CHANGE in the plans of Mr. Forrester made it necessary for him to give up his school, and as Mr. Scott had proved himself to be admirably qualified for the position, the entire management of it fell into his hands. The superior advantages in point of education which he had enjoyed, and a natural aptitude for imparting instruction, made up for his lack of experience; and in addition to these he possessed the rare faculty of so attaching his pupils to himself that he soon was regarded by them as a warm, personal friend; and the result was that the prosperity of the school was increased by the change. His method of teaching was original, his manners pleasing; politeness and morality were marked features in his school, and as the necessary result he became daily better known and appreciated; his labors were well remunerated, and had success in his career as a teacher been his great object he might have been satisfied.

      But few things, however, were less in his esteem than worldly prosperity; the more he studied his Bible the greater became his concern for the spiritual welfare of his fellow-men; and as he himself [41] obtained broader and clearer views of the plan of redemption, his desire for wider usefulness increased. The admirable powers of analysis and classification which he had hitherto applied to the sciences and languages, he now began to apply to the Holy Scriptures, and with such happy results that at times he felt a joy akin to that of the ancient philosopher, who, when a great scientific discovery flashed upon his mind, cried out in his ecstasy, "Eureka! Eureka! I have found it! I have found it!"^a

      It is not intended by this to claim that Mr. Scott discovered any new truths; that in the nature of the case was impossible; but he discovered relations which the truths of revelation bore to each other that had for a long time, in a great measure, been lost sight of, and in consequence of which, confusion and darkness had usurped the place of order and light. He observed that the advocates of religious systems, as opposite as Calvinism and Arminianism, claimed that their respective views were taught in the word of God--both claiming to be right and each asserting that the other was wrong; but to his mind the thought that the inspired volume taught views so contradictory was most abhorrent. In nature he saw order and harmony and an invariable relation between cause and effect, and he concluded it could not be otherwise in the plan for the recovery of our lost race. In the word of God he found precepts, duties, ordinances, promises, blessings, and between these a proper relation and dependence; that the duties, in the nature of things, could not precede the precept, or the blessing the promise, or the ordinance the commandment by which it was enjoined. Nothing, [42] to his mind, seemed more reasonable than that precepts should set forth what duties must be performed, what ordinances obeyed; that promises should serve as a motive to obedience; that blessings should follow the doing of that which precept made known as duty, to which promise was the encouragement and blessing the reward.

      This order he found had been lost sight of to a greater or less degree by the various religious parties, by some of them to the absurd extent of placing an ordinance first, before the subject could possibly have any knowledge of the precept by which it was enjoined, or capable of the preparation necessary to make submission to the ordinance an act of obedience, and, of course, before the blessings connected with it could be recognized or enjoyed. In the Scriptures he found a profession of faith preceding baptism, but in the practice of his times the baptism preceded the profession of faith by many years, and in numberless cases the profession of faith never followed the ordinance; but those who unwittingly were made the subjects of the ordinance, and taught in after years that by that act they had entered into covenant with Christ and were made the children of God, frequently lived and died as regardless of the claims of God upon them as if they had passed their lives in a land where God's word had never been known. That faith should precede obedience seemed as clear to his mind as that a cause should precede an effect; but much in the religion of the times he found to be as unphilosophical as it was unscriptural. If the gospel were not a variable and changeful thing, he drew the conclusion that its various parts or elements must [43] bear a fixed and definite relation to each other, in order to produce a uniform result, just as the letters which compose a certain word must occupy a certain relation to each other in order to form that word; or, as he frequently instanced in after life, in the word gospel no other arrangement of the letters would give the word; and so he argued in the plan of salvation, only one fixed and definite arrangement of its facts, precepts, duties, ordinances, promises, and blessings was allowable; that the derangement of the order would be the destruction of the plan, just as the change in the relative position of a single letter in the word gospel would give, not merely another word, but one without any significance whatever. In pursuing his investigations he was cheered and strengthened in his views by their harmony with the Scriptures, and this could scarcely fail to be the case since they were but inductions from the word of God after long, careful, and prayerful reading.

