
 beset them on every hand. They were, of course, 
 as one of the consequences of persecution, more 
 cemented together in the fraternal bonds of 
 Christian fellowship, and their restrictive-com- 
 munion principles became part and parcel of 
 their religious belief. 
 
 As they might be said to suffer the loss of all 
 things for Christ's sake, so they were mostly 
 poor and kept low. As to civil liberty, they 
 had none. It was enough, in the estimation of 
 their persecutors, that they should live only by 
 sufferance ; and thus they, with other noncon- 
 formists, had an affinity to the apostle, when 
 he thus describes the state of himself and his 
 
268 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 companions in Christ: "For we which live are 
 always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake." 
 And again : " For thy sake we are killed all the 
 day long ; we are accounted as sheep for the 
 slaughter." And again, speaking of his loss, 
 and love of Christ, he says, " For whom I have 
 suffered the loss of all things." As one of the 
 important means of worldly influence is wealth, 
 they being poor, their voice, of course, was not 
 heard. All their consolation sprang from an 
 approving conscience within. The peace and 
 smiles of their Lord resting upon them, would 
 be calculated to lead them to suppose that ev- 
 erything they observed distinguished them as 
 followers of Jesus, and that all their prejudices 
 in favor of their own practices indicated that 
 they were such as God approved. 
 
 The baptists were less educated than other 
 religious communities. They had no facilities 
 for mental culture, and it was mostly the illit- 
 erate who joined their societies. Their defi- 
 ciency in literature, or their ignorance of the 
 simple rudiments of an education, could be no 
 sin or ground of reproach ; but who can say that 
 it was not a disadvantage, and calculated to ob- 
 struct the workings of their mental powers, as 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 269 
 
 to botli their cherished prejudices against liter- 
 ary refinement and religious liberal sentiments? 
 Who has ever found otherwise, but that igno- 
 rance and obstinate bigotry bear an almost in- 
 separable alliance the one to the other? Roger 
 Williams, as a man of education, felt this among 
 the baptists ; and while his noble soul expanded 
 for full liberty, though a baptist, he could find 
 but little fellowship in their association. 
 
 The narrowing down of creeds, and the draw- 
 ing into smaller circles the line of charity, fra- 
 ternity, and liberality, is the certain result of 
 stunted mental growth. They are the unalter- 
 able evils, under such circumstances, that have 
 to be borne with, and it becomes us to commis- 
 erate the individuals who are the subjects of 
 them, rather than despise and treat them with 
 contempt — believing that we should have dis- 
 played precisely the same objectionable traits 
 of character, had not more fortuitous circum- 
 stances fallen to our lot than it was their privi- 
 lege to enjoy. 
 
 See the application of these remarks to tho 
 views of restricted communion among baptists, 
 in the notable period of the sixteenth century. 
 Regard the circumstances of the times w T hen 
 
270 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 baptists first presented themselves as a distinct 
 body of religious worshippers in Christendom, 
 and that which followed to force them as it were 
 to cherish exclusive communion, and we shall 
 find the solution of all that may- be necessary to 
 illustrate how close communion could be estab- 
 lished, and grasped, and retained even long after 
 the circumstances which favored the fostering 
 of it had passed away. The tolerant spirit of 
 open communion, advocated as it has been by 
 those eloquent defenders of liberty, Robert Rob- 
 inson and Robert Hall, soon cleared the mist 
 of superstitious bigotry from the minds of the 
 most learned of the English baptists, and has 
 been progressing in that happy direction through 
 the whole denomination. 
 
 The mind does not become momentarily con- 
 tracted ; it is not so sensitive as to fall instanta- 
 neously under the blighting effects of ignorance 
 and superstition, nor does it in a moment ex- 
 pand in all the richness of fertile exuberance as 
 soon as favorable circumstances arise to foster 
 and cherish expansion. Modern ecclesiastical 
 history, therefore, unfolds to us that long-cher- 
 ished habits and religious prejudices demand a 
 work of time for correction and improvement. 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 271 
 
 The favorable circumstances for advancement 
 and acquiring knowledge, in this age, we trust 
 will operate effectually in entirely eradicating 
 from the baptist denomination their narrow no- 
 tions of communion, which have no foundation 
 in the word of God, and which are so antago- 
 nistical to Christian charity. 
 
 SECT. V. THE BAPTIST DENOMINATION NOT WITH- 
 OUT SOME MEN OF PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 It may be suggested by some that, in the 
 foregoing section, an apparent injustice has 
 been done in referring to the earlier days of the 
 denomination, implying that they were without 
 men of literary attainments, and in not saying 
 that during that long period there were in the 
 baptist denomination some men of profound ac- 
 quirements, who might have done honor to any 
 sect of Christians. 
 
 It is certainly true that there were some en- 
 lightened and literary characters; but when we 
 speak of a class of people, or of a community, 
 we speak of them as appearing in the mass, al- 
 ways allowing that there may be exceptions; 
 and we are glad to have them to speak of in tho 
 
272 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 baptist denomination, though they were but 
 few indeed, so that a child might write them. 
 There were, notwithstanding, doubtless many 
 names, lost to successive generations, of worthy 
 and enlightened baptists, of whom it might be 
 said "the world was not worthy." But the cir- 
 cumstances of their times forbade their coming 
 forth. If, as was the case with Roger Williams, 
 they had declared their liberal feelings, £here 
 were none to respond among other denomina- 
 tions, because their views on baptism condemned 
 them, so that they were destined to fall back 
 into their little party circle, and suffer on till 
 their noble and emancipated spirits expanded 
 in the pure and liberal assembly of heaven. 
 
 In later days, we do not lose sight of such 
 men as Dr. John Gill and Abraham Booth, as 
 erudite and godly, who were strong advocates 
 of restricted communion, and venturing, too, to 
 base it upon "thus saith the Lord." But their 
 strong love of party led them to display their 
 weakness. We must ever look upon all men — 
 the best of men, the profoundest reasoners, and 
 the soundest theologians — as coming in some 
 respects under the influence of natural disposi- 
 tion. Their weak point will show itself some- 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 273 
 
 where, and, did we not carefully bear this in 
 mind, the religions world would be more para- 
 doxical to us than it is already, and surely that 
 need not be ! John Gill, the champion of doc- 
 trinal truth and restricted communion, was nat- 
 urally of a dogmatical construction of mind. It 
 suited his natural temperament to be rigid and 
 exclusive ; a great and godly man, but not less 
 a lover of party, and the leader of a sect; con- 
 science, however, would not let him be this, did 
 he not consider the position to be according to 
 the will of God. But the mind, from natural 
 constitution, might be wooed to this conclusion, 
 and by a plausible process of reasoning, where 
 the premises were false, though so good and 
 great a man, he erred. No one can read what 
 he has written without discovering the positive 
 way in which he advances his sentiments; and 
 there is not a child acquainted with the Scrip- 
 tures but what would be able to combat his 
 views upon the church, baptism, Lord's Supper, 
 &c. He makes strong assertions, but adduces 
 no proof in support. He often sets down his 
 views as though he were stating what Christ 
 had commanded, when he has no foundation 
 whatever in the Scriptures. 
 
274 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 So with Abraham Booth. He is viewed by 
 the advocates of restricted communion as the 
 unanswerable defender of their faith and prac- 
 tice. All who have since him written upon the 
 subject have taken his ideas, and, when they 
 have departed, it has been most evidently to 
 expose the weakness of their position. But 
 what candid individual, who reflects when read- 
 ing Abraham Booth's "Apology for the Bap- 
 tists," does not discover the fabric of the mind 
 that could dictate such a production ? His as- 
 sertions of the undeniable truth of his positions 
 are strong just in proportion as the} r are defence- 
 less, and he starts upon premises utterly devoid 
 of foundation in truth. He, too, puts himself 
 forward, as is justly observed by Robert Hall, 
 as the champion in the cause of the baptists, as 
 if there were unanimity of sentiment upon the 
 one point he proposes to sustain and defend: 
 he calls it an "Apology for the Baptists," and 
 yet the whole production is against baptists who 
 differ in their views from him. Is not such a 
 display of the mind of Abraham Booth enough 
 to show how inadequate he was to such a task, 
 when we consider the bias his mind could take 
 of the circumstances of the baptists, in the title 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 275 
 
 of his book ? The venerable Booth was a godly 
 man — a star of no small magnitude, shining 
 with the grace of his Lord in his day on earth 
 — but his "Apology for the Baptists" is the 
 weakness of the man. 
 
 Having noticed the above men on the side of 
 restricted communion, we must not forget on 
 the other side one or two liberal souls as great 
 and good as have already been referred to. 
 Who can treat with indifference the production 
 of the famous John Bunyan — as much a bap- 
 tist as a Gill or a Booth, but breathing the spirit 
 of his Lord and Master in favor of open com- 
 munion ? We must do his memory honor in 
 this noble liberality of his soul, as much as for 
 the singular and inimitable production of his 
 " Pilgrim's Progress," known and regarded the 
 wide civilized world through. Roger Williams, 
 to whom we have before referred, renowned in 
 the history of liberty, civil and religious, in both 
 England and America, where he took a noble 
 part in struggles worthy of his bold and liberal 
 soul. Then the celebrated Robert Hall, with 
 giant mind, profound acquirements, and unri- 
 valled oratory, laid hold of the horns of restrict- 
 ed communion, and shook the monster to a com- 
 
276 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 plete shadow ! Next among many others that 
 we think of is the great Alexander Carson, the 
 man that was admitted by all master-minds to 
 be in advance of his age : he saw so far into the 
 truthfulness of unrestricted communion as to 
 declare it a self-evident principle, and saw about 
 as much authority in the Scriptures for restrict- 
 ed communion among the baptist denomination 
 as the papists did for the doctrine of transub- 
 stantiation; and it may be judged (for it is in 
 print), from the way in which he handled that 
 fallacy, that he would have strangled restricted 
 communion (had he come out upon it fully) as 
 he would a lizard from a bog upon which he 
 might set his foot. Had his life been spared, 
 he purposed giving to the world his views of 
 that system, which he utterly denounced, as 
 without authority in the word of God. But 
 there are those who possess his views upon the 
 subject, given from his own lips: they tell us 
 that possibly they shall some day give them 
 forth in a printed form — and this is no more 
 than the religious community will expect from 
 them. Their testimony is, that had the doctor 
 written his own sentiments, the baptist denomi- 
 nation must have stood amazed at the absurdity 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 277 
 
 of the position they had all along been striving 
 to defend. 
 
