,,..vi ^' *^ ^'^"'"^'"'^ ^r„,-„^ 
 
 PEINCETON, N. J. 
 
 % 
 
 Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Agitezv Coll. on Baptism, No. 
 
 iiv 
 
 
oo c.^^ 
 
j , ' . ^7 JMOS. p/. Do, Oy. •**• r' « "■ i /■"' 
 
 h»^ I^aA *jii£„3^ n4>Ai 5^^t!*4: cvi4*« 
 
 ^^^— -Vtrinrp T u R A L view^^t^^ttS 
 
 / iA^H L Y ; B A P T I S M^_^ [, -c^_ ^^ 
 
 ^^^^^^"^ *t*^- WITH AN ^ 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 BY THE REV. E. B. PUSEY, B.D. 
 
 RKGIUS PROFESSOR OF HEBREW, CANON OF CHRIST CHURCH, 
 AND LATE FELLOW OF ORIEL COLLEGE. 
 
 Since, Lord, to Thee, 
 A narrow way and little gate 
 Is all the passage ; on my infancy 
 
 Thou didst lay hold, and antedate 
 My Faith in me. 
 
 O let me still 
 Write Thee Great God, and me a child. 
 
 Herbert's Holy Baptism. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. RIVINGTON, 
 
 ST. Paul's church yard, 
 
 and WATERLOO PLACE, FALL MALL. 
 
 1836. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 OII.BI.RT & RIVINGTON, PRINTRHS, 
 
 ST. JOHN';- SQUARE. 
 
r 
 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The following tracts having been written in some degree, 
 as they were published, separately, it may, perhaps, contri- 
 bute to clearness to state their object and their plan. Their 
 immediate object was to aid in removing the perplexities 
 of different individuals, who were harassed by the conflict- 
 ing opinions, which in these last times, have existed on the 
 subject of Holy Baptism. With one of these individuals my 
 office had brought me into connection. My original pur- 
 pose was rather to have given hints, which might aid others 
 in thinking profitably upon the subject, than myself to have 
 written at length. I wished to recall men, from their ab- 
 stract way of looking upon the question as a subject of 
 theological controversy, to their Saviour's feet, and to 
 induce them to think (apart from modern systems) what 
 His words, teachably considered, would lead to. For 
 it is a fearful evil of theological controversy, that men 
 accustom themselves to bandy about words of Holy Scrip- 
 ture, forgetting whose words they are. 
 
 When a text has been repeatedly and familiarly used in 
 support of any doctrine, persons, on the one side or the 
 other, involuntarily contract a habit of looking upon it in 
 the abstract as a mere 'dictum prohans ;^ they consi- 
 der what the words in themselves may, or (as they think) 
 need not, mean, leaving out of sight what they must mean 
 in His mouth, who spoke them. And hence is produced 
 an irreverent mode either of alleging or arguing against 
 
 A 2 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 them ; and most consequently of their weight, — that arising, 
 namely, from the subduing- influence of God's words, as 
 such, upon the human soul, is lost. Any one, who has been 
 engaged in religious discussion, will, probably, if he have 
 been led frequently to discuss the same subject, have found 
 himself alleging an accustomed text without an adequate 
 feeling of its import, and been checked perhaps and chided, 
 in the midst, by the greatness of some of the words, which 
 he has taken into his mouth. Somethino^ of the same kind 
 is observable in the pulpit. It requires so constant an 
 effort in any degree to realize things spiritual, that even 
 earnest-minded persons may be sometimes observed to 
 speak there of truths the most awful, in a tone, which, if 
 their own words were echoed to them, would startle and 
 pain themselves. This is in fact simply the old observation 
 on the tendency of familiarity with a subject to diminish our 
 sense of its greatness. 
 
 Other causes have operated to diminish the force of Scrip- 
 ture-teaching upon the subject of Holy Baptism. It was in- 
 tended, doubtless, that truth should be preserved upon earth 
 by being transmitted ; and this, with regard not only to the 
 great sum of religion, and the main articles of the Faith, but 
 the right understanding of Holy Scripture also. Hence, 
 while all have been made capable of understanding truth, 
 when proposed to them, few, comparatively, have been 
 entrusted with the power of distinguishing for themselves 
 between truth and error, otherwise than they have been 
 taught. A spiritual mind, however limited, will see truth for 
 itself, but it is only by having at the first faithfully followed 
 guidance to that truth. This instinctive adherence, however, 
 to an inherited system, although implanted in us for the main- 
 tenance of truth, may become almost equally subservient 
 to the propagation of error. And God, in that mysterious 
 dispensation whereby He makes the trials of the children to 
 depend upon the character of the parents, and entrusts each 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 generation with an awful control over the spiritual privileges 
 of the succeeding, has annexed subsequent perplexity as a 
 punishment for the admission of each new error. This is 
 seen in the history of His Church, as well as of individuals. 
 It is very remarkable to trace from how early a date much 
 interpretation of the Scripture is derived : and that, where 
 such interpretation has not been at all obvious, and so has 
 probably been inherited : and, again, how, when any inno- 
 vation has been introduced, it also acquires an authority 
 from the personal character or talents of its author, and 
 from authority, prescription ; so that, henceforth, (unless 
 the error be speedily suppressed) two systems are perpe- 
 tuated in the Church, equally traditionary, but the one of 
 late origin, the other ancient, and, until of late, universal. 
 Thus, with regard to the main texts relatii^g to Baptism, 
 until the unhappy innovation of Zuingli, in the 16th cen- 
 tury, the whole Church knew but of one sense belonging 
 to them. The vhole Church of God, from India to Bri- 
 tain, as expressing itself by the Fathers or its Liturgies, 
 for fifteen centuries, took in one sense the words of our 
 Redeemer, " Except a man be born again of water and 
 the Spirit." But when a man arose, to whom circum- 
 stances, and talents, and zeal against error, gave extensive 
 influence, and with a new theory of the Sacraments, intro- 
 duced a new exposition of our Redeemer's words, thenceforth, 
 a new path was formed ; and this too having been tracked 
 by men of great name, and trodden by others of deep 
 piety, those who are ignorant of antiquity, or of the value 
 of its universal agreement, are perplexed which to choose. 
 They have now to decide between two beaten tracks, 
 instead of following simply the footsteps of their fathers. 
 
 Under these circumstances, mere controversy, for the 
 most part, does harm. Each party is persuaded of the truth 
 of that system or exposition, which he has inherited, because 
 he has inherited it, or because it has come to him fiom 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 those whom he respects, or his own spiritual proficiency or 
 usefuhiess has, as he imagines, become connected with it. 
 Few can see, or even induce themselves to weigh an expo- 
 sition contrary to that which they have received; and very 
 few ought, or have been intended, so to do ; unless indeed 
 they have the weight of higher authority against them, as in 
 cases where the Church having decided one way, individual 
 teachers have instructed them in another. 
 
 Still, those who, under more popular names, are following 
 the teaching of Zuingli, and, with Zuingli, explain away 
 the force of their SaA-iour's words, are very far from meaning 
 to be guilty of this irreverence. It is not because I think 
 that they love not their Saviour, but because they love Him, 
 and because I think that that love is in danger of being in- 
 jured by the slight which modern systems put upon His 
 ordinances and His words, that I have especially urged, 
 (p. 16 sqq. ) them to reconsider His words (St. John iii. 4), 
 and the rejection of an explanation of those words, which they 
 have inherited, but which seems to me in itself inconsistent 
 with reverence for Him. I wished namely that they would 
 ponder the bearing of His words " Except a man be born 
 of water and the Spirit," apart from any modern systems, 
 any temporary circumstances, any regard to consequences, 
 not as a text in a theological conti'oversy, but as uttered by 
 Him, before whose mind the future history of His Church 
 was open, and who was providing for her necessities. And 
 since His Church has, from the verj' first, rested the doctrine 
 of the heavenly birth in Baptism upon these His words, and 
 has regarded that His gift as unreserved as His words are 
 unlimited, surely we must think that if He had intended 
 her to understand His words more restrainedly. He would 
 Himself have limited them. As it is, He has given no hint, 
 either that the peculiar privileges and powers of the Chris- 
 tian new-birth are bestowed ordinarily, without the " water," 
 or are not bestowed with it. 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 The argument briefly is; He, by His Divine foreknow- 
 ledge, must have known this, that His whole Church would 
 so understand His words, and in His goodness, He could not 
 mislead her. He must then have meant to teach as He 
 allowed her to understand Him. The force of this argu- 
 ment is not weakened by the fact, that the modern Church 
 of Rome, or other heretics, allege Scripture in support of 
 their errors. For it can be shown, first, that, however 
 Scripture may now be alleged in the support of these here- 
 sies, they did not originate in the misunderstanding of Scrip- 
 ture, but in human reason, worldly wisdom, or the like. 
 Secondly, they are errors, not of the whole Church, but of 
 later sects, who have forsaken the genuine tradition of the 
 Holy Catholic Church. Thirdly, they are not founded on 
 the obvious meaning of Scripture. 
 
 This argument weighed strongly in my own mind, so 
 that I should have needed no other ; and it is, I think, calcu- 
 lated to have much weight, not with the disputer, but with 
 those who wish simply to know their Lord's will. And 
 therefore, (not with any idea of judging others,) I felt and 
 said that " with one who loved His Saviour, I should be 
 content to rest the question upon this one passage." 
 
 Since, however, it is difficult to recover habits of mind, 
 which have been once abandoned, and the teachableness, 
 which in better days followed out the hint of one single 
 expression in Holy Scriptures, is, in our disputatious, de- 
 monstrating age, well nigh gone, and people look with an 
 involuntary suspicion upon any doctrine rested upon a 
 single passage, I thought it well to bring together the 
 several passages of Holy Scripture wherein Baptism is 
 mentioned, not with any notion of setting forth all their 
 teaching, but simply of showing that it all led us one way, 
 that it would all tend to far more exalted notions of 
 Holy Baptism, than are in these days current among 
 those who think that they appreciate it even highly. This 
 
VIU PREFACE. 
 
 led me to enlarge my original plan ; and as this extension 
 may have obscured the method of the Essay, it may not be 
 amiss to exhibit a summary of it. 
 
 Introductory observations (Tract 67- p. 1 — 12). I. Consideration of 
 passages of Holy Scripture which speak of or imply the greatness of Bap- 
 tism, (p. 12 — 48.) passages which speak of the forfeiture of those privi- 
 leges, and how the heavenly birth may, in some degree, be restored (Tract 
 68. p. 49—82). II. Baptism, as a Sacrament (p. 82—9). III. History 
 of the introduction of the new doctrine into the Church, (a) views of 
 Zuingli its inventor (p. 89 — 104.); Agreement of Calvin (Tract 69. p. 
 105 — 14.); theory of his school, in detail, destructive of a Sacrament (p. 
 114 — 133.) ; confusion of terms, " regeneration," "sanctification," ensuing on 
 that theory (p. 134 — 142). (j8) Doctrine of indefectibility of grace. IV. Re- 
 moval of objections, whether (a) k priori, (p. 149 — 166.) or (/3) derived from 
 Scripture (p. 166 — 170). Adult Baptism, as distinct from the preceding 
 (p. 171 — 6). Extracts from the Fathers, in answer to the charge that " Bap- 
 tismal Regeneration" is a deadening doctrine (p. 176 — 196). Contrast of 
 the exposition above adopted, with that of the reformed and the Socinians 
 (p. 196-201 ). Importance of the subject (p. 201 — end). 
 
 I must, however, repeat that neither in pointing out the 
 effects of the views inculcated, nor in quoting the warm 
 healthy language of the Fathers, do I wish to recommend 
 the doctrine on these grounds : I have done so on the de- 
 fensive only, to clear away a difficulty for others, to remove 
 a prejudice, which may hinder them from seeing the truth, 
 not in support of the truth, or as a ground why they should 
 receive it. For so long as men shall appeal to the effects 
 of a line of teaching, or its popularity, or its fitness for its 
 end, in proof of its truth in the sight of God, so long must 
 error abound. 
 
 But, although my object has been to remove perplexity 
 (if it might be) from the minds of young ministers, or can- 
 didates for the ministry, perplexity is the least evil : a far 
 greater would be our settling down in low notions of the 
 Sacraments of our Lord, and virtually superseding their 
 necessity, or assigning them a " lower place." 
 
 It cannot be denied that there is much reason to dread 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 this. Our general habits of mind are rationalizing ; we live 
 in the world of sense ; the knowledge which we acquire, is 
 matter of sense; what we call " science" is the knowledge 
 of things tangible to sense : a truly common-sense, or rather 
 a common-place sense, is our rule in all things ; and of all 
 this we make our boast. This is an unhealthy atmosphere 
 for faith, which has to do entirely with things unseen, not of 
 sense. Our daily habits, our philosophy, our morals, our 
 politics, our theories of education, or national improvement, 
 are founded upon a low and carnal basis, and are at direct 
 variance with the principles of the faith : one must give way ; 
 a more vivid faith must penetrate our social, domestic, in- 
 tellectual system, or it must itself be stifled. Meanwhile, 
 Rationalism is taking a subtle turn, or rather its author, the 
 author of evil, has been subtly applying it : in the days of 
 our Deists, it openly attacked Christianity, and was de- 
 feated ; now it appears as the ally and supporter of the faith, 
 which it would undermine : it supports our Evidences ; re- 
 conciles our difficulties ; smooths down the " hard sayings " 
 of the Word of God, and steals away our treasure. The 
 Blessed Sacraments are a peculiar obstacle to its inroads, for 
 their eifects come directly from God, and their mode of 
 operation is as little cognizable to reason as their Author : 
 they flow to us from an unseen world : what we see has as 
 little power to heal or strengthen our souls, as the clay and 
 the spittle to give sight to the blind man, or the waters of 
 Jordan to cleanse the leper : those who use them in faith 
 have life and strength ; yet is it not their faith alone which 
 gives this life, any more than faith would have cleansed Naa- 
 man, but for Him who gave the Jordan power to make his 
 " flesh as a little child." The Blessed Sacraments then are a 
 daily testimony to our faith : we are strengthened, we hold 
 onwards : hoio we obtain our strength we can give to reason 
 no account : suffice that we know ichence it cometh. This 
 then has become a main point of attack. 
 
X ^ PREFACE. 
 
 The preaching of the Cross is now no stumbling-block to 
 the mind of man ; it offers no difficulties to the rationalism of 
 the day : nay, it is subjected to illustration, and the system 
 of Redemption is made cognizable by us, and we under- 
 stand it, and extol the wisdom of the scheme ! The Holy 
 Eucharist it has rationalized, and in that degree, as a Sacra- 
 ment, destroyed : the efficacy of Infant- Baptism it cannot 
 rationalize, and therefore denies it ! 
 
 The popular theology of America is partly derived from 
 that very source which first brought in the low and ratio- 
 nalist notions of the Sacraments, the Swiss Reformation ; 
 partly, it has been tampering with modern apologetic 
 notions *, and labouring to persuade the infidel that he 
 has, after all, nothing on the score of mysteriousness to 
 object to the Christian faith. And in the absence of any 
 principles of our own, and forgetting those of our Church 
 and its primitive character, and with a certain universalism, 
 which cares not whether the details be sound, so that it finds 
 certain portions of the faith, which it has arbitrarily selected, 
 we borrow at second-hand a mixed farrago of criticism or 
 history from Germany, unsifted and unadapted to ourselves ; 
 and from America, a popular illustrative divinity ; and hope 
 from the two to compound something which may meet the 
 necessities of the day, and save us the labour of study- 
 ing primitive Antiquity, wherein our great divines were 
 formed. 
 
 It must not also be forgotten, that a popular portion of 
 our religious teaching is ultimately drawn from the same 
 source as that of America — the divines, who, with those of 
 Geneva, fell away from the doctrines of the Ancient Church 
 upon the Sacraments : that (whatever be its other merits or 
 defects) it is founded on the supposition of the inefficacy 
 
 * See an offensive passage from Jacob Abbott's Corner Stone, on the Holy 
 Eucharist, quoted in the British Magazine for 1835, vol. 7-p- •''5 sqq. comp. 
 Vol. 8. p. 312. 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 of the one Sacrament, and throws the other into the shade ; 
 leading men to appropriate its benefits, without reference 
 to itself; to ascribe our whole spiritual life simply to the 
 action of faith, not to God's gifts in His Sacraments, 
 whereof faith is the mere channel only. And now, because 
 this preaching is popular, and has claimed to itself the 
 exclusive title to warmth and sincerity and undefiledness, 
 men are falling into it, or rather are amalgamating it with 
 the old system ; not upon conviction, and often with a sort 
 of suppressed surmise that there was much good in that 
 former system, as exhibited in its genuine representatives ; 
 but because the tide is set too strongly, and they dare not 
 withstand it. 
 
 This is said with all respect for those who are earnestly 
 preaching what they believe to be the whole Gospel of 
 Christ; and they will, I trust, think that nothing offensive 
 is intended, if their system is blamed as defective, being- 
 derived from modern sources, and founded on a scheme 
 which denies the Sacraments to be means of grace. Nei- 
 ther would I have spoken with a confidence unbeseeming 
 an individual, in behalf of bis own opinions, but that the 
 views are not mine, but those of the whole Church previous 
 to Zuingli. As the new system has now the ascendant, it is 
 with deep sorrow that one must regard it as unfavourable to 
 deep and continued repentance, or to the higher degrees 
 of sanctification. May God avert these and all other evils 
 from His Zion ! 
 
 It is however of the utmost importance that persons 
 should see the tendency of their opinions; and on this 
 ground, I have quoted (p. 124) the statement of a writer of 
 a very different class, who (however by some happy incon- 
 sistency lie may rescue his own religious belief) yet attributes 
 the reception of the views, retained by our Church on the 
 Holy Sacraments, to " the prevalence of the belief in magic 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 ill the early ages ^" He admits that these views are coun- 
 tenanced by our blessed Saviour's declaration, that " virtue 
 had gone out of Him ;" but His saying is regarded, not as 
 matter of instruction to us, but as " a mode of speaking, 
 characteristic of the prevalent idea concerning the operation 
 of the Divine influence." St. Augustine's maxim " Accedit 
 verbum ad elementum et fit Sacramentum," which expresses 
 what has hitherto been the acknowledged teaching of the 
 whole Church, is designated as " an adaptation of the popular 
 belief respecting the power of incantations and charms to 
 the subject of religion." The tendency of this whole lecture 
 is to decry the Church's doctrine, that the Sacraments are 
 instruments or channels of grace, and to transfer their whole 
 efficacy to the simple operation of the mind of the believer. 
 The faith of the believer is not only essential to his bene- 
 ficial reception of it, but is " the true consecrating prin- 
 ciple, — that which brings down Christ to the heart of each 
 individual ^" 
 
 On one point, I fear that the doctrines of the ancient 
 Church are so distinct from modern ultra- Protestant theo- 
 logy on the one hand, (as also) from theRomanist on the other, 
 that the view, which I have exhibited, of the character of 
 grievous sin after Baptism may cause perplexity. It cannot 
 be otherwise; and I pray only that it may be healthful. 
 For our modern system, founded, as it is, on the virtual re- 
 jection of Baptism as a Sacrament, confounds the distinction 
 of grievous sin before and after Baptism, and applies to 
 repentance, after falling from Baptismal grace, all the pro- 
 mises which, in Scripture, are pledged, not as the fruit of 
 repentance simply, but as God's free gift in Baptism. Yet 
 our reformers thought differently; for had their theology 
 been like our's, there had been no occasion for an article 
 
 ' Dr. Hampden, Bampton Lectures. Lcct. vii. p. 315. sq. 
 2 Ibid. p. 323. sq. 
 
PREFACE. Xm 
 
 on "Sin after Baptism" (Art. 16.), or for denying that 
 " every such sin is sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpar- 
 donable." It had been a matter of course. The possibility 
 or efficacy of such repentance I have not denied ; God 
 forbid : but that such repentance is likely, especially after a 
 relapse, or that men, who have fallen, can be as assured of 
 the adequacy of their repentance, as they might have been 
 of God's free grace in Baptism, daily experience, as well as 
 the probable meaning of Scripture, forbid us to hope. Had 
 repentance been so easy a thing, as men would persuade 
 themselves, how is it that there are so very many hardened 
 sinners, who never apparently repent; so many, of whose 
 repentance one can hardly hope that it is real ; so many 
 half-penitents? Again, the pardon in Baptism is free, full, 
 instantaneous, universal, without any service on our part: 
 the pardon on repentance for those who have forfeited their 
 Baptismal pardon, is slow, partial, gradual, as is the repent- 
 ance itself, to be humbly waited for, and to be wrought out 
 through that penitence : were the repentance at once per- 
 fect, so, doubtless, would the pardon be ; but it is part of 
 the disease, entailed by grievous sin, that men can but 
 slowly I'epent; they have disabled themselves from applying 
 completely their only cure : the anguish of repentance, in 
 its early stages, is often the sharpest; it is generally long 
 afterwards that it is in any real degree purified and deep- 
 ened ; and therefore the ancient Church diligently noted out 
 of the Old Testament the means whereby repentance might 
 be heightened and secured, as humiliation, voluntary afflic- 
 tion, prayer, self-denying bountifulness, and the like. 
 Again, the penitent must regard himself, not merely as a 
 novice, but as a very weak one : he has already cast away 
 the armour wherewith he was clad ; he is beginning an irk- 
 some, distasteful course, and having already failed, it be- 
 comes him not to be impatient of suspense, or too confident 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 in his new steadfastness, but to be content to wear " doubt's 
 galling chain S" until God shall see it healthful for him gra- 
 dually to be relieved. The fears, and anxiety, whereof he 
 ignorantly complains, and would rid himself by the one or 
 t])e other system of theology, is a most important, perhaps 
 an essential condition of his cure, otherwise God would not 
 have sent troubles, often so intolerable. 
 
 * But where is then the stay of contrite hearts ? 
 
 Of old they leaned on Thy eternal word ; 
 
 But with the sinner's fear their hope departs, 
 
 Fast linked, as Thy great name to Thee, O Lord. 
 
 Man desires to have, under any circumstances, certainty of 
 salvation through Christ : to those who have fallen, God holds 
 out only " a light in a dark place," sufficient for them to see 
 their path, but not bright or cheering as they would have 
 it : and so, in different ways, man would forestall the sentence 
 of his Judge ; the Romanist by the Sacrament of penance : 
 a modern class of divines by the appropriation of the merits 
 and righteousness of our Blessed Redeemer ; the Methodists 
 by sensible experience : our own, with the ancient Church, 
 preserves a reverent silence, not cutting off hope, and yet 
 not nurturing an untimely confidence, or a presumptuous 
 security. 
 
 A further question will, probably, occur to many ; what 
 is that grievous sin after Baptism, which involves the falling 
 from grace ? What the distinction between lesser and greater, 
 venial and mortal sins ? or if mortal sins be " sins agfainst the 
 decalogue," as St. Augustine says, are they only the liighest 
 degrees of those sins, or are they the lower also ? This 
 question, as it is a very distressing one, I would gladly answer 
 
 ' Keble's Christian year, 6th Sunday after Epiphany. 
 * Ibid. 2d Sunday in Lent. 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 if I could, or dared. But as with regard to the sin against 
 the Holy Ghost, so here, also, Scripture is silent. " What 
 that measure is," to apply St. Augustine's words, " and what 
 are the sins, which prevent men's attaining to the kingdom 
 of God, — it is most difficult to discover, and most dangerous 
 to define. I certainly, much as I have laboured, have not 
 yet been able to decide anything. Perhaps it is therefore 
 concealed, lest men's anxiety to hold onward to the avoiding 
 of all sin should wax cold. — But now, since the degree of 
 venial iniquity, if persevered in, is unknown, the eagerness 
 to make progress by more instant continuance in prayer is 
 quickened, and the carefulness to make holy friends of the 
 mammon of unrighteousness is not despised^." It is easier 
 to ascertain what are those which are not venial; some, 
 such as sins of the flesh, or idolatrous covetousness, St. Paul 
 has named ; yet, even without these, there may be a state 
 of heart, through the accumulation of lesser sins, equally 
 destructive of the Baptismal life. " Despise them not," says 
 the same St. Augustine^, "because they are smaller; but 
 fear, because they are more numerous. Attend, my bre- 
 thren. They are minute ; they are not great. It is not a 
 wild beast, as a lion, which destroys life by one grasp, — but 
 human nature is feeble, and may be destroyed by the small- 
 est beasts. So, also, slight sins ; ye remark them, because 
 they are small : beware, because they are many. What is 
 smaller than grains of sand? Yet, if much of it be laden 
 into a vessel, it sinks it, that it is lost. How small are drops 
 of rain ! Do they not fill rivers, and overthrow houses ?" 
 
 Yet though it be difficult to determine in the abstract, it 
 is not so much so for one who wishes earnestly to know 
 himself, to ascertain whether he has been, or is in this state 
 of alienation from God, or approximating to it ; how wilfully 
 
 1 De Civ. Dei. L. 21. c. ult. ^ Serm. 9 alias 96, de temp. c. 11. 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 he have sinned ; how long remained in sin, or against what 
 present and ready help of God's Holy Spirit. And in pro- 
 portion to his sin, must be his repentance. Only of this he 
 may be sure, that man always undervalues his sin, and over- 
 values his repentance ; and on this account also, theories, 
 which smooth or shorten the path of repentance, are so 
 peculiarly dangerous. 
 
 The differences, then, between these and the current 
 ideas of repentance, relate to, 1st, The difference between 
 grievous sin before and after Baptism ; 2dly, The difficulty 
 of recovery ; 3dly, Its mode ; 4thly, Man's assuredness and 
 knowledge of his pardon ; 5thly, The duration of repent- 
 ance : but they do not relate either to the possibility of re- 
 pentance, or God's readiness to forgive the penitent. Mo- 
 dern notions appear to me to confound together repentance 
 for all sin, to level those who, after Baptism, have in the 
 main served God, and those who serve Him not; and to 
 represent repentance for grievous sin, too easy, too little 
 painful, too little connected with the outward course of 
 life, too little influenced by or influencing it, too much a 
 matter of mere feeling, too readily secured and ascer- 
 tained, too transitory, not — too certain to obtain pardon, 
 if real. 
 
 On this whole subject of the actual sins of the baptized, 
 and the repentance necessary, I would that men would study 
 the work of Bishop Taylor — " The doctrine and practice of 
 Repentance," not simply on account of his great learning 
 as to Christian antiquity, but because it was written by one 
 who says of himself S "having, by the sad experience of my 
 own miseries and the calamities of others, to whose restitu- 
 tion I have been called to minister, been taught something 
 of the secret of souls : I have reason to think that the words 
 
 * Preface to the Clergy of England, prefixed to the Doctrine and Practice of 
 Repentance. 
 
PREFACE. XVll 
 
 of our clearest Lord to St. Peter, were also spoken to me ; 
 ' Tu autem conversus, conjirma fratres.^ " Taught in this 
 school, he " endeavoured to break in pieces almost all those 
 propositions, upon the confidence of which men have been 
 negligent of severe and strict living," and became eminently 
 a preacher of repentance. 
 
 Lastly, I would beseech those, for whom these tracts are 
 mainly intended, our younger labourers in our Lord's vine- 
 yard, for their own sakes, as well of those, of whose souls 
 they must give account, neither here, nor in any other por- 
 tion of these tracts, to be deterred by any vague fear of an 
 approximation (as they may be led to think) to any doc- 
 trines or practices of the corrupt Church of Rome ; not to 
 allow themselves to fall in with any of those charges, which 
 ignorant men are wont to make, of " the early corruptions 
 of Christianity," and which are the bulwark of Socinianism, 
 and of every other heresy. Since the Swiss reformers set 
 aside primitive antiquity, and took a new model of their 
 own. Antiquity, if tried by the standard of Zuinglianism or 
 Calvinism, must, of course, appear to approximate to the 
 modern Church of Rome ; for that Church has retained, in a 
 corrupted form, doctrines and rites, which the Swiss reforma- 
 tion rejected. Hence, the Lutheran (see p. 104), the Bohe- 
 mian (p.233), and our own Church, have, by the admirers of 
 that reformation, ever been looked upon as Papistical ; as they, 
 in their turn, have, by the " extreme reformation of the Soci- 
 nians" (p. 198-9), been held, and rightly, to have stopped short 
 of the results of their own principles, and have been repre- 
 sented, though wrongly, as retainers of Alexandrian " cor- 
 ruptions of Christianity." Hooker's defence of our Church 
 is but one instance of this wide difference between ours and 
 the Zuinglian reformation. Our Church (blessed be God,) 
 never took Luther, or Calvin, or any modern name for its 
 teacher or its model, but primitive antiquity : and by the 
 
 a 
 
.will PREFACE. 
 
 Holy Scripture alone, and the universal eousent of Primitive 
 Antiquity, as the depository of its doctrines, and the witness 
 of its teaching, would she be judged \ In these principles 
 of our dear mother the Church of England, have we been 
 trained, and in these old ways we would humbly tread. 
 
 ' There are some brief, but valuable notices of the peculiarity of the Church 
 of England in the late Bishop Jebb's Pastoral Instructicms, and some striking 
 quotations from ancient divines, domestic and foreign, who have remarked it, as 
 an excellence ; so also in Bp. Bull's Apologia pro Harmonia, sect. 1. § 4. ed. 
 Burton. 
 
 Christ Church, 
 The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ. 
 
PASSAGES OF HOLY SCRIPTURE EXPLAINED. 
 
 Ps.ii. 7. — p. 17, Note. 
 
 Matt. iii. 11.— p. 16—209, 10. 
 
 Mark i. 10 — p. 46, Note. 
 
 vii. 20.— p. 166, 
 
 xvi. 16.— p. 20, Note. 
 
 John iii. 5. — pp. 12. 15 — 19. 
 Acts viii. 13— p. 172. 
 
 x— pp. 138—142. 
 
 xxii. 16. — pp. 47, 48. 
 
 xxvi. 12. pp. 222, 223. 
 
 Rom.iv. 11— p. 38, Note. 
 
 • V. 12, sqq. — p. 87. 
 
 vi. 3— 7.— pp. 22—27. 211. 
 
 4.— p. 84, Note. 
 
 xiii. 14.— p. 27. 
 
 1 Cor. i. 5— 8— p. 36, Note, 212—16. 
 
 vii. 14.— pp. 161—163. 262—5. 
 
 xi. 31.— p. 61, Note. 
 
 • xii. 13. — p. 43. 
 
 2 Cor. i.22.— pp. 34. 38. 42. 
 iii. 25. — p. 54. 
 
 2 Cor. vii.. 11.— p. 61, Note. 
 Gal. iii. 27.— pp.27— 31. 84, Note. 
 
 iv. 4. sqq. — p. 43. 
 
 19.— pp. 72, 73. 
 
 Eph. i. 13, 14.— pp. 34—38. 
 
 iv. 30 pp. 34. 38. 
 
 V. 22, sqq.— pp. 40, 41. 216—218. 
 
 CoLii. 11.— pp.31— 34. 
 
 iii, 1. — p. 33, Note. 
 
 Tit. iii. 5.— pp. 19,20,21. 152. 210, 11. 
 Heb. vi, 1, sqq. — pp. 49 — 57. 
 
 X. 22.— p. 43. 
 
 26,27— p. 69. 
 
 38, 39.— p. 80. 
 
 1 Pet. i. 23. ii. 1. 3.— p. 14. 
 
 iii. 21.— pp. 21 . 44, 45. 220—222. 
 
 2 Pet. i. 9.— p. 54, Note. 
 
 1 John ii., iii. 9. — pp. 166 — 171. 
 
 ii. 20. 27.— pp. 41, 42. 218—220. 
 
 Rev. vii. 3. — p. 35, Note. 
 
 PASSAGES MISINTERPRETED BY THE SCHOOL OF ZUINGLI. 
 CALVIN, AND THE SOCINIANS, pp. 198, 199. 
 
 John iii. 5. — p. 15. 
 Acts i. 5.— p. 100. 
 
 ii. 38.— pp. 282—284. 
 
 viii. 37.— p. 284. 
 
 xxii. 16.— pp. 284, 5. 
 
 Rom. vi. 3.— p. 270. 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 13.— pp. 291, 292. 
 
 Gal. iii. 27.— pp. 285—87. 
 
 Eph. v. 26.— pp. 41, Note, 293—29.5. 
 
 Col.ii. 11.— p. 295. 
 
 Tit. iii. 5.-pp. 287—289. 
 
 Heb. X. 22.— pp. 289, 290. 
 
 1 Pet. iii. 21.— pp. 289, 290. 292, 293. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 2, line 20, for untried read restored. 
 
 12, Note/or 1 Cor. v. 15, read 1 Cor. iv, 15. 
 
 22, line 3, /'or these read tliere. 
 
 38, title, /or soul read seal. 
 
 39, line S,/'or his }-ead this. 
 
 43, line 3, /or iv. 23. read x. 23. 
 
 line 4,y6r pure j-ead true. 
 
 44, line 5,/ur Testament, read Testfteaent— 
 
No. 67. (Ad Clerum.) {Price 6d. 
 
 TRACTS FOR THE TIMES. 
 
 ►>=>- 
 
 SCRIPTURAL VIEWS OF HOLY BAPTISM. 
 
 What sparkles in that lucid flood 
 Is water, by gross mortals ey'd : 
 
 But seen by Faith, 'tis blood 
 Out of a dear friend's side. 
 
 Christian Year. Holy Baptism. 
 
 Every pious and well instructed member of our Church will in 
 the abstract acknowledge, that in examining whether any doc- 
 trine be a portion of revealed truth, the one subject of inquiry 
 must be, whether it be contained in Holy Scripture ; and that in 
 this investigation, he must on the one hand defer, in some degree, 
 to the system of interpretation handed down to us through the 
 early Church, on the other he must lay aside all reference to the 
 supposed influence of such doctrine, the supposed religious cha- 
 racter of those who held it at any given time, and the like. 
 
 Any right-minded person, I say, will readily acknowledge this 
 in the abstract ; for to judge of doctrines by their supposed in- 
 fluence upon men's hearts, would imply that we know much more 
 of our own nature, and what is necessary or conducive to its re- 
 storation, than we do : it would be like setting about to heal our- 
 selves, instead of receiving with implicit faith and confidence 
 whatever the Great Physician of our souls has provided for us. 
 The real state of the case is indeed just the contrary of what 
 this habit vvould imply. We can, in truth, know little or nothing 
 of the efficacy of any doctrine but what we have ourselves be- 
 lieved and experienced. Even in matters of our own experience, 
 we may easily deceive ourselves, and ascribe our spiritual pro- 
 
 A 
 
2 MAN NO JUDGE BEFOREHAND, OF THE 
 
 gress exclusively to the reception of the one or the otlier truth, 
 whereas it has depended upon a number of combining causes, 
 which God has ordered for our good, upon a great vai'iety of 
 means, by which God has been drawing us to Himself, whereof we 
 have seized upon one or two of the principal only. In other cases 
 we may be altogether mistaken. Thus, to take a published in- 
 stance ; a person now living has said of himself that " he read 
 himself into unbelief, and afterwards read himself back into 
 belief." As if mere diligent study could restore any one who 
 had fallen from the faith ! Whereas, without considering what cir- 
 cumstances, beside the reading of infidel books, led him to infi- 
 delity, or what commencing unsoundness led him to follow up 
 the reading of infidel books, on which he was not competent to 
 judge ; — the very fact of reading at one time infidel, at another 
 Christian, writings, implies that the frame of mind was different 
 at each time ; so that by his own account, other causes must 
 have combined both to his fall, and his restoration. Again, he 
 himself incidentally shows that, though a sceptic, he still con- 
 tinued to exercise considerable self-denial, for the welfare of 
 others ; so that among the instruments of his untried faith, may 
 have been one, which he omitted, that his benevolence, like that 
 of Cornelius, went up as a memorial before God '. But if we 
 can be mistaken, even as to the influence of what we have tried, 
 much more assuredly must we, in spiritual matters, be in igno- 
 rance of what we have not tried. We may have some intimation 
 with regard to such questions, whether of doctrine or of practice, 
 from the experience of good men ; but so far from being judges 
 about them, it will often happen that precisely what we are most 
 inclined to disparage, will be that which is most needful for us. 
 For, since all religious truth or practice is a correction or purifi- 
 cation of our natural tendencies, we shall generally be in igno- 
 rance beforehand, what will so correct or purify them. Our 
 own palate is disordered, our own eye dimmed : until God then 
 has restored, by His means, our spiritual taste, or our spiritual 
 
 1 Knox's Correspondence, t. ii. p. 586, 7- " It has often struck me that 
 probably this good man was rewarded for his fraternal piety by his providen- 
 tial conversion to Christianity." 
 
EFFECT OF DIVINE TRUTH. -i 
 
 vision, we should select for ourselves very blindly or injudiciously. 
 In matter of fact, the Christian creed has been repeatedly pared 
 down, as every one knows, in consequence of men's expunging, 
 beforehand, what they thought prejudicial to the effect of the 
 other portions of Scripture truth : thus, early Heretics objected 
 to the truth of the human nature of Christ : against the Re- 
 formers it was urged, that the doctrine of " justification by 
 faith only" was opposed to sanctification and holiness : Luther, 
 (although he afterwards repented,) excepted against God's teach- 
 ing by St. James, and called his Epistle an " Epistle of straw :" 
 fanatics of all ages have rejected the use of both sacraments : 
 stated or premeditated prayer has been regarded as mere for- 
 mality, and the like. And in these or similar cases, when at a 
 distance, we can readily see how some wrong tendency of mind 
 suggested all these objections, and how the very truth or practice 
 objected to, would have furnished the antidote which the case 
 needed. We can see e. g. how stated or fixed prayer would 
 have disciplined the mind, how a form would have tended to 
 make the subjects of prayer more complete : for we ourselves 
 have felt, how, by the prayers which the Church has put into our 
 mouths, we have been taught to pray for blessings, our need of 
 which we might not have perceived, or which we might have 
 thought it presumption to pray for. And this is a sort of witness 
 placed in our hands, to testify to us, how in other cases also we 
 ought with thankful deference to endeavour to incorporate into 
 the frame of our own minds each portion of the system which 
 God has ordained for us, not daring to call any thing of little 
 moment, which He has allowed to enter into it ; much less pre- 
 suming to " call that common, which God hath cleansed," or 
 to imagine that, because we cannot see its effects, or should 
 think it likely to be injurious, it may not be both healthful and 
 essential. 
 
 The doctrine, then, of Baptismal Regeneration (rightly under- 
 stood) may have a very important station in God's scheme of 
 salvation, although many of us may not understand its relation to 
 the rest, and those who do not believe it, cannot understand it. 
 For this is the method of Goo's teaching throughout ; " first 
 
 A 2 
 
4 DANGER OF SI'KAKING OF F.SSENTIAL 
 
 believe and then you shall understand '•" And this may be said, 
 in Christian warning, against those hard words, in which Christ- 
 ians sometimes allow themselves ; as, " the deadening doctrine 
 of Baptismal Regeneration;" language which can only serve to 
 darken the truth to those who use it, and which is by so much 
 the more dangerous, since all Christians believe that Regenera- 
 tion somelimes accompanies Baptism ; and since Baptismal Re- 
 generation was the doctrine of the Universal Church of Christ 
 in its holiest ages, and our own reformers (to whom, on other 
 points, men are wont to appeal as having been highly gifted with 
 God's Holy Spirit) retained this doctrine, a private Christian 
 ought not to feel so confident in his own judgment as to de- 
 nounce, in terms so unmeasured, what may after all be the teach- 
 ing of God; " lest haply he be found to fight against God." 
 
 Others again, holding rightly the necessity of Regeneration for 
 every one descended of Adam, would strongly set forth this neces- 
 sity ; but whether God have ordinarily annexed this gift to Bap- 
 tism, this they would have passed over as a difficidt or curious ques- 
 tion. They bid men to examine themselves whether they have 
 the fruits of regeneration ; if not, to pray that they be regene- 
 rate. " This absolute necessity of regeneration," they say, " is 
 the cardinal point ; this is what we practically want for rousing 
 men to the sense of their danger, and for the saving of their 
 souls : what privileges may have been bestowed upon them in 
 Baptism, or, in a happier state of the Christian Church, might 
 not only be then universally bestowed, but be realized in life, is 
 of lesser moment : regeneration, and the necessity thereof, is the 
 kernel ; these and other questions about outward ordinances, are 
 but the husk only : regeneration and ' justification by faith only' 
 are the key-stones of the whole fabric." I would, by the way, 
 protest against such illustrations, whereby meni too commonly, 
 
 ' " We are not therefore ashamed of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, because miscreants in scorn have upbraided us, that the highest 
 point of our wisdom is, Believe. That which is true, and neither can be dis- 
 cerned by sense nor concluded by mere natural principles, must have prin- 
 ciples of revealed truth whereupon to build itself, and an habit of Faith in 
 US, wherewith principles of that kind are apprehended." — Hooker L. v. § 63. 
 
AND UNESSENTIAL TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL. O 
 
 embolden themselves to call any portion of God's institution 
 for our salvation, *' husk," or " shell," or the like : let it seem 
 to us never so external, it can in no stage of the Christian 
 course be dispensed with, which these similitudes would imply. 
 Rather, if we use any image, might we better speak of the whole 
 Gospel as an elixir of iminortality, whereof some ingredients may 
 be more powerful than the rest, but the efficacy of the whole 
 depends upon the attemperament of the several portions ; and 
 ^ve, who formed neither our own souls, nor this cure for them, 
 dare not speak slightingly of the necessity of any portion. 
 Doubtless there are truths, which in one sense (comparatively 
 speaking) may be called the great truths of Christianity, as 
 embodying in them a larger portion of the counsel of God, and 
 exhibiting more fully His attributes of holiness and love. Better 
 perhaps, and more Scripturally might we speak of the truth, — the 
 Gospel itself; yet there is no evil in that other expression, if 
 intended solely as the language of thankfulness for the great 
 instances of His mercy therein conveyed. If used, on the other 
 hand, — I will not say disparagingly, but — as in any way convey- 
 ing an impression that other doctrines are not in their place 
 essential, or that we can assign to each truth its class or place in 
 the Divine economy, or weigh its value, or measure its impor- 
 tance, then are we again forgetting our own relation to God, and 
 IVom the corner of His world in which we are placed, would fain 
 judge of the order and correspondencies and harmonies of 
 things, which can only be seen or judged of, from the centre, 
 which is God Himself. We cannot, without great danger, speak 
 of lesser, or less essential, truths, and doctrines, and ordinances, 
 both because the passage from " less essential," to " unessential," 
 is unhappily but too easy, and because although these truths 
 may appear to relate to subjects further removed from what we 
 think the centre of Christianity, the niode in which we hold 
 them, or our neglect of them, may very vitally affect those which 
 we consider more primary truths. We can readily see this in cases 
 in which we are not immediately involved. Thus we can see 
 bow a person's whole views of Sanctification by the Holy Ghost 
 will be affected by Hoadley's low notions of the Lord's Supper ; 
 
6 INDIVIDUAL HOLINESS NO TEST 
 
 or how the addition of the single practice of " soliciting the Saints 
 to pray for men," has in the Romish Church obscured the pri- 
 mary article of Justification : and yet no one could have antici- 
 pated beforehand, that this one wrong practice would have had 
 effects so tremendous. If then wrong notions about the one 
 Sacrament, among both Romanists and Pseudo-Protestants have 
 had an influence so extensive, why should we think error, with 
 regard to the other, of slight moment ? Rather, should we not 
 more safely argue, that since Baptism is a Sacrament ordained 
 by Christ Himself, a low, or inadequate, or unworthy con- 
 ception of His institution, must, of necessity almost, be very 
 injurious to the whole of our belief and practice ? Does not our 
 very reverence to our Saviour require that we should think any 
 thing, which He deigned to institute, of very primary moment, — 
 not (as some seem now to think) simply to be obeyed or com- 
 plied with, but to be embraced with a glad and thankful recog- 
 nition of its importance, because He instituted it ? 
 
 The other point, which was mentioned as important to be 
 borne in mind, in the inquiry whether any doctrine be a Scriptu-' 
 ral truth, was, that we should not allow ourselves to be influenced 
 by the supposed religious character of those who in our times 
 hold it, or the contrary. This we should again see to be a very 
 delusive criterion, in a case where we have no temptation to apply 
 it : we should at once admit that Pascal and Nicole were holy 
 men, nay that whole bodies of men in the Church of Rome had 
 arrived at a height of holiness, and devotion, and self-denial, and 
 love of God, which in this our day is rarely to be seen in our 
 Apostolic Church ; yet we should not for a moment doubt that 
 our Church is the pure Church, although her sons seem of late 
 but rarely to have grown up to that degree of Christian matu- 
 rity, which might have been hoped from the nurture of such a 
 mother : we should not think the comparative holiness of these 
 men of God any test as to the truth of any one characteristic 
 doctrine of the Church of Rome. We should rightly see that 
 the holiness of these men was not owing to the distinctive doc- 
 trines of their Church ; but that God had quickened the seed of 
 life which He had sown in their hearts, notwithstanding the 
 
OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 
 
 corrupt mixture with which our Enemy had hoped to choke it : 
 we should rightly attribute the apparent comparative failure 
 among ourselves in these times, not to our not possessing the 
 truth, but to our slothful use of the abundant treasures which God 
 has bestowed upon us. And so also, with regard to any doctrine 
 in which persons either within or without our Church may 
 depart from her ; no one can say with confidence, that the supe- 
 rior holiness of those who do not accept it, is attributable to their 
 not accepting it, since it may be only that by their rejection of 
 this one truth, they have not forfeited the blessing of God upon 
 the other truths, which they yet hold : while others who do hold 
 it, may be holding it in name only, and may never have ex- 
 amined the treasure committed to them. It may be, to speak 
 plainly, that many who deny or doubt about Baptismal Regenera- 
 tion, have been made holy and good men, and yet have sustained 
 a loss in not holding this truth : and again, that others may no- 
 minally have held it, and yet never have thought of the greatness 
 or significance of what they professed to hold. If again right 
 practice were a test of doctrine, then could there be no such thing 
 as " holding the truth in unrighteousness," for which however the 
 Apostle pronounces the condemnation of the Heathen. Further, 
 if the comparison were any test at all, it must manifestly be made 
 not at one period only, but throughout the time that such 
 doctrine has been held by the Church ; one must compare not 
 the men of our own day only, but those of all former times. Con- 
 fessors, Saints, and Martyrs, which were impossible ! This is not 
 said, as if we were competent judges even as to our own times, 
 or as if any could be, but God alone, who searcheth the hearts ; 
 for if the number of those, who being earnest-minded and zealous 
 men, do not hold Baptismal Regeneration, were increased an 
 hundred fold, or if those who imagining that they hold Bap- 
 tismal Regeneration, do in fact use it as a skreen to hide from 
 themselves the necessity of the complete actual change of mind 
 and disposition necessary to them, were many more than they are, 
 still, who can tell to how many thousands, or tens of thousands, 
 this same doctrine has been the blessed means of a continued, 
 child-like growth in grace, who have been silently growing up, 
 
 2 
 
8 BLESSING OF BEING PLACED IN CHRIST S CHURCH. 
 
 supported by the inestimable privilege of having been made God's 
 children, before they themselves knew good or evil ; who have on 
 the whole been uniformly kept within Christ's fold, and are now 
 thanking their heavenly Father for having placed them thus early 
 in this state of salvation, into which, had it been left to their 
 frail choice, they had never entered ; who rejoice with joy un- 
 speakable and full of glory, that they were placed in the Ark of 
 Christ's Church, and not first called, of themselves to take 
 refuge in it out of the ruins of a lost world '. 
 
 All this, people will in the abstract readily acknowledge ; they 
 will confess that Scripture is the only ultimate authority in matters 
 of Faith, while still they will probably find on examination that 
 some of these grounds have occasioned them to hold Baptismal 
 Regeneration to be an unscriptural doctrine ; and if they ex- 
 amined Scripture at all, yet still the supposed effects of this, and 
 of a contrary doctrine, the supposed character of those who hold 
 it, or the reverse, were in fact their rule for interpreting Scripture; 
 or perhaps wearied with the controversy (which is and must be in 
 itself an evil) they came to the conclusion that, if we but hold the 
 necessity of Regeneration, it matters not when we suppose it to 
 take place, — thus assuming, in fact, the unscripturalness of the 
 doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration, since if God has connected 
 Regeneration with Baptism, it must be of importance. 
 
 This is very natural ; for men must lean upon something. Our 
 Reformers, in their interpretation of Scripture, besides the 
 divine means of prayer, leant on the consent and agreement of 
 the " old holy Catholic Doctors," who had received their doc- 
 
 ' " They with whom we contend are no enemies to the Baptism of infants ; 
 it is not their desire that the Church should hazard so many souls by letting 
 them run on till they come to ripeness of understanding, that so they may be 
 converted and then baptized, as Infidels heretofore have been ; they bear not 
 towards God so unthankful minds as not to acknowledge it even among 
 the greatest of His endless mercies, that by making us His own possession so 
 soon, many advantages which Satan otherwise might take are prevented, and 
 (which should be esteemed a part of no small happiness) the first thing 
 whereof we have occasion to take notice is, how much hath been done already 
 to our good, though altogether without our knowledge.'' — Hooker, b. v, § 64, 
 p. 287. 
 
EVILS OF OUR CONTROVERSY WITH INFIDELS. if 
 
 trine immediately, or hut at a little interval, from the Apostles, 
 when every link almost in the chain was a Saint and Martyr. The 
 agreement of the Church was to them the evidence of God's 
 speaking in the Church. But now that men have forgotten these 
 maxims, and look upon deference to the Church almost as a relic 
 of Papal errors, man, since he is not made to be independent, 
 leans upon his fellows, and the supposed spiritual character of 
 individuals is made the test of truth. Man cannot escape from 
 authority : the question only, in religious truth as in civil so- 
 ciety, or in private life, is, whose authority he will follow. 
 
 Our controversies with infidels, again, have led to some false 
 maxims as to the tests of truth : for men, instead of setting forth, 
 against these despisers, the efficacy of God's word, the power of 
 the preaching of the Gospel, (which are facts,") have dwelt too 
 much upon its intrinsic tendency to produce such or such effects, 
 the efficacy of particular doctrines, or its contrast in such or such 
 points with other religions ; thereby fostering the conviction that 
 we are much more judges in these matters than we are. And we, 
 by applying the test to the particular doctrines of Christianity, 
 have made ourselves judges in matters yet more beyond our 
 grasp. Undoubtedly faithful and sound preaching is likely, by 
 God's blessing, to produce a harvest : the holy and earnest life of a 
 religious pastor is a yet more powerful sermon : his performance 
 of his weekly duties, his greater watchfulness over the right dis- 
 pensation of the Sacraments, his more earnest prayers, are also 
 means of promoting God's kingdom. Obviously then, the blessed 
 effects of a whole ministry cannot be made a test of the truth of 
 each doctrine preached : and yet more obviously perhaps on this 
 ground, that there is not complete agreement in the doctrines the 
 preaching of which is attended with these apparent effects : add 
 also, that even in this way, one must judge not by the preaching 
 of those, who being already full of fervour preached these 
 doctrines, but by that of their disciples. For since we do not 
 think that incidental error will mar the benefit of a whole ministry, 
 or that fallible man, though richly endowed by God's Spirit, is yet 
 rendered infallible, we cannot infer that because his teaching is 
 blessed, therefore every portion of it must be sound. Rather, 
 
10 DANGER OF ANY DEPARTURE FROM TRUTH. 
 
 one might infer from the fact that the same doctrines when 
 preached by a less gifted follower, have not the same efficacy, 
 that the former efficacy was not to be referred to the truth of 
 each doctrine, which was preached, but to the Spirit of God, with 
 which each faithful minister is endowed. Lastly, we must look 
 not to immediate only but to lasting effects, not only to the 
 foundation but to the superstructure : and it may be in part 
 owing to the absence of this doctrine of Baptismal regeneration, 
 that while a foundation is so often laid, the edifice of Christian 
 piety among us still bears such low and meagre proportions, and 
 still further, that there is not more of early Christianity among 
 us. As of course, if it is a Scriptural truth, the neglect of preach- 
 ing it, must be a loss as well as a negligence. 
 
 These observations have been premised both because the habits 
 of mind to which they refer, may have an evil effect, far beyond 
 this one important subject, as also because the difficulties of the 
 subject itself seem to lie entirely in these collateral questions, not 
 in the Scripture evidence for its truth. They are made however, 
 more in the hope of removing difficulties from the minds of such 
 as have not yet forsaken the doctrines of the Church, than of 
 convincing such as have : and to those only will the evidence pro- 
 posed be addressed. But let not others think, that because the 
 evidence does not persuade them, this is owing to its want of 
 validity : for Scripture evidence is throughout proposed to those 
 who believe, not to those who believe not ; it will be enough for 
 those who " continue in the things which they have learned, and 
 have been assured of, knowing of whom they have learned them" 
 (2 Tim. iii. 14) ; but there is no promise that any, be they nations, 
 sects, or individuals, who have failed to hold fast to them, should 
 be enabled to see their truth. God has provided an institution, 
 the Church, to " hold fast" and to convey " the faithful word as 
 they had been taught." (Tit. ii. 2.) He ordered that the im- 
 mediate successors of the Apostles should " commit the things 
 which they had heard of them to faithful men, who should be 
 able to teach others also." (2 Tim. ii. 2.) Whoever, then, ne- 
 glects this ordinance of God, and so seeks truth in any other 
 way than God has directed it to be sought, has no ground to 
 
OBJECT OF THIS TRACT. 11 
 
 look to obtain it ; nay, it appears to be a penalty annexed to 
 departure from this channel of truth, both in individuals and 
 bodies, that they not only lose all insight into Scripture evidence, 
 but gradually decline further from the truth, and but seldom, 
 and not without extraordinary effort, recover. The first mis- 
 givings, and restrictions, and limitations, are forgotten : what was 
 originally an exception is made a rule and a principle; and de- 
 partures, which were at first timidly ventured upon, and excused 
 upon the necessity of the case, (as that of Calvin from episcopal 
 ordination, or the license with regard to the authority and extent 
 of the Canon among several denominations of Christians,) are 
 by their followers looked upon as matters of glory and of boast, 
 and as distinctive marks of Protestantism. For, on the one 
 hand, the dissatisfaction generated by a state of doubt leads us to 
 prefer even wrong decision to suspense or misgiving ; we "force 
 ourselves to do this" unbidden *' sacrifice :" on the other, our 
 natural listlessness and dislike of exertion tempts us to make an 
 arbitrary selection of such portions of the vast compass of 
 Divine Truth as is most congenial to ourselves, (since to enter 
 equally into all its parts costs much effort,) and this done, we 
 acquire a positive distaste for such truth as we have not adopted 
 into what is practically our religious creed : we dislike having 
 our religious notions disturbed ; and since no truth can be with- 
 out its influence upon the rest, the adoption of any forsaken 
 truth involves not only the admission of a foreign and unaccus- 
 tomed ingredient, but threatens to compel us to modify much at 
 least of our actual system. 
 
 My object then in the following pages is partly to help, by God's 
 blessing, to relieve the minds of such persons as being in the 
 sacred ministry of the Church, or Candidates for the same, have 
 difficulty in reconciling with their ideas of Scripture truth, 
 what appears even to them to be the obvious meaning of our 
 Baptismal and other^ Formularies, as to the privileges of Baptism ; 
 
 ' Persons often forget that Baptismal regeneration is taught in the Cate- 
 chism as well and as undoubtingly as in the services of Baptism and Confirma- 
 tion ; for when the child is taught to say that it was " in its Baptism made a 
 
12 REGENERATION CONNICTED IN SCRIPTIKE 
 
 partly (and that more especially) to afford persons a test of their 
 own views of their Saviour's ordinance, by comparing them with 
 the language and feeling of Scripture. And tliis, because a due 
 sense of the blessings which He has bestowed upon us, must 
 tend to increase our love for Him ; as also, because I know not 
 what ground of hope the Church has to look for a full blessing 
 upon its ministry from its Head, so long as a main chaimel of 
 His grace, be, in comparison, lightly esteemed. 
 
 First, then, 1 would remark on the fact, that whereas, con- 
 fessedly, Regeneration is in Scripture connected with Baptism, it 
 no where is disconnected from it. Baptism is spoken of as the 
 source of our spiritual birth, as no otlier cause is, save God : we 
 are not said, namely, to be regenerated by faith, or love, or 
 prayer, or any grace which God worketh in us, but to be " born 
 o/' water and the Spirit" in contrast to our birth oj"^ the flesh; 
 to be saved by the washing of the regeneration, or the new-birth, 
 in like manner as we are said to be born o/ ' God, or of* incor- 
 ruptible seed. Other causes are indeed mentioned as connected 
 with our new-birth, or rather tl.at one comprehensive cause, the 
 whole dispensation of mercy in the Gospel, as, " born of seed 
 incorruptible through' the Word of God, which liveth and abideth 
 for ever^," " in Jesvjs Christ have I begotten you through the 
 Gospel," *' of His own will begat He ns by' the word of truth ;" 
 but no other instrument is spoken of as having the same relation 
 
 member of Christ and a child of God," that " being by nature born in sin, and 
 the cliildren of wrath, we are hereby (by Baptism) made the children of 
 grace;" what is this but to say that they were born of God, i.e. re-generate ? 
 and every child is taught to thank God for having called it into this state of 
 salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour, and to pray that it might continue 
 in it. 
 
 ' yivvtiOy i'i vSarog Ka'i TlvtviiaToi;. John iii. 5. 
 
 ■' TO ytyevvTifievov iK r^c aagKog. v. G. 
 
 ^ 01 OVK i% aifidruyv — aW Lk Qtov tyevvrjOrjffav. i. 13. 
 
 * a.vayiyivvT)fiivoi ouk Ik airopaq ^Oaprtig, dWd d<p9d()T0v. 1 Pet. i. "23. 
 
 5 ^(d \6yov Juivrof 0£oii (c«i /jiivovTog dg rbv aiwva. 
 
 ^ iv \pt(fT(p 'IjjctoO (^(d TOv ivayyiK'iov tyCo vfidi; iyfvvijaa. 1 Cor. v. 15. 
 
 ' /3ouXjj0t(!; dviKvtfVki' i)fidc Xoyip (iX>>0tiaf. James i. 18. 
 
MOST (LOSELY WITH BAPTISM. 13 
 
 to our heavenly birtli as this of Water '. Had it even been 
 otherwise, the mention of any other instrument in our regenera- 
 tion, could not of course have excluded the operation of Baptism : 
 as indeed in Baptism itself, two very different causes are com- 
 bined, the one, God Himself, the other a creature which He has 
 thought fit to hallow to this end. For then, as Christ's merits, 
 and the workings of the Holy Spirit, and faith, and obedience, 
 operate in very different ways to the final salvation of our souls, 
 so the mention of faith, or of the preaching of tlie Gospel as 
 means of our ret^eneration would not have excluded the necessity 
 of Baptism thereto, although mentioned in but one passage of 
 Holy Scripture. But now, as if to exclude all idea of human 
 agency in this our spiritual creation, to shut out all human co- 
 operation or boasting, as though we had in any way contributed to 
 our own birth, and were not wholly the creatures of His hands, 
 no loop-hole has been left us, no other instrument named ; our 
 birth (when its direct means are spoken of) is attributed to the 
 Baptism of Water and of the Spirit, and to that only. Had our 
 new birth in one passage only been connected with Baptism, and 
 no intimation been given to show that it was to be detached from 
 it, this had alone been a weighty argument with any one who 
 was wishing for intimations of God's will ; but now, besides 
 this, God has so ordered His word that it does speak of the 
 connection of Baptism, and does not speak of any other cause, 
 in the like close union with it. 
 
 This circumstance alone, thoughtfully weighed, would lead a 
 teachable disposition readily to incline his faith, whither God 
 seemed to point. For although the privileges annexed to Re- 
 generation are elsewhere spoken of, and the character of mind 
 thereto conformable, — our sonship and the mind which we should 
 have as sons, our new creation, — yet these are spoken of, as 
 already belonging to, or to be cultivated in, us, not as to be begun 
 anew in any once received into the covenant of Christ. There 
 
 1 " Unless as the Spirit is a necessary inward cause, so water were a neces- 
 sary outward mean to our regeneration, what construction should we give 
 unto those words wherein we are said to be new born, and that t? vSarog, 
 even of water."— Hooker, B. v. c. 59. 
 
14 NO REGENERATION AFTER BAPTISM. 
 
 are tests afforded whether we are acting up to our privilege of 
 Regeneration, and cherishing the Spirit therein given us, but 
 there is no hint that Regeneration can be obtained in any 
 way, but by Baptism, or if totally lost, could be restored. We 
 are warned that having been " saved by Baptism through the 
 resurrection of Jesus Christ, we should no longer live the rest 
 of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men but to the will of 
 God," (1 Pet. iii. 21 — iv. 2.) that " having been born of incor- 
 ruptible seed, we should put off all malice, and like new-born 
 infants desire the sincere milk of the word," (1 Pet. i. 23. — ii. 
 1 — 3.) that " having been saved by the washing of regeneration 
 and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, we should be careful to 
 maintain good works ;" (Tit. iii. 1 — 8.) and again, those who 
 had fallen in any way are exhorted to repentance ; but men are 
 not taught to seek for regeneration, to pray that they may be 
 regenerate : it is no where implied that any Christian had not 
 been regenerated, or could hereafter be so. The very error of 
 the Novatians, that none who fell away after Baptism could be 
 renewed to repentance, will approach nearer to the truth of the 
 Gospel, than the supposition that persons could be admitted as 
 dead members into Christ, and then afterwards, for the first time, 
 quickened. Our life is, throughout, represented as commencing, 
 when we are by Baptism made members of Christ and children 
 of God ; that life may through our negligence afterwards decay, 
 or be choked, or smothered, or well-nigh extinguished, and by 
 God's mercy again be renewed and refreshed : but a commencement 
 of spiritual life after Baptism, a death unto sin and a new birth 
 unto righteousness, at any other period than that one first intro- 
 duction into God's covenant, is as little consonant with the 
 general representations of Holy Scripture, as a commencement 
 of physical life long after our natural birth is with the order of 
 His Providence. 
 
 The evidence, however, arising from a general consideration of 
 God's declarations in Holy Scripture, obtains fresh strength 
 from the examination of the passages themselves ; only we must 
 not look upon them as a dead letter, susceptible of various 
 meanings, and which may be made to bear the one or the other 
 
WRONG EXPOSITION OF JOHN III. 5. 15 
 
 indifferently, but as the living Word of God ; particularly should 
 we regard, with especial reverence, any words which fell from 
 our Saviour's lips, and see that we consider, not what they may 
 mean, but what is their obvious untortured meaning. We would 
 not therefore, as some have done, argue that it is improbable 
 that " Christ, discoursing with a carnal Jew, would lay so much 
 weight upon the outward sign;" (for this teaching was not for 
 Nicodemus only, but for His Church ; and of all our Saviour's 
 teaching we can know this only, that it would be far different and 
 far deeper than what we should have expected, and that it would 
 baffle all our rules and measures ;) nor again would we say with 
 Calvin, and Grotius, and the Socinians ^ that the " water" may 
 be a mere metaphor, a mere emblem of the Spirit, and so that 
 being " born again of water and the Spirit," means nothing more 
 than "being born of the Spirit" without water ^. For Hooker^ 
 
 * See Faust. Socinus de Baptismo, c. 4. 0pp. Fratr. Polon. t. i, p. 718. 
 Slichtingius, ad loc. ib. t. vi. p. 26. agrees to the letter almost with Calvin. 
 
 * " I do not think they are to be heard, who hold that under ' water' in 
 this place, not water, but the Holy Spii-it is to be understood ; as if the Lord 
 meant to make mention of the Holy Spirit twice, and to say, ' Whosoever is 
 not born of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit,' or ' whosoever is not born 
 of water which is the Holy Spirit.' " — Bucer de vi et efRcacia Baptismi. Script. 
 Anglican, p. 596. 
 
 ' " When the letter of the Law hath two things plainly and expressly speci- 
 fied, water and the Spirit ; water as a duty required on our parts, the Spirit 
 as a gift which God bestoweth ; there is danger in presuming so to interpret 
 it, as if the clause which concerneth ourselves were more than needeth. We 
 may by such rare expositions attain perhaps in the end to be thought witty, 
 but with ill advice." — Hooker L. v. c. 59. 
 
 " That we may be thus born of the Spirit we must be born also of water, 
 which our Saviour here puts in the first place. Not as if there were any 
 such virtue in water, whereby it could regenerate us ; but because this is 
 the rite or ordinance appointed by Christ, wherein He regenerates us by 
 His Holy Spirit : our regeneration is wholly the act of the Spirit of Christ. 
 — Seeing this [Baptism] is instituted by Christ Himself, as we cannot be 
 born of water without the Spirit, so neither can we in an ordinai-y way be 
 born of the Spirit without water, used or applied in obedience and conformity 
 to His institution. Christ hath joined them together, and it is not in our 
 power to part them ; he that would be born of the Spirit, must be born of 
 water also." — Beveridge's Sermons, vol. i. p. 304. 
 
16 LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE BEST 
 
 well says, " I hold it for a most infallible rule in expositions of 
 sacred Scripture, that where a literal construction will stand, the 
 farthest from the letter is commonly the worst. There is no- 
 thing more dangerous than this licentious and deluding art, which 
 changeth the meaning of words, as alchemy doth, or would do, 
 the substance of metals, maketh of any thing what it listeth, and 
 bringeth in the end all truth to nothing. Or however such 
 voluntary exercise of wit might be borne with otherwise ; yet in 
 places which usually serve, as this doth, concerning regeneration 
 by water and the Holy Ghost, to be alleged for grounds and 
 principles, less is permitted. To hide the general consent of 
 antiquity, agreeing in the literal interpretation, they cunningly 
 affirm, that certain have taken those words as meant of material 
 water, when they know that of all the ancients there is not one ' 
 to be named that ever did otherwise either expound or allege 
 the place, than as implying external Baptism." 
 
 Rather, as the prophecy which these same persons alleged, 
 that Christ namely shall " baptize with the Holy Ghost, and 
 with fire," received its literal fulfilment at the day of Pentecost 
 and in this the later Baptism of the Apostles, we find, " as well 
 a visible ^ descent of fire, as a secret miraculous infusion of the 
 Spirit ; if on us He accomplish, likewise, the heavenly work of 
 our new birth, not with the Spirit alone, but with water there- 
 unto adjoined, sith the faithfullest expounders of His words are 
 His own deeds, let that, which His hand hath manifestly 
 wrought, declare what his speech did doubtfully utter." 
 
 But, combined with the consent of antiquity, our Saviour's 
 meaning becomes so clear, that, with one who loves His Saviour, 
 I would gladly rest the whole question of Baptismal regenera- 
 tion on this single argument. It is confessed, that the Christian 
 
 1 Vazquez, in 3 Part. Disp. 131. n. 22, refers to Justin Apol. 2. TertuU. de 
 Baptismo, c. 11. n. 89. Cyprian, L. 3. ad Quirin. c. 25. Ambros. L. 3. de 
 Spiritu Sancto, c. 11. Jerome in c. 16. Ezek. Basil, Greg. Nyss. de Bap- 
 tismo, Nazianzen Orat. 40 in S. Bapt. and he adds " all the commentators, 
 whom he omits as superfluous." Among these are included Augustine and 
 Cyril. These passages might be multiplied ad infinitum. 
 
 " Hooker, 1. c. See Note A at the end. 
 
CHRIST COULD NOT LEAD HTS CIIIKCH INTO KRROK. 17 
 
 Cliurcli uniformly, for fourteen centuries, interpreted this text 
 of Baptism ; that on the ground of this text alone, they urged 
 the necessity of Baptism ; that upon it, mainly, they identified ^ 
 regeneration with Baptism. If, then, this be an error, would 
 our Saviour have used words which (since water was already 
 used in the Jews' and John's baptism) must inevitably, and did 
 lead His Church into error ? and which He, who knew all things, 
 must, at the time, have known, would lead His Church into 
 error ? and that, when, according to Calvin's interpretation. His 
 meaning had been as fully expressed, had it stood, " born of the 
 Spirit," only. Rather, if one may argue from the result, one 
 should think, that our Saviour added the words, "of water," (upon 
 which, in His immediate converse with Nicodemus, He does not 
 dwell,) with the very view, that His Church should thence learn the 
 truth, which she has transmitted, — that " regeneration" is the gift 
 of God, bestowed by Him, ordinarily, in Baptism only. Indeed, 
 the opposite exposition was so manifestly a mere weapon, by 
 which to demolish a Papal argument for the absolute necessity of 
 Baptism, that it had hardly been worth commenting upon, but 
 that no error ever stops at its first stage ; mere repetition 
 hardens, as well as emboldens ; what is first adopted as an ex- 
 pedient, is afterwards justified as being alone the truth — the 
 mantle, which was assumed to cover shame, cleaves to us, like 
 that in the fable, until it have sucked out the very life and 
 marrow of our whole system. One text, misquoted in order to 
 disprove the absolute necessity of Baptism, has ended in the 
 scarcely disguised indifference or contempt of an oi\iinance of 
 our Saviour. 
 
 * I say, identified, because, so convinced were they of the connection of 
 " regeneration" with Baptism, that they use it, unexplained, where the ordi- 
 nary sense of " regeneration" were manifestly incorrect. Thus Jerome uses 
 it of the Baptism of our Saviour (L. 1. c. Jovinian circa med. quoted by 
 Wall, Infant Baptism, p. 19.) ; as also do others, where, if it have any sense 
 but that of" being baptized," it can only mean, was " declared to be the Son 
 of God" (as Ps. ii. 7, is sometimes applied to His Baptism) ; but they never 
 could have used " re-natus" in this sense, had they not been accustomed to 
 use it as identical with Baptism. In like manner, in our own Articles 
 " renatis," in the Latin copy (Art. 9), is Englished by " baptized." 
 
 B 
 
Jo BAPTISM NOT A CHANGE OF STATE ONLY. 
 
 Not less peremptorily, however, do our Blessed Saviour's 
 words refuse to be bound down to any mere outward change of 
 state, or circumstances, or relation, however glorious the privi- 
 leges of that new condition may be. For this were the very 
 opposite error ; and whereas the former interpretation " dried ' 
 up" the water of Baptism, so does this quench the Spirit therein. 
 One may, indeed, rightly infer, that, since the Jews regarded the 
 baptized proselyte as a new-born child ^ our Saviour would 
 not have connected the mention of water with the new birth, 
 unless tiie new birth, which He bestowed, had been bestowed 
 through Baptism : but who would so fetter down the fulness of our 
 Saviour's promises, as that His words should mean nothing more 
 than they would in the mouth of the dry and unspiritual Jewish 
 legalists ? or, because they, proud of the covenant with Abraham, 
 deemed that the passing of a proselyte into the outward cove- 
 nant, was a new creation, who would infer that our Saviour 
 spoke only of an outward change ? Even some among the Jews 
 had higher notions, and figured ^ that a new soul descended from 
 the region of spirits, upon the admitted proselyte. x\nd if it 
 were merely an outward change — a change of condition only, 
 wherein were the solemnity of this declaration, " Verily, ve- 
 rily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot 
 see the kingdom of God ?' for the " seeing" or " entering into" 
 the kingdom of God, i. e. the Church of Christ, first militant 
 on earih, and then triumpliant in heaven, was itself a change of 
 state, so that the two sentences would have had nearly the same 
 meaning. And who could endure the paraphrase, " unless a 
 man be brought into a state outwardly different, he cannot enter 
 into the kingdom ?" But our Saviour Himself has explained 
 His own words. To be " born of the Spirit," stands opposed 
 to the being " born of the flesh." As the one birth is real, so 
 must the other be ; the agents, truly, are different, and so also 
 the character of life produced by each : in the one case, 
 
 ' Hooker, 1. c. 
 
 2 See Lightfoot, ad loc Arclihishop Lawrence's Doctrine of Baptismal 
 ■Regeneration, p. 28. 
 
 3 Archbishop Lawrence, 1. c. pp. 31, 2. 
 
ELECTION TO REGENERATION IRRESPECTIVE. 19 
 
 physical agents, and so physical life, desires, powers ; and, since 
 from a corrupted author, powers weakened and corrupted : in 
 the other, the Holy Spirit of God, and so spiritual life, strength, 
 faculties, energies ; still, in either case, a real existence ; and, to 
 the Christian, a new, real, though not physical beginning — an 
 existence, real, though invisible — and, though worked by an un- 
 seen Agent, yet felt in its effects, like the energy of the viewless 
 winds '. 
 
 Our Blessed Saviour's words declare the absolute necessity of 
 regeneration, for the entrance into the kingdom of heaven, or our 
 state of grace and glory, in which we live in His Church, and in 
 which we hope to live with Him for ever ; and that this regenera- 
 tion is the being " born of water and the Spirit," or by God's 
 Spirit again moving on the face of the waters, and sanctifying 
 them for our cleansing, and cleansing us thereby. To this St. 
 Paul was directed to add the irrespectiveness of our calling and 
 election to this grace of Baptism, and privilege of sonship. 
 " But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward 
 man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we had 
 done, but according to His mercy, He saved us, by the washing 
 of regeneration, and of the renewing of the Holy Ghost % 
 which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour." Thereby is excluded; not merely " grace of con- 
 gruity," but all such previous preparation as should make Bap- 
 tism " a seal only of spiritual grace already given ;" for we are 
 saved, it is said, not by regeneration which should be attested 
 and confirmed by Baptism, but by " the washing of regeneration, 
 and of the renewing of the Holy Ghost," i. e. a Baptizing, 
 accompanied by, or conveying a re-production, a second birth, a 
 restoration of our decayed natures, by the new and fresh life, 
 
 1 The two births, the natural and the baptismal, are eloquently contrasted 
 by St. Augustine : — " One is of the earth, the other of heaven ; one of the 
 flesh, the otlier of the Spirit; one of mortality, the other of eternity ; one of 
 man and woman, the other of God and the Church." — In Joann. Tract, xi. 
 no. 6. See a similar passage, against the Pelagians, de peccat. meritis et 
 remiss. L. 3. c. 2. 
 
 2 Tit. iii. 4—6. See Note (B), at the end. 
 
 B 2 
 
20 now OUR SAVIOUU SPKAKS OF BAPTISM. 
 
 imparted by the Holy Ghost. As before our Blessed Saviour 
 had respect unto the contrary tendencies of our nature, the 
 neglect, as well as the bare acquiescence in the outward ordi- 
 nance ; so here, also, the Apostle has been directed both to 
 limit the imparting of the inward grace by the mention of the 
 outward washing, and to raise our conceptions of the greatness 
 of this second birth, by the addition of the spiritual grace. 
 
 Such, then, are the only passages of the Holy Scriptures, in 
 which the first origin of regeneration (so to speak) is marked 
 out, and the circumstances under which it takes place are at all 
 hinted at. And surely this ought, to any careful Christian, to be 
 of great moment ; and, instead of longing, as the habit of some 
 is, for more evidence, he will thank God, that the evidence is so 
 clear, that all Christians of old times confidently relied upon 
 it, and transmitted it to us. 
 
 But though these passages alone speak of the means of rege- 
 neration, they do not alone speak of the effects of Baptism. 
 And here, again, if men read Holy Scripture as the living word 
 of God, they would read it with more fruit. For how can one 
 reconcile the way in which some now allow themselves to speak 
 of Baptism, with the stress which our Blessed Saviour lays upon 
 it ? " Go and teach all nations, baptizing them." " Ke that 
 beheveth, and is baptized, shall be saved \" Does it consist with 
 their reverence to their Saviour, to think or to speak dispa. 
 ragingly of that, which He enjoined, wherever He should be 
 
 ' Persons have sometimes supposed that the omission of Baptism, in the 
 following words, " he that beligveth not shall be damned," implies a compa- 
 rative disparagement of Baptism ; yet a little thought would have shown them, 
 that, though our Saviour annexed the reception of the sacrament of regene- 
 ration to belief in Him, as a condition of salvation, there was no occasion 
 to mention it in the case of unbelief: unbelievers would not be " baptized 
 in Christ's name, for the remission of sins:" since thej' believed not, the 
 " wrath of God abode upon them." (John iii. 3<5.) Baptism, without faith, 
 undoubtedly would save none ; as faith, also, witiiout charity, profiteth no- 
 thing (1 Cor. xiii.) : yet no one would think this was said in disparagement 
 of faith ; much less, then, the omission of Baptism, in the other case, when 
 our Saviour had just ordained it, without any limitation, as nocessary for all 
 who believe. 
 
BY BAFTISM WE ARE SAVED. 21 
 
 believed on ? or, can one think that our age is herein like- 
 minded with Him 1 or, do they recollect, that this act alone, in 
 the whole Christian life, was commanded by their ascending 
 Saviour, to be done in the name of the ever-blessed Trinity : 
 that, in St. Chrysostom's ' words, " the holy angels stand by, 
 doing nothing, they only look on what is done ; but the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost, efFect all. Let us, then, obey 
 the declaration of God, for this is more credible than sight ; for 
 sight is, yea and oftentimes, deceived ; but that can never fail, 
 obey we then it.' 
 
 A similar test may be afforded, by the way in which Baptism 
 is elsewhere spoken of, in Holy Scripture. When, e, g. we are 
 declared to be " saved by Baptism" (1 Pet. iii. 22), as before 
 (Tit. iii.) by the " washing of regeneration," let men think, 
 whether this does not sound foreign or (if they dared to think it) 
 repulsive to them ; whether it finds any place in their system ; 
 or, whether they do not dismiss such an expression from their 
 thoughts, as one requiring explanation to give it a sound sense, 
 instead of conveying, of necessity, doctrinal truth. And if this 
 be so, have we not lost a portion of our inheritance? 
 
 Contrast, herewith, St. Augustine's unhesitating faith. " Most 
 excellently," saith he, writing against the Pelagians ', " do the 
 Punic Christians entitle Baptism itself no other than salvation, 
 and the Sacrament of the Body of Christ no other than life. 
 Whence, except from an old, as I deem, and Apostolical tradition, 
 by which they hold it inserted into the Church of Christ, that, 
 without Baptism, and the participation of the Lord's Table, no 
 man can arrive, either at the kingdom of God, or salvation and 
 life eternal. This, as we have said, is what Scripture testifies. 
 For what do they who entitle Baptism salvation, hold other than 
 what is written, ' He hath saved us by the washing of regenera- 
 tion ;' and what Peter saith, * The like figure whereunto Baptism 
 doth now save you ?' " 
 
 In other cases, we seem not only to have lost the original 
 meaning of Holy Scripture, but even all suspicion that we are in 
 
 ' Horn. 25. al. 24. in Johan. § "2. 
 
 * De peccat, merit, ct remiss. L. 1. § 34, 
 
22 BAPTISM AN ACTUAL PARTICIPATION OF CHRISt's DEATH. 
 
 error; and, where our Forefathers found fervid and heart- uphft- 
 
 ing descriptions of our Baptismal privileges, of God's good gifts, 
 
 which had been actually conferred upon us, these men now find 
 
 only an emblematic statement of our duties. Take St. Paul's 
 
 appeal to the Romans (vi. 3.), why they should not continue in 
 
 sin. " Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into 
 
 Jbsus Christ, were baptized into His death ? Therefore we are 
 
 buried with Him by Baptism into death ; that like as Christ was 
 
 raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also 
 
 should walk in newness of life. For, if we have been planted together 
 
 in the likeness of His death, we shall be also of His resurrection : 
 
 knowing this, that our old man is crucified in us, that the body 
 
 of sin might be destroyed," Now, probably, all that a large 
 
 number of Christians, at the present day, will find in this passage, 
 
 will be, that Baptism represents (as it does) to us our profession, 
 
 that we, having been baptized, and having acknowledged Christ 
 
 as our Lord, are bound to lead a new and godly life, and to be 
 
 crucified to sin and the world, as He was crucified for our sin ; 
 
 and, if so, that we shall rise with Him. This is very true, and 
 
 is certainly in the passage ; but the question is, whether this be 
 
 all ? whether St. Paul speaks only of duties entailed upon, and 
 
 not also of strength imparted to us. The Fathers certainly of the 
 
 Christian Church, educated in holy gratitude for their Baptismal 
 
 privileges, saw herein, not the death only to sin, which we were 
 
 to die, but that also which in Christ we had died, the actual 
 
 weakening of our corrupt propensities, by being baptized and 
 
 incorporated into Christ ; not the life only which we are to 
 
 live, but the life which, by Baptism, was infused in us, and 
 
 which as many of us as are now " walking in newness of life," 
 
 are living in Christ, by virtue of that life. St. Paul, namely, is 
 
 setting, side by side, our means of grace, and the holiness which 
 
 we are thereby to strive to attain unto. " We have been all 
 
 baptized into Christ," L e. into a participation of Christ, and 
 
 His most precious death, and union with Him, we, i. e. our 
 
 old man, our corrupted selves, have been buried with Him, by 
 
 Baptism, into that death, that we may walk in newness of life. 
 
 Again, we have been planted in the likeness of His death — 
 
ST. CHRYSOSTOM ON ROM. VI, 3. ^3 
 
 that we may be of Mis resurrection. Again, our old man has 
 been crucified — that the whole body of sin may be destroyed. 
 And so, throughout, there are two deaths, in one of which we 
 were passive ^ only ; we were baptized, buried, planted, crucified ; 
 the very language marks that this was all God's doing, in us, and 
 for us : there remains the other death, which we must continually 
 die. Sin has once been remitted, slain, crucified ; we must, 
 henceforth watch that it live not again in us, that we extirpate 
 all the roots thereof, that we serve it not again, that we live 
 through its death. " It is not here," says St. Chrysostom % 
 *' as in other Epistles, where St. Paul appropriates one part to 
 doctrine, the other to moral instruction ; but he here, through- 
 out, mingles the two. He mentions, then, here, two puttings to 
 death, and two deaths ; one, which has taken place through 
 Christ, in Baptism ; the otlier, which must take place through 
 our subsequent diligence. For that our former sins were buried, 
 was His gift ; but that we, after Baptism, should remain dead to 
 sin, must be the work of our diligence ; for Baptism can not 
 only efface our former offences, but strengthens us also against 
 future. He saith not also, if vve have been made partakers of 
 the likeness of death, but if vve have been planled ; hinting, by 
 the name planting, at the fruit derived to us therefrom. For, 
 as His body, buried in the earth, bore for fruit the salva- 
 tion of the world ; so ours, also, buried in Baptism, bore 
 fruit, righteousness, sanctification, adoption, unnumbered bless- 
 
 1 " In the very beginning of regeneration, the seal whereof is Baptism, man 
 is merely passive ; whence, also, no outward act is required of a man who 
 was to be circumcised or baptized, as there is in other Sacraments, but only 
 passively to receive it. Infants, therefore, are equally capable of this 
 Sacrament, in regard to its main use, as adults." Ames. Medull. Theol. L. 
 i. c. 40. Thes. xiii. quoted by Burges, pp. 52, 3. and Bp. Taylor, Life of 
 Christ. Of Baptizing Infants, § 16. t. ii. p. 275. " If it be objected, that to 
 the new birth are required dispositions of our own, which are to be wrought 
 by and in them, that have the use of reason : besides that this is wholly 
 against the analogy of a new birth, in which the person to be born is wholly 
 a passive, and hath put into him the principle, that in time will produce its 
 proper actions," &c. 
 
 ^ See Note (C), at the end. 
 
24 BAPTISM UNITLD WITH THE CROSS. 
 
 ings, and hereafter shall bear that of the resurrection. Since, 
 then, we were buried in water, He in tlie earth, and we in 
 respect to sin. He in regard to the body : therefore he says not, 
 ' planted with Him in death,' but ' in the likeness of death.' 
 For each was death, but not of the same object. Nor does he 
 say merely (v. 6.) our old man was crucified, but was * crucified 
 together,' bringing Baptism in close union with the cross. He 
 saith this of every man (v. 7.), that he who is dead is freed from 
 sinning, abiding dead ; so also he who ascendetli from Baptism ; 
 for since he has then once died, he ought to remain throughout 
 dead to sin. If then thou hast died in Baptism, remain dead." 
 And so again ', " VV^e who have died to sin, how shall we live any 
 longer in it ? What is this ' we have died V is it, that as far 
 as it is concerned, we have all thought riglit to renounce it? or, 
 rather, that having believed and been enlightened, (received the 
 true light, — been baptized,) we have become dead to it? which 
 the context approves. But what is it to be dead to it ? to obey 
 it no longer. For this Baptism has done for us once, it dead- 
 ened us to it ; and for the rest, we must use our own earnest zeal 
 to effect this constantly. So that, though it order us ten thou- 
 sand times, we should obey it no longer, but remain motionless as 
 the dead. Elsewhere, indeed, he says, that sin itself died ; and 
 that, to show how easy goodness becometh ; but here, wishing 
 to rouse the hearer, he transfers the death to him. As the death 
 of Christ in the flesh is real, so is our's to sin real ; but although 
 it is real, we must for tlie future contribute our part. " What," 
 saith St. Basil ^ " belongeth to him who hath been born of water ? 
 That as Christ died to sin once, so he also should be dead and 
 motionless towards all sin, as it is written, * as many as have 
 been baptized into Jesus Christ have been baptized into His 
 death.'" And again ^ — "The dispensation of our God and 
 Saviour in behalf of man, is a recalling from his state of fall, a 
 return to a familiar intercourse with God from that state of 
 alienation which took place through the disobedience. For this 
 
 ' Horn. X. in Rom. t, ix. p. 525. - Moraha, c. 22. t. ii. p. 317. 
 
 ' De Spintu. S. c, 15. 
 
BAPTISM ACTUAL DEATH TO SIN. 25 
 
 cause, was the presence of Christ in the flesh ; the patterns of 
 evangelical life ; the Passion ; the Cross ; the Burial ; the Re- 
 surrection ; so that man, being saved by the imitation of Christ, 
 receives again that ancient adoption of sons. To the perfection 
 then of life, there is needed the imitation of Christ, not only of 
 the gentleness, and humility, and long- suffering, displayed in His 
 Life, but of His Death also ; as St. Paul saith — he, the imitator 
 of Christ — 'being conformed to His death, if by any means I 
 may attain unto the resurrection of the dead.' How then do we 
 come to the likeness of His death? By 'being buried with 
 Him through Baptism V What then is the mode of burial, or 
 what the benefit of the imitation ? First, it is necessary that 
 the course of the former life should be broken through. But 
 this is impossible, unless a man be born again, as the Lord said. 
 For the re-generation, as the name also itself implies, is the 
 beginning of a second life ; so that before we begin the second, 
 an end must be put to the preceding. Wherefore our Lord, in 
 dispensing life to us, gave us the covenant of Baptism, contain- 
 ing an image of death and life — the water fulfilling the image of 
 death, and the Spirit giving the earnest of life. This then is 
 * to be born again of water and the Spirit,' our death being 
 effected in the water, and our life worked in us by the Spirit. So 
 that whatever grace there is in the water is not from the nature 
 of the water, but from the presence of the Spirit." And St. 
 Augustine, against the Pelagians ': — " After the Apostle had 
 spoken of the punishment through one, and the free grace 
 through One, as much as he thought sufficient for that part of 
 his epistle, he then recommended the great mystery of Holy 
 Baptism in the Cross of Christ in this way, that we should 
 understand that Baptism in Christ is nothing else than a like- 
 ness of the death of Christ, and the death of Christ crucified 
 nothing else than the likeness of the remission of sin ; and as 
 His death is real, so is our remission of sins real, and as His 
 resurrection is real, so is our justification real. — If then we are 
 proved to be dead to sin, because we are baptized into the death 
 
 ' Encheirid. c. 52. t. vi, pp. 215, 216. 
 
26 BAVTISM THE PLEDGE OF THE RESURRECTION 
 
 of Christ, then the little ones also, who are baptized into 
 Christ, are baptized into His death. For it is said without 
 exception, ' so many of us as are baptized into Christ Jesus, 
 are baptized into His death.' And this is said to prove that we 
 are * dead to sin.' Yet to what sin do the little ones die, by 
 being born again, but to that which they contracted by being 
 born ? And thereby also pertains to them what follows (vv. 
 4 — 11.), ' that their old man is crucified with Him — that they 
 are dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord.' — He saith then to those baptized into the 
 death of Christ, into which not the elder only, but the little 
 ones also are baptized, ' Likewise do ye,' — i. e. as Christ, — 
 ' reckon yourselves dead unto sin.' " 
 
 In the union also with Christ, in whose death and life they 
 were through Baptism engrafFed, the elder Christians saw with 
 the Apostle the pledge of their resurrection. " Hast thou 
 believed," says Chrysostom i, " that Christ died and rose again, 
 believe then thine own. For this is like to it, since the Cross 
 and the Burial is thine also; for if thou hast shared with Him 
 in the Death and the Burial, much more shalt thou in the 
 Resurrection and the Life. For since the greater, that is, sin, 
 has been destroyed, we may not hesitate about that which is 
 lesser, the destruction of death." And St. Basil ^ in an ex- 
 hortation to Baptism, — " What can be more akin to Baptism 
 than this day of Easter ? for the day is the day of the 
 resurrection, and Baptism is a power to resurrection. On the 
 day then of the resurrection let us receive the grace of the 
 resurrection. Dost thou worship Him who died for thee ? Allow 
 thyself then to be buried with Him in Baptism. For if thou 
 be not planted in the likeness of His death, how shalt thou 
 be partaker of His resurrection ?" Even Calvin ', forgetting 
 
 ' Horn. 10. in Rom. § 4. 
 
 * Horn. 13. in S. Bapt. § 1, 2 t. ii. pp. 114, 115. 
 
 3 Ad loc. add Bucer, de vismi Bapt. (Script. Angl. p. 596.) " There are in 
 this place attributed to Baptism, death and burial of sin, newness of life, 
 certain assurance of a future resurrection to a blessed life." And Zanch. dc 
 
A GRAFFING INTO CHRIST. 27 
 
 for a while bis dread, lest men should rest in their Baptism, 
 says, " St. Paul proves what he had just said, namely, that 
 ' Christ slays sin in those who are His,' from the effect of 
 Baptism. Know we then that the Apostle does not here merely 
 exhort us to imitate Christ, as if he said, that the death of 
 Christ was a pattern which all Christians should imitate. Assur- 
 edly he goes deeper ; and brings forward a doctrine, on which 
 afterwards to found exhortation ; and this is, that the death of 
 Christ has power to extinguish and abolish the corruption of 
 our flesh, and His resurrection, to raise up in us the newness 
 of a better life ; and that by Baptism we are brought into the 
 participation of this grace." And again, on the word " planted," 
 he observes, — " Great is the emphasis of this word, and it 
 clearly shows, that the Apostle is not merely exhorting, but is 
 rather teaching us of the goodness of Christ. For he is not 
 requiring any thing of us, which may be done by our zeal or 
 industry, but sets forth a graffing-in, effected by the hand of 
 God. For graffing-in implies not merely a conformity of life, 
 but a secret union, whereby we become one with Him ; so that 
 quickening us by His Spirit, He transfuses His power into us. 
 So then, as the graft shares life and death with the tree into 
 which it is grafFed, so are we partakers of the life no less than 
 of the death of Christ." 
 
 To take another saying of the Apostle. St. Paul tells the 
 Galatians, (iii. 27.) " For as many of you as have been baptized 
 unto Christ, have put on Christ." Here again what most 
 Christians would now learn from the passage would be the neces- 
 sity of being conformed to Christ's life, of living consistently with 
 our Christian profession. And this is elsewhere (Rom. xiii. 14) 
 the meaning of the like words, and may be implied here, but as 
 a secondary and derived truth only. The main, great truth 
 refers again to our privileges. For St. Paul is proving that 
 
 Baptismo, (in Eph. v. p. 221,) " I understand the Apostle to be speaking not 
 so much of example set to us, as of the benefit which we derive from the 
 power of the resurrection, when we are engraffed into Him by Baptism, that 
 we may walk in newness of life." 
 
88 LEGAL AND EVANGELICAL 
 
 " we are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus;" 
 for, he says, as many of you as have been baptized, &c., i. e. 
 whoever of us has been baptized, was thereby incorporated into 
 Christ, and so being made a portion and member of the Son of 
 God, partakes of that sonship, and is himself a child of God : 
 so that henceforth the Father looks upon him, not as what he 
 is in himself, but as in, and a part of. His Well-beloved Son, and 
 loves him with a portion of that ineffable love with which He 
 loves His Son. St. Paul speaks then not of duties, (though 
 every privilege involves a duty corresponding,) but of privileges, 
 inestimable, inconceivable, which no thought can reach unto, but 
 which all thought should aim at embracing, — our union with God 
 in Christ, wherein we were joined in the Holy Baptism. And so 
 again we may see how the foolishness of God, in what men call 
 carnal ordinances, is wiser than man ; and how a false spirituality, 
 by disparaging the outward ordinance, loses sight of the im- 
 mensity of the inward grace ; and holding lightly by God's 
 appointment, as being " legal," does thereby fall back into mere 
 legality. God gave adoption and union with Himself in Christ 
 through the Spirit ; we, disregarding His ordinance, have found 
 but a Law. Contrast with these cold views the comment of one 
 who prized his Baptism as the source of his spiritual life in 
 Christ, M. Luther. " ' To put on Christ ' is two-fold ; legal 
 and evangelical. Legal, (Rom. xiii.) ' imitate the example and 
 excellencies of Christ,' do and suffer what He has done and 
 suffered: so, 1 Peter ii., ' Christ suffered for us, leaving us an 
 example that ye should follow His steps.' But we see in Christ 
 infinite patience, gentleness, and love, and a wonderful moder- 
 ation in all things. This ornament of Christ we ought to put 
 on, i. e., imitate these His excellencies. So also we may 
 imitate other Saints. But to put on Christ evangelically is not a 
 matter of imitation, but of birth and new creation ; when, 
 namely, I am clothed with Christ Himself, i. e., His innocence, 
 justice, wisdom, power, salvation, life, spirit, &c. We are 
 clothed with Adam, clothes of skins, mortal clothes, and a 
 garment of sin. 7'his raiment, i- e., this corrupt and sinful 
 nature, we contracted by our descent from Adam, which St. 
 
PUTTINO ON OF CHRIST. 29 
 
 Paul calls the old man, and which is to be ' put off with its 
 deeds,' (Eph. iv. Coloss. iii.) that out of sons of Adam we may 
 be made sons of God. This is not done by any change of 
 vestment, not by any laws or works, but by the new birth and 
 renewal which takes place at Baptism ; as St. Paul says, ' who- 
 ever of you are baptized have put on Christ ;' ' according to 
 His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration,' &c. 
 For there is kindled in the baptized a new life and flame, there 
 arise new and holy feelings, fear, trust in God, hope, &c. ; there 
 ariseth a new will. This, then, is properly, truly, and Evangeli- 
 cally to * put on Christ.' Therefore in Baptism there is not given 
 us a clothing of legal righteousness or our own works, but 
 Christ is our raiment. But He is not law, nor legislator, nor 
 work, but a Divine and unspeakable gift, which the Father 
 gave us, to be our Justifier, Life-giver, and Redeemer. Where- 
 fore Evangelically to put on Christ is not to put on a law or 
 works, but an inestimable gift, viz. remission of sins, righteous- 
 ness, peace, consolation, joy in the Holy Ghost, salvation, life, 
 and Christ Himself. This place is to be carefully noted against 
 Fanatic spirits, who depreciate the majesty of Baptism, and speak 
 wickedly thereof. St. Paul on the contrary sets it forth with 
 magnificent titles, calling it the ' washing of regeneration 
 and of the renewal by the Holy Ghost;' and here he says, tliat 
 all baptized persons have put on Christ ; speaking, as I said, 
 of a " putting-on," which should be not by imitating, but by 
 being born. He says not — Ye have received in Baptism a token, 
 whereby ye are enrolled among Christians, as the sectaries dream, 
 who make of Baptism a mere token, i. e. a trivial and empty 
 sign ; but he says, ' As many as have been baptized, have 
 put on Christ,' i. e. have been borne away out of the law into 
 a new birth, which took place in baptism. Therefore ye are 
 no longer under the law, but are clothed with a new garment, 
 the righteousness of Christ. St. Paul then teaches that Bap- 
 tism is not a sign, but the putting on of Christ — yea, that 
 Christ himself is our clothing. Wherefore Baptism is a thing 
 most powerful and efficacious. But when we are clothed with 
 Christ, the clothing of our righteousness and salvation, then 
 13 
 
30 BAPTISMAL PUTTINa ON OF CHRIST SOURCE OF HOLINESS. 
 
 also shall we be clothed with Christ, the clothuig of imitating 
 Him." 
 
 And so Chrysostom ', " And now he shows that they are sons 
 not of Abraham only, but of God also ; ' for ye are all sons of 
 God through faith which is in Christ Jesus' — through faith, not 
 through the law. And then, since this is a great and wonderful 
 thing, he names also the mode of their adoption, ' for as many of 
 you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.' 
 And why saith he not, ^ for as many as have been baptized into 
 Christ have been born of God ?' for so had he proved more 
 directly that they were sons. He saith this in a way much more 
 awefuUy great. For since Christ is the Son of God, and thou 
 hast put Him on, having the Son in thyself, and being trans- 
 formed into His likeness, tl^ou hast been brought into one kin- 
 dred and one species with Him." 
 
 I will add two passages only to show how the early Church 
 found in this doctrine an incitement to holiness and virtue. 
 " Let us not continue," says St. Chrysostom ^ to the candidate 
 for Baptism, " to gape after the things of this life, the luxury of 
 the table, or the splendour of dress ; for thou hast a most glori- 
 ous garment : thou hast a spiritual table ; thou hast the glory 
 which is on high ; and Christ becometh every thing to thee, 
 table, and garment, and dwelling-place, and head and root ; ' for 
 as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ ;' " 
 and St. Gregory^ of Nazianzum, in the midst of similar applica- 
 tions of Baptismal privileges, " Is there any sick and full of sores ? 
 respect thy own health, and the wounds from which Christ has 
 freed thee. Seest thou one naked ? clothe him, reverencing thy 
 own garment of immortality — and that is Christ, ' for as many 
 as,' " &c. 
 
 It might have sufficed, perhaps, to have noticed one passage, 
 in which, through our depreciation of our Blessed Saviour's 
 ordinance, we have lost the support, the strength, the cheering 
 hope, which He provided for us. For our mode of understand- 
 
 » Ad loc. t. X. p. 704. ed Ben. 
 
 2 Ad Illuminandos Catech. 2. t. ii. p. 2.37. 
 
 » Orat. 40 jn S. Bapt. § 29 
 
NO ERROR AS TO SCRIPTURE SINGLE. 31 
 
 ing any passage of Holy Scripture is not to be considered as 
 something insulated : resulting, as it does, from our general 
 frame of mind, our habits of thought and feeling, and the cha- 
 racter of our religious belief. Our insight into Scripture, as it 
 is an instrument in forming our minds, so is it in part tlie result 
 of the mind formed within us ; our character of mind is a con- 
 dition of understanding God's Word : according to what we our- 
 selves are become, does that Word appear to us : it is given to 
 us according as we have : our present is in proportion to our 
 past, profit. No misunderstanding then of any portion of Holy 
 Scripture ; (1 speak — not, of course, of words or expressions, but 
 — of the general tenor of passages of Scripture ;) no shallowness 
 of conception ; no false spiritualism, or sluggish resting in the 
 letter of any place, can stand singly ; for, whatever be the de- 
 fect which dims our sight in the one place, it will obscure our 
 understanding of other passages also. This, as before said, we 
 readily admit in gross and palpable cases ; we know, indeed, from 
 authority, of the veil on the hearts of the Jews, and of the god 
 of this world, who blindeth the understandings of the unbelieving : 
 we readily admit that one who has, practically, vague notions of 
 justification by faith will understand but little of St. Paul; but 
 we fail often to apply the test to our own case, and thoroughly 
 to examine what is wanting to our own mental character, and 
 how that deficiency prevents our more fully understanding 
 God's Word. What our dull eyes see in large and flagrant in- 
 stances, exists, we may be sure, where they are too heavy to 
 penetrate ; so that no one wrong habit of mind, or faulty prin- 
 ciple can exist, in however sliglit a degree, without affecting our 
 views of Scripture truth. 
 
