The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-09-11

Tn answer to the question: "nath.
ronr intended application. par'ic"iai
or universal. OF the phrase elec' -
eants,p the Confessions very lnuie-
-. GAYS. None whatever. VIVA,
Col has not told me, cannot zen
vou. This | do know: Eject ii ''
diving in infancy are eStllffdtcu ~
saved by Christ through me p4t
There Is no ambiguity in that teach-
Eona natent. as its face shows.
None latent. as an eltnieli'
~ the definition shows. therefore,
,lana az all. This is our CONCLUSION.
( IMPORTANT NECESSARY N
FERENCES.
/ Let the Confession alone. II IS a
INIT AS it stands, it can constFue
itself. \ change anywhere may nna-
4eriallv damage the symmetry every
where. i body mutiIated IS a BODY
weakened. DIR. Warfield IS right: the
+;,na demands. not revision, but intel
ligent affirmation.
BE serene when somebody tells
Won that somebody else says that Inc
confession teaches infant damnatlon.
Rase YOUR defence upon the unambi-
ouous Confessions right OF s~elf-con-
Struction. Be not drawn away from
this irnpregnable citadel.
DO NOT t\CcSSINCiN WILLY 49,
what somebody says the Westminster
Diyines said. Read calmly DR.. Briggs
book ..Whither' wherein he quotes
seven IF these "Divines." as having
held to infant damnation. Listen
without terror to the anonymous and
! spectral shrieker made by mlsrepre-
sentation to walk up and down
through all non-entity saying some
thing about infants III hell a span
long
IN only one Of the seven quotations
does Ut. Briggs seem clearly to prove
his point. But what if he had been
successful in all of them? Resort to
debates and to personal declarations
is not held TO be the highest form Of
evidence in settling the meaning of
even admittedly ambiguous docu-
ments: and n unambiguOus state
ment from the documents own lips
can chase a thousand.
4. Dismiss the thought that any
thing is the matter with the Confess
sion which is not also the matter with
the Bible. The dissatisfaction with
the clause elect infants dying in in
fancy arises from its nnambiguOus
silence as to any application. univers-
al or particular. of the word elect
This reserve is q virtue. not a vice.
IL springs from tNO cdlS1S. III one.
general: the other special. The
former is the Confessions o~ath-bound
allegiance to the Bible. The latter is
its special awe Of the whole superhu-
man subject Of election. The Confess
sion takes its own advice. THE doc
trine of this high mystery Of
predestination is to be handled with
special prudence and care
But right under its impressive 81
lence as to the tnings which are not
seen even in part, the purposes of God
as eternity alone can show them-the
church prints the words which make
the salvation Of infants as sure as
ChriStS W averment and as broad
as the compassion of the heart Of Him
who gathers the lambs with His
arm and carries them in His BOSOM"
Right beneath the much traduced
'elect Infants clause are the words
which the Church binds indissolubly
to its teachings: And they brought
unto Him infants hat He should
touch them; but when His disciples
saw it. they rebuked them: but Jesus
called them unto Him and said: Suf-
fer the little children to come unto
me and forbid them not. for Of such
is the kingdom of 0 The
Church thus says: Ny teaching is as
lllt Nlutl1 Vi Ali1iSt - OllStIttc1lttl
arms, and as warm as the bosom hat
shelters the lamb. Is not this
enough?
With reyerent spirit. therefore. the
Confession ventures to the last limit
of divine revelation. With shaded
eyes and bowed head, it there pauses.
lingering to adore. 1t hides not the
light struggling down from eternity's
counsels, but rejoices in it-and none
the less because it comes in subdued
splendor and in broken CLEANS. The
Confession knows that. with all Of the
Bibles completeness, there are yet
secret things which belong to God:
there is vet another veil which the UNI
seen hand is to rend in twain from
top to bottom, before Jehovah's aw-
ful throne; and then We shall know
who are Gods elect. Here let the
Confession stand before this hidden
and most holy place. saying TO the
~Shechinah within: Speak Lord; thy
servant heareth.'
CONCLUSION.
Amongst the many defects Of this
paper, prepared in the midst of a busy
pastors duties, and in the heat Of
summer, the fault Of rashness in
choosing position cannot be included.
| have slowly and cautiously taken
my ground after patient thought and
careful correspondence with breth-
rem in whose judgment | place very
great faith. 1t is my deliberate con-
liction that the Confessions Gibraltar
is the unambiguously S%criptural on
fessiOn.
To surrender this stronghold
would be to fall back upon the less
sure utterances of individuals whom
the enemy is only too eager to meet.
The surrender is as unnecessary as it
might be unsafe. The Confession
flies its wv flag: from its own walls
let it blow its own clear trumpet. to
all ChristendOm and through all time.
DANIEL.