more of the real baptism and supper of the Lord, than a man may have of his friend, in the picture of him. I say not that a man cannot use these things, and at the same time enjoy something of the substance signified by them. A man may enjoy something of the real and delightful presence of his friend, and yet have his picture in the room, and sometimes look at it; but whenever his attention is fixed closely upon the picture, it is infallibly diverted in the same proportion from his friend, though then alive and present. And so it is in these figurative observations. In proportion as they are objects of attention, the mind is diverted from, or stops short of, the thing signified. And hence I think it generally holds good, that those who are very tenacious of them, most zealous in their use, urge them the most pressingly on others, and most liberally censure and condemn those who, believing them to be no gospel ordinances, conscientiously decline them; are less livingly sensible of the life and substance, than some others, who, though they also use them, are far less built up in and tenacious of them. At the very best, they are but shadows of the good things. "If thine eye be single" to the light of Christ, " thy whole body shall be full of light." See Mat. vi. 22. Only keep thine eye single, and fixed upon the outward sun, and the shadow will be behind thee, and out of thy sight. Turn about, and fix thine eye full on the shadow, and then the sun will be behind thee; and whilst thou art fixed in attention to the shadow, thou wilt see little or nothing of the face of the sun. Thus some who begin in the spirit, turn about, and seek to be made perfect in the flesh, or in outward ordinances. But granting thy attention not singly to the shadow, yet try it a thousand ways, and thou shalt never be able to pay either less or more attention thereto, but thou wilt be obliged to have thy attention proportionally less to the sun, than it would be, wert thou equally attentive, and that attention singly directed to the sun. In like manner, the man whose eye is single to the divine light of Jesus in his own heart, and whose attention is steadily to the work of his baptism there, has as much more true and substantial experience of the blessed and saving operation and effects thereof, than the man, who, equally attentive, suffers his attention to be divided, and

partly diverted to the outward figures; as a man in close and single attention to the sun, has more of its light, and sees more of its real brightness and glory, than he who observes an equal attention on the whole, but suffers it to be divided between the sun and the shadow. And this I take to be the very ground and reason of our Lord's faithful fulfilment of all such figurative righteousness, that so his servants might press forward to the substance signified, and figured out thereby. Paul told the Galatians, "If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." Gal. v. 2. This must amount to thus much at least, that in proportion as they relied on, or were taken up with attention to that outward performance, they were diverted from Christ; and this is just as true of water baptism, and every other outward symbol. I suppose many may readily drink it down, that so certainly as a man is outwardly circumcised, he can have no benefit at all from Christ, who yet think outward baptism an ordinance of his gospel: but what sound reason can be given, why one outward ordinance, once absolutely commanded of God, but now ceased in point of obligation, to give place to the substance once signified by it, should so much more effectually prevent our being profited by Christ, than another outward ordinance, in like manner once commanded of God, but long since as fully ceased in point of obligation, and for the same reason, to give place to the substance?

The truth is, every outward observation whatever, so far as it diverts the mind from inward attention to the work of Christ, so far it prevents effectually our being profited by him. And I am sorry to perceive such numbers of professing Christians striving so hard, as I think they do, to make these things serve as a substitute for that which is saving. They evidently substi tute water baptism instead of Christ's; for they do not scruple to call it the one baptism of the gospel. They expressly maintain it to be Christ's, and apply to it many texts which evidently speak of far deeper matters, as baptism into Christ, into his death, &c. and that which speaks of the baptism which now saves us, although the text itself declares it is not the putting away the filth of the flesh, (the proper work of water,) yet they insist it is water; and so make it out, if they substantially

make out any thing by it, that a figure saves us. Let none therefore marvel that Christ was so careful to be baptized in water, in order to fulfil it, before he would go forth publicly into that work, wherein he was to be the baptizer of souls to salvation; for since we find that even his so doing is laid hold of, in direct contradiction to the whole scope and design of it, and urged as a proof of its continuance, how much greater would have been the influence of his example, towards continuing a figure in preference to the substance, had he first published his own everlasting gospel and baptism, and after that been baptized himself in water, and so baptized others? But as it seems he intended not to baptize others in water, doubtless to guard against the force of example, so neither would he be so baptized himself, after he had once begun his own public and soul-baptizing ministry; but very carefully did what he had to do in outward fulfilment of that type, both before he began his said ministry, and before he had gathered any disciples, yet so as to be after the rest of the people in those parts of the country had been baptized. For it would not have seemed so proper for him to submit to an ordinance that was figurative of his own baptism, for the special purpose of fulfilling it, before its administrator had, for some little time at least, practised it; but now John, having baptized many, and raised their hopes of a more spiritual and soul-saving baptism, or, as Luke has it," when all the people," (meaning doubtless there about Jordan,) "were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized," &c. and we do not read of John's ever baptizing a person there afterwards.

