108 CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. SEAM. VII. grace,' does not lessen, but increase the privileges of the church : It takes away yokes and burdens indeed, such -circumcision was ; Acts xv. 10. but does not diminish its honours, titles and privileges. Yet further, when the fathèr or mother of a family be- lieved in Christ, their households were baptized together with themselves, even where there is no mention that the household believed in Christ also : As in the case of Lydia and Stephanas ; Acts xvi. 15. 1 Cor. i. 16. Now children are usually a considerable part of the house- hold. In the last place, Children under the NewTestament are as capable of receiving the blessings signified, and fulfilling the duties enjoined, as ever they were under the Old. It is granted indeed, they neither could then nor can now understand the blessings nor the duties; yet they might receive the seal of circumcision or of baptism, as a bond laid upon them in infancy, to fulfil the obliga- tions and the duties at riper years, and as an encourage- ment to wait and hope for the blessings. This was the case of Jewish infants, and why may not christians be favoured with it also ? I proceed now to the thirdgeneral enquiry, viz. " What is the manner of performing this ceremony ?" which also I shall dispatch, in a brief hint or two. The Greek word ` baptizo' signifies to ' wash' any thing, properly by water coming over it : Now there are several ways of such washing, viz. sprinkling water on it in small quantity, pouring water on it in larger quantity, or dipping it under water, either in part or in whole : And since this seems to be left undetermined in scripture to one particular mode, therefore any of these ways of washing may be sufficient to answer the purpose of this ordinance. Now that the Greek word signifies "washing" a thing in ge- neral by water coming over it, and not always " dipping' is argued by learned men, not only from ancient Greek authors, but from the New Testament itself: as Luke xi. 33. " The pharisees marvelled that Jesus had not first washed before dinner ;" in Greek, that he was not first baptized ; and can it be supposed, that they would have had him dip himself in water; Mark vii. 4. " The pha- risees when they come from the market, eat not except they are washed,". that is, baptized ; surely it cannot w
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