o''. IZ/OZ. Srom t^e £i6rati? of f^e feifirar^ of (jpttnceton C^eofogtcaf ^emiMtg BV 812 .A19 1847 Adams, William, 1813-1897 Mercy to babes ) l Mtxt^ to Sabea: A PLEA FOR THE CHRISTIAN BAPTISM OF INFANTS, ADDRESSED TO THOSE WHO DOUBT AND THOSE WHO DENY THE VALIDITY OF THAT PRACTICE, UPON THE GROUNDS OF THE DOCTRINE OF BAPTISM, AND THE ETERNAL SENSE OF HOLY WRIT, AND OF THE DOMESTIC, SOCIAL, AND RELIGIOUS NATURE OF MAN. BY WILLIAM ADAMS, S. T. P. PRESBYTER OF THE PROTESTAXT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IK THE DIOCESE OF V/ISCO.N'SIN, Mercy is twice blessed. It blesseth him that gives and him that takes." NEW- YORK: STANFORD AND SWORDS, 139, BROADWAY. 1847. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by WILLIAM ADAMS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New-York. PRINTED BY JOHN R. M GOWN, CVl. FULTON-STRT. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. To those who may read this treatise upon the subject of infant baptism, the author wishes to submit some preliminary considerations as regards both Iiis own position and the mode in which he wishes to approach the subject. And the first and most important is this : he comes not to the subject as a controversialist. He lias the strongest con- victions of the evil of that, which in the present day is called " controversy." He sees that in the majority of cases it is not a discussion of the truth, to be perused and weighed by the layman of either side, but a personal conflict between two minds for victory, regarded by themselves and by their respective partizans solely in the light of champions of party and intellectual gladiators. In the usual course of such combats, the writer has seen many evils. Strong assertions of fact where such facts do not exist ; innocently made, because taken upon the authority or argumentation of standard writers of the sect, and yet untrue and doing all the work of falsehood. Persevering imputations of conse- quences, which logically should foilov/, and yet do not, because cur nature, originally formed of God, does and will in practice correct, to some degree, the natural and logical effects of the worst doctrines. Personal imputations then of iv PRELIMINARY REMARKS. evil motives, and venemous assaults upon character and repu- tation ; and, worst of all, the little paltry literary manoeuver- ing th?.t attends upon all such combats, the small logic and smaller v/it, the flippancy and personal snubbing which nowadays seem inevitable to such argumentation, and because of v/hich, at the present day, the grave, the sober, the earnest, and the high minded, detest the very name of controversy justly and with sufficient cause. These evils, some of them unavoidable in " controversy," at all times, and some the peculiar products of our own age, might be borne with, if controversy were of any probable service. But when we look at the state of Chris- tianity in our days, sect-divided into a multitude of jarring fragments, because of this fact, the natural consequences of controversy seem to attend upon it in their worst form, and secondly, it seems wholly useless. For the men most likely to enter into controversy and carry it on with ability, the clergy of the various denominations, are bound and pledged to their several opinions, be they true or false, by ties which would require a great deal more than the argumen- tation of one antagonist mind to break the slightest of them. The clergyman who has inclination and abilities to defend his opinions, which are the opinions of his sect, is bound to them by affections, by his friendships, by his interests : all these things, vv^hich must have their weight, tie him down, and attach him in weightiest degree to that opinion he de- fends. These things must have their weight with all. Moreover, the very subject of debate, in his opinion, is connected with the highest and holiest purposes, even with the salvation of the world ; and the fact that he sustains PRELIMIMAKY REMARKS. V it against a multitude of opponents, makes him almost unchangeable. Furthermore, when he has once entered into the field, if he has any appearance of success, right or wrong, he gets the applause of his denomination ; he is a champion, so esteemed and so rewarded ; however good and pious a man he may therefore be, vanity must come in, self-esteem and pride. The angry passions then are roused by the reply ; and so the truth is forgotten, the man's own position is to be maintained, and that at all risks, and the strife goes on in this style till the sense of decency in the public permits them no longer to peruse abuse and violence couched in polished and courtly language. Who ever heard in this day of a controversy decided, or a controversialist converted by his opponent ? Again, if we look at it in another point of view, we shall see the inutility of controversy more plainly still. Contro- versy is a discussion. It is just the same as the pleading of a cause, save that the arguments are in wiiting. It therefore presupposes a judge having authority to decide. Where in the present state of Christianity is the judge 1 Between a Churchman and a Baptist, a Romanist and a Methodist, entering into controversy, where is the judge ? Does any one suppose that because the Baptist, or Romanist, or Me- thodist champion, is vanquished by his opponents, that their very respectable denominations will turn round and deter- mine that their peculiar distinguishing doctrines for which he combated, are unscriptural and untrue ? Surely not ; they will do no such thing. It would be the height of folly to expect it. They may by a great stretch of candor allow their champion to have been defeated, but it is the champion VI PRELIMINARY REMARKS. personally, and not his cause. If there were a judge having authority, instead of antagonist sects merely, as is the case in controversies carried on between members of the same denomination, it would be otherwise ; then the matter in dispute would be the matter decided upon, not the personal merits of the pleaders. If Christianity were one, controversy, as such, would be useful, whatsoever temptations there might be to the controversialist to fall into the faults aboA^e mentioned ; inasmuch as principles once settled would henceforth be no longer mooted points, but be acted upon as principles of life. Now sect-rent as it is, there can be no decision between opposing sects, because there can be no judge. But some one will say. Public Opinion is the judge. In matters of political concern it may be. For then there is an ultimate court of appeal, and an ultimate authority to decide and settle disputes, and men must bow to its decisions. But religion in this country is by the law of the land a matter between a man and his conscience. My neighbor, therefore, by the law of the land is no judge of my religious opinions ; has no authority at all ; I may hold any opinions I please, on any motives I please, and with any realization of them in practice I please, provided they are not opposed to the morality of common law ; that is, provided they are neither a " nuisance " or an " injury " to my neighbor. He has therefore no authority to decide upon them, whether right or wrong, within these limits ; and all respectable sects keep within these. No arithmetic therefore can give to my neighbor collectively, that is, the Public, the right which the one individual does not possess legally. My neighbor may FRELIMINARY REMARKS. Vll think my opinions or my practice upon these opinions very silly or very pernicious, but except he can prove an actual injury done to himself, his business is to let me alone ; and the same is the case with ten or ten millions. But besides this, the constitutional and common law view of the case, does any one in his senses suppose that I or any other sincere Christian will be willing and content to trust the authoritative decision of the dearest and most vital points of Christian truth — points to us of such importance that our estimation of their value prevents Christians from being united in one body — to the opinion of a mass of men, full one half of whom have no interest in Christ our Lord, whether by baptism, profession, or any thing else, and the remainder, save our own denomination, are pledged against us by all the ties of sect? No; controversialists may well be pleased when the " public " applauded, for they know then that so much of an impression is made upon the mass in favor of the opinions they seek to maintain. They may therefore, by a kind of innocent hypocrisy or unconscious deceit, make the public the judge. But in sincerity and truth, the absurdity of taking such a body as a i-eal judge of controversy, is one which no man and no denomination in its senses, at the present day, can be guilty of. I for one shall be guilty of no such hypocritical conduct. I appeal not to the public. I bow not to its decisions. I belong to that body whose business it is to correct and conquer public opinion, and vanquish majorities — the king- dom of heaven — ^the one Catholic and Apostolic Church of God — the little leaven that leaveneth the whole lump. -fjfi FHELIMINARY REMARKS. The Bible then is the judge, of course ; the fountain of our faith. All Protestant denominations agree in this. Personally the author gives the fullest consent to this truth, and cannot better express his opinion than in the words of one of those articles which, in these days, some belonging to our communion in England, have most dishonestly tried to misinterpret ! Holy Scripture contains all things neces- sary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read therein, or may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be counted requisite or necessary to Salvation. Art. 6. This is the opinion of our Church as to the Bible. Still in the opinions formed upon matters of faith from the Bible by any man or body of men, there are two things which go to make it up, the infallible word of God, and the fallible mind of the individual. Public opinion, therefore, upon the Bible, this I do not count authoritative; this I will not submit to. Nor do I imagine that a Baptist or a Pilethodist v/ilj much disagree with me in this decision. These then being my opinions as to controversy, I come not before the readers of this book as a controversialist assailing others or defending. And I hope that he who reads this book will find that throughout it, I shall act up to the determination here laid dov>^n. For with God's grace no one shall find here any of the jangling, the bitterness, or the malignity of controversy. If the book shall be assailed, I shall make no reply ; only this I shall do, read the work of my opponent as careiliUy and as candidly as I can. And as no man is infallible, if errors in fact or in reasoning are detected, I shall correct them if the book goes on to another PRELIMINARY REMARKS. IX edition. For with controversy, properly so called, I would have nothing to do ; of its evils I have the fullest sense ; of its uselessness at the present day I am convinced in the jfullest manner ; and I do conceive that truth ever must be victorious ; and with truth upon my side I am content to go on quietly, believing that neither my reputation, nor the cause I support, will perish even if I make no reply to the rejoinders of a hundred exulting antagonists. I am the further established in this opinion by another consideration, which I shall take the liberty of submitting. One of my strongest objections to controversy has been its negative and combative character. It assails and refutes error, while itself may be in the wrong, upon the very point in debate. For truth is but one, error is manifold. If a man establishes one truth, he destroys a thousand errors in as many different directions. Let him only assail error, he may be just as far wrong himself. I have, therefore, no sympathy for the assaults of such men as Voltaire upon superstition. 1 care nothing and give nothing for them. This principle I have acted upon in my ministerial life. I have sought to establish truth, and never assailed error save in this way. I have ever preached what I considered the truth, and left it to combat the error ; and thereby I have found great advantage ; for all men that are sincere in these days are seeking for the truth ; and truth so declared comes without offence, and must ultimately be successful. The same course I shall pursue in this book. Many persons may think that the course which I have thus marked out for myself to pursue is a very strange and 1* X PRELIMINARY REMARKS. impracticable one ; nor will this opinion be diminished when they consider that the subject of it, the baptism of infants, is one of those subjects the most controverted at the present day. Yet, perhaps, a statement of my own personal position will in some degree explain this to them. The author is a priest of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and this from a free and deliberate choice, because he believes her organization to be of divine origin, and her doctrines, her form of worship, her tone of religious feeling, the most in accordance with the bible and the Church in the purest ages. This conviction, taken up as he be- lieves, sincerely and upon due examination, has not de- creased in strength, but all reading and all examination has tended to strengthen it, as well as all experience, and all emotions and feelings. He is therefore willing to abide by her standards taken in the plain literal sense, and to take them as his standards of religious truth. The reader there- fore knows where to find him. The Book of Common Prayer is in the hands of tens of thousands. These are the writer's doctrines, these his opinions, and from them, taken in the plain literal sense, he does not shrink. A position at once free and bound ; freely taken and freely maintained, and yet to which he is bound. Such a thing there is, hoM'- soever the present lovers of unrestrained liberty may deny it ; for armor of iron and steel upon the unwilling is shackles and manacles, while to the willing wearer it is protection and defence. Now in the Book of Common Prayer there are no less than two offices for the baptism of infants, the author there- fore is committed as a Psedobaptist — ^bound to it. In fact, PRELIMINARY REMARKS. xi go clear is the doctrine, and practice, and feeling of Church- men upon this point, that it would be as great an absurdity to imagine a regular Baptist minister who should preach and practice infant baptism, as a clergyman of the Church who should oppose, or deny, or even doubt the truth and scripturalness of infant baptism. Other denominations may waver, but of the position of these two there is no doubt. Every one that hears that such and such a man is a Baptist, knows at once that he is a person who rejects or denies " infant baptism." Every one too that hears the words " Episcopalian," or " Churchman," at once understands by them a person who is just as firmly decided an advocate of the baptism of babes. And for myself, as a clergyman, I can declare that in rio other office of my ministry do I take so much delight as in the dedication of the unconscious infant to " the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." In none else do I feel my faith in the almighty power of the Almighty Father, in the atonement made for all by his eternal Son, and in the sanctifying and ail-searching influences of the eternal Spirit, shine out so bright and clear. Such an office has always seemed to me to be one peculiarly blessed, as one of pure faith altogether removed from sight, in which I can trust in him, the Almighty, that he will, in despite of my dim- sightedness, do his own work, which he has granted me the grace to begin. My position then, both by situation and feelings, is not that of a controversialist or mere arguer. It is the position of one who has the truth and will not abandon it, and can- not. Men may say, " Then are you infallible ! " Sneers Xii PRELIMINARY KEilARJCS. are wliat the consistent supporters of tmth always have to encounter ; and no one can reply to a sneer. Yet upon this subject there is such a thing as truth ; and he that has the truth is more than infallible — -he is free. And when I calmly say, that upon this point I have the truth most cer- tainly, I no more say that I am infallible, than I do when I say that I see the light of the sun. The truth is in the bible, and I see it there, just as I see the light in the sun. Again, I see the truth then by "the Church," "the pillar and ground of the truth." Just as I see the light by the sense which God in his wisdom has given me, so do I see the truth doctrinally and practically by the Church, the interpreter and guardian of holy writ. Men of course will deny this, and sneer at it; this I cannot help— I cannot move off the ground I occupy, or combat them on this point. It is one of my positions, one which they must take as an additional reason for my declining controversy. The author, therefore, of these papers, holding upon the subject of infant baptism clear and determinate views in its favor — holding them also as a vital doctrine of Christianity, and in such a way that he cannot give them up and will ?iot, comes forward not as a controversialist to attack others, or to enter into discussion with any champion of the opposite views. This is not his object — his purpose is far different. He wishes to lay clearly and plainly before those who doubt or deny infant baptism, the grounds for his own belief that are to be found in the scripture. To lay it before thej7i as persons that have a real and vital interest in it as professing Christians, as persons too that have the bible in-their hands, PRELIMINARY REMARKS. XI 11 and are bound 'to search for the truth there. The author's undertaking, therefore, is to declare the doctrine held by the Church, and himself as a minister of the Church, upon the points ; to take the bible then, and show clearly and mani- festly, that it contains the same doctrine, and authorizes the same practice. And he implores of those into whose hands this book may come, that they read it fairly and candidly — - that they put aside prejudices ; and, above all, he desires that they would take the scriptures as they read, in the plain and manifest sense, avoiding as much as may be, the error of the old Pharisees, who made it of no effect, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, and made the scriptures vain through their tradition. And he implores of the Al- mighty God, whom he serves, that this small book may be made efficient both to do away prejudice, to soften the strife of sect, and to unite Christians once more in their old pro- fession of one God, one faith, one baptism. CHAPTER 1 PART I. The state of the Question — the importance of it — arising from the Ultra notion of Infant Baptism or Adult Baptism. Having- thus stated the grounds upon which I approach the subject, and that in such a manner that I feel full confidence that every lover of the truth who is in pursuit of it, and at the same time is a lover of peace, must be satisfied with them, I shall proceed to enter upon the subject ; and let every reader bear in mind, that I come not as a controversialist with argument and debate, to con- tend for victory with the champions of adult bap- tism, and upon the issue of such a conflict to place the result, to say to the individual. You see I have brought forward arguments to which your advocates cannot reply, and because of this victory I demand your submission to the standard I uphold, and the opinions I support. This is the position of a con- troversialist — it is not mine. I come not as a controversialist, but as a teacher; as one that has the truth, whose privilege and whose duty it is to teach it. With this I come to the private 16 MERCY TO BABES. and individual Christian who has the Bible in his hands, and professes to be guided by it ; to every one that has an interest in the subject, as father or mother, as brother or sister, to every one that has an interest in innocent and inoffensive babes, I come to that individual as a teacher of the truth, with the bible in my hand, bringing to them as my introduction and support, the testimony of nineteenth-twentieths of Christians at the present day, and forty-five generations of Christians dead and gone to their rest, that the baptism of infants is scriptural ; that it is according to the letter, and the tenor, and the spirit of the Gospel, that babes should be baptized. I come, therefore, backed by this testimony, as one man to his brother, saying, that infant baptism is according to the letter, and the tenor, and the spirit of the scripture, and upon this I ask a hearing of all those who profess to take the scriptures as their guide in doctrine, as most of those do who doubt or deny the doctrine of infant baptism. They cannot refuse me this. No cunning sophism shall they find here ; no arguments for victory ; no recur- rence to matters of history or of antiquity upon which, because they lie out of the tracts of ordinary reading, the private and unlearned Christian may, because of his simplemindness and confiding faith, be deceived by misrepresentation. The bible shall be the ground of our argument ; chapter and verse shall be always given. Let the reader peruse this book with the bible in his hand. I should, however, at the outset, wish him MERCY TO BABES. li clearly to comprehend the object of this book, dis- tinctly to understand that particular point which I advocate. The Baptist at the very outset con- siders it a wrong and an injury done to his cause, to be called an advocate of adult baptism ; because, says he, though in many cases, nay, the majority of cases, the persons whom we baptize are " adults" as a matter of fact; still it is not as *' adults " we baptize them, not by any means with respect to age ; to say we are advocates of adult baptism therefore, says he, is to do us an injury. Very well. If this be fair I make the same demand of my readers in all fairness and honesty. The tenet I advocate is called " Infant Baptism." " Infancy," we count no qualification for baptism, nor is it because they are " infants" or *' babes," that we advocate the baptism of such individuals ; it is because we count them suitable, according to the scriptures. Our ground is this: we protest against the mere circumstance of infancy, which involves no sin, being made a disqualification for baptism, and a limitation of the covenant. Of old there was a dispute as to whether Christ died for all or only for the elect. The doctrines certain persons had taken up, rendered it very necessary for them to assert that Christ had made atonement only for some few. This was a limita- tion of the atonement established by the tradition or doctrine of man against the plain words of holy scripture. Men who had more confidence in the word of God than in these so called " doctrines," protested against such a limitation ; they protested 18 MERCY TO BABES. too in the face of a majority, for they knew that truth was on their side, and will make room for itself amidst overpowering numbers. The advo- cates for an atonement made for all men have been successful, the advocates for a limited atonement are in a miserable minority. Now the same is the position of the author of this book — the same shall be the result. Certain persons would limit baptism, the seal of the Christian covenant, to believers only, they say. But when we come to find what this word "believers" means, it not only implies the belief of the parties, it implies something more ; that they can declare their faith by speech, or some- thing tantamount to speech. They in effect say we shall permit none to be baptized but those who believe and can 8])eak upon the matter. This is the reason why they exclude babes from the covenant. Babes cannot talk, they are " infants." Now, reader, here is my position ; I come for- ward not in respect to age as an advocate of Infant Baptism, but I come forward to protest against a limitation of the covenant, a denial of baptism, its seal, to any class, because of a circumstance not spiritual but strictly corporeal. To uphold the opinion that no circumstance, merely personal, such as this is, of talking or not talking, for this it amounts to, should so limit the covenant as to deny baptism, the seal of it, to those for whom Christ died, who have immortal souls, and are pure and clean from the stain of actual sin. This is my position. I take my stand upon the great truth, that "God is no respecter of persons ; " I MERCY TO BABES. 19 uphold the truth, that no circumstances merely personal, as infancy, or youth, or age, speaking or not speaking, are disqualifications for an alliance between the pure and ever-living spirit and the all-pure Father of spirits. And this question of the limitation of the seal of God's covenant, I do not count to be any indif- ferent or unimportant matter. The question of the exclusion or the admittance to such a privilege, as is that of membership in the Church of God, is manifestly a most deeply important one. The more so, that if a wrong and injury be done to those who are thus excluded, it is a wrong inflicted upon those who cannot resist it, and are unconscious of the injury inflicted, and yet must suffer by it ; a wrong done to those whom all men call innocent, and all love and pity. However, let us dwell for a moment upon this consideration. There are manifestly but two sides to the question: — " the baptism of infants according to the letter, the tenor, and the spirit of the Gospel," this is the one side; or, "the baptism of infants contrary to the letter, the tenor, and the spirit of the Gospel;" this is the other side. Both these cannot be true; one must be true and the other false. This must be the case, no matter how many are on the one side or on the other ; there is no alternative, no indifference, no third point. This must be the conclusion of every reasoning man and woman. This is manifestly the alternative between fixed Peedobaptists, as Churchmen are by their profes- 20 MERCY TO BABES. sion, and fixed Anti-paedobaptists, as the}^ are who deny infant baptism, and make that denial a term of communion. He that affirms the one must deny the other. It would be folly to take either of these parties, not to be wholly and entirely in earnest upon the matter. It would be the greatest insult and injury to impute to them indifference or care- lessness upon the point. By their position and by their official acts, neither party is indifferent, each is willing to accept of the alternative, to affirm it and its consequences. I myself as a Churchman am not indifferent in the slightest degree, nor do I wish to treat the matter as an indifferent one. I consider it as a question of the very highest importance, a vital and fundamental question. I believe it one upon which one day or another all parties must and will agree; and its decision I look upon as the great means towards the bringing of all that profess Christianity once more towards the natural condi- tion of Christianity, the condition of our Church, having " one God, one faith, one baptism." Nor do I care for indifferent readers ; they who see the alternative to be as it is stated above, that " infant baptism, according to the scriptures, must be either true or false," and who having an interest in the rising generation, as all men have, do not, as all right-minded and warm-hearted men ought to do, feel that interest to be a> vital and important one, and therefore will not see the importance of this question, and count it a matter indifferent, they have my full consent to drop the book and read no MERCY TO BABES. 21 further on in it ; for I feel that the question is truly whether Christianity shall be brought in contact with the family, whether it shall be an element of life in all ages, and a motive and principle of action to all persons, or only to those who can speak. The question is truly, shall it be a thing of the family, or shall it be excluded from it, and be a matter of the Church only ? The cold-hearted, and the selfish, and the short-sighted, only can be indifferent upon this question. Such readers I care not for. Now, with regard to those who are thoroughly in earnest upon the question of infant baptism; with regard, too, to those who take a real interest in the family, and considering it as the very founda- tion of societ}^ think that nothing is unimportant that touches it ; to them I wish to present the con- sequences of this alternative. I accept them my- self, and am certain that the fixed and honest Baptist is willing to do the same, though neither of course will make them matters of personal offence to our neighbours ; both in this matter are willing to be guided in the conduct of dail}? life towards our neighbours, by the influence of charity. Now let us look to the consequences of the alternative. If infant baptism be contradictory to the letter, the tenor, and the spirit of the Gospel, what is it in itself or in its effects? what must we consider it to be? The answer is, " It is and must be the most grievous of all the corruptions of Christianity — a perversion of the covenant — a mockery of our Lord Jesus by the introduction 22 MERCY TO BABES. into his covenant of those who are by his word forbidden so to be introduced, and who are un- fitted for it by the principles of the Gospel, who never may have faith in him, and yet are members of his Church." Such, as regards God, is the act of the man who baptizes infants, if such baptism be unscriptural. This is the estimate of the action that we are compelled to make if the supposition be true. But " God not being mocked," it is in that case " no baptism at all" — perfectly invalid. The effect of the act, therefore, as regards the persons baptized, is to delude the parents with the pretence that their children are in covenant with God, under His protecting guardianship, and the peculiar objects of the influences of the Holy Spirit, when they are not in covenant with him, more than any other children when they are not influ- enced by the Spirit any more than any others. It is to propagate this delusion, to persuade them as they grow up to act as members of " Christ's body, his flesh, and his bones," when they are aliens from the household of God, and the com- monwealth of Israel. If, therefore, the Baptists' notion that infant baptism is unscriptural be true, such an act on the part of the baptized is, when we consider it in respect of God, a mockery and a blasphem}^ ; in respect of man, a delusion involving very pernicious consequences. Let us do as we may, if infant baptism be contrary to the letter, the tenor, and the spirit of the scriptures, such is and must be its nature. Christians may, and of course will, in the spirit of MERCY TO BABES. 23 Christian charity, make all allowances for preju- dices, mistakes, and errors, on the part of men who are fallible. Of course, they will give all credit for suicerity and for right motives, perverted and misdirected by outward circumstances. But still these change not the nature of the act ; if it be wrong it must be what we have said. I do not blame our Baptist friends for holding such opinions; their action at least is consistent, and in accordance with their principles, and must be right if infant baptism be unscriptural. I seek, therefore, to make no capital from this fact against them ; to rouse no prejudice, to make no advantage of it. They at least are honest and bold, and unflinching in their honesty, qualities not to be despised in this day of indifference and carelessness. And I feel not uneasy about their opinions, seeing that along with me, they must condemn the best majority of Christians both now and at all times previous. Let us now look at the other side. If infant baptism, as the majority of professing Christians who are Psedobaptists believe, be according to the letter, the tenor, and the spirit of the Gospel of our most blessed Lord, what is the practice of the Baptist sects ? If it be in accordance with the Gospel, that the babe should be a member of his Church, manifestly then to exclude them from it, must be a cruelty of the worst kind, as done to innocent babes, who are unconscious of the wrong and cannot resist it, yet must suffer by it. If there be anv benefits to those who are within the covenant M MERCY TO "BABES. more than to those without it, from the Almighty Father, whose providence rules all events for the good of them that love him ; from the Son who has died for the unspeaking babe as well as the adult ; from the eternal and all-pervading Spirit ; it is to deprive them of all these unjustly and cruelly, and at a period when the}^ most need it, to cut off from the babe, the child, and the growing youth, influences which, though unseen, the eye of faith views as most precious. If grace, the oil of the Spirit, is promised at baptism, and conferred upon those in covenant with God's Church, it is cruelty to cut him off from the grace of God. To forbid the little child to come unto him and thus to deserve the rebuke, and the displeasure of our Lord. If there be only two states in this world, the state of covenant with God, and the state of unregenerate human nature, it is tashut the infant out from the ** covenant, to leave him to all influences of unre- generate human nature ; to keep him in the world, when he might be in the Church ; and to leave him to the prince of the world, when he might be a subject of Christ, guarded and guided by his covenant ; more than this, it is to put a great gulf between the Christian parent and the child ; herself a Christian, to compel her to know that whatsoever claim herself may have on the undeserved mercy of God, her child has not and cannot be taught the facts and truths of the Gospel, as one that has a right in them, but must be instructed in Christi- anity, as a mere historical thing, thus cutting away all possibility of a true Christian education, and MERCY TO BABES. 2S taking away from the infant, and the growing boy, and the youth, Christianity, as a law of life, and a motive and principle of action. They who consider infant baptism to be just and scriptural, must by that very fact hold these opinions, as to the effect of a systematic denial and opposition to the baptism of infants ; they must think it to be unjust and cruel in the highest degree, and attended with the most pernicious consequences. Surely a doctrine, the truth or falsehood of which necessitates such opinions upon the part of professing Christians, with regard to one another, must, in the course of time, be decided one way or the other. Surely men that have the bible in their hands, must at some time, come to an unanimous decision upon a point which forces them to believe the practice of their neighbors, who have faith in the same God, read the same scriptures, are saved by the same Redeemer, to be of such a character. It would be an injustice to the Almighty to suppose that it will be always so. We must by the very fact, that *' God is love," and love is the fulfilling of the law, be, in the course of his providence, all Baptists, or else all Paedobaptists. I make no apology to my readers for introducing my subject in this way to them ; nor do I fear offending even the most firm and determined Bap- tist, who may peruse this book by it. They see there is an alternative, of which we must take the one side or the other — baptism of infants is accord- ing to the scriptures, or opposed to them. And which ever side be true, the other has necessarily 2 26 MERCY TO BABES. the character I have given it. Such an alternative need give no offence ; it is one of position, and which cannot be avoided, but must be taken ; it is one wliich shows the importance of the question, the absolute necessity for deciding it in the one way or the other — and by the bible we shall decide it. CHAPTER II PART I. How the Bible is to be argued upon in this matter. In my last I stated the position, that in arguing for infant baptism I did not argue as if that age were a qualification, but that I took the broad ground, ihsit it is no disqualification ; that age, or sex, or any circumstances whatsoever, that do not stain the soul with actual sin, cannot be a bar to the mercies of God ; that I here protest against the limitation of God's covenant by man's notions. I stated too, the importance of the question in such a way that each fair and candid individual must think that if I am wrong, I have been as severe upon the consequences of my error as upon those of the other side ; and finally, I declared that to the bible I should appeal, and decide the question by it. Now let the laity remember that I am writing for them ; let them remember that it is to the bible I appeal, and not as a controversialist ; let them consider that they have not the books of Christian archaeology; that the most of Christian- writers of the last ages are shut up in tomes of Greek and 28 MERCY TO BABES. Latin, and yet they have the bible in their hands ; T ask them then to think how we shall take the bible ; seriously and solemnly I ask them, before entering upon the question, to think how the bible should be taken. Let them bear in mind, first, the position that I have taken ; a position so different from that of the ordinary v/riters ; the position of a teacher that has the truth. Let them then think upon their own position ; that of men who seek the truth and are in earnest about it ; for I hope the remarks I have made in the previous chapter will have caused all vain and inquisitive persons with itching ears, to have laid the book aside before they come so far as this. I hope that all who peruse this page are in earnest, and see the deep and solemn importance of the alternative which, on the one side, implies mockery of the Almighty ; on the other, spiritual cruelty of the most pernicious kind. This mutual position then of the writer and of his readers, implies a temper in both him and them, which is in a great measure unknown to books upon this point, and readers of these books. Now to show what temper that is, let us just see how men argue. Romanists assert that infant baptism cannot be proved from the scripture, though some of their eminent authors consider it can, when it suits their purpose. They, therefore, are out of our way; we have nothing to do with them. We are Protestants. We have taken at the beginning of this treatise the Protestant ground, that nothing is an article of faith but that can be proved from the scriptures- MERCY TO BABES. 29 Now the dispute on infant baptism is between Protestants. The Baptists on the one side, as fixed and determined in practice as well as doc- trine, consistent Anabaptists ; and on the other, the Paedobaptists, at whose head, as perfectly con- sistent both in doctrine and practice, we have put the Church. Now we ask of sober-minded and thoughtful men and women, to look at the way in which this argument has been hitherto carried on. The bible, we will remark, is the common ground both profess to go upon. The Baptist brings up a text which he thinks to prohibit infant baptism; he urges it, goes upon it, takes his stand upon it, as ground firm and sure, that cannot be cut away. The Paedobaptist comes again, he takes the same text, he shows again that there is no strength in it ; that the interpretation is wrong. Again, the Bap- tist replies ; the reply is followed by a rejoinder ; pages are written, and books, all to prove or dis- prove. Now these books are for the laity, to be read by them. Is Ihis the taking the bible as our ground? I ask the fair common sense Christian, is ic so ? No : certainly it is not. The proof is not the text at all ; for it requires to be proved that it means so and so. Men, of whose learning, ability, and honesty, we have enough evidence, assert the one side and assert the other. What is the proof then ? Why, it is the correctness of their own reasonings, the quantity of Greek criticism brought out in their pages, and supported by great names, of whom the ordinary Christian has but sel- dom heard. The opinion of this great man and the 30 MERCY TO BABES. Other great man ; history, which one in a thousand knows nothing about, and the antiquities of eighteen centuries, as much as can be put in twenty pages. Assertion, denial, argumentation, history, criticism, archaeology, nine-tenths of the matter written upon the one side and the other, is clearly out of the tract of ordinary Christian men and women. Prove baptism by the bible, when the bible texts them- selves, upon which they rely, are themselves to be proved by a quantity of learned matter, which is so far out of the way of ordinary men, as the Mahabarater of the Sanscrit poet, or the Shuch- manch of Fredusi! Really and truly, considering the ground we Protestants profess to take, it has been hitherto kept to but ill ! The argument hitherto has not been the bible, but the learning, research, and argument, of Dr. G. and Dr. T. ; very good indeed when you have taken deci- sively one side or the other, and believe and have full confidence in them, and their truth and candor; good then, for confirmation of 3^our belief, but no good at all in deciding, and not by any means deserving the name of arguments founded upon the bible. Let the Baptist or Psedobaptist, who is no scholar, take his books, those he most trusts upon, and he will see that his so called bible proof is none at all, being itself proved by other proofs of which, by his position, he cannot know whether they are true or false, and does most surely know that they are denied by a multitude. The so called " bible arguments," are no such thing at all. MERCy TO EABES. 31 The sense and feeling of this fact is what has driven the author to write this book. He has felt that the religious faith of nrjan, the undying, is not a thing to be thus played upon ; not a pair of scales to go in this manner, see-sawing between pro and con. He feels that one side is true, and a thousand learned doctors, and a thousand cart loads of learn- ing, cannot weigh it down. He knows it is true according to the bible, and therefore he will not argue in a way which talks of the bible, and virtually puts the bible out of place, and puts in learning, research, the argument of men, instead of the holv word of God. He writes for the un- learned and the ordinary Christian ; he does not then bring in learning, and learned arguments, of which they can be no judges. He writes as a teacher that has the truth, and not as a lawyer em- ployed in defending a cause, right be it or wrong. Every thing he says, every statement he makes, the ordinary and unlearned Christian shall be able to judge of, whether it is true or false, and form his opinions accordingly ; no need shall he have of Greek, or Hebrew, or Latin, or metaphysics, or the knowledge of a multitude of books, to decide upon it. This is the way of one who believes his doc- trine to be in the bible, and to be capable of being proved from it — this and not the other. How then shall we take the bible — for evidently there are two ways of taking it ; one we have pointed out above. In this way we shall not take it; others may Ifring in nice interpretation, and subtle special pleading, by which to evade the 32 MERCY TO BABES. plain sense of the words that lie upon the surface. They may then wrestle and try in controversy, and search through all the rubbish of past ages, for supports to prop them up. We shall not do so; we shall take the scripture as it lies, in the plain manifest sense in which any man of piety and ordinary good sense must be forced to take the words, if unprejudiced. And we demand of the sober-minded, that when we bring forward pas- sages of the scripture in this sense, that they take the word of God as it reads and as it means; that they cast away the false interpretations of sect and party, and take the word of God as it stands. We take the liberty of dwelling upon this point a little ; of solemnly urging it upon the hearts and consciences of our readers ; for barely to have the bible in our hands and in our mouths is not enough, if we do not act in this way. The Pharisees of old had the bible, and sincerely professed to go by it, but they had their subtilties, their distinctions, their sect-interpretations; and these they taught — their laity believed them. These did away the force of the scriptures ; as it is said, " they taught for traditions the doctrines of men ; " and again, '* ye have made the commandment of God of none effect by your traditions ; " that is, by subtle inter- pretations, handed down from one to the other, which did away the plain force of the scriptures. And he, the Teacher whom we follow, the Master that has commissioned us to teach, he came not to them in their own way of argum*entation and de- bate. No : he was a teacher and not a controver- MERCY TO BABES. 