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A SERIOUS ^Tt^ 
 
 REPLY 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 ReV. Mr. JOHN WESLEY 
 
 In Particular, 
 
 ArlS^to the People called 
 
 MET H 6 D I S T S 
 
 I In General ; 
 
 In much Love and chriftian Friendfhip 
 RECOMMENDED 
 
 To his and their very ferious Conlideration : 
 
 By G ILBERr^BOrC E, 
 
 ^0 the law and to the tejiimony, if they fpeak not aC" 
 cording to this wordy it is becaufe there is no light in 
 them. Ifaiahvlii. 20. 
 
 1'here is one body and one fpirit, even as ye are called 
 in one hope of your calling ; one Lord^ one Faith ^ one 
 Baptifm ; one God and Father of all^ who is above alU 
 and through all, and in you all. Ephef. iv. 4, 5, 6. 
 
 Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them 
 in the name of the Father., and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghoji, teaching them to obferve all things what" 
 foever I have commanded you\ and lo I am with you 
 alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Math, 
 xxviii^ 19, 20. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 Prmted by C, Preston, Bookfeller and Stationer. 
 
 MDCCLXX. 
 
 •* 
 

 

 THE 
 
 P A C Ef 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 PERHAP-S^%y fbme It may be thought a 
 o-reat piece of prefumption in me to fpeak 
 or ivrite any thing againft what fo great^ ib 
 learned and fa worthy a man as the Rev. Mr, 
 John Wefleyh^xh fpoke or wrote; a man fo 
 highly efteemed on account of his very arduous 
 and fuccefsful labours both in writing and 
 preaching, by which means he hath made many 
 profelytes; — hath gained many followers; a^ 
 mong whom it is charitably hoped there^ are 
 Tome who are converted from a fmful and wick^ 
 ed courfe of life to a good and religious life; 
 though as yet they may not be altogether fuch 
 chrijfians as the gofpel defcribes. 
 
 However, at tlic converfion of fmners every 
 crood man will rejoice and be glad ; and for my 
 part, I can truly fay, that where Mr, Wejley 
 has been fuccefsful to gain or really convert 
 Ten, I wifh it were Ten thoufand , and where- 
 infoever he ftands approved of God. I wifh him 
 Ten thoufand fucceifes more. Nothing can 
 be more pleafing to me, nothing give me greater 
 
 ^// /^i 
 
 
 'U. 
 
[ 5i 1 
 
 joy, than to hear of poor loil^ miferabie fan- 
 ners returning from the error and evil of theiJr 
 ways and doings, to the living and true God. 
 
 But Mr. Wejleys being ever fo fuccefsfuV" 
 gathering followers, 6cc. does not prove that 
 he is in nothing mijlaken ; and if he is miftaken, 
 although it fhould be but in a few things, or 
 even but in one thing, it can be no harm in a 
 friendly and affedlionate way to tell him of 
 it. And that he is miftaken, greatly miftaken 
 in fome things at le'^ft, I have, I think, if I 
 am not greatly miftaken too, evidently made 
 appear. 
 
 It is certain, there were men in the world 
 who were fticcefsful in gaining followers before 
 Mr. Wejley vf2i^ born, and there are fuch men 
 now beiides him ; but what doth fuccefs in 
 gaining followers prove ? — That thofe who are 
 their teachers and leaders are in nothins; mif-* 
 taken ? No fuch thing. Confidering how ma- 
 ny different teachers and leaders there are, and 
 how very widely they differ one from another, 
 evident it is, they muft fome of them be mif- 
 taken, notwithftanding the fuccefs they all may 
 have in gathering followers. Succefs is no proof 
 of infallibility, nor that a man is raifed up and 
 lent of God to preach the gofpel, nor that God 
 owns and approves of him as a teacher and prea- 
 cher of the gofpel. The fuccefs even of the 
 apojlles themfelves, in their miniftry, taken ab- 
 ftradedly from every other confideration, nei- 
 ther did, nor could prove they were infallible, 
 
 nvz 
 
nor that they were lent of God to teach man- 
 kind.; nor confequently, that he owned, ap- 
 proved and accepted them and their followers. 
 As to fuccefs in gathering followers, 6cc. if 
 th^t were any proof of a man's being raifed up 
 and fent of God to teach and preach, and that 
 he and his followers are owned and accepted of 
 him, who could claim a higher title thereto 
 than the Pojye of Rome ? He has had ficli ama- 
 zing y^/c-r^ in making profelytes and gaining 
 followers, that kingdoms and nations have been 
 under his power imd authority; kings and em- 
 perors have fubmitted to his government,, and 
 thoufands of perfons have received it as a pecu^ 
 liar mark of great honour to be admitted to kifs 
 his Toe. But we Protejiafits do not think he 
 is ever a whit the more to be liftened to and 
 folio vved, becaufe kingdoms and nations have 
 paid him fuch profound homage. It is not 
 men's having their teachers and leaders in the 
 greateft efteem and veneration, it is not their 
 admiring, applauding, or extolling them ever 
 fo highly, that can prove them to be what hath 
 been hinted above. Therefore let no 77ian glory 
 in men, i Cor. iii. 21. 
 
 Our blefled Lord hath poiitively told us that, 
 "Not every one that faith unto me Lord, Lordy 
 P^all enter into the kingdom of heaven y but he that 
 doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 
 Many -will fay to me in that day. Lord, Lord, 
 have we not prophefed in thy name ? And in thy 
 name cajl out devils? And in thy name done tna^ 
 
 a 2 vy 
 
[ iv 3 
 
 ny wonderful works ? And then will I frofefs 
 unto themj I never knew you ; depart jrom me 
 ye that work iniquity , Math. vii. 21, 22, 23, 
 O flrange . never knew fuch as thefe ? What ! 
 bid fuch as thefe (the world's wonder) depah ! 
 One would think, were we to fee fuch men 
 now, we fhould all be wonderfully taken with 
 them, and be ready to conclude without the 
 ieali: doubt or hefitation, that if there were any 
 persons in the world owned, approved and fent 
 of God to teach mankind, thefe mull be the 
 very perfons. And were we to make this con- 
 clulion, the next mufl be, we are all deceived. 
 
 St. Paul 2X^0 fpeaks of fome, even in his own 
 time, who were falfe apojilesy deceitful workers, 
 transforming themf elves into the tninijters ofChriJt. 
 And no marvel (fays he) for Satan hitnfelf is 
 transformed into an angel of light. 'Therefore it 
 is no great thing if bis minijlers alfo, be tranf- 
 formed as the minifers of right eoufnefsy whofe end 
 jl^all be according to their works, 2 Cor. xi. 13, 
 14, 15. Hence it appears that the devil hath 
 his minifters as well as Chrifl hath his. And 
 that they do by various and numerous artifices, 
 but all diabolical, mimic thofe who are the mi- 
 nifters of righteoufnefs. Let us therefore be 
 very careful and watchful, that we may not 
 be impofed on and deceived by bold pretenders, 
 proud enthufiafts or vain boafters^ who any 
 where, and at any time lie in wait to deceive^ 
 Ephef. iv. 14. 
 
 Therefore 
 
Therefore whofoever call themfelves /Z't'/'f^- 
 fie of God, and whatever fed, party or deno- 
 mination of chriftlans they are and call them- 
 felves, we muft by no means take their word 
 for it, but mull endeavour to be well aflured, 
 that they have upon them the true and genuine, 
 the real and evident fcriptiiral marks of God's 
 people. Ail fuch therefore who will not com- 
 ply with the facred inftitutions and command- 
 ments of our Lord Jefus Chrifl, but ftiffly and 
 ftrenuouily oppofe and contradidt, deny and dif- 
 obey, defpife and contemn them or any part of 
 them, what fort of people muft we call them f 
 What mufh we think and fay of them ? Are 
 they not fadly deceived ? — Lamentably delu- 
 ded, though they Ihould flatter themfelves they 
 are fafely and fecurely led by the fpirit of God? 
 But it deferves to be remembered, that the fpi- 
 rit of God never did," and never can lead any 
 man to difobey the leaft gofpel precept, or any 
 part of the word of Chrift and of God. 
 
 There have been, and perhaps ftill are many 
 people who follow their leaders and teachers 
 (as it were) blindfold. Eagerly receiving all 
 for truth which the}^ tell them is fo, becaufe 
 they believe they are lincere and upright, and 
 would not deceive them : And many are either 
 not willing to be at the pains, or not capable 
 to examine, try and prove their dodlrines to 
 know whether they are true or falfe. But as 
 no man by his lincerity and uprightnefs can 
 prove he is not in an error, fo likewife can no 
 
 man 
 
[ vi ] 
 
 man prove by being ever fo pofitivc, peremp- 
 tory and dogmatical, that he is in the truth. 
 No : Tlie fcriptiire only muft diredl and teach 
 us what is truth, becaufe it is our only rule 
 and guide. Let any man read and well con- 
 ilder what St. Paid writes to Timothy in his fc- 
 cond epiftle, chap. iii. 15, 16, 17 verfes, and 
 he will ealily allow that the fcripture is a plain, 
 full and perfed: rule and guide to us, teaching 
 us all things neceffary to be known and believ- 
 ed in order to our Iklvation. 
 
 There are indeed feme who make great pre- 
 tences to being led and guided by the Holy 
 Gbojiy but 1 do not know that they ever gave 
 any folid and fubflantial proof of their being 
 7y.ore led and guided therewith, than fonie of 
 their neighbours ; though they may perhaps, 
 wonderfully pleafe themfelves with thinking 
 th'cy certp.inly are : and they may if they pleafe, 
 thmk fo fdll. 
 
 Such as thefe will alio talk much of their 
 perfe(!^ion and affurance of their falvation, die 
 when they will, as I have known and heard. 
 But I think fuch talkers do affume too much to 
 td^mfelves, and it would, in my judgment, 
 look much better and much more like a chrifli- 
 r.n, to talk with more modefty and humility ; 
 cfoecially when it is remembered, that fome of 
 them however have moll fhamefully fallen back 
 r 7?An into their old courfe and habit of finning, 
 £3 if they had never been what they pretended 
 to be, and thereby Have brought much reproach 
 
 and 
 
[ vti ] 
 
 and difhonoor not only upon themfelves, but 
 alfo upon the Society they once were in connexi- 
 on with. But it would be very unjuft to charge 
 a whole community with the faults of fcin^ 
 among them, or that have been among them. 
 It is too evident to be denied, that there have 
 been in all chrifti-an focieties fome bad men one 
 time OF other, and the chriflian religion hath 
 hetn brought into m.uch contempt by the 
 (liameful and fcandalous condu6l and adiions 
 of fuch perfons -, and I doubt not but Afr, 
 Wejley has known fuch fcandalous perfons h\ 
 his focietieSj whom he hath excluded and turneil 
 out from among them. 
 
 But I V/ill now inform my readers that I do 
 not write againft any thing faid or written b]^ 
 Mr. Wejley^ becaufe I take delight in difputa- 
 tion, no truly ; I take no delight in it an}^ far- 
 ther than as it may ferve, or have any tendency 
 to corre(ft miftakes, prevent the fp-reading of 
 errors, advance the truth, contribute fome-^ 
 thing toward-s a public good, and that all may 
 be to the glory of God. 
 
 Had I been hot and eager in purfuing con- 
 troverfy, I ihould not have ftaid fo many years 
 as I have done before I had returned an anfwer 
 to what Mr. Wejley lafl wrote to me. And 
 had it not been for the reafons I have o-iven 
 him, he would certainly havehad the laft word j 
 for I had quite laid afide all thoughts of wri- 
 ting any thing more than what I had written'. 
 And fome perhaps may think I had better have 
 
 done 
 
[ viii j 
 
 done fo flill Perhaps fo too. — - But of that 
 I cannot be fure. 
 
 I know that what I have written will either 
 ftand or fall among men, juft as it is received 
 or rejecfled by them. — And I know that I can 
 do nothing better than pray, and defire every 
 ferious chriftian and lover of the truth to pray, 
 that God would be pleafed to make all that ufe 
 of it which may be moil for his own glory and 
 the good of mankind. And as this is my hearty 
 prayer, I doubt not but it will be the hearty 
 prayer of all who believe and love the truth as 
 it is in Jefus. To whofe protection and de-" 
 fence, I do with all reverence, humility and 
 fincerity commit it, williing every underftand- 
 ing reader, who is really defirous to live in a 
 iincere and univerfal conformity to the facred 
 inftitutions and commandments of the p-of- 
 pel of our Lord Jefus Chrill, may find all that , 
 profit and advantage by reading, which was and 
 fmcerely is defigned and heartily defired by the 
 Author : who hath nothiiiG; more at heart, than 
 the real, the everiailing welfare and happinefs 
 of all men. 
 
 I hereadverrlfe my readers that the two letters 
 replied to in the following Sheets, are the two 
 iaft letters I received from Mr. Wcjley, and there- 
 fore that which I call his firft letter, is not the 
 firfl I ever received from him, having received 
 feveral before, but the firft of the two which I 
 have here rej lied to : which reply is only an 
 
 abflra<ft 
 
[ ^^ ] 
 
 abftradt of what I fent to him mciny years ago In 
 manufcript. 
 
 If any perfon or perfons fhould queftion the 
 truth of my having received two fuch letters 
 from Mr. Wejley which I have replied to, they 
 may, if they pleafe, apply to him, who can 
 give them full fatisfadion as to the truth of it. 
 I can produce the originals at any time, and once 
 thought of pubhfhing them with my own, but 
 afterwards I thought there was no necefiity for 
 it, and therefore I omitted it. 
 
 
 !^^<^ /^ /^.// 
 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 In the Preface. Page 2, line 28, for approve read 
 approves, p. 4, 1. 11, for thofe rt3.d ihefe. p. 7, 1. 30, 
 for wrighting read writing, p. 8, 1. 26, iox foolwing 
 read following. 
 
 In the Reply. Page 6, 1. laft, read/^^;f. p. 7, 1. r, 
 dele comma 2SX.QX than. p. 9. 1. 6, put z period zfter lips ^ 
 and for ^0 read Do. 1. 9, after the word difference read 
 between them. 1. 19, for jy(5a read /Z?^;«. p. 32, at the 
 bottom, for reafons read wr. p. 41, 1. 15, for come rezd 
 came. p. 44, 1. 29, dele we. p. 45, 1. 18, for tha tall 
 read /^^/ all. p. 53, 1. i, dtl^who. 1. 16, for venterous 
 read venturous, p. 60, 1. 26. read /^?. 1. laft, for prodigi- 
 cus rozd prodigioujly . p. 61, 1. 19, for pra^lice rQzdprac- 
 life. p. 65, 1. 9, for /fiir read <?/. p, 71, 1. 23, for 7iow 
 here read nowhere, p. 88, 1. 3, in the note, forfiefhy read 
 Jlefhly. p. 89, 1. 3, for ?;o /^rz^/y read no fiirely. p. 92, 1. 
 12, for fo;??^jread f*?;;;^. 1. 28, for invention read inven- 
 tions, p. 96, 1. 30, before — 7/", put a double co'mma or 
 quotation, p. 100, 1. 33, before- --T'/6<3/, put a quotation. 
 p. 107, 1. 2, read ^/j acknowledge truth, p. 115, 1. 22, 
 for to r^^d fo on. p. 124, 1. 5, next to the word examine 
 read /:/(?/'. x. 22. p. 125, 1. 13, dele the firft have. p. 
 133, 1. laft but one, for exhaltation read exaltation, p. 
 134, 1. 9, read by ihofe with whoyn. p. 151, 1. 15, for 
 (tpiniatecl read opinionated. \. laft for injiuted read infti- 
 tilted, p. 159, 1. laft but two, for examplar read exempt- 
 lar. p. 162, 1. 26, for ?v^^;7fr<^/;?i read re-regene-'ated. 
 p. 167, I. 32, dele the firft /^r. p. 177, 1. 8, for^^z/- 
 read ate., or did cat. 
 
 The above Faults, or otliers which the Reader finds 
 have efcaped the Prsfs, he is defired to correal or ex- 
 ciife. 
 
 TO 
 
TOT 
 
 Rev. Mr. JOH^J WESLEY, 
 
 Reverend and Dear SIR, 
 
 — *-ri„il#*'*'' 
 
 
 I REMEMBER I once told you that I had be- 
 gun to write fomething in anfwer to what you, 
 . (now a long time fince) had laft wrote to me ; 
 but I foon after laid it afide, and never intended to pro- 
 ceed any farther in it, becaufe what you had written 
 to me was no anlwer to what I had written to you. 
 But fince that time, it having been fo often reported 
 that you had, both publicly and privately told many 
 perfons you had written to me laft, and from thence 
 it was inferred by many of your followers, in a fort 
 of triumph, that what you had written was unanfwer- 
 able. On hearing of this, many of my friends re- 
 queued, nay, from time to time ftrongly importuned 
 me to draw up an anfwer and fend it to the prefs. I 
 have at length yielded to their reftlefs folicitations ; 
 and have attempted an anfwer not only to your laft 
 letter, but alfo to fome things which you have ad- 
 vanced in your notes on the New-Teftament, and in 
 ibme other writings. 
 
( 2 :) 
 
 • You will eafily perceive, fir, that I write no more 
 from anger now than I did before-, that I am juft as 
 free, open, and fimple as I was then. I have no no- 
 tion or giving men hard names, defaming their per- 
 Ibns and charafters ; no, fir, I look upon that to be 
 a moft fcandalous, unchriftian, and unjuftifiable prac- 
 tice; and what I hope I fhall never be guilty of. I 
 have no defign in the leaft degree to promote un- 
 chriftian ftrife and contention-, but on the contrary, 
 love, peace, and unity. And therefore I do not con- 
 tend for mere opinions, but for that Faith which was 
 once deli'vered to the Saints. Jude 3. I hope therefore 
 my publifhing what I have now written in anfwer to 
 your laft letter, with an abftrad: of what has formerly 
 pafied between us, as introdutfloiy thereto, will not 
 diipleafe you. For, 
 
 My defire is ftill to do every thing that is juft and 
 right, to have every thing kept in the fame place 
 v/here our great mafter has fixed it. And to know 
 what is juft and right, and where and how every thing 
 in the worfhip and fervice of God ought to be fixed ; 
 we muft, undoubtedly, have recourfe to the word of 
 God. Therefore (according to article 6,) I fay, " Holy 
 Scripture contains all things neceflary to falvation : So 
 that whatfoever is not read therein, nor may be proved 
 thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it 
 Should be believed as an article of faith.*' Ton alfo 
 fay, " Can any fteward of the myfteries of God be 
 found faithful if he change any part of that facred 
 Vepofitum? !No: He can abate nothing; he can 
 foften nothing. He is conftrained to declare unto all 
 men : I may not bring down the Scripture to your 
 tafte. You rrmft come up to it or perilh for ever." * 
 
 Vf hat v/ords can be more awful and folemn than, 
 thefe ? Again, You appeal to the " law and to the 
 teftiniony, as the only fure and infallible teft of all. 
 
 That 
 f Farther Appeal, part iii, p. 102. 
 
. ( 3 ). 
 
 That all dodrines are to be decided by fcripture and 
 reafon. That whatfoever is agreeable to thefe you 
 receive, as on the other hand, whatever is contrary 
 thereto you rejeft.'* To all v/hich, with the utmoft 
 readinefs and chearfulnefs, I fubfcribe a hearty A?}ien. 
 And yet we are ftiil divided. Hov/ m.\i9c v/e account 
 for it ? The Scripture is not divided againil itfelf. 
 The Father is not divided. The Son is not divided. 
 The Spirit is not divided. God is unity. And we 
 are fure «4here is no divifion in heaven. Saints and 
 Angels are perfed;ly united in worfhip, adoration and 
 praife. What means all this jumble, confuiion and 
 diftradion here on earth ? Is it becaufe the Scripture 
 is not fufficiently clear and convincing? No : That 
 cannot be. For how v/ould God be juft, if the ruk 
 he gave us to walk by, was not eafy and irktelligible ? 
 Is it becaufe he is mindlsfs_ of his creatures, carelefa 
 whether they are "happy' or miferable ? No : This 
 cannot be neither. For how would he be a merciful 
 God .f* God is love. " i John iv, 8 aiid i6. Once 
 more. Is it. becaufe he leaves' every man to his liberty, 
 to chufe what he pleafes and rejeft what he does not 
 like? No: This is- not. af all likely. For where 
 would be his authority as a Lawgiver ? But it is to 
 be feared, men have taken this ungiven liberty, and 
 thereby have thrown the chriilian world into all that 
 anarchy and diforder, which To evidently, but lamenta- 
 bly appears at this day. 
 
 From- this unhappy fource has ifTued fuch a mighty 
 ftream of contention, as will not, I fear, be eafily 
 flopped. And indeed how fhould it be otherwife, 
 when men will not be governed by the rule as God 
 gave it ? But will boldly either add to, or diminifh 
 from, or change fom.e part or other of it, or fub- 
 ftitute fomething of their own inftead of it, to gratify 
 and make it fpeak in favour of their own felftfh and 
 ambitious humours, their high conceits, and fond opi- 
 
 B 2 nions ? 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 liions ? But you have obfervcd in your rules for your 
 focieties, " The Scripture is the only rule, and the 
 fufficient rule. " This is bravely faid indeed fir. All 
 therefore that I infift upon, and deiire of you is, that 
 you would prove by this unerring rule, of which 
 " nothing can be abated, nothing foftened," nor 
 changed ; that the Church of England is the one true 
 Church of Chrift ; or fhew me where to find it. When 
 you have finifhed this work, fir, you will certainly 
 have performed a very noble and a very fignal piece 
 of fervice for much great good to mankind. And I 
 promife you that if I live to fee it done, I will imme- 
 diately join myfelf thereto, and ufe my utmoft en- 
 deavours to perfuade as many as I can to join with me, 
 
 I am, 
 
 Reverend and dear Sir, 
 
 With great refpe<5l and efleem. 
 
 Truly and unfeignedly^ 
 
 Your very affedionate, 
 
 Tho' unworthy brother. 
 
 In the Lord Jefus Chrifl, 
 
 GILBERT BOYCE. 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 A 
 
 SERIOUS REPLY 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 Rev. Mr. JOHN W E S L E T? 
 
 FIRST LETTER, 
 
 Reverend and Dear S I R, 
 You tell mc 
 
 Firft, " T7 ROM the time you wrote to me firft» 
 X/ I found my heart quite free and open 
 towards you, and fo I do ftill ; there- 
 fore I am glad to hear of you and from you at any- 
 time." Juft fo it was fir, and is with me toward you. 
 When I firft wrote to you, no man could pofjibly 
 have a greater love for another (fo I think) than I 
 had for you, although I had never (ttn you ; I thought 
 I could moft gladly have fpent my whole life iit 
 your company, becaufe I took you to be a moft ardent 
 and fincere lover of Jefus Chrift. That fir, is the 
 foundation of my love to you and to all good men j 
 and will arife toward fuch in proportion to the mani- 
 feftation of their love to him : for by how much any 
 man loves the bleffed Jefus, by fo much do I love that 
 man. And therefore at this day, I have a hearty 
 and unfeigned love for you. 
 
 Secondly, you fay, " The difference of opinion 
 which is between us need not create any ftrangenefs 
 
 or 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 tor coldnefs.'* 'Tis true fir, if it be mere difference 
 of opinion which is between us, it need not and ought 
 Jiot. " It does not (you fay) on my p^rt •, I lov^e you 
 no lefs, not only tho' you do not think as I do ; but 
 even though I have no expetSlation of your thinking 
 otherwife till our eyes are opened in eternity." Nei- 
 ther does it (that is diiFerence of opinion rightly de- • 
 fined) on my part, leflen my love to you : but here 
 £r, I muft beg leave to obferve what you have known 
 longer than I, viz. There is a wide difference be- 
 tween a man*s private opinion ftricf^ly taken, and a 
 plain and neceifary article of Faith -, between fpecu- 
 lation and praAice \ betv/een ' things abftrufely, and 
 things plainly delivered to us in the word of God ; 
 between what is neceffary, and what is not necefiary 
 to Salvation. 
 
 Now you knov/, fir, whatfoever exifls only in opi- 
 nion, or is merely fpeculative ; whatfoever is ab- 
 Urufely delivered, and not plainly decided by the 
 word of God, either this way or that •, whatfoever 
 liath no tendency to flir up ftrife and contention, to 
 make rents and fchifms in the body of Chrift ; what- 
 foever leads to no evil praftice, nor to the omiffion 
 of any neceffary duty, nor raifes any falfe and difho- 
 nourable notions of God : in fliort, whatfoever is not 
 neceffary to falvation, though we differ in cur private 
 fentiments about fuch things -, we may and ought to 
 love one another no lefs than if we all thought exactly 
 alike. But our difference is not only about mere 
 epinicm^ whether right or wrong, but about thofc 
 things alfo, which the fcripture plainly and fully de- 
 termines to one fide only: and if this were not the 
 cale, one of us muft certainly be to blame for fepa- 
 yating from the .other. I believe when our eyes are 
 opened in eternity, we fhall love one another much 
 more than we do, or can do now •, becaufe we fhall 
 be much more like unto our holy and ever bleffed 
 
 Jefus 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 Jefus than^ we are now^ or can be in this imperfe^ 
 ftate. 
 
 Thirdly, " God's firft defign is (fay you) to favc 
 you and me and every man round about us. That 
 is, to renew us in his image, and then receive us to 
 g]ory. To this immediate end of renewing each foul 
 in love, and in the whole mind which was in Chrifi:, 
 he has pointed out feveral means, many of which we 
 cannot ufe, at leaft not fully, without joining together. 
 A company of men joining together for this purpofe, 
 we are iaccuftom.ed to call a church. V I believe all 
 this is very juft and right. To the end we may be 
 faved, God has pointed out the fure, certain and un- 
 alterable means thereof. God has pointed them outy 
 we are to look well about tis, and take particular care 
 to ufe them, and in the fame manner too, which he 
 has pointed out. We mufi: not form fchemes of our 
 own, and like the Je-ws of old, fet afide the command" 
 ments of God to keep cur oi^n traditions. 
 
 Dear fir, take great care what you do, look on 
 every fide you, be fure you take right fleps : Do yovt 
 make ufe of the m.eans exaofly as God hath pointed 
 them out ? Do you vary in nothing .'' Do you follow 
 Chrifl as Paul did } Are you worthy of praife for 
 keeping the ordinances as they are delivered to us in the' 
 holy fcriptures ? i Cor. xi. 2. Do you take the fame 
 equal fleps in forming your focieties as the apoftles 
 took in forming theirs ? If not, you are wrong. 
 Inhere is but one Lord, one Faith, one Baptifn, one Spi- 
 rit, one Body, (that is one church) one Hope, and but one 
 God. Ephef iv. 4, 5, 6. Are you fure you are a mem- 
 ber of this one body or church ? V/hen was you made 
 fo ? After what manner was you fo made ? Have you 
 been baptized into this one Faith of this one Lord ? 
 Are you fure you have received this one Spirit, by 
 which you are united to this one body or church, of 
 which Chriji is Lord and Head? When did you receive 
 
 this 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 tKis one Spirit ? How, or after what manner did you 
 receive it ? Did you receive it by prayer and laying on 
 tf hands by an authorifed perfon ? If you have re- 
 ceived the Spirit of God, how comes it to pafs, fir, 
 you do not ad according to his diredlions ? For can 
 it be juftly and rightly concluded, that he direds you 
 in a different way and manner from the apoflles of 
 our Lord Jefus Chrifl ? It cannot. If you were 
 wholly diredled by the Spirit of God, you would, I 
 am fure, do feveral things you do not, and leave 
 undone feveral things you do. Remember your 
 own words : " Can any fleward of the mylleries of 
 God be found faithful, if he change any part of that 
 lacred Depofitum ? No : He can abate nothing, he 
 can foften nothing, &c.'* Dear fir, it is inconteftably 
 evident, that even you yourfelf, continue in the 
 change of fome things contained in that facred De- 
 fojitum^ the Holy Scripture. Your own pradice 
 contradi(5ts your own words, and by it you make 
 yourfelf that very perfon whom you condemn. God 
 liath pointed out the true and right means to bring 
 men into community one with another, and you have 
 pointed out others ; fome of his you have taken away, 
 and placed fome of your own inflead of them : Whom 
 are we to obey, God or man ? 
 
 When I confider and refle<5l upon what you have 
 faid of the minifler's and people of the church of Eng- 
 land, having reprefented them more like the Synagogue 
 tf Satan, than the pure and fpotlefs fpoufe of Chrifl ; 
 the church of the firft-horn which are written in heaven. 
 Heb. xii. 23. I fland aflonifhed at your prefent con- 
 dud ! Be pleafed to review your own words in your 
 Farther Appeal * efpecially where you are fpeaking 
 to thofe whom you call your " brethren, and priefls 
 and prophets of the Lord." You fay, " Can fuch 
 *' as you, be faid to honour or fear God, any more 
 
 " than 
 
 P-4Si49>S^ ii3> 127, 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 " than thofe fpoken of by Malachi ? May not God 
 " complain, thefe priefts have violated my law and 
 " profaned my holy things ? Yea, whenfoever you 
 " prefume with thofe unhallowed hands to touch the 
 *' myfteries of God : whenfoever you utter his name 
 *' or his word with thofe unhallowed lips, do you put 
 " a differ.cnce between the holy and profane, him 
 " that feareth God and him that feareth him not ? 
 " Do you put an effedtual difference even in the moft 
 " folemn office of our religion ? At the Table of 
 " the^ Lord do you take care to feparate the precious 
 " fr6in the vile ? Is it not for want of your making 
 " this difference, as well as for many other abomina- 
 " tions ; that with regard to fome among us (how- 
 " many God knoweth) that fcripture is now alfo ful-' 
 " filled : his watchmen are blind, they are ignorant, 
 " they cannot underftand." And then you go on to 
 fpeak of other abominations which are found among 
 you •, and farther obferve, (fpeaking of the want of 
 good order, true chriflian difcipline,) " all are jum- 
 bled together without any care or concern of yours.'* 
 Meaning your " brethren the Priefts and Prophets of 
 the Lord." And again you fay, " Does the church 
 *' of England gain either honour, or ftrength, or 
 " bleffing, by fuch wretches as thefe calling them- 
 *' felves her members ? By ten thoufand drunkards, 
 " whoremongers, and common fwearers ? Nay ought 
 " (he not immediately to fpew them out? To 
 " renounce all fellowfhip with them ? Would fhe 
 " not be far better without them than with them .f"' * 
 Yes certainly. T'hen all good men would love her 
 and greatly efteem her. 
 
 You do feparate from them in your focieties and 
 private bands, and yet not at the Table of the Lord. 
 Can this be juftified.'' How, fir.? Is it more neceffary 
 to feparate from them in your focieties, than at the 
 Table of the Lord, that folemn part of our religion? 
 
 C How 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 do you prove it fir ? Can you write and preach To 
 much againft them, and adually feparate from them ; 
 and yet confiftently join with them ? ReaJiy fir, thi'S 
 is fiich a piece of conduft as far furpafi"eth my know- 
 ledge. 'Tis certain, we may not do evil that good 
 may come ; the higheft pretences all put together, 
 can never juftify fuch conduft. 
 
 What a dull, dark, black, ugly, deformed picture, 
 have you drawn of thofe whom you call the " Priefts 
 and Prophets of the Lord," and the ten thoufand 
 other members of your church ! And were you to 
 paint her more ugly, (were that pofilble) you could 
 never make her appear by fuch dull colours you have 
 laid upon her, to be the amiable and beautiful fpoufe 
 of our moft glorious and everlafting King : The 
 dearly, the beft beloved Son of God. 
 
 It would be happy for us, if there were no dif- 
 ference in the articles of our Faith ; and much more 
 fo if there were none in our religious opinions. 
 However, this is certain ; God's word is the rule by 
 which we are to form and regulate both the one and 
 the other. To that we ought to pay the fiiridefi: re- 
 gard. That alone is the rule for the trial of all^doc- 
 trines and fpirits. The rule by which every rm.h, 
 to v/hom it is given, muft be tried at the laft day. 
 
 I have in the fmall courfe of my reading met with 
 the faying of a Papift * who did not fcruple to ac- 
 knowledge that *' if the fcripture alone muft be the 
 rule of Faith and Pradice, we muft all, both Papifts 
 and Proteftants, crofs the cudgels to the Anabaptijis'* 
 Such an opinion had that author of the wrong-named 
 Anabaptifts, walking nearer to the fcripture plan than 
 any other denomination of chriftians. And if what you 
 fay be true, that the " fcripture is the only rule and 
 the fufficient rule," the Baptized Chrijlians (fo I chufe 
 to call them) are the only people who do moft ftridly 
 
 adhere 
 '* DoSior Ball) in his end to controverfy. 
 
( IJ ) 
 
 adhere to it, in gathering arid governing their churches. 
 Not that I will pretend to juilify the condud: of every 
 one among them, any more than you will every one 
 among your focieties. But you tell me. 
 
 Fourthly, " There are many things in the Church of 
 England which you like, and fome which you diilike." 
 As to your liking or difliking, that you know fir, 
 proves nothing ; either that this is right, or that is 
 wrong. But you tell us fomewhere in your writings, 
 that you " prove all your dodrines by fcripture and 
 reafcn." Now fir, if you will prove by fcripture 
 that all thofe things which you like in the church of 
 England ougiit to be obferved and pradifed, you will 
 give me much fatisfaclion. 
 
 But again : you fay, " I have not found any com-. 
 munity, who, (in my apprehenfion) come fo near the 
 fcripture plan, or fb nearly anfwer the original defign 
 of a church as the people called Methodifts.^'' But 
 pray dear fir, what doth this prove ? Not that the 
 Methodtfis are the one true church of Chriil. Indeed 
 you do not pofitively fay they are, but fpeak very 
 modeftly, and far from that overbearing confidence 
 with which fom e of your followers have fpoken, for 
 I do not know whether I ever heard any people (who 
 have lefs to fay upon feveral things) more pofitive 
 and dogmatical in my life. But you^ fir, only fay, 
 " 'm. my apprehenfion," which I take to be a lowly 
 expreffion, much like that of one of the greateft men 
 we ever heard of, namely 5/. PauU when he fays, 
 . " / think I have the Spirit of God. i Cor. vii. 40. 
 The Spirit of God, Of and concerning which, 1 
 have heard fome of your people fpeak with ail that 
 ftrength of aiTurance, as if they were able to give as 
 clear demonftrations of their having received it as 
 the apoftles themfelves ; frequently quoting thofe 
 fcriptures which can refer to nothing fhort of mira- 
 culous operations. Not that they pretended to any 
 
 C 2 ■ il:^h 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 liich meafures, but generally difclaimed every thing 
 of that nature •, infifting chiefly on the fandlifying 
 influences of it, by which the heart and lile are 
 changed and purify ed-, as undoubtedly every other real 
 chriftian has fo received it as well as they, though 
 they do not fpeak of it in the fame language, nor 
 chufe to fay fo much about their having received it 
 as they do j believing that where the fruits of the Spirit 
 really are, they Vv^ill much more loudly declare their 
 great author, than all they can fpeak with their tongues. 
 
 But what I particularly remark upon their bring- 
 ing fuch texts to prove their having received the Holy 
 Ghoft, is, how fadly they are miitaken in, and how 
 far from the true knov/ledge of, many pafiages of the 
 Holy Scripture •, bringing of it down to their own 
 iafie and weak apprehenfions. I have heard one fay, 
 " I am fure I have received the Holy Ghoft: The 
 Holy Ghoft is within me new."'' And another, " I 
 have been baptized with the Holy Ghoft and with fire.''* 
 I believe many of them do not know the meaning of 
 the W'Ords, but too haftily run away with a mere 
 found ; without flaying to take with them the true 
 and proper m.eaning of them. 
 
 I remember you tell us in one of your journals, * 
 that among your people at Briftol you " found a fpi- 
 rit of enthufiafm was breaking in upon many, who 
 charged their own imaginations on the will of God, 
 and that not written, but impreft on their hearts. If 
 thefc impreflions (fay you) be received as the rule of 
 adlion inftead of the written word, I know nothing 
 fo wicked cr abfurd, but we may fall into, and that 
 without remedy." I believe you may find in other 
 places at this day, fuch a fpirit pofl"efling many of 
 them •, I could fpeak largely of what I have feen and 
 known. And muft needs fay with you, that if their 
 immaginations are to be received as the rule of adion 
 
 inftead 
 Journal from J739 to 1741, p. 93. 
 
( >3 ) • 
 
 inflcad of the written word, I know nothing indeed 
 fo wicked or abflird but they may foon fall into.'* 
 What therefore you have fo juftly obferved in fome 
 of them, I know by real experience to be true of 
 others of them : and when 1 have confined them to 
 the written word, they have either made no reply, 
 or acknowledged the truth ; and yet even afterwards 
 have immediately returned to their former notions, 
 as if they were afhamed of their confeilion, or afraid 
 to ftand to it any longer ; and then generally had 
 fome quibble or other to evade the force of an argu- 
 argument, when they knew not what to fay. Often 
 times appearing to be wife in their own conceits. 
 
 Upon the whole, I may fafely and without erring 
 conclude, that, let a man pretend to what he will,, 
 'tis certain, he can never be led by the Spirit of God 
 v/ho is not led by the JVord of God : for the Word 
 and Spirit are one : they agree in one : they fpeak 
 the fame thing. Whofoever therefore oppofes and 
 contradic5ls the Scripture, oppofes and contradicts the 
 Spirit. The Spirit doth not fay and unfay : Hath not 
 faid one thing by the Apoftles, and another by the 
 Methodijis i no, no : He cannot be guilty of felf-con- 
 tradidlions. Therefore whoe\er are led by the Scrip- ^ 
 tures are led by the Spirit, for the Scriptures are the 
 divine breathings of the Spirit of God. And what- 
 ever fecret whifpers any one may pretend to have as 
 an overplus^ if thofe whifpers contain any thing in 
 them, Vv-hich is contrary to the exprefs and plain- 
 fpoken words of the fcriptures, they are not the whif- 
 pers of God's Spirit but of the devil. Every man 
 therefore ought to be very careful how he entertains a 
 whifpering fpirit. 
 
 By this you fee, fir, I am as far from enthufiafm 
 as you are, I wifii every one who is called a Methodiji 
 was as far from being an Enthufiaft as I am. I hope 
 you will not be difpleafed with this digrefiion which I 
 
 was 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 was (o eafily and readily led into by obferving the 
 wide difference between your way of fpeaking and fome 
 of your profeft followers, who have not, it is evident 
 yet rightly learned that important ieflbn hmnility. I 
 jiow return juft to obferve again. 
 
 You fay, " You have not found any community 
 who come fo near the fcripture plan, &c. as the peo- 
 ple called Methodifis." Perhaps you have not fearch- 
 ed fo univerfally as to be acquainted with all focieties 
 or communities. Have you a full knowledge of the 
 people I mentioned above, the baptized chrijfians ? 
 Do you know the principles they profefs to be go- 
 verned by ? Are you acquainted with the foundation 
 upon which they, as a church are built } If you fully 
 know thefe things, fir, I defire you to tell me, where- 
 in the Methodijts exceed them. And though you ap- 
 prehend they are neareft the fcripture plan, yet you 
 liave not given me one fcripture proof, fo that at 
 prefent it refts only upon your apprehenfion, which 
 is too weak a foundation for me (whatever it may be 
 for others) to build my faith upon. You have there- 
 fore, all that work to do I defired of you. 
 
 Dear fir, let me intreat you to fpeak plainly either 
 one way or other, prove to me iir, by the fcriptures, 
 that the church of England, or the Methodijts if you 
 like it better, are rightly gathered and brought into 
 a chu.rch ftate and rightly governed •, or elfe tell me 
 the fcripture does not prove it: For either it does or 
 it does not •, if it does, then you can do it too •, if it 
 doe? not, then do you frankly own it, and acknow- 
 ledge that you have been miftaken •, and fo return all 
 the glory to God and your Redeemer. 
 
 And now I conclude this, with affuring you fir, that, 
 although I have fpoken plainly, yet never angrily ; 
 for it is all in love, and nothing elfe but love to you 
 and thofe that walk with you : and with the moll up- 
 right view to honour and exalt our mofl holy and 
 
 ever 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 blelTed Lord and Lawgiver, Jefus Chrift : Whofe 
 laws and ordinances 1 efteem infinitely above the beft 
 human fchemes in the world. 
 
 You may eafily perceive, fir, I am quite free, open 
 and fimple, without art or craft, I am for honefty and 
 plain dealing -, let who will chufe the dark, I am for 
 broad-day light. 1 wifh I knew how to chufe my 
 words, to convince you that 1 am all that I pretend 
 to be -, honeft and fincere before God, full of love 
 and tender aifedlion to you and yours. 
 
 The reafon of my writing thus is, I find it hard to 
 convince fome men of my really good intention. If 
 1 fpeak in a foft and gentle manner, I am fufpeded a 
 dilfembler, flatterer, or hypocrite ; if plain and clofs 
 to the point as I can, I am cenfured as rigid and un- 
 charitable •, fo that in this bigotted aiid. cenforious 
 age, one hardly knows how to fpeak. But let any 
 man think or fay what he will of me, I know whofe 
 I am and whom I ferve. By grace I am what I am. 
 And no man's good word makes me better, and no 
 man's bad word makes me worfe : For what I am in 
 the fight of God, that o'nly I am. 
 
 Pray God blefsjyw^, and make you to increafe in the 
 knowledge of his will, and in all true Judgme?!t ; that you 
 may approve things that are excellent •, that you may be 
 fmcere and without offence until the day of Chriji ; being 
 filled with the fruits of right eoufnefs, which are by 
 Jefus Chrifi unto the glory and praife of Gcd. Amen, 
 rliil. i, 9. 10. 
 
 A Seriouj 
 
( i6 ) 
 
 A 
 
 SERIOUS REPLY 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Rev. Mr. J O H N W E S L E Ys 
 LAST LETTER, &c. 
 Reverend and Dear SIR, 
 
 IT is as evident as the light at noon, that when the 
 apoftles went forth to gather a people out of the 
 world for Chrift, they had one plain, full and un- 
 alterable rule given them to adl by, and but one ^ and 
 that thofe holy men did, to the honour of their great 
 Lord and Maile^-, ft-idly adhere to it, is as plain and 
 indifputable : And it is no lefs certain we ought to 
 follow their fteps. 'Tis alfo equally true, and may be 
 abfolutely depended on, that, thai Rule^ is the fame 
 in all ages and nations to the end of the world-, and 
 confequently, no man hath any authority to add to it, 
 or diminifh any thing from it. What was a rule to St. 
 Paul for converting or bringing men to believe in 
 Chrift, and making them members of his church, is 
 equally fo to you and every preacher in the world. 
 Therefore whether you are converting Indiajis, Jezvs^ 
 or Turks, Tartars, Chinefe or Hotentots \ it is all one, 
 and there ought to be no difference. The fcripture 
 makes no difference between converting E^iglifhmen 
 and Indians, why do you fir } St. Paul fays, Be ye fol- 
 lowers 
 
( '7 ) 
 
 lowers of me as I alfo am of Chrift, without taken any 
 notice of ftates or places, whether in Europe or Ame- 
 rica. There is but one Gofpel to preach, as there is 
 but one Jefus to fave ; and confequently, but one Rule 
 given, by which we are to be diredled in the way of 
 falvation. And though all men do not hit of that 
 Way, nor walk by that rule, yet, it is not lefs certain 
 that there is but one. One Lord, one Faith, one Bap- 
 tifm. Ephef. iv. 5. But do not conclude from hence 
 fir, I condemn every man who does not walk in that 
 Gne way : For I condemn no man, I cannot if I would. 
 I -leave every man to anfwer for himfelf, for to bis own 
 mafier he ftands or falls. Rom. xiv. 4. I believe many 
 will be found in heaven, who were never members 
 of Chrift's viiible church on earth. I believe God 
 is no refpe^or of perfons, hut in every nation he that 
 feareth him and worketh right eoufncfs is accepted with him* 
 Adls X. 35. God expedeth not that man to improve 
 two talents, to whom he hath given but one. I ^CJ^ 
 iifTure you iir, I bear a hearty love and good-will 
 to all men, eipecially to them who love the Lord Jefus 
 Chrift injincerity. Ephef. vi. 24. And as my love to 
 my fellow-creatures muft be ccnfiftcnt with that obe- 
 dience my great mafter calls for, and requires at my 
 hands; fo it is confidently with both, that I now 
 write in vindication of what I conceive to be the truth, 
 and agreeable to his mind and will. And when we 
 have all faid all we can fay, we muft leave all men 
 in the hands of the infinitely-wife and good God, who 
 knows beft how to difpofe of every thing and every 
 perfon. And therefore will certainly judge the world 
 in right eoufnefs, by that man whom he hath ordained. 
 That is our Lord Jefus Chrifl. A6ls xvii. 31. 
 
 This however, is certain and evident, our great 
 and honoured Lord has delivered X.o the world an 
 entirely nevv' fyflem, and placed things on a quite 
 different bafis from what they had ever been before. 
 
 D To 
 
( i8 ) 
 
 To this end, That both Jews and Gentiles might be- 
 come one "people \ be united together under one head \ 
 "walk together in one way •, and be all happy together 
 in one heaven at laji^ In confequence of which, he 
 muft, undoubtedly expe(5l:, that all who would be 
 faved by him, fhould inviolably obferve his one nu- 
 thcd of falvation. That is, fb far as they have at- 
 tained to the knowledge of it, or how can they ex- 
 pe6l to be faved by him ? Has he made any promife 
 of falvation to any one who does not walk in his own 
 inftituted way ? Or has he any where appointed more 
 ways than one to lead men infallibly to eternal life ? 
 If nothing of this can be found in the New Teftament, 
 what I have faid in the beginning ftands immoveable. 
 In your laft letter, you tell me, 
 
 Firft, " I do not think either the Church of Eng- 
 land, or the people called Methodifts, or any other 
 particular fociety under Heaven to be the true Church 
 of Chrifi. For that church is but one^ and contains 
 ail the true believers on earth. But I conceive every 
 fociety of true believers to be a branch of the one true 
 Church of Chrift." But, whatever you think, fir, 
 I cannot help thinking, that there is a people fomc- 
 where who very juftly and properly may be called 
 ^he 'True Church of Chriji : Or elfe we muft be at a 
 very great lofs to know who, or what fort of people, 
 we ought, as chriftians, to join ourfelves to •, unlefs 
 we are to make no difference between thofe who keep 
 the ordinances as they were delivered by the apoftles 
 * and thofe who do not. And if this be right reafon- 
 ing, what avails the reformation from popery ? Why 
 were men fo foolifh to fpill their blood rather than 
 join with the papijis ? 
 