      The conversion of a sinner to God had long been a subject that perplexed him, on account of the mystery thrown around it by theological writers; but when he read the accounts given in the Acts of the course pursued by the apostles in turning men to God, he found that all mystery fled; that those who heard, believed, and obeyed the glad message, which it was their mission to make known, were filled with joy and peace in believing. His noble and candid nature, and his profound regard for the truth, led him to examine carefully all the common or orthodox views in which he had been brought up, and which he had long entertained without a doubt as to their correctness; from these he eliminated to be held [44] sacred all that was clearly taught in the unerring word, and rejected all he had heretofore cherished for which he could find no divine warrant. Clearness of vision, ability to separate the true from the false, does not come in a moment; the influence of early habits and associates; the instructions he had received without question in his early years; his course of reading and study when looking forward to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, with the strong convictions of a deeply religious nature, which rendered him sincere even when in error, made the change of necessity a very gradual one. But he had discovered the true path; his Bible he felt must be a safe guide; and though much of that path had yet to be explored, every step brought deeper conviction and a serener joy.

      In the meantime, his intimacy with Mr. Forrester, his religious friend and guide, continued to be of the most pleasant and endearing nature; and the little congregation under his care, which met in the court-house, were his most valued associates. With the former he was accustomed to walk to the place of worship in company, and then to sit meekly at his feet as he expounded the word of God; and with the latter to engage in the service of God as brethren beloved. But a sad and unexpected change came. Mr. Forrester was drowned while bathing in the Allegheny river, and Mr. Scott was deprived of his dearest friend and the little flock of its beloved and faithful shepherd. This calamity brought upon him new duties and responsibilities: to comfort and assist the widow and orphans of his lost friend, and to care as best he could for the spiritual welfare of the stricken [45] and bereaved church. To these duties he addressed himself manfully; the boy who sung at midnight in the streets of Edinburgh to help an unknown blind beggar, now that he was a man, could not be wanting in sympathy and helpfulness to the widow and orphans of one that he had, while living, so esteemed and revered; and the wants of the church soon called into activity those gifts for teaching and preaching for which he afterwards became so distinguished.

      He now began to feel more deeply than ever that there were thousands as sincere and earnest as himself who were yet under the bondage of the system from which he had been emancipated, and he desired that they should, like him, enjoy the freedom those enjoy whom the truth makes free. Under the pressure of such thoughts the duties of the school-room became burdensome. What was the enlightening of the minds of a few youth, and leading them up the difficult yet pleasant steeps of literature and science, compared with the work of rescuing humble, earnest souls from the spiritual darkness in which they were groping, and of turning sinners from Satan to God.

      At this juncture a pamphlet fell into his hands, which had been put into circulation by a small congregation in the city of New York, and which had much to do with deciding the course he should pursue. The church alluded to was composed mainly of Scotch Baptists, and held many of the views taught by the Haldanes, and were, in many respects, far in advance of the other religious bodies. The pamphlet mentioned was published by this congregation in 1820, and was intended to set forth the views which they entertained. The publication was quite a remarkable [46] one for the times, as it set forth, with admirable simplicity and clearness, the teaching of the Scripture with regard to the design of baptism, which had been almost entirely lost sight of, and the practical value of which even its authors did not seem to realize. The careful reader will find in it the germs of what was years afterwards insisted upon by Scott in his plea for baptism for the remission of sins, and also by Alexander Campbell in his celebrated Extra on Remission. The same production fell into the hands of A. Campbell soon after it had been read by Scott; but while both these, and, stranger still, the very authors of it, recognized the matters therein set forth as true, they saw them as the man whom Jesus healed of blindness at first saw the passers by--men as trees walking. But they saw they were true, nevertheless, even if they saw them but dimly. They had heretofore been wholly blind to them, and it was long before they appeared to their spiritual vision in all their significance and beauty.

      A few extracts from the work will here not be out of place.

ON BAPTISM.

      "It is not intended, in this article, to discuss the import of the term baptism, as--that term is well known to mean, in the New Testament, when used literally, nothing else than immersion in water. But the intention is, to ascertain what this immersion signifies, and what are the uses and purposes for which it was appointed. This can only be done by observing what is said concerning it in the Holy Scriptures.

      "One of the first things that strike our attention in this inquiry, is, that the Lord Jesus entered upon his ministry by baptism, as he arose out of the water, that he was first publicly acknowledged as the Son of God. Matt. iii. 15, 17. This is very remarkable, and should be well remembered. [47]

      "The baptism of John is spoken of thus: 'John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins.' And of those who came to his baptism, it is said, they 'were all baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.' Mark i. 4, 5.

      "John himself seems to connect this baptism with an escape from the divine wrath; for I when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?' Matt. iii. 7.

      "The Lord Jesus, discoursing with Nicodemus respecting the nature of his kingdom, and giving him to understand that no Jew would be taken into it in virtue of his having been born a descendant of Abraham, observed, that, 'except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God.' John iii. 5.

