would have sufficed. John also, it is said, was baptizing in Enon, near Salim, because there was much water, John iii. 23. which was convenient for baptism, for which this reason is given; and not for conveniency for drink for men and their cattle, which is not expressed nor implied; from whence we may gather, as Calvin on the text does, "That baptism was performed by John and Christ, by plunging the whole body under water:" and so Piscator, Aretius, Grotius, and others on the same passage.

11. That this was the way in which it was anciently administered, is clear from several instances of baptism recorded in scripture, and the circumstances attending them; as that of our Lord, of whom it is said, that when he baptized, he went up straightway out of the water, which supposes he had been in it: and so Piscator infers, of this going down there would have been no need, had the ordinance been administered to him in another way, as by sprinkling or pouring a little water on his head, he and John standing in the midst of the river, as the painter and engraver ridiculously describe it; and certain it is, he was then baptized in Jordan, the evangelist Mark says into Jordan, Mark i. 9. not at the banks of Jordan, but into the waters of it; for which reason he went into it, and when baptized, came up out of it; not from it, but out of it apo and ex signifying the same, as in Luke iv. 35. 41. So the preposition is used in the Septuagint version of Psalm xl. 2. ex and apo, are æquipollent, as several lexicographers from Xenophon observe. The baptism of the eunuch is another instance of baptism by immersion;

says of it, is only that it was not navigably deep, not above eight fathoms broad, nor except by accident heady. Travels, b. III. p. 110. ed. 5. But Mr Maundrel says, for its breadth, it might be about twenty yards over, and in depth it far exceeds his height. Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 83. ed. 7. vid. Reland. de Palestina, 1. 1. p. 278. & Adamnan. in ib. And therefore must be sufficient for immersion. And Strabo speaks of ships of burden sailing through Jordan, Geograph. 1. 16. p. 509. And that it was a river to swim in, and navigable, according to the Jewish writers, see Dr. Gill's Exposition, of Matt. iii. 6.

when he and Philip were come unto a certain water, to the water side, which destroys a little piece of criticism, as their going into the water, after expressed, was no other than going to the brink of the water, to the water side, whereas they were come to that before; and baptism being agreed upon, they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him; and when they were come up out of the water, &c. Now we do not reason merely from the circumstances of going down into, and coming up out of the water; we know that persons may go down into water, and come up out of it, and never be immersed in it; but when it is expressly said, upon these persons going down into the water, that Philip baptized, or dipped the eunuch, and when this was done, that both came up out of it, these cir cumstances strongly corroborate, without the explanation of the word baptized, that it was performed by immersion: a man can hardly be thought to be in his senses, who can ima gine that Philip went down with the eunuch into the water to sprinkle or pour a little water on him, and then gravely come out of it; hence, as the learned Calvin, on the text says, "Here we plainly see what was the manner of baptizing with the ancients, for they plunged the whole body into the water; now custom obtaining, that the minister only sprinkles the body or the head." So Barnabas, an apostolic writer of the first century, and who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, as a companion of the apostle Paul, describes bap tism by going down into, and by coming up out of the water; "We descend," says he, "into the water, full of sin and filth, and we ascend, bringing forth fruit in the heart, having fear and hope in Jesus, through the Spirit."

iv. The end of baptism, which is to represent the burial of Christ, cannot be answered in any other way than by immersion, or covering the body in water; that baptism is an emblem of the burial of Christ, is clear from Rom. vi 4. Col. ii. 12. It would be endless to quote the great number, even of pædobaptist writers, who ingeniously acknowledge that

rite or bapdead are buand to the law,

the allusion of these passages, is to the ancient tism by immersion; as none but such who are ried, so none but such who are dead to sin, by the body of Christ, or who profess to be so, are to be buried in and by baptism, or to be baptized; and as none can be properly said to be buried, unless put under ground, and covered with earth; so none can be said to be baptized, but such who are put under water, and covered with it; and nothing short of this can be a representation of the burial of Christ, and ours with him; not sprinkling, or pouring a little water on the face; for a corpse cannot be said to be buried, when only a little earth or dust is sprinkled or poured on it.

