01-Order For The Baptism of Infants
. ORDER FOR THE BAPTISM OF INFANTS.
HOLY BAPTISM signifieth to us 1st. That we and our children are conceived and born in sin, and therefore cannot enter into the kingdom of God unless we are born again.
2d. It witnesseth and sealeth unto us the washing away of our sins through Jesus Christ, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Therefore we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
3d. Whereas in all covenants there are contained two parts, therefore are we by God, through baptism, admonished of and obliged unto new obedience namely, that we cleave to this one God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost; that we trust in him and love O MANUAL OF FORMS. him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength; that we forsake the world, crucify our old nature, and walk in a new and holy life.
And, although our young children do not as yet understand these things, they are nevertheless to be baptized; for as they are, without their knowledge, partakers of the condemnation in Adam, so are they again received unto grace in Christ, as God speaketh to us through Abraham, the father of all that believe, saying, “ I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an ever lasting covenant; to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” To this the apostle Peter also testifies, saying, “ For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Therefore God formerly commanded them to be circumcised, which was a seal of the covenant and of the righteousness of faith; and there fore Christ also embraced them, laid his hands upon them and blessed them.
Since, then, baptism is come in the place of circumcision, infants are to be baptized as BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 9 heirs of the kingdom and covenant of God.* Do you, therefore, the parents of this child, accept anew the covenant of grace as offered to you and as embracing him [or, her; and so throughout, as the case may be]?
Inasmuch as this water is God’s testimony that the child you have brought hither is guilty and impure, do you present him herein to Christ, that he may receive the forgiveness of sins and the washing of re generation and the renewing of the Holy Ghost? Do you consecrate your child to the Lord, and, in reliance upon divine grace, promise to give him the instruction and discipline enjoined by Christ for the lambs of his flock?
[If ere the parents shall bow assent.], As the application of this water, presently to be made, has no efficacy of its own, but is only a symbol of the gift and gracious ope ration of the Holy Ghost, let us now all, * The above, slightly modified, is borrowed by permission from the Liturgy of the Reformed Church (Dutch) in America.
10 MANUAL OF FORMS. with one accord, call upon God for his presence and blessing.
[Sere let the Minister pray at follows, or in like manner:], Our Father who art in heaven: Father of the Only - begotten and Well -beloved Son, our Elder Brother; Father of the spirits of angels and of men. thou, O glorious Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer; from everlasting is thy name. Thine eternal and most blessed fatherhood is the type and source of ours, for in making us in thine own image thou hast crowned us likewise with the dignity and the joys of parentage.
Look down now, therefore, in life-giving sympathy upon these parents, who have brought their child hither, that he may be dedicated to thy service and made an heir of thy salvation. Having sinned, and their child having been born in sin, they have repented and seek the expiation of the cross and the renewing of the Holy Spirit for themselves and for their child. Cause them to engage in these baptismal vows intelligently and with perfect sincerity. And grant them always, to the end, the quickening, the guid BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 11 ance, the enabling co-operation of the Holy Spirit in all their attempts to fulfill these vows in the religious instruction and discipline of their child.
He has inherited from them the guilt and pollution of an evil nature; may he be renewed after the image of God in righteous ness and true holiness. As he has been born of the flesh, so may he be born again of the Holy Spirit. As he has borne the image of the earthy, so may he bear the image of the heavenly. May he grow like the child Jesus, and wax strong in spirit, and be filled with wisdom; and may the grace of God be upon him until he come in the harmony of every Christian grace unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. May he serve thee and his generation all the days of his life on earth, and then when the end comes may he joyfully take his place with the Elder Brother in an unbroken family circle in the great Father’s house. This we ask for this child, and for all our sons and daughters, only for the sake of thine all perfect Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
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[If desired, the choir may chant some words of Scripture such as Psalms 103:17-18; Mark 10:14; Acts 2:39.*], The parent now handing the name of the child in writing to the minister, the latter shall say, N, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost AM EX.
