judgment.-SECOND, by referring to Romans xiii. 14, you will perceive, that the believer is exhorted, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, in opposition to making provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof. This is the garment for personal sanctification; called fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of saints; and of which we have more daily need, in order to walk humbly with God, and to bear our profession with honour and happiness, than on the morning of each day to put on our apparel for the discharge of duties in the sight of men.-THIRD, in the text, connected with the preceding verse, you may learn, that those who are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, and have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ by profession of his blessed Name; in allusion to the change of outward garments after baptism. Is Jesus the CAPTAIN of their salvation? Then, by baptism, they professedly put on his armour of righteousness, that they may fight manfully, and endure hardness, as his good soldiers. And, is he their LORD and MASTER? Then, by baptism they put on the livery of his house and kingdom, and are under the most solemn obligation to serve the Lord Christ, defend his cause, and perform his holy will in every department of their lives. From this short explanation of the sentiments contained in the text, you may easily perceive the propriety and force of the apostle's reasoning with a design to reclaim the Galatians from their errors, by the consideration of their professed baptism into Christ, and putting him on as their Lord and Master; and also that they were under the highest obligations to maintain the purity of his truth, and to improve his institutions to that important end.

It is to be feared that there are too many baptized persons who do not consider the advantages to be derived from a frequent review and an improvement of their baptism; and which possibly may arise from want of thought, or necessary instruction upon the subject. I shall, therefore, according to the intention of this discourse, proceed to show you, wherein consists the competency of a Christian to improve his baptism.

This arises from his active REASON ;-his personal FAITH ;— and, his ardent Love to Christ.

I. From his active REASON. Reason, is that faculty of the mind by which a human being is distinguished in its superiority over the brute creation. By this faculty we apprehend the objects around us; the beauty of truth, and the deformity of error. This principle of rationality, constitutes man an accountable creature to his Maker, and so far, capacitates him for moral actions. With this faculty we are born, but it becomes active only through cultivation, and the advance of years. Parents witness the justness of these remarks in the mental progress of their children; the bud of reason gradually expands, and then produces its flowers and its fruit. Until this process more or less takes place, children are not deemed competent to understand, or to perform the common duties and offices of active and social life. If this be admitted, and surely no person of thought would contradict it: then, it certainly follows, that active reason is indispensably necessary for the performance of all moral obligations which are to be performed agreeably to the sovereign will of our Maker, God. For this reason the scripture maxim is, Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Rom. xiv. 5.) If then the duties of social life, and the performance of moral obligations to God, require the exercise of reason, it surely is indispensably necessary for perceiving and obeying the precepts and institutions of Jesus Christ, recorded in the New Testament.There is no Christian, but what will confess, that reason, with all her natural and ample powers, by the influence of sin, is darkened and extremely debilitated: so that, The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him. Though this be the case, we are sensible, that God, by the influences of his Spirit, irradiates the rational powers of the mind, helpeth our infirmities, and guideth us into the knowledge and practice of all necessary truth. By this heavenly influence, reason, so far from being destroyed, is restored, and judgeth with a progressive degree of correctness as in the sight of God. By this expan

sion of mind, the person, redemption, salvation, precepts, and institutions of Jesus Christ, revealed in the Gospel, become desirable and inestimably precious to the soul, and produce, what Paul calls, a reasonable service. (Rom. xii. 1.) To persons thus possessed of active reason, the institution of Christ in his gospel are significant and glorious. Of these, baptism is of confessed importance. We are informed, that in the apostolic days, men and women were baptized; for, at any rate, they had attained active reason. And when Paul referred the Christians at Rome to their baptism, he appealed to their personal understanding, Know ye not, &c. (Rom. vi. 3.) On this persuasion, neither the Romans nor the Galatians could have the least excuse, on the ground of ignorance, for not remembering and improving their baptism; they knew what they had done, and the obligations into which they entered, to maintain the truth of Christ, and to walk in newness of life; and these were solemnly binding upon them. The same appeal I can make to many in this assembly, who have been baptized into the Lord Jesus. This sacred duty was not performed without your knowledge or consent; and this morning, while attending the baptism of others, it brought to your recollection the time, circumstances, and designs of your own voluntary obedience to this command of your Lord, so as to lay you under the most cheerful obligation to improve it the rest of your days!