 We have now noticed the circumstances of 
 the times connected with the history of the 
 " Baptist Denomination" in Europe, and a few 
 of the men who have taken sides in its internal 
 dissensions. We must now pass on to other 
 phases of its appearance. 
 
 SECTION VI. AMERICAN BAPTISTS. 
 
 It is but a running glance of necessity that 
 we have taken of the rise and progress of Euro- 
 pean baptists, and the particular feature of the 
 tenet of close communion, catching more defi- 
 nitely a few prominent objects which fell in our 
 way. It will be for those interested in the sub- 
 ject, seeking more information, to peruse eccle- 
 siastical history. We have now to look at the 
 aspect of the baptist denomination on the con- 
 tinent of America, but more especially of the 
 United States. 
 
 The New World, having been comparatively 
 but lately discovered, has necessarily been main- 
 ly peopled by emigrants and their posterity from 
 the civilized world, within the period of the 
 
278 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 Reformatian. That which transpired in the Old 
 World, with all the factions, political and reli- 
 gious, they participated in till they could endure 
 them no longer. The principal settlers in the 
 states having been thus embroiled in the com- 
 motions of European troubles, the feelings they 
 
 cherished there were constitutionally the same 
 
 • 
 
 in their transplanted condition. The new coun- 
 try which they inhabited afforded opportunity 
 for expansion of feeling and mind, because not 
 so obstructed on every hand by laws and senti- 
 ments inimical to those which they had em- 
 braced under altogether unfavorable auspices. 
 The baptists, who were persecuted and fled from 
 their fatherland to America, had been mostly 
 fostered under the restrictive principle of close 
 communion, the features of which we have seen, 
 and the results of which are manifest to the 
 present day. 
 
 Whatever condemnatory feelings may have 
 been cherished in relation to laws and govern- 
 ment in their native homes, the feelings to their 
 religious associations were of a different charac- 
 ter. They may have looked upon civil and po- 
 litical institutions which had brought upon them 
 losses, sorrow, and separation from relatives and 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 279 
 
 native soil, with abhorrence and hatred; but 
 their religious predilections were cherished and 
 doubly dear to their hearts ; they suffered main- 
 ly for them, and valued them still more dearly 
 from a review of all that had been experienced. 
 We, therefore, might expect that the baptists, 
 in their particular views and restrictive tenet, 
 would be more rigid than even their brethren 
 who never had such associations as expatriation 
 was calculated to foster : and so it is. 
 
 The baptists who forsook the continent of Eu- 
 rope, and Great Britain and Ireland, were most- 
 ly poor, from what they had suffered at home. 
 They were also illiterate in the general, and 
 with but few exceptions they had their preju- 
 dices doubly bound around them, as principles 
 which they believed to be truth .and godliness. 
 
 As the result, of mental reflection, however, 
 they, as well as the European baptists, soon be- 
 gan to turn from the considerations which had 
 driven them to the practice of restricted com- 
 munion, to the more legitimate grounds upon 
 which all practice should be regulated. Their 
 notions were that their practice was right, scrip- 
 tural, and approved by God ; but a stronger de- 
 fence for such a line of conduct became neces- 
 
280 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 sary, and nothing could be more desirable than 
 an established belief, that the practice adopted 
 was and had been the practice of those who had 
 observed the primitive order and institutions of 
 the gospel from the days of Christ down to the 
 present time. Nothing could be easier than 
 what remained to be done, in order to cherish 
 this notion and make the whole appear admira- 
 bly consistent and uniform. The following mode 
 of reasoning was necessarily the one pursued 
 with such minds: — 
 
 'Disciples were baptized by command of Je- 
 sus, then added to the church, and came to the 
 table of the Lord. Here is the order observed 
 — none in the church but baptized believers — 
 the Lord's Supper a church ordinance: there- 
 fore exclusive communion is scriptural.' These 
 limited views were then brought to the New 
 Testament, not to be tested by all its bearings, 
 or to see the truthfulness of the reasoning as 
 well as the legitimate character of the conclu- 
 sions, but to make the word confirm what was 
 the undoubted belief previously entertained. 
 
 It is easy to see how by such a process the 
 mind might become confirmed in prepossessed 
 opinions, and the word of God be made the in- 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 281 
 
 strument of fixing the mind in opinions contrary 
 to its spirit, and directly erroneous. If we want 
 the mind and will of God to be manifest to us 
 at any expense, we must forsake denominational 
 bulwarks, be regardless of name or party, lay 
 aside prepossessed notions, and inquire at the 
 oracle of the New Testament in a teachable 
 spirit. If Messrs. Gill, Booth, and others, had 
 done this when becoming the advocates for re- 
 stricted communion, they never would have so 
 deceived themselves as to have untremblingly 
 affirmed that close communion was the law of 
 God's house ; that it was the command of Christ, 
 and a violation of the will of Christ not to ob- 
 serve it ; with many other such bold assertions. 
 If we ask for the letter of the enactment to see 
 that it is law, or anything approaching to it, 
 they are dumb, or equivocating, or forsake their 
 point for inference or example. It is a mere 
 display of words, but becomes highly sinful to 
 declare that it is " thus saith the Lord," when 
 he has never spoken nor implied it. We can 
 unhesitatingly declare that, when they say, * It 
 is the law of Christ,' that it is not, and that there 
 is no more a positive law to favor restricted com- 
 munion than there is positive law for the wor- 
 
282 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 ship of the host, or for clerical exclusiveness, 
 which the papists observe. 
 
 But why are American churches bound in 
 such a spell? Surely the passing away of two 
 or three generations ought to have wrought de- 
 liverance in the minds of a people glorying in 
 freedom, and who profess to think and act for 
 themselves. Though their forefathers were twice 
 bound to the religious narrowness they contract- 
 ed under the mighty load they sustained in Eu- 
 rope, and though their immediate successors 
 may have imbibed the same spirit from them, 
 surely the days ought now to have arrived for 
 emancipation. Seeing that about eight genera- 
 tions have passed, surely such prejudices, such 
 narrow conceptions and unwarrantable dogmas, 
 should have waxed old, and vanished away. 
 
 SECTION VII. BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 UNDER A YOKE. 
 
 So it is, that where civilization, learning, and 
 commercial enterprise, nourish — where freedom 
 is esteemed the dignity of the man, and where 
 felicity arises from " the lines having fallen in 
 pleasant places" — there the baptist is in many 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 283 
 
 respects the veriest slave to religious opinions, 
 which he must sustain though he may hate. 
 He is not legally bound, but he is ecclesiasti- 
 cally bound. 
 
 Is prejudice for ever to be in the gates of the 
 citadel? is the mind to be pent up by it in un- 
 enlightened bigotry? Are the fetters never to 
 be made to yield, but to be regarded as the or- 
 naments of religion ? Is there ever to be that 
 ecclesiastical asthmatical difficulty in breathing, 
 though the soul longs for expansion? Is the 
 dreadful ban of clerical and church discipline, 
 and the fearful sword of excommunication, to 
 haunt the soul, as in night-visions, when the 
 thought would seem to demand the considera- 
 tion, 'Is restricted communion according to the 
 will of God and of Christ, whose I am and whom 
 I serve? is it in accordance with the spirit of 
 his liberal and lovely dispensation V 
 
 We can suppose that, in the minds of the 
 timid inquirers about the will of Jesus in this 
 matter, a sort of soliloquy: ' I love them that 
 love Thee, but wherein do I manifest it if I am 
 as a disjointed member from the bod) 7 , or vio- 
 lently sever others from me, at that table where 
 all the followers of Christ are invited to come 
 
284: 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 free from any condition but that of faith in him, 
 where all are cemented into one body, and where 
 by spiritual communion with Christ all the j oints 
 of every denominational feature are brought vis- 
 ibly into one body, "fitly joined together, and 
 compacted by that which every joint supplieth, 
 according to the effectual working in the meas- 
 ure of every part, mak.th increase of the body, 
 unto the edifying of itself in love." Surely I 
 am a miserable partisan in my restricted views. 
 I would fain cherish the thought to receive all 
 whom Christ receives, but such thought must 
 be nipped in the bud ! 
 
