Design of the Sacrament.

be saved in him; how we may become truly 'children of the kingdom,' and 'elect through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience.' He is showing what we must do and be, that we may be his disciples here on earth, and 'heirs, through hope, of his everlasting kingdom.' For this, we must not only be visibly in the kingdom of God, but the kingdom of God must be in us; we must be renewed in the spirit of our minds. If they who have been baptized, when they arrive at years of discretion, have not repentance and faith, and do not walk in the commandments of God, they are not 'living members of the church.' They do not comply with the requirements of the baptismal covenant, which is 'truly repenting, and coming unto him by faith;' they are like Simon (who had just been baptized) in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity;' and except they repent (which Peter exhorted Simon to do) they cannot enter into the church of the first born which are written in heaven.' On the other hand, many who have not been baptized, have repentance and faith, and we dare not deny that such may be saved in Christ; but we have not the full assurance that they will be saved.* There is not the token or appointed sign that their sins are forgiven, and that they are accepted of God, till they are born of water,—til} they have received that sacrament which takes them into the fellowship of Christ's religion.' God's covenant with them is not visibly sealed; the promise which the Lord sends us to preach is, 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.' If they who believe neglect to be baptized, their faith must be erroneous or imperfect: how far God may excuse their neglect, is not for us positively to say. It is enough for us to know that he requires both. Entering the visible church will not save us, without the birth of the spirit: and on the other hand, to say that our faith will save us, though we refuse to

*The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper our church very charitably teaches us not to look upon as indispensably, but generally necessary. Out of which general necessity, we are to except those particular cases, where believers in Christ, either have not the means of performing their duty in respect to the sacraments, or are innocently ignorant of it, or even excusably mistaken about it." Archbishop Secker, vol. IV. Lect. 35, p. 481.

"Baptism is not of such absolute necessity as a means that none can be saved without it. We must distinguish between being inevitably deprived of the opportunity of Baptism and a wilful contempt of it." Bishop Hopkins, vol. II. p. 427.

Who are Christians.

enter his visible church, is to make ourselves wiser than God. He requires both; and what God has joined together, it is not for man to put asunder. To be christians indeed;—to be in covenant with God, to be members of his church militant, and his church triumphant, we must be born of water and of the spirit; according to his merciful dispensation in Jesus Christ, he saves us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.'-Though we need no human authority to confirm the truth of God's word, it is pleasing to find how accurately our church receives what her Lord has taught. She is careful to urge upon her members the impor tance of submitting to the righteousness of God;-of receiving baptism; of becoming members of the visible church; that what Christ has ordained, cannot, without folly and peril, be neglected. And she is no less faithful in teaching the indispensable necessity of that renovation of heart which baptism represents. To the great injury of our church and hindrance of our labour, it is often said, whether from ignorance or unfriendliness I presume not to judge, that we do not teach the doctrines of the cross, and especially the neces sity of a spiritual renovation: that we ascribe too much to the outward form, and too little to divine grace. But you who are acquainted with the standards of our church,-with her Catechism, and Articles, and Homilies, must know that she teaches, as clearly as language can express it, that neither Baptism nor the Lord's Supper have a wholesome effect, except in such as worthily receive them,-that they who receive them without true faith and right motives are not benefitted. He who comes to the Lord's Supper, without true charity, does not spiritually take and receive the body and blood of Christ; neither are we benefitted by baptism, except we have repentance, whereby we forsake sin, and faith, whereby we steadfastly believe the promises of God made to us in that sacrament.' Her twenty-seventh Article says that Baptism is not only a sign of profession distinguishing christians from others, but is a sign of regeneration, or new birth; thus making a distinction between the new birth and a mere change of state. This Article says further, that 'the promise of forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God, by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed in baptism: that this sacrament is a visible repre

Baptism-its signification.

