то BAPTISMAL TRUTH, OR, THE TESTIMONY OF ALL BAPTISMS. BY M. T. BoSWELL. Continued from January Number. O resume the thread of my subject-I repeat that the hour is now come when man himself must die on account of sin. The inflexible justice of God demands the death of man. The blood of bulls and of goats can never take away sin-without shedding of blood there is no remission. The ancient economy passes away as weak and unprofitable. The kingdom of God draws nigh, the King of Israel is proclaimed by John Baptist, as the one who shall burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matt. iii. 12.) How shall man escape the wrath to come? (Matt. iii. 7.) By submitting to the righteousness of God, because the God of justice is also the God of mercy. (Rom. x. 2-3.) Consequently the publicans and sinners, who did not stay themselves on their own righteousness, submit to the righteousness of God and are baptized by John, even as the great example of His people, Himself, submitted to this baptism, saying, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness". (Matt. iii. 15.) Notice the word us, identifying the the Lord in the death of his people, and the people in the death of their Lord. (Rom. vi.) The people pass through the water the shadow of death, and God is justified; but there could be nothing meritorious in this act before God, seeing that it was but the act of a sinner dying in type or figure for his own sins. No voice from heaven approves this act as a sweet odour of death unto God, nor the act of coming out of the water as a sweet odour of life. I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, and none the more in the death of the sinner, saith the Lord. There is but one in the death of whom God can find delight, namely, He of whom the prophet testifieth, that it pleased the Lord to bruise him. (Isaiah liii. 10.) Behold this one fulfilling all righteousnes in submitting to the baptism of John; behold Him of His own free will plunged in the river of judgment, shadow of the baptism of the cross and of the judgment of Calvary (Luke xii. 50), the which He must suffer in stead and place of the sinner; behold him rising from the water in figure of resurrection, while a voice from heaven proclaims"Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," and the Holy Spirit descends as a dove and abides upon him! Reader, behold this willing act of obedience on the part of the Son of God. Contemplate the joy of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit on the occasion. of an act which was but the prelude to a deeper and more effectual submission to the will of God, even the baptism of the cross of Calvary, where verily He presents Himself unto God as a sweet odour of death in His death, and a sweet odour of life in His resurrection. Dear Reader, contemplate this act, and may God give you to understand it, and beware that you be not the victim of some counterfeit of baptism, but see to it that you have submitted from the heart to the baptism, that is to say (need I now add), to the immersion under water in the name of the Lord Jesus. Dear Reader, if you do not obey, are you indeed His disciple? Do not seek to excuse yourself in pleading the example of other persons. What did Jesus do? If now the light upon this doctrine has reached you, you are guilty before God if you turn from it. It is only in the path of obedience you can reckon on the fulfilment of the promise he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved (Mark xvi. 16). Who can tell how much the Church of God has lost through neglecting and perverting this commandment of the Lord? It is my prayer, Reader, that you obey and walk in future more and more in the truth of baptism and in the newness of life. (Rom. vi. 4). As the blood of bulls and of goats bare testimony to the justice of God, which, however, could never have been satisfied by their blood, and set off the value of the blood of that one Lamb of God, which alone could satisfy His justice and take away sin; likewise, also the baptism of the people of Israel in figure of death, testified to the righteous requirements of God, yet not being approved by Him by any voice from heaven, it served but to render more striking the baptism of Him who in submitting to it was on the way to fulfil all righteousness, and who received from heaven the approbation of His Father, and the anointing of the Holy Ghost and of power. See Acts x. 38, and observe how Peter links the title of shame-Jesus of Nazareth, with the baptism of John in the 37th verse, and then follows the anointing of the Holy Spirit and of power in the 38th verse. Here, again, we see baptism by John connected with the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. (1 Pet. i. 11). Thus this baptism of the people of Israel, as also, that of Jesus Himself, bare witness to the Son of God. That He might be made manifest to Israel, therefore, said John Baptist, am I come baptizing with water. Dear Reader, is it possible that you can have read thus far without seeing something of the beauty and of the power of this divine ordinance of the baptism of John, full of meaning, which spake to the consciences and the hearts of a nation? Allow me to ask you if you do now seriously believe that the sprinkling of a new-born child is indeed an ordinance of God, and that as such, it bears the same testimony to Jesus Christ? Can the sprinkling of one such infant or of ten thousand of them speak to the consciences of sinners who may witness it or direct their thoughts toward the Saviour? We have seen how the true ordinance was a powerful means