IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 liilli 125 ■tt lU 12.2 ^ — III itt u US. L25 114 11.6 Photograidiic Sciences Corporation 23 WBT MAIN STRKT WnSTIR,N.Y. I4SS0 (716)172-4503 '^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHfVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian tnstitut* for Hiatorical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductiona hiatoriquaa Tachnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha Instituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy avaiiabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. 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Mapa, platas, charts, ate., may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraly includad In ona axpoaura ara filmad baginning in tho uppar laft hand comar. laft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raqulrad. Tha following diagrama lllustraca tha mathod: Laa cartaa, pianchaa, tablaaux. ate., pauvant Atra fiimAa i daa taux da rMuction dlffirants. l.orsqua la document est trop grand pour Atra raproduH an un saui clichA. 11 aat filmA A partir da I'angla aupAriaur gaucha. da gaucha A droita, at da haut an baa. an pranant la nombra d'Imagaa nAcaasaira. Laa diagrammaa suivanta llluatrant la mAthoda. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 8 6 25 2./ HUT THE GOOD OLD WAY: \XHmXH ON THE NATURE, IMPORTANCE, AND SUBJECTS or CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. By rev. D. F. HUTCHINSON, ALTHOR OF THE "ESSAY ON THE I/>RD'8 DAT," "BIBMCAL CHART,'* " GOD'S OWN CHURCH," " CI.A8S BOOK ON RHETORIC," AND " ASTRONOMICAL PHII.080PHY." Pr^iwd in 8t Pad's Chnrcli, Bridgewater, N. 8^ on the First Smdaj in IM, Febj., 14, 18Si, and foUished liy nqnest. HALIFAX, N. S. ^ MACNAB 8t SIIaFFER, BOOK & JOB PRINTBRS.^' 1864. C She (S00tf i6tA 9!^. '* Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations — ^baptising them in the name of the Fatlier, and of the Son, and of tlie Holy Ghoet." " — Mat. xxviii. 19, These words are frequently termed the Apostolic eommission, and are intimately connected with the Holy Catholic Church in every period of the Christian dispensation. They were uttered by our blessed Lord d little before his ascension into heaven, and may be .regarded as his last charge to the Apostles whom he had chosen. You will immediately perceive, my brethren, that our Saviour here institutes baptism as a sacrament of the Christian coveiiant, and that accord- ing to the original, MatJieeteuscUe parita te ethna bapti- zontes autous, the Apostles were commanded to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them, thus plainly implying the importance and benefits of the divine sacrament. In calling your attention to these words I purpose by God's assistance to notice — I. The nature and design of Christian Baptism. II. The proper subjects of the holy ordinance. A Sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace, instituted by Christ himself, as a seal to all the Cove- nant promises of the Gospel, and as a visible channel through which divine grace is imparted. Now, as my text assures us that baptism was instituted by Christ, and as it has for its outward and visible sign the ele- ment of water, and for its inward grace the Spirit of God with the water, producing a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness, we most Justly pronounce it a sacrament of the Christian Church in which is communicated grace to the receiver according to the Word of the Lord. This blessed sacrament is not only the door of en- trance into the visible Church, but it is also the ordi- nance in which believing parents and their children are regenerated to Christ, and it is that alone in which we have been born again^ and become the children of God. This indeed appears evident from the fact (hat while duties, practices, and graces, are in the New Testament often urged upon the baptized, the new birth is never once urged upon those who have already been grafted into Christ in this holy ordinance. The administration qi water alone^ although shed upon the subjects abundantly, would not constitute the sa- crament of baptism, unless accompanied by the Holy Spirit, and in accordance with the word of our Sap viour. In St. John iii. 5, our blessed Lord taught this great truth to Nicodemus, " Except a man be born of water and the Spirit^ he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Frpm this it appears evident that there is no true baptism without water and the Spirit, the water being the visible, and the Spirit represented by the 'Watoi: being the invisible part of the sacrament. The i9f»tecl^elf would be a dead ordinaiio^, but with the I ''*.'*'''?*4jsi..<- i channel fy as my y Christ, I the ele- Spirit of in and a onounce which is ig to the •r of en- the ordi- children in which children the fact i in the scd, the tio have [linance. cd upon the sa- le Holy our Sar is great f water dom of e is no e water by the . The ith the Holy Spirit it becomes a living one ; nor are we autho- rized to believe that in ordinary cases the Spirit will be given without the application of the water. Jesus said, ^^ bom of water and the Spirit, and the Holy Ci^ tholic Church throughout the world has reiterated the saying do>vn to the present hour : and as be limited the new birth to water and the Spirit j and never in his whole life intimated the possibility of regeneration coming through any other channel, so his Church, loyal and true to her Saviour, declares in her public service, with boldness and confidence, the doctrine of baptis- mal regeneration. Thus in conformity with our Lord's teaching, St. Paul writes in his Epistle to Titus, ** Accofding to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneratiorty and renewing of the Holy Ghost. — ^Titus iii. 6, 6. Now, here again my brethren, the Apostle presents to our view the full sacramentj consisting of the two parts^— first, the washing of regeneration, and, secondly, the- renewing of the Holy Spirit — the former the visible, and the latter the invisible part of the sacred ordi- nance. Unbelievers sometimes tell us that St. Paul here refers to a spiritual baptism, and to that only, &b that according to their view of the subject he speaks of nothing in the passage but the renewing of the Holy Ghost ; but unfortunately for them he also speaks in the- same connection of the washing of regeneration : thus introducing the full sacrament with its two parts, the birth of water and of the Spirit, agreeably with the doctrine of Jesus. But St. Paul in the text just quoted declares, "we are saved by the washing of regeneration and renew- ing of the Holy Ghost," and the objector enquires in '■J'il.'A' .w*^" astonishment, .'' Can we be saved by water?" We cannot indeed, my bretliren, be saved by water, but we can be saved, and we ai*e saved by the Holy Sacra- ment, water and the Spirit; the water being the acknowledged channel through which the Holy Spirit is imparted. But where did St. Paul receive his in- formation? I aiswer icon Christ himself; for as when Saul of Tarsus he was struck down to the ground by a light from heaven, and heard a voice which he knew to be that of Jesus saying unto him ^^ Saul, SauU why persecutest thou me ? " the convicted sinner im- mediately made the anxious inquiry " Lord what wilt thou have me to do?" — Acts ix. 6. And the Lord said unto hun *^ Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." Accordingly he was led to the city, and there Annanias, the or- dained minister, was directed to instnict him. But how does he do this? By collecting a few of his neighbors together ii^ the shape of a modem revival meeting for prayer, in order that the wanderer might be reclaimed, or be truly regenerated ? Not so my brethren ; Annanias had not so learned Christ. What then was the promised instruction which was to be im- parted to Saul in the city ? We have it in the follow- ing words, ^' Arise, and be baptized, and wctsh away thy sins." — ^Acts xxii. 16. He complied with the hea- venly requirement, and received the remission of his sins " by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Nor is St. Paul alone in declaring that we are saved through this heavenly washing; for when speaking upon the same subject St. Peter uses the verj' same language. Thus in speaking of Noah's ark saving the I. I I eight souls at the time of the flood, lie says ^^ tlic like tigui-c whereuDto even baptism doth now save us." — 1 Peter iii. 20, 21 : and this baptism that now swves U8 embraces the whole sacrament, viz : the washing of r(igeueration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. A similar enquiry to that of Saul's was made by the awakened Jews upon the day of Pentecost, or Whit Sunday *' Men and brethren what shall we do? " The enquiry of course had reference to the favor of God and the salvation of the Lord. Now my brethren, you know the answer a sectarian would naturally give to the aforementioned question. You must attend oiu* prayer meetings, we are going to have a revival, and expect a great many sinners to get religion at it. You must bow down before a mourner's seat, and we will all unite with you in pleading with God until he regenerates you, and you are born again. Thus sec- t^irians teach, and thus they substitute the appoint- ment of man for the solemn ordnance of God. But what saith the Scriptures, to the enquirer, verily the very same that the Church says " Repent and be bap- tized everyone of j^ou for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." — ^Acts ii. 37, ;^8. And 0, if the sects had been in existence at that time how they would have abused the Apostles for teaching such a doctrine ! They could not have ealled it popish, for neither the papist nor sectarian had any existence when the words were uttered ; but they would undoubtedly have found some other name to distin- ouish it by. The whole thing would have been de- nounced as unevangelical, and the college of Apostles would have been loaded with reproach by our modem Uyhts had they been present at the delivery of the 8 famous sermon. Donbtless they would have said vre do not fancy this religion of Peter, for he says what the Churchman says we must be baptized /or the re- mission of sins, in order to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost ; but we believe in receiving this gift and the re- mission of sins also antecedent to baptism -and inde- pendent of it. Peter preaches against our doctrines and thinks no religion right but his own, whereas we think our sect and faith is as good as another. But, my brethren, this doctrine of the apostles is just as reasonable as it is divine : for if baptism be what Christ represents it to be (Mark xvi; IG), the seal of the Christian covenant, it is but natural to judge that i|e must enter into the covenant' before w(; obtain the benefit of it. And the system that teaches the contrary doctrine, that remission of sins, adoption, and such like blessings can, and must be obtained 1)e- fore baptism to entitle a person to receive it, is most unquestionabl}^ of the devil, for the obliteration of trae religion, and the annihilation of the church : there- fore his opposition to the New Testament doctrine of baptismal regeneration. This apostolic faith as taught in the passage of holy Scripture just quoted, sets forth the true character of the Christian Sacrament^ not in one part alone, but in both parts conjointly : imter and the Spirit constitut- ing the sacred rite. John the Baptist we are told. " pi*^aclied the baptism of repentance /or tfn remisdon of sins" Luke iii. 3, and Christian baptism is invari" ably declared to be both by water and the Spirit, Mnt. _ iii. 11, the water the sign and the Spirit the thin«r signified. But here again the unbeliever objects to baptismal regeneration from the fact that in their sub- 3reas we V/ sequent life the baptized very often give sad evidence that they have neither part nor lot in the matter of true religion : Acts viii. 24, on this account therefore many reject the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. But the temptation arises from the calvinistic teaching " once in grace always in grace," and persons embrac- ing that dangerous eiTor naturally enquire how can all baptised persons be regenerated, unless they have all been predestinated to life eternal before the foundation of the world ; and being convinced that the baptized are rot all predestinated, they cannot belie v? in bap- tismal regeneration. But, my brethren, in the sacred Scriptures we are warned of the possibility of the baptized freaking the saci'ed covenant, and thus forfeiting all the blessings of it, Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6, and that therefore we are to watch, Mat. xxv. 13, and to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure, 2 Peter, i. 10, evidently implying that it is not made sure to those who habitu- ally break the covenant of their baptism. Still we are safe in preaching baptismal regeneration because it is clearly revealed in the divine Word. We are assured that the prodigal was a son when he was sent into the fields to feed swine, nor was he mistaken, for the Father acknowledges him as his child, or as being born again, Luke x\\ 24. Indeed there are many prodigals who wander from their father's house, the church, Heb. iii. 6, but who have been truly born again in the divine sacrament. St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians, pronounces every one of that church as being born again or made the children of God. Thus he declares " ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus : for as many 10 of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."— Gal. iii. 26-7. Now it is difficult to imagine that when a Judas was found among the Apostles that all the Galatian Christians were traly and sincerely pious, but we are most certainly assured that they were all regenerated, simpl}^ because they had all been baptized into Christ, Gal. iii. 27, and this was the rea- son the apostle gave for saying they were all children. Oh but, says the objector, they were all pious I Very far from it indeed. In the 4th chap, and 20th verse the apostle expresses a doubt of their piety and intimates that thej" had fallen from grace. He says " I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain," Gal. iv. 11. He was confident that in many of them Christ was not formed, Gal. iv. 19, and yet to such Christians as these he writes " ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," giving, at the same time the reason why he said so, "/or as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." Indeed, I am very much astonished that there should be any but one opinion upon the subject of baptismal regeneration ; for I believe Christians of every sect and party regard baptism as the door of entrance into the Church. Then surely it is the ordinance of the new birth ; for how could a person be bom into the Church before he be admitted into it? and if by bap- tism he be admitted into it, then surely by baptism he is born into it. And if Christ admits him into his church by baptism, does he do so, and retain his sins? but if God forgives, whom he receives in the sacra- ment, does he not also acknowledge the person re- ceived as his child ? and if he thus acknowledges him in the sacrament, then surely he regenerates him in 'X 11 the holy ordinance just as the New Testament teaches. 1 Pet. iu. 21, Titus ill. 5, 8, Acts ii. 37, 38, Marki. 4. Now that baptism is the ordinance of the new birth into Christ's body the Church, is as evident from the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament as that penitency and faith are essential to salvation. Thus St. Paul writes to the Romans, " Know ye not, that so many of ns as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death." Rom. vi. 3. And in 1 Cor. xii. 13, we are informed " that by one Spirit they were all baptized into one body:" and that this body into which they were baptized was the church we learn from his Epistle to the Ephesians, in which he informed them that God gave Christ " to be head over all things to the Church which is his body" Ephe. 1. 