 It may be useful, however, to see the effect of our modern 
 principles, and our practical depreciation of Baptism in other pas- 
 sages of Holy Scripture. Wiien people then, again, read (Col. ii. 
 11.) of our " being circumcised with the circumcision which is 
 made without hands, — buried with Christ in Baptism, raised 
 together vvith Him through faith of the operation of God, who 
 hath raised Him from the dead," they probably think of the 
 circumcision of the heart which we ought to have, of the com- 
 
 S 
 
SZ STRENGTH GIVEN IN BAPTISM. 
 
 plete extinction of all sinful tendencies, at which we ought to 
 aim, of the power of the faith which we ought to cherish. Yet 
 this again is but a portion of the truth : it tells us of the end 
 which we are to arrive at, but not of the means, whereby God 
 gives us strength on our way thitherward : it speaks of the 
 height of God's holy hill, but not of the power by which we are 
 caught up thither. Not so St. Paul. He is persuading the 
 Colossians to abide in the state in which they had been placed ; 
 to rest upon the foundation on which they had been laid ; to 
 root themselves in the soil in which thej"^ had been planted ; to 
 be content with the fulness which they had received from Him 
 by whom they had been filled, and in whom dwelt all the fulness 
 of the Godhead bodily ; to abide in Him whom they had re- 
 ceived. For he feared lest they should be taught by the vain 
 deceit of a false philosophy to take other stays than their Sa- 
 viour, or to lean on the now abolished tradition of circumcision. 
 To this end he reminds them that they needed nothing out of 
 Christ ; for they had been filled with Him, who filleth all in all, 
 the Head of all rule and all power ; therefore they needed no 
 other power, but only His, — they had received the true circum- 
 cision, and so could require no other ; they had bee7i disencum- 
 bered of the sinful mass, with which they were naturally encum- 
 bered, " the body of the sins of the flesh" by the circumcision 
 which Christ bestowed : their old man had been buried with Him 
 in Baptism ; they had been raised with Him, (as they ascended 
 out of the water,) by a power as mighty as that which raised 
 Him from the dead : all their old sins had been forgiven, and 
 they themselves re-born from the dead, and been made partakers 
 of the life of Christ, " quickened with Him ;" the powers of 
 darkness had been spoiled of their authority over them, and 
 exhibited as captives and dethroned. All these things had been 
 bestowed upon them by Baptism ; the mercies of God had been 
 there appropriated to them ; sins blotted out ; their sinful nature 
 dead, buried in Christ's tomb : death changed into life : and 
 therefore, as they had no need, so neither were they to make 
 void these gifts by trusting in any other ordinances, or looking 
 to any other Mediator. St Paul dreads that through false teach- 
 
HOW ST. PAUL OBVIATES RESTING IN OUTWARD PRIVILEGES. 33 
 
 ing and a false self abasement, they should not hold to the Head, 
 (v. 18). But does he depreciate their baptismal privileges? or, 
 because they were tempted to lean on circumcision, does he dis- 
 parage outward ordinances ? or dread that the exaltation of the 
 ordinance should lead to a depreciation of Christ? Rather, he 
 shows them how every thing which they sought, or could need, 
 was comprised, and already bestowed upon them in their Sa- 
 viour's gift, in His ordinance : that this ordinance was no mere 
 significant rite, but contained within itself the stripping off of 
 the body of sin, death, resurrection, new life, forgiveness, annul- 
 ment of the hand-writing against us, despoiling of the strong one, 
 triumph over the powers of darkness. We also have been thus 
 circumcised, have been buried, raised, quickened, pardoned, 
 filled with Christ : all this God has done for us, and are we not 
 to prize it? not to thank God for it, " stablished in the faith 
 which we have been taught, and abounding therein with thanks- 
 giving ?" (v. 7.) and are we, for fear men should rest in outward 
 privileges, to make the Lord's Sacrament a mere outward gift, deny 
 His bounty, and empty His fulness ? or rather ought we not, 
 with the Apostle, to tell men of the greatness of what they have 
 received, and repeat to them His bidding, " since then ye have 
 been raised together with Christ, seek what is above, where 
 Christ sitteth at the right hand of God :" ye have died ' ; slay 
 then your earthly members : ye have laid aside the old man, and 
 have put on the new, and that, in its Creator's image, again 
 restored to you : " put ye on then, as having been chosen and 
 loved of God," the ornaments befitting this new creation in you, 
 mercy, gentleness, and the otlier graces : ye have been forgiven, 
 forgive. Thus does St. Paul obviate the resting in outward 
 ordinances, by showing namely that the Christian ordinances are 
 not outward ; that they are full of life and honor, and immor- 
 tality, for that they are full of Christ. Is there not danger of 
 our losing our treasures also by a " voluntary humility ?" Is 
 
 1 " We therefoi-e who in Baptism have died and been buried, as relates to 
 the carnal sins of the old man, we who have risen with Christ by a new- 
 birth from heaven, let us think and do the things of Christ." — St. Cyprian 
 on Col. iii. 1. Epist. ad Fortunat. Praef. p. 260. ed St. Maur. 
 
 c " 
 
3+ DIMINISHED LOVr. OF BAPTISM. 
 
 not our dread of the consequences of exalting Christ's ordi- 
 nances, " after the rudiments of the world " (an earthly wisdom) 
 " and not after Christ ?" 
 
 In these passages, we have deprived ourselves of the strength 
 which God purposed to impart through them to His Church ; 
 and, yet more, have rohbed ourselves and our flock of the know- 
 ledge of the greatness of the gift intended for them, by God, in 
 Baptism. In another class, we have appropriated to ourselves 
 the gift, independently of the channel through which it is con- 
 veyed. We are, namely, in difterent passages of Holy Scripture, 
 said to have been " sealed by God," or " by the Holy Spirit of 
 God," to " have received an anointing from the Holy One," to 
 " have been anointed by God ;" and these passages, persons 
 at once, without doubt or misgiving, interpret of the inward and 
 daily graces of God's Holy Spirit (which are, also, undoubtedly 
 involved in them) ; so that, if any one were to propose to 
 explain these passages of Baptism, as containing the first pledge 
 and earnest of the Spirit, I fear he would be looked upon as a 
 cold and lifeless interpreter, perhaps as a mere formalist. It 
 will, doubtless, startle such to knovT, that this was, in some 
 passages at least, tlie interpretation of almost all Christian anti- 
 quity ' ; and it may serve as an index of our altered state of religious 
 belief, that most of us, perhaps, would at first regard as cold and 
 formal, the interpretation, which to them spoke of the fulness of 
 their Saviour's gift. This would, itself, be sufficient for our 
 purpose ; for it is not so much abstract jiroof of the value and 
 greatness of our Lord's Sacraments, that we need, as, rather, to 
 be convinced that our feelings have undergone a change, that we 
 fall very far short of the love and respect which the Fathers of 
 the Christian Church bore to them. And then let us consider 
 within ourselves, whether, since those holy men realized in their 
 lives the ordinances which they loved, we must not confess, that 
 our lessened esteem for our Saviour's gift, betokens a diminished, 
 or, at all events, a less humble affectionateness for the Giver. 
 We aim at receiving every thing directly from God's hand, from 
 
 ^ See Note (D), at the end. 
 
INDEPENDENCE ON ORDINANCES UNLOVING. 35 
 
 His Spirit to ours, and so either disparage His sacraments, or 
 else would make them means only, by which our faith might be 
 kindled, to " ascend into heaven," and " bring down Christ 
 from above," instead of being content diligently to cleanse our 
 own hearts, and " keep His words," that so His gracious promise 
 may be fulfilled — " My Father will love him, and we will come 
 unto him, and make our abode with him." (John xiv. 23.) This 
 had been an important consideration, quite independent of the 
 question, which were, in this instance, the right interpretation : 
 for, as there could be no doubt which loved his Saviour most, 
 the interpreter who found Him every where in the Old Testa- 
 ment prophecy, or he who found Him nowhere ; so, also, could 
 there be little, probably, between the character of mind, which 
 looked joyously to the gift of the Holy Ghost, through his 
 Saviour's ordinance, and that which regarded any reference to 
 that ordinance, lifeless and cold. There could be no doubt, 
 I think, of this generally ; although, as was before said, indivi- 
 duals might either " hold the truth in unrighteousness," or, being 
 in error, might still derive food for their piety, from other truth 
 in God's rich storehouse. Since, however, no error in Scripture 
 can be unimportant, it may be well to consider a few points, 
 which tend to shew, that the " sealing^ by Baptism" was here 
 intended. First, then, it should be observed, that, in each case, St. 
 Paul speaks of this " sealing " as a past action. " He who esta- 
 hVisheth us with you in Christ, and anointec? us, is God ; who, 
 also, is He who sealed us (6 nal aippayiadiievoQ), and gave the 
 earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Cor, i. 22) : " in whom ye 
 also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salva- 
 tion — in whom ye, having believed also, were sealed {eatppayiir- 
 
 1 In speaking of the application of this term to Baptism, I do not mean to 
 exclude Confirmation, as it was originally, a part of Baptism ; the term may, 
 however, perhaps from the first, have had reference to the mark of the cross 
 upon the forehead (Rev. vii. 3.), which was afterwards certainly called the 
 " Signaculum Dominicum," see Bingham, Christian Antiq. B. xi. c. 9. Add 
 Cyprian Epist. 73, ad Jubaianum, p. 132. ed. St. Maur. Tertullian de Resurr. 
 Carnis, c. 8, separates it from the anointing, as well as from the imposition of 
 hands. " Caro ungitur, ut anima consecretur ; caro signatur, ut et anima mu- 
 niatur ; caro manus impositione adumbratur, ut et anima Spiritn illuminetur." 
 
 c 2 
 
'id CHRISTIANS SEALKI) RY GOD 
 
 Or)Te), by the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of our 
 inheritance, until the redemption of the piu'chased possession." 
 (Eph. i. 13, 14.) *' Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, 
 whereby ye were ' sealed (eo-i^paytVQjjrt) unto the day of re- 
 demption." (Eph. iv. 30.) 2. In one passage (Eph. i.) this 
 sealing is mentioned, as immediately following upon the belief of 
 the Gospel — " having believed, ye were sealed ;" in a second 
 (Eph. iv.) it stands opposed to subsequent performance of duty — 
 " ye were sealed by the Holy Spirit, grieve Him not;" in the 
 third (1 Cor.) it stands opposed^ to Gou's subsequent establish- 
 ing them in Christ, to their being maintained in this state into 
 which they had been brought — " who establishe/A you, who also 
 anointed/ and seaW yon." 3. The word " sealed" was already in 
 use among the Jews *, and is recognized by St. Paul, as designat- 
 ing the act by which men were brought into covenant with God. 
 and received its privileges. Now it would, indeed, be a very 
 perverted mode of arguing, to infer, either that the seal of the 
 Christian covenant only attested the faith which already existed 
 (as in the case of Abraham), or that the seal of the Jewish 
 covenant conveyed the same privileges as the Christian ; for this 
 would be to identify the earlier with the later dispensation ; and 
 as one exposition unduly derogates from the Christian sacrament, 
 so does the other exalt the seal of the Jewish covenant beyond 
 what we have any certain warrant for, or even intimation of, from 
 Holy Scripture. Still, one should suppose, that St. Paul, when 
 employing terms, already in use among the Jews, would apply 
 
 1 E. V. " are sealed," in Eph. i. 13. " have been sealed." The context, as 
 well as the word, is the same. 
 
 * There is the like contrast between the original gift, and the looked-for 
 continuance of it, in 1 Cor. i. 5 — 8, quoted by Bode, as an use of the same 
 metaphor, in the matter of faith and sanctification — " as the witness of 
 Christ was confirmed (s/3ej8atw0»j) among you, so that ye came behind in no 
 gift, waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who also shall 
 confirm (jStjSaiwffti) you." But the gifts here spoken of were also bestowed at 
 the commencement of the Christian life. 
 
 s Talm. Hieros. Berachoth. f. 13. 1. ap. Lightf ad Mt. 28, 19. " Blessed 
 be He who hath sanctified His beloved from the womb, and placed the sign in 
 his flesh, and has sealed (onn) His offspring with the sign of the covenant." 
 
IN HOLY BAPTISM. 37 
 
 them to the corresponding portion of the Christian system. 
 Since, then, circumcision, by which the covenant was ratified to the 
 Jew, was spoken of as a " seal," and that by St. Paul also (Rom. 
 iv. 11.), St. Paul, if he used the word " seal" with reference to tlie 
 Christian, would obviously use it of tiiat by which each person was 
 brought within the Christian covenant — the Sacrament of Bap- 
 tism. But it were the very error of the rationalists to suppose, that 
 God's Holy Spirit, when He took the words used in Jewish 
 Theology, and employed them to express Christian Truth, con- 
 veyed nothing more by them, than they would have meant in the 
 mouth of any ordinary Jew ; and did not rather, when receiving 
 them into the service of the sanctuary, stamp them anew, and im- 
 press upon them His own living image. Since, namely. Baptism 
 is not a mere initiatory rite, but is an appointed means for 
 conveying the Holy Spirit, the language must in some respect be 
 conformed to our higher privileges ; and, instead of the covenant 
 being said to be sealed to us, we are declared to be sealed by the 
 Holy Spirit : since the Holy Spirit is then first pledged and 
 imparted to us, and the earnest then given us is a pledge, that un- 
 less we wilfully break off the seal, we shall be carried on to eternal 
 life, with larger instalments of our promised possession, until 
 " the possession, purchased" for us, by Christ's precious blood- 
 shedding, shall be fully bestowed upon us, and God's pledge be 
 altogether " redeemed." 4. The Christian fathers have, /rora 
 Apostolic times, used the word " seal" as a title of Christian 
 Baptism ; a relic whereof we have in the doctrine of our Church, 
 that " the promises of forgiveness of sin, and our adoption to be 
 the sons of God, by the Holy Ghost, ai-e therein visibly signed 
 and sealed.^* Thus Hernias (about A.D. 6b — 81): — " Before' 
 a person receive the seal of the Son of God, he is doomed to 
 death ; but when he receives that seal, he is freed from death, 
 and made over to life. But that seal is water, into which men 
 go down bound over to death, but arise, being made over to life. 
 That seal, then, was preached to them also, and they made use 
 of it, to enter into the kingdom of God." The least which this 
 
 * L. 4. simil. D. no. 16, quoted by Bingliam Christian Antiq. B. xi. c. 1. 
 
S8 HOLY BAPTISM A LIVING SEAL. 
 
 would shew, is that such was the received usage of the word " seal" 
 in the time of St. Paul ; but no one, admitting this, M'ill readily 
 suppose, that St. Paul would have used the term with regard to 
 Christians, unless he had meant it to be understood of the 
 Sacrament of Baptism. The Fathers, moreover, uniformly speak 
 of Baptism as sealing, and so keeping, guarding us, as it were a 
 seal placed upon us \ &c. ; moderns call it a seal, ratification, or 
 outward mark, of God's covenant. The two metaphors are 
 essentially distinct ; our modern usage is borrowed from St. 
 Paul's description of the older covenant, whereof circumcision 
 was the seal, but was no sacrament ; that of the Fathers agrees 
 with this reference to Baptism, which, being a Sacrament, seals, 
 guards, preserves us^, as well as guarantees the promises of God 
 towards us. 
 
 It would appear then, that the interpretation which perhaps 
 most among us would in the first instance have looked upon as 
 cold and formal, is, I might say, certainly true : and if so, it 
 may well be a warning how we hold any thing, which ties us 
 down to Chkist's sacraments, to be cold or formal ; for in this 
 case it will be God's Holy Spirit which we have ignorantly sus- 
 pected of teaching coldly and lifelessly. Not as though we 
 supposed that the Apostle here speaks of a sealing, which hav- 
 ing taken place once for all, it then remained, as it were on 
 a lifeless mass of goods, or would keep us safe without any 
 effort, self-denial, or prayer ; but rather, that as a living seal 
 stamped upon our souls by the Spirit of life, and bearing with 
 
 ' Bellarmine (de Sacram. L. i. c. 17-) remarking, that Scripture saith, 
 Abraham " received tlie sign (ctjjjueiov) of circumcision, the seal (a^paylSa) of 
 the faith which he had," &c., infers that circumcision was a sign to the Jews, 
 a seal to Abraham only : he remarks, also, that, often as St. Paul speaks of 
 circumcision, he does not, even when directly speaking of its benefits to the 
 Jews (Rom. iii.), mention its being a seal of faith. J. Gerhard (de Sacram. 
 387-), contends, in answer, that there is no difference between sign and seal. 
 But the difference remains between Abraham's case and that of any Jew, that 
 to Abraham circumcision was a seal of God's approval of his previous faith, 
 to his descendants it was a sign only of their being taken into the covenant, 
 in which a like faith was to be exercised. 
 
 ^ See Note (E), al the cud. 
 
HALF-ACKNOWLEDGED REPUGNANCE TO GOd's TRUTH. 39 
 
 it the impress of the Divine Nature, it would renew continually 
 in our souls the image of Him who created us, our Father, our 
 Redeemer, our Sanctifier, make us more and more wholly His, 
 more partakers of that Nature ; and that we, having that " seal 
 of God upon our foreheads," (Rev. ix. 4.) and our hearts, the 
 Angel of the bottomless pit should not have any power to hurt 
 us, unless we allow it to be obliterated. The difference between 
 the two interpretations, as before said, is this — the one would 
 date his sealing from the time when any man ceases to oppose 
 the workings of God's Holy Spirit (which might unobjectionably 
 be called, though not by a scriptural phrase, the conversion of 
 such an one) ; the other would look upon it as our Saviour's 
 gift in His sacrament pf Baptism, wherein all the gracious influ- 
 ences of God's Holy Spirit, as well those which any of us contuma- 
 ciously reject, as those which we at last admit, are pledged to us. 
 We may learn very much by all such instances, in which our 
 own (as vve suppose Christian) views differ from the teaching of 
 God's Word ; and, were we to watch all the instances in which 
 (with a but half-acknowledged repugnance or distaste) we glide 
 over statements of doctrine, or practice, or history, which are 
 not in accordance with our state of feeling, we should learn far 
 more, and become far completer Christians, than we now are. 
 For then we should be indeed God's scholars, which we can hardly 
 call ourselves, as long as we make these self-willed selections of 
 what we will learn. Thus one, who looks upon the Lord's Sup- 
 per as little more than a commemorative sign of an absent thing, 
 passes lightly over our Saviour's words, '* This is my Body." 
 Another glosses over the doctrine of justification by faith. In 
 these days we seem almost to have lost sight of the truth, that 
 we shall be judged according to our works. Others omit 
 passages bearing upon the " godly consideration of predestina- 
 tion, and our election in Christ," (Art. xvii.) ; others, the 
 possibility of our falling away from God, and its great danger ; 
 and so again, the injunctions as to unceasing prayer, self-denial, 
 non-requital of injuries, vain ostentation, or the glorifying of our 
 Heavenly Father, are dispensed with without remorse, and read 
 
40 MAJESTY OF BAPTISM IMPLIED 
 
 with what, if men examined it, they would find to be the very 
 spirit of unbehef. 
 
 Of such instances, is St. Paul's comparison of the relation of 
 the married state to that of Christ and his Church (Eph. v. 
 22. sqq.) A portion of " the world" has already begun to shrink 
 from this ; and no wonder : for with what different feelings 
 ought marriage to be thought of, encompassed, realized, lived 
 in, if it is in any way to furnish a type of the relation of Christ 
 to His Church ! It is not, however, so much to our puip'^se to 
 dwell on this, as to look on the converse ; what different feelings, 
 namely, the Apostle must have had, with regard to the Church 
 as the whole, and to Holy Baptism ; — in that he not only speaks 
 of the Church prominently, and then but subordinately of the 
 individual members ; but that he in this place speaks in two 
 words only, of Christ's precious blood-shedding, or rather 
 of His whole life and death for the Church, and then dwells on 
 the value of the gift of Baptism, and of the sanctification of the 
 Church thereby intended, " Husbands, love your wives, even 
 as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it ; that 
 He might sanctify it, having cleansed it (a7ta«7j7, Kadapiaag) * 
 with tl>e washing of water by the word, (i. e. as the Ancients 
 explained it, ' water rendered powerful and efficacious by the 
 Divine word of consecration,') that he might present it to Him- 
 self a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such 
 thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." And 
 this is the more remarkable, inasmuch as the Apostle draws no 
 inference whatever from this description which he gives of the 
 purity of the Church, but simply concludes as he began, " so 
 ought men to love their wives as their own bodies, — even as the 
 Lord the Church. " The only point of comparison which he 
 insists on, is the fostering love of Christ, which the husband 
 was, in his relation, to imitate : and therefore, since St. Paul 
 thus singled out and dwelt upon the gift of Baptism, he must 
 have had most exalted notions of that Sacrament, as a proof of 
 
 ' See Note (F) at the end. 
 
BY EPH. V. 22. 41 
 
 the love of the Saviour of the Church, " in nourishing and 
 cherishing it." For a man doth not launch out into such a fervid 
 description as this, without strong emotions of the value and 
 excellency of what he so describes. Or, rather, one should say, 
 the Holy Spirit, in filling the Apostle's mind with such high 
 notions of the continual love and providence of Christ for His 
 Church, as manifested in the efficacy which he gave to the water 
 of Baptism, to sanctify and cleanse it, and in causing him thus to 
 dwell on the purity thereby to be effected, must have intended 
 to work a corresponding love in us, and to correct the cold and 
 unloving sophisms of sense and reason about the power of 
 Christ's institution. And yet I would confidently appeal to 
 a large number of persons in the present day, whether, often as 
 they have dwelt upon this animating description of the sanctifi- 
 cation and spotlcssness of Christ's Church, they have not (with 
 a tacit feeling of not entering into them) passed by, almost 
 unnoticed, the words " with the washing of water," to which, 
 however, the Apostle throughout refers in his subsequent pictfire 
 of the Church's unblemishedness ? And if so, is it not time that 
 we seek to correct this variance between the Apostle's feelings 
 and our own ' ? 
 
 One might apply the same argument to the passages of St. 
 John, (1 Epist. ii. 20, 27,) in which he speaks of the " anointing" 
 which Christians had received from Christ. In eacli place he 
 speaks of it as abiding in its effects ; but in the latter (c. ii. 27,) 
 as having been received of Christ at some former time. Here 
 again it might be natural to infer that a gift, whose operation 
 continued, but which is spoken of as having been formerly 
 received, was first communicated at some particular time, and 
 
 1 It is painful to see Calvin's continual anxiety lest too much should be 
 attributed to the Sacrament, even while he rightly vindicates it. " It is as 
 if he said that a pledge of thatsanctification was given in Baptism. Although 
 we need a sound exposition here, lest men make themselves an idol out of 
 the Sacrament (as often happens), through a perverse superstition," &c. and 
 soon; and yet even he had to speak against others, who " toiled (sudant) in 
 paring down and weakening this panegyric upon Baptism, lest too much 
 should be assigned to the symbol, if it were called the bath of the soul." Ad loc. 
 12 
 
42 BAPTISM AN UNCTION FROM THE HOLY ONE, 
 
 that having been received from Christ, it was received through 
 some institution of Christ. Again, the very term " anointing" 
 would lead one to think of an act in part outward, and since it was 
 employed under the Jewish law to consecrate things or persons 
 to the service of God, it might the more obviously be used for 
 the consecration of " lay-priesthood ' " as baptism is called ; and 
 that the more, since our Blessed Saviour was actually conse- 
 crated and anointed (comp. Luke iii. 21, 22, iv, 1, 14, 16) by 
 the descent and abiding of the Holy Ghost at His Baptism, and 
 then became the Christ : since, moreover, the same " sevenfold 
 gifts" of the Holy Spirit, which were bestowed upon the Christ 
 at His baptism (Is. xi. 1, Ixi. 1, Luke iv. 18) are here spoken 
 of by St. John, as having been in their measure imparted to 
 Christians; and "anointing" (as we saw above) is by St. Paul 
 (2 Cor. i.) united with the "sealing" of baptism. To this may 
 be added the very use of the name " the anointing" in Christian 
 antiquity to designate baptism ; and the early and general use 
 V^y>jyi.«,lv of Chrism or anointing, as a holy and significant act thereat, 
 «v . and since it was part of Baptism, a Sacramental act also^. But 
 
 " whether St. John (as seems to me most probable) referred to 
 
 ^■^"^ t ' a specific act at Baptism, or to Baptism itself, as " making us 
 kings and priests to God," thus far makes no difference. What 
 1 would now advert to is this, that Christian antiquity inter- 
 preted these passages of Holy Baptism, as being the source of 
 our illumination, as of our sanctification ; while moderns find 
 under the term " anointing" the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or 
 I J ^ grace, or wisdom, or the Blessed Spirit Himself, as anointing 
 
 l{ lt<-' . Christians either immediately, or mediately through the ministry 
 
 ■^-jlv A^-^ -• of the word, — any thing in short rather than the institution of our 
 ■ — ^'A^M^*'-*^ "^ Blessed Saviour. And I would wish persons to consider whether 
 this do not imply a changed feeling, a less vivid recognition of 
 the value of the " means of grace," and an independence of 
 ordinances which is less humble than that of the early Christians. 
 ^ The same might be said of other passages ; and it may help 
 
 I ^ ' ' Jerome Adv. Lucii. c. 2, quoted by Bingham, B. xi. c. 1. 
 
 ^ See Note ((J) at the eml. 
 
BAPTISM WHOLLY SPIRITUAL. 43 
 
 to set before our eyes the extent of our practical departure from 
 the system of early Christianity, if we touch briefly upon them. 
 Thus, when St. Paul exhorts the Hebrews (iv. 22, 23) to draw 
 near to Christ with a pure heart in full assurance of faith, 
 inasmuch as their hearts had been purified by Christ's blood, 
 and its merits applied by Holy Baptism, for so the Fathers 
 understood the words " our hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 
 science and our bodies washed by pure water," moderns have 
 found mere allusions to legal ablutions, or else have supposed 
 that " the washing of the body with pure water"' represented 
 simply the purifying of the soul by the direct influence of the 
 Holy Spirit, without any intervention of the consecrated element. 
 Again, we might observe how in the Apostolic exhortation to 
 unity (Eph. iv. 4, sqq.) the oneness of baptism is set forth, 
 together with all those things which we account most spiritual, 
 " one body, one spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one 
 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, 
 and througli all, and in you all." As has been well said, '* all 
 are things inward, belonging to the Church and to its several 
 members." Our " one regeneration and engraffing into Christ" 
 may well occupy its place among our most glorious privileges, 
 for it is the basis of all the I'est ; the earnest of the Spirit, the 
 ground of our hope, the gift or confirmation of our faith, the 
 union with Christ, and thereby with His Father and our 
 Father, how should it not be a thing most inward ? and how 
 should we be ashamed, if we think only of the outward symbol 
 under which it is made visible to us ? This also, we may note, 
 is the fourth mention of baptism in this one short epistle to the 
 Ephesians, — a Church, as it should seem, in the most spiritual 
 state, of those to whom St. Paul wrote. The Sacrament of re- 
 generation is again referred to by St. Paul (1 Cor. xii. 13) as a 
 ground of Christian unity, together with that of the Com- 
 munion with Christ, " By oi;e Spirit we are all baptized into 
 one body." " Here, also, again," says Bucer', " there is ascribed 
 to baptism an incorporation into Christ the Lord, and a con- 
 
 ' Dc vi Bapt. Opp. Aiiyl. i. p. o'JJ. 
 
44 TYPES OF BAPTISM, 
 
 corporation in that Christ with all saints, and that by the same 
 Spirit." 
 
 Again, let any one consider the emblems under which Bap- 
 tism is pointed out in Scripture, as having been figured in the 
 Old Testament, the flood, and the passage of the Red Sea. In 
 modern times, neither has appeared a very obvious similitude : 
 the symbol of the Ark, as an emblem of Christ's Church, has re- 
 commended itself to us ; not so the resemblance of Baptism to 
 the flood, since the flood destroyed life, Baptism saves it. The 
 Apostle, however, looks upon the flood as the entrance, and the 
 only entrance into the Ark, and laying aside all other points of 
 resemblance or of difference, he fixes our minds upon this one 
 subject, — by what means we were brought in thither ' ; and 
 since the flood was the occasion of Noah's entering the Ark, and 
 the Ark was borne up by that water which destroyed those who 
 entered not therein, he pronounces that " the few, the eight souls 
 were brought therein safe by water : the antitype whereof. Bap- 
 tism, doth also now save us, not the putting away the filth of the 
 flesh, but the inquiry into a good conscience towards God," i.e. Bap- 
 tism, not as an outward rite, but accompanied with Faith, the bap- 
 tized person answering with a good conscience to the inquiry made 
 into his Faith ^ It was then an object with the Apostle to 
 impress upon the minds of Christians the greatness of the Sacra- 
 ment of Baptism, by comparing it with the most wonderful dis- 
 plays of Almighty power which this globe had ever witnessed : 
 and the less obvious the resemblance, the more moment we must 
 suppose there to have been in pointing out their connection : or 
 rather we should admire God's mercy, who in the record of His 
 dispensations so harmonized them together, that we should not be 
 '• staggered through unbelief," at the meanness of the instru- 
 ments which he uses * ; but having seen that the Holy Spirit 
 
 1 " As that water which destroyed the rest of the world, preserved, as 
 it were in death and by death, Noah and his family through a miracle of 
 Divine benevolence: so Baptism engraffing us into the death of Christ, 
 saves from eternal death, by the death of the old Adam and of sin." — Bucer 
 de vi Baptismi Christi, Script. Anglic, p. 597- 
 
 2 See Note (H) at the end. 
 
 ■^ " There is nothing," says Terlullian, " which so hardens the minds of 
 
SHADOWING OUT ITS GRKATNESS. 45 
 
 condescended to brood over the shapeless mass of waters, and 
 thence to produce order and life — that water was the means 
 appointed for saving Noah and his sons — that Moses and Israel 
 descended into the water of the Red Sea as into a tomb, and 
 thence arose again, and were delivered — that water cleansed 
 Naaman from leprosy, and the children of Israel from pollution, — 
 we might the more readily believe that water should be conse- 
 crated by God " for the mystical washing away of sin," and con- 
 nect the admonitions of His previous dispensations with the 
 greatness of our present privilege. 
 
 And whoever thinks lightly of Water-Baptism, if he compare 
 his mind with that of St. Peter, will surely find himself reproved, 
 in that the Apostle held the flood, which covered the face of the 
 whole earth, and the tops of the highest mountains, and prevailed 
 upwards, to be but a shadow and type ^ of the baptismal stream, 
 whicli each of our little ones enters as a child of wrath, and 
 arises *' a child of God, a member of Christ, an heir of Heaven." 
 And when men, guided perhaps by these scriptural types, or by 
 tradition, saw in the blood and water which issued from their 
 Saviour's side a pledge of the expiating and sanctifying character 
 
 men as that tlie Divine works appear in act so simple, while the effect 
 promised is so magnificent ; so that here also, (in Baptism,) because with such 
 simplicity, without pomp, or any new array, and lastly without cost, a man let 
 down into the water and washed, while a few words are uttered, arises again 
 not much, or not at all the cleaner, it appears incredible that he should 
 thereby have obtained immortality. On the contrary the rites of the idols 
 obtain trust and authority by apparatus and expense. Miserable unbelief, 
 which denies to God His properties, Simplicity and Power — The first 
 waters were ordered to bring forth living creatures, lest it should seem 
 strange that in Baptism waters should give life." — De Bapt. Init. 
 
 ' " Baptism is a greater deluge than that described by Moses, since more are 
 baptized than were drowned by the deluge." — Luther, Serm. de Baptismo, 
 ap. Gerhard, loci de S. Bapt. § 9. The types of Baptism in the Old Testament, 
 and several passages of the Fathers relating to them, are given, 1. c. § 11. 14. 
 There is a striking saying of St. Cyprian, Ep. 63. ad Csecilium : " As often 
 as water is mentioned alone in Holy Scripture, so often is Baptism extolled." 
 Moderns may think lightly (i. e. as it is, in truth, unphilosophically and 
 superficially) of this system of interpretation, but which reverence most the 
 Sacrament of their Lord ? 
 
46 MODERN NOTIONS AND BIBLE HISTORY. 
 
 of His Baptism, that it was a Baptism " not of water only, but of 
 water and blood," of water purified, and purifying by the effi- 
 cacy of that blood, one cannot deny that there was at least more 
 of affectionateness in their view ; and more of encouragement 
 also, when in the heavens * opening at our Saviour's Baptism, they 
 saw the emblem of the higher Heavens, opened by Him to all 
 believers. 
 
 The same observation might be extended to the history of 
 the first conversions to the faith. If, namely, we observe all 
 the indications in the Acts, we shall find a stress laid upon 
 baptism, which would surprise us, and thereby evince that there 
 was something faulty in our previous notions. For baptism is 
 not urged upon the converts, as we might suppose, as a proof of 
 sincerity, or a test of faith, in embracing openly the worship of 
 the Crucified, and so being prepared, literally as well as in spirit, 
 to " take up the cross and follow Him," but for its own benefits 
 in and for itself. Let any one think what, according to his views 
 of the Christian truth, would have been his answer to the 
 multitude, who, " pricked in their hearts, asked Peter and the 
 rest, Men and brethren, what shall we do ?" I doubt that their 
 answer would not have been, " Repent and he baptized every one 
 of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, 
 and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." I cannot but 
 think that very many of us would have omitted all mention of 
 baptism, and insisted prominently on some other portion of the 
 Gospel message ; i. e. our notions of the relative value of Gospel 
 truths and ordinances differ from those of the inspired Apostles. 
 But to take a single instance, and that the most conspicuous, St. 
 Paul. It is commonly said that he, having been miraculously 
 converted, was regenerated, justified by faith, pardoned, had 
 received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized. Not so, how- 
 ever, Holy Scripture, if we consider it attentively : before his 
 baptism he appears neither to have been pardoned, regenerated, 
 
 1 Bede in Mk. L. I.e. ap Gerhard, loci (de S. Baptismo, § 112.) " That 
 Christ saw the Heavens opened after Baptism was done for our sake, to 
 whom the gate of the kingdom of Heaven is opened by the bath of the 
 regenerating water." 
 13 
 
CASE OF ST. PAUL. 47 
 
 justified, nor enlightened. He had been suddenly told his sin 
 in persecuting Christ, and lie asked, under this conviction, 
 " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" But Christ tells 
 him not : He neither immediately pronounces his forgiveness 
 nor teaches him how it may be obtained, but informs him 
 solely that He has a work for him to perform, that he is 
 now simply to obey, and what he is to do he shall know here- 
 after. Thus He sends him, his bodily blindness as an emblem 
 of that of his mind, to tarry the Lord's leisure (Acts ix. 6. xxii. 
 10.) What took place during those three days and nights of 
 bodily and mental darkness, during which, doubtless, in intense 
 anxiety, (through which he " did neither eat nor drink"), with 
 one only cheering look into the future ^, he reviewed the course 
 of his past life, God's guidance, and his own wilfulness, we 
 are not told ; nor how this probation of acute suffering was 
 necessary for the framing of this "chosen vessel :" but it is at 
 least implied, that, as yet, in answer to his prayers, there 
 had been conveyed only a general intimation of God's good 
 intentions toward hitn, of His purpose to remove the outward 
 sign of His displeasure : " Behold, he prayeth, and hath seen, 
 in a vision, a man named Ananias, coming and putting his 
 hand upon him, that he might receive his sight." But as yet 
 neither were his sins forgiven, nor had he received the Holy 
 Ghost ; and consequently was not born again of the Spirit, 
 before it was conveyed to him through his Saviour's Sacrament. 
 " And now, why tarriest thou ?" says Ananias ; " arise, and 
 be baptized, and wash ^ away thy sins." (Acts xxii. 16.) " The 
 
 ' Calvin, according to his view of sacraments, could not but paraphrase 
 this — " That you may be assured, Paul, that your sins are remitted, be bap- 
 tized. For the Lord promises remission of sins in baptism ; receive it, and 
 be assured." And this is in answer to the objection, "Why did Ananias 
 tell Paul to wash away his sins by baptism, if sins are not washed away by 
 virtue of baptism?" Instit. iv. 15, de Baptismi, § 15. Such an answer will 
 scarcely satisfy any one. Contrast with this Bucer's simple inference, " In 
 these words, then, there is ascribed to baptism the effect of remitting' or 
 washing away of sins." 
 
 ^ See Note (I) at the end. 
 
48 CASE OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 Lord Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way, as thou comest, 
 hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled 
 with the Holy Ghost." And this was done ; for " there fell 
 from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight forth- 
 with, arose, and was baptized." The account of the fulfilment 
 is obviously commensurate with the promise. As then by the 
 falling of tlie scales, his outward darkness was removed, and he 
 received sight ; so by baptism was the inward, and he was filled 
 with the Holy Ghost. But if even to St. Paul, for whose con- 
 version our Saviour Himself vouchsafed again to become visible 
 to human sight, regeneration and the other gifts of the Hotr 
 Spirit were not imparted without the appointed Sacrament of 
 grace, why should this be expected or looked for by others ? 
 
 Oxford, 
 Feast of St. Bartholomew. 
 
 (to be concluded in the next no.) 
 
 These Tracts are published Monthly, and sold at the price of 
 2d. for each sheet, or 7s. for 50 copies. 
 
 LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. RIVINGTON, 
 
 ST. Paul's church yard, and waterlog place. 
 
 1835. 
 Gilbert & Rivington, Printers, St. John's Square, London. 
 
No. 68. (AdClerum.) [Price Id. 
 
 TRACTS FOR THE TIMES. 
 
 SCRIPTURAL VIEWS OF FIOLY BAPTISM, 
 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 when I view my sins, mine eyes remove 
 
 More backward still, and to that water fly, 
 
 Which is above the heavens, whose spring and vent 
 
 Is in ray dear Redeemer's pierced side. 
 
 O blessed streams ! either ye do prevent 
 
 And stop our sins from growing thick and wide, 
 
 Or else give tears to drown them as they grow. 
 
 George Herbert. Holy Baptism. 
 
 Hitherto, we have dwelt on the greatness of the privileges of 
 
 Baptism : there is yet another, and a very awful view given in 
 
 Holy Scripture, the danger of losing them. Though " not 
 
 €very deadly sin, willingly committed after Baptism, is sin 
 
 against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable ; and therefore the 
 
 grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin 
 
 after Baptism," (Art. 16), still it appears that every deadly sin 
 
 after Baptism is not only a step towards final impenitence, but 
 
 weakens Baptismal grace, and tends to deprive the individual of 
 
 the ordinary means of restoration. The solemn warning of St. 
 
 Paul to the Hebrews, (who on account of their fiery trials were 
 
 especially exposed to the danger of falling away) is by the 
 
 universal voice of Christian antiquity applied to this case. " It 
 
 ' is impossible," he says, (vi. 1 . sqq.) as his ground for not " laying 
 
 ' agai» the foundation of repentance fi-om dead works, and of 
 
 ' faith towards God, of the doctrine of Baptisms and of laying 
 
 * on of hands;" " it is impossible for those who have once been 
 
 ' enlightened, and have tasted of tlie heavenly gift, and been made 
 
 partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of 
 
 D 
 
50 BAPTISM OUR ENLIGHTENING. 
 
 " God, and the powers of the world to come, and yet have fallen 
 " away, to renew them again unto repentance." Some of this 
 language is now become strange to us, and we might be per- 
 plexed to affix the precise meaning to the words " having been 
 *' enlightened," and " to renew again ;" and we should therefore 
 attach the more value to the expositions of those who lived near 
 the Apostle's time and spoke his language. These, however, 
 all, without hesitation, explain " the being enlightened," of the 
 light imparted to men's minds by the Holy Ghost through 
 Baptism ; the " renewal" (as in Tit. iii. 5) of the renovation of 
 our nature then bestowed. ^ Nor can any other ground be 
 assigned, for the title " illumination" ((pajTicxfiog) applied even 
 in the second century ' to Christian Baptism, than that they 
 even then understood St. Paul (here and x. 32) to speak of 
 " baptized persons" as " illuminated" ((pionadiyrac) : the Syriac 
 rendering " baptized," attests the interpretation of the Eastern 
 Church at the same period. In both passages indeed there is a 
 manifest reference to the commencement of the Christian course ; 
 here to the " elements of the doctrine of Christ," in c. x., 
 to the resoluteness with which, in " the former days" they, 
 " having been enlightened," (i. e. as soon as they were enlight- 
 ened,) "sustained a great struggle of afflictions." The Fathers 
 then, i. e. the whole which we know of the early Church, uno ore, 
 explain this whole passage of the privileges of Christian Baptism, 
 and of the impossibility of man's again conferring those pri- 
 vileges upon those who had once enjoyed them and had for- 
 feited them : nay, they urge it as at once conclusive against the 
 
 1 See Suicer vv. ava/caivi'^w, dvaKaivioig, avaKaivicrj.i6g, ava^aTTTiaiQ, 
 avaaravpow, ^wrtcr/ioe. 
 
 ^ By Justin Martyr Apolog. 2. Clemens Alex, ap Euseb. see below note E, 
 and again Paedag. L. i. c. 6. " Baptized we are enlightened, enlightened we 
 are adopted as sons, adopted we are perfected, perfected we are immortalized." 
 " And Baptism," he says, " is called enlightening, because thereby we are 
 admitted to gaze upon that holy and saving light." So the very ancient 
 " Acta Theclae," (see Grabe Spicileg. t. i. p. 91, 2.) St. Chrysostom, when 
 enumerating the Scriptural names of Baptism (ad Illuminand. Catech. i. § 2. 
 t. ii. p. 228. ed. Bened.) quotes these two passages in proof that it is called 
 " enlightening" {^tSJTiufia). 
 
NO COMPLETE RENEWAL AFTER BAPTISM. 51 
 
 repetition of Baptism '. They restrain not, nor limit the mercies 
 of God, that " he may peradventure give them repentance, — and 
 " that they may awake out of the snare of the devil, who have 
 " been taken alive by him at his will ;" (2 Tim. ii. 25, 2S) but 
 they say that the Apostle here peremptorily decides that man 
 lias no means to restore such ; for man it is impossible ". " See," 
 says St. Chrysostom^ , " how awfully and forbiddingly he begins. 
 " ' Impossible !' i. e. look not for what is not possible. He saith 
 " not, it is not fitting, is not expedient, is not allowable, but — ' is 
 " impossible ;' so that he at once casts them into desperation, if 
 " they have but once been illuminated. — Is then repentance ex- 
 *' eluded ? Not repentance, God forbid ! but a renewal again by 
 *' Baptism : for he saith not ' impossible tjiat they should be 
 " renewed to repentance,' and there stops ; but adds ' that they 
 " should be renewed,' i. e. become new, ' by crucifying again :' 
 " for to ' make men new' belongs only to Baptism ; but the 
 " office of Repentance is, when they have been made new, and 
 " then become old through sins, to free them from this old- 
 *• ness, and make them new ; but it cannot bring them to that 
 "former brightness : for then (in Baptism) the whole was grace." 
 He then, (as do all the other Fathers) explains the words " cru- 
 
 • " Almost all the antients," says G. I. Vossius, " prove from this passage 
 that Baptism may not be repeated." Disp. 17. Ae Baptismo, § 9. Besides the 
 Commentators, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Primasius, Sedulius, Haimo, Theo- 
 phylact, fficumenlus, he quotes Ambrose de Pcenitentia L. 2. c. 2. Epipha- 
 nius Haeres. 59. Jerome c. Joviqian L. ii. Augustine Expos, inchoat. ad 
 Rom. (t. iii. p. 2. p. 938), Cyrill. in Joann. L. v. c. 17. Damascenus de fide 
 L. iv. c. 10. " Scripture," says St. Augustine (de fide et operibus § 17. t. vi. 
 p. 174.) " abundantly and plainly testifies that all these things (those spoken 
 of by the Apostle, Heb. vi. 1, 2.) belong to the very commencements of new- 
 made Christians." 
 
 2 " I might say also to him, who understands this passage of repentance, 
 that those things which are impossible with men, are possible with God ; and 
 God is able, when He will, to remit to us, even those sins which we think 
 cannot be forgiven. And so, what seems to us impossible to be obtained, is 
 possible for God to give." Ambrose 1. c. 
 
 3 Ad loc. Horn. 9. § 2. t. xii. p. 96. sqq. ed. Bened. cp. Horn. i. de S. 
 Pentecoste t. ii. p. 4G7, Horn. x. (al. ix.) in Joann. t, viii. p. CO, Hom. ii. irj 
 Ephes. t. xi. p. 12., Hom. i. in Act. § 6. 
 
 d2 
 
5Z CHRIST CRUCIFIED IN BAPTISM. 
 
 " cifying the Son of God for themselves afresh" of a second 
 Baptism, as the means of their restoration : it is impossible for 
 them to renew themselves by repeating their Baptism, '• since 
 " this would be crucifying for themselves the Son of God afresh ' :" 
 (and this corresponds better with the original than our present ver- 
 sion, " seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh," 
 inasmuch as the Apostle changes the tense, *' it is impossible 
 " having fallen away (^TrapaTreaovrac) to renew them again, cruci- 
 *' fying (i. e. by crucifying dvacTTavpovrrac)." " For," Chry- 
 sostom proceeds, " Baptism is the cross : for ' our old man was 
 " crucified with Him,' Rom. vi. 6., and again, ' we were con- 
 " formed to the likeness of His death,' (v. 5.), and again, * we 
 " have been buried with Him by Baptism into death' (v. 4.) 
 " As then Christ cannot be crucified again, (for this were to put 
 " Him to an open shame,) so cannot a person be baptized again. 
 " He then who baptizeth himself a second time, crucifies Him 
 ** again — for as Christ died on the cross, so we in Baptism, not 
 " in the body, but to sin — by Baptism our old man was buried, 
 " and our new man arose, which was conformed to the likeness 
 " of His death. If then we must be baptized again. He must die 
 " again. For Baptism is nothing else than the destroying of that 
 " self that is buried, and raising that other. And he well says, 
 " ' crucifying again for themselves,' for he who does this, for- 
 *' getful of the former benefit, and living carelessly, acts through- 
 *' out as if there were another Baptism. And what means ' having 
 " tasted the heavenly gift' ? it is the ' forgiveness of sins.' For 
 " this grace belongeth to God only to impart ; and this grace is 
 " once only grace — he shews that here (in Baptism) there are 
 " many gifts : hear, that you may understand : God has vouch- 
 " safed to thee, he saith, so great a remission ; to thee who 
 " sattest in darkness, an enemy, opp-^ser, alienated, hater of 
 " God, lost — thou, being such an one, wert suddenly enlightened ; 
 " the Spirit, the heavenly gift, adoption, the kingdom of Heaven, 
 " all other blessings, and mysteries unutterable, were vouch- 
 " safed to thee ; and if, after this, thou art not the better — and 
 
 ' Ambrose 1. c. " In Baptism we crucify in us the Son of God." 
 
ANTIENT NOTIONS OF REPENTANCE. 53 
 
 *' that when thou deservedst perdition, but obtainedst salvation 
 '* and honour, as if thou hadst done excellently, — how couldst 
 '* thou be baptized again? In two ways then he shows the 
 " thing to be impossible, and places the strongest last. First, 
 " that one vipon whom so great things had been bestowed, and 
 " who treacherously abandoned what had been given him, is 
 ** unworthy of being again renewed : secondly, that it is not 
 " possible that He shou;ld again be crucified : for this would be 
 *' to put Him to an open shame. There is then no second 
 *' Baptism, none. But if there is, there is a third also, and a 
 '* fourth ; and the former Baptism is annulled by each successive 
 " one, and so on to infinity. And when he says, ' and having 
 *' tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to 
 ** come,' he does not conceal this, (that there is no second Bap- 
 " tism) but almost expressly says it. For to live as Angels, — 
 *' to stand in need of none of these earthly things, — to know 
 " that our adoption guaranteeth to us the enjoyment of future 
 " ages — to look to enter into that unapproachable sanctuary — 
 " this we learn (then) from the Spirit. But what are * the powers 
 " of the world to come' ? Life eternal, or an existence like the 
 *' Angels : of these things we received the earnest through faith 
 " from the Spirit. Tell me then, hadst thou been brouglit into 
 " the royal palace, entrusted with all things therein, and then 
 " betrayed all, wouldst thou again be entrusted with them ?" 
 
 " What then ?" he asks, ** is there according to the Apostle, 
 " no repentance ? There is repentance, but there is no second 
 *' Baptism." And he then describes the repentance whereby 
 Christ might again be formed in us, a repentance, — far dif- 
 ferent from the easy notions of many in modern times, — through 
 " condemnation of sin, confession, deep and abiding and abased 
 '* humility, intense prayer, many tears by night and day, much 
 " almsgiving, abandonment of all anger, universal forgiveness, 
 " bearing all things meekly" — so that, beyond the ordinary 
 Christian graces, he seems to think that one who after falling 
 from Baptismal grace, should ever be restored, should not look 
 upon himself as in the rank of those who had kept the white 
 robe of Baptism undefiled, but should live continually the life of 
 
•54 FORMER SINS REMITTED AT BAPTISM. 
 
 Penitents. And this is not Chrysostom's opinion only, but that 
 of the ancient Churcli, that one who shall have fallen grievously 
 after Baptism, though he may " by God's grace arise again and 
 " amend his life," (Art. 16.) cannot be in the same condition, as 
 if he had never so fallen. So also in Scripture. Two great 
 branches of our Blessed Saviour's office are set forth to us, His 
 death and His intercession — His death, the merits of which are 
 applied to us in Baptism, as containing the remission of all past 
 sin, the death of the old man, the imparting of a new nature, the 
 quickening and renewing our souls, the placing us in a state of 
 salvation, as saith St. Paul — " God hath set forth Christ Jesus 
 " to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His 
 " righteousness for the remission of the sins that are past," the 
 former sins * (t-wv Trpoyeyovorwv a.ixapTi]fidT(av) (Rom. iii. 25,) " the 
 sins of the times of ignorance :" (Acts xvii. 30.) His intercession 
 for sins into which through the infirmity of the flesh, though 
 Christians, we may yet fall. " For these," St. John, who is mani- 
 festly speaking of the sins of true believers, saith, " we have an 
 " Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He 
 " is the propitiation for our sins :" but we have no account in 
 Scripture of any second remission, obliteration, extinction of all 
 sin, such as is bestowed upon us by " the one Baptism for the 
 " remission of sins." And that such was the view of the antient 
 Church, appears the more from the very abuse which we find 
 derived from it ; that many, namely, delayed continually the 
 
 * Comp. 2 Pet. i. 9, " having fallen into a forgetfulness of the purifi- 
 cation of his old sins" {tCjv tcoXm avrov afiapTiaiv). CEcumenius para- 
 phrases, (comparing St, James i. 22.) " For such a man, having known that 
 he was washed from a multitude of sins, in that he was cleansed by Holy 
 Baptism, ought to have known, that having been cleansed he received holi- 
 ness also, and so should watch always to preserve that ' holiness, without 
 which no man shall see the Lord.' But he forgat it." Justin Martyr, Apol. 
 1. § Gl. p. 80. ed. St. Maur. " That we may not remain subject to slavery 
 of the will and ignorance, but may have free choice and knowledge, and may 
 in the water obtain remission of the sins, which we have before committed, 
 (a0Eff£Wf TS anapriaiv vnip u)v irporjfiapronsv rvxiafitv iv rifi vlari) the 
 name of God is named over him who wishes to be regenerated, and hath 
 repented {ixiTnvoii<Tavri) for his misdeeds." 
 
SCARS LEFT BY SIN AFTER BAPTISM. 55 
 
 Sacrament of Baptism (much as persons now do the other Sacra- 
 ment), because, after they should have received it, they sliould 
 no more have such full remission. And this unholy frame of 
 mind the Fathers endeavoured to correct, not by denying that 
 they therein held truly, but by setting forth the uncertainty of 
 life, (that so perchance persons who thus neglected Baptism 
 might miss it altogether,) the unworthiness of such a frame of 
 mind — which would desire merely to escape punishment, not to 
 obtain reward or a Father's love, — the ungodliness of thus shrink- 
 ing from labouring in God's vineyard ; but they do not deny, 
 nay they urge as a ground of very careful and wary walking, 
 that the Baptismal purity, if once soiled, cannot be altogether 
 restored : *' for that there is no second regeneration ' " (i. e. no 
 second Baptism,) " no re-formation, no restoration to our former 
 " state, yea, though we seek this most earnestly, with many 
 " groans and tears ; whence there with difficulty (as I at least 
 ** judge) comes over a certain healing process, which leaves a 
 " scar. For this healing does come over (and would that we could 
 " efface the scars also ! since I too need much mercy), yet is it 
 " better to stand in need of no second purification, but to abide by 
 " the first, which is, I know, common to all and without toil — 
 " (common as the breath of heaven, and diffusion of light, and 
 " changes of the seasons, and contemplation of God's works,) 
 " and imparted with an equal portion of faith. For it is a fearful 
 " thing to bring upon ourselves a laborious for an easy cure ; 
 " and having cast aside God's pitying grace, to indebt ourselves 
 " to chastisement, and set reformation against sin. For how 
 " great tears shall we bring before God, that we may equal the 
 " fountain of Baptism"? This, I am aware, will appear to many 
 in tliese days a novel doctrine ; to some it perhaps may even 
 seem to trench upon the efficacy of our Saviour's Death : one 
 should be much grieved to perplex any one on such a subject as 
 this : yet better were some temporary perplexity, than that we 
 
 ^ OvK o'variQ Sevrspag avayi.vvr]aiu}q, ovdk ava7r\daeu)Q, ovdk iig to 
 apxaXov aTTOKaracrTdfftbjg. St. Gregory of Nazianzum. Orat. 40, de S. 
 Baptisino, t. i. p. 641. ed. Paris, add Caesarius Arelat. Horn. xlii. quoted by 
 Bp. Taylor, Effect of Repentance. Sect. 5. § 58. 
 
$6 DOCTRINE OF THE FATHERS. 
 
 should go on, teaching people to lean on those merits, in a way 
 nnauthorised by God. Since then assuredly we have no Scrip- 
 tural authority for such views, it may be useful, in order to 
 temove some of the prejudice which lies against a forgotten 
 doctrine, to adduce some passages of other Fathers, men who 
 loved and reverenced their Saviour, who were engaged in de- 
 fending the truth of the Gospel, and the first of whom was one of 
 the greatest instruments whom God ever raised up for its pure 
 and holy transmission. St. Athanasius ' then says on this same 
 passage : " The Apostle saith not ' it is impossible to repent ;' 
 " but impossible on the ground of repentance to renew us. And 
 " these are very different. For he who repenteth, ceaseth indeed 
 " from sinning, but retaineih the scars of his wounds : but he who 
 " is baptized, puts off the old man, and is renewed, having been 
 " born again by the grace of the Spirit." St. Cyril of Jerusalem 
 has the same metaphor and the same doctrine. In opposition to the 
 heretics, who spoke of the body as of a mere outward garment, 
 whose defilements affect not ourselves, he says ^, *' As a wound 
 " which has made deep progress in the body, though it be healed, 
 " yet the scar remains, so sin also wounds the soul and body, 
 " and the marks of the scars remain in all : they are removed 
 " wholly from those only who receive the ' bath.' Former 
 " wounds then of soul and body God heals through Baptism, but 
 '•' as to the future let us keep ourselves with all diligence ; that 
 " having preserved this garment of the body pure, we may not, by 
 •' a little defilement and self-indulgence, or any other sin, forfeit 
 " everlasting salvation." And in like manner Epiphanius^, even 
 when writing against the error of the Novatians, still insists, 
 " In truth it is impossible to renew those who have been once 
 " renewed and have fallen away. Foi neither can Christ be 
 " born again that He may be crucified for us, nor may any one 
 " crucify again the Son of God, who is not again to be crucified, 
 " nor can any one receive a second Baptism, for there is one 
 " Baptism and one renewal. But immediately afterwards the 
 
 1 Ep. 4. ad Serapion. § 13. t. ii. p. 705. ed. Bened. 
 
 2 Cateches. 18. de Ecclesia Catholica, § 20. 
 ^ Haercs. 59. § 2. 
 
DIFFICULTY OF CURE OF SIN AFTER BAPTISM. 57 
 
 *• holy Apostle, healing the Church, and caring for its members, 
 " subjoins the cure of these things, saying ' I am persuaded better 
 " things,' &c. (Heb. vi. 9.) You see how absolutely he declared 
 •• that the renewal cannot take place a second time : but still 
 " did not exclude from salvation those who yet repented ; but 
 " declared that they were yet allied to it, and had God as the 
 " helper of their good deeds, when they repented most thoroughly 
 " of their offences, and turned and forsook them." And not in 
 the case of gross sin only, but of the infirmities of good Chris- 
 tians, they held that the scar still remained, even towards the end 
 of life ; to be effaced only by continued repentance to the very 
 last. " I think," says Basil', " that those noble combatants of 
 " God, who have during their whole life wrestled thoroughly 
 " with the invisible enemies, after they have escaped all their 
 *' persecutions, and are come to the end of life, are examined by 
 " the ruler of this world, that if they be found to have wounds 
 " from their contests, or any stain or mark of sin, they may be 
 *' a while detained [in life] ; but if they be found unwounded 
 *' and unstained, as being invincible and free, they have their 
 " rest given them by Christ." 
 
 The Fathers urge the difficulty of the cure of sin after Baptism, 
 at the same time that they urge men to seek it : they set side by 
 side the possibility and the pains of repentance : they urge against 
 the Novatian heretic, that there is still " mercy with God, that 
 '* He may be feared:" they urge this truth against our own fears, 
 and the insinuations of the evil one, who would suggest hard and 
 desponding thoughts of God, in order to keep in his chain those 
 more energetic spirits, who feel the greatness of their fall, and 
 would undergo any pains whereby they might be restored : but 
 the Antient Church consulted at the same time for that more re- 
 laxed and listless sort, (of whom the greater part of mankind 
 consist) who would make the incurring of eternal damnation, the 
 breaking of Covenant with God, the forfeiture of His Spirit, the 
 profanation of His Temple (ourselves) a light thing and easy to 
 be repaired. Therefore, while they set forth the greatness of 
 
 ' Horn, in Psahn vii., t. i. p. 90. ed, Benecl. 
 
58 ROMISH CORRUPTIOK OF PENANCE. 
 
 God's mercy, tliey concealed not the greatness of man's sin, in 
 again defiling what God had anew hallowed : they concealed not 
 that such a fall was worse than Adam's, since it was a fall from 
 a higher state and in despite of greater aids : that though God's 
 mercy was ever open, yet it required more enduring pains, more 
 abiding self-discipline, more continued sorrow, again to become 
 capable of that mercy. God is always ready to forgive : the 
 sins can be forgiven ; and yet they are not ! why ? but because 
 to rise again after falling from Baptismal grace, is far more 
 difficult than the easiness with which men forgive their own 
 sins, leads them to think ; the frame of mind which would really 
 seek forgiveness, requires greater conflict, more earnest prayers, 
 more complete self-abasement, and real renunciation of self, than 
 men can bring themselves to think necessary, or comply with. 
 Men will not confess to themselves how far astray they have 
 gone : they cannot endure that all should be begun anew ; and 
 so they keep their sins and perish ! But on that very account did 
 the early Church the more earnestly warn them of the greatness 
 of the effort needed. While she affectionately tendered the hopes 
 of pardon held out in God's word, she faithfully warned men not 
 to build those hopes on the sand. She called on men to return — 
 not as if now they could at once lay down all their burthen at 
 their Saviour's feet, but to wash His feet with their tears ; to 
 turn — not with the mockery of woe, but with weeping, fasting, 
 mourning, and rending of the heart. They separated not what 
 God had joined. This the Romish Church has done in its way. 
 They held in words, as well as we, that the Sacrament of Bap- 
 tism could not be repeated, and that its efficacy alone would not 
 wash away sins subsequently committed ; but by devising the 
 new Sacrament of Penance, they did contrive, without more cost, 
 to restore men, however fallen, to the same state of undisturbed 
 security in which God had by Baptism placed them ^ Penance 
 
 1 Card. Bellarmine directly argues (Controv. t. ii. p. 1483,) " Since the 
 " Apostle says (Heb. vi.) that it is impossible that a man should be restored 
 " through that repentance which is united with Baptism, therefore we must 
 " either with the Novatians deny all reconciliation, or with the Catholics 
 
BAPTISMAL AND SUBSEQUENT REPENTANCE. 59 
 
 became a second Baptism. Man's longing to be once again 
 secure, was complied with : his old sins were effaced, not to rise 
 up again against him : again and again he began afresh : again 
 and again he was told, " Thy sins are forgiven thee," and so the 
 salutary anxiety about past sin, and its fruit *' a righteous, godly, 
 " and sober life," were in ordinary minds choked and effaced. 
 Perverting the earnest sayings of the Fathers, they turned the 
 hard and toilsome way of Repentance into the easy and royal 
 road of Penance. Let us beware lest by an opposite course we 
 arrive at the same result. The blood of Christ is indeed all- 
 powerful to wash away sin ; but it is not at our discretion, at 
 once, on the first expression of what may be a passing sorrow, 
 to apply It. On fcrue repentance It will yet " cleanse men 
 from all sin ;" but how much belongs to true repentance ! The 
 fountain has been indeed opened to wash away sin and unclean- 
 ness, but we dare not promise men a second time the same easy 
 access to it, which they once had : that way is open but once : it 
 were to abuse the power of the keys entrusted to us, again to 
 pretend to admit them thus : now there remains only the 
 " Baptism of tears," a Baptism obtained, as the same fathers 
 said ', with much fasting, and with many prayers. We are fa- 
 miliar with the striking saying of Tertullian ^ against despair. 
 " God would not threaten the impenitent, unless He forgave the 
 " penitent." Would that we equally laid to heart what he says 
 in the same place ^, of the greatness of that penitence ! •' Thus 
 " far, (namely of Baptismal repentance), thus far, O Christ the 
 " Lord, may Thy servants hear and learn of the discipline of re- 
 " pentance, to hear which it needs not that [while Thy servants] 
 
 " admit a new Sacrament distinct from Baptism, whereby remission of sins 
 " may be given. Nor can the adversaries say that Paul only means that the 
 " action of Baptism ought not to be repeated, for Paul does not speak of the 
 " rite, but of its effect, i. e. renewal. Wherefore, if we cannot have again 
 " the effect of Baptism, we must look certainly for some other rite, some 
 " other Sacrament." 
 
 • Clemens of Alexandria, ap. Euseb. H, E. 1. 3. c. 23. of the youth who 
 having after Baptism become a robber was restored by St. John. 
 2 De Pcenitentia, c. 8. ^ C. 7- S'lq- 
 
60 REPENTANCE IN THE ANTIENT CHURCH. 
 
 " they should have offended : henceforth let them know and re- 
 " quire nothing of [such] repentance. I am loath to subjoin 
 " the mention of a second, yea of a last, hope ; lest treating again 
 " of a yet remaining aid of penitence, I should seem to mark out 
 " a space for sin. God forbid, that men should so interpret this, 
 " as if a door was open to sin, because it is open to repentance ; 
 ** and the redundancy of divine benevolence should make human 
 " rashness to wax wanton. Let no one become the worse, be- 
 " cause God is the more good : sinning again, because there is 
 " again forgiveness : there will be an end of escaping, if there is 
 " not of offending." After praising those then who shrunk from 
 being *' again a burthen to the Divine mercy, and who dreaded 
 " to seem to trample on what they had obtained," he thus at 
 last, timidly, or rather reverently, advances to set forth God's 
 last provision against the malice of Satan, repentance after Bap- 
 tism. " God, providing against these his poisons, though the 
 *' door of full oblivion (ignoscentice) is closed, and the bolt of 
 " Baptism fastened up, alloweth somewhat still to be open. He 
 " hath placed in the vestibule (of the Church, where penitents 
 " used to kneel) a second repentance, which might be open to 
 *' those who knock." But how does TertuUian describe this 
 discipline ? " Full confession (exomologesis) is the discipline 
 " of prostrating and humbling the whole man ; enjoining a con- 
 " versation which may excite pity ; it enacts as to the very dress 
 " and sustenance — to lie on sackcloth and ashes : the body 
 *' defiled, the mind cast down with grief: those things, in which 
 " he sinned, changed by a mournful treatment : for food and 
 " drink, bread only and water, for the sake of life not of the 
 " belly : for the most part to nourish prayer by fasting : to groan ; 
 *' to weep ; to moan day and night before the Lord their God ; 
 '♦ to embrace the knees of the Presbyters and of the friends of 
 " God ; to enjoin all the brethren to pray for them. All this is 
 " contained in ' full confession,' with the view to recommend 
 " their repentance ; to honour the Lord by trembling at their 
 " peril ; by pronouncing on the sinner, to discharge the office of 
 " the indignation of God ; and by temporal affliction, — I say not 
 " to baffle, but — to blot out eternal torment. When therefore it 
 
HINDRANCES TO REAL REPENTANCE. 61 
 
 " rolls them on the earth, it the rather raises them : when it 
 " defiles, it cleanses them : accusing, it excuses them : contlemn- 
 " ino-, it absolves them. In as far as thou sparest not thyself, 
 " in so far will God, he assured, spare thee \" 
 
 It is not of course the outward instances and expressions 
 of grief, of which Tcrtullian speaks, which one would con- 
 trast with our modern practice ; although most sincere peni- 
 tents will probably have found it a great hindrance to effec- 
 tual repentance, that they were obliged to bear about the load of 
 their grief in their own bosoms ; that they might not outwardly 
 mourn ; that they must go through the daily routine of life 
 without unburthening their souls by a public confession ; that 
 they could not, without the evils of private confession, obtain the 
 prayers of God's servants ^ ; that their outward, must needs be 
 at variance with, thwarting, contradicting their inward, life : — 
 but this is a distinct subject, although it may well make us 
 pray, that God would fit our Church again to receive the godly 
 discipline, whose absence she annually lament? ', and yet cannot 
 restore. And how are we not open to the indignant burst of 
 Tertullian*, after speaking of the luxury of his day, " Seek the 
 
 ' This is a sentiment frequent among the Fathers, founded on 1 Cor. xi. 31. 
 see e.g. St. Augustine Serm. 351, De Pcenitentiac. 4. St. Ambrose de Lapsu 
 Virginis § 3C. It has nothing to do with the Romish doctrine of satisfac- 
 tion: thus even Calvin, (Institt. 3, 3, 15) " The last character of repentance 
 " is 'revenge' (2 Cor. vii. 11) for the severer we are upon ourselves, the 
 " more rigidly we bring our sins to account, so much the more may we hope 
 " to have God propitious and merciful. Yea, it cannot be, but that the 
 " mind struck down with horror at the Divine judgment, should anticipate 
 " the office of revenge by enacting punishment on itself. Fear cannot be too 
 " great which ends in humility, and does not abandon hope of pardon." 
 
 2 The Church has provided a place, where the distressed in mind, as well 
 as the sick in body, might, if they desired it, obtain the prayers of the Con- 
 gregation directly for themselves. There would be no occasion for naming 
 them, as is sometimes done in the case of bodily sickness. Christian sympa- 
 thy might be much promoted, and great relief obtained for sufferers, if the 
 clergy were, in sermons or in private, to recall persons' minds to this for- 
 gotten provision. 
 
 3 Commination Service. 
 ♦ L. c. §. 11. 
 
62 HOW WE HEREIN FALL SHORT OF THE ANTIENT CHURCH. 
 
 ** baths or the glad retreats of the sea-side ; add to thy expense ; 
 " bring together large store of food ; choose thee wines well re- 
 " fined ; and when they ask thee, on whom bestowest thou this? 
 " say, — I have offended against God, I am in danger of perishing 
 " eternally, and therefore I am now distracted, and wasted, and 
 " agonized, if by any means I may reconcile God, whom, by my 
 ** iniquities, I have offended." 
 
 But what one does mourn, is the loss of that inward sorrow, 
 that overwhelming sense of God's displeasure, that fearfulness 
 at having provoked His wrath, that reverent estimation of His 
 great holiness, that participation of His utter hatred of sin, that 
 loathing of self for having been so unlike to Christ, so alien 
 from God ; it is that knowledge of the reality and hatefulness of 
 sin, and of self, as a deserter of God ; that vivid perception of 
 Heaven and hell, of the essential and eternal contrast between 
 God and Satan, sin and holiness, and of the dreadful danger of 
 having again fallen into the kingdom of darkness, after having 
 been brought into that of light and of God's dear Son, — it is this 
 that we have lost : it was this which expressed itself in what men 
 would now call exaggerated actions, and which must appear exag- 
 gerated to us, who have so carnal and common-place a standard of 
 a Christian's privileges, and a Christian's holiness. The absence 
 of this feeling expresses itself in all our intercourse with the 
 bad, our tolerance of evil, our apathy about remediable, and yet 
 unremedied, depravity ; our national unconcernedness about men's 
 souls ; our carelessness amid the spiritual starvation of hundreds 
 of thousands of our own people. We are in a lethargy. Our 
 very efforts to wake those who are deeper asleep, are numbed 
 and powerless. Until we lay deeper the foundations of repent- 
 ance, the very preaching of the Cross of Christ becomes but a 
 means of carnal security. 
 
 It is indeed a hard and toilsome path which these Fathers point 
 out, unsuited to our degraded notions of Christianity, as an easy 
 religion, wherein sin and repentance are continually to alternate, 
 pardon and Heaven are again and again offered to all who can 
 but persuade themselves that they are sorry for their sins, or 
 who, from circumstances, from time of life, or any other outward 
 
EFFICACY OF BAPTISM LASTING. 63 
 
 cause, have abandoned the grosser of them. But who em- 
 powered us to say that Christ's is an easy yoke to those who 
 have again drawn back to the flesh ? Our God has indeed once 
 rescued us : our God will still receive those " who, with hearty 
 " repentance and true faith, turn unto Him." But the God of 
 the New Testament is not different from the God of the Old. 
 " Our God is a consuming fire." " Repentance," says St. Am- 
 brose ', *' must be not in words but in deed. And this will be, 
 " if thou settest before thine eyes from what glory thou hast 
 " fallen, and out of what book of life thy name has been blotted, 
 " and if thou believest that thou art placed close by the outer 
 " darkness, where shall be weeping of eyes and gnashing of 
 " teeth, endlessly. When thou shalt have conceived this in thy 
 " mind, as it is, with an undoubting faith, that the oflPending soul 
 " must needs be delivered to the infernal pains, and the fires of 
 " hell, and that after the one Baptism no other remedy is ap- 
 " pointed than the solace of repentance, be content to undergo 
 *' any aflfliction, any suffering, so thou mayest be freed from 
 " eternal punishment." " Such a life," he adds, in a case still 
 miserably common, since the bodies of all Christians are the 
 temples of the Holy Ghost, " such a life, such a performance 
 " of repentance, if it be persevering, may venture to hope, if 
 " not for glory, at least for freedom from punishment." 
 
 Hereby it is not meant to imply that the efficacy of Baptism 
 for the remission of sin ceases altogether after it has once been 
 bestowed, which is the error of the Romanists ; for we are by 
 Baptism brought into covenant with God, and are made members 
 of Christ, and are entitled to His all-prevailing intercession, 
 when with hearty repentance we again turn to Him : but only that 
 we are then washed, once for all, in His blood ; and that, if we 
 again sin, there remaineth no more such complete ablution in 
 this life. We must bear the scars of the sins, which we have 
 contracted : we must be judged according to our deeds. The 
 sense of Scripture in either case is clearly expressed by St. 
 
 ' De Lapsu Virginis Consecratae c. 8 ; or it may be St. Nicetas, Bp. of 
 Dacia before A.D. 392, a man celebrated for piety, learning, and eloquence. 
 See Tillemont Memm. t. x. pp. 128, 263, sqq. 
 
 9 
 
64 THREE SORTS OF REPENTANCE. 
 
 Augustine. For, on the one hand, he saith ', *' that, by the 
 " same washing of regeneration^ and word of sanctification, all 
 " the ills of regenerated man are wholly cleansed and healed ; 
 " not only the sins, which are now in Baptism all forgiven, but 
 " those also which are afterwards contracted by human ignorance 
 " and infirmity. Not that Baptism is to be repeated as often as 
 " sin is committed, but because thereby that it is once given, there 
 " is obtained for the faithful, pardon for all sins, not only for those 
 " before, but even for those afterwards committed. For what 
 " would repentance benefit, either before Baptism, unless Bap- 
 *' tism followed; or afterwards, unless it preceded? In the 
 " Lord's prayer itself, which is our daily cleansing, with what 
 " fruit or effect would the words ' forgive us our trespasses' be 
 " used, unless by persons baptized ?" On the other hand, he 
 says distinctly ^, *' when an infant begins to have sins of its own 
 *' after Baptism, these are not removed by Regeneration, but are 
 " healed by another cure." And so again he distinguishes 
 at length' between three sorts of penitence : one, necessary 
 previous to Baptism, for all except infants, (who, since they 
 cannot exercise freewill, may, through the interrogatories and 
 answers of others, be cleansed from the stains of sins which they 
 contracted through others, of whom they were born ;) secondly, 
 the daily penitence, during the whole of our mortal life, for those 
 blameworthy and unholy motions, which, day by day, through the 
 infirmity of the flesh, creep over us ; thirdly, for those sins 
 comprised under the Decalogue, if they should be committed. So 
 
 1 De Nuptiis, § 38. 
 
 2 Epist. 98. ad Bonifac. 
 
 ^ De Poenitentia, Serm. 351 (alias 50 inter 50), § 2 fin. The same triple 
 division of repentance recurs in his de Symbolo, § 15. " In three ways are sins 
 remitted in the Church, — in Baptism, in prayer, in the deeper humiliation of 
 penitence ; yet God forgiveth not sin, except to the baptized. Those very 
 sins, which He first remits, He remits only to the baptized ; when ? when they 
 are baptized. The sins, which are afterwards forgiven to us on our praying, 
 and to the penitent, whom He forgiveth, He forgiveth them, as being bap- 
 tized. For how can they say 'Our Fathei*,' who are not yet born ? As 
 long as they are Catechumens, (disciples but unbaptized), their sins are upon 
 them." 
 
REPENTANCE BY RIGHT OF BAPTISM. 6^ 
 
 that he distinctly and clearly separates those sins which, by virtue 
 of our Baptism, are directly remitted to us, and those for which 
 the harder and abiding course of repentance is necessary ; 
 although it be our Baptism in the blood of Christ, which renders 
 that repentance effectual. In like manner, St. Leo * speaks 
 of " the manifold mercy of God, which so succours human 
 " failing, as that the hope of eternal life should not only be 
 " bestowed by the free grace of Baptism, but repaired also by 
 " the medicine of penitence ; so that they who had violated the 
 " gifts of regeneration, condemning themselves by their own 
 " judgment, should yet attain to the remission of sins." And 
 Theodoret '', in like manner, vindicating the privilege and 
 possibility of repentance after Baptism, still retains this solemn 
 distinction in the character of sin, and the mode of its forgive- 
 ness : " When the Lord gave the disciples a form of prayer, 
 " He bade them say, ' Forgive us our trespasses.' This prayer 
 " we do not teach the unconsecrated, but the consecrated (bap- 
 " tized.) For no unconsecrated person can dare to say * Our 
 " Father,' not having yet received the gift of adoption. But he 
 " who has obtained the gift of Baptism, calls God ' Father,' as 
 " being accounted among the sons by grace. These then were 
 " enjoined to say, ' forgive us our trespasses.' The wounds then 
 " received after Baptism are curable ; but not as before, in that 
 " then remission is given through faith alone, but now through 
 " many tears, and mournings, and weepings, and fastings, and 
 " prayer, and toil proportioned to the greatness of the sin com- 
 " mitted. For we have been taught neither to despair of those 
 " thus circumstanced, nor yet readily to impart to them the 
 " Holy Rites. ' Give not,' He saith, ' that which is holy to 
 '* dogs, nor cast the pearls before swine.' " 
 
 Nor are these the views of a later age. On the contrary, the 
 higher we ascend, the more we find a reverential and alarmed 
 apprehension of the great danger of grievous falls after Baptism. 
 Easy remission of sin after Baptism, was a fruit of growing cor- 
 
 • Epist. 82. (olimOl.) ad Theodorum, quoted by Bellarmine, 1. c. 
 2 Haeretic. Fabul. Compend. L. 5. Divin. Decret. Epit. § 28, also ap. Bel- 
 larmin. 
 
66 TUAUITIONAL DOCTRINE OF Rlil'ENTANCE 
 
 ruption; and this, occasioning, ratlicr tlian occasioned by, the abuse 
 of the power of the keys. The source of the fears of the early 
 writers, is the more remarkable, as it is entirely independent ; 
 they namely referring to the oral, as we to the written teaching of 
 the Apostles. Tliat independence obviously strengthens the belief 
 in the accuracy of their tradition, and of the more awful and 
 rigid interpretation of the Apostle's words ; and both connbine in 
 the more solemn warning to ourselves. St. Irenscus ^ then, ex- 
 pressly referring for his authority to a Presbyter, who had learnt 
 from the disciples of the Apostles, alleges the great danger which 
 we should incur by sin after Baptism, as a ground why we should 
 be reserved in blaming the sins of the old Fathers. " For ^ 
 " their history was written for our warning : for, if the ancients, 
 " who preceded us in gifts, for whom the Son of God had not yet 
 " suffered, if they failed in any thing, and served the desires of 
 " the flesh, were visited with such disgrace, what shall they now 
 " suffer, who have despised the coming of the Lord, and served 
 " their pleasures ? And for those the death of the Lokd was a 
 " cure and remission : but for those who now sin, Christ shall not 
 " now die ; for death shall not now have dominion over Him ; but 
 "the Son shall come in the glory of the Father, requiring from 
 " His stewards and dispensers, with usury, the money which He 
 " lent them : and to whom He gave much, of them He shall ask 
 *' the more. We ought not, then, said that presbyter, to be proud, 
 " nor to blaine the ancients ; but ourselves to fear, lest after we 
 " have acknowledged Christ, if we do anything displeasing to God, 
 " we may have no more remission of sins, but be excluded from 
 " His kingdom." St. Hermas, ' again, directly refers to older 
 teachers. " * Now, also, Sir, I have heard from some teachers, 
 
 * " Audivi a quodam Presbytero, qui audierat ab his, qui Apostolos vide- 
 rant, et ab his qui didicerant." The next chapter of Iraeneus is on " the 
 folly of those, who exaggerating the mercy of Christ, and omitting mention of 
 the Judgment, looking to the greater grace of the New Testament, and forget- 
 ting the greater perfection required of us — strive to make out another God, 
 different froni the Creator." 
 
 2 L. iv. c. 27. ed. Massuet. olim c. 45. 
 
 3 L. ii. Mandat. 4. § .3. 
 
AS DERIVED FROM THE APOSTLES. 67 
 
 *' that there is no other repentance than that, when we descend into 
 " the water, and receive remission of sins : afterwards we must 
 " take heed not to sin, but to remain in that purity.' And he said to 
 " me, ' Thou hast heard rightly. But since thou inquirest into all 
 " things diligently, I will shew thee this also, not giving occasion 
 " (of offence) to those who have, or shall, believe in the Lord. 
 " For these have (then) not repentance for sin, but remission. But 
 " to those who were called before those days, the Lord assigned 
 " repentance. Since God knew the thoughts of the heart, and the 
 " weakness of man, and the manifold wickedness of the devil, 
 ** whereby he devises mischief against the servants of God — there- 
 '' fore the merciful Lord had mercy on the work of His hands ; 
 ^' and he assigned that repentance, and gave me power over that 
 *' repentance. And, therefore, I say unto you, that, after that 
 " great and holy calling (Baptism) if any be tempted by the devil 
 *' and sin, he has one repentance. But if he sin again, and repent, 
 " it will not profit the man who doth such things, for hardly will 
 " he live to God ^.' And I said, ' Sir, I revived, when I diligently 
 " heard these commandments. For I know, that if hereafter I add 
 " not to my sins, I shall be saved.' And he said, ' Yea, and all who 
 " shall do these commandments, shall be saved." This passage of 
 St. Herraas is the more remarkable, since he lays down the prin- 
 ciple, upon which more than one repentance after Baptism would 
 probably be very rare, if not altogether hopeless, coinciding with 
 the known teaching of the Apostles, and with subsequent ex- 
 perience, although limiting very awfully what their written 
 teaching has left undefined. And these, and similar Apostolic 
 sayings, were the foundation, doubtless, of that primitive Eccle- 
 siastical rule ^, which, in the case of any grievous offences, 
 
 ^ See a very practical sermon, in the 1st vol. of Newman's Parochial Ser- 
 mons, " On the religious use of excited feelings." 
 
 2 See Bingham Christian Antiq. L. 18. c. 4, and Morinus de Administr. 
 Sacram. Pcenitentise, L. v. c. 27-30., who is the more unexceptionable wit- 
 ness, since this practice of the primitive Church is so greatly opposed to the 
 laxity of the modern Church of Rome. Morinus, with an honesty unusual to 
 his Church on this subject, distinctly asserts, that this discipline flourished 
 in the Latin Church, till about the year 700. " It is certain, moreover, and 
 
 E 2 
 
G8 ONE RKPF.NTANCE AFTER BAVTISM, 
 
 granted the Church's ministry of reconciliation once, and once? 
 only', after Baptism : so that this rule was probably formed, not, 
 as was afterwards thought, for the greater security of the Church, 
 and its greater piirity, but because it was much to be feared, that 
 they who had been brought, by repentance, to a second childhood, 
 and, as it were, to a second Baptism (of tears), could not again 
 be even thus restored. " Rightly are they blamed," says St. 
 Ambrose ^ " who think that repentance is frecpiently to be re- 
 " enacted, for they wax wanton in Christ. For if they were truly 
 " repenting, they would not think it often to be repeated ; for, as 
 " there is one Baptism, so also one repentance — one, I say, public 
 " repentance — -for we ought to repent of our daily sins ; but this 
 " repentance is for lighter offences, that for heavier. Bat I have 
 "found viore readily persons, who retained their innocence, than 
 " such as repented, as were fitting. Will any one call that 
 " repentance, where men seek for worldly dignity, drink wine to 
 " the full, or use the enjoyments of marriage ? The world must 
 " be renounced. Sleep itself must be less indulged than nature 
 
 confessed by all, that the public and solemn penitence of which we speak, 
 was not repeated in the Church during 1200 years. But there is a great 
 difference between the discipline from A. 700, to that time, and that of which 
 we are now treating. For this (later discipline) related only to public 
 crimes ; the earlier not to all offences, but to certain, whether public or con- 
 cealed. The latter was not repeated, in so far as it was public, but was privately 
 enacted, according to the directions of the Church, when the public sin was 
 repeated after the public penitence, and this being done, the penitent was 
 privately reconciled : But the earlier was not performed at all, either publicly 
 or privately, by any direction from the Church, and consequently did not 
 obtain any reconciliation from the Church ; whence there followed another 
 distinction, namely, that of old there was only one penitence for crimes. 
 Afterwards, however, it was so ordered, that it might take place once publicly, 
 and repeatedly in private." 
 
 ^ Tertull. de Pcenitentia, c. 7- " Collocavit in vestibulo pcenitentiam se- 
 cundam, quae pulsantibus patefaciat (sc. post Baptismum), sed jam semel, 
 quia jam secundo : sed amplius nunquam, quia proximo frustra." Add St. 
 Augustine, Ep. 153. ed. Bened. and the letter of Macedonius to him, Ep. 
 152; St. Ambrose, as just quoted; Orie;en, Horn. 15, in Lev. 25; several 
 other passages are quoted by Morinus, de Pcenitentia, L. 3. c. 1. sqq. 
 
 * De Pcenitent. L. ii. c. 10. § »5, 6, 
 
WHY NO MORE. 
 
 69 
 
 ** requires, must be interrupted with groans, must be sequestrated 
 " for prayer. We must live so as to die to this life. Man must 
 " deny himself, and be wholly changed." And if we coukl now see 
 the contrast of penitence with irapenitence, of the world and the 
 flesh with God, as the early Christians did, when the fiery trials, 
 to which they were subjected, left so little room for self-deceit, 
 we should probably see, tliat their strict rules were founded on 
 truth and reality. St. Clement of Alexandria, himself a diligent 
 follower of Apostolic tradition \ quoting ^ and commenting on 
 this passage of St, Hernias (whom he regards as having received 
 inspiration second only to Scripture), assigns the same intrinsic 
 ground for the improbability of frequent repentance. Having 
 quoted Heb. x. 26, 27, as expressing the same doctrine, which 
 St. Hermas also delivered, he adds : " But the constant repent- 
 " ances alternating with the sins, differ in nothing from entire 
 " infidelity, except only that these are aware that they are sin- 
 ning; " and I know not which is worse, to sin wilfully, or, having 
 " repented for past sin, again to offend." And again *, in answer 
 to Basilides, who contended that involuntary sins, and sins of 
 ignorance, were alone forgiven, he says, that " those who fall into 
 sin after Baptism, those were they who were chastised ; for that 
 former sins were freely remitted, but subsequent ones were 
 purged away (by suffering.)" The like earnest language we find 
 in St. Clement of Rome * (if, as seems probable, the second epis- 
 tle also is his, or at all events a very ancient author.) " If such 
 
 1 Strom. 1. Prsef. p. 322. ed. Potter. " But these (Clement's instructors), 
 " keeping the true tradition of the blessed doctrine, directly from Peter, and 
 *' James, and John, and Paul, the holy Apostles, receiving it each from 
 " father to son, (though few are like their fathers) have by God's blessing 
 " arrived, to deposit with us also those inherited and Apostolic seeds (of 
 " doctrine) ; and well I know that they will rejoice, pleased, I say, not with 
 " this exposition, but that I have adhered to the scheme transmitted to mc. 
 " For such a sketch is, I think, the office of a soul, which would keep the 
 " blessed tradition, so as not to let it slip." Quoted in part by Euseb. H. 
 E. L. v. c. 1 1. 
 
 2 Strom. L. ii. c. 12, 13, p. 459. 
 
 3 lb. L. iv. c. 24. pp. 633, 4. 
 * Ep. 2. §6-8. 
 
70 REPENTANCE A PIANK AFTER SHIPWRECK. 
 
 " men as Noah, Daniel, and Job, cannot by their righteonsnesses 
 " save their children, with what confidence shall we approach to 
 " the Palace of God, if we keep not Baptism pure and undefiled ? 
 " He who dealeth corruptly in the fight of incorruption, what 
 " shall be done to him ? For of such as have not kept the seal, 
 " He saith, * their worm dieth not.' Let us, then, whik we are 
 " on earth, repent." 
 
 The same truth was expressed by the Fathers, in that oft- 
 misinterpreted metaphor, that they who had fallen into grievous 
 sin after Baptism, should cling to repentance, as to a plank from 
 a shipwreck : not (as Romanist writers ^ insist) as if the plank 
 were different from the ship, and so designated a Sacrament of 
 Repentance, a means of grace distinct from that of Baptism ; or, 
 again, with some Protestant writers ^, as if the ship yet remained 
 whole, and the plank were to bring them back to their former 
 security in Baptism : the Fathers thought of no such refinements ; 
 they would by this metaphor express only the great peril, in 
 which such persons were placed, and would exhort them to cling, 
 for their eternal life, to the only hope yet remaining to them in the 
 shipwreck wherein their souls had well-nigh perished, — an earnest 
 and persevering repentance. Thus St. Ambrose concludes* 
 the exhortation to the penitent, before quoted ; " If sinners 
 " could see what judgment God will send forth, and man's under- 
 " standing was not distracted by the vanity of the world, or 
 " weighed down by unbelief, they would gladly bear any degree or 
 " kind of torment for the present, yea, though life were longer 
 " than it is, so they might escape the punishment of eternal 
 " fire. But thou unhappy one, who hast now entered upon the 
 " trial of repentance, hold on, abide fast, as to a plank in ship- 
 " wreck, hoping thereby to be freed from the depth of sin. Hold 
 
 * Bellarmine, de Controv. t. ii. pp. 1487, 8. 
 
 2 Luther de captiv. Babylon, de Baptismo. Gerhard, Loci, de Pcenit § 13. 
 
 3 De lapsu Virginis, c. 8. § 38. The passage of Tertullian, de Pcenit c. 
 4, does not belong here ; for he is there addressing Catechumens, and the re- 
 pentance there spoken of is that which is necessary previous to Baptism, 
 and the shipwreck that which is common to the whole human race : nor does 
 he say ' fracto navigio,' as St. Jerome always docs, referring to Baptism. 
 
MODERN USE OF THE WORD REGENERATION. 71 
 
 *' fast to repentance to the very end of life, nor anticipate that any 
 " pardon should be given you from man's judgment ; he who 
 *' would promise you this v/ould deceive you. For what thou hast 
 " sinned against the Lord, thou must expect the remedy from 
 " Him alone, in the day of judgment." 
 
 The Fathers despaired of none. " We must despair of the 
 " conversion of none," says St. Augustine, " either within or 
 " without the Church, as long as the patience of God leadeth 
 " them to repentance, and He 'visits their offences with a rod, and 
 " their sins with scourges.' For thus He does not utterly take 
 " away His mercy from them, if they would but at length have 
 " compassion on their own souls, pleasing God." But they con- 
 stantly repeated the Prophet's warning, " Woe to them that 
 " are at ease in Zion ;" " tremble, ye that are at ease, be trou- 
 " bled, ye careless ones ; strip you, and make you bare, and gird 
 " sackcloth upon your loins ;" and would God, we might once 
 again hear their voice of warning sound through our land, that 
 our sleepers might awake, and arise from the dead, and Christ 
 give them light, before they be awakened by the trump of the 
 Archangel ! 
 
 Moderns, by giving to this change after Baptism, when it is 
 needed, or occurs, the name of regeneration, or the new birth, so 
 far coincide with the doctrine of the Fathers, and have expressed 
 their conviction also, that this birth takes place once only. 
 Nor were there any objection in itself to the term ; nor could 
 any language be too strong to express the vehemence of that 
 change, from the sleep of death to the life of holiness ; from the 
 phrenzy and drunkenness of sin to a right mind and God's *' rea- 
 sonable service," from being " fast bound in misery and iron," to 
 the " glorious liberty of the sons of God ;" from darkness to light ; 
 from Hell to Heaven ; from Satan to Christ. No term were too 
 strong for this, if it confused not our apprehensions of other 
 truths of the Gospel ; or, because God vouchsafed again to create 
 His lost image in their souls, again to re-mould, re-form, re-fuse 
 theiD, and bring them, re-created, through the iron furnace of 
 repentance and bitter suffering, into a fresh life, and again " form 
 Christ within them," they did not deny His former liicrcies, and 
 
72 COMPLETE REPENTANCE A SORT OF 
 
 make His present bountifulness a ground of disbelieving His past 
 loving-kindness. God had given them their former birth in Bap- 
 tism, and clad them with Christ, and grafFed them into Christ, 
 had buried them and raised them up with Christ. This life they 
 had wasted, and destroyed. God now has given them another, 
 whereby " Christ may again be formed in them." Let them not, 
 in conformity to any system of man, lose the benefits of their 
 past experience ; but rather take the more earnest warning that 
 they suffer not this life also to decay. They may know from 
 God's word, that they were quickened with Christ in Baptism ; 
 they know from their own experience, that they have been since 
 dead. God has taught them to beware of a second death. It 
 may be the last. 
 
 There are, then, these limitations in Scripture, or derived from 
 it by the Fathers, to this second birth after Baptism. That it is 
 one of suffering, whereas the former birth, by Baptism, was one 
 of joy and ease ; that it is less complete than the former, and is 
 a slower and more toilsome process (the slowness is spoken of 
 by St. Paul, " my little children, of whom I travail in birth again, 
 until Christ be formed in you ;") that it is a second regeneration, 
 (" of whom I travail again,") — not differing from the preceding, 
 as if the regeneration of Christ's ordinance were a change of 
 state, the regeneration of repentance a change of nature ; that, 
 outward in the flesh ; this, inward in the spirit : God forbid 
 that we should so speak of Christ's ordinances ! — but that it is a 
 sort of restoration of that life, given to those to whom it is given, 
 by virtue of that ordinance ; a restoration of a certain portion of 
 their Baptismal health. It is not " the new birth" simply ; that 
 is Baptism ; but it is a revival, in a measure, of that life ; to be 
 received gratefully, as a renewal of a portion of that former gift ; 
 to be exulted in, because it is life ; but to be received and 
 guarded with trembling, because it is the renewal of what had been 
 forfeited ; not to be boasted of, because it is but the fragment of 
 an inheritance, " wasted in riotous living." Lastly it is bestowed 
 through the ministry of the Church, " Little children, of whom 
 / travail again." 
 
 With such limitations, and always presupposing that a, former 
 
SECOND REGENERATION. 73 
 
 real Spiritual birth had taken place in Baptism, and following the 
 hint given in St. Paul's language, some of the Fathers do not 
 shrink from calling the restoration through the Church, by a 
 hearty and complete repentance, " a sort of second Regenera- 
 tion," or the like, which might express the greatness of the gift, 
 without trenching upon Baptismal grace. Thus St. Chrysostom ', 
 paraphrasing the Apostle's words : " Seest thou his fatherly 
 *' tenderness ? seest thou a trouble worthy of an Apostle ? seest 
 ** thou what a bitter cry he uttereth, bitterer far than of a woman 
 " in travail? Ye have corrupted, he saith, the image: ye have 
 " lost your kindred character ; ye have perverted the form (im- 
 " printed on you). Ye have need of another regeneration, and 
 " re-formation : and yet you, abortive and outcast fruit though 
 " ye be, I call children. Yet he doth not say this, but in other 
 ** terms, for he spares them." And St. Jerome ^ : " This also 
 " must be considered, that he who, through sin, had ceased after 
 " a way to be a man, through repentance is conceived again by 
 " his instructor, and it is promised that Christ may again be 
 " formed in him. This," he adds, " against the Novatians, 
 ** who deny that they whom sin has once broken in pieces, 
 " can be re-formed." 
 
 To the like effect is the glowing language of the Churches of 
 Vienne and Lyons', with respect to those, who in the heat 
 cf persecution had denied Christ ; " through their (the mar- 
 " tyrs') endurance, the immeasurable mercy of Christ was 
 " displayed. For, through the living the dead were made 
 " alive ; and the martyrs procured mercy for those who were 
 " no martyrs. And there was much joy in the Virgin Mother 
 " (the Church), receiving alive those whom she had cast out 
 " as dead. For through these (the martyrs), most of those 
 " who had denied were received again into the womb, and re- 
 '* conceived, and re-quickened, and learned to confess ; and now 
 " being alive and new braced, approached the judgment-seat : 
 
 ' Ad loc. t. X. p. 708. ed. Bened. 
 ' Ad loc. t. vii. p. 467. ed. Vallars. 
 
 3 Ap. Euseb. H. E. L. 5. c. 1. See the whole translated Tracts, 1834, 
 Records of the Chmch, No. VI. 
 
74 REGENERATION OF REPENTANCE. 
 
 " God, who willeth not the death of a sinner, but dealeth gra- 
 " ciously towards repentance, pouring a healthful juice within 
 " them." In like manner St. Clement of Alexandria ^, relating 
 the restoration of the robber-chief through the self-devotion 
 and earnestness of the aged Apostle St. John, (already referred 
 to,) describes him " as asking pardon, as he could, with groans, 
 " and baptized a second time with tears :" St. John " solemnly , 
 " declaring, that he had obtained pardon for him from the 
 " Saviour, and kissing his right hand as having been cleansed 
 " by repentance [it had been stained with blood], brought him 
 " back to the Church ; and interceding with abundant prayers, 
 " striving with and for him, by constant fastings, and charming 
 " his mind with various words [of Scripture], departed not vuitil 
 " he had restored him to the Church : having given," says St. 
 Clement, " a mighty pattern of true repentance, a mighty proof 
 " of re-generation, a trophy of the hoped-for resurrection, when, 
 " at the end of the world, the angels shall receive the true 
 " penitents into everlasting habitations." And this history St. 
 Clement relates, " in order that men may see, that a good hope 
 " of salvation yet remains, on true repentance :" and this repent- 
 ance he describes, in contrast with the complete gift at Baptism ^ 
 " God gives remission of the former sins : of subsequent, each 
 " must obtain it for himself. And this is to repent, — to condemn 
 " the past, to beg oblivion of them from the Father, who alone 
 " is able to make things done undone, and by His mercy and the 
 " dew of His Spirit, to efface former sins. He who hath lived 
 " ill, having repented, may afterwards overpower the evil inter- 
 " course of a long season, by the season after repentance. But 
 " much diligent care is needed, as careful diet and greater heed are 
 " for bodies which have laboured under a long disease." And so 
 again, when shewing, that the law which commanded the death of 
 the adulteress was an image of the Gospel w^iich slays the sin, he 
 says ^ " the law agrees then with the Gospel ; for the adulteress 
 " liveth to sin, but is dead to the commandments ; but she, who 
 
 ' Quis dives salvetur, vers. fm. ; also ap. Euseb. H. E. L. iii. c. 23. 
 3 MO. 3 Strom. L. ii. fin. 
 
IS EARLY BAPTISM A BENEFIT ? 75 
 
 " hath repented, having been, as it were, born again by the 
 " change of her mode of hfe, hath a new birth of her hfe ; the 
 " former adulteress being dead, and she who has been born by 
 " repentance coming again to hfe." Since he does not directly 
 speak of Baptism, (which gives in deed a new life,) but of 
 repentance only, he uses a qualifying and lower expression, cor- 
 responding to the lower degree of restoration, " being, as it 
 " were, born again." 
 
 The very fewness of the passages \ (for I am not aware that 
 there are any more), in which the Fathers, even in this limited 
 way, venture to speak of restoration upon repentance, as a sort 
 of new birth, — the very diffidence with which they speak of it 
 in itself, — the immensity of the mercy, which they view in it, — 
 might well be an admonition to us to beware how we familiarize 
 ourselves to consider it as the ordinary course of God's dealings ; 
 die general rule, and a sort of ordeal, which every one or most must 
 go through. There was more piety, more holiness, more gratitude, 
 more reverence, more loyalty, in the view of our forefathers, 
 who seized upon it as a plank, left in the shipwreck of men's 
 souls, to save them that they perish not ; but still took shame, 
 that the voyage, presumptuously entered upon, contrary to God's 
 command, had been " with hurt, and much damage, not only of 
 the ship and lading, but also of their lives." 
 
 Many perhaps will be ready to say. If this be so, do we not 
 undergo a loss, in that Baptism is administered unto us, while 
 we are Infants, before the commission of actual sin ? and had it 
 not been better for us, that it had been delayed until we had 
 come to ourselves, and resolved for ourselves to serve God ? so 
 might we have obtained, at once, a complete remission of all our 
 actual sins, without this careful and ever-to-be-renewed repent- 
 ance ! If by this is meant, that it had been better, when any 
 one was living in heathenish sins, not living to God, but " living 
 " in pleasure," and " dead while he lived," and " without God in 
 " the world," that he had been in fact, as well as in life, a Heathen, 
 
 ' It is observable, that Suiccr, wlio would be well inclined to find passages 
 speaking of regeneration as distinct from Baptism, and even puts this as 
 the primary meaning of 7ra\tyy£V£(7ta, quotes this last instance only. 
 
76 . DELAY OF BAPTISM. 
 
 this is true : for he would have been sinning against less light, 
 less powerful influences of God's Spirit ; he would have done less 
 despite to the Spirit of Grace, and not wilfully have broken his 
 Covenant with God. But if by this complaint, a person means 
 to throw the blame off himself upon his Parents who brought 
 him to be baptized in Infancy, or the Church, which has com- 
 manded Infant-Baptism, then he knows neither himself nor the 
 ordinance of God : — not himself; for what ground has he to think 
 that if he had not been put thus early in possession of the privi- 
 leges of Baptism, and so been entitled to God's Spirit struggling 
 within him, checking him, goading him, recalling him to himself, 
 setting before him a broken Covenant, and God's wrath, how 
 does he know that he ever should have repented ? and not rather 
 have gone on, (as many thousands of those who have at any time 
 not been admitted into Christ's Church by Baptism as Infants,) 
 still putting it off until " a more convenient season," still wishing 
 to reserve this complete remission to cover the sins which they 
 had not yet resolved to part with, until the Devil should have so 
 tied and bound him with these habits of delay, that he could not 
 extricate himself, but died at last in sin, unbaptized, and so with- 
 out the Covenant of God or the seal of pardon ? Such was the 
 case formerly, when timid and unbelieving and worldly parents 
 did not bring their children to Baptism, and when half-converts 
 admitted the truth of the Gospel, but would not undertake its 
 obligations. *' This delay," says St. Basil ^, " utters no other 
 *' language than this, ' Let sin first reign in me, then, at some 
 '• future time, the Lord also shall reign : I will yield my members 
 *' instruments of unrighteousness imto iniquity, then will I yield 
 *' them instruments of righteousness unto God ! Just so did 
 " Cain also offer sacrifice unto God.' " " If," again says St. 
 Gregory of Nazian^um ^ " constantly passing by * to-day,' you 
 " reserve for yourself * to-morrow,' deceived into these petty 
 " delays by the evil one, as is his wont : ' Give me the present, 
 " to God the future : to me youth, to God old age : to me tlie 
 " time of pleasures, to Him that of imbecility :' how great is 
 
 ' Homil. Exhort, in S. Baptismo § 5. - Orat. 40 in S. Baptismo § 14. 
 
BENEFITS OF EARLY BAPTISM. 77 
 
 " llie danger around thee, liow many unexpected accidents 
 " may destroy thee !" St. Gregory had then to exhort persons * 
 " to trust their old age at least with this purifying (of Bap- 
 " tism). Why fearest thou the sins of youth, in advanced age 
 " and at thy last gasp ? or waitest thou to be washed as a corpse 
 " (then not an object of pity, more than of disgust) ? or longest 
 " thou after the relics of pleasure, thyself a relic of life?" And 
 do men, who have fallen into the devil's snares in the one way, 
 think that they should have escaped them in the other ? that 
 they, who have sinned against the means of grace, should, without 
 those means of grace, have recovered from sin ? that they who 
 have broken the Covenant, which God would have enabled them 
 to keep, would, if they had not been brought into it, have wil- 
 lingly put themselves under its yoke ? They may see the result, 
 either in these cases of the antient Church, or, in this very day, 
 among that sect, which delays Baptism. How many among those 
 who are educated in this sect, (for I speak not of those, who, 
 having been baptized as infants, join it in mere ignorance,) how 
 many still delay Baptism year by year, until they die, still 
 strangers to the covenant of promise, and so, as they were " by 
 " nature, children of wrath ^ !" St. Ambrose' well and concisely 
 speaks upon this point : " Repentance then is a blessing, and but 
 " for it, all would put off the grace of Baptismal washing to old 
 " age, to whom it were a sufficient answer, that it is better to 
 " have what I may repair than not to have wherewith I may be 
 
 ' Or at, 40 in S. Baptismo, § 16. 
 
 2 " If Christ himself, which giveth salvation, do require Baptism, it is 
 " not for us, that look for salvation, to sound and examine Him, whether un- 
 " baptized man may be saved, but seriously to do that which is required, and 
 " religiously to fear the danger which may grow by the want thereof. Had 
 " Christ only declared His will to have all men baptized, and not acquainted 
 " us with any cause why Baptism is necessary, our ignorance in the reason 
 " of that He enjoineth, might perhaps have hindered somewhat the forward- 
 " ness of our obedience thereunto ; whereas now being taught that Baptism is 
 " necessary to take away sin, how \i3fe we the fear of God in our hearts, if 
 " care of delivering men's souls from sin do not move us to use all means 
 " for their Baptism ?" Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. § 60. 
 
 ^ De Pcenitentia L. ii. c. 11. 
 
78 DANGER IN PKIVILEGES : 
 
 " clothed. But as the robe once put on may be renewed, so by 
 *' frequent repairing it is destroyed." Wherein he strikingly 
 expresses both the possibility of restoration after Baptism, and 
 the danger increasing at each necessity of such restoration. 
 
