and to be fond of baptifm. It exceeds the bounds of credibility; but, if it be a fact, he is the oddest mortal and the most unaccountable Baptift that ever lived. For he does violence to his own diftinguishing fentiment, and is guilty of felo de fe. Like Job's leviathan, he has not his equal on earth: an unheard-of phenomenon in the religious world, and will probably be the wonder of ages yet unborn. But the ambiguity of his character is fuch, that I fear the pen of ecclefiaftical history will always be doubtful what to call him, or under what denomination of religious profeffors he claims a place? Such would be the furprife and fuch the reflections of the learned and the vulgar, who had not heard of Baptifts that plead for free communion; they being the only Chriftians now in the world, for aught appears, that are capable of realizing fuch a report.

But were fuch a fingular conduct warranted by the laws of Chrift, or agreeable to the truly primitive pattern, the surprise and the cenfure of weak, fallible mortals, would be of little importance. For it is not the approbation of men, but the revelation of God, that is our only rule in the adminiftration of divine inftitutions. To that revelation, therefore, we must appeal, and by it the fentiment and practice, now in difpute, must stand or fall.

SECTION III.

Arguments against Free Communion at the Lord's Table.

IT

T muft, I think, be allowed, that the order and connexion of politive appointments in divine worthip, depend as much on the fovereign pleasure

of the great Legislator, as the appointments themfelves; and if fo, we are equally bound to regard that order and connexion, in their administration, as to observe the appointments at all. Whoever, therefore, objects to that order, or deviates from it, oppofes that fovereign authority by which those branches of worship were first inftituted.-For inftance Baptifm and the Lord's fupper, it is allowed on all hands, are pofitive ordinances; and, as fuch, they depend for their very exiftence on the fovereign will of God. Confequently, which of them fhould be administered prior to the other, (as well as, to what perfons, in what way, and for what end) must depend entirely on the will of their divine Author. His determination must fix their order; and his revelation must guide our practice.

Here, then, the question is, Has our fovereign Lord revealed his will, in regard to this matter? "To the law and to the teftimony-How readeft thou?" To determine the query, we may firft confider the order of time, in which the two pofitive inftitutions of the New Teftament were appointed. That baptifm was an ordinance of God, that fub, miffion to it was required, and that it was adminis tered to multitudes, before the facred fupper was heard of, or had an existence, are undeniable facts. There never was a time, fince the ministry of our Lord's forerunner commenced, in which it was not the duty of repenting and believing finners to be baptized. The venerable John, the twelve apostles, and the Son of God incarnate, all united in recommending baptism, at a time when it would have been impious to have eaten bread and drank wine as an ordinance of divine worship. Baptism, therefore, had the priority, in point of inftitution;

which is a prefumptive evidence that it has, and ever will have, a prior claim on our obedience.— So, under the ancient economy, facrifices and circumcifion were appointed and practifed in the patriarchal ages; in the time of Mofes, the pafchal feaft and burning incenfe in the holy place, were appointed by the God of Ifrael. But the two former, being prior in point of inftitution, always had the priority in order of administration.

Let us now confider the order of words, in that commiffion which was given to the ambaffadors of Chrift. He who is King in Zion, when afferting the plenitude of his legislative authority, and giving direction to his miniftering fervants, with great folemnity fays; “ All power is given to me in heaven and earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft; teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever I have commanded you." ."* Such is the high commiffion, and such the exprefs command, of Him who is Lord of all, when addreffing thofe that were called to preach his word, and administer his inftitutions. Here, it is manifeft, the commiffion and command are, first of all to teach; then-what? To baptize? or to adminifter the Lord's fupper? I leave common fenfe to determine. And, being perfuaded fhe will give her verdict in my favour, I will venture to add ; A limited commiffion includes a prohibition of such things as are not contained in it; and pofitive laws imply their negative. For inftance: When God commanded Abram to circumcife all his males, he readily concluded, that neither circumcifion, nor

Matt. xxviii. 18, 19, 20.

any rite of a fimilar nature, was to be administered to his females. And, as our brethren themselves maintain, when Christ commanded that believers fhould be baptized, without mentioning any others; he tacitly prohibited that ordinance from being administered to infants; fo, by parity of reafon, if the fame fovereign Lord commanded, that believers fhould be baptized-baptized immediately after they have made a profeffion of faith; then he muft intend, that the adminiftration of baptifm fhould be prior to a reception of the Lord's fupper; and, confequently, tacitly prohibits every unbaptized perfon having communion at his table.

The order of administration in the primitive and apoftolic practice, now demands our notice. That the apostles, when endued with power from on high, understood our Lord in the fense for which we plead, and practifed accordingly, is quite evident. For thus it is written; "Then they that gladly received his word were" what? admitted to the Lord's table? No; but "baptized. And the fame day there were added unto them about three thoufand fouls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread and in prayer. ."*-Now, in regard to the members of this first Christian church, either our opponents conclude that they were all baptized, or they do not. If the latter, whence is their conclufion drawn? Not from the facred hiftorian's narrative. For thence we learn, that they whose hearts were penetrated by keen convictions, were exhorted to be baptized that they who gladly received the truth were adually baptized-and that they who were baptized, and they only, for any

As ii. 41, 42.

thing that appears to the contrary, were added to the church. Either, therefore, our brethren must, in this cafe, infer without premises and conclude without evidence; or they must have recourse to fome divine declaration, not contained in this context. But, in what book, in what chapter, in what verfe is any declaration found, relating to this church at Jerufalem, that can warrant fuch a conclufion?-If, on the other hand, our brethren allow, that all the members of this truly apoftolic church were baptized; then, either they confider the conftitution of it, in that respect, as expreffive of the mind of Chrift, and as a model for fucceeding churches, or they do not. If the former, either Jefus Christ discovered fome defect in that plan of proceeding, and, in certain cafes, countermanded his first order, or the conduct of our brethren must be wrong; they admitting perfons to communion, who, on their own principles, are not baptized. But if they do not look upon this apoftolic prece dent, as expreffive of the mind of Christ, and as a pattern for future imitation to the end of the world; they must confider the apostles, either as ignorant of our Lord's will, or as unfaithful in the performance of it. Confequences these, which cannot be admitted, without greatly prejudicing the honour and intereft of true religion, and not a little contributing to the cause of infidelity:' for which reason they will, no doubt, be abhorred by all our brethren.

Again; it is manifeft from that first and most authentic history of the primitive Chriftian church, contained in the Acts of the apostles; that after fin ners had received the truth and believed in Jefus Chrift, they were exhorted and commanded, by