22, 23. Therefore the meaning of the following passages, "• Baptized mto t/esws Christ " Bom. y'l. 3.4. ''Bap- tized into one body" 1 Cor. xii. 13. " Baptized into Christ," Gal. 3. 27. ** Baptized for the dead," 1 Cor. XV. 29. " In Christ," 2 Cor.^xii. 2. "Who were in Christ before me," Rom. xvi. 7. "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord," Rev. xiv. 13. Baptismal regeneration is the acknowledged faith of every branch of the Catholic Chm'ch in existence. It is confessed in the Second Article of the Augsburg Confession, where it says " that natural depravity is really sin, and still condemns and causes doctrinal death to all those who are not bom again b}^ baptism and the Holy Ghost." So also in Luther's Catechism in answer to the question, "What are the benefits of baptism?" we read, "It causes forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives everlast- ing salvation to those that believe ; as the word and * ; (l! 12 promise of God declare.*' Again in the same catte- chism we have the fdllowing questions and answers : " When did the Holy Ghost be^n this sanctification in you? In the holy ordinance of baptism. What did God promise you in holy baptism? God promised, and also bestowed upon me the forgiveness of sins; life and salvation." Thus the doctrine is expressed and confessed by the Church of the blessed refor- mation. The Church of England also in her Catechism has thie following: "What meanest thou by this word Sacrament?" " I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual gi'ace given unto us" "What is the outward visible sign or form in bap^ tism? Water, &c. What is the inward and spiritual grace? A death unto sin and a new birth unto righ- teousness: for being by nature bom in sin, and the children of wrath, we are hereby made the children of >» grace. True to the sacred Scriptiures the Methodists also in their catechism adopt the very language of the church catechism, and declares the sacrament to have two parts — the outward and the inward, the former water ^ and the latter a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness. So also the Presbyterians confess in the Westmin- ster Confession "Baptism is a sacrament of the Kew Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible church, but also to be unto him a sign and seal of tlie Covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of re- generation, of remission of sins, and of his giving up -I, unto God through Je3us Christ, to walk in nevmcas of life : which sacrament, is, hy Christ's own appointnieQt, to be continued in his church until the end of the world." Chap. 28, Westmin, Conf. , Also in Section 2 of Chapter 27, we read, " There is in every sacrament a spiritual relation, or sacra- mental union, between the sign and the thing sig- nified." So also in the Larger Catechism, in answer to ques- tion 165 we have what follows : ** Baptism is a sacra- ment of the New Testament wherein Christ hath ordained the washing with water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, to be a sign and seal of ingrafting Into himself, of remission of sins by his blood, and regeneration by his Spirit ; oia/3^tion and resurrecti(»i unto everlasting life ; and whereby the parties baptized are solemnly admitted into the visible church, and enter into an open and professed engagement to be wholly and only tbe Lord's." Such, my brethren, is the testimony of all learned Christian bodies in regard to the great truth of our re- generation to Christ in the holy sacrament of baptism. Thus, having noticed the nature and design of Chrj|i- tian baptism, I proceed II. To notice the subjects of the holy ordinance. In order, my brethr^ to understand this subject correctly, it is necessary to understand the great coyqa- mission as found in my text. In it wc find the siib- jects of baptism as communicated to us by Christ him- self in the following words, " J!faA:e disciples of ,a(l naUions, baptizing tJiem" ^l^aptizing ^hom we naturf^lly u ^l I I .;« I inquire? the nations according to the plain words of my text. Now nations are composed of men, women^ and children, therefore, when Christ commanded his Embassadors to make disciples of the nations by bap- tizing them he gave commandment to baptize infants AS well as men and women. But says the objector, he meant to exclude the infant : for believing adults are only embraced in the commission. But as Jesus did not except the infants it becomes sin in any mortal man to do so for him ; and if one man's whims be allowed in this case why not another? If it be proper and right in one to say that Christ meant in this com- mission to exclude the infant, has not another an equal right to say he did not mean to include the male? and may not the third declare his belief that our Lord in- tended to exclude the female? Thus presumption might be added to presumption, and Christ's holy ordi- nance might finally be set aside altogether under another supposition that he did not mean what he really expressed, when he commissioned his apostles. But in spite of all contending parties the words of Jesus still stand sure, " Make disciples of all nations baptizing them." He has made no exceptions, and even the church itself has no right to do it for him. And my text is the guarantee to all his ministers to the end of the world to baptize the infants in the name of the Holy Trinity. But we are told by some that the commission means that the nations must be made disciples first, and then be baptized on profession of their discipleship. They say that Christ meant to enjoin three things, each standing in the same relation to the command as the other. First we are told he commanded his apostles . 15 i 1 to make disciples of all nations, secondly he command- ed the disciples thus made to be baptized, and thirdly he commanded that they should afterwards be taught. But, my brethren, our blessed Lord does not issue three commandments in the passage, but only one. For if he did the known laws of grammar would require that each item should be enjoined in the same form if con- tained in the same sentence. The wording of the commission we find delivered in one imperative verb {matheeteusate) and two participles baptizontea and didaskontes, the firat signifying make disciples, the second bccptizing, and the third teaching. We have the very highest authority for believing that these are not alike imperative ; for the active participle when connected with the imperative mood always expresses the manner in which the thing commanded is to be performed. For instance the following: Clean the room, washing it ; clean the floor, sweeping it ; cultivate the field, ploughing it ; sustain the* hungry, feeding them ; furnish the soldiers, arming them. Make diaei- pies of the nations, baptizing them : all of which are exactly the same forms of speech. £very scholar in existence will acknowledge this to be correct. The thing to be done is expressed b}' the imperative verb ; and it is only the manner in which the thing is to be done that is desciibed in the connected participle. And so matheeteusate " disciple the nations," describes the whole work to be done. This is the general impe- rative injunction, including all that follows ; whilst the participles baptizontes and didaskontes, baptizing and teo/ching them only describes the mode or particular way in which the disciples, or scholars, are to be made. Matheeteusate presents the work to be accomplished, u And the participles baptizorUes sixid didakontes do^qnhe the way in which the great work enjoined is to bo effected: and therefore infants are included in the oomniission. Indeed, my brethren, in this commissioB Jesus very plainly includes our children. He does not regard them as infidels, sceptics, foreigners, and strangers, but as Cliristians, constructive believers, at least until they have grown to years of discretion, and by tbpir own deeds have placed themselves in a different atti- tude. " What an idea I " exclaims the unbeliever. " Might we not as well attempt to cure bedlam with syllogisms as reason with persons who speak of believing militant infants? If any general should talk of raising an jumy of infants to oppose an invading enemy he would ■at once be deemed insane, and his sovereign, would not one moment longer intrust him to command." Let us see where this terrible charge of madness falls, and with what sort of logic it is sustained. In Jeremiah 1. 