33 sialist. He placed first the word of God, nnd side by side with it, the tradition which did it away. *' God commanded, honor thy father and mother, and he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or mother, it is (corban) a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited b}^ me ; and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free." (Matt. XV. 4 — 6.) No refutation here of the arguments by which the sect-interpretation was proved, and they are many and plausible ; but one placed side by side with the other, and the decision left to the truth that lies in the heart of man. So when the Romanists had declared that images might be worshipped and bowed down to, because of certain subtle interpretations, needless here to mention, the true refutation is juxta-position of them with the plain words of scripture, " thou shalt not make to thyself a graven image — thou shalt not bow down to them nor worship them," The controversialist refutes. The teacher says, " here is the word of God in its plain sense ; here the interpretation which does it away; if you take the word of man instead of the word of God, you do it at your peril — I am free." Now this is not of those days onl}^, but now it is the curse of a sect-rent Christianity. Good men and pious men in centuries gone by, have organized sects ; the practices they enjoined have necessi- tated interpretations according with these practices. These are handed down from one generation to another ; they have with men the force of scripture, 9* 34 MERCY TO BABES. while they do away the scripture ; yea, its plain words and manifest sense. Upon this we stand as Churchmen, as will be after seen in the course of this practice ; upon this the author stands in this book. He brings the words of scripture, and side by side with them the tradition. He neither argues nor refutes, but takes the plain sense. This is the way in which we take the bible ; a fair and just way, as every one can see — the only way in which men can come to a conclusion. If any one, there- fore, denies the conclusions we come to, he need not look far for the reason. He will find some passage or other previously adduced, some plain text of the scripture, which, because of his sect- prejudices, of his previous teaching, he was un- willing to take in its manifest sense — the sense in which it reads. Upon his own head be the respon- sibility then; he and his notions shall pass away, but " the word of the Lord endureth for ever." Of course men will say, " if you act thus 3^ou will have but small success; you will be refuted, argued against, disproved, put down by jeers, and slightly valued." We are content to be so — such was our Master. But still with God's word in its plain sense upon our side, and the truth, and a heart and soul that feels the truth and its work, we do not care for these things. We enter upon a new course upon this subject, a course different from the old ; and we believe in man, in his desire after the truth, in all things. We bring the truth here, and a most vital one, which we deeply realize ourselves, and in the way that we think the best, MERCY TO BABES. 35 and we feel that some at least must realize it ; and though no renown may follow this book, still we shall have our reward, and that in the way we desire. If because of this book a father shall take his children upon his knee, and feeling that they are by holy baptism made members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven, shall do his duty by them as a Christian father, a priest in his own house, in leading them onward in the path of obedience to God and duty ; training them in God's word, and in his ways, as members of the covenant to whom the promise is ; instead of leaving them, as I have seen pious men do, to be converted when adults ; and in the mean time to be guided by all influence of chance and time ; and this because there was no bond of duty, such as infant baptism establishes ; if because of this book one mother can embrace her children, and feel that they are not her flesh and her blood only, but baptized into his body, by whom she is saved, " members of his body, his flesh, and his bones," and thereby do her duty to them, as women will do, when they feel it, and as but few do it at the present day, outside the Church ; if one family, by means of this book, can come to be wholly consecrated to God, instead of belonging half to God, and half to the world, the flesh and the devnl, (for surely the unconverted belong not to God,) so that an household shall become, because of it, a temple wholly consecrated and dedicated"' to Him; then may the author leave aside all con- cern for controversial renown or controversial as- saults, *' for great shall be his reward in h'^aven." CHAPTER III PART I. In what shape shall we put the qustion ? Having thus stated that we shall gp to the bible for an answer to this question, and how we shall go, we proceed onward to the next matter to be decided. In consulting the bible upon the matter, what is the shape in which we shall put the ques- tion? The Baptist sa^^s, bring us a command to baptize infants. That we shall not do — we baptize them not in respect of age, more than in respect of the same they profess to baptize adults. The un- fairness they complain of in being called advocates of adult baptism, we shall not permit them to put upon us. We baptize them because they are im- mortal souls, for whom Christ, our most blessed Redeemer died, in whom there is no speck or spot of actual sin, and whom therefore we count most worthy of the covenant of God, and of its seal. To expect that our Lord Jesus, in promulgating his covenant, would make mention of infancy or adult years ; would speak of the baptism of boys, or girls, or virgins, or married men, or married MERCY TO BABES. 37 women, or widows — this would be an absurdity. The physical and the personal has nothing at all to do with the spiritual covenant. But the absurdity of such a demand is more fully shown by the question I would put to a Baptist, Would not you baptize an infant if you knew he had faith? Of course he would. Why talk thus then against infant baptism as such? And pray is this impossible? He, who, a babe in his mothers's womb, leaped for joy at the presence of her who bore unborn his Saviour, how could he rejoice in him without believing. (See upon this Dr. Woods on Baptism.) The same infant that was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb, how could he be so sanctified, not having faith ? The conclusion, therefore, I would come to, is a plain one ; it is an absurdity to make a physical and corporeal matter a qualification or disqualifi- cation for a spiritual covenant; a still greater ab- surdity to demand from others such a command. We say that they are fit for the above reason, that God is no respecter of persons ; that age, or youth, or sex, or condition, are nought to him if the qualifications be there. And they make this purely a pergonal thing, a disqualification ; and call upon us to show that a personal thing, as this is, is a qualification. Such a matter, we say, as being nothing m God's sight, cannot be a disqualification ; as being nothing in his sight, it cannot, and is not mentioned as a qualification. The true mode for those who make infancy a disqualification, or non- talking, for this is the amount of it, they being 38 MERCY TO BABES. absolutely certain that infants or babes do not talk, and not absolutel}^ certain that they do not believe, is to show that God bids these stainless souls, whom his Son redeemed, to be excluded from his covenant, because they are infants — because they cannot talk I Let them go candidly to work ; let them say, although infants may be sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost ; and although St. Peter makes such an influence of the Holy Ghost a qualification for baptism — " Who can forbid water, that these be baptized who have received the Holy Ghost, as well as we" — still, nevertheless, we count that the mere physical fact of infanc}^ is a disqualification — we forbid infants because they are such — as they do — and then let them show chapter and verse for it. This would be the fair bible way — the whole bible way. We take not the opinion or knowledge of man as on a par with the holy word of God. But, again, there is another reason in the nature of the thing. The commission to baptize is con- fessedly the most important text upon the subject. In it we should expect to find directions ; in it, if there were any class excluded for other than spiri- tual qualifications, a mention would be made of the class, and yet behold the command is general: '* Go ye therefore, and teach, (make disciples of,) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fa- ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."* * The first Baptists saw the importance of establishing a limitation from the command and commission. And being ignorant and unlearned they thought they had it in the word "teach" — how could they be MERCY T'O BABES. '39 The text then implies no limitation in itself, save this, that they in all nations, who were capable of the ordinance, and were capable of being disciples of Christ, should be baptized. The command is general. The mass of Christians have ever taken it so. They that forbid infants to be baptized because they are infants, their business it is to bring a limitation, to show that as they forbid " infants," so do the scriptures forbid them. This would at once settle the point. But Baptists are not very hasty in entering upon this point; they prefer making violent calls upon their opponents for a command from scripture; quite forgetful that a command to baptize all, embraces a command to baptize infants, except an exception of them be expressly made. Such a limitation they cannot produce — such a prohibition. They are, therefore, very ready to stick it out and abide upon the other ground. We, however, as not wrestling or tugging in controversy with Baptist books, shall begin in this way, and we fear not that the judicious and sober-minded whom we address, will be content with it. The first question, therefore, we shall put, is this, Is infant baptism forbidden in the scriptures ? We have given reasons enough why this should be the first question for him who seriously desires to examine into the scriptures; which is quite a taught except they could speak, i. e. they could not be infants. MavQav^ is to learn ; from it, comes ^at6»T«f , a disciple ; from it again fxA^nTivm, to make disciples, the word in our text. 40 MERCY TO BABES. different thing, and implies a different temper from that which seeks proof and desires to support an opinion by the scriptures. Now shall we give some additional reason from the position of the parties in the debate. Every one who knows any thing of the Christian world, is well aware that nineteen- twentieths of those who profess the faith of Christ, and rest their salvation upon his name, are against the limitation of his covenant and its seal, by the circumstance of age, and consequently baptize infants. A small proportion only are Baptists, hold- ing infancy to be a disqualification. Here, then, is a vast majority of Christians at the present day professing to be saved by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ ; and among them there certainly is as much consistency to their profession, and as much fruits of faith, as there is amongst the Baptists, whether we count that mixed multitude of sects who have but little claim to unity, whether of doctrine or practice, save in the common fact of denying bap- tism to infants, and baptizing by plunging under the water, or take only the smaller body, called regular Baptists; in either case, the rest of the Christian world are to them at the least twenty to one. Now are all these men — so vast a majority, all with the bible in their hands — all professing to be saved by Christ only — all worshipping him as their Saviour — are they all in the wrong? Surely " they are all in the wrong — they baptize infants." *' Paedobaptism is the most grievous corruption ever brought into Christianity — a corruption which in- validates all Christianity, and destroys — so all these MERCY TO BABES. 41 art not Christians, nor do wc who are Christians^ in any way recognize them as such." But again, not only is there a majority now, but for three hundred years, that is, for nine generations, back to the time of the reformation, the majority has been as great — have these all been under error in the point? Surely so, say the con- sistent Baptists. And then from the reformation up to the time of Origen, during which period, by the confession of Baptist writers themselves, the whole Church unanimously and universally bap- tized infants. During all which times, however, there might have been two or three scattering heretics here and there, who held the Baptist notion — these were confessedly no Baptist organi- zation, or as they call it, a church. During this period of 1350 years, or forty-five generations, was the whole Church in error upon this point, prac- ticing " a grievous corruption, which invalidates all Christian ordinances, and disqualifies for the name of Christian? " Surely the consistent Bap- lists say it was. It is a very hard thing to believe, for any Chris- tian man who believes that Christ has promised to be with his disciples to the end of the world ; harder still for one who considers Christianity and the Church as a power struggling in the w^orld, ever seeming to be conquered, yet ever overcoming ; combating the world through all ages in its various forms, from the rude barbarian of Attila and Gen- seric, with their devouring hosts, downward through the devouring violence and brute force of middle 42 MERCY TO BABES. age feudalism; hard it is to believe all these holy and self-denying men, whom we know through all this stream of ages, to have stood up like men for God and his word, against the fierce and bloody tyrants of the earth, and all in the name of Christ, our Lord and theirs — that all these were no Chris- tians, unworthy of the communion of Christ's body and blood, because they baptized infants ! Supposing now that the Baptist doctrtne is true — granting too, as they will grant, that they have such a mass against them of those who profess to believe in Christ, to be saved by faith in his name, and in the bible to find their doctrine, what is their proper position ? They are reformers, a body of reformers fighting against a vast majority who have adopted and do support "an erroneous abuse," " one of the most grievous corruptions of Christi- anity." The position then, which they take, essen- tially both by their numbers, as so small compared with the mass, and also by the zeal with which they assail the others, is the position of reformers who protest against an erroneous positive abuse. But more than this, it is reformers who have the same code of laws of life to appeal to, the very same book, in the same words, as they have who receive that so called abuse. And to both parties that book stands in the same position. What then is their ground as reformers ? surely that of denying the abuse, of showing it to be forbidden. If they are in the right, this would be the position they would most naturally take, to show that in the scriptures infant baptism is forbidden. Such a de- MERCY TO BABES. 43 monstration would be at once the firmest and the best support of their principles. Such I have before shown was the position our blessed Lord took with regard to the Pharisees and their corruptions. Such the position the reformers took toward Rome. Here is the abuse they said, for instance, of wor- shipping images — they minded not the subtle dis- tinctions of Latria and Dulia — and here is the command, " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, or the likeness of any thing in heaven above, or the earth beneath, or the water under the earth : thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them." Such must be always the position of religious reformers; the position of showing that which they deem a corruption to be plainly for- bidden in the scriptures, a position the Baptists are not very fond of taking; however, we shall take it. We shall make the first question to be the in- vestigation, as to whether the baptism of infants, which they charge as so weighty an abuse, is for- bidden by the word of God. It is, as we have shown, the most natural way of proceeding ; a way, which, when it is clearly made out and decided, gets us free from an immensity of vague- ness and ambiguity, and enables the plain man who has only the bible in his hand, to go on clearly and tranquilly to the further examination of the question. The conduct of the Baptists towards the rest of Christendom, as well as their assumed position of reformers, protesting against an erroneous abuse which is positive and injunctive, warrants this 44 MERCY TO BABES*. mode of proceeding. Their first step ought to be to show, if they can, that the scripture forbids the practice which they disclaim against so forcibly. If the}^ cannot show this to be so, most likely they are innovators instead of being reformers. Their bearing towards the rest of Christians strengthens this, and will warrant the demand in the mind of every reasonable Christian. The fact that they, a small minority in this age, and in every age by-gone, by cutting off all the rest of Christen- dom from communion, and denying their baptism, deny them to be Christians, this is a motive for the same line of proceeding. The others thus ex- cluded may say, *' We believe in the same God — we read the same bible — we are saved by faith in the same Redeemer — we show as much of the fruits and proof of faith as is seen among you — and yet you deny us to be Christians. Why is this ? '* Surely this is a fair question, one which the hearts of all men tell them must be answered. And what is the answer — " There is among you a great and erroneous corruption, the very cancer that eats into the heart of Christianity — the baptism of infants." May not the others then make this fair request, and should it not be gratified — " Show us then, that the baptism of infants is what you say it is, by the scriptures — show it to be what you assert it to be by the bible — do with us as regards our corruptions, as our Lord did with the Pharisees, as the reformers did by the Romish Church — let us have the plain words of scripture, forbidding the doctrine and the practice. This is the proceed- MERCY TO BABES. 45 ingyour position and your assertions render neces- sary. This, then, we have a right to demand.'* There is no man we believe, not even the most inveterate enemy of infant baptism, can deny the justice of such a demand, especially when he con- siders the importance of the question, and the relative position of the parties in the case. The next question, therefore, is this — Is infant baptism forbidden in the scriptures? CHAPTER IV PART I. Is the Baptism of Infants forbidden ? We come then to the question, Is infant baptism forbidden in the scriptures ? And upon this I take my stand. In the name of the huge majority of Paedobaptists who are upon the earth at the present day, in the name of fifty generations of Christians now dead and gone to their rest, who both held and practiced infant baptism, I ask for the proof that our practice is unscriptural, I ask for the passage that forbids the baptism of infants. Let us come to the proof. It *' is a corruption in the Church," say the Baptists, " the most griev- ous and unscriptural of all corruptions." Their practice is in accordance with their sentiment; they virtually declare that there are no other Christians than themselves; they have no commu- nion with others; as far as lies in them, they ex- communicate all others. Surely one would say, the hihle must forbid this sin. The bible was hidden from all Christians for fifteen hundred years ; the printing press was not in existence; the clergy MERCY TO BABES. 47 kept the word of God to themselves, and for their private gain, baptized infants. The bible has been in the hands o^ all Christian denominations now, by their own acknowledgment, unrestrainedly, for three hundred and fifty years, and nineteen-twentieths of them are not Baptists. This does not look very like the baptism of infants being forbidden by the bible. ' It is not forbidden ; if it be, let us have chapter and verse. Not a verse is there, not a line, not a w^ord, that forbids it, in the course of the whole New Testament, from the first chapter of St. Mat- thew to the last of the Apocalypse. How strange a thing this is, if it be " the most erroneous corrup- tion of the Gospel ever introduced into Christi- anity;" that from Christ our Lord, ever-blessed, and from his holy apostles, there should come no warning against it, no prophetic prohibition of it, no declaration of its danger, no caution against it. Surely, the very fact, that infant baptism has been so extended, so universal — this, if it were a corrup- tion, would render such a warning needful, upon the principles of the Gospel ; and yet, in the whole of the New Testament, there is no such thing, not a word forbidding it ; through the whole New Tes- tament there is not a single text that says, "ye shall not baptize infants." How strange a thing this is, and how inconsistent with the scheme of revelation, if the Baptist doctrine, and their opinion as to infant baptism, be correct. Again, if infant baptism be such a thing as they say it is, so great a corruption, can the common 48 MERCY TO BABES. sense Christian imagine that the commission would be left as it is, general, *' Go ye, teach, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost?" Surely if the baptism of infants were so great a corruption, here would have been the place for the exception to have been made, " except infants," and the cause for that exception in some such words as the Baptists now stigmatize it with - — '* for this is a sin and a corruption." But here, where most naturally we should have expected some such thing, it being an absurdity to suppose a commission given by our Lord not clear and distinct, and in itself having a snare and a pitfall to sin, there is no such thing; nay, through the whole of the scriptures, there is no text that pro- hibits the baptism of babes in express words. The amount of the whole matter then is, that it is not forbidden in the scriptures. I take my stand upon this — I say to my readers, that not a passage can be produced from the one end of the New Testament to the other, that prohibits the baptism of infants ; nay, not a line from which the inference can be drawn, that they, having immortal souls, for which Christ died, and being without spot or speck of actual sin, are incapable of being in covenant with the Father of spirits, and being signed with the seal of that covenant. This is the plain common sense view of the case, which every one, with his bible in his hand, can see to be true. And standing upon this, I ask men seriously, how they, professing to be Chris- MERCY TO BABES. 49 tians, can reject and cast away from his covenant, those whom he has not forbidden. Yes ; but does he command ? Yes, he does com- tna7idy for the command embraces them in the word *' all." You say they are the exception ; you can- not establish that exception, asserted by yourselves only, and not by him, for you cannot bring forward the text that«says the}" are forbidden. How then do they arrive at that conclusion, taking, as they do, like all Protestant denomina- tions, the scripture as their rule of faith and prac- tice? They must acknowledge they find no express prohibition, no command that says, '* thou shalt not baptize infants." Not being direct, it must be by inference. Inference is of two kinds, verbal and doctrinal. We assert, that neither verbally or doctrinally, is there any inference that prohibits infant baptism. Let our readers look to this, and they will see the inference is the other way. The Christian life is an inference, a realization of the spirit of the scrip- ture in action : nineteen-twentieth s of them are baptizers of infants. Here is the inference : the spirit of the scriptures in action, is it against Paedo- baptism ? No, certainly, it is for it: of the millions of those who baptized their children in infancy, and read God's holy word, upon how few has the notion of its being wrong ever remotely come ? But the inference is the other way. The direct command, enjoining the baptism of infants among other classes, for so it does, since the exception which the Baptists make, is not made in the scrip*- 3 50 MERCY TO BABES. tures, but solely made by themselves. The inferences are all in accordance with that direct command, instead of against it. We ask the plain common sense Christian to consider with us one of these, before we end this chapter. " And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them : and his disciples rebuked those who brought them. But Jesus, when he saw it, was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.'* (Mark x. 13; Matt. xix. 14.) Now let us remark upon this passage. Here the parents, we may suppose, bring their infants to Christ — young children, it is expressly said, wherefore this? Because they were pure and in- nocent; because too, before this time, Christ had taken a child and placed him in the midst of his disciples, as a warning; because they knew too that virtues had gone out of him, and undoubtedly had reason to believe, that the blessing and the touch of such a man, who was both God and man, must be of no unimportant service to the future life of their children. *' His disciples rebuked them." And wherefore should they rebuke them? Let the reader think why. Surely it must have been because of their intimcv; for lookins^ at Christ as a teacher and MERCY TO BABES. 51 their teacher, how could unspeaking babes become disciples with them ; how could they have faith in him; how could they repent? They could not speak at all, and therefore the disciples judged that they could not be disciples. Again : after being blessed by him, who knew but that they would disgrace that blessing ? Again : of what ser- vice could it be, that he should touch them? The mind of infants could not be conscious of that blessing which should be given, and what spiritual good could come to the souls of them by a touch. '' And, therefore, they rebuked them." Faith they had in that which he told them, because of his wondrous works — faith in the act proposed they could not have without evidence, and no evidence they had seen. They rebuked those fathers and mothers in whom their human nature spoke, and believed in Christ. They spoke harshly and severely, and were for forbidding them. They, believers in Christ, could not consider the instruc- tive yearning of nature here to be aught but folly, such folly as merited a rebuke. " And then he was much displeased." The anger of a man and his just displeasure, is a thing truly to be afraid of and grieved at ; but here is the displeasure of him who was both God and man; as God, without wrath, save at sin and evil ; as man, pure from sin, and then far from sinful anger; free from wrath, at evil inflicted upon him- self, and meek in bearing suffering without anger, however great his sorrow might be. " And he was much displeased." Surely be- 5S MERCY TO BABES. cause they had sinned, because presumptuously trusting upon their own reasonings, they had striven to keep away from him the helpless and the unde- filed, and had repressed the voice and instinct of nature in the parent's heart, crying after a blessing for their children. "And he said. Suffer little children to come unto me." From this we see little children then could come to him. Can they not come now ? Is there any thing in the state of a babe born of the race of Adam different now from what it was then? Is there any thing in Christ now, " the same yester- day, to-day, and for ever," different from what there was then ? " Forbid them not." Man then could forbid them. The way in which Christ enjoined that they should suffer them to come, this way might by men, and his own disciples too, be blocked up against them, and they forbidden by them. " Of such is the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God is the *' Church on earth and in heaven." Here is a qualification, Christ died for them, they had immortal souls, they were free from actual guilt. Christian, thou who believest in the atone- ment of sins through faith in Christ after repent- ance, is not this the state in which thou professest to be — this state of a little child? and is it not because of this, that thou comest forward? if this were not thy state, wouldest thou come to his holy baptism? Look then at the following verse. '* Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." MERCY TO BABES. id Here it is most plainly laid out to be so. The word ** as," manifestly implying situation and char- acter, and not merely docility. In the other Gospel, where this passage is cited, *' of such is the kingdom of heaven," evidently *' such " in quahties. *' And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands upon them, and blessed them." Took up infants who were unconscious, and knew not there- fore of it ; laid his hands upon them ; upon the flesh of these babes, the Master of spirits, our spiritual Teacher, laid the hands of his sinless humanity, his hands of human flesh as our's, but hands un- tainted with the fires and pollution of sin, and blessed them; words of benediction, which their ears heard yet did not understand, and what did not convey any mental emotion to the undeveloped soul ; what benefit could these be to them ? Ecclesiastical history tells us, that in after years, before the justest and the greatest of the Roman persecuting emperors, there stood a poor and aged man, a holy bishop of the Church, bearing testimony to the first of the Christians' maxims, with his in- carnate Lord. And how the pagan scofled at the notion, that a living man could bear within him the crucified. And that Ignatius said, *' I am Igna- tius called Theophoros." (God- bearing and God- borne, the word has both these meanings.) The first he brought forth in his answer to Trajan ; for the second, ecclesiastical history tells us that he was one of those babes borne of Christ, and blessed by his hands. You ask me, then, what good this could have 54 MERCY TO BABES. done? This blessing and touching with Christ's hand, could they not afterwards have fallen into sin? Yes; but, my friend, I will tell you, there are things I cannot deny, might happen ; I have no proof that they did not happen, and yet I will not believe that they could happen. Did you ever think upon the fact of Adam's sin, and consider it as possible, that the first of men might have perished everlastingly? Yes; it is possible no doubt, and yet without argument, without proof, without any thing to prevent it, there is hardly a Christian to whom such a supposition will not be too revolting to entertain for a moment. We must, by the instinctive force of nature, believe that Adam did not perish everlastingly. So with these children, blessed of Christ, I confess so much does the voice of nature in me approve and exult in, the voice of nature in their parents, that be they few or be they many, I can as soon thmk of one of them, blessed by Christ in their helpless infancy perishing, as of Adam. I have digressed, however, from the subject. Here we have two classes. The disciples rebuking — not suffering — forbidding. We have Christ much displeased at this — laying his hands upon uncon- scious babes, and blessing them. I ask plainly and candidly upon which side our Baptist brethren would have been. Surely the action of the disciples in the text would have been theirs ; their rebukes would have been theirs. Surely, too, all the argu- ments against bringing infants to be touched and blessed of Christ then, are in every way the same MERCY TO BABES. 55 of the Baptists. Explain, argue, account as you may for the facts of the case, the position of the disciples is the position our Baptists would then have taken ; all the reasons for that position, which, upon the supposition that the disciples were rea- sonable beings, we can assign to them, are the reasons of the Baptists against infant baptism. And every quality in the infant that meets the Baptist as an impediment to infant baptism is here ; every argument against it, from the nature of baptism itself is here also ; every thing in the parents is here too, that is, in the parents who bring their children to the laver of regeneration ; the parent's faith and parental love ; the babe's uncon- sciousness ; the taking it in his arms, blessing, and laying hands upon it, all these are in infant bap- tism; and the motives in the one are the motives in the other. It is easy to see what side a Baptist, with the principles and notions Baptists have, v/ould have taken; forbidding the baptism of infants, they would have forbidden this also. I ask of those who doubt or deny infant baptism, who clearly see, as see they must, that there is no such thing as an exception to the command to baptize all made in the case of infants, because of their infancy, to go over this passage, to consider the position of the disciples, the arguments that must and would have led them, and to think of the fact, that Jesus, our Redeemer, the ever-blessed, was much displeased. To think that they them- selves, by " forbidding " them whom he has not 66 MERCY TO BABES. forbidden, may be incurring the displeasure of their Lord ! I know the way men get over this, by the assertion that it is merely an event of our Lord's life, and not a command to baptize infants. Surely so it is, no one said ever it was any more ; an act it is, paralled in all the circumstances, and as an example warranting most fully, the inference that we have drawn. Pages may be written, but in- fants, the babes of our race, are the same as in the days of our Lord — they can come to him as such, now as then. And he who has promised to be with his Church to the end of the world, is the same now as then — the same in mercy, the same in love, the same in all the attributes of that humanit}^ which he took of his mother, and still bears, seated upon God's everlasting throne, which should lead him to bless and pity, and pour out his benedictions upon the babes of our race, bre- thren of his liesh. His ministers too have the sure promise, that what they do in his name he does for them. And thanks be to God, the hearts of fathers and mothers are the same, and however much they may be perverted by false doctrine and practice, still their feelings cannot be utterly de- stroyed. And then, though pages upon pages were written, still will these things arise, and dash away the flimsey web. And while they who are in his Church, and therefore taught of him, particularly each time they read this passage, see that he who blameth them for their practice, blameth Christ, for so it is always, " the rebukes of them that MERCY TO BABES. 57 rebuked thee fell upon me." They who are out- side and yet sincerely seek the truth at least, must admit, that all the force, all the influence, from this passage, goes clearly and plainly against the supposition, that infant baptism is a thing for- bidden. , We have shown that while the position of the question as agitated between the Baptists and other denominations requires a prohibition, in plain words, the command being general, and the posi- tion of ihe Baptists themselves as reformers, argu- ing against a "positive and injunctive error" of practice, and bestowing upon it such titles as they do, requires the same. There is yet no such pro- hibition to be found. We then consider that there might be an inference possibly, which would amount to a prohibition. Now, inference being of two kinds, verbal and circumstantial, and also doctrinal, we sought after the first kind, and the reader has seen the circumstantial inference is all the other way. There are no words in the bible from which we can draw the doctrine, that the *' baptism of infants is forbidden;" no circum- stances from which we can argue, that our Saviour and his apostles held such a dogma; but very plain evidence that the apostles, in their blindness, ap- proached very much to the principles on which it would be founded, and for this incurred our Sa- viour's heavy rebuke and exceeding displeasure. This, then, we count enough; we shall turn to doctrinal inference. I CHAPTER I. PART II. Objections from Doctrinal Inference. We have shown that the baptism of infants is not forbidden in the scriptures. This is what we have at present established, nor do we ask our readers to believe more than that it is not forbidden. We have shown also, that there is no physical qualification attached to it ; no distinction of " in- fancy" or "adult" years; why then is the phy- sical distinction made? for surely they that sneer at the " baptism of babes," imply that they will not baptize them " because they are babes," " because they are infants." They, with regard to an ordin- ance of Christ's spiritual kingdom, make a physical circumstance a disqualification. When, therefore, there is in the scriptures no such disquahfication, why do they of their own will establish it? In other words, why do they limit the universality of the ordinance by a condition they cannot find limiting it in holy writ? This is a question of importance, and we shall try in this chapter to answer it. 60 MERCY TO BASES. Now, in proceeding lo this question, we shall ask another; we shall, as we have promised at the commencement of this treatise, put aside the dis- cussions of professed theologians and champions of sect, and ask of ordinary men and women, upon this or other points, what is the first thing that suggests itself to the plain Christian of common sense, who is interested in this thing, to the father or the mother who has an infant child, which some, in whom he places confidence, good and pious men of clear and honest minds, would per- suade him to have baptized, and others, in his estimation equally good and honest, of equally sound mind, would persuade him not to have baptized ? What is the question, that in such a case, would the most naturally arise to the mind of such a one? Surely it is this, "What advantage is baptism to the infant? What advantage in a Spiritual, a Moral, and a Social point of view ? These then embrace the whole question upon which the matter is really in such a case decided — the Spiritual, the Moral, the Social advantage. And fairly and justly we may conclude, that each and every act of religion has its advantages in these three wa^^s, and that to show them is to show the use and advantages of the act, whatever it is. The spiritual benefits of any act are evidenced from the holy scriptures. The moral from its in- fluence upon the moral nature of man, and the social by its operation for his social good. Let this question then be answered in the affirmative— -let Meucy to babes. 61 It be shown that the baptism of infants has such advantages connected with it, and what they are, and at once the question is decided. We have had many books for, and many books against the baptism of infants, and we have felt that herein lay their deficiency. They omit this question altogether, " What is the good of infant baptism ? " They argue dryly upon words and texts — they argue as if they had no hearts, and their readers, men and women, lathers and mothers, had no affections ; as if there were no such thing as human nature in the world; no such thing as a spiritual world, of which Christ our Lord is King, and we his subjects, recipients of spiritual blessing ; no such thing as a religious influence of Christianity upon morals and life, or a course of God's provi- dence ruling and guiding the world for the sake of religion; and, therefore, to men and women that have a practical and real interest in the question, these books on the one side and the other, are dry and without interest ; they do not touch the question that should be put in the forefront of the examina- tion — the question we have specified. We put this question in its proper place — the ver}' front of the inquiry. And the proper answering of this question will enable us to answer another, set forth at the com- mencement of this chapter, " Why do 3^ou not bap- tize babes ? " Honest Baptists may argue and debate, but when they come to examine their motives, this they will find lies at the bottom — 62 MERCY TO BABES. " we see no use in baptism as applied to babe?.'* They will tell us that they see a manifest use as applied to adults, but as applied to babes they can see none. Now this is the vital point at issue ; this of the uses of baptism in general, and we ask them what are its uses ? why do you baptize, or why are you baptized? "The uses? why it is the scripture form of profession of faith, and no more — it has no grace attached to it, no power, no influence ; and the reason we do it is, that it is a commanded ordinance." Now we put it to the candid and fair man, whether these sentiments do not fairly represent the opinion of the mass of ordinary Christians upon the point of baptism. We put it to them also, whether one holding these sentiments must not, because of his holding them, quite irrespective of the scriptures, deny all baptism of infants ; for surely if baptism be of no force, or efficacy, or power, but only a form of profession, infants cannot be benefited by it, or make or consent to it ; if there is no use in it, and we do it only because commanded, &c. Now, as before said, we speak to the Christian with the bible in his hand, and the means of ready reference to its parts, and we assert boldh^ that of these two sentiments — first, " That baptism is merely a form of profession without any advantages, spiritual, moral, or social, attached to it;" and second!}', *' That we are baptized mainly or merely because it is a commanded ordmance," that there MERCy TO BABES. 63 is not such an assertion in the scriptures — it can- not be brought forward. Why then do men not baptize infants? Simply because these two sentiments are in their minds when they come to the examination of the scrip- tures — they are preached and repeated until they are beheved; and they hide away from men's minds the description of baptism given by the scriptures. They make the baptism of adults a mere form of profession — they do away the bap- tism of infants altogether. We deny that these sentiments are in the scrip- tures ; furthermore, we assert they are anti-scrip- tural. When we ask Christians, Why are you bap- tized? they answer, *' Because it is a commanded ordinance." So this is the reason — the sole reason. Does God put it so? Does our most blessed Lord command, without giving any other reason than his command? Under the new spiritual law, are Christians gone back so far into the gloom of Jewish ordinances, that any practice enjoined upon Christians shall be put solely upon the command without any benefit, spiritual, or moral, or social, attached to it ? Surely when we think that Christ instead of the mass of ceremonies, rites, and sacri- fices, instituted but two sacraments, it must seem to the Christian a most unworthy supposition to imagine that the two institutions of the spiritual kingdom have no spiritual blessings, but are as the Jewish rites, forms, and mere forms, to be per- formed only because commanded. We assert, that these sentiments are not only not to be found in 64 MERCY TO BABES. the scriptures, but untrue and derogatory to the dignity and truth of the Gospel. And for this assertion of ours we do not demand our mere word to be taken. We say that in the scriptures baptism has clear and definite descrip- tion given of its uses, ends, meaning, and purposes ; so clear, that to assert that it is a mere form of profession, or to put it upon the command, is neither more nor less than to substitute the opinions of men for the words of God ; to make void the commandments of Christ by our tradition, and to annul his word. We assert too, what no Christian can deny, that if we wish to know what are God's ordinances and their uses, we must go for the description to the scriptures themselves. One word of the holy scriptures is worth all the notions and theories of men. W^e shall bring up, therefore, the scripture descriptions of baptism, both as a proof of what we have asserted as to the unfairness of these two sentiments we have censured, and as a declaration in the literal words of what we believe upon the point. We know that a multitude of well meaning and good men, are so besotted with these opinions above mentioned, that rather than give them up, they will evade the plain words of Christ and his apostles, regarding his own ordinances; nay, as we have known, they will deny the words of our Lord, at the same time they quote them, rather than give up the tradition of sect. And we pray God to forgive them this their sin of ignorance and of position. Still the scripture is ever the same ; MERCY TO BABES. 65 it and its interpretation shall survive all the notions of those who have misinterpreted it. And of this, his own ordinance, the description he has given of its uses, ends, and purposes, shall be believ(^d according to their plain literal meaning, although now they may be obscured in men's minds by these two notions. And for ourselves, as a minister of the Gospel, we shall never attribute less to any fact or prin- ciple, than he has attributed to it himself; we shall never argue upon grounds that are inadequate, or adopt for our own, principles that come not up to the fulness of the Gospel we have received ; nor will we attribute so little power to the holy scrip- tures, and so little considerateness or candor to men, as to believe that none of those who have been in error will reconsider their opmions, or take the plain words of God in their literal and manifest sense, instead of the theories of men. And this we say, with the fact broadly before our e^^es, as to the prevalence of the opinions we reprobate. With the knowledge, how strange to take the words of the scripture as they stand will appear to men. We do believe, in despite of these things, that many will bethink themselves, re- consider their opinions, and come to see the truth. We shall, therefore, place the passages that describe baptism in the bible together. *' He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved." (Mark xvi. 16.) " The like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth now save us, (not the putting away the filth of 66 MERCY TO BABES. the flesh,) but the answer of a pure conscience before God." (1 Peter iii. 21.) " Ye are buried with Christ by baptism, where- in also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." (Col. ii. 12.) " As many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death ; therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death ; that like as Christ was raised from the dead, even so should we walk in newness of life." (Rom. vi. 3, 4.) '* As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." (Gal. iii. 27.) " By one Spirit we have been baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free." (1 Cor. xii. 13.) " Peter said. Repent, and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." (Acts ii. 38.) " Ananias said unto Saul, why tarriest thou ? arise, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord." (Acts xxii. 16.) *' He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." (Titus iii. 5.) "Jesus said, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." (John iii. 5.) In Hebrews vi. 1, the doctrine of baptism is one of the first principles of the Gospel, along with faith, repentance, laying on of hands, resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment. MERCY TO BABES. 