Text:—"All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David King over all Israel." I. Chron. 12, 38.
OW notice they were men or war, soldiers, and they were trained men, they could keep rank.
It is a most impressive thing to watch the march past of a regiment of soldiers marching at attention.
They hold themselves erect, they keep perfect step, they look ready for anything. We feel thrilled by it.
We hold ourselves straighter and wish that we could march with them. But we have our place in a great army if we would only realize We sang about it a few moments ago.
We spoke about the marching and the fighting of the soldier of Jesus Christ.
"Onward Christian Soldiers marching as to war."
Now I shall come back to that, but first of all I want to talk to you about the way we entered the Christian army, and then of our duty as Christian soldiers, A few minutes ago you saw a new recruit admitted to Christ's army, made a Christian soldier. You remember I took him in my arms, and sprinkling the water upon him, baptized him, "in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost." Then I^said, "We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's Church"—His army—"and do sign him with the sign of the Cross, in token that hereafter he shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner, against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue to be Christs faithful soldier and servant unto his life's end."
Now of course that small baby did not understand the significance of all that was being said and done, any more than you did when you were baptized, when you were about his age. And so his God-parents made certain promises for him, just as yours did for you. As we say in our Catechism.—"They did promise and -vow three things in my name. First, that I should renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanity of this wicked world and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. Secondly, that I should believe all the articles of the Christian Faith, And thirdly, that I should keep God's will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.