 Further, any one who allows himself to think that it had been 
 better for him not to have been made a " member of Christ" in in- 
 fancy, knows nothing of the value of God's ordinance: as indeed 
 none can experimentally know it, but those who have grown up 
 in its privileges. Increasing strength was thereby guaranteed 
 to us : strengtli, which should grow with our growth ; surmount 
 every trial with which we should be exercised ; be a shield and 
 buckler proportioned to our warfare, in child, in youth, in maturer 
 age : " support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temp- 
 " tations :" and so, strengthened by our Confirmation, we should 
 be delivered on to that other Sacrament, whereby we not only 
 " put on Christ," but " Christ dwelleth in us and we in Him." 
 This might have been ; yea, in many has been ; but if we cast 
 aside the armour wherewith God had girt us ; set at nought His 
 counsels, and listened not to His reproofs ; went out naked to 
 the battle, and listlessly neglected our defence ; gave way to our 
 enemy daily in little sins, (such as we were then capable of,) and 
 so gradually grew in sin instead of holiness : whom have we to 
 blame, if when the harder trials of life came on, we were 
 worsted ? if, when we ought to have been men, we were, in 
 strength but not in innocence, as children ? if we reaped as we 
 sowed ? sowed little and daily sins, and at last reaped, with in- 
 crease, a grievous fall ? We cannot have both advantages : 
 we cannot have the privilege without the responsibility and the 
 risk. We cannot have all the privileges of Christians, and then, 
 when we have neglected or profaned them, be as if we had been 
 altogether heathens, now, for the first time, to be admitted into 
 the privileges of the Covenant, and so be placed in the same 
 condition as if we had never been put in trust and found un- 
 faithful. Ours is inestimably the higher privilege ; to have had 
 God's seal put upon us, God's Spirit within us, from our child- 
 hood up : but if we have broken that seal, and resisted that 
 Spirit, we cannot be as if we had kept it safe and listened to His 
 
WHAT UEMAINS, WHEN THEY ARE LOST. 79 
 
 warnings. It may be, it must be, that we knew not the vahie 
 of that " seal ;" but we knew that we were put in trust: and 
 such is uniformly God's dealing with us ; whatever gift He con- 
 fides to us, health, strength, time, talents, reputation, He gives 
 us knowledge enough that we are not to abuse it, and checks us 
 wlien we begin to do so ; but if we persevere, His warnings 
 diminish, and we learn not the value of the gift until we have 
 irrecoverably lost it. So also in spiritual things ; all have had 
 their warnings ; all knew in a general way, whither their road 
 was leading ; all might have known more fully if they had be- 
 lieved ; and if the termination of their broad and easy path is 
 more fearful than they anticipated, " Wisdom uttered her voice, 
 but they would not hear." They must eat then of the fruit of their 
 own ways. Away then with all idle speculations as to what we 
 might have been, as we fancy, had our trials been different ! It 
 may be well to think what we might have been, had we followed 
 more faithfully God's guidance ; so shall we be more humble : 
 but whatever excuse, or imagination, or theory, tends to lead us 
 to throw the blame upon circumstances (whether of nature or of 
 grace) and to withdraw it from ourselves, comes, we may be 
 assured, from the evil one, and would lead us to him. If we have 
 been unfaithful in few things, we should have been yet more so in 
 greater. Rather let us be assured that, however we have failed, 
 our trial was that which was most adapted to us ; was allotted 
 us by mercy and wisdom : and let us bless God that, although 
 that first and more joyous way of Baptismal faithfulness may no 
 longer be open to any of us, another, though more rugged and 
 toilsome and watered with bitter tears, is still left. Since we 
 have no longer a whole burnt-offering to lay upon God's altar, 
 let us the more diligently " gather^ up the fragments which 
 " remain," and which, for His Son's sake, He wills *' not to be 
 
 1 Love too late can never glow, 
 
 The scattei-ed fragments Love can glean, 
 Refine the dregs, and yield them clean 
 To regions, where one thought serene 
 Breathes sweeter than whole years of sacrifice below. 
 
 CiiKiSTiAN Year, Simdmi before Advent. 
 
80 PERIL OF FALLING BACK. 
 
 "lost;" content, whatever the road may be, so it but end in 
 Heaven ; thankful if, although we cannot have the reward of 
 those who have *' followed the Lamb whithersoever He goeth," 
 we may yet be accounted but as the least in the kingdom of 
 Heaven, or as hired servants in our Father's house. 
 
 The doctrine, however, does not depend upon this one passage; 
 although had this been so, it had sufficed, and it had been our 
 wisdom to profit by its fearful warning, not to cavil at it, or lay 
 it aside as one of difficulty : for this were but to blind ourselves. 
 But let any one consider, teachably, our Saviour's warnings, — 
 " The last state of that man is worse than the first."(Luke xi. 26.) 
 " Sin no more, lest a worse thing happen unto thee." (John. v. 
 14.) " Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more." (viif. 
 11.) " No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking 
 *' back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke ix. 62.) Or 
 again, " If we sin wilfully after that we have received the know- 
 " ledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 
 " but a certain fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery indig- 
 " nation, which shall devour the adversaries." (Heb. x. 26, 7). 
 " If he (the justified) draw back. My soul shall have no pleasure in 
 " him ; but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition." 
 (ib. 38, 9). " If, after they have escaped the pollutions of the 
 " world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 " Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the 
 " latter end is worse with them than the beginning ; for it had 
 " been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, 
 " than after they have known it, to turn from the holy command- 
 " ment delivered unto them." (2 Pet. ii. 20). " Others save with 
 " fear, pulling them out of the fire." (Jude 23.) ; or again from 
 the old Covenant, " Ye were now turned and had done right in 
 " My sight — and ye had made a covenant before Me in the house 
 " which is called by My Name ; but ye turned and polluted My 
 " Name — therefore thus saith the Lord — I will give the men 
 " that have transgressed My covenant, which have not performed 
 " the words of the covenant which they had made before Me, — 
 '* I will give them into the hand of their enemies — and their 
 "dead bodies shall be meat," &c. (Jer. xxxiv. 15 — 20); or 
 
REPENTANCE THE BUSINESS OF A WHOLE LIFE. 81 
 
 again, " Rebellious Israel hath justified herself more than 
 " treacherous Judah." (Jer. iii. 11). Let any one teachably con- 
 sider these words, and not put himself off, or stifle his conscience 
 by mere generalities of the greatness of God's mercy ; and he 
 will, I trust, by that mercy, be brought to think that wilful sin, 
 after Baptism, is no such light matter as the easiness of our pre- 
 sent theology would make it. And so also will it a])pear that 
 repentance is not a work of a short time, or a transient sorrow, 
 but of a whole life ; that, if any man say that he have repented 
 of any great sin, (thereby meaning that his repentance is ended, 
 or sufficient,) he has not yet repented, perhaps not yet begun to 
 repent as he ouglit ^ : that, — I say not earnest-minded cheerful- 
 ness, but — what the world calls gaiety, is ill-suited to the cha- 
 racter of a penitent : that his repentance, although its anxiety 
 may by God be removed, ought to increase in d^pth and sharp- 
 ness : that things which were allowable in those who are " heirs 
 " of Heaven," ill become one who must now enter in, not through 
 the way of plenary remission, but of repentance for a broken 
 covenant. " Those holy and wise men," says Bishop Taylor ^, 
 " who were our fathers in Christ, did well weigh the dangers 
 " into vvhich a sinning man had entered, and did dreadfully fear 
 " the issues of Divine anger, and therefore, although they openly 
 
 ^ " Let no man be too forward in saying his sin is pardoned, for our present 
 " persuasions are too gay and confident ; and tliat which is not repentance 
 " sufficient for a lustful thought, or one single act of uncleanness, or intem- 
 " perance, we usually reckon to be the very porch of Heaven, and expiatory 
 " of the vilest and most habitual crimes." — Bishop Taylor's Doctrine and 
 Practice of Repentance, sec. 6. § 68. Works ix. 217- — " Whenever repentance 
 " begins, know that from thenceforward the sinner begins to live ; but tlien 
 " never let that repentance die. Do not at any time say, ' I have repented 
 " of such a sin, and am at peace for that ;' for a man ought never to be at 
 " peace with sin, nor think that any thing we can do is too much : our re • 
 " pentance for sin is never to be at an end till faith itself shall be no more; 
 " for faith and repentance are but the same covenant. And he undervalues 
 *' his sin, and overvalues his sorrow, who at any time fears he shall do too 
 " much, or make his pardon too secure, — and tlierefore sits him down and 
 " says, ' Now 1 have repented.* " lb. p. 219. 
 » L. c. sect. 3. end. p. 198 
 
 F 
 
82 TRUTH ABANDONED HALF UNCONSCIOCSLY. 
 
 " taught that God hath set open the gates of mercy to all worthy 
 *' penitents, yet concerning repentance they had other thoughts 
 '* than we have ; and that, in the pardon of sinners, there are 
 " many more things to be considered, besides the possibility of 
 " having the sin pardoned." 
 
 Yet another and more concise test as to the agreement of our 
 views with those of the whole Christian Church will be furnished 
 to us by considering carefully within ourselves, in what waj' we 
 consider Baptism to be a Sacrament. For we know how often 
 mankind deceive themselves by words, and, because the}' retain 
 " the form of sound words," imagine falsely that they hold the 
 substance. And it is an additional blessing in this form of 
 words, that, by comparing our own actual and practical belief 
 therewith, we may often detect in ourselves many lurking ten- 
 dencies to error, and an unacknowledged abandonment of truth. 
 We need not point out this in detail ; any one, whose creed is 
 now sounder than it once was, will at once acknowledge how 
 unmarked a substitution was once going on in his own mind ; 
 how unawares to himself his silver was becoming dross. The 
 same names of doctrines were retained, but their substance was 
 gradually departing. Or one may observe it in the gradual 
 declension of the German divines of the last century ; or, one 
 can hardly look abroad into the world without observing how 
 much Socinianism, Pelagianism, Anti-Catholicism, Anti-Christ- 
 ianism there is every where in persons who think themselves 
 severally secure from these charges, and would look upon the 
 imputation as a slander. So also with regard to Christ's Sacra- 
 ments : we can easily see how, in Hoadley's time, many, in fact, 
 held neither to be a Sacrament, in the Church's meaning of the 
 word, though they persuaded themselves that they held both. 
 And have we no symptoms of the same defect in our days ? does 
 not the very rareness of our Communions, even among earnest- 
 minded Christians, imply that men scarcely regard it as a neces- 
 sary means of grace ? Where is our longing for " our daily 
 " bread ?" and does not again the very name by which we ordi- 
 narily speak of the Lord's Supper — the Sacrament, imply that we 
 have virtually one Sacrament only ? for this is not the language 
 
HAVE WE NOT ONE SACRAMENT ONLY ? 83 
 
 used by the Fathers of the Christian Church, or of our own ' : it 
 is not the language of our formularies, it is the growth of times 
 in which Baptism has been looked upon as a mere initiatory rite. 
 The very defence, which people would set up, that the Lord's 
 Supper is the Sacrament of which we have most frequent occa- 
 sion to speak, in itself convicts us : for of which Sacrament did 
 the Apostles most speak ? and what does our seldom reference 
 to the Sacrament of Baptism, — the sort of effort with which men 
 recal to themselves that it also is a Sacrament, — the charge of 
 precision which they are ready to bring against any who object 
 to the Lord's Supper being called " the Sacrament," — the very 
 inadvertency with which we again fall back into this error, after 
 having, perhaps, ourselves corrected it in others, — the utter 
 absence of interest, which it is almost professed and recognized, 
 that most congregations would feel about the office of Holy 
 Baptism, — (for otherwise why are the regulations of the Church so 
 often broken, and the Baptism of our infants smuggled through, 
 as a service of which we are ashamed ? and our congregations 
 leave us whenever they can, " as if (to use the language of an 
 " old Calvinistic writer * who lived when the like low notions 
 " prevailed) men were loath to be present, where the blessed 
 " Trinity presenteth itself to such a gracious purpose as this is, 
 " viz. to secure such benefits to one of that congregation ?") — what 
 does all this imply, but that, though we in words acknowledge 
 Baptism to be a Sacrament, we have forgotten its power ? 
 
 We admit, however, that Baptism is a Sacrament ; and if so, it 
 must convey the grace annexed to it, whenever no obstacle is 
 placed in its way by the unworthiness of the recipient. For 
 this has been the notion of the whole Christian Church, that the 
 Sacraments are not bare signs, but do convey that also which 
 they signify. Since, then, infants are incapable of opposing any 
 obstacle, we must believe that the grace of Baptism, " a death 
 
 ' Thus in a modern re-print of portions of the " Fathers of the English 
 " Church," where they spoke of the " most Holy Sacrament of the Body and 
 " Blood of Christ," or the like, the modern ' Contents' or ' Indices' uni- 
 formly speak of " the Sacrament." 
 
 = Taylor Comm. on Ep. to Titus, p. 648. 
 
 F 2 
 
84 (iREAT MERCY OF INFANT BAPTISM. 
 
 " unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness," is hereby con- 
 ferred upon all who are brought to be engrafFed into their 
 Saviour by Baptism ^ For the question is not, whether Infant 
 Baptism be " most agreeable to the Institution of Christ," but 
 (it being allowed so to be,) whether the full privileges of Baptism 
 be thereby conveyed to all who are brought to Christ in it, or 
 whether some receive the reality, others the empty sign only ? 
 And since infants are all alike incapable of opposing the Divine 
 benefits, and the wilfulness which they might hereafter show, has 
 no place there, and God in His Word has given us no ground 
 for making any distinction between them, we n)ust conclude, as 
 the whole Antient Church did, that the benefits of Holy Bap- 
 tism are by virtue of the Sacrament itself, and of the Divine 
 Institution, imparted to all infants. And herein is a great mercy 
 of God, that this first primary grace, which is the pledge and 
 condition of all the rest, and without which w'e have no title to 
 them, but should remain " children of wrath and strangers to the 
 " covenant of promise," is bestowed upon us at a time when we 
 cannot by our own wilfulness or carelessness fall short of it. It 
 appears also a great charity of our Church, that, whereas we 
 know not when the seeds of evil first spring up in a child, she 
 has ordered Baptism to be administered at the earliest period 
 practicable, that so the spiritual antidote might be infused into 
 its frame before the latent poison of inherited corruption should 
 begin to work. The principle that children are regenerated by 
 virtue of the Sacrament of the Baptism, because they put no bar, 
 
 ' Calvin himself admits this principle, when he is writing as an expositor, 
 not as a dogmatist. Thus, on Rom. vi. 4, he says, " In short, St Paul is 
 teaching what is the reality of Baptism rightly received. Thus of the Ga- 
 latians he attests, ' Whosoever had been baptized into Christ had all put on 
 Christ.' We must namely, thus speak when tlve Institution of the Lord 
 and the faith of the pious meet together. For we never have naked and empty 
 symbols ; except when our ingratitude and perverseness impede the working 
 of thcDivine benevolence." Since then infants cannot, " by ingratitude or per- 
 verseness, impede the operation of God" through His Sacrament, according 
 to Calvin's own principles they must participate of its grace. This is ex- 
 pressed by the old writers (as by St. Augustine above) by the term " obicem 
 ponere." It is retained by tlie Lutlierans, as Gerliard (Loci, de S. Baptismo, 
 § 125). 
 
NO BAR OPPOSED TO ITS BENEFITS. 85 
 
 of an 0})posite will, is laid down in the broadest way by St. Au- 
 gustine \ in answer to an African Bishop, who felt some diffi- 
 culty how the sponsors could declare so positively that " the child 
 brought to Baptism believed in God, and the rest, whereas it had 
 no knowledge of God, and the sponsors or parent knew not 
 whether it would hereafter believe and do these things." " The 
 " little one then," St. Augustine says, " although he have not 
 " as yet that faith which consists in the will of the believer, is 
 *' made a faithful one hy the Sacrament of faith itself. For as 
 " he is answered for as believing, so also he is called faithful, not 
 " by assenting to the substance thereof by his mind, but by re- 
 " ceiving the Sacravient of that substance of faith. But when 
 " the man shall begin to understand, then he will not repeat that 
 " Sacrament ; but will understand it, and be conformed by tl;e 
 " harmony of his 'will to its truth. In the meantime the Sacra- 
 " ment will avail to protect him against the power of the enemy ; 
 " so that if he shovild depart out of this life before he have the 
 " use of reason, he shall (the love of the Church recommending 
 " him through that very Sacrament) be freed, through this Christ- 
 '• ian succour, from that condemnation which ' by one man 
 " entered into the world.' Tliis he who believes not and thinks 
 " that it cannot be, is wanting in faith, though behave the Sacra- 
 " ment of faith ; and far to be preferied before such an one is 
 " that little one, who, though he liave not as yet faith formed in 
 " his conception, yet at least puis no bar of any thought opposed 
 " to it ; whence he receives the Sacrament benefcially." St. Au- 
 gustine's controversy with those who held P^dugian doctrines, 
 makes us still further acquainted with the views of the Church 
 on this subject. For it furnishes us — not with the opinion of St. 
 Augustine as an individual, (although a pillar of the Church,) 
 nor even as an indication (as an individual may be) of the tenets 
 of his time, nor again with what people term an hyperbolical 
 expression of gratitude for the institution which he loved, (as in 
 peaceful times men speak less guardedly,) but- — with a direct 
 attestation of the doctrine of the whole Church, as stateil against 
 
 » Ep. mi. ^ 10. 
 
86 CONNECTION OF INFANT BAPTISM AND ORIGINAL SIN. 
 
 heretical opponents. The doctrines, namely, of Infant Baptism 
 and original sin are closely connected together. And the first 
 deniers of original corruption seem to have been pressed by no 
 argument so hardly as by this practice of the Church and the 
 inference drawn from it : " If there be no original sin, why then 
 " are infants baptized for the remission of sin ?" So allied are 
 right church-practice and sound doctrine ; and such unexpected 
 service does adherence to primitive traditional practice often 
 yield to the true faith ' ! St. Augustine then could appeal to the 
 acknowledged and unquestioned duty of baptizing infants in 
 proof of the Church's doctrine ; and thus we incidentally learn, 
 that the whole Church supposed that Baptism bestowed upon all 
 infants all the benefits, whereof it was the channel and instru- 
 ment to the adult believer. This argument will be best seen 
 detailed at full length. " Christ," he says^ " came in the flesh, 
 " and having taken the form of a servant became obedient to the 
 " death of the cross, for no other reason than by this most mer- 
 " ciful dispensation of grace to quicken, save, free, redeem, 
 " enlighten those who were before in the death of sin, in weak- 
 " ness, slavery, captivity, darkness, under the power of the devil, 
 " the prince of sin. This being made clear, it will follow that to 
 " that dispensation of Christ which was established through 
 " His humiliation, they cannot belong who do not stand in need 
 " of life, salvation, freedom, redemption, enlightening. And since 
 " Baptism, whereby persons are buried with Christ, in order 
 *' that His members, i. e. they who believe in Him, may be incor- 
 " porated into Him, belongeth thereto ; then neither is Bap- 
 " tism necessary to those who need not that benefit of remission 
 
 ' It was reserved for us to see this connection illustrated in the opposite 
 way, false doctrine springing from false practice. St. Augustine argued, " If 
 it be not superfluous to baptize children, which they (the Pelagians) dare 
 not say, they must confess that Christ benefits baptized infants." (Serm. 
 295 de Baptismo Parvulor. c. 17). The sect which has deserted the Church's 
 practice, must, in order to escape the charge of cruelty to unbaptized 
 infants, deny that Christ does benefit baptized infants, or has begun to do 
 so, denying original sin. (See the statement in Newman's Parochial Sermons, 
 vol. ii. p. 349). 
 
 " De Peccator. meritis et remiss. L. i. § 39. T. x, p. 22. ed. Bened. 
 
INFANTS BELIKVKKS. 87 
 
 and reconciliation, which takes place through the Mediator. 
 Since then these persons allow that little ones must be bap- 
 tized, inasmuch as they cannot contravene the authority of the 
 universal Church, (as unquestionably handed down from the 
 Lord and the Apostles,) they must allow also that infants need 
 those other benefits of the Mediator ; so that, being washed 
 by the Sacrament and through the love of the faithful (who 
 present them to Baptism), and thus being incorporated into 
 the body of Christ, which is the Church, they may be recon- 
 ciled to God, and in Him be quickened, saved, freed, redeemed, 
 enlightened — whence, but from death, sinfulness, guilt, servi- 
 tude, darkness of sin V But since at that age they have not 
 in their own life committed any, it remains that it must be 
 original sin ^." And again, " Who knows not, that in infants to 
 believe is to be baptized, not to believe is not to be baptized — 
 since little ones do not begin to be of Christ's sheep but by 
 Baptism, then those, who do not receive Baptism, will perish ; 
 for they will not have eternal life, which He giveth to His 
 sheep ^." Further, " The ecclesiastical rule, which reckons 
 baptized infants among the faithful, does not so judge (viz. that 
 they are in a middle state, neither believing nor unbelieving). 
 If then they who are baptized, on account of the virtue and 
 celebration of so great a Sacrament, (although they do not, 
 with their own mouth and heart, any thing appertaining to belief 
 or confession,) are yet accounted among believers, they to 
 whom this Sacrament is wanting, must be accounted among 
 such as do not believe the same." And again ^, " Let them say 
 then, ' what does Christ's righteousness avail to little ones ?' 
 Let them say what they will. For of a truth, if they recollect 
 that they themselves are Christians, they will not doubt that 
 it avails something. Whatever then its profit be, it cannot, as 
 they themselves assert, profit those who believe not. Whence 
 they are compelled to account little ones among believers, and 
 to agree with the authority of the Holy Church every where. 
 As, therefore, by the answer of those, through whom they 
 
 J lb. § 40. - § 28. a L. iii. § 2. 
 
88 ELECTION OF CHILDREN TO BAPTISM. 
 
 " are regenerated, the Spirit of righteousness transfuses into 
 " them faith, which of their own will they could not yet have, so 
 " the sinful flesh of those by whom they are born, transfers into 
 " them guilt, which by their own life they have not yet contracted. 
 " And as the Spirit of life in Christ regenerates them as be- 
 " lievers, so the body of sin in Adam had generated them as 
 " sinners : for that is a carnal birth, this a spiritual : that forms 
 " sons of flesh, this, sons of the Spirit ; that, sons of the world, 
 " this, of God ; that, children of wrath, this, of mercy ; and 
 " thereby that sends them forth bound by original sin, this, freed 
 " from every band of sin." 
 
 These are but a very few of the passages, in which St. Augus- 
 tine employs the known Catholic doctrine of the cure universally 
 bestowed upon children at Baptism, as a proof of their need of 
 that cure, and so of their original corruption. They are tlie 
 more remarkable, not only as being statements of Catholic doc- 
 trine, but as being found in him, who, if any of the fathers, 
 might have been expected, on account of his theory of predes- 
 tination, to have limited it. On the contrary, he adheres uniformly 
 to the teaching of the Church, that all infants, since they could 
 place no obstacle, derived the full benefits of Baptism, and were 
 regenerated. He speaks, moreover, of the inscrutable decrees of 
 God, in respect only, that' He admits some children of evil 
 parents to Baptism and to the new-birth, and so (they dying 
 young) certainly to the kingdom of Heaven, while He excluded 
 from Baptism, and so from its blessings, the children of some 
 pious parents ; or again ^, that by early death He rescued some 
 from future sin, and yet left others who, He knew, would sin ; 
 but the regeneration of all baptized infants he assumes as a 
 known truth. 
 
 The Council of Carthage (A.D, 418) held against Pelagius, in 
 
 • E. g. de corrept. et Grat. § 18. c. duas Epp. Pelag. L. ii. § 11. Serm. 
 xxvi. (alias de verbis Apostoli 11) § 13. S. xxvii. (al. de Verbis Ap. 20) §6. 
 de dono Perseverantise c. 11. Ep. 194. ad Sextum, § 32. de Gen. ad lit. 
 L, X. § 26. sqq. 
 
 2 Dc Peccat. Merit. L 1. c. 21. 
 
214 BISHOPS HOOKER ON BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 89 
 
 which were assembled 214 Bishops, anathematizes ^ those who 
 say that infants brought no original sin into the world, to be 
 expiated by the washing of regeneration, and asserts as a conse- 
 quence of the mode " in which the Catholic Church everywhere 
 " diffused always understood the Apostolic saying, Rom. v. 12. 
 " ' By one man sin entered,' &c. that little ones, who could not as 
 " yet themselves commit sin, are therefore truly baptized for the 
 " remission of sins, that in them what they contracted by their 
 " birth might be cleansed by their re-birth." 
 
 The universality of the new-birth in infants is on the same 
 principle asserted by our own Hooker ^. " When the signs and 
 " Sacraments of His grace are not either through contempt unre- 
 " ceived, or received with contempt, we are not to doubt, but that 
 " they really give what they promise, and are what they signify^ 
 " For we take not Baptism, nor the Eucharist, for bare resem- 
 " blances or memorials of things absent, neither for naked signs 
 " and testimonies assuring us of grace received before, but (as 
 " they are indeed and in verity) for means effectual, whereby 
 " God, when we take the Sacraments, delivereth into our hands 
 " that grace available unto eternal life, which grace the Sacra- 
 *• ments represent or signify." And again ^, " The fruit of 
 " Baptism dependeth only upon the covenant which God hath 
 " made ; God by covenant requireth in the elder sort. Faith and 
 " Baptism ; in children, the Sacrament of Baptism alone, where- 
 " unto he hath also given them right by special privilege of birth 
 " within the bosom of the Holy _ Church : infants, therefore, 
 " which have received Baptism complete, as touching- the mys- 
 " tical perfection thereof, are by virtue of his own covenant and 
 " promise cleansed from all sin." 
 
 Such was, for fourteen centuries, the doctrine of the universal 
 Church of God. At the time of the Reformation the English 
 and the Lutheran branches retained the ancient doctrine : the 
 English, upon its acknowledged principle of retaining the truths 
 taught in the early Church ; the Lutheran, without perhaps the 
 
 ' Ap. August. Opp. t. X. App. p. lOtf. 
 3 Eccl. Pol. B. 5. c. 57. * Ibid. c. 62. 
 
90 CHARACTER OF ZUIN6LI. 
 
 same defined views, yet with the solemn and instinctive reverence 
 for the known word of God, and that reluctance to tamper with 
 its apparent meaning, which in other cases also characterized its 
 founder. Zuingli, on the contrary, the parent of the Swiss refor- 
 mation, though possessed (in the common sense of the terms) of 
 lionesty and love of truth, perhaps rather hatred of falsehood, was 
 of a character and frame of mind decidedly rationalistic : he was 
 comparatively little of a theologian, and but ill acquainted in 
 detail with the character and teaching of the early Church : he 
 had not been educated as a theologian, nor was his mind well 
 trained. As a member of a Republic, he was less impressed 
 with the value of authority ; and that of the Church was to him 
 that of the bishop of Rome only : his mind, clear, masculine, 
 energetic, acute, original, but unsystematic, aud unrefined, and 
 uncapacious, saw distinctly, yet saw but a little way ; embraced 
 insulated facts, but saw not their bearing upon the whole system. 
 His career also was one of uniform and easy success ; God, who 
 forms His different instruments for His several purposes and 
 according to their capacities, faithfulness, and quick acquiescence 
 in His will, did not appoint to him the same discipline, by which 
 he exercised, and strengthened, and purified the faith of our 
 Reformers and of Luther: but chiefly Zuingli does not seem to 
 have received divine truths so deeply : with a straightforwardness, 
 which led him to embrace what he thought truth, he yet in a 
 common-place way laid down what he rejected, or took up the 
 contrary, with the ease which is generally characteristic of 
 shallowness. The belief, whatever it was, having no depth of 
 root, gave way without up-tearing and laying bare the whole 
 mind, as it does when it is more thoroughly fixed ; no shock 
 was communicated to the rest of his moral system. In minds, 
 which give way thus without a struggle, truth will be parted 
 with, as well as, and probably in conjunction with, every error. 
 Zuingli's, more than any other, might be called an intellectual 
 reformation. At his new opinions on the Sacraments he arrived 
 in the way of unbelief ; a way, to which God appears to have 
 
 ' " We all," he says, speaking of the Romish Clergy, " we all essayed 
 "something; and if nothing more, yet each of us this, to conquer and lull 
 12 
 
UNBELIEF IN ERROR NOT THE RQAD TO TRUTH. 91 
 
 annexed the penalty that it should never lead to entire or full 
 truth. He abandoned the Popish doctrine of transubstantiation ; 
 but having lost the link, which bound him to the old Catholic 
 truth of direct spiritual influence, conveyed through the medium 
 of the Sacraments, they became to him mere signs or symbols. 
 He had in his mind constantly the two truths, that the Sacra- 
 ments, could not in themselves convey grace, and that Christ alone 
 was the author of all grace and spiritual influence, and he could 
 not find the central point, wherein the old Catholic doctrine 
 might yet hold good with both these truths ; namely, that Christ 
 conveyed His grace through His Sacraments. Here his rational- 
 istic tendency interfered. He could understand, how whatever 
 strengthened faith, was a mean of greater grace : and also, how 
 faith might be strengthened by these external symbols, as well as 
 by preaching, — by the visible announcement, as well as by spoken 
 word — and for this he could refer to experience ^ : but he could 
 
 " his own incredulity, that it might not presume to make its murmers heard ; 
 " ahhough the citadel of faith never in such degree yielded to us, that any one 
 " could without hypocrisy believe that they in that bread ate any thing of that 
 " sort which we dreamed of." (Subsidium de Eucharistia, 0pp. t. ii. f. 255.) 
 And again at the beginning of the same work, quoted also by Hospinian, Hist. 
 Sacrara. P. ii. p. 46, " We have been of this opinion of the Eucharist for more 
 " years than it now suits to say." Hospinian would defend this by a parallel 
 history of Luther: the history is this. — " M. A. Musa once heavily com- 
 " plained to Luther, and mourned, that he himself could not believe what he 
 " taught others : to whom Luther said, ' God be praised that what befell me 
 " did not befall me alone.' Musa forgot not this consolation his whole life 
 " through." But the difference is immense between this earnest burst of 
 feeling, wrung from Luther by tlie sight of similar suffering, and implying 
 that he had hitherto thought himself therein a sinner more than other 
 men, and the coarse and insulting statement of Zuingli of their common 
 unbelief. 
 
 1 Thus, against the theory that the Sacraments were signs, which, while 
 they took place, assured a man of that which takes place within, he says, 
 " Yet in vain have they invented this : as if, while a man is dipped in water, 
 " any thing took place in him, which he could not by any means know, unless 
 " he were at the same time bathed with water. Let not any one be offended, 
 " but they know not what faith is, or how it has its birth in man." De vera 
 et falsa relig. Opp. t. 2. f. 198. 
 
92 ORIGIN OF ZUINGLl's NOTIONS OF THE SACRAMENTS. 
 
 not understand an actual, real, though not physical, imparting of 
 Christ to the soul of the believer tlirough the Sacraments : it 
 was to him a miracle, of which he had no outward evidence, nor 
 any tanaible proofs : and having no sense for it, he rejected it as 
 an unattested miracle, and preferred bending the words of Scrip- 
 ture, which pointed to it. Zuingli's system appears to have 
 been, in this respect, negative : he held the two parts upon which 
 the Calvinistic system of the Sacraments was subsequently biiilr: 
 the idea that the Sacraments were signs of grace before received, 
 and the absolute irrespective election by God, not to the pri- 
 vileges of the Covenant, but of persons, whether within or with- 
 out it, to life eternal. He does not seem, however, to have 
 systematized these views, and though Scriptural authority is 
 alleged, it does not appear to have been the basis of his theory. 
 His notions of tlie meaning of a Sacrament, were derived origi- 
 nally, not from Scripture, but from classical usage. " Sacra- 
 ?ne?itum," he says^, " according to Varro is a pledge, which they 
 " who had a suit, deposited by some altar. Again, Sacramen- 
 " turn is an oath, which use of the word still holds in the popular 
 " language of Gaul and Italy ; and lastly, there is the military 
 " So cy amentum, whereby soldiers are bound to their leaders : for, 
 " that it is used for a sacred and mysterious thing among the 
 " antients, appears not. Whence also we have given no place to 
 " this meaning. Neither does it express the word jivaTiipiuv, for 
 " which it is used in the Latin translation of the Old Testament. 
 *' Whence we are led to think that a Sacrament is no other than 
 " an initiation or pledging. For as litigants deposited a certain 
 " sum of money, which the victor only might remove ; so those 
 " who are initiated by the Sacraments, bind, pledge themselves, 
 " and receive as it were a gage, that they should not retreat." 
 This etymology he frequently repeats ; and from it he infers that 
 " since the Sacrament is an initiation or public sealing, it has no 
 
 1 This is his constant argument against Luther. " What miracle is there 
 " which no man had felt ?" Arnica Exegesis f. 331. and v. 337- f. de Ccena 
 Domini f. 277- ad Theobald. Bellicam. f. 263. The argument was orisrinaliy 
 Bucer's, ib. f. 331. 
 
 ' De vera et falsa Relig. I. ii. f. l!>7. v. 198. 
 
SOUGHT TO UPROOT EXALTED NOTIONS OF THEM. 93 
 
 " power to set tlie conscience free." In like manner he argues 
 elsewhere from its theological use, " A Sacrament ' is a sign of 
 " a sacred thing," " but if ^ they are signs, then they cannot be 
 " that whereof they are signs. For if they were the things, then 
 " they could not be called the signs. For one and the same 
 " thing cannot be the thing, and the sign which signifies the 
 " thing." And with such shallow show of common-sense argu- 
 mentation as this, the whole doctrine of the Sacraments is dis- 
 patched : and Zuingli concludes : " On which account Baptism 
 " is a sign, which binds and initiates us into Jesus Christ. The 
 " Eucharist indicates (innuit) that Christ died for us, and was 
 " put to a dreadful death. Of these most holy things Christ 
 " willed tliat these Sacraments should be the outward signs." 
 As if the sign might not also be the instrument, whereby that 
 which is signified is conveyed ; or as if this dry arguing from the 
 definition of words, could lead to any truth in things spiritual ! 
 Zuingli was so much engaged in arguing against those who ex- 
 tolled the outward signs unduly, or whom he held so to do, and 
 was so intent thereon, that the general impression from his works 
 would be that the Sacraments were simply " outward signs of a 
 " Christian man's profession," and unconnected with any spiritual 
 grace. His apologist, Hospinian ^, is compelled to admit that the 
 opinion that the body of Christ was in some way locally in- 
 cluded in the Eucharistic bread, being (through the different 
 views of the Papists and of Luther) very deeply rooted in men's 
 minds, Zuingli " applied the whole force of his mind to eradicate 
 it : and this in such wise, that he seemed rather to hold that the 
 Lord was absent than present in the Holy Supper ; and that 
 symbols, rather than the Body and Blood of Christ, were then 
 imparted." This is of great moment ; for a man's belief is not 
 what he abstractedly holds, or what he would, if questioned, 
 ultimately fall back upon ; but his practical belief is just so 
 much of his system as is habitually interwoven in his mind and 
 
 1 Opus Ardculorum, Art. 18. 0pp. t. i. f. 31. de Baptismo 0pp. t. ii. f. 60. 
 Fid. Christianse Expos, f, 651. v. ad Luth. Confess, f. 476. 
 
 2 Ibid. 3 Hist. Sacram. P. ii. p. 49. 
 
94 MEN HAVE OFTEN TWO SYSTEMS OF BELIEF. 
 
 thoughts ; other truths may have been or may again be made 
 part of his belief; but if habitually thrown into the shade by the 
 greater prominence given to another view of the subject, they 
 can hardly be called part of his actual belief ; they are for the 
 time in a state of abeyance and lifelessness, almost as if they 
 were not held at all. Thus it comes to pass that very many men 
 deceive themselves ; they have in a manner two systems of 
 belief: one which they have been taught, and have not altogether 
 unlearnt, and which, if thrown back upon themselves, they would 
 still hold to be true and acknowledge as their own ; and another, 
 (composed perhaps of some portions of the former, or it 
 may be the same only superficialized,) which is the way in 
 which religious truth habitually occurs to their mind. Yet 
 because they have never formally parted with the former, and 
 have it in their mind, locked up, as it were, in a chest, they will, 
 under ordinary circumstances, think that they hold it safely ; 
 whereas the governing principle of their affections, heart, and 
 life, and the belief of which they are actually conscious, are all 
 the while very different. But in whatever degree this variance 
 between a man's abstract belief, and his habitual animating faith, 
 may be palliated to the individual, or however the truths which 
 he may be said really and influentially to hold, may maintain in 
 some degree his spiritual existence, (and blessed is he, who has 
 not known some degree of such discrepancy,) the influence which 
 a man has upon his contemporaries, or upon posterity, depends 
 entirely upon that, his prominent system of belief. That which 
 has seized possession of his own mind, is that whereby he in- 
 fluences the minds of others. The more retiring parts of his 
 system, by which it may be to him occasionally modified and 
 controlled, have but little influence on himself; how should they 
 then have strength enough to reach others ? They die with him, 
 unless revived through some other instrument. Hereby the 
 gradual decline of religious belief is in some measure accounted 
 for ; and herein we may see, how, though held extensively, the 
 truths of the Gospel may fail of any general impression ; and 
 that they must be lield more vividly, more energetically, more 
 
DIFFERENCE OF FAITH AMID SIMILARITY OF LANGUAGE. 95 
 
 really, more uniformly, before they can break down the strong 
 holds opposed to them. The spart, which smoulders in our 
 bosom, can kindle no flame in those around. 
 
 Although, then, Zuingli used occasionally the language 
 " that ^ the sacramental body of Christ was given in the Sup- 
 " per," that^ " we have the body of Christ with us in the Supper 
 " in the most excellent and noblest way," this meant but little, 
 and had therefore the less influence. It was an approximation of 
 words, «ot of belief. Zuingli's idea of the presence of Christ 
 was only, that He was present to the mind which contemplated 
 Him. " We have said long ago *, that the body of Christ is 
 " in the Supper, by the contemplation of faith ; now then, let 
 " the adversaries turn which way they will, they will find no 
 " help, whereby they may drag it into the Supper in any other 
 " way." "We * have never denied that the Body of Christ was 
 ** sacramentally ^, and in a mystery, in the Supper, both on 
 " account of the contemplation of faith, and the whole action 
 ''of the symbol." "We believe* that Christ is really in the 
 " Supper : yea, we believe not that it is the Lord's Supper unless 
 " Christ be present," seem plain words, yet are they immediately 
 explained away ; so that He is no further present, than in every 
 other congregation of the faithful. " In proof of this," he pro- 
 ceeds, " ' When two or three are gathered together in my name, 
 " there am I in the midst of them.' How much more, when the 
 ** whole Church is gathered to Him !" And in the strongest pas- 
 sage which his Apologist^, expressly writing upon the doctrine 
 of the Eucharist, could find, we have still nothing more than a 
 
 1 Epist. ad Principes German. 0pp. t. ii. f. 548. v. 
 
 2 Ad Lutheri Confess. Respons. ii. lb. f. 508. v. 
 
 3 Ad Princ. Germ. f. 549. 
 
 * Zuingli explains this (Fid. Christ. Expos, f. 556). " The bread has the 
 " name of the Body, yea, is the Body of Christ, but by title, and signifying 
 " it, which moderns call ' sacramentally,' " and p. 554. v. " To eat the Body 
 " of Christ sacramentally, is, to speak properly, to eat the Body of Christ 
 " in mind and spirit, the Sacrament being added (adjuncto Sacramento)." 
 
 5 Ibid. f. 546. V. 
 
 « Fid. Chris. Expos, ib. f. 563, ^ Hospiiiian, 1. c. p. 55. 
 
96 ZUINGLI — SACRAMENTS AIDS TO CONTEMPLATION. 
 
 sensible representation of Christ's death, and the contemplation 
 of that death in the mind of the worshippers. Some of the words 
 are strong, for he is persuading others, probably himself also, that 
 his views did not derogate from the doctrine of the Sacraments. 
 " When ' then bread and wine, consecrated by the very words 
 " of the Lord, are distributed to the brethren at once, is not now 
 " whole Christ, as it were, sensibly, (that if words are needed, I 
 " may say even more than is wont) offered to the senses also ? 
 " But how ? Is his very natural body offered to be handled ? By 
 " no means ; that is offered to be contemplated by the mind, but 
 " to the senses the sensible sacrament of the thing. For the 
 " mind acts more freely and unencumbered, when it is diverted 
 " as little as may be, by the senses. When, then, there is pre- 
 " sented to the senses what is very similar to that which the mind 
 " is engaged in, it is no slight aid to the senses. Add, (which is 
 " not least to be accounted of,) tliat those signs were so instituted 
 " by Christ Himself, that, by their analogy also, they may be of 
 " much avail to lead to the thing, as present by faith and contem- 
 " j)l(ition. Whence, since Sacraments were instituted to this end, 
 *' that they may teach, admonish, and delight sensibly, not less 
 " than outward speech, it happens that, having acquired the 
 *' name of those things, whereof they are the signs, and which 
 *' are themselves the real refreshment of the mind, they inflame 
 " the mind more vehemently than if any one were to think over 
 " the Divine goodness, however religiously, without them." 
 Zuingli's 'positive view of the Sacraments is completed by the 
 other passage, part of which is quoted by his Apologist ; " Since ^, 
 " then, it is irrefragable that in Baptism and the Eucharist, that 
 " which is signified by the Sacraments is ours before we use the 
 " Sacraments, what reason is there in attributing to the Sacra- 
 " ments what we had before? since Sacraments make confession 
 " of, attest, and exercise only what we had before, how long 
 '* shall we tempt the Spirit of God in a matter so plain ? Are 
 " then the Sacraments in vain? by no means, as was said. For 
 " they preach tlie salvation which has been given by Goi>, they 
 
 ' Acl. P. G. f. 546. ^ Ibid. f. 547- v. 548. 
 
TOKENS OF ABSENT THINGS. 97 
 
 " turn the senses thither, and then exercise faith, the promise of 
 " which they hold forth ^, and draw to brotherly charity. And 
 " while all this is done, one and the same Spirit operates ; who, 
 " as He bloweth, draws at one time without, at another with, 
 " an instrument, whither, as much as, and whom. He wills." 
 This is the strongest passage in Zuingli ; and one rejoices to 
 find even this recognition of spiritual influence at, though not 
 properly through, the Sacrament. This then is the sum of 
 Zuingli 's doctrine of the Sacraments, that they are symbols, that 
 they exhibit Divine truths forcibly to the mind, so as to kindle it, 
 and that thereat the Holy Spirit exercises an influence where, 
 and upon whom He wills. But to judge of the effects of Zuin- 
 gli's doctrine upon others, such an insulated passage will not 
 suffice. We must take into account the illustrations which he 
 continually employs, and which all tend to represent the Sacra- 
 ments as mere outward symbols. They are " testaments, not 
 " the thing bequeathed ;" " writings ;" *' the giving up of keys 
 •' to another;" "signs of a covenant;" "the seal-ring' given 
 " by the father of a family to the absent wife, with his own image 
 " impressed thereon ;" signs of a past gift, memorials, tokens, by 
 the sight whereof our love may be cherished, but not means of 
 grace. These popular illustrations convey far more than abstract 
 statement. We must consider also the impression made by the 
 positive contrary statements which Zuingli so often repeated 
 and inculcated ; " The Sacraments are 07ily badges of the Christ- 
 " ian society, and confer nothing towards salvation," and the 
 like ; and that this was his general mode of teaching : but chiefly 
 one must look upon him as bending his great energies to this one 
 point, " to eradicate (in the words of his Apologist ^) these notions 
 " from the minds of men ;" for which end in treating the belief 
 
 ^"Quam et proximo pollicentur." I doubt about the meaning; for 
 Zuingli says again and again that " Sacraments do not imparl faith ;" and 
 " that the only faith which they produce (faciunt) is an historical, (i. e. as 
 " memorials that Christ has suffered,) and that, whether tliey be received or 
 " no ; but that he has died for us, that they signify only to the pious believer." 
 (Fidei Christianae Expos, t. ii. f. 555). 
 
 2 Ad. P. G. f. 545. V. 3 ji,i,i. f. 549. i Hospinian 1. c. p. 49. 
 
 G 
 
98 CONNECTION OF THE TWO SACRAMENTS. 
 
 even of Luther, he uses, occasionally at least, a coarseness and 
 profaneness of language, which, upon such a subject, must work 
 incalculable evil, but of which one naturally can give no instances. 
 Some of this offensive language was perpetuated in his school. 
 Besides this there is the fixed and universal tendency of negative 
 principles in religion. They spread, and that downwards. 
 
 The two Sacraments are indissolubly connected. An indivi- 
 dual or an age may for a while be inconsistent, since of incon- 
 sistencies there is happily no end. This variance, however, be- 
 comes gradually effaced. Unless by some guidance of God, 
 men are brought back to higher views of the one Sacrament, 
 their estimation of the other will imperceptibly sink. An here- 
 ditary awe of that of their Saviour's Body and Blood will for a 
 time continue to raise their reverence for it even above their own 
 theory ; but the doctrines are in principle the same ; and so will 
 men's veneration, thankfulness, honour, delight in both, at length 
 be. Either they will see in both their Saviour, or in both (I 
 speak of Churches, or Sects, not necessarily of the period of 
 individual life, although very frequently in this also) they will see 
 but an empty symbol. 
 
 In the above statement of Zuingli's views, the Lord's Supper 
 is most frequently instanced as being the subject of the contro- 
 versy ; but the principles relate to Baptism also. As to this 
 Sacrament also, Zuingli fixed his theory after an interval of 
 doubt ; in this instance, as to the efficacy or propriety of Infant 
 Baptism. " If ^ Sacraments were signs, and signs for the con- 
 " firmation of faith, how can they confirm the faith of infants, 
 " since it is certain that as yet they have none ? Wherefore I 
 " also, (to own the truth ingenuously) some years ago, deceived 
 *' by this error, thought it better that children should not be 
 " baptized, until they had arrived at a mature age." This diffi- 
 culty, arising from the first error, that Sacraments were only 
 signs, required a further modification of his views. Zuingli 
 accordingly sums up thus his views on Baptism^. *' No element 
 
 1 De Baptisnio, t. ii. f. 6.3. v. 
 
 2 Ibid. f. 97- V. Again, at tlie beginning of the same work, f. 59. v. " If 
 " in the Old Testament ceremonies were outward only and carnal things, and 
 
ZUINGLI ALL IN BAPTISM OUTWARD. 99 
 
 " of this world, yea no outward thing, can cleanse the soul of 
 " man. For the purifying of this is the work of Divine grace 
 " alone. Baptism then cannot wash away the defilements of 
 '' sin. But since it was instituted by God, and yet does not 
 " wash away sin, it is altogether certain that it is no other than a 
 *' Sacramental sign, whereby the people of God are bound and 
 ** united to one faith and religion." So that his view is just that 
 mentioned by our Articles (Art. 27.) as inadequate. These 
 maxims, — the inadequacy of outward things to wash away sin, 
 and the assumption that Baptism is a sign only, the outward 
 element of water alone, — and the purports of Baptism, which he 
 deduces from these maxims, form the greater part of the state- 
 ments of Zuingli ; and these he inculcates v/iih the utmost 
 earnestness and positiveness. " This ' conviction abides with 
 " me, certain, unshaken, and infallible (which if the authority 
 " and power of the whole world would impugn, they will yet 
 " effect nothing with me), that no element, outwardly adminis- 
 " tered, can avail any thing toward the purifying of the soul." 
 And so, assuming, as before, the incompatibility of the sign with 
 the thing signified, he argues as if all were outward. " John^ 
 " (whose Baptism he contends to have been the same ^ with that 
 " of Christ) taught amendment and true repentance ; and those 
 " who, influenced by his teaching, embraced repentance and 
 " amendment of life, he signed with the outward water of Bap- 
 " tism, yet ihey were not any way the better for it ; for what pre- 
 
 " could not bring any purity or cleansing to the wretched and polluted con- 
 *' sciences of men, how much less in Christ, in whom the Spirit only 
 " gives us life. Meanwhile, however. He has bequeathed to us, who are his 
 " members, two ceremonies, i. e. certain symbols and outward signs, Baptism 
 " namely, and the Eucharist, (or as others have termed it the commemoration 
 " of His death), wherein He wished to consult our infirmity and accommodate 
 " Himself to us. By one of these signs, which Christ has instituted for us, 
 " Baptism, we are marked at the same time and consecrated to God. In the 
 " other, the Eucharist, or commemoration of His death, we give thanks to 
 " God, our heavenly Father, for that immense benefit of our redemption and 
 " salvation granted." See also Responsio ad libell. D. Baltazaris, ib. f. 108. 
 ' Ibid', f. 71. V. 2 lb. f. 67. V. add f. (i8. v. 
 
 ' lb. § do prima Baptism! origine et Institutione f. 73- v. sqq. 
 
 G 2 
 
100 ZUINGLI — SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM BY MAN NOT BY GOD. 
 
 " vented their repenting without being baptized ? Baptism then 
 " was only a ceremony, whereby they attested publicly that they 
 " were of the number of penitents." The Ministers he regards 
 not as instruments in God's hand, but as independent agents, and 
 so performing a mere outward work. *' Christ," he says ', 
 " manifestly distinguishes (Acts i. 5.) between that outward 
 *' Baptism of water, and that whereby the faithful are baptized 
 *' by the Holy Spirit. John is declared only to have baptized 
 " with the water and the preaching of the outward word : and as 
 " many as now baptize do no other. For what else should men 
 " here do, than teach with the outward word, or sprinkle with 
 " water, or dip the baptized into it *? Our controversy then about 
 " infant Baptism is only about the outward Baptism of water, 
 " and the teaching of the outward word." " So also Peter, Paul, 
 " James, and others after them, only baptized with water and tlie 
 *' outward word or teaching; but to baptize with the Spirit is the 
 " office not of men but of God, who alone, according to the counsel 
 " of His wisdom, hath been wont to baptize with the Holy Spirit 
 " whomsoever and whensoever He wills." The words of conse- 
 cration again, appointed by Christ, since spoken through man's 
 mouth, became to him outward also, man's words and not God's. 
 Quoting the language of St. Augustine, " The word is joined to 
 " the element, and it becomes a Sacrament," he answers ' — " The 
 " authority and power of no outward word which proceeds 
 " out of the mouth of man, can be greater than the autho- 
 " rity and power of the water itself. For no one, save God 
 ** only, can take and wash away sin." If then occasionally 
 the strong language of Scripture escapes into the pages of 
 Zuingli, so that one might think that some high spiritual benefit 
 was imparted through Baptism, this is presently corrected. 
 Thus, commenting on Rom. vi. he says '', " Who, examining these 
 " things more diligently, would not perceive that Baptism is an 
 " initial sign, which engraffs us into Christ, consecrates us 
 *' wholly to Him, to this end, that we should be made new men, 
 " and live a new life in Him;" and again', "Baptism is an 
 
 1 Ibid f. 60. V. CI. G8. ^ Calvin borrows this language, Instit iv. 15. 8. 
 5 Ibid, f. 70. V. " Ibid. f. 69. ^ ibij. f. gC. and v. 
 
ZUINGLl's NOTION OF THE EXCELLENCIES OF BAPTISM. 101 
 
 " initial (or initiating) sign, which engrafFs us into God (Deo 
 " inserit) and shows that we are God's." Yet these cheering 
 words " engrafFed into Christ" are explained only to mean that 
 we are " made members of that outward society of Christians :" 
 as indeed how should a mere " outward ceremony" unite us 
 with our Saviour ? " It is established," he says ', *' that that 
 " outward Baptism, which is by water, confers nothing towards 
 " the purifying of the soul ; wherefore this is only a ceremony, 
 " an outward sign, whereby it is indicated that a man is brought 
 '* to Jesus Christ our Lord, engrafFed and initiated into Him, so 
 " that he now wishes not to live to himself but to Christ :" and 
 thus we come back to the old statement, only invested or dis- 
 guised in Scripture words, that " Baptism is a sign of a covenant 
 " whereby we initiate ^ or consecrate 3 any one to God :" for 
 indeed a ceremony, which had no power to purify, could not engraff 
 men into Christ. This initiation also he compares'* to the garb, 
 wherewith novices in a monastery were invested, or to the oath * 
 taken by soldiers, or " the white cross ^ worn by the Swiss, which 
 *' shows that they are and will remain Swiss." 
 
 The excellencies of Baptism are distinctly enumerated by 
 Zuingli in a work, which, being written only five years before 
 his death, of course must contain his mature views, and in which 
 Bullinger says that he surpasses himself — his " Exposition of the 
 Christian Faith to the Christian king'^." They are these: — 
 1. The Sacraments were instituted by Christ : 2. attest His 
 history : 3. set before us the things which they signify, whence 
 they are called by their names : 4. signify great things : 5. have 
 an analogy or aptness to represent the things signified : 6. laid 
 faith (by withdrawing the senses, to contemplate divine things) : 
 7. are an oath binding Christians together ; — in all which there 
 is no vestige of any spiritual influence. Infant Baptism can 
 
 1 Ibid. f. 71. V. 2 n,_ f gy 
 
 3 Ibid. f. 59. V. 85. Op. de vera et fals. Relig. f. 198. v. 
 " De Bapt. f. 64. v. * Ibid. f. 6?. v. ad libell. Struthionis, f. 313. 
 
 6 De Bapt. f. 60. 
 
 7 Fid. Christ. Expos. " Quae Sacranientorum virtus," f. 555. v. 556. et v. 
 
102 INFANT BAPTISM A CEREMONY, AND ORIGINAL SIN DENIED. 
 
 then have none. Its benefits are also enumerated '. " It is the 
 " same as Circumcision ; that dedicated men to God, but under 
 *' the yoke and band of the law ; Baptism, to the same God, but 
 " under Christ, who is grace itself." The rest are, 1. " that we 
 " all grow up in the same doctrine, the Christian. 2. Children 
 " will be educated Christianly. 3. It removes sluggishness in 
 " teaching." Nay, Zuingli often urges against the Anabaptists 
 the unreasonableness of objecting to infant Baptism, " since it 
 " is an outward and ceremonial thing ^, which, as well as other 
 " outward things, the Church may use worthily and with pro- 
 " priety, or omit and remove it, as seems to her most to conduce 
 *' to the edification and well-being of the whole body." 
 
 It is remarkable, that in Zuingli again, with this depreciation 
 of Baptism is united the denial of original sin, as sin, in all born 
 of faithful parents * — which is indeed essential to the whole 
 theory that the Sacraments are signs only, or attest only grace 
 imparted ; for if original sin is not remitted through Baptism, 
 then, as these writers affirm, these children must have been holy 
 by virtue of the covenant, i. e. had no original sin. Original 
 corruption Zuingli admits, but its sinfulness he explicitly denies. 
 
 In taking this view of Baptism, Zuingli was aware tliat he 
 was setting up a new doctrine, unheard of in tlie Christian Church 
 from the times of the Apostles to liis own. We do not judge 
 him ; but in this instance he stands forth as a solemn warning 
 
 ' De Bapt, f. 95. v. sqq. ^ lb. f. 96. ad. libell. D. Baltazar. f. 105. v. 
 
 ^ See above, p. 86. 
 
 * " I confess that our first father sinned a sin, which is a real sin, wicked- 
 " ness, crime, and wrong. But his descendants have not sinned in this way ; 
 " qids enim nostrum in paradiso pomum vetitum depopulatus est dentihus ? 
 " Whether then we will or no, we are obliged to admit that original sin, as 
 " it is in the sons of Adam, is not properly sin, as has been already shown; 
 " for it is not an offence against the law. It is then properly a disease and a 
 " condition." Ad. Carolum Imp. Fidei ratio, f. 539 v. : and f. 540, having 
 argued shallowly from Rom. v. 1 Cor. xv. 22, he terms it "impious and prc- 
 " sumptuous" to hold, that in Christian children " it deserveth God's wrath 
 " anddamnation,"(Art. 9) on account partly of the reparation through Christ, 
 partly of Genu's free election, which does not follow faith, but faith follows it. 
 Cp. de Peceato originali Declaratio, ib f. 115, v. sqq. 
 
PRAYER INEFFICACIOUS AGAINST ERROR, IF SIN REMAINS. 103 
 
 to US, showing how — not only general integrity, and straightfor- 
 wardness and zeal against corruptions which derogate from the 
 glory of God but — even the assiduous study of Holy Scripture 
 with prayer ', will not preserve a man from falling into perni- 
 cious error, which may destroy the very good which he labours 
 to promote, so long as there is one uncorrected sin remaining 
 within his own bosom. Zuingli's writings discover an arrogant 
 self-confidence, which thinks lightly of any belief opposed to 
 his own, although it were that of the universal Church ; and he 
 became the author of tenets which immediately well nigh effaced 
 the Sacraments of his Lord. His rationalistic tone sowed the 
 seeds of a dreadfid harvest, which his country is now reaping, 
 
 '* This I must ingenuously confess, at the beginning of the 
 " book," — thus ^ he opens his work on Baptism, " that all pro- 
 " bably {fere omnes), as many as, from the times of the very 
 '• Apostles, have undertaken to write on Baptism, have in no 
 " few things missed the mark. It is a great thing that I say, 
 " but I am compelled against my will to say it. For never would 
 " I have allowed this to pass my lips (although I have always 
 " delivered the true doctrine on this subject), unless I had been 
 " compelled through that contumacious obstinacy of most con- 
 " tentious men. But that I have herein spoken no less truly than 
 " openly, is self-evident. For no one of their number can be 
 " found, whohas not ascribed to the element of water, what neither 
 " it has, nor have the Apostles taught that it had. And those 
 *' Ancients wrongly understood the saying of Christ to Nicode* 
 " mus, ' Except a man be born again of Water and the Spirit,' 
 ** &c. Wherefore we also will see what 'Baptism is, after a 
 " manner far different from what all, ancients or moderns, yea, or 
 " the writers of our orvn times, have done. And all this we will 
 " establish, not by dreams of our own, but by testimonies from 
 " the Divine Word." 
 
 The opinions of Zuingli are of chief importance, because he 
 was the parent of the Reformed, as Luther was of the Church 
 
 1 Melchior Adamus relates this of Zuingli, De Vit. Germ. Theol. ji. 27. 
 
 2 F. 59. V. Zuingli complains elsewhere of " those who had ' Patres, 
 " Patres,' for ever on their mouth." 
 
104 ZUINGLl AUTHOR OF REFORMED DOCTRINE OF THE SACRAMENTS. 
 
 wliich bore his name. He furnished the model, the " form of 
 words," and stamped the character and impress of the Reformed, 
 as Luther did of the theology of the Lutheran Church. He 
 used incredible zeal in propagating his opinions on the Sacra- 
 ments '. Zurich, on account of the peace enjoyed there, was a 
 place of refuge for the Reformed. His writings and opinions 
 were diligently spread in France and Germany ; and in Italy 
 appear to have been more known than Luther's. They are 
 addressed to the understanding, and at once cut the knot of the 
 controversy with Rome *. For those who had previously dis- 
 believed the Romish doctrine, (and such, Zuingli says, was the 
 case of most ecclesiastics,) ^ it seems, humanly speaking, im- 
 possible that they could come to any other result. The doctrine 
 of the Sacraments, as instruments of grace, held by Luther, 
 (I speak not of his peculiar theory of Consubstantiation), was 
 termed " a going back to the flesh-pots of Egypt*." 
 
 ' Hospinian, p. 46. 
 
 * A saying of Luther's is well known, to this effect : — " With the reformed 
 " doctrines I could give such a blow to Rome ! but I dare not ; it stands 
 " written," (es steht geschrieben). 
 
 * In the passage above cited (p. 90), Zuingli mentions that the Romanists 
 of his day denied this as a calumny, but this he treats as mere hypocrisy. 
 
 * E. g. Ad Lutheri Confess, f. 432. v. In the Exegesis Eucharistiae, f. 358, 
 he calls Luther's doctrine " the restoration of the reign of Antichrist." 
 
 Oxford, 
 Feast of St. Michael. 
 
 (conclusion unavoidably delayed.) 
 
 These Tracts are published Monthly, and sold at the price of 
 2d. for each sheet, or Is. for 50 copies. 
 
 LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. RIVINGTON, 
 ST. Paul's church yard, and Waterloo place. 
 
 1835. 
 
 GiLBEUT & RiviNGTON, Printers, St. Jolin's Square, London. 
 
No. 69. (Ad Clerum.) [Price 13d. 
 
 TRACTS FOR THE TIMES. 
 
 SCRIPTURAL VIEWS OF HOLY BAPTISM. 
 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 " MINIME SUNT MUTANDA QVJE. INTERPRETATIONEM CERTAM 
 SEMPER HABUERUNT." 
 
 Dig. i. tit. 3. lex 23, p. 78, Ed. Gothofr. 42, quoted by Hooker, B. v. c. 1. § 5, 
 ed. Keble. 
 
 The cliaracter of the Reformation in the several countries of 
 Europe turned mainly upon the doctrine of the Sacraments ; as 
 indeed every one will find, that the way in which he embraces 
 and practically holds them, will affect the whole character of his 
 spiritual life. The two continental branches, who cast aside the 
 errors of Rome, each erred in this respect ; and thus became 
 new, rather than reformed, Churches. In either, one individual 
 stood too prominently forward, and impressed upon his society 
 the character of his own mind, rather than that of the Church 
 Catholic. And we cannot sufficiently admire the loving-kind- 
 ness of Almighty God, who allowed the seeds indeed of Refor- 
 mation to be sown among us by Wickliffe, yet then, notwith- 
 standing the powerful human aid which he had, and his great 
 popularity, caused them to lie, as it were, in the earth, until 
 those which were less sound should by length of time decay ; and 
 again, that He placed so many impediments in the way of our final 
 Reformation, (for what man does rapidly, he does rashly,) and 
 held back our steps by the arbitrariness of Henry ; and, when 
 we were again going down the stream of the times too readily, 
 checked us at once by the unexpected death of Edward, and 
 
 u 
 
lOG PROVIDENCE OF GOD IN THE ENGLISH, 
 
 proved us by the fire of the Marian persecution, and took away, 
 by a martyr's death, tliose in whom we most trusted ; and then 
 finally employed a number of labourers, in the restoration of 
 His temple, of whom none should yet be so conspicuous, that 
 the edifice should seem to be his design, or that he should be 
 tempted to restore the decayed parts according to any theory of 
 his own, but rather that all things should be made " according to 
 the pattern which He had shown us" in the Church Primitive. Had 
 our reform taken place at first, we had been Wickliffites ; under 
 Edward, we had been a branch of the Reformed ^ (the Zuinglian 
 or Calvinist) Church : now we bear no human name ; we look 
 to no human founder ; we have no one reformer, to set up as an 
 idol ; we are neither of Paul nor of Apollos ; nor have we any 
 human maxims or theories as the basis of our system ; but have 
 been led back at once to the distant fountains, where the waters 
 of life, fresh from their source, flowed most purely. 
 
 Both of the continental branches, as was said, erred in this 
 respect ; and both have, through their error, suffered. Luther, 
 although scripturally asserting the presence of Christ in the 
 Eucharist, still retained from the Romish Church the idea of the 
 necessity of explaining that presence. His theory of Consub- 
 stantiation was, not a development of Divine truth, but a human 
 system, explaining the mode of the Divine operations. This first 
 error entailed the necessity of other expositions, on points about 
 
 1 The " Reformed" is the received name for such Churches as agree with 
 Calvin and Zuingli in the doctrine of the Sacraments, and as such was 
 understood in old times not to include the English, which was always ac- 
 counted as a Church per se. As, however, the Churches comprehended under 
 this name did not altogether agree among themselves, it came to be used for 
 that portion of the Western Church which was neither Romanist nor Luthe- 
 ran. Hooker speaks of " reformed," as opposed to corrupt Churches ; but 
 he also uses the term of those, who considered themselves eminently 
 " Reformed" Churches, as being most opposed to Rome, e. g. B. iv. c. 14. Init. 
 " To leave reformed Churches, therefore, and their actions, for Him to judge 
 " of in whose sight they are, as they are ; and our desire is that they may, 
 " even in His sight, be found such as we ought to endeavour, by all means, 
 " that our own may likewise be ; somewhat we are enforced to speak con- 
 " cerning the proceedings of the Church of England." 
 
ERRORS IN THE FOREIGN, REFORMATION. 107 
 
 which we know nothing either way, and upon which, conse- 
 quently, it was a great evil to have to decide or to speculate. 
 Such are the ubiquity of our Saviour's glorified body, the com- 
 munication of the properties of His Divine to His human nature, 
 and the like. These, however, of necessity, occupied a promi- 
 nent, because a distinctive, portion of the Lutheran system. 
 Thereby, and through the abolition of Episcopacy, the Lutheran 
 became a new Church, built, indeed, in great part, of the old 
 materials, but still upon a new model, and with untempered 
 mortar. Its connection with the primitive Church, and so its 
 own stability also, was loosened. It was a particular Church, 
 and erected on a narrower platform, than the Church Catholic. 
 
 The Reformed Church erred still more widely in that its first 
 departure from the antient model in the doctrine of the Sacra- 
 ments was opposed to the obvious sense of Scripture also : it 
 was not merely a particular or human, opposed to the Catholic 
 system : but it required a forced exposition of the Word of God. 
 This Church suffered also in proportion more. Its theology limited 
 the favours of Almighty God, when Scripture had declared them 
 free ; it restrained the mercies of His Sacraments, where He 
 had not restrained them ; and it became itself stiff, harsh, un- 
 confiding, and restrained. We find in it, in comparison, but 
 very little of the child-like, dependent, overflowing and humble 
 joy of the Antient Church, which in part appeared in the older 
 Lutheran writers, and especially in their hymns, and which is 
 found in a portion of our own earlier theology. 
 
 The tenets of Zuingli were, as was said, well adapted to 
 human reason ; they were suited to men's common-place under- 
 standing ; they recognized faith, and yet made the operations of 
 faith cognizable by reason ; and so appeased at once both con- 
 science, and those common cravings of intellect, which a more 
 vigorous faith restrains. The theory then spread widely, as it 
 was calculated to do. The tenets of Zuingli were shared by 
 CEcolampadius, and had no opponent in,the Swiss Church. Their 
 disciples include, directly or indirectly, all the reformed Church, 
 except that of Germany ; and even this, as our own, for a time, 
 was indirectly and partially influenced through the medium of 
 
 H 2 
 
108 AGREEMENT OF CALVIn's DOCTRINE 
 
 their writings. Among the disciples of Zuingli, either orally or in 
 writing, might be named Peter Martyr, Pellican, BnUinger, and 
 Farell, the reformer of Geneva. His most extensive influence, 
 however, was indirectly, and by way of descent, through Calvin. 
 Calvin, namely, as is well known, though he established the 
 discipline of Geneva, was not one of the original reformers : 
 its doctrines he found already established ; and especially with 
 regard to the Sacraments ^ he methodized only and arranged and 
 here and there perhaps modified the doctrines, or, rather, per- 
 haps, the language of Zuingli. The doctrines, the arguments, 
 the language, the turn of expression, the subsidiary statements, 
 the very illustrations, which Calvin employs on the subject of 
 the Sacraments, are all to be found scattered up and down in 
 the writings of Zuingli ; only in Zuingli they are presented in 
 a polemical form : Calvin has matured them into a doctrinal 
 scheme. The definition of Baptism is the same: "a sign ^ of 
 " initiation, whereby we are e7irolled in the society of the Church, 
 " that, being engrafted into Christ, we may be accounted among 
 " the sons of God." The mode of disposing of the old Church's 
 definition, " a visible sign of a sacred thing," or " a visible form 
 of an invisible grace," is the same * : there is the same illustra- 
 tion of the Sacraments by the outward sign * of the Old Testa- 
 ment : the same denial of grace^ being imparted through the 
 Sacraments : the assertion of the identity of the Apostles' and 
 John's Baptism ^ (of which assertion Zuingli was the first 
 
 1 It is characteristic, that the allowing the Font to be placed within the 
 Church was one of the points in which Calvin refused obedience to the Synod 
 of Lausanne, and so subjected himself to banishment from Geneva, wherein 
 ho had recently undertaken the cure of souls. 
 
 2 Institt. 4. 15. 1. 
 
 ^ Viz. that it is a visible sign, or form, or figure, of a divine grace, which 
 is invisible ; which invisible grace, he says, is sacramentaUy united with the 
 si^n, i. e. as Zuingli explains " sacramentaUy," is represented by it. So also 
 Calvin, Institt. 4. 14. 1. 
 
 « Institt. 4. 14. 18. 
 
 5 lb. 4. 14. 14 and 17- Zuingli, t. ii. f. G3. 
 
 « lb. 4. 15. 6. sqq. 
 
OF THE SACRAMENTS WITH ZUINGLI. 109 
 
 author) ^ : the like arguments, and the hke sokitions of the texts 
 opposed* : the same statements that the value of Baptism consisted 
 in its being a sign of a previous covenant ^, or promise *, or rather 
 the transfer of its benefits to a previous election ^ : the reference 
 to Abraham® and to Rom. iv.^ and to the promise, "and to thy 
 seed *," as the groundwork and substance of the Sacrament of 
 Christ, and our rule for understanding it : the identifying of 
 Baptism and Circumcision ^ (as of the Paschal'" lamb with the 
 Lord's Supper) : the same assertion, that regeneration" precedes 
 Baptism ; that infants of Christian parents are holy '* before 
 Baptism ; that the word of consecration is an instrument of 
 teaching " only : the same comparison of the Sacraments with 
 the written word '* : the same language against tying or binding 
 God's grace to the Sacraments *', or inclosing it within them : 
 the same dread of their value being exaggerated *®, or any mys- 
 tical virtue being contained in them '', or their washing away 
 sin '* : the same view of them, as only representing spiritual things 
 
 * " Nor do these alone, but all the theologians also whom I remember ever 
 " to have read, most resolutely maintain this same opinion," (i. e. that the 
 Baptism of John was neither the same, nor agreed with that of Christ). 
 Zuingli de Bapt. 0pp. t. ii. f. 73, v. 74. Melancthon, however, adopted 
 the same view. 
 
 2 Inst. 4. 15. 18. Zuingli, t. ii. f. 78. 
 
 3 lb. 4. 15. 20 and 22. Zu. f. 67. * lb. 4. 14. 3. 
 
 5 lb. 4. 15. 17. Zu. de Sedit. Auctorib. t. ii. f. 134, v. comp. P. Martyr, 
 Loci, 4. 8. 7 and 14. 
 
 * lb. 4. 14. 5. Zu. de Pecc. Orig. t. ii. f. 120. 
 
 7 lb. 4. 14. 21. sqq. Zu. f. 84. 134. v. cp. P. Martyr, 4. 8. ^. ad. 1. Reg, f. 74. 
 
 8 lb. 4. 16. 3. and 6 and 9. Zu. f. 109. 112. 
 
 9 lb. 4. 14. 20. sqq. and 16. 3. sqq. Ziu ad. LibelL D. Balth. t. ii. f. 108. 
 V. and f. 37. V. 59. v. 
 
 10 lb. 4. 16. 30. Zu. Subsid. de Eucharist, t ii. f. 250. 
 " lb. 4. 15. 20. Zu. t ii. f. 62. 
 
 » lb. 4. 15. 22. Zu. de Pecc. Orig. t. ii. f. 120. v. 
 
 " lb. 4. 14. 4. 
 
 1* lb. 4. 14. 1 and 7, and 10, 11, and 14 and 17. 
 
 '* lb. 4. 14. 9, &c. cp. P. Mart. 4. 7- 3. '« lb. 4. 14. 9. 
 
 " lb. 4. 1^ 2 and 15. Zu. f. 70, &c. 
 
 'lib. 4. 14. 16. Zu. Exeges. Eucharist, f. 358. 
 
110 CALVIN DIFFERS FROM ZUINGLI IN WORDS ONLY; 
 
 to the mind of man '. These| and many other points will strike 
 any one who, having familiarized himself with the language and 
 manner of Zuingli, shall afterwards read Calvin's treatise, so 
 that one seems to be reading Zuingli again, only in a different 
 form. Nor is it, of course^ any disparagement to Calvin, that 
 a system of doctrinal theology, written at the age of twenty- 
 seven, should have been worked up from materials furnished by 
 others. Only, as others also have observed, Calvin as well as 
 Zuingli is inconsistent ; and whether it be that the tenets of his 
 early years in part break through a system later acquired ; or 
 whether, as is probable, he shrunk from the consequences of 
 his own scheme, yet certainly he occasionally uses stronger lan- 
 guage than belongs to that system^. • Here and there he even 
 criticizes language, which resembles that of Zuingli ; and (which 
 alone appears to present any real difference in their systems) 
 Zuingli explicitly denies ^ that Sacraments confirm faith ; Calvin 
 asserts it *. Yet the difference is again in words ; for both assert 
 that the contemplation of God's mercy, as represented in the 
 Sacraments, is a mean of confirming and strengthening our faith ; 
 and both deny that the Sacraments convey, or are vehicles of 
 grace. Yet between these there is no third system. Indeed, 
 all reformed writers, until of late date, have acknowledged 
 Zuingli as authority for their opinions, equally with Calvin. He 
 was as much, or more, looked up to in his day, by those of that 
 school : nor had it been worth noticing, but that moderns have 
 been inclined to set Zuingli aside, because he speaks out, and 
 shews the effects and character of their theory more plainly than 
 Calvin ; or have been misled to draw an unauthorized distinc- 
 tion between them. 
 
 If, however, there be any difference in the modes of statement 
 
 1 Inst. 4. 14. 5, 6. 12. cp. P. Martyr, Loci, 4. 7- 3. 
 
 2 Witsius, however, notices another source, which I was unwilling, upon 
 my own impression alone, to name, viz. that Calvin uses one language in con- 
 troversy, another, when tranquilly explaining Scripture. " Tantum saepe 
 " interest utrum quis cum adversario contendat, an libero animo commen- 
 " tetur." De Bapt. § 39. 
 
 3 De Baptismo. f. 65. * Institt. 4. 14. 9. 
 
ESSENCE OF THEIR VIEWS THE SAME. HI 
 
 of Calvin and Zuingli, it is this : that, according to Zuingli, 
 Sacraments are testimonies to the Church ; according to Calvin, 
 to the Elect ; but the essential character of the Sacraments as 
 signs only, not means of grace, remains the same in both. The 
 benefits, accordingly, of which Calvin supposes ^ Baptism to be 
 the instrument, are, 1st, that it is a sort of diploma to attest that 
 all our sins are utterly done away ; 2dly, that it shows us (osten- 
 dit) our dying in Christ, and our new life in Him ; 3dly, that it 
 testifies (testificatur) that we are so united to Christ, that we 
 are partakers of all His benefits. Wherein the blessings indeed 
 comprehend all which the ancient Church also attributed to, Bap- 
 tism : but Baptism itself is but the outward seal, to attest to the 
 believer's soul, mercies already received. Wherever, namely, 
 Calvin explains what he means by the grace of the Sacraments, 
 it is " the sealing of the Covenant of God," an " assuring us of 
 " His promises," or " a sort of appendix added to God's pro- 
 " mise to confirm and seal it, and to make it more attested, and 
 " after a sort established, as God foresees to be needful, first for 
 " our ignorance and slowness, then for our weakness ^ : they 
 " are props to our faith, mirrors, wherein we see the love of God 
 " more clearly ^." This confirmatory influence of the Sacra- 
 ments is set forth in a variety of forms and language ; but all 
 comes back to this. On the other hand, Calvin, (as strongly, 
 although not so frequently, as Zuingli,) decries the efficacy of 
 the Sacraments, " any hidden virtue of the Sacraments", a? a 
 pestilent error : the tenet of the " Schools of the Sophists that 
 " the Sacraments of the new law (i. e. those of the Christian 
 " Church) justify and confer gi-ace, unless prevented by mortal 
 " sin," is condemned as *' devilish*." The sayings of the ancient 
 Church, as to the Sacraments, are termed " immoderate enco- 
 " mia*;" the language of St. Augustine, " that the Sacraments 
 " of the old law only promised a Saviour, ours impart health 
 " and salvation, (salus) and the like figures of speech" are desig- 
 nated as " hyperbolical." 
 
 » Instit. 4. 15, 1—6. a lb. 4. 14. 1—3. 
 
 3 § 6. * § 14. 5 § 26. 
 
112 THE REFORMED THEORY OF THE SACRAMENTS 
 
 The hard and dry character, indeed, of Calvin or Beza's mind 
 was ill calculated for the restoration of the view of the Sacra- 
 ments, which was now in the reformed Church destroyed : their 
 mystical character was now effaced ; Baptism was a sign to man ; 
 a mean of increasing the faith of the parents ; a seal of grace 
 before given ; a sign of grace hereafter to be conveyed ; but in 
 no other sense a sacrament, than was the bow in the cloud ', 
 which was a sign of God's covenant, — an assurance to the infir- 
 mity of men's faith, but, in no sense, an instrument of grace. 
 
 This, as was said, belonged to the intellectual character of the 
 theology of this school. The workings of faith, although incredi- 
 ble to the unbeliever, may still be made cognizable to the human 
 intellect : the tendency of outward representations to embody to 
 the mind things spiritual, to employ sense against sense, and to 
 make things seen the means of lifting up the heart to things 
 unseen, is also very obvious ; as is also the power of a visible 
 attestation to increase our credence in the things so attested. 
 
 ' I find that Chamier actually refers to the like emblems as explaining his 
 view of Sacraments. " It belongs to seals to give certainty, by signifying 
 " only, not by effecting. This is plain from the rainbow, Gen. ix. — the 
 '* going back of the sun, Jos. xxxviii. — and is altogether the general doctrine 
 " of all signs added to promises." Tom. iv. 1. 2. c. 5. | 42. and Calvin, Instit. 
 4. 14. 18. " The name ' sacrament' comprehends generally all the signs, 
 " which God ever ordained to man, to assure him of the truth of his pro- 
 " mises, whether natural or miraculous." Of the former sort he instances 
 the tree of life and the rainbow. " Not that the tree gave them immortality, 
 " which it could not give to itself, or that the bow had any efficacy in restrain- 
 " ing the waters (being only a refraction of the solar ray), but because they 
 " had a mark stamped on them by the word of God, so as to be documents 
 ,' and seals of his testaments." Of the miraculous, he instances the smoking 
 furnace (Gen. xv.), Gideon's fleece, the shadow of the sun-dial of Ahaz ; 
 and the only difference which he makes between these and the Christian 
 Sacraments is that " the signs here given are ceremonies." Vorstius (Anti- 
 Bellarm. ad. tom. iii. contr. 1. Thes. 1, 2, arg. 2.) instancing the same "sacred 
 " signs, which are analogous to the Sacraments," says, " these have the power 
 " of sealing only, but not of conferring saving grace, through themselves ; 
 " therefore we must hold the same of the real Sacraments." The same signs are 
 instanced also in the Hungarian Confession, by P. Martyr, Loci 4. ?• 2. and so 
 generally among the reformed writers. 
 
THE WORK OF INTELLECT. 113 
 
 But this is all plain matter of intellect : the Sacraments are then 
 in no mysterious manner channels of grace : they are all out- 
 ward : Baptism is only an outward introduction into a visible 
 Church, entitling men to, or rather attesting that they have, privi- 
 leges, but not itself imparting any : it is no more spiritual than the 
 seal, diploma, safe-conduct, to which they compare it. It is an un- 
 spiritual attestation of spiritual privileges. The Eucharist, accord- 
 ing to this view, does not convey to the soul of the believer the 
 Body and Blood of Christ, but is an external emblem, by the sight 
 and feeding upon which, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, 
 the faith of the believer is excited to fix itself upon his Saviour \ 
 The sacramental participation of Christ becomes the same, as 
 out of the Sacrament. Its mysterious character is resolved into 
 a mere picture. The Sacraments, doubtless, are all this : they 
 are mystical representations to the soul : they are props of faith : 
 they are visible seals of God's promises : they are images of 
 things invisible : they are instruments to lift up our hearts to 
 communion with God in Christ : but they are more ; and it is 
 here precisely that this school stops short. They are channels 
 
 • This view is remarkably expressed in the following passages of P. Martyr 
 (ad i. Reg. f. 74.) : — " When we thi7ik of this visible Word or Sacrament, the 
 " Spirit of God rouses faith in our hearts, whereby we again and again embrace 
 " the Divine promise, and thus j ustification is increased, while faith is increased 
 " in believers." And loci, 4. 10. ^6. : — " Frequent communion is not (on 
 " our view) superfluous ; because, by frequently communicating, we celebrate 
 " the remembrance of the Lord, and givings of thanks ; and the mind 
 " is excited by the appearance of those things which are done ; for the signs 
 " there are not mute, but speaking. Then it is a sort of badge, whereby 
 " Christians denote that they are joined together, and with Christ. They 
 " profess, besides, their faith that the body of Christ was put upon the 
 " cross, and His blood shed for our salvation ; for it is not enough to believe 
 " with the heart, but confession is made also with the mouth, and not by the 
 " mouth only, but by outward actions." Comp. ib. §. 19. Again, in the Scotch 
 Confession (of which John Knox chiefly was the author) : — " This union 
 " and conjunction, which we have with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, 
 " in the right use of the Sacrament, is effected by the operation of the Holy 
 " Spirit ; who carries us by true faith above all things which are seen, and 
 " which are carnal and earthly; and causes, that we feed on the body and 
 " blood of Jesus Christ, once broken and shed for us, and which now is 
 " in heaven, and appeareth in the presence of the Father for us." 
 
114 THE church's doctrine OF THE SACRAMENTS. 
 
 of Divine grace to the soul, which are closed up indeed by un- 
 faithfulness, yet are efficacious, not simply by animating our 
 faith ; but the one, by actually incorporating us into Christ, and 
 creating in our souls a new principle of life, and making us 
 " partakers of the Divine nature ;" the other, imparting to us 
 increased union with Christ, and (to use a term of the Fathers') 
 a deifying influence, whereby God gives us that which man 
 would have accepted from Satan — to " be as Gods," being par- 
 takers of the Son of God. But how the Sacraments effect this 
 we know not : we understand not the mysteries of our first, how 
 should we then of our second, birth ? Of both rather we con- 
 fess, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, but how we 
 were fashioned, we know not. 
 
 This school^ then, by taking as their one definition of the 
 
 ' E. g. St. Gregory of Nazianzum, (when " peril of waters" seemed to 
 threaten death, before he should be baptized) : — 
 
 KaOapaiiov yap olg OsovfieO' vSdrwv 
 ■^Worpovfitjv vSaffiv ^evoKTovoiQ. 
 
 2 Only some principal authorities are here adduced ; and that, chiefly, 
 because the language of those consulted was so very similar, and their theory 
 so entirely identical, that it would have been needless repetition to have 
 quoted them; The authorities examined comprise those of chief weight, 
 and who are acknowledged as such by later writers, as by Gatalcer, de vi et 
 efficacia Baptism! Infantilis (a disputation against Dr. S. Ward, Divinity 
 Prof, at Cambridge, who maintained the Baptismal regeneration of all infants, 
 Whitaker, the regeneration of elect infants only) ; and Witsius, de efficacia 
 Baptism! in Infantisis (Misc. Sacr. t. ii. Exerc. 19). Of older authorities, 
 Zuingli, Calvin, P. Martyr, Bullinger (Comm.) Beza, Musculus (loci, who 
 agrees altogether with P. Martyr), Z. Ursinus, A. Willet (Synopsis Papismi), 
 Whitaker (de Sa'cramentis), who, as an English divine, speaks sometimes more 
 strongly of the efficacy of the Sacraments than the foreign, but his theory is the 
 same ; — of intermediate writers, Vorstius (Anti-Bellarm.),. Polanus (Syntagma 
 Theolog.), Chamier (Panstrat. Cathol.), have been examined for the most 
 part throughout; but some two or three, just so far as to ascertain that they 
 spoke to the same purpose, and used the same language. Moderns have been 
 purposely omitted, both to avoid the appearance of controversy, and because 
 the object was to ascertain the original character of the theory in question, 
 of which they could, of course, give no evidence. A large portion of the 
 quotations are given by Gataker, who has selected naturally those most bear- 
 ing upon his purpose, and is a repertorium for this end. 
 
REFORMED NOTIONS DESTROY THE SACRAMENTS. 115 
 
 Christian Sacrament of Baptism what St. Paul says of the Jewish 
 sign of circumcision ', do in effect destroy the very essentials of 
 a Sacrament. For, whatever general terms they may use of 
 Baptism^, when they begin to explain themselves, they always 
 
 I 
 
 ' " I think scarcely any place can be found, where the nature of a Sacra- 
 " ment is so briefly and explicitly set forth, as in these words of Paul, wherein 
 '• circumcision is called a seal." P. Martyr ad Rom. iv. add Loci 4. 7- 7 — 
 11. Chamier (de Sacram. 2. 6. 16. ap. Gat. p. 97.) " The Sacraments justify 
 " in their own way, i. e., Sacramentally ; and what this means, Paul teaches 
 " as to circumcision ; viz., that it is the seal of the righteousness of faith." 
 {i. e. of previous justification.) Parens, Dub. 6. ad c. 4. Ep. ad Rom., 
 makes this characteristic of the Calvinistic view of the Sacraments. The 
 doubt proposed is, " do our interpreters explain rightly that Abraham 
 " received the sign of circumcision as a seal, &c. ; and hence infer that this 
 " is the characteristic, which constitutes the Sacraments, and their principal 
 " use, that they are seals, sealing to the faithful the righteousness of faith on 
 " the part of God." This he affirms. Add Whitaker, de Sacram. q. 1. c. 2. 
 
 2 Thus, it is not an unusual phrase with these writers to say that the Sacra- 
 ments " not only signify, but effect what they signify," " not only shadow 
 {figurant) but effect what they shadow ;" and they are much displeased with 
 their opponents, if they deny it ; but when they explain this, we find that 
 " ' effecting' only means that the Sacraments seal and confirm that word of 
 " promise whereto they are united" (* efficere' utique obsignando confirman- 
 doque verbum illud proniissionis, cui adjunguntur ap. uti supra. — Chamier, 
 Gatak. 1. c. p. 102. For Chamier's notion, see above, p. 112. Note), whereby we 
 come back to the same result, that they do but seal a thing already given, 
 or to be given, but are not the channels whereby it is imparted. Calvin's 
 definition of a SacrameiTt (and it is generally praised by this school, e. g. 
 Whitaker, as the best,) is " an outward symbol, whereby the Lord seals to 
 " our consciences the promises of His good- will towards us, to sustain the 
 " weakness of our faith ; and we, on the other hand, attest our piety before 
 " Him, angels, and men." (Institt. 4. 14. 1.) Or, more briefly, " a testi- 
 " mony of the Divine favour towards us, confirmed by an outward sign, with 
 " a mutual attestation of our piety towards Him.'' lb. (Contrast this with 
 our's, " an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, or- 
 " dained by Christ Himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a 
 " pledge to assure us thereof." In Calvin's view, the " means whereby we 
 receive the same" is excluded.) Gataker, 1. c. makes the excuse for his own 
 (the Calvinist) writers as well as for the Fathers, that " whereas they say 
 " that the ' Sacraments effect what they figure,' they often so speak as to the 
 " Sacraments, as to need a fitting explanation, which," he adds, " they them- 
 selves also often fiurnish." Gisb. Voetius (ap. Wits. § 31. " immortalis nominis 
 
116 RFFORMED — VIEWS OF REGENERATION, 
 
 resolve its benefits into the sealing or attesting past promises, 
 or the shadowing forth of subsequent regeneration, and this 
 to be effected by the hearing of the word, not by the influ- 
 ence of Baptism ^ : they declare that by seals they do not 
 
 theologus,") approving of Burges' doctrine of " the regeneration of elect 
 infants," criticizes it so far, that Burges (agreeing with his Church) " subjects 
 " this regeneration to Baptism, and binds it thereto, as to a cause sine qua non, 
 " or a moral instrument, which it follows." " This," he says, " is not proved 
 " by his quotations from the Reformed Theologians. Their opinion of the 
 " efficacy of Baptism is known, that it does not produce regeneration, hut seals it, 
 " which has been already produced." [Wits, prints this last sentence in capitals.] 
 > Beza. (Coll. Momp. praef. part iv. resp. ad coll. p. 24. ap. Gerh. loci de S. 
 Baptisnio § 118). "I never said, simply, that Baptism was the sealing of 
 " regeneration in children, but of the adoption according to the covenant, 
 " ' I will be thy God, &c.' nor did I say that all, or any children were 
 " actually regenerated at the very moment of Baptism, but that the benefit 
 " of regeneration, in its own time ordained by God, follows that act of Bap- 
 " tism in infants by the hearing of the word." Beza appears, however, (ac- 
 cording to Witsius 1. c. § 30.) to have been nearly singular in regarding 
 regeneration as subsequent to Baptism ; the general doctrine is that stated 
 Note 2. p. 118. In one point only they all agree, in the anxiety not (as they 
 speak) to bind it to Baptism ; whence some say that it is given either 
 before, at, or after Baptism. (See Witsius, § 24. Taylor's Comm. on Titus 
 and others). Very few of this school (with the exception of those English 
 Divines who engrafted part of the system of Calvin upon the doctrines of 
 our Church and those more modern) appear to have thought regeneration 
 generally to accompany Baptism, (Witsius names Le Blanc only.) See 
 also below, p. 145. Note 1. Well might a Predestinarian writer of our own 
 Church say, (though not borne out in claiming the agreement of Calvin,) 
 " If yet they answere, that this follows not by their doctrine, viz. that Bap- 
 " tisme is a bare signe, because they grant it to be also a scale of after grace : 
 " I rejoyne, this helps not (unless they grant, as Calvine freely doth, some 
 " principle and seed of grace, bestowed ordinarily in Baptisme) ; be- 
 " cause, by their opinion, it is a scale of something absent that is to be ex- 
 " pected in reversion only. They deny all present exhibition and collation 
 " of any grace in the moment of Baptisme, by virtue of Christ's institution, 
 " and so they doe not make it a signe, signifying, but rather prognosticating, 
 " only some future effect, which is a new kind of Divinity, that, so farre as I 
 " am able to judge, destroys the nature of a Sacrament, by denying to it both 
 " the chiefe part of it ; viz., the inward grace thereby signified, and, together 
 " with the signe exhibited and conferred on those that truly, and, indeed, be 
 " within the covenant, as also the vigour and efficacy of the word of institution 
 " which makes the union betweene the sign and the thing signified." — Surges' 
 Baptismal Regeneration of Elect Infants, pp. 110, 11. 
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIGNS AND INSTRUMENTS. 117 
 
 \ mean instruments ' of conveying grace : they deny that Bap- 
 
 ' " Signs and real instruments, properly speaking, are widely different. For 
 " signs, such as are Sacraments,contribute nothing towards the effect, but they 
 " only attest and seal that which the Holy Spirit effects and works in us ; 
 " and that they do most truly and certainly." Danceus adv. Bellarm. t. ii. contr. 
 2. 1. 2. c. 14; ad arg. 2; ap. Gat. 103; and, again, adv. Bellarm. de Bapt. 
 c. 4. rat. 4. " He is deceived, who thinks that the application of Christ and 
 " His benefits takes place through the sign of water, which is only the sealing 
 " up of that apj)lication ;" and p. 324, " The water of baptism is not needed, 
 " either as the efficient or the instrumental cause, but only as the seal sealing 
 " up." Zuingli (ad Luther, confess, resp. fol. 477- ap- Gat. 90.) " There never 
 " was any Sacrament which can realize to us that which was signified by it : but 
 " this is the office of every Sacrament, to signify and attest that that which it 
 " denotes is present." Whitaker de Bapt. q. 2. c. 3. arg. 3. (ap. Gat. p. 123.) 
 " Bellarmine denies that Baptism is a seal of grace received, but says, it is an 
 " instrument conferring grace, wliich we have above refuted." Voestius, Anti- 
 Bellarm. ad t. iii. contr. 1. Thes. 6. §1., assigns this argument to the first 
 place against the belief that " Sacraments are effective instruments, or, so to 
 " speak, vessels or vehicles of justifying grace." " Signs and seals have no 
 " other effects, for the most part, than that of signifying, or declaring, or 
 " sealing, &c., as not being antecedent causes, or operative instruments of 
 " grace promised by God, but certain adjuncts consequent ; as also is known 
 " from philosophy, as to the general nature of signs." Peter Martyr, loci 4. 8, 
 17. approaches to a concession that grace may be given with the Sacraments, 
 but is careful to guard against the idea that they are given through them. 
 " Yea, it is to be thought that God in His goodness, when His promises 
 " and gifts are sealed, does of his own mere mercy render them fuller ; not, 
 " indeed, by the work of the Sacrament, but of His own goodness and Spirit, 
 " whereby He is wont, when we have the outward word of Divine Scripture, 
 " to inflame our hearts, and recruit them to holiness." Again, he uses as an 
 argument against the ancient custom of exorcising those about to receive 
 Baptism, (i. e. adjuring the evil spirit, from whose kingdom they were about 
 to be removed, to leave them,) " that thus we should have many Sacraments 
 " for one, since they multiply signs, which they regard sacred ;" as if a holy 
 and significant rite was in the same sense a Sacrament, as those instituted 
 by our Lord, or as if Sacraments were only sacred signs, Beza (Letter to 
 Grindall, in Adm. 6. ap. Hooker, b. v. p. 532. ed. Keble.) " They sinned 
 " righte grievously, as often as they brought any Sacramentalles (that is to 
 " say, any ceremonies) to import signification of spiritual things, into the 
 " Church of God." Hooker (b. v. c. 2. § 4.) notices that at times these 
 writers distinguished significant ceremonies, which were Sacraments, and 
 others which were as Sacraments only. " Sacraments," he adds, " are those, 
 
 13 
 
118 REFORMED DENIAL OF ORIGINAL SIN 
 
 tism is the means of remitting original sin ', or of obtaining 
 
 " which are signs and tokens of some general promised grace, which always 
 " really descendeth from God unto the soul that duly receiveth them. Other 
 " significant tokens are only as Sacraments, yet no Sacraments ; which is 
 " not our distinction, but their's." The distinction, however, between Sa- 
 craments, and "as it were Sacraments," (quasi Sacramentum), although 
 abstractedly admitted, never occurs, where it is needed, in the statement of 
 the Sacraments themselves. Zuingli attaches rightly much importance to 
 this difference between "sacred signs" and Sacraments." Would," (he says, 
 de vera et falsa relig.) " that the Germans had never had this word Sacra- 
 " ment, unless it had been well explained, viz. because it presented to their 
 " mind a great and holy thing, which by its own power would free the con- 
 " science from sin." These last words are taken from Horantius (a Ro- 
 manist), loci L. 7- c. 1. Chamier Sacram. 1. 2. 11. 
 
 > Zuingli declar. de pec. orig. f. 121. — "Original sin is taken away only 
 " by the blood of Christ, and cannot be taken away by the washing of bap- 
 " tism" («. e,, not even as the mode of applying it) ; and de Baptismo, f. 70, 
 " whence it is evident to all, that that outward sprinkling of water does not 
 " wash away the stains of sins, as we have hitherto falsely believed. — Nay, it 
 " has even come to be commonly believed, but falsely, that water-baptism 
 " washes away the sin of an infant, which yet has none ;" and ad libelli D. 
 Baltazar, f. 105, v. " Believest thou that water-baptism can avail the least to- 
 " wards remitting sins ? If there is so much virtue in Baptism, that it can wash 
 " from sins, ' then is Christ dead in vain.' Gal. ii. — But, if sins cannot be 
 " washed away by this outward Baptism of water, then it is a certain outward 
 " rite and ceremony. P. Martyr, ad 1 Reg. c. 8. f. 72. v. The source of that 
 " superstition ^exorcising at Baptism,) is, that those men [the early Church] 
 " thought that sins are first remitted through outward Baptism ; but they err 
 " most grievously." And f. 73- v., he explains the order in which he sup- 
 poses the remission of original sin to take place, and attempts to clear his 
 view from involving a denial of it. " Yet it must be weighed, that it by no 
 " means follows, that original sin is altogether done away with. For we con- 
 " fess that all are born children of wrath, and corrupted by original depravity 
 " — then we add, that God, through Jesus Christ, cleanseth those whom He 
 " has elected and predestinated, so that the defect, whic?i, of its own nature, 
 " would be mortal sin, is not imputed to them to death. Then he adorns them 
 " with His Spirit, and renews them; after this, the sealing of outward Bap- 
 " tism is added. They have, therefore, first election or predestination. They 
 " have the promise, and are born of the believing ; and when they are already 
 " adopted in the covenant with God, and justified, then are they rightly 
 " dipped:" and Loci 4. 8. 9., he explains in the same way as Zuingli — that 
 *' elect infants (to whom alone he holds Baptism to seal anything) have ori- 
 
— INFANTS JUSTIFIED BEFORE BAPTISM. 119 
 
 justification ' ; tliey assert that those who are truly baptized 
 
 " ginal corruption, but not imputed to them, before Baptism." Add. 4. 8. 
 14, and 15. "The opponents attribute to the Sacraments more than they 
 '' ought ; for they suppose that sin is remitted by the force and efficacy of the 
 " action of Baptism, and acknowledge not, that by the Sacraments, the remis- 
 " sion is rather sealed, which remission adults obtain by believing, and the 
 " little ones of believers, who belong to the election, have grace already 
 " through the Holy Spirit." Witsius (L. c. § 32) quotes from the Bap- 
 tismal Liturgy of the Belgic Church the question addressed to the parents, and 
 to be answered in the affirmative : " Although our children are conceived 
 " and born in sin, and so are obnoxious to eternal condemnation, do you not 
 " acknowledge them to he sanctified (sanctificati) in Christ, and that, therefore, 
 " as being members of His Church, they are to be baptized (baptizandos." ) [In 
 " capitals ap. Wits.] Calvin (Institt. 4. 16. 22.), " Little ones have remission 
 " of sins given to them : therefore, they are not to be deprived of the sign of 
 " it" (against the Anabaptists.) Whitaker (de Sacram. q. 6. c. 4. p. 193. ap. 
 Gatak. p. 123.) " Nor is original sin remitted in Baptism in any other 
 " way than in the Eucharist. For in each Sacrament, remission of sins is 
 " sealed to us." Gataker (1. c. p. 94.) " That any promise of remitting ori- 
 " ginal sin is annexed to Baptism, I nowhere read ; but, with me, the saying 
 " holds here, ' What I read not, I believe not.' " Hooper''s Confession of Faith, 
 " § 18. " As for those that say Circumcision and Baptism be like, and yet 
 " attribute the remission of original sin to Baptism, which was never given to 
 " Circumcision, they not only destroy the similitude and equality which 
 " should be between them, but also take from Christ remission of sin, and 
 " translate it unto the water and element of Baptism." T. C. confutation of 
 Rhemish Test. " This holiness of children is, not to be sinners by nature 
 " (the Apostle telleth you. Gal. ii. 15.), as those which are born of the hea- 
 " then ; forasmuch as their sinnes, who are in the covenant, are, by Christ, 
 " not reckoned unto them." 
 
 • Zuingli (de Pec. orig. 0pp. t. ii. f. 122.) " Since Paul says, our fathers 
 " were baptized to Moses in the cloud and the sea, it is manifest that Bap- 
 " tism is of no more avail to our justification, than the cloud and the sea to 
 " their's." Peter Martyr, ad 1 Reg. f. 73. " Assuredly, adults must believe 
 " before they are baptized ; and if they believe, they are already justified ; 
 " and when they became members of Christ (?. e., by justification before Bap- 
 " tism), doubtless the devil departed from them;" and f. 74. v. "We deny 
 " that persons are translated from the kingdom of darkness to that of light, 
 " by receiving Baptism, since infants obtain this by predestination and the 
 " promise of God, and by the right of an inherited covenant." Loci 4. 8. 3. 
 " In mind and spirit, as soon as we are justified, we are, in very deed, en- 
 " grafted into Christ and the Church; but since that is not clear to men, it 
 
120 REFORMED — SACRAMENTAL OPPOSED TO REAL. 
 
 have the substance of Baptism ■ before they are baptized, 
 and have been regenerated ^ : that the gift of Baptism they 
 
 " is afterwards known, when we are inaugurated by the outward Sacrament" 
 (which is again Zuingli's notion, that Sacraments are a testimony to men of 
 what God has previously done for us.) Add. 4. 8. 12., and ad 2 Reg. 13. 
 " f. 238 (ap. Gat.) " Justification is not, then, first bestowed, when believers 
 " are baptized, but before ; because Baptism is the sealing of a promise already 
 " acquired, and the seal of a regeneration already obtained." Whitaker de 
 Sacr. q. 1. c. 3. part 2. (ap. Gat. p. 108.) "We say, truly, that Sacraments 
 " do not justify, either in the first or second place, in themselves, and pro- 
 " perly ; for when our faith in the preaching of the Gospel embraces Christ, 
 " then are we just. The word then justifies ; the Sacraments seal this justi- 
 " fication; so that, unless any one comes to the Sacraments justified and holy, 
 " the Sacraments cannot justify him. The first, then, and second justification 
 " are conferred through the preaching of the word ; but are nourished and 
 " increased through the Sacraments. These cannot confer justification on 
 " one who has it not, but can only increase and strengthen it in one who has 
 «' it," and "Scripture teaches that faith justifies: he, then, who believes, is 
 " justified : and we can believe without Sacraments." Ames adv. Bellarm. 
 (t. iii. disp. 14. q. 3. thes. 3. Ap. Gat. 121.) "Scripture teaches, that jus- 
 " tifying faith precedes Baptism." Chamier (Panstrat. t. iv. 1. 2. c. 6. §. 2.) 
 uses the same words as Whitaker : " The Sacrament does not justify," &c. 
 
