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BOOKS AND PAMPHLETR RECEIVED.-The Globe Prepared for Man; a Guide to Geology -Charles Roussel; on Industry and Honesty-Dr. Tyng; on Christian Titles-The Journey of John Wardle -The Faithful Promiser-The Temperance Movement-Band of Hope Illustrated sheet Almanack 1854-Infant Sprinkling and Believers Baptism weighed in the Balance-Successful Men of Modern Times-The Scripture Pocket Book; The Christian Almanack; Penny Almanack 32mo; The Pocket Book Almanack; The Penny Sheet Almanack 1854-Morning Dewdrops-Autobiography of an Ex-Capuchin-Steps to the Bible Mine-Bible Class Magazine 1853-Notes on Scripture Lessons 1853-Childs Own Magazine 1853-Sunday School Class Register and Diary 1854-Autobiography of a £5 note-Kettles Temperance Memorials-Barnes on Daniel, 2 vols.-The Coming Rest-Armageddon. BOOKS FOR REVIEW to be forwarded to the London Publisher, or MR. WINKS, Leicester. Advertisements for the Baptist Reporter. SCALE OF CHARGES. Advertisements and Post Office Orders to be sent to Winks and Son, Leicester, by the 21st of the preceding month. Insertions must reach Leicester by the 24th. TO MINISTERS, STUDENTS, &c. AYNES'S BOOK CIRCULAR, published monthly, contains works in Divinity and post free on application. New Books supplied to order on favourable terms. Books bought and exchanged. ALEXANDER HEYLIN, (late R. Baynes) 28, Paternoster Row, London. TO PROVINCIAL MINISTERS. A Considerable addition may be made to a small income by the Agency of a Life Assurance Office, which has for its object the benefit of the poor. A large Commission is allowed. Address, Y. Z., 4, Broadway, Ludgate Hill. CLASSICAL AND COMMERCIAL COLLEGIATE SCHOOL, THECADEMY, Leicestershire, Conducted Spalding, Lincolnshire. RE The above School is most pleasantly situated, in a town remarkable for its salubrity. An extensive garden and play-ground are attached to the premises, and no effort by Mr. D. H. CREATON, and Superintended by his Father, the REV. W. H. CREATON, will be re-opened, on the 16th instant. TERMS from £17 to £20 per annum. WANTED. RESPECTABLE YOUTH, from 15 to 17 years of age, as an Apprentice to is spared for the intellectual advancement, the Drapery and Grocery Trade. Apply to moral improvement, and domestic comfort Mr. M. Scott, Melbourne. BAPTIST REPORTER. JANUARY, 1854. A VOICE FROM INDIA ON BAPTISM. WHAT is Baptism? There are, to speak in common language, three forms of baptisin; namely, Sprinkling, Affusion or pouring, and Immersion; and we have now to inquire, which of these is the right or scriptural form. Affusion is now but little practised; the great majority of christians, either sprinkle or immerse; it is to these two modes, therefore, that our attention should be directed. If we ask; Which was the original mode? which was the mode practised by the apostles and primitive christians? we think, that almost all competent judges will own, that the primitive mode was immersion; for many learned men, who are even zealous for sprinkling, are prompt to acknowledge that immersion was the original mode. How then came sprinkling to be so prevalent? Sprinkling was introduced in the third century; and it came in, as a natural consequence, of a very erroneous doctrine, which then began to prevail. Men, at that time, began to believe that those who died unbaptized could not be saved. When then, a man, who had not been baptized, lay on his death-bed, what was to be done? He could not, in that state, be immersed; and yet, if he died unbaptized, he would be lost. In this emergency, sprinkling was thought of; and a few drops of water were thrown into the face of the dying man. Yet this was not thought proper baptism; and a man so baptized, was not, we believe, considered eligible for a bishop or A pastor of a church, because his baptism was deficient. Sprinkling, however, prevailed but little, and it was in disrepute even down to the time of the Reformation. We learn from Robinson's History of Baptism, that our Queen, Elizabeth, and her brother, King Edward, were both immersed; and that their immersion was trine immersion; that is, each child was immersed three times; one of them in the month of September, and the other in that of October. Thus there was no fear, in those days, of immersing even royal children in weather that was not very warm. But some may be inclined to decide in favour of sprinkling, “Because," say they, "The bishops and clergy of the established Church, and all the nobility, are in favour of sprinkling; and should we pretend to be wiser than they ?" It is very true that these men favour sprinkling; but are we to be led by numbers, when we well know, that, in religious matters, great numbers are often in the wrong? An argument drawn from numbers only, does not affect a Baptist; he cares not a straw for being in the minority; his sole object is to be in the right. He has learned, from the Saviour, that it is better to be in the right way with the few, than in the wrong way with the many. There is one important truth to be considered; namely, that "every man must give an account of himself to God." It should also be considered, that though sprinkling is now extensively | favour of immersion. If you doubt my assertion, turn to your prayer-books, and there you will read these striking words: "The priest shall dip it [i. e. the child,] in the water discreetly and warily." Thus you may see that those who practise immersion, or give their verdict in favour of it, are a very numerous body of professing christians. It practised, yet that immersion prevails very extensively too; more extensively, we think, than many advocates of sprinkling suppose. Sprinkling, it has been observed, prevails wherever popery has prevailed; but in other places, we find immersion. Thus, in the vast empire of Russia, sprinkling is unknown; every one there, how cold soever the weather may be, is We may here mention a few arguimmersed, and very often the placements that may be adduced in favour of immersion is a river. In the Greek of immersion. Baptize is not an EngChurch there is nothing but immer-lish word, it is a Greek term; and, if sion; among the Armenians the case is the same; and so we believe it is in all the eastern churches where popery has not been known. In many versions of the scriptures, the verb baptize, is