empowered him to depute others to perform the cere mony, and midwives were licenfed, It happened fometimes, while the midwife was baptizing a child not likely to live many minutes, the mother was neglected and died. It was finally decreed, that any body, licensed or unlicensed, a Jew, or degraded priest, a fcullion or felon, might baptize.* Let us now attend to an instance of a later date. About the year 1690, there were two diffenting Minifters in Wapping. Hercules Collins, who taught a Baptift congregation; and Francis Mence, who taught a congregation of Independents. Collins published a book of reafons for believers' baptifm, in which he obferved, among other things, that there was no "reafon to baptize an infant under pretence of faving it; for that original fin was not washed off by baptifmal water, but by the blood of Chrift, and the imputation of his righteousness." Mence thought it his duty to guard his congregation from this error; and he both preached and printed, that this was "infant-damning doctrine." "The principle (he faid) evidently excluded dear infants from the kingdom of God, which was an audacious cruelty; fending them by fwarms into hell!" Collins attempted to explain himfelf, and vindicate his doctrine-but all in vain. The oppofition rose to such a height, that his life was endangered; the ftreets refounding with the cries of tender mothers, who fhrieked as they fold fish, "There goes Collins, who holds the damnation of infants."+ And all this becaufe he denied the neceffity of baptifin to their falvation. But the fentiments of the prefent day, next call for our at tention. The form of fervice now in ufe among our brethren of the Epifcopal church, leads us to fuppofe, that they afcribe quite as much efficacy to the ordinance as we do. For they, immediately after baptizing, make the following addrefs: "Seeing, dearly beloved brethren, that this child is regenerate, and grafted into the body of Christ's church, let us give thanks to Almighty God for * Robinson's Hift. p. 427. And Primitive Chriftianity, p. 192. + Robinson's Hiftory, p. 476. thefe benefits. We yield thee hearty thanks, moft merciful Father, that it hath pleafed thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own child by adoption." And when the children are. thought capable of catechetical inftruction, the catechist thus interrogates; "Who gave thee this name? My fponfors in my baptifm, WHEREIN I WAS MADE a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven."* Dr. Hopkins, when speaking of the Westminster Catechifm, takes notice of this anfwer; "Baptifin is a facrament, wherein the wathing with water, in the name, &c. doth fignify and feal our ingrafting into Chrift.-This catechifm is received by the church of Scotland, and by all, or mott of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches in England, Ireland, and America; and taught to their children." He then adds, "If baptifma fignifies and feals what it is here faid to do; then infants, when they are baptized, are visibly, or in the view of the church, ingrafted into Chrift, and made partakers of the bleflings of the covenant of grace."+ Now, Sir, let us juft collect these scattered rays of evidence to a focus.-To conclude that all who die unbaptized eternally "perifh;" to "levy heavy fines" to oblige parents to baptize their children; to "licenfe even midwives to baptize, rather than it should not be done; to "curfe" thofe who deny the neceffity of it to the falvation of infants; to call the denial of it "infantdamning doctrine" to thank God that the infant by baptifin is "regenerated;" to teach children to believe, that in their baptifm they were "made numbers of Christ, and children of God," and that baptifin doth fignify, and feal their ingrafting into Chrift," and that they are thereby made partakers of the bleflings of the covenant of grace. If, after attending to the evidence here exhibited, the charge against us of laying an undue ftrefs" upon baptifm hould be continued ; the author of the "Friendly Letter' is modeftly requested to produce proof * Vid. The office of public baptism of infants, and the ca tęchifm. Syftem, Vol. ii. p. 394. P. 1 from the writings of the Baptifts to fhow, that they af cribe ny greater efficacy to it than their Pædobaptift .brethren do.* The last thing which I fhall remark upon, is a query which you fuggeft in the following words: May it not be owing to the manner in which fome preachers of your denomination have treated the fubject of baptifin, that fo many profeffors of your fect have turned Deifts, Shakers, Univerfalifts, &c.?' Upon this I would briefly obferve; It is thought you would have acted more confiftently with your title page, and other profeffions of candour, that if you had known any instances in which the fubject had been fo treated, to have pointed them out to the imprudent teacher, rather than to have caft the flur indifcriminately upon the whole denomination. But, Sir, we cannot admit the fuppofed fact to be true. For although it may be difficult to determine the exact number of Deifts, Shakers, and Univerfalifts, and what their fentiments have heretofore been; yet we think ourfelves under as good advantages to know the state of our churches, as any others can be: for we have an annual correfpondence with them from the district of Maine to the state of Georgia; and alfo with our brethren on the other fide the Atlantic. Hence we are confident, that if they principally originate from us, their number must be fmall. But fhould it even be allowed, that a greater number of our denomination had gone over to the above fentiments than from any other, will it hence follow, that It is a queftion with some thinking perfons, whether to teach children to believe, that by baptifm they are "regenerated" and "ingrafted into Chrift, and made partakers of the bleflings of the covenant of grace," is not laying an undue stress' upon the ordinance ?