 ' I wonder if it can be that there will be two, 
 or five, or fifty companies in heaven of differ- 
 ent denominations? Will baptists in the world 
 to come exclude from their worshipping assem- 
 bly the unbaptized, for multitudes go to heaven 
 that have never submitted to the ordinance as 
 we regard it — therefore they must be for ever 
 as the unbaptized? if not fit for the fellowship 
 of the church on earth, how can they be for that 
 in heaven ? But the word of God assures us 
 that there is but one communion of saints in 
 heaven, so that they can not be separated there. 
 Is it right, then, to divide ourselves in this world 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 285 
 
 from those to whom we shall be eternally uni- 
 ted hereafter? Is it for the baptist denomina- 
 tion that Christ prayed " that they all may be 
 one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, 
 that they also may be one in us : that the world 
 may believe that thou hast sent me"? No — 
 surely that prayer regards all disciples. "Well, 
 I am grieved in soul that I must not, as a bap- 
 tist, be one at the Lord's table with an immense- 
 ly large majority of those who are my brethren 
 and sisters in Christ ; sorry I am that my pure 
 desires for union with all that love Jesus must 
 be coerced to party manifestations, and make 
 schism in the body of Christ. But, my thoughts, 
 you must be suppressed; you make me unhap- 
 py. To cherish you may lead me to inquiry of 
 others in this matter ; and then I may have, un- 
 der the rigorous sentence of excommunication, 
 to wander an outcast upon the face of the earth !' 
 A considerable number of baptists, under the 
 oppression of restrictive communion, so reflect 
 and so converse in their own thoughts. They 
 detest from their very souls the restraint laid 
 upon the best and purest desires of their heaven- 
 born minds ; they groan under the yoke, from 
 which they can not see a way of deliverance 
 
286 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 without being the objects of such discipline as 
 may deprive them of a religious character in 
 society ; they have been so overawed, that moral 
 courage has forsaken them, and they are slaves 
 in mind to a system as unlike the pure spirit of 
 the Christian dispensation in that particular as 
 hell is unlike heaven. 
 
 Ye, who love pure freedom in all things, and 
 abominate the system of restricted communion, 
 come forth, and show yourselves to be true men ; 
 cast off the } 7 oke, and leave it for those who love 
 and cherish it, to enjoy it, if they can, but do you 
 enjoy that liberty which Christ has given you. 
 
 American baptists, your fraternity are free 
 but in that one thing which gives liberty to free- 
 dom — the right of judgment in matters of reli- 
 gion. You are great but in that one thing which 
 gi ves nobleness to greatness. At least one fourth 
 of your members have thoughts of noble birth, 
 but they dare not speak them ; they have wills 
 to be liberal and free, but are spell-bound by 
 warning and threats ; they have consciences to 
 justify what is G-odlike, but are restrained from 
 obeying their dictates. 
 
 Look at all other denominations — they are 
 comparatively happy and free ; they have no 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. - 287 
 
 fears that, for communing with other Christian 
 companies at the table of the Lord, they shall 
 suffer the judgment of excision from their par- 
 ticular society ; they do not tremble and groan 
 under heavy taskmasters. There is a mystery 
 in it — who can unravel it? You groan, being 
 burdened, and hitherto you have made no effort 
 to be free. The system under which you are 
 bound is only a vile deformity under the name 
 of Christian. 
 
 Thus far behind all other religious bodies, you 
 have yet to look for the morning dawn of your 
 freedom, when you shall, in spite of threats and 
 judgments, cherish reciprocal fellowship with 
 all disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the 
 dawn of that morning is appearing. The agita- 
 tion in the minds of the whole body is great ; 
 means have been resorted to for suppressing it, 
 and those who should cherish it are the first to 
 take measures to destroy it. Denominational 
 distinction, however degrading it may be to ev- 
 ery faculty of the mind, however untenable by 
 revelation, is to some as their skin to their flesh. 
 
 It is useless for ministers to talk about put- 
 ting the padlock upon the lips of their constitu- 
 ency, to prevent their inquiry into the truthful- 
 
288 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 ness of restricted communion. Some of them 
 have lately suggested this discipline, but the 
 time is gone by for gagging ; and a searching, 
 prayerful inquiry must follow, when the thin 
 covering will be removed, and men will be as- 
 tounded that they could so long have yielded 
 to such a flimsy defence for restricted commun- 
 ion. Baptist churches in the United States are 
 destined soon to go in advance of their brethren 
 of liberal sentiment in England and on the con- 
 tinent of Europe. They must be free — and 
 doubtless some individuals are living now who 
 will have to say that they recollect the time 
 when baptist churches were bound by restricted 
 principles of communion. 
 
 SECTION VIII. SUMMARY REMARKS. 
 
 We have seen that the origin of baptist de- 
 nominational churches and restricted commun- 
 ion is comparatively of recent date, yet but few 
 baptists know this. Many, very many, have 
 verily thought that the baptist denomination 
 was a succession from the apostolic churches 
 down to this day, and that they retained the 
 sign manual of the apostles of our Lord Jesus 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 289 
 
 Christ for all that they observed. They have 
 not been able to think otherwise than that none 
 but truant baptists could venture to commune 
 with Christians of another denomination with- 
 out chastisement ; and if repentance did not fol- 
 low, with confession never to be truant again, 
 they must be unceremoniously dismissed from 
 fellowship as contumacious. 
 
 But such baptists have not been informed, nor 
 have they examined ecclesiastical history them- 
 selves to ascertain the fact that, for the first fif- 
 teen hundred years of the Christian dispensation, 
 baptism was no ground for separating Christians 
 at the table of the Lord. 
 
 The master-mind of the late Dr. Carson, which 
 would never suffer him to mince matters, led 
 him to avow that restricted communion was con- 
 trary to all scripture principle. He thus writes 
 upon the subject, from the church at Tubber- 
 more to the church of Christ in New York : "If 
 that brotherly intercourse, and earnest care for 
 eacli other, that subsisted among the churches 
 in the days of the apostles, is not to be found 
 among those who profess to follow their prac- 
 tice, as far as it was approved by Jesus, the 
 causes ought to be sought out and removed. 
 
 13 
 
290 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 In our opinion, the chief of those causes is not 
 the difference of sentiment, great and greatly to 
 be deplored as this is, but is owing to the exer- 
 cise of an authority never conferred on the 
 churches by the Lord Jesus : to refuse or ex- 
 clude, for difference of sentiment, any of those 
 who give evidence that they have been bought 
 by the blood of Christ. . . . Notwithstanding all 
 that we have heard in favor of this plan, we still 
 deem it the wisdom of man. Accordingly, we 
 have found that God has made foolish this wis- 
 dom. Long has it been tried without success; 
 and of late, in some parts of Ireland, it has been 
 carried so far, that some individuals can scarce- 
 ly find a second to unite with them in constant 
 fellowship. By permitting Satan to work them 
 up to this frenzy, it appears to ns that God has 
 affixed his seal of disapprobation on the senti- 
 ment in its lowest degree, and to lead sober- 
 minded Christians who have been led away by 
 its plausibility to examine more attentively the 
 ground of their opinion. 
 
 "We entreat you to examine this subject — 
 recollecting that, if it he sinful to receive any 
 that Christ has forbidden, it is also sinful to 
 refuse any that he has invited. There is no 
 
BAPTIST DENOMINATION. 291 
 
 6afe side in error ! That Jesus will not approve 
 of refusing fellowship to any of his brethren, 
 known to be such, appears to us to have the irre- 
 sistible light of self-evident truth." 
 
 But let us ask you, brethren, who are of close- 
 communion societies, is it now that you will 
 hear the signal to be free? is it now with you 
 as with one of the ancient tribes, when the Lord 
 was about to set his people free? — it is said, 
 "For the divisions of Reuben there were great 
 searchings of heart" (Judges 5 : 15). Surely the 
 agitation in the whole denomination, and the 
 serious convictions of so many in most of the 
 churches that the present system is unscriptu- 
 ral, must be intimation from Heaven that it is 
 to be tested and rejected. 
 
 It behooves you, in the maintenance of your 
 own individual responsibility before God, in all 
 religious matters to look the subject fairly in 
 all its bearings, and see how the principles can 
 possibly bear the test of rigid, faithful scrutiny. 
 Try your principles fairly by the word of God, 
 and the result is certain that you will cast them 
 from you, hating the sophistry by which you 
 had been induced to suffer such arguments to 
 prevail over your better judgments. 
 
292 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 But in concluding this part, as we take a can- 
 did survey of the path through which we have 
 passed, and the position at which we have ar- 
 rived, let us reflect for a moment. We see bap- 
 tists in the sixteenth century at first huddled to- 
 gether in a denominational form, partly by eccle- 
 siastical pressure around. If we throw aside the 
 Miinster insurgents and immoral fanatics, with 
 their associates, we may perhaps in charity look 
 back upon the others on the continent of Europe 
 and in Great Britain as sincere in heart, and 
 cherish loving feelings to their memory. The 
 remembrance of their trials will lead to the in- 
 dulgence of strong sympathies of regard. Their 
 close communion was more an accident of the 
 times in which they lived than Christian prefer- 
 ence to exclusiveness. 
 
 In looking at the onward course of restricted 
 communion, if there were nothing scripturally 
 justifiable in its rise (as most assuredly there was 
 not), what was there in the whole review of its 
 aspect in past generations to court our sympa- 
 thies or to sanction its indulgence? Alas! it 
 is fraught with evils dangerous in the last de- 
 gree ; and while reflecting on them we may well 
 pray, from all such, " Good Lord deliver us !" 
 
PART VII. 
 
 FEATURES OF RESTRICTED AND 
 FREE COMMUNION. 
 
 SECT. I. THE BASIS UPON WHICH CLOSE AND OPEN 
 
 COMMUNION RESTS WITH BAPTISTS. 
 
