O PRINCETON, N. J. "^^ 
 
 Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Agnnv Coll. on Baptism, No. , > 
 
 
 i " 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/inquiryintoeffecOOscot 
 
AN INQUIRY 
 
 rNTO THE 
 
 EFFECT OF BAPTISM, 
 
 ACCORDPfG TO THE 
 
 SENSE OF HOLY SCRIPTURE, 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 C6urc6 of Cnglanti : 
 
 IN ANSWER TO 
 
 THE REVEREND DR. MANT'S TWO TRACTS 
 
 ON 
 
 REGENERATION AND CONVERSION. 
 
 BY JOHN SCOTT, M. A. 
 
 nCJR OF NORTH FERRIBY, ANB MINISTER OF ST. AMRF's CUVBCB, 
 HULL, ETC. 
 
 WITH AN APPENDIX. 
 
 Gratia i^acramentum aliquaado prscedit, aliqnando seqoilur, aliquando nee se> 
 qnttur. Theodoret. 
 
 Omnibus commune e^t Javacram regeneration!?, sed ipsa ^atia...,nQa communis 
 est omuibus. Acgxistine, 
 
 All receive not ths grace of God which receive the sacraments of his grace. Hooker. 
 
 He is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circun;cision, which is out- 
 ward in the fiesb ; but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly ; and circumcision is thnt of 
 the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is cot of men but of God. 
 
 Sr. Paul. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed by C, Baldwin, New Bridge-street ; 
 
 A\D SOLD BY L. E. SKELEY, 169, FLEET-STREET ; 
 
 J. HATCHAUD, 190, PICCADILLY; BALDWIN, CRADOCK, A.VD JOY, 47, 
 
 PATF.R\OSTER-R0W, LONDON : DEIGHTON , CAMBRIDGE ; R. BLISS, OXFORD- 
 
 WULSTENHOLME, YORK; THE BOOKSELLERS IN HULL, &r. 
 
 1817. 
 Price 6s. in boards. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introductory Observations 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 On the Effect of Baptism. — Language of the Church — Dr. 
 Mant's Language — His sentiments still undefined — Na- 
 ture of Regeneration 4> 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 The Argument from Scripture. — Dr. Mant's scriptural Au» 
 thorities — His Observations on them examined— His 
 negative argument from Scripture 13 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 The Subject continued.— Another Series of scriptural Pas- 
 sages concerning Regeneration — Circumcision, and the 
 Jews under the Old Testament Dispensation 46 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A Consequence of the Doctrine, that Baptism is Regenera- 
 tion, or the only Medium of Regeneration 64; 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Doctrine of the Church. — Remarkable Difference be- 
 tween the Language of the Church and that of Dr. Mant 
 — Analogy of the other Sacrament — Church Articles 
 and Catechism — Dr. Mant's Doctrine a Revival of the 
 Opus operatum 68 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 Church Services. — Office for Baptism of Adults. — Principle 
 on which the Churcli proceeds, in speaking of all whom 
 she has admitted to Baptism as regenerate 82 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 The Case of Infants. — Church Service for their Baptism — 
 A Passage in the Cutcchism furnishes the Key. — Bishop 
 Hopkins's Views of baptismal Regeneration . . 96 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER Mil. Pag* 
 
 That the hypothetical Principle pervades the Services of the 
 Church '. 107 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 That the same Principle is adopted in Scripture. — An impor- 
 tant Question in the Interpreration of the sacred Writings. 
 — Circumstances under which the strong Language used 
 concerning baptized Persons, was introduced 114- 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Tliat Begeneraiion is not restricted to Baptism by the 
 Church of England — by the English Reformers — by the 
 Divines to whose Authority Dr. Mant appeals — or by the 
 Society for promoting Christian Knowledge 122 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Tliat, by Dr. Mant's own Concession, every adult Person, 
 * receiving Baptism rightly,'' is regenerate before he is 
 baptized "^ , ' US 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 On the Importance of the Question at issue, and the 
 practical Tendency of Dr. Mant's Doctrine. — The Au- 
 thor's Conclusions coaceming the Enect of Baptism. ... 151 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 On Dr. Mant's second Tract, on Conversion 167 
 
 Appendix 193 
 
 t*» To accommodaie the purchasers of the former edition, the 
 Appendix is sold separate, price Is. 
 
^,?'*****^- 
 
 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 W HEN a writer under ordinary circumstances lays his 
 sentiments before the public, he makes his way to attention 
 as the nature of his subject, his previous reputation, his 
 talents, and the force of his arguments may enable him. 
 But it is under no ordinary circumstances that Dr. Mant is 
 presented to our notice, in the publication on wliich I in- 
 tend to offer some animadversions. Independently of his 
 distinctions as Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 a Bampton Lecturer at Oxford, and one of the two per- 
 sons selected to compile and publish a commentary on the 
 scriptures, under the patronage of the Society for promo- 
 ting Christian Knowledge ; the single fact of his tracts 
 having been adopted by that society, and circulated through- 
 out the kingdom with the annual packet sent to all its 
 members, must draw peculiar attention to them ; and make 
 every one, who feels concerned for the interests of true re- 
 ligion, and the welfare of the church of England, somewhat 
 solicitous respecting the spirit which they breathe, and the 
 sentiments which they are calculated to disseminate. In 
 this view, especially, I have been led to examine them : 
 and sorry I am to state, as the result of my examination, 
 a full conviction, that their contents are such, that the con- 
 ductors of the society can never justify, to a great number 
 of its supporters, to the church of England, and to the 
 Christian world at large, their having employed the funds 
 and influence of the institution to render them current 
 amongst us. 
 
 B 
 
2 SPIRIT OF DR. MANT S TRACTS. 
 
 Not to prejudge the question, hereafter to be invesiigated, 
 concerning the character of the doctrines maintained in 
 these tracts, is it for a society which has been by high au- 
 thority styled * national,' and which at least aspii^jss to be 
 the society of the church of England, without respect to 
 subordinate discriminations, to espouse and circulate among 
 
 * the community at large,'* writings which continually 
 speak of ' a party,' a * sect,' * in the very bosom of the 
 
 * church,' who 'arrogate to themselves the distinction of 
 
 * being her only faithful sons,' but ' whose preaching ne- 
 
 * vertheless is in irreconcileahle hoslility to her unequivocal 
 
 * avd numerous declarations : ' on whose banners ' regene- 
 
 * ration is, as it were, inscribed ' as a ' watchword,' — ' re- 
 ' generation, not the fruit of Christ's holy ordinance of 
 
 * baptism, but the eifect of their declamation : ' wliose 
 principles * in some sense do despite unto the Spirit of grace :' 
 and who ' would fain fasten their heresy upon our church, 
 
 * and sedulously labour to propagate it asher's ?' f I have 
 much respect, in many points of view, for Dr. Mant, and I 
 would fain hope that he is not, on the whole, a man of an un- 
 charitable and unchristian temper : but I cannot refrain from 
 asking, Is all this conciliatory ? is it healing ? is it salutary ? 
 is it adapted to the exigencies of the times ? is it calculated 
 to serve the church ? is it what it becomes ' the Society for 
 ' promoting Christian Knowledge,' to use its power and 
 resources in circulating? — I, for one, feel myself entitled to 
 remonstrate against what I so much disapprove, not only 
 as a member of the society, but as having collected money 
 for it, and having publicly recommended it to support. 
 And, might I hope to be honoured with a hearing from my 
 superiors, I would earnestly entreat those of the heads of 
 our church, who take part in the proceedings of the in- 
 stitution, seriously to consider the tendency of such things 
 as liave been cited. It is not impossible that they may act 
 
 * Title-page of the Tracts. t Tracts, p. 15, 21, 23, 28, &.c. 
 
SPIRIT OF DR. MANt's TRACTS. S 
 
 more forcibly in the way of recoil, than in that of direct 
 straight-forward movement.* — Hitherto it has been gene- 
 rally esteemed an odious and obnoxious proceeding, for 
 one part of the clergy to reproach and criminate another : 
 but now they are taught to do it under the sanction of the 
 most extensive and most dignified association that exists 
 within the pale of the church ! 
 
 But I proceed to the more particular consideration of the 
 contents of the tracts, their doctrines and their arguments. 
 
 * From what I know of the sentiments prevailing among no incon- 
 siderable bodies of people, I am persuaded, that the enemies of the 
 church have not, for a good while past, had so powerful an instrument 
 put into their hands for her injury, as these tracts. In fact, I know that 
 they have already been used against her, by persons willing, for this 
 end, to assume that Dr. M. correctly exhibits her doctrines. 
 
 Since the publication of the former edition of this work, the conduc- 
 tors of the Eclectic Review have shown that they clearly perceive their 
 advantage, and are not wanting in a disposition to improve it. 
 
 b2 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 On the effect of baptism — Language of the Church — Dr. 
 Mant's language — His sentiments still undefined — Nature 
 of regeneration. 
 
 IT is well known, that, in very early times, strong lan- 
 guage came into use, in the Christian church, concerning 
 baptism, and the blessings connected with it. On what 
 principles it was thus used may hereafter, in some degree, 
 appear.* 
 
 It is likewise well known, that the church of England 
 has seen good to retain a portion of this language, particu- 
 larly by speaking of every one, whom she has admitted to 
 baptism, as ' born again,' and ' regenerated by God's 
 ' Holy Spirit.' But it is by no means sufficient merely to 
 quote this language : it remains to be inquired, in what 
 sense, and especially, as it appears tome, upon what grounds, 
 the church uses it. Different modes of explaining it have 
 been adopted by high authorities. 
 
 Many have attached to the terms ' regeneration ' and 
 
 * new birth,' in this connection, a lower and qualified 
 sense. This was done, in particular, by the able and ex- 
 cellent Bisliop Hopkins, whom Dr. M. quotes for the as- 
 sertion, ' that baptismal regeneration must be acknowledged 
 < by all, that will not wilfully shut their eyes against the 
 ' clear evidence of Scripture ;'t at the same time, how- 
 
 * Close of c. ix. 
 
 f P. 40. The quotation is not very fairly made. The bishop's words 
 are, * such a baptismal regeneration as this must needs be acknowledged 
 
 * by all,' &c. Works, 8vo. Vol. ii. p. 423. He is speaking of an ' ex- 
 
 * tenial, ecclesiastical/ and merely 'relative' sanctification : in short 
 
CHAP. I.J EFFECT OF BAPTISM. 6 
 
 ever, intimating, that the bishop has * qualified the pro- 
 
 * position' by ' a limitation.' The limitation, it may be 
 collected from the next page but one, is no less important 
 than this, that he ' considers baptismal regeneration, as 
 ' merely admitting us members of the visible church, and 
 
 * not as entitling us to eternal life; and contends for an- 
 ' other regeneration, independent of the washing by water, 
 ' and identified by him with conversion, renovation, and 
 < the like.' * 
 
 Had Dr. M. used the term baptismal regeneration in a 
 sense like this, there might have been no dispute with him. 
 He, however, admits of no such qualified interpretation. 
 His language upon the subject is as follows : 
 
 — ' That sjipernatural grace, which was thereby to be con- 
 
 * ferred,' — namely by the sacrament of baptism, — ' through 
 
 * the instrumentality of water, and by the agency of the 
 ' Holy Ghost.' P. 8. 
 
 * Baptism is a neiv birth, by which we enter into the 
 ' new world, the new creation, the blessings and spiri- 
 
 * tualities of the kingdom.' — * From this time forward 
 
 * we have a new principle put into us, the Spirit of grace, 
 
 * which, besides our soul and body, is a principle of action ; ' 
 &c. f P. 9. — So also ' a new principle of life infused,' &c, 
 P. 50. 
 
 ' By that sacrament we are made Christians, and are 
 
 * born anew of water and of the Holy Spirit.' P. 10. 
 The church ' supposes, in strict conformity with the 
 
 ' scriptures, not merely that all real Christians are regenerate 
 
 * bij God's Holy Spirit, by which I understand all those, 
 ^ who live a Christian life ; but that those also are so rege- 
 < nerated, to whom baptism is rightly administered, not- 
 
 of ' admission into the visible church.' Dr. M. however, as I have 
 said, does intimate ' a limitation.' 
 
 * P. 42. t Quoted from Bp. Taylor. 
 
6 » EFFECT OF BAPTISM. [CHAP. I. 
 
 ' withstanding by their future conduct they may forfeit the 
 
 * privileges of their new birth.' P. 10, 11.* 
 
 ' That the sacramental character of the institution should 
 
 * be steadily kept in view, we are reminded of the regene- 
 
 * ration conveyed by it to the baptized.' P. 16. 
 
 * We maintain the regenerating efficacy of baptism to 
 
 * those who die before they commit actual sin.' P. 22. 
 
 * To deny the regenerating effect of baptism is in some 
 
 * sense to do despite unto the Spirit of grace.' P. 28. 
 
 * When it may be satisfactorily argued from the highest 
 
 * authority, that baptism is the vehicle of regeneration, why 
 
 * should we look for any other?' P. 29. 
 
 ' It is the doctrine of the holy scriptures, that we are by 
 
 * baptism made heirs of salvation through Christ ; &c. — If 
 ' then we cannot become heirs of salvation, except we be 
 ' born of water and of the Spirit, and if we be made heirs 
 
 * of salvation by baptism, I see not how we are to evade 
 
 * the consequence, that the outward washing of baptism is 
 
 * attended by the sanctification of the Spirit, and that we are 
 
 * born of water and of the Spirit when we are baptized.' 
 P. 29. 
 
 — * Which confirais an opinion presently to be in* 
 
 * sisted on, that no other than baptismal regeneration is 
 ' possible in this world.' P. 32. 
 
 * Sanctification and purity, unspotted and unblemished 
 
 * holiness, are here f attributed to the church of Christ as 
 
 * the effect of the washing of water.' P. 33. — He adds, 
 of course, by ' the operation of the Spirit.' But I here 
 quote the passage for the terms with which it opens. 
 
 ' We argue for baptism being the vehicle of regeneration, 
 "* because it is the vehicle of salvation' P. 35. 
 
 * The words in italics, in this passage, are noted as a quotation 
 from Mr. Overton's True Churchman, &c. p. 109. 
 
 t Viz. in Eph. v. 25-— 27. 
 
CHAP. I.] EFFECT OF BAPTISM. f 
 
 ' To deny the regenerating influence of baptism is to deny 
 
 * its sacramental character.' P. 36. 
 
 ' If ever the new lirth be not conveyed by baptism 
 
 * rightly administered ; or if, when once regenerated, it 
 
 * be (I will not say necessary, but) possible for any one to 
 
 * be born again, doubtless there is scriptural authority to 
 
 * that purpose.' P. 40. 
 
 Supposing it to convey no ' effectual regeneration,' he 
 makes a person to affirm, ' It is destitute of an inward and 
 
 * spiritual grace ; it is no sacrament ; it is a non-essential.' 
 P. 51. 
 
 — * Ordained as it was by Christ himself, with a promise of 
 
 * salvation annexed to its legitimate administration.' P. 51. 
 
 It appears, then, that by ' the regeneration of baptism,* 
 Dr. M. understands ' a supernatural grace conferred,' — * a 
 
 * new principle put into us,' ' a new principle of life' and 
 
 * of action,'* — ' even the Spirit of grace' — ' the sanctifica- 
 
 * tion of the Spirit,* — which ' makes us heirs of salvation,* 
 —■and * entitles us to eternal life.'f And he believes, that 
 all this extends to every one, to whom ' baptism is rightly 
 
 * administered : ' that to deny this is ' to deny its sacra- 
 
 * mental character,' — is ' heresy,' — is ' in some sense doing 
 
 * despite to the Spirit of grace.' And, finally, he holds, 
 
 * that no other regeneration is possible in this world.* 
 
 In the above citations, if I have not collected every 
 term by which Dr. M. describes the effect of baptism, yet 
 I trust I have omitted nothing by which his views of the 
 subject might be elucidated. And truly, after such accu- 
 mulated and diversified phraseology, to complain of the 
 want of explanation may seem a little unreasonable. Yet 
 this complaint I am constrained to make. Nearly all this 
 language, or even the whole of it when compared together, 
 iippears to me indefinite, indistinct, and not very consistent 
 
 * P, 9, 50. t P. 42. 
 
8 EFFECT OF BAPTISM. [CHAP. 1. 
 
 with itselfj and with other parts of the work. Far from 
 being calculated ' to convey correct notions of regenera- 
 
 * tion; '* it by no means indicates the writer to have entered 
 into the consideration of the various questions which be- 
 long to his subject. 
 
 For instance, it might be asked, Is baptism itself rege- 
 neration? or does it ' convey ' regeneration? or is it only 
 
 * attended by ' regeneration ? Each of these questions sug- 
 gests an idea distinct from the others. Each sentiment has 
 had its abettors; and each might claim the support of Dr. 
 M.'s authority : the first on the ground of the quotation 
 from page 9, beginning, ' baptism is a new birth ; ' the last 
 on the ground of the second quotation from page 29 ; and 
 the intermediate one, on the ground of several of the quo- 
 tations which have been made, and of his prevailing lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Again : Does baptism convey its regenerating influence 
 only to infants, or to all * to whom it is rightly admi-. 
 
 * nistered?' Certainly we should not hesitate to pronounce 
 the latter to be Dr. M.'s opinion, from various passages 
 above cited,f and from the general tenor of his tracts. 
 What then shall we say to the following sentence, in page 
 22 ? ' We maintain the regenerating eflScacy of baptism 
 
 * to those who die before they commit actual sin.' Has it, 
 then, no ' regenerating efficacy ' at the time, to those who 
 live afterwards to commit actual sin ? If so. Dr. M. can 
 never know whether to return thanks for the regeneration 
 of an infant whom he baptizes, unless he can first know 
 that it will not live to commit actual sin ! — Has it, again, 
 no * regenerating efiicacy' to adults, ' rightly receiving it?' 
 And do both the classes, which have been named, need, 
 or, at least, maj/ they need ' another regeneration' dis- 
 tinct from that of baptism ?| This must be the case, if 
 
 * Title-page of the Tracts. 
 
 t See quotations from p. 11, 12, 16, 28, 32, 36, 40,51. 
 
 : P. 42. 
 
CHAP. I.] NATURE OF Ri:GENERATION. 9 
 
 with them baptism be attended with no * regenerating 
 
 * efficacy.* 
 
 But the main question is that which relates to the nature 
 of regeneration. Unless it be settled what we mean by the 
 term, there is no end to the dispute. — Dr. M. charges 
 Bishop Hopkins, and other more modern divines, with 
 confounding it with ' conversion, renovation,' * a change 
 
 * of heart,' ' and the like.'* Certainly he is ?iot far from 
 the truth, in supposing that many of us do pretty closely 
 connect it with conversion : yet from a work, with which 
 so near a follower of the bishop of Lincoln ought not to be 
 unacquainted, he might have learned, that even here he 
 is not quite correct, when he asserts, that we ' identify re- 
 
 * generation with conversion.'-]- Waving that point, however, 
 in what does Dr. M. suppose regeneration actually to con- 
 sist ? As the former of the two prelates just mentioned 
 observes. The ' grace, that concurs unto the great change,* 
 which a sinner undergoes, * when he is translated from a 
 
 * state of nature unto a state of grace, is of two sorts : 
 
 * either such as alters the relations^ wherein we stand unto 
 
 * God ; or such as alters the dispositions and habit of our 
 ' souls.' Of the former sort is justijication, which does not 
 express ' how our heart is changed towards God,' but that 
 our sins are put away, and that we are accepted to God's 
 favour. Of the latter kind is sanctification, which denotes 
 a purification of our ' moral habits and principles.' J These 
 two things, though inseparable, are essentially distinct, and 
 must be carefully distinguished by him, who would write with 
 anyprecision upon theological subjects. Of which kind, then, 
 does Dr. M. understand the change of regeneration to be ? 
 
