ANSW. III. I think, nothing can be alledged from the Holy Scripture, that is fufficient to prove a profeffion of godliness to be not a qualification requifite in order to a due and regular participation of the paffover.

Although none of the requifite moral qualifications for this Jewish facrament, either of one kind or other, are near fo clearly made known in the Old Testament, as the qualifications for the Chriftian facraments are in the New; and although the fuppofing a vifibility, either of moral fincerity, or fanctifying grace, to be requifite, is (both refpecting the one cafe and the other) involved in fome obfcurity and difficulty; yet I would humbly offer what appears to me to be the truth concerning .that matter, in the things that follow.

(1.) Although the people in Egypt, before the first paffover, probably made no explicit public profeffion at all, either of their humiliation for their former idolatry, or of prefent devotedness of heart to God; it being before any particular inftitution of an exprefs public profeffion, either of godlinefs, or repentance in cafe of fcandal: Yet I think, there was fome fort of public manifeftation, or implicit profeffion of both. Probably in Egypt they implicitly profeffed the fame things, which they afterwards profeffed more exprefsly and folemnly in the wilderness. The Ifraelites in Egypt had very much to affect their hearts, before the laft plague, in the great things that God had done for them; especially in fome of the latter plagues, wherein they were fo remarkably distinguished from the Egyptians :" They feem now to be brought to a tender frame, and a disposition to fhew much refpect to God (fee Exod. xii. 27.); and were probably now very forward to profess themselves devoted to him, and true penitents.

(2.) After the inftitution of an explicit public profeffion of devotedness to God, or (which is the fame thing) of true piety of heart, this was wont to be required in order to a partaking of the paffover and other facrifices. and facraments that adult perfons were admitted to. Accordingly all the adult perfons that were circumcifed

at Gilgal, had made this profeffion a little before on the plains of Moab; as has been already obferved. Not that all of them were truly gracious; but feeing they all had a profeffion and vifibility, Chrift in his dealings with his church as to external things, acted not as the Searcher of Hearts, but as the Head of the visible church, accommodating himself to the prefent ftate of mankind; and therefore he reprefents himself in Scripture as trusting his people's profeffion; as I formerly obferved.

(3.) In degenerate times in Ifrael, both priefts and people were very lax with refpect to covenanting with God, and profeffing devotednefs to him; and thefe profeffions were used, as public profeffions commonly are ftill in corrupt times, merely as matters of form and ceremony, at least by great multitudes.

(4.) Such was the nature of the Levitical difpenfation, that it had in no measure fo great tendency to preclude and prevent hypocritical profeffions, as the New Teftament difpenfation; particularly, on account of the vaitly greater darkness of it. For the covenant of grace was not then fo fully revealed, and confequently the nature of the conditions of that covenant not then fo well known: There was then a far more obfcure revelation of those great duties of repentance towards God and faith in the Mediator, and of those things wherein true holinefs confifts, and wherein it is diftinguished from other things: Persons then had not equal advantage to know their own hearts, while viewing themselves in this comparatively dim light of Mofes' law, as now they have in the clear fun-fhine of the gofpel. In that state of the minority of the church, the nature of true piety, as confifting in the Spirit of adoption, or ingenuous filial love to God, and as diftinguifhed from a Spirit of bondage, fervile fear, and felf-love, was not fo clearly made known. The Ifraelites were therefore the more ready to mistake, for true piety, that moral ferioufnefs and thofe warm affections and refolutions that refulted from that fpirit of bondage, which fhewed itfelf in Ifrael remarkably at Mount Sinal; and which throughout, all

the Old Testament times, they were especially incident

to.

(5.) God was pleased in a great measure to wink at and fuffer (though he did not properly allow) that laxnefs there was among the people, with regard to the visibility of holiness, and the moral qualifications requifite to an attendance on their facraments; as alfo he did in many other cafes of great irregularity, under that dark, imperfect, and comparatively carnal difpenfation; fuch as polygamy, putting away their wives at pleasure, the revenger of blood killing the man-flayer, &c.; and as he winked at the worshipping in high-places in Solomon's time (1 Kings iii. 4, 5.); and at the neglect of keeping the feaft of tabernacles according to the law, from Jofhua's time till after the captivity (Neh. viii. 17.); and as he winked at the neglect of the fynagogue-worfhip, or the public fervice of God in particular congregations, till after the captivity*, though the light of nature, together with the general rules of the law of Mofes, did fufficiently teach and require it.

