pate the day, when Jesus shall come in the clouds of heaven, surrounded with the ten thousands of his saints? Will it be a transporting sight, to see Abel and Enoch, and all our dear brethren and sisters, who lived before the flood; and all the holy patriarchs, who lived before Moses; followed by the millions of Israel, who died in the same faith under the ancient dispensation? And behold, they are intimately united with the millions of the Christian world! All these shall point to the same Redeemer, and sing, with heavenly harmony, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches, and wisdom and strength, and honour and glory, and blessing." Rev. v. 12. Behold, Christians, the blessed assembly! They are indeed happy. But without the full salvation of the whole mystical body of Christ, they cannot be made perfect. They wait for us. It was said to them, who had been slain for the testimony of Jesus, that they should rest for a season, until their fellow servants should pass through the same trials. Rev. vi. 11. For us, then, O Christian brethren, the saints in heaven are waiting. They cry, "How long, O Lord, holy and true." Let us start from our slumbers, trim our lamps, gird up our loins, and press towards the glorious prize! And since the salvation of every member, is inseparably united with the general welfare; so that one mighty portion of the church universal, cannot be made perfect without the other: O how solicitous ought we to be to maintain the peace and harmony of the whole! "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Mat. v. 9. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from among us with all malice; and let us be kindly affectioned, one to another; forgiving one another, and loving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven us." Eph. iv. 31.

Come, nominal Christians, behold your holy calling. Is it not time for you to feel and manifest this holy union? Have you not been "eating for yourselves, and drinking for yourselves ?" Zech. vii. 6. When you participated in the Lord's supper, was it to enter into union and communion with the whole church of God, through Jesus Christ the covenant head? Or, was it to secure your own personal salvation? Do you love Abel and Enoch, as well as Peter and Paul? Are the children of God, which are scattered abroad, dear to your souls? Then, "Cast aside every weight," "count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus your Lord," and "strive to enter in at the straight gate."

Careless sinners: All these things appear to you, like an idle tale. Just so it was with the inhabitants of Sodom. Lot cried, "up, get ye out of this place; for God will destroy it with fire and brimstone." But they thought it all an idle tale. Well, as surely as you slight and despise the church of God, and neglect to enter into his holy covenant, you shall be set on his left hand, at the day of judgment, and shall hear that dreadful sentence, addressed to you personally: "Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." You may now boast that you belong to no church; and that will enter into no enyou gagements with any. But is not this saying, "Let us break his bands asunder, and cast his cords from us ?" Psal. ii. 3. "We will not have this man to reign over us;" was the language of his ancient foes. Luke xix. 14. But those enemies have long felt his righteous judgments; and so must you. There is no safety, but in covenant with God. For when he comes to judge the world, he will say, "Gather my saints together unto me; those who have made a covenant with me by

sacrifice." Psal. 1. 5. All others will be driven away in their wickedness. But, perhaps, you will say, the diversity of the several branches of the church is so great, that you know not which to join; and so you remain separate from all. Now, this is the very plea, which will condemn you before God. Has he permitted so much variety in his church? Is the door left so wide? and can you not find the way into the church universal? It is evidently, because you desire an excuse. You are not willing to serve God any where. You do not love any of his people, of any denomination. Therefore your pretended excuse, will be the ground of your final sentence, and hopeless misery. "Live without

Christ, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger from the covenants of promise, and without God in the world," a few days longer, and the door of mercy will be shut; and you must live without God for ever.

Dear young people: You are the "lambs of the flock." How afflictive to the shepherd, to see the lion and the bear, tearing away his lambs! Such is the sorrow of the shepherd, whom God has set to watch and feed his spiritual flock. He sees you leaving the fold, the church, and going astray, into the world. Can you find better company than that of the saints, who are styled the excellent of earth? Are satan, and his servants, better company than Christ and his people. Beware what you do, O young people; for "when once the master of the house has risen up, and hath shut to the door," you are undone for ever.

Come then, follow the faith of Moses, and of the whole church of God. Determine to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Then you will be joined in one spirit and hope of your calling, with all the Israel of God. And with them, in due season you will be made perfect.

BRIEF THOUGHTS ON BAPTISM.