67 We address not those who deny water baptism, but those who, admitting the necessity of water, doubt or deny the validity of the baptism of infants ; and we ask them to look at these texts, just as they stand; to think upon them as the words of the Holy Spirit; are these of a piece with the sentiment that says, " baptism is a form of profession and nothing more?" or, " that we are baptized only because it is a commanded ordmance? " or rather, are not various effects attributed here to baptism, when received by living faith, following upon re- pentance ? effects which wholly contradict the sen- timents of ordinary Christians upon the point? Surely every Christian must admit, that it is as we say, that these texts, taken honestly, as they stand, in the Uterdl sense, ascribe \pecific effects to the ordinance. We shall go a little further; we say, that with their notions and their doctrines, ordinar}' Christians dare not use these texts as they use the rest of the scriptures. When the cry arises from one or many, *' What shall we do to be saved ? " dare they say as Peter, " Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus, for the remission of sinsl " — dare they say, as Ananias to the repent- ant Saul, *' Arise, and he baptized, and wash aivay thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord?" — dare they say, " We are saved by baptism," or, " we are buried with Christ by baptism," or, "he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved?" or can they use the words, " Except ye be born of water 68 MERCT TO BABES. and the Spirit, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven?" Certainly not ; these texts ordinary professors dare not use as they stand, in the plain literal sense of them ; they dare not use them, or even think of them, without some salvo, some limitation, actually doing away the whole sense of the words. And their preachers preach not upon them, except for the purpose of doing away with their force, and proving that they mean nothing. Is not this true, and does it not betoken some- thing wrong in the whole state of ordinary religion, that men should shrink back from the plain literal sense of God's words, and do it away, because they cannot bear with it? I ask the honest and candid inquirer to look at this fact, not to shrink back as men do sometimes, from truths, unpleasant and unsuitable, but to face it, and ask himself, is it not so with him? and then I ask him to go back to these notions I have above specified, and to see whether they are not his motives ; to examine them by the scriptures, and to cast them aside. But the reader wdll sa}^, who believes them as they stand, without any salvo, in the plain evident sense of them? who believes that baptism is for the remission of sins? who believes that it is a saving ordinance ? who believes that we are buried -with him by baptism ; or that therein we are born of water and the Spirit ? The reader wdll remember that I am a clergy- man of the Episcopal Church, and that I come MERCY TO BABES. 69 before him in no disguise of affected candor, word, liberality, or monk-meekness, but as what I am, a clergyman of the Church, and as such I say I do. I say, moreover, that it would seem by the next paragraph, that as a clergyman of the Church, I must be either very dishonest, very stupid, or very much influenced by prejudice, if I do not, owing to the book we use, take these in the literal and manifest sense. When I CHtechise children, I ask them, *' Who gave you your name?" and they reply, *« My sponsors in baptism, wherein I was made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.'* An answer manifestly con- sistent with the literal sense of these texts ; mani- festly inconsistent with the other notions. In the service for baptism, of infants or aduhs after bap- tism, I declare to them, "that they are now born again, and made heirs of everlasting life." Or in that of adults, " that these 'persons are regenerate and grafted into the body of Christ's Church." In a solemn prayer before the whole congregation, I implore God to give the holy Spirit, *' that these persons, being born again and made heirs of ever- lasting salvation, may continue his servants." And likewise I apply most plainly the passage in St. Peter, asserting <' baptism to be a saving ordin- ance." And, lastly, in the solemn creed, in which both minister and people, with one voice together, confess upon the days of communion, I plainly declare myself to believe " in one baptism for the 70 MERCY TO BABES. remission of sins." What were I then if I did not believe in the above quoted texts literally taken? This is the case with the twelve hundred clergy of the Church in this country ; the eighteen thou- sand of the English Church. And this, I will say, before Luther was, was the opinion of the Church from Christ downward ; and more than this, the ordinary common sense man, when he comes to think of it, will see is the plain doctrine of the scriptures. 1 am aware that to many candid and sincere searchers after the truth as it is in our blessed Lord Jesus, the assertion w^ill seem most startling, and the first thought that will arise in their mind, will be that of Nicodemus on the same subject, *' how" can these things be ! " To such persons I say, I seek not to force upon your mind the doctrine to which you see I assent, and in which I believe, even although I believe that I have for it stronger evidence, for I know the power of previous educa- tion; I know the force of circumstances ; only these two things I ask, first, not to think a doctrine strange which has in its favor the united belief of so many Christian clergy and people, and the literal sense of holy writ, but to consider it at least worthy of examination and consideration ; and, secondly, to go on with me and see "how these things can be ; " and whether they are in accordance with the spiritual, the moral, and the providential govern- ment of God over man in this world. The doctrine then, which I say, is the doctrine MERCY TO BABES. 71 of the scriptures upon this matter, and most plainly the doctrine of the texts that I have quoted, is this, that in baptism received upon repentance with living faith, we '* are born of water and the Spirit." And this embraces the following consequences : — 1st. The remission of sins. 2dly. The being intro- duced into the kingdom of heaven, that is, the Church of God. 3dly. The gift of sufficient grace. 4thly. The dwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. 5lhly. The mystical union of Christ our Lord with man, whereby we are made partakers of his life and resurrection — power. And, 6thly. That the bap- tized are in the communion of saints, having a participation in all the prayers and spiritual bless- ings of the holy on earth, and the holy departed ; and also are under the immediate guardianship and care of the holy angels, whereby he ministers to them that love him. All these gifts a^e to him who, being of mature years, received baptism in faith, or to the helpless and innocent babe, gifts conveyed through God's grace, by his sacrament of baptism. If this be a true statement, are there not reasons enough for the baptism of infants as well as those of maturer years ? Is it not sufficiently manifest, that the for- getting these truths is the reason why infants are not baptized ? And that as I have declared in the first part of this chapter, that the natural question that arises to the minds of men, and that upon which it is decided, is. What are the advantages and uses of baptism in general? and then the mind for itself 72 MERCY TO BABES. decides upon the particular case of infant baptism ; so the proper method of deciding, is to examine the doctrine of baptism in general. I propose, therefore, in the following chapter, to ask how can these these things be ? To take the system of the Gospel, and see how far they agree with it. CHAPTER II. PART 11. How can these things be We begin this chapter with an assertion which no one that has read the scriptures can doubt ; that from the first time that God revealed himself to man to the present time, his dealings have been uniform, of a piece one with another. And it is because of this uniformity, that we receive the Old as well as the New Testament. The Christian does not reject the Old Testament, he sees that the same God who has once for all revealed himself in Jesus Christ, revealed himself to Abraham and the patri- archs, after that to Moses, and then to us. As to degree, the dispensations differ ; as to the mode and manner, these are uniform. Now the common mode, what is it ? Every one will say, the mode of covenants. There are, says the holy apostle Paul, two covenants, *' the one from Mount Sinai, which genderelh to bondage ; " again, *' Jesus the mediator of the new covenant;" and a hundred other passages which might be quoted, all testifying to the same thing. The two 4 74 MERCY TO BABES. dispensations then, have been two covenants. The new dispensation is just as much a covenant as the old. Now let us look at this fact a little more dis- tinctly, and try to settle in our mind what it means. The curse and plague of religion in this age is, that we have so habituated ourselves to metaphor, that every thing has become a metaphor. A man takes Dr. Watt's paper, called a form of covenant, he writes it down, solemnly prays over it, and in its form he calls that a covenant with God. It is a vow, a series of good resolutions, 7io covenant with God. A very respectable denomination has a right of meeting yearly, in which they read a series of good resolutions, in which every one present is supposed to join ; this is called " the renewal of the covenant" — metaphor again. A man is con- vinced of sin, he promises in his heart obedience to God, this is called a covenant with himself — these are metaphors. The scripture meaning of the word covenant is lost by our metaphoric talk. It has slidden away into vagueness, and become a mere phrase. Surely it has been so. The fact that there is a covenant in the Christian dispensation between God and man, has come to have very little belief given it ; men talk about it, they do not realize the fulness of its meaning. Now let us cast aside these metaphoric notions, and remembering that a promise or vow binds only one party, and is not a " covenant," but that on the contrary, a covenant is binding upon two : let us look at the fact, and we shall find it one of MERCY TO BABES. 76 astounding magnitude, and over-powering to the intellect, as well as the feelings of man. Here am I, a creature of yesterday, frail and feeble, limited in power and knowledge, impure and unhol}^, my position as well as my nature leading me to evil ; and on the other side is the Almighty and Omni- scient, the Lord of the universe, the Creator and Ruler of all, pure and holy, and between me and him there can be a covenant, an agreement binding both parties. By virtue of this, the Omniscient shall consult for wie, and from the fathomless abyss of boundless wisdom he shall provide for me; by virtue of this, the web of circumstance, that is woven in the loom of time, shall be so arranged, each circumstance that came in contact with me, as to favor me, the rain shall descend, but as he will, ^ovmij good, and all nature be modified to benefit me. I ask, is not this an overpowering idea, is it not one, which from its very magnitude, is startling and astounding to man. And at the same time it is the very foundation and basis of the Gospel, and yet who sufficiently realizes it at the present day? It has, as it were, slipped away from the minds of men ; it has almost perished from religion. Our own covenants with ourselves, covenants to act so and so, covenants with religious societies or churches, as they are called, or mere mental resolutions to adhere to God ; all these metaphoric things have slipped in, they have obscured the true covenant, the fact of a real agreement between God and man, binding 76 MERCY TO BABK&. both parties, which, if we may use the expression, is the landamental part of Christianity. The truth of this assertion may be seen by a comparison. We know that infidelity is the pre- vailing curse of this country, which is called a Christian country. There are a large mass of men called unprofessors, who have no belief in the facts of the Gospel. And among those called Christians, every sect denies, or disputes, or doubts, something or other. I speak not of faith here, but of bare belief — belief is unfrequent. What is the reason of this ? We have forgotten the fact of a true and real covenant between God and man. Now taking the Jews as a people under a covenant, we find hardly such a thing among them as this, we call infidelity or want of belief. Ex- cepting the case of the Sadducees, and they hardly can come within the rule, for they only disbelieved in those things not manifestly revealed in them; they were also few in numbers, and rather a poli- tical faction than a religious sect. With the Jews belief did not come with the worst of times, or in the worst of men. They ever knew that they were God's covenanted people, each of them ever ac- knowdedged that he was under that covenant. His passions might lead him astray after the gods of the heathen, and the orgies of licentiousness and vice that always attended their religious worship. Their own stubbornness and obstinacy might lead them to rebel against the yoke under which they were, still belief in the facts and truths of the Mosaic revelation always existed, and if men sin- MERCY TO BABES. 77 ned, it was against that belief. Belief was im- pressed upon the minds of all the Hebrew nation. Now let us see what kept up this belief in the facts of revelation. The realization of the fact of a covenant. This one idea passed through all the rela- tions of life manward as well as Godward. What was the circumcision of all the children but the evi- dence of that covenant? sacrifice, but the keeping it before his mind ? If you examine the life of a few under the old law, you will find that all circumstan- ces, however manifold, served to impress the one idea upon him, that man was bound unto God^ and God unto man, really and truly. Was he at Jerusalem, the capital of the nation, then the awful temple with its services, was an embodyment of the idea, that God was bound unto man. The Jew could look up to its gorgeous and splendid buildings, absurd and foolish upon any other idea than that its builder felt that covenant to be a reality more precious than the precious stone, and would prolong the feeling to future ages ; and the Hebrew, looking upon it, felt that it was more precious than gold, and marble, and cedar, and jewels, and the skill of the workmen, and the wealth of kings. The daily sacrifice brought the same idea close home to his ordinary life, and the high and solemn fes- tival made it a part of those extraordinary over- flowings of joy, that are so natural to the heart of man, that if they are not instituted for him, he will institute them for himself. So the fasts, the stated seasons of sorrow, equally natural, in like manner, presented the same idea. In his polity too, it was 78 MERCY TO BABES. most thoroughly interwoven, and stood out in the foreground of his history. No fabled hero obscurely seen through the darkness of the past, was the founder of his race ; no robber chieftain, glorified by legendary ballads, was his progenitor. No; in the clear light, light of history, stood forth in its minutest circumstances, the covenant of Abra- ham, his ancestor, by the oaks of Mamre. The past of the Jew was historical, not legendary or fabulous. The covenant too, was united, as we may see in the books of Moses with all the affections of his heart, with paternal reverence to parents, with love to family, nay, with the natural benevolence that is in the heart of man. He was to pity the stranger, "because thou wast a stranger in the land of Egypt, and I brought thee forth, not because thou wast great, for thou wast the meanest of nations, but for Abraham my servant's sake, and mij covenant with him." And, furthermore, the Jews personal services, these all tended to the same thing, to the impressing on his mind the wonderful fact of the covenant between God and man. Now, in view of all these things, this fact, so wonderful, so extraordinary, so likely to shock belief, could not but be believed by the Jews. In fact, he could not escape from a conviction of its truth. Pride, or passion, or sensuality, or that brutish stubbornness, so natural to the race, with which God rebuked them of old, might cause the Israelite to rebel, still, by this, his action must be against his belief, against the ineffaceable convic- MERCY TO BABES, 79 tions of his whole life. We see that what w^e call an infidel — the Jew could not be. With this state of matters, contrast the state of Christianity at the present day — Christianity being the new covenant; look at this weak, sluggish mass of inconsistent sects which, by the complaisant politeness of the world, is denominated Christianity, and wherein is its weakness? in this, that the idea of a covenant, acttial and real^ has perished, and a metaphor has taken its place. I have asked pro- fessors of religion : have they the certainty of belief, the same confidence of faith, in their ov/n position, that the old Jews had? Certainly they have not, for but few of those called orthodox, but will allow that other sects, as opposite as may be to them, are just as certain. Have they the belief in the facts of the scripture ? No : when the common articles are counted, they are but few in number, amounting to little more than what is called natural religion. And what is the reason, this one, that to the old Jews, the " Church in the wilderness," as St. Paul calls it, the one idea of a covenant, a true and real covenant between God and man belonged, but now it has perished out of the ordinary religion. External circumstances all presented that one idea to them ; the mind could not escape it, it was forced in upon the mind by the concurrent testi- mony of all circumstances from earliest 3^outh to extremest age. And now for the want of that one idea, forming and moulding all circumstances to itself, external circumstances all tend to unbelief. That idea of a covenant is essentially in its result 80 MERCY TO BABES. the idea of unity. Now the very aspect of a sect- rent Christianity is an argument to unbelief. And Christians themselves, instead of having the out- ward world of man as an evidence to the faith, have it as an evidence against it. They are flung inwardly upon their feelings, and this again tends to unbelief, for the wise and the thoughtful all over the country are rapidly coming to the conclusion, that feeling is no test of truth, and so all things tend to unbelief. This, no matter what men may say, is the true source and origin of infidelity. So belief among the multitude of non-professors is gone. If they had belief in the facts of the Gospel, as the rebellious Israelite had in the facts of Moses' law, because of the covenant and the way outward things impressed it upon him ; as the English peasant and artizan had, because of the same fact, upheld by the working of a liturgy weekly used ; as the rude Russian serf has, be- cause of the services of his Church ; a stand could be taken and a foundation made for faith upon that belief; but now that belief is fast going, or already gone. True it is, that some time ago, there was a lingering belief in the fact of eternal punishments for the wicked, so plainly asserted in the scripture ; for the stream of a nation's life precipitates but slowly the truth of revelation that ages of faith have infused into it ; just as the particles of land in the Mississippi, will, by the Missouri, not fall to the bottom for hundreds of miles below their confluence. But men who were preachers took their stand upon this, the last element of Christianity, in a MERCY TO BABES. 81 fierce and cruelly presumptuous manner, and where is it now ? It is gone. I err not when I say, that from the mass of non-professors minds it has van- ished ; that of the great majority of non-professors, this, the last tradition of Christianity, the time when men really and truly believed in a covenant with God, has vanished. Professors of religion under the banner of a sect-rent Christianity ! preachers of a multifarious Christianity, perishing every day, here is your weakness — the want of a fast and firm persuasion in a true and real covenant between God and man! a want that cannot be supplied by cart-loads of evidences of Christianity, or the fiercest invectives against infidels. You have made the gap yourselves. From John Calvin, who invented as a substitute, the idea of an invisible Church, such an idea is your abhorrence. For a covenant between God and man implies unity, it implies one visible cove- nanted hody^ a Cfmrch, co-extensive with the pro- fession of Christianity ; and it is because of this oneness and extensiveness, that outward circum- stances are so arranged as to impress the mind with belief, as in the case of the Jewish Church, which I have instanced. However, as this is the effect of the circum- stance outwardly, we shall go to consider the effect upon the mind of man inwardly. The first mani- fest effect upon the minds of all is belief, befief in the facts of the scriptures, and in its principles, as distinguished from living faith. As I have shown in the case of the Jews, all under a "covenant" 4* 82 MERCY TO BABES. must believe, when the idea is thoroughly realized in practice, as it is — that is, when it is no meta- phor, nor taken in a metaphoric sense. I have shown how it took place with regard to the Jews ; now I shall just show how it takes place with us- Churchmen, who still possess the idea of a ** covenant." Others use extempore prayers, we a liturgy, or set form of words. Consider what is the condition of prayer: it reasons not, it therefore argues not, and doubts not, whatever matters of belief are brought in during prayer one doubts not of. In this one form of prayer, all articles of belief are brought in, even the loftiest, and those upon which there has been most dispute, the clergyman using the liturgy takes for granted, and the congregation following him takes also for granted. He, there- fore, in a measure imposes them without arguing ; the people, when they follow him, take them with- out debate. For fifty-two Sundays in the year the same course is pursued — it manifestly tends to belief. We believe in a covenant — that covenant in- cluding all, and, therefore, children. We shall take a boy of ten years of age in the Church ; the first thing his father and mother do, is to put in his hand a prayer book, to teach him the service. From that time on, he reads the service ; he says, without debate, without arguing, " O God, the Son, the Redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us: O God the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Fa- ther, and the Son, have mercy upon us, miserable MERCY TO BABES. 83 dinners ;^' he repeats daily the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments. He does this from childhood through 3^outh. What is the im- pression? That of belief, when a doubt comes up on any article of the Christian faith in the 37ears of doubt, that is, of adv^ancirig manhood. For infancy doubts not; it is the age of faith; the time of doubt is when the passions show themselves, and we begin to be brought in contact with a world whose prac- tice and principle require us not to believe ; then the impression has been made, the ground is pre- occupied, doubt is at a disadvantage. He cannot readily be brought to disbelieve those things which, without doubt, he has repeated in the undoubting age of youth ; which he has heard, each Lord's day, five hundred people confess, and those whom he the most respected for probity and talents ; if he sink into infidelity, it must be with a mighty effort and struggle. The same is the effect upon the riper mjnd of man, though in a less degree. When he listens to an extempore prayer, which, being the composition of an individual, has but his authority, he is not trained to assent to it, there is no moral compulsion, as in the other case ; his reasoning powers are immature, and their very immaturity makes doubt. He hears a preacher preaching upon the eternity of punishment ; in his childish mind he says — " God is most merciful, there can be no hell ;" or he says — " The Father is greater than the Son, therefore the Son cannot be God, according to the scriptures, since there cannot be a less God and a greater God." All 84 MERCY TO BABES. infidelity, that is, all deficiency of belief, has marked upon it immaturity of the reasoning pow- ers ; it originates, then, when the passions begin to arise and the reason is unripe. The age of child- hood and youth, this is the time of faith, of un- doubting belief upon authority. The use of a liturgy takes advantage of this, and secures belief, in the age when unbelief springs up. It is founded 7ipon the idea of a covenant, and supposes it^ and upon that, and that alone, can it be justified. To show the force of this, I shall bring forward a very curious circumstance, illustrative also of the very point of this treatise, the use of infant baptism. Where is there a point at present more disputed ? Certainly none among the non-Episcopal sects. We Churchmen, as I have said, are certain in our resolution, the Baptists are certain in their nega- tive ; but among all others it is a point of very great uncertainty, one upon which the minds of professors are most exceedingly exercised. Yet when the first Baptist arose, Peter de Bruis, in the twelfth centur}^ one of the holiest men of his day, Peter of Clugny, in writing against him, says — *' What an absurdity is your doctrine. For he, manifestl}^ that is not baptized with the baptism of Christ, is no Christian ; so, as all France. Spain, Germany^ Italy, and all E^iropc, during three hundred years, or almost five hundred, has had no one who was Qiot baptized in infancy, so it lias had no Christian^ Such was the effect of the idea of a covenant, and the unity of faith and practice arising from it, that one of the points most debated now among MERCY TO BABES. 85 those from whom the idea of a covenant has departed, then no one doubted, among su many nations, for five hundred years. The same thing is the case among us now. Naturally, easily, and of course, the Churchman believes in infant baptism, and baptizes his child- ren; we, the clergy of the Church, find no difficulty in persuading them to it. Can others say the same? What, then, is the effect of a covenant upon the truly faithful ? For, in the first place, I have shown that upon all, it is that of belief in all doctrines whatsoever. The truly faithful, therefore, has this advantage also, all the doctrines of Christianity he believes ; has no doubt of their truth ; his work is to live, to act, to do as a Christian. By the idea of an actual, and real, and true covenant, when the covenant is made, the man is a Christian, a subject of our Lord Christ, a member of his family, a child of the covenant, an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. He may be a bad Christian, but he ceases not to he a Christian; he ma}" be a rebellious subject, but no rebellion of his frees him /row being a subject; an evil member, but he does not cease being a member. The idea of a kingdom, or a covenanted body, or a family, implies authority to correct ; of ma- gistrates, for the reform of evil subjects, implies law, and punishment, and reformation for them, and discipline : so the idea of a Christian covenant implies the bad to remain members still, under the law. The prevalent idea among those who are of the sects is, that a man ceases to be a Christian, S6 MERCT TO BABES. ceases to be a member of the covenant, when he sins. Which is the true notion, any one may see by Christ's own description of the Church, his kingdom, as a field with tares and wheat ; a net, with good fish and bad. Whereas, upon the ordinary notion, I am now a Christian, bound in covenant with God ; I fall away, and then I am no Christian, outside the covenant, and have no claims upon it, and, as a consequence, it has no claims tipo?i me. And what effect has it upon the faithful when compared with the other doctrine? "I believe in Christ, and have faith that he is my Saviour, outward forms are nothing to me," says the one; what then is your highest evidence? Surely it is neither more nor less than that inward feeling ; and 'how your inward feeling that you have faith in Christ and that Christ is ^''our Saviour, can make him your Saviour, is what certainly cannot be seen from the Scriptures. The strength of that feeling, the earnestness and the intensity of it, are certainly no proof of the fact, any more than the idea of a madman which he possesses that he is heir to the king of England makes him his heir, or that he is in alliance with the emperor of Morocco makes him so. On this feeling men place their salvation, on the strength of it, the evidence of it. To this I say, that the feeling makes nothing; the strength or weakness of it still less ; for how does the feeling prove itself true? You feel that you are a son of God by the adoption ; another man, in the lunatic as3dum, feels a deal stronger than MERCY TO BABES. 87 you do, that he is Jesus Christ. He goes for feel- ing, and so do you — which of you is right? Again, your elevation of feeling is an evidence, his feeling is far more elevated. What, then, is the use of feeling ? A very great use, indeed, when you have an actual and real covenant^ an external fact of which your senses and your understanding give you evidence. Your feel- ing is the hand by which you hold on to this, and if your feeling should at any time change, still you have the certain fact to hold on to, the one supports the other. Let us put it in this way : here is the fact that Christ was born, that He died for the sins of the whole world, this is a fact real and true ; but still it is in the past as to time, eighteen hundred years have elapsed since then. This fact does not come directly and immediate to us, but through the evidence of a book. This causes the possibility of a doubt ; just as the facts of Moses' mission and Moses' miracles, when the time of miracles and prophecy had passed, would have been to an Israelite, without a Jewish Church. But the covenant founded upon this was an actual and real covenant, an evidence palpable and plain, to every Israelite of the truth of the facts ; an evidence which, as we have remarked, no Israelite could get by. And, furthermore, circumcision, the seal of that covenant, was an evidence to him personally and individually. "Why am I circumcised?" he would say ; ** why, but that I am under a cove- nant?" It was a symbol and sign of the covenant 88 MERCY TO BABES. which he bore in his person ; and, as all symbols do, it brought close home to himself personally all the facts connected with that covenant. It was an outward symbol, not a spiritual one ; and at the same time it brought close home to him the spirit- ual ideas ; it was a seal of the righteousness which is by faith. The outward symbol was an actual fact, upon which his own state of feeling could have no effect; and, therefore, it served as a sup- port, and foundation, and buoy-rope, (if I may use the expression,) for his faith to rest upon, and to hold on by. It was a personal testimony that he was actually and really in covenant with God ; a witness to him, that if he lived by God's laws and according to the conditions, then had he the sure promise of the Almighty and Omniscient that all circumstances should be controlled for him ; a witness, too, that if he rebelled, then was he re- bellious against his God, disobedient to his most merciful Father, and would suffer all the penalties of that disobedience. The reader of the bible may see a strong proof of the views before him, as to the effect of an outward covenant, as regards belief in the fact that in the reproaches God makes the Israelites, through his prophets, disobedience, ob- stinacy, and rebellion, these are the sins with which he rebukes them ; but want of belief in the facts, or what we call infidelity, in no case does he rebuke them for this. I shall now bring forward the proofs from scripture of a covenant, actual and true, wiih ug Christians. His prophecy in the old testament is MERCY TO BABES. 89 this, (Jer. xxxi. 31,) *'I will make with them a new covenant ;" (Heb. viii. 7,) a new covenant, as the Apostle notes, makes the first old. There is, therefore, an old covenant and a new ; both cove- nants, the one old and the other new ? Does the new covenant being new make it less a covenant? Certainly not, it is a covenant still. But there are differences ? certainly there are — and what are they ? *' Oh," say they that believe the covenant to be merely internal, " the new one, the first cove- nant was with the Jew as member of a family descended from one man, as of a nation, of a people chosen out, and having a priesthood ; our covenant is of the individual man, without refer- ence to family, and with no priesthood." This, unquestionably, is the belief of the mass of ordinary Christians. How it agrees with Paul's proof that Christians are spiritually and actually the children of Abraham, 1 cannot see; how it agrees with the fact that Christ remains forever a priest after the order of Melchezideck, I cannot see ; nor how it agrees with the assertion of his eternal priesthood in heaven. But, as it were by the spirit of prophecy, to meet all objections upon this score, the holy apostle Peter asserts the direct contrary ; " Ye," says he, " are a chosen genera- tion, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." (1 Peter ii. 8.) The epistle is general, addressed to the whole body of Christians throughout the world. He tells this body, there- 90 MERCY TO BABES, fore, that they are a generation, or family, so were the Israelites ; that they are chosen as a generation, so they were ; that they are a royal priesthood, a people, or nation, so were the Jews ; *' holy," that is, set apart by a covenant with God, who is holy for the purposes of holiness, and peculiar ; that is as the Israelites, as a plain historical fact, have always been from all the nations who make up the body of what is called the world, and as the Christian Church has always been, peculiar and strange to those without. This text at once refutes the above notion. Men, of course, may think this is metaphorical ; I care not for them. They may say it refers to the invisible body of the elect; when a nation, a generation, a people, is shown to have been invisible, when it is shown that the body of Christians is invisible, then we may believe that notion, not till then. The fact is this, Peter ad- dressed the visible Church, the whole body of Christians in his day, who had one faith, one God, one baptism, and asserted that with them, as with one hodijy the covenant was made, and with each one as a member of that body. Nor can we find in holy scriptures so much as the mention of " an invisible Church," much less the idea of it. The Church of God, the covenanted body is visible, its covenant is one manifest to the senses, the seal of the covenant is a visible external fact. One will say, then, the first business when we repent and have faith in the Lord Jesus, is to be united by baptism with the visible Church; and which is that ? Take Peter's description, and MERCY TO BABES. 91 there is no difficuly — it is peculiar. None of the non-Episcopal sects are so, they have no peculiarity in worship, rites, or modes of thinking, they are all " on the broad basis of Christian liberality." Epis- copal churches only are *' peculiar." The Church is apostolic, has the succession of authority and ministry ; well, but so has the Roman Church, and which shall we unite with ? Little difficulty there either. Israel was God's covenanted people, with them was the visible cove- nant; yet Israel was divided in two parts, Judah and Samaria — the first retained the pure worship of God, the last was idolatrous. So it is with the two branches here : saint-worship, money-worship, angel-worship, these at once point out which an- swers to Samaria, and what the proper mode of acting in such a case. ' There is a visible body, then, a covenanted body, a visible covenant, and visible members; and these last divided in two classes, the disobe- dient and rebellious, and the obedient and good. Now, we asserted in our last chapter, that to those brought into the Church by baptism certain privi- leges belong, as under the Jewish law certain privileges belonged to those brought under it ; we asserted, too, that these privileges were exclusive, that is, belonged to them alone, in virtue of their having entered within the covenant ; and that they are attributed to baptism, in virtue of baptism being the door and entrance into the covenant now. And this brings us to another part of the sub- ject, which, too, has been wrought into metaphor. 92 MERCY TO BABES. The old covenant, it is well known, concerned mainly temporal things ; the new covenant is "spiritual." Now what does "spiritual" mean? Take it as men take it, and you will find spiritual means "figurative;" a " spiritual covenant" is a metaphoric covenant ; spiritual blessings are the general blessings of Christianity. No, there is no such vagueness about it, no such unreality. There are two worlds, the visible world, and the spiritual world, or world of spirits; and spiritual blessings are blessings that are con- nected with the world of spirits — they are real and actual^ although spiritual. As being of the spiritual world, they are unseen; faith, which is the evidence of things unseen, is their evidence, faith in God's word and his power. On that principle I shall deal with the matter. Here is the covenant, a visible and real covenanted body, the Church ; a visible and real seal, the sacrament of baptism ; all these facts are visible, tangible, proveable. Here are the spiritual bless- ings, the object of faith, not of the senses, asserted in the scriptures, believed in by faith, without proof, by the members of the covenant through all ages. You, outside the covenant, ask us how it can be, you want proof; we give you none, be- cause none can be given ; we bring you the plain words of scripture asserting them, and then we say, " we believe." If you choose to take it, well and good ; if not, you may go on your own way, for your position, as one in fact not united with the visible Church of Christ, but a sect, is such as MERCY To BABES. 93 naturally to incline you to disbelieve in the fact of a real visible covenant, having spritual blessings attached to it ; and if the plain and manifest words of the scripture cause you no belief, my arguments will have no effect. The first doctrine, then, which I specified in the last chapter, is, that coming to baptism with repentance from dead works, and faith in the Lord Jesus as requisites, we receive the blessings of regeneration ; we are introduced into the Church, that is, into the kingdom of God upon earth ; we have the adoption of sons ; we are made mem- bers of Christ, children of God, inheritors of the kingdom of heaven ; all these phrases implying one and the same thing — regeneration. We shall give a few texts. 1. " Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." 2. "He saved us by the washing of regenera- tion, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." (Tit. iii. 5.) 3. " Therefore we are buried by baptism into death." (Rom. vi. 4.) 4. *'As many as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death." (Rom. vi. 3.) 6. " Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." (Gal. iii. 26, 27.) 6. " And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be glorifisd together with him." (Rom. viii. 17.) 94 MERCY TO BABES. 7. "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved." (Mark xvi. 16.) 8. *' Go ye, and make disciples of (out of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matt, xxviii. 19.) 9. *' As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name : which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John i. 12, 13.) See No. 1. Now let us take these passages in their plain sense, and what do they say, neither more nor less, than that we are born of " water and the Spirit." They hang together in asserting this doctrine, that in baptism we are taken out of the world and placed in the kingdom of God — the visible Church of God. This is the plain and evident sense ; but how can it be ? As I said before, I cannot tell ; I have faith that it is so. Is it not of a piece with God's dealing in other things? Look at the case of the Syrian leper coming to be healed of his disease, he was desired to dip seven times in the Jordan. How was he healed? Simply because God chose to attach to the use of that washing the benefit. The water was not medicinal, by no power of it was he healed. Yet most undoubtedly had he not dipped in the water, he could not have been healed. So with baptism. Look at Christ ordering the blind man to bathe MERCy TO BABES. 95 in Siloam and receive his sight : here too, the in- strument was nothing in itself, yet the effect fol- lowed by its use, would have followed by the use of nothing else. Look at the use of means in general, by God who is almighty, and think that he may establish any means he pleases, and the effect will follow. If, in these cases, God acted, manifestly and plainly, is it now incredible, espe- cially when he himself has asserted it in plain words. The next benefit that is in the holy scriptures attached to baptism, is the remission of sins. Acts ii. 38. " Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." Acts xxii. 16. " Ananias said unto Saul, why tarriest thou ? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Rom. vi. 3, 4. *' So many of us as were bap- tized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. (By his death applies the pardon of sin.) *' Then we are buried with him by baptism unto death." " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." " All power is given me in heaven and earth, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name," &c. *' All power in heaven and earth," i. e. I am God omnipotent, by gift from the Father, " go ye therefore teach all nations." The word therefore implies a direct commission from Christ, in refer- 96 MERCY TO BABES. ence to his power it must be ia either *' teach " or " baptize; " " teach " belongs to any man, *' bap- tize " only to those commissioned. Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, and none but Almighty power can forgive sins. The assertion, therefore, of Almighty power, in the first clause, directly im- plies that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Peter's assertion, that baptism is a saving ordi- nance, implies remission of sins — since this is salvation. Acts X. 43. " To him give all the prophets witness, that whosoever believeth on him should receive remission of sins." And then, verse 38, " He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." " With the mouth confession is made unto sal- vation." Luke i. 77. " To give knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins." Christ's baptism is of the Holy Ghost, therefore of God, for the remission of sins. Here then is baptism plainly said to be for the remission of sins, just as plainly as I say in our creed, that '* I believe one baptism for the remission of sins." There is no text that says it is not for the remission of sins, and only a mere form. There is no pas- sage that asserts xhdX faith without baptism can obtain remission of sins for the unbaptized. The assertion of the scriptures is plainly, that repentance and faith being required as prerequisites, baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, and absolutely necessary, except in the uncovenanted mercies of God. MERCVr TO BABES. ^ 97 Again, we are met in this by the old question, ** How can this be? '* Again we see the manifest inclination to deny the very words of the holy scriptures, because we cannot quite understand the mode. Men will say, we cannot believe that to the sprinkling or immersion in water, such a gift can be attached. I do not believe myself it can. Bap- tism is a little more than this. First: It is a solemn sacrifice on the part of the officiating clergyman, wherein he offers to the power of the Father, Son, and Spirit, the subject of it. Secondly : On the part of the individual or sponsors, it is a solemn dedication of himself to God's service. Thirdly: It is a covenant concluded by a symbolic action between the individual and Almighty God. And, fourthly : It is wrought by the immediate power of the Holy Ghost. If Christians viewed it in this light, as a solemn sacrifice to Almighty God, appointed by his Son : as a solemn dedication of the individual ; as the seal and completing rite of a covenant for the remission of sin, and as brought out and completed by the Holy Spirit, there would be few such cavillings. If it cannot be for the remission of sins, pray w^hat can ? Wherein does faith so much meet as here ? Here is the clergyman praying that this man be forgiven, the man himself praying the same, his witnesses and the congregation. If faith be the means whereby we are to obtain all spiritual blessing, when or at what other time and place are 5 96 MERCY TO Babes. we to expect it more than at such a conjuncture as this ? If, when two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them, is not the Saviour present then ? " If two of you shall agree upon earth, touching any thing they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father which is in heaven." (Matt, xviii. 