5, God says to the youthfhl prophet, ^^ Before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee." In Hosea xi. 1, the Lord saith, ^' When Israel WAS a child, then I loved him." In Luke i. 15 ,tte, an- gel declares of John that he should be " filled with: the .Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." St. Fftul says to Timothy, iii. 15, " From a child, {apo brepJwtia) from an infant, thou hast known the Holy Scriptures ; " and Jesus says of infants ^^ of such is the kingdom^ of heaven." ^' Supposing," it is said, ^^ a statesman would call a parliament of infants he would be deemed inswiie." And why ? we ask. Because they have neither the ne- 17 cessary knowledge nor experience. Very true. And yet it was deemed right and proper by the whole nation that the Fdnce of Wales should be acknowledged a member of the House of Lords fSrom his infancy ; and from his baptism his name occupied the first place on the roll of that honorable house without disadvantage to British interests, or the credit of the British Consti- tution. In the book of Numbers, iii. 28, we read of the family of the Eohathites that to their males from a month old and upwards was given the charge of keeping the sanctuary. What I the objector might say, infants a month old to keep Grod's sanctuary I Might we not as well attempt to cure bedlam with syllogisms as reason with persons who talk of Infants keeping a charge? Yet, after all, this was the very arrangement of God himself, and recorded by the Holy Ghost for our learning. In Deut. xxix. 10, Moses says to Israel, '* Ye stand this day all of you before the Loixl your God ; your Captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, ypur little ernes, your wives, and thy stranger, that thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord, thy God, and unto his oath which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day." What ! infants enter into covenant, infants stand up to take an oath, — ^madness, exclaims the unbeliever ; but either Moses was a lunatic, or this very thing was done. The fact is, God never did enter into covenant with man without including the infant. The covenant with Abraham included the infant eight days old. — Gen. xvii. 7. The covenant of Moses did the same. — ^Deut. xxix. 10. And the new covenant, as embraced in my text, did the same thing, for the infant was mcluded 2 18 among tlie parties that were to be made disciples b}' baptism. And when St. Peter full of the Holy Ghost came to expound this new covenant on the day of Pen- tecost, he said to all who yielded to his words " The promise is to you and your children." — ^Acts ii. 38. Thus far, my brethren, I have showed you that Christ included the infimts in the commission, as found in my text. I will now proceed to show you that the Apos- tles themselvea understood it in the same light that we do, and that they did therefore baptize infants. In Acts xvi. 14, 15, we read of a certam woman named Lydia^ whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended to the things that were spoken of Paul, *^ and she was baptized and all her {oiJcoi) family or household." In the same chapter we also read of a terrified jailor, that he was baptized and all his. In 1 Cor. 1. 16, St. Paul declares, ^' And I baptized also the {oiken) family, of Stephanus." In Acts x. 2, we read of a devout man who feared Gk)d whom St. Peter baptized with cUl his {oiko) family. In Acts xviii. 8, we read also of Chrispus, the chief ruler of the Synagogue, who was baptized with all his (oiko) family. In 2 Tim. i. 16, and iv. 19, we find mention of the (oiko) family of Onesiphorus in a way that leads us to believe that all its members bad been baptized, and that mention made only for their father's sake. Nor is there any good reason why the families of Aristobulus and Narcissus, Bom. xvi. 10, 11, should not be in the list of Aposto- lic household baptisms. Here there are eight (oiko) families, four of them ex- plicitly said to have been baptized by the apostles, and all referred to as Christian families, and therefore certtdnly not unbaptized. Now have we eight instances 19 iples b}' Ghost ofPen- "The 88. tt Christ id in my le Apos- that we its. In named ittended she was id." In lor, that St. Paul imily, of out man '' all his also of ^ho was Q. i. 16, mily of that all nmade y good rcissus, ^posto- of the administration of the Lord's Supper? Not half that number. Have we eight instances of the change of the Jewish into the Christian Sabbath? Perhaps not one-fourth of that number. Yet the communion and this change of the day are vindicated by apostolic practice as recorded in the New Testament. How can we, then, deny that the apostles baptized children with then* parents when it is established by a series of in- stances more numerous than can bo found in support of any other doctrine, principle, or practice himded down Ax>m apostolic times. But during the last fifty or a hundred years the Church has been gravely told that Lydia's kouaehold consisted only of servants who were associated with her in conducting her business, and that the house of the jailor was perhaps similarly constituted. But I most positively deny that oikos ever signifies servants or at* tendants. It denotes blood, lineage, progem/y, ehUdren according to all authority on the subject. <* The house {pikoa) of Israel " means the children of Israel ; ^' the house of David," the lineal descendents of David ; *^ the house of Judah,'' the progeny of Judah ; and not the servants and employees of Israel, David, and Judah. " Oikos" says Aristotle " is a companionship connected together acccyrding to the course of nature," " The first social connection," says Cicero, " is the conjugal, then that of children, and these constitute a house or family." " I know Abraham," saith the Lord, " that he will com- mand his children even his house {oiko), family or child- ren after him." Indeed I know not one single case in the New Testament or in the Septuagint where oikos docs not mean children, and for the most part it means children exclusively. Talk of oikos meaning only at- 20 tendants and slaves ! why every Greek scholar in exis- tence would laugh to scorn such on idea, and utterly despise the man who should undertake to maintain it. It is a remarkable) fact thai the eai'liest and perhaps the best translation of the New Testament, the Sjnriac, says of Lydia that '* she was baptized with her chil- dren." But we are gravely told that Lydia's children were grown men, because they are expressly declared to have been brethren, whom the apostles saw and comforted when released fVom prison. But we are not told that Lydia had any grown up soqs, and a Sunday scholar would readily know that the brethren of Paul and Silas referred to, were, unquestionably, Timothy and Luke theur companions in travel and fellow mis- sionarios. But it is also insinuated that after all, the jailor's children were grown persons, because that it is said he rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. See there ! sa3^8 the unbeliever : these babes are old enough to know spiritual joy, and to utter the praises of God. Well, be it so. Jeremiah was sanctified before he was born, and St. John the baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. The record, however, says nothing about spiritual joy, or praises to God in connection with the jailor's children. The words are, explicit that he himself did the rejoicing, ** believing in God." This he did not in the absence of his family, but with all his house, those old enough sympathizing with him in the joy of his mar\'ellous de- liverance from impending death, and the youngest not excluded from the scene of his festivity. Indeed, my brethren, if the jailor's children were adults, how did it happen that