1
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L I B R R Y
Theological Seminary,
PRINCETON, N. J.
BX 5149 .B2 G6
()
Goode, William, 1801-1868.
SJ
The doctrine of the Church
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of England as to the
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2015
https://archive.org/details/doctrineofchurchOOgood_0
THE DOCTRINE
OF
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
AS TO THE
EFFECTS OF BAPTISM
IN THE CASE OF
INFANTS.
Wiitl) an Hppeutiiv,
CONTAINING
THE BAPTISMAL SERVICES
OF
LUTHER AND THE NUREMBERG AND COLOGNE LITURGIES.
BY
WILLIAM GOODE, M.A., P.S.A.
RECTOR OF ALLHALLOWS THE GREAT AND LESS, LONDON.
LONDON :
J. HATCHARD AND SON, 187, PICCADILLY.
1850.
LONDON ?
PRINTED BY C. F. HODGSON, 1, GOUGH SQUARE, FLEET STREET.
PEEEACE TO THE EIEST EDITION.
I AM unwilling to enlarge a work, which has already ex-
tended beyond the limits originally contemplated, by adding
here anything more than a very few prefatory remarks ex-
planatory of its object ; which is, to point out what doctrine
the Church of England requires to be held by her ministers
on the subject of the effects of Baptism in the case of Infants.
And the first question that occurs in such an investigation is,
whether, among all the various shades of view that have been
entertained on this point, she has selected one, to the exclu-
sion of all others, to which she requires their assent; or,
whether she has only adopted one class of views within which
their doctrine is to be found. It will appear, on a careful
examination of the authorities on which the determination of
this question rests, that the latter is the case. And this is
what we might, a priori, have expected.
That different shades of doctrine on this point, within
certain limits, should be left open to us, is to my mind
creditable to her character as a Scriptural Church not seek-
ing to bind her ministers to certain exact and precise deter-
minations on such points, going beyond the declarations of
Holy Scripture. The contrary course she leaves to the Church
of the Council of Trent, and an infallible Pope. They who
are willing to take their faith from the dicta of one or more
Italian Bishops, may be satisfied to swear by any particular
view which their oracle offers them : and if the last contra-
dict the first, and the middle are consistent with neither ;
and the divines respectively contemporary with the first,
iv
PREFACE.
middle^ and last, are equally at variance with each other, and
among themselves, their followers in the present age may,
perhaps, be contented to accept the solution of these per-
plexities that has lately been offered them in the theory of
development,^^ a system which will smooth all difficulties
and set at rest all doubts.
The Church of England, rejecting all but the written word of
God as the authority for her faith, lays down her deductions
from the express declarations of that sacred word, on the great
truths of Christianity and the disputed points of faith on which
the Church has at various times been agitated with controversies,
as the rule by which she expects her children to be guided. But
where Scripture is silent, or appeared to her open to different
views, there she is equally so. She receives even the three
Creeds, only because she believes they may be proved by most
certain warrants of Holy Scripture.^^ She is not therefore likely
to require of her members the belief of what she does not suppose
may be similarly proved.
So far as she has definitely spoken, there all who have sub-
scribed her Formularies and minister in her communion are
bound, so long as they remain in her service, to abide by and
maintain her determinations. Rather should I say, they are
found in her communion because they conscientiously believe
her determinations to be right.
There are vital and fundamental points on which she has
spoken definitely and expressly, so as to forbid the slightest
deviation from one precise line to the right hand or to the left.
There are important points, such as that discussed in the follow-
ing work, on which she has laid down certain limits on both
sides,
Quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum.
That those limits have been transgressed, fearfully transgressed,
by some among us, I should be the last to deny. The follow-
ing pages may perhaps tend to show, by whom they have been
transgressed; and such transgression I should be the last to
justify.
The great point in dispute in our Church at the present time,
is briefly this. Whether the full baptismal blessing is, in the
PREFACE.
V
case of infants, under all circumstances, invariably and univer-
sally bestowed ; whether, in fact, God has pledged himself,
whenever an infant is baptized, apart from all consideration of
every other circumstance except the mere act of baptism, to
give that child, in the act, the full blessing of spiritual rege-
neration.
And though, in prosecuting the inquiry, what is the doc-
trine of our Church upon the subject, it has been necessary
to show the theological school to which our Reformers and early
Divines were attached, in order more fully to illustrate the
meaning of the Formularies they drew up, the determination
of the doctrine of our Church on the question at issue does not
depend upon our connecting the theology of our Church with
one particular system. Men of very different schools among us
have agreed in taking the negative view on the point in contro-
versy. But certainly when the theology of our early divines is
taken into account in the matter, the statement that the uni-
versal and unconditional, efficacy of baptism in the case of
infants is the doctrine of our Church, is one which carries its
own condemnation on the face of it.
The contrast between such a doctrine and the theological
system of our early divines, reduces it to an absurdity.
In the face of the testimonies produced in the following work,
I am at a loss to understand what ground there is left for the
maintenance of such an assertion.
I have shown, that the testimony of our Archbishops,
Bishops, and the Divinity Professors of our Universities, at and
for a long period after the Reformation, is wholly opposed to the
notion of spiritual regeneration being always conferred upon
infants in their baptism, and that they were followed at a later
period by divines who, though of a different school, agreed with
them On the main point of the controversy ; — I have shown that
the Services of our Prayer Book upon which the assertion that
this is the doctrine of our Church is almost wholly rested, were
submitted to the judgment of Peter Martyr and Bucer, whose
sentiments were notoriously opposed to such a doctrine, and that
they fully approved of them, with exceptions no way touching
the point now in question ; I have shown that Bucer himself
drew up Services of a precisely similar kind to our own, and
I
vi
PREFACE.
from which our own are confessed to have been '^freely borrowed/'
when holding sentiments which render it necessary for those
Services to be interpreted on the hypothetical principle ; — I have
shown that the earliest (and those publicly authorized) Expo-
sitions of our xlrticles and Catechism support the same view ; —
I ask_, then, what remains wanting for the establishment of a
complete and perfect proof, that this doctrine is not the doctrine
of our Church, but, on the contrary, is opposed to it ?
And I cannot help remarking, how completely the case before
us proves the unfitness of Liturgical forms to answer the pur-
pose of a dogmatical standard of faith ; and the errors and
absurdities which men might fall into when deducing doctrine,
inferentially, from devotional phrases occurring in a Book of
Prayer.
It remains only for me to remark, that the following work
has been written and passed through the press, not merely
within a much shorter period than I could have wished to have
given to it, but amidst the pressure of numerous other engage-
ments. The circumstances of the times, however, forbade delay.
And I make the remark, not as pleading guilty to any ill-consi-
dered statements, or hasty conclusions, or the citation of autho-
rities which will not stand the most searching scrutiny, (so far as
my imperfect powers qualify me for the task undertaken) — on
the contrary, the work is the result of much previous labour,
undertaken in the hope of being prepared for the vindication of
truth when the fitting occasion presented itself — but from the
feeling that I have scarcely had the opportunity to do the sub-
ject full justice.
As it is, I present it to the reader in the humble hope that it
may tend to clear the real character of the doctrine of our Church
on the subject discussed ; and thus remove the misapprehensions,
and refute the misrepresentations, that are current respecting it.
And I pray the great Head of the Church that His blessing may
rest upon it just so far as it is calculated to promote tlie cause of
truth.
31, Charterhouse Square,
March 21, 1849.
W. GOODE.
vii
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The kindness with which the former Edition of this Work has
been received^ and the early call for another Edition, render it
unnecessary for the Author to offer more than a very few remarks
in this place. He desires, however, to express his thankfulness
at the reception given to the Work, as it encourages him to hope
that it may be of use, with God^s blessing, for the promotion of
the cause of truth, and the manifestation of the true doctrine of
the Church ofEngland,on the momentous subject ofwhichit treats.
Late events in our Church have given the long-standing con-
troversy among us on this point a more than ordinary degree of
importance. The attempt has been made to force upon the
Church, as a standard of faith, an interpretation of her Services
which would place them in direct antagonism to the doctrine of
the very men who drew them up, and to eject from her ministry
all who hold a different \^ew. It was quite time, therefore, that
the claims of such an interpretation should be fully investigated,
and the true doctrine of our Church set forth and proved. To
do this, is the object of the following Work. And while it fully
investigates the important and conclusive internal evidence
afforded on the subject by our Formularies themselves, the
Author has more especially directed his attention to what may
be called the historical part of the argument. Nothing can
more fully show the weakness of the claim set up by those who
call themselves High Churchmen^' among us, to the exclusive
admissibility of their interpretation of our Book of Common
Prayer, than the fact of its contrariety to the doctrine of our
Reformers and early divines. To say nothing of the sentiments
of those who drew up the Prayer Book of Edward VI., the noto-
rious facts that the compilers of the Elizabethan Prayer Book
(which, with a few alterations not affecting the present question,
is that now in use) were, of what is called the " Calvinistic^'
School, and that the Primate who first issued and earnestly
pressed the Canon for subscription to the Prayer Book was a
High " Calvinist^^ (Archbishop AATiitgift), ought to silence forever
the assertion that a Calvinist cannot consistently subscribe to
that Book. And if a Calvinist" can without difficulty subscribe
to it, then certainly it does not assert that spiritual regeneration is
the universal and unconditional effect of Baptism in all infants.
viii
PREFACE.
And here lies the importance of the historical argument in
elucidating the meaning of our Formularies. We do not point
to the " Calvinism " of our early divines as showing that a
Calvinistic interpretation must be given to our Formularies, or
as identifying a denial of the " High Church'^ doctrine as to the
effects of Baptism with Calvinistic views, — for Arminians are
found equally denying it, — but we adduce the fact of the Cal-
vinistic'' doctrine of those to whom we are indebted for our For-
mularies as irrefragable evidence against the attempt made to fix
upon those Formularies an exclusive interpretation, framed by
men of a directly opposite school.
Apart from any consideration of the peculiar circumstances
under which the subject is now discussed in our Church, it is
impossible to overrate its importance as connected with sound
views of doctrine on other points. False views as to the effects
of Baptism in the case of infants introduce confusion and error
into the whole system of doctrine connected with them. If it is
supposed that the Clergy can dispense God's grace and the best
blessing of the Gospel Covenant to anybody they please in infancy^
there is an end to all sound theology. The doctrines of the neces-
sity of God's gift of prevenient grace, and justification by faith,
as laid down in our 10th and 11th Articles, are almost nullified.
And the whole scheme of doctrine embraced, partakes of the con-
sequences of this primary false principle on which it is built.
One effect however may result from the present controversy, and
the consequence be of great benefit, if it please God, to the inte-
rests of truth in our Church, namely, that the minds of men will
be more drawn to the importance of sound and clear views on
this subject.
The present Edition of this Work has been carefully revised
throughout. I must add, however, that I have certainly found
no reason at present, from any remarks made on the Work, to
withdraw or alter a single position, argument or authority, ad-
vanced in it. ■ A few additional remarks and authorities will be
found interspersed here and there ; and a translation has been
given of the Latin quotations. The latter forms the major part
of the matter added.
It remains only for the Author again to commend it to the
Divine blessing.
AV. GOODE.
31, Charter House Square,
Dec. 7, 1849.
TABLE OF COXTEXTS.
CHAPTER I.
page
Preliminary Remarks 1 — 2()
CHAPTER II.
On the views of some of the earlier Scholastic
Divines 27 — 37
CHAPTER III.
Ox the School of Theology to which our Re-
formers AND EARLY DiVINES BELONGED . . 38 — 142
CHAPTER lY.
On the doctrine of the Confessions of the Foreign
Protestant Churches and Divines respecting
the effects of Baptism ..... 143 — 1()1
CHAPTER V.
The doctrine of ^Iartin Bucer and Peter Martyr,
(who were placed by Archbishop Cranmer, at
the commencement of the reign of Edward vi.,
as the first Regius Professors of Divinity at
Cambridge and Oxford,) on the subject of the
effects of Infant Baptism ..... liVl — 178
§ 1. The doctrine of Martin Bucer .... 162 — 174
§ 2. The doctrine of Peter Martyr . . . 174—178
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
page
CHAPTER VI.
On the character of the Works issued by public
authority in the latter part of the reign of
Henry VIII., and their doctrine on the subject
OF THE EFFECTS OF BaPTISM IN InFANTS . . . 1 7^^ — 207
CHAPTER VII.
The DOCTRINE OF our leading Reformers and Di-
vines DURING THE REIGNS OF EdwARD VI. AND
Elizabeth, and the earlier part of that of
James I., on the subject of the effects of
Baptism in Infants 208—389
During the reign of Edward VI . : —
Testimonies of Catechism of 1553 (p. 209) ; — Abp. Cranmer
(211);— Bp. Ridley (225) ;— Bp. Latimer (226) Bp. Hooper
(227);— John Bradford (231);— Archdeacon Philpot (238);—
Bp. Coverdale (239) ;— Thomas Becon (240);— Dean Turner
(242) ;— Lancelot Ridley (243) ;— John Olde (243);— Roger
Hutchinson (244) ;— Short Catechism, -1550 (245). . . 209—246
DvHng the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. —
Testimonies of Works having public sanction : —Bishop
Jewell's Apology, &c. (p. 246); — Dean Nowell's Catechism
(254);~Bullinger's Decads (262) 246—274
Testimonies of the Archbishops of Canterbm-y and York,
and the Regius and Margaret Professors of Divinity at Cam-
bridge and Oxford:— Abp. Whitgift (275) ;— Abp. Sandys
(278);— Bp. R. Abbot (278);— Bp. J. Prideaux (285);— Bp. '
Westfaling (287) ;— Dr. Calf hill (291) ;— Dr. Benefield (291);
— Dr. Whitaker (293);— Bp. Davenant (300) . . . 274—308
Testimonies of various other Bishops Bp. Geste (308) ;—
Bp. Alley (310);— Bp. Cooper (311):— Bp. Babington (315);
—Bp. Bridges (319) ;— Bp. W. Barlow (322);— Bp. L. An-
drews (326);— Bp. Parry (330) ;— Bp. Lake (330) ;— Bp.
Carleton (334) ; Bp. Downame (338) ;— Abp. Usher (342) ;—
Bp. Bedell (349) 308-356
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
xi
page
Testimoaies of learned Divines and Laymen : — Dr. W.
Haddon (356);-Dr. R. Some (359);-Dr. Prime (364j;—
Dr Fulke (366) ;—R. Hooker (368); -Dr. A. Willet (372);
— T. Rogers (380) ;— Dr. Sparke (383) ; —Lord Chancellor
Bacon (385) 356-389
CHAPTER VIII.
The doctrine of the Thirty-nine Articles, and
THE Book of Homilies, on the subject of this
Work
§ 1. The doctrine of the Thirty-nine Articles
§ 2. The doctrine of the Book of Homilies
CHAPTER IX.
The doctrine of the Book of Common Prayer on
the subject of this Work .....
§ 1. Examination of the Baptismal Services for infants, and
proof of the principle on which they are constructed, by a
comparison of them with the other Services in the Book of
Common Prayer ........
§ 2. The judgment of Martin Bucer and Peter Martyr,
upon our Baptismal Services for infants ....
§ 3. Luther's Service for Infant Baptism expressed in similar
terms to ours, and understood by him in the hypothetical sense
§ 4. The meaning of the Baptismal Service demonstrated
by a comparison of it with a similar Formulary, drawn up by
Bucer himself, in a Liturgy from which our own Office is ad-
mitted to be " freely borrowed " .....
CHAPTER X.
The doctrine of the Catechism on the subject
OF this Work 457 — 476
CHAPTER XI.
On the Savoy Conference, and the subsequent
review and re-establishment of the Book of
390—412
390_406
406-412
413—456
413—428
428—432
432-435
435—456
xii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
page
Common Prayer by Convocation and Parlia-
ment IN 1662 4/7 — 482
Testimonies from our Divines since the Restora-
tion, CHIEFLY of the ArMINIAN ScHOOL, ON THE
SUBJECT of this Work ; and concluding remarks 483 — 528
Testimonies from Bp. W. Nicolson (p. 485) ; Bp. Jeremy
Taylor (486) ; Bp. Hopkins (488) ; Bp. Pearson (492) ; Dean
Durel (494); Dr. W. Falkner (497); Bp. Burnet (500); Abp.
Tillotson(502); Abp. Sharp (503); Bp. John Williams (503);
W. Burkitt (504); Dr. T. Bray (505); Bp. T. Wilson (507) ;
Bp. Beveridge (507); Joseph Bingham (512); Bp. Bradford
(514;; Chancellor Stebbing (516) ; Thomas Stackhouse (518) ;
Abp. Seeker (519); Bp.Edm. Law (521); Bp. Horsley (522j ;
Bp. Barrington (523) 485—523
Concluding Remarks 523 — 528
CHAPTER XII.
APPENDIX.
No. 1.
Luther's Form for the Baptism of Infants, according to the
second edition published by him in German in 1524, and trans-
lated and published in Latin in 1526 ....
529—532
No. 2.
The Order and Form of Baptism (including the Prefatory
Remarks on the subject of Baptism) inserted in the Branden-
burg and Nuremberg Liturgy of 1533 ....
533-542
No. 3.
The Forms and Orders for Baptism and Confirmation, with
the accompanying observations, drawn up and inserted by
Bucer, in the Liturgical work published in 1543, by Herman,
Archbishop of Cologne .......
542—566
Addenda, &c.
566 ad fin.
DOCTRINE OE THE CHUECH OE ENGLAND
AS TO THE
EEEECTS OE BAPTISM IN INFANTS.
CHAPTER I.
PLELIMINARY REMARKS.
The remarks contained in the following pages are intention-
ally confined to the discussion of the question^ What is the doc-
trine of the Church of England as to the effects of baptism in the
case of infants ?
In treating this subject, I shall argue it quite independently
of- the further question, — AVhether the XXXIX Articles are, or
are not, the supreme standard of faith and test of orthodoxy for
the ministers of our Church in those points treated of in them, —
and shall endeavour to show the sense of our Formularies, both
from internal testimony, and as illustrated by the writings of our
divines from the period of their construction.
Before I proceed, however, to the regular discussion of the
subject, I would offer a few preliminary remarks tending to illus-
trate the real character of the question, and to show how far a
definite and certain solution of it is to be expected. It appears
to me that erroneous views are often entertained on this point.
The matter is frequently spoken of as if the Church of England
must of necessity have laid down, and had in fact laid down, a
certain definite precise view upon this subject, and peremptorily
enjoined it upon all her ministers for their acceptance and belief.
In my humble apprehension such a notion is entirely opposed to
fact, and also to the well-known principles upon which our Re-
formers were guided in drawing up the Formularies of our
Church. As our Reformers have not bound us to one precise
B
2
human system of theology, so they have not, in my belief, tied
us to one precise view of the subject we are now about to discuss,
and the parties who are the loudest in clamouring for the esta-
blishment of their view as the exclusive doctrine of our Church,
are probably the farthest from the doctrine of our Reformers ;
even to the transgression of the limits which they certainly did
not intend to be overstepped.
The way in which some parties are in the habit of putting for-
ward their view on this subject as precisely and definitely the
exclusive view of the Church of England, to be held by all her
ministers on the pain of incurring the charge of dishonesty and
being driven with disgrace from her communion, forcibly re-
minds one of the tone assumed by one of their late leaders when
advocating his system as the doctrine of the Fathers. In his
opinion (and he, we were told, was one of the most learned theo-
logians and patristical scholars in our Church, if not supreme
among them) there was no room for argument on the subject.
That his system was established as the truth by the Catholic
consent of all the Fathers, was " an obvious fact about which
in impartial minds there could not be any doubt. But somehow
or other, in the course of a very few years, the "obvious fact^^ was
found out to be a delusion; the produce of a one-sided interpretation
of a few passages from certain authors favourable to the doctrine
which had engaged his affections. And so this very learned pa-
tristical scholar, who was to have enlightened all England by show-
ing them how "everybody always everywhere,^^ for many centuries
from the first foundation of the Christian Church, had maintained
"Church principles,^^ was cut short in his course by the awkward
" fact that he had made a great mistake, and that there was
no such consent. But alas ! " Church principles " were too
precious to be abandoned, and therefore (wisely upon his view of
the subject) he adopted the principles that come nearest to them,
and in some points appear to approximate very closely to them ;
and passed over to a party where the trouble of further doubt,
argument, or research, is rendered wholly unnecessary, and an
infallible determination bids every scruple cease and every
tongue be silent.
* See Newman's Lectures on Romanism and Popular Protestantism, p«ssiw.
3
I will not anticipate such a result from an endeavour to prove
that the statements of certain parties as to the doctrine of our
Church on the subject we are now considering^ are as idle and
groundless as Mr. Newman's claims for his " obvious fact."
But the assertions seem to me so remarkably similar in character
and origin, that the remembrance of the one came forcibly into
my mind when about to offer some remarks on the other.
Now, as I have already intimated, it appears to me, after long
and anxious consideration of the question here proposed for dis-
cussion, that all which oui* Church has done upon this question
is, to lay down certain limits on both sides, ^^ithin which the
views of her ministers are to be confined.
At the beginning of the Reformation in Germany, several of
the Continental Reformers, offended ^vith the grossly corrupt doc-
trine of the Church of Rome on the subject, maintained (or at
least used language which seemed to imply) that the Sacraments
were mere signs, not ha's^ing any peculiarly promised gift of grace
attached to them, even in the case of the most worthy recipients.
This view seems rather implied, even by Melancthon, in the
earliest edition of his " Loci Theologici,^' published in 1521,
under the title of " Hypotyposes Theologicse,"* a work which
underwent very great alterations in subsequent years at the
hands of its author, partly in this point, and more especially in
some others. But Luther, apparently from the very first, took
a higher \'iew of the value of the Sacraments in the case of
faithful recipients. And the language of Melancthon (though to
the last cautious and guarded) soon became similar to his on the
subject. The difference of language, however, between Luther
and some of his friends on one side, and Bucer and others of the
Reformers on the other, upon this point, was one of the subjects
of discussion in a Conference held between Luther, Melancthon,
and others, as representatives of one party, and Bucer, Musculus,
and others, as representatives of the other, at Wittemberg in
1536, in which, after mutual explanations, the parties present
came to a full understanding on the point, and each side agreed
to withdraw expressions tending to the undue exaltation or de-
* The Chapter on the Sacraments is entitled " De Signis." The original
edition is of great rarity, but it has been reprinted in Von der Hardt, Hist.
Liter. Reform., and lately republished separately in Germanv.
B 2
4
preciation of the Sacrament of Baptism. An account of this Con-
ference is to be found in Bucer^s " Scripta Anglicana/^* And
in the same year Bucer published a new edition of his Commen-
taries on the Gospels, containing a " retractation " of some pas-
sages on Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which had appeared in
his previous edition of 1 530. f The concessions made by Bucer
and his party upon this occasion were not altogether grateful to
the whole Protestant body ; but the ground taken in this Con-
ference upon the subject, certainly became the prevailing view
among the Continental Reformers, especially in their public
Confessions. I purpose hereafter to revert to it.
Now, upon this point, as we might expect, our Church has
spoken decidedly. In her 27th Article she declares, (and re-
quires her clergy to maintain,) that ^' Baptism is not only a
sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian
men are discerned from other that be not christened ; but is
also a sign of regeneration or new birth," — and that not an
empty, but efficacious sign — " whereby, as by an instrument,
they that receive baptism rightly, are grafted into the
Church, &c Faith is confirmed; and grace increased hy
virtue of prayer unto God." Our Church thus repudiates the
doctrine of those who hold baptism to be a 77iere sign, and pro-
nounces that a certain definite gift and blessing are attached to it
in those that rightly receive it. Here, then, is the limit on one side.
But on the other side, there were those, namely, the Ro-
manists, who maintained that baptism conferred grace upon all
to whom it w^as given, even ex opere operato, that is, from the
performance of the act ; in case there was no direct obstacle op-
posed to its reception by the party baptized.
So it was laid down in the Council of Trent.
" If any one shall maintain, that the Sacraments of the New Law
do not contain the grace which they represent, or that they do not
confer the grace itself upon those who do not place an obstacle in
the way ; as if they were only external signs of a grace or righteous-
ness received through faith, and certain marks of Christian pro-
* Biiceri Scripta Anglicana. Basil. 1577, fol. pp. 648—669.
t Buceri in Sacra Quatuor Evangelia Enarrationes. Basil. 1536. fol. pp.
42-45; and 483—487 : 566, 567-
5
fession, by which, in the sight of men, the faithful are distinguished
from the unfaithful, let him be anathema."*
" If any one shall maintain, that grace is not conferred by the Sa-
craments of the New Law themselves from the work performed, but
that faith in the divine promise is alone sufficient to obtain grace, let
him be anathema."!
These statements are drawn up in the style too common
among the Romanists. Their own views are first stated^ and
then contrasted with a misrepresentation of those of their oppo-
nents. What we are concerned with, however, is the statement
of their own doctrine ; and this is, clearly, that the Sacraments
confer grace ex opere operate on all who do not place an im-
pediment in the way. The nature of this " impediment has
been variously stated, and the Council has certainly left it
doubtful w^hat in their view was its precise character. But in
whatever way the words may be explained, they are clearly con-
trary to the doctrine of our Church, as expressed in the 25th
Article. In such only as ivorthihj receive the same [i. e. the
Sacraments], they have a wholesome effect or operation. But
they that receive them unworthily purchase to themselves
damnation, as S. Paul saith.^' And in the corresponding
Article of 1552, the very phrase, ex opere ope7'ato,\\as expressly
repudiated in strong language of disapprobation, the clause
running thus : — " And in such only, as worthily receive the
same, they have an wholesome effect and operation, and yet not
that of the work wrought, as some men speak, which word, as it
is strange and unknown to Holy Sa^ipture, so it engender eth no
godly, hut a very superstitious sense.X But they that receive the
Sacraments unworthily, purchase to themselves damnation, as
Saint Paul saith.^"
* Si quis dixerit, sacramenta novae legis non coiitinere gratiam quam
significant; aut gratiam ipsam non i^onentibus obicein non conferre j quasi
signa tantum externa sint acceptae per fidem gratiae, vel justitiae, et notae
quaedam Christianae professionis, quibus apud homines disceruuntur fideles
ab infidelibus; anathema sit. (Sess. vii. Can. 6. Ed. Streituolf, Getting.
1838, vol. 1. p. 39.)
t Si quis dixerit, per ipsa novae legis sacramenta ex opere operato non
conferri gratiam, sed solam fidem diviuae promissionis ad gratiam consc-
quendam sufficere ; anathema sit." (lb. Can. 8. Ed. Streitwolf, Gotting.
1838, vol. 1. p. 39.)
X Idque non ex opere (ut quidam loquuntur) o])erato, quae vox ut
peregrina est et sacris literis ignota, sic parit sensum minime pium, sed
admodum superstitiosum. (Ed. Cardwell.)
0
In the revision in 1562, the whole Article was re- cast, and
the words in italics omitted ; no doubt as unnecessary, for as
Bishop Burnet says in his Commentary on the Article, " In all
this diversity there is no real difference ; for the virtue of the
Sacraments being put in the worthy receiving, excludes the
doctrine of Opus operatum as formally as if it had expressly been
condemned/^ And certainly those engaged in the revision of the
Articles in 1562, were little likely to take a view more favourable
to the Romish doctrine in this or in any other point, than those
that drew up the Articles of 1552. One of them, the author of
the Apology, Bishop Jewell, may be allowed to speak for all.
" We say,'^ (he remarks in his Apology, a work the high
authority of which the Bishop of Exeter acknowledges,) " that
the Sacraments of Christ, without faith, do not once profit those
that he alive, a great deal less do they profit those that be dead.^^
(Ch. 15, div. 2. In Def. of Apology, in his Works, p. 282. ed.
1611.) And in his "Reply to Harding's Answer '' to his Ser-
mon, he expressly opposes the Roman doctrine of Opus operatum,
as maintained in the eighth Canon of the seventh Session of the
Council of Trent (above cited), and other passages in Romish
writers. (Works, Reply, p. 437, &c.)
The same doctrine is also clearly maintained in the 26th, 28th,
and 29th Articles. In the first of these, where it is stated that
" the grace of God's gifts " is not " diminished from such as by
faith and rightly do receive the Sacraments ministered unto
them." In the 28th and 29th, where it is stated that "to
such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive " the Sacrament
of the Lord's Supper, the bread is " a partaking of the Body of
Christ," and the wine " a partaking of the Blood of Christ,"
while the " wicked " in receiving are " in no wise partakers of
Christ."
Here, then, is a distinct limit laid down by our Church on
the doctrine of the Sacraments on the Romish side, drawing a
clear line of separation between us and Rome on the subject.
And here I feel bound to remark, that the Bishop of Exeter,
in his recent Charge, has clearly and expressly transgressed this
limit. He has there ventured to state, (1 quote from the third
edition) that " at the time when the Articles were first compiled,
in 1552, and even ten years afterwards, when they assumed their
7
present form, the point on which of all others there was the
least of difference either between us, or even the German Pro-
testants, and Rome, was the doctrine of Baptism." (p. 10.) And
that " by the Sacraments ex opere operatq grace is conferred,
may be affirmed, if it be understood, that it is God who worketh
by them." (p. 11, note.) And that on the subject of Baptism
"we are agreed" with Rome. (p. 11.)
It is difficult to conceive, how such a statement could have
been ventured upon, but by one whose station seemed likely to
protect him from being called to account for it. The very
Articles of 1553, to which his Lordship here refers as favouring
his views, repudiate in express terms (as we have just seen) the
doctrine he has laid down, stating (in opposition to the Canon
of the Council of Trent, passed in 1547), that the Sacraments
have not tlieir effect ex opere operato, and denouncing the phrase
as " engendering no godly but a very superstitious sense." And
the same is the meaning of the Article as it now stands ; for,
essentially, it remains the same ; nor will the Bishop, I suppose,
himself assert, that any real difference was intended on this
point by the divines who revised the Article in 1562.
Equally unfortunate is his Lordship^s reference to Jewell in
defence of the doctrine he has here advanced ; for, as we have
just seen, Jewell expressly repudiates it. I shall notice his
Lordship's extracts from Jewell, when I come to consider JewelFs
testimony more at length. But I would here remark, that the
Bishop^s mistake with respect to his testimony has arisen pre-
cisely in the same way as his mistake (now acknowledged in the
second and subsequent editions of his Charge), with respect to
the Confessions of the Reformed Churches. He has deduced
from Jewell's general statements of the effect of the Sacraments,
when their full end and purpose are answered, the unwarranted
inference, that he asserts that such effects are always produced,
whenever they are administered. By this mode of reasoning he
has (as I pointed out in my " Vindication," in reply to his
Charge) adduced as an unanswerable proof that Dean NowelPs
Catechism supports his view, a passage taken from Calvin. And
by a similar process he might convert every author who ever
held that the Sacraments, when worthily received, were accom-
panied by a gift of grace suitable to their character, into a de-
8
fender of his views. In a word, he confounds the doctrine of
the efficacy of the Sacraments as held by the Reformers, subject
to the condition of the suitability and worthiness of the recipient,
in the eye of God, with the opus operatum doctrine of the Ro-
manists, in which the grace of God is so tied to the administra-
tion of the Sacraments, that where the one is, there must of
necessity be the other.
The great difference between the two, may be seen at once by
a reference to two authors, whom the Bishop himself will, I sup-
pose, admit to be far enough from holding his view.
Thus the learned W. Whitaker (whose testimony I shall con-
sider at large hereafter) says, —
What, therefore, do we say ? Do we take away all grace from
the Sacraments ? Far be it from us ; although they [the Romanists]
misrepresent us as so doing. For we say that they are most effica-
cious instruments of the Holy Spirit, and are also instrumental causes
of grace : and this they also say j but we say it in one sense, they in
another.*'^
So also even Perkins,—
" Of the efficacy of the Sacraments. 1 . We teach and believe
that the Sacraments are signs to represent Christ with his benefits
unto us. 2. We teach further, that the Sacraments are indeed in-
struments whereby God offereth and giveth the foresaid benefits unto us.
Thus far we consent with the Roman Church." (Reformed Catholic,
Pt. 19. Wks. 1616. Vol. 1. p. 610.)
His Lordship may see from these passages, that the language
which he seems to think conclusive in favour of his views, is
freely used by authors who are entirely opposed to it. It has
not the meaning he wishes to derive from it.
We hold as much as the Bishop does the value and efficacy of
baptism as God's ordinance, and have no difficulty in using cor-
responding language respecting it. But we speak of the ordi-
nance as it is when received by one upon whom God pleases to
bestow his blessing in it. And be it remembered, that all general
* Quid ergo nos dicimus ? omnenme a sacramentis gratiam removeraus ?
absit etsi ilU quidera de nobis sic meutiuntur. Dicimus enim esse effi-
caeissima organa Spiritus Sancti, et esse causas etiam instrumentales
gratiae : et hoc ilh etiam dicuut ; sed ahter ilH, aliter nos. (Whitak.
Prselect. de Sacram. Franeof. 1624, 4to., p. 62.)
9
statements as to the efficacy of baptism, apply as much to the
case of adults as to that of infants. And as in the case of adults,
such language is used only on the hypothesis that they come to
baptism ^vith a right mind, in faith and re43entance ; so in the
case of infants, we have no right to suppose that all are equally
acceptable in the sight of God.
But, to return to our subject, we see from the remarks made
above, that our Church has clearly laid down a limit on each
side of the question as to the effects of baptism. And beyond
this she certainly has not gone in her Articles. AVTiether her
other Formularies narrow these limits, is a question which shall
be discussed hereafter ; when I shall also reply to the attempt
made to strain some of the XXXIX Articles to a ^^High Church''
and Popish sense.
But I notice the fact (as I must be permitted for the present
to assume it to be) here, in order to point attention to the cir-
cumstance, that between these limits there are various shades of
doctrine, especially as it respects the case of infant-baptism,
which have, probably, from the first, been more or less main-
tained in our Church. And I think it will conduce to a clear
understanding of the nature and difficulties of the subject with
many readers, if I make here a few observations on the various
views that have prevailed among us on the point. No man
sitting down calmly and impartially to examine the matter, can
fail to see, that there are many complex and difficult questions to
be determined, in pronouncing upon the effects of infant-baptism,
on which oui* Church has given no decision, and on which our
divines have been obviously divided in opinion, and which ma-
terially affect the judgment to be given.
Nor is this surprising, when we consider how careful our
Church has been of tying up her members beyond the doctrines
clearly laid down in the word of God ; and that Holy Scripture
has nowhere expressly and nominatim determined the precise
effects of infant baptism.
It must be carefully remembered, that as the doctrine of infant
baptism is deduced inferentially, and by analogical reasoning,
from statements of Scripture applying more expressly to the
case of adult baptism, so the doctrine of the effects of infant bap-
tism can be obtained only in the same way. Now as we deduce
10
without difficulty^ in one case, the fact, that baptism is to be ad-
ministered j so, in the other, we, with equal certainty, deduce
the fact, that there is, under corresponding circumstances, a bless-
ing given to the child similar to that given to the adult. But
the question is (and here lies the difficulty), what these corres-
ponding circumstances are.
In the case of an adult, our Church distinctly requires the ex-
istence of faith and repentance in the party coming to baptism ;
and maintains that in such only as worthily receive the Sacra-
ments, they have a wholesome effect or operation. (Art. 25, 26,
and 27.) In adults, therefore, certain qualifications are indis-
pensably required, in order to their being made partakers of the
full baptismal blessing.
But, in proceeding from their case to that of an infant, it is
obvious, that we have got one of a very different kind to deal
with, but still one in which we must reason by analogy, from the
former, as to the grounds upon which baptism is administered,
and the effects produced by it. For the declarations of Holy
Scripture on this subject had more especial reference, in their
first application, to the case of adults.
It is unnecessary here to enter upon the question of the title
of infants, as infants, to baptism, because that is fully granted
on both sides.
But it is an important inquiry, to what infants that title
belongs. For not all, even in the sight of man, can be con-
sidered as fit subjects for that holy rite.
JVhat infants are proper subjects for baptism ? Are the chil-
dren of infidels fit subjects ? Will it be said that if we went
into heathen countries and baptized by force or stealth the chil-
dren of the heathen, such baptism would certainly be attended
with the gift of regenerating grace ? If baptism is followed by
such a salutary effect, even ex opere operato, this cannot be de-
nied. But will any one gravely maintain that this is the doc-
trine of our Church ? It is not indeed anywhere (as far as I
remember) distinctly laid down in any of the Formularies of the
Church, that the children of infidels are not admissible to bap-
tism. But is it not clearly implied ? so implied, that baptism
administered to them is not warranted by our Church ? Sup-
posing a case where by force or stealth an infant of heathen
11
parents was brought, even with the required sureties, for baptism,
would any minister of our Church feel justified in performing
the rite ? What does Jewell's Apology — a very high, though
not legally binding authority — say respecting baptism ? " We
say that Baptism is a Sacrament of the remission of sins, and of
that washing which we have in the blood of Christ ; and that
no person which will profess Christ's name, ought to be restrained
or kept back therefrom — no, not the very babes of Christians ;
forasmuch as they be born in sin, and do pertain unto the people
of God.^' (Ch. ii. div. 3, Works, p. 216.) The administration
of the Sacrament is here clearly limited to the babes of " Chris-
tians," and they are to be baptized on the ground that they ^'per-
tain unto the people of God.'' The same doctrine is clearly laid
down in Nowell's Catechism, where it is said, " Cum infantes
nostros vim et quasi suhstantiam Baptismi communem nobiscum
habere certum sit, illis injuria fieret, si signum, quod veritate est
inferius, ipsis negaretur .... Itaque sequissimum est, ut par-
vulis nostris Di\dn3e gratise, atque salutis fidelium semini promissce
hseredes se esse, Baptismo, impresso quasi sigillo, testatum fiat."
The authority of these works confessedly stands so high, that
it is hardly necessary to give fui'ther references on the subject.
The same ground, however, (I will just remark) is taken by
Bishop Beveridge in his Exposition of the 27th Article.
In fact, the argument from Scriptui'e for infant baptism is
founded very much upon texts which apply only to the children
of Christians. Thus the chief Scriptm'al ground on which it is
placed is the text, " The promise is unto you and your children."
(Acts ii. 39.) And one of its best supports is St. PauFs state-
ment, that the children of a believing parent are in a certain
sense "holy." (1 Cor. \-ii. 14.)
Here, then, we have at once (if the question respecting the
baptism of children of infidels is determined in the negative) an
important element in our determination of the question of the
efi*ects of infant baptism. We see the necessity of inquiring
whether the child is the ofi'spring of parents who are at least
professedly Christians. If not, we are not entitled to expect a
salutary efiect from the ordinance. Our Service for Infant Bap-
tism, therefore, is drawn up on the hypothesis that the infant is
12
the child of at least one (really, or at any rate nominally) be-
lieving parent.
Hence, the principle of the hypothetical interpretation of the
Service must be admitted. As it is supposed, in the Service for
Adult Baptism, that those who come to be baptized come truly
possessed of the qualifications of faith and repentance, so it is
supposed, in that for Infant Baptism, that the infants brought
are at least the children of one professedly Christian parent.
But having proceeded thus far, it is obvious that another
question arises. If we are not entitled to reckon upon a salu-
tary efi'ect in baptism in the case of the infant of infidel parents,
are we entitled to do so in the case of the infant of mere nominal
believers ? Those who come as believers, must, indeed, be treated
by man as real believers, (unless the falsehood of the profession
be patent and canonically provable) ; but will He who searcheth
the hearts act as if they were so ? Baptism must be administered
by us to their children as to the children of real believers, but
have we any right to affirm that those children will be dealt with
by God as the children of real believers, when their parents are
destitute of genuine faith ? God may, doubtless, give his bless-
ing ; but is not the recognised title to baptism really, though
not apparently, wanting ? Here is a question not decided by
the Church, and which probably admits of argument. But it is
at least reasonable to think, that our Church, administering bap-
tism on the grounds stated by Jewell and Nowell, administers
it on the supposition that the professed belief is a reality ; and
consequently that her Service is constructed on this hypothesis.
Here therefore we have at least a probable reason for extending
the hypothesis on which the Service is constructed.
But we have further to enquire, whether there is any Scrip-
tural ground for supposing, that all infants of even a truly be-
lieving parent, must necessarily receive the full baptismal bless-
ing when brought to the font. The answer must be that there
is not. And consequently we must further consider, in what
cases we have reason to expect that blessing, and thus extend
somewhat further the hypothesis on which the thanksgiving in
the Service is offered for that blessing.
Here again there is of course some variety of opinion.
13
Many might be inclined to think, that all infants of a true
believer receive in baptism a spiritual blessing, so far that it is
to them a seal of the remission of original sin, and therefore
that, as infants, they may be said to be regenerated by it.
The faith of the parent is to the infant, as an infant, and so
far as concerns original sin, mercifully reckoned by God as im-
putable to the infant, and on the strength of this it is baptized,
faith and baptism together (as in the case of adults) perfecting
the work of infantine regeneration. And (whether this view is
preferred or not), I know not why any one should quarrel with
the term infantine regeneration^ in this sense, more than with
the Apostolic term infantine holiness used in a similar sense.
All the objections that could be raised from Scripture against
the one, might (barring the passage of the Apostle just referred
to) be raised against the other. If we can justly call the chil-
dren of every true believer holy, we can as justly, after they have
received the seal of the covenant in baptism, call them regenerate.
And the Service for Infant Baptism would then be used pre-
cisely in the same sense as that for Adult Baptism must be used
to make it consistent with the 25th Article.
But then comes a further question as to what this regenera-
tion is, and whether one who may have been rightly called re-
generate as an infant is therefore to be so considered as an adult.
Clearly not ; because, by the word of God, personal faith is
essential to the regeneration of an adult. The child, in passing
from an infantine state to a state of responsibility, goes through
a complete change of condition.
And this is the view of the Bishop of Exeter's own referee,
Dr. Jackson. His Lordship has triumphantly adduced Dr.
Jackson, (Charge, p. 20), as maintaining his own doctrine, be-
cause he affirms the universal regeneration of the infants brought
to baptism ; that is (be it remembered) the infants of those who
profess to be true believers. But his Lordship has here merely
caught up a few words (apparently taken at second hand from
some quarter where he found the quotation, for no reference is
given*) from an author of whose real doctrine he is wholly
ignorant. For Dr. Jackson expressly says, —
* The passage occurs in his Work on the Creed, Book xi. c. 1 7, Works
iii. 4/1.
14
The same measure of regeneration which sufficeth children, or
infants dying- before they come to the use of reason, will not suffice
such as attain to the use of reason or years of discretion." (Works,
iii. 100.)
This view was also advocated by the learned Bishop Davenant,
as I shall show elsewhere.
Now I pass no judgment upon this view^ but I notice it as one
clearly maintainable in oui* Church, and defended moreover by
one to whom the Bishop of Exeter himself refers as a theologian
of the highest order among us.
The expressions of many of our divines seem to me strongly
to favour this view, though they have not so distinctly expressed
it as Dr. Jackson.
But I must add, that no man has any right to stretch the
Rubric as to the undoubted salvation of all baptized infants dying
in their infancy, so as to include any other than the infants of
professing Christians. Children are baptized in our Church as
the children of believers, as our early di\ines constantly affirm ;
and therefore all statements on the subject of their baptism must
be interpreted on that supposition. And further, it is clearly
open to us to maintain, that such a profession must be a reality,
to obtain any blessing from God. Man must indeed treat it as
a reality, but God is not to be thus mocked.
Others, however, have not been satisfied, that such a distinction
can properly be drawn between infant regeneration and adult re-
generation ; and (still within the limits prescribed by our
Church) they have adopted other views, of which the three prin-
cipal appear to me to be the following. The first is this. —
That the efficaciousness of baptism in infants depends upon
previous election by God to salvation ; those inclined to Calvin-
istic views, holding such election to be a free act of sovereign
mercy ; and those inclined to Arminian views, holding it to pro-
ceed from foreseen faith and holiness.*
* This mode of interpreting the Baptismal Service may be adopted by the
Arminian as well as the Calvinist ; for the difference between the two does
not concern the existence of such a thing as divine election and predesti-
nation, but the cause of them ; the former holding it to be the effect of
foreseen faith in the predestinated, the latter the effect of a mere gra-
tuitous act of sovereign divine mercy, ultimately producing faith. True,
the Arminian holds, that the same degree of grace is given to all ; while
the Calvinist holds, that more is given to some than to others. But botli
15
In such cases, it is held, that baptism, as God^s ordinance, is
effectual to the incorporation of the baptized into the true
Church — the true Body of Christ. The pardon of original sin
is sealed to the child of a believer, and the infant becomes truly
a member of Christ's Body, and therefore may truly be called
regenerate. Such a child may, when an adult, display for a
time little or no evidence of his membership ; and as long as
this is the case, instead of telling him that he is certainly rege-
nerate, because baptized, we must warn him that there is every
reason to fear that he is unregenerate, and uninterested in the
blessings of the Covenant ; and it is by such exhortations that we
may hope to be instrumental, in God's hand, in the accomplish-
ment of that internal change which is to be effected in him.
And in the absence of any evidence to the contrary (as must
be the case with infants), it is held, that we are bound in the
judgment of charity to regard the infant brought for baptism as
one so elected to salvation.
The second view is of a somewhat similar nature, but irrespec-
tive of any consideration of the doctrine of Election. It is this : —
That as in adults the efficaciousness of baptism depends upon
the party coming to that ordinance in the spirit of true faith and
repentance, so in infants (excepting the case of those who die in
their infancy, where such qualifications are not required) the
efficaciousness of baptism depends upon the prevision by God of
future faith and repentance in the child at a subsequent period
of life. This view seems clearly implied in those words of Bishop
Hooper, where he says, — " Thus be the infants examined con-
cerning repentance and faith, before they be baptized with water,
at the contemplation of the which faith God purgeth the soul.''^
In such cases, it may fairly be held, that the guilt of original
sin being removed from the child baptized, as the child of a be-
these views of the Arminian, are compatible with the notion, that grace and
regeneration are not always and necessarily bestowed in baptism. He is
not, by his views as an Arminian, shut up to the conclusion that, even
where the Divine prescience foresees, that the grace given will be always
and permanently rejected, yet, nevertheless, the grace of regeneration must
necessarily be bestowed in the rite of baptism. He may legitimately take
the view, that where a good use of the grace given is foreseen, it may be
always bestowed at baptism ; while in the case of others, equal grace may
be given at some period of their lives, but not necessarily at baptism.
* Declaration of Christ and His Office. Early Writings. P. S. Ed. p. 74.
16
liever, (the vicarious faith of the parent uniting with baptism to
produce this result) it is^ in contemplation of its subsequent faith
and repentance, then promised for it, made a member of the true
Church of Christ, and so regenerate.
This subject has often been illustrated, and I think happily^
by the consideration of the case of the purchase of an estate
upon certain conditions.
Let us suppose an adult purchasing an estate for a thousand
pounds. The seal is affixed to the covenant, when the condition
of purchase, the payment of a thousand pounds, is fulfilled.
And when the covenant is signed and sealed, and not before, the
party purchasing becomes possessed of the estate, and all the
privileges and titles it confers.
But suppose an estate purchased by trustees for a minor, on
the condition (promised by them as far as they are able to make
a promise for him) that when he comes of age he shall pay a
thousand pounds, and that so long as that sum remains unpaid
it shall not be enjoyed by him. By what name shall we call the
interest he has in it while a minor ? Can we say that the estate
is his ? Clearly, in a sense, we may do so. But it is only in a
sense, only hypothetically ; man knows not whether the agree-
ment made is of any value to the child or not. And in the eye
of one who foresees all things, such a covenant, if the terms
should never be fulfilled by the child, is from the first a nullity.
Now in the case of baptism, the conditions for the reception
of its grace are faith and repentance, and the worthiness of the
party, even in the case of infants, (supposing them afterwards to
reach a responsible age) depends upon the ultimate fulfilment
of these conditions. I do not enter now into the discussion,
whether the performance of those conditions requires a sovereign
and peculiar act of divine grace. That is another question. But
what is maintained is, that there is a personal worthiness or suit-
ability required in the infant, corresponding to that required in
an adult, in order that baptism should seal up to him the gift of
regeneration. If faith and repentance are foreseen, the covenant
made in baptism is valid and effectual in the eye of God. It
may fairly be held, that the child is made a real member of the
true Church of Christ, and more or less therefore a partaker of
the Spirit.
17
This, then, is another view of the case, which may fairly be
taken, within the before-mentioned limits. Difficulties may be
started respecting it, and so they may to every view of the sub-
ject that can be taken. And, no doubt, there will be, to the end
of time, a difference of opinion respecting it.
But there is also a third view, which is this, — That as faith
and repentance are required in the adult, so they are requisite,
in proportion, to the infant, for the reception in baptism of the
full blessing of that ordinance ; and consequently that there
must have been a prevenient act of grace, a " pre-received
grace,^' as our learned Bishop W. Barlow expresses it. Some
have described this as truly and properly /az'M; others, as the
seed or principle of faith. And it is important to observe, that
this was maintained by Luther, who says that infants are brought
to baptism " in this hope and persuasion, that they certainly
believe.'^* This doctrine has not been perpetuated among his
followers, who have, in fact, in more than one point, deserted
the views of the great leader after whom they are called. But
Luther's doctrine it certainly was; and we shall find hereafter
that this fact will enable us to obtain an important illustration
of the meaning of our Baptismal Service. And I find him fol-
lowed by one at least of our earliest divines, namely, Lancelot
Ridley, made by Cranmer, in 1551, one of the six preachers at
Canterbury. Others, as future extracts will shew, prefer adopt-
ing the notion of a seed, or principle, or habit of faith, having
been implanted in the heart.
Where this gift, then, of divine grace (namely, the possession
of faith, or at least a spiritual bias of the mind which may be
called a seed or principle of faith) has been bestowed, there (as
in the similar case of adults) baptism is efficacious for the fulfil-
ment of its best end and purpose.
All these views are clearly admissible within the limits pre-
scribed by our Church. And all these, we shall find hereafter,
have been held by some of our best divines.
But I must add, that to keep within these limits is of the
utmost importance ; to guard, on the one side, against any con-
* Hac spe atque animo, quod certb credant. — (Catechismus Major.)
C
18
tempt or neglect of Christ^s own ordinance ; and, on the other,
against the arrogant pretensions of a self-exalting priesthood to
confer, on whom they please, gifts which our blessed Lord gives
according to his own will ; through the instrumentality, indeed,
generally of his ministers, but only when, and in whom, he
pleases to work through them.
The great (I had almost said fatal) mistake which those who
maintain what are called High Church views among us have
made on this and other kindred subjects, appears to me to be
this, — that they suppose, that because they are ministers of
Christ, and that certain ministrations were appointed for cer-
tain ends, therefore those ministrations must always be effectual
to the accomplishment of those ends. Now it is true that
Christ works by them, and works by certain ministrations the
ends intended to be fulfilled by them ; but only when, and in
what cases. He pleases. They are instruments for fulfilling the
purposes of His will. Out of every hundred individuals to whom
they preach, there may be very few in whose hearts the Spirit
works by them. Out of every hundred to whom they administer
the Sacraments, there may be very few to whom they minister
more than an outward rite or ceremony.
But with this, some will not be satisfied. No, say they,— I
have been made a minister af Christ, and thus had power given
me to dispense, whenever I please, spiritual influence by the
administration of the Sacraments. And the very logical mode
of arguing by which this is supported, is, that being duly or-
dained, their administration of the Sacraments is valid, and that
Scripture tells us, that the Sacraments were appointed for such
and such ends ; and, of course, uses language respecting them
appropriate to their proper character and purposes. They that
are baptized have put on Christ, says the Apostle. Therefore,
says the Bishop of Exeter, whoever are baptized by me have put
on Christ. Most logical conclusion ! Let us take another case
of such reasoning. They that are instituted and inducted into
a living, have obtained legal possession of that living. There-
fore, whoever are instituted and inducted to a living by the
proper authorities for performing such acts, even though it may
turn out that they were never ordained, have obtained legal
19
possession of that living. The fallacy lies in arguing from a
general statement, where conditions are tacitly implied, to par-
ticular cases in which those conditions are not fullilled.
In all these views that we have mentioned, it must be ob-
served, there is one governing principle, namely, that the doctrine
of the effects of infant baptism must correspond (according to
the analogy of the two cases) with that of the effects of adult
baptism. That infants should enjoy in baptism the full blessing
of that holy ordinance, it is necessary that there should be some-
thing in their state or circumstances corresponding with that
which is required in adults for the attainment of that blessing.
And it is the complete preeterition of all consideration of the
necessity of qualifications in infants for enjoying that blessing,
that is (as it appears to me) the grand cause of the mistakes
made by many among us, both as to the doctrine itself now in
question, and as to the meaning of the language of our divines
on the subject of Baptism. "When general statements are found
in our divines pointing out the value and excellent effects of
baptism, they claim them at once as maintaining their view
that all infants are spiritually regenerated in baptism. But
when we ask, whether they mean, that baptism produces these
effects in all cases, they are compelled to reply, Nc, in the case
of adults we must suppose that these statements were intended
onty to apply to those adults who have faith and repentance.
Why then, I ask, are we not to suppose a similar and analogous
limitation implied in the case of infants ? And the only answer
is, because they choose to think that all infants are alike, or
that they adopt the notion (utterly unsanctioned by om* Chm*ch)
that all receive the grace of baptism who do not oppose the
obstacle of mortal sin. But this reply is e^ddently insufficient.
It proceeds upon a mere private notion of their own. It is a
mere baseless fiction, utterly unsupported by a shred of Scrip-
tural testimony, or the evidence of any document of authority
in our Church.
And the requirement by our Church of sponsors who shall,
previous to the baptism of the child, promise, in its name, faith
and repentance when it reaches the age of responsibility, (bap-
tism being administered, to those likely to reach that age, only
on condition of such promise being made) shows that it sanc-
c2
20
tions no sucli notion. Faitli and repentance being necessary
pre-requisites to the worthy reception of baptism in adults, our
Church has deemed it right, that, even in the case of infants, a
pledge of the future existence of these dispositions shall, as far
as possible, be given ; evidently showing that baptism is admi-
nistered only in the anticipation of the subsequent exercise of
these dispositions. True ; the validity of the Sacrament does
not depend upon these promises being made ; for as Bishop
Jewell says, " Whether one, or two, or three, or more, be god-
fathers, or witnesses of the baptism, it maketh nothing to the
virtue of the Sacrament ; they are no part thereof ; without these
baptism is whole and perfect. . .Christ left no order for the use of
these things, neither did by his word or example require them.^^*
But, nevertheless, the requirement shows the sense of our
Church as to the necessity of subsequent faith and repentance
on the part of the child, if it lives to years of responsibility, in
order that its baptism may be of any service to it ; and that if it
could be foreseen, that such faith and repentance would not be
exercised by it (as it is by God, where such is the case) baptism
ivould not be given to it ; for it is given on this condition and
understanding.
And it is exceedingly important to observe this, because
nothing is easier than to bring forward a host of passages from
our divines, extolling the effects and value of baptism ; and they
who tacitly assume that all infants are worthy recipients, though
they neither have, nor ever will have, any good motions or feel-
ings in them, at once apply all that is said, to the case of every
infant baptized, and produce such passages as proofs of what
their authors supposed all infants to receive in baptism. So
completely has the Bishop of Exeter allowed himsplf to be
misled by such passages, as to quote Calvinistic Confessions of
Faith as maintaining his doctrine, — affording an irrefragable
proof, how completely we may misrepresent the authors of such
statements, by interpreting them as favouring such a doctrine.
It may be said, perhaps, that the child is baptized as the child
of Christian parents, and brought by Christian sponsors, and
that this constitutes its worthiness for the blessing of the rite.
* Treatise of the Sacraments, p. 267, Works, 1611, fol.
21
But this is a mere unwarranted assumption. These are re-
quisites to the qualification of the child for baptism. And these
are all the qualifications that man can demand ; and we know^
that among those thus brought, are some at least who will enjoy
the full baptismal blessing. But it does not follow, that these
are all the qualifications that God requires, or that he will look
with equal favom* upon all who are thus brought, even where it
is foreknown to him that the party to the day of his death will
remain faithless and impenitent. All the infants of the Israelites
were to be circumcised ; but circumcision was not to all of them
what it was to Abraham, or even to Isaac and Jacob. It is most
important to recollect, that all events, past, present, and future,
are simultaneously present to the Divine mind. God is omni-
present in all time, as well as in all space.
And, I must add, that beyond these considerations touching
the state of the infant, our Chm-ch clearly teaches us the neces-
sity of prayer to any well-grounded anticipation of obtaining
the Divine blessing in the rite of baptism, as much as in any
other ordinance ; not, indeed, to the validity of the external rite,
as a rite, but to our looking for the presence and blessing of
God in it. God may, indeed, be mercifully present to the child
in it, but we have no right to assume that such be the case.
This is so clearly laid do-^Ti in the 27th Ai-ticle, that by no fair
interpretation of the words can it be got rid of. That xlrticle
tells us, that in this ordinance Faith is confirmed, and grace
increased by virtue of prayer unto God,'' {vi invocationis divmce).
The words, no doubt, apply more immediately to the case of adult
baptism, but also, it must be admitted, in their due proportion
and analog}^, to that of infant baptism. And the Article is sup-
ported in this, as I shall show hereafter, by a work drawn up at
the same time under Cranmer's eye and supervision, called the
"Reformatio Legum.^'
There is another point, also, which it is of the greatest im-
portance to observe in connexion with this subject. And that
is, ivhat the full baptismal blessing is. For it might be sup-
posed, from the language used by some parties on this subject,
that not even the slightest interest in the favour of God, or any
spiritual change, can be enjoyed till the moment of baptism. A
more luiscriptural notion could not be entertained. In all cases^
22
baptism is connected with regeneration only as tlie formal sign-
ing and sealing of the deed is connected with the completion of
a purchase. This follows necessarily from the fact^ that faith
and repentance are required (either in person or by promise)
from all who come to baptism^ and that in Holy Scripture these
are described as essential characteristics of regeneration. Con-
sequently^ in adults^ the internal work of regeneration must be
at least commenced before parties can properly receive baptism ;
and^ in infants^ it must either be commenced, or foreseen by
God certainly to follow.
But baptism is the formal act of incorporation into Christ^ s
body, the Church ; not merely the visible Church, but (when
God acts in the ordinance) the true Church, the mystical body
of Christ. And therefore it may justly be said, that, where it is
efficacious, there we are regenerated by it. For whereas, before,
we were only the children of Adam, and so of wrath ; we are
hereby made children of grace, members of Christ. But it
must be remembered, that as in the natural birth there was life
previously ; so in the spiritual new birth, life, a living principle
of faith, must have been implanted to make the birth by baptism
effisctual to the production of a being spiritually alive. And
Holy Scripture, clearly, often speaks of the implantation of this
principle of spiritual life as the act of regeneration, inasmuch as
it is the most important part of the work of spiritual new-birth.*
While it also speaks of that new -birth as connected with bap-
tism, but evidently in the sense just mentioned. And if this
easy distinction is kept in view, all the passages of Holy Scrip-
ture on the subject harmonize fully with one another.
It is also to be borne in mind, that as spiritual regeneration
is thus connected with baptism, which is its sign and seal, there
is a sense in which all that are baptized may be called by man
regenerate ; not as having beyond doubt received spiritual rege-
neration, but as having received the Sacrament of Regeneration,
and thus being sacramentally regenerate ; and the Sacrament
also is called by the name of that of which it is a sign.
Thus Augustine says, —
" For if Sacraments had not a certain likeness of those things
* See John i. 12, i:^ ; E])li. iv. 24; James i. 18; 1 Pet. i. 23 ; 1 John
iii. 9 ; V. 1 and 4.
23
of which they are Sacraments, they would not be Sacraments at all.
But from this similarity for the most part they receive the names
even of the things themselves. As therefore in a certain way the
sacrament of the body of Christ is the body of Christ, the sacrament
of the blood of Christ is the blood of Christ, so the sacrament of
faith is faith."*
And elsewhere ;
" Inasmuch as we say that he was baptized in Christ, we admit
that he has put on Christ ; and if we admit this we admit that he is
regenerate. . . . But men put on Christ, sometimes as far as the re-
ception of the sacrament goes, sometimes beyond that even to the
sanctification of the life : and the first of these may be common both
to the good and the evil, but the other is peculiar to the good and
the pious. "t
I ought however to remark, before I bring this chapter to a
conclusion, that there is one other \dew (and a veiy common one
among us, in more modern times) on this subject, which I have
not yet noticed ; namely, that which maintains, that baptism, as
the act of incorporation into the \isible Church, may properly be
described as conferring regeneration, as being an introduction
into a new state, bringing new duties, responsibilities, privileges
and blessings, and consequently that all may in this sense be
said to be regenerated in baptism. It is held by those who
maintain this view, that it may or may not be accompanied with
the gift of spiritual regeneration, but that as the introduction
into a new ecclesiastical state, it may properly be said to be a
regenerating ordinance. Hence has arisen the distinction be-
tween baptismal and spiritual regeneration. And, no doubt, the
* Si enim sacramenta quaudam sirailitudinem earum rerura, quarum
sacramenta sunt, non haberent, omnino sacrainenta non essent. Ex hac
autem similitudine plerumque etiam ipsarum rerum nomina accipiiint.
Sicut ergo secundum quemdam modum sacramentum corporis Christi,
corpus Christi est, sacramentum sanguinis Christi sanguis Chiisti est, ita
sacramentum fidei fides est. (Epist. ad Bon if. Ep. 98, Op. ed. Ben. tom.
2, col. 267.)
t Quia in Christo dicimus baptizatura, fatemur eum Christum in-
duisse ; et si hoc fatemur, regeneratum fatemur Induunt autera
homines Christum, aliquando usque ad sacramenti perceptiouem, aliquando
et usque ad vitse sanctificationem : atque illiul j)rimum et bonis et malis
potest esse commune, hoc autem alterum proprium est bonorum et
piorum. (De Bapt. contr. Ponat. lib. I. c. xi. ; lib. V. c. xxiv. ; Op. ed.
Ben. tom. 9, fol. 88, and 157.)
24
word regeneration may bC;, in itself, fairly and correctly used in
this sense; but it seems to me to be alienating it from its
Scriptural sense to do so. This view may be connected with
various theological systems, and according to the system adopted
will be the explanation given as to the precise state of the bap-
tized infant ; but into that it is unnecessary here to enter.
Writers holding this view, therefore, understand the regenera-
tion spoken of in the Baptismal Service as being always con-
ferred, but as not necessarily implying more than what they
would call baptismal regeneration.
I am unable, I confess, to view the language of the Service in
this light. It appears to me that regeneration, in the full
Scriptural sense of the word, as implying incorporation into the
true Church and Body of Christ, is prayed for, and that the
thanksgiving is for the presumed bestowal of the blessing asked.
1 should be very sorry, however, to assert, that such a view
cannot be honestly and legally maintained in our Church.
And of course the testimony of those who have held it as the
doctrine of our Church, is a strong witness against the correct-
ness, or, at least, Anglican character, of such extremely opposite
views as those of the Bishop of Exeter. It has been held by a
large number of our more modern divines ; and consequently,
while they have adopted the affirmative and not the hypothetical
principle of interpretation in the Baptismal Service, they have
nevertheless earnestly advocated the necessity of regeneration, in
the full Scriptural sense of the spiritual new-birth, for those who,
though baptized in infancy, have not exhibited the marks of
spiritual regeneration.
It must be recollected, therefore, that there are two views ad-
vocated among our divines on this subject, (namely, that men-
tioned above as held by Dr. Jackson, and the one just referred
to) in which, though the language of the Service is interpreted
affi^rmatively, yet it is with a meaning entirely different from that
affixed to it by the Bishop of Exeter ; and one which leaves the
question, — in what cases spiritual regeneration in the highest
sense is conferred on infants in baptism, — quite open.
For any clear understanding of the testimony of our divines
on this matter, it is quite essential that we bear in mind the
existence of these different views among them. Otherwise we
25
may quotCj as authorities for a particular doctrine, statements
which were far from being intended to bear the meaning we at-
tribute to them. Thus, for instance, the Bishop of Exeter has
quoted from Dr. Jackson a passage nearly identical in words
with his own statements, but which Dr. Jackson intended to be
understood in a very different sense.
And my great object in offering these preliminary remarks is,
to point out the different views that may be, and have been, en-
tertained on the subject, within the limits our Church seems to
prescribe ; in order both to shew the reader the various aspects
under which it may be viewed, and to prevent a misconception
of the meaning of testimonies to be hereafter adduced.
The moderation of our Reformers induced them to leave
points on which Scripture has not spoken explicitly, open, within
Scriptural limits, to a difference of view. And accordingly there
has been from the first some variety of sentiment among our
divines on this subject. That there were any, however, who em-
braced such views as those advocated by the Bishop of Exeter
and the modern High Church school, until about the times
of Mountagu and Laud, in the latter part of the reign of James
I., I have yet to learn. And for the way in which our Formu-
laries w^ere originally understood, (and consequently for the in-
terpretation which has at least the best claim upon our accept-
ance), we must go to the testimonies we find in the works of our
Reformers and early divines, particularly of those who were in-
strumental in establishing those Formularies upon their present
basis. And here we shall find ourselves in a school of theology
very different from that which has long held the supremacy
among us. This fact it is essential to realize, if we would arrive
at any correct conclusion as to their doctrine on the matter
.before us. And therefore I shall devote an early chapter to the
elucidation of this point.
The views held on the subject of Baptism have always been
intimately connected with, and corresponding to, those held on
the subject of the nature of the Church.
Now on the latter point, there have been two leading views
into which the opinions of our divines have been divided. One
of which is this, — That the nominal Church consists of two dis-
tinct portions, one consisting of those who will ultimately be
26
saved,, the other of all those who will ultimately perish ; of which
the former correspond to the wheat^ and the latter to the chaff,
in the Scripture parable. And, following out the view of the
subject which this parable and other similar desr;riptions of the
Church in Scripture seem to give, the maintainers of this doc-
trine hold, that those sown as wheat by our Lord never become
chaff; that those who are once truly united to his mystical body,
the true Church, never perish.
In connexion with this view, it is held, that the full baptismal
blessing can be enjoyed by those only who are adopted by Christ
as wheat — as true members of his mystical body.
The other view is this ; —
That there is no such distinction between the members of the
nominal Church, but that all who are baptized are alike regarded
by Christ as members of his body, and equally partakers of the
influences of his Spirit.
In connexion with this view, baptism is regarded as, in all
cases, equally, the formal act of incorporation into the true body
of Christ, bringing the baptized into the possession of all the
spiritual influences vouchsafed by Christ even to those who will
ultimately be saved. It is Jield that as baptism is the ordinance
by which the party baptized promises faith and obedience, so in
it God bestows the gifts of the Holy Spirit, unites to Christ^s
Church, and promises final salvation on the fulfilment of certain
conditions, in the case of every infant, without any reference to
any purpose of his own will, or any previous work of his on the
heart, or any future faith and repentance in the child.
Of these two views the works of our Reformers clearly show
that they maintained the former, and therefore, whatever minor
variations are traceable in their doctrine on the subject of Bap-
tism, the modern ''High Church^' notion of all the baptized,
receiving indiscriminately the full baptismal blessing was opposed
by them all.
It seems to be forgotten by those who would limit our For-
mularies to such a sense, that our early divines made common
cause with the Continental Reformers, particularly (and indeed,
in Queen Elizabeth^s time, exclusively) with those of the " Re-
formed (that is, more or less, Calvinistic) Churches. And the
leading divines of those Churches were the great authorities, of
later times, quoted by them in their works.
27
CHAPTER II.
ON THE VIEWS OF SOME OF THE EARLIER SCHOLASTIC
DIVINES.
Before I proceed to those testimonies which are of authority
in onr Church in determining the question under discussiouj it
may be worth while to point out to the reader the fact^ that the
doctrine of some of our High Church'^ divines of the present
day is much less consistent with a sound Protestant view of the
subject than even that of some of the earlier scholastic divines.
Peter Lombard^ the Master of the Sentences, the Father of the
Scholastic dinnes, might be read by them ^^th advantage on this
point.
In referring however to those authors, I must carefully guard
myself against the supposition, that I attribute to them any
weight in determining the doctrine of our Protestant Church.
And the reference which is now being made to them by the
Tractarian party, in support of their errors, I regard as a delu-
sion,— nay more, as an unwarrantable attempt to mislead the
public mind, by sending it to som'ces of information of a corrupt
character, and opposed to the doctrines of om- Church. A
writer of this school has recently ventured to maintain that
" the language of our Forms can only be understood by reference
— not to the Reformers, but — to the theology of the Schools/'
And passages are given by writers of this Party, from the Scho-
lastic di\ines, as if they had a species of authority among us.
Perhaps a Roman Catholic author will be a better authority with
such writers than a Protestant, to show them their mistake. I
will therefore give them an extract from Sanders's work De
Schismate Anglicano."
28
In his account of the Reformation under Edward VI. under
the head " The Scholastic Doctrine exploded/^ Doctrina scho-
lastica explosa/^) he says, —
" All the books of those masters who have taught theology and
the other sciences with power and judgment, they hurl out of the
hands of students, and almost from the Libraries, inasmuch as they
know that by their sound doctrine and methodical treatment of the
subject, the popular frauds of the heretics are without difficulty per-
ceived and dispelled ; Lombard, Aquinas, Scotus, and the other most
learned Scholastics, they accuse of barbarism, ignorance of the Scrip-
tures, and various errors, and inveigh as much as they can against
their memory."*
This extract may suffice to show how much weight was
allowed to the Scholastic divines by our Reformers. f
And so early as 1536^ Archbishop Cranmer used the following
language respecting them publicly in Convocation : —
" To determine anything, especially in a Synod, without warrant
from the Scriptures, was not becoming the character of a Bishop.
That the nicety and jargon of the School divines was more proper for
hoys in the University than divines in such a solemn assembly .''X
But it may not be without its use to refer to Peter Lombard
on this occasion, because we certainly may derive from his state-
ments on the point now in question an a fortiori argument as
to the doctrine of our Church.
The Master of the Sentences, no doubt, holds, that all the
infants of Christians receive in baptism remission of their sins.
But on the question, " AVhether grace is given to infants in
baptism by which they may profit in riper years,^^ he says, —
It is often also asked, whether grace is given to infants in bap-
* Libros omnes eorum magistrorum qui vi et ratione Theologiara csete-
rasque discipliftas tradiderunt, quia istoram solida doctrina et methodica
institutione hsereticorurn populares fraudes iion difficulter cerni et dispelli
sciebant, e sfudiosorum manibus et fere e bibliothecis excntiunt ; Lorabardi,
Aquinatis, Scoti, caeterorumque doctissimorum scliolasticorum nomina de
burbarie, Scripturorum ignoratione, et varia deceptione traducunt, rnemo-
rinmque quantum possunt damnant, &c. (Ed. Col. Agripp. 1610, p. 233.)
t In the above remarks, I am not, of course, denying, that some illus-
trations of the meaning of phrases used by our Reformers may be gathered
from the works of the Scholastic divines, but only that our Reformers at-
tributed any weight to their writings as exponents of the Christian faith.
I Collier's Eccl. Hist. ii. 121.
29
tism, by which, when they have the opportunity of using their free
will, they may have a good inclination of the will and run well. For
with respect to adults who receive the Sacrament worthily, it is not
doubted, but that they have received influencing and co-operating
grace .... But respecting infants who have not arrived at the use
of their reason, there is a question, whether in baptism they have
received grace by which, when they come to riper years, they maybe
able to will and work what is good. It appears that they have not
received it ; inasmuch as that grace is love and faith which prepares
and aids the will. And who will say that they have received faith
and love } But if they have not received grace by which they may
be able to do good works when they have grown up, therefore the
grace given in baptism is not sufficient for them in this state [i. e. as
adults], nor can they now be good through it, but need the addition of
other grace."
Such was the view -taken even by the Father of the Scholastic
divines. Without entering into the question whether he may
not have overstated the matter in denying that such grace is
ever given, one thing is quite clear, namely, his opposition to
such view^s as those of the Bishop of Exeter. In fairness to his
Lordship, however, I will add, that he admits that, —
Some think that influencing and co-operating grace is given to
all infants in baptism, so far as concerns the bestowaly not the use of
it, so that, when they have grown up, they may obtain the use from
the gift, unless through their free will they extinguish the use of the
gift by sinning.*"
* Si parvulis datur in baptismo gratia qua possunt in majori cetate proji-
cere. Solet etiam quaeri, si parvulis in baptismo datur gratia qua cum
tempus habuerint utendi libero arbitrio possint bene velle et currere ?
De adultis enim qui digne recipiunt sacramentum non ambigitur, quin
gratiam operantem et co-operantem perceperint ; quae in vacuum eis eedit
si per liberum arbitrium post mortaliter deliquerint ; qui merito peccati
gratiam appositam perdunt. Unde dicuntur contumeliam Spiritui Sancto
facere et ipsum a se fiigare. De parvulis vero qui noudum ratione utuntur
quaestio est, an in ba])tismo recipiunt gratiam qua ad majorem venientes
aetatem possint velle et operari bonum ? Videtur quod non receperint ;
quia gratia ilia charitas est et fides quae voluntatem praeparat et adjuvat.
Sed quis dixerit eos accepisse fidem et cliaritatem? Si vero gratiam non
receperint qua bene operari possunt cum fuerint adulti, non ergo sufficit
eis in hoc statu gratia in baptismo data ; nee per illam possunt modo boni
esse, nisi alia addatur ; quae si non additur, non est ex eorum culpa quia
justificati sunt a peccato. Quidara putaut gratiam operantem et co-ope-
rantem cunctis parvulis in baptismo dari in munere non in usu, ut cum ad
majorem venerint aetatem ex munere sortiantur usum nisi per liberum
arbitrium usum muneris extinguant peccando : et ita ex culpa eorum est
non ex defectu gratiae quod mali fiunt ; quia ex Dei munere valentes habere
usum bonum, per liberum arbitrium renuerunt, et usum pravum elegerunt.
(Petr. Lombard. Sentent. lib. 4, dist. 4, fol. 82. Ed. Paris, 1510. 12rao.)
30
Nor had Peter Lombard any notion of that inseparable and
exclusive connexion between the sign and the thing signified
which our modern High Churchmen so strenuously contend
for. For he says : —
" If it is asked of what thing that baptism is a Sacrament, which
is given to one already justified, we reply, that it is both a Sacrament
of that thing which has preceded it, that is, of the remission bestowed
before through faith, ^mdi of the remission of temporal punishment, or
of the sin, if any, that is committed in the meantime, and of the
renewal and all the grace there granted. For it is a sign of every
thing of which it is a cause. Nor must you be surprised, that the
thing soinetimes precedes the Sacrament, since sometimes also it
follows long after, as in the case of those who come hypocritically,
to whom, when afterwards they shall have repented, baptism will begin
to be of use; in whom baptism was the Sacrament of this sanctifica-
tion which they have on repentance. But if they should never
repent, nor depart from their hypocrisy, of what thing would the
baptism received by them be a Sacrament ? It may be replied, — of
that thing which would be there if their wickedness did not prevent it.''*
And very similarly, in one place, speaks even Thomas Aquinas.
" Adults," he says, " believing before on Christ, are incorporated
into him mentally, but afterwards when they are baptised, are incor -
porated into him in a manner corporally, to wit through the visible
Sacrament, without the intention to partake of which they would not
have been even mentally incorporated."!
The following passages also are well worth notice, in further
illustration of Peter Lombard^ s views on this subject : —
* Si quseritur cujus rei baptismus ille sit Sacramentum qui datur jam
justo ; dicimus Sacramentum esse et rei quae praecessit, id est, remissionis
ante per fidem datse, et remissionis temporahs pcense sive peccati si habetur
quod interim committitur, et novitatis ac omnis gratise ibi praestitsc.
Omnis etenim rei signum est, cujus causa est. Nec mireris rem ahquando
praecedere Sacramentum, cum ahquando etiam longe post sequatur ; ut in
ilUs qui ficte accedunt, quibus cum postea pcenituerint incipiet baptismus
prodesse; in quibus fuit baptismus Sacramentum hujus sanctificationis
quara poeuitendo habent. Sed si nunquam pceniterent, nec a figniento
reccderent, cujus rei Sacramentum esset baptismus ab ilhs susceptus?
Potest dici rei quae ibi fieret si non eorum enormitas impediret. (Petr.
Lombard. Sentent. hb. 4. dist. 4. G. fol. 82.)
t Adulti prius credentes in Christum sunt ei incorporati mentaUter ; sed
postmodum cum baptizantur, incorporantur ei quodammodo corporahter,
scihcet per visibile Sacramentum, sine cujus proposito nec mentahter
incorporari potuissent. (AauiN. Summ. Theolog. part 3. q. 69. Art. 5.
p. 177. ed. Paris. 1631. fol.)
31
" De jicte accedentibus. Qui vero sine fide vel ficte accedunt,
Sacramentam non rem suscipiunt. Unde Hieronymus (super Ezech.
xvi.). Sunt lavacra gentiliura hsereticorum, sed non lavant ad salutem.
In Ecclesia etiam, qui non plena fide accipiunt baptisma, non Spiritum
sed aquam suscipiuiit. Augustinus etiam ait (super Ps. 83.), Judaeis
omnibus communia erant Sacramenta, sed non communis omnibus
erat gratia quae est virtus Sacramentorum ; ita et nunc communis est
baptismus omnibus baptizatis, sed non virtus baptismi, id est, ipsa
gratia. Item, (De poenit.) omnis qui jam suae voluntatis arbiter
constitutus est, cum accedit ad Sacramentum fidelium, nisi pceniteat
eum veteris vitae, novam non potest inchoare. Ab hac poenitentia
cum baptizantur soli parvuli immunes sunt. His aliisque testimoniis
apte ostenditur adultis sine fide et poenitentia vera in baptismo non
conferri gratiam remissionis ; quia nec parvulis sine fide aliena, qui
propriam habere nequeunt, datur in baptismo remissio. Si quis
ergo ficte accedit, non habens veram cordis contritionem, Sacra-
mentum sine re accipit." (Petr. Lombard. Sentent. lib. 4. dist. 4 B.
fol. 79.)
" Quomodo intelligatur illud, Qmtquot in Christo baptizati estis
Christum iaduistis. Quaeritur ergo quomodo illud accipiatur, Quotquot
in Christo, baptizati estis, Christum induistis ? Potest dici quod qui
in Christo, id est, in Christi conformitate baptizantur, scilicet, ut
moriantur vetustati peccati, sicut Christus vetustati pcenae, induunt
Christum quem per gratiam inhabitantem habent. Potest et aliter
solvi. Duobus enim modis Christum induere dicimur, vel assump-
tione sacramenti, vel rei perceptione. Unde Augustinus (De bapt.
contra Don.), Induunt homines Christum aliquando usque ad sacra-
menti perceptionem, aliquando usque ad vitse sanctificationem : atque
illud primum bonis et malis potest esse commune, hoc autem est
proprium bonorum et piorum. Oranes ergo qui in Christi nomine
baptizantur, Christum induunt vel secundum sacramenti perceptionem,
vel secundum vitae sanctificationem. (Petr. Lombard. Sentent. lib. 4.
dist. 4. C. fol. 79, 80.)
" Quod vero invisibilis sanctificatio sine visibili sacramento qui-
busdam insit, aperte Augustinus tradit super Levit. (q. 88), dicens
invisibilem sanctificationem quibusdam affuisse et profuisse sine
visibilibus sacramentis ; visibilem vero sanctificationem quae fit sacra-
mento visibili sine invisibili posse adesse ; non posse prodesse. Nec
tamen visibile sacramentum ideo contemnendum est, quia contemptor
ejus invisibiliter sanctificari non potest. Hinc Cornelius et qui cum
eo erant, jam Spiritu sanctificati baptizati sunt. . . Solet etiam quaeri
de illis qui jam sanctificati Spiritu cum fide et charitate ad baptismum
accedunt quis [quid] ei [eis] conferat baptismus. Nihil enim eis
32
videtur prsestare, cum per fidem et contritionem jam remissis peccatis
justijicati sunt. Ad quod sane dici potest, eos quidem per fidem et
contritionem justificatos, id est a macula peccati purgatos, et a debito
etemae pcenae absolutos, tamen adhuc teneri satisfactione teraporali
qua poenitentes ligantur in ecclesia. Cum autem baptismum per-
cipiunt, et a peccatis, si quae interim post conversionem contraxerunt,
raundantur, et ab exteriori sanctificatione [satisfactionej absolvuntur,
et adjutrix gratia omn 'mpje virtus in eo augetur, ut vere novus homo
tunc dici possit. Fomes quoque peccati in eo magis debilitatur. . . .
Multum ergo confert baptismus etiam jam per Jidem justijicato, quia
accedens ad baptismum quasi ramus a columba portatur in arcam.
Ante intus erat judicio Dei, sed nunc etiam judicio Ecclesiae intus est."
(lb. ib. lib. 4. dist. 4: E. F. fol. 81, 82.)
These passages appear to me well worth the attention of some
among us. It will be recollected that they were written by
Peter Lombard, about the middle of the 12th century.
And the doctrine that sanctifying grace was always conferred
upon infants in baptism, did not become a ruled doctrine in the
Church of Rome till the Council of Vienne in 1311, and was
then only laid down as the more probable opinion.
For in a letter of Pope Innocent IV. in 1250, afterwards
inserted in the Canon Law, it is distinctly recognized as an open
question, whether grace is or is not conferred upon infants in
baptism, in the following words,
" lUud vero quod opponentes inducunt, fidem aut charitatem,
aliasque virtutes parvulis, utpote non consentientibus, non infundi, a
plerisque non conceditur absolute, cum propter hoc inter doctores
theologos qusestio referatur, aliis asserentibus, per virtutem baptismi
parvulis quidem culpam remitti, sed gratiam non conferri ; nonnullis
dicentibus, dimitti peccatum et virtutes infundi habentibus illas, quoad
habitum, non quoad usum, donee perveniant \_al. pervenerint] ad
setatem adultam."*
And the words in which Pope Clement V. determined the
point in the Council of Vienne in 1311 (also inserted in the
Canon Law), are these, —
** Verum quia, quantum ad effectum baptismi in parvuhs, reperi-
untur doctores quidam theologi opiniones contrarias habuisse :
quibusdam ex ipsis dicentibus, per virtutem baptismi parvulis quidem
* Decret. Gregov. lil). 3, tit. 42, Corp. Jur. Can. Col. Munat. 1/83,
vol. ii., col. 521.
33
culpam remitti, sed gratiam non conferri : aliis e contra asserentibus
quod et culpa eisdem in baptismo remittitur, et virtutes ac informans
gratia infunduntur, quoad habitum, etsi non pro illo tempore quoad
usum : nos autera attendentes generalem efficaciam mortis Christi,
(quae per baptisma applicatur pariter omnibus baptizatis) opinionem
secundam (quae dicit, tam parvulis quam adultis conferri in baptismo
informantem gratiam et virtutes) tanquam probabiliorem, et dictis
Sanctorum ac Doctorum modernorum Theologice magis consonant ac
concordem, sacro approbante Concilio, duximus eligendam."*
These passages,, theu, clearly show the difference of opinion
that prevailed, and was freely allowed to prevail, even in the
middle ages, on the question whether anything more was bestow-
ed upon infants in baptism than the remission of original sin.
That they- might call this regeneration, I freely admit ; but the
most objectionable part of the doctrine of our modern " High
Church^^ divines is, that the regeneration which (in their view)
takes place in all infants at baptism, includes those gifts of
grace that give spiritual life to the soul. Now we see fi*om the
above extracts, that so little was this doctrine recognised by a
large proportion even of the Middle Age divines (inclined surely
to take a sufficiently high view of the power of the Priesthood
and the virtue of the Sacraments), that they denied that those
gifts were conferred at all upon infants.
And it was not till some time after the age of the Master of
the Sentences that the notion arose of sacramental grace being
always conferred, fi'om the mere performance of the act {ex
opere operato), upon all who did not put the impediment of
mortal sin {ponentes obicem mortalis peccati) in the w^ay of the
effects of the Sacraments. And so monstrous and unscriptural
is this view of the ex opere operato salutary effect of the Sacra-
ments, that many of the Romanists themselves have endeavoured
to explain away the words, so as to give them a sense very dif-
ferent from what they were ordinarily understood to imply. As
for instance, the divines of Cologne, in their Antididagma"
against the " Deliberatio'^ of Archbishop Herman, who en-
deavour to explain the words as referring only to the validity of
the sacramental act on the part of the priest as God's minister,
* Corp. Jur. Can. ; Clement, lib. 1. tit. 1. Ed. ead. Vol. ii. col. 194.
D
34
in contradistinction to the opus operantis, or work of the priest
personally.*
But the phrase^ as ordinarily used among the later Scholastic
divines and Romanists, is evidently intended to mean more than
this. And, explain the words as they will, the remark of the
Article of 1552 on them is most just ; that as the phrase " is
strange and unknown to Holy Scripture, so it engendereth no
godly, but a very superstitious, seme.'' (Art. 26 of 1552.) And
so are the following remarks of Bucer, in his reply to the " An-
tididagma.^^
" De opere operate. Cap. 101.
" Hoc loco dicunt adversarii, scholasticis doctoribus inciviliter et
malitiose affingi, quasi docuerint opus sacerdotis in missa valere coram
Deo ex opere operate, sine bono motuutentis, sineque opere operantis,
hoc est, etiamsi nec sacerdos nec populus suum opus, hoc est veram
fidem adjungat.
" Responsio,
" Hanc erroneam seductoriaraque doctrinam Christiani nemini
adscribunt, nisi qui ultro se illi adjungit. Quoniara vero experientia
compertum est, multa millia sacerdotum quotidie contra ordinationem
et institutionem Domini missas facere, aliosque homines eas audire,
quos ambos propria vita cenvincit, quod omni poenitentia ac fide vacui
sint, quandoquidem in manifestis et excommunicatiene dignis flagitiis
sceleribusque contra conscientiam haerent, negari non potest errorem
istum in nimis magna hominum parte sat altas radices egisse, quas
necdum adversarii evellere tentant, quin potius omnibus iis, quae ad
conservatiouem istius abominationis faciunt, face patrocinantur.
Alioqui verum est, S. Coenam juxta institutionem Christi admi-
nistratam, per se bonum ac salutiferum opus esse omnibus qui ea rite
utuntur : etiam si sacerdos omni fide destitutus sit, mode populus
sine propria culpa id ignoret. Consimilis ratio est etiam de ceeteris
ministeriis ecclesiasticis, mandatis ab ipso Domino, in quibus omnibus
solum opus operatum, hoc est opus juxta verbum et mandatum
Domini peractum, atque idcirco opus ipsius Domini, quamvis per
ministrum externe absolutum, utile ac salutiferum est fidelibus :
siquidem illud tanquam opus Domini vera fide recipiarit et usurpent :
nihilque obest illis opus operantis ministri, licet impurum sit, hoc
est, non quidem vera fide, sed tamen alioquin juxta institutionem
* Antididagma, seu Christianse et Catholicse Relig. per Canon. Metro]).
Eecles. Colon, propugnatio. fol. 71. Ed. Colon. 1544. fol.
35
Jesu Christi a ministro perfectam. Omnis enim gratia in sacra-
mentis nullo modo ex opere operantis ministri, sed ex opere operate
Christi, quod ibi juxta verbum et mandatum illius praebetur, proftcis-
citur. Nihilominus tamen opus operantis sumentis et sacris Christi
utentis quoque accedere oportet,hocest, indubitatam fidem in Christum
et promissiones ejus, quae opus Christi apprehendit, eoque fruitur.
Non quod fides aliquid ex se nobis promereatur, vel ad opus meritum-
que Christi nonnihil ponderis praeterea adferat, sed quod opus meri-
tumque Christi apprehendat.
" Quod si voluerimus ad hunc modum ista verba intelHgere, nihil
controversiae in se habent. Verum loquendum est juxta vulgarem
consuetudinem, et ad captum hominum, quo Veritas omnibus per-
spicue patefieri, et a meudacio proprie discemi queat : quo et men-
dacium homines rehnquere, et veritati firmiter adhserere possint.
Neque Hcet in Ecclesia Christi ejusmodi horrendis abominationibus
fucatis sermonibus patrocinari, quo facihus rudioribus hominibus tan-
quam insignes cultus supponantur, vel ipsi in tahbus abominationibus
confirmentur. Jam vero nimis, proh dolor, manifestum est, quomodo
homines apud missam opere operato non Christi Domini, sed sacer-
dotis fidant : idque non eo modo quo instituit Dominus, et ipsius
opus esset : sed quemadmodum jamdudum contra ordinationem
Domini depravatum, opusque Antichristi factum est. Adhsec quo-
modo nihil curent opus operantis, vel ministri, utrum fideliter id
peragat, vel sumentis, qui tamen judicium sibi sumit, quando sine
proprio opere operantis, hoc est, opere verse fidei suae, opus operatum,
quamvis juxta mandatum et institutionem Domini peractum, usurpat,
vel ejus se participem reddit." (Buceri Constans Defensio, &c.
Genev. 1613. 4to, pp. 317, 318.)
I shall not, however, detain the reader longer upon the subject
of this chapter, except to remark, that there is one other point
on which the \*iews of many of the Romanists and Scholastic
divines were sounder than those which have lately been received
among us. It was with gi-eat regret that I found Mv. Maskell
advocating the notion of the elements in the Sacraments convey-
ing the grace given. The remark occurs in connection with the
following complaint respecting Hooker. " Of the grace [i. e. of
the Sacraments], only need we inquire further into what this
gi'eat di\dne understood by it : and I may pass on to that the
more readily, as his remarks seem scarcely enough to reach to
the full extent of Catholic teaching, with regard to the ' element '
and ' the word.' " And in what does the reader suppose that
d2
36
it falls short of "Catholic teaching Mr. Maskell shall state
it in his own words. " For, in the eucharist, for example, ' the
word^ has more effect than simply to express what is done by
the element, inasmuch as it endues the element with its mysterious
power ; making, in conjunction with the other essential rites,
the bread to be the Body and the wine to be the Blood of
our Blessed Lord. So in Baptism : ' the element ' not alone
shadoweth and signifieth, but conveyeth grace.'' (On Baptism,
pp. 23, 24.)
Here is an error against which, beyond doubt, our Reformers
with one voice, and in the strongest terms, protested ; an error
moreover which many of the most celebrated divines of Rome
itself, — almost all the Scholastic divines, — repudiated. I say
this on the authority of one of Rome's most able divines, Estius ;
who observes, —
" Alii vero neque proprie dictam, id est, physicam instrumenti
rationem in sacramentis agnoscunt, neque virtutem aliquam creatam
eis inesse putant, qua gratiae effectum operentur ; sed dicunt hactenus
tantum sacramenta esse efficacia gratiae signa, quia divina vh-tus sacra-
mentis ad producendum gratiae effectum certo et infallibiliter ex
Christi promissione assistit, ut videlicet habeant rationem causae sine
qua non, vel potius causae instrumentalis generaiiter dictse, — instru-
mentum morale vocant. Hanc opinionem tradunt Scotus, Henricus a
Gandavo, Bonaventura, Durandus, Alexander de Ales, et aliiplerique."
And he adds that this opinion " fuisse et esse inter scholas-
ticos doctores communem sententiam, quemadmodum testatur
Bonaventura ad Distinctionem ult. libri 3. Sentent., et confitetur
Dominicus Sotus in prsesentem Distinctionem, dicens eam esse
omnium fere doctorum etiam neotericorum. qusest. 3. art. 1 et
4.'^ And he remarks, that the Council of Trent has, worded its
statements so as to avoid a determination of this question *
I have purposely abstained, in this work, from discussing the
question of the doctrine of the Fathers on the subject ; not from
any unwillingness to enter upon the inquiry, but on the ground
that the doctrine of our Reformers and early divines, to whom
we are ind(;bted for our Formularies of faith and worship, must
* Estius, Comment, in Libr. Sentent. Lib. 4, dist. 1. 4. 5. \m. 6, 7.
Ed. Neap. 1720, Vol. 2.
37
be judged of by their own writings. I will, however, just point
the attention of the reader to one passage from a Father often
quoted on the subject, (Augustine), as showing that while he uses
the word " regeneration" to describe the effects of baptism in all
infants, he does not suppose a spiritual regeneration to take place
which gives a principle of spiritual life to change the bias of the
heart.
" Sicat ergo in Abraham praecessit fidei justitia, et accessit cir-
cumcisio signaculum justitise fidei : ita in Cornelio praecessit sancti-
ficatio spiritalis in done Spiritus Sancti, et accessit sacramentum re-
generationis in lavacro baptismi. Et sicut in Isaac, qui octavo su^
nativitatis die circumcisus est, prsecessit signaculani justitiae fidei, et,
quoniam patris fidem imitatus est, secuta est in crescejite ipsa justitia,
cujus signaculum in infante prsecesserat : ita in baptizatis infantibus
prsecedit regenerationis sacramentum; et 5/ Christianam tenuerint
pietatem, sequetur etiam in corde conversio cujus mysterium prsecessit
in corpore. Et sicut in illo latrone quod ex baptismi sacramento
defuerat complevit Omnipotentis benignitas, quia non superbia vei
contemtu sed necessitate defuerat : sic in infantibus qui baptizati
moriuntur, eadem gratia Omnipotentis implere credenda est, quod
non ex impia voluntate, sed ex setatis indigentia, nec corde credere
ad justitiam possunt, nec ore confiteri ad salutem. Ideo ciim alii
pro eis respondent, ut impleatur erga eos celebratio sacramenti, valet
utique ad eorum consecrationem, quia ipsi respondere non possunt.
.... Quibus rebus omnibus ostenditur, aliud esse sacramentum bap-
tismi, aliud conversionem cordis, sed salutem hominis ex utroque
compleri." (Aug. De Bapt. contra Donat. lib. 5. cc. 24, 2.5. IX.
140, 141, ed. Bened.)
38
CHAPTER III.
ON THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY TO AVHICH OUR REFORMERS
AND EARLY DIVINES BELONGED.
The difference of meaning attached to the same theological
terms and expressions^ by men of different schools of theology,
renders it of great importance, in an inquiry like the present, to
know the prevailing tone of theology among those whose views
on any particular point we are endeavouring to ascertain. It
may be useful, therefore, if, before I proceed further, I endeavour
to throw some light upon the question, What was the prevailing
bias of the theology of our Reformers and early divines, espe-
cially respecting the Church, Predestination, and some kindred
topics; the views entertained on those points having manifestly
an important influence upon the subject of the effects of infant
baptism. This is the more necessary, from the circumstance of
attempts having frequently been made, since the prevailing tone
of doctrine in our Church became changed, and the writings of
oiu* early divines (with very few exceptions) disregarded and often
almost unknown, of representing their general views of doctrine
as very different from what they were in reality. From the
paucity of the remains of our early theological literature of the
Reformed school, this was no difficult task. But times are now
changed in this respect. The conflict which the true successors
of the Reformers have had to maintain, even for toleration in
our Church, has led to an extensive republication of the works
of our Reformation divines. And we have already some indi-
cations that more just views on the subject are beginning to pre-
vail even among those who are attached to that Laudcan school
of theology that succeeded the school of our Reformers, as we
39
may judge from the extract given in my recent reply to the
Bishop of Exeter^s Charge.*
I would premise, however, that while I adduce the following
testimonies as showing the prevailing bias of the theology of our
Church at the time spoken of, I by no means wish to imply that
the Articles and Formularies of our Church were formed upon a
Procrustean principle of reducing the views of all to the precise
standard of that prevailing bias. Our Reformers were men of
far too much Christian charity to adopt such a principle. But
the object which I have in view is simply this, to prove, by
showing the general tone and character of the theology of our
early divines of the Reformed school, what modern school among
us approaches the nearest to their standard, and consequently to
the intended meaning of the Formularies they drew up. My con-
viction is, that I might take much higher ground than this, but
with this I am contented. And though the discussion has only
a general bearing upon the subject more immediately before us,
yet its indirect evidence respecting it will be admitted, by all
those who know how much any one^s doctrine upon the point
in question may be judged by the system of theology to which
he is attached, to be of very great force. In fact, if it shall ap-
pear (and I believe it to be undeniable), that their doctrine was,
in the most important points, what is now called Calvinistic,"
there is, or ought to be, an end to the controversy as to the in-
terpretation they intended to be given to our Formularies, both
as it respects baptism and several other points.
When we speak of the theology of our Reformers, we can
hardly consider anything previous to the time of Edward VI.,
(until which period the Reformation can scarcely be said to have
been established) as entitled to much weight in elucidating its
character. But 1 will go back a little way into the reign of
Henry VIII. in order to show what was even then the doctrine
of our leading Reformers on the subject of the present chapter.
And I begin with the " Institution of a Christian Man,^^ pub-
lished in 1537, with the sanction of the great body of the Bishops
and Clergy ; in the drawing up of w^hich Archbishop Cranmer
* See " Vindication of the Defence of the XXXIX Articles," pp. 4, 6.
Also a remarkable article that appeared in 1842 in the British Critic, No.
Ixiv'. pp. 300 et seq., from which I shall presently give some extracts.
40
had the principal hand. Amidst much that is objectionable and
thoroughly Popish^ and that was in a few years entirely discarded
by the Archbishop, (so that no inference in favour of any Popish
doctrine contained therein being subsequently maintained by
him_, can be legitimately drawn from it) there is also much of a
decidedly Protestant character, standing out in very remarkable
contrast with the nominal Protestantism of modern High
Churchmen/^ I allude more particularly to that remarkable
portion of it called the Interpretation of the Creed, in which the
views that ought to be entertained by a Christian man on each
Article are expressed by a large paraphrase. I would call the
attention of the reader to the following extracts.* I take the
passages as they come, begging the reader to observe particularly
the views of Cranmer and his party, even at that time, on the
nature of the true Church of Christ as distinguished from the
nominal Church, and on the appropriating character of true
faith.
From the paraphrase of the first Article.
" I believe also and profess, that he is my very God, my Lord, and
my Father, and that I am his servant and his own son, by adoption
and grace, and the right inheritor of his kingdom." (p. 31.)
From the paraphrase of the second Article.
" I believe also and profess, that Jesu Christ is not only Jesus,
and Lord to all men that believe in him, but also that he is my
Jesus, my God and my Lord. For whereas of my nature I was
born in sin, &c I believe, I say, that I being in this case,
Jesu Christ, by suffering of most painful and shameful death upon
the cross, &c hath now pacified his Father's indignation
towards me, and hath reconciled me again into his favour, and that
he iiath loosed and delivered me from the yoke and tyranny of death,
of the devil, and of sin, and hath made me so free from them, that
they shall not finally hurt or annoy me ; and that he hath poured
out plentifully his Holy Spirit and his graces upon me, specially
faith, to illumine and direct my reason and judgment, and c/i«n7y
to direct my will and aff"ections towards God, whereby 1 am so per-
fectly restored to the light and knowledge of God, to the spiritual
* They are taken from the edition in " Formularies of Faith put forth
by authority during the reign of Henry VIII. Oxf. Ib25," 8vo. This book
was published by the late Dr. Lloyd, Bishop of Oxford.
41
fear and dread of God, and unto the love of him and mine neighbour,
that with his grace I am now ready to obey, and able to fulfil and
accomplish his will and commandments. Besides all this, he hath
brought and delivered me from darkness and blindness to light,
from death to life, and from sin to justice, and he hath taken me
into his protection, and made me as his own peculiar possession, and
he hath planted and grafted me into his own body, and made me a
member of the same, ro aris et focis, for matters, and that capital matters, of
the substance and life of our Christian religion ; not trifles, as some
neutrals would bear the people in hand Whereas, the con-
troversies betwixt us and our brethren [the Puritans] are matters,
or rather (as thexj call than) but manners and forms of the Church's
regiment. "\
These two last extracts I have already given in a former
publication, J but I repeat them here as important parts of the
chain of evidence to which this chapter is devoted.
For the same reason I must again notice the very forcible
testimony supplied by the Statute of the University of Oxford,
in 1579, for "the exthyation of every heresy, and the instruction
of youth in true piety," in which it was ordered that the students
should use either NowelPs Larger Catechism, or Calvin's Cate-
chism, or the Elements of Christian Religion by Andrew Hype-
rius, or the Heidelberg Catechism, according to the capacity of
the hearers and the pleasure of readers ; and that to these might
be added Bullinger's Catechism for Adults, aud Calvin s Institu-
tions, or the Apology of the Church of England, or the Articles
of Religion. And all Catechisms " opposed to this sound doc-
trine, and other superstitious and Papistical books," were
interdicted. §
* Lett, to Gualter, July 1573, in Zur. Lett. 1st Ser. p. 28/. " vSolam
doctrinam nobis integram relinquunt." (lb. Pt. 2, p. 168.)
t Defence of Gov. establ. irrCh. of England. Lond. 1587, 4to. Pref. p. 3.
X Vindication of the " Defence of the XXXIX Articles."
§ 1. Ad extirpandam hseresim quamcunqiie et ad inforraandam in vera
pietate juventutem, libros hosce legendos censemus et statuimus, viz.,
Catechismum Alexandri Novelli MajoremLatine et Greece, vel Catechismum
Johannis Calvini Latine Graice et llebraice, vel Elementa Christiana?
Religionis Andrea) llypcrii, vel Catechesin Heydelburgensem, pro captu
auditorum et arbitrio legcntium.
2. His adjungi possunt Henrici Bullingeri Catechesis pro adultis, et Insti-
tutiones Calvini, vel Apologia Ecclesiae Anglicana;, vel Articuli Keligionis
97
Another remarkable testimony of the same kind is the fact,
that at the Convocation in 1586, ^'^the Archbishop and Bishops^'
agreed to certain " Orders/^ of which the first was this, —
"Every minister having cure, and being under the degrees of
Master of Art and Bachelor of Law, and not licensed to be a public
preacher, shall, before the 2nd day of February next, provide a Bible
and BuUinger s Decads, in l.atin or English, and a paper-book. And
shall every day read over one chapter of the Holy Scriptures ; and
note the principal contents thereof briefly in his paper-book. And
shall every week read over one sermon in the said Decads ; and note
likewise the chief matters therein contained in the said paper [600/.].
And shall, once in every quarter . . . shoio his said notes to some
preacher near adjoining, to be assigned for that purpose."
And by the second Order,^^ the said preachers are to certify
to the Archdeacon or Bishop, who do perform the said exer-
cises, and how they have profited therein."*
And accordingly, in the following Jannary we find Dr.
Aylmer, Archdeacon of London, and son of the Bishop, ordering
all ministers, not preachers, in his archdeaconry to have " Bid-
linger^s Decads.'^f
This surely is a decisive proof what was the character of the
publicly received doctrine of our Church at that time.
From these testimonies as to the public doctrine of the Church,
I pass on to renew the doctrine maintained by its leading
bishops and divines during the period respecting which we are
now inquiring. And the only difficulty with which we have to
contend arises from the paucity of their writings ; for so far as
testimonies are to be found as to their views on the subject
under consideration in this chapter, their evidence is altogether
such as the proofs already adduced of the real doctrine of our
Church would lead us to expect.
in Synodo Londinensi conscripti et authoritate Regia editi cum exphcatione
locorura communium testimoniis a sacra Scriptura aut interdum e Patri-
bus desumptis. Ad primam lectionem juniores, ad secundam provectiores
cranes nullo gradu insiguitos astringi volumus.
3. Catechismos omncs, sanee huic doctrinne contraries, aliosque libros
superstitiosos et papisticos legi et haberi interdicimus. (Ant. a Wood, Hist,
et Antiq. Univ. Oxou. vol. 1. p. 296, ed. 1574. j
* Strype's Whitgift, Appendix, No. 32. lii. 194, 195. Oxf. ed. !See also
"Wilkins's Concilia, iv. 321.
t Strype's Aylmer, p. S3.
U
98
And first let ns take the series of Primates in the Sees both
of Canterbury and York.
First, Archbishop Parker. His writings unfortunately are
not sufficiently extensive to supply us with the most direct
testimony to his ^dews. But still we have what is sufficient for
the pui'pose. For, first, we have already seen what was the
doctrine inculcated in the notes to the Bible published under
his superintendence and authority. Moreover, fi'om his testi-
mony to the doctrine of Bucer, we may fairly infer his
own. Again; another strong though indirect testimony of
the Archbishop^s \'iews is to be found in the books he gave
to the Cambridge University Library. Of four parcels of
25 vols, each, the first of which contained Bibles, Concordances,
Greek Scholia, and some historical works, and the last some
miscellaneous MSS., the second and third consisted of Com-
mentaries on the Old and New Testament ; which were these, —
John Calvin on the Pentateuch, Munstei\ on several books of
the Bible, Gualter on the 12 Minor Prophets, Calnn's Institu-
tions, Musculus's Common Places, Beza on the New Testament,
Erasmus's Annotations and Paraphrase on the New Testament,
Calvin's Harmony of the four Evangehsts, Bucer on the four
Gospels, Robert Stephens on three Gospels, Zuinglius on the
four Gospels, Fox and Pantaleon's Martyrologies.* No one
surely can read this list without seeing at once the character of
Parker's theology.
Again ; we have seen in a preceding page (p. 65), the notice
taken by Parker, in a work published towards the close of his
career, of the divines of the foreign Reformed " Churches,
brought over here by Cranmer, to aid him in strengthening
" the evangelical doctrine " in this kingdom. Here again we
have pretty good evidence of his \^ews in the language he uses
respecting them ; so utterly opposed to that of the divines who
call themselves " High Churchmen.^'
And to this may be added, that his Chaplain, Dr. John ]\Ian,
translated, by his adnce and encouragement, the Common
Places of ^Jusculus, and dedicated the book to the Archbishop,t
* Strvpe's Parker, ])Ook 4, ch. 42, ii 409, 410. Oxf. ed.
t Strype's Parker, book 4, ch. 46, ii. 460. Oxf. ed.
99
who rt'comineiided it to the Church, as we learn on the autho-
rity of Haddon as quoted by Strype.*
The successor of Parker in the See of Canterbury was Grindal,
whose view of the doctrine of our Church we have already seen.
I add the following as another testimony of his own views. It
occurs in a letter from him, when Archbishop of York, to
Rodolph Gualter, in July 1573.
" Health in Christ, my very dear master Gualter. Your desire
that your lately published Homilies on the First Epistle to the
Corinthians should appear under my name and that of some other
very dear brethren and fellow-labourers was very gratifying to me.
. . . Although you are not personally known to me, you are well
known to me by your writings, abounding as they do in singular
erudition and learning : and on account of the excellent piety which
they breathe, and I will add too, on account of our most close agree-
ment in the true doctrine of Christ, you are most dear to me."t
The next Primate was Dr. John Whitgift, of whom it is per-
haps still less necessary than in the case of Dr. Grindal to say
much as to his doctrinal views ; he being the Primate by whom
the famous Lambeth Articles (well known, and universally
admitted, to be thoroughly Calvinistic,^^ as it is called) were
put forth in 1595. I shall give presently a fui'ther account of
these iVrticles. I will just add, however, an extract from the
Archbishop's "Defence of the Answer to the Admonition,''
w^hich may not be so well known, and which has a direct and
important bearing on the subject of this work. He says, —
" There are two kinds of government in the Church; the one,
invisible ; the other, visible ; the one, spiritual ; the other, external.
The invisible and spiritual government of the Church is, when God
by his Spirit, gifts, and ministry of his word, doth govern it, by
ruling in the hearts and consciences o? men, and directing them in
all things necessary to everlasting life : this kind of government
indeed is necessary to salvation, and it is in the Church of thk
ELECT ONLY. "I
The successor of Whitgift was Dr. Richard Bancroft, trans-
lated from London to Canterbury in 1604. He was a cele-
*
t Zurich Lett. 1st Ser. p. 293 propter arctissimam iu vera
Christi doctrina coDsensionem carissimus." (lb. Ft. 2, p. 171.)
X Defence of Answer to Admonition, 1574, fol. p. 80.
II 2
100
brated opponent of the factious proceedings of the Puritans, in
matters of Church government and discipline. But what his
view of the doctrine of the Church of England was^ may be
judged from the Exposition of the Articles published in 1607,
by his Chaplain Thomas Rogers, with a dedication to him ; a
book which (we are told by a contemporary) " came abroad with
injunction from the Archbishop that then was [Dr. Bancroft]
that there should be one of them bought for every parish in the
Province of Canterbury .''"^
I will give a few extracts from Bogers's Commentary on the
17th Article.
" They which are predestinate unto salvation cannot perish. '
"Wander then do they from the truth which think, —
That the very elect totally and finally may fall from grace and
be damned ;
" That the regenerate may fall from the grace of God, may destroy
the tem])le of God, and be broken off from the vine Christ Jesus;
which was one of Glover's errors ;
" That the number of those which be predestinate, may both
increase and be diminished : so thought the Pelagians"
" Of the mere will and purpose of God, some men in Christ Jesus
are elected, and not others, unto salvation.
The proof from God's word.
" In the Scripture we read of man's predestination the cause effi-
cient to be the everlasting purpose of God : Rom. ix. 11, Eph. i, 5,
2 Tim. i. 9 : the cause formal, God his infinite mercy and goodness ;
Exod. xxxiii. 19, Rom, ix. 15 : the cause material, the blood of
Christ ; Eph. i. 4, 5 ; 1 Tim. i. 18, 20 : the cause final or end, why
both God the Father hath loved, and Christ for his elect hath suffer-
ed, is the glory of God ; Eph. i. 6, Prov. xvi. 4 : and the salvation
of man ; Rom. viii. 29, Rom. ix. 21.
And this do all the Churches militant and reformed^ with a sweet
consent, testify and acknowledge.
*' Hereby is discovered the impiety of those men which think that,
" God beheld in every man whether he would use his grace well
and believe the gospel or no ; and as he saw a man affected, so did
predestinate, choose, or refuse him.
*' Besides his will there was some other cause in God, why he
t Dr. Burges's Baptisrucal Regeneration of Elect Infants. Oxf 1629.
4to. p. 68.
101
chose one and cast off another man ; but this cause is hidden from
us."
