to secure a visible church that is perfectly pure; but we can hope to approximate to that state. We may not hope, perhaps, to secure more than eleven true apostles to one Judas. But when it comes to pass that a majority of the body are Judases, it will be hard to make any true members afterwards. If we compare the standard of admission to the church to a sieve, the extremes would be, sieves so fine that only a few of the minutest particles could get through at all, and sieves so coarse that everything but the loosest trash will go through. Neither of these extremes can work well. There have been tendencies to the first extreme in some quarters of the Puritan camp. Tendencies to the other extreme have been very manifest in some communions. The main tendency of Congregational churches has been in a direction to avoid the rocks on either side. John Robinson protested against practices of communion that all the evangelical churches in this country now discard. And neither he nor his successors have ever been to any great extent inclined to excessive, undue rigor in their terms of admission to the church.

We do not claim perfection for the religious life of New England, as influenced by Robinson and his coadjutors. It has exhibited extravagances in some directions. It has not been free from some vagaries of practice and doctrine that are to be lamented. Its revivals have been, perhaps, too spasmodic. Its course onward has not been in a line that is mathematically straight. It has not developed character that has been altogether symmetrical. Symmetry of the individual is hardly to be expected when the sinful tendencies of society are so disproportionate. Here we are often made one-sided by our efforts to resist the special obstacles that oppose us. Here we are begrimed by the very dust we raise in our efforts to do good work. It is not for those ages or those sections whose hands have never been made callous by the work of great undertakings to criticise too sharply. But on the whole, the religious life of New England has flowed onward towards the golden future of pro

phetic hope with steady course; adding, at each stage in its progress, a powerful, and in many respects unparalleled, impulse to the forces that are subduing all things to Christ. The valley is long and wide and deep and straight, if the stream that made it does wind from side to side in its course. We see no reason yet why we should abandon the principle defended by Edwards, that none "ought to be admitted to the communion and privileges of members of the visible church of Christ, in complete standing, but such as are, in profession and in the eye of the church's Christian judgment, godly or gracious persons." 1

V. SCRIPTURE WARRANT FOR INFANT BAPTISM.

When, now, we come to consider the scriptural warrant for the practice of infant baptism, we must warn the reader that the design of this Article will only admit of the barest outline of our argument. And we beg leave to carry into the inquiry concerning the Bible warrant the weight of the general considerations concerning baptism already established. For it should always be borne in mind that it is a most important rule of interpretation that language should be interpreted according to the known nature of the subject. All our interpretations of the Bible regarding geological, astronomical, and other kindred subjects are modified by this rule. So, likewise, the Bible language concerning free-will and divine agency is to be interpreted in harmony with what is otherwise known concerning these subjects. It will thus be seen that the force we may give to particular passages of scripture which bear upon the question in hand will depend somwhat upon our agreement regarding this preliminary discussion. We think we have shown that infant baptism naturally expresses, except in one unimportant particular, all that adult baptism does, and a good deal more. What adult baptism expresses concerning the need of regeneration, infant baptism expresses still more impressively. The hope which the divine promises give that the proper use of means will result, through divine

1 Works, as above, Vol. i. p. 153.

grace, in regeneration is expressed in infant baptism, and not in adult baptism. This we conceive to be more important than the additional idea present in adult baptism, viz., that the subject probably has been regenerated. For this last idea we can keep prominently enough before the world through our forms of admission to the church, and of invitation to the Lord's supper, and through meetings for prayer and religious conference.

With these things clearly in mind, we shall see, perhaps, that there is less force than some suppose in the argument against infant baptism which is founded on the fact that, in apostolic exhortation, faith and repentance are mentioned before baptism. For the facts that these are confessedly first in importance, and that the address is to adults, and can be to no others, naturally account for the form of the exhortation.

Also, the train of thought pursued above, sends us with some degree of momentum, along the line of argument which proceeds on the presumption that the covenant that was symbolized in circumcision would not be left wholly without symbol in the new dispensation. There are some lines of procedure discernible in the progress of the revelation of the Bible that are capable of being established by induction about as conclusively as the uniformity of the laws of nature.