 Restricted and free communion are terms of 
 distinction among baptists, very frequently not 
 understood by baptists themselves ; and there- 
 fore require that we should make some brief 
 allusion to them in a general manner, and then 
 proceed to examine each under its operative 
 influence. 
 
 We have done, for the present, with exempli- 
 fying the position of restrictive-communion bap- 
 tists — proving it to be one of cherishing a tenet 
 without any foundation in the word of God. It 
 has been demonstrated to be perfectly antago- 
 nistical to every feature of the New Testament, 
 
294: ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 and calculated only to foster strife, contention, 
 pride, and division; this its history lamentably 
 displays, and it is equally manifest in every sys- 
 tem where men usurp authority, and take upon 
 themselves at their own suggestion the right to 
 rule conscience, coerce to uniformity, and tram- 
 ple under foot for non-compliance. 
 
 Systems of men's devising have done fearful 
 hurt to the church of Christ. Many have in 
 the Lord's kingdom, according to his parable, 
 taken their fellow-servants and beaten them, 
 disregarding altogether the will of the Lord him- 
 self. Had the restricted communion baptists 
 the opportunity to display the principle by which 
 their system is governed, they would show them- 
 selves to be the most intolerant of all religious 
 sects. 
 
 The reason why so little is known of the dis- 
 tinctive features between these two branches of 
 the denomination is, from the conduct of those 
 who cherish close communion toward any who 
 differ from them. Instead of investigating the 
 subject, it has been the uniform practice to pro- 
 scribe and cry down, if possible, all who have 
 advocated a liberal and Christian conduct in 
 reference to the Lord's table. Never did De- 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 295 
 
 metritis more violently set to work to suppress 
 the doctrine of Christianity propagated by the 
 apostles than have close-communion baptists to 
 prevent unrestricted-communion principles from 
 being received or understood. 
 
 Perhaps a very large majority of the baptist 
 constituency have yet to understand what those 
 advocate who are esteemed almost as heretics 
 when they avow their adhesion to open com- 
 munion. It is a common thing to hear them 
 charged with being in error upon a most essen- 
 tial doctrine of the Christian faith. Of course, 
 they who make the charge have imbibed the 
 impression from teachers who have uttered their 
 serious dread of such notions, and have even 
 given the worst of names to those who have 
 espoused more Christlike feelings toward the 
 church of Christ than they have entertained. 
 
 Now, in the very face of things, such a line 
 of proceeding evidently implies to every mind 
 of sound reason that there must be something 
 fundamentally wrong in a system where its ad- 
 vocates have recourse to such stratagems to 
 frighten people, that they may fall back, the 
 dupes and prey of designing partisans. It is 
 because of these unmanly proceedings, that it 
 
296 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 is necessary to make plain and set forth in the 
 most simple manner the ground of difference 
 existing in these two systems. 
 
 It is known to all baptists that restricted com- 
 munion means the refusing to go to the table 
 of the Lord with any believer, godly as he may 
 be, who is not a member of a baptist church of 
 the same faith and order. It is a principle w T hich 
 gives no such privilege to any child of God, un- 
 less he has observed the ordinance of believers' 
 baptism by immersion ; and though a member 
 of a church in another denomination, it consid- 
 ers him unworthy of a place at the same table 
 with a baptist. It used to be declared that no 
 denomination except the baptist had a right to 
 commemorate the Lord^ death by breaking 
 bread — that is, eating his supper ; but this was 
 seen to assume so much, that every enlightened 
 mind was soon disposed to reject it, but the 
 principle embraces the sentiment still. There 
 is manifest inconsistency in saying what they 
 do now — that is, that those who are esteemed 
 by the baptists unbaptized u cwe fulJ/y justified 
 in observing the ordinance of the Lord's Sup- 
 per among themselves" while they declare their 
 unfitness to do so in their assembly. If eligible 
 
RESTICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 297 
 
 to the observance of the religious rite at all, they 
 must be so everywhere, and in every Christian 
 societ}\ 
 
 Another feature of restricted communion is, 
 the authority which it claims over the liberty 
 of its adherents. No member is allowed, under 
 any circumstance, to commune with any other 
 church but such as is of the same faith and or- 
 der. To do so is to be open to the censure of 
 the church, when a confession of the act as a 
 grievous offence before God must be made, and 
 a promise not to be similarly guilty again is ex- 
 torted, or probably excommunication may be 
 the penalty. 
 
 But that which is shut up in mystery is the 
 true principle of open communion : some have 
 said one thing and some another, and the most 
 part have thought dreadful things, yet really 
 known nothing. It is enough for many to hear 
 that an individual is an open-communion bap- 
 tist, and they at once conceive him* to be some 
 frightful monster ! It has been not a little amu- 
 sing sometimes to observe with what caution 
 and alarm the question has been put, " What is 
 open communion f n and this, too, by some min- 
 isters, who are in the habit of warning the peo- 
 
 13* 
 
298 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 pie against the error, as they call it : so little do 
 they know what is embraced in the term " open 
 communion." 
 
 The first tiling in disabusing the mind is, to 
 affirm that it has no affinity to a doctrinal error, 
 even were it an error at all. There may be 
 some difficulty in convincing the mind of this, 
 so strongly has the idea been cherished ; but 
 when you come to explain the nature of a doc- 
 trinal error — show that open communion, in its 
 most aggravated aspect, if unscriptural, could 
 only be regarded as a misconception of the use 
 or bearing of a symbolical ordinance upon Chris- 
 tian conduct and practice — and that, if any 
 error is committed, it is only in extending the 
 privilege of the celebration of an ordinance to 
 Christians beyond the boundary, that restricted 
 baptists judge to be consistent — tin's proved, 
 the prejudice and dread are somewhat abated, 
 and there is a calmer hearing given to what 
 further needs explanation. 
 
 The next thing is — admitting, for argument's 
 sake, that it is an error to extend the privileges 
 of observing a Christian ordinance to pedobap- 
 tists — to show that it is not done to any who 
 are wilfully neglecting the command of Christ 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 299 
 
 to be baptized, but upon the strong conviction 
 in their minds that they have, in a manner fully- 
 answering the ends of Christ's command, been 
 baptized. They differ with us baptists upon the 
 ground that our view of administering the ordi- 
 nance is not of necessity — that is, not the only 
 one to render it valid and duly observed. They 
 are not, then, treating any command of Christ 
 with open and wilful contempt. This is suffi- 
 cient to prove that there is not that dreadful 
 enormity in fellowship with them as had been 
 imagined. 
 
 First, then, open communion i's not a doctri- 
 nal error ; and next, it is no error in practice 
 so far as countenancing a wilful violation of 
 any Christian duty. From this position we can, 
 in our turn, assume the character of examiners 
 — as it materially softens down prejudice, ex- 
 plains in some measure the true position, and 
 shows the injustice done by restricted commun- 
 ionists to their brethren who depart from their 
 circumscribed notions of communion. 
 
 The first question is, ' Which of two evils is 
 the greater — an error concerning the grand 
 truths of revelation necessary to be received 
 and believed to the salvation of the soul, or an 
 
300 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 error respecting certain observances in religious 
 practices, no way immoral, but bearing upon 
 extended liberality in an ordinance of worship V 
 Every right-thinking mind does not want a mo- 
 ment to decide upon this question : the answer 
 is prompt that the first error so outweighs the 
 second, that in comparison the latter is no error 
 at all by the side of the former. 
 
 We then ask how it is that restricted-com- 
 munion baptists can foster every shade of doc- 
 trinal error, and have no conscientious scruples 
 against such, but commune with men holding 
 them because baptized, and yet direct all their 
 artillery against those who are more Christian 
 and liberal than themselves? How is it that 
 thjey are so on the alert to put a veto upon even 
 the slightest whisper of open communion, yet 
 never lift up their voice against fundamental 
 doctrinal error, but suffer to pass unnoticed all 
 kinds of error on the grave points which affect 
 salvation, and receive and countenance in fra- 
 ternal bonds those who boldly affirm them ? 
 
 It is too manifest that there is no love of 
 Christ or his gospel in this, but a determination 
 to cherish partisanship, denominational dogmas, 
 and subscriptions to uniformity in comparative 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 301 
 
 non-essentials, at all hazards. Alas ! how like 
 are these to the scribes and Pharisees addressed 
 thns by our Lord in his day : " Wo unto yon, 
 scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are 
 like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed ap- 
 pear beautiful outwardly, but are within full of 
 dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even 
 so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, 
 hut within are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." 
 But further we spare these unaccountable stick- 
 lers for their uniformity in observing an ordi- 
 nance, by not referring to the many righteous 
 castigations which the Saviour in his word gives 
 them, as possessing similar features of character 
 to the men he addressed in his day. 
 
 SECT. II. THE RELATION OPEN COMMUNION BEARS 
 
 TO THE SO-CALLED BAPTIST CHURCHES. 
 
 It is very extensively believed that open com- 
 munion exposes the views of baptists to becom- 
 ing eventually suppressed by a majority of pe- 
 dobaptists entering the societies of baptists and 
 voting down believers' baptism by immersion, 
 thus establishing infant sprinkling in its place. 
 
