hrust a sacrificial knife to the
heart of his child, and offer his quivering flesh and bleeding body a burnt
offering to him; but he commands him to bring his child to the altar of
baptism in his church, and there dedicate his life, his talents, his all,
as a living sacrifice "holy and acceptable unto God," vowing before
witnessing angels and men that, as the steward of God and the
representative of the child, he will hold it sacred, as the property of the
Lord, given to him only in trust; that he will consult and faithfully
execute the will of the Lord concerning the child, and that in all his
relations to it, he will seek to make it subserve his purposes and reflect
his glory.

This is the most precious and acceptable oblation of the parent's heart and
home,--more precious than gold or pearls, than rivers of blood, or streams
of oil; and where there is a corresponding dedication of all that belongs
to home, it promotes and preserves the highest privileges and the greatest
well-being of the child. With the deep and sublime feelings of faith we
should, therefore, take our little ones, in infancy, before the Lord, as
the free-will offering of the Christian home; and in all subsequent
periods of their life under the parental roof, we should eagerly watch, in
each expanding faculty, in each growing inclination, in the bent of each
tender thought, in the warm glow of each feeling and desire, for some
indications of the will of God concerning their mission in this life.

This leads us to remark finally, that, in the dedication of our children to
the Lord, we should have reference to the highest function within the
calling of man, viz: the christian ministry; or in other words, we should
offer our sons to God with the hope and prayer that He may call them to the
work of the ministry, and every indication of His answer to our prayer,
given in their mental and moral fitness, should encourage the parent to
train them up with special reference to that sacred office.

This, the state of the church and the many destitute and waste places of
the earth, imperiously demand. Like the Hebrew mother, we should at least
devote one of our sons to the Temple-service, direct his attention to it,
favor it by all our intercourse with him, and use all proper means for his
preparation for it. And you may be assured that God will answer your
prayer. Your offering, if holy, will be acceptable.

"Even thus, of old, a babe was offered up--
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