SERMON LL 4117 ish'; Is. xliv. 3 -5. Is. lxv. 23. Joel ii. 28, 29. For it is the " blessing of Abraham, which reaches to his seed, that comes upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ ;" Gal. iii. 14. nom. xv. 8, 9. " that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy." 5. As this sort of reasoning seems to manifest the right of the children of christians to these blessings, or that they have some interest in this covenant, so there are some considerations which render very probable that children should he admitted into the visible church by the christian door of entrance, that is baptism. As for instance, Ffrst, That circumcisionbeingabolished and baptism coming in the room of it, baptism should beapplied to all those who have any interest in the covenant ascircumcision was. Now that bap- tism is come in the voom ofcircumcision, seems plain from Col. ii. 12. where the apostle argues, " that being baptized we need not be circumucised :" And besides baptism and circumcision sig- nify the same thing, that-is the removal of sin, one by cutting off, and the other by washing away. Again, The gospel which is a dispensation ofgreater grace, does not lessen, but increase the privileges of the church : It takes away yokes and burdens indeed, such as circumcision was ; Acts xv. 10. but dyes not dimFinish its honours, titles and privileges. Yet further, when the father or mother of* family believed. in Christ, their households were baptized together with them- selves, even where there is no mentido that the household believ- ed in Christ also : As inthe ease of Lydia and Stephanas ; Acts xvi. 15. 1 Cor. i. 18. Now children are usually a considerable part of the household. In the last place, Children under the New Testament are as capable of receiving the blessings' signified, and fulfilling the duties enjoined, as ever they were under the Old. It is granted indeed, they neither could then nor can . now understaud the blessings nor the duties ; yet they might receive the seal of cir- cumcision or of baptism, as a bond laid upon them in infancy, to fulfil the obligationsand the duties at riper years,' and as an en- couragement to wait and hope for the blessings. This was the case of Jewish infants, and why may -nòt christians be favoured with italso ? 1. proceednow to the third-general enquiry, viz: " What is the manner of performing this ceremony ?" which also I shall dispatch in a brief hint or two. The Greekword ' b'aptize' sig- nifies to ' wash' any thing, properly by water coming over it :- it 3
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