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S.: PRINTED BY T. CHAMBERLAIN, 17« AROYLE BTRIBT. 1 04. 3^^^'" wmmrnm^'^w^m'^f jn J 'iiimBjiMr^ i"-"'" ""^ --' "* C y The following Essay has been prepared especially for the benefit of common readers, and for those who cannot afford to procure large treatises. Lunenburg , 1864. THE AUTHOR. X'^'«^ Ttmm BAPTISM. \ For many years, this subject has been prolific of much controversy in the church. Many have fearlessly expressed their <)pinions with regard to it ; they had a right to do so, and we claim, for ourselves, the privilege to do so too. But when we reflect upon the great number, extensive erudition, and eminent piety of the divines who have been enrolled on either side in this controversy, we are at once admonished of the propriety of caution and calmness in the investigation of this subject, and of re- spectful forbearance of feeling towards those with whom we differ in judg- ment. Yet, at the same time, as this is a subject upon which the Bible is by no means silent, and which must be decided by that book alone, and as it is made the duty of all to " search the Scriptures" for themselves,, we may venture, in the fear of God, impartially to examine for ourselves, and to bring the points at issue to the test of reason and of Scripture. I. THE NATURE OF BAPTISM. Baptism, as a Christian ordinance, is the application of pure water to a proper subject, by a lawful administrator, in the " name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." It is worthy of remark, that as the commission to baptize was given to ministers of the gospel alone, no others have a right to perform this office. Here, it will be necessary to consider two things, — Its universal obligation, and Its sacramental import. 1. That baptism is of universal and perpetual obligation may be proved, (1.) From our Lord's express command. — He said to His apostles, " Go ye, therefore and teach — ^a^nxtviaTi, disciple — all nations, baptiz- ing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching — Siiaixuvrtg — them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you ; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt, xxviii. 19—20. This passage contains a command, — to make disciples of all nations, and two directions regarding the way in which it is to be accomplished : 1. By baptizing them in the name of the Holy Trinity ; and, 2, By teach- ing them to observe whatsoever Christ had commanded. It is clearly A«.iSL:, implied in this passage, that baptism is to be co-extensive with the preach- ing of the gospel, and to be continued " to the end of the world." (2.) From (he words of Christ to Nicodemus, — " Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit he cai.not erter the kingdom of God." John iii. 5. By the phrase " bom of water, ^' cur Lord clearly refers to baptism, and recognizes it as an ordinance of His religion. Though we would not affirm that no man can be saved without baptism, yet we believe Christ clearly teaches, in the pa^isago just quoted, that this is the regularly instituted means by which we make a public profession of His religion and enter his visible kingdom. "We may add here, that those who have been baptized with water— having been brought into covenant relation with God— other things being equal — are much more likely to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost than those who uavo not. (3.) From the practice of the apostles. — The history of the Church ghows that the apostles invariably baptized all who believed, and their households. Thus, Peter, on the day of Pentecost, exhorts the people, •' Repent, and be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins." " Then they that gladly received the word were baptized." Acts ii. 38, 41. " But when they believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." Acts viii. 12. If we can show, — as we hope to do, when we come to speak of the subjects of baptism — that infants are scriptural subjects for that ordinance, then it will follow that, for parents to neglect the baptism of their children, is to sin against God, by the omission or neglect of a duty which they owe to God and to their offspring. How very guilty are those persons of our day, who, though 'hey have been instructed regarding the pet' petual and universal obligation of baptism, regard it as a matter of tri- vial importance whether baptism be. administered or not. We may remark here, that as parents are required to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, sponsors are not to be admitted while the parents are yet living, except in cases of adop- tixm or something tantamount thereto. 2. Baptism, in its sacramental character, is the initiatory ordinance into the visible Church of Christ ; and a sign and seal of the covenant of grace. (1.) Baptism is initiatory, inasmuch as by it we are received into the visible Church of Christ, confess Him before men, and thereby enter into covenant engagements with Him as our Saviour and Lord. As it it ,^mmmm mm / initiatory, it is, of course, but once to be adm'nistered, and we regard tbo repetition of it as being little less than blasphemous. Why, then, it will bo asked, did the Apostle baptize again those who had bec.i baptized by John ? Acts xix. 1 — 7. The answer is obvious, — To be a Okritttu. ^ man must bo baptized in the Christian faith : those persons had not been baptized into that faith — having received only John's baptism, which was not Christian — and therefore were not Christians : they folt this, and im- mediately were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. This