St. Paul promised salvation to them on 21 r in cxis- d utterly ntain it. perhaps e Syriac, her cbil- children declared saw and e are not I Sunday of Paul Timothy low mifi- e jailor's is said he ise. See d enough of God. B he was feith the record, raises to 1. The jjoicing, absence enough ous de- vest not ed, my r did it em on condition of their father's faith. The apostle said to the Jailor alone, *^ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy (oikos) children." Let the imbelievcr explain this if ho can, and tell us whether, when ho immerses a father, ho thereupon pro- mises salvation to all liis grown up sons and daughters. Now just admit that the children of believers are enti- tled to baptism, and everything about the passage is explained ; but deny this and the whole case is forever inexplicable. The Bible says that the jailor's children were baptized along with himself, and that salvation was promised to them on the ground of their father's faith ; and the double inference is, therefore, inevitable, that they were not of an age to make a Christian pix)- fcssion for themselves, and that the apostles did ac- tually baptize children. But as to the children of Stephanus, it is said that they were adults when they were baptized : first, be- cause it is said that ^^ many of the Corinthians believed and were baptized ; *' though there is no evidence that Stephanus was a Corinthian at all, he and his (pikoa) family being, we are told, ^^ the first fhiits of Achaia ; " and, secondly, because it is said of them that they had ^^ addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints." But gi'oat changes occur in growing families in course of eight or ten years. The boy in the year fifty-one, when Stephanus and his family were baptized, would naturally be a man in fifty-nine, when the record was made. The eldest of the children of Stephanus may have been ten or fifteen years old when they were bap- tized, whilst others may have been mere babes ; and yet it might easily be said of them ten years afterward, that they had showed much kindness to their fellow 22 Christians. Our Sunday Schools contain many a cliild entitled to be called an angel of mercy for its good deeds towards the poor and suffering. And why could not these children, especially under a pious father's guidance, some of whom were now pretty well grown up, addict themselves to ministering to the saints, al- though ten years previous some of them were mere babes. Does the objector hold that once an infant al- ways an infant, and maintain that because this family was noted for its kindness in A. D. 60, not one of its members could have been under ten or twelve yei.rs of age in A. D. 50? If not, then all the stress laid upon the Chi'istian activity of the "first fruits of Achaia,'* ten 3'ears after they were baptized must pass for nothing ; and we are left to believe that the chil- dren of Stephanus, when baptized by St. Paul, were no more than children. Indeed the very manner in which we come to know anything alx)ut this baptism is con- clusive evidence that even so long after the baptising had been performed these children were yet too young to be of any material force in the affairs of the Church, Factions had sprung up at Corinth. One was for Paul, another was for A|k>1Ios, and a third was for Peter. A letter was written to rebuke these disorders. St. Paul the writer of it sets himself to show the absurdity of such a thing as a Paul party in that Church. Ho tells them that he had been crucified for nobody, and that with his own hand he had not baptized any but Chrispus and Gains, who do not seem to have taken the general infection. And then with a certain tardi- ness, as if he were undecided as to whether it would be worth while to mention it, he adds, " Hoivever, 1 bap- tized the household 0/ Stephanus," intimating that they thf wi« awj \ 23 were hai-dly to be taken into account on this question, as they were not of sufficient influence or age to be much support to any party. He first passes them al- together : " I thank God that I baptized none of you but Ghrispus cmd Oaiua." We demand the reason of this total omission. Had St. Paul forgotten ? Can an inspired man, recording his own official acts, forget? There is no explanation, and can be none given, ex- cept upon the ground that these children of Stephanus were yet minors, and for that reason quite out of the question which the Apostle had before him. If they had been adults, they were just as likely to be Paulians, because St. Paul had baptized them, as Chrispus and Gains, and it could only be because they were still too young to have anything to do with those party disputes that St. Paul esteemed it hardly worth while to refer to them in such a connection. If this does not prove that children were among the subjects of Apostolic baptism, we know nothing about the force of evidence. And as to the fact that the house of Stephanus addict- ed themselves to the ministry of the saints, were tliis a proof that they had among them no infants, we might find a proof that the house of the Recabites had among them no infants, because in Jer. xxxv. 2-11, they ad- dicted themselves to perform the commandment of their father. The general terms are even stronger in the latter instance than in the former ; but in both, the exceptions of infancy may be equally understood. A book written about thh'ty-six years ago, to prove that infants were included in the oikoif baptized by the Apostles, was submitted to the Baptists of Britain, with a challenge for their refutation. Years passed away, but no refutation was attempted. The book was 24 ^ectM solicitauon ^^^^l^ ^^^, tm the ve- truth of it«P»«^«°"ri Inftom that day to the quest was disregarded, ^n .^^^ „f attempt at an answer by any mp the Jtlantie Ocean. ^^^x that infant Thus far, my !'-*^";i^'e:iission given by baptism is found in the ^acrea tj,em^lves so CWst t» his Apostles, '>;^ ;^„*\, «,,enantof regarded it. ^^^^"^""'ZCJl^-o^^^^^onu^ .Wch baptism is the ^^ and f--^^ the character you will °^f" "1^ „ade with Abraham, subject. ™« •^^''"''"trirgiven to him. It was and it is the same now as w Jn gvv ^^ ^^_ ^^ „«le about thirty y<^^^^ ^pter of the boolc of you may learn from *e ^w^^'hap .^ ^^ ^ Usis ; and it -- -^«^i^in, «s its sign and venteenth-at which tune ore ^^ ^^ ^^^ seal, was instituted. ^"^'' ,^^1 keep between me ...Thisismy covenanWhi^ye^;^^ ev^ry man^iuld and you, ''"*^*yJXoumcised." "Axid he that is among you ^^^^^'^/r' cireumoised among you.'- eight ^r,f^f^B„riX^Pecianyt»directyour Gen. rvu. 10, 12- J^" covenant was never to attention to the 2' «i,^^%he blessings of the terminate, and that ^\f^° ^ seventeenth chap- gospel. I^t^rrSi^t^God says to Abraham: ter of the book of GeneBis, ^ > ^^^^^ ^ ^^ « And I wiU estabhsh ^^^^'^ ^^^i,^ oove- thee, and thy seed after *««' ^°^*°„,enant is «aid to nant " Now in this quotation the cov I 1 25 be an everlasting one ; which I think is very positive testimony that Gk>d did not design it to be abrogated by the Christian dispensation. Accordingly we find David referring to it, in such a manner as to show he was well acquainted with the perpetuity of its charac- ter : " Be ye always mindfUl of his covenant, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, even the covenant that he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac, and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant/' On this passage I need hardly say that David refers to the covenant of Abraham ; and as in the book of Gen- esis this covenant is said to be everlasting, so David in this passage declares it to be spoken to a thousand generations ; but as it was only forty and two genera- tions from Abraham to Christ, we have very strong evidence for concluding that the law of the covenant was never to be repealed. Nor are we left merely to reason from the Old Testament scriptures upon this subject ; for in the New Testament the covenant is re- garded in the same light. Thus, in the third chapter of St. Paul's epistle to the Galatians, 14th verse, we read of " the blessing of Abraham coming on the Gen- tiles through Jesus Christ.