but by the thoughts presented our souls are filled with emotions of reverence and love and praise. We are drawn near to God; the distance between us vanishes; he seems to be dwelling in our hearts; he is with us.

Now this is worship; this being in sensible contact with Christ is worship. And it is doubtful if any other rite so fulfils the prime condition of securing the sensible presence of God to the soul as the preaching of the word secures it. The soul is perhaps in a more devotional frame, more full of love and reverence and thankfulness and joy during the sermon, and flows out towards God in more ardent aspirations, and is offering more hearty vows of service during the sermon, than during any other part of the worship.

The silently-working influence which has brought preaching into the prominence it holds, is because in the new dispensation it is as the word that God has come to men. Under the old economy it was as sovereignty, as law, which employs material symbols, ensigns of authority, and formal demonstrations of power, that the Deity was manifested. Now it is as the word, speaking to the heart and working in the mind and will, as light and love and life, that he comes nigh.

The element of worship in preaching is not as well understood as it should be. The possibility and the necessity of it should be more regarded. It would make changes in the mode of preaching. More of this element is needed; it is the most effective element.

It is not true that we lay most stress on something which is intended as preparatory and introductory to worship; though if this were the object of the sermon, no less stress should be laid on the preaching of the gospel. But no rite in any service fulfils better the essential condition of worship, that of securing the sensible approach of God, than the preaching of the word. Only it should be remarked that, when securing this purpose, the sermon is not

writings of Leighton and Scougal."-J. W. Alexander, Thoughts on Preaching, p. 46.

so much preached to as preached by the body of worshippers. The most effective and true sermon is that which all join in preaching-the thoughts uttered by the minister, inwardly felt and responded to and truly experienced, and made the common expression before God, as the prayer offered by the minister epxresses the supplications of all. 4. The culminating point of Christian worship is the celebration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper. They were instituted under the most solemn circumstances, with express injunctions that the one should be applied to all nations, and that the other should be observed to the end of the world.

The eucharist constitutes the heart of Romish worship, while preaching is thrown into the background. On the other hand, in many of our churches this sacrament is hardly a constituent part of public worship. It comes as an appendix at the close of the service.1 And baptism is regarded as merely the door of admission to the Lord's supper. The relation of these solemn rites to divine worship does not seem to be justly apprehended.

In upholding and insisting upon certain meanings of the Christian sacraments, we do not maintain that there are no other meanings. One great cause of dispute and of misapprehension is in supposing that they express only one thing or only certain things. Because the Lord's supper is a memorial feast, it does not interfere with its being a symbolical representation of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Baptism may be none the less the rite of admission to the church because it is also an act of consecration to the Lord. On the one side the sacraments relate to men; they are tokens of discipleship and bonds of union; they are the marks by which we recognize our mutual relations; they are pledges of communion in life and labor. On the other side,

1 Dr. J. W. Alexander makes this criticism upon some New England churches: "The absence of a spirit of worship in assemblies is very striking. Communion seasons are brief and perfunctory, and the ordinance is just an addition, as when we baptize a child."-Letters, etc., Vol. II. p. 200, Letter from Newport, 1854.

they relate to God: they are expressions of homage and tenders of service to him, and they are the channels for the communication of grace from him. It is only of this latter aspect, as being that in which they enter into worship specifically, that it is needful to speak.

Of baptism, the first thing to be remarked is:

(1) That this rite is a solemn recognition of God in his most endearing relations, and in his mysterious three-fold manifestation of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and thus meets the fundamental idea of worship. It is the most explicit acknowledgment that God is our sovereign, that we belong to him, and owe him service; that he is our Father, our Saviour, and our Comforter. It is a most impressive act of homage and a pledge of fealty and of childlike submission, and a token of recognition of the lordship of Christ over ourselves and those we baptize into his name.

