Spirit of adoption, to address God, Abba, Father;' and He fills him with joy. What amazing love!

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At the gatherings of the subjects of the kingdom, the ministers of Christ are directed to bless the people in His name. A part of that great benediction, and not the least important part of it, is, "The communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all." Who can estimate the blessings flowing from that communion? Children of that kingdom, part of which is "joy in the Holy Ghost ;" hold constant communion with the loving Spirit who dwells in you: and "grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.""

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And ye who have not yet acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ the King of kings, as your king and your Saviour, how long will ye "resist the Holy Ghost?" How long will ye continue "to tread under foot the Son of God, and count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing and do despite unto the Spirit of Grace?" How long will ye run the risk of being for eternity outcasts from the kingdom of God? There is one sin which is spoken of as unpardonable. God hath said, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man.' Beware of blaspheming against the Holy Ghost; of treating Him as an unclean Spirit: for so long as you speak against Him, you will never be forgiven, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.10 Does He still work in your conscience and in your heart, urging you to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? there is, then, yet hope seek His guidance; and at once join that great kingdom which is overspreading the earth and filling Heaven.

CHAPTER XLIX.

FIRST THINGS IN THE VISIBLE CHURCH UNDER THE NEW DISPENSATION-INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS-CHILDREN AND HOUSEHOLDS, MEMBERS THE LORD'S SUPPER-MODE OF BAPTISM-NEW SABBATH-FIRST FOREIGN MISSIONS-NEW WAY TO GOD-NEW PRIESTS-CHURCHES-FIRST SAVED FIRST ENTRANCE INTO HEAVEN-CONCLUSION.

66 OD created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold (or greatly diversified) wisdom of God." The true church. of Christ being spiritual, is invisible: and the real members of that church are only those who are born again of the Holy Ghost. The church of Christ has, however, always had a visible organization on the earth. This was requisite for its preservation and edification. In it the line of the Messiah was to be preserved according to prophecy, till he came. The church was also to be in all ages "the pillar and ground of the truth."" Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, were given to it for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." It required elders, who, as rulers and bishops, should keep its members pure in morals, and from being led astray by false teachers." The visible church differs from the invisible in that it has always had members

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Eph. iii. 10, 21; 1 Peter i. 12.

3 Eph. iv. 11, 12; 1 Cor. xii. 28.

21 Tim. iii. 15.

1 Cor. v. 7, 11, 13; Acts xx. 28, 30; Titus i. 5.

who were only such outwardly: "for they are not all Israel which are of Israel."'

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We have already noticed that all the forms of worship in the visible church have, from the beginning, been ordained by the Head of the church; every other worship being in vain. The types used in the ancient forms of worship having been consummated by the death of Christ, the Lord Jesus, under the gospel dispensation, introduced new forms of admission, and terms of membership into his church. These, however, correspond with the old. Under the ancient covenant, those desiring to become members of the church were to be circumcised, and to take the passover:" and then, if they did not continue to take the passover, they were to be cut off from the church. Both of these forms were done away with at the death of Christ: "Christ our passover being then sacrificed for us;" baptism and the Lord's Supper,' were substituted by him in their place, and they are now the public forms of admission and of continued membership in the visible kingdom of Christ; therefore, only those who are baptized, and who continue to take the Lord's Supper are members of the visible church.

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The most significant feature in the mode of worship in the ancient church, and the most important, was the sacrifices; all pointing to the atonement to be made by the Lord Jesus Christ. These were all done away with when "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many :" 10 "for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."11 Just before he was offered he joined in the last passoverfeast, and told his disciples that it was about to be "fulfilled in the kingdom of God." " He then instituted the Lord's

' Rom. ix. 6, 7; Rev. ii. 9.

2 Mark vii. 7; Deut. xii. 32.

3 Heb. ix. 11; x. 1.

* Gen. xvii. 10; Acts vii. 8. 5 Exod. xii. 43-48.

Exod. xii. 19; Numb. ix. 13.

7 1 Cor. v. 7.

8 Matt. xxviii. 19; Mark xvi. 16. 9 Luke xxii. 19; 1 Cor. xi. 23.

10 Heb. ix. 28.

11 Heb. x. 14.

12 Luke xxii. 16.

Supper the eating of the broken bread and the drinking of poured out wine, both to be partaken of by all believers, as memorials of his body broken for them, and of his blood shed for them.' Since his death this has been the great feast of the Christian church, and it will be continued to the end of the world, showing forth "the Lord's death till he come." 2

From creation, the children of God's people have always been included in the covenants which God made with their parents. It was thus with the covenants made with Adam, with Noah, Abraham, Jacob, the children of Israel, David, etc. In all ages, whoever joined the visible church and thus entered into an open covenant with God and his people, brought his whole household into the church with him. Under the ancient testament or covenant, his children and his slaves were to be circumcised; and then they might partake of the passover: the whole household thus at once became members of the visible church; entitled to its privileges, to its care and its discipline. Under the new covenant, likewise, the believer brought his household with himself into the visible church. Thus we see Lydia was baptized and her household;" the jailor "was baptized, he and all his, straightway;"" and also “the household of Stephanas." The children of believers are spoken of as "holy; that is, sanctified by covenant to the Lord: they are therefore to be trained "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," as already in him. Children are also expressly addressed as members of the church, and special instructions are given to them as being in covenant with God. The Christian parent, therefore, who does not thus

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consecrate his child and his household to God by baptism, not only breaks the covenant God has made with him; but he also robs his child and his household of the benefits of the covenant, and of their privilege of church membership.

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The mode of baptism by which subjects are publicly admitted into the visible kingdom of Christ on earth, is worthy of consideration. How this is to be performed is not specifically mentioned. Some persons, thinking that John the Baptist baptized by immersion, and also that the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized the same way, which may or may not be the fact, make that mode of baptism a test of churchmembership and thus not only separate themselves from the mass of the body of Christ, but also cut off their own children from the benefit of that covenant, which, as we have before noticed, God has made, from the beginning, with believers and their children. Whatever way John baptized, one thing is certain, his baptism was not Christian baptism. His was expressly a "baptism of repentance:" and it was necessary that they who were baptized by him, when they became Christians, should be baptized again. The thousands converted and baptized in Jerusalem immediately after the crucifixion, could not have been immersed, even had there been sufficient water; the authorities would not have allowed it. In baptism the person is not applied to the water, but the water to the person. The common mode of applying water in baptism in all ages of the Christian church, has been by sprinkling. Thanks be to God! the new kingdom, which is to extend over the whole earth, does not shut out them who dwell in the polar regions, or in deserts, or where water cannot be obtained to immerse them: it does not shut out the dying, or those too sick to be immersed; and above all, it still includes the children of His people. Under the old dispensation, the blood of the sacrifice was 'Acts xix. 4; Matt. iii. 11. 2 Acts xix. 3, 5. 3 Acts x. 47.

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