THE YOUNG BAPTISTS' REASONS

FOR NOT BEING CHRISTENED OR CONFIRMED.

Question. Why were you not, when an infant, placed under the care of godfathers and godmothers?

Answer. Because, 1.-There are no such persons mentioned in the word of God. 2.-Many of those persons who undertake the office never intend to fulfil it. And, 3.-None of them could do it if they would.

Q. Why were you not christened in your infancy?

A. Because my parents believe, 1.-That christening by sprinkling is not baptism. 2.-That there is neither precept nor example in the New Testament, for the baptism of infants. 3.-That christian baptism is an act of religious worship, which an infant is incapable of performing. And, 4.-That I can derive no benefit from it, and have no right to it, until I am converted, and brought to repent and believe the gospel.

Q. Why do you not learn the Church Catechism? A. Because, 1.-Not having been christened in my infancy, which the Catechism supposes all to have been who learn it, I could not repeat it without stating a falsehood. And, 2.-It contains a statement in its second answer which is contrary to the scripture, and calculated to deceive the souls of those who learn it; for it assures all who were christened in their infancy, that they were then made the members of Christ, the children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. Whereas, it is plain from their conduct, that the greater part of them neither know nor care anything about religion; and the

scriptures declare that none but those who have faith in Christ are the children of God.

Q. Why have you not been confirmed according to the practice of the Church of England?

A. Because, 1.-I am taught to to believe that the practice of confirmation, as adopted by the Established Church, is not supported by any text in the word of God. 2. Those children who go to be confirmed enter into a solemn engagement which very few of them understand, or even think of after they have left the church, and which none of them can fulfil. 3.-The laying on of the hands of the Bishop is perfectly useless, as he has neither gifts nor grace to bestow; and his prayer, even if he is a good man, is no more effectual than that of any other minister of Jesus Christ. 4.-The Bishop thanks God, in the most solemn manner, for having regenerated, and forgiven all the sins of those who come to be confirmed, while very few, if any of them, give the least reason for believing either that their souls are regenerated or their sins forgiven. And, 5.-Confirmation is viewed by the Church of England, as a qualification for the Lord's supper, which must have a very dangerous tendency, as it leads young persons to suppose that if they are thus qualified they are real christians.

Q. Why do you not partake of the Sacrament?

4. Because, 1.-The Lord's supper was instituted to be observed, not as a passport to heaven, but as a commemoration of the Saviour's death. 2.-None have a right to partake of it but those who are truly converted

to God; nor can any persons derive spiritual advantage from it, but the real disciples of Christ. And, 3.—I hope that the kind instructions which I receive from my parents and teachers, will be blessed, and their prayers answered, in my conversion, and then I shall be a fit subject for the ordinance of God's house, and his people will be happy to receive me into their society, to partake with them of the Lord's supper.

Q. Then what means do your parents use with a view to promote your spiritual welfare?

A. All the means which God has appointed for that important purpose. As, 1.-They endeavour to set before me a holy example. 2.-They teach me to read the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make me wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 3. They pray for me, and with me, and endeavour to impress upon my mind the great importance of praying for myself. 4.-They explain to me the doctrines of the gospel as the objects of faith, and the precepts of God's word as the rule of conduct. 5.-They warn me against evil companions, and caution me against the practices of the wicked. 6.-They take me to the house of God, teach me to respect his ministers, and to listen seriously and attentively to his word. 7.-Indeed, while they are deeply concerned to promote my. temporal welfare, they are more especially anxious that I should believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart, and that the Holy Spirit should convert me to God, that I should serve him in this world, and enjoy his presence in the world to come.

THE FIG.

THIS picture represents a single fig with its leaves. The fig, which is called in Latin ficus, in Hebrew teenah, in Arabic teen, is a much valued fruit, which, though of eastern origin, is now cultivated even in the southern parts of England. In giving the following description of the fig-tree, as it is so often mentioned in the bible, our young readers I will be much more interested if they turn to the texts as they read on. The common fig-tree is of moderate height, with large five-pointed leaves, which, when the tree is of a considerable size, afford a good shade (1 Kings iv. 25). The figs appear as little knots before the leaves (Cant. ii. 13); when ripe, they are gathered by shaking the tree (Nah. iii. 12), or they fall of their own accord (Rev. vi. 13). The tree is common in Palestine (Deut. viii. 8); and its injury or destruction was accounted a great evil (Ps. cv. 33. Jer. v. 17. Hos. ii. 12). The tree produces ripe fruit for ten months in the year, at three separate times, namely, at the end of

June, in August, and in winter. The figs of the first harvest are the so-called spring figs, which are the sweetest; on which account, as well as because they are the first produce of the year, they are spoken of in terms implying welcome and pleasure (Hos. ix. 10. Jer. xxiv. 2). On account of its "sweetness" and "good fruit," the fig was chosen king of trees in the parable (Judg. ix. 10). The tree required much care, if it was to flourish (Prov. xxvii. 18. Luke xiii. 8). The Hebrews ate figs freshly gathered, or dry and pressed together. They were also beaten into a pulp, of which cakes were made (1 Sam. XXV. 18). In this state they were employed medicinally (2 Kings, xx. 7). Figs were an article of commerce, and were set in comparison with the vine. The tolerated (Luke xiii. 6-9) as well as the accursed (Mark xi. 13, 14) fig-tree was an image of the Jewish people, and of all who delay to improve their spiritual advantages.

The wild fig-tree, or sycamore, is higher and stronger than the common fig, but its fruit is less agreeable to the palate.

This tree attains the magnitude of one of our largest oaks, and has still greater longevity. The trunk sometimes measures thirty or forty feet round or more. The branches begin to expand at a height of fifteen or twenty feet from the earth; the lower ones spreading horizontally to a great extent, and those above them grouping themselves into conical shapes, so that the tree, seen from a distance, has very much the look of our beech. Sycamores cast their hospitable shadows to a great distance from their trunks, and fifty or sixty camels, and