v. This may be concluded from the various figurative and typical baptisms spoken of in scripture. As, 1. From the waters of the flood, which Tertullian calls the baptism of the world, and of which the apostle Peter makes baptism the antitype, 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21. When the fountains of the great deep were broken up below, and the windows of heaven. were opened above, the ark, with those in it, were as it were covered and immersed in water. 2. From the passage of the Israelites under the cloud and through the sea, when they were said to be baptized unto Moses, in the cloud and in the sea, 1 Cor. x. 1, 2. There are several things in this account which agree with baptism: but chiefly this passage was a figure of baptism by immersion; as the Israelites were under the cloud, and so under water, and covered with it, as persons baptized by immersion are; and passed through the sea, that standing up as a wall on both sides them, with the cloud over them; thus surrounded they were as persons im-, mersed in water, and so said to be baptized. 3. From the divers washings, bathings, or baptisms of the Jews; called divers, Decause of the different persons and things washed or dipped, as Grotius observes; and not because of different sorts of washing, for their is but one way of washing, and that is by dipping; what has a little water only sprinkled or

pouring on it, cannot be said to be washed. The Jews had their sprinklings, which were distinct from washings or bathings, which were always performed by immersion; it is a rule, with them, that "wherever in the law washing of the flesh, or of the clothes is mentioned, it means nothing else than the dipping of the whole body in a laver for if any man dips himself all over except the tip of his little finger, he is still in his uncleanness. 4. From the sufferings of Christ being called a baptism; I have a baptism to be baptized with, &c. Luke xii. 50. his sufferings are called so in allusion to baptism, as it is an immersion; and is expressive of the abundance of them, sometimes signified by deep waters, and floods of waters, Psal. Ixii. 7. and Ixix. 1, 2. 5. From the extraordinary donation of the holy Spirit, and his gifts unto, and his descent upon the apos tles on the day of Pentecost, which is called baptizing, Acts i. 5. and ii. 1, 2. expressive of the very great abundance of them, in allusion to baptism or dipping, in a proper sense, as the learned Casaubon observes, "Regard is had in this place to the proper signification of the word baptizein, to immerse or dip; and in this sense the apostles are truly said to be baptized, for the house in which this was done, was filled with the Holy Ghost; so that the apostles seemed to be plunged into it, as into some pool." All which typical and figurative baptisms, serve to strengthen the proper sense of the word, as it signifies an immersion and dipping the body into, and covering it with water, which only can support the figure used. Nor is this sense of the word to be set aside or weakened by the use of it in Mark vii. 4. and Luke xi. 38. in the former it is said, Except they wash, baptizōntai, baptize, or dip themselves, they eat not and in it mention is made of baptismēn, washings or dippings of cups and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables or beds; and in the latter, the Pharisee is said to marvel at Christ, that he had not first ebaptisthe, washed or dipped, before dinner; all which agrees with the superstitious traditions of the elders, here referred to, which enjoined dipping in all the cases and instances spoken of; for the Pharisees,

"

upon touching the common people or their clothes, as they returned from market, or from any court of judicature, were obliged to immerse themselves in water before they eat; and so the Samaritan Jews: "If the Pharisees, says Maimoni. des,† touched but the garments of the common people, they were defiled all one as if they had touched a perfluvious person, and needed immersion." or were obliged to it; and Scaliger, from the Jews observes, "That the more superstitious part of them, every day before they sat down to meat, dipped the whole body; hence the Pharisees admiration at Christ, Luke xi. 38." And not only cups and pots, and brazen vessels were washed by dipping, or putting them into water, in which way, unclean vessels were washed according to the law, Lev. xi. 32. but even beds, pillows, and bolsters, unclean in a ceremonial sense, were washed in this way, according to the traditions of the elders referred to; for they say, "A bed that is wholly defiled, if a man dips it part by part, it is pure." Again,|| "If he dips the bed in it (a pool of water) though its feet are plunged into the thick clay (at the bottom of the pool) it is clean." And as for pillows and bolsters, thus they say, "A pillow or a bolster of skin, when a man lifts up the mouth of them out of the water, the water which is in them will be drawn; what must be done? he must dip them and lift them up by their fringes." Thus, according to these traditions, the several things mentioned were washed by immersion; and instead of weakening, strengthen the sense of the word pleaded for.

The objections against baptism, as immersión, taken from some instances of baptism recorded in scripture, are of no force, as that of the three thousand, in Acts ii. not with respect to their number; it may be observed, that though these were added to the church in one and the same day, it does not follow, that they were baptized in one day; but be it

Epiph. contra Hæres. 1. 1. Hæres. 9. De Emend. Temp. 1. 6. p. 771. 14.

Misn. Mickvavot, c. 7. s. 7.

+In Misn. Chagigah, c. 2. s.7. Maimon. Hilchot Celim. c. 26. # ¶ Ibid. s. 6.