 * P. 41, 42. 
 
 t Scott's Remarks on Bp. Tomline's Refutation of Calvinism, vol. i. 
 p. 177, 209, 246, 247. 
 
 t Bp. Hopkins's Works, vol. ii. p. 475, 476, 8vo. — See Note I. in tha 
 Appeudix to this work. 
 
 o 
 
1-0 DR. mant's language. [chap. r. 
 
 Is it an interaal and moral change, turning fallen man from 
 the love of sin to holiness, " the sanctification of the Spirit," 
 by which he is to be restored to " the image of God ?" or 
 is it a change of state and circumstances ? Is it the remission 
 of sins ? If the former, then why does he censure those 
 who identify it with * a change of heart?' But if not, what 
 are we to understand by his own language, when he speaks 
 of ' a new prhic'iple of life being infused ' into us, the op- 
 posite of being ' dead in trespasses and sins ;' * — of * the 
 
 * outward washing of baptism being attended by the sanc- 
 ' tification of the Spirit ; ' f — of ' sanctification and purity, 
 *■ unspotted and unblemished holiness,'' being * attributed 
 
 * to the church of Christ, as the effect of the washing 
 
 * of water,' under ' the operation of the Spirit; ':{: — and of 
 
 * dy^'^b ^'"^0 ^^^ "^ baptism?' § If all this do not mean a 
 moral change, ' a change of heart,' what does it mean? 
 ' — But if it do, what, again, are we to understand by the 
 following extraordinary passage concerning St. Paul? 
 
 * Where is St. Paul described as regenerated, until Ana- 
 
 * nias baptized him and washed away his sins ? That he 
 ' was converted, and that his heart -was renewed, is evident 
 
 * from the language, which he uttered when he had fallen 
 ,' to the earth, and from the obedience which he paid to the 
 
 * voice from heaven. That he was not regenerated until a 
 
 * later period is evident; for when Ananias called on him 
 
 * to be baptized, he was still under the pollution of his 
 ' sins.' II 
 
 On the mode of reasoning, adopted in this passage, I at 
 present offer no remark. But I must ask, what is here 
 meant by ' the pollution of his sins,' which the regeneration 
 of baptism was to wash away ? Does it mean depravity, — 
 corrupt disposition? If so, had not his * conversion,' and 
 the ' renewal of his heart,' removed it ? Or does it mean 
 
 * P. 50 and 9. f P. 29. J P. 33. 
 
 § P. 39. II P. 43. 
 
CHAP. I.] NATURE OF REGENERATION. 11 
 
 guik, — liability to punishment? If so, are we to suppose 
 a man * converted,' ' renewed,' ' obedient,' and conse- 
 quently penitent and believing, yet unpardoned ? Is this 
 compatible with the explicit and acknowledged doctrine of 
 scripture? — And, further, the question recurs, If regene- 
 ration signify the removal of guilt by pardon, where was 
 the propriety of all the language so recently quoted, which 
 describes it as the removal of depravity by ' sanctification ? * 
 
 Our views of regeneration (if, without any pretensions 
 to be the * accredited advocate' of a party,* I may pre- 
 sume to speak on behalf of many of my brethren as well as 
 myself,) are surely more definite, and more consistent with 
 themselves, whether they be more ' correct' or not. We 
 consider the term as equivalent, or nearly so, to other scrip- 
 tural phrases, such as the " quickening of those who were 
 " dead in trespasses and sins," " a new heart," " a neW 
 " creature." The necessity for this change is laid in the 
 corruption and depravity of human nature ; which are 
 such as to make a moral renovation of the whole man 
 indispensable to his " seeing the kingdom of God," — whe- 
 ther our Lord meant, and whether we are to describe, this 
 change by the term regeneration or not. The effect of it 
 is, to turn man from sin to God and holiness. Though 
 the word regeneration may be sometimes used with more 
 latitude, we generally understand by it the commencement of 
 " that sanctification of the Spirit," which must restore us 
 " to the image of God," and " make us meet to be parta- 
 " kers of the inheritance of the saints in light," without how- 
 ever excluding the further progress and advancement of the 
 change, f The Holy Spirit of God is the author of the work : 
 and, where adult subjects are concerned, the word of God the 
 ordinary means of effecting it. 4: Baptism, we consider as 
 
 * Tracts, p. 63. f See Appendix, Note II. 
 
 J James i. 18. 1 Pet. i. 23. Eph. v. 26. — ' Christ saith, Except a 
 
 1 
 
12 NATURE OF REGENERATION. [CHAP. I. 
 
 * the sign of regeneration ; ' * as a ' pledge ' f of it < to 
 ' those who receive baptism rightly ; ' and also as * a 
 
 * means 'f by which the blessing maij be, and, especially in 
 the cases of infants, we trust, frequently is conveyed, in an- 
 swer to the devout prayers which accompany the adminis* 
 tration of this sacrament. But as to its ' entitl'mg us to 
 
 * eternal life,' this we think, in all cases, a misapplication 
 of terms. We make a marked distinction between our 
 title to eternal life, and our " meetness" for it. Christ, 
 and his " obedience unto death" in our behalf, embraced 
 by a living faith, constitute our only title to heaven, the 
 sole ground of our admission to that blessed state; though 
 personal holiness is the necessary preparation for it, " with- 
 *' out which no man shall see the Lord." 
 
 Such, I believe I shall not err in stating, are the sen- 
 timents :j: of those, who are reproached as ' the self-denomi- 
 
 * nated evangelical party.' Whose views, their's or their 
 opponents', best agree with scripture, and the authorized 
 writings of our church, is to be the subject of further in- 
 quiry. § 
 
 * mail be born again from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ...» 
 ' Saith St. Peter, We be born again. How ? Not by a mortal seed, but hj 
 < an immortal. What is this immortal seed ? By the word of the living 
 
 * God; hy the word of God preached and opened. Thus cometh in our 
 
 * NEW BIRTH.' Bp. Latimer. 
 
 * Church Art. xxvii. f Catechism. 
 
 J I gladly refer to Bp. Hopkins on * the Nature and Necessity of Re- 
 
 * generation/ for a more enlarged statement. Works, vol. ii. p. 468. 
 § See Appendix, Note III. 
 
13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The argument from Scripture. — Dr. Manfs scriptural autho- 
 rities — His observations on them examined — His negative 
 argument from Scrip fjire. 
 
 LjR. Mant professes himself well aware, that no authority 
 
 * is admissible for the foundation of a doctrine, except that 
 ' of the inspired writings.' * He proceeds, therefore, * to 
 
 * state several scriptural authorities, on which the notion 
 
 * of our being regenerated by baptism may be incontro- 
 ' vertibly maintained.' f 
 
 Let us then examine what is the decisive testimony of 
 scripture, by which he imagines, that he thus ' incontro- 
 
 * vertibly^ establishes his views of the subject. 
 
 The first passage is part of our Saviour's discourse with 
 Nicodemus, which he uses as a text. I shall place the 
 words entire in the reader's view. 
 
 John iii. 1 — 12 : " There was a man of the pharisees, 
 " named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews : the same came' 
 " to Jesus by night, and said unto him. Rabbi, we know 
 " that thou art a teacher come from God : for no man can 
 *' do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with 
 *' him. Jesus answered and said unto him. Verily, verily, 
 " I say unto thee. Except a man be horn again he cannot 
 ** see the kingdom of God, Nicodemus saith unto him, 
 *' How can a man be born when he is old ? Can he enter 
 " the second time into his mother's womb, and be born ? 
 " Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except 
 « a man be born of luater and of the Spirit, he cannot 
 ** enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of 
 
 * P. 37. t P- 30. 
 
14? DR. MANXES [chap. II. 
 
 *' the flesh is flesh ; and that which is horn of the Spirit is 
 *^ spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
 " hoin again. The wind bloweth where it hsteth, and thou 
 *' hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it 
 *' cometh, and whitlier it goeth : so is every one that is 
 " horn of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto 
 *' him, How can these things be ? Jesus answered and said 
 " imto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not 
 " these things ? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak 
 " that we do know, and testify that we have seen ; and ye 
 *' receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, 
 " and ye beheve not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of 
 " heavenly things ?" 
 
 The other passages adduced are the following. 
 
 St. Mark xvi. 15, 16 : "Go ye into all the world, and 
 *' preach the gospel to every creature. He that believetlv 
 " and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not 
 " shall be damned." 
 
 Tit. iii. 4 — 7 : " But, after that the kindness and love 
 " of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works 
 ** of righteousness which we have done, but according to 
 *' his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, 
 '' and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on u& 
 " abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour : that, 
 " being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs ac- 
 " cording to the hope of eternal life." 
 
 1 Cor. vi. 11: " And such were some of you ; but ye are, 
 " washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in tlie, 
 ** name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.", 
 
 Col. ii. 12, 13 : " Buried with Christ in baptism, where-. 
 " in also ye are risen with him, through the faith of the; 
 *' operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead., 
 " And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumci- 
 " sion of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him." 
 
CHAP. II.] SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITIES. 1.5 
 
 Rom. vi. 3 — 5, 8—1 1 : " Know ye not that so many of 
 " us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into 
 " his death ? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism. 
 ** into death ; that, like as Christ was raised up from the 
 ** dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should 
 
 *' walk in newness of life Now, if we be dead with 
 
 ** Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him : 
 " knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no 
 *' more ; death hath no more dominion over him. For, 
 " in that he died, he died unto sin once : but, in that he 
 *' liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also 
 " yourselves -to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto 
 " God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 Eph. V. 25' — 27 : " Christ loved the church, and gave 
 " himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with 
 " the washing of water by the word ; that he might present 
 " it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or 
 " wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy 
 " and without blemish." 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 13 : "By one Spirit are we all baptized into 
 " one body." 
 
 Acts ii. 38 : " Repent, and be 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." 
 
 Acts X. 47, 48 : " Can any man forbid water, that these 
 " should not be baptized, which have received the Holy 
 ^* Ghost as well as we ? And he commanded them to be 
 " baptized in the name of the Lord." 
 
 Acts xxii. 16 : Ananias to Paul: " And now why tarriest 
 " thou? Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, 
 " calling on the name of the Lord." 
 
 These, with an allusion to 1 John iii. 2, and 1 Peter i, 
 3, 23, which will be noticed hereafter, constitute Dr. M.'s 
 scriptm'al authorities : and ' from them he apprehends it 
 
16 AGREEiMENT FROM SCRIPTURE. [CHAP. II. 
 
 * to be established, as the general doctrine of the gospel, 
 
 * that the new birth or regeneration, which is pronounced 
 ' by our Saviour to be necessary to salvation, or (as he ex- 
 
 * presses it,) to seeing or entering into the kingdom of God, 
 
 * is effected by the operation of the Holy Ghost at baptism,'* 
 — at baptism ' exclusively, '■\ and always at baptism where 
 
 * it is rightly administered.' :j: 
 
 Now let the reader once more peruse these passages, 
 with a view to ascertain what demonstration he finds in them 
 of Dr. M.'s doctrines, that * spiritual regeneration,' — * a 
 
 * supernatural gi'ace,' — ' a new principle of life ' and ' of 
 
 * action,' — ' the sanctification of the Spirit,' which ' makes 
 
 * us heirs of salvation,' and ' entitles us to eternal life,' 
 always accompanies baptism; and is 'exclusively' confined 
 to baptism ; so ' that no other than baptismal regeneration 
 
 * is possible in this world.' No unprejudiced reader, I 
 think, can make this examination, without feeling astonish- 
 ed, that such an edifice should have been raised upon such 
 a basis ; such a system spun out of so scanty materials ! He 
 must, I conceive, feel no small surprise at observing what 
 passes with Dr. M. for ' incontrovertible ' proof ! 
 
 But let us hear Dr. M.'s comments on his scriptural 
 proofs. 
 
 On John iii. he observes, ' It should appear, that our 
 
 * Saviour was here alluding by anticipation to the sacra- 
 ' ment of baptism, which he intended to ordain ; and to 
 ' that supernatural grace, which was thereby to be confer- 
 ^ red through the instrumentality of water, and by the 
 « agency of the Holy Ghost ; adopting not only the cere- 
 ' mony itself,' which had been used by the Jews, and 
 ' which he meant to exalt to more noble and spiritual pur- 
 
 * poses ; but also the very term, by which the Jews had de- 
 
 * scribed the change wrought in the baptized.' § 
 
 * P. 35. t P- 32, 33. t P- 40. § P. 8. 
 
CHAP. II.] ST. JOHN, C. HI. 17 
 
 The last clause is explained by what he liad previously 
 said, that ' proselytes, purified and admitted into the 
 ' Jewish church by baptism, were said to be regenerated 
 * or born again.' * If so, and if this were established and 
 customary phraseology, it must have been familiar to Nico- 
 demus, " a teacher of Israel ; " and familiar to him, 
 though in a lower, yet in ' a similar sense, 'f to that in 
 which our Lord used it. But who can possibly read his as- 
 tonished reply, and for a moment believe this ? " How can 
 '* a man," he exclaims, " be born when he is old ? Can 
 *' he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be 
 " born ? " Is this the language of a man accustomed to 
 the idea, and to ' the very term,' of being " born again ? " ij: 
 The rest of the passage may be suffered to pass for the 
 present, with the remark, that it is opinion only, and not 
 argument. 
 
 In a subsequent part of his work. Dr. M. observes, 
 with reference to the same passage of scripture : ' If spiri- 
 tual regeneration be not conferred by baptism, when^ (we 
 may reasonably demand,) and by what means is it con- 
 ferred ? In what other ceremony, and at what other sea- 
 son, shall we find that joint operation of water and of the 
 Holy Spirit, of which Christ affirms we must be born ? 
 I say that joint operation ; for surely those, which Christ 
 himself hath joined together, it is not for man to put 
 asunder.' He adds, ' I am the more disposed to press 
 this argument, and to bring it forward in the most promi- 
 nent point of view, not only because it appears to me de- 
 cisive on the question ; but also, because the importance 
 of the argument seems to be recognized by the silence of 
 our opponents, who in their zeal to enforce regeneration, 
 the being born again, the being born of God, the being 
 born of the Spirit, studiously keep out of sight the in- 
 
 * P- 6. t P. 8. X See Appendix, Note IV, 
 
18 ST. JOHN, c. III. [chap. ir. 
 
 ' strument, whereby Christ says we must be born again.' * 
 And shortly after : ' For the purpose, therefore, of rege- 
 
 * nei'ation, we conceive this union of water as the instrument, 
 
 * and of the Spirit as the efficient principle, to be absolutely 
 
 * necessary.' ' We are justified in contending, that for the 
 ' express purpose of regeneration, not only is his (the Spi- 
 ' rit's) operation necessary, but that it must also (humanly 
 ' speaking) be administered through the mediation of water. 
 
 * It is not for man to dispense with the ordinances of God.' 
 
 Such are Dr. M.'s reasonings upon the discourse with 
 Nicodemus. I can believe him to be very sincerely con- 
 vinced by them : but I must wonder if to others they 
 should appear very conclusive. 
 
 We will admit that, in the expression " born of water," 
 our Lord alludes to baptism, though, as Dr. M. observes, 
 it must have been ' by anticipation,' since that sacrament 
 was not yet ordained : and I conceive the same language 
 might, without impropriety, have been used, had the ap- 
 pointment of baptism never been intended. My reasons 
 for such an opinion will appear as v.e proceed. 
 
 Dr. M., indeed, speaks of ' water ' as * the instrument, 
 
 * whereby Christ says we must be born again.' f But it is 
 not very conceivable how icater, literally taken, being ap- 
 plied to the body, should be instrumental io the regeneration 
 of the soul. \ Nor does our Lord's language necessarily, or 
 even naturally, convey such an idea. It might mean more : 
 it may mean less. The expression is precisely the same re- 
 specting water, as respecting the Spirit : " born of water 
 " and of the Spirit." Yet Dr. M. himself will not go the 
 length of interpreting it of both in exactly the same sense. 
 He lowers its meaning, as it is applied to the former, to the 
 notion of instrumentality : I see not, therefore, what right he 
 
 * P. 25, 26. t P. 26, 27, 28. : See Appendix, Note V. 
 
CHAP. II.j ST. JOHN, C. III. 19 
 
 has to condemn us, if we consider it as expressing only that 
 of sign, or emblem. — I speak here of the water, that which 
 alone our Lord names, and that which Dr. M. calls ' the 
 
 * instrument ; ' not of the sacrament of baptism, which we 
 consider as being much more than a mere sign. 
 
 Dr. M. lays great stress on what he calls ' that joint 
 
 * operation of water and of the Holy Spirit, of which,* 
 according to him, ' Christ affirms we must be born.' He 
 is * disposed to press this argument, and to bring it for- 
 
 * ward in the most prominent point of view.' He talks, 
 in this connection, of ' putting asunder those things which 
 ' Christ himself hath joined together ; ' of ' dispensing 
 
 * with the ordinances of God ; ' * and other things of se- 
 rious import. But, before this has any weight, he must 
 prove, much more decisively than by the mere citation of 
 the words,-^ that such ' a joint operation,' and such an or- 
 dination of God, inseparably connecting regeneration with 
 the use of water, are implied in the terms " born of water 
 " and of the Spirit." I would venture to ask. Are they 
 even so clear upon the point, that any one would have in- 
 ferred from them alone, that Christians were to be baptized 
 at all ? I readily allow, that ' a single text of scripture, 
 
 * properly understood, may serve for the foundation of a 
 ' doctrine : ' f but, to serve for the foundation of such a 
 doctrine as that of Dr. M., it must be much more decisive, 
 and the interpretation much more clearly ' proper,' than 
 what is now before us. 
 
 Let me beg the reader's attention to a very observable 
 circumstance in the passage of scripture, under considera- 
 tion, which Dr. M.'s remarks upon it would not have pre- 
 pared him to expect, and which is by no means undeserving 
 of notice in the argument. It is true, that, in his second 
 assertion of the necessity of being born again, (v. 5.) our 
 Saviour does introduce the mention of " water : " but not 
 
 *- P. 25; 28. t P 30. 
 
 c2 
 
20 ST. JOHN, c. III. [chap. n. 
 
 only had he said nothing of it in the first, (v. 3.) which, 
 indeed, was more concise and general ; but he drops all 
 notice of it, all allusion to it, in every one of the three 
 subsequent instances, in which he speaks of the same thing 
 in the same discourse ; insisting only upon being " born of 
 " the Spirit " as the great essential matter intended. (See 
 V. 6, 7, 8.) As it has been justly remarked, in the whole 
 passage ' one word intimates the outward sign, all else re- 
 ' lates to the thing signified.' * If any of us, therefore, 
 
 * in our zeal to enforce regeneration, the being born again, 
 
 * the being born of God, the being born of the Spirit,' — 
 not ' studiously keep out of sight 'f what Dr. M. calb 
 
 * the instrument,' — but attribyite to it a less necessary effi- 
 cacy, than he does ; I trust we do not * put asunder what 
 
 * Christ hath joined together,' butrather imitate his example, 
 and comply with his instructions, both as to the letter and 
 the spirit of them. 
 