" They who are elected unto salvation, if they come unto years of
discretion, are called both outwardly by the word, and inwardly by
the Spirit of God.
" Though true it be, the Lord knoweth all and every of his elect ;
yet hath he revealed unto us certain notes and tokens, whereby we
may see and certainly know, whether we be of that number or not.
For such as be ordained unto everlasting life, if they live long in this
world, they one time or other be called unto the knowledge of salva-
tion, by the preaching of God's word ; they obey that calling,
through the operation of the Holy Ghost working within them ; they
feel in their souls the same Spirit bearing witness unto their spirits
how they are the children of God ; and finally they walk religiously
in all goud works. , . .
" Sundry adversaries hath this truth, and
''^ First the Papists, who teach that none are to think or persuade
themselves, that they are of the number of the Predestinate unto
salvation, but to be ever doubtful thereof
» " The Predestinate are both justified by faith, sanctified by the
Spirit, and shall be glorified in the life to come."
" This doctrine of Predestination is to the godly full sweet,
pleasant, and comfortable, because it greatly confirmeth their faith in
Christ, and increaseth their love toward God . . . But to the
wicked and reprobate the consideration hereof is very sour, unsavory,
and most uncomfortable, as that which they think (though very un-
truly and sinfully) causeth them either to despair of his mercy, being
without faith, or not to fear his justice, being extremely wicked:
whereas, neither from the word of God, nor any confession of the
Church, can any man gather that he is a vessel of wrath, prepared
to damnation ; but contrary-wise by many and great arguments may
persuade himself that God would not his destruction
Therefore they are to be taken as much out of the way, which say,
that this doctrine leadeth either unto desperation, which is W'ithout
all comfort, or unto looseness of life, and so unto Atheism ; and
therefore to be pubhshed neither by mouth nor book ; and so thought
both the Pelagians and the Predestinates (a sort of heretics so called)
in old time, and the Family of Love in our days, who term the doc-
trine of Predestination a licentious doctrine, and say it filleth all the
prisons almost in England."*
* The P'aith, Doetriue, and Religion professed and protected in the Re:dni
of Kngland, &c. See on Art. 17. I have quoted from the edition pub-
lished in 1625, 4to.
102
Without going furtlier, these extracts are^ I suppose^ amply
sufficient to show the view of doctrine maintai^ied in this, the
first and a publicly authorized, Exposition of the Thirty-nine
Articles, and one which Archbishop Bancroft ordered all the
parishes in his Province to supply themselves with.
In 1610 Bancroft was succeeded by Dr. George Abbot, whose
views of doctrine it is quite unnecessary to prove, as they are
well known to, and recognised by, all parties as being decidedly
Calvinistic.
I now pass to the Archbishops of York during the same
period.
Of the first. Dr. Thomas Young, I find no remains or notice
from which his views are to be gathered.
His successor was Grindal, whose case has already been con-
sidered.
The successor of Grindal was Dr. Edwin Sandys. Scarcely
anything has come down to us of his writings except some ser-
mons, and it is, of course, seldom, except through controversial
w^orks, that we are able to prove the precise views of any one on
the points we are now considermg. Judging however both
from his sermons and conduct, it will I thmk be admitted, that
there can be little doubt that his theology was like that of his
predecessor. And a passage in one of his sermons certainly ex-
presses that view of doctrine, where he says that " holiness is
the end of our election.''^
The next that filled the Archiepiscopal chair at York was
John Piers, of whom nothing remains by which to judge of his
doctrine.
Piers's successor was Dr. Matthew Hutton, who was appointed
in 1594. Here again we have decisive testimony as to the doc-
trine held. Dr. Hutton having, as Archbishop of York, united
with Whitgift in the publication of the Lambeth Articles, and
left a treatise written in favour of the theological views therein
maintained ; to which I need only here refer the reader. f
* Sandys' Works, P. S. ed. p. 190.
t Brevis et dilucida explicatio vcnc, oertjc, et consolationis jdenae
doctrinic dc ElcctioiK;, Pitcdestinatione, ac Reprobatione. Haidrovici,
IfiL'i, 12mo.
103
These were all that held the See during the reign of Elizabeth ;
but I may add, that in 1605, Hutton was succeeded at York by
Dr. Tobie Matthew. Of the writings of this able and excellent
prelate, but one Sermon was printed, which was a reply to
Campian. He left, however, a large number of sermons in !M S.,
two of which were printed not long since in the pages of a peri-
odical publication.^ The general character of his doctrinal sys-
tem may be easily gathered from them, and it is evidently
similar to that of his predecessors.
An uninterrupted succession, then, of such prelates in the
Archiepiscopal Sees of Canterbury and York, for so many years
from the commencement of the Restoration of our Reformed
Church on the accession of Queen Elizabeth, is surely of itself a
very strong testimony as to the character of the doctrine then
maintained among us as the established doctrine of our
Church.
I am not here attempting to accumulate all the evidences that
might be adduced on this subject, otherwise it would be neces-
sary to show, how completely the evidence we have as to the
views of their brethren on the Episcopal bench, shows that the
series of Archbishops may be taken as correct representations of
the great body, if not the whole, of their brethren. Their doc-
trine may fairly be considered as, for that period, a test of the
general character of the theology of those appointed to the
Episcopal Bench. Nor is it possible to obtain many testi-
monies of any kind to the views of the Bishops ; inasmuch as
few, comparatively, of the prelates of that period have left any-
thing behind them in print from which their doctrine may be
deduced. Of those appointed during the whole of the first fifty
years after the accession of Queen Elizabeth, I can find but
twenty-nine of whom there are any remains, and of these but
twelve where those remains are more than three or four sermons
or letters, namely, James Pilkington, of Durham ; Robert Horn,
of Winchester ; T. Cooper, of Winchester j T. Bilson, of Win-
chester ; Lancelot Andi-ews, then of Ely; W. Alley, of Exeter ;
* The Christian Observer for October, Xoveniber, December and
A])pendix, for 18-17.
104
I. Woolton^ of Exeter ; W. Barlow, of Lincoln ; F. Godwin, then
of LlandaiF; J. Bridges, of Oxford; J. Jewel, of Salisbury ; and
Gervase Babington, of Worcester. Of these, it will, I think, be
found, that the doctrine of all who have spoken on the subject,
(excepting, to a certain extent, Andrews, who was appointed
when the stream was beginning to turn,) is similar to that of the
occupants of the Archiepiscopal Sees. And the same might, I
believe, be said of the remainder of the twenty-nine. The case
of xlndrews I shall presently notice.
I cannot think it necessary, however, to the establishment of
the fact I am now endeavouring to prove, to enter further into
the views maintained at that period by the Episcopal Bench as a
body.
I now proceed briefly to notice the character of the theological
views taught by the Regius and Margaret Professors of Theology
at the two Universities.
I begin with Oxford, and the Regius Professors of Theology
there. The first in the time of Edward YI. was Peter Martyr,
of whose views it is unnecessary to say a word. He was suc-
ceeded, of course, by Roman Catholics, in the reign of Mary.
The first appointed on the accession of Elizabeth was Laurence
Humphrey, of whom the High Church biographer, Anthony
Wood, gives the following account : —
The truth is, that from the city of Zurich (remarkable for
the preachings and death of Zwinglius) and the correspondence
that he had at Geneva, he brought back with him, at his return
into England, so much of the Calvinian, both in doctrine and
discipline, that the best that could be said of him was, that he
was a moderate and conscientious Non-conformist." He " sowed
also in the Divinity school such seeds of Calvinism, and laboured
to create in the younger sort such a strong hatred against, the
Papists, as if nothing but divine truths were to be found in the
one, and nothing but abominations were to be seen in the
latter." " Sure it is, that Humphrey was a great and general
scholar, an able linguist, a deep divine ; and for his excellency of
style, exactness of method, and substance of matters in his writ-
ings, he went beyond most of our theologists." And he then
adds the high character given of him by Archbishop Tobic
105
Matthew.* Such was the first Regius Professor on the acces-
sion of Q. EUzabeth.
In 1589 he was succeeded by Thomas Holland, of whom
Wood says —
" He was esteemed by the precise men of his time and after,
another Apollos, mighty in Scriptures, and so familiar with the
Fathers, as if he himself was a Father ; and in the Schoolmen, as
if he had been a seraphical doctor/'t But he held the same
doctrinal views as his predecessor ; for Wood, speaking- of his
successor Robert Abbot, says, he was " a more moderate Calvi-
nian than either of his two predecessors, Holland and Humphrey,
in the divinity chair, were, which he exi)ressed by countenancing
the sublapsarian way of Predestination/^ {
We have here, then, a testimony as to the views of his suc-
cessor, Robert Abbot, appointed Professor in 1612. The only
improvement (in Wood's view) in the occupant of the chair, was
that Abbot " countenanced the sublapsarian way of predestina-
tion.^^ And he is compelled to bear the same testimony to his
character and learning as in the case of his predecessors.
" He was a person of unblameable life and conversation, a pro-
found divine, most admirably well read in the Fathers, Councils,
and Schoolmen." §
The reader will find his doctrinal views, on the points now
under consideration, in his Work, De Gratia et Perseverantia
Sanctorum," Lond. 1618, 4to.
In 1615, on the appointment of Abbot to a bishopric, suc-
ceeded John Prideaux, another staunch Calvinist. He is called
by AYood " a stout champion against Socinus and Arminius;
and it is added, — " All that knew him esteemed him a noted
artist, a plentiful fountain of all sorts of learning, an excellent
linguist, a person of a prodigious memory, and so profound a
divine that they have been pleased to entitle him ' Columna fidei
orthodoxse,' and ' malleus h?eresecus, patrum pater,^ and ^ ingcns
schola3 et academi[e oraculum.' "||
* Athen. Oxon. i. 557 ; ed. Bl^ss.
t Athen. Oxon. ii. 111. + Id. ib. ii. 2l>5. § Id. ib. col. 22\.
\\ Id. lb. iii. 266, 267.
106
For his own account of his views, the reader may refer to his
" Lectiones/^ and " Fasciculus Controversiarum/'
From the Regius Professors let us go to the Margaret Pro-
fessors. The first after the accession of Queen Elizabeth was
Francis Babington, of whom I can find no account.
The next;, in 1562, was Herbert Westphaling, of the nature of
whose doctrine on the points now under consideration, I can
find no testimony.
To him succeeded, in 1563, James Calf hill, who was nomi-
nated in 1570 to the bishopric of Worcester, but died before
consecration. Of his theology we have again the same testi-
mony. He was " very orthodox, and a great admirer of all
Calvin^s opinions.'^*
To Calf hill succeeded, in 1565, Edward Cradock, and to
Cradock, in 1594, John Williams; whose views I have not yet
been able to ascertain.
But in 1613 the chair was given to Sebastian Benefield, whose
Calvinistic views are well known. The following character is
given of him by Wood.
*' He was a person for piety, strictness of life, and sincere con-
versation incomparable. He was also so noted an humanitian, dis-
putant, and theologist, and so well read in the Fathers and School-
men, that he had scarce his equal in the University. . . . He was ac-
counted no mean lover of the opinions of John Calvin, especially as
to the points of predestination ."f
The reader will find a full confirmation of this account of his
doctrinal views in the following among his other works : Eight
Sermons publicly preached in the University of Oxford. Oxford,
1614,^' 4to. The Sin against the Holy Ghost discovered, and
other Christian doctrines delivered, in 12 Sermons upon part of
Heb. X. Oxford, 1615.^^ 4to. In these works it will be found
that his Calvinism advanced even to the extent of maintaining
that Christ died for the elect only.
Such were the Theological Professors at the University of
* Kippis's Bio^raphia Britannica, vol. 3. p. 51.
t Athon. Oxon. ii. 48/.
107
Oxford, for the first half century and more after the accession of
Queen Elizabeth.
Let us now go to the sister University of Cambridge, begin-
ning as before with the Regius Professors.
The first was Martin Bucer, appointed in J 550 by King
Edward VI. Of him nothing need be said.
Shortly after the accession of Queen Elizabeth, Leonard Pil-
kington was appointed to the chair. Of his views I can find no
testimony.
To Pilkington succeeded, in 1562, Matthew Hutton, after-
wards Archbishop of York, whose views I have already noticed.
Next came, in 1567, John AATiitgift, afterwards Archbishop of
Canterbury, whose doctrine has also been already pointed out.
To Whitgift succeeded, in the same year, William Chaderton.
Of W. Chaderton's writings nothing has been printed, nor have
I found any direct testimony as to his doctrinal views.*
The successor of Chaderton, in 1580, was the celebrated Wil-
liam Whitaker, of whose Calvinistic views it is of course super-
fluous to say a word.
In 1596 came John Overall, whose \'iews I shall notice more
particularly when I come to deal with the case of Barret and the
Hampton Court Conference, and shall show that though he
differed in some respects from his predecessors in the theological
chair, his differences were very far less than might be supposed
from the way in which his views have often been referred to in
modern times.
The period when he resigned the chair, is not exactly known;
but it was probably about 1613, when he was succeeded by John
Richardson, of whose views I have found no testimony.
I proceed to the Margaret Professors of Divinity.
The first appointed after the accession of Queen Elizabeth was
Robert Beaumont. Nothing of his writing remains, nor can I
find any particular notice of his views ; but they may be judged
* His kinsman, Laurence Chaderton, a contemporary, and afterwards
Head of Emanuel College, as William was of Queen's, was a zealous Cal-
vinist. And as W. Chaderton's great i^atron was the Earl of Leicester,
(Strype's Ann. II. ii. 200), we can have little doubt as to his views.
lOS
of by the fact of his supporting the movement in the Convoca-
tion of 1562 against the habits,, kc.^
His successor, appointed in the same year, was Matthew
Hutton, afterwards Regius Professor and Archbishop of York,
whose views I have ah-eady pointed out.
In 1566 was appointed John Whitgift, whose case has also
been considered.
In 1567 succeeded William Chaderton, afterwards Regius
Professor, of whom 1 have spoken before.
To Chaderton succeeded Thomas Cartwright, who afterwards
became the celebrated Nonconformist, and whose decided Cal-
vinism will not of course be questioned by any one.
After him came John Hanson and John Styll, of neither of
whom can I find any information as to their precise views.
The next was Peter Baro, whose views, no doubt, were of
what is now called an Arminian complexion, and he was compelled
by the Heads of the University^ with the manifest appi'oval of
the Archbishops, to resign his professorship on that account. So
that his case, though an exception as far as his own personal views
are concerned, strengthens the evidence for the general preva-
lence in our Church, at that period, of the doctrine now called
" Calvinistic." I shall notice his case again in connexion with
the Lambeth Articles.
Baro's successor was Thomas Playfere, and it is hardly neces-
sary to say, that Baro having been compelled to retire on ac-
count of his Arminian views, Playfere^s doctrine restored the
Calvinism of the professorial chair, as his Sermons show. I
will give a few extracts from them.
In a Sermon on Ps. xxxii. 6, entitled " The Felicity of the
Faithful," he says, —
Whereby we may see the absurdity of the Papists. They would
prove that justifying grace may be lost, because some have made
shipwreck of faith. But if we should grant them that the Apostle
(I Tim. i. 19) spealfeth of justifying not of historical faith, yet we
have the help of a second answer. To wit, that shipwreck is one
* See lStryi)e's Annals, I. i. 501, 504 ; and see Strype's Parker, 1. 386.
109
thing, and drowning another. Therefore faith which is wreckt is
not by and bye drowned. For it may happen to suffer shipwreck as
S. Paul did, and swim out safe to the shore. But this is but a touch
by the way. Mean season we see how safe and secure the faithful
man is in Christ. He is a house to which the floods may come near
to shake it, but never to throw it down ; he is a ship which the
waves may come near to toss it, but never to turn it over : even as
St. Peter began to sink, but still kept up his head ; and St. Paul
suffered shipwreck, but w^as not a hair the worse for it. ' Surely in
the flood of many w^aters, they shall not come near him.' "*
Again elsewhere, —
" It is nothing but a slander which the Church of Rome casteth
upon us, that forsooth we should teach a man whose person is jus-
tified by faith in Christ committing some foul act, is never a whit
the worse for it. Nay, our doctrine is this, that such an one hath
hurt himself two w^ays. In respect of his own guiltiness, and in
respect of God's righteousness. For the first, though God for his
part do not break off the purpose of adoption and adjudge him to
wrath, and therefore he is not guilty of condemnation for sin ; yet
he is simply guilty of sin, and hath grievously wounded his own
conscience. For the second, though God again hath pardoned all
the sins of his elect, even those that are to come, by his decree, by
his promise, by the value and price of his son's merits, yet absolutely
and actually he doth not apply this pardon to the apprehension and
feeling of the sinner's faith, till he recover himself, and renew his
repentance. Marry this we teach, that God upholdeth his chosen
children so by faith and repentance, that it is impossible any of them
should die in final impenitency. But that sweet sanctifying Spirit
which dwelleth in them, is still busy like a bee as w^e say, and never
leaveth stinging them, and stirring them up to repentance, and
working them like wax (as it were) till as much as it was before
grieved for their aversion by sin, so much it be after delighted for
their conversion by amendment of hie. Therefore as they all need
not to doubt a whit of their salvation, who after they have fallen
asleep in sin, awake betimes, and 'water their couch with their
tears,' so I assure you, holy brethren, their case is dangerous and
desperate, nay, they are in a cursed case, which will not be awaked.
* Nine Sermons preached by Dr. T. Playfere. Cambridge, 1612, 8vo,
pp. 213, 214.
110
but lie still sleeping and snoring in sin. Seeing no pardon can be
procured, but where repentance is renewed."*
Again^ in the same Sermon, further on, he speaks thus :
** But now some man may further object and say. He is not yet
fully satisfied for this latter part, because, talk as long as we will, all
these inconveniences which come, as hath been declared, by per-
severing in sin are either no bridle at all, or else not so strong a
bridle to restrain men from sin as if they be persuaded, they may by
sinning quite and clean lose all justifying grace, and so may be finally
impenitent when they die. But he which will put forth this doubt
must remember that the children of God are led by the Spirit of
God. And the Spirit, though not in the same degree, yet in the
same sort, worketh in all those that have been, are, or shall be sanc-
tified ; who as they serve God not for any servile fear of losing their
faith, or of dying in impenitency, or such like, but only for pure love
of his Majesty, so they can neither will nor choose, but being bitten
with sin, they must needs in their souls and consciences feel the
smart of it. . .. As Elihu then kept silence some while even from
good words, though it were pain and grief to him ; but at the last
the fire kindling and his heart being hot within him spake with his
tongue, so the Spirit of God in all the elect of God is like wine put
into a bottle, which will have a vent to spurge out, or else it will
burst the bottle, or hke fire raked up in embers, which will have a
passage to burn out, or else it will consume the whole house. And
therefore Saint John likewise saith, Whosoever is born of God, doth
not sin, for his seed remaineth in him, neither can he sin, because he
is born of God. Mark ye this well. The Apostle thinketh it not
enough to say, He doth not sin, but addeth moreover, He cannot sin.
What is that } To wit, presumptuously without fear he doth not
sin ; and desperately without remorse he cannot sin, . . . Why so ?
Because the seed of God remaineth still in him. And what is the
seed of God ? It is the Spirit of God. . ^ . So that this is a legal kind
of preaching to say. Take heed you sin not ; ye may happen so to
lose your faith ; to lose all the justifying grace which God hath given
us ; to be for ever excluded out of the kingdom of heaven. This is
to be said to vassals, to drudges, to slaves, not to sons. To sons
this may be better said, Take heed ye sin not ; God hath adopted
you and given you the earnest of his Spirit. Therefore grieve not
this sweet Spirit, whereby ye are sealed up to the day of redemption.
* The Sick Man's Couch, a sermon [on Ps. vi. 6.] before Prince Henry,
Mar. 12, 1604. By T. Play fere. Prof. &c.— Ed. used is Lond. 1617, 8vo,
pp. 40, 4x.
Ill
If ye be loving children indeed, though there were no hell to fear,
no heaven to hope for, no torments to dread, no rewards to expect,
vet ve will obey your good Father, and be the sorrowfullest creatures
in the world if you have but once displeased him, only for the mere
love ye bear towards him, and for the unspeakable love he hath
showed towards you.' *
After Playfere came, in 1609, John Davenant, one of the
representatives of our Church at the Synod of Dort, and after-
wards Bishop of Salisbury, whose Calvinism will not of course
be disputed.
Now I would ask any impartial reader, if he can fairly look
in the face the remarkable testimony thus afforded us by these
almost unbroken lines of " Calvinistic " Primates and University
theological Professors, in illustration of the doctrine of our
Church as settled at the accession of Queen Elizabeth, and deny
that our Formularies were intended to favour what is called Cal-
vinism.
From the divines of that period, I might of course add nu-
merous testimonies in favor of the same views of doctrine, but I
can hardly conceive further evidence to be necessary.
I must not fail, however, to direct the attention of the reader
to the theology of Hooker, the "judicious Hooker. The doc-
trine of the author of such passages as the following cannot be a
matter of doubt.
" In this we know we are not deceived, neither can we deceive
you, when we teach that the faith whereby ye are sanctified cannot
fail ; it did not in the Prophet, it shall not in you. . . . There was in
Habakkuk that which St. John doth call 'the seed of God,' meaning
thereby the First Grace which God poureth into the hearts of them
that are incorporated into Christ ; which having received, if because
it is an adversary to sin, we do therefore think we sin not both
otherwise, and also by distrustful and doubtful apprehending of that
which we ought steadfastly to believe, surely we do but deceive our-
selves. Yet they which are of God do not sin either in this, or in
any thing, any such sin as doth quite extinguish grace, clean cut
them oft' from Christ Jesus ; because the ' seed ef God ' abideth in
them, and doth shield them from receiving any irremediable wound."!
* lb. pp. 51 — 55.
t Sermon on the Certainty and Perpetuitv of Faith in the Elect. Works,
ed. Keble, vol. 3. Pt. 2, pp. 588, 589.
112
" If he which once hath the Son, may cease to have the Son,
though it be but a moment, he ceaseth for that moment to have Hfe.
But the hfe of them which hve by the Son of God, is everlasting in
the world to come. But because, as Christ being raised from the
dead dieth no more, death hath no more power over him ; so the
justified man, being alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord, doth as
necessarily from that time forward always live, as Christ, by whom
he hath life, liveth always.'"^
" The first thing of his so infused into our hearts in this life is
the Spirit of Christ ; whereupon, because the rest, of what kind
soever, do all both necessarily depend, and infallibly also ensue,
therefore, &c."t
" So that all his foreknown elect are predestinated, called, justified,
and advanced unto glory, according to that determination and pur-
pose which he hath of them, neither is it possible that any other
should be glorified, or can be justified and called, or were predesti-
nated, besides them which in that manner are foreknown. "J
But one of the most decisive testimonies on the subject w^e
are considering, is the case of W. Barret at Cambridge, in the
year 1595. And it is one in which the partial deviation of the
party concerned from the doctrine of his contemporaries, and
the way in which his case was dealt with, supply us with very
remarkably clear evidence as to the prevailing system of theo-
logy in our Church at that time. And I must add, that a very
mistaken view has often been taken of the doctrine of Barret
himself. Arminian writers of modern times have frequently
been disposed to claim him and all who supported him (who,
however, were scarcely half-a-dozen persons) as maintainers of
their views against the doctrines of Calvin ; in order that they
may appear to have had a portion of our Church in their favour,
even at that time. Consequently, this opponent of some of the
extreme points of the highest Calvinistic doctrine has been held
forth as the champion of Armiriianism in the reign of Elizabeth.
And, agreeably to the ordinary way in which such matters have
been dealt with among us in modern times, when ecclesiastical
studies have been left to the spare moments which could be
* Disc, of Justification, § 26. lb. 642, 643.
t Eccl. Pol. V. Ivi. 11, vol. 2, p. 324.
X Fragments of Answer to Christian Letter; Works, ed. Keble. vol. 2,
p 751.
113
afforded from the real study of classical literature, philosophy,
science, natural history, architecture, the belles lettres, and the
fine arts, the most supeiiicial statements have been considered
amply sufficient to settle the question. I must take the liberty,
however, of requesting those who are desirous of knowing the
truth, to inquire a little fui-ther into this matter.
The details have been given veiy fully by Strype, in his Life
of AAliitgift, from which I take the following account. The
statements of Barret which gave offence were delivered by him in
a sermon ad clerum,^^ before the University, and he was first
required to make a public retractation of them in the same place
in which the sermon was delivered, in a form of words prepared
for him by some of the Heads of the University. As this re-
tractation clearly shews the ^-iew of the Heads of the University
as to the received doctrine of our Church at that time, I shall
here give it entire, as printed by Str\^De.
" When I was preaching in Latin a few days since in the Church
of the University, O most learned men, many things fell from me
which were both untrulv and rashly uttered ; by which I understand
the minds of many were wounded. That I may therefore make
satisfaction to the Church and the truth, both which I have publicly
injured, I publicly confess, both by recounting and recalling, my
errors.
" First, I said that no one in this frail world was so firmly sup-
ported, at least with the certainty of faith, that is, except (as I
afterwards explained myself) by revelation, that he ought to be
secure of his own salvation. But now I profess before God, and
acknowledge in my conscience, that those who are justified by faith
have peace towards God, that is, reconciliation with God, and through
faith in him stand by grace. Therefore that they ought to be certain
and secure of their own salvation, with the certainty of faith itself.
" Secondly, I asserted that the faith of Peter could not have failed,
but that the faith of others may. For (as I then said) the Lord did
not pray for the faith of individuals. But now with a better and
sounder judgment, taught by the words of Christ when he said
(John xvii. 20), ' I pray not for these,' that is, the Apostles, ' only,
but also for those who shall believe on me through their word I
acknowledge that Christ prayed for the faith of individuals ; and
that through the efficacy of that prayer of Christ all that truly beheve
are so supported, that their faith cannot fail.
" Thirdlv, As it regards final perseverance, I said that that security
I
114
concerning a thing future, and one of its own nature contingent, of
which kind is the perseverance of every man, was proud. Nor did
I only pronounce it to be proud, but most impious. But now 1
frankly profess, that true and justifying faith, by which the faithful
are most closely united to Christ, is so immovable and also certain
of the future, that it can never, by any temptations of the flesh, the
world, or the devil himself, be entirely rooted out of the minds of the
faithful. So that he who once possesses it, will always possess it.
For by the blessing of this justifying faith Christ dwells in us and
we in Christ. Therefore it cannot but both increase (Christ daily
growing in us) and persevere even to the end, (because God bestows
constancy.)
" Fourthly, I affirmed that there was no difference in faith, but in
those that beheve. In which matter I confess that I erred. I now
willingly acknowledge that a temporary faith (which, as Bernard
testifies, is therefore feigned because it is temporary) is distinguished
not in measure and degrees but intrinsically, and differs from that
life-giving faith by which sinners apprehending Christ are justified for
ever before God ; moreover I add, that James makes mention of a
dead faith, and Paul of one that works by love.
" Fifthly, I added that remission of sins was an article of faith,
but not special to individuals, that is (as I explained it) that every
truly faithful man neither could nor ought to believe with certainty
that his sins are remitted to him. But now I think otherwise, and
frankly confess, that every truly faithful man is bound by this Article
of belief (namely, ' I believe the remission of sins') to believe with
certainty that his own particular sins are freely remitted to him ;
and that it does not hence follow that that petition in the Lord's
Prayer (namely, ' Forgive us our trespasses') is superfluous. For in
that prayer we seek as well the gift as the increase of faith.
" Sixthly, These words fell from me in my sermon, namely. As
it regards those who are not saved, I most firmly believe, and I
frankly profess that I so believe, against Calvin, Peter Martyr, and
the rest, that sin is the true, proper, and primary cause of reprobation.
Bat being now better taught, I affirm that the reprobation of the
wicked is from eternity, and that that saying of Augustine to
Simplician is most true, namely, ' If sin were the cause of reprobation,
then none would be elected, since God foreknows all to be polluted
with it' ; and (to act frankly) I no otherwise think and believe of the
doctrine of election and reprobation, than the Church of England
believes and teaches in the Book of the Articles of Faith, in the
Article of Predestination, in this manner, ' Predestination to life is
the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of
115
the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed, by his counsel,
secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he
hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ
to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore
they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God be called,
according to God's purpose, by his Spirit working in due season ;
they through grace obey the calling ; they be justified freely ; they
be made sons of God by adoption ; they be made like the image of
his only begotten Son Jesus Christ ; they walk rehgiously in good
works, and at length by God's mercy they attain to everlasting
felicity,' &c.
"Lastly, I rashly uttered these words against John Calvin, a man
who has the highest claims upon the Church of Christ ; namely^
that he had dared to exalt himself above the most high and omni-
potent Son of the most high and omnipotent God. By w^hich words
I confess that I did great injury to a man most learned and truly
pious ; and I humbly pray that you will all pardon this my rashness.
As well also for that I uttered some very bitter expressions agamst
Peter Martyr, Theodore Beza, Jerome Zanchy, Francis Junius, and
others of the same views, the lights and ornaments of our Church;
calling them by an odious name ' Calvinists,' and with other words
of reproach branding them with the most grievous mark of infamy.
Whom since our Church deservedly reveres, it was not right that I
should injure their character, or in any way lessen their reputation,
or dissuade any of the members of our communion from reading
their most learned writings.
" Therefore I repent and am ashamed of this most grievous scandal,
given publicly by me to this most celebrated University, which is a
temple of true religion, a sanctuary of piety j and I promise that
by God's help 1 will never so ofi'end for the future. And I earnestly
entreat you, O most accomplished men, and all others whom I have
ofi'ended either in the preceding points, or in any other part of my
aforesaid sermon, that of your humanity you will pardon me on my
repentance."*
* " Mr. Barret's retractation of some points delivered by him in his
Clemm at St. Mary's, anno 1595.
"(MSS. cod. in Biblioth. Coll. Trin. Cantab.)
" Concionanti mihi Latine ante paucos dies in Academias teraplo (orna-
tissimi Viri) multa ceciderunt, et falso ct temere dicta : qiiibus multorum
animos exulceratos intelligo. Ut ergo Ecclesiae et veritati, quas publice
laesi, satisfaciara, confiteor publice, et recenseudo et revocando, errores
meos.
" Primo, Dixi neminem in hoc fragili mundo tauta firmitate esse sufFul-
tura, saltem certitudine fidei, i. e., nisi(ut postea exposui) per revelationem,
ut de salute sua debeat esse securus. Nunc vero coram Deo profiteer, et
I 2
116
Such was the form drawn up by the Heads of the University
as Barret's retractation ; and very remarkable evidence it affords
us of the received doctrine of our Church in that day.
This retractation was read by Barret; but having been dehvered
111 conscientia mea agnosco, fide justificatos pacem habere erga Deura, i. e.
reconciliationem cum Deo, et per fidem in illo gratia stare. Ergo debere
eos de salute sua, fidei ipsius certitudine, certos esse et secures.
Secundo, Petri fidem deficere non potuisse asserui, at aliorura posse.
Nam pro fide singulorura (ut tunc dixi) non oravit Dominus. Nunc vero
meliori et saniore judicio, dicentis Christi verbis edoctus (Johan. xvii. 20;,
Non pro Us, scil. Apostolis, rogo tantum, sed et pro Us, qui per sermonem
eorum credituri sunt in me j agnosco pro singulorum fide Christum orasse;
et iUius Christi precationis efficacia, ita esse singulos vere credentes sufful-
tos, ut eorum fides nequeat deficere.
Tertio, Quoad finalem perseverantiara, superbam esse dixi illam securi-
tatem de futuro, eoque natura sua contingent! : cujus generis est uniuscu-
jusque hominis perseverantia. Neque tantum superbnm affirmavi, sed
impiissimam. Nunc vero ingenue profiteer, fidem veram et justificantem,
qua fideles arctissime Christo uniuntur, ita esse fixara, et de futuro etiam
certam, ut nunquam possit ullis tentationibus carnis, mundi, aut ipsius
diaboh, e fideUum animis radicitus eveUi. Adeo ut, qui banc serael habet,
semper sit habiturus. Ejus enim fidei justificantis beneficio, Christus in
nobis habitat, et nos in Christo. Ergo non potest non et augeri (Christo
in nobis indies crescente) et ad finem usque (quia Deus constantiam largi-
tur) perseverare.
Quarto, In fide nullam esse distinctionem affirmavi, sed in credentibus.
Qua in re me errasse fateor. Nunc hbenter agnosco, fidem temporariam
(quae idcirco ficta est, teste Bernardo, quia temporaria) non mensura et
gradibus sedreipsa distingui, et differri a fide ilia salutifera, qua peccatorcs
Christum apprehendentes, coram Deo in seternum justificantur ; praeterea
addo, Jacobum facere rnentionera fidei mortuffi, et Paulum, per dilectionem
operantis.
Quinto, Subjunxi remissionem peccatorum esse articulum fidei, sed
non specialem, nec hujus, nec illius, i. e. (ut ego exposui), nec posse, nec
debere quenquam vere fidelem certo credere, peccata sua esse sibi remissa.
Jam vero aliter sentio, et ingenue confiteor, unumquemque vere fidelem,
hoc articulo fidei (sc. Credo remissionem peccatornm) teneri, certo credere
sua ipsius peccata particularia esse sibi gratuito remissa. Nec tamen hinc
sequi petitionem illam orationis Domini (viz. Remitte nobis debita nostra )
esse supervacaneam. In ilia enim petitione petimus fidei turn donum, turn
incrementum.
Sexto, Htec verba mihi inconcione exciderunt, viz. Quod ad eos attinet
qui non servantiir, firmissime credo, et me sic credere ingenue profiteer,
contra Calvinum, P. Marty rem, et reliquos, peccatum esse veram, propriam
et primam causam reprobationis. Sed melius nunc edoctus dico, reproba-
tionem. impiorum esse ab aeterno, et illud Augustini ad Simplician. esse
verissiraum, viz.. Si peccatum esset causa reprobationis, tum nullus elige-
retur, cum prsesciat Deus omnes eo contaminates ; et (ut ingenue agam) non
aliter sentio et credo de doctrina electionis et reprobationis, quam Ecclesia
Anglicana credit et docet libro de articulis fidei, articulo pra;destinationis,
in hunc medum : ' Pra^destinatio ad vitam est sternum Dei prepositum,
' quo ante jacta mundi fundamenta, suo consilio, nobis quidem occulte,
' coristanter decrevit, cos, quos in Christo elegit ex horainum genere, a
' maledicto et exitio liberare^ atque (ut vasa in honorem efficta) per
117
by him so as to im])!}' that it did not express his views, his con-
duct with respect to it did not give the University satisfaction,
and an appeal was made by both parties to the Archbishop, who
required the Heads of the University to examine him upon the
subject. Now, of the questions put to him in this examination,
the 6th was, '''Whether God from eternity hath predestinated
certain men to hfe, and reprobated certain ? And v. hy V No
doubt the reader who has only heard of Barret as the opponent
of Calvinism will expect to find his answer quite opposed to the
'' Calvinistic^^ \-iew of the subject. But, on the contrary, what
is it ? " To the sixth Article," says Strype, '' he answered only
in these words, affirmative, et quia voluit.^''^ That is, his reply
was, as he himself afterwards gave it to the Archbishop, " affir-
matively, and because so God would." He traces this predesti-
nation and reprobation to God^s sovereign will. His replies,
however, on other points, were unsatisfactory^ both to the Heads
of the University and the Archbishop, and the consequence was,
he " came to a second examination at Lambeth, before the Arch-
bishop and one or two of the Heads," in which, answering more
' Christum ad seternara salutem adducere. Uude qui tam prteclaro Dei
' beneficio sunt donati, illi Spiritu ejus, opportuno tem])ore, operante,
' secundum ])ropositum ejus vocantur; vocationiper gratiara ])arent ; justi-
' ficantur gratis ; adoptautur in filios Dei ; unigeniti ejus filii Jesu Christi
' imagini etidciuntur conformes ; in bonis operibus suiicte ambulant ; et
' demum ex Dei misericordia pertingunt ad seinpiternam felieitatem,' &c,
Postremo, Temere baec verba effudi adversus Johanuem Calvinum,
virum de Ecclesia Christi optime meritum ; eum nimirum ausum fuisse
sese attollere supra altissimi et omnipotentis Dei vere altissimum et omui-
potentem Fihum. Quibus verbis me viro doctissimo vereque pio magnam
injuriam fecisse fateor; temeritatemque hanc meam, ut omnes condonetis
huniilhme precor. Tum etiam quod nonnulla adversus P. ^lartyrem,
Theodorum Bezara, Hieronym. Zanchium, Franciscum Junium. et
CcCteros ejusdem rehgionis, EccIesicB nostrce liunina et ornamentu, acerbis-
sime efFuderira ; eos odioso nomine appellans Calvinistas, et ahis verbis
ignominiae gravissimam infamise notam inurens. Quos quia Ecclesia nostra
meritb reveretur, non erat sequum, ut ego eorum famam violarem, aut
existimationem ahqua ratione imminuerem ; aut aliquos e nostris dehor -
tarer, ne eorum doctissima scripta legerent.
Hujus igitur gravissimi scandaH, a me publice dati, celeberrimae huic
Academige, qujE est verse religionis templum, pietatis sacrarium, me
poenitet, pigetque, et polliceor me nunquam ita in posterum, Deo dante,
delieturum. Et a vobis (ornatissimi Viri) aUisque omnibus, quibus vel in
])rtecedentibus articuhs, vel in ahqua aha prajchctte coucionis metie parte,
hoc prsebui oifendicuhim, obnixe rogo, ut pro vestra huuiauitate poeaitenti
mihi ignoscatis. (Strvpe's Whitgift, iii. 31 7-)
* Strvpe's Whitgift, book 4. c, U), p. 153, or, vol. ii. pp. 263, 2()4.
118
fully the first question that had been proposed to him, he ob-
serves, " I most firmly believe that the elect cannot fall away
finally/^* Consequently, after all, according to modern phraseo-
logy he was a decided Calvinist. And if we want a proof of this
so-called Calvinism being the universally received doctrine of
om* Church in the reign of Elizabeth, Barretts case is the one
to supply us with it ; as shewing that even one who incurred
the censures of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the University
of Cambridge for his opposition to certain Calvinistic doctrines,
yet nevertheless held these points as firmly as the rest.
The truth is, that the points then questioned by him and a
few others in our Church, were entirely distinct from these.
To go fully into the controversy would occupy too large a
space here. But it may be briefly stated, that they related prin-
cipally to the subjects of reprobation, and assurance of salvation;
in the first of which he maintained, " that in the case of those
who are not saved, sin is the true, proper, and primary cause of
reprobation,^'t which was considered an unorthodox statement,
both by the Heads and also by the famous Dr. Saravia, (whose
judgment the Archbishop requested on the whole matter, and
which is given by Strype) J although it is admitted by them, that
in the execution of God^s decree there is always respect to sin,
and the cause of damnation is in the wicked themselves in the
latter, the Archbishop (as he himself states) did not understand
him as denying that the faithful might be assured of their salva-
tion by the certainty of faith, but that they were assured by the
certainty of such a faith as that with which they believe the
omnipotence and unity of the Godhead, &c.||
The whole controversy clearly shews, that the most thoroughly
Calvinistic views of doctrine on all these points were then almost
universally held in our Church. For although the Archbishop
and the Heads of the University difiered a little in some points,
yet Barretts statements were considered by both as involving
various important errors, and gave rise to what are called the
Lambeth Articles, which I shall notice presently.
* Strype's Whitgift, p. 45/ ; or, ii. 273.
+ lb. p. 436, or, ii. 230.
X lb. p. 442; or, ii. 241 — 243, and Appendix.
§ lb. p. 116; or, ii. 249. 1| lb. p. 456; or, ii. 2/0.
119
I have already mentioned that the Archbishop appHed to Dr.
Sara via for his judgment in this matter. The paper he wrote
on the subject is given by Strype,,* and is well worth the reader's
perusal, as the judgment of a learned, able, and moderate man
of that period. I will not however detain the reader with it here
further than to observe, that on the two points of gratuitous
election and predestination, and final perseverance, his testimony
is of the strongest kind in defence of the " Calvinistic " view.
That there is no cause," he says, " of election and predestina-
tion besides the gratuitous mercy of God, has always been beyond
controversy among all orthodox persons.^f With respect to
reprobation, however, he considered the case to be different, it
being the desert of sin. On the question of perseverance he
maintains, that to the predestinate such a gift of perseverance is
given, as that while without it they would not be able to per-
severe, with it they cannot but persevere. X On the other points
he moderates with much ability between Barret and the Heads
of the University.
I now come to the Lambeth xirticles, which are of great
importance, as showing us the judgment of the then Archbishops
of Canterbury and York, and several of the most eminent divines
of that period.
These Articles were drawn up at a meeting at Lambeth in
November 1595, at which were present the Archbishop of Can-
terbury j Dr. Fletcher, Bishop of Bristol, but elect of London ;
Dr. R. Vaughan, elect of Bangor ; Dr. Tyndal, Dean of Ely ;
Dr. Whitaker, and some other Cambridge divmes.§
The Articles are thus given by Strype.
"Articles approved by the Most Reverend Lord, John, Archbishop
of Canterbury, and Richard, Bishop of London, and other divines, at
Lambeth, the 20th of November, in the year 1595.
" 1. God has from eternity predestinated some to life, and repro-
bated some to death.
"2. The moving or efficient cause of predestination to life is not
the prevision of faith, or perseverance, or good works, or anything
* Whitgift's Life, App. book 4, No. 24.
t Strype's Whitpft, App. to book 4, No. 24, p. VJo ; or iii. 33L
± lb. p. 194, or iii. .'330.
§ Hcylin's Qiiinqiiart. Hist. Part 3, c. 20.
120
which exists in the persons predestinated, but the sole pleasure of
the goodwill of God.
" 3. The number of the predestinated is foreordained and certain,
and can neither be increased nor diminished.
'*4. They who are not predestinated to salvation will necessarily
be condemned on account of their sins.
"5. True, living, justifying faith, and the sanctifying Spirit of
God, is not extinguished, does not fail, is not lost in the elect, either
finally or totally.
"6. A man truly faithful, that is, endued with justifying faith, is
certain, with the full assurance of faith, of the remission of his sins,
and his eternal salvation through Christ,
" 7. Saving grace is not given, is not communicated, is not
granted to all men, by which they may be saved, if they will.
" 8. No one can come to Christ, except it shall have been given
him to do so, and unless the Father shall have drawn him. And all
men are not drawn by the Father so as to come to the Son.
"9. It is not placed in the will or power of every man to be
saved."*
These propositions the Archbishop of Canterbury sent to
Dr. Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York, who had been Regius
Professor of Divinity at Cambridge from 1562 to 1567, (when
* Articuli approbati a Reverendiss. Dom. D. D. Joanne Archiej)iscopo
Cantuariensi et Richardo Episcopo Londinensi et aliis Tlieologis, Lam-
bethae. Novembris 20, anno 1595.
1. Deus ab seterno prsedestinavit quosdam ad vitam, et quosdam ad
mortem reprobavit.
2. Causa movens aut efficiens prsedestinationis ad vitam non est
praivisio fidei, aut perseverantise, aut bonorum operum, aut ullius rei, quae
iusit in personis praidestinatis, sed sola voluntas beneplaciti Dei.
3. Prsedestinatorum praefinitus et eertus numerus est, qui uec augeri
nee minui potest.
4. Qui non sunt praedestinati ad salutem necessario propter peccata
sua damnabuntur.
5. Vera, viva, justificans fides, et Spiritus Dei sanetificans, non extin-
guitur, non excidit, non evanescit in electis, aut finaliter aut totaliter.
6. Homo vere fidelis, id est, fide justificante proeditus, eertus est
plerophoria fidei de remissione peccatorum suorum et salute sempiterna
sua })er Christum.
7. Gratia salutaris non tribuitur, non commutiicatur, non conceditur
universis hominibus, qua servari ])ossint, si voluerint.
8. Nemo potest venire ad Christum, nisi datum ei fuerit, et nisi Pater
eum traxerit. Et omnes homines non trahuntur a Patre, ut veniant ad
Filium.
y. Non est posituni in arbitiio aut potest:ito uniuscujusque hominis
servari. (IStn pe's Whitgift, book 4, c. 17, p. 4(^1 ; or ii. 1?80 )
121
he was succeeded by Whitgift himself) for his judgment ; which
lie gave in favour of each seriatim. "And then/^ says Strype,
*' He subscribed his name after these words, Hcb theses ex sacris
Uteris vet aperte colligi vet necessaria consecutione deduct possunt ;
et ex scriplis Auyustiui. Matth. Ebor."^
These propositions the Archbishop of Canterbury sent to Cam-
bridge with a letter to the Heads^ " praying them to take care
that nothing should he publicly taught to the contrary adding^
however, "that the propositions nevertheless must so be taken
and used as their private judgments ; thinking them to be true
and correspondent to the doctrine professed in the Church of
England, and established by the laws of the land ; and not as
laws and decrees." f
And in a paper dra^\m up, as Strype supposes, " for the infor-
mation of some great men " as to this whole affair of Barret, the
Archbishop says- of these propositions, —
"I know them to be sound doctrines and uniformly professed in
this Chui'ch of England, and agreeable to the Articles of religion
established by authority. And therefore I thought it meet that
Barret should in more humble sort confess his ignorance and error :
and that none should be suffered to teach any contrary doctrine to
the foresaid propositions agreed upon. And this is the sum of all
this action. And if this agreement be not maintained, further con-
tentions will grow, to the animating the common adversaries, the
Papists : by whose practice Barret and others are set on. Some of
his opinions being indeed Popish. " +
From these propositions, then, it clearly appears what was the
view then entertained in the highest places of the Church, as to
the doctrine of the Church of England. The value and force of
the testimony I leave the reader to appreciate. He may also,
I suppose, easily determine the question, whether in the face of
these proceedings within a few years of the establishment of our
standards of doctrine, and of the affirmations here made of such
doctrine having been the uniform doctrine of our Church, it can
be maintained, not merely that these propositions go beyond the
* Strype's Whitgift, book 4, c. 17, p- 461, or ii. 280 ; and see also his
contiiniHtion of this opinion, ib. p. 4/8 ; or ii. 314.
t lb. :;: Ib. c. 16, p. 459; or ii. 277.
122
express statements of our Articles (which is a totally different
question), but that the statements of the two are opposed to each
other.
It was not likely, however, that such explicit statements of
doctrine should be received with universal satisfaction ; and,
moreover, the very circumstance of their being put forth without
the royal sanction excited the jealousy of the Queen. It appears
from a letter of the Archbishop to the Heads, that the Queen,
though ^^yersuaded of the truth of the propositions, did think
it to be utterly unfit that the same should anyways be publicly
dealt with either in sermons or disputations,^^ and supposed
that they had been sent to the University for this purpose.*
And she was still more angry with Baro, the Margaret Professor
of Divinity, for publicly maintaining doctrine which appeared
contrary to some of the propositions.-^
And, as I have observed, it was not to be expected that the
statements of these propositions should meet with universal
assent. Accordingly we find, that though they met with no
direct and open opposition, the authority which promulgated
them being sufficient to prevent that, they were secretly disliked
by many ; who took the course, too common in such cases, of
professing to receive them, while they explained away their
meaning.
The leader of the dissentients was Baro, the Margaret Pro-
fessor of Divinity, who was several times convened before the
Heads, and charged with opposing the doctrine contained in
these Articles, and maintaining various errors. These errors
were what would now be called Arminianism.f The charge of
opposing the doctrine maintained in the Lambeth Articles, he
denied ; but nevertheless, after a careful examination .of his
judgment of those Articles sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury
at his request, .1 must confess that I cannot consider him as a
maintain er of the doctrine contained in them ; and I am not
surprised that the Archbishop of York, when asked by the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury for his judgment respecting him, " in his
answer showed how little he liked of him and his learning.
* lb. b. 4, c. 17, p. 46;^ ; or ii. 284. t lb. p. 465 ; or ii. 287, 288.
X lb. book 4, cc. 1/ and 18.
123
wishing that he were in his own country, and not to disturb the
peace of our Church/''^ His conduct seems to me to have been
what we should now call very Tractarian, that is, thoroughly
disingenuous ; and in the following year he resigned his Pro-
fessorship and retired from Cambridge. t His orthodox expli-
cation/^ as he called it, of the Lambeth Articles, is given by
Strype,J and was, I think, clearly intended to strain them in
what would now be called an " Arminian ^' direction.
Of course, however, w^hen we consider the way in which his
case was taken up, and his being obliged in consequence to
retire from Cambridge, his example is anything but a proof that
his doctrine is that of our Church, but much the contrary. In
fact, the remark made by Heylin himself when noticing this
case, shows this. " Such,^' he says, " was the condition of af-
fairs at Cambridge at the expiring of the year 1595, the genuine
doctrine of the Church beginning then to break through the
clouds of Calvinism, wherewith it was before obscured, and to
shine forth again in its former lustre/^ § It is here admitted
that the Anti-Calvinistic doctrine began to show itself publicl^^
in our Church in 1595; and the insinuations that it is ^^the
genuine doctrine of our Church," and began then to shine forth
" in its /amer lustre," are mere groundless assertions made to
mislead the reader ; because it is not pretended that this " ge-
nuine doctrine " had made its appearance publicly in any former
period of Queen Elizabeth's reign ; that is, at any time since the
present Formularies of our Church were established. From the
period of their establishment, at the commencement of the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, to the year 1595, the doctrine now called
Calvinism, on the points of election, predestination, and final
perseverance, was the almost universal doctrine of our divines,
and consequently is, of necessity, most in accordance with those
Formularies; unless we suppose, that the very men who es-
tablished them, voluntarily made them such as they could not
themselves conscientiously subscribe.
* lb. p. 47fi 01- ii. 309. See also a Letter of the Heads to their Chan-
cellor, Strype's Annals, Records, No. 160.
t Strype's Annals, ii. \. 5()8, book 1, c. ,S5.
X Strvpe's Whitgift, App. book A, No.
§ Quinqnart. Hist. Pt. 3, c. 22, § 6.
124
I must observe, however^ before I pass on, that even Baro
appears to have held the doctrine of final perseverance, so far as
Augustine's view of it extended ; for, in his remarks on the fifth
Article of Lambeth, he says, after maintaining that justifying
faith is sometimes lost, " Nevertheless in the elect, as this Ar-
ticle rightly teaches, it is not finally lost. Nay further, when in
these very elect the whole is sometimes lost, yet in a sense it may
be said that it is not totally lost ; that is, it is not so lost in the
elect, but that it is afterwards restored through penitence."*
And it is admitted by Heylin, when compelled to confess that
Overall was of this opinion, that several others whom he would
fain have been able to range on his own side, took this view.
" Nor can it be denied," he says, to use his own peculiar
phraseology, but " that some other learned men of those times
were of the same opinion also."t The question which one
would have been glad to ask him is, what learned men of those
times in our Church were not of that opinion ?
The views of Baro were very probably participated in, to a
certain extent, by several others ; but Strype mentions only the
names of Overall, Clayton, Harsnet, and Andrews. J And I can
find no others added even by Heyhn as taking his part at that
time.
What Dr. Clayton's particular views were, or how far he
agreed with Baro, I cannot find ; there not being, as far as I am
aware, any record of his judgment upon the points in question.
The views of Harsnet, who was afterwards promoted to the
Episcopal Bench, and ultimately in the times of Charles I. became
Archbishop of York, may be judged of by a sermon originally
preached by him in 1584, but not published till 1656,§ many
years after his death, which took place in 1631. From this
sermon, (the delay in the publication of which is somewhat
remarkable), it would appear that his views were what we should
* In electis tamen, ut recte docet hie articiilus, non amittitur finaliter.
Imo quando in his ipsis electis scil. tota interdum aiuittitur, aliquo taraen
sensu dici potest non amitti totaliter : id est, non amitti in ekctis, quin per
j)oenitent.iam postea restauretur.
t Quinq. liist. Pt. '3, c. 22, § 6.
I Life of Whitgift, book 4, e. 18, p. 473; or ii. 303.
§ Three Sermons hv Dr. R. Stuart, to which is added a fourth by the
Right Rev. S. ilarsntt, &c. Lond. \65G, 12mo., 2nd ed. 1658, 12mo.
125
now call Arininian. But I suppose the mere fact tliat such a
sermon was preached^ especially considering that it was never
published till 1656, can hardly be considered of much weight.
The views of Andrews, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, may
be best gathered from his judgment on the Lambeth Articles.
They are propounded with much wisdom, learning, and modera-
tion. And I cannot refrain from quoting, for the benefit of
over zealous spirits on both sides, his opening remarks in giving
his judgment.
" The first four Articles are about Predestination and Reprobation ;
of which the one is called by the Apostle, ' O the depth [of the
riclies of the wisdona and knowledge of God'], the other by the
prophet 'a great deep,' Rom. xi, 33, Psal. xxxvi. 6. I indeed frankly
confess, I have followed Augustine's advice, — these mysteries which
I cannot unfold I have viewed with admiration as they lie concealed j
and hence that for these sixteen years, ever since I was made priest,
I have neither publicly nor privately disputed about them, or written
a sermon on them ; and that now 1 had rather hear than speak
concerning them. And indeed, since the topic is one in w^iich the
danger of falling is great, and which has on both sides dangerous preci-
pices, and since the passages from St. Paul's writings, from whence the
doctrine is commonly drawn, are always held to be among those
things hard to be understood (of which Peter speaks) ; and since
there are not many among the clergy who are able wisely and
cleverlv to explain and unravel these things, and very few of the
people that are fit and competent hearers of the matter, I should
advise, if it could be done, that silence should be enjoined on both
sides, and that these things should not be so indiscriminately and
crudely set forth by every body as they are wont to be."*
The judgment he gives upon the statements of the Articles,
* Quatnor pviores articuh de praedestinatione sunt et reprobatione ;
quarum ilia ab apostolo dicitur, €L ^ados, hsec a propheta, abyssus multa,
Rora. xi. 33, Ps.d. xxxvi. 6. Ego ceite ingenue fateor, scquutus sum Au-
gustini cousihum, mysteria hsec quae aperire non possum, clausa miratus
sum, et proiude, per hos 16 annos, ex quo presbyter sum factus, me neque
publice neque privatim vel disputasse de eis, vel pro concione traotasse ;
etiam nunc quoque malle de eis audire quam dieere. Et quidem cum
lubricus locus sit, et habeat utrinque penculosa praecipitia, cumque loci
Paulini, unde fere eruitur, inter dvavoTjTa ilia (de quiljus Petrus) semper
sint habiti, cumque nec multi in clero sint, qui ea dextre ex))edire, et ])er-
pauci in populo qui idonei ilhus auditores esse possint, suaderem, si fieri
posset, ut iudiceretur utrinque silentiuui, nec ita passim et crude j)ropone-
reutur a quiuusque ut assolet," &c.
126
however, though very cautious and temperate, and not quite so
clear as could have been desired, seems to me clearly to show
that his views had what we should now call an Arminian bias,
except as to the doctrine oi final perseverance, which he distinctly
maintains in his remarks on the fifth Article, which are as
follows, —
" Certainly no one, I believe, ever said, That faith finally fails in
the elect. It certainly does not fail. But that it does not fail is, I
think, owing to the nature of its subject, not its own ; from the
privilege of the person, not of the thing. And this on account of
apostates, who ought not to be charged with falling from faith,
their faith never having been true and lively. But whether the
Holy Spirit may for a time be taken away or extinguished, is, I
think, yet a question. I confess that I am in doubt on the subject."
He then adduces some passages of Scripture to prove the
affirmative of this last question, and finally adds, —
" Although I am aware that this very phrase, that faith cannot be
totally lost, may be thus explained ; that although the whole of it
may be lost, it cannot be lost wholly for good or irrecoverably, that
is, so lost that there is no opportunity for men to return whence they
felL"t
There remains for consideration the case of Overall, afterw^ards
Dean of St. PauFs and Bishop of Norwich. But this is one of
a different kind, and one which will repay the trouble of inves-
tigation. Although there were some points in which he agreed
with Baro, and that he did not altogether hold with the Lambeth
Articles, yet he did not agree with the Arminian doctrine. His
views in fact were somewhat peculiar, and took a middle course
between the Calvinistic and Arminian views on the subject ; and
although it cannot be conceded that they were precisely the
* Certe nemo unquam dixerit, credo, Fidem in electis finaliter excidere.
Ilia vero non excidit. Sed quod non excidat, hoc habere existimo a natura
subject! sui, non sua ; ex privilegio personse, non rei. Atque hoc propter
apostatas, quibus vitio dari non debet, quod excidant a fide, quae vera et
viva nunquam fait. An vero Spnitus Sanctus ad tempus auferri aut
extingui possit, existimo quseri adhuc posse ; fateor hserere .me.
t Etsi non sum nescius, et hoc ipsura, non posse amitti totaliter, exponi
posse sic, ut in totum prorsus vel penitus amitti nequeat, esti tota amittatur,
id est, ita amitti, ut non sit locus revertendi, unde exciderunt. (Hist. Artie.
Lambeth, ad finem Ford, in Art. 39, pp 425 et seq.)
127
views held by the Reformers of our Clmrch when drawing up
the Articles, yet they may be admitted to be fairly included in
the intentionally comprehensive phraseology of our Articles.
To my mind they are well worth consideration.
His opinion upon the points to which I am here more expressly
referring, was given in connection with the famous Quinquarti-
cular controversy that arose early in the i7th century in Belgium,
and led to the Synod of Dort, in which he took a middle view of
the points in question between the two parties.
His judgment on this controversy (which has been referred
to and quoted by Bishop Davenant in his Answer to Hoard, and
largely by Bishop Hall in his Via Media), has never been pub-
lished*, but their quotations have enabled me to identify it in
two ^ISS. in the Harleian Collection in the British Museum ;
in one of which (I may add), though it occurs anonymously, it
is placed in juxtaposition 'with several acknowledged pieces of
Overall. Not having been published, I shall present the reader
with the whole of it as it there stands.
*' There are five Articles controverted in Belgium.
" I. Concerning the Divine Predestination.
"2. Concerning the Death of Christ.
" 3. Concerning Free Will and Grace.
" 4. Concerning the mode of the operation of Divine grace.
"5. Concerning the perseverance of believers.
" Respecting which the Remonstrants or Arminians^ and the
Contra-remonstrants or Puritans, defend opposite tenets ; between
which our Church much more correctly (as it appears to me) holds
the middle path.
" 1. Concerning the Divine predestination.
First, the Remonstrants maintain a general Decree of predestina-
tion, and conditional upon faith, according to the general Evange-
lical promise of the salvation of all men on account of Christ having
* A statement of the doctrine of our Church on the five Articles involved
in this controversy, attributed to Overall, has often been published in the
" Historia Artie. Lambeth." annexed to Elhs's " Defens. Artie." and
Ford's " Comment, in Artie. 17-0," 8vo.; but I cannot find the authority
for calling him the author of it ; although it may very possibly have been
WTitten by him, as it seems to accord with his general views. * It was first
published, I believe, at the end of Bishop Davenant's " Dissertationes dua;
de morte Christi et de pra^destinatione. Cant. 1650," fol., where it is
attributed to Davenant, but certainly by mistake.
128
died for them, if through the word and the Holy Spirit aiding it
they heheve in him with a hvely and persevering faith.
" [The Remonstrants maintain] secondly, a special and absolute
Decree, arising from the foreknowledge of faith, respecting the salva-
tion of those men in particular of whom God foresaw that they
would through grace believe ; and on the other hand the damnation
of those of whom He foresaw that they would remain in sin im-
penitent and unbeheving. And this is the judgment of the ancient
Fathers, before Augustine, and of many after him, of many also of
the Papists, the Lutherans, and many others.
" In the second place, the Contra-remonstrants, excluding a
general and conditional Decree, maintain an exclusive particular
and absolute Decree respecting certain individuals selected out of the
human race to have faith and perseverance bestowed upon them, and
to be saved, for the sake of the death of Christ, suffered for them onlv,
through the efficacious and irresistible grace of the Holy Spirit,
enjoyed by them alone ; all the rest being r.ejected and condemned
by an absolute Decree. And this is the view of Zuingle, Calvin, and
the Puritans, unknown to all the ancient Fathers, even to Augustine
and his followers, rejected by most of [one MS. reads, aW]
Papists, all the Lutherans, and many others."
[I doubt wlietlier some of the parties here mentioned would
have allowed this to be a fair statement of their views.]
" In the third place, our Church, holding a middle path, joins a
particular absolute Decree, not arising from the foreknowledge of
human faith or will, but from the purpose of the Divine will and
grace, respecting the liberation and salvation of those whom God
hath chosen in Christ, with a general and conditional will, or a general
Evangelical promise ; teaching that the Divine promises are so to be
embraced by us as they are generally set forth in the Holy Scriptures,
and that that will of God is to be followed by us which we have clearly
revealed in the word ; namely, that God gave his Son for the world
or the whole human race ; that Christ offered himself a sacrifice
for all the sins of the whole world ; that Christ redeemed the whole
human race ; that Christ ordered the Gospel to be preached to all ;
that God wills and commands all to hear Christ, and believe in him,
and that he has set forth grace and salvation for all in him ; and
that this is an infalhble truth in which there can be no error.
Otherwise that the Apostles and other ministers of the Gospel
preaching this are false witnesses of God and make God a liar, &c. ;
and this opinion agrees with the opinion of Augustine, as it is
explained by Prosper and Fulgentius. It is the more common
opinion of tlie Church since Augustine. And these two things agree
129
very well together, that God in the first place proposed salvation in
Christ to all, if they believed, and common and sufficient grace, in
the means divinely ordained, if men were not wanting to the word
of God and the Holy Spirit : Then, secondly, that He might help
human infirmity, and that the salvation of men might be more
certain, that he thought good to add a special grace ^ more efficacious
and abundant, to be communicated to whom He pleased, by which
not only they might be able to believe or obey, if so inclined, but also
actually be inclined, believe, obey and persevere, according to the
saying of Augustine, The God and Lord of all has so ordered the
life of angels and men, that in it he might first show what their free
will could do, then what the blessing of his grace and the commu-
nication of righteousness could do.
2. Concerning the Death of Christ.
" In like manner concerning the death of Christ undergone for
men, there are three opinions.
" The first, that Christ died for all men, and by his death
redeemed the whole human race, with a general and conditional
intention on the part of God of giving salvation to all for the sake
of Christ's death, on the condition of faith dependent on the free co-
operation of men under grace.
The second, contrary to the first, that Christ did not die for all
men, &c., and did not redeem the whole human race, &c., and that
God did not in any way or under any condition purpose or intend to
give salvation or grace for the sake of Christ to any others than to
the elect alone.
" The third, while it grants the death of Christ for all men, and
the conditional intention of God respecting the general grace of the
Evangelical promise, adds the special intention of God concerning
the application of the benefit of the death of Christ, through more
abundant and efficacious grace, absolutely, certainly, and infallibly,
to the elect alone, without any prejudice to others, or any diminution
of will and common and sufficient grace in the case of others.
" 3. Concerning Free Will and Grace.
" Concerning Free Will and Grace, all agree that the Free Wdl
can do nothing good without grace prsevenient, accompanying, and
following after, so that grace may hold the beginning, the middle, and
the end, both in conversion, and faith, and every good work. But they
differ in this, that — The first opinion lays it down, that influential
grace is so joined with the word heard, understood, and meditated
upon, that to all wilHng to do that, it is in some degree common.
The second maintains that grace is proper and peculiar to the elect
alone, and does not admit that it is in any way common to all. The
130
third joins together both kinds of grace, so acknowledging a com-
mon and sufficient grace connected with the word, as to maintain
also a special and efficacious grace, leading with certainty to salva-
tion, ^ecMZ2ar to those whom God has chosen in Christ of his own
gracious good 'pleasure.
"4. On the mode of the operation of Divine Grace.
" The first opinion lays it down, that grace so works in man,
as not to take away the liberty of the human will, but to preserve
it ; that man is so enabled by grace to believe and obey, as that he
is able also by his free will to resist grace.
" The second opinion maintains the irresistible operation of grace,
so that wherever it is, it unalterably inclines and leads the mind to
assent and obedience.
The third teaches that men are so influenced and moved by
grace, that they both can follow the grace that calls and moves, if
they apply themselves to it, and also can resist the Divine call and
influence by their Free Will, and too often do resist 3 but it adds,
that God, when he vjills, and to whom he wills, gives grace so
abundant, powerful, or suitable, or in some other way efficacious^
that although the will is able to resist it, on account of its liberty,
yet it does not resist, but certainly and infallibly complies ; and
that God so acts with those whom he has chosen in Christ, so far as
is necessary for their salvation.
" 5. Concerning the perseverance of behevers.
*' The first opinion maintains, that all believers are so aided by
Divine grace, that they are able to persevere, if they are disposed
to apply proper care, and that they can also by negligence and
security fall from faith and grace.
The second maintains, that no believers can so fall from faith
and Divine grace as to fall back into the state of damnation, or
perish ; but that those who have once believed, always so persevere
in faith and grace, that at length they aU reach salvation.
" The third maintains, with Augustine, that believers may,
through the infirmity of the flesh and temptations, go back from grace
and faith, or even fall from them. But it adds, that those believers
who are called according to God's purpose, and ivho are frmly
grounded in a lively faith, cannot either totally or finally fall or
perish, but, by a special and efficacious grace, so pjersevere in a true
and lively faith, that at length they are brought to eternal life."'*
* MS. Harl. in Mus. Brit., No. 3142, pp. 1-3 et No. 750, fol. 87, 88.
[I have given, within hooks, the various readings of MS. 750.]
Quinque sunt Articuli in Belgio controversi : —
1. De pvicdestinatione divina.
2. De morte Christi.
3. De lil)ero arbitrio et gratia.
181
Such were the views of Overall, whicli most men in the
])rescnt day would call Calvinistic, and which appear to me
to run exceedingly near to those of Calvin and his more mo-
derate and judicious adherents, though guarding against the
4. De modo operationis gratipc divinne.
6. De perseverantia credentium.
Dc quibiis Remonstrantes sive Arminiani, et contra-Remonstrantes sive
Puritani, contrarias sententias tuentur : inter quas Ecclesia nostra multo
rectius (ut milii videtur) mediam viam tenet.
1. De pra:destinatione divina.
Primo, Remonstrantes ponunt prtcdestinationis decretum generale et
conditionatum sub conditione fidei, secundum generalem promissionem
Evangclicam de servandis omnibus hominibus propter Christum pro iis
mortuum, si in eum per verbum et Spiritum Sanctimi eidem assistenteni
fide viva et perse verante crediderint.
Secundo, speciale et absolutum ex prseseientia fiidei de servandis iis singu-
laribus homiuibus quos prfevidit Dens per gratiam credituros ; contraque
iis damnandis quos prnevidit in peccato impoeuitentes et incredentes [incre-
dulos, MS. 750.] mansm'os. Et hxc est sententia veterum patrum, ante
Augustinum, mvdtoruraque post ilium, ex Pontificiis raultorum, Lutheran-
orum, et multorum aliorum.
Secundo [secunda sententia, MS. 750. J contra-Remonstrantes, excliiso
decreto generali et conditionato, unicum [MS. 750 omits unicum] ponunt
decretum particulare et absolutum, de certis quibusdam singularibus
hominibus ex bumano genere selectis, propter Christum pro iis solis
mortuum, per Spiritus Sancti [750 omits Sancti] gratiam cfficacem sen
irresistibilem iisque pecuHarem, tide et perseverantia donandis et servandis
[750 omits et seiTandis], reliquis omnibus absoluto decreto rejectis et
damnandis. Et hsec est sententia Zuinglii, Calvini, et Puritanorum. ignota
omnibus antiquis patribus, etiam Augustino et ejus sectatoribus, rejecta a
])lerisque [ab omnibus for a plerisque, 750,] Pontificiis, Lutheranis
omnibus [750 omits omnibus], multisque ahis.
Tertio, [tertia sententia, MS. 750.] nostra Ecclesia mediam viam teneus,
[insistens for tenens, 750] conjungit particulare decretum absolutum,
non ex praescientia humanne fidei aut voluntatis, sed ex proposito divinse
voluntatis et gratise, de his quos Deus elegit in Christo liberandis et
salvandis, cum generali et conditionata voluntate, sen generali promissione
Evangelica, docens promissiones diviuas sic amplectendas esse, ut nobis
in sacris Literis generaliter [750 ojnits geueraliter] propositse sunt, eamque
Dei voluutatem nobis sequendam esse, quam habemus in verbo diserte
revelatam, videlicet, Deum dedisse fihum pro mundo sive toto genere
humano ; Christum obtulisse se sacrificium pro omnibus peccatis totius
mundi : Christum redemisse totum [omne /or totum, 750] geuus huma-
num ; Christum mandasse omnibus Evangelium prcTthcandum ; Deum
velle et jubere ut omnes Christum audiant, et in eum credant, in eoque
proposuisse gratiam et salutem omnibus ; esseque banc veritatem infalli-
bilem cui non possit [potest for possit, 750] subesse falsum. Alioqni
Apostolos aliosque ministros Evangelii hoc [haec/or hoc, 750] prajdicantes
esse falsos testes Dei, facereque Deum mendacem, &c. ; et hfec senteutia
congruit cum sententia Augustini, prout a Prospero et Fulgentio explicatur.
[Et haec videtur esse sententia Franc. Sales, lib. 4^ De Amore Dei. cap. P.
P|ar. 1. Not. marg.'] Est Ecclesifc sententia magis communis jjost Augus-
tinum. Et hfcc duo bene conveniunt, Deum primo loco proposuisse
K 2
132
extremes to which his system was carried by numbers even in
our own Church. The chief difference seems to me to lie in
Overall's view of the doctrine of final perseverance, which sup-
posesj that men having true faith, and therefore regenerate, may
salutera in Christo omnibus [hominibus, 750] si crediderint, gratiamque
comraunera et sufficientem, in mediis divinitus ordinatis, si homines verbo
Dei Spirituique Sancto deesse noluerint. Deinde secundo loco iit succur-
reret humanae infirmitati, certiorque salus [hominum, 750] esset, voluisse
addere specialem gratiam, magis efficacem et abundantem, quibus placuerit
comraunicandam, per qnam non solum possint credere, aut obedire si
velint, sed etiam actu velint, credant, obediant ac perseverent, juxta
sententiam Augustini, Sic Deus Dominusque omnium ordinavit angelorura
hominumque vitam, ut in ea primum ostenderet quid posset eorum liberum
arbitrium, deinde quid posset suffi gratiae beneficium, justitiaeque indicium.
2. De Morte Christi.
Similiter de raorte Christi pro hominibus [omnibus /or hominibus, 750]
obita, tres sunt sententiae.
Prima, Christum mortuum esse pro omnibus hominibus, et per mortem
suam redemisse totum genus humanum, cum intentione Dei generali et
conditionata, de danda propter Christum mortuum salute omnibus, sub
conditione fidei dependente ex libera co operation e hominum sub gratia.
Secunda prirase contraria, Christum non esse mortuum pro hominibus
[750 omits hominibus] omnibus, &c., nec redemisse totum genus huma-
num, &c., nec Deum ullo modo aut conditione velle aut intendere dare
salutem aut gratiam propter Christum aliis quam solis [750 07nits solis]
electis.
Tertia, supposita m.orte Christi pro omnibus hominibus, et intentione
Dei conditionata de gratia promissionis Evangelicae generali, addit inten-
tionem Dei specialem, de applicando beneficio mortis Christi per gratiam
magis abundantem et efficacem, absolute, certo, et infallibiliter solis electis,
sine ullo preejudicio, aut ulla voluntatis et gratia? communis et sufficientis
diminutione.
3. De libero Arbitrio et Gratia.
De libero Arbitrio et Gratia omnes consentiunt liberum arbitrium nihil
boni posse sine gratia prffiveniente, comitante, [75 0 07nits comitante] et
subsequente, ita ut gratia teneat princi])ium, medium, et finem et [in for et,
750] conversione et fide et omni opere bono. Sed difFerunt in eo quod —
Prima sententia statuit [statuat /or statuit, 750] gratiam excitantem [750
omifs gratiam excitantem] sic cum verbo audito intellecto et cogitato
conjunctam esse [gratiam, 750], ut omnibus id [750 omits id]' facere
volentibus sit in aliquo [quodam for aliquo, 750] gradu communis.
Secunda, gratiam . solis electis ])ropriam et peculiarem esse contendunt
[contevdat for covtenchnt, 750], nec illam omnibus conimunem aliquo
[uilo for aliquo, 750] modo fateatur. Tertia utramque gratiam conjungit,
sic cnmraunera et sufficientem cum verbo connexam agnoscens, ut specialem
et efficacem, ad salutera certo perducentem, his quos Deus in Christo
ex beneplacito suo gratioso elegerit propriam profiteatur.
4. De modo o])crationis Gratia? divings.
Prima sententia ponit, gratiam sic in homine operari, ut libertatem
voluntatis humanse non tollat, sed conservet ; ita posse hominem per
grrtlam credere et obedire ut possit etiam per liberum arbitrium gratiae
resi:>tere.
i^ccunda sententia [ponit, 750] operationem irresistibilem gratiae [750
133
finally and entirely fall away ; though not the elect, who are
called according to God's purpose, and on whom the gift of final
perseverance is bestowed. At the same time, his words just
quoted seem to imply the consciousness of a distinction between
the nature of the faith that fails, and that of the elect, which
would make the difference not very great ; for that there is a
species of faith from which men may fall away, all admit.
And here it is of importance to notice a passage in the Hamp-
ton Court Conference, which has often been strangely misrepre-
sented in modern times, in a sense the very reverse of the truth.
In that Conference the Puritans expressed a wish that in Art.
16, after the words, " After we have received the Holy Ghost,
we may depart from grace," the following words should be
added, "Yet neither totally nor finally."* The Bishops opposed
the introduction of these words. The fact, nakedly stated, has
been quite sufficient for our modern theologians to ground upon
it the assertion, that in the Hampton Court Conference the
Bishops maintained that the doctrine of final perseverance was
not the doctrine of our Church. And far and wide has the
assertion been made, and found its way even into Examination
transposes the two last words^, ita ut ubicunque fuerit, mentem ad assenti-
endum et obediendura immutabiliter flectat et perducat.
Tertia docet homines sic a gratia excitari et moveri, ut et possint gratiae
voeanti et moventi, si attenderint, obsequi, et possint etiam divinse voca-
tioni et motioni per liberum arbitrium resistere, et nimium ssepe resistunt;
sed addit, Deum, cum voluerit, et quibus voluerit, gratiamtam abundantem,
aut potentem, aut congruam, aut alio modo etScacem, concedere, et [ut,
750] quamvis possit voluntas ratione sua3 libertatis resistere, non tamen
resistat, sed certo et infallibiiiter obsequatur, et ita Deum agere cum his
quos elegit in Christo, quatenus ad eorum salutem necessarium est.
5. l)e perseverantia credentium.
Prima sententia ponit, omnes credentes sic instructos esse divina gratia,
ut possint perseverare, si debitam curam adhibere voluerint, posse etiam
eosdem per negligentiam et securitatem a iide et gratia deficere.
Secunda ponit, nuUos credentes posse a fide et gratia divina ita deficere
ut in statum damnationis recidant [accidant /or recidant, 750] aut pereant,
sed qui semel crediderint, ita semper in fide et gratia perseverare, ut
tandem omnes ad salutem [certo, 750] perveniaut.
Tertia ponit, cum Augustino, credentes posse a gratia et fide per carnis
infirmitatem et tentatioues recedere, aut etiam deficere. Sed audit, illos
credentes qui secundum propositum vocati sunt, quique in fide viva solide
radicati sunt, non posse aut totaliter aut fiualitcr deficere aut perire, sed
per gratiam s])ecialem et cfiicacem ita in tide vera et viva persevei-are, ut
tandem ad vitam ajternam perducantur.
* See " Account of Hampton Comt Conference," reprinted in the
Phcenix," vol. i. p. U9.
134
papers for young theological students. Now it really might
have been expected, that the authorized printed account of the
Conference (drawn up by Bishop Barlow) should have been
read. And then it would have been found, that the fact is
just the reverse of what has been stated. There were circum-
stances in the state of the Church at that time that seemed to
render it inexpedient to make the addition proposed, as the
Bishop of London stated on the occasion.* But the Bishop^s
language shows that he did not think of denying the truth of
the doctrine involved in the words ; and the remarks of Overall
(then Dean of St. PauVs, and afterwards Bishop of Norwich) are
so expressly in favour of the Augustinian doctrine at least on the
subject, that it is astonishing how any one could overlook them.
The following is the report given of them.
*' Upon this the Dean of St. Paul's kneeling down, humbly desired
leave to speak, signifying unto his Majesty, that this matter some-
what more nearly concerned him, by reason of controversy between
him and some other in Cambridge, upon a proposition which he had
delivered there ; namely, that whosoever (although before justified)
did commit any grievous sin, as adultery, murder, treason, or the
like, did become, ipso facto, subject to God's wrath, and guilty of
damnation, or were in a state of damnation (quoad prcesentem
statum) until they repented ; adding hereto, that those which were
called and justified according to the purpose of God's election,
however they might, and did, sofuetime fall into grievous sins, and
thereby into the present state of wrath and damnation; yet did
tiever fall, either totally from all the graces of God, to be utterly
destitute of all the parts and seed thereof, nor finally from justifica-
tion, but were in time renewed, by God's Spirit, unto a lively faith
and repentance; and so justified from those sins, and the wrath,
curse, and guilt annexed thereunto, whereinto they are fallen, and
wherein they lay, so long as they were without true repentance for
the same."t
Such is Overalls own statement. What he objected to was,
that it should be maintained, that men, while in a state of
unrcpented sin, are still at that very time in the "state of
justification;" while nevertheless he himself held, that none that
are "called and justified according to the purpose of God^s
* II.. p. 151.
t lb. pp. 15.5, 156.
135
election ^' ever fall " either totally from all the graces of God/*
or " finally from justification/^ The distinction apparently
drawn here^ between '^justification/^ and "justification according
to the purpose of God^s election/^ seems to me quite unautho-
rized by Scripture.
The difference, then, between the view of Overall (following
Augustine) and that of the great body of our Reformation
divines, on the doctrine of final perseverance, was only this, that
the latter held that those once made members of Christ, and
partakers of true faith and repentance, never fall away, while
the former held that some to whom these blessings are vouch-
safed do fall away, but that to certain individuals, elected by
God to salvation, God of his free mercy vouchsafes to superadd
a measure of grace that ensures perseverance.
In what way Augustine's doctrine smooths the difficulties of
the subject, I cannot understand. It appears to me that the
doctrine — that spiritual regeneration, and its accompanying gifts
and graces, are generally given, but that none but those upon
whom the gift of final perseverance is bestowed will be saved,
and that that gift is bestowed only upon the elect, — is equally
difficult of reception with the doctrine that spiritual regenera-
tion and its accompanying blessings are given only to the
elect, and that those to whom they are given have also the gift
of final perseverance. The exclusion of those who are not
among the elect is as complete on the former system as on the
latter ;* and the only difference between the two systems is as to
the amount of spiritual gifts bestowed upon those whom God
has not appointed to salvation. This seems to me a question
of no very material moment ; and of the two systems the latter
surely has the fewer difficulties; and much might be quoted
from the latter treatises of Augustine, written after his views had
somewhat changed, which seems to favor such a system much
more than that which his earlier works seem to support. But
Augustine no doubt speaks of all baptized in infancy as spiri-
tually regenerated, and hence our modern " High Churchmen ^'
are fond of quoting his authority for the word. Let them,
* This certainly was Augustine's view, and apparently Overall's. The
latter has not indeed absolutely stated, that none of those who have only
ordinary grace use it so as to obtain salvation ; but his words strongly
imply that such is the case.
136
however, but take his doctrine with it, and they will feel that
his writings are not likely to advance their cause.
It is very important, however, in our present subject, to notice
this difference of view, because those who confound the Predes-
tinarian system that prevailed among the Reformed with that of
Augustine, suppose that that system had no bearing upon the
views of the Reformers as to the effects of Baptism; whereas in
truth it had a very material influence upon them. Our Re-
formers, as a body, held that the elect only are made partakers
of those spiritual gifts that are essential to regeneration, and that
final perseverance was always connected with those gifts. I am
not, of course, denying that some among the Reformers them-
selves may have held precisely St. Augustine's view ; but the
evidence already adduced shows that the prevalent opinion was
in favor of what is now commonly called the Calvinistic view ; a
name attached to it by Romanists and its opponents among Pro-
testants, in order to throw discredit upon it, but which our early
divines would have called the Scriptural doctrine on the subject.
To this brief summary of some of the principal evidences as
to the received doctrine of our Church in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth and the early part of that of her successor, it would
be easy to add largely ; and I ought not to forget to direct the
attention of the reader to the fact, that four representatives of
our Church were sent by public authority to the Synod of Dort
in 1619, and gave their unanimous testimony, as such repre-
sentatives, in favour of the system of doctrine there agreed to.
The principal of these representatives was the learned Bishop
Carleton, who, in his controversy with Mountagu in 1626, thus
bears testimony to the nature of the doctrine of our Church.
" The Church of England was reformed by the help of our learned
and reverend Bishops in the days of King Edward the Sixth, and in
the beginning of the reign of Queen EHzabeth. They who then gave
that form of reformation to our Church held consent in doctrine with
Feter Martyr and Martin Bucer, being by authority appointed
readers in the two Universities. . . . For that these worthy Bishops
who were in the first reformation had this respect unto P. Martyr
and M. Bucer, it is apparent, both because the doctrine of our Church
doth not differ from the doctrine that these taught, and because
that worthy Archbishop Cranmer caused our Liturgy to be translated
into Latin, and craved the consent and judgment of M. Bucer, who
gave a full consent thereto, as it appeareth in his works, Inter Opera
137
Anglicana. And P. Martyr being likewise requested, writeth in his
Epistles touching that matter, his judgment and consent of the
government and discipline of our Church. This uniformity of doc-
trine was held in our Church without disturbance, as long as those
worthy Bishops lived who were employed in the Reformation. For
albeit the Puritans disquieted our Church about their conceived
DiscijiHne, yet they never moved any quarrel against the doctrine of
our Church, which is well to be observed. For if they had embraced
any doctrine which the Church of England denied, they would
assuredly have quarrelled about that as welly as they did about the
Discipline . But it was then the open confession both of the
Bishops and of the Puritans, that both parts embraced a
mutual consent in Doctrine, only the difference was in
matter of inconformity. Then hitherto there was no
Puritan Doctrine known. The first disturbers of this uniformity
in doctrine were Barret and Baro, in Cambridge ; and after them
Thomson. Barret and Baro began this breach in the time of that
most reverend prelate Archbishop Whitgift. Notwithstanding that
these had attempted to disturb the doctrine of our Church, yet was
the uniformity of doctrine still maintained. For when our Church
was disquieted by Barret and Baro, the Bishops that then were in
our Church examined the new doctrine of these men, and utterly
disliked and rejected it ; and in the point of Predestination confirmed
that which they understood to be the doctrine of the Church of
England against Barret and Baro, who oppugned that doctrine. This
was fully declared by both the Archbishops, Whitgift of Canterbury,
and Hutton of York, with the other Bishops and learned men of
both Provinces, who repressed Barret and Baro, refuted their doc-
trine, and justified the contrary, as appeareth by that Book which
both the Archbishops then compiled."*
Bishop Carleton^s view of the doctrine of our Church on the
subject of Baptism wall be found in a subsequent page.
But I do not think it necessary to enter further upon the
subject in this place, my especial object having been^ to show
the views of doctrine prevailing here^ at and near the times of
the first publication and subsequent re-settlement of om- Formu-
laries. To know these is of vital importance for the determina-
tion of any controversy as to orthodoxy in our Church. For to
suppose that those who voluntarily established or re-established
* Examination of those things wherein the author of the lute Appeal
hohleth the doctrines of the Pelagiaus and Armiuians to be the doctrines
of the Church of Lnglaud. 2d Ed. Loud. 1G2(). 4to. pp. 6 — 9.
138
our Formularies, should have published Forms of Doctrine or
Worship incompatible with an honest adherence to their own
views, is so palpable an absurdity that it stands before all self-
condemned. And how far the account above given of the
received doctrine of our Church in the reigns of Edward VI. and
Queen Elizabeth, illustrates, nay, to a certain extent, settles, the
points at issue in the Baptismal Controversy, I leave to the
serious consideration of the reader.
It would be easy to show how completely the above argument
as to the "Calvinism^^ (as it is called) of our Reformers is borne
out by the testimony of many impartial witnesses. Thus the
learned and impartial Mosheim says, that in England, after the
death of Henry VIIL,—
" The universities, schools, and churches became the oracles of
Calvinism, which also acquired new votaries among the people from
day to day. Hence it happened, that when it was proposed, in the
reign of Edward VI., to give a fixed and stable form of the doctrine
and discipline of the Church, Geneva was acknowledged as a sister
Church ; and the theological system there established by Calvin was
adopted, and rendered the public rule of faith in England."*
Similar testimony is borne by the historian Hume.f
And not only have impartial witnesses taken this view of the
matter, but also some of those whose prejudices would have led
them in an entirely opposite direction.
Of this the following extracts from a Review, which appeared
in 1842 in the British Critic, will, I think, be considered a very
sufficient proof. The reader is probably aware that this perio-
dical (which has some time since ceased) was at that time the
leading Tractarian Review, and the statements of the Article to
which I allude, are so peculiarly frank, and so confirmatory of
the view I have been endeavouring to establish in this chapteiv
of the received theology of our Church in the time of Edward
and Elizabeth, that it may be worth while to add a few of them
here. The Article is entitled, " Development of the Church in
the Seventeenth Century,^^ and occurs in the October Number
for 1842 (pp. 300 et seq.) The following are a few extracts :
* Eccl. Hist. Cent. xvi. § 3. P. 2. ch. 2. par. 16. (Maclaine's transl. 1826.
IV. 333.)
t Hist, of Engl. di. 51. anno 1629. (vol. vi. p. 2/1. ed. 1/78 ) and App.
to reign of James I. (ib. pp. 166, 16/.)
139
" Cranmer . . . receded from one point of doctrine to another, and
lie and his associates at last submitted to the fate of all secondary
and inferior minds who come into contact with superior ones ;
they were obliged to bow to the master mind of Calvin, backed by
the whole movement party in this country, over which he virtually
presided,* and with which, by the residence of Bucer and Peter
^lartyr, and others of his school, as well as by his own letters, he
kept up a constant communication. . . . So. far as we can judge by
signs or appearances, it [?. e. compliance with the foreigners] would
probably before long, if the death of Edward VI. had not intervened,
have swamped the English Church in one general alhance with
continental Calvinism. Cranmer, for the last two or three years of
Edward's reign, corresponded with CalWn with that view. . . The
fact [of " foreign influence upon our Reformers "] is too notorious
to be disputed'* kc. &c. "But doctrine, as well as ritual and
external religion, suffered from the influence which the Calvinistic
school was allowed to gain ; the icliole Church, from one end to the
other, was flooded with the peculiar doctrines of Calvinism, alsolute
election, reprobation, and the rest of the five points. They gained
possession of both Universities ; they were the recognised doctrines
of our divinity schools, it was thought heretical to doubt them.
Oxford [how different, how incongenial with everybody's idea of the
place now) teas the very focus of Genevan influence, its doctors and
professors v:ere Calvinistic preachers, its colleges and halls were
seminaries of Calvinism. Up to a considerable time after the
Reformation, Heylin mentions only two names of mere
private persons in that University, who expressed any public
disagreement with that system. The exiles who came from
Frankfort and Geneva at the death of Queen Mary, doubly imbued,
from their intercourse with the Protestants there, with the Calvinistic
tenets, were triumphant everywhere : the bishoprics, deaneries, stalls,
canonries, and all the benefices in the Church, were monopolized by
them. Queen Elizabeth would gladly have dispensed with their
services ;t but only just come to the Crown, she was more afraid of
the Papists than the Puritans, who were yet in embryo, and not
formed into a distinct party j and moreover, there was no one else
to give the places to; all the world were Calvinists. Heylin,
trying to make out the best case he could for the Church, could only
say, that as there were seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed
* This is not quite correct, but it shows the view of the writer as to the
prevalence of Calvin's doctrine, even at that time, in our Church.
t Tliis is a mistake, as her appointments clearly show; and we have
Wbitgift's testimony (as I have shewn above) to her belief in the truth of
the Lambeth Aiticles.
140
the knee to Baal when the apostasy was apparently universal ; so
there were doubtless secret believers in the true Church- doctrines
even in those times, who, ' though few in number, served for a good
assurance that the Church still kept possession of her primitive
truths, not utterly lost, though much endangered by such contrary
doctrines as had of late been thrust upon her.' "
Now these " Calvinists/^ be it remembered^ are the parties to
whom we are indebted for our present Formularies.
I proceed with the extracts :
" So much for the Calvinistic days of our Church ; she was however
even then [i. e. in the days of Field and Jackson, about the middle
of the reign of James I.] upon the move, and the movement pro-
ceeded J even her Calvinism, as we have seen, had departed from
thii continental Calvinism which the lieformation had introduced in
the first instance ; it had divested itself of its deadly opposition to
Church forms.'"
*' Nor were the changes we have been describing in the outward
appearance of the Church mere movements upon the surface, but
indications of a sounder theology that was forming underneath. A
reaction against the old Calvinistic doctrines had begun, and was
advancing with rapidity and success. Laud found Oxford a semi-
nary of Calvinism, and he left it a school of orthodoxy : he found
the foreign Reformers installed as its doctors and divines, and he left
an English Reformer in their place, who has maintained himself in
it up to this day."
" Such is the relation in which we find the ' old ' standing to the
' new Episcopal party nor can there be any greater mistake than
that of stringing all our divines together, without distinction or ex-
planation There are distinctions amongst our divines ; our
Church divinity has been, as a matter of fact, a 2^rogressive, not a
statio7iary one. The Laudean school was as clearly a new develop-
ment of the Church, in its day, as history can shew it. And be it
well noted, it was a successful development ; it established itself.
Laud and his party were ' innovators in their day ; but how are they
regarded now ? As our great doctors, the highest standards, and
brightest ornaments of the Church . . . The truth is, these divines,
by dint of immense effort, by a great and strong heave, lifted the
Church above the levels of Calvinism to a higher ground, and that
ground has remained our terra firma to this day. See how Bishop
TOMLINE, IN HIS ANSWER TO ScOTT, IS OBLIGED TO APOLOGIZE FCR
THE DIVINES BEFORE THAT TIME ; THAT BiSHOP ToMLINE WAS
ENABLED TO TAKE THE ANTI- CaLVINISTIC SIDE, AS THE ChURCH
SIDE OF THE QUESTION; THAT THE ChUKCH WAS FOR HIM, AND
141
AGAINST HIS ANTAGONIST, HE MIGHT THANK LaUD, AND NOT THE
Reformers. The present orthodox divinity of our Church is
A developmknt since the Reformation, and a reaction upon
it. We care not how great innovators the school were considered
in their time, or upon how slender a thread they seemed to hang :
they succeeded, and their innovation is now our rule. The Church
cannot shake off the Laudean school : she has identified herself with
them ; she has accepted their ground, and she stands upon it." (pp.
328—345.)
It is only necessary to remind the reader^ that our Formularies,
which are oui- only authoritative standards of appeal,, remain
(speaking generally) as settled by the earher " Calvinistic "
School.
One more passage will conclude my extracts from this instruc-
tive and important Article.
"Upon the plainest historical grounds, then, supported by the
testimony of popular opinion at the present day, we have the fact
established of a change in our Church theology — a change since the
Reformation — the development of a standard divinity in a later age
different from the standard divinity of a former . Calvin and his
school ivere the master spirits of the Reformation ; they gave the
impulse, and thus left a stamp upon the movement ivhich cannot be
mistaken ; let history for once be allowed to speak. The
full development of Calvinism was stopped indeed, but only because
the Reformation itself was stopped, and its peculiar doctrines
remained the theology of our Church till Laud upset
them. Let us hear no more of the sure middle ground which the
English Church has kept from the first — we are too glad to have
had such a ground — but instead of being the ground of the
Reformation, it was a reaction upon it. . . . Why uphold a
mere view, a pretty solacing theory, when the first breath of history
must send our bandbox hypothesis to the winds ? Why not confess,
what harm can there be in acknowledging the truth, that ours was
in spirit a Calvinistic Reformation, and that a noble episcopate
afterwards reclaimed us ? If the one fact be humiliating, the other is
a counterbalance to it ; and our Church, between them both, would
stand where she now stands." (pp. 3 84, 385.)
This witness is true ; aud most certainly comes from a quarter
where overwhelming evidence in its favoui- would alone have led
to such explicit confessions.
Is it possible, then, that after all this accumulated evidence as
142
to the doctrine of our Reformers and earliest divines^ (it signifies
not, how they were induced to embrace it,) any one can have the
hardihood to maintain, that our Formularies are not (to say the
least) thoroughly consistent with what are called " Calvinistic
views on the subject of Predestination and the Final Perseverance
of those who have true faith and are regenerate ?
In fact, the iVrticle in the British Critic is a confession of an
adversary, that, in matters of doctrine, the original " Church
principles of our Reformed Church were those which are now
railed at under the names of Puritanism and Calvinism. And
of course one of the most important points involved in those
views, is the doctrine of the effects of Baptism.
Consequently, the assertion of our modern " High Church-
men,^^ that the universal spiritual regeneration of infants in
baptism is the genuine doctrine of our Church, is opposed to the
clearest testimony of history. Such a notion is utterly incom-
patible with the system of doctrine maintained by our Reformers.
And my great object in drawing attention to the Calvinistic"
views (as they are improperly termed) of our early divines on
certain points, has been to make manifest this fact. I am not
contending that the Formularies of our Church must be under-
stood by all in a " Calvinistic " sense on these points. My
conviction is, that they were drawn up so as to admit of a con-
siderable latitude of interpretation. I am not myself prepared
to acquiesce in all the views which the extracts given in this
chapter show were maintained by the great majority of our early
divines. But one thing is clear, that to insist upon the neces-
sity of such an interpretation of our Formularies as would place
them in direct antagonism to the theological system of those who
drew them up, is an act of direct and palpable injustice.
There is one more remark also, which I ought here to make,
and that is, that a denial of the doctrine of the universal spiritual
regeneration of infants in baptism is by no means peculiar to
those whose views are of a Calvinistic " complexion. It has
been equally opposed by others holding very different views of
doctrine. Our Formularies, therefore, may be interpreted in an
Arminian sense, and yet the doctrine of the universal spiritual
regeneration of infants in baptism, be repudiated as strongly as
it is by the most zealous Calvinist.
143
CHAPTER IV.
ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE CONFESSIONS OF THE FOREIGN
PROTESTANT CHURCHES AND DIVINES RESPECTING THE
EFFECT OF BAPTISM.
The connexion which has been shown in the last Chapter to
have existed between the doctrine of our Reformers and that of
the " Reformed " Churches on the Continent, renders it a matter
of some importance to know in what way the Confessions of
those Churches speak of the effects of baptism ; more especially
as the Bishop of Exeter was disposed for some time to claim
them as supporting his doctrine on the subject. The claim
(though withdi-a™ in the second edition of his Lordship^s
Charge) is one which it is of importance to notice, because it
shows the mode in which general statements as to the salutary
effects of baptism, — made unhesitatingly by the Reformers, but
(as I shall show hereafter) only as applying to them when blessed
by God to the fulfilment of their appointed end, in carrying out
his will, — have been misconstrued by his Lordship as indicating
the maintenance of a doctrine to which the authors of those state-
ments were diametrically opposed. And I cannot help observing,
by the way, that we are thus furnished with a clue to the ground
of that confidence with which his Lordship maintains that his
view is that of our own Church ; a notion which I humbly hope
to show is as unfounded as his similar misconception of the doc-
trine of the foreign Protestants, and arising from a similar cause.
No statement, indeed, which his Lordship could have made,
could have been better calculated to throw discredit upon his
interpretation of the phraseology^ of our Church on the subject,
than this appeal in its favour to the similar phraseology of the
foreign Protestant Confessions. The fact is, that of the five
Protestant Confessions he has quoted^* (for the Catechism of
Heidelberg is a species of Confession) three belong to that
system of doctrine which is commonly called Calvinistic^ in
which none but the elect/^ the certain heirs of salvation^ are
held to be ever regenerated by the Spirit of God. And the
phraseology to which the Bishop so triumphantly appealed as
showing that these Churches agreed with him and the Church
of Rome (for the Bishop himself joins them), as to the effects
of Baptism, refers only to such persons, and is therefore only
applicable to a portion of the baptized. And if his Lordship
was better acquainted than he evidently is with the works of the
Reformers, he would know that it was a view entertained by
many of them that regeneration was always given to " the elect
in baptism. And consequently they had no hesitation in using
language with respect to Baptism, which, by one not aware of
their real views, might be supposed to favour the Bishop^s doc-
trine, but which in their minds applied only to the elect children
of God. And that such was the interpretation generally given
to our own Baptismal Service at the period of the Reformation,
I shall endeavour hereafter to show.
Thus, for instance, the Bishop refers to ^' the Confession of
Helvetia." A more intimate acquaintance with these Confes-
sions would have probably induced his Lordship to state which
Confession of Helvetia he means, as there are two, the former
and the latter. f However, I believe there is practically little
doubt to which the reference is made, as the names of the Con-
fessions quoted are just those contained in a work published at Ox-
ford for young students, called " Sylloge Confessionum,"! and in
the order in which they there stand ; and the Confession there
given as the Confession of Helvetia is the latter, or that of 15G6.
The authority of this compilation for styling it the Con-
fession of Helvetia will, I suppose, hardly be pressed by any one
who is aware that the Editor of the first edition knew so little
* " The Helvetic, that of Augsburg, the Saxon, the Belgic, and the
Catechism of Heidelberg." (Charge, 1st edit. p. 10.)
t Augusti, in his edition of the Libri Symbol. Eccles. Reform., reckons
three, counting as the first that of Basle, in 1532. But Niemeyer gives
the name of Helvetic Confession to two only, namely, that of 153G, some-
times called the second of Basle, and that of 1566.
X 1804. 8vo. 2nd ed. 1827. 8vo.
145
about the matter that he gave the Confessio Variata of 1540 as
the genuine Augsburg Confession of 1530.*
Now this latter Confession of Helvetia was written hy Bul-
linger, a fact which alone shows the Bishop^s mistake in quoting
it. But the internal testimony alone is quite sufficient to prove it
First, however, let us observe the language in which the benefii
of baptism is spoken of, which will show us the way in which
those who held Calvinistic views on the subject were in the habit
of representing it.
The following is the description of the nature of the Sacra-
ments generally.
" Sacraments are mystical symbols or holy rites, or sacred actions
instituted by God himself, consisting of his word, of signs, and the
things signifed, by which he keeps in memory, and from time to
time recalls to mind, his greatest blessings conferred upon man ; by
which also he seals his promises, and outwardly represents, and as it
were places before our eyes, to be contemplated, those things which
he himself gives to us internally, and thus confirms and increases our
faith, the Spirit of God working in our hearts ; by which finally he
separates us from all other peoples and religions, and consecrates and
binds us to himself alone, and signifies what he requires from us."t
" We do not approve of their doctrine, who speak of the Sacra-
ments merely as common signs, not sanctified or efficaciousTX
" To be baptized in the name of Christ is to be inscribed, initiated,
and received into the covenant and family, and so into the inherit-
ance, of the sons of God, moreover to be now called by the name of
God, that is, to be entitled a son of God, to be cleansed likewise from
the pollution of our sins, and to be endued with the manifold grace
of God, that we may lead a new and innocent life," &c. &c.§
* The Editor of the second edition of the Sylloge, has therefore added
a copy of the first edition, printed in 1531.
t Sunt autem Sacramenta, symbola mystica, vel ritus sancti, aut sacrae
actiones a Deo ipso institutae, constantes verbo suo, signis, et rebus signi-
ficatis, quibus in Ecclesia summa sua beneficia, homini exhibita, retinet in
memoria, et subinde renovat, quibus item promissiones suas obsignat, et
quse ipse nobis interius pra^stat, exterius repraesentat, ac veluti oculis con-
teraplanda subjicit, adeoque fidem nostram, Spiritu Dei in cordibus nostris
operante, roborat et auget : quibus denique nos ab omnibus aliis populis et
religionibus separat, sibique soli consecrat et obligat, et quid a nobis re-
quirat, significat. (Sylloge Confess, ed. 2^ pp. 74, 75. I quote from the
edition the Bishop of Exeter apparently uses.)
X Neque probamus eorum doctrinam, qui de Sacraraentis perinde lo-
quuntur, ut signis communibus, non sanctificatis aut efficacibus. (lb. p. 79-)
§ Etenim baptizari in nomine Christi, est inscribi, initiari, et recipi in
146
Now^ take these general statements, and you. may no doubt
reasonably draw from them the doctrine of the universal efficacy
of the Sacrament of Baptism. No limitation is implied in the
words, intimating that the Sacrament is efficacious only in cer-
tain cases.
But what is meant by these passages is clear, both from the
known doctrine of the author, and from other parts of the Con-
fession-
Thus it is said elsewhere, —
" Whence baptism is called by some a sign of initiation of the
people of God, as being that by which the elect of God are conse-
crated unto God."*
And still more clearly is this expressed in the preceding
chapter on " the Sacraments in general where it is said, —
" But the principal thing which in all the Sacraments is offered by
God, and looked to by all the saints of all times (which others call
the substance and matter of the Sacraments), is Christ the Saviour
by whom all the elect are circumcised without hands by the
Holy Spirit, and are cleansed from all their sins, and are nourished
with the true body and blood of Christ unto eternal life."t
And in the chapter on Faith (c. 16.) it is said, —
" But this faith is the mere gift of God, which God alone out of
his free favour gives to his elect, according to measure, and when, to
whom, and how much he wills, and that by his Holy Spirit, through
the means of the preaching of the Gospel and faithful prayer. "J
foedus, atque familiam, adeoque in haereditatem filiorum Dei, imo jam
nunc nuncupari nomine Dei, id est, appellari filium Dei, purgari item a
sordibus peccatorum, et donari varia Dei gratia, ad vitam novam' et inno-
centera. lb. p, 30.
* Unde a nonnullis Baptismus mmcupatns est signum initiale populi
Dei, utpote quo initiuntur Deo electi Dei. c. 20, Ed. Oxon. 1827, p. BO.
t Ca;teriun pra3cipuum illud, quod in omnibus Sacramentis proponitur
a Deo, et attenditur a piis omnibus omnium tem]>orum (quod alii nun-
cupant substantiam et materiam Sacramentorum) Christus est Servator. .
. , per quem electi omnes cu-cumeiduntur sine manibus per Spiritum Sanc-
tum, abluunturque a peceatis suis omnibus, et aluntur vero eorpore et
sanguine Christi ad vitam acternam. lb. p. /().
X Hsec autem fides merum est Dei donum, quod solus Deus ex gratia
sua, electis suis, secundum raensuram, et quando, cui, et quantum ipse
vult, donat, et quidem per Spiritum Sanctum, mediante praidieatione
evangelii et oratione fideli." lb. p. 54.
117
"We know that a man is neither created, nor regenerated by faith,
that he should be idle, &c."*
But it would be wasting time to proceed furtherf in a point
about which no one well informed on the subject can have a
moment's doubt.
It may be worth while^ however, to add the words of the
eat'Iier Helvetic Confession on the subject.
*' Baptism is by the institution of the Lord the laver of regenera-
tion, which [regeneration] the Lord gives to his elect by a visible
sign through the ministry of the Church, as it is above expressed.
With which holy laver we on that account baptize our infants, be-
cause it is impious to reject from the communion of the people of God
those who are sprung from us, (who are the people of God) and are
all but pointed out for this by the voice of God, especially since we
ought piously to presume of their election."X
I proceed to the Belgic Confession. Here again we find the
same general expressions used, and used in the same sense.
'*The Sacraments," says this Confession, "are signs and visible
symbols of things internal and invisible, by which, as by means, God
himself works in us by the pouter of the Holy Spirit," &c.§
Take these words b}^ themselves, and they will support the
doctrine of the universal efficacy of baptism. They are in fact
j)recisely similar to the wwds in our 27th Article, which are in-
sisted upon by our " High Church'^ divines as conclusive in
favour of their view. But those who used them clearly confined
that efficacy to " the elect." Regeneration is expressly ascribed
* Cum sciamus hominem nec conditum nec regeuitum esse per fidem, ut
otietur, sed potius, &c. lb. p. 55.
t Among other passages we may observe the follo^viug, — " Neque vero
approbamus istorum quoque doctrinam, qui docent gratiam et res sig-
nificatas, signis ita alligari et includi, ut quicunque signis exterius par-
ticipant, etiam interius gratia rebusque significatis participes sint, quales
quales sint." (p. 79.)
X Baptisma quidem ex institutione Domini lavacrum regenerationis
quam Dominus electis suis visibili signo per ecclesiae ministerium (qualiter
supra expositum est) exhibeat. Quo quidem sancto lavacro infantes nos-
tros ideirco tingimus, quoniam e nobis (qui populus Domini sumus) genitos
populi Dei consortio rejicere nefas est, tantura non divina voce hue desig-
natos, prsesertim quum de eorum electione pie est praesumendura. (Coll.
Confess, in Eccles. Reform, ed Niemeyer. Lips. 1840, 8vo. p. 120.)
§ Sunt enim sacramenta, signa ae symhola visibilia rerum internarum
et invisibiliura, per qu.TC. oeu per media. Deus ipse virtute Spiritus Sancti
in nobis a^it. c. 33. Svll. Conf. p. 348.
L 2
148
to faith.* And (to quote no more) the following passage is
decisive on the point.
"Those that are regeiier ate hdive in them a double life; one carnal
and temporal, which they brought with them from their first nativity,
and this is common to all ; the other spiritual and heavenly, which is
given them in that second birth which takes place through the word
of the Gospel in the union of the body of Christ, and this is peculiar
to the elect of God alone.
Such is the language of a Confession which the Bishop of
Exeter^ misinterpreting words used in one part of it, quoted as
agreeing with his view.
I now proceed to the Heidelberg Catechism. Among the
questions and answers on Baptism are these. —
" Q. 69. In what way are you admonished and confirmed in bap-
tism, that you are a partaker of that one sacrifice of Christ ?
Because Christ has commanded the external laver of water, with
this promise annexed, that I am not less certainly washed by his
blood and Spirit from the pollutions of the soul, that is, from all mv
sins, than I am cleansed externally by water, by which the pollutions
of the body are used to be washed away.
** Q. 70. What is it to be cleansed by the blood and Spirit of
Christ ?
It is to receive from God remission of sins freely on account of
the blood of Christ, which he in his sacrifice upon the cross poured
forth for us ; and then also to be renewed by the Holy Spirit, and
through sanctification by him to become a member of Christ, by
which we more and more die to our sins, and live holily and un-
blameably.
" Q. 71. "Where has Christ promised that he will as certainly
cleanse us by his blood and Spirit, as we are cleansed by the water
of baptism ?
" In the institution of Baptism, in these words, ' Go and teach
all nation?,' &c. (Matt, xxviii. 19.) ; ' He that believeth and is bap-
tized,' &c. (Mark xvi. 16.) This promise is repeated when Scrip-
* Credimus veram hanc fidem per auditum verbi Dei et Spiritus Sancti
opcrationem unicuique nostrum inditam nos regenerare, atque veluti novos
homines efficere. c. 24. ib. p. 341.
Qui vero regenerati sunt dupKcem in se vitamhabent: unam quidem
carnalem et temporariam, quam secum a prima sua nativitate attulerunt,
et hajc communis est omnibus; alteram spiritualem et coelestem, quae illis
donatur in secunda ilia nativitate qua; fit per verbum Evangelii in unione
corporis Christi, et hscc solis electis Dei peculiaris est. c. 35. Ib. p. 350.
149
ture calls baptism the laver of regeneration (Tit. iii. 5) and the
washing away of sins." (Acts. xxii. 16.)*
Now to a superficial reader, unacquainted with the context
or the views of those who drew up the form, these words might
doubtless seem to favour the Bishop^ s doctrine. But that they
should be quoted in support of it by one pretending to any
learning on the subject, is indeed extraordinary. And the
reference is another instructive proof of the fallaciousness of the
argument which the Bishop derives from the use of such
language, as showing that the authors of it must have held his
view. It is, indeed, as decisive a proof of the unsoundness of
the Bishop^s position as he could have supplied us with ; for
the language is as explicit and precise as any which he can
adduce from our o^vn Formularies, and yet was far enough from
being intended (as I shall immediately show) to speak his
Lordship's doctrine. The fact is, that the Catechism of Heidel-
berg is a strictly Calvinistic Confession, written by Zachary
Ursinus, a staunch Calvinist, assisted by Peter Olivianus.
The 54th Question and Answer, (not to mention others) might
have sufficiently shown this even to one ignorant of its history.
" What believest thou concerning the Holy and Catholic Church
of Christ ? — I believe that the Son of God doth, from the beginning
of the world to the end, gather, defend, and preserve unto himself, by
his Spirit and word, out of whole mankind, a company chosen to
everlasting life, and agreeing in true faith : and that / am a lively
member of that company, and so shall remain for ever."\
I refer the reader to the note below for other passages. J'
* Syll Confess, pp. 376, 3/7- The Catechism is so common, that it
seems hardly necessary to give here the original Latin.
t This translation is from " The Sum of Christian Religion, &c. By
Z Ursinus. Enghshed by D. H. Parry, 1645." fol. pp. 346, 347. The
original Latin is as follows : —
Quid credis de sancta et catholica Christi Ecclesia?
" Credo Filium Dei, ab initio mundi ad finem usque, sibi ex universo
genere humano ccetum ad vitam aeternam electum, per Spiritum suum
et verbum, in vera fide consentientem, colligerc, tueri, ac servare, meque
vivum ejus ccetus merabrum esse, et perpetuo mansurum." Syll. Coiif.
p. 373.
X " Quoniara igitur sola fides nos Christi atque omnium ejus beneficiorum
participes facit : unde proficiscitur haec fides ?
"A Spiritu Sancto, qui eam per pra-dicationem Evangelii in cordibiis
nostris accendit, et per usum sacramentorum confirmat.
