THE RICHES OF DIVINE GRACE

UNFOLDED

DIALOGUE VIII.

On the Ordinances of Baptism and the Lords Supper: these are the subjects of this Discourse.

Junior and Senior being admitted to a fresh interview with each other, and having expressed their mutual satisfaction in being so favored, enter on their favorite conversation.

Junior addresses Senior, thus: Sir, it seems to me, from what you last said, in our former discourse on Communion with Christ, that when the saints of the Most High are favored with real fellowship with God and the Lamb, through the Spirit, it may then be said, the Lord makes all his goodness pass before them, and proclaims his great, glorious, and fearful name, the Lord thy God; as he gives them such evidence of his interest in them, and of their interest in him, as causes them to say, Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, are my God.

Senior. It is even so. The Lord conversed with Moses as a man with his friend; and it is so in mental and intuitive converses with Christ: he is pleased to open his heart to his beloved in intellectual communion; he reflects his glory on the mind; he creates such conceptions of his salvation in the Soul With Whom he holds. fellowship, as are next to what is actually enjoyed in glory.

Junior. You make communion with Christ to consist in an intellectual knowledge and apprehension of him, Do you not?

Senior. Most assuredly I do. All real spiritual worship is an act of the mind.

Junior. But there are outward ordinances in which we worship God with our bodies as well as with our souls.  You cannot deny this.

Senior. No; nor do I desire so to do. The Apostle, exhorting saints to, the practice of church worship in a congregational way, says, I beseech you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God  which is your reasonable service. He also exhorts to a drawing near unto God, and entering into the holiest, even into heaven, whilst, on earth in the body,. In acts of worship, thus, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By anew and living way which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God: Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb. 10:19,20,21,22. Here is the body as well as the soul, engaged in the worship of God.

Junior. Then I conceive, in the external worship of God, the mind is not so swallowed up in divine contemplations in a mental, intuitive manner, as it may be in secret and retired worship.

Senior. It cannot be; because, when and whilst we are worshiping the Three in Jehovah in outward ordinances, such as prayer, singing, preaching, hearing, our bodies being exercised as well as our minds, and our minds being exercised by the outward ordinances, there is not that most immediate fellowship with Christ, as in the simple exercises of our minds when alone in private.

Junior. Yet many persons are more taken with public ordinances, and think they profit most by them. I confess I have often found more free and simple access to the throne when in private; yet I apprehend the Lord God should be acknowledged by the observance and waiting on him in every part of his own instituted worship.

Senior. It is our bounden duty and service so to do. Every ordinance, as appointed by the Lord, is for the improvement of our renewed minds in the knowledge of Christ, and to increase our communion with him; and his blessing in the use of them, is all-sufficient for us: he will render them effectual to answer his own grand end and design.

Junior. What am I to think concerning Baptism and the Lord's Supper?

Senior. That they are positive institutions of worship; as such, they are immutable, and will be continued in the church of Christ until He descends from heaven to put an end to time, and swallow it up in eternity.

Junior. How is Christ worshipped in these institutions by his church?

Senior. In baptism, a solemn act of worship is performed in the name of each of the persons in the Godhead: this is followed with the sacred memorial of the sorrows, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the observance of the Lord's Supper, in which a solemn memorial of the sufferings, bloody sweat, passion, and death of our Lord Jesus Christ is recorded, he is worshipped in our shewing forth his death according to his command, Do this in remembrance of me.

Junior. Will you give me an account of the ordinance of Baptism, with its spiritual nature, end, and design, agreeable with what is recorded of the same in the written word?

Senior. I most readily will. Baptism is an ordinance of Christ, it was appointed by him after his resurrection from the dead. It was in his resurrection state, he gave out the following royal command to his apostles, saying, Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matt. 28:19. To baptize is to dip, or plunge, or cover, the whole body in water, and this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It is the whole essence of the ordinance, to plunge the whole body in water., It is not the mode of baptism, but it is baptizing itself. It is so clear in scripture, that it seems astonishing all believers in Christ do not see this. The body of our Lord Jesus Christ was under water when He was baptized, or it could never have been recorded, And when Jesus was baptized, he went up straightway out of the water. If he had not been in the water, be could not have come out of it. Mark says, Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan: that is, John plunged Christ in the river Jordan. Plunging is, as hath been said, baptizing. At our Lord's coming up from having been baptized, the heaven was opened, the Spirit descended, and a voice from heaven was heard, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matt. 3:16,17. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read of three thousand baptized in one day. Chap. 2:41. In the 8th chapter of the same book, we read, that upon Philip's preaching at Samaria, on the hearers believing, they were baptized, both men and women. The Lord the Spirit sent Philip to baptize the lord high treasurer of the queen of Ethiopia; it is recorded in the same chapter which hath been mentioned. In the 9th chapter, we have Saul of Tarsus baptized by Ananias, at the express command of Christ. In the 10th chapter, we have Cornelius, and those with him, on whom the Holy Spirit had fallen, commanded by Peter to be baptized in water, in the name of the Lord. In chapter 16th, we have Lydia and her household baptized; and the jailor at Philippi and his household, baptized at midnight.