is a plain case ; but let one instance bo produced of a person being rebaptized, who had before been baptized in the name of the holy Trinity, or even in the naniii of Jesus alone ! The repetition of baptism is totally contrary to the canon law ; it is con- trary to the decision of the best divines ; it is contrary to the practice of the purest ages of the Church ; it is contrary to the New Testament, and tends to bring this sacred ordinance into disrepute. Of such importance is bap- tism, however, that in doubtful cases, when it cannot be satisfactorily ascer- tained whether the individual has baen baptized or not, or if strong objections arise regarding the validity of such baptism, which cannot be satisfactorily settled, the minister may use the element, as the " Church of England " directs, in the use of the following words, — " If thou art not already bap- tized, N., I baptize thee in the name of the Father, ai 1 of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And perhaps it should be observed just bore, that as the ordinance is a public one, it should, if at all possible, he administered in public. Jesus Christ was brought to Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord, Luke ii. 22, and why should not equal importance be attached to the public administration of baptism in our day V The following is the amount of a clause in the " Book of Common Prayer," — "The Curates shall warn parents and guardians that they suffer not their children to be bap- tized at home in their houses, without great cause and necessity, which shall compel them so to do." This public baptism has been regarded as a ceremony of initiation in all ages of the Christian church. CI) Baptism is a sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace. — As a sign it holds out to our view all the provisions and promises of the covenant of grace. The sign in baptism is water, wherewith the person is baptized ; the thing signified is the cleansing of the soul, from guilt and pollution, and the renewing of our nature by the Holy Ghost. As water is employed to cleanse the body from external pollution, so it is apparently used as the symbol of that gracious influence whereby the soul is cleansed and renewed. And as baptism is an acknowledgment of the nollution and guilt in which we are involved, it is also a recognition of t^" e cloan.sing efficacy of the blood of Christ, and the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost. The promise of God is, — " I will pou*- wuter upon him that is thiusty, and floods upon the dry ground ; I will pour my Hpirit upon tliy seed, and my bkWmg upon ihy offspring." Isn. xliv : 3. "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall bo clean ; from all your filthi- uess anJ from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." Ezek. xxxvi. 25 — 2d. As a sign, baptism is especially emblematical of that effusion of the Sprit which is peculiar to the Gospel dispensation. Tliis is, probably, one of the principal reasons why it was subslitutcd for circumcision ; for in bap- tism by affusion — the New Testament n)ode of baptizing— we have a ^ natural symbol of this heavenly gift. Accordingly, the pouring out of the " spirit upon all flesh," which ^s spoken of by Joel, is in the New Testament called a baptism. Indeed, when bapiioii^ is administered by affusion, we have a true representation of the pourinij out of the Spirit, the descending of the Spirit, and the falling of the Spirit upon men. As a seal, it is on the part of God, a visible assurance of faithfulness to His covenant stipulations. Tbus, lie condesje-ds to bind Himself by a pcr[)etual ceremony, to which the weak and wavering may over appeal, as a sensible pledge of his unwavering fidelity. It is our sea? also. It is that act whereby we make ourselves a party to the covenant, and thus " set to oui seal that God is true." In this respect it binds «s, as, in the other, God mercifully binds Himself, for the stronger assurance of our faith. How sacred are the obligations of baptized persons ! The vows of God arc upon 'hem. How gi'.ilty if thoy do not keep the covenant. (3 ) Baptism is not regeneration.— B^axQ let it be understood, — we regard " the new birth" and "regeneration" as synonym /as expressions — we mean that great change wrought in the whole soul by the Almighty, when it is created anew in Christ Jesus, when it is renewed after the imago of God, in righteousness and true holiness. 2 Cor. v. 17. Jivhn iii. 3. We read in Acts x. 46—48, " Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we. And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the liord." This passage clearly proves, that men may receive the Holy Ghost, and consequently may be regenerated without being baptized. Baptisin, therefore, cannot be the regenerating act — that is affected by the power of the Almighty. I iMi Baptism, as wo have before shown, is tlio appointed einbloin, of the great change, cffoctod by the Spirit's gency upon the soul, in preparing it for admission into the pure regions of heaven. It is on tliii^u account that our Lord connects togetliei' in his discourse with Nicodemua |e being born of water and horn of the Spirit. John iii. 5. — the one the sign, the other the gracious change which it signifies- —the former is necessary for an entrance into the kingdom of Cod on earth, i. e. tie visible Church of Christ, — the latter, for our admission to the mystical Chui-ch, the blessed company of all faithful people on earth and in glory. It is on this account that St. Paul speaks in the same connection of "the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." Titus iii. 5. The great apostle unequivocally asserts that this inward change does not consist in any external rite, and that no outward act can be substi- tuted '"it. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any- thing, r r unoircumcisiun, but a new creature." Gal. vi. 15. To assert that ti.e i,prinkling of water is the renewing of the Spirit, is to u "dermino the whole scheme upon which the doctrini' of regeneration is founded, viz., the atonement of Christ, the renewing influence of the Holy Ghost, and the economy of grace. It is true we read. Acts ii. 38, " R r.ov;,!,, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jcsuf Clirist iar the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Now this passage, so far from suppoiting the idea that " baptism," and " the gift of the Holy Ghost" are synonymous terms, ratlier pTovca that buptism, as an act whereby we publicly profess faith in Christ, when connected with evangelical repentance, is, to a certain extent, instrumental in regeneration. IL THE SUBJECTS OF BAPTISM. 1. All believers in Christ who have not been baptized. That faith in Christ i^ a prerequisite — in the ease of an adult — in order to bap- tii^m, wili appear from the language of Philip ; the eunuch said, " See, s.'.e is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized ?" Philip responded, " If thou helievest with all thine heart thou mayest." And he answered and said, " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Acts viii. 36, o7. In the present day, no pedobaptist would administer baptism to a Heathen, Mohammedan, or Jew, till he had first "" preached unto hira Jesus ;" then, upon the profession of his faith in Christ, he would baptize " himself and his hotsehold." That believers are propt ■^ubjcv.ts ibr tLis ordinance will appear from the following Scriptures, — " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved," Mark xvi. 16. " Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holv Ghost as well as we ? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." Acts x. 46 — 48. 2. All subjects of evangelical repentance, who have not been bap- tized before, are suitable subjects for this sacrament. In the passage last quoted, we have an account of persons asking what they should do, that they might be saved. Peter enjoins upon them to " Repent and be baptized." At the time of this injunction they were not the subjects of repentance, but only of conviction — " they were pricked in the heart " — and when they repented, " gladly receiving his words," they were baptized. 3. The infant children of believing parents are Scriptural subjects for the saci^ament of baptism. I use the word believing as it was frequently used at the first propaga- tion of the gospel. A believer, at that time, often meant nothing more than, one who acknowledged one true God, and professed faith in i,he Messiah, in opposition to an infidel or idolater ; but let no one suppose that this alone is the faith spoken of in the New Testament, which is made the instrumental cause of our justification. That the broad assertion, which we have made regarding the infant oflfspring of such parents, is cor- rect, will appear from the following arguments : — 1. From their being admitted to membership in the Church op God under the Abrahamic covenant. That the force of this argument may appear, we notice — (J .) The Church oj God took its visible form in the Abrahamic covenant. — That that covenant was the general covenant of grace, and not wholly, or even chiefly, a political or national one, is evident from the terms in which it is expressed. "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of the country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee : And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing : And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse h'-n that curseth thee ; ana in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Gen. xii. 1 — 3. " And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almi^lity God ; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between WftiMwiw ^^sUtiSSttA 0m f \ f 9 me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abrara fell on his face ; and God talked with him, saying. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram ; but thy name shall be Abraham ; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to thef , and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." Gen. xvii. 1 — 8. " That in blessing I will bless ^hee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies : And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; because thou hast obeyed my voice," Gen. xxii. 17, 18. We notice here, that the first engagement in this covenant was, that God would greatly bless Abraham. That this promise comprehended temporal blessings we do not deny ; but that it referred more particularly to a spiritual blessing — that of justification by the imputation of his faith ior righteousness, with all the spiritual blessings concomitant therewith, and consequent therefrom — St. Paul satisfactorily shows, " That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Gal. iii. 14. The second promise in the covenant was, " that he should be a father of many nations;" which, according to St. Paul, refers more particularly to his spiritual seed than to his natural descendants. " That, the promise might be sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also tyhich is of the faith of Abraham, who is tlie father of us all." Rom. iv. 16. The tlilrd promise was, " to be a God unto