and had believed. A new life had commenced in their souls, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, like the Apostles at the feast of Pentecost, so that they spake with tongues and magnified God. And now Peter asks, in the joy of his heart, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized?' One may well inquire how they that were born again by the Spirit of God, should require the ceremonial of baptism? Certainly not, if baptism were a mere outward form! But it must have been much more, or the Apostle would not have used it to conclude that work of salvation and blessing, for which he had been sent to the house of the Centurion; making it, as it were, the very crown of God's first manifestation to the Gentiles! Those young believers were to receive a blessing through the ordinance of baptism, the last good and perfect gift of which they stood in need.

Baptism seems, at the first glance, a mere outward ceremony. The person to be baptized must either be plunged into water, as was the custom in the East, or else, as among European Christians, be merely sprinkled with it, while the clergyman is pronouncing the name of the Holy Trinity. Nothing can be simpler than this, yet it is the seal of the greatest of God's gifts and blessings. God acts with simplicity; it is man alone that employs art. What can be simpler than the manner in which, for so many thousand years, he has poured out his light upon the earth, and has sent rain and dew from above? When the Almighty created man in his own image, he formed his body out of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the

breath of life, and man became a living soul. Sin, however, has transformed us, making that manifold which was formerly simple, and causing flesh and spirit to strive against one another.

But what is more, the Lord Jesus himself has appointed and ordained this sacrament. He who walked upon earth in the simplest and most obscure form of man, in order to seek them which were lost, and to save them from sin, he who, by his simple Gospel, has done away with the unnecessary forms of the law, and enjoined the worship of God in Spirit and in truth, he it it who has solemnly ordained baptism to be used by the church. His words are, Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.'

6

Baptism is the symbol of Christianity, of belief in the Gospel, and of reception into the community of saints. The Apostles, wherever they went, enjoined this command of the Lord, and baptized all who, renouncing either Judaism or Heathenism, professed their belief in the name of Jesus. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins,' are the words of Peter on the day of Pentecost. Cornelius and his companions must also be baptized, in order to be withdrawn from the dark regions of Gentilism, and received into the congregation of the Lord. As a little infant, at its entrance into this world of tears, stands in need of the swaddling clothes which are given to it, without its own co-operation; so the new-born heavenly child requires baptism, the covering given to it from heaven for its spiritual man.

Regarding it merely as an outward ceremony, it is honorable, for it resembles the anointing with oil, when kings and priests were consecrated.

As we beheld the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in the simple human form of Jesus of Nazareth, so, in like manner, baptism comprehends within itself a Spirit and life, a Divine truth and promise. We shall see this, if we only consider its institution. It was practised in Israel by Divine authority before Christ appeared; but only as preparatory, in the same manner as the Gospel, before it was preached, was contained in the Old Testament. John baptized for them that was to come, and his disciples did the same. The Lord himself was baptized, complying with this ordinance as well as with the law of Moses; after his resurrection also, when he had finished his work upon earth, and was about to re-ascend to his glory, he enjoined it in the most solemn manner on his disciples. It was then he uttered the glorious words, All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.' In this manner the Lord of heaven and earth made baptism the visible seal of his glory and power, and the token of his invisible presence unto all that believe in his name.

6

Our history shows us that the sermon of the Apostle had found in the hearts of Cornelius and his friends a good soil, which willingly received the indestructible

seed of the word, and quickly brought forth fruit. Through the preaching of Peter, they had become believers in Christ, and partakers of the kingdom of God. There was only thing more to be desired, namely, the sealing of this new life and covenant by the Lord himself, through whose servants they had come to the knowledge of the truth. Baptism was to be the seal and confirmation. Peter himself did not baptize, but probably commanded the brethren who accompanied him from Joppa to admit the believing Gentiles by this ordinance into the Christian church.

They had hitherto received the word and the Spirit in common; but now the pledge of the grace and fellowship of Jesus Christ was imparted to each individual, as the touching and laying on of hands was formerly done by our Lord. In like manner, the baptism of those children whom we bring to Jesus, is a repetition of the same condescending love which prompted him to say, 'Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God,'-and which induced him to take them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and bless them. Paul also compares baptism to the cloud which led the Israelites through the wilderness, and manifested the presence of Jehovah. He says, our fathers were all baptized unto Moses, in the cloud and in the sea'— meaning by Moses, the covenant of the law, of which he was the mediator.

The Lord chose water for the seal and visible sign of those blessings which his presence imparts. He chose that common element, which is found even in the most

desert parts of the world; which, at the beginning, until the Creator appointed its proper bounds, covered the whole surface of the ground like one immense grave, and by which also he executed his first judgment on the corrupt earth.

Can any one forbid water?' said the Apostle. He lets us know by many comparisons and allusions, whenever he speaks of baptism, how important we must consider it, as a token appointed by our Lord. In his first Epistle, he compares the water of baptism to the waters of the flood, whereby only eight souls were saved, but the whole unbelieving world was destroyed; Paul also compares it to the Red Sea, in which Pharaoh and his whole host were drowned, but Israel passed through dry-shod. Water can be deadly and destroying, but it is also purifying and enlivening. On account of its destructive properties, the raging sea is held within its proper bounds by the power of God; but he also sends it down in the form of rain and dew, which, after descending into the ground, spring up again in the gushing rivulets, and quicken and enliven every living thing upon earth.

show itself in both He was by birth a

The water of baptism was to ways on Cornelius and his house. Gentile, a child of wrath, without faith and hope, and utterly estranged from the character of God; in this respect he resembled mankind at the time of the flood, as well as the unbelieving Pharaoh and his host; but, in another, he differed from them, being aware of his sin and misery, and longing, from his heart, for grace and truth. He felt that he was under the bondage of