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upon their renouncing Satan; or because it was usual in civil adoptions and emancipation of slaves, for the master to yield up his right by a triple renunciation, which he shews from Aulus Gellius, and Sigonius. But as the ancients are silent in this matter, I leave these reasons to the discretion of every judicious reader.

SECT. 6. The second thing required of Men at their Baptism, was a Vow or Covenant of Obedience to Christ.

The next thing required of men at their baptism, was a vow or covenant of obedience to Christ, which the Greeks call, συντάσσεσθαι Χρισῷ, giving themselves up to the government and conduct of Christ. This was always an indispensible part of their obligation, before they could be admitted to the ceremony of regeneration. They first renounced the devil, and then immediately promised to live in obedience to the laws of Christ. Some indeed in St. Austin's time pleaded hard for an exemption in this particular. They were willing to make a profession of faith in Christ, but not of universal obedience; and yet would impudently pretend to demand baptism of the church, notwithstanding their incorrigible temper. Against whom he wrote that excellent book, De Fide et Operibus, to shew the necessity of good works, as well as faith, to the being of a Christian; where he answers all the objections and arguments they pretended to bring from Scripture: for they pleaded Scripture for their practice. Amongst other things they urged that famous text of St. Paul," Other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it; because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” Upon which they made this perverse comment: that they, who built upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, were such as added good works to their faith in Christ:

but they, who built wood, hay, stubble, were they, that held the same faith in unrighteousness and a wicked life."" And they imagined, that even these men might so be purged by certain punishments of fire, as to obtain salvation by virtue of the foundation, which they retained. To which St. Austin replies, that if this was true, "it were a laudable charity indeed, for them to endeavour that all men might indifferently be admitted to baptism, not only adulterers and adultresses, who pretended false marriages contrary to the express command of Christ, but also public harlots continuing in the basest of all professions; which yet the most negligent Church on earth never pretended to admit to baptism, till they had first forsaken that vile prostitution." They urged farther, that to deny wicked men the privilege of baptism, was to root out the tares before the time. To which St. Austin replies,3 that this rejection of them from baptism, was not rooting out the tares, but rather not sowing them, as the devil did: they did not prohibit any that were willing to come to Christ, but only convinced them by their own confession, that they were unwilling to come to him. And therefore though these men called it a novel doctrine and practice to reject harlots and stage-players, and all that made open profession of such abominable arts, from baptism, yet he tells them, this was grounded upon the rules of ancient truth, which manifestly declared, that they

1 Aug. de Fide et Oper. c. xv. tom. iv. p. 30. Quod quidam ita intelligendum putant, ut illi videantur ædificare super hoc fundamentum aurum, argentum, lapides pretiosos, qui fidei quæ in Christo est bona opera adjiciunt: illi autem fœnum, ligna, stipulam, qui cùm eandem fidem habeant, malè operantur. Unde arbitrantur per quasdam pœnas ignis eos posse purgari ad salutem percipiendam merito fundamenti. 2 Ibid. Hoc si ita

est, fatemur istos laudabili charitate conari, ut omnes indiscretè admittantur ad baptismum, non solum adulteri et adulteræ, contra sententiam Domini falsas nuptias prætendentes, verùm etiam publicæ meretrices in turpissimâ professione perseverantes, quas certè nulla etiam negligentissima Ecclesia consuevit admittere, nisi ab illâ primitùs prostitutione liberatas.

8 Ibid. c. xvii. Quando tales ad baptismum non admittimus, non ante tempus zizania evellere conamur, sed nolumus insuper sicut diabolus zizania seminare; nec ad Christum volentes venire prohibemus, sed eos ad Christum venire nolle, ipsâ suâ confessione convincimus.

Ibid. c. xviii. Antiquum et robustum morem Ecclesia retinet, ex illâ scilicet liquidissimâ veritate venientem, quâ certum habet, quoniam qui talia agunt, Regnum Dei non possidebunt.

VOL. III.

who do such things, shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. And that this was the ancient rule, by which the Church proceeded, is evident from all the writers that have spoken of baptism. Justin Martyr, who describes the ceremonies of baptism with the greatest simplicity, says, it was only given to those, who to their confession of faith added also a promise or vow,' that they would live according to the rules of Christianity. And hence came that usual form of words in their profession, συντάττομαί σοι Χρισέ, I give myself up to thee, O Christ, to be governed by thy laws: which immediately followed the dwórağıç, or renunciation of the devil, whose service they forsook to choose a new master; as we find it frequently in St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. Cyril of Alexandria, the author of the Apostolical Constitutions, and most of the Greek writers, whose words, as being but one and the same form, I think it needless to repeat upon this occasion, The Latins commonly call it promissum, pactum, and votum, a promise, a covenant, and vow, which names they apply indifferently to all parts of the Christian engagement, as well the renunciation of the devil, as the profession of faith and obedience to Christ, which do mutually suppose, and are virtually included in one another. For he, that renounces the devil and the world, does thereby profess himself a soldier and servant devoted to Christ. Therefore St. Ambrose speaking of the renunciation, calls it a promise, a caution, an hand-writing or bond, given to God, and registered in the court of Heaven: because this is a vow made before his ministers, and the angels, who are witnesses to it. Upon which account he says in another place, it is recorded, not in the monuments of the dead, but in the book of the living. St. Austin

1 Justin. Apol. ii. p. 93. Καὶ βιῶν ὕτως δύνασθαι ὑπισχνῶνται, &c. 2 Chrys. Hom. xxi. ad Popul. Antioch. p. 275. Hom. vi. in Colos. p. 1358. 3 Basil. Hom. xiii. Exhort. ad Bapt. Cyril. in Joh. xi. 26.