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II. The next requisite to improve your baptism, is FAITH. In the Gospel you are informed that, Without faith, it is impossible to please God; and Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin. The divine institution of baptism, has, therefore, inseparably connected with it the profession of faith. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved. Thus, the practice of the apostles and disciples whom Jesus sent forth to preach and to baptize, was certainly a correct comment on their commission. With the Acts of the Apostles in our hand, we are compelled to believe, that in no instance they baptized without the subject professing faith in the Lord Jesus. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is

made unto salvation. (Rom. x. 10.) The three thousand who received the word gladly, under the preaching of Peter, and, in consequence of which, were baptized: they all believed in the very Christ, whom they had crucified and slain. (Acts ii.) The Eunuch, also, solicited baptism by the hands of Philip, but was not admitted until he professed his faith in Jesus the Son of God. (Acts viii.) While, therefore, the possession of faith, creates an internal evidence in the soul of its interest in personal salvation; it gives an indisputable right to baptism, and all other privileges in the church of Christ. This faith is not the production of nature or of art; neither does it merely affect the mind; but, like the vital fluid in the animal body which animates ali its parts, it actuates all the powers and faculties of the soul. All men are naturally born in unbelief; if any man believes to the saving of his soul, that faith is declared to be the gift of God, and the fruit of the operation of his Spirit. Thus, to them that believe, Christ is precious in his person, life, death, resurrection, and in all the fullness of his grace and glory; and, at the same time, never fails to produce a cheerful, lively obedience to all his sacred commands. By this faith, many of you have been baptized into Christ, and have put on Christ. I congratulate you on the high and blessed privilege to which you have been called! But, remember, that your active reason, and personal faith, are still requisite, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, to enable you to improve your baptism; for, by your profession, you have declared that it was not done in ignorance, and in unbelief. The very same faith which gave you a right to baptism, enables you also to review every former act of devotion and obedience. We know in whom we have believed. We live by faith, and by faith we stand. Paul's wish to Philemon, I will express to you, That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (Phil. vi.)

III. Your competency to improve your baptism, arises likewise from your profession of LOVE to Christ. Love, is

the most sensible, charming, and powerful of all the human passions; and to this, every other becomes subordinate. God has formed this passion in the breast of man, to answer the requisitions of his own law; teach him that he is an accountable being to his Creator; and to form the source of human felicity. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart. But, the lamentable fact is, that by sin, the passion of love, with every faculty of the soul, have been contaminated, withdrawn from God, and directed to inferior and carnal objects. The time was when you were lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God. It is hoped that the case with you is now altered. The Holy Spirit has shed abroad the love of God in your hearts. While, therefore, this communication of love from God, perfectly corresponds with the letter and the spirit of his Law: it proves you to be under GRACE; and directs your affections, and obedience by the GOSPEL, into a new and superior relation to God, as your heavenly, adopting Father in Christ Jesus! This is the glory of the gospel, and the efficacy of the grace of God. And, this forms the evangelical principle, by which you have, and still do present your bodies, souls, time, talents, and all you possess, to the glory of your Lord. It was the love of Christ that constrained you, freely and voluntarily to be baptized in his name. Sweet and powerful were the accents of your Saviour's lips, when he spake to you by his word: If ye love me, keep my commandments. You believed baptism to be one of his commands, sanctioned by his own example, and binding upon all his disciples; therefore, with glowing affection and zeal, you were baptized in his holy name. By experience you are convinced that your love to Christ, not only admits of different degrees, but of various exercises in your walk with God. Still the principle abides. And, while I am now addressing you upon this delightful theme, it is more than probable that you feel some effusions of love to your God and Saviour. While, therefore, you bring to recollection your first love to Christ, and your cheerful obedience to him in your baptism, I need not add a more forcible reason for your continuing frequently to improve it for your advantage.

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