      "In the account given by Mark of the gracious message delivered to the apostles, and to be by them conveyed to all nations, it would seem, at first view, as if baptism was connected with salvation; 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.' Mark xvi. 16.

      "To the same effect was baptism spoken of in the discourse of the apostle Peter to the Jews on the day of Pentecost. He seems to have viewed it as connected with the forgiveness of sins. 'Repent,' said he, 'and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.' Acts ii. 38.

      "Paul, relating to the Jews how he had been brought to confess the Lord Jesus, and speaking of what had occurred after he went into Damascus, described Ananias as coming into his lodging, and, among other things, saying to him, 'And how why tarriest thou? arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' Acts xxii. 16. [48]

      "The same apostle, writing to the church at Rome, and pointing out the efficacy of the doctrine of Christ, and the powerful motives which that doctrine furnished, for enabling the believers of it to walk in holiness and righteousness of life, speaks of baptism in the following manner: '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 also be in the likeness of his resurrection: 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. vi. 2-11.

      "In the epistle to the churches of Galatia, the apostle, showing that men become sons of God, not by adhering to the law of Moses, but by the faith of Christ, drops the following remarks: 'For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.' Gal. iii. 26-28.

      "In some of the exhortations addressed to the church at Ephesus, we observe an allusion to baptism too striking to be passed over: 'Husbands, love your own wives, even [49] as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her; that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her with a bath of water and with the word; that he might present her to himself, glorious, a church not having a spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that she might be holy, and without blemish.' Eph. v. 25-27.

      "In another part of the epistle to the same church, the apostle, exhorting them to preserve 'the unity of the Spirit,' describes this unity as follows--'One body and one Spirit even as ye are called in one hope of your calling--one Lord, one faith, ONE BAPTISM, one God and Father of all, who is above you all, and through all, and in you all.' Eph. iv. 4-6. When we see a place so exalted as this assigned to baptism, we may infer that baptism is a matter of no inconsiderable moment.

      "The same apostle, warning the church at Colosse against the crafty ways of Judaizing teachers, and assuring them of the perfection of knowledge and of righteousness which they had by Christ Jesus, reminds the brethren of their baptism in the following manner--'Being buried with him in baptism, in which also ye have been raised with him, through the belief of the strong working of God, who raised him from the dead. For you who were dead on account of trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he hath made alive together with him, having forgiven us all trespasses,' etc. Col. ii. 12, 13.

      "In the epistle of Titus, there seems to be an allusion to baptism, which deserves particular notice. The apostle desiring Titus to inculcate obedience to magistrates, and other excellent duties, says, 'For even we ourselves were formerly foolish, disobedient, erring, slavishly serving divers inordinate desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hated and hating one another. But when the goodness and the philanthropy of God our Savior shone forth, he saved us, not on account of works of righteousness which we had done, but according to his own mercy, through [50] the bath of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior.' Titus iii. 3-6.

      "One other passage shall be noticed, where baptism is introduced and spoken of, by the apostle Peter, as the antitype of the water of the flood, whereby Noah and his family escaped death. 'To which water,' saith he, 'the antitype baptism (not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), now saveth us also, through, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.' 1 Pet. iii. 21.

      "From these several passages we may learn how baptism was viewed in the beginning by those who were qualified to understand its meaning best. No one who has been in the habit of considering it merely as an ordinance, can read these passages with attention, without being surprised at the wonderful powers, and qualities, and effects, and uses, which are there apparently ascribed to it. If the language employed respecting it, in many of the passages, were to be taken literally, it would import, that remission of sins is to be obtained by baptism, that an escape from the wrath to come is effected in baptism; that men are born the children of God by baptism; that salvation is connected with baptism; that men wash away their sins by baptism; that men become dead to sin and alive to God, by baptism; that the Church of God is sanctified and cleansed by baptism; that men are regenerated by baptism; and that the answer of a good conscience is obtained by baptism. All these things, if all the passages before us were construed literally, would be ascribed to baptism. And it was a literal construction of these passages which led professed Christians, in the early ages, to believe that baptism was necessary to salvation. Hence arose infant baptism, and other customs equally unauthorized. And, from a like literal construction of the words of the Lord Jesus, at the last supper, arose the awful notion of transubstantiation. [51]

      "But, however, such men may have erred in fixing a literal import upon these passages; still the very circumstance of their doing so, and the fact that the meaning which they imputed is the literal meaning, all go to show that baptism was appointed for ends and purposes far more important than those who think of it only as an ordinance, yet have seen.

