Christ or in which the pure word of God is administered, his case will be taken into consideration by them. The true church will never make it her business to "creep into houses and lead captive silly persons," ii Tim iii. 6, in order to accomplish her purposes: but she will be careful that the word of God may be the sole cause of their conversion. She therefore waiteth until application is made for admission.

How indispensably necessary it is, for the church to call the attention of candidates for baptism, to those rules, for the gaining, or reclaiming of offenders, and to know whether they are willing to be governed by them. We shall, for the edification of the reader, make a few remakrs on those rules. "Moreover if thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." It appears, that notwithstanding our adoption, we are liable to trespass against one another. Now this can be done in various ways-in word and deed.

The rule of Christ is, that the offended go privately and tell the trespasser his fault. This is certainly a very wholsome and wise rule for reclaiming an offender, and seldom fails in having the desired effect if' properly observed. It is natural for persons when imposed upon, to expose publicly, the character of the transgressor and thereby add fuel to the fire; but Christ prescribes another course; the rules of his church oppose corrupt nature. But if this private application have not the desired effect, and the offender persist in his injurious course, the offended party must take one or two brethren with him that they may testify to the proceedings of the parties, and give council in the case accordingly, but if he, the offender still remain obstinate, and refuse to hear them, it will then be necessary, as Christ

directs, to tell it unto the church, that they may examine into the case, and accordingly proceed to censure, and reprove the offender, and if this third and last step fail of success, the offender is to be considered “as a heathen man and a publican," excluded from the kiss, church council, and the communion. Thus we learn from the legal steps taken with the offender, that his disobedience is of a three fold nature; first against an individual member, secondly, not willing to hear the two witness, and thirdly, not willing to hear the Churchand Christ in confirmation of the legal proceedings of the church in such cases, declares that their decisions are ratified in heaven, whether they excommunicate the disobedient, or receive the penitent into the church again. "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." Mat. xviii. 1-8. "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remited unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained." John, xx. 23. This binding and loosing, means the decisions of the church. If a member be separated from the body, or church, according to the word of God, he is also excluded from the Kingdom of heaven, and cannot be admitted there until he is reinstated again by the church; which power Christ has given to his church.

The candidate for baptism must be willing, and make acknowledgement to conform to the above rule of Christ's -to give admonition and to take admonition, as the case may be. The church will then repair to the water, where baptism can be administered.

It is the duty of the church to attend to the request of the applicant, and as there is an order in the excommunication of disobedient members from the church, so is there also an order in the reception of persons into the church. Therefore the applicant for membership,

must be visited and heard on the doctrines of repentance and faith, and if he professes those principles, the church will be counciled on his reception. That this course of procedure with the candidate, is in good keeping with the word of God, is very evident. For example, we have no account in the Testament of the apostles and first preachers of the Gospel baptising persons who made no profession of those principles. When the Eunuch wished to know what would hinder him from being baptised, Philip replied." If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest;" and if he had not professed to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, Philip would not have baptised him, Acts viii. And concerning the counseling of the church, on the reception of applicants, we find that before the baptism of Cornelius, &c., Peter says: "can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptised." Acts x, from which we infer that the church has a right to be heard on their reception. Suffice it to say, teaching goes before baptising-therefore the applicant must be instructed, and examined, and the church counseled, in order to his reception.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE ADMINISTRATORS, FORM, AND MODE OF

BAPTISM.

THE subject for Baptism has been already described. I shall proceed to call the attention of the reader to the Administrators of this institution: they are doubtless such as are entrusted with the word of the ministry. This authority they derive from Jesus Christ, the great head of the church. It is their duty to publish the glad tidings of the Gospel to a lost and ruined world. The

whole theme of their preaching will be, "Jesus Christ and him crucified." i. Cor. ii. 2. Though preachers have a right to preach the Gospel, and to administer the institutions, yet they must bear in mind, that they are amenable to the church for their conduct, and in no case proceed contrary to the counsel of the church. It is their duty, in transacting the affairs of the kingdom of grace, to always take counsel of the church, when it can be done. He must not think, because he is a preacher of the word, that he is above every member, and can pursue any course he may see proper. It is certain that every member has an equal voice-that is, as much authority in managing the business of the church, as the preachers have. Whenever preachers are entrusted with all the power, (which is quite contrary to the Gospel,) in managing church business, the church is sure to become corrupted: therefore, let the church keep an eye upon their preachers, and see that they always proceed according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and it is the duty of the preachers not "to shun to declare the whole counsel of God." Acts xx. 27. That it is the duty of the preachers to administer Baptism, see Mat. xxviii. 19; though it is certain, in cases of great necessity, that helners or private members, have administered this institution.

Dear reader, after pointing out to you the Administrators of this institution, I shall now treat, in a few words, upon that form which is to be used in the administration of this ordinance. It is certain that there is but one evangelical form to be observed in the administration of this institution, and that we have upon record in the xxviii. chapter of Mathew, 19 verse: "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." I cannot perceive from reading the New Testament, that we have any authority to alter or

change this form. It is certain that we have no more authority to alter or change this form, than we have to change the mode. Notwithstanding all this, some persons have been so presumptious, as to administer baptism in a different form. The form used by them are the words which we have in Acts, viii.-namely, "In the name of the Lord Jesus ;" and in Acts x. 48. "In the name of the Lord." But this is no evidence that we may adopt the above phrases instead of the form recorded by Mathew, for certain reasons: One is, that we cannot infer from the expressions, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the name of the Lord, that the form recorded by Mathew was not used; and another reason is, that the name of the Lord generally signifies, according to the Lord's direction-and it is stated by some, that the term Lord in the New Testament, agrees with Jehovah in the Old, and is the same as the form: recorded by Mathew; and a third reason is, because no good reason can be assigned, why it was, that the apostles did not adhere to the form given them by their Lord and Master.

It is highly probable, that after repairing to the water, that the apostles were in the habit of praying with the candidates unto God, upon the shore side; for we read in Acts, xvi. 13. "And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made"-and then follows the Baptism of Lydia and her household; therefore, it is very necessary, before entering the water, for the Administrator to kneel down with the candidate, and supplicate a throne of mercy; after which, let the Administrator lead the subject into the water, and when they arrive at a suitable place, let the candidate kneel down in the water. This posture is certainly very commendable upon solemn occasions, and I verily believe that it was observed by the first