{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_63331/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_63331","id":"gutenberg_63331","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63331","summary":null,"tags":["Baptism","Bible. Mark X, 13-16 -- Sermons","Category: History - British","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1842 Josiah Fletcher edition by David Price.\n\n\n\n\n\n                        THE BAPTISM OF THE PRINCE.\n\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 A SERMON\n\n                               PREACHED IN\n\n                     PRINCE\u2019S STREET CHAPEL, NORWICH,\n\n                    ON SUNDAY MORNING, JAN. 23, 1842,\n\n           IN ANTICIPATION OF THE BAPTISM OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS\n                           THE PRINCE OF WALES.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                            BY JOHN ALEXANDER.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                          Published by Request.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 NORWICH:\n                    JOSIAH FLETCHER, UPPER HAYMARKET;\n              SOLD ALSO BY JARROLD AND SONS, NORWICH; AND BY\n                       JACKSON AND WALFORD, LONDON.\n\n                                  1842.\n\n                            _Price Fourpence_.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nTHE Author of the following discourse hopes it will appear from the\nperusal of it, that the baptism of infants is a practice which he not\nonly believes to be scriptural, but which he warmly and devoutly loves.\nAs a parent, and as a pastor, one of his most delightful employments has\nbeen the dedication of his own children, and of the children of others,\nto the God of mercy.  He endeavours also to cherish in his own heart, and\nin the hearts of others, the assurance that baptism is a sign of\nspiritual influences, which our covenant God will graciously bestow upon\nour children, if we disciple them to Christ by gospel instruction as well\nas by water, and if we \u201cteach them to observe all things whatsoever\nChrist has commanded.\u201d  The connection between our baptized households\nand church membership is so intimate, that children should be trained for\ncommunion by the parent, as well as by the pastor; and every baptized\nfamily should thus strive to be a church of Christ, and seek to possess,\nby the grace of God, a domestic as well as an individual relationship to\n\u201cthe general assembly and church of the first-born.\u201d  Were this made the\nobject of more anxious and prayerful effort, the degree of success,\ndivinely granted, would surprise and bless our hearts; the sacred\nordinance in which we delight, would be less ridiculed than it is; the\nfatal mistakes which are made relative to it, would be corrected; and it\nwould soon become, as in primitive times, universally practised.  \u201cIf\ninfant baptism were more improved,\u201d says Philip Henry, \u201cit would be less\ndisputed.\u201d\n\nThe following discourse is not put forth as a complete treatise on the\nsubject of baptism.  It is the mere outline of one branch of an argument\nwhich is briefly stated, and which is not even defended from the\ncustomary objections.  It was preached, and is now published, not so much\nfor those who deny the ordinance to their children, as for those who\npractice it; to remind them of the privilege which they enjoy, and of the\nconsequent responsibility which they incur.  Nothing is said in the\nsermon about _the mode_ of baptizing, because the object which the\npreacher had in view did not require it; and because, during the time of\nits delivery, he was desirous to occupy the attention of his hearers with\nmatters of more importance than the question, Whether, in baptism, the\nwater is to be applied to the person, or the person to the water?\u2014though\nhe believes that the former mode is more scriptural and more seemly than\nthe latter.\n\nAS THE DISCOURSE WAS OCCASIONED BY THE BAPTISE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES,\nTHE HEIR APPARENT TO THE BRITISH THRONE, IT IS NOW PUBLISHED WITH THE\nEARNEST DESIRE AND PRAYER, THAT HE MAY BE SPARED TILL, AT SOME DISTANT\nDAY, HE SHALL REALIZE \u201cTHE TRUE IDEA OF A PATRIOT KING;\u201d AND THAT THE\nROYAL HOUSE INTO WHICH HE IS BORN, MAY FROM ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER,\nPRESENT SUCCESSIVE PRINCES TO THE THRONE OF BRITAIN, WHO SHALL RULE IN\nRIGHTEOUSNESS, AND WHO, IN THE SCRIPTURAL SENSE OF THE LANGUAGE, SHALL BE\n\u201cNURSING FATHERS, AND NURSING MOTHERS,\u201d TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.\n\nNORWICH, FEBRUARY 1, 1842.\n\n\n\n\nSERMON.\n\n\nMY DEAR FRIENDS,\n\nAs it has been publicly announced that the infant Prince of Wales will be\nbaptized on Tuesday next, a suitable opportunity is now afforded for\ndirecting your attention to the subject of baptism generally, and\nespecially to the interest which little children have in the affections\nof the Saviour; I propose, therefore, to address you this morning from\n\n                              MARK x, 13\u201316.\n\n    \u201cAnd they brought young children to him that he should touch them;\n    and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.  But when Jesus\n    saw it he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little\n    children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the\n    kingdom of God.  Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive\n    the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.\n    And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed\n    them.\u201d\n\nThe scene presented by these words is indescribably lovely; and the eye\nthat contemplates it, must affect the heart of the beholder with every\ntender and grateful feeling.  It exhibits the eternal Son of God holding\nin his arms the infant of a day; laying his mighty and merciful hand upon\nits head; and bestowing upon it his own effectual blessing.  Wonderful as\nall this is, it is however in perfect harmony with the whole of his\ncharacter, and of the great work which he came to accomplish.  