Junior. Do you find any particular expressions in scripture to strengthen you, as it respects dipping the whole body in water?

Senior. Yes, Sir, very many. It is expressly said, John was baptizing in, Jordan: that he baptized in the river Jordan; that He was baptizing in Enon, near to Salem, because there was much water, and they came and were baptized. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. I cannot conceive any thing can be more clear, that the baptizer and baptized were both in the water, or they could not come up out of it. Those scriptural expressions concerning the ordinance of baptism, respecting our being buried with Christ, baptized into his death, baptized into Christ, buried with him in baptism whilst they most clearly confirm this, that the whole body was covered or buried in water when the person was baptized; yet I conceive they principally are designed to express the end and design of the ordinance itself.

Junior. Pray, Sir, give me an account, of the nature, use, end, and design of this most holy institution.

Senior; It is a solemn commemoration of Christ. The water is expressive of trouble and sorrow. Christ our Lord was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief’s. He was overwhelmed with all the sorrows due to imputed sin. He was implunged in the whole storm of divine wrath. He was surrounded with the whole curse due to the sins of the elect. He says, All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy fierce wrath goeth, over me. Now, in this ordinance, the sorrows of Christ are recorded. The death and burial of Christ are recognized, and his resurrection. The baptizer and baptized go both of them into the water. The person who is to be baptized, is put under water; he is buried in it; he emerges out of it; which are a solemn and sacred memorial of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The Apostle says, Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Rom. 6:3,4,5. We have here more of Christ than at his table. Here are the sorrows, the death, the burial, the resurrection of our Lord. The language of it is, Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Junior. I must acknowledge, I see a majesty, glory, solemnity, and importance in this ordinance. Pray, were there any types or figures of it?

Senior. Yes; two: Noah's salvation in the ark from the deluge of waters, or, if you will, the ark, in which he was saved, was the first type given of this ordinance: and the second, was the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea. Of the former, Peter says, The long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a Preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. The like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth also now save us, (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I Peter, 3:20,21. Of the latter, Paul says, Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. I Cor. 10:1,2.

Junior. Be so good as to shew how these were symbols of baptism.

Senior. The ark was like a coffin. It. was surrounded, with water. Torrents of rain fell on it, so that it was overwhelmed and covered therewith Noah and his family in it, were thus baptized. The Israelites, with Moses at their head, passed through the divided waves; the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left; the cloud covered them: so that they were buried. Thus they were baptized. In both instances a solemn' symbol of baptism was expressed, which is the ordinance of humiliation.

Junior. Will you kindly sum up the substance of what you have delivered concerning baptism.

Senior. I have spoken of it as an ordinance of Christ. It consists in putting the whole body under water: this is done in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. , It is a solemn commemoration of the overwhelming sorrows, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Its use, end, and design are to keep him up in remembrance amongst his churches. It is to express how all his members are so implanted into him, as to partake from him all the blessings and benefits of his life, death, burial, and resurrection. As He lived, suffered, died once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring us unto God; so we are baptized once into him, and are never more capable to return to our former state. But being alive unto God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we now live unto God. This, I conceive, is must accurately expressed in these words of the Apostle, Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath, no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 6:6,7,8,9,10,11. Baptism is a most solemn commemoration of Christ: of his sufferings, death, burial, and resurrection. Its use is to make a public confession of the same. Its end is to lead such as are believers in Jesus, to center in him alone; and to teach them that he was delivered for their offences, and was raised again for their justification. I call it the ordinance of humiliation, because Christ could not descend lower than the grave; and when we are baptized, it is really like descending into the grave. In the very act of being plunged, it is a kind of temporary suffocation; so that we are as it were dead. When we are emerged out of the water, it is as though new life were given us; there is, therefore, in the whole, a transacting over on us, when we are baptized; of what took place in our Lord, who actually died, rose again, and revived, as our Almighty Saviour and representative.

Junior. Will you be pleased to give me an account of the Lord's Supper?

Senior. I conceive you cannot be better informed, than by observing our Lord's institution as variously recorded by the "evangelists and the apostle Paul. There is some little variation in them all, yet not material; so far from it, that what difference there is, only serves to cast the more full light upon the subject.

Junior. I have always been led to overrate these ordinances of our Lord, by conceiving some inherent virtue and efficacy in them. This, I perceive, must be altogether wrong. According to your statement of baptism, to which our Lord himself submitted, whilst there is a majesty and importance in it, yet it has, notwithstanding, a vast simplicity. Pray tell me how you understand that ordinance was administered by the apostles in their day. It is true this is breaking in upon the present subject. I should have mentioned it before, but it escaped me.

Senior. I apprehend nothing was said or done, but the baptizer, and the person to, be baptized, went down into the. water, and the one pronouncing these words, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and immediately dipped or plunged the other under water.

Junior. Do you suppose this was all that was necessary

Senior. I do; for this was all which belonged to the ordinance. It was the ordinance itself; not that I conceive it unnecessary or un-edifying, for us to preach and pray before the administration of it; yet it should ever be remembered it is no part of the ordinance.