5 Constit. Apost. lib. vii. c. 41. 6 Ambros. de Sacrament. lib. i. c. 2. Respondisti, abrenuncio: memor esto sermonis tui, et nunquam tibi excidat series cautionis tuæ.-Ubi promiseris considera, vel quibus promiseris: Levitam vidisti, sed minister est Christi. Vidisti illum ante altaria ministrare ergo chirographum tuum, tenetur, non in terrâ, sed in cœlo.

Id de Initiatis, cap. ii. Tenetur vox tua, non in tumulo mortuorum, sed in libro viventium.

calls it a profession made in the court of angels,' and the names of the professors are written in the book of life, not by any man, but by the heavenly powers. St. Jerom styles it a covenant made with the sun of righteousness, and a promise of obedience to Christ. And he so speaks of this ceremony, as to shew it to be a distinct act from the renunciation, though they both tended to the same end, because different rites were used in expressing them. For in renouncing the devil they had their faces to the west, for symbolical reasons which we have heard before; but in making their covenant with Christ they turned about to the east, as an emblem of that light, which they received from the sun of righteousness, by engaging themselves in his service.

SECT. 7.-This Vow of Obedience made by turning to the East:
And why.

This custom of turning about to the east, when they made their profession of obedience to Christ, is also mentioned by St. Ambrose, Gregory Nazianzen, Cyril of Jerusalem, and the author under the name of Dionysius; for which they assign two reasons. 1. Cyril3 tells his disciples, that as soon as they had renounced the devil, the paradise of God, which was planted in the east, and whence our first parent for his transgression was driven into banishment, was now laid open to them: and their turning about from the west to the east, which is the region of light, was a symbol of this. For the same reason St. Basil and some others of the ancients tell us, they prayed towards the east, that they might have their faces towards paradise. The other reason, for turning to the east in baptism, was because the east or rising sun was an emblem of the sun of righteousness, to whom they now turned from Satan; "Thou art turned about to the east," says St.

1 Aug. de Symbolo, lib. ii. c. i. tom. ix. Professi estis renunciare vos diabolo, pompis, et angelis ejus. Videte dilectissimi, quia hanc professionem vestram in curiam profertis angelicam: nomina profitentium in libro excipiuntur vitæ, non à quolibet homine sed à superiore cœlitùs potestate. 2 Hieron. Com. in Amos, vi. 14. In mysteriis primùm renunciamus ei qui in occidente est: et sic versi in orientem, pactum inimus cum sole justitiæ, et ei servituros nos esse promittimus. Cyril, Catech, Mystagog. i. n. 6. Basil. de Spir. St. cap. xxvii.

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Ambrose,1 "for he that renounces the devil, turns unto Christ." Where he plainly intimates with St. Jerom, that turning to the east was a symbol of their aversion from Satan, and conversion unto Christ, that is, from darkness to light, from serving idols, to serve Him, who is the Sun of Righteousness and Fountain of Light.

SECT. 8.-The Third Thing required of the Party to be Baptised, was a Profession of Faith, in the usual Words of the Creed.

Together with this profession of obedience there was also exacted a profession of faith, of every person to be baptised. And this was always to be made in the same words of the creed, that every Church used for the instruction of her catechumens. They were obliged to repeat it privately to the catechist, and then again publicly in the church, when they had given in their names to baptism; as I have shewed before. But besides this, they were also obliged to make a more solemn profession of it at the time of baptism, and give distinct answers to the several questions, as the minister propounded them, with relation to the several parts of the creed, which contained the summary of Christian faith. There were some indeed in St. Austin's time, who as they were for excluding the profession of obedience out of the baptismal vow, so were they for curtailing the profession of faith, and reducing it to one single article," I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God." In favour of this, they pleaded the example of Philip baptising the Eunuch upon this short confession, and that saying of St. Paul to the Corinthians, "I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Yet they durst never proceed so far as to put

Ambros. de Initiatis, c. ii. Ad orientem converteris. Qui enim renunciat diabolo, ad Christum convertitur. Book x. chap. ii. n. 10.

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Aug. de Fide et Oper. cap.ix. Spado, inquiunt, ille quem Philippus bapti zavit, nihil plus dixit, quàm, credo Filium Dei esse Jesum Christum. Num ergo placet, ut hoc solum homines respondeant, et continuò baptizentur? Nihil de Spiritu Sancto, nihil de Sanctâ Ecclesiâ, nihil de remissione peccatorum, nihil de resurrectione mortuorum? &c. Si enim Spado cùm respondisset, Credo Filium Dei esse Jesum Christum, hoc ei sufficere visum est, ut continuò baptizatus abscederet: cur non id sequimur, atque auferimus cætera quæ necessè habemus, etiam cùm ad baptizandum temporis urget angustia exprimere, interrogando ut baptizandus ad cuncta respondeat, etiamsi ea memoriæ mandare non valuit?

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