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He is King in Zion. "All power," said the man of God may be perfect, throughly he, just before his ascension, “is given furnished unto all good works." This is unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye the true doctrine concerning the sufficiency therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing of the word of God, as a rule of belief and them in the name of the Father, and of conduct. In the observance of infant bapthe Son, and of the Holy Ghost. He that tism, men wholly depart from this docbelieveth and is baptized shall be saved.” trine. They practically say, “ The ScripInstead of obeying this commandment, tures do not contain all things to be be. Pædo-Baptists perform on helpless babes a lieved and followed; some matters were ceremony of human invention. Is this left to the discretion of the Church in after anything less than disobedience ? Is it ages; we may adopt ceremonies of which 10t calculated to bring into contempt the there is no mention in the Bible; and for zdicts of our royal Lord ? What would a these ceremonies we may set aside the remonarch think of a province that substi- | vealed law.” Whatever the advocates of tuted for national law its own regulations ? | infant baptism may say to the contrary In what light would a commander regard (and many I know would repudiate such i regiment that neglected his orders, and language, and profess to obey the teach.n their room obeyed the instructions of ings of Scripture), they do inevitably lay

subaltern ? Or, how would a parent look themselves open to the charge of throwing ipon the conduct of a child who made discredit on the Divine word. There is, ight of his wishes and hearkened to the as we have seen, no reference to their pracoice of a stranger ? And how must our tice in that word: their authority, whatDivine Master feel insulted and grieved at ever it may be, is independent of the Bible, he conduct of those who, in opposition to and in opposition to it. Full well they is plainly expressed will, neglect the reject the commandment of God, that they aptism of believers, and practise in its may keep their own tradition. Hence it tead a senseless rite on unconscious babes ? is, that in controversy with Romanists, uch conduct, while it expresses an ex those Protestants who advocate infant bapsting disregard for the authority of Christ, tism have no chance of a fair and full vicjust also tend to strengthen that disre tory. Romanists are alive to this, and ard, and will lead to the manifestation of never fail to press them sorely on this i in other forms. Earnestly would I point. When the Protestant champion ress this view of the matter on those confidently exclaims, “The Bible, and the hristians who uphold this tradition. Bible only, is the religion of Protestants," on are neglecting your Lord's command. his Popish antagonist soon makes it appear ou are, in this particular, despising his that this is an empty boast. “Pray,” says uthority. You are in a state of rebellion he, “ if you have no other authority than gainst him. You are putting the tradition the Bible, will you show me where, bef fallible, sinful men in the place of an tween its two covers, you find any warrant rdinance instituted by the Son of God. It | for infant baptism?" And our Protest.

impossible for you to do this without ant friend can find none. It is impossible jury to yourselves, danger to others, and to defend infant baptism on Scriptural

isult to the Lawgiver. Let me entreat grounds. It can be maintained only by cou no longer to reject the command closing the Bible, and opening the Fathers; tent of God, that ye may keep your own by despising the testimony of God, and adition."

hearkening to the opinions of man; by imTobserve, further, that infant baptiem peaching the sufficiency of Holy Scripture, unds to lessen the respect of men for the and elevating to equal authority with it criptures, as a rule of faith and practice. the uninspired writings of human teachers. Holy Scripture containeth all things Let me urge those who are Pædo-Baptists ecessary to salvation; so that whatsoever to look at the question in this light. By ? not read therein, nor may be proved your profession of entire submission to the hereby, is not to be required of any man, will of God; by your verbal acknowhat it should be believed as an article of ledgment of its sufficiency as a rule of he faith, or be thought requisite or neces faith and practice; by your desire to ary to salvation.” “Ali Scripture is uphold the supremacy and authority of iven by inspiration of God, and is pro that rule against all impugners and adver. avle for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- | saries; by your concern

saries ; by your concern to display con:lon, for instruction in righteousness; that | sistency between your professions and

your actions, your creed and your con- | tism," says John Wesley, “ we who'ate by duct-I beseech you to examine afresh the nature the children of wrath are made the foundation on which you rest. May He children of God.” “In all ages the outwho giveth light to them that seek it, give ward baptism is a means of the inward." you to see that you are “making the The English Episcopal Church teaches the word of God of none effect through your same error in the Book of Common Práyer. tradition"!

