the difference between adminiftering the ordinance by dipping, and by fprinkling, it is very inconfiderable; for the fame form of words must be pronounced in adminiftering it one way as another; and a person being ready, is very near as foon dipped into water, as water can be taken and sprinkled or poured on his face. And,

(2.). Whereas a difficulty is made of finding fuddenly water fufficient in the city of Jerufalem, for the dipping of such a multitude; it should be obferved, that befides baths in private houses, for purification by immersion, in cafe of menftrua's, gonorrhæa's, &c. there was in the temple an apartment called the dipping-room, for the high-priest to dip himself in, on the day of atonement; and there were ten lavers of brafs, each of which held forty baths of water, fufficient for the immerfion of the whole body of a man; and there was the molten fea, for the priests to wash in, which was done by immersion; and there were also feveral pools in the city, as the pools of Bethesda, Siloam, &c. where perfons bathed or dipped themselves, on certain occafions: So that there were conveniencies enough for baptifm by immersion in this place. And,

(3.) As for what this author fays, that according to the ceremonial inftitution, it was unlawful for two perfons to be dipped in the fame veffel of water: I must own my ignorance of it, till fome proof is given; the laver in the temple was in common for the priests.

2. The narrative of Paul's baptifm, he fays, makes it appear to be adminis tered in his bed-room, Acts ix. 9, 18. but that he was in his bed-room when Ananias came to him, is not so clear; however, certain it is, that be arose, and was baptized. Whether he arofe off of his bed, or off of his chair, cannot be faid; but be that as it will, had the ordinance been to have been performed by fprinkling or pouring a little water on him, he need not have rose up from either; but he arofe, and went either to a bath that might be in Judas's house, fit for fuch a purpose, or to fome certain place without doors, convenient for the adminiftration of the ordinance.

3. The words of the text, As x. 47. Can any man forbid water, that these fhould not be baptized? he fays, feem plainly to contradict the dipping of Cornelius and his houthold. But why fo? there is nothing in the text contradicts it; for the fenfe is," Can any man forbid the use of his river or bath, or what conveniency he might have, for the baptizing of thofe perfons?" Which fhews, that it required a place of fome quantity of water, fufficient for baptizing by immersion; otherwife it would not have been in the power of any man to hinder them having a little water, to be fprinkled or poured on the face. And what follows confirms it; And he commanded them to be baptized in the name

of

of the Lord; befides, the words of the text may be rendered, Can any man forbid that thefe fhould be baptized with water? See Erafmus on the place. Wherefore, what this writer fays, that the apostle did not speak of forbidding the water to run in the river, or to remain in any other receptacle or reservoir of water, and therefore must speak of bringing water for their baptifm, is very impertinent and ridiculous.

4. He obferves, that "the Gaoler and his houfhold were baptized in the dead of the night, in the fame hour of his conversion by the earthquake; and therefore, there was no probability (nor indeed poffibility) of their going "to any depth of water for that purpose, Ats xvi. 33." But where is the impoffibility, or improbability of it? Grotius thinks it probable, that there was a pool in the prifon, where he washed the stripes of the apoftles, and here the ordinance might be adminiftered; but, if not, it is not unreasonable to fuppofe, that they went out of the prifon, to the river near the city, where the oratory, or place of prayer was, ver. 13. and there adminiftered the ordinance, and then returned to the prifon again, before morning, unobferved by any compare ver. 30. and 34. together.

And now let it be confidered, whether these instances, as our author fays, are fufficient to convince an unprejudiced perfon, that the ordinance was not administered by dipping, in the apoftolic times.

5. He concludes, that feeing fprinkling was the greatest purification among the Jews, and the blood of Chrift, and the influences of the holy Spirit, are frequently reprefented by fprinkling, but never by dipping; therefore, it must be the most proper mode of adminiftration.

But,

1. It must be denied, that sprinkling was the greatest purification among the Jews; their principal purifications, and which were most frequently used in cafes of ceremonial uncleanness, were performed by immerfion, and therefore they are called washings, or baptifms, in Heb. ix. 10. and even the purification by the afhes of the red heifer, which this writer inftances in, was not performed without bathing the person all over in water, Numb. xix. 19. and which was the clofing and finishing part of it.