Abraham, and to his seed after him," a promise which implies the highest spiritual blessings, such as the remission of sins and the sanctitication of our nature ; as also a vis- ible Church state. It is even used to express the felicitous state of the Church in heaven. " And God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." Kev. xxi. 3. The fourth stipulation in this covenant was, to give to the patriarch and to his seed after him " all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession." This was more than a temporal promise, being the type of the higher promise of a heavenly inheritance. ii nMftI 10 Hence St. Paul says, " By faith he sojourned in the laud of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise." But this faith did not respect merely the fulfilment of the temporal promise ; for the apostle adds, " He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is* God." Heb. ii. 9, 10. The final engagement in the covenant was, that in the seed of Abraham " all thj nations of the earth should be blessed." And St. Paul shows that this blessing was nothing less than the justification of all believers in all nations, by faith in Christ: " And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gos- pel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which bo of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." Gal. iii. 8, i>. This covenant, therefore, though it had respect to a national seed, Is'.ac, from whom a numerous progeny was to spring, and to an earthly inheri- tance, the land of Canaan, provided for this issue, was nevertheless, under these temporal advantages, to all intents and purposes the covenant of grace. This covenant was perpetuated in its visible form by that special covenant which God made with the descendants of Abraham, in the line of Isaac and Jacob, whom He acknowledged as His visible Church. (2.) Of the Ahrahamic Covenant, circumcision was the sign and seal. — The children of Jewish parents, undei' the former dispensation, were not only allowed to be circumcised, but were positively required to he so, under penalty of excision from that covenant. " This is my cove- n.ant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee ; every man-child among you shall bo circumcised. And ye shall circum- cise the flesh of your foreskin ; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised ; and my covenant shall be in yout- flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man-child whoso flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people ; he hath broken my covenant." Gen. xvii. 10 — 14. ' This rule continued from the time of Abraham, throughout all the Jewish dispensation, till the time of Christ. " Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him." Gen. xxi. 4. And Christ was circumcised on the ..^^ 11 eighth day. " And when eight days were accomplished for the circum- cising of the child his name was called Jesus." Luke ii. 21. The great apostle of the Gentiles was circumcised also. He says of himself that lie was " circumcised the eighth day." Phil. iii. 5. At the end of the Jewish, and c( iiimencemeut of the Christian dispensation, though the covenant remained the same — as we shall presently show — yet the sign and seal were chan ^ed. (3.) The Chri'dian C: xrch is a continuation of the Jewish — and that the co"'^nani under lohich we live is the same that God gave to Abraham, will appear from the following considerations : — First, the covenant was to be everlasting. " I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for a i everlasting covenant.^^ Gen. xvii. 7. Secondly, Abraham is recognized in the sacred Scriptures as the f ither of all true believers. Thus St, Paul *ells us "he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being ur. jircumcised : that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also ; and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he had, being yet uncircumcised." Rom. iv. 11, 12. Thirdly, that Christ came to sit — spiritually and ecclesiastically — upon the throne of David. " Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David, and upon his king- dom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from hencefDrth even forever." Isa. ix. 7. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his lioly prophets, which have been since the world be- gan ; that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oatu which he sware to our father Abra- ham that he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life." Luke i. 68 — 75. These passages are so clear, full and explicit, as unmistakably to show the intimate connexion between the covenant which God made with Abraham and the Gospel dispensation. Accordingly, Christ claimed the Jews for his own people. " He came unto his own." John i. 12. Fourthly, the Ab ahamic covenant was not annulled by the promulgation of the Gospel, but was thereby extended to all nations, according to its original intention. ■ H I 12 Hence the visible Church of God, which for ages had been confined to a single nation, instead of being dissolved, was opened for the reception of the believing Gentiles, without any respect to any national distinctions. St. Paul, in the eleventh chapter of Romans, compares the believing por- tion of the Jewish Church — the true sons of Abraham — to a " good olive tree." By the breaking off of some of its natural branches he represents the rejection of the unbelieving Jews ; and by the grafting in of others from the wild olive-tree, the reception of the believing Gentiles. In all this it is taken for granted by the apostle that