 Let me further ask, while the expression " born of water 
 " and of the Spirit " is under consideration, does Dr. M. 
 recollect no other instance, in which, and that in speaking 
 of the self-same subject, the operation of the Spirit is con- 
 nected in a very similar manner, with another material 
 substance ? I allude to the words of St. John the Baptist 
 concerning our Saviour : " He shall baptize you with the 
 " Holy Ghost and with fire." Might we not from this 
 passage argue ' the joint operation ' of the Holy Ghost 
 and of fire, much in the same way, and with pretty much 
 the same degree of force, as Dr. M. has argued that of the 
 Holy Ghost and of water, from our Lord's words ? Might 
 we not proceed, in language resembling his, to observe 
 upon the presumption of ' putting asunder ' what he, whose 
 baptism and whose commission were " from heaven," hath 
 * joined together,' and joined together in speaking ex- 
 
 * Scott's Remarks, &c. Vol. i. p. 18r. t P- 2<5. 
 
HAP. ir.J ST. JOHN, C. III. 21 
 
 pressly of what Christ should do for his people ? Yet no 
 one would hesitate to pronounce such arguments misapplied 
 in this case : no one imagines that " the fire " is more 
 than an emblem in St. John's address : * it might therefore, 
 at least, be, that " the water " was no more than an em- 
 blem in our Lord's discourse, f — Accordingly a further 
 analogy is observable in the two cases. Just as our Lord 
 once mentions water, and then drops the allusion, so, while 
 two of the evangelists give us John's testimony with the 
 sign expressed, as well as the thing signified, the other two 
 omit all mention of the sign, and notice only that which 
 was represented by it. J 
 
 We see from this instance that a purifying element may 
 be properly named in connection with the Holy Ghost, 
 * the Sanctifier,' even when there is no intention that that 
 element should be at all employed as ' an instrument,' or 
 even actually used as a sign of his operation : and so our 
 Lord might have named *' water," even if he had had no 
 intention of instituting the sacrament of baptism. — I admit, 
 however, that he did allude to that sacrament ; yet, I be- 
 lieve Dr. M. would find it no easy task to prove, that " the 
 " water " of baptism was alluded to, as any other than 
 what our church expressly says it is, ' an outward and 
 ' visible sign ; ' § or that the opinion of a reformer, whom 
 Bishop Horsley pronounced one of the most valuable of 
 commentators, is so erroneous as he thinks it : namely, 
 
 * It is true, that, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples 
 at the day of pentecost, " cloven tongues like as of fire " appeared 
 " sitting," as it were, " upon each of them." But I suppose no one 
 will take tonguks, " like as of fire," resting upon a few of our Lord's 
 disciples, as a literal baptism with fire, or as that " baptism with fire " 
 which was promised to his disciples generally. 
 
 f I again beg it may be observed, that I am not calling the sacra- 
 ment of baptism a mere emblem : I am here simply treating of the one 
 expression " born of water and of the Spirit." John iii. 5. 
 
 X See Matt. iii. 11. Lu. iii. 16. and compare Mar. i. 8. John i. 3S. 
 
 § Catechism. 
 
22 ST. JOHN, c. III. [chap. ir. 
 
 that, in this passage, * water and the Spirit mean only the 
 ' Spirit, who cleanses after the manner of water.' * 
 
 But it is little less than painful to spend time in discus- 
 sion, which may have the appearance of being contentious, 
 if not also trifling, concerning a portion of the divine 
 oracles, of so solemn character as the discourse with Nico- 
 demus. Let us take a general view of the passage as it 
 lies in the gospel, and try what impression it makes, and 
 surely was designed to make, upon the serious reader's 
 mind. In proceeding to this view, however, it may be 
 well to recollect, that, if the passage relate to baptism, or 
 what necessarily or inseparably accompanies baptism, then 
 it means, as one somewhat awfully said, ' nothing, — nothing 
 
 * at all to us,' who have received baptism. Whatever our 
 character, we have then nothing to do with being born 
 again, but, as Dr. M. expresses it, to be ' filled with all 
 ' joy and peace in believing that we partake of it.' f Nay, 
 further, if baptism and the concomitants of baptism were 
 all, it was for the time then present ' nothing ' to Nico- 
 demus ; for our Lord only ' intended to ordain ' J the 
 sacrament of baptism, and had not yet ordained it. 
 
 The interview between Nicodemus and the Saviour is 
 
 * P. 41. So also Bp. Hopkins '. '^ To he horn of water and of the 
 
 * Spirit may admit of a double interpretation : for either, first, by 
 ' water is meant baptism ; ' — or, secondly, it ' may denote to us the 
 
 * manner of the Spirit's proceeding in the work of regeneration. jEot- 
 
 * cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit : that is, except he be 
 
 * renewed by the Holy Ghost, working as water; leaving the same effect 
 ' upon the soul in cleansing and purifying it from sinful defdements, as 
 ' water doth upon the body in washing off contracted dirt and filth. 
 
 * Nor, indeed, is this manner of expression strange to the holy scrip- 
 
 * ture : for John Baptist, speaking of Christ, tells them, that he should 
 
 * baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire ; that is, he should 
 ' baptize them with the Holy Ghost, working as fire,' which ' eats out 
 
 * and consumes the rust and dross of metals,' &c. Works, vol. ii. p. 
 468, 469. 
 
 I P. 24, X Tracts, p. 8. 
 
CHAP. II.] ST. JOHN, C. III. 23 
 
 understood to have taken place, at the first passover after 
 the latter had commenced his public ministry. Nicodemus 
 was a man of rank, " a ruler of the Jews ; " a man of 
 learning, " a master," or teacher, " of Israel ; " and a 
 man of religious seriousness. Solemnly impressed with 
 what he had seen and heard concerning Jesus, and con- 
 vinced that he was a " teacher come from God," since 
 *' no man could do the miracles that he did, except God 
 ** were with him ; " he breaks through the prejudices of his 
 education, of his rank in life, and of his associates, and 
 visits our Lord " by night," to learn what his doctrines 
 really were, and what he was commissioned to teach man- 
 kind. We may naturally suppose him desirous of know- 
 ing, especially, what Jesus had to communicate, of which 
 the Jewish instructors were not already in possession. To 
 this man, thus circumstanced, our blessed Lord addressed 
 himself with an apparent abruptness, which only marks the 
 importance of what he delivered. With a twofold solemn 
 asseveration, used only by himself, and by him only on the 
 most serious occasions, " Jesus answered and said unto 
 " him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be 
 '•' born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God : " he 
 can neither be a true member of the church under the 
 Messiah's government here on earth, nor come to heaven 
 hereafter. 
 
 Now suppose our Lord to intend, by this figure, an in- 
 ternal and radical ' change of heart,' wrought by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost, and making a man " a new 
 *' creature," conformed to " the image," and fit for the 
 kingdom, of God ; but without which fallen man can nei- 
 ther serve God acceptably, nor be saved : suppose this, 
 and the address is evidently, by its weight and importance, 
 worthy of the speaker, and worthy of the occasion. Then 
 indeed our Lord, as we should have expected him to do, 
 fixes at once upon a great, essential, and distinguishing 
 
^* ST. JOHN, C. HI. [chap. II. 
 
 doctrine of true religion: a doctrine which had been 
 taught, as he intimates,* in the Old Testament, and wliich 
 is taught in every part of scripture, but which was over- 
 looked by Jewish teachers, as it has too often been by 
 others also ; and which it was one design of his coming to 
 place in due prominency. Then, indeed, he began, with 
 this " master of Israel," with what is fundamental to all 
 true and spiritual religion among men. Then as, in the 
 latter part of his discourse, he delivered the doctrine which 
 relates to the justification of sinful man, through the 
 redemption of * God the Son : ' so, in the fomier part, he 
 delivered that which relates to the other gi'eat branch of 
 our salvation, sanctification by the power and grace of 
 « God the Holy Ghost.' 
 
 But now put the case, that our Lord here speaks only 
 of baptism and what baptism conveys, and we can hardly 
 forbear asking. What was there so suitable to the occasion 
 — especially considering that Christian baptism was not yet 
 appointed ? What, that was of a nature so superior to 
 Pharisaical instruction? What, indeed, that was calcu- 
 lated very clearly to convey the idea intended ? In the 
 language of one, whose words I gladly adopt, ' I desire ■ 
 
 * profoundly to reverence the divine wisdom ' of my Sa- 
 viour, * and to be silent in humble submission, when he 
 
 * proposes instruction,' either in substance or ' in language, 
 
 * such as I should not previously have expected . . . .Yet 
 ' it is impossible for me to admit,' that baptism is, in 
 ' the present case,' even a principal subject of which he 
 treats, ' without far stronger proof than has yet been ad- 
 
 * duced.'t 
 
 Let us proceed with the discourse, and see to which 
 view of its design the sequel affords countenance. Nico- 
 demus having expressed his astonishment at what he heard, 
 
 * V. 10. t Scott's Remarks, &c. Vol. i. p. 183. 
 
CHAP. II.] ST. JOHN, C. III. 25 
 
 and how much he was at a loss to comprehend its meaning, 
 the divine teacher replies by a repetition of his assertion, 
 attended, however, by considerable explanation. " Verily, 
 " verily, I say unto thee. Except a'man be born of water and 
 *' of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 
 " That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which 
 *' is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said 
 *' unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth 
 *' where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but 
 *' canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : 
 *' so is every one that is born of the Spirit." 
 
 Here occurs the only mention of water. It has been 
 sufficiently considered, and we will not again dwell upon 
 it. But here also the author of the change intended i^ 
 repeatedly declared : " the Spirit," the Holy Spirit of 
 God. The ground of its necessity is shewn : " that which 
 *' is born of the flesh is flesh " — carnal and corrupt.* The 
 design of it is pomted out, which is to correct and remedy 
 the corruption of human nature : " that which is born of 
 ** the Spirit is spirit " — partakes of the nature of its author, 
 and is spiritual, holy, and divine. Can this be said of every 
 one that is ' baptized ? ' — In the manner of its pi'oduction, 
 and in its various circumstances, this " new birth," like 
 ** the wind," is * out of the reach of our rules and calcu- 
 * lations : ' but, like the same powerful agent, in its effects 
 it is perceptible to all observers. — In what follows, our 
 Lord intimates, that it M'as what " a master of Israel " 
 might have been expected to be well acquainted with. 
 Compared with the mysteries of his person and his redemp- 
 tion, (of which he proceeded to speak,) it was an " earthly 
 " thing," and was continually taking place among men ; 
 it was abundantly taught in the scriptures already in exist- 
 ence ; it was as much represented by circumcision under 
 
 * See Rom. viii. 5—9. Gal. v. 19—21. 
 
26 ST. MARK XVI. 15, 16. [chap. II. 
 
 the Old Testament, as it is by baptism under the New;* 
 and the necessity of it might be evinced from principles of 
 reason, only by comparing together the nature of fallen 
 man, and the nature of " the kingdom of God." 
 
 All this perfectly agrees with the ideas of regeneration 
 above explained : but how it can be applied to baptism, or 
 to any thing which constantly accompanies baptism, I have 
 yet to learn. 
 
 We proceed to Dr. M.'s other scriptural authorities. 
 His notice of Markxvi. 15, 16, is thus connected. * It 
 is the doctrine of the holy scriptures, that we are by 
 baptism made heirs of salvation through Christ ; and it 
 is the declaration of our Saviour, that we cannot enter 
 into the kingdom of God, which is equivalent to the ex- 
 pression that we cannot become heirs of salvation, except 
 we be born anew of water and of the Spirit. If then we 
 cannot become heirs of salvation, except we be born of 
 water and of the Spirit, and if we be made heirs of sal- 
 vation by baptism, I see not how we are to evade the 
 consequence, that the outward washing of baptism is 
 attended by the sanctification of the Spirit^and that we 
 are born of water and of the Spirit, when we are bap- 
 tized. Thus when our Saviour, on giving his commission 
 to the apostles to go, teach all nations, haptizing them, 
 accompanied it with the promise, that he that believed arid 
 was baptized should be saved, it must clearly be understood, 
 that the communication of the Holy Spirit and spiritual 
 regeneration were to attend on baptism, which is here 
 expressly represented as the means of salvation.' f 
 The last clause in this paragraph may serve as a clew to 
 the whole. Our Saviour has said, " He that believeth 
 " and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not 
 
 * See close of c. iii. below. f P. 29, 30. 
 
tHAP. II.] ST. MARK XVI. 15, 16. 27 
 
 *' shall be damned." By a remarkable, and evidently a 
 designed, omission in the second member, * he not only 
 avoids making baptism essential to salvation, but shews his 
 intention in this, as in all other places, to lay the main 
 stress upon believing. Baptism, as an appointed means of 
 grace, and the prescribed method of professing our faith, 
 must not be omitted : it is ' of great necessity where it may be 
 
 * had.'f But faith, true and lively faith, is the weighty and 
 essential qualification, which whoso hath shall be saved, and 
 whoso hath not shall be damned. Now how marvellous is it 
 to see Dr. M., under these circumstances, and by means of this 
 very text, turning all our attention to baptism ! He totally 
 drops the latter clause, which is distinguished by the studied 
 omission of baptism : and, in the former clause, — " he that 
 " believeth and is baptized shall be saved," — he finds nothing 
 to remark but being baptized ! He takes no more notice of 
 the " faith," without which (in subjects capable of faith,) 
 baptism itself, as appears from this passage, shall avail no- 
 thing to salvation, than if it had never been mentioned ! 
 His deduction, his only deduction from the text is, ' Bap- 
 
 * tism is here expressly represented as the means of salva- 
 ' tion ! ' On so sandy ground, rather we may say, on no 
 ground at all, rests one of the fundamental propositions of 
 this paragraph, and all the reasoning built upon it ! 
 
 We may now see what authority Dr. M. has for asserting, 
 
 * It is the doctrine of the holy scriptures, that we are by 
 
 * baptism made heirs of salvation.' | And again, for ' ar- 
 
 * guing for baptism being the vehicle of regeneration, be- 
 
 * CAUSE IT IS THE VEHICLK OF SALVATION.' § And yet 
 
 * See Whitby. t Liturgy. 
 
 J I do not forget the expression in our catechism, which may seem 
 nearly equivalent to this. It shall be considered in its proper place. 
 See c. viii. 
 
 § P. 35. 
 
28 ST. MARK XVI. 15, 16. [chap, ir. 
 
 again, for asserting, ' that baptism was ordained by Christ 
 
 * himself, with a promise of salvation annexed to its legiti- 
 
 * mate administration.' * We now find, that all this is * ex- 
 
 * pres.sly represented ' to be the case in the words, " He 
 " that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that 
 " believeth not shall be damned " — whether he be baptized 
 or unbaptized ! Christ promised salvation to faith and bap- 
 tism : ergo, baptism, whether accompanied by faith or not, 
 is ' the vehicle of salvation,' and ' a promise of salvation 
 ' is annexed to its legitimate administration ! ' f 
 
 Let us apply Dr. M.'s mode of treatment in another and 
 not dissimilar case. In Romans x., St. Paul says, " With the 
 " heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the 
 *' mouth confession is made unto salvation." Now should 
 we, on the ground of this text, pass unnoticed " the be- 
 " lieving with the heart," and insist only on " the con- 
 " fession of the mouth," as the thing required " unto sal- 
 " vation ;" every one would be ready to reprobate the ab- 
 surdity and impiety of annexing salvation to a mere pro- 
 fession of the lips : but the absurdity would not be more 
 glaring than that of overlooking faith, and noticing only 
 baptism, in the passage of St. Mark : nay, it would be more 
 excusable in the former instance than in the latter, both be- 
 cause the connection and dependence of the things specified 
 is there less close, and because no such omission occurs in 
 
 * P. 51. 
 
 t Let it not be pretended, that by ' leo;itimate administration ' Dr. 
 M. meant administralion to penitent, believing subjects. If such were 
 his meaning, the controversy would be at an end : and the point would 
 be conceded, that baptism might be administered, in due form and order, 
 to thousands, and no spiritual regeneration conveyed. But it is perfectly 
 evident, that throughout his work he uses the term ' rightly ' or * legiti- 
 ■' mately administered,' in the same sense as the church appears to 
 do, to signify, administered in due form and order, and by an autho- 
 rized person. 
 
CHAP. II.] 1 PETER, III. 21. 29 
 
 that passage as was noticed in the second clause of the text 
 under consideration. 
 
 But Dr. M. may probably refer me to the passage of the 
 epistle to Titus, which is immediately to come under con- 
 sideration, as a proof that baptism ' conveys salvation : ' 
 *' He saved us by the washing of regeneration." But, al- 
 lowing " the washing of regeneration " to be baptism, it 
 would be as unwarrantable to stop at those words, and to 
 omit " the renewing of the Holy Ghost," which follows, as 
 it is to pass by faith, and to notice only baptism in Mark 
 xvi. ; or as it would be to stop at the words " born of 
 " water," in John iii. In either case we should rest in the 
 outward sign, and neglect the inward grace. 
 
 Perhaps, again, he may adduce 1 Peter iii. 21 : " The 
 " like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth now save us." 
 And it may, indeed, appear extraordinary, that Dr. M., 
 instead of omitting it altogether, should not have brought 
 forward that passage in the very body of his argument. 
 But, in fact, it is clogged with such an explanation, as 
 must make it ill serve his cause, on any occasion. In the 
 very same breath, and in language somewhat disparaging, 
 as to the effect of baptism where not ' rightly received,' 
 the apostle adds, " not the putting away of the filth of the 
 " flesh," by the mere outward observance of the rite, 
 
 *' but THE ANSWER OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE TOWARDS GOD."* 
 
 What can this " answer of a good conscience " mean, but 
 sincerity in the professions made, in the repentance and faith 
 avowed, in baptism ? These are ' the means ' of saving us, 
 and not the mere sacrament of baptism, which, without these, 
 the apostle considers as no more than " putting away the filth 
 
 * It is remarkable that the Bp. of Lincoln, in quoting this text, takes 
 only the beginning and the end : " baptism doth now save us, by the 
 " resurrection of Jesus Christ : " entirely omitting the explanation, 
 which occupies the middle between these two clauses ! — Refutation, p. 
 S4. 
 
30 TITUS III. — RENOVATION. [CHAP. 11. 
 
 " of the flesh ; " a mere washing of the body, or, at best, 
 only an * external and relative sanctification.' 
 