The\ninfants which were now brought to him, ignorant and helpless as they\nwere, were creatures which he himself had formed, and which he had\ninspired with the breath of life, and with the germ of all those\nintellectual and moral faculties which would render them immortal and\nresponsible to God.  He, therefore, who guides the flight of the sparrow\nas well as of the archangel, cares for the infant as well as for the man;\nand he has testified his care, not only now, when he was gathering these\nlambs in his arms, but through all the preceding dispensations of his\nmediatorial reign.  His disciples, influenced by the same mistaken\nfeelings which led the multitude to rebuke the blind men, who cried for\nmercy to the son of David, rebuked the parents, who were now desirous\nthat their infants should receive his gentle touch, and \u201cthat he should\nput his hands on them and pray;\u201d \u201cbut when Jesus saw it he was much\ndispleased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto\nme, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God,\u201d and \u201cof such\nis the kingdom of heaven.\u201d  When heaven was more immediately his\nresidence, he had there been accustomed to gather little children in his\narms, and to introduce them to the joys and royalties of his celestial\npalace; and when that palace is completely furnished with guests, little\nchildren, who have died in their infancy, will constitute no small\nportion of the glorious number.  When he first formed a church on earth,\nand separated the subjects of his own kingdom from others, he did so\n_with an express reference to the children of his people_; and he\nappointed the ordinance of circumcision to be administered to them at\neight days old, as the token of his everlasting promise, \u201cI will be a God\nunto thee, and unto thy seed after thee.\u201d  When that church was\nreorganized by Moses, and during the whole period of the Jewish\ndispensation, the same divine regard to infants is manifested, and their\ndedication to God, by \u201cthe token of the covenant,\u201d is continued.  When,\nduring that dispensation, the gospel times of the church are predicted,\nchildren are always represented as sharing in the same privileges which\nthey had been accustomed to possess; for then, says Isaiah, \u201cthe people\nshall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the\nseed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.\u201d  And now\nin the fulness of time, when Christ himself personally appears in the\nworld, he manifests the same regard to little children that he had shown\nfrom the beginning.  When they were brought to him, \u201che took them up in\nhis arms;\u201d not indeed to baptize them, for he never baptized any one,\neither infant or adult; but to acknowledge their continued connection\nwith his kingdom, and their capacity for receiving, not only an important\nsign, but the spiritual blessings which that sign denoted.  \u201cOf such,\u201d\nsays he, \u201cis the kingdom of God,\u201d or, as the phrase signifies, of such is\n_the church_ of God; and their being thus of his church, is given as the\nreason why they should be brought to him as the head of the church.\nHaving thus declared that infants, under the gospel dispensation,\nsustained the same relation to his spiritual kingdom which Jewish infants\nhad sustained, he proceeds to treat them accordingly.  \u201cHe put his hands\non them;\u201d which was a sign, as significant as the token of circumcision\nor of baptism; for it was the sign of his own blessing.  \u201cHe put his\nhands on them,\u201d as Jacob put his hands on Ephraim and Manasseh, when he\nlifted up his voice to heaven and said, \u201cthe angel that redeemed me from\nall evil bless the lads;\u201d or as the high priest put his hands on the\npeople, when he blessed them in the name of the Lord; or as this great\nHigh Priest himself afterwards lifted up his hands and blessed his\ndisciples, when he ascended from mount Olivet to heaven.  True it is,\nthat, as infants, they could not understand the meaning of this sign, any\nmore than they could understand the meaning of circumcision or of\nbaptism.  They knew it not then, but they would know it hereafter.  Yet,\nnotwithstanding their present ignorance, he did not refrain; he put his\nhands upon them.  And not only so, but as a manifestation of his power\nand grace, he accompanied the sign with the thing signified, \u201cand he\nblessed them;\u201d he baptized them, not with water, but with his own\nblessing; and thereby fulfilled his gracious promise, \u201cI will pour my\nspirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring.\u201d\n\nThe history which our text records is therefore the consummation and the\nclimax of a series of circumstances, which are intended to show _the\ninterest which the children of believers have in the Saviour\u2019s kingdom_.\nAnd as such we receive it with joy and thankfulness.  There is, in the\nheart of every christian parent, an earnest desire that his children, as\nwell as himself, should participate in the enjoyment of spiritual\nblessings; and when he receives his new-born babe into his arms, the\nfirst wish of his heart is to lay it on the arms of Christ, and to\ndedicate it to him for ever.  So strong is this feeling, that many\npersons, who deny infant baptism, are so convinced of the desirableness\nof having some mode of dedicating their offspring to God, that they hold\na special meeting for the purpose, in which the pastor of the church sets\ntheir children apart by a solemn dedicatory service.  Even the ancient\nGreeks and Romans, guided probably by imperfect tradition, as well as by\nthe light of nature, were accustomed, a few days after the birth of a\nchild, to carry it to the temple, and to commend it to some patron deity.\nInstructed by the sacred scriptures, it is our privilege to believe that\nHe who awakens this desire in the parental bosom, has appointed\nappropriate means whereby it may be expressed and gratified; and that\nhaving instituted circumcision, for such as were of the kingdom of God\nunder the former dispensation, he has now instituted baptism for such as\nare of that kingdom, whether they be adults or infants.  