And then for our children, those that God hath committed to us, let us make use of baptism. Do they die in their infancy ? Make this use of it : I have assured hope that my child is gone to God. He was born in the covenant, and had the seal of the covenant, baptism ; why should I doubt of the salvation of my child ? If they live to yeai's of discretion, then be of good comfort, he is God's child more than mine ; I have dedi- cate him to God and to Christ, he was baptized in the name of Christ, Christ will care for him as well as for me. If I leave my children behind me, they are God's and Christ's children. They have received the seal of the covenant, baptism. Christ will provide for them. And he that pro- vides heaven for them will provide all things in the waj' to heaven neces- sary. God hath said, ' I will be the God of thee and of thy children,' Ps. cxxxii. 12. They are in covenant. Thine they were, Lord. A man may commit his children to God on his deathbed : Thou gavest them me, and I commit them to thee again, as before I did by baptism. All this we have by thinking of our baptism. If we look no further, as profane spirits do not, than the water and the elements, we can have no comfort by these things ; but we should consider God's blessed institution and ordinance to strengthen our faith. And to our childi'en when they come to years, bap- tism is an obligation to believe ; because they have received the seal beforehand, and it is a means to believe. * She was baptized.'
' And her household.'
So good is God, where the governor of the family is good, he gives all the family good, because he makes conscience in governing and instructing them. God crowns their endeavours with success, that they shall be all good. As we see Abraham and his household, the jailor and his house- hold, Zaccheus and his household. Oh, it is a blessed thing to be a good governor in a family. He brings a blessing upon his house, the church of God is in his house. There cannot be a more honourable title to any bouse than to say it is the church of God ; that the governor of the family brings all in subjection to God ; that as he will have all serve him, so he will have all serve God ; that he will not have a servant but he shall be the servant of God, nor a child but he shall be the child of God; and he labours
532 lydia's convkrsion.
to make his wife the spouse of Christ. Thus it should be said of every Christian family, and then they are churches.
Alas ! in many places now they are hells, because there is little regard had of instructing of them. Beloved, many poor souls have had occasion to bless God for ever that they have been grafted into such good families. And put case sometimes thou hast instructed them and taken pains, and there is no good done. When thou art dead, and twenty years after, it may come to their minds all those instructions when they are in worse families. Oh ! in such a place, with such a master, I had such instruc- tions, but I had no grace to take good by them, but now I call them to mind. So the seed that was sown long before may take eflect then. This should encourage those that are governors of families to be good. * Lydia was baptized, and her Jiousehold,'
* And she besought them, saying. If you have judged me faithful to the Lord, come to my house, and abide there.'
Here is the fruit of Lydia's conversion. When she was converted and baptized, she entreated the apostles to come to her house and abide there ; and she prevailed. She constrained them by a moral kind of violence ; they suffered themselves to be overcome.
' If you have judged me faithful, &c., come to my house, and abide there.'
Here is her invitation, and the argument that she forceth it by. * If you have judged me faithful to Christ, then come to my house.'
To speak a little of her argument, whereby she forced the blessed apostle and the rest to her house.
' If ye have judged me faithful.'
It is a most binding argument. If you judge me faithful, you must judge me a child of God, an heir of heaven, the spouse of Christ ; you must judge me all these and the like. ' If you have judged me faithful, come to my house.' And if you judge me so, can you deny me this cour- tesy? It is a conjuring, wondrous forcible argument. * If you have judged me faithful.'
It implies that St Paul and holy men would be more strange else ; and so there should not be intimate familiarity — converse there may be, but not familiarity — with those that are not faithful. Indifl'erent carriage to all alike shews a rotten heart : those that make no difierence between good Christians and formal hypocrites. No. But ' if you have judged me faithful, come to viy house.' As if she had said, I know your spirits are such, that except you judge me faithful, you will not take this courtesy at my hands.