 On Tit iii. 4 — 7., Dr. M., substituting, for " the wash- 
 '* inff of regeneration " " the laver of regeneration," ob- 
 serves, ' By comparing together the several parts of this 
 
 * passage, it is evident, that baptism is here represented as 
 
 * the mean through which, or the instrument by which, 
 
 * the Holy Spirit of God regenerates us ; and thereby 
 
 * makes us heirs of that eternal life, which the mercy of 
 
 * God our Saviour hath provided for those, whom he jus- 
 
 * tifies and saves.'* 
 
 We will allow that the expression " washing of regene- 
 " ration " alludes to baptism ; but much in the same way 
 as " born of water " does in John iii. And it may safely 
 be conceded, that baptism is ' a means ' of regeneration, 
 without its at all following, that spiritual regeneration must 
 always accompany baptism, and can never be conveyed by 
 any other means. — The marked distinction, now attempted 
 to be established, between " the washing of regeneration," 
 and " the renewing of the Holy Ghost," in this passage, 
 as if the one referred to what takes place at baptism only, 
 and the other exclusively to subsequent improvement,! ap- 
 pears to be a novelty, resting on no sufficient foundation. 
 The two things are connected together in the text, as 
 closely as " born of water and of the Spirit " are in John 
 iii. 5 : and there would seem no authority for thus separa- 
 ting them. If the former refer to baptism as * the outward 
 
 * sign,' the latter, I should conceive, expresses ' the in- 
 ' ward and spiritual grace.' The profoundly accurate 
 Bishop Pearson seems to have had no idea of any such 
 distinction of the clauses. ' The second part of the office 
 ' of the Holy Ghost in the sanctification of man,' he says, 
 
 * is the regeneration and renovation of him.' And then, 
 
 J * P. 31. t See Tracts, p. 27, 28, 41, 42. 
 
CHAP. II.] 1 CORINTH. VI. 11. 31 
 
 having quoted this text, he presently adds : * If we live in 
 
 * the Spirit, quickened by his renovation, we must 
 
 * also walk in the Spirit.' He applies the term renovation, 
 taken from this very text, to the first ' quickening,' or re- 
 generation of men.* So likewise Bishop Bradford, in his 
 discourse from this text, which is circulated by the Society 
 for promoting Christian Knowledge : The inquiry he says, 
 
 * will lead us to the understanding of the true notion of 
 ' regeneration, both when it is applied to baptism, (as 
 
 * it frequently is,) and when it particularly denotes the 
 ' renewing of the mind by the Divine Spirit.' f 
 
 On 1 Cor. vi. 11, " Washed, sanctified, justified," Dr. 
 M., having remarked, that the ' washing of baptism, is 
 ' mentioned as the instrument by which both the blessings ' 
 of sanctification and justification ' are conveyed,' adds : 
 
 * It is true, that in this passage there occurs no such ex- 
 
 * pression as regeneration, or the being born again ; but, 
 
 * as it was before argued, if a person must be born again, 
 
 * in order to be saved or justified, and if by baptism he is 
 ' saved or justified, it then necessarily follows that by bap- 
 ' tism he is born again.':}: 
 
 The premises and the conclusion here hang together by 
 a very loose and illogical connection. ' In order to be 
 
 * saved or justified ' a man must be born again.' Of 
 course his being ' born again ' must, in order of nature, 
 at least, precede and make way for his ' being saved or jus- 
 ' tified.' But by baptism, it is here said, the latter bless- 
 ing is conveyed : and hence it is inferred that by baptism 
 also the antecedent blessing is conveyed ! Let us illustrate 
 
 * On the Creed, Art. viii. 
 
 t Society's Edit. 1810, p. 11. See also extracts from Dr. Barrow 
 and Bp. Beveridge in c. x., below. Also Appendix, Note VI. 
 : P. 31, 32. 
 
32 coLoss. II. ROM. VI. [chap. II. 
 
 this reasoning. In order to being elected a member of 
 parliament, a man must possess a certain qualification : but 
 by the suffrages of the voters he is elected a member of par- 
 liament : ergo, by the suffrages of the voters he possesses 
 the qualification ! — Such appears to be the logic of the pas- 
 sage ; nor is its theology, I conceive, much better. But 
 the remarks already made, in treating of Mark xvi., may 
 suffice for the present occasion also. 
 
 From Col. ii. 12, 13, Dr. M. says, * the argument is more 
 ' direct.' ' What can be plainer or stronger to the point ? 
 
 * Dead in their sins, and buried in baptism, by baptism 
 
 * also they were raised and quickened by God.'* The apos- 
 tle's words are, " risen with him by the faith of the ope- 
 " ration of God," But this Dr. M. quite overlooks, as he 
 had before done the whole subject of faith, in Mark xvi. 
 15, 16. Suppose, then, baptism administered to an adult 
 who had no true faith, would he be " raised and quickened" 
 by it ? — The real question between us, and it is needful fre- 
 quently to re-state it, is this, Does baptism necessarily, or 
 invariably, convey spiritual blessings, irrespectively of the 
 state of mind, ' the repentance and faith, * of the receiver? * 
 
 « To the Romans,' Dr. M. says, (referring to Rom. vi. 
 % 11,) the apostle 'employs the same figure, describing 
 ' baptism as a burial, wherein they were dead unto sin and 
 < alive unto God : adding withal a particular, which con- 
 ' firms an opinion, presently to be insisted on, that no 
 « other than baptismal regeneration is possible in this 
 « world.' What is « the particular' which confirms so mo- 
 mentous a conclusion ? It is, that Christ " died unto sin 
 " once" and ' no more,' and that we are " to reckon our- 
 *' selves likewise," ' in a like or in the same manner,' Dr. 
 
 * P. 82. 
 
chap: II.] COLOSS. II. ROM. VI. 38 
 
 M. says, " to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God 
 *' through Jesus Christ our Lord ! " ' Does not the lan- 
 ' guage of the apostle,' he asks, ' warrant the argument, 
 * that we are born anew in baptism, in baptism exclusively ?'* 
 I reply. Does it warrant any such . argument ? I beg the 
 reader to pause, and judge of this for himself. — On the 
 ground of Christ's having " once died unto sin," and ever 
 after " living unto God," the apostle exhorts Christians 
 " to reckon themselves in like manner dead unto sin, and 
 *' alive unto God," and therefore not to suffer " sin to 
 ** reign in their mortal body, that they should obey it in 
 " the lusts thereof" No commentator, I apprehend, before 
 Dr. M., ever imagined, that the point of comparison was, 
 the ONENESS of Christ's death, and the oneness of the 
 mystical death of Christians ! Surely had this been the 
 point of comparison, it should have been noticed in the ap- 
 plication of the case to Christians. " Likewise reckon ye 
 *' yourselves to be" once " dead indeed unto sin," &c. — 
 However, I have no wish to contend for a second death 
 unto sin, where ' a death unto sin and a new birth unto 
 
 * righteousness ' appear really and practically to have taken 
 place. But ' the death unto sin ' of many, who ' call them- 
 
 * selves Christians,' has been merely in profession, and not 
 in fact : f and accordingly the church very wisely considers 
 it rather as matter of admonition, that ' we who are bap- 
 ' tized should die from sin,' than of assumption, that we are 
 dead to it.:}: 
 
 * p. 32,33. 
 
 f See Bp. Bradford's Tract on baptismal and spiritual regeneration. 
 
 X ' Exhortation to the godfathers and godmothers,' at the close of 
 the baptismal service. — I do not feel myself called upon to notice any of 
 Dr. ]\I.'s authorities, except the scriptures and the church. I may hert; 
 however just observe, that he quotes St. Austin for the assertion, that 
 there is * no one who does not die unto sin in baptism.' P. 39. He 
 gives us no reference for the passage : for aught, therefore, that appears, 
 it may mean no more, than that every one does this by profession. 
 
 D 
 
$4- COLOSS. II. ROM, VI. [chap. II. 
 
 I subjoin a quotation on these two passages of the epistles 
 to the Romans and the Colossians, which appears to me 
 much to the purpose. 
 
 * Here three particulars are mentioned, in allusion to 
 ' the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ ; to whom 
 
 * believers are, in a figurative sense, conformed. They 
 
 * become dead to sit?, as he died unto sin once. They are 
 ' buried, as he was buried : they arise from among the dead 
 
 * in sin, as he arose from the dead. It is evident, that 
 
 * ceasing from sin, and becoming incapable of livi7ig any 
 ' longer therein; that entire separation from the former 
 
 * course of ungodliness, and from the pollutions of this 
 
 * evil world ; and the beginning and progress of a new and 
 
 * holy life, from newness of heart; are signified by tliis 
 ' death, burial, and resurrection. Of these things baptism 
 
 * is the outward sign ; and, in adults, it is an open profes- 
 
 * sion of them. Whether any reference was intended to 
 
 * the outward administration by immersion, in the word 
 
 * buried, it is not needfiil here to determine. However 
 
 * that be decided, it is manifest, that neither outward bap- 
 
 * tism, nor any thing inseparably connected with it, can be 
 
 * exclusively meant; unless all, who are baptized with 
 
 * water, are so dead to sin, and so buried from it, as not to 
 
 * walk any longer therein. — New converts professed these 
 
 * things, at their baptism; and if, with the washing of 
 ' water, there was also the answer of a good conscience 
 ' towards God, they would thenceforth ivalk in newness of 
 
 * Baptism doth represent unto us our profession, which is,' 8cc. &c. In 
 this sense it is true. But he must be a hardy behever indeed in, what I 
 must call, the opus operatum, who will maintain, that a wilful hypocrite, 
 coming to baptism from secular motives, and returning from it to his for- 
 mer sins, does actually " die unto sin" in his baptism ! Sure I am that 
 our church holds no such doctrine. * In such only as zoorthili/ receive 
 
 * the same have ' the sacraments * a wholesome effect or operation/ 
 Art. XXV 
 
CHAP. II.] EPHESIANS V. 25 — 27. S5 
 
 < life : but not otherwise. For if we have been planted to- 
 
 * gether in the likeness of his death, we shall he also in the 
 
 * likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old 
 
 * man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be de- 
 
 * stroyed; that henceforth we should not serve sin. — Even 
 
 * true Christians need exliorting to act consistently with 
 
 * their profession ,• and much more, collective bodies ; so 
 
 * that the subsequent exhortations do not at all invalidate 
 
 * this conclusion, which is drawn by the apostle in the most 
 
 * decided language. When the apostle said, As many of 
 
 * you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ: — 
 
 * for ye are all one in Christ Jesus ; and if ye be Christ's, 
 ' then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the pro- 
 
 * mise ; did he mean that hypocrites, receiving outward 
 ' baptism, became one with Christ, the children of believ- 
 
 * ing Abraham, anc^ heirs of the promised blessings ? or 
 
 * did he not rather intend to express the same, as when he 
 
 * said. By one Spirit ive are baptized into one body P The out- 
 
 * ward baptism admits men into the visible church : but 
 
 * the baptism of the Spirit alone constitutes them living 
 
 * members of the body of Christ in heaven.' * 
 
 On the passage from Eph. v. 25 — 27, Dr. M. says, ' Sanc- 
 
 * tification and purity, unspotted and unblemished holiness, 
 
 * are here attributed to the church of Christ, as the effect 
 ' of the washing of water. But what water could produce 
 
 * such an effect without the operation of the Spirit ? And 
 
 * what rite is performedby their joint operation, but the sa- 
 
 * crament of baptism ? And by what appropriate scriptural 
 
 * term is the effect of their united influence to be denomi- 
 
 * nated, but by that of regeneration ?'f 
 
 Not to urge, that this ' unspotted and unblemished ho- 
 
 * liness' seems rather to refer to the heavenly state, when 
 the redemption of the church shall have attained its con- 
 
 * Scott's Remarks, Sec. vol. i. p. 206, 207. f P. 33. 
 
 D 2 
 
S6 EPHEsiANS V. 25 — 27' [chap. II. 
 
 summation,* I observe, that the apostle appears here, in 
 conformity with many other scriptures, to ascribe it rather 
 to the instrumentahty of " the word, " than to that of 
 " water." The sentence is, " That he might sanctify and 
 " cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." So 
 we are exhorted in our Homily on the sacrament, * Wash 
 ' yourselves with the living waters of God's word.' Dr. M., 
 however, entirely passes over the terms " by the word," 
 just as he had done faith in Mark xvi. and Coloss. ii. — 
 But, in point of fact. Is the whole visible church of Christ 
 brought to a state of actual holiness, either by the washing 
 of baptism, or by that and the ministration of the word 
 united ? If not, it will not follow from this text, that ' the 
 * sanctification of the Spirit' always accompanies any out- 
 ward means. 
 
 The subject of ' the joint operation ' of water and the 
 Spirit has been before considered. Dr. M. here asks, ' By 
 ' what appropriate scriptural term is the effect of their uni- 
 ' ted influence to be denominated, but by that of regener- 
 ' ation ? ' Who would not imagine from this, that the 
 term regeneration was of frequent occurrence in scripture, 
 and that it was, with sufficient distinctness, appropriated 
 to express this effect ? Now the fact is, that the substantive 
 itself occurs but twice in the whole New Testament : and, 
 in one of those two instances, there seems sufficient reason to 
 conclude, that it refers to a quite different subject, f And, 
 with respect to the verbs of kindred import, we shall ere 
 long see how rarely they appear to be used with any 
 allusion to baptism. So little authority is there for speak- 
 ing of " regeneration " as the * appropriate scriptural 
 « term' for * the effect of the united influence' of water 
 and the Spirit ! 
 
 * Bp. Pearson on the Creed, Art. ix. 
 
 ■\ See Matt. xix. 28. Tit. iii. 3. and Parkhurst on wa^.tyyiMfia; als»» 
 quotation from Bp. Hopkins, close of c. vii. below. 
 
CHAP. II.] 1 CORINTH. XII. 13. 37 
 
 * Similar questions,' to those which he has pressed from 
 the foregoing passage, Dr. M. says ' arise from ' I Cor. 
 xii. 13 : "By one Spiritare we all baptized into one body."*" 
 His inference seems to be, (for it is not very clearly stated,) 
 that every one who is baptized is a partaker of the Holy 
 Spirit. Now, in tlie conclusion of this same verse, the 
 apostle adds : " and have all been made to drink into one 
 ** Spirit." In which words he is understood to allude to the 
 sacramental cup, as he had before done to the baptismal 
 water, f The same reasoning, therefore, which shews 
 from the beginning of the verse, that every one in baptism 
 partakes of the spiritual grace, would shew, from the con- 
 clusion of it, that every one does the same in the Lord's 
 supper, without respect to the state of mind in which he re- 
 ceives it: a doctrine in direct hostility to that of the church 
 of England. — That we * divest' baptism ' of that which 
 
 * gives it its value,' (as Dr. M. goes on to charge us with 
 doing, J) by denying that it uniformly conveys spiritual re- 
 generation, is just as true, as that Dr. M. divests the Lord's 
 supper of all that renders it valuable, when he declares, as 
 I presume he does, that only * the faithful,' in that sacra- 
 ment, receive ' the body and blood of Christ.' § 
 
 The simple fact appears to be, that in this, as in innvi- 
 merable other passages, the sacred writer addresses persons 
 according to their professions. They were members of the 
 visible " body" or church of Christ; they were made such 
 by baptism : and they professed to be true members of his 
 spiritual church : |I and supposing them to be what they pro- 
 
 * P. 33. t Locke, Doddridge, &c. 
 
 X p. 34. § Catechism, Communion Service, &c. 
 
 |] I intend no other distinction here, than what Hooker (B. iii.) and 
 Pearson (on the Creed, Art. ix.) have laid down. ' The visible church of 
 
 * Christ on earth, is a sort of people who profess the name of Christ, 
 
 * and own his doctrine; joining together in a holy society and commu- 
 
 * nion of worship, where it can be enjoyed. The invisible church of 
 
 * Christ on earth, is a number of true believers, who have internal and 
 
S8 ACTS ir. X. XXII. [chap. ii. 
 
 fessed themselves, then indeed they were *' baptized into 
 " that one body," by the " one Spirit " which ' governs 
 
 * and sanctifies the whole,' and they " did all drink into 
 " that one Spirit." 
 
 With respect to Acts ii. 38, and x. 47, 48, from which 
 Dr. M. says ' the same inference is to be drawn,' * we may 
 observe, that no one doubts, that he who believes in Christ 
 is to profess his faith in baptism : and that baptism is the 
 appointed external ' seal'f of " the remission of sins" to 
 him who " repents and is baptized." But does it follow, 
 that every one who is baptized is regenerated and pardoned, 
 whether he repents or not ? — AH the instances thus adduced 
 are instances of adults receiving baptism, and must be dis- 
 cussed as such, without reference, at present, to the case of 
 infants. 
 
 Finally, some observations of Dr. M.'s on ' Ananias*s 
 
 * admonition to Paul, after his miraculous conversion,' to 
 " arise and be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling on 
 *' the name of the Lord,":}: have been before remarked upon. 
 It may be sufficient here to observe, that, as Paul was already, 
 by Dr. M.'s acknowledgment, ' converted/ ' renewed in 
 
 * heart,' and ' obedient,'§ he must also have been in a state 
 of pardon and acceptance: unless a man can be penitent, 
 believing, and obedient, and yet unforgiven. || All, there- 
 fore, that he could want was to have his sins *' washed 
 *' away," according to Hooker's language * in the eye of 
 
 * invisible communion with Jesus Christ, by their faith and his Spirit. 
 
 * The visible church is of a much larger extent than the invisible ; for it 
 
 * comprehends hypocrites, and too many ungodly persons,' as well as 
 holy characters, &c. Bp. Hopkins, vol. ii. p. 419. 
 
 * P. 34. t Art. xxvii. 
 
 X ActSjXxii. 16. Tracts, p. 34, 35. Compare p. 43. 
 § P. 43. Here, it seems, renovation preceded regeneration ! 
 II See Acts ii. 19: xiii. 39; John iii. 14 — 18, 36: and innumerable 
 other places. 
 
CHAP. 11.3 A NEGATIVE ARGUMENT. S9 
 
 * the church ; ' to receive the visible ' sign and seal ' * of 
 forgiveness ; together with that fuller assurance of the bless- 
 ing, and more abundant communication of the grace of 
 the Holy Spirit, which might be expected to accompany 
 it. f But, supposing that the words bore any other sense, 
 would it follow from the sins of the * converted ' and * re- 
 ' newed' Paul being " washed away" in baptism, that the 
 sins of an unconverted, unrenewed Jew, for instance, 
 hypocritically receiving baptism, would also be washed 
 away ? Who can believe this ? Yet such must be the case, 
 if ' baptism rightly administered ' must always convey spi- 
 ritual grace. 
 
 Such then is the amount of Dr. M.'s direct evidence from 
 scripture, by which it was to be ' incontrovertibly' proved, 
 that baptism rightly administered always conveys regenera- 
 tion, and ' that no other than baptismal regeneration is 
 ' Dossible in this world.' If ever Dr. M. should have an 
 important cause to maintain, in any court accustomed to 
 receive and appreciate evidence, I hope he will have some- 
 what of more weight to bring forward : otherwise I would 
 venture to foretel the issue of his suit. 
 
 But besides his direct proofs from scripture, Dr. M. has 
 a negative argument, of which he makes considerable use. 
 Reasoning of this kind, which infers that a thing is not, 
 merely because its existence is not declared ; or that it is, 
 merely because it is not denied to be ; is always of a very 
 suspicious character. It is well known how serviceable it 
 has been found by infidels, who have chosen to construe 
 the omission of a fact by one evangelist, into a denial of it 
 
 * ' The promises of forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the 
 < sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed ' in bap- 
 tism. Art. xxvii. t Tracts, p. 43. 
 