150
And it so happens that the author of the Catechism has
himself left us an Explication of it ; in which, commenting upon
the question and answer just quoted, he ohserves, (after stating
that the good pleasure of God is the sole reason why one is
elected and another a reprobate,) that " the effect of election is
the whole work of our salvation, and all the degrees of our
redemption . . . faith, justification, regeneration, good works,
final perseverance,'^ &c. ;* and that the reprobate [i. e. all those
who finally perish] are not " ever members of the invisible
Church, that is, of the Church and company of saints. ''t And
in a previous passage he maintains that the regenerate never
lose wholly the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and never finally fall
away4 And, in a word, in his Theological Theses, publicly
maintained at Heidelberg, he expressly says, " Neither yet are
all those who are baptized with water, (whether they be of un-
derstanding [adults] or infants) partakers of the grace of
Christ : for the everlasting election of God, and his calling into
the kingdom of Christ, is free.''§
Consequently the meaning of the Catechism, so far as it
seems to connect regeneration with baptism, is this, that rege-
neration takes place in baptism in the case of the elect ; but
it does not admit that this effect is produced in any others at that
time, for it denies that in such it is ever produced. And this
was a common view of that period.
But, as the Bishop intimates, that not only the Confessions he
mentions support his view, but that there was a general consent
in its favour among the Protestant Churches, I will offer his
" Quid sunt Sacramenta ?
" Sunt sacra ei in oculos incurrentia signa ac sigilla, ob earn qausam a
Deo instituta, ut per ea nobis promissionem Evangelii magis declaret et
ohsignet j quod scilicet non universis tantum, verum etiam singulis cre-
dentihus, propter unicum illud Christi sacrificium in cruce peraetum,
gratis donet remissionem peccatorum et vitam seternam." (p. 3/6.)
" Estne ergo externus baptismus aquEe ipsa peccatorum ablutio ?
" Non est : nam solus sanguis Jesu Christi purgat nos ab omni peccato."
(p. 377.)
* The Sum of Christian Religion, &c. p. 357.
t lb. p. 359.
I lb. p. 5G.
§ lb. p. 426. The original Latin is, " Neque autem omnes qui bapti-
zantur aqua, sive infantes, sive adulti, gratite Christi fiunt participes.
Libera enim est ajtenia Dei electio et ad Christum vocatio. Corp. Doctr.
Christian, Ur»ini. Genev. 1623, 8vo. Appendix, p. 126.
151
Lordship some further testimonies from the Confessions of the
Reformed Churches on the subject.
For instance, let us refer to the Galhcan Confession. No
doubt it tells us, that in both the Sacraments " God really, that
is, truly and efficaciously, gives us whatever he there sacramentally
shadows forth, and therefore we annex to the signs the true pos-
session and fruition of that thing which is thus offered us.^'*
Could stronger words be used to express the efficacy of baptism ?
But who are the parties spoken of? Clearly, from other parts of
the Confession, those whom God pleases to make his children,
by giving them of his own free mercy saving faith. t And rege-
neration is expressly attributed to faith. %
So in the Bohemian Confession of 1575, while in the Articles
on the Sacraments and Baptism, (Art. 13, 14), strong language
is used as to the benefits of baptism, yet in other parts regene-
ration is expressly attributed to faith. §
I will quote but one more, as it seems quite unnecessary to
heap up evidence on the point. But the language of the "Con-
sensus Tigurinus" (or Agreement of the divines of Zurich with
Calvin and Farell, drawn up in 1549), is very specific on the
subject.
"Moreover," they say, "we diligently teach, that God does not
* Credimus, sicut antea dictum est, tarn in coena quam in Baptisrao
Deum nobis reipsa, id est, vere et efficaciter donare quicquid ibi saera-
mentabter figurat, ac proinde cum signis conjungimus verara possessionem
ac fiuitionem ejus rei qufe ita nobis olFertui'. Art. 3/. Confess, ed.
Nieineyer, p. 338.
t Credimus nos arcana Sancti Spiritus gratia donari fidei himine, quae
sit f/ratiiitum Dei douiiin, et its unis proprium, quihus Deo Uhuit illud tri-
h'lere, ut non babeant fideles, de quo in sei])sis glorientur, cum potius
duplo sint obbgatiores quod cseteris praeferantur. Sed et illud credimus,
J{rie7n electis dari, non ut semel tantum in rectam viam introducantur,
quiu potius, ut in ea ad extremum usque pergaut, quia sicut a Deoinitium
est, ita etiam est complementura. Art. 21. lb. p. 334. ISee also Art. 12,
p. 332.
X Credimus nos qui natura servi sumus peccati, bac eadem fide inter-
cedente in novam vitam regenerari. Art. 22. lb, p. 334.
§ Atque ita sanctificatio, renovatio vel regeneratio bominis fit ])er
fidem et Spiritum Sanctum, quando per fidem in Cbristum Doniinum
participes reddimur Jesu Cbristi [et] omuium meritorum ejus, atque lioc
pacto perfecte coram Deo justificamur. Art. 8. lb. p. 830. Salvifica
fides. . . . bomini credenti affert remissionera peccatoruni, reconcjiia-r.
tionem cum Deo, justificationem, regeuerationem per Spiritum Sanctum,
et vitam fcternam. Art. 9. lb. ]). 832.
152
put forth his power without distinction in all who receive the Sacra-
ments, but only in the elect. For as he enlightens, so as to produce
faith in, those only whom he has pre-ordained to life, so by the secret
power of his Spirit he causes that the elect are made partakers of
those things which the Sacraments offer." " By this doctrine that
figment of the Sophists is overthrown, which teaches, that the Sacra-
ments of the New Law confer grace on all who do not put in the ivay
the obstacle of mortal sin. For besides that in the Sacraments
nothing is received but by. faith ; it is also to be held, that the grace
is by no means to be tied to them, so that whosoever has the sign,
enjoys also the reahty. For the signs are ministered to the repro-
bate equally as to the elect, but the reality of the signs comes to the
latter only."*
But still they say, " Although we distinguish, as is just,
between the signs and the things signified, yet we do not dis-
connect the reality from the signs words which, according to
the Bishop of Exeter^s mode of interpreting such statements,
would be conclusive in his favour. But they immediately explain
themselves as meaning by this, that all those who by faith em-
brace the promises there offered receive Christ spiritually wdth his
spiritual gifts.t
An exposition of the Articles of Agreement follows, written
by Calvin himself, who upon this head remarks, —
*' What further will good men require here ? Do they maintain
that God acts through the Sacraments ? This we teach. Do they
maintain that our faith is exercised, nourished, assisted, confirmed
in them } We maintain the same. Do they maintain that the
power of the Holy Spirit exists in them, so that they are of avail
to God's elect for salvation ? The same we also grant. The
* Prseterea sedulo docemus, Deum non promiscue vim suam exerere in
omnibus qui sacramenta recipiunt, sed tantum in electis. Nam queraad-
modum non alios in fidem illuminat, quam quos prseordinavit ad vitam,
ita arcana Spiritus sui virtute efficit, ut percipiant electi quae ofFerunt
sacramenta. Art. 16. — Hac doctrina evertitur illud Sophistarum com-
mentum, quod docet sacramenta Novse Legis conferre gratiam omnibus
non ponentibus obicem peccati mortalis. Praeterquam enim quod in
sacramentis nihil nisi fide percipitur, tenendum quoque est, minime alliga-
tam ipsis esse Dei gratiam, ut quisquis signum habeat, re etiam potiatur.
Nam reprobis pera^que ut electis signa administrantur, Veritas autem sig-
norum ad hos solos pervenit. Art. 17- Confess, ed. Niemeyer, p. 195.
t Quare etsi distinguimus, ut par est, inter signa et res signatas ;
tamen non disjungimus a signis veritatem ; quin omnes qui fide amp/ec-
tunf.ur illic oblutas jjioinissioiics, Christum spiritualiter cum spiritualibus
•c'ju.s donis rccipcrc. Art. I). lb. p. W.\ V.)4.
153
question hinges upon this, whether it is proper to ascribe to
God alone altogether all the parts of our salvation, or whether he
himself permits the Sacraments to share part of that honour while
he uses them." "What we say, that the [Sacramental] signs do
not profit all without distinction, but the elect of God only, to
whom the inward and efficacious operation of the Spirit comes, is
too evident to need a long argument. For if any one wishes to
make its effect common to all, besides that such a figment is refuted
by the testimony of Scripture, experience also opposes it."*
But nevertheless no one has used stronger language than
Calvin himself as to the value and efficacy of baptism.
The following passages are but a few of those that might be
quoted in proof of this.
" Inasmuch as the instruments used by the Holy Spirit are not dead,
God truly effects and bestows through Baptism what it represents."t
Yet nevertheless it is vain cavil, that I mock men with ambi-
guous words, as if the acceptance w^hich takes place by Baptism were
nothing else than an external declaration in the sight of men : since
I openly affirm, that in Baptism we deal with God, who not only by
a testimony of his paternal love pledges his faith to us, so that we
may be certainly assured of our salvation, but also himself establishes
within us by his own power what he represents by the hand of the
minister."]:
* Quid etiam hie requirent boni viri ? Deum per sacramenta agere
volunt ? Hoc docemus. Yolunt in ipsis fidem nostram exerceri, foveri,
adjuvari, confirmari ? Idem asserimus. Yolunt Spiritus Sancti virtutem
ill illis extare, ut electis Dei in salutem prosint ? Idem nos quoqiie con-
cedimus. In eo vertitur quaestionis status : soline Deo in solidum adscri-
bere conveniat omnes salutis nostrai partes, an ejus laudis partem ipse ad
sacramenta derivet, dum iUis utitur Quod dicimus, non omnibus
promiscue, sed electis Dei tantum, ad quos interior et efficax Spiritus
operatic pervenit, prodesse signa, clarius est quara ut longa refutatione
indigeat. Nam si quis omnibus cominunera facere velit effectum, prae-
terquam quod Scri))tur0e testimonio refellitur tale commentum, experientia
etiatn reclamat. lb. pp. 208, 20.9.
t Quia raortua non sunt Spiritus Sancti organa, vere per Baptismum efficit
ac prfestat Deus, quod figurat. (See Def. de Sacram. contra Westphal.
Op. 1^71, vol. viii. p. 683.)
X Frivolum tamen interea est cavillum, me ludere ambiguo sermone, ac si
receptio quffi fit per baptismum, nihil aliud foret, quam externa coram
hominibus declaratio : siquidem palara affirmo, nobis in baptismo cum Deo
esse negotium, qui non raodo paternum amorem testando, fidem nobis
suam obligat, ut de salute nostra certo simus persuasi, sed etiam quod per
rainistri niauum figurat, ipse intus sua virtute sancit. (lb.)
151
" For we also admit the necessary use of Baptism ; that it is not
lawful for any one to omit it through neglect or contempt. And
thus we by no means make it a rite which we are free to observe or
not. Nor do we only strictly bind the faithful to its observance ; but
we also maintain it to be God's ordinary instrument to wash and
renew us, and moreover to communicate salvation to us.*
'* I will wilUngly allow, that the use of those things which Christ
has given us as helps to salvation, may be said to be necessary ; to
wit, when the power of usmg them is given us."t
" If there are any who deny, that there is contained in t"he Sacra-
ments the grace which they represent, we blame them."j
We agree, that Sacraments are not empty figures, but do truly
supply whatever they represent : that the efficacy of the Spirit is
present in Baptism to cleanse and regenerate us."§
" The reason why Paul teaches [Eph. v. 26.] that we are cleansed
in Baptism, is, because God there testifies to us our cleansing, and
at the same time ejfectually works what He represents. For unless
the truth of the thing represented, or the exhibition of it, which is
the same, were conjoined [with Baptism] , that saying, Baptism is
the laver of the soul, would be incorrect." |1
" That principle ought to prevail with the pious, that God does
not mock us with empty figures, but suppHes inwardly by his own
power what he manifests by the external sign. Wherefore Baptism
is appropriately and truly called the laver of regeneration. He will
take a right view of the power and use of the Sacraments, who so
connects together the thing and the sign as not to make the sign
empty or inefficacious, and at the same time not for the sake of
* Nam et nos baptismi usum necessarium confitemur : ne cui liceat vel
neglig-entia, vel contemptu, ipsum omittere. Atque hoc modo nequaquam
liberum facimus. Nec fideles modo severe adstrmgimus ad ejus obser-
vationem : sed ordinarium quoque Dei instrumentum asserimus, ad nos
lavandos et renovandos, ad salutem denique nobis communicandam. (Antid.
ad Cone. Trid. Sess. 7- Op. vol. viii. p. 258.)
t Facile }>atiar, ut quae nobis Christus dedit salutis adjumenta, eorum usus
necessarius dicatur : quando scihcet datur facultas. (lb. p. 256.)
X JSi qui sint qui negent, saeramentis contineri gratiam quam figurant, illos
improbamus. (lb.)
§ Convenit, non inanes esse figuras \i. e. sacramenta], sed re ipsa praestari
[? prsestare] quicquid figurant. Inbaptismo adesse Spiritus efficaciara, ut nos
abluat etregeneret. (Calv. Ep. ad Melancth. 1564, Op. vol. ix. Epist., p. 82.)
II Quod baptismo nos ablui docet Paulus [in Eph. v. 26], ideo est, quod
illic nobis ablutionem nostram testatur Deus, et. simvl elicit quad fixjuraf.
Misi enim conjuncta esset rei Veritas, aut exhibitio, quod idem est, imi)iopria
hsec loquutio esset, Baptismus est lavacrum animse. (Calv. Comm. in Kph.
V. 26. Op vol. vii., p. 350.)
155
magnifying the sign to take away from the Holy Spirit what belongs
to Him."*
And so among the notes of tlie celebrated Genevan Version of
the Bible, we find the following on the words "one body/^ iu
1 Cor. xii. 13 : —
" That we might be one body with Christ, and the whole Church
one Christ : of the which conjunction Baptism and the Lord's Supper
are efiectual signs : for hy Baptism we are regenerate into one Spirit,
and by the Lord's Supper w^e are incorporate into Christ's Body, to
be governed by the same Spirit."
The reply of Beza to one who accused him of holding that
baptism is only a sign of regeneration, will perhaps be useful in
illustrating the view taken of the efficacy of that Sacrament by
some who still denied that it is always effective.
" Andreas is guilty of a double calumny w^hen he says that Baptism
is held by us to be only a sign or testimony of regeneration. For
neither do we say that Baptism is only a sign, but a sacramental
sign, that is, one with which, as far as concerns God, the thing
signified is always truly given to be received by faith ; nor do we
say that the effect of Baptism is regeneration only, but also and more
especially cleansing from sins. Moreover, he is no better logician
than theologian, when from our saying that those baptized with the
outward baptism are sometimes not partakers of the inward, he
draws the conclusion that we make the symbols empty things; as if,
forsooth, the consequence were valid. The interior is offered to all
with the exterior, therefore the interior is received by all who receive
the exterior : and of this most false and absurd inference these
disputants, or rather slanderers, have been so frequently admo-
nished, that it is difficult sufficiently to wonder at their denseness
or obstinacy. "t
* Principium illud valere debet inter pics, Deum non inanibus nobiscum
figuris ludere, sed virtute sua intus praestare quod extemo signo demonstrat.
Quare baptisnius congruenter et vere lavacrum regenerationis dicitur. Vim
et usum sacramentorum recte is tenebit qui rem et signum ita connectet,
ut signum non faciat inane aut inetticax : neque tameu ejus ornandi causa
Spiritui Sancto detrahat quod suum est. (Id. in Tit. iii. 5. ib. p. 506.)
t Dupliciter calumniatur Andreas quum baptisraum a nobis (hcit tantum
pro signo seu testimonio regenerationis haberi. t teiiim neque baptismuin
esse duntaxat signum dicimus, sed signum saerameutale, iil est, cum quo,
quod ad Deum attinet, res significata vere semper Af'e accipienda priebetur :
neque regenerationem tantum, sed etiam vel in jn-miis ablutionein a j)eccatis
dicimus esse baptismi effectum. Deinde mhilo doctior est Logicus quam
156
And the peculiar case of infants is noticed in the following
words ; —
" But although it is probable that infants have not faith in the act
(as they say), but only its seed, yet since they are comprehended in
God's covenant, which cannot be of no effect, we justly think that
they are reckoned among the people of God, and are bedewed with
the Holy Spirit, who will in his own time put forth his power in
them. For we do not limit the efficacy of Baptism to that moment
of time in which it is given, but we know that it yields good fruit
according to the good pleasure of God."*
Such, then, was the doctrine of the " Reformed Churches
of the Continent on this subject ; — of those Churches whose
doctrine (as distinguished from the views both of the Romish
and Lutheran Churches,) is said by some of the most able and
distinguished of our earliest Protestant divines (as we have seen
in a preceding chapter) to be in all points agreeable to that of
our own Church.
There remain the Confessions of Augsburg and Saxony, both
drawn up by Melancthon, which I shall now proceed to consider.
Now as it respects the latter, whatever may be the precise
doctrine it is intended to teach on this subject, the following
passage (to which others might be added) is sufficient to show
that it was not the doctrine of our modern High Church"
divines.
" But we have shown above, that by faith is signified a rehance
upon the Son of God, the Propitiator, on account of whom we are
received, and please God, not on account of our virtues or fulfilling of
Theologus, quum ex eo quod baptismo exteriore baptizatos dieimus interdum
interioris non esse participes, a nobis exiiianiri symbola colhgit : quasi
videlicet valeat haac consequutio, prsebetur omnibus interior cum exteriore,
ergo ab omnibus qui exteriorem recipiunt, interior recipitur : de qua mere
falsissima et absurdissima collectione quum toties sint isti disputatores an
conviciatores admoniti, quis illorum vel stuporem vel pervicaciam satis
possit admirari? (Bezaj Tract. Theol. vol. 3, p. 126, ed. Gen. 1582. fol.)
* Etsi autem infantes verisimile est fidera ipso actu (quod aiunt) non habere,
sed duntaxat ejus semen, tamen quum in foedere Dei comprehendantur,
quod irritum esse non potest, merito arbitramur, eos in peculio Domini
censeri, et Spiritu Sancto perfundi, qui suo tem])ore virtutem in illis exerat.
Ncque enim baptisrai efficaciam ad illud temporis momentum restringimus
quo exhibctur, sed ilium ])ro bona Dei vohmtate scimus fructum bouum
ederc. (Bezaj Tract. Thcol. vol. 1, p. 33.'i. ed. Gen. 1573. fol.)
the Law. But since in this very consolation, the confidence with
which we repose on the Son of God is truly a feeling kindled by the
Holy Spirit, by which the heart is quickened into life and freed from
eternal death, this conversion is called regeneration ; John iii., Except
a man be born again of water and the Spirit, &c. And now the man
becomes truly the dwelling-place of God, who is effectual in him,"
&c.*
It is needless to quote more, but I would recommend the
whole chapter to the reader's perusal, as showing the decided
discrepancy of the theology of this Confession with that of
modern " High Churchism/^
Lastly, as to the Confession of Augsburg. Its words are
these j —
" Concerning Baptism they teach, that it is necessary to salvation,
and that through Baptism is offered the grace of God ; and that
children are to be baptized, who being offered to God by baptism are
received into the favor of God. They condemn the Anabaptists, who
disapprove the baptism of children, and affirm that children may be
saved without baptism." Art. 9.t
But with this we must connect the 13th Article, which runs
thus ; —
Concerning the use of the Sacraments they teach, that the
Sacraments are instituted, not only that they may be marks of pro-
* Ostendimus autem supra, fide significari fiduciam acquiescentem in
Filio Dei propitiatore, propter quem recipimur et placemus, non propter
nostras virtutes aut legis impletionem. Cum autem in hac ipsa consola-
tione, fiducia, qua acquiescimus in Filio Dei, vera sit motus acceusus a
Spiritu Sancto, quo vivificatur cor, et liberatur ex aeterna morte, dicitur
haec conversio, regeneratio; Joan, iii., Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et
Spiritu. Et fit homo jam vere domicilium Dei, qui est in eo efficax. Syll.
Confess, ed. Oxon. 1827, p. 258.
t De baptism© docent, quod sit necessarius ad salutem, quodque per
baptismum offeratur gratia Dei ; et quod pueri sint baptizandi, qui per
baptismum oblati Deo recipiantur in gratiam Dei. Damnant Anabaptistas,
qui improbant baptismum puerorum, et affirmant pueros sine baptismo
salvos fieri. (lb. p. 126.)
In the " Confessio Variata," or revised edition of the Confession, in 1540,
this passage stands thus, —
De baptismo docent, quod necessarius sit ad salutem, tanquam ceremoniu
a Christo instituta. Et quod per baptismum offeratur gratia Dei : et quod
infantes sint baptizandi : et quod infantes per baptismum Deo comraen-
dati, recipiantur in gratiam Dei, et fiant filii Dei, sicut Christus testatur,
loquens de parvulis iii ecclesiaj "Matt, xviii , Non est voluntas Patris vestri
qui in coelis est, ut pereat unus ex parvulis istis, Damnant Anabaptistas,
qui improbant baptismum infantum, et affirmant infantes sine ba])tismo et
extra ecclesiam Christi salvos fieri. (Sylloge Conf. ed. 2% pp. 171, 172.)
158
fession among men, but rather that they may be signs and evidences
of the goodwill of God towards us, set forth to excite and confirm
faith in those who use them. Therefore the Sacraments are to be
used so as that faith is present, which beheves the promises that are
exhibited and shown by the Sacraments. Therefore they condemn
those who teach that the Sacraments justify ex opere operato [evi-
dently referring to the Romanists] and do not teach that there is
required in the use of the Sacraments faith which believes that sins
are remitted."*
And in the revised edition of this Confession in ]540, after
the words "shown by the Sacraments/^ the following are added,
— " By this faith we receive the promised grace which the
Sacraments represent, and the Holy Spirit.^^
Now, in v\^hat way did Luther himself understand Art. 9 ?
We have his sentiments fully expressed in a work published only
the year before his Confession (i. e. in 1529), namely, his Larger
Catechism. The following extracts will show his views, —
" The great efficacy and usefulness of Baptism being thus under-
stood, let us further observe, what sort of person it is that receives
such things as are offered by baptism. This again is most beautifully
and clearly expressed in these words : He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved. That is, faith alone makes a person worthy
to receive with any profit this salutary and divine water. . . . Without
faith Baptism, profits nothing, although in itself it cannot be denied
to be a heavenly and inestimable treasure. ' f
* De usu sacramentorum docent, quod sacramenta instituta sint [sacra-
menta instituta esse, corr. 1540], non modo ut sint notae professionis inter
homines, sed [multo, add. 1540] magis ut sint signa et testimonia volun-
tatis Dei erga nos, [proposita, add. 1540], ad excitandara et confirmandam
fidem in his qui utuntur proposita. [det. proposita, et add. eis. 1540].
Itaque utendum est sacramentis, itaut tides accedat, [transp. verba, 1540],
quae credat promissionibus, quae per sacramenta exhibentur et ostenduntur.
[Hac fide aceipimus promissam gratiam, quam sacramenta significant, et
Spiritum SancturUj add. 1540.] Damnant igitur illos, qui docent, quod
sacramenta ex opere operato justificent, nec docent fidem requiri in usu
sacramentorum, quae credat remitti peccata. [Damnant igitur Pharisaicam
opinionem, quae obruit doctrinam de fide, nec docet fidem in usu sacra-
mentorum requiri, quae credat propter Christum nobis gratiam dari. Sed
fingit homines justos esse propter usum sacramentorum ex opere operato,
et quidem sine bono motu uteutium, corr. 1540,] (lb. pp. 12/ et 173,
1/4.)
t Cognita jam ingenti cum virtute turn utilitate baptismi, videamus
ulterius, quae persona sit talia accipiens, quae per baptisraum ofFeruntur.
Hoc iterum i)ulchcrrime et clarissime in his verbis exprcssum est : Qui
crcdiderit et baj)tizatus fuerit, salvus erit. Hoc est : sola fides personam
159
" JVe bring a child to a minister of the Church to he laptized, in
THIS HOPE AND PERSUASION, that it certainhj believes, and we pray
that God may give it faith."* " The word being joined to the water,
baptism is to be esteemed valid, even though faith is not present. For
my faith does not produce baptism, but recognizes and apprehends
baptism. . . . Even if children did not believe, ichich is by no means
to be affirmed (as has been ah-eady shown), yet their baptism would
be true baptism, nor ought any one to rebaptize thera."t
Hence he held, that baptism, though valid without faith in the
receiver, was profitable only when there was faith ; and this in
the case of children as well as adults. The notion may seem to
many in the present day singular, that infants should be con-
sidered as capable of faith, but it w^as shared with Luther by
others at that time.
Such was Luther^s view at the very time that he adopted as a
declaration of his creed the Confession of Augsburg. He con-
sidered that children were brought to be baptized, under the
supposition that they had faith ; and he distinctly maintained
that without faith baptism profits nothing.
This was not indeed subsequently the generally received doc-
trine of the Lutheran Churches as it regards infants, though I
doubt whether Luther himself ever varied his doctrine upon the
subject. But certainly the language of his Catechism cannot be
mistaken, nor therefore the intei-pretation he would have given
to the Confession of Augsburg. And it is of importance to ob-
serve this difference of view between Luther and most of his fol-
lowers on this point, because we shall have occasion hereafter to
apply a Baptismal Service drawn up by Luther in illustration of
the meaning of our own.
The Apology of the Confession, pubUshed in the same year as
dignam facit, ut hanc salutarem et divinam aquam utiliter suscipiat . . . .
Citra fidem nihil prodest baptiamus, tametsi per sese coelestis et iuajstima-
bilis thesaurus esse negari non possit. Luther. Catech. Major, Art. De
baptisrao. Apud Libr. Symbol. Ed. Hase. 1846, p. 541.
* Puerum ecclesiae miuistro baptizandum ajiportamus, hac spe atque
animo, quod cerio credaty et precamur, ut Deus eum fide douet. lb.
p. 546.
t Accedente aquae verbo, baptismus rectus liabendus est, etiam non
accedente fide. Neque enim fides mea facit baptismum, sed baptismum
percij)it et appreliendit Quanquam pueri uon crederent, quod nnllo
modo affirmaiidura est, (ut jam ostensum estjtameu baptismus verus esset,
neque quisquam eos rebaptizarc debet. ^^Ib. p. 545.)
160
the Confession, by Melancthon, and reckoned also one of the
Symbolic Books of the Lutheran Church, condemns in strong
terms the Romish doctrine on the subject.
" Here we condemn the whole set of the Scholastic doctors, who
teach that the sacraments confer grace upon one who places no ob-
stacle in the way from the very performance of the work without any
good motion in him who uses them. This is simply a Jewish notion,
to suppose, that we may be justified by a ceremony without any good
motion of the heart, that is, without faith. And yet this impious
and pernicious notion is taught with great authority in the whole
realm of Popery. Paul (Rom. iv. 9, and seq.) protests against it, and
denies that Abraham was justified by circumcision, but that circum-
cision was a sign set forth for the exercise of his faith. So we teach,
that in the sacraments there ought to be present faith to beheve those
promises, and to receive the things promised, which are there offered
in the Sacrament. And the reason is plain and most sure. Tlie
promise is useless, unless it is received by faith. But the sacraments
are signs of the promises. . . . But no one can tell what abuses that
fanatical notion of the opus operatum without any good motion in
the user has produced in the Church."*
I have already remarked, that the Bishop of Exeter has, in
the second edition of his Charge, withdrawn the statement that
these foreign Protestant Churches, our own Church, and that of
Rome, all agreed as to the doctrine of regeneration universally
taking place in Baptism. But the note in which this withdrawal
is made is so remarkable, that it may be well to insert it in this
place.
*' I have here withdrawn," his Lordship says, " a statement made
by me, when I delivered this Charge, respecting the early Confessions
* Hie tlamnamus totum populum Scholasticorum doctorum, quidocent,
quod sacramenta non ponenti ohicem conferant gratiam ex opere operato
sine bono motu utentis. Hsec simpUciter Judaica opinio est, sentire, quod
per ceremoniam justificemur sine bono motu cordis, hoc est, sine fide. Et
tamen hsec impia et perniciosa opinio magna auctoritate doeetur in toto
regno Pontificio. Pauhis (Rom. iv. 9, seq.) reclamat et negat, Abraham
justificatum esse circumcisione, sed circumcision em esse signum propositum
ad exercendam fidem. Ita nos docemus, quod in usu sacramentorum fides
debeat accedere, quae credat iUis promissionibus, et accipiat res promissas,
quae ibi in sacramento offeruntur. Et est ratio plana et firmissinia. Pro-
missio est inutilis, nisi fide accipiatur. At sacramenta sunt signa promis-
sionum. . . . Quantum autem in Ecclesia abusuum pepererit ilia fanatica
opinio de opere operato sine bono motu utentis, nemo verbis conscqui
potest. (Art. 7. De num. et usu Sacram. Libri Symbol, cd. Hase, p. 203.)
161
of Faith of foreign Protestants. Closer inspection (especially of the
Confessions of those bodies which adopted the doctrines of Zwingle
and Calvin), has discovered under a seeming agreement with the doc-
trine of our Articles and Liturgy on Baptism, a real and consider-
able diflerence. In more than one of these documents there are
statements seemingly inconsistent with each other, which it is not for
me to attempt to reconcile." (p. 10.)
That is to say, his Lordship cannot understand how any one
can make a general statement as to the value and efficacy of the
Sacrament of Baptism, and at the same time hold that it is not
efficacious in every case in which it is administered. I would
humbly suggest, that the " seeming inconsistency " vanishes the
moment -we apply to the interpretation of these statements the
system of doctrine held by their authors. And I cannot but
further remark, that as there is (by his Lordship's confession)
" a seeming agreement with the doctrine of our Articles and
Liturgy on Baptism/^ in one portion of these statements, and
that the " seemingly inconsistent statements only need the
light of the system of doctrine held by their authors to show
them to be in perfect harmony with each other, so there will ap-
pear in both an evident " agreement wdth the doctrine of our
Articles and Liturgy,'^ if we will only view those Articles and
Liturgy by the light of the same system of doctrine ; — a system
which our third Protestant Primate, Archbishop Grindal, (to
mention no other authority) tells us is the system of our Church.
M
162
CHAPTER V.
THE DOCTRINE OF MARTIN BUCER AND PETER MARTYR, (WHO
WERE PLACED BY ARCHBISHOP CRANMER, AT THE COM-
MENCEMENT OF THE REIGN OF EDWARD VI., AS THE FIRST
REGIUS PROFESSORS OF DIVINITY AT CAMBRIDGE AND OX-
FORD,) ON THE SUBJECT OF THE EFFECTS OF INFANT BAP-
TISM.
§ 1. The Doctrine of Martin Bucer.
The position in which Martin Bucer was placed in this
country by Archbishop Cranmer at the commencement of the
Reformation in the reign of Edward VI., and other circum-
stances, to which I shall have hereafter to refer, connected with
the name of that able Reformer, render it of much importance
for us to know, what were his views on the subject of the pre-
sent treatise.
I shall now proceed, then, to shew what was the doctrine of
Bucer on this subject, as delivered in his works published before
his arrival in this country. And I begin with an extract from
the Conference held by him and other divines of the " Re-
formed school with Luther and some of his followers at Wit-
tenberg in 1536, because the result of that Conference was to
induce him to modify some of his previous statements ' on the
subject, and express himself more strongly on the benefits of
Baptism, and therefore we have in these passages the most
unexceptionable representation of his views. The conversation
which then passed between him and Luther (in which the two
parties came to an agreement on the doctrine of the Sacraments)
throws considerable light on the views of both.
" When we were again assembled together in the morning. Doctor
Luther proposed three things to us, as far as relates to baptism.
1G8
Since there are many who will not baptize infants ; others also are
found, who indeed permit them to be baptized, but maintain that bap-
tism itself is only a naked sign, and therefore would suffer infants to
die without baptism ; others, lastly, baptize without water ; therefore
he thought that we ought to declare our belief on these points. But
what he thought ought to be done, he explained beforehand, namely,
that infants are to be baptized, and that that baptism is truly effica-
cious, and confers the adoption ofthe sons of God.* Lastly, thatit ought
to be administered with water, as they had written concerning these
things in the Confession of Augsburg, the Apology, and elsewhere.
" To these things Bucer, agreeably to what we had arranged among
ourselves should be proposed, replied, That we all had contended, and
still contended, against the enemies of Paedobaptism, as our writings
show. Moreover that baptism is held sacred by us, and that we teach
concerning it, not as of some naked sign, but as of the true laver of
regeneration, which (regeneration) is, through the power of God and
the ministry of the minister, supplied to us with the water. f But
that some are offended in that (since faith in Holy Scripture is
received according to that which is heard, and comes to us through
hearing, by the application of the word of God, according to the say-
ing of Paul in the tenth of the Romans, * faith cometh by hearing,')
we with Augustine and other Fathers have said and written, that in-
fants in that respect have not faith. But that if we will understand
the word faith in a large sense, for any surrender of ourselves to God,
in this sense even infants maybe called faithful. For that we simply
beheve and teach, that true regeneration and true adoption into
the sons of God are communicated to infants in baptism, and that the
Holv Spirit works in them according to the measure and proportion
given to them, as we read of St. John, that he was filled with the
Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. J Yet lest we should fall into
the opus operatum notion, that we are accustomed so to state these
things, as to acknowledge that all this is the work of God only, but
that the ministration only belongs to the minister. But that where
there is any foundation in Scripture for what some affirm that infants
when they are baptized understand the words of the Gospel and ac-
tually believe them, and thus are saved, — whence this can be
proved from the sacred writings, we are unable as yet to see.
* Eamque esse vera efficacem et adoptionera filiorum Dei conferre.
t Praeterea sacrum baptisma a nobis haberi, et de eo doceri, non ut de
nude aiiquo symbolo, seel ut de vero lavacro regenerationis, quae virtute
Dei et ministerio rainistri cum aqua nobis exhibetur.
X Nos enim simphciter credere et docere, infantibus in baptismo veram
regenerationem, veramque in filios Dei adoptionem communicari, et Spiri-
tum Sanctum in illis operari juxta illis datam mensuram et modulura, &c.
M 2
" To these things Luther replied, that this was not the view of
himself and his followers; but that as we, even when asleep, are num-
bered among the faithful, and are in truth such, although we are ac-
tually thinking nothing of God, so that a certain beginning of faith
(which nevertheless is the work of God) exists in infants,^ according
to their measure and proportion, which we are ignorant of 5 and that
he called this faith ; and that he had rather that no questions should
be moved concerning these things, and that no one should venture to
search deeply into these things, to ascertain, that is, in what way the
Lord performs in them this his own work.\
" Moreover to this that they had said, that baptism was necessary,
Bucer replied thus, — That we by no means maintain that God has so
tied salvation to baptism, that no one can obtain it unless he be bap-
tized, and that all infants who are not baj)tized (so that baptism is
not neglected through contempt) are to be held as damned, according
to the opinion of some antient doctors ; yet nevertheless that we ex-
hort the people, that they bring all their infants to baptism. . . .
" To these things Doctor Luther and his followers assented, and
were desirous that we should do this, — that we should admonish the
people not to sufter their infants to grow up without baptism ; for
that they belong to the Church, and therefore that, as far as lies in
our power, baptism is to be given to them : which we willingly under-
took to do, as also beforetime we have faithfully contended against
contempt of baptism in our sermons, and have faithfully exhorted all
to offer their children for baptism, since baptism is truly the laver of
regeneration and the communication of Christ's blood, which we reli-
giously desire, and ought to desire, should be imparted to our children ;
yet nevertheless with the addition of an express declaration, that that
is the work of Christ alone, who in performing it uses the external
ministry of the Church, and the annexation of a warning against that
old but yet too popular error among the Papists, when men seek the
salvation of their children in the external work of baptism, but neither
know, nor invoke, for the salvation of their children, the true Baptist,
Christ. And so in these points also we came to an agreement. "J
We here see that both Luther (as we have already seen in
the extract given from his Catechism) and Bucer held, that in-
fants were to be baptized because they were faithful, that is, in
the sense of having the principle of faith implanted in them by
the mercy of God, not that baptism might first give it to them.
' Initium quofldam fidei (quod tamen Dei sit opus) in infantibus extare.
t Qua iiimirum ratione hoc siinm opus in ipsis Dominus perficiat.
t Buceri Scripta Anglicana. Basil 1577, fol. pp. 655, 656.
165
The possession of this gift of faith however by infants,, was of
course (as Luther speaks in his Catechism, and as we shall find
Bucer stating) a matter of charitable hope ; but (as Bucer ex-
presses it in a passage which we sliall quote- presently) as we
know that God works in the hearts of some children, it was felt
by them, that it would be as absurd to deny children baptism
because we know not in luhich of them God works, as to deny
adults baptism, because, not being able to see the heart, we may
baptize some hypocrites; and of both, acting in the spirit of
hope and charity, they spoke as of those who were lit recipients,
and therefore had the full benefit of baptism.
In the same year in which this Conference took place, Bucer
published a second edition of his Commentary on the Four Gos-
pels, in which he altered some passages which had occurred in
the former relating to baptism, and inserted what he called a
" retractation" conformable with the higher view of the benefit
of baptism which he had maintained at the Conference at Wit-
tenberg. In this retractation*^ he explains why he had before
hesitated to use the language which Luther and some others had
applied to the Sacrament of Baptism, and adds, that, having agreed
with him on the sense in which such language was to be used, he
felt no fnrther difiicnlty respecting it, and he lays down precisely
his own ^iew of the doctrine of baptism. These statements,
therefore, are peculiarly adapted to show the sense in which
these eminent Reformers used language respecting the Sacrament
of Baptism which the Bishop of Exeter and others, unacquainted
with their views, are strangely perverting to the support of doc-
trines to which they were strenuously opposed. I shall therefore
add here some extracts fi'om this work.
He remarks, then, that as the statements of Luther and
others,
"That external words and sacraments were the certain seals,
channels, and instruments of the grace of Christ, in which the
Spirit of Christ is most certainly received, appeared to him to favour
the error and superstition of those who seek salvation from outward
ceremouies without true faith, it was his wish to vindicate as fully
as possible to Christ the Lord, all remission of sins, relief of con-
science, and participation of the Spirit of Christ, and diligently to
teach that lesson, that we receive here by faith only what he bestows
166
and works for our salvation. And on this account we said, that
ministers absolve from sins, when they pronounce men to be
absolved through Christ, and that they confirm the consciences of
men, and establish and advance their faith, when they proclaim that
Christ confirms consciences and increases faith : that they ivash away
sins by baptism and regenerate, when by words and the sacred sprink-
ling they represent and bear witness that Christ washes from sins,
and that they feed with the body and blood of the Lord, when in like
manner by words and signs they proclaim, that Christ himself nourishes
us with himself. We described the principal use of baptism to be, to
be received into the Church, and make a profession of faith ; of the
eucharist, that we should be reminded of our redemption, and profess
our perseverance in faith and love. We never thought, nor wrote, that
the signs are empty signs : on the contrary, in those very passages
which I retract, I clearly testified that Scripture speaks of the sacred
signs as they are when truly received, in which case the
THING SIGNIFIED IS ANNEXED TO THE SIGN, AND THAT IS REALLY
PERFORMED WHICH IS REPRESENTED BY THE SIGNS. It is DOt OUr
view that the ministers do nothing, since, with Paul, we wrote, that
they plant and water. This only we wished to urge, that without the
power of Christ, by which he draws us to himself, the work of minis-
ters, and moreover the words themselves and external signs adminis-
tered, cannot bring salvation to any one. In these things any one
may see that there is nothing contrary to piety ; but, as I have said,
they are so written that they may be twisted so as to be made use of
for lowering the sacred ministry below its proper place. I confess
therefore first, that I have not sufficiently explained the authority of
God, and the true benefit in the Word and Sacraments, in not care-
fully inculcating that truth, that Christ uses the minister as his organ,
that above all things he may set forth in his Word and Sacraments
the remission of sins and communion with himself, and that the true
profit in these things is, if the minister as diligently as possible com-
mends this exhibition, and the others embrace it by a true faiths The
profession of religion is here secondary. For faith precedes the pro-
fession of faith, and the preaching of the mercy of God and the re-
demption of Christ, which is the object of faith, precedes faith.
Moreover the symbols in the Sacraments are nothing but visible
words, by which the preaching and off^ering of the grace of Christ be-
comes more influential and more eflectual to rouse the mind. Farther,
I acknowledge, that these metaphors, that the Sacraments are instru-
ments, organs, and channels of grace, are agreeable to the Scriptures.
For St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, * I have begotten you by the
Gospel,' 1 Cor. iv. In 2 Cor. iii. he writes that he had adminisrtered
167
to them the Spirit, not the letter, and that he had made them an
epistle of Christ. To the Galatians he writes, that he had received
the Spirit bv the hearing of faith. Hence he called baptism the
laver of regeneration, and the eucharist the commiinion of the body
and blood of Christ. He affirms that by baptism we are buried into
the death of Christ, incorporated into Christ, and have put on Christ.
Flora all which, as it is evident, that the Gospel and the Sacraments,
which are as it were visible Gospels, were instituted by Christ the Lord
for this purpose, that he might communicate to us through them his
own redemption ; so it is very clear, that these are to the Lord to a
certain extent instruments and channels of his Spirit and grace, and
thus that there is nothing absurd in these metaphorical expressions ;
if only this is carefullv pointed out for observation, that ministers and
the ministrv are such instruments of our salvation that they have
nothing of it, nor supply anything, in themselves, but only so much
of it as Christ, using them according to his oivn spontaneovs mercy,
condescends to give and supply through them. And in this way we
ourselves have never denied, that the words and Sacraments of the
Gospels are Christ's organs, by which he gives us the -benefit of his
redemption. This only we deny, as we have clearly expressed it,
that Sacraments and sacred words are such instruments and channels
of grace as that they bring salvation with ichatever mind or faith
you partake of them. For some have so tied the grace of Christ
to them, that these external things seem of themselves to work salva-
tion, even though the mind never seriously raises itself to Christ, so
that the superstition of the common people, who are yet ignorant of
the true faith of Christ, rests in these things.
" Moreover, as they seemed to us so to speak of the word and
Sacraments of the Gospel, that we considered that there was danger
from their words lest that superstition of the common people should
either be strengthened, where it still cleaves, or be brought back where
it has been driven out ; so they in their turn, when we, desirous of
guarding, lest any one should seek salvation for himself from cere-
monies, without certain faith in Christ, wrote that Christ bestows his
grace and Spirit according to his will upon whom and when he pleases,
and that what is performed by man can effect nothing of this, thought
that we attributed nothing else to the Sacraments than that they are
external marks of our communion in Christ, and that we did not
acknowledge that they are symbols of grace, and that grace is given
through them. But the Lord has now granted, that both they
should acknowledge that we, and we that they, think and teach that
respecting the word and Sacraments that Scripture delivers, namely,
that they are effectual signs and organs of communion with Christ,
that is, of our salvation, by which the Lord be:etows upon us com-
168
munion with himself ; but that accord'uuj to the good will of the
Father and his own comjjaasion towards us, with no merit of any
creature j on which account thei/ require faith. Therefore each error
is excluded on both sides, both of those who seek salvation for them-
feelves from ceremonies without faith in Christ, and of those who so
pretend that they seek salvation for themselves from Christ, that they
hold in small estimation the sacred ministry of the Church."*
From this passage Bucer's general view of the doctrine of the
Sacraments is very apparent^ and we see from it, that he has no
hesitation in speaking of the Sacraments as Christ^s organs and
channels of divine grace ; but then, when he uses this language,
he uses it, as he maintains that Scripture uses it, not as appli-
cable to every case in which they are administered, but to those
only in which God of his free mercy pleases to use them as his
instruments for that end, in the case of parties whom he has
made fit recipients. He is quite ready to maintain with the
Bishop of Exeter himself, that God has appointed them as
instruments in the use of which he conveys grace to the soul,
but not indiscriminately to all that use them . And it is by con-
founding these two things, which are wholly distinct from one
another, and interpreting general statements of the purpose and
effects of baptism, where spiritually efficient, as if they were
intended to apply to every case where baptism is received, (at
least in the case of infants), that the Bishop of Exeter has quoted, as
supporting his view, men who would have held it in abhorrence.
It may be well, however, to add some other passages from
Bucer ; and I shall first give those which speak generally of the
benefits of baptism, in order to show how strong may be the
general terms used on this subject by those who at the same
time carefully limited the beneficial eflfects of baptism to recipients
of a certain character.
Thus, then, in his Letter to Dr. Fox, Bishop of Hereford, pre-
fixed to the work from which I have just quoted, he states that
his doctrine is, that —
" Christ truly washes from their sins and regenerates those upon
whom the Church bestows baptism, which is in fact the laver of rege-
* Buceri Enarr. in. Evang. Basil. 15^i(>. fol. pp. 4.3, 44. It seems unne-
cessary to give the whole of this long passage in the original.
169
neration."* "Sincfi we ought to speak of the JVord and Sacraments,
as the Lord has commended them to his Church, and icishes them to
be used, I some time since acknowledged, and re -assert, that it is
rightly said of the Word and Sacraments, whkn we speak simply
OF THEM, that they are the administration of salvation, channels,
vehicles, and instruments of the Spirit and grace."f "We shall
then speak most fully, clearly, and certainly concerning these points
of faith, when we speak according to the rule and form of the Scrip-
tures. Now therein the Lord clearly says, that his Gospel is his power
for salvation to every one that believes, that baptism is the laver of
regeneration, that the eucharist is the communication of his body
and blood, that his ministers bind and loose, retain sins and remit
them ; why therefore should not we also speak thus
And. in the work itself lie says, that " by baptism we are said
to be loosed and washed from our sins, because by baptism,
through the power of Christ and the ministry of the Church, we
receive pardon and cleansing,^^ &c. :§ and he calls the laver of
water in baptism " a true and exhibitive sign ;"|| and says that in
baptism " the renewal of the Spirit is exhibited and received/^^
" Nor will they be offended," he says, " if any Scriptures seem to
attribute justification to baptism ; for they will observe that Scrip-
ture ascribes to those Sacramental signs what belongs to the thing
signified. For they are exhibitive signs ; and when it speaks of signs
truly received, in which case that which the signs signify is present
together with them, it is in the habit of joining the internal things with
the external, that is, the sign and the thing signified, and thus to
speak of them unitedly."*''"
* Peccatis vere abluere, et regignere, quibus ilia baptisma, quod nirairum
lavacmrn regenerationis est, impertit. Epist. ad Ed. Fox. prefix, ad Enarr.
in Evang. p. 6.
t At quia de verbo et sacramentis loquendum est, ut ea Dominus Eccle-
siae suae coramendavit et usurpari vult, pridem agnosco, et confirmo, reete
dici de verbis et sacramentis, cum simpliciter de illis loquimur, esse ea ad-
ministrationem salutis, canales, vehicula et instrumenta Spiritus et gratia?,
lb. p. 7. X lb.
§ Baptismate dicimur peccatis solvi et ablui, quia baptismate, virtute
Christi et Ecclesise ministerio, solutionem et ablutionem percipimus. p. 41 .
II Signo vero et exhibitive. p. 42.
Spiritus renovatio exhibetur atque percipitur. lb.
* * Neque ofFeudentur, si quae Scripturae videantur baptismo justifica-
tionem tribuere ; animadvertent enim Scripturam signis istis sacramentali-
bus adscribere quod signati est. Sunt enim signa exhibitiva, cumque de
signis in veritate perceptis loquatur, quo pacto siraul adest quod significant,
solet iuterna simul cum externis, hoc est, signum et signatura conjungere,
atque ita junctim ea pricdicarc. Id. ib. p. 42.
170
From these passages we may see, that Bucer had no hesitation
in using the strongest language as to the benefit of baptism,
when enunciating in general terms its nature and effects. And
they show us also, with what views the Reformers used language,
on several points, which from, its ambiguity and capability of
diverse interpretations, has been since their time the cause of
so much contention in the Church,
But, while the Sacrament of Baptism is spoken of by him in
these terms, in consequence of the end it is appointed to answer
where God's blessing accompanies it, the question as to the
parties in whom that end is accomplished, is not touched by that
general statement. What Bucer^s answer to this question
would have been, is sufficiently apparent from what I have
already quoted ; but I will add one or two passages still more
explicit on this point.
From that saying, ' I never knew you,' that is, acknowledged
you among mine, we are clearly taught, that those who can at amy
time fall aivay from Christ, never were Christ's, and never truly
believed on him, or were pious, never obtained the spirit of sons. . .
Moreover, as the reprobate were never known to Christ, so the elect
were never unknown."*
" ' My sheep hear my voice.' In these words he clearly teaches,
that all things depend upon the Divine election, and that those to
whom it has once been given to be sheep can never perish. For here
we are told, that they only hear the voice of Christ, that is, receive
faith, who are sheep. f Whence now will it be, that some are sheep,
that is, capable of receiving the doctrine of Christ, others not at all
so ? Doubtless because the former are inspired with the good Spirit
of God, the latter not at all. . . . But whence will it be, that the
former have the gift of the Spirit, the latter have not ? Truly no
otherwise than that the former are ordained to life, the latter are not ;
that the former are given to the Son to be saved, the latter by no
* Ex illo, Nunquam novi vos, id est, inter meos agnovi, clare docemur,
qui ahquando a Christo possunt excidere, eos Christi nunquam fuisse, eoque
nunquam vere credidisse, aut fuisse pios, nunquam spiritum fihorum fuisse
naetos .... Proinde ut Christo nunquam noti sunt reprobi, ita nunquam
ignoti electi. Id. ib. in Matt. c. 7- p. 203.
t In his aperte docet, omnia a Divina eleotione pendere, eosque quibus
scmcl datum fuerit oves esse, perire nunquam posse. Hie namque audimus,
eos tautum vocem Christi audire, id est, fidom recipcre, qui oves sint.
171
means. To the Lord therefore let us give this glory, that he bestows
the Spirit, in no degree aided by our labour.'**
" Whence, indeed, we, who cannot reject any from the grace of
Christ except the deniers of it, ought not only to permit, but also to
exhort, that all children indiscriminately should be brought to the
Lord, that is, offered to his Church, because that which he himself
commands cannot but be best } If they already belong to the Church,
and theirs is the kingdom of heaven, why should we deny them the
sign of Baptism, by which they who belong to the Church of Christ
are in the habit of being received into it } If there are any goats
among them, they will then be to be excluded by us, when they shall
have shown themselves to be so. Meanwhile let us not be more scru-
pulous than Christ, who pronounced children indiscriminately brought
to him to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven, and on that account
was angry that they were driven away from him, and ordered them to
be brought to him, and when brought took them up in his arms, put
his hands upon them and blessed them. By so many signs he wished
to show that they belonged to him, and were by no means to be shut
out of the kingdom of heaven. And since by far the greater number
are snatched hence in childhood, who, I make no doubt, are saved by
the mercy of Christ, especially those born of believers, I believe that
the Lord wished in this place [Matt. xix. 14] to signify, that no
period of human life gave more citizens to the kingdom of heaven. "f
" Moreover, from the fact that infants are destitute of faith, nothing
less follows than that, as some think, they therefore cannot please
God or be holy. Since John the Baptist is said to have been full of
the Holy Ghost from the womb (Luke i.) ; the child is not said to
have been endued with faith, and yet he was great in the sight of the
Lord. For God leads his own as is suitable to the age and condition
of each. Faith ought to proclaim the glory of God, and to be effi-
cacious through love ; and as these things do not belong to infants,
what if also they have not faith, being nevertheless marked for sal-
vation by the Spirit of God. But as to what they object from the
last chapter of Mark, ' He that believeth not, shall be condemned,'
they show that they have not rightly weighed that passage. For
there a command of Christ precedes concerning preaching the Gospel
in the whole world, and then it is added, ' He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved, but he that beheveth not shall be damned ;'
which is as much as to say, he that has faith in the Gospel preached
by you and shall confess it by baptism, shall be saved, but he that has
not shall be damned. And thus this sentence by no means apphes to
* Id. ib. in Jojinu. c. x. p. 7lfi.
t Id. ib. in Matt. c. xix. p. 403.
172
those who have not heard the Gospel. Therefore, with elect
INFANTS THE SPIRIT OF THE LoRD IS PRESENT, bv which, SO far aS
suffices for their age and condition, they are led ; and when they grow
up, at the time ordained by the Father, it teaches them to believe the
word of God, and leads them by faith to salvation.* But they who
depart hence before they grow up, since they are Christ's, they shall
also be with him, and be happy, and that with the bestowal of the
beatific knowledge of God," &c.-|-
And he maintains that those who are not thus elect, but are
" goats and vessels of wrath" (^Hioedi et vasa irse/') grow up and
lose the simplicity of children, and thus are shut out from the
kingdom of heaven. {
Now Bucer, holding these views, is earnestly invited by Arch-
bishop Cranmer to come over to this country as a teacher of
theology, hailed as a most sound and able divine, and placed by
Cranmer in the Chair of the Regius Professor of Divinity at
Cambridge. § In this post he publicly defended the same views
as those maintained in the extracts I have just given from his
Commentaries on the Gospels. Thus in a public Disputation
wdth some Bomish divines at Cambridge in 1550, he says, —
" For those that are Christ's sheep cannot perish, and they have
eternal life ; and he cannot sin and err perseveringly and finally (for
every holy person falls into sin and prays for the pardon of sin) who-
soever truly believes in Christ, and is therefore regenerate in him"%
And one of his theses being, "The Canonical books alone
abundantly teach the regenerate all things which are necessary
for salvation," he remarks, —
But in adding the word * regenerate,' I have done it on this ac-
* Adest itaque electis infantibus Spiritus Domini, quo, quantum ad
ipsorum aetatem et conditionem satis est, aguntur; iidem cum adolescunt,
tempore a Patre defiuito, ad credendum Dei verbo eos erudit, fideque ad
salutera perducit.
t Id. ib. in Matt. c. xix. p. 404.
X Qui vero hoedi sunt, et vasa irae, ii ut adolescentes alios animos assu-
munt, ita tales non perseverant, et regni coelorum redduntur extorres. Ib.
p. 403.
§ See pp. 58 et seq. above.
4 Nec enim possunt perire qna3 oves Christi sunt, et habent vitam
aeternam, peccareque et errare perseveranter et finaliter (in peccata labitur
enim, et pro peccatorum venia orat omnis sanctus) non potest, quicumjae
vcrc credit Christo, eoque est in eo regenitus. Disput. Cant. hab. Inter
!Scri})ta Aiiglicana, p. 787-
173
count, because they who are not born again of God, and endued with
the Spirit of God, neither can hear nor understand what the Scriptures
teach."*
Ill the same year (1550) he lectured upon the Epistle to the
Ephesians^ and in his Lectures on the 4th chapter treated par-
ticularly on the virtue and use of the sacred ministn*, in w^hich
lectures he observes :
" From these things therefore it is readily acknowledged, that every
true Church of God consists only of the regenerate, but nevertheless
has for the most part among them in external communion in sacred
things those that are not regenerate, but their true character
concealed, if so be that Christ's discipline flourishes as it ought. "'f
" Hence [i. e. from 1 John iii. 14] it is plain, that the true members
of the Church are alone regenerated.^^ %
And proceeding in these lectures to speak expressly of the
force and efhcacy of baptism/^ while" he distinctly lays down
regeneration as its effect, and maintains this to be the meaning
of such passages as John iii. 5, Eph. v. 26, Tit. iii. 5, he as
distinctly limits this effect to " the elect.
And in his elaborate work "Concerning the Kingdom of
Christ," addi-essed to Edward VI., and written about this period.
* Canonici hbri decent soh abimde renatos qua? sint saluti omnia
Quod autem adjeci (renatos) id ideo feci, quod qui non sunt renati ex Deo
et Spiritu Dei prtediti, ea quae Scripturae decent, nec aiuUre possunt, nec
inteihgere. Joh. viii. & x. 1 Cor. iii. lb. p. 713.
t Ex his itaque facile cognoscitur, omnem ecclesiam veram Dei constare
tantum renatis ; habere tamen pleruraque inter se in communione externa
sacrorum non renatos, sed lateutes, siquidem vigeat Christi discijilina ut
debet. Explie. de vi et usu S. Minist. ib. p. 558 ; where the portion of
the Lectures which treats on this subject is reprinted. The Lectures on
the whole Epistle were printed in 15()2, under the following title, — Prae-
leetiones doctiss. in Epist. D. P. ad Ephesios, eximii doctoris D. Martini
Buceri, habitae Cantabrigiae in Anglia a. 1550 et 1551. Basil. 1562, fol.
ed. Iraraan. Tremell. — The reader may be glad also to know that a portion
of these Lectures on the 4th chapter is inserted in the " Scripta Anglicana"
(pp. 504 — 5.38) which is not to be found in the " Praelectiones."
X Hinc itaque planum est, vera Ecclesiae membra esse tantum renatos.
Ib. p. 560. See also p. 5/2, and 592, 593.
§ Ex his jam omnibus locis clare perspicimus baptisma commendari
nobis, ut instrumentum divinae misericordiae, quo Deus non sua sed nostra
causa dignatur uti. ut quo elecfis suis, quibus ipse hcec sua destiuavit dona,
conferat. . . . regenerationera, &c. . . . Nec minus efficax est horum omnium
donoiiim Dei instrumentum baptisma elecfis Dei, (jnos eo statuit Dominns
?-6'(7i7rt(°r^', quam est ullum remeduim. . . . &c. ad conferendam sanitatem
corpori. Ib. p. 598. See the whole of pages 595—598.
174
he says, — " For men ought by baptism to be cleansed from
their sins, to be regenerated, and renewed to eternal life, to be
incorporated into Christ the Lord, and clothed with him ; all
which things belong to none but the saints and those elected to
eternal life:'^
Such were the views firmly and clearly maintained by Bucer,
while enjoying the patronage of Archbishop Cranmer. And as
we have already seen, he obtained, on his death, the testimony
of one who was to be Cranmer^s Protestant successor (Arch-
bishop Parker), that for the soundness and excellence of his
doctrine, as well as the holiness of his life, he was a burning and
shining light in the Church ;t and at a subsequent period was
spoken of by Archbishop Whitgift as so reverent, so learned,
so painful, so sound a father."J
Two circumstances which add greatly to the importance of
this case are, that there is a Baptismal Service extant drawn up
by Bucer on the same principle as our own ; and that our own
Prayer-book having been submitted to him by Cranmer for his
judgment, he approved of our Baptismal Service. But these are
matters which I shall in a future chapter fully place before the
reader.
§ 2. — The Doctrine of Peter Martyr.
The similar position held at Oxford, through Archbishop
Cranmer^s means, by Peter Martyr, renders it of equal import-
ance to us, in our present inquiry, to ascertain his views upon
the subject.
And in the case of one whose general views are so well known,
it seems hardly necessary to give a large body of extracts from
his writings. But the important question is. What did he teach
from the chair of divinity at Oxford ? As Begins Professor he
read lectures on the Epistle to the Romans and the First to the
Corinthians, which he afterwards published.
* Baptismate enim homines debent peccatis ablui, regigni, et innovari
ad vitarn aeternam, Christo Domino incorporari, eo indui : quae omnia non
sunt nisi sanctorum et ad vitam acternara electorum. De Regno Christi,
hb. 1. c. 7. Inter Script. Anglic, p. 38.
t See p. 64 above. % See p. 65 above.
Let us observe^ tlieii^ what doctrine he deUvered in them on
this point.
And first let us notice his general statements as to the benefit
of baptism. This is his definition of it ; that it is —
" A Sacrament instituted by the Lord, consisting of water and the
word, by which we are regenerated and engrafted into Christ, for
the remission of sins and eternal salvation. Water is a symbol pecu-
liarly appropriate to it. For as by it the filth of the body is cleansed,
so by this Sacrament the soul is purified."* " Baptism is nothing
else but the Sacrament of regeneration, consisting of water and the
Spirit through the word of God, from which we have remission of
sins and eternal life according to the promise of Christ. . . . We draw
the conclusion from this place [1 Cor. xii. 12], that by baptism we
are most truly joined to Christ, not less than by the Eucharist. . . .
Reason teaches us that baptism produces it more efficaciously than
the Eucharist, just as we obtain more by our birth than by nourish-
ment or food."f
Such are his statements, left unhesitatingly, without any qua-
lification in the context, as to the benefits of baptism. But
did he mean that all who were baptized, either in the case of
adults or infants, derived these blessings from baptism ? No-
thing of the kind ; as other passages distinctly show. He
spoke of baptism as what it is when it avails to the purposes
for which it was intended; not when it is received in vain.
With the passages just quoted we must connect such as the
following ; —
Commenting upon Rom. ix. 8, he says —
** This passage declares, that what has been before promised gene-
rally was restrained by the secret election of God to certain men in
particular. ... In the same way it happens at this day respecting the
* Sacramentum a Domino institutum, ex aqua et verbo constans, quo
regeneramur, et Christo inserimm*, ad remissionem peccatorum et aeternam
salutem. Aqua symbolum est illi quam appositissimum. Nam sicut ea
sordes corporis abluuntur, ita per hoc Sacramentum lustratur animus. (Pet.
Mart, in 1 Cor. i. 1/. Ed. Tigm\ 1567. fol. 10.)
t Baptismum primo loco ponit, qui nihil est aliud, quam sacramentum
regenerationis, constans ex aqua et Spiritu per verbum Dei, ex quo habemus
remissionem peccatorum et vitam aeternam juxta promissionem Christi
Elicitm* ex hoc loco, nos per baptismum Christo verissime conjungi, nec
minus quam per eucharistiara. . . . ratio docet, baptismum id efficacius
praestare quam eucharistiam, sicut per generationem plus adipiscimur,
quam alimento seu cibo. (Id. ib. xii. 12. fol. 178, 179.)
176
children of the faithful. We have a promise, that God is willing
not only to be our God but also the God of our seed ; which promise
being indefinite is apphed to infants by the secret election of God, not
indeed always to all, but to some certain ones in particular, accord-
ing as it shall seem jit to God's purpose. And since this is unknown
to us, and we ought to follovj the outward word which is committed
to the Church, under that promise we baptize our little ones as the
antients circumcised theirs. The Anabaptists blame us for doing so ;
because we know nothing concerning the spirit, nor the faith, nor the
election of those little ones. But we do not think those things of any
weight in the matter ; we only regard the word of God which, is
offered to us in the form of a general and indefinite promise. But we
commit its fulfilment to God, since we cannot judge respecting his
election. But let them in their turn tell us, how they baptize adults,
when it is uncertain whether they belong to the election, and whether
what they say they believe and profess, they truly say, and come to
Christ with a sincere mind. Here they can answer nothing except
that they follow the confession of faith which adults make before the
Church when they are to be baptized. But since they may easily l)e
deceived in that confession, and cannot know anything for certain
either concerning their state of mind or concerning their election,
there is no reason why they should find fault with us. For the same
thing altogether happens to us in the case of little ones who are
offered to the Church to be baptized, which happens to them in the
case of adults. ^^'^
* Hie locus [Rom. ix. 8] declarat, id quod antea promissum fuerat geiie-
rp.liter, per arcanam Dei electionem ad quosflara singulares homines re-
vocari. . . . Eodem modo hocUe usu venit de liberis fidehuin. Habeirjus
])romissionem, Deum velle, non tantum nostrum esse Deum, verura etiam
seminis nostri : quae promissio cum sit indefinita, arcana Dei electioue
infantibus applicatur : non quidem semper omnibus, sed certis quibusdam,
prout divino proposito visum fuerit. Quod quum nos lateat, sequi autem
debeamus externum vcrbum, quod commendatum est Ecclesiae, sub ea pro-
missione parvulos nostros baptizamus, quemadraodum suos veteres cir-
cumcidebant. Id factum Auabaptistae reprehenduut, quod neque de
spiritu, neque de fide, neque de eleetione illorum parvulorum nobis quic-
quam constet. Verurn nos ista nihil moramur : tantum respicimus verbum
Dei, quod in genei'ali atque indefinita promissione nobis ofiertur. Exei ii-
tionem autem ejus Deo committimus, cum de lIHus eleetione non possimus
judicare Sed illi vicissim nobis dicant, quanam ratione thigant adultos,
quum incertum sit, an illi pertineant ad electionem, et utrum^ quae dicunt
se credere ac profiteri, vere dicant, et sincero animo ad Christum accedant.
Hie nihil possunt respondere, nisi se sequi confessionem fidei quam adulti
faciunt coram Ecclcsia cum sint baptizandi. \'erum cum ea confessione
facile possint decipi, neque aut de animo illorum, aut de eleetione aliquid
certo sciant, nihil est, quod nos accusent. Idem enim prorsus nobis ac-
cidit in parvnlis, qui offeruntur Ecclesiae ba))tizandi, quod ilhs in adultis.
(Pet. Mart, in Rom. ix. 8. Ed. Basil. 1559. 8vo. pp. 788—790.)
177
A more distinct recognition of the hypothetical ])rinciple, that
IS, of acting on tlie supposition that the ])arty concerned is a
true child of God, when there is no evidence to the contrary,
(both in the case of adults and infants) could iK)t be penned.
I will add, however, one more passage.
** Wherefore we may conclude from these words, that as formerlv
circumcision was given to infants, so now baptism cfinnot be denied
them ; for if they have the thing, what reason is there why they
should not have the sign ? And lest you should doubt whether cir-
cumcision and baptism are equal and have the same purpose, Paul
shews this most manifestly in his Epistle to the Colossians, where
he calls baptism the circumcision of Christ. And they who lay it
down, that the infants of the Hebrews ouglit to be circumcised, but
that ours ought not to be baptized, make God more just to the Jews
than to Christians. Some inquire, why, when we are ignorant
whether infants have the reality of the Sacrament, we give them the
sign, and seal that which is uncertain to us. To whom we reply,
that this question is alleged not against us, but against the word of
God. For he clearly commanded and willed that children should
be circumcised. Then further let them tell us, why they admit
adults to baptism or the communion, when they are uncertain of
their state of mind. For they who are baptized or communicate,
may pretend to be what they are not, and deceive the Church. They
reply that they hold their profession to be sufficient. If they speak
falsely, what is that to us, they say : they must look to that them-
selves. So we say concerning infants ; that it is sufficient for us
that they are offered to the Church, either by their parents, or by
those in whose power they are. But if election ami predestination
concur with the administration of the Sacrament, what we do is
ratified ; if not, it is useless. For our salvation depends upon the
election and mercy of God. But of the former, since to us it is
hidden, we judge nothing. We only follow those indications which
we can have respecting it, such as these, that young children are
brought to the Church to be baptized, and that those of maturer
years profess in words that they believe Christ ; which marks,
although they are not so certain that they cannot deceive, yet they
are sufficient for us for making them partakers of the Sacraments."*
* Quare hcet ex his concludere, sicut ohm circumcisio dabatur infautibus,
ita nunc baptismum eisdem uegari uon posse : nam si rem habent, qurp
ratio est, cur signum habere non possint Et ne dubites, num circumcisio
et baptismus paria sint, et eandem habeant rationem, Paulus hoc aper-
tissime demoustrat ad Colossenses, quo in loco baptismum appellat cir-
X
178
It is, I suppose,, clear enough what doctrine is dehvered in
these passages. And we have ah'eady seen what Cranmer's
opinion was of their author.*
In this case, also, as in that of Bucer, w^e shall find hereafter,
that, while publicly maintaining these views, Peter Martyr gave
his approval to our Baptismal Service.
_
cumcisionem Christi. Et qui statuunt, Hebrseorum infantes debuisse
circumcidi, nostros vero non posse baptizari, Deum faciunt aequiorem Ju-
daeis quam Christianis. Quaerunt nonnulli, quum nesciaraus, utrum in-
fantes rem sacramenti habeant, cur appouamus signum, et id quod nobis
incertum sit obsignemus. Quibus responderaus, banc qusestionera non
contra nos adduci, sed contra verbum Dei. Is enim diserte prfficepit, et
voluit, ut pueri circumciderentur. Deinde respondeant .ipsi nobis, cur
adultos ad baptismum aut comraunionem admittant, cum de animo illorum
sint incerti. Etenim qui baptizantur, aut communicant, possunt simulare
ac Ecclesiam decipere. Respondent satis esse eorum babere professionem.
Si mentiuntur, quid hoc ad nos, inquiunt ; ipsi viderint. Ita nos dicimus
de infantibus, nobis esse satis, quod Ecclesise olferantur, vel a parentibus,
vel ab illis in quorum sunt potestate. Quod si cum actione sacramenti
electio et. prcedestinatio concurrat, ratum est quod agimus j sin minus, ir-
ritum. Salus enim nostra pendet ab eleetione ac misericordia Dei. De
ilia vero, cum nobis occulta sit, nihil judicamus. Ea tantum sequimur
indicia, quae habere de ilia ])ossumus, qualia sunt, quod pueri infantes
olferuntur Ecclesiae baptizandi, quodque adultiores verbis confitentur se
Christo credere ; quae indicia etsi non adeo certa sint, ut fallere non possint,
nobis tamen satis sunt ad sacramenta conferenda. (Id. ib. iv. 11. p. 260.)
* See pp. 54 — 58, above.
179
CHAPTER VI.
ON THE CHARACTER OF THE WORKS ISSUED BY PUBLIC
AUTHORITY IX THE LATTER PART OF THE REIGX OF
HENRY VIII., AND THEIR DOCTRINE ON THE EFFECTS OF
BAPTISM IN INFANTS.
It is a favourite practice with what may be called the retro-
grade school in our Church, to refer to the works published in
the very dawn of the Reformation among us, as evidence what is
the present doctrine of our Church. Such a fact cannot fail, 1
should suppose, of itself, to excite some suspicion in the mind
of the reader, as to the character of the views of those who make
their appeal to the works of men but half emancipated (as Cran-
mer afterwards confessed of himself) from the errors of Romanism.
But the reference being so frequently made, and made as if it
was to works of some degree of authority in our Church, it is
well to meet it. I must fu-st premise, however, that not one iota
of authority can now belong to the works published under the
sanction of Crown or Clerg)^, or both united, in the reign of
Heniy VIII. This is too obvious to need proof. In fact, almost
the only bearing which I can conceive them to have upon the
question of the meaning of our present Formularies, is derived
from the fact of Cranmer^s connexion with them. So far as he
was concerned in them, so far it may be thought, that where he
can be proved to have remained of the same mind at a subsequent
period, when engaged in dra^sing up our present Formularies,
there they may be legitimately referred to, as adding to the pro-
bability of the correctness of any interpretation of those Formu-
laries they may favour.
N Z
180
But considering the extent of the change which Cranmer him-
self tells us (in passages which I shall quote presently) his mind
experienced^ the onus of proof that his views on any subject con-
nected with the differences between the Romish and Protestant
churches remained the same, lies upon those who assert it.
The chief of these documents are, the "Articles about Religion,"
in 1536, the " Institution of a Christian Man," in 1537, and
"A Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any Christian Man,"
in 1543, which was founded upon the Institution," but varied
greatly from it, and (as I shall show) was only tolerated, and
not approved, by Cranmer. These three works were republished
a few years since by Dr. Lloyd, then Regius Professor of Divinity
at Oxford, and afterwards Bishop of Oxford, who, in his Preface,
makes the following remarks : —
" It is needless to observe, that these documents cannot pretend to
any authority in the present day. Nothing antecedent to the reign
of Edward VI. has any title to that character. It was then only
that the errors of Popery were formally renounced, and the pure doc-
trines of Protestantism authoritatively established in this kingdom.
In these Formularies, accordingly, many of the tenets of Romanism
are to be found, which, in the succeeding reign, on a closer exami-
nation of Scripjture, and under the exercise of an unfettered liberty of
judgment, afforded by the more fortunate circumstances of that reign,
were discarded as erroneous." " On these points [i. e. " all those
points in which the positive doctrines of Popery were immediately
concerned"] undoubtedly, the free expression of Cranmer's sentiments
was impeded and overruled
Of the " Necessary Erudition" he observes, —
" I think it is truly said by Collyer, that it ' manages with less
latitude than the Institution, bends to the six Articles, and, in some
points of controversy, drives further into the doctrines of the Roman
Communion.' It is probable that Gardiner had greater influence in
the preparation of this work than in either of the former."*
To these three documents, which were issued by public autho-
rity, may be added what Dr. Jenkyns calls the "Articles agreed
upon by Cranmer with the German Reformers in 1538," but
their authorship and object are uncertain.
* Pref. i)p. iv., V. and viii.
181
It is quite clear, then, at the outset, that such documents cau
afford us no trustworthy evidence as to the meaning of the For
mularies drawn up from twelve to sixteen years later, in the next
reign, when the whole aspect of things was changed.
And it may be well, before we proceed further, to give the
reader some specimens of their theology.*
The following arc from the Articles of 1536 : —
" The Sacrament of Penance. . . . That by penance and such
good works of the same, we shall not only obtain everlasting life, but
also we shall deserve remission or mitigation of these present pains
and afflictions in this world." (p. xxiv.)
" The Sacrament of the Altar. Fourthly, as touching the Sacra-
ment of the Altar, we will that all bishops and preachers shall instruct
and teach our people committed by us unto their spiritual charge, that
they ought and must constantly believe, that under the form and figure
of bread and wine, which we there presently do see and perceive by
outward senses, is verily, substantially, and really contained and com-
prehended the very self-same body and blood of our Saviour Jesus
Christ, which was born of the Virgin Mary, and suffered upon the
cross for our redemption ; and that under the same form and figure of
bread and wine the very self-same body and blood of Christ is cor-
porally, really, and in the very substance exhibited, distributed, and
received unto and of all them which receive the said Sacrament."
(p. XXV.)
"Justification. . . . That sinners attain this justification by con-
trition and faith joined with charity, after such sort and manner as
we before mentioned and declared," (p. xxvi.)
Among the Articles concerning the laudable Ceremonies used
in the Church," it may be sufficient to notice the following. —
Of " images," it is stated that " it is meet that they should
stand in the churches," "especially the images of Christ and
our Lady," though their worship is prohibited, (p. xxviii.)
" Of praying to Saints. As touching praying to saints, we will
that all Bishops and preachers shall instruct and teach our people
committed by us unto their spiritual charge, that albeit grace, remis-
sion of sin, and salvation, cannot be obtained but of God only by the
mediation of our Saviour Christ, which is only sufficient Mediator for
our sins ; yet it is very laudable to pray to saints in heaven ever-
* I quote from Bj). Lloyd's edition, entitled, Formularies of Faith put
forth by authority during- the reign of Henry viii. Oxf. IS'Jo. Svo.
182
lastingly living j whose charity is ever permanent, to he intercessors,
and to pray for us and with its, unto Almighty God after this manner:
All holy angels and saints in heaven pray for us and with us unto the
Father, that for his dear son Jesu Christ's sake, we may have grace
of him and remission of our sins." (p. xxix.)
" Of Rites and Ceremonies. As concerning the rites and cere-
monies of Christ's Church, as ... . sprinkling of holy water ....
hearing of candles on Candlemas-day, in memory of Christ the spiritual
Light .... giving of ashes on Ash Wednesday .... creeping to
the cross and humbling ourselves to Christ on Good Friday before
the cross .... and kissing of it in memory of our redemption by
Christ made upon the cross ; setting up the sepulture of Christ. . . .
the hallowing of the font, and other like exorcisms and benedictions
by the ministers of Christ's Church ; and all other like laudable
customs, rites, and ceremonies, be not to be contemned and cast away,
but to be used arid continued as things good and laudable, to put us
in remembrance of those spiritual things that they do signify." (pp.
XXX., xxxi.)
" Of Purgatory . Forasmuch as due order of charity requireth,
and the Book of Maccabees, and divers ancient doctors plainly shew,
that it is a very good and a charitable deed to pray for souls departed
... we will that all Bishops and preachers shall instruct and teach
our people . . . that it standeth with the very due order of charity,
a Christian man to pray for souls departed, and to commit them in
our prayers to God's mercy, and also to cause other to pray for them
in masses and exequies, and to give alms to other to pray for them,
whereby they may be relieved and holpen of some part of their pain,'*
&c. (p. xxxi.)
All these passages, with the exception of that on praying to
saints, are repeated,* without, I may say, the slightest alteration,
(the only difference being in two or three little words that do
not affect the sense,) in the Institution of a Christian Man
where also we find long disquisitions on the value and impor-
tance of each of the seven Sacraments.
Now this work, i. e. the " Institution,^' drawn up by a body
of Bishops and Divines, with Cranmer at their head, is no doubt
an important testimony as to his views at that time. In his letter
to Cromwell, enclosing his Annotations upon the King's correc-
* See pp. 99, 100, 135, 147, 20.9, 210. The passages on images and
rites and ceremonies, in pp. 135, 147? occur in the exj)lication of the second
and fourth commandments.
183
tions of this work, he speaks of it as " the book lately devised
by me, and other Bishops of this realm."* And we see from the
quotations just given, how far he was from being emancipated
from the errors of Popery ; perhaps, to a considerable extent,
kept back by those with whom he was associated. But I must
add, that there is a gi-eat deal of decided Protestant statement on
other points, such as we should hardly perhaps have expected
from his pen at this time, as I have already shown, (p. 40 et s.
above.) And this, notwithstanding the opposition which (as we
learn fi'om Fox^s MS. Life of Cranmer, quoted by Str^-pef^) he
had to encounter fi'om Gardiner Bishop of Winchester, and some
others.
In the Articles called by Dr. Jenkyns, " Articles agreed upon
by Cranmer with the German Refonners in 1538," the Article
on Justification is sound, but the doctrine of that on the Eucha-
rist, which I subjoin, remains the same : —
"De eucharistia constanter credimus et docemus, quod in Sacra-
mento corporis et sanguinis Domini vera, substantialiter, et realiter
adsunt corpus et sanguis Christi sub speciebus panis et vini ; et
quod sub eisdem speciebus vere et realiter exhibentur et distri-
buuntur illis qui sacramentum accipiunt, sive bonis sive malis."|
The difi'erence between the Article on Justification in these
Articles, and the statement on that subject in the "Institution/^
is remarkable, as showing the progi'ess of truth in Cranmer^s
mind ; and, in that respect, his xVnnotations upon the King's
proposed corrections of the Institution on this subject are worth
attention. §
The next work to be noticed is, " A necessary Doctrine and
Erudition for any Christian Man," published in 1543, and com-
monly called the King's Book, from its having been I'evised and
"set forth" by the King, with the sanction of Parliament;
whereas the " Institution" was published by a body of dinnes
headed by the Archbishops and Bishops, with a Preface addressed
to the King. II And here we see at once a decided retrogressive
* Stnpe's Cranmer, p. 51 ; or i. 73. Oxf. ed.
t Life of Cranmer, p. 51 ; or i. 73. Oxf. ed.
ij; Cranmer's Works, P. S. ed. ii. p. 475.
§ Works, li. 113, 114.
II The " Institution" is said by CoUyer (ii. 139) to have been " composed
in Convocation," but I cannot find upon ^vhat authority he asserts this.
184
movement towards Homish doctrine. Not only is all the objec-
tionable matter inserted in the " Institution" retained here, but
much that was valuable in that W ork, especially the important
Paraphrase on the Creed, is struck out, and unsatisfactory doc-
trine substituted for it ; and, on all the important points, the
statements made are changed materially in favour of Romish
views.
This is especially observable in the Article on Justifica-
tion, which is the more remarkable, because the statement on
this subject in the Articles of 1538 (or perhaps 1540,) was
sound. But the fact is, that Cranmer was completely overruled
with respect to this work, and therefore it is perfectly useless
for ascertaining his views even at that time. How little power
he had to prevent the issue, by Royal or Parliamentary authority,
of Articles of Religion of which he disapproved, is manifest by the
Act of the Six Articles, (as it is called), passed in 1539, and which
was enacted against his strong and earnest remonstrances but
to which, as in the case of the Necessary Doctrine,^^ he felt
himself compelled to submit.
And shortly after the accession of Edward VI., in 1547, he
openly avowed what his opinion had been respecting the " Neces-
sary Doctrine,^^ and charged Gardiner, the Popish Bishop of
¥/inchester, with having " seduced^^ the King with respect to it.
AVe learn this from Gardiner^s answer to Cranmer 's letter to him
containing this statement, remaining among Fox's MSS., and
printed by Strype;t in which Gardiner says, " It grieveth me
much to read written from your Grace in the beginning of your
letters, how the King our late Sovereign was seduced, and in that
he knew bij whom he was compassed, in that I call the King^s
Majesty's Book.^^J And after taunting him with having com-
manded it to be. published and read in his diocese, and forbidden
his clergy to preach against it, he adds, ^^And therefore, after
your Grace hath four years continually lived in agreement of that
doctrine under our late Sovereign Lord, now so suddenly after
* See Collyer's Hist. ii. 168.
t Life of Cranmer, Api)en(l. No. 35.
t The " Necessary Doctrine and Kruditicm." was generally called the
King's Book, having- been revised by him, and published in his name.
185
his tlcath to write to me that his Highness was seduced, it is, I
assm-e you, a very strange speech/'
We are obhged to Bishop Gardiner for the information his
letter conveys, and shall probably be not much moved by his
taunts, well knowing the difficulties with which the good Arch-
bishop had to contend.
With respect to the real character of this book, and Cranmer^s
disapproval of it, it may be worth while to quote the remarks of
the Nonjuror Collyer.
" Under the Sacrament of the Altar, the * Erudition speaks plainly
for transubstantiation, which the ' Institution doth not. But now,
we are to observe, the Six Articles were enacted ; and farther, that
Cranmer and his party, who opposed the passing the Six Articles,
\cere overruled in the composing this Necessary Erudition' The ' Eru-
dition' insists on the sufficiency of receiving under one kind, of which
there is not a word in the • Institution! The * Erudition^ likewise
takes notice, that priests used to receive only under one kind, except
when they consecrate." — "To add a word or two by way of compa-
rison : The ' Erudition manages with less latitude, bends to the
Six Articles, and in some points of controversy drives further into
the doctrines of the Roman commioiion In a word, where
the * Erudition differs from the ' Institution' it seems mostly to
lose ground, to go off from the primitive plan, and reform hack-
wards. Besides, this last Book does not stand upon so strong an
authority as the former. The * Institution,' as we have seen, was the
act of the whole Clergy, and subscribed by both Houses of Convoca-
tion. But the ' Necessary Erudition,' as our learned historian ob-
serves, was drawn up only by a Committee of the King's nomination.
'Tis true, the Preface tells us, 'twas approved by the Lords Spiritual
in Parliament ; but this may possibly amount to no more than a
majority in the Upper House." (Eccles. Hist. ii. 190, 191.)
The statements in this work on 'Hhe Sacrament of the Altar"
and Justification, may be judged of by the following extracts.
•* In this most high Sacrament of the Altar, the creatures which
be taken to the use thereof, as bread and vvine, do not remain still in
their own substance, but by the virtue of Christ's word in the conse-
cration be changed and turned to the very substance of the body and
blood of our Saviour Jesu Christ .... By these words [referring to
Matt, xxvi., &c.], it is plain and evident to all them which with meek,
humble, and sincere heart will believe Christ's words, and be obedient
186
unto faith, that, in the Sacrament, the things that be therein be the
very body and blood of Christ in very substance. Which thing \^•ho-
soever will deny, he denieth the very open and plain words of Christ,
which cannot be but true ; for he is truth itself and cannot lie."
And it proceeds to defend the reception of the Sacrament by
the people under one kind only, observing that_, —
" If any man should teach that the lay people. . . be seduced, and
so cause them to think that the whole body and blood of Christ were
not comprehended in that only form of bread, as well as in both the
kinds, this doctrine ought utterly to be refused and abjected, as a
pestiferous and a devihsh school." (pp. 263, 265, 266.)
On justification, it says, —
" Not only faith, as it is a distinct virtue or gift by itself, is re-
quired to our justification, but also the other gifts of the grace of
God .... And whereas in certain places of Scripture our justification
is ascribed to faith . . it is to be understood of faith . . wherein the
fear of God, repentance, hope, and charity be included and com-
prised .... Our good works which we do, being once justified, by
faith and charity, avail both to the conservation and perfection of
the said virtues in us, and also to the increase and end of our justi-
fication and everlasting salvation." (p. 368.)
It is hardly necessary to point out, how directly contrary
these remarks on J ustification are to what we find in Cranmer^s
Homily on Salvation, published only foui' years after, in 1547.
To this fact we have Gardiner^s own testimony, who refused his
assent to the " Homily on Salvation,^^ chiefly on account of its
maintaining the doctrine that we are justified by faith only, to
the exclusion even of charity in the office of justification, con-
trary to the views upheld in the " Necessary Doctrine and Eru-
dition.'^* And, while adverting to this subject, it may be worth
while to point attention to this controversy between Cranmer
and Gardiner, as showing the real meaning of the Article and
Homily on the subject of Justification, which in modern times
has been too often explained away. One of Cranmer^s argu-
ments, mentioned by Gardiner, may at once convince us what his
* See his Letters to the Lord Protector, in Fox's Acts and Monura.
ed. 1838, vol. 6, pp. 45 — 55. Also a portion of one omitted by Fox,
given by Collyer, ii. 230, and Strype, in his Cranmer, Apj). No. 36.
187
meaning was in those documents. Gardiner says in one of his
letters, — " And one argument my Lord [i. e. Cranmer] hath
devised, which he frameth thus : ' We be justified by faith with-
out all works of the law : charity is a work of the law : ergo we
are justified without charity/ There can be no doubt, then,
as to the real meaning of the Article and Homily.
Against this Homily it seems he had also other grounds of
complaint, for he says, —
" As for my lord of Canterbury's Homily of Salvation, [it] hath as
many faults as I have been weeks in prison, which be seven, besides
the general, that the matter maketh a trouble without necessity, and
is handled contrary to the teaching of the Parliament. "t
What he means by its making a trouble without necessity,"
is shown by a previous letter, where he urges (upon his own
Popish views) that any such disquisition on the doctrine of Jus-
tification is perfectly unnecessary in a Church where all are bap-
tized as infants, "in which Sacrament of Baptism all we be
justified before we can talk of this justification we strive for.^J
If Cranmer, then, had agreed with him in this view of baptism,
no doubt he would have felt the same as to the uselessness of the
controversy on Justification.
There can be no question, therefore, that Cranmer is not re-
sponsible for any statements in the " Necessary Doctrine and
Erudition ;" nor, consequently, that those statements are entirely
incapable of affording any valid argument as to the meaning of
the Formularies of our Reformed Church. §
But I must add still further, that even where they do express
the views which Cranmer held at the time they w^ere made, they
cannot be taken as any evidence of what his views were a few
years afterwards. And I make this assertion on his own testi-
mony.
* See Fox, as above, p. 49. CoUyer ii. 232.
t See Fox, as above, p. 55.
:i: lb. p. 49.
§ So Uttle, however, is the Bishop of Exeter acquainted with the history
of these works, that he unhesitatina^ly says to his clergy, " Look at the
Formularies set forth in this country during the reign of Henry VIII., in all
of which Cranmer, the compiler of our Articles, had the princijjal hand.^'
(Charge, 3rd ed. p. 10.) And again, after enumerating by name the four
Formularies I have just mentioned, his Lordship says, — " Cranmer, I
repeat, had the chief hand in all of these.'' (p. 14.)
188
In his Answer to Gardiner, first published in 1551, he says, —
" Now forasmuch as you say, that ' you will pass over the unreve-
rent handling of Christ's words, which you heard me once more
seriously rehearse in solemn open audience,' I acknowledge that not
many yeaj^s passedlwas yet in darkness concerning this matter [i. e.
Christ's presence in the Eucharist], beinff brought up in scholastical
and Romish doctrine, whereunto I gave too much credit. And there-
fore I grant, that you have heard me stand and defend the untruth,
which I then took for the truth .... But praise be to the ever-
living God, who hath wiped away those Saulish scales from mine
eyes." (Works, P. S. ed. vol. i. p. 241.)
And again, in the same work, in reply to Dr. Smith, he speaks
yet more fully as to this change of views, as follows, —
'* But this I confess of myself, that not long before I wrote the said
Catechism [that of Nuremberg, translated by the Archbishop, or
under his direction, and pubhshed in 1548] I was in that error of the
real presence, as I was many years past in divers other errors ; as of
transubstantiation, of the sacrifice propitiatory of the priests in the
mass, of pilgrimages, purgatory, pardons, and many other super-
stitions AND errors that CAME FROM RoME ; being brought up
from youth in them, and nousled therein for lack of good instruction
from my youth, the outrageous floods of papistical errors at that time
overflowing the world. For the which, and other mine off'ences in
youth, I do daily pray unto God for mercy and pardon. . . . But
after it had pleased God to show unto me, by his holy word, a more
perfect knowledge of his Son Jesus Christ, from time to time, as I
grew in knowledge of him, by little and little I put away my former
ignorance. And as God of his mercy gave me hght, so through his
grace I opened mine eyes to receive it, and did not wilfully repugn
unto God and remain in darkness .... And now I may say of
myself, as St. Paul said : * When I was like a babe or child in the
knowledge of Christ, 1 spake like a child, and understood like a child :
but now that I come to man's estate, and growing in Christ, through
his grace and mercy, I have put away that childishness.' " (lb. p. 374.)
Such is Cranmer^s own account of the change of view his
mind underwent ; and be it observed that two at least of the
points expressly specified here as among those on which his views
had undergone a change, were points maintained in the works I
have just been referring to ; so that, though he uses the phrase
" many years passed," he includes the period in which these
works were published.
1S9
It is difficult to see, then, how any of these semi-Popish works
can be taken as affording evidence of any kind as to the doctrine
of the Refonned Church of England. For net only was Cranmei",
at the time of their publication, by his own confession, greatly
in the dark as to many of the doctrines of the Gospel, but ham-
pered by the King and most of his brother prelates in all he did.
And the " Necessary Doctrine'^ was directly disapproved of by
him.
But I will go one step further. As it respects the point now
in question, the effect of infant baptism, (with the exception,
perhaps, of the last) their testimony, even as it stands, will be of
little use to those that maintain that all men are spiritually re-
generate who have been baptized in infancy.
It must always be recollected in interpreting such documents,
(which are in fact, to a great extent, protests against error,) what
were the eiTors more particularly in \-iewj and the language
used must be considered as especially directed against such erroi^s.
The reasonableness of this is obvious, because it often happens
that a general statement directed expressly against one particu-
lar eiTor, is not so guarded as to be incapable of ha\'ing an
inference di'awn from its words in favour of some other eiTor not
at the time in the mind of its author. If, for instance, it was
asserted, that the Sacrament of the Lord''s Supper is merely a
meeting together of Christians to eat bread and wine in memory
of our Lord^s death, we might justly say, in opposition to this
\'iew, that this Sacrament is one in which there is a spiritual
presence of Christ to the soul, by which it is nourished and
strengthened. To meet the error opposed, it would be unne-
cessary to proceed to define the state of mind necessary in the
receiver, in order that this effect should be realized. But the
words, as they stand, might be urged as maintaining that the
souls of all who partake of this Sacrament are thus nourished.
And such a mode of arguing has, in fact, been the great source
of misconception as to the ^iews of oui* early divines on the sub-
ject of baptism.
Now the great errors which had recently arisen among Pro-
testants at the period of these documents, were these two: (1),
the error that the Sacraments are bare signs ; (2), the error (of
the Anabaptists) that infants, as not having faith, are not proi)ei-
190
subjects for baptism. And the doctrine of the Church of Rome
was not then fixed, as it was subsequently at the Council of Trent.
And we must bear in mind further (to enter fully into their
views) that our divines held at that time, as appears by these
documents, a view which beyond doubt was afterwards, to say
the least, relinquished as a public doctrine of the Church, namely,
that none but the baptized, even of infants, are saved.
Against these two errors, then, the statements in these docu-
ments are particularly directed. From whatever cause it may
have arisen, the question whether all infants are or are not par-
takers of full spiritual regeneration in baptism, is not determined
in them.
Thus, in opposition to the first error, it is maintained that the
Sacrament of Baptism is a rite in which God bestows pardoning
mercy and regenerating grace upon the soul, which is therefore
spoken of (in Scriptural terms) as the laver of regeneration, &c.
Our Reformers, from first to last, agreed with the majority of the
most distinguished Continental Reformers in maintaining that
baptism (when spoken of in the abstract with reference to its
true nature, intent, and purpose) is a rite divinely appointed as
the instrument in the use of which a certain spiritual blessing is
conveyed by God to the recipient; and the consequence was,
that both, when speaking of baptism in the abstract, used the
strongest expressions as to the value of the blessings conferred
in it by God; and they did this, both for the purpose of up-
holding the truth, and counteracting the opposite error.
But it is, palpably, a misinterpretation of this language, to
infer from it, that this Sacrament is represented thereby as
having this effect upon all who partake of it ; because ' such
general statements refer to the case of adults as well as infants ;
and, in the former case, it is admitted, even in these documents,
that faith and repentance are necessary to a salutary reception of
the Sacrament. Therefore some similar qualification may have
been held necessary in the latter case.
Against the latter error, it is maintained, that infants ought
to be baptized, and that they experience, as well as adults, the
blessed effects of baptism. But it is no more asserted, that all
infants experienced those effects, than that all adults experienced
them. True, it is pointed out that faith and repentance are the
qualifications for a salutary reception of the Sacrament by an
191
adult ; and no distinction is clearly drawn between one case and
another in the reception of the Sacrament by infants ; but no
argument can be derived from this, except t-hat our Reformers
were not prepared to tie men up to one view on a point not de-
termined by Scripture, and on which the minds of men were
divided ; some holding (as Luther) that infants have faith, and
are baptized on the presumption of their having faith ; others,
that the salutary effect of baptism followed in the case of elect
infants ; and others probably varying from both those views.
xVnd further, (holding as they then did, that none but the bap-
tized are saved) they remonstrated against the supposition that
infants are not the objects of the divine mercy, and therefore
contended that they ought to be made partakers of that rite
which they considered necessary to their salvation. But to in-
terpret these words as meaning that all infants are alike the
objects of the di-vdne mercy, is a gratuitous and unwarranted
assumption, and, I may add, a misinterpretation grounded .upon
a forgetfulness of the doctrinal news of many of the authors of
such statements.
It must be remembered, that however much the notion may
have prevailed among us in modern times, that all infants of
Christian parents are in the sight of God equally entitled by his
promise to receive the full baptismal grace, such was far from
being the prevaihng notion in the times of which we are speak-
ing. I have already noticed the fact, that Luther held that
infants are capable of faith,^ and in his Catechism, published in
1529, expressly says that infants are baptized, hac spe atque
animOj quod certo credant, that is, in this hope and persuasion,
that they certainly believe. And the same view is clearly incul-
cated in a work published in 1540 by one ^vho, in 154], was
made by Cranmer one of the six preachers at Canterbury Cathe-
dral— Lancelot Ridley — in a passage which I shall now quote.
And such faith was of course (according to the doctrinal system
embraced, as I have shown above, by this author) considered to
be a gift freely bestowed by God according to his own will.
In his Commentary on the Ephesians,* speaking on the sub-
ject of baptism, he says (on V. 25 — 27) :
* First published in 1540, and reprinted from the copy in the Cam-
bridge University Library in Richmond's Fathers of the English Church,
vol. ii, pp. 13 et seq.
192
" Here is shewed, how Christ hath purged his Church trulv in tlie
fountain of water, by his word. Although God, of his mere mercy
and goodness, without all man's deserts or merits, only for Christ's
sake, hath washed and purged man from sin ; yet he useth a mean,
by the which he cleanseth men from sin, which is by baptism in water,
by the word of God ; and so in baptism are our sins taken away, and
we from sins purged, cleansed, and regenerated in a new man, to live
an holy life, according to the Spirit and will of God. It is not the
water that washes us from our sins, but Christ by his word and his
Spirit, given to us in baptism, that washeth away our sins, that we
have of Adam by carnal nature." (p. 135.)
And he proceeds to observe (according* to the views of the
time) that
" Children, of necessity, must be christened, or else they cannot be
purged of their sins, nor yet saved by Christ, and come to life ever-
lasting. Wherefore the Anabaptists that would not have children to
be christened, they shew themselves that they would not have children
to be purged from their sins and be saved. If they would have children
saved, they would not deny to them the means whereby Christ purgetli
his Church from sins, and saveth it, which is by baptism, as here ap-
peareth."
And he repeats in the context the same doctrine ; with the
saving clause, however, " except God of his absolute power do
save them.^' (p. 136.)
The argument is this, — Christ " purgeth his Church" by
baptism, and none can be saved who are not thus purged. If
therefore we admit that any infants belong to his Church, they
ought to be baptized ; and as we cannot discriminate which do,
and vrhich do not, belong to his Church at that age, all must he
baptized; of course in the hope, as to each, that it maybe of the
number of the .members of Christ^s mystical body. And if it
die in infancy, few have ever denied that it is to be considered to
have been so.
And when he comes to reply to the objections of the Anabap-
tists, he meets them in these words : —
" They say, that those that should be christened, must first beheve,
and then be christened. Children, they say, cannot beheve, for 'faith
is gotten by hearing and hearing by the word of God.' So children
cannot have faith, say these Anabaptists ; wherefore they say that
children should not be christened. To this reason I answer and say,
that children may have faith, although they have it not by hearing.
193
yet they have faith by infusion of the Holy Ghost, as the holy pro-
phets had, and many holy men in the old law had. Also, faith is the
gift of God, and the work of the Holy Ghost. Who should let God
to give his gifts where he will, seeing faith is the gift of God P (Eph.
ii. ; Phil, i.) He may give faith as well to children, as to old men.
Faith also is the work of God (John vi.), and not of man, of man s
will, or reason. Who shall let God to work, where he list ? There-
fore it is not impossible for children to have faith, as these Anabap-
tists falsely suppose.
^' Also God regardeth no persons, but giveth his gifts, vnthout all
regard of persons ; a child or old man be counted as persons in Scrip-
ture : wherefore it followeth plainly, that he giveth not faith to an
old man, or \_? and^ denieth faith to a child, because he is a child ;
for then God should regard persons which he doth not. [It will be
observed here, that faith is considered as in all cases a free gift, given
as God Hsteth.]
*' And where they say, that they must express their faith before
they be christened ; what will they do with deaf and dumb men, that
get not faith by hearing, nor cannot express their faith by words }
Will they exclude them from baptism, and condemn them to hell-
pit
" And also some aged, peradventure, will dissemble, and say, they
have faith, when they have not faith ; and if they will christen none
without they be certain of their faith, then shall they christen none,
neither young nor old ; seeing that old may dissemble and sav they
have faith, when they have not faith." (pp. 140, 141.)
And he expressly requires faith in infants that they may be
accepted; for, referring to Matt. xix. 14, 15, and Mark x. 14, et
seq. — where Christ took the children in his arms, and blessed
them, and said, Of such is the kingdom of God, — in favour of
infant baptism, he says, —
" Here are tokens that God loved these children, that they pleased
him, and that they had faith ; for without faith no man can
PLEASE God. Heb. xi." (p. 138.)
From these passages, then, it is evident in what way we are to
interpret the general statements previously made by this author
as to the benefits and blessings accompanying baptism ; state-
ments which, if they had not been accidentally accompanied by
this reply to the objections of the Anabaptists, showing the limi-
tation to be placed to their meaning, would, beyond doubt, have
o
191
been applied (according to modem reasoning) to show tliat what
was said applied to the case of every infant baptized.
Such was the doctrine of an eminent divine at the very period
in which these documents were put forth.
Now it is probable, from a passage in Cranmer^s Answer to
Gardiner,* that he did not hold that infants were capable of
actual faith : but (as I shall shew presently) he maintained, even
at this time, the doctrine of Peter Martyr and Bucer, (whom he
afterwards, in 1547 and 1548, chose as his great helpers in
carrying on the work of the English Reformation) ; who, while
they do not seem to have regarded infants as capable of actual
faith, considered such only to be acceptable recipients of baptism
in the sight of God, and to be made true members of Christ's
mystical body, whom he had chosen to be his children.
I now proceed, then, to give the passages on our present sub-
ject, from the documents above referred to.
First, from the Articles of 1536.t The article on Baptism,
after asserting that baptism is " necessary for the attaining of
everlasting life, according to the saying of Christ, John iii. 5,"
proceeds thus, —
*'Then, That it is offered unto all men, as well infants as such as
have the use of reason, that by baptism they shall have remission of
sins, and the grace and favour of God, according to the saying of
Christ (Matt. \_Mark] xvi.J, Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerity
salvus erit : that is to say, Whosoever believeth and is baptized shall
he saved.''
Here, clearly, faith is acknowledged to be indispensable to
acceptance by God ; and apparently with reference to the case of
infants as well as adults, for no distinction is drawn between the
two cases, but the text quoted is (so far as appears) applied to
both.
" Then, That the promise of grace and everlasting life (which pro-
mise is adjoined unto this Sacrament of Baptism), pertaineth not only
unto such as have the use of reason, but also to infants, innocents, and
children j and that they ought therefore and must needs be baptized ;
and that by the Sacrament of Baptism they do also obtain remission
* Works, vol. i. pp. 124, 125.
t See " Forniiiliiiies of Faith," &t'., i)p. xviii — xx.
195
of their sins, tlie grace and favour of God, and be made thereby tlie
very sons and children of God — "
Here is a general statement, to which none but Anabaptists
will object, namely, that the promise of gi-ace pertains not only
to adults, but to infants ; and that what baptism does for the
former, it does also for the latter.
And the Article proceeds thus, —
Insomuch as infants and children dying in their infancy shall
undoubtedly be saved thereby, and else not."
Now here, besides the doctrine that baptism is absolutely ne-
cessary to salvation* (which,- as I shall show presently, has been
undeniably relinquished by our Church as a doctrine of authority
in her communion), the words do not necessarily imply more
than that baptism has a salutary effect in the case of all infants
who die during the period of infancy. Now the salvation of such
infants, (recollecting, of course, that those spoken of are the
infants of professing believers, who alone are fit subjects for bap-
tism) few, probably, will be inclined to deny. And the child of
a believing parent, foreknown by God as one that will never
commit actual sin, may well be considered as a partaker of all
the blessings of baptism. Most, even of our modern divines,
would, I think, consider such a child as interested, even without
baptism, in the promises of the covenant of grace ; but such was
not the \Tiew maintained in these Formularies, in which baptism
is considered necessary to that end.
The next Article declares the reason why it was considered
that infants must be christened in order to be saved, as follows, —
"Then, That infants must needs be christened, because they be
born in original sin, which sin must needs be remitted ; which cannot
be done but by the Sacrament of Baptism, whereby they receive the
Holy Ghost, which exerciseth his grace and efficacy in them, and
cleanseth and purifieth them from sin by his most secret virtue and
operation."
Here is a general statement as to what baptism works in the
* It is to me doubtful what the words, " and else not," were intended
to apply to ; but I am willing to take them in the sense attached to them
above.
196
case of infants^ but it is obvious that there is here no determina-
tion of the question, whether or not it works these effects in the
case of all infants. And a proof that such statements were not
understood at that time as implying that these effects are pro-
duced in all baptized infants, is to be found in the fact, that
these general statements are freely made by those who firmly
maintained that they are not, as for instance, Calvin, Bucer, and
Martyr.
The next Article forbids the iteration of baptism ; the suc-
ceeding one condemns the opinions of the Anabaptists and Pe-
lagians ; and the last declares the qualifications for adult baptism,
i. e., that persons " having the use of reason^'
Shall, by the virtue of that holy Sacrament, obtain the grace and
remission of all their sins, if they shall come thereunto perfectly and
truly repentant and contrite of all their sins before committed, and
also perfectly and constantly confessing and believing all the articles
of our faith according as it was mentioned in the First Article : and
finally, if they shall also have firm credence and trust in the promise
of God adjoined to the said Sacrament, that is to say, that in and by
this said Sacrament, which they shall receive, God the Father giveth
unto them, for his Son Jesu Christ's sake, remission of all their sins,
and the grace of the Holy Ghost, whereby they be newly regenerated,
and made the very children of God," &c. (pp. xix, xx.)
Now, whatever interpretation the Romanizing party of that
period may have put on the words of these Articles, and they
were very probably intended to admit of more than one sense,
(just as in other parts Bishop Lloyd observes"^ that ^'^in many
points the name only of the doctrine appears to be retained, while
the principle is, in fact, surrendered"), there is certainly nothing
in them asserting that infants indiscriminately are regenerated
in baptism. The first Article clearly points in a different direc-
tion. And the quotation I have just given from L. Ridley proves
that some at the time would so have interpreted it, that is, as
opposed to such a notion. We have already seen how much the
Romanists were divided among themselves on the question of the
effects of baptism in infants, previous to the Council of Trent.
We need not wonder, therefore, at any indefiniteness of expres-
* Pref. p. iv.
197
sion occurring in Formularies drawn up by those who had just
begun to think for themselves on such matters.
But such general statements are totally insufficient to prove
that all men are spiritually regenerate who have been baptized in
infancy. What the advocates of such a doctrine vrant is, some
definite declaration that God looks upon all infants with equal
favour, and that although all adults are noty yet that all infants
are, spiritually regenerated in baptism : and still further, some
evidence that what is spoken of infants, even if intended to apply
to all universally, does not apply to them merely as infants, but
extends to their condition as adults. For there had been much
difference of opinion on this point.
But the best proof of the interpretation which, at least, Cran-
mer and his party must have put upon those statements, is to be
found in the passages with which these very same statements are
connected in the " Institution of a Christian Man,^' published
in the next year. Here the article on Baptism is precisely the
same as that in the Articles'^ of 1536.* And yet in another
part of the same work wx find those remarkable passages, some
of which I have already placed before the reader,t and to which
I must now again call his attention.
In the paraphrase of the Ninth Article of the Creed (that on
the Church) we read, — ■
" 1 believe assuredly .... that there is and hath been ever from
the beginning of the world, and so shall endure and continue for ever,
one certain number, society, communion, or company of the elect and
faithful people of God ; of which number our Saviour Jesu Christ is
the only head and governor, and the members of the same be all those
holy saints which be now in heaven, and also all the faithful people
of God which be now on life, or that ever heretofore have lived, or
shall live here in this world.". . . ."And I believe assuredly that
this congregation, according as it is called in Scripture, so it is in very
deed the city of heavenly Jerusalem . . . the holy Catholic Church.''
— And I beheve that this whole congregation is all holy ... so
purified and mundified, as well by Christ's most precious blood, as
also by the godly presence, governance, and assistance of his Holy
• See "Formularies," &:c. pp. 92 — 94. It is so far a t;er6o^im tran-
script, that the differences are only in a few unimportant words not affecting
the sense.
t See pp. 40 et seq. above.
198
Spirit .... that neither the lepry of heresy, or false and perverse
doctrine .... shall be able finally to prevail against tiiem, or to
pull any of them out of the hands and possession of Christ." " I
believe assuredly .... that all such members as be fallen out from
the same by sin, shall at length rise again by penance, and shall be
restored and united again unto the same holy body."
"And I beheve assuredly that in this Holy Church, and with the
members of the same (so long as they be militant and living here in
earth), there have been ever, and yet be, and ever shall be joined and
mingled together, an infinite number of the evil and wicked people,
which, although they be indeed the very members of the congregation
of the wicked, and, as the gospel calleth them, very weeds and chaff,
evil fish and goats, and shall finally be judged to everlasting damna-
tion ; yet, forasmuch as they do live in the common society or com-
pany of those which be the very quick and living members of Christ's
mystical body, and outwardly do profess, receive, and consent with
them for a season in the doctrine of the Gospel, and in the right using
of the Sacraments, yea and ofttimes be endued with right excellent
gifts of the Holy Ghost, they be to be accounted and reputed here in
this world to be in the number of the said very members of Christ's
mystical body, so long as they be not by open sentence of excommu-
nication precided and excluded from the same. Not because they
BE SUCH MEMBERS IN VERY DEED, but bccausc the Certain judgment
and knowledge of that their state is by God's ordinance hidden and
kept secret from all men's knowledge, and shall not be revealed until
the time that Christ himself shall come at the world's end, and there
shall manifest and declare his very kingdom, and who be the very
true members of his body and who be not.' "^
Again, in the " Notes and Observations on the Creed/^ it is
said ; —
"In the ninth Article, [on the Church] many things be to be
noted. First, that this word church, in Scripture, is taken sometime
generally for the whole congregation of them that be christened and
profess Chrisfs Gospel : and sometime it is taken for the Catholic
congregation, or number of them only which be chosen, called, and
ordained to reign with Christ in everlasting life. . .. It is to be
noted that by these parables, and certain such other, rehearsed in
Scripture, is signified, that among them which be christened, and do
profess Christ's gospel, and live in the common society and com-
munion of the Sacraments of the Church, divers be indeed the very
* See pp. 4.3—45 above ; and pp. 52 — 54 of tlie " Institution."
199
quick and living members of Christ's mystical body, and shall reign
with him everlastingly in honour. And that the congregation or
society of them is the very field, and they be ttie very good corn or
seed, which Christ himself did soio. And divers be indeed chaff, or
stinking and naughty weeds, soivn by the devil,'' &c. ..." By these
parables also it is signified, that in this present life these two sorts of
people, good and bad, be continually mixed and mingled together in
the Church, as it is taken in the first signification. And that the said
members of the synagogue of the devil, so long as they grow in the
same field wherein the good corn groweth, that is to say, so long as
they do in outward appearance profess the same faith of Christ which
the very members of Christ's church do profess, and do consent and
agree with them outwardly in the doctrine of the Gospel, and in all
other things appertaining unto Christ's religion ; they must be ac-
cepted and reputed here in the world for the very members of Christ's
mystical body ; and that they ought not, ne can be dissevered from
them, until the day of judgment." " Fourthly, it is to be noted, that
of the Church, as it is taken in the second manner of signification, it
is said in Scripture that she is the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of
God. . . . All which sentences, and divers such other, spoken in
Scripture of the Church, be to be referred and verified of the Church
in the second signif cation. And finally, m this signification also the
nirtth Article of our Creed is to be under standed," &c., &c.*
Having thus divided tlie nominal Church into two bodies^ the
one consisting of those that are " christened and profess Christ^s
Gospel/' but are indeed chaff and weeds " soum hy the devilj" and
the other of "the Catholic congregation/^ the Church of the
Creed^ composed of " those only which be chosen, called, and
ordained to reign with Christ in everlasting life,'' and distinctly
maintained that none of those who are made true members of
Christ's mystical body^ the Catholic Churchy can ever perish or
fall away finally ; it also shows how our Lord acts towards those
>vho are " chosen, called, and ordained to reign with him in
everlasting life/' namely, that in the case of " the very members
of his Church/' he shall " continually rule them, direct them,
govern them, sanctify them, and give unto them remission of
their sins, and all spiritual comfort, as well inwardly by faith,
and other his secret operations, as also outwardly by the open
* See the passages more fully in ])p. 46, Al above; and pp. "Jo — of
the " Institution."