 Here it is evident that open communion and 
 
302 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 open societies, whicli are two distinct tilings, are 
 confounded. But even if churches were open, 
 we have no such fears about the issue respect- 
 ing the ordinance of baptism. Truth, sooner or 
 later, will be sustained ; and when it is left for 
 its own defence, it will rapidly advance to its 
 rightful elevation much more so than by any 
 attempts on the part of man to shield and de- 
 fend it by foreign and unscriptural means; 
 truth requires a "fair field and no favor." Let 
 baptists take oif the fetters with which they have 
 bound the ordinance, and they will soon find 
 that it will gain ten to one converts more than 
 they are making by all their solicitude and guar- 
 dianship. In the past history of the church, 
 where error of an3 r kind, doctrinal or practical, 
 has made headway, and truth been put down, 
 the arm of human and. civil power has been in- 
 voked, and it has been granted to the full. But 
 enlightened ages now and in the future will re- 
 volt at the idea of granting such aid; therefore 
 the conflict will be one of principle, and the less 
 truth is weakened by the professed protection 
 of human strength (rather weakness), the sooner 
 will she be triumphant. We therefore feel as- 
 sured that open churches would advance bap- 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 303 
 
 tists' views more than anything else ; but we 
 turn to the question, * What is open commun- 
 ion?' as the point more directly under our pres- 
 ent discussion. 
 
 Open communion does not imply open socie- 
 ties : they are distinct things. Open commun- 
 ion means no more nor less than this, that the 
 societies bearing the name of baptist churches 
 shall be exclusive in admitting to membership; 
 that none shall compose such societies but what 
 have been baptized by immersion upon confes- 
 sion of faith : but in coming to the table of the 
 Lord there shall be no restriction of the kind, 
 but members of other orthodox Christian socie- 
 ties (that is, such as believe in the person and 
 work of Christ as the only way of salvation) 
 shall be welcome, thus acknowledging that full 
 right which Jesus has given to all who believe 
 in his name to break bread in remembrance of 
 him. 
 
 Close-communion baptists assume a lordship 
 over the liberties of the consciences of their in- 
 dividual members; they confine their brethren 
 to a certain limit in observing the command of 
 Christ to break bread in remembrance of him. 
 Under no circumstances are they allowed know- 
 
304 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 ingly to go to the table of the Lord with a pedo- 
 baptist nor with baptist churches practising open 
 communion. The law of close communion is 
 definite, though much partiality is displayed in 
 enforcing it, as we shall presently show, and 
 this is one of the glaring evils of the system. 
 
 It demands of all its members that they shall 
 never obey the command of Christ in eating his 
 supper, unless they do it with such exclusive 
 societies. If their lot be cast where such a one 
 is not, though all other Christian denominations 
 may be found, who would welcome them to 
 participate in celebrating the Lord's death, they 
 must not comply — no, not even with an open- 
 communion baptist church ; so that conscience 
 is bound in that one glorious feature of Christ's 
 dispensation, love — and, what is worse, bound 
 to be disobedient to Christ's command. Such 
 a course restricted communionists demand of 
 all their members. 
 
 On the other hand, open-communion baptists 
 are not bound in any such way. It is consid- 
 ered that when absent from the company of 
 those Christians in whose fraternal bonds, by 
 association, they are necessarily more closely 
 linked — that, wherever they may be placed in 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 305 
 
 the Divine providence for a time — they can 
 fulfil their Lord's command to meet at his table 
 with any society of Christians, none daring to 
 make them afraid. They view the table as 
 spread for the members of Christ's visible body ; 
 and, upon making known that they are of that 
 body, they feel that they have no barrier, but 
 commune there for the time being with their 
 Saviour in his death and sufferings for them. 
 There is liberty, in the true sense of the word, 
 to obey Christ's commands according to the dic- 
 tates of conscience, exercising love as the Scrip- 
 tures unfold, with all that love our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and serve him in sincerity and truth. 
 
 Close-communion baptists guard the table of 
 the Lord, by giving permission to none other 
 to commune with them but those members in 
 good standing with churches of the same faith 
 and order. It is therefore regarded as exclu- 
 sively an ordinance instituted for none other 
 than believers baptized by immersion, and such 
 as bind themselves to be exclusive in their prac- 
 tice. 
 
 Open-communion baptists admit, as occasion- 
 al communicants, members of other denomina- 
 tions to the Lord's table ; they do it, recognising 
 
306 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 the entire truth of the principle that it is the 
 lord's table, that he has instituted the ordi- 
 nance, and that for all the visible members of 
 his body, the church. 
 
 Here it may be said that we have so far stated 
 the features which give the distinctive appella- 
 tions to restricted and open communion baptist 
 societies. Surely it is not the intention of any 
 candid Christian, though he practise restricted 
 communion, to justify all that angry feeling and 
 everlasting commotion which is displayed in 
 the support of the dogma of restricted com- 
 munion. 
 
 We, in our more liberal course, would follow 
 on in a quiet, inoffensive way, like the smooth 
 surface of a running stream, to be lost in the 
 ocean at last; but these never-peaceful parti- 
 sans, fighting with every one who will not sub- 
 scribe to all they ignorantly force upon them, 
 are full of commotions, backbitings, swellings, 
 and tumults ; in their own fellowship usurping 
 over each other, and, like so many little, petty 
 despots, they march abroad with the same spirit 
 of bitter dissension, to quarrel with more peace- 
 able 60ciety,and so perturb the harmony of all, 
 as far as in them lieth. 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 307 
 
 Suppose a man to say, for conscience' sake 
 toward God: 'I am a baptist, but no advocate 
 for restricted communion. I give to others the 
 full right to enjoy their opinions 'without my 
 interference, and so I expect they will extend 
 the same to me 1 ? To this they pay no heed — 
 the badge is put on him : like so many mosqui- 
 toes they come round him in his private life and 
 public walk to teaze and annoy ; they have him 
 everlastingly their object of assault. He takes 
 a quiet, inoffensive course ; but no matter to 
 them — they will not let him rest; they cry 
 him down as an evil, they warn others to avoid 
 him, and they say all manner of evil things 
 against him, to fortify the minds of the people 
 against the effects of the salutary truths he may 
 utter, just as was practised before in the life of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Open-communion baptists therefore have nev- 
 er appeared publicly in defence of their strong 
 position till the time has passed for all righteous 
 forbearance with their restless and quarrelsome 
 neighbors of restricted notions. Then they have 
 revealed the truth of their sentiments, and have 
 uniformly battered the whole system of their 
 opponents ; proved it undeniably true that ij is 
 
308 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 of man, and not of God ; and labored to expose 
 as little as possible (in the defence of truth) the 
 sophistry of their antagonists. 
 
 SECTION in. THE TOWERS THE TWO INSTITUTIONS 
 
 POSSESS TO SUSTAIN THEIR GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 We have noticed a few particulars of what 
 these two societies require of their members. 
 They are bound to different observances in rela- 
 tion to all other Christians upon the face of the 
 earth. Let us see their several powers for fol- 
 lowing up these requirements. These powers 
 they possess, unless the regulations or require- 
 ments are the invention of fanatics: neither 
 God nor reasonable beings ever laid down reg- 
 ulations which were impossible to follow. 
 
 Let it be borne in mind that we are not here 
 pursuing a course of investigation, as if it yet 
 remained to be proved that restricted commun- 
 ion was not of G<»d nor Christ. We regard this 
 as proved to demonstration in what has before 
 been considered — the fallacy of the system ex- 
 ploded — and the principles altogether proved to 
 be antiscriptural. We are now submitting it to 
 ortier tests, to show its falsity in various lights. 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 309 
 
 As there is no positive law given by Christ 
 making baptism a prerequisite to the Lord's 
 table, restricted communion must be founded 
 upon the supposition of the infallibility of their 
 judgments who practise it, and the requirement 
 of an entire submission to all that Christ has 
 commanded to be observed. They act upon the 
 first, concluding that it is impossible for them 
 to err respecting what Christ requires, when it 
 is clear that he has not given them law. In the 
 second also they are perfectly at fault. 
 
 Restricted communion, established upon the 
 ground that there must he entire submission to 
 the commands of Christ, or there is no coming 
 to the table of the Lord, assumes a position 
 which, if correct, no one individual on earth 
 could have ever had a right to have approached 
 the Lord's table — concerning which, he said at 
 its institution, " This do, as oft as ye do it, hi 
 rememurdnce of me." 
 
 Close communion has been by men invested 
 witli requisites for directing communion at the 
 Lord's table which absolutely overthrow com- 
 munion at that table altogether. It is therefore 
 a system destructive of what it assumes to cher- 
 ish. Baptists of close-communion sentiment are 
 
310 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 not capable of carrying out the object of their 
 adhesion. Mark well the process of reasoning, 
 and the most forcible, too, as the} r consider, to 
 which they constantly resort : ' Baptism is a com- 
 mand of Christ's, binding on all his disciples: 
 therefore, baptism is a prerequisite to the Lord's 
 Supper: ergo, the whole code of laws which 
 Christ has given (saying, concerning them, u If 
 ye love me, keep ray commandments" ) is bind- 
 ing on all his disciples : therefore, all these com- 
 mands observed are prerequisites to the observ- 
 ance of the Lord's Supper.' 
 
 This position will evidently take them by sur- 
 prise, and we can suppose them exclaiming, 
 1 No ! no /' But we say, ' What, then, is not 
 this the legitimate ground upon which you 
 place your authority for excluding from the 
 table of the Lord the members of pedobaptist 
 churches?' and they give the ready answer — 
 ' No, we confine it to the obedience to the re- 
 quirement of baptism.' 
 
 Now just give us your authority to relax and 
 to bind at your pleasure the commands of Christ. 
 You all admit that Christ has given no command 
 to exclude the unbaptized ; and therefore, if it 
 be upon the principle of obedience to a com- 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 311 
 
 mand, you can not, as we have shown before, 
 make an exception, and take what command 
 you please. Who can tell but in a few years 
 you may make the washing of the disciples' feet 
 the prerequisite ? but we would rather suggest 
 that the next change as prerequsite to commun- 
 ion should be the binding precept, " Owe no 
 man anything, but to love one another." 
 