 ' Peter Martyr, ad 1. Reg. 8. fol. 74 : — " Why then are infants baptized, if 
 " they have the substance (rem) of Baptism beforehand? A. 1. We therein 
 " obey God, who enjoined on us the work of Baptism. 2. We seal the pro- 
 " mise and gift which we have received. 3. Faith is confirmed by the Holy 
 " Spirit through the word and outward symbols." Add Loci. 4. 8. 3. 
 DaruFus (adv. Bellar. t. ii. contr. c. 5. ad. Test. 1. ex Concil. Nicen. 1. ap. Gat. 
 p. 123.) " The sign of water attests and seals the regeneration of the bap- 
 " tized ; but in no way efiects, causes, or produces it." Hence also Witsius, 
 1. 0. § 46. in the name of the reformed school, distinguishes between " the " real 
 " and sacramentaljustiRcation and regeneration ; the real, which takes place in 
 " the minds of the elect, and whereby they are renewed to spiritual life and 
 " participation in the Divine favor; sacramental, which is a solemn declaration, 
 " sealing, and profession of that real regeneration, and which is at the use of 
 *' the Sacrament." 
 
 2 fValaus (de Bapt. Thes. 28. ap. Gat. p. 116.) Gataker himself, p. 103: 
 " They to whom the Apostle is speaking, whether they had approached the 
 " holy font either truly believing or feignedly, in neither case had received 
 " that grace at Baptism. If they feigned, the rite wrought nothing as to them ; 
 " if believing. Baptism could not confer regenerating grace on them ; for 
 " having been regenerated before, how could they be re-born again ?" In 
 
REGENERATION NEVER ATTENDS ADULT BAPTISM. 121 
 
 / have already received ; have ah-e;tuy been made members of 
 Christ's Church ' ; they deny that all are born in original 
 guilt ^; they regard it as a grievous error, to suppose that we 
 are regenerated by tiie act of baptizing ^ : Baptism, according 
 
 proof whereof he cites St. Augustine's saying, " Neither birth can be repeated, 
 "^neither the natural nor the spiritual ; neither tlie birth from Adam nor from 
 " Christ." And he speaks consistently, that regeneration mver attends 
 adult baptism, p. 95. " The faithful is not admitted to Baptism, as if, yet 
 " needing remission of sins or regeneration, he miglit obtain them thereby, 
 " as by ^ mean, but that he might have the remission and regeneration, 
 " which he has already received, published as by a public sign, and sealed by a 
 " common seal," (see Socinus, de Bapt. aquae. Note P. at the end.) " Every 
 " faithful adult comes to the holy font, having already obtained plenary 
 " remission of all his past sins, and internal regeneration; and so, not in 
 " want of remission for past sins, nor of regeneration, which he has already 
 " obtained." And p. 100—" Sacraments do not apply the merits of Christ 
 " in adults, either to the increase of grace, or the sealing of the guilt re- 
 " mitted, unless they have been already renewed and regenerated." 
 
 ' Wldtaker, de Sacr. q. 1. c. 3, et 4. (ap. Gat. p. 108.) " Baptism does not 
 " first and properly make us members of the Catholic Church and of Christ, 
 " but by a figure of speech only (metonymice), because it confirms that we 
 " are such, and seals to us that rite." " They who believe, instantly 
 " [thereby] become members of the Catholic Church." T. Cartwright, L. 3- 
 p. 134 (ap. Hooker, v. 60.) " He which is not a Christian before he come to 
 " receive Baptism, cannot be made a Christian by Baptism, which is only 
 " the seal of the grace of God, before received." Wits. 1. c. § 21. " Comnui- 
 " nion witli Christ and His mystical body in elect infants seems to precede 
 " Baptism, at least in the judgment of charity." 
 
 . 2 Whitaker, de Sacr. q. 2. c. 2. arg. 3. ad. obj. 3. (ap Gat. p. 95.) " We 
 " are not all born in guilt ; for some are holy in the womb, as John Baptist 
 " and Jeremiah," and ad obj. 4. " By the gift of grace some may be born 
 " sons of God, as Jacob, John Baptist, Jeremiah, and others of the like sort." 
 
 ^ P. Martyr (loci 4. 9. 14.) " Augustine grievously erred in this doc- 
 " trine, in ascribing too much to Baptism. For he does not acknowledge 
 *' that it is [merely] an outward symbol of regeneration ; but holds that, 
 " by the very act of baptizing, we are regenerated and adopted, and pass 
 " over into the family of Christ." Beza also calls it " a palpable error, 
 " drawn from the stinking pools of the schoolmen, who, to inti-oduce their sa- 
 " tanic doctrine of the impress or mark [given through Baptism] had regarded 
 " the Sacraments as subordinate instruments in conferring grace, God as 
 " the principal Cause. Into this error men had fallen, not understanding 
 " the sayings of the Fathers, who, not certainly with any view of attributing 
 
 I 
 
122 REFORMED SACRAMENTS EPF£CT NOTHING. 
 
 to them, does not make persons children of God, but attests 
 them to be so ' : the Sacraments do not confer grace ^ : nay, 
 
 " to the signs that which is the work of the Holy Spirit only, but to com- 
 " mend the use and efficacy of the Sacraments, had so spoken of the signs, 
 " as to seem to attribute to them as subordinate instruments (as those people 
 " please to call them) what belongs to the Divine power only." CoUoq. 
 Mompelg. Dogm. 1, 2, de Bapt. p. 115. ap. Gat. p. 105. 
 
 * " Baptismus filios Dei non facit, sed qui jam ante filii Dei sunt, filiorum 
 " Dei testimonium signum vel tesseram recipiunt." ZtiingU, (ad. Luther. 
 Confess, resp. fol. 477- ap- Gat. p. 96.) Ames (adv. Bellar. t. iii. d. 12. de 
 Bapt. q. 1. Thes. 5. ibid. p. 93.) " Men are properly baptized, because they 
 " are accounted sons of God, not that they may begin to be sons ; otherwise 
 " there were no reason why the children of infidels should not be baptized 
 " as much as those of believers." Calvin, (Antidot. adv. Censur. Facult. 
 Paris, art. 1.) " They do not become children of God by Baptism ; but 
 " because, by the benefit of the promise, they are heirs of the adoption, 
 " therefore the Church admits them to Baptism." Ap, Gat. p. 132. T. C. 
 Confut. of Rhem. Test. " Nor yet that those, who are indeed holy, need 
 " not the use of the Sacrament of Baptism (as a seale of their holinesse, but 
 " not as the cause thereof.") 
 
 2 Tzegedinus, loci de Sacram. tab. 2. ap. Gat. 1. c. *' The Sacraments do 
 " not confer grace, for the saints are justified and received into grace before 
 " they are initiated by the Sacraments." IVhitaker, de Sacr. q. 4. c. 1. arg. 
 5. (ibid.) " He who has faith has grace and righteousness ; how then ai-e 
 " these bestowed upon him through Sacraments ?" .Zm/»^/«, Confess. A. 30. 
 art. 7- ap. Gerhard, de Bapt. § 56. " Sacraments are given as a public tes- 
 " timony of that grace, which each has privately beforehand." " Baptism 
 " does not confer grace, but attests to the Church that grace has been 
 " bestowed upon him to whom it is given." " I believe, yea, I know of a 
 " certainty, that all Sacraments, so far from conferring originally grace 
 " (conferant), do not even bring any (adferant), nor dispense it." De Pecc. 
 Orig. "The signs (Sacraments) effect nothing, being outward things, whereby 
 " nothing is effected in the conscience." Chamier, torn. iv. 1. 2. c. 9. § 18. 
 ap. Gat. p. 102. " No seal works that which it seals ; but the Sacraments 
 " are seals of grace ; therefore none of them work grace." Calvin, Instit. 
 4. 14. 14. " As the one party overthrows the use of the Sacraments, so 
 " there are others who imagine that the Sacraments have, I know not what, 
 " hidden powers, wliich we read not of being placed in them." § 17- " We 
 " must beware lest what the Ancients have written somewhat too exalt- 
 " edly, to magnify the dignity of the Sacraments, should lead us into an error, 
 " akin to this, as if there were any hidden power annexed and affi.xed to the 
 " Sacraments, which by itself would confer the graces of the Holy Spirit, 
 
SACRAMENTS HAVE NO OTHER OFFICE THAN THE WORD. 123 
 
 they seem to regard the Sacraments as extolled, if they 
 place their efficacy on a level with that of God's written word ', 
 
 " as wine is given in a vessel ; whereas the office appointed them by 
 " God is to attest and I'atify the good-will of God towards us. They are 
 " from God, like good tidings from men, or earnests in making bargains ; 
 " inasmuch as in themselves they do not confer any grace, but inform us, and 
 " show, what have been given us by the Divine bounty." Peter Martyr, ad. 
 Rom. xi. ap. Gat. " We utterly deny that any Sacraments confer grace. 
 " They offer it, indeed ; but by signifying it only (sed in significatione) ; for 
 " in Sacraments, in words, and visible signs, the promise of God made tp 
 " us through Christ is proposed to us ; which if we apprehend by faith, 
 " we both obtain greater grace than that was which we before had, and seal 
 " by the seal of the Sacraments the gift which we had embraced by faith." 
 Loci, 4. 7- 16. " The schoolmen [rather St. Augustine] say that the ' Sacra- 
 " ments of the Gospel confer grace ;' but this is nothing else than to attri- 
 " bute to creatures the cause of our salvation, and to bind oui'selves to the 
 " symbols and elements of this world !" [Some of these writers, by " con- 
 " ferring grace," mean " imparting the first good motions," and this they 
 deny, because in adults there must have been faith and repentance to qualify 
 them to receive Baptism. To this statement there could have been no ob- 
 jection, but that they proceed to infer, 1st, that Baptism is never the instru- 
 ment of conferring this primary grace, and so not in infants. 2d. According 
 to them faith and repentance contain in themselves justification, regeneration, 
 adoption, insertion into Christ, whereof Baptism becomes but the seal.] 
 
 ' Calvin, ad Act. 22. 16. " As to the formal cause of the forgiveness of sins, 
 " the Holy Spirit holds the first place ; but there is joined the inferior 
 " organ, the preaching of the Gospel, and Baptism itself." Institt. 4. 14. 7- 
 " Let this be regarded as settled, that the Sacraments have no other office 
 " than the Word of God." Whitalcer, de Sacram. q. 4. c. 2. ap. Gat. p. 92. 
 " The Word and the Sacraments operate in the same way." Rlvelus, Disp. 
 43. de Bapt. Thes. 30. ap. Gat. p. 97- " The end of the Sacraments is to 
 " seal to the faithful the promise of the Gospel, and confirm faith ; because 
 " as the Word, so Sacraments are organs whereby God acts upon and moves 
 " the hearts of the faithful." P. Martyr, loci, 2. 17- 45. " As the word 
 " sounds, and is heard in the voice, so the Sacrament, in the visible and 
 " apparent sign, speaks and admonishes us, which when we believe, we 
 " obtain in fact that which it promises and signifies. And think not that 
 " sins are remitted to us by receiving the Sacrament,- — by the action of the 
 " Sacrament itself (opus operatum). For this we obtain by faith, vvhen we 
 " believe what it teaches us visibly, by the institution of Christ, so that 
 " the Sacrament is of the same avail as the Word of God." And in nearly 
 the same words as Calvin — " This must abide fixed and certain, that nothing 
 
 I 2 
 
124 REFORMED — SACRAMENTS MODES OF TEACHING. 
 
 (which has, doubtless, also a mystical power, as being God's 
 word, and operates as such on the human soul, independently of, 
 and above its containing Divine truth, yet is not a direct means 
 of union with God in Christ) : the Sacraments are in no other 
 way efficacious, contribute nothing in addition to the written 
 word ' : the words of consecration are of no other avail than by 
 teaching ; by teaching alone does the dead element begin to be 
 a Sacrament ^. 
 
 " more is to be allowed to the Sacraments, as ministering to salvation, than 
 " to the Word of God." Loci, 4. 7- IG. See also the passage quoted from 
 him Note 1, p. 117. Whitalcer. sup. Note-1. p. 119. "The word justifies; the 
 " Sacraments seal this justification.'' Beza, Summa Doctr. de re Sacram. 
 Tract, t. i. p. 207. " The word is sometimes single, such as is the daily 
 "preaching of the Word; sometimes has visible signs added, with certain 
 " ceremonies, vvliich the Greeks call fivarrjpia, the Latins, sacraments." 
 
 1 P. Martyr Loci, 1. c. " As the word of God in truth signifies and gives to 
 " helievei's whatever it promises, so Baptism, received by faith, both sig- 
 " nifies and exhibits to the believer the remission of sins, which it pro- 
 " niises by visibly speaking. With regard to God, the absolution through 
 " tlie word, and the Sacraments, is one and the same, and so also with regard 
 " to our sins ; which remission, however, is confirmed and renewed in us, as 
 " often as we believe the words, whereby it is signified to us. Whether 
 " this take place through the spoken or the visible word (the Sacraments) 
 " is the same thing. As often, then, as we either hear the word, or receive 
 " the Sacraments by faith, the remission of sins is solemnly assured (sancitur) 
 " to us. Nor ought it to seem strange to any one, that Sacraments have 
 " been instituted by Christ, since by them, no otherwise than by the outward 
 " word of Scripture, He wills that the eflScacy of the Spirit should penetrate 
 " in believers."— Add Loci, 4. 7- 5- 
 
 2 Calvin's words on Eph. v. 20. " In the word. The ' word' here signifies 
 " the promise, whereby the power and use of the sign is explained. For they 
 " boast that they have the word, but it is as an incantation ; for they mumble 
 " it in an unknown tongue, as if it were meant rather for the dead element, 
 " than for man. There is no explanation of the mystery to the people, which 
 " (explanation) alone causes the dead element to begin to be a Sacrament." 
 Vorstius, Anti-Bellarm, in t. iii. Contr. i. Thes. 3. has the same language 
 about magic incantations ; and P. Martyr Loci, 4. 7- 6., and others. In a re- 
 cent publication, the idea that Sacraments are instruments of grace, or 
 communicate grace instrumentally, is decried as a scholastic theory, and 
 the ready reception of such a theory of Sacramental influence, is stated to be 
 " sufficiently accounted for, liy the general belief in magic, in the early ages 
 
INFANT BAPTISM FURNISHES OUTWARD MOTIVES ONLY. 125 
 
 These ai*e only so many several ways of saying the same thing, 
 viz. that we derive every thing, — forgiveness of sins, regenera- 
 tion, sanctification, adoption, strengthening and refreshing, — 
 directly from God, not through the medium of the Sacraments, 
 (for to the Sacraments themselves, except as so many channels 
 from Christ, no one would attribute any efKcacy,) that the Sa- 
 craments are only means of exhibiting to us God's promises, and 
 disposing as to believe them. Infant Baptism, according to this 
 theory, could manifestly convey nothing to the child ; and so 
 Calvin ^ makes its main use to be, a solace to the parent, as 
 assuring them that their child is within the Covenant (which yet 
 one hardly sees how, since if not elect, it was not within the 
 Covenant, nor did its election depend upon the faith of the pa- 
 rent) : of the child he says only that it derives " some little 
 " benefit (nonnihil emolumenti) from its Baptism, in that being 
 " engrafted into the body of the Church it is somewhat more 
 " recommended to the other members. Thus vvhen it shall 
 " grow up it is thereby excited greatly to the earnest desire of 
 " worshipping God, by whom it had been received as a son, by 
 " the solemn symbol of adoption, before it was old enough to 
 " acknowledge Him as a Father." These outward motives then 
 are all the spiritual benefits of Infant Baptism : just as persons 
 are wont to speak of the exalted motives held forth by Christ- 
 ianity ; — true indeed, but a small portion of the truth ; as if the 
 Sacraments or the whole Gospel were so many means of per- 
 suading man, impelling man, acting upon man's heart, instead of 
 being " a power of God unto salvation." 
 
 Baptism, we are told by these writers, is a moral, not a physi- 
 cal instrument ; and if by this it had been meant, that it acts 
 upon our moral powers, this would, of course, have been true, but 
 
 " of the Church !" Will this be a warning to men, whither the anti-myste- 
 rious theories of the day lead ? 
 
 ^ Institt. 4. 16. 9. Danoeus adv. Bellarm. (t. ii. contr. 2. c. 13. arg. 4. ap. 
 Gat. p. 94.) " Baptism is not given to the infants of believers, that the faith 
 " of infants may be confirmed (at least not for the present) ; but that the 
 " belief of believing parents, who had begotten these infants, might be 
 " strengtliened." Gen. xvii. 7. 
 
126 DOCTRINE OF THE INFLUENCES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 
 
 what no one would dispute : but it does mean more ; and while 
 the old doctrine of the Sacraments is stigmatized under the term 
 physical, (as if forsooth physical were corporeal,) a subtle 
 rationalism is imperceptibly introduced. For thus the gift of 
 Baptism, and with it, all spiritual influences, instead of being an 
 actual imparting of Divine grace to the human soul, a real union 
 with Christ, are explained away to be the mere exhibition of 
 outward motives, high indeed and heavenly, but still outward to 
 man's soul, whereby he is led to act as he thinks will please God. 
 The participation of Christ in and out of the Sacraments (though 
 not the same) will be conceived of in the same way ; and so the 
 doctrine of the Sacraments again affects that other great doctrine 
 of our sanctification by the Holy GhosTv For if men conceive 
 of Sacraments as external symbols, and acting through a moral 
 operation, by representing to our souls the greatness of His 
 love. His humiliation, His sufferings, and thus kindling our faith, 
 and thereby uniting us with Him ; then, and much more, will 
 all the operations of the Holy Spirit be resolved into the pre- 
 senting to the mind outward motives ; and His sanctifying influ- 
 ence will become as merely external, any, far more so, than the 
 ministration of what men call " the outward word." It is well 
 to see the tendency of these doctrines, and how, under the sem- 
 blance of removing what men call physical, they do in fact de- 
 stroy all real, immediate, mysterious influence of God upon the 
 human soul. " The Spirit," says one ', " sanctifies no other- 
 " wise than that He impresses upon our minds the objects, 
 " which in the cross and resurrection of Christ, and in the other 
 '* parts of the Christian religion, are incitements to lay hold of 
 '* Christian virtues, as also whatever is offered to us in the preach- 
 " ing of the Gospel ; and rrioreover, when fading from our mind 
 " He recalls them to our recollection, and, lastly, so illumines 
 " them with His light, that they descend from the mind into the 
 " affections, and in them continually struggle against the vice im- 
 " planted by nature." And this impressing of objects, or their 
 moral representation, is contrasted with the direct " action upon 
 
 * Amyraldus Disp. de Paedobaptisrao. Ap. Wit, 1. c. §.35. 
 
AFFECTED BY REFORMED THEORY OF THE SACRAMENTS. 127 
 
 " the sou], which approaches to the nature of physical causes;" 
 wherein, in words only physical operation is excluded, in fact, all 
 that is hyperphysical, in other words, all that is supernatural. 
 It is essential (at the risk of prolixity and repetition) to have the 
 character of these tAvo views fully impressed upon our minds ; 
 for upon them depends the whole manner in which we receive 
 God's spiritual influences ; and in this age, which so loves what 
 is clear, and definite, and rational, as readily to forfeit all that is 
 deep, and mysterious, and indefinite, because infinite, and which 
 is consequently already swept and garnished for the reception of 
 rationalism, it is of vital importance to see into which of these 
 two paths we are entering. For thereon the whole faith of our 
 country may depend. It is not then the question, whether men 
 call the Sacraments physical or moral causes, but what they 
 mean by denying them to be physical, or asserting them to be 
 moral causes ; for although this may formerly, in a different 
 section of the Church ', have been denied or asserted, in a sense 
 which did not alter men's notions of the Sacraments, it was not 
 so in the Reformed Church, nor is it so now. The question 
 then at issue between the Ancient, the English, and the Lutheran 
 Church on the one side, and the School of Zuingli and Calvin, 
 and so most of the Reformed Church on the other, was this : 
 whether (to take the statement of the pious and learned John 
 Gerhard as to his own Church) " the Sacraments were instru- 
 " ments, means, vehicles, whereby God offers, exhibits, and ap- 
 '* plies to believers the especial promises of the Gospel, remission 
 " of sins, righteousness, and life eternal ^." What namely is 
 
 * By Estius in Lib. 4. Sentent. Dist. 1. n. 5. (quoted by Witsius, 1. c. § 82.) 
 and Vazquez in 3 Part. Disp. 132. Some of the schoolmen, too, in asserting 
 the physical, /. e. the actual, real operation of the Sacraments, appear to have 
 spoken too corporeally, as was to be expected in the Romish Church, whence 
 they are blamed by Hooker, App. to B. 5. n. 1. p. 702 sqq. ed. Keble, as has 
 been shown me by the editor. 
 
 2 Witsius, quoting this, 1. c. § 60, adds, " the Lutherans on this point op- 
 " pose, not Zuingli only, but Calvin also, Beza, Giynaeus, Tossanus, Piscator, 
 " and the Reformed Doctors generally, who deny that the Sacraments have 
 " really in them treasures and heavenly goods, as though a promise were 
 
128 WHAT IS MEANT BY DENYING THE rilYSlCAL, 
 
 denied, under the name " physical," is, that they are real instru- 
 ments of conveying God's benefits to the soul : what is asserted 
 by the title " moral" is, that they are signs only of past benefits, 
 which they impress upon the memory, whereby (God's Holy - 
 Spirit acting, as He does, in every good thought, word, and 
 work) faith is increased. This is the contrast which is con- 
 stantly present to the minds of the reformed writers ; this is laid 
 down as the fundamental principle of the whole school : " in the 
 " sum of the matter," says Witsius', " by the grace of God, all 
 " the orthodox agree. The Sacraments, in respect to Divine 
 " grace, are destitute of all 2'>hysical efficacy, or efficacy properlij 
 " so colled, and only concur morally towards it :" and in expla- 
 nation of this language he approves of the defender of the Re- 
 monstrants, who defines^ physical exhibiting or sealing to be, 
 " when a thing is brought, given, distributed, either at the same 
 " time as, (simul) or, together with, (una) or with, or by, or 
 " under, or in, or at, or about the signs (so to speak) physically ; 
 " hyperphysical or miraculous, when an unknown or doubtful 
 " thing is confirmed, established, or certified, and so is exhibited 
 " to the mind, as it were, to be seen and felt : such are miracles, 
 " and all powers exceeding the force of nature. Lastly, sacra- 
 *' mental, evangelical, whereby Divine grace, through certain 
 " signs, is — not represented from far or at a distance, nor under 
 " certain types, shadows or figures, are shown as through a tele- 
 ** scope, as what is to take place hereafter, but — placed before 
 " the eyes, as now present, so clearly as if it were given to be 
 " handled by the senses and hands, as efficaciously as the mind 
 *' can by any means be affected by those signs, without destroy- 
 ** ing the nature and property of signs and their significancy. 
 " This last is the doctrine of the Remonstrants." ** I know 
 *' not," subjoins Witsius, " what the Orthodox can find wanting 
 " herein." Yet, here, all Divine grace conveyed together, or 
 simultaneously with, or through the signs, all supernatural or 
 miraculous working, is expressly denied, and that alone retained 
 
 *' given us by them. Nor, thus far, do the reformed theologians complain of any 
 " calumny ; nay, the;/, for Ikeir pari, attack the Lutherans on this very point." 
 • L, c. § HO. J L. c. § 5G. 
 
AND ASSERTING THE MORAL OPERATION OF THE SACRAMENTS. 129 
 
 which is consistent with the Sacraments remaining mere signs. 
 And so to the notion of " those ^ who hold that God, by a sort 
 " of covenant, operates on occasion of the Sacraments, (although 
 " they ascribe all the efficacy to God, not to the Sacraments,") 
 they oppose the reformed doctrine, that God is wont to give 
 His grace before Sacraments are received, and that these are 
 only signs and indications that such grace has been received; 
 " and the notion of uniting God's grace with the Sacraments they 
 " regard as little differing from a magical superstition of words and 
 " signs ;" and when, on the other hand, a writer of this Church* 
 would assert more efficacy than usual to the Sacraments, the state- 
 ment which he denies is that of this school, that " Sacraments only 
 '* seal grace already received," and he asserts that they " are also 
 *' means of receiving grace, and signs of grace which is present, 
 " and communicated and conferred together with them, — that 
 " in the right use of the Sacraments, a certain Divine power is 
 '* connected therewith, which, through the sure covenant and 
 " promise of God, confers a salutary grace on the receiver, and 
 " acts in his soul." 
 
 Henceforth then there were these two opposite views of the 
 Sacraments : that of the old Church that they were " efficacious 
 " instruments or channels of grace to all not unworthy receivers," 
 and the modern one, that "they were signs of grace, which grace 
 " was imparted then, or previously, or subsequently directed by 
 " the action of the Holy Spirit on the soul of the receiver, in con- 
 " sequence of and through faith, and not through the Sacrament." 
 
 Infant Baptism the Ancient Church accounted (as above 
 explained) an efficacious channel of grace to all ; only they 
 held that the grace so imparted might be subsequently with- 
 drawn, if the individual permanently resisted its workings; 
 otherwise, by virtue of that Sacrament, they held that the new 
 nature then implanted would gradually overpower, weaken, 
 destroy the old man ; the leaven then infused would, at the last, 
 " leaven the whole lump." In adults, faith was required, but 
 
 1 Burmann Synops. 1. 7- c. 4. § 28, ap. Wits. 1. c. § 73. 
 ' Le Blanc Disp. de usu et efficacia Sacramm. N. T. § 45, G, ap. Wits. 
 1. c. § 62. 
 
130 REFORMED BAPTISM LESS THAN CONFIRMATION. 
 
 only as removing an obstacle to the beneficial workings of God's 
 Spirit through the Sacraments. The modern school, in that they 
 held the children of Christian parents to be " holy in the root," 
 to be " holy and faithful" before Baptism, regarded as the bene- 
 fits of complying with this ordinance ; 1st, obedience to God's com- 
 mand : ^ndly, visible incorporation into the Church ; Sdly, in- 
 crease of grace already received ; 4thly, strength and confirma- 
 tion ; — whereby the peculiar graces of Baptism are presupposed as 
 already given, then only to be enlarged and confirmed ' ; so that 
 Baptism hardly occupies the place which in the Ancient Church 
 was assigned to confirmation. If, again, a parent, (not through 
 mischance, for this was almost always allowed for in the early 
 Church, but) through wilful neglect should fail to bring his child 
 to baptism, and it died without Baptism, then the child was con- 
 sistently held not to be in the state of a heathen child, (which, in 
 fact, though born of Christian parents, it was,) but was assumed 
 to have all the privileges of the Covenant^ ; nay, it was used as 
 an argument *, why " regeneration should not be supposed ordi- 
 " narily to be imparted at the same time as Baptism :" that, " so 
 " the carefulness of such parents as brought their children be- 
 " times to Baptism, would accelerate their regeneration and the 
 *' benefits consequent thereon, their negligence would retard it ; 
 " and so the influence of the Divine grace would ordinarily be 
 " determined by the carefulness or negligence of other human 
 " beings." On this ground it ought, consistently, to follow that 
 Infant Baptism had no benefits at all, since, whatever they are 
 supposed to be, they are obtained through the carefulness and 
 faithful obedience of others ; the Word of God ought to have no 
 power upon the soul, since on the carefulness or negligence of ])a- 
 rents evidently depends the time when our children become ac- 
 
 ' Witsius, 1. c. § 57 sqq., states the same, in part involuntarily, in the very 
 language of Calvin. P. Martyr's statement, Loci 4. 7- 4- is yet lower. 
 
 2 E. g. Calvin Institt. 4. 16. 26, &c. 
 
 3 Witsius, 1. c. § 76, and many others : e. g. Taylor on the Epistle to 
 Titus, p. 645. " What an unequal thing were it, that if parents should neglect 
 " to bring children seasonably unto baptism, the child, not offending, should, 
 " for the parent's fault, be condemned !" 
 
EFFECTS OF COMPARING BAPTISM WITH CIRCUMCISION. 131 
 
 quainted, nay, in some measure, how they are impressed with it; 
 and so on, with regard to every means wherewith one person is 
 entrusted to promote the soul's health of others. The blessed 
 communion of our Lord's Body and Blood in like manner is 
 made in some way dependant upon the ministry of the Church, 
 since she is entrusted with the power of dispensing it more or 
 less frequently ; and so upon her faithfulness depends, in some 
 measure, the richness and fulness of the blessing which her mem- 
 bers enjoy. But all this is again a priori and rationalistic arguing. 
 For why should not the spiritual blessings of one man depend upon 
 others ? and do they not most manifestly ? The Jewish child, 
 if not circumcised on the eighth day, was to be cut off. Did not 
 its inferior privileges depend upon the obedience of its parents ? 
 Are not pious parents a high spiritual blessing ? and if so, why 
 should not the simple obedience to God's ordinance be a means 
 of obtaining the blessings of that ordinance for our children ? 
 
 The comparison with Circumcision, which is generally found 
 united with this theory, occasionally served to extol that sign, 
 whence it was asserted to convey regeneration ^ as well as the 
 other privileges of the Christian covenant, (only as was some- 
 times said, in a lesser fulness than now) : for the most part its 
 effect was to bring down Baptism from a Sacrament of Christ 
 to the character of the signs of the older Dispensation ^. Thus 
 
 ' Ainsworth's Censure upon a Dialogue of the Anabaptists, p. 49. " They 
 " to whom God giveth the signe and scale of righteousness by faith, and of 
 "regeneration, they have faith and regeneration; for God giveth no lying 
 " signe ; Hee sealeth no vaine or false Covenant. But God gave to infants 
 " circumcision, which was the signe and seale of the righteousnesse of faith 
 " and regeneration. Gen. xvii. 12 ; Rom. iv. 11, and ii. 28, 29 ; Col. ii. 11, 
 " Therefore infants had (and, consequently, now have) faith and regeneration, 
 " though not in the crop and harvest by declaration, yet in the bud and be- 
 " ginning of all Christian graces. They that deny this reason, must either 
 " make God the author of a lying signe and seale of the Covenant to Abra- 
 " ham and his infants, or they must hold, that infants had those graces then, 
 " but not now ; both which are wicked and absurd to affirme. Or they must 
 " say, that circumcision was not the signe and seale of the righteousness of 
 " faith, and then they openly contradict the Scripture. Rom. iv. 11." Comp. 
 Calv. Institt. iv. 16. 4. 
 
 ^ See note K, at the end. 
 
132 MODIFICATIONS OF THE THEORY IN REFORMED CONFESSIONS. 
 
 men, in the fears of a papal magnifying of the Sacraments fell into 
 the opposite extreme : for fear it should seem absolutely neces- 
 sary they made it seem almost indifferent : and for fear God's 
 grace should be " lied to the Sacrament," they virtually dis- 
 joined God's grace from His own ordinance. 
 
 The language, in which this theory of the Sacraments was 
 expressed, was subjected to various modifications, partly in con- 
 sequence of the anxiety of tins school (which is visible in the 
 vehemence of their protests ' ) to make out to themselves that 
 the Sacraments did not, on their theory, become " empty signs:" 
 partly to satisfy the Lutherans, whose chief ground of complaint 
 against the reformed lay against this innovation. It is, conse- 
 quently, difficult to ascertain, in the several confessions, how 
 much of this theory^ they retained, and in what degree they 
 attempted to engraft upon it the language of the old and the Lu- 
 theran Church. There is, however, a remarkable correspondence 
 
 ' We are not eager in throwing off imputations, to which we feel that our 
 views do not expose us. There is a striking difference between the sedate 
 manner in which the Lutherans and the English Church declare against the 
 heretical tenet, that the " Sacraments are badges and tokens of Christian 
 men's profession," and the energy with which the Reformed Church throw it 
 off as an imputation. 
 
 2 The theory of Zuingli is fully contained in the three Helvetic Confessions 
 (which were composed under the influence of his disciples), the Hungarian, 
 and the Belgic: less explicitly in the Gallic (which drew upon its author, 
 Beza, the charge of apostacy). In the Scotch, it is implied in the statement 
 on the Lord's Supper, but not in that upon Baptism ; and it is in some 
 respects modified in (Calvin's) Catechism of Geneva. In the Heidelberg 
 Catechism, (composed by Z. Ursini, also a disciple of Zuingli,) it is through- 
 out implied, though not in the technical language which occurs in the Hel- 
 vetic Confessions: of the other symbolical books of the Eeformed German 
 Church, the Confessio Tetrapolitana, 1530, (Bucer's): Marchica, 1613, 
 (Pelargus') Colloquium Lipsiacum, 1631 : Declaratio Thoruniensis, 1645, 
 are entirely free from it : in the Confessio it is nearly effaced. The Bohemian 
 or Moravian Brethren appear, according to the " Confessio Bohemica," A.D. 
 1535, to have been counted wrongly, as well as our own Church, as belonging 
 to what is technically called the Reformed Church ; unless so far as " Re- 
 formed'' may be a negative term, opposed simply to Lutheran and Romanist, 
 without implying doctrinal agreement among the several portions of that 
 body. See further Note L, at the end. 
 
REFORMED, LUTHERAN, AND ENOl-lSII EITURCIES. 133 
 
 in the decisiveness wherewith this theory is spoken out in the 
 confessions of the several branches of the Reformed Church, and 
 their Liturgies : only these are obviously surer tests of belief, 
 since confessions are often modified for the sake of harmony ; 
 prayer would express by its omissions as well as by its actual 
 petitions. The comparison consequently of the old, and the 
 Lutheran, and our own Liturgy on the one hand, with the 
 Reformed Liturgies on the other, is very instructive as to the 
 tenets of the several Churches'. 
 
 Into our own country tliis theory was introduced partly by 
 Peter Martyr, partly by the intercourse with the Swiss reformers : 
 one might instance Bishop Hooper, as one who inclined, in out- 
 ward things, to the school of Geneva, and in whose statement of 
 the Sacraments^ scarcely a vestige of any spiritual influence 
 remains. It appears, also, very prominently in the early con- 
 troversies with the Romanists. Upon this system it was idle to 
 speak of the connection of Regeneration with Baptism, since 
 Baptism conferred upon infants no spiritual grace. The new 
 birth being separated from Christ's ordinance, it was natural to 
 
 1 See Note M at the end. 
 
 2 " Although Baptism be a Sacrament to be received, and honourably used 
 " of all men, yet it sanctifieih no man. And such as attribute the remission 
 " of sins unto the external sign [i. e. unto the Sacrament as an instrument, 
 " for none would ascribe it to the water only,] do offend. John preached 
 " penitence in the desert, and remission of sin in Christ. Such as con- 
 " fessed their faults he marked and declared to be of Chiiist's Church. So 
 " that external Baptism was but an inauguration or external consecration of 
 " those that first believed, and ivcre cleansed of their sin. Such as be bap- 
 " tized must remember that repentance and faith precede this external sign ; 
 " and in Christ the purgation was inwardly obtained, before the external 
 " sign was given. Thus be the infants examined concerning repentance and 
 " faith, before they be baptized with water, at the contemplation of which 
 " faith God purgeth the soul. Then is the exterior sign and deed not to 
 " purge the heart, but to covfirm, manifest, and open unto the world, that this 
 " child is God's [again Zuingli's notion]. And likewise Baptism, with the 
 " repetition of tlie words, is a very sacrament and sign that the child should 
 " die unto sin all his life (Rom. vi.). Likewise, no man should condemn 
 " nor neglect tliis exterior sign, for the commandment's sake ; though it have 
 " no power to purge sin, yet it confirmcth the purgation of sin ; and the act 
 " of itself pleaseth God, as an act of obedience." (Declaration of Christ.) 
 
134 ORIGIN OF MODERN SENSE OF REGENERATION. 
 
 make it coincide with the first apjjearance of spiritual Hfe : only, 
 since our Saviour says, " Except a man be born again he can- 
 " not see the kingdom of God," it was assumed that those 
 infants who, being elected, died in infancy, were regenerated, 
 although, apparently, not through, or at Baptism'. And so the 
 term " regeneration" came to be used for the visible change, or 
 almost for " sanctification^," and its original sense, as denoting 
 a privilege of the Christian Church, was wholly lost. Hence* 
 also, it could not but follow that persons were (in this sense) 
 regenerated, some before, some after Baptism ; for since re- 
 generation was taken to mean, partly, the first actual commence- 
 ment of conscious spiritual life, partly that life in its subsequent 
 development; then, since faith and repentance are the com- 
 mencements of spiritual life, it was held that any one to whom 
 God liad given these, was also regenerate ; and so also any pious 
 Jew was regenerated, and if baptized, then regenerated before 
 Baptism '. But this is not the scriptural usage of the term, and 
 
 > Institt. 4. 16, 17, 18. 21. In like manner, Beza, Act. Collat. Mompelgard. 
 " As to infants born in the Church, and elected by God, (as I said all may be 
 " presumed to be,) and who are to die before they obtain the use of reason, 
 " 1 should readily suppose, relying on the promise of God, that they by their 
 " birth are engrafted into Christ. But of others, what else can we decide, 
 " without the most evident rashness, than that they are then regenerated, 
 " when they have true faith given them through ' hearing ?' Unless in some 
 " God put forth that extraordinary efficacy of His inspiration ; but who can 
 " define this ?" (Ap. Wits. 1. c. §. 30.) 
 
 2 Calvin makes regeneration rather the consequence than the cause of 
 Christian sanctification. " We then," (he says, Institt. 4. 15. 6.) " obtain 
 " regeneration from Christ's death and resurrection, if, having been sanc- 
 " tlfied by the Spirit, we are imbued with a new and spiritual nature." 
 Witsius (I.e. § 33.) notices this same confusion: — "Some theologians of 
 " great estimation contend that infants are baptized for a future sanctifica- 
 " tion, which, whether, and how, they distinguish from regeneration, I confess I 
 " do 7iot clearly perceive." 
 
 * Thus even Witsius, though he notes the confusion made between rege- 
 neration and sanctification, argues that the passages in H. Scr. which seem 
 to attribute remission of sins in Baptism, are not to be understood in their 
 obvious sense, " because in adults regeneration, repentance, faith, (from 
 " which remission of sins cannot be separated for a moment,) are required 
 " before Baptism." So again he argues, " because many catechumens were 
 
 9 
 
REGENERATION A GIFT TO MAN IN CHRIST. 135 
 
 came in with the false view of the Sacraments as signs and seals 
 only. Undoubtedly the pious men under the old dispensation 
 were sanctified; and in these days of ordinary attainment, how 
 must we look back with shame and dejection upon the worthies 
 of the elder Covenant, upon " those three men, Noah, Daniel, 
 " and Job," or upon Abraham the '* father of the faithful," and 
 the " friend of God." Greatly were they sanctified : the Spirit 
 of God dwelt in their hearts, and wrought therein the incor- 
 ruption amid a corrupted world, the self-denial, the patience, the 
 unhesitating, unwearied faith, for which we yet venerate them. 
 The Spirit of God, which at last withdrew from every other 
 human heart, hallowed, and, like His emblem the dove, abode in 
 the Ark ; He purified the breast of the " preacher of righteous- 
 " ness," and kindled the filial piety of his two sons. Yet was 
 not Noah therefore regenerate. " These all, having obtained a 
 " good report through faith, received not the promise ; God 
 '• having provided some better thing for us, that they without 
 *' us should not be made perfect." They were the faithful ser- 
 vants, but not as yet the sons, of God. Christ had not died : 
 our nature was not yet placed at God's right hand : the ever- 
 blessed Son of God had not yet become man, that we, whom 
 " He is not ashamed to call brethren," might be sons of God, as 
 being in and of Him. One must speak tremblingly of such a 
 mystery : but one dare not lower the greatness of our new cre- 
 ation, nor conceal the immensity of our Birthright, although our 
 feeble brain may turn dizzy, and our faint l.earts sink at the ex- 
 ceeding weight of such glory. We dare not shrink from avowing 
 it, although we too may have turned " our glory into shame.' 
 Sons of God ! brethren of Christ ! and if children, then heirs, 
 heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ ! when He shall ap- 
 pear, we shall be like Him ! We speak not of the heavenly bless- 
 edness of the holy Patriarchs, nor how they are to become, or have 
 become parts of the mystical Body of our and their Redeemer, 
 or how they sliall be endued with that perfectness, which God, for 
 
 " of excellent virtue and piety, therefore they had received the Holy Spirit 
 " before Baptism ; and so their sins were ah'cady forgiven tliem, and accord- 
 " ingly they were born together of the new birth." L c. § 44, 45. 
 
13G CHRIST THE SON OF MAN, THAT MAN MAY BE SON OF GOU. 
 
 a while, delayed until we should share it with them. Of the 
 way and means of that blessed consummation we know nothing ; 
 but we surely do know that they had not that fulness of privilege 
 which we have, that they " were not made perfect ;'' that, when 
 the serpent's head was crushed, and the virgin's womb not ab- 
 horred, and man delivered, the kingdom of Heaven opened, and 
 the Son of man was also the Son of God, and our flesh sanctified 
 by the Incarnation, and immortalized and glorified ; then a great 
 change was wrought upon the earth, the old descent from Adam 
 cut off, in as naany as were engrafFed into Him, and a new lineage 
 begun for man, even sonship of God, and brotherhood with 
 Christ, the Everlasting Son of the Father! " How," says St. 
 Augustine', " How do they become sons of God?" they were 
 born — " ' not of blood,' such as is the first birth, a wretched 
 " birth, coming of Vvretchedness, but — of God. The first birth was 
 " of man and woman, tlie second of God and the Church ; whence 
 " was it then that being first born of man, they were born of God ? 
 " The Word became flesh. Mighty change! He made flesh, 
 " they spirit ! What dignity ! my brethren. Lift up your mind 
 " to hope and seek for better things. Shrink from devoting your- 
 " selves to worldly desires ! ye have been bought with a price : 
 " for you the Word became flesh : for you He, who was the Son 
 " of God, became the son of man, that ye, who were sons of men, 
 " might be made sons of God. He was the Son of God ! What 
 " became He? Son of man [ Ye were sons of men! what were 
 " ve made? Sons of God! He shared our ills, to give us His 
 " goodnesses." May God's Holy Spirit open all our hearts to 
 see what of ourselves we cannot see, what our indolence would 
 shrink from thinking on, since it involves such high responsi- 
 bility, that so we may " know the love of Christ, which passetli 
 " knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fulness of 
 " God !" Truly, though " none among them that are born of 
 " woman be greater than John the Baptist, he that is least in 
 " tlie kingdom of Heaven is greater tlian he." We dare, then, 
 neither compare ourselves with the Holy Patriarclis, nor dare we 
 
 ' Serm. xxi. in Ev. Joami. 1. (al. de Diversis, 8j.) on Juli. i. 13. 
 
DEGREES OF SANCTIFICATION. 137 
 
 compare their privileges with ours : yea, though it be oppressive 
 to every one of us, and force us to weep for the extremity of 
 ancruish and shame at our past unfaithfulness, yet we dare not 
 add to our sin by denying the exceeding greatness of the trea- 
 sures with which we were entrusted. 
 
 Regeneration then, or the new-birth whereby we are made 
 "Sons of God, is a privilege of the Church of Christ ; and we 
 dare not extend it where His word doth not warrant us. To the 
 Church alone in this life, it belongs to be the mother of the sons 
 of God. We dare not speculate further. Sanctification, on the 
 contrary, as it includes various degrees, yea ! as the Son of God 
 '• sanctified" Himself, so also in their several degrees is there 
 the holiness of the blessed Angels, of Apostles, Martyrs, Con- 
 fessors, Prophets, Patriarchs, Saints in all ages of the world : 
 " one star difFereth from another star." We limit too much the 
 manifold operations of God by contracting them within the 
 bounds of our systems. Doubtless, the history of that primeval 
 influence of the Spirit of God upon the chaotic elements was 
 recorded as a type of His universal agency through our whole 
 moral nature ; and they, " who having not the law, did by nature 
 " the things contained in the law," had that " law written in their 
 " hearts" by the Holy Spirit of God. Here we are not left to 
 conjecture. He strove against the deepening corruption of the 
 descendants of Cain ; nor have we any reason to think that He 
 withdrew His influences from the cleansed and new-baptized 
 world. As then, inspiration includes every imparting " of wisdom 
 " to the wise-hearted," (Ex. xxxi. 6.) from Bezaleel the son 
 of Hur, who was " filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom and 
 " understanding, and in knowledge, and all manner of workman- 
 " ship" for the work of the tabernacle, up to the blessed Evan- 
 gelist, who saw " Him that sat on the throne" and declared the 
 mystery of the Incarnate Word, so does sanctification compre- 
 hend the imparting of all holiness, from the faintest spark that 
 ever purified the heart of a benighted Heathen, to the holiest 
 Angel who stands before the throne of God. And so we may 
 recognize, with thankfulness and without misgiving, the virtues 
 and wisdom which were granted to the Heathen world, as an 
 
 K 
 
138 ORIGIN OF ERRONEOUS THEORIKS AS TO CORNELIUS. 
 
 effluence from Him who filleth all in all, as so many scattered 
 rays from the Father of lights, powerless almost, or very limited 
 beyond the bosom into which they had descended, because so 
 scattered, yet still derived from Him " who divideth to every man 
 severally as He will," and faint emblems of that concentrated 
 glory which was to be shed upon the world through the Sun of 
 righteousness. 
 
 The case of Cornelius is very remarkable in this respect, as 
 indeed one should expect the calling of the father of the Gentile 
 Cliurch to have something peculiar, as well as that of the father 
 of the first people of God. Two different points in his history 
 have accordingly been seized upon, and made the Scriptural basis 
 of distinct theories : his previous holiness — of the school-notion of 
 grace of congruity — the descent of the Holy Ghost previous to 
 his Baptism — of the separation of the grace of the Sacrament 
 from the ordinance \ Each rests upon the same false assump- 
 tion, that the works done by Cornelius were done in his own 
 strength, " before" and independently of " the inspiration of 
 " God's Holy Spirit," (Art. 1 3) ; since otherwise there were no 
 question, on the part of the Schoolmen, of " grace of congruity ;" 
 for as the prayers, the almsgiving, the fasting of Cornelius were 
 the fruit of faith in God, and of the guidance of His Spirit, the 
 imparting of " grace after grace" has nothing to do with the 
 question of human fitness. It is but God's ordinary method of 
 dealing with us, to proportion His subsequent gifts to the use 
 which we have made of those before bestowed. *' Take from 
 " him the pound and give it unto him who hath ten pounds. 
 " And they said unto him. Lord ! he hath ten pounds. For I 
 '•* say unto you, that unto every one who hath shall be given." 
 
 ' P. Martyr ad Rom. vi. " Nor are regeneration and renovation oifered to 
 " us in Baptism, as though we had them not in any wise before. For it can- 
 " not be denied, that adult believers have justification also, before they are 
 " baptized." In proof whereof, he instances Abraham (Rom. iv.) and Corne- 
 lius (as, indeed, the case of Cornelius is brought forward by every one of this 
 school, who would make the Sacraments into outward ordinances) ; and he 
 himself hence infers, that by Baptism we are visibly (and only visibly) en- 
 grafted into the Church. 
 
SANCTIFICATION IN AND OUT OF CHRISTIANITY. 139 
 
 (Luke xix. 24, 25). " Unto you who have there shall be added; 
 " for he who hath, to him shall be givetic" (Mark iv. 24, 25). 
 On the other hand, Cornelius was not then first sanctified, when 
 " the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word," but 
 when he beforetime " feared God with all his house, gave much 
 " alms to the people, and prayed to God alway." For through 
 Him alone could he have prayed acceptably. He alone putteth 
 the spirit of holy fear into man's heart. He was, then, as a Hea- 
 then, sanctified ; but because the sanctification of a Heathen 
 who feared God, fell far short of the holiness following upon the 
 Christian birth, God, by a succession of visions, prepared the 
 Centurion to " hear all the things commanded of God," and the 
 Apostle to preach them : and the first-fruits of the Heathen 
 world was one, whom God had already, in a high measure, 
 hallowed, that the pre-eminence of the kingdom of Heaven 
 might be the more manifest, in that it was one universal king- 
 dom, wherein all should receive remission of sins through the 
 blood of Christ, wherein not " the publicans and harlots" only 
 might be cleansed and purified, but also " those who feared God 
 "and worked righteousness" might find their " acceptance." Cor- 
 nelius was already, in a measure, sanctified ; and therefore God, 
 who limits not His blessed workings, either to one nation, or to 
 one kind of moral disposition, or of moral evil, but absorbs all 
 the countless varieties of things in heaven and things in earth, 
 animates them all, and fashioneth them *' according to the work- 
 " ing, whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself;" 
 so He received into His universal kingdom all, rich or poor, 
 learned or unlearned, wise or foolish, obedient or disobedient, 
 whoever would now hear His voice and follow Him. And 
 though His Gospel was, and is still, principally received in its 
 fulness and its simplicity by " the foolish, and the weak, and the 
 " base things of the world, and things which are despised," yet 
 has it shown its power in giving the true wisdom, and might, and 
 nobleness to those who, in man's school, were already " wise, 
 " and mighty, and noble ;" and as the first Jewish disciples of 
 the Saviour of the world were those who already followed the 
 austere and self-denying Baptist, the Virgin St. John, and St. 
 
 K 2 
 
140 CASE OF CORNELIUS, AS FIRST-FRUITS OF THE HEATHEN. 
 
 Andrew, so was the first convert from the Gentiles one, who, in 
 prayer, in alms-giving, in subduing of the flesh, had already 
 made some progress ; that so all might see, that neither the abyss 
 of sin was too deep for God's arm to rescue thence the foulest 
 sinner, nor any holiness, which even He had imparted, sufficed 
 to admit to the glories of His kingdom, without the " birth of 
 " water and the Spirit." Cornelius was already, in a measure, 
 sanctified ; and therefore He, who " giveth more grace," trans- 
 lated him into the kingdom of His dear Son, chose him first of 
 the Gentile world to be a member of Christ, re-generated him 
 and then sanctified him wholly ; that " all who glory might" 
 henceforth " glory in the Lord." The miraculous imparting 
 of the Holy Ghost, whereby they (not Cornelius only) " spake 
 " with tongues, and magnified God," does not appear (one 
 must speak reverentially, but still it does not appear) to have 
 been imparted for the sake of Cornelius, but of the Church ; or 
 rather for Cornelius' and all our sakes, that it might hence be 
 testified that from that time there was neither Jew nor Greek, 
 but that the " kingdom of Heaven was opened to all believers." 
 And so the Gentile Church, in the house of Cornelius, was 
 inaugurated in the same solemn way wherein the Apostles them- 
 selves had received the " promise of the Father;" and it was 
 signified, that " to the Gentiles also was given repentance unto 
 *' life," that among the Gentiles, also, and through the Gentiles, 
 in every speech, and nation, and language, men " should magnify 
 " God." And since the visible descent of the Holy Ghost, and 
 the speaking with tongues, and magnifying God, had, for its im- 
 mediate object, to convince St. Peter, and the rest of the Apos- 
 tles, that " no man should forbid water, that these should not be 
 baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost, as well as we;" 
 what are we, that we should venture to say, that Cornelius had 
 received all the benefits of Baptism before he was baptized, when 
 it was his very admittance to Baptism, which God chose in this 
 way to effect ' ? or how dare we lower the greatness of our pri- 
 
 ^ Calvin ( Institt 4. 15. 15.) asserts, that " Cornelius was baptized, having 
 " had remission of sins, and the visible gifts of the Holy Spirit, already, be- 
 '^ fore this, bestowed upon him : not looking for a fuller remission from Baptism, 
 
ST. AUGUSTINE ON THE CASE OF CORNELIUS. 141 
 
 vilege, in being made the sons of God ? Cornelius had faith (for 
 " without faith, it is impossible to please God") ; he had love ; 
 he had self-denial ; he had had the power to pray given to him ; 
 but he had not Christian faith, nor love, nor self-denial, nor 
 prayer ; for as yet he knew not Christ : he could not call God 
 Father, for, as yet, he knew not the Son. Faith and repentance, 
 in adults, are necessary to the new birth, but they are not the 
 new birth. That, God imparteth as it pleaseth Him, according 
 to the depths of His wisdom : it dependeth not, as faith and 
 repentance, in some measure, may, upon the will of man, but of 
 God, who calleth into His Church whom He will. 
 
 St. Augustine simply and strikingly expresses this view : " we 
 " ought not," he says ', " to disparage the righteousness of a 
 " man, which began before he was joined to the Church, as the 
 " righteousness of Cornelius had begun before he was one of the 
 " Christian people ; which, had it been disapproved of, the angel 
 " had not said, ' Thy alms are accepted,' &c. ; nor, if it had suf- 
 ^' ficed to obtain the kingdom of Heaven^ had he been admonished 
 " to send to Peter :" and in the very passage ^ generally alleged 
 to disparage what are called " outward ordinances," " Thus, 
 *' in Cornelius, there preceded a spiritual sanctification in the 
 " gift of the Holy Spirit, and the Sacrament of regeneration 
 " was added in the washing of Baptism." For St. Augustine 
 does not look upon Baptism as an outward sign even to Cornelius, 
 or to be received only as an act of obedience. For, having in- 
 stanced the pardoned thief, as a case wherein Baptism had, from 
 necessity, been dispensed with, he adds ', " much more in Corne- 
 " lius and his friends might it seem superfluous, that they should 
 
 " bid a more certain exercise of faith : yea, an increase of confidence from that 
 "pledge." (So again, P. Martyr, Loci 4. 8. 17-) But where does Scripture say 
 anything of this ? rather, since the Apostle argues from the miracle wrought 
 to justify his admission to Baptism, " then hath God also to the Gentiles 
 " granted repentance unto life," one should infer, that to him also Baptism 
 was given "for remission of sins." Calvin is here arguing, that Baptism 
 is, in no case, " for remission of sins," but for confirmation only. Yet he 
 himself, when writing against the Anabaptists (lb. 4. 16. 22.) remarks, on this 
 very case of Cornelius, how " wrongly a general rule is drawn from one 
 " example." 
 
 ' De Bapt. c. Donat. L. 4. § 28. « lb. § 31. 3 jb, § 29. 
 
112 SECOND SOURCE OF REJECTION OP BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 
 
 " be bedewed with water, in whom the gift of the Holy Spirit, 
 •' (which Holy Scripture testifies, that no others received, unless 
 *' baptized,) had appeared conspicuously by that sure token (in con- 
 " formity with that period), viz., that they spake with tongues. Yet 
 " they were baptized, and for this we have apostolic authority. So 
 " surely ought no one, in whatever advanced state of the inner man, 
 " (yea, if haply, before Baptism, he should have advanced through 
 " a pious heart to a spiritual understanding,) to despise the Sacra- 
 " ment which is administered in the body by the work of the minis- 
 ** ters, but thereby God spiritually operates the consecration of the 
 " man." 
 
 II. There was yet another school, which, not agreeing with Calvin 
 in his theory of the Sacraments, but taking in their obvious sense 
 the statement of our Articles (that " the Sacraments are effectual 
 " signs"), were yet deterred from fully embracing the doctrine of 
 Baptismal regeneration, by another doctrine of Calvin, — the in- 
 defectibility of grace. This school rested not their objections 
 upon any Scriptural statement of the doctrine of Regeneration, 
 nor upon any new interpretation of Holy Scripture, nor upon any 
 supposed inconsistency between the old interpretation and the 
 actual history of the human soul : that interpretation was virtually 
 admitted to be the more obvious. Temporary wickedness, and 
 utter abandonment to sin, was held (and could not but be held) 
 to be no objection whatever ta the truth that such had been 
 regenerated ; a man, though, for the time, immersed in sin i, if 
 elect, and, consequently, destined finally to recover, was held to 
 have been regenerated in Baptism. The objection originated on 
 grounds altogether distinct from the subject itself — the indefecti- 
 bihty of grace. 
 
 * So, at some length, Burges' Answer to Objections, obj. vi. pp. 263 — 297. 
 So also Beza: — "They whom God, by His eternal and secret counsel, has 
 " ordained to grace and eternal life, to these He gives faith and the Holy 
 " Spirit, which also they retain and never lose, although they sometimes 
 " sin, as happened to David. For such return to themselves, though 
 " even after a long period, and do not finally fall from the grace of God. 
 " But they whom Goo has not so elected, yea, if they were baptized a 
 " thousand times with the outward Baptism of water, faith and the Holy 
 " SviKiT is never given to them; but, left to the just judgment of God, they 
 " perish by tlieir own fault." — Colloq Momptlg. p, 305. 
 
ALL TENETS AFFECTED BY THEIR ORIGIN. 143 
 
 It will, I fear, to some good men seem invidious, to trace up 
 the rejection of Baptismal regeneration to a peculiar tenet of 
 Calvin, as it's primary source ; and at this, one should be much 
 grieved. But it cannot be avoided : for the character of our 
 opinions will be much affected by the source from which they 
 were originally derived, even although we hold them as detached 
 from that source. The waters will be affected by the character 
 of their fountain, although that may be removed out of our sight. 
 It does, indeed, frequently happen, that we adopt maxims or 
 practices, upon certain principles, which we afterwards forget ; and 
 habit supplies the place of the principle. In generations of men, 
 the maxim or practice will often be inherited, when the original 
 principles, upon which they are founded, have not only been for- 
 gotten, but partially abandoned, and, perhaps, no further retained 
 than is implied virtually by the practice itself. And then it will 
 seem invidious, if we appear to connect with men's acknowledged 
 tenets other principles, which they are scarcely aware of holding. 
 But, in truth, it is not so. Few persons follow out consistently 
 their own principles ; and, in these days especially, the different 
 sets of religious tenets are, for the most part, put together out of 
 shreds and patches of different systems, with no aim or thought 
 of consistency or unity. But, though the individuals are not 
 responsible for any tenet, except what they themselves hold, the 
 tenet itself is much affected by its origin : it is part of a large 
 system, which we, perhaps, cannot survey in all its details ; but 
 still it is a representative, as it were, of that system, and helps to 
 maintain it, or to repress the contrary. Hence, one's objection 
 to many tenets held by persons, of whom, in many respects, one 
 thinks well ; because the tenets are, in themselves, a part of So- 
 cianism or Rationalism (though, one would hope, not in these in- 
 dividuals) ; and, while it would be unfair to charge them in full 
 with either heresy, it is charity to them, and a duty to our 
 Church, to point out to what system these their tenets belong. 
 So, again, it is useful (in the hope that we may come to truer and 
 more consistent views), to show that, whereas the doctrine of the 
 Baptismal regeneration of all infants belongs to the Catholic sys- 
 tem, which supposes a free, full, and sufHcient grace to be offered 
 
144 INDEFECTIBILITY OF GRACE MADE TEST OF OTHER TRUTH. 
 
 unto all men, its rejection originated in that section of the Church, 
 which supposed a portion of mankind, whether they died as in- 
 fants or adults, elected to life, the rest left to the damnation 
 which their inherited corruption in itself deserved. Therewitii 
 it is not said, nor meant to be understood, that those who now 
 reject the doctrine of Baptismal regeneration, hold any such 
 views. 
 
 This school, then, made the indefectibility of grace, the rule by 
 which they measured the declarations of God, with respect to 
 His mercies in Baptism. As many as held that none could fall 
 finally from grace given, were obliged to hold, that none but 
 those who should finally be saved, were regenerated in Baptism. 
 Nor did they wish to conceal that this was their only ground. 
 Being fully persuaded of the truth of their first principles, they 
 held, unhesitatingly, that the general declar;;tions of Holy Scrip- 
 ture (they added, also, of the Fathers ',) must be limited by this 
 known truth. As they expressed it, all " elect children" received 
 the gifts of the Holy Spirit ; the rest were washed with water 
 only ^. These, in some respects, retained the honour of the 
 
 * See Note N at the end. 
 
 * " Let us first distinguish of infants, of whom some are elected, and some 
 " belong not unto the election of grace. These latter receive only the 
 " element, and are not inwardly washed ; the former receive, in the right 
 " use of the Sacrament, the inward grace." Taylor, Comm. on Titus, p. 643. 
 " In the Sacrament, by virtue of Christ's institution, ordinarily, grace is 
 " given to all, that are by election capable of it." Burges, p. 150, and Beza, 
 1. c. p. 387. " This we say, that the Holy Spirit does not, by the outward 
 " Baptism of water, put forth in all the power of the internal Baptism, but 
 " in the elect only." " As in circumcision, so in Baptism, many thousand 
 " infants receive it who yet are never regenerated, but perish for ever." 
 P. 393. Archbishop Usher, Summe and Substance of Christian Religion, 
 p. 416. " The Sacrament of Baptism is eflFectuall in infants only to those, 
 " and to all those, who belong unto the election of grace." Calvin, arguing 
 against the Anabaptists, and so for the regeneration of elect infants, although 
 not as bestowed through Baptism, implies that of those who die in infancy, 
 some are not elect, and so perish. " Moreover," he says, " infants which 
 " are to be saved, (and certainly, of that age, some are at all events saved,) 
 " it is clear that they are before regenerated by the Lord." Institt. L. 4. 
 c. 16. § 17. And on Ephi v. 26. " Many receive the sign, who yet are not 
 
EFFECT OF THIS THEORY ON DOCTRINE OF THE SACRAMENTS. 145 
 
 Sacrament of Baptism ; in another, began to derogate from it. 
 They retained it, in that they held, that all who ever received 
 regeneration ordinarily, received it through the Sacrament of 
 Baptism (and this limitation " ordinarily" they annexed only, that 
 they might not seera to tie down ^ as they thought unduly, the 
 operations of the Almighty :) they imagined no other entrance 
 into the Lord's house, than the door which He had appointed. 
 They derogated, on the other hand, from that Sacrament, in that 
 they could no longer consistently hold, that the benefits imparted 
 were by virtue of our Saviour's institution, or of His words of 
 
 " partakers of the grace ; for the sign is common to all, good and bad. But 
 " the Spirit is given to the elect only. The sign, however, without the 
 " Spirit, is of no efficacy." And (which is remarkable), Danaeus, in comment- 
 ing upon St. Augustine's saying, that the words " we are baptized into Him 
 " by Baptism into death," pertains to infants also (Enchirid. c. 52.), defends 
 him in it, if it be restrained only to the elect, and understood only of initial 
 regeneration. Quoted by Burges, p. 102. Chamier, Panstrat. t. iii. 1. 13. 
 c. 21. § 34. " We deny that sins are ever really remitted to those who do 
 " not belong to the eternal election, as they were never remitted to Esau, 
 " although he was circumcised ; and that, because he was hated by God 
 " before he was born." Gisb. Voetius, Disp. t. ii. p. 410. (ap. Witsiura, 1. c.) 
 " The seventh opinion is that of the Reformed Doctors in common, which 
 " ascribes regeneration to all and singular infants in the covenant, only be 
 " they elect, whether they be baptized in infancy or be not ; whether they 
 " die in infancy, or from early age are educated in the faith and live conti- 
 " nually a life of faith, or before their death are brought back again, by 
 " actual conversion to faith and repentance." Only, as before stated, (p. 116, 
 Note), this regeneration is, according to these last, independent of, not con- 
 ferred through, Baptism. So, in the Conventus, " We diligently teach that 
 " God does not put forth His influence in all who receive the Sacrament, 
 " but in the elect only." 
 
 1 " Not that hereby we tie the majestic of God to any time or meanes, 
 " whose Spirit bloweth when and where it listeth : on some, before Bap- 
 " tism, who are sanctified from the wombe ; on some, after ; but because the 
 " Lord delighteth to present Himself gracious in His own ordinances, we 
 " may conceive that in the right use of this Sacrament, He ordinarily accom- 
 " panieth it with His grace. Here, according to His promise, we may expect 
 " it, and here we may and ought to send out the prayer of faith for it." 
 Taylor, 1. c. I observe that Witsius, 1. c. § 24, forms the same judgment as 
 to the origin of this statement, viz. that they might not seem to limit the 
 operations of God. 
 
146 BENEFITS OF SACRAMENT THE RESULT OF ELECTION. 
 
 blessing (since, then, they would have been extended to all not 
 unworthy partakers) ; but they were obliged to ascribe it to the 
 secret ^ counsel of God, giving effect to the outward ordinance 
 when and to whom He willed. Most of these, however, were 
 still able to use our formularies, although not in their original 
 sense, since our Baptismal formulary was immediately derived 
 from the Lutheran Church ^ ; and this, with the Fathers, held 
 the universal regeneration of baptized infants *. Yet, since man 
 could not tell who of these infants were elect, and who not, they 
 held, that these words could be used by a sort of charity to each 
 infant. And this excuse. Hooker seems to suggest to those who 
 objected to the questions addressed to the god-parents at Bap- 
 tism, on the ground, that none could have faith, except the 
 elect ; and that, therefore, the god-parents could not, with 
 certainty, affirm, that any child did believe. " Were St. Au- 
 " gustine now living, there are which would tell 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 
 
 * " It is not the Sacrament alone, but God's preordination of them unto 
 " grace and glory, that makes the Sacrament effectuall upon them, and not 
 " upon others." B urges, p. 115. SeeBeza above, Note p. 142. Bp. Abbot adv. 
 Thomson, c. 7- ap- Wits. § 6. " Sacraments, as they are seals of faith and the 
 " divine promise, so they only put forth their virtue in those who are sons 
 " of the promise and heirs of grace." 
 
 2 See Archbishop Laurence, Bampton Lectures, pp. 440, 441 ; and Doc- 
 trine of Baptismal Regeneration, p. 38, sqq. See also Note M at the end. 
 Bp. White (Answer to Fisher, touching the efficacie of Baptisme, p. 176,) 
 having asserted of Protestants generally, that they " do not deny the virtue 
 " and efHcacie of Baptism to sanctifie men ; but according to the Holy 
 " Scriptures and the ancient Church, they teach and maintaine that this 
 " Sacrament is an instrument of sanctification and remission of sins," adds, 
 with regard to Calvin, " he, with others of his part, maintaine the former 
 " doctrine, concerning the efficacie of the Sacrament, and they differ only 
 " from Lutherans and Pontiticians, first, in that they restrain the grace of 
 " sanctification only to the elect. 2dly, In that they deny externall Bap- 
 " tisme to be alwaies effectuall at the very instant time when it is adminis- 
 " tered." See above, p. 116, Note. 
 
 » B, V. § 60. 
 
THEORY OF EFFECTUAL AND INEFFECTUAL REGENERATION. 147 
 
 '* 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 ordi- 
 *' nary talk, a charitable 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 inherit- 
 " ance 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 original 
 " 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 neverthe- 
 " less we are not absolutely able to warrant." 
 
 This objection to Baptismal regeneration is remarkably illus- 
 trated by the theory of a class of Divines ', who conceived that 
 there were two different kinds of regeneration, justification, 
 adoption, one of which was imparted to all by Baptism, the other 
 to those only who were finally saved. For the indefectibility of 
 grace being thus secured, they had then no difficulty in admitting 
 " that to all infants duly baptised the blood of Christ was applied 
 " to the remission of original sin, whence they were not only in 
 *' a manner adopted and justified, but regenerated also and 
 " sanctified. Thus then they were put into a state of salvation, 
 " according to the measure of children ; so that such as died, 
 " before the use of reason, were by that their justification, rege- 
 " neration, and sanctification, indeed eternally saved. But what 
 
 ■ The following account of the theory is taken from Witsius, 1. c. § 9. sqq. 
 who also mentions other modifications of it, and criticizes it. It was ori- 
 ginally proposed by Bishop Davenant, in a letter to Dr S. Ward, Divinity 
 Professor at Cambridge. 
 
 7 
 
148 OBJECT AND GROUNDLESSNESS OF THIS THEORY. 
 
 •* suffices for little ones for salvation does not suffice for adults. 
 " They therefore who perish in maturer age, not fulfilling the vow 
 " of Baptism, do not lose the state of salvation which they had 
 " proportioned to them as infants, but lose the state of infancy, 
 " which, being changed, that ceases to suffice for the state of an 
 " adult, which by the Divine appointment was sufficient for the 
 " salvation of the little one," 
 
 By this theory, which intellectually was acutely framed, 
 three advantages were gained ; 1st, the passages of Holy Scrip- 
 ture, which speak of the regeneration of all baptized persons, 
 of the remission of sin to all, and the like, could be taken in 
 their literal sense without interfering with the doctrine which was 
 made the rule of the rest ; 2d, they avoided the invidiousness 
 of implying that non-elect infants, who died as infants, although 
 baptized, were damned ; which was frequently urged against this 
 school. 3d, The formularies of our Church could be understood 
 in their literal sense. 
 
 The distinction here introduced is manifestly without any 
 authority from Scripture, and its sole object to obviate a diffi- 
 culty, yet on that very ground it the more shows wherein the 
 objection ' to admit the baptismal regeneration of all infants 
 really lay. 
 
 Such were the two great lines of objection then taken to the 
 doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration of all infants ; the one class 
 generally holding that those who were regenerated were so 
 before Baptism (Baptism sealing it only) the other allowing that 
 all regeneration took place at Baptism, but confining it to the 
 elect. The objections with which we are most familiar in modern 
 times are not directly derived from either of these sources, 
 although indirectly fostered by them, and retaining some of their 
 principles, (as that of the indefectibility of grace,) but from those 
 whomthese writers opposed — the Anabaptists. 
 
 III. They maybe divided into a priori, or which might be called 
 
 1 Thus again, one recently asked, " if regeneration be the grace of 
 " Baptism, what 7iame is to be. given to the commencement of that spiritual life, 
 "from which a person never falls f* Gataker, p. 150. "One really baptized 
 " never perishes." 
 
RATIONALIST OBJECTIONS TO BAPTISMAI. RFGENERATION. 149 
 
 Rationalist objections, and those for which Scripture autliority 
 is pleaded. 
 
 1. Of the first, it was said that " we would not see that any 
 " change took place in infants," that " the child remained appa- 
 " rently the same as before," that " it was incapable of grace," 
 and the like. This is so much rationalism ; a dull-hearted and 
 profane unbelief, which even in the things of God would not 
 " any science understand, beyond the grasp of eye or hand :" it is 
 making our reason a measure of God's doings, and denying His 
 operations, because we are not cognisant of the effect. It would 
 also obviously be an argument, not simply against the regenera- 
 tion of baptized infants, but ,against baptizing them altogether : 
 for if baptized infants are incapable of regenerating grace, or the 
 full benefits of Baptism, whereas the new-birth is the grace 
 conferred through Baptism, then, by baptizing infants, we should 
 be robbing them of their birth-right, and be guilty of the blood 
 of all the souls whom we thus mocked with the mere semblance 
 of Baptism: and so the universal Church would have erred in 
 interpreting their Saviour's command to " suffer little children 
 " to come to Him, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven." This 
 the more consistent Predestinarian writers well saw. ** If any 
 " man shall so do," says * one of them in reply, " he must grant 
 *' that elect infants do receive but a piece of Baptism, the shell 
 " without the kernel, the body without the soul. And if this be 
 " true, to what end are they baptized ?" — " To say* that 
 " Baptism admits them to the outward means, is to say just 
 " nothing to the purpose. May not an infant unbaptized come 
 " to hear the word read or preached ? Anabaptists do not shut 
 " their children out of the Church, when the word is preached, 
 " but only exclude them from the Sacraments. If Anabaptists 
 " might as freely show themselves here among us, as they do 
 " in other countries, this doctrine of Baptismal grace would be 
 " better entertained by such as now oppose it without considera- 
 " tion of this sequel." 
 
 The answer was variously worded ; but it was in substance 
 this, that since God had, in His ordinary dealings, annexed this 
 > Burges, p. 72. ad p. 93, ^ jbid. p. 75. 
 
150 INFANTS REASONABLE, WHY THEN NOT HOLY ? 
 
 grace to Baptism, no doubt that it was imparted to infants then, 
 though we saw it not ; but that it remained in them, as people 
 would acknowledge that their powers of thought or reasoning 
 do, which no one could deny them to have, although they did 
 not see the present exercise of them. Or again, they argued ' 
 (reversing St. Augustine's method, since the opposite truth was 
 now that disputed) whereas it was admitted, that " infants 
 " naturally are somewaise capable of Adam's sinne, and so of 
 " unbeleefe, disobedience, transgression, &c. then Christian in- 
 " fants supernaturally and by grace, are somewaies capable to 
 " Christ's righteousness, and so of faith, obedience, sanctifica- 
 " tion," &c. silencing rightly men's cavils " how can these things 
 be," by reference to the corresponding case, wherein our igno- 
 rance was allowed. 
 
 This grace, they most usually called, by a sufficiently apt 
 metaphor, (if not too closely pressed) a seminal^, (or else an 
 initial, or potential) regeneration : or again an habitual* (as op- 
 
 * Ainsworth, 1. c. p. 48, add pp. 49, 50. " He made all things of nothing. 
 " He can make the dumb beast speak with man's voice (Numb. xxii. 28), He 
 " can make the babe in the mother's womb to be affected and leap for joy at 
 " the voyce of the words spoken to the mother, (Luke i. 44.) ; and can He not 
 " also work grace, faith, holiness, in infants ? Hath Satan power by sinne to 
 " infect and corrupt infants, and shall not God have power to cleanse from 
 " corruption and make them holy ? If we make doubt of the will of God 
 " herein, behold we have His promises to restore our losses in Adam, by His 
 " graces in Christ, as He sheweth in Rom. v. Wherefore they are but a 
 *' faithless and crooked generation, that notwithstanding all that God hath 
 " spoken and done in this kind, do deny this grace of Christ to the infants of 
 " His people." 
 
 2 The distinction was probably inherited from the Schoolmen : I find it in 
 Pet. Lombard, Lib. 4. Dist. 4. c. 5. " Quidam putant gratiam operantem et 
 " cooperantem cunctis parvulis in Baptismo dari in mimere non in usu ; ut 
 " cum ad majorem venerint setatem in munere sortiantur usum, nisi per 
 " liberumarbitrium usum munerisextinguant peccando; et ita in culpa eorum 
 " est, non ex defectu gratiae, quod mali fiunt, qui ex Dei munere valentes 
 " habere usum bonum, per liberum arbitrium renuerunt, et usum pravum 
 " elegerunt." 
 
 3 Davenant (Bp.) Ep. ad Col. " With regard to infants, since they are 
 " sinners not by their own act, but by an hereditary habit, it suffices that 
 
HOOKER HOLY GHOST INFUSED IN BAPTISM. 151 
 
 posed to an active) principle of grace ; i. e. they would express 
 that the incorruptible seed was then planted in the human heart, 
 which, if not choked, or if continued contumacy provoked not 
 God to withdraw it, would hereafter yield fruit unto life eternal. 
 And with this might agree, I would hope, the modern and colder 
 expression, that " Baptismal Regeneration is a change of state," 
 a virtual, I suppose, as opposed to an actual change of heart — a 
 state of holiness and acceptableness towards God, as derived 
 from our incorporation into the Son of God, and the consequent 
 participation of His holiness, and yet in a manner contrasted 
 with the fuller and complete actual sanctification of the believer, 
 who has grown up in his Baptismal privileges. This view is 
 very clearly expressed by Hooker. " The grace which is given 
 *' them with their Baptism, doth so far forth depend on the very 
 " outward Sacrament, that God will have it embraced, not only 
 " as a sign or token what we receive, but also as an instrument or 
 " means whereby we receive grace, because Baptism is a Sacra- 
 " ment which God hath instituted in His Church, 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 dispo- 
 " sition towards future newness of life ." 
 
 In which passage Hooker, while he expresses the same truth, 
 happily avoids the danger arising from all illustration in Divine 
 things, viz. that the metaphor must in some respects be inap- 
 
 " they have mortificatioo of sin and faith, not putting themselves forth by 
 " any act of their own, but included in the habitual principle of Grace : but 
 " that the Spirit of Christ can, and is wont to form in them this habitual 
 " principle of grace, no one of sound mind will deny." — Ainsworth, 1. c. 
 " Christian infants have the graces they speak of, repentance, faith, regene- 
 " ration, Src. though not actually, or by way of declaration to others ; yet 
 " they have through the worke of the Spirit, the seede and beginninge of faith, 
 " virtually and by way of inclination ; so that they are not wholly destitute 
 " of faith, regeneration, &c. though it be a thing hid and unknown unto us 
 " after what meanes the Lord worketh these in them." 
 
152 ST. AUGUSTINE REGENKRATION AND RENEWAL 
 
 plicable ; and in this instance, that by tliis contrast of initial with 
 actual regeneration, it might seem as if there were two regenera- 
 tions, or rather that regeneration meant two things — 1st, the act 
 of the new-birth bestowed by Goi) ; ^d, the spiritual life confor- 
 mable thereto ; whereas in Scripture, and by the ancient Church, 
 the latter is regarded as included in the former ; as (if one may 
 compare earthly things,) the ripened corn in the seed, the future 
 intellectual man in the babe. 
 
 And thus St. Augustine ^ while (according to Tit. 3.) he 
 asserts both regeneration and renovation to be the fruits of 
 Baptism, yet distinguishes alike in adults and infants, between 
 that renewal which takes place at once in Baptism, by the aboli- 
 tion of the old man, and that entire transformation and complete 
 conversion of the whole mind to God, effected by the finished 
 formation of the " new man" witl)in us, which " having been put 
 on" in Baptism, is day by day " renewed in knowledge after 
 " the likeness of Him who created him." (Col. iii. 10.) *' Of 
 *' a truth this renewal does not take place at the one mo- 
 " ment of his conversion, as doth in one moment that re- 
 " newal in Baptism by the remission of all sins ; since not even 
 " one sin, however small, remains, which is not remitted. But 
 " as it is one thing to be freed from fever, another to recover 
 " from the sickness caused by fever : one thing to remove a 
 " weapon fixed in a body, another by a second cure to heal the 
 " wound which it has made ; so the first cure is to remove the 
 " cause of the weakness, and this is through the forgiveness of all 
 *• sin ; the second is to cure the weakness itself, and this is by 
 ** gradual progress in the renewal of this image — by daily acces- 
 " sion in the knowledge of God, and righteousness and holmess 
 " of truth. He who from day to day is being renewed by his con- 
 " tinual progress, transfers his love from things temporal to eternal 
 '* — from visible to invisible — from carnal to spiritual, and dili- 
 ** gently presses on to rein in and diminish his desire to these, and 
 ** to bind himself to those by love." Only we must beware that 
 we relax not our notions of Christian holiness, by applying to 
 
 ' De Trill. 1. 14. § 23. 
 
ON WHOSE FAITH CHILDREN ARE BAPTIZED. 153 
 
 the Christian, what St. Augustine here says of an adult convert : 
 for in no one baptized ought sin ever to have grown to that 
 height of feverishness, as to leave such dismal effects as St. 
 Augustine speaketh of: our struggle ought to be against the 
 remains of natural, not (or at least not in any great degree) 
 against acquired corruption ; else, as the baptized person sins 
 more grievously than he of whom St. Augustine speaketh, so 
 neither has he the same means of restoration open to him. The 
 case of the baptized infant is rather described in St. Augustine's 
 other words \ " The Sacrament of regeneration in them doth 
 " precede, and if they hold on in Christian piety the conversion 
 " of the heart will follow, the mystery whereof preceded in the 
 " body." For " mystery" in St. Augustine's language does not 
 mean a mere outward type or emblem ; and the very mention of 
 •* perseverance" in Christian piety, shows that by " conversion 
 ** of the heart," he intendeth not a new commencement of spiritual 
 existence, but rather th;it entire renovation and conforming of the 
 whole soul and spirit to the image of God, which, though pledged, 
 and if it be cherished, actually commencing ^ from baptism, is 
 gradually completed by the sanctification of a whole life. 
 
 2. The next objection was akin in character to the former, viz. 
 that " children could not have faith, and therefore could not be 
 " re-born, since faith is essential to the new-birth." The answer 
 to this branched into several subjects, which are of moment in 
 this day also : as on whose faith children were accepted in 
 Baptism, whether that of their parents, or their sponsors, or of 
 the Church ; and again with regard to the faith of those who 
 brought them, whether that degree of faith, which was implied 
 by the very act of bringing the child to Holy Baptism, by itself 
 was available to the child, or whether a living faith was required, 
 involving personal holiness. 
 
 The judgment of the ancient Church was very clear, as evinced 
 both by the statements of the Fathers and her actual practice ; 
 viz. that it was through the Faith of the Church (as performing 
 
 > De Bapt. c. Donat. 1. 5. c. 24. 
 
 2 St. Aug. Enchirid. c. 67- " Tins great indulgence or remission, whence 
 " begins the renewing of man." 
 
 L 
 
154' ST. AUGUSTINE THE CHURCH OFFERS INFANTS TO BAPTISM. 
 
 that Holy Office whereto God had annexed the blessing), that 
 the child obtained the benefits of Baptism ; Christ had received 
 all children brought unto Him ; the promise was " to you and 
 " to your children ;" (Acts ii. 39.) the command to Baptize un- 
 limited : so the Christian Covenant belonged to all, born within 
 the Christian Church, whatever the personal character of their 
 immediate parents might be. As born of one included on God's 
 part within the Covenant (whether he finally lose the benefits 
 of that Covenant or no) the infant is a child of that Co- 
 venant, and entitled to its privileges. " Let not that disturb 
 " thee," (says St. Augustine to Bishop Boniface ', in an ex- 
 treme case) " that some bring their infants to Baptism, not 
 " with the belief that they should be regenerated by spiritual 
 *' grace to life eternal, but because they think that by this 
 " remedy they may retain or recover the health of this life. For 
 •' they are not on that account not regenerated, because they are 
 " not brought for that end by those persons. For the necessary 
 " offices are celebrated by their agency ; and so are the words of 
 " the Sacraments, without which the little one cannot be conse- 
 " crated. But that Holy Spirit, who dwells in the Saints, (out 
 " of whom that one dove, covered with silver, is molten together 
 *' by the flame of charity) worketh what He doth work, even by 
 " the rninistry of some who are not merely simply ignorant, but 
 " even damnably unworthy. For infants are offered to receive 
 " spiritual grace not so much by those in whose hands they 
 ** are borne, (although by them also, if they also be good men 
 " and believers) as by the whole society of the saints and be- 
 '* lievers. For they are rightly understood to be offered by all, 
 " who are glad that they should be offered, or by whose holy and 
 " united charity they are helped forward to receive the commu- 
 " nication of the Holy Spirit. The universal mother, then, the 
 '* Church, which is of the Saints, doth this; for the whole Church 
 *' beareth all, and beareth them severally." 
 
 " Let no one tell me," says St. Bernard ', " that an infant has 
 
 1 Ep. 98. § 5. Ed. Bened. olim Ep. 23. 
 
 2 In Cant. Serm. fid. quoted by Walker, Modest Plan for Infant Baptism, 
 p. 172. 
 
 12 
 
— NO UNWORTHINESS OF PARENTS EXCLUDES THE CHILD. 155 
 
 " not faitl), to whom the Church imparts her's. Great is the 
 " faith of the Church." The profession of faith made by the 
 sponsors is the declaration of that faith of the Church, on the 
 ground of which the little ones are admitted into Covenant : and 
 accordingly St. Augustine almost uniformly speaks of this con- 
 fession ' of faith, when he alludes to the faith of the sponsors as 
 being available for the child. The sponsors are pledges to the 
 Church : the Church offers her faith to God. And so in our 
 own Church, all the words of comfort and assurance that " God 
 " will favourably receive our infants, and embrace them with the 
 " arms of His mercy," are addressed on each occasion, not to the 
 sponsors, but to the whole congregation ^ : the sponsors are but 
 subsequently called upon to promise, on the child's part, what 
 is needed, that the benefits of Baptism may be hereafter retained 
 and fully realized. With this view of the relation of the faith 
 of the sponsors and of the Church, agree those cases, in which 
 the children of aliens, whether excommunicate or heathen, were 
 allowed the privileges of Christian Baptism. Of the excommuni- 
 cate, St. Augustine says, that " no offences of the parent, how- 
 " ever heinous, would make him presume to exclude the child 
 " from the laver of regeneration in case of danger." With regard 
 to the children of Heathen, it was always reckoned an act of 
 charity to baptize them, " when, through the secret Providence 
 
 ' Thus, de Baptismo parvulor. Serm. 294 (al. 14. de verb. Ap.) § 12. " He 
 " is healed by the words of another, since he was wounded by the sin of another. 
 " It is asked, does he believe in Jesus Christ ? It is answered, He does 
 " believe. TJie answer is made for him, who speaks not, is silent and weeps, and 
 " byweepingbegs in a manner for help. Does thatserpent try to persuade men 
 " that it avails not ? Far be such a thought from the heart of any Christian !" 
 Serm. 351 de Pcenitentia (al. 50. inter. 50.) § 2. " To whom (infants), for their 
 " consecration and remission of original sin, the faith of those by whom they 
 " are offered, avails, that whatever stains of sin they contracted through 
 " others, of whom they were born, by the interrogatory and answers of these may be 
 " done away." De Pec. Meritis, 1. I. § 25. " they are rightly called faithful, 
 " because after a manner they profess their faith through the words of them 
 " that bear them," 1. 3. § 2. "by the answers of those through whom they are 
 " regenerated." Ep. 98. v. 10. " it is answered that he believes." 
 
 * So Burges also p. 27. " The Chui'ch enjoineth 1 . The minister alone 
 " thus to bespeak the congregation." 
 
 L 2 
 
156 HOOKER — CHURCH SUPPLIES DEFECT OF PARENTS* FAITH. 
 
 " of God, they by any means, (by purchase or captivity, or aban- 
 " doned by their Heathen parents) came into the hands of pious 
 *' persons i." For, (as has often been alleged), since not only 
 the children born of" faithful Abraham," were admitted into the 
 covenant of circumcision, but they also who were " bought with 
 ** his money," or the slave, " born in his house," so also, and 
 much more, might all those be admitted into our enlarged cove- 
 nant in Christ, whom the Church couldj with safety to herself, 
 offer unto Him. It was necessary, namely, for the purity of the 
 Church, that some guarantee should be given, that those admitted 
 into her, the body of Christ, should be brought up as her true 
 children ; but the Sacrament had its power not of man but of 
 God : the faith of those who brought them was available in that 
 they undertook the condition, which (for the well-being of the 
 Church) was necessary for their reception, and brought them to 
 their Saviour to take them into His arms and bless them : the 
 faith of the Church was available in that she believed the pro- 
 mises of God, and administered the Sacrament committed to her, 
 whereby those promises of God were realized and applied to the 
 individual. " Be it then," says Hooker ^, " that Baptism belong- 
 " eth to none but such as either believe presently, or else, being 
 " infants, are the children of believing parents. In case the Church 
 " do bring children to the holy font, whose natural parents are 
 " either unknown or known to be such as the Church accurseth, 
 " but yet forgetteth not in that severity to take compassion upon 
 " their offspring, (for it is the Church which dotli offer them to 
 " Baptism by the ministry of presenters,) were it not against both 
 " equity and duty to refuse the mother of believers herself, and 
 " not to take her in this case for a faithful parent ? It is not the 
 " virtue of our fathers, nor the faith of any other, that can give 
 " us the true holiness which we have by virtue of our new-birth. 
 " Yet even through the common faith and Spirit of God's 
 " Church, (a thing which no quality of parents can prejudice) I 
 " say, through the faith of the Church of God, undertaking the 
 ** motherly care of our souls, so far forth we may be and are in 
 
 ' See Authorities ap. Bingham, Christian Antiquities, B. xi. c. 4. §. IC — 18. 
 ' B. V. c. C4. §. 5. p. 402. ed. Keble. 
 
— god's favours not to be restrained. 157 
 
 " our infancy sanctified, as to be thereby made sufficiently capa- 
 " ble of Baptism, and to be interested in the rites of our new- 
 " birth for their piety's sake that offer us thereunto." Whence 
 also, Hooker pronounces ^, (and the decision, so grounded, might 
 remove some perplexities which occur now also,) " a wrong con- 
 " ceit, that none may receive the Sacrament of Baptism but they 
 " whose parents, at the least one of them, are, by the soundness 
 " of their religion and by their virtuous demeanour, known to 
 " be men of God, hath caused some to repel children, whosoever 
 " bring them, if their parents be mispersuaded in religion, or 
 " for other misdeserts excommunicated ; some, likewise, for that 
 " cause, to withhold Baptism, unless the father (albeit, no such 
 " exception can justly be taken against him) do, notwithstanding, 
 " make profession of his faith, and avouch the child to be his 
 ** own. Thus, whereas, God has appointed them ministers of 
 " holy things, they make themselves inquisitors of men's persons 
 " a great deal farther than need is. They should consider, 
 *' that God hath ordained Baptism in favour of mankind. To 
 " restrain favours is an odious thing ; to enlarge them, accepta- 
 " ble both to God and man." 
 
 " It is not written," says St, Augustine 2, " Except one be 
 " born again of the will of his parents or of the faith of those 
 
 1 lb. p. 400. 
 
 ' Ad Bonifac. Ep. 98. ed. Bened. To the same purpose is quoted in the 
 new edition of Hooker (ed. Keble), an illustrative passage from Archbishop 
 Whitgift's Answer to the Admonition, p. 157. " I knowe not what you meane, 
 '* when you saye, ' that in the absence of the parentes, some one of the con- 
 " gregation, knowing the good behaviour and sound fayth of the parentes, 
 " may both make a rehersall of their fayth, and, also, if their fayth be 
 "sounde and agreeable to Holy Scriptures, desire in the same to be bap- 
 " tized.' What, if the parents be of evil behaviour ? — What, if it be the 
 " child of a drunkard, or of an harlot ? — What, if the parents be papistes ? 
 " — What, if they be heretikes ? — What if they erre in some poynte or other 
 " in matters of fayth ? Shall not their children be baptized ? Herein you 
 " have a further meaning than I can understand ; and I feare, few do 
 " perceive the poyson that lyeth hidde under these words. May not a 
 " wicked father have a good childe ? — May not a Papist or Heretike have a 
 " believing sonne ? Will you seclude, for the parents' sake, (being himselfe 
 " baptized) his seede from baptisme ?" And Bishop Stillingfleet well ex- 
 
158 UNCERTAINTY OF BAPTISM, IF IT DEPENDED ON MAN's FAITH. 
 
 " who offer him, or who minister, but ' except he be born again 
 " of water and the Holy Ghost.' The water then exhibiting 
 " without, the Sacrament of Grace and the Spirit working within, 
 " the benefit of grace, loosing the band of sin, restoring good to 
 '* nature, do, both together, regenerate in one Christ, man, who 
 " was generated of one Adam." And Luther says' well, " That 
 " Baptism may be assured in us, therefore God doth not found it 
 " upon our faith, since that may be uncertain and false, but on 
 " His word and institution." 
 
 Else, also, if the regeneration of the child depended upon the 
 holiness of the parent, then, since, according to the views in 
 question, those who are regenerated are finally saved, all the 
 children of believing parents, and they only, would be regene- 
 rated and so saved : whereas, as one of their own writers says % 
 " all children saved are not of believing parents : yea, we may 
 " in charitie presume of some, perhaps, without the Church, whom 
 " the Lord mercifully saveth out of most wicked progenitors for 
 *' many generations." Not, manifestly, as if the faith and longing 
 desires, and yearnings, and prayers of the parents for the child 
 
 plains the relations of the Sponsor to the Church, (Unreasonableness of Sepa- 
 ration, p. 3. c. 36. §. 2. where also he well sets forth the difficulties of the 
 supposition, which would make the benefits of Baptism depend upon the 
 actual living faith of parents or any other.) " If the parents be supposed 
 " to have no right, yet upon the sponsion of God-fathers, the Church may 
 " have a right to administer Baptism to children. Not as though the spon- 
 " sion gave the right, but was only intended to make them parties to the 
 " covenant in the child's name, and sureties for the performance. The admi- 
 " lustration of Baptism is one considerable part of the power of the keys, 
 " which Christ first gave to the Apostles, and is continued ever since in the 
 " officers of the Church. By virtue of this power, they have the authority to 
 " give admission into the Church to capable subjects. The Church of Christ, 
 " as far as we can trace any records of antiquity, has always considered chil- 
 " dren capable subjects of admission into the Christian Church ; but, lest the 
 " Church should fail of its end, and these children not be well instructed in 
 " their duty, it required sponsors for them, who were not only to take care 
 ,' of them for the future, but to stand as their sureties, to ratify their part of 
 " the covenant implied by Baptism." 
 
 ' Sermo De Baptismo. A. 1535. 
 
 2 Taylor, on Ep. to Titus, p. 643. 
 
BENEFITS OV PRAYER AT BAPTISM. 159 
 
 were of no benefit to it, or, again, that the prayers of the con- 
 gregation, which the Church solicits for each infant, availed 
 nothing ; but, only, that no faith, or desires, or prayers, or any 
 thing besides, were of such moment as to affect the virtue which 
 Christ has annexed to His Sacrament of Baptism, or, as if the 
 regeneration of our infants were to be ascribed in any way to our 
 prayers instead of Christ's ordinance. Larger measures of grace 
 He, doubtless, may bestow in answer to more fervent prayers ; 
 and it would argue a sinful want of sympathy, were the Church 
 not to pray, when God is about, by her means, to engrafFa new 
 member into the body of His Son ; and, therefore, we pray : but 
 not as if God's mercy was so limited to our prayers, that He 
 would not render Christ's ordinance effectual to one who op- 
 posed it not, although we sinned in our mode of administering it. 
 One way in which the faith of the Church is of avail, is indeed 
 plain and tangible. It is, namely, through the faith of true 
 believers, that Christ perpetuates the use of His Sacraments in 
 the Church. For those who Jirst sought them for themselves or 
 their children, out of habit or custom, or any other motive, not be- 
 cause they knew it to be our Lord's will, woidd, obviously, never 
 have sought them at all, but for the example originally given by 
 those more faithful few. And thus He bestows the benefits of 
 Baptism even upon the children of those unfaithful parents who 
 have neglected to cherish and cultivate its benefits in themselves, 
 and yet are induced, by the faith of others, to believe that some 
 good will result from the Baptism of their children, and so pre- 
 sent them. For who could doubt, that if the faith of those, who 
 in true faith offer their children to be made members of Christ 
 by Baptism, had not in each successive age continued Infant- 
 Baptism as a rite and custom of the Church, those who now 
 bring their children mainly out of custom, would disuse it ; 
 and so their children lose it and its fruits? The faith of 
 the faithful is the salt of the earth, preserving it from cor- 
 ruption. God's gracious promise to Abraham has full often, 
 doubtless, been again realized, and the city or the Church pre- 
 served for and through the five righteous men who were in it. 
 And so the faith of every missionary from the Apostles* 
 
160 BENEFITS OF THE FAITH OF OTHERS. 
 
 days to our own, or of the Church, which, by fasting and 
 prayer, separated them for the work, (Acts xiii. 2, 3.) or of 
 the founder of each lesser congregation within the bounds 
 already occupied by the Church at large, each, in their se- 
 veral ways, co-operate to the extension and use and perpetuity 
 of Christ' s Sacraments ; and in the use of these Sacraments 
 their faith receives a blessing. And this is a way, wherein 
 it may be made even tangible to sense, how the faith of the 
 Church becomes available in some measure to those who 
 have but a weak faith, or by reason of their age cannot actively 
 exert it. The principle extends widely ; in religious duties, 
 in moral performance, in abstinence from sin, in all the ways in 
 which custom (as it is called) or example induce men to enter 
 upon, or to persevere in, any practice, or to abstain from any evil 
 habit, or even from any deeper sin, it is the faith of the faithful 
 members of the Church which is thus blessed. God employs 
 their faithful exercise of duty, either in retaining or restoring the 
 infirmer or the erring members ; the very imitation of their 
 right practice, implies a degree of faith, and though it be but as 
 a smoking flax, God quencheth it not, but brings it to a greater 
 brightness : and any one, who shall have observed how instru- 
 mental, what he calls circumstances or custom have been in the 
 formation of his own religious character, or, again, how few they 
 are who rise above and act healthfully upon, the religious cha- 
 racter of their age, or, again, how mainly dependent children are 
 upon the faith of others, will see how much we have to thank 
 God for the faith of others, and how mighty an instrument true 
 faith is in a faithless world. And when it pleased Christ, during 
 His actual abode upon earth, to accept the faith of parents, or 
 masters, or friends, for those who needed any " virtue, which 
 " should go forth from Him," (where themselves, from circum- 
 stances, could not exercise that faith,) and then to put forth the 
 same gracious influences; it was not assuredly for their sake 
 principally, but to attest His acceptance of, and to encourage the 
 Church to offer, a vicarious faith, for those who are not as yet able 
 to manifest it. But in instancing the above more tangible method, 
 in which God renders the faith oi' the church a benefit to it's 
 
 13 
 
INFANT-BAPTISM A GREAT EXERCISE OF FAITH. 161 
 
 weaker members, I would not by any means limit it to this ; for 
 we know not how or why, or to what extent, the faith of the 
 Church is acceptable in God's sight ; and how it may be a neces- 
 sary condition for the continuance of the blessings of the Gospel ; 
 what mighty ends it may serve in the moral government of the 
 universe ; why He has connected such blessings with vicarious 
 faith. All this we see and know in ])art only ; only we know 
 that all Infant-Baptism is a great exercise of faith, (if but on the 
 very ground which carnal men allege, that we receive back the 
 purified infant outwardly nothing changed, and for a time to 
 manifest but little apparent change) and it may be, in part, on 
 that very ground, that Infant-Baptism is acceptable to God, and 
 may serve ends of which we know nothing, just as the commemo- 
 rative representation of our Lord's sacrifice on the cross (which 
 was to be done in remembrance of Him), may have, and was 
 thought of old to have ends, entirely distinct from the influence 
 which it may have upon our own minds, and independent also of 
 our Sacramental union with Him. Only we should be assured, 
 that this and every other institution of God, has far more and 
 wider ends, than we in the flesh can yet see : nay, probably, 
 what we do see can scarcely be looked upon even as the faintest 
 type of what is behind the veil. And this should make us the 
 more heedful, not to make our own notions, or any uses, which 
 may be apparent to us, any measure of Divine things ; but in all 
 things, (whether we seem to know less or more) to confess from 
 the heart, that we '* know in part " only. 
 
 This title of the children of all who are within the covenant, to 
 the blessings of the covenant, is implied in St. Paul's recommen- 
 dation, that the converted parent should retain, or remain with, 
 the yet unbelieving consort, for that they were sanctified by them : 
 " otherwise the children had been unclean, but now are they holy :" 
 i. e. since the fruit of the marriage is holy, therefore the mar- 
 riage itself must be approved by God. (1 Cor. vii. 14.) None, 
 indeed, of the ancients thought that St. Paul hereby affirmed that 
 any, even the children of believers, were holy by their natural birth ' : 
 
 • See Mote O at the end. 
 
162 HOLINESS OF CHILDREN, (1 COR. VII. 11), 
 
 for," as St. Augustine argues, " the fault of our carnal nature, 
 " though without guilt in the regenerated parent, as having been 
 " remitted, still in the offspring it does bring guiltiness, until it be 
 " remitted by the same grace ;" i. e. as our Blessed Saviour tells 
 us, " that which is born of the flesh is flesh." The child of the 
 regenerated or Christian parent brings into the world with it 
 nothing but the corruption of our fallen nature, and God's pro- 
 mise to restore it by Baptism : and it has been without authority, 
 when persons have so insisted on the inherited holiness of the chil- 
 dren of Christian parents, as to represent the Sacrament of rege- 
 neration to be but the confirmation or sealing of a gift already 
 bestowed ^ The ancients understood, under the holiness here 
 spoken of, the holiness conferred by God in Baptism, to which 
 these children were brought by their one Christian parent, and to 
 which they had a title in consequence of that birth. And this 
 use of the word "holy," as signifying a holiness bestowed upon 
 us by God, corresponds best with the title given universally to 
 all Christians, " called, saints^;" and therewith also agrees St. 
 Paul's other saying, that the Jewish people " the branches, were 
 " holy," because " the root (the Patriarchs, for whose sake they 
 " were beloved, v. 28.) was holy." (Rom. xi. 16.) Now this 
 holiness belonged not to the children of the Jews, when yet un- 
 circumcised, for the Jewish child who remained uncircumcised 
 on the eighth day, was to be cut off (Gen. 17. 14.), but to such 
 as were admitted into the covenant made with Abraham by cir- 
 
 1 " Infants are not baptized, that they may become holy : but, because they 
 " are holy, therefore they are baptized, i. e. receive the seal." Wliitaker, 
 q. 4. c. 5. ap. Gataker, 1. c. p. 105. See also further above, p. 122, note 1. 
 
 2 And that the more, since the name alternates with ijyiaafikvoi, (1 Cor. 
 i. 2. Jude 1. 3.) " those who are made holy in Christ Jesus," and is ex- 
 plained by the title " all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus," (Acts 
 ix. 13, 14 xxvi. 10, comp. ix. 21.) isunited with the whole" Church" at a place, 
 (2 Cor. i. 1.) or itself is the title used indiscriminately, in narrative, for the 
 members of the whole Church in any place, and where, consequently, there is 
 not the same object, as in the Apostolic salutations, to admonish persons by 
 their very name, of the greatness of their profession. (Actsix. 32. Rom. xv. 26. 
 2 Cor. viii. J. ix. 1. 12. (cp. Acts xi. 29,) &c. 
 
BAPTISMAL HOLINESS, AND UNIVERSAL. 163 
 
 cumcision ; for then only they became branches of the vine which 
 God had planted : much more then in the case of the child of 
 Christians, by how much they are partakers of better promises, 
 and our federal rite grafFs us not merely into the body of a cho- 
 sen people, but into that of the Son of God, not simply into the 
 vine brought out of Egypt, but into Him who is " the True Vine." 
 For in Christ there is no longer ceremonial holiness, nor cove- 
 nant-holiness ; since He who is the substance being come, the 
 shadows have passed away ; but real holiness cannot belong to 
 any by their carnal birth, since thereby we are still " children of 
 "wrath :" it remains, then, (as elsewhere in the New Testament,) 
 that it be actual holiness — the holiness actually conferred upon 
 us in Baptism, as members of the Holy Son of God, and clothed 
 with Him. The promise then, implied in this saying of St. 
 Paul, has no limitation : if but one parent were within the cove- 
 nant, then the children also are comprehended within it, and 
 have, by virtue thereof, a title to all the privileges of it. The 
 rule is given universally ; " if any one have an unbelieving hus- 
 " band or wife — else were your children unclean, (afcaSapra) un- 
 " purified ', out of the covenant, but now are they (all of them) 
 " holy." And so our Hooker ^ having said " that we are plainly 
 " taught by God, that the seed of faithful parentage is holy 
 '* from the very birth," (which might seem as if he imagined that 
 we brought with us into the world more than a title to be made 
 holy by God's ordinance ;) explains that he so means this, "not 
 " as if the children of believing parents were without sin, or grace 
 " from baptized parents derived by propagation, or God by 
 " covenant and promise tied to save any in mere regard of their 
 " parents' belief: yet seeing, that to a\l prof essors of the name of 
 " Christ, this pre-eminence above Infidels is freely given, that 
 •* the fruit of their bodies bringeth into the world with it a 
 " present interest and right to those means, wherewith the ordi- 
 " nance of Christ is, that His Church shall be sanctified," &c. 
 
