series of high, holy, and awful truths?-Whether, in fact, Baptism be a mere form of giving a child its name, as some seem to imagine it, or actually, and truly, a Sacrament ordained by Christ in His Holy Gospel?-having an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given to us, ordained by Christ Himself," and therefore "generally necessary to salvation." I can only tell you that if you will take the high and holy views of Baptism that it deserves and demands, you will own with me that it confers indeed and in truth, when properly received, A SPIRITUAL REGENE

RATION.

Lastly; I beseech you, my beloved brethren, to suffer the hints, which I have thrown out to you in this discourse relative to Baptism being A SACRAMENT, to be deeply impressed upon your minds. Do not talk of "receiving the Sacrament," when you attend the Lord's Supper, as if it were the Sacrament, or the only Sacrament. Remember, when you bring your children, or your friends, to Holy Baptism, you are bringing them just as much to receive the Sacrament, as you do yourselves when you attend the Holy Communion. Look at Baptism to be as much the Institution of our blessed Redeemer as the commemoration of His death; and the vows, and pledges, and promises made at the one, will be

thought of more seriously by all of you, while the doubts, and difficulties, and scruples, and distresses, usually experienced at thinking of the latter, will be dispelled. You will henceforward in fact, and I pray to God that this may be the case, esteem both Baptism and the Lord's Supper equally commanded, and prescribed, by the Lord Jesus Christ-both therefore, equally binding upon you and yours to receive-both, as an actual and positive duty which you must not neglect at the hazard of your Salvation, to be received seriously and faithfully, without presumption and without fear; without scruples, and yet without levity and carelessness. If the two Holy Sacraments be thus esteemed by you, and then faithfully received, doubt not that God's blessing will attend you in your Christian course they will be means of Grace to you indeed for they will gradually train, and prepare, and fit you, for God's glorious and everlasting Kingdom.

LECTURE XIII.

THE CATECHISM.

Deuteronomy vi. 6-7.

THESE WORDS, WHICH I COMMAND THEE THIS DAY, SHALL BE IN THINE HEART; AND THOU SHALT TEACH THEM DILIGENTLY UNTO THY CHILDREN, AND SHALT TALK OF THEM WHEN THOU SITTEST IN THINE HOUSE, AND WHEN THOU WALKEST BY THE WAY, AND WHEN THOU LIEST DOWN, AND WHEN THOU RISEST UP.

To any one who has read the five books of Moses with attention, it must be evident that great care was taken by the Jews to provide the young and the ignorant with religious instruction. This, in fact, was expressly ordered by Jehovah Himself. Accordingly, at all the flourishing periods of the Jewish history, the great body of their people, not only the high and well-born, but the poor and lowly also, were carefully instructed in the Law, and in the knowledge and worship of God. At a later period of their history, the book of Psalms, and a great portion of the Proverbs, were diligently taught them; and among

the Jews, many of those who, in other things, were among the poorest and the most ignorant, were rich in the treasures of spiritual knowledge, and skilful in all the things appertaining to God.

This, my brethren, is one proof of the divine origin of the Jewish Scriptures. It is a proof that they came from that great and good God, who has always taken care of all ranks of people, and especially of the poor and the ignorant; and provided in His Word for their instruction. When the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was revealed to mankind, this large and most numerous class of human beings was still thought worthy of the same gracious care and consideration. Was it not one of the proofs whereby the Messiah was to be known, that "the poor should have the Gospel preached to them?" And has not every country, and every people, among whom the Gospel has been faithfully preached, taken care that such instruction shall be especially provided for them?

The Church of England is full of provisions of this kind; and when I mention that which is commonly called the Catechism, I name a summary of Christian knowledge provided by the Church for the instruction of the young and ignorant in spiritual things, which is, without any exception, the most complete summary of Christian Faith

and Practice that I have ever met with in any language. It is indeed a most admirable and beautiful work; for when we consider how much, how very much, is contained in this "form of sound words," we may well admire the skill of those who drew it up, and return thanks to Almighty God for the piety which has prepared for the Church a manual of instruction which will probably survive until the last fire shall consume all books.

In considering it, I will first endeavour to give an outline of the general object and meaning of the Catechism.

The word Catechism means an Instruction by question and answer; and when I talk of Catechising, I would beg of you to understand that I mean an Instruction in the principles, doctrines, and duties, contained in the Catechism. Merely committing the words to memory, and repeating them as parrots do a set of words without meaning, is of course about as profitable an employment as mumbling over a string of devotions in an unknown tongue. The Catechism was intended to be broken to pieces, to be familiarly explained, and thus to be gradually understood, and to become a valuable preparation for something still higher; and I will take it upon myself to assert, that he who thoroughly understands the whole of