 Suppofe a man was to come to you fir, and a(k, "what 
 fociety of chriftians ought I to join myfelf to, that 
 I may have communion and feilowfhip with them in 
 * I Cor, xi, ii« 
 
 the 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 the order of the gofpel, according to the Inditution 
 and commandment of Jefus Chrift ? 'What would you 
 fay to him ? Would you not diredt him to one which 
 you prefered above the reft ? To one, which in your 
 apprehenfion, came neareft to the Scripture plan ? 
 Or would you tell him " all focieties are alike, it mat- 
 ters not which of them all he joins himfelf to ? Every 
 fociety of true believers is a branch of the one true 
 church of Chrift?" But, fuppofe he ihould further 
 afk, " where muft I find a fociety of true believers ?" 
 What would you fay to him then fir ? 1 know 
 what I muft be obliged to fay upon your fcheme.^ if 
 1 were in your place. 1 muft fay, now you have non- 
 plujfed me. For, 
 
 Is it not the common cry, lohere^ lo there? Do not all 
 chriftian focieties (fo called ) lay claim to that honourable 
 Title, The True Church of Chrijl ? But are all focieties 
 that One true church ? No, " All focieties of true 
 believers are." Now we are juft gotten where we 
 were before, and here we muft be -, for according to 
 the definition you give, of the One true church of 
 Chrift, we can never ftir a ftep farther, or if we do^ 
 we fhall quickly revolve to the fame point again. 
 For thus you fay, " The church of Chrift is but One, 
 and contains all the true believers on earth, every fo- 
 ciety of true believers is a branch of the One true 
 church of Chrift" Why did not you extend it a lit- 
 tle farther fir, and fay it contains all the true believers 
 that ever have been, are, and fhall be upon earth, 
 from the beginning to tlie end of the world ? You 
 might very well have done fo. For the church of 
 Chrift, conndered as the church of God, moft cer- 
 tainly is but One, and contains all that ftiall be faved 
 at the laft day. But v/hat is this to the purpofe .? 
 How much wifer is any enquirer for this ? I made no 
 doubt, fir, but you had been much more exac?]: 
 and methodical, in forming your notions of a church 
 
 D 2 than 
 
{ 20 ) 
 
 tlian you exprefs to me. How fhall any man know 
 by your general definition where to find the true church 
 of Chrift y for as I faid, all parties lay claim to it, 
 all call themfelves orthodox and true believers ? Now 
 if there be not one ftanding and invariable rule by 
 which we may fafely and certainly diftinguifh the right 
 from the wrong, the true from the falfe, how muft we 
 ever be able to convince gainfayers ? 
 
 Now fir, if what you think and fay be true, viz, 
 that the church of England is not the true church of 
 Chrift, you have certainly, though undefignedly ex- 
 cluded yourfelf and all your brethren with you, from 
 being members of the true church of Chrift; for 
 which, I fuppofe, they will fcarcely give you thanks. 
 But probably you will tell me, " the church of Eng- 
 land is one particular fociety of true believers, and, 
 therefore is, among others, a branch of the one true 
 church." I fuppofe then we are to account every de- 
 nomination (or- as you word it fociety) of chriftians to 
 be a branch of the one true church, are we not fir ? 
 If you fay " Yes," you compel me to fay, it is a moft 
 confufed jumble. For true and falfe, right and wrong, 
 without any difference or diftincflion are all blended 
 together. And if you fay " No, Every fociety of 
 true believers is. "It is the very fame, becaufe all will 
 call themfelves orthodox and true believers. 
 
 But perhaps you will fay, " I do not mean that all 
 that are called chriftian focieties are all individually 
 to a man, true believers-, but that there are fome 
 true believers in every chriftian fociety : And thefe 
 true believers, wherever they are found, make up 
 the one true church of Chrift." And if this be your 
 meaning, fir, as it feems to me it muft be, then we 
 muft conclude, that the church of Chrift is gathered 
 out, and compofed of all the different focieties of 
 profefifmg chriftians. But, dear fir, (let that be as it 
 will) is this defcribing the church of Chrift by any 
 
 rule 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 rule that can be found in the Gofpel ? No certainly, 
 it is not. I fay fir, this defcription of the church of 
 Chrift is not according to any gofpel rule, but is given 
 at random, at very great random indeed fir. It is 
 hoped, you can give a much fairer and more beautiful 
 defcription of the church of Chrift than this ; which, 
 is no lefs, and no other, than making his church to 
 be a colleSlion of perfons out of all focieties, parties, 
 or denominations of chriftians : Which colle^lion, you 
 know fir, will not be made until the lafl great day : 
 So that according to this account, the church of Chrift 
 is fuch a church, as no body knows nor can know 
 till it be gathered from the Four Winds. If I have 
 miftook your meaning, I afk forgivenefs. 
 
 Be pleafed to permit me now fir, to afk you, where 
 muflwe find a fociety of true believers ? In your way 
 of reafoning it feems to me abfolutely impoflible. 
 For you fay, " you think no fociety under heaven is 
 the true church of Chrifl, buf that all true believers 
 make up that church." If fo, then, as thefe true 
 believers are fuppofed to be fcattered up and down, 
 in a promifcuous manner throughout the whole of 
 Chriilendom, and hid, as it were, in the feveral fo- 
 cieties to which they do feverally belong, where fhall 
 we find a fociety of true believers ? For if no parti- 
 cular fociety be the true church, there can be no fo- 
 ciety of true believers. But if there be a fociety of 
 true believers, that very fociety is the true church, 
 Confequently, fo many focieties of true believers, 
 juft fo many true churches. 
 
 " Every fociety of true believers is (fay you) a 
 branch of the one true church of Chrifl." Every fo- 
 ciety of true believers is (fay I) a true church of Chrift, 
 By a fociety of true believers, I underftand (and mufl 
 I think by every one be underftood to mean) a num- 
 ber of perfons joining together with their refpecftive 
 paftor or teacher, ftatedly to worfhip God, and perr 
 
 form 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 form the public duties of religion, or in your own 
 words, " to ufe the means of falvr.tion," according 
 to the order of the gofpel. Now if this be a jufi: de- 
 finition of a fociety of true believers, as you will, I 
 think, not deny •, then it is evident, that fuch a fo- 
 ciety is a true church •, as the following fcnptures, 
 with many more, do fully prove. What thou fcefi, 
 write in a hook^ and fend it to the Seven Churches "which 
 ure in Aiia, Rev. i. 1 1, 20. and Chap. ii. y. AW the 
 Churches Jhall know^ ver. 23, I'he Churches of 
 ■ Chrifl falute yoii^ Rom. xvi. 16. The care of all the 
 Churches, 2 Cor. xi. 28. But if any man ivill he 
 contentious^ we have no fuch cuflom^ nor the Churches, 
 (not branches) cf God^ i Cor. xi. 16. Thefe texts 
 are, you know,,., fir, fo many glaring proofs of what I 
 have afierted. By all which, it plainly appears, there 
 are many true churches ; even as many as there are fo- 
 cieties of true believers ; for it is certain, we fhall 
 never be ail one church till we get to heaven. There- 
 fore as many as agree together, toputthemfelves under 
 the immediate care and government of their par- 
 ticular paftor or teacher, and who are under the jufl: 
 rules and regulations of the Gofpel ; are nov/, and 
 ever were ftiled a church of Chrift. Unto the angel or 
 minifter, bifhop or paftor, of the church (not branch) 
 of Evhefus^ Rev. ii. i. Thus fir, I have, I think, 
 clearly proved without leaving room for the ieaft ob- 
 jection, that each fociety of true believers is a true 
 church. 
 
 As to the difference fome are pleafed to make be- 
 tween a true church, and the true church, I look up- 
 on it to be mere trifling ; for if a church be not the 
 true church, it cannot be a true church ; and if it be 
 a true church, it muft be the true church. Unto the 
 ^ngel ofTuz church (not A church, muchlefs branch) 
 in Philadelphia, Rev. iii- 7. Here was a particular 
 fociety of true believers caljsd the church, (as it is 
 
 generally 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 generally in other places) and wherever there is a To- 
 ciety of true believers at this day, that very fociety is 
 the true church of Chrift in that place^ though not the 
 univerfal true church of Chrift over the v/hole world: 
 For in the whole world Chrift has many true churches. 
 Now fir, I hope you will not fcruple to acknow- 
 ledge you are in a miftake, about what you call a 
 branch of the true church of Chrift. When he faid 
 to his difciples, / am the vme^ ye are the branches, 
 John XV. 5. We very well know he did not mean 
 that his difciples were fo many focieties of true be- 
 lievers. But I will add no more on this head, only 
 tell you here, you very well knew I did not defir« 
 you to fhew me the invijlble church of Chrift ; that 
 being impoflible for any man to do. None can tell thft 
 individuals that ftiall be faved among thofe who have 
 lived from the days of Adam to thi« day •, and it is equally 
 impofiible to tell every individual, that fhall be faved 
 among thofe who are yet to be born from this to the laft 
 day. So that I can look upon what you have faid 
 upon this head to be nothing but mere evafion. And 
 indeed ftr, before I can perfuade myfelf to proceed 
 any farther, I am obliged to tell you, you do not 
 deal candidly and ingenuoufly with me, not like a 
 man of honour. For inftead of fending me a dire<5l: . 
 anfwer, you fend me no anfwcr at all. You do not 
 prove any thing, nor indeed do you undertake to 
 prove any thing. " I do not conceive. So far as I 
 know. According to the beft of my judgment." 
 Thefe are your arguments to me fir, but do not clear up 
 any one thing. What is the reafon you keep fo much 
 at a diftance ? Are the things I fpake of below your 
 notice ? Or are you confcious of the want of fubftan- 
 tial arguments to ftand before the face of truth } You 
 fay, " I, upon fixed principle, abfolutely refufe to 
 enter into a formal controverfy upon the head" of 
 cfeurch government. But why, fir, have you made 
 
 it 
 
( 24 ) 
 
 It a fixed principle, abfolutely to refufe dircufling that 
 point ? Are you afraid others fhouid know what your 
 form of church government is ? Or are you fearful 
 you are not able to defend it ? You fay, " I cannot 
 ipend time in oppofing or defending this or that form 
 of church government. I have proved all things of 
 that kind for more than twenty years : I now holdfaji 
 that which is good.'* Do you fir. That's well. But I 
 fear there is fome good -, you are fo far from holding faji, 
 that you have not yet received. But you add, " That 
 which in my judgment is not only not contrary to 
 fcripture, but ftridlly agreeable thereto." Bur in my 
 judgment^ it will, I think, be found in its proper 
 place ; you do hold that which is contrary, and there^ 
 fore far from being ftridly agreeable to holy fcrip- 
 ture. Let me add fir, you do not feem willing to 
 imitate the great and good St. Paul. He did not 
 make it a fixed principle with him to refufe difputing 
 for the honour of his mafter, for he was very often 
 engaged in that v/ork. Had it been a fixed principle 
 ■with him to refufe difputing, he muit alfo have made 
 it a fixed principle to refufe preaching, for men would 
 oppofe him. Is it no matter what men believe, if 
 they do but live well ? (fo it is called) This indeed 
 with fome, feem s to be a favourite notion ; the very 
 Shibboleth pf the prefent age •, the darling of our times. 
 All forts of men are ready enough to fay, " It fig- 
 nifies nothing what religion we are of, if we do but 
 live good lives : It will never be afked what religion 
 "Wewere of." But what monftrous fcupidity and down- 
 fight falfehood is this ! as might eafily be evinced by 
 unanfwerable arguments. But what do men mean, 
 think you fir, by " living good lives ?" If they mean 
 fuch lives as are according to the gofpel, I know no* 
 body that will contradid them. But this I fear is not 
 the cafe, but a mere pretence, only defigned to flop 
 
 the 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 the mouths of them who oppofe their grofs eiTors. 
 But I now obferve. 
 
 Secondly, You tell me, " You think the mode of 
 baptifm is necefTary to falvation •, I deny that even 
 baptifm itfelf is fo ; if it were, every Quaker muft 
 be damned ; which I can in no wife believe." Dear 
 fir, your believing or not believing either this or that, 
 concerning the Quakers falvation, is nothing to the 
 purpofe. You could not poffibly think fir, this 
 would be received for argument : on the contrary, it 
 is a fufncient proof of the v/ant of it. Indeed, to 
 fpeak freely, you are no more baptized than they. 
 Sprinkling being no more a baptifm, than fcattering 
 a little earth on the face of a dead perfon is a burial. 
 This, the Quakers themfelves will tell you. You 
 and they ftand upon a level merely with regard to 
 baptifm ; otherwife, you are worfe than they. They 
 neither have, nor pretend to have any water-baptifm. 
 But you call that baptifm which is no baptifm. You 
 fay and do not ; and yet dare not fay as you do. You 
 fprinkle a fev/ drops of water on the face of a perfon, 
 and fay, '-'• I baptize thee," which is not true. And 
 you dare not fay I fprinkle thee. 
 
 You fay " I think the mode of baptifm is nece/Tary 
 to falvation." But I muft beg leave to tell you fir, 
 you have fpoken more than you know ; it was a word 
 too far, you was too hafty and concluded too foon : 
 You are therefore entirely miftaken ; I think no fuch 
 thing. It is not fo much the mode of baptifm, as 
 baptifm itfelf I infift upon. Let but the thiyig be done, 
 and I dare fay we fiiall not differ about the mode or 
 manner of doing it. But here fir, is '•'•your grand mif- 
 take." You call that baptifm which is no baptifm, 
 nor hath any refemblance or likenefs to it. Baptifm is 
 a burial, 'Tis a burial (though indeed but for a mo- 
 ment) of the whole perfon in the water, as literally 
 and truly as that is of a dead perfon when laid in the 
 
 E grave , 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 grave-, only with this difference, one is buried in the 
 water, the other in the earth. Now lir, you know 
 that no one is buried who only Hes upon the furfacc 
 with a little duft fprinkled upon his face, any more 
 than Job's three friends were buried, when they 
 fprinkled dufi upon their heads ^ Job ii, 12. Neither is 
 that perfon baptized who has only a little water 
 fprinkled on his face. And it is exacflly agreeable to 
 what i now fay, that St. Paul himfelf fpeaks of Bap- 
 tifm, when he fays, JVe are buried with him (that is 
 Chrift) by baptifm. Rom. vi, 4. 
 
 No man ever did yet, nor ever can prove fprinkling 
 to be baptifm. They are not only different names 
 but as different things •, and convey as different ideas, 
 being as different in {zn{Q as they are in found. I 
 therefore add, Baptifm is immerging, overwhelming, 
 or dipping. If therefore fprinkling be baptifm, then 
 fprinkling mufi: be dipping ; for all allow that baptifm 
 and dipping are fynonimous terms ; confequently, 
 dipping and fprinkling are fynonimous terms alfo. 
 Now if this be juft and right reafoning, it is no bad 
 Englifh to fay, fuch a one has been dipped by only 
 fprinkling a few drops on him. But I muft obferve 
 farther, you look upon fprinkling to be not a mode 
 only, but as 7nuch^ as properly and equally (to all in- 
 tents and purpofes) baptifm^ as dipping itfelf is. By 
 which we are led to conclude that fprinkling Is dipping, 
 and dipping is fprinkling. 'Tis allowed on all hands 
 that baptifm is dipping., and you fay fprinkling is bap- 
 tifm •, if io, then fprinkling muil be dipping. Again, 
 fay you, baptifm Is fprinkling. (I mean, you own and 
 acknowledge it fo to be, and fo do thoufands more 
 befides yourl>lf) And all fay dipping is baptifm •, if fo, 
 then dipping muft be fprinkiing. How can thefe 
 things be reconciled iir :' If tnerefore you will infift 
 upou it that fprinkling is baptifm, you muft alfo in- 
 
 iifl 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 upon it that fprinkling is dipping. Now iir, if thde 
 are not real inconfiflencies, yea palpable contradidlions, 
 then let our next conclufion be to throw away our 
 bibles and our reafon together. You cannot but fee 
 fir, that allowing dipping and fprinkling to be each 
 of them fully and equally baptifm, they do necefTarily 
 infer one another, as I have proved. Let us now (ee 
 what we can make of it, by allowing them to be two 
 different modes of baptifm. But firft we are obliged 
 to lay down the following conclufion, viz. 
 
 Dipping and fprinkling are of the fame import and 
 fignffication, one and the fame thing ; at the fame time 
 they are allowed to be two different modes of that fame 
 thing. 'Tis indeed a flrange conclufion ! But however, 
 we cannot help it, if it be wrong, give me leave to 
 pleafantly tell you, we muft impute it to the learned, 
 fuch as you fir. I proceed; dipping and fprinkling are 
 two different modes of baptifm : This very naturally 
 leads one to afk what is baptifm ? Why, it is either or 
 both dipping and fprinkling. Profound reafoning! 
 Who can fland againft the force of fuch an argument ? 
 Dipping and fprinkling are each of them diftindtly 
 and feparately, truly and properly, baptifm. Dipping 
 and fprinkling are two diftindl and proper modes of 
 baptifm. Then fay I, dipping and fprinkling are 
 modes of one another ? which I thus evince. 
 
 You allow dipping to be a mode of baptifm, and 
 that fprinkling is baptifm ; that is, fprinkling is the 
 thing which dipping is the mode of. Therefoi e dipping 
 mult be a mode of fprinkling. Again, you allow that 
 fprinkling is a mode of baptifm, and that dipping is bap- 
 tifm i that is, dipping is the thing which fprinkling 
 is a mode of: therefore fprinkling muil be a mode of 
 dipping. 
 
 Thus it appears that by making dipping and fprink- 
 ling fynonimous terms,, they produce a heap of fy- 
 nonimous nonfenfe. If indeed it were fo, that tho' 
 
 they 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 they are two different founds, yet they carry but one 
 and the fame fenfe-, two names, but exprefs one 
 and the fame thing -, two v^ords, but convey one and 
 the fame idea •, all would be well enough. But it is 
 no fuch thing, we all know it is not ; indeed dipping 
 and baptifm are exadly fo, and we are all fure and 
 confident of it, no body difputes it : but all the world 
 can never make the others fo. 
 
 Suppofe a man fhould aflirm with all the afTurance 
 and confidence imaginable, that creeping and jump- 
 ing are two different modes of leaping ; yea, that 
 they are diflindtly and feparately, truly and properly 
 leaping itfelf, would any body believe him P What 
 would fuch a man be called ? Or fuppofe a man ever 
 fo dogmatically to affert that he is as rightly and truly 
 buried, who lies upon the furface with a little earth 
 upon his face, as he is who is put into it and covered 
 all over with it, would not every body laugh at him 
 and fay, the man is either touched in his fenfes, or 
 knows not what a burial is, or cares not what he 
 fays ? Again, 
 
 What would that miftrefs fay to her ^maid, who 
 having commanded her to wafh the linen, fhould, in- 
 ftead of wafhing it, only fprinkle a few drops of water 
 on it ? Or it being rightly wafhed, fhould bid her 
 fprinkle it in order for folding it up, and fhe fhould, 
 inllead of that, go and dip it into the water ? Once 
 more. 
 
 Suppofe you v;as to fend a piece of cloth to be dyed 
 and the Dyer was only to fprinkle a few drops of the 
 colour upon it, and fend it you back again, what 
 would you fay to it ? Would you fay it was really and 
 properly dyed ? Or v/ould you not rather fay, the 
 Dyer never dipt this cloth in his Vat, he has only 
 fprinkled, fpotted and flained it, and thereby has 
 done it more harm than good. The application is 
 cafy. 
 
 upon 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 Now fir, it does, I think, moft clearly appear that 
 fprinkling is fo far from being baptifm, that it is not 
 lo much as a mode of it ; hath no likenefs to it, nor 
 .any refemblance of it, but is as different from it as 
 creeping is from leaping. Thus I have fufficiently 
 andjuilly expofed the weaknefs and abfurdity of al- 
 lowing fprinkhng to be baptifm, nay, or fo much 
 as a mode of it. Do you not fee fir, that it unavoid- 
 ably involves you in inextricable difficulties .'' And do 
 you not fee that your diftindion between what you 
 call the mode of baptifm and baptifm itfclf, has no 
 jull foundation ? You make a difference where it is 
 not poflible to be made, and part thofe ■ things which, 
 all the world cannot put afunder, and join thofe to- 
 gether which are at the utmoft diftance from each 
 other. For to fpeak of dipping as a mode of baptifin 
 is to make a difference v/here there is none ; and is 
 juft as good fenfe, as faying dipping is a mode of 
 dipping, which is no fenfe at all. I fay therefore, 
 dipping is not a mode of baptifm, but baptifm itfelf. 
 And to fpeak of fprinkling as a mode of baptifm, is 
 joining thofe things together which can never come 
 near one another, for it is no lefs and no other than 
 making fprinkling to be a mode of dipping, which 
 is like the other, no fenfe at all. Therefore, when 
 we fpeak of the mode of baptifm, it is to be conceived 
 and underftood only of that particular ad of the bap- 
 tift or adminiftrator upon the perfon baptized. But 
 to talk of dipping and fprinkling being modes of 
 baptifm is to talk downright nonfenfe. And now 1 
 conclude this with wiffiing that you, and all others 
 who are not, may foon become right and fit fubje(5l;s 
 for baptifm in the right and true fenfe. 
 
 You have faid fir, that " I think the mode of bap- 
 tifm is neceffary to falvation," and I have told you 
 that you are miftaken, and that I believe no fuch 
 thing. But whatever I think, you do flatly and pofi- 
 
 lively 
 
( 3^ ) 
 
 fively '• deny that even baptifm itielf is fo." But 
 v»hat if I fliould prove that eve?t you yourfelf do make 
 baptifm neceffary to falvation, what would you fay 
 then fir ? However I will try for once what can be 
 done. 
 
 Remember pray fir, and well confider your own 
 iKords in your Farther Appeal, where you fay, " We 
 approve of, and adhere to all that we learned when 
 we were children, in our catechifm and common- 
 prayer-book. We hold, and ever have done, the 
 fame opinions we received from our forefathers. We 
 approve both the dodlrines and difcipline of our church. 
 We agree with you, both in tlie externals and circum- 
 ilantials of religion." * Now fir, as you fay you " ap- 
 prove of, and adhere to all you learned in your ca- 
 techifm and common-prayer-book, &c." You mufl 
 I think, allow, that Baptifm is neceffary to falvation. 
 For in the anfwer to the very fecond queilion in your 
 catechifm, it is faid, " wherein I was made (i. e. in 
 baptifm) a member of Chrifl, the child of God, and 
 an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." What doth 
 this mean ? Is it not a full declaration that baptifm 
 j% neceflary not only to your being made a member of 
 Chrifl, the child of God, but as the certain confe.- 
 cpience thereof, and inheritor of the kingdom of hea- 
 ven "^ For what had you, or any other child more at 
 what you call baptifm, than ha-piifm to make you an 
 inheritor of the kingdom of heaven ? Now fir, if vou 
 ■were not, and could not be made a member of Chrifl, 
 the child of God and an inheritor of the kingdom of 
 heaven without baptifm, then you muft acknowledge 
 that it is neceffary to make you both the one and the 
 ether •, confequently, it muft be neceffary to falvation. 
 And if you were, or could be both the one and the 
 other without baptifm, what was you (as you call it) 
 baptized for ? But that you make baptifm neceflary 
 * Farther Appeal, page 134 and 135. 
 
( 3' ) 
 
 to falvatlon will farther appear, from hence.' You 
 fay, you " hold, and ever have done, the fame opini- 
 ons with your forefathers." Now fir, was it not the 
 opinion of your forefathers, and therefore your own, 
 according to article 9, " that in every perfon bom 
 into this world it deferveth God's wrath and damna- 
 tion ?" And is it not in confequence of this opinion, 
 (call it if you like it better, an article of your faith,) 
 that every child ought to be baptized .'' Is not bap- 
 tifm fuppofed at leaft to wafh away Original fM ? And 
 is not that fm fuppofed to be the caufe of every per- 
 fon's being in a ftate of wrath and damnation at his 
 coming into the world ^ And that every perfon is de- 
 livered therefrom, and removed into a ftate of fal- 
 vation, in, or by his baptifm } This is I think what 
 is generally believed, or why is the minifter fent for 
 in fuch hafte to fprinkle a child that is thought to be 
 in danger of death .'' 'Tis evident you dare not let 
 your children go out of the world without what you 
 wrongly call baptifm. Pray what doth this look like i* Is 
 it not making baptifm neceffary to falvation ? If it is 
 not, tell me what is. If therefore, you do not make 
 baptifm neceffary to falvation, why do you (as you 
 call it) baptize them? Now if a child fhould die im- 
 mediately after it is baptized, (to ufe not to allow the 
 term) you have no fear of its damnation, becaufe it is 
 fuppofed to be by baptifm put into a new and different 
 ftate from what it was in before •, therefore, if before 
 baptifm it was in a ftate of damnation, but at, or 
 in baptifm in a ftate of falvation •, I appeal to all the 
 world, whether you do not make baptifm neceftary to 
 falvation. And now fir, you are I think, brought to 
 this Dilemma^ viz. You muft' either allow that bap- 
 tifm is neceflary to falvation, or deny that it is ne- 
 ceftary to baptize infants. And if you will not allovT 
 the former, you muft either acknowledge or deny the 
 latter. Acknowledge it you cannot, (or that would 
 
 be 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 be allowing what you deny, viz. that baptifm is nc- 
 cefiary to falvation. And if you deny it, you entirely 
 diflblve infant baptifm. How you will find your way 
 out of this Labyrinth fir, I do not know, except you 
 renounce your error and embrace the truth. 
 
 'Tis true, I have known fome of* the "church* of 
 England who had no fear of their childrens damna- 
 tion had they died without fprinkling, but only had 
 it done out of cuflom and to obtain a decent burial for 
 them. This brings to my mind what I have often 
 wondered at, I mean your refufal to bury an unbap- 
 tized child in the common way of burying thofe you 
 call baptized. In fome places not fo much as fufi'er- 
 ing the Bell to be rung to let any body know a child 
 is dead. Pray fir, what is the reafon of it .? Is it bc- 
 caufe the unbaptized child's foul is gone to hell, and 
 therefore its body is not worth taking notice of ? One 
 would hope not ; and yet fome people would be al- 
 moft tempted to think fo. 'Tis I think a piece of par- 
 tiality, though no real hurt done to thofe little ones. 
 But upon the whole, if it appears that the church of 
 England holds baptifm neceffary to falvation, as it 
 feems pretty clear and evident fhe does •, and as you 
 approve of, and adhere to all you learned in your ca- 
 techifm and common-prayer book, &c. &c. you mufl, 
 confiftently therewith, notwithftanding your denial to 
 me, allow that baptifm is neceffary to falvation. And 
 now fir, I will take the liberty to reafon a little upon 
 the necefTity of Baptifm, and give you my real thoughts 
 upon it without referve, in all plainnefs and fmipli- 
 city. Firfl, to whom baptifm is not neceffary. Se- 
 condly to whom it is, and to what ends. 
 
 Firft, Baptifm is not neceffary to thofe who never 
 heard of Chrift •, nor to thofe who have heard of him 
 and yet continue unbelievers, whether they be Pagans, 
 Jews, Turks or Dcijis -, and all others be they who they 
 will that do not believe in Chrift. Ngr to ideots, 
 
 reafons 
 
[ 33 ) 
 
 nor infants. All which, without the leafl fcruple, 
 will, I doubt not, be readily granted, except the in- 
 fants laft mentioned. And therefore I muft give the 
 reafons why baptifm is not necefiary to them, much 
 leis to their falvation, although you and your church 
 m^jce it fo'. But here I muft obfcrve, that baptifm, 
 nor indeed any other duty fingly and alone, avails no 
 one, (To add nothing farther at prefent) But your 
 church makes infants falvation to depend upon bap- 
 tifm only, and that not as an a6l of their own neither ; 
 for as every body knows, they are wholly paffive in 
 it : So that if baptifm be not necefTary to their fal- 
 vation, it is indeed in no fenfe necefiary to theiii. 
 
 For they are wholly deftitute, and altogether in- 
 capable of religious principles and pradlices •, and this 
 is one good reafon why baptifm is not necefTary to 
 'them. Which I will farther iliuftrate from your own 
 catechifm, which will, I hope, have the more weight 
 with you, becaufe it is what you approve of and ad- 
 here to. Therefore, 
 
 When with refpedl to baptifm, it is afked. What 
 is the inward and fpiritual grace ?" The anfv/er is, 
 *' a death unto fin, and a new birth unto righteouf- 
 nefs ; for being by nature born in fin, and the chil- 
 dren of wrath, we are hereby made the children of 
 grace." This anfwer is exadly agreeable to what I 
 nave obferved before, concerning the ftate of infants 
 before and after baptifm, 'Tis allowed here they are 
 born in fin, and the children of wrath, and are by 
 baptifm made the children of grace. By baptifm there- 
 fore they are fuppofed to be brought out of, or 
 changed from their former ftate of fin and wrath into 
 a ftate of grace, &c. So that it is plain, you attribute 
 abundantly more to baptifm than either we or the 
 fcriptures ever do. For in them we no where read 
 that baptifm is fo efHcacious, or were ever defigned 
 fo to be to any perfons, much lefs to infants, about 
 
 F whofe 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 whofe baptifm, no one ever read a word therein. 
 Here then is another plain proof you do make bap- 
 tifm necefTary to falvation. It is mcft evident and 
 certain, that according to the facred fcriptures, there 
 muft be fome quaHfications in evei-y one previous to 
 baptifm ; which quaHfications are entirely wanting, 
 nay, it is abfolutely impofTible they fhould ever be 
 found in infants •, and confequently it is not at all ne- 
 ce/Tary that they fhould be baptized. 
 
 Now thefe qualifications according to your own ca- 
 techifm, are, " a death unto fin and a new birth unto 
 xighteoufnefs." Thefe make up what is called " the 
 inward and fpiritual grace," which no infant can be 
 pofiefled of. * Again, you fartlier aik, "What is re- 
 quired of perfons (indefinitely) to be baptized ? To 
 which the anfwer is, " Repentance whereby they for- 
 fake fin, and Faith whereby they ftedfaftly believe 
 the promifes of God made to them in that facrament." 
 What repentance and faith are there or can poflibly 
 be found in infants fir ^ Without thefe you know 
 there can be no death unto fin, no new birth unto 
 righteoufnefs ; confequently, no inward and fpiritual 
 grace, which ought to be always joined with the out- 
 ward and vifible fign or form in baptifm. It is there- 
 fore evident to a demonflration, that as infants want 
 thofe qualifications which, according to your own ca- 
 techifm, are previoufly neceffary in order to make 
 fit fubje(5bs for baptifm, it muft needs follovv' by an 
 unavoidable confequence, that baptifm is not necef- 
 fary to them. 
 
 But to the next quefi:ion, " Why then are infants 
 baptized," (ay fay I Vv'hy indeed ^) when by reafon of 
 their tender age they cannot perform them ? That 
 is, the duties of repentance and faith. Or in o- 
 ther words, as repentance and faith are required of 
 
 per- 
 
 * No one at its baptifm ever gave proof of a death unto fin 
 and a new birth unto righteoufnefs. 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 perfons previous to their being baptized, why are in- 
 fants baptized, who can neither repent nor believe ? 
 Anfwer, " Becaiife they" [infants] " promife them 
 both" [viz. repentance and faith] " by their fureties, 
 which promife, when they come to age, themfelves 
 are bound to perform." In this anfwer is contained 
 the reafon why infants are baptized, although at that 
 time they can neither repent nor beheve. And the 
 reafon is, " becaufe they promife" (fo it is exprefled) 
 to do " both" fometime, and that is "when they come 
 to age," Here let us obferve, i. Who are faid to 
 promife ? 2. What they are faid to promife, 3. By 
 whom they are faid to promife. i . Who. — Infants. 
 I deny it. They promife neither ; For they pro- 
 mife nothing. Nor can they, being utterly incapa- 
 ble of making a promife -, therefore for any one to af- 
 fert it, is no lefs than an infult upon the common 
 {Q.Y\{t of mankind •, a high and glaring affront to their 
 underllanding. None can miake a promife without 
 his own knowledge at leaft. 2. What infants are faid 
 to promife. To repent and believe. No fuch thing. 
 You know they do not. For if (as has been faid) 
 they promife nothing, they do not promife to repent 
 and believe. But 3. By ivhom they arc faid to pro- 
 mife. " By their fureties," So it is faid indeed, but 
 it is far from being right , for if infants can make no 
 promife at all, they can make none by their fureties -, 
 if they could make a promife by their fureties, they 
 could make the fame promife without them •, fo that 
 it is the fame thing exadly to promife by their fure- 
 ties as to promife without them •, for none can make 
 a promife by another to a third perfon without his 
 own perfonal knowledge. Every promufe made to 
 another, whether by furety or deputy, (call \}im. what 
 you pleafe) muft be the .i(5t and deed of the promifer. 
 Let us for once fuppofe a man jfhould come and 
 tell you that a child of three days old, had promiled 
 by him, to give you a thoufand pounds when he came 
 
 F" 2 to 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 to age, would you pay any regard to fuch a promlfe, 
 or to the perfon who told you fo ? Would you not ra- 
 ther refent it as an infult, or laugh at him for his ri- 
 diculous foolery, or pity the weaknefs of his intel- 
 ledls, and ihew him the abfurdity and impoflibility of 
 fuch a promife? And could that child be obliged 
 when he came to age to make fuch a pretended pro- 
 mife good ? It is therefore a wrong anfwer to a need- 
 lefs queftion in your catechifm -, for^ in fhort, the 
 child is fo far from promifmg any thing, by his 
 fureties, that if there be a promife made, it is by the 
 fureties for the child, not the child by the fureties ; 
 as is plain from the third queftion in the catechifm. 
 " What did your godfathers and godmothers then 
 for you ? Anfwer, " They did promife and vow (not 
 I by them) three things in my name," in my ftead. 
 for me, or in behalf of me. They did -promife. That 
 is it fir. 
 
 But it is to be obferved, that the promife which 
 infants are faid to make by their fureties, is not ex- 
 peded nor required to be performed by them till they 
 come to age \ that is, till they are capable of know- 
 ing and underftanding the nature of the promife they 
 are faid to have made -, if fo, why in fuch hafte to 
 have a promife made fo many years before it can be 
 performed with any advantage ? Therefore if the pro- 
 mife is not, cannot be performed till they come to 
 years of underftanding, of what ufe can the making 
 of fuch a promife be to them ? What end can it an- 
 fwer ? Can they for whom it is made, be any better 
 for it ? Wherein ? They are not bound to obferve it 
 till they underftand it \ would it not be foon enough 
 to make it when they do underftand it ? Surely it would. 
 For if they for whom it is made, neither are nor can 
 be the better for it till themfelves perform it, what 
 ftands fuch a promife for ? Do you fay. The promife 
 made for infants by their fureties lays them under a 
 greater obligation to perform it when they do come 
 
 to 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 to age ? That is fooner faid than proved ; however 
 I will venture to deny it. No perfon can be under 
 anv obligation at all to perform a promife made for 
 him by another, and which he himfelf never made, 
 nor authorized any one to make for him ; for as I 
 .have faid the infant does not, cannot make it, no not 
 by his fureties. Every promife which a perfon ftands 
 engaged to perform, muft be made by himfelf per- 
 fonally ; therefore if any perfon makes a promife for 
 another, it muft be by the order and appointment, 
 authority and conimiilion, will and confent of that 
 other perfon, in whofe name, and for whom he 
 makes it. 
 
 How extremely wrong therefore it is to fay as you 
 do at what you call baptizing of infants. — " This 
 Infant muft alfo faithfully for his part, promife by you 
 that are his fureties that he will renounce the devil." 
 And again. For as much as this child hath promifed 
 by you his fureties to renounce the devil and all his 
 works, to believe in God, and to ferve him j — yc 
 muft fee that he be taught what a folemn vow, pro- 
 mife and profeftion, he hath here made by you.'* 
 Whereas on the contrary, it is moft certain, the child 
 neither did nor could make fuch a promife ; nor do 
 the fureties take it fo, but that they themfelves made 
 the folemn vow and promife for the child. This is 
 evident by their being deftrous to clear themfelves of 
 it as foon as they can, at leaft fome of them. Though 
 there are many who never think any more about it, or 
 only laugh and make a mere jeft of it. Pray what 
 ftand fuch fareties for ? 
 
 Befides, who can help obferving the inconfiftency 
 which fo evidently ftiews itfelf in this tranfadion ? — 
 One while the child is faid to promife by his fureties, 
 another while the fureties are faid to promife for the 
 child ; what a ftrange jumble of things is here ! Not 
 one word of fcripture to fupport fuch a pradice. Now 
 
 fir. 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 fiYj by what I have fald, doth it not plainly appear 
 you make baptifm neceffary to falvation ? ? That you 
 make it neceffary to the falvation of infants ? Why 
 elfe do you make fo much ado about their baptifm ? 
 
 Let us now proceed a ftep farther, and fee v/hat we 
 can fmd in the holy fcripture to favour infants bap- 
 tifm ; for if there be nothing to be found for it there, 
 I am very fure it can never be neceffary upon chrif- 
 •ttan and protectant principles. 
 
 Well, — I have fought, but can find nothing of it 
 m the holy fcripture ; I may be allowed to affert there- 
 lore, that the baptifm of infants is not neceffary as a 
 thing belonging to chriftianity. Now who can ima- 
 gine that he who is fo great a lover of our fouls,, 
 would have negleded to appoint any one thing to be 
 done by us as neceffary to our own or our childrens 
 falvation ? Had our bieffed Lord {^tn it neceffary that 
 our children ffiould be baptized, we are abfolutely 
 fiire and certain, he would have given us not fome flight 
 intimation of it, much lefs have never mentioned it, 
 (which is indeed the very cafe) but would have ab- 
 folutely and certainly required it at cur hands, 
 and therefore would undoubtedly have enjoined the 
 fame upon us, as God did circum.cificn upon the Jews 
 by Mofes. We cannot furelv entertain fuch a thought 
 of the kindeft and beft of Beings, that he requires 
 that of us which he has never revealed to us, has 
 ^lY^n us not fo miuch as the fartheft diftant hint of. 
 Do you fay, " The fcripture no where forbids us to 
 baptize infants?" Very true. Audit is equally as _ 
 true, that it no v/here requires us to baptize them ; 
 now lir, I think I am even with you. But I v.ill try 
 if I can to put the odds on my fide •, and thereby if 
 poffible, to put the matter out of difpute. 
 • It is, I know, frequently faid that " The fcripture 
 no where forbids us to baptize infants, therefore they 
 may be baptized." What a reafon is this ! How very 
 
 low 
 
( 39 ) _ 
 
 low and trifiing. By whofe authority may they ht 
 haptized ? If men may do that as an ad of religious 
 worihip which is not forbidden, purely becaufe it is 
 not forbidden what arguments muft we ufe againft 
 the Papijis to convince them of doing many things 
 wrong? they will fay fuch a thing is not forbidden, it 
 is welt known that many errors have crept into the 
 church at this door. If it is necefTary that infants 
 ihould be baptized, is it not equally necefTary that 
 they fhould receive the Lord's Supper ? — Why not? 
 It is -no where forbidden. But if this is not necefTary, 
 neither is that. Pray fir, be pleafed ferioufly to confider 
 Deut. xviii. i8, 19, 20. and I think you may there fee, 
 that under the chriftian difpenfation God hath flridlly 
 forbid-any thing to be done in his name v/hich he hath 
 not commanded ; and hath alfo given a fand:ion to the 
 general prohibition by a moft fevere threatening. 
 
 If therefore any man would prove that fuch, or 
 fuch a thing ought to be done as an a(5l of v/orfliip, 
 he ought certainly to fhew a command from God for 
 it, or at leaf}; a precedent from the fcripture. But if 
 he can bring neither precept nor exainple from die 
 fcripture, he can never prove either this or that ought 
 to be done as an ad: of religious worfhip. Now, if 
 this be the cafe Vv'ith refped to infants baptifm, as 
 you know it really is the very cafe, then for this very 
 reafon, it mufl furely be allowed, infants ought not 
 to be baptized. It will readily be granted, that v/hat- 
 foever the gofpel commands, it is our indifpenfabie 
 duty to obey -, becaufe v/hatfoever is commanded, is 
 necefTary to thofe perfons to whom the command is 
 given ; on the other hand, whatfoever is not com- 
 manded, nor fo much as mentioned in the Gofpe], 
 as infants baptifm certainly is not, can in no fenfe be 
 obligatory on us. I add. 
 
 If Chrifl has commanded all things necefTary to be 
 done by us, but has no v/here commanded us t( 
 
 tizc 
 
_ ( 40 ) 
 
 the infants, then infants baptifmis not necefTary. Now 
 fir, which way will you enervate this argument ? You 
 ■will not deny that Chrift has commanded all things 
 necefTary to be done by us -, nor will you I think, af- 
 fert that he has commanded us to baptize infants-, 
 therefore it muft needs follow that infants baptifm is 
 pot necefTary. Again, 
 
 If Chrifl has only commanded penitent believers 
 to be baptized, then furely we muft conclude that 
 only flich are to be baptized. Therefore if the for- 
 mer be true, fo is the latter. I farther add. 
 
 If infants may be baptized becaufe it is not forbid- 
 den, for the very fame reafon they may receive the 
 Lord's fupper, becaufe it is not forbidden. Pray fir, 
 for what reafon are infants denied the Lord's fupper ? 
 I know it hath been faid, " if infants were not to be 
 baptized, it v/ould have been exprefHy forbidden in 
 the fcripture ?" No fir, there is you know no need 
 for fuch a prohibition, any more than for their being 
 prohibited to eat the Lord's fupper, or to preach. 
 They are as incapable of baptifm as they are of eat- 
 ing the Lord's fupper, or of preaching. There can 
 be no need to prohibit a perfon to do that which he 
 is quite incapable of doing. Infants are altogether 
 incapable of repentance and faith, which muft always 
 precede baptifm, and therefore it cannot be a duty 
 according to the gcfpel rule, to baptize infants in the 
 name of the Lord. Once more. 
 
 Infants baptifm cannot be at all necefTary, becaufe 
 our blefTed Lord who certainly knew all things, and 
 therefore knew their flate and condition better than 
 we, hath pronounced them to be fucb who are of ibe 
 kingdom of heaven without it. Math. xix. 14. They 
 therefore need not be baptized to make them inhe- 
 ritors of the kingdom of heaven^ for our Lord hath ab- 
 fblutcly afTured us (and who dare deny it .'*) they are 
 of that kingdom. Thus fir, it flands clear and plain, 
 
 that 
 
( 41 ) , 
 
 that baptiTm is not necefTary to the {alvation of in- 
 fants ; which was the thing I undertook to prove, and 
 which I have, I think, fufficiently proved. I fhall 
 therefore let it reft here till you, or fomebody elfe 
 fhall refute what I have advanced. I proceed, 
 
 Secondly, To give you my thoughts of the perfbns 
 to whom baptifm is necefTary and to what ends it is 
 fo to them. 
 
 Firft, Baptifm is necefiary to all thofe who repent 
 and believe the gofpel, and to them only y for they 
 only are the perfons who are commanded to be bap- 
 tized. To prove which, we will begin our account 
 from John, who was the firft commiffioned Baptifi m 
 the world. Now fir, you very well know that thofe 
 who come to be baptized of him, were fuch as con- 
 fefled their (ins, repented of them, and believed his 
 dodlrine. Math. iii. 6. Mark i. iv. Luke iii. 3. Adls 
 xix. 4. As therefore John baptized none but fuch as 
 thefe, it is moft evident he baptized no infants ; nay, 
 there were Pharifees and Saddticees came to be baptized 
 of him, but he rejefted them, becaufe the fruits meet 
 for repentance (which he bid them bring forth) did not 
 appear in them. Math. iii. 7, 8. 'Tis therefore plain 
 that only fuch as repented, &c. were baptized, which^ 
 ■'tis certain they need not have been, if baptifm had 
 not been necefTary •, likewife our great Lord himfelf 
 when he became a teacher of men, the firf!: iefTon of 
 inftru6lion he taught them, was, to repent and believe 
 the Gofpel, Mark i. 15. And all who learned of him 
 and received his inftrucftions, and fo were made his 
 difciples, were alfo baptized, John iv. i, Jefus made 
 and baptized more difciples than John. But if baptifm 
 had not been necefTary to penitent believers m virtue 
 of the original divine command God had given to 
 John, we have no reafon to think our Lord would 
 have continued to prad:ife it •, but we are very fure 
 he did as long as he continued to make difciples. And 
 
 G when 
 
( 42 ) 
 
 when he was juft going to leave the world and his 
 chofen difciples together, he gave them full commif- 
 fion and authority to continue making difciples by the 
 fame means he himfelf had ufed, viz. by teaching and 
 inftruding them into the knowledge of the fame doc- 
 trines he had taught them, and afterward to baptize 
 all fuch who were fo taught and inftrufted in every part 
 of the world where they were to go. Math xxviii. 19. 
 Go ye therefore and teach all nations^ baptizing them. — 
 Nothing can pofTibly be more full and exprefs, more 
 evident and certain, than that the apoftles were firft 
 to teach men the knowledge of God and the Lord 
 Jefus Chrift, and whatever was needful for them to 
 know in order to make them difciples of Chrift, and 
 fo to fit and prepare them for baptifm. Let us 
 now follow our Lord's difciples a little way into the 
 world, and fee how well they executed the commif- 
 fion they received from their great mafter. 
 
 Firft, vv-e find Peter preaching to a numerous au- 
 dience of Jews, his own countrymen and citizens of 
 Jerufalem •, thoufands of whom being fully convinced 
 of the truth of his dodlrine, faid unto Peter and to the 
 reft of the apoftles., men and brethren, what ftjall we do ? 
 'Then Peter faid unto them., Rtpent and be baptized every 
 one of you in the name of Jefus Chrift.— A€ts ii. ^y., 38. 
 Now if Peter had knov/n that baptifm was not necef- 
 fary, he would only have faid r^p^/?/ every one of you. 
 His connedling it fo clofely with repentance,* feems as 
 if he made it as neceftary as repentance. 
 
 Now if thofe enlightened and convinced Jews had 
 entertained the fame notion of baptifm as fome in this 
 day do, who pretend to be no lefs enlightened, if not 
 much more fo, than they, we might have expeded to have 
 heard them making the fame, or fuch like objedions 
 as thefe do now. " "What need is there Peter for us 
 to be baptized ^ We repent of our fins, we believe in 
 Chrift i and for the future v/ill ad upon new princi- 
 ples. 
 
( 43 ) 
 pies, and devote ourfelves wholly to him and his re- 
 ligion. Is not this therefore fufficient without bap- 
 tifm ? Why muft we be baptized ? Baptifm is only 
 an outward thing, a little thing ; (as many of your 
 
 followers have faid) what benefit can it be to us ?" 
 