 It is evident, then, that there is no ability to 
 sustain such a system upon any truthful basis. 
 It proposes, under the failure of its own posi- 
 tion, to make the laws of Christ's kingdom sub- 
 serve its ends. It claims authority over the 
 Lord's table upon the broad principle that obe- 
 dience to what Christ has commanded his dis- 
 ciples to observe, invests with power to shut 
 from that table those who fail in this matter. 
 This position can admit of no exception, for all 
 the commands of Christ must be observed. 
 
 From tire circumstance of professing what is 
 not enjoined by Christ, as a prerequisite to fel- 
 lowship in "breaking of bread," they have ad- 
 vanced a principle going beyond whatever they 
 conceived it to embrace, as the ground of com- 
 munion, and then circumscribed it to the ob- 
 servance of a particular command, arrogantly 
 
312 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 making themselves the authors of terms of com- 
 munion. They then unblushingly put forth 
 their blunders and assumptions as the institu- 
 tions of Heaven ! Robert Hall was perfectly 
 correct when he said : " They have attempted 
 an incongruous mixture of liberal principle 
 ■with a particular act of intolerance / and these, 
 like the iron and clay in the feet of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar' *s image, will not mix. Hence all that 
 want of coherence and system in their mode of 
 reasoning, which might be expected in a de- 
 fence, not of a theory so properly as of a capri- 
 cious sally of prejudice." 
 
 What claims can the principles of restricted 
 communion have «j)on our consideration, when 
 we see that they embrace more than we can 
 fulfil ? Much as we would desire to be so per- 
 fect in our obedience to all commands of Christ 
 as that upon the broad basis of the principle of 
 restricted communion we could go to the Lord's 
 table and say, "Lord, we have done all that 
 thou hast commanded its" — yet we see it is too 
 high : it is like removing that table from us to 
 heaven, while it was intended for us on earth. 
 Then, on the other hand, how destitute are they 
 of claims upon our attention, when men inter- 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 313 
 
 pret the meaning of the principle laid down to 
 the observance of one command, sending at their 
 discretion all others adrift! It becomes evi- 
 dently the terms of men to communion at the 
 Lord's table, and not the Master's requirement 
 at all. 
 
 The principle of open communion is free from 
 such confusion and absurdity; it enforces noth- 
 ing but what the soul of man at once proves 
 to be in accordance with the revelation of the 
 New Testament and sound reason. There is no 
 violence done to conscience, no arbitrary law 
 to comply with, no violation of Christ's precepts, 
 no petty usurpation at his table, no schism of 
 the one true church in the act of commemora- 
 ting the dying love of Christ ; it makes all wel- 
 come to the Lord's table who have joined them- 
 selves to his visible church, and have not erred 
 from the faith of Christ, and yields a perfect 
 liberty to join in any of their assemblies to com- 
 memorate the Lord's death. 
 
 SECTION IV. OPERATIONS OF THE TWO SYSTEMS. 
 
 Close and open communion have a claim to 
 our consideration also in their practical influ- 
 u 
 
314: ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 ence. The more pure and righteous laws are, 
 which are for the government of a people, the 
 more confiding are all the legal authorities in 
 the peaceful disposition of the community. This 
 is equally manifest under professed religious 
 government. To be arbitrary is to be always 
 in fear, rendering necessary stringent enact- 
 ments and perpetual watchfulness to keep in 
 subjection. 
 
 Apply the truth of this to the body of close- 
 communion baptists. Look at their stringent 
 regulations — their attempts to silence inquiry 
 for truth — their threats of excommunication for 
 indulging any liberal sentiment toward other 
 Christians; see the fear, the watchfulness, the 
 want of moral courage, pervading the whole 
 body. What does it imply, but that there is 
 something from beneath interwoven in the S3 T s- 
 tem ? Its very aspect gives the lie to its being 
 from Heaven. But let us look at some of its 
 developments. 
 
 Close communion fosters pride, uncharitable 
 feeling, and isolation. What can be more con- 
 trary to what the gospel inculcates than these? 
 Of course, those who favor it must conclude that 
 
 they have greater knowledge to discover more 
 
 i 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 315 
 
 perfectly the ways of God, so that from their 
 elevation they can look down and say : ' Your 
 ignorance and inconsistency is a bar to your fel- 
 lowship with us; you are not fit society for us 
 when we go to the taMe of the Lord ; stand by, 
 we are holier than you !' We know that again 
 and again they deny this; but what of words? 
 ■ — we can not think anything of what they say 
 to the contrary, while their conduct has a con- 
 firmatory voice like a trumpet. Though doubt- 
 less they arc self-deceived about the principles 
 Avorking in their minds, no human being pos- 
 sessed of common discernment can fail to mark 
 that the system of restricted communion is one 
 of pride, uncharitable feeling, and isolation. 
 The lovers of the system may be blind to its 
 tendency, but they alone are the exception — 
 all the rest of the world besides see it. 
 
 It is a fearfully-persecuting system. Other 
 religious bodies have in times past urged uni- 
 formity with dreadful penalties attached to non- 
 compliance, and the restricted baptist church 
 possesses the principles of their terror. It ex- 
 tends its power as far as it is permitted to hurt 
 the saints for non-compliance to uniformity in 
 the matter of baptism. But we have to thank 
 
316 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 God that lie lias marked out a path less danger- 
 ous than that which was assigned to the myste- 
 ry of iniquity, and the man of sin, for his fear- 
 ful developments, and has kept the baptist de- 
 nomination low in a low place in political des- 
 potic governments, or evidently there would 
 have been no mercy shown to dissentients. 
 
 It is unrighteous to the members admitted to 
 fellowship. It has no mercy upon parental, fil- 
 ial, or conjugal relationships, if they are in the 
 way of its dogmas. Its tendency is to draw off 
 from every social relation in life — to narrow 
 down the best and loveliest feelings, to a little 
 party of bigots. For instance, the parents may 
 be righteous and God-fearing people, honorable 
 members of a Christian church, who have walked 
 in the ways of God blameless, so far as man can 
 see. Their child may become religious ; he is 
 drawn by some means into the society of bap- 
 tists, and sees the ordinance of believers' bap- 
 tism to be scriptural. So far all may be correct, 
 and he be commended for conscientiously yield- 
 ing to believers' baptism; but he is haunted 
 with baptism, to the exclusion of everything 
 else, and is prevailed on to join a close-commun- 
 ion baptist society, and from that moment the 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 317 
 
 principles he must adopt make him a schismatic. 
 His godly parents, who were earnest in praying 
 for his conversion to God, are not to be fellow- 
 shipped with him at the Lord's table, and he 
 must treat them as unworthy of a name and a 
 place among the saints. 
 
 Husbands and wives are divided by this un- 
 holy system. If both be converted to God, and 
 members of churches, they can not approach 
 the Lord's table together ; in the religious train- 
 ing of their children they are divided, and the 
 results have often been painful in the extreme. 
 Infidelity is more likely to take hold of a child's 
 mind than religious feeling from these exhibi- 
 tions of partisan dogmas. It is the same with 
 sincere friends, &c. ; but not to enlarge, we pass 
 to another feature. 
 
 It is a system which unchurches a very large 
 proportion of the denomination. It is here, as 
 a system of religious observance, singularly sui- 
 cidal. It proceeds upon the ground that none 
 but believers baptized by immersion have a 
 right to the Lord's table, at least in the churches 
 of the baptist denomination. It makes baptism 
 the prerequisite to the Lord's table and nothing 
 else ; and yet it shuts out thousands of devoted 
 
318 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 baptists, though acknowledged to be exemplary 
 Christians, for it rejects every open-communion 
 baptist. Consequently it is a system established 
 by falsehood, carried forward by oppression and 
 arbitrary rule, and is antagonistical to almost 
 every principle of the human soul that becomes 
 Godlike in regeneration. 
 
 Happily, the system of unrestricted commun- 
 ion needs none of these dreadful features in its 
 workings. Believers' baptism is regarded as 
 the ordinance of Heaven, and is duly observed. 
 Christian societies are formed upon the princi- 
 ple that the members of them ought to be bap- 
 tized believers ; but, upon coming to the table 
 of the Lord, these societies are not regarded as 
 exclusively the church. In the ordinances of 
 religious worship, the Lord's Supper included, 
 no man and no society is known to the exclu- 
 sion of the one visible church. There the mem- 
 bers of any body bearing the name of a church, 
 holding Christ the head by faith, have liberty to 
 draw near and worship God. This system is 
 harmonious in all its parts, and needs nothing 
 but respect to God's word in its operation. 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 319 
 
 SECTION V. THE SPIRIT DISPLAYED IN MATNTATN- 
 
 INO CLOSE AND OPEN COMMUNION. 
 
 The development of feelings required in main- 
 taining these two systems is entitled to serious 
 consideration. 
 
 It can not be supposed for a moment that any- 
 thing which shall do violence to the purest feel- 
 ings of Christianity can be according to the 
 mind and will of Jesus concerning our conduct, 
 or, on the other hand, that Christian love and 
 liberality can be exhibited if truth is sacrificed. 
 These are points worthy our most serious reflec- 
 tion, and would lay before us a very wide field 
 of discussion ; but one or two remarks shall 
 suffice. 
 