 1 Hammond (Practical Catechism), notices this use of aKaOaprov, Acts x. 
 14. 28. xi. 8. on this very subject of Christian privileges. 
 
 2 B. 5, c, 60. §. 6. ed. Keble. 
 
164 IS THE EFFICACY OF BAPTISM ANNULLED 
 
 It is not, then, on account of any intrinsic holiness of the 
 parents, or any faith inherent in them, but of " God's abundant 
 mercy," that He hath called us ; having committed to His 
 Church the power of administering His Sacraments, and annex- 
 ing to her exercise of faith in so doing, the blessing of His 
 Sacrament, where there is no opposing will, and accordingly to 
 us, whom He called before we had done either good or evil. 
 
 But it was said, regeneration, or rather grace, generally, can- 
 not be bestowed through Baptism ; because, if a child, for in- 
 stance, having received Baptism, were stolen, and educated 
 among Turks and Heathens, it would manifestly itself be in no 
 respect different from other Turks or Heathens. And this, Cal- 
 vin and others employ triumphantly, as an argument ex absurdoy 
 as if no one of ordinary understanding could hold otherwise. 
 It would, indeed, prove nothing, if true ; for why should it 
 follow, in the spiritual, any more than in the natural world, that 
 because a gift was rendered useless for want of cultivation, there- 
 fore it had never been given ? We see daily, that great intellec- 
 tual powers are gradually destroyed by the abuse, or neglect, or 
 trifling of their possessors ; or by being employed on petty or 
 unworthy objects ; and, being made subservient to vanity or 
 sense, are at last lost, so that a man could not employ them if he 
 would ; and this, doubtless (as is every thing in nature), was 
 meant as an emblem of things unseen — a warning to us, to take 
 heed to our spiritual faculties, " lest the light which is in us 
 become darkness." But who ever gave us ground to say, that 
 any oMiwarc? circumstances, in which it should please God to place 
 one, whom He had elected to be, by Baptism, incorporated into 
 the body of His Blessed Son, had the power to annihilate that 
 Baptism, and to make it as if it had never been ? " Where wast 
 " thou, when God laid the foundations of the earth ? declare, if 
 " thou hast understanding." Job xxxviii. 4. " Add thou not to 
 " His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." 
 (Prov. xxx. 6.) Surely, men take too much upon them, in 
 speaking thus positively of the depths of the human heart, and of 
 Divine grace, the workings whereof are as varied as they are 
 unfathomable, unmeasurable, incomprehensible, because it is an 
 
BY THE SUBSEQUENT PRIVATION OF OUTWARD MEANS ? 165 
 
 effluence from God. Or, because God, ordinarily, to His first 
 gift of regeneration, adds the gift of His word, of the teaching 
 of the Church, of the Communion of the Body and Blood of 
 Christ; shall we dare to pronounce, that, if He please to exclude 
 any one from that Communion, or from that outward teaching, 
 therefore that former gift would have none effect ? that they, to 
 whom God had by Baptism given the earnest of the Spirit in 
 their hearts, would have that earnest withdrawn, unless retained 
 by other outward means, or religious instruction ? that He could 
 not, or would not, provide for those whom He admitted to be 
 members of His Son ? " Is the Lord's arm shortened, that He 
 " cannot save ?" And shall we say even of those, who through 
 our neglect, are in the great towns of our Christian land educated 
 worse than Turks and Heathens, trained to sin — shall we say, 
 that even these, as many as have been baptized, have no striv- 
 ings of the Spirit of God within them, to which they are entitled 
 through Baptism ; that God admitted them into His Church, 
 only, forthwith, utterly to cast them off; that they have not 
 oftentimes been restrained from sin, by a Power which they 
 scarcely knew, but which still withheld them, with a might 
 stronger than sin and death and Satan — the might of the Spirit 
 of God ? Or have we not often seen how God, as if to vindicate 
 His own gift, has to many children of His Church, turned into 
 gain what to our shallow judgments seemed destruction unavoid- 
 able ; has prospered their faithfulness " in few things, and so made 
 " them rulers over many things ;" while others, who in outward 
 spiritual advantages were first, by their own negligence became 
 last ? Surely, then, it were truer, as well as more humble, to 
 abstain from thus narrowing the operations of God! It were 
 profaneness, indeed, and a wanton contempt of God's inercies, to 
 trust in Baptism alone, when He has vouchsafed us means for 
 cultivating the grace bestowed upon us in Baptism : but it argues 
 no less a narrow-minded unbelief, to deny the power or the vvill 
 of God to make Baptism alone available, when He, from the 
 time of Baptism, has, not for any want of faithfulness in the 
 child, withdrawn every other means. " And they were sore 
 " amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered : for they 
 
166 TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE MISAPPLIED 
 
 " considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was 
 " hardened." (Mark vi. 51, 52.) 
 
 The further question, " whether God imparts faith presently 
 " to the baptized infants," scarcely belongs to the present subject, 
 and is perhaps hardly a profitable inquiry, if it be thereby meant 
 to discriminate between the spiritual gifts imparted to children. 
 Undoubtedly, in the new nature given them by their new birth, 
 there is virtually imparted to them the first principle of every 
 heavenly grace, faith, love, hope : they are united with Christ ; 
 are children of God, members of Christ, inheritors of heaven ; 
 and if for this, faith be necessary in them, undoubtedly they have 
 this also : only it seems best not to make curious deductions 
 from Holy Scripture, where the Church has been silent, and con- 
 tent that God has graffed our children into His Son, to wait, 
 assured that in due time " all things belonging to the Spirit will 
 " live and grow in them," if we cultivate duly these " plants of 
 " the Lord," water them, and pray for God's increase. 
 
 IV. It is urged, however, on authority of Holy Scripture, that 
 the regenerated are free from sin, and that, therefore, so long as 
 children are such as we see them frequently to grow up, subject 
 to sin, and without any earnestness of mind, we must conclude, that 
 they have not been regenerated \ We are reminded, that our 
 Saviour has said, " every tree is known by its fruits ;" and that 
 God has also said, " whosoever is born of God doth not commit 
 " sin, for His seed remaineth in him ; neither can he commit sin, 
 " because he is born of God." (1 John iii. 9.) With regard to the 
 first passage, it is obvious that our Saviour is speaking of what 
 the tree is, not what has been done for it ; not how it has been 
 digged about, watered, cultivated, but what returns it has made 
 for this care ; not whether God has planted us in His vineyard, 
 and given us His grace, but whether we are yielding fruit. It is 
 
 *• " If every child receive grace, as a thing tied unto Baptisme, what be- 
 " Cometh of that grace, when children growing in years, growe also extremely 
 " flagitious and wicked ? necessarily it must be lost and vanished, which is 
 " both against the Scriptures, and against the doctrine of our Church. For if 
 " the child be borne of God in baptisme, he sinneth not, because the seed of 
 " God is in him." Taylor, on Ep. to Titus, p. 646. 
 
TO IMPUGN BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 167 
 
 a test of our holiness, not of God's goodness. The passage of 
 St. John is more difficuh ; nor do those who quote it seem to be 
 aware of its difficuhy. For taken thus loosely, it were in direct 
 contradiction with that other truth, *' If we say we have no sin, we 
 " deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us^ ;" and, therefore, 
 we are of necessity forced to look more closely into it. Since, also, 
 we know by sad experience, that all commit sin, then it would 
 follow, that none were regenerate ; and, as an old Predestinarian 
 writer well said ^ •' if this objection were of force against infants, 
 "it would be much more against persons of yeares actually 
 " converted. For it would prove that they have not the Spirit 
 " constantly abiding in them, because it doth not in great falls 
 " evidently sliow itself at all." And not in great falls only, but in 
 lesser cases of human infirmity ; for St. John saith peremptorily 
 and absolutely, " doth not commit sin ;" and to substitute for 
 this, " is not guilty of dehberate and habitual sin," or " gross 
 " sin," or any other qualifying expression, is clearly tampering 
 with God's words, and lowering His teaching. Glosses, such as 
 these, in plain statements of Holy Scripture, cannot be too dili- 
 
 * Burges pp. 284-5, and p. 262. " In elect infants, ordinarily, no such 
 " worke appeares ; rather, on the contrary, many of them shew manifest oppo- 
 " sition to all grace and goodness for many years together, notwithstanding 
 " their Baptism." 
 
 2 St. Augustine, ad loc. declares himself on this ground much perplexed, 
 and explains " sinneth not," of the one commandment of love, "which whoso 
 " keepeth, to him his sins are forgiven ; whoso breaketh, his are retained." 
 His exposition, though far-fetched, admits, and is founded on the plain mean- 
 ing of the words, that the Apostle speaks of an entire freedom from all sin. 
 His application of the words shows also his conviction that they are a test, 
 whether we retain, not whether we ever received, baptismal grace. " Behold a 
 " baptized person has received the Sacrament of the new-birth : he hath a Sa- 
 " crament, a great Sacrament — divine, holy, ineflable. Think of what sort ; one 
 " which, by the remission of all sins, maketh a new man. But let him observe 
 " the heart, whether what was done in the body has been perfected there ; let 
 " him see, whether he have love, and then let him say, ' I am born of God.' 
 " If he have not, he has indeed received a certain stamp impressed upon him, 
 " but is a deserter." A different, and, I think, a better interpretation, with 
 which St. Augustine elsewhere combines this, is that it is through love that 
 we are enabled to fulfil the law : see below, p. 170, note 1. 
 
168 EXPOSITION OF 1 JOHN III. 9. 
 
 gently guarded against ; often liave tliey brought down Divine to 
 mere human truth ; the very essence of the truth, that which 
 constitutes it Divine truth, is generally evaporated by these 
 inaccurate substitutions. The true meaning will be cleared by 
 attending as well to the context, as to St. John's method of teach- 
 ing. St. John, namely, is warning Christians against seducing 
 teachers (c. i. 26.), who separated truth from holiness, who said 
 that they " knew God," and yet " kept not His commandments" 
 (c. ii. 4.) ; said that they " abode in Him," and yet did not '* walk 
 " as He walked" (v. 6.) ; denied that Jesus was the Christ, (v. 
 22.) Against these he warns his flock, to " abide" in Christ, 
 as they had been taught (vv. 27. 8.) ; and then proceeds (c. iii.) 
 to set forth the connection between Christian truth and holiness. 
 Our present title, (he tells them,) of Sons of God (v. 1.); our 
 future hopes of seeing Him as He is, and so being made like to 
 Him (v. 2.) ; the very object of His coming, " to take away sin" 
 (v. 5.) ; — shew us God's will, that we should " purify ourselves, 
 " as He is pure :" all other doctrine is but deceit : " little children, 
 " let no man deceive you :" God and the devil, children of God 
 and children of the devil, sin and righteousness, are incompatible, 
 and mutually opposed : there can be no union between Christ 
 and Belial, or the servants and services of either ; there is 
 no other way of " being righteous," than by " doing righteous- 
 " ness." (v. 7.) This, then, was St. John's great subject, the neces- 
 sity of personal holiness and purity ; and this he expresses (as is 
 his wont) in abstract, absolute propositions, not looking upon 
 truth, as it is imperfectly realized in us, whether to good or to 
 evil, but as it is in itself, and as it will be, in the final separation 
 of the evil from the good, when each shall, without any remaining 
 obstacle, whether of the hindrances of sin, or of the strivings of 
 God's Spirit, become wholly, what they now are predominantly. 
 " He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth 
 " from the beginning." " Whosoever is born of God doth not 
 " commit sin." " In this the children of God are manifest, and the 
 " children of the devil." And so St. John returns to his first 
 warning : " Whosoever doeth not righteousness, is not of God." 
 It is manifest, then, that we are here to look, not for any abstract 
 
HOW A CHRISTIAN "CANNOT SIN." 169 
 
 doctrinal statement, but for impressive practical truth : namely, 
 whatever be our feelings, persuasions, pretensions, theories or 
 dreams of good, there is but one test, whether we are of God or 
 the devil, with whom we hold, whose we are, and whose to all 
 eternity we shall be, and that is, wliose works we do, — sin or 
 righteousness, — whom we serve. If we were entirely God's, 
 then, as our Blessed Saviour did, we should do altogether the 
 works of God : " whosoever is born of God, sinneth not" (as 
 before he said, " whosoever abideth in Him (i. e. wholly, en- 
 " tirely) sinneth not ; for His seed remaineth in him ; neither 
 " can he sin, because he is born of God :'' and in whatever degree 
 we have cherished and cultivated that heavenly seed, sown in our 
 hearts by Baptism, we cannot sin : as there is no sin so grievous, 
 into which but for God's grace wc should have fallen, so through 
 His grace, we should each feel, that there are sins into vvhicli we 
 cannot fall : now, by that grace, we cannot sin, because thus far 
 His seed remaineth in us. The Apostle's words declare to us 
 then the height of the mark of our calling, the greatness of our 
 end, the glory of our aim, that being " partakers of the Divine 
 nature," (2 Pet. i. 4.) we might be without sin : that in purify- 
 ing ourselves, we should stop short of no other end than this : 
 that we should not stifle the impulses to loftier attainments, which 
 God hath placed within us, nor indulge our natural listlessness, 
 as if there were no hope ; but should aim at being, what our 
 Church has taught us twice at the commencement of each day to 
 pray that w'e may be kept, without sin. But, applied to a parti- 
 cular case, it must manifestly be with the limitation, which our 
 present imperfection requires, " as far," or " inasmuch as," we 
 " are born of God, we cannot commit sin :" in whatever degree 
 we are realizing the life, which was in Baptism conferred upon 
 us, we cannot sin : our sins are a portion of our old man, our 
 corruption, our death ; and so farj we are not living. St. John 
 is not then speaking of the life which we have received of God, 
 but of that which we are now living : and is giving us a test 
 whether we be alive or dead, or to which state we are verging, 
 that of complete life, or complete death. We cannot indeed tell 
 who they be in this world who are " twice dead," and, already, 
 
 M 
 
170 now THE FATHERS KXPLAINTD 1 JOHN III. 9. 
 
 uliolly tlic evil one's ; but if tliere be any in whom every spark 
 of baptismal life has been extinguished, God has given us no 
 hope that it shall be renewed. The words of St. John then are 
 a solemn warning to ns, to take heed that we cultivate that good 
 thing, which has been planted in us ; that " we quench not the 
 Spirit ;" that " the light which is in us be not darkness ;" but 
 they do not tell us that that good thing has never been im- 
 planted ; that Spirit never given ; that liglit never kindled : and 
 as in the one case we should without doubt interpret the words, 
 " he who committeth sin is of the Devil," every such person, as 
 far as he committeth sin, is of the Devil ; So in the other, " every 
 " one as far as he is born, or the child of God, doth not commit 
 " sin\" 
 
 ' I find exactly this sense expressed in St. Augustine, Cont. Mendacium 
 ad Consentium, § 40, t. vi. col. 473. ed. Bened. " This birth (of God) if it 
 " alone existed in us, no one Vv'ould sin, and when it alone shall be, no one 
 " will sin. But now we yet drag along with us our corrupt birth, although, 
 " according to our new birth, if we walk well, we are day by day renewed 
 " witliin. But when this corruption shall have put on incorruption, life will 
 " swallow up every thing, and no sting of death will remain. But the sting 
 " of death is sin," add.de peccat. meritis et remiss. L. 1. § 9, 10. t.x. col. 44 — C. 
 ed. Bened. I insert a few words only, " For the whole of our old infirmity is 
 " not destroyed from the very hour when each is baptized, but the renewal 
 " is begun by the remission of all sins. — -We have now, then, the first-fruits of 
 , " the Spirit, whence we are already in deed made the Sons of God : but for the 
 " rest, as it is in hope that we are saved, and made completely new, so is it 
 " that we are sons of God : but in deed, because we are not yet saved, so also 
 " not as yet fully renewed, not as yet also sons of GoD, but children of the 
 " world. We make progress therefore towards complete renewal and perfect 
 " life, through that whereby we are sons of God, and through this w,e alto- 
 " gether can commit no sin; until into this (renewed nature) that also shall 
 " be wholly changed, whereby we are yet children of the world : for by this 
 " we can yet sin. Thus it is, that both ' he that is born of God sinneth not,' 
 " and if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves. That then shall 
 " be consumed, wherein we are children of the flesh and of the world, and 
 '"' that perfected whereby we are sons of God and renewed in Spirit," &c. 
 add. de perfectione justitice hominis, § 39. t. x. col. 185. de gratia Christi, 
 §. 22. col. 239. cont. Epist. Parmenian. L. 2. § 14. t. ix. col. 33. 
 
 So also St. Basil Moralia c. 22. " What belongeth to bim who has been 
 " born of the Spirit? To become, according to the measure given, the same 
 " ps that of which he was born, as is written Joli. iii. 0." To l]ie same 
 
QUESTION OF INFANT NOT AFFECTED BY ADULT BAPTISM. 171 
 
 Such are the objections, as far as I know them, urged against 
 Baptismal regeneration : in part, tlity would be objections against 
 all infant Baptism, and as such would, I doubt not, be instantly 
 dropped by those who now inadvertently use them, whom 
 Burjjes ' calls the " unwittlnij Proctors of the Sacramentarians." 
 
 The question is needlessly embarrassed by any reference to 
 adult Baptism, since what we are now concerned with, is, whether 
 our infants, who oppose no obstacle to God's grace, do, by virtue 
 of His institution, receive that grace; not, what would be the 
 case of one who should receive Baptism from any worldly motive, 
 and at the same time place an obstacle to its benefits by receiv- 
 ing it in unbelief. The questions are entirely distinct ; nor 
 would any conclusion which we might come to, as to the unbe- 
 lieving adult, affect the case of our infants, who cannot be unbe- 
 lievers ; and this protest it is necessary to make before we enter 
 upon that case, because a misapplication of the case of unbelieving 
 adults, has furnished most of the arguments whereby men dis- 
 parage the value of Infant Baptism. The unbelieving adult then 
 ■ could of course derive no present benefit from Baptism ; and it 
 is an awful question, whether by receiving the Sacrament of Re- 
 generation in unbelief, there being no other appointed means 
 whereby the new-birth is bestowed, juch an one had not pre- 
 cluded himself for ever from being born again ? It is a case of 
 
 purpose, probably, although not so clearly, paraphrases Jerome against 
 Jovinian (who from this place maintained impeccability after baptism, and 
 that those who were tempted, had, like Simon MaguS; been baptized with 
 water only). " I write unto you, little children, that ye may not sin, and 
 '* that ye may know, that ye so long abide in the generation of tlie Lord, as 
 " ye do not sin. Yea, they who persevere in the generation of the Lord can- 
 " not sin; for what fellov/ship has light with darkness? As day and night 
 " cannot be mingled ; so neither righteousness and iniquity ; sin and good 
 " works; Christ and Antichrist. If we receive Christ in the abode of our 
 " breast, we forthwith expel the devil. If we sin, and by the door of sin the 
 " devil have entered, immediately Christ will depart. Whence David said, 
 " ' restore to me the joy of thy salvation,' which namely he had by sinning lost." 
 (L. 2. § 2.) So also of moderns, the learned and pious John Gerhard, Loci de 
 Bon. operib. § 144. " as far as any one is RVuXrcmnins born again, so far he does 
 " not give way to sins: — regeneration and mortal sins cannot abide together," 
 ' L. c. p. 7C. 
 
 M 2 
 
1 72 SIMON MAGUS RECEIVED BAPTISM IN FAITH. 
 
 such profane contempt of God's institution, it betrays such a 
 servitude to the god of this world, that such a case has not been 
 provided for in Scripture ; and one should almost dread to speak 
 where God in His word has been silent. For Simon Magus is 
 no such case ; since of him Scripture positively affirms that he 
 believed ', however soon he fell away ; so that St. Peter's exhor- 
 tation to him, to repent, holds out no encouragement to them 
 who make a mock or a gain of God's institution. Where God gives 
 repentance, we are safe in concluding that He is ready to pardon 
 the offence, however in its own nature it may seem to put a per- 
 son out of the covenant of Grace and repentance, and at the same 
 time to preclude his entering again into it ; and to any person, 
 who, having thus sinned, is concerned about his salvation, that 
 very concern is a proof that God, in his case, has not withdrawn 
 
 ' " Then Simon himself believed also ; and when he was baptized, con- 
 " tinned constantly with Philip." Acts viii. 13. This surely cannot by any 
 means be interpreted of a feigned belief : rather Calvin seems herein to have 
 rightly yielded to the letter of Scripture, although opposed to his views. " In 
 " that faith is ascribed to him, we do not understand with some that he pre- 
 " tended a faith which he had not; but rather that overcome by the majesty 
 *' of the Gospel he believed it after a manner, and so acknowledged Christ to 
 " be the author of life and salvation as gladly to subject himself to Him." 
 (Institt. 3, 2, 10.) It is overlooked also that Simon Magus was converted 
 by Philip, and continued for a while with him ; and that it was not until the 
 arrival of St. Peter furnished the temptation especially adapted to him, of 
 exercising again as a Christian, by corrupt means, the influence which he 
 had as a Pagan, that he fell. His history then is, alas 1 nothing so insulated 
 in that of mankind : it is the simple, though fearful, occurrence of those 
 who struck by some awful event around them, or in their own lives, or by 
 some imposing act of God's Providence, for a while abandon their evil courses, 
 and then, in time of temptation, fall away. Exactly this view (though only 
 hypothetically) is given by St. Augustine (de Bapt. c. Donatist. L. 4. § 17.) 
 "Was that Simon Magus baptized with Christ's Baptism? They will 
 " answer, yes ! for they are compelled by the authority of Holy Scripture. I 
 " ask, then, whether they confess that his sins were forgiven him ? They 
 " will confess it. I ask again, why did Peter say to him that he had no part 
 " in the lot of the saints ? Because, they say, he afterwards sinned, wishing 
 " to purchase with money the gift of God, whereof he thought the Apostles 
 " were sellers." And, L. 6. § 1 9. " For that Simon Magus was born of water 
 " and the Spirit, and yet did not enter into the kingdom of Heaven." 
 
DANGER OF RECEIVING BAPTISM UNWORTHILY. 173 
 
 His Spirit. Or again, since those tempted to commit it, are either 
 heathen, or members of a sect, which grievously disparages the 
 Sacrament of Baptism, one may hope that they in some measure 
 have done it " ignorantly, in unbelief," through ignorance not 
 altogether their own sin, but in part the sin of those who have 
 taken upon themselves the care of their souls. Otherwise it 
 seems sinning with so high a hand, and so to cut off the very 
 means of jDardon and pledge of grace, that one should be horribly 
 afraid for any one who thought of, or had committed it. 
 11 A yet more awful view of the case of adults, who receive 
 Baptism wickedly, from worldly motives, and with contempt of 
 God's ordinance, is opened by the analogy of the other Sacrament. 
 As namely, they " who eat and drink unworthily, eat and drink 
 "judgment to themselves, not discerning the Lord's body," 
 there seems much reason to fear that they who receive Baptism 
 unworthily, receive it not merely without benefit, but to their 
 hurt, discerning not the presence of the Holy Trinity, and des- 
 pising what God hath sanctified. I speak not of particular cases, 
 for God has in a wonderful manner, for His own glory, made 
 Baptism effectual, when administered in mockery ' by heathens 
 on a heathen stage, to interest the curiosity of a profane audience, 
 and a Pagan Emperor ; and God has put forth His power to 
 vindicate His own ordinances, by making the poor buffoon a 
 
 * The history and authorities are given at length by Tillemont Memm. 
 Eccles. t. iv. p. 173. : and it bears the evidence of truth: the fact that the 
 Christian Sacrament of Baptism at least was acted upon the heathen stage, is 
 implied by St. Augustine, who incidentally inquires, whether Baptism admi- 
 nistered without any serious intention or in a play (in mimo) is valid ? (de 
 Bapt. c. Donat. L. 7- § 151.) He puts also the case, " if so be, one suddenly 
 "kindled should receive it faithfully," which exactly corresponds with the 
 facts of the history. And he proceeds to contrast " one who in the farce 
 " believed," with " one, who in the Church mocked." The history is briefly 
 this, that the player, when baptized, saw a vision, was converted, and when 
 led (as the custom was, when the mock baptism was concluded,) before the 
 Emperor, confessed himself converted, and to have become indeed a Chris- 
 tian, and sealed his newly-bestowed faith by immediate martyrdom. The 
 previous profaneness is (it may be remarked) one instance of the necessity, 
 under which the ancient Church was placed, of concealing the mysteries of 
 her faith, which moderns, under the name of the " disciplina arcani," have 
 so ignorantly blamed. 
 
174 ST. AtOUSTINE — BAPTISM llENEl-ICIM. OR I'ERNICIOUS. 
 
 convert, and enduing the convert of Baptism willi strength for 
 instant martyrdom. God can vindicate His ordinances, by 
 making them all-powerful either to save or to destroy. But 
 when there is no such signal end to be attained, one would fear 
 that they would be pernicious to the profane recipient. St. 
 Augustine ^ argues thus : " What ! although the Lord himself 
 " say of His body and blood, the only sacrifice for our salvation, 
 " ' unless a man eat My flesh and drink My blood, he hath no 
 " life in him,' doth not the same Apostle teach that this also 
 " becomes hurtful to those who abuse it, for he says, ' V/hoso- 
 " ever eateth the bread and drinkcth the cup of the Loud 
 *' unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.' 
 " See then Divine and Holy things are pernicious to those who 
 " a!buse them ; why not then Baptism ?" And again ^ : " The 
 " Church bore Siinon Magus by Baptism, to whom however it 
 " was said, that he had no part in the inheritance of Christ. Was 
 '* Baptism, was the Gospel, were the Sacraments, wanting to him? 
 " But smce love was wanting, he was born in vain, and perhaps it 
 " had been better for hhn not to have been born:" and* " God 
 " sanctifies His Sacrament, so that it may avail to a man who 
 " should be truly converted lo Him whether before Baptism, or 
 " while being baptized, or afterwards ; as unless he were con- 
 " verted it would avail to his destruction :" and again he appeals 
 to the Donatists'' : " Ye yourselves have virtually pronounced 
 " your judgment that Baptism depends not on their merits, by 
 " whom, nor upon theirs, to whom, it is administered, but upon 
 " its own holiness and verity, for His sake by 7i'hom it was insti- 
 " tilted, to the destruction of those who use it amiss, to salvation to 
 " those who use it rightly." 
 
 One portion, however, of the ancient Church (the African) 
 seems to have held decisively, not only that this sin of receiving 
 Baptism unworthily would be forgiven upon repentance, but that it 
 did not hinder repentance. St. Augustine namely uses this case'' 
 as an argument against the Donatists, why the Church did not 
 re-baptize those who sought to be restored to her out of a 
 
 ' C. Crcscon. Doiiatist. L. 1. § 30, .31. 
 
 2 De Haptii-mo c. Donatist. L. 1. § 14. ^ Ibid. L. (J. § 47- 
 
 ' Ibid. L. 4. §19. ' Ibid. L. 1. § 1«. 
 
CAN BAPTISM HYrOCRITlCALLY RECEIVED AFTERWARDS AVAIL ? 175 
 
 schismatic communion, although she held tlie Baptism adminis- 
 tered by that communion to be useless while men remained in it. 
 " If they say that sins are not forgiven to one who comes hypo- 
 " critically^ to Baptism, I ask, if he afterwards confess his 
 " hypocrisy with a contrite heart and true grief, is he to be 
 '* baptized again? If it be most insane to affirm this, let them 
 " confess that a man may be baptized with the Baptism of 
 " Christ, and yet his heart, persevering in malice and sacrilege, 
 " would not allow his sins to be done away : and thus let them 
 " understand that in communions separated from the Church 
 '* men may be baptized, (when the baptism of Christ is given 
 " and received, the Sacrament being administered in the same 
 " way) ; which yet is then first of avail to the remission of sins, 
 " when the person being reconciled to the unity of the Church, 
 " is freed from the sacrilege of dissent, whereby his sins were 
 " retained, and not allowed to be forgiven. For as he who had 
 " come hypocritically, is not baptized again ; but what without 
 " baptism could not be cleansed, is cleansed by that pious cor- 
 " rection (of life) and true confession, so that what was before 
 " given, then begins to avail to salvation, when that hypocrisy is 
 " removed by a true confession ; so also the enemy of the love 
 *' and peace of Christ," &c. St. Augustine frequently repeats 
 this illustration, and speaks confidently as if it were a known 
 fact ; as does also another writer" of the African Church. It is 
 a little remarkable that the Schoolmen and their commentators, 
 although deeply read in the Fathers, or at least with a consider- 
 able traditional knov/ledge of them, when treating expressly 
 on this subject* produce only those two authors, and that out 
 of this same Church. St. Cyril of Jerusalem, on the other hand, 
 speaks of the loss as absolutely irreparable. " If thou feignest," 
 he addresses the Catechumen'', " now do men baptize thee, but 
 
 ^ This hypocrisy St. Augustine explains ib. L. 5. c. 18, 19. to be " re- 
 " nouncing the world in words not in deeds, and coming so to baptism." 
 
 2 The author of the sermon on the Passion of Christ in the appendix to 
 Cyprian, quoted by Vazquez in 3 Part. Disp. 159. c. 1. 
 
 3 « Whether Baptism, which on account of the hypocrisy of the Catechu- 
 " men had not the eti'ect of justifying, have that fifect on the removal of 
 " that hypocrisy?" Comp. Vazquez, 1. c. ■» Catech. 17. n. 36. 
 
176 ST. CYRIL HYPOCRITICAL BAPTISM IRREPARABLE. 
 
 " the Spirit will not baptize thee. Thou art come to a great 
 " examination, and enlisting, in this single hour; which if thou 
 " losest, the evil is irreparable, but if thou art thought worthy of 
 " the grace, thy soul is enlightened ; thou receivest a power which 
 " thou hadst not ; thou receivest weapons at which the demons 
 " tremble; and if thou easiest not away thy armour, but 
 " keepest the seal upon thy soul, the demon approacheth not ; 
 " for he is afraid : for by the Spirit of God are devils cast 
 " out." It may be that St. Cyril may have meant, as is said 
 also of all impairing of baptismal purity, that it cannot be wholly 
 repaired, since there is no second Baptism, as he says, * " The 
 " bath cannot be received twice or thrice ; else might a man 
 " say, ' though I fail once, I shall succeed a second time :' but if 
 " thou failest the * once,' it cannot be repaired. For * there is 
 " one Lord, and one faith, and one Baptism.' " The question 
 is very awful, as, what is not, which concerns our souls? It 
 may suffice to have said thus much upon it, if by any means 
 persons might see that subjects of which they speak lightly, are 
 indeed very fearful. 
 
 V. There is however one more general dread, independent 
 of Scripture or Scriptural authority, that already adverted to 
 in the outset", lest, namely, the effect of preaching the doctrine 
 of " Baptismal regeneration" should be to produce a carnal 
 security, deaden the souls of men, make them rely upon out- 
 ward privileges, and lull the unquietness, which is still a sign 
 and a hope of life in the drowsy conscience. Hence some 
 members of our own Church have ventured to term this her 
 doctrine cold and lifeless : and it has been thought by a Dis- 
 senter, (otherwise mild and gentle) sufficient to excuse in our 
 eyes the arrogant invasion of God's office in one who, setting 
 himself in Christ's stead, has pronounced on this portion of 
 His Church, that " she destroys more souls than she saves," as 
 the mere exclamation of piety, honesty, and warm-heartedness^! 
 
 ' Procateches n. 7- " See above, p. 1. sqq. 
 
 3 " Well might you excuse my pious, and honest, and warm-hearted friend 
 " Mr. Biuney, contemplating the tremendous extent ot'soul delusion from this 
 " cause (the early and sinful destination of some persons to the ministry,) and 
 
IS IT RIGHT TO CALL BAPTISMAL REGENERATION DEADENING? 177 
 
 This is a faithless fear : our one concern is to know what God 
 has taught : but to dread beforehand to find any thing to be His 
 teaching, is to make ourselves wiser than God : as if, did He 
 teach any thing, He would not also provide that His teaching 
 should be efficacious ! Is it not the very objection of the Heathen 
 and Socinian scoffer, that the doctrine of Vicarious Atonement, 
 and free pardon, must be an immoral preaching, and produce 
 laxity of conscience ? And were it not the character of 
 Abraham's faith to follow God's guidance, " not knowing whi- 
 " ther we go," but assured that His guidance, if followed, would 
 lead us into all truth ? But indeed, has the doctrine of late been 
 preached ? for to prove, to state, to hold. Baptismal regenera- 
 tion, is not to preach it ! and has not the very dread of the 
 subject as thorny and debateable ground, in great measure pro- 
 duced the very effect, that it has lain uncultivated ? Is it not of 
 the very character of Scripture-teaching to set forth to us the 
 greatness of our privileges, the immensity of what God has 
 done for us, the freeness of the pardon with which he has par- 
 doned us, our adoption, our Sonship, our calling, our Redemp- 
 tion, our Sanctification, our promised inheritance, our imparted 
 earnest of the Spirit, and every other mercy with which He has 
 already crowned us, yea and our regeneration also, " not of 
 " corruptible seed but of incorruptible" (1 Pet. i. 23.) as so 
 many grounds for sincere and upright walking, and for the 
 desire for future growth ? and why then are we to dread, that to 
 tell our flocks, that they were all once placed in Christ's fold, would 
 make them less careful to know whether they have wandered 
 from it? that to tell them that they have been washed, have been 
 cleansed, would make them less careful lest they again " wallow 
 " in the mire" ? that to warn them of the talent which they have 
 received, would make them less anxious to return it with 
 increase ? that to tell them that they have been born again will 
 make them less anxious lest they be again dead ? They are not, 
 cannot be, Heathen ! They may be worse ! Apostate Christians, 
 
 " her bapllsmal formxdaiies, for exclaiming ' slie destroys more souls than she 
 " saves !' Dr. P. Smith's Letter to Prof. Lee, p. 79- We need no excuse 
 made to us ; but such language can only blind the minds of those who use it. 
 
178 THE FATHERS — BLESSING OF INFANT BAPTISM. 
 
 " twice (lead, plucked up by the roots" — but that they may not 
 be such, surely it were our wisdom to speak to them not as to 
 those who are without the Covenant, but to remind them of all 
 which God has done for their souls, and to beseech them not to 
 destroy that which God has done so much to save. 
 
 Our Church has so thought : for in that she wishes her Bap- 
 tismal service (in which she declaz'es, in the clearest terms which 
 could be used, that every child baptised receives thereby Spiritual 
 regeneration) to be always pu\jlicly celebrated, " for that it 
 " declaies unto us our profession," she must have thought the 
 setting forth of our privileges, and. of the obligations thereby 
 entailed, a powerful motive to increased diligence. Or, let us 
 hear the words of the ancient Church, where Baptism was con- 
 tinually preached, and see whether in their lips its privileges 
 were a cold and lifeless doctrine. Let us hear St. Gregory of 
 Nazianzum commending Infant Baptism. " Hast thou an 
 " infant ? Let not wickedness gain an opportunity against it ? 
 " Let it be sanctified from a babe. Let it be hallowed by the 
 " Spirit from its tenderest infancy. Fearest thou the seal of 
 " faith, on account of the weakness of nature, as a faint-hearted 
 " mother and of little faith? But Hannah devoted Samuel to 
 " GoD, yea before he was born, and when he was born, imme- 
 " diately she made him a priest, and brought him up in the 
 " priestly attire, not fearing human nature, but trusting in God, 
 " Thou hast no need of Amulets — impart to him the Trinity, 
 " that great and excellent preservative." The thrill which those 
 impressive words " impart to hitn the Trinity" {dog avrS riiv 
 Tpiada) echoing to us after 1400 years, still avvaken in us, may 
 well make us admire the energy of the faith, which infused into 
 words so simple, a force so amazing. The words are nothing : 
 the fact is the ordinary privilege of Christians : but the faith in 
 the power of God, as manifested in the Baptism of every infant 
 brought to Him, the realizing of those privileges, as implied in 
 these words, overwhelms us, because our faith has not been equal 
 to it. Or do we fear that the leaning on the outward ordinance 
 would lead men away from Ciiuist ? Yet who bade us look 
 upon it as an outward ordinance, or apply to it, words which 
 
—•CHRIST PRESENT AT BAPTISM. 17 'J 
 
 St. Paul speaks of circumcision, which was a sign and seal only ? 
 Or how should the ordinance of Christ lead men away from 
 Christ ? When Baptism was preached faithfully, the memory 
 of it was the memory of Christ and of His passion. " St. Paul 
 " showeth," says St. Chrysostom ^, " that the blood and the water 
 ** are one. For Christ's baptism is His passion also ;" or, as 
 he says again ^, " What the cross and grave was to Christ, that 
 *' has Baptism been made to us." " The sacrifice of our Lord's 
 " passion every man then offers for himself, when he is dedicated 
 " in the faith of His passion," says St. Augustine': and again, 
 " The sacrifice of the Lord is then in a manner offered for each, 
 " when by being baptized he is sealed in His name ;" and again*, 
 " No man may in any wise doubt, that each of the faithful then 
 " becomes a partaker of the Body and Blood of the Lord, when 
 " in Baptism he is made a member of Christ." " We ^ are 
 " washed in the passion of the Lord," says TertuUian." " In 
 '* Baptism," again says St. Chrysostorae*, " we are incorporate 
 " into Christ, and made flesh of His flesh, and bone of His 
 " bone." The body of the regenerated (i. e. by Baptism) becomes 
 " the flesh of the crucified," saith St. Leo '; and again*, " Thou 
 " art bedewed with the blood of Christ when thou art baptized 
 " into His death." " Let us be washed in his blood," saith St. 
 Bernard^. " By these few it may appeare," says Bishop Jewel '", 
 " that Christ is present at the Sacrament of Baptisme, even as He 
 " is present at the Holy Supper : unless ye will say, we may bee 
 " made flesh of Christ's flesh, and bee washt in His blood, and 
 " bee partakers of Him, and have Him ' present,' without His ' pre- 
 " sence.' Therefore Chrysostom.e, when he had spoken vehemently 
 " of the Sacrament of the Supper, hee concludeth tlius. Even so is 
 
 ^ Ep. ad Hebr. Horn. IC. quoted by Bp. Jewel, Replie to Harding, p. 285. 
 2 lb. p. 287. 
 
 * Expos. Inchoat. ad Romanes, ib. p. 422. 
 < Serm.ad Infant, ib. p. 21, 239, 292, 440. 
 
 5 De Baptisme, ib. p. 28?. a In Ep. ad Ephcs. ib. 292. 
 
 ^ De passione Donnii. S. 4. ap. Jewel, Defence of Apologie, p. 221. 
 « In Serm. de 4ta feria. c. 1. ib. p. 20. 
 
 ' Bern. Super Missus est Horn. 3. iijid. '" L. c. 
 
 9 
 
180 BISHOP JEWEL — EXTRACTS l^ROM THE FATHERS 
 
 " it also in Baptisme." And shall we then dread that they who so 
 realized the spiritual presence of Christ, should forget Christ? 
 Or dread we again that the magnifying of the sign should make 
 them forget the thing signified ? Yet the sign was to them so 
 glorious, only because it was identified with that inward grace. 
 ** Forasmuch," says Bishop Jewel ^ again, " as these two Sacra- 
 " ments being both of force alike, these men (the Romanists) 
 " to advance their fantasies in the one, by comparison so much 
 " abase the other, I think it good, briefly and by the way, some- 
 " what to touch what the old Catholike Fathers have written of 
 " God's invisible workings in the Sacrament of Baptism. The 
 " Fathers in the council of Nice say thus : ' Baptisme must be 
 " considered, not with our bodily eies, but with the eies of our 
 '* minde. Thou seest the water : Thinke thou of the power of 
 " God, that in the water is hidden. Thinke thou that the water 
 " is full of heavenly fire, and of the sanctification of the Holy 
 " Ghost.* Chrysostome speaking likewise of Baptisme, saith 
 " thus: ' The things that I see, I judge not by sight, but by the 
 " eies of my minde. The Heathen, when he heareth the water 
 " of Baptisme, taketh it only for plaine water: but I see not 
 " simply, or barely, that I see : 1 see the cleansing of the soule 
 " by the Spirit of God.* So likewise saith Nazianzenus : 'The 
 " mystery of Baptisme is greater than it appeareth to the eie.' So 
 " S. Ambrose : ' In Baptisme there is one thing done visibly to 
 " the eie : another thing is wrought invisibly to the minde.' 
 " Again he saith : ' Beleeve not onely the bodily eies (in this 
 " Sacrament of Baptisme :) the thing that is not scene, is better 
 " seene : the thing that thou seest, is corruptible : the thing 
 *' that thou seest not, is for ever.' To be short, in consideration 
 " of these invisible effects, TertuUian saith : ' The Holy Ghost 
 " commeth downe and halloweth the water.' S. Basil saith : 
 " ' The Kingdome of Heaven is there set open.' Chrysostome 
 " saith : ' God Hiraselfe in Baptisme, by His invisible power 
 " holdeth thy head.' S. Ambrose saith : ' The water hath the 
 ** grace of Christ : in it is the presence of tlie Trinitie.' S. 
 
 • Reply to Harding, p. 249, 250. 
 
ON god's invisible workings in holy baptism. 181 
 
 " Bernard saith : ' Let us be washed in His blood.' By the 
 " authorities of thus many Ancient Fathers it is plaine, that in 
 " the Sacrament of Baptisme, by the sensible signe of water the 
 " invisible grace of God is given unto us." And again, in his 
 treatise on the Sacraments ' : *' Wee are not washed from our 
 " sinnes by the water, wee are not fed to eternall life by the 
 " bread and wine, but by the precious bloud of our Saviour 
 " Christ, that lieth hid in these Sacraments. Chrysostome 
 " saith : ' Plaine or bare water worketh not in us, but when it 
 " hath received the grace of the Holy Ghost, it washeth away 
 " all our sinnes.' So saith Ambrose also : 'The Holie Ghost 
 " cometh downe, and halloweth the water.' And, ' There is the 
 " presence of the Trinity.' So saith Cyril : ' As water thorowly 
 " heat with fire, burneth as well as the fire : so the waters which 
 " wash the body of him that is baptized, are changed into Divine 
 " power, by the working of the Holy Ghost.' So said Leo, 
 " sometime a Bishop of Rome : ' Christ hath given like pre- 
 " eminence to the water of Baptisme, as Hee gave to his mother. 
 " For that power of the Highest, and that overshadowing of 
 " the Holy Ghost which brought to passe, that Mary should 
 " bring forth the Saviour of the world, hath also brought to 
 " passe, that the water should beare anew, or regenerate him 
 " that believeth,' Such opinion had the ancient learned Fathers, 
 " and such reverend words they used when they intreated of 
 " the Sacraments. For, it is not man, but God which worketh 
 " by them." 
 
 Or, again let us consider the high and glowing titles which 
 they give to this Sacrament, and see whether they furnish induce- 
 ments to rest therein, or not rather exhortations to hold onward 
 in the strength so imparted. " This illumination (Baptism) 
 " then," says St. Gregory of Nazianzum% " is the brightness of 
 
 » P. 263. 
 
 * Orat. de Baptismo init. St. Basil sets forth the benefits of Baptism with 
 the like accumulation of titles; Homil. 13. Exhortatoria ad S. Baptismum 
 § 5. p. 117. ed. Bened. And so also Gregory of Nyssa in Bapt. Christi. init. 
 p. 368. Bishop Jeremy Taylor refers for the same purpose to Theodoret 
 also, Epiphanius, Cyril Hieros., Dionys. Areop., Augustine c. Crescon. 
 Gram. L. ii, c. 13. (Life and death of the Holy Jesus. Of Baptism 
 
182 TIIF FATHERS TITLES OF BAPTISM. 
 
 " souls, the transformation of life, the interrogatory of con- 
 " science towards God : it is the help of our weakness, putting 
 " off of the flesh, following of the Spirit, participation of the 
 " Word, restoration of our nature, the flood which drowneth sin, 
 " communication of light, dissipation of darkness. The ' illumi- 
 *' nation' is a chariot up to God, an absence with Christ, a staff 
 " of faith, a perfecting of the mind, a key of the kingdom of 
 " heaven, the exchange of life, the destruction of bondage, the 
 " loosing of chains. This ' illumination', — why need I recount 
 "more? — is the best and noblest of the gifts of God; as 
 " things are called holy of holies, (and song of songs, as being 
 " most eminent and surpassing,) so also thi?, as being more 
 " holy than all otliers. But as Christ, the Giver thereof, is 
 " called by many and different names, so also the gift; whether 
 " on account of our exceeding joyousness, (as we are wont to 
 " take pleasure in the names of things which we love excecd- 
 " ingly,) or whether because the variety of its benefits has occa- 
 " sioned a diversity of nam.es, we call it gift, grace, baptism, 
 " anointing, enlightening, garment of immortality, washing of 
 '* regeneration, seal, and every other name of honour — gift, as 
 " being given to us who had nothin<j to offer — grace, as beinsj 
 " debtors — dipping, in that sin was buried with us in the water 
 " — anointing, as being sacred and royal, for such are men wont 
 ** to anoint — enlightening, as being brightness itself — garment, 
 " as a covering of shame — washing, as a cleansing — seal, as 
 " keeping us, and an emblem of dominion. In this do the heavens 
 *' rejoice, this do the angels magnify, for its kindred brightness : 
 " this is an image of the blessedness yonder ; this we would 
 " gladly praise in hymns, but cannot as we would." 
 
 Works, ii. 255). The very f;;ct that these titles are occasiorially the same, 
 shows the more, that they express the feelings not of individuals only, but of 
 the Church : thus when Cyril says, (Procateclies. § IG.) " Great is the Baptism 
 " set before you, a ransom to captives, forgiveness of transgressions, death 
 " of sin, new-birlh of the soul, garment of light, holy indissoluble seal, chariot 
 " to heaven, delight of paradise, pledge of the kingdom, gift of adoption ;" 
 the very recurrence of the peculiar j)hrase, " chariot (ox»;/t«) to heaven," 
 (though doubtless taken in part from the liistory of Elijah,) implies that it 
 was already in use in the Church. 
 
— POWER OF BAPTISM. 18.3 
 
 These arc indeed fervid words .and ilioiiglits tliat burn ; yet 
 are they also words of truth and soberness; words, which, because 
 they are glowing, approach the nearer to the truth ; and are 
 sober, because expressive of reality. It is not the language of 
 declamation, but of a soul, which having now been " carried to 
 " hoar hairs '," would fain express the greatness of God's bene- 
 fits, but " cannot, as it would." In like manner, S. Chrysos- 
 tonrie", (though indirectlj^) " Why, you will ask, did not John 
 " Baptist mention the signs and wonders which were to follow 
 " upon this * the Baptising with the Holy Ghost and with fire V 
 " Because this was greater than all, and for this did all those things 
 " take place. For having named the sum, he comprehended 
 " therein all the rest, — loosing of death, destruction of sins, abo- 
 " iition of the curse, freedom from the old man, entrance into 
 " paradise, ascent into heaven, life with the Angels, participation 
 " of future blessing, and those good things which eye hath not 
 " seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man. 
 " For all these things were given through that gift, (Baptism)." 
 Or, let any one read S. Cyprian's relation ^ of the greatness of 
 the change, to him incredible beforehand, which Baptism wrought 
 in him. It may suffice, in contrast, to say that moderns have 
 thought it necessary to apologize for, or to defend it. Or, let 
 them look at the manner in which St. Augustine^ speaks of the 
 workings of Baptism administered to the half senseless friend of 
 his thoughtless and sceptical youth — how he speaks of it, who 
 once mocked at it. Or, let them hear St. Chrysostome's^ exhor- 
 tation to those hangers-on of Christianity, who professed to 
 believe, and yet shrunk from becoming Christians, and takino- 
 on them Christ's cross by Baptism. " The Apostle saith, 
 '■' ' through you is my name blasphemed among the nations.' 
 " Let us cause the contrary to be said, by ' living worthy of Him 
 
 ' L. c. vers, fin § 50. p. C70. ad Morell. 
 2 In Mt. Horn. xi. § G. T. vii. p. 157- ed Bened. 
 
 ' Ad Donat. c. 2. p. 2. Translated in " Tracts for the Times," Records of 
 the Church, end of No. 21. 
 
 * Confess, t. i. p. 99. ed. Bened. 
 
 5 Horn, xxiii. in Actt. 11. § 3, 4. t. ix. p. 189, 190. ed. Bened. 
 
184 THE FATHERS — BAPTISM PRESERVATIVE AGAINST SIN. 
 
 " who calleth us, and drawing near to the Baptism of the adop- 
 " lion of sons. For of a truth great is the power of Baptism : 
 " it maketh those who partake of this gift wholly other men : it 
 ** allov^eth not men to be men ! Make the Greek (Heathen) be- 
 " lieve that great is the power of the Spirit, that He trans- 
 " formeth, that He re-havmonizeth. Why tarriest thou for the 
 " last breath like a fugitive, a recreant, as if tliou oughtest not to 
 " live to God ? Think, moreover, how many, after the enlighten- 
 " ing, (Baptism,) have become angels instead of men!" 
 
 It is not, namely, simply as the turning-point of life, but as a 
 new-birth that they rejoice in it, as the spring of all their subse- 
 quent life, the source of all their strength, in that it united them 
 with Christ, and through Him with the Father, and the Father 
 and the Son with them through the Spirit. " Let us be buried," 
 sajs St. Gregory again, " with Christ by Baptism, that we may 
 " rise with Him : let us descend with Him (into the water) that 
 " we may be exalted with Him : let us come up with Him, that 
 " we may be glorified with Him. If the persecutor of the light 
 " and the tempter attack thee after Baptism, — and he will attack 
 " thee, (since misled by that which appeared he attacked the 
 " hidden Light, the Word and my God,) thou hast whereby to 
 " prevail. Fear not the conflict : oppose to him the water, 
 " oppose the Spirit, wherein all the fiery darts of the evil one 
 '* will be quenched. It is Spirit, but one which removeth moun- 
 " tains : it is water, but a quencher of fire. If he place want 
 " before thee (for he dared to do so to Him) and thou desirest 
 " that the stones should become bread, oppose to him that 
 *' bread of life which is sent down from heaven giving life to the 
 *' world. If he assail thee with Scripture words, ' for it is written, 
 " He shall give His Angels charge concerning thee,' (Ps. cxi. 
 " 12.) — sophist of wickedness, why hast thou paused here? for 
 " well I wot, (although thou say it not,) that (v. 1.3.) I 'shall 
 " ' tread on thee, the asp and the basilisk, and trample on ser- 
 " ' pents and scorpions,' fenced round by the trinity. If he 
 " attack thee with covetousness, * showing thee all the kingdoms 
 " of the world in a moment of time,' as belonging to him, and de- 
 *' mand worship of thee, despise him as having nothing : tell him, 
 
PRACTICAL CHARACTER OF THEIR CONTROVERSIES. 185 
 
 " emboldened by your seal, (of Baptism,) ' I also am the imago 
 " of God, of the Glory on high ; not as yet have I been cast 
 " down, like thee, for pride; I am clothed with Christ, I am 
 " changed by Baptism into Christ, ' worship thou me.' Well I 
 " know, he will depart defeated and ashamed, as from Christ, 
 " the First Light, so also from those who have been enlightened 
 " by Christ. Let us be baptized then that we may prevail." 
 Again ', " Whilst thou art a catechumen, thou art in the vestibule 
 " of holiness ; thou must enter, pass the court, gaze on the Holy 
 *' things, look into the Holy of Holies, be united with the 
 " trinity. — Great are the things by which thou art besieged, 
 " great is the defence thou needest : he fears thee fighting 
 " armed : therefore he would strip thee of this grace that he may 
 " master thee the easier, unarmed, and unguarded." 
 
 The above is from a sermon on Baptism, a sermon, indeed, 
 full of practical instruction. It may be yet more striking to 
 observe the manner in which the blessings of Baptism are ad- 
 verted to, wlien the writers are upon other subjects. Although 
 such cases cannot furnish the same detail, yet, since " out of the 
 " abundance of the heart the mouth speakoth," they testify the 
 more how full the heart was of its Baptismal blessing, I will 
 instance one case only. We are accustomed to refer to the form 
 of baptism appointed by our Lord (Matt, xxviii. 19.), as a proof 
 of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity : so also the ancients ; yet 
 not in our dry and abstract way, but as recalling to themselves 
 the benefits thereby conferred on them. " The Lord," says 
 St. Basil ^, arguing against the impugners of the Divinity of the 
 Holy Spirit, " the Lord, when delivering the saving faith to 
 " those who were instructed in the word, joins the Holy Spirit 
 " with the Father and the Son. The power of the Spirit then 
 " having been included with the Father and the Son, in that 
 " life-creating power, whereby our nature is removed from mor- 
 " tal life to immortality," &c. And again' — " Whence are we 
 " Christians .'' ' through the faith,' will every one say. And 
 " how are we saved ? By having been regenerated by the 
 
 » lb. § 1.5. 2 Ep. 189. ed. Bened. olim. 80. ^ pg Spiritu S. c. 10. 
 
 N 
 
186 THE FATHERS PRACTICAL REFEREKCE 
 
 " grace in Baptism. Shall we then, having known tliis salvation, 
 " assured to ns by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 
 " abandon the form of doctrine which we have received ? The 
 " loss is equal, to depart without receiving Baptism, or to receive 
 " it, omitting any part of that tradition. And he who keepeth 
 " not, throughout, that confession which we made when we, being 
 " rescued from idols, were first brought in to approach the 
 " living God, and holdeth it not through his whole life as a sure 
 " preservative, niaketh iiimself an alien to the promises of God, and 
 " impugneth his own covenant, which he made at his confession 
 " of faith. For since Baptism is to me Ike beginning of life, 
 " and the first of days was that day of regeneration, it is mani- 
 " fest that those words uttered at the grace of adoption are of 
 " all the most exalted. Shall I then betray that tradition which 
 " brought me to the light, — which gave me the knowledge of 
 " God, whereby I, an enemy through sin, was made a child of 
 "God? Rather, do I pray for myself, that I may depart for 
 " the Lord with this confession ; and I exhort them to keep the 
 " faith inviolate to the day of Christ ; and to hold the Spirit 
 " undivided from the Father and the Son, preserving the doc- 
 " trine of their Baptism in the confession of their faith, and in 
 " the fulfilment of glory." This is the language, not of a sermon, 
 but of what would now be called controversial divinity ; and 
 such is the way in which the fathers, when speaking of the Ever- 
 blessed Trinity, incorporated the memory of their Baptismal 
 blessings with their warnings not to forsake the Catholic doc- 
 trine. In like manner says St. Cyril of Jerusalem \ " Let no 
 " one separate the old Covenant from the new. Let no one say 
 " there was one Spirit there, another here ; since he would 
 " offend against the Holy Spirit Himself, who is honoured with 
 " the Father and the Son, and who, at the time of the Holy 
 " Baptism, was comprehended with them in the Holy Trinity. 
 " For the only-begotten Son of God said clearly to the Apostles, 
 " ' Go — baptizing them in the name of,' &c. Our hope then 
 " is in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." And 
 
 > Cateches. Hi do Spiritu S. § 4. p. 244. 
 
TO BAPTISM IN CONTROVERSY. 187 
 
 again ' — " Believe also in the Holy Spirit, and think of Him, 
 " as thou hast received concerning the Father and the Son. 
 " Learn that this Holy Spirit is dne, indivisible, with various 
 *' powers; working manifold gifts, but Himself not divided, — 
 " who operated through the law and the prophets, — who now 
 " also sealeth thy soul at the time of Baptism, — of whose holi- 
 " ness all reasonable nature hath received." Or, again, St. Atha- 
 nasius, (although it is almost doing injustice to these Fathers, to 
 give such brief extracts in a foreign tongue ; and be it remem- 
 bered, that they are produced for one object only, — to show that 
 they, when arguing from the baptismal words, did it not in our 
 cold and disputatious way, but as men, who were thereby 
 reminded of the blessings which they had received in holy Bap- 
 tism), St. Athanasius, then, thus argues ^ : — " The sum of our 
 " faith He made to point to this, for He bade that we should be 
 " baptized not into the name of One not-made, and one made, 
 " of One Uncreate, and of a creature, but into the name of the 
 " Father, and Son, and the Holy Ghost. For thus, being 
 " perfected, we also are made truly sons ; and when we pro- 
 " nouncethe name of the Father, we learn also from that name 
 " the Word also, who is in the Father." And again ^ — " For 
 " God, not as if He wanted any thing, but as the Father, 
 " founded the earth by His own Wisdom, and made all things 
 " by the Word, who is from Himself, and establisheth the holy 
 " washing in the Son. For where the Father is, there is the 
 " Son also ; as where the light is, there also is the radiance : 
 " and as what the Father doeth, He doeth by the Son, as the 
 " Lord Himself saith (John v. 19.) ; so when Baptism is given, 
 " whom the Father baptizeth, him the Son baptizeth ; and 
 " whom the Son baptizeth, he by the Holy Ghost is perfected." 
 And yet again ■* : — " Moreover, holy Baptism, wherein the whole 
 " constitution of our faith centres, is not given in the name of 
 " the Word, but of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." 
 
 ' Cat. 4. de decern dogmatibus, § 16. 
 
 * De decretis Nic. Synod, t. i. p. 237. ed. Bened. 
 
 ' Orat. ii. c, Ariann. lb. p. 509. * Orat. iv. r. Ariaiin. p. 63.3. 
 
 N 2 
 
188 THE FATHERS BAPTISM AN INCENTIVE 
 
 Or again, let any minister imagine how lie should write to 
 a person, recently baptized. The freedom of his pardon, the 
 necessity of perseverance, the greatness of the profession which 
 he had made, the necessity of adhering to the vows which 
 he had made, and many like topics, would doubtless be dwelt 
 upon by many of us : few, I think, would have ventured upon 
 the cheering and simple, but solemn words of St. Basil, who thus 
 writes ^ — " We greatly long to see thee, especially since we heard 
 '' that thou hast been honoured with that high honour, the robe 
 " of immortality, which, enveloping our human nature, hath 
 " abolished death in the flesh, and our mortal has been swallowed 
 " up in the garment of immortality. Since then the Lord has 
 " made thee His own by that grace, and hath estranged thee 
 " from all sin, and opened the kingdom of heaven, and pointed 
 " out the paths which lead to its blessedness, we exhort thee, 
 " as being one so far excelling in wisdom, to receive that grace 
 " with all tlioughtfulness, and be a faithful steward of that 
 " treasure, keeping watch over that royal deposit with all care- 
 " fulness, tliat having preserved the seal uninjured, you may 
 " present it to the Lord, yourself shining forth with the 
 " brightness of the saints, having cast no spot or blemish 
 " on the pure garment of immortality, but carefully preserving 
 " holiness in all your members, as having put on Christ. — 
 " For ' as many,' He saith, * as have been baptized into Christ, 
 ** have put on Christ.' Be then all the members holy, as befit- 
 " ting those which are covered with that pure and shining gar- 
 " ment." Or, again, not only when one might calculate upon the 
 first strong feeling produced by the remission of all sin, and the 
 recent incorporation into Christ, but in the subsequent difficul- 
 ties and trials of Christian warfare, this same topic is still urged. 
 St. Ambrose^ had to encourage and to cheer some clergy, who 
 
 1 Ep. 292, (al. 386.) t. iii. p: 431. ed. Bened. The above extract is the 
 whole of the letter, except a few lines in the commencement, expressive of 
 interest in his friend's Christian consort. 
 
 2 Ep. 81. " Farewell, my sons," concludes the good Bishop, "and serve 
 " the Lord, for the Lord is good." 
 
TO ALL HOLINESS AND DUTY. 189 
 
 had begim to wax weary of their profession, as a toilsome, un- 
 profitable, insulted occupation ; and, having put their hand to 
 the plough, to look backward to the world. We, under the like 
 circumstances, should, doubtless, recal to them their ordination 
 vows, that they were no longer free, that they had bound them- 
 selves ; or we might set forth the high dignity of their profession 
 in the sight of God, to be employed in tending Christ's sheep. 
 This would also be doubtless true : but St. Ambrose goes 
 deeper ; he claims these weary soldiers by an earlier, higher, 
 more comprehensive title, — not what they had promised to God, 
 but what God had done for them ; — " they had died with, Christ 
 " in Baptism ; now, therefore, we share His life (convivimus) ; 
 " they had received the light of life with Christ, had been 
 " warmed by Christ, had received the breath of life, and of the 
 " resurrection." And who would not feel, under the like tempt- 
 ation, how poor the reminiscence of any vows would be, com- 
 pared with the thought, that the life we had was Christ's life, 
 the breath we lived by, Christ's Spirit, the breath of the resur- 
 rection. Yet, I would not compare the efficacy of different mo- 
 tives ; for this is descending to low ground, as if we were judges 
 of divine truth. I would only instance it, as a specimen how, in 
 other days, and with other notions of Christ's Sacraments, the 
 memory of them, and their benefits, was ever present to the soul. 
 Once more : people still dread, lest, by telling our flocks, that 
 they have all been born again, all once died to sin, and been born 
 again unto righteousness, we should relax their diligence : yet 
 St. Augustine, they will allow, knew well the heart of his fellow- 
 men, and its corruptions and deceit, and was a faithful preacher 
 of the cross of Christ, as well as of *' righteousness, temperance, 
 " and judgment to come." Let us hear, then, how he addresses 
 even adults recently baptized, and in them, as he says, the rest 
 of his flock ^ — '* To-day, let us address those who were bap- 
 " tized and re-born in Christ Jesus, and you (the people gene- 
 " rally) in them, and them in you. Behold, ye were made 
 '* members of Christ. If ye think what ye were made, ' all 
 
 1 Sevm. 224 in die Paschse 1. (al. cle Temp. 1(>4) §§ 1 and 4. 
 
190 THE FATHERS — EARNEST APPEAL TO THE BAPTIZED. 
 
 " your bones will say, Lord, who is liko unto Thee ?' For that 
 " great desert of God cannot be thought of as it deserves, and all 
 " human speech and understanding fails, that free mercy, without 
 " any preceding merits, should have come to you. Therefore 
 " is it called grace, because it is given gratis. What grace? to 
 " be members of Christ, sons of God, brethren of the Only- 
 " Begotten. If He be the only-begotten, whence are you bre- 
 " thren ; but, because He was alone by nature, ye made brethren 
 " by grace ? Because, then, ye have been made members of 
 " Christ, I warn you. I fear for you, not so much from Pa- 
 " gans, from Jews, from heretics, as from bad Catholics. Choose 
 " you, among the people of God, whom ye will follow. For if 
 " ye will follow the multitude, ye will not be among the few, who 
 " walk in the narrow way. Abstain from fornication, from ra- 
 " pine, from frauds, from perjuries, from things forbidden, from 
 " strifes : be drunkenness far from you ; fear adultery as death ; 
 " — not death which parts soul from body, but wherein the soid 
 " will for ever burn with the body." And after having, with all 
 plainness of speech, expostulated with those, who, in tliose days 
 also, veiled deadly sins under soft names, or avoided public scandal 
 only, " May I not do in my own house what I will ? 1 tell you, 
 " No. They who do these things go to hell, and will burn in 
 " everlasting fire;" and, having warned "against that raven-like 
 " repetition, Cras ! Cras !" procrastination of repentance, " that 
 *' raven, whose voice thou imitatest, departed out of the ark, and 
 " returned not ; but thou, my brother, return to the Church 
 " which that ark signified," he thus concludes, to the baptized, 
 " But do ye hear me, ye baptized ! hear me, ye who have been 
 " re-born by the Blood of Christ, I beseech you, by that Name 
 " which has been pronounced over you, by that altar to wi)icli 
 '* you approached, by the Sacraments which you have received, 
 " by the future judgment of quick and dead; — I beseech you, I 
 " bind you by the name of Christ, that ye imitate not those whom 
 " you know to be such, but let His Sacraments remain in you, 
 " who would not come down from the tree, but who would rise 
 " again from the grave." 
 
 It may be said, perhaps, that some of these are speaking, in 
 
THEIK MORE VIVID I'AITII AND LOVE. 191 
 
 part, from their own experience, and so, in part, of adult Bap- 
 tism, Some of them are, undoubtedly ; and if this objection is 
 meant to imply, that we, who were not so consciously '■ translated 
 " from the power of Satan unto God," cannot be expected to 
 look back to our Baptism with the same vividness, and clear- 
 ness of perception, as the source of our spiritual existence, 
 this may be, in part, true ; for we are, comparatively, in this re- 
 spect, walking by faith, not by sight. We, as many of us as "are 
 " Jed by the Spirit of God," have the effect of Baptism in our- 
 selves : we know also, from God's word, that this, our " new 
 " birth," commenced then ; but the connection between the 
 " healing waters" and our " cure" is not so visible ; especially has 
 it been obscured in many of us, by our own wilful opening 
 again of the wounds which God then closed ; as, on the other 
 hand, the grateful remembrance of their Baptism is most observ- 
 able in those who have most uniformly profited by it. It is not, 
 however, the feelings of the early times, whose absence I deplore, 
 but their faith ; not the vivid terms in which they express them- 
 selves, but their strong conviction ; not simply the liveliness of 
 their gratitude, but their love for their Saviour's ordinance. And 
 we, too, might have the same faith, and conviction, and love, be- 
 cause it is His ordinance ; and, until we have it, I see no hope 
 for the prosperity of the Church, none of a more general early 
 piety, none of the extension of Christ's kingdom by our means, 
 none of its fuller realization among ourselves. For, if the en- 
 trance into God's temple be thought of thus lightly, is not this 
 the way to make it " a den of thieves," rather than of " spiritual 
 " worshippers 1" If the " earnest of the Spirit" is thus disparaged, 
 dare we hope that God will bestow upon us His fulness ? Rather, 
 I would hope, that the sayings of these holy men might be wit- 
 nesses, not against us, but to us. Their witness is obviously the 
 more valid in this respect, because they knew the fruits of Bap- 
 tism from experience. We dare not speak (as some of old have 
 done,) of hyperboles ; for we know it to be language of experience 
 and truth. They testify to us that which they have known, seen, 
 handled, of the Word of Life, in His ordinance ; and we dare 
 not set aside their testimony. Observe we, then, 1st, That they 
 
192 THE FATHERS NOT TO BE SET ASIDE 
 
 confine its benefits to no age ; but such of them as had received 
 it themselves as adults, recommend that it should be imparted to 
 infants. 2d, That they speak of it, not only as conveying remis- 
 sion of past sins, but, and that mainly, as a preservative in future 
 temptation. Sdly, That they recommend it for infants, not only 
 as an Apostolic ordinance, but as a known and exceeding safe- 
 guard. 4thly, That in proportion to their value for their Lord's 
 ordinance, so much the more jealous were they, lest its force 
 should be subsequently weakened, or the purity conferred by 
 Him be defiled. The more they honoured Baptism, and tlie more 
 they relied upon it as God's gift, so much the more careful were 
 they of their subsequent walk with God. 
 
 These statements of the Fathers will incidentally remove an 
 objection which has been in former times ' and may be again 
 made, viz. that we thereby bring back the ojius operatum of 
 the Schoolmen. For since it is known that the Fathers did not 
 hold this in its objectionable sense, it plainly does not follow 
 from this doctrine. In this, as in many other cases, we must 
 distinguish between the practical corruptions of the Church of 
 Rome and her theoretical errors. For it often happens that 
 she leads her members into error, and countenances corruption 
 in them, where her statements in themselves are not very 
 unsound : teaching us how much evil, what seems a little de- 
 parture from the truth, may create. The term to confer grace, 
 ex opere operato, as explained by her writers " is " to confer grace 
 " by the force of the sacramental action itself, being instituted 
 " by God to this end, not through the merit of the (human) 
 " agent, or of the receiver," for which purpose they quote the 
 words of St. Augustine ^ : " The Sacrament of itself is of much 
 " avail." Such appears to have been also the meaning of some, 
 
 1 Rivetus (Disputt. Leideiis. Disp. 43. ap Witsium, 1. c. § 61.) blames those 
 " who, deriving their name from Luther, rather tlian from Christ, so sjieak 
 " of the Word and Sacraments, as to ascribe to them tlie imparting of grace and 
 " sanctification ; and rejecting the opus operatum in words, do not ascribe 
 " less eflScacy to the outward action, than they who make the Sacraments 
 " the proper causes of grace." 
 
 * Bellarm. Controv. L. ii. c. 1. de eflectu Sacrauientorum. 
 
 3 De Baptismo L. iv. c. 24. 
 
MEANING OF " EX OPERE OPERATO." 193 
 
 at least, of the Schoolmen : and perhaps all, favourably inter- 
 preted, mean this ; that however a good disposition, i. e. faith 
 and repentance, is required in the adult candidate for baptism, 
 and in the worthy communicant a thankful remembrance also 
 of Christ's death, and charity towards all, yet neither did faith, 
 any more than repentance, or thankfulness, or charity, constitute 
 the Sacrament, but that it had its efficacy from God only. 
 Without faith the human soul was like a closed vessel, so that 
 the influences to be poured therein through the Sacrament could 
 not enter ; but by faith, only the obstacle was removed, the 
 grace came fully and entirely {ex opere operato,) from the work 
 wrought by God, not in any way {ex opere operantis,) from the 
 quality or merit of the receiver. In this sense, which Bellar- 
 mine asserts to be the true one, the doctrine of " conferring 
 " grace ex opere operato'^ contains nothing which our Church, as 
 well as the Lutheran ', does not equally hold, whereas the school 
 of Zuingli and Calvin cannot ; and against these and the like 
 sacramentarian errors, (produced by the unbelief generated 
 through the opposite errors of the Church of Rome,) the canons 
 of the Council of Trent were, in this instance, probably directed. 
 
 At least we ought never to forget, that in the great commotion 
 of the Reformation, there were brought to the surface not only 
 treasures which had long lain hid, but froth and scum also : 
 would one might say, froth and scum only ! Every thing, 
 which before had lain concealed under the thick veil of outward 
 conformity, was laid bare : the Gospel was again eminently 
 a savor of life and a savor of death, — to those who embraced it 
 with an honest and true heart, life ; others profited by the 
 security , given, only to manifest the unbelief or heresy which 
 lurked within. To others, death and life were mingled in the 
 cup. " Protestantism" then, as now, was often as negative as 
 its very name ; Protestant was often another name only for 
 " infidel." The deadly, stupifying heresy (if it may even be 
 called such) of Socinus was, we must recollect, one produce of 
 
 * Chemnitz Examen Cone. Trid. P. 2. Can. 7, 8, and Gerhard Loci de 
 Sacrani. §86. fully admit this sense, although they do not think it the general 
 sense of the Schoolmen. 
 
lOi ALTERED VIEW 01' OUR CHURCH AS TO THE Ol'US Ol'ERATUM. 
 
 the Reformation. In justice, then, to ourselves, as well as to 
 the Romanists, we must bear in mind tliat the unhappy and fatal 
 Canons of the Council of Trent, were directed, in part, against 
 actual error, such as had mixed itself with the then, as well as 
 with former, attempts at reformation. And we should do well to 
 recollect that, though bound to thank God for all those, thi-ough 
 whom the light of the Gospel shone more clearly, we always 
 were regarded by them as a distinct and peculiar Church, and 
 are not to identify ourselves with them. The Calvinist writer ', 
 so often quoted, says, very appositely to these times, (in answer 
 to the charge of Popery, for holding Baptismal regeneration, even 
 of Elect Infants,) " I like not that vain conceit that we should 
 " in all points goe as far from Papists and other Heretics as 
 " possibly we can. This is that which never did good : ever did 
 " and ever will do hurt : when men will take that to be truth 
 " only, which standeth in most direct opposition to that which is 
 " knowne and confessed to be a grosse error." In the present 
 instance, our Church, which, under the influence of Reformed 
 Divines, in the Articles of Edw. 6., declared^ against the doctrine 
 of the opus operatum, has omitted this censure of it in our 
 
 1 Surges 1. c. p. 325, G. conip. Hooker's golden observations B. iv. parti- 
 cularly c. 8. 
 
 2 In what is now Art. 25, after " in such only as worthily receive the same, 
 " they have a wholesome effect and operation ;" there followed, " and that not 
 " ex opere operato, ' the work wrought,' (as some speak,) which word, as it 
 *' is strange and unknown to Holy Scripture, so it engendereth no godly, 
 " but a very superstitious sense." Articles A. 1552. (Sparrow's collection, 
 p. 48.) At the same time some other Zuinglian expressions were omitted 
 in the 25th Article, as also the somewhat rationalistic argument against the 
 ubiquity of Christ's body, " because our bodies could not be in two places at 
 " once ;" and again the denial of the real and corporeal presence of His body 
 and blood. (The real and the corporeal presence are always confused by the 
 school of Zuingli). In our Thirty Nine Articles is also added, for the first 
 time, the sentence, that " the body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten," &c. 
 which is decisive against any Zuinglian view of the Sacraments. These are 
 so many indications of a return to the original views of our first most dis- 
 tinguished reformers, which were neither Romanist, Lutheran, nor Zuinglian, 
 but those of the primitive Chui-ch. 
 
 1 
 
THE OPUS OPERATUM, HOW ADMISSIBLE IN INFANT BAPTISM. 195 
 
 present Articles ; and, by thus retracting, has virtually admitted 
 that it may have a good sense. In the case of Infant Baptism, 
 since infants, as such, manifestly have neither faith nor repen- 
 tance, though the faith of others is so far accepted for them, 
 that they sliould be admitted to Holy Baptism, its benefits arc 
 conveyed to them through the Sacrament, not through their faith. 
 For if, as has been recently argued, on the anti-mystical notion 
 of a Sacrament, " the faith of the receiver is the true conse- 
 " crating principle — that which really brings down Christ to 
 " the heart of each individual," and the doctrine that the faitli 
 of others is accepted for the individual is regarded as " scho- 
 lastic," {i. e. a mere human speculation) ; Baptism can mani- 
 festly to infants be no Sacrament at all, since the " true conse- 
 " crating principle" is wanting. The Romish Church has led 
 men into 'practical error by insisting so exclusively on the 
 opus operatum, i. e. the intrinsic efficacy of the Sacraments, 
 and omitting to insist upon (although it holds) the necessity of 
 faith and repentance on the part of the adult receiver, not indeed 
 as constituting the Sacrament, but as necessary conditions of its 
 efficacy to us : but this error must not be met by the doctrinal 
 error of the Zuinglians, that faith is not only the means, whereby 
 we are fitted to receive the grace of the Sacrament, but that 
 faith, in fact, constitutes the Sacrament. The words of St. 
 Augustine, above alleged, " The Sacrament of itself is of much 
 " avail," and his frequent maxim, (wherein he is speaking of 
 Infant Baptism,) " Children are faithful because they have the 
 " Sacrament of faith," (Baptism) express the efficacy of Baptism 
 upon infants, by virtue of God's ordinance. And this is all 
 which the opus operatuin could express with regard to chil- 
 dren ; since no one would hold that Baptism would be of any 
 ultimate avail, unless its graces were subsequently cherished and 
 cultivated. 
 
 I instanced the above-cited fathers, in proof that the views of 
 Baptism, which they derived from the Apostles and from Scrip- 
 ture, — we from Scripture and from them, — so far from being, in 
 themselves, cold or lifeless, or productive of carelessness, were 
 earnest and affectionate, and a source of vigilance : not, of course, 
 
106 TESTIMONY OF THE FATULRS ON BAPTISM WHY VALUABLE. 
 
 as if anything could, in itself, give weight to what we know to be 
 Scripture truth, but because the agreement of the early Church 
 is of important use in ascertaining what is truth. In the fathers, 
 also, persons may see the character of Baptismal regeneration, 
 and its relation to other truths of the Gospel, apart from the dif- 
 ficulties with which they cannot but approach any subject of 
 modern controversy, — apart, namely, frorji the views, characters, or 
 opinions, with which it may, in some cases, be, or be thought to 
 be, combined. 
 
 Scripture truth, thus seen in its Catholic character, as univer- 
 sally held in the antient Church, detaches itself from the modes 
 of thought, inadequate apprehensions, peculiarities, or errors, with 
 which, in individual cases, it may be blended : it retains tl'.e cha- 
 racter of Divine authority, in that He taught it to His whole 
 Church ; while the exercise of our faith is rendered more easy by 
 the vividness with which we see His truth, when thus realized 
 in action. Yet the ultimate authority and source of proof is, of 
 course. Scripture ; and, although we might often be at a loss to 
 interpret Scripture, without the aid of the fathers, still this does 
 not diminish our sense of its supremacy. 
 
 It is, then, to the Scriptural views of Baptism, that our more 
 earnest attention is mainly called : it is a more thoughtful and 
 teachable pondering of those truths, that I would urge — not en- 
 deavouring to square them to our preconceived theories, but 
 obediently following them. Their Author, the place which they 
 hold at the entrance of the Christian life, their greatness, all de- 
 mand this at our hands. As deduced, then, above from Holy 
 Scripture, they are these. By Baptism, our Blessed Saviour 
 tells us, we are born again : Baptism is, God tells us by His 
 Apostle, the washing of regeneration, and of the renewal by the 
 Holy Ghost : through it, we are incorporated into Christ, made 
 members of His body, engrafted into Him, made partakers of 
 His death, burial, and resurrection : by it, through His merits, 
 the original taint of our nature was forgiven, and our old man 
 crucified. We ourselves have put on Christ, and so become 
 partakers of the Sonship of the Ever-blessed Son of God. " By 
 " it we are saved :" i. <?., for the time actually saved (as one may 
 
 7 
 
PLAIN SENSE OF SCRIPTURE ADHERED TO. 197 
 
 know in the case of baptized infants), and, subsequently, in a 
 state of actual salvation (not merely of capacity of salvation), un- 
 less we fall from it : through it we are anointed by God's Holy 
 Spirit, sealed by Him, and have the first earnest of our future 
 inheritance given to us. God does not set forth Baptism, merely 
 as the introduction into the Christian covenant, and so entitling 
 the baptized person hereafter to Christian privileges ; but as put- 
 ting him already in possession of them in part, as a pledge of their 
 fuller enjoyment of those which are capable of increase ; i. e., 
 those which the recipient afterwards becomes capable of receiving 
 in fuller abundance. It was but to be expected, that these pri- 
 vileges being thus great, the loss of them should be, in propor- 
 tion, dreadful ; and that there being, as St. Chrysostom says, no 
 second, third, or fourth Baptism, the loss should be, as a whole, 
 irreparable. Such is the view which all Christian antiquity took 
 of the warnings of St. Paul ; nor does any other meaning appear 
 so probable, as neither have we now such good means of decid- 
 ing the question, as those who yet spoke St. Paul's language, and 
 lived nearer to his times. 
 
 In setting forth this teaching of Holy Scripture, we have, it 
 is well to observe, adhered strictly to the letter of God's word : 
 we have not gone about to set forth any other doctrine than is 
 contained in its plain words : we have only not glossed over, or 
 distorted its language, but have taken God's promises and de- 
 clarations simply as we found them. And it is useful to contrast 
 with this mode of exposition that adopted by such as fear, un- 
 duly to exalt the Sacraments, and do, in fact, abase them to 
 signs only ; and then to ask ourselves, which seems the most 
 faithful exposition of God's word ? Some of these expositions 
 have been already set side by side with tliat which seemed the 
 more obvious ; and, surely, where God is declaring plain doc- 
 trinal truth, this is decisive. For it is not here, as in a pro- 
 phecy or parable, where God shadows out to us His way in 
 futurity, and His wisdom but half unlifts the veil which it has 
 spread, and docility in accepting doubtful intimations and in 
 pondering them in our hearts, and following them as a light in a 
 
19S SCRIPTURE STATEMENTS AND MAn's CONTRADICTIONS. 
 
 dark place, is the temper of mind which He woidd form in us ; 
 yea, where a part of God's object is, that they who acknowledge, 
 that of themselves they see not, should see, and they who think 
 they see should be made blind. As in parts of Scripture, the 
 trial of our faith is, whether we will adhere to the letter and 
 omit what under the letter is conveyed ; so, in plain statements, 
 such as these, it is, whether we will accept His truth or His 
 commands to the very letter. There is a letter, we know, whicji 
 killeth ; but there is a neglect of the letter, which also killeth, 
 (as in Socinian exposition, or neglect of duty) for it causes men 
 to exclude themselves from the covenant of God. 
 
 When then the plain letter of Scripture says, " we are saved by 
 . " Baptism," and men say, " we are not saved by Baptism," our 
 Lord says, *' a man must be born of water and the Spirit," man, 
 that " he need not, cannot be born of water ;" Scripture, that 
 "we are saved by the washing of regeneration," man, " that we 
 " are not, but by regeneration which is as a washing :" Scripture, 
 that we are "baptized for the remission of sins," man, that we 
 " are 7iot, but to attest that remission ;" Scripture, that "whoso- 
 " ever hath been baptized into Christ, hath put on Christ," 
 man, that he hath not ; Scripture, " that they have been buried 
 "with Him by Baptism into death," man, that they have not ; 
 Scripture, that " Christ cleansed the Church by the washing of 
 " water by the word," man, that He did not, for bare elements 
 couldhave no such virtue ; Scripture, that " we were baptized into 
 " one body," men that we were not, but that w-e were in that 
 body before; surely they have entered into a most perilous path, 
 which, unless they are checked in pursuing it, must end in the 
 rejection of all Scripture truth, which does not square with their 
 own previous opinions. It did once so end ; and it is a whole- 
 some, but awful, warning, for those who will be warned, that it 
 was out of the school of Calvin, from familiar intercourse with 
 him, and the so-called " Reformed " Church, — that it was out of 
 and through the Reformed Doctrine, that Socinianism took its 
 rise ; that " the chief corrupters of the Polish and Transylvanian 
 " Churches passed through Calvinism or Zuinglianism to their 
 
CONNECTION OF CALVINISTS AND SOCINIANS. 199 
 
 "lieresy';" that in Hooker's words ^, "the blasphemies of 
 " Arians, Samosatenians, Tritheites, Eutychians, and Macedo- 
 " nians, were renewed by them, who, to hatch their heresy, have 
 " chosen those churches as fittest nests, where Athanasius' Creed 
 " is not heard : by them, I say, renewed, who, following the 
 " course of extreme reformation, were wont, in the pride of 
 " their own proceedings, to glory, that, whereas Luther did but 
 " blow away the roof, and Zuinglius^ batter but the walls of 
 " popish superstition, the last and hardest work of all, remained ; 
 " which was, to raze up the very ground and foundation of 
 " popery, that doctrine concerning the deity of Christ, which 
 " Satanasius (for so it pleased those impious forsaken miscreants 
 " to speak) hath in this memorable creed explained." This is 
 an awful warning : and any, who has been condemned to exa- 
 mine the original Socinian writers, (the Polish brethren) cannot 
 fail of being struck with the use which they have made of, and 
 the similarity of their language to, the Expositions of the " Re- 
 " formed " Church. This, at least, struck me very forcibly, 
 before I was made aware of the Iiistorical connection of the two 
 schools. It is a warning also, which these times much need ; and 
 therefore, and to show the danger of such systems of interpreta- 
 tion, I have instituted a parallel between them ^ ; not as if there 
 could be entire agreement in doctrine, between those, who trusted 
 
 ^ Keble, note on Hooker, B. 5. §. 42. §. 13. pp. 239-41. It was upon my 
 mentioning the remarkable coincidence of exposition between the " Re- 
 formed " and tlie Socinians, with regard to Baptism, that he kindly pointed 
 out to me the historical connection which he had traced, and which Hooker 
 hints at. 
 
 2 L. c. 
 
 ■' In the epitaph of Socinus, (quoted ibid.,) the name of Calvin stands for 
 that of Zuingli, so entirely were they identified : 
 
 " Tota jacet Babylon : destruxit tecta Lutherus, 
 Calvinus muros, sed fundamenta Socinus." 
 The boast was a very favourite one, and repeated in different forms ; but^the 
 place which Calvin or Zuingli occupy in relation to Luther, is very re- 
 markable; corresponding indeed to the accusation of Luther by the *' Re- 
 " formed " that he was " bringing back Anti-Christ." 
 
 * See Note P, at the end. 
 
200 WARNINGS TO BE DERIVED FROM THE 
 
 in their Saviour, and those who rejected him, but only that thus 
 far — in the rejection of the plain teaching of Scripture on the 
 doctrine of the Sacraments, and the mode and method and prin- 
 ciples of that rejection, — they did even verbally coincide. I do 
 it solely because I am convinced that it is of much moment to 
 the Church of Christ in this land, that we should look more 
 heedfully whither we are going. No comparison is intended be- 
 tween the two schools, beyond the point for which they are com- 
 pared. In the very context, wherein the passages are found, the 
 writers will frequently part asunder as widely as possible ; the 
 Reformed School, speaking warmly of the blessings of the death 
 of Christ, and of our unutterable union with Him ; the Socinian, — 
 as their school is wont. Yet on this very account the compari- 
 son is the more important ; for if the deadly heresy of Socinus 
 had sprung out of a dead and lifeless school, this had been the 
 less to be wondered at, and had had far less solemnity of warning : 
 but now to see it, starting out of the Reformed School, almost at 
 its very birth, and amid its first freshness and life ; this is indeed 
 awful, and speaks most truly as to the delicacy, as well as the 
 preciousness, of the treasure committed to our keeping by God; 
 how rigorously he '* requires of our hands" any tampering with 
 it; that amazing as" this His gift is, yet He is not careful to retain 
 it in our knowledge or our use, when man in any way neglects or 
 abuses it : that He is more jealous of His own honour in vindi- 
 cating presently all misemployment or defilement of this ines- 
 timable gift, than in preventing it from being, as seems to us, 
 altogether lost. Why God has made His revealed truth so frail 
 and so tender, so easy to be lost, so difficult to be regained, we can 
 of course but in a very little measure guess ; and if we involun- 
 tarily guess, must needs confess that we assuredly guess much 
 amiss ; but it is so different from what human speculation would 
 have supposed beforehand, yea, so different from what our own 
 pride and self-importance, would persuade us yet that it is ; we 
 again and again so build our hopes on the supposed importance 
 of our Church or nation in God's designs, or the zeal displayed 
 upon certain enterprises to His honour ; and this, in despite 
 of the history of His dealings in His whole Church, that 
 
CONNECTION OF THE SOCINIAN WITH THE REFORMED SCHOOL. '?0l 
 
 it is of the more importance to us to note all such instances 
 of God's rigor. Alexandria, the bulwark of the faith in the 
 Holy Trinity, and North Africa, of the unmeritedness of God's 
 free grace, a desolation! Rome, once characterized for steady 
 practical adherence to sound doctrine, a seat of Anti-Christ ! 
 Geneva, once proposed as the model for all reformed Churches, 
 arid of influence well-nigh unbounded, and yet immediately the 
 parent of Socinianism, and now a prey to the heresy which came 
 forth, but was for the time ejected, also from its bosom ! Let us 
 " not be high-minded, but fear." Especially let us beware of 
 that straining of the letter of Holy Scripture in conformity with 
 preconceived notions, and the requisitions of human reason, 
 wherein the .school of Calvin most fatally set the example to 
 that of i^ocinus. 
 
 Neither the above, nor any other views of Christian truth, 
 ought, of course, to be hastily adopted ; nor need it be concealed 
 that they would make a great change in much of our move earnest 
 preaching, in the early education of our children, and so of the 
 children of our country, and in our calls to the unconverted, or, (as 
 they were better called,) backsliding or apostate Christians. There 
 will, namely, when we are duly impressed with the value of this 
 Holy Sacrament, be far more earnest care to preserve this sea! of 
 faith unbroken : men cannot go on with this apparent reckless- 
 ness, which is intolerable, when they think that childhood has only 
 been dedicated to God, not hallowed by Him, but which be- 
 comes an hundredfold more intolerable, wlien we look on them 
 as actually "children of God, meinbers of Christ, inheritors of 
 " Heaven," and when we acknowledge that if we allow them 
 again to become '* children of the devil," we have no covenanted 
 means of restoring the bond broken through our negligence, no 
 mode of wholly renewing them again. How must the Bishop, 
 to whom St. John committed a young man, and who, after 
 Baptism, had neglected him, have shrunk when he understood 
 the words, " Restore the deposit, which I and the Saviour 
 " have committed to you, whereof the Church, over which 
 " thou presidest, was witness !" — how must he have trembled 
 to say, " He is dead, dead to God!" But now it will not be 
 
 () 
 
202 CHILDREN RECOMMENDED TO THE CHURCH BY CHRIST. 
 
 St. John, but our Judge from whom we must hear the words, 
 " An excellent keeper truly have I left thee of thy bro- 
 ther's soul !" We shall see how precarious a thing it is to look 
 for " conversion " in riper years, (a thing which God has not 
 promised,) if we neglect His appointed means of training up in 
 their youth, " the members of His Son, the heirs of His king- 
 " dom." Our ministerial care must be, I will not say exclusively, 
 but still very mainly directed to these "little ones:" and while 
 we neglect not to build up older Christians, and take every 
 opportunity of recalling a wanderer to Christ's fold, " if, per- 
 " adventure God may yet give him repentance," our chief duty, 
 delegated to us by the Great Shepherd, is His twice-repeated 
 commission to " feed His lambs." Our own Church has very 
 carefully directed our attention to them : our sermons, she sup- 
 poses,^ shall be such as shall interest and instruct them, long be- 
 fore their confirmation : their elementary instruction, she sup- 
 poses ^ will be interesting and edifying to the adult portion of 
 the congregation, when assembled for worship on the Lord's day : 
 for it is out of their mouths, and such as them, that " God hath 
 perfected praise ;" and so, assuredly, it would be ; and our ser- 
 mons, if addressed in part to these " babes in Christ," might most 
 healthfully recall us to the memory of our own childhood ; the 
 remembrance of childhood's comparative innocence in the re- 
 centness of its Baptismal purity, augments, probably, the re- 
 pentance of most of us, that we have not " led all the rest of our 
 " lives according to that beginning;" it is a tie, which God has 
 often still wound round the heart of the apparently obdurate*, 
 whereby He has drawn him back to Himself, when every other 
 band was burst, and more direct appeals have only hardened. 
 This, however, is not the question : it is, whether from false 
 views of Baptism, and, consequently, a faithless doubt as to 
 
 * " And that he may know these things the better, ye shall call upon him 
 " to hear sermons." — Baptismal Service. 
 
 2 See "Directions after the Catechism." 
 
 3 It is certainly (rue to human nature, that in a popular tale, the aged sin- 
 ner, after many years of crime, is represented as first softened into peniten- 
 tial tears, at the imwonted sight of childliood's prayer. 
 
SPIRITUAL CAPACITIES OF CHILDREN. 203 
 
 the capacities of very little children, and God's power and will 
 to sanctify them, we have not kept them from Christ's " green 
 pastures," and His " ivaters of comfort :" whether we have not 
 left them to the wilfulness of their old nature, as if it were 
 this which were " natural " to them, and have neglected to cul- 
 tivate the new man in them, " which, after God, is created in 
 " righteousness and true holiness ;" whether we have not left 
 them to stray from Christ's fold, as if this were inevitable, and 
 then complained of their unwillingness to be confined within it. 
 The whole education, indeed, of children, is an act of faith and 
 humility : faith, to believe that the seed we see not is already 
 sown by God ; that amid all their very childishness, the prin- 
 ciple of immortal life is implanted in them ; that, before they 
 can express themselves in words, or can understand ours, or 
 we can tell them of God, every little act of submission, and so 
 every little conquest of self, is a fruit of God's Holy Spirit, 
 who sealed them in Baptism ; that the seed so sown requires 
 but our diligent watering, and God will even now give the in- 
 crease and the promise of the future harvest ; that they are 
 already, in deed as well as in name. Christians : — it requires hu- 
 mility as well as faith to believe that the doctrines which we re- 
 ceive, but of which . we understand so little, can be, and are 
 received as readily, and in its measure as efficaciously, in the 
 heart of a child; that their evil tempers yield as, yea, or more 
 readily, through prayer, and they become as or more easily victo- 
 rious in their little trials than we ; that there is not the wide dif- 
 ference between us, which our pride of intellect would imagine ; 
 that we are in different stages only of the same course — that they 
 are already carrying on the same warfare with the same enemies, 
 and (not having been so often foiled, not having as yet slighted the 
 voice of God's Holy Spirit, and their Baptismal grace still fresh,) 
 in their degree, more successfully than we : that they have need 
 of, and can use, all the same means of Grace (save one), and look 
 with a simpler, more vivid faith, to the same hope of Glory. 
 This, and much more, which those who have tried to educate 
 children Christianly, now know by sight, was at first to them an 
 act of faith : it remains after a time, still, in a degree, an act of 
 
 o 2 
 
204 BP. JEWEL EDUCATION OV CHILDREN TURNS UPON BAPTISM. 
 
 faith, for our prkle would still make unreal distinctions • and 
 when we have in some measure realized it, we then begin to 
 see how much more is true, of Gou's grace in these little ones, 
 than we had imagined. 
 
 " The whole of the bringing up of children," says Bishop 
 Jewel ', " standeth in the knowledge and in the feare of God : that 
 " they may know God, and walke before Him in reverence and 
 " in feare, and serve Him in hohnesse, all the dales of their life. 
 " The Jewes are a miserable people, that live in error ; they die 
 " in their own blood : yet have they so much understanding, that 
 " they bring up their children in the knowledge of God, and that 
 " knowledge they teach out of the word of God. They remem- 
 " ber what charge God gave them : ' Thou shall teach them thy 
 " ' sons, and thy sons' sons.' Therefore, a father must teach his 
 " child what God is. That He is our Father, that He hath made 
 " us, and doth feed us, and giveth us all things needful!, both 
 " for body and soule. Tiiat He is our Lord, and therefore we 
 " must serve Him, and obey Him, and do nothing whereby He 
 " may be displeased. That He is our Judge, and shall come 
 " to judge the quick and the dead ; and that all men shall come 
 *' before Him, to receive according as they have done in the 
 " flesh. He yimst put his child in mind of his Baptisme, and 
 " teach him that it is a covenant of God's mercy to us, of our 
 " duty to God: that it is a mystery of our salvation, that our 
 " soule is so washed with the blood of Christ, as the water of 
 " Baptisme washelh our body. Let us looke upon our children 
 " as upon the great blessings of God. They are the Lord's 
 " vessels, ordained to honour ; let us keepe them cleane. They 
 " are Christ's lambs, and sheepe of his flock ; let us lead them 
 " forth into wholesome pasture. They are the seed-plot of 
 " heaven ; let us water them, that God may give the increase. 
 " Their angels behold the face of God ; let us not offend them. 
 " They are the temples and tabernacles of the Holy Ghost ; let 
 " us not suffer the foule Spirit to possesse them, and dwell within 
 ** them.' God saith, ' your children are my children.' They are 
 
 ' Treatise on the Sacraments, p. 281, 282. 
 
CHILDREN THE GREAT HOPE OF THE CHURCH, 205 
 
 " the sons of God. They are borne anew, and are well shapen 
 " in beautifull proportion ; make them not monsters. He is a 
 " monster, whosoever knoweth not God. By you they are 
 *' borne into the world ; bee carefuU also that by your meanes 
 " they may bee begotten unto God. You are carefuU to traine 
 " them in nurture, and comely behaviour of the body ; seeke also 
 " to fashion their mind unto godlinesse. You have brought them 
 " to the fountaine of Baptisme, to receive the marke of Christ ; 
 " bring them up in knowledge, and watch over them, that they 
 " be not lost. So shall they be confirmed, and will keepe the pro- 
 *' mise they have made, and will grow unto perfect age in Christ." 
 When children shall thus be brought up, not with occasional 
 reference to religion (as it is called), or with occasional religious 
 instruction, but " setting God always before them ;" judging of 
 all their actions with reference to God's law ; looking at them 
 as little ones, indeed, but still as members of Christ, and so 
 imparting to them the privileges- of His members ; disciplining 
 their wills in the same way, according to their proportion, as we 
 should discipline our own ; placing before them no motives but 
 those upon which, as Christians, we would act ourselves ; taking 
 no standard of little or great, right or wrong, — (not custom, nor 
 nature, nor affection, nor ease,) — but only God's law ; regarding 
 them, in fact, as miniatures, or rather as the first outline of the 
 full-grown Christian, which, by God's blessing, shall acquire, 
 day by day, fresh depth and breadth and consistency : then 
 may we, indeed, hope that " our sons may be as plants, grown 
 " up in their youth ; our daughters as corner-stones, polished like 
 " a temple :" then may our country be once more "the glory of 
 *' lands," a chosen instrument of extending our Redeemer's king- 
 dom in others, because it will have come " with power" in our 
 own : then may we take the blessing of the Psalmist, " Happy 
 " is that people that is in such a case, yea, blessed is the people 
 " that hath the Lord for their God." Such also, we may see, 
 has been the method of God, for the most part, in extending 
 His Church hitherto, since its first planting. He has used, 
 namely, the instrumentality of Christian nations, even more 
 than that of individual Christians, however eminent. It is 
 
206 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION MEANS OF ENLARGING THE CHURCH. 
 
 by nourishing up and multiplying sons and daughters of our 
 common mother, far more than by the adoption of children 
 not her own into the family of Christ, that His kingdom has 
 been enlarged ; and secondarily, by the contact of Christian 
 nations, the leaven working in them has spread beyond their 
 bounds. Jhe means are evidently prepared for rendering colo- 
 nization a far more effective means than ever before of extending 
 in either way Ceirist's kingdom: but before we think of so 
 extending it, the leaven must have worked thoroughly through 
 our own mass ; and for this, and that we may not rather be the 
 source of a moral infection, we must train up our children in 
 their baptismal privileges, in the full confidence that the " pro- 
 " mise, which God has made, He for His part will most surely 
 " keep and perform." Much of the responsibility rests with us, 
 the clergy. It is ours to press upon the parents in our several 
 congregations to educate their children as Christians. It is 
 ours to tell them what Christian education is; to remind them 
 of the promise of Him who cannot lie, and the might of His 
 arm, which is not shortened. It is ours to tell them, in detail, 
 the errors of prevailing practice, and what on our authority 
 they will believe, the early capacity of every child to understand 
 its faults to be sins, to repent of them, to pray for God's might 
 to conquer them, to conquer them in that might, and to be 
 thankful. It is ours, more especially, to habituate ourselves to look 
 upon every child, — not only as what it may be, weak, ignorant, 
 foolish, but also as what it is in privilege and in anticipation, — 
 a co-heir with Christ, as a member of Him. So will that 
 " great reverence," which even a heathen saw to be due to a 
 child, be, oh ! how increased ! and by uniformly treating the 
 lambs of our flock as already Christians, bestowing proportion- 
 ate labour and pains upon them, never treating them but as the 
 temples of the Holy Ghost, we shall inspire into their parents 
 a portion of the awe, which we feel for those whose " angels 
 " behold our Father's face." So shall our daily prayer be at 
 the last accomplished — " Thy kingdom come !" The Christian 
 minister would then have less occasion to address apostatizing 
 Christians, and his oflice might nearly be confined to ex- 
 
APOSTATIZING CHRISTIANS HOW TO BE ADDRESSED. 207 
 
 hortations to watchfulness and growth. Yet even now, our 
 addresses to these unhappy persons would, I doubt not, be more 
 affectionate, more solemn, and more effective, because more true, 
 if we spoke to them as they are, erring, or, it may be, even 
 deserting Christians, but still with Christ's mark upon them, 
 still as sheep of His fold, not now for the first time to enter in, 
 or to " come to Christ," but to return, — with much sorrow, 
 labour, trouble, and distress of mind, — but still to return to Him 
 into Whose fold they had been brought. Whose sheep they are, 
 — to return to Him the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls ; to 
 return to Him, before Whom they must come, as their Judge. 
 And if they should most lamentably refuse our warning, still our 
 own increased earnestness in warning them of the difficulty of 
 the way which they have now to tread, may, by God's grace, 
 deter others, and show them the fearfulness as well as the shame 
 of " returning," after they have been washed, " to their wallow- 
 " ing in the mire." 
 
 But, as before said, the effect of our preaching, as it does not 
 depend upon ourselves, so neither may it be our test of its 
 soundness ; and that, simply, because we can at the best know 
 but a very small portion of its real effects or defects. Our 
 concern is, whether it be according to God's word. And it 
 behoves us much to ascertain, by patient, teachable study of that 
 word with prayer, whether it be right to make the way of 
 repentance so easy to those who, after Baptism, have turned 
 away from God : whether we have any right at once to appro- 
 priate to them the gracious words with which our Saviour 
 invited those who had never known Him, and so had never 
 forsaken Him, and with which, through His Church, He still 
 invites His true disciples to the participation of His own most 
 blessed Body and Blood — " Come unto Me, ye that labour and 
 " are heavy-laden;" whether, having no fresh " Baptism for the 
 " remission of sins" to offer, no means of " renewing them to 
 " repentance," we have any right to apply to them the words 
 which the Apostles used in inviting men for the first time into 
 the ark of Christ ; whether we are not thereby making broad 
 the narrow way of life, and preaching " Peace, Peace," where, in 
 
208 DOUBTS AS TO SOME OF OUR PRESENT PREACHING. 
 
 this way at least, " there is no Peace ;" while those of us, who 
 dwell on the necessity of universal conversion, and imply, by their 
 preaching, a disbelief in the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, 
 are many times " making the heart of the righteous sad, whom 
 " God hath not made sad." 
 
