A Plain and Familiar Treatise on the Mode of Baptism

whereby they are publicly declared to belong unte the Lord. And as this seal is said to be in their forehead, so it does appear that its symbol, namely, baptism, was applied to that place. Upon this passage, Witsius* has the following remarks: "In much the same manner, believers being sealed by God, with the efficacy of the flaming spirit, and a truly indelible and never fading character, do at the same time, bind themselves by an oath to be faithful to God, as soldiers to their General. For while they profess themselves to be God's, they also give themselves up to his service alone: Whose I am, and whom I serve," said Paul. But this profession is signified and publicly made by adults, in baptism, whereby they are visibly sealed as the Lord's servants. And believing parents, when they present their child for baptism, do thereby make a public dedication of it to the Lord. It does, therefore, appear very plain from the allusion in the passage before us, that this sealing ordinance was applied to the forehead.

I know it is said by some, that here was an allusion to a custom among some heathens of pressing upon servants the mark of their masters-upon soldiers, the mark of their generals, and upon religious devotees, the mark of their deities to whom they were devoted. This may be so; but surely I see no,

a Rev. vii, 3. b Acts xxvii, 23.

* Economy of the covenants, Book 3d, ch. 12, sec. 11..

beauty in such an allusion, nor any propriety in going to the heathen, and perhaps to a cruel custom, for such an allusion, when there was a sealing ordinance in the church which did exactly represent the sealing operations of the Holy Spirit.

The saints are also said to have the "Father's name written upon their foreheads." This is the impression of the seal by which they are sealed,' which is the work of the Holy Spirit, and is represented in baptism when the Father's name is called upon them; and to this James alludes when he says: "Do they not blaspheme that worthy name which is called upon you."d" By which ye are called," it is in our English version. But if the learned reader will turn to it in the original, he will soon see that the rendering we have given it is the correct one. It also corresponds with what he says in Acts, "Upon whom my name is called." Having this name written upon the forehead signifies also an open profession of his name. Now this name is called upon us in baptism. And how beautiful and exact is the correspondence between the allusion and the application of baptism to the forehead, whereby the thing intended by those allusions, is represented?

Our Baptist brethren may perhaps tell us that these expressions are metaphorical, and therefore,

a Rev. xiv, 11.

b. Rev. vii, 3, 4,-1 Cor. xv, 49,-2 Cor. iii, 18,-Col. iii, 10. c Eph. iv, 30. d James ii, vii. e Acts xv, 17,-Amos ix, 12,.

afford no argument in favor of our position. It is our satisfaction, however, to know that the Holy Spirit never employs a metaphor without a meaning, nor alludes to that which has no existence. Neither have we adduced these metaphors or allusions as positive evidence in favor of sprinkling, but as very strongly favoring the practice of those who apply the symbol of those spiritual and saving benefits to the forehead.

And here we rest the arguments in favor of applying baptism to the forehead by sprinkling. More might be said; but they who will not believe the great cloud of indisputable witnesses which has already appeared, would not believe though one should rise from the dead."

FINIS.

NOTE B.-SEE PAGE 17.

With what propriety the moral law is said to be this school. master, as it frequently is, I know not.. For when I examine it, without any reference to the gospel, I cannot find the least encouragement in it to look for a Saviour. And when I go to mount Sinai, and see it covered with smoke, lightnings, thunderings and moving with awful quakings at the promulgation of this law, and the children of Israel trembling at the sight, I can see no intimations of a promised Saviour. I find it to be, what the Apostle calls it, a ministration of death. 2 Cor. iii, 7.

There is, however, a convenient method adopted, in order to. show that this law does lead us to Christ: Namely; it teaches us. our ruined condition, and consequent need of a Saviour. This I freely acknowledge; but does it give the least intimation that there is such a Saviour, and that God can be gracious to us. through him? If it does, how came it to pass that Adam did not know this? Had he known it, he would not have been driven,

by such hopeless fear to hide himself among the trees of the garden as he did. He must also have found it to be the ministration of death.

If the reader will examine the passage with a careful and impartial eye; he will readily perceive that it is not the moral but the ceremonial law. For it is said that we are no longer under this schoolmaster since faith, that is, Christ, who is the object of faith, has come -See Gal. iii, 24, 25. And is it true that we are no longer under the moral law, or that it is no more binding upon us since Christ has appeared. Such a sentiment may do for an antinomian, but not for a christian.—Prov. xxviii, 4. The law is as binding upon us now, as it was before Christ It never has, since the fall, been a condition of life; but it does remain as a rule of life. We are saved by the same principle now that the saints were previous to the coming of Christ; namely, faith, we are saved even as they.-Acts xv, 11.

came,

From the above considerations, it is evident that this schoolmaster which has been dismissed, was not the moral, but the ceremonial law. And this will appear still more evident by comparing Gal. iii, 21, with Heb. x, 1-4. This law exhibits to us a promised Saviour. It was a good schoolmaster to bring its pupils to Christ, and when it had performed its office, was dis missed with honor.

NOTE C.-SEE PAGE 75.

Mr. Merrill and others call us Pædorantists, " baby sprinklers." And I was once asked, by an aged baptist, whether sprinkling a little sand on a baby's face, would not do as well as to sprinkle water upon it. Our contemptible appearance in the eyes of the Baptists, may be learned from what Mr. Merril, a leading man among them in the east, says of us. He denominates the Pædobaptist church; the MYSTERY of iniquity, BABYLON the great, the MOTHER of HARLOTS and ABOMINATIONS of the earth.

The reader shall have his representation in his own words. All Pædobaptist churches," namely, Protestants and Roman catholics," are generically one. They differ only in the quantity and filthiness of their fornications, their principle is illegitimacy, having their children born into Christ's family, but not of his spirit. This is the MYSTERY of iniquity. This is the prolific sin of the MOTHER of HARLOTS, and it is the characteristic of all her daughters. She with all her daughters make up one enormous community, or apostate church, named in Rev. xvii, 5, BABYLON the GREAT." See his Gospel church vindicated, Pages 66, 87, 115, 169 and 170.

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," says.

our Saviour. Whether a heart abounding with such thoughts, and pouring forth such language as the above, can be considered as chaste, I leave with the reader to determine. To me, they appear to be the effusions of an impure mind.

CONTENTS.

Prefatory Letter,

CHAPTER I.-John's Baptism,

Its design nature and duration,.....

It was not Christian baptism.-This appears

1. From its Institutor.....