Virgil defcribes Æneas as afraid to touch facred things till he had washed himfelf in running water (4). There is no need to fuppofe either that the Jews imitated the Pagans, or that the Pagans imitated the Jews." It was natural to confider God as a pure and holy being, and it was natural for a conqueror to wash off the blood of enemies from his hands after a battle, before he approached God to praise him for victory.

In after times when fuperftition had multiplied gods, or demons, for that in Greece only there were thirty thousand (5), it became neceffary to divide and clafs them, and regulate their rituals according to their rank. Some were celeftial, others terreftrial, and infernal; fome were aerial, others aquatick, and they were treated with different degrees of refpect (6). When the fuperiour gods were approached, the worshippers washed themselves all over, or, if that could not be, they washed their hands. When facred rites were performed to the inferiour deities, a fprinkling fufficed (7). None were approached without fprinkling or washing the hands, the head, or the whole body. For thefe purposes a veffel of clean fountain or river water was placed at the entrance of pagan temples. A prieft in waiting fprinkled those who went to worship three times with boughs (8) of laurel or olive dipped in water, and a written order was affixed in the porch that no man fhould proceed further without washing (9).

The heathens, not content with this fimple expreffive rite, multiplied religious ablutions to excefs. The Egyptian priefts wafhed themselves four times in the twenty-four hours (1). Other nations went into greater extremes, they wafhed and fprinkled not men only but all utenfils of worship, fometimes their fields, often their houfes, and annually their gods (2). The Romans had a general luftrum every five years, when the cenfor facrificed a fow, a sheep, and a bull, and luftrated or sprinkled all the Roman people (3). There are pictures of luftration on monuments yet in being (4).

It is not to be fuppofed that all the heathens believed polytheism. The wifeft of them held the popular religion in contempt, and exactly resembled fome modern deifts in the church of Rome. They had a

(4) VIRGIL. Æneid. Lib. ii. 719.

(5) HESIOD op. et dier. Lib. i. 250.

(6) ORPH. ad Mufæum.

(7) VIRGIL. Æn. ii. 719. Donec me flumine vivo abluero....corpus fpargit aqua. vi. 636. (8) PLIN. Nat. Hift. v. 30.....Sozoм. Hift. Eccl. vi. 6.———Æneid. vi. 229. OVID. Metam. vii. 2.

(9) POTTER'S Greek Antiquities.

(1) HERODOTUS ii. 37.

(2) Ovid. Faft. iv.....LUCAN. Pharfal. i.....TERTUL. De Bapt. cap. v.

(3) VARRO De Re Ruft. Lib. ii. c. 1.....TACIT. Lib. iv.....DION. HALIC.....Liv. (4) EZECH, SPANHEIM. De Præft. Numism. tom. ii, edit. VERBERGI. Amfiel. 1717.

private faith for their own ufe, and a publick profeffion for popular purposes. Their own good fenfe difabufed themfelves: but they thought it hazardous to undeceive the common people, who, they fuppofed, had not fenfe enough to make a proper ufe of fuch intelligence as they could have given them. Hence came, moft likely, the myfteries of Ifis, the fame as Ceres, Cybele, or the mother of the gods; thofe of Mithra, the fame as Apollo, the fun, or fire; and those of Eleufis. The priests initiated only wife men into these myfteries, in which probably they were taught that the popular deities were nothing but fymbols of the perfections and works of one almighty God (5). This was a very criminal difpofition. It left them without excufe, because, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. By profeffing themfelves wife, they difcovered themfelves fools.

Many ceremonies were used to initiate people into these myfteries, and ablution was one. It was an odd conceit of Juftin Martyr, in which, however, he was followed by Tertullian, and other fathers, that the devil infpired the heathens to mimick, in these ablutions, the baptism practised in the christian church (6). It would be in vain to object, that the ablutions used by the Pagans to initiate perfons into their myfteries were far more ancient than the inftitution of baptifm itself: for thefe fathers inform their readers that the prophet Ifaiah had foretold his waters shall be fure, and bread shall be given him; that the devil understood the prophet to foretel, in these words, the inftitution of baptifm and the Lord's fupper; and that he fet up his ablutions in order to be beforehand with Chrift, and fo to difcredit his ordinances when he should appoint them. Satan thus prepared Paganism to fay to Chriftianity, Have you ceremonies.? So have 1. Do you baptize? So do I. The devil of the fathers was

an arch droll!

