"Water—of blest purity

Emblem—do we pour on thee;

Little one! regenerate be—

Only by the crimson flood

Of the Spotless, in the blood

Of the very Son of God!

Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

Take the feeble, take the lost,

Purchased once at Calvary’s cost!"

What delightful associations cluster around the baptismal altar! How tenderly does the pious mother fold her babe to her yearning heart, as she devoutly approaches that consecrated spot, and there dedicates in and through this holy sacrament, the child of her love and hope, to Him who gave it! What a holy charge she there assumes; what a sacred vow she there makes; what a solemn promise she there gives; what a momentous interest is entrusted to her there; what a weight of responsibility is there laid upon her!