2. It is not fact, that the blood of Chrift, and the influences of the Spirit, are never represented by dipping. The bloody fufferings of Chrift, and the large abundance of his blood-fhed, are called a baptifm, or dipping, Luke xii. 50. And his blood is represented, as a fountain opened to wash in, for fin, and for uncleanness, Zech. xiii. 1. And the donation of the Spirit, on the day of Pentecoft, is also called a baptifm, or dipping, As i. 5. But, it is not on those allufive expreffions, that we lay the stress of the mode of the adminiftering this

ordinance, though they are only fuch, this author attempts to mention, in favour of sprinkling,

Wherefore, upon the whole, let the reader judge, which is the moft proper and fignificative rite, ufed in the administration of the ordinance of baptifm; whether immersion, which is the proper and primary sense of the word baptism, and is confirmed to be the rite ufed, by the places in which baptifm was administered; and by feveral fcriptural instances and examples of it, as well as by allufive expreffions; and which fitly represents the death, burial and refurrection of Chrift; or, fprinkling, which the word baptifm never fignifies; and is not confirmed by any of the faid ways; nor does it represent any thing for which baptifm is administered. Let it be, therefore, feriously confidered, what a daring thing it is to introduce into this ordinance fubjects which Chrift never appointed, and a mode of adminiftering it never used by him or his apoftles. In matters of worship, God is a jealous God. The cafe of Nadab and Abibu ought to be remembered by us, who offered ftrange fire, the Lord commanded not. In things relating to religious worship, as this ordinance of baptifin is a part of divine worship, we ought to have a direction from God, either a precept, or a precedent: And we ought to keep to the rule, both as to matter and manner, and not dare to innovate in either, left it fhould be faid to us, who bath required this at your bands? and become chargeable with will-worfhip, and with teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men.

THE

With OTHERS, advanced in a late Pamphlet, called,

The Baptifm of Infants a reasonable Service, &c. confidered;

AND ALSO

An ANSWER to a Welch Clergyman's Twenty Arguments for Infant-Baptifm.

To which are added,

The DISSENTERS REASONS for feparating from the Church of England.

Occafioned by the faid WRITER.

T is with reluctance I enter again into the controversy about baptism; not from any consciousness either of the badness or weakness of the cause I am engaged in; but partly on account of other work upon my hands, which I chofe not to be interrupted in; and partly because I think there has been enough written already, to bring this controverfy to an iffue; and it is not our fault that it has not been clofed long ago; for there has been fcarce any thing wrote by us these fifty years paft, but in our own defence; our Pædobaptist brethren being continually the aggreffors, and first movers of the controversy; they seem as if they were not satisfied with what has been done on their fide, and therefore are always attempting either to put the controversy upon a new foot, or to throw the old arguments into a new form; and even say the fame things over and over again, to make their minds, and the minds of their people easy, if poffible. If perfons are content to fearch the fcriptures, and form their judgment of this matter by them, there has been enough published on both fides

the:

the question to determine themselves by; and we are willing things should reft here but this is our cafe; if we reply to what is written against us, then we are litigious perfons, and lovers of controverfy; though we only rife up in our own vindication, for which furely we are not to be blamed; and if we make no reply, then what is written is unanswerable by us, and we are triumphed over. No less than half a dozen pamphlets have been published upon this fubject, within a very little time; without any provocation from us, that I know of. Some of them indeed are like mushrooms, that rife up and die almost as foon as they live; it has been the lack of the pamphlet before me, to live a little longer; and which is cried up as an unanswerable one, for no other reason, that I can fee, but because it has not yet been answered in form; otherwise the arguments advanced in it, have been answered before it was in being; for there is nothing new throughout the whole of it. Is there any one argument in it, but what has been brought into the controverfy before? not one. Is the date of infant-baptifm, as it appears from the writings of the ancients, from antiquity, for which this performance is mostly boasted of, carried one year, one month, one day, one hour, or moment higher, than it was before? not one. Is there any one paffage of the ancients cited, which has not been produced and been under confideration before? not one. What then has this Gentleman been doing? just nothing at all. However an answer would have been made to him before this time, had not fome things in providence prevented. My late worthy friend, the Reverend Mr Samuel Wilfon, intended to have drawn up one, as he fignified to me; for which reason, I did not give myself the trouble to read this pamphlet: - His view was first to publish his Manual, and then to take this under confideration; but he dying before the publication of the former, prevented his design; nor did he, as I could ever find, leave any materials behind him relating to this affair. Some time after Mr Killingworth published an answer to Dr Foßer on the fubject of communion, and added fome remarks upon this pamphlet; when I ordered my Bookfeller to get me that, and the ftrictures on it; upon reading of which, I found that Mr Killingworth expected a formal anfwer to it was preparing, and would be published by a Gentleman he reprefents as the occafion of its being written; which for fome time I have been waiting for: but hearing nothing of it, and the boasts of the party increasing, because of no answer, determined me to take it under examination in the manner I have done; but whether after all I am not too forward, I cannot tell; but if any thing is pre⚫paring or prepared by another hand, I hope what I have written will not hinder the publication of it.

Infant-baptifm is fometimes put upon one footing, and fometimes on another; as on the covenant of grace; on circumcifion; on the baptifm of Jewish profelytes;