40 DR. M.'S NEGATIVE ARGUMENT [CHAP. II. 
 
 as recorded by another ; the silence of Josephus, or some 
 other ancient historian, into a refutation of scripture his- 
 tory. The argument, therefore, is to be viewed, a priori, 
 with some distrust, though it may not always be fallacious. 
 Let us, however, hear Dr. M, 
 
 ' If ever (he says) the new birth be not conveyed by bap- 
 
 * tism rightly administered; or if when once regenerated, 
 
 * it be (I will not say necessary, but) possible for any one to 
 
 * be born again, doubtless there is scriptural authority to 
 
 * that purpose. Let the authority then be adduced.' — Of 
 
 * the new birth not being always conveyed by baptism,' 
 proof may, perhaps, be adduced hereafter : and, as to a 
 person, ' once regenerated ' being regenerated again, those, 
 at least, who hold with Calvin the doctrine of final perse- 
 verance, will agree with Dr. M., that it cannot be ; but 
 that such a person evermore continues regenerate.* But 
 to proceed : Dr. M. demands ' Let it be shewn from holy 
 
 * writ, that any person, to whom baptism was rightly ad- 
 
 * ministered, was not regenerated ; let it be shewn, that 
 
 * any person, having been once baptized, is described un- 
 
 * der any circumstances whatever of repentance, reformation, 
 ' renovation, or conversion, to have been again regener- 
 
 * ated ; let it be shewn, that the apostles, who are perpe- 
 ' tually exhorting their Christian converts to changes such 
 
 * as these, do once exhort them to become regenerate ; do 
 
 * once enforce the necessity of it ; or even affirm, or at 
 
 * least insinuate, its possibility ; and we may then perceive 
 ' some reason for wavering in our belief.' f 
 
 Here the unfairness of the negative argument discovers 
 itself. Perhaps it will appear, that some of the things de- 
 manded admit of being done. That others cannot be done, 
 may be owing to mere omissions in the concise histories of 
 scripture ; and particularly to the very sparing use of the 
 
 * See also Tracts, p. 48. f P' 40, 41. 
 
CHAP. II.] FROM SCRIPTURE. 41 
 
 terms " regenerate " and " born again/' in the sacred 
 writings. From the above passage, as well as from what 
 was before said of ' the appropriate scriptural term,' it 
 might be imagined, that nothing was more common than 
 to find the apostles, in addressing unhaptized persons, in- 
 sisting upon regeneration, totidem verbis. But how far this 
 is from being the case has been already, in some degree, 
 shewn. So seldom does this language occur, on any occa- 
 sion, that one of our assailants pronounced the passage in 
 John iii. to be perfectly ' unique,' and unparalleled in scrip- 
 ture ! The sacred writers do, indeed, continually insist on 
 what is equivalent to regeneration, according to our views 
 of its nature; but generally under other terms : while they 
 say so little of baptism, as must constitute a much more re- 
 markable omission, according to Dr. M.'s views, than any 
 with which he has endeavoured to embarrass us. 
 
 But to confine ourselves, for the present, to the passage 
 just quoted. It is not true, that the apostles ' are perpe- 
 
 * tually exhorting their Christian converts to such changes as * 
 
 * conversion : ' the reason of which, and of much of that 
 omission from which Dr. M. argues, is,* that they gener- 
 ally assume such persons to be both " converted," and 
 " walking in newness of life," as well as baptized. And 
 to the demand, ' Let it be shewn, that the apostles do 
 
 * once exhort them to become regenerate,' it may be re- 
 plied (the proper sort of reply to an argument of this kind,) 
 Let it be shewn, where they exhorted them to become 
 
 * regenerate,' even before they were baptized, f They ex- 
 horted them, it is true, " to be baptized ; " but it would be 
 begging the question at issue, to assume that this is the 
 same thing with being regenerated. 
 
 * Seec. ix. below. 
 
 f ' The apostles never called on the unhaptized Jews or gentiles to 
 
 * regenerate themselves ; any more than on professed Christians, who 
 
 * had acted contrary to their profession.' Scott's Remarks, &c. vol. i. 
 p. 176, 177. 
 
42 SIMON MAGUS. [CHAP. II. 
 
 In a subsequent passage Dr. M. proceeds in a like strain. 
 
 * Simon Magus, lulio (as Bishop Wilson says) had re- 
 
 * ceived the washing of regeneration^ and so was eiititled to 
 ' pardon upon his repentance, was exhorted by the apostle to 
 ' repent of his wickedness, and to pray God, if perhaps 
 ' the thought of his heart might he forgiven : and all of us 
 ' are instructed to pray, agreeably to apostolical language, 
 
 * that, being regenerated and adopted for the children of God, 
 ' we may be daily renewed by his Holy Spirit. But where 
 
 * are we instructed to pray after baptism for regeneration?'* 
 And where, (it may be answered,) in scripture at least, are 
 we, in terms, instructed so to pray before baptism? * Where,* 
 Dr. M. proceeds, ' where is it intimated that the (incestuous) 
 
 * Corinthian was born again subsequently to his fall ? ' 
 And where, I rejoin, is he spoken of as ' born again ' at 
 all? ' Where,' Dr. M. asks, ' was Simon Magus admo*- 
 
 * nished of the necessity of undergoing another new birth ? ' 
 And where, I ask in return, is it said that he had under- 
 gone ' a new birth ' at all ? or even that he had ever been 
 admonished concerning a * new birth ? ' ' And where,' 
 Dr. M. adds, ' is St. Paul described as regenerated, until 
 
 * Ananias baptized him and washed away his sins ? ' And 
 where, it may be asked again, is he so described at that 
 time ? But the fact is, baptism and regeneration are so 
 
 * P. 42. It seems that the same society, which now circuiates Dr. 
 M.'s tract?, could, till lately, have answered this question. In a tract 
 intitled ' Directions for a devout and decent behaviour in the public 
 ' worship of God,' very commonly prefixed to the Prayer Books issued 
 by the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, there is given an 
 alphabetical table of the collects, reduced under proper heads. And 
 as late as the year 1812 the following was one article : 
 
 * Regeneration. A Frayer for it. Collect for Christmas-day.' 
 Since that period, it would seem, the conductors of the Society's affairs 
 have become better informed, and have, in consequence, changed the 
 term regeneration for renovation ! — See Christian Observer, Sept. 1815, 
 p. 58G. 
 
 The question, however, may still be answered from several tracts now 
 on the Society's list, and from the Prayer Book. See Appendix, Note VII. 
 
CHAP. II.] SIMON MAGUS. 4^ 
 
 completely identified in Dr. M.'s mind, that he can no 
 where read of a person's being baptized, but he seems to 
 think that he also actually reads of his being regenerated. 
 
 We see, then, of how much force and value are these ne- 
 gative arguments, which (reversing a received maxim,) as- 
 sume, that silence is equivalent to denial ! 
 
 The case of Simon Magus deserves a little more distinct 
 notice. It is said, indeed, that he " believed," and that, 
 " when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and 
 " wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were 
 " done." But he soon shewed what was the worth of his 
 faith, and what were the motives by which he was influenced. 
 " When Simon saw, that through the laying on oftheapos- 
 " ties' hands, the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them 
 " money, saying, Give me this power also, that on whom- 
 " soever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost." He 
 seems to have conceived, that this was a new and more 
 powerful way, and that it might consequently be made a 
 more gainful way, than he had hitherto practised, of fasci- 
 nating, or " bewitching the people," and establishing his 
 character as " some great one." Peter therefore said unto 
 him, with holy indignation, " Thy money perish with thee, 
 " because thou hast thought that the gift of God might be 
 " purchased with money ! Thou hast neither part nor lot 
 " in this matter : for thy heart is not right in the sight of 
 " God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray 
 " God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be for- 
 " given thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of 
 " bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." Yet this is the man 
 who is to be held forth as a regenerate character ! that is, as 
 one who was a partaker of ' supernatural grace ' — of ' a new 
 * principle of life and of action' — of ' the sanctification of the 
 ' Spirit' — which ' makes us heirs of salvation,' ' and entitles 
 ' us to eternal life ! ' We are to believe all this, and more- 
 
44< SIMON MAGUS. [CHAP. 11. 
 
 over that he had not lost the blessing, so as that it should 
 be * necessary or even possible' for him to receive any 
 further regeneration ' in this world ; ' though St. Peter 
 pronounces him to have neither " part nor lot " in the gift 
 of the Holy Spirit, but to be " in the gall of bitterness and 
 " in the bond of iniquity ! " We are to believe it all, because 
 he had been baptized, and because, forsooth, he is not 
 positively recorded to have been ' admonished of the necessity* 
 of any further regeneration — a term which is never once 
 used with respect to him ! 
 
 I remember a controversy being carried on, in a periodi- 
 cal work, concerning this same Simon the Sorcerer, in which 
 one of the parties undertook to prove, that he was a con- 
 verted and good man, because St. Peter exhorted him to 
 repent and pray. The pseudo-cal\anist argued that he was, 
 in a high sense of the word, ' converted,' because he was 
 exhorted to so much as repentance and prayer : Dr. M. 
 argues that he was, likewise in a high sense of the word, 
 
 * regenerate,' because he was exhorted to no more than 
 repentance and prayer ! I must say that I could as soon 
 asrree with the one, as with the other. 
 
 How much more rational, and surely more scriptural also, 
 and more agreeable to the doctrines of our church, is it to 
 believe, that in his case baptism, not being ' worthily re- 
 
 * ceived,' was attended with no ' wholesome effect or opera- 
 ' tion ! '* that, being unaccompanied with " the answer 
 " OF a good conscience towards God," it was no more 
 than, as St. Peter speaks, " the putting away of the filth 
 " of the flesh," f a mere washing of the body, or at most 
 only a ' relative, external, and ecclesiastical sanctification.'| 
 
 The case of Simon Magus, however, is one, which may 
 furnish salutary admonition to many of those, whom Dr. 
 
 * Art. XXV. t 1 Pet. Hi. 21. J Bp. Hopkins. 
 
CHAP. II.] SIMON MAGUS. 45 
 
 M. teaches to consider themselves as regenerate ; and who 
 might be disposed, on that ground, to draw more favour- 
 able conclusions concerning their state, than their habitual 
 temper and conduct would warrant. If one, who is by 
 baptism regenerate, may yet be " in the gall of bitterness 
 ** and the bond of iniquity," and without " part or lot" 
 in the gift of the Holy Spirit ; it certainly behoves us to 
 beware of placing too much dependence on our baptismal 
 regeneration. And, again, were it always distinctly ad- 
 mitted, that so great a change may be necessary for us, 
 notwithstanding our baptismal regeneration, as it would 
 have required to set " the heart" of Simon Magus " right 
 *' in the sight of God;" there need not be much contro- 
 versy about the name by which that change should be called. 
 It is however, I am satisfied, the change itself, and not 
 merely the name, that is in dispute. 
 
46 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The subject continued. — Another series of scriptural passages 
 concerning regeneration — Circumcision, and the Jews under 
 the Old Testament dispensation. 
 
 In the preceding chapter, I have examined the scriptural 
 authorities, which Dr. M. has adduced in support of his 
 sentiments concerning the effect of baptism. In the pre- 
 sent, I intend to bring forward a number of passages, which 
 bear pretty directly upon the subject, but which he has 
 either wholly passed over, or only just alluded to. 
 
 I observe, then, that he admits the terms, " begotten 
 *' again," " born of God," " the sons of God," to be equi- 
 valent to one another, and to regeneration.* He asks, 
 indeed, liow these terms could be applied ' to large societies 
 * of believers,' ' unless their regeneration was the effect of an 
 ' ordinance, of which all Christians in general partake ? 
 ' and if so, of what ordinance but of baptism ? ' We shall 
 see hereafter, I trust, that the application of these and 
 similar terms to ' large societies' of Christians, admits of a 
 much more satisfactory explication, than that which is here 
 proposed. But for the present we are concerned only with 
 the admission, that the expressions, " sons of God, " be- 
 " gotten of God," and " born of God," mean, for sub- 
 stance, the same as regeneration. 
 
 Let us then examine the passages in which these terms 
 occur, and see whether they appear to refer to baptism. 
 
 * P. 35 and 44. 
 
CHAP. III.] SCRIPTURAL CHARACTERISTICS. 47 
 
 No expression of the kind, I believe, occurs in the first 
 three gospels. Among the beatitudes, indeed, we read, 
 *' Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the 
 " children of God." * But I will not urge this. 
 
 John i. 11 — IS. may, therefore, be considered as the first 
 place in which this language is used. " He came to his 
 *' own, and his own received him not. But as many as 
 " received him, to them gave he power to become the sons 
 * " OF God, even to them that believe on his name : which 
 ** were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
 " nor of the will of man, but of God." Here " receiving" 
 Christ by " believing in his name," and also the will and power 
 of God, are mentioned in connection with being " born of 
 *' God," and "becoming the sons of God:" but not a 
 word of baptism. To imagine even an allusion to it f is 
 perfectly gratuitous. Indeed it has been argued with some 
 force, that this studied exclusion of " the will of man" is 
 totally inapplicable to the case of baptism, where the wUI 
 of the minister, and of other parties concerned, must 
 concur. :j: 
 
 The next instance is Rom. viii. 14 : " As many as are 
 " led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." 
 Whether this comports with the idea, that all baptized per- 
 sons are " the sons of God," every one must judge for 
 himself. If to be " the sons of God " be the same as to be 
 regenerate ; and if none be the sons of God but they that 
 are "led by the Spirit of God;" I fear this will prove? 
 
 what Dr. M. demands to see proved, that some, or even 
 
 many persons, ' to whom baptism has been rightly adminis- 
 
 * tered, have not been regenerated.' § 
 
 Another passage is 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18 : " Wherefore come 
 
 ^* out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the 
 
 * See also Luke xx. 36. t Tracts, p. 8. 
 
 X Scott's Remarks, &c. vol. i. p. 193. § Tracts, p. 40. 
 
 5 
 
48 SCRIPTURAL CHARACTERISTICS [cHAP. III. 
 
 " Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive 
 " you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my 
 " SONS AND DAUGHTERS, saith the Lord Almighty." 
 What, again, do we find concerning baptism in this pas- 
 sage ? I fear it must furnish similar inferences to the last. 
 
 Gal. iii. 26, 27 : " Ye are all the children of God by 
 *' faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been 
 *' baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Here, indeed, 
 baptism is mentioned. Yet, even here, it is to their " faith," 
 rather than to their baptism, that their being " the children 
 ** of God" is ascribed. 
 
 James i. 18 : "Of his own will begat he us with the 
 " word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his 
 ** creatures." Here " the word of truth," not baptism, is 
 pointed out as the ' instrument of our regeneration : ' as it 
 is also of our sanctification in Ephesians v. 26, before 
 noticed. 
 
 1 Pet. i. 3 : " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
 " Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy 
 " hath BEGOTTEN US AGAIN to a lively hope, by the resur- 
 *« rection of Jesus Christ from the dead," &c. 
 
 Ibid. 23 : " Being born again, not of corruptible seed, 
 *' but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth 
 " and abideth for ever." Here " the mercy of God," and 
 *' the resurrection of Christ" are noticed, and *' the word 
 *' of God" is again assigned as the ' instrument' of regene- 
 ration. Dr. M. alludes to these verses :* but not a hint do 
 they contain concerning baptism, unless it is to be taken for 
 granted that " born again " means, of course, " baptized." 
 
 We now come to the epistles of St. John. . And we may 
 observe, that the sameapostle, who, with such evident serious- 
 ness and impression, records our Lord's discourse with Nico- 
 
 * Tracts, p. 35. 
 
CHAP. III.] OF THE REGENERATE. 49 
 
 demus on being " born again," himself employs similar 
 language more frequently than all the other sacred writers 
 taken together. 
 
 • 1 John ii. 29 : " If ye know that he is righteous, ye 
 " know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of 
 ** HIM." This is establishing a very different criterion of 
 regeneration, than the simple fact of having been baotized. 
 And does not the apostle intend it to hold negatively, as 
 well as positively, — that whoever doeth not righteousness is 
 not "born of God?" If so, this is another passage which 
 will assuredly answer Dr. M.'s challenge, by proving from 
 holy writ, that many ' persons, to whom baptism has been 
 
 * rightly administered, are not regenerate.' * — This is con- 
 firmed by the next passage. 
 
 1 John iii. 9, 10 : " Whosoever is born of God doth 
 " not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : and he 
 *' cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the 
 ** CHILDREN OF GoD are manifest and the children of the 
 *' devil : whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, 
 *' neither he that loveth not his brother." " Not of God :" 
 that is evidently, from the connection, is not " a child of 
 « God,"— is not « born of God." 
 
 I must except this passage from the number of those, 
 which Dr. M. but slightly notices. He employs no less 
 than three pages upon the former of the two verses, f As, 
 however, his effort is to obviate any conclusion, which might 
 be drawn from it to the prejudice of his sentiments, not to 
 convert the passage into a confirmation of those sentiments, 
 it is properly reserved for this place. 
 
 Dr. M.'s labours upon the passage evince nothing, in my 
 judgment, but the impossibility of reconciling it with the 
 notions, that all baptized persons are born of God, and 
 
 * Tracts, p. 40. f Tracts^ p. 44— 47. 
 
50 SCRIPTURAL CHARACTERISTICS [CHAP. III. 
 
 ' that no other than baptismal regeneration is possible in 
 
 * this world.' 
 
 He first misstates the argument drawn from the passage. 
 It is hence contended, he says, ' that, as baptismal regenera- 
 
 * tion does not secure a man from sin, another greater and 
 ' better new birth must be added to supply the deficiency.' 
 And he then cursorily alludes to the doctrine of ' sinless 
 
 * perfection.' Now, I apprehend, tliat not even those, who 
 hold sinless perfection to be attainable in this life, (of whom 
 I certainly am not one,) do understand the apostle here to 
 speak of such perfection, and to declare that no one is born 
 of God, who is not thus ' secured from sin.' But I con- 
 ceive that every one, who will allow the apostle to speak for 
 himself, must admit, that he does affirm the " being born 
 *' of God " effectually to secure a man from living in sin as 
 others do, — from practising sin, — from " not doing," or 
 practising " righteousness." * And this is all that our argu- 
 ment requires. If no man who is " born of God " can 
 live in wickechiess, then many who have been baptized are 
 not even yet " born of God." 
 
 In the next place, in treating of this text, Dr. M. has 
 recourse to a most sophistical argument, to evade its force. 
 
 * In a passage before us,' he says, * the apostle affirms, that 
 
 * whosoever is lorn of God cannot sin; and a few verses 
 
 * It is true, that, in the latter clause of ver, 9, the simple verb 
 afxafTaviiv is used : but in the former part the expression is dfxaprtav ov 
 'STotii doth not do, or practise, sin : and in ver. 10. this is illustrated by 
 the contrast of ra-oiwy hxcuosvvm; doing or practising righteousness. So that 
 the " sinning,'^ or " committing sin," is sufficiently proved to refer to a 
 man's habitual practice — * the trade of his life,' as one of the homilies 
 terms it. — ^The expression ■s-cieiv a/xApriav occurs also in John viii. 34 ; but 
 still in the same sense of habitually practising sin. no; o 'oroim dy,a(Tiav, 
 
 ' Those words in St. John, that a man born of God doth not andcannot 
 
 * sin, must be understood in a larger sense, of their not living in the 
 
 * practice of known sin ; of their not allowing themselves in that course 
 ' of life, nor going on deliberately in it.' Bp. Burnet, on Art. xvi. 
 