^ Verse 17— Of the pro- mises ^^ being made to Abraham and his seed." Verse 18— Of the impossibility of the covenant being repealed with the ceremonial law. Verse 29 — Of all baptized persons being Abraham's seed, and heirs *' according to the promise :" thus in the most imcquivocal language giving testimony to the fact, that Abraham's covenant was not to be repealed, and that it embraced the bless- ings of the gospel. This truth being ascertained, as it has been to a po- 26 0itive certainty, you will immediately see its bearing upon infant baptism ; for if the covenant be the same now as when given to Abraham, it must embrace the same subjects, viz : believers, and their infant children ; so that if I can but prove Christian baptism to answer the same purpose as Jewish circumcision, and to be ordained in its place by the authority of Christ, I prove all that is necessary to be proved upon this subject, and thereby sustain the doctrine of infant baptism. — And here allow me to say that as the infant child was entitled to the seal of the covenant in the old church because God had promised to be its God, so the In- fant child is entitled to the seal in the new church, and that for the dame reason. — Gen. xvii. 7. I shall, therefore, with this understanding, proceed to prove Christian baptism to be affixed to the covenant as its sign and s6al, even as circumcision was affixed to it, in the former dispensation. In the gospel by St. Mark our Lord declares, '^ He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved." — Mark xvi. 16. Now as salvation is the covenant that God made with Abraham, and our Lord affixed baptism to this covenant, is it not mani- fest that he regarded it as the token and seal of his covenant, and in the place of Jewish circumcision. Accordingly St. Peter instructs the Jews, saying, ** Repent and be baptized every one of you for the re- mission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost ; for the promise is unto you^ and to your children.'* — Acts ii. 38, 39. Now what promise could Peter refer them to, but the well known words of the covenant — " I will be a God to thee and thy seed after thee : " and why should he thus connect baptism with this covenant, if he designed not to teach them that 27 mag same e the dren ; nswer to be prove abject, ism. — Id was churcb the in- church, I shaU, 3 prove t as its ed to it, ;t. Mark aptized, baptism was in the place of circnmcision, and the seal of the covenant ? Nor is there any force in the evasion, that the apos- tle referred his hearers to the prophecy of Joel ; for, could this be even proved, the conclusion would be the same — that prophecy being founded upon the covenant, and having direct reference to its blessings. In a pas- sage which I have already quoted i^om St. Paul's epis- tle to the Galatians, he pronounces all baptized per- sons Abraham's seed, and heirs according to promise. Now as it is an acknowledged fact, that of old none were'considered as the children of Abraham but those that were circumcised : so the apostle would (and that not obscurely) present the truth, that baptism is now the seal of titie covenant, causing its subjects to be Abraham's seed, and ^^ heirs according to promise." But we have still more positive testimony that baptism was appointed by Christ, in the place of circumcision. In St. Paul's epistle to the Colossians they were plainly told, that baptism was " the circumcision of Christ."— Col. ii. 11, 12. "In whom also (says he) ye are cir- cumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ : buried with him in baptism,*' Now need I inform you that, according to this passage, the Colossian christians wei*e regarded by St. Paul as being in a circumcised state — " In whom also ye are circumcised " — and should any inquire as to how they were circumcised, the apostle answers : "By the cir- cumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism:" thus plainly intimating, that baptism was Christ's cir- cumcision, and consequently the seal of the covenant. It is called Christ^s circumcision, just as tlie iirst day 28 of the week was called, by St. John, the Lor^s day, be- cause the Sabbath was changed to this day by Chrisf b appointment ; or the Eucharistio supper was called the Lord's supper, because the Loixl changed the ordinance of the passoyer to this sacrament : and in the same sense, we are to regard baptism us Christ's circumci- sion, because he appointed it in the place of circumci- sion, and as the token of his covenant. If we adopt this interpretation of the passage, we may trace a fitness and accuracy of expression which can scarcely fail to assure us of its justice. Bid Jew- ish droumcision represent the operation of divine grace upon the heart? Deut. xxz. 6, Bom. il. 28, 29, so does Christian baptism : Mat iii. 11, Heb. z. 22, Ezek. xxzvi. 26. Did Jewish circumcision Initiate its sub- jects into the congregation of God's people? Gen. zvii. 14, — so does Christian baptism : John iii. 5, 1 Cor. zii. 18. Did Jew&h circumcision entitle its subjects to be called the children of God? Mat. zv. 26, Acts iii. 25, — so does Cliristian baptism : Gal. iii. 26, 27. Was Jewish circumcision affixed to the covenant by divine appointment? Gen. xvii. 10, 11,-— so is Chris- tian baptism ; Mark xvi. 16, Acts ii. 88 ; and if thus answering every purpose of Jewish circumcision, there was an accuracy in the apostle's pronouncing it ** the circumcision of Christ," which most certainly demandis our special admiration. ^ The whole of this ¥rill appear still more consistent, when you clearly understand that the Jewish and the Christian chm'ches are one and the same body; and that Christ came not to destroy that church, which he bad established in the days of Abraham and the pro- phets. In the eleventh chapter of St. Paul's epistle to m iBtfB I the ance same amci- lUtnci- 56, we aJew- aivtoe , 29, so J, Ezek. Its sub- ►? Gen- 6, 1 Cor. sabjecta 26, Acto . 26, 27. «ant by isChris- Ld if thus Lon, tbcre It "tbe demands onslatent, Ih and tbe iy; and \vbich be |id the pro- , epistle to the Bomans, this troth is oleari^ presented. (Rdunt xi. 17, Mat. xz. 1«, 1 Peter ii. 10, Bjph. H. Id, Hosi ^i ^ 2d^«-In the sevBoteenth irterBev the. Jenrs are lefireaeiitod * as. branohes wfaiob are bcokea from oiff theiii Own , diva : tree; while ^ the Gentiie Christiana aie said to bee; graftecl in among them, and with them parlalcfingi ofi the root and fiitaess of the dive tree. In thenine** teenth verse, the Jewa are said to be thai natural, branches of tiilatiree ; wliile tiia G^ntilea aie introdiiisedi as bein^ cut ok^ of the' wild ea^ianationa:' I. shall: therefi^i iremarlty tha^ as efaviatiana a»e siiid to be grafted into-.the Jewish choreb, it: is oiverfriiehxiisi^y evidenitbey most be gralted in l^ sonto onHnance-of divine appdntmemt ; and' what ordinance oan- tiiat be, but the drenmcis&on of Christ, whidi St. FiKdi affirms to be baptismy and which, as I have< already^ proved^ is: the door {* them is a remaritable allnsloii to our dispeneatkm ; and iu connection with this altaslon, we have the> fiillpwlng testimony : ''Their children shalli be as aforetime," 3 so s«ith the Lord, Jer. xzx. 20. Now, th^, granting the truth of this prophecy, it must be evident to all, that Qod did not design to repeal the law of bringing in- fants into his churoh ; for you must all know, that, the prophecy in question would not have been Ailfilled if f our children wei^ not as aforetimek Therefore the pas- sage, in the very clearest light, sustains the members ship of InfiBuits, in our church and dispensatioii.rr- : In the twentynsecond chapter , of Isaiah^s prof^eey, we have a sin^lar prediction to that of Jeremiah. For thus saith the Lord, when speaking of the promised Messiah, *f And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his other's house-— the qffapring i^d the issue "-ri, \ Is. zxii. 24r By his fqAh^s h/o%m^ we are to under- stand the churoh : which language clearly proves that by Divine authority they are not now rejected. But as it is unnecessary for me to multll^y proofs upon this subject, I shall only refer you to one or two passages more, and then pass cm to their fiilfillm^t. ^' Behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles," saith the Lord. Is. zli^. 