for accomplishing the purposes of God, and the anthor of this little treatise could well add, that more than one sinner of the present day has been converted in being a spectator of a baptism, according to Christ, of a believer; and it is no marvel, for the same spirit is all-powerful to employ a similar ordinance to-day, for accomplishing the purposes of God, as he did in the days of John the Baptist. In the 19th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we read that John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who should come after, that is, on Jesus Christ. Thus those who had been baptized by John were marked out by this act as being his disciples and listening to his instructions, until He of whom John spake was come, and then they followed Jesus. John Baptist himself not only approved this act of his disciples, but also rejoiced in it, saying, "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom". This remarkable expression indicated that there was a union between Christ and His true disciples, much closer and more intimate than that which had hitherto existed between God and the people of Israel. They are not the children of Abraham after the flesh who were heirs of the Promise, but his seed according to the Spirit, namely, those who have received the testimony of Jesus Christ and follow Him as His disciples. This truth, that is to say, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," now shone forth more and more distinctly. As a nation Israel had not received the baptism of John. Her leaders, the Pharisees and the lawyers, had rejected it. (Luke vii. 30.) Consequently the baptism by Jesus Christ administered by the hands of his disciples in the days of his flesh, has a character rather individual than national. If the nation of Israel had received the witness of John and Him of whom John witnessed, a whole nation had been born in a day, and the kingdom of God had not been taken from them. (Matt. xxi. 43.) But in the long-suffering of God this rebellious nation is not yet set aside, and Jesus, the Son of God, full of grace and truth, following the example of John Baptist, preaches the kingdom of God, and makes and baptizes disciples (John iii. 23, and chap. iv. 1), not limiting his baptism to those who had been fully converted, but on the contrary, baptizing all who came to him. (John iii. 26). Again, I repeat that the baptism of Israel was a baptism proclaimed to the people of God, according to the flesh, and the testimony of John directed the eyes. toward Him, upon whom even His people after the flesh could fix their national eyes. Now I believe that my readers will easily understand how such a baptism, whether by John or Jesus Himself, may have been received by many persons, who were not true disciples, as indeed we read afterwards, that many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. (John vi. 66.) Also, it is easy to understand that, the testimony of John and that of Jesus, being both of them testimonies to Him who was walking visibly before the eyes of His people, even an unconverted man without any change of heart might receive this testimony so far as to hecome a professing disciple of Jesus, as was Judas Iscariot. If I were to anticipate upon the subject, I might remark here, that the baptism of the present time in the name of the Lord Jesus ought never to be received, without the sinner having first received the testimony of the Holy Spirit, concerning the resurrection from among the dead of the Son of God (Rom. i. 4); and this testimony is of such a spiritual character, that is to say, a testimony which does not appeal to the natural eyes, that no sinner can either see or receive it, except by the Holy Spirit. Consequently, he who receives in this day the testimony of the Holy Spirit becomes for ever the disciple of the Lord Jesus, and is bound to submit to the baptism in His name, in order to learn in the path of obedience the power of this deep doctrine, and to walk in newness of life. I would wish to make my readers understand very distinctly the shade of difference between the baptisms by John and Jesus Christ, and that of the present day. In the case of the former, all the nation of Israel was invited according to the will of God to submit to it. At first, nearly the whole nation went to be baptized, THE but the faithful warnings of John unmasked hypocrisy and diminished the number of those who otherwise had submitted to his baptism. Again, still more in the case of the baptism by Jesus, although, at first, all went unto Him to be baptized, and, indeed, He made and baptized more disciples than John, (although He Himself baptized not, but the disciples), yet the number of these disciples gradually diminished, and finally this baptism by Jesus would seem not to have taken place, except in the case of His true disciples. (John iii. 26, and chap. iv. 1, 2.) Thus we see how these two baptisms by John and by Jesus pass almost imperceptibly to the baptism of this present time. As the preaching of the kingdom of God by Jesus Christ became more and more limited in its scope, being proclaimed to the ears and to the hearts of but a little number, so His baptism assumed more and more an individual character. To-day, indeed, baptism is a matter exclusively individual, which always follows the reception of the testimony of the Holy Spirit concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God is not now preached to any nation exclusively, as in the case of Israel, to bring them as a nation to Himself, but it is preached in its spiritual bearing to sinners of all nations, to gather out of them a people unto Himself (Acts xv. 14), who may thus become God's peculiar people, a holy nation, to shew forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1 Pet. ii. 9). IN (To be continued in our next if the Lord will.) CONVERSATION. N Andrew Fuller's diary is the following entry, Jan. 3rd, 1772: "This afternoon being on a visit, as I stepped aside from the company, I overheard one of them remark, "I love Mr. Fuller's company; it is so diverting". This expression moved me much. Oh, wretch that I am, is this to have my speech seasoned with grace? O Lord, forgive me some humbling thoughts for the above in Prayer. 