no man may, without his authority, hinder that baptismal profession by substituting a parental act for the act of the person himself. Since baptismal dedication in infancy sets aside, with reference to all such infants, baptismal profession in after life, the one must not be lightly substituted for the other, lest a human invention be found to subvert a divine ordinance. The commands of Christ to each penitent believer are plain, Repent, and be baptized;'Arise, and wash away thy sins;' 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.' But where is the authority for the baptismal dedication of the infant without profession? In vain do we look through the whole New Testament for a line, for a word, in its favour.

"But why, it has been asked, do you not equally insist on express authority for administering the Lord's supper to women? Men are expressly commanded to receive it, but where is the express command for women? I answer, that there is express authority for their reception of it. Women who believe in Christ are by that faith disciples of Christ and children of God, as much as believing men, Gal. iii. 26-28; Acts v. 14. When baptized, they are baptized into the church of Christ, Acts viii. 3. They are, therefore, members of churches as well as men, and are so addressed, Rom. xvi. 1, &c., &c. They were, therefore, members of the church at Corinth, 1 Cor. xiv. 34. But all this church is said, by the apostle, to have assembled to receive the Lord's supper, women as well as men, 1 Cor. i. 2; xi. 18, 20, 26. And as this habit was recognized by the apostle, and not condemned, it had his sanction; see also Acts ii. 38-42. Besides, if there had been no express authority for the admission of women to the Lord's table, there would have been no similarity between the For in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female,' Gal. iii. 28. A believing woman before God is exactly as a believing man; and, therefore, the reception of the Lord's supper by a woman is exactly the same spiritual act as the reception of it by a man and since there is neither male nor female in Christ Jesus,' a command given to disciples generally is given to women as well as men; and when Jesus said to his disciples respecting the cup, 'Drink you all of it,' he said it to women as well as men.

cases.

"What a shallow fallacy, likewise, it is to argue that because the same spiritual act may be performed by two classes of believers, of which one alone has been named in the precept, that therefore two opposite acts may be performed by these two classes! When one

believer receives the Lord's supper, it is the same act as when another receives it; and we may infer the duty of the one from the duty of the other. But when an unconscious infant has baptism forced upon it, and, being yet unregenerate, receives the sign of regeneration, its baptism is a rite totally different from the baptism of a believer, who, as regenerate, voluntarily expresses by baptism his faith and his obedience. The duty, therefore, of one believer to baptize his infant cannot be inferred from the duty of another believer to be himself baptized; and the case which rests upon so forced an analogy must be weak indeed.

"But if there is no analogy between the reception of the Lord's supper by women who believe and the reception of baptism by unconscious infants, there is a close analogy between the reception of baptism by an infant and its reception of the Lord's supper. While believ ers are commanded to receive both baptism and the Lord's supper, the word of God is silent respecting the administration of either sacrament to infants. It is, therefore, by the nature and design of the sacraments that we must judge whether or not they are to be administered to them: and the analogy between the two sacraments demonstrates that either both should be received by infants or both deferred till the infant has become a believer. As the adult must believe before he can properly receive the Lord's supper, so he must believe before he can properly receive baptism. As the reception of the Lord's supper is a profes sion of faith, so the reception of haptism is a profession of faith likewise. If, therefore, the adult is qualified for baptism, he is qualified for the Lord's supper; and if he is disqualified for the Lord's supper, he is disqualified for baptism. The qualifications for each ordinance are the same. But what is true of the sacraments generally, must be true of them with respect to all who receive them: for the sacraments remaining the same, the qualifications must remain the same also. If, therefore, the infant is qualified for baptism, he is qualified for the Lord's supper; and if he is disqualified for the Lord's supper, he is disqualified for baptism. Hence it follows, that if you may infer the baptism of infants from the baptism of believers, you may also infer the admission of infants to the Lord's table from the admission of believers to it, for the qualification or disqualification of infants is the same in both cases. But if it be superstitious and unlawful to administer the Lord's supper to infants because they have not the faith which is requisite for it, so it must be equally superstitious and unlawful to administer baptism to them when they are equally incapable of the faith which is requisite for it. If a

distinct authority is wanted to justify the admission of infants to the Lord's supper, it must be equally wanted to justify their admission to baptism, because both ordinances require the same qualifications.

"To those who ask authority for their exclusion from the ordinance of baptism, I reply that no such exclusion is needed. Christ's law is, Repent, and be baptized.' We know that we do his will when we baptize the believer; and as he has not commanded the baptism of infants, it can be no violation of his command to delay their baptism till they become believers. His silence renders it improbable that he intended them to be baptized; the required conditions of baptism render it more improbable; and if no positive precept be found prohibiting the baptism of infants, as no precept is found prohibiting their reception of the Lord's supper, yet the revealed nature and design of both sacraments amount to such a prohibition.

