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God; and in the Baptifm of Infants, they are Sureties or Pledges to the Church of the Chriftian Education and Inftruction of those Children which they offer to God in their Infancy. -Their Duty, as Witnefjes, is to put the baptized Perfons in mind what a folemn Vow, Promife, and Profeffion they made before the Congregation, and especially before them their chofen Witneffes; and to call upon them to be rightly inftructed in God's holy Word, that fo they may grow in Grace, and in the Knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and live godly, righteously, and foberly in this prefent World. And their Duty, as Sureties, is to take all the Care they can, that the Infants, whofe Sureties they are, be taught, jo joon as they be able to learn, what a folemn Vow, Promife, and Profeffion they made in their Names; to call upon them to hear Sermons, and chiefly to provide that they may learn the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the ten Commandments in the vulgar Tongue, and all other things which a Chriftian ought to know and believe to his Soul's Health; to do all that in them lyes, that thofe Children may be virtuously brought up to lead a Godly and a Chriftian Life; and to take care, that they be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed, after they have been duly and fufficiently instructed.— And as this is the Duty of Godfathers and Godmothers, fo this properly is the Promife and Vow that they make.—They do not strictly speaking promife for the Infant, tho' they do it in

his Name; but they promise for themselves.— They promise to take all the care they can of the Instruction of the Child in the Principles of the Chriftian Religion; they promise to call upon the Child himself to learn and do his Duty; and they promise to bring him, if they can, to take our holy Profeffion upon himfelf in his own Name at his Confirmation. -And this therefore they are obliged to perform; and their Performance of this would abundantly fhew the Wisdom and Piety of the Church in taking fuch Care of the religious and pious Education of her Children; as likewife her Prudence, in what some rafhly condemn, namely, in her not fuffering the Parents to be Godfathers or Godmothers to their own Children.—The Reason of which is, because the Parents are already obliged, by all the Ties that Nature and Religion can lay upon them, to take Care of the Christian and virtuous Education of their Children; and others befides them are in this Cafe required only out of abundant Caution.-Not to acquit them from any part of their Duty; but to secure the Children from being loft through their Neglect of it; and to guard the Children against the bad Effects of any Accidents that may happen to their Parents; and, in a Word, effectually to provide, as far as human Prudence can do, that tho' the Parents should die, or neglect their Duty, yet ftill their Children fhall be inftructed as becomes Christi

ans,

ans, and shall be taught the Ways of eternal

Life.

Nor is it any juft Objection to this, that thefe Sureties neglect to do their Duty.-The Laws of God are neglected and difobeyed by wicked Men; but are nevertheless in themfelves righteous, juft, and good.-This Neglect of Godfathers and Godmothers will rise up in Judgment against them, and will condemn them; and it nearly concerns them to confider how they will give an Account of this, as well as the other Parts of their Duty, at the great Tribunal. But the Thing is not therefore bad, becaufe THEY are wicked; on the contrary, the Practice of thofe who do their Duty fhews, that very prudent and very effectual Care is hereby taken, of building up those that are Babes in Christ, in the Chriftian Faith, in Hope, and in Charity.

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But ftill it must be remembered, that nothing our Sureties do is effential to Baptifm.It is a very great Weaknefs or Stupidity to imagine, that this Sacrament itself, or the Benefits of it, are any ways affected or altered by their Abfence or Prefence. And the Church has thought fit to guard you, even against this Weaknefs, by requiring you not to doubt but the Children, which in Cafes of Neceffity fhe orders to be privately baptized without them, are lawfully and fufficiently baptized [Rubr. Priv, Bapt.] and have been already received by our Blessed Lord with the Arms of

his Mercy, before their Sureties were provided for them. [Off. of Priv. Bapt.]

And therefore the Efficacy or Validity of the Sacrament of Baptifm to the Perfon baptized, whether an Infant, or of Age, does not at all depend on these Circumstances. It is our Bleffed Lord's Appointment alone which makes it either neceffary or effectual to Salvation.-It is his Power and Word only which have annexed fuch mighty Benefits to the due Difcharge of this Duty; and it is on them only we must depend for reaping those Benefits.It is he who has faid, He that believeth, AND IS BAPTIZED, shall be faved; it is this gracious Promife and Appointment of his, which makes our being baptized at all a Means of our Salvation; and it is therefore his Mercy and Goodness, on which we are to rely, not on the Performance of any Circumftantials of Baptifm, not on the outward partaking of the Sacrament itself, not on the Faith or Virtue of those who are baptized when grown up; it is not, I fay, on any of thefe, which can none of them merit at his Hands, but on our Saviour's Merits and Promife only we ought to rely, for being admitted or entitled by Baptifin to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Time, as has been obferved, when our Sureties act for us, is here faid to be at our Baptifm, that is, at the Performance of a very folemn Rite, which our Lord himself has appointed to be the only regular Method of ad

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mitting Perfons into his Church, and of entitling them to that Salvation which he has purchased for us. He commanded his Apoftles to baptize all thofe of all Nations whom they made his Disciples; and they conftantly obeyed his Commands, by baptizing all thofe whom they converted, in the Name of the Lord. -And from their Time to this the Chriftian Church has never deemed any Perfon to be a Chriftian till he has been fo admitted.-If any Man comes not into the Sheepfold by this Door, he is not one of the Flock of Chrift; and so far as he claims the Honour of the Chriftian Name, to which he has no Right, Jo far he is a Thief and a Robber.

If any reject or despise this Inftitution of Baptifm, they reject and defpife the Inftitution of Chrift; they reject thofe Means of Salvation which he has appointed, and trust in Methods of their own Invention; and therefore, whatever their Pretenfions be, they are none of his.-Though they may call themselves by his Name, they refufe to be admitted into the Number of his faithful Servants in the Manner which he has appointed, and thereby reject all juft Title to it.Though they may impiously and prefumptuously affume to themfelves a Claim to the Kingdom of God, they refuse to enter by that Door through which alone they will be admitted there. For our Great Redeemer, in whofe Merits, Sufferings, and Interceffion alone we can have juft Hopes

of

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