 Sound philosophy must be based upon truth. 
 For this reason we are taught to decide that, in 
 instances where we may be led to consider that 
 the precepts and principles of Christianity to 
 be observed by the Christian appear antago- 
 nistical to the purest sentiments of humanity, 
 moral refinement, and the spirit of Jesus, we are 
 erroneously informed about those precepts and 
 the required character of a Christian life. Hav- 
 
320 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 ing received impressions conflicting with the 
 Christlike feelings of our new-born souls, we 
 conclude that the y are not correct ; and, upon 
 prayerful examination, sooner or later we have 
 been brought to see that there must be harmo- 
 ny between the religion of Jesus and the best 
 and purest principles of the soul. 
 
 Apply the above to the matter of close com- 
 munion, not forgetting that, though there are 
 many points of religion and Christian duty far 
 above reason, yet there is nothing contrary to 
 reason ; proceeding thus, we shall of necessity 
 arrive at the conclusion that there must be some- 
 thing erroneous in the principles of close com- 
 munion, for they are antagonistical to the Spirit 
 of Christ, to the spirit of his dispensation, and 
 to the spirit of the renewed character, which 
 must in its measure bear affinities to Christ's. 
 
 Reason and every faculty of the soul of the 
 Christian, when in a healthful and spiritual state, 
 enjoying the love of God in Christ Jesus, pleads 
 against close communion, and must with every 
 man who is sincere. The restricted baptists tell 
 us continually that it is not of choice that they 
 practise close communion ; it is by compulsion 
 and of necessity, to so obey Christ. If this were 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 321 
 
 a struggle against some of the evil propensities 
 of the wickedness of the heart, and corruptions 
 of the natural mind, Reason would coincide with 
 the statement, and say, ' It must be so.' But as 
 it is declared to be against the Christian feeling 
 of the heart, and sincere love to those who in 
 many instances are eminently endowed with the 
 graces of the Holy Spirit, concerning whom 
 there is not a question for one moment but that 
 they are the children of God by faith in Christ, 
 Reason says, ' There is something wrong in the 
 judgment about this matter.' 
 
 The investigation, followed up, will prove that 
 the Lord does not require it. It unchristianizes 
 the Christian ; it presents things in the aspect 
 of a kingdom divided against itself, and it di- 
 vides into ten thousand particles that which 
 Christ declares to be eternally cemented by 
 love. 
 
 Could it be possible that Christ could require 
 of his followers, in their strict compliance with 
 one of the things he has enjoined, that they 
 should make it a sine qua non with all Chris- 
 tians, so that all the other commands of his lips, 
 and every principle of his gospel, which incul- 
 cates love and fellowship among the universal 
 
322 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 church, as of one household living together in 
 fraternal bonds, should be violated ? Impossi- 
 ble. The Lord of heaven does not so confound 
 the laws of his kingdom ; such conduct is at va- 
 riance with every element of his own constitu- 
 tion and nature, and the mere caricature of obe- 
 dience. 
 
 The love of party has led the majority of 
 close-communion baptists to foster the error in 
 their minds, and — with officious interference, 
 they undertake authority which Christ never 
 invested his servants with. To do even what 
 they might think to be the will of the Lord, 
 when he does not require it, is sin ; and herein 
 their conduct has a corresponding feature with 
 that of the disciples in their erring zeal, when 
 they saw one casting out devils in the name of 
 Jesus, and they forbade him because he followed 
 not with them ; and James and John, when they 
 saw that their Master was not received by oth- 
 ers with the feelings which they themselves en- 
 tertained toward him, inquired of Jesus, " Shall 
 we command fire to come down from heaven 
 and consume them, even as Elijah did?" — and 
 like Peter, who "stretched out his hand, and 
 drew his sword, and struck a servant of the 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 323 
 
 high-priest, and smote off his ear." These sev- 
 erally Jesus reproved. They knew not what 
 manner of spirit they were of. All persecution, 
 even in its mildest form, is an argument against 
 the truthfulness of the position assumed. Truth 
 is not to be defended or sustained by such meas- 
 ures. 
 
 The circumstances which gave existence to 
 close communion with baptists were evidently 
 from the peculiarity of the times when it was 
 adopted : that which gave confirmation to it was 
 habit; that which . gave continuance to it was 
 prejudice in favor of established practice, be- 
 lieving that what had been observed was accord- 
 ing to godliness ; and that which gave it the as- 
 pect of being according to the mind of God and 
 the command of Christ, was the determination 
 to bring preconceived notions to the word of 
 God, thus endeavoring to make the Scriptures 
 defend denominational distinctions. 
 
 The spirit necessary to defend the principles, 
 therefore, can not be of God, inasmuch as it is 
 adverse to that so fully displayed by Jesus — 
 so contrary to every feature of the whole scheme 
 of salvation, and so suicidal to those prominent 
 features of character which the precepts of the 
 
324 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 New Testament everywhere demand us to ex- 
 hibit as disciples of the loving, meek, and lowly 
 Jesus. 
 
 In the practice of open communion, no vio- 
 lence is done to the best feelings of humanity. 
 There is no compromise of principle ; no con- 
 flicting between the feelings which the Holy 
 Spirit has engendered in the new-born soul, or 
 the precepts of Jesus in the Scriptures. It is 
 not with a sorrowful heart that dear friends in 
 Christ must part communion when going to 
 commemorate the dying love of the Saviour for 
 them. It is not such a system as requires that 
 husbands and wives, parents and children, and 
 friends whose hearts, from Christian intercourse 
 and experience, had become knit together like 
 Jonathan's to David, should break asunder when 
 melted by the love of Christ, before the memo- 
 rials of his death for them. 
 
 ISTo, thanks be to God, communion with all 
 that love our Lord Jesus Christ, of whatsoever 
 denomination they may be among Christians, 
 does no injustice to his moral perfections, vio- 
 lates no precept of Christianity, is no conflict- 
 ing principle with the Spirit of Christ, nor cru- 
 cifies the pious feelings of the Christian's heart ; 
 
'RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 325 
 
 but in every point of consideration it bears the 
 impress of the approbation of our one common 
 Father in Christ, of our great Saviour's will and 
 design, and of the Holy Spirit's sealing with his 
 heavenly sanction, by giving, as we have often 
 felt, unutterable pleasure and sacredness in such 
 obedience. 
 
 SECTION VI. THE DESTINED INFLUENCE OF CLOSE 
 
 AND OPEN COMMUNION. 
 
 The truthfulness of the position of either re- 
 stricted or open communion will have much to 
 do with their future influence ; and as assuredly 
 as the}' are fairly examined by the word of God, 
 so surely will close communion wane, and un- 
 restricted communion shine forth in its glory. 
 The opposition which may arise from long-cher- 
 ished notions may retard in some degree a rapid 
 onward course at the first ; but as partisans fall 
 off, those who take their places will think for 
 themselves, and the voice of Truth and Consis- 
 tency must be heard. 
 
 In the rising generation, education is doing 
 something more for the people ; and were it for 
 no other reason than that close communion crip- 
 
326 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 pies freedom of thought, and narrows social in- 
 tercourse, it will undergo a calm and close exam- 
 ination, and when once submitted to this, noth- 
 ing will be required on the part of those who 
 have descried the baseless character of the su- 
 perstructure, but to shake it with truthful argu- 
 ment, that the people may see its weakness. 
 But, independently of such advocacy, soon they 
 wilL see the unauthorized assumption of the 
 defenders of close communion, and reject the 
 fallacy. 
 
 In looking around upon the restricted-baptist 
 community, it is fair to ask whether, in main- 
 taining its numerical strength, the means used 
 to do so are legitimate Christian means. The 
 truthful answer must be, ' They are not? Arti- 
 ficial means are used, and the peculiar senti- 
 ments of close communion presented under false 
 lights ; converts are made to the profession of 
 Christianity and close-communion views, where 
 in the large majority of cases there is neither 
 religion for the one, nor enlightenment to dis- 
 cern the truth of the other. It is in this way 
 the system is now maintained. With the more 
 enlightened, the influence of association and 
 habit, without looking particularly at the just- 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 327 
 
 ness of the principle, has directed them ; but 
 few have honestly investigated the matter but 
 what have seen that there is no truth for the 
 pretensions set up. 
 
 "Where a liberal education has been given to 
 baptist families, we have a right to look, to see 
 the way in which they regard the matter. "We 
 have taken a survey of this aspect in relation to- 
 the system, and it is one which demands the 
 very serious attention of all. While we see 
 the additions to close churches mostly made by 
 strangers brought in from the world, and mostly 
 uneducated, we see the respectable families of 
 old standards of the denomination on every hand 
 forsaking the congregations where early habits 
 would have seemed to have held them, to give 
 in their influence and strength to other denomi- 
 nations. The reason of this is but too manifest : 
 though they have not ventured fully to examine 
 the foundation of their parents' creed by the 
 word of God, they have seen that there is some- 
 thing defective, and that the narrow system, the 
 coercive measures, the exclusiveness to which 
 it compels, can not be right ; they try to think 
 that believers' baptism by immersion, having 
 as appendages such unlovely principles, is some- 
 
328 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 how or other contrary to the gospel, and they 
 become pedobaptists, and will eventually train 
 their children in the same way. 
 
 It may be seen that restricted-baptist congre- 
 gations every year become less influential. The 
 system is only suited for enthralled minds : no- 
 ble, charitable, and enlightened souls, can not 
 long endure it ; and as it comes into fair contact 
 with open communion, it will decline into a 
 shadow. Upon this ground we have no doubt 
 as to what must be the result among an edu- 
 cated and free people where the true principles 
 of the two systems are fairly developed. 
 