"All that the advocates of infant baptism can venture to say with reference to the evidence of the New Testament is, that the exclusion of infants is not certain. But is this evidence enough upon which to baptize them? May Christ's requirements of repentance and faith be so lightly set aside? Let us recall the rule of the apostle Paul in all cases of doubt, 'Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin,' Rom. xiv. 5, 23. Since there is no evidence that Christ intended infants to be baptized, and it is certain that he intended believers to be so, it is safer to follow his declared will than uncertain inferences which may be in opposition to it. Jesuit morality is indeed of a different kind. Probability,' the Jesuit says, ' is a doctrine according to which, in the concurrence (collision ?) of two opinions, of which the one is more probable and in conformity with the law, the other less probable but favouring concupiscence, it is lawful to follow the latter in practice.'-Extraits des Assertions, tom. i., p. 27, note. The authority of one good and learned doctor renders an opinion probable.' That any opinion may be probable to me, it is sufficient that I have a reason which seems to me good, or the authority of a good doctor which is equivalent to a reason.' 'It is sufficient for an inexperienced and unlearned man to follow the opinion which he thinks to be probable, because it is maintained by good men, who are versed in that art, although the opinion may be neither the more safe, nor the more common, nor the more probable.' 'It would be an insupportable burden to the consciences of men, and liable to many scruples, if we were bound to follow and examine the more probable

VOL. XII.-FOURTH SERIES.

opinions.' 'It is lawful to follow the more probable opinion, rejecting the less probable, although it may be the more safe. It is lawful to follow the less probable opinion, although it may be the less safe. It is sufficient for unlearned men to act rightly, that they follow the opinion of a learned man neither is it necessary to be certain of acting rightly.' 'He does not sin who follows a probable opinion, rejecting the more probable, whether the latter be the opinion of others or of the agent himself, and whether the less probable opinion which he follows be the safer or the less safe.' 'We may follow a probable opinion without sin, rejecting that which is more probable and more safe.' 'In fact, many opinions may be adduced which are prudently probable, although they may be contrary to scripture.' We are never more free from the violation of the law than when we persuade ourselves that we are not bound by the law. . . He who says that the law is not binding cannot sin. He, therefore, who follows the less rigid and less probable opinion cannot sin.' 'Even in the administration of the sacraments it is lawful to follow the less probable things, rejecting the more probable.' Of two contradictory probable opinions touching the legality or illegality of any human action, every one may follow in practice or in action that which he would prefer, although it may appear to the agent himself less probable in theory.'

"This Jesuit doctrine certainly justifies infant baptism. The scripture says, 'Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.' Let every man ascertain by examination of scripture that his course of conduct is agreeable to the will of God. Let him obtain complete scriptural evidence that he may lawfully neglect to make a profession of his faith by immersion. The Jesuit replies, "It would be an unsupportable burden to the consciences of men, and render them liable to many scruples, if we were bound to examine and to follow the more probable opinions. It is lawful to follow the more probable opinion, rejecting the less probable, although the latter may be the more safe. The authority of one good and learned doctor renders an opinion probable.' 'Scripture seems to command the immersion of all believers as a profession of their faith; but Christians cannot be bound to ascertain this duty for themselves. Many excellent men think infant sprinkling is sufficient. Their authority renders this opinion probable. It must be lawful to follow it.'

"Scripture says, 'He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin:' in other words, He that doubteth the sufficiency of infant sprinkling is condemned if he adheres to it,

4 N

by refusing to profess his faith by immersion, because he adheres to it without conviction that it is the will of God. For whatsoever is done without belief that it is the will of God, is sin.'

"The Jesuit replies, In the collision of two opinions, of which the one is more probable and in conformity with the law, the other less probable, but favouring our wishes, it is lawful to follow the latter in practice. It is much more agreeable not to be immersed, though immersion was probably intended; and therefore it is lawful to adhere to infant sprinkling. It is lawful to follow the less probable opinion, although it may be the less safe. Neither is it necessary to be certain of acting rightly. We are certain that Christ commanded believers to be immersed. We cannot be certain that he allowed infants to be sprinkled; but it is lawful to supersede the immersion of believers by the sprinkling of infants notwithstanding.'

"Christ has said by his apostle Peter, 'Repent, and be immersed, every one of you;" and by his own lips, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." How then can Christian churches lawfully prevent believers in general from being baptized, by taking care to baptize them long before, when they are unregenerate infants?