Some proof of\nthis has already been afforded by the history to which your attention has\nbeen called; for if Christ has declared that our children now, as well as\nformerly, are \u201cof the kingdom of God,\u201d and if he gave to them the sign of\nhis blessing, and the blessing itself, \u201ccan any one forbid water, that\nthese should not be baptized?\u201d  But a variety of additional evidence is\nstill presented by this holy book, our only divine and authoritative\nguide.  The great question which we have to ask on this subject is, _What\nis the will of Christ_? and in seeking an answer to that inquiry, we are\nnot to dictate to the divine Spirit the manner in which the will of\nChrist is to be made known to us, but we are thankfully to receive it, in\nthe form of express command, or by any other mode of intimation that may\nseem good in his sight.  As there is, in the New Testament, no\n_prohibition_ of infant baptism, we are not much concerned about a direct\n_injunction_ to practise it.  There are some institutions belonging to\nformer dispensations of religion, which it was not necessary should be\nformally re-enacted in the New Testament; because the will of Christ\nrespecting their continuance can be gathered by evidences less direct.\nAnd as such a mode of teaching often requires thoughtful and continuous\nreading to ascertain the mind of God, we thereby gain a more extensive\nand intelligent acquaintance with the scriptures, than we could have\ngained if every thing had been stated as expressly and minutely as it is\nin the book of Leviticus.  The sabbath, for instance, was instituted at\nthe creation; it was continued during the patriarchal age; it was\nobserved during the Jewish dispensation till the time of Christ; there is\nno command enjoining it in the New Testament; and though some passages\nseem at first sight to discountenance the observance of a christian\nsabbath, yet, from various remarks and circumstances, incidentally\nscattered through the sacred book, we are led to believe it to be the\nwill of Christ that a sabbath should be continued through the gospel\ndispensation, and that it should be transferred from the last day of the\nweek to the first; and when we consult early ecclesiastical history, we\nfind all our convictions confirmed by the fact, that the first day of the\nweek was universally observed by the christian church as a day of rest\nand worship.  The ordinance of circumcision, in its connection with\nbaptism, is similarly circumstanced.  It was instituted in the time of\nAbraham, and it continued to be observed till the time of Christ, as a\nmemorial of God\u2019s everlasting covenant, and of the relationship which he\nhad established between believing parents and their children.  In the New\nTestament, we find that the ordinance itself is changed from circumcision\nto baptism; just as the sabbath is changed, from the seventh to the first\nday of the week.  But this is the principal change relative to the\nordinance which the New Testament declares.  The old ordinance and the\nnew have precisely the same spiritual signification.  Faith, in an adult,\nwas as necessary to precede circumcision, as it is now necessary to\nprecede baptism.  Infants are quite as capable of being baptized, as they\nwere of being circumcised; and that it is the will of Christ they should\nbe baptized, is quite as evident, from scripture testimony, as that the\nfirst day of the week is the divinely appointed christian sabbath.\nIndeed, their right to baptism seems to follow as a matter of course from\nthe fact declared in our text, and already illustrated, that _our\nchildren now sustain the same relation to the kingdom of God_, _that the\nchildren of believers did formerly_; especially when we find that Christ\nnot only said, \u201cof such is the kingdom of God,\u201d but also that \u201che put his\nhands on them, and blessed them.\u201d\n\nThe evidence which the New Testament affords of _the right of infants to\nbaptism_, is, however, abundant and various; so much so, that scarcely an\noutline of it can be given in the small space allotted to it in this\ndiscourse.  The commission which Christ gave to his apostles, refers not\nonly to baptism, but also to the christian instruction with which baptism\nis to be connected, and which it is the great design of the ordinance to\nsecure.  \u201cGo,\u201d says he, \u201cand teach all nations, baptizing them unto the\nname of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them\nto observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.\u201d  Circumcision had\nbeen confined principally to one nation, baptism is to be extended to all\nnations; and as the sphere of the ordinance is thus enlarged, is it at\nall likely that the subjects of the ordinance are to be diminished? and\nthat children, who were admitted to the initiatory rite of the limited\nJewish dispensation, are to be excluded from the initiatory rite of the\nuniversal dispensation of the gospel?  If they had been excluded, would\nthe Jews have been silent about it?  Would they not have made it a\nsubject of complaint? and would they not have referred to the exclusion\nof their children as an argument in favour of Judaism, and against\nChristianity?  Undoubtedly they would; and their silence is a strong\npresumptive evidence that the baptismal, as well as the circumcisional\ncommission, included infants.  The word \u201cteach,\u201d in the former part of\nthe passage, is not, in the original, the same word as that which is\ntranslated \u201cteaching\u201d in the latter part; but a word which literally\nsignifies to disciple, or to make disciples; so that the apostles were\ndirected to \u201cgo and make disciples,\u201d not of Jews only, but \u201cof all\nnations.\u201d  And how was this to be done?  By baptizing and by teaching.\n\u201cGo and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them.\u201d\nThe language of course implies that some degree of instruction must go\nbefore baptism, in the case of ignorant adults; but it is evident that\n_the_ \u201c_baptizing_\u201d _is to be introductory to the_ \u201c_teaching_\u201d just as\ncircumcision was.  