      "It is for the churches of God, therefore, to consider well, whether it does not clearly and forcibly appear from what is said of baptism in the passages before us, taken each in its proper connection, that this baptism was appointed as an institution strikingly significant of several of the most important things relating to the kingdom of God; whether it was not in baptism that men professed, by deed, as they had already done by word, to have the remission of sins through the death of Jesus Christ, and to have a firm persuasion of being raised from the dead through him, and after his example; whether it was not in baptism that they put off the ungodly character and its lusts, and put on the new life of righteousness in Christ Jesus; whether it was not in baptism that they professed to have their sins washed away, through the blood of the Lord and Savior; whether it was not in baptism that they professed to be born from above, and thereby fitted for an entrance into the kingdom of God, that is, the church of God here on earth; whether it was not in baptism, that they professed to be purified and cleansed from their defilement, and sanctified and separated to the service of God; whether it was not in baptism that they passed, as it were, out of one state into another; out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's Son; whether if any were ever known or recognized as having put on Christ, who had not thus been buried with him in baptism; whether, in fact, baptism was not a prominent part of the Christian profession, or, in other words, that by which, in part, the Christian profession was made; [52] and whether this one baptism was not essential to the keeping of the unity of the Spirit.

      "And if, on reflection, it should appear that these uses and purposes appertain to the one baptism, then it should be considered how far any can now be known, or recognized, or acknowledged as Disciples, as having made the Christian profession, as having put on Christ, as having passed from death to life, who have not been baptized as the Disciples were."^b

      After such a clear expression with regard to the matter in hand, it is difficult to imagine of how little practical value those views then were. We know of no more strongly marked instance of theory outrunning practice; the reason, doubtless, is to be found in the fact that nearly the entire religious world had lost sight of both primitive teaching and practice in this matter; and those whose attention had been called to those long-neglected truths were not able to regard them as practical in the face of almost universal custom to the contrary.

      The reading of this tract had much to do with the subsequent course of Mr. Scott; he thought that a visit to the people holding the views which it set forth would add greatly to his Christian knowledge, and at the same time give him a favorable opportunity for making known the views which he had adopted, and for the spread of which he had such an anxious desire. Dismissing, therefore, all thoughts of personal interest, and considerations of gain, he abruptly brought his school to a close, and set out for New York, to engage in labors and studies which he deemed more important, and, therefore, more congenial. The result of his visit, however, was a [53] sad disappointment; he found the practice of the church far in the rear of what he had been led to expect from the publication which had led him to seek a more intimate acquaintance; nor did there seem to be any disposition on their part to fall in with his views, which began to look in the direction of a radical reform.

      He remained there but three months, long enough, however, to discover that the simple and self-evident truths of Christianity, which he fondly hoped would be accepted as soon as made known, were not to achieve the triumph he had anticipated. His hopes had seemed reasonable; he had only the word of God in all its primitive simplicity to present; he had invented no new creed, advocated nothing that the Bible did not sanction; he had sacrificed as much in his abandonment of sectarianism as he asked at the hands of others; he felt that the happiness of all professors of religion would be enhanced by laying aside every thing that savored of party; that the cause of Christ would be immensely benefited by the healing of all unseemly divisions; and to find such an unwillingness to enter on a course that promised so much happiness to man and glory to God filled him with sorrow and despondency.

      In the meantime, his loss was deeply felt in Pittsburg; the patrons of his school found that his place as a teacher could not be filled, and a vigorous effort was made to induce him to return. Mr. Richardson, whose son Robert had been one of Mr. Scott's most promising and affectionate pupils, proposed the engagement of Mr. Scott as a private tutor for his own and a few other families. This [54] plan met with warm approval, and a handsome salary was pledged. Mr. Richardson made the proposal to Mr. Scott, who was still in New York, and earnestly urged his acceptance. The interest manifested in him at a time when suffering under keen disappointment caused him to regard the offer favorably, although he did not positively accept it. He left New York, however, and visited Paterson, New Jersey, and found there a few professors of religion in a disorganized condition, but nothing to encourage him to labor among them. From thence he proceeded to Baltimore, and found a small church in a very low condition, but kept alive by brethren Carman and Ferguson. Then learning that there was a small body of worshipers in Washington City, to whom he might possibly be of some advantage, he says: "I went thither, and having searched them up I discovered them to be so sunken in the mire of Calvinism, that they refused to reform; and so finding no pleasure in them I left them. I then went to the Capitol, and, climbing up to the top of its lofty dome, I sat myself down, filled with sorrow at the miserable desolation of the Church of God." [55]

[LEWS 41-55]