"The Jesuit replies, "There are many opinions which are prudently probable, although they may be contrary to scripture. The sprinkling of infants is one of these. Christ commands believers to be immersed; but we think that he could not intend it. We are not, therefore, bound by his command; and we are never more free from the violation of the law than when we persuade ourselves that we are not bound by it. We declare that Christ's command to us to be immersed does not bind us; and he who says that the law is not binding cannot sin. It is utterly distasteful and offensive to be plunged into water as a profession of a death to sin, and a new life of devotedness to God. And as we prefer the sprinkling of us when we were infants to any such baptismal profession to be made by us as men, we may lawfully adhere to the former: for of two contradictory probable opinions, touching the legality or illegality of any action, every one may follow in practice that which he prefers.'

"This is human nature. In examining, therefore, the claims of a duty which is unfashionable and despised, let us take care that we are not tainted by Jesuit morality, and that we do not refuse to make a profession which Christ has enjoined, from respect to human authority or the fear of human censure, from custom or convenience, from prejudice or pride.

It is certain that Christ has enjoined the immersion of believers, and let it be remembered that the sprinkling of infants is not an addition to this law, but a substitution for it.

"The Reformers knew no baptism,' says Mr. Budd, but that of infants, and therefore prepared no service for adults: that was a subsequent provision to meet the evils which had been introduced by times of anabaptist confusion. They had no idea of a church the membership of which was not constituted by infant baptism.'-Budd's Pref. 233.

"So completely had the baptism of believers, which alone is known in the New Testament, vanished from the churches. Even now, except in the baptist churches, not one person in a hundred is baptized as a penitent believer; the baptism of profession is vanished, the baptism of dedication by another has taken its place. Spontaneous baptism is gone, the sprinkling of those who are without thought or will remains. Christ's law is nearly sunk into oblivion, the apocryphal corollary governs almost universal practice. Our Lord has said by his apostle, Repent, and be baptized;' and the churches sprinkle those incapable of repentance. The New Testament records the baptism of believers and of no infants; the churches now sprinkle infants and scarcely any believers. All the passages on baptism in the New Testament have lost their meaning, because baptism has been severed from faith, regeneration, remission of sins, the death to sin, the new life, the putting on Christ, salvation, all connected with baptism in the New Testament have ceased to be connected with it, because water is now administered to a different class of persons without faith.

And all this has happened without any authority whatever from our Lord.

"To my mind this alone is decisive. Inferences and indirect arguments, for an addition to Christ's law which in reality subverts it, are inadmissable. Nothing but express and positive enactments can sanction an innovation so entirely at variance with the spirit of the original institution. Such enactment is wanting; and the disciples of Christ seem, therefore, bound to adhere to his declared will."-pp. 126-137.

But as we proceed we find that we are getting into difficulty. There is an aspect of freshness about Mr. Noel's pages, arising from his having viewed the subject from a position which we have never occupied, that induces mirthfulness, and disposition to quote unduly. We must check ourselves.

To the pædobaptist ministers who read what we write, for we have reason to think that more pædobaptist ministers read our pages than recommend them to their flocks, we beg to say two things. The first is that they must not hold us responsible for every sentence that our young brother has written. He has learned some things among them that he has not yet unlearned so fully as he will probably hereafter. The second is that they may lay aside their friendly anxieties lest after all there should be some important differences between his views and ours, so that after having left them he should be unable to fraternize with us. It is all right enough, we can assure them. Not that he is a convert of ours; we have

no part of the honour of his enlightenment. He is as innocent as they themselves are of tampering with our controversial books; but he has done what they can hardly blame, however much they may regret the result, he has surrendered himself to the teaching of the New Testament. Our candour induces us to entertain the opinion that they will read this work for themselves, and though they have not given our arguments their full weight in time past, who can tell what may occur now? We do hope that there will be as many converts made from their ranks to ours now by Mr. Noel-just about as many— as will be made from the ranks of the establishment to dissent by the judgment of Sir Herbert Jenner Fust.

The Pastor's Wife. A Memoir of Mrs. Sherman of Surrey Chapel. By her Husband. Second Edition. London: C. Gilpin, 1849. 16mo., pp. viii., 375.

The appearance of this second edition, which we are pleased but not surprised to see, having led us to renew our acquaintance with the work, has deepened our impression that it is one of the most valuable pieces of female biography that the church possesses. Usefulness in the service of Christ was Mrs. Sherman's honoured with it in her life-time; but through the instrumentality of this publication, in which she "yet speaketh," we anticipate for her a usefulness far more extensive and enduring. The volume will be interesting to any reader of taste into whose hands it may fall, many of the letters it contains, written from different parts of the continent of Europe, being cheerful and picturesque; to pious ladies generally the character portrayed will afford a study, a stimulus, and an example; while it furnishes some suggestions peculiarly appropri ate to those who are or who expect to be the wives of Christian ministers.

habitual aim; to a considerable extent she was

scenes.

The Communion Table, or Communicant's

Manual: a Plain and Practical Exposition of the Lord's Supper. By the Rev. JOHN CUMMING, D.D., Minister of the Scottish National Church, Crown Court, Covent Garden. London: Arthur Hall and Co. 16mo., pp. 233.