200
ministration and efficacy of the word of God and of his holy sa-
craments'' (See p. 43 above; or, ^^Institution/' p. 51.)
And hence the Christian is taught to say, as part of his belief:
" 1 beheve and trust assuredly, that I am one of the members of
this Cathohc Church, and that God of his only mercy hath not only
chosen and called me thereunto by his Holy Spirit, and by the efficacy
of his word and Sacraments, and hath inserted and united me into
this universal body or flock, and hath made me his son and inheritor
of his kingdom ; but also that he shall of his like goodness, and by
the operation of the Holy Ghost, justify me here in this world, and
finally glorify roe in heaven." (See p. 45 above ; or " Institution,"
pp. 56, 57.)
And in speaking of the Article on " the Communion of Saints,"
it remarks that this expression is variously interpreted ; and
among the various interpretations which it commends to the atten-
tion of the reader, occurs the following ; —
" Some doctors do expound it to signify that treasure of .the
Church [meaning the true Cathohc Church as before defined] which
is common equally unto all the members of the same. And those
doctors which be of this opinion do interpretate that treasure to be
nothing else but the grace, that is to say, the mercy, the goodness,
and the favour of God in this world, and glory in the world to come.
They say also, that this grace of God is the common treasure of all
the elect people of God, and that our poverty is so extreme, that of
ourselves, without this grace, we should be utterly nothing. They
say further, that the effect and virtue of this grace is to make us able
to rise from sin and flee from sin, to work good works, to receive
the reward of everlasting glory, to have and retain the true sense and
understanding of Holy Scripture, and to endue us with Christian
faith, hope, and charity. Finally, they say, that this grace worketh
all those effects in the elect people of God, by two special instruments,
which be, the word of God and his Sacraments. And forasmuch as
both the word and the Sacraments have all their efficacy by and
through the might and operation of the Holy Ghost, and forasmuch
also as this Holy Ghost dwelleth and abideth only in the Catholic
Church, and in the members of the sam.e, and worketh none of these
effects out of the Church ; they think that by this clause, communion
of saints, is meant here the treasure of the Church; and that this
treasure is nothing else but the Holy Ghost himself, and his graces,''
&c. (See p. 48 above; or, " Institution," pp. 79, 80.)
Here, then, in this very document of 1537, we find an end of
the whole controversy, for itcannot bepretended that Cranmer was
201
less Protestant when he subsequently drew up our Formularies,
the contrary being notoriously the case. It is here distinctly
laid down, that none but those who are elected and ordained to
eternal life, and are such as will never fall away, ever belong to
the true Catholic Church, or are members of Christ^s mystical
body, all others never being members at all. Consequently
there is an end to the notion that all are made so in their bap-
tism. The very essence of spiritual regeneration is incorporation
into the true mystical body of Christ, the Catholic Church of
the Creed. But none (according to this document) are ever so
incorporated, but those who will ultimately be saved, and there-
fore none but such receive true spiritual regeneration. There is
no spiiitual new birth in " chaff and weeds " " sown by the
devil." And the " efficacy " of the Sacraments is here distinctly
limited to the " very members of Christ's body."
Have some of those who are so fond of quoting certain pas-
sages from this work on one point ever read it ? I doubt whether
we shall hear so much of it from that quarter hereafter.
And I cannot refrain from anticipating here (in passing) a
remark which I shall have to dwell further upon hereafter,
namely, that to argue from the words of the Catechism, (drawn
up by Cranmer, or under his direction) — baptism, wherein I
was made a member of Christ, &c.," — that therefore every child
baptized is certainly made in baptism, in the full spiritual sense,
a member of Christ, &c., because it is taught to use such words
respecting itself, merely betrays the ignorance of the arguer as to
the doctrinal views of those w^ho drew up this form, as illustrated
by works of the same period. The expressions are identical with
those of the paraphrase of the Creed in the Institution," where
the context shows, that they are considered as applying only, in
their strict interpretation, to the case of the true child of God,
elect and ordained to eternal life." And the child, evidently,
was instructed to^ use them in order to teach him the language
then held to be the befitting language of every true Christian ;
who was exhorted to feel assured of, and put his trust in, God's
purposes of special and gratuitous mercy towards him.
It may be worth w^hile to add, that in the article on Confir-
mation in this work (pp. 94, 95), the benefit of the Sacrament
of Baptism is limited to those wdio duly receive'^ it.
The next document, in the order of time, that has been ap-
202
pealed to, is what the Bishop of Exeter, after Dr. Jenkyns, calls
the '^Ai'ticles agreed upon by Cranmer with the German Re-
formers in 1538/^ This title, however, is a mere guess; and
I am disposed to think ^\dth Strype,* that they were rather
Articles drawn up in conformity with the Act passed in 1540,
appointing a Commission to prepare Articles of Faith for the
English Church. On this point, however, I shall not enlarge,
nor upon the fact that they appear to be merely a rough draught
of what was never finally settled, for whatever purpose they were
intended. And it is very probable that (as the Bishop of Exeter
asserts) Cranmer had the principal hand in them.
But the Article that occurs in them on the subject of Baptism
is a mere counterpart of the statements in the Articles of 1536,
and the " Institution.^^ And in the Article On Original Sin,''
we find a passage entirely contrary to the notion that regenera-
tion is always conferred in baptism. " All men,'' it says, " have
concupiscence, repugnant to the law of God ; and this original
disease or corruption is truly sin, damning and bringing now
also eternal death on those who are not born again by baptism
and the Huly Spirit.^^'\
The Article on Baptism runs thus, —
De Baptismo dicimus, quod baptismus a Christo sit institutus, et
sit necessarius ad salutem, et quod per baptismum ofFerantur remissio
peccatorum et gratia Christi infantibus et adultis. Et quod non
debeat iterari baptismus, et quod infantes debeant baptizari. Et quod
infantes per baptismum consequantur remissionem peccatorum et
gratiam, et sint filii Dei, quia pro missio gratise et vitae seternse pertinet
non solum ad adultos, sed etiam ad infantes. Et hsec promissio per
ministerium in ecclesia infantibus et adultis administrari debet. Quia
vero infantes nascuntur cum peccato originis, habent opus remissione
illius peccati, et illud ita remittitur ut reatus tol]atur, licet corruptio
naturae seu concupiscentia manet in hac vita, etsi incipit sanari, quia
Spiritus Sanctus in ipsis etiam infantibus est efficax et eos mundat.
Probamus igitiir sententiam Ecclesiae, quae damnavit Pelagianos, quia
negabant infantibus esse peccatum originis. Damnamus et Anabap-
* Eccles. Memor. I. 356,357 ; or I. i. 550, 551, and Append. No. cxii.
t Omnes homines. . . .habe;)it concupiscentiam, repugnantem legi Dei :
cstque hie morbus seu vitiura originis vere peccatum, ilamnjins ct afferens
nunc quoque jctcrnam mortem his qui non renascuntur per baptismum et
Spirilum Sanctum. (Cranmer's Works, P. S. cd. vol. 2. Ai)p. j). 472.)
203
tistas, qui negant infantes baptizandos esse. De adultis vero docemus,
quod ita consequuntur per baptismum remissionem peccatorum et
gratiam, si baptizandi attulerint poenitentiam veram, confessionem
articuloram fidei, et credant vere ipsis ibi donari remissionem pecca-
torum et justificationem propter Christum, sicut Petrus ait in xVctis,
' Poenitentiam agite, et baptizetur, &c.'
Now here it will be observed, that (besides the doctrine of
the necessity of baptism, then held) , nothing more is stated than
that infants are proper subjects for baptism as well as adults ;
and that they obtain the same spiritual blessing in baptism
as adults do ; which all but Anabaptists allow ; and further, that
adults obtain the blessings of baptism only if they come with
penitence and faith, &c. ; the doctrine on the subject of the ac-
ceptance of infants by God being left (as it is in Scripture) to be
inferred from that in the case of adults.
It is clear that in none of the documents we have been con-
sidering is there any assertion that all infants indiscriminately
are partakers in baptism of its full spiritual blessing. The doc-
trine of the " Institution^^ is opposed to it. And I have shown
that one at least of the principal divines of the period, of Cran-
mer's party (L. Ridley), held that faith was a necessary condition
of their acceptance in baptism.
I proceed to the Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any
Christian Man.^^
Here, as might be expected from the account already given of
this work, we find the language in which the doctrine of Baptism
is delivered, like the rest, changed. The valuable explication of
the Creedj given in the "Institution" is entirely removed,
and in its place an interpretation of a totally different theological
character substituted. And as the articles on " the Sacrament
of the Altar,^^ the Second Commandment (on the question of
Images), and Justification, are all altered (the last especially), so
as to make them more favourable to the Popish doctrine ; so the
article on the Sacrament of Baptism is of course another specimen
of similar alterations.
Thus, the language used is, that by baptism infants " being
offered in the faith of the Church receive forgiveness of their sin.
* lb. p. 475.
204
and such grace of the Holy Ghost, that if they die in the state
of their infancy, they shall thereby undoubtedly be saved/^ (Art.
on Baptism, p. 254.) And again, ^''As for infants, it is to be
believed that their justification is wrought by the secret operation
of the Holy Ghost in their baptism, they being offered in the
faith of the Church." (Art. on Justification, p. 366.) And the
same declaration is of course made as to the necessity of baptism
to infants for their salvation, in these words, — " Seeing that out
of the Church neither infants nor no man else can be saved, they
must needs be christened and cleansed by baptism, and so incor-
porated into the Church.^^ (Art. on Baptism, p. 255.)*
The language is here changed from w^hat was used before. It
is not merely said that infants receive grace in baptism as well
as adults, w^hich all but Anabaptists admit, and that those who
die in infancy are thereby saved (according to the doctrine of the
period), but the words used definitely imply that all receive for-
giveness, the grace of the Holy Ghost, and justification, of whom
such as die in infancy are thereby saved.
Nevertheless, even this work itself, speaking of the new life
of grace and the Spirit," in which we have " bound oui'selves by
baptism" to "walk and proceed," says, —
" Into the which we are called by the word of God, and by faith
AND DUE RECEIVING OF THIS HOLY SaCRAMENT ARE BROUGHT
AND SET INTO THE SAME." (p. 257.)
These contradictory statements are to be accounted for, I
suppose, from the difference of view existing in those that were
engaged in drawing up this work.
It must be observed, also, that in the "Necessary Doctrine,'^
as well as in all the preceding Formularies, in the case of adults
coming to baptism, faith and repentance are absolutely required
in order to their obtaining the baptismal blessing.f No such
* After the words " thereby undoubtedly be saved," in the quotation
given above from p. 254, there followed in the corresponding passage in the
Institution," the words " and else not," which are here omitted. This
omission might, in itself, have led to the supposition of a withdrawal of the
doctrine of the absolute necessity of baptism to infants for salvation; but
this passage in p. 255 negatives such a supposition. Nor would the his-
tory of this work lead us to expect such a withdrawal.
t See Art. on the Sacrament of Baptism, pp. 253, 254, 256, and Art. on
Justification, p. 365. The passages in the preceding Formularies have been
already quoted.
205
notion ia countenanced, even in these semi-Popish works, as the
possibility of the reception of any spiritual gift in baptism by
adults who come to that rite destitute of these dispositions.
It would hardly be necessary to point attention to this fact in
our own Church, where the 25th Article has so definitely settled
the doctrine of our Church in the matter, were it not for the
lengths to which the Romanising faction that has lately sprung
up among us, have proceeded in this among other points ; one
of its principal organs having the effrontery to maintain, that
" not only in the language of charity, but of fact, of even an im-
penitent adult coming to baptism, it may with truth be said, as
the Church of England says, that he is ' born again,^ and ^grafted
into the body of Christ's Church/ that he is ^regenerate/
And to palliate the offensiveness of such a statement, it is added,
that " such regeneration and salvation are given only concep-
tionally,^' and " the presence of sin closes instantly round the
baptismal seed, and renders it unfruitful, and prevents his sins
being actually forgiven/'* So that the man is maintained to be
truly born again and regenerate, &c., though his sins are not
forgiven him; and the almost blasphemous assertion is made,
that even a wicked hypocrite coming to baptism is necessarily a
recipient of Di\ine grace !
* Christian Remembrancer for October, 1848, pp. 491, 492. On the
reference made in support of this notion to "the theology of the schools,"
much might be said if it were worth while to do so, as the reader may
judge from chapter 2. above. But it is sufficient here to remark, -that to
send us to the Schoolmen for an interpretation of the Formularies of our
Church, shows only the deplorable ignorance of the writer as to the views
of our Reformers. The gross and palpable misrepresentations upon which
the article is founded render any formal reply to it wholly unnecessary ;
but one passage so thoroughly shows the complete disregard to truth, and
also the ignorance or worse than ignorance of the writer of the article, that
it may be well to notice it. Speaking of the theology of the Schools, the
writer adds, " A department of divinity, in which Mr. Goode is as ill-read
as some of his opponents are content and desirous to remain in Mr. Goode's
foreign Protestants." Now the writer of this has not the slightest know-
ledge on which to ground this assertion, and therefore made it merely to
damage an adversary, careless whether it was true or not, and the impu-
tation implied happens to be contrary to the truth. But the reason why I
notice the passage is, to show how completely the writer is convicted out
of his own mouth, (^Yhen he thus speaks of the foreign Protestants,) of
being totally opposed in doctrine to our Reformers and early divines, who
openly avowed their agreement in doctrine with the foreign Reformed
Churches. The weapons of Romanizers are always the same.
206
The object of all this is, to get rid of an argument which ad-
mits of no reasonable reply ; namely, that as these terms are used
in the Service for Adult Baptism hypothetically, (as the Bishop
of Exeter himself admits in his recent Charge,) so they may fairly
be interpreted in a similar way in the Service for Infant Baptism.
The author of the above passages thinks to take a short road to
an answer, by denying that even in the Service for Adult Baptism
they are used hypothetically.
But these parties are in fact upon the horns of a dilemma. If
they take this ground, they are refuted by the 25th Article. If
they admit that the terms are used hypothetically in one Service,
(as the Bishop of Exeter is compelled to do), it follows that they
may fairly be so interpreted in the other.
It is worth notice, also, that even by the authors of the Ne-
cessary Doctrine," "the children of Christian men^'* only are
contemplated as fit subjects for baptism.
Before I conclude this Chapter, it may be well to show, that
our Church, though she has not given any sentence upon the
state of unbaptized infants, has at least relinquished the, affirma-
tion, that baptism is necessary to the salvation of infants. In all
the Formularies we have been considering, this affirmation is
unhesitatingly made ; and the idea seems to be sanctioned in the
first Liturgy of 1549, in w^hich, in the first prayer in the Bap-
tismal Service, occur the following words, — " that they, being-
delivered from thy wrath, may be received into the ark of Christ^s
Church, and so saved from perishing. In the revision of the
Liturgy, published in 1552, the words "and so saved from
perishing" were omitted ; a significant intimation of a change
of view.
We have also decisive evidence, that at the period of the revi-
sion, Cranmer at least did not hold the doctrine of the necessity
of baptism for the salvation of infants. For in the " Reformatio
Legum," compiled under his superintendence and corrected by
him, the notion is very decisively condemned as superstitious and
impious, in the following words.
" We ought also to consider as impious the scrupulous superstition
of those who so entirely confine the grace of God and the Holy Spirit
* Art. on Baptism, p. 254.
207
to the elements of the Sacraments as openly to affirm that no infant
of Christians will obtain eternal salvation who shall have died before
he could be brought to baptism ; which we consider to be far other-
wise. For salvation is taken away from those only, who despise this
sacred font of baptism, or through pride or contumaciousness revolt
from it : and since this unreasonableness does not fall in with the
age of children, nothing can be determined against their salvation by
the authority of the Scriptures ; nay, on the contrary, since the
general promise comprehends such children within it, we ought to
entertain the highest hope of their salvation."*
This show^s that the alteration in tlie Baptismal Service w^as
intentional ; and, considering tlie supremacy of Cranmer^s au-
thority at that time in ecclesiastical matters, may be taken as
decisive e\'idence, that the doctrine previously maintained was
then relinquished as a doctrine of the Church, though no dog-
matic statement w^as published on the subject.
* Illorum etiam impia videri debet scrupulosa superstitio, qui Dei gra-
tiam et Spiritum Sanctum tantopere cum Sacramentorum elementis col-
ligant, ut plane afiu-ment, nullum Christianorum infantem seternara salutem
esse consequuturum, qui prius a morte fuerit occupatus, quam ad Bap-
tismum adduci potuerit : quod longe secus habere judicamus. Salus enim
illis solum adimitur, qui sacrum hunc Baptismi fontem contemnunt, aut
superbia quadam ab eo, vel contumacia resiliunt : quae importunitas cum
in puerorum aetatem nou cadat, nihil contra salutem illorum authoritate
Seriptm-arum decerni potest ; immo contra, cum illos cormnunis promissio
pueros in se comprehendat, optima nobis spes de illorum salute concipienda
est. (Reform. Leg. Eccles.; De hseres. c. 18, p. 17. Ed. 1640.)
208
CHAPTER YII.
THE DOCTRINE OF OUR LEADING REFORMERS AND DIVINES
DURING THE REIGNS OF EDWARD VI. AND ELIZABETH,
AND THE EARLIER PART OF THAT OF JAMES I., ON THE
SUBJECT OF THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM IN INFANTS.
I NOW proceed to a review of some of the direct testimonies which
the works of our early divines afford us as to their doctrine on the
subject of baptism ; and much is it to be regretted that their re-
mains are not more abundant, as in that case we should be able,
(as is evideat from the general character of their theology), con-
siderably to multiply the amount of evidence given below for the
view maintained in this work. But the weight of the testimonies
which can be produced, so far as respects the question of number,
must be judged by the number and character of the works that
remain to us of the period inquired into. iVnd the only impor-
tant question left is, what evidence (if any) of a contrary kind
can be produced from the period of the reigns of Edward VI.
and Elizabeth. It is very immaterial what any of our divines
may have maintained on the subject after that period. It is a
matter of history, that while the theology of our Church, as far
as regards its standards of doctrine, remained the same, the views
prevalent among the great body of its divines became then very
different from what they had previously been. Now whether
this change was for the better or the worse, or how far it was
within the limits of the words of our Formularies, are questions
which I shall not here stop to discuss. What we are now endea-
^vouring to ascertain is, what was the meaning originally attached
to our Formularies, by those who put them forth, or first adopted
209
them. We appeal, in fact, from the interpretation affixed to
them by the Laudian party in our Church, to that which was
given to them by those who preceded that party ; and who have,
clearly, on various grounds, especially as the compilers or au-
thors or original promoters of those Formularies, or as the im-
mediate successors of such persons, a prior claim upon our regard.
And the first extracts to which I shall call the attention of
the reader, are from a document which originally had the highest
ecclesiastical and civil sanction, having been issued by Royal
authority in the reign of Edward VI., upon the advice of Arch-
bishop Cranmer and the approval of Bishop Ridley, and the
heads of the Reformed party in our Church,* namely,
THE CATECHISM OF 1553.
First, let us observe its language respecting the Sacrament of
Baptism.
" Master. Tell me what thou callest Sacraments.
" Scholar. They are certain customable reverent doings and cere-
monies ordained by Christ ; that by them he might put us in remem-
brance of his benefits, and we might declare our profession, that we
be of the number of them which are partakers of the same benefits,
and which fasten all their affiance in him ; that we are not ashamed
of the name of Christ, or to be termed Christ's scholars.
"Master. Tell me (my son) how these two Sacraments be
ministered : Baptism, and that which Paul calleth the Supper of the
Lord.
" Scholar. Him that beheveth in Christ, professeth the Articles
of the Christian religion, and mindeth to be baptized, (I speak now
of them that be grown to ripe years of discretion, sith for the young
babes their parents', or the Church's profession sufficeth), the mi-
nister dippeth in, or washeth with pure and clean water only, in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : and
then commendeth him by prayer to God, into whose Church he is
now openly as it were enrolled, that it may please God to grant him
* See Cranmer's Works, P. Soc. ed. vol. i. p. 422, and vol. ii. p. 220 ;
and Ridley's Works, P. Soc. ed., pp. *?26, 227. This Catechism was
])robably written l)y Bishop Ponet. See Letter of Sir J. Cheke to Bul-
linpjer in " Orig. Lett. rel. to Engl. Reform.," published by the Parker
Society, p. 142r
P
210
liis grace, whereby he may answer in behef and hfe agreeably to his
profession."
The next question and answer relate to the Lord^s Supper.
Master. What doth baptism represent and set before our eyes ?
" Scholar. That we are by the Spirit of Christ new born, and
cleansed from sin : that we be members and parts of his Church,
received into the communion of saints. For water signifieth the
Spirit. Baptism is also ?i figure of our burial in Christ, and that we
shall be raised up again with him in a new life, as I have before
declared in Christ's resurrection."*
This is the whole account given of Baptism in the Catechism.
The doctrine implied might safely be left to the judgment of the
reader. But other portions of the Catechism place it beyond
doubt.
Thus^ in the following passage^, faith is clearly made essential
to the regeneration of^ at least, adults.
" Master. Why dost thou call God Father }
Scholar. For two causes : the one, for that he made us all at
the beginning, and gave life unto us all : the other is more weighty ;
for that by his Holy Spirit, and by faith, he hath begotten us again :
making us his children : giving us his kingdom and the inheritance
of life everlasting, &c."t
Moreover, the work which Baptism is here said to " repre-
sent/^ is performed only in "the chosen of God," as the fol-
lowing passage shows us.
"Master. Why is he [the Holy Spirit] called holy ?
" Scholar. Not only for his own holiness, but for that by him
are made holy the chosen of God and members of Christ. And there-
fore have the Scriptures termed him the Spirit of sanctification or
making holy.
" Master. Wherein consisteth this sanctification ?
"'Scholar. First, we he new gotten by his inward motion. And
therefore, said Christ, we must be new born of water and of the
Spirit, "t
And the true Church of Christ, the Church of the Creed, is
considered as consisting of those only who are thus sanctified.
* Liturgies, &c., of Edw. VI., P. See. ed., pp. 516, 517.
t lb. p. 501. : 11). p. 514.
211
so' that no other of the baptized are supposed to be true mem-
bers of Christ, the true Church consisting of the scattered but
spiritually united body of the truly faithful.
"To the furnishing of this commonwealth [the Church]," it says,
" belong all they as many as do truly fear, honour, and call upon
God, wholly applying their mind to holy and godly living ; and all
those that putting all their hope and trust in him, do assuredly look
for the bhss of everlasting life."*
"The Church, which is an assembly of men called to everlasting
salvation, is both gathered together and governed by the Holy Ghost,
of whom we even now made mention. Which thing, sith it cannot
be perceived by bodily sense or light of nature, is by right and for
good reason here reckoned among things that are known by belief.
And, therefore, this calling together of the faithftd is called universal
because it is bound to no one special place. For God, throughout
all coasts of the world, hath them that worship him : which, though
they be far scattered asunder by divers distance of countries and do-
minions, yet are they members most nearly joined of that same body,
whereof Christ is the head : and have one Spirit, faith, sacraments,
prayers, forgiveness of sins, and heavenly bliss, common among them
all ;" &c.t
I proceed to
ARCHBISHOP CRANMER;
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1553 till deprived by Mary.
Martyred in 1555.
Here I must first recall to the recollection of the reader tlie
passages quoted in the last Chapter from the "^Institution of a
Christian Man/^J published in 1537, in the drawing up of
which work Cranmer had the principal hand, and which (though
containing much Papistical doctrine which Cranmer afterwards
wholly abandoned) contains also some very remarkable passages
bearing upon the subject of this work. Respecting this treatise,
however, I refer the reader (to prevent repetition) to what I have
already said in a previous page.
Another work connected with Cranmer's name, from which
* lb. p. 511. See also p. 72 above. f lb. pp. 514, 515.
+ See pp. 11)7 et s. above.
F 2
212
passages are often quoted by those wlio uphold the doctrine of
the universal spiritual regeneration of infants in baptism, is a
Catechism put forth by him in 1548, and translated from one
published originally in German_, and translated by Justus Jonas
into Latin, which Latin translation appeared in 1539. It has
been recently reprinted at Oxford,* with a preface by the late
learned Professor Burton, giving an account of its history, which
renders it unnecessary for me to dilate upon that point. The
Justus Jonas who translated it into Latin is considered by Pro-
fessor Burton to have been Justus Jonas senior, the intimate
friend and companion of Luther; not (as Strype conjectures)
Justus Jonas junior, who came over to this country, and was for
a time with Archbishop Cranmer at Lambeth. I would observe,
therefore, that the translator of it into Latin was one of Luther^s
assistants at the Conference between Luther and Bucer at Wit-
tenberg in 1586, of which an account has already been given ;t
the name of Justus Jonas standing next to that of Luther in
the subscriptions to that Conference. { The Catechism was
originally published in German, by George, Marquis of Branden-
burg, for the use of his own territories and of Nuremberg.
Professor Burton remarks, that " of this German original no
copy has yet been discovered ; but there are good reasons for
thinking, that it was one of the numerous Catechisms which ap-
peared in Germany about this period, and which were framed
upon the model of Luther^s Shorter Catechism."§ Dr. Todd
of Trinity College, Dublin, however, has since been fortunate
enough to obtain a copy, which he has deposited in the Library
of his College. It was printed at Nuremberg in small folio in
1536. That the Marquis of Brandenburg followed the doctrine
of Luther in- such matters is evident from the " Kirchen
Ordnung,^^ or Ecclesiastical Regulations he published for the use
of his dominions in 1533, in which the Baptismal Service pub-
lished by Luther a few years before, occurs verbatim.\\
■* Oxf. 1829. 8vo. + See pp. 162 et seq. above.
X See Buceri Serii)ta Anglieana, pp. (567, 668.
§ Pref. p. viii.
II Professor Burton remarks, tliat this book, " from the account given
of it by Seckendorf, (Hist. Luth. vol. 2. pp. 71, 72), might be thought to
have contained the very Catechism which is now under consideration."
(Prc'f. p. viii.) This, however, is not the case. A copy of the book is
lying hcfore me as I write, and it certainly does not contain the Cate-
chism.
213
Now, Luther's doctrine at this period, as deli\'ered in his
Larger Catechism, I have ah-eady pointed out.* We may be
prepared therefore to find, that the doctrine' of this Brandenburg
Catechism, (by whomsoever drawn up, for its author is not
known) translated into Latin by Luther's friend and fellow-
labourer Justus Jonas, (his assistant at the Wittenberg Con-
ference in 1536,) corresponds with that of Luther himself at that
period. And such we shall find to be the case.f
Now true it is, that this Catechism says, that " the second
birth is by the water of baptism (p. 182, Oxf. ed.) and tliat
by it we be born again to a new and heavenly life, and lie
received into God's Church and congregation, which is the
foundation and pillar of the truth," (p. 183) ; and that it has
other similar passages. But with these statements, which are
perfectly general, must be coaipared such declarations as the
following occurring in the context.
*' These new affections and spiritual motions are in the souls of
such m ARE horn again by baptism, but they be unknown to worldly
men, and such as be not led by the Spirit of God." (p. 189.)
Here, evidently, a distinction is drawn between the baptized ;
of whom some are considered to be born again, and others not so,
but as remaining " worldly men " to w^hom the " affections and
spiritual motions" which characterize the regenerate are un-
known."
And in various passages, (according to the well known doc-
trine of Luther), faith is spoken of as essential to the salutary
effect of baptism.
" All these things doth baptism work in us, when we believe in
Christ. And therefore Christ saith, " He that will believe and be
baptized, shall be saved. But he that will not believe, shall be
damned." (p. 189.)
" Peradventure some will say, How can water work so great
things ? To whom I answer, that it is not the water that doth these
things, but the Almighty word of God (which is knit and joined to
* See p. 158, 159, above.
t Were it necessarv, a question might justly be raised how far Craumer
is responsible for the statements of this Catechism, as there are certainly
some passages in it contrary to his own views, even at the period of its
pubhcatiou ; as, for instance, that there are three sacraments, (p. 18i^. Oxf.
ed.) But it seems hardly worth while to raisL' this (piestion.
214
the water) AND faith ivhich receiveth Cod's ivord and promise."'
(p. 190.)
" When you shall be asked, What availeth baptism ? you shall
answer, Baptism worketh forgiveness of sin, it delivereth from the
kingdom of the devil and from death, and giveth life and everlasting
salvation, to all them that believe these words of Christ and promise
of God." *' If a man ask you, How can water bring to pass
so great things } ye shall answer, Verily the water worketh not
these things, but the word of God, which is joined to the water, and
faith, which doth believe the word of God." (p. 191.)
"First of all, the Holy Ghost provoketh and stirreth up men to
preach God's word. Then he moveth men's hearts to faith, and
calleth them to baptism, and then by faith and baptism he worketh
so, that he maketh us new men again. And when we be thus newly
born and made again, and be become the children of God, then the
Holy Ghost doth dwell in us and make us holy and godly, &c."
(p. 122.)
Consequently, notwithstanding the general statements as to
the benefits of baptism, faith is made essential to the gift of re-
generation. And even if we held that adults only are capable of
faith, still the limitation shows that the general statements are
not to be understood as excluding all consideration of qualifica-
tion in the party baptized, and therefore not as exchiding it in
the case of infants, whatever their particular qualification may
be. But the fact is, as we have seen, that the doctrine of Luther
(which this Catechism is considered as following) was, that
infants are capable of faith, and that faith is requisite in them as
well as in adults, in order that they may receive a salutary effect
from baptism.
The meaning, therefore, of the passages stating the value and
efficacy of baptism, is plain. They speak of the ordinance as
Bucer himself does, and as he maintains that Scripture speaks
of it,, namely, as it is when its full end and purpose are fulfilled
in it, which, the context states, happens only in the case of fit
recipients.
And in another part of the same Catechism the true Church
is (according to the general doctrine of the Reformers) limited to
those who have true faith and will be saved; so that none become
by baptism members of this Church but those that are saved;
which again shows that baptism was not considered as always
producing this effect. Thus it speaks, —
215
*' I believe the Holy Catholic Church, that is to say, all godly and
Christian men must believe, that the Gospel or doctrine of God's
grace through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, is never in vain
published in the world, or sowed abroad without fruit, but ever there
is found some company of men, or some congregation of good people
which believe the Gospel and be saved. And this company of men
which believeth the Gospel, although here upon earth they be severed
in sundry places, yet are they called one Holy Cathohc or Universal
Church of Christ, that is to say, a multitude, congregation, or company
of Christian people. For this word, Church, doth not here betoken
a temple or church builded of timber and stone, but it signifieth a
company of men lightened with the Spirit of Christ, which do receive
the Gospel, and come together to hear God's word, and to pray. And
this Christian Church is a communion of saints, that is to say, all
that be of this communion or company be holy, and be one holy body
under Christ their head ; they be one holy congregation or assembly.
And this congregation receiveth of their Head and Lord Jesus Christ,
all spiritual riches and gifts that pertain to the sanctification and
making holy of the same body. And these ghostly treasures be
common to the whole body, and to every member of the same. For
he that is unfeignedly a faithful and godly man, is made partaker of
these benefits. And these are the said gifts, which be common to the
whole Church of Christ, and to every member of the same."*
From this Catechism let us proceed to Cranmer^s own works.
Of com'se it will be easy to find in them statements w^hich,
speaking of baptism in the abstract j connect regeneration with
it.f But, in the context, or elscAvhere, he strictly limits the sa-
lutary effect of the Sacrament to those who receive it worthily or
with faith. The following passage will abundantly show us the
meaning of his phraseology on this subject. —
"This word * Sacrament,' " he says, ** I do sometimes use. . . .
for the Sacramental bread, water, or wine. . . . And sometime by
this word ' Sacrament,' I mean the whole ministration and receiving
of the Sacraments, either of baptism or of the Lord's Supper : and
so the old writers many times do say, that Christ and the Holy Ghost
be present in the Sacraments ; not meaning by that manner of
speech, that Christ and the Holy Ghost be present in the water,
bread, or wine, (which be only the outward visible Sacraments,) but
that in the due ministration of the Sacraments according to Christ's
* lb. pp. 123, 121.
t Works, P. S. c(i, vol. i. p. 45, &c.
216
ordinance and institution, Christ and his Holy Spirit be truly and
indeed present by their mighty and sanctifying- power, virtue, and
grace, in all them that worthily receive the same.'"^
And thus he continually speaks ; as^ for instance, in the fol-
lowing passages : —
'* Although Christ in his human nature, substantially, really, cor-
porally, naturally, and sensibly, be present with his Father in heaven,
yet sacramentally and spiritually he is here present. For in water,
bread, and wine, he is present^ as in signs and sacraments ; but he
is indeed spiritually in those faithful Christian people, which according
to Chrisfs ordinance be baptized, or receive the holy communion, or
unfeignedly believe in hirn''-\
''Therefore, as in baptism those that come feignedly, and those
that come unfeignedly, both be washed with the Sacramental water,
but both be not washed with the Holy Ghost, and clothed with
Christ : so in the Lord's Supper, both eat and drink the Sacramental
bread and wine, but both eat not Christ himself, and be fed with his
flesh and blood, but those only which worthily receive the Sacrament. "J
" Whosoever cometh to that water [i. e. of baptism], being of the
age of discretion, must examine himself duly, lest if he come un-
worthily, none otherwise than he would come unto other common
waters, he be not renewed in Christ, but instead of salvation receive
his damnation.''^
And the following passages clearly make baptism and regene-
ration separable : —
" For as baptism is no perfect Sacrament of spiritual regeneration,
without there be as well the element of water, as the Holy Ghost
spiritually regenerating the persori that is baptized, which is signified
by the said water ; even so the Supper of the Lord can be no perfect
Sacrament of spiritual food, except there be as well bread and wine
as the body and blood of our Saviour Christ, spiritually feeding us,
[which he held to be the case only with the faithful recipient,] which
by the said bread and wine is signified." ||
"All that be washed in the water, be not washed with the Holy
Spirit."^
* Answer to Gardiner, Preface. See Works, P. S. ed. i. 3.
t Answer to Gardiner, Works, i. 4/. + lb. i. 221.
§ lb. Answer to Smith, i. 3/3. [j Answer to Gard. ib. i. 'd)A.
\ Ib. 2f>«.
217
And, comparing the Sacraments of the Old and New Testa-
ments, he says, — Our Sacraments contain presently the very
things signified, no more than theirs did."'^
^loreover all that are spiritually regenerated are undeniably
made members of the true Church of Christ ; but according to
Cranmer, that church consists only of the elect, and all its mem-
bers persevere to the end. For he says (precisely like the " In-
stitution,^^)
" And yet I know this to be true, that Christ is present with his
holy Church, which is his hohj elected people, and shall be with them
to the world's end, leading and governing them with his holy Spirit,
and teaching them all truth necessary for their salvation. And
wheresoever any such be gathered together in his name, there is he
among them, and he shall not suffer the gates of hell to prevail
against them. For although he may suffer them by their own frail-
ness for a time to err, fall, and to die, yet finally neither Satan, hell,
sin, nor eternal death, shall prevail against them-'^-f
Now, although the case of infants is not expressly referred to
by Cranmer, yet it is obvious, that these limitations show, that
the general statements made by him respecting the blessings
connected with baptism, are to be understood as referring to it,
when fulfilling the purpose for which it was instituted by God
in the case of the true members of his Church. The fitness or
worthiness of the recipient is supposed in such statements. It
is clear, therefore, that the case of infants is, in its measure,
affected by such limitations as much as that of adults. We have
no right to say. These general statements must, we admit, be
understood with an implied condition in the case of adults, but
they are to be understood as applying universally to all infants.
For this involves an assumption as to the universal worthiness of
infants, which, however general among Romish divines, is en-
tirely opposed to the views of the Reformers and early Protestant
divines, both in this country and on the Continent. I quite
admit that some of our later divines have advocated the doctrine
laid down by the scholastic writers of the fifteenth ccntur}^, that
the Sacraments confer grace upon all that do not oppose the
obstacle of mortal sin, {nan ponentibus obicem mortalis peccati) and
* II). 75.
t Answer to Smith, ib. i. 3/6,
218
therefore upon all infants without exception. But I challenge
any one to show that this was the doctrine of our Reformers and
early Protestant divines ; and I will give them to the end of the
sixteenth century for authorities on the subject. That the view
was maintained here, by some among us, at the period when the
prevailing tone of theology in our Church began to change in
the time of Laud, I am not anxious to deny. And that the Laudian
Bishops who managed matters at the Savoy Conference at the
Restoration, and inflicted by their harsh and uncharitable con-
duct an irreparable blow upon the Church, from which it has
never recovered, and never will recover, openly advocated the
doctrine, is no doubt perfectly true. But it is equally true, that
such a notion is diametrically opposed to the doctrine of our Re-
formers and early divines. And (though I am anticipating) 1
will at once show the reader, before I proceed, that I am not
speaking without authority when I say this, and will quote the
words in which one of our greatest divines has spoken on this
subject. Dr. Robert Abbot w^as Regius Professor of Divinity at
Oxford from 1612 to 1615, and Bishop of Salisbury from 1615
to 1617. He is said even by Wood (no friend to theologians of
his school), to have been " a profound divine, most admirably
well read in the Fathers, Councils, and Schoolmen and is
called by Fuller, '^one of the honours not only of that See
[Salisbury], but of the Church of England. ^^f In his reply to
Thomson, he uses the following language : —
" That Papistical saying of the Scholastics, which is the foundation
of the opus operatum, which nevertheless is here, with inconceivable
audacity, put forth as a doctrine of the Catholic faith, that the Sacra-
ments always confer their effect upon one who does not place a bar in
the way. "J
And our learned Bishop Carleton, (one of the representatives
of our Church at the Synod of Dort)§ after refuting the same
doctrine, adds, —
* Ath. Oxon. ii. 224. t Hist. bk. x. p. 72.
X " Papisticum illud Scholasticorum pronunciatura, quod operis operati
fundamentum est, quod hie taraen nescio qua f route tanquam Cathohcae
fidei dogma proponitur, ' Sacramenta semper eonfeire suum effectum non
ponenti obicem.'" In Thomson. Diatribam, c. 7. p. HJ^. Sub fin. tract.
De gratia et persev. sanct. Lond. 1618. 4to.
§ He was Bishop of Llandaff from l(il7to \iiVJ, and of Chichester from
to 1(;28.
219
"That opinion, which teaches that Sacraments confer grace upon
one who places no bar in their way, by the virtue of the work done,
without any good and deserving- motion, seems to have arisen about
the age of John Scotus. Aquinas seems to have-added some stones
to this building when he taught, ' that the Sacraments of the New
Law cause grace after the manner of an instrument.' (3 par. q. 62.
Artie. I.) These words gave occasion to the Sophists that followed
to philosophize after their manner. But Aquinas has nothing about
the work done, or about a bar. These things seem to have been added
by those that came after. And thus the Tridentine creed, like a
patched coat made up of many and various rags, was at length put
together and became one. Before these times this opinion was un-
heard of in the Church of Rome."*
Consequently our divines w^ho have maintained this notion of
the Sacraments conferring grace ex opere operato, upon all non
ponentihus obicem, have placed themselves in the unenviable po-
sition of supporting the corruptions introduced by the later
Scholastic divines, and confirmed by the Tridentine, against the
sounder views of even the earlier Scholastics themselves, who
(as we have already seen by the extracts given in a preceding
chapter from Peter Lombardf) advocated doctrine of a totally
different kind. Painful indeed is it, to see the way in which a
large body of our divines have, for a long period, retrograded
from the ground taken up at the Reformation, and relapsed into
various Popish errors. And still more painful, to see them so
ill-informed or so wanting in conscientiousness, as to turn round
upon the true successors of the Reformers, and (as Bishop i\bbot
says, nescio qua fronte) accuse them of not holding the doctrines
of the Formularies drawn up by those very men whose doctrine
these accusers have notoriously deserted.
* Opinio ista, qua} docet sacramenta conferre gratiara ex vi operis operati
sine bono niotu meritorio non ponenti obicem, circa Joannis Scoti saeeulum
enata videtur. Aquinas ad hauc structuram lapides quosdam attulisse
videtur, quum docuerit : ' Sacramenta novae legis gratiam causare per
raodum instrumenti.' (3 Par. q. 62. Artie. 1.) Ha^c occasionem Sophistis
insequentibus dederunt philosophandi suo more. Verum Aquinas nihil
habet de opere operato, aut de obice. Haic addita videntur a posterioribus.
Atque ita fides Tridentina tanquam ramosa tunica ex multis et variis pan-
niculis consarciuata tandem congesta coaluit. Ante hjiec temi)ora inaudita
erat hajc opinio in Ecclesia Rouiana." (Consensus Eccles. Catliol. contra
Tridentinos. Franc. 1613. 8vo. p. 421, 422.)
t See pp. 28—32 above.
220
I have thought it right to make these remarks at the very
outset of our review of the statements of our early divines on
the subject of this work, in order that the reader may bear in
mind throughout, that the assertion, — that the Sacraments confer
grace upon all not putting a bar in the way, and consequently
that the general statements of our divines as to the effects of
baptism, though to be understood with limitations in the case
of adults, are to be considered as applicable in their full force
to all infants, — is wholly unwarranted, and directly opposed to
the doctrine of our most learned divines of the school of the
Reformers.
It is undeniable, (and undisputed among us but by a few not
worth notice,) that faith and repentance are absolutely necessary
in an adult coming to baptism, that he may experience the
salutary effects of that ordinance ; and consequently that all
general statements as to the effects of baptism must be inter-
preted conditionally in his case. This is distinctly laid down
in Scripture, and from it by our Church in her 25th and other
Articles. So therefore in the case of infants, it is reasonable to
conclude that there is a distinction in the eye of God ; especially
when we remember, that a large number of them remain to the
end of their lives impenitent and unbelieving. Upon what such
a distinction may be grounded, is another question. On this
point men attached to different doctrinal systems will take dif-
ferent views. But, clearly, we have not the smallest right to
assume, that God will in all such cases confer the gift of spi-
ritual regeneration. Scripture is altogether silent upon the
point. And so (as usual where such is the case) is our Church.
But when we find her specifically demanding a promise of future
faith and repentance to be exercised by the child when grown
up, and giving baptism to none likely to reach that age without
that promise being made, we reasonably infer, that she, at least,
limits the baptismal blessing to those who, as adults, fulfil that
promise.
The faith of the parent is accepted on behalf of the child as
giving it a title to baptism, in the same way as the adult^s pro-
fession of faith is accepted as his title to baptism. All who pro-
fess faith and repentance are entitled to baptism at our hands.
And all infants brought by professedly behcving parents are
221
similarly entitled to it. But, in both cases, some receive it
without profit^ and we leave judgment upon this point to God.
The faith of the parent does not entitle the child to spiritual
regeneration and all its consequent blessings.' Such a supposi-
tion would be as unwarrantable as that of the Jews of old, who,
because they were the seed of Abraham and were circumcised,
thought that they must in consequence be necessarily the
children of God. It would be making God's best gifts de-
pendent upon the course of human generation ; for baptism is
in the power of all. But the seed of believing parents are bap-
tized as the children of the Jews were circumcised, and out of
them God has a seed to serve him. As among the Jews there
were some that had the true circumcision of the heart, and the
others had only the outward form " in the letter so among us
there are some who have the true ablution of the heart and re-
newing of the Holy Ghost^ and others who have but the outward
sign. And in the case of infants we leave it to the judgment of
God to distinguish between the two, and moreover to pronounce
the grounds of the distinction.
No doubt, infants are so far interested in their parents^ faith,
that they may be reckoned by us, as infants, as being acceptable
HI the eye of God (the Apostle calling them holy) ; and if they die
in infancy, are partakers, as such, of the full baptismal blessing.
Nor need we, I think, be anxious to deny, that, in the case
of infants, there may always be bestowed the pardon of original
sin. And when the term regeneration is applied in this sense,
by those who speak of the universal regeneration of infants in
baptism, and the distinction is preseiwed between this infantine
regeneration and that regeneration of heart which is necessaiy
for the salvation of an adult, then (whether or not we a2:ree in
the view taken) it seems vei*y unnecessaiy to raise a further con-
troversy. But that spiritual regeneration of the heart of which
Scripture speaks, and which sanctifies the adult, is a gift not
conferred by God in consequence of a parent\s faith, but ac-
cording to his own good pleasure.
To return then to Cranmer, it is clear, that while- no direct
testimony can be obtained from his writings, respecting the
particular case of infants, his sul^ject not leading him any where
222
to this pointy liis general doctrine is directly opposed to the view
that all infants are spiritually regenerated in baptism.
Before, however, we quit the writings of Archbishop Cranmer,
there is another work, w^hose testimony on this subject ought
to be noticed, which, though not written by him, was drawn up
undei-^his eye, and corrected by him, namely, the "Reformatio
Legum Ecclesiasticarum/^ The history of this work I have
already noticed in a former chapter,* and the authors employed
to write it are a pretty plain indication of Cranmer^s sentiments.
Its statements are (in conformity with the usual course adopted
by our Reformers) more general and indefinite than might have
been desired. But still the docti-ine inculcated is sufficiently
clear in its opposition to modern " High Church " notions.
Thus, speaking of errors on the subject of Baptism, it says, —
" Moreover many more errors are heaped up by others on the
subject of Baptism, which some regard with so much awe and wonder
as to believe that the Holy Spirit emerges from that external element
itself, and that his influence, power, and virtue by which we are
new created, and the grace and other gifts proceeding from him, swim
in the very waters of Baptism. In short they hold that our whole
regeneration is due to that sacred fount which is manifest to our
senses. But the salvation of our souls, the renovation of our spirit,
and the blessing of adoption, by which God acknowledges us as
sons, proceed from the divine compassion flowing to us through
Christ, as also from the promise to be found in the Holy
Scriptures."!
The work then proceeds to deny the necessity of baptism for
the salvation of infants, in a passage already quoted in a former
page-t
* See pp. 57 and 73, above.
t Plures item .ah aliis cumulantur errores in baptismo, quem aliqui sic
uttoniti spectant, ut ab ipso illo externo credant elemento Spiritum Sanc-
tum eniergere, vimque ejus, nomen et virtutem ex qua recreamur, et gra-
tiam et reliquaex eo proficiscentia dona in ipsis baptismi fonticulis innatare.
In summa totam regenerationem nostram illi sacro puteo deberi volunt, qui
in sensus nostros incurrit. Verum salus animarum, instauratio spiritus, et
beneficium adoptionis, quo nos Deus pro filiis agnoscit, a niisericordia di-
vina per Christum ad nos diinanante, tum etiam ex promissione sacris in
Scripturis apparente proveniunt. (Reform. Leg. Eccles. Lond. 1640. 4to.
Tit. de haires. c. 18, pp. 16, 17-)
+ See p. 206, 207, above.
223
Again ; its definition of a Sacrameut is as follows ; —
" Jl'hat a Sacrament is. A Sacrament (in the sense in which we
understand it in this place) is a visible sign instituted by Cod, by
which the grace brought to us by the promises and merits of Christ,
and the express pardon of sins remitted through them, is signed and
sealed ; which has a double etfect in our minds. For first the recep-
tion of those external things both recalls to our minds the value of
the effects properly attributed to them, a recovery of our salvation,
and causes us openly to testify to its value ; and moreover it sharpens
and excites our faith, and adds strength to it. Moreover it unites us
together in mutual charity, and pours forth the fear of God in our
minds. Lastly it rouses us to sincerity and integrity of life. Of
this kind was circumcision in former times. Now Baptism and the
Eucharist have succeeded to it."*
The description here given of the nature and effects of the
Sacraments is clearly very different from that of our niodern
" High-Church-men."
The requisites to a Sacrament are thus stated ; —
" What is to be sought in a Sacrament. For the perfection of a
Sacrament three things ought to concur. The first is a manifest and
notable mark which can be clearly discerned. The second is the
promise of God, which is represented to us by an external sign, and
thus plainly confirmed. The third is the precept of God, by which
the necessity is laid upon us of partly doing those things and partly
commemorating them ; and since these three things are to be found
on the authority of the Scriptures only in Baptism and the Eucharist,
we maintain that these two only are true and proper sacraments of
the New Testament."!
Baptism is defined thus ; —
" JThat Baptism is. Baptism is a sacrament by which our second
* Quid sit Sacramentum. Sacramentuiu (quomodo nos ilhul in hoc
loco caj)imus; signum est institutimi a Deo quod videri potest, quo gratia
Christi promissis et mentis ad nos profecta, coudouatioque peccatorum
ipsis remissorum expressa consignatur, quod duphcem in animis uostris
vim habet. Primiun enim horum externorum sumptio. et attributarum
ilhs proprie virtutum nobis recuperatae sahitis nostrae pretium in memoriam
revocat, et id, ut aperte profiteamur. efficit, deinde fidem acuit. et exuscitat,
et ilh robur addir. Praeterea charitate nos mutua couserir, et in mentibus
nostris Dei timorem effimdit. Postremo vitam ad sinceram et iutegram
extimulat. Ex hoc genere circumcisio priscis temporibus erat. Nunc Bap-
tismus et Encharistia successerunt. i^Ib. De Sacram. c. 1. p. 2S.)
t Quid in Sacramento qucpreudum sit. Ad sacramenti perfectionera tria
concurrere debent. Primum evidens est et ilhistris nota qute manifeste
22%
birth is sealed to us by external washing, and pardon of sins is
granted, and the influence of the Holy Spirit is poured into us, as is
contained and set forth in the words used in the rite of Baptism, that
our faith may be more elevated and perfect. But when we are dipped
under the waters, and rise again out of them, Christ's death and burial
are first brought to our view, then his quickening and return to life,
that we may bring to mind by these memorials his death and life, and
openly testify that sin lies dead and buried in us, and that the new
and salutary Spirit of God lives again and flourishes in us ; and that,
our body being outwardly washed with the external waters, our souls
inwardly, the pollutions of sin being washed away, raise themselves
pure and thoroughly cleansed to the eternal and heavenly shores."*
Here, as in our 27th Article^ the previous possession of faith
and the Holy Spirit is supposed, and the new birth is externally
sealed by baptism, (externa consignatur conspersione), pardon
and grace are given, and there is a revival of the work of God's
Spirit within us (Dei Spiritum reviviscere in nobis). These
words probably were intended to apply more particularly to the
case of adults. And that of infants is left to be inferred from
them by analogy.
In this work, then, we have another illustration of Cranmer^s
views. And we find reason to draw the same conclusion as to
them, as that to which his other works have led us.
It is worth notice also that when a treatise of Bullinger^s on
the Sacraments was shown to Cranmer by John a Lasco, he
cerni possit. Secundum est Dei promissum, quod externo signo nobis
reprsesentatur, et plane confirmatur. Tertium est Dei praeceptum, quo ne-
cessitas nobis imponitur, ista partim faciendi, partim commemorandi : quae
tria, cura authoritate Scripturarum in Baptismo solum occurrant et Eu-
charistia, nos hacc duo sola pro veris et propriis Novi Testamenti Saera-
mentis ponimus. (lb, c. 2. pp. 28, 29.)
* Quid sit Bnptismus. Baptismus est sacramentum, quo secunda gene-
ratio nostra nobis externa consignatur conspersione, veniaque peccatorum
indulgetur, et Spiritus Sancti virtus infunditur, quemadmodum verbis
comprehensum est in Baptismo propositis, ut erectior in nobis et perfectior
esset fides. Dum autem in aquas demergimur, et rursus ex illis emergi-
mus, Christi mors primum et sepultura commendatur, deinde suscitatio
quidem illius, et reditus ad vitam, ut istius mortis et vitae monumentis
reeordemur, et palam testificemur peceatum in nobis mortuum et sepultum
jacere, sed novum et salutarcm Dei Spiritum reviviscere in nobis et
rejlorescere : tinctoque foras extern is aquis corpore, nostras intus animas,
abstersis peccatorum sordibus, puras et per[)urgatas ad jeternas et coelestes
oras se attollere. (lb. c. 3. p. 29.)
225
urged its publication, though he had not read it, obsernng that
Bulhnger's writings ^'needed no inspection/^* Now though
this fact does not make Cranmer responsible ior all BuUinger's
statements in that work, it is a strong testimony that he con-
sidered Bulliuger^s doctrine on the subject of the sacraments
(which must have been well known to him) to be sound, xlnd
what that doctrine was, needs no proof. The reader, however,
who ^^ishes for further information respecting it, will find ample
extracts a few pages hence from his '^Decads.'^t
BISHOP RIDLEY;
Bishop of Rochester from 1547 to 1550, and of London from 1550
till deprived by Mary. Martyr 1555.
Bishop Ridley, though, like the rest, he describes baptism as
man's regeneration when he is received into the Holy Catholic
Church of Christ,^^ yet in the context he speaks of " that good
word of God^^ "whereby the man is born anew and made the child
of God ; that seed of God, whereby the man of God, so being
* Libellustuus de Sacramentis ante trienniura ad me missus jam tandem
sub prelo est. Ubi ad me cum rehqua BibUothecce meoe parte niiper ad-
vectus esset, exhibui ilium D. Cantuariensi. Is vero ubi audisset, nondum
esse editum, voluit ut ederetur, etiarasi uon legisset, hoc addens, Tua nulla
indisere inspectione. J. a Lasco Ep. ad Bulling, scr. Apr. x. 1551. in
Gerdes. Serin. Antiq. sive Miscell. Groning. vol. 4, pp. 470, 471. To this
testimony of Cranmer's approval of Bullinger's doctrine, my attention was
directed,' since the First Edition of this Work, by the Rev. G. C. Gorham.
t Bullinger's Treatise on the Sacraments, shown to Cranmer by John a
Lasco, was pubUshed by the latter at London in April 1551, 16mo. Of
this peculiarlv rare work I fortunately possess a copy, and find it to be
substantially the same as Sermons vi. and vii. of the fifth Decad, published
about the same time by Bullinger himself. There are passages in each not
to be found in the other, but the doctrine of Bullinger on the subject is as
cleai-ly and fully stated in one as in the other. A Lasco, when sending a
copy "of his edition to Bullinger, writes, " Libellum ad te tuum de Sacra-
mentis, quem ante triennium ad me miseras, et nunc demum quinfa decadi
tu(B inseruisti, per manus Domini a Bredam, fratris Domini Falesii, ad te
misi, hie, me autore, sed valde incorrecte excusum ; non putarem enim, te
istic ilium editurum esse, cum tanto tempore apud me, praeter meam
interim voluntatem, dehtuisset." (Ep. scr. Jun. 7, 1551. in Gerdes. Serin.
Antiq. iv. 472.) If Cranmer had read the Treatise on the Sacraments, and
definitely committed himself to an approval of its statements, it would
have been worth whde to have given extracts from this work. But as
Cranmer's words refer only in general terms to Bullinger's views,
Cranmer's ap])roval. so far as it goes, applies as much to Bulhnger's o^^•u
edition of his work in the Decads as to that published by John a Lasco.
Q
226
horrij cannot sin evidently showing, that he did not consider
the spiritual new birth as due to baptism alone. The words are
the same as those used by Bishop Latimer, in a passage which
I shall immediately give, in opposition to the Popish doctrine
on the subject.
BISHOP LATIMEB;
Bishop of Worcester from 1535 to 1539. Martyr 1555,
The following decisive passages will at once show us the
views of the venerable Latimer.
"Our Saviour saith to Nicodeme, Nisi quis renatus fnerit,
' Except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'
But how cometh this regeneration ? By hearing and believing of the
word of God : for so saith St. Peter, Renati non ex semine mortali
corruptihili ; ' We are born anew, not of mortal seed.'^but of im-
mortal, by the word of God.' Likewise Paul saith in another place.
Visum est Deo per stultitiam prcedicationis salvos facere credentes ;
* It pleased God to save the believers through the foolishness of
preaching.' "f
And in another place he speaks still more strongly.
"It is declared," he says, "in many places of Scripture, how
necessary preaching is ; as this, Evangelium est potentia Dei ad
salutem omni credenti ; ' The preaching of the Gospel is the power
of God to every man that doth believe.' He means God's word
opened : it is the instrument, and the thing whereby we are saved.
Beware, beware, ye diminish not this office ; for if ye do, ye decay
God's power to all that do believe. Christ saith, consonant to the
same, Nisi quis renatus fuerit e supernis, non potest videre regnum
Dei : ' Except a man be born again from above, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.' He must have a regeneration. And what is this
regeneration ? It is not to he christened in water, as these firebrands
[the Romanists] expound it, and nothing else. How is it to be ex-
pounded then ? St. Peter sheweth that one place of Scripture
declareth another. It is the circumstance, and collation of places,
that makes Scripture plain. Regeneramur autem, saith St. Peter,
* Works, P. S. ed. 5G, 57. t Sermons, P. S. ed. vol. i. p. 4/1.
227
'And we be born again.' How? Noti ex semine mortalij sed im-
mortali : * Not by a mortal seed, but by an immortal.' What is this
immortal seed ? Per sermonem Dei viventis ; ' By the word of the
living God ;' hj the word of God preached and opened. Thus
Cometh in our new hirth''^
BISHOP HOOPER;
Bishop of Gloucester from 1550, and of Worcester from 1552
till deprived by Mary 1553. Martyr 1554.
" The office of a Sacrament," says Bishop Hooper, is this : to
shew unto us outwardly that the merits of Christ is [are] made ours,
for the promise sake which God hath made unto those that beheve ;
and these Sacraments by faith doth applicate and apply outwardly
unto him that in faith receiveth them the same grace, the mercy, the
same benefits that is represented by the Sacraments, but not so by the
ministration of the Sacraments, as though they that receive them
were not before assured of the same graces and benefits represented
by the Sacraments. That were a manifest error : for in case the
Sacraments could give us very Christ, the promise of God were in
vain, the w^hich always appertain unto the people of God before they
receive any Sacrament ; but they be the testimonies of promise, and
declare unto us for an infallible verity, and unto the Church of
Christ, that we be the people that God hath chosen unto his mercy,
and that by faith we possessed before Christ ; and in faith, friend-
ship, and amity with God we receive these Sacraments, which are
nothing else but a badge and open sign of God's favour unto us, and
that we by this livery declare ourselves to live and die in his faith
againt the devil, the world, and sin." . . . "This [baptism] is the
sign wherewithal God marketh all that be living in this world ; and
his friends by those means he sealeth in the assurance of remission
of sin, which thou hast first in spirit received by faith, and for the
promise made unto thy father and his posterity. For the promise of
God, the remission of sin, appertaineth not only unto the father, but
also unto the seed and succession of the father, as it was said unto
Abraham, Gen. xvii., Ero Deus tuus, etseminis tui post te. It is ill
done to condemn the infants of the Christians that die without bap-
tism, of whose salvation by the Scripture we be assured." . . " This
Sacrament, and all other, be but the confirmation of Christ's pro-
* lb. p. 202.
Q 2
228
mises, which be in the perso??. that receiveth the Sacraments before,
or else these external signs availeth nothing. This may be easily
known by the use of baptism everywhere. The testimonies of the
infant to be christened are examined in the behalf of the child, of
faithy what they believe of God. . . . Before yet or he [that is, even
he, the infant] be christened, he maketh this solemn vow, full little
regarded of all the world in manner, that he will at the years of
discretion 'practise and live godly after this faith. . . . Then is he
christened in the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost. The which fact doth openly confirm the remission of sin,
received before by faith. For at the contemplation of God's pro-
mises in Christ, he is saved as soon as the conscience of man repent-
eth and believeth, and his sins be forgiven. John iii. and vi. : Qui
credit FiHo habet vitam eeternam ; qui non credit non videbit vitam,
sed ira Dei manet super eum. There is neither faith, neither Sacra-
ment, unto this christened creature in vain. Faith receiveth first
Christ for the promise sake ; then is he bold [that is, when in adult
life he thus believes] to take this Holy Sacrament for a confirmation
of God's benefits towards him, and then to manifest, open, and de-
clare unto the whole Church, represented by the minister and such
as be present at the act, [referring apparently to the rite of confirma-
tion,] Christ, that already secretly dwelleth in his soul, that they may
bear record of this love, amity, peace and concord, that is between
God and him by Christ. And forasmuch as all displeasure, ire,
vengeance, and hatred, between God and him, is agreed upon by
the intercession of Christ, whom faith before baptism brought
before the judgment seat of God, to plead this charter of remission ;
it is the office of the Church, which hath an open and manifest decla-
ration thereof, to give God thanks for the preservation of his Church,
and for the acceptation of this christened person into the common-
wealth of his saved people." ** As the promise of God is received
by faith, so must the Sacraments be also. And whereas faith is not,
no Sacrament availeth."*
This passage appears to me specially deserving of notice, as
explanatory of Hooper's view of the whole subject of the effects
of baptism in infants. Maintaining that the Sacrament is only
the seal and confirmation of what exists before in the person
ba])tized, he goes on to remark that this is true everywhere,"
that is, in all cases, even in that of an infant. For the child is
* Answer to Bishop of Winchester (first published in 1547) in his
"Early Writings," P. S. ed. pp. 127 — 135.
229
examined through its sureties as to its faith^ and it is only ujion
the promise that " he will at the years of discretion practise and
live godly after this faith/^ that he is baptized. And his bap-
tism conlirms that remission of sin which even before baptism
his anticipated faith had brought him^ for even " before bap-
tism" his faith " brought Christ before the judgment seat of
God, to plead the charter of remission." And ^' as soon as" his
" conscience I'epents and believes," he is " saved," and forgive-
ness applied to him. And when faith has received Christ, then
he is able to look upon his baptism as a conlii-mation of God's
benelits towards him," Sec. And seenig that even before bap-
tism," the anticipated faith of the infant "brought Christ before
the judgment seat of God to plead the charter of remission,"
" it is the office of the Church, which hath an open and mani-
fest declaration thereof [that is, of his faith] to give God thanks
for the preservation of his Church, and for the acceptation of
this christened person into the commonwealth of his saved people
in other words, to use such a thanksgiving as our Chui'ch pre-
scribes to be used in her SerWce for the Baptism of Infants.
The same %iew is also very clearly placed before us in the fol-
lo^N'ing passage : —
" Although baptism be a Sacrament to be received and honourably
used of all men, yet it sanctifieth no man. And such as attribute the
remission of sin unto the external sign do offend. John, Matth. iii.,
preached penitence in the desert, and remission of sin in Christ. Such
as confessed their faults, he marked and declared them to be of Christ's
Church. So that external baptism was but an inauguration or ex-
ternal consecration of these, that first beheved and were cleansed of
their sin, as he declareth himself in the same place : Ego (inquit)
bapti:o aqua : I christen with water. As though he said, My baptism
raaketh no man the better ; inwardly, it changeth no man ; but I call
and preach to the outward ear, I exhort unto penance \i. e. repen-
tance] ; and such as say they do repent, and would change the old
sinful life, I wash with water. He that inwardly cleanseth, is stronger
than I. His grace it is only, that purifieth the soul. I baptize in
penance, to say, [/. e. that is to say,] into a new hfe. This new life
coraeth not, until such time as Christ be known and received. Now
to put on Christ is to live a new life. Such as be baptized must re-
member, that penance and faith preceded this external sign, and in
Christ the purgation was inwardly obtained, before the external sign
230
was given. So that there are two kinds of baptism /and both neces-
sary : the one interior, which is the cleansing of the heart, the drawing
of the Father, the operation of the Holy Ghost : and this baptism is
in man, when he believeth and trusteth that Christ is the only author
of his salvation. Thus be the infants examined concerning repentance
and faith, before they be baptized with water ; at the contempla-
tion OF THE WHICH FAITH, GoD PURGETH THE SOUL. Then is the
exterior sign added, not to purge the heart, but to confirm, manifest,
and open unto the world that this child is God's. And likewise bap-
tism, with the repetition of the words, is a very sacrament and sign,
that the baptized creature should die from sin all his life, as Paul
writeth, Rom. vi. Likewise no man should condemn nor neglect
this exterior sign, for the commandment's sake : though it have no
power to purge from sin, yet it confirmeth the purgation of sin, and
the act of itself pleaseth God, for because the receivers thereof obey
the will of his commandment."*
Again, in his fifth Sermon on Jonah, he says, —
" They [i. e. the Fathers] thought it best to name the Sacraments
by the name of the thing was represented by the Sacraments. Yet
in many places of their writings they so interpretate themselves, that
no man, except he will be wilfully blind, can say but they understood
the Sacrament to signify, and not to be the thing signified j to con-
firm, and not to exhibit grace ; to help, and not to give faith ; to
seal, and not to win the promise of God, Rom. iv. ; to shew what we
be before the use of them, and not to make us the thing we declare
to be after them ; to shew we are Christ's ; to shew we be in grace,
and not by them to be received into grace ; to shew we be saved, and
not yet to be saved by them ; to shew we be regenerated, and not to
be regenerated by them ; thus the old doctors meant. "f
These Sermons were preached during Lent 1550, before the
King and his Council ; and after they were ended he was ap-
pointed Bishop of Gloucester. J Three editions of the Sermons
appeared in the same year.
And in his " Confession of Faith,^' published in 1550, he
says,—
" Of baptism, because it is a mark of our Christian Church, this I
* Declaration of Christ and his Office, (first published in 1547)- Early
Writings, P. S. ed. pp. 74, 75.
t Early Writings, P. S. ed. pp. 523, 524.
t See his Letter to BuUingcr in " Original Letters relative to the Re-
formation," P. S. cd. vol. i. J). S7.
231
judge after the doctrine of St. Paul, that it is a seal and confirmation
of justice or of our acceptation into the grace of God. For Christ,
his innocency and justice, by faith is ours, and our sins and injustice
by his obedience are his, whereof baptism is the -sign, seal, and con-
firmation. For although freely by the grace of God our sins are for-
given, yet the same is declared by the Gospel, received by faith, and
sealed by the Sacraments, which be the seals of God's promises, as it
is to be seen by the faith of faithful Abraham. ... As for those that
say circumcision and baptism be like, and yet attribute the remission
of orujinal sin to baptism, which was never given unto circumcision,
they not only destroy the similitude and equality that should be
between them, but also take from Christ remission of sin, and trans-
late it unto the water and element of baptism."*
JOHN BRADFORD ;
Appointed by Bishop Ridley a Prebendary of St. Paul's.f
Marttjr 1555.
Of the character of John Bradford I have already givcDj tes-
timonies amply sufl&cient, I suppose, for the satisfaction of the
reader. A man of whom Bishop Ridley testifies, that he was
one ^- whomjn my conscience I judge more worthy to be a Bishop
than many a one of us that be Bishops already to be a parish
priest/^ needs no fm-ther recommendation to the faithful mem-
bers of our Church. He is also said by Strype to have been " a
man of great learning, elocution, sweetness of temper, and pro-
found devotion towards God .... and one of whose w^orth the
Papists themselves wxre so sensible, that they took more pains
to bring him oJff from the profession of religion than any other,^^§
and he, with Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer, are called by Strype
"four prime pillars of the Reformed Church of England.'^ ||
Now the writings of Bradford supply us, I conceive, with as
complete a view^ of the doctrine of our Church in his day on
the subject of this work as can anywhere be obtained. His
general system of doctriiie I have already noticed.^ But I now
* Fathers of the English Church, vol. v. pp. 220 — 222.
t Strype's Eccles. Mem. iii. 1. 363. % pp. 'J9, 80, above.
§ Eccles. Memor. iii. 1. 3()3, 3G4.
11 lb. -123. . *[\ pp. 75 et seq. above.
232
come to his statements as to the doctrine of baptism in par-
ticular. And the following extracts will show how far he was
from supposing that all infants indiscriminately were regenerated
in baptism.
Our cecity or blindness and corrupt affections do often shadow
the sight of God's seed in God's children, as though they were plain
reprobates : whereof it cometh, that they praying according to their
sense, but not according to the truth, desire of God to give them
again his Spirit, as though they had lost it, and he had taken it away ;
which thing God never doth indeed, although he make us to think so
for a time ; for always he holdeth his hand under his children in their
falls, that they lie not still, as others do which are not regenerate.
And this is the difference between God^s children, which are regene-
rate and elect before all times in Christ, and the wicked always, that
the elect lie not still continually in their sin, as do the wicked, but at
the length do return again by reason of God's seed, which is in them
hid as a spark of fire in the ashes."*
" I believe that faith and to beheve in Christ, (I speak not now of
faith that men have by reason of miracles. . . . but I speak of that
faith which indeed is the true faith, the justifying and regenera-
ting faith), I believe, I say, that this faith and belief in Christ is
the work and gift of God, given to none other than to those
WHICH BE the children OF GoD, THAT IS, TO THOSE WHOM GoD
THE Father, before the beginning of the world, hath predes-
tinated IN Christ unto eternal life."!
" That election is of some of Adam's posterity, and not of all, we
may plainly see it, if we consider, that he maketh the true demonstra-
tion of it, believing, hoping, and having the earnest of the Spirit. . . .
Who seeth not that these are not common to all men ? All men have
not faith, saith Paul, 2 Thess. iii. None believed (saith Luke) but
such as were ordained to eternal life (Acts iii.) ; none believe but such
as be born of God (1 John i.) : none believe truly but such ^s have
good hearts, and keep God's seed, to bring forth fruits by patience
(Matt, xiii.) . So that it is plain (faith being a demonstration of God's
election to them that be of years of discretion) that all men are not
elect, because all men believe not ; for he that believeth in the Lord
shall be as Mount Sion (Ps. cxxv.), that is, he shall never be re-
moved ; for if he be removed, that is, finally perish, surely he never
truly believed."X
* Richmond's Fathers of the English Church, vol. vi. pp. 177, ^7^.
t pp. 189. ' t lb. pp. 376, 377.
233
"If he had not chosen you, as most certainly he hath, he would
not have so called you ; he would never have justifie'd you. . . . If he
have chosen you. . . . then neither can you, nor ever shall you, perish."*
" By faith in Christ. ... we are members in very deed of the
Catholic and Holy Church of Christ. ... I would the poor Christian
conscience, which by baptism is brought into God's Church and made
a member of the same through faith, should not for his sins' sake,
or for the want of any thing he hath not, despair. "f
But Bradford, like all the rest, when speaking of Baptism in
the abstract, speaks unhesitatingly of the blessings conferred
in it.
Thus he says, —
" As by baptism we are engrafted into Christ, so by the Supper we
are fed with Christ. ... As therefore in baptism is given unto us the
Holy Ghost, and pardon of our sins, which yet lie not lurking in the
water, so in the Lord's Supper, &c By baptism the old man is
put off, and the new man put on ; yea, Christ is put on." J
Again, exhorting his hearers to discern betwixt signs which
signify only, and signs which also do represent, confirm, and
seal up, or (as a man may say) give with their signification,^^
instancing of the former, that " an ivy bush is a sign of wine to
be sold," and other examples, which, he says, are " signs sig_
nificative and shew no gift," he adds, —
"But in the other signs, which some call exhibitive, is there not
only a signification of the thing, but also a declaration of a gift, yea,
in a certain manner a giving also. As baptism signifieth not only
the cleansing of the conscience from sin by the merits of Christ's
blood, but also is a very cleansing from sin ; and therefore it was
said to Paul, that he should arise and wash away his sins, and not
that he should arise and take only a sign of washing away his
sins."§
And he strongly insists upon a view very generally entertained
among our earlier divines, — and which it is essentially necessary
to keep in mind as their doctrine, if we would understand aright
the language which they often use on the subject of baptism, —
* lb. p. 103. See also p. 586.
t Against the Fear of Death, ib. p. 414. See also Serm. on Lord's
Supper, ib. pp. 498, 4!)}).
X Serm. on the Lord's Supper, ib. p. 481. § lb. pp. 486, 486.
234
namely^ that we who belong to the visible Church, and profess
faith in Christ, ought to believe that we are of the number of
God^s elect children, and shall never finally perish, "faith,"
as he says in a passage just quoted, " being a demonstration of
God's election to them that be of years of discretion." This
reliance he considered to be one great mark and characteristic
of true faith.
We have already seen how strongly this view was set forth
even so early as the year 1537, in the " Institution of a Chris-
tian Man ;" and Bradford's writings abound with passages to
this effect. I will here give a few.
"Now, then, forasmuch as we see faith to be the ground, where-
upon dependeth the whole condition of our justifying, let us discuss
in Hke manner what is this faith. . . . He that believeth that God
created all things of nought, believeth truly. ... so he that believeth
that God hath his election from the beginning, and that he also is
one of the same elect and predestinate, hath a good belief and thinketh
well; but yet this belief alone, except it be seasoned with another
thing, will not serve to salvation. . . . Only the faith which availeth to
salvation is that whose object is the body and passion of Jesus Christ
crucified."*
Here we see that one part of justifying faith in a man is con-
sidered to be the belief " that he is one of the elect and pre-
destinate.'^
Again, in a " Meditation on the Lord's Prayer," God is thus
addressed, —
" Thou wouldest I should he most assured, that thou of thine own
good will which thou barest to me-wards before I teas, yea, before the
world was, hast in Christ chosen me to be thy child, and through him
art become my most loving Father (Eph. i.), from whom I should
look for all good things, . . . so certain thou wouldest have me to he
of this, that to doubt of it doth most displease thee and dishonour
thee."-\ " Last of all, I am taught hereby to see thy goodness to-
wards me, which will deliver me from evil, and from being overcome
in temptations ; for thou wouldest not have me to ask for that which
I should not look for at thy hands certainly. By reason whereof
thou woiddest have me to he in a certainty of salvation for ever J' %
" He would not have us to ask for deliverance from evil, if that he
* Letters, ib. p. If)/.
t lb. p. 236.
\ Ib. p. 257.
235
would not we should certainly look for the same. If thou doubt of
final perseverance, thou dishonourest God.''*
Again, in another Meditation on the Lord^s Prayer, he says, —
" In all dangers and perils of temptations, and in the midst of the
stormy tempests of tribulation, dear Father, make us, thy poor chil-
dren, to feel the consolation of the certainty of our eternal election
in Christ Jesus our Lord, and to perceive thy fatherly succour ready
to help us."t
And in his ^' Defence of Election " he says, —
" Doubt once of thy salvation^ and continue therein, and surely he
[the Devil] will ask no more. It was the first thing wherewith he
tempted Christ : ' If thou be the Son of God,' &c. (Matt, iv.) It is
the first and principal dart that he casteth at God's elect ; but as he
prevailed not against Christ, no more shall he do against any of his
members. "J
And in his Treatise " Against the Fear of Death,^^ —
'*It is an article of our faith to beheve, that is, to be certain that
our sins are pardoned ; therefore doubt not thereof, lest thou become
an infidel."§
Again, in one of his Letters, this is very strongly put : —
" If we did certainly believe we were members of Christ and God's
temples, how should we but fly from all impurity and corruption of
the world which cometh by concupiscence ? If we did certainly be-
lieve that God indeed of his mercy in Christ is become our Father,
in that his goodwill is infinite and his power according thereto, how
could we be afraid of man or devil } How could we doubt of salva-
tion, or any good thing which might make to God's glory and our
own weal Now that we should be certain and sure of this, that
ive are God's children in Christ, mark whether all things teach us
not. . . . Besides this, look on your Belief : do you not profess that
you believe in God, your Father Almighty, which wanteth no power
to help you, as he wanted no good will in Christ to choose you ? Do
you not say that you do believe remission of sins, resurrection of the
body, life everlasting, fellowship with the saints, &c. But how do
you say you believe this gear, and be not certain thereof? Is not
faith a certainty? is not doubting, against faith? as St. James saith,
Pray in faith, and doubt not ; for he that doubteth, obtaineth nothing.
* lb. pp. 258, 259. f lb. p. 314. \ lb. p. 381. § lb. p. 415.
236
When Peter began to doubt, he had like to have been drowned
(Matt, viii.) ; beware of it therefore."*
Such was the decided language used on this subject by Brad-
ford. And such for a long period was the prevailing doctrine
in our Church. It may be added, that this (naturally enough) was
one of the first points in the then dominant system of theology,
to be afterwards assailed, this being the principal point in which
Barret in J 595 departed from the ordinary doctrine of his con-
temporaries, and for which departure he was called to account.
The consequence of holding this doctrine we see remarkably
displayed in the following passages of Bradford relating to bap-
tism, which to one unacquainted with the nature of his doctrine
on the subject of Assurance, as just pointed out, would be almost
unintelligible. For, maintaining as he did that, in the case of
the elect, regeneration was conferred in baptism, and that it is
our duty to feel assured of our being in the number of God's
elect, he considers that our baptism pledges us to the exercise of
such an appropriating faith in God, as having a purpose of mercy
towards us, as enables us to look upon ourselves as interested in
all the blessings of his promised work of redemption in his
people. He remarks, —
" I trust you see, that though the commodities of this life were
such as could cause us to love it, yet the brevity, vanity, and misery
of it is such, as should make us little to regard it, which believe and
know death to be the end of all miseries to them that are in Christ,
AS WE ALL OUGHT TO TAKE OURSELVES TO BE, being baptizediu his
name (for our baptism requireth this faith under pain of
damnation), although we have not observed our profession as we
should have done, if so be we now repent, and come to amendment
Again, while he tells us, —
" Predestination is not without vocation in God's time and justifi-
cation. . . . Unto the Romans the Apostle sheweth it most manifestly,
in saying. Whom he hath predestinated, them he calleth ; whom he
caileth, them he justifieth ; whereby we may see that predestination
or election is not universal of all, for all be not justified f X and jus-
* lb. pp. 592, 593. See also p. 93.
t Against the Fear of Death, ib. p. 403. See also the same Treatise,
p. 415.
I Treatise on Election, ib. p. 3/8.
237
tification precedeth regeneration, from whioh we may discern it, but
not divide it, no more than heat from the fire —
He also says^ —
"A man regenerate {which we ought to believe of ourselves, T
mean that we are so by our baptisin, the sacrament thereof requiring
no less faith) ; a man, I say, regenerate, that is, born of God, hath
the Spirit ofGod."t
Thus though he denies that, in fact, all are justified and rege-
nerated, (for he connects the two together), yet at the same time,
he maintains that we ought each to believe ourselves to be so;
the characteristic of true faith being, that it realizes a personal
interest in the blessings of the Covenant.
Similar passages occur elsewhere in his writings ; as for
instance the following : —
"Think that you are regenerate by Christ's resurrection {whereof
your baptism recpiireth faith) . . . Think that by faith which is God's
Seed (for they which believe are born of God, and made God's chil-
dren), given to those that be ordained to eternal life ; think, I say,
that by faith you receive more and more the spirit of sanctification,
through the use of God's word and sacraments." J
"Thou wouldest that I should be bom of Christian parents,
brought into thy Church by baptism, and called divers times by the
ministry of thy word into thy kingdom, besides the innumerable other
benefits always hitherto poured upon me ; all which thou hast done
of this thy good will that thou of thine own mercy bear est to me in
Christ and for Christ before the world was made : the which
THING AS THOU REQUIREST STRAITLY THAT I SHOULD BELIEVE
WITHOUT DOUBTING, SO in all my needs that I should come unto thee
as a Father, and make my moan without mistrust of being heard in
thy good time, as most shall make to my comfort."§
And so in the following remarkable passage, where (if there
were any doubt as to its meaning), the context (just quoted
above) would clear it up.
" A man that is regenerate and born of God (the which thing that
every one of us be, our baptism, the sacrament of regeneration, doth
require, under pain of damnation ; and therefore let every one of us
* lb. p. 389. t lb. ]). 390.
X Godly Meditation, ib. p. 353.
§ Prayer for Remission of Sins, ib. p. 338.
238
with the Virgin Mary say, Be it unto me, O Lord, according to thy
word, according to the sacrament of Baptism, wherein thou hast
declared our adoption : and let us lament the doubting hereof in
us, striving against it, as we shall be made able of the Lord) : a man,
I say, that is regenerate, consisteth of two men (as a man may say),
namely of the old man and of the new man."*
Now whatever interpretation may be given to this passage, it
is obvious, that it is opposed to the notion of spiritual regenera-
tion being always conferred in baptism, because it argues that
baptism requires our regeneration, " under pain of damnation,'^
and exhorts us to pray for it, and lament our doubting whether
or not we have it ; which (singular as the phraseology is, and
whatever may be its precise meaning) is clearly inconsistent with
the notion that it is invariably conferred upon the infant as a
passive recipient of it. And the context shows that no such
meaning was in his mind. For he says, —
'* As inasmuch as he is an old man, he is a sinner and an enemy to
God, so inasmuch as he is regenerate, he is righteous and holy and
a friend to God, the seed of God preserving Mm from sin, so that he
cannot sin Always he holdeth his hand under his children in
their falls, that they he not still, as others do which are not regene-
rate. And this is the difference between God's children which are
regenerate and elect before all times in Christ, and the wicked always,
that the elect lie not still continually in their sin, as do the wicked,
but at the length do return again by reason of God's seed, which is
in them hid as a spark of fire in the ashes. "f
ARCHDEACON PHILPOT ;
Archdeacon of Winchester, Martyr 1555.
Archdeacon Philpot also (writing against the Anabaptists)
grounds the title of infants of Christian parents to baptism on
the fact that they " be in the number or scroll of God^s people,'^
by promise, and therefore " w^hy should the sign of the promise
which is baptism in water be withdrawn from children
infants be beloved of God, and therefore want not the Spirit
of God, wherefore^' they are to be baptized. J
* Letter, ib. p. 176. t lb. pp. 177, 178.
X Philpot's Examinations, &c. P. S. ed. See pp. 275-281.
239
BISHOP COVERDALE;
Bishop of Exeter from 1551 till deprived by -Mary in 1553.
Thus, again, speaks Bishop Coverdale, as to the intent and
effect of baptism : —
" To use the Sacraments without faith profiteth not^ but rather
hurteth ; to be loth to use them, declareth a compulsion and unbelief.
For though the water in baptism be an outward thing, and cannot
cleanse the soul from sin, yet the faithful do know right well, that
Christ, the eternal Wisdom in whom they believe, did not institute it
in vain ; and therefore will not they contemn or leave unexercised
the ordinance of their Head, to whom they as members are incorpo-
rated by faith. For they know, that Christ with these outward
tokens thought to couple and knit together the members of his holy
Church in obedience and love one towards another ; whereby they,
knowing one another among themselves, might by such exterior
things stir and provoke one another to love and godhness. They
know also that sacraments are evidences of the promise and grace of
Gody which they after a visible and palpable manner do set forth,
declare, and represent unto us. These tokens of grace doth no man
use more devoutly, and with more reverence, than he that in himself
is certified and assured of the gracious favour of God ; as we see in
Cornehus, in Paul, and in Queen Candace's chamberlain."*
And with remarkable clearness in the following passage.
First, we have the usual statement as to the excellent effects
of baptism in the following words, —
" As in baptism we are confirmed and settle ourselves in possession
[ ? persuasion] of the promise of salvation to appertain unto us, God
to be our God, Christ to be our Christ, and we to be God's people ;
the promise of the word of God giveth and offereth, faith in us ap-
plieth and receiveth the same, and the sacraments do confirm and
(as it were) seal up : baptism, that we are regenerated with the
Spirit of God, made his children, brethren to Christ, and engrafted
into him ; the supper, that we are fed with Christ spiritually j" &c.f
But then, afterwards, in the same page, we are told, —
In baptism is required God's election, if he be an infant, or
faith, if he be of age.'' %
* Coverdale's Writings, P. S. ed. p. 411.
t Coverdale's Remains, P. S. ed. pp. 267, 2G8. % lb. 268.
240
THOMAS BECON;
Chaplain to Archbishop Cranmer.
Let us first observe how, like all the rest, he unhesitatingly
makes general statements, connecting regeneration with bap-
tism.
Although by Christ we be set again at liberty, and receive our
manumission and freedom from that captivity whereunto we were
made bond by the sin of Adam, so soon as we are regenerate and
born anew by the honourable sacrament of Baptism and the Holy
Ghost, yet inasmuch," &c.* " By baptism is he your Lord God ;
therefore will not he suffer you to perish. By baptism is he your
Father and you are born of him, and so become his son. ... By
baptism is the Holy Ghost given you : then are you the son of God,
and cannot perish," &c.t Baptism " is called the clean and pure water,
the lavacre of our regeneration, or fountaiR of the new birth." J
But does he mean that all that are baptized are regenerated ?
Nothing of the kind, as we see from such passages as the fol-
lowing.
" St. Paul saith, * We are the workmanship of God' . . it doth fol-
low, * created in Christ Jesus.' Behold here is a new creation. Here
is another birth. Here is a regeneration which far differeth from the
old nativity. Here are we made new creatures. In whom ? In
Moses by the law ? Nay verily, but in Christ by faith. By faith
are we regenerate, born anew, created again in Christ Jesus.** §
" Father. What is it to be baptized with the Holy Ghost } Son.
To be regenerate, to be born anew, to be made of earthly heavenly,
&c. . . . Father. Is this baptism of the Spirit necessary unto everlast-
ing salvation } Son. So necessary, that without it the baptism of
water profiteth nothing. As in the Old Testament the circumcision
of the flesh profited the Jews nothing at all without the circumcision
of the Spirit, so likewise in the New Testament the baptism of the
water availeth nothing without the baptism of the Spirit." || " Hereof
then may we truly conclude, that, forasmuch as the outward baptism
which is done by water, neither giveth the Holy Ghost nor the grace
of God, but only is a sign and token thereof ; if any of the Christian
infants, prevented by death, depart without baptism (necessity so
* Works, P. S. ed. vol. 1. p. 178.
+ lb. p. 612. § lb. vol. 1. p. 81.
t lb. vol. 3. p. 173.
II lb. vol. 2. pp. 202, 203.
241
compelling), they are not damned, but be ?aved by the free grace of
God ; forasmuch as we tofore heard, they be contained in the cove-
nant of grace, they be members of God's Church, God promiseth to
be their God," &c.* " For, as many of the people' of God are saved,
which never received the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ,
80 likewise are many saved, though they were never outwardly bap-
tised with water ; forasmuch as the regeneration of a Christian con-
sisteth rather in the spirit than in the flesh ; even as the circumcision
also of the Jews consisted not in the letter, but in the spirit, not in
the circumcision of the flesh, but in the circumcision of the heart."!
" What is baptism ? The washing of every believing Christian in
water that taketh upon him to profess the name of Christ ; which
water certifieth our faith of the inward washing and cleansing of our
souls by the Spirit of God j a token of our regeneration, of the mor-
tification of our flesh, of our burial with Christ, and of our resurrec-
tion unto a new life. If the believing Christians only be baptized,
according to this saying of Christ, * he that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved,' why should the infants be baptized, which for imper-
fection of age are not able to beheve ? Though infants have not
power to beheve or to confess their behef, yet have th^y faith im-
puted unto them for the promise sake of God, because they be the
seed of the faithful ; as he said to Abraham, ' I will be thy God, and
the God of thy seed.* Seeing then that they also have the promise
of salvation, why should they be forbidden the promised pledge or
seal of the same promise of salvation ? The sacraments of the Jews
difi^ered nothing from ours in efi'ect, but only in the outward element
and form of executing the same : why then should our infants be
more forbidden baptism than the Jews' infants were forbidden cir-
cumcision at the eighth day ?. . . . What if the infants die before they
receive the sacrament of baptism ? God's promise of salvation unto
them is not for default of the sacrament minished, or made vain and
of no efi^ect. For the Spirit is not so bound to the water, that it
cannot work his office, where the water wanteth, or that it of ne-
cessity must alway be there where the water is sprinkled. . . . True
Christians, whether they be old or young, are not saved because out-
wai'dly they be washed with the sacramental water, but because they
be God's children by election through Christ, yea, and that before
the foundations of the vjorld were laid, and are sealed up by the
Spirit of God unto everlasting life."l
No remarks^ I suppose, are necessary to explain Bccon^s doc-
trine.
* lb. vol. 2. p. 217. t lb. p. 224. J lb. vol. :\ pp. 61G, (il7.
K
242
DEAN W. TURNER;
Dean of Wells from 1550 to 1553, and from 1560 to 1568. /f^
was also Canon of Windsor in the time of Edward VI.
The work of Dean Turner* from which I am about to quote
is entitled, " The Old Learning and the New compared together^
whereby it may easily be known which of them is better and more
agreeing with the everlasting word of God. Newly corrected and
augmented by William Turner." The colophon of the edition
used (from a copy in the British Museum) is, Imprinted at
London by Robert Stoughton. . . . 1548." In 16mo. There was
an earlier edition in 1538. The work is a translation of one
written in Latin by Urbanus Regius, and though this is not
mentioned in the title, it is acknowledged in the heading of the
Preface to be a translation, in these words, " The Preface of the
Translator unto the Christian reader."
In that part of this work which treats " Of the Sacraments,"
we have the following comparison.
"The New Learning.
" It is enough and sufficient to receive the Sacraments effectually
and with fruit, to have no stop nor let of deadly sin. And there is
not required in a man a good motion within him which receiveth
them, whereby of a congruence or worthiness he may deserve grace ;
for the Sacraments bring grace with them of the work that is wrought
by them, or by the work itself, that is to say, because the work is
showed and ministered as a sign or a Sacrament. Thus saith the
Master of Sentences, in the fourth book, in the first distinction, "f. . . .
* As Dr. Turner practised at one time as a physician, doubts have been
raised by Wood (ever glad to find something to censure in such men)
whether he was ever ordained. It has been proved, however, ])y Baker,
that he was in deacon's orders in 1536, who adds that he was ordained
priest by Bishop Ridley, Dec. 21, 1552. See Wood's Athen. Oxon. i. 1361,
ed. Bliss. Wood admits that he was " a person had in much esteem for
his two faculties [divinity and physic], and for the great benefit he did by
them, especially in his writings, to the Church and Commonwealth."
t This is a mistake. No such passage occurs in the Master of the Sen-
tences, whose doctrine is much sounder than this. The passage referred
to is jirobably the following, in an Exposition of the Book of the Sentences
written by Gabriel Biel, two centuries later.
" Signum aliquod conferre gratiam duplicitcr potest intelligi. Uno
modo ex ipso signo seu Sacramento, vel ut alii dicunt, ex opere operate ;
243
•'The Old Learning.
"The Gospel witnesseth that we be saved, not by an holy sign but
through faith ; Gen. xv., ' Abraham gave credence,-and beheved God,
and that was reckoned to him for righteousness.' Rom. iv. and x.,
' If a man believe from the heart, he shall be made righteous.' He
saith not, that with the body an holy sign is taken unto righteousness.
Also, Habakkuk ii. and Rom. i., 'The just shall live by his faith.'
He saith not, he shall live by the Sacraments. ItfoUoweth, therefore,
after the Old Learning, that faith is necessary to be had in him that
receiveth the Sacrament with fruit. The authors of this Learning
that are the youngest wrote 1500 years ago : then judge, I pray thee,
good reader, whether our Learning, which was taught only by the
Prophets and Apostles so many years ago, ought rather to be called
Old Learning, or theirs whose writers wrote not above 500 years
past." (fol. A iiii.)
LANCELOT RIDLEY ;
Made by Archbishop Cranmer in 1541 one of the six Preachers
at Canterbury Cathedral.
By the extracts already given from Lancelot Ridley,* it ap-
pears that he held with Luther, that faith is necessary even for
infants in order to their being accepted by God in baptism. The
strong expressions therefore which he uses in the same Treatise
respecting the effects of baptism must of course be understood
with this condition.
DR. JOHN OLDE, 1550.
Dr. Olde is quoted with respect by Archbishop Bancroft in his
celebrated Sermon at Paul's Cross, in 1588, as a very learned
man " who had written a work in Defence of the Reformation of
the Church by Edward VI. f The title of this work is, " Acquittal
ita quod eo ipso quod opus illud, puta signum aut Sacramentum, exhibetur,
nisi impediat obex peccati mortalis, gratia confertur ; sic quod praeter exhi-
bitionem signi foris exhibiti non requiritur bonus motus interior in susci-
piente, quo de condigno vel de congruo gratiam mereatur, sed sufficit quod
suscipiens non ponat obicem." (Repertorium generale et succinct. &c.
content, in quat. collect. Gabrielis Bid super quat. libr. Sentent. Lugd.
1519, fol. In libr. 4, dist. 1, qua>st. 3.)
* See pp. 192, 193, above.
t See reprint of this Sermon in Hickes's Bibliotheca Scriptorum, &c.
Lond. 1709. 8vo. p. 281.
R 2
2U
or purgation of the most Catholic Christian Prince Edward VI.
printed at Waterford in 1555^ 16mo. In it^ speaking of baptism,
he says^ —
" By this baptism we beheve that all are baptized to be one body
through the Spirit of Christ, and that baptism doth always work
effectunWy in faithful believers ; for Christ doth always vmter the
members of his body with his own Spirit."' (foL E iv.)
Here it is evident that the effect of baptism is confined to
faithful believers and members of Christ's body.
And, again, in his " Confession of the most antient and true
Christian Catholic Old Belief/^ (which professes to be " imprinted
in Sothewarke, by Christopher Truthal. In April 1556/^) 16mo.,
commenting on the Creed, he says : —
" Concerning the Ninth Article, I believe and confess, that all
they which truly believe in Christ throughout all the whole universal
world, are one body and one church of Christ, whom he sanctifieth
by his Holy Spirit in his own blood. And all they are with one only
bond and knot of faith, and through love, united and knit in Christ,
and one to another, among themselves, like members all of one body ;
and principally they are made partakers of the free grace and gifts
of their head and Saviour Jesus Christ. This church is holy, this
church is begotten and born of the word of God recorded in the Holy
Scriptures. . . And because it is begotten and born of the immortal
seed the word of God, mentioned in the Scriptures, heareth the voice
of her head and shepherd, Jesus Christ, fleeth from the voice of all
strange doctrines and spirits," &c. (fol. C 2, C 3.)
ROGER HUTCHINSON, 1550.
Roger Hutchinson was a Fellow of St. John's College, Cam-
bridge, and, though a layman, yet of some ecclesiastical learning.
In 1550 he published a book entitled "The Image of God, or
Layman's Book,'' which he dedicated to Archbishop Cranmer.
From this work passages are sometimes quoted as proving the
universal efficacy of baptism to the production of spiritual rege-
neration. And no doubt there are passages which, speaking of
baptism in general terms, connect regeneration with it, as the
most Calvinistic divines also do, as has been already shown.
But he also tells us that God " is not bound to his Sacraments,
245
but worketh what he will and how he will,^^ and that He re-
gar deth the heart J not the ceremony of ministration
These words, then, show that his general expressions respect-
ing the effects of the sacraments are to be understood as referring
to those cases where the recipients are acceptable in the sight of
God.
A SHORT CATECHISM, 1550.
The full title is,
" A shorte Cathechisme. A briefe and godly bringinge up of youth,
in the knowlege and commaunderaentes of God in fayth, prayer, and
other articles necessary to be knowen of all those that wil be par-
takers of the kyngdom of Jesus Christ : set forth in maner of a
Dialogue." 16mo.
The colophon is,
" Imprinted the yeare after the creation of the worlde 5525. And
after the byrthe of oure Saviour 1550." — (Cambr. Univ. Libr. Q.*
13, 42.)
The author of this Catechism, in his Preface to the reader^
says,—
" And because our country is great, and the preachers few, that
the word cannot by lively voice be taught in aU places : I thought
nothing meeter to be set forth at this present time, than this brief
Catechism, that where as they can have no preacher, they may not-
withstanding not lack a teacher."
I have not been able to ascertain who was the author of this
Catechism, and therefore of course, as long as its author remains
unknown, its testimony is of a secondary value. But the words
of the Preface, just quoted, certainly seem to imply that its
author was one whose works would be at least freely allowed to
be used.
Thus it speaks on the subject of Baptism.
" T. [Teacher.] Is not baptism a washing away of sins, as Peter
saith }
" Ch. [Child.] Not properly, but the Holy Ghost in the Holy
Scripture is oft wont to name the outward things, as if they were the
things that they betoken. As in the book of creation, circumcision
* Park. Soc. ed. pp. 108, 109.
246
is called a bundt [covenant], the which is but a token of the bundt.
Likewise Moses calleth the Easter-lamb a passing by, and yet it was
but a sign of the passing by. So baptism is sometime called a new
bearing water, not that we be new born through the outward water,
but that it betokeneth the new birth and regeration [regeneration] .
Peter saith also : Baptism saveth us, of the which manner of speaking
there be many in Scripture." (fol. I iiii.)
The testimonies of Bucer and Peter Martyr, Regius Pro-
fessors of Divinity at Cambridge and Oxford in the reign of
Edward VI._, I have given in eh. v., pp. 162 et seq. above.
I now pass on to the divines of the period of Queen Elizabeth.
And I would in the first place call the reader's attention to the
proofs already given in Chapter III. above, of the system of doc-
trine generally embraced in our Church at that time. Because,
while it is impossible to obtain testimonies from many of these
divines on the particular subject of the effects of baptism, from
the circumstance of its not having been anywhere treated of by
them, yet the system of doctrine they held is a sufficient proof
of the general character of their view^s. No man, holding the
doctrine called Calvinistic, on the subject of election and final
perseverance, can consistently hold that the universal efi'ect of
baptism in infants is to produce (in the full and proper sense
of the terms) spiritual regeneration. And therefore the proofs
already given of the " Calvinistic" views of our Archbishops,
Bishops, and University Professors, on these points, are decisive,
though indirect, evidences of their general doctrine on the sub-
ject of Baptism.
From the cause just mentioned, however, I am compelled to
pass over many names of those whose general sentiments are well
known, and content myself with passages from those w^ho have
hajjpened to leave behmd them some treatise or incidental notice
on the particular subject of our present inquiry. And I com-
mence with, —
BISHOP JEWELL;
Bishop of Salisbury from 1559 to 1571.
The sanction given by Convocation to his " Apology" entitles
him to precedence. Now Bisho]) Jewell is a witness adduced by
247
the Bishop of Exeter^ in his recent Charge^ to show that the
Church of England " agrees with Rome" on the doctrine of the
gift of spiritual regeneration in baptism. I w^ll therefore first
notice the reference made to his writings in support of this view
of the effects of baptism. Bishop Jewell, we are told, " in his
Apology for the Church of England,^' —
" While he enlarges on every particular in which we differ from
Rome, disposes of baptism, in ivhich loe are agreed, [/J in a very few
lines, merely showing that on this point we hold the faith of the
Catholic Church."*
And for proof of this we have the following extracts placed
before us.
" Jewell (Apol. Eccl. Ang. par. II.) ' Baptismum quidem Sacra-
mentum esse remissionis peccatorum, et ejus abluticnis, quam habe-
nms in Christi sanguine ; et ab eo neminem, qui velit profiteri nomen
Christi, ne infantes quidem Christianorum hominum, quoniam nas-
cuntur in peccato, et pertinent ad populum Dei, arcendos esse.'
Again, — ' Christum enim asserimus, vere sese prsesentem exhibere in
Sacramentis suis : in Baptismo, ut eum induamus.' "f
The following passage also is quoted from his Treatise on the
Sacraments. They are not bare signs : it were blasphemy so
to say. The grace of God doth alway work wdth his Sacraments."
To which is added the following note ; —
"Jewell's Works, foi. Lond. 1609. (Treatise of Sacraments, p.
263.) He adds : ' Chrysostom saith, In nobis non simplex aqua
operatur, sed, cum accepit gratiara Spiritus, abluit omnia peccata.
So saith Ambrose also : Spiritus Sanctus descendit, et consecrat
aquam. So saith Cyril. So saith Leo, sometime a Bishop of Rome.
Dedit aquse quod dedit Matri. Virtus enim Altissimi et obumbratio
Spiritus Sancti, quae fecit, ut Maria pareret, eadem facit, ut regeneret
unda credentem.* Presently afterwards, in the same treatise, p. 265,
Jewell says ; — ' I will now speak briefly of tbe Sacraments in several,
and leave all idle and vain questions, and only lay open so much as is
needful and profitable for you to know. Baptism, therefore, is our
Regeneration or new Birth, whereby we are born anew in Christ, and
are made the sons of God, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven.' "J
These are the passages upon which his Lordship grounds his
claim to the authority of Jewell in his favour. Now the reader
* Charge, .-^a. ed. p. 11. t lb. + lb..
248
will at once perceive tliat there is nothing in this language but
what we have already met with in the works of the most " Calvi-
nistic" divines ; and the passage from Leo^ in which he says^
" regeneret unda credentem," is precisely in accordance with the
views which his Lordship adduces it to refute ; and of course
illustrates the meaning of the context. The real views of Jewell
must be ascertained by a comparison of these w ith other pas-
sages in his works ; and such a comparison will show us that
the selection here made is altogether partial and delusive. We
have JewelFs own testimony^ as we have already seen^* written
in 1562^ contemporaneously with the "Apology/^ and just after
the XXXIX Articles had been agreed to^ that he and his brethren
in this country did not in the least differ from the doctrine of
Peter Martyr.
The Bishop of Exeter quotes two passages from the Apology .^^
But in the context he would have found others that show^ at once
in what sense they are to be understood.
Thus^ it is there said^ —
" Recipimus sacramenta Ecclesise, hoc est, sacra qusedam signa,
caeremonias, quibus Christus nos uti voluit, ut illis mysteria salutis
nostrse nobis ante oculos constitueret, et fidem nostram, quam hahemus
in ejus sanguine, vehementius confirmaret, et gratiam suam in cordi-
bus nostris obsignaret."
That is_, according to the translation Jewell himself inserted
in the " Defence^^ of the Apology, —
" Moreover, we allow the Sacraments of the Church, that is to say,
certain holy signs and ceremonies, which Christ would we should use,
that by them he might set before our eyes the mysteries of our salva-
tion, and might 'more strongly confirm the faith which we have in his
blood, and might seal his grace in our hearts. "f
And a little further oi\, in w^ords not to be mistaken, he
says,—
" Sine fide ne vivis quidem prodesse dicimus sacramenta Christi ;
mortuis vero multo minus."
" We say that the sacraments of Christ, without faith, do not once
profit those that be alive : a great deal less do they profit those that
be dead.":};
* Sec p. 93 above.
+ Ch. 10. (hv. 1. in Defence of the Apologv, p. 205. Works, 1611. fol.
\ Ih. p. 282.
249
And in his Defence of the Apology we find the same doctrine
repeatedly insisted on in the clearest terms.
" Without faith of our part," he says, " Sacraments be not only
unprofitable to us, but also hurtful."*
And he explains the phrase of grace being given in the Sacra-
ments in this way^ —
Thus the grace of God is given unto us in the Sacraments, be-
cause it is represented and laid before us in the Sacraments."
Again,—
" The merits of Christ's death whereof we entreat, are conveyed
unto us by God, and received by us. God conveyeth them to us
only of his mercy, and we receive them only hy faith Among
other causes, the Sacraments serve specially to direct and to aid our
faith ; for they are, as S. Augustine calleth them, ' Verba visibiha.
Visible words,' and seals and testimonies of the Gospel. All this
notwithstanding, we say, It is neither the work of the Priest, nor the
nature of the Sacrament, as of itself, that maketh us partakers of
Christ's death, but only the faith of the receiver.'' f
And speaking of the statements of some of the Fathers that
an infant when baptized is accepted on account of the faith of its
parents or sponsors, he says, —
" Nevertheless concerning the faith of the parents and others, the
holy doctors have sometime written otherwise. S. Augustine saith.
Satis pie recteqae creditur, prodesse parvulo eorum fidem a quibus
consecrandus ofFertur : It is good and godly to believe that the child
is holpen by the faith of them by whom he is offered or brought unto
baptism. . . . The like sayings might be alleged out of Justinus Martyr,
S. Cyprian, S. Hierome, and others. For thus they write ; How
truly I will not say. But their words be plain. The prophet Ahacuc
saith, Justvs ex fide sua vivet : The just man shall live, (^not by the
faith of his parents, hut) by his own faith^X
These words, of course, clearly show JewelPs o^ati view of the
case.
* Defence of the Apology, p 20/. Works, ed. 1611. fol.
t lb. p. 284.
X lb. p 217. Jewell, doubtless, did not here mean to deny that an
infant dying in infancy receives benefit from the faith of a parent, but only
that, in baptism, one whom God foresees will grow up and remain impeni-
tent and unbelieving is made a living member of Christ's mystical body,,
the true Chm'cli, tln-ough a parent's faith.
250
Agaiii^ in his Reply to Harding^s Answer to the challenge he
gave the Papists in his famous sermon at Paul's Cross in 15G0,
he maintains the same doctrine.
After having remarked^ —
" It is granted of all, without contradiction, that one end of all
Sacraments is to join us unto God
He adds almost immediately after, —
Howbeit, in plain speech, it is not the receiving of the Sacrament
that worketh our joining with God. For whosoever is not joined to
God before he receive the Sacraments, he eateth and drinketh his
own judgment. The Sacraments he seals and witnesses, and not pro-
perly the causes of this conjunction J" ^
Again, —
We confess that Christ by the Sacrament of Regeneration, as
Chrysostome saith, hath made us flesh of his flesh, and bone of his
bones, that we are the members and he is the head. We confess
also, that all the faithful are one body, all indued with one spirit.
And be that distance never so great, yet are we one another's mem-
bers. This marvellous conjunction and incorporation is jirst begun
and wrought by faith, as saith Paulinus unto S. Augustine ; Per fidem
nostram incorporamur in Christo Jesu Domino nostro : By our faith
we are incorporate or made one body with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Afterward the same incorporation is assured unto us, and increased in
our baptismal
Here is a broad and general principle laid down, which of
course must apply in its measure to the case of infants as well as
to that of adults. Whether we suppose that the seed of faith is
implanted in the infant previous to baptism, or w^hether we hold
that the prevision of future faith and repentance avails in the
case of an infant, or whatever other theory may be adopted, it is
clear that upon the principle advanced here by Jewell, a child is
not necessarily regenerated and made a member of Christ be-
cause it is baptized.
Again, he says, —
*' Our doctrine is, that the Sacraments of Christ, unto the godly
are the instruments of the Holy Ghost : and unto the wicked are
increase of further judgment. "§
* Rei)ly unto M. Harding's Answer, p. 20. Works, ed. KUl. fol.
t lb. p. 21. t lb. p. 27. § lb. p. 64.
251
Again,—
" Likewise in baptism, as the one part of that holy mystery is
Christ's blood, so is the other part the material water. Neither are
these parts joined together in place, but in mystery : and therefore
they be oftentimes severed, and the one is received without the
other:'*
The same is the doctrine of JewelPs Treatise of the Sacra-
ments," and the expressions quoted from it by the Bishop of
Exeter are nothing more than what are common in authors of
that period confessedly o-p^osed to the Bishop's views. It is quite
admitted that the Sacraments are not bare signs, and that God
always works with his Sacraments, when the recipients are ac-
ceptable in his sight. Xnd. this limitation Jewell himself con-
stantly insists upon ; and if he had not, and the words quoted by
the Bishop were to be understood without any limitation, they
would be directly opposed to the 25th Article. And so also, in
the sense in which Jewell himself explains the matter, baptism is
admitted to be our resreneration or new birth.
There is another passage in ,the same Treatise, still stronger
perhaps than those quoted by the Bishop, but the meaning of
which is, to one who is acquainted with the theolog}^ of the period,
perfectl)" clear.
* lb. p 285. Other passages are often quoted on the subject from this
Work, but they refer more particularly to a point which (though I have
already observed with regret, pp. 35, 36, above, that it is not wholly without
defenders among us) I think it imnecessary to discuss, namely, whether
the virtue of the Sacraments is infused into the elements so as to be com-
raiuiicated physically by them to the receiver. The great body of the Ro-
manists for the last three or four centuries seem to have held the affirma-
tive view. And consequently Jewell earaestly opposes it. And when the
Bishop of Exeter disclaims the view that "the Sacraments, by power that
they have of themselves, apart from the effectual operation of God in and
by them, contain the grace of which they are the signs" (Charge, p. 11,
Note), I su])pose he means to oppose the doctrine of which we are speaking;
though his words might have been clearer.
On this account I have not quoted the following passage, because it is
written with reference to the point just mentioned. " Verily to ascribe
fehcity, or remission of sin, which is the inw ard work of the Holy Ghost,
unto any manner outward action whatsoever, it is a superstitious, a gross,
and a Jewish error." (Reply to Harding, p. 442.) I must add, however,
that to suppose that the spiritual effect always accompanies the outward
action, is in fact much the same as to suppose that the spiritual effect is
always produced by the outward action, because even in the latter case it is
only sup])osed to take place through Divine influence. For other passages,
see Reply to Harding, ])p. '639 and 458.
252
" In baptism," he says, " the nature and substance of water doth
remain still : and yet is not it bare water. It is changed [i. e. in
its character and uses] and made the Sacrament of our regeneration.
It is water consecrated, and made holy by the blood of Christ. They
which are washed therein, are not washed with water, but in the
blood of the unspotted Lamb. One thing is seen, and another under-
stood. We see the water, but we understand the blood of Christ.
Even so we see the bread and wine, but with the eyes of our under-
standing we look beyond these creatures ; we reach our spiritual
senses into heaven, and behold the ransom and price of our salvation.
We do behold in the Sacrament, not what it is, but what it doth sig-
nify. When we receive it with due reverence and faith, we say, as
said Gregorius Nyssenus, Ego aliam escam agnosco, quee, &c. (De
crea. horn. cap. 20.) * I know another kind of meat, bearing the
likeness and resemblance of our bodily meat, the pleasure and sweet-
ness whereof passeth only into the soul.' It goeth not into the mouth
or belly, but only into the soul, and it feedeth the mind inwardly, as
the other outwardly feedeth the body."*
But who are those who are thus washed in the blood of the
Lamb V Are we to conclude from these words, because the ex-
pressions are general^, that everybody that comes to baptism is
so washed. No ! no more than from the latter part of the para-
graph we should maintain that the bread and wine " feed the
mind inwardly " of everybody that partakes of the Lord's
Supper.