19.) Shall we not expect at the baptism of an individual the promise he has made of remission of sins at his holy baptism, when we unite in praying for it ? But how can remission of sins be attached to baptism, even admitting that it is all that we say, an offering on the part of the clergyman, a dedica- tion on the part of the individual, and the seal of a covenant ? It avails in this way, that it is wrought by the direct power of the holy Spirit. John's baptism he himself distinguishes from the baptism of Christ, that he indeed baptized unto repent- ance, " but there cometh one after me, that shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." And, accordingly, we find in the Acts, Paul found certain disciples at Ephesus, " He said unto them. Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? They said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? They said. Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." (Acts xix. 1 — 5.) MERCY TO BABES. 9d The distinction had been laid down by John ; here it was carried out by Paul. The distinction was this, that the baptism of John was a baptism upon repentance unto faith, a preparation to the full blessings of Christianity. Christ's baptism, a baptism in which the agent was the Holy Spirit ; and, therefore, it is that the baptism of Christ is a baptism for the remission of sins, the Holy Spirit being God Almighty, and in it forgiving, by that power, sins. Accordingly, in the holy scriptures throughout we find the Spirit mentioned in connexion with baptism. I have brought those two passages to- gether, and shown the last especially, fully as it is, that I may notice two facts in it. First, it is twisted round in the most extraordinary way, to show that these men were not rebaptized. I argue not upon it. People may take it as it stands or not. I take it as it stands. They who do not have strong motives in their tradition. First, they assert that John's baptism was the same as Christ's baptism ; secondly, they deny that Christian baptism is for the remission of sins ; thirdly, in the words since ** ye believed," they, upon their principle, that faith without bap- tism can give remission of sins, cannot see any necessity of baptizing these '* believers " again. Men that come to such a text with such principles, must of course explain it as well as thay can, to argue with these principles. Had they looked to Paul they might have seen that he had repentance, and had faith in Christ, 100 MERCY TO BABES* and three days afterward Ananias baptized him for the remission of sins ; had they looked to the scriptures they would have seen that, *' by one Spirit we are baptized into one body;" had they looked to John's owu description, they would have seen that his was not baptism of the Spirit. I argue not upon the point with them, for in their denial of the character of Christian baptism, which the scrip- tures assert in plain words, there is motive enough to enable them to withstand any argument of mine. I believe in the remission of sins, because the baptism of Christ for this is wrought by the Spirit. *' Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." (John iii. 5.) *' Ye are washed, (that is, baptized,) ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, (a short way of mentioning the baptismal form, as in another place, ' they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,') and by the Spirit of our God," (1 Cor. vi. 11,) in which the agency of the Spirit in baptism is directly asserted. Again, in reference to baptism, the seal of the Christian covenant, as was circumcision of the Jewish, he says, *' God hath given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." (2 Cor. i. 22.) If one, therefore, ask of me why I believe in baptism for the remission of sins, T say, because it is plainly asserted in the holy scriptures, and one word of them I dare not deny. Secondly, I see that in this the Spirit is asserted every where to have the chief agenc}^ and corres- ponding to it is the peculiar character of Christian MERCY TO BABES. 101 baptism as distinguished from the baptism of John. Thirdly, Because of the peculiar character of baptism as a sacrifice, by which the minister dedicates the individual to God, by virtue of his " having the ministry of reconciliation," which cannot take place without the remission of sin, and sets forward that ministry, and that power, in the words, " I baptize thee in the name, (that is, by the power and authority of) the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." And to use the words of a most admirable author, Bishop Nicholson, on the Catechism, which book I would were in the hands of all our clergy and all our laity, " These words are retained that we may know that what the minister doth, he doth not himself, or from himself, as of his own head, but by commission, command, and good authority, even by the authority of the whole Trinity. And, therefore, what he doth is of the same validity as if God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, should baptize, since it is in their name, their authority, their power. ^^ The plain meaning of the form cannot be mis- taken as implying remission of sins, by an offering and sacrificial dedication on the part of the clergy- man. And as a support to this fact is another, that in the Church it was long the only form of ordination, ** Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a priest in the Church of God, now committed to thee by the imposition of our hands. Whose sins thou dost remit, they are remitted ; and whose 102 MERCY TO BABES. sins thou dost retain, they are retained." A plain allusion to the commission to baptize, as plain a one to the text, *' baptism for the remission of sins." Not that the clergyman of himself has the power of remission, but as *'a minister of reconciliation," of the '* one baptism for the remission of sins." And to the vilest, and worst, and wickedest who repents and professes faith in the Lord Jesus, I dare say, upon his baptism : If thy repentance be true, thy faith sincere, then by thy baptism thy sins are remitted as certainly as God has spoken. I send him not to his own feelings, not to the weak and unestablished heart of a babe in Christ, not to the faint and feeble faith that may be but as a grain of mustard seed, but to the sure fact which he cannot mistake, of the sealed covenant, to his dedication by holy baptism unto Almighty God. Fourthly, I believe in a baptism for the remis- sion of sins, because it is upon his part a voluntary agreement and dedication " in the name," that is, into the profession of faith, in the Father, Son, and Spirit. For he confesses there this fact, " For whosoever shall confess me before men, him also will I confess before my Father which is in heaven." (Matt. X. 32.) And "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is made to salvation.^^ A plain allusion to the confession im- plied, and then most fully made in baptism. And certainly there cannot be salvation without the remission of our sins. Lastly, because the baptismal covenant, the new covenant, is a true covenant, a spiritual cove- MERCY TO BABES. 103 nant, a covenant of grace. And it is manifestly impossible to enter within it in our sins, we must leave them at the door, the vei'ij entrance. And, therefore, the ordinance by which we enter in must of necessity be for the remission of sins. For these reasons, in addition to the plain declaration of the scriptures, which I must hold to, I cannot but consent, in the plain literal sense, to the scrip- ture declaration, the baptism of Christ is for the remission of sins. Again, the Christian covenant, that is, the covenant into which all Christians are introduced b}' holy baptism, embraces in it some peculiar privileges in consequence of itself. One of the first and most important of which is, the indwelling of the Spirit. Here, again, we are met by the meta- phor of the age, one class of Christians, so calling themselves, make the Spirit itself a quality, and speak of the holy and eternal Spirit of God, the third person of the blessed Trinity, as they speak of the spirit, that is, temper and influence of a people or city; another class, not so far gone in metaphor, though on their road to it, so far that when the scripture speaks of "His dwelling in us," understand by this phrase a metaphor also, we are under its influence, or our temper is modified by it; of course, the natural conclusion is, that it is external to us, and necessarily the only evidence we have of its existence, is our moral and religious feeling. With their good leave it is not so ; far different from this is the doctrine of the holy scriptures, as to the privilege of the Christian in reference to the 104 MERCY TO BABES'. indwelling Spirit of God ; so it is to all men that have a conscience, for the conscience is the ear wherewith the soul of man listens to the voice of the Spirit, and what we call the suggestions of the conscience, are His voice. But the Christian's privilege is higher still, in consequence of this covenant with the Almighty. That covenant is made in baptism, and the efficient agent in it is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. And because of this, not externally, does he work upon the Christian but internally. He dwelleth in us actually and really, not in our souls only, but in our bodies also. I understand this indwelling to be a literal and personal abidance of the Holy Spirit of God in and within this our corporeal frame, and that this is the sense of the scriptures, this the feeling of the old Church undefiled, this the true and real sense of the scriptures. What, some one will say, this is a most aston- ishing notion, that the Holy Spirit dwells within the person of the covenanted subject of the king- dom of God, that within the limits of his frame, the Third Person should abide — it is a manifest absurdity. Be it so. Let us look at the position of the man with reference to his own soul. You are perfectly certain that your own soul is connected with your body, yel when you go to apply the idea of locality to it, which is involved in the idea of body, what miserable absurdities do you fall into; if you suppose the soul in every part, why then the soul must be the shape of the body, as being agreeably diffused, therefore the souls of men must MERCY TO BABES. 105 have legs, and arms, and a nose! an idea which was that of old Tutulliun. When you suppose it dwelling in any particular part, then you have the soul the shape of that part; and, besides, as the bod}" moves, you have the soul moving in the body from one part of space to another, and so forth. Of one fact only you are certain, that in some way or other within the corporeal limits of your frame, there is your immortal spirit ; but when you come to examine the mode, then are you cast into doubt, absurdity, and confusion, unbounded. Yet the soul does still abide ivithin the hody^ and every man that believes he has a soul must and does believe it. Now this is my assertion, that precisely in the same way as the soul abides in the body of any man, precisely so does the Spirit of the most holy God personally and actually dwell in the coven- anted Christian's person. We go to examine the texts that assert it. 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. " What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in yoUf which ye have of God, and ye are not your own ? for ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, and therefore glorify God in your body and in your soul, which are God's. Now let the reader look at this passage in connexion with the previous passages ; they are an argument, not against all sin, but against a particular class of sins, sins of the flesh, sins in which the body is the 5» 106 MERCY TO BABES. instrument; and he must see, plainer than the light, that St. Paul took this as no metaphor, for our souls, being under the influence of the spirit, but as an actual and real indwelling, an abidance as in a temple, really and truly. And as the certainty of the dwelling of the Schekinah in the temple, the presence of God really and locally there, though beyond our comprehension as to how it could have been, led the old Jews to all reverence and purity as to what concerned the sanctuary, so should the same feeling exist as to the body of man. Take any metaphor you choose, even of the highest, and the argument in its strength and full- ness is destroyed ; take it literally, and it remains. 1 Cor. iii. 16, Eph. ii. 21, 22. "In whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord : in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Here is the same doctrine. The material temple was for God's indwelling; the Church also universally is the interior dwelling of the Spirit in this world, in contradistinction to His outer influence upon all through the conscience; yet its being a temple was caused by the Spirit in each one indwelling. Because of the one Spirit in each, and that the Spirit of life, the " stones grow together." Within the limits of the old temple the Spirit dwelt, yet stones were dead ; and now it is the life in each stone that causes the unity and the growth. Language sinks under the weight of heavenly things, and therefore we have the appar- ently incongruous metaphor of stones in a building, MERCY TO BABES. 107 and life in these stones. Accordingly, in 1 Peter ii. 5, we have the same metaphor — '* Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house." In accordance with this we have, in Rom. viii, 9 — '* Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." This is taken for granted here, and is made for the morti- fication of the deeds of the body ; and furthermore, that there be no mistake about the actual and real indwelling of the Spirit, it is declared that — "If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you," then as a consequence to the body itself, in which the Spirit dwells — " He that raised up Jesus from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit which dwelletk in you." The whole argument of the chapter supposes that actual indwelling which, as I have stated, Paul so plainly utters in the first quoted passage. Without this it all falls to the ground. Let a man admit this to be a fact^ and no metaphor, and he shall see most plain reasons for fasting, for mortification of body, and self-denial in all its various forms, as enjoined in the scripture ; let him deny it, and explain it away by metaphor and so forth, and all motive is gone. Again, the same idea is made an argument against "eating in idol temples." (2 Cor. vi. 16.) " What agreement hath the temple of God with idols ? for ye are the temple of the living God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And I will be a father unto you, and 108 MERCY TO BABIES. ye shall be my sons and daughters." Hefe again is the same idea ; the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, is the Spirit of adoption, he that makes us sons and daughters through the covenant. The consequence of this is, that God the Spirit dwells in Christians, and "walks in them;" therefore each individual Christian is the temple, actually and really, of God. Wherefore, then, bring into the temple of idols that mortal frame which is the tabernacle of God? The argument is complete, the idea being taken literally. As a metaphor, it sinks and loses all force. I shall end with one or two more quotations. 1 Col. i. 19 it is said — " It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" and, same Epistle ii. 9 — " In him dwelleth all the fulness of the God- head bodily." Of Christians it is said, Eph. iii. 19 — " That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." Now it is manifest, that if the Holy Spirit, who is God, makes an actual dwelling of the bodies of Christians, that living up in action to their privi- leges they are filled v/ith the ** fulness of God," literally and truly; if the body of Christ was formed by the spirit of God in the womb of the virgin, then the Spirit dwells in him, and the " ful- ness of the Godhead bodily," since his body is framed and formed of the spirit, and the nature united to that body is God the word. But if the fulness of God dwelling in us be a metaphor for knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual experience, which are of God, what is the other ? Surel}^ it is gone as an argument for the divinity of Christ. MERCY TO fiABHS. 109 I know that the doctrine contained in the above is forgotten, obliterated, clear gone out of mind-^ ordinary Christians have let it glide away into un- reality and metaphor, still it is true. I know many will sneer and call it absurd, I cannot help this. I shall, therefore, as to its truth and reality, give a passage from one of a different class. Here is the opinion of Novalin, or Hurdenberg, as quoted by Thomas Carlyle — the one a German mystic, the other a pantheist, or, if you please, an atheist: "Knowest thou what reverence is due to a human body, how deep a mystery? for herein the most high dwells upon earth in a human shape." Alas, alas ! that it is come to this — that the sentiment and persuasion of Paul, and Peter, and the Apos- tles, and the primitive Church, has so perished from what is called Christianity, that in a panthe- istic atheist a nearer approach can be found to it than in ordinary Christians — that they should take the truth for a metaphor, and be the atheist for a high and fruitful reality. But if the doctrine be true, what new motives does it furnish to the Christian? Let the reader just look back to the passages quoted by St. Paul, and he shall see. There is, no doubt, in human nature a two-fold tendency; there are feelings, and those of the highest of our nature, by which purity, personally and actuall}^ is encouraged, and this of all kinds of personal purity, from the highest to the lowest ; so that from this peculiar class of feelings there is no doubt that even personal clean- liness has a high moral and religious tendency— ilO MERCY TO BAB^S. the very act of washing has a moral influence upon the body. Again, there is no doubt that a low, and base, and sensual feeling as to our human nature and our human body, is one of the very first incentives to sin ; this, in its further advance, developes itself in courseness and filthiness of language, debasing still more the mind, and the next ready step is actual sin. Now every one can see this in himself, he can see that the idea of purity and delicacy attached to our person is a high preservative of moraUty — the contrary idea, just the contrary* Thse two are instincts of our nature. Consider then how these natural feelings are supported the one, and suppressed the other, by the doctrine above mentioned ; a strong motive this to believe that the doctrine as it stands is true, since the same God that made man's nature also made the holy scriptures. 'Christians,' says St. Paul, * the Spirit of holiness and 'purity dwells in you, making your mortal frame a temple to himself; ' how can you then defile the temple of him who is God dwelling in you? how can you the temple of God enter within the temple of demons ? Must you not daily and hourly watch over yourselves, and mortify the inclinations of your natural body, which is now sanctified by his indwelling ? Every one can see the effect of the truth as realized by such an one as Paul. Again, as to calmness, quietness, and peace, look at it. If our bodies be the temple of the Spirit, shall we have recourse to vehement strug- MERCY TO BABES. Ill gles of the mind and imagination that we may realize the gifts of the Spirit? if the Spirit were without us, no doubt we should ; if only when we felt peculiar and extraordinary religious emotions, then were we under his influence, no doubt our business were to employ all external means for ever to seek him without us. But we can be free from this struggle, for believing that the Spirit of glory and God resteth upon us, " we ascend not up to heaven to bring Christ down from above, we descend, not into the deep to bring him again from the dead, for the word is nigh us, even in our mouth and in our heart, the word of faith;" and, therefore, not to extraordinary emotions or to intense awakenings of conscience, but to calm abidance in well-doing, to the sanctification of the body and soul, which are his, do we trust. And not only when we are employed in religious wor- ship, in prayer or in meditation ; but when we are upon our daily business, when we eat, when we sleep, then is the spirit dwelling in his temple, ever abiding, ever sanctifying. Let man think upon this ; how high, how lofty a position is this, how suitable to transform into the Godlike and divme in us all that which we have in common with other animals of passions, appetites and desires. By this the wife is sacred and reverend in the eyes of the husband, and the husband in the eyea of the wife ; by this our children, as the Apostle says, are holy (1 Cor. vii. 14) ; by this the unbe- lieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the 112 MERCY TO BABE&. unbelieving wife by the husband ; by this the home and domestic hearth, so dear to man's heart, becomes a temple, and he and all Christian fathers thus are "a royal priesthood" within that temple- home ; by this even the bread that we eat, the Christian meal, sanctified by prayer and thanks- giving, is sacramental. But men have lost the doctrine, the sentiment, therefore, has perished and cannot be realized, and we see the fruits around us. The men of old had it, the doctrine and the sentiment, and we see what a difference it makes. This leads us to the fourth privilege of the Christian in covenant with God, the promise of sufficient grace. What is meant by grace ? Per- sons say such and such a man is a subject of grace, when he begins to feel strongly on the subject of religion. This is limiting it to consciousness and the feelings. It is not so: grace is the peculiar influence upon man of the Spirit, this is what we know of it ; it is compared to the oil of the lamp, to the life in man. In the whole scriptures through, it is no fitful influence^ no influence that operates at random, or by sudden starts ; the Christian has it at all times and at all seasons, hy virtue of being in the covenant. His natural feelings ebb and flow, his physical temperament varies, influences from with- out will cause joy or sadness to predominate ; but for all these variations of temper and circumstances there is, if he knew it aright, a sufficient supply of the assistance of the Spirit given to him. The secret channel may pass unseen down the steep MERCY TO BABES. 113 descents of affliction and the lowly vallies of hu- miliation» still to the one level it arises, that of his needs and his position. " Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ;" that is, according to the measure of the Spirit, who is the gift of Christ — the Spirit divideth to every one as he will. And again, " My grace is sufficient for thee," he says to St. Paul. Now, unto what is that grace sufficient? We answer, to the fulfilment of the law of the covenant of Christ, the law of his kingdom, of which we are subjects, the law of grace ; for herein is the differ- ence between the old covenant and the new, that the law under the old covenant was an outward thing, but the new law, to which we can be obe- dient, is a law in our hearts. That by the law of Moses man could not be justified, is plainly asserted in the scriptures ; that not by the law of our nature, (virtue is the law of man's nature,) is also, by the experience of each man, manifest. But the law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ, (Rom. viii. 10) — the royal law, (James ii. 8) — the perfect law of liberty, (James i. 25) — this is the law of God's Spirit in the heart of the covenanted Chris- tian ; and at the same time it is a law prescribing actions, and a power giving ability to perform its prescription ; an inward law conforming to the outward law of God's word, a transcript, as it were, upon man's heart of his revelation. This is the sufficiency given to the Christian — a suffi- ciency accordmg to his sphere to walk on in the path of his duty towards God and man, justified 114 MERCY TO BABES. by his faith in Christ, and the works, not of any law of man, or law of nature, but of the law of Christ. For justified he is by faith and by works ; by faith which apprehends Christ as his king, and by works according to his royal law. The next benefit of the Christian covenant is the reception of the body and blood of Christ, and although this be mainly given by the sacrament of the Lord's supper, still to none is it given but to those within the Christian covenant; and for so great a gift it would seem that the supernatural gift of life, the principle, as we have before ex- plained, is the proper preparation. Baptism, therefore, is the door unto this, as to all the gifts of the Christian covenant, that entrance by which we must come in if we would reach unto it. This is an actual and real privilege, an actual and real partaking of the blood of Christ and its benefits. The atonement of Christ is hereby applied, and the temper and tone of Christ, as during his incarnation, he showed himself upon earth, im- planted in us. This grace of his body and blood is truly and really the source and spring of all the Christ-like tempers in us ; for as the good tree grafted upon the old stock will produce good fruit, so the human nature of our Lord is upon our human nature, as it were, truly and really ingrafted ; so that we abide in Christ as " branches in the vine," as "limbs to the body," as the body to the head; and thereby the graces of his human nature, the only perfect and sinless humanity that ever has been, are propagated in us. MERCY TO BABES. 115 Another effect of this is, that thereby we arise again unto life. " Whosoever eateth my body and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Men ordinarily believe in the doctrine of the resurrection, for Christianity has forced upon man this doctrine, so that even infidels cannot deny it. There is an infidel doctrine of the resurrection ; the infidel doctrine is this — the beasts are animals, who by their organization arise not again, and men are animals, who by their organi- zation do arise. The Christian doctrine is this, that all men arise by the poiver of Christ ; the wicked even by the same power. That our Lord went down into the grave, and for this arose that by his omnipotence he should cause all men to arise. This is the plain doctrine of the scripture, and not the organization — doctrine. And then that in the good his body and blood are the seed of eternal life, whereby they arise unto life everlast- ing. Objections may be started to this of course ; I do not meddle with them. This is the plain doctrine of the scriptures, and no where is the resurrection of any man, bad or good, in the holy scriptures attributed to organization, or to any other cause than the power of Christ's resurrection. Suffice it then for me to believe it. Again, as a benefit of the covenant ; its children are admitted to the guardianship of angels, and if obedient to the Spirit, and therefore holy, to the communion of saints. An express assertion there is of this as a privilege of the new covenant in Heb. xii. 22, 23. After speaking of Sinai — it will be 116 MERCY TO BABES. remembered that in a previously quoted passage, Sinai was typical of the old covenant — *' but ye,'* says the apostle, " are come unto mount Sion, (that is, the new covenant,) and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels^ to the general assembly and Church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to the spirits of just men made perfect; " plainly asserting the guardianship of angels as one of the privileges of individual Christians under the new covenant; plainly asserting too, that under that covenant the spirit of the righteous dead com- mune with our unconscious souls, take an interest in us, and are aware of our situation. And indeed, our Lord himself, in a saying of his, asserts the same : he says, " take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." (Matt, xviii. 10.) From which most plainly we draw the conclusion, that each Christian has a peculiar angelic attendant allotted as minister unto him ; and from the second clause, that this angel is a guardian to him in life. The impression of the old Church was this, that at the baptism^ then was the angelic minister allotted to him for the course of his. life. Moreover, they believed that then, by the baptismal water, and by the seal of the cross then imprinted, was placed upon his brow a character perpetually remaining, which, to the angels and ministers of God walking to and fro upon the earth, was the evidence of his citizenship in the heavenly kingdom. MERCY TO BABES. 117 A motive, perhaps, that will be sneered at by those who have not heard of it before; but when 1 con- sider that the baptism, in the water, is an actual washing in Christ's blood ; when I think how the blood upon the Untels of the Paschal Lamb, typi- cal, as it is well known, of Christ's blood, was a sign to the angel that that house should be passed over; I certainly do not think the opinion in any degree an improbable one ; and, candidly to speak, I consider it to be true. And then the Christian, if of the holy and true, has communion with the spirits of just men made perfect ; not a prayer arises to the throne on high, but he has a living interest in it ; not one of the holy and the best, even in the remotest ends of the earth, but his spirit flows forth to their's with a secret influence and sympathy, which, although he be unconscious of it, is not the less real; and their's again returns unto him laden with blessings. The clouds that fall upon my land here may have arisen in the broad Atlantic or the far Pacific, yet here they have fallen, and here is their blessing. So the aid that comes to me in my weakness and my distress, may have come from the solemn litanies and prayers of the holy in the remotest ends of the earth. Then our liturgic prayers, so general, as they seem to those who pray " for Colonel Jacob Jones, who has so helped the people of God," for " the dear brother who preceded me in prayer, and so fruitfully ministers to this congregation," to " con- vert, O Lord, the soul of Sarah Ward ; " then our 118 MERCY TO BABilS. prayers, that to these folkg seem so general and uninteresting, assume quite a different aspect when viewed with the feeling upon us, of the communion of saints. And when we think that v/ith the spirits of just men made perfect, we have communion, actual and true ; when the thought burst upon us, that of our departed friends, we are not therefore left alone when they die, even as to locality, but that were our eyes unsealed, we should view them by us ; how does it make a heaven of earth, and embalm them to us. What thoughts of love to the brother it suggests, or the sister, or the son of the departed, " they are not gone, they are not van- ished ; but although we see them not, still have we communion with them." The mother who was taken away from the child whom she had began to train in the ways of God ; she may have been taken away in order to train him all the better, through her spiritual influence upon his soul. The father dead may still guide the son in God's holy ways, and the love of the wife to the husband, of the husband to the wife, may still last and still endure. And this last, (I am fond of these old Christian feelings and opinions, they have all a touch of nobleness, a tenderness of sentiment and of heart about them, which I rather like, and do not see in modern religion,) was the cause of a very prevalent sentiment among the old Christians in favor of only one marriage, of which a trace may be seen in St. Paul's advice, that a bishop should be the husband of one wife, a thing plainly absurd, if we interpret MERCY TO BABES. 119 it of only one at a time, for if he had more he could not be in Christian communion, or be qualified even for baptism. These then are the privileges of Christiun bap- tism as laid down in the scriptures, and of the Christian covenant, unto which baptism is the entrance. These, and not those other notions, ** that baptism is a form of profession and nothing more, and that we do it only because it is a com- tnanded ordinance." All these privileges, as the reader will have seen, are plainly asserted in the express words of scripture. All spiritual privileges belonging to the kingdom of heaven, not one of them proveable by any earthly arguments, or tangible to our senses in any way, but declared by the word of God, and received by faith. Well, but you may say, I have known many baptized persons, and in none of them have I seen any evidence of these things. Now there are two things to be answered to this. First, What hind o/haptism were they baptized with ? At Christ's coming there was the baptism of John, ** a baptism of repentance, that they should believe in him that came after," a baptism which was both of repentance and faith, as we see by this passage, and the other above cited, in which Paul asks them, " had they received the Holy Ghost since they believed? ^^ implying most plainly, that those baptized with John's baptism had faith as well as repentance. Secondly, There was the Christian baptism with a.ll these privileges. Now 120 ^ MERCY TO BABES* what baptism do the various non-Episcopal sects preach and administer? is it not tliis baptism, the baptism of faith and repentance, without any thing else ? Do they not in their universal doctrine declare, that it is nothing else ; that it, as baptism, has no one of the privileges attached to it that I have specified ; how am I, therefore, to expect in that which by its very terms, and the description of those that minister it, as well by the want of apostolic authority, is the baptism of John, the effects of the other? Certainly I cannot. They that make the objection, most likely make it from instances they have seen of those who had this kind of baptism. Again, with regard to the Church and her hap- tism ; of those privileges some are to be seen and employed by faith, others are in their effects only to be known as to the causes in heaven. For instance, the faithful only eat the Lord's body, and they who discern it not do not eat it, because they have not the faith which is requisite. The guar- dianship of angels, the communion of saints, we have no possible evidence by experience ; as to them, we must go upon pure faith. Now our dis- senting brethren will acknowledge that there are holy, and pious, and good men in the Episcopal Church. They have laid it down themselves as an axiom, that none are such but the}^ that have gone through the peculiar process called conversion, and that none can be converted but they must know it. Now, of those men and women that they acknowledge pious and holy in the Church, nine MERCY TO BABES. 121 oat of ten will tell you that they never went through that peculiar process, and they know they never did. How, then, did they obtain their station ? It will, I think, be a sufficient reason, that repenting of their sins, and having faith in Christ as their Saviour, they received the one baptism for the re- mission of sins. The principle of spiritual life was implanted in them by the Holy Ghost and by the water; they entered within the ark of God's Church ; in which, '^ having exceeding great and precious privileges," that the Holy Ghost should dwell in them ; that he should supply them with sufficient grace ; that the body and blood of Christ should be received by them unto eternal life, and the resurrection at the last day ; and, lastly, that they should come under the guardianship of the holy anfrels, and into the communion of the saints on earth and the saints in heaven. These thmgs, methinks, should be as true founts and sources of holiness and piety, as ever I have seen at revivals or camp-meetings. And to those who will tell me that these means fail often, or that the subjects of them fail, which prove them unreal, I say boldly, they never faiU except in the case of sin of such a character "as to be unto death." And as a proof of this, I will show the fact, that of the baptized who have faith to discern their privileges and their duties in the Church, that of those who, instructed by the Church, come forward to that ordinance which perfects all those privileges, and is the great test 6 122 MERCY TO BABES. of Christian faith — for faith in the covenant has many important differences from faith outside it — that of them there is not one fails, for twenty among the sects, who have been declared " converted.'* Of this fact every Episcopal clergymen, who knows any thing of the sects, can bear sufficient witness — so that the comparison is in our favor. We all know the way this fact is got over ; the broad declaration, that the Christian man or woman, a communicant in the Church, who goes on in the path of duty as a good father, or husband, or son, mother, wife, or daughter, quietly and calmly doing his duty in the sphere where God has placed him, without talking of feelings and experience, is no Christian, forsooth. We are content it should be so asserted ; in the mean time, upon God's ordinance, which we have approached with repentance from our sins, and faith in Christ as our Saviour, upon it and its privileges we shall rest, and the doctrines that belong to it we shall believe in, and our progress will be accordingly. To those in our own Church who may perhaps be startled by some of these things, and who never have considered the practical use of baptism, I would just add these few words from an old author. *' I add this in the close, that baptism is of special use through a Christian's whole life. Ic is but once administered, but the virtue and efficacy thereof grows not old by time. "1st. In all thy fears and doubts look to thy MERCY TO BABES. 123 baptism and the promises of God then sealed to thee. Lay hold on them by faith, and thou mayest have actual comfort. <* 2d. In all thy failings, slips, and revolts, to recover the sooner, look to thy baptism. New- baptism shall not need ; the covenant and seal of God stands firm and changeth not. *' 3d. Renew thy repentance, renew thy faith in those blessed promises of grace sealed and secured in baptism, and then expect all good from God's free mercies in Christ, although thy performances fall very short; though thou art an unprofitable CHAPTER III. PART II. Application of the previous Chapters of Part II. — Spiritual Benefits of Infant Baptiem. We have discussed in the previous chapters the doctrine of baptism, with a view to the question, what use is baptism in a spiritual point of view generally? that is, to all capable of baptism. We brought forward two notions, which, in our esti- mate, serves to blind men, being held as principles of scripture, and not being so ; the notion that bap- tism is a mere declaration of faith, having in itself no privileges, and then the other, that plainly fol- lows from the first, " that onl}'- because of its being an ordinance, and commanded, are men baptized ;'* we asked for the scripture proofs of these notions, and showed that none such exist; we brought forward then a list of texts plainly asserting that baptism has privileges attached to it, and from them we educed the doctrines regarding baptism. Now if baptism has, according to these notions, no privileges, then men need not be baptized at all. For, first, there is no command to baptize all believers, MERCY TO BABES. 125 only an inference from practice, which we cannot prove to have been universal ; and, secondly, it would be very absurd to think that Christ should command an ordinance which is of no effect only as a profession, when profession may be made in so many different ways. This, we believe, is the argument of the Society of Friends, an argument we see it is very difficult to get rid of upon the above premises. Secondly, we showed most plainly, that if baptism be only of use as a profession, infants need not be baptized at all — every motive for bap- tizing them is cut away. And in opposition to both these notions, we brought forward the idea of a covenant between God and man, as the basis of the scriptural system of a true and real covenant ; we showed its agree- ment with the rest of the scriptures, its uses and advantages, and showed the relation baptism bore to it as its seal of admission. We took then the effects attributed to baptism in the scriptures, its doctrines, in other words, and showed them plainly the privileges of the covenant, and showed that to them baptism is the door of admission. ^.Now the Christian can apply them to the case of infants for himself. But, however, as all men may not take the trouble, we shall apply them, and let the Christian examine our applications of them. In the first place, from the very form, baptism is a dedication on the part of the minister unto God. I will ask the Christian, if under the old law lihe first horn of 126 MERCY TO BABES. every animal was dedicated to God, cannot the infant, unspotted by actual sin, be dedicated unto him ? If under the old law the child, the first born, was sanctified unto the Lord, (Exodus xiii. 12,) and because it should have been a sacrifice was re- deemed, cannot we, as Christians, sanctify them to God whom " Christ, the first born among many brethren," has redeemed by his sacrifice ? more especially since the apostle has declared all chil- dren of Christians to have the same privileges as the first born of Israel — "Your children are holy." Cannot these, then, much more be brought into the temple of God and dedicated to him, by him who ministers there in God's name and by God's au- thority? Can he not take them in his arms and bless them, for baptism is a blessing, and lay his hands upon them whom Christ his master took in his arms and blessed ? Can he not dedicate them who are commanded not to be prevented from coming to him, when he knows that " where two or three are gathered together, there is he in the midst ;" and that if this promise be true they can come to him th re present in the midst of his wor- shipping people in his temple? Simply considering baptism in the light of a blessing and a dedication, there is nothing to prevent its being given to chil- dren, even to babes. And add to this, that they are free from the guilt of actual sin, that they too are redeemed by the blood of Christ, that they have immortal souls, that " as the soul of the father is mine, so is the soul of the son mine," all these things show the MERCY TO BABES. 1S7 propriety of the priest offering and dedicating to God the soul of that unspeaking babe. And the parents, too, have they not the power of dedicating their children to God ? If Hannah, under the old law, could vow her child to God, even before he was born — " If thou wilt give me a child, then will I give him to the Lord all the days of his life ;" if the Nazarite could be vowed unto God in his infancy, and God fulfilled that vow, cannot the child of Christian parents be vowed and dedicated by his parents to Him ? History is full of it, the history of the Church and the bible. And so fully do I believe in that principle, that I say to Christian mothers and fa- thers, vow your children to God in his temple, dedicate them to him with prayer and in haptism, and your vow shall not fail. In the strength of your faith say unto the Eternal — " Here, in God's temple, to the Father almighty, to the Son, who has redeemed the child, here present- — here present if the promise be true — do I vow and dedicate my child, by the hands of God's minister" — and tha vow shall not fail. And this is a thing forgotten through the want of faith at the present time, the power of a parent's vows at the time of baptism, a thing well known to those of old. And as a point of practical Chris- tianity, no child of a faithful parent should be without the precious benefit of the parent's vow at the time of its baptism. The doctrine of the scrip- ture allows it, God's promise is to it, the natural heart speaks in its favor. 