CHAP. III.] OF THE REGENERATE. 51 
 
 * before he affirms, Beloved, now are we the sons of God ; 
 
 * so that connecting the two assertions together, he will 
 
 * be made to affirm, that all the persons to whom his epistle 
 
 * was addressed were incapable of sinning; a hazardous 
 « affirmation this, if it be considered, that the epistle was 
 
 * certainly addressed to large societies of Christians ; ' &c. 
 Nothing, I conceive, can be more unfair than the whole of 
 this passage. By the terms * incapable of sinning,' Dr. 
 M. takes advantage of the idea of the apostle's meaning 
 
 * sinless perfection,' though he has just discarded that in- 
 terpretation of the words. He assumes, that what is said 
 in such general expressions as, " Beloved, now are we the 
 " sons of God," is to be applied to every individual of 
 the society to which the epistle may be addressed : than 
 which, as I hope to shew, no more fallacious principle can 
 be assumed in the interpretation of scripture. And then, 
 as the basis of his argument, he puts this general language, 
 in which people are spoken of according to their own profes- 
 sions, and the writer's charitable hopes concerning them, on 
 a footing with the strict and universal affirmatives and ne- 
 gatives * of the passage under consideration. By such 
 reasonmg, what is there which we might not prove? 
 Will Dr. M. undertake to affirm, that such passages as 
 iii. 20, " Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye 
 ** know all things," were true of every individual of ' the 
 
 * large societies of Christians — dispersed throughout the 
 ' greater and lesser Asia,' to whom he supposes the epistle 
 
 * Ver. 9. " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit (practise) 
 " sin." Ver. 10. " Whosoever doeth not (practiseth not) righteous- 
 " iiess is NOT of God." — Dr. M., in quoting, passes from the opening 
 words of V. 9, " Whosoever is born of God," to the concluding ones, 
 " cannot sin." It would have been more fair, perhaps, to take those 
 which stand immediately connected with the former, — " doth not commit 
 " (practise) sin," as they suggest that interpretation of the others, in 
 which we all agree. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 SCRIPTURAL CHARACTERISTICS [CHAP. Ill, 
 
 to have been addressed ? Will he undertake to say, that 
 every one of them, having (according to him,) " that hope " 
 of which the apostle wrote in iii. 1 — 3, " purified himself 
 " even as God is pure ? " Upon these principles, from 
 v. 20, " We are in him that is true," compared with iii. 6, 
 " Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not," we might prove 
 that all these persons lived without sin ; the very conclusion 
 which he so justly pronounces absurd. 
 
 Dr. M. next says, " The truth appears to be, that St. 
 
 * John intended to give a description of those persons who, 
 
 * having been regularly adopted for the sons of God by the 
 
 * appointed means, continued to act in a manner worthy 
 
 * of their adoption, by striving to profit by the grace of 
 
 * God, which would then effectually preserve them from 
 
 * the grosser sins.' St. John declares that he speaks of all, 
 " whosoever are born of God : " Dr. M. says, that he 
 ' intended ' to describe * those, who, having been regularly 
 
 * adopted for the sons of God, coni'imied to act in a 
 
 * manner worthy of their adoption.' Whose word is to be 
 taken, the reader will decide. But supposing Dr. M.'s in- 
 terpretation to be admitted, how nugatory does it make the 
 apostle's solemn declaration? Let us put it in Dr. M.'s 
 way, " Whosoever is born of God," and ' continues to 
 
 * act in a manner worthy of his adoption,' " doth not 
 *' commit (or practise) sin." What is ' acting in a man- 
 
 * ner worthy of our adoption,' but abstaining from sin ? 
 Does not this interpretation, therefore, make the apostle's 
 words to amount to this, Whosoever is born of God, and 
 continues to abstain from sin, does not practise sin ? — Dr. 
 M. afterwards adds, * under the same limitation, we may 
 
 * admit the position of an acute writer,* that the views, 
 dispositions, and conduct of real Christians invarially cha- 
 
 * raclerixe the regenerate children of God in scripture : * 
 
 * Mr. Overton. 
 
CHAP, in.] OF THE REGENERATE. S3 
 
 — and ' that other position ' also, ' that there is an infal- 
 ' lible connection between regeneration and salvation : — posi- 
 
 * tions, which are true, precisely to the same extent as the 
 
 * assertion of the apostle, that by baptism tve are dead unto 
 
 * sin, and are freed from sin.' I know not where the apos- 
 tle asserts, that * by baptism we are dead unto sin, and 
 
 * freed from sin.' I suppose the allusion is to Rom. vi : 
 but I find no such assertion there. The church, as it has 
 already been remarked, says, ' So should we who are 
 
 * baptized die from sin, and rise again unto righteousness.' 
 That all those who are baptized are by profession dead to 
 sin may be true, but that they are so in fact — nothing, I 
 fear, is less true. 
 
 After what has been observed on the preceding passages, 
 we may be very brief on those which remain. 
 
 1 John iv. 7} 8 : " Beloved, let us love one another ; 
 *' for love is of God : and every one that loveth is born 
 ^* OF God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth 
 *' not God ; for God is love." The apostle writes much in 
 this epistle of that love, which true Christians bear to one 
 another, for Christ's sake. And of that he must doubtless 
 be understood to speak in this place. He calls it " the 
 " love of the brethren : " and elsewhere mentions the pos- 
 session of it as a decisive evidence of " having passed from 
 
 *' DEATH unto LIFE." * 
 
 1 John V. 1 : " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the 
 *' Christ, is born of God : and every one that loveth him 
 " that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him." 
 Fi'om the other passages adduced, it must be evident that 
 the faith here intended is the * true, lively, and Christian 
 * faith,' which " worketh by love," and produceth obedi- 
 ence. However, whether more or less be understood 
 
 • I John iii. 14 
 
54* SCRIPTURAL CHARACTERISTICS [CHAP. Ill, 
 
 by this " believing that Jesus is the Christ,*' here is no al- 
 lusion made to baptism. 
 
 Ibid. 4, 5 : " Whatsoever is born of God overcometh 
 " the world : and this is the victory which overcometh the 
 " world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh 'the 
 " world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of 
 " God." All other men are held in bondage by the world, 
 by the love of it, or the fear of it : but he that is " born 
 " of God " has received ' a new principle of life and of 
 
 * action,' which enables him " to overcome the world.'* 
 Is this true of all baptized persons? If not, they are not 
 all " born of God." 
 
 Ibid. 18 : " We know that whosoever is born of God 
 *' sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth him- 
 " selfj and that wicked one toucheth him not." * The 
 
 * apostle is speaking concerning a sin unto death ; and his 
 ' words clearly mean, that no one, who has been born of 
 
 * God, or begotten of God, committeth this sin unto death. 
 ^? I might here, with a force of argument not easily an- 
 
 * swered, maintain the final perseverance of all who are 
 ' born of God: for apostates are especially the persons 
 
 * marked out as guilty of this sin But, waving this 
 
 * subject, I would only ask, Is there any kind or degree of 
 
 * sin, from which all baptized persons are secured ? any, 
 
 * from which they all, uniformly and without exception, 
 
 * keep themselves ? If this be answered in the negative, 
 ' as I think it must; then, beyond all doubt, being born 
 ' of God is someming ' by no means inseparably connected 
 with baptism; * 
 
 ' We may here observe how prominent the idea of all 
 ' true Christians being horn of God was in this apostle's 
 ' mind ; and that they alone were born of God.' ' He 
 
 * Scott's Remarks, &c. vol. i. p. 202, 203. 
 
 2 
 
CHAP. III.] OF THE REGENERATE. 55 
 
 * never adduces any thing peculiar to Christianity, but it is 
 
 < associated with being born of God.' ' Yet he does not 
 
 * expressly mention baptism, except as recording facts, in 
 
 < all his writings.' * 
 
 * Every passage in the New Testament has now been 
 
 * considered, in which the term regeneration is used, or 
 ' words of similar import : and in two only, is there even 
 ' any direct allusion to baptism.' f " The will of God " 
 is assigned as the source ; | " the word of God " as the 
 ordinary instrument ; § and " being led by the Spirit," the 
 *' love " of God and man, " overcoming the world," and 
 righteousness of life, as the necessary evidences || of rege- 
 neration : but how Httle do we read concerning baptism in 
 this connection ! 
 
 And as being " born of God " is continually spoken of 
 without any reference to baptism, so, on the other hand, 
 it has been remarked, that, ' in no one instance, in which 
 ' the baptizing of any persons is recorded in the New Tes- 
 ' tament, is the least intimation given, that they were then 
 
 * regenerated. The two subjects are kept entirely separate,' 
 with the exception of the allusions to the outward sign just 
 specified.** 
 
 Indeed it seems impossible to turn from such works as 
 Dr. M.'s to the New Testament, without feeling strongly 
 the transition we have made. In the former, 1 had nearly 
 said, baptism occupies the whole field of view. It is placed 
 
 * Scott's Remarks, vol. i. p. 193. — See also Appendix, Note VIII. 
 
 f Ibid. p. 204. The two passages intended are John iii. and Tit. ii. 
 In Rom. vi. and Col.ii. no such term occurs. If a third passage is to 
 be added, it must be Gal. iii. 26, 27, above quoted. 
 
 X John i. 11, 12. James i. 18. 1 Pet. 1. 3. 
 
 § James i. 18. 1 Pet. i. 23. 
 
 II Rom. viii. 14. 1 John ii. 29. iii. 9, 10. iv. 7, 8. v. 18. 
 
 ** Scott's Remarks, vol. i. p. 210. 
 
56 SCRIPTURAL STATEMENTS. [CHAP. III. 
 
 in the greatest possible prominence : almost every thing is 
 ascribed to it: all blessings are connected with it. ' Super- 
 
 * natural grace is thereby conferred : ' * it conveys regene- 
 ' ration : ' ' it is the vehicle of salvation : ' it ' entitles us to 
 
 * eternal life : ' we * are born anew in baptism, and in bap- 
 
 * tism exclusively : ' ' it infuses a new principle of life and 
 
 * of action : ' ' sanctification and purity, unspotted and un- 
 ' blemished holiness, are attributed to the church of Christ as 
 
 * the effect' of it : Christ,' it is declared, * ordained it with 
 
 * the promise of salvation annexed to its legitimate adminis- 
 
 * tration.' In short, it would seem that we are thereby re- 
 generated, adopted, justified, sanctified, if not also glo- 
 rified — for to that the passage last alluded to refers.* 
 But turn now to the New Testament. There we find, in-^ 
 deed, baptism ' expressly ordained by Christ himself, ' with 
 the declaration, " He that helieveth and is baptized shall be 
 " saved." It is the appointed mode of professing faith in 
 him: it is 'a sign, a pledge, a means' of important bless- 
 ings. As such it is required to be observed, and it is sup- 
 posed that Christians have not failed to observe it. But 
 when the terms of salvation are to be propounded, how 
 seldom, comparatively, do we hear of it ! " To as many as 
 " received him, to them gave he power to become the sons 
 " of God, even to them that believe on his name:" " That 
 " whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have 
 " everlasting life : " " He that heareth my word, and be- 
 " lievetli on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and 
 " shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from 
 
 * So also the Bishop of Lincobi : < Those who are baptized are im- 
 
 * mediately translated from the curse of Adam to the grace of Christ j 
 
 * the original guilt which they brought into the world is mystically 
 
 * washed away; and they receive forgiveness of the actual sins which 
 
 * they may themselves have committed; they become reconciled to God, 
 ' partakers of the Holy Ghost, and heirs of eternal happiness,' &c. 
 Refutation of Calvinism, p. 83. 
 
CHAP. III.] SCRIPTURAL STATEMENTS. 57 
 
 *' death unto life :" He that cometh to me shall never hun- 
 " ger, and he that helieveth on me shall never thirst:'* 
 *' What shall I do to be saved ? Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 " Christ, and thou shalt be saved:" "Through his name, 
 *' whosoever ie/iew/ A in him shall receive remission of sins :" 
 *' By him all that believe are justified from all things:'* 
 " That repentance and remission of sins should be preached 
 " in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusa- 
 ** lem:" " Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the 
 *' Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith towards our 
 *' Lord Jesus Christ : " " Repent and be converted, that your 
 " sins may be blotted out." 
 
 For what purpose do I make these quotations ? To shew 
 that baptism is unimportant, because it is not mentioned in 
 them ? If such were my purpose, I might justly be charged 
 With the same negative mode of reasoning, which, in the 
 last chapter, I censured in Dr. M. But such is by no 
 means the use which I make of these passages. I adduce 
 them only to shew, in what terms the inspired writers ordi" 
 narily proclaim the salvation of the gospel to mankind. I 
 do not infer that they omitted baptism, or neglected to 
 insist upon baptism, because it is not here mentioned : yet I 
 cannot but ask. Had baptism occupied as large a space in 
 their view as in Dr. M.'s, had they attributed as extraor- 
 dinary an efficacy to it, would it not have been much more 
 prominent than it is in their addresses ? 
 
 In one place, indeed, St. Paul even speaks of " bap- 
 '* tizing" as a secondary and inferior employment, compared 
 with " preaching the gospel." " I thank God that I bap- 
 " tized none of you, but Crispus and Gains; lest any 
 
 ** should say that I had baptized in mine own name 
 
 " For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the 
 " gospel." * I cannot persuade myself, that such language 
 
 * 1 Cor. i. 14—17. 
 
58 CIRCUMCISION, [chap. III. 
 
 comports with the idea of baptism being so completely 
 
 * the vehicle of regeneration and salvation,' as Dr. M. 
 esteems it. 
 
 Before we quit the ground of scripture, there is another 
 argument which may well deserve consideration. The 
 Jews, it is allowed, were as much the covenant people of 
 God, during the continuance of the Mosaic dispensationj 
 as Christians are now. They had their initiatory ordinance 
 as well as we. It denoted, that, according to our Lord's 
 expression, " that which is born of the flesh is flesh;" and 
 that this corrupt nature needs to be mortified and put away^ 
 It represented " the circumcision of the heart to love 
 " God."* It was " the seal of the righteousness of faith."t 
 Was it not to them ' the sacrament of regeneration,' as 
 much as baptism is to us ? ij: It was appointed by the same 
 authority ; it stood in the same place ; it signified the same 
 thing; it sealed the same blessings. It was evidently ' a 
 
 * sign,' and ' a pledge' of ' a spiritual grace;' and to 
 those who * received it rightly' it would be, at least, ' by 
 
 * virtue of the prayers '§ which would accompany it, 'a 
 
 * means' of grace. Its sacramental character, I apprehend, 
 will not be questioned. Dr. M. says, by baptism ' mankind 
 
 * at large were to be admitted into covenant with God, as 
 
 * the Jews had been by the rite of circumcision.' |1 And 
 subsequently he adopts the words of a venerable prelate, 
 who says, ' Our regeneration is wholly the act of the 
 ' Spirit of Christ. But there must be something done on 
 ' our parts in order to it ; and something that is instituted 
 
 * and ordained by Christ himself, which in the Old Testa- 
 ' ment was circumcision, in the New, baptism.' ** This is 
 
 • Deut. XXX. 6. t Rom, iv. 11. 
 
 X See Col. ii. 11 : where some commentators understand the apostle 
 to call baptism " the circumcision of Christ." 
 
 § Art. xxvii. || P. 6. 7. ** P. 26. 
 
CHAP. III.] AND THE JEWS. 59 
 
 admitting, I think, what I contend for, that to the Jews 
 circumcision was the ' sacrament of regeneration ; ' * and 
 that circumcised Jews stood on the same footing by their 
 circumcision, as we do by baptism. If, therefore, baptism, 
 by ^ its sacramental character,' necessarily or uniformly 
 convey the ' spiritual grace ' of regeneration to us, circum- 
 cision must, for the same reason, and in the same manner,- 
 have conveyed it to them. 
 
 It becomes, then, an inquiry bearing directly upon the 
 question before us, In what light do the inspired prophets 
 and apostles view their circumcised hearers ? How do they 
 address them with respect to ' the inward and spiritual 
 ' grace' of circumcision ? Do they consider them as hav- 
 ing, of course, received it, and as iiK:apable of any other 
 reception of it in this life ? 
 
 I might at once adduce the passage which ha^^ already so, 
 much engaged our attention, — our Saviour's discourse with 
 Nicodemus. It was addressed to a man who had done that 
 which was ' to be done on his part,' ' under the Old Testa- 
 * ment,' ' in order to regeneration ;'f who had received the 
 only sacrament of regeneration then in existence : ij: yet it 
 was mainly employed in inculcating upon characters, cir- 
 cumstanced as he was, the necessity of their being born 
 again. " Marvel not that I say unto you, ye must be 
 " born again." Eidier, therefore, our Lord was enjoining 
 on them a second regeneration, or he assumed, that many 
 of them, notwithstanding their cirumcision, were still un- 
 regenerate. i ^djjj:. 
 
 But not to urge this further, let us attend to some other 
 specimens of scriptural addresses to circumcised persons. 
 
 Lev. xxvi. 41, 42 : "If then their uncircumcised hearts 
 
 * ' And so was circumcision a sacrament, which/ &c. Horn, of Com. 
 Prayer and Sacraments. — All our old writers assume this, and, indeed, 
 I know not that any one now denies it. 
 
 t Quotation above made from Tracts, p. 2G. X Tracts, p. 7, 8. 
 
60 THE JEWS. [chap. III. 
 
 *' be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of 
 *' their iniquity ; then will I remember my covenant," &c. 
 
 Deut. X. 1 6 : " Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your 
 *' hearif and be no more stiff-necked." 
 
 Hid. XXX. 6: " The Lord thy God will circumcise thine 
 *' heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God 
 " with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou 
 *' mayest live." 
 
 Jer. iv. 4 : " Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take 
 *' away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah, and 
 *' inhabitants of Jerusalem ; lest my fury come forth like 
 " fire, and burn that none can quench it, because pf the 
 ** evil of your doings." 
 
 Ibid. ix. 25, 26 : " Behold the days come, saith the 
 *' Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised 
 *^ with the uncircumcised ; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, 
 *' and the children of Ammon and Moab, and all that^ 
 *' are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness ; 
 *' for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house ' 
 *' of Israel are uncircumcised in the Jieart." 
 
 Acts vii. 51 : " Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in 
 *' heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : as 
 " your fathers did, so do ye." 
 
 This collection of scriptural passages might easily be en- 
 larged to almost any extent, by the induction of others 
 which speak the same sentiments, only without the use of 
 exactly the same figure. Such, for example, are those which 
 enjoin, " Make you a new heart, and a new spirit j for 
 " why will ye die, O house of Israel : " or which promise, 
 " I will put a new spirit within you ; and I will take the 
 " stoney heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart 
 " of flesh."* That all this relates to ' the inward and 
 * spiritual grace,' of which they had already received thQ 
 
 * Ezek. xviii. 31. xi. 19. 
 
