The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-04-30


IN the literal meaning of baptize-lm-
merse. We speak of flood OF tears,
Immersed in tears, bathed in tiars.
snch expressions, reduced tC logical ac-
cnracv. would be false and ridiculous,
but they have their proPriety and BE-
long to the energy Of language. no
man would argue from "a flood OF tears,
that a flood is only few drops OF water,
81 immersed in tears" that to be i'm
mersed is to have q few drops Of water
4 writer speaking of suffering out at
night. said: II was dipped all over In
cold October dew" Literally he was
not dipped, as we all know, but he was
wet, and the fact that one is thoroughly
wet in being dipped in water was the
base of his figuratiye expression.
one, from this passage, were to argue
that dipping meant the distillation oil
moisture BY nature, he would be thought
not quite at himself.
The wetting of the altar by the
prophet is BY Origen called baptism,
| as, also, by Basil. Does any one believe
that they would have spoken OF this
transaction as baptism, if only little
water had been poured on it, The pro
priety of their speech lies in the abund
ance of water poured over the altar,
making it as if it had been submerged
And in this the strength of the miracle
in great decree consisted.
| We cannot be at any loss to know
what Basil thought of Christian baptism,
| for he tells us that "the water presents
the image of death, receiving the body
as in a Tomb And again, ''the bodies
of thoze baptized are, as it were, buried
in the water. Could anything be
clearer?
The baptism of blood presents no diff
Guilty. The writer was not thinking OF
a literal baptism as possible. We sing:
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from lmmanuel's veins.
And sinners Plunged beneath that Hood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Here the language is highly tropical
and tropical writing" says Warburton,
sis such as represents thing by quail
ties which resemble it."
If Doctor Hunter should coolly tells
us that blood is fluid, he admits, but
there was not enough of it in the body
of Jesus to plunge sinner in, his icy
logic would be literally correct, but the
song would be true in its superb tropi-
ell fervor and spiritual grandeur all the
same. If he were to argue from this
passage that plunge means to sprinkle
or rour, because publications were some
times thus performed among the Jews
| well, no answer would be needed.
The Fathers, so called, were fond OF
connecting the Jewish publications with
the Christian baptism which they sup
posed purified. DIR. Hunter is their sue
cessor in that practice, but in speaking
of the Christian rite directly, their testi-
mony is perfectly clear in favor of inn
mersion. OF these writers it is but
proper to say that they threw the reigus
on the neck of Imagination. and les
peeially Origen) never took a literal
meaning, if they could fancy another.
As interpreters, they are unreliable,
but whatever their testimony might be
worth, it is far more with us than with
Pedo-baptists. More than this, we do
not care to say.
We come now to what is said on Heb.
$40. Macknight, an eminent Presby
terrain scholar, translated the passage
thus: "both gifts and sacrifices are of
fered which cannot, with respect to
conscience, make him perfect who
worshippeth only with meats and drinks
and divers immcgsionsn When DIR.
Hunter supposes that Paul, by baptisms
meant sprinklings or lantizings, he nc
cuses the Apostle of violent abuse of
| language Paul meant what he said
and we are to learn what he meant by
| the words he used How else could we?
! 1t is by no means necessary to suppose
| that the Apostle meant to include all
| the Jewish ritual in meats, drinks, hap.
| tisms. We know, in TACT, that there
was much not included in these These,
as belonging to the old economy, were
sufficient for his purpose of contrasting
| the two economies. That there were
publications by sprinklings or rantisms,
is perfectly clear This does not effect
the case; were there immersion, also?
Without another particle of proof we
should answer yes, on the sole authority
of Paufs words. He says there were.
| He uses word that means immerse and
does not mean sprinkle, and it is not
our business to prove that anybody was
| commanded 20 baptize himself; we are
| to prove what Paul says, that there were
dimensions practiced by the jews, and
when he uses word which clearly
means to imme~se we are to suppose that
! he told the truth. As to the command
to battle, that was clearly fulfilled by i'm.
mersions. Battle and immerse, though
not synonymous, imply each other A
| thing bathed in water is immersed; a
thing immersed in water is bathed.
| Naaman was commanded to battle him
self seven times in Jordan; he fulfilled
the command by dipping himself seven
times On this point we give the testi- |
mOny of Maimon Maimondes, the cele- |
/ brated Jewish doctor He is called the |
| Eagle of the doctors and the Lamp Of |
| Israel. He was profoundly versed in
| the languages and all the learning of the
age, and became chief physician to the
sultan of Egypt. He says: Every per
son baptized must dip his whole body.
And wheresoever in the law
washing of the body or garments is
mentioned, it means nothing else than
the washing of the whole body. For, If
any wash himself all over, except the
tip of his little finger, he is still in his
uncleanIiness, and if any have much
hair he must wash all the hairs of his
head, for that also was received for the
body. But if any should enter into the
water with their clothes on, yet their
washing holds good"
A Jew ought to understand his own
customs better that Dr. Hunter does.
But this is gratuitous. We might
risk everything on the use of the word
baptism in the text. Not particle do
We care whether the publications of the
Jews were generally by sprinkling or
dimensions. Paul only speaks of the
dimensions, by name, as belonging to
service which could not perfect the
worshipper. We freely grant that there
were rantisms also, but they are never
called baptisms. Baptidz0 and rain0 are
perfectly two different words with each
4 fixed meaning. Jewish TontisDls were
never called bdptisms. When sprinkIing
is meant, raino is used; when immersion
Is meant baptO or 6aptitlso Is used. Take
one example of many: "And the Priest
shall dip Tor baptize) his finger in blood J
and sprinkle it seven times before the ;
Lord" Could anything on earth be |
palmer? Whatever the thing immersed 4
whether it be the hands only, or feet 4
,nly, or the whole body, or tables or +,
what not, every immersion which was K
ictually performed in Jewish service Il
omes within the sweep of the Apostolic
DIR. Hunter rests his case on a violent q
ssault on the established meaning of q h
'ord. Baptize means immerse, but Paul
ould not have meant what he said In :;
ais case, because there were sprinkIings !,
s well as dimensions Give an infidel =
ave to change the meanings of words q
very time he finds it essential 10 his -
urPose and be can prove anything from Ii
le Bible. ''s -
Now IN conclusion, We beg that our Of
'aders will notice that the doctor has &,