acknowledge with contrite hearts, that it is of thy mercies that we are not consumed; (Lam. iii. 22.) Stop in thy tender mercy the effusion of human blood, and make discord and wars to cease; To this end, put into the hearts of the rulers of the nations thoughts of peace, that we may see it soon established, to the glory of thy name: Hear us, gracious Lord and God.] T. 235. p. 2. Promote, we pray, thy servants' good, Redeem'd with thy most precious blood; Among thy saints make us ascend To glory that shall never end: O Lord, have mercy on us all, Have mercy on us, when we call: Lord, we have put our trust in thee, Confounded let us never be: Amen. Supply, O Lord, we pray thee, all the wants of thy church; Let all things be conducted among us in such a manner, that we provide things honest, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men; (2 Cor. viii. 21.) Bless the sweat of the brow, and faithfulness in business; Let none entangle himself with the affairs of this life; (2 Tim. ii. 4.) But may all our labour of body and mind be hallowed unto thee: Hear us, gracious Lord and God. O thou Preserver of men, Send help to all that are in distress or danger; (Job vii. 20.) Strengthen and uphold those who suffer bonds and persecution for the sake of the gospel; (Hebr. xiii. 3.) Defend, and provide for fatherless children, and widows, and all who are desolate and oppressed; Be the support of the aged; (Ps. lxviii. 5.) (Is. xlvi. 4.) Make the bed of the sick, and, in the midst of suffering, let them feel that thou lovest them; (Ps. xli. 3.) And when thou takest away men's breath, that they die, then remember, that thou hast died, not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world: (1 John ii, 2; Rom. v. 18.) Hear us, gracious Lord and God. BAPTISM OF ADULTS. T. 22. CHRIST, the almighty Son of God, To save us from eternal death. Praise to the Father, and the Son,-And Holy Spirit, Three in One, That we're from condemnation freed,-Since Christ our ransom fully paid. (After a short discourse follow these petitions.) Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. O God, the SON, the Saviour of the world, Be gracious unto ús. O God, the HOLY GHOST, Abide with us for ever. T. 132. p. 2. Thou LAMB once slain, our God and Lord, And on us all have mercy. By thy divine presence, By thy holy sacraments, Bless us, gracious Lord and God. (Questions put to the candidate for baptism.) Dost thou believe in God the Father, almighty Maker and Preserver of heaven and earth? ANSWER. I do. Dost thou believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, our Lord, who loved us, and gave himself for us? ANSWER. I do. Dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Christian church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting? ANSWER. I do. Dost thou believe that thou art a sinful creature, deserving of wrath and eternal punishment? ANSWER. I verily believe it. Dost thou believe that Jesus Christ is thy Lord, who redeemed thee, a lost and undone human creature, from sin, χχίν BAPTISM OF ADULTS. from death, and from the power of the devil, with his innocent suffering and dying, and with his holy and precious blood? ANSWER. I verily believe it. Dost thou, in this faith, desire to be baptized into the death of Jesus, to be washed from thy sins, and to be embodied into the congregation of the faithful? ANSWER. This is my sincere desire. Dost thou, in this faith, renounce the service of sin and Satan, and determine to live under Christ in his kingdom, and serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of thy life? ANSWER. I do most heartily, in the strength of Jesus Christ, my Lord, and of his Holy Spirit. T. 155. Unto him, O Lamb of God,-Open thy salvation's treasure Him receive,-Grant him peace and consolation; Join him to thy congregation,-As the purchase of thy death. T. 22. The water flowing from thy side, Which by the spear was open'd wide, Be now his bath; thy precious blood Cleanse him, and bring him nigh to God. (The candidate for baptism kneeling, the minister offers up a prayer.) Ye who are baptized into Christ Jesus, how were ye baptized? Into his death. N.N., into the death of Jesus, I baptize thee, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (During the imposition of hands the minister continues:) Now art thou washed, justified, and sanctified by the blood of Christ: therefore live, yet not thou, but Christ live in thee; and the life, which thou now livest in the flesh, live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved thee, and gave himself for thee. Amen, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, (Then, the congregation kneeling, the following verses may be sung:) Thy condemnation doth erase; His cross, his sufferings, and his pain, The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, The Lord bless thee, &c. XXV BAPTISM OF ADULTS FROM THE HEATHEN. OUR Lord Jesus Christ, Be gracious unto us. Bless us, gracious Lord and God. By all the merits of thy holy humanity, life, sufferings, death, and resurrection, Bless us, gracious Lord and God. T. 22. Lord Jesus Christ, all praise to thee, And for each soul which thou hast made, T. 132. O Jesus Christ, thou Son belov'd By whom all enmity 's remov'd, And all the lost find succour; Thou Lamb once slain, our God and Lord, T. 127. O Lamb of God unspotted, our crucified Saviour, Who hast to shame submitted,-with patient,-meek behaviour: T. 30. Lift up thy pierced hands, most gracious Saviour, Which in thy loving-and kind heart for us is ever moving. (After these or other verses suited to this transaction have been sung, and a short discourse delivered concerning the aim of baptism, and the grace imparted by it to those who receive it, the minister shall put the following questions to the candidate.) Dost thou believe that thou art a sinful creature, and on account of thy sins deservest the wrath of God and eternal punishment? ANSWER. I do believe it. Dost thou believe that Jesus Christ became a man for us, and by his innocent life, sufferings, blood-shedding, and death, reconciled us sinners to God? ANSWER. I verily believe it. C Dost thou believe that he hath purchased for thee, by his blood and death, remission of sins, life, and happiness? ANSWER. I verily believe it. Wilt thou, in this faith, be baptized into the death of Jesus, and be washed from thy sins in his blood? ANSWER. That is my sincere desire. Dost thou also desire to be delivered from the power of sin, and of Satan, and to be received into the fellowship of Jesus Christ, and of those who believe in him? ANSWER. That is my sincere desire, and I renounce the devil and all his works and ways. T. 22. Soul, body, spirit, Lord, are thine, O take him as thy property, And keep him thine eternally. (During this verse the candidate for baptism kneels down, and the minister prays, that he may be cleansed from all his sins in the blood of Christ, delivered from guilt and punishment, and from the dominion of sin and Satan, buried by baptism into the death of Jesus, and raised together with him unto newness of life, and thus, together with all believers, received into, and made a partaker of the fellowship of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.) T. 75. Through thy atoning blood, or, T. 22. The water flowing from thy side, Which by the spear was open'd wide, (After singing one of these, or any other suitable verses, follows N.N., into the death of Jesus, I baptize thee, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amén. |