That WATER BAPTISM was practised at the commencement of the Christian dispensation in conformity to divine appointment, cannot be denied. "I baptize with water," said John, the forerunner of our Lord, to the Jews, John i. 26; and that his baptism was from heaven is certain from the commission under which he was acting, as well as from the question proposed by our Saviour to the chief priests and elders of the people concerning its origin. Mat. xxi. 25. Jesus Christ himself was baptized by John; and afterwards, in the course of his ministry, administered the same heavenly Rabbi," said some to John, "he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold the same baptizeth; and all men come to him." John iii. 26.

rite. 66

Having risen from the dead, the Redeemer gave to his apostles a commission to baptize as well as to preach the gospel. Mat. xxviii. 19. In execution of their commission they administered this sacred rite to all their converts. On the memorable day of Pentecost, three thousand were added to the church by baptism; for it is expressly stated in Acts ii. 41, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized." Philip preached the gospel to the people of Samaria, and baptized those who professed to believe, "both men and women." Chap. viii. 12. Among the number that received this Christian ordinance at his hand was Simon Magus, who had made a profession of faith in Christ, but was afterwards discovered by Peter to be "in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." Chap. viii. 13, 23. Paul was baptized by Ananias, who had been sent for that purpose by the Lord Jesus. Chap. ix. 18. Peter baptized Cornelius and his friends, to whom the Holy Spirit had been given. Chap. x. 48. Lydia and her household were baptized by Paul.

Chap. xvi. 15. The jailer and his family were baptized by Paul and Silas. Chap. xvi. 33. "Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized," by the great apostle. Chap. xviii. 8. At Ephesus too he baptized certain disciples. Chap. xix. 5. The Roman Christians were baptized. Rom. vi. 3, 4. That the Corinthians were baptized is manifest from a passage already cited, and is still further evident from what Paul says in his first epistle in his first epistle to them. Chap. i. 13, 16, 17.

99

From these texts it appears, that both Peter and Paul, apostles of Jesus Christ, were in the constant practice of baptizing their converts. That the baptism which they administered was water baptism is unquestionable. "Can any man, said Peter in reference to the centurion and his friends, "forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we ?" Paul undoubtedly spoke of water baptism, and not of the baptism of the Spirit, when he said, "Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel." The practice of the other apostles, it is certain accorded with the practice of these two illustrious men, who stood pre-eminent among their associates: for they all acted under the same commission from Jesus Christ to evangelize and baptize the nations. The epistle to the Corinthians was written, it is computed by some, about the 60th year of the Christian æra, and that to the Romans in the 61st; and from the dates of these epistles we learn, that the administration of water baptism was certainly continued in the church by apostolic men, nearly twenty years after the ascension of our blessed Lord into heaven.

From this long continued practice of the apostles, it is manifest that they understood their commission as requiring the administration of water baptism; and it ought to be considered as being decisive of the question relating to the perpetuity

of this ordinance. But if the uniform practice of apostolic men be not sufficient to settle it, a doubt should not remain, when we consider the words in which the commission is stated. The commission extends to all nations, not only those which existed in the first ages of Christianity, but nations then unborn, and nations that shall still rise into existence in future ages of the world; for if this be not the meaning of the commission, there is no authority given by the Head of the church to ministers of the present day to preach his gospel. That this is the true meaning of it, and that it was intended to comprehend the ministry in every age, is manifest from the promise connected with it, which runs parallel with time: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." The commission must be co-extensive with the promise given, to encourage the apostles and their successors in discharging the duties enjoined by it; and as the promise reaches to the end of the world, so must the commission. But the commission prescribes the administration of water baptism; consequently this Christian ordinance must be continued in the church to the end of the world.

Yet baptism has been called a carnal ordinance, a mere Jewish rite! How mistaken are they who use this unwarrantable language! The apostles for a time tolerated the observance of the Mosaic ritual by their converts from among the Jewish people. But so far from requiring Gentile Christians to submit to circumcision and other positive institutions of Moses, they, in a solemn assembly, convened for deliberating on the subject, pronounced it as their judgment that they were under no obligation to observe them. Acts xv. 4, 5, 22-29. Yet these founders of the Christian church did command Gentile, as well as Jewish, believers to be baptized; and uniformly, in the whole

course of their ministry, administered this Christian ordinance to their converts. And shall baptism be called a mere Jewish rite? that ordinance which was instituted by Jesus Christ, just before he ascended into heaven? that ordinance which he commanded his apostles and their successors to administer, in a commission that will not expire till the conflagration of this world?