In answer to the question in the Catechism, Once more, I remark that infant baptism “Who gave you this name?” the person tends to deceive and ruin the souls of men. catechised is instructed to say, “My god. It is an error that is most prolific in breed fathers and godmothers' in my baptism; ing other errors. I have heard its advo | wherein I was made a member of Christ, cates sometimes say, when they have been the child of God, and an inheritor of the pushed into a corner by an opponent, and kingdom of heaven." Is there no harm in have not known what reply to offer to his teaching men that God can be served' by arguments, “Well, after all, it is a nice proxy? Yet this is taught by persons upservice; and there can be no harm in it."' holding infant baptism. Is there no harm It may be "a nice service” for the parent | in confounding the Church and the world whose maternal pride is gratified, for the together, when Christ has taught that they nurse who receives a présent, and the cler- should be carefully kept separate ? Yet gyman who gets his fee; but certainly it is infant baptism does this harm. It is not not a very nice service” for the poor, per uncharitable to say that thousands, even in secuted baby, whose piteous cries are na this privileged land, delude themselves to ture's protest against the absurd ceremony. their eternal ruin, with the idea that their And as to saying, “There can be no harm baptism ia infancy is their passport to in it," why, there is nothing but harm in the skies. I would affectionately urge it. Is there no harm in setting up the this view of the subject on the attention authority of fathers and councils against of my Pædo-Baptist brethren. Ask yourthe authority of Christ? Is there no harm selves how far you are responsible for the in reflecting on the sufficiency of Holy | injury done by your neglect of the ordiScripture ? Yet, as we have shown, infant rance instituted by Christ, and your adopbaptism does this. Is there no harm in tion of the ceremony substituted in its teaching persons that grace is hereditary, room. Rest assured that the ruin wrought and in some sort descends from father to by your rejection of the commandment of eon ? Yet the advocates of infant baptism | God, that ye may keep your own tradition, do this. Hearken to Dr. Campbell, one of defies all calculation." the ablest men among our English Congre I must now conclude. I have spoken gationalists, and one of the most influential honestly, plainly, earnestly; yet I have leaders in that body: “ The visible Church spoken in love. I am jealous for the honour under the Gospel contains all that profess of Christ, and for the authority of his law. the true religion, together with their chil. It is always incumbent on those who prodren. The seed and posterity of the faith fess to be Christians to walk according to ful, born within the Church, have, by their Christ's rule: the circumstances of the birth, interest in the covenant, and have Church in our times press this duty upon us right to the seal of it and to the outward with more than ordinary force. It behoves privileges of the Church under the Gospel. us to make good our old Protestant watchBeing baptized, these children do renounce word. Let it be no longer with any of us and fight against the devil, the world, and an empty boast. Let us all henceforth so the flesh. They are Christians, and fede. act, that the charge preferred by the Lord rally holy, and, therefore, they are bap against the scribes and Pharisees may not tized.” Is there no harm in teaching men be applicable to us, “Full well ye reject the that the application of water to the body commandment of God, that ye may keer benefits the soul? This harm is done by your own tradition." the advocates of infant baptism. “By bap

JESUS WOUNDED.

BY THE LATE REV. JÁMES SMITH. TAE strongest and tenderest love is often the most deeply wounded. The finest minds suffer most. Whoever loved like Jesus! Whoever was wounded like him ? literally in the days of his flesh, figuratively or spiritually since he has gone to glory. Hence the language of the prophet is most appropriate to him, whether originally intended for him or no, I was wounded in the house of my friends(Zech. xiii. 6).