 But we hear of no fuch objedtions in thofe days. Men 
 were I believe then, greater lovers of Chrift and his 
 ways than to difpute whether they fhould obey him or 
 not, even in the fmalleft matters. Again, 
 
 It is certain and evident that the fame apcftle feems 
 to lay a great ftrefs upon baptifm, and fully makes 
 it appear that it is necelTary to fomething whatever it 
 is, and that of very great mom.ent too, even to fuch 
 who had received the extraordinary gifts of the Holy 
 Ghoji. For fays he with refpedl to Cornelius and his 
 friends. Can any man forbid water that thefe JJjould not 
 be baptized., who have received the Holy GhoJi as well 
 as we ? And he commanded them to be baptized., K&is x. 
 47, 48. Now if any perfons ever had the lead reafon 
 to refufe to be baptized, thefe, nej^t to our bleffed 
 Lord, muft have had the greateft. But we do not 
 hear fo much as one of them opening his mouth a- 
 gainft it. None faying I have been baptized with the 
 Holy Ghofi and with fire., I need no other baptifm, as 
 fome of your difciples have vainly pretended. Pray 
 fir, what could it poffibly be that made baptifm fo 
 neceflary to thofe converted Gentiles ? It was not their 
 not having received the Holy Ghoft •, for that they 
 had received. It muft be, one would think, fome- 
 thing very extraordinary that made baptifm fo necef^ 
 fary to them. But what it was, I will leave you to de- 
 termine as you pleafe. 
 
 I add farther, as a proof that baptifm is nece/Tary 
 to thofe who repent and believe, that moft furprifing 
 in^2.nct oi Saul \ vmo, though converted in that ex- 
 traordinary way by Chrift himfelf, as we read of, Adls 
 ix. and xxii. chapters, yet muft be baptized. And 
 
 G 2 when 
 
': ( 44 ) 
 
 when '* he trembling and ajlomjljed^ [aid, Lord, 'v:hiU 
 wilt thou haroe we to do? 'The Lord faid unto him^ arifcy 
 go into the city [Damafcus] and itjhall be told thee what 
 thou miiji d.Oy A(5ls ix. 6. Accordingly he went into 
 the city, and our Lord fent one Ananias^ a good and 
 a devout man, to teach and to tell him what he was 
 to do ; and among other things one was to be bap- 
 tized- What {o wonderful a convert to be baptized ! 
 What neceffity could there be for that ? 
 
 But 'ti& evident you fee fir, it is not the higheft 
 degree of grace given, or being pofieiled of the greateft 
 bleffings and privileges below, that will, or can, or 
 were ever defigned to exempt any one foul from be- 
 ing obedient to the Lord Jefus Chiift in baptifm. No 
 fir, no more than from any other duty. Notwith- 
 ftanding all that Saul had given him by Chrift, or 
 was now become by grace, he mujl be baptized. Yes 
 fir, it miiJi be fo •, it was fo then, it muit and ought 
 to be fo now. It is very remarkable and worthy of 
 attention. Saul cries out Lord what wilt thou have me to 
 do? And the Lord bid him go into the city andit (houid 
 be told him what he tntifl do. How very emphatical 
 are thefe words of our bleffed Lord, muii do. This 
 neceffary work of baptifm Saul feemed to be very di- 
 latory about, which made Ananias fay to him, And 
 now., why tarriefi thou ? Arife and be baptized^ and 
 wajh away thy fins., calling on the name of the Lord, 
 Ad:s xxii. 1 6. Therefore I conclude, that what was ne- 
 cefTary for penitent and believing Saul to do, we muji 
 do ; is equally neceflary for every penitent, believing 
 foul now to do ; yea mujf do. For who is to make 
 laws for Chrift ? Or what authority hath any man, or 
 body of men to change the unalterable laws of the Son 
 of God? But 
 
 Lafdy, Let baptifm however be what it will, either 
 for greatnefs or neceffity, it is our fovereign Lord and 
 King hath made it fo i and as none ought to make it 
 
 lefs 
 
( 45 ) 
 
 kfs, fo none can make it greater and more neceflary 
 than he has made it by his own example, and by his 
 own authoritative command. 'Tis well known the 
 apoilles did not invent and fet it up of their own au- 
 thority, for they had none, and pretended to none 
 but what tliey received from their great Lord and 
 Mafter ; and as they adled foiely by his authority, 
 fo they pundlually obeyed him in baptizing as well 
 as preaching, for one was their v/ork as well as the 
 other, which they carefully and conilantly performed 
 in all places where they were received. 
 
 I aik, was it neceflary that Chrift diould have been 
 baptized? It v/as. Which appears plain from his 
 own words to John. Thus it becomes us to fiilfd all 
 righteoufnefs^ Math. iii. i6. Though it feems John 
 thought otherwife. But Jefus knew better than John.- 
 Nowif itvv'as neceffary that Chrift himfelf iliould be bap- 
 tized, is it not as necefiary tha tall who call themfelves 
 his difciples and followers fhould be baptized alfo? 
 Surely it is highly neceffary that they fliould. His com- 
 mand makes it neceffary to us, for we ought to obey 
 him in all things whatfoever he has commanded. This 
 he himfelf has given us as the criterion of our being 
 his friends and difciples, John viii. 31 and xv. 14. 
 And therefore to excite us to this^ as well as to any- 
 other part of duty we have. i. His command. 2. His 
 example. 3. A fure declaration that he is the author 
 of eternal jalvation unto all- them that obey him^ Heb. v. 
 9. Not partially but univerfally. But can it be 
 rightly and properly faid of thofe perfons who will 
 not be baptized, that they do univerfally obey him I 
 It cannot ; For baptifm is certainly a part of that obe- 
 dience we owe to our Lord Jefus Chriil:. It is well 
 known and univerfally acknowledged that the leaft 
 z.di of dlfobedience is a iin •, all therefore who believe 
 in Chrift, and will not be baptized according to his 
 command, are, in that particular, difobedient, and 
 
 con- 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 confequently muft live in fin. Now if baptlfm (not 
 iprinkling) be a command of Chrift, how will you 
 and your followers clear your confciences of guilt, if 
 you will not obey it ? Is not one command as forci- 
 ble and binding as another ? Which may we difpenfe 
 with and not be guilty ? In fliort, if baptifm be not 
 necefTary to be com.plied with by the perfons to whom 
 it is commanded, it cannot be necefTary at all. And 
 if Chrift has commanded us to do that, which when 
 done, will be nothing to our fpiritual intereft, or if 
 left undone, will be no detriment to us, what ftands 
 fuch an infignificant command for ? 
 
 Some there are who excufe themfelves in their dif- 
 obedience to Chriii, in negledling baptifm, thus, 
 " We cannot fee it to be our duty ; — we have no 
 burden on our confciences in the oraiffion of it. — If 
 it be our duty, ve hope God will fhew it us •, will 
 convince us of it by his fpirit, &c." But it fuch per- 
 fons will not fee it in the New Teftament, for there 
 it is written, and there it {lands to be {^tn and read, 
 and known of all that have a real defire to acquaint 
 themfelves with, and chearfully perform every part 
 of duty ; I fay if they will not fee it in the New-Tef- 
 tament, and l3e convinced of their duty from that in- 
 Ipired, facred and unerring v;ord, I know not that 
 they have any reafon to exped: a new revelation. And 
 indeed, according to that way of reafoning, if it will 
 bear that name, men m.ay excufe themfelves from juft 
 what they pleafe. Whatfoever they have no mind to 
 comply v/ith, they may pretend they do not fee it to 
 be their duty. — But if they will not hear and believe 
 Mofes and the prophets, Chrift and his apoftles, I know 
 not of any other means that will be fufhcient to bring 
 them to believe. 
 
 There are fome that do not fcruple to fay, " faith 
 in Chrift is not necefTary" as Jews and Deifis. But 
 what doth their fayings prove \ Truly nothing. Now 
 
 the 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 the fakers fay the fame of the Lord's fupper as they 
 do of the Lord's baptifm : But ought they not to bic 
 baptized ? Ought they not to receive the Lord's fup- 
 per ? Can fach as thefe be rightly called 'True Belie- 
 vers ? Are they according to Chrift's gofpel and the 
 rules therein contained, as fafe, and therefore may be 
 as certain of falvation without thefe things, as others 
 are with them in the anfwer of a good confcience ? If 
 fo, what do they fland for ? If at the laft day excufes 
 will be received for juft reafons and pretences for per- 
 formances, who will not have fomething to plead ? 
 And then who will not be faved ? If perfons who en- 
 tertain wild enthufiaftic notions, who maintain falfe 
 and dangerous docStrines, are to be accounted True 
 Believers, what mufc wc do with our bibles ? What is 
 our rule of faith and pra<5lice for P O dear (ir ' let us 
 be very careful we do not few piUows to peoples arjn- 
 holes^ Ezek. xiii. i8. Let us iiever prophecy fmooth 
 and deceitful things out of our own hearts, to make 
 them quiet and eafy, and fo to reft and be fatisfied in 
 their errors and falfe dodirines. The Jews may come 
 at the laft day and tell their judge, we could not fee 
 it while we lived on earth to be our duty any more 
 than we could fee it to be for our intereft and hap- 
 pinefs to believe and own thee to be our Meffiah, 
 we had no burden upon our confciences for putting 
 thee to death, as a blafphemer, &c. We believed 
 then that thou waft an impofter. Had God by his 
 Spirit convinced us that thou waft indeed the very 
 Chrift, or hadft thou come down from the crofs, we 
 would certajnly have received and ov/ned thee. But 
 alas ! how vain will all this be at fuch a time ; and is 
 it not equally as vain now for any man to fay he can- 
 not fee it to be his duty to be baptized ? When It is cer- 
 tain there is no chriftian duty more plainly and ex- 
 prefsly declared in the New-Teftameiit. 
 
 There 
 
( 48 ) 
 
 There are indeed fome, who under the notion of 
 charity to all who profefs chriftianity, think, that the 
 want of baptifm is not at all hurtful to them who 
 pretend they cannot fee it to be their duty to he bap- 
 tized, and therefore thofe who are baptized, ought 
 not to fcruple to receive and own thofe as membei-s 
 of the vifible chriftian church who are not baptized, 
 and allow them to have communion with them at the 
 Lord's Table. And that to make any difference be- 
 tween thofe who are, and thofe who are not baptized, 
 is both unreafonable and uncharitable, and deftroys 
 peace and unity. But to fuch perfons it muft, I think, 
 be faid, they miftake the true notion of charity. 
 
 What is charity but the love of God and our neigh- 
 bour ^ And wherein is our love to be manifefted .? 
 Why firft, I think our love to God is to be manifefl- 
 ed by our fteddy adherence to, and univerfal com- 
 pliance with all his commands ; agreeable to which 
 iaith St. John, 'This is the love of God that we keep his 
 co7nmandments^ i John, v. 3. And faith our.blefTedLord, 
 He that hath my commandments ayid keepeth them^ he it 
 is that loveth me. If any man love me he will keep my 
 woj-ds^ John xiv. 21, 23. Secondly, Our love to our 
 neighbour is to be manifefted by our readinefs and 
 willingnefs to do him all the good fervice we can, 
 both to his foul and body. Thou fhalt love thy neigh- 
 ho'ur as thfef^ Math. xix. 19. And to do unto him all 
 that which v/e would have him do unto us. This is cha- 
 rity to God and man. But furely God no where re- 
 quires us to facrihce and give up the truth, or any 
 part of it, for the fake even of this nobleft kind of 
 charity to our neighbour. And it would ceafe to be 
 charity, or love to God, if I was to break his com- 
 mandments. For how abfurd would it be to pretend 
 to love him, and at the fame time to difobey him, 
 or countenance others in their negledt of any of his 
 commands. At the fame time therefore that we pre- 
 tend 
 
_ ( 49 ) 
 
 tend to exalt chanty, let us be very careful we do 
 not fet afide a plain, pofitlve and exprefs command of 
 our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift. This would be 
 making one duty to interfere with another ; nay, even. 
 to deftroy or make void another. 'Tis alfo fuppofmg 
 at leaft, that the doing of one duty is to atone for the 
 ncgled; of another, which is certainly wrong •, and is 
 running direftly into the fame error with thofe Si. J times 
 fpeaks of\ chapter the ii. lo, ii. — But v/hether is 
 that charity greateft, which deftroys an ordinance of 
 God for the fake of pleaiing men, under a pretence of 
 greater love to them, and for the fake of living in. 
 peace and unity with them ; or that which obeys God 
 in all things, for the fake of pleafing him, and there- 
 by manifefting the higheft regard and love to him ? 
 
 Hath God any where given me leave the better to 
 fliew my love to my fellow-creature, to difobey any 
 one of his precepts ? Or hath he the better to ihew 
 my love and regard to himfelf, commanded me to 
 obey him in all things whatfoever he hath faid unto 
 me ; although all m.en fhould be difpleafed with me j 
 ihould fpeak all manner of evil againft me ; and a- 
 mong other railing language, ihould call me an un- 
 charitable, narrow-fpirited, precife, conceited fool ? 
 Or hath he driven me into fuch a flrait, that if I will 
 maintain true chriftian love and peace with men, I 
 muft inevitably difobey him in fome one or other of 
 his commands ? Or elfe j.f I will refolutely and con- 
 ftantly adhere to him, and ftridly and univerfally 
 comply with his juft and fovereign will, I muft necef- 
 farily want charity to men ? I fay fir, is the true ftate 
 of the cafe ? You knew and every body elfe may know 
 that it is not. Therefore, let us refolve with the aid 
 of omnipotence, come what will come, to obey God 
 in all things ; and if men will defpife and contemn us, 
 nay, will even perfecute and deftroy us for our clofe 
 adherence to every part of duty, we (hall however be 
 
 H approved 
 
( 50 ) 
 
 approved of God, who will, according to his gracious 
 promife, glorioufly reward his faithful and dutiful fer- 
 vants and children, whofe fteddy condud is direded 
 and governed according to his own moft wife and un- 
 erring rules. But, 
 
 Secondly, To what ends baptifm is neceflary. Firft, 
 It is neceifary to the fulfilling all righteoufnefs. 
 Math. iii. 15. To this end our blefTed Lord himfelf 
 fubmitted to it, and yielded obedience to the will and 
 commandment of his Father ; and at the fame time 
 has left us the moft illuftrious example to excite us to 
 do what he hath done before us. Now if it was ne- 
 cefTary for our Lord Jefus Chrift to be baptized in 
 order to fulfill all right ecufnefs^ is it not neceftary that 
 we fhould be baptized alio ? Was it more neceflary 
 for him to be baptized than for us ? Wherein } If he 
 could not fulfill all righteoufnefs without it how can 
 we ? If our Lord had not been baptized, he had 
 omitted fbme part of righteoufnefs ; confequently, all 
 thofe who refufe to be baptized muft live in fin. Can 
 we think Chrift fulfilled this part of righteoufnefs to 
 exempt us from it ? No furely. We are very fure 
 that he fulfilled all righteoufnefs^ but with no defign to 
 exempt us from any part of duty. 'Tis plain there- 
 fore, that baptifm is an ad: of righteoufnefs, which 
 is our duty, and becomes us to be found in the prac- 
 tice of. Chrift's words are very remarkable, he doth 
 not fay — For thus it hecometh ME, but US to fulfill 
 all righteoufnefs. US who call ourfelves his follovvers. 
 How can you fir, or any other perfon be perfedly 
 righteous, if you will not fubmit to this part of the 
 righteoufnefs of God ? As much as you cry up perfec- 
 tion, this negled of duty is certainly a great imper- 
 fedion, and fpoils the boaft of many of your follow- 
 ers, who arrogantly fay they live without fin. Neither 
 is it to any purpofe to fay, " We have been baptized 
 in our infancy," for I have proved that to be a mif- 
 
 take. 
 
( 5' ) 
 
 take. And it is to as little purpofe to friy, as they 
 feem to be vaftly fond of faying, and even to greatly 
 glory in, viz, " we have been baptized with the Ho- 
 ly Ghoft." This I may venture abfolutely to deny. 
 hut if they have been fo baptized yet are they ftill 
 under the fame obligation to be baptized with water, 
 and that you know very well from the inftance of Cor- 
 nelius and his friends already mentioned. 
 
 Secondly, baptifm is neceiTary to the receiving per- 
 fons into the vifible church of Chrift, in order to their 
 being made partakers of all the bieffings and privileges 
 thereof. For Chrift himfelf has afilired us that except a 
 man he born of water and of the fpirit^ he cannot enter into 
 his church or kingdom^ John iii. 5. And it is plain, 
 that in the days of the apoftles, none were received 
 members of his church before they repented and were 
 ' baptized, as the New-Teftament abundantly confirms. 
 Therefore, in thofe days no infant was ever admitted. 
 Indeed no unbaptized perfon how holy and godly fo- 
 ever, could find admittance into Chrift's church then, 
 confequently no unbaptized perfon ought to be re- 
 ceived into his church now. If fo, then this is a plain 
 proof that baptifm is neceffary to church-member- 
 ihip. We read in Ads ii. 41, 42, 1^'hen they that 
 gladly received the word of the gofpel preached by Pe- 
 ter, were baptized and added to the church ; and that 
 they continued fiedfaftly in the apojlles doElrine and fel- 
 lowjhip, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. So 
 that it is evident the mother church which was firfl 
 founded at Jerufalem had no infant in it. As there- 
 fore the church there was wholly compofed of belie- 
 vers, fo they were fuch, and none but fuch as were 
 baptized. All which is quite contrary to your prac- 
 tice of fprinkling infants, and thereby making them 
 church-members. — And yet they are never the bet- 
 ter for it neither •, for they are ignorant of the apof- 
 tles dodrine, incapable of having fellowfhip with be- 
 
 H 2 lievers 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 llevers, of coinmemorating the death of Chrift by 
 partaking of the facred elements and offering up 
 prayers and thanksgiving with the congregation. All 
 which are certainly of no ufe to them, but of great 
 benefit to thofe who rightly know and believe in Je- 
 fus. — 'Tis true indeed, I have read that the eucharifi 
 has been given to children, but you do not do fo. 
 Why fir, are they not as capable of the Lord's fup- 
 per as they are of the Lord's baptifm ? What is it 
 that incapacitates them ? If they are not capable of 
 the former, I need never be afraid to fay, they are 
 incapable of the latter. Prove that they are capable 
 of baptifm, but prove it by the Ncw-Teftament, or 
 otherwife I cannot receive it, and I will prove that 
 they are capable of the Lord's fupper. You do agree 
 with me fir, about the neceflity of baptifm in order 
 to church-memberjfhip •, we only difler about what is 
 truly and properly baptifm, and who are to be ac- 
 counted the only proper fubje(5ls of it •, and confe- 
 quently, who are to be received as proper members 
 of the body of Chriji the church.^ Ephef i. 22, 23. And 
 indeed it is a material thing to be well afiured of. 
 Were we all of one mind in thefe things, many fi:rifes 
 and divifions, contentions and animofities, would 
 foon and for ever ceafe. O that we could once fee 
 that day ! What exultation ! What joy would fill the 
 hearts of all pious fouls ! How would every fincere 
 lover of the LorlE'vJefus rejoice and be glad to live in 
 love, peace and unity, with all his brethren and fel- 
 low-members of the pure, the uncorrupted body of 
 Chrifi: their head ! O how pleafant would the dawn- 
 ing of that day appear ! But alas ! it is not yet come. 
 Divifions feem rather to increafe than decreafe. Do 
 fir, let the New-Tefi:ament decide the controverfy 
 between us. But, 
 
 Thirdly, Baptifm is necefiary to penitent believers 
 to entiile them to the promife of forgivenefs of fins, 
 
 which 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 which is freely giv-en unto all fuch who through the 
 redemption which they have in Chrift, through his 
 precious blood, according to the riches of God's 
 grace, Ephef. i. 7. Accordingly St. Peter fays to his 
 new-made converts at Jenifalem^ Repent and be bap- 
 tized every one of you in the name of J ejus Chrifi, for the 
 remijfwn of ftns^ Ads ii. 38. It ought to be obferved, 
 that remiihon of fins is not promifed to repentance 
 only, but to repentance and baptifm. The apoftle 
 feems to make baptifm as neceffary as repentance ta 
 entitle them to the promife ; not to either of them 
 iingly and feparately from one another, but to both 
 conjointly. 'J'herefore, it appears plain that baptifm 
 is to be an infeparable companion with repentance, 
 as faith is to be with them both, in order to receive 
 the promife. If any man will be fo venterous as to 
 caft out baptifm from the above text, and declare re- 
 miffion of {\\\s, to repentance only ; I may, by the 
 fame authority he can produce, caft out repentance 
 and declare rerniffion of fins to baptifm only. But I 
 will only add, the cafe of Paul ; which feems plainly 
 to confirm the neceffity of baptifm to entitle penitent 
 believers to the promife of forgivenefs of fins, Ad:s 
 xxii. 16. Ananias undoubtedly underftood the necef^ 
 fity o^ baptifm to anfwer its defigned end, or he 
 would not have exprelTed himfelf in fuch terms. Nov/ 
 fuppofe the three thoufand mentioned, A6ls ii, 41. 
 and Paul in the above text, had objected againft, and 
 refufed to have been baptized, would they think you 
 have been received as members of the church of 
 Chrift ? Would the apoftles and the reft of the bre- 
 thren, the church, have admitted them into fellow- 
 Ihip with them ? Or would they without fuch admif^ 
 fion and baptifm, have received remifiion of their fins ? 
 If not, then what I have faid of the neceflity of bap- 
 tifm under this head is juft and right. Therefore if 
 it was fo in the apoftles time it muft be the fame, the 
 
 very 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 Tcry fame in our time •, and T appeal to you fir, and every 
 ferious knowing chriftian, for a decilion in this point. 
 
 Fourthly, Baptifm is alfo previouily neceffary not 
 only to entitle penitent believers to the promife of 
 forgivenefs of fins, but alfo to the promife of receiv- 
 ing the Holy Ghofi^ A6ls ii. 38. as above cited. Nor 
 do we certainly know of any one perfon befides Cor- 
 nelius and his friends, that ever received the Holy 
 Ghoft before he was baptized. As to the wild en- 
 thufiaftic notions of fome, about their having received 
 the Holy Ghoft, I am fure no wife and judicious 
 chriftian, no fober thinking perfon, will pay any re- 
 gard to them. 
 
 'Tis the New-Teftament, not mens fancies, con- 
 ceits and heated imaginations, that muft be our rule 
 and guide -, 'tis the fcripture muft teach and confirm 
 us in the truth of things. As therefore in the time 
 of the apoftles, none received the Holy Ghoft in the 
 ordinary way, before they were baptized, we have no 
 reafon to believe that any do now, notwithftanding the 
 vain and mighty boafts of fome men. What doth any 
 man's faying he hath received the Holy Ghoft prove I 
 Truly juft nothing but hi^fpiritual pride. Our blef- 
 fed Lord has eftabliftied an invariable rule and me- 
 thod, according to which, we are to proceed in order 
 to receive the promifed gifts and bicllings of the gof- 
 pel. Whicti rule and method, if we break in upon, 
 and turn things out of their places, I know no reafon 
 we have to exped the fulfilling of the promifes. Now 
 the method Chrift has eftabliflied in order for our re- 
 ceiving the gifts of the Holy Ghoft, is, to repent, 
 believe and be baptized ; and then prayer with the 
 lading on of hands of the elder, paftor, or bifhop, (call 
 him which you pleafe) that the baptized perfon may 
 receive the Holy Ghoft, in fuch a meafure as God may 
 bepleafed to give it j this is exadly fcriptural, and to 
 
 this 
 
 jF^/^t. 
 
( S5 ) 
 
 this the promife is made. If you can fliew me ano- 
 ' ther as fcripturals, and to which the fame promife is 
 made, do fir, and I will receive it. Sl Paul writing 
 to the Ephefians faith to them — after that ye believed^ 
 ye were fealed with that holy fpirit of promife, Ephef i, 
 13. And was it not after they were baptized i" Moft 
 certainly •, and not before, according to what has been 
 obferved above. 
 
 Fifthly, Baptifm is a {landing and continual tefti- 
 mony, a juft and neceffary reprefentation of the death 
 and refurredion of Chrift, and alfo of our death to 
 fin and reiurreftion to newnefs of life. Now it is well 
 known that the dodlrine of the refurredlion was a quite 
 new docftrine to tlie heathens, and when it was firil 
 preached among them, was not believed by thoufands 
 of them ; nay, fo far were they from believing it, 
 tnat they laughed at it, mocked and defpifed it, 
 and the preachers of it. Every one therefore who 
 was baptized, did by that aMion as well as verbally, 
 declare their fleddy belief of the death and refiirrec- 
 tion of Chrift, and alfo that they themfelves fhould 
 be raifed up from the dead •, and what can we find 
 more fignificant than baptifm to reprefent a death bu- 
 rial and a refurre6fc:on by ? Herein appears the wif- 
 dom of our Legiflator in commanding all his follow- 
 ers to be baptized. For if at any time they were 
 aflced why or for what reaibn they v/ere baptized, they 
 had among others, this very good reaibn to give, 
 viz. To declare their belief in the death and refur- 
 rcclion of Chrift, and in their own refurredion. This 
 I think might be one end for which our Lord infti- 
 tuted baptifm, that the dodrine of the refurredion 
 might be more fully known and eftabliihed among 
 the gentile converts •, for it is certain, if our Lord be 
 not rifen, we ftiall not rife from the dead ; and if (o, 
 all preaching is in vain, we are yet unredeemed from 
 bur fins. Nothing can give us greater confolation 
 
 than 
 
( 56 ) 
 
 than to be aflured that we fhall rife again from the 
 dead to live for ever with Chrift. We are therefore 
 perfectly afTured, and by baptifm do declare, that 
 we believe as Chrift rofe again from the dead, fo ihall 
 we rife from the dead. Our being immerged or put 
 under the water, reprefents our death and burial in 
 the grave ; and our being raifed up again out of the 
 water, as clearly reprefents our refurredion from 
 death and the grave. Now as it was of the utmoft 
 importance, fo it was of the greateft neceffity that 
 the death and refurreftion of Chrift ihould be rightly 
 known and fully eftablifhed •, and to this end, befides 
 preaching the gofpel, our Lord hath moft wifely and 
 gracioufly commanded his followers to be baptized 
 in his name. It appears therefore plain enough, that 
 baptifm Is a neceffary declarative, a ftanding tefti- 
 mony, a true and real witnefs of the truth of Chrift's 
 refurredlion and our ov/n •, of Chrift's dying for our 
 lins andrifing again for our juftification, Rom. iv. 25. 
 You fee fir now, how fignificant and necefiary a com- 
 mand baptifm is •, and if we confider its dired ten- 
 dency as it ftands conne6ted with faith, we ihall fee 
 what a profitable part of obedience it is to us. For 
 as we do at baptifm profefs to repent of our fins, fo 
 our certain belief that Cbnjt died for us^ to redeem us 
 from all our imquities^ that we might be freely and 
 fully pardoned, is reprefented by our being buried in 
 the water, which hath a dired tendency to lead us to 
 forfake our fins with the utmoft abhorrence •, fo like- 
 wife our belief of Chrift's refurreftion and our own, 
 reprefented by our rifing up out of the water, as di- 
 redly tends to excite us to live to him who died for us. 
 2 Cor. V. 15. This is the ufe St. Paul makes of the 
 dodtrine of baptifm. How fhall we that are dead to/in, 
 live any longer therein ? Knew ye not that fo many of us 
 as were baptized into Jefus Chrijl, were baptized into his 
 death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptifm 
 
 into 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 into death ; that like as Chriji was raifed up from the 
 dead by the glory of the Father^ even fo we alfo fhould 
 walk in newnefs of life. For if we have been planted to- 
 gether in the likenefs of his deaths we flmll be alfo in the 
 likenefs of his refurre5iion : Knowing this, that our old 
 man is crucified with him, that the body of Jin might be 
 defiroyed, that henceforth we fhould not fervejin, Rom. 
 vi. 3, 4, 5, 6. Therefore it is at baptifm we lay our- 
 felves under thefe folemn obligations, to die unto Jin, 
 and to live unto God through Jefus ChriJI our Lord, vcr. 
 the nth. Without which, baptifm, and ten thou- 
 fand baptifms will be of no ufe at all to us. We give 
 up ourfelves to God in a holy covenant, we devote 
 ourfelves folely to him as our God and our Father, 
 to love and ferve, honour and glorify him all the 
 days of our life. We do thefe things ourfelves fir, 
 not others for us when we knew nothing of it. 
 
 But, if after all, you fhould fay, " The death and 
 refurreftion of Chrift and our own, may as fully and 
 certainly be known and believed without baptifm as 
 with it.*' I need only reply, fo may his death and 
 blood-fhedding upon the Ctofs be remembered with- 
 out eating bread and drinking wine. But what then ? 
 Does that prove, that eating bread and drinking wine 
 are not neceffary to remember our holy and ever 
 blefTed Lord ? By no means. This very anfv/er will 
 fufHciently invalidate the other objedion. L'ut, 
 
 Laftly. I have faid that our fovereign Lord and 
 King Jefus Chrifl, has made baptifm all and what- 
 foever it is. Therefore whether it be more or lefs, 
 or not at all neceffary to falvation, it is all that, and 
 only that which he has made it. Let us hear what 
 he fays of it. He fays. He that believeth and is bap' 
 tized fhall befaved, Mark xvi. 16. I juft obferve here 
 that, the meaning of our Lord cannot be that every 
 one who makes a profefTion of faith in him, and is 
 baptized, fhall infallibly be faved ; but he that conti- 
 
 I &ues 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 -nues to live and adl according to his own folemn en- 
 gagement at his baptifm, and endures to the end the 
 fame Jhall be [aved^ Math. xxiv. 13. He does not pro- 
 mife falvation to faith exclufive of baptifm, as fomeof 
 your preachers are very defirous to make their hearers 
 beheve. I have heard them quite mifreadthe words, 
 .thus j He that believeth — Jhall be faved. Which is 
 very unjuftifiable, the text does not fay fo exclufive 
 of baptifm ; and I have obferved that even you your- 
 f elf Cir, have done the like ; perhaps they learned of 
 you to do fo too. What a pity it is that holy fcripture 
 ihould be fo mutilated and torn in pieces. How would 
 you like it fir, if any perfon was to cite a palTage out 
 of fome of your writings, and break off fome mate- 
 rial part in the middle of a fentence, and thereby de- 
 ftroy the juft connexion of your words, to make 
 them fpeak what you never intended ? I fuppofe it 
 would not be very pleafing to you i yet both you and 
 fome of your preachers have ventured to do fo, and 
 very often too by your great Lord and Mafter. How 
 do you think he will take it fir ? 'Tis a liberty you 
 have no reafon to think he will allow of, for by fuch 
 curtailing of fcripture men may make it fpeak juft 
 what they pleafe. 'Tis certainly a high affront to 
 the great author of it ; it is diminifhing his honour 
 and authority. Dear fir, take heed you do not con- 
 tinue in fo very ill a pra(5tice ; a practice which re- 
 flefts fo much difhonour on your Lord and Saviour. 
 In your Journal * you fay " I publifhed the great 
 decree of God. He that believeth — Jhall be faved ; 
 hut he that believeth not f jail be damned^ Markxvi. i6.'* 
 I wonder fir, you Vv'ould fay fuch a thing ! You will 
 not be angry if I tell you, you did not publifh the 
 great decree of God contained in Mark xvi. 16. It 
 was only a part of it. Why did you thruft out the 
 ;«vords — and is baptized? — You very clearly fee how 
 
 * I thijik from 1739 to 1741. 
 . , . clofely 
 
( S9 ) 
 
 dofely they ftand connefted with the foregoing. He 
 that believeth — The words, and is baptized^ muift at 
 no time, under any pretence whatever, be lopt off 
 from the others, but muft always ftand and grow to- 
 gether. I venture to fay our blefTed Lord has not, 
 Mark xvi. i6. promifed falvation to believing, ex- 
 clufive of baptifm ; unbaptized believers, I fay again, 
 are not under that promife ? but baptized believers 
 only. So that I may juftly conclude, it is not faith 
 alone, nor baptifm alone, confidered fingly and fe-- 
 parately from each other, but both together; which 
 have the promife of falvation. And this no rational 
 man can or will deny. And is it not as clear as the 
 light, from this, as well as from other fcriptures, 
 that perfons are to believe before they are baptized ? 
 And that they who do believe, muft of necelTity be 
 baptized, in order • to receive the promife annexed to 
 it ^ Extraordinary cafes excepted, fuch as the thief 
 upon the Crofs. But perhaps you will fay, I think 
 baptifm is neceffary to falvation ; if I do, fo do ycu 
 too, as I have fully proved. But whatever I think of 
 it, that makes no alteration in it at all. My thinking 
 or your thinking it neceiTary or not neceffary to fal- 
 vation, makes it neither the one nor the other. What 
 it is, it is ; and whatever it is, it is Chrift has made 
 it. I only reafon upon it from the fcripture, as it 
 ftands recorded there •, I neither do, nor can make 
 it any thing but what it is. I believe it is neceffary 
 in its place to anfwer its defigned ufe and end, or 
 what it is commanded for ? Why did Chrift inftitute 
 it, if it ferves no end or purpofe ! It is of no ufe, nor 
 indeed is any other pofitive duty fingly and alone. 
 And if our great Lord has injoined any one duty 
 that was never defigned by him to be of any ufe to us, 
 I cannot imagine what fach a duty was injoined for 
 at all. Was it merely to difplay his power and for 
 vereignty .? Vv'ho can think fo .? But fir, 
 
 I 2 If 
 
( 6o ) 
 
 If baptifm be in no fenfe ufeful and necefTary to 
 us in the way of falvation, neither is the Lord's fup- 
 per ufeful and necefTary to that end. If therefore 
 the Lord's baptifm and the Lord's fupper are not in 
 fome juft and proper fenfe necefTary in the way of 
 falvation, we may as well all turn ^iakers, and as 
 they have done, caft them both away together j and 
 when we have done fo, we may perhaps find fome- 
 thing elfe to throw away after them, and at lafl turn 
 Ranters. 
 
 As to the fakers, they are to anfwer for them- 
 felves, as all other men are. I'o bis own Mafter every 
 Manftands or falls, Rom. xiv. 4. I have nothing to 
 do to judge them that are without. 'Them that are with- 
 out God judgethy 1 Cor. v. 12, 13. And he is infi- 
 nitely wife, and jufl, and good, and will do right. 
 This may be faid. It is not our charitable thoughts 
 or opinions of men, nor our good wifhes, nor hopes 
 of their falvation, or the contrary that will make their 
 ftate and condition at all either better or worfe, or in 
 any degree change or alter it •, for what every man 
 is in the fight of God, that only he is. 
 
 I fincerely and heartily wifK if that would do any 
 good, that all men were in the true gofpel way of 
 falvation. But thofe who will not comply with the 
 gofpel terms, mufl: be left the uncovenanted mercies of 
 God. An exprefTion fome perfons are very fond of. 
 
 But what a flrange gofpel fhould we foon have, if 
 things were left to fome men ; in time perhaps, we 
 fliould have no gofpel at all. One fed would throw 
 away this^^ another that, and in the end would perhaps 
 throw all things into confufion. Dear fir, let us re- 
 member we are not to meafure the non-necefTity of 
 a gofpel duty by fome mens difobedience to it and 
 rejedlion of it -, for if we do, we mull no longer fay 
 that faith in Chrifi is necefTary to falvation ; for if it 
 is, all Jews and Beijis, which make up a prodigious 
 
 greater 
 
( 6i ) 
 
 greater number than the fakers, muft be damned, 
 according to your aflertion. But what of all this ? — 
 Let who as will fall under the terrible fentence of 
 damnation, the gofpel is as it is, and muft be preached 
 as it is, without making changes and alterations in it, 
 or any part of it. Our kind thoughts and charitable 
 opinions of men about their falvation, do not alter 
 the laws and precepts, the promifes and threatnings 
 contained in the gofpel. Let us hear what Sf Paul 
 fays. Though we or an angel from Heaven preach any 
 9ther Gofpel., — or // any man preach any other gofpel^ 
 — let him he accurfed., Gal. i. 8, 9. Terrible indeed' 
 Every preacher ought to look well about him, and 
 take good heed that he preaches all, and no other, 
 neither lefs nor more than what is contained in fa- 
 cred fcripture. Dear fir, is fprinkling infants in the 
 name of the Father, &c. any part of that gofpel which 
 Chrift taught and commiffioned his apoftles to teach 
 and pradice .'* If not, then it ought to have no place 
 in the chriftian church ; this allowed, the difpute will 
 end. I recommend once more to your ferious con- 
 fideration, Deut. xviii. 18, 19, 20. Comp. with Ads 
 iii. 22, 23. 
 
 But after all, perhaps you will fay as fome have 
 done, that, " The Lord hath promifed that he who 
 believes fhall be faved, where he is filent in cefpeft 
 to baptifm ?" True. And hath he not alfo where he 
 is filent in refped: to repentance, and feveral other 
 parts of gofpel obedience .'' But is not obedience in- 
 cluded and necefTarily to be underftood in a true gof- 
 pel and faving faith ? Certainly it is : even an univer- 
 fal obedience to every known command, which will 
 never put us to fhame. 'Then fhall I not be afhamedy 
 when I have refpe£i to All thy commandments^ faid the 
 royal Pfalmift and pious king David., Pfal. cxix. 6. 
 And thus faith the Son of God, who is greater than 
 David, for he is David's Lord and our Lord. Te 
 
 are 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 are my friends, if you do whaifoever I command you, Johit 
 XV. 14 By this we fee what fort of perfons Chrift 
 cur Lord will own and acknowledge to be his friends ; 
 even fuch, whom he will no more be afhamed of, 
 than they will be of him, when they fhall ftand be- 
 fore his judgment feat. Now fir, as baptifm is a part 
 of, and muft always be included in, faithful obedience, 
 lb it is certain, that it muft always be put into the 
 definition of that general duty j for the whole muft 
 contain its parts. I therefore add, if Chrift will ab- 
 folutely and certainly account, receive and own us to 
 be his friends, though we knowingly and wilfully dif- 
 obey him in this duty of baptifm, which he amdng 
 the reft hath commanded us to do, then it ftands for 
 no more than a mere, trifling, infignificant ceremony. 
 To fay which,''is a grand impeachment of the wifdom, 
 truth and goodnefs of the Son of God. It no more 
 follows therefore, that, becaufe baptifm is not always 
 in every text exprefsly named mth faith, where this 
 term is mentioned, that our falvation is fecured by 
 faith alone, than that we are faved without obedience, 
 becaufe this term is not always mentioned in every 
 text where faith is named. Suppofe I was to fay. 
 The Lord hath promifed remiffion of fins and the 
 gift of the Holy Ghoft to thofe who repent and are 
 baptized^ where he is filent in refpedl to faith •, would 
 it be juft reafoning to fay, remiffion of fins and the 
 gift of the Holy Ghoft is promifed to thofe who re- 
 pent and are baptized, exclufive of faith ? No fiarely. 
 Yet this is certainly as juft reafoning as to fay. The 
 Lord has promifed that he who believes ftiall be faved 
 where he is filent in refpeft to baptifm. Hence one 
 may fee how fome men rack and torture their own 
 brains and the fcripture too, to find out if they could, 
 fome art or device to exclude the neceflity of baptifm. 
 But all their witty inventions and artful contrivances, 
 are found and proved to be quite ineifecftual and fuc- 
 
 cefslefs. 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 cefslefs, and ever will be, fo long as we have the 
 
 fcripture to be our rule and guide. 
 
 I hope you do not forget fir, that I have not, and 
 do not pretend to argue upon the neceffity of baptifm 
 (confidered fingly and alone) to fuch fort of perfons, 
 and to fuch ends and purpofes which have been men- 
 tioned, as fufficiently efficatious of itfelf, to accom- 
 plilh thofe ends and purpofes •, for that would be to 
 exclude the neceffity of all other duties; but only 
 as it ftands conned:ed with others, and fo muft have 
 among them its particular place and ufe, according 
 to the defign of its great author and inftitutor. If 
 this be remembered, all miflakes, I hope will be pre- 
 vented, and all objedions too, againft the neceffity 
 of baptifm for ever ceafe. I would now defire leave 
 to afk, 
 
 Are all God's commandments neceffary to ht 
 obeyed ? If they are, to what ends and purpofes are 
 they neceffary ? Is baptifm one of God's command- 
 ments ? if it is, to what ends and purpofes is it ne- 
 ceffiary ? Does not your church make baptifm and the 
 fupper of the Lord, generally neceffary to falvation ? 
 
 She does-, but why does fhe fo? This I fhall 
 
 leave, and only obferve farther, that, no fooner did 
 the Eunuch perceive v/ater, but he immediately afked 
 what doth hinder me to he baptized^. A<5ls viii. 36. And 
 others alfo, who no fooner believed, but were ready 
 and willing to be baptized. What a pity it is the 
 cafe fhould be fo fadly altered as it is in our day. 
 
 Let us now juft fum up at leaft a part of the evi- 
 dence for the neceffity of baptifm, and we ihall, I 
 think, clearly fee in a few words, the real truth of 
 the matter. 
 
 Firft, Our great and glorious Lord, the head of 
 the church, hath faid. He that hdkveth and is baptized 
 fiall be faved>.i Mark xvi. 16, 
 
 Secondly 
 
( 64 ) 
 
 Secondly, his apoftle Peter faid to thofe converted 
 by his fermon preached on the day of Pentecoft, that 
 ever memorable day ! Repent and be baptized eve/j one 
 of you in the name of Jefus Chrift^ for the remijfion of 
 fms^ andyefljall receive the gift of the Holy Ghof, Ads 
 ii. 38. And to the converted Gentiles he faid. Can 
 any man forbid water that thefe fljould not be baptized 
 who have received the holy Ghoft as well as we ? And he 
 commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lordy 
 Adts X. 47, 48. 
 
 Thirdly, Of the Samaritans it is faid, When they 
 believed Philip preaching the things concerning the king- 
 dom of God^ and the name of Jefus Chrijt, they were bap- 
 tized, both men and women, Ad:sviii. 12. Il^o children 
 it feems. 
 
 Fourthly, Ananias faid to Saul, afterwards Paul> 
 And now, why tarrieft thou ? arife and be baptized and 
 wafh away thy fins — A(5ls xxii. 16. This being what 
 Chrift intended, when he faid, it fhall be told thee what 
 thou mujl do. 
 
 Fifthly, St. Peter fpeaking o( Noah and his family 
 being faved in the Ark by water, adds. The like fgure 
 whereunto even baptifm doth now fave us, (not the put^ 
 ting away of the filth of the flejlo, as he very juftly ob- 
 ferves. No fir, we neither fay, nor think fo, it is 
 not becaufe the body is waflied in the water when 
 baptized, but as it is the anfwer of a good confcience 
 towards God) by the refurreSiion of Jefus Chrifi from the 
 dead, I Peter iii. 20, 21. Hence I obferve, that we 
 are not faved merely by the death of Chrift, though 
 if certainly was a facrlfice for fin, for he loved us and 
 gave himfelf for us an offering and a facrifice to God for 
 a fweet fmelling favour, Ephef v. 2. But alfo by 
 his refurredlion from the dead. His death would 
 have profited us nothing, though he was delivered for 
 cur offences, if he had not rofe again for our jujiifica- 
 tion, Rom. iv. 25. Now as baptifm is an evident 
 
 and 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 and ftanding witncfs of Chriji's death and refmre^ion, 
 it is very juil and necefiary that we fhould be bap- 
 tized as an evident proof of our certain belief of that 
 falutary dodrine, as has been before mentioned. Not 
 that we believe we are faved merely by baptifm, any- 
 more than we believe we are faved merely by Chrift's 
 death. No iir, we look to a much higher caufe of our 
 falvation than baptifm, nay, we do not look upon 
 baptifm to be any caufe at all for our falvation, but 
 the grace of God alcm through Jefus Chrifi — I think 
 therefore,; from all thefe fcriptures, without mention- 
 ing any more, it clearly appears that baptifm is ne- 
 cefTary to believers and new-made converts to the 
 chriftian religion, in order to anfwer the ends deiigned 
 by Chrift in the inftitution of it. 
 
 Thus I have endeavoured to fhew to whom bap- 
 tifm is not necefiary, and to whom it is neceffary and 
 to what ends. If I have faid any thing wrong, I 
 will upon convicftion, very readily and thankfully ac- 
 knowledge it. I have a very high efleem for all di- 
 vine truth, and fhould be extremely glad to fee it pro- 
 moted and eftablifhed ; and I think if that grofg error 
 of i n fan ts-fpr inkling was once removed out of the 
 chriftian church, there would be one great obfhrudion 
 to it taken away ; and then we might hope to fee not 
 only much more of truth, but alfo of love, peace and 
 unity among all good chriftians. — Which I do moft: 
 fincerely wifh every one of us fn^y, by every juft and 
 right method, diligently and conftantly purfue, and 
 by our unwearied endeavours, v/ith the bieffing of 
 God accompanying us, at laft joyfully obtain. 
 
