A. A death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness; for being by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath, we are hereby made the children of grace.

Q. What is required of persons to be baptized?

A. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin; and Faith, whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that Sacrament.

Q. Why then are Infants baptized, when 'by reason of their tender age they cannot perform them?

A. Because they promise them both by their Surėties; which promise, when they come to age, themselves are bound to perform.

But yet at the same time infants cannot do anything in their tender years; but this great work depends upon the grace of God, and that to instruct their sureties in the good and right way; and that their sureties, by the help of God, should instruct their children in the good and right way of Christianity, so that they might be taught to shun the paths of sin below, and so that by grace, through Christ, they might at last be brought to their heavenly Father, and to his rest hereafter. But again, if the sureties are wicked, and enemies to God, so that they are not in the love and favour of God, then how can they perform anything that is good and acceptable in the sight of God for their children? No, surely they cannot: but at the same time I believe that children of wicked parents will have a day of grace given them, and that they will not be judged according to the deeds of their parents, but that hereafter they will be judged or rewarded according to their own works, whether they are good or bad; as for my own part, I could freely take little children up in my arms, and in the name of Christ bless them, with a desire, through Christ, that they all may inherit eternal glory. But speaking of wicked living parents, or Godfathers, or Godmothers, I do confess that it is a grief to a true Christian, and to the Spirit of God itself, for them to address Almighty God in such a way as they do, and that by making a false pretence at the ministration of public Baptism of Infants as they do, for they say and do not. And now hear the question that is asked of the child, and by that you may see what they have promised.

Q. What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you? A. They did promise and vow three things in my name. First, that I should renounce the devil and all his works,

the pomps and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh, Secondly, that I should believe all the articles of the Christian Faith. And thirdly, that I should keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life.

Therefore I believe it to be a great deception in the sight of God, for wicked, reprobate, and profane sinners, to address God at this holy Sacrament, by making such promises and vows as they do; now I would advise such persons as these, not to take this holy Sacrament in hand, except they repent themselves, because God will not accept the service of a sinner; and if some little infants die, and have not sufficient sureties, and are not baptized, yet I believe that they will go better to heaven without the sinners' help, than with it. Now probably there may be thousands of unfit persons in the world, that have practised what I have above mentioned, but it may be likely that many have done it through ignorance, but I speak this to your shame; nevertheless let them turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah lv. 7.) And again, first I believe that all parents ought to be true Christians themselves, and then to make their profession known by this Sacrament, called Baptism, if they have not been baptized before; and then, if they entreat the Lord that their children should be brought into this covenant of grace, so that they believe that the Lord will accept of it; and then if it is their desire, no doubt but what they may have their children baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. But all people are not of this opinion, therefore let every one do as he thinks proper, but let him be sure that he doeth all for the glory and honour of God, in sincerity and truth. But again, first of all, the parents of children should be, or ought to be, regenerated, and born again the second time by grace themselves, and then to make their profession known to the world by these Sacraments, which our blessed Lord hast instituted in his Church: that is, if they have not attended this ordinance before, and then, if you see it good, I will not hold any argument nor dispute against you, why you should not have your children baptized: but remember, that Abraham found grace in the sight of God, first, and then he was circumcised, and then afterwards, his son Isaac was circumcised. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, let him pray and trust in