The real character and use of the Sacraments, and the limita-
tions with which such passages are to be understood, are abun-
dantly set forth in other parts of the same Treatise ; as in the
following passages.
" Christ hath ordained them, [i. e. Sacraments,] that by them he
might set before our eyes the mysteries of our salvation, and might
more strongly confirm the faith which we have in his blood, and might
seal his grace in our hearts. "f
" The signification and the substance of the Sacrament, is to shew
us, how we are washed with the passion of Christ, and how we are
fed with the body of Christ. . . . And because of this likeness which
they have with the things they represent, they be oftentimes termed
by the names of the things themselves.'' X
* Treatise of the Sacraments, p. 2/4. Works, ed. 1611. fol.
t lb. p. 2(jl. X lb. p. 262.
253
But —
*' If any man have the outward seal, and have not the faith thereof
sealed within his heart, it availeth hi?n not.''"^
" When one that is unlearned, and cannot read, looketh upon a
book, be the book never so true, never so well written, yet because he
knoweth not the letters, and cannot read, he looketh upon it in vain.
.... So do the faithful receive the fruit and comfort by the Sacra-
ments, which the wicked and ungodly neither consider nor receive. "f
"It is the covenant and promise and mercy of God which clotheth
us with immortality ; assureth our resurrection, by which we receive
regeneration, forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. His word de-
clareth his love towards us : and that word is sealed and made good
by baptism. Our faith, which are baptized, and our continuance in
the profession which we have made, establisheth in us this grace
which we receive. As it is said : Verus Baptismus constat non tarn
&c. True baptism standeth not so much in washing of the body, as
in the faith of the heart. De consecrat. Dist. 4. Verus. As the
doctrine of the Apostles hath taught us, saying, ' By faith purifying
their hearts.' Acts xv. And in another place : ' Baptism saveth us,
not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the examining of a good
conscience before God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Pet. iii.
Therefore Hierome saith : They that receive not baptism with perfect
faith, receive the water, but the Holy Ghost they receive not. In Eze.
ca. xvi."I
The Sacrament maketh not a Christian, but is a seal and assur-
ance unto all that receive it of the grace of God, unless they make
themselves unworthy thereof, and that no man may despise this holy
ordinance, and keep back his infants from baptism, for in so doing he
procureth his own damnation. In time of ignorance many could see
this, and acknow^ledge it, that the outward baptism by water was not
necessary unto salvation, so that the children or others that died
without were for lack thereof damned. The Church hath always re-
ceived three sorts of baptism : the baptism of the Spirit, or of blood,
or of water. If any were prevented by death, or hindered by cruelty
or persecution, so that they could not receive the Sacrament of Bap-
tism at the hands of the minister, yet having the sanctif cation of the
Holy Ghost, or making their faith known by their suftering, they
were born anew and baptized.'' k
And then he adds words which evidently show that he took
(as might be expected from his Letter to Peter Martyr, above
* lb. p. 262. t lb. p. 2G:i X lb. p. 266. § lb. p. 26?.
254
quoted) precisely the view of the foreign Calvinistic Reformers
on the subject.
" God hath his purpose in us and our children. Before we
BE BORN, when HE [we] HAD DONE NEITHER GOOD NOR EVIL, HE
HATH MERCY AND COMPASSION ON US. JUDGMENT APPERTAINETH
UNTO God. He knoweth who are his. No man knoweth the
THINGS OF God but the Spirit of God only. And thus much of
the Sacrament of Baptism, which is the badge and cognizance of every
Christian. If any be not baptized, but lacketh the mark of God's
fold, we cannot discern him to be one of the flock. If any take not
the seal of regeneration, we cannot say, he is born the child of God."*
With these passages I leave the testimony of Jewell in the
hands of the reader.
I pass on to_, —
DEAN NOWELL^S CATECHISM ;
Dean of St. PauVs from 1560 to 1604.
I rank the testimony of Dean NowelPs Catechism next, be-
cause it was revised and approved in the Convocation of ] 562,
and was formally sanctioned by a Canon of the Convocation of
1571 ; and may therefore be considered as a work recognised by
public authority as speaking the sentiments of our Church. As
such, it is referred to by the Bishop of Exeter himself,t who (as
I have pointed out in a former workf) being entirely unconscious
that great part of this work is taken almost verbatim, from
Calvin^s Catechism, has committed the singularly infelicitous
mistake of referring to words taken from Calvin's Catechism as
an undeniable proof that Nowell's Catechism supports his views.
In a former part of this work,§ I have given some extracts illus-
trating the general system of doctrine advocated in NowelPs
Catechism, which has been shown to be that commonly called
Calvinistic. I have now to add that portion of the Catechism
relating to the subject of baptism. ||
* lb. p. 267. t See his recent Charge, p. 11.
X Vindication of Defence of XXXIX Articles, pp. 16, 17.
§ See pp. 88 — 91 above.
II I quote from the Edition by Bishop Cleaver, Oxon. 17-^5, 8vo. pp.
156 — 161.
255
I shall first give tliat })art of it which has been quoted by the
Bishop of Exeter, as maintaining his view, annexing in a parallel
column the passages of Calvin's Catechism from which it is
taken.
Nowell's Catechism.
M. Quae est arcana et spiritualis
gratia [in Baptismo] ?
A. Ea duplex est ; reraissio vide-
licet peccatorum, et regeneratio, quae
utraque in externo illo signo soli-
dam et expressam effigiem suam
tenent.
M. Quomodo ?
A. Primum,quemadmodum sordes
corporis aqua, ita animae maculae per
remissionem peccatorum eluuntur ;
deinde regenerationis initiura, id
estj naturae nostrae raortificatio.. vel
iramersione in aquam, vel ejus asper-
sione exprimitur. Postrerao vero,
quum ab aqua, quam ad momentum
subimus, statim emergiraus, nova
vita, quae est regenerationis nostrae
pars altera atque finis, represent atur.
M. Videris aquam effigiem tan-
tiim quandam rerum divinarum
efficere.
A. Effigies quidem est, sed mini-
me inanis, aut fallax, ut cui rerum
ipsarum Veritas adjiincta sit atque
annexa. Nam sicuti Deus peccatorum
condonationem, et vitcB novitatem
nobis vere in baptismo offert, ita a
nobis certo recipiuntur. Absit enim,
ut Deum vanis nos imaginibus lu-
dere atque frustrari putemus. [T/?e
italics here are the Bishop' s.\*
Calvin's Catechism.
M. Quae est Baptismi significa-
tio?
P. Ea duas habet partes. Nam ibi
remissio peccatorum, deinde spiri-
tualis regeneratio figuratur.
M. Quid similitudinis inest aquae
cufn his rebus, ut eas repraesentet ?
P: Peccatorum quidem remissio
species est lavacri, quo anima suis
maculis absterguntur, non secus at-
que aqua abluuntur corporis sordec,
M. Quid de regeneratione ?
P. Quoniame/M* initiumest naturrv
nostrce mortificatio, finis vero, ut
novae creaturae simus : in eo nobis
proponitur mortis figura, quod capiti
aqua injicitur ; novae autem vitae, in
eo quod non manemus sub aqua de-
mersi, sed ad momentum duntaxat
subimus, tanquam in sepulcrum, ut
statim emergamus.
M. Yerum, annon aliud aquae
tribuis nisi ut ablutionis tantiim sit
figura ?
P. Sic figuram esse sentio
UT SiMUL annexa SIT VERITAS.
NeQUE enim, SUA NOBIS DONA
POLLICENDO, NOS DEUS FRUSTRA -
TUR. PrOINDE ET PECCATORUM
VENIAM ET VIT^ NOVITATEM
OFFERRI NOBIS IN BaPTISMO,
ET RECIPI A NOBIS CERTUM
EST.
* " M. What is the secret and spiritual grace [in Baptism]?
"A. It is twofold; namely remission of sins and regeneration, both which
have in that external sign their full and express representation.
" M. How so ?
" A. First as the uncleannesscs of the body are washed away with water, so
the spots of the soul are washed away by the remission of sins ; then the
commencement of regeneration, that is, the mortification of our nature, is
expressed either by immersion in water, or by the sprinkling of it. But
lastly, when we presently rise up from the water, which we go under for
a moment, the new life, which is the other part and the end of our regene-
ration, is represented.
256
Upon these words his Lordship grounds this remark. " It
is impossible not to see in these words an exhibition of the same
truth as is expressed in the 27th Article, — Signum regenera-
tionis, per quod, tanquam per instrumentum, &c."* Meaning, of
course, " the same truth " as he has affirmed this Article to ex-
press. A more remarkable proof of his Lordship's misinterpre-
tation both of the one and the other could not have been afforded
us. For the very words upon which he rests his statement are,
as we see, borrowed from Calvin.
But, to have a just view of the testimony of this Catechism on
the subject of baptism, we must proceed to that part w^hich his
Lordship has not quoted. The Catechism proceeds thus.
Nowell's Catechism.
M. Non ergo remissionem pecca-
torum externa aqusu lavatione aut
aspersione consequimur ?
A. Minime : nam solus Christus
sanguine suo animaiura nostrarum
maculas luit atque ekiit. Hunc ergo
honorera externo elemento tribuere
nefas est. Verum Spiritus Sanctus
conscientias nostras sacro illo san-
guine quasi aspergens, abstersis
omnibus peccati sordibus, puros nos
coram Deo reddit. Hujus vero
peecatorum nostrorum expiationis
obsignationem atque jngnus in Sacra-
mento habemus.
M. Regenerationem vero unde
habemus ?
A. Non ahunde quam a morte
et resurrectione Christi ; nam per
mortis suse vim vetus homo noster
quodammodo crucifigitur etmortifi-
catur, et naturse nostrse vitiositas
quasi sepehtur, ne ampUus in nobis
vivat et vigeat : resurrectionis vero
suse beneficio nobis largitur, ut in
novam vitam ad obediendum Dei
justitise reformemur.
Calvin's Catechism.
M. Num aquam esse animse lava-
crum censes ?
P. Nequaquam. Hunc enim ho-
norem eripere Christi sanguini nefas
est, qui ideo efFusus fuit, ut abstersis
omnibus nostris macuhs, puros
coram Deo et im})ollutos nos red-
deret. Atque hujus quidem purga-
tionis fructum percipimus, quum
sacro illo sanguine conscientias nos-
tras Spiritus Sanctus aspergit : ob-
signationem verb in Sacramento ha-
bemus.
M. Regeneratio autem unde ?
P. A morte Christi et resurrec-
tione simul. Haec enim vis subest
ejus morti, ut per earn crucifigatur
vetus homo noster, et naturaj nos-
trae vitiositas quodammodo sepeli-
atur, ne amplius vigeat- in nobis.
Quod autem reformamur in novara
vitam ad obediendum Dei justitiae,
id est resurrectionis benelicium.
" M. Thou seemest to make the water only a certain image of divine
things.
" A. It is indeed an image, but by no means one that is empty or fallacious,
inasmuch as the truth of the things themselves is joined and annexed to it.
For as God truly offers to us in Baptism pardon of sins and newness of life,
so are they certainly received by us. For let us not suppose that God mocks
and deceives us with vain images."
* Charge, :3d ed, p. 15.
257
Nowell's Catechism.
M. An gratiam hnnc omnes com-
muniter et promiscue consequuntur f
A. Soli jideles hunc fructum per-
cipiunt : increduli vero ohlatns illic
a Deo promi'isiones respuendo, adi-
tum sibi pracludentes, inanes abeunt,
noil tamen ideo efficinnt, ut suam
Sacramenta vim et naturam amit-
tant.
M. Rectus ergo baptism i usus
qiiibus in rebus sit situs, breviter
edissere.
A. In fide et poenitentia. Pri-
mura enim Christi nos sanguine a
cunctis purgatos sordibus Deo gra-
tos esse, Spiritumque ejus in nobis
habitare, certa fiducia cum animis
nostris statutum habere oporfef.
Deinde in carne nostra mortifi-
canda, obediendoque justitise Di-
vinse, assidue omni ope et opera est
enitendum, et pia vita apud omnes
declarandum nos in baptismo Cbris-
turn ipsum quasi induisse, et ejus
Spiritu donatos esse.
M. Quum infantes baec, quaeeom-
memoras, hactenus per eetatem pree-
stare non possint, qui fit ut illi
baptizentur ?
A. Ut fides et poenitentia baptis-
mum prsecedant, tantum in adultis,
qui per fetatem sunt utriusque capa-
ces, exigitur : infantibus veropromis-
sio ecclesise facta per Christum, in
cujus fide baptizantur, in prsesens
satis erit, deinde postquam adole-
verint, baptismi sui veritatem ipsos
agnoscere, ejusque vim in animis
eorum vigere, atque ipsorum vita
et moribus reprsesentari omnino
oportet.
[Shewing here, like Calvin, that
baptism has "eadem causa et ratio"
with circumcision, he thus pro-
ceeds : — ]
Calvin's Catechism.
M. An promiscue in omnibus
impletur hcec gratia ?
P. Multi, dum illi sua pravitate
viam pracludunt, efficiunt ut sibi sit
inanis. Ita non nisi ad fideles solos
pervenit fructus. Verum, inde nihil
Sacramenti naturce decedit.
[The last question and answer
precede in the Catechism those
which, for the purpose of compa-
rison with Nowell's, I have placed
before them.]
Quomodo per Baptismum
nobis haec bona conferuntur?
P. Quia, nisi promissiones illic
nobis oblatas respuendo infriic-
tuosas reddimus, vestimur Christo,
ejusque Spiritu donamur.
M. Nobis vero quid agendum est
ut rite Baptismo utamur ?
P. Rectus baptismi usus in fide
et poenitentia situs est : hoc est, ut
statuamus primiim certa animi fidu-
cia, nos ab omnibus maculis, Christi
sanguine, purgatos, Deo placere :
deinde ut Spiritum ejus sentiamns
ipsi in nobis habitare : atque id
operibus apud alios declaremus :
utqite assidue nos in meditandatum
carnis mortificatione, tum justitiae
Dei obedientia, exerceamus.
M. Si hajc requiruntur ad legiti-
mum Baptismi usum, qui fit ut in-
fantes baptizemus ?
P. Non est necesse ut Baptis-
mum semper fides et poenitentia
prfEcedant : sed ab iis tantiim ex-
iguntur qui per a^tatem jam sunt
utriusque capaces. Satis ergo fuerit,
si infantes, postquam adoleverint,
Baptismi sui vim exerant.
258
Nowell's Catechism.
M. Perge adhuc.
A. Cum infantes nostros vim et
quasi siihstantiam baptismi commu-
nem nohiscum habere cerium sit,
illis injuria fieret, si signum, quod
veritate est inferius, iijsis negore-
tur : eoque, quod ad testaiidam
Dei misericordiam, confirraandas-
que ejus promissiones pluriraum
valet, sublato, eximia consolatione,
qua veteres jFruebantur^, Christiani
fraud arentur; duriusque cum nostris
parvulis in Novo Testamento sub
Cbristo ageretur, quam in veteri
cum Judseorum infantibus sub Mose
actum fuerat. Itaque quissimum
est parvulis nostris Divinse gratiae
atque salutis fidelium semini pro-
missse bseredes se esse, baptismo,
impresso quasi sigillo, testatum fiat.
M. Ecquid est amplius, quod de
bac re velis dicere ?
A. Quum Christus Dominus in-
fantes ad se vocet, edicat etiam ne
quis eos accessu prohibeat, ad se
venientes amplectatur, ad eos reg-
num coeleste pertinere testetur,
quos ccelesti palatio Deus dignatur,
eos ab bominibus primo aditu ves-
tibuloque prohiberi, et a Christiana
Repubiica quodam modo exckidi,
summa videtur esse iniquitas.*
Calvin's Catechism.
* * * *
P. Quum satis coristet vim sub-
stantiamqiie (ut it a loquar) Baptismi
infantibus esse communem, si illis
negaretur signum, quod veritate est
inferius, aperta illis injuria fieret.
[He had previously observed,
Signo sublato (quod ad testandam
Dei misericordiam et confirman-
das promissiones plurimum valet)
deesset nobis eximia consolatio, qua
fruebantur veteres.]
M. Qua ergo conditione bapti-
zandi sunt infantes ?
P. Ut testatum fiat, benedictionis
fidelium semini promissse ipsos esse
haeredes : ut agnita, postquam ado-
leverint, Baptismi sui veritate, fruc-
tum ex eo percipiant ac proferant.
(Calv. Catech., Op. Amst. 1667
et s. vol. viii. pp. 25, 26.)
* " M. Do we not therefore obtain remission of sins by external washing,
or sprinkling of water ?
" A. By no means : for Christ alone washes and cleanses away the spots
of our souls by his own blood. Therefore it is wicked to give this honour
to the external element. But the Holy Spirit, sprinkling as it were our
consciences wath that sacred blood, having wiped away all the defilement
of sin, renders us pure before God. But of this expiation of our sins we
have in the Sacratnent a seal and pledge.
" M. But whence have w e regeneration ?
" A. From no other source than from the death and resurrection of Christ;
for through the power of his death our old man is in a manner crucified
and mortified, and the corruptness of our nature is as it were buried, that
it may no longer live and flourish in us : but the blessed effect of his
resurrection is to obtain for us, that we may be formed anew to a new life
to obey the righteousness of God.
" M. Do all universally and without distinction obtain this grace F
"A. The faithful only partake of this fruit : but the unbelieving by
rejecting the promises there offered them by God, shutting the door of
entrance against themselves, go away empty j yet they do not thereby cause
the sacraments to lose their power and nature.
259
From these passages, then, taken (as they must be) together,
the doctrine of NowelFs Catechism, and consequently of the
Church of England, on this point is abundantly clear. In fact
it is obvious, that the very expressions in which the doctrine is
enunciated, in all its leading features, are taken from Calvin.
It tells us distinctly that the promised grace pertaining to
baptism is received only by the faithful ; and that the reason
why our infants are baptized is, that they hm^e the power, and, as
it were, the substance of baptism, and therefore that it would be
" M. Explain then in a few Avords in what things the right nse of
baptism consists.
"A. In faith and repentance. For first, we ounht to have our minds
convinced with an unwavering confidence that we, being cleansed from all
defilements by the blood of Christ, are acceptable to God, and that his
Spirit dwells in us. Then we must labour assiduously with all our power
and efforts in the mortification of our flesh, and in obeying the righteous-
ness of God ; and by a life of piety it is to be manifested before all that in
baptism we have as it were put on Christ, and have the gift of his Spirit.
" M. Since infants are not as yet able, on account of their age, to per-
form those things which thou hast mentioned, how is it that they are
baptized?
" A. That faith and repentance should precede baptisin, is required only in
adults who are of an age to be capable of them : but for infants the promise
made to the Church through Christ, in whose faith they are baptized,
will be for the present sufficient; then, after they have grown up, duty
requires that they themselves should acknowledge the truth of their
baptism, and that its power should flourish in their souls, and be set forth
in their life and conduct.
[Showing here, like Calvin, that baptism has the same reason and
design" with circumcision, he thus proceeds: — ]
"M. Go on.
" A. Since it is certain that our infants have the power, and as it were the
substance, of baptism in common with us, it ivould be an injustice done
them, if the sign, which is inferior to the truth, should be denied them,^
and if that were taken away, which has much force for bearing witness to
the mercy of God and confirming his promises, Christians would be
deprived of an excellent ground of comfort which the ancients enjoyed;
and our infants would be dealt with more hardly in the New Testament
under Christ, than were the infants of the Jews in the Old Testament
under Moses. Therefore it is most just that testimony should be borne
to our little ones by baptism, as by the impress of a seal, that they are
heirs of Divine grace, and of the salvation promised to the seed of the
faithful.
" M. Is there anything more which thou desirest to say on this matter?
" A. Since Christ the Lord calls infants to him, commandeth also that
no man forbid them access, embraces those that come to him, testifies that
the kingdom of heaven belongs to them, it seems to be a very great sin
that those whom God vouchsafes to receive in the heavenly palace shoukl
be prohibited by man from the first entrance and porch, and be in a certain
manner shut out of the Christian Commonwealtli."
s2
260
wronging them to deny them the sign, which is inferior to the
reahty which they possess : the very words of Calvin.* And
by the explanation here given of the nature and effects of bap-
tism, we must interpret the words which occur in the first answer
given on the subject of baptism.
" M. Quot in Ecclesia sua Sacramenta instituit Dominus?
"A. Duo.
"M. Quae?
" A. Baptismum et sacram coenam : quorum communis est inter
omnes fideles usus. Altero enim renascimur, altero sustentamur ad
vitam 8eternam."t
We are regenerated by baptism, inasmuch as baptism is the
sign and seal of our new birth (and Sacraments are called by
the names of the things they represent) ; inasmuch also as, if
we are accepted in the sight of God, (a necessary pre-requisite
to the operation of God in his Sacraments,) we are thereby /6>r-
mally and publicly incorporated into the true Church of Christ,
and receive regenerating grace. To use the words of Peter
Lombard himself, above quoted, " We were within before in the
judgment of God, but now we are also within in the judgment of
the Church (" Ante intus eramus judicio Dei, sed nunc etiam
judicio Ecclesise . And the Church now (and not before) can
say, in the judgment of faith and charity (the only judgment
which the Church is entitled to pass), that we are regenerate.
And we are then regenerated, inasmuch as the work of regenera-
tion is then perfected, in the same sense and way as a covenant
* Had the Bishop of Exeter read these words, when in his recent
Charge he referred to the words of the " Directory for Pubhc Worship,"
in 1644, — that children "are Christians, and federally holy before baptism,
and therefore they are haptized,^^ — as shewing that his opponents agree
with the doctrine of the Dissenters in opposition to that of the Church of
England? (Charge, p. 12.) His Lordship might as well have charged them
with opposition to the Doctrine of the Church of England, because they
agree with Dissenters in holding the doctrine of the Trinity. On which
side is the dissent from the doctrine of the Church of England, Nowell's
Catechism very clearly shews.
t "M. How many Sacraments has God ordained in his Church?
*'A. Two.
" M. What are they?
" A. Baptism and the Holy Sup])er : the use of which is universal among
all the faithful. For by the one we are born again, by the other we are
nourished to eternal life."
261
is perfected by affixing to it the seal. In fact, as we have already
seen (p. 155 above), the very same words are used in ihe Genevan
Annotations on the New Testament.
And when the Catechism comes to explain^ in the very next
answer, the nature of baptism, it again adopts the expressions of
Cal™.
NOWELL.
M. De baptismo ergo prinium die
qiiid censeas.
A. Quum natura filii ir^e, id est,
alieui ab ecclesia, quie Dei familia
est, simiis, baptismiis veluti aditiis
qiiidam nobis est, per quein in earn
admittimiir : unde et testimonium
etiam amplissimum accipimus, in
uiimero domesticorum adeoque
liliorum Dei, nos jam esse : imo in
Cbristi coqius quasi cooptari atque
inseri, ej usque membra tieri, et in
unum cum ipso corpus coalescere.*
Calvin.
P. Baptismus veluti quidam in
Ecclesiam aditus nobis est. Illic
enim testimonium habemus, nos
quum alioqui extranei alien ique
simus, in Dei familiam recipi, ut
inter ejus domesticos censeamur.
(Catecb.) Si eorum [infantium] est
regnum ccelomm, cur signum ne-
gabitur, quo velut aditus aperitur
in Ecclesiam, ut in earn cooptati,
bferedes regni coelestis adscribaatur.
(Inst iv. c. 16, § 17.)
In baptism, as Xowell says, regeneration effigiem suam
tenet,'^ or in the corresponding words of Cahin, " Spiritualis
regeneratio figiu'atur /^f but, as both say, it is a figure or repre-
sentation of such a kind, " ut annexa sit Veritas because God
does not deal with his servants by empty signs. Xo ; wherever
the party is such as he accepts, (for whom alone Sacraments
were ordained at all,) God works with his Sacraments, and they
not merely seal, but give grace. But to argue from this that
God is bound to work with his Sacraments upon the hearts of
all to whom man chooses to give them, even in the case of infants,
is the extreme of presumption.
I will only add, that the general definition of a Sacrament
given in this Catechism is also precisely that of Cahin.
* M. Say therefore first v\ hat thou thinkest of Baptism.
"A. Since we ai-e by natui'e children of wrath, that is, aliens from the
Church, which is the family of God, Baptism is as it were a certain door of
entrance to us, by which we are admitted into it : whence also we receive
a most decisive testimony that we are now in the number of the household,
and thus of the sons of God : yea, that we are as it were admitted and
ingrafted into the body of Christ, and are become his members, and are
united into one body with him."
t So in his Institutions," he says, that the " res fignrata" in baptism
is 'regeneratio." (Inst. iv. c. 16. § 4. See also ^§ 17, 20, and '2\.)
262
Now ELL.
M. . . Quid est Sacramentum ?
A. Est externa Divinse erga nos
per Christum benevolentise bene-
fieentiseqiie testificatio, signo aspec-
tabili areanam spiritualemque gra-
tiam reprsesentans, qua Dei pro-
missiones deremissione peecatorum,
et feterna salute per Christum data,
quasi consignantur, et earum Veritas
in cordibus nostris certius confir-
matur.*
Calvin.
M. Quid est Sacramentum?
P. Externa Divinse erga nos
benevolentiaj testificatio, quae visi-
biU signo spirituales gratias figurat,
ad obsignandas cordibus nostris
Dei promissiones, quo earum Veritas
mehus confirmetur.
BULLINGEirS DECADS.
Another book which received the sanction of public authority
in the reign of Queen EUzabeth, was BuUinger's Decads^ which,
as I have already shown^f was then considered so valuable an
exponent of the doctrine of our Chui'ch, that " the x\rchbishop
and Bishops'^ assembled in Convocation in 1586_, issued an
order that the junior ministers should provide themselves with
" a Bible and Bullinger's Decads in Latin or English/^ and
read one chapter in the Bible every day and one sermon in the
Decads every week, making notes on them in a paper -book to
be shown at stated times to a person appointed to examine
them, who was to report to the Bishop the way in which these
exercises were performed. A more emphatic sanction to a work
it would be impossible to conceive. 1 do not of course mean to
assert, that we are bound to receive every thing that is said in
this work as the established doctrine of the Church of England ;
but it can hardly be denied, that its general views of doctrine
must have been considered as agreeable to those of our Church
by the Prelates, who thus adopted it for the instruction of young
divines among us.
What, then, is the testimony of this work on the doctrine of
* " M What is a Sacrament ?
" A. It is an external testification of the Divine benevolence and bene-
ficence towards us through Christ, representing by a visible sign a secret
and spiritual grace, by v^'hich the promises of God of the remission of sins
and eternal salvation given through Christ are as it were sealed, and the
truth of them is more certainly confirmed in our hearts."
t See J). !>7, above.
263
the effects of baptism ? The following extracts will^ I think, be
amply sufficient to answer this question.*
His whole system of doctrine may at once be judged of from
the way in which he speaks of the doctrine of Predestination.
"The predestination of God," he says, "is the eternal decree of
God, whereby he hath ordained, either to save or destroy men, a
most certain end of life and death being appointed unto them."
God, by his eternal and unchangeable counsel, hath fore-
appointed, who are to be saved, and who are to be condemned. . , .
God hath ordained and decreed to save all bow many so ever have
communion and fellowship with Christ his only begotten son : and
to destroy or condemn all, how many so ever have no part in the
communion or fellowship of Christ his only son. Now the faithful
verily have fellowship with Christ, and the unfaithful are strangers
from Christ ~ For Paul, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, saith, * God
hath chosen us in Christ before the foundations of the world were
laid,* &c. (Eph. i.) Lo, God hath chosen us, and he hath chosen
us before the foundations of the world were laid, yea, he hath chosen
us, ' that we should be without blame,' that is, to be heirs of eternal
life : howbeit, ' in Christ,' by and through Christ hath he chosen us.
And yet again more plainer : ' he hath predestinate us,' saith he, * to
adopt us into his sons,' but by Christ, and that too hath he done
freely, to the intent that to his divine grace glory might be given.
Therefore whosoever are in Christ, are chosen and elected. . . . They
are wrong that think those that are to be saved to life, are predesti-
nate of God for the merit's sake or good works which God did foresee
in them. For notably saith the Apostle Paul, * He hath chosen us
in Christ, into himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
that the glory of his grace might be praised.' And again, * It is not
in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God that shew-
eth mercy.' (Rom. ix.)" " First of all, verily, true faith is re-
quired in the elect. For the elect are called, and being called, they
receive their calling by faith .... Furthermore, unless we he drawn
of the heavenly Father, we cannot believe.'^ (pp. 642 — 645.)
And his definition of regeneration is this^ —
" Let us now against this \i. e. the old man "] oppose or set the
new man, that is, the man which is regenerate by the Spirit of God,
through the faith of Jesus Christ. Now regeneration is the renew-
* The English translation being sanctioned by the Bishops in the above
"Order," T have, for the convenience of the general reader, quoted from it
instead of the Latin original. The edition I have used is that of Lond*
1577. 4to.
264
ing of the man, by which, through the faith of Jesus Christ, we which
were the sons of Adam, and of wrath, are born again the sons of
God, and do therefore put off the old man, and put on the new,
which both in understanding and will doth freely serve the Lord.
This regeneration is the renewing of the mind, not of the body : as
we heard in another place out of the third chapter of St. John's
Gospel. The author of this regeneration is the Holy Ghost, which
is from heaven given unto man, I mean to a faithful man. For the
gift of the Holy Ghost is given for Christ his sake, and that too,
unto none but those that do believe in Christ And in this re-
generation of man, the will also doth receive an heavenly virtue, to do
the good which the understanding perceived by the Holy Ghost, so
that it willeth, chooseth, and worketh the good that the Lord hath
shewed it : and on the other side nilleth, hateth, and repelleth the
evil that the Lord hath forbidden it." (p. 590.)
The following is his definition of a Saerament : —
*' Sacraments are holy actions consisting of words or promises of
the Gospel, or of prescript rites or ceremonies, given for this end to the
Church of God from heaven, to be witnesses and seals of the preach-
ing of the Gospel, to exercise and try faith, and by earthly and
visible things to represent and set before our eyes the deep mysteries
of God, to be short, to gather together a visible Church or con-
gregation, and to admonish them of their duty." (p. 959.)
Stating in what Sacraments consist^ he says^ —
" Now let us see in what things Sacraments consist. By the tes-
timony of the Scripture, and of all the godly men, they consist in
two things, to wit, in the sign and the thing signified, in the word
and the rite, in the promise of the Gospel, and in the ceremony, in
the outward thing and the inward, in the earthly thing (I say) and
the heavenly. ... In baptism, water, or sprinkling of water in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and all
that which is done of the Church is a sign, rite, ceremony, and out-
ward thing, earthly and sensible, lying open, and made plain to the
senses : but remission of sins, partaking of (everlasting) life, fellow-
ship with Christ and his members, and gifts of the Holy Ghost,
which are given unto us by the grace of God through faith in Christ
Jesus, is the thing signified, the inward and heavenly thing, and
that inteUigible thing, which is not perceived but by a faithful mind.''
(pp. 968, 969.)
How the Sacraments are sanctified, —
"There are some which think there is such force grafted of God
265
into the words, that if they be pronounced over the signs, they sanc-
titV, change, and in a manner bring with them, or make present the
things signified, and plant or include them within -the signs, or at
the least join them with the signs. For hereupon are these kind of
speeches heard. That the water of Baptism by the virtue of the words
doth regenerate."
And then proceeding to refute this notion, he adds, —
" Therefore by the nature, will, deed, and commandment of God,
and not by the pronunciation of any words, are the Sacraments sanc-
tified. To which will of God, that it may be applied unto man, and
do him good, the faithful obedience of men is necessarily required'''
(pp. 971, 972.)
Separability of the sign and the thing signified, —
" Many be partakers of the sign, and yet are barred from the
thing signified." (p. 981.)
" Many receive the visible sacraments, and yet are not par-
takers of the invisible grace, which by faith only is received."
(p. 983.)
Of the Sacramental union ; —
" Albeit either of the parts [of a Sacrament, the sign, and the
thing signified] without mixture do retain their o^^*n nature, yet those
two agree in one sacrament, and being joined together and not
divided, do make one perfect and lawful sacrament . . . But here
some move many and divers questions touching the sacramental
union, whether it be personal, real, or rational. I, because I see
nothing of this matter doubtfully delivered of the Apostles, and that
the thing being plain of itself by such manner of sophistications is
made dark, doubtful, difl&cult and obscure, simply and plainly say,
that the sign and the thing signified are joined together in the sacra-
ments by God's institution : by faithful contemplation and use : to be
short, in signification and likeness of the things : but I utterly deny
that those two are naturally united together, so that the sign in the
sacrament beginneth to be that which the thing signified is in his
own substance and nature : I deny that the thing signified is joined
corporally with the sign, so that the sign remaineth still in his own
substance and nature, and yet nevertheless in the mean time hath
the thing signified corporally joined unto it, that thereby ivhosoever
is partaker of the sign, should be also by the sign or with the sign
partaker of the thing itself . . . Furthermore, I say that the sign
and the thing signified are coupled together by God's institution,
because he which instituted the Sacrament of Baptism and the
266
Supper, instituted it not to this end, that with water we might wash
away the filth of the body, as the custom is to do by daily use of
baths, neither that we should take our fill of the bread and wine, but
that under visible signs he might commend unto us the mysteries of
our redemption and his grace, and to be short, of our salvation,
by representing them to renew them, and by seaUng them to con-
firm them. My saying is, that they are coupled together in a faith-
ful contemplation, because they which partake the Sacraments reli-
giously, do not fasten their eyes on sensible things only, but rather
on things insensible, signified and heavenly, so that the faithful
have in themselves both twain coupled together^ which otherwise in
the sign or with the sign are knit together with no bond. For cor-
porally and sensibly they receive the signs, but spiritually they
possess, comprehend, renew, and exercise the things signified. In
signification and likeness of the things, 1 say, they are coupled to-
gether, because the sign is a token of the thing signified. . . . More-
over, in respect of the likeness of the sign and the thing signified,
the name of the one is given to the other, as I will prove by most
evident testimonies of Scripture."
And then having referred to Gen. xvii. where circumcision is
called the Covenant,, and Exod. xii. where^the Lamb is called
the Passover^ &c.j for the Old Testament, he thus^proceeds, —
" Now we are come also to the Sacraments of the New Tes-
tament, whose signs also bear the names of the things signified.
For Peter saith, Acts ii., 'Let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesu Christ for the remission of sins.' And Paul also in
the Acts of the Apostles heareth, ' Arise and be baptized, and wash
away thy sins by calling on the name of the Lord.' Therefore truly
baptism is called a cleansing, or washing away of sins. And Peter
also elsewhere saith, ' Baptism saveth you, not that thereby the
filth of the flesh is put away, but in that a good conscience maketh
request unto God.' And Paul also saith, (1 Cor. vi.) * Ye are
washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name^of theXord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of God.' Therefore the due and right
comparing of these places between themselves doth manifestly prove,
that to the sign of baptism, which is water, is given the name of the
thing signified." (pp. 986—989.)
Here we see that these passages of Scripture are explained,
not by supposing them to mean that the inward grace always
accompanies the outward sign, but from the name of the thing
signified being given to the sign.
267
On this latter point he fnrther remarks^ —
That we mav vet at length make an end of this place, they are
sacramental and figurative speeches, when we read, and hear that the
bread is the body of Christ. . . . also that they are purged from their
sins and regenerated into a new life which are baptized in the name
of Christ, and that baptism is the washing away of all our sins. And
after this manner speaketh the Scripture, and this form of speech kept
the old doctors of the Church, whom for so doing none that is wise
doth dispraise, neither can one discommend any man which speaketh
after this manner, so that he also abide in the same sincerity wherein
it is manifest that those holy men of God did walk. For as they did
wiUingly and simply use those speeches, so did they not roughly and
rigorously strain the letter and speeches ; they did interpret them in
such sort, that none was so unskilful, but that he might understand
that the signs were not the thing itself which they signified, but that
the signs do take the names of the things, therefore they used words
signifcaficely, sacrainentally, mystically, and figuratively.'' (p. 993.)
The Sacraments do not confer grace of themselves^ —
*• To confer grace, what is it else than to give, or frankly and freely
to bestow something on a man which he had not before. Therefore
if the Sacraments do give grace to the receivers of them, then truly
they give those things which they signif}-, to them which had them
not, 1 mean, Christ ^N-ith all his gifts, that is to say, they make them
pleasant and acceptable unto God, they justify and save, yea, and that
of themselves, insomuch as they are said to have received virtue to
sanctify from the passion of Christ, and not signify only or to help,
to commend or to further. Yea, and they also attribute the receiving
of grace to our work, whereby we receive the Sacrament. But how
contrary this doctrine is to the truth of the holy prophets and apostles,
will now declare.". ..." The Lord did not institute Sacraments or
Sacrifices, that being offered they might give grace, or justify us, but
to be witnesses of the grace of God, and that by them his people
might be kept and drawn in due order, &c." (pp. 1000, 1001.)
The thing signified is received only through faith. (This has
been already stated in a passage quoted above) : —
" In Baptism and the Lord's Supper we practise no other faith
than whereby we believe, that we are purged from our sins by the
grace and mercy of Christ, and that by his body given for us, and
his blood shed for us, we are redeemed from death, and become heirs
of eternal life. Xot the Sacraments, but faith through the Holy
Ghost applieth these things unto us ; which thing all the writings of
the Apostles do witness." (p. iOO-2.)
268
Maintaining that " the fjodly are first justified and received
into favour before they be made partakers of the Sacraments he
says,—
" The holy and elect people of God are not then first of all par-
takers of the first grace of God, and heavenly gifts, when they receive
the Sacrainents. For they enjoy the things before they be partakers
of the signs. For it is plainly declared unto us, that Abraham our
father was justified before he was circumcised. And who gathereth
[not]* thereby, that justification was not exhibited and given unto
him by the sacrament of circumcision ; but rather that that righteous-
ness which he by faith before possessed, was by the sacrament sealed
and confirmed unto him ? And moreover who will not thereof gather,
that we which are the sons of Abraham are after no other manner
justified, than it appeareth that our father was justified, and that our
Sacraments work no further in us than they did in him ? especially
since the nature of the Sacraments of the people of the Old Testament
and ours is all one."
And he then proceeds to confirm this by the cases of the
Ethiopian eunuch, Cornelius, &c. (pp. 1006, 1007.)
The same, he tells us, is true in the case of in-
fants : —
" Forasmuch therefore as Cornelius with his household received the
Holy Ghost before they were baptised, it is manifest that he did not
obtain the Holy Ghost as given first by baptism or with baptism.
Again, we read in the Acts of the Apostles, ' They that gladly re-
ceived the word of Peter were baptised.' Therefore before they were
baptised of Peter, they had obtained the grace of God through faith.
For why, I pray you, do we baptise our infants ? Is it because
they believe with their heart, and confers with their mouth ? I think
not. Do we not therefore baptise them, because God hath commanded
them to be brought unto him? because he hath promised that he will
be our God, and the God of our seed after us ? To be short, Because
WE BELIEVE THAT GoD OF HIS MERE GRACE AND MERCY, IN THE
BLOOD OF Jesus Christ, hath cleansed and adopted them, and
APPOINTED THEM TO BE HEIRS OF ETERNAL LIFE.'* We therefore bap-
tising infants for these causes, do abundantly testify, that there is
not first given unto them in baptism, but that there is sealed and con -
firmed ivhich they had before.'' (p. 1007.)
Reply to those who object that the Sacraments are thus
deprived of their efficacy : —
* The original is, " Inde vero quis non coiligat."
269
" They object, I know well enough, against these things. . . . that
we do evacuate and make of none effect the Sacraments, and that we
teach that the faithful receive in them or by them nothing but bare
water, and bare bread and wine ; and that by that'means God by us
is accused of falsehood and lying. We briefly answer, If they set void
or empty things (as I may so say) against full things, so as they be
void or empty, which have not the things themselves included in them,
truly I had rather confess them to be void than full. But if they call
them void or empty, and mean profane or unholy things, that is to
say, which differ nothing from profane signs ; if by bare, they under-
stand things of no force ; we openly profess that we have Sacraments
which are holy, and not profane ; effectual, and not without force ;
garnished from above, not naked ; and therefore full, not void or
empty. For they are holy things and not profane, because they are
instituted of God, and for godly men, not for profane persons. They
are effectual, and not icithout force ; for in the Church, with
THE GODLY AND FAITHFUL, THEY WORK THE SAME EFFECT AND END
WHEREUNTO THEY WERE ORDAINED OF GoD. Wheicof morc here-
after. They are also worthily said to be beautified and adorned by
God, and not bare things ; which have the word [of]* God itself,
wherewith they are most beautifully adorned. And therefore also
they are full, and not empty Sacraments, because they have those
things which make a perfect Sacrament." (p. 1008.)
How far, and in what way, the Sacraments are efficacious : —
" He instituted Sacraments to be testimonies of his grace, and seals
of the truth of his promises, . . . Therefore as God is true, and cannot
lie, so the seals of his promises are most true. He hath promised
that he will be ours, and that in Christ he will communicate himself
unto us with all his gifts. He therefore of a certainty sheweth himself
such an one, and doth communicate himself unto us : although he do
it not noiv first of all when ice receive the Sacraments . ... As soon as
we first believed, he began to shew himself such an one unto us, and
doth shew himself more and more through the whole course of our
hfe : we receive him, and comprehend him spiritually and by faith.
Therefore when we are partakers of the Sacraments, he proceedeth to
communicate himself unto us after a special manner y that is to sat/,
proper unto Sacraments, and so we, which before were made partakers
of Christ, do continue and strengthen that communion or fellowship
spiritually and by faith, in the celebration of the Sacraments, outwardly
sealing the same unto ourselves by the signs." (p. 1009.)
* The original is, " ip.sum Dei verbum.
270
" The chief end of Sacraments is this, that they are testimonies to
confirm the truth, hy which the Lord in his Church even visibly dotli
testify that the things now uttered by preaching of the Gospel, and
by the promises assured to the faithful from the beginning of the
world, are in every point so brought to pass, and are so certainly
true, as they are declared and promised in the word of truth." (p.
1010.)
The bountiful and gracious Lord of his mere mercy receiveth
mankind into the partaking of all his good gifts and graces, and
adopteth the faithful, that now they be not only joined in league with
God, but also the children of God, which thhig by the holy action of
baptism, being instead of the sign, or the very sign itself, is most
evidently by representation laid before the eyes of all men. For the
minister of God standeth at the holy font to whom the infant is offered
to be baptized, whom he receiveth and baptizeth into the name, or in
the name, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
For we may find both, ' Into the name,' and ' In the name.' So
that to be baptized ' Into the name of the Lord,' is to be sealed into
his virtue and power (for the name of the Lord signifieth power),
into the favour, mercy, and protection of God, yea, to be graffed, and
as it were to be fastened, to be dedicated, and to be incorporated into
God. To be baptized ' in the name of the Lord,' is by the com-
mandment or authority of God to be baptized, I mean by the com-
mission or appointment of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, to be received into the company of the children of God,
and to be counted of God's household, that they which are bap-
tized are [for are read may be\* and be called Christians, and
be named with the name of God, being called the children of God
the Father, &c. His speech therefore doth somewhat resemble that
which we read elsewhere, that * The name of God was called upon,
over some one ;' which is in a manner as if we should say, that
one is called by the name of God, that is, to be called, * The
servant and son of God.' They therefore which before by
GRACE INVISIBLY ARE RECEIVED OF GoD INTO THE SOCIETY OF
God, THOSE selfsame are visibly now by BAPTISM ADMITTED
INTO THE SELFSAME HOUSEHOLD OF GoD BY THE MINISTER OF
God, and therefore at that time also receive their name, that they
may always remember, that in baptism they gave up their names to
Christ, and in like manner also received a name. After this maimer,
by a most apt analogy, the very sign resemble th the thing signified.
To be short, baptism is done by water. And water in men's mat-
* The original is, "ut baptizati sint et dicantur Christiani."
271
ters hath a double use. For it cleanseth filth, and as it were re-
neweth man : also it quencheth thirst, and cooleth him that is in a
heat. So also it representeth the grace of God, when it cleanseth
his faithful ones from their sins, regenerateth and fefresheth us with
his Spirit. Beside this, the minister of Christ sprinkleth or rather
poureth in water, or being dipped taketh them out of the water :
whereby is signified that God very bountifully bestoweth his gifts
upon his faithful ones : it signifieth also that we are buried with
Christ into his death, and are raised again with him into newness of
life. Pharao was drowned in the gulf of the Red Sea, but the people
of God passed through it safe. For our old Adam must be drowned
and extinguished ; but our new Adam day by day must be quickened
and rise up again (out of the water). Therefore is the mortification
and vivification of Christians very excellently represented by baptism,"
(p. 1018.)
" Sacraments therefore do visibly graff us into the fellowship of
Christ and his saints, who were invisibly graffed by his grace before
we ivere partakers of the Sacraments : but by receiving of the Sacra-
ments, we do now open and make manifest, of whose body we would
be and are members ; the Lord with his signs or marks by his mi-
nister also visibly marking us for his own household and for his own
people." (p. 1021.)
"■ We are not first graffed into the body of Christ (as we have
often repeated already) by partaking of the Sacraments : bnt we
which were before ingraffed by grace invisibly are now also visibly
consecrated. (p. 1023.)
Previous grace is necessary that the Sacraments may be of any
avail : —
" If the inward anointing and sealing of the Holy Ghost be wanting,
the outward action will be counted but a toy to the unbehevers, nei-
ther worketh the seahng of the Sacraments anything at all : but
when faith, the gift of the Holy Ghost, goeth before, the sealing of
the Sacraments is very strong and sure. Some also have said verv
well. If our minds be destitute of the Holy Ghost, the Sacraments do
no more profit us, than it doth a blind man to look upon the bright
beams of the sun." (pp. 1016, 1017.)
" In them that beheve not, the signs remain as they are without
life : therefore these things [he had been speaking of the consolations
of religion] are brought to pass by the virtue or power of faith, and
of the Spirit working in the lawful use of the Sacraments : without
faith and the Holy Ghost they are not felt or perceived." (p. 1020.)
" That sacraments wittiout faith profit not, it is easily proved. For
27^2
it is said that sacraments are seals of the preaching of the Gospel,
and things appertaining to the same. For if the preaching of the
Gospel be heard without faith, it doth not only profit nothing unto
life, but it turneth rather unto judgment (to him that heareth)."
And. then, having quoted several passages in proof of this, he
adds, — "Therefore without faith Sacraments profit nothing."
(p. 1026.)
Proceeding from this discussion on the nature of the Sacra-
ments in general, to treat of baptism in particular, he thus
defines baptism : —
" We describing the nature of baptism more at large do say, That
it is an holy action instituted of God, and consisting of the word of
God, and the holy rite or ceremony, whereby the people of God are
dipped in the water in the name of the Lord : to be short, whereby
the Lord himself doth represent and seal unto us our purifying or
cleansing, gathereth us into one body, and putteth the baptized in
mind of their duty." (p. 1033.)
Here again he repeats, that Sacraments are not to be con-
sidered as bestowing the first gifts of grace, remarking : —
" As we deny not, that we are grafFed into the body of Christ, by
partaking of the Sacraments, (as we declared in our last sermon of
Sacraments, next and immediately going before this) so we have else-
where shewed, and that too oftentimes already very largely, that the
first beginning of our uniting or fellowship with Christ, is not
wrought by the Sacraments : but that the same uniting or fellowship
which was founded and grounded upon the promise, and by the grace
of God through the Holy Ghost was communicated unto us and ours,
yea before the use of the Sacraments, is continued and sealed unto us
by the participation or receiving of the Sacraments. Although there-
fore an infant die without baptism, and being shut out by necessity
from having fellowship with Christ, so that he be neither partaker
nor yet sealed by the visible sign of the Covenant, yet he is not alto-
gether an alien or stranger from Christ, to whom he is fastened with
the spiritual knot of the covenant by the virtue whereof he is saved."
(pp. 1047, 1048.)
And hence he grounds the title of nifants to baptism partly
on the fact that the Holy Spirit is given to infants, and that
consequently such have a right to baptism : —
" St. Peter," he says, " could not deny them the baptism of water,
273
to whom he saw the Holy Ghost to be given, which is an assured
token of God's people. . . . Wherefore the holy apostle Peter denied
not baptism to infants. For he knew assuredly, even by the doctrine
of his Lord and Master {that I may speak nothing now of the ever-
lasting covenant of God) that the kingdom of heaven is of infants.
No man is received into the kingdom, unless he be the friend of God.
And these are not destitute of the Spirit of God. ' For he which
hath not the Spirit of Christ, the same is none of his.' (Rom. viii.)
Children are God's ; therefore they have the Spirit of God. There-
fore if they have received the Holy Ghost as well as we ; if they be
accounted among the people of God as well as we that be grown in
age ; who (I pray you) can forbid these to be baptized with water in
the name of the Lord?" (pp. 1055, 1056.)
Oil the force and effect of baptism he writes thus_, —
" The holy Scripture teach eth that we are washed clean from our
sins by baptism. For baptism is a sign, a testimony and sealing of
our cleansing. For God verily hath promised sanctification to his
Church, and he for his truth's sake purifieth his Church from all
sins by his grace, through the blood of his Son, and regenerateth
and cleanseth it by his Spirit, which cleansing is sealed in ks by bap-
tism which we receive ; and thereof is it called in the Scriptures,
cleansing and remission of sins, purifying, neio birth, regeneration,
and the laver or fountain of regeneration : as circumcision is called
the covenant : and sacrifices, sins and sanctifications." (p. 1060.)
" \\'herefore the promise, yea the truth of sanctification and free
remission of sins, is written and engraven in our bodies when we are
baptized. For God by his Spirit, through the blood of his Son, hath
newly regenerated and purged again our souls, and even now doth
regenerate and purge them." (p. 1061.)
" Beside that, by baptism we are gathered together into the fellow-
ship of the people of God. Whereupon of some it is called the first
sign or entrance into Christianity, by the which an entrance into the
Church heth open unto us. Not that before we did not belong to
the Church. For whosoever is of Christ, partaker of the promises of
God, and of his eternal covenant, belongeth unto the Church. Bap-
tism, therefore, is a visible sign, and testimony of our ingraffing into
the body of Christ. And it is rightly called a planting, incorpo-
rating, or ingraffing into the body of Christ. For I said in the
general discourse of Sacraments, that we first by baptism were joined
with Christ [i. e. he means, publicly and formally], and afterward
with all the members of Christ, our brethren. For Paul saith, ' All
ye that are baptized have put on Christ.' But to put on Christ, is
T
274
to be made one with him, and as it were to be joined and incor-
porated in him, that he may hve in us and we in him. For he only
by his Spirit regenerateth and reneweth us," &c. (pp. 1061, 1062.)
But who they are in whom God works by his Sacraments he
thus informs us^ —
" The godly, yea even at this day, do receive baptism as it were at
the hands of God himself, though they be baptized through the mi-
nistry of men. For the Lord estabhshing [or, giving effect to,
assistens] his institutions by his Spirit, worketh \salvaiion in the
ELECT." (p. 1033.)
The importance of this work^ from the public sanction which
it obtained in our Churchy will, I conceive, be considered as
affording a very sufficient reason for these numerous extracts.
And certainly their testimony is clear and decisive.
There are several other works of the foreign Reformers which,
from the way in which they were received in this country, might
also be fairly appealed to, and are entitled to some considera-
tion in our present inquiry ; particularly those mentioned in
the Decree of the University of Oxford in 1579, given at p. 96,
above. But I cannot but feel, that the domestic authorities I
am about to produce are sufficiently abundant to render it quite
unnecessary to seek for further evidence.
In proceeding to individual testimonies,, I should have been
glad to have carried the investigation first through the whole
series of Archbishops and University Professors given in a for-
mer chapter. But, after careful research, I can find but the
following among them who have left any direct testimony of
their views on the subject of our present inquiry. Archbishops
Whitgift and Sandys ; Professors Abbot, Prideaux, Westfaling,
Calfhill, and Benefield, (of whom the four former were also
Bishops,) at Oxford ; and Professors Whitaker and Davenant,
(of whom the latter was also a Bishop,) at Cambridge. But their
testimony is unanimous, and, for the most part, of the strongest
and clearest kind, in our favour. And from the known general
theological views of nearly all the rest (already pointed out*),
there can be no doubt of their concurrence in the same doctrine.
* See pp. 98 — 111 above.
275
The divines just mentioned I shall place first in the catena of
testimonies I am about to offer to the reader. And I would
beg him to observe^ that the Archbishops of Canterbury and
York, and the Divinity Professors of the two Universities,
are the sole ex officio clerical members of the new Court of
Appeal, proposed in various Bills presented during the last few
years to the Upper House of Parliament, for the trial of charges
of heresy and false doctrine.
ARCHBISHOP WHITGIFT;
Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge 1566, 1567 ; — Re-
gius Professor of Divinity 1567 ; — Master of Trinity College
1567 to 1^77; -Bishop of Worcester from 1577 to 1583;—
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to 1604.
In 1572 Dr. "^^liitgift published an "Answer to a certain
Libel, entitled an Admonition to the Parliament which
having elicited a reply from Cartwright, he rejoined in 1574 m
a "Defence^' of the former work, in which the "Answer" is
reprinted. I quote the folloTv4ng passages from the " Defence."*
And first I must remind the reader of the passage already
quoted in a previous page,t in which he maintains that God^s
government by his Spirit, in the hearts and consciences of men,
is " in the Church of the elect otily.^'X
Further, he tells us, that it is known to God only who are
members of the Church ; which wholly and summarily excludes
the view that all infants are made by baptism members of the
true invisible Chui'ch of Christ. He says, —
"You must of necessity admit this distinction (some be of the
Church and some be oily in the Church), else can you not make
any visible Church ; for we only know, wlio be in the Church ; but
who be of the Church is known to liim alone, who knoweth those
that be his."§
* Defence of the Answer to the Admonition, against the Rej)ly of T. C.
Lond. 15/4. fol.
t See p. 1)9, above. X V- § P- 17^,
T 2
276
But we find passages still more direct upon the subject. As
for instance^ the following, —
" You say, ' that we attribute to the sign that which is proper to
the work of God in the blood of Christ, as though virtue were in
water to wash away sin.' You know very well that we teach far
otherwise, and that it is a certain and true doctrine of all such as
profess the Gospel, that the outward signs of the Sacrament do not
contain in them grace, neither yet that the grage of God is
OF necessity tied unto them ; but only that they be seals of
God's promises, notes of Christianity, testimonies and effectual
signs of the grace of God, and of our redemption in Christ Jesus,
by the which the Spirit of God doth invisibly work in us, not only
the increase of faith, hut confirmation also. You understand like-
wise, that this difference there is betwixt these external elements,
being selected to be Sacramental signs, (that is, betwixt water in
baptism, and common water : bread and wine in the Eucharist, and
usual bread and winC;) that these now be sacraments sanctified to
another use, to a spiritual use, to the nourishing of faith, and feed-
ing of the soul, to be instruments of the Holy Ghost, by the which
as by instruments we be fed to eternal life. Furthermore, you can-
not be ignorant, that whosoever contemneth these external signs,
and refuseth them, cannot be a member of Christ, neither yet be
saved. Last of all you have learned, that there is such a similitude
betwixt the signs, and the thing signified, that they are not only in
Scripture usually called by the names of those things whereof they
be Sacraments (as bread the body of Christ, and water regeneration),
but also that the contumely or contempt done to the one doth
redound to the other, that is, the contempt of the signs is the con-
tempt of the things signified ; and therefore St. Paul saith, 1 Cor. ii.,
' He that eateth,' &c. And Christ, John iii., ' Except a man be
born,' &c. These things being considered, it is no superstitious
toy, but a godly and true saying, that Christ hath sanctified all
waters (used in baptizing) to the mystical washing away of sin : not
ascribing or attributing washing away of sin to the external element,
any otherwise than instrumentally, or in any other respect than
FOR the similitude THAT SaCRAMENTS HAVE WITH THE THINGS
whereof THEY BE Sacraments ; for ivc kuow that wicked men
may receive these external signs, and yet reinain the members of
Satan.^'*
Here, while, like all orthodox theologians, he maintains that
* p. 738.
277
the Spirit of God works by the Sacraments, yet it is only where
he pleases to do so, and for the increase and confirmation of
previous gifts ; ^' the grace of God is not of necessity tied unto
them nor is the washing away of sin to be 'attributed to them
" in any other respect than for the similitude that Sacraments
have with the things whereof they be Sacraments/^
And he held it to be quite uncertain what the state of the bap-
tized is, luhether adult or infant^ as to membership in the true
Church. For he says, —
" I make the Holy Sacrament of Baptism no other kind of passage
than God himself hath made it, and the Church of Christ hath ever
used it. Good and evil, clean and unclean, holy and profane, must
needs pass by it, except you will in deed in more ample and large
manner tie the grace of God unto it, ttian ever did the Papists, and
say that all that be baptized be also saved ; or else join with the
Anabaptists in this, that after baptism a man cannot sin. Who can
tell, whether he be holy or unholy, good or evil, clean or unclean^
elect or reprobate, of the household of the Church or not of the
Church, that is baptized, be he infant, or at the years of discre-
tion
Now here it is evident that Whitgift held that what a person
was, when coming to baptism, whether adult or infant j that he
remained after baptism.
As additional illustrations of the general character of his views
on this subject, I may add, that he entirely rejects the opinion
that infants are not saved wdthout baptism ; observing in reply
to Cartwright^s remark, that the word "water^^ in John iii. 5,
does not mean the material water of baptism, but represents the
cleansing efficacy of the Spirit^s influences, —
" The place in the iii. of John by you alleged hath divers interpre-
tations, and the most part of the ancient writers do take water in that
place for material and elemental water : as Augustine, Chrysostom,
Ambrose, Cyril, and sundry others, even as many of the ancient
Fathers as I have read upon that text. But because I do mislike as
much as you the opinion of those that think infants to be condemned which
are not baptized, therefore I will not contend with you, either in the
interpretation of that place, or in any other thing that you have
spoken touching this error.'"-\
* p. 621.
t p. 516.
278
And he evidently holds, that the children of baptized persons
only are entitled to baptism.*
ARCHBISHOP SANDYS;
Bishop of Worcester from 1559 to 1570 ; — Bishop of London from
1570 to 1576 Archbishop of York from 1676 to 1588.
" Christ hath instituted and left in his Church, for our comfort
and the confirmation of our faith, two sacraments or seals ; Baptism
and the Lord's Supper. In baptism, the outward washing of the
flesh declareth the inward purging and cleansing of the Spirit. ... If
a prince gave out his letters patent of a gift, so long as the seal is not
put to, the gift is not fully ratified 5 and the party to whom it is given
thinketh not himself sufficiently assured of it. God's gift, without
sealing, is sure ; as he himself is all one, without changing. Yet, to
bear with our infirmity, and to make us more secure of his promise,
to his writing and word he added these outward signs arid seals, to
establish our faith, and to certify us that his promise is most certain."!
BISHOP ROBERT ABBOT;
Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford from 1612 to 1615 ; —
Bishop of Salisbury from 1615 to 1617.
The character given of him by Anthony Wood has been quoted
p. 105 above. And he is called by Fuller,, " One of the honours
not only of that See [Salisbury], but of the Church of England."
(Hist. bk. X. p. 72.)
The following clear and decisive passages on the subject are
taken from his reply to a treatise written by a person of the name
of Thomson on the loss of justification and grace. It is ap-
pended to his work, De Gratia et Perseverantia Sanctorum.
Lond. 1618. 4to..
" In like manner therefore it is to be held, that not all who are
sealed according to the flesh with the baptism of water are imme-
diately justified and sanctified, but that while the Sacrament is
common to all, the power and grace of the Sacrament belong only to
the children of promise 3 and that those only are inwardly baptized by
* See pp. 620 and 622. See also as to identity of John's baptism and
that of Ciuist, p. 563.
t Sandys's Sermons and Pieces. Sermon 15, j)p. 302, 303. P. Soc. ed.
279
God whom throughout all nations God testified that he would give
to Abraham. Meanwhile, whoever are baptized are, to us and the
Church, regenerated, justified, sanctified ; nor to be looked upon in
any other hght, until they manifest themselves not' to be so ; not even
hypocrites, who come feignedly to the Sacrament, and are altogether
strangers to the reality of the Sacrament; who nevertheless, since
they cannot be discerned by us, are holy so far as concerns admission
to the communion and rites of the Church ; nor is it of any moment
to us, that we should discover what they are in the sight of God, being
perhaps not to be manifested until the sheep are to be separated from
the goats under the authority of Christ himself. Nor are the sayings
of writers, either ancient or modern, to be otherwise interpreted, or
certainly they do not give a correct view, if they attribute efficacy to
the Sacraments otherwise than according to the purpose of grace,
according to the good pleasure of the will of God."*
" The Holy Spirit is given in Baptism, and nevertheless since it is
the Spirit of promise, it cannot be given except to the sons of promise, "f
But it is sufficiently clear, from what has been hitherto said, that
Sacraments, as they are seals of the grace and promise of God, so
they put forth their power spiritually in those only who are the
sons of promise and heirs of grace, whom God foreknew and pre-
destinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son. Although
neither to them are Sacraments efficacious in one and the same way,
but, the medicine being applied, it works its efl^ect in some at an earlier,
in others at a later period ; and baptism, as Augustine distinguishes,
is sometimes possessed long before it is possessed for any useful and
saving purpose, according as it shall have seemed fit to Him who alone
has the power to produce the efi'ect.";
* Perinde ergo sentiendum est, non mox justificatos et sanctificatos,
quicunque secundum camera baptisrao aquae consignati sunt, sed in com-
muuitate sacramenti tantiim ad filios promissionis pertinere baptisrai vim,
et gratiam ; et intus Deo tinctos non nisi illos^ quos per omnes gentes Deus
se Abrahaj daturum testatus est. Interim nobis et Ecclesise regenerati,
justificati, sanctificati, quicunque baptizati, neque aliter reputandi donee se
ahos produnt ; ne hypocrite quidem, qui ficte ad sacramentum accedunt,
et a re sacramenti prorsus alieni sunt, qui tamen quia nobis cerni non pos-
sunt, ad commercia, et usus Ecclesi{E sancti sunt, neque interest nobis, ut
discutiamus quales Deo sint, fortasse non ante manifestandi, quam oves ab
hcedis, Christo autliore, discriminandai sunt. Neque aliter sententia3 Scrip-
torum, sive veterum, sive recentiorum, interpretandse sunt, aut certe non
recte sapiunt, si aliter sacramentis efficacitatem attribuunt, quam secundiwt
propositum gratice, secundum beneplacitum voluntatis Dei. (R. Abbot in
Thomsoni Diatribam de intercisione Justif. et. Grat. c. 7, pp. 11^), 11/.)
t Datur in baptismo Spiritus Sanctus, et tamen quia S[)intus promis-
sionis {t%t, prceterquam Jiliis promissionis duri non potest. (lb. p. 117.)
X Satis vero manifestum est, ex iis quae hactenus dicta sunt, sacramenta,
prout sigilla sunt gratia? et promissiouis Dei, ita in illis tantinn vim suam
280
" He who sanctified Jeremiah from the womb, and caused enmity
in the very womb between Jacob and Esau, and filled John the
Baptist when not yet born with joy, the Same also imbues infants
according to his own pleasure with the Holy Spirit, and with grace,
of which the wonderful effects are sometimes seen even from the very
cradle ; so that ive must not doubt of the regeneration of those to
ivhom he denies a prolonged enjoyment of life. But I am astonished
that the words of Luther are here brought forward by our author
(although they are not Luther's, in the form in which they are pro-
duced by him) whose object in those words, in that passage, is to
oppose that Papistical saying of the Scholastics^ which is the foun,
dation of the opus operatum doctrine, which here nevertheless
IS WITH INCONCEIVABLE AUDACITY LAID DOWN AS A DOCTRINE OF
THE Catholic Faith, ' that Sacraments always confer their effect
upon one that does not place a bar in the loay ;' when on the contrary
Luther maintained that the efficacy of all Sacraments depends solely
on faith."*
" But hence it is that baptism does not require iteration, because
that birth by which we are once born again from God is never de-
stroyed ; inasmuch as the grace sealed and exhibited to us in baptism,
can never be blotted out ; so that of necessity it is to be maintained,
that that impress of the Holy Spirit is not received by the reprobate,
and that they were never partakers of the justification of the saints."t
spiritualiter exercere, qui sunt filii promissionis, et hseredes gratise, quos
prsescivit Deus, et prtedestinavit conformes faciendos imagini Filii sui.
Quanquam neque illis sacramenta sunt uno modo efficacia, sed, apposita
medicina, citiiis iii aliis effectura suum, in aliis operatur serius ; et habetur
nonnunquam baptismus, ut distinguit Augustinus, multo ante quam utiliter
et salubriter habeatur, prout ei visum fuerit, quein penes unum effectus
est. (lb. p. 118.)
* Qui Jereniiam ab utero sanctificavit, et inter Jacob et Esau, in ipso
utero inimicitias fecit, et Joannern Baptistam nondura natum tantum gaudio
perfudit, idem quoque infantulos pro arbitrio sua Spiritu Sancto imbuit, et
gratia, cujus ab ipsis fere incunabulis mira interdum efFecta cernuritur; ut
s ayadrjs
(nepooTiifxa eis Qeov, conscientise bonae stipulationem erga Deura. Si in
Baptismo bona conscientia requiritur, multo magis in Eucharistia. Quod
autem ait [Bellarminus], parvulos non habere conscientiam nec fidem
actualem, ac proinde non esse baptizandos ; hoc Anabaptistarum argumen-
tum est. Sedresponsio facilis est ; parvulos, etsinon credant, nec consci-
entias habeaut, tamen in futuram jidem et pcenitentiam et conscientiam
bonam baptizari j non nempe necesse est, ut Calvinus ait, rem esse prio-
rem signo temporis ordine ; ergo infantium conscientiis divinse benevo-
lentiae promissio obsignatur, non dum infantes sunt, sed postea cum adole-
verint, et usum rationis habere coeperint. (pp. 14, 15.)
t Falsum est quod ait Bellarminus baptizari apud nos infantes ea
solum de causa, ut sint membra Ecclesiae extcrnae, quemadmodum nec
circumcisi olim infantes Judajorum sunt, ilia tantum de causa; sed ut illis
signum divini foederis imprimatur, quod, etsi non renatis et pr.e-
DESTINATIS NIL IRODEST, TAMEN ELECTIS PRODEST EO MODO QUO
Deus novit. Nam infantes electos, morientes antequam adoleverint,
Deus virtute Spiritus sui renovat, si vero vitam longius propagare illis con-
tigerit, eo magis ad studium reuovationis accenduntur, quod ejus tesseram
se infantes accepisse sciunt. Ergo etsi infantes baptizautur, tamen non
semper infantes erunt, sed tandem, si vita illis longior concedatur, vim,
ejus baj)tismi sentient, quem infantes susceperunt. (p. 15.)
296
restrained by any laws either of grammar or theology : nor do we
blame the solecism of the words so much as that of the sense ; for it
is intolerable. And this ' work wrought' (opus operatum) w^as un-
heard of by the antient Church, and was lately invented by the
Schoolmen — by Scotus, I think ; but now is approved by the authority
of the Council of Trent, so that it is now fully authorized, and the
Papists openly and fiercely contend for the ' work wrought.' "*
" The Papists maintain, that grace is conferred upon little children
in the Sacraments of the Neiv Testament ivithout faith, or any good
motion. This is to attribute a power to sacraments of themselves and
by a virtue of their own in the case of little children : which we say
is false. For we assert that grace is not conferred by the Sacraments
even upon little children from the work wrought, so that all neces-
sarily have grace that receive the Sacraments. "-f
" What therefore do w^e say ? Do we take away all grace from the
Sacraments ? Far from it ; although they indeed falsely charge us with
so doing. For we say that they are most efficacious instruments of
the Holy Spirit, and are also instrumental causes of grace : and this
they also say ; but they say it in one sense, ive in another. We say
that they are instruments, taking that title in a wide sense, because
God uses them in bestowing grace upon us. . . . Therefore the Sacra-
ments are not instrumental causes of grace through their working
anything of themselves, but because, when the Sacraments are applied,
God works grace in the soul : therefore the Sacraments effect nothing
through the work wrought, that is, merely because they are applied,
not even in little children. For not even little children j^artake of
grace merely because they are baptized; and yet they are not baptized
to no purpose, because they are baptized in respect of future faith and
repentance^ and because they are members of the Church, and holy by
covenant, and therefore the sign of the covenant is not to be denied
them : but when grown up, unless they believe the Gospel, they derive
* Dicmit adversarii non modo conferre gratiam [sacramenta], sed
etiam ex opere operate conferre. Hie nobis dent veniam Grainmatiei,
neeesse est : non euim Sophistse ullis aut Grammaticse aut Theologiae
legibus teneri se patiuntur ; neque nos tarn verborum quam sententiae
soloecismum reprehendimus ; est enim intolerabilis. Et priscse blim Eccle-
siae inauditum hoe opus operatum fuit, a Seholasticis nuper, Scoto, opinor,
inventum; at nunc autboritate Concilii Tridentini comprobatur, ut nunc
sit plane legitimum, et Papistae palam et acriter pro opere operate
dimicent. (p. 56.)
t Statuunt illi [i. e. Pontificii], corifei^ri gratiam purvuUs in sucramentis
Xovi Testainenti sine fide, out ulLo bono motu. Hoc est tribuere vim Sucra-
mentis per se et sun vi in parvulis j quod nos falsuin esse dicimus. JSon enim
ex opere operate 7ie parvulis quidem gratiam corijh ri a Sacranientis ajfirnuimus,
ut nccesse sit habere gratiam omnes, qui sacramenta percipinnt. (p. 58.)
297
no benefit from the Sacraments : and thus, all the virtue of the Sacra-
ments depends upon faith.'"*
" Even if we grant that baptism is here [i. e. in John iii. 5.]
treated of, yet nothing can be deduced hence from which we can
draw the conclusion that Baptism justifies us by the work wrought.
For water in Baptism is a sacrament of our renovation and regene-
ration, and thus we are born again of water, but only sacramentally,
because the water signifies and seals our new birth, which the Holy
Spirit works in us."t
" In Baptism we are said to be cleansed and saved, because Bap-
tism is a pledge and earnest of our salvation, and because in the
right and legitimate use of Baptism salvation is bestowed upon us,
and remission of sins. . . . God in Baptism, as he signifies the remis-
sion of sins and salvation, so he really works them ; and the truth is
joined ivith the sign IN the elect."]:
" Neither yet do the Fathers say anything else than what we say,
that we become in Baptism new men, and that our sins are remitted,
and that the Holy Spirit is efficacious. We grant all these things ;
but it does not therefore follow, that the Sacraments confer grace by
the work wrought, as if, because they are efficacious instruments of
* Quid ergo nos dicimus ? omnemne a sacramentis gratiam remove-
mus ? absit ; etsi illi quidem de nobis sic mentiuntur. Dicimus enim esse
efficacissima organa Spiritus Sancti, et esse causas etiam instrumentales
gratiae ; et hoc illi etiam dieunt ; sed alitor illi, aliter nos. Nos dicimus
esse instrumenta, sumendo hoc nomen large, quia Deus iis utitur in confe-
rendo nobis gratiam. . . .Non ergo sunt saeramenta causae instrumentales
gratiae, aliquid per se operaudo, sed quia sacramentis adhibitis Deus in
anima gratiam operatur : ergo saeramenta nihil ex opere operate effieiunt,
id est, ob id tantum quia adhibentur, ne quidem in jyarvulis. Non enim
parvuli, eo tantum quod baptizantur, gratiam participant j nec tamen
frustra baptizantur, quia in futuram fidem et pcenitentiam baptizantur, et
quia membra sunt Ecclesiae, et sancti ex fcedere, ideoque signum foederis iis
negandum non est : adulti vero nisi credant Evangelio, nullam ex sacra-
mentis utilitatem percipiunt ; atque ita, omnis vis sacramentorum ex fide
pendet. (lb. pp. 62, 63.)
t Etiamsi demus hie [Joh. iii. 5.] agi de Baptismo, tamen nihil hinc
elici posse, unde intelligamus Baptismum nos ex opere operate justificare.
Nam aqua in Baptismo est Sacramentura renovationis et regenerationis
nostrie, et sic ex aqua renascimur, sed sacramentaliter tantimi, quia aqua
significat et obsignat novam nostram nativitatera, quam in nobis Spiritus
Sanctus operatur. (p. 65.)
X In Baptismo mundari et salvari dicimur, quia Baptismus pignus et
arrha est nostrae salutis, et quia in recto et legitimo usu Baptism i con-
fertm* nobis salus et remissio peccatorum .... Deus in Baptismo ut signi-
ficat remissionem peccatorum et salutem, ita re operatur ; et Veritas cum
signo conjuncta est in electis. (p. 69.)
298
the Holy Spirit, therefore they are efficacious by their own power
and by the work wrought."*
" We do not deny that Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration,
even in Httle children : but not by the work wrought. God works
freely, and in Baptism sanctifies whom he pIeases.''-\
" We say that without faith the Sacraments are altogether useless.
For although we can receive the Sacraments without faith, yet we
cannot receive the thing represented by the Sacrament, as the School-
men themselves confess ; they are always Sacraments on account of
the institution of Christ, but they never profit without faith. Thus,
as regards their being, the Sacraments do not depend upon faith, but
as regards their effect and benefit, they do depend upon it." J
" This promise [' I will be thy God and the God of thy seed']
belongs to the seed : therefore to the children of the faithful, be-
cause they are the children of the faithful : for God promises that he
will be a God not only to Abraham, but also to his seed ; whence
any one of the posterity of Abraham can claim this promise : in like
manner all the children of Christians can claim the same by right of
birth, because they are the children of believers. Thirdly, as to what
Bellarmine says, that faith makes children of Abraham ; that is, that
those are to be reckoned trae children of Abraham, who are children
of his faith, not his flesh, and proves it from Rom. iv. & ix., and from
Gal. iii. & iv., I reply that that is not only now true, but also was true
under the Old Testament : for Isaac was his true son, Ishmael a
bastard ; for God says to Abraham, ' In Isaac shall thy seed be called '
(Gen. xxi. 12) ; not in Ishmael. As therefore under the Old Testa-
ment this promise had its complete fulfilment only in the elect, so it
is also under the New Testament. Fourthly, as to what he says,
that we then begin to be sons of Abraham, when we begin to be
believers, which little children do not do, until they are baptized ; I
* Nee tamen Patres aliud dicunt, quam quod nos dicimus, fieri iios in
Baptisrao novos homines, et peccata nobis remitti, et Spirituin Sanctum
esse etficacem : omnia haec nos dam us ; sed non ideo sequitur, sacramenta
conferre gratiam, ex opere operate, quasi quia sunt efiicacia organa Spiiitus
Sancti, ideovi sua et ex opere operato efficacia sunt. (p. 70.)
t Baptismum esse sacramentum regenerationis, non negamus, etiam
in parvulis ; sed non ex opere operato. Deus operatur libere et in Bap-
tismo sanctificat, quos vidt. (p. 73.)
X Sine fide inutilia prorsus sacramenta esse dicimus. Licet enim
sacramenta possumus percipere sine fide, tamen rem sacramenti non pos-
sumus, ut ipsi scholastici fatentur : sacramenta semper sunt propter Christi
institutionem, sed nunquam prosunt sine fide. Ita quoad substantiam
sacramenta non pendent ex fide, quoad fructumveroetbeneficium pendent.
(p. 7^0
299
answer ; that little children are children of Abraham before they are
baptized, even as soon as they are born : for otherwise they ought
not to be baptized. As formerly under the Old Testament no infant
was circumcised, except he was a child of Abraham, because God
made this promise, ' I will be thy God,' to none but the seed of
Abraham ; so now no one is brought to Baptism, except on account of
his being a child of Abraham : therefore they do not become in Baptism
children of Abraham, but because they are children of Abraham,
therefore they are baptized ; as circumcision formerly did not make
children of Abraham, but because any one was a child of Abraham,
therefore he was circumcised ; therefore to bring any one to baptism
now, who is not a child of Abraham, is to affix a seal to a false
document.. Moreover therefore since the privilege granted to
Abraham and the covenant made with Abraham belong to us, as all
the children of Abraham were in the covenant, so are all ours ; and
as God was a God to all his children, even before the eighth'^day,
nav as soon as they were born, inasmuch as he said, ' I w^ill be thy
God and the God of thy seed,' so also is he to our children before
baptism : and since the former promise, by the confession of Bellar-
mine, is one of remission of sins and eternal life, therefore the latter
promise belongs by virtue of the Covenant to all the children of
Christians, whomsoever God shall have chosen
* Hsec promissio [' Ero Deus tuus et seminis tui '] pertinet ad semen :
ergo ad liberos fideUum, eo quod fidelium liberi sint : Deus enim non mode
se Abrahse, sed et ejus semini se Deum fore promittit ; unde quivis e pos-
teris Abrabae potuit banc promissionera vendicare : similiter oranes Christi-
anorum liberi possunt eandem jure natalium vendicare, quia ex fidelibus nas-
cuntur. Tertio, quod ait [Bellarminus] fidem facere filios Abrahse, id est,
eos pro veris filiis Abrabse babendos, qui fidei non carnis filii sunt, idque ex
Roraanorum 4 et 9 ; et ex Galat. 3 et 4. probat, dico illud non solum nunc
varum esse, sed etiam in vetere Testamento verum fuisse : nam Isaac ejus
verus filius, Ismael adulterinus fuit; Deus enim Abrahae ait, In Isaaco
vocabitur semen tuum (Gen. xxi. 12) \ non in Ismaele. Sicut ergo in vetere
Testamento non nisi in electis suum plenum complementum habuit h(vc pro-
missio : similiter etiam in novo Testamento. Quarto, quod ait, turn nos
incipere esse filios Abrahaj, cum incipimus esse fideles, quod parvuli non
faciunt, nisi cum baptizantur ; respondeo : parvulos esse filios Abrahae,
antequam baptizantur, etiam ut primum nati sunt : alias enim non deberent
baptizari. Ut olim in vetere Testamento nuUus infans circumcisus est, nisi
qui fuit Abrahae filius, quia Deus nulli nisi Abrah[E semini banc promis-
sionem fecit, ' Ero Deus tuus :' ita nunc nemo ad Baptismum adducitur,
nisi quod Abrahae filius sit : non ergo fiunt Abrahae filii in Baptismo, sed
quia sunt Abrahae filii, ideo baptizantur; ut circumcisioolim non fecit Abrahae
filiorum [filios], sed quia quis Abrahae filius fuit, ideo est circumcisus : ergo
adducere aliquem ad Baptismum nunc, qui non sit filius Abrahae. est si-
gilluui affigere falso diplomati. . . . Jam ergo cum privilegium Abrahae et
fcedus cum Abraha factum ad nos pertincat, sicut omnes Abraluc liberi
crant in fcedere, sic nostri omnes ; et sicut Deus omnibus ejus liberis erut
300
" It appears, therefore, that express faith is required in adults, but
that it is sufficient for httle children to have faith in an incipient state
in its principle and root, that is, the Holy Spirit, with which they
are endued, from which faith and the other virtues flow at their proper
time : for infants are cleansed by the Holy Spirit, since they are
in the Church and belong to the Church : for Christ sanctified the
Church, ' cleansing it with the laver of water by the word.' If
they belong to the Church, they are furnished with the Spirit ; if
they are received into heaven, they are cleansed from sin ; this is
done by the Holy Spirit without the act of faith ; nor is this grace
infused in Baptism, as the Papists say, but sealed, since the infants
of believers are holy before baptism by the grace of God which is
joined with his covenant. Therefore infants are not baptized, that
they may become holy, but because they are holy, therefore they are
baptized, that is, they receive the seal."*
Many other similar passages might be added ; but these are,
I suppose, more than sufficient to shew his views.
BISHOP JOHN DAVENANT,
Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge from 1609 to 1621 ;
— President of Queen's College, Cambridge, from 1614 to 1621 ;
— Bishop of Salisbury from 1621 to 1641.
Bishop Davenant, as Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cam-
bridge, delivered Lectures upon St. PauPs Epistle to the Colos-
sians. His doctrine as there delivered may be judged of by the
following extracts. I give first the passages in which he speaks
of baptism in general and in the abstract, where the reader -will
observe that he speaks of it, without hesitation, as it is when
Deus, etiam ante octavum diem, imo ut primum nati sunt, quia dixit, ' Ero
Deus tuus et seminis tui,' sic et nostris liberis ante Baptism uni : et cum
ilia promissio confitente Bellarmino sit remissionis peccatorum et vita?
seternse, ergo promissio hsec ad omnes Christianorum liberos, quoscunque
Deus elegerit, ex vi foederis pertinet. (pp. 233, 234.)
* Fidem igitur expressam requiri in adultis, in parvulis sufficere fidem
inchoatam in sue principio et radice, id est, Spiritu Sancto, quo praediti
sunt, ex quo fides suo tempore et virtutes aliae manaiit : nam infantes a
S[)iritu Sancto purgari, cum sint in Ecclesia et ad Ecclesiam pertineant :
Ecclesiam autem Christus sanctificavit, ' mundans eam lavacro aqua3 per
verbum.' Si ad Ecclesiam pertinent, Spiritu ornantur, si in caelum reei-
piuntur, a peccato purgantur ; hoc fieri a Spiritu Sancto sine actu fidei :
neque, ut Pupista dicunt, infnndi hanc gratiam in Baptismo, sed obsignari,
cum sancti smt infantes fidelium ante Baptismnm Dei gratia, quae cum ejus
fcedere conjuncta est. Non ergo baptizantur infantes, ut fiant sancti, sed
quia sancti sunt, idco baptizantur, id est, sigillum accipiunt. (j). 285.)
I
301
fulfilling its intended end and purpose in the members of the tme
Chm-ch of Christ ; not supposing, apparently;, that his words
were likely to be construed as if they implied, that the full bap-
tismal blessing is imparted, even in the case of infants, wherever
the rite is administered.
"This spiritual resurrection is effected both sacramentally and
really in baptism : sacramentally, through the external administra-
tion of the mystery ; really, through the internal operation of the
Holy Spirit. The Apostle has embraced both, Tit. iii. 5, ' According
to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renew-
ing of the Holy Ghost.' "*
" In the administration itself of baptism Christians are consecrated
to God ; through the internal operation of the Spirit they are renewed
after the Divine image : in respect of both they are called holy."f
Again, on the words, " Buried ^vith him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God, &c.,'' he thus describes the benefits of baptism : —
The spiritual benefits which are received in baptism ; namely,
the burial of the old man, which they are accustomed to call morti-
fication ; the resurrection of the new, which they call a quickening. *'|
But then, proceeding to explain the words, through the
faith, &c.'^ he adds,—
" We are now arrived at that instrument by loJiose help and assist-
ance the above-mentioned benefits of baptism are apprehended and
possessed. For if this faith is wanting, although the treasures of
grace are offered in the Sacrament on the part of God, yet they are
not RECEIVED on our part, but are driven away by our unbelief. . . .
It is not in vain that faith is required by the Apostle, that we may
obtain the benefit of the spiritual resurrection. For as in the baptism
of adults previous faith is required, according to the saying of our
* Hsec spiritualis resurrectio in baptismo et sacraraentaliter et reahter
efficitur; sacrainentaliter, per externara mysterii administrationem; reahter,
per internam Sancti Sph-itus operationem. Utruraque complexus est
Apostohis, Tit. iii. 5. ' Secundum suam raisericordiam salvos nos fecit, per
lavacrura regeneiationis et renovationis Spiritus Sancti.' (Expos. Ep. Paul,
ad Coloss. In c. 3. v. 1. Ed. 3. Cant. 1639. fol. p. 262.)
t In ipsa baptismi adrainistratione Christiani Deo consecrantur ; per
Spiritus internam operationem ad Divinam imaginem reforraantur; utroque
respectu sancti vocantur. (lb. ver. 12. p. 30,9.)
X Spiritualia beneficia qufc percipiuntur in baptismo ; sepultura scilicet
veteris hominis, quam appellare solent mortificationcm ; resuscitatio novi,
quam vivificationem appellant. (lb. p. 205.)
302
Saviour, Mar. xvi. 16, 'He that believeth and is baptized, shall be
saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned so from those
WHO ARE BAPTIZED WHEN THEY ARE INFANTS, SUBSEQUENT FAITH
IS REQUIRED ; AND IF THEY DO NOT AFTERWARDS RENDER THIS,
THEY RETAIN ONLY THE EXTERNAL S ANCTIFICATION OF BAPTISM,
THE INTERNAL EFFECTS OF SANCTIFICATION THEY HAVE NOT."*
And he adds here as a practical remark, under the head
" usus/^ —
"Let us noty with the Papists, trust to the work wrought ; but
let us further inquire whether we have all the other things without
which the internal effects of baptism are not possessed."*
And proceeding subsequently to answer the objection of the
Anabaptists, that if faith is required to render baptism efficacious,
it ought not to be administered to infants, who cannot exercise
faith, he shows in his reply how this doctrine of the necessity of
faith is to be understood v/ith respect to them, in these words, —
" If they speak of actual faith, of the actual desire and profession
of mortification and vivification, we say that those passages of Scrip-
ture which require those things in the baptized must be restricted to
adults : but as it respects infants, inasmuch as they are sinners not
by their own act but by hereditary habit, it is sufficient that they have
the mortification of sin and faith, not exerting themselves in their proper
acts, but included in a habitual principle of grace. But no one in his
senses will deny, that the Spirit of Christ can and is accustomed to
produce in them this habitual principle of grace. Further, it is not
necessary that the Sacraments should work all that they represent in
that very moment of time in which they are administered ; nay, by
* Perventum jam est ad instrumentum illud cnjus ope et adminiculo
supra dicta baptismi heneficia apprehenduntur et possidentur. Si enim
heBC fides desit, quamvis offerantur thesauri gratia in Sacramento
ex parte Dei, nan tamen recipiuntur ex parte nostra, sed repel-
luntur infidelitate . . . Non frustra est quod fides exigitur ab Apostolo,
ut beneficium spiritualis resurrectionis obtineamus. Nam ut in baptisrao
adultorum requiritur fides praevia, juxta dictum Salvatoris, Mar. xvi. 16.
* Qui crediderit, et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit : qui non crediderit, con-
demnabitur :' sic ab illis qui baptizati cum jam infantes sunt,
requiritur fides SUBSEQUENS ; QUAM SI NON PR^ESTITERINT
POSTEA, RETINENT EXTERNAM TANTUMMODO BAPTISMI SANCTIFI-
CATIONEM, INTERNA SANCTIFICATIONIS EFFECTA NON HABENT. (lb.
pp. 207, 208.)
t Ne operi operato fidarnus cum Papistis, sed inquiramus insuper an
adsint nobis caetera omnia sine quibus interna baptismi effecta non
habentur. (lb. p. 208.) ^
303
the confession of the Schoolmen themselves, a covenant admitting of
delay has place^ when in the very act of maJdng it there is an impedi-
ment in the way of the fulfilment of its conditions. Moreover in
infants the very want of reason as far as concerns its exercise, is an
impediment that prevents their having actual faith, or the actual
desire of mortification."*
HerCj then^ are two ways mentioned in which the requisition
of faith may be considered as applying to the case of infants ;
firsts that a habitual principle of grace, comprehending faith
seminally though not in act_, may be given to infants by the Holy
Spirit previous to baptism, qualifying them to derive an imme-
diate salutary effect from it : which, he maintains, is, beyond
doubt, often given : secondly, that where this does not take place,
the salutary effect of baptism may be considered as delayed to a
subsequent period, — that is, till the exercise of actual faith and
repentance in the adult — for that it is not necessary to suppose
that the Sacraments, even where efficacious, should effect all that
they represent at the very moment when they are administered, the
Schoolmen themselves conceding, that a covenant admitting of
delay in the performance of its terms is admissible, when at the
very undertaking of it there exists an impediment to their imme-
diate fulfilment.
He maintains, then, that where grace has been previously con-
ferred, there, and there only, the full baptismal blessing is im-
mediately enjoyed ; but in other cases this effect is delayed, till
the period when by faith and repentance the party is qualified
for its reception.
It appears, however, by another work of Bishop Davenant,
that while he thus held that spiritual regeneration, in its full and
'■* Si loquantur tie fide actuali^ de actuali studio et professione mortifi-
cationis et vivificationis, ilia Scripturae loca quae haec requirunt in baptizatis,
ad adultos esse restriugenda dicimus : ad infantes autem quod attinet, quia
peccatores sunt non proprio actu sed hocreditario habitu, sufficit quod pec-
cati mortificationem et fidem habeaut, non proprio actu sese exerentem, sed
inhabituali princijMO gratiae inclusam. Spiritum autem Christi principium
hoc habituale gratiae in ilUs efficere posse et solere nemo sanus negaverit.
Porrd, uon neeesse est ut Sacramenta eo ipso momenta quo administrantur
efficiant ilia omnia quce jiyurant j imo, concedentibus ipsis Scholasticis,
pactio dilatoria locum habet, cum in ipsa susceptione obex ponitur. Jam
vero in infantibus ipse defectus rationis quoad actum, est impedimentum
quo minus habere possint actualem fidem, vel actuale studiura mortifi-
.catiouis. (lb. 209.)
304
proper sense, is not bestowed at Baptism, except in the way and
under the circumstances above described, he also held that the
guilt of original sin is remitted to all the infants of believers
when baptized, and consequently that there is a sense in which
they may be called, as infant s, regenerated, justified, and sancti-
fied. That is, he maintains the view which 1 have noticed in the
first Chapter, pp. 13, 14. His doctrine on this point is to be
found in a Letter he addressed, when Bishop of Salisbury, (the
precise date is not, I believe, known), to Dr. Ward, his successor
in the Margaret Professorship, first published in 1650 in the
work mentioned below.*
In this treatise (for such it may be called) he maintains the
following among other propositions, —
" Protestants do not grant that justifying faith, or charity uniting
to God, or regenerating grace, which renews all the faculties of the
soul, are imparted to infants in the very moment of baptism. "f
"The Fathers acknowledge neither actual nor habitual faith or
charity to be given to little children in Baptism : they teach also that
conversion, or the creation of a new heart, which is properly to be
called regeneration, is not produced in them until they have reached
an age capable of reason. "J
But,—
" All baptized infants are absolved from the guilt of original sin."§
And on this proposition he remarks, that infants may on this
account be said to be, as infants, regenerated, justified, and
adopted. And he thinks that this is what our Baptismal Ser-
vice refers to.
Nevertheless, —
* Vindicise Gratise Sacramentalis duobus tractat. comprehensse Qui-
bus prsefigitur. Epistola Rev. Patr. &c. Joann. Davenant . . . .op. & stud.
T[homa3] B[edford.] Lond. 1650. 12rao. It was reprinted, with stric-
tures on it by T. Gataker. Lond. 1654. 8vo.
t Protestantes non concedunt fidem justifieantem, aut charitatem Deo
unientem, aut gratiam regeneratricem, quse reparat omnes animae facul-
tates, in ipso Baptismi momento infundi infantibus. (p. 6.)
\ Patres neque actualem neque habitualem fidem aut charitatera parvulis
in Baptismo donatam agnoscunt : conversionera etiam sive novi cordis
creationem, quce propria Regeneratio dicenda est, non nisi cum ad aetatem
rationis capaeem pervenerint, in iis produci docent. (p. 8.)
§ Omnes infantes baptizati ab originalis peccati reatu absolvuntur.
305
" The Justification, Regeneration, Adoption, which we grant to
belong to baptized infants, is not identically the same with that Justifi-
cation, Regeneration, and Adoption which, in the question concerning
the Perseverance of the Saints, we have maintained is never lost."*
And on this proposition, he observes, —
" Nor is that ivhich is called the Regeneration of a little child of
the same kind with this new creation, or spiritual new-birth of adults,
which we maintain to be never totally destroyed or lost, after that it
has once been produced in the heart of a regenerate person by the
power of the Spirit. It is commonly said, ' The same subject does
not admit of several accidents of the same species.' But a Christian
infant who is regenerated in Baptism, acquires another regeneration,
when, as an adult, he gives credence to the Gospel. Therefore either
he is twice regenerated, or this baptismal regeneration is not the same
with that of adults, of which James says, ' Of his own will, &c.' (Ja.
i. 18.) and Peter, * Being born again, &c.' (1 Pet. i. 23.) and Paul,
' Put on, &c.' (Eph. iv. 24.)"t
And he adds, that those who perish, —
" Do not perish because they have lost the sacramerdal regenera-
tion suitable to the regeneration of little children ; but because they
have never had that other regeneration from the seed of the word,
and the efficacy of the Holy Spirit, which is necessary to effect the
regeneration of adults."' %
He maintains, therefore, that, —
"The Justification, Regeneration, and Adoption of little children
* Justificatio, Regeneratio, Adoptio quam concedimus competere infan-
tibus baptizatis, nou est imivoce eadera cum ilia justificatione, regenera-
tione, et adoptione, quam in quaestione de Perseverantia Sanctorum
nunquam amitti defendimus. (p. 18.)
t Nec qua dicitur Regeneratio parvuli est ejusdem speciei cum hac nova
creatione, sive spiritual! renascentia adultorum, quam defendimus nunquam
totaliter aboleri aut amitti, postquam Spiritus virtute semel producta
fuerit in corde regenerati. Vulgo dicitur, " non recipit idem subjcctum
plura accidentia ejusdem speciei." At infans Christianus qui regeneratus
sit in Baptismo aliam regenerationem acquirit, cum adultus fidem adhibet
Evangelic. Ergo aut bis regeneratur, aut regeneratio haec ba))tismalis eadera
non est cum ilia adultorum, de qua Jacobus, " Voluntaiie, &c." (Jac i. 18.)
Et Petrus, "Renati, &c." (1 Pet. i. 23.) Et Paulus, " Induite, &c."
(Eph.iv. 24.) (p. 19.)
X Non pereunt, quod amiserint regeneration em sacramentalem parvulis
regenerandis idoneam ; sed quod nunquam habuerint regenerationem illam
alteram ex semine verbi, et efficacia Spiritus Sancti, quai ad regenerationem
adultorum efficiendam necessaria est. (pp. If), 20.)
X
306
baptized confers upon them a state of salvation according to the
CONDITION OF LITTLE CHILDREN."*
In commenting on this proposition^ he remarks^ —
" From these things any one may see, that infants by baptism are
indeed placed in a state of salvation, but only relatively to that age
and condition of little children. They therefore who perish in adult
age, with their baptismal vow unfulfilled, do not lose the saving state
which they possessed according to the condition of little infants;
but they lose the infantine state, and when this is changed, that
which by the Divine appointment vms sufficient for the salvation of
the little child ceases to be sufficient for the salvation of the adult."f
Hence he adds the following proposition^ —
" They who in Baptism, according to the common condition of little
children, have been truly justified, regenerated, and adopted, are not,
according to the special condition of adults, justified, regenerated, or
adopted, when they arrive at the use of reason, unless by repenting,
believing, renouncing, they fulfil the vow solemnly pronounced at
baptism. "J
And he remarks on this_, —
"For although as well in little children as in adults, justification,
regeneration, and adoption imply acts of God ; yet these Divine acts,
so far as they relate to little children, do not require in them any
precedent actions of free will : but in adults they do by Divine appoint-
ment require them to precede : 7ior do they in little children imply
those spiritual effiects, with the absence of which in adults their justi-
fication, regeneration, and adoption can in no way consist."^
* Parvulomm baptizatorum Justificatio, Regeneratio, et'Adoptio'confert
illis statum salutis pro conditione parvulorum. (p. 25.)
t Ex hisce cuivis patera potest infantes per Baptismlira poni quidem in
statu salutis, sed respective tantum ad illam cetatem et conditionem parvu-
lorum. Qui igitur in adultiore setate pereunt non impleto Baptisini vote,
non amittunt statum salutiferum, quern habuerunt pro conditione infan-
tulorum ; sed amittunt statum infantilem, quo mutate, cessat esse svffi-
ciens ad salutem adulti, quod ex ordinalione divina sufficiens erat ad
salutem purmdi. (p. 2/.)
X Qui in Baptismo pro coramuui conditione parvulorum vere justificatio
regenerati et adoptati fuerunt, pro speciali conditione adultovum non
existunt justificati, regenerati, aut adoptati, cum ad usura rationis perve-
nerint, nisi poenitendo, credendo, abrenuntiando, votum Baptismate nun-
cupatum impleverint. (pp. 27, 28.)
§ Nam licet tam in parvulis, quam in adultis, justificatio, regeneratio, et
adoptio innuant actus Dei : tamen hi actus divini, quatenus spectant par-
vulos, non requirunt in illis actiones aliquas ])ra3cedaneas liberi arbitrii : at
m adultis ex ordiuatione divina pra;requirunt : neque ponunt in par-
307
From these passages, then, it appears, that Bishop Davenant
admitted, that all the infants of believers"^ have in baptism the
pardon of original sin assm*ed to them, so that in a certain sense
they may be called regenerated by it ; but that this regeneration
is only a bare remission of sin, and is not that spiritual regene-
ration which is requisite for all adults to make them the children
of God and members of Christ. As I have already observed,
this view was not received by a large body of our early divines,
who did not admit that even original sin was, necessarily and in
all cases, pardoned in infants at their baptism. And it is ad-
mitted by Dr. Ward (as we shall see presently), though he agrees
with Bishop Davenant's view, and perhaps carries it a little
further, that ^'^mosto/* our divines" have held, that "ablution of in-
fants from original sin [in baptism] is only conditional and expecta-
tive, of which they have no benefit till they believe and repent.-'^t
This difference of view, however, among our divines, is com-
paratively of little moment. The great and all-important point
to be contended for is, that an adult is not necessarily in a state
of spiritual regeneration because he was baptized as an infant ;
that is, that such spiritual regeneration as is necessary for an
adult is not always conferred upon infants when they are bap-
tized. And this, as we see. Bishop Davenant holds as firmly as
any other Protestant divine. Spiritual regeneration and justifi-
cation are, by the doctrine of our Church as well as Holy Scrip-
tm'e, indissolubly connected, in adults, with faith. And where
this truth is denied, the doctrine of justification by faith is
plucked up by the roots. This we may clearly see in the remark
of the Popish Bishop Gardiner respecting Cranmer's Homily on
Justification, quoted above (p. 187), namely, that any such dis-
quisition on the doctrine of Justification is quite unnecessary, in
a Church where all are baptized as infants, " in which Sacra-
ment of Baptism all we be justified before we can talk of this
justification we strive for.^' Most justly, therefore, has Bishop
VULIS SPIRITUALIA ILLA EFFECTA, ClUM IN ADULTIS SI MINUS
PONANTUR, ILLORUM J USTIFICATTO, REGENERATIO, ET ADOPTIO
NULLO MODO POTEST CONSISTERE. (p. 28.)
* I say of "believers," because his other writings clearly show that he
held such only to be proper subjects for baptism.
t Letter to Abp. Usher, among Usher's Letters, quoted more fullv below*
x2
308
Burnet, in his Exposition of the XXXIX Articles, described
the doctrine of sacramental justification as one of the most per-
nicious errors of the Church of Rome.
Having thus gone through the testimonies that remain to us
of the views of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and
the Divinity Professors of our two Universities, up to, and even
beyond, the middle of the reign of James I., I must request the
reader to consider the weight of the testimony thus produced in
determining the doctrine of om- Church. The writers from
w^hom I have been quoting, have not been taken at random, nor
selected as the adherents of any particular school, but are the
witnesses remaining to us of the views of that body of our
divines, (namely, the succession of our Primates and the Divinity
Professors of our Universities), to which any impartial person
w^ould probably at once look, as forming the most unexception-
able referees for the dominant theology of our Church in their
day. What their evidence is, I leave the reader to determine
for himself. And he must also recollect, how far the proofs
given above, (in the third chapter,) of the system of doctrine held
by those of whose sentiments on the particular subject of our pre-
sent inquiry no testimony is to be found, show that they also main-
tained the same view as that taken by the writers just quoted.
I now proceed to the writings of other divines of the same
period; many of them of equal celebrity; almost all, either
Bishops, or holding high and important offices in our Church or
Universities ; and all of them clearly entitled to an influential
voice in such an inquiry as that in which we are now engaged.
I give first a series of the Bishops of this period.
BISHOP GESTE, or GHEAST;
Bishop of Rochester from 1559 to 1571 ; — and of Salisbury from
1571 to 1576.
Bishop Geste is justly described, in the Life of him recently
309
published,* as having had the principal hand in preparing our
present Book of Common Prayer, as arranged at the commence-
ment of Queen Elizabeth^s reign from the preceding Books
revised and corrected. Any testimony, therefore, on our present
subject, from such a quarter, is doubly valuable.
Now in his " Treatise against the private Masse,"t published
in 1548, he distinctly adopts the view that the baptismal bless-
ing is to be considered as given to infants that are themselves
"faithful.^' For he says,—
" Christ, both God and man, with his Father and the Holy Ghost
is present at the baptism of faithful infants, where they become
embodied and incorporate thereto, it is to wete, where they eat his
body and drink his blood as really as we do at his Supper." J
Whether it is to be understood from this, that he agreed with
Luther and his own contemporary Lancelot Ridley in supposing
that infants have actual faith, and are to be considered as coming
to baptism as actual believers, or whether he meant to refer to
infants having a principle of Divine grace includmg the seed of
faith implanted in them by God's gift, is a question of no moment.
The doctrine involved in the statement, as far as concerns the
subject of our present inquiry, is the same in both cases ; and
beyond all doubt clear enough.
In the same Treatise he also remarks, —
" The right usage of God's word and his Sacraments is recounted
their due honour, as their abusion dishonour. The Word, Baptism
and Absolution§ through mean of true and obedient faith and cleansed
conscience be condignly and accordingly received^ without either
crouching or kneeling," &c. (p. 121.)
* The Life and Character of Edm. Geste. By H. G. Dugdale, Esq.
Lend. 1840. 8vo. The Appendix of this work contains a reprint of his
Uemains.
t A Treatise againste the prevee Masse in the behalfe and furtheraunce
of the mooste holye communyon .... 1548 .... imprinted .... by
Thomas Raynold. 16mo.
X The Life and Character of Edm. Geste. Appendix, p. 116.
§ If these words should be considered as making Absolution a Sacrament,
it must be remembered that the work was published in 1548, and that
Cranmer himself published, in the same year, a Catechism in which it was
so reckoned. The doctrine of our Church on that point has been settled
since the period of these works.
310
But Bishop Geste_, like the rest, when speaking generally of
baptism, ascribes to it its appropriate effect. Thus he says, —
" In baptism we put on Christ but his words in the immediate
context show how much his meaning would be misrepresented,
if this passage was taken to imply that all the baptized put on
Christ. And the paragraph may be so useful in meeting some
views now, alas, rife among us, that 1 will give the whole of it.
" Because it is thought sufficient to use but a surplice in baptizing,
reading, preaching, and praying, therefore it is enough also for the
celebrating of the communion. For if we should use another garment
herein, it should seem to teach us, that higher and better things be
given by it, than be given by the other service, ivhich we must not
believe. For in baptism we put on Christ. In the word, we eat and
drink Christ, as Hierome and Gregory write."*
Such, then, as eat and drink Christ in the word, put on Christ
in baptism.
BISHOP ALLEY;
Bishop of Exeter from 1560 to 1570.
In the year 1560 Bishop Alley read in St. PauFs Cathedral,
London, " pra3lections" upon the first Epistle of St. Peter,
which were first published in 1562, and again in a revised edition
in 1571.
In this work he says, —
" It maybe easily proved, that neither the preaching of the Gospel,
nor receiving of the Sacraments, without faith, doth profit anything at
all : for St. Paul saith, ' Sine fide impossibile est placere Deo.' "f
And it is remarkable that the whole of the preceding part of
the paragraph from V\^hich these words are taken, describing the
nature of a Sacrament, is translated verbatim from Bullinger's
Decads. The first portion of it will be found at p. 968, and the
latter at pp. 981, 982, of the English edition of the Decads above
quoted. And, in fact, the passage just given, with the Scripture
reference on which it is founded, and what follows to the end of
* Letter to Sir W. Cecil, sent with the Service Book. lb. App. No. 4,
p. 145. t Ftl. 15/1. fob 133.
311
the paragraph, are hardly more than an abiidgment of Ballinger's
remarks in the same place.
Moreover, understanding " the Church to be the company of
true believers, those whom " God hath sanctified," and " in
whom he dwelleth, being his holy and peculiar house,^^* he thus
defines it, —
" We may call Ecclesiam, the Church, a company of them that
believe, and the?n that are regenerate, which God gathered in Christ
by the word and the Holy Ghost It is called the body of Christ
because all his members take him for their head, of whom they take
their increasing, and do obtain life by the sending abroad of the Holy
Ghost. And these members are so fast joined to the head, that they
be called flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones."' \
Here is clearly a distinction between " the regenerated^ and
mere nominal Christians.
BISHOP COOPER;
Dean of Christ Church from 1567, and of Gloucester from 1569
to 1570; — Bishop of Lincoln from 1570 to 1583, and of Win-
chester from 1583 to 1594.
Bishop Cooper was one of the principal writers against the
Puritans, and among the most learned divines of his daj^ In
1573 he published, in 4to.,
" A brief Exposition of such Chapters of the Old Testament as are
usually read in the Church at Common Prayer on the Sunday.'*
There was an endeavour," Strype tells us, " that this book should
be had in every parish church ; and for the forwarding this, the Arch-
bishop [Parker] gave his own testimonial to the Treasurer in June
this year concerning the book ; viz., ' That he thought it to be profit-
able for instruction, and necessary for the unlearned minister, but
most to the poor subjects, who were certainly to be informed by the
stability of this doctrine. And therefore he desired his Lordship to
signify the same unto her Majesty's Council, that they might give
some commendation thereunto ; which he supposed would do well.' "J
* Fol. 145, and see fol. 186, 187, &c.
X Life of Parker, ii. 36/. Oxf. ed.
t Fol. 147.
312
In this work^ commenting on Jer. v. 2, 3_, he says^ —
"This place ought to teach us, that the name of the Church, or
People of God, the title of Christians, the external Sacraments of
Christian religion, are not sufficient to move the favour of God toward
us, nor to make us his people, unless the fear of God and true holi-
ness be in our hearts." (fol. 281.)
But in 1580 he published a volume of Sermons,* in which the
subject of the Sacraments is treated at some length.
In the second Sermon, giving a brief view of the " fruitful
doctrine of the Protestants concerning baptism," he says ; —
" As touching baptism, we teach not only, as some falsely father
upon us, that it is signum initiate, a sign whereby we be first conse-
crated Christians ; but we add also, that we by faith, and the opera-
tion of the Holy Ghost, do put on Christ as a garment, that is, that
we have him so fastened and appropriated to us, that he is ours, and
we his, and that he hideth and covereth our nakedness, according as
S. Paul saith ; ' As many as are baptized, have put on Christ.' We
beheve and teach, that Baptism is to Christians the fountain of hfe,
whereby our sins are washed away. . . . [referring to Acts ii. 38, and
xxii. 16.] Yet do we not attribute the operation hereof to the water
or outward element, but to the might of God's word, and the power
of the Holy Ghost, working by faith, as Augustine saith, ' Quomodo
fit quod aqua corpus tangat, et cor abluat, nisi faciente verbo, non quia
dicitur, sed quia creditur :' i. e. ' How cometh it to pass, that water
toucheth the body and washeth the soul, but by the working of the
word, not because it is spoken, but because it is believed.' Where it
is to be noted, that it is not the sound of the words, uttered in the way
of a charm by the minister, but the words believed in the hearts of
the faithful, that maketh the promise of Christ and effect of the
Sacrament to be fruitful to the receiver. We believe moreover and
teach, that the Sacrament of baptism is, as it were, the womb of the
Church of Christ, where we are new born, and become of the children
of wrath the children of God, and are prepared by this our second
birth to enter into the kingdom of God. [J le refers here to John iii.
5, and Tit. iii. 5.] We believe also and teach as touching this Sacra-
ment, that not only we, but our seed also, hath by it the benefit of
salvation, and therefore do we defend the baptizing of our children,
against the wicked heresy of the Anabaptists. They which consider
these things simply, and with a charitable Christian mind, I trust will
* Certain Sermons wherein is contained the Defence of the Gospel now
preached, &c. Lend. 15?^0, Ito.
313
clear us of that odious report wherewith our adversaries slanderously
do burthen us^ as though we contemned the Sacraments, and shghtly
taught the fruits and benefits of them. Now, on the contrary part,
let us consider how corruptly the Church of Rome teacheth, as touching
this Sacrament, and how horribly they have abused it. First, they
teach, that baptism doth confer grace and wash away our sins, ex
opere operato, that is, even by the very washing only of the water,
though there be no good motion of faith or belief in the heart of him
that is baptized." (pp. 30, 31.)
And speaking of " what fruits have followed the preaching of
the Gospel/^ he reckons among them, —
"That sundry points of doctrine be reformed, . . . principally, the
wholesome doctrine of the grace and merit of Christ, of remission of
sins, of eternal life, received by faith in Christ, and sealed and con-
firmed hy hi^ Sacraments (p. 113.)
Treating more fully of the Sacraments in another Sermon, he
thus defines the word Sacrament": —
" A sacrament is a reverend and holy mystery ordained of God,
wherein he by his holy word and promise, doth both stir up and
practise the faith of his people, and by the operation of the Holy
Ghost increase his grace in them, and bestow his benefits and
blessings upon them ; and we on the other part testify our obedience
toward him, and unity of faith among ourselves." (p. 1 18.)
But,—
" Indeed the hand of the receiver, being without faith, maketh the
Sacraments, that of themselves be good, to be unto him of no force,
because of his unbelief (p. 119.)
" By faith we be graffed into Christ, as branches into the root and
stock, so that we live now by him and by his Spirit, as the branches
do by the juice that cometh from the body of the tree. By faith we
be so united unto Christ, that we may justly say, whatsoever is his,
is ours also : by faith we are made the children of God and heirs of
eternal life.'' (p. 146.)