 I cannot therefore forbear telling you iir, that if 
 infants v/ere not to be fprinkled, it would be one 
 means to reftore true baptifm, v^'hich, were it once 
 accompli fhed, would, I doubt not, be of very great 
 advantage to mankind" in^very nation where the gof- 
 pel is preached, or Ihall hereafter be preached, and 
 
 K par- 
 
{ 66 ) 
 
 particularly in our own. The plea that is generally 
 made ufe of among us, is, " the climate is fo cold 
 (though it is no colder than it was when the Fonts 
 were firfl ereded) that it would hazard the health, 
 nay, lives of many children." No, not at all more 
 fo than when baptizing was pradlifed. But however, 
 no fuch excufe can be made for adult perfons, whofe 
 bodies it is well known, are able to endure it even 
 in the coldell feafons, as thoufands can witnefs. And 
 here I cannot but wonder that even fuch perfons who 
 are to be baptized among you in your church, are 
 always fprinkled. I have indeed known foine of the 
 clergy who have told fome of their own people who 
 were not fatisiied with their infant fprinkling, that 
 they would go down into the water and baptize them, 
 but always when it came to the reft, they took care 
 to decline it •, endeavouring to excufe themifelves as 
 well and as handfomely as they could, either telling 
 them " if it was left to them they would do it." Or 
 if they could not be (o fatisfied, " they muft go to them 
 who did baptize." But again, 
 
 As by fprinkling inftead of baptizing them It is 
 pretended they are regenerated and born again, and 
 fo made chriftians, they are alfo taught as tney grow 
 up to believe it ; and thoufands of them look for no 
 other baptifm and no other regeneration than that 
 which they were told they had in their infancy, which 
 indeed were none at all ; and they generally continue 
 as ignorant of what it is to be born again, as they 
 were when they were faid to be baptized ; they know 
 no more of real chriftianity than they did at that time, 
 and as they increafe in years, too vifibly increafe m 
 wickednefs ; and though their lives are ever fo wick- 
 td, yet they are made to believe they are chriftians ; 
 that they were made fo when they were fprinkled, 
 ^nd had their names given them by which they arc 
 called. Thus, in a poor, carelefs, thoughtlefs man- 
 ner 
 
{ 6? ) 
 
 ner they live on from year to year, without knowing. 
 Or without fo much as confidering what their real ftate 
 and condition is. Though they curfe, fwear and lie ; 
 though they be drunkards, fabbath-breakcrs and 
 commit lewdnefs, and many other vices, yet muft 
 they be called chriftians •, and when they will, may 
 be allowed to partake of the facred memorials of the 
 body and blood of Chritt, when at the fame time 
 • they are in the gaid of hhternejs and in the bond of ini- 
 quity \ Adsviil. 23. Yea, notwithftanding this, eveiy 
 one of thefe poor vain, wretched creatures, muft, at his 
 interment, have it faid, " Forafmuch as it hath pleafed 
 almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himfelf 
 the foul of our dear brother here departed, we com- 
 mit his body to the ground, — in y^/r^- and certain hope 
 cf the refiirre^ion to eternal life.''^ Now fir, if none 
 were to be admitted into the church by baptifm, nor 
 acknowledged chriftians, till . fuch time as they ap- 
 peared to be regenerated indeed, it might have a 
 very good tendency to put many of them upon think- 
 ing what a fad ftate and condition they are in, as per- 
 fons out of Chrift, and without hope of heaven and 
 happinefs, untill they repent and are converted and 
 become new creatures, and members of the body of 
 Chrift, the church. But infant fprinkling has no 
 fuch tendency, but generally fpoils it all. Men truft 
 fo much to that^ and what they are made to believe 
 concerning it, that when they are told of the abfolute 
 neceftity of being born again, fome or other of thein 
 are ready enough to fay, " I need not be born again, I 
 was born^again when I was baptized. What ! would you 
 have me deny my baptifm .'' — This is what you have 
 obferved and taken notice of. This is your own re- 
 mark in your own words, which I return to you a- 
 gain. And thus according to your own knowledge 
 and obfervation, you plainly fee the bad confequences 
 of infant-fprinkling, what it leads to. Eefides as I 
 
 K 2 have 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 have obferved above, fuppofing you did baptize them, 
 which you do not, as I have alfo evidently made ap- 
 pear, yet could it be of no ufe to them, but rather 
 hurtful, as is plain from your own words. For they 
 know no other, feek out for no other, concluding they 
 want no other baptlfm nor regeneration than what 
 they had in their infancy. I fay fir, Inch baptifm can 
 be of no ufe to them, becaufe they have all tliat work 
 to do "when they come to mature years as thofe have 
 who were not baptized in their infancy. For it can 
 never be proved that they are lefs inclined to fin, and 
 adtually do fin lefs than thofe do. Neither are they 
 who die in their infancy at all better for being fprink- 
 led and having a name than thofe who die without 
 them, 1 m.ean fprinkling and a name, unlefs you make 
 baptifm nlone necefiary to falvation. However, I 
 ihall nov/ leave thefe things juft as they are, and 
 every one may draw what corjclufions from them 
 they pleafe. I have fo far done what appears to me 
 to be juft and right according to the holy fcriptures* 
 And if any man will he ignorant let him be ignorant., 
 J Cor. xiv. 38. 
 
 Thirdly, You fay, *' You hold nothing to be 
 (ftridlly fpeaking) necefiary to falvation, but the 
 mind which was in Chrift." Neither do I fir. We 
 are therefore now (generally fpeaking) apparently 
 agreed. But may it not be aiked, what are we pro- 
 perly to underftand by " the Mind which was in 
 Chrift.'* This rightly understood and agreed to, 
 may be a fpecial means to end all difputes in religion ; 
 provided men will be perfuaded to aft accordingly. 
 Now fir, wfthout criticifi.ng upon words and phrafes, 
 I underfland you to mean by the mind which was in 
 Chrift, when applied to ourfelves •, our being like 
 him in our tempers, defires, and affedlions ; in our 
 whole will, converfation, and adions. I'hat we 
 .-ovTght to govern ourfelves through every part of our 
 
 iivc-s 
 
( 69 ) 
 
 lives by all thofe wife, juft and good mies w!iich he 
 has given us ; agreeable to al] thofe things which he 
 has taught and commanded us ; that fo we may be 
 wholly changed and renewed, and brought into his 
 own divine image and likenefs. If this be your meaning 
 fir, ?.s I cannot but think it is, though I may poffibly 
 exprefs it dliterently from you, I do afliire you it is 
 really mine alfo ; and therefore as I faid, we are feem- 
 ingly agreed. But it fhould be obferved, that there 
 are a great many things which muft be put together 
 to compleat the mind of Chrift in us, or which amounts 
 to the fame, to compleat our likenefs to him. 
 
 He was meek, humble, loving, kind and ODndefcend- 
 ing, &c. fo mufh we. He was univerfally obedient 
 to his heavenly Father both in doing and fuffering ^ 
 fo muft we according to the ability we have received. 
 His will was to do the will of him that fent him, our 
 will muft be to do his will, who came and did the will. 
 of his Father. We muft- imitate him, for he has left 
 lis an exa?JTple that we fijould follow his jieps. Now fir, 
 are we not agreed thus far ; 
 
 But you will give me leave to farther obferve, that 
 Chrift is our Lord and Lawgiver, whom we are to 
 obey, as well as our Exemplar whom we are to imi- 
 tate and follow. Wc are therefore to coniider him 
 under that high and awful charadler ; we are atten- 
 tively to hear what he fays, ftri(5lly to do v/hat he 
 commands, and wholly comply with his fovereign 
 will and pleafure. And as he hath taught and com- 
 manded us all things necefTary for us to know and 
 do, it was certainly agreeable to his own mind fo 
 to teach and command us. And what was his 
 mind to teach and command, ought certainly to 
 be ours to learn and do ; or otherwife we have 
 not the mind of Chrift ; for it is plain, he did no'^^ 
 difpute with his Father about doing or fuiFerIng 
 any one thing he commanded him to do or fufFer. 
 "For though he v;cre a fon^ yet learnei he obedience-, lojiii 
 
 X. i8. 
 
( 7° ) 
 
 X. iS. Phil. li. 5, 6, 7, 8. Heb. v. 8. Therefore we^ 
 are not to difpute with him, who is at once our 
 Teacher, our Commander and our Exemplar. If 
 therefore we have the mind of Chrift, or be of the 
 fame mind he was of, we are hke him in love, obe- 
 dience and real holinefs •, we are poflefTed of thofc 
 heavenly tempers and difpofitions he was pofTefied of, 
 though in a lower degree. This is to be a chriftian 
 indeed. And this is all I intend, and am endeavour- 
 ing to have eftablifhed in all others as well as in my- 
 feif. This is the end of my writing, I have no o- 
 ther view (God knows before whom 1 fpeak) than to 
 promote the v/hole mind which was in Chrift. To 
 be a ftridl Imitator, a clofe and fteddy FolloiJoer of the 
 Lamb whitherfoever he goes^ Rev. xiv. 4. This, I 
 would inceflantly labour after to my life's end. If 
 therefore, dear fir, you can prove it was the mind of 
 Chrift that we fhould fprinkle our children and fay 
 we baptize them, and thereby receive them as mem- 
 bers of his church, I will immediately comply v/ith it. 
 Now it either v/as, or v;as not the mind of Chrift 
 that we ftiould baptize infants, if it was, what is the 
 reafbn he never gave us the leaft intimation of it •, 
 We all know the Nev/-Teftament is entirely filent 
 about it. Saint Paul faith he had not JJmnned to de- 
 tlare all the cotinfel of God, A6ts xx. 27. and yet he 
 jfiath no where declared that it was the mind of Chrift 
 little children ftiould be baptized. Is it not a plain 
 cafe therefore, that it is no part of the counfel of God? 
 Confequently they are not to be baptized. Can any 
 thing be more plain. The Papijls^ who are as much for 
 infants baptifm as you, or any Proteftants in the world, 
 do not fcruple to confefs there is no command or au- 
 thority for it in the fcriptures, but they have fetched 
 it from tradition, which you know they make of 
 equal authority with thofe facred writings. Now If 
 thofe quick-fighted men could not find it there, I be- 
 
 lievs 
 
( 71 ) 
 
 lieve it will be very difficult, nay, impoffible for yoa 
 cr any body elfe to find it there. And if it be not 
 there, let it be where it will befides, we ought not, 
 and therefore muft not dare to have any thing to do 
 with it. 
 
 How can we think our blefled Lord would have 
 been fo much wanting in his love to his church, or to 
 his own divine authority as a Lawgiver, to omit teach- 
 ing and commanding us to baptize our children, if 
 indeed it had been his mind and will we ihould bap- 
 tize them ? — Surely, he would not have been for- 
 getful or negligent in fuch a material cafe as this, if 
 it be fo material as fome people pretend it is. But 
 how is it pofTible for any man to know it is the mind 
 of Chrift that little children fhould be baptized, when 
 it is certain to a demonftratibn he has at no time and 
 in no place told us fo ? At beft, it can be no more 
 than mere guefs-work and imagination, which is 
 much too weak a foundation to derive a chriftian or- 
 dinance from. 
 
 If therefore it was not the mind of Chrift, that chil- 
 dren of a few days or weeks old ihould be baptized, 
 as it now here appears it was, it follows by a plain 
 and neceifary confequence, that all thofe who do bap- 
 tize them, do certainly ad: contrary to the mind of 
 Chrift in this very thing. And is not that very wrong? 
 Now fir, I am for the v/hole mind which was in 
 Chrift, and none but his to be ftridlly obferved and 
 complied with by all of us as neceflary to falvatlon. If 
 the baptifin of penitent believers be one part of the 
 mind of Chrift, as you very well know it is, I heg 
 you will no longer refufe to comply with it ; and if 
 you can make it as plainly appear that the baptifm 
 of infants is another part of the mind of Chrift, I 
 will immediately comply therewith. And what caa 
 you defire me to fay more ? May I intreat you fir, 
 to look over the New-Teftament; f^^ain, and examine 
 
 it 
 
^ 72 ) ^,.. . 
 
 It thoroughly "vvith as much ftridnefs and Impartiah'ty 
 xis you poflibly ican, and fee if there be not fomething 
 which is the mind of Chrift you fhould have done, 
 but have not -, iOiould not have done, but do. I can- 
 not forbear thinking if you would but throw afide the 
 prejudices of your education, and read the gofpel 
 with a quite unbiafTed mind, you would certainly find 
 Ibme errors .'n your prefent pradice, which you ought 
 ■to renounce, and fome truths which you ought to 
 receive and pra6Hfe. But, 
 
 Fourthly, Yom fay, " They who believe with the 
 faith working by ?,ove are God's children." Very right 
 iir, I believe fo too. The children of God are not 
 lazy, idle, flothful children ; but dutiful and obe- 
 dient to their heavenly Father, zealous and adive to 
 promote his honour and glory, by readily, willingly 
 and chearfully doing whatfoever he commands them. 
 They will not leave undone any part of that work he 
 bids them do under any pretence whatever. And 
 each child of God can fay, » 
 
 *' Thine is the work and thine alone — - 
 
 " But fhall I idly ftand ? 
 " Shall I the v/ritten word difown, 
 
 " And flight my God's command ? 
 *' Wildly fhall I from thine turn back 
 
 " A better path to find ; 
 '*• Thy holy ordinance forfake 
 
 " And caft thy word behind ? 
 " Forbid it gracious Lord that I 
 
 " Should ever learn thee fo ! 
 *' No, let me with thy word comply, 
 
 " If I thy love would know. 
 Again. 
 
 *' I chearfully comply 
 
 " With what my Lord doth fay, 
 f* Let others afk a reafon why, 
 
 « My 
 
( 73 ) 
 
 *' My glory is t'obey. 
 
 " Becaufe he faith do this, 
 
 " This I will always do. — 
 
 <i "D 
 
 Now all this, if I miftake not, you do fay in fome 
 of your hymns upon the ordinance of the Lord's fup- 
 per, which may be as juftly applied to the ordinance 
 of the Lord's baptifm by yourfelf and all others 
 who know and love him. If therefore you will not 
 *' difown the written rule, nor flight your Lord's 
 command," you muft fir, I venture to fay it again, 
 you muft be baptized. I befeech you do not forfake 
 that holy ordinance and caft the word of your Lord 
 behind you. If you would thoroughly know his 
 love indeed, fpeedily comply with your Lord's mind 
 and will in this as well as in all other parts of duty. 
 While others ftand difputing againft it, do you brave- 
 ly vindicate it, and endeavour to refcue'it from that 
 abufe and contempt it hath for fo long a time fallen 
 into. And let it be publicly feen and known you 
 do count it your glory to obey your Lord therein, 
 and that purely becaufe he hath faid Do this. 
 
 Fifthly, You fay, I do not conceive that unity in: 
 the outward modes of -worfhip is fo neceflary among 
 the children of God, that they cannot be children of 
 God without it, although I once thought it were.'* 
 But if you do not, yet you will I am fure allow, that 
 unity in the worfhip of God, is a very pleafing and 
 defirable thing, and which we ought diligently to en- 
 deavour after, and according to the fcripture as much 
 as pofTible to advance and promote ; Endeavouring to 
 keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ^ Ephef. 
 iv. 3. Chriftians are frequently exhorted to he of one 
 mind, and of one judgment -, to fpeak and mind the fame 
 thing \ to f rive together for the faith of the gojpel, that 
 there might he- no divifwns among them. And thus it 
 was once, when they all continued fiedfajily in the appf 
 
 L ties 
 
( 74 ) 
 
 ties do^lrlne and fellcwjhip^ in breaking of bread and in 
 prayers. A(5ls ii. 42. See alfo i Cor. i. 10. 2 Cor. 
 xiii. II. Phil. L 27. 
 
 Sixthly, Yon fay. " I do make ufe (fo far as I 
 know) of all the means of grace God has ordained, 
 exactly "a.^ God hath ordained them." Do you fir ? 
 Why then I give you not only my hand but my heart, 
 fo far as I ought to give it to a friend and a brother. 
 This is all I wifh and defire, and pray may be done 
 by you and -all men. How far you know the means 
 of grace I cannot tell, but fo far as I know them, I 
 muft fay, I think you do not ufe them all exa^ly as 
 God hath ordained them, if baptlfm be one of the 
 means of grace ; for wherein pray fir, do you make 
 any ufe of baptifm .'' I know you make ufe of the 
 ^ame but not of the thingy as I have already proved, 
 and fhall endeavour flill farther to prove hereafter. 
 You add, 
 
 " But here is your grand miflake, you think my 
 defign is to form a church. No ; I have no fuch de- 
 lign. It is not my deflgn or defire that any who ac- 
 cept of my help, fhould leave the church of which 
 they are now members." Though it is well known 
 you have been for many years, and flill are colle<5l- 
 ing a number of people, and forming them into dif- 
 tlndl focieties, according to their various fituations in 
 ■Kngland and Ireland. But I fuppofe you will not call 
 thefe diftind: focieties, churches^ nor the whole collec- 
 tion taken together a church ; well fir, you may call 
 it what you pleafe. But you fay, " it is not your de- 
 fign or defire that any who acceptof your help fliould 
 leave the church of which they are now members.'* 
 Perhaps not fir ; but there are thofe who have done 
 fo. And your people are always hugely pleafed when 
 any one does do fo •, and as much difpleafed when 
 any one leaves your fociety and joins to another. But 
 if you are not forming a church or people for Chrifl» 
 
 what 
 
{ 75 ) 
 
 ^at arc you doing of fir ? Why do you give rules 
 and orders for receiving perfons into fcciety one with 
 another, and oblige them to ad: according to thofe 
 rules and orders ; Do not you receive into, and ex- 
 clude out of your fociety, fuch perfons v/hom you 
 approve, or difapprove of, independently of all other 
 focieties whatfoever ? I think you do. But fir, are you 
 not endeavouring to bring men to the knowledge and 
 pradlice of chriftianity, that they may become one 
 people, prepared and made ready for the Lord? If this 
 is not your defign, 1 know not indeed fir, what you 
 are aiming at ; and if this is not forming a church, 
 I fiiould be glad to know what is. But if you are 
 not forming a church, why do you fet up any fociety 
 at all ^. Why do you oblige all who enter into it, to 
 a(ft by your rules .'' Why do you not tell people to 
 keep clofely and fi:ri(5lly to thofe churches to which 
 they belong •, not to leave their brethren of that id.- 
 lowfiiip and order in which they are joined -, not to 
 play faft and loofe with their profeflion ; but to be 
 fteddy and invariable therein } 
 
 This fir, I think you fiiGuId do, becaufe it v/ould 
 be a fpecial means to prevent many troubles and un- 
 eafineftes which afflid: the minds of many pious per- 
 fons ; and at the fame time would effe6lually prevent 
 their thinking hardly of you. if therefore, you have 
 no other defign or defire in your preaching, than to 
 make all men good men, one would think you would 
 leave them where you find them •, I mean in the 
 churches to which they belong. But this is not the 
 cafe, you receive all that come, all that will join with 
 you conformable to your rules and orders, may, v/he- 
 ther they hear their own minifters or not ; whether 
 they receive communion with their brethren or not. 
 But you farther add, 
 
 " Was 1 converting Indians I would take every 
 ftep St. P.aul took. But 1 am not-, therefore fome 
 
 L 2 of 
 
( 76 ) 
 
 of thofe fteps I am not to take." You are not con- 
 verting Indians, it is true fir ; nor are you, properly 
 fpeaking, converting chriftians. Every chriftian is 
 a convert to Jefus Chrift ; and every fuch convert is 
 a chriftian. Who are you converting fir P Englifli- 
 men .'' Englifhmen ! Why are they not, efpecially 
 thofe of your own church, long fince converted ? If 
 not, what is become of their regeneration, which 
 they were faid to have at the time when they were 
 rantized or fprinkled >* They were then faid to be re- 
 generated, made members of Chrift, children of God, 
 and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. It feems 
 the)' did not continue long in it, but foon degenerated 
 and apoftatized therefrom. But were they indeed fir, 
 put into that happy ftate at the time of their rantifm ? 
 If they were, how came it to pafs that they equally 
 as foon and as much ftood in need of being convert- 
 ed as thofe who never were rantized .'* Pray fir, what 
 are the real and genuine marks, the proper and dif- 
 tinguifhing charader of a member of the vifible 
 church of Chrift, a truly regenerated child of God ? 
 ' Be fo kind as to tell me if you can fir, whether there 
 ever appeared any thing of this nature in an infant at 
 the time of its being rantized. • 
 
 How ftrange it is that perfons fhould be regene- 
 rated, made members of Chrift, children of God and 
 inheritors of the kingdom of heaven ; and yet that 
 there fhould never appear any marks peculiar to fuch a 
 ftate in thoufands of thofe who were faid to be in it \ 
 Is not this the very cafe, fir, do not you know it is 
 with great numbers in your church .''—You know it 
 very well, that it is too fadly and evidently true. 
 What are they the better for being rantized, when 
 after all that is faid of them, they have the fame 
 need to be converted as the Indians themfelves .'* For 
 wherein is a wicked Englijhman better than a wicked 
 Indian ? The truth of the matter is, though they are 
 
 told 
 
( n ) 
 
 told and made to believe they were baptized, rege- 
 nerated, made members of Chrlft, children of God, 
 &c. at their rantifm, yet they were neither the one 
 nor the other. What therefore do your pretended 
 infant-baptifm and infant-regeneration amount to ? 
 \t is plain, it is all talk and nothing of it true in faA. 
 Why then let them ftay till they are converted before 
 they are really baptized ; this would be ading rati- 
 onally and agreeably with the holy fcriptures and the 
 pradice of the holy apoftles. 
 
 Upon the whole therefore, it muft be concluded, 
 that all thofe whom at any time our Lord fends to 
 preach his gofpel and to convert finners, whether of 
 this nation or others, fuch preachers muft preach and 
 teach them all which Chrift taught and commanded ; 
 and in the fame order and according to the fame me- 
 thod too which he kid down in his inftru6lions which 
 he gave to his apoftles ; which was and is to preach 
 repentance from dead works, faith towards God and 
 our Lord Jefus Chrift ; and all fuch who do fincerely* 
 repent and believe the Gofpel, thofe preachers are to 
 baptize, and then the bifhop, paftor, or elder is to 
 lay his hands upon them, with prayer that they may 
 receive the gifts of the Holy Ghoft in fuch a meafure 
 and degree as it may pleafe God to give them. This 
 is ( I will not fay methodiftical fir, but ) exadlly me- 
 thodical and ftridly fcriptural. Now if a man is a 
 flnner, a blind, ignorant, dark, dead finner, he is to 
 ' be proceeded with in the fame manner as any other 
 iiimer, whether he be an Engliftj^ or an Indian finner, 
 or let him be of what nation foever. 
 
 And now fir, pray give me leave to afk you what 
 ftep did St. Paul take in converting finners of any 
 nation which you are not to take in England, Scot- 
 land or Ireland ? Which of the above fteps are you 
 not to take, in order to fit and prepare finners to be- 
 come members of the myftical bodv of Chrift.'' 
 
 But 
 
f 78 ) 
 
 Bvtt you fay, " I ftill join with the church of En^-'? 
 land fo far as I can." — " fo far as you can ?" How 
 iar is that fir ? Do not you, cannot you join with 
 feer in all things ? It feems not. Pray fir, what are 
 thofe things in which you cannot join with the church 
 of England ? If there be fome things in which you 
 cannot join with your own church, as your words do 
 very fairly imply, how is this confident with your 
 " approving of and adhering to all you learned in 
 your catechifm and common-prayer book, with hold- 
 ing the fame opinions you received from your fore- 
 fathers, or with approving the do6lrine and difcipline 
 of your church, and with agreeing in all the extjcrnak 
 and circumftantials of religion ?" Or do you mean 
 by "joining with her fo far as you can," fo far as 
 fhe will ilet you ? But fuppofing ibis be your mean- 
 Hig, yet there muft be fomething in your prefent 
 eondud and method, that is conti-ary to her rules 
 and orders, and confequently, to your own words as 
 above •, or elfe fhe would undoubtedly receive and 
 own you as one of her fons ftill ; for what can file pof- 
 fibly require and infift upon more than what you have 
 declared .'' But be that as it will, you add, 
 
 " I and my friends ufe feveral prudential helps, 
 which our church neither injoins nor forbids, as be- 
 ing" in themfelves of a purely indifferent nature." If 
 what you -call "■ prudential helps," be really fuch, 
 they ought I think to be viewed in a light very dif-: 
 ferent from that of a purely indifferent nature ; for 
 that which is only of an indiffer-ent nature, may be 
 cither ufed or let alone, without either gain or lofs. 
 But who has injoined thofe pnidential helps you 
 ipeak of fir ? You fay vour church has not, and may 
 I not fay Chrifl: has not ? If he has, they are un-^ 
 doubtedly as good and ufeful, as they are wife and 
 prudent ; and ought to be ufed not as l3eing in them- 
 felves of a purely indifferent nature, but as necefiliry 
 
 to 
 
( 79 ) 
 
 to anfwer thofe ends he defigned them for. But rf 
 they be whiitycu have injoined and fet up, it may be 
 queftioned whether they deferve the name of he/ps 
 or not, much lefs prudential], unlefs you have dif^- 
 covered fome new helps which our blefled Lord either 
 forgot, or had not the knowledge of. But none will 
 thus impeach his wifdom and goodnefs, who is the 
 power of God and the wifdom of God, i Cor i, 24. I 
 fay therefore, if the helps you fpeak of be from 
 Chrift, and he hath [injoined them, whether your 
 church has or not, they may, they ought for very 
 prudential rcafons to be received and ufed. No church 
 hath any authority to injoin what God forbids, nor 
 to forbid what he injoins. But if they are in them- 
 felves of a purely indifferent nature, they have neither 
 good nor harm in them, and as fuch I'll leave them. 
 Seventhly, You fay. " What I affirm of the gene- 
 rality of teachers and people of the church of Eng- 
 land^ I affirm of teachers and people of every other 
 denomination •, I mean fo far as I have known them.'* 
 Nay fir, this doth not appear. You have given to 
 none fo black a character as that you have given to 
 the teachers and people of the church of England. 
 But if you have fo affirmed, I beg fir, you will be {o 
 juft as to prove it, or you will make bad worfe. But 
 you fay, " fo far as you have known them.'* How 
 far is that pray fir ? What do you know of the deno- 
 mination of baptized believers either in Europe or Ame- 
 7'ica, of which you can as juftly affirm the fame of 
 their teachers and people as you affirm of the teachers 
 and people of your own church ? Do you prove fir, 
 that thofe teachers and people are all that which you 
 jiffirm of thefe and it fiiall fuffic.e ; but if you cannot, 
 your affirmation, wherever it is, ought to be obli- 
 terated. 'Tis true, in your Farther appeal, * you 
 afkj '^ Do all your members adorn the gofpei ? I 
 
( So ) 
 
 ftar not. I have known fome inftances to the con- 
 trary, and doubt] efs you know many more.'* And 
 then indeed you affirm, " There are unholy, out- 
 wardly unholy men in your congregations alfo." And 
 are there not fome fuch in your congregations or fo- 
 cieties too ? I can fay truly enough, I have known 
 ibme inftances, and doubtiefs you know many more. 
 But fuch perfons are no more connived at and tole- 
 rated among us than they are among you. 'Tis well 
 known there were difcrderly perfons in the firft 
 churches, even in the days of the apoftles. But 
 what then ? 
 
 You feem to think that we do not exclude difor- 
 derly perfons from among us, but fuffer them quietly 
 and unmolefted to continue in their communion with 
 us ; for you afk, " Is this done .-"' Yes fir, it is. An 
 open finner cannot remain a member in our churches. 
 But you take it for granted, - unholy men are ftiil 
 fufFered to remain among us." And you fuppofe the 
 reafon may be this, " That many of us have una- 
 wares put Opinion'm. the room of Faith and Repentance.^* 
 But in this fir, you are quite miftaken, we do neither 
 the one nor the other. I mean, we neither put Opi- 
 nion in the room of Faith and Repentance^ nor do wc 
 fuffer unholy men to remain members of our churches. 
 
 But I will take this opportunity to tell you fir^ 
 that fuch men though excluded from us, do fre- 
 quently attend public worlhip among us, and becaufc 
 it is not always publickly known to every one that 
 they were excluded ; fome people may think, and I 
 know that fome have thought they were ftill mem- 
 bers with us. And thofe inftances of unholy perfons 
 whom you fay you have known, might very pro- 
 bably have been excluded perfons, though you at 
 that time knew nothing of it. And now fir, by what 
 I have faid, I hope you may ceafe your fears. 
 
 Pray 
 
( 8i ) 
 
 Pray fir, give me leave to afk, have there not beeti^ 
 •are there not even now diforderly perfons in your fo- 
 cieties ? I dare not think they are all truly PhUadel- 
 pbian. Are they all of them to a man real penitents 
 and true believers in Jefus Chriil; ? Do they all 
 heartily and univerfally obey the gofpel 1 Are they all 
 baptized and regularly brought into the church of 
 Chrift ? Do they all adorn his dodrine in all things ? 
 Are they all fo pure and holy as to need no reproof? 
 So invariable and uniform in their whole converfation 
 as to need no admonition ? fo diligent and induftrious 
 in the work and fervice of the Lord, as to need no 
 exhortation to any part of duty ? Do they all ex-adly 
 and inflexibly obferve the rules of juftice and honefty 
 in all their dealings with mankind ? Is there none of 
 them will tell a lie for his profit and advantage when 
 he thinks he can do it undifcovered ? Do none of them 
 ever put off a bad commodity for a good one, and 
 at the fame price too if they can ? Do they always 
 tell the buyer every fault in that which they fell, 
 that he may not be cheated ? Do they never take any 
 more for a thing than it is really worth ? Have none 
 been excluded from your focieties ? If they have, it 
 was undoubtedly for fome fault. But do not you 
 bear with offenders for a while before you exclude 
 them ? If you do, then may it be faid with equal 
 truth and propriety, that there are unholy, outwardly 
 unholy men in your focieties as v/eil as in others, 
 But I do affure you fir, I take no pleafure in recrimi* 
 nation, or elfe I might have added much more. 
 
 But it feems you direded your difcou'rfe to thole 
 who hold, and maintain the doflrine of particular re- 
 demption ; for in page the 59th you fay, " Suppofing 
 the opinion of particular redemption true, yift how 
 little does it avail towards filvation ? Nay were we 
 to fuppofe that none can be faved who do not hold it; 
 it does not follow that all ^^-ili be faved v/ho do. So 
 
( 82 ) 
 
 thut if the one proved a man to be in ever fo bad 
 a fhte, the other would not prove him to be in a 
 good one." Very true fir. I do not know who will 
 deny it. 
 
 But after all that you have (liid, I do not find that 
 you have given fo black a charadler to the teachers 
 and people of our denomination, as you have to the 
 teachers and people of the churth of ii^ngland. And 
 •when you tell me " fo far as you have known them,'* 
 It is very clear and evident, you have not known 
 them to have deferved fuch a charadter. For had 
 you knovm it, you would no more have fpared them 
 than you did your own brethren, whom you call the 
 Priefts and IVophets of the Lord." 
 
 But you add, " I never faw an unmixed commu- 
 nion yet, unlefs (perhaps) among the Moravian bre- 
 thren, or the Methodijls.^* And (perhaps) not a- 
 inong either of them. Are the Moravians or Me- 
 ihodijis^ fo pure and iimple as to have no mixture of 
 €rrot in dotftrine or in practice i* Whatever you do,. 
 I cannot yet believe it, nor will I, until I fee fomc 
 better proof of it than any I have ever feen yet. 
 
 You farther add, " Yet that God does blefs us, 
 even when we receive the communion (your words 
 are the Lord's fupper) at St. Paul's, J can prove by 
 numberlefs inftanccs." This fir, I take to be only 
 gratis di5liim. But why do you fay, " even at St. 
 Paul's ?" Is it bccaufe it is a rare and uncommon 
 thing for Gcd to blefs thofe who receive the Lord's 
 fupper in that place, where there is fuch a mixture 
 of bad and good } I know not elfe w'hat you bring it 
 for. But fliould net the "ciJe be feparated from the 
 frecious^ efpecially at the Lord's Supper ? Yes : This 
 is what you complain of the want of in your church. 
 If therefore you and your friends are tht precious, 
 why do you mix yourfelves with the vile P 
 
 Eighthly^ 
 
( 83 > _ 
 
 Eighthly, You fay, " If I were In the church of 
 Rome I would conform to all her doftrines and prac- 
 tices, fo far as they were not contrary to plain fcrip- 
 ture. And (according to the bed of my judgment)- 
 I conform fo far only to thofe of the church of Eng- 
 land.'* Why fir, do not you conform fo far to the 
 church o^ Rome even now, though you are amember 
 of the church of England ? If fo, then your confor- 
 mity to the church of Rome is juft now exadly tlie 
 very fame as it would be if you were in that church. 
 But pray fir, if you were in that church, muft yoii 
 not conform to to all her do5Irincs and praBices^ how 
 much fbever contrary to plain fcripture ? Undoubt- 
 edly you mud. Yes fir, you know you muft, whe- 
 ther you would or not •, fhe v/ould force you to it^ 
 Or force you into a wotfe place, or elfe out of 
 l!he world. But what ufe am I to make of what you 
 lay } Is it, that as you believe there are fome doc- 
 trines and pradlices in the church of Rome, which 
 ilre contrary to plain fcripture, fo likewife there are 
 fome fuch in the church of England, to which you 
 do no more conform than you do to thofe in the 
 church of Rome .? if this is not your meaning fir, I 
 know it not, nor what ufe you intended I was to 
 make of your words. You fay, " You conform to 
 the do6lrines and praccices of the church of England 
 fo far only as they are not contrary to plain fcripture.'* 
 Which very fairly implies you do believe there are 
 fome do{5lnnes and practices held and maintained 
 therein, as well as in the Romiih church, which are 
 contrary to plain fcripture. And I believe fo too. In 
 this we are agreed. But perhaps not in what thofe 
 doftrines and practices are. Do fir, be fo free as to 
 tell me what thofe doftrines and pra-flices in the 
 church of England are, which are not agreeable to 
 plain fcripture, and to which you cannot nor do not 
 'iConform, But if there be any. fuch dadriues, &c. in 
 •^' M 2 vour 
 
C 84 ) 
 
 your church which you cannot and do not conforni 
 to, how is this confident with what you fay in your 
 Farther Appeal. *' We approve both the dodrines 
 and difcipline of our church.'* But, 
 
 Ninthly, You fay, " I do believe the dodrlne, 
 worfhip and difcipline (fo far as it goes) of the church, 
 of England to be agreeable to the word of God.** 
 I fuppofe you mean fo far as the difcip/ine of the 
 church of England goes, you believe it to be agree- 
 able to the word of God. Here again you feem to 
 imply that the difcipline of the church of England 
 does not go far enough, that there is fomething want- 
 ing of its full extent, that its meafure is not parallel 
 to the word of God. And indeed I am of your mind. 
 Let us therefore for once (for I hope there will be no 
 harm in it) take a fliort view of fome parts of the 
 doctrine, worfhip and difcipline of the church of 
 England, and fee if they are all agreeable to the 
 word of God. And 
 
 Fir ft, Of the do^rhie. i. In the 27th Article, you 
 teach. " The baptifm of young children is in any 
 wife to be retained in the church, as moft agreeable 
 with the inftitution of Chrift." But how is this to be 
 proved ? Is it not plain to every one who will open, 
 his eyes, that there is no fuch thing in the inftitution 
 of Chrift ? And is not this flatly contradidlory to 
 what is taught in the 19th Article concerning the vi- 
 fible church of Chrift ? For it is there defined to be 
 *' a congregation of faithful men, &c." It is not 
 faid and mfants alfo who have no faith, ^hey muft 
 therefore, I think, by this definition, be excluded 
 from being members of Chrift's vifible church on 
 earth. Again, How can the baptifm of young chil- 
 dren be moit agreeable with the inftitution, when you 
 teach in the fame Article " that baptifm is a fign of 
 regeneration, or new birth, and they that receive 
 baptifm rightly, are grafted into the church; the 
 
 promifes 
 
( 85 ) 
 
 promlfes of forgivenefs of fins, and of our adoption 
 to be the fon's of God by the Holy Ghoft, are viiibly 
 iigned and fealed •, faith is confirmed and grace in-* 
 creafed by virtue of prayer unto God ? Dear fir, is 
 it poffible that thefe things can be made to correfpond 
 with the Hate and condition of infants ? I will leave 
 it to you and all wife men to judge and determine. 
 But the article fays, " moji agreeable with the infti- 
 tution of Chrift." From whence comes this fir? 
 From Chrift or his apoftles ? May I not fay fronn 
 neither ? Doth it not come from human invention 
 only ? But wherein pray fir, doth it appear that the 
 baptifm of young children is moft agreeable with the 
 inftitution of Chrift ?-- — Is not the baptifm o^ peni- 
 tent believers as much, nay is it not moji agreeable 
 therewith ? Is the baptifm of infants at all agreeable 
 therewith ? I appeal to the infiitution for decifion. 
 
 2. You teach that fprinkling a little water on the 
 face of a perfon is baptizing him. But this has never 
 yet been proved, and never can. 
 
 3. You teach, " that in every perfon born into 
 this world, it deferveth God's wrath and damnation.'* 
 Art. 9. But where hath our blefiM Lord fo taught 
 and told us P Where do we read that every perfon at 
 his birth is in a ftate of wrath and damnation ^ I'hoT 
 St. Paul fays, IVe are all by nature children of wrath^ 
 Ephef ii. 3. Yet he does not fay, we are all by na-r 
 ture children of damnation. It is by fome fuppofed 
 that Adam s firft fin produced this moft terrible and 
 dreadful effed in human nature. And how is it re- 
 moved ? By fprinkling a little water on the face .'* — ** 
 Surely you cannot with any ferioufnefs fay it is. 
 
 But if every perfon born into this world deferveth 
 God's wrath and damnation, pray fir, what had they 
 done before they came into this world to deferve it.-~c 
 Surdy none will fay they did any thing between the 
 time of their birth and the time of their rantifm to 
 ikferve it. — Hqw muft we ^ccoijnt for this ftrangc 
 
C S6 )6^ 
 
 i5o(*trine ? Do fathers eat four grapes^ and are their 
 €hildrens teeth fet on edge thereby •'* Do they deferve to 
 be damned for another man*s fin ? — Does God deal 
 thus with his creatures, the works of his own hands ? 
 That be far from our thoughts, as it is far from his, 
 Ezek. xviii. 4, 17, 20. 
 
 Do you fay Adam's firfl fin was imputed to his pof- 
 •terity, and thereby they all became equally guilty with 
 Jiim •, and therefore as he deferved God's wrath and 
 damnation, fo in like manner do all his children ? 
 "Why fir, does the imputation of one man's fin to 
 another, make that other man guilty to whom it is 
 imputed ? How fir ? — Suppofe I were to fteal a horf^, 
 "would you think it juft that my theft fhould be im- 
 puted to you, and that you muft fuffer death for it? 
 You would not. How then can we think that the 
 juft and righteous God will bring all Adam's chil- 
 dren into this world in a ftate of wrath and damna- 
 tion ; and yet pardon their father, who with Eve his' 
 "wife, were only the delinquents ! But who is it that; 
 imputes Adam's fi.n (if it is imputed) to his chil- 
 dren ? Is it God ? Where has he told us fo f* 
 
 Yet it muft be faid, if Adam's fin is imputed to. 
 liis pofterity, and they are all guilty of it, in virtue 
 of fuch imputation, and as the confequence thereof, 
 ,. ;^rc brought into the world in a fi:ate of wrath and 
 cUmnation ; I fay fir, that it muft be faid, that God 
 only fo imputes it. For who befides him hath that 
 power and fovereignty over his creatures but himfelf 
 who created them ? Now if he had not imputed their 
 fathcr*s fin to them, none other could, and then they 
 would have had none at their birth, confequcntly, 
 would not liave been brought into the world in a ftate 
 of wrath and damnation. So that this dodrine of 
 the imputation of Adam's fin to his pofteritv, makes> 
 God to be the author of fin to them -, and is not this 
 moli ihocking and horrible ! Does not this reficcft the 
 
 greatc^- 
 
( 87 ) 
 
 gteateft injuflice on the moft jufl and righteous, tfie 
 mod gracious and merciful of all Beings ? On him 
 who is a God of tnith and without iniquity^ juft andt 
 right is he ? Deut. xxxii. 4. But I remember that 
 you have faid, " I'cu do not believe that any man will 
 DC damned merely for Adam's fin.*' Give me leave 
 to afic you this one queftion fir ; Is there any fin 
 chargeable upon a man, but what is his own aft and 
 deed ? * I only add, if I have reprefented any thing 
 wrong, relative to the above article, I defire to be 
 ^et right. 
 
 4. You 
 
 * There can be no need one would think of the imputa- 
 tion of Adaoii fin to his pofterity, that they may at their 
 coming into the wor'd deferve God's wrath and damnation j 
 for the piain and evident, but fad and dll'mal truth is, we 
 all begin to fm ibon enough, and thereby we all become 
 guilty before God : So that for our own actual fins, without 
 the imputation of another man's fin to us, we foon enougli 
 deferve God's wrath and damnation. 
 
 Uut there are others who tell us *' that as all men were \n 
 the loins of Adam when he nnrred, fo all men finned in him, 
 ]f fo, then theie can be no need that his fin fhould be im" 
 puted to all, to make them all finners. But S/. Paul {eems 
 to tell us otherwife, when he fays. By ONE man Jin entered 
 into the world. But if all men finned in Adam^ it muft be by 
 all men that fin entered into the world, and not by one man 
 only. Again, He tells us,— — /Arstt^A the off'ence of 0\:^^ 
 many are dead. The judgment was by ONE to condemnation. 
 By ONE rnani Offence death reigned by ONE. By the Of" 
 fence of ONE judgment camt upon all men. By ONE mani- 
 dilobedience many were rnade fmnerSy Rom. v, 15, 16, 17* 
 i8, 19. 
 
 i\' therefore what St. Paul fays be true, that it was by 
 ONE man^ and by ONE offence of that ONE man^ that the 
 confequences of which he fpeaks, came upon all men, then 
 it could not be that all menfmned in Adam. Upon the wholft. 
 therefore, it feems to appear very plain (at leaft to me) that 
 God did not impute Adam's fm to his pofterity, nc>r did all 
 men fm in Adam ; but every man actually fins in his ov/ii 
 cffon, ^pA fo it corns? to pafs that tlic vihsle v^'srld of men 
 
 ar(f 
 
 t 
 
4. You teach (Art. 13) " That works done be- 
 fore juftlfication or faith in Chrift, (as I fuppofe is 
 meant) have in them the nature of fin.'* ^Nhy fir, 
 had Cornelius's works, his prayers, his alms, &c. 
 when they afcended up for a memorial before God, Ad:e 
 3c. 4. I fay fir, had they in them the nature of fin } 
 Although the prayers of the wicked are an abomina^ 
 tion to the Lord, Prov. xv. 8. and xxviii. 9, yet, 
 prayer, confidered as prayer fimply in itfelf, cannot 
 have in it the nature of fin, whatever fin the perfon 
 lias in himfelf that prays. Befides, as there muft be a 
 lime for every finner to begin to repent and believe 
 in Chrift, to make confeflion of his fins to God and 
 to pray for pardon, &:c. before he can be juftified v 
 furely fuch works cannot have in them the nature of 
 fin. Men may fay if they will, that works done after 
 juftification have in them the nature of fin, and that 
 we fin in every thing we do, as fome do fay. And 
 they may fay fo as long as they pleafe, I am not bound 
 to believe them. 
 
 5. You teach (Art. 20.) " That the church hath 
 power to decree rites and ceremonies." But where 
 hath Chrift or his apoftles taught us fo ? Who gave 
 the church that power .^ But who are we to under- 
 ftand by the church ? The whole colledi^'-' body of 
 
 ere become guilty before God, For all men have finned and 
 thereby have come J})ort of the glory of God, Rom, iii. g, 19, 23. 
 It is true indeed, we derive our flefhy nature from Adam^ 
 which is prone enough to fin, as we all find by fad expe- 
 rience, and therefore when the devil comes with his tempta- 
 tions, he always finds matter enough to work upon, for 
 ialas ! we are (con drawn into fm, and foon begin to take 
 delight in it, which makes it abfolutely neceflary for us to 
 be regenerated or born again, as our Lord told Nicodemit^^ 
 John iii 3, 7. Our lofs by Adarns fin is certainly very great, 
 none being able to recover and fave themlelves ffom the dire- 
 ful effects and confequences of itj which makes ;* Saviour 
 ibfolutely neceflary to us. 
 
( 89 ) 
 
 the people ? I fuppofe not : They are for the moil 
 part too ignorant or too profane. Mud it be the 
 biihops and clergy only ? No truly : It mud be very 
 improper to call them the church who are only the' 
 Teachers and Rulers of the church. Then are we 
 to underftand it fynecdcchically fir, a part for the 
 whole .'' Well, be it (o. I dill want to be informed 
 where our bleffed Lord has told us fo. For if he has 
 no where taught or told us any fuch thing, nor his 
 apodles neither, it mud be a midake, and confe- 
 quently not to be received as true and found doc- 
 trine. But 
 
 Ladly, You teach (Art. 26.) " That evilminiders 
 do minider by the commidion and authority of Chrid, 
 that you may ufe their minidry both in hearing the 
 word of God, and in the receiving of the facraments ; 
 
 although they be minidred by evil men." Pray 
 
 fir, does Chrid's commiflion authorize evil men to 
 be miniders in his church ? Is not this a great dif- 
 honour cad on the ever blefled Son of God i* Is it not 
 quite contrary to his dodrine and example, the doc- 
 trine and lives of the apodles, and his faithful church 
 in all ages. Should not his miniders live as holy 
 now as they did in the very fird age of chridistnity ? 
 Should they not all be Jiewards of the manifold grace 
 of God ^ I Pet. iv. II. And is it not required in 
 
 Jiewards that a man be found faithful ? i Cor.iv. i, 2. 
 But can it be judly faid that evil miniders are faith- 
 ful .'* An evil minider is furely no minider of Jefus 
 Chrift. And as he never commidioned him and au- 
 thorized him to teach and preach his gofpel, fo it is 
 certain he will never own him as fuch. I always 
 thought and dill think, that Chrid's miniders diould 
 be examples to their people in all manner of conver- 
 fation and godlinefs, i Tim. iv. 12. that they might 
 
 . the more fuccefsfuUy lead them on in the path of ho- 
 linefs, and in that way to have their whole dependance 
 
 N on 
 
( 9° ) 
 
 on the Lord Jefus Chrlft for eternal life. Should 
 not every minifter therefore fo order his life by the 
 grace of God, that he may be able to fay to his peo- 
 ple, Be ye followers of me as I alfo am of Cbrijl ? i Cor. 
 xi. But alas ! how much doth the contrary appear ? 
 How often do we hear the people faying, " We muft 
 not do as the par f on does, but as he fays." But 
 what a fad and lamentable faying is this. The people 
 muft not do as their minifters do ! Their adlions it 
 feems are fo bad, they are not fit to be imitated by 
 their people ! — But fure I am, they ought to be 
 taught another very different lefTon. — "We muft do 
 as Chrift's minifters do. They neither fwear nor lie 
 nor are drunken ; they are neither proud nor haugh- 
 ty, envious or revengeful, covetous nor worldly- 
 minded ; neither muft we. They are honeft and juft, 
 fober and temperate, true and faithful, fo muft we \ 
 they are meek and humble, kind and affectionate, 
 charitable and heavenly-minded, fo muft we \ they 
 are holy, harmlefs, the fons of God, without rebuke, 
 iuch muft we be alfo, Phil. ii. 15. We fee how care- 
 ful, ftrid: and circumfpedl they are in their lives and 
 converfations -, we muft imitate and follow them. — 
 Is not all this right and true fir } You know it is, 
 with much more of the fame nature that might be faid. 
 It is therefore plain, that fome part of the dodrine 
 taught in the church of England Is not agreeable 
 to the word of God j confequently, you muft believe 
 wrong, when you fay " you do believe it is agree- 
 able thereto." For " no do(5Vrine can be right unlef^ 
 it is the very fame which was from the beginning.** 
 This fir, is what you yourfelf have faid before me. * 
 If therefore you cannot prove that the whole dodtrine 
 taught in the church of England, is the very fame 
 which was taught and preached from the beginning 
 by Chrift and his apoftles. I fay once more fir, you 
 * In your Difcouife on fin in believers, p, u, 
 
 muft 
 
( 91 ) 
 
 Hiuft believe wrong ; I will therefore leave It with 
 you, pray fir, try what you can do. If you prove 
 this point, I will no longer feparate myfelf from the 
 church of England. 
 