22. *' For they are the seed of l^e bless^ of the Lord, and their f>Q9^moi yA\h them.'*^s. Ixv. 23. ^' I will pour my spirit upon thy seecJ, and my blessing upon thine oj^^pWn^."-^Is. xliy. 28. Now when we compare these predictions of the Christiaii church, with the acknowledgment of the New . Testament, we may be satisfied that Christ, in his Gros- pel, does not alter the standing of our infants. Dpes the prediction say, '^ Their children shall be as afore- time?'' Jesus acknowledges the truth of this predic- tion, when he says of the little children, '* Of such is the kingdom of heaven," Mark x. 14, Luke siym, 15 ; and that this kingdom, meana- the church, is evident pri anj tin wrij Ag, discj Irl Johi sons! 31 . 5^» My Ih is 15; Leut from the following passage : ** Verily I say onto yim, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter thereln/'^^-Mark z. KH, 16. Now then, if little children are thus in the king- dom^— if they ai*e to be looked ui)on as models of imi- tation— if by becoming like little children, a person becomes a member in the kingdom, and the subject of bapUsta ; surely those little ones, thus represented, are equally entitled to the ordmance. Does the prediction say^^^ They shall hang upon the Messiah all the glory of his father's house, the ofEhpring and the issue?" Jesus acknowledges the prediction when he says, *' Whoso shall receive one such child in my name, re- oeiveth me.^'-r-Hatt xviii. 5; Now I ask, how is Christ's church to receive the child, unless through baptism, which, is the seal of the covenant, and .the ordinance of ini:tiation? In the language, then, of Christ, infant children are. members of his church. In the language of St. Peter, they are sUll- the subjects of Abraham's covenant; Acts ii, 89, Gal. iii, 14; aad in the language of St. Paul they are stlU included Iq the blessing of Abraham, and consequently they are the true subjects of baptism. I shall now call your attention to the fact, that the practice of baptizing children was universal, without any exception, in the primitive age of the church, Jus- tin Martyr, about forty years after the apostolic age, writes of all Christians receiving spiritual circumeisioUt Again, he refers to several who, he says, were made disciples of Christ from their infancy. Irenius, who was well acquainted with Polycarp, (St. John's disciple,) says, " Chiist came to save all per- sons who by him are regenerated to God : in&nts^ « 82 iifttle iMiesv yohiths, Ind elder peraoos/' Agftin, fa« •i^'s, when Christ gave his apostles comoiand of re- gAieuJ&ag to Gkxl, he said : *^ Go teaoh all nations, Impii^ng them." > Origea, : who was boib eighty-five years fVom thie apostle's day, dedaKta, thut the thnvoh had a oouamand fbom the^podtlies, to b^^tiise in&nts* Cyprian, and the Council of Cartha^te, A. D., 8&8, may nest; be introduced^ The following qnestioti fo&> Ipg pro{k>aM wing wordi^:*^ : ; . > ** As to the case 6t infatits, of whom ^on said that they onght not to be ' baptised within tiie Second and third day lifter their birth; 'and that' the ancient law of faroumovBion ^hopild be so fiur repeatied, that they oaght not to be baptised until the eighth day ; we wer^ all of a different opinioh : for, if even to the foulest oiOtend- er, 'When he believes, remission of sins is granted, and noneis proMbH«id flNMn bajitism, how mueh more should an infant be admitted, who, being just bom, hath not sinned at all, exc^t, being comalfy born through Adam, he hath contracted the contagion of ancient dedth. Our sentence, thert, m fas, Iced lies, tect, f will QUy observe, at preieni, tliat the vftlidity of iii- fant bfiptitiin was niot denied by any sect, iintii about A.D. 1103. It was first denied i» France, by Peter De Brois; bat bis sect very soon became extinct. It was next denied in Grermany, A.D. 1522; but the whole current of scriptural, traditional, and historiclil evidence goes to show, that infhnt baptism was prac- ticed by Christ and his aix>stle8. Tints far considering tlie evidence in favor of infai^t baptism, I now proceed to reply to certain objections which, from time to time, have been bix>ugl)t ibrward against it. And in the first place, it is stated that St. Paul in his epistle to the Hebrows, gives evidence to prove that the covenant of Abraham was repealed by the ushering in of the gospel^ Now what does St. Paul say upon tlie sul^ect? He tells us xat fk fttuUy covenant; Heb. viii. 7, 8, 9 ; and of a new covenant being made with the house of Israel, instead of the ftiult^^ one. But does he say tliat this covenant was the covenant whieh God made with Abraham? Most certainly not^ for there is no reference to Alnttham's co>renant, in the passage. The covenant Of Abraham was ti6t funky; for It embraced Christ and the gospel. — Gen. xli. d; Abraham's covenant was said to be an everlasting one^ and, therefore, was not to be repealed. — Gen. x\^ii. 7. Abraham's covenant, being i^poken to a thousand generations, must be considered as of perpetual duration.*— 1 . Chroa; xvi. 1 5, 1 G. Abraham's covenant, being made four hundred and thirty yeu^ before the ceremonial law, according to St. Paiul, could not be r^ealed with that law — Gal. HL 1?;; and hen^ the irresistible conclusion, tliat Abraham's eovenaikt is not alluded to, in the passage. What oovenani, 84 then, does the upoetle refer to? I answer, the cove- nant of Horeb, which was made four hundred and thirty years after the covenant of Abraham : and this Is positively ezprest ed in St. Paul's quotations from Jeremiah's prophecy — ** Behold the days come, salth the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel : not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers^ in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt." Accordingly, in Deuteronomy, Moses says: ^^The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb ; the Lord made not this covenant with our others, but with us, even us, who are all of us hei« alive this day." — Deut. V. 2, 8. The conclusion, therefore is that Abra- ham's covenant is not repealed. But again, we are told that Abraham's covenant was a national compact, having respect to the possession of the lands of Canaan, and other temporal blessings ; and that drcumdsion was nothing more than a token or badge of national descent, by which the posterity of Abraham should be kept pure from other nations, until the promised Messiah was bom. To this I reply, that the objection is far worse than absurd; it being in direct opposition to the whole omTent of the sacred Scripture. What greater blessing can mazi desire, or can God bestow, than the one embraced in the covenant^-'* I will be your God, and ye Shall be my pieople : " and in accordance with this, St. Peter says to the inquuing Jews, *Hhe promise is unto you and your children," viz : the promise of the covenant, in which God covenants to be a God to Abraham and his seed : and so, also, St. Paul informs us of Abraham's blessing coming on the Gentiles, 86 use of to L*ms lies, through Jesiis Christ; and of all baptized personi being Abraham's seed, and heirs according to promise. The only part of the objection, therefore, worthy our notice, is, '^ that circumcision was a mere badge of na- tional descent." This, however, is as directly opposed to Scripture as the other ; for Abraham's servants re- ceived that seal, as well as his natural seed — Ishmael ' as well as Isaac — Esau as well as Jacob. — Gen. xvii. 12, 13, Gren. xvii. 2, 8. And the descendants of those men who were excluded fh>m the promise, have retain- ed the same rite even to the present day. Moreover, St. Paul declares, *^ that tbev are not all Israel, which arc of Israel ; neither because they are the children of Abraham, are they all children ; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called : the children of the promise, are counted for the seed." — Rom. ix. 6, 8. Now if the covenant