terity of believers were included in the ancient covenant of grace; the covenant that secured the very blessing which believers now receive through Christ. The question therefore arises, Has God altered the terms of his covenant; has he recalled any part of the original grant? We are sometimes asked for scriptural proof that the children of believers are included in the covenant! It is for those who deny this, to furnish proof that God has taken away that which he once gave. The apostle represents the identity of the Church of God under the Jewish and Christian dispensations, under the figure of the olive tree. The natural branches were broken off because of their unbelief; and believing Gentiles are "grafted in among them, and partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree." In harmony with this, is the declaration of Peter: "The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call." It is the purpose of God to perpetuate the blessings of salvation from age to age; and it is hardly less manifest, that he designs to perpetuate these blessings in the posterity of his people. Not that they will all be converted and saved; much less that the blessings of salvation shall be confined to them; but, so generally shall they be made partakers of these covenant blessings, that, instead of the fathers shall be the children, and "all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed."

II. This peculiar blessing has been very generally misunderstood, undervalued, and forfeited.

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The first error, the root or occasion of almost every other error on this subject, was baptismal regeneration. An unscriptural efficacy was ascribed to the baptismal water, as early as the beginning of the third century. It was thought expedient to defer the administration of the ordinance, because, while baptism would cleanse them from all sin, sins committed after baptism could with difficulty be removed." Thus the sign was substituted for the thing signified, as though it were a sacrament which conveyed saving grace; and thousands have been satisfied with the outward form, while the spiritual blessing it was designed to convey, has been undesired and forgotten. Nor is this all: multitudes have thus been led to reject infant baptism; and, what is yet more to be deplored, have been afraid to admit that the Word of God affords any special ground of encouragement in reference to the children of those who are in covenant with him. Let it then be distinctly understood, that we totally reject the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, and every approach to a doctrine so subversive of all the declarations of Scripture, and so opposed to the dictates of reason and common sense. What we believe is, that it is the duty and privilege of believers to devote their offspring to God; to set upon them the mark or badge of discipleship, and to educate them for Christ; believing that God's regenerating and saving grace will be imparted.

And we rejoice to know that there is on this point less difference of opinion and of feeling, among real Christians, than at first sight appears. It is a common practice, among the most serious members of Baptist churches, to request their pastor and some of their brethren, to unite with them in this solemn, religious act. And in some parts of England this is uniformly a public act, exactly like our ordinance of baptism, excepting the use of water as a sacramental sign. Still, the difference is not unimportant; for in the one case it is regarded simply as the dictate of piety on the part of the parents, while in the other, it is viewed as a covenant transaction; and the seal of the covenant is set upon the children: so that while the parents consecrate their children to God, and engage to train them for him, He is regarded as graciously promising to accompany the instructions, and moral and spiritual influence of the parents, with his renewing and sanctifying grace, making them his children indeed; members of his church, and heirs of life.

But as, when the Apostle Paul taught the insufficiency of a pious ancestry and of circumcision to insure salvation, and that a heathen might so act that he would be treated as if circumcised, there were objectors who asked, "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?" so now, there are those who say, If there be no saving virtue in baptism,-if the baptized may grow up in impenitence, and finally perish, and if the unbaptized may, by repentance and faith, become partakers of all the blessings of the covenant, what advantage have the children of believers? and what profit is there in infant baptism?

We might reply in the language of the Apostle: "What if some did not believe? Did their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" If some believe not, and perish, does it follow that God is not faithful to his promises? and because baptism does not regenerate and save, is it therefore useless?

Suppose that some rich and excellent man should give you permission to call your child by his name; promising that, if you should give him such an education as he prescribed, he would, at some time, adopt him as his own, and give him a valuable inheritance; would such a promise be despised because the inheritance was not at once bestowed? And if he permitted the child to wear a ring of peculiar workmanship, to remind both the parent and the child of the promise, and to engage them to obtain the required character, would that ring be undervalued because it did not actually confer that character? Let baptism be viewed in this light, and every thoughtful mind will admit its usefulness; every Christian parent's heart will feel the grace that it manifests! If it be not thus regarded, its observance had better be omitted, for it becomes an unmeaning ceremony.

It may be thought that the testimony of facts is against this doctrine; that the children of pious parents often grow up in sin, and die in impenitence. We admit the premise, but deny the reasonable

ness of the conclusion; for, let all those instances be produced and carefully examined; then deduct, first, the cases in which the doctrine has not been understood and believed; then deduct the cases in which one or both of the parents have manifestly neglected the required religious training, and the instances that remain will be so few, that no one would think of regarding them as witnesses against the truth of the doctrine, that God perpetuates the blessings of the Gospel chiefly among the posterity of those who are in covenant with him.

We ask you to look,

First, at the Word of God, and see if its precepts and general bearing will not warrant this conclusion. Take one instance from the Old Testament: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it;" and then look at the history of Samuel, as a beautiful illustration of parental dedication and training. The historian minutely, though briefly, describes the piety of both his parents, their attention to family religion and public worship; and God accepted the offering, heard their prayers, converted their child, and made him a blessing, not to them only, but to all Israel.