Now therefore, as already evinced, was the suitable time for Jesus to be baptized. And though this was done, as before urged, not to perpetuate that sign, but expressly to fulfil it, that so all that kind of ceremonial righteousness might be fulfilled, and not a jot or tittle of it pass any otherwise away; yet this hindered not the propriety of John's continuing his preaching and service in that sign, in other places, a while longer, in order to Christ's manifestation, and the preparation of his way before him, there also, until nearly the time that Christ began to publish the word openly in and from Galilee: though before Christ

would do this, John had, as already proved, finished his course in that figurative dispensation, and our Lord had particularly heard of his imprisonment. After which, going into Galilee, he soon entered upon the publication of that spiritually baptizing word and gospel ministration, which, as before observed, began from thence, after the baptism which John preached, in the figure.

When John proclaimed, " Behold the Lamb of God," two of John's own disciples immediately "followed Jesus," John i. 36, 37, as did several others soon after; for John's preaching, &c. had now in good degree prepared their minds to follow him, as soon as they knew him. But the disciples of John do not appear to have gone from him to Jesus, as from one outward baptizer to another. We have no account of their receiving baptism in water, after they became followers of Jesus. As that was not his, but John's, there was no need of repeating it upon those who had been John's disciples. But had that of water been Christ's, and yet distinct from John's, they would doubtless have received it. John's preaching and baptism in water do not appear to have prepared the way of the Lord, by preparing people for a second baptism in water, but by preparing them for that of the holy ghost, and purifying fire. For this were some hearts at least, if not many, now prepared.

Now therefore cometh Jesus to be baptized of John, in Jordan; for it was now time those knew him, who were thus prepared for him, that they might receive him. His thus coming to John, and being first baptized in the type, and then in the antitype, the holy ghost from heaven, confirmed John's knowledge of him, and gave a fair occasion for him to point him out, and proclaim him as the baptizer and saviour of souls to the people; thus opening their way to advance from the sign to the substance; from the decreasing ministration of himself, the servant and forerunner, to the increasing one of the son and saviour. John could not, with full confidence, point him out to them, till he knew him. That could not in proper season and succession take place, by which he should certainly know him to be the great gospel baptizer, till he had first baptized him in the figure, seeing the figures are the shadows of good things to come

after them. Had Jesus received water baptism much sooner, it had been out of season, and before his way was prepared by his forerunner. Had he deferred it much longer, it had deferred their knowledge and reception of him, whose hearts were now prepared for him. And, moreover, had he deferred it till John was cast into prison, whence he never came out, he could not have publicly received it by John; by which reception of it from him, and thus rightly timed, he at once confirmed it, as having been a sign of his own; fulfilled it, as of no real use where his own is livingly known; and gave John fair opportunity clearly to know him, and proclaim him the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.

Thus John testified of him in due time, agreeably to Paul's expression, 1 Tim. ii. 6, "who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." Having seen that Christ's baptism in the figure could be only suffered; seeing the figures precede, point to, but belong not to the gospel, and that now, before the figurative dispensation was abolished, was the only proper and acceptable time for it; let us observe who were the only proper persons to fulfil that one peculiar sign and figure of saving baptism."Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us." John, as the ordained administrator of water baptism, and as such, and peculiarly therein, the forerunner of Christ, and Christ, as the end and ender of all types and shadows, were the identical persons to unite in fulfilling this decreasing and terminating dispensation. Hence the divine propriety of the word us: "thus it becometh us." But what to do? not establish and perpetuate the old Mosaic institutions, in a round of signs and ceremonies, nor any other or somewhat varied observations in things outward and symbolical; for all these are but rudiments, and equally weak and unappertaining to the pure gospel state. What then? Why, the exact reverse of all this. "It becometh us to fulfil!" fulfil what? "all righteousness." None of the great and solemn ordinances of God were so outward as to be unworthy of fulfilment. All pointed to Christ, and to his work and kingdom: but this of water baptism, as now used by John, and by him repeatedly contrasted with Christ's, or the two placed by him very pointedly, as type and antitype, required