It is a juft, and, it may be hoped, not an unfeasonable moral reflection, that pagan ablution was a fort of publick homage, which natural religion paid to the purity and perfection of God, and an univerfal acknowledgement of the indifpenfible neceffity of virtue in man, in order to his enjoyment of the first great cause.

(5) PLUCHE Hift. of the Heavens. Vol. i. c. ii. f. 45.

(6) JUSTIN. Apol.....adv. Tryph.....TERTUL. De coron. mil. cap. xv.....De præfcript. adv. Hær. cap. xl.....De Bapt. cap. v.....vid. etiam not. PAMELII....ANTON. FRANC. GORII Museum Etruf. tom. i. Florent. 1737. Tab. clxxii. urna i. marmorea, alt. ped. ii. unc vii.. lat. ped. iii. Exftat Perufiæ in Mufeo Anfideorum....Urna ii. marmorea, alt. ped. ii. lat. ped. ii. unc. viii. apud UGOLINIOS. In his Sacra Mithriaca, five folemnis baptifmus Etrufcorum.

CHAP.

JE

CHAP. VII.

Of the Inftitution of Baptifm by Jefus Chrift.

ESUS CHRIST before his death promised his apoftles, that after his refurrection he would meet them on a mountain in Galilee (1). Immediately after his refurrection, the angel who informed the women at the fepulchre that he was rifen, directed them to go quickly and tell his difciples that he was rifen from the dead, and that he was going before them into Galilee, and there they fhould fee him (2). As they were going to deliver the meffage Jefus himself met them, and repeated the order, go tell my brethren, that they go into Galilee, and there fhall they fee me. In the forty days between his refurrection and afcenfion he had many interviews with his difciples, in which he inftructed them in the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Baptifm was one of these things, and of this he chose to speak in the most publick manner on the mountain in Galilee to above five hundred brethren at once. It is not very material to determine whether this were the third, the eighth, or the last appearance of Chrift to his difciples, in which he fhewed himself alive after his paffion by many infallible proofs, and Spoke to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (3).

To the affembly on the mountain Jefus came, and Spake unto them, faying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (4). It is a glorious example of that benevolence with which Jefus used the vaft powers committed to his trust.

The authenticity of this paffage is allowed by all Chriftians, but they differ very much in expounding it; and three claffes of expofitors deferve attention, the firft enlarge, the fecond diminish, the third fuperfede the meaning of the paffage.

Without entering into verbal criticifms, upon which the chriftian religion doth not ftand; for it is fupported by facts true and demonftrative, and not by hypothetical reafonings confined only to a few

(1) MAT. xxvi. 32.....MARK xiv. 28.

(2) MAT. xxviii. 7—10.

(3) ACTS i. 3.

(4) MAT. xxviii, 18, &c.

G2

learned

learned men, it is obfervable, that one clafs of expofitors fo expound the text as to give it a much wider extent than Jefus intended, for they make it an authority from him to baptize infants, though they are not mentioned, and though there is not in the whole new teftament either precept or precedent for the practice. The order runs, teach all nations, baptizing them. The thing speaks for itself, the ftyle is popular, the fenfe plain, and it must mean either baptize whole nations, or fuch of all nations as receive your inftructions, and defire to be baptized. The first is too grofs to be admitted, because it cannot be effected without force, and the groffnefs of the one inftantly turns the mind to the other, the plain and true fenfe. In the principles of the kingdom of Chrift there is neither fraud nor force, nor is it fuitable to the dignity of the Lord Jefus to take one man by conviction, and his ten children by furprize.