 Secondly, Let us now take a fhort view of the wor~ 
 Jhip of the church of England. And i. I cannot help 
 obferving that, though formerly fhe hath been very 
 ftrenuous (even to perfecution) in prefling men to 
 uniformity of worfhip, yet in this fhe is not confiftent 
 with herfelf. For you ktiow fir, that the worfiiip of 
 the church of England is not in all places alike, there- 
 fore not uniform. What is the reafon pray fir, that 
 there is fo great a difference between the Cathedral 
 and the Parochial form of worfiiip ? If God be wor- 
 shiped in a juft and right manner in the Cathedral, he 
 is not juftly and rightly worfhipped in the Parochial 
 form. If there be nothing fuperfluous in the former, 
 there muft be fomething deficient in the latter. This 
 furely no man will deny. But if it fiiould be faid, 
 there is nothing fuperfluous in the one, nor any thing 
 wanting in the other that is ufeful and edifying to the 
 people, may I not afk what is all that for in the Cathe- 
 dral which is not obferved in the Parochial worfiiip ^ 
 For Pomp and Splendor? If God be as acceptably 
 worfiiiped and the people as much edified and com- 
 forted in the Parochial form of worfiiip, as thofe are 
 who worfiiip God in the Cathedral form, what end 
 doth this latter form of worfiiip anfwer ,^ But pray 
 fir, what part of the New Tejlament is either the one 
 or the other kind of worfiiip agreeable to ? For 
 
 2. From whence come all your mufic and your fing- 
 Ing boys ? By whofe authority were thefe appointed 
 and brought into the chrifi:ian church ? What word of 
 Chrifl: are they agreeable to ^ What religious purpofes 
 do they ferve .'' What real good do they bring to the 
 fouls of men } What honour to Chrift P Your muficians 
 and fingers may perhaps pleafe themfelves and the 
 
 N 2 eare 
 
( 92 ) 
 
 ears of their admirers, but who is made more holy and 
 religious thereby ? If mufic and finging do not make us 
 more acceptable to God, do not make us at all better 
 chriftians, &c. God may fay to us as he did to his 
 people of old by the prophet Amos. Take thou away 
 from me the noije of thy fongs^ for I will ?wt hear the me- 
 lody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters and 
 righteoufnefs as a mighty fir earn. Amos v. 21. to 24. 
 
 3. Where is the rule for finging in a promifcuous 
 manner, good and bad, holy and unholy, men and 
 women, boys and girls, all mixed together ? From 
 whence comes all thefe fongfters fir ? And who hath 
 appointed them ? May poor ignorant boys and girls, 
 and profane men and women be allowed to fing the 
 high praifes of God ? If you call fuch conjoint fing- 
 ing by fuch fort of perfons to be a part of divine wor- 
 fhip, and you believe it to be agreeable to the word 
 of God in the New-Teftament, pray fir, fhew me 
 that word. May not God fay to fuch fingers, When 
 ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at 
 your hands, to tread my courts? Ifa. i. 12. 15. Pfal. l. 
 
 16. 17. To take my name into your polluted lips, 
 feeing you hate infru^ion and cafi my words behind you, 
 
 4. Where do you find that Chrift has given the 
 leaft intimation to his worfiiippers to read and fome- 
 times to fng their prayers, as is frequently done in 
 your church .? Are not reading and finging of prayers 
 purely the invention of men ? Alfo your frequent re-t 
 petition of the Lord's prayer before your worfhip is 
 ended, where is there a word from Chrift: for that ? 
 Does it not come under his jufl; cenfure and rebuke ? 
 And looks as if you thought to be heard for your 
 much fpeaking. Math. v. 7. Your reading-praying, 
 your finging-praying, your repetition-praying, whence 
 are they ? Whence come they ? 
 
 5. Ycur bowing at certain times to the altar, and 
 to the Eaft. and at the name of Jefus, what word of 
 
 God 
 
( 93 ) 
 
 God is this agreeable to ? Thefe are fome of the 
 
 parts of worfhip performed in your church, which 
 if you can make them agreeable to the word of our 
 Lord Jefus Chrift, pray do fir, and I will obferve 
 them as ftridly, and with as much zeal as you or any 
 other perfon can do. 
 
 Thirdly, We will now look a little way into your 
 difcipline. But if it be true what a certain Clergy- 
 man fome years ago told me, it will I doubt be 
 fomewhat difficult to find it. For he very ingenucufly 
 told me in thefe words, " Our church has loft her 
 difcipline." Flas fhe fir ? Did the gentleman fay 
 true ? If he did, I am fure it is a very great lofs. I 
 heartily wifh it were found and again reflored to its 
 
 proper place and ufe. True gofpel difcipline is 
 
 one fure mark of a true church of Chrift. And in- 
 deed I greatly fear you have it not in your church. 
 If you had, you would not, I think, allow of evil 
 minifters to preach and adminifler the facraments, 
 and evil perfons to partake thereof. The church of 
 Chrifl is to be kept pure and holy, and there is no- 
 thing more evident than that great numbers in your 
 church are very far from being fo. I remember fir, 
 you once told me you " knew a man who received 
 remiflion of fins at the fame time he received the ho- 
 ly communion from the hands of a drunken prieft." 
 But what a fhame it is that fuch a thing fliould ever 
 be mentioned. A drunken priefl ! Whofe priefl were 
 he ? And for whom, and by whofe authority did he 
 minifler ? And how came that man there, whoever 
 he was, before he had received remiffion of fins ? 
 Did Chrift conflitute and appoint his laft fupper to 
 be received and eaten by unregenerated, unrenewed 
 and impenitent perfons ? Such who were never bap- 
 tized and entered members of his church .? No fuch 
 thing. I always thought it were, with other means, 
 ■jippointed and defigned to cheriflb and comfort the 
 
 faithful 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 faithful, to confirm and ftrengthen them in the faith 
 and love of the Redeemer, as well as for other fpe- 
 cial ufes, and not as a means by which to receive 
 and obtain remiflion of fins ; for that is the defign 
 and ufe of baptifm. Repent and be baptized for the 
 remijfion of fins, was the word which the Holy Ghoft 
 ipake by Peter, Ads ii. 38. But we no where read 
 teat and drink the Lord's fupper for the remifTion of 
 iins. Nor Do this for the remifTion of fins ^ but Do 
 this in remembrance of me, faid our bleffed Lord, 
 Luke xxii. 19. 
 
 Such therefore who have a right to receive the 
 Lord's fupper, are fuch who are real penitents and 
 true believers, who are in Chrifl and who received 
 remifTion of fins before they received the Lord's fup- 
 per. And that man you mentioned, if he really were 
 a member of Chrifl and a child of God, he really 
 had received forgivenefs of fins before he came there. 
 Indeed no man can have a right to partake of the 
 Lord's fupper, who is not baptized, and united to 
 .him by a true and lively faith, a faith that 'worketh 
 iy love -, and confequently has received forgivenefs of 
 
 fins We do not receive it in hopes our fins fhall 
 
 ■he forgiven, but m faith that they zxt forgiven through 
 bis blood according to the riches of God's grace, Ephef. 
 3. 7. 'Tis true, the man might fay and be very con- 
 fident that he had received remifTion of fins at that 
 inflant, but no mans confidence in fuch a cafe can be 
 any proof of the truth of what he fays. But pray fir, 
 how did he know that he had received remifTion of 
 fins at that time ? Who told him To ? I doubt there 
 'was much more of enthufiafm and pretence than 
 reality in the cafe. Pray fir, give me leave to afk 
 you here, how, or by what means doth any man know, 
 or can know his fins are forgiven ? Is it by certain 
 feelings, impulfes, fecret whifpers, flrong conceits, 
 or heated imaginations 5 or is it from God's declared 
 
 will 
 
i 95 ) 
 
 will and promife in his word, through faith in Jefus 
 Chrift ? And I would beg leave farther to afk you, 
 who is the man and what is his charader, to whom 
 God has declared and promifed forgivenefs of fins ? 
 Is he any thing different from the penitent, baptized 
 And obedient believer? And whether does not every 
 liich perfon receive forgivenefs of fins at his baptifnt 
 according to the fcripture declaration ? But to return* 
 This flory which you told me of the man abovemen- 
 tioned, feems to be calculated to encourage evil mi- 
 nifters in that holy oflice, and evil men to partake of 
 that holy ordinance •, which the former have no right 
 to give, and the latter no right to receive. Is it 
 not therefore for want of right order, true chrifliart 
 difcipline and good government, that evil men and 
 fuch who are void of a lively faith in Chrifl are fuf- 
 fered to receive the holy communion ? 
 
 Suppofe the great mafler of aflemblies were to 
 come in at the time of receiving his fupper, how 
 many would he find with their wedding garments on ? 
 If all the ignorant and profane, the artful hypocrites 
 and empty formaiifls, the fiery zealots and fafhion- 
 able religionifts were taken away, would it be difficult 
 think you fir, to count the remainder, of whom it 
 might juftly be faid, 'Thefe are they which follow the 
 Lamb whitherfoever he goeth ? Rev. xiv. 4. Is it not 
 a great fin to admit to the holy communion fuch who 
 do not difcern the Lord's body ? It is. St Paul, who 
 certainly had as much knowledge in this matter as 
 ■any man, fays. Now we command you brethren in the 
 ftame of our Lord Jefus Chriji that you withdraw your^ 
 f elves from every brother that walketh diforderly^ 2 Thef. 
 iii. 6. Do you of your church do fo ? You know 
 you do not. What anfwer will you make to Jefus 
 Chrift, (in whofe name you are commanded to do 
 this) for your great and continued neglec^t ^ Since 
 therefore it is plain that according to the gofpel rule, 
 
 none 
 
( 96 ) 
 
 none may minlfter and none may receive the Lord's 
 luppcr who are ungodly and undevout, and your 
 church allows of both, you muft needs want good 
 difcipline, good government and good order. Do 
 you think that all thofe who receive the Lord's flip- 
 per in your church, know what it fignifies ? I fear 
 great numbers of them know nothing of the matter. 
 Know not that it is exprefTive of Chrift's great love 
 to us, and of ours to him ; of the clofeft union with 
 him, and the fincereft love one to another, &c. Are 
 we to withdraw ourfelves from every brother that 
 walketh diforderly ? We are. And can it be more 
 neceflary than at the table of the Lord ? It cannot. 
 If we are not to partake of the facred memorials of 
 ©ur redemption with ungodly and diforderly perfons, 
 what a difhonour muft it refledl upon our glorious 
 Lord and Saviour to admit fuch to eat and drink at 
 his facred board. Are not his people to be a feparatc 
 people from all others, and to diftinguifh themfelves 
 from others by marks and charadlers peculiar to them- 
 felves .'' And fhall they notwithftanding, join with 
 
 thofe who are the ungodly .'' 1 am fure you muft 
 
 conclude with me and fay, my brethren thefe things 
 ciight not fo to he. 
 
 Away then with all unholy fouls out of his church, 
 for I am fure they have no bufinefs there. And all 
 this you have allowed, and ftrongly pleaded for, as 
 has been mentioned before. And I cannot forbear 
 taking notice on this occafion of what you farther 
 
 fay. If by order were meant true chriftian difci- 
 
 pline, whereby all the living members of Chrift are 
 knit together in one, and all that are putrid and dead 
 immediately cut off from the body : This Order I 
 reverence, for it is of God. But where is it to be 
 found ? In what diocefe, in what town or parifh with- 
 in England or Wales ? Are you Redor of a Parifh ? 
 Then let us go no farther. Does this order obtain 
 
 thofe ? 
 
( 97 ) 
 
 there ? Nothing lefs* YoUf parishioners are a rope 
 of fand. As few (if any) of them are alive to God, 
 fo they have no connexion with each other, unlefsi 
 fuch as might be among ^urks or Heathens.** * Thefe5 
 iir, are you know, your own words -, which with the 
 cleareft evidence do fully prove what the reverend 
 clergyman above-mentioned declared to me. You 
 are I find both in one mind. How therefore can 
 you with any propriety fay, " you believe the difci- 
 pline of the church of England fo far as it goes, to 
 be agreeable to the word of God ^. For that which 
 hath no exiftertce cannot go at all, can move neither 
 hither nor thither. Nay you ftill farther add, con- 
 tinuing your difcourfe to the namelefs rCdlor. Nei- 
 ther have you any power to cut off from that body, 
 were it alive, the dead and putrid members. Per- 
 haps you have no defire •, but all are jumbled toge- 
 ther without any care or concern of yours. It is plain 
 then, that what order is to be found, is not among 
 you." By this you have fufficiently confirmed what 
 I have faid. So that at laft we are both come to one 
 and the fame conclufion in this point. 
 
 You infift on having fuch good order to be kept up 
 and maintained, that all the putrid and dead members 
 jfhould be cut off from the body of Chrift. So do L 
 But pray fir, who, or what fort of perfons are they 
 that compofe the living body or church of Chrift ? 
 Are they not renewed and converted perfons "? Real 
 penitents and true believers i* They are. And the 
 putrid and dead, are the ignorant and profane, the 
 Unrenewed and Unconverted. Now fir, if fuch per- 
 fons ought to be cut off, it is certain, they ought 
 never to have been admitted ; for the fame reafon will 
 hold equally flrong againfl the one as againfl the other. 
 
 But may it not be afked whether tnofe putrid and 
 ciead members were ever alive ? Whether they ever 
 * Farther Appeal, p. 1x2 and 113, 
 
 O had 
 
( 98 ) 
 
 iiad the life of Chrlft in them, or ever knew any 
 > thing of it ? If not, then as I faid before, they ought 
 never to have been admitted and owned as members of 
 Chrift's church at all. You know very well fir, that 
 thofe who do not repent and believe the gofpel can be no 
 members of the true church of Chrift. And yet how 
 many thoufands are there, who, notwithftanding their 
 admijfwn into the church, never repent nor know 
 what the gofpel is ? And do you not own fuch igno- 
 rant and impenitent perfons to be members of your 
 church ? You do. 
 
 How therefore can you fay, you " believe the dif- 
 cipline of the church of England (fo far as it goes) 
 to be agreeable to the word of God ?" For the very 
 reverfe is moft plain and evident. Is fhe not quite 
 Out of order even from the beginning .^ Is it not equal- 
 ly as diforderly to admits as it is to continue fuch per- 
 fons in the church ! Are not all your members (a 
 , very few only excepted) at their admiffion totally ig- 
 norant of Chrift, and altogether void of every gofpel 
 qualification neceffary to fit them to be members of 
 }iis church ? ' You know they are. And do they not 
 generally live all their lives long in the fame ignorant 
 and unqualified ftate ? Nay, do they not make their 
 lives much worfe than they were at their admiffion, 
 by their numerous fins .'' They do. Can fuch perfons 
 Jiave the leaft right to church-memberfhip ? If no% 
 /then they can have none to church ordinances, 
 that is to fay, baptifm and the fupper of the Lord. 
 For neither the one nor the other was inftituted and 
 ordained for fuch unqualified and unholy fouls ; but 
 for fuch, and fuch only, who repent and believe the 
 gofpel. Neither were they ever defigned by the great 
 author of them, to be ufed as means to bring men to 
 repentance and faith, to regeneration and converfion. 
 jNo fir, very far from it. Repentance and faith muft 
 
 precede 
 
( 99 ) 
 
 precede baptirm, and all thefe miift precede the LordV 
 
 fupper. This is according to order. Therefore 
 
 what you have formerly written cannot be right and 
 according to order and true gofpel difcipline. For 
 
 I. You fay," Of later times many haye af- 
 
 £rmed that the Lord's fupper is not a converting but 
 a confirming ordinance. And among us it hath been 
 diligently taught, that none but thofe who are con* 
 verted, that have received the Holy Ghoft are be- 
 Mevers in the full fenfe of the word, ought to com- 
 municate i but experience fhews the grofs falfhood of 
 that'aflertion. — For many now know the very begining 
 of their converfion to God (perhaps in fome, the firft 
 deep conviAions) were wrought at the Lord's fupper. 
 Now one fingle inftance of this kind overthrows the 
 whole aflertion." * No fir, nor a thoufand inftances do 
 not, nor cannot, unlefs you can prove it by the New- 
 T'eftament. And if what I have faid above be jufl: 
 and right, you can never do that. Putrid and dead 
 fouls^ and fuch are all unconverted perfons, ought 
 not to come to the Lord's fupper, but to be cut ofF 
 from being even fo much as members of Chrift's 
 church. You fay fo too. Pray fir, do not be incon- 
 fiftent with, and contradidl yourfelf. 
 
 How exceedingly prepofterous mufl it needs be fof 
 perfons to communicate before they are converted 
 and baptized, and made members of Chrift's church. 
 Give me but one inftance from the New-Teftament 
 of this kind and I will readily receive it. You add 
 
 2 " Our Lord commanded thofe very men whoi 
 were then unconverted, had not received the Holy 
 Ghoft, were not believers in the full fenfe of the 
 word, to do this in remembrance of him^ and delivered 
 the elements to them with his own hands." 
 
 What fir, were Chrift's apoftles unconverted, when 
 iie faid to them, J}o this in remembrance of me ? How 
 * Journal from 1739 to 1741. 
 
 O 2 19. 
 
f' 100 ) 
 
 IS this proved ? *Tis true indeed they had not then 
 received the Holy Ghoft, but that does not prove 
 they were unconverted. Are none converted before 
 they receive the Holy Ghoft as the apoftles did ? But 
 what do you mean, pray fir, by their not being be- 
 lievers in the full fenfe of the word ? Can you tell 
 what was then lacking in their faith ? -- — But fup- 
 pofing there was fomething, which for want of a more 
 perfed: knowledge of they did not fully underftand 
 and believe, yet neither does that prove they were 
 unconverted. 
 
 They were however fuch believers who knew and 
 acknowledged that C/^r//? was the Sen of the living Gody 
 Math xvi. i6. They were fuch believers, and fo 
 far converted that Chrlft himfelf faid to them. Now 
 ye are clean through the word which I have fpoken unto 
 you, John xv. 3. Mark it fir. — 'Tis the word which 
 Chrift fpake unto them through which they were 
 clean. The Lord's word therefore, not the Lord's 
 fupper, is the means of converfion, &c. Again faid 
 Chrift to them, "The Father himfelf loveth you, becaufe 
 ye have loved me, and believed that I came out from God^ 
 John xvi 27. From hence it is plain that they were 
 fuch full believ^ers, and fuch converted perfons whonx 
 the Father loved. Would to God all who communi-f 
 cate in your church, were fuch converts, fuch be-» 
 ilevers. But you flill farther add. 
 
 3 '* The Lord's fupper was ordained by God to 
 be a means of conveying to men either preventing, 
 or juflifying, or fandlifying grace, according to their 
 feveral necefhties." Where's your fcripture for it fir } 
 In what part of the New-Teflament may I find it fo 
 written? That the perfons for whom it was or- 
 dained, are (you fay) all thofe who know and feel 
 they want the grace of God, either to reflrain them 
 from fin, or to fhew their fins forgiven, or to renew 
 their fouls in the image of God." No fir, it is a 
 
 mi flake. 
 
( loi ) 
 
 mlftake. The perfons for whom the Lord's fupper 
 was ordained, are all thofe who are renewed in the 
 image of God, whofe fms are forgiven, and who ara 
 reftrained from fin by the grace of God before receiv- 
 ed, and ftill continued in. 
 
 Laftly, You fay, ** There is no previous prepara- 
 tion indifpenfibly necefTary, but a defire to receive 
 what he is pleafed to give. That no iitnefs is re- 
 quired at the time of communicating but a fenfe of 
 pur ftate, of our utter finfulnefs and helplefsnefs : 
 Every one who knows he is fit for hell, being juft fit 
 to come to Chrift, in this as well as in all other ways 
 pf his appointment.'* 
 
 O dear fir, what a ftrange medley is this ! without 
 one word of fcripture to countenance it. This feems 
 fitted for that church, and that only, which admits 
 of all forts of perfons to communicate. How con- 
 trary to what you have wrote in your Farther Appeal^ 
 concerning order and true chriftian difcipline. How 
 can you ever make it at all confiftent therewith? 
 You fay 
 
 " Every one who knows he is fit for hell, being 
 juft fit to come to Chrift in this as well as in all other 
 ways of his appointment.'* Pray fir, who are they 
 that know themfelves fit for hell t Not real penitents^ 
 not true believers, not the fincere lovers of Chrift ; 
 for they (if there be any) know they are fit for heaven : 
 Having according to the riches of the grace of God, 
 received forgivenefs of fins, are juftified and fandlified, 
 ^nd accepted in the heloved-> Ephef i. 6. Being the 
 adopted fons of God and heirs of glory. Such as 
 thefe therefore are not the perfons who know they 
 are fit for hell ; and for fuch as thefe was the Lord's 
 fupper ordained. But the impenitent, the uncon- 
 verted and unbelievers may indeed know they are fit 
 for hell, when they are firft awakened and have a 
 yight and full itnh of their miferable ftate and condi- 
 tion 
 
( 102 5 
 
 tson as poor loft iinners. But for thefe, confidered 
 as fuch, the Lord's fupper was never ordained. Hath 
 he any where bid fuch perfons do this in remembrance 
 of hifn ? Are they not firft to come to him in the way 
 of repentance and faith, and then to be baptized and 
 Joined to his church, and afterwards to eat and drink 
 at his table ? Is not this the dired; way to come to 
 Chrift according to his appointment ? 
 
 When Chrift faid Corae unto me all ye that labour and 
 are heavy laden, and I will give you refi. Math. xi. 28. 
 hviA If miy man thirfi let him come unto me and drink, 
 Jofm vii. 37. Did he mean they were" to communi- 
 cate before they were converted, baptized and joined 
 to his church .'* But pray fir, what is it to come to thrift? 
 is it not to believe m him, to own and acknowledge 
 hrm to be the Lord and Saviour of the world ? And 
 afterwards to truft in him, to abfolutely depend on 
 ihim, and what he hg.tk done and fuffered, &c. in or- 
 der for falvation f Are no-t thefe with wh^t hath beem 
 feid above, the very fteps which we are to take ; do- 
 not thefe lead us into the way by which we are to 
 come to Chrift with acceptance .? Certainly they do. 
 
 How fenfible foever men are of their loft ftate. 
 and condition, how fit foever they know they are for 
 hell, it can never with any propriety be hitA, that it 
 £S agreeable to gofpel order, fuch perfons are juft fit 
 to come to Chrift in the appointment of his fupper ;• 
 becaufe it was never appointed far them, till they are 
 joined to his church in the way and manner above- 
 mentioned. Therefore fuch a previous preparation 
 is indifpenfably neceffary, fuch a fitn-efs is required 
 of every one at the time of communicating. And it 
 ss from fuch a preparation and fitnefs, that we find in 
 ourfelves a defire to receive what he is pleafed and 
 has promifed to give. And as we live in a delightful 
 fenfe cf his love^ fo we continue Jledfafily in his doc^ 
 
 irine^ 
 
( 1^3 ) 
 
 triney in fello'U)Jhip one with another^ in "breaking of lireaJt 
 &nd in prayers. 
 
 I might have added a great deal more, but this i» 
 enough to Ihew what a grofs miftake you are fallen 
 into. I therefore muft infift upon it fir, that you will 
 not fail clearly and plainly to prove that Chrift ap-. 
 pointed his lafl fupper to be ufed as a means by fiich 
 perfons who know they are fit for hell to come unto 
 him by. Or to ufe your own words, that they are " ta 
 come unto him in this way of his appointment, without 
 a previous preparation, or fitnefs for it" by repentance 
 and faith, &c. I only add, if fuch a preparation, or 
 fitnefs is not indifpenfably necefTary to come to Chrift 
 in this ordinance, it is not indifpenfably necefTary at 
 any other time, and then farewell all order and true 
 chriftian difcipline. But 
 
 Tenthly, You tell me, " I wifb your zeal was better 
 employed than in perfuading men to be either diped 
 or fprinkled ; I will employ mine, by the grace of 
 God, in perfuading them to love God with all their 
 heart, and their neighbours as themfelves." As to my 
 zeal being employed in perfuading men to be fprinkled, 
 you need give yourfelf no pain about that, for beafliired 
 ilr, I fhall never fo employ it. But if I fhould employ 
 it in a prudent and fcriptural manner to perfuade peni- 
 tent believers to-be baptized, (which Is the fame thing 
 as to be dipped) agreeable to Chrlft's inftltutlon, /;/ ths 
 vame of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghojl ; 
 I hope there can be no harm in that, becaufe it 13 
 agreeable to the commiffion he gave to his apoftles, 
 and to their pradlce. Math, xxvlii. 19. And I farther 
 tell you fir, that my zeal being fo employed, does 
 not at all lefTen Its being employed by the grace of 
 God in perfuading men to love God with all their 
 heart, and their neighbour as themfelves. But th« 
 former I make ufe of as a good argument to perfuade 
 to the latter, which is more than you can do. Pra.y 
 
 fir. 
 
( 104 ) 
 fir, can my zeal be better employed than in perfuading 
 men to ohferve all things whatfoe-ver Chriji hath com^ 
 tnanded them ? Math, xxviii 20. AfTuring them for 
 their encouragement to a ready and chearful compli- 
 ance therewith, that Chrift hath promifed that. He 
 
 that believeth and is baptized^ Jhall he faved^ 
 
 Mark xvi. 16. If you can prove that dipping in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Sen, and of the Holy 
 Choff^ is not a command of our Lord Jefus Chrift, I 
 liere promife you that I will no more employ it in any 
 fuch matter. And what would you have me fay fairer ? 
 
 Laftly, You tell me, " You are thoroughly con- 
 vinced I did not write from anger." I am very glad 
 you are ; for indeed it is very true. I neither did then j 
 3ior do I now write one word in anger. But when you 
 fay, " but from a zeal for m.y own opinion and mode 
 of worfhip, I muft beg leave to tell you fir, that in 
 this you are miftaken. It is from a zeal, I hope a 
 prudent and becoming zeal for the honour of Chrift, 
 and the advancement of true chriftian baptifm ac- 
 cording to his mind and will. For I would no more 
 be zealous to promote a partial obedience, than I would 
 be partially zealous. But you add, " It might be 
 ■Worth while for another man to difpute thefe points 
 with you, but for me it is not. I am called to other 
 >fvork •, not to make church of England men, or bap- 
 tifts, but chriftians •, men of faith and love. 
 
 Dear fir, though you fay you are called to other 
 work than to difpute thefe points with me, yet yotf 
 have entered into difputes with other men upon other 
 ■points. Was it jnore worth your while to difpute 
 with them upon thofe points than with me upon thefe i 
 Well fir, fuppofing it was, are thefe of no importance 
 at all .? Do they not merit your attention in any de- 
 gree ? Can you pafs them by as tilings of no concern 
 to you } Have you forgotten what our bleiTed Lord 
 fays ? JVbofoever fljall DO and TEACH cm of 
 
{ 105 ) 
 
 the kaji of tkcfe cojnmandments, JJjall he called great in thi 
 kingdom of heaven^ y[-A.th..v. 19. Nowif it bey;:urduty 
 to DO and TEACH even the leafi commandment^ f; -ely 
 it muft be equall)^ your duty to vindicate and defend it;. 
 Is not this a part of the work you are called to fir ? Is 
 not baptifm a part of chriftianity ? Is it not one of the 
 commands of the Son of God ? If it is, are you not 
 called to do and teach it, to vindicate and defend it 
 as much as any other man whatfoever ? You fay, you 
 are called to " make chriftians." Of whom, or what 
 fort of perfons are you called to make chriftians ? 
 Are you called to make infants of a few days old 
 chriftians ? If you fay this is the work Chrift has 
 called you to "^ I deny it. But if you make infants 
 chriftians when you rantize them, you do more than 
 ever Chrift called you to do, or his apoftles either ; 
 nay more than he himfelf ever did. Yet I fuppofe 
 you intend to make them chriftians when you rantize 
 them, do not you fir ? If not, what muft be done 
 with your common-prayer book ? — But after all, the 
 chriftians you are called to make, are, you fay, " men 
 of faith and love.'* Pray fir, are there no other 
 chriftians but men of faith and love .? If not, then 
 you do not, you cannot make infants chriftians any 
 more than you can make them men. Will you ac- 
 knowledge any to be chriftians befides thofe who are 
 men of faith and love? If not, then farewell infant-chrif- 
 tians and infani rantifm together. For if by rantizing 
 them you do not make them chriftians, you make 
 them nothing more, and therefore not one jot better 
 than they were before. — Some perfons perhaps v^ould 
 aft:, Can you make chriftians, men of faith and love? 
 But once more. Do you, as it is pretended, make 
 infants chriftians, and yet have they as much, nay, 
 t^w thoufand times more need to be made fuch over 
 again v,'hen they are men I The truth of the matter 
 is, no bvibe of eight or ten days old, can be made a 
 
 P chriftian. 
 
( io6 ) 
 
 chriftian. Why therefore do you attempt to do Im- 
 poflible things ? But I cannot help obferving that, 
 notwithftanding your prodigious fondnefs for hav- 
 ing infants rantized and made members of the 
 church, yet you have for ever excluded them there- 
 from, if what you have written m your journal before- 
 mentioned be true. For you fay, " In the ancient 
 church every one who was baptized communicated 
 daily ■," if fo, where will you find room in the anqent 
 church for infants ? will you fay They communicated 
 daily ? if you will not, then I am fure you muft not 
 fay they were baptized. The conclufion therefore 
 mull be, that, either infants communicated daily, or 
 infants were not baptized. For in the ancient church 
 (you fay) every one who was baptized communicated 
 daily. Now fir, if you cannot prove (and it is im- 
 poflible you fhould, that infants communicated daily 
 in the ancient church -, you can never prove that they 
 were baptized and made members of the ancient - 
 church. And now again farewell infants baptifm and 
 infants church-memberfhip aho. ,Were you there- 
 fore fir, to write to the age ot Melhufelnb^ you could 
 never writ)e,one argument for, or in defence of infant 
 baptifm. For if what you have written be true, it 
 will for ever beat down and deftroy whatever you or. 
 all the men in the world can raife againfl it. Again 
 
 If in the ancient church, every one who was bap- 
 tized, communicated daily, then it mull needs fol- 
 low, that every one in the ancient church was a pe- 
 nitent and a believer, was converted and baptized. 
 And this is the true, orthodox chriflian dodtrine.. 
 The renowned ancient dodirine, to which the renown- 
 ed ancient church was exad:ly fitted. 
 
 T7^(?;/, in' the ancient time, thafe days of old, thofe 
 golden days, it was, that they that gladly received the 
 -word were baptized •, and continued ft edfajily in the apof- 
 tks dQ^rine and fdloii^Jhip-, and in breaking of bread, and 
 
 in 
 
( ^<^7 ) 
 in prayers, A<5ls li. 41, 42. Therefore there was ttO 
 infant in the ancient church. Tiiis muft be acknow* 
 ledged truth, at leaft by you fir, for your own pen 
 
 has eftabiifhed it. 1 wifh I had difcovered it 
 
 fooner, it might have faved me both time and labour 
 In writing ; but I do not think much of any time or 
 jabour I can make ufe of in defending and propa- 
 gating any one real and fubftantial truth of the gof- 
 pel of our glorious Lord and King, Jefus Chrift, 
 ihe^only begotten of the Father^ full of grace and truths 
 John i. 14. But 
 
 To conclude. Pray fir, give me leave to tell you, 
 that whatever work ;yoii are called to, I loolc upon my- 
 felf to be called to the whole work of chriilianity, and 
 therefore muft leave undone no part of it under any . 
 pretence whatfoever. I have no more authority from 
 my great Lord and Mafter (who hath called me by ■ 
 his grace to fpeak in his name"^ to refufe to baptize 
 penitent believers, than I have to refufe to teach fin- 
 ners to repent and believe, and that they may be men 
 of real faith and love indeed. And fure I am, that 
 baptifm hath no tendency to hinder any man from 
 being a fincere believer and fervent lover of the holy 
 and ever blefled Jefus, who himfelf hath commanded 
 it and alfo performed it. For it is moft certain and 
 indubitable, that all in the ancient church who were 
 men of faith and love, were fuch who were baptized ; 
 that was the very way by which they entered into it 
 and fo became members of it. This fir, is the old 
 path, the good way, in which you and all men ougl^^ ^ 
 to walk, that they may pafs diredly into the churcj 
 of Chrift, as they did antiently. Thus faith the Lord, 
 Stand ye in the ways and fee and afk for the old paths, 
 where is the good way, and walk therein, andyefljall 
 find reft for your fouls. And O that none may fay 
 as thofe rebels did to whom thefe words were fpoken, 
 Wc will not walk therein, Jer. vi. 16. 
 
 P 2 Having 
 
( io8 ) 
 
 Having now returned a, full and fufHcient anrwcr to 
 your laft Letter, I will beg leave to reply to fome- 
 thing you laid to me when you was at my houfe; 
 and alfb to fome pafl'ages in your Notes en the Ne'uj- 
 ^efr.mcnt, relative to baptifm. 
 
 You may rernem.ber fir, that when you were at my 
 hovL^'i. you tol i me, " It could not be proved that 
 cur Lord nor the Eunuch were dipt." As to Mark i. 
 ^. ic. Where it is written of our Lord that he came 
 from Nazareth of Galilee^ and was baptized of John in 
 forda',1^ and firaitway coming up out of the ivater— you 
 laid " it might be referred to his coming up out of 
 the valley where the river runs." And concerning 
 the EmmcFs baptifm mentioned. Ads viii. 38, 39. 
 Where w'e read of his going down into the water and 
 coming up out of the water^ you faid, " It might be 
 referred to his going down hill, or going down out 
 of his chariot and coming up again into it." To 
 which I reply. 
 
 It is exprefsly faid by St Mark that our Lord was 
 baptized in or into, not at Jordan •, and by St. 
 Math. chap. iii. 6. it is faid of the people in general 
 
 that they were baptized in 'Jordan. For what rea- 
 
 fon therefore did our Lord and others go Into the 
 water ? To have a little of it fprinkled upon their 
 faces? Surely no body will fay fo. For what, end 
 could it anfwer to go into a river to be only fprinkled .'' 
 The reafon you gave me why you thought it could 
 not be proved our Lord was dipped, was this •, 
 " Jordan (you faid) is but a little river, yet at fome 
 times of the year it overflows its banks, and it can- 
 not be fuppofed they went into it then : and ^ other 
 times it was too fhallow, and did not contain water 
 enough." Dear fir. Is not this mere quibling againft 
 plain convidion } But do you not know fir, that very 
 fmall rivers, though they may be fhallow in fame 
 places, may notwithflanding, be deep enough in o- 
 
 thers 
 
( 1^9 ) 
 
 thers for the purpofe of baptizing ? There is a fmall 
 river runs at the end of my garden, called the Bnine, 
 which at fometimes of the year (like the Jordan) over- 
 flows its banks, and at other times is very fliallow, 
 yet there is always at fome of the windings and turn- 
 ings of it, a fufiicient quantity to baptize a perfon of 
 the largeft ftature. And in which I myfelf have bap- 
 tized a great number. And if the Jordan be no larger 
 than the Baine, John could, and certainly did find 
 fuch places in it which were fuitable and convenient 
 for his purpofe. But make the worft of it, if at fome. 
 times there were not v,^ater enough in the Jordan to 
 baptize in, he could you know fir, go to Enoii, for 
 ibere 'was much 'water there^ John iii. 23. Perhaps 
 you never thought of this fir. But whether you did 
 or not, you know it is fa6l. 
 
 As to the Eunucii's not being dipped by Philip, 
 1 will leave till I come to your note on the text. 
 And will now begin witli what you fay upon Math. iii. 6. 
 
 I find you have given another reafon beiides that. 
 you gave to me at my houfe, as abovementioned, for 
 your thinking John did not only not dip our Lord, 
 but llkewife not any body elfe. I muft needs fay in- 
 deed fir, I v/as greatly furprifed when I read what 
 you have written upon the above text. It feems you 
 are refolved at all adventures to maintain your beloved 
 fprinkling, and thruft out the Lord's commanded 
 baptifm, or you never could or would have givejj. 
 fuch an explanation of it as you have done. An ex- 
 planation which no man, I think, ever gave before 
 you, or ever thought of. 
 
 You^ reafon why John did not dip thofe who came 
 to his baptifm, is this \ " Such prodigious numbers 
 could hardly be provided with change of raiment for 
 it -, and they could not be immerged naked with mo- 
 defty, nor in their wearing apparel with fafety." This 
 is your reafon fir, fuch a one as it is, which you had 
 
 much 
 
( 110 ) 
 
 much better have kept to yourfelf. It fhews nothing 
 more clearly, and proves nothing more fully, than 
 that you was driven to the utmoft extremity, and 
 therefore refolved as much as in you la) , to do all 
 you could to fupport your fcripturelefs pradice of 
 rantifm inftead of baptifm. 
 
 But do not you remember fir, the Jews^wevQ a peo- 
 ple very much ufed to wafhing and bathing ? — And 
 therefore were not fo fearful of going into the water 
 as many are now to be baptized. How then can it be 
 imagined that they were unprovided with fuch gar- 
 ments as were necefTary ? And I think it is not to be 
 .disputed that they knew they were to be baptized 
 upon confeflion and repentance of their fins. For 
 thofe Avho had firft been with John and had been bap- 
 tized, did undoubtedly foon report the Baptith's work. 
 And thofe prodigious numbers that went with ho- 
 neft and upright hearts, could, and no doubt did take 
 with them fuch garments as were convenient, know- 
 ing from the report of others, what was John's work 
 and what were to be theirs. But fuch prodigious 
 numbers you think could hardly be provided with 
 change of raiment for it. "Why fir, could not ten 
 thoufand be provided with change of raiment as well 
 as ten ? Is it more difficult for each perfon of fuch a 
 number to carry a light garment than for ten or two ? 
 "Wherein } Beddes, though in the whole, John might 
 baptize many thoufands, yet who can tell what num- 
 ber reforted to him every day to be baptized ? But be 
 that as it will, baptized they were, this cannot be 
 denied ; but baptized they could not be if they were 
 not immerged or diped. 
 
 But you add, " It feems therefore that they flood 
 in ranks on the edge of the river, and that John pafTing 
 on before them, caft water on their heads or faces." 
 To which I add, and it might fall on feveral other 
 parts of their bodies alfo. Dear fir, can any thing 
 
 be 
 
( rii ) 
 
 be more weak and foreign in point of argument tTiait- 
 to talk in this manner? What kind of Jnftrument da 
 you think John made ufe of for that purpofe ? — What 
 a ftrange aukward manner do you make the Baptift^ 
 (not the rantift or fprinkler) to do his work in ! And 
 how vaftly troublefome, if not impoffible, muft it be 
 for him to do as you fuppofe. For if there was but 
 little water in the river, and if the banks were high, 
 it muft be extremely laborious and equally difficult 
 to caft water on their heads or faces in any tolerably 
 decent and regular manner, unlefs he had an exceed- 
 ing curious inftrument, and were a very ingenious 
 artift. But at other times when the river overflowed its 
 banks, where did the people ftand then fir ? 
 
 I remember you told me, " when the Jordan over- 
 flowed its banks, the people could not then go into- 
 it to be diped." Veryr ight fir ; nor could they ftand on 
 the edge of it to be fprinkled, or have water caft ori 
 their heads or faces : neither need they at any time, 
 if John only fprinkled them, have gone thither at all: 
 a bucket mis^ht have ferved as well as a river. For 
 what neceffity could there be for him to chufe a river 
 *o baptize in, or indeed at, if he only fprinkled them^ 
 And now fir, I fear this is too puzling a queftion fot 
 you to anfvver. 
 
 But what muft we do with that text where we ar^ 
 told tliat John was baptizing in Enon, near to Salern^ 
 becaufe there was much water there? John iii. 23- 
 Thefe words do flatly contradidl and quite fpoil your 
 fine contrivance. 
 
 Why, come fir, I will tell you. Let us lay afide 
 all human inventions, and entirely yield and give up 
 ourfelves to be dire6ted, guided and governed by the 
 plain fimple truths of the gofpel. You fee how we 
 are, and muft perpetually be embarrafl!e4 and per- 
 plexed, when we go about to fet up new ways and 
 methods contrary to, and quite diiFerent from the 
 
 one 
 
( 112 ) 
 
 one plain and unalterable rule contained in the in- 
 fallible word of truth ; and which you fay " is the 
 only rule, and the flifficient rule." That glorious 
 and immoveable ftandard, from which we are to take 
 all our meafures, and according to which all religious 
 opinions, dodrines and pradlices are to be exa6tly 
 iitted. Let us therefore be latisfied with, and heartily 
 thankful to our good God for the word of his grace, 
 — his revealed will in the fcriptures. '^he fcriptureSy 
 which are able to make us wife unto fahation, through 
 faith which is in Chrijl Jefiis^ 2 Tim. iii. 15. 
 
 Pray fir, let me now afk you for what reafon was 
 it you gave us never a word upon John iii. 23. when 
 you came to that text ? Did you think it was not 
 worth your while to tell us for what reafon John 
 chofe that place to baptize in } Or was it becaufe you 
 knew you could not poffibly explain it confiflently 
 with your pradice of fprinkling ? The vyords, btcaufe 
 there was much water there^ are you know fir, very 
 cmphatical -, and muft, and for ever will utterly ex- 
 clude fprinkling from having been the pradice of 
 John the Baptift. So that if there were no other 
 text in the New-Teftament but this, it is fufKcient 
 to eftablifh the point I am upon. And furely you 
 cannot but fee that fprinkling \\as none of the Bap- 
 tiit's work. — — 
 
 But to return to Math. iii. 6. You add, " And 
 this way" (that is John's fprinkling or calling water 
 on the heads and faces of the people) " moft natu- 
 rally fignified Chriil's baptizing them with the Holy. 
 Ghoft and with fire which John fpake of, as prefi- 
 gured by his baptizing with water, and which wais 
 eminently fulfilled when the Holy Ghoft fat upon the 
 apoftles in appearance of tongues and flames of fire." 
 Surprizing in.deed ! I wonder iir, that you fhould 
 cxprefs lb much weaknefs ' Was the defcent of the 
 Holy Ghoil upon the apcfiies on the day q{ Fentecofi 
 
 pre- 
 
( "3 ) . . 
 
 prefigured by John's cafting or fprlnkling water upon 
 the people ? Yes fay you, " moft naturally ;" moji 
 unnaturally fay I. Dear fir, before you had ventured 
 to publifh this, you fhould have taken care to have 
 fully proved that John did fpr inkle ^ or caft water upoti 
 tho. people, in the way and manner you fpeak of. 
 *Tis llrange that you fhould write fo much at ran- 
 dom ! Surely you never rightly confidered nor ex- 
 amined what is truly and really fadl. However, I 
 have, I think, fufficiently made it appear that John 
 did not fprinkle the people in that way and manner 
 you fpeak of, nor indeed in any other. And if fo, 
 it follows that the way you fay moft naturally fignified 
 Chrift's baptizing with the Holy Ghoft, proves to be 
 moft naturally iniignihcant. Now to make this clear 
 "and plain, let us look a little into the manner and cir- 
 cumftances of that extraordinary tranfaftion 
 . We are told that the apoftles with the reft, to the 
 number of about a hundred and twenty^ were affembled 
 together in one place. And fuddenly there came a found 
 from heaven^ as of a rufhing mighty wind., and it filled 
 all the houfe where they were fitting. And there appeared 
 unto them cloven tongues like as of fire., and it fat upon each 
 of them ; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghoft ^ Adls 
 i. 14, 15, and ii, i to 4. This is the account St. Luke 
 gives us of that grand affair ; that is, the manner 
 in which the Holy Ghoft defcended, and in which, 
 and with which the apoftles are faid to be baptized. 
 
 That which is particularly to be remarked, is, the 
 lioufe or room where they fat was filled, they were 
 therefore all immerfed therein, or furrounded on all 
 fides at once ; as every one is with air whether in a 
 noufe or out of it ; and as every one when rightly 
 baptized, muft be, and acftually Is with water. The 
 Holy Ghoft defcending in that aftonifhing manner, 
 not only filled the room, but all thofe who were there- 
 in, v.'ith his amazing power and influence. Which 
 Was the power from on high their Lord bid them wait 
 
 Q. for. 
 
( 114 ) 
 
 for, Luke xxiv. 49. and which was now given to ena- 
 ble them to begin and carry on that great work 
 which he had caJrd and appointed them to, which 
 did very Toon appear with great fuccefs. 
 
 New fir, what was there in all this that could pof- 
 fibly be prefigured by John's fprinkling ? The apof- 
 tles were fUed with the Holy Ghoft, this could not 
 be prefigured by fprinkling, for it has no likenefs to 
 it. The room was alfo filled, to which fprinkling 
 bears no more refemblance than it does to their be- 
 ing filled with the Holy Ghoft. Wherein therefore 
 does fprinkling a little water on the faces of perfons, 
 moft naturally fignify baptizing them with the Holy 
 Ghoft and with fire? If you have no more of the 
 Holy Ghoft than what was prefigured by John's 
 fprinkling thofe who came to him to be baptized, I 
 need not be afraid to fay you have none at all. 
 
 But it was John's dipping the people by which they 
 were covered and furrounded on all fides in and with 
 water, which did moft naturally fignify and prefigure 
 Chrift's baptizing them with the Holy Ghoft. For 
 ■any body may clearly fee a plain and eafy analogy 
 which the one bears to the other. But fprinkling is- 
 jfio ways analogous to their being baptized or im- 
 anerfed in the room filled with the rufhing mighty 
 wind, and the apoftles filled with the Holy Ghofl. 
 Therefore it v/as without any difpute or queftion at 
 iill, that both John and our Lord himfelf ufed the 
 ■p]ir2SQ. — baptized 'with the Holy Ghofi, in allufion to 
 their pradice of baptizing, immerging or dipping irt 
 water all thofe who became their difciples. 
 
 Sprinkling is fuch a low, mean, paltry infigni- 
 ficant thing, that in fuch a cafe as this, it woula be 
 vaftly difhonourable to the Holy Ghoft, to compare 
 his defcent in that moft wonderfully grand and au- 
 guft manner to fo fmall and trivial an ad:. Befides, 
 there is this farther reafon to be given why fprinkling 
 
 could 
 
( "5 ) 
 
 could never fignlfy and prefigure the baptiTm of the 
 Koly Ghoft. viz. A very little water as every body 
 knows, will fuffice for that purpofe, and therefore 
 could fignify and prefigure but a very little of the 
 Holy Ghofr: to be given. But baptizing a perfon, as 
 it requires a large quantity of water compared with 
 fprinkling, fo it might very naturally fignify and pre- 
 figure Chrift's baptizing with the Holy Ghoft, or 
 which amounts to the fame thing, beftowing the gifts 
 of the Holy Ghoft in a large degree ; which was in 
 fade you know fir, the very cafe on the ever memora- 
 ble day of Pentecoji. More might be faid, but this 
 fufHciently fhev/s what your invention amounts to. 
 You was therefore very wrong in faying John's fprink- 
 ling or cafting water on the peoples heads or faces» 
 moft naturally fignified Chrift's baptizing them with 
 the Holy Ghoft and with fire, becaufe it yet remains 
 for you to prove that John did fo. Now if he did 
 not, you are fadly wrong indeed fir. And if you 
 cannot prove it, (as it is certain neither you nor any 
 body elfe ever can) may I not hope to fee you and 
 your followers to give up that unfcriptural pradice, 
 and be baptized indeed, in imitation, according ta 
 the command, and to the honour of fo glorious an 
 example, fo loving a Saviour, and fo wife a com- 
 mander as the ever bleffed Son of God? — " But 
 what will men fay of Mr. Wejley then ? — Let them 
 fay what they will, you v.'ili not I hope, be afraid nor 
 afhamed to do your duty, and clofely and conftantly 
 follow your Lord and Mafter Jefus. — They cannot 
 fay worfe o": you than they did of him. He hath a de- 
 vil and is mad, why hear ye him ^. John x. 20. You 
 have in one of your hymns faid. 
 