" Some perchance will say unto me, or will think with themselves
in their mind ; If this doctrine be true, then are Sacraments needless.
For we may eat Christ by faith, spiritually, in such sort as you have
said, without any use of the Lord's Supper, [this passage occurs in
a Sermon on the Lord's Supper,] and therefore it may seem super-
fluous. God forbid that the most perfect Christians and of strongest
faith, should once think Sacraments to be superfluous and needless.
314
They be the blessed and holy ordinances of Christ, by his mercy
and goodness appointed for our great help and benefit, as
I have in the former Sermon [which is on the tvjo Sacraments]
declared. And yet I must confess to the great comfort of many
godly persons, that the faithful Christian may, and doth often feed
upon Christ to salvation, beside the use of the Sacrament. For the
spiritual grace and benefits, which as I have said before is the prin-
cipal part of a Sacrament, is not of necessity always so tied to the
outward signs, that without them God cannot or doth not sometime
bestow the same. I doubt not but the thief upon the cross without
use of the Sacrament did eat the body and blood of Christ in such
sort, that he was the same day with him in Paradise. (Luke xxiii. 41 .)
We see in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts x.) that Cornelius and his
company were sealed with the Spirit of God, before the receiving of
the outward Sacrament, in such sort, that if he had then immediately
departed out of this life, he should have gone to heaven, which could
not be, unless he had spiritually by faith eaten the true food of ever-
lasting life, that is, Christ Jesus crucified, vjhich he fed vpon most
assuredly v:)?LiIe he heard St. Peter preach Christ'' (pp. 147, 148.)
Here^ thougli his especial subject is the Lord's Supper^ he
puts both Sacraments together, as being both ordinances of pre-
cisely the same nature. And this, Tsith several other passages
in the context, may illustrate the phraseology of the Twenty-
fifth Article, where one sentence may seem only to apply to one
Sacrament, while the next uses the w^ord Sacraments in the
plural number, and therefore was intended to apply to both,
the subject of the Article being the two Sacraments.
Again, he says : —
" The word of God teacheth that Sacraments are, as it were, seals
to confirm the truth of God's promises, and to strength [strengthen]
our faith. . . . The Scriptures teach that in the use of the Sacraments
through faith, we be united unto Christ, and ingraffed into his mys-
tical body, so that we live now only by him, and whatsoever is his, by
the truth of his promise, is ours also." (p. 151.)
But with this doctrine he is careful to connect that of the
efficacy of the Sacraments in the case of a right reception of
them. Thus he says :
" Wherefore the especial and principal part of the Sacrament is
the spiritual and internal thing, as in baptism (as I have said), re-
generation and sanctification.'' (p. 122,)
315
" We teach and beheve that these spiritual effects are as certainly
wrought by the Holy Ghost in the Sacraments, as we see that the
external elements have their operation in the course of nature. For
the Sacraments are as the deeds and seals of Almighty God, whereby
he doth in deed and verily, not only by signification, but effectually,
convey unto us the possession of his spiritual blessings." (p. 123.)
" The right use and understanding of the Sacraments .... teacheth
us, that in Baptism we are all new born, children of God and graffed
into one body." (p. 127.)
" You hear us teach, and as you love the salvation of your souls,
require you to believe, that they ("the Sacraments] be signs and
figures indeed, but such as most assuredly bring unto the faithful
heart, verily and in truth, the self-same things that they signify ; so
that the faithf ul Christian receiver may assure himself, that as truly
as God is God, so truly he receiveth those things which the outward
Sacrament doth signify." (p. 128.)
And then^ in the immediate context, he explains the meaning
of this language in these words : —
" When ive speak therefore of the Sacrament, ive must speak as it
IS IN ITSELF, by the force of God's word, consisting of all three parts,
\i. e. the outward sign, the invisible grace, and *the word of Christ's
institution and promise,'] and not as the boldness of men, or the
WEAKNESS AND IMPERFECTION OF OUR FAITH MAY MAKE IT UNTO
L'S." (p. 128.)
Here is the explanation of all such passages as speak in
general terms of the value and force of the Sacraments. They
speak of them as they are when their full effects and pm'pose
are realized. They were intended by God to convey a spiritual
blessing, an invisible grace. But the faithlessness of man may
make them a mere external rite. To the true believer baptism
is effectual for his incorporation into the true (as distinguished
from the nominal) Church of Christ, whether it wTOUght this
effect precisely at the period when it w^as bestowed, or at some
subsequent time. To the unbeliever it produces no such effect.
BISHOP BABINGTON;
Bishop of Llandaff from 1591 to 1594; — of Exeter from 1594
to 1597; — and of Worcester from 1597 to 1610.
In his Notes on Genesis," first published iu 1592, he says: — -
316
That the child was not circumcised before the eighth day, it
teacheth us that God hath not tied salvation to the Sacrament, for
it had been a hard thing in the Lord to defer it an hour if the child
had perished without it. This answereth the fear of some good ones,
and the false boldness of some bad ones, in these days, touching
children that die without baptism, for God is not worse to us under
the Gospel, than he was to them under the Law ; neither less able
to save now without baptism, than in those days he was without cir-
cumcision, the seed of the faithful. This grace was not then free
and now bound, then more and now less, then stronger and now
weaker ; far be it from us so to dream. David's child, when it died
before the eighth day, he yet for all that judged not damned, neither
cried out for it as he did for Absalom that was circumcised, but said
that he should go to it, refreshed himself, cheered his wife, and made
his servants to wonder at his comfort. And when he said he should
go to it, we know that he meant not that it was in hell, or any hellish
Limbus, and that thither himself looked to go to it, but rather com-
fortably he conceived it was with the Lord, because the promise
extended itself both to the godly and to their seed. If further we
desire to think of this matter, consider we this and the like reasons.
No elect can be damned, we know it a principle, w^hat soever foolish
men do prattle : but some unbaptized are elect (a thing that no man
will deny), therefore some unbaptized cannot be damned : which if it
be true, then see you plainly that salvation is not tied to baptism,
as some imagine. Again, ' he that heareth my word,' saith Christ,
* and believeth in him that sent me, shall be saved,' cannot be
damned, (John v. 24) : but this may one do before he be baptized :
therefore, before a man be baptized, he may stand in the state of
salvation, and out of all danger of damnation. The assumption is
evident in the eunuch (Acts viii.) and others Are covenants
made hy sacraments, or only sealed by them ? Did not the primitive
Church examine those of years in the faith before they baptized
them ? Why so, T pray you, but that they might shew it was the
covenant, not the seal, their faith and not the sacrament, which
chiejly was to be regarded, though the seal also in no case to be
neglected, inuch less contemned. How many in times past de-
ferred their baptism for many years, as Constantine, Nazianzen, &c.,
not therein doing so well as they ought, but yet evidently showing
the faith of the Church then, that God without baptism is able to
save, and hath not tied his grace to any sign."*
* Works of Bishop Babington, 1622. fol. Notes upon Genesis, p. 5.'5.
317
And in another work, entitled "An Exposition of the Catholic
Faith; or, The Twelve Articles of the Apostles' Creed Ex-
pounded, &c.," he clearly limits the gift of regeneration to a
portion of the visible Church. Commenting on the Ninth
Article, which he thus delivers, " I believe the Holy Catholic
Church, the Communion of Saints,'^ he remarks : —
" For the sense and meaning, it is as if I should say, I believe that
God ever hath had, ever hath, and ever shall have to the end of the
world, a certain flock gathered of all sorts of men, and chosen by him
to eternal life, which by his Holy Spirit and Word, agreeing in true
faith, he gathereth, defendeth, and preserveth ; and I believe that of
this Church I am a true living member, and by his grace shall ever
so remain. . . . [And citing John x. 16, and Rom. xii. 5, he says]
Both these Scriptures and the former title in the Creed [i. e. ' Holy
Catholic Church'] are to be understood not of the visible, but of the
invisible Church of the elect alone, v^hich. indeed is called the Body of
Christ, because most nearly it is joined to Christ her Head. It
is called the Spouse of Christ, because it is loved of him, and because
by a spiritual matrimony Christ hath joined himself to her. It is
called the Sheepfold of Christ, because it heareth his voice. And
when you speak of a note or mark to know the Church by, yon must
understand the visible Church consisting not of elect alone, but mixed
with elect and reprobate together. . . . The Church is holy, ' quia
accepit gratiam sanctitatis, gratiam Baptismi et remissionis pecca-
torum' (August, in Ps. 85) : 'Because she hath received the grace of
hohness, the grace of Baptism, and the forgiveness of sins.' After
this sort, I believe there is no death, no sin in the Church, because
such as believe in Christ are not sinners, are not guilty of death, but
just and holy, and lords over both sin and death in Christ, appointed
and assured of eternal life. But this holiness hitherto spoken of is
a note of the invisible Church, and therefore cannot be applied to the
visible, in which, though there be many that live holily, yet there be
many goats mingled, and holiness is known only to God.''^
And in his comment on the next Article, " I believe the for-
giveness of sins," he expressly says : —
"To whom doth God grant this mercy ? To all the company of
his elect, and to them only. So saith the Scripture ; — the people
that dwell therein, that is, in the Church, — and so consequently are
* Works ; Expos, of the Catholic Faith, pp. 227, 228, 232.
318
his sheep, and of his fold, — they, they shall have their sins forgiven."
(Is. xxxiii. 24.)*
But stilly precisely according to the language of oui* Liturgy
and Catechism^ lie held that one who professed himself to be
a true believer ought to consider himself as one to whom this
mercy has been granted, for he says : —
" Now see the comfort of the Article. I believe the forgiveness of
sins, that is, even of my sins, my sins, my sins, must every man say.
For to believe other men's to be pardoned, and not mine, is, not to
believe the Article. "t
And in his " Exposition on the Lord's Prayer/^ first pub-
lished in 1588, he thus describes "regeneration —
" We are by nature the children of wrath, walking after the Prince
that ruleth in the air, that is, the devil. But the Lord is gracious,
his mercy endureth for ever : there remaineth therefore hope by a
restitution or regeneration, which the Scripture teacheth us thus
much of : namely. That whereas Satan abuseth that corrupt nature
of ours through the great power which he hath over us for our sins,
and driveth us from the word and all religion into all blindness,
ignorance, and errors ; thrusteth us into divers miseries and calami-
ties, and in the end into eternal death, there being, where he ruleth^ no
true love of God or any grace, but sinning, vvithout sting, touch, or
feeling : the Lord our God in a contrary course of love, where it
PLEASETH HIM, bcginneth with that corruption of nature whereby
Satan before was strong, and taketh it away by little and little,
begetting us aneiv to a better life, and restoring that image of his in
us again, whereunto we were first created, and which so fearfullv we
were fallen from. Our mind he illuminateth with some heavenly
light, whereby it beginneth to know aright God, and by grace our
will receiveth a new strength to embrace the word, to rest in it, and
to incline itself to the testimonies of the Lord. Our heart is purged
and loveth the Lord, and all the members of the body, before the
weapons of unrighteousness unto sin, become by measure the weapons
of righteousness unto God. So sin dieth, grace liveth, and we love
him, fear him, trust in him, pray to him often, and in all our wants,
with such like."t
Such is his account of "regeneration." Neither is there
* lb. p. 249. t lb. p. 249.
X Works; Expos, of Lord's Prayer, pp. 140, 141.
319
auy notice of baptism in it^ nor does the description agree with
any universal effect produced by Infant baptism.
BISHOP JOHN BRIDGES,-
Dean of Salisbury from 1577 to 1603, and Bishop of Oxford
from 1603 to 1618.
The work from which the following extracts are taken, en-
titled, " Defence of the Government Established in the Church
of England/^ was wTitten by Bishop Bridges, when Dean of
Salisbury, in defence of the Church against the Puritans.
" Is it not then of sufficient virtue to baptize and cleanse the
infant, when besides the element of water, these words, In the name
of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that Christ hath
commanded those to use, which are his ministers appointed there-
unto, besides the promise there declared of washing away our sins,
of newness of life, and that we shall be saved : which promise,
WHERE God's spirit worketh by his wordy is annexed to the element,
— is not all this sufficient and effectual to baptize an infant, except
a sermon also hereof be made at his baptism ?" (Defence of Govern-
ment Estab. in Ch. of Engl. Lond. 1587. 4to. p. 564.)
To the objection of his opponents, that the Churchy in saying
that baptism was to be ministered in private places, " only in
case of necessity,^' seemed to make baptism absolutely necessary
to salvation, he replies thus, —
" What do our brethren here mean ? That there is no necessity
at all of baptism, although there be no such necessity ? Is there no
necessity of consequence, of condition, nor of conveniency, as well as
absolute, simple, and inevitable necessity ? If, generally, there were
no necessity at all of baptizing, then it were free, whether we would
be baptized or no. But it is not fi-ee. Christ did institute baptism
under flat commandment. Therefore there is a necessity, and an
important necessity of it. Did not baptism succeed circumcision ?
As Paul clearly setteth out. Col. ii. 11 and 12. In whom also ye
are circumcised (saith he) &c. And was there no necessity at all of
circumcision ? We grant this necessity was not so absolute, that it
reached to them before their time assigned ; no, nor yet after, was
it so absolute necessity, that it reached to them while they travelled
in the wilderness, God dispensing (for other manifold necessities) in
320
that long journey with the necessity of that sacrament. And yet
God's commandment remaining entire : and they with such a neces-
sity severely bound, that they should not contemn on their parts the
obedience and execution of it. And therefore saith Zanchius in this
verij well, in his confession of Christian Religion, concerning bap-
tism. Cap. 15, Aphor. 5. 'We beheve that baptism is altogether
necessary in the Church, as a sacrament instituted of Christ, and
which the Church can so little want, that where it is not, when it
may be had, there we may not acknowledge the Church of Christ.
Howbeit we think it needful unto salvation in this wise ; that not-
withstanding, if any, for the default of the minister, but not through
contempt, depart this life not sprinkled with the water, we beheve
not that he is therefore damned, and wrapped in eternal destruction.
For the children of the faithful are therefore saved, because they are
in the covenant ; but they that be of ripe years, because they believe
in Christ with a true faith, which verily cannot suffer the contempt
of Christ's commandment.' "
And having proceeded to give some further quotations and
remarks, Dr. Bridges concludes thus, —
" Neither do we urge this absolute, simple, and inevitable necessity
of ,any of both the Sacraments themselves. Save in general, that
they must needs be had in the Church (as Zanchius said), not only
as necessary tokens and demonstrances of the true Churches, but
also as God's seals ordained for the confirmation of our faith, and
such parts of his covenant with us and ours with him, as the whole
Church is bound to have and use. But when it comes to the parti-
cular use and application, we do not so necessarily tie them to this
or that person of or in the Church, that if they have them not, be it
not by their own default, the want of them may endanger their
salvation : the virtue whereof depends not upon any Sacrament, or is
included in itS' (lb. pp. 578, 579, and 587. See more, pp. 589, 590.)
A little further on, he speaks of, —
The Pope's " manifold and horrible errors of doc-
trine CONCERNING BAPTISM.'^ (lb. 588.)
And his opponent having said, that the necessity of baptism,
intimated by the Church, " is nothing else but to affirm with the
Papist, that Sacraments confer grace of the work wrought, and
that the Sacrament of baptism is a Sacrament of such necessity,
that whosoever is not dipped in water must be eternally con-
demned,'' he replies, —
321
*' This opinion of the Papists, as they now obstinately maintain
the same, is, I grant, hereticalJ" (lb. p. 590.)
And then he adds, in answer to the doctrine of his opponents
as to the necessity of a preacher to administer baptism, —
'* Will not this heretical opinion of the Papists go near to creep in
after, of opus operatum, while we stand so necessarily on opus operan-
tisr (lb. p. 594.)
And in another passage he distinctly maintains (though
incidentally, while treating on another point) Calvin's doctrine
on the subject. He is replying to the statement of his oppo-
nents pronouncing all to be lost that have not faith, and he re-
marks that this is too unhmited a statement, observing, —
If there be no way of salvation but by faith, how well might we
then cry out indeed. O Lord, how miserable is the state of all our
infants, dying not only before, but also after baptism in their infancy.
The Papists, as they pronounce that none are saved, but only such as
are baptized, so, for faith likewise, they hold this opinion, that there
is no way of salvation but by faith, albeit, adding other things thereto,
and seeing their infants not capable of faith, they affirm that they are
saved, not by their own faith, but by the Church's faith, and by the
faith of their Godfathers and Godmothers (as we call them), that in
baptizing undertake and answer for them.
" Luther and divers other following him, perceiving the grossness
of this error (upon which sundry inconveniences depend), to be saved
by the faith, not of himself, but of other, affirm that our infants have
theirselves the substance of faith, although it be not able in act to
show itself : and that (as Saint Paul saith out of Abakuk, ca. 2, The
just liveth by his own faith), they are likeivise saved and justified by
their own faith.
But Calvin, seeing further into this tnatter, a.nd that this properly
and in very deed is not faith, which requireth both an intellectual
knowledge and an actual assured persuasion and confidence on the
truth of God's promises and covenant in the mercies and merits of
Christ Jesus, which act of the mind infants have not ; and considering
that salvation properly dependeth not on the act or on the habit of
our faith, but on God's eternal election, and the performance of
his promise ; and that faith being the gift of God, is indeed the only
means and way of salvation to those that are capable to understand,
and, by believing the same, apply the promise of Christ his merits and
salvation to themselves, but unto those that are not yet grown to this
capacity^ their natural defect, or rather unripeness, maketh not the
promise of God frustrate, nor defeateth the election, that was
V
322
BEFORE THE CHILDREN WERE BORN, yfc, €re the fonudations of the
world were laid, purposed in God's eternal decree, and this foundation
is sure, God knows who are his ; — Calvin therefore willeth us, not to
apply these sentences of Christ (that recommend faith unto us) unto
the infants : but unto those that are grown to capacity, by the gift of
God in them, to understand and apprehend the same. And for the
infants of us which are faithful, and so included in the covenant
betwixt God and his people, admitting our infants to receive the
Sacrament of regeneration, because, though they be not capable of
knowledge and faith, yet are they capable of the thing signified^ and
of the favour of God the Father, and of the grace of Christ the Son,
and of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost ; yea, although they die
before they receive the outward sign, yet not to presume to judge
them clean debarred and bereft of these inward graces, but to rely
upon the promise of the covenant, that he will not only be our God,
and so our Saviour, that have faith in him, but the God and Saviour
of our seed also, although yet they have not faith in him, and that we
and our seed shall be his people. Neither only in an outward sancti-
fication, whereby as the root, so the branches are holy ; but hy the
inward sanctification and hy salvation, so far as accordeth with
HIS eternal election in Christ Jesu." (lb. pp. 482, 483.)
Here then we see plainly that in the opinion of Bishop Bridges,,
the gift of the baptismal grace depends upon the previous divine
" election'^ of the child to salvation.
And I would just add, that while he denies that infants can
have actuali^\\h, he holds at the same time that such infants have
'^the seed of faith^^ in them^as appears from the following words, —
" In some respects, the Sacrament itself is more principal than is
the preaching of it. As in baptism, to incorporate the infant into the
Church of Christ, which infant is not properly as yet faithful, though
he be the seed of the faithful, and have (as Beza calleth it) the seed
of faith, but not faith, in him'' (lb. p. 594.)
BISHOP WILLIAM BABLOW;
Bishop of Rochester from 1605 to 1608, and of Lincoln from
1608 to 1613. He had previously been Chaplain to Queen
Elizabeth and to Archbishop Whitgift, a Prebendary of St.
Paul's, then of Westminster, and then of Canterbury, and Dean
of Chester,
The following extracts are from his " Defence of the Articles
323
of the Protestants^ Religion/' published in 1601, in reply to a
work written by a Papist.
The Papist brings the following charge (among others) against
the doctrine of the Protestants : —
" The 3. Article is Remission of Sins, for they acknowledge no such
effect in the Sacrament of Baptism, but only account it as [an] ex-
ternal sign of a prae-received grace or favour of God, by his eternal
prsedestination, against the express word of God : which therefore
calleth the Sacrament the laver of regeneration (Tit. iii.), for that in
it the soul dead by sin, is newly regenerated by grace."
To this Barlow, after complaining of the misrepresentation
here made of the doctrine of the Protestants^ replies thus ; —
" The consent of our Church is, that Baptism is the indument of
Christ, Gal. iii. : an insition into Christ, Rom. vi. : as the ark of Noe,
in the deluge, to save us, 1 Pet. iii. : the laver of regeneration to wash
us. Tit. iii. : w^orking a double effect, privately remissa culpa in washing
us ; positively data justitia in sanctifying us, 1 Cor. vi. 1 1 : whether
we use it as the water of Jordan by immersion. Matt, iii., or as the
holy water in the law by aspersion. Numb. xix. : not regarding the
heathenish distinction, between diving and sprinkling in Macrob.
(Sat. iii. c. 1.), and therefore with Clemens Alexandrinus we account
it (papfxaKoy -rraiovLov, the sovereign counterpoison against original
venom; with Nazianzen, the deluge of sin ; with Basil, the mother of
adoption; with Chrysostom, the purgatory of life ; Ezechiel his aqua
munda, cleansing us from all our pollutions, Ezech. xxxvi. Notwith-
standing, we ascribe not this power either ad elementum or momen-
tum ; not to the element of w-ater, as though it had vim ablutivam,
as Aquine speaketh, this scouring force ; or regenerativam, this
renewing power, as Lombard terms it ; but unto the blood of Christ
working invisibly by the power of the Spirit, Tit. iii. Non enim aqua
lavat animam, sed ipsa prius lavatur a Spiritu, ut lavare possit
spiritualiter, saith Jerome. Hereupon the Fathers resemble it to
the diving pool of Bethesda, John v. ; as that being moved by the
Angel had an healing power, so this consecrated by the word and
sanctified by the Spirit, hath a sovereign effect and operation ; and
for that purpose, sometimes they call the water in baptism rubram
aquam, red water, the blood of Christ, having there his invisible
working.
" Why ? but the Protestants account it only a7i external seal of a
pre-received grace in God's predestination. [This is a quotation from
his opponent's charge, and he answers] He names none, vet Campian,
Y 2
324
whose ape he is, quotes Calvin, (Rat. 8.) but cites him not ; Duraeus
cites him (Contra Whit. hb. 8), but understands him not ; that word
only is not the first He he hath coined. . . . The first fruit, which Master
Calvin, among these principal effects, noteth (Institut. lib. 4.) in this
Sacrament is, that it is symholum nostra puryationis, the very words
of the Greek Scholiast in 1 Pet. iii. (rvfxlJokiKijjg Tcapiar-qaiv a-KoXvcnv'
yea of Pighius, a gross Papist, Baptismus apeccatis ahlutionis siynum
est; et instar siynati diplomatis, saith Calvin, and as the King's letters
patent under seal confirmeth our commission: that as a prince, having
purposed a favour to his subjects, grants it by his patents of mere
indulgence, and ratifies it by his seal for more assurance; so God
HAVING PURPOSED IN HIS ETERNAL COUNSEL TO SAVE SOME, wMch he
cannot do before he has remitted their sins, therefore in Baptism he
both confers this grace and confirms it unto them ; for which cause
the Scriptures and Fathers do call it sigillum promissionis et remis-
sionis ; — confers it, I say, as Campian (ubi sup.) confesseth it, veluti
per canalem, derivatively, not originally ; effectually, not effectively ;
as by a brook not as from a spring ; for this is Christ's blood, quia
latus Christi est latex sacramenti, saith S. Austin : as Allen the Car-
dinal speaketh (De sacra, chap. 3.), grace is wrought in baptism as a
man writeth with a pen, powerfully, yet instrumentally ; — confirms it
visibly, seaHng that which [is] concealed. So, that which was in his
secret counsel, propositum, the purpose of his will by predestination,
in Baptism he makes it depositum, the pledge of our salvation, and
ONLY TO the ELECT ; for, in solis electis sacramenta efiiciunt quod
figurant, saith S. Augustine, in the elect only the sacraments perform
really, which they present figuratively : (Aug. de bap. contra Donat.
et citat. a Lomb. lib. 4. dist. 4.)* and therefore that is no heresy nor
fancy to call it the seal of a pr^-received grace. For justifica-
tion by faith, which oftentimes, in those which are adulti, prevents
Baptism, is a prce- accepted grace, and cannot stand without a perfect
remission of their sins which are so justified. What fruit then brings
Baptism to them ? even this, saith Lombard (ubi sup. F.) ; because he
who thus justified cometh to baptism, is as the branch brought by the
dove into Noe his ark, Gen. 8. qid ante intus erat judicio Dei, sed
nunc etiam judicio Ecclesice, who before was justified, and fully re-
mitted in God's secret judgment, but now by baptism is made a visible
member of the Church, the sacrament being the evidence of God's
providence, and this was Cornelius his case. Acts 10. Also we urge
(Bilson, lib. 4. contr. Apol. Jesuit.) the necessity of baptism, especially
to infants, lest they should seem either naturally innocent, or generally
* The citation here may be inaccurate, but of course this does not affect
the question of Barlow's doctrine, as maintained throughout the passage.
325
sanctified without it ; yet not simply, but with a reservation, first, of
God's omnipotency, who being agens liberrimum, as the schoolmen
speak, hath not tied his power to the Sacraments, saith Lombard (ubi
sup.) ; secondly, of pre-eminence to Christ's baptism, wherein not he,
but we were washed, the waters drenching him, but cleansing us : which
made S. Augustine to cry out O misericordia, O the inercy and withall
the power of God, Necdum eramus in mundo, et jam abluebamur in
Baptismo. (August, de temp. serm. 30.) Thirdly, with a dispen-
sation of that which the schoolmen call articulum necessitatis, there
being no contempt of religion, but either extremity disappointing, or
death suddenly preventing, as infants, and the thief crucified, Luke 23.
Fourthly, with a distinction of Baptismus voti, when there is a will in
the parties, but no opportunity for the action, volentes non valentes
saith Lombard, as in the case of Valentinian in S. Ambrose. (Ambros.
orat. funeb. Valentin.) Briefly, we so highly extol the dignity^
necessity, and efficacy of Baptism, that JJurceus pleaseth himself
triumphantly, in hope that some of our writers are proved, in this
opinion, Romanists, saving he misliketh our detestation of that ma-
gical conceit of opus operatum, videlicet, that the very act of Baptism,
without either the parties faith, or the Spirit's power, should confirm
grace of itself. (Duraeus De Paradox, contr, Whitak.)."*
Here again we see tliat tlie strongest terms may be used as
to the benefit of baptism, where nevertheless they are under-
stood as applicable only in those cases where God has a purpose
of mercy to accomplish in the recipient of baptism ; where in
fact there is a prse-received grace and that Durseus the
Romanist "pleased himself triumphantly" in those times^, as
some are inclined to triumph in these times, in misinterpreting
such phrases as intended to express the Romish doctrine of
Baptism.
And it is observable, that the Popish writer here replied to,
while he draws a distinction between the general body of the
Protestants of the Church of England and "the Puritans,"
ascribing three errors respecting the Creed to both these parties,
and two more to the latter, puts down this error (as he calls it)
respecting baptism among the tJiree held by both.
* A Defence of the Articles of the Protestants' Religion, in answer to a
libel lately cast abroad, entitled, Certain Articles, or forcible reasons, dis-
covering the palpable absurdities, and most intricate errors of the Protes-
tants' Religion. Lond. IGOl, 4lo. pu. 141—147.
326
I may here add, tbat this work is dated by Barlow from
Lambeth Palace (he being then one of Archbishop Whitgift's
chaplains), and dedicated by him to Dr. Bancroft, then Bishop of
London, and afterwards Wiitgift's successor at Canterbury.
BISHOP LANCELOT ANDREWS ;
Bishop of Chichester from 1605 to 1609; of Ely from 1609 to
1618 ; and of fFinchester from 1618 to 1626.
Bishop Andrews, though not precisely of the same sentiments
as the great body of his predecessors and contemporaries in our
Church, on the subject of Predestination and its kindred points,
is yet another witness against the doctrine that spiritual regene-
ration is always conferred upon all infants in baptism. And I
need not say a word to prove that his testimony is one entitled
to great respect.
In his Sermons, Of the Sending of the Holy Ghost," we
find the following passages : —
" Howsoever it be, if these three, Prayer, the Word, the Sacra-
ments, be every one of them as an artery to convey the Spirit into
us, well may we hope, if we use them all three, we shall be in a good
way to speed of our desires. For, many times we miss, when we use
this one, or that one, alone ; where it may well be, God hath ap-
pointed to give it us by neither, but by the third. It is not for us to
limit or appoint him, how, or by what way. He shall come unto us
and visit us : but to offer up our obedience, in using them all.
(Serm. 1.)*
Again ; —
** Take Christ as a purchaser : the purchase is made, the price is
paid ; yet is not the state perfect, unless there be investiture, or (as
we call it) liverie and seisin : that maketh it complete. Perquisitio,
that very word is Christ's : but the investiture is by the Spirit, 2 Cor.
V. 5. If we Come not, we lack that : that, we may not lack, and so
not lack him. What will ye, that I say? Unless we. be joined to
him, as well as he to us — as he to us, by our flesh, so we to him, by
his Spirit — nothing is done. The exchange is not perfect, unless, as
* Ninetv-six Sermons by L. Andrews, late Bishop of Winchester. 2nd.
ed. Lond/1632. fol. p. 60/.
327
he taketh our flesh, so he give us his Spirit : as he carrieth up that
to heaven, so he send this down into earth. Ye know, it is the first
question the Apostle asked : ' Have ye received the Holy Ghost since
ye beheved ?' (Acts xix. 2.) If not, all else is to no purpose : with-
out it, we are still (as Jude calleth us) * animales, Spiritum non ha-
bentes,' natural men, but without the Spirit. (Jude, ver. 19 ) And
this is a certain rule, * Qui non habet/ he that hath not his Spirit
is none of his ; Christ profiteth him nothing. (Rom. viii. 9.) Shall
I let you see one inconvenience more, of * non veniet ?' As nothing
is done for us, so nothing can be done by us, if he come not. No
means on our part avail us ought. Not Baptism ; for, * nisi ex
SpirituJ if he come not, well may it wash soil from our skin, but no
stain from our soul : no ' laver of regeneration,' without * renewing
of the Holy Ghost.' No Preaching, neither ; for, that is but ' a
letter that killeth,' except the Spirit come too and quicken it.
(2 Cor. iii. 6.) No Sacrament; we have a plain text for it: The
' flesh profiteth nothing,' if ' the Lord and giver of life ' (the Spirit)
be away. (John vi. 63.) To conclude, no Prayer ; for ' nisi,' unless
' the Spirit help our infirmity,' and 'make intercession with us,' we
neither know how, nor what to pray. (Rom. viii. 26.) So, the
Spirit must come to all : and it goeth through ; neither can ought be
done for us, or by us, without it." (Serm. 4.)*
Again, in words which clearly shew the meaning of passages
that might at first sight, and separated from other statements of
the same author, be taken as having an opposite meaning : —
" A third necessity there is, we receive him : for that, with him,
we shall receive whatever we want, or need to receive, for our souls'
good. And here fall in all his offices. By Him, we are regenerate
at the first, in our baptism. (Tit. iii. 5.) By Him, dSier confirmed, m
the imposition of hands. (Heb. vi. 2.) By Him, after renewed to
repentance, when we fall away, by a second imposition of hands.
(1 Tim. V. 22.) By Him, taught all our life long, that we know
not (John ii. 27) ; put in mind of what we forget (John xiv. 26) ;
stirred up in what we are dull (2 Cor. iii. 6) ; helped in omy prayers
(Rom. viii. 26); relieved in our infirmities (John xiv. 16); com-
forted in our heaviness : in a word, sealed to the day of our redemp-
tion (Eph. iv. 30), and raised up again in the last day (Rom. viii. 11.)
Go all along, even from our Baptism to our very resurrection, and
we cannot miss him, but receive him we must."
' lb. p. 632.
328
Here, clearly, regeneration at baptism is spoken of precisely
in the same way as the other spiritual gifts and blessings here
mentioned are spoken of, which confessedly are not given uni-
versally. The word "we" evidently refers, not to the whole
professing Church, but to the true and faithful members of
Christ's body, as it is frequently used by other authors, in pas-
sages which, from a misinterpretation of the word, as if it in-
cluded the whole body of nominal Christians, are often quoted
as proving the universal spiritual regeneration of all in baptism.
And the very next words that follow in Bishop Andrews show
that such is the case. For he proceeds, —
" And on the other side, ' Si non recepistis,' without him received,
receive what we will, nothing will do us good : receive the word, it
is but 'a kilHng letter j' (2 Cor. iii. 6.) receive baptism, it is but
John's baptism ; but a barren element ; (Gal. iv. 9.) receive his flesh,
it profiteth nothing; (John vi. 63.) .... if we receive not Him, we
be but ' animales, Spiritum non habentes,' only men of soul, having
not the Spirit, (Jud. I.) * Et animalis homo,' the natural man that
never received the Spirit, neither perceiveth nor receiveth the things
of God, hath nothing to do with ihem. . . . The next point is, how to
certify ourselves whether we have received this Spirit or no. ... Of
the Spirit, the signs are famihar. For if it be in us (as the natural
spirit doth) at the heart it will beat, at the mouth it will breathe, at
the pulse it will be felt. Some one of these may, but all these will
not deceive us. At the heart we begin ; for that is first, ' Dabo
vobis cor novum et spiritum novum.' (Ezek. xxxvi. 26.) A new
heart and a new spirit we shall find. We shall be * renewed in
the spirit of our mind.' (Ephes. iv. 23.) .... That a new spirit is
received, no better way to know, than by new thoughts and desires.
That he that watches well the current cf his desires and thoughts,
may know, whether, and what spirit it is he is led by, old or new."
(Serm. 5.)*
Here, evidently, it is taken for granted that baptism may
have been received without its being accompanied by the rege-
nerating influences of the Holy Spirit, and the test of regenera-
tion is placed in the state of the heart.
Again, in another Sermon on Luke iii. 21, 22, commenting
on the voice from heaven at our Lord's baptism, " This is my
* lb. p. 644. 645.
329
beloved Son, &:c." he speaks^ if possible, more plainly to the same
effect. Aftei- having remarked, —
Such are we, by baptism, made to God in Christ, through the
renewing of the Holy Ghost — "
He adds soon after, —
" This voice, it came once more. Two several times it came.
Once here at his baptism : and again, after, at his transfiguration in
the mount, where he was not only said to be, but then and there
showed to be, in glory, as the Son of God indeed ; his face Hke the
sun, his raiment like the hghtning. And both of them pertain to us
likewise : the first is spoAen of us, when by baptism ice are received
into Him, for the possibility and hope we have of it thereby.
But time will come, when this second shall be spoken, and verified
of us, hkewise." (Serm. 8.)^
Words cannot be plainer than these.
And agi'eeably to this we find him elsewhere, — when com-
menting on the words " have all been made to di'ink of one
Spii-it" (1 Cor. xii. 13), which refers, he tells us, to the Sacra-
ment of the Lord's Supper, — making this remark : —
" That body which hath one beginning, and one nourishment, is
one body; but all the faithful have one beginning in the fountain
of regeneration, that is, in baptism, and are all nourished with one
nourishment ; for they are all baptized into one body by one Spirit,
and all made to drink of one Spirit : therefore they are all one body,
and consequently should hve in unity one with another."!
He clearly confines the blessing in both Sacraments to the
faithful. As none but the faithful are spii-itually noui'ished in
the Lord's Supper, so none but the faithful are incorporated into
Christ by baptism.
This principle is consistent vdih. various shades of view as to
the effects of baptism in infants. It may be supposed by some,
that wherever there is an immediate effect from baptism, there
must have been a prevenient act of grace ; by others, that the
baptismal blessing may be confeiTcd in anticipation of futui-e
faith ; by others, that the salutary effect of baptism is held in
suspense until actual faith enables the party to realize it, and so
forth. All these views are consistent with the adoption of this
* lb, pp. 684, 685. t Posthumous Lectures, Load. 165/. fol. p. 615.
330
principle. But if this cardinal truth is lost sight of, we sink at
once into one of the worst errors of Popery. The question at
issue is not one as to the efficacy of baptism, but as to the
necessary bestowal by God of the full blessing connected with
baptism whenever man chooses to administer the rite to an
infant.
BISHOP HENRY PABRY ;
Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth ; — Dean of Chester from 1605 to
1616; — Bishop of Rochester from 1607 to 1610 ; — and of Wor-
cester from 1610 to 1616.
" He was reputed by all of his time/' says Anthony Wood,*
" an able divine, well read in the Fathers,'^ &c.
Now Bishop Parry translated and published, in 1591, the
Catechism of Ursinus, which I have quoted in p. 149 above,t
and which (as the reader has there seen) is written on the most
strict Calvinistic views. And in his Preface to the Reader (to
which his name is attached) he mentions that he had published
this work especially for the instruction of the clergy, adding
this remark : — %
" And if it shall seem so good and expedient to their Honours
[i, e. the Bishops], to adjoin these my labours unto the pains and
travels of many the servants of God, who have with great praise
endeavoured in the like matter, on the like respects heretofore ;
I make no doubt, but that out of this short yet full Summe of Chris-
tian Religion, God adding his blessing thereunto, they may in short
time receive such furniture and instruction, as they shall save both
themselves and others, who both else are in case to perish ever-
lastingly."
BISHOP ARTHUR LAKE ;
Dean of Worcester from 1608 to 1616; — Bishop of Bath and
Wells from 1616 to 1626.
Of Bishop Lake Anthony Wood says, —
* Athen. Oxon. ii. 192. f See Wood, ib. 193.
X I quote from the reprint of 1645. The title of the work is, " The
Summe of Christian Religion delivered by Zacharias Ursinus first
Englished })y D. Henry Parry, &c. &c." Lond. 1615, fol. .
331
" In all these places of honour and employment, he carried himself
the same in mind and person, showing by his constancy that his
virtues were virtues indeed ; in all kind of which, whether natural,
moral, theological, personal, or pastoral, he was eminent, and indeed
one of the examples of his time. ... He was also well read in the
Fathers and Schoolmen, and had such a command of the Scripture
(which made him one of the best preachers) that few went beyond
him in his time.""^
The following Extracts are from a volume of his Sermons^
published shortly after his death. t
" I must not omit to observe unto you, That if [of] God's election
(I speak not of the eternal Decree, but the manifestation thereof in
the church militant) there are two acts. The first is the admission
of persons into the outward congregation, and unto the sacramental
obsignation ; which is nothing else but the outward profession of
man, that he is a party to the covenant of God ; and so Moses
telleth the Israelites that God hath chosen them to be his pecuhar
people : which is no more than that God hath given them his Law,
which he had not done to every nation. St. Paul addeth more par-
ticulars of this kind (Rom. ix.) ; and in this respect giveth the name
of elect to whole churches of the Gentiles. But besides this outward,
there is an inward act of election, and that is the operation of the
Holy Ghost giving unto us spiritual vAsdom and holiness making
us God* s children, and ynembers of the mystical Body of Christ. And
that Church vjhich ice believe in the Creed is partaker of both these
acts of election, as well the inward as the outward ; and these latter
are electi ex electis, whom Christ doth design when he saith in the
Gospel, ' Many are called, but few are chosen.' Because there are
none in this world actually of the Church invisible, but those that
are in the visible ; and 7nen cannot distinguish between the persons
that partake either only one or both of the acts of election ; therefore
in my text we will take the definition of a Church in the widest
sense, according to the rule of charity which the Scripture observes,
although the power of devotion doth properly concern the whole
visible Body, by reason of the better part thereof ^ those which are as
well inwardly as outwardly of the Church, The use that we must
make of this definition of the Church is by the first word to be re-
membered of our Prerogative. If we do partake only the outward
* Athen. Oxon. ii. 399.
t Sermons. &c. bv A. Lake, late Bishop of Bath and Wells. Lond,
1629. fol.
332
act of election, how much are we better than the heathen that know
not the true God, nor the Saviour of the world Jesus Christ, and are
destitute of all those means by which they may be saved ? But
if, looking into our heart, we find saving grace there (for God's
Spirit doth witness unto our spirit that we are the children of God),
when we contemplate in ourselves this second act of election, we have
reason to think our prerogative much more improved, by how much
an inward is better than an outward Jew ; the circumcision of the
spirit better than the circumcision of the flesh j to be baijtized with
the Spirit better than to be baptized with water ; to eat panem,
Dominum, eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, better than to
eat only and drink only sacramental bread and wine."*
This, I suppose, is plain enough, and can hardly be mis-
construed.
Again, he says, —
"The Sacraments are sufficiently sovereign for all; not so,
ciently, and yet efficiently for many. For although in comparison
of unbelievers, believers are but few, yet considered in themselves,
believers are many, both Jews and Gentiles." [Where he evidently
limits the efficacy of Sacraments to behevers.] *' A Sacrament is
an annex unto doctrine, even as a seal is set unto a pardon. The
Sacraments of the Old Testament were so annexed unto the ceremo-
nial law ; so are the Sacraments of the New Testament unto the
Gospel. As he that taketh the charter of pardon without the King's
seal, when he may have it, loseth the benefit of his pardon 5 so he
will have but little benefit of the Gospel, that is a contemner of the
Sacraments : they must both go together until the world's end."t
Again ;
" The Dove did signify that Christ would baptize with the Holy
Ghost, and that he would communicate this power to none ; he
would transfer the ministry to men, but reserve the eflScacy of bap-
tism to himself, both while he was on earth, and as he now reigneth
in heaven. For certainly the Sacring doth note this his possession
and dispensatiou of the Holy Ghost ; it is His Spirit, and he only
giveth it 5 he sanctifieth the waters of baptism unto their sacred use,
* Sermon at Paul's Cross, among "Sermons, Lond. 1C29." fol. pp. 533,
534.
t Serm. on Matt. xxvi. 26—28, among "Sundry Sermons, De Tempore,"
(in same vol.) p. 1/4.
333
and by his Spirit added unto them doth regenerate those that ark
MEMBERS OF HIS ChURCH. "*
Here we see who tliey are to whom alone^ according to Bishop
Lake^ baptism is the ^^laver of regeneration/^
And he thinks that regeneration, where given, is " ordinarih/'
given in baptism. For he says : —
" A prerogative the children of the faithful have, which St. Paul
toucheth at, Rom. xi. ' If the root be holy, so are the branches.'
But this holiness is in possibility rather than in possession, and there
is a distance between natural generation and spiritual regeneration.
Though by their natural birth-right, the children of the faithful have
a right unto the blessings of God's Covenant, yet do they not partake
them, but by their new birth, which ordinarily they receive in Bap-
tism, which is therefore called the Bath of Regeneration. "t
Again, he maintains that regeneration, when given, abides for
ever. He says : —
''Mark, that the Israelites are bid to wash their garments, not to
change them, though it appeareth, (Exod. xxxiii.) that they had
change of raiment. There is a mystery in it ; it signifieth that the
children of God from the time they are incorporated into Christ, though
they have often occasion to scour out the stains which their regenera-
tion contracteth, yet they do not shift it ; it shall abide the same for
ever, bettered in qualitij, but never altered in substance."X
And his description of " regeneration,^^ given in a comment on
Psalm li. 10 Create in me a clean heart, 0 God, and renew a
right spirit within me"), is this : —
Our natural corruption is cured bv grace, and grace doth cure it
partly by forgiving, and partly by regenerating : of the forgiveness
you have heard on the former verse, and on this verse you are to hear
of the regeneration. And that which you shall hear is first. What,
— then, Whence it is. In opening. What it is, the text will lead me
to show you, first in what part we must have it, and secondly of what
gifts it consists : the part is set down first in general, it is our inwards,
we must have it within : but within we have many inwards, whereof
here are two distinctly expressed, and they are two principal ones, the
heart and the spirit, whereof the one noteth the sovereign, and the
other the active power of our soul, these are the parts that are to be
* Sermons preached at Court (in same vol.) p. 16/.
t Expos, of Ps. li. (in same vol.) p. 116.
X Expos, on Exod. xix. (in same vol.) p. 439.
334
regenerated. Now the gifts whereof this Regeneration consists, are
Hohness and Stayedness ; Hohness of the sovereign power, and of the
active, Stayedness ; the first we have if our heart be clean, and the
other, if our spirit be right. This is Regeneration."*
Whether this agrees with the notion of all infants being
spiritually regenerated in baptism, any one can judge.
He does not, however, (as we have seen) deny the efficacy of
the Sacrament, but only its universal efficacy, its efficacy in the
case of those of w^hom Christ will say hereafter, " I never knew
you." Hence he says : —
" Though Sacraments be ceremonies, yet are they ceremonies of
efficacy. Were they only of significancy, the Church might have some
power to ordain them : but being of efficacy, their ordination belongeth
only to God : because the efficacy floweth from his Spirit, and of his
Spirit none can dispose but himself."t
And he ascribes (as in a passage already quoted) our incor-
poration into Christ to baptism : —
" As none might eat of the Paschal Lamb, but they that were cir-
cumcised, no more might any receive the Eucharist that was not
baptized. The reason is plain : no man can be nourished except he
live, and live to God no man can, but he that is incorporated into
Christ, and incorporated he is by baptism ."J
He gives therefore to baptism the full force, value, and efficacy
which can be ascribed to it ; but only where it is an instrument
in the hands of Him by whose power alone it can ever be
efficacious.
BISHOP GEORGE CARLETON ;
Bishop of Llandaff from 1617 to 1619; and of Chichester
from 1619 to 1628.
This learned prelate was one of the four representatives of our
Church at the Synod of Dort, and an able defender of the doc-
trine of our Reformers, against the innovations of the Laudian
party.
* Serm. on Ps. li. (in same vol.) p. 149.
t Serm. on Matt. xxvi. 26 — 28 (in same vol.) p. 163. % lb. p. 172.
335
In bis reply to Mountagu,* one of the earliest leaders of that
party, he gives his judgment very clearly on the subject of our
present inquiry.
Mountagu (who was afterwards promoted through the influence
of Laud to a bishopric) had objected, " Let this be acknowledged
the doctrine of our Church, that children dul}' baptized are put
into the estate of grace and salvation : but many children so bap-
tized, when they come to age, by a wicked life do fall away from
God, and from that estate of grace and salvation wherein he had
set them," from which he deduced the conclusion that either those
that are once in a state of salvation may totally and finally fall
away from it, or that it must be said that all that are baptized are
saved, t
* To this Bishop Carleton replies thus : —
" If our author had been pleased to have observed the judgment of
the ancients, he would not be thus troubled with novelties. This one
poor objection seemeth to trouble the man. Saint Augustine might
easily have satisfied him. For he observeth a great difference between
them that are regenerate and justified only Saci^amento tenus, and
those that are regenerate and justified according to the purpose of
God's election. Abraham received the Sacrament of circumcision, as
a seal of the righteousness of faith. The Sacrament is good to them
to whom it is a seal of the righteousness of faith, but it is not a seal
in all that receive the Sacrament ; for many receive the sign,
WHICH HAVE NOT THE THING. Then to procced ; Ismael was circum-
cised, and so was Isaac ; but Ismael was born according to the flesh,
and Isaac according to the Spirit. Now he was not justified, but only
Sacramento tenus, that was born according to the flesh ; but he that
was born according to the Spirit, was justified truly. Saint Augustine
saith, ' Cum essent omnibus communia Sacramenta, non communis
erat omnibus gratia.' (August, in Ps. 77.) And again, * Omnibus in
nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti baptizatis commune est lava-
crum regenerationis, sed ipsa gratia, cujus ipsa sunt Sacramenta, qua
membra corporis Christi cum suo capite regenerata sunt, non com-
munis est omnibus :' that is, ' When as the Sacraments are common
to all, yet grace is not common to all.' And, ' The fountain of re-
generation is common to all that are baptized in the name of the
* An Examination of those things, wherein the author of the late Appeal
hokleth the doctrines of the Pelagians and Arminians to be the doctrines of
the Church of England. 2nd Ed. revised. Lond. 1626. 4to.
t Appello Csesarem, &c., by Richard Mountagu. Lond. 1625, 4to. pi).
35, 36.
33G
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; but that grace, whereof these
are Sacraments, whereby the members of the body of Christ are
regenerate w^ith their head, is not common to all.' Israel was called
to be a people of God, yet all that were so called, were not so in
truth : so all that receive baptism are called the children of God,
regenerate, justified : for to us they must he taken for such in charity,
until they show themselves other. But the author affirmeth, that ' this
is not left to men's charity, as you,' saith he, ' do infcrra the world,
because we are taught in the Service Book of our Church earnestly
to believe, ' that Christ hath favourably received these infants that
are baptized, that he hath embraced them with the arms of his mercy,
that he hath given unto them the blessing of everlasting hfe ; and out
of that behef and persuasion, we are to give thanks faithfully and
devoutly for it.' All this we receive and make no doubt of it: but
when we have said all, we must come to this, that all this is nothing
but the charity of the Church : and what more can you make of it?
For where he urgeth this, that children baptized are put in the state
of salvation, and this must be beheved, I make no doubt of it. . . . Con-
cerning this judgment of charity, we do not inform the world any
otherwise than St. Augustine informed the Church long since against
the Pelagians. The Pelagians urged these things as you do, that they
that were baptized were regenerate and justified. St. Augustine
answereth they are so for ought that w^e know, and until they them-
selves shew themselves to the contrary. Then so long as we have no
cause to the contrary, we judge them, in charity, to be such as we
desire they should be : did we devise this or did we first inform the
world of this } it hath been of old received thus in the Church. We
do but say that which the ancient Fathers have said before us : and
you foUoW' that which your Fathers the Pelagians have taught before
you. But here is great difference; we following the ancient Fathers,
follow the Church; and you foUow^ing the Pelagians, follow the
enemies of the Church. But here he citeth in the margent, page 36,
' that all antiquity taught thus.' I pray you what did Antiquity teach?
That young children baptized are delivered from original sin. We
teach the same, and we doubt not, if they die before they come to the
practice of actual sins, they shall be saved. But this is not so to be
understood, that no children unbaptized can be saved. ... Of these
who have received the Sacrament of regeneration, and are judged by
us to be regenerate and justified, many may proceed and make a great
progress in the Church, to be ' enhghtened, to taste of the heavenly
gift, to be made partakers of the Holy Ghost,' (that is, of many graces
of the Holy Ghost,) ' to taste of the good word of God, and of the
powers of the world to come' (Heb. vi.), and yet they may fall away
337
totally and linallv. But they that are regenerate, justided, and called
according to God's purpose, (ask not me who these are, it is enough
that they are known to God,) they may fall into divers temptations
and sins, which bring men under God's wrath ; but these never fall
away either totally or finally. This was expressed by D. Overall, in
the Conference at Hampton Court. By this distinction of men re-
generate Rud }usti&ed sacra men/ 0 tenus only, and such as are so indeed
according to Gods purpose and calling, he might easily and fairly
have satisfied himself in all these objections, which he draweth out of
the Book of Homilies and out of our Service Book. For first he hath
not proved, that a justified man may fall away totally and finally ;
neither doth that follow from any words by him produced. And if it
were proved in direct terms, how easy is the answer, that it is there
meant of such as are regenerate and justified sacramento tenus, and
no further : for, that such fall away, it was never doubted in the
Church, as S. Austin showeth. And therefore, when he saith that
children duly baptized are put into the estate of grace and salvation,
I grant they are so to us : ice mi'st esteem them so judicio chari-
TATIS."*
^Miile 1 am quoting from this work, it may be worth while to
add an extract corroborative of a remark already made^t that
those called Puritans were not originally considered by the
authorities of our Church as differing fi'om them in doctrine, but
only in discipline. It was the Laudian party that first applied
the term to matters of doctrine, and used it to stigmatize those
who were attached to that true and genuine doctrine of the
Church of England which they laboured to eradicate. Com-
menting on Mountagu's scoffing words when referring to a
passage in Bellarmine, — " ]^^^ your Pm-itan doctrine for final
perseverance/' — Bishop Carleton remarks ; —
" This is the first time that ever I heard of a Puritan doctrine in
points dogmatical, and I have hved longer in the Church than he hath
done. I thought that Puritans were onlv such as were factious
against the Bishops in the point of pretended Discipline ; and so I am
sure it hath been understood hitherto in our Church. A Puritan doc-
trine is a strange thing, because it hath been confessed on both sides,
that Protestants and Puritans have held the same doctrines without
variance. The Discipline varied in England, Scotland, Geneva, and
otherwere : yet the Doctrine hath been hitherto held the same,
* An Examination, &c., (as above,) pp. 193 — 208.
t See pp. 95. 96, above.
z
338
according to the Harmony of the several Cow/e55iow5 of these Churches.
Not one doctrine of the Church of England, another of the Church of
Scotland, and so of others. What is your end in this, but to make
divisions where there were none ? And that a rent may be made in
the Church ? Forsooth ! that place may be given to the Pelagian
and Arminian doctrines. And then all that are against these must
be called Puritan doctrinesT^^
And to the justness of these remarks we have certainly an
impartial witness in our modern historian Hume^ who says that
^^the doctrinal Puritans" rigidly defended the speculative system
of the first Reformers.
xlnd in another work^J Bishop Carleton expressly refutes the
notion,, ^Hhat Sacraments confer grace through the work wTOught^
even though there should be no good internal motion in him who
receives them^ supposing that no impediment is placed in the
way j'^§ which he speaks of as " an outlandish and unreasonable
notion;" 1 1 and says that this doctrine seems to have sprung up
about the age of John Scotus : adding (in a passage already quoted
above —
" Aquinas seems to have added some stones to this building when
he taught, ' that the Sacraments of the New Law cause grace, after
the manner of an instmment.' (3 par. q. 62. Art. 1.) These words
gave occasion to the Sophists that followed to philosophize after their
manner. But Aquinas has nothing about the work done, or about a
bar. These things seem to have been added by those that came after.
And thus the Tridentine Creed, like a patched coat made up of many
and various rags, was at length put together and became one. Before
these times this opinion was unheard of in the Church of Rome."
BISHOP GEORGE DOWNAME;
Bishop of Derry from 1616 to 1634.
Bishop Downame is called by Wood a learned and painful
writer."**
* lb. pp. 121, 122.
t Hist, of Eng. ch. 51. a. 1629. (vi. 272. ed. 1/78.)
X Consensus Ecclesiae Catholicse contra Trirlentinos. Franc. 1613. 8vo.
§ Sacramenta conferre gratiam ex opere operate, etiamsi in suscipiente
non sit bonus interior motus, modo non ponatur obex. (p. 412).
II Peregrina et incondita sententia. (lb.)
1[ See p. 219 above. ** Athen. Oxon. ii. 814.
339
The following extracts are taken from his Treatise on the
Certainty of Perseverance/' published in 1631.
" All that are truly justified shall be glorified. Not all that are
baptized shall be glorified. Therefore not all that are baptized are
truly justified. For the better clearing of this point, we are to use
divers distinctions ; 1. In respect of Baptism. For there is an outward
Baptism, which is the washing of the jiesh (1 Pet. iii. 21) with water
by the minister ; and an inward Baptism, which is the washing of
the soul with the blood of Christ by the Holy Ghost. The former is
also the engrafting of the party baptized into the body of the visible
Church, w^hich is the society of those who profess the name of Christ;
the other is the insition of him into the society of the invisible Church,
which is the mystical body of Christ and company of the Elect : the
former insition is wrought by the minister, the latter by the Holy
Ghost, by whom (1 Cor. xii. 13.) we are baptized into one body. But
not every one that hath the outward baptism hath the inivard ; no
more than every one that had the external circumcision of the flesh,
had the inward circumcision of the heart (Rom. ii. 28, 29.). . . .
Neither is every one that is a member of the visible Church a true
member of Christ, or of the Church invisible. Many being in the
visible Church which are not of the Church invisible, who are among
the faithful and elect as tares among the corn or chaff among the
wheat. If it be said, that the visible Church is the body of Christ, I
answer, that it hath the denomination from the better part, as a heap
wherein is more chafi* than wheat, is called a heap of wheat, and a
field wherein are more tares and other weeds than corn, is also called
a corn field. But if we will speak properly, that is not in deed the
body of Christ which shall not be with him for ever, as Augustine
saith. (De doctr. Christ, lib. 3. c. 33.)
" For if it were so, that every one that hath the outward baptism
hath also the inward, and that every one that is made a member of
the Church, is also made a true member of Christ, then it would also
follow, that every one that is baptized should be saved. For salva-
tion is as v: ell promised to the baptized as either regeneration or jus-
tification. (Mar. xvi. 16; 1 Pet. iii. 21.) Neither are any re-
generated, BUT SUCH AS ARE ELECTED : uor any justified, but such
as shall be saved. If therefore it be true, that not all which have the
outward baptism have the inward, then it is as certain, that not all
that are baptized are justified, as, that not all that are baptized shall
be saved.
" Yea, but they that are baptized have put on Christ,
" Answ. Those that have been baptized into Christ, as the apostle
speaketh, (Gal. iii. 27,) that is, by baptism engrafted into him, have
z'2
340
put on Christ. But not all simply that have been baptized have put
on Christ, unless you mean sacramentally
"Secondly, we are to distinguish the parties baptized, that they
are either adulti^ such as [are] come to years of discretion (of whom
properly this controversy is understood), or infants wanting the use of
reason. As for those that are baptized after they are come to years
of discretion, it is certain, that no more are justified than do believe
by a true justifying faith. For Sacraments are as seals annexed to
the letters patents of God's evangelical promises, which assure or con-
vey nothing but what is contained in the promise, and upon the same
conditions. And it is absurd to extend the benefit of the Sacrament
beyond the covenant Here therefore is confuted that most
pernicious doctrine of the Papists, that the Sacraments of the Gospel
w^hich they call the New Law, do confer grace, and that ex opere ope-
rato, to them in whom not only there is no grace (for then it were
opus operantis) , but not so much as any inward disposition or motion
of grace beforehand. By which doctrine they have turned Christian
religion to a mere outward formality, consisting in outward rites and
observations, without any truth or power of religion in them, accord-
ing to that prophecy of them. (2 Tim. iii. 5 ) As touching in-
fants, I say in the first place, that this controversy is not understood
of them, who neither are indued wdth habit of grace, neither are able
to produce the acts thereof, as not having as yet the use of reason.
And therefore being neither justified by faith, nor sanctified by the
habits of grace, cannot be said to fall from them. Secondly, it is
not necessary that every one that is baptized should presently be re-
generated or justified. But the Sacrament of Baptism is a seal unto
him of the righteousness of faith, which is the righteousness of
Christ, either to be applied by the Holy Ghost to the elect dying in
their infancy, or to be apprehended also by faith in them, who living
to years of discretion have grace to believe.
" Thirdly, we are to distinguish of the effects of baptism, and of
the time thereof. For it is not the effect of baptism to begin, or to
work faith, which in those of years must go before baptism, neither
can infants though baptized, whiles they w^ant the use of reason,
actually believe, but to seal to the baptized the righteousness of faith,
and so to justify sacramentally , which effect is not to be restrained
to the time when baptism is administered, but to be extended to the
whole course of a man's life, whensoever he shall believe and repent.
As for the elect which die before the use of reason, the sacrament of
baptism is the seal and means of Christ's righteousness to be applied
to them by the Holy Ghost. For as some have been sanctified from
the womb, yea and some in the womb, so it is not to be doubted, but
341
that those infants whom God in their infancy intendeth to glorify, he
doth bestow upon them his Spirit, which is the Spirit of faith,
2 Cor. iv. 1 3, and the Spirit of regeneration, whereby he doth illu-
minate their minds and sanctify their hearts, and every way prepare
and fit them for his own kingdom.
" Fourthly, loe are to distinguish between the judgment of
CHARITY AXD THE JUDGMENT OF CERTAINTY. For althoUgll in the
general we know, that not every one that is baptized is justified or
shall be saved, yet, when we come to speak of particulars, ive are to
judge of them that are baptized that they are regenerated and justi-
fed, and that they shall be saved, until they shall discover themselves
not to be such. And so our Book of Common Prayer speaketh
OF THEM, AS THE SCRIPTURES ALSO TEACH US TO SPEAK OF THEM
THAT ARE BAPTIZED, THAT THEY ARE REGENERATED AND ENGRAFTED
INTO THE BODY OF ChRIST, THOUGH PERHAPS THEY BE REGENE-
RATED SACRAMENTO TENUS, AND ENGRAFTED ONLY' INTO THE BODY
OF HIS VISIBLE Church. But this judgment of charity is no matter
of certainty or of faith, but may be deceived.
"The like judgment of charity our Church conceiveth concerning
all those that die in the bosom of the Church, and depart this life in
the profession of the faith; so that not all are justified before God, or
sanctified by saving grace, who to us, judging according to charity,
seem to be such.
" Lastly, the Papists themselves do teach, that the Sacraments do
not confer grace to him that cometh to the Sacrament in the guilt of
mortal sin, or, as they S'^Qixk, ponenti obicem mortalis peccati. But
all that come to be baptized are guilty (if not justified before) of
mortal sin, not only adalti, who are of years, and have to their
original sin added their own personal transgression ; but infants
ALSO, who besides their original corruption, in respect whereof thev
are all naturally dead in sin, do also stand guilty of Adam's most
heinous transgression, which without doubt was a mortal sin.
You will say, then, to what use doth baptism serve } I answer,
that the blood of Christ doth purge us from all our sins (1 John i. 7),
as well mortal, as those which the Papists call venial ; that this
washing of the soul by the ])lood of Christ is res sacramenti^ the
thing signified by baptism, whereof the outward baptism is a sacra-
ment, that is, a sign to signify it, a seal to assure it to them that
believe, an instrument of the Holy Ghost to apply it to the elect and
heirs of promise. For there is no saving grace given, but according
to God's purpose of grace given unto us in Christ before all times,
and according to the covenant of grace made w^ith the heirs of pro-
mise." (" A Treatise of the Certainty of Perseverance," annexed to
342
" The Covenant of Grace, or an Exposition upon Luke i. 73 — 75."
Dublin, 1631. 4to. pp. 393—399.)
The following remarks are made by Archbishop Usher, and
Dr. Samuel Ward_, on the doctrine of Baptism, as here laid down
by Bishop Downame.
Archbishop Usher, writing to Dr. Ward in 1630, says, —
" My Lord of Derry hath a book ready for the press, wherein he
handleth at full the Controversy of Perseverance and the Certainty
of Salvation. He there determineth that point of the efficacy of
baptism far otherwise than you do, accommodating himself the
OPINION MORE VULGARLY RECEIVED AMONG US."*
To which Dr. Ward replies, —
" My Lord of Derry is a worthy man, and whom I do much re-
verence ; yet I would wish his Lordship to be well advised. I doubt
not but the doctrine of perseverance may sufficiently be cleared,
though we grant that all infants baptized be free from original guilt.
.... I KNOW, MOST OF OUR DIVINES do make the principal
end and effect of all sacraments to he obsignation, and all sacraments
to be merely obsignatory signs ; and consequently that ablution of
infants from original sin is only conditional and expectative, of which
they have no benefit till they believe and repent ; I cannot easily
assent hereunto."f
ARCHBISHOP USHER;
Bishop of Meath from 1620 to 1624; — Archbishop of Armagh
from 1624 to 1655.
It would of course be superfluous to add a word here to the
name of Archbishop Usher, to shew the claim which his testi-
mony has upon us as a witness to the doctrine of our Church.
The first extract I shall give is from one of his letters, to
which there is no date, but which could not have been written
before 1618.
" Election being nothing else but the purpose of God, resting in
his own mind, makes no kind of alteration in the party elected, but
only the execution of that Decree and purpose, which in such as
* Usher's Life and Letters, bv Parr. Lend. 1686, fol. Lett. 159, p. 434.
t lb. Letter 160, p. 438.
343
have the use of reason is done by an effectual calling, in all by
spiritual regeneration^ which is the new birth, without which no man
can see the kingdom of God I wrote but even now, that God
did execute his Decree of election in all by spiritual regeneration :
but if any shall say, that by all, thereby I should understand the
universality of all and every one in the world, and not the univer-
sality OF ALL THE ELECT ALONE, he should greatly wrong my
meaning."*
This is decisive of the question^ to whom Archbishop Usher
considered spiritual regeneration to be given.
The same doctrine is also taught in a Brief Catechism^ which^
though it was first published without his consent, was afterwards
reviewed and published by the Archbishop himself, under the
title, "A brief method of the doctrine of Christian Religion/^ with
a preface acknowledging himself to be the author, in 1653,t and
since frequently reprinted. From a reprint of this edition of
165 3 J I give the following extracts.
" Q. How doth he rule his subjects ?
" A. By making the Redemption which he hath wrought effectual
in the Elect : calling those, whom by his prophetical of&ce he hath
taught, to embrace the benefits offered unto them ; and governing
them being called : both by these outward ordinances which he hath
instituted in his Church, and by the inward operation of his blessed
Spirit.
" Q. Having thus declared the Natures and Offices of Christ, the
Mediatour of the new covenant : What are you to consider in the con-
dition of mankind which hold by him ?
A. Two things : the participation of the grace of Christ effec-
tually communicated by the operation of God's Spirit unto the
Catholick Church, which is the Body and Spouse of Christ, out of
which there is no salvation : and the outward means ordained for
the offering and effecting of the same vouchsafed unto the visible
Churches.
" Q. How is the grace of Christ effectually communicated to the
Elect, of whom the Catholick Church doth consist ?
" A. By that wonderful union, whereby Christ and his Church are
made one : so that all the Elect, being ingrafted into him, grow up
together into one mystical body, whereof he is the head.
Q. What is the bond of this union ?
"A. The communion of God's Spirit: which being derived from
* lb. Letter 23, pp. 50, 51.
t See Parr's Life of Usher; Lend. 1686, fol. p. 62.
i Attached to his "Body of Divmity," 8th ed. Loud. 1702. 4to.
344
the Man Christ Jesus unto all the Elect, as from tlie Head unto the
Members, giveth unto them spiritual life, and maketh them partakers
of Christ with all his benefits.
" Q. What are the benefits which arise to God's children from
hence ?
" A. Reconciliation and Sanctification.
" Q. What is Reconciliation ?
A. That grace, whereby we are freed from God's curse, and re-
stored unto his favour.
" Q. What are the branches of this Reconciliation ?
" A. Justification and Adoption."
*******
** Q. Is there no distinction to be made among them that thus re-
ceive Christ }
"A. Yes: for some are not capable of knowledge; as infants,
and such as we term naturals : other some are of discretion. In the
former sort, we are not to proceed further than God's election, and
the secret operation of the Holy Ghost. In the other there is required
a lively faith, bringing forth fruit of true holiness."
*******
" Q. What is a Sacrament ?
" A. A visible sign ordained by God to be a seal for confirmation
of the promises of the Gospel unto those who perform the conditions
required in the same.
" Q. How is this done by a Sacrament ?
A. By a fit similitude between the sign and the thing signified,
the benefit of the Gospel is represented unto the eye, and the assur-
ance of enjoying the same confirmed to such as are within the Cove-
nant. Wherefore as the preaching of the Word is the ordinary means
of begetting faith j so both it, and the holy use of the Sacraments,
be the instruments of the Holy Ghost to increase and confirm the
same."
•X- ***** *
" Q. What are the Sacraments of this Ministry }
A. The Sacrament of Admission into the Church is Baptism ;
Avhich sealeth unto us our spiritual Birth : the other Sacrament of our
continual Preservation is the Lord's Supper ; which sealeth unto us
our continual nourishment." (pp. 421 — 425.)
There is also anotber work, which, thovigh not to be strictly
considered as one which is in the state in which he himself would
have published it, must still be held as, in all important points,
expressing his views; namely, that entitled, '^A Body of Divi-
nity, or, the Sum and Substance of Christian Religion, catechis-
345
ticallv propounded and explained." This work was first pub-
lished in 1645 by John Downame, (sou of George Downame
Bishop of Chester,, and brother of George Do\A-name Bishop of
Derrv, and himself the author of several excellent works,) as a
work of xlrchbishop Usher^s. The book was pubhshed without
the Archbishop^s consent fi-om a transcript of a MS. lent by the
Archbishop to some friends.* We are told, however, by his
chaplain Dr. Nicholas Bernard, that " indeed, he was displeased
at the pubhshiug of it, without his knowledge, but hearing of
some good fruit which hath been reaped by it, he hath permitted
it.''\ Several other editions therefore were published in his life-
time, and being thus published with his permission, must of
course be considered as, in all important points of doctrine, repre-
senting his \'iews. The following extracts are taken from this
work. J
" But is Christ and the cleansing power of his blood only barely
signified in the Sacrament of Baptism ?
Xay more : the inward things are really exhibited to the
believer as well as the outward ; there is that Sacramental union
between them, that the one is conveyed and sealed up by the other.
Hence are those phrases of ' Being born again of water and of the
Holy Ghost,' John iii. 5: oi ^ Cleansing by the ic ashing of v: at er..'
Ephes. V. 26^ &c. : so, ^ Arise and be baptized, and icash aicay thy
sins,' Acts xxii. 16 : so, Rom. vi. .3, * We are buried with Christ by
baptism, ^'c.' The Sacraments being rightly received, do efi'ect that
which they do represent.
" Are all they then that are partakers of the outward washing of
Baptism, partakers also of the inward washing of the Spirit : Doth
this Sacrament seal up their spiritual ingrafting into Christ to all
who externally receive it }
" Surely no. Though God hath ordained these outward means
for the conveyance of the inward grace to our souls ; yet there is no
necessity that we should tie the working of God's Spirit to the
Sacraments more than to the Word. The promises of salvation,
Christ, and all his benefits, are preached and olfered to all in the
Ministrv of the Word : yet all hearers have not them conveyed to
* See Parr's Life of Usher ; Lend. 16S6, fol. p. 62
t The Life and Death of Archbishop Usher. Bv Dr. N. Bernard. Lend.
1656. 8vo. pp. 41, 42.
X The copy used is the Sth edition. Lond. 1 7<^2, 4to.
346
their souls by the Spirit ; but those whom God hath ordained to
life. So in the Sacraments, the outward elements are dispensed to
all, who make an outward profession of the Gospel, (for in infants
their being bom in the bosom of the Church is instead of an outward
profession,) because man is not able to distinguish corn from chaff ;
but the inward grace of the Sacrament is not communicated to all,
but to those only who are heirs of those promises whereof the Sacra-
ments are seals. For without a man have his name in the Covenant,
the Seal set to it confirms nothing to him.
"What is the advantage, then, or benefit of Baptism to a common
Christian ?
" The same as was the benefit of Circumcision to the Jevj out-
ward, Rom. ii. 28 ; Rom. iii. 1,2: there is a general grace of Bap-
tism which all the baptized partake as of a common favour ; and that
is their admission into the visible body of the Church, their matricu-
lation and outward incorporating into the number of the worshippers
of God by external communion. And so as Circumcision was not
only a seal of the righteousness which is by faith, but as an overplus
God appointed it to be like a wall of separation between Jevj and
Gentile : so is Baptism a badge of an outward member of the
Church, a distinction from the common rout of Heathen ; and God
thereby seals a right upon the party baptized to his ordinances, that
he mav use them as his privileges, and wait for an inward blessing
by them. Yet this is but the porch, the shell, and outside : all that
are outwardly received into the visible Church, are not spiritually
ingrafted into the mystical body of Christ. Baptism always is
attended upon by the general grace, but not always with this special.
To whom then is Baptism efi'ectual to the sealing up this inward
and special grace
"We must here distinguish of persons baptized. The Church
doth not only baptize those that are grown and of years ; if any such
being bred Pagans be brought within the place of the Church, and
testify their competent understanding of Christianity, and profess
their faith in the Lord Jesus and in God's precious promises of re-
mission of sins by his blood ; and their earnest desire to be sealed
with Baptism for the strengthening of their souls in this faifh : but
the Church also baptized her infants, such as being born within her
bosom of believing parents are within the Covenant, and so have
right unto the seal thereof.
" Doth the inward grace always accompany the outward sign in
those of years baptized ?
" No ; but only then when the profession of their faith is not out-
ward only and counterfeit, but sincere and hearty ; they laying hold
347
on Christ offered in the Sacrament by a lively faith, which is the
hand to receive the mercies offered. Acts viii. 37, ' Jf thou believest
with all thy heart, thou may est be baptized ;' saith Philip to the
Eunuch. For it were absurd to extend the benefit of the seal
beyond the Covenant. Now the Covenant is made only in the
faithful, John i. 12 j Mark xvi. 16. 'He that believeth and is bap-
tized shall be saved; but he that believeth not, whether he be
baptized or no, shall be condemned.' Simon Magus (Acts viii. 13)
and Julian, and thousands of Hypocrites and Formalists, shall find
no help in the day of the Lord by the holy water of their baptism,
without it be to increase their judgment.
" But what say you of infants baptized that are born in the
Church 5 doth the inward grace in their baptism always attend upon
the outward sign ?
" Surely no : the Sacrament of Baptism is effectual in infants,
only to those and to all those who belong unto the election of grace.
Which thing though we (in the judgment of charity) do judge of
every particular infant, yet we have no ground to judge so of all in
general : or if we should judge so, yet it is not any judgment of cer-
tainty; we may be mistaken.
" Is every elect Infant then actually sanctified and united unto
Christ in and by Baptism ?
** We must here also distinguish of elect Infants baptized, whereof
some die in their infancy, and never come to the use of reason ;
others God hath appointed to live and enjoy the ordinary means of
faith and salvation.
"What is to be thought of elect Infants that die in their infancy,
and have no other outward means of salvation but their baptism ?
" Doubtless in all those the inward grace is united to the outward
signs 5 and the Holy Ghost doth as truly, and really, and actually
apply the merits and blood of Christ in the justifying and sanctifying
virtue unto the soul of the elect Infant, as the Minister doth the
water to its body, and the invisible grace of the Sacrament is con-
veyed by the outward means.
" But how can an Infant be capable of the grace of the Sacrament ?
" Very well. Though Infants be not capable of the grace of the
Sacrament by that way whereby the grown are, by hearing, con-
ceiving, believing, yet it followeth not that Infants are not capable
in and by another way. It is easy to distinguish between the gift
conveyed, and the manner of conveying it. Faith is not of absolute
necessity to all God's elect, but only to those to whom God affords
means of believing. It is the application of Christ's righteousness
that justifieth us, not our apprehending it: God can supplv the
defect of faith by his sanctifying Spirit, which can do all things on
our part which faith should do. Do we not know that the sin of
Adam is imputed to children, and they defiled by it, though they be
not capable to understand it ; even so the righteousness of Christ may
be, and is, by God's secret and unknown way, to elect Infants : and
so to those that are born deaf, and fools, not capable of understand-
ing. For though God tieth us to means, yet not himself : he that
hath said of Infants, To them belongs the kingdom of God, knows how
to settle upon them the title of the kingdom. And we have no
reason to think, but that even before, or in, at or by, the act of Bap-
tism, the Spirit of Christ doth unite the soul of the elect Infant to
Christ, and clothe it with his righteousness, and impute unto it the
title of a son or daughter by Adoption, and the image of God by
sanctification ; and so fit it for the state of glory.
" But what is to be thought of the effect of Baptism in those elect
Infants whom God hath appointed to live to years of discretion ?
" In them we have no warrant to promise constantly and extra-
ordinary work to whom God intends to afi"ord ordinary means. For
though God do sometimes sanctify from the womb, as in Jeremy and
John Baptist, sometimes in Baptism as he pleaseth ; yet it is hard
to affirm (as some do) that every elect Infant doth ordinarily, before
or in Baptism, receive initial regeneration, and the seed of faith and
grace. For if there were such a habit of grace then infused, it
could not be so utterly lost or secreted as never to shew itself but
by being attained by new instruction. But we may rather deem and
judge that Baptism is not actually effectual to justify and sanctify,
until the party do beheve and embrace the promises.
" Is not Baptism then for the most part a vain empty shew, con-
sisting of shadows without the substance^ and a sign without the
thing signified ?
" No : it is always an effectual seal to all those that are heirs of
he Covenant of grace : the promises of God touching Justification,
Remission, Adoption, are made and sealed in Baptism to every elect
child of God ; then to be actually enjoyed, when the party baptized
shall actually lay hold upon them by faith. Thus Baptism to every
elect Infant is a seal of the righteousness of Christ, to be extraor-
dinarily applied by the Holy Ghost, if it die in its infancy : to be ap-
prehended by faith, if it live to years of discretion. So that as bap-
tism administered to those of years is not effectual unless they
believe ; so we can make no comfortable use of our Baptism admi-
nistered in our infancy until we believe. The righteousness of Christ
and all the promises of grace were in my Baptism estated upon me
and sealed up unto me on God's part : but then I come to have the
349
profit and benefit of them, when I come to understand what grant
God in Baptism hath sealed unto me, and actually to lay hold upon
it by faith.
" Explain this more clearly.
We know that an estate may be made unto an Infant, and in
his infancy he hath right unto it, though not actual possession of it
until such years. Now the time of the child's incapability, the use
and comfort of this estate is lost indeed ; but the right and title is
not vain and empty, but true and real, and stands firmly secured
unto the child to be claimed what time soever he is capable of it.
Even so Infants elect have Christ and all his benefits sealed up unto
them in the Sacrament of Baptism ; yet through their uncapableness
they have not actual fruition of them, until God give them actual
faith to apprehend them. Is Baptism lost then which is administered
in our infancy ? Was it a vain and an empty ceremony ? Xo, it
was a complete and effectual Sacrament ; and God's invisible graces
were truly sealed up under visible signs. And though the use and
the comfort of Baptism be not for the present enjoyed by the Infant ;
yet by the parent it is, who believes God's promises for himself and
for his seed, and so by the whole Congregation j and the things
then done shall be actually effectual to the Infant, whenever it shall
be capable to make use of them." (pp. 366 — 369.)
BISHOP WILLIAM BEDELL ;
Bishop of Kihnore from 1629 to^iis death in 1642. Pre-
viously Provost of Trinity College, Dublin.
The name of Bishop Bedell is too well known to need any in-
troduction. But it may be remarked^ that he was promoted to
the bishopric of Kilmore^ on the recommendation of Laud, at
that time Bishop of London.^^*
The following passages are from two of his letters to Dr. Ward_,
written expressly on the subject of Baptism, and preserved among
the letters of Archbishop Usher in Parr's Collection. t The
second extract is a long one, but it appears to me too valuable
to be curtailed.
* Bishop Mant's History of the Church of Ireland. 2d. ed. Loud. 1841.
Vol. 1. p. 434.
t See letters CLXI. and CLXIII. in Parr's Life and Letters of Lsher.
Lond. 1686. fol.
350
LETTER CLXI.
** Part of a Letter of the Right Reverend William Bedell, Bishop of
Kilmer e, to Dr. TFard, Master of ^Sidney College, Cambridge y Anno
1630, out of Bishop BedelVs Papers.
" A passage in my former Letters to Mr. Doctor Ward.
" I thank you for the two Treatises, that of my Lord of Sahsbury,
and your own, which you were pleased to communicate to me. Con-
cerning which, to give you mine opinion shortly, for the present.
This I do yield to my Lord of Sarum most willingly, that the justi-
fication^ sanctijication, and adoption which children have in Baptism,
is not, univoce, the same with that which adulti have. And this I
likewise do yield to you, that it is vera solutio reatus, et veraciter, et in
rei vmYflS^e performed, and all the like emphatical forms, &c. But all
these sacramentaliter, and that is obsignative ex formida et condi-
tione foederis. Where you make Circumcision and Baptism to be
the remedy of Original Sin, I think it be too specially said, which
is true of all sin. And so much the text Acts ii. 38. with the rest do
shew. I do think also that Reprobates coming to years of discretion,
after baptism, shall be condemned for Original Sin. For their abso-
lution and washing in Baptism was but conditional and expectative,
which doth truly interest them in all the promises of God, but under
the condition of repenting, believing, and obeying, which they never
perform, and therefore never attain the promise. Consider well
what you will say of women before Christ, which had no cir-
cumcision, and of all mankind before circumcision was instituted ;
and you will perceive, 1 think, the nature of sacraments to be not as
medicines, but as seals, to confirm the covenant, not to confer the
promise immediately. These things I write now in exceeding post-
haste, in respect that this bearer goes away so presently. I only
give sapienti occasionem. I think the emphatical speeches of Au-
gustin against the Pelagians, and of Prosper, are not so much to be
regarded, (who say the like of the Eucharist also) touching the
necessity and efficacy in the case of infants, and they are very like
the speeches of Lanfranck and Guitmund of Christ's presence in the
Sacrament, opposing veraciter et vere to sacramentaliter ; which is
a false and absurd contraposition. Sed manum de Tabula.
" The right definition of a Sacrament in general will decide this
question." (p. 440.)
351
LETTER CLXIII.
" Part of a Letter from the Right Reverend William Bedell, Bishop
of Kilmore, to Dr. Samuel TJ ard.
" First, you say, If Sacraments be merely obsignatory, and the
ablution of sins in baptism only conditional and expectative, of which
the baptized have no benefit till they believe and repent, then
infants baptized, dying in infancy, have no benefit by baptism. This
consequence methinks is not good : for they are by baptism received
into the visible Church, which is a noble privilege of comfort to
parents, and honour and profit to themselves. Again, there is pre-
sently granted them an entrance into covenant with God, as was
anciently by circumcision with the God of Abraham, wherein God
promises pardon of sin and life eternal upon their faith and repent-
ance : and in this they have a present right, tho' the accomplishment
be deferred. Yet if God take them out of this world while the con-
dition is in expectation, most pious it is to believe that he takes the
condition for performed : Like to him that solemnizeth a marriage
with her to whom he was betrothed sub conditione. And here, if
the souls of Christians be indued with any actual knowledge at all, so
soon as they leave the body ; it seems the mystery of redemption by
Christ is revealed unto them, and faith is given them, whereby they
cleave to God by him, the author of their blessedness, although
they have no need now of the obsignation of the promise whereof
they are in present possession.
" The second reason. Non-elect infants living, shall thus have no
benefit at all by baptism, I answer. Where there be divers ends
of one and the same thing, the denial of one is not the denial of the
rest. These non-elect infants have ofi'ered by God the same with
the other, viz., the obsignation of the covenant, and aggregation to
the Church. The same that he hath also, qiiifictus accedit ut ponit
obicem graticB, as to the present possession of it. All that come to
the Sacrament, elect or non-elect, receive the pardon of sin original
and actual sacramentally : and whosoever performs the condition of
the covenant, hath the fruition of that, whereof before he had the
grant under seal. So as the sacraments are not nuda et inefficacia
signa on God's part, to the one or other.
" Thirdly, (you say) What necessity of baptizing infants, if their
baptism produce no efl'ect till they come to years of discretion }
Though the most principal effect be not attained presently, the less
principal are not to be refused. So children were circumcised, which
could not understand the reason of it ; and the same also did eat the
352
Passover. And so did also children baptized in the primitive Church
communicate in the Lord's Supper. Which I know not why it
should not be so still, de (pio alias.
" Fourthly, Our divines, you say, generally hold that the sacraments
do offer and exhibit the grace which they signify, and in order of
nature, do first offer and exhibit before they assure and confirm.
For God doth,
" ]. Offer and exhibit grace promised in the sacraments.
" 2. We exercise our faith, resting upon God promising and exhi-
biting,
" 3. So we receive the grace promised.
" 4. Then the Sacraments assure us of the grace received.
" And this order you endeavour to confirm oat of the definition of
a Sacrament in our Catechism : you declare it in the Eucharist, and
bring divers testimonies of our writers to prove it.
" I answer. The grace which the Sacraments confer, is of three
sorts. The first is, The spiritual things which are proportionable to
the outward. The second, The effects of these. The third. The
certification of the party in the lawful use of the outward, of the
enjoying the two former. As in Baptism, 1. The blood and Spirit
of Christ. 2. The washing of sin, and new birth. 3. The obsig-
nation to the party baptized, that by Christ's blood his sins are
cleansed.
" The first of these is signified in that common sentence. That
sacraments consist of two parts, an outward visible sign, and an in-
ward invisible grace.
" The second is the most usual and common notion of the word
Grace ; meaning some spiritual favour, in order to salvation promised
in the New Covenant. The last is most properly the grace of the
Sacrament itself. For the two former (which our Catechism seems
to reduce to one) are properly the grace of the Covenant, which God
doth confirm and seal by the Sacraments.
" As when the King's Majesty grants lands and tenements with
certain immunities and privileges thereunto appertaining, as in his
Letters Patents at large appeareth, and sets to the Great Seal : all the
grants and articles in the Patent are confirmed thereby materialiter
et subjective, but the ratification of the Patent is properly and for-
mally that which the seal works : which also, according to the form
of the Patent, may be simple or conditional, present, or ad diem,
according as his Majesty is pleased.
" As touching the terms also of offering and exhibiting, they may
be taken two ways : either of the oflering and propounding : so doth
Calvin take the word [exhibet] in the Covenant, and institution of
353
the Sacraments J (Inst. iv. 17. 10.) or, 2, confirming in the use of
them. These things thus premised, it seems to me that the order is
this : God doth,
"1. Offer his Covenant (under the condition of faith and repent-
ance) and therein Christ and his benefits.
" 2. We accept of the Covenant according to the tenor of it.
" 3. God offers to confirm it with Sacraments proportional.
"4. We receive them, and so are certified of the performance of
the Covenant, and have the promises thereof conveyed by Covenant,
and by seal also unto us.
" Where yoa say, * In the Eucharist God doth first offer and exhibit
growth, and increase of grace, and a nearer and faster communion of
Christ's body and blood, and all the benefits flowing from thence j and
then it is a pledge to assure us thereof — It seems to me that God
having in the New Testament (confirmed with Christ's blood) offered
unto us life under the condition of our receiving him ; would con-
firm to as many as receive him that they have life. Therefore he
hath instituted bread and wine, the means of natural life, in a certain
use, to be seals of spiritual life. We now receiving them, they are
pledges unto us, and do certifie us of that spiritual life which we have
by receiving Christ.
"Where then you say, 'That the instrumental conveyance of the
grace signified, is as trae an effect of a Sacrament as obsignation, and
is prae-existent in order of nature unto it' — I do conceive that the
setting of Christ and his benefits before us in the Gospel, (as the
Bread that came down from heaven) and in the institution of the holy
Supper, in the proportional creatures of bread and wine, with condition
that these, worthily received, shall confer those, must needs go before
any obsignation. But then our partaking of these creatures duly,
giveth unto us the possession of the former by way of obsignation ;
which in our purpose is the sole and only instrumental conveyance
which the Sacraments have.
" You will ask. What is the due participation } That which God
requires. There can be required no more of infants but the receiving
of the outward washing in baptism : they cannot prove themselves,
nor repent and believe. Very true. Have they then that obsignation }
Yes, doubtless, according to the form of the Covenant. How is that.?
That repentiiig and believingy their sins are washed away. Then,
because they do not yet repent and believe, nothing passes : Yes, this
passes, The confirmation that this Sacrament gives iqjon repentance
and belief of all God's promises of the Neiv Testament. The same
thing which passes to him qui f etus accedit : who when afterward he
doth indeed repent of his fiction, and receives Christ by faith, hath
also the actual enjoying of the thing so confirmed to him.
2 A
354
" The opinion of the Franciscans out of Scotus and Bernard, men-
tioned in the Council of Trent, seems to be the true opinion ; for they
make the Sacraments to be effectual, because God gives them, effectus
regulariter concomitantes ; and to contain grace no otherwise than as
an effectual sign ; and that grace is received by them as an investiture
by a ring or staff, which is obsignando. Which agrees also with
Catharine's opinion, de intentione ministri : and Eisingrens saith,
that God only can give to sensible signs virtue to confer grace.
(Confess, c. 1.) Yet I believe they understand the matter otherwise
than I have before expressed. Their authority is of little moment
either way. Beza, Ursine, and Calvin have no other meaning than
I have expressed, Mr. Hooker I have not.
" • Since infants (say you) are capable of baptism, why not of spi-
ritual ablution of original guilt } which is the thing signified, though
not of actual obsignation of this, since they cannot interpose any im-
pediment to hinder the operation of the Sacraments.'
*' Questionless they are partakers of the actual obsignation of ablu-
tion from original and actual guilt (say I.) Suppose they understand
not this obsignation, nor receive this ablution otherwise than sacra-
mentally } As 1 said before, the counterfeit convert also doth : though
he put a bar to his present ablution of his sins, and consequently his
own certification thereof.
"Where I said, 'The true definition of a Sacrament in general
will decide this question,' which you grant, and commend that of our
Catechism — I do not disallow it, being well interpreted ; but do think
incomparably better that of the Apostle ; That they be seals of the
righteousness of faith. Or if we will include the Sacraments of the
state of grace before the fall: They be seals of God's Covenant con-
cerning everlasting happiness. If yet more generally we will include
the rain-bow. Gen. ix. : They be seals of God's Covenants.
"The definition of Scotus, (In 4 dist. 1. 9. 2.) ' Signum sensibile
gratiam Dei ejus effectum gratuitum ex institutione divina efficaciter
signans, ordinatum ad salutem hominis viatoris/ methinks is a good
definition, especially declaring efficaciter as he doth, ' et in hop effica-
citer' (saith he) ' includitur tam certitudinaliter, quam prognostice.' I
know that he acknowledges no Sacrament pro statu innocentice, but
without all reason, and the definition will serve well enough for both
states ; where he and the other Schoolmen require since the Fall some
remedy for original sin 3 and I perceived the same form in your de-
termination, ' Certum esse Christum Sacramentum Baptismi insti-
tuisse in remedium originalis peccati et ad reatus ejusdem veram
solutionem' — I conceived you meant to make that the proper effect
of baptism : which seemed also to be implied in the explication of
355
the question in the first sentence, and after, ' Cumq; Baptismus po-
tissimum institutus sit ad solutionem originaHs peccati,' &c. You
know what it is to demonstrate specially of one sort of triangles that
which is true in all ; which made me a little touch upon that point.
But verily, I think this conceit of Sacraments-to make them medi-
cines, is the root of all error in this matter ; and that it is good to
take hght from the Tree of Life, and that of the knowledge of good
and evil, that they are seals only to God's promises. In my last to
you, as I remember, I gave you occasion a little to consider the case
of women under the law, and of all mankind before circumcision.
Methinks it is very inconvenient to say, that the males should have
a remedy against sin, and the females none. And the Schoolmen
when they will first lay down their own conceit, that such a remedy
there must be, and then divine what it miust be ; they make Bellarmine
ridiculous, who from the silence of Holy Scripture herein, labours to
shew the Scriptures are insufficient, (De verb, non scr. c. 4.) and yet
he cannot help us here by any traditions. This inconvenience is well
avoided by making the Sacraments to confer grace only by obsignation
of God's pi'omises, and the end of them to be certioration. For so
long as God would have men rest upon his mere word and promise
without a seal, his word alone was to suflftce : when he gave a seal,
that was to have vahdity as far as he extended it. Now he extended
circumcision to all Abraham's seed, males and females, yea to the
males and females of all that were adjoyned to Abraham, though but
bought with his money : And the circumcision of the males was an
obsignation of God's Covenant to the females also. Lastly : in the
New Testament, wilHng to make more ample demonstration of his
love, and more abundantly to confirm the truth of his promises, he
hath appointed the obsignation of them even to both sexes, and to
every several person : Whereby he hath not made their condition
worse, who without contempt do want it, but theirs better which are
partakers of it. Which I speak in regard of the imagined necessity
of baptism to infants to salvation, as if it were indeed a medicine to
save life, whereas it is only an assuring that Christ gives life.
" Consider how Baptism was given to them who had remission of
sins and the gifts of the Holy Ghost also before, who therefore could
have no other intention therein but certification only, and adjoyning
to the Church. Acts x. 44.
" Consider how it hath force about sin, not only going before it,
but following also ; yea even to them that at the time of the outward
receiving it do ponere obicem, else such ought to be re-baptized.
" Consider that if the faith of the parents, or the Church, were
eflectual before circumcision was instituted for the taking away of
3 A 2
356
original sin from infants, or under the law from female children ; it
is no less effectual at the present under the Gospel. And this pre-
supposing that some mean must come between to make them par-
takers of Christ. Wherefore the same mean yet standing, the effect
of Baptism needs not to be assigned justification, or ablution from
sin, but testification to the receiver, when he repents and believes,
that he is washed from sin.
" Consider that if you will aver that Baptism washes away other-
wise than sacramentally, that is, obsignatorily, original sin ; yet you
must allow that manner of washing for future actual sins. And you
must make two sorts of justification, one for children, another for
adulti : and (which passes all the rest) you must find some promise
in God's covenant, wherein he binds himself to loash avmy sin without
faith or repentance {for that children have these I think you will not
say). You seem also to break the chain of the Apostle, Rom. viii.
30, Whom he hath justified, he hath glorified.
" Lastly ; by this doctrine, you must also maintain that children
do spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood, if they re-
ceive the Eucharist (as for divers ages they did, and by the analogy
of the Passover they may, perhaps ought) ; since they do not ponere
ohicem contrarice cogitationis aut pravcB operationis. And sith the
use of this Sacrament toties quoties must needs confer grace ; it
seems it were necessary to let them communicate, and the oftener
the better, to the intent they might be stronger in grace. Which
opinion, though St. Austine and many more of the ancients do main-
tain, 1 believe you will not easily condescend unto, or that children
dying without baptism are damned : which if baptism be the remedy
that takes away original sin, I see not how you can avoid." (pp.
440—445.)
These remarks of Bishop Bedell are well worth the attention
of the reader^ both from the character of the author^ and their
intrinsic value.
I now add, lastly, a series of testimonies from the works of a
few eminent theological writers of the same period.
DB. WALTER HADDON, 1577.
Dr. H addon, though a civilian, may yet, from the way in
which he was employed, well claim to be heard as a witness of
357
the doctrine of our Church at the period at which he wrote. As
I have already observed,* he was employed by Archbishop Cran-
mer, in conjunction with Peter Martyr and others, to draw up
the " Reformatio Legum ;"t and subsequently, when filling the
post of " Master of Requests " to Queen Elizabeth, he defended
the Reformation of the Church of England from the attacks of
Osorius, a Portuguese bishop. His first work in this controversy
was a letter in reply to one of Osorius, addressed to Queen Eli-
zabeth ; J which having been answered by Osorius, he commenced
a rejoinder, part of which only he had finished at the time of his
death in 1571. John Fox, the Martyrologist, however, having
completed it, it was published in 1577 (4to), under the title
" Contra Hieron. Osorium, ejusque odiosas insectationes pro
Evangelicse veritatis necessaria Defensione, Responsio Apologe_
tica.'^ Strype, when speaking of these works, calls Dr. Haddon
a man of great abilities in learning, and experience of the state
and afi'airs of this nation,^^ and considers that he was employed
by Secretary Cecil to draw them up.§ Now in this work, and in
the portion of it written by Dr. Haddon, we have the following
remarks on the doctrine of our Church as to the Sacraments.
" But you persist, and desire to know, what the Sacraments are.
If you know, and feign that you do not, why will you trifle in a grave
matter if you are ignorant, what sort of a theologian must I account
you, who understandest not the elements of religion ? * Nay,' say
you, * I have no difficulty as to the scholastic Sacraments, but I know
nothing of your bare images by which ye deny that the grace of God
is obtained.' O Osorius, in these few words how many faults are
there ! For first, who besides yourself ever called the Sacraments
images ? Some have called them signs of sacred things ; others, marks ;
some, pledges of our salvation ; some, symbols 3 and others otherwise.
But you first devised images in the Sacraments. But as far as words
are concerned, let us be lenient, although you are often most difficult to
please with respect to them j let us attend to things. You say that 'bare
images are brought forward by us as Sacraments.' How bare, O
Jerome ? We agree with Augustine, that the Sacraments are signs
of sacred things : or, in other words, are visible signs of an invisible
grace. For you will grant me the same liberty of words which you
* See p. 57 above. t Strype's Cranmer, i. 192. Oxf. ed-
X See his " Lucubrationcs," 1567, 4to. § Annals, ch. 37, I. ii. fif) et s-
358
take yourself. We admit, that in baptism we are regenerated to
eternal life. We grant, that in the Eucharist the Lord Jesus is truly-
exhibited to those that believe by the spirit and faith. By all which
it is proved, that those on our side do not take the Sacraments for
bare signs, but for things most efficacious, for things most
divine, for things altogether necessary to our salvation. They
are most holy mysteries of our religion, they are most certain
instruments of heavenly grace: yet nevertheless God our Father, who
formed us of clay, is not tied to his own instruments, nor in bondage
to creatures ; but has compassion on whom he will have compassion,
and pardons our sins, not for the sake of the Sacraments, but for
his own sake. Finally, life eternal is not from the Sacraments, but
is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. Therefore we reject and
repudiate your spurious and bare images, as idle dreams of your own
brain, and we use the true Sacraments as things most sacred, as as-
surances to faith and pledges of our salvation : yet nevertheless we do
not attribute so much to them, as that through them, as through
channels, from the mere work wrought, the grace of God should be
necessarily imparted to us. We remit this impiety to your school-
men, from whom this poison first flowed. For the inheritance is given
OF FAITH according to grace. The Sacraments are signs to be
reverenced of the Divine favor, they are noble memorials of our reli-
gion, they are most perfect testimonies of our salvation. But if you
cannot be contented with these praises of the Sacraments, heap up
more, to your likingj we will willingly admit of them; if only you do
not affix the grace of God of necessity to these signs. For we are
not saved by the reception of the Sacra?nents. But if we shall confess
with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in our hearts that
God hath raised him from the dead, by that of itself we shall be saved.
The Emperor Julian was baptized into the name of Christ, and yet
he died in open blasphemy. Judas Iscariot fed upon the Sacrament
of the Eucharist, and yet he passed from the table directly to the
enemies of the Lord Jesus, and betrayed the innocent blood. What
need is there of many words } The Sacraments are most precious
signs of the Divine favor, but they do not obtain the Divine favor. The
Sacraments are excellent memorials of piety, but they do not produce
piety. He who boasts, must not boast in the Sacraments, but in the
Lord. Since we are of God in Christ Jesus, w^ho of God is made unto
us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."*
* Sed instas, et scire vis, quid sint Sacramenta. Si scis, et dissiraulas,
cur in re seria joeari libet; si iguoras, cujusmodi te Theologura statuam,
qui religionis elementa non tenes ? ' Imo,' inquis, ' in sacramentis scholas-
ticis non liaereo, vestras non novi nudas imagines, quibus negatis Dei gra-
tiam conciliari.' Paucissimis verbis, Osori, quot peccata ! Nam primum,
359
No one can doubt what is the doctrine of the words I have
here given in Itahcs. *
DR. ROBERT SOME, 1582;
Master of Peter House College, Cambridge, (on th^ noininatioa of
the College, confirmed by the Archbishop of Canterbury) from
1589 to 1608 *
The following extracts are taken from Dr. Sonie^s Treatise on
the Sacraments, published in 1582.
sacramenta prseter te quis unquam imagines appellavit? Signa quidam
rerum sacrarum, ahi notas, nonnulli arrabones nostras salutis, nonnuUi
tesseras, et alii aliter. Seil imagines in sacramentis tu ])rimus es architec-
tatus. Yerum in verbis faciles simus, licet tu sis in illis saepe morosissimus,
res persequaraur. ' Nndas dicis imagines a nostris pro sacramentis afferri.'
Quomodo nudas, O Hieronyme ? Cum Augustino consentimus, sacramenta
rerum sacrarum esse signa : vel aliter : esse signa visibilia graticC non visi-
bilis. Dabis enim mini eam veniam verborum, quam tu ipse tibi sumis.
Concedimus, in baptismo nos ad aeternam vitam regenerari. Largimur in
Eucbaristia dominum Jesum spiritu et fide credentibus vere exhiberi. Qui-
bus omnibus efficitur, nostros sacramenta pro nudis signis non accipere, sed
pro rebus efficacissimis, pro rebus divinissimis, pro rebus ad salutem nostram
prorsus necessariis. Mysteria sacrosancta sunt nostrae religionis, instru-
menta ccelestis gratiae sunt certissima : nec tamen Deus Pater, qui nos ex
luto finxit, instrumentis suis est alligatus, nec creaturis mancipatus : sed
miseretur quorum misereri vult, et peccata nostra condonat, non propter
sacramenta, sed propter se. Postremo, non ex sacramentis, sed donura Dei
est vita aeterna per Jesum Christum. Nos igitur commentitias et nudas
imagines, tanquam otiosa cerebri tui somnia respuimus et repudiamus, et
veris sacramentis utimur, ut rebus sacratissimis, ut fidei pignoribus et ob-
sidibus nostrae salutis : nec tamen illis tantum tribni mis, ut per ilia, tan-
quam per canales, ex opere operato, gratia Deinecessario infundatur. Hanc
impietatem ad scholasticos tuos relegamus, unde virus hoc primnm dimana-
vit. Nam EX fidk datur kareditas secundum gratiam. Sacramenta divini
favoris signa sunt veneranda, religionis nostrae monumenta sunt magnifica,
testim^onia sunt nostrae salutis perfectissima. Quod si non potes his sacra-
mentorum laudibus esse contentus, plures accumula, tuo arbitratu ; liben-
ter admittemus : modd Dei gratiam his signis liecessario non affigas. Non
enim perceptione Sacramentoriim servamur. Sed si confessi fuerimus ore
nostro dominum Jesum, et crediderimus in cordibus nostris, quod Deus il-
ium excitavit e mortuis, eo uno salvi erimus. Julianus Imperator in Christi
nomen baptizatus fuit, et tamen in aperta blasphemia mortuusest. Judas
Iscariotes I'ucharistise sacramento vescebatur, et tamen a mensa statim ad
ininiicos Domini Jesu transiluit, et sanguinem innocentem prodidit. Quid
multis opus est ? Sacramenta signa sunt pretiosissima divini tavoris, sec?
dimnum fuvorem non conciliant. Sacramenta sunt egregia pietatis monu-
menta, sed pietatem non efficiunt. Qui gloriatur, non in sacramentis glorietur,
sed in Domino. Quoniam ex Deo nos sumus in Christo Jesu, quifactus fuit
nobis sapientia a Deo, justitiaque, et sanctificatio, et redcmptio. (Lib. 2, fol.
38, 39.)
* See Lc Neve's Fasti, p. 421.
360
" Circumcision was to the Israelites a sacrament of regeneration :
Baptism is so to us. By circumcision, the Israehtes were incor-
porated into God's visible Church : so are we by baptism. Circum-
cision was to them a sign of God's covenant : so is baptism to us."
(R. Some's Godly and Short Treatise of the Sacraments. Lond.
1582. 16mo. B 7. The book is not paged. Trin. Coll. Cam. Libr. G.
13, 38.)
*' The sign must not be confounded with the thing signified in the
sacrifice [sacrament].*
" For not every one that receiveth the sign is partaker of the thing
signified. This is clear in Simon Magus for baptism, and in the
traitor Judas for the Lord's Supper.
" The water of baptism is one thing, the blood of Christ signified
by the water is another thing : the water purgeth our bodies,
Christ's blood purgeth our souls : without partaking of baptism (so
that contempt be absent) we may be saved, without Christ's blood
we can never be saved.
" The bread of the Sacrament is one thing, the body of Christ is
another ; the bread entereth only into the bodily mouth, Christ's
flesh entereth only into the soul : without eating the bread of the
sacrament (so that contempt be absent) we may be saved, without
eating of Christ's flesh we can never be saved.
"It is a miserable bondage of the soul, to take the signs (in the
sacraments) for the things signified by them. (Aug. de doct. Christ,
lib, 5, cap. 0.)
" I confess that the name of the thing signified is given sometime
to the sign. Circumcision is said to be the covenant between God
and Abraham (Gen. ch. 17, ver. 10), when notwithstanding it was
not the covenant but the sign of God's covenant. The Lamb is
called the Lord's Passover (Exod. ch. 12, ver. 11.), but the Lamb
was not the passage itself (of the Israelites out of Egypt), but re-
membered unto them the benefit of that great deliverance of theirs
out of Egypt. The bread in the Lord's Supper is called the body of
Christ, but it was only a figure and sign of Christ's body : (^ug.
contra Adimant. cap. 12.) and yet the worthy receiver which brings
faith and repentance with him to the Lord's Supper, is partaker as
of the bread and the wine, so of the body and blood of the Lord
Jesus." (lb. B 8, C 1.)
** The sacnimental signs ofi*er grace unto all, but do not of their
own nature confer grace unto all that do receive them.
" Many have been partakers of the sacraments, which notwith-
standing were very ungracious. Many of the Jews received circum-
* The "Table" at the beginning '* shows that sacrifice" is a typo-
graphical erratum for sacrament."
361
cision of the flesh without circumcision of the heart. Simon Magus
received baptism but not regeneration : Judas received the bread of
the supper, but not the body of Christ.
" The Sacraments do bring to pass that which they do figure, only
in the elect. (Aug. de bapt. parvul.)*
" We neither do nor may attribute forgiveness of sins to the ex-
ternal element otherwise than instrumentally. We must by no
means say that grace is contained essentially in the Sacraments, as
water in a vessel, or as medicine in a box, but the Sacraments are
said to contain grace, because they be signs of grace.
"It is a certain truth that the Sacraments do always retain their
nature. Baptism is a laver of regeneration. (Tit. ch. 3, ver. 5.)
The Lord's Supper is the communion of Christ's body and blood,
(I Cor. ch. 10, ver. 16.) though no spark of faith remained in the
world : but we receive not the grace which is offered by the Sacra-
ments, unless we bring faith to the partaking of the Sacraments.
" If any ask me, why the infants of the faithful, which have not
faith, are presented to baptism, I answer, that though they have not
faith, yet they are under God's covenant, whereof baptism is to us a
sure warrant and confirmation.
" Objection. The Church is cleansed by the washing of water
through the word, (Eph. ch. 5, ver. 26.) therefore baptism doth
confer salvation.
" Answer. The apostle joins together the word of life and the
washing of water ; as if he should say, by the Gospel the message of
our washing and sanctification is delivered unto us, and by baptism
the same message is sealed up unto us." (lb. C 2, C 3.)
•* The Sacraments are not naked and bare signs.
" In baptism, the efficacy of God's Spirit is present to wash and
regenerate those which appertain unto God.
^ sj'i 5|c ^i? 5}C
The Sacraments are not bare signs, because we have the Lord's
institution : they are seals of righteousness and tokens of grace, they
are sure warrants of God s promises, whereby God bindeth himself
unto us and we likewise stand bound to his Majesty, so that God is
our God and we are his people." (lb. C 3, C 4.)
" God^s children receive great benefit by baptism, for all that are
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Gal. c. iii. v. xxvii.)"
(lb. C 5.)
* The reference here is to the passage quoted by Peter Lombard as from
Augustine, but which is not now to be found in any })rinted edition of his
works. The quotation, however, equally illustrates Dr. Some's view.
362
" It is a common and a very sound speech, that not the want, but
the contempt of baptism bringeth condemnation." (lb.)
'* What good we receive by the Sacraments.
" We are put in mind by the Sacraments of Christ's inestimable
benefits, which by the laver of water purgeth us in baptism, and by
his flesh feedeth, and by his blood refresheth our souls in the Lord's
Supper : our faith is confirmed and increased by the Sacraments : we
are by them stirred up, to perform great duty and thankfulness to
Almighty God ; we are severed by the Sacraments (as by a partition
wall) from all such, as are not entered into the profession of Chris-
tianity, and we are by the Sacraments more surely linked together
amongst ourselves." (lb. C 7.)
" Baptism is a Sacrament of regeneration consisting of water and
the Spirit by the word of God, whereby we have forgiveness of sins
and everlasting life according to Christ's promise.
The infants of the Israelites were circumcised when they were
eight days old : our baptism is come into the place of their circum-
cision. ...
"The children of the faithful are holy, (1 Cor. c. vii. v. 14,) they
are under God's covenant (which covenant is contained in these words,
I will be thy God and the God of thy seed, Acts, ch. ii. ver. 39,) there-
fore they may not be barred from baptism, which is a seal of God's
covenant." (lb. C 8.)
All that die before baptism are not damned, because ive are
Christians before we are baptized.
" Abraham was justified before he was circumcised ; otherwise cir-
cumcision could not have been called by Saint Paul a seal of the right-
eousness of faith. (Rom. ch. iv. ver. 11. ; Acts, ch. 2, ver. 38, 39.)
" God's promise belongs to Christian infants before their baptism
(otherwise baptism, which is a seal of this promise, should be denied
them) : therefore they are children of the promise, and consequently
Christians before they are baptized.
" If infants dying before baptism are damned, two gross absurdities
would follow : first the salvation of our infants should rest not upon
God's covenant, which is the groundwork of our salvation, but upon
the seal which is. put to the covenant: secondly, the salvation and
damnation of infants should consist in the diligence and negligence of
their parents, &c.
Baptism was ministered in Thessalia only on Easter day, and
in Carthage, in Tertullian's time, only at Easter and Whitsuntide.
(Socrat. hb. 5, cap. 22. Tertull. de Baptis.) If the infants of the
faithful be not Christians before their baptism, what shall we say of
the infants of Thessalia and Carthage, which died before Easter ?
363
" The Papists themselves, when they baptize one of years, ask these
questions of him before his baptism : Dost thou believe, dost thou
renounce the devil ? The party answers, I believe, I renounce the
devil. Whereby it is clear, that he either is indeed, or at the least is
esteemed of them to be a Christian before he is'baptized, and so con-
sequently admitted by them to the partaking of that Sacrament.
" Plain men of the country do mark only those sheep for their own,
which they either know or at the least do take to be their own. Bap-
tism is one of God's seals. The Church doth only mark those with
this seal, whom they either know or at the least do take before the
administration of baptism to be God's lambs and sheep. If they which
are offered to baptism, are God's sheep and lambs before their baptism,
it is a clear case that they are Christians before they are baptized, and
consequently that baptism is not the cause but a seal of our conjunction
with Almighty God.
-X- ***** *
"Objection. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John ch. 3, ver. 5.)