-I will add the fentiment of a late writer "A virtuous profeffion," faith he, " of the Chriftian religion is founded in faith in Chrift, and from this fieft element all after actions naturally flow: but where, as in profeffing infants, the primordial element is not and cannot be, religion rifes on a poftulatum, or affumed proof. The lives of fuch nominal Chriftians give too much evidence, that they are Chriftians only by prepoffeffions, and hence come innumerable errors, paffions and vices. Having no reafons of their own for either faith or virtue, they know nothing of the religion, which they profess, and avoid none of the crimes it was intended to destroy." it was because they had once been plunged all under water? Do you feriously think that one in thirty would acknowledge, that any circumstances connected with their being immerfed, led them to embrace those fentiments? It is doubted whether this would appear upon examination. You inform us that you fuggeft this query without any defign to reproach.' Sir, your defign falls not within our jurifdiction to judge; but the query itself, we are obliged to view as a groundlefs, illiberal reflection. If the cause you are engaged in cannot be supported by fober facts, founded on rational evidence, without making ufe of fuch feeble auxiliaries as your own fears, fuggeftions, and queries,' you will not think it strange if we thould not become converts to your fentiments. But you continue your fuggeftion and afk, Is it not fuppofeable, that from the manner in which some have treated the subject of baptifm, these apoftates were first led to fuppofe it a great attainment in religion, to be plunged all under water? This fuppofition places the whole of these apoftates (as you call them) to our account : and that they were led on to this apoftafy merely by wrong inftructions refpecting baptifin. But, do you know this certainly to be the case with any one individual? or with any confiderable number of them? If not, your fuppofition must appear in an unfriendly light, and calculated to mislead the ignorant and inattentive.' You conclude your alarming defcription, by prefenting them to the eye of imagination, as now finking in the quickfands which border on final perdition! Pandora's fatal box could fcarce contain more evils than you attribute to baptifin by immerfion! Enlightened reason, however, makes a paufe, and afks, Can it be fo? Hoary experience inftantly comes forward, and afferts that the fact is known to be otherwise. O thou condefcending Redeemer, is an humble imitation of thy innocent example thus charged with leading the fatal way to infidelity, and final perdition?' Haft thou not commanded us to follow thee? and faid, "If ye love me, keep my commandments ?" Sir, I have now finished my remarks upon your Friendly Letter, and fall only beg leave to add my fincere withes for your profperity in the caufe of truth; and that you may be honoured as an inftrument in bringing many fons to glory. I now cheerfully fubmit the foregoing obfervations to the judgment of a candid public. At the fame time humbly imploring the Father of mercies fo to overrule the present controverfy, that truth may be fupported, error detected, and the ordinances restored to their primitive purity: that we may be agreed, not only fo as to hold occafional communion together, but according to the apostle's defire, that we may be perfectly joined together in the fame mind, and in the fame judgment, with respect to the MODE and ORDER of gospel inftitutions; and that we may all speak the fame thing. Then indeed, what the prophet faw in vifion thall in a gospel sense be accomplifhed; The envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the aaverfaries of Judah fhall be cut off: Ephraim fhall not envy Judah, and Judah fball not vex Ephraim.* With joy we anticipate the happy day, when in a peculiar fenfe, The LORD fhall be KING over all the earth in that day there hall be one LORD, and his name one! One faith! One baptifm. His church, ona body; and the watchmen, with regard to gospel inftitutions, hall fee eye to eye; and all difputing ceafe forever. : While waiting the arrival of that happy period, it hhail be my constant prayer, "If I am right, thy grace impari, If I am wrong, O teach my heart *Ifai. xi. 13. + Zech. xiv. 9. Eph. iv. 5 In page 67, fecond paragraph, inftead of the three first lines, read as follows-If indeed it be evident from scripture," That none but fuch, zubo are thus vifibly, and in the charitable judgment of the church, believers,” && |