 These and the like questions are the more difficult to answer 
 dispassionately, because they are opposed to much of our modern 
 systems. May God enable us so to see, and preach, and realize 
 the truth, as may save ourselves and those who hear us ! I will 
 add but the closing words of Melancthon, who also held the old 
 doctrine of Baptism : — " Let us all consider these statements of 
 " Baptism piously and diligently, that we also, who are older, 
 " may console ourselves with that covenant, as I have said. But 
 " chiefly, let youth beware, lest they squander the gifts of Bap- 
 '* tism, and lose that great glory, which Christ sets forth of 
 *' infants in the Church. ' It is not the will of the Father that one 
 " of these little ones should perish.' What greater glory can be 
 " thought of, than what he affirms, that these certainly please 
 " God, and are cared for by Him. And let parents, in this 
 " faith as to Baptism, call upon God for infants, and recommend 
 " them to God ; and as soon as ever they can be taught, accustom 
 " them themselves to call upon God and His Son, and gradually 
 " impart to them the sum of the Gospel. Lastly, since children 
 " are a great part of the Church, let parents and teachers know 
 " that no slight treasure is committed to them. Wherefore, let 
 " them use faithfulness and diligence in teaching and guiding 
 '* youth." 
 
 Oxford, the end. 
 
 Feast of St. Luke. 
 
 (additional notes in the next no.) 
 
 These Tracts are 'published Monthly, and sold at the price of 
 2d. for each sheet, or 7s. for 50 copies. 
 
 LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. RIVINGTON, 
 
 ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE. 
 1835. 
 
 Gilbert & Rivington, Printers, St. John's Square, London. 
 
NOTES 
 
 ON TRACTS «7, 68, «J9 
 
 Note (A), on page 16. 
 
 Hooker does not, probably, mean to say that the " Baptizing with the 
 *' Holy Ghost and with fire " was hmited to this one aet, in which 
 the fire was \asibly displayed ; but to show that even here, where it 
 would appear that a mere metaphor was intended, there was also a real 
 fact: much more then in the words " born of water and of the Spirit." 
 Add to this, (as Vazquez remarks, in Part HI. t. 2. Disp. 131. c. 3.) 
 there is a difference in the very construction of the words, "water and 
 " the Spirit," " Holy Ghost and fire ;" for it might be said, (as in the 
 application of the words of the Baptist to later times,) that the word 
 " fire " was added to denote the energy of the Spirit in consuming 
 our corruption in Baptism : whereas, in the words " water and the 
 •' Spirit," their very position shows that the word " water " was 
 not added to explain " the Spirit," the mention whereof follows 
 it. But neither can it be said, that the mention of the "Spirit" 
 so explains what is meant by " water " that it should be alto- 
 gether superfluous ; otherwise there had been no occasion why it 
 should be mentioned at all. Rather it limits it indeed, so as to 
 show that no mere " outward washing " is here intended; that any 
 " washing " without the power of the Spirit was nothing ; but does 
 not so supersede it, as to hold out any hope that we should be born 
 again of the Spirit without the water. Add to this, that in the Bap- 
 tist's words, there is an evident contrast between the material element, 
 the water, wherewith he himself baptized, and the fire, as the more ve- 
 hement, to describe the more powerful baptism of our Lord ; whereas, 
 in "our Lord's own words, there is nothing illustrated or explained by 
 the word " water," unless it mean the water of Baptism ; so that the 
 very language would imply a certain metaphorical application in the 
 one case, and the absence of it in the other. Again, it cannot be said, 
 that the words " Baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire," 
 exclude altogether a water-baptism ; for, although baptizing may be 
 used in the sense of consecration only, when there is no reference to 
 any holy rite, (as in the words " are ye able to be baptized with the 
 " Baptism with which I am baptized ?" ) it does not hence follow 
 that such a sense is admissible, when (as in these words of St. John 
 the Baptist) such a rite is directly referred to. St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 
 just as Hooker, looks to the visible miracle (Acts ii. 2.) as the first 
 
 p 
 
210 THE FATHEUS EXPOSITION OF TIT. 111. 5. 
 
 fulfilment of the Baptist's words (Catech. iii. 9- xvii. 8.), but also to the 
 invisible miracle of Baptismal regeneration, (t6v (iaTTTiliovTa, who now 
 also baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.) So also St. Augustine, Serm. 
 71. De Verbis Evan. Mat. 12. § 19- Add St. Chrysostome, (ad loc. 
 Homil. XI. t. 7- p. 154. ed. Bened.) "When the Baptist sends 
 " men to Christ, he speaks not of the wrath to come, but of 
 " forgiveness of sins, removal of punishment, and righteousness, and 
 " sanctification, and redemption, and adoption, and brotherhood, 
 *' and participation of the heritage and abundant ministration of 
 " the Holy Spirit, for all these things he implied when he said 
 " 'He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire;' 
 " by the very metaphor showing the abundance of the gift, for he 
 " does not say ' He shall give you the Holy Ghost,' but ' He shall 
 " baptize you with the Holy Ghost'; and by the addi'tion of * fire' 
 " he points out the vehemence and efficacy of the grace." 
 
 Note (B), on page 19. 
 Our version, " by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the 
 " Holy Ghost," admits of two constructions, according as one sup- 
 plies "q/"the renewing" or "by the renewing;" since, however, the 
 article is omitted before " renewing," it is probable that our translators 
 considered the "renewing" also, as well as the "regeneration," as 
 an effect of Baptism, (as paraphrased in the Tract) ; and such is the 
 most natural construction of the words ^la Xovrpov iraXiyyivtaiaQ icai 
 avaKaivuxreuie UviVfiaTog ayiov. It is recognized by St. Gregory of 
 Nyssa, who says, de Bapt. Christi init. " Baptism, then, is the puri- 
 " fication of sins, remission of offences, the cause of regeneration and 
 " renewal ;" and by St. Chrysostom, Hom. IX. in Hebr. (quoted by 
 Suicer, see above, p. 50, 51.) It is implied also in the use of the words 
 avaKaiviKo, dvaKaiviaig, avuKaiviafioe, used of Baptism, which are 
 taken from this passage. The union of renovation with regene- 
 ration, in Baptism, is implied also in the following passage of St. 
 Basil, de Spiritu S. c. 12, in which the original words are preserved : 
 "The Apostle appears sometimes to make mention of the Spirit 
 " alone in Baptism (1 Cor. xii. 13.) ; yet one would not, therefore, 
 " call that a perfect Baptism wherein the name of the Spirit 
 " alone were pronounced. For the tradition which was delivered 
 " at the time of the life-giving grace, must be constantly preserved 
 " unbroken; for He, who redeemed our life from corruption, gave 
 " us a power, of renewal, whose cause was ineffable and contained 
 " in a mystery, but bringing great salvation to the soul." And in 
 St. Ambrose, de Spiritu S. 1. 6. "They do not observe, that 
 " we are buried in that element of the water and rise renewed 
 " through the Spirit, for in the water is the image of death, in the 
 " Spirit is the pledge of life ; so that through water the body of sin 
 " may die, the water enclosing the body as in a tomb, and by the 
 
ORIGINAL SIN PROVED FROM INFANT BAPTISM. 211 
 
 " power of the Spirit we may be reneived from the death of sin, being 
 ** re-bom in God." As also in the following paraphrase of Theodoret, 
 (ad. loc.) " The Lord having used gentleness towards man, freed us 
 " from our former evils through the Only-Begotten, having freely 
 " given us remission of sins by sa\ang Baptism, and having new- 
 " created and new-formed us, and having bestowed upon us the gifts 
 " of the Spirit, and shown us the way of righteousness." So also 
 St. Augustine, ad Ps. 139, §■ 9, Cyprian de habit, virg. p. 102. Origen 
 in Joann. t. vi. § 17. " the bath of regeneration, which taketh place 
 " together with the renewal of the Spirit." And of moderns, J. 
 Gerhard Loc. t. 4. p. 265, and most ap. Poole's Synopsis ad loc, and 
 even the Reformed divines, as Calvin Institt. 4. 15. 5. and 16. 20 ; P. 
 Martyr, ad Rom. 6; Witsius de-Bapt. Infant. §. 19- Of the ancients, 
 Jerome seems to have stood alone in the ordinary interpretation, ap. 
 Waterland's Works, T. 8. p. 343, who prefers the above. Bucer 
 de vi Bapt. Christi. (0pp. Anglic, p. 597.) "He calls it the 
 " washing of regeneration and of renewal by the Holy Ghost. Sal- 
 " vation, therefore, which consists in our regeneration and in that 
 " renewal, which the Holy Spirit efl'ected in us, and so the Holy 
 " Spirit Himself, and our only regeneration and renovation, are 
 " bestowed on us by Baptism." Burges' Regeneration of Elect In- 
 fants, p. 87. " In which words, it is clear, as the sunne at noone-day, 
 " that Baptisme is not the laver of regeneration alone, but of the re- 
 " newing of the Holy Ghost ; so as he that is partaker only of the 
 " former, is but halfe baptized, i. e., he is partaker but of the body 
 " of the Sacrament, without that which gives life, forme, and being, 
 " unto that ordinance. And to make the Baptisme of the elect to be 
 " no more ordinarily, than a participation of the carcase of Christ's 
 " institution, would, I think, be a harsh doctrine even in their own 
 " eares, that deny the Spirit to elect infants." 
 
 Note (C), on page 23. 
 St. Augustine frequently cites this passage (Rom. vi. 3.) against 
 the Pelagians, in jjroof that " infants are cleansed from original sin 
 " by regeneration;" (aboriginali peccato parvulos regeneratione mun- 
 dari,) and that, because St. Paul asserts, that all, without excejition, 
 who have been baptized in Christ, have been baptized in His death, 
 i. e. have died an actual death to sin : all infants, therefore, must have 
 died to sin ; otherwise Christ had not died for them, which no one 
 would say. — See c. Julian. Pelag. L. vi. § 7 . sqq. L. i. § 28. Op. 
 Imp. c. Jul. L. ii. § 135. and § 222. sq. Enchirid. c. 52. Wall (In- 
 fant Baptism, art. Augustine) enumerates also the following places 
 wherein that father, from the acknowledged benefits of Baptism to 
 infants, infers the truth of original sin : — " Ad Valerium de nuptiis 
 '* et concupiscentia. Ad Bonifacium contra duas Epistolas Pelagia- 
 * norum. De Gratia et Libero arbitrio. De corruptione et gratis 
 
 p 2 
 
212 EXPOSITION OF 2 COR. 1. 22. 
 
 " De ])r?edestinatione Sanctorum. De dono Perse verantife. De Ges- 
 " tis Palaestinis. De octo Dulcitii quaestionibus. Comment, in Psalm. 
 " li. * I was shapen in iniquity,' &c. Sermo x. xiv. De verbis 
 " Apostoli. it. in Sancti Johannis nati\atatem. Letters to Paulinus, 
 " to Optatus, to Sixtus, to Celestinus, to Vitalis, to Valentinus, and 
 " several others." And in the De Peccat. Merit. L. ii. § 23. he ener- 
 getically says : — " If infants be ill of no sickness of original sin, why 
 " are they, by the pious fear of their hasting friends, carried to Christ 
 " the physician, i. e. to receive the Sacrament of eternal salvation ? 
 " and why are they not told in the church, ' Take these innocents 
 " ' hence ; they that be whole need not a physician, but they that be 
 " * sick ; Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners !' Such 
 " a fiction never was pronounced, nowhere is pronounced, never 
 " anywhere will be pronounced, in the Church of Christ." 
 
 Note (D), on page 34. 
 
 " Almost all say, that in 2 Cor. i. St. Paul speaks of that spiritual 
 " sealing which is received in Baptism, by which we are made the 
 ** flock of Christ, as Chrys. and Theod. have expressly said " — 
 Saurez in 3 Part. D. Thomae qu. 63. art. 3. See also Ambrose (Note 
 E. p. 214). In Calvin, and most who have followed him, there seems 
 not to have been even a surmise, that Baptism could have been here 
 intended ; nor is this exposition named in the collections of Marlo- 
 ratus or Pole. Bucer, however, says, on Eph. i. " ' After ye have 
 " believed.' The Apostle is speaking of true faith, not that our sal- 
 " vation is tied to faith ; for we shall hereafter be blessed without 
 " faith ; and infants have it not as yet, and still are saved :" and after 
 a description of true faith : " For they are at Baptism purified, 
 " adopted, and sealed by the Spirit, whereby they are daily j)repared 
 " for faith, and hearing of the word, when they shall grow up." 
 And onEph.iv. "God has marked His own, whom He has purchased 
 " with the blood of His Son, with that seal, which He doubtless will 
 " acknowledge in the day of the perfected redemption. That Spirit 
 " of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father, is the mark of Christ 
 " in us, and the day of Baptism is the day of the promised redemp- 
 " tion ; but the day of our resurrection will be the day of the 
 " redemption fully realized." From him, as appears, Hieron. Zan- 
 chius says the like, on Eph. i. " I doubt not that the Apostle alludes 
 " to Baptism, whereby the Ephesians, after they believed and made 
 " the confession of their faith, were sealed for Christ." And on 
 c. iv. " When does God seal us ? In our Baptism, when He bap- 
 " tizes us, not so much with water as with the Spirit." And in the 
 Diss, on Baptism, on Eph. v. " This right (to eternal life) is sealed 
 " in us by the seal of Baptism, which is the meaning of Eph. i. ' Ye 
 " have been sealed,' &c. and John iii. ' Except a man be born of 
 " water and the Spirit," &c. 
 
THE I'ATHEKS. 213 
 
 Note (E), on page 38. 
 
 Bingham (Christian Antiq. b. xi, c. 1.) quotes several passages, 
 wherein is expressed this doctrine of our being sealed, and so guarded 
 and protected by Baptism ; as the Acta Theclce, " Give me the seal 
 " of Baptism, and temptation shall not touch me." Clemens of 
 Alexandria, ap. Euseb. H. E. L. iii. c. 23. of the Presbyter to whom 
 St. John had committed a young man, " The presbyter having taken 
 " him home, brought him up, kept him by him, cherished him, at 
 " last enlightened (baptized) him. After this he remitted further 
 " care and watchfulness over him, as having set upon him that per- 
 " feet preservative, the seal of the Lord (i. e. Baptism.") See other 
 instances in Suicer, v. ff^pnytV.) St. Basil insists on the safety thereby 
 procured to us, in that we are thereby marked as God's (cp. the Rev.) 
 " How shall the Angel rescue thee from the enemies (see Jude 9.) 
 " unless he see the mark ? How canst thou say ' I am God's,' unless 
 " thou bearest his tokens ? Knowest thou not that the destroyer 
 " passed by the houses which were sealed (marked), and in the 
 " unsealed slew the first-born ? An unsealed treasure is open to 
 " robbers ; an unmarked sheep is easily entrapped " (De S. Baptismo, 
 Horn. 13. § 4. p. 117. ed. Bened.) Again, he calls it " a seal, which 
 " no force (without us) can injure," ib. § 5. as does St. Cyril of 
 Jerusalem (Procatech. § 16.) St. Gregory of Nazianzum uses in part 
 the same references to Scripture history, and the same images. He 
 especially calls Baptism " a seal to those beginning life, to the more 
 " advanced a grace also, and a restoration of the lost image." (De S. 
 Baptismo, § 7. p. filO.) He exhorts the young to receive Baptism ; 
 " if thou provide thyself with the seal, and guard the future with 
 " the best and firmest of supports, and being marked, soul and body, 
 " with the anointing and with the Spirit, as Israel of old with that 
 " blood and anointing, which by night guarded the first-born, what 
 " shall happen to thee ?" § 14. As, on the other hand, he alludes to 
 the danger of those who have not this seal : " Fearest thou lest thou 
 " shouldest corrupt this grace, and so delayest thy purification, as 
 " having no second to look to ? What then ? Fearest thou not, lest in a 
 " time of persecution thou be in danger of being deprived of thy great- 
 " est treasure, Christ?" Ib. § 15. And again, "This purifying must 
 " not be glossed over, but must be stamped upon them." § 30. And 
 hence Tertullian frequently calls Baptism the sealing-up of faith, as an 
 impress on the part of God, whereby He secures and maintains it. 
 " That bath is the seahng up (obsignatio) of faith, which faith begins, 
 " and is recommended by the faith of repentance." De Poenitentia, 
 c. 6. Again, de Spectaculis, c. 4. he calls Baptism "our seahng." 
 And against Marcion, who distinguished the God of the New Testa- 
 ment from the God of the Old, and disbelieved the teaching of the 
 
214 THE FATHERS CHRISTIANS SEALED AND 
 
 Old Scriptures — " He seals, then, man, who in His sight never was 
 " unsealed ! He washes man, who in His sight never was defiled ! 
 '* And He dips the flesh, which is excluded from salvation, in this 
 *' whole Sacrament of salvation !" L. i. c. 23. And de Praescript. 
 Hajretic. c. 36, " It unites the law and the prophets with the gospels 
 " and the aj)ostolic writings, and thence imbibeth faith. This it 
 " sealeth with water, clotheth with the Holy Spirit, feedeth with 
 " the Eucharist, by martyrdom persuadeth j and against this institu- 
 " tion admitteth no one." Cornelius also, ap. Euseb. Hist. L. vi. 
 c. 33, speaks of "being sealed by the sign of the seal in the Lord." 
 Ambrose de Spiritu S. L. i. c. 6. " Do we live through the water as 
 " through the Spirit ? Are we sealed through the water as through 
 " the Spirit ? for in Him we live, and He is the earnest of our 
 " inheritance ; as the Apostle, writing to the Ephesians, saith, ' in 
 " ' whom believing, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,' 
 " &c. We were sealed then by the Holy Spirit, not in a natural 
 " way, but by God, because it is written, ' God, who anointed us, 
 " * and sealed us, and gave the Spirit, as an earnest in our hearts.' 
 " We were sealed then with the Spirit by God ; for as we die in 
 " Christ, that we may be born again, so we are sealed also with the 
 " Spirit, that we may retain His splendour, and image, and grace ; 
 "and this then is a spiritual seal; for although we are outwardly 
 " sealed in the body, yet in reality we are sealed in the heart, so that 
 " the Holy Spirit forms in us the representation of the heavenly 
 " image." St. Cyril of Jerusalem, addressing those about to be 
 baptized, says, " receive through faith the pledge of the Holy Spirit, 
 " that ye may be able to be received into the eternal habitations. 
 " Approach to the mysterious seal, that ye may be recognised by your 
 " Master. Where He seeth a good conscience, there He giveth that 
 " saving, that wondrous seal, of which the devils stand in awe, and 
 " which angels acknowledge." (Catech. 1. c 2.) And again — " Thou 
 '• descendest into the water, bearing thy sins ; but the words of grace 
 ♦' pronounced over thee, having sealed thy soul, no longer permit thee 
 " to be devoured by the fearful dragon. Having descended dead in 
 " sins, thou arisest quickened in righteousness. For if thou wert 
 ** planted in the likeness of the death of the Saviour, thou shalt also 
 " be accounted worthy of the resurrection." lb. 3. 12. And in like 
 manner, Cyril frequently speaks of " the Holy Spirit, which sealeth 
 " the souls in Baptism." Catech. 3, 3. 4, 4, 16. 16, 24. 17, 35. And 
 Epiphanius (which is the more to be noticed) lays down thus the dis- 
 tinction between circumcision and Baptism : — " for there (among the 
 •' Jews) there was a carnal circumcision, which served for a time, until 
 •' the great circumcision (i. e. Baptism), which circumciseth us from 
 " sins, antl sealeth us in the name of God." Ha^res. 8. med. (cp. 
 Haeres. 30. fin. quoted by Vazquez, I. c. disp. 134 c. 1.) And 
 
GUARDED BY BAPTISM. 215 
 
 Amhrosiaster, on Eph. i. 14. " It is to the praise of the glory of 
 " God, when many are gained to the faith. Therefore it belongeth 
 " to God's glory that He called the Gentiles, that they might obtain 
 " the healing of their salvation, having the seal of redemption and 
 " future inheritance, the Holy Spirit given upon Baptism. For 
 " the redeemed are marked out as heirs, if they continue in regene- 
 '* ration, so that the first faith obtaineth pardon, but a holy conver- 
 " sation, enduring with faith, a crown." Rufinus inv. in S. Hieron, 
 § 3. " Having been regenerated by the grace of Baptism, I obtained 
 " the seal of faith." We are the more directly reminded of the lan- 
 guage of the Revelations, by the title " the sealed," which St. Basil 
 gives to the baptized, de Spiritu S. c. 16. p. 34. And again, directly 
 explaining Eph. iv. 30. " They then who have been sealed by the 
 " Holy Spirit to the day of redemption, and have kept that first- 
 *' fruit of the Spirit undefiled and undiminished, these are they who 
 "shall hear the words 'Well done! good and faithful,' &c. ; and 
 " likewise they who have grieved the Holy Spirit by the wickedness 
 " of their doings, and did not obtain increase for that which was given 
 " them, shall be deprived of that which they received, the grace being 
 " transferred to others; and the ' cutting in twain,' (Mat. xxiv. 51.) 
 " means the entire alienation of the Spirit from the soul. For now, 
 " although He be not mingled with the unworthy, yet He seems to 
 " be present with those who have been once sealed, awaiting their 
 "salvation through their conversion; but then He shall be severed 
 " altogether from those who defiled His grace;" (in which words, it 
 may be observed, that St. Basil explains the benefits of Baptism to 
 those who neglect the gift therein bestowed, in the same way as St. 
 Augustine, sup. p. 175 ; that is, as ready to be of avail to them, if they 
 at length, really from the heart, obey God's call to turn and fear Him ; 
 while the final loss of that seal of Baptism is spoken of as equivalent 
 to the utter alienation from God, which is the misery of the damned.) 
 Theodotus, in Epit. Orient. Doctrinse (ap. Gerhard Loci de S. Bapt. 
 §111.) " He who hath come to God, and hath received power to 
 " tread on scorpions and serpents, and all the evil powers, hav- 
 " ing been sealed through the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 " Spirit, is inaccessible to any power." And in this sense are 
 comprehended all those several modifications which Bellarmine and 
 Vaz(|uez attribute to the use of this metaphor among the fathers, viz. 
 that the Sacraments are marks whereby the faithful are noted ; that 
 they contain within memselves, and preserve, a sacred thing, i. e.- 
 grace ; that Baptism is, in Tertullian's usage, a public approval and 
 attestation of faith. All these may be reduced into the one head, 
 that the Sacrament of Baptism, where rightly received, impresses 
 upon the soul the image of God ; secures and perpetuates all pre- 
 vious good emotions worked in adults Ijy God ; and carries on to life 
 
216 THE FATHERS " THE WORd" IN El'H. V. 20. 
 
 eternal those who live " the rest of their lives according to that 
 " beginning !" The statement of these writers, as an historical fact, 
 is valuable, that " no one of the fathers calls the Sacraments seals, 
 * as being symbols of God's good-will towards us, to excite our faith, 
 " whereby we may certainly believe that our sins are forgiven us, 
 " according to the notions of Calvin." Vazquez, 1. c. disp. 131. c 6. 
 The consent of the early Church, in explaining this text of Baptism, 
 may also be inferred from its being used as a lesson in connection 
 with the baptismal service. " Recall," says St. Ambrose, de iis qui 
 mysteriis initiantur, c 7- " that thou hast received a spiritual seal, the 
 " spirit (Is. xi. 2.) of holy fear, and keep what thou hast received. 
 " God the Father hath sealed, Christ the Lord hath confirmed 
 " thee, and given the earnest of the Spirit in your hearts, as thou 
 " hast learnt from the lesson out of the Apostles." 
 
 Note (F), on page 40. 
 
 The Greek Fathers uniformly explain, "washing of water by the 
 " word," (Eph. v. 26.) of our Saviour's word of consecration; so 
 St. Chrysostome ad loc. " By what word ? In the name of the 
 " Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost." The consent, 
 indeed, of the Greek Fathers is admitted. " Chrysostom," says 
 Estius, " and the other Greeks, and the later Latins, refer this to the 
 " mystical words of Baptism." St. Cyril of Jerusalem again, ha^ang 
 already spoken of the catechetical instruction or teaching of the word 
 before Baptism, as distinct from this, reminds the catechumens how 
 they had been purified from sin by the Lord " by the washing of 
 " water by the word." Catech. 18. § 33. and so also Theodoret, 
 Theophylact, Q'^cumenius. The exposition of the Greeks is of the more 
 importance, since the question depends, in part, upon the use of the 
 word pvjua. Pjj/io, namely, is used in the New Testament, of the 
 *' command" of God. Matt. iv. 4. Heb. i. 3. xi. 3. Rom. x. 8. (from 
 the 6) Eph. vi. 17., or of His " promise," Heb. vi. 5. 1 Pet. i. 25., or 
 of a specific revelation, *' the word of the Lord came to," &c. iii. 2. 
 but not in the general sense of revelation written or unwritten. For 
 this there is used the plural pr)naTa,Joh. v. 47- vi. 63, 68. viii. 20, 47, 
 &c., or \6yog. 
 
 Of the Latin Fathers, St. Augustine, who is alleged by Estius and 
 Calvin for the contrary, explicitly interprets the passage of the Sacra- 
 mental words, (De nuptiis T. x. p. 298. ed. Bened.)- " For so says the 
 " Apostle, Eph. V. 25., which is so to be undei'stood ; that, by the same 
 " washing of regeneration «wtZ word of sanctification, all the ills of men, 
 " who have been regenerated, are cleansed and healed, not only the sins 
 " which are all remitted now at baptism, but those also which may be 
 " hereafter contracted by htiman ignorance or infirmity;" as also in 
 the vei y passage alleged for the contrary, (Tract. SO in Johan. T. iii. p. 
 
THE WORD OF CONSECRATION IN BAPTIbM. 217 
 
 703.) " Why does Christ say, not ' ye are clean on account of the 
 " ' Baptism wherewith ye are washed,' but ' on account of the word 
 " ' which I have spoken unto you,' except that the word cleanseth also 
 " in the ivater ? Take away the word, and what is water but water ? 
 " The word is added to the element, and it becomes a Sacrament; 
 " itself, as it were, a visible word." St. Augustine indeed, like the 
 other Fathers, considers the words of Baptism as not confined to that 
 single act, but to be influential through life. •* In the word itself," 
 he says, " the passing sound is one thing, the abiding power another :" 
 but he expressly adds, " the cleansing, therefore, would not be 
 " ascribed to the unstable and fluid element, unless there were added 
 " * by the word.' This word of faith is of so much avail in the Church 
 *' of God, that through her, believing, offering, blessing, baptizing, it 
 " cleanseth the merest infant, although not as yet able to believe with 
 " the heart unto righteousness, and to confess with the mouth unto 
 " salvation." The passage of St. Augustine is fully considered by 
 Vazquez in Part. 3. Disp. 129. n. 52 — 64. Indeed it would have 
 created no difficulty, but for the altered frame of mind, which no 
 longer felt the same reverence for the words, through which water 
 was sanctified to be " the bath of regeneration." (See citations from 
 Basil. &c. p. 185, sqq ) St. Augustine, elsewhere, incidentally defines 
 '• the Baptism of Christ" to be " Baptism consecrated with the 
 " words of the Gospel ;" (de Bapt. c. Donat. L. \\. § 47.) and again 
 ibid. " God is present with His own Gospel v/ords, without which 
 " the Baptism of Christ cannot be consecrated, and Himself hallows 
 " His own Sacrament." See also c. Crescon. w. 15. 
 
 St. Augustine, then, makes no exception to what is admitted to be 
 the opinion of " all the later Latins," as well as of all the Greek Fathers. 
 St. Ambrose is quoted to the same purpose by Tirinus. In like manner 
 St. Jerome (ad loc. quoted by Estius) is manifestly not explaining the 
 literal meaning, but applying the whole in a secondary sense : where- 
 in the husband represents the soul, the wife the body, which is 
 to be cleansed from sin by the word. Such consent of antiquity 
 one can hardly doubt to have originated in a genuine tradition. Of 
 moderns, Bucer says, " In what way could the Holy Spirit have 
 '• expressed more plainly, that Baptism administered by the word and 
 " at the command of Christ, was an instrument of purifying His elect 
 " from sin?" (De vi Bapt. p. 597-) And Zanchius, who is again 
 quoted for the reverse, says, on the passage, that " the three parts of 
 " Baptism, the element of water, the word of consecration, and the 
 «' blood of Christ, are mentioned in this passage," p. 209. col. 2. add 
 p. 222. § 24. Bullinger, " For the element cannot purify by itself, 
 •' unless the word of God be added, i. e. the sanctifying Divine power 
 " and certain promise, which is obtained by faith. Whence Augustine 
 " learnedly and piously saith. The word is a^ed to the element and 
 
gl8 ANOINTING AT BAPTISM PliOBABLY 
 
 "it becomes a Sacrament;" and Ridley, Comm. on the Ephes. 
 (Fathers of the English Church, vol. 2. p. 135.) One regrets that 
 Calvin, taking a superficial view of the passage of St. Augustine, 
 should have represented those who believe in the efficacy of the words of 
 consecration as maintaining that " the word whispered over the element 
 •' without sense or faith, by a mere noise, had the power of consecra- 
 " ting the element as by a magical incantation." Instit. L. 4. c. 14. § 4. 
 It was a part of Calvin's rationalism to suppose that the word of con- 
 secration had its efficacy simply by teaching the people, not through 
 any virtue given by God to the invocation of the Blessed Trinity 
 enjoined by Christ Himself, or to those words which Himself used 
 at the Last Supper. Luther, on the contrary, adhering to the Ancient 
 Church, says, " Baptism is not simply water, but water fenced by 
 " the command of God and united with God's word." And again in 
 Art. Schmalc. c. 5. (quoted by Gerhard Loci, de S. Bapt. § 80) 
 " Baptism is nothing else than the word of God with the immersion 
 " into water, according to His institution and command, or as St. Paul 
 '• saith, ' washing of water with the word.' " 
 
 Note (G), on page 42. 
 
 The Chrism or Anointing is mentioned by TertuUian (de Baptismo 
 c. 7), not only as the universal custom in his day (A. D. 20U), but 
 as having been derived from the antient dispensation. It seems, there- 
 fore, most probable that it was, from the very first, received into Christ- 
 ianity. " Having come out of the bath," he says, " we are anointed 
 " with the blessed unction taken from the antient dispensation, in 
 " which they used to 1)6 anointed to the priesthood with oil out of the 
 " horn. Whence Aaron was anointed by Moses; whence Christ is 
 " so called from chrism, i. e. anointing, which, being made spiritual, 
 " gave the name to the Lord, because He was anointed with the 
 " Spirit of God the Father, as it is in the Acts, ' against thy Holy 
 " ' Son, whom thou anointedst.' Thus in us also the anointing runs 
 " corporeally, but profits us spiritually ; in like manner as the bodily 
 " act of Baptism itself, that we are dipped in the waters, being made 
 " spiritual, in that we are delivered from our offences." " The flesh," 
 he says again, (de resurr. carnis. c. 8.) "is anointed, that the soul 
 " may be consecrated." Origen again, in a diflferent portion of the 
 Church, speaks of it in terms as universal, (hom. 8. in Lev. v. fin.) 
 " When men are thus turned from sin, they are cleansed by the 
 " means above named : but the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit 
 " is marked by the emblem of oil ; so that he who is turned from sin, 
 " may obtain not cleansing only, but be filled with the Holy Ghost." 
 And so it seems probabjp that Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, includes 
 
AN Al'OSTOLIC KITE, AND ALLUDED TO BY ST. JOHN. 219 
 
 the material ointment, when he says, (Lib. i. ad Autolyc.) " We are 
 " called Christians, because we are anointed with the oil of God;" 
 for, that it is a spiritual unction also, an unction of light and of the 
 Spirit of God, is but what is affirmed by all the like writers, and 
 belonged to it, as a part of Baptism, And thus we come so near to 
 the time, when St. John wrote his Epistle, that it seems far the most 
 probable, on this ground alone, that in the words (I Ep. ii. 20. 27.) 
 he alluded to this rite. St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in discoursing on this 
 portion of Baptism, preaches on this passage of St. John, as being 
 the Lectionary or Lesson appointed by tlie Church. It were needless to 
 mention later authors, but for the uniformity of the distinction, whereby 
 regeneration is attributed to the washing of the water, the gifts of the 
 Spirit, (as in this passage of St. John,) to the anointing, as a part of 
 Baptism ; — an agreement, which, in so many different churches, implies 
 a common source of tradition : although it need not be said that in other 
 places they speak of the Holy Spirit as Goo's gift in Baptism as a 
 whole. Thus Cyprian, Ep. 70. or rather the thirty-one African Bishops, 
 (on the baptizing of heretics,) " It is necessary that he who is baptized 
 " should also be anointed, that having received the chrism, i. e. the 
 " anointing, he may be the anointed of God, and have in him the 
 " grace of Christ." And Ambrose de Sacram. L. iii. c. 1. " Yes- 
 " terday we spoke of the fountain, whose form is a sort of sepulchre, 
 " into which, believing in the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 " Spirit, we are received, and buried, and rise, i. e. are raised again. 
 " But thou receivest the jxvpov, i. e. the ointment upon the head, and 
 " why ? because the wisdom of the wise is in his head, as Solomon 
 " saith ; for wisdom without grace is but a lifeless thing; but when 
 " it hath received grace, then its work beginneth to be perfected. 
 " This is called regeneration." And S. Cyril, in his discourse on the 
 Chrism, (Catech. Mystag. iii. init.) begins thus : " Having been bap- 
 " tized into Christ, and having jjut on Christ, ye have been con- 
 " formed to the Son of God ; for God, having predestinated us to 
 " the adoption of sons, conformed us to the body of the glory of 
 " Christ. Having then been partakers of Christ, ye are rightly 
 " called Christs (anointed) ; and of you has God said, ' touch not 
 " my Christs.' But ye became Christs, having received the 
 " representation of the Holy Spirit, and all things have, as in-an 
 " image, taken place in you, since ye are images of Christ. For aS 
 " when He ascended from the water, the essential descent of the 
 " Holy Spirit upon Him took place, the Like resting upon the Like, 
 " so when ye ascended from the pool of the holy streams, the chrism 
 " was given you, the emblem of that wherewith Christ was anointed, 
 " and this is the Holy' Spirit. He was anointed with the spiritual 
 " oil of gladness, {i. e. with the Holy Spirit, so called because He 
 " is the author of spiritual gladness,) and ye were anointed with oint- 
 
2:;J0 " THE ANSWER OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE" (1 I'ET. III. 21.) 
 
 " nient, having become partakers and communicants of Christ. 
 " And the body indeed is anointed with visible oil, but the soul sanc- 
 " tified with the Holy and life-giving Spirit. Having had this holy 
 " chrism vouchsafed to you, ye are called Christians, verifying the 
 " name by your new-birth. For, before this, ye deserved not this 
 " title, but were on your way towards becoming Christians." The 
 language of St. Gregory of Nazianzum has been already noticed, 
 'riieodoret, in Cant. c. 1., says in like manner, " They who are 
 " received into Baptism after the renunciation of Satan and the con- 
 " fession of faith, being anointed with the Chrism of the spiritual 
 " ointment, as with a royal mark, under this visible form of ointment 
 •' receive the invisible grace of the most Holy Spirit." And Johan- 
 nes Damascenus de fide L iv. c. 10. " Oil is added to Baptism, sig- 
 *' nifying anointing and making us Christs, and announcing to us 
 " the mercy of God through the Holy Spirit." More to this pur- 
 pose may be seen ap. Bingham Christian Antiq. B. x. c. 9- B. xii. c. 
 1 and 3. and Bellarinine de contro\'v. t. ii. p. 411. sqq. (from whom 
 several of the above quotations are taken, but whose quotations, like 
 those of all Romanist writers, require sifting, ) and Suicer art. Ba-Trnrrfia, 
 p. 633. 'EXatoi', p. 1077. and XptV/ua. I have put these together only 
 to show how universal the practice of anointing, as a part of Baptism, 
 was in the early Church, and consequently how probable it is that St. 
 John alluded to some actual rite of Baptism. Besides the Lectionary 
 prefixed to Cyril's homily, the text is directly ajjplied to Baptism by a 
 Scholiast ap. Mattheei N. T. ad loc. p. 220. 
 
 Note (H), on page 44. 
 
 This reference to the rite of interrogating candidates for Baptism, 
 as to their faith and their purpose in coming to Holy Baptism, appears 
 to have been recognized by the Fathers generally, as St. Peter's meaning 
 (1 Ep. iii. 21), as also to be the only exposition which gives an adequate 
 sense to iirt^mTrjua ; for had St. Peter meant simply to insist on the 
 necessity of having a good conscience, it had seemed sufficient had 
 KaXi) KvviioiiaiQ alone stood, whereas, the addition of kiri^ojTrjfia, 
 " questioning," appears to imply some more formal interrogatory as 
 to the faith of the individual, such as that implied in Philip's words, 
 " If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest." (Acts viii. 37.) 
 The words of TertuUian, de resur. Carnis, c. 48, " The soul is sancti- 
 " fied, not by the washing, but by the answering" (Anima non lava- 
 tione sed responsione sancitur), are not only a comment on St. Peter's 
 words, (as Beza says, ad loc), but almost an authoritative one. 'I'he 
 Syriac Version, " confessing God with a pure conscience," gives us the 
 tradition of the Eastern Church at an early period ; at least, it again 
 
 8 
 
AN ALLUSION TO BAPTISMAL INTERROGATORIES. 221 
 
 leads us to think of a public profession of faith, such as that made at 
 Baptism. And so also the Latin Church, in the 2d cent. " Conscientiae 
 " bona interrogalio." Vulg. S. Gregory of Nazianzum, among the titles 
 given to Baptism, mentions it thus, " enlightening, biightness of souls, 
 " change of life, interrogation as to the conscience towards God," 
 omitting the word "good," and thereby laying the stress more upon 
 the " interrogatory" (Orat. 40, de Baptismo. init.) ; so St. Augustine 
 (ap Jewel's Defence of Apologie, p. 2 17-) quotes the passage in proof 
 that " Baptism does not consist so much in the washing of the body, 
 " as in the faith of the heart ;" whence " the enquiry into a good con- 
 " science" must be " enquiry into faith :" and, in the passage above 
 cited (note F), Hom. 80, in Joann., St. Augustine quotes it, in proof 
 of the efficacy of the " word of faith" — i. e., the doctrine of the Blessed 
 Trinity, then professed and believed, and to be guarded and kept, 
 by God's help, through life. Again (c. Crescon. Donat. L. 4. 
 § 16.), St. Augustine refers this enquiry expressly to the period 
 of Baptism. " But if there be not the interrogatory of a good 
 " conscience in the recipient, and faith itself, either in part or alto- 
 " gether, be tottering, you will not say that the Sacraments are to be 
 " annulled." So also c. Don. iv. § 3, 4. So also of moderns : Hooker, 
 (B. V. § 63, end) paraphrases "an interrogative trial of a good con- 
 " science towards God :" Jewel's Defence of Apologie, p. 218, "the 
 *' examining of a good conscience before God :" Bucer de vi et effi- 
 cacia Baptismi Christi (Scripta Anglic, p. 597), " the Apostle by a 
 " figure places the * interrogation' for the whole Sacrament, wherein 
 " the persons to be baptized are interrogated, and answer as to their 
 " faith in the death and resurrection of the Lord ; which, if they do 
 " with a good conscience, they receive salvation through Baptism. 
 " For Baptism does not save adults, unless they be believers. Salva- 
 " tion, indeed, is offered unto all in Baptism ; but adults do not 
 " receive it, except by faith : infants by the secret operation of the 
 " Holy Spirit, whereby they are sanctified to eternal life :" add 
 Cave's Primitive Christianity, L. 1. c. ii. p. 306. Bingham, B. ii. c. *J- 
 § 3. Lyranus, Gagnaeus, Joannes a Lovanio (quoted by Bellarmine, de 
 Controv. T. iii. p. 65.), Grotius, Hesselius, Estius, Tirinus, ad loc, 
 Parkhurst Lex. s. v. (ed. Rose), and others quoted by them. Other 
 renderings of tiripwriji^ia, are very unsatisfactory, except as far as they 
 come round to this : thus CKcumenius, interpreting " a pledge and 
 " earnest," speaks of persons " who longed for a holy life, enquiring 
 " after. Baptism, as the means of purification, and so it was a pledge of 
 " sincerity." This comes to the same result, that " Baptism received 
 " in sincerity {i. e., its holy efficacy not thwarted by our hy])ocrisy, or 
 " unbelief), saves us." J. Gerhard obtains the sense, that Baptism 
 saves us, by assuring us of Gou's mercy : thus, " Baptism is an in- 
 " terrogatory between God and the sinner who is baptized, which 
 
222 BAPTISMAL INTERROGATORIES A PRIMITIVE PRACTICE. 
 
 " turns upon a good conscience towards God, on account of Christ ; 
 " i. e., how God is disposed towards the baptized, and what the con- 
 " science of the baptized may promise itself, as to the grace of God." 
 (Loci Theol. de Sacram. § 88. cit. D. Chemnitz, c. 17- Harmon, p. 
 16.) Only one sees not then the force of the addition " a ^ood con- 
 " science," which implies something on the part of man, not merely, as 
 in this explanation, "a conscience tranquillized by God's mercy towards 
 " it." So BuUinger ap. Marlorat. These, however, still regard the 
 interrogatory, stipulation, or however they explain sirspurTjixa, as con- 
 temporary with Baptism. Others, principally of the school of Calvin, 
 explain it of the conscience boldly interrogating God, whether His 
 favour be not obtained to them through the death of Christ. So 
 Piscator. Parens, " most are outwardly washed only ; few so, that they 
 " can dare to call upon and address God with a good conscience." 
 Calv., "Peter requires a confidence, which may endure the sight of 
 " God, and stand at His tribunal." These, also, (as so many other of 
 Calvin's expositions, ) do not bear to be brought in contact with the text ; 
 for who could endure the paraphrase, " Baptism saves us ; not that 
 " which is outward in the flesh, but the confident appeal of a tranquil- 
 " lized conscience ?" for the confident appeal to God can save no one. 
 Rather, Baptism saves us, as the means appointed by God for remit- 
 ting sin, and imparting new life ; whereof, a " tranquillized conscience" 
 is an eflfect only. Hemmingius ad loc. thinks, that the Church adopted 
 the interrogatories in Baptism from this passage ; which is an inci- 
 dental admission, how ob\dously the interpretation above given con- 
 nects itself with it. The interrogatories at Baptism are alluded to, in 
 Justin Martyr's 2nd Apology, § 61 ; and the remarkable verbal coin- 
 cidence between the Eastern and Western Church, at an early period, 
 proves a common, and, I doubt not, an Apostolic origin of this rite. 
 (See the extracts, ap. Bingham, B. 11. c. 7, although any extract loses 
 much of the effect which the same passage has, when one lights upon 
 a custom, hallowed to us by the use of our own Church, adduced by an 
 antient Father incidentally, to establish some doctrine, or rebuke some 
 unholy practice.) "Neither do I think it," says Hooker, I.e., "a 
 " matter easy for any man to prove, that ever Baptism did use to be 
 "administered without interrogatories of these two kinds. Whereunto, 
 " St. Peter (as it may be thought), alluding, hath said. That the Bap- 
 " tistn which saveth us is not (as legal purifications were) a cleansing 
 " of the flesh from outward impurity, but iTrtpu)rt}[ia, an interrogative 
 " trial of a good conscience towards God." 
 
 Note (I), on p. 47. [The references in p. 47 must be transposed.] 
 
 In the third place, in which the account of St. Paul's conversion is 
 given in the Acts (c. xxvi. 12. sqq.), it is related more compendiously; 
 and the times at which each portion of our Saviour's teaching was 
 
ST. CHRYSOSTOM ON THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. 223 
 
 imparted to him, are not distinguished. This is obviously occasioned 
 by its being addressed to king Agrippa. Before him, St. Paul sets 
 forth the broad outlines of his own history, and its more striking facts, 
 passing by the details which would to the king be less interesting, 
 and dwelling the more upon the high spiritual purpose of his mission, 
 •* to open men's eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, from the 
 " power of Satan unto God." To the Jews (c. 22), before whom he 
 was accused as a transgressor of the law, it was of the more moment to 
 dwell upon the mission of Ananias to him, " a devout man according 
 " to the law, having a good report of all the Jews." Yet, because St. 
 Paul, in one place, gives the account thus compendiously, no one 
 should infer, that all which he there declares himself to have heard 
 from Christ, was delivered to him at that first appearance of Christ ; 
 for, on the two other occasions, circumstances here omitted are filled 
 up. Yet it seems in some such way, that persons have overlooked 
 one of the great features in God's conversion of St. Paul. I find the 
 view taken above (p. 47), in St. Chrysostom (Horn. i. in Actt. § 6. T. 9. 
 p. 10. ed. Bened.) " We cannot, cannot, obtain grace without vigilance. 
 " Not even upon Paul did grace come immediately ; but three days 
 " intervened, in which he was blind, being purified, and prepared for 
 " its reception, by fear. For as the purple-dyers first prepare, by 
 " other means, that which is to receive the dye, that its richness 
 " may not fade : thus, here also, God first prepares the soul, by filling 
 " it with trouble, and then pours forth His grace ;" and again (Horn. 
 19- on Acts ix. 9. p. 157.), "Why did he neither eat nor drink? he 
 " was condemning himself for what he had done ; he was confessing 
 "all; he was praying; he was calling upon God;" and (Horn. 20. 
 init.), " Ananias taught him nothing, but only baptized him. But, as 
 " soon as he was baptized, he drew down on himself a great grace from 
 " the Spirit, through his zeal and great earnestness." — "And why 
 " did not God blind his eyes themselves ? this was much more won- 
 " derful. They were open, but he saw not : which also had happened 
 " unto him, as to the law, until the name of Jesus was put upon him 
 " (i. e., until he was baptized.) 'And having taken meat, he was 
 " 'strengthened :' he had been exhausted, then, by the journey, his 
 " terror, hunger, and despondency. God then wishing to increase his 
 " despondency, allowed him to remain blind tUl Ananias came." 
 
 Note (K), on page 131. 
 
 Calvin, when treating expressly of the similarity and dissimilarity 
 between Circumcision and Baptism, aflSrms that they agreed in every 
 thing except the outward rite. And this he proves thus : — " When 
 " God was about to institute circumcision. He promised to Abraham 
 " that ' He would be the God of him and his seed :' herein is con- 
 " eluded the promise of eternal life, since ' God is not the God of 
 
 7 
 
SSt CAl.VIN BAPTISM NO HIGHER GIFT THAN CIRCUMCISION. 
 
 " ' the dead but of the living:' but the first entrance to eternal life is 
 
 " remission of sins : therefore this promise corresponds to that of 
 
 " Baptism, our being cleansed from sin; ^d, God requires of Abra- 
 
 " ham to walk before him in sincerity and innocence of heart, which 
 
 " relates to mortification or regeneration. Moses also shows (Deut. 
 
 •' XXX. 6.) that the real meaning of circumcision is that of the heart, 
 
 " and that this is God's doing. We have then the spiritual promise 
 
 " given to the Fathers in circumcision, such as is given to us in 
 
 " Baptism, since it figured to thera remission of sins and mortification 
 
 " of the flesh. Besides, as we showed Christ to be the foundation of 
 
 " Baptism, so was He of circumcision. For He is promised to 
 
 " Abraham, and in Him all nations shall be blessed. To seal which 
 
 " mercy the seal of circumcision is added. Now then it is plain, 
 
 - " what is alike in these two seals, and what different. The promise 
 
 " (and in this I explained that the validity of the signs consisted) is 
 
 " the same in both : it is, namely, of God's fatherly goodness, of the 
 
 ♦' remission of sins, of life eternal. Moreover the thing figured is 
 
 " one and the same in both, viz. regeneration. The foundation, on 
 
 " which the fulfilment of those things rests, is the same in both. 
 
 " Wherefore there is no diflference in the inward mystery, from which 
 
 " the whole poiver and property of the Sacraments is to be estimated. 
 
 " The difference which remains, lies in the outward ceremony, which 
 
 " is the least portion, the greater part depending upon the promise 
 
 " and the thing sealed. Whence it may be inferred that whatever 
 
 " belongs to circumcision, belongs also to Baptism, except the dif- 
 
 " ference of the visil)le ceremony. And indeed the truth- hei'ein is 
 
 *' palpable. For as circumcision, because it was a sort of badge to 
 
 " the Jews, whereby they were assured of their being adopted into the 
 
 " people and family of God, was their first entrance into the Church, 
 
 " now also we are dedicated by Baptism to God, being enrolled among 
 
 " His people, and vowing, in our turn, obedience to His name." 
 
 Institt. 4, 16, 3. 4. To this place Calvin elsewhere refers (4, 14, 21.) 
 
 for a full explanation of the comparative value of circumcision and 
 
 Baptism ; it presents then his deliberate views : and yet in reality it 
 
 leaves not a vestige of the character of a Sacrament : " Circumcision," 
 
 Calvin says, ** is the same as Baptism," because it was the seal of the 
 
 covenant, wherein God promised to be Abraham's God, because it 
 
 figured mortification which God would afterwards effect, and because 
 
 in that same covenant Christ was promised. It could hardly be said 
 
 more plainly that neither Baptism nor circumcision conferred any 
 
 grace, but that they sealed the covenant, wherein God promised to 
 
 confer grace. And with this agrees Cahdn's view of regeneration, 
 
 which is, according to him, not a new birth, but a new state of being, — 
 
 not an act, like our natural birth, single in itself, though followed by 
 
 a life corresponding to it, if the individual doos not again die through 
 
CHARACTERISTICS OF R F. F O lUf i: D THEORY OF SACRAMENTS. .^2,) 
 
 sin, — but a habit, continually receiving accessions of growth through- 
 out life, (lustitt. 3, 3, 9. 4, 16, 31.) So other writers of his school 
 consider actual (as opposed to initial) regeneration to extend over the 
 whole of life. (See above, p. 1 5 1 ). Regeneration is thus confounded with 
 sanctification, nor can any peculiar property be pointed out, which is ia 
 this system left to regeneration as distinct from sanctification. And so 
 ('alvin's theory, that under both dispensations regeneration was imparted, 
 (and that by means of the covenant, which was sealed by Baptism, or 
 circumcision,) becomes correct, since sanctification was so imparted : 
 but thereby also all the mysterious character of Baptism is eliaced, 
 and its working brought down to a matter of experiment and human 
 reasoning. 
 
 Calvin, as was said, repeats elsewhere this equality of Circumcision 
 and Baptism, and that in the strongest terms. " We may not ascril)e 
 " to our Baptism more than the Apostle ascribes to circumcision, 
 " when he calls it ' the seal of the righteousness of faith.' What- 
 *' ever then is set forth to us now in the Sacraments, that the Jews 
 "also received in theirs, — Christ, namely, with His spiritual riches. 
 " Whatever power ours have, that they felt in theirs, namely, tliat 
 " they were seals of the Divine good-will towards them, to the hojje 
 " of eternal salvation." (Institt. 4. 14. 23.) He admiU (' concec/iinus') 
 indeed, that they so far differ, that " whereas both attest that the Fa- 
 " therly good-will of God in Christ, and the grace of the Holy Spirit 
 " are offered to vis, ours do so more plainly and fully. In both Christ 
 " is set forth ; but in these more largely and fully, according to the 
 " general difference of the Old and New Testament." (lb. § ult.) Whot 
 language this for a Christian, to concede that his Saviour's Sacramenis 
 set Him forth more clearly than the rites of the Old Testament ! 
 
 Note (L\ page 132. 
 
 The several indications of the Reformed theory of the Sacraments 
 are, 1st. The comparison of them, and assertion of their equality, with 
 the signs of the Old Testament. 2d. — with the written word, as beiiig 
 a means of grace of the like kind. 3d. The mention of contemplation, 
 our faith being kindled by the ni^ht of them, and the hke. 4tl). Their 
 being memorials, whereby God retains and renews the memory f)f 
 His benefits shown to man. 5th. Their being the means of conse- 
 crating, setting apart, a peculiar people, and showing what He required 
 of them. 6th. That God operates in, not bif, or through His ordi- 
 nance. 7th. The mention of the elect, as alone partaking of them. 
 8th. Denial of the value of the words of consecration. 9th. Rejec- 
 tion of the idea of the Sacraments being bound, enclosed, &c. in 
 the signs. 10th. Participation of Christ in and out of the Sacraments 
 altogether the same. 1 1th. Ground of Rai)tism of Infants, that tliey arc 
 
 Q 
 
22{) RKFORMED CONFESSIONS OF FAITH HKLVETIC 
 
 in the covenant, not because Christ commanded it. l-2th. Sacra- 
 ments not " efficacious" signs. 13th. The Body of Christ not said 
 to be given in the Lord's Supper. 14th. Sacraments signify ; or, 
 16>h. attest grace only. 
 
 These are so many indications of the theory of Zuingh, or portions 
 of the statements wherewith he opposed the doctrine of the Church. 
 It is not to be supposed that they would all occur in each confession 
 of faith, since some of the Reformed Confessions touch very briefly 
 upon the subject ; whereas some of this language belongs to the con- 
 troversial, not to the positive statements of this school. In some con- 
 fessions also expressions are purposely generalized. 
 
 1. They occur most fully in what is called the first Helvetic Confes- 
 sion, A.D. 156G, published in the name of all the Helvetic Churches, 
 except Basle and Neufchatel (Augusti Diss. Hist, de lib. Eccl. Reform. 
 Symbol, p. 622.) The whole language of this is Zuinglian; and in it all 
 the above " Notes of a Reformed Confession" occur, except the 12th ; 
 and yet, remarkably enough, in employing the word " efficacia" of the 
 Sacraments, it stands alone of all the Confessions of this school ; a sin- 
 gvilar instance of, what any one who carefully examines the langiiage of 
 the " Reformed" writers must observe, that they will use the words of 
 the Church's theory, although not in the meaning of the Church. In 
 this instance, it sounds well that they " do not approve of the doctrine 
 " of those, who speak of Sacraments as common, and not hallowed 
 " or efficacious signs." But " hallowed" (sanctificata), with which 
 " efficacious" is joined as equivalent, and as opposed to common signs, 
 is explained in the same chapter (c. xix.) to mean only " separated 
 " from common, and set apart to sacred uses." And it is w^ll known, 
 that none of the authors of this Confession believed the Sacraments 
 to be, in the Church's sense, " efficacious signs," i. e. instruments of 
 imparting the grace which they signified (see above, p.l 17). So again, 
 a little above, it is said, " water, bread, and wine, are not common 
 " (vulgaria), but sacred signs;" thereby showing, that all which they 
 meant to assert, by denying that they were common, was, that they 
 were consecrated signs or symbols. 
 
 2. In the 2d Helvetic Confession (1536), which was compiled for the 
 express purpose of conciliating the Lutherans, and afterwards with- 
 drawn, as ineffectual for this end (Augusti. 1. c. pp. 622. 626.), it is said 
 well, in general terms, that " the Sacraments, or symbols of hidden 
 " things, do not consist of bare signs, but of the signs and things toge- 
 " ther. For in Baptism, water is the sign, but the thing, regeneration 
 " and adoption into the people of God. In the Eucharist, the bread 
 " and wine are the signs; but the thing is the communication of the 
 " body of Christ, salvation, which had been obtained, and remission 
 " of sins ; which are received by faith, as the signs are by the body." 
 " And the whole fruit of the Sacrament," it is added, " is in the thing." 
 
DISGUISE THEIR CHANGE IN DOCTKiNE OF THE SACRAMENTS. 227 
 
 This last exiDression already prepares us to find an unwarranted 
 separation of the sign from the thing signified ; and so when we come 
 to the explanation of the connexion between them, which is the point 
 wherein the doctrines of the " Reformed" and the Church part, we 
 find only (§ 21.) that "the washing of regeneration is exhibited or set 
 " forth by God to His elect, by the visible sign, through the ministry 
 " of the Church ;" ^nd the participation of the Body and Blood of 
 Christ is placed entirely in the contemplation of Him through faith. 
 " For this cause," they say, (§ 22,) " we often use this sacred food, 
 " because, through its suggestion (monitu) gazing on the death and 
 " blood of the Crucified by the eyes of faith, and meditating on our 
 " salvation, not without a taste of heavenly life, and a true sense of 
 " life etei'nal, we are refreshed by this spiritual, life-giving, and most 
 " inward (intimo) food, with ineffable sweetness ; and we exult with 
 " unutterable joy for having found life, and we are poured out alto- 
 " gether, and with our whole strength, in giving thanks for this so 
 *' wonderful benefit of Christ towards us." " Wherefore," they 
 subjoin, ** it is very contrary to our deserts that some think that we 
 " ascribe too little to the sacred symbols. For they are holy and 
 " venerable things, as being instituted by Christ, the great High 
 " Priest ; and, received in their proper way, as we have said, they set 
 " forth the things signified, give testimony of what has been done, 
 " represent things so lofty, and by a certain wonderful analogy of the 
 " things signified, throw a most clear light upon those mysteries. More- 
 " over they give hold and aid to faith itself, and hke an oath bind the 
 " person initiated. So holily do we esteem the sacred symbols ! But 
 " the power and virtue of the Vivifier and Sanctifier we ascribe con- 
 '* tinually to Him who is the Life, to whom be praise for ever and 
 " ever. Amen." In which words, if they had referred to our union 
 with Christ, out of the Sacraments, they had indeed been so far 
 insufficient, in that they omit the original source, through which that 
 union is bestowed, but the union itself they describe most fervently 
 (perhaps too exclusively dwelling upon feeling) ; but as describing 
 the value of the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood, they are 
 utterly inadequate, since they express nothing but the emotions of the 
 human soul, as acted upon by the external sight and suggestion of 
 the sacred elements. Here also much of the language is Zuinglian 
 (see above, p. 101), as indeed the authors were friends or disciples of 
 Zuingli. One can then but look upon it as an attempt, by high and 
 glowing terms, to conceal from themselves, or from others, the loss of 
 the Catholic doctrine. 
 
 3. The same must be said of the Scotch Confession ; for although 
 it speaks in the strongest terms of our " eating the body and drinking 
 " the blood of Jesus Christ, in the right use of the Lord's Supper;" 
 yet it also declares, of " all the benefits of that Supper, that they are 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 SOOTOU (ONI- FUSION — MODI ItN USt OF AXCIKNT LANGUAGE. 
 
 " not (jirrn to iii^ then only ;" so that not only do we, by virtue of the 
 Sacraments, remain united with Christ (which is of course true), 
 but also have the same gifts, and in the same degree, imparted to us, 
 out of the use of the Sacraments as in them. And this agrees with 
 the way wherein the imion with Christ in the Sacraments is explained 
 in this Confession (see above, p. 113, note'i, viz. through contempla- 
 tion of Christ in heaven by faith. To the same result tends what 
 they say (Art. .\xii.) of the right administration of the Sacraments; 
 for they affirm, not only that the Papists have mingled much that is 
 corrupt with the Sacraments (which is miserably true), but they deny 
 that the Sacraments themselves in that church are the " right Sacra- 
 " ments of Jesus Christ ;" and assert, that " on that account they 
 " avoid fellowship with it in the participation of their Sacraments." 
 And that, not only on account of the human additions, (which in 
 Baptism relate to things altogether indifferent, as the use of salt, or 
 oil, or the like.) but also because the ends of the Sacraments are not 
 rightly set forth. Whence also they require, in order to constitute a 
 legitimate minister (and this they regard as essential to the Sacra- 
 ments), that they should be such as " are lawfully elected in any 
 " church, and appointed to the preaching of the word, and in whose 
 " mouth God hath put some word of exhortation." Which is conform- 
 able indeed to the doctrine of Beza, that " the explanation of the 
 " Sacraments is the main ])art of them," (see Note M,) but not with 
 that of the Ancient Church. Of Baptism again, the Scotch Confes- 
 sion says, that " thereby we are engrafFed into Christ Jesus, and are 
 " made partakers of His righteousness, whereby all our sins are 
 " covered and remitted;" and such an expression, " thereby," occurs 
 only in the Galilean Confession besides, of all the Reformed Churches. 
 Yet the natural force of this expression is neutrahzed by the definition 
 of a Sacrament, to which this statement is appended ^dz- " that the 
 " Sacraments both of the Old and New Testaments were not only to 
 " distinguish His people from those without the covenant, but also to 
 *' exercise the faith of His sons; and that the participation of the 
 " same Sacraments sealed in their hearts the certainty of His promise, 
 " and of that most blessed conjunction, union, and society, which the 
 " elect have with their head, Jesus Christ." Wherein the " sealing" 
 must, in accordance with the known theory of this school, and with 
 the mention of the elect, (see above, p. Ill, sqq.) refer to the outward 
 attestation of God's promises, as opposed to the conveying (as instru- 
 ments) inward grace. 
 
 And so again, when they say that *' Christ alone renders the Sacra- 
 " ments efficacious to us;" this is opposed to their being " efficacious 
 " signs of grace;" i. e. they mean that the Sacraments do not, as 
 Chr st's institution, convey grace to us, but that Christ employ's 
 them as outward means to kindle our faith, whereby we become 
 united with Him. 
 
THIRD HELVETIC ZC IXGLIAMZES. 229 
 
 4. The third Helvetic Confession, v/ritten at Basle, and promulgated 
 A.D. 1532, at Mulhausen, the first place in the Helvetic confederacy 
 which embraced the Reformation (Augusti. 1. c. p. 627), was origi- 
 nally composed by Oswald Myconius. He, although living in the 
 midst of the reformed school, and for 20 years chief pastor at Basle, 
 is said to have adhered to the ancient doctrine of the Sacraments, and 
 on account of these tenets to have received no degree from the univer- 
 sity of Basle, and at last to have resigned his office (Melchior Adamus, 
 p. 220). His Confession however, does not express the ancient view 
 clearly or unambiguously. He says, indeed, that "in the Lord's 
 " Supper, together with the bread and wine of the Lord, the true 
 " body and true blood of Christ, are set forth (prsefiguratur), and 
 "exhibited' to us through the niinister of the Church ;" yet he 
 speculates needlessly in denying that " the natural, inie, and sub- 
 " stantial (substantiale) body of C^hrist, born of the Virgin Mai-y, 
 " which suffered for us, and ascended into heaven, is inclosed in the 
 " bread and cup of the Lord." In setting forth also our participa- 
 tion of Christ, he leaves it undecided whether this be bestowed 
 through the Sacraments. "We firmly believe that Christ Himself 
 " is the food of believing souls to eternal life, and that our souls, 
 " through true faith in Christ crucified, receive, as meat and drink, 
 " fcibari et potari) the flesh and blood of Christ, so that we, as the 
 " members of His body, as our only Head, live in Him, and He in 
 " us :" wherein the language, compared with that of the reformed 
 school, would rather lead one to think, that the instrumentality of the 
 Sacraments, as effectual signs, is excluded ; at least there is no one 
 word in the whole Confession which implies it ; and the turn of 
 expression seems rather contrived to set forth the benefits of true 
 faith in Christ, tacitly dropping the agency of the Sacraments. 
 Further, the language of his friends Qicolampadius and Zuingli 
 appears in his first description of the Sacraments. " In this same 
 " Church are employed Sacraments, namely. Baptism in the entrance 
 " into the Church ; and the Lord's Supper, at its due time in after- 
 " life, to testify faith and brotherly love, as was promised in Baptism." 
 And afterwards — " We confess that the Lord Jlsus instituted His 
 *' Holy Supper to commemorate His Holy Passion with thanksgiving, 
 " to show the Lord's death, and to testify Christian charity and 
 " unity with true faith." Yet his confession was still thought too 
 little "reformed;" and in the glosses added (A.D. 1581, after the 
 
 ' Otibrtiii-, in iiself an ambiguous expression, is deteriniiicd by its use in 
 tile preceding sentence, wherein he sa^s, tliat in " Baptism the washing 
 *• from sins, which however is effected (perficitur) by the Father, Son, and 
 " Holy Ghost alone, is set lorlh (oflcrtur), liiiou^h (lie minister of the 
 " Church." 
 
230 GALLIC AND BF.LGIC VKIL THK THEOKY OF THE SACKAMtNTS. 
 
 death of Myconius), it is asserted, that " Christ is indeed present 
 " in His holy supper to all true believers, but sacrament ally, and hy 
 " the commemoration of faith, tvhich lifts up the mind of man to the 
 " heavens, and does not draw down Christ, according to His human 
 " nature, from the right hand of God." By this addition a Zuinglian 
 sense is given to all the ambiguous language of the Confession, and 
 the presence of Christ is confined to the mere operation of the 
 human mind. It is also very illustrative of the meaning of the term 
 " sacramentally" in the " reformed" writers, and throws light upon 
 the Scotch Confession. With regard to Myconius himself (as far as 
 one may judge from his single work,) he appears to have suffered 
 from his intercourse with Zuingli and Q^colampadius ; and while he 
 contended for a more literal acceptation of the words " This is my 
 Body," still to have had no, or scarcely any, higher notions of the 
 benefits of the Sacraments, than the rest of the reformed school : — 
 a warning, first, against familiar intercourse with those who hold 
 low notions on any point of Christian truth, as likely imperceptibly 
 to influence us, even while we think ourselves opposed to them ; and, 
 secondly, to take heed, not only that we hold the truth, but how we 
 hold it, lest we deceive ourselves, and some subtle theory rob us of 
 all but the name. 
 
 5, 6. The Gallic and Belgic confessions again state, " that through 
 " these outward signs God operates by the virtue of His Holy 
 " Spirit," and the Gallic says that " that bread and that wine, which 
 *' is given to us in the supper, really becomes our spiritual food," 
 (than which nothing could seem a plainer declaration ; but tliis is 
 done away with, immediately, by the addition) " inasmuch, namely, 
 " as they set, as it were before our eyes, that the flesh of Christ is our 
 " food and His blood our drink." In like manner, although we are 
 said " to be engraffed in the body of Christ by Baptism," yet Bap- 
 tism is said to be " given us to attest our adoption," (i. e. not to eflPect 
 or convey it,) as is the Lord's Supper to " attest our union with 
 " Christ." The Belgic, similarly, declares that the Sacraments were 
 added to the word of the Gospel, in order the more efficaciously to 
 exhibit to our outward senses, as well what He declares to us out- 
 wardly in His word, as what He operates inwardly in our hearts, 
 " and thus renders so much the more assured the salvation which He 
 " communicates to us." Whereby the Sacraments become a mere 
 picture. 
 
 7. Even the Hungarian confession, (which is altogether pure Zuin- 
 glianism, and in the highest degree offensive for its rationalist tone 
 and the coarse language in which it inveighs against the Lutheran 
 doctrine,) even this " rejects their phrensy, who teach that the Lord's 
 " Supper is an empty sign, or that the memory only of absent Christ 
 " is cherished by these signs. For a.*; Christ is ' Amen, faithful 
 
HUNGARIAN KATIONALISTIC AND 01'FKNS1V£. 231 
 
 •' witness, true, truth and life,' so the Lord's supper is the memory 
 " (memoria) of the present and infinite and eternal Son of God, the 
 ' ' Only Begotten of the Father, who offers and exhibits to the elect, 
 " who apprehend the Gospel of Christ with true faith. Himself and 
 " His good things. His flesh and His blood, i. e. living bread and 
 " heavenly food, through (ope) the Holy Spirit, by the word of the 
 " promise of grace." Yet of the elements it says, that the " bread 
 " and Avine are, in regard to their object, the memory of the death 
 " Christ, i. e. signs admonishing of the death of Christ :" and the 
 " presence of Christ in His sacramental institution, or in the pouring 
 " out of the Holy Spirit upon the elect," is paralleled as a presence 
 of the hke kind, with that " by the union with the \6yog, or, in His 
 " promise by the word and faith, or in His dispensatorial office or in- 
 " tercession for the elect." Through this whole confession there runs 
 a strange, uncouth, barbarous strain of theology, a compound of Sa- 
 bellianism. Mysticism, Rationalism, such as no where else perhaps 
 occurs in any other document, of any body of men, professing Chris- 
 tianity. Yet they too keep the received protest, that " the Sacraments 
 are not empty signs," &c. (Of it Augusti says, 1. c. p. 635, " the Czin- 
 " gerians [whose confession it is] are among all Calvinists the most 
 " vehement, and in the article of the Lord's Supper they utter so 
 " many harsh and odious things, that they can be approved of by 
 " neither party, ZuingUans or Lutherans," which is a mild sentence). 
 
 8. The Genevan Catechism e.xpresses so precisely the doctrine and 
 language of Calvin, that to dwell upon its statements would only be 
 to repeat what has been already said (p. 108 sqq.) : the Catechumen is 
 told, not only that he *' must not cling to the visible signs, to obtain 
 " health from them, nor imagine any power of conferring grace attached 
 " or inclosed in them, but that the sign is to be accounted as a sort of 
 " prop, whereby we may be directed straight to Christ, to seek 
 " health and solid happiness from Him." He is told that " infants 
 " have the efficacy and substance of Baptism (so to speak) (before 
 " they are baptized), so that a manifest injustice would be done them, 
 " if the sign (Baptism), which is inferior to the reality, were denied 
 " them." It is remarkable again that in this catechism, the Sacra- 
 ments are incidentally called " secondary instruments," which is a 
 sort of approach to the ancient language of the Church, although Calvin 
 strongly denied their being " instruments " or " channels " in the 
 Church's sense. 
 
 9. In the confessions of the German " reformed" Church, or rather 
 Churches, there is a great difference. The Heidelberg Catechism (as 
 would be certain from its chief author, Z. Ursinus, with whom was 
 united Caspar Olivianus, Augusti p. 649.) expresses (as far as it 
 goes,) the Calvinistor Zuinglian doctrine: the use of the Sacraments 
 is confined to teaching. " Whereby," it is asked with respect to 
 
2.'{2 HUCliKt. AND TJIE bOUIiMIAX CON I i;SS[()N 
 
 eadi, *' art thou admonished <mil cnnfiniied in Baptism [or tlie Lord's 
 " Supper] that thou art a partaker of that one only sacrifice of 
 *' Christ?" The answer, in each case, amounts to this, that they 
 are " pledges to assure us of those benefits ;" but, that " they are 
 " means whereby we receive the same," there is no indication, but 
 the contrary. 
 
 10. In the Covfessio Tetrapolitana (that presented to Charles V. at 
 the Diet of Augsburgh, 1530, by the cities of Strasburgh, Constance, 
 Memmingen, Linden, and comjiosed by Bucer), there is, on the con- 
 trary, scarcely a trace of the " reformed" language. It is said that" by 
 " Baptism we are buried into the death of Christ, put on Christ ; 
 " that it is the washing of regeneration; washes away sins, saves 
 " us ;" and of the Lord's Supper, that " as often as this supper is 
 " renewed, as He instituted it, He vouchsafes to give through the 
 " Sacraments His true body and true blood, truly to be eaten and 
 " drunk, for the meat and drink of our souls, whereby they may be 
 " nourished to eternal life, so that henceforth He may live and remain 
 '• in them, and they in Him, to be raised up at the last day by Him 
 ' * to a new and eternal life, according to those His words of eternal 
 '• truth ; * Take and eat, this my body,'&c." This positive statement 
 is qualified by no subsecjuent explanation : it is essentially opposed to 
 the " reformed" theory, in that it states that " Christ gives His true 
 " body to be eaten and drunk through His Sacraments," a statement 
 which recurs in our own articles and catechism, but in no part of the 
 Zuinglian or Calvinistic school. They may hold that the Holy Spirit 
 by kindling our faith makes us to partake of that Body and Blood ; but 
 no where, that Christ gives it to us. The participation is, according 
 to them, through our faith, not by Christ's direct gift. It is added 
 indeed in the confession, " that the Clergy with all diligence recalled 
 " the minds of their people from all contention and curious disquisition, 
 " to that which alone profits, and was alone regarded by Christ our 
 " Saviour, viz. that being fed by Him, we may live in Him and by 
 " Him, a life well-pleasing unto God, holy, and therefore everlasting 
 " also and blessed ; and be all among 'ourselves one bread, one body, 
 " who partake of that one bread in the Holy Supper;" and again that 
 '■ they teach and exhort, that laying aside all comments and false 
 " glosses of men, each should with simple faith embrace these words 
 " of the Lord ; and casting away all doubt and vacillation should give 
 " up his mind to this meaning, and lastly I'eceive the Sacraments 
 " themselves, to the life-giving nourishment of their souls, and the 
 " thankful commemoration of so great a benefit." This seems piously 
 and wisely said ; for this " embracing with simple faith the words of 
 " the Lord, and rejecting the false comments of men," is not here 
 ntended (as is so often meant by language not dissimilar) to veil real 
 and essential difference of ()j)inion ; but rather, having fidly embraced 
 
NOT TO BK KttKONEI) AMONG Till: CALVlNISTIf OK ZMNGLIAX, 2'53 
 
 the (locUine of tl'.e ("nnrdi C';a'iiolic, tlie author would dissuiule from 
 ^tii],'roiiu,ble s];(.'cuiatioiis, as to the mode in which that doctrine was 
 to be reconciled to human intellect. This reconcilement was the 
 -original object of Transubstantiation, which, to those who could once 
 accept it, left no further difficulty as to th^Bianner in which we par- 
 take of Christ's Body and Blood ; this has TOfen, in their opposite way, 
 the error of the Lutherans and of the Zuinglians or Calvinists : the old 
 Church, on the contrary, and with her, our own, and Bucer, in this 
 place, assert simply the fact, that " Christ doth really and indeed 
 *' give His true Body to the faithful in His Supper," and therewith 
 closes up the question, without asking " How can these things be?" 
 
 11. The Bohemian Confession remarkably coincides with Bucer's, 
 both in its firm adherence to Scriptural truth, and in the absence of 
 speculation : " They believe," it is said, " that the Sacrament of the 
 Eucharist, is an administration instituted by Christ, and set forth first 
 *' to the Apostles, and through them, by His grace and goodness, to 
 " the whole Church, for the common use and health of all. Also, 
 " that it is to be believed with the heart and confessed with the mouth, 
 " that the Bread of the Lord's Supper is the true Body of Christ, 
 " which was given for us, and the cup His true Blood, which was shed 
 " tor us for the remission of sins, as Christ the Lord plainly saith, 
 " THIS IS MY BODY, THIS IS MY BLOOD : also, that tlicsc words of 
 •' Christ, whereby Himself pronounces the bread to be His Body, 
 *' and the wine, specifically to be His Blood, no one should add, 
 *' mingle, or take away from them; but believe in simplicity these 
 " words of Christ, neither declining to the right hand nor to the 
 " left." Accordingly the Bohemians receive the words of Christ 
 with a simple faith, which none of the Zuinglians or Calvinists do; 
 as, indeed, this, their language, would not be adopted by those 
 schools. In consequence, we find, that, besides the attacks of the 
 Papists, they had, as they state in their confession, to endure those of 
 others, who " entitled this confession of faith on the Lord's Supper 
 " the dregs of popery, and themselves marked with the character of 
 *' the beast, idolaters, Anti-Christs, or that whore of which John 
 " proj)hesies in the Apocalypse," — language, which, obviously, never 
 would have been applied to any Zuinglian or Calvinistic school. Ac- 
 cordingly, it is also said, that at the time of the Communion, *• the 
 " ministers repeating the words of the Lord's Sujjper, exhort the 
 " peoi)le itself to this faith, to believe, namely, the presence of the Body 
 " of Christ." Of the Sacraments generally, also, they state, (Art. 11.) 
 that " they are (generally) necessary to salvation, and that, by them 
 " the faithfrd are made partakers of the merits of Christ." Baj)- 
 tism, again, (Art. 12.) is said to be a " salutary ministration, instituted 
 " by Christ, and add«d to the Gospel, whereby (i. e., by Baptism)^ 
 " He purifies, cleanses, and sanctifies His Church, in His own death 
 
5534 PECULIAR CHARACTER OF THli 
 
 " and blood, as Paul says," Eph. v. 27- Here, again, the declarations 
 of Scripture are simply received, without any of the glosses of the 
 school of Zuingli ; as, also, the Baptism of infants is founded upon 
 Matt, xxviii. 19, whereas, all the "reformed" school found it on a 
 deduction from Gen. xvjL^ 10. Again, the Bohemians take literally 
 the Apostle's saying, tfflft" " whoever were baptized, had been buried 
 " thereby with Christ into His death, that he may walk hence- 
 " forth in newness of life." " But if," (they add) " from th€ 
 •' preaching of the Gospel, they neither obtain a full confidence in 
 *' God, nor love towards all those, who, by the washing of regenera- 
 " tion, are engraifed into Christ, nor walk worthy of their calling, 
 " watching diligently to please God, nor place their hope of eternal 
 " Mfe in Him only; they show that they have received in vain, the 
 *' grace of Baptism, and the name of the Holy Trinity, which was 
 " invoked over them. Which Scripture threatens that God will one 
 " day terribly avenge." In place of this salutar)"^ terror, the Reformed 
 school would have denied that such an one had ever received that 
 grace. 
 
 The Three Confessions of the Reformed Church in Brandenburg and 
 Prussia, the Confessio Marchica, Colloquium Lipsiacum, and the Decla- 
 ratio Thoruniensis, speak less explicitly and simply, and they all 
 labour under the disadvantage of haAang been written to express, not 
 merely the views of their authors, but — the first, to justify them out 
 of the writings of Luther ; the second, to approximate, as much as may 
 be, to Luther's views ; and the third is yet further embarrassed by an 
 attempt to conciliate the Roman Catholics, which necessarily gives 
 them a constrained and artificial appearance. They seem, however, 
 to express a belief in an actual communication of the Body and Blood 
 of Christ in the Lord's Supper, and so also of regeneration in Bap- 
 tism, and thus to be opposed to the Zuingli-Calvinist doctrines of 
 mere attestation or sealing. 
 
 12. The Confessio Marchica interprets Tit. iii. 5, and Joh. iii. 5, in 
 their plain and obvious sense ; and of the Lord's Supper it is said, that 
 " therein, the outward signs, bread and wine, and the true Body of 
 " Christ, which was given to death for us, and His Holy Blood, which 
 " was shed for us at the foot of the Holy Cross, are both present to- 
 " gether, on account of the Sacramental union, in this holy action, and 
 " are together given (ausgespendet) and taken;" " as (they add, how- 
 " ever,) the spiritual manna or heavenly food of the word is spiritu- 
 *' ally received, and in Christ's kingdom (which is not of this 
 " world) all is spiritual. Thus, also, we believe, that the Holy Sup- 
 " per is also a spiritual food of souls, whereby they are refreshed, 
 " strengthened, and, (together with the body, whereunto they are 
 " joined,) are fed andprescrved to immortality. We abide, therefore, 
 •" (without adding aught,) by the holy words of consecration, that the 
 
GEKMAN REFORMED CONFESSIONS. Xlh') 
 
 *' bread is the true Body of Christ, and the wine His Holy Blood, 
 *' sacramentally, in the way wherein God has consecrated and or- 
 *' dained the Holy Sacraments of the Old and New Testaments, to be 
 " visible and true signs of invisible grace ; and the Lord Christ 
 " Himself shows, that the Holy Supper is a sign [?] of the new 
 " covenant, [" My blood of the New Covenant," so the Evangelists] 
 " yet not an empty and void sign, instituted for the remembrance of 
 " Christ, or, as the Apostle Paul explains," (1 Cor. xi. 26) " for a 
 " constant remembrance and announcement of His death, that it may 
 '■ be a memorial, uniting consolation, thanks, and love." 
 
 13. In the Leipzig Colloquy, both Lutherans and Reformed agreed 
 on " the necessity of Baptism, as a means ordained for our salvation; 
 " and though the grace of God work not salvation through Baptism, 
 *' ex opere operate, nor yet merely through the outward washing or 
 *' sprinkling, yet, that it takes place by virtue of the word of conse- 
 " cration and promise, by the medium of Baptism." With regard to 
 the Lord's Supper, they agreed also, that, " besides the outward 
 " elements of bread and wine, there was present not only the virtue 
 " and the efficacy or the bare signs of the Body and Blood, but 
 " that the true essential Body which was given for us, and the true 
 " essential Blood of Jesus Christ Himself, which was shed for 
 " us, are truly and presentially given distributed and received, by 
 " virtue of the sacramental union, which consists not in the bare sig- 
 " nifying, nor yet in the bare sealing, but in the entire, unseparated 
 " distribution of the earthly element, and the true Body and Blood of 
 *' Jesus Christ : yet, that this Sacramental iinion does not take 
 " place distinct from the action commanded by Christ, [the actual 
 " reception] but only in the same. Further, that, also, in the spiri- 
 " tual feeding, not only the virtue, benefit, and efficacy, but the 
 " essence and substance of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ 
 " Himself, in the use of the Holy Supper, which takes place here 
 " upon earth, is fed upon, that is, is spiritually through true faith 
 '* eaten and drunk, and that this spiritual feeding is in the highest 
 " degree necessary for the blessed use of the venerable supper. Fur- 
 " ther, that in the Sacramental partaking, the earthly elements and 
 " the Body and Blood of Christ, are partaken of at the same time, 
 " together and unitedly (mit-einander)." The Reformed confessed 
 also, " that, through the medium of the consecrated bread and wine, 
 " the true Body and Blood of Christ, was presentially received, yet 
 " not with the mouth, but only through faith, whereby the Body and 
 " Blood of the Lord is spiritually united with those who worthily re- 
 " ceive the Lord's Supper; but to the unworthy, the Body and the 
 " Blood is only offered, but on account of their unbelief, not partaken 
 " or received by them, but rejected and repelled by them." 
 
 14. In the Declaration of Thorun, the Zuingli-Calvinist view so far 
 appears, that Baptism is confined to " infants bori) loithin the Church," 
 
■ioG Use of SOMl, RKFor<MM) rAKGlAOE IN OUR 
 
 or aduUs, who made profession of llieir " faith," as, alao, that it is 
 said to be administered in order to signify and attest internal absolu- 
 tion from or remission of sin by the blood of Christ : but it is 
 opposed to that view, in that it is added, •' and at the same time to 
 " commence renovation or regeneration through the Spirit." On the 
 Lord's Supper, it states, that "both the earthly and heavenly parts 
 " are in a different way, but each most truly, really and presentially 
 " exhibited to us, viz., the earthly, in a natural, corporeal, earthly 
 " manner ; the heavenly, in a spiritual, mystical, and heavenly, 
 " which, being inscrutable to sense and reason, we hold by faith only, 
 " whereby we apprehend the words of promise and the thing itself pro- 
 " mised, viz. Christ crucified, with all His benefits " So much a Zuin- 
 glian, perhaps, might admit, affi.xing his own meaning to the words; 
 bvit then they proceed to state, (as in the Leipzig Colloquy) that the 
 " Sacramental union, consisted, not in the bare signifying, nor only in 
 " the sealing, but also in that united and simultaneous exhibition and 
 " communicating of the earthly and heavenly part of the Sacrament. 
 " although of diverse manners." Again, in half Zuinglian language, 
 they add, " we by no means maintain that they are bare, empty, void 
 " signs, but rather exhibiting that, which they signify and seal;" but 
 then they subjoin instantly, " as most certain means and efficacious 
 ** instruments, whereliy the Body and Blood of Christ, and even 
 " Christ Himself, with all His benefits, is exhibited or offered to all 
 " who partake of the element, but is conferred, gipen, to believers, 
 •' and received by them as a salutary and life-giving food of the soul.'' 
 They say again, that '-not only the virtue, efficacy, operation, or benefits 
 " of Christ, are presented and communicated to vs, but especially, the 
 *' very substance of the Body and Blood of Christ, or that very Victi7n, 
 " who tvas given for the life of the vjorld, and slain Upon the Cross, so 
 " that by a faithful communion of this Victim, and by the union with 
 " Christ Himself, we are, consequently, partakers of the merits and 
 " benefits obtained by His sacrifice, and as He in us, so we remain in 
 " Him ;'' which, again, is opposed to the Zuingli-Calvinist view. 
 
 This use of the Reformed language, though not in the sense of 
 the Reformed, may help to explain a remarkable phenomenon in our 
 own Articles. Whereas, namely, the language of our Baptismal 
 service, is entirely formed upon the model of the ancient Church, and 
 altogether i)ure from modern theories (see Note M) ; and again, our 
 Catechism says, that by the " inward and Spiritual grace of Baptism," 
 " we being by nature born in sin, and the children of \\Tath, are made 
 " children of grace ;" both which statements the Zuingli Calvinist 
 denied ; much of the language of our Article on Baptism resembles 
 that of the Calvinist school, although none of the peculiar marks of 
 that school, above-enumerated, (p. 225,) occur in it. It is clear, that 
 our Articles also, do not express that view, inasmuch as they assert, 
 (Art. 25,) "that the Sacraments of Christ arc ejfeclual signs of 
 
ARTICLE ON BAPTISM ACCOUNTED FOR. 237 
 
 ■*' grace, hy the which He doth woi-k invisibly in us, and dolh not oviy 
 " quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in Him ;'' and, 
 again, (Art. 26.) that " they be effectual because of Christ's institu- 
 " tion and promise ;" and, again, in the Article on Baptism itself, 
 they do not say only, that it "is a sign of regeneration or the Neu- 
 " Birth," but " an ivstrument whereby they that receive Baptism 
 " rightly are grafted into the Church :" this being precisely the 
 point to which the Zuingli-Calvinist school objects : (for, of course, 
 no mere outward engraffing into a visible church, is spoken of, and 
 an engraffing into the Church or Body of Christ, is an engraffing 
 into Christ ; for the Scriptvire speaks of engraffing into Him, not 
 into His Body only, and we know of no engraffing into His Body, 
 distinct from an engraffing into Himself;) — and, again, our Church 
 grounds the Baptism of infants on "the institution of Christ," (as 
 does the Bohemian and the ancient church) not (with the Zuinglians) 
 on the promise to Abraham and circumcision. Again, of the Lord's 
 Supper, it is said, that "the Body of Christ is given, taken, " and 
 eaten," which {as has indeed been lately pointed out with much 
 clearness, Knox's Remains, t. ii. p. 170 sqq.) could not be consis- 
 tently, and, as we have just seen, never is used in the Calvinist school. 
 What siiTiilarity, then, does exist, is to be accounted for, in part, from 
 the familiar intercourse of Edward the Vlth.'s Reformers with foreign 
 divines, whence they adopted, in part, their language, avoiding, 
 however, such as expressed their characteristic views. There were 
 also (as has been pointed out to me) at that time, hopes that the re- 
 formed Churches might be saved from abandoning Episcopacy, and 
 meet the English view of the doctrine of the Sacraments. Thus far 
 the use of their language must be looked upon as a concession ; to 
 which (though fruitless as all the like attempts have ever been) there 
 was, in the then absence of this experience, much temptation. And the 
 Reformers, under Elizabeth (while in framing our Thirty-Nine Ar- 
 ticles, they altered some things,) retained the old Article on Baptism, 
 as being sufficiently guarded from Zuinglianism, although not so 
 much after the form of the Ancient Church as our Baptismal service. 
 Another point to be observed is, that our Reformers view the Chris- 
 tian dispensation, as it is a system brought into the world, and as it 
 stands in relation to the creatui'es to whom it is proposed, to their pre- 
 vious state, moral condition, capacities, !kc. in the abstract, rather 
 than as it applies to us individually, who have been educated in it. 
 For, thus, the character of the dispensation in itself, as a whole, could 
 best be exhibited. Thus the article on " Works before Justification," 
 (Art. 13.) is of much importance in clearing the system, by setting 
 forth the relation of the Christian system to man's natural state and 
 his unassisted powers : but to us, individually, who have been born 
 within it, and who never were left to our mere natural powers, (having 
 had original sin remitted to us through Baptism in our infancy, and 
 
•38 
 
 RKLATIVr; ZLINGMANISM OF REFOHMKl) CONFESSIONS. 
 
 having then been justified and cleansed from all sin, and had the 
 grace of Christ given, and fresh supplies pledged to us,) the state- 
 ment of the character of " works done before justification and the grace 
 of Christ," does not, of course, directly apply. It describes to us the 
 state from which we were delivered by being brought into Christ's 
 fold ; and so ministers one cause of abundant gratitude, but does not 
 speak of a state in which we ever actually were. In like manner, our 
 Article on Baptism describes (in pai'ts) the relation of that gift to one, 
 upon whom it shovdd be conferred as a fully intelligent recipient, (.not 
 to us as infants) for in such recipients only could "faith be confirmed 
 " and grace increased :" and this is done, because the character and 
 power of Baptism in itself, is most conspicuously and plainly seen, 
 when brought in contact with man's full-grown powers, and capaci- 
 ties, and sins. But it would be a manifest perversion of the language 
 of the Article, to apply it, in a Zuinglian sense, to infants, as if sin had 
 already been remitted, "faith" already given, and "grace" already 
 bestowed. 
 
 The relative prominency of the Zuinglian views, in the several con- 
 fessions, may be, to a degree, seen, in the following table, referring to 
 the several marks of that theory mentioned at the beginning of this 
 note (p. 225). 
 
 1. Comparison ,2. With the 
 
 with the signs 
 of the Old Test. 
 
 Helv. 1566. 
 Helv. 1536 
 Helv. 1532 
 Gall. 
 
 Scot 
 
 Belg. ..... 
 
 Hungar. . . , 
 Heidelb. . . 
 
 Genev 
 
 Bohem. ... 
 
 written 
 word. 
 
 3. Efficacy explained 
 b)' reference to 
 sight, &c. 
 
 marg. 
 
 , , ., 5. Means of 
 4. As Me- 
 
 ■ , consecrating 
 
 orials. , " 
 
 a people. 
 
 fi. Grace given in, not 
 
 in fact by or through ; 
 
 see above, p. 97, &c. 
 
 Helv. 1566 
 
 Helv. 1536 
 
 Helv. 1532 
 
 Gall 
 
 Scot 
 
 (>eiiev.(see above p. 230) 
 
 Hungar 
 
 Heidelb 
 
 Belg. (see above p. 230) 
 
 7. To 
 the 
 elect 
 only. 
 
 8. Denial of 
 efficacy of 
 words of con- 
 secration. 
 
 9. Grace not 
 inclosed in 
 the Sacra- 
 ments. 
 
 10. Participation 
 in and ontol' the 
 Sacraments the 
 same. 
 
COMPARISON OF ANCIENT AND MODERN E Vl'TISra AT, LITUUGIF.S. 239 
 
 11. Children to be 
 baptized, because, 
 in the covenant,not 
 
 by virtue of 
 Christ'scommands. 
 
 Helv. 1566 ,, 
 Helv. 1536... 
 Helv. 1532 
 
 GaU , 
 
 Scot 
 
 Belg 
 
 Hungar 
 
 Heidelb 
 
 Genev 
 
 12. Sacraments not 
 said to be efficacia. 
 
 in a different sense. 
 
 13. Body of 
 Christ not 
 said to be 
 given in 
 theSupper. 
 
 doubtful. 
 
 14. ESFect of 
 
 Sacraments to 
 signify grace. 
 
 15. Sacra- 
 ment attes- 
 tation. 
 
 Note (M), on page 133. 
 
 The following synopsis of Baptismal Liturgies will probably impress 
 npon the reader (at least they did upon myself) several distinct 
 feelings. — First, a feeling of Catholicity and of oneness in the Ancient 
 Church, (in that, amid verbal variations, it all spoke so much the 
 same language,) and the conviction of the Apostolicity of traditions, 
 which (without such absolute uniformity, as would imply subsequent 
 imitation), are still alike in all but words. It is very affecting to find, 
 in an old formulary of a far distant Church, the very same form of 
 words with which our Church has guided our own devotions ; to light, 
 for instance, upon the incidental notices of the same renunciation of 
 the " devil, and his works, and his pomps," as preceding Baptism, 
 in the ancient Chuixhes of Africa Proper, Jerusalem, Asia Minor, 
 Egypt, Italy, and the East and West ; and to hear this renunciation, 
 as we now make it, urged by Tertullian, but two centuries after 
 Christ, as an incitement to Christian hohness. — Secondly, The con- 
 viction of the greater warmth and cheeringness of the formularies of 
 the ancient Church, and so of our own, in comparison with the timid, 
 didactic forms of the Reformed Church. — Thirdly, Increased conviction 
 of the deep piety of those who, without precisely copying, so trans- 
 fused the spirit of the ancient liturgies into our own. — Fourthly, 
 Thankfulness to God for having guided our Reformers to these more 
 ancient sources 
 
 With regard to the different liturgies quoted — for the more ancient, 
 I thought it quite suflScient to avail myself of the valuable researches 
 of Palmer's Origines Liturgicae, vol. ii. p. 166, sqq. ; from which 
 accordingly I have taken the prayers quoted, only translating them, 
 that the comparison might be the easier. The originals may be seen 
 in his important and interesting work. In one or two places only I 
 have added an original authority. 
 
240 lutiter's baptismal MTunov, from tjie old gkrman. 
 
 The first prayer, however, in the Baptismal Service had hitherto 
 been traced up only to the Baptismal Service of Hermann, Archbishop 
 of Cologne, (.see Archbishop Lawrence's Bampton Lectures, pp. 443, 
 sqq.) It was then a source of great interest to discover that this 
 also was derived from the Ancient Church. It stands, namely, as the 
 third prayer in the Baptismal Service which liUther translated from 
 the old Latin, A.D. 1 523. In this service, also, Luther ' professedly 
 " made scarcely any alterations, for fear of alarming tender con- 
 " sciences, as if he were introducing a new Baptism, or thought that 
 " those before baptized had not been baptized rightly."' The altera- 
 tions, which he then wished to make, he introduced in the next year, 
 1524, in the " Baptismal Book, revised by D. Martin Luther," which 
 has been incorporated into the lesser Catechism, in some editions. 
 The changes consist, for the most part, in the omission of certain 
 ceremonies, as the anointing the child with the holy oil, the forming 
 the cross a second time upon him, placing in his hand the light, as an 
 emblem of that which he was to keep burning till the Bridegroom 
 come, and some others. The prayer accompanying the very ancient 
 rite of Exorcism is also shortened, and two other prayers omitted. 
 The prayer in question remains unaltered. In the Baptismal Liturgy 
 drawn up in Latin under the name of Hermann, Archbishop of 
 Cologne (A.D. 1535), it again appears, yet not borrowed from this of 
 Luther, but from one previously in use at Niirnberg (" forma Norim- 
 *' bergensis, exemplum Nor." Melancthon, Ep. p. 546, quoted by 
 Abp Laurence 1. c.) ; so that we have a second instance of its use 
 previous to the Reformation, and it probably was employed by the 
 whole German portion of the Church Catholic. Hermann's Baptismal 
 Service is part only of a larger work, bearing the title, " Nostra 
 " Hermanni, D. g. Archiep. Coloniensis et Princ. Electoris, &c., 
 " simplex et pia deliberatio qua ratione Christiana et in verbo Dei 
 " fundata Reformatio Doctrinas, administrationis divinorum Sacra- 
 " mentorum, ceremoniarum, totiusque curae animarum, et aliorum 
 *' Ministeriorum Ecclesiasticorum, a2)ud eos qui nostrse pastorali curae 
 " commendati sint, &c." And it was (as in its title it professes) a 
 reformation of existing Services, (until a General Council should make 
 some regulations for the whole Church,) not a new Service. The basis 
 (as before said) was the form of Niirnberg. On this, however, Bucer, 
 who was mainly engaged in revising the Baptismal Service, had 
 engrafted long exhortations and expositions of Baptism, herein falling 
 
 ' Luther's German translation of the Baptismal Liturgy of the ancient 
 German Church is in vol. x. of his works, ed. Walch. col. 2627, sqq. with a 
 preface prefixed b) Luther. (The Latin original I have as yet searched for 
 in vain.) Luther".s remodelled service follows immediately upon it, col. 
 2f5:i3, scjq. 
 
COMPARISON OF OUR AND HERMANN'S BAPTISMAL LITURGY. 241 
 
 in too much with the modern " reformed" notion of making the ser- 
 vice a method of instruction, and (as the case might be) a corrective 
 either of supposed superstitions, or of unden^aluing of the Sacraments, 
 or (in some " reformed" services) of inculcating their view of the 
 whole scheme of Christian doctrine. He had also brought in some 
 of the modern theology, as, the parallel of the rite of Circumcision 
 with the sacrament of Baptism ; the resting the right of our children 
 to Baptism, in part, upon the promise to Abraham, and the like ; into 
 which persons had been betrayed by looking out for argu7nents and 
 analogies against the Anabaptists, instead of adhering simply to the 
 practice of the early Church. Bucer's prohxity herein is incidentally 
 noticed by Melancthon, his fellow-worker in the task of re\'ising the 
 Cologne Service. (See Melancthon's Ep. quoted by Abp. Laurence, 
 1. c.) 
 
 The comparison of oiu' own Baptismal Service with Archbishop 
 Hermann's is the more interesting, as illustrating the proceedings and 
 principles of the reformers of our Services. It seems certain that they 
 had this work before them. It had been translated into English the 
 year (1547) before the reformation of our Prayer-book, and most pro- 
 bably with the very view of preparing men's minds for that reforma- 
 tion. It had been receiA'^ed with great interest, an amended edition 
 being published in the next year (1548), in which the reformation of 
 our Services was completed. The order also of Edward VI.'s First 
 Book agrees in some respects with Hermann's only ; as, in that the 
 Lord's Prayer and the Belief occur after the exhortation upon the 
 Gospel. One prayer, however, only, (the thanksgiving after the fios- 
 pel, " Almighty and Everlasting God, our Heavenly Father," &c.) 
 was admitted from Hermann's Service, which has not been traced up 
 to the Ancient Church ; and this prayer is primitive in its character, 
 whether it be actually so or no. The excrescences, on the other hand, 
 abovementioned, which Bucer had introduced, are lopped off unspar- 
 ingly. Nothing is admitted in the way of argument, or proof, or 
 teaching, as it is more or less in Hermann's or Bucer's Service. When 
 any thing has been adopted from it, it has been in the way of hint, 
 not by directly incorporating it. With the exception of the above 
 prayer, nothing can be directly identified with the Service of Hermann. 
 The few and earnest opening words in our Service are substituted for 
 a long exposition occupying several pages ; the exhortation following 
 upon the Gospel is enlarged, perhaps, from one in the corresponding 
 place in Hermann ; and the address to the god-parents before the 
 Interrogatories, condensed perhaps from a more diffuse one, which 
 followed upon them in Hermann. This is the whole which is not 
 derived from the early Church ; and here also it is remarkable, how 
 all exhortation is in our Service made subservient to prayer, and to the 
 direct object of the Sacrament, instead of being, as in the reformed 
 
 R 
 
24!^ INFLUENCE OF BUCER UPON OUR BAPTISMAL SERVICE. 
 
 Services, something for its own sake. It is observable also, that parts 
 of our Serv'ice were derived directly from the old Church, without the 
 intervention of the German form ; as the whole between the Interro- 
 gatories and the Act of Baptism. 
 
 The influence of Bucer upon our Service was negative rather than 
 positive. When the First Book of Edward VI. was framed, he had 
 not yet arrived in England ; and in the re\'ision which took place in 
 Edward's reign, his objections were listened to, but the alterations 
 were introduced without his knowledge, and independently of him. 
 In the Baptismal Service the alterations were few, but they were all 
 unhappily of the same character. It was the omission of certain signi- 
 ficant rites, whereby either man's natural condition before Baptism, or 
 the privileges bestowed through Baptism, and the duties consequent 
 thereon, were set before men's eyes. These were, that the first part 
 of the Service was performed at the church- door, and the child then 
 taken by the priest's hand, and brought towards the font, a blessing 
 being pronounced over it, in token that, being naturally ahens, 
 they were now " received into the holy household" of God. Again, 
 they were anointed, in token that they needed not regeneration only, 
 but the continual supply of " that blessed unction from above," which 
 " is comfort, life, and fire of love." Again, the " white vestment" 
 was given them, in token of the " innocence then given them by God," 
 and as an admonition to keep their baptismal purity unstained. Lastly, 
 there was the rite of exorcism, wherein, before Baptism, Satan was 
 commanded, in the name of the blessed Trinity, to depart from the 
 child, and " not to presume hereafter to exercise any tyranny over it." 
 We have lost by all these omissions. Men are impressed, by these 
 visible actions, far more than they are aware, or wish to acknowledge. 
 Two points especially were thereby vividly inculcated, which men 
 seem now almost wholly to have lost sight of — the power of our enemy, 
 Satan, and the might of our-Blessed Redeemer. Men now believe 
 His power and willingness to receive again His lost sheep, who have 
 strayed ; but those who would claim to themselves the pri\alege of 
 most extolling His readiness to save, seem practically to disbelieve, 
 that after He has by Baptism brought His lambs into His fold. He 
 ever saves any of them from falling again altogether into the power 
 of the lion ; and so they are left unguarded, as if to endeavour to 
 rescue them were a hopeless eflPort. This had probably been much 
 mitigated, or perhaps prevented, had the rites of the Ancient Church 
 been retained. 
 
