is immerfion. But a refort to fuch means will never decide the main queftion. Saith a modern author, "But when an article of christian doctrine of momentous importance, is either affailed or defended by criticism alone, there is always fomething fufpicious." Much, indeed, has been faid on our fide of the queftion, against the baptists, for excluding all christians from their communion, who do not unite with them, in believing that christian baptism is immerfion. It is true that ferious and extensive evils refult from a rigid adherence to this fentiment. Their excluding all pædobaptifts from a visible standing in the church of Chrift, creates coldness, and excites jealoufies among brethren. In confequence of their rigid adherence to their peculiar notions of baptifm, the baptifts and pædobaptifts act, in many respects, in oppofition to one another, and weaken and deftroy one another. They lofe all that energy, which their united influence would give them. But great and ferious as thefe evils are, the baptifts are entirely confiftent with their own fyftem. If baptifm be immerfion only, then all who are not immersed are unbaptized. Their practice, in treating pædobaptifts as unbaptized perfons, results from the belief that nothing is baptifm but immerfion. Grant them their creed refpecting this fubject, and grant them too, that baptifm is a term of chriftian communion, and they are shielded to the heel. Their errour is, their maintaining that baptifm, in all cafes, is immerfion. This is certainly taking a stand which can never be fupported by express fcripture authority. Where, in all the Bible, is it faid, in fo many words, that baptifm fhall be administered after this or that manner? When our Lord gave directions concern→

ing prayer, he faid, "After this manner therefore pray ye." Had there been the like explicit declarations, in favour of baptifm by immerfion, the cause would be decided in fupport of the baptifts. But fince this pofitive declaration concerning baptifm by immerfion is wanting; fince baptifm does not, in all cafes, mean the total immerfion of the thing baptized; fince it is certain that, in some instances, baptism means no more than the application of water, either by afperfion or affufion, it undoubtedly follows, that the baptifts affume too much to themselves. Accuracy in faith refts upon the authority on which it is built. If there is pofitive divine declarations, in fupport of our creed, we are not chargeable with error, in pofitively maintaining our belief. If a fubject be left undecided, as to the manner of performing it, no man may be pofitive, in declaring how it fhall be performed. Had the baptists embraced immerfion, as in their opinion the fcriptural baptifm, and not have pofitively denied that affufion was fcriptural baptifm, they would have exhibited a modefty much more becoming chriftians than what now appears in their writings. Since the baptifts are not able to bring pofitive conclufive proof, that in all cafes baptifm in the New Testament does mean immersion only, they seem to be tenacious of an article of their faith, not so much because they have fcriptural reasons for it, as becaufe it is a favourite idea in their fcheme.

Take away John's baptifm, as an example, and the confequence is, they must refort to times fucceeding the refurrection of Christ, to determine whether baptifm is immerfion or not. It has already been obferved, that there is no proof, that

John baptized by immerfion. Confider candidly the inftance of Paul's baptifm, Acts, ix. 9-18. Paul appears to have been baptized in the fame place, where he had remained three days.

The circumstances attending his baptifm, are fuch as naturally lead us to think that he never went out of the house to receive baptifm. "And he received fight forthwith, and arofe and was baptized." No man, in reading the account of Paul's converfion and baptifm, would ever fuppofe that he was plunged all over in water.

It is highly improbable, that the jailer and his houfe were baptized by immerfion. Paul and Silas had been confined in the inner prifon. The jailer brought them out of the inner prison, and probably placed them in his own apartment. It was a late hour in the night when the jailer was baptized. It is not faid that they went out of the houfe to a river or to any water. Nothing is faid about their return to the houfe again. Nothing is faid about their changing garments on this occafion. Nothing is faid, which makes it even probable, that their baptifm was performed by immerfion. Peter's fpeech, at the baptifm of Cornelius and his friends, imports the application of water in a manner different from immerfion. "Can any

man forbid water, that these fhould not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as me ?"

This form of fpeech, taken in connection with their being baptized at the command of Peter, makes it probable that they were baptized in the fame place where they were; and that water was brought in fome veffel for the purpose.

Without having recourfe to other inftances of fimilar import, it may be obferved, that there is no pofitive proof that baptifm, in the apoftolic age, was in any cafe performed by immerfion. It certainly cannot be proved that immerfion was invariably in ufe, from any circumftances attending the administration of baptifm. No mention, in a fingle cafe, is made of changing garments on the occafion; a circumftance, the omiffion of which it is difficult to account for, upon the fuppofition thatbaptism was invariably performed by immersion.

If any perfon, after all, fhould believe that the apostles baptized by plunging all over in water, because it is faid that they reforted to the water, when they baptized; and at the time of adminiftering baptifm, they went down into the water, and came up out of the water, let him confult the following extract from the Rev. Ebenezer Chaplin's Treatife on the Nature and Importance of the Sacraments, relative to the words in queftion, page 123-127.

"Prefuming on the candour, and indulgence of my readers; I obferve, that the words under confideration, are a part of speech called prepofitions. The Greek word in thofe places tranflated In, is En. The word expreffing, Jefus went up Out of the water, is Apo. The word expreffing, Philip and the Eunuch went down Into the water, is Eis. The word expreffing they went Out of the water, is Ek.

"Now I could eafily have told, that these prepofitions, and all others, take various conftructions, and different words, in tranflating from one language to another; according to the different circumstances attending, events related; and according to the different Idioms of languages. And I

could have given a long catalogue, of thofe various conftructions, from the Lexicon and Dictionaries; without costing me any labour. But as those constructions in the Lexicon, are grounded on all the Greek authors extant and as I from the beginning, profeffed to go folely by the Scriptures; I have given myself, the trouble, and labour to examine all those four prepofitions, through the books wherein they are ufed, relative to baptism, viz. Mat. Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. I have examined those prepofitions, in all thofe five books, how they are tranflated in every place, where they are used.* There are of all that I have examined, 2859. En is used 1033 times, of which 47, are rendered in adverbs. 25, The fense is involved in other words, fo that there is no diftinct word in English, answering to En, in the Greek. The reft, 964, are rendered in English prepofitions, seventeen different ways; viz. in, by, with, among, within, for, under, at, through, on, before, unto, into, of, to, about, over. It is tranflated in, more than all the reft; but it is rendered at 53 times, by 44, with 42, among 45, on 30. The reft are lefs, as 10, 7, &c.

"I will give the reader examples of those I have fpecified.

Examples of En tranflated.

"IN-Mark, i. 4. John did baptize En, in the wilderness.

* I have aimed, to make the examination correct; yet very probable, in fuch a multiplicity of words, there may be fome errours: But it may be relied on, there are none fuch as affect the object in view; viz. to give the common reader, a general Idea, of the various couftructions of words, in tranflating from one language to another.