: he can flounder about in water, and visit Greece for to get the meaning of the word baptism and is determined to keep it on its own base, yet he scruples not to set aside the spirit uality, and blessedness, couched in the Levitical dispensation, and at tempts to hide himself in his own quibbles and verbosity and to me it is plain, that W. F. is not very valiant for the truth he professes, as he appears constrained to write on the subject by the desire of his friends; consequently it was not with a willing mind; this shows a want of something somewhere in his professed faith, which I with my "self confi dence" will not attempt to determine; but that something is manifest by his not quoting the whole, I wrote(1 Cor. x. 1-5,) fearing I suppose that he by so doing would expose the unscrip. tural nature of his own statement; and he calls it an, isolated circumstance"; which signifies alone, separate, detached; this is charging the Holy Ghost foolishly, setting at nought his testimony, and openly denying the unity and harmony of the scriptures; but with my "presumption and selfconfidence," I rejoice in and before the Lord that he hath in sovereign mercy made me a witness of the truth, fullness, blessedness and spiritual import of the words of the Holy Ghost for they drank of that Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ: no saith W. F. it was only ceremonial; and the words thus recorded only admonitory. Alas what shall we hear next; surely it is W. F. that doth "with ease openly deny the scripture”—and I rejoice that I am his antipode. Now for the " startling" part; but what hath W. F. proved, only he is startled, and well he may be; for it appears that in all places where he finds the words baptize, baptized and baptism he can only see material water; and it still remains to be proved that ever Christ baptized with water; I cannot see that Christ, came to do John's work, baptism unto repentance; but where John stopped, there' Christ be gan, with repent and believe the gospel; who himself baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire, the disciples baptized with water, but Jesus baptized not. This is not setting aside nor trifling with scripture, neither, have I cut my fingers," nor attemp ted to take any thing out of the hands of Jesus, and transfer it to the apostles. W. F. should have given sound proof for his heavy charges, and that according to truth and godliness, therefore his own words stand against him, saying is no proof." Dear Sirs, it is most blessed to see, know, and believe, having the eyes of the understanding enlightened, that the two testaments are inseparably united, and their contents in perfect harmony with each other; and W. F. with all his wordy statement cannot separate what God hath joined together: the prophet Malachi closes with John and Christ; and what he there saith in prophecy each of them fulfil; see relative to John, Mal. iv. 5, 6; Luke i. 15-17; andconcerning Christ Mal iii. 4 and what John said of him carries the subject out in the accomplishing of the same by Jesus; " lindeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire, whose fan is in his hand &c. Matt. iii. 11-12; there is certain. ly an analogy in these things, and also in the words of the prophet; and the gospel of Christ who saith also according to the mind and will of the Lord; Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb, for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments” Mal. iv. 4. 1s it not plain there were neither statutes nor judgments set forth in the ten commandments; but the lev tical law, called by W. F. the dispen pensation of Moses was filled wit statutes and judgments as well a : f sacrifices and offerings; but the Lord's sed portion of his word: which is word by the prophet, namely, "re- quite distinct from water baptism; member" is set at nought by W. F. For by one Spirit we are all bapit being isolated and only ceremonial. tized into one body," &c 1 Cor. xii. I leave others to find out the spiritual 13. Surely W. F. with his presumed mindedness of W. F. and who ordai- reverence for the word of God will ned him to be a minister; and add not pervert this; and however he may here that I have read over the Acts a blush at what I said relative to Matt. few times, and dare not deny any xxviii. 19, 20; I can assure him that statement there relative to baptism I did not charge the apostles with a with water, nor any of the acts of the disregard to the commandments of apostles by the Holy Ghost. And I the Lord, I only asked him why they have been and am now much pleased did not baptize in the name of the with the following words, beginning Father, Son and Holy Ghost: but from the baptism of John. &c Acts. not as he says, Three-One-God; this i. 22 mark the word from ; not in, term to me is quite "isolated" and by, with, or at, but from and as I foreign from the scriptures: W. F. am a baptist, having been baptized in hath used a river of words but not a a river July. 1815 I never yet could spoonfull of spiritual matter is theresay a word against water baptism; but in: I am no advocate for sprinkling; I cannot make a door of water as an yet those that are, say they have the entrance to the Lord's Table : as word sprinkle in the Bible, but we childship and privilege arise from baptists have not the word immersion; being born of God; and I feel great and some Greek scholars, read unto pleasure to be living in the spiritual instead of into the water relative to import and blessedness of the words in Philip and the Eunuch as to W. F. Rom. vi, and I cannot find material calling any brethren and not admit water in that description of baptism there; neither in Coll. ii. 11, 12,; and it is for W. F. or others to determine what one baptism Paul had in view; when he said, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" Eph iv. 5, if W. F. saith it is water, he sets aside the baptism of the Holy Ghost; if he