history of their first preaching recorded in the Acts, that they preached to none but to the Jews, and the profelytes of the Jewish religion. So ftrong was their prejudice, that they had not the leaft fufpicion that this bleffing of the gofpel was intended for the heathen world; nor were they convinced to the contrary, till St. Peter had a special vision and revelation to this purpofe, and the Holy Ghoft came upon the Gentiles in miraculous gifts, as he had done before upon the Jews that were converted to Christianity. And thus the Spirit of God led them into this truth, and then they understood this command of our Savour's in a larger fenfe. And to this St. Peter plainly refers, Acts x. 42. where he tells us, how that Chrift after his refurrection appeared to them, and commanded them to preach unto the people. So likewife do Paul and Barnabas, Acts xiii. 46. where they fpeak thus to the Jews, it was neceffary 'that the word fhould first be preached to you; but seeing you put it from you, lo, we turn to the Gentiles, for fo hath the Lord commanded us. Now he no where commanded this, but in this commiffion, which he gave them before his afcenfion. Secondly, You have here a particular declaration, how they were to manage this work of making difciples to the Chriftian religion : 1. By baptizing them into the Chriftian faith. 2. By inftructing them in the precepts and practices of a Chriftian life. 1. By baptizing them into the Christian faith, which is here called baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft. Baptifm is a folemn rite appointed by our Savour for the initiating perfons into the Chriftian religion: But it was a ceremony in ufe before, both among the Jews and Gentiles. The Heathen obferved it at the initiating perfons into their religious myfteries; and the Jews, when they admitted profelytes to their religion; at which time males (as Maimonides tells us) were both circumcifed and baptized, the women were only baptized. One circumftance of the baptifm of grown perfons was, that ftanding in the water up to to the neck, they received feveral precepts of the law. And as the Jewish writers further tell us, this ceremony did not only belong to them that were of grown years, but to the children of the profelytes, if it were defired, upon condition, that when they came to years they should continue in that religion. Now though this was a religious ceremony ufed both by Jews and Gentiles, and without any divine inftitution that we know of, our bleffed Saviour (who in none of his inftitutions seems to have favoured unneceffary innovations) was fo far from the fuperftition of declining it upon this account, that it had been in religious ufe both among Jews and Gentiles, that he seems the rather to have chofen it for that very reafon. For feeing it was a common rite of all religions, and in itfelf very fignificant of that purity which is the great defign of all religion, it was the more likely to find the eafier acceptance, and to be moft fuitable to that, which he intended to be the univerfal religion of the world. As for the form of baptifm, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, it plainly refers to that fhort creed, or profeffion of faith, which was required of thofe that were to be ba ptized, anfwerably to the reciting of the precepts of the law, at the baptizing of profelytes among the Jews: Now the articles of this creed were reduced to thefe three heads, of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and contains what was neceffary to be believed concerning each of these. And this probably is that which the Apostle calls the doctrine of baptifm, Heb. vi. 2. viz. a fhort fummary of the Chriftian faith, the profeffion whereof was to be made at baptifm; of which the most ancient fathers make fo frequent mention, calling it the rule of faith. It was a great while indeed before Chriftians tied themselves ftrictly to that very form of words, which we now call the Apoftles creed; but the fenfe was the fame, though every one expreft it in his own words; nay, the fame father reciting it upon feveral occafions, does not confine himfelf to the very fame expreffions: A plain indication that they were not then strictly bound up to any form of words, but retaining the sense and fubftance of the articles, every one exprefled them as he pleased. So that to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is to perform this rite or facrament by the authority of, and with fpecial relation to the three perfons of the bleffed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, as the chief objects of the Chriftian faith, whereof folemn profeffion was then made. So that upon this form of baptifm appointed by our Saviour, compared with what is elfewhere faid in fcripture concerning the divinity of the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, is principally founded the doctrine of the bleffed Trinity, I mean, in that fimplicity in which the fcripture hath delivered it, and not as it hath been fince confounded and intangled in the cobwebs and niceties of the fchools. The fcripture indeed no where calls them perfons, but fpeaks of them as we do of feveral perTons; and therefore that word is not unfitly used to exprefs the difference between them, or at least we do not know a fitter word for that purpose. By baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is meant, the initiating of men by this folemn rite and ceremony into the Chriftian religion, upon their profeffion of the neceffary doctrines. of it, concerning the Father, Son and Holy Ghoft, and a folemn ftipulation and engagement to live ac cording to thofe doctrines: Which promife of a fuitable life and practice was likewife made at the fame time, as Juftin Martyr, and other of the ancient Fathers do teftify. But before I leave this head, it is very fit to take particular notice what ufe the Anabaptifts make of this text, fo as in effect to lay the whole stress of their cause upon it, as if by virtue of this command of our Saviour's, and the manner wherein it is expreffed, all infants, even thofe of Chriftian parents, who are themselves already admitted into the new covenant of the gofpel, were excluded from baptifm; because it is here faid by our Savour, Go ye and difciple all nations, baptizing them; from whence they infer, (and very clearly and ftrongly as they : : think) that none are to be baptized, but fuch as are first thoroughly inftructed in the Chriftian religion, and made difciples, which infants are not, but only those who are grown to fome maturity of years and understanding But the opinion and practice of the ancient church in this matter, is a fufficient bar to this inference, at least to the clearness of it. And indeed it cannot reafonably be imagined, that the Apoftles, who had all of them been bred up in the Jewish religion, which conftantly, and by virtue of a divine precept and inftitution, admitted infants into that church, and to the benefits of that covenant, by the rite of circumcifion, and likewife the infants of profelytes by baptifm, (as I obferved before) I Say no man can reafonably imagine, that the Apoftles could understand our Saviour, as intending by any confequence from this text, to exclude the children of Chriftians out of the Chriftian church, and to debar them of the benefits of the new covenant of the gofpel The children of Christians being every whit as capable of being taken into this new covenant and of partaking of the benefits of it, as children of the Jews were of being admitted into the old. Unless we will fuppofe (which at first fight feems very harsh and unreasonable) that by the terms of the Chriftian religion, children are in a much worse condition, than the children of the Jews were under the law. So that the parity of reafon being fo plain, nothing less than an exprefs prohibition from our Saviour, and an exception of children from baptifm, can be thought fufficient to deprive the children of Chriftians of any privilege, of which the Jewish were capable. For the plain meaning of this commiffion to the Apostles is, to go and profelyte all nations to the Chriftian religion, and to admit them folemnly into it by baptifm; as the Jews were wont to profelyte men to their religion by circumcifion and baptifm; by which rites alfo they took in the children of the profelytes, upon promife that when they came to years they fhould continue in that religion. And if this was our Saviour's meaning, the Apostles had no reason from the tenor of their com commiffion, to understand that the children of Chriftian profelytes were any more excluded, than the children of profelytes to the Jewish religion, unless our Saviour had exprefly excepted them; for it is a favourable cafe, and in a matter of privilege, and therefore ought not to be determined to debar children of it, upon any obfcure confequence from a text, which it is certain was never fo understood by the Chriftian church for 1500 years together. I have done with the first part of their commiffion, which was to difciple or profelyte all nations to the Chriftian religion, and to admit them into the Chriftian church, by the rite or facrament of baptifm. I proceed to confider the Second part of their commission, which was to inftruct men in the precepts and duties of a Chriftian life, teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever 1 bave commanded you. You fee how their commiffion bounds and limits them; they were to teach others thofe precepts which Chrift had taught and delivered to them; they had no power by virtue of this commiffion to make new laws, which should be of univerfal and perpetual obligation, and confequently neceffary to the falvation of all Chriftians; they were only to be the publishers, but not the authors of this new religion. And therefore St. Paul, when the Corinthians confulted him about feveral things relating to marriage and virginity, he only gives his advice, but would not take upon him to make a law in thofe cafes that fhould be binding to all Chriftians. And for the fame reafon Chriftians do generally at this day think themfelves abfolved from the obligation of that canon, which was made even in a council of the apostles, as to all thofe branches of it, the reafon whereof is now ceased. But nothwithstanding this, the authority which our Saviour conferred upon his Apostles to teach his doctrine, does in the nature of it neceffarily imply a power of governing the focieties of Chriftians, under fuch officers, and by fuch rules as are moft fuitable to the nature of fuch a fociety, and moft fit to promote the great ends of the Chriftian religion For without this power of governing, they can |