The practice of the apoftles, who underftood the words, no doubt, is the beft expofition of the language. Did they baptize any whole nation, or city, or village? yet they defcribed the baptifm of individuals in a style fimilar to that of the words in queftion. The following is an example. Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Chrift unto them, and fuch as believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jefus Chrift, were baptized, both men and women (5). The hiftory of this is thus defcribed by Luke. The apofiles which were at Jerufalem beard that Samaria had received the word of God, not the whole country called Samaria, not the whole city of the fame name, not Simon and his adherents, inhabitants of the city, but fuch only as believed Philip, had received the word of God, and were baptized.

The fame Philip baptized the eunuch, but not his fervants; for Chriftianity is a perfonal, not a family, or national affair (6). Some families were baptized, but it was only when each perfon of each family was a believer, and not always then. Crifpus (7), the chief ruler of the fynagogue at Corinth, believed on the Lord with all his boufe, yet Paul baptized none but Crifpus; for there might be very good reafons for the other believers in his family to defer their baptifm (8). The Jailer at Philippi believed in God with all his boufe, therefore he was baptized, and all his ftraightway (9). The household of Lydia were brethren who were comforted by the apoftles (1). The family of Stephanas of Corinth, which Paul baptized, were the first fruits of Achaia, and addicted themselves to

(5) ACTS viii. 5....14

(6) IBID.....
...ver. 30.
(7) ACTS xvii. 8,

(8) 1 COR. i. 14.

(9) ACTS xvi. 31-33. (1) IB. ver. 15. 40.

the

the miniftry of the faints, that is to affift the deacons in relieving the poor (2).

The fecond clafs fo understand the tranfaction as to narrow the fubject. To them it seems that Jefus addreffed himself only to the apoftles, and thence they argue, that none but apoftles and apoftolical men, their fucceffors, have any right to adminifter baptifm. This expofition is clogged with infuperable difficulties, and it is afked, is it a true fact that during the lives of the apoftles none but they baptized ? In the cafe juft mentioned, Philip the deacon baptized the Samaritans, and Peter and John only went down to confer the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit (3). There was no apoftle at Damafcus when Paul was baptized, and a certain difciple at Damafcus named Ananias baptized him (4), or, as he expreffes it, buried him by baptism into death. While Paul was at Corinth many of the Corinthians bearing, believed, and were baptized, but he baptized none of them except Crifpus and Gaius, and the family of Stephanas. Aquila, who was a refident, and Silas and Timothy who were travellers, moft likely baptized the reft (5). When Peter went to open the kingdom of heaven at Cæfarea to profelyted Gentiles, he did not baptize them himself, but he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, which was done it fhould feem by Jews of Joppa who accompanied him, and who are called brethren of the circumcifion who believed (6). Of this, as of the former cafe, the defcription is in general terms: the apostles and brethren that were in Judea beard that the Gentiles had alfo received the word of God, though only a few profelytes of one city had received it (7).

It is inquired further, who are the fucceffors of the apoftles? Is it true that Jefus inftituted a priesthood, or any order of men to fucceed the apoftles? After the defeat of that numerous, learned, and wealthy church called catholick, further attempts to prove what they have contended for are extremely rafh and entirely hopeless, and go on a principle wholly difallowed in pure Chriftianity, the neceffity of a standing priefthood. The apoftle Paul gave a rule to the Corinthians applicable to baptizing as well as to teaching. Ye may all propbefy one by one, that all may learn and all may be comforted, and the right of every Chriftian to enlarge the kingdom of Chrift by teaching and baptizing others, is perfectly in unison with the whole fpirit and temper of Chriftianity. The conduct of Jefus was uniform, he firft called twelve, afterwards feventy, and, when he extended his commiffion to the whole world, he appointed

(2) 1 COR. i. 16. xvi. 15.

(3) ACTS viii. 15.

(4) IB. ix. 18.....Rom. vi. 4.

(5) IB. xviii. 2, &c.

(6) ACTS x. 5-23•

(7) ACTS xi. 1.