with what He sees fit to give us, and with the lot in life He has appointed for us, having just before said, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' We also pray, 'Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,' which means, Save us from the snares the devil spreads to induce us to break Thy holy commands. Deliver us from evil, bodily and spiritually; above all, from our ghostly enemy, the devil! Then we ascribe to the Lord the glory due to the holy, undivided Trinity!"

CHAPTER XV.

"God's child in Christ adopted-Christ my all!
All that earth boasts gladly would I lose, rather
Than forfeit that blest name by which I call

The Holy One, the Almighty God, my Father!
Father, in Christ we live, and Christ in Thee!
Eternal Thou, and everlasting me.

The heir of heaven, henceforth I fear not death!
In Christ I live! In Christ I draw the breath
Of the true life! Let then earth, sea, and sky,
Make war against me! On my front I show
Their mighty Master's seal.

In vain they try

To end my life, that can but end its woe.

Is that a death-bed where a Christian lies?

Yes; but not his 'tis death itself there dies!"

THE next Sunday was the last before the Confirmation. Mary and her cousins were returning slowly from church, their thoughts dwelling upon the exhortation they had just heard Mr. Groves address to all those young persons about to be confirmed, whom he had questioned before giving them their tickets for Confirmation. Bessy was the first who spoke.

"It is so warm," she observed, "and the days are now so long, we need be in no hurry to get home. Let us sit down on this stile. All the rest of the congregation are gone on. Few pass by this path; and we are not likely to be interrupted, while we talk over all that Mr. Groves has been saying to us, that we may remember it the better."

Mary and Jane readily assented; and Jane said she should like to read over attentively those articles of religion to which he had referred.

"The first," said Mary, "was that on Baptism, the 27th of those agreed upon by the principal persons of our Church, nearly three hundred years ago, and directed to be printed in all Common Prayer-books. I dare say, Jane, you will have no objection to read it aloud?"

Jane immediately read: "Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of regeneration or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church.'

It

Bessy. "Which means, that we must not look upon our baptism as a mere outward ceremony. is also a sign of our new birth unto righteousness, as well as a sign of our becoming Christians.

that what Mr. Groves said?"

Is not

Mary. "Yes. And he repeated our Saviour's words: Except a man be born of water and the

Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'1
Both are necessary."

Jane. "The article on Baptism continues: The promises of forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed. Faith is confirmed, and grace increased, by virtue of prayer unto God.' These, Mr. Groves said, are the inward spiritual graces. To the question in the Catechism, 'What is the inward spiritual grace?' the answer is, 'A death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness; for being by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath, we are hereby made the children of grace.' Do you remember, Mary, what it was Mr. Groves said about the spiritual grace being lost after baptism?"

Mary. "He said many persons, by their manner of living, gave no signs of regeneration. But that we must all be conscious of a struggle having, from our earliest childhood, gone on within us between the inclination to good and that to evil; and that if, by the neglect of our education, or by any other means, the bad passions were suffered to gain the ascendency over the good, we thereby drive the Spirit of God from us; we 'quench the Spirit; we 'grieve the Holy Spirit of God.' By resisting the Spirit, we force Him to depart from us. If we lose these inward spiritual graces, we cease to be the children of grace; we have slighted the blessed

3

2

1 John iii. 5.

21 Thess. v. 19.

3 Eph. iv. 30.

privileges conferred on us at baptism, even as Esau neglected his birthright. Christ never gave us a command for the observance of any form that was not designed to be the means of conveying some inward spiritual grace, if we have but faith and repentance. For two things are 'required of persons to be baptized.' 'Repentance, whereby they forsake sin,' for Jesus Christ, shortly before His ascension, pronounced, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.' And St. Peter said, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.' 2 The other thing required is Faith, whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that sacrament. As infants cannot understand anything at their baptism, they promise by their sureties, which promise, when they come to age, themselves are bound to perform.' It is the duty of parents and sponsors to bring their children to be confirmed, understanding what they are about, repenting all the errors of their childhood, and having a firm faith in Christ's promises.

Jane. "Mr. Groves said farther, 'Let it not be a mere cold faith of words; but let it be such faith as led the friends of the palsied man 4 to le him down through the roof of the house where Jesus

2 Acts ii. 38.

1 Mark xvi. 16.

3 Church Catechism.

4 Mark xi. 4.