God, it may be that he will not depart from it. But again, now speaking of the ministration of Baptism to such as are of riper years and are able to answer for themselves, I do rather in one respect, commend it before infant's Baptism; because they can confess, and profess, and declare to the spectators, or the congregations, what the love of God, through Christ hath done for their souls, and at such spiritual seasons as these, when the holy spirit of God moveth in the place, and goeth from heart to heart, as quick as the moments fly, it may be then, that many souls are convicted of sin, so that they feel the stings of a guilty conscience and remorse in their minds and it may be, that such seasons as these, are days of God's special grace and calls unto many; so that if they will embrace it, and return unto the Lord with a whole purpose of heart, then they will find forgiveness as their fellow sinners have done. And now as there hath been great arguments concerning Baptism, and that by many professors of religion, whether sprinkling is right, or whether washing is right, or whether dipping by immersion is right, therefore it may be required of me what my opinion is concerning this. Now, concerning Baptism, my friends, I believe, that I could write out a book to some great extent, but not much more to your profit, perhaps, than this little book is, for I believe that God hath not sent me to dispute much with men, about such a thing as this, but only that I should speak the truth, in a plain way, and you may see if you read all my works, that the Lord hath given me something else to do, therefore I omit, and intend to be very brief, and will sum it up in a few words. Now suppose there were three men come to a Minister, and made a confession, and declared that God had pardoned their sins, and that He had wrought a change in their souls, and now they are come with a desire to be baptized, and so their requests were granted; and when they come unto the water, the first shall say, my desire is to be baptized by sprinkling; the second shall say, my desire is to be baptized by washing, or pouring of water upon my head; the third shall say, my desire is to be baptized by dipping, or that is to say immersion; now which of these three men should you think the Lord delighteth most in? Perhaps your reply may be, it is hard to say; but I will tell you; it is not I believe material which way they were baptized, but I believe, that the Lord delighteth in him that loveth most; for without love, it is impossible to please

God, for God is love: therefore except we love God, and the children of God, our profession is vain, and, By this shall all men know, saith the Holy One, that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John xiii. 35.) And there is nothing greater than holy love; therefore if the love of Christ dwelleth in us, that is all, and in sum this is all, therefore I do not intend to say any thing more upon this subject now, only that is, I shall point out to you by chapter and verse, and bring to your view where you may find out with a little seeking, most of the principal, and chief, and true passages concerning Baptism in the word of God, in which you may see as follows, for your own consideration. (Matt. iii. 6, 13, 16. chap. xxviii. 19.-Mark xvi. 16.-Luke iii. 16, 21. -John iii. 5, 22, 23.-chap. iv. 1.-Acts ii. 38.-chap. viii. 12, 13.-chap. viii. 36.—chap. ix. 18.-chap. xvi. 15. 33.) And observe what Saint Paul saith. (Rom. vi. 3, 4, 5, 6.-1 Cor. i. 13. to the xvii. chap. 10, 4, 2.-chap. xii. 13. see Col. ii. 11, 12.-Mark xi. 30.-Gal. iii. 27.)

Therefore let no man despise this Sacrament, for if they do, they despise what Christ hath instituted in his Church. But again, Let no man trust in the outward form of it, but let every man trust by faith in the grace and love of Christ, which is given unto us, by the Father, and through the Son, and is communicated unto us by the Holy Ghost. So be it. Amen.

And now, my dear friends, if we are sincere and possess this love that I have before mentioned, and are well-wishers for the cause of Christ, then we may draw near by faith, with an humble and obedient heart, and partake of that Sacrament called the Lord's Supper. But we must first pray, and so by the help and grace of God, repent of our sins, and then we may come humble and feed upon Christ, by faith with thanksgiving; but we must be sure to come in humble love and obedience, because Christ is love. Therefore if we are the children of God, we ought, and must love one another, because heaven is love, we must not have any hatred or malice in our hearts one against another. And again, we see at the Passover, how the children of Israel did feed on the Paschal Lamb, which thing I believe in type, was no less that Christ himself. But let us remember how they were to keep up the Passover, and that by eating unleavened bread, for notwithstanding, although the just judgment of God came upon the Egyptians, yet at the same time, the children of Israel were

not to have any malice nor hatred in their hearts; for if the wicked destroy themselves, I believe it is not the will of God. Therefore my beloved brethren, having received Christ Jesus our Lord, let us keep a feast in holy joy, continually delighting ourselves in Christ Jesus, it must be a feast of unleavened bread: kept in charity without the leaven of malice, and in sincerity without the leaven of hypocrisy. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. (1 Cor. v. 7, 8.)

O Lord, I entreat thee through Christ, to help me to repent of my sins; O pardon all my sins I beseech thee, and give me a full assurance of thy love and grace, for I cannot trust in the outward form of the water, nor of the bread and wine; but by grace and faith will I trust in my beloved Saviour, until this warfare be overpast: and then through thy righteous merits, O my kind Redeemer, let thy blessed and watchful Angels, convey my soul to the bosom of thy love. And may this be the happy lot and portion of all them that are well wishers for the cause of Christ. Amen.

END OF THE EIGHTEENTH BOOK,

BY EDWARD CROOK.