est; upon this the other answers, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Acts viii. 37. Therefore,

3. In the nature of it, baptism is a public ordinance; appointed on purpose for a profession of faith, that it may come abroad unto all men. It is not a thing to be done in a corner. But in giving up, either yourselves or your children, your allegiance to Christ, and your dependence on him, ought to be seen and read of all. Your faith should be spoken of, throughout the whole world. Rom. i. 8. Nor is there to a private Christian a greater opportunity of confessing Christ before men, than in the administration of this solemnity.

4. The particular declaration that you make in this ordinance, is of the God, whose you are, and whom you serve. It is the thing for which you are baptized, to let the world know the name of the Lord that is called upon you, and to whom you have bound yourselves, by a perpetual covenant, that shall not be forgotten. There are several obligations contained in baptism; but the immediate, the principal, the supreme design of the institution itself, is that you may mention the name of the Lord your God. He says, thou art my people, and they shall say the Lord is my God. Therefore,

5. This profession is made in such a way, that mankind may understand it. If they mistake you, and are not able to tell, whether you worship one God or three; whether three persons or two powers; whether three equals

or two subordinates; whether as united in one nature, or distinguished into three; the very end of baptism is lost, and instead of convincing the world, you only confound them.

6. As this is an ordinance of Christ Jesus, it must be administered in that certain form of words, that he himself has chosen. With this order he opened out the gospel dispensation; and as that dispensation will last to the end of the world, so shall this solemnity.

7. The words ought to be taken in their plain and natural sense, because they are a lasting form to the end of time. For Christ to give us expressions, that people cannot understand, would be only to abuse them. It is unworthy of him, who is the light of the world, and in whose mouth there was no guile. By this form they must know, to what God I surrender either myself or my infant. If the words have not a certain sound, we are only speaking into the air, There are five particulars, contained in them.

(1.) That the name into which we are baptized is above every name, and can be no other than that of the most high God. It contains, introduces, and assures, a full surrender of all that we are, that we have, or that we do. This cannot be done to a creature, without injustice, idolatry, and darkness. owe it only to him that made us, who is the rock of our salvation. It is not a tribute to principalities, powers, and dominions in heavenly places; but to him whose name alone is Jehovah, the most High over all the earth.

We

(2.) By this form of sound words that we are to hold fast, it appears that this God is no more than one; and therefore we are said to be baptized, not into names as of many; but we are given up to Jehovah, who is one, and his name one, in all the earth. Zech. xiv. 9. They who call us Tritheists are guilty of belieing, both the Lord and his people. If we are so, this sentence will not fit our mouths.

(3.) There are neither more nor fewer than three, comprehended in the glorious individual name, that is called upon us. When Christ told them, how it was to be adminis tered, he acted, as it is said in that day he would do. He did not give them proverbs, or parables, or rhetorical figures, and words of a dubious meaning, but he showed them plain ly from the Father. John xvi. 25.

(4.) These three, are distinguished in the divine nature, as persons are in the human. One is not another. There are three that bear record in heaven. 1 John v. 7. It is no objection, that we cannot explain personality in God; alas! you know not the principle of individution in any thing.

(5.) It is plain from the whole form, that if there is but one God and three distinct persons, then these three, must be the same in one nature, and equal in power and glory. The question is not, whether we are able to conceive of such a being, and much less whether it lies in our power to unfold it; but whether this is the meaning of those wholesome words that the Lord Jesus Christ has given us? Do

not the people that hate our religion, under stand them thus? Is not our baptism an abomination to the learned heathen, because the doctrine involved, and established in it, is incomprehensible?

These several propositions I have defended and maintained, as the design of this ordinance, and the perpetual revelation of the bible. This was the profession of faith we made in baptism; and from that period are obliged to hold it fast without wavering, that we do not profane the covenant of our fathers. Mal. ii. 10.

The words that I have now chosen, will let us see the glory and importance of that faith, into which you were baptized; and the neces sity that is upon us to hold fast, not only the faith itself, but the profession we have made of it, before all the world.

There are two things, that a little surprise me in our translation.

That

1. The connexion of the words. clause, having our bodies washed with pure water, comes in at the end of a sentence that we had before, as if it was an argument for drawing nigh to God with a true heart, and a full assurance of faith. And in that view we must range the whole paragraph to this purpose, that this duty is considered three ways; in our encouragement for it, our temper in it, and our obligations to it. And each of these are twofold.

First, our encouragement for this privilege, is derived from two things; 1st, the suffer

ings of Christ; we have boldness to enter into the holiest of all, through the blood of Jesus; 2dly, his exaltation; we have an HighPriest over the house of God.

Secondly, Our temper in drawing near to God, includes two things; 1st, sincerity towards him, which is called a true heart. 2dly, satisfaction in him, or a full assurance of faith.

Thirdly, The obligation to this work, arises also from two particulars; 1st. The nature of our privilege in the duty of prayer; we have hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience; 2dly, the design of the profession that we made in baptism; our bodies are washed with pure

water.

This is the disposition that our translators have made of the context; but I have lately consulted eight or nine several editions of the Greek Testament, and I find no more than one of them, that agrees to it. For these words, having our bodies washed with pure water, are brought in at the beginning of the 23d verse, and connected, not to what went before, but to what follows, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.

I shall therefore cast the whole argument into another scheme. We read of the full atonement that Christ made by his death, of which we have the greatest evidence from his being an High-Priest at the right hand of God. Now, there are two things, all along quite through the epistle, deduced from this doctrine; a liberty of prayer before God, and a boldness in profession before men.