Answer. If we understand this of baptism, what shall we say
of the Emperor Valentinian which went to Ambrose the Bishop of
Mediolanum to be baptized, and was slain in his journey before he
came to Ambrose : shall we condemn him for want of baptism, because
Christ said to Nicodemus, Except a man be born, &c. ? This dealing
were very peremptory. If answer be made, that Valentinian's desire
of baptism is a sufficient defence, I grant it was so : and, if the Em-
peror's desire keep him out of the compass of condemnation, why may
not God's promise be sufficient to deliver the infants of the faithful
from condemnation if they die unbaptized : for not the want but con-
tempt of baptism doth condemn us. Besides our Saviour Christ's
speech was with Nicodemus, which was of good years, and might
have at his pleasure the use both of water and a minister for this godly
purpose.
" Question. If the infants of Christians be under God's covenant
before they be baptized, their baptism seems to be superfluous : why
are they baptized }
"Answer. God's commandment must be fulfilled. He com-
manded both circumcision and baptism, and punished the contempt
of circumcision sharply in the Israelites, and will punish the contempt
of baptism grievously in us. Besides God's promise which pertainetli
to our infants (Acts, ch. 2, ver. 38, 39.) must be confirmed with the
outward seal of baptism, that we may be always mindful of God's
promise. Lastly, the godly prayers of the minister and of them which
offer the child to baptism, do greatly profit the infant, and the con-
gregation which is then present at the administration of baptism re-
ceives some instruction touching their salvation." (lb. D 2 — D5.)
364
Maintaining that "baptism must not be iterated/^ he ob-
serves,—
" To be once regenerate, and to have once entered into Christ's
Church, is sufficient, neither is any of God's elect cast out at any time:
for he that is once endued with the spirit of sanctifcation is always
endued ivith the same spirit of sanctification. My reasons are these.
" The gifts and caUing of God are without repentance. (Rom. ch.
11, ver. 29.)
" The word of God whereby we are regenerate, is immortal seed,
(1 Pet. ch. 1, ver. 23.) that is to say, never dieth in his children.
The shield of faith may be wounded, but it cannot be stricken
through.
"Whosoever is born of God sinneth not, for his seed remaineth
in him, neither can he sin, because he is born of God. (1 John, ch.
3, ver. 9, and ch. 5, ver 18.) The Apostle John meaneth, not that
sin dwelleth not in God's children, but that it hath not dominion over
them : and therefore Paul saith not. Let not sin dwell, but, Let not
sin reign in your mortal bodies. (Rom. ch. 6, ver. 12.)
" David dealt veiy strangely with Urias and with the Lord's army:
(2 Sam. ch. 11, ver. 4, 15, 24.) his faith seemed to be quenched,
but he was not clean spoiled of all sparks of grace : there remained
as it were a quick coal in the ashes : otherwise the prophet Nathan
had not so easily and speedily awaked him. (2 Sam. ch. 12, ver. 13.)
" Christ's resurrection is a notable pillar of our faith, and the very
lock and key of all religion. The Apostle Thomas doubted so much
of it, that he uttered these words : Except I see in his hands the
print of the nails, &c. . . . (John ch. 20, ver. 25.) This sin of Thomas
was so gross, that it might be felt with the fingers ; and yet faith was
not clean extinguished in him, as appeareth by his answer to Christ,
My Lord and my God. (John ch. 20, ver. 28.)
They which think, that they are utterly void of God's Spirit in
whom the fruits of the Spirit do not always appear, are like unto them
which think there is no fire where there is no flame, and that trees
are dead in winter, because they bring forth neither fruit nor leaves in
winter." (lb. D7, D8.)
DR. JOHN PRIME, 1582 ;
Fellov) of New College, Oxford ; and Vicar of Adderhury.
The following extracts are from Dr. Primers Treatise on the
Sacraments, published in 1582.
365
" A Sacrament is a sensible sign to the eye, instituted of God to
be continued in his Church, for the further assurance and increase of
spiritual graces in the faith ful. Of which sort is Baptism and the
Supper, and only these two, even as they are jointly specified by the
Apostle to the Corinthians. (1 Cor. x.)
" In the general may be observed these four notes chiefly. 1. The
institution to be of God. 2. The sign visible in sense and resemblance
convenient. 3. The graces secret and mystical, but singular benefits
to the faithful man. 4. The continuance is the Church's duty, rightly
to use and to enjoy his ordinances as beseemeth the Church of God.
* ' * ^ * * ^
" Every Sacrament hath ever these two members, the outward sign
and the inward grace, and without the sign is no grace sacramentally
signified at any time, neither is the show of a sign sufficient, it must
be material and able in a convenient proportion, to demonstrate and
declare to man's frail capacity, the grace implied and signified, as shall
better appear in the specials afterward.
"The signs barely looked upon in themselves, they are base
matters, earthly elements, common and ordinary: but put once the
prince's stamp to the metal, the seal to the wax, the wax and seal to
the Lord's promise, the case is altered. For earthly, common, and
usual elements, that a little before were, do put now upon them, and
are endued with divine considerations : yet still in substance remain-
ing the same, but in efficacy, virtue, service, ends, signification and
representation of graces, base things become beautiful and mar-
vellous, being thus sequestered by God himself to so high and holy-
purposes, and therefore are usually termed by the very names that the
graces themselves are called by. And this is also a common rule
amongst the Fathers. See it so in examples out of the Scriptures.
Circumcision is the covenant, the Lamb the Passover, the ark the
Lord, Baptism our burial, Christ the rock, the Bread his body, the
Cup his blood, because the analogy of these things is lively, the pro-
portion plain, the signs significantly ordained of God : and being
thus uttered, they more affect our faith, and touch our affections.
" Thirdly, the graces (that is, the inward part of the Sacraments)
are, though singular in consolation, yet secret in the mystery of their
operation. God worketh how he listeth, and on whom he
PLEASETH . , . .The graces we reap and receive by Christ in the Sacra-
ments (so great and gracious are they) they may be termed graces of
graces : as namely, remission of sins, imputation of righteousness
sanctification of life, and a special apphcation of our Saviour Jesus.
Neither yet for all this (which is diliytntly to be noted) do ice tie or
bind his goodness so hereby, that he must needs work with, or cannot
work without, these means, by his Spirit, the salvation of them whom
366
he had chosen and destinated to eternal life bejore all worlds. . . .
Salvation is neither kneaded into the dough, nor mingled with water,
no more than with the word, which is as Hierom (in Psul. 147. iii.
cap. eccle.) saith more truly Christ, but proceedeth from God, and is
conveyed by ordinary means of either word or outward signs, where
they are not contemned, but may conveniently be had, and are reve-
rently used as they ought." (J. Prime's Treatise on the Sacraments.
Lond. 1582. 16rao. fol. A4, A 7, A8, B 1 . The pages are not num-
bered. Cambr. Univ. Libr. G. 15. 80.)
But when proceeding to speak of Baptism generally, he has
no hesitation in describing it as, —
" The Sacrament of regeneration in water, whereby our sins are
cleansed, we clad with Christ, endued with his Spirit, our names en-
tered among the number of Christian professors, in the name of the
blessed Trinity." (lb. fol. B3.)
DR. WILLIAM FULKE. 1583—1589.
Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, from 1578 till his
death in 1589.
Dr. Fulke's general view of the character of the Sacraments
may be seen from the following passage, —
" That the Sacraments help nothing toward our salvation, is an-
other of Martin's slanders, no assertion of ours. For seeing loe hold
that the Sacraments are seals of God's promises^ to confirm our faith
by which we are justified before him^ how can we affirm that they
help nothing to salvation."*
But he has spoken elsewhere more expressly on the particular
point which is the subject of our present inquiry.
In his Confutation of the Annotations on the New Testament
by " the Papists of the traiterous Seminarie at Rhemes/^ first
published in 1589, he thus speaks on the subject of Baptism.
On the words, " We are buried together with him by baptism
into death,^^ in Rom. vi. 4, the Rhemists had given this com-
* Defence of the Sincere and True Translation of the Holy Scriptures
into the K.nglish tongue against G. Martin. [First pubhshedin 1583.] P.S.
ed. p. 450,
367
mcnt : — " Remission of sin, new life, sanctification and justifica-
tion are given by baptism, because it resembleth in us and
applieth to ns Christ's death and resurrection, and engraffeth us
into hini.'^ Upon which Dr. Fulke remarks, —
"Baptism is a seal of the justification by faith, and therefore
assureth us of reniissioa of sin, renovation and sanctification, that
God giveth unto us being justified. The application of Christ's
death, burial, and resurrection, is the proper work of the Holy Spirit,
by whom we are regenerate, which is resembled and ratified b}' the
external seal of baptism, which testifieth that we are ingraffed into
the simihtude of his death and resurrection."'*'
Again, on the words, " We that are baptized &c.^^ in verse 3,
the Rhemists o:ave the foUowins: annotation : That which be-
fore he challenged from the law of Moses to faith, is now attri-
buted to baptism, which is the fiirst Sacrament of our faith and
the entrance to Christian Religion, whereby it is plain that he
meaneth not only faith to justify, but the Sacraments also, and
all Christian Rehgion, which he calleth the Law of spirit, grace,
and faith. On which Dr. Fulke remarks, —
" St. Paul ascribeth our justification before to faith without works,
therefore he doth not now make baptism a cause thereof : but of the
ends and efl:ects of baptism, he proveth that sanctification and reno-
vation is necessary, for all that are justified freely by the grace of
God, through faith in Christ. The same argument may be drawn
from circumcision, to prove, that the Jews before Christ ought to
bring forth the fruits of sanctification and renovation. Yet the
Apostle by express words excludeth circumcision from being a cause
of justification, because Abraham was justified before he was circum-
cised, *Who is the form of justification of all men,' as S. Ambrose
saith. (Com. in ep. ad Gal. cap. 3.) And baptism succeeding in
the place of circumcision, is a seal of justification by faith, in all
Christians, as circumcision was in Abraham, not a cause thereof.
Neither can justification before God by baptism, or any works of
Christian Rehgion, be concluded out of this text."t
Again, on the following Chapter, he speaks still more plainly
as to who those are in whom alone baptism is eflfectual. The
note of the Rhemists on the words, " You also are made dead,^'
* Fulke's Confutation of Rhemish Annotations on the New Testament.
Loud. 1617. fol. p. 453.
t Ih. p. 45-1.
368
in verse 4, is this : — " Being now baptized and dead to sin, and
engrafFed in Christ^s mystical body, you are discharged of the
Law of Moses, and are free in Christ." On which Dr. Fulke
says,—
" Baptism in the elect is a seal of their incorporation and con-
formity unto the death and resurrection of Christ, but not a cause
thereof. For all are not incorporate to Christ's mystical body, but
only the true members thereof."*
And the note of the Rhemists on the words, " Newness of
spirit, &c." in verse 6, being, — "By Baptism we have not
Christ^s justice imputed unto us, but an inward newness of
spirit given us and resident in us Dr. Fulke observes, —
" By faith we have Christ's justice imputed unto us, whereof
baptism is a seal : and the newness of spirit which is resident in us,
is the work of the Holy Ghost, not of the external act of baptism :
for then it should be in all that are baptized, but it is only in the
ELECT OF God. Fo7' the rep7'obate, though they have the external
seal of baptism^ yet they have not renovation of the Spirit, neither
are they regenerate to be God's children, for if they were his children,
they should be his heirs, Rom. viii. 17."t
It would be easy to add other passages to the same effect
from Dr. Fulke's writings. J But the above are too clear to make
this at all necessary, and are extracted from his latest writings.
RICHARD HOOKER, 1597.
The name of Hooker is a sufficient introduction to anything
that comes from his pen.
In a preceding page we have seen what his views were on
the points called Calvinistic, and these are decisive (unless we
suppose great inconsistency) as to his opposition to the notion,
that spiritual regeneration is always conferred upon infants in
baptism.
* lb. p. 456. t lb. p. 457.
X See for instance his " Answer to a Popish Apology," p. 84 ; and his
" Confutation of the doctrine of purgatory, &c." p. .35, in " Two Treatises
against the Pnpists," 1577, 8vo.
369
The following passage however goes directly to the point,
and while it shows that he held that original sin was always
pardoned in infants at baptism, clearly maintains that the lan-
guage of our Church respecting the spiritual regeneration of
infants at baptism is founded on the supposition that they are
" elect."
" Were St. Augustine," he says, " now living, there are which
would teD him for his better instruction, that to say of a child, ' it is
elect,' and to say it doth believe, are all one, for which cause, sith
no man is able precisely to affirm the one of any infant in particular,
it followeth that 'precisely' and 'absolutely' we ought not to say the
other. Which 'precise' and 'absolute terms' are needless in this
case. We speak of infants as the rule of piety alloweth both to speak
and think. They that can take to themselves in ordinary talk a cha-
ritable kind of liberty to name men of their own sort God's dear
children (notwithstanding the large reign of hypocrisy) should not
methinks be so strict and rigorous against the Church for presuming
as it doth of a Christian innocent. For when we know how Christ
in general hath said that of such is the kingdom of heaven, which
kingdom is the inheritance of God's elect, and do withal behold how
his providence hath called them unto the first beginnings of eternal
life, and presented them at the well-spring of new birth wherein ori-
ginal sin is purged, besides which sin there is no hindrance of their
salvation known to us, as themselves will grant ; hard it were that
having so many fair inducements whereupon to ground, we should
not be thought to utter at the least a truth as probable and allowable
in terming any such particular infant an elect babe, as in presuming
the like of others, whose safety nevertheless we are not absolutely
able to warrant."*
Here, no doubt, as elsewhere,t he seems to maintain that the
infant is purged from the guilt of original sin ; but the terms
applying to it as an " elect" child are used only in the spirit of
charity. And true spiritual regeneration Hooker believed to be
given only to the elect. J
Again ; he says that, —
** Sacraments .... contain in themselves no vital force or efficacy.
* Eccl. Pol. V. Ixiv. ed. Keble. Oxf. 1836. ii. 398, 399.
t lb. Ixii., and Answer to Christian Letter in Keble's ed. Vol. 2, p. 7^1 .
X See passages given above, pp. Ill, 112.
2 B
370
they are not physical but moral instruments of salvation, duties of
service and worship, which mdess we 'perform as the Author of grace
reqidreth, they are unprof table. For all. receive not the grace
OF God v^hich receive the Sacraments of his grace : neither is
it ordinarily his will to bestow the grace of sacraments on any, but
by the Sacraments ; which grace also they that receive by sacraments
or with sacraments, receive it from him and riot from them."^*
And while he speaks of baptism as " the door of our actual
entrance into God's house/^ and '^^to our sanctification here a
step that hath not any before it/^ he in the same sentence takes
care not to represent it as the first act of grace towards the
childj by speaking of it as "the first apparent beginning of
life/^ and as " a seal perhaps to the grace of election before
RECEIVED/^t
We may thus at once clear up Mr. Keble^s difficulty as to
Hooker's views^ expressed in his Preface to his Works, p. 102.
After supposing that Hooker had a scruple about receiving the
fifth Lambeth Article (for which supposition there is no valid
ground), he adds, —
" It may be, that when he came to weigh more exactly his own
doctrine of the Sacraments, he felt that it could not well stand with
the supposed indefectibility of grace. For how could or can any
person, beholding what numbers fall away after baptism, hold con-
sistently, on the one hand, that real sanctifying grace can never be
finally forfeited ; on the other, that it is given at baptism ? which
latter Hooker unquestionably holds : for these are his words (E. P.
V. Ix. 2.) ' Baptism is a sacrament which God hath instituted in his
Clmrch, to the end that they which receive the same might thereby
be incorporated into Christ, and so through his most precious merit
obtain as well that saving grace of imputation which taketh away all
former guiltiness, as also that infused Divine virtue of the Holy
Ghost which giveth to the powers of the soul their first disposition
towards future newness of life.' This is one passage among many
attributing to baptism when not unworthily received, and therefore
in all cases to infant baptism, no less than justifying or pardoning
grace, together with the first infusion of that which sanctifies. It is
for those who suppose the writer an uncompromising Calvinist, to
explain how these representations can be reconciled with Calvin's
doctrine of the absolute perpetuity of justifying and of the first sanc-
tifying grace. It is not here meant to deny that such reconciliation
\h. oh. Ivii. §4. ii. 329.
t Tb. cb. Ix. §3. ii. 341.
871
may he possible, but the Editor has never yet met with it. And
until some way be discovered of clearing up this difficulty, it will be
at least as fair in the advocates, as they are called, of free-will, to
quote Hooker's doctrine of the Sacraments, as in predestinarians to
insist on his doctrine of final perseverance. "-
Now it appears to me, that Mr. Keble^s difficulty is easily re-
moved. For it arises from this, that he has assumed a principle
as to the universal worthiness of infants to receive in baptism
the full baptismal grace, which is entirely opposed to Hooker's
system of theology, and then interpreting Hooker's statements
by this principle, he knows not how to reconcile them. His
conclusion, that because Hooker's words attribute certain effects
to baptism, "when not unworthily received," '^therefore'' they
attribute them " in all cases to infant baptism,^^ even " no less
than justifying or pardoning grace, &c.," is thoroughly un-
founded, nothing less in fact than a petitio principii. It is clear
from various passages in Hooker's works, that he held that "the
elect" only experienced such benefit from baptism, for he ex-
pressly maintains that such a Messing is never lost. Mr. Keble
has himself quoted the first three passages of those given above
to this effect from his works ; and then somewhat naively adds,
" It is not quite clear why a person holding such an opinion as
this should scruple to receive the fifth Lambeth Article : yet
Hooker it seems had such a scruple." It is indeed very far
from clear ; and the fact is, that the only ground which Mr.
Keble has for telling us that " it seems " he had a scruple, is,
that in a paper of Hooker's, drawn up in reply to the " Chris-
tian Letter," and published from the MS. in Trin. Coll. Dublin
by Mr. Keble, in his edition of Hooker, there is a statement of
his views on the subject, drawn up in eight brief articles, which
do not adopt the precise words of the Lambeth Articles. But if
Mr. Keble will look again, he will find in the immediate context
of these articles the passage which I have quoted above from
that paper, as edited by himself, and which I need hardly say is
quite as strong as the 5th Lambeth Article itself.
We may observe, however, that Mr. Keble himself interprets
his general statements as to the benefits conferred by baptism,
as meaning that such benefits are conferred by it only " when
not unworthily received."
372
DR. ANDREW WILLET. 1600.
Prebendary of Ely, and afterwards Chaplain to Prince Henry,
eldest son of James I.
" Dr. Willet/' Chalmers tells us,—
" Was usually called a living library, from the great extent of his
reading and of his memory. He was also not less admired as a
preacher, not only in his parish, but at Court. He also obtained a
great degree of celebrity by his numerous publications, particularly
his * Synopsis Papismi, or a General View of Papistry,' a work dedi-
cated to the Queen, which, although a folio of 1300 pages, passed
through five editions, and was much admired in both Universities,
and by the clergy and laity at large, as the best refutation of Popery
which had then appeared."*
The third edition of this work was published in 1600, the
fourth in 1613, and the fifth in 1634. That of 1634 was a re-
print of the edition of 1613, and was published after his death,
(which took place in 1621), ^^by the authority of his Majesty's
Royal Letters Patent,^' as the title states. In this Patent it is
declared, that Dr. Willet was very painful on the behalf of the
Church," and that his Synopsis had been " seen and allowed by
the Bishops, in great esteem in both of the Universities, and much
desired by all the learned both of the Clergy and Laity through-
out the King's dominions. "t
* Chalmers's Biograph. Diet.
t The Patent is given at length in Rymer's Foedera; from which
I give the following extract, where the reader will observe the language
in which the work is spoken of.
" De licentia speciali Paulo Willett Clerico pro impressione libri intitulati
Synopsis Papismi." (Pat. 6 Car. I. [1630] p. 11, n. 28.)
"Charles, &c. .. .Whereas our well beloved subject Paule Willet,
Clerk, Master of Arts, hath by his humble petition shewed unto us, that
his late Father Doctor Willet deceased, was known to be very painful on
the behalf of cur Church, and amongst the rest of his labours left behind
liim a Book intituled Synopsis Papismi, four several times dedicated to
our late Royal Father King James (of ever blessed memory), whose princely
and discerning wisdom approved and constantly patronaged the same;
and that it hath been seen and allowed by the Lords, the Reverend Bishops,
and hath also ever since been in great esteem in both of our Universities,
and also much desired by all the learned both of our clergy and laity
throvghovt ovr Dominions ; and that the Stationer who heretofore had
the c()])y thereof, being not able, or at least not willing, to disburse or
expen and is so to be esteemed. But
these parts are of two sorts, 1st, Either cequivocal parts, 50 taken and
reputed by us, such as are a glass eye, or a wooden leg to a man, which
are so called, but truly are not such : and whosoever profess the
supernatural verities revealed by Christ, and make use of the Holy
Sacraments, may in this sense be called the members of Christ, be-
cause they are reckoned for parts of his visible body. 2nd, Or univocal
parts. That in name and nature are true believers, which are indeed
the true members of Christ, and do belong unto his mystical body, and
receive from him as from their Head, life, sense, and motion. They
are united to him, live in him, and are informed by his Spirit. They
are washed and regenerated by his blood. And they have his right-
eousness imputed unto them, by which they are freed from the guilt
and punishment of sin. This the Apostle teacheth, 1 Cor. i. 30. ' But
• Athen. Oxon. vol. 3. col. 951.
486
of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us, wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, redemption.' And to these last only the
two next privileges belong that is, to he " the child of God and an
inheritor of the kingdom of heaven."
Speaking of the Sacraments, he says, —
" All receive not the grace of God, that receive the sacraments of
grace. But by them grace is offered to all the Church, though ex-
hibited only to the faithful. "f
On the answer that children are baptized because they pro-
mise faith and repentance by their sureties, he says, —
*' This is an excellent answer, and being well examined will prove
satisfactory. For it shows,
" 1. How children perform this promise for faith and repentance.
" 2. That they are bound to perform the promise, when they come
to age, if they mean to have a part of the grace promised by God in
baptism.
" 1. For the first, children perform not this promise in baptism at
that time actually, that is, they do not then actually repent and beheve ;
neither is it necessary they should. For baptism is not the covenant,
but the seal of it ; and the seal may be set where these are wanting.
This is evident in the case of circumcision. "J
"Repentance is a firm resolution of amendment of life ; faith an
apprehension of God's promises : for the performance of which the
sureties engage ; but not absolutely that the child shall do it, for that
is beyond their power to undertake ; but conditionally, that he shall
do it, or else have no benefit by their engagement.'''^
BISHOP JEREMY TAYLOR;
Bishop of Down and Connor from 1660; and of Dromore from
1661 to 1669.
" Although, by the present custom of the Church, we are baptized
in our infancy, and do not actually reap that fruit of present pardon
* " A plain but full Exposition of the Catechism of the Church of Eng-
land," pp. 15, 16, of the first ed. ju'inted Lond. 1G55. 4to. The author
])ubhshed a 2nd. ed, (a reprint, except in immaterial points, of the first) in
1661, when he was Bishop of Gloucester, and dedicated it to Dr. Sheldon,
then Bishop of London, and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. It has
been frcquentlv reprinted.
t lb. p' 169. + lb. pp. 180. § lb. p. 187.
487
which persons of a mature age in the Primitive Church did (for we yet
need it not, as we shall^ when we have past the calentures of youth,
which was the time which the wisest of our fathers in Christ chose for
their baptism, as appears in the instance of St. Ambrose, St. Austin,
and divers others) ; yet we must remember that there is a baptism of
the Spirit as well as of water : and whenever this happens, whether
it be together with that baptism of water, as usually it was when only
men and women of years of discretion were baptized ; or whether it
be ministered in the rite of confirmation, whichjis an admirable sup-
pletorv' of an early baptism, and intended by the Holy Ghost for a
corroborative of baptismal grace, and a defensative against danger ;
or that lastly, it be performed by an internal and merely spiritual
ministry, when we, by acts of our own election, verify the promise
made in baptism, and so bring back the rite, by receiving the effect
of baptism : that is, whenever the * filth of our flesh is washed away,'
and that we have ' the answer of a pure conscience towards God,'
ichich St. Peter affirms to be the true baptism, and which, by the pur-
pose and design of God, it is expected we should not defer longer than
a great reason or a great necessity enforces : when our sins are first
expiated, and the sacrifice and death of Christ is made ours, and we
made God's bv a more immediate title (which at some time or other
happens to all Christians that pretend to any hopes of heaven) ; then
let us look to our standing and 'take heed lest we fall.'
This passage is decisive of the question, whether Bishop Tay-
lor held that the baptism of the Spirit always accompanied the
baptism of water in the case of infants.
To the same effect he speaks frequently in his Sermons, as may
appear by the following extracts.
" The first great instrument of changing our whole nature into the
state of grace, flesh into the spirit, is a firm belief, and a perfect as-
sent to, and hearty entertainment of the promises of the Gospel.*' f
Our hearers make use of sermons and discourses evangelical but
to fill up void sj^aces of their time, to help to tell an hour with, or
pass it without tediousness. The reason of this is a sad condemnation
to such persons : they have not yet entertained the Spirit of God,
they are in darkness : they were washed in water, but never baptized
with the Spirit ; for these things are spirituidly discerned. They
* Life of Christ. Pt. 2. i 12. disc. 9. Works, ed. Ileber, 3d ed. 1839.
vol. 2. pp. 40S, 409.
t Serio. ou Matt. xxvi. 11. on "the flesh and the Spirit." Sermons,
ed. 1678. fol. p. 76.
488
would think the preacher rude, if he should say they are not Chris-
tians, they are not within the covenant of the Gospel : but it is cer-
tain that the Spirit of manifestation is not yet upon them ; and that
is the first effect of the Spirit, whereby we can be called sons of God ,
or relatives of Christ."*
And he adds at the conclusion of the same sermon, —
** The sum is this : an animal man, a man under the Law, a carnal
man (for as to this they are all one) is sold under sin But a
spiritual man, a man that is in the state of grace, who is born anew
of the Spirit, that is regenerate by the Spirit of Christ, he is led by
the Spirit, he lives in the Spirit," &c.t
Other similar passages might easily be added.
BISHOP EZEKIEL HOPKINS ;
Bishop of Raphoe from 1671 to 1681 ; and of Derry from 1681
to 1690.
Bishop Hopkins, in his Doctrine of the two Sacraments,"
enters fully upon the question of the effects of the Sacrament of
Baptism, both in the case of adults and infants.
The following extracts will show his views on the subject.
There are two ways of dedication unto God ; whereby his title
takes place, and what is so devoted becomes his. The one external,
by men : as in the instances before cited : whereby there was no
change at all wrought in the nature of the thing thus dedicated, but
only a change in the relation and propriety of it. . . . The other dedi-
cation is internal, and wrought by God himself. And thus he is said
to separate or dedicate persons to himself, when, by the effectual ope-
ration of the Holy Ghost upon them, he endows them with those ha-
bits which enable them to do him service. ...
" As there is this twofold dedication or separation, so there is also
a twofold sanctification. There is an external relation, or ecclesiastical
sanctification ; which is nothing else, but the devoting or giving up
of a thing or person unto God, by those who have a power so to do.
There is an internal, real, and spiritual sanctification : and, in this
* Serm. 1. for Whitsunday, on Rom viii. 9, 10. lb. p. 202.
t lb. p. 215.
489
sense, a man is said to be sanctified, when the Holy Ghost doth in-
fuse into his soul the habits of divine grace, and maketh him partaker
of the divine nature, whereby he is inwardly qualified to glorify God
in a holy life . . .
" In applying this distinction to Baptism, and to show you how it
is that Baptism doth sanctify, I shall lay down these following pro-
positions.
" 1. Baptism is the immediate means of our external and relative
sanctification unto God.
" By this Holy Sacrament, all that are partakers of it are dedicated
and separated unto him.
" There are, if I may so express it, but two regiments of men >'
the one is of the world ; the other is of the Church. And in one of
these all mankind are listed and do march. . . .
" This Church of Christ may be considered, either as visible or in-
visible. The visible Church of Christ on earth, is a sort of people
who profess the name of Christ, and own his doctrine ; joining to-
gether in a holy society and communion of worship, where it can be
enjoyed. The invisible Church of Christ on earth is a number of true
believers who have internal and invisible communion with Jesus
Christ by their faith and his Spirit. The visible Church is of a much
larger extent than the innsible ; for it comprehends hypocrites, and
too many ungodly persons ; yea, all those who have given up their
names unto Christ, and make a visible profession of his doctrine,
though by their lives and practice they deny it. . . .
" From this distinction it follows,
" (1) That all, that are of the \asible Church of Christ Jesus, are
taken out of the world ; so that it may truly be said of them, that
they are not of the world.
" (2) Hence it follows, that all those who are members of the visible
Church, may truly be called saints, and members of Christ, and the
children and people of God ; because, by being taken into the Church,
they are taken out of the World ; and so become God's portion, and
the lot of his inheritance.
[He here proceeds to show that so Scripture speaks of such.]
" (3) But to bring this home to our present subject of Baptism :
from all this it evidently follows, that those who are baptized may,
in this ecclesiastical and relative sense, be trulv called saints, the
children of God, and members of Christ ; and, thereupon, inheritors
of the kingdom of heaven.
" Doubtless, so far forth Baptism is a means of sanctification, as it
is the solemn admission of persons into the visible Church ; as it
separates them from the world, and from all false religions in it, and
brings them out of the visible kingdom of the devil into the visible
kingdom of Jesus Christ. For, if all that are admitted into the visi-
ble Church are thereby, as I have proved to you, dignified with the
title of Saints and the children of God, then, by baptism, which is the
solemn way of admitting them into the Church, they may, with very
good reason, be said to be made Saints, the children of God and
members of Christ. But this is only a relative sanctity, not a real :
and many such saints and sanctified men there are, who shall never
enter into heaven. . . . This sanctification, regeneration, and adoption,
conferred upon us at our admission into the visible Church, is external
and ecclesiastical : and though it alone will suffice to the salvation of ,
infants, because they are thereby as holy as their state can make
them capable of ; yet it will not suffice to the salvation of grown and
adult persons, if they contradict it by the course of a wicked life. . . .
"2. Another position is this. That Baptism is not so the means of
an internal and real sanctification, as if all to whom it is administered
were thereby spiritually renewed, and made partakers of the Holy
Ghost in his saving grace.
" Though an external and ecclesiastical sanctification be effected
by Baptism, ex opere operato, by the mere administration of that
Holy Sacrament ; yet so is not an internal and habitual sanctifica-
tion : and that, whether we respect adult persons or infants.
*******
" Baptism was not instituted to any such purpose that it should be
an instrument of working a real change upon infants : for neither can
it work this change by any immediate and proper efficiency, since the
washing of the body cannot thus affect the soul, nor infuse any
gracious habits into it which itself hath not ; neither can it work mo-
rally, by way of suasion and argument, because infants have not the
use of reason to apprehend any such. Again, if this Baptismal Re-
» generation be real, by the infusion of habitual grace, how comes it to
pass, that the greater part of those who have received it lead profane
and unholy lives, and too too many perish in their sins } They who
have the seed of God in them shall never sin unto death ; and the
perseverance of those who are inwardly and effectually sanctified, is
safe and certain : for, surely, true grace is saving, and true and
saving grace is the effect of our election unto eternal life : for ' whom
he did predestinate, them he also called.' Rom. viii. 30. And there-
fore / judge it unsound doctrine to affirm, that Baptism doth confer
real sanctification upon all infants, as well as upon some adult persons,
who are made partakers of it.
491
But here may some say, ' If Baptism doth not confer a real and
internal regeneration on infants, who partake thereof, how then is it,
that the Church hath appointed a prayer in the Office of Baptism,
wherein we bless God, that it hath pleased him to regenerate the
baptized infant with his Holy Spirit ?'
" To this I answer, that the Baptismal regeneration of infants is
external and ecclesiastical
" * But how then are infants said, in Baptism, to be regenerated
by the Holy Spirit, if he doth not inwardly sanctify them in and by
that ordinance r'
" I answer : Because the whole economy and dispensation of the
kingdom of Christ is managed by the Spirit of Christ ; so that those
who are internally sanctified, are regenerated by his effectual opera-
tion ; and those who are only externally sanctified are regenerated
by his public institution. Infants therefore are in Baptism regene-
rated by the Holy Ghost, because the Holy Spirit of God appoints
this ordinance to receive them into the visible Church, which is the
regenerate part and state of the world. . . .
"3. It is not so the means of sanctification, as if none could be
internally and really sanctified, who are necessarily deprived of that
holy ordinance.
* * ^ 4t :Jc *
"4. The last position is this, That Baptism is an ordinary means
appointed by Christ, for the real and effectual sanctification of his
Church.
'* For, this is the great end of all Gospel ordinances, that, through
them, might be conveyed that grace which might purify the heart
and cleanse the life. And, though I do not affirm that baptism doth
effect this in all to whom it is rightly applied : not in infants, who,
while such, are incapable of that work ; nor in many adult persons,
who, though baptized, may remain still in the gall of bitterness and
bond of iniquity : yet this I do affirm and maintain, that there is no
reason to doubt the salvation of any, who, by this holy ordinance,
are consecrated unto God, until, by their actual and wilful sinning,
they thrust away from them those benefits which God intends them
by it
*• From all this that hath been said on this subject, I shall draw
this one deduction, and so conclude. Hence we may learn what to
judge, and what to hope, concerning the state of infants who die
baptized.
" Certainly^ since they are in covenant with God ; since they are the
members of Christ, being members of his Body, the Church j since
they arc sanctified and regenerated, so far forth as their natures are
492
ordinarily capable of, \Yithout a miracle ; we have all the reason in
the world comfortably to conclude, that all such die in the Lord, and
are for ever happy and blessed with him.
" With very good reason, therefore, and upon very clear evidence,
hath our Church determined, that ' it is certain, by God's word, that
children which are baptized, dying before they commit actual sin, are
undoubtedly saved.' Rubric after Baptism
" Yea, let me add, that not only infants baptized, but all infants of
believing parents, though they should unavoidably die before bap-
tism, yea before they see the light, are in the same safe and blessed
condition, for they are in the same gracious covenant. For since
the promise is made to believers and to their children, God will not
falsify his promise, where they break no conditions."*
BISHOP JOHN PEARSON;
Bishop of Chester from 1673 to 1686.
Bishop Pearson's " Exposition of the Creed^^ has long been
a standard work among us. The following passages will show
his views on the question before us.
" The whole Church of God, as it containeth in it all the persons
which were called to the profession of the faith of Christ, or were
baptized in his name, may well be termed and believed holy. . . The
Church, as it embraceth all the professors of the true faith of Christ,
containeth in it not only such as do truly believe and are obedient to
the word, but those also which are hypocrites and profane Of
these promiscuously contained in the Church, such as are void of
all saving grace while they live, and communicate with the rest of
the Church, and when they pass out of this life die in their sins, and
remain under the eternal wrath of God ; as they were not in their
persons holy while they hved, so are they no way of the Church
after their death, neither as members of it, nor as contained in it.
Through their own demerit they fall short of the glory unto which
they were called : and being by death separated from the external
communion of the Church, and having no true internal communion
with the members and the Head thereof are totally and finally cut
off from the Church of Christ. On the contrary, such as are effica-
ciously called justified and sanctified, while they live are truly holy.
Works of Bishop Hopkins, ed. by Pratt. Lond. 1809, 8vo. vol. ii.
pp. 417—429.
493
and when they die are perfectly holy ; nor are they by their death
separated from the Church, but remain united still by virtue of that
internal union by which they were before conjoined both to the mem-
bers and the Head.''*
Commenting on the words, " The Communion of Saints/' he
says, —
" Because though the Church be holy, yet every person contained
in it is not truly so, therefore is added this part of the Article,
which concerneth those who are truly such . . . All such persons as
are called from the vulgar and common condition of the world unto
anv peculiar service or relation unto God, are thereby denominated
holy, and in some sense receive the name of Saints. The penmen of
the Old Testament do often speak of the people of Israel as of a holy
nation, and God doth speak unto them as to a people holy unto him-,
self; because he had chosen them out of all the nations of the world,
and appropriated them to himself. Although therefore most of that
nation were rebellious to him which called them, and void of all true,
inherent, and actual sanctity ; yet because they were all in that man-
ner separated, they were all, as to the separation, called holy. In
the like manner those of the Xew Testament, writing to such as were
called, and had received and were baptized in the faith, give unto
them all the name of Saints, as being in some manner such, by being
called and baptized. For being baptism is a washing away of sin,
and the purif cation from sin is a proper sanctijication ; being every
one ivho is so called and baptized is thereby separated from the rest
of the world which are not so, and all such separation is some kind
of sanctification; being, though the icork of grace be not perfectly
wrought, yet when the means are used, without something ap-
pearing TO THE CONTRARY, WE OUGHT TO PRESUME OF THE GOOD
EFFECT ; therefore all such as have been received into the Church,
may be in some sense called holy. But because there is more than
an outward vocation, and a charitable presumption, necessary to
make a man holy; therefoie we must find some other qualification
which must make him really and truly such, not only by an extrin-
sical denomination, but by a real and internal affection. What this
sanctity is, and who are capable of this title properly, we must learn
out of the Gospel of Christ ; by which alone, ever since the Church
of Christ was founded, any man can become a Saint. Now by the
tenor of the Gospel, we shall find, that those are truly and properly
saints, which are 'sanctified in Christ Jesus.' (I Cor. i. 2.) First,
* On Art. ix. cd. Dobson, Loud. 1832. Svo. pp. 515, 516.
494
In respect of their holy faith, by which they are regene-
rated ; for, * Whosoever believeth that Jesus is tlie Christ, is born
of God' (1 John v. 1.); by which they are purged, God himself
'purifying their hearts by faith' (Acts xv. 9.), whereby they ' are
washed, sanctified, and justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus'
(I Cor. vi. 11.)} 'in whom also, after that they believe, they are
sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.' (Eph. i. 13.) Secondly, In
respect of their conversation," &c.*
DEAN DUREL;
Dean of Windsor from 1677 till his death in 1683. Previously
Prebendary of Windsor and Durham, and Chaplain to the King.
Dr. John Durel is spoken of by Anthony Wood, (a contem-
porary, and, beyond all doubt, one of the highest of "High
Churchmen in the following terms, —
" He was a person of unbiassed and fixed principles, untainted and
steady loyalty, as constantly adhering to the sinking cause and inte-
rest of his sovereign in the worst of times ; who dared with an
unshaken and undaunted resolution to stand up and maintain the
honour and dignity of the English Church, when she was in her
lowest and deplorable condition. He was very well versed, also, in
all the controversies on foot between the Church and the disciplina-
rian party ; the justness and reasonableness of the established con-
stitutions of the former no one of late years hath more plainly
manifested, or with greater learning more successfully defended
against its most zealous modern oppugners than he hath done, as by
his works following is manifest."!
He then gives a list of his works, of which the principal is
that which I am about to quote, entitled, " Sanctse Ecclesise An-
glicanse adversus iniquas atque inverecundas Schismaticorum
criminationes Vindicise, &c. Lond. 1669.^^ 4to.{
The subject of the 26th chapter of this work is, — " On the
Efficacy of Baptism, Whether in the Anglican Liturgy it is
esteemed greater than it really is.'^ De Efficacia Baptismi,
An major juxta Liturgiam Anglicanam quam par est, habeatur.^^)
* lb. pp. 527, 528. t Athen. Oxon. iv. 89. ed. Bhss.
X Some copies of this work occur with the following title, — " Historia
rituuui S. Ecelcsiac Angheanae ex omni antiquitate eruta, &c. l^ond. 1672."
495
And it is written in reply to the objection of the Nonconform-
ists, that our Baptismal Service for Infants implies that all in-
fants are spiritually regenerated in baptism. I regret that it is
impossible, from the space required, to transfer the whole chap-
ter to these pages, as the charge is most ably met and refuted.
I must content myself with the following extracts.
" Inasmuch as Baptism is a sacrament or visible sign and most
certain pledge of that invisible grace which embraces both blessings,
namely, the washing away of guilt and the cleansing from corruption,
as being that which was appointed by God to signify, seal, and in-
struraen tally exhibit it, therefore, not only in that sentence of our
Liturgy which the Apologist here attacks, but among all the ap-
proved authors among the Reformed, where that sacred laver is
treated of, phrases occur of such a nature that ignorant men may
easily conclude from them, that that grace of the Holy Spirit with
which Baptism, when administered to those who have right disposi-
tions, is always attended, is the effect of the Sacrament itself. Such
is this saying of Calvin,—' We assert that Baptism is God's ordinary
instrument to wash and renew us, in a word to communicate salva-
tion' (Antid. cap. de Bapt. can. 5.) ; which if the Apologist should
read in the Book of Common Prayer, he would immediately be alto-
gether horrified at it. For why should he not infer from it, equally
as from any words that occur in that Book, *that there is ascribed
to the Sacrament of Baptism a power to renew and necessarily save
all men that are initiated by it.' And yet similar speeches are fre-
quently found in the same author and the other Reformed writers,
which is known to those who have paid the slightest attention to
their works. Nor ought any one to be surprised at that, since Holy
Scripture has in various passages gone before them in this matter,
Rom. vi. 3, 4; Gal. iii. 27 ; Tit. iii. 5 ; Eph. v. 26
" Then as to what he says, * that no one can be a minister of the
Reformed Church of England who is not certainly persuaded of the
regeneration of every infant baptized/ neither also is that true. The
minister truly gives thanks to God after each infant has been bap-
tized, that it hath pleased God to regenerate him with his Holy
Spirit. But it does not thence follow, that he ought to be certain of
the regeneration of every infant baptized. For it is sufficient if he
is persuaded of the regeneration of some only, for instance of elect
infants, or, if you like, even of some only of their number, that on that
account he may be able, nay ought, to give God thanks for each and
all baptized. Since who is elected, he knows not ; and since it is
but just, that he should, by the judgment of charity, presume, that
496
as many as he baptizes are elect, and, if any are regenerated in Bap-
tism (which none but a Socinian or other Catabaptist will deny)^
regenerated
And then observing, that all the Reformed Churches, includ-
ing the Anglican, declare that the wicked, when partaking of the
bread and wine in the Eucharist, are by no means partakers of
Christ, he adds, —
" But since as many as come to that sacred feast with right dispo .
sitions, such feed spiritually, that is by faith, upon the most holy body
and blood of Christ, the minister rightly, when the holy Eucharist has
been celebrated, gives thanks to God, that he has refreshed all the
communicants (although he is not and cannot be certain of each) with
that heavenly food. Why should he not therefore do the same after
the administration of holy baptism to every infant ? Why, I say,
should he not give thanks to God for the regeneration of each one
* Quia gratise illius invisibilis, quae utrumque beneficium, reatus ablu-
tionem scilicet et maculae purgationem eomplectitur, sacramentum seu
signum visibile atque pignus certissimum baptismus est, ut qui ad illam
significandam, obsignandamque, atque instrumentaliter exhibendam a Deo
institutus fuit : idee, non tantum in ea periodo Liturgiae nostrae, quam
hie oppugnat Apologista, sed apud oranes probatos Reformatorum au-
thores, ubi de sacro illo lavacro agitur, occurrunt ejusraodi locutiones,
nt ex iis facile inferant homines imperiti, gratiam illam Spiritus Sancti
quam Baptismus rite dispositis administratus semper habet comitem, esse
ipsius Sacramenti efFectum. Talis est haec Calvini locutio : — " Nos Bap-
tismum ordinarium Dei instrumentum asserimus ad nos iavandos, et reno-
vandos, ad salutem denique communicandam." (Antid. cap. de Baptism,
can. 5.) Quam si in libro Liturgico legeret Apologista, ad eam statim
totus cohorresceret. Quidni enim ex ea, aeque atque ex ullis verbis qucB
in illo libro occurrunt, inferat, " Sacramento Baptismi vim ascribi omnium
hominum, qui eo initiantur, regenerativam ac necessario salvificam ?"
Attamen similes locutiones apud eumdem authorem, aliosque Reformatos
Scriptores frequentes reperiuntur, quod norunt qui eorum libros vel levi
manu versavere. Neque id mirum cuiquam esse debet, cum iis ea in re
praeiverit Scriptura sacra variis locis, Rom. vi. 3, 4 ; Gal. iii. 27 ; Tit. iii. 5 ;
Ephes. V. 26
Deinde quod ait, " Neminem posse esse ministrum Reformatae Ecclesiae
Anglicanae, qui non certo persuasus sit de regeneratione cujuslibet infantis
baptizati," neque id etiam verum est. Deo quidem gratias agit Minister
post baptizatum unuraquemque parvulum, quod Deo placuerit cum ^piritu
suo regenerare. Sed non inde sequitur eum de cujuslibet parvuli baptizati
regeneratione certum esse debere. Svfficit enim si de quorumdam tantum,
electorum infantum puta, aut si vis etiam aliquorum duntaxat ex eorum
numero, regeneratione persuasus sit, ut eo nomine possit, imo debeat, Deo
gratias agere pro omnibus et singulis baptizatis. Quippe cilm quis sit
electus, ipsum lateat j cum que par sit, eum,quotquot baptizat, ex judicio
CHARiTATis, clectos, et si qui in Baptismo regenerantur, [quod nemo nisi
Sociniarius aliusve Catabaptista, negaverit) regeneratos PRiGSUMERE."
(p. 290.)
497
whom God has vouchsafed to admit to the laver of regeneration ?
Certainly the reason is the same in both cases. "'^
" ^Moreover Ames himself grants, * that God infuses a habit or prin-
ciple of grace into some while they are baptized.' (Bellarm. enerv. torn.
3. disp. 14. quaest. 3. th. 2. sect. 3.) And since- the Church is ignorant
who they are to whom God vouchsafes that grace, and ought to
PRESUME IT IN THE JUDGMENT OF CHARITY OF EVERY ONE BAPTIZED,
I ask the Adversaries themselves, with whom Ames is in such great
esteem, what just fault can he found with that prayer in which it
gives thanks to God for the regeneration of infants baptized ?''\
Aud in the same chapter he shows, that the doctrine of the
rnbric as to the salvation of baptized infants dying in their in-
fancy is that of all the Reformed Churches.
DR. W. FALKNER, 1677.
Dr. Falhner published several works in vindication of the doc-
trine and rites of our Church, against the Dissenters. They are
recommended by (among others) Dr.AY.Wotton^in his "Thoughts
concerning a Proper Method of Studying Divinity/' J and by the
late Bishop Cleaver in his " List of Books recommended to the
Clergy of the Diocese of Chester.
One of these is entitled, " Libertas Ecclesiastica ; or, a Dis-
course vindicating the lawfulness of those things which are chiefly
* Quoiiiam vero quotquot ad sacras illas epulas rite dispositi accedunt,
ii sacratissimo corpore sanguineqne Christi spiritualiter, per fidem scilicet,
vescuntur, recte minister, sacra Eucharistia celebrata, Deo gratias agit,
quod omnes commimicantes (quanqiiam de singulis certus non est, nec vero
esse potest) coelesti illo pabulo refecerit. Quidni igitur idem faeiat post
administratiim cuihbet infanti sacrum baptisma? Quidni, inquam, Deo
gratias agat pro uniuscuj usque regeneratione quem dignatus est Dens ad re-
generationis lavacrum admittere? Certe utrobique par ratio est. (pp. 2JK),
291.)
t Quin ipse etiara Amesius concedit, 'Deum quibusdam, dum baptizan-
tur, habitum vel principiura gratiae infundere.' (Bellarm. Enerv. torn. 3.
disp. 14. qufEst. 3. th. 2. sect. 3.) Qui vero illi sint, quos Deus ea gratia
dignatur, cum ignoret Ecclesia, debeatque id exjudicio charitatis
DE QUOLiBET BAPTiZATO PR^SUMERE, quaero ab ipsis adversariis apud
quos tauto in pretio est Amesius, quid jure reprehendi possit in ea pre-
catione in qua Deo gratias agit ob infantum baptizatorum regenerationem
(pp. 296, 297.)
X First printed Lond. 1734. 8vo. Reprinted l)v Dr. II. Cotton, Oxf.
1818. Svo
§ Oxf. 1791. 8v().
2 K
498
excepted against in the Church of England;" and from it* I
quote the following passages.
Replying to the objections of the Dissenters to the Baptismal
Service,, he says, —
" I suppose it evident, that if it can be certainly proved, that every
baptized infant is savingly regenerated, or if on the other side all the
expressions in the Liturgy can be fairly and probably interpreted of a
federal regeneration, which is generally acknowledged, there can be
then no doubt but all these expressions may be fitly and allowably
used. I shall treat of both these senses, because they both plead
AN ALLOWANCE IN OUR ChURCH."!
He then proceeds to give the arguments for supposing that
every baptized infant is savingly regenerated, where, however^,
he commences with the remark that such regeneration is vevy
different from that of an adult. He says, —
" It must be here noted, that by the saving regeneration of bap-
tized infants, it is not intended that their understandings or wills are
guided to an high esteem and love of God and the Christian life, which
the infant state is not capable of : but this regeneration is mainly re-
lative, so that being regenerated by Baptism, they are no longer the
children of wrath, and under the curse due to original sin; but are
brought into a new state, to be members of the body of Christ, and
thereby partakers of the favour of God. And though some small seeds
of gracious disposition may be in infants, who are capable thereof in
the same manner as they are of corruption ; yet that regeneration or
renovation of an infant in Baptism, tvhereby he is received into a state
of remission and salvation, is very different from the regeneration of
an adult person, whereby his soul and life are moulded according to
the form of the Christian doctritie, and brought into a conformity to
the image of God." I
" To persevere in the Infant-regeneration which is chiefly relative,
is no sufficient qualification for the acceptance of the adult, in whom
ANOTHER KIND OF REGENERATION (by inwavd real conversion and
gracious qualifications and exercises) is necessary J'^^
So that the highest view which he conceived could be taken
with respect to the regeneration of infants spoken of in the Bap-
tismal Service, fell far short of what our modern High Church-
men" tell us is the only view honestly tenable. He had no idea
* 3d. ed. 1677. 8vo.
X lb. pp. 231, 232.
t p. 229.
§ lb. p. 255.
499
of an adult being said to be regenerate, because he might have
been, in a sense, justly called so as an infant. His saving re-
generation" of an infant, vras not that " Spiritual regeneration"
by which a new principle of life is implanted in the soul, pro-
ducing the sanctification of the recipient.
Proceeding then to treat of the other sense, namely, a " federal
regeneration," he says, —
" There is another notion of Baptismal regeneration to be con-
sidered, That baptism doth certainly admit persons into communion
with the Church of Christ, and to visible membership with him ; and
that every baptized person, whether he be adult or infant, hath there-
upon such titles belonging to him, that he is to be called ' regenerate,
a child of God, a member of Christ,' upon the account of his being
then admitted into the Christian Society, and being received by Bap-
tism to the profession of Christianity, and under the Covenant of
grace, whereby he is visibly such. . . . This notion as it is extended to
infants, as understanding them in this sense to be regenerated in Bap-
tiS7ny WAS EMBRACED BY SOME IN OUR ChURCH FROM KiNgEdWARd's
REIGN, and seemeth probably favoured by some expressions of Bishop
[A?'chbishoj)'\ Whitgift, and is more particularly expressed by Bishop
Carleton, and divers others,'^*
" Bishop Carleton declare th himself to this purpose, * That young
children baptized are delivered from original sin we doubt not, and if
they die before they come to the practice of actual sins, they shall be
saved :' and ' that children baptized are put into the state of salvation,
I make no doubt of it, but,' saith he, 'this we must believe ex judicio
charitatis.' Which phrase of believing by the judgment of charity
(which some have thought improper), is, I conceive = the same with
those words of St. Paul, 1 Cor. xiii. 7 : ' Charity believeth all things;'
that is, where there is nothing that can determine us to the contrary.
Christian charity requireth us to entertain the most favourable appre-
hension, and to judge and hope the best. . . . And they who entertain
these apprehensions do acknowledge, that ail baptized infants or others
are regenerated and justified Sacramento tenus ; or they are visibly
such so far as concerneth their profession, and the application of the
means of grace ; and they may be affirmed to be such, according to
the usual language of the Holy Scriptures concerning Sacraments, and
the dispensation of the grace of God.
" And this notion, as it is very true, so it is made use of and
manifestly allowed in our Liturgy, in the Office * for them who are
* lb. pp. 256, 257.
2 K 1
500
baptized in riper 3'ears where every person then baptized is said
to be ' regenerated and graffed into the body of Christ's Church, to
be born again and made an heir of everlasting salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ, and to have now by Baptism put on Christ, being
made a child of God and of the light.' Yet it is not hereby intended
to be dogmatically declared, that every adult person receiving bap-
tism is thereby in a certain state of salvation, because true faith and
repentance which some such persons may possibly want are in them
■necessary in order to the spiritual efficacy of the Sacraments, and is
so acknowledged by the doctrine of our Church. For as our Articles
declare, that * those who receive baptism rightly, are thereby as by
an instrument graffed into the Church, and obtain remission of sins '
(Art. 27.) J so they also assert concerning Sacraments, that ' in such
only who worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect
and operation."*
BISHOP BURNET;
Bishop of Salisbury from 1689 to 1714.
Bishop Burnet, in his Comment on the 27th Article, thus
states the nature and effects of Baptism : —
"The salvation that we Christians have by baptism, is effected by
that federation into which we enter, when upon the demands that are
made of our renouncing the devil, the world, and the flesh, and of
our believing in Christ, and our repentance towards God, we make
such answers from a good conscience as agree with the end and
design of baptism ; then by our thus coming into covenant with
God, we are saved in baptism. So that the salvation by baptism is
given by reason of the federal compact that is made in it. Now this
being madje outwardly, according to the rules that are prescribed,
that must make the baptism good among men, as to all the outward
and visible effects of it. But since it is the ' answ^er of a good con-
science ' only that * saves,' then an answer from a bad conscience,
from a hypocritical person, who does not inwardly think or purpose,
according to what he professes outwardly, cannot save, but does on
the contrary aggravate his damnation. Therefore our Article puts
the efficacy of baptism. In order to the forgiveness of our sins, and
to our adoption and salvation, upon the virtue of prayer to God ;
* lb. pp. 253—260.
501
that is, vpon those vom and other acts of devotion that accompany
them. So that when the seriousness of the mind accompanies the
regularity of the action, then both the outward and inward effects of
baptism are attained by it ; and we are not only * baptized into one
Body,* but are also * saved by baptism.' So that upon the whole
matter. Baptism is a federal admission into Christianity, in which, on
God's part, all the blessings of the Gospel are made over to the
baptized ; and on the other hand, the person baptized takes on him,
by a solemn profession and vow, to observe and adhere to the whole
Christian religion. So it is a very natural distinction to say, that
the outward effects of baptism follow it as outwardly performed j
but that the inward effects of it follow upon the inward acts. But
this difference is still to be observed between inward acts and out-
ward actions, that when the outward action is rightly performed, the
Church must reckon the Baptism good, and never renew it. But if
one has been wanting in the inward acts, those may be afterwards
renewed, and that want may be made up by repentance."*
And having, in his Comment on the latter part of the Article,
proceeded to show the reasons for the Baptism of infants, he
makes these remarks, —
" The office for baptizing infants is in the same words with that
for persons of riper age ; because infants being then in the power of
their parents, who are of age, are considered as in them, and as bind-
ing themselves by the vows that they make in their name. Therefore
the office carries on the supposition of an internal regenera-
tion ; and in that helpless state the infant is offered up and dedicated
to God ; and provided that when he comes to age he takes those
vows on himself, and lives like a person so in covenant with God
then he shall find the full effects of baptism ; and if he dies in that
state of incapacity, he being dedicated to God, is certainly accepted
of by him ; and by being put in the second Adam, all the bad effects
of his having descended from the first Adam are quite taken away."t
Here, clearly, the inward effect of Baptism is connected with
future faith and repentance ; and " internal regeneration'' is said
to be only " supposed.^'
* Exposition of the XXXIX Articles, 5th ed. Lend. 175(). 8vo. pp,
379, 380.
t lb. p. 383.
502
ARCHBISHOP TILLOTSON;
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1691 to 1694,
Among the works of Archbishop Tillotson are five Sermons
on " the nature of Regeneration and its necessity in order to
justification and salvation/^* The following few extracts, taken
from a multitude of passages of the same kind, will fully show
the doctrine maintained in them : —
^^Regeneration is the change of a man*s state, from a state of sin to
a state of holiness ; which, because it is an entrance upon a new kind
or course of life, it is fitly resembled to regeneration, or a new birth ;
to a new creation, the man being as it were quite changed, or made
over again, so as not to be, as to the main purpose and design of his
life, the same man he was before. "f
i\s for others who are visibly reclaimed from a notorious wicked
course, in these we likewise frequently see this change gradually
made, by strong impressions made upon their minds, most frequently
by the word of God ; sometimes by his Providence whereby they
are convinced of the evil and danger of their course, and awakened
to consideration, and melted into sorrow and repentance, and perhaps
exercised with great terrors of conscience, till at length by the grace
of God they come to a fixed purpose and resolution of forsaking
their sins and turning to God, and after many strugglings and con-
flicts with their lusts, and the strong bias of evil habits, this resolu-
tion, assisted by the grace of God, doth efi'ectually prevail, and make
a real change both in the temper of their minds, and the course of
their lives 3 and when this is done, and not before, they are said to be
regenerate "X
And when, in another place, he is describing the nature of
Baptism, he speaks of it thus, —
" Baptism is a solemn rite appointed by our Saviour for the ini-
tiating persons into the Christian religion. "§
* Vol. 2 of the folio edition. They occur in pp. 324—349 of 5th ed.
1735.
t pp. 341, 342. + lb. pp. 342, 343.
§ lb. Serra. 70. p. 452.
503
ARCHBISHOP SHARP;
Archbishop of York from 1691 to 1714.
In one of his sermons he says^ —
" As for those that either through the occasion of a bad educa-
tion, or by the abusing a good one, have engaged themselves in
vicious courses, and accordingly, /rom the time they came to years
of discretion, have lived in a state of sin and ungodliness : these
persons are not yet ix the regenerate state (if we speak as to
the inward spiritual part of it), and must, if ever they mean to be
saved, some time or other undergo a real change and transformation^
both in their principles and their course of Uving."*
And he adds at the latter part of the sermon a notice of " the
marks and signs of regeneration/^ to enable a man to " discern
that he is in a regenerate condition and after mentioning
several^ he concludes, — the truest mark is that of oiu' Sa^'ioul•,
The tree is known by its frv.its.'^i'
This shows that though he speaks of infants as being regene-
rated by baptism (p. 280), he means, so far as he is speaking of
them universally, only in some qualified sense ; for he maintains,
that adults who have not experienced a spii-itual renewing of the
mind, " are not yet regenerate," though baptized in infancy.
And in the commencement of the sermon (which is on Rom. xii.
2, Be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds") he
describes regeneration as consisting of two parts : —
The being transformed," he says, " by the renewing of our
minds, which is here spoken of, though it be commonly understood to
be the whole of regeneration, yet it is really but one part ofity though
indeed it be the principal part. For regeneration, or the new
birth, consists of two parts, an outward profession of Christ's rehgion,
and an inward sanctification or holiness of heart and life." (p. 279.)
BISHOP JOHN WILLIAMS ;
Bishop of Chichester from 1696 to 1709.
In his " Brief Exposition of the Church Catechism,'^ we have
* Sermons, vol. 3. serm. 13. p. 294. ed. 1729. 8vo.
t lb. pp. 299—305.
504
the following question and answer, in which Baptism and the
New Birth are distinctly spoken of as separable.
" Q. Is baptism alone sufficient to salvation ?
" A. No ; not alone without the New Birth thereby signified,
unless are dead unto sin, and alive vmIo God through Jesus
Christ. Rom. vi. 3, 4, 11."*
And the words_, "made a member of Christy &c./^ he evi-
dently considers as equivalent to being made a member of the
visible Church.
AVILLIAM BURKITT, 1693; d. 1703.
Mr. Burkitt, Yicar of Dedham, Essex, is the well-known
author of a highly esteemed Commentary on the New Testa-
ment. Of the work I am about to quote, entitled, " A Help
and Guide to Christian Families," first published in 1693, I
need only say that it has been for many years on the list of the
" Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. In this work
he writes thus : —
" Q. When may you be said to be regenerate r
"A. When (together with a new name conferred upon me in
baptism) there is a new nature, by the sanctifying Spirit of God,
wrought in me, enabling me to bring forth the fruits of sobriety,
righteousness, and godliness, in my daily conversation.
"Q. What occasion is there for such a renovating change to be
wrought in you ?
" A. Very much ; namely, to restore my depraved nature to its
primitive integrity. Accordingly, I need the Spirit of God's assist-
ance, in concurrence with my own endeavours, to enlighten my dark
understanding, to conquer the rebellion of my will, to rectify the
disorders of my affections, to subdue the violence of my unruly
passions and appetites, and to reduce those rebellious powers under
the government and dominion of reason and religion.
" Q. Why is such a regenerating change absolutely necessary }
"A. In order to our being made partakers of the benefits of the
covenant of grace, as also to qualify us for, and entitle us to the
* loth cd. Lond. 1701. 8vo. p. 58. Camb. Univ. Lib. C. xii. 1/.
505
kingdom of glory ; for ' except a man be born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God.' (John iii. 3.)
****** -x-
*' Q. What is baptism ?
" A. An holy institution of Christ, for the benefit of believers and
their seed, wherein, by washing with water, in the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is signified the inward purification of
the soul by the blood and Spirit of Christ.
*******
**Q. Is baptism in infancy to be reiterated and repeated when a
person comes to riper years ?
"A. By no means ; this being the Sacrament of our initiation, or
entrance into the visible Church, is, and ought to be, but once per-
formed.
" Q. Who are to be baptized ?
" A. Not only believers, but their infant offspring, who are taken
into covenant with God, together with themselves. Gen. xvii. 7, 10."*
DR. THOMAS BRAY, 1699; d. 1730.
Dr. Bray was the well-known and respected founder of the
Society still called, " The Associates of Dr. Bray," which from
the first has ahvays received the highest Ecclesiastical sanction
in our Church. About 1696, he published a Coui'se of Lectures
on the Catechism, of which his biographer says, —
" It was esteemed by many of the first distinction in the Church
as the most accurate performance extant on the subject ; and was
dedicated to that very learned prelate. Bishop Lloyd, by whose per-
suasion it was published, and of whose favour and esteem Mr. Bray
had a more than ordinary share."!
The third edition of this w^ork appeared in 1699, J and from
it I take the following extracts.
* Pp. 192—210 of the edition printed Lond. Whittaker, 1824. 12mo.
t Life and Designs of the Rev. Dr. Bray. 2nd ed. Lond. 1808. 8vo. p. 4.
X A Course of Lectures upon the Church Catechism, in four volumes.
Vol. 1. 3ded. By T. Bray, D.D. Amsterdam, 1(599. 8vo. The title of
this edition differs from those of the two preceding editions, and the work
is much enlarged. Dr. Bray was in Holland part of the year 1699, which
accounts for the place where it was printed. The other vols, were never
publislied.
506
In Lectui'e VI., on " The Privileges of being Members of
Christ's Church/' he says, —
" All these forementioned privileges do belong to the members of
Christ's Church, to such as have been baptized and professed them-
selves to be Christians. To understand which rights and privileges
the better, you must know, that as there are ' two sorts of members
in the visible Church, so there are two kinds of privileges that be-
long to each sort,* as one rightly states this matter, ' each having
those privileges, which are proper and peculiar to them, according
to the relation they bear to the Head and their fellow-members.'
** First, * There are members only by foederal or covenant holiness,
such as are only born of water, when, by baptism, they are united to
Christ and the Church, and take upon them the profession and prac-
tice of the Christian religion. Now the privileges that do belong
to these are of the same make with their Church-membership, out-
ward, and consist only in outward and public communion with the
Church in word and ordinances.'
" Secondly, ' There are members by real and inherent holiness,
such as are not only born of water, but of the Spirit also, when by
the inward operation of the Holy Ghost their souls are renewed after
the image of God, and made partakers of a divine nature. And the
privileges that do belong to these are not only the forementioned
ones, but together with them, others that are suitable to their more
spiritual relations inward," &c. (p. 77.)
Again, in Lect. vii., on the meaning of the phrase " child of
God/' in the Catechism, he writes thus, —
" There are those who are the children of God by spiritual rege-
neration, by being renewed in the spirit of their minds, and by being
created anew in righteousness and true holiness. . . . They are such,
who are born, not only of water, but also of the Spirit, that is, who
have not only been baptized into the Christian Church, but have been
sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and have their whole natures and dis-
positions so altered for the better, that from vicious and ungodly, they
are changed to virtuous and holy dispositions and inclinations. And
such a vast change wrought in our natures by the Word and Spirit of
God, may very justly give those who enjoy it the title of the children
of God. . . . But then all who are the children of God, either in
the sense of Scripture, or of your Catechism, are not actually thus
regenerate. As to the sense of Scripture, it is plain. . . . And as
to the meaning of a child of God here in your Catechism, it is also
plain that it is not only such as are renewed in the spirit of their
507
minds and do imitate God, that are there to be understood ; for
every one who is catechized is required to answer, that * in his bap-
tism he was made a child of God,' whereas many catechumens are
not actually as yet renewed and really converted, and by their own
fault many will never be ; so that a child of God by spiritual rege-
neration and a godlike imitation, expresses rather the duty of every
one, what he ought to he, than the notion and nature of a privilege,
which many may enjoy, who in the mean time are not over dutiful.
So that a child of God by spi7'itual regeneration, or a Godlike imita-
tion, is a meaning of the word as much too narrow to be the sense
of it here in your Catechism, as a child by creation was too wide."
(pp. 88—90.)
BISHOP THOMAS WILSON ;
Bishop of Sodor and Man from 1697 to 1755.
The following passages are from this Apostolic Bishop's
" Maxims of Piety and of Christianity a work circulated by
the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge.
" A regenerate person cannot sin. (1 John iii. 9.)
*' That is, he has by faith and the grace of God got such an habit
of holiness, such an inclination to virtue, that he cannot, upon any
temptation, knowingly consent to transgress the laws of God. Having
overcome the world, that is, all those temptations by which men are
led to commit sin, he is dead to sin ; that is, he can no more sin
deliberately, than a dead man can breathe.
" Regeneration.
" The only certain proof of regeneration is victory. ' He that is
born of God overcometh the world.' (1 John v. 4.) When we live
by faith ; when faith has subdued the will, hath wrought repentance
not to be repented of, (2 Cor. vii. 10) hath conquered our corrup-
tions ; then, to him that overcometh, will God give to eat of the tree
of life."*
BISHOP WILLIAM BEVERIDGE ;
Bishop of St. Asaph from 1704 to 1708.
Bishop Beveridge is often quoted as an advocate of the doc-
Works, Bath. 1796. 8vo. vol. 4. p. 278.
508
trme that spiritual regeneration, in the full sense of the phrase,
is invariably bestowed in Baptism. Me have seen, however,
ample reason to be cautious how we allow an author's doctrine
to be determined by a few passages taken apart from his other
statements on the same subject. There is no other point of
doctrine on which this caution is so necessary, as that under
our consideration in these pages. And we shall find that Bishop
Beveridge's w^orks, as a whole, entirely negative such a view.
Thus, his defence, in his Commentary on the Articles, of the
word regeneration, as connected with baptism, is quoted as if
it meant that regeneration was always conferred in Baptism,
whereas in the context we read, —
" In baptism our faith is confirmed, and grace increased, not by
virtue of the water itself, but bi/ virtue of 'prayer y whereby God is
prevailed with to purify our souls by his Spirit, as our bodies are
washed with the water."*
And at the end of his remarks he says, —
** We must pray for God's presence in the Sacrament ; for without
that we can receive no blessing from it j but with that there is no
blessing but we may have in it."t
And in the same place, we may observe, he expressly limits
the right of infants to baptism to the children of believers, on
account of baptism being the seal of the covenant. He says, —
" Seeing all disciples are to be baptized, infants, the children of
believing parents, amongst the rest, must be baptized too ; for that
they are disciples is clear, from their being circumcised under the
Law: ior thdit argued they were in covenant with God, otherwise
they could not have had the seal of the covenant administered to
than ; and if they were in covenant with God, they must needs be
disciples ; to be a disciple, and to be in covenant with God, being
one and the same thing. So that all that are in covenant with God are
his disciples ; and all that are his disciples are in covenant with him.
And again, of children our Saviour saith, ' Of such is the kingdom of
God.' Mark x. 14. And therefore they must needs be disciples,
unless such as are not disciples should be thought to belong unto the
kingdom of God. But I need not insist any longer upon this, to
* Discourse upon the XXXIX Articles. Oxf. 184G. 8vo. i). -456.
t lb. p. 459.
509
prove little children to be disciples, if their parents he. For so long
as children, they are looked upon as parts of their parents, and there-
fore what their parents are they must needs be ; if their parents be
heathens, the children are heathens: if their parents be Christians,
the children are Christians too.'''^
So in his Exposition of the Church Catechism, it would be
easy to quote passages which would seem to imply that spiritual
regeneration always accompanied Baptism; but the passages
obviously prove too much when so interpreted, because they
would show that all adults are necessarily regenerated in bap-
tism, and therefore they must be received as applying to those
cases in which baptism works its ' full end and purpose, whether
in respect to adults or infants. In this very Exposition he says, —
" When a person is to be baptized, he is first asked in the name of
God, and in the presence of the congregation, as witnesses of it,
whether he doth renounce, and will forsake, all manner of sins ? To
which he answereth, * I renounce them all.' And if he makes this
answer heartily, sincerely, and with a good conscience^ so as after-
wards TO PERFORM WHAT HE THEN vYiOMi^Y.ii, he part akcs of the
grace signified in this Sacrament^ and is certainly saved by it.''\
And commenting on the question, "Why then are infants
baptized," &c., he says, —
" The reason is, Not only because they have the seeds of repent- ■
ance and faith in them, which may afterwards grow up to perfection ;
but chiefly, because they then ^promise to perform them :' which is
as much as we know adult persons or those of riper years do. They
only profess and promise to repent and believe : but whether they
really do so, or ever will, is known only to God. SO infants make
the same prof ession and promise, though not in their own persons,
yet by their sureties or guardians, which do it in their name and stead.
And when they come to age, they are as much bound to perform
what they so promised, as if they had done it themselves, in their own
per son. "J
From this it would appear, that he held that in the case of
infants,there was a similar condition to that required for adults.
* lb. pp 462, 463.
t The Church Catechism explained. 4th ed. Lend. I'^OJ). 12mo. pp.
128, 129.
X lb. pp 129, i.m
510
Again, in his Sermons, he thus expresses his views : —
" We may here observe, that the saints and servants of the most
High God, such as Peter was, are begotten again of him. How
this wonderful work is effected, is past our reach to apprehend ; we
know not, how we were formed at first, much less how we are born
again; only in general we may observe, that all men that proceed
naturally from the first Adam are conceived and born in sin, their
nature is corrupted and depraved, so that they are prone of
themselves to do evil, and unable to do anything that is truly good ;
but WHEN A MAN BELIEVES IN ChRIST THE SECOND AdAM, and SO
is made a member of his Body, he is quickened and animated by his
Spirit, which being the principle of a new life in him, he thereby becomes
a new creature, another kind of creature from what he was before, and
therefore is properly said to be born again, ' not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' John i. 13."*
" The new man or new creature is acted and governed by the Spirit
of God himself, which is infinite ; and whereas other men are born only
of the flesh, such a one is regenerate, or born again of the Spirit ; and
so there is the same difference between him and them, as there is
between spirit and flesh, according to that remarkable saying of our
blessed Saviour, * that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' John iii. 6. For everything
being of the same nature with that from whence it proceeds, as they
who are born (as all men by nature are) of the flesh are carnal and
sensual, so they are carnal and sensual like the flesh they are born of ;
so they who are born again, being then born of the Holy Spirit of God,
are thereby made holy and spiritual, of the same nature with him from
whom they receive their new birth. "f
He [Christ] having suffered death for our sins, and being raised
again from the dead, was exalted to the right hand of God, and made
the mediator between him and us ; by virtue of which mediation he
sends down his Holy Spirit upon all that believe in him, to regenerate
or beget them again, and make them the children of God : and so it is
written, ' as many as receive him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.' John i. 12.
He gives them this power by giving them his Holy Spirit to accom-
plish this great work in them ; that as he is the only begotten Son of
God, begotten of his essence from all eternity, so they who believe in him
may be begotten again of God, and so made his children by adoption
* Works, 1720. 2 vols. fol. or 2d ed. 1/29. Serm. 73. Vol. 1. p 609.
t lb. p. 610. X lb. p. 611.
511
and grace, which he could not have done, if he liad not been raised
from the dead.'*
Agairi; in a Sermon on John i. 12, entitled, " Faith in Christ
our title to the privilege of Sonship/^ he writes thus : —
" What it is properly to be the sons of God, is the next thing to
be considered. And we need not go far for the understanding of it,
having it explained in the words following my text ; where these sons
of God are said to be ' born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man^ but of God' ; that is, they are the sons
of God, not in a carnal but spiritual sense ; not as they were bom
of their natural parents, but as being born again of God himself ;
born, not properly begotten ; for that is pecuhar to Christ, who is
therefore called the only-begotten of the Father, and is never said to
be born, but only begotten of him : whereas others are said to be born
of him, not by eternal generation, as Christ was, and none but he
ever was, or can be, from the Essence of his Father, but hy spiritual
regeneration, through the mighty power and efficacy of the Holy Ghost,
renewing the spirit of their tninds, and so infusing into them a prin-
ciple of new lifcy whereby they become new creatures, and have the
image of God enstamped again upon them, so as to be partakers of
his divine nature, and holy in their capacities as he is holy. . . . But
here we must observe the condition upon which Christ gives those
who received this power or privilege to become the sons of God,
even because they believe in his name ; for so the words in the ori-
ginal plainly import, and may be thus rendered 3 ' But as many as
received him, to them, as believing in his name, he gave power to
become the sons of God.' So that it is upon the account of their
believing in him, that he is pleased to confer this honour upon them.
And so indeed by the Gospel tenure, all our right and title to the
great blessings which Christ hath purchased for mankind, is founded
upon our believing in him. It is by that our sins are pardoned, our
persons justified^ and our souls saved And so particularly our
being regexerate, or made the sons of God, that, as I have observed,
is wrought in us, and for us, by the Spirit of God ; but that is given
only to those who believe in Christ Hence it is, that as St. John
expressly tells us, ' Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is
born of God,' 1 John v. 1. because by his believing in Jesus Christ,
he receives the S2:>irit of God, ivhereby he is regenerate^ and born
again of him. And to the same purpose St. Paul saith, * Ye are all
the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.' Gal. iii. 26. From
* lb. p. Gil.
512
whence it is manifest, that as we are made the children of God only
by Christ, we are made so by him, only upon our helieinng in himr'^
Now, there is no meaning in words, if these passages do not
signify, that no man is a spiritually regenerate person who has
not been made so through a true and living faith. However,
then, the Bishop may in other places appear to connect the
spiritual birth with Baptism (and I grant that such passages arc
to be found), here are his o^vn words to balance such state-
ments ; and whatever we may determine his precise view to have
been,t the above passages are, to a certain extent, clear and
decisive.
JOSEPH BINGHAM, 1706—1722; d. 1723.
Mr. Bingham, in his Antiquities of the Christian Church,^^
has given us an account of the names applied to Baptism by the
Fathers. These names w^e sometimes hear quoted as showing
what Baptism works, wherever it is administered. In fact, the
names applied to Baptism, and the descriptions given of its
effects, seem to be the principal arguments producible for the
notion I am here opposing of spiritual regeneration being always
conferred by it. Such phrases, however, (as I have already
remarked) can prove nothing as to its effects in particular cases,
because it is admitted, that adults do not universally receive the
full baptismal blessing, and therefore these phrases must be un-
derstood conditionally. It may be well, however, to point out
that our learned Bingham, when enumerating these names, re-
marks more than once, that such titles are only descriptive of
what Baptism works in the case of worthy recipients.
Thus, speaking of its being called " Indulgence/^ or, " Abso-
lution,^' he says, —
"Whenever the ancients call baptism by the name of 'Absolu-
* Serra. 81. Vol. 2, pp. 32—34.
t Probably we should not be far wrong in considering his view to have
been much like that of Dr. J ackson and others, distinguishing between an
infantine and an adult regeneration ; and holding that though the ex-
pressions " regenerated" and " born of the Spirit," might properly be, in
a sense, applied to baptized infants, yet that this regeneration was not
that s])iritual regeneration spoken of in Scripture as necessary for adults.
513
tion/ or ' Indulgence,' they are to be understood with this limitation,
that it is so only to those who are worthy receivers of it."*
Again, speaking of other titles, —
" Such honourable titles and appellations did the ancients give to
this Sacrament of Baptism, taken from the noble effects which it was
supposed to confer on all those who were worthy partakers oj iY."t
" Another sort of names given to Baptism, were taken from the
conditions required of all those that received it, which were the pro-
fession of a true faith and a sincere repentance. . . . Whence we may
observe, what the ancients mean, w^hen they speak of penance and
absolution, or remission of sins, as a Sacrament. For they them-
selves explain their own meaning to be baptism, which is a Sacra-
ment requiring repentance as a condition, and granting absolution
as an effect and privilege to all worthy receivers. %
But in his w^ork entitled, " The French Churches Apology for
the Church of England/^ he makes some remarks still more
pertinent to our present subject. One of the chapters of that
work is devoted to the defence of the rubric of our Church as
to the salvation of baptized infants dying in their infancy,
against the censures of Mr. Baxter. And he there tells us, that
as to the effect of Baptism in infants, ^' The Church of Eng-
land," and the French and other Reformed Churches,"
" All speak and mean the same thing, which is no more than this:
that all children who have a just right to baptism, and are truly
qualified for it, and are lawfully and duly baptized, are thereby put
into a solvable condition^ in which if they die without committing
actual sin, they will certainly be saved. "§
Now certainly if our Church speaks and means the same
thing with the French, (in which, as Bingham adds, every
minister at that time subscribed and swore to believe and main-
tain the decrees of the Synod of Dort,) and other Reformed
Churches, there can be no doubt that she does not hold that
every child is spiritually regenerated in Baptism.
And he goes on to say, that the rubric speaks only of the
children of believers, who have a right to baptism, and no
* Book. xi. c. 1. § 2. Works, ed. 1843. vol. iii. p. 401.
t lb. § 5. p. 405. ^
X lb. § 8. p. 410. § Bk. lii. c. 18. Works, vo,. 9. p. 168-
514
others f and shows that the doctrine of the rubric, so under-
stood, was the doctrine of Calvin, Beza, Peter Martyr, and the
French National Synod held at Charenton in 1623.*
BISHOP BRADFORD ;
Bishop of Carlisle from 1718 to 1723; and of Rochester from
1723 ^1731.
Bishop Bradford, when Rector of St. Mary-le-Bow^ previous
to his being raised to the Episcopal office, published a little
treatise entitled^ " A Discourse concerning Baptismal and Spiri-
tual Regeneration/' which was adopted by the Society for Pro-
moting Christian Knowledge as one of their tracts ; and has
remained for more than a centui^y on their list of books, the
seventh edition being published by them in 1810, with the
following "Advertisement" appended to it. "This seventh
edition is published at a time, when it is hoped that so judicious
and scriptural a discourse may be of sei-vice to settle the minds
of good Christians, in some present disputes concerning bap-
tismal and spiritual regeneration."
The discourse is on the text, Tit. iii. 4 — 7, particularly on
the words, "He saved us by the washing of regeneration and
the renewing of the Holy Ghost," in verse 5. And having
pointed out, that " the washing of regeneration" signifies bap-
tism, by which they are " regenerated into a new state'''" by
admission into the Church, and that the "renewing of the Holy
Ghost" is " what in the Prophet Ezekiel is represented by God's
' giving to men a new heart and a new spirit,' " &c., and " what
our Lord himself means in his discourse with Nicodemus by
' being born of the Spirit / " he proceeds, in his fourth division,
to show, —
That the washing of regeneration may he separated from the
renewing of the Holy Ghost ; and that if it be so, the end for which
it is used, namely, our salvation, cannot be obtained, the latter being
absolutely necessary in order to our being saved in the complete
sense of that word."t
* lb. pp. 168, 169.
t Christian Knowl. Soc. ed. of 1836. p. 25.
515
And upon this head he remarks, —
" It is the way of the Scriptures to speak to and of the visible
members of the Church of Christ, under such appellations and ex-
pressions as may seem at first hearing to imply, that they are all of
them truly righteous and holy persons. Thus the Apostles style
those to whom they write, in general, 'saints;' speak of them as
* sanctified in Christ Jesus, chosen of God, buried with Christ in
baptism, risen again with him from the dead, sitting with him in
heavenly places :' and particularly St. Paul in my text says, * they
were saved by the washing of regeneration/ &c. The reason of
which is, that they were visibly by obligation and by profession all
this ; which was thus represented to them, the more effectually to
stir them up and engage them to live according to their profession and
obhgation. But yet it is too evident, from divers passages in their
writings, and experience has confirmed to us the same thing, that
both in their times, and ever since, there have been many who have
enjoyed * the washing of regeneration,' whose tempers and manners
have demonstrated that they were not also ' renewed by the Holy
Ghost.* .... I take it for granted that I need not insist upon any
proof of this matter ; but only further observe that Baptismal rege-
neration, when separated from the renewing of the Holy Ghost,
must necessarily be ineffectual to the salvation of men's souls. St.
Paul in my text joins them together, as concurring in the work of
our salvation ; and our Saviour, in the place before cited, makes the
being ' born of the Spirit,' as well as of ' water,' necessary to * the
entering into the kingdom of God.' St. Peter in like manner, where
he mentions baptism as saving us, adds, to prevent all mistake, ^ not
the putting away the filth of the flesh, (not that merely,) but the
answer of a good conscience towards God,' 1 Pet. iii. 21. that also
is necessary to salvation ; namely, when the baptized person's heart,
and consequently his life, agree with his profession and obligation.
What St. Paul savs of the Jews, may be repeated with respect to
Christians also, with a little variation of the words ; ' He is not a
Christian, which is one outwardly ; neither is that regeneration
(namely, such as will be effectual to salvation) which is outward in
the flesh; but he is a Christian which is one inwardly : and regene-
ration is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter ; whose
praise is not of men but of God. Rom. ii. 28 29."*
And his last head is, —
" To inquire how those persons, who have had ' the washing of
* lb. pp. 25—27.
2 L 2
516
regeneration/ but are not yet * renewed by the Holy Ghost,* may
attain to this renovation."*
HENRY STEBBING, 1722; d. 1763;
Chancellor of Salisbury.
Mr. Stebbing published in 1722 ^'Discourses upon several
Subjects/' of which the first is on " Regeneration^ or the New-
birth. This discourse is partly an abridgment of some re-
marks of the excellent Dr. Clagett^ so that we see in it the view
of both these divines. The discourses are dedicated to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury.
The following passages will show the views inculcated in this
work.
There will be little room to doubt what is meant by being rege-
nerate, when we have seen how our Saviour himself has explained
that phrase. After having told Nicodemus, John iii. 3. that ' except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God/ he adds,
ver. 5. * Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'
This latter verse, you see, sets forth the particulars of that new-birth
which in the former our Saviour had spoken of under general terms.
So that if these particulars do constitute the whole of what is meant
by being a true disciple of Jesus Christ, and no more ; it will follow
(Christ himself being his own interpreter) that to be regenerate sig-
nifies no more than being a true disciple of Jesus Christ. And that
this is the truth of the case, I shall now endeavour to make appear,
by shewing. First, that to be ' born of water' signifies the being re-
ceived or admitted as proselytes to Christ by baptism. And, Secondly,
That to be ' born of the Spirit' denotes that love and submission
TO Christ wrought in us by the Spirit, which leads to
OBEDIENCK TO ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS." f
"To be ' born of God,' or to be ' born of the Spirit,' denotes such
a faith in Jesus Christ, as begets a conformity of mind to his laws
and commandments 3 which will appear yet further from the words
of St. Paul, Gal. vi. 15. 'In Christ Jesus,' says he, * neither circum-
cision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature' . . .
* lb. p. 29.
t Discourses upon several subjects, p. 4. in Polemical Tracts by H.
Stebbing. Cambr. 1727. fob
517
Who sees not here that this new creature, this spiritual birth, is
equivalent to that faith which vjorketh by love to the keeping the
commandments of God?''^
" You see now what is the true and full import of being regenerate
or born again ; viz., That it implies, 1 . A state of prosehjtism to
Christ by ha^Hism ; and 2. A state of conformity to his doctrine
and precepts, which is that which our baptism-engages us to. Now
though this is the only complete and adequate noiion of regeneration,
yet you cannot but have observed in going along, that to be rege-
nerate, and those other phrases equivalent to it, are frequently used
in a more confined sense, and have a peculiar, or at least a more
principal relation, sometimes to the one of the above-mentioned par-
ticulars, and sometimes to the other. In the texts cited in the fore-
going paragraph, to be ' born of God,' and to be * a new creature,' do
certainly denote that submission or subjection to the will of Christ,
which the Spirit works in the heart of every true disciple. For this
is that, and that only, which both enables us to ' overcome the world,'
and makes it impossible for us (so long as it lasts) to be overcome by
it. But when St. Paul speaks of the * Laver of regeneration,' Tit.
Hi. 5., there the word ' regeneration* peculiarly signifies that state
which we are admitted to by our baptism; i. e. the state of prose-
lytism or discipleship, which is here expressly distinguished from
the ayaKan'(jj(7Lg Uisvparot dyiov, the 'renewing of the Holy Ghost,'
or that inward change of mind which leads us to obedience."-\
And observing that tlie remarks he bad been making respect-
ing regeneration^ applied more particularly to the case of adults,
he adds^ —
" It is under this view that it is most commonly treated of in
Scripture. The first preachers of the Gospel were principallv con-
cerned with those who were to be brought over from Judaism, or
Heathenism, to the faith of the Gospel. When therefore thev speak
of regeneration, they speak of it generally as it relates to such. But
there is a sense of regeneration, in which it is common to all baptized
persons, infants as well as adult ; as well as a sense in which it is
peculiar to the adult only. The adult only can be said to be regene-
rate, as that word implies under it a change of mind from evil to
good, 'or a conformity of the will and affections to the command-
ments of Christ. But the word regenerate (as has been shoun) is
in Scripture sometimes used to denote that relative state which a man
stands in tovmrds God as the disciple of Jesus Christ : and conse-
* lb. p. 5.
t lb. p. 6.
518
quently, thus far, or in this sense, every disciple of Jesus Christ,
i. e. every person who has been received as a member of Christ's
Church hy baptism, is reg-enerate."*
Here the regeneration attributed to baptism is clearly con-
fined to the notion of an introduction into tbe visible Church ;
vrhich of course is in all cases the effect of baptism.
THOMAS STACKHOUSE;
Vicar of Beenham, Berks ; died 1752.
This learned and laborious divine/^ as Chalmers calls hira^
was the author of several well known works of good repute, and
much esteemed, both in their day and since ; particularly his
History of the Bible." Among other works, he published a
" Body of Divinity" in folio, in 1729, which passed through four
editions in the course of a few years.
In this work, regarding baptism as " the instrument of mak-
ing men members of Christ^s visible Body,"t he thus speaks on
the subject of Regeneration : —
" From what has been said on this subject, thus far pursued, we
may plainly perceive, that regeneration is that change and alteration
in a man, whereby his nature, which is corrupted by sin, is sanctified
and purified ; whereby his iniquities are purged away ; and he, by
God's Spirit, endued with true knowledge, righteousness, and holi"
ness. And we come now to show the absolute necessity of it, in order
to our future happiness. St. Paul, speaking of some who desired to
make a fair shew in the flesh, and constrained others to be circum-
cised, tells us expressly, that in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Circum-
cision, we know, was an ordinance of God's own institution, the seal
of the covenant between him and his people, a mark of distinction
between them and other nations, and a symbol of inward purity,
or sanctity of mind ; and yet the Apostle tells those that held them-
selves obliged to the observation of it, that all its supposed privileges
and prerogatives, without a renovation of their nature, availed nothing.
And by parity of reason, he must be interpreted to say to us, that our
* lb. pp. 12, 13.
t 2d ed. Lend. 1734. fol. p. 721.
519
sacramental washing in baptism, our spiritual gifts and endowments,
our profound knowledge and learning, our observation of the ordi-
nances of Christ, and our outward acts of religious worship, will all
avail us nothing, unless we have a new principle implanted in us,
such as influences our lives and produces evangelical obedience'"^
And he then proceeds to point out the " difference between
the regenerate and unregenerate/' that we may know " whether
we are regenerate or no and closes with the remark, —
" If ye experimentally find, that the grace of God's Holy Spirit has
begun the work of regeneration in your souls, has renewed your mind,
and tamed your passions, and changed your lives, rejoice and be ex-
ceeding glad, because your renovation, being thus happily commenced,
is a good pledge and reason to hope, that your names shall be written
in the Book of Life."t
ARCHBISHOP SECKER;
Bishop of Bristol from 1734 to 1737; of Oxford from 1737 to
1758; — Archbishop of Canterbury from 1758 to 1768.
The following extracts are from the Archbishop^s Lectures on
the Catechism.
Speaking of the promises made for the infant, he says, —
" If Baptism had been administered to children, without anything
said to express its meaning, it would have had too much the appear-
ance of an insignificant ceremony or a superstitious charm. And if
only the privileges, to which it intitled, had been rehearsed ; they
might seem annexed to it absolutely, without any conditions to be observed
on the children's part. It was therefore needful to express the conditions
also. Now it would naturally appear the strongest and liveliest way
of expressing them, to represent the infant as promising by others
then, what he was to promise by and for himself, as soon as he could.
So the Form, used already for persons grown up, was applied, with a
few changes, to children also. And though, by such application, some
words and phrases must appear a little strange, if they were strictly
interpreted ; yet the intention of them was and is understood to be a
very proper one ; declaring in the fullest manner what the child is to
do hereafter, by a figure and representation made of it at present. "t
* lb. pp. 969, 970. t lb. pp. 970, 971.
X Abp. Seeker's Lectures on the Catechism, 3d ed. Lend 1771. 8vo.p. 26.
520
Here the enjoyment of the full baptismal blessing, even in the
case of infants, is expressly made to depend on the performance
of the conditions.
Again, in the latter part of his Lectures, speaking to the same
point, after having observed, —
" Indeed the mere outward act of being baptized is, as St. Peter,
in the words already mentioned, very truly expresses it, the mere
' putting away of the filth of the flesh ;' unless it be made effectual to
save us, as he teaches, in the same place, it must, by ' the answer of a
good conscience towards God that is, by the sincere stipulation and
engagement of ' repentance whereby we forsake sin, and faith, whereby
we believe the promises of God made to us in that sacrament " —
he adds, respecting the case of children, that although they
cannot exercise repentance and faith, yet, —
" In the mean time baptism may very fitly be administered; because
God, on his part, can certainly express by it, both his removing, at
present, the disadvantages which they He under by the sin of Adam :
and his removing hereafter, on proper conditions, the disadvantages
which they may come to lie under by their own sins. And though
they cannot, on their parts, expressly promise to perform these con-
ditions, yet they are not only bound to perform them, whether they pro-
mise it or not ; but (which is the point our Catechism insists on) their
sureties promise for them, that they shall be made sensible, as soon
as may be, that they are so bound ; and ratify the engagement in their
own persons : which when they do, it then becomes complete.
For it is by no means necessary, that a covenant should be executed,
by both the parties to it, at just the same time : and as the Chris-
tian Covenant is one of the greatest equity and favour, we cannot
doubt, to speak in the language of our Liturgy, ' but that God favour-
ably alloweth the charitable work of bringing infants to his holy bap-
tism.' For the promise of the Covenant being expressly said to belong
to us and to our children, without any limitation of age ; why should
they not all, since they are to partake of the promise, partake also of
the sign of it ? especially since the infants of the Jews were, by a solemn
sign, entered into their Covenant : and the infants of proselytes to
the Jews by this very sign, amongst others, of baptism P'^"^
" To the only valuable purpose of God's favour and eternal happi-
ness, he is not a Christian, which is one outwardly j neither is that
Baptism -which is outward in the flesh ; but he is a Christian, which
* lb. p. 295—297.
621
is one inwardly ; and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and
not in the letter ; whose praise is not of men but of God. (Rom. ii.
28, 29.)"*
BISHOP EDMUND LAW;
Bishop of Carlisle from 1779 to ] 787.
The following extracts are from a tract of Bishop Law^s^
entitled, " A Dissertation on the nature and necessity of Cate-
chising/^ which was for many years circulated by the " Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge.'^ I quote from an edition
printed by the Society in 1803.
" These foundations [i. e. of rehgion] are laid when we commence
Christians, and this we do, properly, when In our own persons we en-
gage to perform our part of the baptismal covenant. ... I have therefore
placed the commencement of Christianity, not so much in any dedi-
cation of us, or stipulation for us, in our infancy, as in our actual
entrance on the Christian life ; when the religion of Christ begins in
some degree to affect our understanding and direct our conscience ;
when it becomes our own choice rather than the effect of chance, of
the constitution, or custom, of the country wherein we were born :
which with the generality in our Church is to be dated from their Con-
firmation. What efficacy the administration of baptism may have upon
those who die before they come to the use of reason, or what neces-
sity there is for the administering it to such, are questions which I do
not meddle with at present ; but only beg leave to observe, that in
what circumstances soever this rite is administered, in order to make
it a reasonable service, such an Office as that of Confirmation seems
verv fit to follow, and a good deal of instruction should attend them
both as closely as possible. For that Baptism, which has an effect on
pur salvation, must have it, as the Apostle (1 Pet. iii. 24) plainly
shows us, not in itself, by virtue of the external act and as depending
on any certain person, matter, or form, or as operating like a charm;
but in a moral intellectual manner, and so as to affect the heart, and
influence the temper. It is ' not the putting away the filth of the
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.' For it in-
cludes a solemn contract between God and us, whereby we engage to
devote ourselves to Christ, and to become his true disciples. Upon
our performing which engagement, God promises to forgive us our
t lb. p. 298.
522
offences, and bring us to eternal life ; and consequently it implies a
sincere conscientious declaration of our faith and resolution, as to those
several articles of belief and practice, concerning which we are there
properly interrogated. Now, as something like this is supposed to be
done for us in our infancy, and, of course, all is transacted in our
stead by proxy, the subsequent rite of Confirmation comes in very
properly to supply the unavoidable defects of such a transaction, to
constitute this primary rehgious Office of a piece with all the rest, and
to make it, what each one's religion ought to be, a. personal thing, to
render us complete members of the Christian Church, and to fulfil the
general institution which our Lord has left for making his disciples."
(pp. 4-6.)
" The reply given to the 2nd and 3rd questions in our Catechism
will admit almost as many queries to unfold it as it contains principal
words. Nor should the privileges, immediately annexed to Baptism
in the former, ever be recited without carefully inculcating those
duties mentioned in the latter, as conditionally implied in it, or
strictly connected ivith it, and without which it is an emblem of
REGENERATION RATHER THAN THE THING ITSELF." (pp. 13, 14.)
BISHOP SAMUEL HORSLEY;
Bishop of St. David* s from 1788 to 1793; of Rochester from
1793 to 1802 ; and of St. Asaph from 1802 to 1806.
"The connection is necessary and constant between a good life
and a regenerate mind ; and where there is a conscience void of
offence, there is the sanctifying Spirit of the Lord."*
" We have the express declaration of Him who sends the Spirit
into the hearts of his disciples, that its operation is no otherwise to
be perceived than in its effects. "f
Conscience attesting that the life is innocent and the heart sin-
cere, Faith draws the conclusion that this upright heart and blame-
less conduct is the work of the Holy Spirit of God. And thus, in
the sensible effect of a reformed life and regenerate mind, it discovers
a token of God's present favour."!
* Serm. on Eph. iv. 30. Among his " Nine Sermons on the Resurrec-
tion and other subjects." Quoted from the edition of his Sermons in
2 vols. 8vo. Lond. 1829. See vol. 2. p. 431.
t lb. ^ t lb. p. 433.
523
BISHOP SHUTE BARRINGTON ;
Bishop of Llandaff from 1769 to 1782; of Salisbury from 1781
to 1791 ; of Durham from 1791 to 1826.
In a Charge delivered to his Clergy at Durham in 1801,
Bishop Barrington thus expresses himself.
"To the regenerate Christian, to the '■ aew man,' 'created in
Christ Jesus to good works,' 'created after God in righteousness and
true holiness,' the yoke of Christ is certainly easy, and his burden
light ; but to the corrupt passions of mere animal nature, to the
selfish inclinations of the ' old man,' nothing can be more irksome
and painful."*
It is true, indeed, that whom God is wilhng to justify, he sancti-
fies ; and he sanctifies whom he will ; * for he hath mercy on whom
he win have mercy j and whom he will, he hardeneth' ; that is, he
leaves the sinner to the natural corruption of his own heart, and the
unsubdued power of sin. The sinner who is thus left, continues in
an unrewarded \_? misprint for , unrenewed], unregenerate and un-
sanctified, that is, in a reprobate and lost state. "f
" In a state of sincere repentance and true faith the mind has
acquired that newness of spirit, and rectitude of heart, which consti-
tutes THE NEW BIRTH, and is the source of every spiritual comfort
here, and all our hopes hereafter. "J
Such are a few out of the mass of testimonies that might be
produced from our more modern diiines against the doctrine,
that spiritual regeneration, in the proper sense of the words,
invariably accompanies Baptism when that rite is administered
to infants. And certainly not more than two of those from
whom the extracts are given — Bishop Hopkins and Dean Durel
—had any tendency to " Calvinistic" views. The clear decla-
rations of Holy Scripture as to the indispensable characteristics
of those who are " born again^^ by the Spirit, have convinced
the great majority of our divines (whatever might be the
* Sermons, Charges, and Tracts. By Sliute, Bishop of Durham. Lend.
1811. 8vo. pp. 297, 298.
t lb. p. 310. + lb. p. 312.
524
theological system to which they had attached themselves), that
no man can be Scriptmally said to have experienced a spiritual
regeneration but one who brings forth the fruits of the Spirit.
And, under God, we owe this continuance of at least a Scrip-
tural nomenclature among us to that first principle of our
Churches creed, the supremacy of Holy Scripture as the sole
Divine rule of faith. So long as we reverence Holy Scripture,
so long must we refuse to pronounce any one to be spiritually
born again, who does not exhibit the Scriptural evidences of that
new birth.
It is not for us to undertake to pronounce, in the case of
individuals, that this change has not taken place, except where
the want of it is too plainly evinced to admit of a doubt in any
mind, but it is our duty to point out what are the necessary and
essential tests of that change having taken place, and to keep to
Scriptural language in our expressions respecting it.
Hence the great majority of our divines of the Arminian
school, wishing to affix an affirmative sense to our Baptismal
Service for Infants, have (as well as some Calvinists) understood
the terms used in those Services, describing the blessings con-
nected with the rite, in a qualified sense, as merely referring
either to introduction into the visible Church with its attend-
ant privileges, or to what may be called infantine regene-
ration. They have thus been enabled to interpret the Service
as speaking affirmatively, without adopting a view directly
opposed to the testimony of Scripture.
But such an interpretation of the terms clearly involves some
difficulties, for the expressions evidently favor the notion of their
referring to the full baptismal blessing. And this has been felt
by others, who were however equally, or more, unwilling to re-
sort to the original and intended meaning of the Service. Hence
a class of divines has arisen among us, who assert that spiritual
regeneration, in the proper sense of the words, is always con-
ferred upon all infants in their baptism ; and consequently, that
in the case of. those baptized in their infancy, the word regenera-
tion must never be used except to describe what took place at
their baptism. And they endeavour to avoid the difficulty arising
from the subsequent state of sin and disobedience of a vast
number of those baptized as infants, by maintaining, that,
525
though spiritually regenerated, they need generally in after life
conversion or renovation, which they distinguish from regenera-
tion. Such j)hraseology, however, is manifestly unauthorised by
Holy Scripture, and certainly unknown to the majority of our
best divines, even of the last century ;* and seems to be adopted
merely to get over a difficulty. In fact, all the disputes and all
the perplexities that have troubled the minds of members of our
communion on this subject, have arisen, either from an uncon-
sciousness of the original meaning of our Services, or an un-
willingness to understand them in that sense. For, as we ]iave
seen, so long as this original sense was remembered and sanc-
tioned in our Church, so long even the Calvinistic Puritans
found no fault with our Services on the point now in question.
Nor must I omit to observe, that there is often much contra-
diction and confusion observable, in the writings of those divines
who speak most strongly in favor of the doctrine that the word
regeneration ought to be used only to signify what takes place
in Baptism.
Thus, for instance. Dr. Nicholls, while, in his Commentary
upon the Baptismal Service, he gives a long note (in which, by
the way, he refers for proof to authors w^ho are directly against
him) limiting the word regeneration to what takes place in bap-
tism, he himself, in his Commentary on the Catechism, tells us
that the phrase " child of God^^ does not mean one who is a
child of God by spiritual regmeration and actual holiness.^^f
So again, in Dr. Waterland^s treatise, entitled, Regeneration
stated and explained." He is perhaps the principal author of
the last century, who laboured to confine the use of the word
regeneration to baptism ; and his reasons may be seen in this
treatise. But his statements, when examined, will be found to
* It is observable, that one of the most strenuous supporters of this
view, the late Archdeacon Daubeny, is compelled to acknowledge, that
" it has been no uncommon thing for divines of eminence to speak of bad
Christians as being unregenerate men." (Considerations on Doctrine of
Regeneration, p. 41.) The difficulty would be to produce any compara-
tively respectable catena of our divines who have not done so. The ex-
tracts given above (and they might be added to, to any extent) show, that
the words conversion" and "renovation" have been constantly used by
our best divines as synonymous with adult regeneration, or, at least, as
necessarily included in it.
t Comment on the Book of Common Prayer. 1/10. fol.
526
' turn more upon words than things. For he uses the word re-
generation in two senses, making renovation a part of regene-
ration in adults, admitting that in all who have the use of reason
regeneration "takes in renovation to make it complete/^* but
considering infants incapable of renovation, he makes their rege-
neration different, and says, that "regeneration may be granted
and received, as in infants, where that renovation has no place at
all, for the time being ;"t and while he admits that renovation
does not always accompany baptism in adults, he would never-
theless, even in their case, limit the use of the word " regene-
ration" to what takes place at their baptism, though compelled
to add, —
" Their regeneration begun in Baptism, and left unfinished (like an
indenture executed on one side only, or like a part without a counter-
part) comes at last to be complete, that is, actually salutary ; not by
a formal regeneration (as if nothing had been done before) but by the
repentance of the man, and by the sanctification or renovation of the
heart and mind through the Spirit^ which had been hitherto wanting."X
But if, as he maintains, renovation is a part of regeneration
(and it must certainly be the most important part), a man can-
not properly be said to be wholly regenerated without it, and
therefore still needs to be regenerated in the full and proper
sense of the word.
And all that he ventures to assert as to the inward part of
regeneration, connected with the baptism of infants, is, —
" It may reasonably be presumed, that from the time of their new
birth of water and the Spirit, (which at that very moment is a re-
newal of their state to God-ward,) the renewing also of the heart
MAY come gradually on with their first dawnings of reason, in such
measures as they shall yet be capable of ; in a way to us impercept-
ible, but known to that Divine Spirit who regenerates them, and whose
temple from thenceforth they are, till they defile themselves with ac-
tual and grievous sin. In this case, it is to be noted, that regeneration
precedes, and renovation can only follow after.'' §
So that after all, it is only a " reasonable presumption " with
him, that what he himself admits to be a necessary part of " re-
* Works, ed. 1843. vol.4, p. 444.
X lb. p. 444.
t lb. p. 433.
§ lb. p. 440.
generation'' in adults, ever does take place in those baptized in
infancy. All that he supposes to take place at their baptism, is
" a renewal of their state," and he thinks it may reasonably
be pres^umed" that a " renewing of the heart may " follow. The
fact is, that Waterland had too much good common sense and
knowledge of Scripture to be self-consistent in handling the no-
tion he had imbibed on the subject of Baptism. He saw that
where Scripture speaks of the new birth^ it describes it as some-
thing which has a transforming effect upon the heart and con-
duct, and therefore that it must include renovation ; he saw that
multitudes of infants from the first dawn of reason exhibited no
signs of such renovation, and therefore he is compelled virtually
to deny in one place, what he asserts in another, and when he
comes to the point in the case of infants, involuntarily shrinks
from taking the gromid which consistency required.
The controversy which has now for so many years, during the
present century, agitated our Chui-ch on this subject, was mainly
caused by the introduction of a Tract in 1815, written by the
late Bishop Mant, among the publications of the Christian
Knowledge Society. .Ajid so completely opposed was the doc-
trine of this Tract to the previous publications of the Society for
more than a century, that an attempt was secretly made to in-
troduce alterations in the phraseology of some of the oldest
Tracts on the Society's list, to make them consistent with the
doctrine of the new Tract. Thus in Nelson's Companion for
the Festivals and Fasts, the word " regeneration ^' was (without
notice) changed into renovation. And Bishop Bradford's
Tract on " Baptismal and Spiritual Regeneration,'' which I have
quoted above, and which in 1810 the Society had pronounced to
be " judicious and Scriptural," somehow became " out of print,"
until a reclamation reproduced it, when it appeared without the
" Advertisement " pre^■iously attached to it. The late excellent
Mr. Biddulph, in his reply to Dr. Mant's Tract,''' gave extracts
from forty-eight of the Society's publications (among which nine
were by Ai-chbishops and Bishops), cpposhig the doctrine of the
new Tract. The doctrine of Dr. ^lant, however, was with some
parties at that time the more popular of the two, and from that
* Baptism a seal of the Christian Covenant. Bv T. T. Biddulph, M.A.,
&c. Lond. I Sir,, 8vo.
528
day to this the most strenuous efforts have been made by its
supporters to get it recognized as the doctrine of our Church.
Dr. Mantes Tract was a fitting pioneer for its Oxford successors
just twenty years after ; and it is a remarkable indication of the
progress of the Romanizing current in our Church, that what
was then carefully vindicated from the charge of having a
Romeward tendency, is now unblushingly put forw^ard by a
Bishop of our Church as a doctrine in which " w^e are agreed
with Rome."
The authorities given in the preceding pages have, however, I
trust, amply vindicated our Church from such a charge. And
by them I leave the reader to determine the true doctrine of the
Church of England on this important subject.
No. I.
Luther's Form for the Baptism of Infants, according to the second edition
published by him in German in 1524, and translated and published in
Latin in 1526.*
Libellus de Baptizandis Infantibus, per D. Mart. Lutherum ador-
natus. Anno Domini 15^6.
Martinus Lutherus Christiano Lectori gratiam et pacem in Christo,
Domino nostro.
Cum videam et audiam quotidie, quanta negligentia et quam exigua
severitate, ne dicam levitate, sublime, sanctum ac salutare Sacra-
mentum Baptismi infantium tractetur : cujus quidem rei et haec
una causa est, quod assistentes non intelligunt, quid ibi vel dicatur
vel agatur : non tantum utile, sed necessarium quoque mihi videtur,
ut in vernacula lingua administretur. Quae igitur latino idiomate
fiebant hactenus, in vernaculam linguam transtuli, ac coepi ger-
manicis verbis baptizare : ut susceptores infantum ac reliqui assis-
tentes, ad majorem fidem, et severiorem intentionem exsuscitarentur,
atque ipsi pastores administrantes baptismum, propter auditores
plus diligentiae adhiberent.
Rogo autem ex Christiana fide omnes, tum baptizantes, tum sus-
cipientes, ipsos infantes, aut alioquin assistentes, ut hoc summum
opus, remque seriam, quae hie comprehenditur, perpendant. Audis
enim in verbis istarum precationum quantis querelis, quantaque
severitate infans ab Ecclesia afferatur, quamque constantibus et in-
dubiis verbis coram Deo fateatur, eum k Diabolo obsessum, ac filium
peccati atque irae esse, quamque ardenter auxilium et gratiam per
Baptismum, ut Filius Dei fiat, postulet.
* Taken from the reprint attached to Ecclesise Evangelicae Libri Symbolici.
Ed. C. M. PfafF. Tubing. 1730, 8vo. By whom the Latin translation was
made, I do not know. The irs/ edition of the original German was published
by Luther in 1523, and differs a little from the second. A reprint of both will
be found in Walch's edition of Luther's works, Magdeb. 1/ 44. 4to. vol. x.
col. 2624-37. Archbishop Laurence (Barapton Lectures, p. 378) incorrectly
ascribes the date of 1527 to the second edition of this Form.
2 m
530
APPENDIX.
Cogites itaque, nequaquam esse ludum, contra Diabolum agere,
eumque non solum ab infante propulsare, sed tam potentem hostem
contra infantem irritare, ut necessitas summa exigat, toto pectore, et
fide valida infanti auxilium praestare, et seria intentione preces fa-
cere, ut non tantum hunc infantem Deus, ut sonant verba orationis,
k potestate Diaboli liberet, sed etiam corroboret, ut contra ipsum
tum vivens turn moriens, fortiter dimicare et subsistere valeat.
Equidem vereor, banc ipsam esse causam, cur tam multi post bap-
tismum degencrent, quia tam frigide ac negligenter baptismus est
tractatus, ac sine omni severitate preces recitatae sunt.
Quare scias, haec externa in actione baptismi, omnium esse minimi
momenti, utpote flare in faciem, insignire cruce, salem ori inserere,
sputum et latum allinere auriculis et naribus, oleo in pectore et sca-
pulis ungere, et crismate verticem tangere, indusiolum induere, fa-
culam ardentem in manus praebere, et si qua sunt alia ejusmodi, quae
ab hominibus ad ornandum Baptismum sunt adjuncta. Nam absque
istis omnibus Baptismus conferri potest, nec sunt res illae potissimse,
quas Diabolus abhorret aut fugit. Nam his longe majora fastidit.
Necesse est hie serio rem geri.