GHAP. in.] THE JEWS. 61 
 
 * outward and visible sign,' is proved by those passages 
 which represent the change of the heart " to love God," 
 as the thing denoted by circumcision : and that it is the 
 same as regeneration, Dr. M. virtually admits, when he 
 describes regeneration as * a new principle put into us.' 
 even ' the Spirit of grace.' This surely cannot differ 
 much from " a new heart and a new spirit put within us." 
 All these passages sufficiently show, with what good 
 reason our Lord intimated, that " a teacher of Israel" 
 ought to have learned the doctrine of regeneration, even 
 from the Old Testament. 
 
 I add only a passage from St. Paul, which strongly sup- 
 ports the doctrine contended for, and distinctly explains 
 the principle upon which all the texts just adduced proceed. 
 — Rom. ii. 25 — 29 : " For circumcision verily profiteth, if 
 *' thou keep the law : but if thou be a breaker of the law, 
 *' thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore, if the 
 " uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall 
 " not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision. And 
 " shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil 
 " the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision 
 " dost transgress the law ? For he is not a Jew which is one 
 " outwardly ; neither is that circumcision, which is outward 
 ** in the Jlesh : hut he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and 
 '* circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and 
 " not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God." 
 This text most decisively proves, " that the circumci- 
 *^ sion of the heart " was the thing of essential consequence; 
 and that it might, and alas ! too often did, fail to accom- 
 pany outward circumcision. — Now, if all, which this pas- 
 sage lays down, held good under the comparatively exter- 
 nal dispensation of Judaism, how much more must it 
 be true under the more spiritual dispensation of the gospel ! 
 God forbid that we should imagine ourselves, or teach 
 others to imagine themselves, in any essential and highly 
 
62 THE JEWS. [chap, iin 
 
 important sense of the word, Christians, while we are such 
 only •' outwardly ! " God forbid that wc should satisfy 
 ourselves, or teach others to satisfy, and thus to deceive, 
 themselves with a baptism which is only " outward in the 
 " flesh ; " or with any thing which necessarily accompanies 
 outward baptism, and is common to * baptized infidels' 
 with baptized believers ! and that we should rest in any 
 thing short of the baptism " of the heart, in the spirit, 
 *' and not (merely) in the letter, whose praise is not of men, 
 « but of God ! " 
 
 Now, on all these scriptures last adduced, let me be per- 
 mitted to ask. Is it not perfectly conceivable, that there 
 might have arisen persons in the Jewish church, strongly 
 impressed with the privileges which pertained to them as 
 members of that church ; entertaining high notions of the 
 nature of a sacrament, and of * the spiritual grace which it 
 
 * conveyed ' wherever it was * rightly administered ; ' and 
 to whom, consequently, all these passages of the prophets 
 and apostles would be very offensive ? to whom they would 
 be as obnoxious, as inculcating the necessity of the new 
 birth upon Christians can be to Dr. M., or to any other 
 person who entertains his sentiments ? And may it not 
 easily be imagined, that such characters would be able to 
 plead very plausibly against the notions of a despised 
 
 * party,' which insisted upon somewhat more distinguishing 
 and more spiritual ; — which maintained, in short, such doc- 
 trines as those of Rom. ii. 25 — 29, just quoted? They 
 might have urged ' the sacramental character,' and the 
 high things said in scripture of circumcision ; and have 
 pressed the charge of reducing it to a ' mere beggarly ele- 
 
 * ment, a form without substance, a body without spirit, a 
 
 * sign without signification : ' and no doubt strong preju- 
 dices v/ould have existed in their favour, in the breasts of 
 those, whom they encouraged to be * filled with all joy and 
 
CttAP. III.] THE JEWS. 63 
 
 « peace in believing that they partook ' of spiritual cir- 
 cumcision, — that blessing having been ' conferred by the 
 * sacrament of circumcision which they had all received. 
 But how our Lord, how his forerunner, and how his apos- 
 tles would treat such vain conjidences we are not left to con- 
 jecture : for what I have here only proposed as an hypo- 
 thesis, did actually take place, and those who held the doc- 
 trine of St. Paul, as just cited, were charged with vacating 
 Jewish privileges and the lenejit of circumcision, as much as 
 any of us can be with disparaging those, which are con- 
 nected with baptism and admission into the Christian church. 
 This appears from the very next words of the epistle : (iii. 
 1, 2, &c.) " What advantage, then, hath the Jew? and 
 " what profit is there of circumcision ? " The apostle 
 answers, but in terms which would give as little satisfaction 
 to his opponents, as ours can do to those who condemn us, 
 " Much every way : chiefly because that unto them were 
 " committed the oracles of God.^' 
 
i*.;» 64 ' • *'« •' '•' 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A consequence of the doctrine^ that baptism is regeneratiojif 
 or the only medium of regeneration. 
 
 xl AVING thus considered the testimony of holy scripture 
 upon the subject of regeneration, and its connection with 
 baptism, we might at once proceed to examine the doctrine 
 of the church upon the same subject : but a consequence, 
 immediately resulting from Dr. M.'s sentiments, presents 
 itself, which may challenge some previous notice; and 
 which is of so awful import, as must necessarily induce us 
 very strictly to scrutinize the grounds of his opinions, be- 
 fore we adopt them. 
 
 In the discourse with Nicodemus, we have heard our 
 blessed Lord repeatedly and most solemnly declare, that, 
 " except a man be born again — born of water and of the 
 " Spirit — he cannot see the kingdom of God." In these 
 words, by Dr. M.'s own interpretation,* this ' new birth 
 
 * or regeneration ... .is pronounced by our Saviour to be 
 ' necessary to salvation.' Yet he maintains, that it can be 
 conveyed only by baptism : * that no other than baptismal 
 
 * regeneration is possible in this world.'f What, then, is 
 the unavoidable consequence ? Clearly, that baptism is ab- 
 solutely ' necessary to salvation,' and that we ' cannot be- 
 ' come heirs of salvation ' without it. 
 
 In many places, indeed, Dr M. would seem almost to 
 recognise this consequence. ' By being born again,' he 
 says, * of which our Saviour speaks in such lofty language, 
 
 ♦ P. 29, 35. t P- 32. 
 
CHAP. IV.j A CONSEQUENCE, &C. 65 
 
 ' something is designed alsolutely necessary to be attained 
 
 * by those, who would enter into the kingdom of God.' * 
 Yet he maintains that it is baptismal regeneration which is 
 designed, and nothing else. * In what other ceremony,' 
 he asks, ' and at what other season,' than at baptism 
 ' shall we find that joint operation of water and of the 
 
 * Holy Spirit, of which Christ affirms we must be born.'f 
 — Again : * For the purpose of regeneration we conceive 
 
 * this union of water, as the instrument, and of the Spirit, 
 
 * as the efficient principle, to be alsolutely necessary.' % 
 
 But though he thus seems, at times, almost explicitly to 
 admit this consequence, of the absolute necessity of bap- 
 tism to salvation, I do not charge him with holding it. 
 Once indeed he qualifies his language upon the subject. 
 His words are : ' We are justified, in contending, that for 
 ' the express purpose of regeneration, not only is his (the 
 
 * Spirit's) operation necessary, but that it must also (hu- 
 
 * manly speaking) be administered through the mediation 
 
 * of water.' § But it is manifest, that, if our Lord in the 
 passage referred to spoke of baptism, every such qualifica- 
 tion is unauthorized and unwarrantable. He says no such 
 thing, as that ^ humanly speaking^ a man must be "born 
 *' of water and of the Spirit," in order to salvation ; but, 
 absolutely and unconditionally, that, except he be so, he 
 " cannot enter into the kingdom of God." His language 
 perfectly suits the ideas which we entertain upon the sub- 
 ject. We hold the change of regeneration to be indispen- 
 sable to salvation, in every child of fallen Adam. How 
 Dr. M. will make it accord with his sentiments, it is for 
 bim to consider. 
 
 I have said, however, that I do not charge him with 
 holding the consequence, which, I have shewn, must follow 
 from the supposition, that, in John iii, our Lord is speak- 
 
 * P. 24. t P. 25. X P. 27. § p. 28. 
 
66 A CONSEQUENCE, [CHAP. IV. 
 
 ing of baptismal regeneration, and of that only. But I dO 
 adduce the whole of what has been quoted in this chaptei^, 
 as displaying a somewhat rash and ill-considered way of 
 writing, which appears to me to render Dr, M.'s Tracts 
 eminently unsuitable to answer their design, of ' conveying 
 ' correct notions ' * on the subjects of which they treat. 
 
 I subjoin an extract from a work before referred to, which 
 presses our present argument in a very forcible manner. 
 
 * Our Lord says to Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say un- 
 ' lo thee, Except a man he born again, he cannot see the king- 
 
 * dom of God. Except a man be born, &c. &c. Whence I 
 
 * infer, without fear of refutation, that whatever is meant 
 
 * by being born again, no man can possibly, without being 
 
 * born again, either be a true Christian on earth, or inherit 
 ' the kingdom of God in heaven : and consequently he 
 
 * must live and die in his sins, and finally perish. Now is 
 
 * his Lordship prepared to admit, in its full extent, this 
 
 * consequence concerning baptism P Will he exclude from 
 
 * the possibility of salvation the whole body of the quakers, 
 
 * and all those children of antipeedobaptists, who die with- 
 
 * out receiving adult baptism ; and all those, who are anti- 
 
 * paedobaptists in principle, yet never receive either infant 
 
 * or adult baptism ? Do all these perish without hope ? 
 
 * Will he maintain, that no misapprehension, and no out- 
 
 * ward situation, in which baptism could not be procured, 
 
 * will make any exception ? Are all the children of Chris- 
 
 * tians who die unbaptized, excluded from the kingdom of 
 
 * God ? — not to speak of the children of Jews, and hea- 
 ' thens, and Mahomedans, who die before the commission 
 ' of actual sin, but die unbaptized. I am far from believ- 
 
 * ing that his Lordship, and others, who hold that baptism 
 ' is regeneration, are prepared to admit these consequences: 
 
 * Title-page. 
 
CHAP. IV.] NO SALVATION WITHOUT BAPTISM. 67 
 
 * which would be more repugnant to all our ideas of the 
 ' divine mercy, than any thing, that either the most zea- 
 
 * lous opposers of Calvinism have charged upon the 
 
 * system ; or the most rigid and wild enthusiast, who dis- 
 
 * graced the name of Calvinist, ever advanced on the 
 
 * subject.' * 
 
 * Remarks on the Bishop of Liiicolu'a Refutation of Calvinisn), 
 vol. i. p. 173, 174. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The doctrine of the Church. — Remarkable difference between 
 the language of the Church and that of Dr. Mant — 
 Analogy of the other Sacrament — Church Articles and 
 Catechism — Dr. Mant's doctrine a revival of the opuS 
 operatum. 
 
 J. HE needless embarrassmept in which the subject is left, 
 by the want of a more distinct definition of what is meant 
 by regeneration ; whether a change of dispositions, or only 
 a change of state and relations ; * has been already com- 
 plained of. In what follows, however, I shall be content 
 to take Dr. M.'s account of its nature, that it is 'a super- 
 * natural grace conferred,' ' a new principle put into us,* 
 ' the sanctification of the Spirit,' which makes us * heirs 
 ' of salvation.' And, I trust, it will be at all times kept 
 in mind, that the great question between us is. Is this su- 
 pernatural grace necessarily, or is it even constantly con- 
 ferred, where baptism is rightly administered ? 
 
 Having discussed the argument from scripture, I proceed 
 to inquire, Whether our church teaches us to answer this 
 question in the affirmative. 
 
 In conducting his investigation of this point, or rather 
 his proof that the church takes the affirmative side, Dr. 
 M. commences with the addresses and prayers in the bap- 
 tismal services. Without particularly objecting to his me- 
 thod, I shall prefer beginning with the Articles. It seems 
 natural to expect, from these professed and studied exposi- 
 
 * Bp. Hopkins, above, c, i. 
 
pHAP. v.] DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 69 
 
 tions, the most exact information concerning the doctrines 
 of the church : and by them also it would appear reason- 
 able to interpret any thing, which might be thought doubt- 
 ful, in her more popular compositions.* 
 
 And here we have, happily, no less than six excellent 
 articles upon the subject of the sacraments, five of which 
 bear upon the question. Strange however as it may appear, 
 Dr. M., professing to omit no one passage ' in the liturgy 
 
 * and articles,' t which relates to the subject, has not so 
 much as mentioned more than one of these articles ; while 
 he has endeavoured to press into his service three others, 
 which appear to me nearly foreign to the purpose. 
 
 * In three of the articles,' he says, the doctrine in ques- 
 tion ' is incidentally alluded to in such a manner, as to shew 
 
 * that the church takes for granted the connection between 
 
 * baptism and the new birth. In the 9th it is laid down, 
 
 * that the original iJifection of nature doth remain^ yea in 
 
 * thern that are regenerated ; and by the context it appears, 
 
 * that by the regenerated are intended they that believe and 
 
 * are baptized.'' ^ 
 
 The article referred to is that * of original or birth-sin.* 
 The connection of those parts on which the observation is 
 made may be seen from the following extract: ' And this 
 
 * infection of nature doth remain, yea in them that are re- 
 
 * generated . . . .And although there is no condemnation for 
 
 * them that believe and are baptized, yet the apostle doth 
 ' confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the 
 
 * nature of sin.' That they who ' believe and are bap- 
 
 * tized ' are regenerated, I have no sort of doubt. But 
 how it appears front this context, that ' by the regenerated 
 
 * are intended they that believe and are baptized,' is not 
 very clear. § And, if it were, I do not perceive how it 
 
 * See Appendix, Note IX. f P. 20. X P. 18. 
 
 § It appears that in the Latin copy renatis is the word both for re 
 
70 DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. [CHAP. V, 
 
 would make for Dr. M.'s purpose ; unless, because ' they 
 
 * that believe and are baptized ' are regenerate, it follows, 
 that all baptized persons are regenerate, whether they Itlieve 
 or not ! — This is the third instance in which Dr. M. drops 
 nil notice of " faith," in passages where it is expressly men- 
 tioned, and where it fills a prominent situation. And faith 
 must here mean, not a mere general assent to Christianity, 
 but ' the true, lively, and Christian faith : ' * for it cannot 
 be asserted, that ' there is no condemnation ' for those 
 who believe with any other than a living and fruitful faith, 
 even though they be ' baptized.' 
 
 ' In the 15th ' article. Dr. M. proceeds, ' Christians imi- 
 
 * versally are designated by the appellation of those, who 
 
 * are baptized and born again in Christ,' f 
 
 In this short remark there is, I apprehend, a double 
 error. The article is, * Of Christ alone without sin/ 
 The part referred to is, ' But all we the rest, although 
 
 * baptized, and born again in Christ, yet offend in many 
 
 * things.' — ' All we the rest' surely means, not only 
 
 * Christians universally,' but all mankind except Christ, 
 Consequently the following clauses do not affirm, that all 
 these persons are both ' baptized, and born again in, 
 
 * Christ,' but that even those of them, who are so, do yet 
 in many things offend. The connection is exactly like that 
 in the ninth article ; ' the infection doth remain, yea in 
 
 * them that are regenerated : ' ' etiaji in renatisJ The 
 Latin copy (which is original authority as well as the En- 
 glish, X) makes this more clear ; ' Sed nos religui, etiam 
 ' haptizati, et in Christo rege?ierati, in multis tamen offen" 
 ' dimus omnes* 
 
 generated and baptized in this article. Dr. Laurence says, I * will not 
 
 * allow this identity of expresion.' I never denied it : nor does it help 
 Dr. Mant's assertion, which, as I have shewn, is unavailing, even if 
 admitted to be correct. 
 
 * Homilies. f P. 18. J Burnet. 
 
CHAP, v.] CHURCH ARTICLES. 71 
 
 « The 16th Article,' Dr. M. adds, * speaks of the con- 
 
 * ditioii of those, who fall into sin after baptism ; that is, 
 ' according to an equivalent expression, after they have 
 
 * received the Holy Ghost.' ^ — Not to spend more time upon 
 such passages, I content myself with begging that the reader 
 will turn to the article, and judge for himself what proof 
 it affords, that the expressions above quoted are used as 
 equivalent. I find none. At all events, arguing from such 
 short and uncertain hints, when ample, distinct, and deci- 
 sive matter is before us, appears to be labour misapplied. 
 Proceed we, therefore, to the articles which treat expressly 
 of the sacraments. 
 
 Dr. M. quotes only the twenty-seventh. I must request 
 the reader's attention to the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, 
 twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth. 
 
 On comparing all these articles with the Tracts, we are 
 at once struck with a very material difference in the lan- 
 guage employed. The great thing upon which the articles 
 dwell with respect to the sacraments, in order to their sa- 
 lutary effect, is the ' right receiving ' of them : the 
 only thing on which Dr. M. insists is, baptism being 
 
 * rightly administered.' By this he evidently means, ad- 
 ministered in due form, and by an authorized person : 
 and accordingly he, in one instance, substitutes for the 
 ' right administration,' the * legitimate administration : * 
 — ' ordained,' he says, * as it was by Christ himself, with 
 ' a promise of salvation annexed to its legitimate admims- 
 ' tration,' f Of this right or legitimate administration he 
 speaks continually, while he never mentions the right re- 
 ception, I believe, but once ; and then merely as the phrase 
 happens to occur in a quotation from the articles ! X Surely 
 a difference of language, so essential, and so uniformly 
 
 * P. 18. t P- 51. X P. 19. 
 
72 DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. [CHAP. Vr 
 
 preserved, affords no slight presumption of a material dif- 
 ference in sentiment. 
 
 But not only does Dr. M. assert, ' that a promise of sal- 
 
 * vation is annexed to the legitimate administration ' of 
 baptism, and that all are ' regenerated ' to whom it is 
 
 * rightly administered : ' not only does he justly observe, 
 that the catechumen ' is instructed, that baptism is a sa- 
 
 * crament ; and as such, of course consisting of an outward 
 
 * and visible sign, and of an inward and spiritual grace : ' * 
 but he evidently and, I might even say, avowedly takes it 
 for granted, that the two cannot be separated ; that where 
 the former is ' rightly administered,' the latter must ac- 
 company it. To suppose the inward grace separated from 
 the outward sign, he says, is * to reduce ' this sacrament 
 
 * to a mere beggarly element, a form without substance, a 
 ' body without spirit, a sign without signification.' The 
 supposition that such a separation may be made, he calls a 
 
 * doubting of the inward and spiritual grace of baptism,* 
 the expression of which excites in him * pain and sur- 
 
 * prise.' He demands to have ' the exception ' to rege- 
 neration's ' taking place at baptism ' pointed out. He 
 repeatedly argues, that if, where rightly administered, bap- 
 tism do not ' convey effectual regeneration,' it is ' 7io sacra- 
 
 * ment ; ' and that ' to deny its regenerating influence is 
 
 * to deny its sacramental character J f 
 
 Now if all this hold of baptism, by its very nature as a 
 sacrament, it must, of course, equally hold good of the 
 other sacrament of the Lord's supper. Let us then hear 
 the articles of the church upon the subject . 
 
 And first concerning the Lord's supper. 
 
 Art. xxix. Of the wicked which eat not the body of Christ 
 in the use of the Lord's supper. — ' The wicked, and such 
 
 * as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and 
 
 * P. 15. t P. 10, 11; 15, 16, 21, 28, 29, 36, 40, 51. 
 