The first persons who would be baptized, would of\ncourse be adults, as was the case when circumcision was instituted; but\nthere is nothing, either in the nature of baptism, or in the terms of\nthis commission, to exclude infants.  If it had been written, \u201cGo and\nmake disciples of all nations, circumcising them, and teaching them all\nthings,\u201d who would have said that the language excluded infants from\ncircumcision? and as baptism has succeeded circumcision, and as it means\nthe same thing, why should infants be excluded by a mere change in the\nordinance? especially as the ordinance of baptism seems to be more suited\nto an infant than circumcision was.  If, nevertheless, it be maintained\nthat no person is to be baptized until he has been taught\u2014taught to\nobserve all things whatsoever Christ has commanded, infants I admit will\nthen be excluded from baptism, and so for the most part will adults be,\nand no persons can be baptized at all; for such \u201cteaching\u201d comprehends\nthe entire gospel, and can be afforded only by long continued pastoral\ninstruction.  The conduct of the apostles in executing the commission,\nis, however, the best interpretation of its language; and they considered\nthat a single sermon to the three thousand, and a single conversation\nwith the eunuch, and a few words to the jailor, were quite sufficient to\nprecede baptism; and it was not till after baptism, that the principles\nand duties of the gospel were more fully taught; nor was it till after\nbaptism that they expected to perceive the fruits and the influences of\nknowledge and of faith.  Instruction has therefore precisely the same\nrelation to baptism that it had to circumcision.  It follows rather than\nprecedes.  It does so, principally, in the case of adults; it does so,\nentirely, in the case of children.  Baptism is merely an initiatory rite.\nIt introduces the disciple into the school; and it places him there, that\nhe may be \u201cinstructed in the way of God more perfectly,\u201d and taught not\nonly to understand, but also \u201cto observe all things whatsoever Christ has\ncommanded.\u201d\n\nLong before the time of John the Baptist, \u201cdivers baptisms\u201d had been\npractised by the Jews.  They appear to have been in the habit of\nbaptizing, as well as of circumcising, the households which were\nproselyted from heathenism to Judaism.  They had therefore become\nfamiliar with the ceremony, and consequently expressed no surprise that\nJohn should come among them baptizing with water.  John indeed baptized\nunto repentance, and he refused this baptism to none by whom it was\nrequested.  The apostles baptized unto Christ; and therefore unto his\ndeath, his burial, and his resurrection\u2014unto all that he had done and\nsuffered as the mediator between God and man.  And when they go forth to\nmake disciples of all nations, how exactly their practice corresponds\nwith the principles I have stated.  These apostles were Jews.  They\nrejoiced in the exceeding great and precious promise which God had made\nto Abraham and to them, \u201cI will be a God unto thee, and unto thy seed\nafter thee.\u201d  Authorised and encouraged by this promise, they had been\naccustomed to disciple and to dedicate their children by circumcision,\nwhich one of them calls \u201ca yoke upon the neck of _the disciples_.\u201d  On\nthe day of Pentecost, they began their work by declaring that the same\npromise that had been the hope of Jews, was now given to the Gentiles\nalso, and to their children.  They made the same distinction between the\nchildren of Christian parents and other children, that they had been\naccustomed to make between the children of Jews and of heathens; for they\ncalled the one class \u201cunclean,\u201d and the other class \u201choly;\u201d \u201celse were\nyour children unclean, but now are they holy;\u201d that is, externally and\nceremonially holy\u2014holy as all children are who are discipled and\nconsecrated unto Christ.  They made baptism, just what circumcision was,\na domestic as well as a parental service.  They baptized the family as\nwell as the man; not as an extraordinary circumstance, but as a common\npractice; just as our missionaries do, who are placed in circumstances\nsimilar to those of the apostles; and who baptize not only men and women,\nbut families also\u2014the household of Stephanas; Lydia and her household;\nthe jailor, and all his straightway.  When they wrote epistles to the\nchurches which they had baptized, they addressed children as well as\nparents, and appealed to them in the name of the Lord.  And though the\nhistory of their labours extends over a period of sixty years, yet in all\nthat time they baptized none but Jews and heathens; they never baptized\nany adult, who was an infant when his parents were baptized; nor is there\nan instance upon record, of a person who had been taught the gospel from\nhis infancy, and whose baptism was deferred till the maturity of life.\n\nThe argument on behalf of the baptism of infants, which has been thus\nbriefly and imperfectly sketched, is full of conviction and satisfaction;\nit is an argument for the understanding and the heart; and it is in\nblessed harmony with all that a believer desires on behalf of his\nchildren.  We thank God for it; and we thank God that having withheld a\ndirect and formal precept for the practice, he has been pleased to make\nknown his will to us in such a way, as enables us more fully to\nunderstand and to appreciate his word.  We consider that baptism in any\ncase, but especially to our children, is a valuable privilege; not indeed\nas a mere ceremony, but as a token of the goodwill of our heavenly\nFather.  We regard the rainbow, not merely because of the beauty of its\narch, but because it betokens the covenant which preserves the earth, and\nperpetuates the seasons.  And we regard baptism, not superstitiously, as\nif it contained some mystic charm, but because it is a memorial of God\u2019s\ncovenant mercy, and the means by which our offspring are dedicated and\ndiscipled.  