(6.) It seems to be from time to time foretold in the prophecies of the Old Teftament, that there would be a great alteration in this refpect, in the days of the gofpel; that under the new difpenfation there fhould be far greater purity in the church. Thus, in the forementioned place in Ezekiel it is foretold, that "those who are

[vifibly] uncircumcifed in heart, fhould NO MORE enter "into God's fanctuary." Again, Ezek. xx. 37,38. “And "I will caufe you to pafs under the rod, and will bring .66 you into the bond of the covenant; and I will purge "out from among you the rebels, and them that tranf"gress against me." It seems to be a prophecy of the greater purity of thofe who are vifibly in covenant with God. Ifa. iv. 3. "And it fhall come to pass that he "that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerufa

*Prid. Connect. Part I. p. 354-536. and 555, 556. 9th Edit. The word tranflated fynagogues, Pfal. Ixxiv. 8. fignifies affemblies; and is fuppofed by the generality of learned men to relate to another fort of affemblies."

"lem, shall be called holy, even every one that is writ"ten among the living [i. e. has a name to live, or is "enrolled among the faints] in Jerufalem." Ifa. lii. 1. "Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerufalem, the holy "city; from henceforth there fhall NO MORE come to "thee the uncircumcifed and the unclean." Zech.

xiv. 21. "And in that day, there fhall be NO MORE

"the Canaanite in the houfe of the Lord."

(7.) This is just such an alteration as might reasonably be expected from what we are taught of the whole nature of the two difpenfations. As the one had carnal ordinances (fo they are called, Heb. ix. 10.), the other a Spiritual fervice (John iv. 24.); the one an earthly Canaan, the other an heavenly; the one an external Jerufalem, the other a spiritual; the one an earthly high-prieft, the other an heavenly; the one a worldly fanctuary, the other a fpiritual; the one a bodily and temporal redemption (which is all that they generally difcerned or underftood in the paffover), the other a Spiritual and eternal. And agreeably to these things, it was fo ordered in providence, that Ifrael, the congregation that should enter this worldly fanctuary, and attend thefe carnal ordinances, should be much more a worldly, carnal congregation, than the New Teftament congregation. One reafon why it was ordered in providence that there fhould be fuch a difference, feems to be this, viz. That the Meffiah might have the honour of introducing a ftate of greater purity and fpiritual glory. Hence God is faid to find fault with that ancient difpenfation of the covenant, Heb. viii. 7, 8. And the time of introducing the new difpenfation is called the time of reformation, -Heb. ix. 10. And one thing, wherein the amendment of what God found fault with in the former difpenfation fhould confift, the Apoftle intimates, is the greater pu rity and fpirituality of the church, Heb. viii. 7, 8. 11.

T

OBJECTION IV.

Ir is not reasonable to suppose, that the multitudes which John the Baptist baptized, made a profeffion of faving grace, or had any fuch vifibility of true piety, as has been infifted on.

ANSW. Thofe whom John baptized, came to him confeffing their fins, making a profeffion of fome kind of repentance; and it is not reasonable to fuppofe, the repentance they profeffed was fpecifically or in kind diverse from that which he had inftructed them in, and called them to, which is called repentance for the remiffion of fins; and that is faving repentance. John's baptifin is called the baptifm of repentance for the remiffion of fins: I know not how fuch a phrase can be reasonably understood any otherwife, than fo as to imply, that his baptifm was fome exhibition of that repentance, and a feal of the profeffion of it. Baptifm is a feal of fome fort of religious profeffion, in adult perfons: But the very name of John's baptifm fhews, that it was a feal of a profeffion of repentance for the remillion of fins. It is faid, Luke iii. 3.

John PREACHED the baptifm of repentance

for

the remiffion of fins." What can be understood by this, but bis preaching that men fhould now speedily turn to God, by true repentance and faith in the promised Saviour, and come and confefs their fins, and openly declare this repentance towards God, and faith in the Lamb of God, and that they fhould confirm and feal this their profeffion by baptifm, as well as therein receive the feal of God's willingness to remit the fins of fuch as had this faith and repentance. Accordingly, we are told, the people came and were baptized of him, confeffing their fins, manifefting and profeffing that fort of repentance and faith which he preached. They had no notion of any other fort of repentance put into their heads, that they could fuppofe John called them to profefs in baptism, but this ac