turns upon a good conscience towards God, on account of Christ; i.e., how God is disposed towards the baptized, and what the conscience of the baptized may promise itself, as to the grace of God." (Loci Theol. de Sacram. § 88. cit. D. Chemnitz, c. 17. Harmon, p. 16.) Only one sees not then the force of the addition "a good conscience," which implies something on the part of man, not merely, as in this explanation, a conscience tranquillized by God's mercy towards it." So Bullinger ap. Marlorat. These, however, still regard the interrogatory, stipulation, or however they explain ἐπερώτημα, as contemporary with Baptism. Others, principally of the school of Calvin, explain it of the conscience boldly interrogating God, whether His favour be not obtained to them through the death of Christ. So Piscator. Parens, "most are outwardly washed only; few so, that they can dare to call upon and address God with a good conscience." Calv., "Peter requires a confidence, which may endure the sight of God, and stand at His tribunal." These, also, (as so many other of Calvin's expositions,) do not bear to be brought in contact with the text; for who could endure the paraphrase, "Baptism saves us; not that which is outward in the flesh, but the confident appeal of a tranquillized conscience?" for the confident appeal to God can save no one. Rather, Baptism saves us, as the means appointed by God for remitting sin, and imparting new life; whereof, a "tranquillized conscience" is an effect only. Hemmingius ad loc. thinks, that the Church adopted the interrogatories in Baptism from this passage; which is an incidental admission, how obviously the interpretation above given connects itself with it. The interrogatories at Baptism are alluded to, in Justin Martyr's 2nd Apology, §61; and the remarkable verbal coincidence between the Eastern and Western Church, at an early period, proves a common, and, I doubt not, an Apostolic origin of this rite. (See the extracts, ap. Bingham, B. 11. c. 7, although any extract loses much of the effect which the same passage has, when one lights upon a custom, hallowed to us by the use of our own Church, adduced by an antient Father incidentally, to establish some doctrine, or rebuke some unholy practice.) "Neither do I think it," says Hooker, l.c, "a matter easy for any man to prove, that ever Baptism did use to be administered without interrogatories of these two kinds. Whereunto, St. Peter (as it may be thought), alluding, hath said. That the Baptism which saveth us is not (as legal purifications were) a cleansing of the flesh from outward impurity, but ἐπερώτημα, an interrogative trial of a good conscience towards God."
Note (I), on p. 47. [The references in p. 47 must be transposed.]
In the third place, in which the account of St. Paul's conversion is given in the Acts (c. xxvi. 12. sqq.), it is related more compendiously; and the times at which each portion of our Saviour's teaching was