But, it is insisted, that baptism by water has been abolished. When? we demand, and by whose authority? It is certain that no authority inferior to that of Jesus Christ, by whom it was instituted, was competent to set it aside. Now, if he has abolished his own ordinance, let the passage of sacred scripture be produced that certifies the fact. A record of its institution has been made in the statute book of his kingdom; and if it has been annulled, an annunciation of his supreme will must have been given, and a record of it must be found in the same book. Produce the passage, and wé submit to his authority. Shall we be referred to the declaration of Paul?"Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel." And can any imagine the apostle really meant, that he had received no commission from Christ to administer baptism? If this were his meaning, why did he administer it at all? That he did baptize, and even some of the Corinthians, is certain from the context of that very passage; for he says expressly, "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanus; besides, I know not whether I baptized any other." 1 Cor. i. 13-16. Those who urge this text as implying that, in Paul's opinion, baptism was a rite unworthy of regard, find no difficulty in explaining very different

ly another text in which a similar phrase is used. "Labour not for the meat that perisheth," says our Lord, "but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." John vi. 27. Now, they never interpret this command, so as to believe that Christ absolutely forbids them to labour for their daily bread. They well know that he enjoins nothing more than that a preference should be given to heavenly objects, and that we should seek them with supreme desire. How is it then that they imagine Paul meant to assert absolutely that he had no commission from Christ to baptize, when he tells us in this very chapter that he had baptized several of the Corinthians? Surely he would not have administered baptism to any, if it had been abolished, or if the observance of it had not been enjoined on the church, or if he had not been commissioned to apply it to suitable subjects. In our apprehension there is no difficulty in understanding the apostle. We believe he only meant to exalt the preaching of the gospel in importance above a positive institution; and to inform the Corinthians that he regarded the publication of the glad tidings of salvation as his chief business, in comparison with which the administration of baptism was in his view a matter of inferior consideration. He therefore seems to have left the latter duty to others, that he might have more time for attending to the former. Yet he did not wholly neglect the other, but as circumstances required applied baptismal water with his own hands to some of his converts.

It will be said, perhaps, that baptism was designed only to answer a temporary purpose, and to continue in use only till the coming of our Lord. If the Saviour's second coming to judge the world be meant, we cordially acquiesce in the remark; for then we believe this and all other institutions that pertain to the Christian dispensation will be

abolished, and a new and nobler form of worship, suited to the eternal state, and the light and glory of heaven, will be established. But if any other coming of our Lord be intended we dissent from the remark as unfounded. Let any other be selected, and it can be proved that baptism was not annulled by the event. Did Christ come when he sent down the promise of the Father, and poured out his Spirit on his little church? Baptism was practised by the apostles long after that memorable day. Did our Lord come, when he destroyed both the civil and ecclesiastical state of the Jewish people; when, by the destruction of their temple, he put it out of their power to observe the ceremonies appointed by Moses? What influence could that tremendous judgment have on Christian baptism? This ordinance constituted no part of the Jewish religion; and therefore it remained uninjured when the whole fabric of Mosaic institutions and worship was overthrown.

Still, however, it is asserted, that the present dispensation is too spiritual to admit of the perpetuity of water baptism. That it is far more simple and spiritual than the Jewish economy, and that it is freed from that burdensome ritual which was formerly prescribed to the church, is thankfully recognised. But it certainly is not more spiritual, than the great author of it was pleased to make it; nor has it been so refined as to be suited only to disembodied spirits. Man, while he remains in the body, requires some form in which he may do homage to his Creator with the inferior part of his nature. Accordingly we find, that although we are required to worship God in spirit, it is made our duty to assemble together, that we may bow before the Lord in the great congregation and sing his praises. Spiritual as is the present dispensation, it is not incompatible with the perpetual use of water baptism. We have proved

that it was instituted by Christ, and that for nearly twenty years after the commencement of this dispensation it was certainly practised by the apostles; and it has been shown that no passage annulling the ordinance can be produced from the sacred scriptures; and that the application of it is enjoined on the ministry in a commission reaching to the end of time. Had this ordinance been of so carnal a nature as some allege, and so inconsistent with the spirituality of the Christian dispensation, it would not have been instituted at the commencement of it ; much less would it have been permitted to continue during that period, when the Holy Spirit was shed down on the church in the largest measure, and when the disciples of our Lord enjoyed his richest gifts, and felt the power of his grace in the highest degree.

It has been rashly asserted, that if a person have received the baptism of the Spirit, he needs not the baptism of water. The apostle Peter did not think so; for when "the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word,” and his Jewish companions "were astonished" at the event, he immediately inferred the right of Cornelius and his friends to baptism; and said, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Acts x. 47, 48. The fact is there is no inconsistency between this Christian rite and the spirituality of the present dispensation. Had there been an incompatibility between them, baptism would not have been appointed by our Lord, nor would his holy apostles have administered it to primitive Christians. The first disciples of our Lord, men filled with the Holy Ghost, received this ordinance; and surely if they submitted to it, regarding it at once as a duty and a privilege, who are we, degenerate successors in the hea