sentation of invisible things; and if it were not so, it would not be a sacrament. The person who worthily receives baptism has repentance and faith, and of course has a new heart and a new spirit before he receives that sacrament. The renewal is not effected, but signified and represented, in the sacrament. Before baptism, your sins may have been forgiven; but in baptism, that great mercy is officially declared is visibly sealed. This sacrament too, like all other christian ordinances, when rightly used, is blest as a means of obtaining God's sanctifying benediction. 'Faith is confirmed and grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God.' The right use of both sacraments tends to increase and confirm the inward and spiritual graces which the outward signs represent. Baptism represents spiritual regeneration, and not the less because the heart may have been renewed by faith, months or years before. It may too be, and we fear it not unfrequently is the case, that a person is baptized when he has not repentance and faith. If such an one should, years after, be awakened to righteousness, and turn to God, he need not, and he ought not, to be baptized again. He has been born of water; his baptism already received, has made him a member of the visible Church; and his conversion has made him a member of the mystical Church. And being thus born of water and of the Spirit, though the baptism was first, he may look back to that sign before received, as a comforting assurance of God's mercy and acceptance. If Simon, who was baptized by Philip, had, as Peter exhorted him, repented and been converted, he would not, we may well believe, have been re-baptized. In the case of infants, it may be that grace sometimes commences at the moment of baptism. In what instances it does so, and to what degree the child is sanctified, is known to God only, and is a point which I dare not decide. In adults certainly, sanctification should commence before baptism; and by a right use of the sacrament it will be increased. If like Simon, any are baptized while unrenewed in heart, how long God will wait for their repentance; and whether the evil of their heart will ever be forgiven is a subject of awful consideration.-This, I conceive, is the doctrine of our Saviour and of his church on this momentous subject. That the renovation of the heart,

Baptism a Symbol of Regeneration.

by the spirit of God, figuratively called a birth, or new creation, is represented, or symbolized in baptism, or the birth of water: but the thing signified, the actual change, may, and probably in most instances, does take place, either before, or after, baptism. And though it should never take place; though a baptized person should remain impenitent to the hour of his death, still God's mercy was exhibited to him in that sacrament. And if, on the contrary, he should repent and turn to God, he need not be again baptized. Such is often the case of those baptized in childhood, and sometimes of those who were baptized in riper years. In this sense it is, or according to this doctrine, that in our articles, baptism is called the sign and seal of regeneration: alluding to a deed of conveyance which is not itself the estate, but an evidence of property. So baptism is not itself the change it represents, but is a symbol of what we profess, and what we ought to be. As a deed may be executed with solemn formality, and yet through some defect or incapacity, the grantee may never possess the estate: so Baptism, though performed by an authorized minister, and in "the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," will not save those whose hearts are worldly and their minds unrenewed. Although the church, in her Confirmation office, speaks of those baptized persons who come to that rite, as being born both of the water and of the Spirit, and of course that God has given them forgivensss of all their sins,' her own standards and repeated declarations clearly show that this language is used in the supposition that they who come to be confirmed are sincere; that they have repentance and faith, and intend, by God's grace, to walk in newness of life. This language of charity, in regard to the effects of baptism, is grounded on the gracious exhibitions of God's mercy in that sacrament. We pretend not to judge the heart, or to say positively of any one that he is actually renewed in the spirit of his mind, and his sins certainly forgiven: we mean rather to thank God for his merci. ful goodness to sinful men, revealed in his word, and sealed in Baptism. God is faithful, and his promise he will keep and perform. And in administering these holy ordinances, we proceed on the supposition that the person or child baptized, possessed, or in a time accepted, will possess the requi

Importance of Baptism.

site qualifications: and that they who are confirmed, sincerely intend, as God shall give them grace and strength, to fulfil their part of the baptismal covenant. This then is your Saviour's doctrine; that you should be baptized for the remis sion of sins;' and that your minds must be renewed by repentance and faith, before you can truly enter his kingdom; before you can be members both of the church visible and the Church mystical, and have a good hope of salvation through him.

"3. In our improvement then, first, let the importance of baptism be duly considered. Though the renewal of the heart is the most necessary, let us not pretend to be wiser than our Saviour Christ; he has given you no promise of salvation in him till you are born of water; and how can we reasonably hope that we are truly members of his mystical Church, while we refuse to enter his visible kingdom. His word which we are commanded to preach is, 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. You ought most thankfully to receive this sign of his pardon and acceptance, which God so mercifully offers. While you reject it, how can you be confident that you are accepted with him? While you remain unbaptized, God's covenant to save you is not sealed. We do not presume to say that God will not save you without the birth of the water; but you hear what your Saviour in the text says. If you are children of God without this sacrament, surely you are not obedient children.-Suppose, for illustration, you have a kind father who offers to give you an estate. In his intentions and good will it is yours; but there is no legal evidence of its being your property till a deed is delivered. Now if from day to day, and from year to year, you should refuse or neglect to take the deed, you could not say that the estate is yours. Such is the use of baptism. But there is an opposite error to be avoided. We must not be content with the outward form, but endeavor chiefly to obtain the inward part or thing signified; the renewing of the Holy Ghost. By baptism itself we are, indeed, taught the necessity of this inward change. It signifies, as St. Paul says, 'that as Christ was raised from the dead, so we should walk in newness of life.' The evidence of our sanctification or change of heart, is our avoiding what is sinful; our love to