4th. Tender this morning in remembering the above circumstance. Lord, make me more spiritual in time to come." "GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN." THE secret of blessing is in being occupied with They Is it not so now in the spiritual life of the Church of God? Much yields little; much work brings in small results; and souls are conscious that they are neither satisfied nor warmed. We ask, Why is this? God replies, it is because His house lies waste, and every one cares for his own, and not for the things of Jesus Christ. He calls upon all to "consider" (or set their heart upon) "their ways". Then comes the command, "Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build house". my Through the Lord's mercy we hear of believers here and there awakening to the summons, and beloved labourers are starting for the mountain to cut down wood, and to dig out stones from the quarries; and let us speed them with our prayers, and help them with our means, and comfort them with our sympathy. May we thus all be found fellow-helpers of the truth. There are beams that must come from the forests of India and China, and stones costly and great that have to be dug out of the quarries of Italy and Spain. There are elect ones everywhere to be gathered in ; and we need, God needs, faithful men who are content to say with Paul, "I endure all things for the elects' sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." (2 Tim. ii. 10.) There are those who have to go into a desert place, to find one soul, leaving the many-peopled city, like Philip, to find one anxious stranger who has no one to teach him. The labour, the long journey, were not in vain-"the elect's sake" made it needful-and a lifetime may be needed to win such a trophy; and he will have a double "well done" who thus toils in the footsteps of the Son of God, content to rejoice in spirit, snd say, "I thank Thee, O Father, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight," yes even so, though Chorazin and Bethsaida repent not, and Capernaum be brought down to hell. God had been glorified, though but one poor lonely sinner had heard the invitation, "Come unto Me"; and having accepted it, came and found the Blessed One in Simon the Pharisee's house (compare Matthew xi. with Luke vii. 19-50), and there received from His own lips those precious, priceless words, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace". Let us not think, if after much toil one be gathered in, that it is only one; that one was needed, and the guest-table would have had one place vacant if that one had not come in. We have to seek out and to find God's jewels, and all must be gathered in before the Lord can respond to our cry, "Lord Jesus, come quickly ". So again we beseech the saints of God to help all who are going to the mountain in distant lands, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. IT THE POSSESSION OF THE SPIRIT. NOTE NO. I. T is the plain teaching of Scripture, that the Holy Spirit dwells and abides with every one who believes in the Lord Jesus. His own promise was"If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you." (John xvi. 7.) This time, then, in which we live, is the Dispensation of the Spirit. The Spirit awakens, arouses, convicts, and saves, rules, guides, instructs, and keeps unto salvation. This truth is not commonly received. It is not sufficiently recognised. Yet, there is nothing more plainly taught in the word of God. It may indeed be well described as a strange anomaly that Christians, who profess to accept that word as absolute truth should so seriously overlook this truth, plainly taught in its pages. That it is neglected is very manifest. You have only to listen to the prayers offered up at many meetings of professing Christians to see-nay to have it forced on your attention, that they are not conscious of the great and divine gift which the Lord has bestowed on them. There is no want of pious sentiment in those referred to. It is the non-recognition of plain truth in which they are at fault. The truth has been lost. How frequently do you hear the most earnest cry for the gift of the Spirit a thing the Christian does not need to pray for; because if he is a Christian at all, the Spirit is already given to him, and that cry itself-ill informed though it be--is prompted by the Spirit, who if his grace were acknowledged would lead into all truth. I appeal to the experience of many of my readers who have been led by the Spirit to put their trust in the Lord Jesus, if they do not quite unwittingly fall into this error. Many are unconscious of it. They do not sufficiently attend to what is written, or do not accept what the word says with simplicity of heart. The error may arise from false education-from erroneous examples-from poor notions of the Christian's position and privileges-from insufficient recognition of what the Lord has obtained for us through the sacrifice of His blood, or what He has given