Treatises on the Lord's supper from the pens of leading ministers in the various presbyterian churches abound, but they are not generally such as we can recommend without reserve and hesitation; but the simple and scriptural views presented in this volume, and illustrated in an attractive style, have afforded us much satisfaction. We are delighted to receive from such a quarter, statements of which this is a sample:"There is an idea prevalent in the minds of many, that the minister is to administer the sacrament to the individuals who partake of it. The language, if properly explained is proper, but it is very frequently grievously misapprehended. At the Lord's

supper there is no officiating priest. Doing a priestly act, or putting into your hands a piece of bread that will act like an exorcism, or convey some mysterious and indefinable virtue, is not Christianity. The minister celebrates the ordinance as your servant for Christ's sake, and as a matter of order. You are the priests; we are all priests, and we surround that table as true priests, celebrating a social ordinance among ourselves, not receiving it from the hands of one who alone can communicate to it a virtue, which may render it a charm, a necromancy. It is a social ordinance; each having equal access to God, equal privilege, equal acceptance, equal right to draw near to the Holiest of all."-This volume contains much that will be interesting both to communicants and to inquirers.

The Miscellaneous Works of Archibald Mac Lean, one of the Pastors of the Baptist Church, Edinburgh. Vols. V. and VI. Elgin: Peter Macdonald.

Nine discourses on subjects of importance were published by Mr. McLean, in a duodecimo volume, at the beginning of the present century. These, with a few others, constituted the fourth volume of the octavo edition of his works which came out in 1823, under the superintendence of his friend and ardent admirer the late William Jones. Volume fifth of the present series comprehends the nine, and three of those which accompanied them. Volume sixth contains seventeen sermons which Mr. Jones found after Mr. McLean's death, in a state requiring but little correction, and which he published at the end of the octavo edition. It was oversight, not design, which prevented the announcement of this to our readers some months ago; for these volumes contain a large quantity of good theology, sent forth by a benevolent publisher at a small charge, and we think it a public duty to aid in their circulation. Especially we wish to do this, as Mr. Macdonald announces his intention to bring out a seventh volume, provided a sufficient number of subscribers appear to save him from actual loss. This would cost each subscriber an additional five shillings, but it would bring him five hundred pages from the pen of a clear-headed and right-hearted baptist, in some of whose convictions we do not concur, but to whose writings we yet deem ourselves much indebted.

It has been the aim of the compiler" to provide a pleasing variety of hymns suitable for children, and of metres popular with them." This book differs from all others with which be is acquainted in three particulars: it omits all Dr. Watts's hymns;-there is an edition for teachers containing hymns suitable for their prayer meetings;—and it combines these two objects in one cheap book, the teachers' edition being charged an additional twopence. Our copy contains only the hymns designed for the children, and these appear to us to be well chosen. There are many which we do not remember having seen before.

The

Cyclopedia of Moral and Religious Anecdotes: a Collection of nearly Three Thousand Facts, Incidents, Narratives, Examples, and Testimonies, embracing the best of the kind in most former Collections, and some Hundreds in addition, Original and Selected. whole Arranged and Classified on a new plan, with copious_Topical and Scriptural Indexes. By the Rev. K. ARVINE, A.M., Pastor of the Providence Church, New York. The English Edition being Edited by a Gentleman in London, who has, by agreement with the Author, arranged for its publication, and the entry of it at Stationers' Hall. London. No. I. Price ls.

The title-page describes the work correctly. It is recommended by Dr. Cheever, Dr. Tyng, and other respectable American ministers. The whole is to be comprised in ten monthly

numbers.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

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[It should be understood that insertion in this list is not a mere announcement: it expresses approbation of the works enumerated,-not of course extending to every particular, but an approbation of their general character and tendency.]

A Brief Historical Relation of the Life of Mr. taining several observations of the Divine Goodness JOHN LIVINGSTONE, Minister of the Gospel, conmanifested to him in the several occurrences thereof. Written by Himself, during his Banishment in Holland for the cause of Christ. With a Historical ton, Knock-bracken. A New Edition, with AppenIntroduction and Notes, by the Rev. Thomas Housdix. Edinburgh: Johnstone. pp. 290.

Philosophy and Scepticism. The Lecture Delivered Inspiration in Conflict with Recent Forms of at the Opening of the United Presbyterian Divinity Hall Session, 1849. By JOHN EADIE, LL.D., Professor of Biblical Literature to the United PresbySons. 18mo., pp. 42.

terian Church. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and

The Christian Treasury: containing Contributions cal Denominations. September, 1849. Edinburgh : from Ministers and Members of various EvangeliJohnstone and Hunter. 8vo., pp. 48.