" Rabbi, thou art the Son of God ; thou art the King of Israel V And Peter also, in his own name and that of all the Apostles, said, " We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living Godc." In these expressions all of them intended to convey a general view of their creed ; and not of their speculative opinions merely, but of the most influen- tial convictions of their souls. The avowal in my text was given in answer to that question, " Dost thou believe zvith all thine heart ?" It must be under- stood, therefore, as comprehending,
1. A simple affiance in Christ —
[This, of necessity, is comprehended in it : for to what end would it be, to acknowledge Christ as the Messiah, if we do not rely upon him in that capacity ? The devils could say of him, "We know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God;" but they had no hope in him, nor could they derive any bene- fit from him. True faith brings us to Christ for salvation ; causes us to renounce every other hope ; and engages us to rely on him as our "All in all" ]
2. An unreserved devotion to him —
[If we believe in Christ as having redeemed us by his blood, we must also of necessity surrender up ourselves to him as his peculiar people. Has he offered himself a sacrifice for us ; we must " offer up ourselves as living sacrifices to himd." To call him Lord, Lord, without doing his holy will, would only delude us to our ruin. If we believe that " he has bought us with a price, we must glorify him with our body and our spirit, which are hise."]
But this confession must also be considered by us, II. As a qualification for Christian privileges —
In this precise view it zvas uttered by the Eunuch. He applied for Christian baptism : and this question was put to him as a test, " Dost thou believe with all thine heart ? If so, thou mayest." Now this is, to all, a necessary qualification,
1. For baptism — [Children cannot, in their own persons return an answer to this question; and therefore the question is put to their
b j0hn i. 49. c John vi. (>!). d Rom. xii. 1.
e 1 Cor. vi. 20.
1761.] THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH's CONFESSION. 349
sponsors ; who have no right to appear as sponsors, unless they can answer it from their hearts, as the Eunuch did. And they bind themselves to contribute, as much as in them lies, to the instilling of these principles into the minds of the children whom they thus present to the Lord. And the children themselves, when they come to an age capable of compre- hending the engagements thus made for them, are bound to take them upon themselves ; and, when confirmed by the bishop, they do actually take them upon themselves ; pro- fessing, each for himself, his belief in Christ ; and devoting himself entirely to the service of his Lord. And in this view, the ordinance of confirmation, as administered in the Established Church, is of the utmost importance to be well improved by ministers, for the benefit of their flocks ; and by young people, for the everlasting benefit of their own souls.]
2. For the Lord's Supper — [To come to the Lord's table, as many do, at the three great festivals of the Church, and to neglect it all the year besides, is to shew at once, that they enter not into the true spirit of that ordinance. And to attend it as a test for the holding of a public office, is an horrible abuse of it ; which, we thank God, is now abolished. But, for judging of ourselves, whether we be in a state fit to attend upon that divine ordi- nance, we cannot conceive a better test than this, which Philip here administered. In coming to the table of the Lord, we profess to feed upon the body of Christ which was broken for us, and the blood of Christ which was shed for the remission of our sins ; and to dedicate ourselves to him afresh, as his devoted servants. If we do not this in reality, we only deceive our own souls. Here, however, it may be useful to mark what the proper medium is, in the application of this test to persons as a qualification for attending upon the table of the Lord. The Church of England, in her practice at least, is too lax ; whilst those who dissent from her are too rigid. That minute inquiry, into what is called the experience of individuals, and persons sitting in judgment upon it, goes far beyond what is authorized by Scripture. The Apostle says, "Let a man examine himself, (not stand up to be examined by others,) and so let him comef." The true medium is that which Philip observed : and if the Eunuch had answered falsely, as Simon Magus unhappily didg, the blame must have rested on himself alone. But I cannot too earnestly exhort every one of you to put the question to himself with deep sincerity ; and never to approach the table of the Lord but under a sense of your entire dependence upon Christ, both for " mercy to pardon, and for grace to help you in the time of need."]