 The history of the English baptists is a point 
 at hand fully elucidating these remarks. False 
 notions have been entertained upon this matter 
 by American baptists, and altogether unfounded 
 assertions have been made respecting the de- 
 nomination in England by some who have writ- 
 ten in favor of restricted practice. We hope 
 they did it in ignorance of the facts, but it is 
 certain that they obtained their information from 
 untruthful men, be they who they may. It is 
 therefore generally considered that the baptist 
 denomination in England is destroyed by the 
 principle of open communion, and that baptists 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 329 
 
 are so ashamed of their ordinance as to adopt 
 secresy and scheme every way to practise it: 
 whereas, nothing could be more false. 
 
 As in England, so everywhere else, close com- 
 munion is destined to work itself out, because 
 it has no scriptural foundation. Some time 
 prior to the days of Robert Hall, there began to 
 be more liberality displayed by the English gov- 
 ernment toward dissenters generally, and in pro- 
 portion they became more educated, and took 
 their stand in society ; but just in proportion 
 did the baptist denomination wane, till at last 
 there were but few enlightened men to join the 
 ranks of baptists ; and had their societies con- 
 tinued close till this day, the denomination now 
 perhaps would have been in its expiring throes. 
 The few close societies now remaining are in a 
 wretched plight indeed, and scarcely an edu- 
 cated man among them. 
 
 But, in the providence of God, Robert Hall 
 and many other such men were raised up, 
 who examined the subject of close communion, 
 and declared it — as Dr. Carson wrote to the 
 church in New York — "the wisdo?n of men, 
 and God made foolish this wisdom" Through, 
 the influence of these eminent scholars and di- 
 
330 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 vines, the whole system was reviewed, and close 
 communion began to vanish away. In propor- 
 tion as churches became in favor of open com- 
 munion, so they increased with men of godliness 
 and talent, till at length the baptist denomina- 
 tion in England can lift up its head in the gate 
 of learning, piety, influence, and wealth, with 
 all other denominations. 
 
 The state of the baptist denomination as open 
 communion, in England, is most flourishing; 
 the houses of worship are thronged ; the numer- 
 ical strength has been and is rapidly on the 
 increase, without any resort to excitement or 
 unscriptural means to accomplish it. Nobles, 
 members of parliament, gentlemen, and wealthy 
 merchants, with refined citizens spiritually en- 
 lightened, are to be found in the baptist denom- 
 ination ; and, under God, it is to be attributed to 
 the way in which Christ's commands are honored 
 and his ordinances observed, without assuming 
 authority, or lording it over God's heritage. 
 
 Restricted communion must die out sooner or 
 later, throughout the civilized world, and open 
 communion must progress. By this, multitudes 
 like the drops of morning dew shall be won to 
 embrace believers' baptism by immersion, where 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 331 
 
 close communion and coercion can do no other 
 than drive from its borders. 
 
 SECTION VII. CLOSING APPEAL. 
 
 "We have now to draw to a close our proposed 
 review of " Christian Ordinances and Ecclesi- 
 tical Observances." Throughout this review it 
 must be seen that the subjects demanded a more 
 lengthened discussion ; the difficulty has been to 
 crowd in prominent ideas which claimed notice. 
 
 We presume no man nor set of men can'scrip- 
 turally overthrow the position we have taken, 
 viz., that " restricted communion among baptists 
 is antiscriptural." If any think they can fairly 
 controvert it by the word of God, let them make 
 the attempt : certain we are that, before they can 
 do it, they must falsify the New Testament. 
 
 Many important topics we have been com- 
 pelled to omit, and perhaps some which may 
 have been thought more powerful in sustaining 
 our position than those advanced. Be this as 
 it may, we are so far satisfied that, like the walls 
 of Jericho of old, our ram's-horn blasts have, so 
 far as the truth of the sentiment is concerned, 
 brought down the towering walls of restricted 
 
332 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 communion flat to the ground. God grant that 
 multitudes may go up and take the city ! 
 
 Baptist ministers ! we call to you. There is 
 a glorious mission for you to fulfil, if you do but 
 regard it, lay it to heart, and follow it with holy 
 zeal. The time is now when you can take the 
 lead, and bring in the delightful train nearly 
 the whole constituency of the baptist churches ; 
 you will be regarded as the patrons of the de- 
 nomination — -loved and revered by a people 
 who will eventually bless you, as, under God, 
 being their leaders from error and bigotry. 
 
 We ask of you to re-examine all that has been 
 written in defence of close communion, and you 
 will find that every one who has gone into the 
 conflict has, in some way or other, smitten down 
 his comrade with his own weapon of defence. 
 The grounds upon which close communion is 
 sought to be established are as variable as the 
 winds : first it is this, then that, then something 
 else. Once think seriously of what has been 
 put forth in the defence of your position, and 
 you will feel that you are on a bed of quick- 
 sands ; and if you do not escape before the tide 
 of public opinion acts upon them, you will go 
 down, and your notions perish. 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 333 
 
 You must not think that an enlightened peo- 
 ple, advancing in arts and sciences, refinement, 
 and social intercourse, will not look also at their 
 religious principles and weigh them as the} 7 will 
 do others ; though they may be the last to be 
 taken up, they will certainly have their day for 
 close scrutiny, and that day has begun. Be, there- 
 fore, the leaders in this work ; and do not let the 
 opportunity pass you while you are dreaming of 
 peace and safety, for the foundation of the error 
 is shaking, and the superstructure must soon fall. 
 
 The baptist denomination is destined to win 
 and not coerce to the opinions which are scrip- 
 tural, and from God. By taking the rightful 
 position, according to godliness, to bring others 
 to the unity, not only of faith, but of practice, 
 baptists will be successful. In the present posi- 
 tion, baptists have been fighting against their 
 own interests ; they have driven and scattered 
 the best of their members among other denomi- 
 nations. The educated rising generation have 
 in many instances cast aside the faith and prac- 
 tice of their fathers, and neglected the societies 
 in which they were early trained to worship. 
 But when the close barriers shall be pulled 
 down, which have been raised by men of super- 
 
334: ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 stitious feelings, then God will smile upon the 
 baptist denomination, and those trained to wor- 
 ship in its courts will love to continue there. 
 
 Baptist Christians of the laity ! we call up- 
 on you to reconsider the whole ground of your 
 restricted principle. We have the greatest con- 
 fidence that when, with moral courage, and 
 prayerful consideration, you shall lay down pre- 
 viously-conceived notions, and compare them 
 with the spirit of the New Testament, you will 
 be rightly guided into truth. We can suppose 
 that many have the chains of superstition so 
 riveted to them, that they will be only indignant 
 at the idea that we should suppose that their 
 position is doubtful ; but be it so — we can ex- 
 ercise Christian forbearance, and pray for their 
 release. But there are others of you, who have 
 long felt that something must be radically wrong 
 in the system : its operation has betrayed it to 
 your minds, and you are ready to enter upon a 
 Christian and candid examination. God will 
 bless you in it. 
 
 Particularly do we look to you who are now 
 entering upon the path of life for yourselves, 
 and who are seriously inclined. You, for the 
 most part, have the advantage in the investiga- 
 
RESTRICTED AND FREE COMMUNION. 335 
 
 tion of any subject ; you are prepared to discover 
 where error may be wrapped up in an unsuspect- 
 ed covering. May you with firm grasp and zeal- 
 ous resolution bring it forth and denounce it ! 
 
 Young, intelligent Christians ! you, with the 
 rising generation, are our hope, under Divine 
 blessing, to free the baptists from the long train 
 of evils consequent on unenlightened prejudice. 
 You want to feel that, in your sincere obedience 
 to the Lord Jesus, you may fraternize with all that 
 love him ; you want to know that, in your fami- 
 ly associations, your baptist views are not neces- 
 sary barriers to your worshipping with those 
 who differ with you in those particulars, or to 
 their communing with you at the Lord's table : 
 you have never seen how such separation from 
 sincere Christians could harmonize with the prin- 
 ciples of the New Testament ; but you have been 
 told that such was gospel order ; you have been 
 told that to infringe upon it was a sin which the 
 denomination would visit with the severest dis- 
 cipline. We tell you, with the word of God in 
 our hands, it is no sin, but highly commendable, 
 and that it is in the spirit of and in accordance 
 with the principles of Christ's requirements. 
 
 We have now discharged, in faithfulness and 
 
336 ECCLESIASTICAL OBSERVANCES. 
 
 affection, a duty which conscience and the prov- 
 idence of God laid us under to our Christian 
 brethren. We knew it could not be undertaken 
 but at the penalty of the displeasure and oppo- 
 sition of those who have cherished their worldly 
 systems in violation of almost every principle of 
 Christianity ; but this was secondary, and not 
 worth consideration in the contemplation of the 
 question, 'Shall the voice of Truth he heard P 
 None have ever stood for the defence of the 
 principles of the New Testament but what have 
 suffered much opposition and persecution from 
 zealots who have been foremost in professing to 
 adhere to what is right and according to godli- 
 ness. To those who oppose themselves to what 
 we have said, the address of Paul to the erring 
 Galatians may not be inapplicable : " Am I 
 therefore become your enemy because I tell you 
 the truth ?" We now throw upon the baptists 
 generally who advocate close communion the 
 responsibility of how they regard this matter. 
 We offer many prayers for them, because we 
 are assured that their rejection of these truthful 
 positions God will require at their hands. 
 
 THE END.