 " Thy will is good and juft, 
 
 « Shall I thy will withftand ? 
 
 '' If Jefus bids me lick the duft, 
 
 " I bow at his command. 
 
 0^2 III 
 
( ii6 ) 
 
 In thefe lines you feem to exprefs fuch love fo 
 Chrift, and fuch readinefs to obey him, that you 
 would with all willingnefs and chearfulnefs do the very 
 loweft and meaneft office, if he did but give the word. 
 Why fir, if you will condefcend to give a fair hear- 
 ing to what I have faid, you mufl; acknowledge that 
 you ought to comply with that divine and heavenly 
 inftitution. I will now proceed and take notice of 
 what you have faid upon Math, xxviii. 19. 
 
 I find you read that text as fome others have done 
 
 before you •, " Go ye and difciple all nations." - 
 
 And in your Note you fay, " Make them my difciples. 
 This includes the whole defign of Chrift's commiffion; 
 baptizing and teaching, you fhould have faid teach- 
 ing and baptizing " are the two grand branches of 
 that general defign." True fir. " And thefe were to 
 be determined by the circumftances of things." Pray 
 jfir, who told you fo } " Which made it necefiary in 
 baptizing adult Jews or Heathens, to teach them before 
 they were baptized" Very right fir. " But in difci- 
 pling their children to baptize them before they were 
 taught, as the Jewifii children in all ages were firft 
 circumcifed and after taught to do all things God had 
 commanded them." 
 
 " The Jewifii children in all ages were (fay you) 
 firft circumcifed and after taught." — Pray fir, why 
 did not you dlfi:ingulfii between their males and fe- 
 males ? The latter were not circumcifed before they 
 were taught. And there are fome people fo Ignorant 
 of circumcifion, not knowing any thing at all of it, 
 that they would readily conclude from your indefinite 
 exprcfiion, that all Jewifii children were circumcifed. 
 But why were the Jewifii male children firfl: circum- 
 cifed and afterward taught ? Was it not becaufe God 
 had commanded it ? Mofi: certainly. And when 
 you have fiiewn me a command from God's dear and 
 only-begotten Son, firfl: to baptize children and after 
 
 that 
 
( '17 ) 
 
 that to teach them ; I will immediately comply witfi. 
 it ; but till then, I muft take the liberty to ad: more 
 confiftently with the commiffion he gave to his apof- 
 tles i firft to teach and afterwards to baptize them. 
 But you fay, " In difcipling their children to baptize 
 them before they were taught." Why fir, is not this 
 a ftrange way of talking ? Was there ever a difciple 
 in the world who had never learned ? Is it poffible ta 
 make a difciple without teaching ? Are not difcipling 
 and teaching fynonimous terms ? Some very learned 
 men have taught me fo. Either therefore they are 
 miftaken or you. I think you are fir. Pray lir, let 
 me aik you very ferioufly, what do you mean by dif- 
 cipling children .'' Do you mean making them difci- 
 ples .'' — How fir? By baptizing them? I deny it. 
 Baptifm does not make a perfon a difciple, but pre- 
 fuppofes him already made one. Shew me a perfon 
 who was made a difciple before he was taught and in- 
 ftruifted, and I will fhew you a perfon who was made 
 a chriftian before he believed, or knew, or heard of 
 Chrift. 
 
 You fay, " It was necefiary in baptizing adult Jews 
 or Heathens to teach them before they were bap- 
 tized." And I readily acknowledge it. And is it 
 not equally as necefikry in baptizing all other adult 
 perfons to teach them alfo before they are baptized I 
 Undoubtedly it is. But what was it that made it ne- 
 cefTary firft to teach grown perfons before they were 
 baptized ? Was it not Chriil's authority and com- 
 miffion which he gave to his apoftles fo to do ? It 
 
 was. All men every where to whom the gofpel is 
 
 preached, as well in England as any other nation, are 
 now commanded to repent and believe it, and then to 
 be baptized, Adls xvii. 30, Mark i. 5, Adts ii. 38. It 
 is therefore exadlly fcriptural that all ftnners fhould 
 firft be taught the neceffity of repentance and faith 
 tefore they are baptized ; but we no where read that 
 
 ail 
 
( u8 ) 
 
 all men eX'ery where are firft to be baptized, and then 
 to be taught to repent and believe the gofpel. 
 
 But to return, " Go ye and difciple all nations.'* 
 That is, fay you, " make them my difciples." So 
 you fuppofe our Lord to mean ; and truly I fuppofe 
 io too. But who ? Why " adult Jews and Heathens, 
 and their children." All very right and juft. We are 
 very well agreed. Only there arifeth a queftion about 
 their children, whether we are to underftand their chil- 
 dren to be fuch who were arrived to mature years and 
 capable of knowing and believing in Chrift as well as 
 themfelves, or only infants of a few days old .'' I fay 
 the former only ; you fay both. Here begins our 
 difpute again ; but I will cut it fhort by juft obferv- 
 ing that, if the apoftles had a commiflion to difciple 
 all nations, and that baptizing is difcipling, they did 
 not underftand their commiffion ; or if they did un- 
 derftand it, then, that which was much worfe, they 
 did not execute it. For we no where read in the 
 New-Teftament that they ever baptized any perfons 
 before they taught them to know and believe in Jefus 
 Chrift; and therefore we no where read of fo much as 
 one untaught infant baptized. 
 
 But fir, if the apoftles were firft to baptize and after- 
 ward to teach fome, they were to do fo to ail, for their 
 commiftion contains in it no fuch diftindion, but reaches 
 to all alike without any difference. If they were firft to 
 "baptize children and afterward to teach them, they were 
 firft to baptize adults and afterwards to teach them alfo. 
 You can never prove by the commifTion, that the apof- 
 tles were firft to teach one fort of perfons and afterwards 
 to baptize them, and firft to baptize another fort of 
 perfons and afterward to teach them. This, I fay 
 iir, you can never prove by the commiflion which 
 Chrift gave to his apoftles. Math, xxviii. 19. Nor 
 by any other part of the New-Teftament. Do this, 
 and I may venture to fay, you will do more than any 
 jnan he^ ever done yet. Had our bleffed Lord faid, 
 
 G(j 
 
( 119 ) 
 
 Go ye therefore and baptize all nations, teaching them,^ 
 &c. I know not who would fo much as once have 
 opened his mouth againft infants baptifm. But the 
 contrary is moft evident, and muft appear fo, one 
 would think, to every perfon that can read his bible 
 and is capable of underftanding what he reads. And 
 though it is very true that infants are parts of nations, 
 yet it is equally as true, that they are not fuch parts as 
 are included in the commiiTion j for if they are, it is 
 certain, the apoftles aded moft prepofteroufly, always 
 beginning at the wrong end of their work ; for all 
 thofe whom they baptized, were by them firft taught. 
 And we are very fure that as they were faithful in ex- 
 ecuting their Lord's commiflion, fo are we no lels 
 fure, that they would have baptized infants, had they 
 known that they were included In the commiffion^ 
 Math, xxviiii. 19, 
 
 But after all, if you will have infants included in 
 the above commifTion, you muft alfo have them in- 
 cluded in that contained in Mark xvi. 15. which is of 
 the fame import, though in different words. Go ye 
 into all the world and preach the gofpel to every creature. 
 Now fir, infants are creatures, and if they are included 
 in theie words, evident it is, that the gofpel muft be 
 preached to them. But alas ! whither would this lead 
 
 us ? Now, though infants are creatures and parts 
 
 of nations, yet, it is moft certain, they are not fuch 
 creatures and parts of nations, that can with any pro- 
 priety be included in the commiflion contained either 
 in Matthew or Mark as above mentioned. The rea- 
 fons are fo obvious, that it would be a palpable affront 
 thrown upon your learning and knowledge were I to 
 mention them. 
 
 Inftead of which I will only obferve, that, though 
 we have an account of many thoufands both of men 
 and women who were baptized, yet we have not the 
 leaft hiiit gf ib much as one infant baptized. We read 
 
( 120 ) 
 
 in Ads ii. 41. that about three thoufand ''i^ere baptized 
 and added to the church; and chap. v. 14. Be/icvers . 
 were the more added to the churchy multitudes both of 
 men and women. But among all thefe not an infant 
 named. What do you think were the reafon fir? 
 I think, yea I am fully perfuaded and do firmly be- 
 lieve, it were becaufe no infant in thofe days were 
 baptized and added to the church. Do not you think 
 fo too fir ? Had infants in thofe days been baptized 
 and received as members of the chriftian church, we 
 iliould undoubtedly have been told of it as well as o£ 
 men and women.* 
 
 What 
 
 * In your Note on thefe words. He that believeth and is 
 
 laptized Jhall be Javed, but he that bel'ieveth not Jhall be damned^ 
 
 Mark xvi. 16. You write thus. And is baptized " In 
 
 token thereof. Every one that believed, was baptized.'* 
 
 But he thai believeth iiot- " Whether baptized or unbaptized 
 
 fiiall perifh everlaftingly." 
 
 Remark. If every one that believed was baptized, then 
 none were ranti%ed. Pray fir, were any bapt zed who did 
 not believe ? If not, where, or upon what, do you ground 
 infants bapiifm r Now fir, as you aJfert that " every one who 
 believed was baptized," which is a very great and valuable 
 truth ; be fo good as to give me an inftance of but one per- 
 ibn who did not believe and yet was baptized and made a 
 mctliber of the chriitian church. 
 
 When you fay upon thefe words But he that believeth 
 
 rot " Whether baptized or unbaptized (hall perifh ever- 
 
 laftingly," you feem to imply th.-^t fome who believed ncty 
 jnight poiTibly in fome age and nation or other be baptized. 
 But who fir ? Infants and little children ? If there were any in 
 the apoftles days who believed not, and yet were baptized, they 
 inuft certainly be fuch ; for they would not, we are fure, bap- 
 tize men and women who believed not. Therefore you do by 
 this way of fpeaking plainly imply that little children mufl: 
 perifh everlaftingly ; for they are certainly all unbelievers, 
 whether baptized or unbaptized. Now fir, alihough you make 
 baptifm neceflary to their being made members of Chriff, 
 children of God and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven ; 
 confequently, necefiary to their falvarion, yet you do here 
 
( I2' ) 
 
 What can pofTibly be the reafon that the fcriptures 
 every where are intirely filent about ijifants baptifmy 
 and yet fb full and explicit in declaring the baptifm of 
 men and women F I doubt not but you know the rea^ 
 fon very well fir, if you would but fpeak out. Come 
 Mr, \Velley out with it. — Never fear. — You have a 
 moft glorious Mafter : Ad: to his honour : Keep no 
 lorjger back from his Ordinance. However, upon the 
 whole, if there be nothing in the commifsion which 
 ©ur Lord gave to his apoftles to authorize them to 
 baptize little children, and if they never did baptize 
 any, as it is plain they did not, then it is alfo as plain, 
 they are not by virtue of the commifsion to be bap- 
 tized. Confequently, not to be baptized at all. 
 
 I ihall now proceed to obferve and reply to vv'hat 
 
 you have faid upon i Cor. x. 1,2,, where we read 
 
 All our fathers were under the cloud., and all paffed thro* 
 the fea., and were all baptized unto Mofes in the cloud 
 and in the fea. I think you have fadly defaced, if not 
 quite fpoiled, the real beauty of that figurative baptifm 
 of the Ifraelites. For in your Note upon the words 
 baptized in the cloud and in the fea., you fay, " Perhaps 
 fprinkled here and there with drops of water from 
 taz fea or cloud." Perhaps not fir. And who knows 
 but there is as much reafon for my perhaps as for 
 yours. As to being fprinkled from the cloud., I cart 
 fee no probability at all for that, confidering the ufea 
 it was for. If it was as you fay, " an eminent token 
 
 at one ftrolce cut them o?i from [alvation. Therefore talk no. 
 more of baptizing infants, for by your own worcis, it is plain, 
 that baptifm or no baptifm are both alike to them, becaufe 
 they are fuch who believe not. If unbelievers, whether bap- 
 tized or unbaptized muft perifh everlaliingly, all dying in- 
 fants muft neceflarily perifh; which is moft (hocking and 
 horrible to think of. I hope fir, you will either retract or 
 amend what you have fo inadvertently written, and fo con- 
 trary to the defign of infants baptifm. 
 
 R of 
 
( 122 ) 
 
 of God*s gracious prefence, which fcreened them from 
 the heat of the Sun by day and to give them light by 
 night,'* which is undoubtedly true, one can hardly 
 think they were fprinkled with drops of water from 
 it. Toil make but a ferhap cf it, and as that can ,be 
 no proof, fo it muft ftand only for 2^. perhaps ftill. But 
 who can tell that it was a watry cloud ? I do not 
 know that it ever rained upon the Ifraelites in any of 
 their journeys through the wildernefs, nor is there 
 the leaft hint of its raining upon thexn as they pafTed 
 through the fea.* And if it did not, how could they 
 be fprinkled with drops of water from it 
 
 As to their being fprinkled from the fea, that is a 
 ferhaps equally as improbable as the other ; for the 
 water was made to ftand on a heap on either fide 
 of them like a wall, faft and iirm. How you can think 
 the Ifraelites were fprinkled with drops of water from 
 the cloud or fea, as they pafled through it, all circum-r 
 ftances confidered, is lomewhat difficult to account 
 for. But only indeed when I call to mind your pro- 
 digious fondnefs to have fpxinkling accounted bap- 
 tifm, and that you are for drawing in every thing you 
 can think of to make it favour your notion, it is not 
 to be quite fo much wondered at. For if it was not 
 to fupport fuch a tottering fabrick, neither you nor 
 ^ny other perfon would have racked and tortured this 
 and feveral other fcriptures in that lamentable manner 
 they have done. But you add, 
 
 *' By which" (that is by the Ifraelites being fprink-^ 
 kd from the cloud or fea) " baptifm might be the 
 
 more 
 
 * We are told that the pillar of the cloud came between the 
 Egyptians and the camp ef Ijrael^ that it was a cloud and dark" 
 nefi to the former^ but it gave light by night to the latter, Exo. 
 xiv. 19. 20. And in verfe the 24th it is called a pillar of fire. 
 For it is faid th^ LORD looked unto the hojl of the Egyptians 
 through the pillar cfjire and of the chud. Therefore if it was 
 lite, it was not zvater. Confcquently, they were not Iprifik' 
 led with drops of water falling from it. 
 
( 123 ) 
 
 more evidently Signified." When you have proved two 
 things, what you here fay, will be evident to all. i. 
 That rprinkling is baptizing. And 2. That the If- 
 raelites were fprinkled with drops of water from the 
 cloud or Tea. Then fir, but not till then, will it be 
 evident that their being fprinkled did the more evident- 
 ly fignify chriftian baptifni. 
 
 You will give me leave to farther obferve, and de- 
 fire you to obferve it alio. The Ifraelites were un- 
 der the cloud, and were all baptized in the cloui 
 and in the fea. The cloud was a covering above, the 
 watry walls were on their right and left hands below, 
 fo that they w^ere furrounded or encompafled between 
 the cloud and the fea. Therefore it was on this con- 
 fideration that St. Paul called their pafiage through 
 the fea a being baptized, becaufe it bore fome refem- 
 blance or likenefs to it •, which is a being covered, 
 furrounded or encompafled on all fides with water. 
 And I believe it is very evident that the Ifraelites being 
 baptized in the cloud and in the fea, did very evidently 
 fignify or reprefent chriftian baptifm in water. But I 
 cannot forbear obferving that you fay, " fprinkled 
 from the fea or cloud." You fhould have faid and, 
 jnftead of or. The apoftle did not fay baptized in 
 the cloud OR in the fea, but baptized in the cloud and 
 in the fea. Not in either of them fingly, but in both 
 of them together. And indeed their figurative bap- 
 tifm could never truly, rightly and properly reprefent 
 and fignify the true, literal chriftian baptifm without 
 joining the cloud and fea together. But not at all 
 fo hj fprinklmg either fingly or jointly. Though any 
 body may fee by what I have obferved, that their bap- 
 tifm in the cloud and in the fea, exhibits a very beau- 
 tiful and pleafing reprefentation of our chriftian bap- 
 tifm. 
 
 I come now to obferve what you fay upon Col. ii. 1 2. 
 *' The antient manner of baptizing bv immerfion is 
 
 (fay 
 
( 124 ) 
 
 (fay you) as maiiifeftly alluded to here, as the other 
 manner of baptizing by fprinkling is, Heb. x. 22.'* 
 Baptizing by fprinkling ! 'Tis wrong, very wrong fir. 
 There is no fuch thing. Never were, and never can 
 be, as I have fully demonftrated. But let us examine. 
 You fay *' baptizing by fprinkling is manifeftly al- 
 luded to in this text. I am furprized at your afler- 
 tion fir. Let us read the text. Let tis draw near 
 with a true hearty in full ajj'nrance of faith^ having our 
 hearts fprinkled from an evil confcienee, and our bodies 
 wafhed with pure water. Pray fir, what is there in 
 this text which manifefi:iy alludes to baptizing by 
 fprinkling ? Is it having our hearts- fprinkled from 
 an evil confcience ? Surely nothing can be more foreign 
 from any fuch thing. In your note upon it you do 
 not give us the leaft hint of it, but explain the words, 
 having our hearts fprinkled from an evil confcience^ *' fo 
 as to condemn us no longer." One would have 
 thought confidering what you had faid upon Colof ii. 
 "12. referring to this text, that when you came to it, 
 you would have very manifefl:ly made it appear, that 
 the apoftle did manifeftly allude to baptizing by fprink- 
 ling ; but there is nothing lefs. It is far more manifeft 
 and evident that he alluded to the legal fprinklings 
 among the Jev/s, than to chriftian baptifm by fprink- 
 ling ; and if he alluded to chriftian baptifm at all, it 
 is in the next words ~-^«J our bodies wafhed in pure 
 water., which may be very manifeft-, but the other 
 allufion which you aftert, is moft dark and eonfufed, 
 yea abfolutely falfe and untrue. 
 
 But to return to Colof ii. 12. Buried with him in 
 baptifm^ wherein alfo ye are rifen with him. — You fay 
 -upon thefe words, " I'he antient manner of baptizing 
 •by jmmerfion is manifeftly alluded to here." And upon 
 Rom. vi. 4. IVe are buried with him by baptifm into 
 
 ■death You fay, " Alluding to the antient manner 
 
 «f baptizing by immerfion.'* Sir, I give yo.u my very 
 
 heartjc 
 
f 125 ) 
 
 hearty thanks, you need fay no more, for you have 
 now faid enough to deftroy for ever your pra<5tke of 
 rantizing or fprinkling. If immerfion be thQ antient 
 manner of bapti7,ing, then fprinkling is not the an- 
 tient manner of baptifm. 
 
 Dear hr, how ftrangely you talk. One while you 
 fpeak of fprinkling as the manner of baptizing, another 
 while you fpeak of immerfion as being the manner of 
 baptizing ; but you give the preference to immerjicn, 
 as being the ancient manner. Pray fir, why did not 
 you give fprinkling that honourable title of antieyit ? 
 If what you have faid upon Math. iii. 6. be true, you 
 might havevery juftly and properly have done fo. But I 
 have proved that fprinkling is fo far from being the 
 manner of baptizing, much lefs the antient manner, 
 that it is no manner of baptifm at alL Yet according 
 to you fir, fprinkling is as ancient a manner of bap- 
 tizing as hnmerfion, and thus we have difcovered two 
 ancient manners of baptizing. Well then, upon this 
 extraordinary difcovery, let me afk, who was it, or 
 who were they that ufed both thefe vaftly different 
 manners of baptifm .'' Did John the Baptift ? Did the 
 apoftles ? If either he or they did, for what reafon 
 did he or they do it ? Why would not one of them 
 have done as well as both t Why were fomc perfons 
 diped and others only fprinkled ? 
 
 Ah ! Dear Mr. Wefley, you are certainly on the 
 wrong fide of the queftion. No man can give ajiy 
 juft reafon v/hy fome perfons were diped and others 
 only fprinkled. If fprinkling be as truly and as pro- 
 perly baptifm as dipping is, and as fully anfwers all 
 the ends and defigns of it as dipping does, tJiere 
 need have been no other. Diping muft be quite fii- 
 perfluous. And vice verfa. I add. 
 
 If fprinkling be as truly and properly baptifin, and 
 as much and as fully anfwers all the ends and defigns 
 of it, why did not you fprinkle Mr. Canjion's child 
 
 when 
 
( 126 ) 
 
 \;rlien you was In Georgia ? Was it merely becatife It 
 was certified to you it was able to bear diping, and 
 that you muft of neceftity comply with the letter of the 
 Rubric ? If fo, where ihall we find a greater fhew of 
 higotry^ and one more tenacious of a mere opinion than 
 Mr. JVeJley ? But dear fir, if fprinkling be as truly 
 baptifm as diping, you ought I think to have fprink-^ 
 led it. Why therefore did you fo Itrenuoufly infift 
 upon diping it ? It feems you thought then, that even 
 the mode or manner of baptifm was necefTary to fome- 
 thing, for before you would fprinkle that child, as 
 much as you efteem fprinkling to be baptifm, you 
 would not baptize It at all. 'Tis true, had you baptized 
 it, you would have baptized a wrong fubjed:. 
 
 But to return. With what propriety can it be faid 
 St. Paul alluded to the antient manner of baptizing ? 
 Baptifm in his time could not be faid to be antient, 
 for John was the firft baptifl whom God fent into the 
 world with his authority to baptize. Therefore St. 
 Paul did not allude to an antient but to a modern prac- 
 tice, the pradlice of his own time and his own pradice 
 too. 'Tis now indeed an antient practice, but bap- 
 tizing by fprinkling was never pradifed to this day, 
 nor is it pofsible it ever fhouid, for there is no fuch 
 thing in nature.'* 
 
 But let us now follow the Eunuch and take a view of 
 his baptifm. You told mc fir, " that it could not be 
 proved that he was diped." You faid " His going 
 down into the water and coming up again out of it, 
 
 might 
 * Let it be here obfervcd, that Mr. JVefiey makes two man- 
 ners or ways of baptizing, both extremely different from each 
 other. One way or manner of baptizing he malces to be 
 performed by fprlnkl'ngj the other manner of baptizing to be 
 performed by immerfioa or diping i but the latter he fays i> 
 the ant'unt manner of baptizing And as he makes two dif- 
 ferent manners or ways of baptizing, fo he makes two bap- 
 tifms (though Si. Paul {peaks only of one^ Ephel. iv. 5.) a» 
 extremely different from eueh other as he makes the man- 
 ner* 
 
( 127 ) 
 
 might be referred to his going down hiil, or dow?i 
 out of his chariot and coming up again Into it." Dear 
 fir, what wretched quibling is this, and how very dif- 
 honourable to a perfon of your learning and abilities, 
 to talk at this rate. The words in the text are as 
 plain as words can be. — 'They went dotjon both into the 
 water^ both Philip and the Eunuch^ and he baptized 
 him \ and when they were come up out of the water ^ the 
 fpirit of the Lord caught away Philips Ads viii, 38, 39. 
 In your note upon the words, you fay. They both 
 went down to, inftead of into the water. And you 
 do not only alter the word i^ito here, that it may fpeak 
 more favourably for your opinion and practice, but 
 in. Mark i. 9. you have changed the word in for at. 
 You read this text — Jefus — was baptized at Jordan 
 inftead of in Jordan. But in Math. iii. 6. you read 
 
 in Jordan -, why did not you alter it there alfb ? 
 
 It is fomething ftrange you did not read, he [the 
 Eunuch] came from the water, it would have ftood 
 much better conneded with his going to the ^(Vater 
 than with what you have written. For you have writ- 
 ten thus. " When they were come up out of the water.^* 
 How is this fir ? One v/ould think you had forgotten 
 yourfelf. " Went to the water and yet come up cut 
 of the water. 'Tis a miftake fure. If they came up> 
 out of the water ^ they certainly firft went down into it. 
 Went into it, for what ? To be diped, not fprinkled, 
 this would have been quite needlefs. You have there- 
 fore quite loft your caufe. In order to have proped 
 it up as well and as long as you could, yoii fhould 
 
 have 
 
 rers or ways of performing them to be ; for he allows y/)r/«yf- 
 Itng to be baptifm, that's one ; and immerfion or diping to 
 
 be the other. So that fprinkling and diping are the ttu$ 
 
 baptifmSy and at the fame time are the two manners of bap- 
 tifm. All which is a mere heap of conlufion, a downright 
 abfurdity, an abfolute impoflibility, and therefore an abfolute 
 falfliood. I refer the reader to what 1 have faid before con- 
 cerning the mode of baptifm. 
 
( 128 ) 
 
 Jiave done here as you did in Math. iii. i6. andMatk 
 i. lo. You have written thofe two texts thus. And, 
 Jefus when he was baptized went up liraightway 
 from the water, inftead of out of the water. The 
 h.me. in Mark. Coming up from^ inilcad of out 
 of the water. So that it is evident you have made 
 a grofs miftake fomewhere. If you are right in A<^ 
 •viii. 39. you mult be fadly v.Tong in the other two 
 places. Pray fir, why mull the original be ti-anflated 
 out of in one place and not in the other two .'* How 
 ilrangely inconfiftent are you with yourfelf. What 1 
 only^(? to the water and yet come out of it ! How can 
 this be } Had you wrote into^ as you fhould have 
 done, all would have been juft and right. But you 
 have quite ruined the juft connexion of the w'ords. 
 
 Retraft, retradl, dear Mr. Weiley, r.e.tradl your 
 fond error of fprinkling. You know that no one is 
 ever faid to come out of a place he never was in. 
 How therefore could the Eunuch come cut of the 
 water, if he had never went into it ? Thus one may 
 clearly fee how liable the patrons of error are to betray 
 themfelves, notwithftanding their great parts and 
 learning. And this evidently appears to be your cafe 
 iir, and which v/iii further appear prefentJy. 
 
 In your note upon verfe 38. you fay. *' It does 
 not follow that he" [the Eunuch] " was baptized by. 
 immerfion. The text neither afHrms nor intimates 
 any thing concerning it." Though the text nat only 
 does intimate but affirms that he was baptized, and 
 that is enough, till you can prove that he was only, 
 fprinkled. However, that is what neither you nor 
 any body elfe can do ; for the text neither affirms 
 WOT intimates any thing conceriilng it. What then 
 did Philip do to the Eunuch if he didaiot dip or bap^* 
 tize him } But once more. 
 
 If it cannot be proved that neither our Lord nor the 
 eunuch were diped, then it cannot be proved that any 
 
 others 
 
( 129 ) 
 
 fcthers wefe diped. What then is become of the an- 
 tient manner of baptizing by Immerfion or diping ? I 
 am fure it cannot be proved that they or any others 
 were fprinkled, for that is neither affirmed nor inti-. 
 rhated in any part of the New-Teftament. It muft 
 therefore follow according to this kind of reafoning, 
 that neither they nor any other perfons were ever bap- 
 tized, no nor fprinkled neither. Ay there fir [ Now 
 what muft we do i*— — Nay, what muft you do ? You 
 are the perfon concerned and ought to clear up the 
 point. You are therefore brought to this dilemma, 
 either to prove our Lord and the Eunuch were fprink- 
 led, or entirely td give' it up as unfcriptural. But if* 
 the Eunuch was not immerfed or diped for this only 
 reafon, viz. " becaufe " the text neither affirms nor 
 intimates any thing concerning it," I want to know 
 how you will prove he was baptized at all. You can- 
 not prove^he v/as fprinkled, for your own reafon 
 ftan^s as ftrongly againfi that, as it does againft his 
 being baptized, immerfed or diped. 
 
 Why iir, are we not all a company of poor, ignorant^ 
 weak-headed creatures, to pretend to be baptized, 
 cr even fo much as to talk of it ; to talk of its being 
 ii chriftian duty ? For if what you fay be true, that 
 it cannot be proved our Lord nor the Eunuch were: 
 diped, I am fure that what I fay is equally, nay much 
 more true, that it can never be proved that they nor 
 anj others ever were fprinkled. Confequently there ne- 
 ver was fuch a thing as baptifm inftituted and pradifed 
 in the chriftian church. And therefore we muft look 
 upon ourfelves to have been amufed only with words 
 and founds. 
 
 Now nr, which way will you go to work to prove 
 there ever were fuch a thing as baptifm pradlifed by 
 John or by the apoftles, if it cannot be proved that 
 he and they immerfed or dipt thofe who were faid to 
 Ve baptized ? You can never prove that they fprihk- 
 
 S led 
 
{ 130 ) 
 
 led tkem, and therefore whatever becomes of bap 
 tifm, you can never prove there ever was any fuch 
 thing. "What a miferable piece of work is this ! But 
 who made it? Why Mr. f'f^ejley has had a hand in it, 
 who ever began it. 
 
 But upon the who^e, we often read of John the 
 Baptift and of our Lord's apoftles baptizing great 
 numbers of perfons, but we no where read of their 
 fprinkhng them, how then muft we certainly know 
 what they did to them when they baptized them, if 
 they did not dip them ? And now fir, is not this 
 
 another puzHng queftion ? I greatly fear it is. 
 
 I have now finifhed my intended remarks on fome 
 pafTages in your notes on the New-Teftament, but 
 before I take leave of the fubje6t, I cannot help re- 
 marking, that, I find in the Rubric before public- 
 baptifm, it is ordered that " the Foni be filed with 
 pure water.'* What is this for, pray fir ? Not for 
 the ufe of fprinkling furely. Why what then .'' Why 
 for the children to be baptized or diped into it. 
 Which evidently appears from the prayer ufed im- 
 mediately before baptifm. Part of which is, "fandlify 
 this water to the myftical wafhing away of fin, and' 
 grant that this child now to be baptized therein* (not 
 with a little taken out of a bafon) " may receive the- 
 fulnefs of thy grace." And again. " If it be cer- 
 tified that a child may well endure it, the prieft fhall^ 
 wifely and difcreetly dip it into the water." But why 
 dip it ? What ncceflity can there pofiibly be for that ? 
 
 Why will not fprinkling do as well ? As therefore- 
 
 your church allows of diping, why are we fo frequent- 
 ly and fo much reproached and defpifed, for diping 
 all thofe who come to us to be baptized ■* But you 
 allow that fprinkling is baptifm too, 'tis here we dif- 
 fer. But if fprinkling be baptifm, why does the Ru- 
 brie order diping at all ? Why would it not always, 
 have done atJOne time as well as at another ? And alfo. 
 for ovi^ peribii as well as for another ? Why ihould 
 
 the. 
 
 tr. .* 
 
( '3/ ) 
 
 the ftrong and healthful cliildren be ftriped and diped 
 any more than the weak and feeble ones ; feeing it 
 anakes them no more chriftians than fprinkling makes 
 the other children chriftians '' 
 
 But fir, your Fofils ftand this day as fo many in- 
 conteftable witnelTes againft your prefent pradice, for 
 anftead of their being now Jiikd with pure water ^ as 
 formerly, you make a little in a Bajon to ferve the 
 
 purpofe, The truth is, you have caft away bap- 
 
 Ttifm out of your church, why do you not call away the 
 JFonts after it, and not let them Hand from year to ye^r 
 to condemn your prefent praifbice ? I know it is a com- 
 mon excufe which many make in our days " the cli- 
 mate is fo cold. " But is it any colder now than it: 
 was when the Fonts were firft credied ? Not at all fo. 
 
 But what do you think of one of your own followers 
 ,fir, who was a preacher, and one whom I knew ver)' 
 well, and from whofe mouth I received the following 
 laccount } In that very hard frofty winter, now about 
 thirty years ago, he had a child, and inftead of hav- 
 ing it fprinkled, he would needs have it diped. The 
 prieft for fome time refufed it, and would not do it, and 
 both he and his Neighbours did all that they could to 
 >deter him from it but without fuccefs •, for he continued 
 inflexible, and nothing lefs than diping it would fatisfy 
 >him. Accordingly the Font was filled with water, and 
 that the priefl: might do (as perhaps he thought) his 
 work eifedually) he dfped the child three times into the 
 water; yet it received not the leaft hurt. I fay, fir, 
 what do you think of this ? I do not queftion but you 
 know what I fay is really fadl, or I would give you \^^ 
 ^lame and place where he lived, for the man is nov/ dead. 
 
 But whether the prieft diped the child three timeSy 
 thinking he ought fo to do, according to the cuftom 
 of the Greek church, or whether he did it to deter ail 
 others from giving him the like trouble for the fu- 
 ture, I will not deterjnine. But fo it was. 
 
 S 2 The 
 
The grave and great DcSior IVhithy in his Anno- 
 tations on Rom. vi. 4. faith " It being fo exprelsly 
 *' declared here, and Colof. ii. 12. that "n-e are buried 
 ** with Chrijl in bapiifm, by being buried under water ; 
 *' and the argument to oblige us to a conformity 
 •' to his death by dying to fin, being taken hence, 
 ** and this immerfton being religioufly obferved by all 
 *' chriftians for thirteen centuries, and approved by 
 *' our church, and the change of it unto fprinkling, 
 *' even without any allowance from the Author of this 
 *' inftitution, or any licence from any council of tha 
 *' church, being that which the Roinaniji ftill urgeth 
 *' to juftify his refufal of the Cup to the Laity •, it were 
 " to be wifhed that this cuftom might be again of 
 *' general ufe." And you cannot but know fir, that 
 many very eminent and learned men of your own 
 church, have wrote as fully and as clearly for diping, 
 as we can do for ourfelves ; though at the fame time^ 
 they all continued in the pradlice of fprinkling •, which 
 indeed quite confounds and afl:onifiies one, to think 
 that fuch brave and worthy men, both bifhops and 
 clergy, fhould write fo much and fo well as fome of 
 them have'done, in favour of the true and right bap- 
 tifm, and yet continue to pradlife quite contrary to it ' 
 However, it carries this plain, evident proof with it>, 
 viz. that we are right and you are wrong. For haw 
 can two things which are diredlly oppofite to one- 
 another, and which bear no manner of Yefemblance 
 to each other, equally and exacflly anfwer one and the- 
 fame end and defign .'' And fuch are diping and fprink- 
 ling. Therefore, though you call them two different 
 Modes of baptifm, 1 have fully proved it is a palpable 
 miftake, and that neither of them are fo -, except 
 baptifm, that is diping, be a mode of diping, which 
 you know is a very abfurd fpeech. But for a conclu- 
 fiop, I cannot help obferving, that, 
 
 Your 
 
( 133 ) 
 
 Your own catechilm which you fo much approve of, 
 and pretend fo ftridly to adhere to, ftands direftly 
 oppofite to your prefent pracftice of fprinkling, and re- . 
 mains, likelyour^z/Zr/Vand Fonts, anundeniablewitnels 
 againft you all, that you are gone back from Chrlft's 
 Ordinance of Baptifm and have not kept it For it 
 is afked " What is the outward vifible iign or forni 
 in baptifm ? Anfwer, Water, ivherein the perfon is 
 
 baptized. Now every body knows how contrary 
 
 yoUr pradice is to this. Water wherein the perfon is 
 baptized ! When and where fir .'' Once at — as above. 
 How many more fuch inftances do you know fir ? I 
 <io not know of another. 
 
 When your catechifm was compofed, you liad, I 
 doubt not, right baptifm performed, though upon a 
 wrong fubjed ; but now you have neither, or but 
 very rarely. I am very forry for it. Cannot both of 
 them be reftored and fettled as they ought to be ? 
 Why not fir ? What hinders .'' The fame power that 
 removed them can replace them. I (houid be glad 
 to fee that day. 
 
 May God haften the time when that, and every 
 (Dther precious truth of the gofpel fliall be every!v/here 
 received and pradlifed, maintained and defended a- 
 mong all profeffmg chriftians. When all divifions, 
 fchifms, flrifes and contentions fhall for ever ceafe ; 
 and virtue, goodnefs and piety -, love, peace and uni- 
 ty ever abound to the glory of God ; the honour and 
 exhaltation of our ever-glorious Lord, and every 
 jpan's falvation. Amen. 
 
 ^ SfiKious 
 
A SERIOUS 
 
 E PLY 
 
 T O 
 
 What has been obje<5ted againft the Neceflitjr 
 and Importance of that divine and heavenly 
 Ordinance 
 
 BAPTISM; 
 
 By the People called METHODIST'S 
 in general, ana more efpecially by thofe whom 
 I have converfed, and w^ith whom I am ac-^ 
 quainted, viz. 
 
 I. BAPTISM is only an outw^ard thing, a 
 little thing ; it is not worth while to fpend tea 
 Words about it. 
 
 To which I anfwer. 
 
 I. T S baptifm but a little thing ? Then fomuch 
 
 JL the more ungrateful and undutiful are you all 
 to him who hath appointed it in not complying with 
 it. What my friends, Naaman like ! If the Lord 
 Jefus had bidden you do fame great things would you not 
 have done it ? How much rather then when he faith t$ 
 you by his apojlle Peter, Repent and he baptized every 
 one of you in the name of Jefus Chrifly for the remiffion 
 of fins ^ and ye floall receive the gift of the Holy Ghofi^ 
 AdiS ii. 38. 
 
 I knovr 
 
( 135 ) 
 
 I know indeed that many of you fay, you have fC^ 
 ceived remiffion of fins, and the Holy Ghoft too. 
 But you will give me leave to tell you that, faying 
 and proving are too vaftly different things. Pray my 
 friends, in what way, after what manner, according 
 to what rule, under what promife, or in what doing, 
 have you received remiffion of fins ? How do you know 
 you have ? Who told you fo ? Have you received 
 remiffion of fins in the right way, order and me- 
 thod, and according to the rule and under the pro- 
 mife contained in the gofpel ? Or in a way of your 
 own devijing, according to the rule of your cwn warm 
 imagination ? In the former I am fure you have not, 
 in the latter^ I am fure you cannot. How you dare 
 venture to fay you are fure and confident (as- 
 fome of you have faid) that you have received 
 remifsion of fins and the Holy Ghoft, though not 
 in the way and order of the gofpel, is to me very" 
 ftrange and unaccountable. But fome of you are, I 
 know, very pofitive and peremptory, and do not fcru- 
 pie to fay, " We know as well when we receive the 
 Holy Ghoft, as when a leg or an arm is cut off,'* A 
 ftrange kind of fpeech indeed to come out of the- 
 mouth of a chriftian ! Some alfo pretend to tell us 
 where, when and how they receive remifsion of fins ; 
 and that he who does not Icnow (I fuppofe they mean, 
 in their pretended way of knowing) his fins forgiven, 
 is in a fliate of damnation. But to the. lam a?id to the tef- 
 iimony : If they fpeak not according to this zvord, it i^ 
 hecaufe there is no light in them^ Ifa. viii. 20. Pray 
 my friends, has Chrift departed from his own invari- 
 able word and rule, by, or according to which, he 
 hath declared and promifed remifsion of fins ? — How 
 prove you that ? — But 
 
 II. Is baptifm but a lijitle thing, not worth whila 
 to fpend ten words about it .'* (as \ have heard fome of 
 your preachers fay) Then if {q^ you will all fay it is, 
 
J. 
 
 ( 13^' ) 
 not worth while ft) do it. But who could have oncff- 
 imagined that luch a word fhould ever have proceeded 
 out of the mouth of a chriftian and a preacher too^ 
 one who pretended to be a lover of Jefus Chrift I 
 I am fure that great lover of Chrift and famous cham- 
 pion for truth, differed very widely from you all 
 when he faid. Be ye folloijoers of me^ as I alfo am of 
 Chrift. And fo did they whom at that time he lb much 
 commended, when he faid, No^ju I praife you hrethren 
 that ye remember me in all things., and kttp the ordi- 
 nances as I delivered them to ycu^ i Cor. xi. i, 2. This 
 was the brave and honourable St. Paul., that fervent 
 lover and faithful follower of Jefus. What think you 
 my friends ; do you follow Chrift as Paul did } Do 
 you keep the ordinances as they are delivered in the. 
 holy fcriptures ^. You do not, and you may know you 
 do not if you diligently fearch them, and compare 
 your own prefent method and condu6t with them. 
 I hope you are not all (o preiudiced againft Chrift's 
 holy ordinance of baptifm, as fome among you that I 
 have known, who would neither read nor fufFer thofe 
 pafTages in fcripture where it is m.entioned, to be read 
 in their prefer.ce and hearing. Pray what fpirit do 
 you think fjch people are of ? 
 
 But w hatever fome of you would or would not do, 
 I muft tell you, that I think it worth my while, and 
 would with pkaiure, fpend ten thoufand words about 
 fb lacied and honourable an ordinance as baptifm is, 
 v.henever there is occafion for me fo to do ; and it is you 
 who give mc tb.e occafton of fpeaking about it nov/. 
 J wifh there never had been fuch an occafion given. 
 I'hcrefQrc as little worth as it is in your efteem, I 
 ipeak of it -, and muft and vvill fpeak of it to the ho- 
 nour and glory of my I^ord and m.after Jefus Chrift, 
 who hath inftituted nothing in vain and to anfwer no 
 good end. And while I am now fpeaking of this 
 matter, 1 fpeak of it with the moft fmcere and cor- 
 
 dlat; 
 
( '3 ) 
 
 -dial aFTecftion, with a moft hearty and tender concern 
 for you all. I'herefore 
 
 III. As trifling, mean and paltry, as low, bafe and 
 vdifhono.urable thoughts as fomeof you entertain of it; 
 yet I muft tell yoti, that H E by whom you muil all 
 be faved, if you are faved at all, (which God of his 
 -rich mercy grant to every one of you) did not think 
 and look upon it in that contemptible manner which 
 you feem to do. He did not fay it was not worth his 
 while to fpend ten words about it ; for though he 
 needed it not, yet he obeyed. He fubmitted to it, 
 and fpent more than ten words with John the Dipper 
 about it ; John very well knew who he v/as, and that 
 lie needed no forgivenefs of fins in that, nor in any 
 other prefcribed way, and therefore he forbad biWy 
 and faid to him., / have need to be baptized of thee : 
 But our Lord reafoned the cafe with him, and faid 
 unto him, fiiffer it tobe fo nozv ; for thus it becomethus 
 to fidfill all right eoufnefs. Then he fuffered hvm. And 
 yefus when he was baptized went up ftraightway out of the 
 
 water. Math. iii. 13, 14, 15, 16. As much as 
 
 if our blefied Lord had faid, " 'Tis true, John, I 
 have no fpot nor ftain to be waflied away in baptifm ; 
 yet I know it is a commandment of my Father, and 
 that as I am his fon, I ought to obey it. P^or I came 
 not to do my own will, but the will of him- that fent 
 me. My purity and innocence do not exempt me 
 from obedience. Nay, was I not to be baptized, 
 I fhould therein be difobedient." — Then John bap- 
 tized him. 
 
 O my friends ! I hope you have now a clearer fight 
 of the nsceffity of this divine ordinance of our moft 
 gracious Lord and fovereign King. Could not he 
 himfelf have fulfilled all right eon fnefs^ except he had 
 been baptized I — How v/ill you ? Does it not as much 
 become you who profefs yourfelves to be his fubjedls, 
 as it did him whom you pretend to ownas your Xing? 
 
 1' niall 
 
( 138 ) 
 
 Shall your king himfelf thus condefcend to fet you fo 
 glorious an example, and will you not obey and fol- 
 low him ? You fee what ftrefs he laid upon it as a part 
 of that righteoufnefs which muft be fulfilled. He 
 would not be filenced and turned afide from it by all 
 that John could fay. 
 
 Had he not given you fuch an example of obedi- 
 ence to baptifm in his own perfon, you VvX)uld have 
 triumphed over all arguments that perhaps could have 
 been laid before you, but furely his example joined 
 -to his command, muft flop all your mouths at once, 
 and bring you fpeedily and chearfully to comply with, 
 and yield to his divine will and fovereign authority. 
 
 I therefore add. If baptifm was fuch a little, tri- 
 fling, infignificant thing as fome men pretend it is, 
 how can we think that fo divine, fo illuflrious, fo 
 glorious a perfonage as 'the ever blefled Son of God 
 would have taken any notice of it ? But he not only 
 complied with it himfelf, but commanded all his friends 
 and followers, one as well as another to be baptized 
 alfo. And therefore he adually infiftsd upon John's 
 baptizing him, and gave a very cogent reafon for it, 
 fuch a one as none of you all can or dare give againfl 
 it. For who dare fay, it does not become him to fuJfdl 
 all right eoufnefs ? I muft therefore infift upon it alfb, 
 that Chrift Jefus your Lord has therein left you a 
 bright and fhining example, and that you all ought 
 to follow his fteps, i Pet. ii. 21. Not a ftep or two, 
 or fome few only, but all of them. For he that faith 
 he Cthideth in him^ ought himfelf afo fo to walk even as 
 he 'walkedy 1 John ii. 6. Do you hear my friends ? 
 You muft walk as your Mafter walked before you. 
 Do you do fo ? You know you do not. How will 
 you anfwer for fuch negle6t to him ? There is 
 then this one very material ftep you have not taken 
 yet. You have not yet walked down into the water 
 as he did j neither have you been baptized as he 
 
 was. 
 