 The reviewers of our Service could not foresee the evils of their 
 omission, and were to blame only in this, that they forsook the prac- 
 tice of the primitive Church, in compliance with the objections of a 
 modern reformer. Much, doubtless, might be speciously said before- 
 hand against the rite of exorcism previous to Baptism ; that it was 
 
EVILS OF OMITTING THE UITE OF EXORCISM. 243 
 
 unnecessary, since Baptism, translating us into the kingdom of God's 
 dear Son, did in itself remove us from the power of the prince of 
 dfirkness. Nor did the primitive Church doubt this ; still she retained 
 the practice, and thereby attested her conviction that it did serve some 
 further ends. Although not a sacrament, and therefore no direct 
 means of grace, the exorcism was a vivid practical recognition of the 
 state of bondage to Satan, out of which we were delivered. It 
 impressed upon men's minds, far more powerfully than any words 
 can do, the fearful penalty of their natural corruption, the power of the 
 " prince of this world," his unceasing enmity against his delivered 
 captives and slaves, and the great peril of again falling under his 
 dominion. As often as a new member was brought over into Christ's 
 fold, it set before men's eyes the greatness of our deliverance, the' 
 might and yet powerlessness of our enemy, the danger of being again 
 led captive by him. It could not have been foreseen that men's sense of 
 all these would be weakened by our omission of this rite ; and yet this 
 has unquestionably contributed much to the present unbelief in the 
 Scripture statements of a personal unseen enemy of men's souls, and 
 the indifference with which they view, or hear of, his visible agents 
 and servants, and the fearlessness with which they allow themselves 
 to sink gradually into his grasp, as if they could again free themselves 
 from it when they would. It has also fortified the present self- deifi- 
 cation of man, whereby, as he virtually makes himself his own 
 god, so he would make himself his own only enemy. And so the 
 very recognition of man's natural corruption or infirmity becomes a 
 source of pride, in that he thereby escapes from recognizing what he 
 would yet more abhor — the humiliation of acknowledging that he is 
 not his own master, but that if not engaged in the free active servace 
 of God, he is in a state of bondage — not to his own passions simply, 
 but to a master more powerful, and as yet more wicked, than himself, 
 whom, unless God frees him, he must obey, here and for ever. Against 
 this scriptural statement man's pride revolts. It would have been 
 impugned doubtless by unbelief, even had the rite of exorcism been 
 retained (as it has in Germany and Denmark) ; and so will every 
 doctrine : but it would not so easily have been forgotten, which is the 
 far greater evU. It has doubtless been a device of Satan, to persuade 
 men that this expulsion of himself was unnecessary ; he has thereby 
 secured a more undisjxited possession. Whether the rite can again 
 be restored in our Church, without greater evil, God only knoweth ; or 
 whether it be not irrevocably forfeited ; but this is certain, that, until 
 it be restored, we shall have much more occasion to warn our flocks 
 of the devices and power of him against whom they have to contend. 
 The rite is retained in the several branches of the Eastern Church, 
 as in the Lutheran portion of the Western, Denmark and Norway, as 
 well as Germany ; so that herein we have needlessly forsaken the 
 
 R 2 
 
244 ENGLISH AND LUTHERAN SERVICE UN A Ul'LTER ATED. 
 
 practice of tlie larger portion of the present as well as of the primitive 
 Church. 
 
 It stands happily as an insulated case. 
 
 Some other few sentences were also omitted, at the revision of our 
 Service in Edward's time ; but the earnest prayer that sin, extinct by 
 Baptism, may not again reign, and for the final perseverance of the 
 baptized, is so in accordance with the other parts of the Service, 
 that their omission cannot have proceeded from any change in doc- 
 trine. We have then great reason to bless God, that while those, to 
 whom our Church was then committed, were in some things inchned 
 to yield, almost all our Baptismal Service was I'etained, and that, 
 unadulterated by modern notions. Some things were omitted, which, 
 if retained, had been a blessing to us ; but all our Service which 
 remained came from the pure sources of Christian antiquity. 
 
 Of other modern Liturgies, to which I have at the moment access, 
 those of the Lutheran Church appear to be formed on the same model 
 as Luther's ; that of Denmark and Norway, which was reformed by 
 Bugenhagius in 1537, and submitted to Luther, adheres very closely 
 to the old form. It was translated into Latin in 1706, by Pet. 
 Terpager, whose preface contains notices of many modern Liturgies. 
 That of Mechlenburg (revidirte Kirchen-Ordnung), revised under 
 John Albert, and Ulrich Dukes of Mechlenburg, is also formed upon 
 the old basis, with the addition only of some addresses, which are 
 more didactic and longer than our own. Tlie Lutheran Church, as 
 well as ourselves, diminished the number of ceremonies, although 
 they retained that of giving the " white vestment" to the new-baptized, 
 with prayer, as well as exorcism : they also, as well as ourselves, 
 engrafifed short addresses, (of which, however, there were some 
 models in the ancient Church,) but the substance of the Service in 
 both was essentially primitive and Catholic. 
 
 In the " reformed school," on the contrary, almost all is new ; the 
 account which Beza gives of the Genevan', in answer to a Popish an- 
 tagonist, sufliciently represents them all. " According to the formula 
 " of our Churches, a sponsor of unblamed life and doctrine is always 
 " employed. The minister of the word asks of him before the congre- 
 ' ' gation of the Church, whether he wish to offer for baptism the child 
 " whom he holds in his arms. He answers distinctly such is his mind. 
 " A short and clear explanation of the institution and use of Baptism 
 " out of the word of God, is subjoined, which is recited from writing 
 " in the vvilgar tongue, so that all may hear and understand. Prayers 
 " are added that God would, by His Holy Spirit, seal in the child 
 " the adoption and ablution, which by outward Baptism is, as it were 
 " submitted to our eyes. Afterward the same minister demands of 
 
 ' Respons. ad F. Baldwin. Tractat. t. ii. pp. 325, 6. 
 
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REFORMED LITURGIES. 245 
 
 " the sponsor whether he will undertake that the child, when of a 
 '' fit age, shall be instructed in the Christian doctrine and the 
 " Apostles' creed, which he recites distinctly. He assents to this 
 " doctrine, and undertakes to do so. The requisition is repeated, and 
 *' he is again required to undertake that the child shall be instructed 
 " in the whole doctrine of both Testaments and the law of God, 
 " whereof an epitome is then recited out of Matthew's Gospel, accord- 
 " ing to the precepts of which he may so form his life, as to dedicate 
 " himself entirely to the glory of God in Jesus Christ, and the edi- 
 " fication of his neighbours. He undertakes this, and then at last the 
 " child is baptized with pure water in the name of the Father, the 
 *' Son, and Holy Ghost." 
 
 "Now then, Baldwin," asks Beza, " what blamest thoii here? We, 
 " you see, have restored the principal part of Baptism, i. e. the explana- 
 *' tion of the doctrine of it, which was taken away by your Catholics." 
 The Reformed Baptismal Liturgies are strikingly characterized, 
 and as strikingly condemned, by this triumphant appeal of Beza to 
 his antagonist, " we have restored the principal part of Baptism, 
 " viz. the explanation of the doctrine of it J" Not then our blessed 
 Saviour's institution, not His words of blessing, not even the 
 prayers of the congregation, are the '* principal part of Baptism," 
 " but the explanation of the doctrine of it." And, indeed, how should 
 it be otherwise, when Baptism was considered no longer an instrument 
 of grace, but a mere outward seal of mercies already bestowed ? 
 
 With this statement of Beza, the very outward form of the " re- 
 formed" Liturgies remarkably coincides : in the French, the " expla- 
 nation" is three times as long as the rest of the service : in the old 
 Scotch (borrowed from the English at Geneva), the " exposition" 
 occupies seven pages ; an explanation of the Creed (which is alone added 
 to the Genevan form, and is the only variation from it) fifteen and a half, 
 the Baptismal prayers one only ! in the Belgic the exposition equals 
 the length of all the rest of the Service ; in the Scotch directory (1645) 
 it is longer ; and so in the rest. 
 
 On the other hand the meagi-eness as well as coldness of the actual 
 Baptismal Service will probably strike every one accustomed, through 
 the use of our own, to the fulness, and depth, and warmth of the 
 Services of the Ancient Church. 
 
 Prayer, as Beza implies, was become, in the Reformed Churches, a 
 secondary part of the office ; and so again, in most of their offices- 
 there is but one short prayer previous to the act of Baptism, and a 
 thanksgiving subsequently. The Lord's prayer is omitted in the 
 Liturgies of Zurich, Belgium, Alasco's, and the Scotch Directory, 
 1643. In the Zurich and Polanus' form there is no thanksgiving, and 
 but a brief wish added ; in the Belgian a thanksgiving was but occa- 
 sionally offered ; in that of the French Protestants and Geneva, there 
 was neither. From an account given of the Scotch Service in 1644, 
 
24-6 GRAEUAL ABANDONMENT OF OLD FORMS BY THE REFORMED. 
 
 as an ensample to their brethren in England, the mere skeleton of the 
 old form appears to have been retained. 
 
 In other respects, it is remarkable to observe the gradual dereliction 
 of the ancient forms ; thus, Zuingli retained from the old Church the 
 introductory portion of the prayer, although he changed its doctrinal 
 portion, as no longer believing it ; and so also (from him) the Belgic 
 Service ; the latter Services dropped even this portion of the ancient 
 form, and so became entirely new. They were consistent in so doing ; 
 for this portion of the prayer referred to the Scriptural types of Bap- 
 tism, when God had delivered His chosen by water; and these naturally 
 had no place in their system. Again, Zuingli (with the old Church) 
 retained the Gospel; Alasco and Polanus incorporated it into their 
 introductory exhortation as a sort of proof of Infant Baptism ; the 
 Belgian, Genevese, French, the old Scotch, and the modern Directory 
 altogether omitted it ; and again consistently, on their system, since 
 Baptism in their sight occupied the place of circumcision only. A 
 corresponding variation is observable even in the ceremonies of 
 Baptism, in that Zuingli's parting benediction implies that the rite of 
 investing the new-baptized person with a white garment was yet re- 
 tained by him ; by the rest it is abandoned : so that in three several 
 instances Zuingli appears to have been the least innovator in the Re- 
 formed Churches. 
 
 Another slight but remarkable peculiarity in the outward arrange- 
 ments of the Reformed Churches, is the place which Baptism occupies, 
 as an appendage to the preaching of the word, in that it is placed after 
 the sermon, whereas our Church, by prescribing that it should take 
 ])lace after the second lesson, connects it with the promises of God in 
 the Gospel itself. This regulation is also mentioned by Beza ' : 
 
 " This is the custom of our Churches, that always after the sennon 
 " (and there is a sermon every day, and on Lord's days it is four times 
 " repeated in the city in the several Churches) infants to be baptized 
 " are brought to the pulpit^-, and are baptized in the congregation of 
 *' the whole Church.'' Baptism occupies the same position in the 
 Scotch Liturgy 
 
 In the following Tables, the ancient Liturgies, and those upon the 
 fincient model, are arranged according to their age: that of Edward 
 the Sixth's reign is inserted, as in some places adhering, in words 
 also, more closely to the ancient model : those of Denmark, Norway, 
 and Mecklenburg, in order to show the general agreement of this 
 portion of the Church, amidst occasional variation. 
 
 The Services, on the " reformed" scheme, are arranged according 
 to the several modifications of that scheme ; they, as well as the more 
 ancient, are framed upon one and the same model, and agree together, 
 for the most part, almost in words, only that (as was l)efore observed, 
 
 ' Abstcrsio calunmiarmn T. IIi.slui{jii, Tract. T. i. p. 'SMi. 
 
MUTUAL RELATION OF THE REFORMED LITURGIES. 247 
 
 pp.96, 110. sqq. 132), since the writers wished to persuade them- 
 selves that their views did not derogate from Baptism, they sometimes 
 speak of its benefits, although whenever they explain what they thereby 
 mean, it is the sealing only of benefits before received. 
 
 The Liturgy (if one may so call it) of Zuingli was adopted almost 
 verbally in Belgium ; the Service framed by Calvin was introduced by 
 Beza into France, and was adopted, with scarcely verbal alterations, 
 by Polanus among the German refugees settled at Glastonbury in Ed- 
 ward Sixth's time, and afterwards at Frankfort and Strasburg : the form 
 of the English at Geneva, afterwards adopted in Scotland, is longer in 
 its exposition, and briefer in its prayer, than that of Calvin ; but in 
 substance is borrowed from it. The Scotch Directory (1645) contains 
 no form at all, but only a sketch of the topics to be used in exposition, 
 prayer, or thanksgiving, expressing throughout the theory invented 
 by Zuingli and transmitted through Calvin. The Service which 
 Alasco drew up for the German Protestants settled under Edward VI. 
 in London is more peculiar in character, and appears to be indepen- 
 dent : he seems to have acted, more than the rest, upon the view of 
 rendering Baptism beneficial to the by-standers, since on this theory 
 it had ceased to be so to the child. Hence, instead of the ordinary 
 " reformed" expression that " Baptism belonged not only to us but 
 " to our seed," it sets forth that it " belongs not only to their children^ 
 " but to the whole Church ;" the prayer, accordingly, ])revious to the 
 Baptism of the child, is mainly for " those who look on the ministry 
 " of Baptism," and hardly and but incidentally for the child. 
 
 As in the Confessions then, so also m the Services, there are two 
 forms of language, Calvin speaking out much less openly than 
 Zuingli. Hence the French Liturgy was even claimed by some who 
 held that " regeneration was ordinarily conferred on Elect Infants at 
 " Baptism," as expressing their views (ap. Witsius de eliicacia Bap- 
 tism! § 42.) One would hardly argue against this with Witsius 
 (1. c. § 49.) that " those accounted as the most consummate Theolo- 
 '• gians in France understood it otherwise, and held that elect infants 
 " were only visibly initiated by Baptism, and had previously re- 
 '* ceived saving grace :" for it is well known how readily such a 
 document is bent to persons' previous views, as even our own Service 
 has been held not to contain the doctrine of Baptismal regeneration. 
 But, in truth, enough of the language of Beza's service is sufficiently 
 clear, although he speaks ambiguously of the " fruit and efficacy of 
 " Baptism." For one who prays God to confirm the grace given to 
 the child about to be baptized, " and to declare that He is His God 
 " and Saviour," evidently must hold that this grace was given before 
 the use of the Sacrament, which is the " reformed" theory, as op]iosed 
 to the doctrine of the old Church, that grace was given through it. 
 Thus in our own Baptismal ser\dce, we pray God to " increase in us 
 
248 AUTHORITIES TOR THE SEVERAL REFORMED LITURGIES. 
 
 " the knowledge of His grace, and to confirm evermore our faith in 
 " Him," hut for our Infants, we pray not for " confirmation of grace," 
 but that " they may be born again, and made heirs of everlasting 
 " salvation." 
 
 The " reformed" Liturgies have been taken from the following 
 sources, — that of Zurich from Zuingli's works, t. ii. f. 98, where he 
 quotes it to show " how dexterously they had omitted every thing 
 " which could not be proved by Scripture." A translation was pub- 
 lished in English from the Helvetian, A.D. 1693, " LiturgiaTigurina." 
 Compared with the Latin of Zuingli, it is wordy but not unfaithful ; 
 but it contains an exhortation, which, as being omitted by Zuingli, 
 must have been introduced after Zuingli's times, though cjuite in his 
 spirit. The Zurich Service was also published in Latin in the ' ' Ritus 
 Ecclesi£eTigurin8e,"by Lavater, 1702. The Liturgy oi Belgium, (which 
 in verbal differences agrees most with the Ritus Eccl. Tigur.) is taken 
 from the " Enchiridion for Young Preachers," published by authority, 
 1645. For the French Reformed Liturgy two editions have been con- 
 sulted — " La forme des prieres Ecclesiastiques," 1552, and that 
 appended to the version of the Psalms by Beza and Marot (Pseaumes 
 de David, &c.) It is also found in Calvin's works, t. viii. p. 32, 
 sqq. with such variations only, as would be occasioned by a free 
 translation into Latin. These have been marked underneath by the 
 letter C. That of Polanus is entitled " Liturgia Sacra, seu Ritus 
 Ministerii et Ecclesiae Peregrinorum profugorum propter Evangelium 
 Christi Argentinse, 1551 ;" and the 2d edition, " Liturgia, &c. peregri- 
 norum Francofordias ad Maenum Ed. 2, Francof. 1558." There is no 
 variation between them There is much mention of this Liturgy in 
 Strype Eccl. Mem. vol. ii. B. 1, c. 29 ; and life of Cranmer, B. 2, c. 
 23. For the Scotch there have been used, an old edition, entitled " the 
 CL Psalms of David in English metre, with the form of Prayers, and 
 ministration of the Sacraments, «&c. used in the Church of Scotland : 
 Edinburgh, 1575 ;" also, "The New Booke of Common Prayer, accord- 
 ing to the forme of the Kirk of Scotland, our brethren in faith and 
 covenant, (London) 1644 ;" and the modern " Directory." Alasco 
 published his under the title " Forma ac ratio tota Ecclesiastic! minis- 
 terii, potissimum pro Germanorum ecclesia, instituta Londini in 
 Anglia per pientissimum Principem Angliae, &c. Regem Edvardum 
 VL &c." Francofurti, 1535. 
 
 In the following Tables I have placed, 1st, A, our present Baptismal 
 Service, as compared with the Ancient Church, and contrasted with 
 the " Reformed" School. 2dly, B, Such prayers and rites as formed 
 part of our primitive Service, but were omitted at the instigation of 
 Bucer, and corresponding, or the same prayers, in the ancient Liturgies. 
 3dly, C. A prayer in Hermann's Liturgy, as a specimen of the way in 
 which the restorers of our Liturgy avoided the modern theology. 
 
(A.) 
 ENGLISH BAPTISMAL LITURGY, 
 
 COMPARED WITH THOSE OF THE 
 
 ANCIENT CHURCH, AND LITURGIES ON THE ANCIENT MODEL; 
 
 AND CONTRASTED WITH 
 
 THOSE DERIVED FROM ZUINGLI AND CALVIN. 
 
250 
 
 BAPTISMAL LlTUllCIES.— Intuoduction. 
 
 ANCIENT CHURCH 
 
 CHURCHES GENERALLY UPON THE ANCIENT 
 MODEL. 
 
 UErORMED 
 
 Topics cnlartci'd upon 
 
 Ancient Gallic. 
 
 lloiinaun, Al)p. ot 
 Cologne — Exhort.a- 
 tion to CJo(l-]);irents, 
 
 No.l. 
 Voi'y <lc;u' IJrc- 
 tlncn, let \is, in the 
 vcncniblc otiico of 
 tlic ])icsent mystery, 
 Innnlily jn'ay our 
 AliuiLrlity Creator 
 and Ivestorer, who 
 deigned to repair, 
 tlirougli grace, the 
 gloriesof our nature, 
 lost through sin, that 
 IJe will transfuse 
 erticacy into these 
 waters, and by the 
 ])veseiiee of the Ma- 
 jesty of the Trinity, 
 
 No. 2. 
 Beloved in Christ 
 Jesus, we hear daily 
 out of the word of 
 God, and learn by 
 o\ir own experience, 
 that all we from the 
 fall of Adam are 
 conceived and born 
 in sins ; that wo are 
 guilty of the wrath 
 of (lod, and damned 
 through the sin of 
 Adam, except we be 
 delivered by the 
 death and merits of 
 the Son of God, 
 
 give power to (^ecr Christ Jcsu our only 
 ///(' most hull/ n'(/ei/e- Saviour. Seeing then 
 
 rtifin// ; that lie w-ill 
 break in pieces the 
 hcail of the dragon 
 upon these waters ; 
 and that the debtors 
 being buried with 
 C'hrist by IJaptism, 
 the likeness of death 
 may so take ])lace 
 here, that the perish- 
 ing may be saved, 
 and death may only 
 bo felt in the des- 
 truction hcie on 1 able gentleness and 
 eartli (i. e. the deatii ; mercy towards man 
 
 that these present 
 infants be born in 
 the same estate and 
 condition that we 
 are, it is plain that 
 they also be spotted 
 with original sin and 
 disease, and that 
 they be subject to 
 eternal death and 
 damnation. But God 
 the Father, accord- 
 ing to Ilis unspeak- 
 
 of the body ), through 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 kind, sent His Son 
 to save the world. 
 Wherefore He will 
 also, that these in- 
 fants be saved, He 
 bare the sins of all 
 the world, and deli- 
 vered and saved, as 
 well the infants, as 
 us which be of 
 greater age, from 
 sins, death, the de- 
 vil, and everlasting 
 damnation, who 
 would have the in- 
 fants to be offered 
 unto Him, that He 
 might give tliem His 
 blessing (Matt. xi.K.) 
 Wherefore, according to your Chris- 
 tian godliness, take this child, bring him 
 unto Christ, and offer him witli your 
 godly prayers, that ho may obtain of Him 
 remission of his sins, and be removed 
 into the kin<>dom of grace, being deli- 
 vered from the tyranny of Satan; and 
 that he may be made heir of eternal sal- 
 vation. 
 
 Kdward VI. 
 
 First Book. 
 
 1(;4!). 
 
 No. 3. «. 
 Dear belov- 
 ed — Foras- 
 much as all 
 men be con- 
 ceived and 
 born in sin, 
 and that* 
 no man born 
 in sin can 
 enter into 
 tlie kingdom 
 of God, ex- 
 cept he be 
 regenerate, 
 and born 
 anew of wa- 
 ter ami of 
 the Holy 
 Ghost ; I 
 beseech you 
 to call upon 
 God the 
 Father, 
 through our 
 Lord Jesus 
 CHirist, that 
 of His boun- 
 teous mercv 
 He will 
 grant to this 
 child that 
 thing which 
 by nature he 
 cannot have, 
 that is to 
 say, that he 
 may be baj)- 
 tized with 
 water and 
 the Holy 
 (ihost, and 
 received 
 into Christ's 
 holy church, 
 and be 
 made a 
 lively mem- 
 ber of the 
 same. 
 
 Mecklenburg, 
 (abridged). 
 
 Zuricli, 
 (entire.) 
 
 Present 
 
 Enslish. 
 
 No. 3. h. 
 * Our Sa- 
 viour Christ 
 saith. None, 
 &c. 
 
 No. 4. No. .5. 
 
 Born in Adam's sin. Think that 
 
 aiul under God's our Lord 
 
 wrath, unless we had and Saviour 
 
 been helped by the wishes all 
 
 only-begotten Son of men to come 
 
 God, our Lord Je- totheknow- 
 
 sus Chiist. ledge of the 
 
 Tiiis present child truth, 
 polluted with the through the 
 same sin ; but God only Media- 
 the Father promised tor Jesus 
 mercy and pity to Christ, who 
 the whole world, gave I lim- 
 and so to the eiiild self i'or 
 as well as the old, many, for 
 through His Son their re- 
 Christ (Hermann), deniption. 
 
 Who also bore the He wills 
 
 sins of tlie wliole also that our 
 
 world, and redeem- prayers for 
 
 cd the poor children each other 
 
 uo less, yea, just as may be 
 
 much as the elder, united, that 
 
 from sin, death, and we may 
 
 damnation, and hath come to the 
 
 made them blessed, unity of the 
 
 and commanded that faitli and 
 
 they sliould be knowledge 
 
 brought to Him, of the Son 
 
 that they m.ay be of God our 
 
 blessed ; whom also Redeemer. 
 
 He most graciously Let us pray 
 
 receives, and pro- then the 
 
 mises them the Lord, that 
 
 kingdom of heaven. He would 
 
 AVherefore do ye, imj)art faith 
 
 out of Christian to this in- 
 
 love, take comjias- fant, and 
 
 sion on this present tliatoutward 
 
 poor infant; present B.ai)tism 
 
 it to the LordChrist, may become 
 
 and for forgiveness inwardly, by 
 
 of sins, and help to the Holy 
 
 pray that it may be S|)iiit, a 
 
 received into the healthful 
 
 kingdom of grace water. Pray 
 
 and bliss ; in un- then thus, 
 doubting confi- 
 dence that our dear 
 Lord Jesus Christ 
 will of His great 
 mercy accept of you 
 this your work of 
 love towards the 
 poor infant, and will 
 also assuredly hear 
 your prajer, since 
 
 He himself com-' 
 
 manded them to 
 biing the young children unto 
 Him, and has promised to re- 
 ceive them into His kingdom. 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 No. b. 
 Doctrine of Bap- 
 tism : 1. our natural 
 impurity, taiu/Zit by 
 the dipping. — "2. 
 AV'ashing away of 
 sins by Jesus Christ. 
 — 3. Duty of new 
 obedience. 
 
 And although our 
 infants do mil rcivirc 
 these fhi/i(/!<, yet they 
 are not to be repell- 
 ed from Baptism, 
 since they are both 
 unconsciously ])ar- 
 takers of d.aumatiun 
 in Adam, and for 
 that cause are also 
 received in Christ 
 into favour ; as (Jod 
 Himself testiticlh to 
 Abraham, the father 
 of^all that believe, 
 and therefore also of 
 us and of our ciiil- 
 dren. Gen. xvii. 7. 
 and Peter, Acts ii. 
 3.0, 
 
 For this cause God 
 commanded them 
 to be circumcised, 
 which was the seal 
 of the covenant and 
 of the righteousness 
 of fiiitli ; as Christ 
 .also embraced them, 
 and laid His hands 
 on them, ami blessed 
 them, Mark x. 
 
 Since, therefore. 
 Baptism has suc- 
 ceeded to circumci- 
 sion, infants, as heirs 
 of the kingdom of 
 God and of His co- 
 venant, are to be 
 initiated in Baptism : 
 and parents arc 
 bound to inform 
 their children more 
 fully of these tilings 
 when they be grown 
 up. 
 
 Therefore, that wc 
 may celebrate tliis 
 divine ordinance to 
 His glory, our con- 
 solation, and the 
 edification of the 
 Church, let iis call 
 upon His holy name 
 in these words. 
 
 I 
 
BAPTISMAL LITURGIES.— Introduction. 
 
 251 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 ill tlieir Prefaces (see p. 24.5.) abiidged. 
 
 (ji eiicva — Fieiic h 
 
 Protestant, 
 
 Polanus. 
 
 English at Geneva, 
 and old Scotch. 
 
 No. 7—9. No. 10. 
 
 1. Doctrine. Begins with topics 
 
 The necessity of No. 7 — 9. § 4. then 
 regeneration shows " Baptism not abso- 
 the extremity of our lutely necessary ;" 
 natural corruption, appointed for the 
 and our hatefiilness imdruciujn of our 
 in God's sight ; our dull senses. Not 
 only hope in entire that we think any 
 self-renunciation such virtue or power 
 and condemnation, to be included in 
 2. Benefits of Bap- the visible water or 
 iisin. outward action, (for 
 
 Tedifws remission many have been bap- 
 of sin — God's rea- tized, and yet never 
 dimss to purify our inwardly purged); 
 souls — that He u- ill but that onr Saviour 
 be a parent to us, Christ will eftectu- 
 and not impute to ally work in the 
 us our sins, and aid hearts of his elect, 
 us with His Holy in time convenient , 
 Spirit, that we may all that is meant by 
 be able to resist the the same. And this 
 devil, sin, and the Scripture calleth our 
 lusts of our flesh, regeneration, stfinds 
 until we obtain the cbietly in two points, 
 victory, that we may Then topics, §§ 1 
 live in the liberty of and 2, — comfort to 
 His kingdom, whicli parents (as Calvin 
 is the kingdom of above, p. 126), 
 righteousness. bringing them up 
 
 3. How imjKirted. holily, provide iu 
 We have no wash- struction, &c 
 ing but in Christ's 
 blood, nor renewal 
 but in His death and 
 resurrection ; but as 
 He imparts His 
 riches to us bi/ the 
 word, in the same 
 nuinner hy tiie ikicra- 
 meitts. 
 
 4. To wlwtm. 
 Not to us only, 
 but to our children, 
 as at the beginning 
 of His Church by 
 circumcision, which 
 signified and s/totved 
 the same thinffn which 
 are noiv sliown hy 
 Baptism. These be- 
 nefits of circumci- j 
 
 sion not diminished ' 
 
 by Christ's coming, 
 
 but extended over the whole earth ; 
 wherefore children are to be baptized. 
 For St. Paul says they are holy, i. e. 
 separate from the children of heathen 
 and other infidels ; and Christ received 
 little children brought to Him, teaching 
 us that they are not to be excluded from 
 His Church. 
 
 Scotch— 1644. 
 
 Scotch Directory. 
 
 Alasco. 
 
 No. 11. No. 12. No. 13. 
 
 The minister, de- Baptism instituted Baptism to be observ- 
 claring and setting | by Christ, a seal of j ed, according to Christ's 
 forth God's love, j the covenant. The i institution, and not pro- 
 desires them to take ; water representeth ' faned. Two things or- 
 notice and consider \ Christ's blood ; bap- dained by Christ : water, 
 the great charge that ' tizing siijnifinth the i and that in the name of 
 is laid upon them ; cleansing thereby, j the Father, Son, and 
 telling them thus ; Promise made to Holy Spirit, i. e. that we 
 Dearly beloved, believers and their i should fe*-^j^y "kc/ c/ec^re 
 It is your duty that seed ; children have i that the whole Church 
 the children be in- a right to the sea/, I of Christ, with all its 
 structed in all doc- not less under Gos- j members, belongs, with- 
 trinenecessar}'; but I pel than law, the ; out doubt, to God the 
 
 chiefly to rest upon 
 the justice of Christ 
 alone, and to abhor 
 and flee all super- 
 stition, p.ipistry, and 
 idolatry. And to the 
 intent that we may 
 be assured that you, 
 the fatherand the su- 
 rety, consent to the 
 performance thereof, 
 I declare here before 
 God and the face of 
 I the congregation, 
 the sum of that 
 faith wherein ye be- 
 lieve, and will in- 
 I struct this child. 
 I believe )uGod,&c. 
 
 covenant being the 1 Father, Son, and Holy 
 same, the grace more | Spirit, being wholly 
 abundant. Christ cleansed by the blood of 
 admitted children ] Christ the Lord ; so that 
 into His jntscnce. , in it, with all its mem- 
 Children, by Bap- j hers, no spot or wrinkle 
 tism, received into can be seen before 
 the vLsi/jle Church ; I God's sight. To show, 
 distinguished from | then, that we do baptize 
 the world; united i all members of our 
 with believers. The l Church by this our mi- 
 baptized renounce i nistry, in the name of 
 the devil, the world, ' Christ, we attest this be- 
 andflesh,and pledged 1 fore you, as to Baptism : 
 to fight against it. 1. That Baptism be- 
 Infants are Chris- longs not only to these 
 tians, federally fioly ; children, but to the whole 
 before Baptism, and Catholic Church (1 Cor. 
 therefore baptized. I Eph.) : so that it attests 
 Inward grace not I that the whole of it, with 
 tied to the very moment of administra- all its members every 
 tion ; fruit and power of it through the | where, is accoimted, by 
 whole course of life. Outv.ard Baptism ! God the Father, altoge- 
 not absoluteh' necessary to salvation, if|ther clean for Christ's 
 not despised. : sake ; whence it belongs 
 
 Admonitions to those present, and to to us, as much as to the 
 parents, &c. infants ; and we ought 
 
 — to think of the greatness 
 
 of God's mercy therein (Rom., Eph. -ii.,1 Cor. xv.), and show 
 it forth by true repentance — ^not to be idle spectators of Baptism ; 
 for such profane it, and despise Christ. 
 
 2. This cleansing, which Baptism designates, not our own 
 (Tit. iii.), we are impure (Eph. ii. Ps. li.) 
 
 3. This cleansing, the free gift of Christ (Tit. iii.), by the 
 communion of righteousness, merits and glory gained by Him in 
 our flesh : this, the highest mystery of Baptism, desiynated by 
 that outward washing of water ; hence Baptism called washing of 
 regeneration and of remission of sins. The baptized are attested 
 to liave put on Christ, and are baptized into the death of Christ 
 (Tit. iii., Actsix., Gal. iii., Rom. vi.) 
 
 4. Corresponding gratitude required from us ; and if we fall, 
 not to despond, but to look at our cleansing through Christ's 
 blood, which Baptism attests. 
 
 Then the topics 7 — 9. § 4. Gen. xvii. children not to he excluded 
 from BajiiUm on account of the infirmity lx>rtt with them ; for if 
 they were to be excluded, because they cannot believe, and repent 
 of this infirmity, much more adults, since it is not every one of 
 these who can reallj' and truly believe and repent. The rest as 
 in § 4. 
 
252 
 
 BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 BAPTISMAL PRAYER 
 
 ANCIENT CHURCH. 
 
 AuL-ieut 
 Gothic, 
 
 Ancient Latin form 
 translated by Luther 
 1.5"23, unaltered in 
 Ins revision, 15'24. 
 
 \. 
 
 O God, 
 who didst 
 sanctify the 
 fount of Jor- 
 dan for the 
 salvation of 
 souls, let the 
 Angel of 
 Thy blessing 
 descend up- 
 on these wa- 
 ters, that 
 Thyservants 
 being he- 
 dewed there- 
 with, may 
 receive re- 
 mission of ] 
 sins; and be- | 
 ing born a- j 
 gain of wa- 
 ter and the 
 Holy Spirit 
 may serve 
 Thee devo- 
 tedly for- 
 ever, thro' , 
 Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Almighty ever- 
 lasting God, who f, 
 according to Thy 
 strict ' judgment 
 didst* condemn the 
 unbelieving world 
 through tlie flood, 
 and didst preserve^ 
 faithful Noah, the 
 8th person, of Thy 
 * great mercy, and 
 didst drown in the 
 red sea s obstinate 
 Pharaoh •)" with all 
 his + and leddests 
 Thy people Israel 
 dry through ', that 
 this laver of Thy 
 Holy Baptism here- 
 after might be sig- 
 nified 8, and didst 
 hallow and conse- 
 crate with the Bap- 
 tism ofs Thy beloved 
 child our Lord Jesu 
 Christ, Jordan and'" 
 all waters to a' ' bles- 
 sed flood and abun- 
 dant washing away 
 of sins : We pray 
 Thee through the 
 same Thy exceeding 
 mercy look favour- 
 ably upon this '* N, 
 and endue him with 
 a right faith in the 
 Spirit, that '3 all 
 which was born in 
 Him of Adam, and 
 which he has added 
 thereto, may be 
 drowned and '^ des- 
 troyed by this '5 
 wholesome flood, 
 and he, being sepa- 
 rated from the num- 
 ber of the '6 unbe- 
 lieving, may be kept 
 dry and safe in the 
 holy ark of '7 Chris- 
 tendom, may serve 
 Thy name always 
 fervent in Spirit, 
 joyful in hope, that 
 he may be worthy 
 to attain '8 Thy pro- 
 mise of everlasting 
 life with all '9 be- 
 lievers through Je- 
 sus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 CHURCHES UPON THE ANCIENT MODEL. 
 
 Hermann, Arch- 
 bishop of Cologne. 
 
 — everlasting 
 T in old time 
 
 ' terrible 
 
 * destroy the wicked 
 
 ^ only the family of 
 godly Noah, 8 souls 
 
 ■» unspeakable 
 
 5 hardened + the 
 king of the Egyp- 
 tians 
 
 + army and warlike 
 power 
 
 6 causedst to pass 
 over with dry feet 
 
 7 and wouldst sha- 
 dow in them Holy 
 Baptism the laver of 
 regeneration 
 
 8 furthermore who 
 didst consecrate 
 
 9 Thy son Christ 
 Jesu 
 
 '" other waters 
 ' ' holy dipping 
 :=abundant::=away 
 
 ^ the same 
 
 '- infant and give 
 him true faith, and 
 Thy Holy 
 '3 whatsoever filth 
 he has taken of 
 Adam, it 
 
 '4 put away in him 
 '5 holy 
 
 '6 ungodly 
 :=: dry and 
 '7 the Church, and 
 may confess and 
 sanctify Thy name 
 with a lusty and 
 fer\'ent spirit, and 
 serve Thy kingdom 
 = be worthy 
 '8 the promises 
 
 '9 the ungodly 
 
 Danish, 
 Norwegian. 
 
 Edward VL 
 May, 1549. 
 
 [ P^nglish . 
 presentform 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 ' most strict 
 
 2 destroy by the 
 avenging water 
 of the 
 
 3 Thy faithful 
 servant, with 
 seven others 
 
 4 immense 
 
 6 as Hermann 
 
 7 whereby thou 
 shadowest 
 
 5 Thy beloved 
 
 Son 
 
 '0 a bath which 
 
 should most a- 
 
 bundantly wash 
 
 away 
 
 " infinite 
 
 '7z=be worthy 
 
 No. 5. 
 Almighty and 
 everlasting God, 
 which of Thy jus- 
 tice didst destroy by 
 floods of water the 
 whole world for sin, 
 except eight persons, 
 whom of Thy mer- 
 cy (the same time) 
 thou didst save in 
 the ark : and when 
 thou didst drown 
 in the Red Sea wck- 
 ed King Pharaoh 
 \\ith all his army, 
 yet (at the same 
 time) thou didst ' 
 lead Thy people the 
 children of Israel 
 safely through the 
 midst thereof, 
 whereby thou didst 
 figure the washing 
 of Thy Holy Bap- 
 tism, and by the 
 Baptism of Thy 
 well-beloved Son 
 Jesus Christt Thou 
 didst sanctify the 
 flood Jordan and all 
 other waters to * this 
 mystical washing 
 away of siu. AVe 
 beseech Thee (for 
 Thine infinite mer- 
 cies) that Thou wilt 
 mercifully look up- 
 on these childreni" 
 and sanctify them 
 with 3 thy Holy 
 Ghost, that * by this 
 wholesome laver of 
 regeneration what- 
 soever sin is in them 
 may be washed clean 
 away, that they be- 
 ing delivered from 
 Thy wrath may be 
 received into the ark 
 of Christ's Church, 
 and so saved from 
 perishing : and be- 
 ing fervent in spirit, 
 stedfast in faith, joy- 
 ful through hope, 
 rooted in charity, 
 mayScvcr scrveThee 
 and finally attain to 
 everlasting life, with 
 all Thy holy and 
 chosen people. This 
 grant us, we beseech 
 Thee, for Jesus 
 Christ's sake our 
 Lord. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 == which 8 
 persons 
 
 'who of Thy 
 great mercy 
 didst save 
 Noah and 
 his family in 
 the ark from 
 perishing by 
 water, and 
 also didst 
 safely lead 
 the children 
 of Israel 
 Thy people 
 through the 
 Red Sea, 
 figuring 
 thereby Thy 
 holy 
 
 + in the river 
 Jordan 
 =2 the flood 
 Jordan and 
 all other 
 2 the 
 
 + wash him 
 
 3 the 
 
 < = by this 
 -away 
 
 :r;so saved 
 from perish- 
 ing 
 
 =fervent in 
 spirit 
 
 5 so pass the 
 waves of this 
 troublesome 
 world, that 
 finally he 
 may come to 
 the land of 
 everlasting 
 life, there to 
 reign with 
 Thee, world 
 withoutend 
 
 — signifies that the words following are omitted : f that they arc added. 
 
BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 253 
 
 BEFORE THE C^iOSPEL. 
 
 REFORMED CHURCHES. 
 
 Zuiieli. 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 Protestants of 
 
 France and 
 
 Geneva. 
 
 No. 7. 
 Almighty ever- 
 lasting God, who by 
 a ' just and worthy 
 judgment didst des- 
 troy the whole un- 
 believing ^ and un- 
 Igodly world by the 
 wateis of the flood, 
 but didst meanwhile 
 by thine 3 unspeak- 3 gj-gat 
 able mercy and 
 goodness ■• deliver 4 preserve 
 Noe, a preacher of faithful 
 righteousness, with Noah the 
 eight souls ; who 8th person ; 
 wast pleased to 
 drown the ungodly 
 and hardened Pha- 
 raoh with all his 
 hosts in the depths 
 of the Red Sea, but j Baptism 
 to make Israel Thy denoted 
 chosen, to go over 
 dry shod, represent- 
 ing5 to us by these 
 things, as by a type, 
 the laver of Baptism, 
 ihear us supplicants, 
 imploring Thy mer- 
 cy, and graciously 
 and mildly look up- 
 on this Thy servant ' g,'atF Him 
 N, put the' light of intoThySon 
 faith into his minds, ■ 
 that being incorpo- 
 rated into Thy Sou, 
 land buried with Him 
 linto death, he may 
 Irise together with 
 Him to a new life, 
 wherein bearing 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 [Old Preface 
 
 omitted.] 
 severe i 
 
 Lord God, 
 
 eternal and Al- 
 
 impenitent j mighty Father, 
 
 smee it has 
 pleased Thee of 
 Thine infinite 
 mercy, to pro- 
 mise that Thou 
 wilt be the Fa- 
 ther of us, and 
 of our children, 
 we pray that 
 
 swallow up 
 the blinded 
 
 5 whereby 
 
 Polanus. 
 
 English at 
 
 Geneva, and 
 
 Scotch. 
 
 ho didst it may please 
 Thee * to con- 
 firm this grace 
 in the present 
 infant, born of 
 parents whom 
 Thou hast call- 
 ed into Tliy 
 Church ; and, 
 as he is offered 
 and dedicated 
 to Thee by 
 us, that Thou 
 wouldest receive 
 him into Thy 
 ' holy protec- 
 tion "t*, 2 declar- 
 ing that Thou 
 
 that he'may I ^}'^ !"« ^°^ ^nd 
 be buried , | ?,^yi"_"J' l^VZ 
 &c. as 
 Zuiiigli. 
 
 6 and by 
 Thy Holy 
 
 Spiiit 
 
 No. 10. 
 * that thou 
 wilt vouch- 
 safe to him 
 Thy good- 
 will and fa- 
 vour, and 
 wilt confirm 
 with him 
 Thy cove- 
 nant, who is 
 born, &c. 
 + to be his 
 God. 
 X and as 
 often as he 
 shall ask 
 Thee, obtain 
 free remis- 
 sion of his 
 sins. Let 
 him then be 
 engrafi'ed in 
 our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ. 
 § that as, ac- 
 cording to 
 Thy corn- 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 Almighty 
 and ever- 
 lasting God, 
 who, of 
 Thine infi- 
 nite mercy, 
 hast pro- 
 mised unto 
 us that Thou 
 wilt be not 
 only our 
 God,butalso 
 the God and 
 Father of 
 our children 
 — we be- 
 seech Thee, 
 that,asThou 
 hast vouch- 
 
 Scotch, lb"44. 
 
 No. 12. 
 After reciting the 
 Creed, the minister 
 explaiueth these 
 Articles, — going 
 through each par- 
 ticular branch there- 
 of, — which, being 
 ended, the minis- 
 ter, kneeling down, 
 prays for the child^ 
 concluding, — Our 
 Father, &c. 
 
 Scotch Directory. 
 
 takers of this 
 Thy great 
 mercy in the 
 fellowship of 
 faith, so it 
 may please 
 
 mand, he is , Thee to 
 washed by 1 sanctify with 
 us, with this • Thy Spirit, 
 symbol of and to re- 
 baptism, and I ceive into 
 adopted, so , the number 
 Thy Holy i of Thy 
 I Spirit work- j children this 
 mitting to niming in him, he! infant, 
 original sin, — I may receive '' whom' we 
 , , ,. ,l't'^''^°^ .t^e I the fruit of shall baptize 
 whole line of Adam -i is guilty, all those '• this day, ac- 
 and, 5 afterwards, sanctifying 1 good thinirs '■ cordino- ' to 
 him by Thy Spirit, that when j which we Thy word. 
 
 Alasco. 
 
 manfully the cross 1 he shall come to years 6 of un- 
 laid upon him, he i derstanding,hemay7knowand 
 may continue to worship Thee,ashisonlyGod, 
 tread in His steps, j Sgloriiying Thee during his 
 and cleave to Him t whole life J, to obtain of Thee 
 alonewithtruefiiith, j always remission of his sins, 
 firm hope, and ar- And that he may obtain these 
 mercies, may it please Thee to 
 incorporate him into the com- 
 munion of our Lord Jesus, 
 that he may partake of all his 
 benefits, as one of the members 
 of His body. Hear us. Father 
 of mercy, that the § baptism 
 which we impart to him ac- 
 cording to Thy ordinance, may 
 produce its fruit and efficacy, — 
 such as it is declared by Thy 
 Gospel. Our Father, &c. 
 
 dent fire of charity, 
 that for Thy 
 name's sake, he may 
 not fear to lose, with 
 unshaken mind, this 
 life which is more 
 truly to be called 
 death, and at the 
 last judgment of 
 Thy Son, may ap- 
 ])ear without dread 
 through the same 
 our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, Thine only 
 begotten Son, who 
 liveth and I'eigneth 
 with Thee, with the 
 unity of the Holy 
 Ghost, one God. 
 Amen. 
 
 ' holy, Calv. * showing, C. 
 
 3 by, C. •• bears the guilt, C. 
 
 3 besides, C. 6 capable of judg- 
 ing and understanding, C. 
 
 7 acknowledge s a Saviour, 
 giving that praise and glory, 
 80 that he may. 
 
 have learnt j to the end 
 from the that he, 
 Gospel of I coming to 
 our Lord Je- perfect age, promiseT of the 
 sus Christ, may confess i venant of grace, 
 are sealed m Thee, the | That the child may 
 this only true , be planted into the 
 sacrament, i God, and ■- 
 
 whom Thou 
 
 has sent, Je- 
 sus Christ, 
 
 and so serve 
 
 Him, and be 
 
 profitable to 
 
 His Church 
 
 in the whole 
 
 course of his 
 
 life, that, 
 
 after this 
 
 life ended, 
 
 he may be 
 
 brought as a 
 
 lively mem- 
 ber of His body, unto 
 the full fruition of Thy 
 joys in heaven. 
 
 No. 14. 
 Almighty 
 eternalGod, 
 merciful Fa- 
 ther, who 
 hast taught 
 us, through 
 Thy only 
 begottenSon 
 our Lord 
 Jesus Christ 
 to call upon 
 Thee in all 
 our actions, 
 and hast 
 promised 
 that Thou 
 wilt always 
 hear us 
 
 when we 
 call upon 
 Thee in His 
 name ; re- 
 gard, we be- 
 seech Thee, 
 this congre- 
 gation of Thy 
 family, 
 which look- 
 eth on the 
 ministry of 
 thisBaptism 
 instituted 
 by Thy Son, 
 and upon 
 this our seed 
 which is of- 
 feredtoThee 
 in the midst 
 oftheassem- 
 bly of our 
 Church : 
 whose God 
 Thou hast 
 moreover 
 attested 
 Thyself to 
 be, and 
 whom Thou 
 vouchsafest 
 to embrace 
 and to bless; 
 and so go- 
 vern us and 
 our seed by 
 Thy Holy 
 Sjiirit, that 
 wemaydaily 
 advance in 
 true and salutary knowledge of 
 Thee and ourselves, that all mav 
 know that Thou art the God of us 
 and of our seed, and that we with 
 our seed are Thy people in Christ 
 JesusThybelovedSon,withWhom 
 and with Thy Holy Spirit, Thou 
 livest and reignest, deus triunus, 
 blessed for ever. 
 
 No. 13. 
 The minister is to 
 
 safed to call ; pray to this, or the 
 
 us to be par- I like eff'ect: 
 
 That the Lord, 
 who hath not left us 
 as strangers without 
 the covenant of pro- 
 mise, but called us 
 to the privileges of 
 His ordinances — 
 would graciously 
 vouchsafe to sanc- 
 tify and bless His 
 own ordinance of 
 baptism at this time. 
 That he would join 
 the inward baptism 
 of His Spirit with 
 the outward bap- 
 tism of water : — 
 make this baptism 
 to the infant a seal 
 of adoption, remis- 
 sion of sin, regene- 
 ration, and eternal 
 life, and all other 
 
 likeness of the death 
 and resurrection of 
 Christ ; and that, 
 the body of sin being 
 destroyed in him, 
 he may serve God 
 in newness of life 
 all his days. 
 
254 
 
 BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 SECOND COLLECT. 
 
 ANCIENT CHURCH. 
 
 CHURCHES UPON THE ANCIENT MODEL. 
 
 Sarisb. Eborac. (in 
 two MSS. above 
 900 years old.) 
 
 Old German 
 
 ap. Lntlier. 
 
 1523. 
 
 No.l. 
 O God, the ever- 
 living ' protection 
 of all who ask, 
 the^ deliverance of 
 those who pra}', tlie 3 
 peace of those who 
 ask, the life of them 
 that believe, the re- 
 surrection of the 
 dead ; I pray Thee 
 in behalf of this Thy 
 servant, N, who *, 
 seeking the gift of 
 Thy Baptism, longs 
 to attain eternal j 
 mercy by spiritual 
 regeneration : Ac- 
 cept him. Lord ; 
 and, since 6 Thou 
 hast deigned to say. 
 Ask, and ye shall 
 receive, seek, and 
 ye shall find, knock, 
 and it shall be 
 opened'?; so give 
 now * the reward to 
 him that asketh, and 
 open the door to him 
 thatknocketh, that8 
 by the eternal bene- 
 diction of the 9 hea- 
 venly washing, he 
 may receive the pro- 
 mised 'f* kingdoms 
 of Thy gift"; who 
 livest and reignest 
 with God the Fa- 
 ther, in the unity of 
 the Holy Spirit, 
 God throughout all 
 ages. Amen., 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 ' consolation 
 
 ^ deliver^";- 
 ^ and peace 
 
 •• seeks 
 
 5 Thy eter- 
 nal 
 
 6 as tliou 
 
 hast said 
 
 7 mito you 
 
 8 he may 
 obtain 
 5 this hea- 
 venly 
 
 •" kingdom 
 1' through 
 Christ our 
 Lord. 
 
 Revised, 1524. 
 
 Danish, 
 Mecklenburgli. 
 
 No. 3—5. 
 O Almighty Ever- 
 lasting God, Father 
 of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ 
 
 [" the deliverance — 
 the dead" omitted.] 
 
 No. 4 — Danish. 
 
 * that good thing 
 thy gifts. 
 
 he may obtain an 
 eternal benediction 
 in this heavenly 
 washing, and that 
 Thy kingdom, which 
 Thou hast solemnly 
 promised to us all, 
 for our Lord Jesus 
 Christ's sake. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Mecklenburg, as 
 Luther's revised 
 form. 
 
 Hermann, Abp. of 
 Cologne. 
 
 No. G. 
 As Luther, 1524. 
 
 I call Thee upon 
 this (N) 
 
 for whom the 
 Church requireth 
 the Sacrament of 
 Baptism, and therein 
 Thy grace and spi- 
 ritual regeneration ; 
 and as Thou saidst, 
 
 The same. 
 
 so give Thy grace 
 and mercy to this 
 child, as ThyChurch 
 prayeth, that he may 
 obtain the redemp- 
 tion of Thy Son, 
 and the inheritance 
 of everlasting and 
 blessed life, which 
 Thy congregation 
 seeketh for him 
 through Baptism. 
 Open to him the 
 gate of Thy king- 
 dom, at which Thy 
 Church knocketh 
 for him, through 
 Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Edward VI. 
 First Book. 
 
 No. 7. 
 Almighty and Im- 
 mortal God, the aid 
 of all that need, the 
 helper of all that 
 flee to Thee for suc- 
 cour, &c. (as in An- 
 cient.) 
 
 Wc call upon Thee 
 for this infant, that 
 he, coming to Thy 
 Holy Baptism, may 
 receive remission of 
 liis sins by spiiitual 
 regeneration. Re- 
 ceive him, O Lord, 
 as Thou hast pro- 
 mised by Thy well- 
 beloved Son, saying, 
 &c. 
 
 so give now unfo us, 
 that ask, &c. 
 
 open * thy g.ate, &c. 
 
 that this infant may 
 enjoy, &c. 
 
 of thy 
 
 and may come to 
 the eternal king- 
 dom, which Thou 
 hast promised by 
 Christ our Lord. 
 
 * " rtc" — present 
 form. 
 
 Reformed 
 Churches. 
 
 No. 8. 
 No further 
 prayer be- 
 fore Bap- 
 tism. 
 
 Gospel. 
 St. Matthew. 
 
 St. Mark. 
 
 St. Mark. 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 Zurich. 
 
 St. Mark. 
 
 No. 10. 
 Polanus and Alasco. 
 
 Gospel incorporated into preface, 
 as proof of Infant Baptism. 
 
 No. 11. 
 Belg. Geneva, French, Scotch 
 
 Gospel dropped. 
 
BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 255 
 
 EXHORTATION TO CONGREGATION UPON THE WORDS OF THE GOSPEL 
 
 AND PRAYER. 
 
 CHURCHES UPON THE ANCIENT MODEL. 
 
 REFORMED CHURCH. 
 
 Herinaiin. 
 
 No. 2. 
 Believe 
 these words & 
 this deed of 
 our Lord Jesu 
 Christ, upon 
 them, and 
 doubt not but 
 -that He will 
 receive your children 
 also, [in holy bap- 
 tism,] and embrace 
 them with the arms 
 of His mere}', and 
 give them the bless- 
 ing of eternal life, 
 and the everlasting 
 communion of the 
 kingdom of God. The 
 same Lord and our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, 
 confirm and increase 
 this your faith. Amen. 
 And be ye most cer- 
 tain, that our Lord 
 Jesus Christ will mer- 
 cifully regard this work 
 of your charity gra- 
 ciovisly towards this 
 infant, and that He 
 will hear your prayers, 
 for He Himself thus 
 commanded with His 
 word, " Suffer the lit- 
 tle ones," &c. Introd. 
 E.\hort. 
 
 English. 
 
 Mecklenburg. 
 
 No. 3, 
 
 Doubt ye not, there- 
 fore, but earnestly 
 believe that He will 
 likewise favourably 
 receive this present 
 infant &c. 
 
 and make him par- 
 taker of His everlast- 
 ing kingdom. Where- 
 fore, we, being thus 
 persuaded of the 
 goodwill of our hea- 
 venly Father towards 
 this infant, declared 
 by His Son Jesus 
 Christ, and, nothing 
 doubting,but that He 
 favourably alloweth 
 this charitable work 
 of ours in bringing 
 tliis infant to holy 
 baptism, let us faith- 
 fully and devoutly 
 give thanks untoHim, 
 and say 
 
 Edward VI., First 
 Book, adds, " the 
 prayer which theLord 
 Himself ta\ight, and 
 in declaration of our 
 faith, let us also recite 
 the articles contained 
 in our creed." 
 
 Zurich. 
 
 The 
 
 No. G. 
 
 None. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 (Addition in Eng- 
 glish Translation 
 A.D. 1()93, Liturgia 
 Figurina) not in Zu- 
 ingli nor in the Ritus 
 Eccl. Figurina 1702. 
 
 [Forasmuch as you have 
 heard here, that it is the 
 Lord's pleasure that little 
 children be brought unto Him, 
 because He is their Saviour 
 also : therefore we will bring 
 unto Him this child as far as 
 it lieth in our power, i. e., 
 ill rough Imptisiyi we will receive 
 hitn into His Church, and pive 
 him theearnest of the covenant 
 and of the people of God. 
 
 God give usHis grace thereto.] 
 
 No. 4. 
 If there is time and the child not 
 washed. 
 Beloved friends of Christ, wc 
 hear, in this short Gospel, both 
 the great trouble and need, as 
 well of ourselves as of this child, 
 and again our highest comfort. 
 For, first, we arc all through the 
 fall of Adam, so corrupted that 
 we are conceived and born again 
 in sin,^nd so are born the child- 
 ren of wrath, and for the sins' sake 
 belong to the kingdom of the devil, 
 to death, hell and damnation, 
 whereof the previous exorcism of 
 the unclean spirit was to remind 
 us. For all born of flesh is flesh, 
 and cannot inherit the kingdom 
 of God, unless it be born anew, 
 and eome into the gracious king- 
 dom of Christ our Lord. 
 
 2. We hear of the gi'eatest comfort for us and our children, 
 that Christ, the Son of God, our Lord, was so very ready and 
 willing, graciously to help the children which were brought to 
 Him, and all of us, who come to Him, so that He is even dis- 
 pleased, when they would have hindered, and not faithfully 
 brought them to Him. 
 
 3. He cares most mercifully for them, and takes their part 
 most lovingly, as if He were, (as indeed He is,) their natural 
 Father, takes them in His .aims, embraces them, saves and re- 
 deems them from the kingdom of sin, the devil, death, and 
 hell, and la3s His Almighty, Divine and Gracious hand upon 
 them, takes them into protection and defence .against all 
 ill, and blesses them, so that they now with Him, shall be chil- 
 dren and heirs of His heavenly Father, and His co-heirs of bliss 
 and life eternal. And He warns us, the elders, to see to it, that 
 we also abide in simple faith, and walk as childern before Him 
 in the kingdom of heaven, («'. e. of grace and life,) and begin and 
 continue ever to live in innocence and purity, that we may not 
 be cast out of it for ever. 
 
 Since, however, all this (Christ's saving from sin and the 
 kingdom of the devil through the laying on of His hands, &c.) 
 besides this His word, is given, imparted, and thereby assured to 
 this child, as to us all, also in an outward sign, in Baptism, 
 namely, and the word of God, " In the name of the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we will now baptize it in the name 
 of the Lord, h.aving first prayed. Our Father," &c. 
 
 THANKSGIVING AFTER THE GOSPEL. 
 
 
 
 Hermann, 
 
 Edward VL's First 
 Book. 
 
 Present 
 Form. 
 
 Reformed 
 Churches. 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God * we give thee f eternal 
 thanks, that thou hast vouchsafed to call us:}: to this ' know- 
 ledge of Thy giace and faith in Thee. Increase^ and confirm 
 this faith in us evermore. Give Thy Holy Spirit to this in- 
 fant, whereby § he may be born again, and be made an heir 
 of salvation everlasting, whicli Thou hast promised to Thy 
 Holy Church, to the children and old men together for the 
 sake of Christ, of Thy gi-ace and mercy through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the 
 Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen. 
 
 * heavenly Father. 
 
 + humble 
 
 X this 
 
 § that 
 =:which Thou hast 
 promised — mercy. 
 
 1 the 
 
 - this 
 knowledge. 
 
 None. 
 
256 
 
 BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 EXHORTATION TO GOD-PARENTS. 
 
 CHURCHES OX ANCIENT MODEL. 
 
 REFORMED CHURCHES. 
 
 Hermann (after the 
 Renunciation, &c.) 
 
 No. 1. No. 2. 
 
 Beloved in Christ, Well beloved 
 
 yesterday, by the friends, ye have 
 grace of God, we brought these chil- 
 heard how exceed- dren here to be bap- 
 ing and unspeakable tized, ye have pray- 
 mercy is exhibited ed that our Lord 
 in Baptism. Ye Jesus Chnst would 
 have renounced Sa- vouchsafe to receive 
 tan and the world; them*, to lay His 
 ve have confessed hands upon them, 
 the faith of Christ, to bless them, to re- 
 and ye have pro- lease them of their 
 raised obedience to sins, to give them 
 Chiist and the Con- the kingdom of 
 gregation : and ye heaven, and ever- 
 have required of lasting life. Ye 
 God the Father, have heard, also, 
 that for His Son's that our Lord Jesus 
 sake, our Lord Jesus Christ hath promi- 
 Christ, He will de- sed, in His Gospel, 
 liver these infants to grant all these 
 from the kingdom things that ye have 
 of darkness, and set- prayed for ; which 
 tie them in the king- promise. He, for His 
 dom of His beloved p.art, will, most 
 Son. You must re- surely, keep and 
 member these things perform. Where- 
 and doubt nothing, fore, after this pro- 
 but that we shall niise made by Christ, 
 receive all these these Infants must 
 things that we re- also faithfully, for 
 quire, if we believe, their part, promise 
 Therefore, lifting u]) by you, that are their 
 your minds unto the sureties t, that they 
 Lord, appear ye here will + forsake the 
 with all religion, as Devil and all his 
 in the sight of Al- works, & constantly 
 mighty God, the believe God's Holy 
 Father, the Son, Word, and obedi- 
 and the Holy Ghost, ently keep His com- 
 and receive ye, with mandments. 
 sure faith and 
 thanksgiving, the 
 benefit of regenera- 
 tion and adoption 
 into everlasting life, 
 of the one God, 
 Himself the Father, 
 the Son, and tlie 
 Holy Ghost. And 
 because the Lord 
 
 Himself command 
 
 ed us to baptize in 
 
 the name of the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost, undoubtedly God Himself 
 liaptizeth our infants, cleanseth them 
 from sins, delivereth them from ever- 
 lasting death, putteth upon them His 
 own righteousness, and giveth them life 
 eternal. We must acknowledge, w'ith 
 true faith, and ever magnify these ex- 
 ceeding benefits of God, &c. 
 
 Edward YI. First 
 
 Book, (before the 
 
 Renunciation). 
 
 Present Fomi. 
 
 * -— To lay His— 
 bless them. 
 
 •f Until he come 
 of age to take it 
 upon himself, 
 i Renounce. 
 
 Zurich. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 At the 
 request of 
 the parents 
 ye offer this 
 child for 
 Baptism, as 
 being wil- 
 ling to ex- 
 hort him to 
 a holy life, 
 in the stead 
 of parents. 
 Wherefore 
 I exhort you 
 to consider 
 thatourGod 
 isatrueGod, 
 who wills 
 that we wor- 
 ship Him in 
 truth. As 
 then ye 
 bring this 
 child to 
 b.iptism, 
 and under- 
 take the 
 care of it, so 
 hereafter, as 
 need re- 
 quires, per- 
 form the 
 same as 
 much as ye 
 can ; and 
 give heed, 
 that this 
 child be 
 brought up 
 to the glory 
 of God, to 
 whom iri' 
 710W iiffcr 
 him. 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 To Parents, and 
 those present, (omit- 
 ted in those Church- 
 es where the custom 
 of Parents, or God- 
 parents offering the 
 Children, is not as 
 yet introduced). 
 
 Beloved in the 
 Lord Christ, ye 
 have heard that 
 Baptism is a Divine 
 Institution, to seal 
 His Covenant to us 
 and to our seed, 
 wherefore it must 
 be used to this end, 
 not of custom, nor 
 of any superstition. 
 That it may appear 
 that this is your 
 meaning, ye shall 
 answer these things 
 without h^'jiocrisy. 
 
 Alasco. 
 
 No. 5. 
 Ye have heard. 
 Brethren, (see in 
 the preface,) that 
 the washing of Bap- 
 tism was instituted 
 by Christ the Lord, 
 in His Church, as 
 a sealing of the Di- 
 vine Covenant with 
 us, from which our 
 children neither 
 ought, nor can be 
 withheld ; since it 
 is known that they 
 are comprehended 
 in it, unless the 
 whole Church be 
 willing to undergo 
 the charge of neg- 
 lecting the Lord's 
 Institution, and its 
 Ministers of not 
 faithfully fulfilling 
 theirMinistry. Since 
 then ye, in the name 
 of thiswholeChurch, 
 bring these Children 
 to Baptism, I, as 
 bound by my minis- 
 try, require of j'ou 
 to attest, before the 
 whole Church, as 
 public witnesses 
 thereof, &c. 
 
258 
 
 BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 DECLARATIONS OF OR 
 
 ANCIENT CHURCH 
 
 CHURCHES ON THE ANCIENT MODEL. 
 
 No. 1. 
 1. Rcnunciaiiim. 
 
 Dost thou renounce 
 Satan ? and all Lis 
 works? and all liis 
 pomps ? — (Roman.) 
 ■ — and the pomps of 
 tlie ■world and its 
 pleasures ? — (Gallic.) 
 
 I renounce Satan, 
 and all his works, and 
 all his ser\'ice, and 
 all his angels, and his 
 pomps, (Sec. (Constan- 
 tinop. and, ynX\\ ver- 
 bal difFerences,Jerus. 
 Antioch, Alexand.) 
 see also TertuUian, 
 St. Cvprian, St. Am- 
 brose,' St. Basil, St. 
 Jerome, St. Cyril of 
 Jerusalem,ap. Palmer 
 p. 177. 
 ■2. BcUff. 
 
 " In the Western 
 " cliurclies the imme- 
 " morial custom has 
 " been for the priests 
 " to interrogate the 
 " candidate for bap- 
 " tism or bis sponsor, 
 " on tbe principal ar- 
 " tides of the Chris- 
 " tian faith. Thepro- 
 " fession "was made in 
 " thismannerinGaiil, 
 " as we find by the 
 " ancient Gallican 
 " missal, which was 
 " used before the in- 
 " troduction of the 
 " Roman Liturgy and 
 " offices into France. 
 " We also find that it 
 " was customary in 
 " Africa, by the testi- 
 " luony of C^-prian ; 
 " and the ancient of- 
 " fices of the Roman 
 " Church exhibit the 
 " same. In the last, 
 " the sponsor or per- 
 " son to be baptized 
 " repeated tbe creed 
 " after the priest." — 
 Palmer, p. 180. 
 
 3. Wish to he baptized. 
 Wiliest thou to be 
 
 baptized.' (Sarum). 
 
 4. Holi/Life. 
 
 I confess thee, Christ, 
 our God, and all Thv salu- 
 tary laws, and all Thy life- 
 giring religion, and all 
 Thy works, which give 
 life. —Alex. 
 
 I give up myself to the 
 government of Christ. — 
 (Others, ap. Bingham, B. 
 ii. c. 7,{ 6.) 
 
 No 
 
 Renouncest 
 thou tbe devil 
 and all his 
 works ? 
 and all bis 
 
 2. Believest 
 tbou in God 
 tbe Father 
 Almighty, 
 jMaker of hea- 
 ven and 
 earth .'' 
 
 Believest 
 thou in Jesus 
 Christ, His 
 only Son, our 
 Lord, bom 
 and suffered ? 
 
 Believest 
 thou in tbe 
 Holy Ghost, 
 one Holy Ca- 
 tholic Church, 
 tbe Commu- 
 nion of 
 Saints, &c. 
 
 The same. 
 
 No. 4. I 
 Then shall! 
 the priest de- 
 mand * of tbe 
 child, &:c. 
 
 1. Dost thou 
 forsake tbe 
 devil and all 
 his works ? — 
 A . I forsake 
 them. 
 
 Dost thou 
 forsake the 
 vain pomp and 
 glory of the 
 world, \Tith 
 all tbe cove- 
 tous desires of 
 the same ? — 
 A. I forsake 
 them. 
 
 Dost tbou 
 forsake tbe 
 carnal desires 
 of tbe flesh, so 
 tbat thou wilt 
 not follow or 
 be led bv 
 tbem.s— vl'. I 
 forsake them. 
 
 No. 3. 
 Qiwstions to Sponsors and Pafcnts of Infants. 
 Do ye believe tbat those things be true which 
 I showed you out of tbe word of God, concerning 
 the corruption of nature through original sin, and 
 concerning regeneration in Christ our Lord, ever- 
 lasting communion with God, which is exhibited 
 through holy baptism? — ^-i. We believe. 
 
 Do you require then, with all your hearts, and 
 with true faith, tbat this, your infant, whom you 
 have brought and offered to Christ, be delivered 
 fiom this corruption of nature, through the merit 
 and virtue of Christ in baptism, and be reconciled 
 unto God, and bom again, into a new and pei-pe- 
 tual life ? — A. We require it. 
 
 Do ye then renounce, in your own name, and 
 in the name of the child, tbe devil and all his 
 works ? — A . We renounce. 
 
 And the world also, and all its concupiscence? 
 — A. We renounce. 
 
 Do ye believe in God, the Father Almighty, 
 Maker of heaven and earth ? — ^4. We belieTC. 
 
 And do ye believe that God will be a Father 
 to you and to this infant when it is baptized, and 
 that He ynW keep you from all evil through His 
 Almighty power, wisdom, and mercy, and heap 
 benefits upon you, and that you ought to fear Him, 
 and love Him, above all things.' — yl. We believe. 
 Do ye believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, His 
 only Son, who, to redeem us, became man, suf- 
 fered, and died, and was raised .again from death, 
 ascended into heaven, and sittetb on the right 
 hand of the Father, and from thence govemeth 
 His Church, through His Almighty power, and 
 shall come in the end of the world, and appear 
 to all men, a judge of the dead and the quick? 
 — A. We believe. 
 
 Do ye confess out of this faith, that our Lord 
 Jesus Christ is also your Sa\-iour and Saviour of 
 this child, who by His death bath also purged 
 your sins, and hath reconciled you to God, and 
 justified you through His resurrection, and \rill, 
 at length, fully finish up the image and life of 
 God in you, being cleansed from all sin.' — 
 A. We confess. 
 
 And do ye believe, also, in the Holy Ghost, 
 &c. — A. We believe. 
 
 Out of this confession do ye believe that the 
 Holy Ghost will be your teacher and comforter, 
 and the teacher and comforter of this child ; and 
 that you be tbe true members of the body of 
 Christ our Lord, and of His Church ; and that 
 this child, by baptism, shall be a member of 
 Christ, and His Church, wherein he shall have 
 remission of sins, a sure hope of resurrection, and of life everlasting? — A. We 
 believe. 
 
 Will ye, then, be Godfathers to this infant, and count him for a very son of 
 God, a brother and member of Christ, and as soon as be cometh to the use of 
 reason, if, peradventure, he shall lose bis parents, or if they shall be negligent 
 in this behalf, ynW ye take the charge of him, that he may learn the Ten 
 Commandments, the articles of our fi^ith, the Lord's Prayer and the Sacraments, 
 both at home and in the congregation, that from his childhood he may begin 
 to understand the mystery of Baptism, and the benefits of Christ, given to him 
 therein ; and, afterward, when he is well instructed in the religion of Christ, that 
 be, in the congregation, with his own mouth, confess his faith, that he, through the 
 participation of Christ, give himself to obedience towards God and the Church? 
 — J. We wll. 
 
 No. 5. 
 * of tbe 
 God-fa- 
 thers and 
 Godmo- 
 thers. 
 1. In one 
 question, 
 
 •2. Belief, di- 
 vided into 3 
 parts, as in the 
 ancient 
 church, the 
 .assent ex- 
 pressed after 
 each. 
 
 2. The 3 
 
 divisions 
 
 retained, 
 
 but the 
 
 assent 
 
 expressed 
 
 at the end 
 
 onlv. 
 
 3. What dost 
 thou desire ? 
 — ^4. Baptism. 
 Wilt thou 
 be baptized ? 
 —A. I will. 
 
 3. Wilt 
 thou be 
 baptized 
 in this 
 faith ? 
 
BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 259 
 
 FOR THE BAPTIZED. 
 
 REFORMED CHURCHES. 
 
 Zurich. 
 
 No. G. 
 Nothing. 
 
 2. In the English 
 ti'anslation, not in 
 Zuingli, nor in the 
 Ritiis Eccl. Tigur 
 the creed is re- 
 peated with this 
 preface. " These 
 are the articles of 
 the holy Christian 
 Faith, whereupon 
 this child is to be 
 baptized,and where- 
 in he ought also to 
 be instructed," and 
 afterwards the 
 S7ireties are ex- 
 horted " to pray 
 with devotion unto 
 God, that we may 
 obtain of the Lord 
 such a faith for this 
 child ;■' Our Fa- 
 ther, &c.' 
 
 3. Will ye that this 
 child be baptized 
 into the baptism of 
 our Lord Jesus 
 Christ.? 
 
 Bclgii 
 
 I French Pro- 
 testants — Ge- 
 neva — Pola- 
 
 No. 
 
 1. Although our chil- 
 dren are conceived and 
 born in sins, and so ex- 
 posed to all sorts of 
 miseries and damna- 
 tion itself, do ye not 
 confess that they are 
 sanctified in Christ, and 
 so are to be baptized 
 as members of His 
 church .' 
 
 2. Do ye not acknow 
 ledge, that the doctrines 
 comprised in the Old 
 and New Test, and the 
 articles of the Cliristian 
 faith, which is delivered 
 to thisChurch of Christ, 
 is the true and entire 
 doctrine of salvation ? 
 
 3. Do ye not pro- 
 mise and determine 
 that ye will educate 
 this child, or take care 
 that it be educated in 
 this very doctrine when 
 it grows up ? 
 
 4. Nothing. 
 
 j No. 8. 
 
 Parents pro- 
 mise to iu- 
 \strm-f the child ^ 
 I at years of 
 I discretion, 
 3. according to 
 the admoni- 
 tions of the 
 Prophets and 
 the Apostles, 
 to renounce 
 himself and 
 his desires, 
 to dedicate 
 and conse- 
 crate himself, 
 to glorify the 
 name of God 
 and of Jesus 
 Christ, and to 
 edify his 
 neishbour. 
 
 2. in the doc- 
 trine, as it is 
 received and 
 approved by 
 the people of 
 God, and 
 summed up in 
 the confession 
 of faith, which 
 we all receive. 
 ( Apostles' 
 Creed.) 
 
 Alasco. 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 Do ye offer these chil- 
 dren as the seed of this 
 our Church, to be bap- 
 tized lawfully here bv our 
 ministrv.'* 
 
 Uponthispro- 
 mise the child 
 is baptized. 
 
 3. to instruct 
 the child to 
 live according 
 to the rule 
 left us by our 
 Lord in His 
 law, to love 
 God with all 
 our heart, and 
 our neighbour 
 as oui-selves. 
 
 s'2 
 
 Do youacknowledgeour 
 doctrine, which ye have 
 heard of Baptism and its 
 mysteries, to be true, and 
 that our infants (and in- 
 deed all of us) were by 
 nature children of -wi'ath 
 and death, but are nntc, 
 for Christ's sake, included 
 in the divine covenant 
 made with us by Christ, 
 and ought to be sealed 
 with the seal of His ac- 
 ceptance and righteous- 
 ness, viz. Baptism.' 
 
 3- Lastly, do ye acknow- 
 ledge that it is the duty 
 of you and of the whole 
 Church, especially of you, 
 fathers, (if the fathers are 
 present) together with 
 your wives, the mothers 
 of these children, that 
 those infants offered, when 
 they shall grow up, be 
 instructed in the true 
 knowledge of God, and 
 religion ? 
 
 Old Scotch. 
 
 No. 10. 
 Finally, to 
 intent that 
 we may be 
 assured that 
 you, the f;i- 
 thcrand the 
 surety, con- 
 sent to per- 
 formance, 
 declare here 
 the summe 
 of that faith 
 wherein you 
 believe, and 
 will instruct 
 this child. 
 
 Scotch Di- 
 rectory. 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 The Mi- 
 nister is to 
 xhort the 
 parents 
 
 To consi- 
 der the 
 great mercy 
 of God to 
 him and his 
 child; to 
 bring up the 
 child in the 
 knowledge 
 of the 
 
 grounds of 
 the Chris- 
 tian reli- 
 gion, and in 
 the nurture 
 and admo- 
 nition of the 
 Lord ; ai\d 
 to let him 
 know the 
 danger of 
 God's wrath 
 to himself 
 and child, 
 if he be neg- 
 ligent ; re- 
 quiring his 
 solemn pro- 
 mise for the 
 perform- 
 ance of his 
 dutv. 
 
260 
 
 BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 PRAYERS FOR THE CHILD AFTER THE PROFESSION OF FAITH, &c. AND 
 BENEDICTION OF WATER. 
 
 Old Gallican. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 1. O Lord, Eternal God — may this place 
 be made worthy to receive tlie influxes of 
 Thy Holy Spii-it : let that old Adam be 
 buried here, the new rise again. 
 
 2. Let all which is of tlie flesh die — all 
 which is of the Spirit rise again. 
 
 3. Whosoever shall here renounce the de- 
 vil, grant him to triumph over the world. 
 
 4. Whosoever shall call upon Thee in this 
 place, do Thou acknowledge him in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 5. Let sins be so extinguished in this foun- 
 tain, that they may not rise again. 
 
 6. Whosoever shall here begin to be 
 Thine, may he never cease to be Thine. 
 
 7. Whosoever shall here deny himself, 
 let hiui gain Thee. 
 
 8. May the people set apart to Thee by 
 our ministry, and Thy mystery, be set apart 
 by Thee {ad, <|-c. Assem. Coil. Lit. t. ii. p. 
 39. leq. ate) to eternal rewards, through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Benediction. 
 
 I bless thee (the water) also, through 
 .Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, Who 
 brought thee, togetlicr with blood, out of 
 His own side, and commanded His disciples 
 that they who believe should be baptized in 
 thee, saying. Go teach all nations, baptizing 
 them in the name of the Father, and the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Be present. Almighty God, of Thy mercy 
 with us, who keep these commandments; 
 regard of Thy mercy, do Thou bless these 
 mere waters, that beside their natural power 
 of cleansing, which they can use for the 
 washing of the body, they may be efficacious 
 also for the purifying of the mind. {Sarum. 
 G^req. Gelas. ) 
 
 Fill it (the child) with the grace of Thy 
 Holy Spirit, that it may not be a child of the 
 flesh, but a son of Tliy bridal-chamber, 
 and an heir of Thy everlasting and never- 
 failing kingdom. — (Copt. Ale.r?) 
 
 Edward VI.— First Book. 
 
 Present 
 
 English. 
 
 No. 2. 
 [The water being to be changed once 
 every month at least, these prayers were to 
 be said before any child was baptized therein. 
 Another prayer was also said, derived from 
 a dift'ereut source, and now altogether 
 omitted.] 
 
 1. O merciful God, grant that the old 
 Adam in them * that shall be baptized in 
 this fountain may he so buried, tliat the 
 new man may be raised up in liim. Amen. 
 
 2. Grant that all carnal affections may die 
 in him, and that all things belonging to the 
 Spirit may live and grow in him. Amen. 
 
 3. Grant to all them =, which at this foun- 
 tain forsake the devil and all his works, that 
 they may have power and strength to have 
 victory, and to triumph against him, the 
 world, and the flesh. Amen. 
 
 4. Wliosoever shall confess thee, O Lord, 
 recognize him also in Thy kingdom. Amen. 
 
 5. Grant that all sin and vice here may 
 be so extinct, that they may never more 
 have power to reign in Thy servants. Amen. 
 
 6. Grant that whosoever here shall begin 
 to be of Thy flock may evermore continue 
 in the same. Amen. 
 
 7. Grant that all they, which for Thy sake 
 in this life do deny and forsake themselves, 
 may win and purchase Thee, O Ijord, which 
 art everlasting treasure. Amen. 
 
 8. Grant that whosoever is here dedicated 
 to Thee by our office and ministry may also 
 be endued with heavenly virtues, and ever- 
 lastingly rewarded, through Thy mercy, O 
 blessed Lord God, who dost live and govern 
 all things, world without end. Amen. 
 
 Almighty Everlasting God, Whose most 
 dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, for the 
 forgiveness of our sins, did shed out of His 
 most precious side both water and blood ; 
 and gave commandment to His disciples that 
 they should go and teach all nations, and 
 baptize them in the name of the Father, the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost ; regard, we beseech 
 Thee, the supplications of Thy congrega- 
 tion X ; and grant that all Thy servants 
 which shall be baptized in this water, pre- 
 pared for the ministration to Thy Holy Sa- 
 crament, may receive the fulness of Thy 
 grace, and ever remain in the number of 
 Thy faithful and elect children, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Reformed. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 * this 
 child. 
 
 =: to all 
 them — 
 works. 
 
 Nos. 4 — 7 
 omitted. 
 
 J For 
 " and 
 grant — 
 Sacra- 
 ment," 
 " sanctify 
 this water 
 to the 
 mystical 
 washing 
 away of 
 sin, and 
 grant that 
 this child 
 now to be 
 baptized 
 therein." 
 
 Nothing.. 
 
BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 261 
 
 SIGNING WITH THE CROSS. 
 
 Ancient Church. 
 
 HeiTuann. 
 (After the Exor- 
 cism.) 
 
 „ijT 4- T *i I Edward VI. First 
 Old Latm ap.Luther : ^^^^ ^^^^^^.^ j^^^^._ 
 
 and Danish. | \.^^^^ 
 
 Reformed. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Miss. Bobio, llOO 
 years ohl. — Receive 
 the sign of the Cross 
 on the forehead and 
 the heart. Be ever 
 faithful. Enter the 
 Temple of God. 
 Worship God the 
 Father Almighty, 
 and Jesus Christ 
 His Son, (who shall 
 come to judge the 
 quick and dead, and 
 the world by fire,) 
 with the Holy Spirit, 
 for ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 Constantinop. Let 
 the Cross of Thy 
 Only-Begotten Son 
 be stamped upon 
 his heart .and his 
 thoughts, that he 
 may flee the vanity 
 of the world, and all 
 the evil attacks of 
 the enemy, and fol- 
 low Thy command- 
 ments. 
 
 Sarum. I give 
 thee the seal of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, 
 that thou mayest 
 remain in the Catho- 
 lic Faith, and live 
 for ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 St. Cyprian Ep. 
 56. ad Thibaritan. 
 " Let the forehead 
 be guarded, that the 
 'Sign of God' be 
 kept safe." De lap- 
 sis c. 2. " The fore- 
 head pure, through 
 ' the Sign of God,' 
 could not enduie 
 the crown of the 
 devil, but reserved 
 itself for the crown 
 of the Lord." 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Take the figure 
 of the Holy Cross 
 on thy forehead, 
 that thou never be 
 ashamed of God and 
 Christ thy Saviour, 
 or of His Gospel : 
 take it also on thy 
 breast, that the 
 power of Christ 
 crucified may be 
 ever thy succour 
 and sure protection 
 in all things. 
 
 The Lord be with 
 you and with thy 
 Spirit. 
 
 No. 3. 
 Receive the Sign 
 of the Holy Cross 
 both on the * fore- 
 head and the breast. 
 
 Thy Dan. 
 
 No. 4. 
 * Receive the Sign 
 of the Holy Cross, 
 botli in thy forehead 
 and in thy breast, in 
 token that hereafter 
 "f-thou shalt not be 
 ashamed to confess 
 J thy faith in Christ 
 crucified, and man- 
 fully to fight under 
 His banner against 
 sin, the world, and 
 the devil, and to 
 continue § His faith.- 
 ful soldier and ser- 
 vant unto his life's 
 end. Amen. 
 
 Present English 
 (after Baptism). 
 
 * We receive this 
 child into the con- 
 gregation of Christ's 
 flock, and do sign 
 him with the sign 
 of the Cross, in 
 token, &c. 
 
 + he shall. 
 
 X The faith of. 
 
 § Christ's. 
 
 Hooker, B. v. 
 
 " The Cross is for 
 " us an admonition 
 " no less necessary 
 " than for them to 
 " gloi'y in the service 
 " of Jesus Christ, & 
 " not to hang down 
 " our heads as men 
 " ashamed thereof, 
 " although it procure 
 " us reproacli and 
 " obloquy at the 
 " hands of this 
 " wretched world." 
 
 No. 5. 
 Nothing. 
 
 Genevese (Calvin). 
 " We are not ignorant 
 that in other places very 
 many other ceremonies 
 are used, ickich ice deny 
 not to he very old. But 
 since they were devised 
 either by the will and 
 wilfulness of man, or, 
 at best, on some slight 
 ground ; lastly, since 
 they were devised and 
 introduced without the 
 Word of God, and so 
 many superstitions have 
 also flowed from them, 
 we thought, without any 
 scruple, that they ought 
 to be abolished and done 
 awaj-, that the approach 
 to Jesus Christ may not 
 henceforth be closed to 
 any one." 
 
 T. Cartwright ap. 
 Hooker, B. v. c. 65 § 6. 
 ed. Keble. " This uso 
 " of crossing, as it was 
 " brought in upon no 
 " good ground, so the 
 " Lord left a mark of 
 " His curse of it, 
 " whereby it might be 
 " perceived to come out 
 " of the forge of man's 
 " brain, in that it began 
 " forth witli, while it was 
 " yet in the swaddling 
 " clouts, to be supersti- 
 " tiously abused." 
 
262 
 
 BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 EXHORTATION TO THANKSGIVING 
 
 ANCIENT CHURCH 
 
 CHURCHES ON THE ANCIENT MODEL. 
 
 Old Galilean, 
 
 No. I. 
 
 Let us give thanks 
 and praise to the 
 Lord, most dearly 
 beloved brethren, 
 that He has deigned 
 to increase the con- 
 gregation of our 
 Church by our be- 
 loved, who have just 
 been baptized. Let 
 us ask then of the 
 mercy of the Lord, 
 that they may bear 
 the Holy Baptism 
 which they have re- 
 ceived, unstained, 
 inviolate, and unde- 
 filed, before the tri- 
 bunal of Christ. 
 Prayer. 
 Lord God Al- 
 mighty, Who hast 
 commanded these 
 Thy servants to be 
 born again of water 
 and the Holy Ghost, 
 preserve in them the 
 Holy Baptism which 
 they have received, 
 and be pleased to 
 perfect them to the 
 hallowing of Th)^ 
 name, that Thy 
 grace may ever avail 
 toward them, and 
 that what they have 
 received by Thy 
 precious gift, they 
 may keep through 
 the integrity of their 
 Ufe. 
 
 Luther's 
 Revision. 
 
 No. 2. 
 The God- 
 parents shall 
 then hold 
 the child in 
 the font,and 
 the priest 
 say, while 
 putting on 
 the white 
 garments : 
 Almighty 
 God and 
 Father of 
 our Lord 
 JesusChrist, 
 who has * 
 regenerated 
 Thee, 
 through 
 water and 
 the Holy 
 Ghost, and 
 has for- 
 given thee 
 all thy sins, 
 strengthen 
 thee with 
 His mercy 
 to everlast- 
 ing life. 
 Amen. 
 
 Danish. 
 
 No. 3. 
 Now 
 
 Old Latin form, 
 ap. Luther, see p. 
 
 Hermann. 
 
 No. 4. 
 (End of long exhor- 
 tation before the In- 
 terrogatories : ) We 
 must therefore ren- 
 der bounden thanks 
 to God for His so 
 unspeakable mercy, 
 and pray moreover 
 that He will vouch- 
 safe ever to cari-y on 
 and finally to perfect 
 in us His work 
 which He hath be- 
 gun in us, and in all 
 whom He hath call- 
 ed unto Baptism. 
 
 Concluding Prayer. 
 The Almighty 
 God and Father of 
 our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who hath 
 begotten thee again 
 with water and the 
 Holy Ghost, and 
 hath forgiven thee 
 all thy sins, confirm 
 thee by His grace, 
 unto everlasting life. 
 Amen. 
 
 Min. — The peace 
 of the Lord be with 
 you always. 
 
 Ans. — Amen. 
 
 Tlicn shall be siinfj 
 in German., by the 
 ichde Church,Gra.tcs 
 nunc omnes, ^c. or 
 tlie Psalm Deus 
 misereatur nostri. 
 Aflenvards shall the 
 Alinis/er proceed in 
 the office of tlicLord's 
 Supper. 
 
 Edward VI. 
 Second Book. 
 
 No. 5. 
 Seeing no w,dearly 
 beloved brethren, 
 that these children 
 be regenerate, and 
 grafted into the body 
 of Christ's congre- 
 gation* let us give 
 thanks unto God for 
 these benefits, and 
 with one accord 
 make our prayers 
 unto Almighty God 
 that they may lead 
 the rest of their life 
 according to this be- 
 ginning. 
 
 AVe yield Thee 
 hearty thanks, most 
 merciful Father, 
 that it hath pleased 
 Thee to regenerate 
 this infant with Thy 
 Holy Spirit, to re- 
 ceive him for Thine 
 own child by adop- 
 tion, and to incor- 
 porate him into Thy 
 holy * congregation. 
 And humbly we be- 
 seech Thee to grant, 
 that he, being dead 
 unto sin, and living 
 unto righteousness, 
 and being buried 
 with Christ in His 
 death, may crucify 
 the old man, and 
 utterly abolish the 
 whole body of sin : 
 that as he is made 
 partaker of the death 
 of Thy Son, so he 
 may be partaker of 
 His resurrection ; so 
 that finall}', with 
 the residue of thy 
 holy* congi'egation, 
 he may be inheritor 
 of thy everlasting 
 kingdom, through 
 Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Present 
 English. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 *Church 
 
 Church 
 
 Zurich. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 None. 
 
 "God grant 
 that thou may- 
 est become a 
 pious man ;" or, 
 " that thou 
 
 mayest appear at 
 God's judgment 
 with a good con- 
 science," (Rit. 
 Tig.); or, 'that 
 as thou art now 
 besprinkled 
 with clean wa- 
 ter, thou mayest 
 appear before 
 God in the last 
 day with a pure 
 and undefiled 
 conscience, and 
 so be eternally 
 saved ;" or, 
 " that as you 
 are now clothed 
 in white clothes, 
 so you may be 
 able to appear 
 at the last day 
 of judgment 
 with a pure, 
 clean, and im- 
 maculate con- 
 science." — 
 Zuingli. 
 
BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 263 
 
 AFTER BAPTISM.— AND THANKSGIVING, 
 
 FORMED CHURCHES. 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 French 
 Protestant, 
 and Geneva. 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 None. 
 
 [The following is 
 omitted in some 
 places, as well as the 
 preceding admoni- 
 tion to the parents.] 
 
 Almighty, most 
 merciful God and 
 Father, we give 
 Thee thanks, for 
 that Thou hast for- 
 given all our sins to 
 us and to our chil- 
 dren, for the blood 
 of Til}' beloved Son 
 Jesus Christ, and 
 hast adopted us by 
 Thy Holy Spirit, for 
 members of Thy 
 Only Begotten Son, 
 and so also for sons, 
 and that Thou senl- 
 est this to us by Thy 
 Holy Baptism. We 
 pray Thee by the 
 same. Thy well- 
 beloved Son, that 
 Thou wouldest con- 
 tinually govern 
 these infants by the 
 grace of Thy Holy 
 Spirit, that they may 
 be piously and 
 Christianly brought 
 up, and daily in- 
 crease and grow in 
 Jesus Christ, that 
 they may confess 
 Thy fatherly good- 
 ness and mercy, 
 which Thou hast 
 shown to them and 
 to us all, and may 
 pass their life in all 
 righteousness, under our only Pro- 
 phet, King, and High Priest, and 
 fight manfully against sin, Satan, 
 and his whole kingdom, to praise 
 and glorify Thee, with Thy Son 
 Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, 
 the Only and True God, for ever. 
 
 Polanus. 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 Alasco. 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 The Lord We give Thee 
 our God thanks, Almighty 
 
 grant to this ' Father, througli 
 child, whom ' Jesus Christ Thy 
 He has Son, that having 
 
 created and freed us, with our 
 made in His seed, from eternal 
 image, that death, thou hast 
 he may be a brought us back to 
 true mem- eternal life, by the 
 ber of testimony of Bap- 
 
 Christ, and tism, through the 
 yield fruit free expiation of us 
 worthy of all, by the blood of 
 the adoption Thy Only-begotten 
 of sons of Son. And we hum- 
 God, bly pray Thee, 
 Depart in through the same, 
 peace. Thy Son, for 
 these our infants, 
 who doubtless are 
 Thine liy the testi- 
 mony of this Bap- 
 tism, that Thou wilt 
 vouchsafe also to 
 govern them here- 
 after by Thy Holy 
 Spirit, and (when 
 they shall have 
 grown up) so to 
 adorn them with 
 His healthful gifts, 
 that they may here- 
 after acknowledge 
 this Thy eternal 
 I kindness and good- 
 ness towards them 
 and us all, and that 
 they may live in all holiness and 
 righteousness, under Christ Jesus, 
 the King and Priest of us all, who 
 with Thee and Thy Holy Spirit, is 
 the True, One, and Eternal God, 
 to be praised for all ages. Amen. 
 
 English at 
 
 Geneva, 
 
 and Scotch. 
 
 Scotch Directory. 
 
 No. 12. No. 13. 
 
 He is to give 
 thanks, and pray to 
 this or the like pur- 
 pose. 
 
 T/zanks. 
 That God not only 
 numbereth z^s among 
 His saints, but 
 bestows also on our 
 children this singu- 
 lar token and badge 
 of love in Christ. In 
 His truth a,nd special 
 providence He daily 
 bi'ingeth some into 
 the bosom of His 
 Church, to be pai- 
 takers of His ines- 
 timable benefits, 
 purchased by the 
 blood of His dear 
 Son, for the conti- 
 nuance and increase 
 of His Church. And 
 prajing, that the 
 Lord would still 
 continue, and daily 
 confirm more and 
 more His unspeak- 
 able favour : that 
 He would receive 
 the infant now bap- 
 tized, and solemnly 
 entered into the 
 household of faith, 
 into His fatherly 
 tuition and defence, 
 and remember him 
 with the favour that 
 He showeth to Hi.s 
 people ; that, if he 
 shall be taken out of 
 this life in his infan- 
 cy, the Lord, who is 
 ricli in mercy, would 
 be pleased to receive 
 him up into glory; 
 and if he live, and 
 attain the years of 
 discretion, that the 
 Lord would so teach 
 him by His word 
 and Spirit, and make 
 hisBaptism effectual 
 to liim ; and so up- 
 hold him by His 
 divine power and 
 grace, that by faith 
 he may prevail 
 against the devil, 
 the world, and the 
 flesh, till in the end he obtain a full 
 and final victory, and so be kept by the 
 power of God through faith unto salva- 
 tion, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 AVhich hast not 
 only numbered 
 us among Thy 
 saints,but also of 
 Tliy free mercy 
 dost call our 
 children, mark- 
 ing them ivith 
 this Sacrament, 
 as a singular to- 
 ken and badge 
 of Th}' love. 
 
 We beseech 
 Thee to confirm 
 this Thy fiivour 
 more and more 
 towards us, and 
 take this infant 
 into Thy tuition 
 and defence, 
 whom we offer 
 and present unto 
 Thee with com- 
 mon supplica- 
 tion, and never 
 suffer him to fall 
 into such un- 
 kindness, where- 
 by He shall lose 
 the force of Bap- 
 tism ; but that 
 he may perceive 
 Thee continu- 
 •ally to be His 
 merciful Fatlier, 
 through Thine 
 Holy Spirit, by 
 whose divine 
 power he may 
 so prevail over 
 Satan, &c. 
 
264 
 
 BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 FINAL EXHORTATION TO COD-PARENTS. 
 
 Ancient Church. 
 
 Mecklenburg. 
 
 Danish and 
 Norwegian. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 " After this, the presbyter enjoineth 
 the godfathers .and godmothers to tell the 
 parents, that for seven years the boy 
 should be kept from all dangers, and 
 that they should teach it as soon as 
 possible the Lord's Prayer, the Ave Ma- 
 ria, and the Belief" (Ancient Ritual of 
 Limoges, ap. Martene, t. i. p. 208, re- 
 ferred to by Palmer, 1. c.) The like 
 direction is given in the Manuale Ebor. 
 and Sarum ; only that they mention the 
 duty of tlie god-parents to guard the child 
 atrainst temporal danger, if the parents 
 fail to do so : as also the duty of instruct- 
 ing it as above, and bringing it to con- 
 firmation, is directly enjoined to the god- 
 parents. 
 
 In the Ambrosian Ritual also (As- 
 sam. Cod. Liturg. ii. 48, 49), the 
 priest is directed, in conclusion, to " hold 
 a discourse according to the number and 
 circumstances of the persons present, 
 wherein, besides other things, he shall 
 set forth a Christian consideration, as to 
 the solemn vow which every believer 
 makes in Baptism, that such believers 
 as are present, being roused by the re- 
 collection of so sacred a promise, may 
 see and fulfil what they have solemnly 
 vowed." 
 
 " He shall also admonish the god-pa- 
 rents, and teach them the several parts 
 of their duty, which they ought to per- 
 form on account of their office, viz. as 
 St. Augustine admonishes, that they 
 should ever show to the infant the anx- 
 iety of a true love, and take heed that 
 he be instructed in the rudiments of 
 Christian doctrine, and warn him to 
 keep himself pure, refrain his tongue 
 from cursing and swearing, be not lifted 
 up with pride, envy not, keep not anger 
 or hatred in his heart, and other things 
 of the like sort." 
 
 " Lastly, he shall admonish them that 
 this day of Baptism be noted by the pa- 
 rents ; that the child may yearly keep 
 the day on which it was baptized, after 
 the or'dimmce of our forefatlwrs^ with 
 more ferx'ent prayer, wth alms-giving, 
 (if it have the ability), and by every work 
 and duty of charity, and by the celebra- 
 tion of spiritual joy ; recollecting that 
 the hand-writing of condemnation hav- 
 ing been effaced, it was made partaker 
 of a spiritual inheritance in Christ the 
 Lord. " Reconsider," says our most 
 holy father Ambrose, " what was demanded of thee, what thou answer- 
 " edst : thou renounccdst the devil and his works, the world, and its 
 " luxuiy and pleasures ; take heed to these thy words, and may the pledge 
 " thou gavest never depart from thy mind." 
 
 Similar admonitions to god-parents are directed in the Roman Ritual, 
 collected from many ancient MSS. by Cardinal Sanctorius S. Severino, 
 (ap. Assem. 1. c. pp. 97. IIG) ; and if at Easter there should not be time, 
 notice was to be given of a sermon on this subject, on some day in the 
 week following (ib. p. 107). 
 
 No. 3. 
 Beloved in 
 
 Christ, who 
 have now 
 stood as wit- 
 nesses and 
 sponsors 
 unto Bap- 
 tism, be ye 
 witnesses, 
 in the name 
 of the holy 
 Trinity,that 
 he is bap- 
 tized. More- 
 over, know 
 also what ye 
 owe to this 
 infant, if it 
 chance that 
 his parents 
 die, before 
 he be come 
 to ripe age, 
 that if he be 
 present here 
 ye then in- 
 struct him in 
 the doctrine 
 of the ca- 
 techism, in 
 order, that 
 when he is 
 grown up, 
 he may re- 
 main in 
 Christ, as 
 he is now 
 planted in 
 Him by 
 Baptism. 
 
 Peace be 
 with you. 
 Amen. 
 
 Edward VI. 
 First Book. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Optional. 
 Friends inChrist Je- 
 sus, ye who are wit- 
 nesses that this child 
 has now been baptiz- 
 ed in the name of the 
 Holy Trinity, should 
 remember your 
 
 office, 1st, to bring 
 to the parents of this 
 child the glad tid- 
 ings that their child 
 is now, throughHoly 
 Baptism, become 
 God's child, and a 
 member of Christ 
 and His Church, 
 and so an heir of 
 eternal life. Admo- 
 nish them also, that 
 they therefore bring 
 up the child (if God 
 give it life) in the 
 fear of God, and 
 godly discipline, 
 to the honour of 
 God, their own joy 
 and comfort, and the 
 good and eternal hap- 
 piness of the child. 
 2d, Ye ought to show 
 to this child, as your 
 god-child, all love 
 and kindness ; and 
 especially, if his pa- 
 rents depart too 
 early, be ye as fii- 
 thers and mothers 
 to it, and above all, 
 teach him the ca- 
 techism, exhort him 
 to piety and upright- 
 ness, remind him 
 
 continually of his 
 
 Baptism, and the 
 vowwhich he therein madetoGod, 
 so that through a pious Christian 
 life, and through Christ, he may 
 be happy for ever. 
 
 Rubric — not to delay Baptism 
 beyond the 2d or 3d day, that soon 
 after their birth of the flesh they 
 ma}' come to the spiritual new- 
 birth, and to the communion of 
 the Lord Christ and His Church, 
 and of the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 No. 4. 
 Forasmuch as 
 these children have 
 promised by you "I" 
 to * forsake the devil 
 and all his worics, 
 to believe in God, 
 and to serve Him ; 
 you must remember 
 that it is your parts 
 and duties to see 
 that these infants be 
 taught, so soon as 
 they shall be able to 
 learn, what a solemn 
 vow, promise, and 
 profession they have 
 made by you. And 
 that they may know 
 these things the bet- 
 ter, ye shall call 
 upon them to hear 
 sermons. And 
 
 chiefly ye shall pro- 
 \'ide that they may 
 learn the Creed, the 
 Lord's Pra}er, and 
 the Ten Command- 
 ments in the + Eng- 
 lish tongue, and all 
 other things which 
 a Chr ctiau man 
 ought to know and 
 believe to his soul's 
 health ; and that 
 these children may 
 be virtuously 
 
 brought up to lead 
 a godly and a Chris- 
 tian life, remember- 
 ing always that Bap- 
 tism doth represent 
 unto us our profes- 
 sion, which is, to 
 follow the example 
 of our Saviour 
 Christ, and to be 
 made like unto Him. 
 That as He died for 
 and rose again for 
 us, so should we 
 which are baptized 
 die from sin, and 
 rise again unto righ- 
 teousness, continu- 
 ally mortifying all 
 our evil and corrupt 
 aftcctions, and daily 
 proceeding in all 
 virtue and godliness 
 of livins:. 
 
 *t-his sureties 
 *renounce 
 
(B.) 
 ANCIENT BAPTISMAL RITES, 
 
 RETAINED AT FIRST IN THE REFORMED ENGLISH LITURGY, 
 BUT EXCLUDED AT THE ADVICE OF BUCER. 
 
266 
 
 BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 EXORCISM BEFORE BAPTISM IN THE 
 
 Ancient Churcli. 
 
 Sacramentary of Gelasius, 
 
 from a MS. of the 7th or 8th 
 
 century. 
 
 Old Latin form 
 
 of the German 
 
 Church ap. 
 
 Luther. 
 
 Exorcism of Infants from 
 Sacramentary of Gelasius. 
 
 Gothic and old Galilean Liturgy, 
 
 from a MS. more than 'MO 
 
 years old. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 " I pray Thee, O Lord, to free 
 also these Thy servants, and 
 to vouchsafe to bring them to 
 the grace of Thy baptism : 
 wherefore, thou accursed devil, 
 acknowledge thy sentence, and 
 give the honour to the true 
 and living God ; give it to His 
 Son Jesus Christ; and to the 
 Holy Ghost, and depart from 
 this 1 His servant ; for our God 
 Lord Jesus Christ hath called 
 him to His holy grace and be- 
 nediction, and to the laver of 
 baptism through 2 His gift ; 
 and never venture 3 to destroy 
 this sign of the holy cross, 
 that we make on his forehead," 
 (Ap.Assem.Cod.Liturg.p.6, 7.) 
 " have notliing to do with 
 these servants of God, who 
 now think of heavenly things, 
 and are about to renounce thee 
 and thy world, and to live 
 to a blessed immortality ||, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 ■who is about to come to judge 
 the quick and dead, and the 
 vrorld by lire." 
 
 Also from two MSS. of the 
 Church of Turin, above 900 
 years old. (Assem. p. 44. See 
 also pp. 46. 47.48. 50. 52.) 
 
 1 "from this servant of God." 
 — Sarum. Ritual Ebor. 
 
 2 " by the gift of the Holy 
 Spirit." — SariiiH. 
 
 3" thouaccurscd devil." — Sar. 
 
 No. 2. 
 Beginning of 
 
 service. 
 Depart, thou un- 
 clean spirit, and 
 give place to the 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 After the third 
 prayer. 
 
 Wherefore, thou 
 accursed devil, 
 &c. (as before.) 
 
 = " have," " im- 
 mortality." 
 