or is willing to give from His unlimited grace. Again, when it is said that this is pre-eminently the Dispensation of the Spirit, it is not meant that the Holy Spirit was absent from the world prior to the time when the Lord Jesus offered up the sacrifice of himself. No! The Holy Spirit has always influenced or sought to influence men, even from the beginning. But until Christ came and had finished the work of salvation and had ascended up on high, the Holy Spirit was given in fulness only to rare and chosen individuals and for particular or special work-such as to the prophets, and those men of God who were raised up for the government of His people, or other mission to and among men. But now-in our time-the Holy Spirit, blessed be God! rules in and over all who believe. He is the common possession of God's true church in the earth; and every individual Christian has this sacred inalienable and blood-bought, but at the same time, in one sense, awful privilege of being the abiding place of God's Holy Spirit. Ah! what care-what anxiety -what responsibility-what fear-should not this produce within us, lest we walk unworthy of our profession or go astray into sin! True it is that in old time "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter i. 21); but it is equally true that here, now, in our own day, every child of Godthrough belief of the truth as it is in Jesus-is posessed of and moved by the Holy Spirit-the third person in the Divine Trinity! Some will ask if this is indeed truth we are speaking. It is indeed. The verse first quoted is strong evidence. Its related passages are stronger still. In a previous part of his address, the Lord Jesus had said. "When the Comforter is come-whom I will send unto you from the Father-even the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." (John xv. 26) You observe the promise, "I will send unto you from the Father"; implying that Jesus has power to send ; and you will observe the source-it is "from the Father". So that we have here complete union--oneness of being, with three persons-Father, Son, and Spirit. Then again the Lord says in another part of his address" Howbeit, when He the Spirit of truth is come-he will guide you into all truth". (John xvi. 13.) At first, he was to send Him; and send Him from the Father. Now this being over, "When He is come"-what follows?" He will guide you into all truth". He will shew the truth to the waiting heart; he will open the seeing eye. He will be your guide-operating in your hearts and minds-acting on your intelligence, so that you may perceive-stirring up your affections, so that you may receive that precious possession-the truth. "He will guide you into all truth," "for he shall not speak of or from Himself" -says Jesus-"but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall he speak, and He will shew you things to come." "He shall glorify me." What is that but to lead human hearts to see and know the Lord Jesus as God and Saviour? "He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I that He (the Holy Spirit of truth) shall take of mine (and) which is the Father's also) and shall shew it unto you.” Dear reader-have you indeed received the Holy Spirit? Have you yielded yourself to His grace and influence? Have you been taught by Him through the word? Consider these questions. Honour Him by your surrender and submission-entire and complete, reserving nothing; by your obedient work and service -diligent and painstaking, witholding nothing. Oh! how careful we should be lest we grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom we were sealed unto the day of redemption, or quench His precious influence in our hearts! May the God of peace Himself sanctify us. wholly; and preserve our whole spirit and soul and body, blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. FEW SERVICE ITS ELEMENTS AND SPHERE. R. S. NEW words are in more constant use than the word service. It is a simple, yet comprehensive word. The natural mind and heart cannot rightly view, nor duly estimate service to Christ, and even believers are daily learning its meaning and value. Viewed from a wordly stand-point, service is depreciated, sometimes despised, but the Word of God, as also the Son of God, dignify it. We need only read the Epistles in order to see the honourable nature, while the fact of the Son of God taking upon Himself the form of a servant, and describing Himself as a serving one among His disciples stamps it with untold dignity. Service is the sure path to honour, and he who desires to rise to the highest point of honour, must go lowest in service. Note the Master's words when He checked the lofty thoughts and aspiring spirits of His disciples, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your (Diakonos) servant, and whosoever of you will be chiefest, shall be (Doulos) bond-servant of all". (Mark x. 43, 44.) The true dignity and full reward of service will not "He be known until the Lord our Master shall arise. shall give to every man according as his work shall be.” In enumerating essentials of service, I need scarcely say that life, spiritual life, is the first. If in nature a dead man cannot serve, no more can a man dead in sin (albeit he may be full of religious activity) serve Christ. The Master was and is the chief servant, and He is the Son of God. The Son in service; even so, before any one can be Christ's servant he must be, by regeneration a child of God. Sons in service alone are acknowledged by the Master, Christ. The term servant in Scripture, implies entire possession and surrender : possession on the part of the |