of Abraham were a mere national compact, and had respect solely to temporal blessings, there is not a word of truth in this declaration : for, on that ground, they were all Israel, who were of Israel, and the chil- dren of the flesh, whether believers or unbelievers, did inherit the promise. But when St. Paul tells us, that all believera, whetlier Jews or Gentiles, are tbo chil- dren of Abraham, he teaches us that Abraham's cove- nant was something more than a national compact ; and that it had respect to somethmg nobler than the lands of Canaan. But it is said that hi the gospels repentance and faith are regarded as prerequisites to baptism. There- fore the argument drawn from our Lord's words — *' He that believcth and is baptized, shall be saved/' *' An infant cannot believe, and therefwe it must not be baptized." But this argument proves too much; 86 for it depnves the infant odT salvation, as well as of baptism. ^^ He that believeth not shall be damned : " an infant cannot believe, and therefore it must lie damned. Now I appeal to yonr judgment, if the argu- ment fbr the eternal condemnation of the infant, be not as strong as the one that excludes it from the chris- tian privileges of baptism ; and yet very few pretend but that it is possible for an infont to be saved. In- deed, every argument that would exclude the infant from baptism, would also exclude it from heaven ; for if it be not tlie subject of baptism, it is not the subject of grace ; and if it is not the subject of grace, it is not fit for the society of angels and saints. But the passage in question does not say that faitb^ in the subject, is an essential prerequisite to baptism ; but only, that both are necessary to everlasting life, therefore instead of the text being understood in any other sense^ the inspired writers adduce iVequent in- etonees of baptism preceding repentance, faith, and the forgiveness of sins. Thus John's baptism was only unto repentance. — Matt. iii. 11. Peter informed the Jews, liiat Christian baptism was for the remission of sina, Acts it 38 ; and Simon Magus, after he was bap- tized, was pronounced by the apostles to be in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. — ^Acts viii. 13, 28^ It is stated, in the same chapter, that *^ the Holy Ghost was fallen on none of them ; only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." — ^Acts viii. 16. It is true^ that it is said of Simon, that ^^ he believed also ; " but as he was in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity, his faith could not be Jus- tifying Mth» It is Bald of those that were baptized with bim, that they believed Philip, preaching the \ 87 lus- ted the things concerning the kingdom of God. And this was the nature of Simon's faith — a simj^e belief in the gos- pel similar to the belief of those who inquired of Peter saying — ^' What shall we do ? ** when he said to them, ^^ Repent and be baptized for the ramlssion of sins : " ^bus plainly intimating, that they bad not yet received the remission of sins ; and yet they were the subjects of baptism. From all this it is evident that our Lord did not intend that saving faith should at all times precede this ordinance ; and hence little children may be baptized without it. Again, it is objected against infant baptism, that if it take the place of circumcision, it is not valid unless administered on the eighth di^y. To this I reply : cir- cumcision was valid, when 'administeredupon any day ; and why not baptism F-^Esc. iv. 29, Josh. v. 2. It is further asserted against baptism being in the place of circumcision as the seal of the covenant, that the Holy Spirit is said to be this seal ; and hence it is thought that baptism is excluded. And what, I ask^ is baptism but an outwai'd expression of the spirit's operation ? for this oi^eration of God's spirit upon the heart, is the very thing signified by the sign : hence the meaning of the following passages : ^^ He shall bap- tize you with the Holy Ghost" — " 1 will pour out my spirit " — " I will sprinkle clean water upon you^'-** '* Then shall he sprinkle many nations " — " I will pour water upon him that is thirsty." So that if God's spirit be the seal of the covenant, it must be regarded as its invisible part, which all acknowledge to be represented by its outward and visible sign, water. Of Uiis, how- ever, I have already given you sufficient testimony. But when all other objections fail, it is urged that ;if 38 baptism take the place of circumcision, we should not baptize females ; for they were not circumcised. To this I reply : that, although females did not receive a mark of circumcision under the foimer dii^pensation, yet they were considered as being circumcised, on the ground of their standing in the male. It is well known that no uncircumcised person was permitted to eat of the passover ; but females partook of it ; and therefore females were regarded as being in a cu'cumcised state. Besides, we have tlie example of Christ and his apos- tles, for baptizing females ; and this we regard as suffi- cient. Think not, my Brethren, that it is left with you to determine whether or no you shall have your offspring consecrated in holy baptism ; for if God has instituted this sacrament for their benefit, and you be found to reject the ordinance of his appointment, it is fearAilly to be expected that he will look upon you as the despisers of his covenant. How many professed Christian parents most shamefully neglect the baptism of their children ? How many seem to look upon the ordinance as if it were entirely useless, or as if it were an unnecessary bunlen, rather than a christian duty? How many there are in this age of impiety, who, with- out any respect for the oixlinance of Gknl, just name their children as they do their domestic animals, and thereby place them as strangers to the covenant of pro- mise? Unbelievers may often suggest to you what good can a few drops of water do upon the face of the child; but this is nothing else than to question the propriety of the divine institution. The Israelites might have thus reasoned, when they were commanded 39 bism the rere ity? rith- tme land )ro- I the the lites led ; tolook upon the brazen serpent in the wilderness ; and Moses might have questioned the utility of smiting the Bed Sea with his rod ; but it was no more their busi* ness to question the propriety of obeying these com- mands of God, than it is ours to question the propriety of baptizing our children. The grand question which must determine our duty, in believing and practising infant baptism, is this : — ^Do the inspired writers ac- knowledge it to be a divine institution? or, is it an ordinance of Grod's appointment? Fond~jr, I beseech you, the evidences I have introduced ; and if, after sur- veying the whole ground, you still feel doubts concern- ing the truth of any leading sentiment in favor of the doctrine, propose to yourselves this question, and see that you answer it to your own satisfaction : By what method are the arguments in favor of infant baptism, to be set aside? or how are they to be explained away, on the supposition that they are really on the side of But the inquiry — ^What good can the baptism of lit- tle children do? which is so often sounded in our ears, can, after all, be intelligently answered. By it our children are grafted into the church of God : Bom. vi. 3 : by it they are recognized as the children of God : Gal. iii. 26, 27 : by it they are secured the blessings of the christian covenant : Mark xvi. 16, Titus iii. 5, 6 : by it they receive their name, which continually reminds them of their covenant vows. — Acts xv. 17, 2, Ghron. vii. 14, Amos ix. 12, Luke ii. 21. In a word, it se- cures to them every blessing for time and eternity ; and, therefore, it is of infinite importance, as a means of grace, and an ordinance of God. We need not be informed, that God can bestow blessings without bap- 40 tism. We have nothing tx> do witfi what €rOd vMp db. Hifir Gipirit is said to acoompairjr the water, and it is, therefore, our doty to prize- the ordinance, lieoause it is of his app