[The choir concluding their chant, Ezekiel 36:25-26Isaiah 44:3-4, and Gloria 1 AND Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to | come “unto | me; || For of such | is the | kingdom “of | heaven.
2 He shall feed | his flock “like a | shepherd: || He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and | carry “them; in his | bosom.
3 I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing up- | on thine | offspring; || And they shall spring up as among the grass, as | willows “by the | water| courses.
\ 1 THEN will I sprinkle clean | water “ up- | on you, || And | ye shall | be | clean, 2 A new heart also | will I | give you, || And a new spirit | will I I put with- | in you.
BAPTISM OF INT ANTS. 13 The Minister shall then say: And now, beloved, I exhort you to teach your child to read the word of God; to instruct him in the principles of our holy religion, as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, an excellent summary of which, in the Confession of Faith and Catechisms of this Church, is com mended to you for your direction and assistance in the discharge of this important duty, to pray with and for him; to set an example of piety and godliness before him; and to endeavor by all the means of God’s appointment to bring up your child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Directory of Worship, ch. vii, iv.
Furthermore, you are to teach him that he is a member of the Church, under its care and subject to its government and discipline. (Discipline, ch. 1, vi.) And that when he comes to years of discretion, if he be free from scandal and has sufficient knowl
3 And I will take away the stony heart | out of “your j flesh, || And I will | give “ you a | heart of | flesh.
Glory be to the Father, and | to the j Son: || And | to the | Holy | Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and j ever | shall be, || World | without | end. A- | men.
14 MANUAL OF FORMS. edge to discern the Lord’s body, and so wit ness a credible profession of personal faith, it will be his duty and privilege to come to the Lord’s Supper. Directory of Worship, ch. ix, v. May the blessing of the God of the covenant, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of your fathers, whom we adore as Father, Son and Holy Ghost, be with you and your seed for ever. AMEN.
NOTES.
1f “The infants of one or both believing parents are to be baptized.” Confession of Faith, ch. xxviii, \ 4.
\ It is obvious that the infants of such parents only as make a credible profession of being true believers should be baptized, since the “ Directory for Worship” demands that the parent enter before God and the Church into “an express engagement” (General Assembly of 1794, Moore’s Digest, p. 666) “that he prays with and for the child; that he sets an example of piety and godliness before it,” etc. If other than presumptively believing 1. e, professing parents be encouraged to enter this engagement, the covenant is made void and “ the seal set to a blank.” General Synod 1735, Moore’s Digest, p. 665.
BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 15
If When children are removed from the custody of their parents, by death or otherwise, the guardian or mastei who has undertaken to rear them may present them foi baptism, provided he possess the qualification requisite for having his own children baptized, and is willing to ~ assume the obligation. General Assembly 1786.
^ V-*
T| “ Although it is proper that baptism be administered in the presence of the congregation, yet there may be cases when it will be expedient to administer this ordinance in private houses; of which the minister is to be the judge.” Directory for Worship, ch. vii, g v.
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11 “ The efficacy of baptism is not tied to that moment of time wherein it is administered; yet, notwithstanding, by the right use of this sacrament the grace promised is not only offered, but really exhibited and conferred by the Holy Ghost, to such (whether of age or infants) as that grace belongeth unto, according to the counsel of God’s own will, in his appointed time.” Confession of Faith, ch. xxviii, $ vi.
1 “ Although it be a great sin to contemn or neglect this ordinance, yet grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed unto it as that none can be regenerated or saved without it; or that all that are baptized are un doubtedly regenerated.” Confession of Faith, ch. xxviii, tv.
^ “ It is the deliberate and unanimous opinion of the Assembly that those who renounce the fundamental doc trines of the Trinity, and deny that Jesus Christ is the same in substance, equal in power and glory, with the Father, cannot be recognized as ministers of the gospel, and that their ministrations (baptism, etc.) are wholly invalid.” General Assembly 1814, Moore’s Digest, p. 660.