15 distinct from Christ’s, so it is far inferiour to his. And therefore great hath been the mistake of many for several ages, who have made John’s baptism equal to Christ’s; for what is this, but to make the servant equal to the Lord, and to sit down the creature in the throne of the only bego'ten of the Father? Yea, and it is the quite perverting of John’s office, for John was to be a burning and shining light, to usher in Christ the true Light: he was to be a morning star to usher in Christ the Son of Righteousness, and was not to be so much clouds and darkness to obscure him; he was but to point out Christ, and depart again, and not to sit in equal glory with him, on his throne, in the New Testament. John said, “He was not worthy to bear his shoes;” and therefore they do not well who have prepared an equal crown for him with Christ, who is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Wherefore we must take great heed that we do not so magnify John’s office as to intrench on Christ’s, and to make the Son, out of the bosom of the Father, to take up the baptism of John a servant, and not to administer one entirely his own; surely this would not have been suitable to the glory of the only begotten Son of God. The third thing I propound to speak to, touching John’s baptism, is the time of its duration or continuance, and that was but very short: for John’s baptism, as all the ceremonies of Moses, was but for a time ; yea, this being nearer the truth and substance than they, was of less duration ; as the morning star, though brighter than the rest of those heavenly lights, shines less while than they, because the hasty appearance of the sun swallows it up. And so John’s baptism was of great use a little before Christ’s manifestation to Israel, and continued until the time of his ascension ; and then when Christ’s baptism began, the shadow was to give way to the substance, and the sign to truth, and the letter to the Spirit, and the servant to the Son; so that Christ’s baptism put an end to John’s ; fire baptism to water baptism, and Spirit baptism to creature baptism : for as all the prophets were until John, so John was. until Christ; and John must no more exceed his
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