('39) 
 
 \vas. And to this day you feem unwilling to obey 
 and take this ftep after the moft excellent example that 
 ever was exhibited to the view of mankind, and de- 
 iigned to anfwer the moft falutary and beneficent ends 
 and purpofes to all who fincerely and faithfully imitate 
 and foilovy him. Here you leave him and chufe a- 
 nother road. — Come my friends, turn back again ; 
 do not think it too much trouble to follow him who 
 is gone before you. Why are you fo unwilling to 
 walk as Chrift walked ? — Do you ftill fay " baptifm 
 is only an outward thing, a little thin^. But why 
 ihould you think it lefs than Chrift thought it to be ? 
 He did not think it too little to deferve his obedience, 
 why fliould you ? Are you greater than he? No. Be- 
 hold ! a greater than you all has done it ! And you 
 can never prove yourfelves his hearty friends and, 
 faithful followers, (fay what you will) if you do not 
 follow him in this as well as in all other parts of duty. 
 Come, now for a proof of your ftncere love to your moft 
 loving lord. Come now and give a public teftimony 
 of it by your obedience to your once dying, but now 
 ever-living Jefus. Do your duty and glorify your 
 Saviour. But 
 
 IV. Remember my friends what you fay, and con- 
 fider well the confequence that diredlly follows your 
 calling Baptifm but an outward thing, a little thing. 
 For you arraign the wifdom of Chrift at your own bar. 
 Did not he know what baptifm is as well as you ? 
 Does he fpeak of it in fuch diminutive, fuch con- 
 temptible language as fonie of you have done ^ Does 
 he any where call it an outward thing, a little thing ? 
 Do any of his apoftles call it fo ^ How dare you ? 
 Did he give fuch ftrid: charge to his apoftles to Go 
 and Teach all nations and Baptize them ; and will you 
 fay baptifm is a little thing ? Do you think he did not 
 know what he was doing of when he gave them fuch 
 
 a charge .'' And muft I after all be forced to go 
 
 to 
 
( HO ) 
 to my Mafter full of grief and concern, and complaim 
 againft you all. And fay 
 
 Oh ! my Lord, my moft dear and honoured Mas- 
 ter, I have done as thoii haft bid m.e, but lo ! they 
 will not comply. They fay that, that haptifm where- 
 with thou thyfelf great Lord waft baptized, and which 
 thou haft fo ftridly enjoined upon all thy followers, 
 is only an outward thmg, a little thing, that is liCt 
 worth wlule to fpend ten v/ords about it. They make 
 light of it and will not obey thee. Though thou haft 
 invited them in the moft endearing manner, yet ftill 
 they will not come. They refufe to hearken^ they phck 
 azvay their JhcuJder, they ftop their ears, they witl not 
 hear. Tea their words are jf out againfi thee., Zeck. vii. 
 II. Mai. iii. 13. They fay thou haft baptized them 
 
 v^ith thy fpirit, and they need no other. What 
 
 do you think my friends, our glorious Lord and King 
 Jefus would fay to this, were you to fpeak thus to his 
 jhace (for you jfhall all fee him one day) what you have 
 (m.any of you) feveral times faid to me 1 Let us for 
 once conceive fomething like this, viz. 
 
 " Who are ye, and from whence came ye, you 
 " bold imperious men.'' What' do you fay my or- 
 " dinance of baptifm is a little thing, that it is not 
 *' worth while to fpend ten words about it } Who are: 
 •' thefe that darkeneth counfel by words without hioidedge ? 
 " Brivg forth ycirr fir org reafons^ for-I zvill demand of 
 " you J and anfiver ycu me. Job. xxxviii. 2, 3. Ifa. XLi. 21.. 
 
 " Wherein is that baptifm wherewith / your Lord 
 " was baptized, and which I have made to be your 
 " duty to obfcrve as well as all the reft of my com- 
 " mand,s, wherein I fay is it of no Vvorth P You call 
 " it little. — How little is it .'^ — Meafure the pattern 
 " and fliew me the fizc. You call it an outward thing. 
 " And what then "? Wherein is it the worfe for that ^ 
 " Who gave you a toleration to difobey it ? Are not 
 '* my ordinances of prayer, preaching and hearing my 
 
 *' gofpei 
 
( 141 ) 
 
 ** gofpel outward tilings ? Likevvife are not eating arrd 
 *' drinking at my table in remembrance of mc, alf ;is- 
 
 *' giving and falling outward things? Zut v •:..t 
 
 *' do you mean when you call my baptifm an outward 
 *' thing, a little thing ? Is it not to caft contempt up- 
 " on it as a thing unworthy of your notice i* If not, 
 *' why do you not obey me who commanded it ? Is 
 " this the love you have for me ? Am I a hard Maf- 
 " ter, do I reap where I have not fowed ? Are any 
 '' of my commands intolerable and not fit to be ob- 
 "'ferved and done? — Which? — Is baptifm foP — 
 " Wherein ? — By your own confeilion it is little, yea 
 " fo little, that you think it not worth your while to 
 " fpend ten words about it ; and yet before you will 
 " comply with it, you will fpend ten thoufand words 
 *' about it. — You fay it is little, therefore out of 
 " your own mouths will I iudge you, ye fiothful fer- 
 " vants. For if it be little, it is the eafier done. 
 " Herein my love to you is made manifell. I have 
 " not put a yoke upon you which you cannot wear, 
 " neither loaded you with a burden you eantiot bear.'* 
 " But do you know what you fay, when you call 
 " my ordinance but a little thing, not worth while ta 
 " fpend ten words about it ? — How dare you thus im- 
 *• peach my wifdom ? Am I not King over and Law- 
 " giver to my church ? And are not all my laws to be 
 *' kept facred and inviolable ? What fort of men are 
 " they who dare fo boldly intrench upon them and 
 *' infringe the prerogative of my crown ? Did I not 
 " know what laws to give and how to rule my 
 " people ? Will you teach me wifdom, and give me 
 " counfel and underftanding ? Do you. think t gave 
 " my commands with fuch indifFerency as to make it 
 " the fame thing v/hether they were obeyed or dif- 
 " obeyed ? When did I ever appear fo indifferent ? 
 " Declare if thou hafi under/landing. If not, dif- 
 ** pute my laws no longer, but obev ; for they arc 
 
( H2 ) 
 •* ftlll in full force, and remain unrepealed to this 
 '' very day. And thofe who are yet fo hardy as t» 
 " fay my baptifm is only an outward thing, a little 
 *' thing, and that caft contempt upon it, and will not 
 •' comply with it, fhall lie down in forrow : ylnd all 
 " the churches Jhall kriQW that I am he who fear cheth ihe 
 f* reigns and the heart. And I will give to every one of 
 *' you according to his works ^ Jfa. l. ii. Rev. ii. 23.'* 
 
 I. What think you my friends of fuch an anfwer as 
 this ? Is it not what may be juftly expeded ? How- 
 ever our Lord does fay, Whofoever fjall break one of 
 ihefe leaft commandments, and teach men fo^ he fJjall be 
 called lea§i in the kingdom of heaven., Math. v. 19. Now 
 fuppofing baptifm to be a leiTer commandment, yet 
 it is plain, that he who breaks it, and teaches others 
 to break iti, fliall be accounted leaft in the kingdom 
 of heaven, by which means he will become a confi- 
 derable lofer. But he that fjjall do and teach., the fame 
 fhall be called great iyi the hingdo^n of heaven. Such a one 
 fhall be a confiderable gainer. Now he that faid, 
 ^ake eat., this is my body which is given for you : This do 
 in remembrance of me., Mark xiv. 22. Luke xxii. ip. 
 faid alfo to the very fame perfons. Go ye therefore and 
 teach all nations., baptizing them in the name of the Father .^ 
 and of ihe Son., and of the Holy Ghofl. Teaching them 
 to obferve all things whatfocver I have commanded you \ 
 and lo I am with you alway^ even unto the end of the 
 world. Amen. Math, xxviii. 19, 20. 
 
 Now my friends, though you eat bread in remem- 
 bra^ice of Chrift, yet if you will not be baptized in 
 the name and according to the command of Chrift, 
 you do certainly make yourfelves tranfgrefTors -, only 
 your preachers are greater tranfgrefTors than you, be- 
 caufe they not only difobey it themfelves, but teach 
 you to difobey it alfo. 
 
 Surely you do not rightly underftand or not duly 
 •confider what great difhonour it refledis on our 
 
 blcfTed 
 
( H3 ) 
 
 blcfied Lord, who is the legiilator and governor of the 
 gofpel church, to fpeak of baptifm in fuch a flight and 
 carelefs manner as you do. If you properly under- 
 ftood and confidered the authority commanding it to 
 be done, you would never dare to open your mouths 
 againft it. But this you leave out, and look upon 
 baptifm only as the a6t of man, which is indeed very 
 readily acknowledged to be (confidered in itfelf, barely 
 as an adion) but a little thing, a thing that is very 
 foon, and very eafily done ; and this makes your fault 
 fo much the greater, becaufe it requires but little time 
 and little labour to do it. But that which greatena 
 your crime is, that this thing [baptifm] little as it is 
 in itfelf, is to be done in the higheft and moft facred 
 names of the Father^ and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghofi, Math, xxviii. 19. This is what you do not 
 confider and refleft upon with that ferioufnefs and at- 
 tention v/hich you ought to do. 
 
 ■ What ! my friends, is doing that in the moft ve- 
 nerable names of the Father, Son and Holy Ghoft 
 to be fpoken of with fuch difrefped as you take the 
 liberty to fpe«k of it ? Will you fay that an ac5t which 
 always is to be performed by the higheft commanding 
 power and authority is a little thing, not worth while 
 to fpend ten words about it ? Is not this a very bold 
 and prefumptuous fpeech .'' Do you ftand in no more- 
 fear and reverence of God, than thus to let loofe your 
 tongues againft an ordinance of his fovereign appoint- 
 ment .'' But as little as baptifm is in itfelf, the apply- 
 ing or fixing thofe moft auguft and honourable names 
 to it, or in other words, its being done by the un- 
 controulable authority of heaven, muft make it a great, 
 important and honourable aftion. How can you think 
 that the moft holy Trinity would have their moft re- 
 verend names affixed to a little, frivolous and infig- 
 nificant thing .'* Befides, you ought not to look upon 
 the thipg done [baptifm] as feparateaud difti(idfrom; 
 
 but 
 
( 144 ) 
 
 |)Ut in llriifi connexion with the Will of him who hath 
 commanded it, and with its defigned ends and ufes^ 
 all which you feem to entirely forget, or not to un- 
 derftand. 
 
 II. Some of you have faid,- " You have no trouble or 
 uneafinefs in your confciences about your not being 
 baptized." But what doth this prove ? Not that bap- 
 tifm is not a chriftlan duty. There are others, who, 
 tmdoubtedly have faid the fame concerning their never 
 receiving the Lord's fupper, but what then ? — Does 
 it follow that, that ordinance is not a chriHian duty, 
 and that it is of no ufe to believers, that they arc 
 under no obligation to receive it, or pay any regard 
 to it ? By no means. 
 
 Suppofe a Dsift wa3 to tell you he had no trouble or 
 uneafinefs in his confcience on account of his not re- 
 ceiving the fcripture as a divine revelation, would you 
 think it a fufHcient argument to prove he was under 
 310 obligation to receive it as fuch ? You would not. 
 And you may eafily perceive your own is no better. 
 
 III. Others of you have faid, " If it be the Lord's 
 will you fhould be baptized, you hope l^e will ihew it 
 you, --will convince you of it by his fpirlt." ^yhy 
 my friends, do you exped a new revelation to be fent 
 from heaven on'purpofe for you .? You do not. Why 
 th-n believe and make ufe oith^ old one^ for there it is 
 written, and there God has fhewn it you, and there 
 you may fee it Do you expeft to be convinced that 
 It is your duty to be baptized by fome extraordinary 
 impuife, fome remarkably deep and ftrong impreflioii 
 made in your minds by the fpirit of God .? If you do, 
 you may perhaps exped it as long as you live, and 
 not have it at laft. Why fliould you expeft the Spi- 
 rit to do more for you in this cafe than he does for 
 £>thers ? He has long fmce caufed it to be recorded 
 and made plain in the New-Teftament for your ufe as 
 well as for others, and what can you wiih for or de- 
 
k ( 145 ) 
 
 -iire more ? Are not the holy fcriptures able to make yon 
 wife unto fahation through faith which is ifi Chriji JefuSy 
 as well as other people .'' Are they not given by infp" 
 ration of God? And are X\x^j wot profitable for doSlrine^ 
 for reproofs for corrections for inftru^ion in righteouf- 
 nefs ; that you as well as others may beperfeCi^ thoroughly 
 furnifhed unto all good works ? They are. 2 Tim. iii, 
 15, 16, 17. Therefore if you will not believe A/i?/^j 
 and the prophet s^ Chrift and his apoftles, I know not of 
 any other means you have to expeft that /hall con- 
 vince you of this, or any other chriftian duty. 
 
 IV. I have alfb heard fome of you fay, that, " If 
 •baptifm Would make you any better, you would be 
 baptized to-morrow." And why not to-day } Behold 
 now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of faha- 
 tion, 1 Cor. vi. 2. 'therefore to-day, if you will hear 
 his voice, harden not your hearts, Heb. iii. 7, 8. But 
 what do you mean by being made better .^ Is not bap- 
 tifm a command of our Lord Jefus Chrift ? If it is, 
 is it not much better to obey than to difobey it I 
 Behold, to obey is better than facrifice. — 1 Sam. xv. 
 22. Is not obedience to God's commands more ac- 
 ceptable to him, and more ufeful and profitable to us 
 than difobedience .'' Docs it not make us much more 
 cafy, quiet and fatisfied in our own minds .'' Does it not 
 make our ftate more fafe, pleafant and comfortable ? 
 Is it not a plain evidence of our being the children of 
 God ? I therefore appeal to you all to decide this quef- 
 tion. Whether is it not ten thoufand times better 
 to live in a chearful and univerfal, a fincere and hearty 
 obedience to all God's commandments, than to live 
 in difobedience to any one of them .? I know that all 
 of you who love the Lord Jefus inftncerity, will anfwer 
 in the affirmative. Each of you will readily fay with 
 the royal Pfalmift, Then fhall I not be afhamed when I 
 have refpeEi to all thy commandraents, Pfal. cxix. 6. 
 '^hen. — Not only at that time, when I fhew and ma- 
 nifeft before men that I have reipe<5i: to all God's 
 
 U command- 
 
( 146 ) 
 
 commandments, when I prove by my life and con- 
 dud, that / ejiee7n all his precepts concerning all things. 
 to be rights and that I hate every falfe way^ verfe 128. 
 But alfo at that time, when I fhall ftand before his- 
 judgment feat, even then fhall I not be afhamed. — ^- 
 No : Shall 7iot be ajhamed before Chnji at his comings 
 but fpallJtandvQith boklnefs before the Sen cfman, 1 John_ 
 ii. 28. Luke xxii. ■^G. Then will our great Lord 
 and Mafter moft honourably difiinguijfli his faithful 
 and obedient fervants, then will he confer everlafting 
 honours and rewards upon them all. Therefore do 
 not think my friends that our bielTed Lord commands, 
 any one thing to be done by us, that when done will* 
 make nothing better, or if left undone will make no- 
 thing worfe. Such a thought greatly difparages his, 
 wifdom and goodnefs, his honour and authority. Let 
 it therefore have no entertainment in your minds, but 
 honour your Lord by a fpeedy and chearful compli- 
 ance with liis blefTed will in this ordinance of baptifm, 
 as well as in every other part of duty. Remember 
 what God faid of old. — Them that honour me^ I will 
 honour ; and they that defpife me fhall be lightly efieemed, 
 I Sam. ii. 30. 
 
 Yet this is your plea, " v/hat good will baptifm do 
 us ? What better will it make us r Why, what good 
 will eating and drinking at the Lord's table do you I 
 What better will that make you ^ This is what fome 
 other people fay as well as you, who under the notion 
 of being led by the fpirit, have thrown away both bap- 
 tifm and the fupper of the Lord. And you are about 
 to throw away the former under the fame wrong no- 
 tion with them. But what fpirit do you call that which, 
 teaches you to difobey a plain and pofitive inftitution 
 of the Son of God ^ Pray my friends what good will 
 faith do you .'* None at all, if it be alone. It will pro- 
 fit you nothing, though by it you could remove moun- 
 tains, if it be not joined with good works and the 
 ioveof God, i Cor, xiii._2. Faith without works is dea.d. 
 
( 147 ) 
 
 James n. 17, 26. The moil; orthodox faith in the 
 world ftaiids for nothing without obedience. 
 
 Be pleafed to confider well what I have faid con- 
 'Cerniiig the ends of baptifm, and you will, I think, 
 a{k no more what good will baptifm do us? What 
 •better wiU it make us ? But come, let us for once 
 ■fuppofe our blefled Lord was now upon earth, going 
 thrctigh every city and -village preaching and /hewing the 
 glad tidings of the kingdom of God^ Luke viii. i. As 
 '9nce he did in th.& land of Judea^ and faying Repent 
 ye and believe the gofpel, Mark i. 14, 15. And giving 
 orders to his difciples to baptize all fuch who did re- 
 pent and believe, and you were to hear and fee it 
 done, would you not blufh and be afhamed, yea 
 greatly afraid to afk him what good will baptifm do 
 us ? What better will it make us ? Certainly you 
 would never prefume to afic him fuch quedions. If 
 'iiot, what do you mean by alking fuch queftions now ? 
 Is it not a full proof that you do very lightly efteem 
 it ? But how can you fay you love him, if you refufe 
 to obey him ? Do not you know that he made and 
 J?aptized nmre difciples than John ? John iv. i . And 
 when he was gone to heaven, and his apoftles began. 
 to preach and to fhew the glad tidings of the kingdom 
 of God, as he had done before them, and authorifed 
 them to do the fame, do not you know that It Is faid 
 — Then they that gladly received his word (the word 
 which Peter fpake)w^rf baptized ? — A&.S ii. 41. And 
 ;Ought not all at all times who gladly receive the word 
 of the gofpel to be baptized, as well as thofe above- 
 mentioned ? Undoubtedly. For is It not equally as 
 neceffary and ufeful for all believers to obey Chrift in 
 that ordinance now as It was then ? And as none dif- 
 puted nor fo much as fcrupled complying with it then^ 
 none ought to negled: obedience to it now. 
 
 Remember my friends, we are not to look fo much 
 at the thing commanded as to the authority command- 
 ing. Tlierefore the fame divine authority that com- 
 
 U 2 manded 
 
( 148 ) 
 
 manded and made baptlfm necefTary for all who gladly- 
 received the word of the gofpel from the apoftles, 
 makes it equally neceflary that all fuch who believe 
 and gladly receive the fame word fhould be baptized 
 now. For Chrift our Lord and Lawgiver has neither 
 changed nor loft any part of his authority to com- 
 mand, it is unqueftionably the very fame it was ; and 
 confequently the obedience of believers ought ftill to 
 be the fame as it was in all thofe who firft believed the 
 gofpel, becaufe it is alfo the very fame it was from 
 the beginning. And it deferves to be particularly re- 
 marked, that in the early days, and throughout the 
 whole time of the apoftles preaching, all perfons fo 
 foon as they believed, were, the very firft convenient 
 opportunity that offered, alfo baptized. Saul (after- 
 wards Paul) to whom Ananias was fent to tell him 
 what he muft do, among other things, told him he 
 muft be baptized, feems to have been the only per- 
 fon who delayed a little, not that he exprefled or 
 fhewed any indifference about it, much lefs fpake a- 
 gainft it as unneceflary, and of no ufe or value. How- 
 ever it is plain that Ananias was in hafte to have him 
 baptized, for he faid, And now why tarriejl thou? 
 anfe and be baptized. — Ad.s xxii. i6. 
 
 It is probable Saul did not at that time know the 
 defign and ufe of baptifm fo well as Ananias did, nor 
 fo well as he himfelf afterwards did. Perhaps he nei- 
 ther knew nor thought of his fins being wafhed away 
 at that time, or that he was to be fully and freely par- 
 doned in the ufe of that ordinance. But it is plain 
 from the words of Ananias to him, that it were to be 
 fo ; he were to receive the remiftion of all his fins, 
 and ever after to call upon the name of the Lord. He 
 was to acknowledge the authority and fubmit to and 
 obey the governing power of the Lord Jefiis Chrift. 
 
 And now my friends, let me afiv you all, why do 
 you tarry ? Why do you not arife and be baptized and 
 wajb away your f.ns^ and acknowledge the authority 
 
 and 
 
( 149 ) 
 and obey the command of your divine Mafter the 
 Lord Jefus Chrift ? Pray do not laugh at that truly 
 fcriptural phrafe, and ivajh a-way thy fins, as fome ig- 
 norant people do. Do not make a jeft of it and fay, 
 your firiS are forgiven, are waihed away, and that you 
 ftand in no need of haptifm to any fuch end or pur- 
 pofe. Where does the fcripture tell you fo ? You 
 muft bring a proof from fcripture, not from your 
 feelings, fancies, or imaginations ; not from prefump- 
 tion or confident aflertion, no -, but to the law and to 
 the tejlimony •, if they fpeak not according to this word^ it 
 is becaufe there is no light in them, Ifa. viii 20. Let 
 me tell you therefore in all love and fincerity, it is a 
 
 freat affront which you caft upon your Saviour and 
 ^ord, a bafe piece of ingratitude, a contempt of his 
 authority, an undervaluing of his wifdcm, and a high 
 aggravation of your crime, to afk what good will bap- 
 tifm do you ? What better will it make you ? 
 
 Remember my friends, you and I mufi one day ap- 
 pear before the judgment-feat of Chrift, and then it 
 will be known what fort of perfons he will accept and 
 approve of as good and faithful fervants — Pray have 
 a care you are not like the proud and haughty Pha^ 
 rifees and La'myers, who reje^fed the counfel of God a- 
 gainji themfelves, not being baptized with the baptifm of 
 John, Luke vii. 30. Baptifm is therefore the coun- 
 fel of God. St Paul when he was a preacher faid, 
 hehadnot fmmned to declare all the counfel of God, Acfts 
 XX. 27. Therefore he did not fhun to declare that 
 baptifm is every believers duty ; for if he had, he 
 had not declared all the counfel cf God. But this, if 
 he may be believed, he certainly did. Why do your 
 Preachers Ihun to declare to all men wherever they go, 
 this part of the counfel of God ? Though you fhould 
 cat and drink ever fo often in remembrance of Chrift, 
 yet if you will not be baptized, you tranfgrefs the 
 |-ule and commandment of Chrift : You reje^ the coun- 
 fel of God. Do you hear ?— It is the counfel of the 
 
 great 
 
( 15° ) 
 
 gl*eat, the almighty, the moft glorious God, T won- 
 der what ycu all mean, I am aftonifhed to think that 
 any of you dare rejedl the counfel of that moft ad- 
 mirable, moft powerful and tremendous Being ! What, 
 will you never think and ad with more reverence ? 
 Are you refolved, come what will come^ to boldly 
 face it out againft Omnipotence itfelf ? Do you think 
 that he will receive you if you rejedl his counfel, his 
 commandment, his divine and uncontroulable autho- 
 rity ? — Do ftop a- while, and paufe a little here 
 
 Kow v/ill your preachers be found faithful ftewards 
 if they keep back from the people this part of the 
 counfel of God? And how will they anfwer the neglecft 
 of it, when they ftiall ftand before God at the laft 
 great and moft terrible day, when all fecrets fhall be 
 di^clofed ? I intreat you to confider thefe things very 
 fcrcHiily, for they are not to be triiled with, think. 
 ivhat you will of them. _ 
 
 V. Some of you have faid, " I would fain have 
 you all to be baptized." (one of your preachers in 
 contempt, called it fwalled) You fay right, it is very 
 true, I will not deny it ; and fo I would have all who 
 know and believe in Jefus Chrift, baptized as v/ell as 
 
 you. But v/hy, or for what reafon, think you ? 
 
 For the fake of augmenting our company ? Not 
 
 ib ; but for the honour of Chrift and your own benefit. 
 If it were the enlargement of our company we aimed 
 at, we ftiould undoubtedly chufe another different 
 rnethod, much more likely to do it than this. It is par- 
 ticularly on account of our fteddy maintaining and de- 
 fending, our endeavouring to propagate and eftablifh 
 this glorious truth, that we are fo much laughed at and 
 reproached. Were we to fall in and comply with the 
 prevailing mode and cuftom of the age and nation 
 in which we live, we ftiould foon lofe all that odium 
 which for a long time hath been caft upon us. But 
 we are willing to take up the crofs and follow our 
 Mafter i willing to bear all manner of evil that menflmU 
 
 fayi 
 
( iSi ) 
 
 fay againfi us faJfely. for Us fake. Math. v. 1 1 , To be 
 accounted as the filth cf the world, and the ojf-fcGuring 
 of all things ; to be defamed and reviled for our clofe 
 attachment to him, i Cor. iv. 13. 
 
 It is our iniiiling upon having all believers baptized, 
 that is the very caufe and reafon why our number 
 IS fo fmall. There have been many who would very 
 willingly have joined with us in communion v/ithout 
 beii'.g baptized, but we dare not admit them, becaufe 
 we muft be faithful to our Lord, We may not, 
 inufc not take to ourfelves the power of receiving' into 
 his church whom we pleafe, without authority from 
 him. No i we dare not be guilty of fuch ufurpation. 
 For which reafon, we have been often called a narrow- 
 fpirited and uncharitable, a conceited and opiniated 
 people. If v/e would give up this precious truth, this 
 divine ordinance, we fhould foon fee an increafing 
 company •, but we cannot, dare not do it, though all 
 the vorld would join with us. 
 
 If our defign were to win and draw over to us as 
 tnany as we could, merely to increafe our number for 
 any worldly advantage, we muft be looked upon ta 
 be a very weak and filly people indeed, feeing the me- 
 thod we purfue (it being exadly fcriptural and accord- 
 ing to the mind which was in Chrift) is fo very un- 
 likely to effed it, — Thus our honefty and integrity,^ 
 our faithful nefs and uprightnefs before God and men 
 do moft evidently appear. We have no hypocritical, 
 artful or delufive tricks among us to gain profelytes ;. 
 it is well known how we live and aft, and how or 
 after what manner we receive perfons into our church 
 as members with us. We are neither afhamed nor 
 afraid to let it be known that we baptize none but. fuch 
 who profefs to repent and believe the gofpel. There- 
 fore whofoever defpifeth baptifm, defpifeth him who 
 hath inftituted and commanded it. 
 
 Do you think that men cannot be brought to holy' 
 tempers and holy .lives as well in Chrift's own infltuteci 
 
 way 
 
( ^5^ ) 
 
 way as in yours. Is the baptizing of infants, (fup- 
 pofing you did baptize them, which you do not) and 
 after ten, twenty, or thirty years teaching them the 
 great do6lrines of repentance and faith, a better way 
 than that which Chrift has dire<5led us to and com- 
 manded to be done ? Wherein ? May we not at this 
 day expeft to receive remiflion of fins and every fpi- 
 ritual bleffmg in the fame v/ay, or in ufnig the fame 
 means, as they were wont to do in the days of the 
 apoftles ? Why not ? Do you know of any man who 
 lived in the apoftles days that received remiffion of 
 iins, &c. before he repented, believed and was bap- 
 tized ? Or can you fhew me any promife that God has 
 made that it ever fhould be fo in any age of the world ? 
 If not, what reafon have you to think it is fo now ? 
 Have a care you are not led by an enihufwjlic^ Spirit. 
 
 Again, VI. Others of you have faid. " If Mr. 
 JVeJley would be baptized, or would baptize us, then 
 we would be baptized." Would you fo ? And why 
 not now, Jefus Chrift bids you be baptized .'' Hath 
 Mr. JVeJley gained a greater afcendency over your 
 minds and confciences. your Vvill and aft*e6bions than 
 Jefus Chrift, the Lord of life and glory ? Will you 
 take more notice of, and pay a greater regard to what 
 Mr. IVejley fays and does, than to what Chrift, who 
 is the king and head of the gofpel church and king- 
 dom hath faid and done } Is it HE or Mr. Wejley that 
 hath made baptifm your duty ? It is certain, if bap- 
 tifm be a chriftian duty, it were fo before Mr. Wejlej 
 was born. His being or not being baptized, his bap- 
 tizing or not br.ptizing you, makes it neither more 
 nor lefs than what it is •, m^akes it neither more nor lefs 
 your duty. If Chrift has not made it fo, it is not he that 
 can •, and if he has, it is not he that can annul it and 
 difiblve your obligation to it. For if Chrift has com- 
 manded it, it is both his duty and yours to yield a 
 fincere and fpeedy obedience to it. 
 
 . JBut 
 
 a *M.m. 
 
( ^S3 ) 
 
 But I cannot help farther obfervlng upon this un- 
 guarded fpeech, that you do too plainly make it ap- 
 pear, you fix your faith in this point at leaft, rather 
 on Mr. Wejley than on Jefus Chrift. If Mr. JVeJley 
 would be baptized, fo would you ; if he would bap- 
 tize you, then you would be baptized. Yes, fo it 
 feems ; without any regard to the commanding au- 
 thority, rule and dominion of our Lord and Law- 
 giver, but becaufe Mr. Wejley would do it and havfe 
 you do it. Thus you dethrone the Lord Jefus Chrift 
 and exalt Mr. Wejley ! Now if he be that humble, 
 holy and good man you fay and believe he is, fuch a 
 fpeech muft needs very much difoblige and offend 
 him. But 
 
 VII. It is I know very true, you are not all of this 
 mind, you do not all fay the fame things which fome 
 fay, and have faid concerning baptifm. For fome of you 
 have confefled " that baptifm is a facred ordinance of 
 Jefus Chrift, and in no wife to be fet light by, either 
 for the matter or the manner of it.'* And fome of 
 your preachers have taken much pains in fearching 
 the fcriptures, and have acknowledged " that baptifm 
 \h a chriftian duty and ought to be performed." Ano- 
 ther hath faid, " As to the facrament of baptifm, I de- 
 fire to think and fpeak of it with due reverence, but dara 
 not lean upon it more than any other outward ordi- 
 nance. Neither circumcifion availeth any things nor un^ 
 circumcijion^ but faith which worketh by love." But 
 alas ! though you were all to acknowledge and con- 
 fefs the fame, and think and fpeak ever fo honourably 
 of baptifm, but- would not obferve it, what would 
 your acknowledging, thinking and fpeaking of it with 
 the higheft applaufe amount to ? Even nothing at all. 
 If therefore baptifm deferves to be thought and fpoke 
 of with due reverence, it muft equally deferve due 
 performance. It is certainly as much a commanded 
 duty as any other, and as pofitively expreffed and in- 
 joined on all penitent believers : If therefore my 
 
 ^ friends, 
 
( '54 ) 
 
 friends, you all r^re fuch, it is as indiipenlably your 
 duty to be baptized, as it is to receive the Lord's 
 jfupper. And I am free to tell you all, that none of 
 you have any right to the latter before you have done 
 the former. This is allowed even by the church of 
 England herfelf ; for fhe will admit none to commu- 
 hicate v/ith her except they have been fprinkled, which 
 you all call being baptized, though it is indeed no 
 luch thing,, as I have evidently proved in the pre- 
 ceeding fheets. You have indeed the 7ta7ne^ but you 
 are very far from having th.€ things which is like hav- 
 ing the fhell without the kernel,' or the fhadow with- 
 out the fubftance. It is ftrange that you who fay you: 
 h^ve received the Holy Ghoft, fhould be fo fond of 
 a mere human invention. Dofes the word of God di- 
 reft you to it .'' No ; nor the fpiritof God neither. For 
 jf he did, I am fure his own inditi-ngs would ; but in 
 them^ no man ever found it yet, and never can ; confe- 
 iquently it cannot be the v/orking of the fpirit of God 
 in you, to believe and pradtice infant-fprinkling. I 
 have known many of you who have loudly enough 
 ijioken againft .it (as v/ell as againft the baptifm of pe- 
 nitent beRevers^as a thing of no ufe or fignificancy, and 
 vtt (as ftrange als It may feem-) you will have- it done*" 
 \ But it is added, " I dare not lean uponit.'* No, 
 iny friends, (for I fpeak-tO: you all) nor I neither ; 
 fior on any other duty •, no, nor on all duties exclu- 
 sive of Chrift. For there is nothing fhort of hm^ 
 that may be fafely relied on for falvation. I do not 
 ^ake baptifm a Saviour as fome of you have faid I 
 Ho. No, it is the Lord Je{us Chrift, the blefTed 
 Son of God, whom I own and acknowledge, adore 
 Und honoui" as my Saviour, and him alone ; becaufe 
 "God hath made him fo. I believe that there is falva- 
 tion iv 710 othei' •, that there is none other name tinder hea- 
 '■vm given dnwng men whereiy we mujl be faved, Ad:s 
 'hr, 12. I believe there is one God^ and one Mediator 
 letiveen God- and men., the man Chrijl Jefus, xvho gav^ 
 ^ ' himfelj 
 
i ^5S ) 
 
 ihimfelfa ranfom for ally to he tejlified in due tlme^ i Tim-^ 
 -ii. 5, 6. Therefore I make none but Jefus Chriil: to 
 be my Saviour and Mediator. I exped no falvation but 
 ■by him. I fet up nothing in the room or (lead, of hira 
 on which I rely for my acceptance with God and eter- 
 nal life. It is therefore a great miftake in every one 
 who fays, or Ihall fay, I make baptifm necelfary to 
 falvation, * I make it no more neceffary to filvation 
 than I do the Lord's fupper. In iliort, as I have 
 faid before, / make it nothing. He who made it is 
 the Lord, and whatever ends and purpofes it is de- 
 signed to ferve and promote, or whatever it is necef- 
 fary to, it is the Lord Chrift has made it fo. I have 
 no defign to fet it either higher or lower, or any 
 where eife than where Chrift hath fet it. I would al- 
 ways have it kept in its proper place that it may an- 
 fwer its defigned ufe and end. And therefore though 
 you dare not lean on it, fas it is worded) yet, you 
 may, and ought to make that ufe of it which your 
 Lord appointed it for, or zKg. I am fure you do very 
 wrong. If any of you do not know the ends and ufes 
 of baptifm, read and compare what I have written 
 with the holy fcriptures, and v.'ho kno^vs but you may 
 -know them. And knowing them., I hope you will be' 
 fo wife for yourfelves, and fo faithful and honourable 
 •to your Lord, as to difpute no longer whether you 
 fhould obey him and be baptized. Evident it is, that 
 whatfoever he hath commanded, we ought to obey, 
 and in the way of humble duty, rely on him for fal- 
 vation. 
 
 Let us therefore learn to put things rightly together, 
 and when we have done fo, to ufe our joint endeavours 
 to have them all kept in their proper places, ready 
 and rightly fitted for their proper ufes. Let us be 
 
 * If baptifm were neceffary to fa'vatlcn, no dying infant 
 could be faved without it. But this is no part of the dochinc 
 I have received. But it evidently appears to be yours by 
 what I have obferved before to Mr, IVefey, 
 
 v^cry 
 
( 156 ) 
 
 t^ry careful we do not remove any thing out of that 
 place our blefled Lord has afligned for it •, that we do 
 not fubftitute fomething of our own inftead of what 
 he has commanded ; and let us be very mindful that 
 we throw nothing away. 
 
 But it is farther added, " I dare not lean upon it 
 more than any other outward ordinance." Why my 
 friends, who defires you ? I ftill fpeak to you all. But 
 to be quite free and plain with you, I will venture to tell 
 you, you are fo far from leaning upon baptifm more 
 than any other outward ordinance, that you do not 
 lean upon it at all, neither can you, becaufe you have 
 it not to lean upon. You know not its ufefulnefs ^jp 
 ixperience, nor can you until you have tried it, and 
 who knows but if you all were to put on Chrift by 
 baptifm, Gal. iii. 27. but you might find it equally 
 as pleafing and profitable as the Ethiopian Eunuch did. 
 Ads viii. 39. 
 
 However, I am glad to hear that fome of you are 
 defirous to think and fpeak of baptifm with due reve- 
 rence, though I mufl needs fay, I fhould flill be much 
 more glad to hear and fee that they give fo much reve- 
 rence to It, as duly to perform it. And I cannot but 
 live in hopes that fuch perfons fooner or later, who 
 think and fpeak of baptifm with due reverence, will, 
 with the fame reverence duly perform it ; for it is a 
 much greater honour to Chrifl to do well, than to think 
 and fpeak of well doing. Yea, it is honouring and 
 reverencing him fo much the more ; as it is a true 
 following and a right imitating his own moft admira- 
 ble and condefcending example. It will be a proof 
 of your love to him, and fhew you have a real defire 
 to fulfill all righteoufnefs in the fame way he himfelf 
 did, Math. iii. 15. A proof you are neither afhamed 
 or afraid to take up this part of the Crofs of Chrift, 
 (if fo it may be called) which at this day, and for :a 
 long time has been fo much defpifed and contemned, 
 and his faithful followers for their clofe and fteddy 
 
 adherence 
 
( «57 ) 
 
 adherence to this part of dufy, reproached, ridiculed, 
 bantered and fometimes even laughed to fcorn, — — 
 
 But, come my friends, let not your hearts be trou* 
 bled, neither be you at all afraid. You believe ia 
 Chrift, believe alfo in his whole dodlrine ; and dili- 
 gently obferve and do all he has taught and com- 
 manded you, and he will alv/ays be with you. Math, 
 xxviii. 20. If you are fincere for Chrift, he will cer* 
 tainly blefs you, and carry you fafe through all dan* 
 gers and difficulties ; through all trials and tribula- 
 tions, and nothing fhall by any means hurt you. 
 But do I now perfuade men or God ? Or do I feek to plcaf$ 
 men ? If I yet pleafed men^ Ijlooiild not he the fervant of 
 Chriji,^ Gal i. 10. 
 
 It is probable fome will be difpleafed with me fof 
 tvhat I have now written, but if they are, I cannot 
 help it. I hope I fhall never feek to pleafe men in 
 their errors and miftakes, and if they will be dif- 
 pleafed, and even count me their enemy, becaufe I 
 do honeftly, faithfully, lovingly, plainly and fincerely 
 tell them the truth as it is in Jefus •, I fliall however^ 
 have the comfort of fo far doing my duty, and b» 
 clear of their blood, and clear my own confcience too. 
 And therefore whoever are difpleafed, I cannot for* 
 bear in real love and tendernefs to the fouls of my 
 -fellow-creatures, to declare my willingnefs to do them 
 all the good fervice I am by divine alTiftance enabled 
 to do, whether they will receive it from me or not- 
 I fay, I cannot forbear to fpeak in defence of the 
 glorious truths of the gofpel, fo far as I know them, 
 let the confequence be what it will. I come not In my 
 own name ; 1 fpeak not from my own authority, but 
 in the name and by the authority of my Lord and 
 Mafter Jcfus Chrift ; who is head over all things to thd 
 church. To whom be glory and honour for ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 But it is faid. In Chrijl Jefus, neither circumcifwn 
 4gvaikth an^ things nor uncirctmcifiQn^ but faith which 
 
 'Workitf> 
 
( . I5S. ) 
 worketh by love. Neither circutucificn nor iinctrcumci- 
 jfion availeth any thing but a new creature. Gal. v. 6. 
 and vi, 15. Yes, it is very true; I know it is fo 
 iaid •, and it is equally as true that it is alfo faid, Cir- 
 ■cumcijion is nothing, and iincircmncifiGn is nothing, but 
 keeping the Commandments of God, i Cor. vii. 19. But 
 what do either or all thefe texts prove ? Not that bap- 
 tifm is nothing ; not that it availcth nothing. For 
 if fo, why did our Lord command it ^ But it is not 
 baptifm that is named, there is not a word about it 
 in the texts ; but quite another vaflly different thing. 
 I have often known both thofe texts in Galatians made 
 •%i(q of by fome of your preachers and others, as if 
 they defigned to inlfinuate that baptifm and no-bap- 
 tifm are alike, juft as circumcifion and uncircumcifioji 
 are to us chriftians. But it is indeed a very great 
 miilake. For inflance ; Suppofe a Jew converted to 
 chriftianity, yet is he no better for having been cir- 
 cumcifed. It profits him nothing in Chriji ; now he 
 as become a chriftian. And fuppofe a Gentile con- 
 verted to chriftianity, it is the very fame, he is no 
 better for being exempted from that painful ordinance, 
 ■as to his fpiritual ftate. Neither is he the worfe for 
 •not being circumclfed. 
 
 Circumcifion ! it is quite cafl; off", and utterly ex- 
 cluded with the reft of thofe antiquated things com- 
 prehended in thofe words of St. Paul. Old things are 
 paji away, behold all things are become fiew, 2 Cor. v. 
 17. In this new-creature ftate, or being created a-new 
 in Chrifi Jefus, there is no fuch thing as any one be- 
 ing made better, or being more acceptable to God 
 for being circumcifed. 
 
 But furely nobody who calls himfelf a chriftian, 
 will fay the cafe is the fame with refped to chriftian 
 baptifm, (except the ^takers, who fay the fam.e of 
 the Lord's fapper) for what doth it make Chrift to 
 be, who hath com.manded it } Do you think he com- 
 manded fach a trifling, infignificant thing, which no-j. 
 
 body 
 
( 159 ) 
 body is neither better nor worfe for doing or not do^*! 
 ing of ? Do you really believe he is fuch an unlkilful 
 Lawgiver ? 
 
 But, though circumcifion is nothing, and uncir^ 
 cumcifion is nothing, yet keeping the commandments' 
 of God is fom.ething •, yea, the very thing \yq are alt 
 concerned in, and obliged under pain of his difplea- 
 flire to do and perform. Pray obferve, it is keeping 
 the commnndments ; not fome, but all of them ; not 
 fuch only as we pleafe ; fuch as may fuit cur worldly- 
 eircumftances, be agreeable to our profit or reputa- 
 tion among men ; but all and every one of them as 
 they ftand recorded in the New-Teftament. And ta 
 txcite and encourage every man to a ready, chearful- 
 and univerfal obedience thereunto, our bleffed Lord 
 tells us by his beloved apoftle John, that, Blejfed are^ 
 they that do his commandments^ that they may have right 
 in virtue of his promife, to the tree of life^ and may 
 .enter in through the gates- into the celeftial city above. 
 Rev. xxii. 14, 
 
 But it is added. Faith which worketh by love. Yes^. 
 my friends, this is the true and right faith ; it is a 
 Working, not an idle, dull, fluggifh faith ; a livings 
 not a dead faith. A faith that changes and purifies 
 the heart and life. It worketh by love to him who 
 is the author and the finifher of it, and will at laft 
 be the rewarder of it too. For it is the faith of God'S' 
 ele^, Titus i, i. The trut. precious faith, 2 Pet. i. i, 
 The faith which was once delivered to the faints, Jude 3:, 
 The mof: holy faith, verfe 20. And therefore to re- 
 ceive, to live and ad according to this faith, is to be 
 a chriftian indeed. It is our his:heft honour and our 
 greateit glory on this fide heaven, to be obedient to 
 our moft dear and highly honoured Lord ; for we 
 know the more we do this, the more we are like him 
 Who is alfo our grand pattern and examplar ; whofe 
 fteps we do as delightfully, as we do carefully and 
 conilantly follow. Is there not therefore One ftep 
 *- you 
 
( i6o ) 
 
 ^ou have not taken yet >* But will you not take it? — 
 How then can you fay. Lord we will follow thee wbi" 
 tberfoever thou goeft? Math. viii. 19. Do not you 
 know that it is and will be faid of fome, to their eter^- 
 nal ^honour, Thefe are they that follow the Lamb whi- 
 therfoever he goes ? Rev. xiv. 4. Ought you not well 
 to look about you, and carefully examine your fteps ? 
 No longer ftand hefitating and doubting what to do 
 in fuch a cafe as this, but fpeedily arife and follow the 
 Lamb whitherfoever he goes. A more wife and faith- 
 ful, a more fafe and fure guide you cannot have. I 
 do not defire any one of you to follow me one ftep 
 farther or otherwife than I follow Chrift j one ftep 
 farther or otherwife than we have his command or ex- 
 ample for. Why will you therefore be as thofe who 
 turn afide by the little flocks of them who are the 
 defpifed, becaufe baptized chriftians ? 
 
 Indeed there are thofe among you who are fully 
 convinced of their miftake concerning baptifm, a3 
 well as fome other wrong things, yet will not follLW 
 the convidlions of their own confciences, and adl ac- 
 cording to that light they have received. But fure t 
 am, if you ought to contend earnefily for the faith once 
 delivered to the faints^ you ought earneftly to contendi 
 for baptifm, for it is a part of that faith which is con- 
 tained in the gofpel. And juft as it is delivered to. 
 us therein, fo it is to be received and kept, and ear- 
 neftly contended for. We muft make no change or 
 alteration in any part of it, but as it is transmitted to 
 us in the holy fcriptures, fo muft we take it and ufe 
 it. And it is well worth your while, to ferioufly think 
 upon, and make thofe facred and unerring, thof« 
 ftanding and invariable oracles of the truths of God, 
 the conftant and perpetual rule of all your dodrineys 
 and pradices relative to your falvation. 
 
 O that we may all be fo wife as to take heed to our 
 ways, that v/e may in all things live and ad by rule, 
 and never at random. Sa long as we have a plain, 
 
 cafy. 
 
( i6i ) 
 
 eafy and Tafe rule to walk by, let us receive It with all 
 thankfulnefs ; pradife it with all chearfulnefs ; and 
 contend for it with all earneftnefs. O that we may 
 all be of the fame good temper, and equally as true, 
 honefl and faithful, as that good man of old, CaklA 
 was, and manifeft the fame truly, braVe and noble 
 fpirit he did ; and fo like him follow the Lord fully^ 
 Numb. xiv. 24. When ten of the fpies brought up 
 dn evil report of the good land, he ahd Jojhua un- 
 dauntedly ftood up againft them and courageoufly 
 and fuccefsfully confuted their falfe reports. So let 
 dvery one of us ftand up for the Lord Jefus, and 
 bravely exert ourfelves for his honour, in endeavour- 
 ing to propagate and defend his divine Ordinances, 
 and confute all falfe and evil reports that may at anj^ 
 time be brought againft them. Let us fear no man 
 in the faithful difcharge of dur duty. Do this my 
 friends, and all fhall be well. Get firmly grounded 
 in the whole faith of the ever blefled gofpel of truth 
 ind falvation, and then you and I fhall never fall out 
 «bout words and ceremonies. — But ftay, — hold a lit- 
 tle, — let us take care and mind what we fay. Let us 
 take heed we do not fpeak lightly and flightly of 
 Chrift's ordinances under the name of ceremonies ; 
 which I fear many have done and ftill do, and fo look 
 upon baptifm only as a little, indifferent, ceremonious 
 thing, as if it were not worth having any thing to do 
 with. But what a bold and daring contempt is this 
 of his divine and fovereign authority, as has been 
 above obferved. 
 
 How often have fome of you fpoken of baptifm on 
 purpofe to depreciate and lefTen it, to fhew your low 
 efteem for, and high diflike to it, and that you make 
 no account of it •, thinking it may either be done or 
 left undone, juft as your own humours or fancies lead 
 you •, that it is of no importance or neceffity at all. And 
 yet who can forbear obferving that even you your- 
 felves, will run in great hafte to the ;parfon when you 
 
 X leaf 
 
( I6^ ) 
 
 fear your new-born child Is in danger of death, to 
 get him to come and give It a name, ^and fprinkle a 
 httle water on its face, &c. and thereby make It as 
 you think a chrijiian, and fit for heaven ! For he tells 
 you by his common-prayer book, (not by the Nevv-Tef- 
 ament) that the poor babe is then regenerated or born 
 ao-ain, is become a member of Chrift, the child of 
 God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." 
 Moft wonderful all ! What a fine eafy way fome men 
 have found out to make a chriftian ! But furely if 
 you be chriftians, you muft know that to be regene- 
 rated or born again, and fo to be chriftians indeed, is. 
 quite another thing, and confifts of very different, 
 matter than that of water fprinkled upon the face, 
 and being called either John, James, Peter or Paul. 
 