And we regard it too, because it is an institution which is\nin beautiful harmony with the whole system of revelation, in the Old and\nNew Testaments.  As the substitute for circumcision, it connects the\nchurch at its origin, with the church in its progress, and in its gospel\nmaturity.  Whilst the promise, \u201cI will be a God unto thee, and unto thy\nseed after thee,\u201d remains the same, baptism now attaches to it the sign\nand the seal which was once affixed by circumcision.  The language and\nthe conduct of Christ to little children, in the case before us, is in\nperfect harmony with their baptism, and with all the principles on which\ntheir baptism is practised.  And when the apostles baptized households;\nwhen they called the children of believers \u201cnot unclean but holy;\u201d and\nwhen they addressed children in the epistles which they wrote to the\nchurches, they adopted a style of speaking and of action, which is not\nonly in accordance with infant baptism, but which would not have been\nused if they had considered infants unfit for the ordinance.  There are\nindeed some christians, worthy of our esteem and love, who do not\nperceive the force of this great argument, and who, therefore, deny to\ntheir children the blessed privilege which we thankfully enjoy.  But it\nwas not so formerly.  The nearer we approach to apostolic times, the more\nthe practice of the church accords with the principles I have advocated;\nand the most careful and learned ecclesiastical historians bear\nundeniable testimony to the fact, that for hundreds of years, immediately\nafter the apostles, _the baptism of infants was universal in the church_.\n\nII.  In proceeding, from the subject of infant baptism generally, to\nconsider the baptism of the Prince of Wales, I cannot, with propriety,\nrefrain from adverting to some appendages which will be made to his\nbaptism, and which the Church of England sanctions, but which I conceive\nto be unscriptural and injurious.  I allude principally to the sponsors;\nto the sign of the cross; and to the doctrine of baptismal regeneration.\n\nThe persons who are most interested in the baptism of a child are its own\nparents.  They are its natural guardians; and they are its divinely\nappointed ministers, to dedicate it to God, and to plead on its behalf\nthe promise of the everlasting covenant.  But in the Church of England,\nthe parents seem to be entirely excluded from participating in the\nservice.  The twenty-ninth canon declares, not only that \u201cno parent shall\nbe admitted to answer as godfather for his own child,\u201d but that \u201cno\nparent shall be even urged to be present\u201d at its baptism.  And when the\nparents are thus wrongfully set aside, another class of persons are\nintroduced, called _sponsors_\u2014godfathers and godmothers, who may indeed\nbe relatives or friends of the child, but who sometimes are entire\nstrangers, and who may be foreigners residing in a distant country.  The\nappointment of such persons, however ancient, is not scriptural; and\nhowever desirable they may appear to be, when the parents are dead, they\nare worse than useless when the parents are living.  The responsibility\nwhich these sponsors take upon themselves is indescribably awful.\nStanding in the presence of God, they solemnly promise and vow that the\nchild shall renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanity of\nthis wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh; that he shall\nbelieve all the articles of the christian faith; and that he shall keep\nGod\u2019s holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of\nhis life.  Such are the things which every sponsor engages shall be done;\nand I ask, ought any human being to enter into such an engagement?  If he\ndoes enter into it, will the Lord hold him guiltless if he does not\nfulfil it?  And yet how often is this solemn vow addressed to God, by the\nthoughtless and profane?  And how many sponsors, when they have made it,\nnever afterwards care for the soul of the child, and perhaps never\nafterwards see its face.\n\nIn imitation of the Church of Rome, the Church of England uses _the sign\nof the cross_ in baptism; and having poured water on the child, the\npriest marks him on the forehead with a cross, \u201cin token that hereafter\nhe shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and\nmanfully to fight under his banner.\u201d  This ceremony is not authorized by\nthe Scriptures.  The sign of the cross was never used by Christ and his\napostles, either as a part of baptism, or as an appendage to it.  The\nChurch of England, therefore, has no right to command it.  By so doing,\nshe renders imperative what Christ has not required, and what many of his\npeople deem a vain superstition.\n\nBut the most objectionable part of the service, is that which ascribes to\nbaptism _regenerating efficacy_, by which the soul of the child is said\nto be purified and saved.  The language used by the Church of England on\nthis subject, is as follows:\u2014\u201cDearly beloved brethren, this child is\nregenerate, and grafted into the body of Christ\u2019s church.\u201d  \u201cWe yield\nthee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee to\nregenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own\nchild by adoption, and to incorporate him into thy holy church.\u201d  \u201cI\ncertify you, that in this case all is well done concerning the baptizing\nof this child; who, being born in original sin, and in the wrath of God,\nis now by the laver of regeneration in baptism, received into the number\nof the children of God, and heirs of everlasting life.\u201d  In accordance\nwith these declarations, the child himself is afterwards taught to say by\nthe catechism,\u2014\u201cin my baptism, wherein I was made a member of Christ, the\nchild of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.\u201d  And when this\nsame child is brought for confirmation, his baptismal regeneration is\ndeclared and ratified by the bishop, when he says, \u201cAlmighty and\neverlasting God, who hast vouchsafed to regenerate these thy servants by\nwater and the Holy Ghost, and hast given unto them forgiveness of all\ntheir sins.