admits the latter, then he destroys his own belief and faith in water, for it is but one baptism: I write not this as he saith, to set him fast, there is no need of that, but I should like to him as a true Hebrew creeping out of his holes. I do not wonder that W. F. is confused, if he attempts to write to the Jews; as he discards all their ceremonial dispensation but I can assure him that I have had great pleasure for years to speak and write to such without being confused, according to Rom. ii. 28, 29,; and I cannot refrain from rejoicing in and praising the Lord, that he hath in Sovereign mercy, given unto me little knowledge of the following bles see a them to sit at the Table of the Lord appears a monstrous incongruity, for there is not a verse in all the New Testament that can be taken, or found to establish the fleshly tradition. I believe according to the scriptures that all who are born of God have an equal right to partake of the Lord's supper, to show forth his death, and to do it in remembrance of Him. Again, as W. F. is not about to resume the subject, I also say, finally farewell but add, that the apostles did not preach baptism; Peter preached Christ, and when he saw Cornelius and others had received the Holy Ghost, he then said, "see, here is water," and thus Philip to the Eunuch Paul to the Jailer; and it remains for W. F. to prove that there were not children baptized in those households we read of: and although I am styled a creedless christian, I daily live in the blessednes of the following scriptures; John. i. 12, 18; Rom. x. 8. 11; 1 Cor. i. 30; Eph. í. 3—12; 1 [Under this title will be presented to the reader the autobiography of an Aged Pilgrim who was for many years a member of the Church under the pastoral care of the Rev. William Huntington and who took down in short hand and afterwards published Mr H's Sermons entitled Napthali,'' Final Exhortation,' &c. We have read the series with considerable interest and pray that the Holy Comforter may be pleased to bless them to the souls' profit of our readers, so that they may be strengthened, encouraged and edified while travelling in the road to Zion, by perusing the self-told tale of a brother's difficul ties and the manifest proofs of our exalted Elder Brother's unceasing and all powerful protection.-EDS.] Dear Brother, years in the wilderness as Israel was, and am about to state to you, as near as I can, the way in which the Lord hath led me, and for this purpose I besought the Lord often during the, month of October last, as I then felt a calm, and lay quiet at anchor at the foot of the cross; but I was quickly interrupted, by three adverse winds, the world, the flesh, and the devil. You know, Sir, what I have felt in my family, and in my situation. And you know, by experience, the advantage Satan takes, when we are thus, tried; but I have to bless and adore the great Immanuel, that it did not blow the Euroclydon, as I could anchor on the 46th Psalm, and amidst the winds and the storm, repeatedly hear the small still voice, "be still and know that I am God;" and as often my groaning troubled spirit would reply, God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." I believe you, Sir, have had your share of trials, perhaps as much of them as any minister now alive, yet these are the things sent to humble us, and to conform us to the sufferings and death of our Lord, to whom will be glory for ever. Amen. You have often expressed a desire that I should particularly All the time that we have been in state for the benefit of others and for the wilderness, it hath been a day of the Glory of God the discoveries the rebuke and blasphemy, but how awHoly Spirit hath made unto my soul fully hath this appeared during the in this house of my pilgrimage; then last few years: this showeth the bear with me whilst I relate some of necessity of all who have been favourthe kind providences of a compas- ed with a knowledge of Christ, to sionate Saviour which have b been exalt him, as they know that God the manifested from time to time above Father hath, at his own_right hand, sixty one years. It is now 15 years to be a prince and a Saviour; to lift since I first heard your voice in Ghim up, that some may see, and beChapel, a night to be remembered, and 25 years before that period it pleased the Lord to arrest me with the spirit of bondage more powerful than I had ever before felt it: although from my earliest years I felt a slavish fear of God, and felt I was a sinner against him. In the year 1799 in reading the writings of the pious Hervey I felt this fear awfully increased; thus you will perceive I have been these 40 lieve, and have everlasting life. How truly have we seen the word of God verified towards this present increase of sinful men, as recorded in the 2 Thess. ii. 10, 11, 12. And as some have perished so we have cause to believe that many will perish in the strong delusion now, as a pestilence overspreading our land, yes still the highly favoured land of our nativity, wherein still are ministers, old men, fathers, young men, and babes in Christ, conversion work still going on, God the Holy Spirit still taking of the things of Christ and revealing him, and it, to the understanding of his people: we still have the showers of divine grace to refresh our souls: we still have and I pray God may continue to the end of time, gospel ordinance, gospel ministers and gos pel privileges, and the sleeping dust of the tens of thousands of God's British Israel. It was by the divine appointment that at 10 o'clock on the night of November the 5th 1778, I was born at A-Devonshire, at an hour when the faggots were on the surrounding hills flaming to commemorate the won. derful providence displayed by our Lord God in bringing to nought the counsels of the wicked, whose grand aim was then, as it always hath been and is, to destroy the scriptures and the people of God; but be assured of this that in