128 MERCY TO BABES. Again, have not the prayers of the congregation, for the blessings promised, some effect, if it be true " that if two or three shall agree upon any thing, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven," when they seek for spiritual blessings upon the babe so dedicated ? Surely the Father almighty can answer these prayers, and direct the stream of providence upon the babe, so *' that all things shall work together for its good ; surely the Son, who hath redeemed it, can apply his redeem- ing blood to it ; surely he " who sanctified the Baptist from his mother's womb," the Holy Spirit, can sanctify babes as well as men ; surely thy strong faith shall bind the whole Trinity to that helpless babe who, being a babe, hath no means of access to the teachings of men, yet, being an immortal soul, is capable of the providential inter- position of the Almighty Father, the redemption wrought out by the Almighty Son, the influences of the Holy and Almighty, who can sanctify even the unborn. And so dedicated, so vowed, the parent shall look upon the child as such, and in faith rejoice in the vow and dedication ; for, as the psalmist says, " Thou art the God that performest the vow." And, again, are not children capable of the covenant? They were circumcised under the old law, and members of the covenant. Yes, men say, but this was a Jewish ordinance. Well, it was an ordinance appointed by God for the Jews, certainly; but stdl an actual and real covenant between God and man, binding God as well as ME tic Y TO BABES. 129 man. And if God, by a covenant, can be bound to a babe, without the babe knowing any thing of it, surely he can be bound now, if the Christian covenant be a true covenant. But circumcision was a natural thing : well, we are declared to " have a circumcision too," though not made with hands ; we are declared also to be a " holy nation," by St. Peter. But the old covenant concerned temporal things only : so it did, and yet circumcision is declared to be the " seal of the righteousness which is by faith." Well, but children are not capable of the cove- nant of Christianity, for they have not faith, they have not repentance : they have not repentance, for they have not committed actual sin — repentance is sorrow for actual sin. Now the qualities that make sin an impediment to a covenant with God are two, the guilt, and the stain of actual sin ; hav- ing not sinned actually, they have neither. Is not their freedom from actual guilt, and freedom from actual stain, a better qualification than sorrow for them ? The}^ have not faith : surely they have not, but the prayer of others is efficient to the remission of sins, actual as well as original. So, then, we have babes free from actual sin, and therefore needing no repentance ; we have faith sufficient for the pardon of sin, even in others ; we have it, the evidence of things unseen, the sub- stance of things hoped for, and that by the scrip- tures, to others as well as ourselves. Shall it not 6* 130 MERCY TO BABES. confer upon the babe, who is free from "guilt" and " stain,'* the unseen and spiritual blessings of the covenant ? Shall it not substantiate the hopes, supported by prayers, of them who dedicate it? Surely, if there be any power in faith or prayer, it shall. But others undertake promises for them, that they shall do so and so — is not this a thing absurd? Not at all, when we consider ourselves under the law of God ; under the law of man the same thing is done daily, as we see mortgages and bonds in the name of children ; not at all, when we consider the effects of a vow, and that to it, made in faith by the parents, the disposition to fulfil the engage- ment taken by the parent in the name of the child, is given ; not at all, when we consider Almighty God as the disposer of all events, and the Almighty Spirit as the sanetifier of the hearts, as well of babes as of full grown men. Nor is it contrary to the holy scriptures in other parts. Moses bound by covenant the little ones as well as their fathers to enter into covenant with the Lord their God, and " into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day," not the cove- nant of circumcision, for they had been circum- cised before, but the vow to act and do according to the words of God's law. (Deut. xxix. 11, xxxi. 10 — 13.) Jehosaphat brought up to his fast all Israel, with their wives and their children. And the people of Nineveh proclaimed a fast, from the greatest to the least. (Jonah iii. 5.) Surely then, if these things are so, and faith is what it is asserted Mercy to babes. 1^1 to be, the father, or mother, or sponsor, can justly engage for the children, and trust in God for the fulfilment. Of course, we cannot engage for those who wilfully cast the covenant behind them, who do despite to the Spirit of God. We know that there are and will be apostates, yet, too, we know that those apostates are such in despite of the means of grace. Certainly it is folly to abstain from using the means because we fear men may be such. Christ knew that Judas would be, or was a devil. lie chose; are we to exclude infants free from actual sin, because one of them may be a Judas ? Surely experience has shown us that adults, as Judas, are just as likely as infants to fall. Shall we exclude infants, therefore, all of them *? But, lastly, a great argument to our introducing infants into the covenant is, that in the covenant are given the means of grace for fulfilling its con- ditions, aids and assistances which they have not outside it. This is plainly laid down in the past chapter, and in the following part of this I shall show that of all these aids and helps, there is not one of which infants, even the babe of a day old, is not capable. In the mean time, I refer back- ward to the last chapter, or onward to the next, and I ask the Christian, are not all these privileges spiritually attached to baptism and the covenant, aids to fulfil its conditions, and all possible to children? These, then, are the reasons why we consider children capable of the covenant: Because, under 132 MERCY TO BABES. the old law, they were capable of a covenant bind- ing God to them; because, this was a covenant of promise, and they were capable of the promises ; because, they have in the case of repentance a better title, in the case of faith as good as adults ; because, it is in accordance with the nature of faith, and the nature of vows to God, that men should promise to God for another, although he be unconscious of it, and God, as he has shown, will bring it about — and this binding the unconscious to an oath and engaging ibr them, is a thing of which we have brouglit instances ; and because the same motive (which I must call an evidence of weak faith, or rather no faith) that would induce us to reject all infants, because they may, in the course of life, fall away, would also induce us to reject all adults. And because, within and by the covenant and its seal, are given aids to fulfil its conditions, which are not to be had by those outside. He that will consider these things, and put by them the nature of a covenant as binding both parties, the person and the Almighty, and the nature of faith, he w^ho looks at these things, must conclude that the children of Christians are capable of the covenant. But, besides this, in the book of the Acts, child- ren are expressly offered the covenant of baptism. Peter said — "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remis- sion of sins, and ye shall receive the Hol}^ Ghost. Fo7' the p-omise is to you and your children.^^ A text which plainly holds out tc the children the cove- MERCY TO BABES. 133 nant — the covenant promised by the prophets — as , one to themselves and their children, and baptism as its seal, as applicable to babes as to men. *' The 'promise is to you and to your children,^^ the promise of a new covenant; you are Jews, and both you and your children are promised it. Therefore says Peter — " Since it is to you and them, we shall admit you and keep them out, and baptize every one excepting them, although in our discourse we have said nothing about it!" The discourse of Peter, considering that the promise was that of a new covenant, considering that they were Jews whom he addressed, certainly does not look very like that of a Baptist, nor very likely to be mis- taken ; and when we couple it with the fact before, that these infants are 7iot forbidden to be baptized, in the scripture, that therein there is ?io such estima- tion of it to be found, and no such warnings against it given, as we meet with in the sermon of every Baptist preacher at the present day, surely we must conclude that Peter held children capable of it ; and that they and their children were capable of the " covenant," they and their children to be baptized in it. Then, again, it is said that the children of believers are holy. *' The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband, else were your children unclean, but now they are holy." (1 Cor. vii. 14.) Holy, not positively, for no one that is born is actuall}^ holy; '* unclean" is used in the holy scriptures as unsuitable for admission within the 134 MERCY TO BABES. covenant, and "holy" for that which is suited thereto. And why, upon what principle ? Upon this, that "husband and wife are one flesh" — a principle literally taken by all nations in the laws of marriage, and literally acted upon. The one flesh, cannot, therefore, at the same time be holy, or suited for the covenant with God, and unholy, or unsuited ; hence the offspring must be, by the very principle, suited for the covenant. I say not a word to those who say holy means legitimate, and unholy, illegitimate ; such mean- ings are not to be found for the words in the scrip- tures. They are the mere explanations of those who would maintain a cause at all hazards, cou- pled with a profound ignorance of the sacredness and the mysteriousness of marriage, as an institu- tion of Almighty God whereby, through his power, and creative and dispository influence, they that have been two become actually, and re illy, and in- dissolubly one. If this be admitted, and realized, and held as a fact and truth, then the Apostle's argument follows ; if it be no fact, but a metaphor, why then you may interpret it any way you please. But one thing is certain — if "unclean" in the children mean that they are bastards, and "holy" that they are legitimate, " holy" or " unholy" must have the same meaning in the case of the husband or the wife. And then we have the apostle declar- ing that the validity of marriage depends upon "belief," or "faith" — a most strange and outrage- ous doctrine to be attributed to the apostle, and most contradictory to the whole of the scriptures. MERCY TO BABES. 13-5 Children, then, in this passage are declared capable of admission into the covenant, clearly and plainly. And so, beside the argument for it on the ground of reason, we have the express declaration of holy writ. We go on to the next part of this argument. That is, there is nothing in the condition of infancy to forbid them attaining all the privileges of the covenant, and being benefited by them all. The first, the initial privilege of all, is the remission of sins. Now, what sins are to be re- mitted in infants? None actual. What follows from this? Is it that they should be excluded from the covenant with God? Certainly not. Else being excluded, they would actually be punished by separation from the other privileges of the covenant. What, therefore, is baptism in their case, con- sidered as a rite for the remission of sins ? This may be seen by the nature of sin. What, then, is sin ? This, neither more nor less — the transgres- sion of the law, this is actual sin. And how does this come, how comes it, that since the " law is holy, and just, and true ;" " since virtue," or conduct in obedience to the law of God, " is the law of man's nature," that men transgress the law, for that law is evidently in accordance with man's best interests ? Certainly it is not by the bondage of an iron fate predestinating us to be sinful, as certainly it is not the force of external circumstances driving us on- ward and impelling us to sin ; for every man 136 MERCY TO BABES. knows, by the fact that he is a man, that man is the lord of circumstances. How then does it come ? By this, that there is a moral inability to keep God's law perfectly ; an inability born with, and which we clearly see not to have belonged to man's nature originally, but to have been the result of a deterioration, which is called the Fall. This inability is in the infant ; it developes it- self in him just so soon as reason and responsibility begin to develope themselves. And the great end of remission, of forgiveness, of reconciliation, is the putting an end to this inability in actual transgression and in its own guiltiness. The fact of the inability and the fact of its origin, every one can see from his own nature. The nature of sin we do not clearly know in this world ; even our deepest imaginings cannot penetrate it. The very consideration of it is in- volved in the deepest mystery. It would seem that there is a hideousness and horror about -it more fearful than we can imagine, when we think that for its remission and pardon the eternal word must take flesh and be born, suflfer, die, and be buried, that it should be remitted ; it would seem too, that if we only could comprehend it, that it is an actual and real death, of which the death of this world is only the shadow. It would seem also to be of the nature of an infection, reaching from generation to generation, and from father to son, extending as a disease, loathsome of itself in the e3^es of God. It would seem also as if it tainted MERCY TO BABES. 137 the nature of all men, as unquestionably the nature of poisonous or venomous animals, although unde- veloped, still is in their offspring. It would appear also, that there is some impenetrable and happier connexion, as it were, between the souls of all men, between our souls and the souls of all our progeni- tors, and by consequence with the soul of him in whom the deterioration took place. And, lastly, it is plainly manifest from the scripture, that this world is a world of evil, in which we are all born subjects to this evil taint. " We were by nature children of wrath." (Eph. ii. 3.) *' As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Rom. v. 12.) So, from all these consider- ations, would it seem that this natural inability requires remission. This sinfulness which is in us by birth, must be pardoned. This is called original sin. I need not say that the explanation of it is difficult ; from the first, that we, as men, born to sin, cannot understand what sin is clearly in this life, or how it looks in the eyes of a most holy God. Only this I will say, that any other opinion than this of original sin, must and will force us into difficulties and contradictions, overthrowing the whole plan of salvation. And any Christian that looks inward upon his own nature, and sees with a due estimate of its mysteriousness the nature of sin, and then looks upon a God most holy and most pure, must come to the conclusion, that *' original sin" both exists and needs pardon 138 MERCY TO BABES. from Almighty God in each individual; that is, the application of the blood of Christ. When we speak of pardon of sin, we are too apt to imagine to ourselves an earthly pardon, whei'ein mere words convey the pardon. When v/e speak of forgiveness, we fall into the same error, for earthly forgiveness is for the most part gratui- tous ; when we say remission, it is the same thing. These convey to us an idea or notion of what we cannot fully comprehend, on account of our dim- sightedness. The truth is, that what we count metaphor more fully conveys the truth than these abstract phrases. The *' blood of Christ cleanses us from sin;" cannot infants be cleansed by the blood of Christ? "He has redeemed us;" cannot infants be redeemed? '* He is the Saviour of men;" cannot infants be saved ? " He gave his life a ransom for many ;" can they not be ransomed ? *' He reconciled men to himself;" cannot they be reconciled ? The men who object to the doctrine of original sin, and the necessity of its remission to infants, will admit all these as applicable to infants ; and yet they are all identical with ^' remission of sin." But it may more plainly be seen by another consideration. Forgiveness of sin necessarily im- plies in the sin two things — the guilt to be pardoned — the stain upon the moral nature to be wiped off. It implies both these to be taken out of the sight of God, as both are offensive in his sight, both incapa- citate for the enjoyment of happiness. In forgive- MERCY TO BABES. 139 ness both these come in. Now, although actual guilt and actual stain be not in infants, still there is a stain of nature, and this may be blotted out, this may be cleansed, this may be washed in Christ's blood. And this being remitted or blotted out, the term remission is truly and really applied to infants who have not committed actual sin. Infants then are baptized for the remission of original sin, that they may be washed in the blood of Christ, that being born the children of wrath, they may be made the children of grace. If they are not capable of this, are they capable of salva- tion? For surely every one will acknowledge they have been redeemed. Now if they have no sin, actual or original, how can they be redeemed ? I conclude, therefore, that to infants, baptism which is for the remission of sin, can be applied by reason of original sin, which is the sj^eck and stain of human nature. Let us look then to regeneration ; the being born of water and the Spirit. And keeping clearly in our mind that it consists of two parts, the implanting in us of 3. principle of life^ which is not in us by nature, and the being introduced iiito the kingdom of Christ, which is the world of that birth, the sphere wherein alone the spiritual life can come to perfection in actual and real prosperity ; let us inquire, how an infant is incapable of these two privileges. Is there any text that says they are incapable of it? is there any text that says <' that infants cannot be born of water and the Spirit ? " Is there any text that says this? We say with the 140 MERCY TO BABESj. Church in all ages they can — let the passage be brought forward that says they cannot. There is too a text that says, " except one (mistranslated a man,) be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." How plain is it, that they who exclude infants shut them out from God's kingdom. The Spirit is the agent in the new birth, the almighty and eternal Spirit ; he formed a body for Christ; he sanctified John from his mother's womb. Men assert that infants cannot be horn of him: how great a contradiction is this, that the Almighty Spirit the Sanctifier, cannot work his miraculous effects upon a human spirit at any time and at any age, and this when there is no resistance ; for the spirit of an adult can resist God's Spirit, but the spirit of the babe cannot ; and this too, when the spirit of the babe is free from the guilt of actual sin ; so free, that tliey must become like it, who would prepare themselves to enter into that king- dom. The assertion of an impossibility in infants because of their infancy, to " be born of water and the Spirit," not only has no foundation in the scriptures, but is contrary to all we know from experience and from the scriptures, of the moral state and spiritual condition of the infant. And when we look at the two parts of this heavenly birth, we find in neither of them any natural impossibility, nothing in the condition of an infant that should prevent either of them from being wrought in him. The spiritual life, as I have explained, is a principle not of us, but of the Spirit MERCY TO BABES. 141 cHvelling in us ; it is a life^ and similar to our bodily life. The bodily life is not absent, because we cannot discern it by our senses ; it is present in sickness and disease, although these are antagonist influences ; it is that which overcomes them, and medicine cures not disease, only removes the obstacles to the working of the life in our bodies ; it is present when we are unconscious of it, as in infants ; when we are asleep, as full grown ; unseen itself and undiscernible, it shows itself only by its working. The feelings of the body may be lowerd by disease, still the life is there, and it is it that overcomes disease in the body. Just so, if there be a life of God, are its opera- tions in the souls of men. It is a permanent pos- session, a life; when implanted it is not away, because we cannot see it; it is present, an antago- nist principle in us to the life of this world that abides in our flesh. Prayer, the means of grace, meditation, faith, these are to it what medicines are to the natural body in the case of disease, not means of producing it, for it is the sole gift of the Holy Ghost, the giver of life, but means of remov- ing obstacles out of its way. It dwells with us when unconscious, when asleep, unseen itself and indiscernible, its workings manifest it. Now let him who has read this character of the life of God in man, let him compare it with the various passages in the scriptures describing the *♦ life of God in the soul of man," and he shall see how exactly they answer to it. Let him compare it with this one passage, " the wind bloweth where 142 MERCY TO BABES. it llsteth, and ihou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit." Now look at the infant — we will say unbaptized and unregenerate ; is there not an evil principle in his nature, whose root and source is original sin, that springs up in actual sin; which puts forth first the germ, then the stalk, the leaves and the branches ? Surely there is. We see in the child that the falling into evil is no sadden start, but a development, a growth. How unjust would it be, that there should be no stop to this until adult years, no counteracting power internally. Unjust it would, and unnatural. But the life of God is the healing and antagonist power, even in the baptized infant. The same privilege that our infant Saviour had, that same privilege have our infants. " As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given the Son to have life in himself." Was there an}^ time of manhood, or youth, or infancy, when this gift was given, or rather had not Christ, the man-God, this life in himself as God-man in infancy, at birth ? Surely he had. What then hinders us who have the life of him, to have it in infancy by his appointed means ? Furthermore, this life is a hidden life — '* our life is hid with Christ in God." Should not this be a strong reason against asserting that infants cannot have this life, because we see it notl' But we may look at the absurdity of the denial a little further. Infants can be born into the world, but they cannot, because ihexj are infants^ be born of MERCY TO BABES. 143 God, the Holy Ghost, "the Lord and Giver of life," although that Spirit is almighty, nay, although Christ is *' the light that lighteneth all that come into the worlds Now we plainly assert, that '* if the life of Christ " be a true and real life, and not a metaphor, then by the very situation and position of infants, they are more capable of it than adults. With regard to the second part of the new birth, as we have above said, the very fact of a life im- plies a sphere in which to exist ; the natural life implies a natural sphere of existence for the life to develope itself in ; so does the life of sin, a natural sphere of evil, which is what is called the world ; and the life of God a sphere of existence, which is the Church, the covenanted body, the family, the people of God. We have shown that infants are capable of admission into the covenant. Let the Christian look at the means of grace provided for all, at the care of fathers and mothers who are of the household of faith, the teaching and catechizing, the training given therein, the general feeling there is all throughout the Church of the preciousness of the infant soul, and he will see that this is the sphere of life, as far as actual means are concerned. All these means take it for granted, that the life dwells iherein, and are founded upon that suppo- sition. Let him look then at the other spiritual privi- leges of the covenant. The indwelling of the Spirit in the body and soul of the believer — is aught of 144 MERCY TO BABES. man's devices more fit than this to maintain the purity of childhood ? The gift of sufficient grace ; needs not the infant or the growing youth this gift to maintain the life of Christ in him ? The indwel- ling of Christ, who is the resurrection and the life ; is not this a gift for the two months' babe as well as for the full grown man ? And, lastly, the guar- dianship of holy angels promised to the little ones of Christ's flock ; is not this a privilege of the covenant most suitable to the tender babe? Are not all these most needful in the space that inter- venes between birth and the time when man can be conscious of, and realize his privileges for the infant, the child, the growing vouth ? Are not these things privileges and mercies in the sphere of life, for the life? and the existence of these in that sphere, and their needfulness, an argument to us, that the life can be implanted in the infant, and that it can live and abide therein ? To sum up the whole, there is no where in the holy scripture any text that denies to the infant any of the privileges of baptism expressly attached to it in the scriptures. There is not in the nature of the infant any incapacity for any of them, nay, in the case of the most of them, they are most appropriate and most needful, just as appropriate as to the full grown man, and more needful and suit- able to the babe. That is, if these be real spiritual blessings needing the eye of faith to realize them. But if baptism have no privileges attached to it, and the covenant no privileges, if baptism be a MERCY TO BABES. 145 mere form, why then these are nothing to the infant, or to any one else ; and all we can do is to wait till the babe becomes a man, till he has passed through the sini of childhood and of youth, and then the grace of God may convert him. I deny not that it may be so. CHAPTER IV. PART II. The Moral and Religious Effects of Infant Baptism, In our last chapter we discussed the spiritual effects of Infant Baptism, and examined the capa- city of infants for it. In this chapter we shall examine the moral and religious effects of it, that is, the practical effects of it. In the former we spoke of the causes ; in this we shall confine our- selves to these causes in their actual operation. This may be divided into two classes, as regards the children, and as regards the parents. Now, as the deficiency of the mode in which this subject has hitherto been examined consists mainly in this, that the relation of this sacrament to the nature of man has not been made a topic in the investigation at all, but men have confined themselves to a dr}?" and fruitless discussion of texts and words ; we shall be plainly excused when we put forward, as a preparation to this chapter, some considerations of the principle in our nature to which this sacrament corresponds, and which it is suited to draw forth and bring to perfection. MERCV TO BABES. 147 ^^Man is, at all times, a mo7'al and religious heing^ We say that he has a capacity for reb'gion and religious ideas, from the very moment his mind awakens. We fear not to say this. Now, Christianity being that outwardly which alone can bring to perfection and satisfy these moral elements in man, Christianity ought to be a thing for the child, for the boy, for the youth, for the young man. And on the Baptist theory, is it so? Certainly, we say, in practice it is not; as witness the undeniable fact that the mass of men that unite with Baptist churches, so called, are adults. Can it be so made upon their theory? It certainly seems not. And wh}^ not? Because Christianity, to be effectual upon the individual, must not only be a fact, true, and believed in, and felt, but also applied to the individual, and laid hold on by him. Now, this being universally al- lowed, and "conversion" being, in their notion, the means of "applying it," and "laying hold on it," we ask, is it not a fact, that in general " conversion" is for the "adult;" that of children this process cannot, in the majority of cases certainly does not, take place so early as the child sins, is not a pro- cess for infancy or childhood ? Now what is the condition of the father and the mother in such a case? The father and the mother, they are converted according to the ordinary doc- trines ; being so, they are called "children of the adoption, members of Christ, and heirs of the pro- mises." And what are their children? Surely, 148 MERCY TO BABES. according to their notion, they are not this, they must be "converted" before they are. Well, let them try to have them *' converted ;" let them try to have them go through the same process they themselves have gone through, and the result is jjracticalhj a despair of its possibihty. The guilelessness, the feebleness, the inexcitability of the infant mind render the process, in the most of cases, an impossible one. It cannot be done. What then next ? To teach the child Christ- ianity — an historical Christianity! how Christ was born, and died, eighteen hundred years ago, in Palestine, which is not New-York ; and then with the deadening fact ever before their mind, that a realization and a self-application is absolutely neces- sary for Christianity, and that in the case of the child that cannot be ; to go on telling the facts of Christ's life and death to try to get up its feelings, as we should get up feelings concerning any other good man's suffering. This is the doom of the parent. Now what is this — when we teach " historical Christianity" without any self-application or real- ization, and the morality of the Gospel without a foundation of faith, merely upon the foundation of the natural moral sense of man — what is this reli- gion ? It is merely and entirely Unitarianism. The Unitarianism of the present day is too nar- row a basis of doubt, it doubts too little. They assert Christ not to be God ; we must have the privilege of absolute doubt, of doubting their nega- MERCY TO BABES. 149 tive, since others deny it. And but for this fact, the natural result of this religious training would be as it was with the Puritan Unitarianism ; as it is, it is a wider system, the system of non-professorism. The religious training of children by pious parents, without Infant Baptism, is a preparation for this. I have heard them wonder it should be so — it is no wonder at all. Now, can it be otherwise ? It can. Let us look at the religious feeling which, as I have said, exists at the earliest period when reason awakens. It is always attended by another, *' the sense of re- sponsibihty ;" and yet another, the ** sense of position." Man ever feels responsibility, in whatever position he is placed, ever feels the effects of ** position." Let him be, as far as he can be, *' freed," and what is the effect ? He sinks, mor- ally and mentally. Let responsibilities be placed upon him, and he rises adequate to emergencies, able to bear loads that he would have been other- wise unequal to bear. This is a fact of universal human nature, of babes as well as of men. Let men weigh it well, and upon it they will find all nobleness and loftiness of action and of thought to rest. Let a man have no confidence in his children ; let him ever fear them; let him never trust the management of money or of business to their care, and what is the result? Why it is this, that they become irresolute in habit, mean, imbe- cile, extravagant. This is a known result. Let them, on the contrary, feel they are trusted, they 150 MERCY TO BABES. become trustworthy ; let them have little matters of business committed them, they become capable of greater ; let him be generous and kind-hearted to them, they never try to escape his eye by mean trickery ; let them feel that he not only feeds them because he cannot help it, but that even in expend- itures they have a responsibility, and they are careful and prudent. Responsibility is an element of the human mind, a moral element, at all periods of our existence. Not only this, but it can he placed upon us, and that to a great extent ; and it is not unjust, provided it does not exceed the capabilities of our nature. We see it done daily ; and the way it is done is, by putting us in such a position that there is no escaping. Look at all moral training, all educa- tion, it all depends upon this ; the placing of man, by others, in such a position that he cannot escape from taking up, of his own free will, responsibili- ties connected witli it, and acting upon them — for man will escape if he can. Now to me, this notion of " conversion," ap- plicable as it is mainly to adults, looks very like the setting the child, for a certain portion of life, free from religious responsibility. For, we ask, upon this notion, is the unconverted child a Christian ? Certainly not. Now Christians, as such, must have responsibilities 'peculiarly Christian, coming from the fact of their Christianity. Is not the child free from them ? Undoubtedly. Nay, we may imagine the child asking — *' Mother, am I a Christian ? " and being answered "??o," he argues, "Mother MERCY TO BABES. 161 must go to church, because she is a Christian ; I need not, for I am not a Christian — and it is very tiresome ; mother must do so and so, but I am no Christian." It requires no very great stretch of the imagination to imagine this ; whether it has taken place or not we do not know; but certain it is that this feelinc: must and does arise in the minds of adult non-professors, and every one that has had much intercourse with them has seen it. Now let us take the duties and the responsibil- ities peculiarly Christian, and let us know which of them is unsuited and unfitting to the infant mind, to the child, and the youth. Certainly none. If prayer, and praise, and love, and faith, and obe- dience to God, and the outward services of religion, be Christian duties, they are duties for the child ; nay, duties to which his nature, uncorrupted by the world, unalloyed by the passions, is more fitted than ours are. But this notion puts him in no 'position for these, it gives him the liberty of escape, and he does escape. It is in vain to say that the authority of parents, custom, habit, the beauty and suitableness of them, will compel him ; they are Christian duties, and the true and proper position in which alone he will be compelled freely to feel the responsibility, is that he he a Christian, in. as true and real a sense as his parents are. The prmciple itself of our nature shows this. Now taking this as a fact, that Christianity is for all ages ; that the human mind, as a foundation of its moral powers, has the sense of responsibility ; 152 MERCY TO BABES. that to place and impose upon others, over whom we have natural authority, responsibility, is just and right, I do not and cannot see how we can avoid the conclusion that infant baptism is accord- ing to the moral nature of man ; that the parents have a right to place their child in covenant with God, provided the demands of that covenant do not transcend his nature, as they do not, and so placed, they have a right to urge his position upon him as a motive to action upon his responsi- bihties. To be sure, if baptism be nothing, if instead of its being a reality, and the covenant a reality, it is a form merely, then he is in no position other than before, and under no responsibilities more than before ; if there be no aids to him more than before, why then there is no change in position. But if the covenant between God and man be a true covenant, binding upon both parties ; if gifts and graces are given in it, then let him look to man's nature, and it corresponds with the facts asserted as to baptism and the covenant in the holy scriptures. The child may be made a Christian by baptism ; may act upon it, and grow up in it, and have its motives kept before him by parents, and recognize these motives and responsibilities from earliest years. I tell not dissenters for this to baptize their children, for w^th them baptism is that of "faith and repentance solely," the "baptism of John;" I tell them not because of this to baptize them, because, having only the notion of John's baptism, and believing that a further process, called " con- MERCY TO BABES. 153 version," is that wliich maJces the Christian, their baptism of infants, not taking the true ground, must be a thing inconsistent. But because of this I do say, that the true Christian baptism, the baptism for remission of sIjis, wherein the child " is born again of water and the Spirit," is most in accord- ance with the principles of our nature ; is that whereby alone Christianity is made an institution and a privilege for all ages. Now let us take the parent and the child ; we have shown the position of the parent and the child, under the other system, look at their position under this. Consider the parent with the fixed thought upon his mind, that as he is in covenant with God, so is the child ; that as he is a Christian, so is his babe ; that as in him the Holy Spirit dwells, so in the child ; that as to him sufficient grace is given, so to the child ; that as he is under the guardianship of angels, so his child. Let him have these thoughts — and men have had them, and have acted upon them — and how much does it add to the relation of child and father ; it makes it at once one of the loftiest and noblest thoughts, and brightest hopes. And side by side with the expansion of the child's intellect as to the relation between him and his earthly father, it places his knowledge with regard to his heavenly one ; and to every act of religion which the father places upon the child, it assigns at once a reason of position in the relation of the child. He may not at first understand it clearly, as he does not understand how his father is his father, 7* 154 MERCY TO BABES. and being such, has power over him. But just as soon as he knows what "Christian" means, just so soon the moral sense attaches the feeUng of respon- sibility to the word ; and the evidence of those whom he must believe, his father and his mother, to the effect that he is a Chrlstimi, compels him to feel that he must take up these responsibilities, and he will do it ; and the gifts and graces given in true baptism, these will sustain him. And so from day to day the child will grow in grace, and never, at any one period of life, be enabled to remember the time when first he learned that God was his Father, and Christ his Redeemer ; never be able to trace in his heart and soul the beginning of his faith and hope ; and Christianity will be a thing not put on with an effort, and walked in with an effort, but one that has grown with his growth, and strength- ened with his strength. Need I say that I have seen such in the Church, men and women grown, that from childhood had been Christians, who had never had as to belief any morsel of doubt ; as to their own position from childhood, its duties, responsibilities, and privile- ges, any hesitancy, but calmly and quietly had gone on from infancy to age in a realization of these responsibilities ? I will say, that if the promises attached to bap- tism be true, such a Christianity as this, is the one that is mxost suitable to our nature, and that in effect it actually and really does surpass the other. Let one be a Christian in this way, (I speak but for the Church, for there are the m.eans for it, not elsewhere,) MERCY TO BABES. 155 and there is no doubt, no fear, no hesitancy, all which cling and hold fast to him (in a greater or less degree) that has been converted in maturer years. There is, too, a greater consistency of life ; a kind of saintliness and sweetness in temper and feeling, that attaches itself to them who have been Christ- ians from infancy under the Church's teachings. I use the word *' saintliness" for want of a better, to express a peculiar tone of temper that I have ever noticed in the pious in the Church whose piety dates from their Christian baptism in infancy — a quality observed by myself, and noticed by several to me. Furthermore, with regard to feeUng this has the advantage. I see the father converted with great labor and great struggle acting upon the Gospel, taking up its feelings and acting on them until they become his own. Let him only he the Christian^ and not his child, and these feehngs terminate in him ; let him estimate and consider the child as a Christ- ian, and the child think itself so to be, and he so, and the direct effect of this is, that from imitation, from affection, from the thousand influences by which in the home the child is moulded, the feel- ings of the father, his hopefulness, or his faith, or his humility, become the inheritance of the child. I might advance still further — I might show how, upon this fact of infant baptism, all Christian education depends, and how all Christian educa- tion attempted without this for childhood must fail ^ but enough has been said to set the candid inquirer upon the track ; enough to have suggested to hin^ 156 , MERCY TO BABES. the elements of many thoughts upon the subject, which I hope will confirm my views. We proceed, therefore, to the moral and reli- gious efTects upon the parents. There is no doubt that there are two views in which the household may be taken — the merely physical view, and the Christian view. In the merely ph^^sical view, the house is " a certain place to shelter a woman and a man, who, for mutual advantages, are united to- gether." The husband is he who provides the elements of comfort, the wife she who arranges and combines them. He marries for a house- keeper, for an attendant upon his comforts, for the station of respectability given in society by mar- riage, for a thousand things, all which terminate in self; and she for a comfortable home, for a pro- tector, for station, or family, or for a hundred things more, all which terminate in self: convenience, comfort, advantages merely physical, these are the motives which cause the most of marriages, these are the grounds whereupon their continuance is placed. Yet still this is not openly avowed to one an- other by the parties ; it is hidden from one another : only in the consciousness of the individual does it lie concealed. And as God made man, so in man's heart there is a longing and a searching after the higher truths of his revelation ; and in despite of all false theories, will the heart of man, even untaught, search out to itself some faint twinkling of the truth. And so in despite of this notion, which is the notion that most MERCY TO BABES. 157 at these days profess and act upon, the notion, I say, *' that marriage is a civil contract for supply of mutual wants," in despite of this notion, which I honestly say, is my opinion, places the union of two human beings on the ground of the union of a pair of animals, permanancy being the only thing in which it differs, in despite of this which makes us rational brutes, animals ivith reason; still the heart of man will attach something of sanctity, something of holiness to the union. The husband's love towards the wife will still have something of the reverence, something of the deep feeling of venera- tion, something of the religious respect for the wife, which the true scripture doctrine realized as a sentiment of the heart, would give in its fulness. And the wife will still have for the husband that feelino- akin to worship, which that true doctrine inspires, the highest feeling of the heart towards a created being that the man is capable of. Imperfect are these sentiments, and not clearly understood or distinctly held, since their foundation is denied ; but still in some degree they will exist. And what then, the reader may say, is the true doctrine ? That plainly laid down in the scripturi^, »' that these two are one flesh ; " that the two indi- viduals, being two, are yet 07ie, a man and a woman, yet one humanity — one not only in union of interest, will, affections, sympathies, for this is a figurative oneness; but one so as no other oneness is; one so, that by Christ's law, nothing save death can dis- unite them ; one so, that the unbelieving wife or husband is sanctified by the believer. One as 158 MERCY TO BABES. Christ and his Church are one ; one in a mystery; that is to sa}^ the fact is to us impossible, yet as being revealed to us by the word of God, as con- firmed too by the instinctive feeling of our nature, we receive it as the work of God, while the means whereby it is so, the grounds, the consequences of it, these lie far beyond as deep hidden in the limit- less power and the inscrutable wisdom of the Eternal. This is the Christian doctrine of marriage, and by this the union is holy and full of grace, an union which is so, whether we feel it or not, and works out its effects even upon those denying it, the feel- ing and modes of thinking above alluded to, even on those the most unconscious of it. The house then of man is no lodging of a pair of rational animals, no tavern wherein the husband is a permanent boarder for the money he brings in, and the wife a permanent boarder for the work she does ; but nearer to a temple it comes, and the husband and the wife are priests of God, declaring to one another and to the world by their union the mysterious power and mysterious wisdom of the i^Tiighty, and by their feeling produced by this fact, manifesting that there is upon the earth holi- ness, and reverence, and worship, and affection, independent altogether of self. Man of sentimentality ! were it not better you took this as a plain fact, kept it in your memory, and acted upon, than delight yourself with vague luxuriancies of feeling, which only in this have their reality? Man of romance ! think ^^ou not this MERCY TO BABES. 