Yuille - History of the Baptists in Scotland - Landmark Baptist

with him followed him in this also. The question now arose as to where they
could receive baptism. They had no knowledge of any Baptist in Scotland; Sir
William Sinclair was in fact resident in Edinburgh, but they did not know him
as such. Dr. Gill of London was written to in June and urged to visit Edinburgh
and baptize the group and inaugurate the Church they were forming, but,
unable to do so, he referred them to David Fernie, a native of Fife, who
exercised a wide ministry in Northumberland and Durham. A new application
to Dr. Gill had the same result, but he invited Carmichael to come to London
for the purpose. He did so, preached in Dr. Gill’s Church on arrival, was
baptized by him in the public baptistery in the meeting-house at the Barbican
on 9th October, 1765, in the presence of a company numbering six hundred,
among whom were many Independent and Baptist ministers. The event created
much interest, and a rude attack in a newspaper led Dr. Gill to print the sermon
he had preached from 1 John 5:3, his heads being: —
1. Water baptism is a command of Christ;
2. being a command, it ought to be obeyed;
3. it is a command not grievous.
A war of pamphlets followed. Dr. Gill was attacked by Henry Mayo, an
Independent minister at Wapping and afterwards a tutor at Homerton
Academy, who in turn was trenchantly assailed by Thomas Randall under the
nom de plume of Philalethes. The excitement so grew, says Philalethes, that
“every ranting, noisy tippling-house and every drunken taproom have been
filled with the controversy of baptism.”
On Mr. Carmichael’s return to Edinburgh, he baptized the five adherents
referred to and on 25th November two others in the Water of Leith, close to
Canonmills. f69 The Church would now be formed with Mr. Carmichael as
Pastor, and its place of meeting was the Magdalene Chapel, already leased, and
here the new denomination was initiated. f70 Mr. M’Lean, being resident in
Glasgow, was not baptized until some weeks later, and while in Edinburgh for
the purpose was induced to reply to John Glas’s work on Infant Baptism. This
appeared in 1767 and awakened inquiry. A year later he settled in the Capital
as Corrector of the Press in Messrs Donaldson’s printing establishment, and in
June 1768, he was chosen as colleague to Mr. Carmichael. The pleasant
episode of a visit of brethren from Hexham and Newcastle, as had occurred
more than a century before when the Commonwealth Church existed, cheered
the newly-formed Church. Messrs David Fernie and William Angus bore a
fraternal message, and carried back an equally cordial reply.
The interest aroused by the publications on baptism led to the acceptance of
Scriptural principles in different cities, and persons came from Glasgow,
Dundee, Montrose and other towns to be baptized. These became members of