FERGUSON Christian and Jewish Baptism 209
invisible, in order that you may know that I the Lord am God'
[Isa. 45.2-3; Ps. 106.16, LXX].
(5) And, 'You will live in a high cave of a strong rock, and its water
is dependable. You will see a glorious King, and your soul will
cultivate the fear of the Lord' [Isa. 33.16-18].
(6) And again he says in another prophet: 'The one who does these
things will be as a tree planted by streams of water, which will
give its fruit in its season, and its leaf will not fall off, and every-
thing he does will prosper. (7) The wicked are not so, they are
not so; rather they are like chaff, which the wind drives away
from the face of the earth. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in
the judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the righteous; because
the Lord knows the way of the righteous and the way of the
wicked will perish' [Ps. 1.3-6].
(8) Perceive how he defines the water and the cross together. For he
says this: 'Blessed' [Ps. 1.1] are those who with hope in the cross
went down into the water, because he speaks of the reward 'in its
season' [Ps. 1.3]; at that time he says, 'I will reward'. For the pre-
sent, what he says, 'The leaves will not fall off [Ps. 1.3], means
this: Every word that proceeds out of your mouth in faith and
love will be for conversion and hope to many.
(9) And again another prophet says, 'The land of Jacob was praised
above every land' [?—the last phrase is in Ezek. 20.6,15; Zeph.
3.19]. This means, he glorifies the vessel of his Spirit.
(10) Next, what does he say? 'A river was flowing along on the right,
and beautiful trees come up out of it. Whoever eats of the trees
will live forever' [based on Ezek. 47.1-12].
(11) He means this: That we go down into the water full of sins and
uncleanness, and we come up bearing as fruit in our heart rever-
ence and having hope in Jesus in our spirit. And 'whoever eats
from these will live forever' [Ezek. 47.9; Gen. 3.22] means this:
Whoever, he says, hears these when they speak and believes will
live forever.^12With this passage may be compared two other passages in Barnabas
that without mentioning baptism contain baptismal motifs, including
- I translate the text of Lindemann and Paulsen, Die Apostolischen Vdter, pp. 52,
- There are some significant textual variants, but I will take note of these only as they
affect the discussion of baptism.