159 a more permanent foundation for your love than the false floating notion of Thomas Moore, and Byron, and Bulvver ? Men of poetry ! Provencal troubadours of old, and German minnesingers, from whom, by many a channel, you drain your notions, on this founded their noblest thoughts, which to them were but the faint utterance of their deep feeling of this religious truth, and to you are " pretty poetry," and " sweet thoughts." And as a proof of this, you may search through the ancients from Homer down to Euripides, and in none of them all will you find what w^e Christians call " love ; " in all of them you will find what they call love, to be merely animal feeling. All the scattered nobleness of thought and feeling as to the love there may be in poetry or romance, all take their origin remotely or directly from the Christian doctrine and the Christian sentiment of marriage. Methinks it is time when we look at the enormous number of divorces, that men were standing upon the Christian doctrine again, and giving up the *' boarding-house," or " mutual permanent-tavern " theory. But this doctrine and this sentiment are the " possession of the Church." We naturally have it, and easily and unconsciously fall into it. To others, although plainly asserted in the bible, it is a *' falsehood," an *' absurdity," a thing " that cannot be." It is nevertheless true. Now in view of this truth, let us look at the relation of the infant to the home. In view of this, and this alone, which as we have shown, our 160 MERCY TO BABES. nature yearns after and confirms, *' the home is a holy place," not merely consecrated by the affec- tions and unconsecrated when they are not present, but of Itself in itself holy. In view of this, what the apostle said is true, " your children are holy." The marriage is holy, the home is holy, the children are holy. Take the worst of men and they in action will recognize these facts as true ; the foulest debaucher will hide his debaucheries from his family ; the filthiest speaker before his wife and his children will abstain from his filthy speaking ; they feel the holiness o^ wife ^ o^ children, and of the home; nay, even the heathen poet, plunged in that horrid vor- tex of all vice that is foul, all debauchery that is abominable, which drowned the last days of ancient Rome, could feel this of nature when he said, *' maxima debetur pueris reverentia" — the deepest reverence is due to children. Now taking these facts as truths, who is there that does not see the fact, that to the Christian parent, Christian baptism of infants is that which completes and brings to its full and thorough per- fection, the relation of the parent to the child, as the same ordinance coupled with the other sacrament of Christ's body and blood, is that which fills up the relation of husband, and wife, and home. In fact, I will say, the baptism of the infant, and this alone, can establish the relation of the home in its Christian fulness. Men will say, " O ! we can feel all this without baptizing our infants, just as well as water can flow MERCY TO BABES. 161 ill a channel to which there is no fountain." Men will avoid responsibiUties just as much as children. By man's position he should give his children a Christian education. Tt is hard to give such to those that are no Christians. No Christians, say some, because they are not converted — none, say I, because they are not baptized. Let them be baptized with Christian baptism, and what are the thoughts of the father? Here they are unconscious of their privileges as Chris- tians, just as they have been a little while ago unconscious of their privileges as human beings, yet having them. And I and their mother have taught them these, have watched over the first glimpses of intelligence as to the outward world, and aided this consciousness as to earthly things, should I not as to heavenly things? I have been their father, and they called me father before they knew what father meant — is there aught incongru- ous in their being children of God, and calling him *^ father, ^^ before they know what that means ? and is it not my duty as with regard to myself, their earthly father ? I have awakened their knowledge as to the one, so do with regard to the other. They are sanctified by the Spirit all unconsciously, should not the parent draw forth this fact as a motive into their minds ? They are under the guardianship of God's peculiar providence, is not this fact a ground for the parent's instruction as to faith ? Yes, T Scij, faith in children, faith in babes, true saying faith, this the parent, knowing infant baptism 162 MERCY TO BABES. as a fact, may produce unhesitating, unwavering, unshaken faith, such as man converted in maturer years possibly can have. For all Christian virtues and feeling in children. Christian baptism in its peculiar Christian meaning and power, is a means to the parent, and to himself the completion of his duty as a parent. Let the responsibility be placed upon him, his position leads him to realize it, and he will realize it; he will feel that " children of heaven and of Christ," not merely of his own person, are entrusted to him, heirs not barely of his earthly property, but of Christ, are given him. That his house is a temple, and himself the priest of it, the delegate and representative of the Father most high. And knowing that baptism is no empty sign, no mere form, but the work of the Almighty Father, the Almighty Son, the Almighty Spirit, he will let no thoughts of possible coincidence of adverse circumstances dismay him, no considerations of rebellious nature or unruly wills trouble him, but go on in faith in God, and do that dut}" towards them, which even his natural feelings tell him should be done ; he undertakes the responsibility which, as it is not too great for him, so he has a right to undertake it, and can fulfil it. And upon himself behold the effect. Teaching, he is taught; training, he is trained. The questions of a Christian child, coming from the heart un- hackneyed in the ways of the world, these are instructions for the greatest and the deepest- thoughted. Nay, I do believe, that as to the Chris- MERCY TO BABES. 163 tian husband, the intercourse of a Christian wife will give a tone to his piety which otherwise it could not have, so to the Christian father, the teaching of his " Christian children,''^ born again of the Spirit, will communicate a great deal of that childlike spirit, which is the character, according to our Saviour, of true Christianity. And one reason why this is wanting, why the present Christianity is so fierce, fanatical, and excited, I think to be, because Christian baptism is so rare. For under it we are a " royal priest- hood." The Spirit under it speaks from the father to the child, from the child to the father, from the wife to the husband, from the husband to the wife. From all founts of natural affection, from all sources of happiness, the Spirit too of God flows, for it takes possession of them all, and makes of them all issues of its grace. And highly responsible and lofty will be the feeling of father and mother, knowing these things ; not a grim religious home, as under the old Puri- tans, when the father, in truth and fact, was the representative of a God of absolute decrees of pre- destination to heaven and reprobation to hell, but a Christian house full of all tenderness and mutual sympathy. The child at once a child, and in Christ a brother, endowed with the same privileges, and blessed with the same Spirit. When as under the ordinance of the Spirit of God, the fruits of the Spirit prevail. " For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, 164 MERCY TO BABES. faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law." (Gal. v. 22, 23.) Let them who have seen both say, whether these are the fruits of the puritanic home or of the home of the non-professors. Men will say, we have not seen these things. Well, we sa}^, as we have said before, there is but little Christian baptism in the land ; we say too, there is but little realization or acknowledgment of the Christian doctrine, as to the family among those called professors. We say too, look at the doctrine of Christian baptism, look at the Christian doctrine of the family, and these acknowledged and realized, ever bring forth these fruits, and we have seen them. And as our conclusion, we will say, from this whole chapter, ** no Christianity is full and com- plete in the Spirit and the temper of Christ, that has not begun in childhood." No Christians that are parents are full and complete in the Spirit of our Lord, who do not give their children Christian baptism, and undertake and act upon the responsi- bility it imposes. CHAPTER V. PART II. The Benefits to Society of Infant Baptism. I NEED not say that, having shown how the ordi- nance of Christian baptism, truly received and truly appreciated, ennobles and exalts to the greatest possible pitch the relation of the husband to the wife, and of both to the children ; having shown how its effects are the rendering Christian educa- tion a possible thing, w^hich is now impossible ; and how it produces, as its result, a tone of Christianity having truly the odor of the Spirit about it, calm and gentle and peaceable, unwavering in faith, and making its great end the works of the Gospel ; having shown these things, I need not say I have shown many benefits arising from it to society. I am not to prove these things, I only indicate them, and this is enough. For I know that there are many good and true men and women who will read this book, to whom, perhaps, at first these things will be startling, and yet who by looking over their own experience, will find many more indications of the truth of the things I have said, 166 MERCY TO BABES. than a hundred volumes such as this could supply. I know, too, that there is in this country a religious society, the Church, whose inheritance not to be taken away is the ordinance of Christian baptism ; and I know that truer and truer, more and more practical every day to her members are becoming, because of external things, the truths she maintains ; and I have seen that this sacrament, as applied to infants, is every day more felt in its power and effects among us. To the increase, then, of these two feelings I trust for the " proof," if it may be so called, of these sentiments herein expressed, and leave janglings, and disputes, and debates to those whom these things please. The bible and the nature of man, the Church of God and the world of God's providences, the home and its elements of holiness, these are advocates on m}^ side which must be heard ; and in their increasing power, and continual emancipation from the interpretation of sect and party, will give a force to things I have herein said, which I cannot appreciate, but which I know must ultimately avail. To these advocates I have hitherto appealed, and to them I leave my cause. I might stop here, but there is a view upon this point which, in my mind, is so important in a social point of view, that I cannot refrain from laying it before my readers. It has been seen that the doc- trine of baptism supposes the conferring of privi- leges upon those unconscious of them, privileges which are real and true, yet of which the possessors of them have no feeling. MERCY TO BABES. l67 It will be seen that these privileges of the infant in the spiritual covenant, are analogous to the pri- vileges of the infant citizen in the political covenant, both had, in truth and reality, by those who are unconscious of their existence, that both are just, inasmuch as they imply responsibilities to which the nature of the infant man is adequate. Every one will acknowledge, that in the case of the infant citizen these privileges would be idly conferred, but that there is an institution, the State, which trains him up to them, and educates him to both these things, to act upon them, and by action to know and feel them as his ; and also, he that shall look to the matter closely, will see that there is a certain influence that proportionates in the infant and growing citizen the responsibilities exactly to the privileges, and the capability of acting upon these privileges. Now when we come to see what that influence is, and by what name it is to be called, we shall see at once it is " law." We shall see, too, that it is an influence from which, in the State, none can be free ; through all the institutions of society it speaks, for these are its embodiments, the magis- trate, the husband, the parent, all are mouth-pieces of this eternal spirit. To all men it speaks, to all classes, and all individuals it reaches, even to the babe on its mother's knee. To the good it is the secret plastic force of society, which works upon them almost unconsciously, framing and forming them ever with a gentle and omnipresent influence, unfelt, yet not the less real ; to the bad it is a force 168 MERCY TO BABEft»4 external and severely felt, sternly thundering out its penalties, its sanctions, its punishments, placing against them a barrier they cannot leap, and calling to its aid, even when men the most reject it, powers in man's own breast, in the feelings of his fellows, in society, and even in the elements themselves, which do and will execute its decrees. Men have felt this, and felt there is something divine in "law;" and the loftiest and the holiest have concluded, that this that we call " law," is neither more nor less than the influence and ope- ration of the will, and power, and justice of God. Now this fact — which we take as a fact — is that which completes the circle of facts which, with regard to the infant and unconscious citizen, render the possession of privileges, and the consequent necessity of duties, a just one to him. 1st, There are privileges to the unconscious. 2d, There are duties and responsibilities. 3d, These duties are such as his nature is adequate to, and capable of bearing. 4th, There are positive institutions which educate him to the knowledge and the practice of these duties. And, 5th, Then there is a teacher, the " law," that, through all these institutions, speaks, and exerts an uniform formation influence. Take away any of these conditions, and the first fact, that he is unconscious, invalidates all the rest, and places him in a wrong and unnatural position. But suppose them all to exist, as they all do, and the fact of his unconscious position has in it no absurdity, but is a most wise provision, and a defence to his rights. MERCY TO BABES. 169 Now it has been shown, that the doctrine of baptism embraces analogous facts to these, as one should imagine it ought to do, from the state of Christianity being represented as a "covenant," a "kingdom," a " nation." There is a plain assertion of privileges in the scripture, as I have shown, of which we are for tlie most part unconscious ; there are duties and responsibilities for all ages springing from these real privileges ; these duties are such a.s our nature is adequate to ; there are positive institutions to educate to the knowledge and the acting upon these duties ; and, lastly, there is, as in the world which is governed by law, a spirit, which, by means of these institutions, educates, and trains, and governs. All these conditions are specified clearly and distinctly in the holy scriptures — in the privileges of baptism — Christian duties for all ages — the fa- mily and the Church to train, and the Holy Spirit as working through and by both. And these, fully seen and fully appreciated, make up the complete cycle of the conditions and elements of the justice of infant citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, as of infant citizenship in the state on earth. These, in their reality and truth, carry out that practice through the life, in the one case as in the other. Now I do not say, nor do the administrators of the baptism of John pretend to say, that their bap- tism is a baptism of privileges, but a baptism of declaration ; hence, this being wanting, all the rest is grace. The Church is not an institution, but a voluntary association. Their churches speak not 8 170 MERCY TO BABES. with the same voice, but with different voices ; there is not, and there cannot be unity, and sjnrit- ual law there is not. Now this being so, it were folly to baptize children — a sheer inconsistency. Whatever arguments they may use, it is certain that if there be not one church, one faith, one spiritual law, the baptism of infants is a thing that does no good, but is unjust. From these considerations it may be seen how closely connected infant baptism is with the doc- trine and the reality o^ one Church; and how there must ever be, in those that have left that doctrine and practice, a tendency to deny the doctrine of infant baptism. Having made these remarks, which tend to clear the wa}^, we go to consider the effects of the doctrine of baptism, especially in referenc to infant baptism, upon a subject most important at the pre- sent day, the subject of spiritual law and Jiscipline. We have shown how nature makes tfje parent an educater and a religious law-giver to the child ; we have shown how the doctrine of Christian baptism (not the baptism of John) brings out and completes the natural position in Christianity of the parent ; that from the nature of the home, and the relation of parent to child, this is not unjust to the child, but right. And we proceed to examine its bearing upon a great want of society at the present da}^ the want of a " spiritual law," a practical, uniform law of Christianity, that shall teach the Gospel to all classes, as the "law" teaches and trains all classes in and to itself. MERCY TO BABES. 171 The institutions of this. that we call Christianity, every one will admit, are divided, society against society, church against church, doctrine against doctrine ; they utter not the one voice as to doc- trine, or as to practice, they are not manifold teachers of the one spirit ; they are opposite. True it is of all the so-called orthodox sects, they teach morality ; and yet that morality is in no respect different from the morality of non-religious men ; it is a morality which is partly that of negation, and partly is the mere morality of the natural feelings. There is a Christian morality, something higher and loftier than this. We have read a good deal of the history of ancient nations, and we have no hesi- tation in saying, that we know not of any Christian nation yet, whose morality is at all equal to that of the Roman nation, the " plebs Romana," from the time, we will say, of the expulsion of the kings till the death of the Gracchi. We believe that the morality of Christianity has never yet been the morality of any nation, nationally, but only of in- dividuals ; that it can be, and that it will be in this our land, but is not yet; and that if it comes, it will come in no other way than this, by the pro- duction within Christianity itself of a " spiritual law," analogous to the " law" which in society has been at work so unremittingly since the revolution. Now let us look at the present state of the re- ligious world, as to the effect of the "law" of Christianity. Now what is the fact as to religious societies, are they institutions that exercise- any such influence ? Certainly not. They are volun- 172 MERCY TO BABES. tary associations, the will of the mass, this rules ; their laws and rules are those of mere convenience, of mere order ; they are neither ediicating nor traiji- ing societies. There is no authority, no law in them, their ministers but seldom approach the peo- ple in the character of authority ; nay, points that have been settled in the Christian Church hund- reds of years ago, these are brought up again, and unsettled. Now what we say is this, that in the present Christianity there is no characteristic dif- ference between a professor of religion and a moral non-professor; the one is as the other, save that he does sometimes wear a graver face, and is a little more set, a little more bigoted. But the main fact is this, that they differ not in morality. One in the civilized state is differenced at once to the eye from a savage, by a thousand things in his whole being, small in themselves it may be, but still very plain and very manifest, and which to every one bear evidence of the influence of "law" upon him ; so it ought to be with the Christian — so it is not. And the difference between the savage and the civihzed man is in two things — first, "self-subjec- tion." The appetites, passions, desires, in the savage rule ; and these, momentarily as they arise ; the civilized man has them under subjection, "law" has trained them to the uses nature intended them for; self-restraint is a perpetual evidence of the workings of "law" upon the man of civilization. Again, "law" in the civilized man subdues the will — the man's will is not all, he may wish and MERCY TO BABES. 173 desire, but still "law" has taken his will into con- trol, it fetters it by the will of thousands ; the sava2:e's own will is his sole motive to action. Now I ask, wherein is the Christian at the pre- sent day more self-denying than the non-professor? Self-denial being the foundation of Christian moral- ity, are not the mass of Christians just as luxurious, just as selfish, just as little subdued, as the mass of the world? Is it not a fact that the training of self-denial prescribed by our Saviour, Christ, and his apostles, under the shape of fasting, is done away with, and even scorned and flouted at? and that there is no greater evidence of it in professors than in non-professors? This, every one must admit, is a fact. Let us look again at the law. Riches, accord- ing to the Gospel, is the root of all evil. We know how often Christ and his apostles warned against its influence ; we ask, then, what power has Christianity upon the rich, or over them? Men may say very great — I say just none at all. It is not the rich that support the Gospel, but the poor ; the rich give not in proportion to their riches. Take any religious society, divide the property held by them into two parts as nearly as may be, put- ting on one side the two or three extreme rich who have incomes or properties equal to those of the mass together, and those of the mass upon the other side, and ten times a greater proportion comes from the mass than from these. The me- chanic of five hundred dollars a year gives his ten or twenty dollars ; the man of five thousand gives 174 MERCY TO BABES. his fifty — and who rule but these ? It is time that there should be as much justice in religious socie- ties as there is in mercantile companies. Now, we will say, a rich man is divorced for other cause than adultery ; he seeks to marry again — where is the ordinary clergyman who dare refuse to perform the marriage ceremony? or, if he did, where is the support that would give him, in Christianity, that protection which is given to every constable in the state in doing his duty? Again, with regard to the discipline over the very rich, where is it? The criminal law, the law of public opinion, self-interest, will keep a man from the grosser vices ; but within these limits there is a multitude of offences against the law of Christ — where is the power of the law of Christ in ordinary against these things in the exceedingly rich ? Know we not that a man may do a multi- tude of these things, and yet, because of the com- petition among religious societies, especially if he be rich, he will still be able to remain? or if he goes, because he is rich, has influence, is fair and plausible, he shall be received with gladness in others ? So that now, to men of the world who are shrewd in their profession, the fact of a man being a professor of religion, is no prima facie evidence that he does not break contracts when he can do it safely, that he does not defraud, lie, oppress the poor, and extortionate. And the richer he is the less certainty there is, for this thing we call Christ- ianity has but little power over the rich. I speak this in sorrow, but still it must be spoken. MERCY TO BABES. 175 People are ready to rest in present evils, to bear with them, to say these things are unavoidable ; certainly they are unavoidable under a Christianity that gives no privileges, that has 710 unity, that is sect- rent. But under a Christianity at unity, under a Christianity that is founded upon a covejiant real and true, they are not unavoidable ; under a Christianity that has "one faith," and therefore one Church; *' one baptism," and that a " haqjtism for the remis- sion of sins,^^ (Christian baptism,) these evils are conquerable. In old Christianity, which was so, the emperor of half the world, in despite of all power and all wealth, had to bow before the "law" of Christ- ianity as the meanest transgressor, (Theodosius.) And again in a hundred instances the same thing took place with the lords of the world. The same thing may take place again, nay, shall ; but under a Christianity having these elements alone, not under the other. We have said enough to prove that the main deficiency is the deficiency of a spiritual law. We now shall go on to examine the influence of Christian baptism in producing this law, con- formably to that text of Paul — " One Lord, one faith, one baptism;" and we plainly say that we understand it to mean neither more nor less than this, one God, one faith, (and therefore one Church) and one baptism, (for the remission of sins, that is, Christian baptism.) We will take the child first having Christian baptism ; his position in a cove- nant having privileges, and responsibilities, in a 176 MERCY TO BABES. home which is by its nature, as defined by the scriptures, holy, under parents, we will say, bap- tized with the same baptism, is essentially that of one " under law." The business of his parents, to draw forth his privileges into action and duty, is essentially legal, a training in the law of Christ. Day by day, in the smallest things as well as the most important, to recognize that law, to be con- scious of it, to act upon its motives, to live by its rules, these it is their business to teach him as having authority, and his business to learn. The covenant was first with a family, and so at the present day the family is to the young citizen of the kingdom the first influence of the " law of Christ'* upon him. Strictly and rigidly, in the family under Christian baptism, is he under the *' law of Christ." Unity, manifestly under such a Christianity then, must be in the home, for all mo- tives must lead the parent to confer upon all his children the *' one baptism." Doctrine, and feel- ing, and principle, all, in him who acknowledges tJds bajJtisjn, lead him to confer it upon all. And because of this baptism being for all ages, the Christianity that holds it must be a teaching Christianity, an authoritative Christianity, a Christ- ianity with one faith. The Church then steps in ; her prayers are teachings, (at the same time he prays, he learns.) Doctrines, which a divided Christianity disputes about, these he is certain upon from the form of his liturgy ; he doubts not Christ is God, he doubts not the atonement, he doubts not eternal punishment ; v/ith the one baptism ever is MERCY TO BABES. 17 7 connected the *' one creed," and the fact of a liturgy as the means and instruments of the one faith. Let us then consider the motives of him under a covenant, and we shall see that they imply '* law, a spiritual law," as the foundation ; they actually and really produce that feeling and that opinion. Christian baptism has, as I have said, privileges, it is a covenant. Now in ordinary what is it that draws forth the feeling of law in men, in a state ? This, that they have privileges ; law defines, guards, protects these. Having life, having liberty, having property, these make a man feel the worth of law, these make him think upon it and uphold it. Christian baptism confers privileges ; the knowledge of this fact produces the same feeling. My sins are remitted, I have that privilege ; does not the knowledge of that fact make me obedient to the law of Christ, and produce a course of action in me according to his royal law, the law of faith, and works, and charity, that may retain me in this position ? I am born of the Spirit ; feeling this as a fact, will I not be obedient to the law of Christ ? I am within the covenant ; will not this motive make me struggle to remain within it ? I am a member of Christ; must I not labor and pray to make my calling and election sure ? And so with regard to all the other privileges of the baptized, they are motives that directly lead forth and draw into practice the belief in a royal law of liberty, the practice of a clear and definite Christian and spiritual law. And then, in direct bearing upon this, comes 8* 178 MERCY TO BABES. the groat fact, that a covenant with God once con- cluded, cannot be undone. Men talk of the un- spirituality, the want of power in the Church doc- trine. They know it not. Upon this the Christian can take his stand with a face to the individual, nothing else can give. This completes the practical force of the Gospel. If men are made by holy baptism members of Christ, children of God, in- heritors of the kingdom of heaven — then has the minister a power for good, a moral power not to be estimated. " You are," says the Sectarian, " by your faith, all this;" "well, my faith is lost of course — I am no longer this — no longer bound by the duties that attach themselves to these relations ; what shall I do?" *' Pray for faith, obtain it, and then all these privileges are assured to you again." This is the manifest way upon the Sectarian notion. It seems very like setting the man or woman free from the responsibilities in the mean time. Well, we take a different view, we say, *' you cannot undo that which is done — you are still a child of God — rebellious by your own account, and disobedient; by remaining so, you subject yourself to the penalty — cease then sinning, and cease being disobedient — a member of Christ, take care of being an unworthy member — an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, beware of losing the inheritance." Which is the more practical way? that which tells the more effectually every one can see. The last manifestly supposes the idea of law. Now to these considerations I add another fact, which a great many deny, but which their position MERCY TO BABES. 179 leads them to deny, that there is and ever has been in the world one visible body, the holy Catholic Church, holding one faith, one ministry, teaching by authority, one baptism,' one tone of feeling ; that this Church is founded by the Holy Spirit, and has the one apostolic succession. I add this fact, for which I refer to the ordinar}^ books upon Episcopacy, Hobart, or Kip's Double Witness of the Church, or any other of the ordinary books, and then I have the circle completed, which makes the baptism of infants a true and real instrument toward the spread of the Gospel. This, in its teachings, its educational, and legislative, and cor- rective capacity, completes the circle. This is ever inclusive, it tends to draw all others within it; it is holy, the privileges it confers are those spiritual ones which, in their realization, tend to holiness ; its action upon the individual is such as to draw forth these privileges into consciousness as motives to holiness, and these motives to reduce to a spiritual love of holiness. It is Catholic, uni- versal, tending to become of itself universal, to spread universally, as well as being the same in all ages and all times. Now let us put these elements together, and we find the amount is this : — First, Christian baptism is the conferring of actual privileges. Second, These imply duties for all ages. Third, These duties are those to which nature is adequate, and therefore can be justly imposed. Fourth, TJiese are positive institutions, the family and the Church, whose business it is to train to a knowledge of 180 MERCY TO BABES. these duties. Fifth, The Church is " one " Catholic and Apostolic — one showing the spirit of law, which is and must be one — Catholic, fitted for all natures, times, places, and persons — and Apostolic, having authority. Take any or either of these conditions away, and the baptism of infants is an absurdity ; let them exist as facts, and infant bap- tism is right and just. And all of them are plainly asserted in the scriptures. Ye that deny or doubt the baptism of infants, examine yourselves, and you will see that you deny or doubt some one of these five facts. These are the motives for your denial, whatsoever argu- ments you may use. Now let us see how and what eflect Christian baptism would have upon the state of Christianity as an universal thing. The effect would manifestly be at the very first, that all children of Christian parents would be brought under a training pecu- liarly Christian, a freedom from doubt, and fear, and unbelief, a habit of ruling themselves after the law of Christ from infancy, more or less perfect, according to the character and knowledge, but still practical and at unit}', calm, and quiet, and deter- mined, obedient to the law of Christ, and zealous, yet opposed to excitement and fanaticism. The generation of their fathers passes away, thc}^ come to en2:a2;c in matters of relio;ion, to be the commu- nicants of churches ; there is one spirit among them, the spirit of unity in faith and feeling; .the tone of Christianity is exalted, it speaks in one law, and from generation to generation the spirit of the MERCY TO BABES. 181 fathers falls upon the children ; it spreads, and once more we have *' one faith, one God, one bap- tism," the gift of a saintliness and holiness in Christ- ianity, such as certainly we see not now. This is a thing not to be done by societies or by united efforts, or by any one thing but this, that each parent should give to his children Chris- tian baptism, and act up himself to the duties that baptism imposes. CHAPTER I PART III. Causes of the Denial of Infant Baptism. 1st. Want of Faith. 2d. Predestination. 3d. The Conversion Notion. Note on Abrahamic Covenant. We have thus examined the doctrine of baptism as laid down in the holy scriptures. We have shown that from that doctrine as plainly as can be, the practice of the baptism of infants follows as a necessary consequence. We have shown how it accords with the nature of man. The question then follows naturally, how it comes to be denied by so large a class of men, who unquestionably are pious and devoted ? This comes first in the most part of our investigation, for unquestionably the motives to any course of action are very often wholly and entirelly different from the grounds upon which we defend them. Now let the readers of this book who are in the position of the denial of baptism to infants, examine themselves as they go along with me; and the first and most manifest is, we will honestly say, a want of faith. We take the word faith as the scriptures 184 MERCY TO BABES. use it, as a supreme confidence, and unhesitating trust in the promises of the Almighty. God is almighty, eternal, omniscient, my Father, my King, my Creator, and I a man of the dust, feeble, and frail, and limited in power as in intellect; what then should be my feeling towards him? Should it not be an ever-abiding sense of His power, His wisdom, His goodwill towards me, His fatherly kindness ? If men had these feelings to the full, would not these feelings reach to their children? Would they not say to them, the bone of my bone, the second self of ourselves, God reigns ? And he shall be to them because of my faith all that he is to me? Because of my trust in him for them, therefore the Almighty power shall judge them, therefore my faith shall bring upon them blessings, therefore they shall not be excluded from the cove- nant in which I am, but with me shall enjoy all its privileges ; and the eternal power shall stand around them, the eternal wisdom guide them, and the infant soul, as well as the adult, shall feel the care of its Father in heaven. Would they not see this world as a place of trial, the Church of God as the house of an eternal Father, and babes as his children as well as full grown men. And instead of looking upon the world as a waste, wherein chance and circumstances reign, recognize the fact by faith, that there is no chance, but that all things are guided by him; and that, therefore, their chil- dren vowed to God in holy baptism, sealed with his name, sanctified by faith, cannot perish, save of their free will they become cast-away, and fling MERCY TO BABES. 185 aside the salvation that is theirs by covenant. Surely this would be the feelings of those fully embued with the true and living faith. Whatsoever we may say, the baptism of infants is an act of faith, and without it such baptism is unmeaning and vague. But again, there are other reasons, and one of them I may as well bring forward now. There is a doctrine that says, that God has predestinated a certain small portion of the human race to happi- ness, so that they are decreed of God from eter- nity to be saved, and must be saved, and the rest are decreed to eternal misery and must be damned, or else are past over, which amounts to the same. Now if that doctrine be true, what is baptism, and what is infant baptism — is it not useless, and is not the decree all and in all ? Certainly so. For according to it, in the predestinate, God's Spirit works — in due time grace brings forth the fruit — they are baptized in his name, and they manifestly have alone the right to baptism — to them alone it is properly applied, for all the rest must perish. Of course then, no parents can know that their children are of the number of the Elect, and to baptize them in God's name who may be children of wrath — to dedicate to God those who may be doomed to eternal misery — to make them members of his Church, and treat them as such, when pos- sibly, from their infancy, the spirit of evil may work in them for eternal woe — this would be a mere mockery, and an inconsistent and weak pro- ceeding. 186 MERCY TO BABES. Surely to those who hold this doctrine consci- entiously and firmly, these thoughts must occur. They must sslj to themselves, " We shall, as in duty bound, pray for them, train them, give them all the advantages we can give them, and then we shall see whether God's Spirit works in them — we shall see if they be of the body of the Elect to eternal happiness, the fruits and signs of the Spirit, and then consistently and truly, they can take upon them then, the vows of baptism, and be made members of the Church." So this predestination doctrine fully and consistently held, renegates and denies the baptism of infants. And is it true? Has the babe been preordained to hell — for if the man has been, then has the babe, since the decree has gone out from eternity, and stands through all time, and therefore the babe at its birth is so preordained ? No : this is the doc- trine of the Fatalist, not the doctrine of the scrip- tures. There is a predestination in the scripture and an election. And every where they are called the Elect through the whole scriptures, who belong to the Visible Church Christ has upon the earth. They who are chosen by God to the glorious adoption of sons, to the privileges of the Gospel, to the means of grace, and all the aids and helps which, in his Church, God has given man to work out his own salvation by. And, therefore, all these helps, which in the first part of this treatise I have enumerated, all these are the privileges of the elect. And he is " Elect" who is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who has MERCV TO BABES. ' 187 these privileges by Christian baptism. To him they were given by God's decree, that by them he should stand, and by his own free will he should avail himself of them and be saved. And except of his own free will he cast them away, he shall be saved. All circumstances may be contrar}^ — his nature may be rebellious — he may be left with- out father or mother to train him in the ways of God — he may be flung upon the world desolate and houseless — he may be exposed to evil com- panions, still the soul of God's election, the seal of baptism, is upon him, and all things shall work together for the child of God's Election; the Spirit shall struggle with him, the tide of circumstances shall fling him in the way of religion, the angels of God shall guard him, all things shall tend for his good, and by many paths and ways he knows not, shall the Almighty lead him, and, save by wilfully casting himself away f he shall not perish. This is the true doctrine of Election ; and because it is so, the Churchman feels that the enrolling the infant among the members of God's Visible Church upon earth, the body of the Elect, is doing a deed of faith, whose results can only be discerned by faith, but shall be fully manifest in eternity. Again, there is another doctrine much in vogue, which also is an obstacle in the way of infant bap- tisjn — another doctrine I will not say, but a set of floating notions — and that is, the opinion ordinarily entertained about conversion. Now I am the far- thest in the world from denying the fact that there 188 MERCY TO BABES. is a real and true conversion unto God, farther still fron:i denying that there is a most important change in man's feelings and affections called change of heart ; but this I will say, that the ordinary floating notions upon this point have been the great- est barrier that can be to infant baptism. It is as common a thing as can be, for members of the non- Episcopal sects, v^ho are not Calvinistic, to say, when the baptism of their children is suggested to them — " It is better for them to wait until they are converted, and then they may be baptized in any way they like ;" and undoubtedly the motive that lies at the bottom of such talk is their notions of conversion, combined with their want of faith, and their ignorance as to the scripture doctrine of bap- tism and its foundations. With regard to the last two things we have plainly spoken ; how want of faith comes in, may be seen in the commencement of this chapter, the doctrine of baptism is enough explained in the commencement of the book. Now with regard to the other points we shall speak plainly. There are three things mentioned in the scriptures — 1st, Regeneration, or the new birth; 2d, Conversion; and, 3d, Change of heart. With regard to the first, we have explained what it means ; that it takes place in true Christian bap- tism by the agency of the Holy Spirit, first, in planting the life of God in man's soul ; and, se- condly, introducing him into the Church of God, and its blessed atmosphere and influences. And we add, furthermore, that this cannot be done in MERCY TO BABES. 18^ any other than the appouited way, for the means that Christ has instituted there is no aUernative, no substitution of any other by the will of man in his interpretation of the scriptures. " Except a man be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God ;" this is an exclusive and prohibitory declaration, which cannot be got over. Repentance may be of the sincerest, and faith the most lively, and therefore the man by them may be prepared for his entrance into the kingdom of heaven ; but no repentance, however agonizing, no faith, however sincere, can void the ordinary com- mandments of God, and render the means of grace which he has instituted unnecessary. But again, we acknowledge that there is a second process, "conversion;" and what is this? " The leaving off of sin, and the turning unto right- eousness upon motives of religion." Now we say this, and boldly we assert the fact, that according to the scripture there is no " conversion" without a leaving off of sin, a casting aside of those sins that are committed by the individual ; a reforma- tion, it must be, of life, and that true and real, else it is no conversion. The leaving aside of sin, actual and real sin, under which the individual was in bondage, is the completion and the crowning part of true conversion. First, there is repentance from dead works ; secondly, faith in Christ Jesus ; and, thirdly, because of this, the leaving off of sin as the realizing test of repentance, the doing of good works as that which realizes and tests faith ; 190 MERCy TO BABES. and without the abandonment of sin, without the doing of the works of the Gospel upon the motives of the Gospel, there is no true "conversion." Thirdly, There is a state in which faith has become habitual, and Christian action habitual, in which the love of God and the motives of the Gospel ripen and rule in the heart of man. That is the spiritual kingdom of God dwelling in man, that state in which the virtue of Charity rules in him, to which none attains in its perfection, save he to whom the description given of charity is applicable ; and this is a state of degrees, none perhaps of mortal men ever having attained to it in its completeness, and yet ever}^ one beginning in it from the time he has truo repentance, that is, repentance realized by abandonment of sin, and true faith, that is faith realized by Christian works. This I conceive to be the state called " change of heart," or " sanctification," or " renewal of the Spirit day by day," or " growth in grace," or " perfection," or '* holiness," or " charity," or " love," for by all these names it is called. And fully am I justified in this when I look at the human heart, even of the regenerate and the pious ; when I see the power of old habit, the many feelings which were wrongly directed, and now are to be trained anew ; the fighting and the struggles that all Christians have to encounter from within, and the means which the scripture enjoins upon men to use, the cautions that are given them, and the dangers that are set before them as a part of their lot; when I look at all these things, I musf MERCY TO BABES. 