In the New Testament we meet with a similar command: "Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord;" that is, under such instruction and discipline as shall tend most effectually to form a Christian character. And again, we are encouraged by a lovely instance of early piety, marked as descending from one generation to another, and the result of scriptural training. "I call to remembrance (writes Paul to Timothy) the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." "From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

We ask you to look,

Secondly, at the History of the Church; and you will find that it has been perpetuated and increased, principally, by the conversion of the sons and daughters of the Church; and that such conversions have been general, and almost universal, when the piety of her members has been simple, consistent, and ardent. It is stated as an ascertained fact, that as many as nine out of ten among the Moravian Christians have no knowledge of the time when they entered upon the Christian life! And not only families, but sections of country may be pointed out, where piety has descended from generation to generation; "they that have seen them have acknowledged them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed."

Nor is this at all opposed to the fact, that all are equally partakers of a sinful nature, estranged from God and prone to evil; nor to the revealed truth, that "the sons of God" "are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." It only shows that that depravity may be most effectually subdued by

early religious influence, and that God is faithful to his promises; that he is ever ready to bless his people when they endeavour to secure the salvation of others. It is related of Baxter, that he was long perplexed with suspicions that his piety was only his education, because he could remember no time when he began to exercise right feeling; but his difficulties were removed by the discovery, "that education is an ordinary way for the conveyance of God's grace; and ought no more to be set in opposition to the Spirit, than the preaching of the word."

If it be asked, why we do not now see a greater proportion of the children of Christians giving evidence of conversion, the answer is at hand, and cannot be disputed. There is scarcely any religious education; the intellect is cultivated, but the passions are not controlled. The will is not subdued, the affections are not disciplined; and the religious influence is either so questionable in its nature, or feeble in its degree, that early conversions could not be expected there, more than in families where no profession of religion is made. Even where both parents have some religious principle and feeling, there is not piety enough to create a religious atmosphere. The religious influence of the home circle is not powerful enough to counteract the irreligious influence that surrounds the youthful_mind without. There is too little spiritual vigour to impart life. Like a poor, worn-out soil, there is scarcely energy enough to maintain the appearance of life, and far too little to produce seed that will scatter itself, and strike root, and bring forth fruit in successive seasons.

If what we have said be true,-if parental training is one of the main channels in which the grace of God flows; if the Church is to be perpetuated and enlarged principally by the conversion of the posterity of those who are in covenant with God, then it follows:

III. That this gracious arrangement involves peculiar responsibility on the part of both parents and children.

Dr. Dwight says: "As religious education is constituted, in the Christian Church, a primary means of salvation, so the ordinance of baptism is invested with a peculiar importance, from the intimate and acknowledged connection between the act of devoting a child to God in this manner, and the duty of educating him for the service of his Maker, and the attainment of eternal life. No two religious employments are, in this country at least, and probably in most others throughout Christendom, MORE UNIVERSALLY UNDERSTOOD TO BE INSEPARABLY CONNECTED, than the act of giving up a child to God and the duty of educating him for his service."

If this were true of that generation, then we are compelled to say, that, in this respect, "the former days were better than these." Of all the dark clouds that are gathering over the Church, this is the darkest and most threatening, the general neglect of religious training, by professedly Christian parents.

DUTY OF CHRISTIAN PARENTS IN RELIGIOUS TRAINING.

Every reader of the Bible knows that God has manifested a gracious and special regard to the young under every dispensation. Precepts, and warnings, and promises, are scattered over the entire page of revelation; while Joseph under the Patriarchal, Samuel under the Mosaic, and Timothy under the Christian dispensation, are presented as specimens of the loveliness and advantage of early piety, for the encouragement of parents, and the imitation of youth. But, often as you may have read-greatly as you have admired-these proofs of the kindness of God towards the young, there are very few who would not be astonished, if all these proofs were brought together, and made to stand out in all their variety and power. To make such a collection would be an interesting and instructive employment. It would bring out, in lines of divine light, the advantages of early devotedness to God, the importance of religious training, the solemnity of the trust committed to the parent, and the proportionate responsibility of those who have been brought "up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

But there is one aspect in which this subject may be viewed, which ought to receive the special attention of professedly Christian parents at the present time, when so few are uniting themselves with the visible Church, namely: The revealed intentions of God concerning the posterity of his people. The conclusion to which we have been brought in the examination of this point, may be expressed in the language of the Psalmist (102): "The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee." Now, if religion is to be perpetuated and extended, chiefly by the conversion of the children of God's people; if the children of the irreligious will, generally speaking, grow up without religion; and if the blessing of God may be expected to attend the religious training and holy influence of Christian parents, so that the children of the truly religious will generally be religious, then how solemn the responsibility of the parent!

I. HOW NECESSARY IS THE POSSESSION OF REAL RELIGION!

God has ordained that every creature shall perpetuate its own kind; the vegetable does not produce the animal, nor the animal the vegetable. So in the various tribes of which these kingdoms are composed; the walnut will not produce the oak, nor the acorn the walnut tree. God could cause every variety of flower or of grain to grow from one kind of seed, but he does not, and you do not expect it. Though no seed can germinate without the exercise of Almighty power, and though that power could produce the harvest you desire without seed, or from seed of a different kind altogether, yet you obey what are called "the laws of Nature," and sow that kind which you wish to reap: nor do you question the existence of such laws, though, occasionally, no harvest be reaped, or poisonous weeds spring up more abundantly than the precious grain. Now, all that we mean