rendered by a word that means to dip. Thus Luther, in his German version, has used, for baptize, a word that means to dip; and in the Dutch version, the word to baptize is doop, in English, dip. Yet, Dutch ministers, while they say to the child, "Ick doope u,"-I dip younever dip the child at all; they only sprinkle the poor infant. In the church at Batavia, I have, several times, seen the minister dip his fingers in a basin of water, and say to the child," Ick doope u in den name des Vaders, ende des Soons, ende des Heyligen Geests,"I dip you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost-while he only sprinkled a few drops of water in the child's face. Thus he baptized his fingers, and rhantized the child. But I must not forget to speak of a large and respectable body of christians, well known to us all, who have given their verdict in favour of immersion. This is a body of christians of which some of you think highly, and to which some of you belong; I mean the Church of England. "The Church of England!" say some, with surprise, "is not the Church of England a firm advocate for sprinkling?" From her practice she would appear a steady advocate for sprinkling; but I must again say, that her verdict is given in you consult a Greek Lexicon, you will find that the meaning is, dip or immerse. Ask any Greek the meaning of the word baptize, and he will tell you that it means to immerse. would be easy to quote many passages, from Greek authors, in which this word is used in the sense of dip, or immerse, or of placing a thing under water; but no passage can be found where it has the sense of sprinkling. It is well known, both to sprinklers and immersionists, that Josephus, the celebrated Jewish historian, uses the word baptize to express the sinking of a ship. He tells us that he was once in a ship that was baptized, i. e. sunk, in the night, and that he and others were obliged to swim all night, and that they were taken up by a ship in the morning. Is not this proof enough that the word baptize means to immerse? But, christians, consult your Bibles; and allow me to ask you, In what places was baptism administered? You will find three places expressly mentioned; namely, Jordan, non, and "a certain water." Jordan, you know, is a river; and, therefore, a proper place for immersion. In this river our Lord was immersed; and all christians ought to follow his example, and be immersed in water as he was. O all ye Saints who do the Saviour love, Of Ænon, it is said, (John iii. 23.) "that there was much water there." 66 high is mightier than the noise of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea." Cannot every person acquainted with the phraseology of scripture, clearly see that the floods in the third verse, are the many waters of the fourth verse? Who can be so void of understanding as not to perceive that the many waters here mean much water. In Rev. xiv. 2, it is said; "I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder." Would the little rills, supposed to have been at as non, make a noise like thunder, these many waters did? In Psalm xviii. 16, David speaks thus: "He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters." David here speaks of some great troubles out of which the Lord had delivered him. The Lord, he says, "drew me out of many waters." pare this great deliverance to his being drawn out of a rill of water four inches Does he com This statement conveys to us the idea that John chose that place for immersion because there was a great quantity of water there. But our opponents, the advocates of sprinkling, not liking the idea that John chose this place on account of the quantity of water, have contrived a very ingenious method of removing this vast quantity of water, and placing in its stead a very small quantity. Much water," they say, "is an incorrect translation," and the passage ought to be rendered, "There were many waters there." And they conclude that these many waters were many little purling springs, and that John chose this situation for the convenience which these little purling springs would afford for watering the cattle of those who came to be baptized. This gloss may satisfy some who wish to find an apology for not being immersed; but I have no wish to be a party to thus wresting the scriptures from their proper sense. But what if the Greek phrase, "many waters," is sometimes used to express a great quantity of water? That it is so used we believe our opponents, many of whom are Greek scholars, cannot deny. And if the plural form, many waters," is used in Greek to indicate a great quantity of water, we contend, that the rendering of the passage in our version, "There was much water there," is perfectly correct. In many passages, both in the Old Testament and in the New, we have the expression, "many waters;" and I believe it will be found, on consulting these passages, that the meaning always is a large quantity of water. The following three passages are rendered literally, according to the Greek, as may be seen by referring to the Greek Testament and the Septuagint. Hence, had the passage under consideration been rendered 66 many waters," it would have had precisely the same meaning as "much water." See Psalm xciii. 3, 4. "The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods We come now to another point; we lift up their waves. The Lord on now ask, who ought to be baptized? deep? I will trouble you with only one more quotation. In Jeremiah li. 13, we have this remarkable address to Babylon: "O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come." Here the many waters, beyond all doubt, mean the Euphrates, for it was upon this great river that Babylon stood. Pædobaptists may think that their way of explaining the phrase, "many waters," is very ingenious; but, we think, it is a sinful wresting of the scriptures. The other place in which baptism is said to have been administered is, “a certain water," mentioned in the eighth chapter of Acts. In this water Philip baptized the Ethiopian nobleman. The phrase, "A certain water," and that water in a desert, renders it highly probable that it was a pool of water; a blessing sometimes found in á desert, and which gladdens the heart of the traveller. Could it have been less than a pool, seeing Philip and the nobleman both descended into it? |