Des igitur operam, ut in vera fide hie assistas, verbum Dei audias,
et serio Deum invoces. Quando enim Minister verbi inquit, Oremus ;
te quoque exsuscitat, ut una preces facias. Eadem quoque verba,
quae k Ministro recitantur, in corde susceptores infantis simul reci-
tent, et qui alioquin circumstant. Eamque ob causam Minister eas
precationes clare et tarde pronunciet, ut susceptores audire ac per-
cipere queant, ut et ipsi susceptores unanimi spiritu cum Ministro
orent, causam infantis Deo serio exponant, totisque viribus contra
Diabolum pro infante pugnent, atque per omnia se gerant, ut qui
serio agant, siquidem etiam Diabolo non est lusus.
Et propter istas causas aequum ac justura est, ne ad Baptismum
ebrii aut profani Ministri admittantur, neque ad officium suscep-
torum homines leves vocentur, sed potius pii, modesti ac graves
Ministri et patrini adhibeantur, de quibus eam possimus habere
persuasionem, quod eam rem summo studio et vera fide sint efFec-
turi : Ne hoc sublime Sacramentum ludibrio exponatur Diabolo, et
Deus contumelia afficiatur, qui in Baptismo nos tam immensis et
inexhaustis divitiis gratiae perfundit, ita ut ipsemet regenerationem
nominet, ut a tyrannide Diaboli erepti, k peccato, morte, inferno li-
berati, fiamus filii vitae, ac haeredes omnium bonorum Dei, imo ipsius
Dei liberi ac fratres Christi efficiamur. Non igitur optimi Christiani
tam negligenter, tam inenarrabile Dei donum tractemus. Nam Bap-
tismus unica nostra consolatio est, et introitus ad coelestia bona, et ad
societatem omnium sanctorum, ad quam nos Deus deducat. Amen.
APPENDIX.
531
Non autem \ olni mutare multa, licet optarim melius armatam esse
istam forniam. Nam negligentes habuit autores, qui dignitatem Bap-
tismi non satis perpenderunt. Verum pleraque sic relinquo, ne in-
firmse conscientiae querulentur, me novum Baptismum instituere,
neve hactenus baptizati criminentur quasi non sint recte baptizati.
Nam, ut dictum est, in adjectionibus humanis non multum est situm,
modo ipse Baptismus verbo Dei, vera fide, et seria invocatione Dei
administretur. Deo te commendo, Amen.
Baptizans dicat :
Exi spiritus immunde, et locum praebe Spiritui sancto.
Postea facta cruce in fronte et pectore, dicat :
Accipe signum crucis, tum in fronte, tum in pectore.
Oremus :
Omnipotens aeterne Deus, Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, invoco
te super isto N. servo tuo, petenti baptismi tui dona, et gratiam tuam
aeternam per spiritualem regenerationem flagitanti : suscipe eum
Domine, et sicut dixisti : Petite et accipietis, quaerite et invenietis,
pulsate et aperietur : praebe igitur bonum petenti, aperi ostium pul-
santi, ut hujus coelestis lavacri benedictionem consequatur, et pro-
missum regnum gratiae tuae accipiat, per Christum Dominum nos-
trum, Amen.
Oremus :
Omnipotens aeterne Deus, qui pro judicio tuo severo, mundum
infidelem diluvio perdidisti, et fidelem Noah cum octo animabus pro
tua magna misericordia' custodivisti, et Pharaonem induratum cum
suo exercitu in mari rubro submersisti, et populum tuum siccis pe-
dibus traduxisti,quibus historiis lavacrum hoc Baptismi praefigurasti :
et baptismo tui dilectissimi Filii Domini nostri .Tesu Christi, Jor-
danem omnesque alias aquas, in salutare diluvium, et copiosam ab-
lutionem peccatorum consecrasti et instituisti : Te oramus, ut ex
inexhausta misericordia tua, hunc N. propitius respicias, veraque
fide per Spiritum sanctum dones, ut hoc salutari diluvio in ipso
submergatur et intereat, quidquid ex Adam in ipsum propagatum
est, et ipsemet addidit, utque ex infidelium numero ereptus, in area
sanctae Ecclesiae tuae tutus conservetur, indesinenter spiritu fervens,
ac spe gaudens, nomini tuo serviat, ut cum fidelibus omnibus juxta
tuam promissionem vitam aeternam adipiscatur, per Jesum Christum
Dominum nostrum.
Adjuro te impure spiritus, in nomine Patris f et Filii f et Spiritus
sancti f ut exeas et discedas ab hoc servo Jesu Christi N. Amen.
Audiamus Evangelium S. Marci : (]\Iarc. 10. 13.)
Et ofFerebant ei parvulos, ut tangeret eos. Discipuli autem com-
rainabantur ofFerentibus. Quos cum videret Jesus, indigne tulit, et
2 M 2
532
APPENDIX.
ait illis : Sinite parvulos venire ad me, et iie prohibueritis eos : Ta-
lium enim est regnum coelorum. Amen dico vobis : Quisquis non
receperit regnum Dei velut parvulus, non intrabit in illud. Et
complexans eos, et imponens manus super eos, benedicebat eis.
Post haec imposita manu in caput infantis, cum susceptoribus oret
flexis genibus :
Pater noster qui es in coelo. Sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat
regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo, et in terra. Panem
nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et dimitte nobis debita
nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos in-
ducas in tentationem. Sed libera nos k malo. Amen.
Postea deducatur infans ad baptisma, et Minister dicat :
Dominus custodiat introitum et exitum tuum, ab hoc et in se-
culum. Deinde Minister jubeat infantera per susceptores renunciare,
et dicat :
N. Renuncias diabolo?
Responsio, Ita.
Et omnibus operibus ejus ?
Responsio, Ita.
Et omnibus pompis ejus ?
Responsio, Ita.
Postea interroget :
Credis in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, creatorem coeli et terrzE ?
Responsio, Ita.
Credis in Jesum Christum Filium ejus unicum, Dominum nostrum,
natum et passum, &c.
Responsio, Ita.
Credis in Spiritum sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam Christi, commu-
nionem sanctorum, remissionem peccatorum, resurrectionem carnis,
ac post mortem vitam seternam ?
Responsio, Ita.
Visne baptizari ?
Responsio, Ita.
Hie accipiat infantem, eumque immergens in aquam, dicat :
Baptizo te in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti.
Ibi susceptores infantulum apprehendant, ac Minister donee album
indusium induit, dicat :
Omnipotens Deus, et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui te per
aquam et Spiritum sanctum regenuit, et omnia peccata tibi remisit,
confirmet te per gratiam suam ad aeternam vitam, Amen.
Pax tecum.
Responsio, Amen.
APPENDIX.
533
No. II.
The Order and Form of Baptism {including the Prefatory Remarks on
the subject of Baptism), inserted in the Brandenburg and Nuremberg
Liturgy 0/ 1533.*
OF BAPTISM.
In all ecclesiastical usages we must diligently mark what God has
commanded and instituted, and what men have added thereto, in
order that we may hold the divine as the essential part, and dili-
gently practise it, and on the other hand judge the human additions,
whether or not they are things indifferent, and if indiiFerent, whether
they are also useful or not_, in order that what is contrary to God's
word, or otherwise unprofitable, may be done away.
Now God himself has instituted and ordained Baptism, that we
should baptize with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost. But men have added of their own accord
Prayer, (recitation of the) Gospel, sponsors, chrisom-cloth, blessing
of the font, oil, salt, and spittle, &c. Now, whatever of these things
tends to profit and improvement should for the present be suffered
to remain ; but whatever is unprofitable and causes offence, should
be suffered to fall into disuse.
Now, the saying of Prayer thereat, and the reading of the Holy
Gospel, is not only allowable, but also useful and good 3 therefore it
should be suffered to remain. In like manner also sponsors, espe-
cially on account of the Anabaptists, who now-a-days pretend that
they do not know whether they be baptized or not; in order that
the sponsors principally, together with other persons, may give tes-
timony, and in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every matter
may be established. (Deut. xix.) Also in order that some one may
answer for the child, and if he should be prematurely deprived of his
parents by death, they may remind the children what they have en-
gaged on their behalf at their baptism, and keep a strict watch over
them that they may fulfil it, and learn God's Commandments, Creed,
and Prayer.
* Kirchen Ordnung, In meiner gnedigen herrn der Marggraven zu Bran-
denburg, imd.-der Stat. Niirmberg. &c. 1533, fol. The above translation
from this work has been made for me by a friend.
It will be seen, by a comparison of the Form of Baptism here given, with
the preceding by Luther, that they are identical.
534
APPENDIX.
But the blessing of the font, oil, salt, and spittle, kc. darken rather
than advance the essential parts of baptism, and only serve to super-
stition. Moreover, the prayer and blessing with which the font,
salt, and oil are consecrated, have no foundation in God's word, but
are in many respects at variance with it. Moreover, inasmuch as
the holy Christian Church from the beginning has not considered
such things as necessary, but has always acknowledged them to be
indifferent, and that if a child be baptized with simple common water,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
although all the other additions have been omitted, yet nothing has
in this case been done amiss, but the child is rightly baptised, there-
fore these things ought at this time to be omitted.
And since Baptism is the sign of the covenant with us Christians
under the New Testament, just as Circumcision was of that with the
.Tews under the Old Testament, young children ought, on the request
of their parents, to be baptised, at as early a period as possible : for
even young children were circumcised, according to God's com-
mands, as early as the eighth day. And Christ says. Except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of
God ; and Paul calls baptism a laver of regeneration. Now young
children, however tender their years, have need to be regenerated,
if they are to enter into the kingdom of God. Moreover, we believe
that the Apostles baptised children, inasmuch as they baptised whole
households, and are sure that no one can prove any other or con-
trary conclusion from the Holy Scriptures.
Pastors and ministers, however, must give all diligence, that for
such necessary work of Christian baptism, intelligent sponsors be
chosen, who know to what end they are there present, in order that
the baptism may be conducted with true devotion, sobriety, and
propriety. They ought, too, themselves to take good heed that they
be not light-minded, inconsiderate, in an imsuitable frame of mind,
or the worse for wine, in order that they may pronounce the Chris-
tian prayers, and above all, the word on which baptism principally
depends, distinctly and seriously, that they may not move the au-
dience that stand by to levity, or otherwise offend them, but rather
give occasion to devotion and good Christian thoughts. In like
manner they shall enjoin the people who are present, especially the
children, to avoid all levity, indecency, and scandal, and on the con-
trary, devoutly to pray for grace, salvation, faith, and everlasting
happiness, in behalf of the baptised child ; inasmuch as Christ has
given us so comfortable a promise, that whatsoever we ask in his
name He will give unto us.
And such decency, seriousness, and devotion will doubtless follow,
APPENDIX.
535
not only in the ministers of the Church, but also in the surrounding
audience, if we diligently lay to heart the exceeding great benefit
w hich the Father of all compassion, of his mere mercy, bestows upon
us through our dear Lord Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of Holy
Baptism, and the great and salutary work which he by the power of
his eternal word then and there worketh in us. For thereby we are
incited to praise, to invoke, and freely to confess his holy and divine
name. For not the minister, nor any creature, but God himself, here
worketh eternal life and happiness. Wherefore also our dear Lord
Jesus Christ has commanded to baptise, not in our own, nor yet in
the name of any saint or angel, but in the name of God the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
But in order that we may contemplate this work of God with
deeper feeling and in a more orderly way, we must first diligently
consider in how great misery and wretchedness, according to the
testimony of Divine Scripture, we are all alike involved. Secondly,
what great mercy God has shewn towards us through our Lord Jesus
Christ, in that he has delivered us from it by baptism. And thirdly,
how we should bear in mind such grace of baptism at all times, but
especially in trouble, and praise and glorify God for the same.
First.
We must seriously consider that we were all fallen, by Adam's
transgression, through the envy of Satan, under the wrath, curse;
displeasure, and malediction of God, and were taken captives under
the power of sin, and death, and under the dominion of the devil
and hell, so that we were all by nature the children of wrath, and
with all our powers, works, practices, and piety, could do nothing
pleasing to God, right, good, and salutary to ourselves j but every
thing that we could, did, or worked, was, from our corrupt nature,
accursed, sinful, and worthy of death, damnable, and subject to the
devil. For because our birth from Adam (of whom we are born to
[this] natural earthly life,) is guilty of transgression and accursed
of God, so that all men must die in him, and bear his earthly image
in the mortal body of sin ; it follows that all our actions and whole
life, which flows from such natural birth, must be damnable and
accursed, however great, holy, wise, and good it may appear before
men. For whatsoever is born of the flesh is flesh, damnable, ac-
cursed, merely dead, sin, and worthy of hell. Wherefore also flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. For that which is
flesh lives carnally, is carnally minded, at enmity with God, not sub-
ject to the law of God. For they that are in the flesh cannot please
God; carnal wisdom is. death. Wherefore Christ our dear Lord,
536
APPENDIX.
speaking to Nicodemus, decides thus : " Verily, verily, I say unto
thee. Except a man be born anew of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot see the kingdom of God, nor enter therein."
Secondly.
We must diligently reflect how great mercy and compassion God
shews us in baptism, in manifesting toward us his condescension and
loving-kindness, and saving us, not for the righteousness of works
which we have done, but according to his mercy, by the laver of re-
generation and renewing of the Holy Ghost. For he then and there,
by virtue of the word, kills, destroys, and washes away by his Spirit
whatsoever makes us sinners, defiled, or accursed, just as in the Red
Sea he drowned the enemies of his people, and destroyed in the de-
luge all flesh except eight souls who were preserved. So also this
laver saves us by the word of God, not the putting away of the filth
of the flesh, as is done outwardly in corporal washing, but the cove-
nant of a good conscience with God, by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, whereby in virtue of the Divine Covenant we are purged and
assured in our consciences, both with God's word and outward token,
that all which can defile or condemn us is taken away, dead, annihi-
lated and forgiven. We are also free and unburdened in conscience,
and sure that we are united in covenant with God, who will reckon
nothing to our condemnation. On the other hand, we, on our parts,
must avoid the sins which have been forgiven, and be, as it were,
dead to them ; for all we who are baptised into Jesus Christ, are
baptised into his death. Therefore we are buried with him by bap-
tism into death, and thus are dead to sin and all our old hfe, and
set at rest, so that nothing can condemn us, or separate us from the
grace of God ; for he that is dead is justified from sin, and is no
longer subject to the power of the devil, death, and sinj and, although
he still feels sin in the flesh, yet it is not reckoned to his condemna-
tion, on account of the justification of the Spirit. Besides all this,
baptism works in us a new divine life, with which God is well pleased.
For like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, so must we also walk in newness of life. But as we have
been planted together with him to a like death, so shall we also par-
take in a like resurrection to eternal life. Therefore we must reckon
ourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord, in whom we are also circumcised by the putting
off of the sinful body of the flesh, being buried with him by baptism,
in which also we are risen by faith. For God, who raised him up
from the dead, has also together with him quickened us, who were
dead in sins, and in the uncircumcision of our flesh or carnal life.
APPENDIX.
537
which is the true uucircumcision. Now, although our life is for the
present hid with Christ in God, yet when Christ who is our life shall
appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory, as those whom
God has according to his great mercy begotten to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an in-
heritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away ; not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, viz., by the living word of God,
in which word the water or outward baptism is contained, and really
works in us with power all the things above mentioned.
Thirdly.
We ought at all times, with gratitude towards God, to take com-
fort from this so gracious gift of our baptism j and the more pain
and great misery we experience, the more certainly ought we to be-
lieve that God is secretly working in us, in virtue of baptism, by his
word and Spirit, the mortification of our old life of sin, and renova-
tion of the same. Therefore we should be comforted and joyful in
our conscience, and assured that our works please God ; and if suf-
fering or temptation befall us, we should remember that we are bap-
tised, and that God, in virtue of the covenant of Baptism, has slain
and is yet daily slaying by affliction all evil in us, by the death of
Christ ; and on the other hand is working renovation of the spirit,
by virtue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore we are now
justly bound to thank God and praise him for his unspeakable grace,
and moreover earnestly and devoutly to beseech him, that he would
accomplish the work he has begun in us, and in all those who are
called and brought to Christian baptism.
Pastors and Preachers too ought to be diligent in instructing the
people, at convenient times, in their sermons, concerning Baptism,
in such wise that they may lead them to the above understanding
and consideration thereof.
And inasmuch as a laudable and well-grounded custom has hitherto
been observed among Christian people, that in case of necessity any
Christian person, but especially the midwives, have baptised young
children, which has been then called private baptism, pastors ought
most diligently to instruct and warn midwives, that they take bap-
tism in hand seriously and in the fear of God, but chiefly that they
know how to recite the word, (f baptise thee in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost) quite distinctly and
orderly. And moreover those women who attend upon pregnant and
lying-in women, and are also present at the private baptism, should
be admonished to pay careful and reverent attention to the matter,
in order to guard against all impediment or error.
538
APPENDIX.
And whosoever has received the private baptism above mentioned
ought to rest therein, and there is no need to baptise him a second
time (sub conditione), according to the needless abuse of former
times, chiefly to avoid giving great occasion thereby to the error of
the Anabaptists.
Pastors and Preachers ought also to instruct women in child-bed,
that they are not under the power of the devil, as has hitherto been
imagined, not without singular prejudice to consciences, and with
gross error. And although they are more liable than other sick per-
sons to strange visions and dreams, yet this ought not by any means
to terrify them, for such may be the effect of remaining weakness of
body. And although perhaps Satan may presume to assail women
in childbed more than other people, he does so no doubt, as his
manner is, in order thereby to bring into contempt the estate of
matrimony, which God has blessed, and God's work, as though it
were impure, whereas on the contrary it is holy, and even the prin-
cipal vocation of women, by which they please God, as Paul speaks :
" She shall be saved in child-bearing, if she continue in faith and
love and holiness, with sobriety." (1 Tim. ii.)
Therefore also the benediction after childbed is unnecessary. For
it springs from mere superstition, just as if they were desecrated by
the birth, which comes from God's blessing. Yet they should
nevertheless keep at home for a proper time, that they may avoid
injuring themselves or the infants in their health, which is not well
pleasing to God.
Order of Baptism.
First, the Priest shall enquire whose is the child, what is to be its
name, and whether it have not been privately baptised?
If it be found that the infant has, in a case of necessity, been bap-
tised by the midwife, or by some other person, or, as it is called, pri-
vately baptised, it is by no means to be baptised again, but com-
mended to the Christian congregation who are assembled together
with the child in the church, as follows : —
First, the Minister shall read, from the prescribed Form, the se-
cond and third Article. And he shall begin the second thus :
Dearly beloved, consider how great grace and mercy, &c. And the
third thus : Therefore we ought, &c. And at the end he shall con-
clude thus : But especially in this his servant N., or in this his
handmaid N., whom he hath called and brought to the grace of his
baptism. Repeat the Lord's Prayer. After that he shall read the
Gospel, and finally conclude thus : The Lord preserve thy going out
and thy coming in, from henceforth even for ever. Peace be with
APPENDIX.
539
thee : Amen. Or : The Almighty God, &c., as is written at the end
of the Order of Baptism.
If however the child has not been privately baptised, the Minister
shall say the following exhortation, and by no means omit it through
neglect, except in a time of necessity, if the child be in danger of
death, for in such a case he may act according to circumstances, as
has been sufficiently explained above.
Dearly beloved, I charge and intreat you all who are assembled
here present, by your Christian charity and faith, that you would in
the first place lay to heart and diligently consider this excellent
work of God, and the great importance that belongs to it and is ex-
pressed therein. For by the words of this prayer you hear, and
also see by the work, in how wretched and miserable an estate the
Christian Church brings this infant hither, and confesses thus con-
stantly and publicly before God, that the same infant is a child of
wrath, of sin, and of displeasure, and therefore begs so earnestly for
help and mercy, that it may become by baptism a child of God.
Consider also diligently, that it is no jest or child's play to perform
this good Christian work, which opposes the devil, and not only
drives him from the child, but also obliges the child to contend with
him all his life long as against an unceasing determined enemy.
Hence it is highly necessary devoutly to pray with a strong faith
and hearty confidence toward God, that God Almighty would not
only deliver the infant from the power of the devil, but also would
so strengthen it, that living and dying it may make and maintain
continual resistance to the enemy. Therefore take good heed to
yourselves, that in a right faith, ye stand here, listen to the word
of God, and devoutly call upon and beseech him ; for we are here
exhorted to prayer not in vain, but in a matter of necessity, that
God may acknowledge our earnestness and the full confidence of
our hearts ; and also that this venerable Sacrament may not by
our means be exposed to the scorn of the devil, and God Almighty
be dishonoured, who therein pours out upon us such an abundant
treasure of his grace, that he himself calls baptism a new birth, so
that we are thereby made free from all tyranny of the devil, also of
sin, death and hell, children of life, heirs of all good things of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ. Wherefore let us, in God's name,
treat such exceeding riches of divine grace, not contemptuously, but
with all due gratitude, for truly this venerable Sacrament of Baptism
is our only consolation and entrance to all divine good things and
the fellowship of all saints.
Now the Form of Admiiiistcring baptism as follows : —
540
APPENDIX.
The pastor or baptizing minister shall say,
Go out, thou unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Spirit.
After this he shall make the sign of the cross on his {the infant's, or
baptized person's) forehead and breast , and say,
Receive the sign of the Holy Cross, both in thy forehead, and in
thy breast.
Let us Pray.
0 Almighty and Everlasting God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, I call upon thee in behalf of this N. thy servant, who asks
for the gift of thy baptism, and desires thine everlasting mercy
through spiritual regeneration. Receive him, O Lord, and as thou
hast said: " Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you ;" so extend now. Eternal
God, thy goodness and grace to him who asks, and open the gate
unto him that knocks, that he may obtain the everlasting benedic-
tion of this heavenly laver, and receive the promised riches of thy
gift, through Christ our Lord : Amen.
Let us Pray.
Almighty and Everlasting God, who according to thy severe
judgment didst condemn the unbelieving world by the flood, but of
thy great mercy didst preserve faithful Noah the eighth person ;
who didst drown in the Red Sea hardened Pharoah with all his
army, while thou didst lead thy people Israel on dry land through
the midst of it, and didst also figure and represent thereby for
future time this laver of thy holy baptism ; and likewise by the
baptism of thy dear child our Lord Jesus Christ didst sanctify and
ordain the Jordan and all other waters for a salutary flood and the
abundant washing away of sins : we pray thee by the same thine
unfathomable mercy that thou wouldest mercifully look upon this
N., and endue and strengthen him with right faith in the Spirit,
that by this wholesome deluge all [sin] that he has received by birth
from Adam, and he himself has added thereto, may be drowned in
him and perish, that he may also be separated from the number of
unbelievers, and preserved dry and safe in the holy ark of Christen-
dom, ever to serve thy name, fervent in spirit and joyful in hope,
that he may be counted worthy, with all the faithful, to attain thy
promise of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord : Amen.
1 command thee, thou unclean spirit, in the name of the Father f,
and of the Sonf, and of the Holy Ghost*^^, to come out and depart
from this servant of Jesus Christ, N. Amen.
APPENDIX.
511
Let us hear the Holy Gospel of St. Mark.
At that time they brought young children to Jesus that he should
touch them, but the disciples rebuked those that brought them.
When Jesus saw it he was displeased, and said vinto them^ Suffer
the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such
is the kingdom of heaven. Verily I say unto you. Whosoever re-
ceiveth not the kingdom of God like a little child, shall not enter
therein. And he took them in his arms, put his hands upon them,
and blessed them.
Then let the Priest lay his hands upon the head of the child, and repeat
the Lord's Prayer, together with the Godfathers and Godmothers, all
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 debts as we forgive
our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. Amen.
Then let the child be brought to the font, and the Priest say,
The Lord preserve thy coming in and thy going out, from hence-
forth even for evermore.
Then shall the Priest cause the child by his sponsors to renounce the
N. Dost thou renounce the Devil? — Ansiver. Yes, I renounce
Dost thou believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
and earth ? Answer : Yes, I believe.
Dost thou believe in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was
conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, on the third
day risen again from the dead, ascended into heaven, sitting on the
right hand of God the heavenly Father, from whence he will come
to judge the quick and the dead ? Answer : Yes, I believe.
Dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost, a Holy Catholic Church,
the Communion of Saints, Forgiveness of sins, Resurrection of the
flesh, and everlasting life after death ? Answer : Yes, I believe.
Wilt thou be baptised ? Answer : Yes, I will.
kneeling.
Devil, and shall say,
And all his works ?
And all his actions ?
Then he demands,
542
APPENDIX.
Then let him take the child and dip it in the Font, and say,
And I baptise thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost.
Then shall the Godfathers and Godmothers hold the child in the Font, and
the Priest shall say, while he is putting on the chrisom,
Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath re-
generated thee by water and the Holy Ghost, and hath forgiven thee
all thy sins, strengthen thee with his grace to everlasting life.
Amen.
Peace be with thee. Answer : Amen.
After the baptism the Pastor or Minister shall exhort the God-
fathers and Godmothers nearly as follows : — I exhort you by the
Christian charity which you have now shewn in behalf of the infant
at his baptism, that if it should lose its parents by death or other
accident before it come to the use of reason, you should carefully
and faithfully instruct and teach it : First, the ten Commandments,
that it may learn thereby to know the will of God and its own sin ;
Secondly, the Christian faith, by which we obtain grace, forgiveness
of sins, and the Holy Ghost ; Lastly, also the Lord's Prayer, that
it may be able to call upon God, and pray for help, to resist Satan,
and to live a Christian life, until God accomplish in him what he
has now begun in baptism, and he come to everlasting life.
No. III.
The Forms and Orders for Baptism and Confirmation, with the accom-
panying observations, drawn up and inserted by Bucer, in the Liturgical
work published in 1543, by Herman Archbishop of Cologne.*
De Sacrosanctis Sacramentis in genere.
F.i.ixviii. Pastores et Doctores Ecclesiarum meminerint esse officii sui,
magna cura populum docere et instituere, non solum in ipsa Sacra-
* Originally published by him in German at Bonne in 1543, but the above
Latin translation was also published at Bonne, and therefore of course under
his sanction, in 1545. The title is, — Nostra Herraanni ex gratia Dei Archi-
e})iscopi Coloniensis et Principis Electoris &e. Simplex ac pia Deliberatio, qua
ratione, Christiana et in verbo Dei fundata Reformatio, Doctrinae, Adminis-
trationis divinorum Saeramentoruni, Cseremoniarum, totiusq; curse animarum,
et aliorum Ministeriorum Ecclesiasticorum, apud eos qui nostrse Pastorali curae
commendati sunt, tantisper instituenda sit, donee Dominus dederit constitui
meliorem, uel per liberam et Christianam Synodum, siue Generalem sine
Nationalem, uel per Ordines Imperii Nationis Germanicae in Spiritu Sancto
congregatos. Bonna? 1545. fol. The copy used is one in the Cambridge
University Library. G. I). 20.
APPENDIX.
543
mentorum administratione, sed etiam subinde in concioiiibus, cum
locus postulauerit, quid in tractatione, et dispensatione cuiusq;
Sacramenti agatur, et exhibeatur, Quomodo se homines ad perci-
pieuda Sacramenta praeparare debeant, qua item fiducia ilia sumere
necesse sit, et in c|uo fiduciam percipiendi beneficii diuini in Sacra-
mentis ponere oporteat, quantumq; studii et- Religionis ad Sacra-
mentorum tractationem requiratur, non solum ab iis, qui ipsi
utuntur Sacramentis, sed etiam ab iis, qui administrationi eorum,
et dispensationi intersunt, maxime uero a Ministris, qui Sacramenta
aliis exhibent et distribuunt.
In primis uero et sedulo monebunt populum, ut ne existimet con-
sequi se posse gratiam Dei, et communionem cum Christo in Sacra-
mentis, ex ui et merito operis externi, sine eius, qui Sacramenta ad-
ministrat, sine eius, qui ea sumit, sed tantum uirtute Dei, et merito
Christi, qui in suo uerbo et Sacramentis efficax esse uult, et iis qui
sacramenta iuxta uerbum suum vera fide percipiunt, omnia ea indu-
bitato praestare, quae sacramentis suis exhibet, et uerbis suis testatur.
T)e Baptismo.
Baptismus est sacramentum regenerationis,quo Christo Domino iu-
serimur, incorporamur, sepelimur in mortem eius, induimur ea [? eo],
atq; efficimur per eum filii, et haeredes Dei. Quare sacramentum
hoc oportet summa reuerentia et Religione tractare et percipere,
Ac propterea ea ratio administrandi hoc sacramentum ineundum,
et eiusmodi tempus, quo administretur, ordinandum est, ut omnia
seruiant ad excitandam et augendam reuerentiam et religionem,
quo sacrosanctum hoc sacramentum pie et salutariter administretur
et percipiatur.
Apud ueteres duobus tantum anni temporibus, Paschae scilicet et foi. ixix.
Pentecostes, Baptisma publice administratum est, Quam constitu-
tionem, quia difficile forsitan sit reuocare, uolumus ut Baptisma non
nisi Dominicis et Festis diebus, quibus tota conuenire Ecclesia solet,
administretur, siquidem non obstiterit imbecillitas infantium, de
quibus metuendum, ne non superesse possint ad proximum diem
Festum. quo Eucharistise tractatio cum Baptismate coniungatur, et
ii, qui infantes ad Baptismum attulerunt, corpore et sanguine
Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ex more et instituto primitiuae Ecclesiae
utantur.
Vt autem religiose et reuerentur omnia cum administrentur, turn
percipiantur in hoc Sacramento, parentes infantium Pastoribus
Ecclesiarum id maturius significare, et ab iis Baptismum una cum
susceptoribus, infantibus suis petere humiliter debent. Vt si uel
parentes, uel susceptores, uel utrique obnoxii sunt manifestis cri-
APPENDIX.
ininibiis, a Pastore uel corrigantur, si modo correctionem admiserint,
uel si incorrigibiles sunt, h. commnnione Baptismi arceri possint, ne
ad indicium, et cum periculo offendendae Ecclesia?, tam diuinae
actioni adstent. Tam enim reos se faciunt corporis et mortis
Christi, qui huic Sacramento Baptismi indigne adstant, et infanti-
bus suis non uera fide in Christum illud expetunt, quam qui corpus
et sanguinem Domini sumunt indigne, id est, non iuxta institutionem
Christi, absque uera scilicet poenitentia et fide in Christum. Quare
si ad Pastores ueniant petitum Sacrum Baptisma, uel parentes
infantium, uel eorum susceptores, qui manifestis criminibus et
flagitiis contaminati sunt, hos ad poenitentiam adhortabuntur, et ut
hac nice non intersint administrationi huius Sacramenti admone-
bunt, ne et sibi ipsis indicium Dei accersant, et Ecclesiae sint scan-
dalo. Tales enim propter flagitia sua non habent partem in regno
Dei, neque ad Sacramentorum communicationem admittendi sunt,
nisi publice poenituerint. Si uero parentes in talibus criminibus
deprsehensi fuerint, cognatos suos, uel alios amicos, qui Ecclesiae
uera et uiua adhuc membra sunt, rogabunt, ut in eorum loco infan-
tibus suis Baptismum petant. Si susceptores indigni Ecclesia iudi-
centur, alii rogandi erunt, de quibus bonum extiterit testimonium.
In petitione uero Baptismi, rogabunt Pastores, an non Baptismum
infantes iam receperint, quod fieri solet, dum recens natis mors im-
minere creditur. Si enim Baptizati fuerint, turn Pastores ea, quae
paulo post de huiusmodi infantibus subiicientur, facere debent. Sed
si baptizati non sint, uel non certo, uel non ut oportet, baptizati,
et parentes et susceptores non rei fuerint criminum eorum, propter
quae essent a Baptismo arcendi, moneri a Pastoribus diligenter
debent, de immenso beneficio regenerationis in Christo, quod pueris
expetunt, item de horribili lapsu et reatu, unde infantes per Christum
lesum in Baptismo liberantur. Deinde hortabuntur illos, ut religiose
adsint primum Exorcismo et Catechismo, deinde etiam administra-
tioni Baptismi, Postremo, ut simul utantur Sacramento Corporis et
Sanguinis Domini, Hoc enim fieri decet non ideo tantum, quod
membra sunt Christi, et asymbolos adesse mensae Domini non
oporteat, uerum etiam, quod indignum sit infantibus communionem
Christi petere, et suscipere in Baptismate, et sibiipsis non earn
sumere Sacramento, quo ilia ipsis quoq; offertur, Non enim, si uera
fide communionem Christi infantibus in Baptismate petunt et per-
cipiunt, poterunt sibiipsis eandem non petere, et oblatam in Sacra-
mento non cupide excipere.
Veteres hoc Sacramentum Ccenae Domini etiam infantibus una
cum Baptismo administrabant, sed cum non sine causa mos ille
exoleuerit, congruit, et omnino ex officio est pietatis, parentes una
APPENDIX.
545
cnm susceptoribus et cognatis, qui sanctissimum Sacramentnm re-
generatioiiis suis infantibus accipiunt, coena Domini singulari Spiritus
desyderio uti, ut et sibi Christi communionem accipiant, quam pro
infantibus in Baptismo susceperint. Quod et ad aliorum, imo totius
Ecclesiae aedificationem confert, et Sacram Christi communionem
caeteris commendat.
Vt ergo diligentius et maiore religione omni^ in administratione
Sacri Baptismatis gerantur et perficiantur, uolumus, ut ubicunque
id commode fieri poterit, Catechismus parentum, et susceptorum,
item Exorcismus infantum exhibeatur, pridie eius Festi, uel Domi-
nici diei, quo Baptisma exhibendum erit. Cum enim Baptisma
administrari debeat in summa Liturgia, dum tota Ecclesia collecta
est, conuenit in his Sacris actionibus utriusque Sacramenti, earn
adhiberi moderationem, quae conducat religioni popuH excitandae, foi.Ux.
non preheat prolixitate occasionem aiiquam neghgentiae uel pio
animi ardori minuendo. Quare ubi id licebit, utile fuerit actionem
Catechismi et Exorcismi, more ueterum, ab actione Baptismi tem-
pore seiungere. At ubi populo, uel quod plerique a templo longius
habitant, uel alia iusta de caussa, commodum adesse non .fuerit,
ibi licebit Catechismum et Exorcismum cum Baptismo simul ad-
ministrare.
Istud tamen Pastores, quantum omnino fieri potest, studebunt,
ut sanctissimum hoc Sacraraentum Baptismi, quod est prima adoptio,
susceptio, et ingressus in regnum Christi, non nisi coram uniuersa
Ecclesia, et summa cum grauitate et religione administretur et per-
cipiatur.
Quando igitur Catechismus et Exorcismus, pridie quam Baptis-
mus administretur, habebuntur, infantes deferantur ad uespertinuni
conueutum. in quo alioqui populus propter instans festum, uel
celebrationem Dominicae diei adesse solet, parentes et cognati
exemplo Saiictorum ueterum cum susceptoribus adesse simul, et
deducere ad templum suos infantes debent, Quibus congregatis et
aliis, debent Pastores et Ministri, his, qui infantes attulerint, et toti
reliquo populo, singulari grauitate et religione, primum exponere
perspicue mysterium S. Baptismatis, et ingentia Dei beneficia,
quae in illo exhibentur. Deinde exhortabuntur illos ad piam et
fidelem perceptionem tanti Sacramenti, et beneficiorum Christi adeo
inaestimabilium. Tum requirent a parentibus, et susceptoribus in-
fantium renunciationem Satanae et mundi, et confessionem prae-
cipuorum articulorum Fidei, et Religionis nostrae, quam illi con-
fessionem, et renunciationem clare et grauiter coram uniuersa
Ecclesia facere debent.
2 N
546
APPENDIX.
Forma Catechismi, hoc est, institvtionis, exhortationis,
et interrogationum ad stjsceptores, et omnes eos qui
INFANTES AD SaCRUM BaPTISMA ADFERUNT.
Primum omnium Pastor adstantibus sibi reliquis Ministris ita eos,
qui infantes ad Baptismum offerunt, exhortabitur.
Dilecti in Christo lesu, quotidie ex uerbo Dei audimus, et propria
experientia discimus, tam in uita, quam in morte, iam inde ab Adas
lapsu nos omnes concipi, et nasci in peccatis, esse reos irae Dei, et
damnatos propter Adse delictum, nisi liberemur morte, et meritis
Filii Dei Christi lesu, nostri unici liberatoris. Cum itaq; praesentes
hi infantes communi nobiscum sorte nati sint, dubium non est, quin
et ipsi peccato et originali morbo coramaculati sint, atq; obnoxii
ceternae morti, et damnationi. Sed Deus Pater pro inefFabili sua
dementia, et misericordia erga genus humanum, Filium suummisit,
ut mundum seruaret, quare etiam et hos infantes seruatos uult.
Ille peccata totius mundi tulit, et tam paruulos, quam nos adultos
k peccatis, morte, Diabolo, et aeterna condemnatione liberauit et
saluos fecit, qui uoluit sibi offerri paruulos, ut iis benedictionem
impartiretur. Quare pro Christiana pietate uestra, hunc puerum
assumite, et ad Christum adducite, et ofFerte piis uestris precibus,
quo peccatorum suorum ab illo consequatur remissionem, transfera-
tur in regnum gratiae ereptus a tyrannide Satanae, et constituatur
haeres aeternae salutis. Et uobis certissimum sit, Dominum nostrum
lesum Christum, hoc opus charitatis uestrae erga hunc infantem
clementissime respecturum, et preces uestras exauditurum, quia ipse
suo uerbo mandauit, Sinite paruulos uenire ad me, talium est enim
regnum coelorum. Quapropter dilecti hortor et obsecro uos, quotquot
adestis, ut magnitudinem huius actionis, atqtie operis, quod agimus,
religiose uobiscum expendatis, Videtis enim, quam miserabiliter
Ecclesia infantulos istos imbecilles, et omni uirtute destitutos, hue
supplex, sed tamen constanter afferat. Quo sane opere clare confite-
tur eos esse filios irae Dei, peccati, et aeternae mortis, Proinde piis
uotis, et ardenti oratione pro eis orat, gratiam et auxilium Dei im-
petrare eis cupiens, quo per Baptismum renati ex Deo, filii Dei
efficiantur. Ne putetis igitur leue quiddam, et puerile quid tractari
in hac Sacrosancta actione, qua bellum suscipitur cum Satana, qua
non tantum ille ab infante expellitur, sed infans Sacramento astrin-
gitur, quod cum hoc semper, ut cum Regis sui Christi hoste bel-
ligerari debeat, ad extremum usque Spiritum summa contentione
pugnare. Quare magna cum fiducia, et ardentissimis precibus
inuocandus est Deus, ut non modo e potestate Satanae liberare, sed
et confirmare, et defendere uelit hunc infantem, ut in omni uita, et
APPENDIX.
547
maxima in ipso mortis articulo consistere, et fortiter repugnare
illi possit.
Quamobrem et uos animos uestros tollite, et cogitate hie praecipua
religione uerbum Dei uobis audiendum esse, uiua fide inuocandum
Deum, et grauissima de causa ad orationem hie inuitari uos. ItaFoi. ixxi.
^ rect.
ergo agite, ut Deus religionem uestram uideat, eamq; approbet, nec
committite, ut sacratissimum hoc Sacrameiitum Baptismatis per uos
indigne tractetur, et Satanse ludibrio fiat, atq; Deus contumelia ad-
ficiatur, qui tantas hie diuitias gratiae suae etFundit. Nam ipse uocat
hoc Sacramentum lauacrum regenerationis, quo nos e tyrannide
Diaboh, peccati, mortis, et inferni ereptos, filios suos efficit, et
hjeredes uitae seternse, participes omnium beneficiorum suorum, quia
coheredes Christi sui.
Quare per Deum, et salutem uestram uos obtestor, ut tam super-
abundantem gratiam Dei, quae hoc Sacramento exhibetur, dign^
sestimetis, et cum summa animi gratitudine amplectamini, quando-
quidem Baptismus magna est nostra consolatio in periculis, et afflic-
tionibus, estq; aditus primus ad omnia beneficia Dei, ad beatam
sanctorum omnium societatem.
Vt igitur praesentiore animo, et religione maiore ineffabile hoc
Dei beneficium expendamus, initio uidendum nobis est, in quanta
mala nos Adae lapsus coniecerit, Et e contra, quam immensam gra-
tiam Deus humano generi per Filium suum exhibuerit in eo, qu6d
per Baptismum nos ab iis redemerit, Et tertio, qu^lm semper nobis
in conspectu esse debeat in omnibus periculis tantaDei misericordia,
quantisqiae cum laudibus celebrari conveniat Dei gratiam, quam per
Baptismum accepimus.
Primum ergo diligentissime expendendum est, omnes nos per pec-
catum Adae, et Satanae inuidiam obnoxios irae Dei, adeoqj damnatos
nos esse, sub potestate et regno Diaboli, detineri sub morte, peccato,
et inferno captiuos, adeo ut nos natura filii irae, nullis uiribus hu-
manis, nullis uirtutibus, uel operibus Deum placare potuerimus.
Quicquid enim in nobis, item omnia opera nostra, propter uitiatam
naturam maledicta sunt a Deo, et subiecta tyrannidi Satanse,
Cum enim per inobedientiam primi parentis Adae (a quo in natu-
ralera banc, et terrenam uitam progeniti sumus) omnes rei et male-
dicti h Deo nascamur, adeo ut omnes in eo mori necesse sit, et ter-
renam imaginem eius in mortali hoc corpore circumferamus, sequitur
totam uitam, et omnes actiones naturae nostrae ita corruptee, dam-
natas k Deo esse, quantumuis etiam speciosissimae et sanctissimae
coram hominibus appareant. Quicquid enim ex carne natum est,
caro est, hoc est, alienum k Deo, repugnans Spiritui, et addictum
morti, et gehennae. Quapropter caro et sanguis non assequentur
2 N 2
548
APPENDIX.
Foi ixxi. I'egnum Dei. Quicquld enim caro est, carnalia sapit, et uiiiit. Est
vers. inimicum Deo, nam Legi Dei non subditur. Quare qui carnales
sunt, Deo placere non possunt, Sapientia carnis mors est. Quare
Dominus noster Christus cum Nieodemo disputans ita concludit,
Amen amen dico tibi, nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu,
non potest introire in regnum Dei.
Secundo cogitandum quam opulenta sit gratia diuina collata nobis
in Baptismo, in quo uere apparet eius erga nos benignitas, et 0t\av-
OpwTria, quod non ex operibus iusticise, quae nos fecissemus, sed se-
cundum suam misericordiam perlauacrum regenerationis,et renoua-
tionis Spiritus Sancti saluos nos faciat. Hie enim uirtute uerbi sui
abluit, et extinguit, quicquid reos nos facit et damnat, Quemad-
modum olim in mari rubro hostes populi sui submersit, atqj per
diluuium perdidit totum humanum genus, exceptis octo animabus,
quae in area seruatse sunt, Ita lauacrum hoc aquae, nos per uerbum
saluat, non ablutione sordium in carne, uti in aliis lotionibus fieri
solet, sed stipulatione bonae conscientiae erga Deum, per resurrec-
tionem lesu Christi. Virtute enim pacti diuini in conscientiis mun-
damur, et certi reddimur et uerbo et externo signo, peccata quae
nos poUuebant et damnabant, omnia esse plane abolita, quia remissa
et mortua. Itaq; ex Baptismate cert6 statuimus, nos Deo acceptos,
et foedere gratiae sempiterno ei coniunctos esse, ade6 ut nihil ab ipso
seiungere et damnare possit. Quare porro non modo fugere pec-
cata, sed etiam extimescere, et abhorrere ab eis debemus, non aliter
atqiie ab inferno, ut qui peccatis mortui sumus, Omnes enim, teste
Paulo, qui in Christum lesum baptizati sumus, in mortem eius bap-
tizati sumus, consepulti cum illo per Baptismum in mortem, Proinde
peccatis, et toti ueteri homini mortui sumus, et perducti in Christo
eo, ut nihil condemnare, uel a gratia Dei separare nos possit, Qui
enim mortuus est, justificatus est a peccato, non amplius tyrannidi
peccati mortis et inferni subiectus, etiamsi adhuc peccati in carne
reliquias sentiat, tamen eae non imputantur ad condemnationem,
propter iustificationem Spiritus in Christo,
Praeterea Baptismus nouam uitam operatur in nobis, et acceptam
Deo, Vt enim Christus a mortuis resuscitatus est per gloriam Patris,
ita efKcit suo in nobis Spiritu, ut et nos in nouitate uitae ambulemus.
Nam si insiticii facti sumus il)i per similitudinem mortis eius, certe
et resurrectionis participes erimus in uitam seternam, illud scientes
quod uetus ille homo cum illo crucifixus est, ut aboleretur corpus
PoJ-^xxii. peccati, ut posthac non seruiamus peccato.
Quare rcputemus nos peccatis reuera mortuos esse, et Deo uiuere
in Christo Domino nostro, in quo et circuncisi sumus, circuncisione,
quae fit sine manibus, dum exuimus corpus peccatorum, per circun-
APPENDIX.
549
cisionem Christi, Cum illo sepnlti sumus per Baptismum, in quo
simul etiam cum illo resurreximus per fidem operationis Dei. Deus
etenim qui Christum a mortuis resuscitauit, nos una cum eo conuiui-
ficauit cum peccatis etiam mortui essemus per praeputium carnis
nostrae, seu carnalis uitse. Quanquam enim uita nostra in Deo ab-
scondita sit cum Christo, tamen cum Christus uita nostra apparuerit,
tunc et nos simul cum illo manifestabimur in gloria, ut quos pro
ingenti sua misericordia clementer regenuitDeus in spem uiuam, per
resurrectionem lesu Christi ex morruis [mortuis], in haereditatem
incorruptibilem, incontaminatam, et immarcessibilem, non ex semine
corruptibili, sed incorruptibili, uerbo scilicet Dei uiuo, per quod Bap-
tismus consistit, et omnia iam dicta efficaciter et reuera in nobis
operatur.
Tertio, de tanta amplitudine gratiae Dei, et beneficiis per Baptis-
mum collatis nos consolabimur, et semper gratias Deo agemus, idqj
e6 studiosius, quo grauioribus premamur calamitatibus, confirmantes
hinc fidem nostram Deum quamquam non uisibili modo, tamen uir-
tute Baptismi per uerbum et Spiritum efficacem esse in nobis, mor-
tificare ueterem, et iustaurare nouum hominem. Quare confirmemus
conscientias nostras, nos Deo curae, et ei propter meritum Filii sui
gratos et charos esse, et cum rebus aduersis agitamur, et exercemur
uariis asrumnis, cogitandum erit baptizatos nos esse, et Baptismo
per meritum Christi omnia peccata et mala nostra deuicta et mortua
esse, indiesq; magis ac magis per crucem, et uarias afflictiones, quas
nobis Dominus mittit, confici et aboleri, et nouum hominem in nobis
uirtute resurrectionis Christi, continue renouari, et instaurari.
Merito itaq; Deo pro tam inefFabili sua misericordia agendae gratiae
sunt, atq; simul orandum, ut opus suum, quod coepit in nobis, et
omnibus, quos ad Baptismum uocauit, semper promouere, ac perfi-
cere tandem dignetur. Tales exhortationes uel breuiores, uel lon-
giores, pro temporis ratione concionatores habebunt, ex dictis et
aliis Scripturae locis, quibus subiicientur interrogationes sequentes.
INTERROGATIONES AD SUSCEPTORES ET PARENTES INFANTIVM.
Creditis uera esse, quae modo nobis ex uerbo Dei proposita sunt,
de corruptione naturae per peccatum originale, de regeneratione in ^
Christo Domino nostro, et communione aeterna cum Deo, quae ex- 'f'"^-
hibetur per Sacrum Baptisma ?
Respond. — Credimus.
Petitis ergo ex animo et uera fide, infantem hunc uestrum, per
uos Christo adductum et oblatum, a tali naturae corruptione, per
meritum et uirtutem Christi in Baptismate liberari, reconciliari Deo,
et in nouam atq; perpetuam uitam regenerari ?
550
APPENDIX.
Respond. — Petimus.
Reuunciatis igitur et uestro et infantis nomine Diabolo, atq; om-
nibus eius operibus ?
Respond. — Renunciamus.
Etiam mundo, et omnibus concupiscentiis eius ?
Respond. — Renunciamus.
Creditis in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, creatorem coeli et terrse ?
Respond. — Credimus.
Et creditis Deum uelle et uobis, et huic infanti, cum baptizatus
fuerit, esse Patrem, et omnipotenti sua uirtute, sapientia, et miseri-
cordia uelle uos ab omni raalo seruare, atq; omnibus beneficiis cu-
mulare, ac propterea supra omnia uobis timendum eum, et dili-
gendum esse ?
Respond. — Credimus.
Creditis in Dominum nostrum lesum Christum Filium eius
unicum, qui, ut redimeret nos, factus homo est, passus, et mortuus,
atq; a morte resuscitatus est, ascendit in coelos, sedetq; ad dextram
Patris, ac regit inde Ecclesiam suam, uirtute omnipotenti, rediturus
in fine mundi om.nibus conspicuus, index uiuorum et mortuorum ?
Respond. — Credimus.
Ex hac fide Dominum nostrum lesum Christum etiam uestrum,
et huius pueri Saluatorem esse confitemini, qui morte sua uestra
quoq; peccata expiauerit, et Resurrectione sua uos Deo reconci-
liauerit, atq; iustificauerit, et Spiritu suo omni tandem peccato per-
purgatis, diuinam in uobis imaginem, et uitam plene perfecturus sit?
Respond. — Confitemur.
Creditis et in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam et Catholicam Eccle-
siam, Communionem Sanctorum, Remissionem peccatorum, Carnis
resurrectionem, et uitam seternam ?
Respond. — Credimus.
Et ex hac confessione creditis Spiritum sanctum etiam uestrum, et
infantuli huius doctorem, et consolatorem uelle esse, et uos uera
corporis Christi Domini nostri, atqiie Ecclesise eius membra esse, et
Foi.ixxiii. puerum huic [.^ hunc] per Baptismum, Christi atq; Eccksise mem-
^^^^ brum fore, in quo habiturus sit remissionem peccatorum, certam
spem resurrectionis, et uitae aeternse ?
Respond. — Credimus.
Yultis ergo infantem e Baptismo suscipere, et habere pro uero
filio Dei, fralre et membro Christi, atq; primum ubi ad usum rationis
peruenerit, si forte parentibus orbatus fuerit, uel illi hac in re negli-
gentiores extiterint, curam eius habere, quo Decalogum, et articulos
Fidei, et orationem Dominicam, Sacramenta, perdiscat, tum domi
tum in Ecclesia, quo a primi> statim annis mysterium Baptismi, et
APPENDIX.
551
collata sibi in eo Christi beneficia intelligere incipiat, ac inde cum de
Religione Christi satis institutus fuerit, fidem suam in Ecclesia suo
ore confiteatur, et se communicatione Christi, obedientiae erga Deum
atq; Ecclesiapi ipse addicat ?
Respond. — Volumus.
Hie rursus Pastor parentes et circunstantem multitudinem adhortabitur .
Quod igitur dilecti hie in conspectu Dei, et Christi Seruatoris, qui
inter nos est, et coram Ecclesia eius sancta promisistis, id surama
fide et diligentia memineritis prsestandum esse, Vosq; singuli, pa-
rentes, susceptores, et caeteri adstantes, infantvilum hunc post ac-
ceptum Baptismum ut filium Dei agnoscite, ut membrum Christi
lesu habete, cui Angeli ministri adsint, et inseruiant, nec dubitate,
quicquid aut boni, aut mali, huic quamuis infirmo infantulo exhi-
bueritis, hoc uos Deo, et Christo Domino exhibere. Nullius ergo
laboris uos pigeat, quin quisque pro suo loco, pro sanguinis coniunc-
tione, et uocatione hunc curet Domino pie et religiose educandum,
et instituendum, quo seruare tandem possit omnia, quae Christus
Seruator nobis preecepit. Pertinet igitur ad uos, qui a Deo dati estis
huic infanti parentes, cognati aut susceptores, ubi primum excreuerit,
curare, ut ad scholas, ut in Ecclesiara ducatur, quo in Christi mys-
teriis, et in aliis instituatur plenius, quo gratiam et immensa Dei
beneficia, in Baptismo collata intelligat, suae fidei rationem coram
Ecclesia reddat, Diabolo et mundo cum omnibus concupiscentiis,
ipsa re renunciet, Christo Domino nostro, et Ecclesiae eius, sese
consecrare in omnem obedientiam studeat, iuxta Euangelium eius,
atq; ita in Christo Domino nostro, usq; in finem perseueret, atq; in
nouitate uitae perpetuo proficiat, ut uiuum Christi membrum, et in
uite hac palmes foecundus fructum copiosum ferat omnium bonorum Foi. ixxiii.
vers,
operum, ad laudem Dei, et Ecclesiae aedificationem.
SEaVlTVR EXORCISMVS.
Hie Pastor adferri infantem propius iubebit, et de nomine interro-
gabit, quo cognito dicet, Edico in nomine Domini nostri lesu
Christi omnibus malls Spiritibus, ut ab hoc infante recedant, et
nihil mali illi uUo modo inferant.
Post pollice signata in fronte^ et in pectore figura Crucis, dicat,
Accipe signum sanctae Crucis in fronte, ut nunquam te Dei, et
Christi tui Seruatoris, uel Euangelii eius pudeat, accipe et in pectore,
ut uirtus Christi crucifixi tibi perpetuo praesidio sit, et certa in om-
nibus rebus protectio.
Hinc addat ad populum.
Dominus uobiscum.
Respondeat populus.
Et cum Spiritu tuo.
552
APPENDIX.
Pastor.
Oreraus. Omnipoteus, et seterne Deus, Pater Domini no«tri lesa
Christi, inuoco te super hoc N. famulo aut famula tiia, cui Ecclesia
Sacramentum Baptismi, et in eo gratiam tuam et reg^nerationem
spiritualem petit, Et nt dixisti. Petite, et accipietis, quserite, et inue-
nietis, pulsate, et aperietur nobis, ita impartias huic gratiam, et
misericordiam tuam, quemadmodum Ecclesia tua orat, ut conse-
quatur redemptionem Filii tui, et haereditatem aeternse et beatse uitae,
quam ei Ecclesia tua per Baptismum quaerit, Aperi ei ostium regni
tui, ad quod pro eo Ecclesia tua pulsat, per Christum Dominum
nostrum. Amen.
Oremus. Pater omnipotens Deus, qui olim impium mundum hor-
ribili iudicio tuo per diluuium perdidisti, et solam familiam pii Noe,
octo tantum animas, pro inefFabili misericordia tua conseruasti, et
qui obduratum Aegyptiorum Regem Pharaonem cum omnibus copiis,
et uirtute eius bellica submersisti in mari rubro, populumq; tuum
Israheliticum siccis pedibus transire fecisti, et in his lauacrum re-
generationis Sacrum Baptisma adumbrare uoluisti, Praeterea Bap-
tismate filii tui Christi lesu lordanem, et caeteras aquas ad sanctam
demersionem, atq; ablutionem peccatorum consecrasti. Rogamus
Koi.ixxiv. te pro immensa misericordia tua, infantem hunc propitius respice,
' ueram illi fidem, et Spiritum Sanctum tuum dona, ut per hoc sacro-
sanctum diluuium in eo submergatur et pereat, quicquid ex Adamo
sordium contraxit, ut ex impiorum numero segregatus, in sancta
Ecclesiae tuae area tutus seruari possit, et nomen tuam alacri, et
feruenti Spiritu semper confiteri, et sanctificare, et regno tuo con-
stanti fiducia, et certa spe inseruire, qu6 tandem cum piis omnibus
promissionem aeternae uitae assequatur, per lesum Christum Do-
minum nostrum. Amen.
Pastor. — Dominus uobiscum.
Populus. — Et cum Spiritu tuo.
Audite Sacrosanctum Euangelium Domini nostri lesu Christi.
Marci X.
In illo tempore, Attulerunt ad lesum pueros, ut tangeret illos.
Discipuli uero increpabant eos, qui adducebunt [adducebant] .
Cum uidisset autem lesus, indignatus est, et dixit illis, Sinite
paraulos uenire ad me, ne prohibete illos, talium enim est regnum
Dei. Amen dico uobis, quicunq; non acceperit regnum Dei tanquam
puer, haudquaquam ingredietur in illud. Et cum coepisset [cepisset]
eos in ulnas, impositis manibus super illos, benedixit illis.
His uerbis et huic facto Domini nostri lesu Christi super illos,
fidem habete, nec dubitate, eum et uestros infantes sic in sacro Bap-
tismate suscepturum, et complexurum esse ulnis misericordiae suae,
et benedictionem uitae aeternae, et sempiternam regni Dei com-
APPENDIX.
553
munionem eis collaturum, Hanc uobis fidem confirmet, et augeat
idem Dominus, et Seruator noster lesus Christus, Amen.
Post hcec Pastor manus super pueri caput imponet, et susceptores
tangentes pueruniy una cum eo orabunt.
Pater noster qui es in coelis, &c.
Turn et symbolum recitahunt.
Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, &c.
Post h(EC canet Ecclesia Psalmum CXIIIT. item CXV. et CXXXVI.
In exitu Israhel. Non nobis, item, Laudate nomen Domini, Laudate
serui Dominum.
Pastor. — Dominus uobiscum.
Populus — Et cum Spiritu tuo.
Oremus. Omnipotens et seterne Deus, Pater coelestis, gratias foI. ixxr
agimus tibi seternas, quod ad hanc agnitionem gratiae tuae, et fidei
erga te nos uocare dignatus es, Auge et confirm a hanc fidem in
nobis perpetuo. Da huic infanti Spiritum sanctum tuum, quo rege-
neretur, et haeres fiat seternse salutis, quam Ecclesise tuse sanctae,
pueris simul et senibus propter Christum ex gratia et misericordia
tua promisisti, per Dominum nostrum lesum Christum, qui tecum
uiuit et regnat nunc et m perpetuum, Amen.
Ita Ecclesiam data benedictione dimittat.
De Administratione Baptismi.
Sequenti die infantes pridie exorcisati, iterum ad Ecclesiam sub
officium coenae Domini adferantur, quos ibi Pastor post recitatum et
enarratum Euangelium, et decantatum symbolum iubebit ad baptis-
terium exhiberi, et sequenti modo parentes, susceptores, et reliquos
cognatos astantes, simul et uniuersam Ecclesiam adhortabitur.
Dilecti in Christo, hesterno die gratia Dei audiuimus, quam im-
mensa et inefFabilis misericordia in Baptismo exhibeatur. Satanae
et mundo renunciastis, fidem Christi estis confessi, et obedientiam
Christo et Ecclesiae promisistis, et petiistis a Deo Patre, ut propter
Filium suum Dominum nostrum lesum Christum, infantes hos
eripiat e regno tenebrarum, et constituat in regno Filii sui dilecti,
Horum meminisse nos oportet, et non dubitare, nos haec omnia,
quae petimus certo esse accepturos, si credimus. Tollentes ergo
nunc mentes uestras ad Dominum, summa religione hie apparete,
tanquam in conspectu Dei oranipotentis, Patris, Filii, et Spiritus
sancti, beneficiumq; regenerationis, atq; adoptionis in uitam aeternam
ab ipso uno Deo, et Seruatore nostro, Patre, Filio, et Spiritu sancto,
certa fide et cum gratiarum actione excipite. Et quoniam ipse Do-
minus iussit baptizare nos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus
sancti, indubie ipse Deus noster infantes nostros baptizat, a peccatis
emundat, ab aeterna morte liberat, sua ipsius iustitia Uuluit, et donat
554
APPENDIX.
Foi. ixxv. seterna uita. Hsec immensa Dei beneficia uera fide agnoscenda
nobis, et perpetuo celebranda sunt, Quare quo fidem, atq; animos
nostros excitemus, audiamus hac de re uerba D. Pauli sequentia.
Ad Titum capite III.
At postquam bonitas, et erga homines amor apparuit Seruatoris
nostri Dei, non ex operibus iusticise, quae faciebamus nos, sed se-
cundum misericordiam suam saluos nos fecit per lauacrum regene-
rationis, et renouationis Spiritus sancti, quem eflFudit in nos opu-
lenter, per lesum Christum Seruatorem nostrum, ut iustificati illius
gratia, heeredes efficeremur iuxta spem uitas seternee, Indubitatus hie
sermo est.
Pastor. — Dominus uobiscum.
Populus. — Et cum Spiritu tuo.
Ex Euangelio Matthei Capite ultimo.
Dixit Dominus lesus discipulis, Data est mihi omnis potestas in
coelo, et in terra, Euntes ergo in uniuersum orbem, praedicate Euan-
gelium omni creaturse, et docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in
nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti, docentes eos seruare
omnia, quaecunqj praecepi nobis. Qui crediderit, et baptizatus fuerit,
saluus erit, qui uero non crediderit, condemnabitur, Et ecce ego
uobiscum sum omnibus diebus usq; ad consummationem saeculi.
Pastor Dominus uobiscum.
Populus. — Et cum Spiritu tuo.
Oremus. Omnipotens et misericors Deus, et Pater, tu Abrahamo,
nostro et omnium credentium patri, et in eo nobis quoq; filiis eius
promisisti, te nobis et semini nostro uelle esse Deum. Quare ut
infantes ueteris populi tui per Circumcisionem in gratiam, et in po-
pulum tuum recepisti, Et Filius tuus Christus lesus, Dominus et
Seruator noster, paruulos oblatos sibi clementer admodum admisit,
et benedixit, testatus talium esse regnum coelorum, Ita uoles nostros
quoq; infantes regenerare, et adoptare tibi in filios, in consortium
uitae aeternae per Sacramentum Baptismatis. Da ergo coelestis
Pater, ut tantas diuitias gratiae in Baptismo propositas, pro his in-
fantulis ex animo petamus, et uerbo et Sacramento tuo oblatas uera
fide agnoscamus, et excipiamus, perpetuo tibi pro his gratias agamus,
Foi. ixxv. et te celebremus. Et ne imputes his paruulis peccatum Adae in eis
vers.
per parentes propagatum, et innatum, neq; parentum ipsorum, et
totius huius populi, sed ualeat in illis mors et meritum Filii tui Do-
mini nostri lesu Christi, et huius iusticiam atq; obedientiam eis
imputa, Insere eos morti, et resurrectioni eius, Fac eos corporis eius
membra, eo illos indue, ut filii et haeredes tui fiant, et perseuerent
in aeternum. Dona etiam nobis, ut post Baptismum, eos pro filiis
tuis, et corporis Filii tui mcmbris agnoscamus, in timore tui ad glo-
riam tiiam pie cducemus, in omnibus rebus corporalibus et spiri-
APPENDIX.
555
tualibus adiuuemus, ut etiam per eos Xomen tuum sanctum magis
celebretur, Regnuni Filii tui propagetur, Voluntas tua in hac terra
fiat, quemadmodum in coelo. Ad bcec conserua eos incolumes, com-
munica eis beuigne necessaria uitae, et custodi eos ab omni malo,
per Christum Dominum nostrum, Amen.
Hac finita oratione iubeat Pastor sihi dari infantes, interroget nomina
quce imponi eis debeant, et baptiset eos dicens,
Baptizo te, N., in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti.
Max susceptores infantem e Baptismo suscipiant, dicente Sacerdote
it a ut sequitur.
Omnipotens seternus Deus, et Pater Domini nostri lesu Christi,
qui regeuuit te aqua et Spiritu sancto, remisitq; tibi omnia peccata
tua, confirmet te sua gratia, ad uitam aeternam, Amen.
Pastor. — Pax Domini sit semper uobiscum.
Respond. — Amen.
Hie ab uniuersa Ecclesia cantetur Germanice, Grates nunc omnes
SfC, uel Psal. Deus misereatur nostri. Post pergat Pastor in
officio ComcB Domini.
QVOMODO ALUS TEMPORIBVS ADMINISTRANDVS BaPTISMVS SIT.
Si autem infantuli iufirmiore fuerint ualetudine, ut periculum sit,
non uicturos esse uel ad proximum Dominicum,. uel Festum diem,
aut si propter grauiores causas illis diebus Baptismus conferri non
possit, admonebunt Pastores populum, ut Baptizandos infantes suos,
illis tamen horis adferre uelint, quibus de more Ecclesia ad uerbum
Domini audiendum conuenit, Quod si neque istud fieri potest, Bap-
tisma interim oblatis ad id iufantibus negari non debet, quocumque Foi. ixxvi.
taudem tempore adferantur. Nam committendum non est, quantum
in nobis fuerit, ut absq; Baptismi Sacramento, ex hac uita uUi ho-
mines decedant, Quandoquidem Dominus instituit Baptisraa. ut sit
nobis Sacramentum regenerationis, et ablutionis peccatorura, a
quibus nemo hominum in hac uita hber est, ne infans c^uidem unius
diei. Nostrum enim est agere in omnibus rebus, secundum uerbum
Domini, et dona et beneficia eius suscipere eo raodo, et ratione,
c^uam ipse nobis preescripsit.
Quaudo ergo profestis diebus adrainistrandum Baptisma fuerit,
Pastores Catechismum, et Exorcismum, et Administrationem Bap-
tismi ordine coniungant, et pro ratione coetus, et ualetudine infantis
modum adhibebunt adhortationum, et orationum. Si enim infantem
uideant de uita periclitari, et coetum exiguura adesse. breuibus
omnia complectentur, Et primam modo partem ex admonitione,
quam supra posuimus ante Catechismum prsemittendam, usurpabunt
ad ea usq: uerba, Quapropter dilecti hortor et obsecro, 6cc. Sic
ex interrogationibus cuiusq; capitis primam tantum adhibebunt, Ita
556
APPENDIX.
in Exorcismo, unam modo precationem, cum oratione Dominica,
Symbolo, etEuangelio, Quibus praemissis infantem statim baptizent,
et parentes, susceptores, atq; alios astantes hortentur, ut certo sta-
tuant infantulum sine uiuat, sine mox moriatur, esse filium Dei, et
hsBredem uitse aeternse, et ut ad pietatem, et Dei gloriam, si uita
comes fuerit, recte curent institui, iuxta adliortationem supra po-
sitam, quse incipit,
Postquam ergo dilecti, &c.
De Baptismo recens natis collato propter pericvlvm vitm.
Pro concionibus docendus et admonendus erit populus, ne facile
diuinissimum hoc Sacramentum priuatim administrare prsesumat.
In Ecclesia enim et per suos Ministros summa grauitate, et religione
administrari dignum est, idq; maxime interest ad id, ut salutariter
dispensetur, et percipiatur, Sed si extrema necessitas urserit, turn
qui adsunt periclitanti infantulo, iungant sese in Domino, pie sub-
latis ad Deum animis, misericordiam eius in Christo Domino nobis
promissam et exhibitam super infantulo implorent, eumq; dicta ora-
tione Dominica baptizent, In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti.
Quod cum fecerint, ne dubitent infantem suum uere baptizatum,
peccatis ablutum, in Christo renatum, et Filium hseredemqj Dei
factum esse. Pro hoc ergo tanto Dei beneficio, gratias agant Deo,
et ne putent Baptisma iterandum in pueris ita baptizatis. Quia in
omnibus rebus, quoad licet, ad cam rationem agere debemus, quam
Dominus prsescripsit, si pius aliquis uir tum adfuerit, ciim infans
extreme laborauerit, eius ministerio ad Baptismum utendum est.
Porr6 si ita baptizatum domi infantem superuiuere contingat, de-
ferri ad templum postea sequum est, a suis parentibus, cognatis, et
susceptoribus, quos frequentes et religiose adesse conuenit, ut qui
gratias agere pro immenso hoc regenerationis beneficio infanti suo
collato, et ofFerre eum Deo et Seruatori suo in Ecclesia debent. Hos
ergo Pastores interrogabunt, qua ratione, et quibus uerbis infantem
baptizarint, an ita ut preecepit Dominus, in aqua, et in nomine Patris,
et Filii, et Spiritus sancti. Qui si responderint se super infantem
inuocasse Deum, rogasse pro illo, et in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spi-
ritus sancti baptizasse, et credere se uere peccatis mundatum, et Deo
renatum esse, Debent Pastores eos in hac fide confirmare, et infantem
eiusmodi nequaquam rebaptizare, Et ut homines magis consolentur,
et tanti Sacramenti celebratio magis augeatur, et commendetur
Christi beneficium per Baptismum in puerum coUatum, compro-
babunt id in Ecclesia, adhibita lectione sancti Euangelii, et pre-
catione ad hunc modum.
AFPENDIX.
557
Pastor, cum adfuerint qui talem infantem adferunt Domino, priminn
interrogablt cos.
Dilecti ia Christo, Quandoquidem omnes in peccato et ira Dei nati
simus rei a^ternae mortis, atq; condemnationis, nee alia ratione con-
^equi remissionem peccatorum, iustitiam, et uitain aeternain possimus,
quaiii per fideni in Christum, Et his malis, mortjs scilicet et iraj Dei,
cum hie quoq; inf'ans obnoxius natus sit, interrogo uos num Ciiristo
oblatus sit, eiq; per Baptismum insertus r
Si respondeant se ita credere, Interrogahit prceterea, per quern hoc
factum sit, et quihus prcEsentihus. Cumq; hos nominarint, rogabit
eum, qui Baptizasse infantem dicetur, si adest, aut alios qui turn
adfuerint, an inuocatum sit nomen Domini super eo, et hahita oratio
pro eo ?
Vbi respondebunt et hoc factum esse. Rogabit, Quomodo baptizatus
infans sit.
Si turn respondeant. In aqua, et cum hac uerborum forma, Baptizo te
in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spi?'itus sancti. Postremum intcrro-
gabit.
An certo sciant se uerbo Dei rite usos esse, iuxta institutionem
Domini, quod si respondeant se meminisse et scire.
Addat Pastor,
Qvandoquidem dilecti in Christo, omnia in nomine Dei, et iuxta
institutum eius facta circa Baptisma huius infantis audio, in nomine
Christi recte uos fecisse pronuncio, Egent enim gratia Dei infantes,
quam non denegat eis Seruator noster Christus, ubicumque ilia pueris
iuxta uerbum eius petitur, nec enim alligauit beneficium redemptionis
suae ullis locis, temporibus, uel personis. Nam quocumque in loco cre-
dentes ipsi in eius nomine conueniunt, medius ipse illis adest, et inuo-
catus fide efficax est, in uerbo et Sacramentis suis, atqiie prsestat
solide, quicquid Sacramentis suis ofFert, et uerbis suis pollicetur. Ad
confirmandam uero banc fidem; et ad excitandum nos ad gratias
agendas Domino, pro tanto eius beneficio, quod huic infantulo per
Baptisma collatum est, aqdiamus ex Euangelio, quomodo Dominus
uelit infantes sibi adferri, et benigne benedicere sibi oblatis.
Marci X.
Et attulerunt ad ilium pueros, ut tangeret illos, Discipuli uero in-
crepabant eos, qui adducebant. Ciim uidisset autem Jesus indignatus
est, et dixit illis, Sinite pueros uenire ad me, nec prohibete illos, ta-
lium enim est regnum coelorum. Amen dico nobis, Quicumq; non
acceperit regnum Dei tanquam puer, haudquaquam ingredietur in
illud. Et cum ccepisset [cepisset] in ulnas, impositis manibus super
illos benedixit eis.
Ex his ergo Christi uerbis certi sumus infantes, quicumqj Christo
558
APPENDIX.
iuxta Verbum eius offeruntur, pertinere ad regnum Dei, esse Filios
Dei, membra Christi, his angelos adesse ministros, et subiectam ad
inseruiendum eis omnem creaturam mundi. Quare singulari studio
ministrare talibus, ut in Cbristo rite educentur, et grandescant oportet,
quicumq; Christi sunt, quibus illos Dominus pecuhariter copulauit,
quales uos parentes, cognati, susceptores, et aUi necessarii, atque
Foi. ixxtU. omnes, qui de huius nostrae Ecclesise corpore estis. Hunc igitur nobis
infantulum, fihum et hseredem Dei, fratrem et cohaeredem Christi,
membrum Christi, et uestrum in Christo, fidei uestrse et curae in
Domino committo et commendo, ut eum Domino, in quern renatus
est, et Regno Dei, in quod renatus est, quam dihgentissime fouendum,
educandum, instituendum curetis, quisque pro sua uocatione et facul-
tate, ut ubi primum per aetatem poterit, discat seruare, qusecumque
Christus seruanda nobis praecepit. Quare nobis parentibus, cognatis,
et susceptoribus praecipue incumbit (quamquam ad id et caeteri omnes,
qui in hac Ecclesia uiuunt, et ad quoscunq; uenerit Christianos,
suam operam et opem conferre debeant) efficere, ut hie infans Dei,
ubi primum per aetatem liceat, ad Scholam et Ecclesiam deducatur,
et Dei mysteriis ibi summa fide instituatur, quo amplissima Dei
beneficia in Baptismo percepta agnoscere discat, et celebrare, Vt
deinde in Ecclesia fidem suam ipse profiteatur, Satanae et mundo
cum omnibus eius illecebris et operibus, sua ipsius uoce coram
uniuersa Ecclesia Dei renunciet, Christo et Ecclesiae sese in omnem
obedientiam addicat, et in ea ad finem usq; perseueret, ut uiuum
Christi membrum, et palmes in Christo manens, fructum adferens
copiosum, ad laudem et gloriam Dei, aedificationemqj Ecclesiae eius.
Post h(tc subiiciat imposita mam infanti.
Dominus uobiscum.
Respon. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Oremus. Domine Deus Pater Domini nostri lesu Christi, qui re-
genuisti hunc infantem ex aqua et Spiritu sancto, et peccatorum
omnium remissionem ei sacrosancto Baptismate contulisti, confirma
hunc tua gratia, et regas prouehasq; banc nouam uitam, quam donasti,
et perficias eam, ad quam infantem sacro hoc Sacramento obsignasti,
Da etiam parei^tibus ipsius, et nobis omnibus, ut in eo curando fide-
liter et dihgenter tibi inseruiamus, ut per ipsum et nos omnes indies
magis sanctificetur nomen tuum, ac regnum tuum promoueatur, ad
plenam usq; perfruitionem fcelicitatis, per Christum Dominum nos-
trum. Amen.
Si uero ii qui infantem ofFerunt, non satis constanter respondere
possunt ad dictas interrogationes, adeo ut fateantur se baud satis
Foi. ixxviii. scire, quid cogitarint, aut fecerint baptizando, perturbati scilicet prae-
APPENDIX.
559
senti periculo, ut fieri non raro solet, tunc omissa anxia disputatione,
Pastor taiem inf'aiitem nondum baptizatum iudicet, et ea omoia per-
ficiat, quae ad istam actionem pertinent, qualia supra descripta sunt,
admonitionem, et Catechismum ad eos qui infantem adferuut, Exi»r-
cismum infantis, communem confessionem fidei, et caetera omnia,
quibus peractis baptizet infantem, et citra conditiouem. In nomine
PatriSj et Filii, et Spiritus sancti.
De Coxfirmatione baptizatorvm, et solemni professioxe
FIDEI IN Christum, atq; obedienti.f: Christo et Ecclesi.f:
ElUS PR-EsTAND.E.
Et in ueteri, et in nouo Testamento mos hie obseruatus est ex in-
stituto Dei, ut qui prima infantia recepti essent in gratiam Domini,
apud ueteres per Circuncisionem, in nouo populo per Baptisma, ubi
primum acceptura hoc Dei beneficium cognouissent, et fidem in Deuni
solidam concepissent,ipsi fidem suamin Ecclesia profiterentur, et se ipsi
obedientiae Dei atq; Ecclesiae addicerent. Ad quam confessionem
fidei, et obedientiae in Ecclesia professionem, confirmari etiani iii
religione ab Ecclesia solenniter solebant, per orationera et aliquod
diuinae corroborationis Symbolura, quod sub Mose certis sacrificiis
constabat, et oblationibus, Florente Euangelio, impositione manuum,
et communione Coenae Domini. Est enim hsec uerae uiuaeq; fidei natura,
ut quisq; singularia Dei beneficia sibi praestita cupiat preedicare, et
celebrare, seseq; Deo inuicem ad glorificandum nomen eius, omni
officio pietatis offerre, et consecrare. Vnde Psal. XXII. canit. De
te laus mea in Ecclesia magna, in medio Ecclesiae laudabo te. Et
Psal. XXXV. Confitebor tibi in Ecclesia magna, in populo frequenti
laudabo te.
Deinde per Baptisma Christo inserti, et corporis eius, id est, Eccle-
siae facti membra, et ita reliquis Christi membris in Christo coniuncti
et addicti sumus, ut omnibus, quibuscum aliqua nobis inciderit uitae
consuetude, aut ulla officiorum communicatio, inseruire debeamus,
praecipuequidemadomnera pietatera et religionem, Deinde autem etiam
ad huius uitae praesentis necessitatem, ut singuli scilicet nos inuicem
agnoscamus, et syncera charitate complectamur in Christo, et primum p
doceamus,moneamus, corrigamus, consolemur, adhortemur in his, quae ^
sunt nouae uitae in Christo. Deinde etiam adiuuemus nos inuicem in
rebus uitae praesentis, consilio, opera, et opere. Htec itaq; uitae utriusq;
in Christo Domino communio, et officiorum uicissitudo poscit, ut
quisque se ipse quoq; Ecclesiae Christi ad banc interni et externi
hominis societatem, et officiorum communicationem palam offerat et
dedat. Cum igitur haec fidei confessio, et in obedientiam atque com-
municationem Christi et Ecclesiae, propria consecratio, et deditio,
560
APPENDIX.
quam ipsa fidei natura, et necessitas huius communicationis Christi
poscit. In Baptisrao fieri non possit, cum baptizantur infantes, necesse
est, ut ea ab iis, qui in infantia baptizati fuerint, fiat, cum ipsa de re-
ligione utcunq; instituti fuerint, et summa ilia beneficia in Baptisrao
collata, aliquantulum intellexerint.
Quando uero hi fidem suam et obedientiam coram Ecclesia solen-
niter profitentur, rursus ipsum fidei ingenium postulat, ut Ecclesia pro
eis preces solenniter fundat, et incrementa eis oret Spiritus sancti, ut in
fide Christi, et obedientia Ecclesiae, eos ipse confirmare, conseruare,
atque in omnem ueritatem perpetuo inducere uelit. Cumq; huiusmodi
oratio facta in nomine Christi, et fiducia promissionum eius, non possit
non efficax esse, ad ministerium Ecclesiae pertinet, eos pro quibus
Ecclesia orauit, confirmatione Spiritus sancti corroborare. Ad banc
itaq; ueteres, Christi et Apostolorum exemplum imitati, symbolum
adbihuerunt impositionis manuum.
Hsec igitur ceremonia fide Christi obseruata, quia indubie fidei et
charitatis Christianse officium est, modis omnibus, uerbis, et institutis
Domini consentanea, et certae sedificationis in Religione Christi, uolu-
mus eam in pium et salutarem usum in Ecclesia restitui, submotis
omnibus abusibus, qui in locum huius Ceremoniee inuaserunt, qui quam
fuerintfcedi et noxii nostrae religioni,cuiuisChristiano facile iudicare est.
Hactenus ministerium hoc Confirmationis peculiare opus fuit Suf-
fraganei, Caeterum cum in Ecclesia omnia ad communem Christiano-
rum utihtatem referri, institui, et fieri debeant, uolumus deinceps hoc
Confiimationis ministerium, si per Sufifraganeum commode adminis-
trari non posset, aut non ita ut oportet administraretur, per uisitatores
fieri, duabus per annum uicibus, in praecipuis solemnitatibus. Ciim
enim initio solis Episcopis commendaretur munus confirmandi, Epis-
Foi. ixxix. copatus tam ampli non erant, quam nunc sunt, nec enim diocaeses
ampliores erant, quam ut Episcopi singulas parochias per annum
semel uisitare, et Catechizatos pueros ipsi audire et confirmare possent.
At nunc multo aliter se res habet, et longe alia ratio est Episcopatuum,
ita ut uni Episcopo, aut SufFraganeo in tota Diocaesi sua iusto tempore
administrare banc Confirmationem impossibile sit. InEcclesiis enim
singulis adolescunt quotannis aliqui, quos fidem suam profiteri, et
Confirmari solenniter deceat. Quare cum singulae Ecclesiae opus ha-
beant annua inspectione et uisitatione, etiam eorum qui eo setate et
cognitione Christi promouerunt, solenni professione fidei, et Confir-
matione ipsa, nos necessaria procuratio gregis Dominici nobis crediti
cogit, ut prouldeamus, ne Ecclesiis idoneum ad haec ministerium desit.
Nec enim personis ministrorum salus ouium Christi, sed saluti harum
personae seruire debent ministrorum, ut omnia fiant iuxta illud.
Omnia uestra sunt siue Paulus, sine Apollo, sine Cephas. 1 Corinth, iii.
APPENDIX.
561
Et teste Hieronymo noii ideo Coofirmatio haec propria quondam
Episcoporum functio fuit, quod aliis earn administrare uon liceret, cum
Baptismum Sacramentum longe praestantius, uulgares etiam ministri,
imo quilibet Christiauus, si ordinarii Ministri deessent, administrare
possit. Sed ea de causa Episcopis peculiariter commendata fuit, ut
Episcopi singularum Ecclesiarum, quae cuiq; creditse essent, certiorem
assequerentur noticiam, et curam magis salutarem gererent, dum ipsi
singulis annis coguoscerent, qua fide et diligentia Pastores cum reli-
quos, turn prsecipue pueritiam Christi instituerent.
Ad maiorem etiam religionis consensionem, et erga Sacrum mini-
sterium reuerentiam, atq; obedientiam conseruandam faciebat, cum
unusquisq; fidem suam, et obedientiam Christi uni Episcopo profi-
teretur.
Cum autem tam multae Ecclesiee curse unius Episcopi concreditae
sint, ut per unum Episcopum uel Suffraganeum inspici singulce quo-
tannis non queant, necesse sane est, hoc iuspectionis et Confirmationis
munus, quod ultra annum dififerri sine grandi Ecclesiarum incom-
modo, et religionis periculo non potest, curare perficiendum opera
plurium, dum nequit per unum.
In singulis tamen Ecclesiis Parocbi una cum Symmystis suis, ah-
quot diebus ante aduentum Visitatorum, pueros, quos Confirmation!
offerre statuerint, ad confessionem fidei, et professionem Christianae
communicationis et obedientiae decenter faciendam, diligenter prse-
parabunt. Quae ad hunc modum ab eis facienda est.
Interrogatio. — Profiteris te Christianum ?
Respond. — Profiteor.
Interrogatio. — Quid est esse Christianum }
Respond. — In Christo renatum esse, et habere per eum remissionem
peccatorum, et Communicationem uitae aeternse.
Interrogatio. — Vnde confidis tibi haec esse coUata ?
Respond. — Quod Baptizatus sum in nomine Patris, et Filii, et
Spiritus sancti.
Interrogatio. — Quid credis de Deo Patre, et Filio, et Spiritu sancto ?
Respond. — Hoc quod articuli symboli nostri complectuntur.
Interrogatio. — Recita illos.
Respond. — Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem &c.
Hie puer articulos SymhoU omnes dare et distincte recitet.
Interrogatio. — Quid intelligis dum inquis. Credo in Deum Patrem,
in Filium, et Spiritum sanctum r
Respond. — Tres esse personas unius essentiae, potentiae, et unum
tamen Deum.
Interrogatio. — Cur inquis Deum omnipotentem, et Creatorem coeli
et terrae ?
2 o
562
APPENDIX.
Respond. — Quia credo, qutid Deus, ut omnia ita et me ipsum ex
nihilo creauit, per unicum Filium suum Dominum nostrum lesum
Christum, et per eundem solum conseruat, atq; gubernat, ubiq; prsesto
adest, et operatur omnia bona in omnibus, solo suo semper sapienti
consilio, et iusta uoluntate.
Interrogatio. — Quo pacto intelligis secundum articulum de Christo
Domino nostro ?
Respond. — Agnosco ex eo naturam nostram lapsu Adse adeo cor-
ruptam esse, ut nullus nec Angelorum, nec hominum expiare peccata
nostra, et satisfacere pro eis potuerit, adeo ut necesse fuerit uerbum
seternum Filium Dei fieri hominem, conceptum de Spiritu sancto,
natum ex Maria uirgine, uerum quidem hominem, sed sine peccato,
qui morte sua satisfecit pro peccatis nostris, et resurrectione atq;
ascensione sua in ccelos, collocauit nos secum in coelestibus, cui Pater
omnem dedit potestatem in coelis et terris, ut regat nos, restituat in
nobis imaginem suam, et tandem, ciim suo tempore uenerit ad iudi-
candum uiuos et mortuos, resuscitet k mortuis, et ad imaginem suam
Fol.lxxx. perfecte reformatos, donet adire hereditatem seternse foelicitatis in
coelis, alios uero, qui ipsum pertinaciter contempserint, tradat punien-
dos igni seterno.
Interrogatio. — Quae est sententia tertii articuli ?
Resp. — Hsec est, qu6d Christus Dominus donauerit nobis Spi-
ritum sanctum, qui per ministerium Euangelii credentes in Ecclesiam
suam congregat, in qua excitari perpetuo debent ad poenitentiam, et
fidem, et accipere remissionem peccatorum, per uerbum Dei, et Sacra-
menta Communionis Christi, ac ita bona conscientia uiuendo uitam
piam, sanctam, et utilem proximis, expectare Christum Seruatorem,
qui eos ex hoc saeculo ad se assumat in coelos, et corpora quoque eorum
in die iudicii ad uitam coelestem resuscitet.
Interrogatio. — Credis ergo hsec omnia firmiter ?
Resp. — Credo omnia, oro autem Dominum, ut banc fidem augere
in me dignetur.
Interrogatio. — Quid autem debet haec fides in te efficere ?
Resp. — Vt nihil dubitem Deum, & Patrem Domini nostri lesu
Christi, qui nobis cum hoc suo Filio misit uerbum suum, et donauit
omnia, esse solum uerum Deum, condidisse omnia ex nihilo, solum
efficere, et largiri bona omnia, ac uelle et mihi se Patrem prsestare,
propter eundem Filium suum Dominum nostrum lesum Christum,
abluisse me k peccatis Sacro Baptismate, donasse Spiritu Sancto,
Filio suo dilecto incorporasse, atq ; ita in Ecclesiam suam assump-
sisse, et in filium atq; haeredem adoptasse, conseruaturum etiam esse
in Ecclesia sua, poenitentiam et remissionem in ea daturum, Commu-
nionemq; Filii sui, ut per eum nomen ipsius filiali fiducia semper
APPENDIX.
563
inuocem, et innouatione mei ad imaginem eius quotidie proficiam, per
uerbum, et Sacramenta in me perpetuo confirmaturum, et aucturum,
quo sanctificare nomen ipsius, et inseruire Ecclesiae eius omni genera
bonorum operum indesinenter studeam, donee me ex hoc saeculo ad
coelestia gaudia, et beatam resurrectionem assumat. Quae omnia prae-
stita mihi agnosco, et praestanda ex sola gratuita misericordia Patris
coelestis, et inaestimabili merito Filii sui Domini nostri lesu Christi.
Interrogatio. — Hanc tibi fidem augeat, et confirmet Deus, et Pater
noster ccelestis, per Filium suum Dominum nostrum lesum Christum,
Amen. Sentis igitur te, et agnoscis in hac fide uere filium esse, et
haeredem Dei, fratrem et cohaeredem Domini nostri lesu Christi, ac
ideo etiam unum membrum corporis sui, quod est Ecclesia ?
Respond. — Sentio et agnosco fretus certissimis diuinae beneuolentiae
promissionibus, et merito Domini nostri lesu Christi.
Interrogatio. — Ergo placet tibi, ratumq; habes, et adiutus Spiritu foI. ixxx.
Domini in eo perseuerabis, quod tui susceptores nomine tuo ad Sacrum
Baptisma promiserunt et professi sunt, cum pro te renunciarunt
Satanae, et mundo, et addixerunt te Christo et Ecclesiae eius in solidam
Euangelii obedientiam ?
Respond. — Haec rata habeo, et in eis adiuuante me Domino nostro
lesu Christo permanebo usq; ad finem.
Interrogatio. — Et nunc ipse etiam tuo corde etore hie in conspectu
Dei, et coram sancta eius Ecclesia, renuncias Satanae et cunctis ope-
ribus eius ?
Respond. — Renuncio.
Interrogatio. — Et mundo atq cunctis concupiscentiis eius ?
Respond. — Renuncio.
Interrogatio. — Et tradis te atq; consecras in omnem obedientiam
Christo et Sanctae Ecclesiae eius ?
Respond. — Trado me et consecro.
Interrogatio. — Quomodo es primum k Deo in filium adoptatus, et in
Ecclesiam eius assumptus }
Respond. — Per S. Baptisma.
Interrogatio.— Quid est Baptisma ?
Respond. — Lauacrum regenerationis, quo k peccato ablutus, et
Christo Domino insertus sum, et eo indutus.
Interrogatio. — Vis in hac communione Christi persenerare usque in
finem ?
Respond. — Volo equidem fretus auxilio Domini nostri lesu Christi.
Interrogatio. — Quid requirit ista communio Ecclesiae Christi ?
Respond. — Vt permaneam in doctrina hac,quam conf'essus sum, et
in omnibus articulis fidei nostrae, credamq; remissionem me habere
peccatorum in Christo Domino, ct propter hunc Filium dilectum, non
564
APPENDIX.
proprio merito iusticiae esse iustificatum, et acceptum Deo haeredemq;
uitse Eeternse, Turn uiuere etiam studeam secundum omnia placitaDei.
Atq; quo in hac agnitione Dei, et obedientia proficiam ut uerbum Dei
prsecipue autem diebus Festis et Dominicis, k Ministris Ecclesise dili-
genter audiam, et si Presbyteri Ecclesise, aut alii, quicunq; hoc mihi
dileetionis officium praestiterint, arguant peccati, ut id boni consulara,
et ad uitse emendationem suscipiam, et ego proximos meos itidem,
quos male et inordinate se gerere uidero, ex syncero studio Christi,
et salutis ipsorum moneam, et emendem, si liceat, sin minus, ut alios
Foi.ixxxi. adhibeam, quos sperauero plus elFecturos apud illos, qu6d si neqj
hos audierint, ut ad Presbyteros Ecclesiarum rem omnem deferam, quos
s audire contempserint, ac propterea excommunicati fuerint, ut eos ha-
beam pro Ethnicis et publicanis, eorumq; consuetudinem uitem, quan-
tum feret uocatio nostra, et coniunctio cum ipsis ciuilis, et necessitas
ipsorum secundum uerbum Dei.
Interrogatio. — Quid amplius requirit communio Ecclesiae Christi ?
Respond. — Requirit etiam, ut cum reliquis Christianis, ad quos-
cunq; uenero, uel apud quos habitauero,communicem Ccenae Domini, ut
cum quibus unus panis, et unum corpus sim in Christo.
Interrogatio. — Quid est hoc Sacramentum ?
Respond. — Est communicatio corporis et sanguinis Christi quae
nobis in ccena Domini, cum ilia iuxta institutum Domini celebratur, cum
pane et uino uere exhibentur.
Interrogatio. — In quem usum sumis corpus et sanguinem Domini ?
Respond. — Vt fides mea in ipsum, et fiducia noui et eeterni Testa-
menti, gratise Dei, redemptionis Christi, atq; Communionis cum ipso,
magis ac magis in me confirmetur, et minus mihi, sed magis in ipso
uiuam, et ipse in me uitam nouam et sanctam instauret. Nam quod ad
meam carnem et sanguinem attinet, nihil quam peccare, et impiam
agere uitam possum.
Interrogatio. — Quid prseterea requirit communio Ecclesise '
Respond. — Vt ad publicas Ecclesise preces, meas studiose addam,
conueniam, et ibi oblationes, et eleemosinas liberaliter conferam in
usus pauperum, sicq; in omnibus me geram, uti membrum Christi, in
Christo coniunctum, et cohserens cum piis omnibus, eosqj quos Do-
minus Ecclesiis suis Pastores, curatores animarum, et presbyteros
prsefecerit, in omnibus libenter agnoscam, et colam, sicut decet filium
Dei, Deo morigerum, et gratum esse pro immensis istis beneficiis,
Euangelio, et communione Filii eius Domini nostri lesu Christi.
Interrogatio. — Vis autem hsec omnia bona fide prsestare, et obser-
uare, quemadmodum iam professus es ?
Respond. — Volo, fretus auxilio Domini nostri lesu Christi.
APPENDIX.
565
Postquajyi uero nnus ex pueris confessioiiem fidei pleniorem recitauerit, et
obedient lam Christi plenius professus fuerit coram omni Ecdesia, satis-
fuerit pueros cceteros interrogare ordine, isto modo.
Interrogatio. — Credis et confiteris et tu fill, ac uis te tradere et Foi. ixxxi.
consecrare in commuoionem et obedientiam Christi et Ecclesise eius,
ita ut modo audiuisti istum puerum credere, et confessum esse, sese
Christo et Ecclesiae Christi in obedientiam Euangelii addixisse ?
Hie satis erit pro se singulos respondere, ita.
Credo, Confiteor, et me Christo et Ecclesise eius consecro, fretus
gratia et ope Domini et Seruatoris nostri lesu Christi.
Vbi uero non fuerint pueri tam exercitati in Religionis cognitione,
ut adformam prsescriptam respondere meraoriter possint, debet Visi-
tator. qui Confirraationera administrabit. talibus pueris responsiones
omnes praelegere, et satis erit, si simplici responsione praelecta se cre-
dere testati fuerint, ita tamen declarare eis omnia studebit, ut intelli-
gant, quid ibi agatur. et quid confiteantur, et pvoiiteantur. Monendi
tamen diligenter sunt, ut cogitent se stare in conspectu Dei, quem
fallere non possint, qui cor intuetur. Quare summa religione curan-
dum eis, ut uita ipsa declarent, quod ore profitentur, et corde sentiunt.
Singuli tamen pueri, ut ante monuimus, septimana prEecedenti, per
Ministros et Seniores cuiusq; Ecclesiae, exerceri ad hfec debent, et
diligenter explorari, et Pastores et Presbyteri nullos pueros confirman-
dos Visitatori sistere debent, nisi de quibus confidant, quod summam
Religionis teneant. et Christo uere credant. Vt scite respondeant pueri,
quod ad uerba attinet, non est anxie requirendum, nec enira raro fit,
ut qui scientia fidei instructiores sint, uel pudore, uel alia imbecillitate
animi irapediti, quae pie sentiunt, minus commode ualeaut eloqui.prce-
sertim in pubhco. Quare magis spectandum, qui pueri, quae Religionis
sunt, uere intelligant, quam qui ualeant ea uerbis scite explicare, qua
in re ii ssepe praestant, qui animos minus pietate imbutos habent.
Porro cum pueri confirmandi, fidem suam confessi fuerint, et Euangelii
obedientiam professi, Ecclesia admonenda est, ut pro his pueris Deum
suppliciter oret, Cuius orationem Pastor huiusmodi CoUecta Domino
offeret.
COLLECTA.
Omnipotens et misericors Deus, Pater coelestis, qui solus in nobis
efficis, ut uelimus ac perficiamus, quae tibi placita sunt, ac uere bona,
rogamus te pro his pueris, quos Ecclesiae tuae donasti, atque tibi Sacro ^^'^^^^^^
Baptismate regenuisti, quibusq; eam lucem infadisti,ut gratiam et bene-
ficia tua erga se, redemptionem suam in Christo lesu, et agnoscere, et
coram Ecclesia confiteri, seq: ipsi tibi, et Ecclesiae tuae in obedientiam
praeceptomm tuonim dedere et consecrare uoluerint, Confirma hoc
566
APPENDIX.
opus tuum quod in eis operatus es, auge ipsis donum Spiritus tui, ut
in Ecclesia tua agnitione et obedientia Euangelii tui semper profi-
cientes, ad finem usq; perseuerent, neq; unquam peruersa aliqua doc-
trina seducti, uel cupiditatibus carnis impulsi, ab ea fide et Euangelii
obedientia, quam confessi mode et professi sunt, uspiam declinent,
Largire eis, ut in Filio tuo Domino nostro lesu Christo, communi om-
nium nostrum capite, foeliciter adolescentes, crescant in eum, donee
perueniant ad plene uirilem et perfectam setatem, in omni sapientia,
sanctitate, atq; iustitia, ut te Patrem, et Filium tuum Dominum nos-
trum cum Spiritu sancto semper plenius cognoscant, ardentius dili-
gant, et coram proximis suis^, et uerbis, et omni uita sua grauius et
efficacius confiteantur, celebrent, atq; glorificent, Et quemadmodum
nobis pollicitus es, quicquid petieriraus a te in nomine Filii tui dilecti,
te hoc nobis daturum esse, et sicut Filius tuus promisit te nobis ro-
gantibus spiritum bonum multo promptius daturum esse, quam
Patrem quemuis inter nos bonum aliquod rogantibus filiis suis, ita
tribue his tuis pueris, quod te per Christum Fihum tuum rogamus, ut
cum illis modo in tuo nomine manus imponeraus, et per hoc signum
certos eos reddemus, paternam manum tuam semper fore super eos
extentam, Spiritum sanctum tuum, qui eos in uia salutis, in uita uere
Christiana conseruet, ducat, et regat, nunquam defuturum, Tribue
inquam tu eis, ut hsec uera fide agnoscant, et certo credant te ipsos
omnipotenti dextera tua semper protecturum, et ab omni malo custo-
diturum, et hberaturum, et ad omne bonum ducturum et perducturum,
tuumq; Sanctum Spiritum ab eis nunquam ablaturum, per Dominum
nostrum lesum Christum, Amen.
Hie Pastor impositis super eos manibus dicet.
Domine lesu Christe Fih Dei, qui in Euangelio dixisti^ Si uos igitur
cum sitis mali, nostis dona bona dare fihis uestris, quanto magis Pater
dabit Spiritum sanctum petentibus se ? Item, si duo consenserint in
terra de omni re, quamcumq; petierint, fiet illis a Patre meo coelesti,
Confirma hunc seruum tuum N. Spiritu sancto tuo, ut in obedientia
Euangelii tui perseueret, Diabolo et propriae infirmitati fortiter resistat,
Foi. ixxxii. neq; contristet Spiritum sanctum, aut scandalis perturbet, uel offendat
«'^^-^- Ecclesiam tuam, sed ut tota eius uita ad laudem glorise tUcje, propriam
salutem, et communem Ecclesise tuae utilitatem, tota deseruiat, quemad-
modum nobis praecepisti,et daturum te rogantibus pollicitus es, Amen.
Post hcEC canatur Hymnus, Grates nunc omnes &;c.
In Confirmatione pridem signum olei adhiberi consueuit, uerum quo*
niam hoc signo supersticiosissime abusi sunt, et apud Christianos non
tam signa et umbrtE Spiritualium rerum, quam res et ueritas spectari
APPENDIX.
567
et ualere debet, satisfuerit in ista actione Symbolum impositionis
manuum, quod et Apostolis atq; antiquioribus Patribus satisfuit.
Vt uero Ceremonia hsec maiore grauitate et religione, et uberiore
fructu, cum puerorum, turn totius Ecclesise peragatur, Decani cum
Visitatoribus aut Parochis singularum Ecclesiarum talem aliquem
locum in templis ad istara Ceremoniam ministrandam deligent, unde
confessio et professio puerorum, et reliqua, quj3e cum illis agenda sunt,
a tota Ecclesia clare exaudiri et intelligi possint.
ADDENDA, &c.
P. S5. It may be worth while to give an illustration of what is here
referred to. Thus, then, we find Bishop Hooper quoted as an oppo-
nent of the Calvinistic view of election, because he has said in his
Preface to his " Declaration of the Ten Commandments," that The
cause of rejection or damnation is sin in man, which will not hear,
neither receive the promise of the Gospel." Now this might fairly
be adduced against the notion that it was not sin, but God's decree,
that caused man's damnation ; but it does not touch the question of
the cause of election ; and in the context of this very passage. Bishop
Hooper tells us, The cause of our election is the mercy of God in
Christ, Rom. ix. Howbeit he that will be partaker of this election
must receive the promise in Christ by faith. For therefore we be
elected, because afterward we are made the members of Christ. Eph.
i. ; Rom viii." (Works P. S. ed. p. 264.) That is, he maintains
that it is God's mercy, not foreseen holiness, that is the
cause of our election. Bishop Hooper's views have been similarly
misrepresented on other points by giving extracts from his writings,
adverse to certain extreme views on the subject of the Divine Decrees,
as showing his adherence to what is now called Arminian doctrine.
But I must content myself with putting the reader on his guard
against such misconceptions of the views of our early divines, as it
would occupy considerable space to notice them at length.
Pp. 107 and 274. In giving the names of the Regius Professors of
Divinity at Cambridge, I have followed Le Neve in his " Fasti Ec-
clesiae Anglicanae, 1/16," fol., (a work of the highest reputation) ;
whose list is, I understand, borne out by the University Register.
John Fox, however, in his Acts and Monuments," (ed. 1583, p. 1966,)
tells us, that, at the restoration of the bones of Bucer and Paul Fagius
568
APPENDIX.
to an honourable burial, " M. James Pilkinton the Queenes reader of
the Divinity Lecture, going up into the pulpite, made a sermon
upon the iii. Psalme," &c. His case, if he is to be added to the hst,
only affords further evidence of the correctness of the view already
deduced from the works of his contemporaries as to the theology of
our Church at that period ; both as it respects its general character,
and its nature on the particular subject of baptism.
For the former, the following passage may suffice.
" And why will God thus save them ? for any goodness in them,
which had so long forgotten him and his house ; or for their good
works who had so long been so disobedient ? No ; but even ' because
I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.' This is the first and chiefest
cause, why he bestoweth his goodness upon any people ; even because
he hath chosen them in Christ afore the world was made : and for this
cause he continueth bestowing his blessing to the end, upon them whom he
hath once chosen 'I have chosen you, and ye have not chosen
me/ said Christ to his disciples and apostles. And as he thus chose
them, so he chooses all which be chosen : and so he will declare his
free grace, love, and mercy, to all which be his,/ree/y, even because it
pleased him to choose them, and they deserved not to be chosen of him,
but rather to be cast away from him." (Expos, upon Aggeus, Ch. 2,
ver. 20—23. Works, P. S. ed. pp. 194, 195.)
For the latter (if any is necessary after the passage just cited), we
may take the following observations on the Sacraments : —
Under this name of a seal, he commendeth unto us also both his
outward visible Sacraments, and the inward grace of the Holy Ghosb
workmg in our consciences by them. St. Paul calleth circumcision (a
Sacrament of the old law) 'the seal of the righteousness of faith:' and
as that was a seal in that time to our fathers of righteousness, so be
our Sacraments to us in these days seals of God's promises unto us,
and all have one strength and virtue. The Scripture of God is the
indenture betwixt God and us, wherein is contained both the promises,
grace, and mercy, that God offereth to the world in his Son Christ,
and also the conditions which he requires to be fulfilled in our behalf :
the Sacraments are the seals set to his indenture, to strengthen our
faith, that we do not doubt. For as it is not enough to write the
conditions of a bargain in an indenture, except it be sealed ; so God
for our weakness thought it not sufficient to make us promise of his
blessings in writing in his Scripture : but he would seal it with his
own blood, and institute his Sacraments as seals of the same truth, to
remain to be received of us in remembrance of him and strengthening
our faith."' (lb. p. 192.)
APPENDIX.
569
P. 209. 1. 6. The necessity of consulting the works of our early-
divines to ascertain what is the true meaning of their Formularies
(the principle here contended for), is thus distinctly acknowledged
by Bishop Bethell : " Several solutions have been proposed in order
to get rid of this discordance between the language of our own
Church, and the opinions of some Churchmen. But in the meantime
it seems to have been forgotten, that the true sense of these compositions
must he ascertained by investigating their genealogy, and endeavouring to
discover the opinions of their compilers, and the principles on which they
were really constructed:' (Bp. Bethell's Gen. View of doctr. of Regen.
in Baptism. 4th ed. 1845. pp. 98, 99.)
Notice of Archdeacon Wilberforces Answer to the preceding Work.
While this sheet was passing through the press, Archdeacon Wilber-
force's Answer to the preceding Work has been placed in my hands. It
is, of course, impossible for me to do much more here than to state my
intention of replying to it at as early a period as my other engagements will
permit. I avail myself, however, of the opportunity just to notice one or
two, out of several like, points, which have struck me in the course of a
rapid glance through it. The Work commences with as singular a mis-
take as can easily be found. Mr. Scott has justly stated, that "the question
whether spiritual regeneration is, or is not, inseparable from baptism,"
has not " any necessary connexion with the doctrines of absolute predes-
tination, and indefectible grace;" justly, because many Arminians deny
that it is. But this assertion the Archdeacon strangely metamorphoses
into an assertion, that *' the theory of Calvin and the doctrine of Bap-
tismal Grace are not so practically irreconcileable, that those who adhere
to the one must forego the other ;" and finding that my Work maintains
that Calvinism and the doctrine that spiritual regeneration is inseparable
from baptism are irreconcileable, he thus concludes, " Thus does he [ Mr.
Goode] take for granted, as the very basis of his position, that which
Mr. Scott had . so emphatically denied." (pp. 2, 3.) This is but an un-
promising commencement ; especially when we find the Archdeacon him-
self telling us in p. 179, that " a belief that any gifts of grace are bestowed
where there is no certainty of salvation, is inconsistent with the funda-
mental principles of the theory of Calvin ;" a statement which of itself
answers a considerable portion of his volume, and is a stronger statement
than I have ever made, or think consistent with fact. But then again,
towards the close of his Work, in direct contradiction to this, the Arch-
deacon spends some 20 pages in proving that certain " Calvinists" did hold
the doctrine of invariable spiritual regeneration in infant baptism, refer-
ring to Davenant, Ward, and even Usher (!) as testifying against me,
2 p
570
APPENDIX.
concluding in triumph that " Mr. Goode is utterly put out of Court
by his own witnesses." (p. -292.) Of course the Archdeacon is " put
out" also, at the same time, and by himself. And the Archdeacon's
triumph will be very short with one who consults the writings of the parties
he has named. But he seems to have no idea of the essential difference of
their views from his own system. As to Usher, it is difficult to conceive
how he could venture to name him for such a purpose. The view of
Davenant, as stated in bis letter to Ward (and this is what the Archdeacon
alludes to) every reader of my Work knows that I have given fully, and I
think I have sufficiently shown its uselessness for proving what the Arch-
deacon would derive from it. But what will the reader say when I inform
him, that the Archdeacon actually represents the matter as if I had con-
cealed it, and whites thus, " The reader will see that on these facts it would
not be difficult to found a charge ofdisingenuous conduct against Mr. Goode.
Wh?/ not tell his readers plainly the jiurpose of Davenant' s letter 9
Why not state more fully the sentiments of Dr. Ward, &c." (p. 272).
And he then takes credit for not implying such an imputation, adding a
note of reproof for my speaking of the disingenuousness of the Tractarian
party ! And in several passages in other parts, he complains as if I had
not spoken with sufficient respect of Archbishop Laurence, &c. I cer-
tainly am not aware that such is the case. The charge against the
Tractarian party is too w^ell founded to permit me to withdraw it. But
one thing I would earnestly press upon the Archdeacon's attention, that
before he, at least, indulges in criticism of this kind, he must expunge
from his own book insinuations that his opponents use expressions which
they disbelieve, and promise to teach a system ivhirh they intend to con-
tradict, «&c. (p. 55, 6.) when he well knows, that they believe and teach
what in their minds is the true meaning of the language as much as him-
self. Such language is reprehensible in the highest degree, but never-
theless but too common in the mouths of many of those who think with
him.
In p. 264, I find the following statement, — " He finds the system
of Calvinism not only in Abbot and Downame, but in Andrews and
Hooker." (p. 264.) The fact is just the reverse as to Andrews, who is
mentioned and quoted as opposed to it. (See pp. 114, 115, of first ed.
125, 126, 2d. ed.)
The Archdeacon informs his readers that Mr. Goode "opens his
historical statements with the startling assertion that Peter Lombard is
on his side, and that in the blooming period of the Scholastic philosophy
it was an open question whether ' grace was always conferred upon
infants in baptism,' p. 32." (p. 192.) And he frequently repeats the
words, as if the denial was as to any grace being conferred. Now first,
I particularly guard myself against the supposition that 1 quote Peter
Lombard as " on my side" ; and secondly, the Archdeacon would see in
p. 38 of Appendix, that I limited the word "grace" by adding sane-
APPENDIX.
571
tifying,'* and I leave any one to read the passages I have quoted, and
judge for himself whether or not the passages I have given from Peter
Lombard do not fully bear out what I have said respecting them. The
way in which the Archdeacon would explain these passages is not recon-
cileable with the language used in them. And I may say the same as to
the authorities from the Canon Law quoted in p. -32, commented upon by
the Archdeacon in pp. 203, 206 ; except that the Archdeacon is perfectly
right in saying that I should have quoted the latter as the Council of
Vienne, not (as I called it, by the Latin name) Vienna. The Latin names,
however, are frequently used in such cases, but here certainly it might lead
to a mistake. But I shall meet the observations of the Archdeacon on
these passages more fully hereafter.
I shall notice now but one more point. The Archdeacon is of course
very anxious to get rid of the argument derived from the Baptismal
Service in the Cologne Liturgy, and to rescue Archbishop Laurence
from the charge of making a mistake about it or the views of its author.
In my humble apprehension, he might as well have attempted to prove
that two and two make five. The fact is plain and undeniable. Bucer
belonged to the Reformed party, and is proved to have held views in-
consistent with the notion of invariable spiritual regeneration in Bap-
tism, and he drew up the Baptismal Service in the Cologne Liturgy.
Consequently that Service is at least open to an interpretation consistent
with his views. The fact that Melancthon gave his assent to the Service
does not at all affect the argument. The Achdeacon's anxiety, however,
on this point, has led him actually to deny that the Abp. " puts down
Bucer as a Lutheran," and even to go so far as to say that the charge "is
grounded only upon the fact that Laurence speaks of the language of
Herman s Service as Lutheran^ (p. 236.) ! ! I leave the reader to
judge from the passages I have quoted how far this is correct, (p. 402,
first ed. 438, 9. 2d. ed.)
The above remarks will probably show the reader the necessity of
caution in reading the Archdeacon's Work. A more extended reply I
must reserve for another opportunity.
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