God's plan to work, in general, through the family institution is one of those revealed facts that runs through the history, the precepts, and promises of scripture with remarkable persistency and clearness. This plan stands so clearly revealed in the Old Testament, and has been so frequently dwelt upon that there is no need of anything more than a reference to it here. Two passages of scripture will in combination present our line of argument: "And if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive-tree, were graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive-tree" (Rom. xi. 17). This sets us to asking what is the root and fatness of the olive-tree which we may partake of with the Jews. These are, first, the offers of salvation through Christ, which were symbolized

in the sacrifices of the old dispensation, and which are symbolized now in the Lord's supper. Secondly, the covenant of God to co-operate with us to secure the salvation of our children and other individuals in proportion to our efforts in their behalf. This was symbolized in the old dispensation by circumcision, and may be symbolized to us in infant baptism. The old promise was: "I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in thy generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee." The symbol of this part of the root and fatness of the olive-tree Pedo-baptists object to giving up, unless good proof is given that there is a positive command to do so. They cannot accept the commands made to unbaptized and unregenerate adults to believe and be baptized as proof that the baptism of the infant children of believers is robbed of its natural significance and forbidden them.

We cannot but believe that with all the attachment of the Jews to the Abrahamic covenant and to its symbol, the Jewish Christians would have applied the rite of baptism to their children, unless they had been positively forbidden to do it. And if they had been discouraged from doing it, there would have been in the New Testament history traces of rebellion and opposition on that point, as there were about giving up circumcision.

But space forbids us to do more here, than give a passing glance at this part of our subject; and with the single specimen given above of our line of argument we must pass on. The nature of the case precludes absolute demonstration; but the line of the foregoing considerations makes it difficult for one not to acquiesce in the calm and weighty words of Dr. Emmons: "Candor, in this case, will teach every person to be satisfied with that kind of evidence which the nature of this subject affords, and with the degree of evidence which results from the united influence of these moral arguments.1 ..... If there be no direct evidence against infant baptism, and some positive evidence in favor of it, then

1 Works, edited by Dr. Ide (Boston, 1860), Vol. iii. p. 666.

every impartial person must, at least, lean towards the doctrine, though he meet with some seeming difficulties." 1

CONCLUSION.

(1) Infant baptism naturally signifies that all men are sinners in need of regeneration. Adult baptism can signify no more upon this point, and indicates this less emphatically than infant baptism. (2) Adult baptism may signify that the person baptized has been regenerated. This fact, we have shown, may be indicated with sufficient clearness by Pedobaptists in their terms of admission to the Lord's supper. (3) Infant baptism may naturally incorporate into its significance the hopes and conditions of the covenant that was symbolized in circumcision, which covenant is held to be of vital importance by all the churches. It is fulfilling the natural ends of the rite to have this additional idea in the symbol, and it need not weaken the other idea that is naturally expressed in baptism. Both the references are to the Spirit's work. We cannot resist the belief that it is of great importance to the church to preserve this idea in the symbol, together with those precautions against its perversion which evangelical Pedo-baptists in America have generally taken. If it be true, as to some extent it undoubtedly is, that the baptism of infants is greatly neglected, it arises, we believe, from that general neglect, so prevalent now-a-days, of serious and faithful study of the doctrines on which the church reposes her hope. When we come again to a juster appreciation of the worth and connections of the revealed doctrines of grace, the rite of infant baptism will doubtless have again its precious significance, and be restored again to its proper use and prevalence.

And, too, the times are becoming tainted with pernicious views concerning the true dignity and importance of the mother's place in society. There has been a loud clamor raised for some wider sphere of operations than is furnished for the pious mother in her family of small children. As though 1 Works, edited by Dr. Ide (Boston, 1860), Vol. iii. p. 650. VOL. XXXI. No. 122.

38