\u201d  All this, you perceive is the language not of a commentator\nbut of the Church herself, uttered by her formularies, in which she\nplainly, emphatically, and repeatedly declares, that all the children she\nbaptizes are, by their baptism, spiritually regenerated, so as to be the\npardoned, adopted, and purified children of God.  So decidedly is this\ndoctrine the belief of the Established Church, that the liturgy seems to\nbe constructed entirely on the principle that all her members are\nspiritually renewed.  There is in it, confession of sin, and petition for\npardon, such as any regenerated person might offer, but there is in it no\nprayer that any in the congregation may be born again, and renewed in the\nspirit of their mind; for that is a change which it is supposed has\nalready taken place in baptism.  If, however, it should be thought that\nwe attach too strong a meaning to her language, listen to a statement\ncontained in the charge, which the present bishop of Exeter delivered to\nhis clergy in the year 1836.  \u201cThe church,\u201d says he, \u201cis a visible body,\ninto which its members are admitted by a visible sign, the sacrament of\nthe new life; in baptism is regeneration; without it we have no warrant\nof scripture to affirm that the new birth takes place at all; without it\nwe are yet in our sins, in a state of spiritual death, of enmity with\nGod, and of fellowship with the arch enemy in his hatred, and in its\neverlasting punishment!\u201d  Now, in the first place, this doctrine of\nbaptismal regeneration is _unscriptural_, and utterly subversive of the\ngospel of Christ.  No writer in the New Testament ascribes spiritual\nefficacy to water baptism.  John declares that he could baptize with\nwater only, and that Christ alone could baptize with the Holy Ghost and\nwith fire.  Paul thanks God that he had baptized but few of the\nCorinthians, and declares that Christ sent him not to baptize but to\npreach the gospel, which certainly would not have been the case if\nbaptism effected regeneration.  There is indeed a baptism, emphatically\ncalled the \u201cone baptism,\u201d which does regenerate and save; but it is not\nwater baptism; it is not \u201cthe putting away the filth of the flesh;\u201d it is\nnot ceremonial purification; but it is \u201cthe renewing of the Holy Ghost,\u201d\nand \u201cthe answer of a good conscience toward God.\u201d  What has been said of\ncircumcision, may, therefore, with equal propriety, be said of baptism;\n\u201cHe is not a Christian who is one outwardly; neither is that baptism\nwhich is outward in the flesh; but he is a Christian who is one inwardly;\nand baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;\nwhose praise is not of men, but of God.\u201d  Secondly, the doctrine of\nbaptismal regeneration is _injurious to the souls of men_.  There is a\nstrong tendency in the depraved heart of man to exalt ceremonies above\nmorals, and to substitute ritual observances for spiritual religion.\nThis has been done, both with circumcision and with baptism.  Some of the\nJews taught circumcisional regeneration, and declared that every\ncircumcised man was safe.  Precisely the same error has been connected\nwith baptism; and equally injurious consequences follow.  By thus\nsubstituting a ceremony for faith and for divine influence, and by\nascribing to that ceremony what the Spirit of God alone can secure, the\nword of God is made of none effect; spiritual religion is reduced to a\nmerely mechanical operation; the worldly-minded and the immoral are\ntaught to regard themselves as pardoned and saved, because they have been\nbaptized; and thus thousands perish, whose blood will be required at the\nwatchman\u2019s hand.  And thirdly, this doctrine, independently of other\ncircumstances, renders our _nonconformity with the Church of England_,\n_and our dissent from its services_, _a solemn and imperative duty_.\nWhen the present Prayer Book was issued on St. Bartholomew\u2019s day, in\n1662, and an \u201cunfeigned assent and consent\u201d to the doctrine of baptismal\nregeneration, and to other antichristian doctrines, was demanded, no less\nthan two thousand clergymen refused their signatures.  They could not,\nwith a good conscience, declare \u201cthat the Book of Common Prayer\ncontaineth in it nothing contrary to the word of God;\u201d and therefore they\nretired from the church in which they had ministered, and submitted to\nmuch poverty and persecution.  While we desire to value whatever is\nscriptural in that church, and while we would love all who love Christ,\nyet, with our convictions of the unscriptural character of this doctrine,\nand of other doctrines taught in its liturgy, conformity would be a sin,\na wilful and presumptuous sin, for which we should have to answer in the\ngreat and terrible day of the Lord.\n\nIII.  Having thus stated the doctrine of infant baptism as it is taught\nin the Scriptures, and having shown you what is objectionable in the\nbaptismal service of the Church of England, I desire now to connect this\nlatter part of the discourse more immediately with the former; and\ntherefore keeping in view the baptism of the prince, I shall address you\nas subjects, as parents, and as children.\n\n_As subjects of the British throne_, the feelings with which you hailed\nthe accession of our beloved Queen Victoria are, I am persuaded, still\nfresh and joyous in your hearts.  Her youth; her education; her deceased\nfather, and her still living and honoured mother; her known attachment to\ncivil and religious liberty, inherited from her royal ancestors of the\nHouse of Brunswick; and her virtuous character; all conspired to brighten\nand to bless the day of her accession, and to fill our hearts with joy\nand praise.  Nor did we fail, as members of the Church of Christ, to make\nher the subject of special, fervent, and united prayer.  And it is a most\nimportant and impressive fact, that probably no sovereign, either in\nBritain or in any other nation under heaven, ever ascended a throne\naccompanied by more earnest and affectionate supplications than Queen\nVictoria did.  