(2) It is a solemn act of consecration of body and soul to the service of God, a symbol of the voluntary giving back to God that which is his. The child baptized is dedicated to the Lord, named with his name, and sealed with his seal. "Into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," as the true formula is; not as though the minister acted in the name and by the authority of Christ, but as indicating that baptism is into obedience to God, into the sonship and service of God. In the ancient economy vessels intended for the service of God were consecrated by sprinkling with blood; persons were dedicated by this sprinkling. And baptism is one of the most expressive and beautiful symbols by which we signify that we commit to our heavenly Father the charge of our life and the treasures of our love.

(3) A third meaning of baptism is that of a solemn confession of faith in the Lord Jesus and acceptance of his gospel. He instituted the rite, and we perform it because we are his disciples, thus proclaiming with an emphasis beyond language that Jesus is our Master.

(4) And hereby it becomes a token of the reception and

welcome of the Holy Ghost as our renewing Spirit and indwelling life. We are the temples of God, says the apostle. The material structure is consecrated and constituted the dwelling place of God's Spirit by appropriate rites: "Arise, O God, into thy rest; thou and the ark of thy strength." In response to the invocation, the Spirit draws nigh. And in baptism we thus welcome the Lord to abide in our hearts.

(5) As the rite of admission to the visible church little need be said of baptism. Some formal sign seems necessary. Of old it was circumcision. But it should be kept in mind that baptism does not confer or constitute the right of admission. It is simply a recognition of the fact that we are already members. Giving a name to a child is not giving him life, but only recognizing his birth and acknowledging his personality. And baptism is giving a legitimate position within the communion of the church. Baptism presupposes that the person is a Christian, and designates him by his Christian name, and authorizes him to assume it.

While it is the necessary form of admission to the church, this is the least significant part of baptism; and laying so much stress here is like laying stress on the naming of a child. The vital thing in baptism is the recognition of the sovereignty and fatherhood of God and of the redemption and lordship of Christ; the consecration of ourselves to him, and acknowledgment of faith in him, and of the reception of his Spirit.

(6) In a deeper meaning, baptism is the symbol of spiritual regeneration by the Holy Ghost, and of purification by the blood of Jesus. In the other particulars it is expressive of our feelings towards God. In this it is expressive of his feelings towards us. It is an exhibition of his grace and mercy. We are born anew by the Holy Ghost and cleansed from guilt by the blood of the Lamb, and thus become sons of God and heirs of heaven. And baptism is the symbol of the operation of this divine grace. An emblem has been chosen which illustrates the spiritual change.

The Holy Ghost is spoken of as poured upon us, and we are said to be sprinkled with the blood of Christ. And by the application of water this cleansing and new birth are represented.

A great mistake is made in supposing that baptism is the same to all recipients; whereas it does not signify the same to any two persons. Each one has as much meaning in it as it is possible for him to have; how much, depends upon the spiritual capacity of the individual. A child repeats the Lord's prayer as soon as it can speak. It is not the same service to him it is to the mother. He expresses almost nothing; she, almost everything. Because he is a child and does not understand all its significance, shall he not express all he can? And it is not necessary, it is impossible that all the meaning of a sacrament shall be understood in order to receive it. We see more and more in the Lord's supper every time we come to the table, and we never expect to know the whole blessedness of it till we sit down, if by God's grace we are permitted to sit down, in heaven. We are thankful now, as a child of God, to eat the crumbs which fall from the table. And so a child may receive as much of the meaning of baptism as it is capable of receiving. If a parent has consecrated himself, he must give his offspring the same consecration in baptism. The child is yet a part of himself, not severed by birth physically or spiritually, not indeed full born. He continues to be moulded and nurtured, takes shape and growth from the parent, in body and soul, as truly as when unborn. His life is dependent, his spiritual development is in the largest measure through the parent. It is the father's will and thought that direct him.

The only peculiarity of infant baptism is owing to the peculiarity of infants. They are mysterious beings. They have a separate existence, and yet they have not. The parental life flows on in them as it does in the body of the parent, like shoots growing around a tree, springing from the old root and drawing their sap from it, after they appear