Junior. Sir, be so good as to recite the various accounts given by the evangelists and the apostle Paul, relative to the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

Senior. And, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it: For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matt. 26:26,27,28. And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and when He had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Mark 16:22,23,24. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Like wise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. Luke, 22:9,20. Paul says, For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the Cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. I Cor. 11:23,24,25. In all these accounts we have the institution most clearly set before us. It is commanded to be observed by the churches of Christ until his coming again: it is in remembrance of our Lord's death: to commemorate the everlasting efficacy of Christ's one offering of himself, by which he hath perfected for ever the putting away of sin, and the bringing in an everlasting righteousness, which reflects glory on the throne of God, and light and majesty on all the redeemed within the vail.

Junior. What is all that is necessary to be done at the Lord's Table, as it respects the institution simply and alone?

Senior. Bread and wine being placed on the table, the words of Christ, when he appointed it, are to be read; then the bread is to be set apart; a thanks giving is to be offered; the bread is to be broken; and then to be distributed; each communicant is to take a piece and eat it this is to shew forth the death of Christ. Then the cup of wine is to be taken, and set apart to be the cup of the Lord; the name, of the Lord is to be called over it; then it is to be distributed and given into the hand of each communicant, who, having drank of the same, have thereby been engaged in remembering, the death of Christ: and this is all contained in the institution, which may be fully confirmed by these words of the Apostle, For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. I Cor. 11:26.

Junior. You seem to make the Lords Supper consist in very great simplicity. I have been led frequently to conceive some ideal holiness in the ordinance it self, abstracted from its use, nature, end, and design. I plainly Perceive I have had some mistaken views herein.

Senior. Most undoubtedly, as an ordinance of Christ, it is holy in relation to him who hath appointed it; yet it is not more so than preaching, hearing, praying, praising, or blessing God. It is a peculiar ordinance, it being wholly and altogether designed, to point out the manner of Christ's sufferings and death. It differs from the former ordinance: water is the outward element there; bread and wine are the elements here, there, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are recorded; here, the sorrows, crucifixion, and death of Christ are declared and set forth. The former is to be attended unto once for all; here is to be a reiteration of this frequently, Do this, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

Junior. I have always been led to look on it as a very devotional act. I plainly discover I never yet had clear views how the Lord's death is set forth in it. I want you to be very explicit, and recite what those acts and actions are and how performed, by which the Lord's death is recorded.

Senior. The showing forth the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, is openly done by the following acts and actions: In taking the bread, in blessing the bread, in breaking the bread, in giving the bread, in receiving the bread, in eating the bread; in taking the cup, blessing the cup, giving the cup, in receiving the cup in drinking the cup the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is recorded and shewed forth.

Junior. If it be so, I must confess I have always overlooked it. It has frequently been a question in my mind, and which I could not clearly resolve, How, Christ's death was shown forth in the holy supper? The uttermost of my conception hereof, went no further than the devotion I wished myself and others to, be filled with at the solemnity. There is another expression I wish you to explain, What is meant by discerning the Lord's body?

Senior. The ordnance itself is a shewing forth the Lord's death. The bread and wine are expressly called the bread of the Lord, and the cup of the Lord. In eating and drinking the same, we are said to be partakers of the Lord's table ; and the Apostle asks this question, The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being, many, are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread. He gives also the title to this ordinance, The Lords Supper, it being ordained by him: then put all this together, and I conclude, discerning the Lord's body, must consist in the exercising the spiritual mind on Christ in the use of this institution; attending closely to the end, use, and design of the same; considering the bread and wine in this ordinance, as blessed and broken, to be emblems, symbols, and memorials, of the broken body and shed blood of the Lord, and eating and drinking the same in remembrance of his complete obedience unto death, even the death of the cross: I conclude this is properly to shew forth Christ's death, to eat the bread of the Lord, to drink the cup of the Lord, to discern the Lord's body; this none can do, but such as are, real and spiritual believers in our most precious Lord Jesus. I refer you to the 10th and 11th chapters of the Ist Epistle to the Corinthians, without any further quotations. The design of the Lord's Supper in every part, act, and throughout the whole observance of it, is to bring Christ to remembrance; to record his wonderful death to be the only sacrifice for sin; to declare our dependence on it alone for our everlasting purification, and discharge from all sin before the Lord; to bless the eternal Three for their inestimable love manifested therein. Thus I have given you the best account I can, Concerning what it is to discern the Lord's body. Are you satisfied concerning it?

Junior. You say, to discern the Lord's body in the observance of the Holy Supper, and worshipping Christ therein, is to have the mind spiritually exercised on Christ, as becoming incarnate, and substituting his whole person in our room and stead, and bearing our sins in his own body, and making an end of them, by the offering of himself as God-Man, in the flames of everlasting love. Agreeable to what the Apostle says, Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour. Ephes. 5:2. Is not this your meaning, and the substance of what you have delivered unto me on this very important subject?

Senior. It is; and as you have the true idea of what I have spoken, I will withdraw, as thereby you will have an opportunity to dwell on the same by deep meditation. Farewell.