ih^ " good olive tree " — the true Abrahamic church — is still standing. He. therefore, adds, that if the broken-off branches — the unbelieving Jews — " abide not still in unbelief," they shall be united again to their own olive tree. Thus the unity of the Church under the former -?nd the present dispensation is fully established. Indeed, the covenant which God made with Abraham was an epitome of the gospel. Hence the Apostle says, " The Scripture, fore- seeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying. In thee shall all nations be blessed." Gal. iii. 8. (4.) Baptism has taken the placj of circumcision, and is to the present dispensation, what circumcision teas to the Jewish. — That bap- tism has precisely the same federal and initiatory character as circumcision, and that it war instituted for the same ends, and in its place, we have abundant proof in Col. ii. 10 — 12 : " And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power ; in whom also 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.^' Here, the apostle not only shows that baptism is the initiatory rite of the new dispensation, when he says, " in whom also ye are circumcised," but, also, that it has the same oflice under the Christian, that circumcision had under the Jewish dispensation ; for he expressly calls it " the circumcision of Christ," — a hebraism, meaning Christian circumcision. That baptism has the same office and importance as cir- cumcision anciently had, will satisfactorily appear from Gal. iii. 27 — 29 : " For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Tiiere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's" — by thus being baptized and by putting or, Christ — "then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs recording to the promise." The argument is decisive. It was by circumcision, believingly received, thai strangers or heathens, as well as Jews, became the spiritual " seeo KMPI 13 of Abraham," and heirs of the same spiritual and heavenly promises. But in this passage the very same office is ascribed to baptism ; the con- clusion is theiefore inevitable, that baptism is to us what circumcision was to the Jews. This view is corroborated by the consideration that both these rites are pymbolical of the same moral change. St. Paul tells us that '• circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whoso praise is not of men, but of God." Rom. ii. 29. In like manner he speaks of baptism as emblematical of a death unto sin, and a new spiritual life. •' Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death ; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk iu newL3ss of life." Rom. vi. 4. To the substitution of baptism for circumcision it is sometimes objected that as the latter was restricted to males, the former would be placed under the same restriction, if it had been substituted for circumcision. This objection, however, can have no force, except with the uninformed. Circumcision and baptism are both what we denominate positive institu- tions. Who then will dare to affirm that God had not a right to determine the circumstances under which they should be signs and seals of his covenant ? Let us now sum up the argument and see whether it does not amount to a Scriptural warrant for the practice of infant baptism. It has been shown that the Abrahamic covenant was the general covenant of grace ; that children were embraced in that covenant, and were admitted into the visible Church by circumcision ; that Christianity is a continuation, under another form, of that covenant which God made with Abraham ; and that baptism is now the sign and seal of the covenant of grace — under the Chrii-t'.an dispensation — as circumcision was vinder the Jewish dispensation. Surely it follows from the foregoing, that as the infant children of be- lieving parents, were proper subjects for circumcieion, under the Old Testament, so the infant children of believing parents, are proper subjects for baptism in New Testament times. To us, however, there need be no stronger proof of this, than is found in the " great commission " itself, Jesus said, " Go ye therefore and — fi.u9iixiv<;axt — disciple all nations, ia;?- itzm^r them," &c. Now do not infants belong to nations? Are they not included in the word nations ? Does not the greater always include the less ? If so, and who can deny it ? luen why deny infants the rite of baptism ? when Jesus commanded them to be baptized. The only means whereby this argument can be set aside, is the adduction of some scriptural prohibition of infant baptism. But such a prohibition does not exist ; and this single fact is a sufficient proof, under the circumstances of the case, that infants have a right to this sacrament. We never read of a Jew complaining of the new dispensation, on the I '•^m.'- 14 ground, that under it, his children would not have privileges eqtial to those enjoyed by them under Judaism. The reason is obvious,— the cause for such complaint did not exist. To prohibit infants from entering into God's covenant by baptism, when they had always been entitled to enter into it by circumcision, is therefore a censurable interference with the authority of God-a presumptuous at- tempt to fashion the new dispensation, in ttUs respect, so as to conform to mere human opinions. We might, if necessary, use an argument— strong and long— m favour of infant baptism, 2 From Scripture Testimony. We shall however make use of but . two single passages. The first is Mark x. 14. " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them n )t ; for of such is the kmgdom of God. This passa