 II through Him, 
 who is hereafter 
 to judge, &c. 
 
 I adjure thee, 
 thou unclean spi- 
 rit, in the name 
 of the Father T, 
 and the Son t,an(i 
 the Holy Ghost t, 
 that thou come 
 out, and depart 
 from this servant 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 No. 3. 
 Forget not, O Satan, that 
 punishment awaits thee, that 
 torments await thee, that 
 the day of judgment awaits 
 thee, a day of misery*, a day 
 which shall come as a burning 
 furnace, and in which ever- 
 lasting destruction shall come 
 to thee and all thy angels. 
 Wherefore, thou damned one f 
 give the honour, &c. (as be- 
 fore to " Holy Ghost"). | 
 in whose name and power I 
 bid thee come out and depart 
 from this servant of God, 
 whom our Lord God Jesus 
 Christ hath vouchsafed this 
 day to call, &c. 
 
 that he may become His 
 temple by the water of rege- 
 neration for the remission of 
 all sins, H in the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who is 
 about to come, &c. — {Ap. 
 Assem. p. 17.) 
 
 also in Gregory's Sacramen- 
 tary, published from a Venice 
 MS. above 900 years old. 
 
 * " Endless miserj'." — Sa- 
 rum Ebor. 
 
 t " Damnate et damnande, 
 pro tua nequitia." — Sarum 
 Ebor. 
 
 X " he gives the honour to 
 the Holy Ghost the Comfor- 
 ter." — Sarum. 
 
 § " Whoever thou art, thou 
 unclean spirit." — Sarum Ebor. 
 
 1[ " his sins." — Sarum. 
 
 = " Through His gift."— 
 Sanan. 
 
 No. 4. 
 I address thee, most unclean 
 damned spirit—origin of sin, who 
 delightest in malice, sacrilege, 
 adulteries, murders, We adjure 
 thee, calling upon the name of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, by His 
 Majesty and Power, His Passion 
 and Resurrection, His Coming and 
 Judgment, that driven forth by 
 spiritual scourges and invisible 
 torments, thou flee from this ves- 
 sel which thou thoughtest to have 
 dwelt in for thine own, and leave 
 it for the Lord, being purified after 
 thy indwelling. Suffice it, that in 
 past ages thou hast ruled in the 
 hearts of men, almost over the 
 whole world. Now daily shall thy 
 kingdom be destroyed ; and day 
 by day to the endshall thy weapons 
 fail. Of old were those things 
 which thou sufTerest preligured.l 
 Thou wast spoiled in the plagues' 
 of the Egyptians, S;c. Thou art put 
 to flight, art tortured, art de-' 
 stroyed by all saints, being assign- 
 ed to the eternal fire and infernal 
 darkness. Whence our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, in the second Adam, 
 withdraws man from thee, while 
 He triumpheth over thee. Depart, 
 depart, wherever thou art, and: 
 seek not again the bodies dedicated 
 to God. Be they interdicted to 
 thee for ever. In the name of the, 
 Father, and the Son, and the Holy 
 Spirit, and in the glory of the Pas- 
 sion of the Lord, by whose blood 
 they were saved, whose coming 
 they wait for, whose judgment 
 they confess, for the sake of Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. — {Assem. p. 50.) 
 
 In Baptismal formularies also, when there is no direct exorcism or adjiu-ation, there is far more mention of Satan, 
 and his might, and the power which he had, and would, but for Christ, yet have over us, than in our own, which, 
 through the interference of Bucer, has unhappily been maimed, the direct exorcism having been omitted, and nothinjr 
 substituted for it. 
 
 Thus in the Coptic (Assem. i. 153). " We beseech Thy goodness, Thou lover of men, that by the mystery of Thy 
 " Holy name, thou wilt repel and restrain all the adverse and wicked spirits and powers, for Thou hast called Thy 
 " servants, who come from darkness to light, from death to life, from error to acknowledgment of truth, and from worship 
 " of idols to the knowledge of Thee, O (iod of truth. Search the secret corners of their hearts. Thou who searchest 
 " Jerusalem with candles (Zeph. i. 12.), and permit not the evil spirit to lurk in them, but grant them purity and 
 " salvatioEi ; give them everlasting salvation, regenerate them with the washing of regeneration and remission of sins ; 
 " make them a temple for Thy Holy Spirit through Thy only begotten Son." (And again p. 156), " destroy in them all 
 " power of the enemy," &c. (and p. 157 and p. 162) " expel every work ofSatan from him," (and p. 164, beginning as in 
 p. 15.3), "and if any wickedness of Satan lurk in him, lay it open and expel it from the soul and body ofThyfaith- 
 " ful servant, who believes in Thy Holy Name ; renew his life, and make him fit to receive the light and seal of Thy 
 " Christ, and the gift of Thy Holy and consubstantial Spirit, and put on the robe of salvation, the shield of faith, a(/ai);sl 
 " which our enemy cannot prevail" (and p. 165) " Save, O Lord, this Thy creature, and free him from the slavery of the 
 " enemy" (and p. 166) " Let the angels of light guard his life, that he may be freed from all the evils of the adversary, 
 " from the demon of the mid- day(Ps. xc. 5, 6. Sept.) and the arrow that fleet h at noon-day. Take away and remove from 
 "him every unclean, every malignant spirit, which troubleth his heart ; the spirit of error and of all wickedness ; the 
 " spirit of love of money and idolatry ; the spirit of lying, and every foul thing, which is practised from the teaching of 
 " Satan : make him a sheep of the holy flock of Thy Christ, an elect member of Thy holy Church," &c. 
 
 This varied and repeated reference to the doctrine of the power of the " prince of this world," over such as are not 
 rescued from his dominion, implies a conviction of its reality, as strong as even the direct and formal Exorcism. 
 
 In the Armenian Liturgy again (altogether very brief) is the prayer, " O Lord God, great and glorified by all 
 " creatures, this Thy servant, fleeing to Thy Almighty and terrible name, hath humbled his head to Thy holy name, 
 " to which every knee of things in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth, doth bow ; that every tongue may confess 
 " that Thou, Jesus Christ, art the Lord, in the glory of the Father and the Holy Spirit. May he be partaker of the fruit of 
 " tliat Thy terrible name, which hath repelled the snares of the enemy, and the perverseness of idolatry, and baflled 
 " all the snares of the devil. Look upon him, O Lord, in Thy mercy, and through the all-powerful invocation of Thee, 
 " drive far away from him all secret thoughts, words, and works, which come from unclean spirits ; and all fraud. 
 " whereby deceiving spirits are wont to deceive and destroy men, so that, terrified by Thy victorious might, they may 
 " be restrainedand tormented by invisible chastisements: let them be banished from him by (this) adjuration, so as never 
 " to return. Fill him with heavenly grace," &c. — Assem. p. 170, 1. 
 
 i 
 
BAPTISMAL LITURGIES. 
 
 ANCIENT AND OLD ENGLISH" CHURCH. 
 
 267 
 
 Greek Liturgy, from the 
 1st exorcism. 
 
 Jacobite Syrians. 
 
 No. 5. 
 The Lord rebuketh thee, 
 O Satan, He who came 
 into the world, and taber- 
 nacled among men, that 
 He might destroy thy ty- 
 ranny, and free mankind, 
 who on the cross tri- 
 umphed over the powers 
 of the enemy, &c. 
 
 He now also command- 
 eth thee by us ; fear, go 
 out, and retire from this 
 creature, and return not, 
 nor hide thyself in him, 
 nor meet him, nor work 
 in him — but depart to thy 
 own hell, until the great 
 day of judgment ordained. 
 Go forth, and depart from 
 thisnewelectedand sealed 
 soldier of Christ our God. 
 Depart, and retire from 
 this creature, with all thy 
 power and thy angels. 
 For the name of the Fa- 
 ther, and the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost is glorified, 
 now and ever, and for all 
 ages. Amen. 
 Assem. T. i. p. 131—133. 
 
 No. 6. 
 We call upon Thee, O Lord 
 our God, maker of all things, 
 visible and invisible, laying 
 hands on this Thy crea- 
 ture, and we sign him f in 
 Thy name — Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost — and in Thy most 
 Holy Name, rebuke all devils, 
 and unclean and evil spirits, 
 that they depart far away from 
 Thy creature and image, and 
 the work of Thy holy hands t. 
 Hear us, O Lord, and rebuke 
 them, and cleanse Thy serv- 
 ants from the working of the 
 adversary f. Hear also, thou 
 perverse and rc-bellious, who 
 injurest this creature of God f. 
 I adjure thee, thou enemy of 
 righteousness, and transgres- 
 sor of the divine and holy 
 laws, by the glory of the Great 
 King, depart with terror, and 
 be subject to the terrible Lord, 
 and by Him who has all power 
 in heaven and in eartli ; by 
 Him, by whom all things are 
 created and preserved ; by 
 Him, by whom things in hea- 
 ven exist, and things on earth 
 are strengthened, &c. f. I 
 adjure thee by Him, who, with 
 divine power, said to the deaf 
 and dumb spirit, " Go out of 
 him, and enter no more into 
 him," &c. t Fear the future 
 judgment ; — tremble ; — ap- 
 proach not to the creature of 
 God, — for he is not the dwell- 
 ing-place of devils, but the 
 temple of God : for He hath 
 said, " I will dwell in them, 
 and walk in them, and I will 
 be their God, and they shall 
 be my people," &c. Be thou 
 rooted out, and scattered 
 abroad, and depart, accursed, 
 from the creature of God ; 
 thou unclean spirit, and spi- 
 rit of error, fuel for lire, — 
 hasten, and resist not. For 
 God the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Spirit shall utterly 
 root thee out, casting thee 
 forth from every creature of 
 His, and out into fire un- 
 quenchable,— delivering this 
 work of His hands until the 
 day of redemption ; for His is 
 the power, and dominion, and 
 might, and to Him we now 
 ascribe the praise. (Assem. 
 T. i. p. 234—237 ; also in a Je- 
 rusalem Liturgy, derived from 
 the Apostles, ibid. p. 250. as 
 in that of Severus, Patriarch 
 of Antioch, ibid. p. 278. and 
 p. 45 sqq. cd. Fabricius.) 
 
 From the 2d exorcism. 
 The Holy God, fearful 
 and glorious, who hath 
 predestinated to thee, O 
 Satan, the vengeance of 
 eternal torment, through 
 us, His unprofitable ser- 
 vants, bids thee and all 
 thy allied power to depart 
 from this newly-sealed, 
 in the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ,our true God. 
 I adjure thee, therefore, 
 &c. in the might of Jesus 
 Christ, who hath all power 
 in heaven and earth, who 
 said to the deaf and dumb 
 spirit, " Go out of the 
 man, and enter no more 
 into him," depart, know 
 thy own vain strength, 
 who hadst no power even 
 over swine; depart from 
 him, who is preparing for 
 the holy enlightening, I 
 adjure thee, by the saving 
 Passion of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and His precious 
 BodyandBlood,andHister- 
 rible coming; for " He will 
 come, and will not tarry," 
 judging all the earth, and 
 will punish thee and thy 
 allied power, casting thee 
 into hell-fire, and to out- 
 ward darkness, where the 
 worm sleepeth not, and 
 the fire is not quenched ; 
 for the might is Christ's 
 our God, with the Father, 
 and the Holy Spirit, now 
 and ever. 
 
 The 3rd exorcism. 
 
 Lord of hosts, God of 
 Israel, who curest all sickness and all diseases, look upon 
 Thy servant, seek out, search and cast out from him all 
 the workings of the devil, rebuke the imelean spirits, and 
 chase them, and cleanse the works of Thy hands, put- 
 ting forth Thy sharp might, bruise Satan under his feet 
 shortly, and give him victory over him and his unclean 
 spirits, that, obtaining mercy from Thee, he may be ad- 
 mitted to Thy everlasting and heavenly mysteries, and give 
 glory to Thee, the Father, Son, and HoIySpirit, now & ever. 
 
 Liturgy of James Bishop of 
 Sarug. 
 
 Hermann. 
 
 The exorcism or ad 
 
 juration. 
 
 No. 8. 
 I commandeall evil 
 spirits, in the Name 
 of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, to depart from 
 this infant, and to do 
 him no hurt in any 
 manner of ways. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 + 1 adjure you and bind you, un- 
 clean and evil sjnrits, and all the 
 power of the enemy, in the Name 
 of God, mighty and powerful, who 
 created all things, (and after other 
 adjurations from the manifesta- 
 tions of God's power in the Old 
 Testament). 
 
 t I adjure you through Him, 
 Whom His own will brought to the 
 wood of the Cross, and to death, that 
 He might redeem Adam & his sons 
 from the slavery of death and sin. 
 
 t I adjure you by the might of 
 the mighty God, that ye depart 
 from this creature which is wedded 
 to the living God, and remove 
 from him, and return no more to 
 dwell in this child, who conies to 
 be an habitation for the Holy Spi- 
 rit, that He may dwell in it. But 
 do ye, evil spirits, flee from Him, 
 and as the evil spirit departed 
 from king Saul, when David played 
 on the harp, so t may Satan and 
 his power fly, O Lord, from this 
 thy servant, when Thy Majesty 
 descending in a cloud, abideth on 
 the waters of Baptism, so, O Lord, 
 let not the evil spirit remain in any 
 part of the soul, body, or spirit of 
 this Thy servant, who is called to 
 this mystery of Baptism. 
 
 t I tell you, demons and evil 
 spirits, the bridegroom rejoices, 
 the bride is made ready, and the 
 guests wait, and the streams burst 
 forth, and the heavens are opened, 
 and the angels stand in awe, and 
 the Seraphim cry " Holy," and 
 the powers sing, and the hosts of 
 angels shout — the Father rejoiceth, 
 the Son is glad, the Holy Spirit 
 broodeth; and Baptism is kindled 
 with fire and the Spirit, and the 
 mysteries are sealed, and the flock 
 standeth by, the Church trembleth. 
 Beware thou evil one, and pre- 
 sume not, lest thou perish in that 
 hour, when the King sitteth on 
 the throne, to execute judgment 
 on your presumption and rebellion. 
 Approach not to this servant, who 
 is called to the feast of the only 
 Son of God, and injure him not 
 when thou departest from him. 
 
 But if thou presumest, and de- 
 partest not from the Holy Church, 
 the Hoi}' of Holies, wherein the 
 Lord dwelleth, I bind t thee, and 
 anathematize thee in the name of 
 the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, t 
 Be thou bound and anathematized 
 by the Holy Trinity, if thou ap- 
 proach with Irim to this Holy Bap- 
 tism, which burneth with fire and 
 the Spirit ; but depart to the infer- 
 nal pit, where thy punishment is 
 prepared for ever. 
 
 t I bind thee and anatliematize 
 thee, Satan, by that hour, wherein 
 our Lord hung upon the Cross, and 
 stretched out His hands and feet 
 to the nails, and His side to the 
 lance, andHis mouth to the vinegar 
 and gall, for Adam and his sons. 
 
 t I adjure thee, and bind thee, evil Satan, by that hour, 
 wherein we priests stand, who are put in trust with the 
 treasures of the Father, from the moutli of the Father, 
 who baptizeth, and the Son, who receiveth, and of the Holy 
 Spirit, who broodeth. But now I seal + him, and protect 
 him from all the power of demons, in the name of the 
 Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever. — 
 Assem. ii. p. 319—327. 
 
 Edward VI. in the 
 
 book after the 2d 
 prayer. 
 No. 9. 
 
 I command thee 
 unclean spirit, ir 
 the Name of the Fa- 
 ther, of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost, 
 that thou come out, 
 and depart from these 
 infants, — whom our 
 Lord Jesus Christ 
 hath vouchsafed t( 
 call to His holy bap 
 tism — and to be made 
 members of His body, 
 and of His holy con- 
 gregation. Therefore, 
 thou cursed spirit, 
 remember thy sen- 
 tence ; remember thy 
 judgment ; remember 
 the day to be at hand 
 wherein thou shalt 
 burn in fire everlast- 
 ing, prepared for thee 
 and thy angels. 
 
 And presume not, 
 hereafter, to exercise 
 any tyranny towards 
 these infants, whom 
 Christ hath bought 
 with His most pre- 
 cious blood, and by 
 this His holy Bap 
 tism, calleth to be of 
 His flock. 
 
268 
 
 BAPTISMAL RITES OF THE ENGLISH AND 
 
 RITE OF LEADING THE CHILD INTO 
 
 Sacramentary of Gelasius 
 and Gregory I. 
 
 
 Old Ambrosiau. 
 
 Sarum. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 The priest puts the end of 
 the stole upon the infant, 
 and brings itinto theChurch, 
 saying, Enter into the temple 
 of God, that you may have 
 part with Christ to life eter- 
 nal. Amen. — Assem. t. ii. 
 p. 5 and 8. 
 
 (Italian Church, ap. As- 
 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Enter, my son, 
 into the house of 
 God : hear thy Fa- 
 ther teaching thee 
 the way of know- 
 ledge. — (Assem. t. 
 ii. p. 46.) 
 
 No. 4. 
 Enter * into the 
 temple of God 
 that you may 
 have eternal 
 life, and live for 
 ever and ever 
 Amen. 
 
 sem, p. 77.) — In the name 
 of the Father and the Son, 
 and Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 Enter into the Church of 
 God by the hand of the 
 priest, that, &c. — And see 
 Old Gallican above. 
 
 * — into the 
 joyofthyLord,& 
 enter, &c. — Old 
 Ritual of Limo- 
 ges, ap. Assem. 
 t. ii. p. 86. 
 
 RITE OF PUTTING ON THE WHITE VESTMENT AFTER BAPTISM. 
 
 Old Gallican, from MS. 
 above 1 100 years old. 
 
 
 The same. — (As- 
 sem. t. ii. p. 47.) 
 
 
 Take this white vestment, 
 which thou maycst bear un- 
 spotted before the tribu- 
 nal of ' Christ. — (Assem. 
 t. ii. p. 42, also pp. 71, 74, 
 76, 78, 81, &c.) 
 
 
 " Thou hast re- 
 ceived M'hite gar- 
 ments, as a token 
 that thou hast put 
 off the mantle of 
 sins, and hast put 
 on the pure robes of 
 innocency." — (St. 
 Ambrose, de lis qui 
 initiantur.) 
 
 " Take the 
 white * and un- 
 spotted vest- 
 ment, to bear it 
 before the tribu- 
 nal of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, to 
 life eternal." 
 
 * " Holv and " 
 —Ebor. Old La- 
 tin, ap. Luther. 
 " That thou 
 mayest have 
 eternal life and 
 live for ever and 
 ever." — Ebor. 
 
 ' Our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 (Old Gothic, ib, p. 36.) 
 
 RITE OF ANOINTING CHILD AFTER BAPTISM WITH PRAYER. 
 
 Sacramentary of Gelasius. 
 
 Old Gothic. — (Assem. t. ii. 
 p. 34.) 
 
 Almighty God, the Fa- 
 ther of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who hath regenerated 
 thee by water and the Holy 
 Ghost, and who hath given 
 unto thee remission of all 
 sins ', He anoint thee vath 
 the 2 unction of salvation in 
 Christ Jesus our Lord, unto 
 life eternal. — (Assem. p. 5. 
 See also p. 17. and in tlie 
 old Gallican Church, p. 39, 
 55, 58, 59, 63, 66, 70, 73, 
 76, 79, 81, &c. See also the 
 old German form, ap. Lu- 
 ther.) 
 
 1 + " By the washing of re- 
 generation and blood." — Old 
 Gall., very old MS. ap. 
 Assem. p. 42. 
 
 2 " With His Holy 
 Chrism." — Ibid. 
 
 " I anoint thee with the The same as col. 1. 
 unction of holiness, the robe 
 of immortality, which our 
 Lord Jesus Christ received 
 as delivered from the Father, that thou mayest 
 bear it pure and undefiled before the tribunal of 
 Christ, and live for ever and ever." 
 
 " Let us pray, very dearly beloved brethren, our 
 Lord and God, for His regenerated ones, that, as 
 they have been baptized, so, when the Saviour shall 
 come in His Majesty, He may clothe wth ever- 
 lasting salvation, those whom He has regenerated 
 \rith water and the Spirit." 
 
 " Wo pray forthc baptized and crowned in Christ, 
 to whom, asking, our Lord has vouchsafed to grant 
 regeneration, that, O Almighty God, they may 
 bear the baptism wliich they have received, unde- 
 filed to the end, through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 as in col. 1. 
 -|" in the same 
 His Son Jesus 
 Christ. — Ebor. 
 
ANCIENT CHURCH OBJECTED TO BY BUCER. 
 
 THE CHURCH WITH PRAYER. 
 
 269 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 Edward VI. 
 First Book. 
 
 No, 8. 
 " The Lord 
 vouchsafe to re- 
 ceive you into 
 His Holy house- 
 hold, and to 
 keep and govern 
 you alway in the 
 same, that you 
 may have ever 
 lasting life." 
 
 Syriac. 
 
 Constantinopolitan. 
 
 For the rite of clothiug 
 the newly-baptized in white, 
 see Assem. t. ii. p. 213. 
 
 " The servant of 
 God is clothed with 
 the robe of righte- 
 OTisncss, in the name 
 of the Father, the 
 Son, and the Holy 
 Gliost,now and ever, 
 throughout all ages. 
 Amen." — Ap. As- 
 sem. t. ii. p. 145. 
 
 " Grant me the 
 shining robe. Thou 
 who puttest on light 
 as a garment. All- 
 merciful Christ, our 
 God. Amen." — ib. 
 
 " Take this 
 white vestment 
 for atokenof the 
 innocence which 
 by God's grace, 
 in this Holy Sa- 
 crament of Bap- 
 tism, is given 
 untothee,and for 
 a sign whereby 
 thou art admo- 
 nished so long as 
 thou livest, to 
 give thyself to in- 
 nocency of liv- 
 ing, that, after 
 this transitory 
 life, thou mayest 
 be partaker of life 
 everlasting. 
 Amen." 
 
 Coptic. 
 
 Syriac. 
 
 " I anoint thee with the 
 oil of gladness, a defence 
 against all the works of the 
 evil adversary, that thou 
 mayest be engrafted in the 
 root of the fruitful olive-tree 
 which is the Holy Catholic 
 and Apostolic Church of 
 God. Amen." — (Assem. i. 
 p. 163.) 
 
 " This lamb is marked in 
 the flock of Christ, who 
 hath come to Holy Baptism, 
 in the name of the Father, 
 Amen, of the Son, Amen, 
 of the Holy Spirit, Amen, 
 for all ages. Amen." 
 
 And again, as in the Cop- 
 tic, i. p; 240, and p. 254, and 
 ii. p. 304, and p. 285, "is 
 marked with oil of glad- 
 ness, that he may become 
 worthy of the adoption of 
 sons through regeneration, 
 in the name of the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost."— ii. 302. 
 
 " The servant of 
 
 God is anointed with 
 
 the oil of gladness, 
 
 in the name of the a„„„ „„ i i 
 
 T-, ii .^1 c, , bame as coJ. J. 
 
 leather, the Son, and 
 
 the Holy Ghost, now 
 
 and ever," &e. 
 
 Assem. ii. 142. 
 
270 
 
 (C.) 
 SPECIMEN OF MODERN LANGUAGE, 
 
 INTRODUCED BY 
 
 BUCER INTO HERMANN'S FORM, 
 
 AND EXCLUDED 
 
 BY THE REFORMERS OF OUR BAPTISMAL LITURGY. 
 
 " Almighty and merciful God and Father, Thou didst promise 
 " to Abraham our father, and the father of all that believe, and 
 " in him Thou didst promise us also, his children, that Thou wovddest 
 " be a God to us and our seed. Wherefore, as Thou didst receive the 
 •' infants of the old jjeople into grace, and into Thine own people, by 
 " circumcision ; and Thy Son Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, 
 " admitted children, offered unto Him, right gently, and blessed them, 
 " testifying that the kingdom of God pertaineth to such ; so let it be 
 " Thy pleasure to beget our infants again, to adopt them into sons, 
 " unto the fellowship of everlasting life, by the sacrament of Baptism. 
 " Grant then, Heavenly Father, that we may earnestly require so 
 " great riches of grace, set forth in Baptism for Thine infants, that we 
 " may acknowledge and receive them with true faith, being offered 
 " both in Thy word and in the sacrament. Finally, that we may ever 
 " thank Thee, and magnify Thee for them. And impute not to these 
 " infants the sin of Adam, issued into them and engendered by their 
 " parents; and regard not the merits of their parents, and of all this 
 " people ; but let the Death and Merit of Thy Son our Lord Jesus 
 " Christ prevail in them, and impute unto them His righteousness 
 " and obedience. Plant them into His Death and Resurrection ; 
 " make them members of His body ; put Him upon them, that they 
 " may be Thy sons and heirs, and continue for ever. Grant us also, 
 ** that, after Baptism, we may acknowledge them Thy children, and 
 *' members of the body of Thy Son ; that we may godly bring them up 
 " in the fear of Thee, unto Thy glory ; that we may help them in aU 
 *' corporal and spiritual things ; that also by them Thy holy Name 
 " may be the more magnified, the kingdom of Thy Son enlarged. Thy 
 " will be done in this earth as in heaven. Furthermore, keep them 
 *' safe, give them bounteously the necessaries of life, and preserve 
 " them from all evil. Amen." 
 
BENEFITS OF BAPTISM NOT LIMITED BY THE FATHERS. 271 
 
 Note (N) on page 144. 
 
 Burges (Baptismal Regeneration of Elect Infants) produces three 
 passages from the Fathers, to prove that though they speak of regenera- 
 tion as universally accompanying Baptism, yet they are to be under- 
 stood as limiting this to the elect. " It is true," he says, (p. 129-) 
 " that the Fathers except none ; but this proves not that they therefore 
 " held none as excepted by God, nay they often declare the contrary." 
 The three passages he produces are of course the strongest he could 
 find : they are from St. Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine. 
 
 The passage of St. Chrysostom is mistranslated. Burges translates 
 " Some, when ready to breathe their last, run unto Baptism, and yet 
 " are never a whit the more purged by it ;" and argues that " these 
 " persons are not such as resist the Spirit by a wicked heart and 
 " corrupt life : but men, even at the point of death, apprehending a 
 " necessity of remission of sin by Christ, and hastening to initiation, 
 " which argues an earnest desire after the grace of Baptism, and yet 
 " they go away without it. Therefore they of whom he speaketh are 
 " not such as do resist the Spirit, when they are baptized." But St. 
 Chrysostom says, " How am I pained when I see others hastening 
 " to their last gasp, and not even thence coming to a better mind !" 
 And he is speaking of those who delay Baptism, and at last receive it 
 ungratefully, and " even if they recover, think that an injury has been 
 done them;" [in that they could not now again have the full remis- 
 sion of Baptism.] 
 
 St. Jerome, in Gal. iii. 27, is speaking manifestly of adults, of those 
 " who, whether heretics, or hypocrites, or living in sin, (qui sordide 
 " victitant,) appear to receive Baptism, but he doubts whether they 
 "have the clothing of Christ;" and with these he joins Simon 
 Magus, who " had received (acceperaf) the washing of water, but 
 " because he had not (habebat) the Holy Spirit, had not put on 
 " Christ." " There are many washings," he says on Ezek. xvi. 4. 
 " which the heathen in their mysteries, and the heretics promise, who 
 " all give a washing, but not to salvation. Wherefore it is added, 
 " ' and thou wast not washed in water to salvation.' Which may be 
 " understood not only of heretics, but of members of the Church, who 
 " do not with full faith receive saving Baptism : Of whom it must be 
 " said, that they received water, but not the Spirit, as also that Simon 
 '* Magus, who wished to purchase the grace of God with money, was 
 " baptized with water, but by no means to salvation." St. Jerome 
 then looked upon Simon Magus' sin as commencing with his Baptism, 
 not as a subsequent relapse ; that he came to Baptism feignedly ; not 
 led by the Spirit of God, but for filthy lucre, and therefore he of 
 course received not its grace. This all Christians who adopted the same 
 view of Simon Magus' case (see above, p. 172 sq.) would alike hold. 
 But it is not thereby implied that he failed of receiving that grace. 
 
272 ST. AUGUSTINE — ELECTION TO BAPTISM. 
 
 because God had not chosen him to receive it : rather, he received it 
 not on account of his own sin. 
 
 The statement of St. Augustine is not taken directly from his works, 
 but (as Surges says) from Peter Lombard (Sent. L. 4. Dist. 4. A.) 
 and with some misgiving that " P. Lombard may have wronged him." 
 The statement is " Sacramenta in soUs electis efficiunt quod figurant." 
 " The Sacraments work what they shadow forth in the elect only." 
 And for this the ' De Baptismo parvulorum' is alleged. This same 
 sentiment, in the same words, and probably on the same authority, is 
 also alleged to be St. Augustine's by Calvin, (Institt. 4. 14. 15.) But 
 neither in the three books " de peccatorum mentis et remissione, et 
 " de Baptismo par\Tilorum," nor in the Homily so entitled (Serm. 
 294. abas 14. de verbis Apostoli), nor, as far as I can discover, in 
 any other work of St. Augustine, is there any such sentiment. And 
 not this only, but it appears to be in contradiction with. St. Augustine's 
 genuine sentiments. On the contrary he uniformly contrasts (as 
 above said, p. S8.) the case of infants baptized and those unbaptized, 
 the one being elected to the gift of regeneration, and so (if they die 
 early) to the kingdom of Heaven j the other, as being unregenerated, 
 being • left.' " Rightly thou sayest, he answers Julian, ' that justice 
 " lies in the depth of Deity.' In this depth is it, that it is ' neither 
 " of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that 
 " showeth mercy.' In this depth is it, that that little one is adopted 
 " to honour by the washing of regeneration, that other is left in dis- 
 " honour, not to be admitted into the kingdom, where there is no 
 " merit or demerit in either by any choice of will. Behold, two little 
 " ones lie there ; one of them dies baptized, the other unbaptized : 
 ** to which of them will you say that God is merciful ? If to the one, 
 " show wherein is the ill desert of the other, thou who deniest ori- 
 " ginal sin : if to both, show me any good deserts of the baptized, 
 " thou who deniest grace, where there is no accepting of persons ; and 
 " say, if thou canst, why He would not adopt both, who doubtless 
 " created both in His own image ? Neither of them refused, so that 
 " you might suppose the Divine power hindered by the demerits of 
 " the human will : here then to neither can God say, ' I willed and 
 " thou wouldst not.' And yet one is taken and the other is left, 
 ** because great is the free mercy of God and true is the justice of 
 ** God. But why the one more than the other ? ' The judgments of 
 " God are unsearchable.'" (Op. Imperf. c. Juhan. L. 1. § 38, 9) 
 And so he on each occasion shuts up the question by the appeal " Oh 
 " the depth of the riches !" (e. g. de Bapt. Parv. § 7-) but doubts not 
 that all baptized children are regenerated, and have the full benefits 
 of Baptism. 
 
 St. Augustine's opinions may be still further illustrated, by observ- 
 ing who, in his opinion, miss of the grace of Baptism, or receive the 
 grace without any benefit. They are two classes only ; first, those who 
 
HINDRANCES TO ITS EFFICACY, 273 
 
 receive it with a wrong disposition, either unhohness in those within 
 or without the Church, or want of love in tliose wlio separate them- 
 selves from her ; 2d, those who ha\'ing received it fall back into their 
 evil courses. He imagines then no other obstacles than the whole 
 Church would account such, want of sincerity and of charity : and 
 these the whole Church would regard as precluding the grace of 
 Baptism, as well as of the Communion ; as the whole Church (with 
 the exception of a very small section) would suppose that all grace, and 
 so that of Baptism might be forfeited ; but St. Augustine does not in the 
 least imply that God does not make His own Sacraments effectual means 
 of grace in those, who place no such obstacle. St. Augustine's views on 
 this point were particularly brought out by the Donatist controversy 
 The Donatists, namely, proceeding on their principle that the purity 
 of the minister was essential to the validity of the Sacraments, con- 
 tended that the Catholic Baptism was invaUd, since their communion 
 was not pure ; and that their own communion must by the Catholics 
 be allowed to be pure, and themselves to be the true Church, since 
 these admitted the Baptism administered by Donatists to be valid, 
 (c. Donat. L. 1, § 13. 15.) The Donatists also had the further object 
 to show that it was safer to receive Baptism among them than in the 
 Church ; since the Catholics also allowed that their Baptism was 
 valid, while they disallowed that of the Catholics : thus they sought 
 to draw people over to their schism, by inviting people to accept as 
 truth what both parties were agreed in, the validity of Donatist Bap- 
 tism, and not to notice what was alleged by one only, either the actual 
 invalidity of the Catholic Baptism, which the Donatists asserted, or 
 the unprofitableness of valid Baptism in schism, which was maintained 
 by the Catholics. (lb. § 4.) St. Augustine answered, that the Sacra- 
 ment had its validity not of men but of God ; and that therefore it 
 was a valid Baptism, if rightly administered, but that it followed not 
 that it was efficacious to those who received it ; for that its benefits 
 might be intercepted or suspended. " Can a dead man give life to 
 " any — a wounded heal — a blind enlighten — a naked clothe — a jiol- 
 " luted cleanse?" asked Pannenian, wishmg from these elFects of 
 Baptism, administered through them, to pro\'e that they were neither 
 dead, wounded, blind, naked, nor polluted, but the true Church. St. 
 Augustine answered, " Why claims he what is not man's to give ? 
 " For the Lord raiseth the dead, the Lord healeth the wounded, the 
 " Lord enlighteneth the blind, the Lord cleanseth the polluted." 
 (c. Epist. Parmeniani, L. 2. § 32). Again they urged him, " If one 
 " receiving Donatist Baptism, receives the Baptism of (Jhrist, he 
 " puts on Christ ; and if so, he is regenerate, and if regenerate, his 
 " sins are forgiven, and if this, then tiie Holy Spirit is there present; 
 " ^Mat. .xxviii. 19. Job. .\x. 22.) and then our communion is the Church 
 " of Christ, (since the Holy Spirit does not work the forgiveness of 
 " sins except in the Church,) and then also, since the Church of Christ 
 
 m T 
 
J74 ST. AUGUSTINE ORACK ALWAYS GIVEN AT BAPTISM, 
 
 ** is but one, your (the Catholic) communion is not the Church of 
 " Christ." (Ibid. 9. § 15, 16.) St. Augustine answers this partly 
 by an appeal to their own principles, partly on his own. " "What," 
 he asks, " is the case of one who comes feignedly to Baptism ? Are 
 *' his sins forgiven or no ?" If the Donatists were to say they were, 
 then they could no longer urge the principle upon which they ob- 
 jected to Catholic Baptism, that "the Holy Spirit of discipline flees 
 deceit;" (Wisd. i. 5.) as if the Holy Spirit could not be imparted 
 through Baptism, when administered by an unworthy minister : — 
 if they answered they were not forgiven, St. Augustine again 
 asks, " is such an one then to be re-baptized, if with real grief of 
 " heart he confess his hy|)ocrisy? — and since it were madness to say 
 " this, then they must confess that a man may be baptized with the 
 " Baptism of Christ, and yet that his heart continuing in malice or 
 " profaneness (sacrilegio) would preclude his receiving remission of 
 " sins ; and so the Donatists might understand that in communions 
 *' separated from the Church men might be baptized, where the 
 " Baptism of Christ was given and received according to the same 
 " form of the Sacrament, and yet this Baptism first begin to avail to 
 " the remission of sins, when one being reconciled to the unity of the 
 " Church, was freed from the sacrilege of dissent, whereby his sins 
 " were retained and could not be remitted. As in the case of the 
 ** hypocritical receiver, he is not baptized again, but that sinfulness is 
 " cleansed by correction of life and faithful confession, which could 
 " not be without Baptism, so that what was before given them begins 
 " to avail to salvation, when that hypocrisy is removed by a true con- 
 " fession : so also he, who being an enemy of the love and peace of 
 " Christ, has received the Baptism of Christ, (which they who have 
 " separated have not lost in a heretical or schismatical communion,) 
 " by which sacrilegious guilt his sins were not remitted, when he have 
 *' corrected himself and come to the communion and unity of the 
 " Church, he is not again to be baptized, because by that very recon- 
 " ciliation and peace, the Sacrament, which received in schism could 
 " not profit him, now in the unity (of the Church) for the first time 
 *' avails to the remission of sins." (lb. § 18.) 
 
 Another view of the Donatists gives occasion to a further explana- 
 tion, which throws great light on St. Augustine's \'iews of Baptism. 
 " It may be," they said, (ib. § 19) " the sins of him, who camehypo- 
 " critically to Baptism, may, through the holy power of so great a 
 " Sacrament, be for that moment forgiven, but return immediately 
 " on account of his hypocrisy ; so that the Holy Spirit were both 
 " present with the baptized, so that his sins should depart, and fled 
 " from his persevering hypocrisy, so that they returned ; whereby 
 " both sapngs would be true ; ' As many as have been baptized into 
 " Christ have put on Christ,' and ' the Holy Spirit of disciphne 
 <« win flee the feigned soul,' i. e. the holiness of Baptism would clothe 
 
 m 
 
BUT MAY BE LOST. 275 
 
 " him with Christ, and the evil of hypocrisy would strip him of 
 " Christ. As when one passes from darkness to darkness through 
 " light, the eyes are constantly directed to darkness, but the light 
 ** cannot but bedew him as he passeth through.' " This of course 
 admits of the same application to want of love as to want of faith ; and 
 St. Augustine so applies it : but in so doing, he enters more largely 
 into the subject, and justifies the position itself by the pai-able of the 
 unforgiving servant, whose debt was once forgiven, though he had 
 not yet forgiven his fellow- servant, but on his unforgivingness was 
 again required of him. " Thus," says St. Augustine, " the grace of 
 " Baptism is not hindered, but that it remits all sins, yea, though he 
 " to whom they are forgiven continue to hate his brother in his heart. 
 " For yesterday, and all before that, and also the very hour and mo- 
 ** ment before Baptism and in Baptism is remitted. But afterwards, 
 " he begins immediately to be guilty, not only of subsequent, but of 
 " past days, hours, moments, every thing which was forgiven, again 
 " returning ;" " and this," he adds, " often happens in the Church.^' 
 (§ 20.) These cases then St. Augustine clearly puts forth, either that 
 a man may through some defect at the time, whether of faitli or love, 
 prevent the effect of the Sacrament of Baptism, or after he have re- 
 ceived it, may again e.vtinguish it; which last, unhappily, was a 
 frequent case in the Church. And this he expresses again (§ 24.) 
 most explicitly : " At whatever time then in this life men begin to be 
 " such, that though they have been imbued with the Divine Sacraments, 
 " according to the dispensation of the times (Eph. i. 10.) they are car- 
 " nally minded, and hope and desire of God carnal things, whether in or 
 " after this life, they are natural men (animales). (1 Cor. ii. 14.) 
 " These are not to be despaired of:" but " whether they seem to be 
 " within the Church, or are opanly without, that which is flesh is 
 " fliesh : whether they continue on the Moor in their barrenness, or on 
 " occasion of some temptation, are carried out, as by a wind, what i.s 
 " chaff is chaff." r§ 26.) 
 
 These passages fully exhibit St Augustine's views, as to what cha- 
 racters miss of or lose baptismal grace, as his writings against the 
 Pelagians (above p. 85 — 89) declare, whom he believed to obtain it, 
 and their privileges ; for, as has been observed, whereas the Greek 
 fathers principally regard Baptism with reference to the subsequent 
 life, and so as a birth, St. Augustine regards it mainly with reference 
 to the past condition of subjection to sin (whether by nature or 
 actual transgression), and so comprises all the blessings of Bap- 
 tism under that one, the remission of all sin, original and actual; 
 he considered Baptism principally as the " death to sin," whereof " the 
 *' new birth to righteousness," was a part and a consequence, since 
 sin separates us from God; and the death to sin is reunion with 
 God: (as Bp. Davenant well says, ad Col. 2. 13. ap. Gat. p. 94.) 
 " With this forgiveness of sins, which restores life to the soul, there 
 
 T 2 
 
27fi ST. AUGUSTINE ALL BAPTIZED INFANTS REGENERATE. 
 
 " must always be understood as connected wnth it, an infusion of 
 " sanctifying grace, which, in another sense, gives life. For, when 
 " sin is remitted, not only is guilt taken away, but the will, which 
 ** had been disordered by sins and slain, is restored to life and order 
 " through grace. An infusion then of grace is always united with 
 " forgiveness of offence.") Often then as St. Augustine speaks of 
 those who miss of Baptismal grace, they are always these two classes, 
 those who are wanting in faith or love, hypocrites or heretics. (Ep. 93. 
 ad Vincentium Rogatistam, § 46. Ep. 108. ad Macrobium. In Joann. 
 Evang. c.l. Tract.6. § 14. Serm. 268. § 2. c. Faust. L.'12. c. 17. against 
 the unfaithful, Quaest. ad Num. L. 4. § 11. against both, in Psalm 
 77- § 2. Serm. 90. in Evang. Mt. 22. § 5.) and so also in this passage 
 of the Hom. de Baptismo Parvulor. in Ps. 78. which alone has any 
 reference to the matter for which it is alleged — " and yet," he says, 
 " the grace of Baptism is not alike to all," "for" he adds, " heretics 
 " hav& the same Baptism, and false brethren in the communion of the 
 " Catholic name." The parallel between these two classes runs 
 through the whole of his books against the Donatists ; of which 
 might be named, especially, the De Baptismo contra Donatistas 
 and the Contra Cresconium Donatistam. If then, innumerably often 
 as he specifies these classes, he names no others, one should infer, on 
 this ground alone, that St. Augustine held, that all baptized persons, 
 of whatever age, received the benefits of baptism, those excepted 
 who placed a bar of unbelief in heart or life against it. Even 
 these, St. Augustine maintained to have received real baptism, (since 
 it could not be repeated,) and that its benefits lay, as it were, in 
 them, then to be realized, whenever they should, in heart and 
 mind, turn to God. " When Baptism," he says, "is given in the 
 " Gospel words, however perversa^' he may understand it, through 
 " whom it is given, or he, to whoiff it is given, it is in itself Holy, for 
 " His sake. Whose it is. But if he who receives it be a perverted 
 *' one, neither does that which is given, avail such to salvation, and 
 " yet that which is received remains holy in him, nor is repeated to 
 " him, if he be reformed." (de Bapt. c. Don. L. 4. §. 18.) There 
 can, then, be no ground why we should limit St. Augustine's full and 
 positive language, wherein he declares the undoubted regeneration of 
 all baptized infants ; and if St. Augustine not only doubt not, but 
 assert thus earnestly, the Baptismal regeneration of all infants, it will 
 not be readily supposed, that any other teacher of the Ancient Church 
 hesitated thereon. Two short declarations of his belief may yet be 
 subjoined. " In little ones born, and not as yet baptized, be Adam 
 *' acknowledged : in little ones born and baptized and therefore (ob 
 " hoc) regenerate, be there acknowledged Christ " Serm. 74. (al. 8. de 
 verbis Ap.) §. 9- " From the little one just born, to the decrepit old 
 " man, as no one is to be kept from baptism, so there is none who 
 " does not die to sin in Baptism ; but little ones only to original, the 
 
• — DID NOT HOLD INDKFECTIBILITY OF GRACE. 277 
 
 " elder sort to all those also, which, by Uving ill, they have added to 
 " what they brought with them by birth." Enchirid. c. 43. 
 
 St. Augustine's theor)^ namely, of Predestination, did not involve the 
 doctrine of the indefectibility of grace : this he explicitly and fully states, 
 (de Corrept. et Grat. §. 20.) " Nor let that move us, that God does not 
 " give that perseverance to some of His sons. Far be it that it 
 " should be so, if they were of those predestinated and called accord- 
 " ing to His purpose, who are truly the sons of the promise. But 
 " they, while they live piously, are called sons of Goo ; but because 
 " they are about to live impiously and to die in that impiety, the fore- 
 " knowledge of God does not call them sons of God. For there are 
 " some, who are by us called sons of God, on account of their having 
 " admitted grace, if but for a time; but they are not so in God's 
 " sight ; of whom John says, ' they went out from us, for they were 
 " ' not of us ; for if they had been of us, they would have remained 
 " * with us' — they were not sons, even when they had the profession 
 " and name of sons, not as if their righteousness were feigned, but 
 " because they remained not in it For he does not say, ' for if they 
 " had been of us, they would have maintained a real, not a feigned, 
 ** righteousness with us,' but ' would have remained with us.' Doubt- 
 " less what he wished them to remain in was good. They were then 
 " in it : but because they remained not in it, i. e., did not persevere to 
 " the end, they were not of the number of sons, even when they were 
 " in the faith of sons." The very title " deserter," with which St. 
 Augustine often says (e. g. in Ps. 39, 1. de Symbolo §. 15.) that 
 Baptism brands those who neglect to profit by it, or destroy its effi- 
 cacy by schism, attests his belief that they once had its grace. 
 
 In like manner his disciple and defender. Prosper of Aquitaine, who, 
 in some respects, carried his theory of Predestination further than his 
 master, yet says explicitly upon this point, (Prosper ad object. Gallor. 
 c. 2.) " He who denies that one who has relapsed, after Baptism, to 
 " infidelity and a wicked life, was freed from sin, thinks as falsely as 
 " he who asserts that he will not be condemned to eternal death. If 
 " any one recede from Christ, and ends this life, alienated from 
 " grace, what doth he but fall into perdition ? yet, he doth not fall 
 " back into that which was remitted, nor wiU he be condemned in 
 " original sin; but for his last sins, he will receive that death, which 
 " was due to him for those, which were forgiven him." And, 
 again, (pro Augustin. ad Capitul. Gall. Obj. 7) " Of the rege- 
 '• nerated in Christ Jesus, that some, abandoning the faith and a 
 '• holy life, apostatize from God, and finish an impious life in aver- 
 *' sion of Him, is, alas! proved, by many examples." And this 
 dreadful truth furnished St. Augustine with matter of solemn warn- 
 ing to others, whom yet he held to have been regenerated. Hence, 
 also, it happens, " that having fallen and abandoned themselves to 
 
27S THE HOLINESS 1 COR. Vll. BAPTISMAL HOLINESS, 
 
 " hurtful pleasures, not only do they cease to be temples. of God, but 
 " become even ruins, in which evil demons dwell, whom they begin to 
 " worship and to serve, and ' to them,' as was said, ' the last state be- 
 " comes worse than the first.' Wherefore, ye who have ' been born 
 " again of immortal seed,' " &c. (Sermo 353, in die octavar. Infantium, 
 T. 5. p. 1374) ; and again he thus concludes a sermon preached on the 
 day of a public Baptism, with a prayer for those who had just been 
 baptized. 
 
 " O Lord, hear us ! make us, for Thou hast made us. Make us good, 
 " for Thou hast made us men enlightened. They, in white apparel, en- 
 " lightened, hear Thy word through me. For, enlightened by Thy grace, 
 " they stand by Thee. ' This is the day which the Lord hath made.' 
 " But let them labour and pray, that when those days are gone, they may 
 " not become darkness who are now made the light of the wonders and 
 '• goodness of God." (S. 120. in Joann. al. de Divers. 84. tin.) The 
 solemnity of the warnings of the fathers are proportioned (as is natural) 
 to the greatness of their conception of the gift bestowed upon us all. 
 
 This view is remarkably confirmed by the Baptismal Liturgies of the 
 Antient Church, wherein the title for the newly-baptized is the elect 
 " the newly-elect," as in the Latin Church (Assem. Cod. Lit. 
 T. i. p. 110, sqq.), and Greek (T. ii. p. 133). Election to Baptism 
 is also implied in the Armenian (ib. p. 194. 199, 200) and the Coptic 
 (ib. T. i. p. 149. 160. 167.). They felt the blessedness of being elected 
 to be members of Christ, and sought no further. 
 
 Note (O), on page iGl. 
 
 The holiness, which we learn, fi-om 1 Cor. vii. 14, to belong to the 
 infants of a Christian parent, is, by the Fathers, generally understood 
 of " baptismal holiness ;" actual holiness conferred upon them in 
 Baptism : by the school of Calvin, generally of a covenant-holiness, 
 and so of a title to the privileges of the covenant. The two interpre- 
 tations nearly meet, except that the antients regard, more prominently, 
 God's institution, as the means whereby Christian holiness is first con- 
 ferred upon us ; these moderns regard children as being holy by the 
 will of God, whereof Baptism is the seal or attestation only. Yet, 
 though the expression used by some moderns, " those born of faithful 
 " or believing parents," would be in itself ambiguous, it seems cer- 
 tain, that, under this name "believing," all are generally meant to be 
 included who are, by profession. Christians ; and so this holiness 
 would belong to all children of Christians. This is, in fact, only to 
 say, that moderns, when expressly commenting on this passage, have 
 not ventured to limit the universality of St. Paul's declaration. The 
 antients, as was said, universally explain this "holiness" of the benefits 
 of Ba})tisin. Thus, Tertullian — " So, truly is no birth, at least, no 
 
EXPOSITION OF THE FATHERS. $79 
 
 " heathen birth, pure. Hence, also, the Apostle says, that of either sex 
 " which has been made holy, holy children are born, as well through 
 " the prerogative of the seed, as by the control of the institution ;" 
 " ' otherwise,' says he, ' they were born unclean;' yet, wishing that 
 " the sons of believers should be understood as being destined for holi- 
 ** ness, and thereby also for salvation ; so, as by the pledge of this hope 
 " to maintain the marriages, which he judged right to be retained. 
 " Else he well remembered the saying of the Lord, ' Unless one be 
 " born of water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom 
 " of Heaven ;' i. e. shall not be holy. Thus, every soul is so long 
 " accounted in Adam, until it be accounted anew in Christ ; and so 
 " long impure, until it be so accounted, and sinful because impure." 
 (De Anima, c. 39, 40.) St. Augustine further shows, that he under- 
 stood the former part, also, of the verse, " hath been sanctified" of 
 Baptism. " I believe," he says, " it had already happened, that some 
 " women had come to the faith through believing husbands, and hus- 
 " bands through believing wives [such had been the case with St. 
 " Augustine's father] ; and although he does not name them, yet, by 
 " their examples, he strengthens his advice. Then follows, Else were ., 
 
 " your children unclean, &c. For already there were Christian little •/ '''*'"' " 
 " ones, who, either by the direction of one of their parents, or by their fX/K^ ^f^^TirM^^ 
 " united approval, had been sanctified" (baptized.) De Serm. Dom. "' ^,,^ tk*^- f^t^j^ 
 in monte, S. i. c. 1 6 '. In like manner, Pelagius paraphrases "are holy," 
 by "are made Christians." (Ap. August, de Peccat. Merit. L. .3 c. <^ t«^ hg^U^ 
 12.) St. Jerome relates, that this saying was verified in the family of ^//^ v%a- ^^ 
 the daughter of a priest of Jupiter, whose father was a candidate for ^ fj^t^vv^ "•■- 
 the faith, his children and grandchildren believers. (Ep. 7- ad Laetam.) tzjD r-^ JT-'^ 
 
 Paulinus (Bp. of Nola) takes for granted, that the former part is to be 
 understood of Baptism. " How," he enquires of Jerome, " are they 
 
 1 St. Augustine, indeed, afterwards seems to think, that the Apostle's l^ Ltj^' \aj 
 words rather implied some sort of holiness, which belonged to the children 
 of Christian parents by their very birth, but does not explain what he thinks . 
 
 it to be ; only he shows, from the very context, that it must be of such de- iHAy>^ "^^ A*—* 
 gree, as " did not suffice to make them Christians, and remit sins, unless v>vvj» fc*"'*J^^O 
 " they were made believers (fideles) by the Sacrament, according to the ,*^ tfxltz, 
 
 " Christian and Church institution : since no one would contend, that the v 
 
 "unbelieving husband or wife was, without being themselves baptized in ■ ,«.^V. Avt*-^ 
 
 "Christ, freed from that iniquity which entails condemnation on all who 
 " are separated from the kingdom of God." (De Pecc. Meritis, L. 3. c. 12. 
 Serm. 294. de Baptismo Parvulor. alias 14 de verb. Ap.) § 18. From the 
 above, it would appear how wrongly T. Cartwright (Confut. of Rhemish 
 Test.) alleges St. Augustine's authority. — "Augustine, interpreting the word 
 
 " ' holy,' saith, that they be Christians : so that they, being before Bantisme . ' t ./• i 
 
 X/hristians, by Augustine s judgment, &c. u^ /^ >— — ' 
 
 
 
 rJi iJj^ \^^ i-*^ *^ ^*^ <i«rv/v*o , *.^< A^* (fvr^ I'i^' t^Zr- Cv^ 9L. 
 
 */»t 
 

 280 REFORMED DID NOT INFER FROM 1 COU. VII. THAT ACTUAL 
 
 " holy, who are born of believing, i. e., baptized parents, since, without 
 " the gift of grace (Baptism) afterwards received and kept, they can- 
 " not be saved ?" imagining, apparentl)' (as Wall conjectures), St. Paul 
 to declare the children to be holy from their birth, whereas their parents' 
 hoUness would not make them holy. And Theodoret — " Even if 
 " either party continue in their disease, the seed shall partake of salva- 
 '* tion (i. e., by admission into the fellowship with Christ, which is at 
 " Baptism) ;" so, also, the author of the Qusst. ad Antioch. Q. 114, 
 quotes this text, with Matt. xix. 14, in proofjthat " the infant children 
 *' of believers, if baptized, enter into the kingdom of heaven, them- 
 " selves spotless and believing." 
 
 Ambrosiaster also irajilies that this holiness arises from a dedication 
 to God. "They are holy, because born amid the worship of the 
 " Creator. For, as whatever takes place amid dedication to idols is un- 
 " clean, so, whatever amid the profession of God the Creator, is holy." 
 (ad loc. ap. Ambrosii 0pp.) 
 
 The above are quoted by Wall, art. TertuUian, St. Austin (c. 15. § 2.) 
 Paulinus (c. 18. § 4.), Pelagian Controversy (c. 19. § 19.) In the 
 following, although he names the authors, he hardly does them justice ; 
 Chrvsostom (ad Heb.) Spurious but ancient books, c. 23. § 3. 
 
 It is useful, however, for the present times, to show Cas above stated, 
 p. 163), that the "reformed" writers, although they, for the most 
 part, exaggerated the holiness which the infants of Christian parents 
 brought with them into the world, still held that this belonged to 
 them, because their parents were outwardly in the covenant, not on 
 account of their personal holiness. — " Wee speake not of the inherent 
 " holinesse of the child as regenerate, i. e., immediately from God. 
 " but of holinesse federal and ecclesiastical, which may be applyable 
 " to persons unregenerate, as Ps. 1. 5. 16, 17. The parents visibly 
 " believing and inchurched, are instiTimentall causes of that holinesse 
 " of their children ; yea, whether believers in veiitie or onely visibilitie, 
 " it sufficeth thereunto; nor are little ones thus in covenant with God 
 " and His Church, without the visibilitie of faith in the parents, either 
 ' ' past or present : personal holinesse consisteth not with li\'ing iu 
 " known sinnes, but federal holinesse may. Ezek. xvi." Cobbet's 
 Vindication of the Covenant and Church Estate of Children of Church 
 Members, and of their right to Baptism, p. 20. 
 
 " We say of our infants, that 'tis enough for us that their parents, or 
 " any other in whose power they are, do present them to the Church." 
 P. Martyr. " The Apostle doth manifestly declare, that the children of 
 " believing parents are holy, yea, though but one of the parents be- 
 " lieveth ; by which holiness nothing else can be understood, than being 
 " within the covenant ; whereby holy persons are distinguished from 
 '• profane." Beza. " Upon this ground doth Paul strongly prove the 
 
 A / ,<. r as ^^^ ^^' ^-' '^-^'^ ■ 1^ 
 
HOLINESS OF PARENTS WAS REQUIRED FOR BAPTISM OF CHILD. 281 
 
 " believers might keep their unbeheving waves, because the children 
 " which, they had by such, were (by reason that one parent was a 
 " Christian) holy ; to wit, with hohness of the covenant made %vith the 
 " faithful and their seed. And in this respect, the children of those 
 " that are in the covenant are said to be born unto the Lord, and to be 
 " His children. Ezek. xvi. S. 20, 21. And so the children of the 
 " Church are called the holy seede, differing herein from the seed of other 
 '* people. Ezraix. 2, 3." Ainsworth, Censure of Dialogue of Anab. p.67. 
 
 " This holiness is believed to consist in their belonging to the Church 
 " of Christ. For they are reckoned, as if both parents were holy. But 
 " if you ask how the sons of Christians belong to the Church or to 
 " Christ, we answer, no otherwise than the sons of the Hebrews, be- 
 " cause they were of the posterity of Abraham, are said to be included 
 " in the covenant of God. For God promised to be not only his God, 
 " but the God of his seed. Gen. xvii. Therefore, our children are bap- 
 " tized, as those of the ancients were circumcised, because they are 
 " not to be accounted out of the Church." P. Martyr. 
 
 " Hereby is the phrenzy of the Anabaptists wholly condemned. 
 " For St. Paul has pronounced the children to be holy, on grounds 
 " of which men can judge ; not from the working of faith, or 
 *' election, or confession of faith, hut from the promise of God, which 
 " was made to Abraham and his seed ; I will be thy God, and of 
 " thy seed after thee ; i. e., of the children who shall be born of thee. 
 " And we, in like manner, believe, that infants, bom of believers, are 
 " holy ; and, on that account, receive them into the Church, when 
 " offered for Baptism ; yea, and offer remission of sins, which is of the 
 " promise of God, who, by that administration of the Sacraments, im- 
 " parts Himself and His grace to us. We, as St. Paul, do not herein 
 " look to election, which is known to God only, nor confession of the 
 " hps, which infants cannot make, and which is not always true in 
 " adults, but mainly the promise of God. Then we look to that of 
 " which men can judge ; that, namely, children who are born of a pa- 
 " rent who calls upon God, are holy, and in the covenant of God, and 
 " therefore to be baptized." Bulhnger ad loc. ; so also Aretius. 
 
 The distinction between the two states of our children, before and 
 after Baptism, is, in some measure, still expressed by Pareus (one of 
 the reformed of Germany), who well says, " In the Church, we are born 
 "not Christians regenerated, but Christians to be regenerated;" and 
 Ainsworth, 1. c. p. 60. " The infants of the Church are, by the cove- 
 " nant of grace, of the body of Christ, even, as by nature, they are of 
 '• the body and stock of Adam." 
 
 Note (P) on page I99. 
 In presenting this parallel between the interpretations of the Zuin- 
 
S82 
 
 RESEMBLANCE OF SOCINIAN AND REFORMLD 
 
 glian or Calvinist school, and the early Socinians, on the subject of 
 Baptism, no particular pains have been taken to select those in which 
 there was most verbal resemblance : on the contrary, the writer re- 
 collects that he observed many passages in some principal writers of 
 the reformed school, more exactly corresponding with the rationalist, 
 or apriori, maxims of the Socinians, than those which he subsequently 
 noted, and here exhibits : in other cases, he could not recover, without 
 loss of time, the parallel passages to the Socinian statements, which 
 had gradually drawn his attention to the similarity of the two schools. 
 This appeared however of the less moment, and not worth a laboured 
 research, inasmuch as it is the general similarity only of their mode of 
 interpretation and their maxims, which is here held out as a warning : 
 fuller identity, ore this one doctrine of the Sacraments, might be estab- 
 lished ; but this, it is hoped, will suffice as a warning, and with that 
 end only should such a parallel be presented. If the investigation is 
 pursued as an historical subject, the interest which all inquiry, as 
 such, involves, is likely to make the exhibition cease to be painful, 
 and then it will probably be hurtful to those who engage in it. 
 
 Acts ii 38. 
 
 Zuingli- Calvinists. 
 Piscator ad loc. " 'for the re- 
 • mission of sins.* A metonymy 
 of the subject: For it is not to 
 obtain the remission of sins by 
 this mean or instrument ; since 
 faith alone is that mean or in- 
 strument, whereby in the Gos- 
 pel we lay hold of remission of 
 sins;" and ap. Gat. p. 111. 
 That those words ' for the re- 
 mission of sins,' do not mean 
 ' to obtain by this act remission 
 of sins,' one may judge," &c. 
 Calvin ad loc. — " Although, in 
 the order of words. Baptism here 
 precedes remission of sins, in 
 reality it follows, since it is 
 nothing else than the sealing of 
 those good things which we 
 obtain through Christ, that 
 they may be established in our 
 consciences. Since Baptism is 
 a seal, whereby God confirms 
 this benefit to us, it may rightly 
 
 Socinians. 
 
 Quoted with approbation by 
 Wolzogen ad loc. 
 
 Socinus de Bapt. Aquce. c. 7. — 
 " Since it is most certain that 
 " sins are effaced by repentance 
 " and faith, and that each must 
 " precede the baptism of water, 
 " if rightly received, sins being 
 " washed away by water-baptism 
 " can mean nothing else, than 
 '• that it is declared by baptism 
 " that sins are already removed, 
 " and this is publicly as it were 
 " sealed." 
 
 " The words washing, purging, 
 " cleansing, expiating, remitting, 
 •' &c. in Holy Scripture often 
 " mean not the thing itself, but 
 " the declaration of that thing ; so 
 '* F. Vatablus in many places of 
 " the Old Testament." 
 
 " Peter by no means attributes 
 " remission of sins to that Bap- 
 " tism, or solemn ablution, but 
 
EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE ON BAPTISM. 
 
 283 
 
 Acts ii. 38 — (continued.) 
 
 Zuingli- Calvinists . 
 *• be said to be given to us ' for 
 " the remission of sins.' " 
 
 Sclater, in Rom. ii. 25. ap. Gat 
 p. 92. — " The meaning of Act. ii. 
 *' 38. xxii. 26. is, that Baptism is 
 " to be received as a seal, for the 
 " greater certainty of pardon. 
 " For had not the Jews believed, 
 " and Paul repented, before they 
 " were baptized ? But, who 
 " knows not that remission be- 
 " longs, by the Divine promise, 
 " to those who believe and truly 
 " repent ? Why then are they to be 
 " baptized F For a fuller confir- 
 " mation." 
 
 Waloeus, Disp. 44. de Bapt. Thes. 
 27. 29. ap. Gat. p. 97.—" Scrip- 
 ' ture requires beforehand, in all 
 * who are to be baptized, faith 
 ' and repentance, and so the be- 
 ' ginning and seed of regenera- 
 
 Socinians. 
 '* meant to ascribe every thing to 
 " repentance, before named ; or, 
 " if he meant to take account at 
 " all of that outward washing, he 
 " did not mean the very remis- 
 " sion itself, but a sort of decla- 
 " ration and sealing of the remis- 
 " sion. And, in many places in 
 ** the New Testament, in which 
 " sins are said to be remitted, or 
 " the like phrase, this is either by 
 " a Hebrew idiom, or by a simple 
 " metonymy common to all lan- 
 ' ' guages, and they signify not the 
 " thing itself, but the declaration 
 " of the things. This by the way, 
 " which will not however be use- 
 " less to the right understanding 
 " of all those places, where re- 
 " mission of sins either is, or 
 " seems to be, attributed to Bap- 
 " tism." 
 
 ' tion ; therefore regeneration 
 
 • cannot be begun in Baptism ; for the cause cannot be sub- 
 ' sequent to the effect." 
 
 Malcolm, ad loc. ap. Gat. p. 92. paraphrases " Receive Bap- 
 ' tism, a sign of remission of sins." 
 
 Peter Martyr, ad. 1 Reg. 8. f. 73. v. — " If the Divine Scrip- 
 ' tures seem to attribute remission of sins or salvation to the 
 ' outward symbols, that is to be understood as a metonymy, 
 ' whereby what belongs to the things signified is given to the 
 ' sign, and the things signified are expressed by their sjon- 
 ' bols." Ad Rom. p. 608. ibid. " Sacraments have the same 
 
 * relation to justification, as the preaching of the Gospel and 
 ' the promise concerning Christ, which is offered to us to 
 
 salvation. For frequently in the Sacraments, what belongs 
 to the thing itself, is ascribed to the Sacraments." 
 DancBUs(aidv. Bellar. t. ii. contr. ii. 42. c. 14. ad arg. ap. Gat, 
 103.) in answer to the argument that " Holy Scripture attests 
 that Sacraments are instruments, not seeds only," answers, — 
 Instruments and signs, yea, though they only seal and attest, 
 are said by a trope and metonymy to do that which they 
 
284 
 
 RESEMBLANCE OF SOCINIAN AND REFORMED 
 
 Zuingli- Calvinists. 
 seal." So Whitaher de Sacr. ib. p. 103. Ames, adv. Bell. ib. 
 . 112. DancBus, ib. " Not to obtain, but to attest, a real 
 remission of sins." 
 
 Acts \'iii. 37. 
 
 ZuingU-Calvinists. 
 Whitaker de Sacram. q. 4. cap. 
 2. ad Bellar. rat 1. ap. Gat. p. 104. 
 " The righteous are also holy 
 " [' and consequently regenerate,' 
 " Whit.] before they are admitted 
 *' to the Sacraments ; for in adults 
 *' holiness is previously required ; 
 " for faith is required, and hoh- 
 " ness always follows faith, for 
 " faith is holy, and makes those 
 " who have it holy." See others 
 above, pp. 118, 120, 122. 
 
 Acts xxii 
 Chamier, t. iv. 1. 2. c. 3. § 15. 
 ap. Gat. p. 104. — •' It is not ne- 
 ' cessary that remission of sins 
 ' should here be attributed to 
 ' Baptism ; for there are three 
 ' things, • Arise, be baptized, 
 ' xoash away thy sins.' Nor is 
 ' remission, or the power of re- 
 ' mitting, necessarily attributed 
 ' to Baptism, more than Baptism, 
 ' or the power of baptizing, to 
 ' the ' arising.' But if it be ab- 
 ' surd to attribute that power to 
 ' the ' arising,' it certainly is not 
 ' necessary to attribute it to Bap- 
 ' tism." 
 
 Piscator, ad loc. — " He does 
 ' not mean, to obtain remission of 
 ' sins by this mean or instniment, 
 * because faith alone is the mean 
 ' or instrument whereby we lay 
 ' hold on remission of sins in the 
 
 Socinians. 
 F. Socinus de Bapt. Aquae, c. 5. 
 0pp. t. 1. p. 720. " Phihp saith 
 " to the Eunuch, who wished to 
 " be baptized ^vith water, (in 
 " Jesus Christ's name,) ' if thou 
 " believest with all thy heart, thou 
 " mayest.' He then, who would 
 '• be rightly baptized in the uame 
 " of Jesus Christ, must believe 
 " with all his heart in Christ. 
 " Therefore that Baptism confers 
 " nothing which is necessary to 
 " salvation, but only attests, that 
 " he who is baptized hath those 
 " things which are necessary " 
 
 16. 
 
 Wolzogen, ad loc. — " It is not 
 " hence to be inferred, that sins 
 " are properly washed away by the 
 " very water of Baptism. For sins 
 " are the defilements of the soul, 
 " not of the body ; therefore they 
 " cannot be efl'aced by material 
 " water, which only washes the 
 " body. But by the Baptism of 
 " water, as an outward sign, a 
 " declaration is made of what 
 " ought to tal^e place within. 
 " Not unfrequently words which 
 " signify purifying are used for 
 " the declaration and attestation 
 " of purifying. This washing 
 " away and effacing of sins, with 
 " their remission by God, is not 
 •* to be attributed to Baptism only, 
 " but to true faith, and professiorf 
 " of the name of Christ, whereof 
 " Baptism is an adjunct. And 
 
EXPOSITION OF SCniPTURF, ON BAPTISM. 
 
 285 
 
 Acts xxii. 16 — (continued). 
 Zuingli- Calvinisfs. Socinians. 
 
 " Gospel. But Baptism is a 
 " mean or instrument which the 
 " Holy Spirit uses to confirm 
 " faith." Willett, Synops. Pa- 
 pismi, contr. 11. q. 2. "Wee 
 " answer, that the te.xt jnineth 
 " with the Sacrament the invoca- 
 ' ' Hon of the name of God, to the 
 " which salvation is promised. 
 " (Rom. X. 13). Wherefore that 
 *' place (Acts xxii. 16.) maketh 
 " nothing to your purpose," (that 
 the Sacraments wash away sins). 
 In nearly the same words, Fulke, 
 Rhem. Test. Zuingli, ad Fridol. 
 Dindov. t i. f. 204. " Baptism is 
 " here (1 Pet. iii.) taken for faith, 
 " for it alone saves us." Culv. 
 ad loc. " Paul's sins were already 
 " remitted to him. He was not 
 " then washed by Baptism, but 
 " had a new confirmation of that 
 " favour which he had obtained." 
 So Malcolm, ad loc. ap Gat. p. 104. 
 See also above, pp. 47. 119, &c. 
 
 " those words, ' wash away thy 
 " sins,' may 'be referred, not to 
 " the preceding, but to what fol- 
 " lows ; so that the washing away 
 *' of sins may be attributed, not 
 *' to Baptism itself, but to the call- 
 " ing on the name of the Lord, 
 " and what is contained under 
 " it." Crell. 0pp. Exeg. t. iii. p. 
 135. " Remission of sins is attri- 
 " buted to Baptism, not by virtue 
 " of the outward rite, but by the 
 " profession of the name of 
 " Christ, which is inseparably 
 " united with this rite, if duly 
 " performed." Socinus, de 
 
 Bapt. AquEe, c. 7- approves of the 
 last expedient, quoted above, 
 from Wolzogen, and again — 
 " Though it should be admitted 
 " that Ananias, when he ex- 
 " liorted Paul to be bajitized, and 
 " wash away his sins, calling upon 
 " the name of the Lord, meant 
 '* that sins were washed away by 
 
 " Baptism, i. e. by that outward 
 
 *' washing, it would not follow that he said that the sins them- 
 
 •' selves were really effaced by Baptism, but only that it was 
 
 " openly shown, and as it were sealed, that they were effaced." 
 
 Gal. iii. 27. 
 
 P. Martyr, in 1 Reg. 8 f.73.v.— 
 ** On the whole, this is to be held, 
 •' that outward signs do not in 
 " anywise unite us with Christ, 
 " but are given to us when so 
 •• united. What is said to the 
 " Galatians is so to be understood. 
 " If ' to put on Christ,' is to be 
 " a member of Him, this precedes 
 " Baptism; if to express, in ac- 
 " tion and life, the character of 
 " a son of God, this follows after 
 " Baptism." 
 
 Crellius, 0pp. Exeget. t. iii. p. 
 233.—" 'To put on Christ,' is 
 " not only to take the disposition 
 " and actions of Christ, but His 
 " state and condition in the grace 
 " of sonship with God. Christ 
 " could and ought to be put on 
 " before Baptism, which took 
 " ])lace doubtless in the house of 
 " Cornelius, to whom the Holy 
 " Spirit was given before Bap- 
 " tism (Acts X. 44.) ; and it may 
 " be repeated afterwards, as we 
 
286 
 
 RESEMBLANCE OF BOCINIAN AND REFORMED 
 
 27 — (continued). 
 
 Sodnians. 
 " learn from the Apostle's exhort- 
 " ation, Rom. xiii. 14. The 
 " Apostle, in that in this place 
 " he joins this ' putting on of 
 " Christ' with Baptism, or ra- 
 " ther with the baptized, does not 
 " mean that Christ is properly 
 " put on through Baptism itself, 
 " but that Bajjtism is an argument, 
 " that they who received it have 
 " put on Christ ; which itself, 
 " lastly, is to he favourably inter- 
 " preted, not that it is always so, 
 " but that it ought to be, and is 
 " therefore by the charity [the ' e.x 
 " judicio charitatis' of theReform- 
 " ed school] which suspecteth no 
 " evil, to be presumed to take 
 " place also, unless any thing pre- 
 " vent." 0pp. Exeg. t. i. p 44, 
 and ad loc. " The Galatians, by 
 " the means of the faith and reli- 
 " gion which they had embraced 
 " from his teaching, were altoge- 
 " ther united and engraffed into 
 " Christ. By Baptism, they at- 
 " tested that they put on Christ, 
 " i. €. thoroughly embraced His 
 " rehgion and manner of life, 
 " were conformed to Him, and so 
 " engraffed and united with Him. 
 " For in fact, Christ is put on out of Baptism, chiefly by the 
 " very manner of life ; whence Paul exhorts the Romans, who 
 •' had long ago been bajitized, to put on the Lord Jesus 
 " Christ ; but by a certain shadowing out and profession, it 
 " takes place in Baptism." So also Slichtinyius, ad Rom. xiii. 
 14. F. Sodnus, although on the whole he incUnes to the inter- 
 pretation, " that the Galatians, when they were baptized into 
 ** Christ, of necessity professed that they had put on Christ, 
 " and wished to put Him on ;" yet he is well content with 
 that other, which would deny any reference to water-baptism, 
 in that it had been said before, *' for ye are all sous of God 
 
 Gal. iii 
 Zuingli- Calvinists. 
 
 Fulke, Rhemish Testament. — 
 " The Apostle reaso'neth from the 
 " signe to the things signified, to 
 " prove that by faith in Christ 
 " we are the children of God, be- 
 '* cause Baptism, representing our 
 " putting on of Christ as a gar- 
 " ment, is a seal of justification 
 " by faith, as circumcision was to 
 " Abraham — no cause, but a tes- 
 " timony of his justification. As 
 " also Cornelius, and they that 
 " were with him, had their hearts 
 " purified by faith, and received 
 " the Holy Ghost. Whereby 
 " God testified that Baptisme 
 " giveth not grace, of the work 
 " wrought, but is a seal of grace," 
 &c. 
 
 Piscator ad loc.— " Baptism is 
 " a divine testimony to behevers, 
 " that they have put on Christ, 
 " or are engraffed into Christ. 
 " But they err who infer hence, 
 ** that all who are baptized put 
 " on Christ." 
 
 See also P. Martyr on Corne- 
 lius above, p. 138, Note. 
 
EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE ON BAPTISM. 
 
 «87 
 
 Socinians. 
 Gal. iii. 27 — (continued). 
 " through faith in Christ Jesus." " Herein faith is expressly 
 " treated of, whereby we are made sons of God, which is 
 " obtained not by the Baptism of water, but of the Spirit, 
 " and without which there may be Baptism of water, but of 
 " the Spirit there cannot be. Whereas then there is imme- 
 " diately subjoined, ' For whoever,' &c. ; which words are 
 " the ground of the preceding, according to the force of the 
 " particle ' for,' [see on the contrary Chrysostome above, 
 p. 30."] " not water Baptism, but some spiritual Baptism seems 
 " to be the subject." 
 
 Rom. vi. 3. 
 
 Socinians. 
 Crell. 0pp. Exeg. t. i. p. 342. 
 " Christians profess, by the rite 
 " of Baptism, that they wish to 
 " become as dead." Id. t. ii, 
 p. 122, 123.— "The Baptism of 
 " Christ not only represents re- 
 " pentance and remission of sins, 
 " i. e. is received as a sign of re- 
 " pentance to be performed, and 
 " remission of sins to be obtained ; 
 " but moreover as a sign that 
 " Christ is to be put on ; and 
 " with Him we must die to sin, 
 •' and rise again to newness of 
 " life." — Slichtinpius, ad loc. 0pp. 
 t. i. p. 210. " We bound our- 
 " selves by Baptism, yea, we ex- 
 " pressed, as it were, by a sort of 
 " figure and similitude, that we 
 " would become partakers of 
 " Christ's death, or die with 
 " Christ. But what other death to 
 " which all we, who are Christians 
 *' bound ourselves by Baptism, 
 *' can be meant, than to die to sin ? 
 " This alone engraffs all Chris- 
 " tians into Christ by the like- 
 " ness of death." 
 
 Tit. iii. 5. 
 Piscator in anal. c. 3. Tit. Socinvs Elenchi Sophistici. 
 
 " God saves us by regeneration Fratr, Pol. t. 1. p. 644. " People, 
 
 Zuingli- Calvinists. 
 Zuingli ad loc. — " In the out- 
 ward sign of Baptism ye may 
 understand how ill sins become 
 you. The dipping of your body 
 into the water was a sign, that 
 you ought to be engrafFed into 
 Christ and His death ; that as 
 He died and was buried, so you 
 also should be dead to the flesh, 
 and your old man, i. e. your- 
 selves." 
 
 Peter Martyr, ad loc. — " Being 
 baptized into Christ, means 
 nothing else than to be initiated, 
 under His command, direction, 
 auspices. And by this figure 
 of speech it is signified that we 
 pass into Christ, so as to be 
 united with Him most closely 
 in faith, hope, and charity. As 
 soldiers to a commander, so 
 we are bound to Christ in 
 Baptism, and swear that we 
 never after will fall away to the 
 devil." 
 
288 
 
 RESEMBLANCE OF SOCINIAN AND REFORMED 
 
 Tit. iii. 5- 
 Zuingli- Cahinists. 
 " and renovation of the Holy 
 " Spirit, as it were by a sort of 
 '• bath, whereby we are cleansed 
 " from the defilement of sin, of 
 " which bath, Baptism is a seal." 
 Thes. Theol. vol. i. loc. 25. § 20. 
 " By ' the washing of regenera- 
 " tion' the Apostle does not seem 
 " to mean Baptism, but regenera- 
 " tion itself, which he compares 
 " with a bath." Sclater in Rom. 
 ii. 15. (ap. Gat. p. 102.) " It is 
 " doubtful whether (Tit. iii. 5.) 
 " the Sacraments be spoken of, or 
 " the Spirit only." Zuingli resp. 
 ad Luther, confess. " That theo- 
 " logians have, and do, greatly 
 " err herein, matters not. For 
 " they understand not that those 
 " sayings of Paul, Tit. iii. Ep. v. 
 " • of the washing of water by the 
 " word' and * the bath of regene- 
 " ration' are enallages, i. e. inter- 
 " terchangesof functions,whereby 
 " there is attributed to the signs, 
 " what they merely signify." Ga- 
 taker, 1. c. " It may well be 
 " doubted whether the Sacrament 
 " of Baptism or the internal 
 " washing be here meant." Vors- 
 tius anti- Bellarm. ad t. 3. contr. 
 1. Tlies. 1 et 2. ad rat. 2. ex Eph. 
 v. Tit. iii. (ap. Gat. p. 121.) p. 
 3.50. " Those of oir side answer, 
 " that these testimonies (Eph. 
 " V. 26. Tit. iii. 5.) are foreign 
 " to the purpose, since they de- 
 " clare, metaphorically, the things 
 " which are signified in the Sa- 
 " cranients, but do not treat of 
 " the Sacraments properly so 
 " called." " The Evangelicals 
 " (Calvinists) answer, that this 
 
 (continued). 
 
 Socinians. 
 " not observing the ambiguity, 
 " have believed that Baptism is 
 " meant by the washing of rege- 
 " neration ; and that thereby, if 
 " it be received rightly, men 
 " are regenerated ; whereas, un- 
 " less I am greatly deceived, 
 " Paul, by the ' washing of rege- 
 *' neration,' means that regene- 
 " ration, whereby we are washed, 
 " i. e. cleansed from our sins, 
 " and that in two ways ; 1st, be- 
 " cause he who is regenerated 
 " puts off his sins, and is thus 
 " fieed from the defilements of 
 " sin ; 2dly, because he who is 
 " freed from sins escapes all pe- 
 " nalty for past sins.'' Crellius, 
 de Satisfact. Christi. 0pp. t. 4. p. 
 167. explains it " a bath of tiiat 
 " sort, whereby we become new 
 " men, yea, or new ci'eatures in 
 " mind, will, and actions, which 
 " washing St. Paul ascribes to 
 " the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. A^i. 11. 
 " For to this same action there 
 " concur the death of Christ, the 
 " Holy Spirit, the word of the 
 " Gospel, which is proximately 
 " employed to effect it." And ad 
 loc. " The * Holy- Spirit' im- 
 " plies that, whereby that wash- 
 " ing takes place which produced 
 " regeneration and renovation. 
 " And this is nothing else than 
 " the application to ourselves of 
 " what the Holy Spirit, putting 
 " itself forth in the word of God, 
 " dictates to us, and thus the 
 " laying aside of the defilements 
 " of the mind and will. Hence 
 " results a regeneration or reno- 
 " vation, i. e. such a change of 
 
EXPOSITION OF SCRIVTURE ON BAPTISM. 
 
 289 
 
 Tit. iii. 5- 
 Zuingli- Calvinists. 
 " is a petitio principii, in that 
 " those effects are referred to the 
 " outward water of Baptism, 
 " which, in the passages cited, 
 " (Eph. V. Tit. iii. &c.) are directly 
 " adapted to Christ Himself and 
 " His blood and Spirit by the in- 
 " tervention of faith, conceived 
 "from the Gospel," ^c. lb. 
 Contr. 2. thes. 6, 7. p. 376; and 
 again p. 367. " They speak of 
 " the things signified by the Sa- 
 " crament, not of the Sacra- 
 " ment;" and p. 357. " There is 
 " in the allegation of these pas- 
 " sages a fallacy arising from an 
 " ambiguous term, and a figure 
 " of speech : since Baptism is 
 " often not the sacramental sign, 
 " especially taken apart, but 
 " the internal purifying or ab- 
 " lution of the mind, either 
 " alone, or again regarded toge- 
 " ther with its sign." P. Mar- 
 tyr ad 1. Reg 8. f. 73. v. " The 
 " soul, which is a spirit, and 
 " incorporeal, is not cleansed 
 " with these palpable and bodily 
 " things." So Willett, Synops. 
 Papismi Contr. 11. Q. 2. and 
 Fulke, Rhem. Test. " God hath 
 " saved us by the renewing of 
 " the Holy Ghost, which is 
 " testified by the Sacrament of 
 " Baptism," &c. 
 
 Lalvi adloc. 
 
 Heb. X. 22. 
 What follows 
 
 (continued). 
 
 Sodnians. 
 " the man, that, as to mind and 
 " will, you suddenly appear a 
 '* new, yea, a different man : as 
 " to the mind, by knowledge of 
 " the Divine will, as to the will, 
 " by executing it." Slichtingius, 
 ad loc. 0pp. t. 2. p. 287. " We 
 " are saved, says the Apostle, by 
 " a washing, which is regene- 
 " ration, whereby we are made 
 " other men, and renovation, 
 " whereby we are made new men. 
 *' He shows that he is not speak- 
 " ing of the washing of the body, 
 " which does not reach the mind, 
 " but of the spiritual washing, 
 " whereby the defilements of the 
 " mind, not of the body, are done 
 " away. The defilements of the 
 " mind are vices and sins. That 
 '* the Holy Spirit is spoken of 
 " as water, the word ' washing' 
 " shows ; and that it is said to be 
 " poured upon us most abun- 
 " dantly. He does not then here 
 " treat of material water, or water 
 " properly so called, which is 
 " employed in Baptism, but of 
 " the washing of water, which is 
 " the Holy Spirit. For Christ 
 " alone has the power and efficacy 
 " of regenerating and renewing 
 " us. The washing of water, 
 " which is contained in Baptism, 
 '' only so far belongs here, as it is 
 " a sign and Sacrament instituted 
 " by God of the washing of the 
 " Holy Spirit, or of the rege- 
 " neration and renovation which 
 " take place through the Holy 
 '* Spirit." 
 (1 Pet. iii. 21.) 
 
 Crellius ad Heb. 0pp. Exeget. 
 
290 
 
 RESEMBLANCE OF SOCINIAN AND REFORMED 
 
 Heb. X. 22. (1 Pet. 
 
 Zuint/li- Calvinists. 
 " of the ' body washed with pure 
 " water' most understand of Bap- 
 " tism, but it seems more probable 
 " to me that the Apostle alludes to 
 " the old ceremonies of the law, 
 " and so under the name of water 
 " designates the Spirit of God, 
 " as in Ezek. xxxvi. 25. This 
 " is sanctification, not what con- 
 " sists in the visible pomp of 
 " ceremonies, but a firm faith, a 
 " pure conscience, cleanness of 
 " body and soul, which flows 
 " from, and is affected by, the 
 " Spirit of God. (Coll. 2 Cor. 
 " vii. 1.") Piscator ad loc. finds 
 the same reference to legal ablu- 
 tions only. Zuingli is, as usual, 
 the source ; (ad libell. D. Baltha- 
 zar, f. 100.) He paraphrases 
 thus: " If ye wash your hearts, 
 " and so your inner man, by 
 " purity and innocence, then 
 " are ye indeed washed and puri- 
 " fied by a far better bath than 
 *' those of old, (under the law,) 
 ' ' who, washing away the filth of 
 " the body, neglected, altogether, 
 " the contagions and pollutions 
 " of the mind." The whole 
 argument of Crellius is indeed 
 what we have above (p. 98, 99.) 
 seen in Zuingli, who also speaks 
 of " the water that is the hea- 
 *' venly doctrine." De Pecc. Orig. 
 0pp. t. ii. f. 121. V. and the 
 " spiritual water." Ad loc. "water 
 " is the symbol of doctrine and 
 " instruction." Id. t. i. P. 2. p. 
 404. and p. 142, 143. 172. " Bap- 
 " tism is teaching." De Bapt. 
 t. ii. f. 6], 78. de vera et falsa 
 rehg. f. 201. v. 
 
 iii. 21.) — (Continued.) 
 Socinians. 
 t. ii. p. 176. " There is no occa- 
 " sion, in this allegory, to suppose 
 " that any thing directly corre- 
 " sponds to pure water, since the 
 " sacred author seems to allude 
 " to the custom, under the law, 
 " of washing the body with pure 
 " water. But if any one seeks a 
 " fuller resemblance, the spirit 
 " and doctrine of Christ, or that 
 " spiritual water, wherewith 
 " Christ bedews His, not ex- 
 " eluding His blood, will be to be 
 " understood. For by this water 
 " is it, that the filth of sins are 
 " washed away. For water-bap- 
 " tism is only an outward sign 
 " and shadowing of that ablution 
 ' ' which the author here means ; 
 " whereby neither our hearts can 
 " be sprinkled, nor the filth of 
 " sins be really washed away. 
 " That Spiritual Baptism then, 
 " which indeed saves us, is here 
 " to be understood: that, I say, 
 " which, according to Peter, is 
 " not the putting away of the 
 " filth of the flesh, or the out- 
 " ward washing of the body, but 
 " the answer of a good conscience 
 "towards God, (1 Pet. iii. 21.) 
 " which is not effected by any 
 " elemental water, but by that 
 " heavenly and spiritual, whereof 
 " we spoke." So also Socinus de 
 Bapt. Aquae c. 12. 
 
 Crell. Respons. ad Grot. 0pp. 
 t. iv. p. 218. " * To sprinkle from 
 " an evil conscience' is to free 
 " and purge the mind from sin, 
 "as to have ' the body washed 
 ' ' with pure water' is to be pure 
 " from outward sins, which are 
 " done in the body." 
 
EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE ON BAPTISM. 
 
 291 
 
 1 Cor. 
 Zuingli- Calvinists. 
 
 P. Martyr in 1 Reg. 8. " This 
 " is not to be explained as if we 
 " first pass into the body of 
 " Christ by outward Baptism, 
 " since we were of the body of 
 " Christ before, and were out- 
 " wardly baptized, that this 
 " might be attested and sealed, 
 " as the token given to a soldier 
 " does not enroll, but is given to 
 " him when enrolled." 
 
 Zuingli de Bapt. f. 62. " Those 
 " Baptisms (water, the Spirit, 
 " outward teaching, the whole 
 " Gospel) do not always come 
 " together, nor is there any rea- 
 " son that they should." 
 
 Zuingli Hist. Dom. Ascens. p. 
 404. " The Baptism then of the 
 " Spirit, which is faith, follows 
 " that of water." 
 
 xii. 13. 
 
 Socinians. 
 Socinus de Bapt. aquce, c. 8. 
 — " He sets forth the Baptism 
 "of the Spirit, which is wont 
 "to be opposed to the Bap- 
 " tism of water ; so far from 
 " our being obliged, or justified 
 " in understanding a water-bap- 
 " tism, when we find that expres- 
 " sion." — "And if any one would 
 " think with himself, and ab- 
 " stract himself awhile from in- 
 " Vetera te opinions, he will see 
 " and confess that Christians are 
 " united into one body by the 
 " Baptism, not of water, but of 
 " the Holy Spirit. For, since 
 " water-baptism is an outward 
 " thing and visible to all, it can- 
 " not be said to join together and 
 " form the true body of Christ- 
 " ians, (whereto the argument of 
 " the opponents must needs re- 
 " late,) i. e. the true Church, 
 " which is not seen with bodily eyes ; but the Baptism of the 
 " Spirit, which is an interior thing, and can only be seen in 
 " its effects, can rightly join together and constitute the Church 
 " of Christ, which is in like way invisible. For neither does 
 " the Baptism of the Spirit always accompany the Baptism of 
 " water. But who will deny that he is indeed a Christian, 
 " who shall have been washed by the Holy Spirit, although 
 *' (as we have read of and must beheve to happen daily) he 
 " shall not have been dipped in the water-baptism which the 
 " Apostles used ? Some even of those, who thought that Paul 
 " in this place spoke of water-baptism, have seen that it is not 
 " through water-baptism that Christians are united into one 
 " body : so great is the power of truth : and treating of these 
 " words of Paul, have said that they are not to be taken as if 
 " we passed into Christ's body by Baptism, for we first pais 
 " over, and then are signed by Baptism to testify this." 
 
 " He (Castalio) saw, I suppose, two things ; 1st, that no 
 " other Spirit is here meant than that which, for the most part, 
 " does not precede, but follows water-baptism, and through 
 " which Baptism is not received, but is declared either to have 
 
292 
 
 RESEMBLANCE OF SOCINIAN AND REFORMED 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 13 — (continued), 
 been, or also that it may be rightly received, i. e. of spiritual 
 gifts, as every one, reading the whole Chapter, accurately 
 may see." 
 
 1 Pet. iii. 21. 
 
 Zuingli-Calmnists. 
 
 Vorst Anti-Bellarm. ad t. iii. 
 contr. 1. thes. 6. § 4. " The tes- 
 " timonies quoted, as to Baptism, 
 " are in truth altogether foreign 
 " (sc. Joh. iii. Eph. v. Tit. iii. 
 '* and 1 Pet iii.) where the power 
 '* of cleansing sins is not attri- 
 " buted to the outward water of 
 " Baptism, but to the word of 
 " life, apprehended through faith, 
 " and to the internal renovation 
 " of the Holy Spirit." 
 
 Zuingli in Hist, domin. ascens. 
 t. iii. P. 2. p. 404. " Ye have 
 " hitherto been baptized with the 
 " Baptism of John, but now ye 
 " shall be baptized with another 
 " Baptism, i. e. with the Holy 
 " Spirit." (The Baptism of 
 John and that of the Christian 
 Church he held to be the same). 
 
 Ad Fridol. Lindov. t. i. f. 204. 
 " Baptism does not save us, as 
 " far as it washes the surface and 
 " filth of the body, but as far as 
 " our conscience answers itself 
 " well. 
 
 De vera et falsa relig. t. ii. f. 
 178. " And that we may under- 
 " stand not the water-baptism, 
 " but an internal change of the 
 " old man by repentance, he 
 " adds, this does not take place 
 " thereby that the filth of the 
 *' body is washed away, (for this 
 ** is all which water can do,) but 
 " when the conscience, examin- 
 " ing itself, anssvers itself satis- 
 ' ' factorily as to its state witliGou." 
 
 Socinians. 
 
 Crell. 0pp. Exeg. t. iii. p. 329. 
 " The Apostle teaches, 1st, what 
 " Baptism is not ; 2dly, what it 
 " is. I. Not the putting aside 
 "the filth of the flesh. The 
 " matter is plain : wherefore they 
 " are the more to be blamed, 
 " who, when they hear Baptism 
 " spoken of up and down in 
 " Holy Scripture, and that as 
 " a thing necessary to salvation, 
 " although there be no indica- 
 " tion of an outward water-bap- 
 " tism which washeth away the 
 " filth of the flesh, forthwith un- 
 " derstood this ? Why not rather 
 " the Holy Spirit, or spiritual 
 " Baptism which Peter explains 
 " to us, and asserts that by the 
 " grace of God it bringeth sal- 
 " vation ? Or why not rather the 
 " Baptism of the Spirit, since 
 " this is the peculiar Baptism of 
 " Christ, and is opposed to the 
 " water-baptism wherewith John 
 " was wont to initiate his disci- 
 " pies ?" 
 
 Slichtingius ad loo. 0pp. t. ii. 
 p. 329. " Baptism so far saves 
 " us, not as it contains any lay- 
 " ing aside of the filth of the 
 '* flesh, but as it contains that, 
 '* whereof the outward washing 
 " of the flesh is a sign and sacra- 
 " ment, namely, the interroga- 
 " tory of a good conscience to- 
 " wards God." 
 
 Socinus de Bapt. agues, c. 12. 
 " What else can ' Baptism saves 
 
EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE ON BAPTISM. 
 
 293 
 
 I Pet. iii. 21 — (continued). 
 
 Zuingli- Calvinists. 
 Whitaker de Sacr. ap. Gat. p. 
 109. " Faith is required in adults 
 " before Baptism, whence it is 
 " manifest that it is faith which 
 " saves us, not Baptism." 
 
 Socinians. 
 
 " us,not,&c.'meanbut 'aBaptism 
 
 " saves us, but by Baptism, I 
 
 " mean, not the putting off of the 
 
 " filth of the flesh, but the answer 
 
 '* of a good conscience,' ' or a 
 
 " Baptism which is,' &c. ? So 
 
 " certainly the author of the 
 
 " truly golden notes on the New 
 
 " Testament in the Bible of Vatablus : as if he said, the Bap- 
 
 " tism whereby we are saved, is not a washing whereby the 
 
 " filth of the flesh is washed away, but the declaration of a 
 
 " right and faithful mind towards God, whereby the filth of 
 
 " the soul is washed away, as by water that of the body, lliis 
 
 " explanation of the passage being retained, it is from this plea 
 
 "manifestly false that Baptism saves us; so far from this 
 
 " assumption being confirmed by the testimony of Peter. Nor 
 
 " is it true that the Baptism of water saves us so far as that 
 
 " interrogation of a good conscience there takes place." 
 
 Eph. 
 Piscator, Thes. Theol. t. i. loc. 
 25. § 17- ap. Gat. p. 119- "By 
 " the washing of water. Baptism 
 " is not necessarily understood, 
 " since there may be understood 
 " blood compared to the washing 
 ** of water." Zuinyli de Peccato 
 Orig. 0pp. t. ii. f. 121. v. " Bap- 
 " tism is sometimes taken for the 
 " blood or passion of Christ ; 
 " in 1 Pet. iii., he meaneth not 
 " thewashingof water, butCuRisT 
 " Himself, or His blood and death ; 
 " so that the sign is taken for the 
 " thing signified. How absurd, 
 " then, any one, who contends, 
 " on account of certain expres- 
 " sions, that we are washed from 
 " sin by the water of Baptism ! 
 " So, also, Eph v. and Rom. vi. 
 " are not to be taken to the let- 
 " ter." ^Ad Fridol. Lindov. t. i. 
 f. 204. " God ordered, that he who 
 
 v. 26. 
 
 Crellius de Satisfact. Christi, 
 0pp. t. iv. p. 167. " If the 
 " Apostle had meant by ' purify- 
 " ing' expiation or freeing from 
 " guilt, and the punishment of 
 " sin, he would not have made 
 " mention of the * washing of 
 " water in the word,' but of 
 " ' blood,' wherewith Christ ex- 
 " piated us, as is customary in 
 " Holy Scripture ; especially when 
 " so good an occasion was fur- 
 " nished by the mention of the 
 " death of Christ, the end of 
 " which he is explaining. But 
 " since he is speaking of the 
 " washing away and purifying of 
 " the wickednesses themselves, 
 " and of that Baptism, which, as 
 " Peter says (1 Pet. iii. 22), is 
 *' ' not the putting away the filth 
 " of the flesh, but the stipulation 
 " of a good conscience towards 
 
294 
 
 RESEMBLANCE OF SOCINIAN AND REFORMED 
 
 Eph. V. 26- 
 Zuingli — Calvin ist. 
 " had already believed, should be 
 " dipped in water, not as if He 
 " meant, that in this way the soul 
 " should be cleansed, for how 
 " should an incorporeal substance 
 " be chansed by a corporeal ele- 
 " ment?" 
 
 Wilhtt Contr. ii. Q. 2. "The 
 " outward element doth send and 
 " refer us back to the word and 
 '* promise of God, whereof it is 
 " a scale." 
 
 Calvin Institt. iv. 15. 2. "Paul 
 " did not mean that our washing 
 " and saving (Tit. iii.) took place 
 " in the water, or that the water 
 " had the power of purifying, re- 
 " generating, renewing — for he 
 " unites the word of life and Bap- 
 " tism of water ; as if he said, that 
 " by the Gospel, the tidiiigs of ah- 
 " lution and sanctification were 
 " brought to us, and by Baptism 
 " were sealed : and Peter imme- 
 " diately adds, that that Baptism 
 " is 'not the putting away of the 
 " filth,' &c." 
 
 Vorstius, Anti-Bellarm. ad t. iii. 
 Contr. 1. Thes. 6. § 5. p. .356. 
 " It were absurd to imagine, in 
 " bare elements, a divine Anrtue ; 
 " of penetrating, namely, into the 
 " very soul of man, and of wash- 
 " ing away sins." 
 
 Zuingli de vera et falsa relig. 
 t. ii. f. 198. v. " Sacraments are 
 " signs and ceremonies (with de- 
 " ference to all, moderns and an- 
 " tients), whereby a man proves 
 " himself to the Church to be a 
 " candidate or soldier of Cnuisx; 
 " and they assure the whole 
 " Church of thy faith rather than 
 
 -(continued.) 
 
 Socinian. 
 " God,' therefore he mentioned 
 " the bath of * water,' and that 
 " ' in the word,' i. e., which bath 
 " takes place through the word 
 " of the Gospel, which is wonder- 
 " fully confirmed by the death of 
 " Christ." Id. 0pp. Exeg. t. i. 
 p. 276. " Washing of water, 
 " which is His word or teaching, 
 " for he explains that ' washing 
 " of water' by apposition." F. 
 Socintis, in 1 Ep. D. Johann. c. 5. 
 0pp. t. i. p. 237- "The mean- 
 " ing, to any unprejudiced j)er- 
 " son, is, that the word, »'. e., the 
 " doctrine of Christ, has the 
 " power of cleansing us from all 
 " our sins and stains, no less tlian 
 " water has the power of cleans- 
 " ing our bodies from all their 
 " defilements. They, then, are 
 " very far from the Apostle's 
 " mind, and the meaning of the 
 " words, who, deceived by the 
 " mention of ' water,' think that 
 " the Baptism of water is men- 
 " tioned here ; whereas, no one is 
 " so dull, as not to see and ac- 
 " knowledge, that a Baptism of 
 " wafer cannot effect such a cleans- 
 " ing." 
 
 Socinus de Bapt. Aq. c. 3. 
 " Which cleansing (so to speak) 
 " takes place through the word, 
 " i. e., through the preaching of 
 " the Gospel, which produces faith 
 " (quoting Vatablus.") 
 
 " What can be better under- 
 " stood (under Baptism) than 
 " true repentance, which is the 
 " washing of the soul and spirit ? 
 " Or the public profession of the 
 " Gospel, and of the name of 
 
EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE ON BAPTISM. 
 
 295 
 
 Eph. V. 26 — (continued.) 
 
 Zuingli — Calvinist. 
 " thee. By them we are in such 
 " way initiated, as in Baptism to 
 " enroll ourselves." 
 
 Socinian. 
 " Jesus Christ, since the tvater- 
 " Baptism itself, used by the Apos- 
 " ties, had principally for its ob- 
 " ject, that persons should enroll 
 " themselves under Christ." 
 
 Col. ii. 11. 
 
 Zuingli de Bapt. t. ii. f. 96. v. 
 ' What was circumcision to the 
 ■ antients, than an outward sym- 
 bol, whereby they were bound 
 to become new men, and live 
 most innocently according to 
 the law ? Paul means, then, Ye 
 were circumcised, &c., when 
 ye put off the body of sin. But 
 ye were not less visibly circum- 
 cised than they of old, viz. , with 
 the circumcision of Christ, 
 which, while it plunges you in 
 the water, signifies the same, 
 which was of old indicated by 
 circumcision." 
 
 Crellius 0pp. Exeg. t. i. p. 533. 
 ad loc. " By Baptism, you pro- 
 "fessed and shadowed forth, that 
 " you wished to be buried and 
 " rise again with Christ. But 
 " that resurrection takes place 
 " through faith. For he who be- 
 " lieveth that Christ is risen 
 " from the dead, hath that cause 
 " whence are derived all other 
 " things necessary to salvation." 
 Slichtingius, ad loc. 0pp. t. ii. 
 p. 189. " Since Baptism is the 
 " Sacrament, seal, and profession 
 " of that spiritual burial, or burial 
 " with Christ, which also obliges 
 
 " us to it. rightly does the Apostle 
 *' say, that they, as also all Christians, were buried with Christ 
 " in Baptism. For, to die and be buried with Christ, is to 
 " die and be buried with sin. This has Christ wrought in 
 " us, by His so great love for us, that He did not hesitate to die 
 " for us. 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. Gal. ii. 20." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Gilbert & Rivington, Printers, St. John's Square, London. 
 
Also, by the same Author. 
 
 I. 
 TRACTS No. 18 and 66. 
 
 ON 
 
 THE BENEFITS OF THE SYSTEM OF FASTING 
 ENJOINED BY OUR CHURCH. 
 
 II. 
 PROSPECTIVE AND PAST BENEFITS OF CATHEDRAL 
 INSTITUTIONS, 
 
 IN THE 
 
 PROMOTION OF SOUND RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE AND OF 
 CLERICAL EDUCATION. 
 
 Second Edition. 
 
 III. 
 
 SERMON 
 
 PREACHED AT THE CONSECRATION OF GROVE CHURCH. 
 
 (Sold for the Benefit of that Church.) 
 
7l 
 
 
 Tl^ 
 
 II