world." But as soon as the heart is subdued by divine grace, it freely yields itself to Christ. He wields his sceptre over it. The sinner, who was a "stranger and foreigner," now becomes a "fellow-citizen of the saints, and of the household of God." As such, he is required to "come out from the world, to be separate," and to make it manifest, by taking the oath of loyalty to Christ. Viewed in this light, baptism, as well as the eucharist, was anciently called a sacrament or oath. Mr. Adams evidently accords in this view of the subject, when he says, in reference to the Israelites being "baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea," "baptized, in this case, denotes merely a devotement, without reference to its being done by immersion, or in any other way; the writer probably meant to express this thought, that the Israelites, as they followed the cloud, were sworn under Moses, by the solemn act of passing through the divided sea under his guidance."* It must be admitted, therefore, that baptism into the name of Christ is an oath of allegiance to him as a Sovereign. Now it is the prerogative of a sovereign to dictate the terms of an oath to those who shall take it. It would be at war with all order and propriety, for each subject to do it for Page 114.

himself, for then the terms of the oath might infinitely vary; its import would not be definite or uniform, and it would fail entirely to be a common bond of obligation or a tie of attachment. It might be expected, therefore, from the nature of the case, that Christ, as a King, would set the terms of the oath in which his followers are to be sworn unto him. He has done it. As all the nations are his by inheritance, as he is the Head of a church designed to be universal, it was fit that the terms of the oath should be prescribed in a universal language. But what kind of a language is that? Of words? By no means; but of emblems. A simple symbol is adapted to arrest the eye, to affect the heart, and to be, to a great extent, its own interpreter. Such is baptism; "a devotement" to Christ, an oath of entire consecration to him, a voluntary yielding up of the whole body and spirit," a living sacrifice" to his glory. It gives a beautiful and strong expression to the feelings of the Christian, who can say,

"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all!"*

* Appendix B.

If this be so, how adverse to the true spirit of baptism are the views of Mr. Adams, when he says,*

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*

some think that baptism is a profession of religion, and that, for this reason, they must be baptized when they make that profession. But the Scriptures represent baptism as something given to us, rather than something done by us; a privilege to be received, rather than a duty to be performed. So the eunuch seemed to think. He looked upon baptism as something to be done to him and for him. See here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?' And Philip said not, thou oughtest, but thou mayest. It was permission and a grant, rather than an act." If this reasoning be just, then receiving the oath of allegiance to a civil government is not strictly a man's own act. What though it be administered to him, and be a privilege? Does he not take it at his own proposal, and is he not held responsible for it, as his own act? Let him violate it, and see if he is not treated as a moral agent in the case. What though Philip did not say thou oughtest? The duty was involved in the statement of Christ's command, a knowledge of which had, doubtless, prompted the eu * Page 96.

nuch's application for baptism. If baptism be not a duty, as well as a privilege, what did Christ mean when he said,* that all the people and the publicans justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, not being baptized of him. If this reasoning from the use of the passive voice be correct, apply it to the phrase, repent, and be converted. Conversion to God is "a privilege to be received, rather than a duty to be performed!"

"Baptism," says our author, "is not our profession unto God, but his profession to us." If the apostle Peter had anticipated this error, he could not have touched it more directly than he did, when he declared, that baptism is "the answer of a good conscience toward God." The word used is exeqorηua, which is rendered by the lexicographers, a pledge, engagement, promise or vow. It would be difficult to frame a more explicit assertion, that baptism is our profession unto God.

So Paul says to the Galatians, "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." The original term is évɛdvoaσ0ɛ; presenting the idea † 1 Pet. 3: 21. + 3: 27.

*Luke 7: 29, 30.

of investing one's self with a robe. All who were baptized into Christ, were considered as having put on the robe of the Christian profession.

6. Another internal evidence of adult immersion as a scriptural and reasonable practice is, that it maintains the harmony which originally existed between baptism and communion, inasmuch as all who are prepared for the one, are proper subjects of the other. That this harmony originally existed between the two ordinances, is very obvious from the epistles and Acts of the Apostles. The three thousand who were baptized on the day of Pentecost, it is observed incidentally, "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, in breaking of bread and in prayers." It seemed to be regarded as much a matter of course, that a baptized person should be a recipient of the ecclesiastical communion, as of the doctrine of the apostles. At the same time, it is clear, that none but baptized persons did compose the church. In the language of another, "in every instance, where the history of the first planting of a church is detailed, we see it composed of those who believed in Christ, and were baptized in his name; and in the epistles, whenever baptism is