191 conclude that this latter process is, in the very best, a thing slow and gradual, of which man in this life is capable only in a degree, and in which, till the end of life, he must striv^e to rise and advance per- petually. These, then, are three separate and distinct things, and yet, in the case of the ordinary notions upon conversion, they are all mixed up. He who is converted is led to believe that repentance, acute sorrow, we will say, for sin, and faith, strong belief in the atonement, is sufficient ; for on the spot he is declared " converted," without its being seen whether his sins are abandoned, or the works of the Christian life are done. He is taught to apply to himself all texts that speak of change of heart, instead of being taught that his work is to labor and pray, and do the works of the Gospel, and seek the grace of the Spirit to aid him in that work of bringing all things into subjection to the will of God. And, furthermore, he is taught to apply to that mere repentance, without abandonment of sin, hat faith without good works, the name of the new birth, or regeneration, so plainly applied in scrip- ture to the birth of water and the the Spirit. No wonder that in such a mixture and confusion of scriptural ideas, that baptism for infants should be rejected, and baptism ibr adults become a mere form, and cease to be considered even a means of grace. But it is worth while more fully to consider how this system puts an end to and destroys infant baptism. According to its practice, men must 192 MS lie r TO BABES. acknowledge that preaching is taken to be the sole means of grace ; now, to comprehend preaching and be affected by it, manifestly the mass of men must be adults ; children, except the very prema- ture, cannot be moved by it ; they have not the knowledge, they have not the acquaintance with the world, they have not the amount of actual sin, and they have not the passions that men have, or their feelings. As a practical matter, the vast mass of those converted at revivals must be adults. But again, only those so converted, are Christ- ians. Infants, then, must be excluded ; nay, the conscientious and religious mother and father must teach them so, nay, must teach them that baptism is nothing, that this is all; must teach them that they are not Christians, that they have no right or claim to the privileges of Christians, but at some future time are to obtain them by this process. I will not stop to consider how this cuts away respon- sibility, how it sets them freed from Christianity and its duties ; for where there is no privilege there can be no duty, and no consequent responsibility. But this I will say, if this system be true, and men act consistently with it, there is and can be no covenanted relation between the innocent infant- spirit and the Almighty. The almighty power of the Father cannot arrange the affairs of the world to educate the infant's mind ; the almighty Spirit that sanctified John from his mother's womb, can- not sanctify the infant; he that begot our blessed Lord, and brought it about that the almighty Word hould be a babe in the womb, cannot plant in the MERCY TO BABES. 193 babe the seed of eternal life, or move and form by his eternal power the infant-mind to religion. He cannot introduce him to the mysterious privileges of Christ's Church; the ministry of angels cannot be aught efficient; the trainings of God's provi- dence, the washing away of original sin, all these are nothing ; and the home is no longer a temple of the living God, and the father and the mother representatives, and sanctified agents of Christ and the Church. Nay, more than this : knowing as we do that the sense of sin awakes in the child just so soon as responsibility awakes, and that this is practically a long time before "the conversion" which our dissenting brethren preach, the child is left to sin, without a remedy. All these things are destroyed, nullified, put out of the way, by the ordinary notions of conversion, and conversion confined to the adult. It makes no matter that men say, " we do not so confine it." We admit that children may be converted, while they take it for granted that preaching is the sole means of grace, and confine the name of Christian to the men and women that make a profession of religion, &c. The result of their practice shows, that of their system only adults are capable. But are infants or children capable of conver- sion — are they capable of repentance, and capable of faith ? They are ; but not under any system that shuts them out of God's covenant ; not under any system that denies to them, because they are babes, the blessed privileges of that covenant. As 9 194 MERCY TO BABE&. baptized in the Church by the true Christian bap- tism, the baptism of remission of sin, in this case, just as soon as the child knows what God is, just as soon as he knows that God's law is binding upon him, just so soon he is capable of being converted, for the almighty Spirit dwells in him, and aids his natural infirmity; and his relation to his father is to him an instruction of which he may be uncon- scious, of his relation to his almighty Father, his relation to his mother, of his relation to the Church. They tell him that he is a child of God, and there- fore that he must obey God ; they instruct him that such and such is the will of God, and that therefore he must act in this way — and he believes them ; is not tJiis faith ^ The belief of an innocent child, seated upon his mother's knee, and hearing from her of Christ, and how he was born and died, and Jiow we must obey his laiv, and striving to do so under his mother's teaching and her guidance, kneeling at her knee, and with the child-like awe and reve- rence of which only children are capable, praying to his Father in heaven with upturned eye — is not this faith ? Yes, it is — and each mother in the Church knows it by experience, for in that feeble babe's soul is the seed of heaven planted by the eternal Spirit at baptism ; behind that feeble in- fantile germ of mind is the framing and moulding influence of the eternal Spirit; as in the ever-blessed babe of Bethlehem, by the influence of the same eternal God in the flesh, almighty, all-knowing, late a feeble suckling upon the knee of " her whom all generations shall call Blessed." MERCY TO BABES. 195 Are not such infants capable of repentance? Surely we have seen it ; we have seen the influ- ence of human nature, which remains even in the ren:enerate, stru2:Q;linor and breakino: through the law of God, as manifested to the child by the legis- lators God has appointed to childhood, the father and the mother ; we have seen in the child sorrow upon the motives of the Gospel, godly sorrow ; w^e have heard the blessing and instructions of the father and mother, and seen the prayer bringing down forgiveness and absolution ; for, with Augus- tine, we do hold that prayer, with repentance and faith, brings true and real remission of sin. We hold, then, that children, so baptized, are capable of conversion ; and more than this, that they are, in the majority of cases, "converted" actually and really, if they have a religious father and mother, and the home is what it ought to be, before they are seven years old. Is it so, we will ask, with the children of those who are under the ordinary notion ? Certainly not — by our own experience. Nay, we will go farther than this — we will say that, according to our own experience, the change of heart takes place in them, in the mass of cases, in youth. By the holy training of the home, the baptized child is taught to act upon the motives of the Gospel, to be obedient to the laws of Christ, upon principle, steadily and consistently to go according to his will, and this takes place in child- hood and youth. We have known many cases of it, and we will say, as far as our knowledge is concerned, they who are born in the Church, and 196 MERCY TO BABE&. are acknowledged to be most pious and devoted, in them "the change of heart" that comes from an obedience in all things to Christ's law upon prin- ciple, in them this change takes place before the years of maturity. That it should be so, we be- lieve ; that it is not so with the numbers of those who date their religion from their " conversion" at revivals, we believe to be a fact. Now we have already, in more than one place, shown the adaptiveness of infant baptism to that crisis in the child's life in which the sense of re- sponsibility, and of a law to be obeyed, and of sin, consequently arises ; we have shown how the feel- ing that the child is a member of Christ, a child of God, an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, and the fact that it is so, work together. We have seen how this child may be converted, as a child ; and we know enough of children to know how the prin- ciple of steady and consistent obedience to the law^s of Christ may be established in the heart of the boy or the girl. Now let the father or the mother consider what is the most dangerous point in the life of the young. Is it not the time when the passions awake V Surely this is time of peculiar danger to the religion and the morality of men. We may have new theories and notions as to the matter, but the old one of the Church, Father Augustine's, is true — '* that the passions of the fornes peccati," " the fuel of sm." The experience of all men and women tells them this ; their sins become habits, and vices, and wickednesses, and then all the frames of mind that MERCY TO BABES. 197 are against God's law are perijianently founded. The word " moralit}"," in the Unitarian sense, had been before that an adequate expression of man's condition; but after that, "religion" is the only expression that it is capable of. Now taking it as a fact, that in passing from childhood to manhood, the awakening of the passsions is a storm that the moral nature of all must meet and pass through as best it can — which is best prepared to meet it, he who has been converted in childhood, and under the guidance of the means God has appointed, has learned as a principle to obey God's laws, to walk in his way, and to have recourse to his Redeemer and his Spirit in all things ; he whose heart is truly changed, as I have seen that it may be changed ; or that one w*ho, as a babe, has been denied the precious privileges of infant baptism, as a child has been taught that he was no Christian, and as a youth, in consequence, has felt no allegiance to Christ, no aid of the Spirit, no blessedness in prayer — and all this because " his parents do not believe in baby-sprinkling ? " 1 hey who read this book can tell whether their system gives any aid to the youth at those two most important crises, the awaking of the sense of re- sponsibility, and the awaking of the passions. I have looked at it carefully, and I have not seen that it does, and with regard to the last mentioned crisis, it has always seemed to me that the process they call conversion cannot be undergone at all save by those in whom the passions have already awakened. And certainly the mass of those that 198 MERCY TO BABES. are converted are those in whom that era has passed. With us, when the father and the mother do their duty consistently, "conversion" and *' change of heart" takes place in childhood, and that most dangerous period is met with all the aids of religion, fixed by habit and established in principle. And to this, more than any thing else, to this fact, that in the mass of cases the religion of the religious in the Episcopal Church dates before the awakening of the passions is due, the fact acknow- ledged by all, that our tone of piety is more calm, more stable, more quiet, than that of others. In fact, in such a case, that properly called fanaticism is impossible, even to those of the greatest fervor of natural temper. We have digressed upon this point from the object of this chapter, but we hold ourselves per- fectly excused by the importance of the subject. We return to it again : on the Calvinistic notion, infant baptism is and must be an inconsistent practice. On the ordinary " revival notion " of conversion, it evidently must be so also. Now we ask of the readers of this book to go over these grounds and to see whether it is not so ; whether, by the believer in these systems, baptism is not made a mere form and a nothing, and consequently infant baptism is not altogether cut away? We demand of those that hold these systems, to recognize their own position, to see it clearly, and to know that, because of the system they hold, they deny infant baptism, and not to MERCY TO BABES. 199 think that they are arguing merely upon scripture, when they take for granted schemes of doctrine which, if the doctrine of baptism were as plainly stated as it is in this book, would cause them to interpret it another way. This is to be honest, and this we expect of every reader of this book. We know men may perhaps feel angry with us for this, but still this is a fact, that men, honest and true, may imagine they are arguing wholly upon scripture, when they are merely speaking scripture after a theory they have received, upon ver3^ inadequate grounds. We instance in our Church cases connected with men, whose, piety, and honesty, and truthful- ness, none doubt. Scott, the eminent commenta- tor, a clergyman of the Church of England, was a Calvinist ; he, and all that school, called Evangeli- cals, had signed the articles of the Church of England honestly and truly I believe ; they denied however, the doctrine of baptism, as plainly written in her formularies as may be, yet they were mea honest, and true, and pious ; but they had a system preoccupying their minds inconsistent with their doctrine, and so were deluded. And so John and Charles Wesley, unquestionably honest and pious men, did the same. Now if these men could do so, let the reader of this book think it no offence, that I caution him lest it may be so with him ; that I ask him clearly to set before his mind whether he is arguing upon scripture as it stands in the plain literal sense, or is interpreting it by a sj^stem. Let him not be 200 MERCY TO BABES. offended that I demand of him to set the fact plainly before his mind, and having ascertained whether it is so or not, to consider his position in consequence of it. I demand of him then to put on the one side his theory of " predestination to hell or heaven," or his "revivalist theor}?- of adult conversion," and on the other, the plain doctrine of the scriptures as to baptism, and make his choice. For this is a plain fact to my mind — the predestination theory is adverse to infant baptism — the conversion theory also is inconsistent with it — one or the other is right or wrong, but both cannot dwell together. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. S^'stems as held intellectually always tend to be intellectually con- sistent ; and, therefore, when Calvinism disengaged itself from the Chnrch in the shape of Presbyterianism and Congregationalism, large masses, feeling the inconsistency, as we have stated it, became " Bap- tists," so that in this country all they that are " Baptists," save only a few, ought to have been Congregationalists and Presbyterians, Still the system of the Church was made to correspond with human nature, that is, the whole man, not intellectually alone, but morally also, and physically. And, therefore, even in those that do hold Cal- vinism, a system intellectually inconsistent with the baptism of infants, there is a longing a^ter that baptism. And infants are so baptized. We have spoken above of its inconsistency ; in the text may be seen further proofs still ; how a baptism of mere faith and repentance, and of no privileges, no grace, no remission, can be in any degree useful to infants, is not easy to see. But, however, such a baptism is administered ; chiefly, we believe, in accordance with the demands of the nature of man. The way it is defended is this — it is administered as succeeding circumcision, which was given to Abraham, and therefore upon the grounds of the " Abra- hamic covenant." Now if it be said, that the Christian covenant is the same with that of Abraham, and that the covenant of Abraham was one of faith and MERCY TO BABES. 201 spiritual, and that baptism succeeds circumcision, we have no objection in the world to it ; but if it be said that, at this day, there are two covenants, " the Abrahamic," under which are baptized babes, the Christian, under which are " converted " and predestinate adults, we say, that a more monstrous fiction never existed. We say, that babes and parents are under the one covenant alike, blessed with the same privileges, and these spiritual ; and are alike capable of them by their nature, and by the nature of the doctrine of baptism. CHAPTER IT PART III. The Commission does not imply that Baptism must always be preceded by Belief. After the previous chapter, which shows the motives which induce men to deny the baptism of infants, because upon the notions there exposed, they must reduce baptism to a mere form, the examination naturally comes of the texts upon which baptism is denied. And the first and most prominent is the commission. Matt, xxviii. 18 — 20. " And Jesus spake unto them, saying. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go 3^e therefore, and teach all na- tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- o manded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Now, upon the various points of the commission, I would remark, and ask the attention of my rea- ders. Now I would ask of the candid Christian to remark the connexion between the first and the MKRCY TO BABES. 203 second clauses of that commission given by our ever-blessed Lord. *' All power is given me in heaven and earth," I am by the gift of the Father " omnipotent," and therefore, "go ye, teach all nations, baptizing them," &c. The omnipotence of Christ has, as its conse- quence, the commission to baptize. The power and authority to baptize is an immediate consequence of his omnipotence. This connexion lies upon the force of the commission. Now if baptism be a mere rite, a mere form, and is of no effect, what need of this connexion so solemnly stated ? We read not that John received such a commission as the disciples did, prefaced with the authority of omnipotence ; we read too, that John is greater than all the prophets, but *' yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he," the least minister of the kingdom that is. If John's baptism, the baptism of mere repentance, and faith, be Christian baptism, how can this be? if Christian baptism be a baptism without privileges and without effects, whose sole end is a dedication of faith before the congregation, what need this solemn preface '? But if his kingdom be a real and true kingdom, the covenant a real and true covenant, binding upon the Eternal Father as upon us — if to those who after faith and repentance receive that cove- nant, these privileges are conferred by the Holy Spirit, and that Holy Spirit is almighty and eternal, sent by the Father and the Son, then the commis- sion to baptize is duly prefaced by a declaration of 204 MERCY TO BABES. our Lord's omnipotence. If baptism be for the remission of sin, which none but God can remit — if it be for the application to the believing of the Atonement of the Almighty Son — if it be for the implanting of a spiritual life by the Holy Spirit, and the nourishing of it, and the work of baptism is done by the almighty Spirit, then well may the commission be prefaced by a declaration of His omnipotence — for to such a baptism who is suffi- cient ? What power ? Only omnipotence. Accord- ingly he says, " All power is given me — go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptiz- ing them." And it seems to me, that if men had thought sufficiently of this, that the commission to baptize is connected with, and founded upon, the omnipotence of Christ; that it is a baptism " in the name of the Father (almight3^) the Son (almighty,) the Holy Ghost (almighty,)" we should have less discussion about the baptism of infants. Seeing that infancy places them not beyond the redemption of the Son, of which all men now acknowledge them capable — and if they can be redeemed by Christ's blood, why not baptized in his name? Seeing too, that infancy is not beyond the providential teaching and guidance of the Father — seeing too, that the feeblest infant has a spirit that can be wnnight upon by the Holy Spirit, as we see was the case with John. But persons will say, but this declaration of his omnipotence is not connected with the right to baptize exclusive^, it is with the whole commis- sion, it refers to teaching, to going forth in faith, MERCY TO BABES. 205 and so forth, not to baptism, which is only a form. With regard to this we say, " baptism is not merely a form," as any one may see who will give a due examination to the previous part. It is in the effects which we attribute to it the work of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in their name, and therefore omnipotence is the pre- face to it. Again, we say, that, admitting the preface to refer to the whole commission, baptism is therein, and to it as well as the other parts it must refer. We say that men can do all the rest, and have done all the rest of themselves and their own power unauthorized, but to confer Christian baptism is another matter; a commission is necessary on the one hand, and on the other, the pledged co-operation of the almighty Spirit. In fact, on no other idea than that of a baptism conferring supernatural and heavenly privileges, and wrought out therefore upon all by Almighty power, can this preface be sus- tained. This we look upon, therefore, as sustaining the doctrine of Christian baptism, and is not to be explained otherwise. Another remark w^e shall make: the word all nations, is general in this commission : nation is an assembly of men, and women, and children, it must therefore be taken so; but, sa}^ they, the word "teach," limits it. Yes, to be sure, to those that are teachable, if the English word "teach" is the exact correspondent to the Greek ; well, for argu- ment sake, say it is. " The infants cannot be 206 MERCY TO BABES. taught, it must be adults." " Infants can be taught, there are infant schools in this day." Well, babes cannot be taught — not by man, but by God they can, by the Holy Spirit they can. Now, good reader, look at this — ■" teach all nations — ^baptizing them;" it does not say, first teach them, and then baptize them, but teach them — baptizing them. Now I, by baptism, dedicate an infant to God by the commission of the Almighty — I give him up to the eternal Spirit and omnipotent, to him who taught the soul of John before he was born, to him whose teachings can reach the heart and mind, even of a babe unborn. Do I, therefore, according to the principles of Christian baptism, *' teach " that child, "baptizing him or not?" Certainly I do ; the common sense of every man can see. Even so, upon the translation " teach," the commission takes in infants when we hold to the true doctrine of baptism. But the Greek, though it may be translated " teach," is not exclusively this, it is more properly " make disciples " — " make disciples of all nations — baptizing them." This brings it out still more plainly, " make disciples of them — baptizing them." For in baptism the Holy Spirit, the Teacher, has the main work, and to him the work of Christian baptism is attributed. How then are they taught by baptism ? how are they made disciples? Certainly if that teaching had reference barely to the instruction of man, if that discipleship only embraced that which we see, it were poor indeed, poor discipleship. Yet let the Christian take his faith, which is the eye of MERCY TO BABES. 207 things unseen — let him view the Holy Spirit who is poured out upon our sons and our daughters, who shall teach you all things — let him look at the course of God's providence, wherein all things work together — let him look to the ministry of angels — all these privileges, strictly coming under the privileges of disciples, and then shall he see why omnipotence is a preface to the commission to baptize — then shall he see how the Christian by being baptized is made a disciple and taught^ baptism to adults and to infants, admitting to this teaching. Let him look to angel and archangel, to cherubim and seraphim, and the whole company of heaven, intellects far reaching, and wide work- ing, and think that to them we are given up, and ask if to their teaching, or to the teaching of the almighty Spirit, or to the teaching of God's provi- dence, aught is requisite save the possession of a soul that can be redeemed by the blood of Christ our Lord, and innocence from actual sin. I sup- pose this is enough in reference to that objection that rests upon the word teaching, and supposes that only adults can be '' taught." We take now the other version of the commis- sion, Mark xvi. 15, 16 : " And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He thatbelieveth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Therefore, say certain persons, infants cannot be baptized, for they cannot believe. Very well : then must they be damned, because you assert infants do not believe and cannot, there- 208 MERCY TO BABES. fore by the second verse, they must be damned. " He that believeth not shall be damned " — infants cannot believe, therefore infants must be damned. Let those who argue in this way get out of the damnation of «ZZ babes that die in babyhood if they can. The old Calvinists were blamed because they said some infants were " elect," in their use of the word "elect;" and therefore asserted some infants or babes dying in infancy, were damned ; but this notion asserts that all i?ifantSf dying before they can speak, are damned. But, again : " he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." " Simon himself also believed, and was baptized," therefore Simon was saved. Yes, but Simon fell away. Surely he did, but is not " shall" used there ? There is no getting out of this, no means of evasion : it must be possible that the faith of others will go for the infant, so as to qualify him for bap- tism, or he be capable of faith, or else all infants that die in infancy must, by the very terms of the commission, be damned. Let the reader think of it, let him think what a hideous mockery it is, that the very commission which the Lord of all mercy, he who blessed babes and loved them, should be so interpreted as to demand damnation upon the babes his blood redeemed. Men, it is true, do not press upon this now; they have omitted, they let it slip, but still by their principles they exclude infants, because they have not faith ; theirs, forsooth, is " believer's baptism," exclusively and peculiarlv. Paedobaptism is of course the baptism of those who MERCY TO BABES. 209 *' do not believe;" can it be any thing else, than that they '* who do not believe " shall be damned ? Can Paedobaptists' baptism be a baptism unto salvation? Certainly not. This odious and horrid principle may be smoothed over, but there it is and cannot be got rid of. He that denies baptism to babes because they have not faitli, and cannot have it, by that principle and the second clause of this commission in St. Mark, dooms them to perdition. The scripture is true, and the principle is false. False to the plan of redemption, false to the mercy of Christ our blessed Lord, false to the feelings of man's heart, false to the heart of the father and the mxOther whose unspeaking babes are upon their knees and in their bosom. We are led now to the second interpretation of that passage, the interpretation which, because the first is so odious, is now generally put forward. The interpretation upon which they found their title, " believer's baptism." The interpretation is this — " He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved ; and he that believeth not, shall be damned." Belief is first in the sentence, and therefore must come first. We baptize after belief, and therefore we alone have true scripture baptism. Now let the candid reader remark this first, that there is no passage in the scripture that says this in express terms ; the conclusion is an inference drawn ; if that inference be correctly drawn, then it is true ; if it be not correctly drawn, it is untrue. I that baptize infants, I deny the correctness of the in- 210 MERCV TO BABES. ference. I deny that in that sentence there is any thing inferring that behef should come first. Now does that sentence assert that belief is a qualification for baptism, or what does it assert? On the plain face of the sentence it asserts two qualifications as requisite to salvation, one belief elucI the other bajjtisjn. " He that belie veth " — here is one qualification ; " and is baptized " — ^here is another ; " shall be saved." Will any man dare to say, that upon any fair construction of the lan- guage, upon any principles of law, or equit}' , or grammatical construction, that of two qualifications thus placed, we can make one of the two a quali- fication for the other? can say that one must come before the other, belief before baptism, or baptism before belief? Now this is a book written for plain people, and for common sense people. Look at a sentence of precisely the same kind, expressing two qualifica- tions — " He that professes his allegiance and is naturalized shall vote ; " just the same as " he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." There- fore, by the same way of arguing, none can be naturalized before they profess their allegiance : therefore infants cannot be naturalized. Again : " He that is industrious and honest shall succeed in business." There being two qualifications for success, therefore by the argument, a man must be industrious before he is honest. And so, through a multitude of examples, of which any one may devise thousands. The error being this, that be- MERCY TO BABES. 211 cause two things are qualifications for a third, one of them therefore must be a quahfication for the other. How then are we to interpret the text? Just in the same way that justice and equity would require us to interpret any such sentence in other cases. The sentence is of authority, it prescribes qualifica- tions, it is therefore "law," and that law moral and spiritual. If the two qualifications are there, then it is right ; if, on the other hand, there be a moral and spiritual impediment, then the right is voided — if the impediment be physical, it does not void the right. He that through a physical necessity, such as invincible ignorance or impossibility of being baptized is prevented from it, he, if he be- lieve, and have therefore the other qualification, he claims salvation, and his claim is valid by all principles of justice and equity. He too who is baptized, and yet owing to infancy, idiocy, or any other incapacity, is rendered incapable of believing, he too is saved under that law. And he that be- lieveth not, through moral or spiritual causes, he shall be damned. Now let men examine this in- terpretation upon the ground of justice and equity, and they will see that it is the true and right interpretation. Now I will put forward another consideration. Baptists say that baptism is " total immersion, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost." Now I will suppose a case of one so im- mersed, in infancy; he is trained up in the fear of the Lord, and believes — what comes of him? You 212 MERCY TO BABES. may say, "no case of infant immersion has oc- curred;" and I say, that the English Church, before the Reformation, immersed infants univer- sally ; I say the Greek Church does so now ; I say that such immersion has been performed in Pro- testant Episcopal churches in America, and autho- rity is given me, as a presbyter of that Church, to do it, as well as to any other clergymen of the Church, and it has hee?i done. And what is the case with such a person, confessing their faith and being converted? The case is this — that by the law of Jesus Christ such a person " believeth," and is "baptized ;" taking baptism in your sense of total immersion ; and by the false gloss I have been exposing, such a person is not baptized; an absurdity which may be dwelt upon, and with it the text that says, ye have made vain the law by your traditions. " He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved." All we have from this text is, that there are two qualifications to a certain state — the state of salvation ; nothing more can be got out of it. Upon the face of it, as we have showed, it cannot be said that either is first. As far as this text goes, there can be no inference made. This we leave to the common sense of every one. But it will be said, does not faith go before baptism — ought it not to go before it? Certainly, in all cases except where there is a physical im- pediment. A physical impediment, from the very words of the commission, as discussed in the last chapter, from the very fact of the spirituality of MERCY TO BABES. 213 the law under which we are, does not invalidate the right to baptism ; but there can be, as we have before said, found no text in the scripture that asserts any physical condition whatsoever to be an obstacle to the operation of the almighty Spirit ; and therefore is there no text in the scripture that forbids baptism to infants. Of course, with them that are not physically disqualified, faith is a pre-requisite, and we who believe in the baptism of infants, preach faith as absolutely necessary to them ; but we cannot go beyond God's law and God's word, we cannot establish a rule which breaks down the principles of that law, and makes it, not a spiritual, but a physical law. So far of the notion which says " that faith must, in all cases, go before baptism.'* And furthermore, we shall add one remark. Our Saviour and the apostles demanded faith as a pre- requisite of their miraculous powers ; butm no case did they make such a demand where faith was yhysically impossible — and so do we. The energy of the Holy 'Spirit is not to be stopped by physical or bodily impediments. But it will be said, that in all the cases of bap- tism recorded in the scripture, faith comes first. Well, this is true in reference to those cases in which the conversations are recorded, for in that case it appears that the persons could speak, and were adults. But it is recorded that households were baptized, and it is not said that there were no children among them ; nay, the oldest translation says — " Lydia and her children were baptized;'' 214 MERCY TO BABES. it is net said that infants ought not to be baptized ; it is 7iot said that infants were not haptized. Things which certainly, if any of the apostles were of the sentiments of the modern Baptists, would have been most abundantly reiterated. It cannot, there- fore, be proved that in all the cases of baptism recorded in the scripture, no infants were baptized, or that a profession of faith, with their own mouths, did always take place. And, as we have shown, the faith of parents, of sponsors, of the congregation, and of the clergy- man, are enough for the babe. CONCLUSION. We have now gone through the task as we had appointed it for ourselves ; and the peculiar nature of the track we have chosen to pursue, has, as it may be seen, precluded us from the ordinary course of argument that is usually pursued in this case. We have laid, as it may be seen, the main stress upon the doctrine of baptism in general, the literal sense of scripture, and the nature of man, consid- ered as a domestic, a social, and a religious being; and so far abstained from the mere task of confuta- tion, as only to touch upon objections incidentally. And, therefore, there are many branches of the argument left untouched ; such as the evidence for infant baptism in the first ages ; the relation of baptism to circumcision, and so forth ; all which, knowing them to be in our favor, we have omitted, MERCY TO BABES. 215 for the reason, that feeling the moral and religious to be a most important, and hitherto but little touched part of the argument for the baptism of infants, we have chosen to confine ourselves to this, that it might come with its full force upon men's minds, and then that afterwards, if they feel its weight, they may, as a separate thing, consider and examine these other parts by themselves. In which investigation many excellent treatises there are that will aid the searcher after truth ; and we deny not that this we have excluded here, in order that men may not be turned awa}^ from the moral, and domestic, and social considerations upon bap- tism, to the logical and the controversial. And for the same reason we have altogether omitted the question of " Immersion," one whigh is mixed up in a very strange way with that of the right of infants to baptism, in almost all the books we have seen, and yet is a totally distinct question. A question which is, to the writer of these pages, a very unimportant one indeed, as the law of the Church gives him the right to baptize by immersion infants or adults ; and which, when the grand ques- tion, the one he has treated of, is felt as it should be, will be easily agreed upon. For this book, therefore, he has to seek the indulgence of the reader. He is in a remote part of the country, far from libraries, and the advant- ages of literary advice, and encouragement which would have enabled him to realize his plan more perfectly ; engaged, too, in labors that occupy his mind incessantly, and without that leisure which 216 MSHCiT TO BABES. is absolutely necessary to him that would bring any thing to perfection. And he feels that the plan he has adopted in this treatise is one which would re- quire, both time, and leisure, and books, adequately to bring it forth in its due proportions. Still, for all these disadvantages, he believes that as it is, with all its imperfections upon its head, it will be of service to the cause of religion and of the Church. He believes that, written plainly and earnestly, and for the mass, it will be of service to ordinary readers, and, perhaps, even to the more educated suggest some thoughts that may be of service to them. And therefore he per- mits it to go out to the world, trusting that, although written under many disadvantages and laden with many imperfections, still it may be of service to many persons, v/ho are sincere and earnest in their search after truth. THE END. OLD CHURCH BOOKSTORE BOOKS PUBLISHED BY STANFORD AND SWOUDS,. 4 139, BROADWAl? NEW-YORK. Valuable Woi'ks published by Stanford S^ Swords. BROWNELUS FAMILY PRAYER BOOK. THE FAMILY PRAYER BOOK, or the Book of Cojn* TJion Prayer, ajid Administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Cercjuonies of the Church, according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States oj America; accompanied hy A GENERAL COMMENTARY, Historical, Explanatory, Doctrinal, and Practical ; compiled, from the viost ajrprorcd Liturgical Works, uitJi Alterations and Additions, and Accommodated to the Liturgy of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Second Edition, revised. BY THOMAS CHURCH BROWNELL, D. D. LL. D. Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of Connecticut. One thick volume, royal Svo. $3,50. RECOMMENDATIONS. Philadelphia, Dec, ^9th, 1821. Rt. Rev. and Dear Sir, — I havp just now received your letter of the 26tli irist. informing me that you coiitem|)lHto the preparing and the publishing of a hook of Common Prayer, with a Commentary on the different services, accommodated to the alterations of the English Liturgj' hy our American Church. The la.-t circum.'tance is especially desirable, there being as yet nothing of the kind. And your connecting the Commentary with the text, will very much further the purpose of introducing the former into families, and of promoting a more general information of the grouuds of our institutions. Wishing you success in your undertaking, I remain Your affectionate Pro W ^ r-V Valuahte WorTcs •published by Stanford , or sermons superior to many of the fourscore pulilished in the second of these volumes. Nor does it, as we believe, contain a body of theological writin>js so per fectly sound and free from any, even the least matter for just exception. We do not know a line of Bishop Home's that we would rat'ier hive erased. H'i think* and writes every where with the simplicity and godly sincerity, the earnest orthodoxy and honest zeal, the infantine good humor and angel-like devotiim of a father of the apostolic age, The principles which othnrs get an?ry in contending for, he soothes and wins his rcade. by exemplifying. The much abused epithets, evangelical and catholic, belong to his ■writings in their highest and fullest sense. Would that we had many more Mich theolo- gians! ' The unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ' would be better realized among us, in proportion as they found currency and superseded the ephemeral swarms of dog- •latizers, ranters, canters and contentious innovators whose lucubrations fill our book* •he'ves and ' disturb our peace.' •' These volumes strike us as peculiarly suitable for one good use, of which there is no little need in many quarters — presentation by a lay member of the Church to a beloved pastor, in token of rejard. A more suitable pledge of Christian love, it would be difficult to find. It would well consort with the kind of books that ought to fill the scanty bookp CAses of our ill-provided clergy." — Calendar. Valuable "[Vorlzs, puh/ished hy Stanford S^ Swords. MELVILUS SERMONS, COMPLETE. SERMONS BY HENRY MELVILL, COMPRISING ALL THE DISCOURSES PUBLISHED BY CONSENT OF THK AUTHOR. EDITED BY THE RT. REV. CHARLES P. M'lLVAINE, D. D., BISHOP OF THE PHOT. EPIS. CHUKCH IN THE DIOCESE OF OHIO. Two large octavo volumes. $4,00. " Tfte discourses of Alelvill have so loti? been before the religious public, that nothing new can be added by way of recommoudin^' their peculiar merits. This is the fullest and most i.orrect edition that has come in our way ; and especially is it valuable as an aulhen tic one, many imperfect reports of the sermons havinjr appeared in otlier compilations, and of course marked with the stenographer's inaccuracies. — Literary Wvrld. " Melvill has for some years been with the reading public a decided favorite. We sup- po.se the sermons of no living man will command a more extensive sale. AH who read him are charmed with his beauty, tenderness, earnestness, eloquence and nice discrimina- tion in exposition. He is at times speculative to a fault, and will be thought by some, occasionally, to be not strictly orthodox ; yet tiiere is so much to delight in his practical and forcible exhortations to duty, his warm and heartfelt adherence to the Cross, his ad- mirably rounded and finely-wrought periods, that, unlike sermons generally, which are considered rather a dull commodity for merchandize, those who love good reading will buy, and wUlread Melvill's Sermons. No man can read them, and wot feel their power, stirring the depths of spirit. If he have soul in him, the preacher will not fail to find it. and by the mastery of eloquence, charm it to solemnity and awe it to reflection. Perhaps there are no written sermons in our languajre, which are better calculated to produce impression upon those who peruse them." — Methodist Protestant. " Melvill is no ordinary man, and produces no ordinary influence. Possessing a brilliant imagination, having great command of words, and being full of the fire of genius, he sways the hearts of crowded conirrt^gations who listen to the living voice, and of multitudes who peruse the productions of his glowing pen. It is impossible to read Melvill's Sermons and not be gratified, and what is better, improved. There is so much of the earnestness and aflTectionateness of the '-man of God," so much zeal for the truth as it is in Jesus, so great acuteness and so happy a faculty of illustrating and enforcing Scriptural truth, that involuntarily one pays the highest tribute which an author can receive, in forgetting hira and fastening the mind upon the ennobling subjects of his labors. The present edition is especially valuable, since here we have the discourses of the gifted author as h'.? wrote them and committed them to the press, and the publishers have taken pains to include in the present issue, both the parochial sermons, and those delivered on public occasions and before the University of Cambridge ; by which we have here the contents of some five or six volumes of the English edition, at a price which brings them within the reach of all. The mechanical execution is in the publishers' usual style of excellence." — Young Church- man's Miscellany. " We have read many of these sermons with interest, pleasure, and profit ; the more so, because we believe them to be the most perfect edition of Melvill's sermons extant. Their sditor, the distinguished Bishop of Ohio, has presented them in their true light before the public. Melvill possesses a mind of peculiar richness and vigor, clothed upon with all the glorious f ruths of our holy religion. He delineates most beautifully the law of the spirit of life, in Christ Jesus ; and is always most eloquent when nearest to the Cross. His styl«, peculiarly his own, cannot be commendeu to any divine: for apart from its many objec- tionable features, it could not be successfully imitated : but the expository character of his sermons is of the first order; and here Melvill may be .