May all those prayers be answered, in the divine\nbestowment of a long and prosperous reign, followed by a holy and a happy\neternity!  Nor did the royal marriage tend to lessen either our joy or\nhope.  It enhanced them both.  Prince Albert is favourably known to the\nlovers of protestantism and of piety in this country, as the branch of an\nillustrious family, which at the era of the Reformation, protected and\npatronized the immortal Luther, when he was kindling in Germany that\nsacred flame which rapidly spread through this county, and consumed many\nof the corruptions and abominations of popery.  And now, the royal pair\nhaving become parents the second time\u2014the parents of a prince, and heir\napparent to the British throne, we earnestly pray that his baptism may be\naccompanied and followed by an unction from the Holy One, and that he may\ngrow, as the Babe of Bethlehem grew, \u201cin wisdom and in stature, and in\nfavour with both God and man.\u201d  Vast indeed is the influence and the\nresponsibility to which, as a British prince, he is probably destined;\nand much indeed, under God, will depend on the education he may receive;\non the talents he may possess; and especially upon the moral and\nreligious character he may acquire.  In his reign, if he be spared to\nreign, and if not before his reign, rank and wealth may have to yield\nmore of their influence to intellect and character, and the many may have\nto take a still greater share in those national affairs which are now\nprincipally conducted by the comparatively few.  Ancient monopolies,\nhowever serviceable they may have been in former times; and\necclesiastical establishments, injurious at all times, will have to\nendure a more searching examination than they have even yet experienced,\nand will probably have to give way to better institutions.  And in the\nprospect of these changes\u2014changes which seem demanded by the interests of\nthe nation and of the Church of Christ: and changes which will require,\nin their introduction and completion, much of wisdom, human and divine,\nwe feel the necessity of constant earnest prayer, that our rulers and our\nfellow subjects may be all under the guidance of \u201cHim, by whom kings\nreign, and princes decree justice.\u201d  Believing too that the principles,\non which the congregational churches in this country are founded, are\nscriptural principles, and that they are favourable to civil and\nreligious liberty, to all the national interests, and to the purity and\nprogress of christian truth, we desire to maintain them, as our\nforefathers did, firmly and devoutly; especially now, when attempts are\nmaking to extend among us the superstitions of popery, and the fatal\nresults of priestly domination.  If the existence of an Established\nChurch in this country, renders us dissenters, we trust that we are not\ndissenters from the Church of Christ.  Our motto is, Conformity to the\nChurch of Christ in every thing; and nonconformity to every church which\nhas dissented from Christ\u2019s institutions.  These are principles,\nbrethren, which are too sacred and important, not only to be trifled\nwith, but even to be advocated by carnal and worldly minds.  They belong\nto \u201ca kingdom which is not of this world;\u201d and we pray that all by whom\nthey are professed, may be equally desirous \u201cto render unto Cesar the\nthings which are Cesar\u2019s, and unto God the things which are God\u2019s.\u201d\n\nIn addressing you _as parents_, who have dedicated your children to God\nby baptism, I would affectionately remind you of the duties which you owe\nboth to yourselves and to them.  The apostle tells you that \u201cthey are not\nunclean but holy\u201d\u2014holy, as the sabbath and the temple were; and holy as\nall children are who are dedicated to God by a religious rite.  When you\nbrought them to the waters of baptism, you thereby testified your\nconviction of their depravity and of their need of cleansing grace; you\nthereby testified your belief that the great promise, \u201cI will be a God\nunto thee, and unto thy seed after thee,\u201d which was once to the Jews, is\nnow unto you and unto your children; and at the same time you testified\nyour intention \u201cto teach them to observe all things whatsoever Christ has\ncommanded.\u201d  Remember then, that the great and blessed privilege which\nyou have enjoyed, is connected with corresponding obligations.  Having\ngiven your children to God by baptism, you are to regard them as being\npeculiarly his; and you are to regard yourselves not as their\nproprietors, but as trustees, appointed by Christ, to train them up for\nthe church, and for the service of their Lord and Master.  Baptism, you\nare aware, does not constitute a man a member of any particular church;\nbut it gives him a ceremonial qualification for membership.  And this is\njust the position in which baptism has placed your children.  They are\ncandidates for communion with the church; and, as \u201choly children,\u201d they\npossess the ceremonial qualification for communion.  Now, as you have\nbeen the means of giving them the one qualification, you may also be the\nmeans of giving them the other.  You may, through the divine blessing, be\nthe means of making them spiritually as well as ceremonially holy.  And\nit is the will of God that you should.  For that purpose he has committed\nthem to your charge; for that purpose he has authorized you to baptize\nthem; and for that purpose he has given you the blessed assurance,\n\u201cBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, AND THY\nHOUSE.\u201d  One of the great principles on which the God of mercy acts, in\nhis moral government of the world, is to bless children for the sake of\ntheir believing parents; and the number of such children which are\nreceived into our churches, and which are engaged in the christian\nministry, is an evidence of the fact, and of the faithfulness of Him by\nwhom the promises are made.  But you are not to expect this blessing\nunconditionally; nor are you to expect it from the mere fact of their\nbaptism.  