 What an extraordinary method fome people have 
 devifed, by which it feems they think, if their chil- 
 dren die at that time, they go direcftly to heaven. 
 But whither would they have went had they died with-' 
 out being fprinkled and without a name ? W^ho can. 
 tell that ? - - To hell ? — Who dare fay fo ? Why then 
 to heaven to be fure. I believe it. What then are they 
 
 fprinkled for? -But if thofe children who are 
 
 fprinkled live, as thoufands and ten thoufands do, 
 they muft, ftrange as it may feem, I fay, they muft 
 be regenerated ! Now let us fuppofe a child born 
 to-day, and to-morrow he is dying, but by fprink- 
 ling, he is born again! Marvellous indeed! Born of 
 the fiefti one day, and born of the fpirit the next day! 
 
 Did our Lord ever work a greater miracle ? Yet 
 
 thefe new-born-born-again fouls muft, if ever they 
 become inheritors of the kingdom of heaven, be again; 
 born again. But the truth of the matter is, there is 
 iio fuch thing as infant-regeneration. 'Tis a thing 
 impoffible. 
 
 There is certainly much more need of regeneration 
 or being born again when perfons are arrived at fuch 
 an age as to become adlual fmnerSj having violated 
 
 the 
 
.( -63 ) 
 
 the \u\v of God, and done evil in his dght, than when 
 they were only a few days old. How can any ferious, 
 knowing, thinking perfon, fo much as once imagine, 
 much lefs bchVv^e, that a child of a few days old is 
 capable of being regenerated ? May it not Vvith much 
 greater furprixe to every intelligent mind, than that 
 which Nic-odemtis fell into, be afked, How can thefe 
 things -be? John iii. 9. That which our BlefTed Lord 
 taught and told him, was certainly true •, but all the 
 men in the world who know any thing of regenera- 
 tion, can never demonftrate or prove that young chil- 
 dren, fuch as I have mentioned, are capable of it. 
 Their own experience of the whole of that work, is, 
 and ever will be a 1 ailing teftimony, an indifputable 
 proof of the contrary. Such perfons know nothing 
 of, and never did know any tiling of their childhood 
 regeneration •, but their manhood regeneration they 
 know very well. And if none of you know any more 
 of regeneration now, than that }-ou were faid to have 
 in your childhood, I may truly fay, and you will give 
 Jne leave to fav without being angry, you know no- 
 thing of it at all. What a fad thing it is thatperfons 
 fhould be amufed, yea deceived with words and 
 founds ; that they fhould be impofed upon with 7mmes 
 inftead of knowing and having the things themfelves. 
 Do not you fee ? Cannot you fee the abfurdity of in- 
 fant-regeneration and infant-fprinkling ? — Why then 
 you compel me to fay, you mud v/ilfully fhut your 
 eyes, and blind yourfelves becaufe you will be blind. 
 VIII. But if you will continue to fay, " I make 
 more ado about baptifm than I need." I anfwer. I 
 iTcither do nor can make fuch ado about baptifm as 
 you and thoufands do about fprinkling. Confider 
 this firft ; and fecbndly, if you are refolved dill to 
 continue to m^ake fuch ado about an error, may not I 
 have the fame liberty to make the fame ado (as it is 
 called) about an abfolute and certain truth '^ Yea, I 
 am refolved with God's help and permliTion, and \si\\ 
 
 Y 2 £^y 
 
( i64 ) 
 
 fp long as he fliall be pleafed to fparc my life, fpcak, 
 vindicate, and as much as in me lies^ endeavour to 
 promote the fpreading and eftablifhing this precious 
 and glorious truth, as well as all others, fo far as I 
 know them, to the honour and glory of my ever blef- 
 fed and glorious Lord and Mafter Jefus Chrift •, tho* 
 all men ihould {et themfelyes with the greateft force 
 and violence againft both it and rne. 
 
 What, though you call it an outward ordinance, 
 it is Chrift's ordinance, and would it not look mucl; 
 better, nay, but would not Chrift himfelf take it 
 much better, when he knows we fpeak of his ordi- 
 nances among men with a real defign to honour him 
 fo much the more ? Undoubtedly he would. — 
 
 But, come my friends, think a little with your- 
 felves about this matter. Is baptifm to be rejeded 
 for its being an outward ordinance .? No. But fprink-r 
 ling ought to be rejeded, not becaufe it is an out- 
 ward thing, but becaufe it is not an ordinance of Chrifiy 
 and becaufe it is a mere human invention •, and is fet 
 up inftead of the Lord's baptifm, which he has ex- 
 prefly injoined upon us by his authoritative command. 
 
 But are not your love-feafts, kifles of charity, fing- 
 ing and fprinkling outward things ? They are. Is not 
 the holy communion an outward thing too, as well as 
 holy baptifm ^ And muft it be rejedled and thrown 
 away becaufe it is an outward thing ? You will not 
 confent to that ; and I will never confent to the. other; 
 do not you neither, but bravely exert yourfelves, and 
 be valiant for the truth •, be not afraid, neither dif- 
 mayed ; for that Jefus, whom, if you love and obey, 
 and truly and faithfully honour, will crown you at 
 laft for all your faithful labour. It fhall not be in 
 vain, I Cor. xv 58. 
 
 But if you will ftill go on in your own felf-chofen 
 way, you will never be able to juftify yourfelves in fo 
 doing, nor to make tht leaft excufe in your own fa- 
 vour, when you fhall flaftd before the judge of the; 
 
 whole 
 
( 1^5 ) 
 
 'whole earth) who will give to every one of you according 
 to his works^ Rev. ii. ^^. Who will then vindicate 
 his own authority -, the equity and juftice of his own 
 laws ; and the wifdom and goodneis of his own ordi- 
 nances which he has inftituted. Let us take care we 
 do not play upon facred things ; let us not preluma 
 to put one out of its place, and put another in that 
 is profane. I wifh you would every one of you ex- 
 amine thefe things coolly and deliberately, with the 
 reafon and underftanding of a man, with the meek- 
 nefs and wifdom of a chriftian. 
 
 When men give hard words, call ill names, throw 
 put railing and reviling language againft others ; what 
 good can it do I What is it a proof of ? Truly, ta 
 me, it proves nothing more plain than a bad man and 
 a bad caufe. Tt is directly imitating the devil^ vvho 
 ceafeth not to rail againft, and acciife the brethren. 
 'Michael the archangel when at a certain time he cent ended 
 with him and disputed about the body of Mofes^ durji not 
 bring againji him a railing accufation, but faid the Lord 
 rebuke thee^ Jude 9. Not becaufe he was afraid of 
 him, but becaufe it is contrary to the angelic nature 
 to rage and rai] even againft an enemy -, and contrary 
 to the will of God that they ftiould do fo. They are 
 all mild, meek, pure fpirits. — So are all good chril- 
 tians meek and mild, gentle and eafy to be intreated; 
 having learnt of their meek and lowly Mafter. There- 
 fore not headftrong, boiftcrous, furious. 
 
 And it is my defire, and fliall be my conftant en- 
 deavour, always to breathe the fweet, the pure, the 
 meek, the peaceable, the lovtlv, and loving temper 
 of him v/ho is all perfeftlon. I hate giving men foul 
 and fcurrilous language ; throwing out virulent and 
 opprobious invedives againft them. Nor have I any 
 notion of foothing, flattering, beguiling and deciev- 
 ing people with fine words and fair fpeeches. But 
 V^'ould always fpe^ the truth in love and iincerity. But 
 
 'IX, If 
 
 ^M/Kr^^ 
 
( i66 ) 
 
 ^ iX. If after all that hath been faid, it flill appears 
 to you that baptifm is but a little thing, &c. I will 
 add a few things more, which I hope will prove be- 
 yond all difpute, that the commands of God, be they 
 ever fo little, muft, notwithftanding that, be pun6tu- 
 ally obeyed. That the contrary is highly difpleafing 
 to God ; that no pretences nor excufes can be made 
 to exempt men from that obedience he requires of 
 them. 
 
 In order therefore to filence all cavils and objecS:ions 
 (if that be poffible) that can be made againft baptifm 
 or any other command of God or Chriil, under the 
 notion of its being an outward thing, a little thing, 
 &:c. I do affirm that when the great God giveth a 
 command to his creatures, let it be of what kind fo- 
 ever he expeds they fhould therewith comply with- 
 out difputing. I will therefore lay before you quite 
 plain and exprefs inftances, fuch as we all know to be 
 jreal matters of fadl -, and which are diiputed or doubt- 
 ed by none who believe the fcriptures. The 
 ^ Firft infliance fhall be old father Adam. Some look 
 upon the prohibition of the fruit of one tree only to 
 have been but a little and an eafy commaiid ; and in- 
 deed we muft none of us fay it was a hard one. He 
 certainly had power to have kept it, yet did not. But it 
 is equally as certain, that it was his duty, and therefore 
 that he ought to have kept it. Now this negative com- 
 mand in regard to the matter of it, was only an outward 
 thing, and in itfelf, but a little thing ; yet Adam's dif- 
 obeying of it, was a great fin, as we all find by what 
 we feel of the fad effeds of it, even to this day. 
 
 From this firfi: inftance of dilobedience to a little com- 
 mand and the efte6ls of it, we may learn how careful 
 we all ought to be to obey God. even when he com- 
 mands but little things, whether pofitive or negative. 
 
 But had Adam nothing to fay for himfelf whereby 
 he might think of extenuating his fin ? Yes he had, 
 and did fay fomethiiig -, but not that God's command 
 
 v.as 
 
( i67 ) 
 
 was only an outward, little thing, this feems to have 
 / never reached his thoughts. He /aid. The woman 
 whom thou gaveft to he with me, Jhe gave me of the- 
 ir ee, and I did eat. Gen. iii. 12.. But poor Adam 
 found no relief by what he faid. God would by no 
 means accept his plea, and acquit him from guilt. 
 He muft, notwithil:anding what he had to fay forhim- 
 felf, fuffer the threatned puniihment. But if the 
 fmallnefs of a command be a fufficient reafon for not 
 obeying it, Adam might have pleaded for an exemp- 
 tion from punifhment. But alas ! there is no plead- 
 ing excufes for fm and difobedience ; God will never 
 allow it. 
 
 Let the fons of Adam take care how they live and 
 adt ; take care how they make excufes for their fin 
 and difobedience. Yet have we all in a greater or lefs 
 degree imitated him ; andhov/ have, and ftill do very 
 many of his children endeavour to find fome excufe 
 or other for their fins •, and like him are very ready 
 to lay the blame on this or that perfon, faying if you 
 had not enticed or perfuaded me — I had never done 
 
 thus or thus. 
 
 O that we may all take warning from the fall of 
 our firlt father ; take all pofTible care that we do not 
 difobey one of God's leafl commandments. And let 
 all thofe who are by grace become the adopted chil- 
 dren of God, take fpecial care that they never dif- 
 honour their moft holy Father. And let none under 
 a profeffion of the pure religion of Jefus Chrifl, (the 
 beft religion in the world,) ever prefume to fay of 
 any one of his commands, it is only an outward, little 
 thing, and make that for an excufe for their difobe- 
 dience thereto ; for it will no more be accepted with. 
 God than Adam's was. — But 
 
 Secondly, Remember Lct^s wife. She was immediately 
 turned into a fixed and immoveable pillar of fait, for no 
 other fault than looking behind her as fhe was fleeing 
 fgr her life, and yet fpr her difobedience to that little 
 
 com- 
 
C i63 ) 
 
 command,- not td look back, fhe loft it, Gtn. xix. 17,- 
 26. You fee by this terrible inftance, the difmal 
 fruit of difobedience to a very little command. But" 
 God ftands upon little things. Our Lord you knovf 
 bid his difciples remember Lot's wife, Luke xvii. 32. 
 Indeed there Is much to be learned from it. 
 
 Thirdly, Call to mind the cafe of Nadab and Abihu^ 
 who only took other fire than that which God had 
 commanded, and it coft them their lives, although 
 t\iQjlrange fire as it is called was not exprefsly forbid- 
 den. Ley. X. I. Indeed you may fee various inftances 
 of God's difpleafure againft the Jews, (notwlthftand- 
 ing his having chofen them for his own peculiar peo- 
 ple) when they tranfgreffed his commandments, how 
 little foever they might be accounted by fome. And 
 he is the fame jealous God ftill, and changeth riot. 
 
 Fourthly, The fad and frightful overthrow of Ko- 
 rah and his company is a ftanding monument of God's 
 anger againft rebellion, though but in a little matter 
 as fome perhaps would call it. They fpake diminu- 
 tively againft Mofes and Aaron •, but becaiife they were- 
 the fervants of the Lord, he took it as againft him- 
 felf. See Numbers chap. xvi. This ftiews that he will 
 have his faithful fervants honoured. You know our 
 blefted Lord faid to his difciples, He that defpifethyou 
 dcfpiftth me -, and he that defpifeth me, defpifeth him that 
 fent me, Luke x. 16, Now what is it to defpife God, 
 for there it terminates ? Is it not plainly this ; viz. 
 difobeying his commands .? His commands I fay, the 
 Icafi as well as the greateft. He that will not obey* 
 the leaft command, defpifeth it ; and it dired:ly fol- 
 lows he defpifes God. Apply this to the cafe in hand, 
 and fee if your fpeaking fo diminutively, and to this 
 day rejeding the ordinance of baptifm, which the 
 Lord hath commanded, is not at leaft, to fay no 
 Morfe of It, a plain indication that you defpife it .'' 
 
 Do you again wonder that I ftiould fo ftrenuoufly 
 iiifift upon this divine ordinance? — Why my friends- 
 
 d«. 
 
( l6g ) 
 
 <3o not harden yonrrelves againft it bscaiife I infift fo 
 much upon it. I infift upon it only becaufe it is a 
 divine ordinance. If Chrift had not injoined it, and 
 promifed his prefence to be with thofe whom he 
 raifes up and fends to teach mankind his own mod 
 admirable and excellent dodrines, you would never 
 have heard a tittle of it from me -, I fhould have been 
 intirely and for ever filent about it. By this time I 
 hope you may ceafe to wonder why I am fo urgent to 
 have you and all penitent believers baptized. — Be- 
 caufe he who is Lord and Lawgiver, King and Ruler 
 of the gofpei church and kingdom, has commanded 
 it. Therefore fpeak n© longer againft it, left you 
 fhould be ranked aniongft thofe who defpife it ; and 
 left it fhould go ill with you for rejeding this facred 
 inftitution. But I add. 
 
 Fifthly, That which befel the man for gathering 
 flicks on the Sabbath-day. This would be looked 
 .upon by many as a very fmall crime. What harm 
 could there be in that .'' — But it was a breach of thp 
 law of the fabbath, which God would not difpenfe 
 with, and therefore the criminal muft be ftoned. 
 Numb. XV. 32 to 36. 
 
 Sixthly, It is like Baul thought it no great crime 
 to fpare ylgag and the beft of the flieep and oxen, 
 .though God had commanded him to deftroy them 
 ;all. But he loft his kingdom for it. Nay, he pre- 
 tended at his firft meeting with Samuel that he had 
 done as he was commanded ; but Samuel foon con- 
 vinced him of the contrary, and he was forced to ac- 
 knowledge that he had iinned. He pretended the 
 iheep and oxen were for facrifice, but that would not 
 excufe him. He alfo (like Adam) was for transfer- 
 ing the blame from himfelf to the people, but neither 
 would that do. Now whatever flight thoughts he 
 might have at firft of the littlenefs of his crime, and 
 how great foever his opinion might be of his pre- 
 tences as fufficient arguments to corroberate the juft- 
 
( I/O ) 
 
 ^efs of his anions and condudt in the whole affair ; it 
 is plain, he had finned, and thereby highly offended 
 God. Though fome might think, as Saul feems tq 
 have thought, that it was but a little command, and 
 therefore the fault not great. But let no pretences 
 or opinions of your own or any other perfons, hinder 
 you from doing your duty as God hath commanded 
 you. 
 
 Behold, to obey is better than facrifice, and to hearken 
 than the fat of Rams, i Sam. xv. 9 to 23. It is plain 
 therefore by this inftance of Saul, that, not to hearken 
 to the word of the Lord and obey his command, is 
 highly difpleafing to him. Let us beware. His pre- 
 tence of preferring the beft of the fheep and oxen for 
 facrifice, feems to have been defigned to cover his fm 
 of covetoufnefs ; therefore he could not profper. 
 Thofe men are moft certainly in a wretched condition, 
 who go about to hide one fin with another. May we 
 all learn to be more wife, and fear and obey that God, 
 whofe commands are all wife, and juft and right. 
 
 Seventhly, The error of Uzzah, for fo it is called, 
 2 Sam. vi. 7. Though fome perhaps may think it 
 none at all, or but a very little one ; yet the Lord 
 flew him immediately for it. And what was his error ? 
 Truly no more than endeavouring to keep the Ark 
 from falling when the oxen Jlumbled and /hook it, as we 
 read verfe the 6th. His error or miftake therefore 
 was this, he laid hold of the Ark, which neither he nor 
 any other perfon ought to have done but the Levites 
 only. See Num. iv. 15. compared with i Chron. xv. 
 1 1, to 15. In thefe verfes we have an account of Da- 
 vid's calling the Levites together to bear the Ark of 
 the Lord, which was their peculiar work and bufinefs, 
 becaufe the Lord had appointed them, and them only 
 to do it. And therefore thofe perfons, whoever they 
 were, did quite wrong when they fet the Ark upon a 
 new cart -, for it was what they fhould not have done. 
 And UzzaFs taking hold of it ^f^hQn the oxen ftumbled 
 
( '71 ) 
 
 ^vas what he /Kould not have done. For which error 
 the Lordfmote him^ and he died by the Ark of the Lordy 
 2 Sam. vi. 7. as above. This is the Breach which 
 David fays the Lord made upon them, and it was hecaufe 
 they fought him not after the due manner ; that is, not 
 according to his command and appointment. Had 
 the Levites carried it according to God's command- 
 ment, as they ought to have donej 'and had not fet 
 it on the Cart, the oxen had not fiumbled and Jhook iti 
 Uzxah had not took hold of it ; and then Uzzah hadf 
 hot died at that time. But one error feldom goes 
 alone. It is not at all improbable but this poor man 
 had a very honeft and good defign in what he did| it 
 was the care he had for the Ark^s fafety, that ni'ade 
 him put forth his hand to take hold 0} it, left it ftiould 
 have fallen ; yet what he did difpleafed God, becaufe 
 it was contrary to his command, and therefore what 
 he fhould not have done. Evident it is, whatever 
 fome men may think of it, that even a good defign, 
 an honeft intention, a fincere meaning, will not ex- 
 cufe us when we do that which we Ihould not do, and 
 alfo when we do »ot that which we fhould do. There 
 is much to be learned from this inftance, but I leave 
 it to you to make the application. 
 
 Eighthly, The fad flaughter made among the 
 Bethjhemites for only looking into the Ark, when the 
 Philijiines had fent it out of their country, is another 
 ftanding inftance of God's difpleafure againft thofe 
 who prefume to do what they ought not. This is a 
 kin to the inftance of Uzzahy 1 Sam. vi. 15. See 
 Exod. xix. 21. 
 
 Ninthly, The fad difafter that happened unto the 
 prophet whom God fent to prophecy againft the altar at 
 "Bethel, i Kings, chap. xiii. From whence I 
 
 I Obferve. The prophet was neither to eat hread 
 nor drink water there. 2. Nor to turn ha€k by the fame 
 way he wejit. But in thefe little things (for furely 
 Jhey cannot be called great ones) was to be ftridlly 
 
 Z 2i pun^u4 
 
( 17a ) 
 
 pun^ual and obedient. Each minute circumftamce 
 was to be carefully and exaftly obferved and complied 
 with. All which he did obferve, (for he was return- 
 ing home fome other way) till another old prophet 
 rode after him and overtook him, finding him fitting 
 under an oak-, and perfuaded him to go back with 
 him, and to eat and drink. Which when he had done 
 he foretold him what would befal him, his carcafe 
 Jhould 7wt come unto the fepulchre of his fathers. 
 
 Now what a famous leflbn of infl:rud:ion here is for 
 you and every one. For what fo ever was written afore- 
 time was written for our learning. But what are we to 
 learn .'* Why i. That the old prophet was a deceiver. 
 2. That it is not impoffible for a true prophet to be 
 deceived. 3. That the true prophet ought to have 
 kept to the word of the Lord, which he had heard, 
 received and knew to be from the Lord, let any man 
 have faid what he would, though under the moft fpe- 
 cious pretences. For 4. He knew that the word of 
 the old prophet contradided the word of the Lord 
 which he had received from the Lord. 5. That it is 
 
 the way of decci-vcrs tu glofs over their ill defigns with 
 
 iine words and fair fpeehes, by which they often de- 
 ceive the hearts of the fimple and well-meaning. The 
 true prophet had repulfed the kijig with this argument 
 alone, viz. // was charged me by the word of the Lord, 
 He remained inflexible. Yea, he told the king that 
 if he would give him half his houfe he would not eat bread 
 in that place. Thus bravely he withftood and pre- 
 vailed againft the invitation even of a king. The fame 
 argument he alfo made ufe of to the old prophet, but 
 he would not be fo eafily filenced. By which it ap- 
 pears that lyars and deceivers, when they find one 
 method will not fucceed, have recourfe to another, 
 and to another ; till, if It be poiTible, they find one 
 that will ferve their evil defigns. Thus the oldpro^ 
 phet, when he came at laft to tell the other that he 
 himfelf alfo was a prophet, and that an angel had fpo ken ta, 
 
 him 
 
 m!^ 
 
( 173 ) 
 
 him hy the ■'word of the Lord, he makes no farther i*e^ 
 fiftance, but away he goes, not knowing that it was 
 for his life. 6. We learn that it is a fin to difobey 
 God in the fmallefl: matters. But is there no excufe 
 to be made for the prophet for breaking fuch little 
 commaixls ? There are fome perhaps, who would be 
 ready enough to fay. " What harm could there be 
 in eating and drinking in Bethel more than in any o- 
 ther place, when it was only for refrcfhment ; efpe- 
 cially, being invited to it hy a king ? — Nay, would it not 
 be a very high affront to refufe fuch an invitation frora 
 
 fo great a perfonage ? And what hurt could there 
 
 be in going back by the fame way he went .? — Thefe 
 are very trifles indeed, not worth any body's while to 
 fpend ten words about ; and muft argue a man more 
 whimfical and conceited than any thing elfe. Or what 
 religion was there in being fo curious about fuch fmall 
 frivolous things ? But the event fhewed what harm 
 there was in not doing what the Lord commanded, 
 how fmall and frivolous foever his commands may be 
 accounted. 
 
 Give me leave my friends to apply It thus. There 
 are thofe who come to you, who do not bring with, 
 them the whole dodlrine of Chrift, only a part of it, 
 how great and excellent a part foever it is, yet it is but 
 a part. Thefe you receive into your houfes, and bid 
 them God fpeed. They teach you to believe that bap- 
 tifm is only an outward little thing, &c. But furely 
 both they and you forget that it is a plain, pofitive 
 and exprefs command of our moft holy and blefled 
 Jefus, and calls as loudly for your obedience as any 
 other does. Suppofe thefe men fhould tell yor t\ty 
 are prophets of the Lord, faithful fervants of J efus 
 Chrift ; yea, that an Angel had fpoken to them by 
 the word of the Lord, that baptifm is only an out- 
 ward, little, empty thing, of no ufe or benefit, but 
 quite trifling and inflgnificant ; are you to believe 
 them ? No. You are neither to believe them, nor 
 
( 174 ) 
 
 toi angel from heaven fhould one actually come and 
 tell you fo. For what fays St. Paul? "Why he fays 
 let hi'iii he acciirfed^ Gal i. 8. How exceedingly awful 
 and alarming is this ' 
 
 But I do not think that the men whom yoii receive are 
 fuch who go about the country with a def:gn to deceive". 
 No, my friends, I think no fuch thing. I really be- 
 lieve they are honeft, well-meaning men ; that they 
 live in the fear of God, and that what they do, they 
 do from pure love to the fouls of men. If I am mis- 
 taken, I am. I know it is no more impofTible for 
 me to be miilaken in fuch a cafe than it was for the 
 true prophet to be deceived by the old prophet as 
 abovementioned. 'Tis true, there have, you know 
 yourfelves, been deceivers among you, but I am very 
 far from charging you all as fuch. There have been 
 deceivers in all ages, and probably among all deno- 
 minations of chriftians, one time or other. But this 
 I may venture to fay, I hope without offence to you 
 or your preachers, that they are egregioufly miftaken 
 in the point I am now upon ; and by their miftaken 
 notions, they do certainly deceive both themfelves and 
 you. For no man though he be ever fo honeft, and 
 means ever fo well, neither is, or can be a fufficient 
 proof he is not miftaken. 'Therefore take heed that no 
 man deceive you. This advice our Lord gave to his 
 apojlles^ Math, xxiv 4. If once you depart from the 
 word of the Lord in the fcriptures, you know not 
 whither you may be led, and how far you may wander 
 cut of the way of truth. The word of the Lord in 
 the fcriptures, is a moft fure word of prophecy^ unto 
 which you do ivell^ if you take heed, as unto a light which 
 fhineth in a dark place, 2 Pet. i. 19. 
 
 You know the devil has many ways by which he 
 deceives poor mortals. Sometimes making them be- 
 lieve all is fafe and right, and as well as it can be ; 
 their falvation is fure and certain, they can never 
 lofe it J and juft then, perhaps, they are fo much the 
 
 nearer 
 
( ^75 ) 
 
 nearer their fall. He can raife in their minds certain 
 falfe joys which they may and fometimes perhaps do 
 miftake for the Joy of the Holy Ghoji. He can repre-^ 
 fent fome feeming pleafures to them on purpofe to 
 keep them where they are. He is fo fubtil, yea and 
 bold too, that he will if he can, (tt up his poll by 
 Cod's Poft. Pie can devife and frame a religion which 
 in fome refpeds may poflibly have fome fimilarity to 
 the religion of Chrift, and that which may be wanting 
 of what is real and true, he may endeavour to fupply 
 with names inftead of things ; with pretences inftead of 
 performances •, and with, fhows and appearances inftead of 
 fubjiance and folidity. And here, alas ! he too fre- 
 quently holds them faft. Very often filling their 
 mindsf with a wonderful conceit of themfelves and 
 their falfe way^ with a prodigious a/Turance that 
 they ftand very high in the favour of God ; that they 
 have vaft incomes from the Spirit •, that fcarcely any 
 are farther, if fo far advanced in the knowledge and 
 experience of the things of God as themfelves ; fills 
 them with much pride and high-mindednefs, which 
 make them look on others with much contempt and 
 difdain : and that which is ftill worfe, upon the Ordi- 
 nances of Jefus Chrift, as little, mean, outward and 
 carnal things. And it is very evident that there have 
 been, and ftill are certain men, who, under a pretence 
 of being more fpiritual, and living above them (and 
 therefore, as they think, need than not,) have witii 
 one ftroke, at once cut off both baptifm and the fuppsr 
 ef the Lord. Have a care my friends, you are not 
 catched in this fnare. 
 
 You have thrown away baptifm under a pretence of 
 being more fpiritual, having been as you think bap- 
 tized with the Holy Ghofi. (Though many of you I 
 doubt, do not know the meaning of the phrafe) And 
 when you have throv/n away the other ordinance, you 
 may then join with thofe who have donefo before you. 
 
 Call 
 
( 176 ) 
 
 Call over the mftances I have prefented to your view 
 of God's difpleafure againft thcle who prefumed to 
 Jbreak what Tome will call but little commands, and 
 confider well what befel them : and after that, if you 
 can, you may ftill live in the negledb and contempt of 
 ihat little, trifling, infignificant thing, haptifm. 
 
 But as little as it is, pray let me ferioufly a^ you, 
 (and do you as ferioufly anfwer the queftions to your 
 own confciences) Is baptifm lefs than any thing God 
 ever commanded before ? Or if it is, yet if it be a 
 command, is it not your duty to obey it ? Is it lefs 
 than eating and drinking at the Lord's Table ? 
 .Wherein ? Is it lefs than circumcifion was among the 
 Jews ? Not at all fo. But is indeed, as might eafjy 
 be n;ade appear, much greater •, and here let it be fe^ 
 rioufly obferved, that God (probably by an angel) 
 met Mofes by the way (as he was going from Midian to 
 E^ypt on the bufinefs he fent him) in the inn and fought 
 to kill him, Exod. iv. 24. And what for ? Why for 
 delaying and negleding to have his fon ciramcifed, as 
 it feems, to pleafe his Wife. And was God fo dif- 
 pleafed With^Mofes that man of God, for his negligence 
 to perform that little outward thing circtimcif^on, that 
 hs fought to kill him ? He was. Have a care my friends 
 what you fay of, and how you live in, the negledt of 
 
 baptifm. But is it lefs than fpri?ikling P Of which, 
 
 fome of you are very zealous. I fay my friends, is 
 baptifm lefs than rantifm ? Shew me wherein. Ran- 
 tifm is fo little, that as an ordinance cf th^ gofpel, it was 
 never yet feen, nor as fuch, can it ever be feen. Once 
 more. Is baptifm a lefs command than that which 
 God gave to the prophet, not to eat and drink in 
 Bethel F No furely. How then will you be able to 
 iland and juftify yoirr negleft of baptifm, when the 
 prophet loft his life for a much lefs thing, and even 
 Mofes had like to have loft his for his negligence to ob- 
 ferve a thing no greater — But the queftion is, whether 
 jought any of God's commands to be called little, in 
 
 fuch 
 
{ ^77 ) 
 
 in fuch a fenfe as to allow ourfelves in the carelefs 
 negledt of them ? If not, I repeat it, take heed what 
 you call and fay of baptifm. 
 
 ' How eafily might the prophet have pleaded for 
 and excufed himfelf if he had had the fame notions as 
 
 feme of you have in the breach of a command. 
 
 "*' Lord, it was but a little thing, an outward thing, 
 'S thing which concerned my body only. I only eat 
 and drank a little for my refrefhment, and I had not 
 done it neither, if I had not been deceived by one 
 who pretended to come in thy name, who told me 
 that thou hadll fpoken to him by an angel. He faid 
 that he alfo was a prophet as I was. How could I 
 tell that he fpake falfely ? How could I know that he 
 came with a dQl^gn to deceive I And mufi; I Lord ! 
 muft I die for not obeying fach a little command, 
 
 fuch an outward little thing ? O how fevere ! But 
 
 it is certain no excufe or plea can be made to fatisfy 
 for the breach of any command of God. Make a 
 clofe application of this to yourfelves, my friends, 
 and con/ider well, whether your negledl of baptifm 
 ■will be better taken and more kindly received at the 
 hands of God, than the conduc5]: of the prophet was* 
 
 I hope therefore from the whole, it very evidently 
 appears that what ! undertook, I have fully proved. 
 viz. The fmallnefs of a command is no reafon why 
 at may be difobeyed. What God enjoins, whether 
 to Do or leave Undone, ought always to be com- 
 plied with, Iby all on whom the injunction is laid. 
 
 But before I conclude, it may not perhaps be alto- 
 gether unprofitable and ufelefs, to take into our con- 
 lideration the cafe of Naaman the Syrian leper. There 
 appears to be in it (at leaft to me) fomething fimilar 
 to yours. His condud and behaviour feems in fome 
 things to run parallel with yours and many others, 
 when applied fpiritually, or to things pertaining to 
 ^'.hriftianity, 
 
 A a Let 
 
( 178 ) 
 
 Let us therefore take a fliort view of it as it ftands 
 recorded in the fcripture. — We find he was by the 
 exprefs order of that holy man of God, Eli/ha^ to go 
 and wajh in Jordan /even times, and thy flejh Jball come 
 again unto thee^ and thoujJoalt he clean, faid the prophet. 
 See 2 Kings, chap, v. from the firft to the fifteenth 
 verfe. But when Naaman heard this, he grew very- 
 angry, and fpake very diminutively of that river and of 
 all the waters of Ifrael, and turned and went away in a 
 rage. 
 
 Poor man ! However his haughty fpirit came down, 
 after he heard and confidered what his fervants faid to 
 him. — For he went and dipped himfelf fe-ven times ac- 
 cording to the order of the prophet, and he was clean : 
 which we all know, if he had not done, he muft have 
 went home again juft as he came : never the better. 
 But let us now enquire into his condud: and beha- 
 viour, and trace it ftep by ftep from the beginning to 
 the end, that we may receive fome inflrudion there- 
 by. And 
 
 1 . He thought he was to be cured in a quite dif- 
 ferent manner from what he was. So fome men think 
 of being cured of that worft kind of leprofy. Sin, in 
 a quite different manner from what God has declared 
 and promifed. Indeed it ought to be obferved, that 
 in order to his being quite cured and freed from his 
 difeafe, he himfelf was to be ad;ive, he muft do fome- 
 thing that it might be efFec5ted •, he did not therefore 
 fend his fervants to fetch fome of the water to him 
 and fprinkle it upon him, but he went and dipped 
 himfelf into the river : fo muft we be adlive, and dp 
 all that which our great prophet Jefus Chrift has or- 
 dered and direfted us to do, in order to our being 
 freed from all our fins , viz. in order to our receiving 
 a full pardon or remiffion of them. Which has been 
 clearly fhewn over and over already. 
 
 2. Naaman had laid out the method himfelf in which 
 he tliought and expedled. he was to be cured and freed 
 
 fj:ora 
 
(^79) 
 
 from his Very fore diforder. So llkewlfe have fome 
 men laid out a method of their cwn^ in which they 
 think and exped to receive remiffion of fins. But 
 let fuch remember it is Chriji^s not their method that 
 muft be obferved in order to receive forgivenefs of 
 fins. 
 
 3. He Avas difappointed of his expedation and 
 grew angry, becaufe the prophet did not do as he 
 expefted. So do fome men now grow angry, becaufe 
 they are not received into Chrifli's church according 
 to the fcheme or method they have devifed and laid 
 out for themfelves. 
 
 4. He fpake very diminutively of all the waters of 
 Ifrael or Judea^ and preferred his own country waters 
 above them all. So do fome men now fpeak very di- 
 minutively of the ways of Chrift, and prefer their own 
 above or before them. 
 
 5. And as he had fuch a high conceit of his own 
 country rivers above thofe in the land of Judea, his 
 pride prompted him to defpife and contemn them. 
 He looked upon it as a very mean, low, pitiful thing, 
 far below a man of his charader, rank and dignity, 
 to ntake that ufe of them which the prophet had or- 
 dered and appointed. 
 
 Juft thus ftandeth the cafe with many in another 
 fenfe. They have in their pride fuch a high conceit, 
 fuch a fond opinion of their own ways, &c. above the 
 ways of Chrift, that they even defpife and contemn 
 them, looking upon them as mean, low, pitiful things, 
 and will have nothing to do with them. 
 
 6. The prophet ordered and appointed but one way 
 for NaamarCs cure, not ten, no not two, and {o left it to 
 him to choofe which he v/ould. So has Jefus our great 
 prophet. Lord and lawgiver, ordered and appointed 
 but one way^ in, or by which we muft be faved, KCis iv. 
 .12. Not ten, no not two, and left it to us to chufe 
 which we pleafq,, 
 
 A a :j 7. That 
 
( i8o ) 
 
 • 7, That very thing which Naaman defpifed, (viz: • 
 the dipping himfelf in the water of Jordan) was the 
 way or means by which he was to be cured. It muft 
 be the water of Jordan and no other, not Abana otc 
 Tharpar how excellent foever they were in his efteem ; 
 no matter for that, he mufl away to Jordan. So has 
 Chrift made that very thing which is fo much defpifed 
 by many, viz. baptifin in water^ the way, the only- 
 way by which penitent believers are to enter into his 
 church and become Members thereof-, for they are 
 the perfons who have the promife of remiflion of fins, 
 &c. as has been often enough proved already. There- 
 fore not the inventions of men, how excellent foever 
 they are accounted and efteemed ; no matter for that,, 
 they muft be baptized. 
 
 8. Naaman was to obferve exadly the order which 
 the prophet gave him, he was to make no change or 
 alteration at all, but punctually perform what he or- 
 dered him to do. He vvas to wafh or dip himfelf 
 /even times. Not once, twice or thrice only, but 
 feven times. If he had dipped himfelf fewer times 
 th.2.n feven^ he had not been cured, and there needed 
 110 more to cure him of his leprofy. So likewife muft, 
 the rules, orders and diredions of t\\Q great Lord of 
 gIU A<5ls X. 36. be exadly obferved,in forming, fa/hion- 
 ing, gathering and governing his church and king- 
 dom. There muft be no diminution ; and there needs 
 no addition, no alteration, no emendation. He that 
 does not come up to, and walk by the golpel rule, 
 has no prom.ife of Chrift's approbation. 
 
 9. As Naaman at laft confented and went and did 
 according to the prophet's order and appointment, 
 and was thereby perfeftly cured of his leprofy \ fo fhall' 
 all thofe who confent and obey the Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 and chcarfully enter into his church and become mem- 
 bers thereof, receive the full remifiion of all their 
 paft fins to that very inftant. This St. Feter pofitively 
 
 declared 
 
( i8i ) 
 
 declared to tTie JewSy Ad:sii. 38. As. hath been very 
 often obferved . 
 
 10. Naaman finding himfelf cured by obferving 
 the prophet's dIre(5tions, according as he had declared 
 and promifed to him ; he returned back again with 
 great humility and refpect, and offered him a reward 
 which he called a bleffmg. So likewife all true pe- 
 nitent, baptized believers, who according to the 
 promife abovementioned, receive remiffion of fins,. 
 &c. are truly humble and truly thankful for fuch a 
 bleffmg. 
 
 Thus my well-beloved friends, I have drawn out 
 thefe ten lefTons as well for your inftrudion as my' 
 own •, and fincerely wlfh and pray they may, toge- 
 ther with the whole precceding work, be as ufeful to 
 you all as to myfelf. You plainly fee that even Utile 
 things^ how much foever they are defpifed before 
 trial, when rightly ufed according to the diredlons 
 given, do not fail of fuccefs, in anf\vering the end for 
 which they were appointed- Nothing can be a more 
 evident proof of this, than the above inftance of iViz- 
 aman. And it is as evidently true in fpirituals as in 
 temporals. The commands of God how little and 
 infignlficant foever fome men may account fome of 
 them to be, yet, if they are not ftridlly obferved and 
 complied with, that great and almighty Being wha 
 injoined them, who is the fovereign ruler and gover- 
 nor over all in earth and heaven, will, as you may 
 fee by the inftances v/hich I have laid before you, be. 
 highly difpleafed, and therefore may juftlypunifh all 
 thofe who dare to difobey him. 
 
 Upon the v/hole therefore, I may, I think, without 
 erring, fafely conclude, that all thefe things put to- 
 s;ether, muft amount to a demonftrative and incon - 
 teftible proof, that God will have his leaft commands 
 obeyed as well as his greateft. And for any man to fay 
 fuch, or fuch a command of God i& " only an out- 
 ward 
 
( l82 ) 
 
 \rard thing, a little thing, that it is not worth while td 
 fpend ten words about it," is not only very weak, 
 but very bold and prefumptious : and fure 1 am, and 
 you may all be equally as fure, that fuch a way of 
 talking can never be the leaft reafon, nor indeed any 
 reafon at all, why it fhould not be obeyed. If there- 
 fore, you conclude with me, that I have fufficiently 
 proved and confirmed the truth by what I have ad- 
 vanced, I hope you will do Chrift that honour and 
 yourfelves thzX. fervice, as to fpeedily comply with it; 
 and thereby give a public teftimony to all men, that 
 you are chriilians ; fervent lovers and faithful fol- 
 lowers of the Lord Jefus. And that you will ufe 
 your utmoft endeavours to teach others and perfuade 
 them to be followers of the Lamb ijohitherfocver he 
 goes. Rev. xiv. 4. This hath the applaufe of hea- 
 ven ! This will be to your everlafling honour and 
 glory. Amen. 
 
 I have taken the liberty to fpeak plainly and freely 
 to you all without referve, that you may knowmy mean- 
 ing and defign as fully as I know it myfelf. I have laid 
 nothing ambiguoufly •, nothing with the leaft intention 
 to ferve a turn, except it be a turn out of error into 
 truth nothing with a delign to deceive, as you and 
 every one may clearly fee. I have endeavoured to 
 make every tiling fo clear and plain, that he that 
 runs may read. 
 
 You will eafily perceive there is throughout the 
 whole, neither art nor craft, cunning or fubtilty ; but 
 all honeft, plain and fimple ; agreeable to the beft 
 enlightened reafon and the certain truth of holy fcrip- 
 ture ; and I am well fatisfied that it will bear the 
 ftrideft examination by that facred touchftone. And 
 I heartily wifh it may be advanced to that honour, 
 that the truth (for it is that, and that only, which I 
 defire earneftly to contend for) may be by you and 
 all men more fully known, received and pradifed. — 
 
 And 
 
( J83 ) 
 
 And may God grant that you may be fuccefsful in* 
 (Iruments in his hands to propagate the fame both 
 far and wide. Which is the iincere prayer of 
 
 Your very faithful friend, 
 
 and very ready fervant 
 
 to my power, 
 
 G. BOYCE. 
 
( J% ) 
 
 POSTSCRIPT, 
 
 THE 
 
 TRUE CHURCH. 
 
 WHEN Jefus bid his chofen fervants go * 
 And teach the nations the true God to knoWj-f- 
 And know him too as Son of God and man. 
 And man's Redeemer, Lord and Sovereign ; 
 And alfo know that he alone can fave. 
 Their fouls from hell, — their bodies from the grave • 
 Well pleas'd, his mefTage they received, and went 
 And told a guilty world that God had fent 
 His only Son, to raife them from their fall ; 
 To offer grace and pardon to them all : 
 To all without exception who believe. 
 And gladly do his offered grace receive. 
 
 One certain rule and method Jefus gave. 
 To his apoftles all, that all might have 
 In ev'ry place and nation where they came. 
 Order and government, invariably the fame : 
 That all contention, ftrife and anarchy. 
 Should be fhut out from each fociety. 
 
 This was the end defigned by Chrift our Lord, "l 
 That all fhould live and ad; with one accord^ }- 
 
 Conformably unto his holy word. « 
 
 * Math, xxv''\i. 19. -^ Alari xvi. 15. 
 - Tha? 
 
( 186 ) 
 
 'I'hat truth and peace eternally might reign 
 Among them all who truth and peace maintain. 
 
 When therefore his apoftles taught mankind, ] 
 In all their teachings we can never find y 
 
 Their o-ivn with his commands they ever join'd. j 
 Ne'er chang'd his rule, tho' often chang'd their place ; 
 Would not by their own fchemes their Lord difgrace. 
 But with exaftnefs him they ftill obcy'd, 
 And pundually performed whate'er he fald. 
 With refolution brave, they march'd along. 
 Nor feard the threat'nings of the frov/ning throng. 
 Faithrul to him they flood,-— firm to his lavvsj 
 And rather chofe to die, than quit his caufe. 
 
 Now thus it was. 
 Jefus our Lord, before he took his leave* 
 Of his difciples, unto them did give 
 Commiilion, and authority to preach -, -f 
 And all he taught them, they mankind muft teach.. 
 All men mu^frjl be taught, ere they can know 
 What they are to believe, and what to do. 
 This is moft rational, as all will own ; 
 And is what Chrift commanded to be done. 
 And all who do believe from what they know, 1 
 }\tm^ firjl taught^ muft be baptized too : y 
 
 lliis is ChriR's method, and it muft be fo. j. 
 
 By this he will have all believers brought. 
 Into his chyrch, for only this he taught ; 
 And only this, the apoftles did pradtife. 
 For none e'er prov'd they aded otherwife 3 
 And only this m^uft be obferved ftill, 
 As only correfponding with his will. 
 
 That company of perfons therefore, who 
 Repent, believe and 'are baptized too ; 
 A church of Chrift we very rightly call, 
 Which tione denies, but is confcfs'd by all. 
 
 "^'Math, xxviif, 19, j Mark xvi, 15, 
 
( 1.87 ) 
 
 It is indeed a bleft community, 
 "Who live in love, and peace, and unity. 
 Join'd in one body, — in one fpirit join'd,* 
 And think and fpeak the fame with one pure mind. 
 No guile, deceit, hypocrify or pride. 
 Nor envy, hatred, malice, can abide 
 Or entertainment have 'mong thofe who are 
 His chofen ones, for they are all fincere ; 
 Faithful and upright, holy, humble, meek ; 
 Friendly and kind. -- each others good they feek. 
 No finifter felf-ends do they purfue, ") 
 
 True to each other, and to all men true : ^ 
 
 Seeking God's glory, — whatfoe'er they. do. -f J 
 
 Their light fo Jhines, that all may clearly fee j; 
 In them, gocd works with faith keep company. 
 Faith and good works united always are 
 In Chriil's pure church, which make her very fair. 
 Faith leads the way, attended ftill with love, 
 Good works go hand in hand with both, and prove 
 Who are Chrift's church, in ev'ry age and nation ; 
 And ever will do to her confummation, § 
 In blifs mod perfeil, in the realms above, 
 "Where all is endlefs peace, and endlefs love ! 
 'Tis Chriil: who is the only true foundation^ 
 On which his people build for their falvatix^n. 
 None other mxi^^—none other can be laid 
 Acceptable to God, as Paul hath faid. || 
 Chrift is th.Q fure, th.Q precious cor?ier Jiojte** 
 On him the ftrudlure ftands, and him alone, -f -f' 
 None other name, none other Lord but he, 
 Hath God appointed unto us to be 
 A Prophet, and a Prieji, and King aifo ; 
 Whofe juft commands his people gladly do. 
 
 * Epbef. iv. 4, 5 f i Corrinth. x. 31. % Matthew v. 16; 
 § Rev. xxii. 14.. (| i Cor. iii, n. ** Ifa. xxviii. 18 ,anct 
 I Pet, ii. 6. tfyf:.?; iv. J2. 
 
 Ta 
 
_( ,88 ) 
 
 To build on Chrift ai-ight for our falvatlon, 1 . 
 
 Is ftill to keep upon that fure found.'ition, V 
 
 And h'"m our pattern make for imitation. j 
 
 A \\ thofe therefore, who make the Lord their guide, 
 i^nd in his docftrine ccnftantly abide, 
 V/ho ne er depart from his pure gofpel-way. 
 Such art bis churchy we all may truly fay. 
 
 FINIS, 
 
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