THE PARTIES COMPLAINED OF. My friends." All who call themselves Christians profess to be the friends of Jesus. But his real friends are they, and only they, who receive his testimony; the testimony he bears to his own dignity, work, and love ; and the testimony he bears to his Father's grace, will, and mercy. This testimony, so plainly borne, and so solemnly confirmed, must be received into the heart, and those who so receive it set to their seal that God is true. Such rest on his sacrifice. They renounce all other dependence, and build on Christ alone. They trust to what he has done and suffered, and to that only, for the pardon of sin, acceptance with God, and everlasting salvation. They rejoice in his name. It is precious to them. They love the very sound of it. If they plead with God, they plead it. If they sing & song of praise, they sing of it. If they converse together, they converse of it; and their sweetest meditations are on it. They renounce all for his sake : their own righteousness, the love of friends, the esteem of the world, their sinful practices, those things which were pleasant as a right eye, or useful as a right hand. They give up all to him, and are prepared to give up all for him. They rule their lives by his word. They do not walk at random, nor make even conscience their guide. For conscience, unless thoroughly enlightened by God's truth, cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus, and made and kept tender by the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit, is a very unsafe and uncertain rule. The precepts of the Gospel, and the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, form the most sure, safe, and certain rule for a believer. All, then, who profess to receive the Saviour's testimony, to rest on his sacrifice, to rejoice in his name, to renounce all for his sake, and to rule their lives by his word, are considered the friends of Jesus.

THE PARTY COMPLAINING. This is the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the only party who never ought to have reason to complain, and who never would complain without a reason. Yet no one has such cause ; for daily, hourly, is he wounded in the house of his friends. Yet he is the personification of love. Love in all its fulness, tenderness, and glory, dwells in him, and is represented by him. He is emphatically love, and he never had one feeling in his heart towards Us, nor dropped one word from his lips to us, nor did anything in his dealings with us, but what flowed from love. Love reigns in his heart, looks through his eyes, speaks with his tongue, and works with his hands. He is the perfect pattern of friendship. He has the love, power, wisdom, and constancy necessary to constitute a pattern of friendship. His love is infinite, his power is omnipotence, his wisdom is perfect, and his will never changes. He is in one mind, and none can turn him. “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.” He calls his people friends, and always treats them as friends. He is the pitying High Priest of his Church. Full of sympathy, as he is full of love, touched with the feeling of our infirmities, having suffered in all points like his people, he is able to succour them when tempted, afflicted, and tried. Tender, exquisitely tender, is the sympathy of Jesus. And with all the deep and loving sympathy of his heart he officiates for us before the throne. For us he sprinkles the blood upon the mercy-seat. For us he offers the barn

ing incense, filling heaven with a grateful perfume. For us he pleads his merit; the merit of his obedience, the merit of his agony and bloody sweat, of his cross and dying pangs, of his glorious resurrection and triumphant ascension to glory. He is the pleading Intercessor for his friends. Every one of their names is on his breast-plate and on his heart. To all their cases he carefully and constantly attends. For them he employs all his influence with his Father. To do them good in any way gives him joy ; as it is written, “I will rejoice over them to do them good.” If Jesus is the personification of love, if he is the perfect pattern of friendship, if he is the pitying High Priest of our profession, and if he is the pleading Intercessor of his people, surely he is never wounded by his friends ? Let us listen to

THE COMPLAINT. I was wounded in the house of my friends.Precious Lord Jesus, and is it true that thou art wounded still ? Can it be that thy people, thy professed friends, wound thee? Alas! it is too true. Who wounds him? The backslider, who turns away from him, and turns to him the back and not the face. How plaintively he speaks to such! O my people, what have I done unto you? Wherein have I wearied you? Testify against me." Thy conduct, backsliding professor, has wounded, not merely his hands, but his heart. Who wounds him? The half-hearted professor. The man, the woman, who tries to be on good terms with the world and with Christ too. The professor who is neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. The man that halts between two opinions, and who has a divided heart. Lukewarm professor, thou hast wounded Jesus. Thou art wounding him this very moment by thy lukewarmness and half-heartedness in his ways. Who wounds him ? Every inconsistent believer. O Christian, wilt thou, canst thou, wound that Saviour on whom alone thy dependence is placed for help in life, hope in death, and glory beyond the grave! Yet by the irregularity of thy walk, by the servility of thy conversation, by thy mixing up with the world, and by thy want of thoroughness in his cause, thou woundest him. What wounds him? Our unbelief wounds him, for it gives him the lie. What would wound a man of fine feeling, loving heart, and having a deep sense of honour, like refusing to take his word? Yet this is the way we constantly treat our Saviour. He has given us his word, he has confirmed it with an oath, he has sealed both with blood, and yet we refuse to believe him! Do we not? What say our doubts, our fears, our misgivings? Ah, this pierces the very heart of Jesus! What wounds him? Our neglect. When we neglect to come to his throne, to read his holy word, to attend on his ordinances, and to meet at his table. What wounds a sensitive mind like cold neglect? How touchingly the Lord complains of Israel of old on this point: “I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." To show how deeply he felt this neglect, he adds, “Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me!What wounds him? Our pride and worldliness. We think so much of ourselves, and so little of him. We pay so much attention to ourselves, and so little to him. We give so much of our time, our talents, our energies to the world, and so little to him. How could we insult him more, than by preferring ourselves, our ease, our pleasure, our wealth, our reputation, to him ; except it be by preferring the world, which is his enemy, to him? O beloved, how deeply have our pride of heart and worldliness of spirit wounded Jesus! What wounds him ? Our bitterness and want of love to each other. How many times, in how many forms, has he said, “Love one another"! How plainly and explicitly has he commanded us to put away all bitterness ! “ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven

you." If, then, we indulge in bitter feelings, and if we speak bitter words against each other, we wound him ; for he has said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." What wounds him? Whatever is unlovely and unholy. He wishes his people to be like himself; lovely as he is lovely ; holy as he is holy; and only as we aim at this do we please him and gratify his holy heart.

Are we the friends of Jesus ? Friends or foes we must be, for neutrality is an impossibility. We must be for him or against him. We are either reconciled to him, or at enmity against him. I must know if any one is my friend, or if I am the friend of any one. So if we are the friends of Jesus we must know it. Do we act towards Jesus as if we were his friends ? What does our Bible say ? What does our closet say? What does our seat in the house of God say ? What does conscience say? What would Jesus say, if the question were put to him ? Have we wounded Jesus? Have we done so lately? I fear we have. His heart is so tender, and we are so unfeeling and perverse. Have we not forgotten him at times? Have we not preferred creatures to him? Have we not neglected him? These things wound him. Can we think of his wounds without sorrow ? Look at his open side, look at his thorn-pierced brow, look at his mangled hands and feet, look at his broken heart, and ask, Who did all this? The answer is, “Thou didst it." The soldier pierced him once : thou hast pierced him a thousand times. The executioners drove four nails into his precious hands and feet, but thou hast driven four hundred. The Jews crowned him with thorns once, but thou hast thrust the thorns into his temples many times. You have crucified him afresh. You have torn open his wounds anew. Can you think of such conduct on your part, and on the love and patience displayed by him, and not be filled with sorrow? Can you wash and cleanse his wounds with your tears? These would form a precious balsam. These would cheer and refresh his heart. O Holy Spirit, open our eyes, that we may see how we have wounded the Saviour; open our ears, that we may listen to his sighs and groans ; open our hearts, that we may mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son; and open in our heads fountains of tears, that we may weep and wash the wounds of Jesus in deep penitential sorrow! O Lord, give us grace, we beseech thee, that we may wound our loving, tender-hearted, and gracious Saviour no more !

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- WORSE AND WORSE.”

BY THE REV. CORNELIUS ELVEN. THE reader will perceive that the motto | progressiveness of sin-that brought upon at the head of this article is a quotation mankind the dread calamity of the Fall. from 2 Tim. iii. 13: “But evil men and Eve first listened to the tempter-that seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiv was bad ; but she then parleyed with him ing and being deceived." Without, how -that was worse ; she then looked on the ever, attempting any textual exposition, forbidden fruit, she took thereof, and did our design is simply to illustrate the senti eat. Surely this terrible fact stands at the ment, that sin in its very nature is pro very portal of revelation, as though it gressive, and, apart from the renewing and would say, “Behold, how great a matter a restorative operation of Divine grace, will little fire kindleth!” inevitably culminate in perdition.

The history of Joseph is also illustrative First, take the case of deliberate sinners. 1 of the same sentiment. His brethren were The word of God furnishes fearful exam first moved with envy : that was bad, for, ples of this sad truth. It was this--the 'as Solomon says, “Wrath is cruel, and

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