When God made promise to Abraham, and gave him the sign of\ncircumcision as the token of his covenant, he made the fulfilment of that\npromise to depend on Abraham\u2019s personal piety, and on the religious\neducation of his children.  \u201cAbraham,\u201d said he, \u201cshall surely become a\ngreat and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be\nblessed in him.  For I know him, that he will command his children and\nhis household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do\njustice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he\nhath spoken of him.\u201d  And in like manner you are to be known to God, and\nto command your children and your household after you, to keep the way of\nthe Lord, and to do justice and judgment.  As parents, you are to have\nand to exercise authority in your own families.  You are not only to\nadvise and to recommend, but you are to command, and to be obeyed.  You\nare \u201cto rule your children and your own houses well; having your children\nin subjection with all gravity; teaching them to observe all things\nwhatsoever Christ has commanded;\u201d and ever, acting in accordance with the\nvow which you have made, \u201cas for me, _and my house_, we will serve the\nLord.\u201d  Having baptized your children unto Christ, you have motives and\nencouragements of the most powerful and constraining character, to \u201cbring\nthem up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.\u201d  You can appeal to\nthem by the fact that you have given them to Christ; that you \u201chave\nopened your mouth unto the Lord concerning them, and you cannot go back;\u201d\nand that, by their baptism, they and you have incurred responsibilities\nfrom which neither of you can be released, and which should lead both of\nyou to serious consideration, and to unreserved consecration to God.  Oh!\nthen, christian parents, use the power and the privilege which God hath\nthus put into your hands; use them in connection with earnest and\nunceasing prayer; enforce them by consistent and holy example; cherish\n\u201cthe full assurance of hope\u201d that, through the grace of God, you will\nsucceed.  And you shall succeed; \u201cthe Lord will bring upon you that which\nhe hath spoken.\u201d  \u201cHe will be a God unto you, and unto your seed after\nyou.\u201d  Your house shall be saved as well as yourself.  \u201cHe will pour out\nhis Spirit upon your seed, and his blessing upon your offspring; and they\nshall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.  One\nshall say I am the Lord\u2019s; another shall call himself by the name of\nJacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and\nsurname himself by the name of Israel.\u201d\n\nFinally, I appeal to you as _baptized children_; and while I congratulate\nyou on the blessed privilege of having been dedicated to God in your\ninfancy, I would seriously admonish you of the obligations and\nresponsibility which your baptism has imposed.  Almost as soon as your\nexistence commenced, you were brought to an ordinance which, like the bow\non the cloud, is the sign of God\u2019s better and enduring covenant.  When\nyou were almost as unconscious as the cloud on which the rainbow shines,\nGod fixed upon you the sign and the seal of his new covenant\nrighteousness.  He did not wait till you had attained to years of\nmaturity, or even of intelligence; but before you could understand, he\ntaught you; before you could hear, he spoke to you; and his significant\nlanguage was, \u201cYou are come into a world of mercy as well as of pollution\nand sin; and this baptismal water is an emblem of that \u2018blood of\nsprinkling,\u2019 through which mercy may come to you.\u201d  That baptism, beloved\nyoung friends, has brought you into circumstances of great\nresponsibility.  It is an evidence that you were born into the midst of\ngospel privileges.  It is a mark by which you are known to have been\ndedicated to God.  It is a mark which never can be obliterated; which no\nhuman efforts can wash out; which you will carry to the grave; and which\nwill be found upon you at the bar of God!  With this mark upon you, there\nyou will stand, not as \u201cunclean children\u201d and heathens, but as \u201cthe\nchildren of the kingdom;\u201d as disciples who have been introduced into\nChrist\u2019s school, and taught to observe all things whatsoever Christ has\ncommanded.  By that baptism which you have received, and by those\ncommands which you have been taught to observe, you will then be judged.\nAnd what will be your end, if you obey not the gospel of God!  In your\ncase especially, obedience is expected, because, in your case, it is\nespecially encouraged.  If there was much profit in circumcision, because\nthat unto them were committed the oracles of God, how much more profit is\nthere in baptism, because to you are committed, not only the Old\nTestament oracles, but the New.  If he that was circumcised became\nthereby \u201ca debtor to do the whole law,\u201d and \u201cto fulfil all its\nrighteousness,\u201d how much more are you, the baptized, debtors to believe\nand to practice \u201cthe glorious gospel.\u201d  You have been baptized unto\nChrist, have you put on Christ?  You have been ceremonially qualified for\nchurch communion, are you spiritually qualified?  You have been dedicated\nto God by others in your baptism, have you dedicated yourselves to God?\nYou have been \u201cborn of water,\u201d have you been \u201cborn of the Spirit?\u201d \u201cfor\nexcept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the\nkingdom of God.\u201d  Nay, except you go back to your own infancy, and become\nspiritually now, what you were naturally then\u2014\u201cexcept ye be converted and\nbecome as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of\nheaven;\u201d and \u201cVERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, WHOSOEVER SHALL NOT RECEIVE THE\nKINGDOM OF GOD AS A LITTLE CHILD HE SHALL NOT ENTER THEREIN.\u201d\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                   PRINTED BY JOSIAH FLETCHER, NORWICH.","title":"The Baptism of the Prince: A Sermon: Preached ... on Sunday morning, Jan. 23, 1842, in anticipation of the baptism of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":8110}