every attempt of this sort they will sooner or later meet the fate of Pharoah, Jehovah Jesus will frown upon them, and the deep will swallow them up. I have often read and admired the address of the heaven-taught Flavel in his book on the Divine Conduct, when treating on the place of our nativity which was considered by him as it is by every British Israelite, the most favoured spot on the globe principally for those blessings I have mentioned. It hath often been a grateful consideration to me that so many of our family that I have known, and of others of whom my Christian mother hath told me, have left behind them undoubted proofs, of their being saved with an everlasting salvation. My mother was a remarkable proof of this, who slept in Jesus aged eighty two years and six weeks. I have learned from her that for three years after my birth I was the most weak and sickly child in the town, she herself being before my birth apparently in a decline; that in the summer of 1781 she took me 18 miles to rela tions, who were farmers, and at whose farm we made a long stay; until both mother and child were recovered. I think I could not be much above six years of age when my mind was impressed with reverence to the name and person of our Lord Jesus Christ, especially by hearing a book often read entitled "the Cry of Jesus the Son of God." Also the Bible continually, the Pilgrim's Progress, the Great Assize, or the day of judgment, hearing sermons, and the fear of death, I had two narrow escapes from drowning, twice from being gored by bulls, and once by a pack of 365 pounds of wool falling on me, with many an awful dream, which took away very often the sweets of life, and for years I could not join the minister and people when they repeated at Church. 66 we bless thee for our creation," as I had, to contend with so many things that would and did from year to year make me sigh out, I would to God I had not been born. At fourteen I was put out as an apprentice to learn the wool-combing trade, soon after which my father died; this circumstance made great havoc of my feelings. The expression of joy because his Lord and Saviour had comforted him in his dying hour was rivetted on my mind. About two years after, my master died; I lived with his widow one year, then with a gentlemen in the same trade above one year, this place I had long cove ted, but when in it, I found it a miserable situation, it was no home for me. I formed a resolution to leave, and told my mother if there was no other way to escape I must go to Plymouth and enter into the king's service; but I had much rather go to my brother in London ; this was the cause of many prayers being offered up by my mother and the church, I heard their prayers, they could see no open door for three or four months, but him who had fixed the bounds of my habitation provided the means, even and constrained my master against his will to say in a pet, you may go; it was even as Pharaoh when he let Israel go from slavery. He was a great worldly man and we all feared him, as soon as this was known to the Church, several met over night at my mother's for prayer and to remember me and my case before God, and to intreat of him to protect me during my life, I remem. ber how earnest they were at a throne of grace that their Lord and master would protect me from the traps of the recruiting parties then in every great town, this was a great cause of my fear, as we were at war with France. I felt my native place the 26th Sept 1796 in the morning and arrived at Exeter (which was 20 miles) that afternoon, I met many enlisted young men on their way to Plymouth all of whom I shunned by turning out of the road, thus far the Lord was better to me then my fears or deserts as he ever hath been since. Adieu, Dear Sir, for the present, from your brother and companion in tribulation. REVIEW. C. T. A Word of Caution to the Church of God: a Letter to Mr. A. Triggs, being a Few Observations on his Sermon. By Thomas Oxenham. 8vo. pp. 16. London, Palmers'. When a minister comes into this great metropolis, and obtains so speedily the popularity which Mr. Triggs has acquired, he must expect to be assailed with pop guns from individuals who seek renown by assailing eminence; and he will do well to treat all such attacks with merited disregard; but when his statements are criticised by a veteran of four, score, one, who during that long period hath maintained high and blameless reputation, it behoves him to listen attentively to observations which, he may be well assured, will have great weight upon the minds of the Lord's people. Regarding this little pamphlet with these feelings, we have carefully perused it, and pondered both Mr. Triggs' statements and Mr. Oxenham's objections thereto. And, with all due respect to our aged friend, we must express our opinion that the conclusions to which he has arrived are not quite apparent. We shall however proceed to examine a few of them. Mr. Oxenham first objects to Mr. Triggs telling his hearers Well, you know if you do not like it (alluding to his preaching) you may leave it;' and at the close of his Sermon, I stop with the words of brother Paul.' Indifference in a christian minister is highly culpable: sent servants of Christ cannot but be anxious to see sinners converted and believers edified through the instrumentality of the preached gospel, and therefore we agree with the writer of this pamphlet that the expression taken in its literal import is improper, and does not accord with those desires which were so frequently expressed by the apostle in his epistles to the different churches; that his preaching might be made of God profitable to those whom he addressed therefore, our author remarks, that Mr. Triggs has no right to claim affinity with the apostle. But we feel compelled to hesitate at such a deduction, and would rather hope that the preacher's intention by this remark was to convey a wish that : |