«tudied with the greatest advantage. His sermons are from his text, made up of its elements, not introducing his subject, but suggesting and containing it. Therefore they are always a faithful exposition of the text. The present edition of his ser-cons cannot fail to have a w^de and justly deserved circula ti cure path; and that the framework of her establishment is that which, under God's provi- dence, is best suited, in the present state of the Christian world, to preserve and diasemiuate our holy faith among the various branches of society.'" — Banner of the Cross. " This is a very valuable production. It has passed through three English editions ; aa ecclesiastical history, and will be found an important additioc to the library of the religioLs student." — Pennsylvanian. " We welcome this elaborate aud valuable work as a most important addition to the series of Protestant publications from the press of Messrs Stanford aud S^words. This edition is a large octavo of 351) pagi", very well printed. It is enriched with numerous notes, several chronological and genealogical tables, and a copious index. The fact of the work having reached a third edition in England, is evidence of its originality and useful- uess." — North American. "The high reputation of its author as a scholar and a writer is amply sustained in its jMiges, which treat of some of the most intensely interesting periods in the history of our aHbor c.-^Mitry. The rufarmatior of the Church ; the great revolution ; the aesiructioa Valuable IVark^, pahlis/ied oy Stanford Sf Swords. of tho old Church with .he monarchy ; its re-establishmpnt on the Presbyterian basis; the recall of the Stuarts, and with them of the Episcopal Church, and the overthrow of the Presbyterian supremacy; the formation of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Cliurch oi Eiidand ; these, with other matters of kindred interest, afford a rich theme, which, in the volume before us, is eloquently descanted upon. All who feel an interest in tliese mattera would do well to possess themselves of a copy of the work. The beautiful style in which ♦his work is issued, is highly creditable to the publishers." — Philadelphia Inquirer. •^ This is a volume which nas already received authoritative approval in this country, bein^ a class Look in the Protestant Episcopal Seminary at Alexandria, D. C, and perhapi in other institutions. It is a large octavo, written in a clear and comprehensive style, and ihus embraces avast amount of ecclesiastical knowledge, while it has, in many places, an elo- quence of diction, and in all a nervous directness, which make it an interesting as well aa % useful volume. The low prici; of t!iis !)Ook is such as will place it within the reach of all purciiasers; and the members of the Protestant Episcopal communion will no doubt re ward the enterprise of the publishers, and gratify themselves, by giving the volume a wide circulation. It has already passed through three editions in England, and must be allowed the high praise of being the most compreheusivc work on the subject now before the pub- lic." — Saturday Post. " There is a degree of candor and impartiality in this work which, for a Churchman, is as unusual as it is commendable. The author has a justifinble partiality for his own Church ind the tory party of which it has been a j)romineiit section in all periods of Eusrlish his- tory ; but this preference is not allowed to interfere with a candid and honest statement of facts, whether lhe> bear against the interest and character of his friends, or are favorable to that of his oppo. ents. With a just admiration of excellence, wherever found, and a love of freedom ano oopular rights, he looks upon the whole field of history with the impar- tial comprehensiven ssof an historian, rather than with the j'-alous zeal of a partisan, or the exclusiveness of . sectary. He eulogizes the Reformation ; does something like jus- tice to the character of the Puritans, of Cromwell, and the Presbyterians: admits the tyranny of Laud, the weakivess and selfishness of Charles, and the violence and irreligioB uf the Royalists at the period of the Revolution. " There is much, of course, of which non-Episf-opalians cannot approve. No Church- ».ian can be expected to look at some periods of English history witli a clear and unpreju- diced mind. The light which the Revolution sheds upon the genius and character of Episcopacy is too glaring to be quietly looked at. So, if we read the histories prepared by Churchmen, it mu»t ahvays be with much indulgence to the weakness of human nature and pity for the prejudice which can slander some of England's best men, and stisrmati2e as opp ession and tyranny the purest and freest government she has ever had. The work IS written in a condensed, yet attractive style, with great precision and accuracy. As a text book, or for general perusal, it will be found interesting and valuable. It is, wc ai" happy to add, rery neatly printed, and sold at u low price." — N. Y. Evangelist. " An octavo volume of 3.53 pages, accompanied by a chronological and genealogical table and very full index. It is a wo.-k of real merit, written by one stronily attached, of course, to the Church of which he is a member, but apparently no bigot. We will not pretend to vouch for all his opinions; but such perusal as we have been able to give to his writinsrs, convinces us that he is sincere in them, and that he is honest in the statement of facts. His references are numerous. The religious sentiments which he expresses in the progress of the work are evangelical in their character ; and the views which he entertains of Chris- tians of other persuasions evince a charitable spirit. He sees and candidly acknowledges lefects in the Church of England, and disadvantages of a grievous nature resulting frons Ihe connection of Church and state : but on the whole, he prefers his communion to oth- ers, and exhorts his brethren to seek its improvement. We shall place the book umoii| our most important histories." — Baptist Advocate. "The style in which this history is written is elegant and chaste; and, from tha examination which we have made of the portions of the work in which the predilections of the author would be most likely to appear, we believe his statements to be made in all candor, and with an honest desire to be impartial and truthful. As a history of the Church of England, it possesses decided advantages over every other work which we have seen o» beard of; and whilst it will be regarded by all Protestant denominations as a most valuabk contribution to general ecclesiastical history, it commends itself especially to the miuisteiV and members of the Episcopal Church, and we have no doubt will be duly appreciated U is a work of vast labor, learning, and research." — Protestant Banner. Valuable Worhs, puhlished hy Stanford (^ Swords. SPENCER^S ENGLISH REFORMATION HISTORY OF THE RSFORmATION m ENGLAND By THE REV. J. A. SPENCER, A. M. "author of the christian IXSTKUCTED IX THE WAYS OF THE GOSPEL AND TH^ CHUUCH." One Volujne. IQtmo. 50c. "The autlior 'claims to have carefully sou^rht exactness and precision in regard to fact* and circumstances; to have consulted every writer within hi.-s reiiL-ii, in or.ler to verify the utatemeni made in t.'ie text: to have endeavored to he strictly ju.-t and fair towards all parties and persons; and to have set fo.th tiie jjuhlic acts oi' tiie Gliurch and State aa faithfully as lie was able, and as fully as t!ie limits of the volume wu.ild adiuil.' \V« regard it as of especial imporiaucs at this tim<^. that the causes which ted to tlie reforma tion of the Church in Eu:;laud, should be well underslood. Tiiern are jnany pertoas to whom the larger histoi-ios of it arc not accessible, and who would not havi; time to study them if they were. To such, und to the youiij- learner, this little book of '2UU pamercial Adcertiser. " This is a most opportune publication. The times demand a return to the principleii of the great Reform, and the people are laudably anxious to know what those princi- ples are. So much discussion is abroad, so many various assertions are made, and so much confidence is manifested by persons of very different sentiments iu the truth of their opiuious, that it is essential to go to t!ie fountain head and ascertain by the facta of history iwst where and what the truth really is. It is this object which the ajthor of this volume has had in viev/ ; it has beer, his aim to present facts, and not mere opinions, to give evidence, and not barely his view of the Reformation and its principles. It is thia feature which we particularly admire in this volume, and which we commend especially to our readers ; for thouirh Mr. Spencer's own views are decided, he dees not obtrudo tbom upon those who peruse his history; he gives them a succinct, clear, well-digested statement of the acts of the Church and State, and leaves the reader to draw his o>vn conclusion. We are not aware that in a single instance Mr. S. oversteps the true bounds by which the historian ought to be restrained. "The literary and mechanical e.tecntion of this volume are of the first order, 31- S. writes easily, fluently and vigorously, and occasionally his subject warms into eloquence. The publishers deserve great credit for the style in which tliej' have issued the book, not more than for the very low price at which they offer it for sale, in order, we are confident, to give it that wide circulati m which tiie momentous nature of the subje«.'t lemauds." — Pf. ¥ Gazette if Times. Valuable Worhs, fublislieA hy Stanford ^ Swords. PALMER^S CHURCH HISTORY. A COMPENDIOUS ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME. BY THE REV. WILLIAM PALMER, M. A., AUTHOK OF "ORIGINKS LITURGIC^,"' &C. WITH PREFACE AND NOTES BY AN AMERICAN EDITOR. In one volume. V2mo. 50c. " The truly learned and sound-minded author has set himself honestly to seek out the results of tlie system devised by Heaveidy Wisdom, and set in operation l)y God liimself, wliBu He dwelt anion^ us. He does not puzzle himself and his reader with an attempt at a ' pragmatical ' investigation of the human motives and propensities that have carried on, »hile they seemed to thwart and vitiate, the divine rounsels for man's salvation. S*:ll Jess does he stocp to flatter the poor pride of human reason by lowering a narrative of God's doings with and in his Church lo the tone of secular history, and making all plaiH aud easy for the most uuspiritual compreheusion. He writes as a believer of the facts that he narrates ; but not a believer witiiout investigation. He writes as one whose own be- lief makes him in earnest with liis reader, and in consequence leaves the impression of reality on the mind. Convinced that God did indeed found his Church upon a rock, immoveable and unconquerable, he looks for it, without fear or shrinking, amid the worst of tempests of controversial strife or secular oppression, and unde-- the deepest mists of j^Miorance and error, and not only finds it, signalized by its unvarying tokens of peace, holiness aud joy, but makes it obvious to others. We see, with him, that tiiough times hav« changed, and manners varied, the word and promise of God have endured unchanged, aud their accomplisluneul has goce on invariably." — Bishop Whiitiiigham. RECORDS OF A GOOD MAN'S LIFE, BY THE REV. CHARLES B. TAYLER, M. A. One handsome volume. 12mo. 75c. " This is, indeed, a ' golden book ' — one that cannot be read without as mucfj profit a* pleasure by all who feel interest in the life of a good country parson. The narrative ex hi bits the character of a man wiio was distinguished, not for talent or learning, but for b'jiug in earnest, and heartily endeavoring to live up to his Cliristian profession — wilk » honi baptism was not a form, but the commencemeut of a lifti of Christian faith."— f- aitner tsf the Cross. " An elegant reprint of a volume endeared to many a heart by a thousand charms of siyle, sentiment, and pious meditation. The loveliness of humanity passing through the sitxges of life under the iiifluence, and illuminated by the divine light of the pure precepts of the Gospel, the surpassing beauty of holiness exhibited in the character of woman as a Christian wife and mother, and the manly dignity and nobleness of the Christian father and husband, are all here exhibited so sweetly, so truthfully, so eloquently, as to touch the soul of the most obdurate. We trust all our readers are so familiar with these pages as to feel the justice of our praise, aud to seize eagerly the opportunity of again meetiQ| an old and beloved conipanica,." — Protestant Churchman. HOBART'S FESTIVALS AND FASTS. A Companion to the Festivals and Fasts of the Protescant Epist;opal Church in the United States of America. Principally selected and altered from Nelson's Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of Eusland. WITH FORMS OF DEVOTION. BY JOHN HENRV HOBAR-T, D. D., BISHOP OF THE DIOCESB CF NEW-YOHK. One voiujiie. 12?no. 75c, * It will prove a useful corapanioQ in tV.a exaiied exercises of the Christian life aad, while it serves to impress on the mera»^ers of the Episcopal Communion the excel l«Bce of their truly Apostolic and Primitive Church, it must excite them to adoro theii |»r%l\MSioB b/ f-orresooudiug fervor of oioty and sanctity of manaera." Valuable Works, puh/ished hy Stayiford if S'cords STEPS TO THE ALTAR; A MANUAL OF DEVOTIONS AND MEDITATIONS FOR THE BLESSED EUCHARIST. COMPILED BY" A PARISH PRIEST. One Volume. ISmo, 31c. "This is another manual repii!))ished from an Enirlish work under the direction of a Presbyter of New- York, and llie dovout spirit within is cioihed in a most atiractive form. We hail it as a hnppy omen that the dem;ind for such l)o()k.^ sliould, as we are sure it will, justify their publication. Of this work we need only s:iy as suliic.ent commeudation, what is said in the prefatory notice. 'Tiie works of Bishops Aiidiewes, Cosiu, Kt-n, and VVil son, may be mentioned as chiof sources from which matter has been drawn.' Auy 1111115 more we might have desired to say is rendered needless by the following from a corres- aondent. " 'The work, with the above title, is deserving of patient, attentive, earnest study. It is one of a class of books much needed at the present time, and the more we have of them the better for the Church at large. It is not our intention to go much into detail with this work, but we shall point at a few of its excellencies and merits. It contains, for instance, devotions for the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the week before Communion, devotions also at the Celebration itself, and special devotions fi)r the Monday and Tuesday after communing'. Again, there is a prayei for those who are not able to communicate.. Then there are Prayers for Holy Seasons and select passages for Reading and Meditation from various authors, with which the pages close. A more simple arraniement could not have been selected, nor one agreeing better with the ceremony itself. The select passages are peculiarly beautiful, and wheu I state that such names as those of good old Bishop Wilson, of the saintly Beveridge, of the pious Brevint, of Tavlor the eloquent and the learned, of Andrewes, of S. Bernard, of Dean Comber, of Quesnel, of Fenelon. Archbishop of Cambray, of our own excellent sound, and learned Bishop Pearson, etc., we shall be of but one mind in regard to it? utility and worth. To my own mind the beauty of the volume lies in its exceeding sin - plicit^, its genuine excellency, its intrinsic value. As a manual, as a vade mecum it must take a hi?h stand. This simple expression, from the author's notice, contains l/ie germ of an excellent truth, and we would t!iat all ctunpilers, for similar purposes, vvtuld avail themselves of it. " Tlie works of Bisiiops Andrewes, Cosiii, Ken, and Wilson, may be mentioned as chief sources from which matter has been drawn. Great use has been made of Lake's OSr.ium Encharisticum, nnd a little has been derived from more ancient stores of devotion ;" and trnlv, if these stores were more often consulted, and especially the stores of our own Mother Church, we should have a richer view of devotion, a greater treasury of sound and jrospel truth. »< • We were attracted bv the title of the volume. And it is truly what it purports to be May those steps euide many till they kneel around the sacred board, and may they bo often fed! May they ?row more spiritual, and like unto their Divine Lord ; and may this huiable instrument, "in'the hands of the Almighty God, lead luai y unto righteousuess, and into the way of saving duty.' " — Banner of the Cross. "This little book, the uses and objects of which are sufficiently indicated in the titl^ is printed in excellent style, and in a form wkicli makes it espcciaJly couveuient.— i^S?^ American ani Gazette. Valuable WorltS^ puhlished hy Skjnford S^ Swords, THE HOLY COMMUNION. THE DEVOUT CHURCHMAN'S COMPANION, OR, A FAITHFUL GUIDE IN PRAYER, MEDITATION, AST) ^\)Z deception of tlje ^olg €ticliarist. (being bishop Wilson's " sacra frivata," and " introduction to THE lord's supper.) EDITED BY THE REV. WM. H. ODENHEIMER, A. M. RECTOR OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA; AUTHOR OF " VOUNO CHUBCttUAlf CATECHISED," " TRUE CATHOLIC NO ROMANIST," ETC. One volume. Roijal 32;wo. Fine Paper. 50c. " We know not in the English language, or any other, or any one book, (always ex ceptin? the Holy Bible and the Prayer Book,) which, to the truly devotrt heart, is so rich in meditation!, and prayers. To all our readers, who are living earnestly for the life to come, we commend this volume. The new and most cf^nvenient arrangement of tha ' Sacra Privata ' and the ' Introduction,' l)y the American editor, is a manifest improve- ment; and as to their part of the execution, we have seen nothing from the publishers which has pleased us so well." — Church Review. " We are alwaj's slad to receive a work with Mr. Odenheimer's name on the title-page, whether as author or editor ; for we are sure of finding something that has in view an immediate practical end, and is well fitted for its attainment. Few parochial clergymen have labored s-o much and so successfully, in this way. His " Young Churchman Cate- chisfMl." and " The True Catholic no Romanist," are books sinsrularly well adapted to ground the yoimg in the rudiments of Christian doctrine ; and in tiiis edition of the devo- tional works of Bishop Wilson, we see the same practical talent applied to the cultivation of the habits of the inward Christian life. As a manual of devotion for the use of privatu Christians, we would recommend this edition of Bishop Wilson, in preference to any other. It contains the Sacra Privata, the Communion Service, and the Family and Private Prayers." — Churchman. "The reverend brother who has edited this excellent manual, is already well known to the Church by his concise but valuable treatises on the Origin and Compilation of the Prayer Book, The True ("atholic no Romanist, &c. These have shown how clearly he nnderstand.x and decidedly maintains the ground which our brand) of the Church catholic holds: the present volume will serve to endear him to the lovers of prayer, and that mosl admirable exemplification of it, the saintly Bishop Wilson, of Sodor and Man. The Sacrji Privata, the Introduction to the Lfxd's Supper, the Communion Service, and a collection of Prayers, form the materials of this volume. We hesitate not to say, that if studied as it should be, and used as it ou:,Mit to be, it would do more than any other one thing to ro move dissension, promote concord and agreement, and unite in one mind and spirit the menjbers of Christ's Church, who too often stand apart one from the other, and thus give occasion to the enemy to l)lasphpme. ' He who has learned to pray as he ought, has found out the secjct of a holy lif'>.'" — Youvg Churchman's Miscellany. " We can safely recommend a work so well and so favorably known." — Southern Churchman. " The merits of this work have been tested by its passing to another edition ; we can only hope that the number of those for whom it is designed may be greatly increased through Its more extended ci| '.ulation." — Church Times. Valuable Works published by Stanford 6f Swords. CONFIRMATION. !i|ji|!i;liAJi_ ;'A MANUAL OF DEVOTIONS FOR CONFIRMATION J i r 3 t (!l m m It n X n . BY THE AUTHOR OF " STEPS TO THE ALTAR." Ofie haitdsome volume, l^mo. 31c. " This volume appears under the sanction of an able and faithful Pastor, who assures us thai he has carefully examined it, makin? a very few alterations, and additions; and that he deems it the very best work of the kind he has seen. A hasty perusal leads us to concur in this opinion. It differs from most books on Confirmation, in bein? almost ex- clusively practical and devotional in its character, containing besides, two Addresses, Prayers, Jleditations, and Quest ons for self-examinution for the week preceding, and the two days subsequent to, the reception of the Holy Rite. * * * fj^e volume in neatly got up ; and the Publishers deserve the thanks of good Churchmen for issuing an- other manual of sound catholic — ffobart — teaching^." — Churchman " The multiplication of books of devotion we rejrard as one of the best signs of the limes in the Ciiurch. There is evidenilj' an increased demand for such works us aid in the cultivation of personal religion. The title of the present publication sutficieutlj' indi- cates its design and use. The Prayers and Meditations which it contains are compiled mostly from Bishop Wilson, which is a sufficient guarantee of their (soundness and fervor. Som*e others are taken from various approved writers of our own Communion. We take pleasure in recommendina: it to our readers, and esjl^ecially as a valuable preparatory manual for sucli as are about to receive Ceufirmatioa and the Holy CommuuioD for ihs first time." — Calendar. Valuable Works, published by Stanford 4* SiRorda CHURCH LESSONS PROPER LESSONS^ FOR THE SUNDAYS ANE HOLIDAYS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. EDITED BY THE REV. DR. WAINWRIGHT. Handsome ISmo, " Stanford & Swords have published a most beautiAil copy of the Lcstons, in a clear, le:,'iblo type, and convenient size, and elegantly bound and finished. It is a book which would make a bpuoming and exquisite present at the approaching festival sea.«ou ; while for tho.-;e who buy for personal use, the beginning of the Christian Year is au appropriate time for commencing a careful and faithful perusal of those portions of Scrip- ture, selected by tiie Church for the illustration of her doctrines, precepts, and history, and for the spiritual instruction of her members. Wherever there is a Prayer Book, there should be a copy of the Lessons."— Protestant Churchman. "It is a beautiful specimen of typography, printed on glossy paper, in ink of the deepest jet, and is bound in every sort of style to please the eye," and the divers tastes of the purchaser. It is also pqt up in cheaper shape, for general use. The : ublication of this companion to the Book of Common Prayer, in a handsome style, has Jong been a desideratum, which could not be more adequately supplied than Messrs. S. «fe S have done it. The inconvenience of havmg to turn to the calendar to find the proper lessona of the day, and then turn to the Bible to find them, has long been felt, and that inconve nience is now removed, and a valuable uid been furnished to the orderly performancfl of divino worship. Often the voice of Uic minister is too low to be distinctly heard, all over the church, while reading the lessons, and it is an advantage, under such a cir- .jumslance, to have them before the hearer, to aM him in the due understanding of that .^art of divine service, as it proceeds : and under all circumstances it is a convenience, VVe trust that the use of the beautiful and valuable book before us may come into univer- sal use throughout the Church for wkich it was so carefully and successfully prepared."— l». Y, Express. " When we say that this handsomely printed volume is edited hy the Rev. Dr. Wain- wright, we give all needful assurance that the work is carefully, as well as appropriately, done. Then as to the work itself, as a companion to the Prayer Book, at church or at bome, it is most appropriate and convenient — for in bulk smaller than that of the Bible, Jt furnishes in clear, large type, the Bilile Lessons for '>ach Sunday and holiday." Courier. "All must be acquainted with the usefulness of such a book as this, aflfordin?, as it does, a convenient nietliod for reading the portion of Scripture appointed in the calendar for Sundays and Holidays. We need, therefore, but speak of the manner in which the publishers have executed this important work. The type is sufficiently large and beau- tifully clear, the page broad and inviting, and the who'e arrangement simple and correct, The binding varies in different editions; in the one before us it is rich and elegant. It can be had in a plainer and cheaper style by those who prefer such. We wers struck on takinjf up the volume with the amount of Scripture which the Chur,;h reads in the yearly coui>e of her services. May this volume aid in making her members more cou- «tant. more faithful, and more devout students of the Holy Word." — Calendar. " Few books are issued from the American press in a better st/le than this. This «olu!iie of Proper Lessous is printed with large, clear type, ou fin? paper; and, what ia of some importance, it is substantially and beautifully bound. It is very desiratle that |he members of our con'/resratitxus should have the Lessons at hand during divine service, in order to look them over, as I hoy are read by the officiating minister. We aro there- fore glad to see a new edition of the Lessons, as it will, we trust, serve to promote this very desirable practice." — Christian Witness. Valuable Works, puhlished hij Stanford Sf Swords. WAINWRIGHT^S PRAYERS. An Order of Family Prayer for every Day in the Week. B Y THE REV. J. M. WAINWRIGHT, D. D. ASSISTANT MINISTER OF TRINITY CHURCH, NEW-VORK. One beautiful volume. VHmo. 15c. '■'From the oi)portunity we have had to exainine and use this additio;i to our list of aids to ievotioii, we are led to regard it as a very useful contribution." — G,ared th«(»?, uLou* a year after the first edition of the Family Prayers. The arrangement now adopted wil it is tiioii-riit, be fov:::- t^rr't^'iit for domestic worship; as combining within the saiu^ *olume a Munnii j:" pfdver, and portions of scriptural exposition for reading, " It maj- so.ni presumptuous in the Editor to say any thing by way of introduction te Eroductions bearing on their title-page the name of Thornton : — a name, familiar r.ot to Inglaud only, but to the world ; and indissolubly associated with our thoughts of whatevet is enlarged in Christian bmcficence, sound in religious views, and beautiful in consistency of daily practice. He will take the liberty, however, of simply saying, that in regard tc the Family Prayers, that, without at all d-f;tracting from the merit of other works of tho same descrijition, they appear to him to pieserve, in a remarkable degree, the difficult and happy medium bet veen verboseness on rhe one hand, and a cold conciseness on the other. It is believed that none can use them, without feelinrr that they impart a spirit of grati. tude and self-humiliation. They are what prayiirs should be, — rervent, and yet ])erfeclly ■imple. " The Commentary upon the Sermon on the Mount, is remarkable throughout for the profound insight into human nature whicli it manifests: for its clear exhibition of tk0 Aindamental truths of the gospel : and for the faithfulness, honesty, and at the same tuaa, die true refiaeiuent and dignity of tb«> !»-urth edition of this beautiful and tender little thing has been issued. Ever^ Earaat who has lost an engaging litUe child, will read this admirable little tract With veljr intecMt," — Albany Spectator * Valuahle Works, published hy Stanford 8f Swords. MANTES HAPPINESS OF THE BLESSED THE HAPPINESS OF THE BLESSED CONSIDERED AS TO THE PARTICULARS OF THEIR STATE ; THEIR RECOGNITION OF EACH OTHER IN THAT STATE AND ITS DIFFERENCE OF DEGREES. TO WHICH ARE ADDED MUSINGS ON THE CHURCH AND HER SERVICES. BY RICHARD M A N T , D.D., I-ORD BISHOP OF DOWN AND CONNOR. O/ie volume. 12mo. 75c. «« We would have this volume find its way into every Christian family where there is one person that can read. If scriptural truth and warm devotion can commend a book, this will not be neglected. " Bishop ftlant as a poet is not duly appreciated. Whether this arises from a distaste for the Sonnet, or from aiv idea that he has merely imitated Wordsworth, it is equally a mistake. His sonnets are generally carefully constructed, and seldom lacking in elevation of sentiment. They sometimes, it is true, are not so well compacted and pointed as the form requires, but this is owinjr to the didactic tone «hirh many of their subjects neces- sitate. Above all they are full of the genuine Andicau feelin-r which Wordsworth often does not display. The reader of the « Musinirs' will, we think, feel that this series is more animated by a Church spirit than Wordsworth's."— CAwrc/rman. " Sound in doctrine, rich in thought, beautiful in style, and devotional in its character, this work ranks among the choicest specimens of English Theological literature. It has already become endeared to thousands of Christian Churchmer, with whom, like ' Scenes in our Parish,' and the ' Christian Year,' it is a household \o\ame."— Calendar. " No Christian can read this volume witliout having his intelligent faith and hope, strengthened and confirmed. Whatever difference of opinion may exist on points of ec- clesiastical policy, or even upon doctrines, such books as this form a point of attraction where the redeemed of every Christian creed can meet in peace and harmony, and sit together at the threshold of heaven to talk of their future union where sebts and parties will be unknown. There is that in Bishop Mant's style which commands the reader's un- wearied iiiterest." — Commercial. MANTES HOR/E LITURGICyC. A GUIDE TO UNIFORMItTiX THE CELELRATION OF DIVINE SERVICE. BY THE RT. REV. RICHARD MANT, D. D., LORD BISHOP OF DOWV AND CONNOR. WITH ADDITIONS, TO ADAPT IT TO THE AMERICAN CHURCH, BY THE REV. W. D. WILSON, M. A. One Volume. 12mo. 75c. « We earnestl-y commend this volume to the attention of tiie clergy ot the Church, aa a work the want of which has been lonL' felt, particularly in this country. Bisliop Manl has ably fulfilled the task imposed upon himself, and the Notes and Add.tions of the American editir are judicious and commendable. We trust that those who are just en- tering upon their sacred calling, will e've heed to the counsels of this volume, that they may beffin ariirht, and that the beautiful fabric of our liturgy, bequeathed by the noblo army of ma rtyVs and confessors, may presei;t that beautj of uniformity which they in- tended, uudisfigured by the crude notions of those who would gild refined gold, or paint Ibe Uly." Valuable Worhs published by Stanford 4* Sicorda* BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF SOME OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED JEWISH RABBIES, TRANSLATIONS OF PORTIONS OF THEIR COMMENTARIES, AND OTHER WORKS, WITH ILLUSTRATIVE INTRODUCTIONS, AND NOTES. BY SAMUEL H. TURNER D. D., 1?K0FESS0B OF BIBLICAL LEARNING. ETC., IN THE GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. One Volume. 12mo. 75c. "The Rabbies who are the subjects of this volume, are Jarchi, Judah Hallevi, Aben Ezra, Maimonides, David Kimchi, Abarbanel, and Saadia the Gaoii, names of great emi- nence and of frequent occurrence in the writings of modern divines. Tlie brief account of them here given, accompanied with extracts from their works, will be found to be a valuable help for students of theolo-jy, and highly satisfactory to general readers, as af- fording important and instructive information not easily accessible. The want of such a work is so obvious that one is surprised that it was not sooner su})plied. " We should welcome tlie volume if it were only for the object at which it directs and professedly aims. But it has an ulterior object, which is of vastly greater importance, and which is thus intimated in the author's preface: " ' A careful n ading of Jewish books, and an uninterrupted study of the Hebrew Bible, ill connection with the Greek Testament which embodies its spiritual development, fol lowed also by inlelliirent and earnest proclamations, proving that Jesus of Nazareth is the true Messiah predicted by the Hebrew prophets, is quite a difterent thing from golden promises of natiopal supremacy and aristocratic dignity to be enjoyed in the laud of Palestine. Some indolent Jews, whose situation would probably be improved by almost any change, and some also of a better class, with warm imaginations and lively hopes may be temporarily influenced by such representations ; but on the more steady, indus- trious, and thoughtful portion of the Hebrew community, influences of a very difler-eni kind must be brought to bear. They must be made to feel that Judaism, from its very nature, could not have been intended for perpetuity, some of its judiciarj', and most of its ceremonial requisitions being only compatible vvitU a peculiar state of socjety ; that the views of the future which it developes have either already begun to open in the past advent of Messiah, and the progress and extent of his spiritual kingdom, or else are not to be hereafter expected, and consequently its prophecies are a failure ; and, that Chris- tianity, not indeed as practically exhibited by a great body of its professed advocates, but as really existing in the system of our Lord and Master, and showing itself in the heavenly diaracter of its true believers, is that new covenant and law which God declared by his holy prophets, that in due time he would substitute in the place of the earlier and lets perfect dispensation. To support such a superstructure, requires a foundation not only solidly laid in deep religious character and zeal, but also in sound Hebrew learning ; and the author is compelled to say that he cannot discern, in the signs of the times, so far as they have come under his own observation, any very clear indications of its rapid pro- gress. Man's ever changeful theories are readily embraced ; but God's Holy Word, which stands immutable, and shall so stand forever, is locked up. even to multitudes of its ex- pounders, in dead languages which they cannot understand.' " We would earnestly commend this work as one which rests the duty of the conversion of the Jews on sound principles, and points out the great advantages to be derived front the ancient Rabbies in well-conducted efforts of this nature.'' — Churchman. " It contains a great deal of interesting information concerning a class of men, of emi- nence in their day, and still regarded with veneration by the Jews, of whom, moreover the great body of our people know but little. It ought to be widely read." — Courier. " It is beyond all doubt a highly interesting and iuBtructive work, and scmethiognew in tbecurreit literature of the day."— Trwe Sun Valualle Works, published hy Stanford Sf Suords. RICHARDSON^S REASONS. The Churchman's Reasons for his Faith and Practice. VriTH AN APPENDIX ON THE DOCTRINE OF DEVELOPMENT. BY THE REV. N. S. RICHARDSON, A. M AUTHOR OF " REASONS WHV 1 AM A CHURCHMAN," &C., &C., &C Ons voluine. 12mo. 75c. CONTENTS. Chapter I— Introduction. IT— The Church a Visible Society. Ill — The Ministry Clirist's rositive Institution. IV — The Chris- tian Ministry consisting of Three Orders. V — Same subject continued VI — Same subject continued. VII — Developments of Modern Systems. VIII— The Unity of the Church, and the Sin and Evils of Schism. IX— Liturgies. X — Popular Objections against the Church answered. Appendix — Essay on the Doctrine of Development. " We are jflad to see this book. It is one of the kiud which the age requir(!s, and we are happy to believe, it is also seeking. Therf are e'lrr'ist minds and honest hearts, in every religious denomination, who see the evils grofini' oui of the divisions in Christen- dom, and who are seriously inquiring whether these thujjs ought to be. The result of such an investigation, undertaken with such a purpo-c oa^ hardly be doubtful. It will be a conviction that 'God is net the author of confusion out of order;' that He has instituted but one Body as the Church ; and that all who are not in communion with this Body, of which Christ is the head, are in what the Scnpturns call schism. Having arrived at tliis point, the vital question comes, what is the Church ? Where can be found t^hose signs of a Divinely organized Body, which, originating in the appointment of Christ* has continued to tliis day, and thus gives assurance that he has been with it according to his promise, is with it, and will continue to be with it, 'even unto the end of the world ?' To those who are seeking for instruction, that their judgment may be guided to a right deter- mination of thi« question, we recommend this limely book. The subject of it is, 'The Churo: of God; its Visibility, Ministry, Unity, and Worship.' '• We are glad to see that the reverend author has devoted one chapter to the ' Develop- ments of 3iodern Systems.' The argument derived from this subject is calculated more than any other, we think, to lead men to discover the errors and unsoundness, and insuffi- ciency of those systems. They cannot stand, in the judgment of sober-minded seekers ifter truth, with their divisions, vascillatioiis and heresies; before the Scriptural truth. Apostolic order, regular Succession, and uninterrupted continuance of the 'Holy Catholic Ch«rch.' "^Banner of the Crosa WHAT IS CRISTIANITY? BY THOMAS VOWLER SHORT, One volume. 12mo, 50c. - Indistinctness on religious subjects is a great evil, particularly to the young ; but tho» •logical clearness does not always lead to Christian edification and practical holiness. It has been the endeavor of the author to combine distinct views on the leading tenets of Christianity with that earnestness, without which religion is apt to dwindle into a mere form. He has tried to place before his readers not words only, but ideas- to give them that which might guide them in the path to heaven— to impress on them the fundam«Bta] truths of our holy faith — and to point out how this faith should show forth its effects la tke occurrences or iife." ValuahU WorJeii, pvMished hy Stanford 5f Swonh, MERCY TO BABES: A PLEA FOR THE CHRISTIAN BAPTISM OF INFANTS ADDRESSED TO THOSE WHO DENY THE Yh LIDITY OF THAT PRACTICE, UPON THE GROUNDS OF THE DOCTRINE OF BAPTISM, AND THE ETERNAL SENSE OF HOLY WRIT, AND OF THK DOMES- TIC, SOCIAL, AND RELIGIOUS NATURE OF MAN. BY THE PPK3BTTER OF THE PROTESTANT KPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THK DI0CE3K OF WISCONSIN. % One Volume, 12mo. 63c. ♦• Adams' ' Mercy for Babes' is a book of rare originality and power. It is an :ir«riiment of no ordinary cogency, well conceived, and, in the main, well put, for the right of infants to the seal of blessing in tiie sacrament of baptism. The writer eschews controversy, anil undertakes to lay down his doctrine, and prove it, on its own merits from the Bible only. He does it, and does it well. We know a case in which his end has been attained. An anxious and intelligent ' inquirer' was distressed by some of the common specious objec- tions to infant bapti.-'m, which are .«o successful with the many who have neither ability nor inclination to examine thoroughly into their validity. 'Mercy for Babes,' was recom- mended, and the result was perfect satisfaction. The ground was cut up beneath the con- troversial s-tateraenls that had given trouble, and they lost all their value. The literal truth of Scripture destroyed them. They were not opposed — not refuted — I here was no room left for them. Truth, exhibited by no mealy-mouthed assertor, but with honest plainness p.nd earnestness, took hold of the mind, convinced it, preoccupied it, and left no room for adverse sophistry and false assertion. "But one need not be in perplexity because of anti-paedo-baptist assaults on the Church's love for little children, to profit by Mr. Adams' book. Not for many a day have we met with one that will better repay any reader for his trouble and time laid out in giving it a ctireful perusol. It is most clearly written under a sense of want. The writer felt that he had something to say which had not yet been said as he could say it, and that now was the time to give it utterance. He has done so in unstudied honest plainness, and has shown that he was ri^ht. Late years have brought out several good works on branches of the pasdo-baplist question; this is the first that has touched the roof," — Church Times. "We have peculiar pleasure in announcing the work whose title we have given above in full, and which conveys a very accurate idea of the peculiar nature of the track which the author has chosen to pursue. He leaves untouched many of the branches of the argu- ment for the baptism of infants which have already been ably and sufficiently discussed by preceding writers, and confines himself to what he v/ell calls ' the grand question^ — its moral, religious, domestic, and social considerations; rightly judging that when this ii felt as it should be, minor questions will be easily agreed upon. He is evidently in earnest; he writes from the heart: and only seeks readers who are equally in earnest, and who see and fi-el the deep and solemn importance of the subject. It is all the more valuable as «a book writt;n for plain people, and for common sense people;' and that the author •comes forward, not as a controversialist to attack others, or to enter into discussion with any champion of the opposite views.' 'This,' he says, 'is not his object — his purpose is far different; he wishes to lay clearly and plainly before those who doubt or deny infant baptism, t!»e giounds for his own belief that are to be found in tne Scripture: — to lay it before them as persons that have a real and \ital interest in it as professing- Christians US persons, too, that have the Biblo in their hands, are bound to search for the truth there,' "—Ban;tcr o/tAe Cross Valuable Works, published by Stanford c^- Swords, H A¥ K S T N E : ATALE OF AND FOR ENGLAND IN 184— FBOM THE THIRD LONDON EDITION. EDITED BY THE REY. DR. WILLIAMS, OF SCHENECTADY. 2 vols. 12mo. $1 50. " We have not, for years, found ourselves so deeply absorbed in the peruse of any work of fiction. A tale of more profound and sustained interest we have never mut. The skill with which incident after incident is made to sustain the attention ; and with which moral and religious truths of the highest moment are interwoven without effort or affecta tion ; the rich and exhaustless variety of thought, and imaophy which breathes in every page, and brings out such a noble moral throughout — ali appear to us to place this work on so high an elevation, that we should not find it easy to point to any work of fiction charicler- ized by so great a combination of excellencies. Some of the scenes appear to us, not inferior in power to the very best of Walter S(;ntt. The discovery by Margaret of Wheeler's wickedness ; the escape of Villiers and Bentley from the destruction n)editated oy Pearce; the attack of the mob on the inn, and its defence by Villiers; the death of Wheeler; the recovery of the lost child by Villiers, and his repentance ; have been, we think, very rarely equalled. Of the principles of the woik as an expression of Church principles, we cannot speak too highly. The comprehensiveness and deptn of its views — the noble examples which it presents; the sinvkstone,' which has leached a third edition in England, and is soon, we are informed, to be republished in this country. It is an anonymous publication, biit, unless there be two minds of precisely the same character and calibre, we cannot be. mistaken when we rlaini for it the patornity of the learned and accomplished author of 'Cliristian Morals' and 'Christian Politics.' " — Okarleston Qospel Messing er Valuable V/orhs^ publlsJied by Stanford 4* Srwrds, MARK WILTON; >WA^, OR, THE MERCHANT'S CLERK. BY THE REV. CHARLES B. TAYLER, AUTHOK OP " LADY MABV," " MARGARET," " RECORDS OF A GOOD MAN'S LIFE," KTa One liandsGme volume, 12rao. 75c. " An excellent book to placo in the hands of youn? men. Mr. Tayler is a ^ood writer nnd a fine preacher. Devoted to the service of his Master, he strives both by his pen and tongue to guard the unwary, instruct the ijrnorant, direct the doubtful, reclaim the wan derer, and ;^uide the .«teps of all into the ptths of peace. This volume teaches the ini portaiice of resisting sin, by showing tlie dilHculties and sorrows which a compliance with its temptations involve. — Episcopal Recorder. " This volume, in tlie deep interest which its perusal excites, is not inferior to the all thor's ' Records of a Good Man's Life,' which, as every reader linows, is awarding to it very high praise. The pictures of individuals and families are so life-like, the various shades of character so finely and accurately drawn, that the reader's attention is rivetted from first to last. The narrative is autobiographical, and is written with such an air of candor, and interspersed with reflections so natural to the incidents, that it is really difS cult to divest one's self of the inipres-ion that it is truth and not fiction. In one respect we think ' Mark Wilton ' is even superior to the author's former productions — the four fold phase of character exhibited in the narrative is preserved with astonishing fidelity and clearness. These urc exemplified in the character of a family of high worldly intiig- nty; of another, whose whole domestic discipline is regulated by the elevated precepts of Christian principle ; of a \oung m.an, a fellow clerk of Wilton's, remarkable for his decision and firmness of Christian character; and of 3Iark Wilton, easily seduced from virtue, lackin;: strength to resist example and vicious influences, often wanderin? far from rectitude, yet again impulsive for good when arrested in his downward path. The subor- dinate characters serve to make apparent these distinctions We would that the book were carefully read by all for whom it is especially designed — the clerks in a great city. * N. Y. Commercial Advertiszr