CHAP, v.] CHURCH ARTICLES. 73 
 
 * visibly press with their teeth (as St. Augustine saith,) 
 
 * the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, yet in no 
 
 * wise are they partakers of Christ : but rather, to their 
 
 * condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or sacrament of 
 
 * so great a thing.' — Is this supposing that the inward and 
 spiritual grace must constantly accompany the outward and 
 visible sign in a sacrament ? 
 
 Secondly, of the sacraments conjointly. 
 
 Art. XXV. Of the sacraments. ' In such only as wor- 
 ' THiLY RECEIVE the Same they have a wholesome effect or 
 ' operation : but they that receive them unworthily 
 
 * purchase to themselves damnation, as St. Paul saith.' * 
 
 Thirdly, of baptism in particular. 
 
 Art. xxvii. Of baptism. * Baptism ... .is a sign of re- 
 
 * generation or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, 
 
 * they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the 
 
 * church,' &c. &c. 
 
 Nor does the church leave us uninformed what she un- 
 derstands by a right receiving of the sacraments. 
 
 Art. xxvi. Of the unworthiness of the ministers, luhich 
 hinders not the effect of the sacraynent. * Neither is the 
 
 * effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wicked- 
 
 * ness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such 
 
 * as BY FAITH and rightly do receive the sacraments,' &c. 
 &c. 
 
 Art. xxviii. Of the Lord's supper. « To such as rightly, 
 ' worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the bread 
 
 * which we bi'eak is a partaking of the body of Christ,' &c. 
 
 Every one must remember similar sentiments and lan- 
 guage in the communion service. ' As the benefit is great, 
 
 * if with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive 
 
 * This article, indeed, declares sacraments to be ' effectual signs of 
 * grace : ' but to whom their efficacy extends, is sufficiently defined ii\ 
 the part of it quoted above. 
 2 
 
'Ux DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. [cHAP. V.' 
 
 * that holy sacrament ; (for then we spiritually eat the flesh" 
 ' of Christ, are one with him, &c. ;) so is the clanger great 
 
 * if we receive the same unworthily.' 
 
 And so also the catechism teaches us, that by * the faith- 
 
 * ful ' alone are * the body and blood of Christ,' or the 
 spiritual blessings procured and represented by them, ' ve- 
 
 * rily and indeed taken and received in the Lord's supper : ' 
 and that ' repentance and faith ' are required in those who 
 come either to that sacrament, or to the sacrament of bap- 
 tism. — With what shadow of reason, then, can Dr. M. 
 pretend that the catechism countenances, and much more 
 that it ' unequivocally asserts,' his doctrine ? The cate- 
 chism as much asserts an inward and spiritual grace of the 
 Lord's supper as it does of baptism : it would be extraor- 
 dinai'y if it did not. It declares the same qualifications 
 (at least, in subjects capable of them,) to be requisite for 
 one sacrament as the other ; and, with respect to the for- 
 mer, it evidently adopts that limitation of the spiritual grace, 
 which the articles so explicitly lay down. It is confined 
 to * the faithful : ' * for ' the mean whereby the body of 
 ' Cln-ist is received and eaten in the supper is faith.' f 
 Strange then, indeed, would it be to infer, that, according 
 to the catechism, the inward grace of baptism must needs 
 accompany the outward sign, merely because an inward 
 grace of that sacrament is asserted ! Yet Dr. M. has little 
 other ground than this for claiming the authority of the 
 catechism in favour of his sentiments.^ 
 
 Let it be remembered that the point now in discussion 
 is, whether ' the spiritual grace ' in all cases accompanies 
 
 * the outward sign ' in a sacrament. Whether to deny this 
 is ' to deny the nature of a sacrament.' If that be true of 
 
 * Catechism. f Article xxviii. 
 
 , X Whatever additional ground he may think that he has from the 
 words, * we are thereby made the children of grace,' will be considered 
 in c. viii. 
 
CHAP, v.] THE lord's SUPPER. 7«( 
 
 one sacrament, it must be of both : and the passages which 
 I have adduced are express and decisive of the judgment of 
 the church on the question, with respect to both sacraments. 
 There is no possibility of evading it. — Here then, I do not 
 scruple to say, that Dr. M., at the very moment when he 
 is taking upon him to judge and condemn his brethren, is 
 himself in the same condemnation which he pronounces 
 upon them : — to use his own words, he is * in irreconcile- 
 
 * ABLE opposition to the unequivocal and numerous 
 
 * declarations' of the church of England, on this most ' im- 
 
 * portant article.' * 
 
 In a subsequent part of his tracts, Dr. M. himself ap- 
 peals to the other sacrament, and argues from it in a man- 
 ner which, after what we have seen, may be thought not a 
 little extraordinary. ' If the spiritual part of baptism be 
 
 * denied^ why should the spiritual part of the communion 
 
 * be allowed P If water be not really the laver of regene- 
 
 * ration, why should bread and wine be spiritually the body 
 
 * and blood of Christ, and convey strength and refresh- 
 
 * ment to the soul ? ' Do they do so, except to the penitent 
 and believing soul ? The articles have already answered 
 the question. And was it ever denied that baptism con- 
 veys spiritual grace, with a similar restriction ? — He 
 proceeds, * Surely it is not too much to affirm, that the 
 
 * stripping of one of God's ordinances of that, which con- 
 ^ stitutes it essential value, has a natural tendency to bring 
 
 * the efficacy of the others into question, and to diminish at 
 
 * least, if not to annihilate, a man's respect for them as means 
 
 * of spiritual grace.'f fVe strip baptism of ' that which 
 
 * constitutes its essential value,' no more^ nor any otherwise^ 
 than Dr. M. so strips the Lord's supper, every time he recite^ 
 the exhortation in the communion service. 
 
 * Tracts, p. 23. t P. 51. 
 
76 THE OPVS Ot»EIlATUM. [CHAP. V. 
 
 But, in fact, this question of the necessarj', or unfailing 
 efficacy of the sacraments is no new one : and Dr. M.'s 
 sentiments upon it are little else than a revival of the popish 
 doctrine of the opus operahim, or that the benefit of the 
 sacraments is conveyed by the mere reception of them, 
 independently of the state of mind of the person receiving 
 them. And of this doctrine let us hear the opinion of our 
 church, and of the reformers generally, as summed up by 
 Bishop Burnet. ' This,' he says, * we reckon a doctrine 
 
 * that is not only without all foundation in scripture, but 
 
 * that tends to destroy all religion, and to make men live 
 
 * on securely in sin, trusting to this, that the sacraments 
 
 * may be given them when they die. The conditions of the 
 
 * new covenant are repentance, faith, and obedience ; and 
 ^ we look on this as the corrupting the vitals of this reli- 
 ' gion, when any such means are proposed, by which the 
 
 * main design of the gospel is quite overthrown. . .We look 
 
 * on all sacramental actions as acceptable to God only with 
 
 * regard to the temper, and the inward acts of the person to 
 ' whom they are applied; and cannot consider them as 
 
 * medicines or charms, which work by virtue of their own,* 
 
 * whether the person to whom they are applied co-operates 
 ' with them or not.' * Thus we reject, not without great 
 
 * zeal against the fatal effects of this error, all that is said 
 
 * of the opus operatum, the very doing of the sacrament : 
 
 * we think it looks liker the incantations of heathenism, 
 ' than the purity and simplicity of the Christian religion.' f 
 
 Again, in the following passages, his language applies, 
 if possible, still more directly and unequivocally to the case 
 before us. ' The second part of this period' (Art. xxv.) 
 
 * See Appendix, Note X. 
 
 f Burnet on Art. xxv. p. 330, 331, 332, 8vo. I do not adopt every 
 mode of expression which occurs in these extracts ; but the general ar- 
 gument is excellent. 
 
CHAP, v.] BISHOP BURNET. 77 
 
 is, that the effect of the sacraments comes only upon the 
 worthy receiving of them. . .The pretending that sacraments 
 liave their effect any other way is the bringing in the 
 doctrine and practice of charms into the Christian re- 
 hgion : and it tends to dissolve all obligations to piety 
 and devotion, to a holiness of life, or a purity of tern** 
 per ; ' * &c. 
 
 * The august words, that were dictated by our Lord 
 hunself,' as the form to be used in baptism, ' shew us that 
 there is somewhat in it that is internal, which comes from 
 God ; that it is an admitting men into somewhat that 
 depends only on God, and for the giving of which the 
 authority can only be derived from him. But after all, 
 this is not to be beheved to be of the nature of a charm, as 
 if the very act of baptism carried always with it an inward 
 regeneration. Here, we must confess, that very early 
 some doctrines arose upon baptism, that we cannot be 
 determined by. The words of our Saviour to Nicodemus 
 were expounded so, as to import the absolute necessity of 
 baptism in order to salvation.' — ' Another opinion, that 
 arose out of the former, was the mixiiig of the outward 
 and the inward effects of haptis7n\ . .St. Peter has stated 
 the subject ' so fully, that if his words are well considered,, 
 they will clear the whole matter. He, after he had set 
 forth the miserable state in which mankind was, under the 
 figure of the deluge, in which an ark was prepared foF 
 Noah and his family, says upon that, The like figiire 
 whereuntOf even baptism, doth also now save 7is. Upon which 
 he makes a short digression to explain the nature of bap- 
 tism, not the putting away the filth of the Jiesh, but the an- 
 swer (or the demand and interrogation) of a good conscience 
 towards God ; by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is 
 gone into heaven. The meaning of all which. is» that 
 
 * Burnet on Art. xxv. p 366. 
 
f^ BISHOP BURNET'S [chap. V. 
 
 Christ having risen again, and having then had all power 
 in heaven and in earth given to him, he had put that 
 virtue in baptism, that by it we are saved, as in an ark, 
 from that miserable state in which the world lies, and in 
 which it must perish. But then he explains the way how 
 it saves us ; that it is not as a physical action, as it washes 
 away the JUthiness of the flesh or of the body, like th^ 
 notion that the gentiles might have of their februations ; 
 or, which is more natural, considering to whom he writes, 
 like the opinions that the Jews had of their cleansings 
 after their legal impurities, from which their washings and 
 bathings did absolutely free them. The salvation that we 
 Christians have by baptism is effected by that federation 
 into which we enter, when, upon the demands that are 
 made of our renouncing the devil, the world, and the 
 flesh, and of our believing in Christ, and our repentance 
 towards God, we make such answer's from a good ccm- 
 sciencCj as agree with the end and design of baptism ; then, 
 by our thus coming into covenant with God, we are saved 
 in baptism. So that the salvation by baptism is given by 
 reason of the federal compact that is made in it. NoW 
 this being made outwardly, according to the rules that 
 are prescribed, that must make the baptism good among 
 men, as to all the outward and visible effects of it : but 
 since it is the answer of a good conscience only that saves,' 
 then an answer from a bad conscience, from a hyprocri- 
 tical person, who does not inwardly think, or purpose, 
 according to what he professes outwardly, cannot save, but 
 does, on the contrary, aggravate his damnation. Therefore 
 our article puts the efficacy of baptism, in order to the 
 forgiveness of our sins, and to our adoption and salvation, 
 upon the virtue of prayer to God', that is, upon those 
 vows and and other acts of devotion that accompany it : 
 so that when the seiiousness of the mind accompanies the 
 regularity of the action, then both the outward and inward 
 
CHAP, v.] EXPOSITIOir. 7B 
 
 effects of baptism are attained by it : and we are not only 
 baptized into one body^ but are also saved by baptism. — So 
 that upon the whole matter, baptism is a federal admissioii 
 into Christianity, in which, on God's part, all the bless- 
 ings of the gospel are made over to the baptized : and on 
 the other hand, the person baptized takes on him, by a 
 solemn profession and vow, to observe and adhere to the 
 whole Christian religion. So it is a very natural dis* 
 tinction to say, tltat the outward effects of baptism follow 
 it as outwardly performed : but that the inward effects of it 
 follow upon the inward acts. But this difference is still 
 to be observed between inward acts and outward actions, 
 that when the outward action is rightly performed, the 
 church must reckon the baptism good, and never renew 
 it ; but if one has been wanting in the inward acts, those 
 may be afterwards renewed, and that want may be made 
 up by repentance.' * 
 
 Such are the doctrines of an exposition of the articles, 
 written by a right reverend prelate, and recommended, I 
 believe, for more than a hundred years past, by all our 
 bishops, to the study of every candidate for orders. Yet a 
 society, which boasts the patronage of the whole bench of 
 bishops, now circulates Dr. Mant's tracts, in order ' to 
 ' convey correct notions 't upon the same subject ! 
 
 But it may be said, that all which has been adduced re- 
 lates to the reception of the sacraments by adults, or persons 
 capable of repentance, faith, and other qualifications of 
 mind : whereas Dr. M. confines, or nearly confines, his 
 attention to the baptism of infants. This, however, is not 
 strictly true. That the church had notforgotten the case of 
 infants, when she thus delivered the doctrine of the sacra- 
 ments, is made evident by the conclusion of the twenty- 
 
 * Burnet on Art. xxvii. p. 378—380. f Title-page, 
 
80 ADULTS. [chap. V. 
 
 seventh article : * The baptism of young children is in any 
 
 * wise to be retained in the church, as most agreeable with 
 
 * the institution of Christ.' But, even if it had not been 
 so, still my quotations demonstrate, that, in the opinion of 
 the church, there exists no necessary or constant connection 
 between the outward sign and the inward grace of a sacra- 
 ment; that the former may be ' rightly administered,' and 
 the latter not communicated ; nay, that this is always the 
 case where the sacrament, whether of baptism or of the 
 Lord's supper, is not ' rightly received.' And the occur- 
 rence, or even the possibility, of such a fact, in any one 
 instance, overthrows the hypothesis, that the inward and 
 spiritual grace of baptism must uniformly accompany the 
 due administration of the outward and visible sign. 
 
 But that Dr. M. should have so much confined his atten- 
 tion to the case of infant recipients of baptism, 1 take to be 
 a material fault of his work.* Had he allowed himself 
 dulv to consider the case of adults receivintj a sacrament, 
 and what the church has laid down, concerning the qualifi- 
 cations requisite for receiving it with spiritual benefit, I 
 think it impossible that he should have continued in some 
 of what I must call his present errors. Perfectly agreeing 
 with what 1 have just quoted from our twenty-seventh arti- 
 cle, that ' the baptism of young children is in any wise to 
 
 * be retained in the church, as most agreeable with the 
 ' institution of Christ ; ' I still must think, that with the 
 case of infants, and in transferring^ to subjects ' incapable of 
 ' repentance and faith^ language which luas originally ap- 
 plied only to persons supposed to possess both, much of the 
 cojfusion which has prevailed, was introduced into the subject. 
 
 'Let me then again put to Dr. M. the case of an adult, 
 having baptism ' rightly administered ' to him, but yet, 
 contrary to all his professions, destitute of " repentance to- 
 
 * See Appendix, Note XI. 
 
CHAP, v.] AND INFANTS. 8| 
 
 " wards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ :" 
 does such a person, in receiving baptism, receive the 
 inward and spiritual grace, or does he not ? If he does, 
 what becomes of all the doctrine of our articles concerning 
 the sacraments bringing condemnation, instead of ^ a whole- 
 
 * some effect and operation,' to those who receive them not 
 
 * rightly, worthily, and with faith?' If he does not, what 
 shall we say to Dr. M.'s principle of * the sacramental char 
 
 * racter ' being ' denied,' by supposing the outward sign 
 rightly administered, and the inward grace not commu- 
 municated? 
 
 It may be said again, ' The case of an infint, incapable 
 of personal repentance and faith,* is not to be put upon a 
 footing with that of an adult, positively impenitent and wi" 
 Jjelievingf and therefore a hypocrite in his baptismal pro- 
 fessions,' Certainly it is not : but neither is it to be consi- 
 dered as necessarily on an equality with the case of a real 
 jjenitent, and true believer in Christ, professing his faith 
 in baptism. Such an one unquestionably enjoys the inward 
 and spu-itual grace, as well as the outward and visible sign. 
 But on what ground (after Dr. M.'s principle respecting 
 
 * the sacramental character' has been discarded,) it is con- 
 cluded, tliat these two distinct things must necessarily, or in 
 all cases go together, where infants are concerned, I am at 
 a loss to conceive. 
 
 The language of our church upon this subject will very 
 soon be considered. In the mean time I ask. Does it seem 
 Reasonable to suppose, that a blessing necessarily or always 
 accompanies the administration of a sacrament, to those 
 who ' by reason of their tender age cannot ' exercise re- 
 pentance and faith, which by no means necessarily or always 
 accompanies it, to grown persons who are capable of both 
 those graces ? 
 
 * Catechiem, 
 
g2 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Church Services. — Office for baptism of adults. — Principle 
 on which the church proceeds, in speaking of all whom she 
 has admitted to haptisin as regenerate. 
 
 In the preceding chapter, I trust I have demonstrated, 
 that the articles of the church afford no countenance to Dr. 
 M.'s doctrine concerning baptism j and at the same time 
 succeeded in removing one main support of his system, 
 namely the assumption, that to suppose the inward grace 
 of baptism in any case withheld, where the outward sign is 
 
 * rightly administered,' is * to deny its sacramental cha- 
 
 * racter; ' * to reduce it to a mere beggarly element, a form 
 
 * without substance, a body without spirit, a sign without 
 
 * signification.' Like every other religious rite, baptism 
 may be made nearly all this : * but then who * make ' it 
 such ? Not those who caution men against resting in the 
 outward form, without enjoying the spiritual blessing, but 
 those who * receive it unworthily.' 
 
 But still it may be asked. Supposing Dr M. to have been 
 incautious or erroneous in this principle, yet is he not 
 borne out by our public services, in asserting that baptism 
 
 * conveys regeneration ' to every one to whom it is rightly 
 administered ? 
 
 This question I proceed to consider; only premising, 
 that it would seem very unlikely, that a church, which, in 
 
 * Not indeed ' a sign without signification ; ' the expression is in- 
 correct:— but a sign separated from the thing signified. 
 
CHAP. VI.] CHURCH OFFICE FOB ADULTS. 83 
 
 her doctrinal articles, so carefully lays it down, that ' in 
 
 * such only as worthily receive the same the sacraments 
 
 * have a wholesome eiFect or operation ; ' should, in her 
 liturgy, have assumed, that the outward rite and the spi- 
 ritual grace inseparably accompany each other. Dr. M., 
 however, is so sure that the services of the church are on his 
 side, that he says they ' need no comment : ' * language 
 
 * cannot be plainer.' One thing, however, I hope he may 
 by tliis time feel, that, according to his view of those services, 
 they certainly do want a comment to reconcile them with 
 the articles. And this is some presumption, that the view 
 which he has taken of them is not quite correct.* 
 
 I shall begin with * the ministration of baptism to such 
 
 * as are of riper years, and able to answer for themselves ;' f 
 in order that we may consider the subject disencumbered of 
 any particular questions, which the case of infants might 
 introduce into it. That case shall afterwards receive se- 
 parate consideration. I 
 
 Before we proceed to the baptism of such persons, the 
 rubric admonishes us, that ' due care is to be taken for their 
 
 * examination, whether they be sufficiently instructed in 
 
 * the principles of the Christian religion ; and that they 
 ' may be exhorted to prepare themselves with prayers and 
 
 * fasting for the receiving of this holy sacrament.' This is 
 by no means immaterial to our inquiry. 
 
 The persons being, as far as human judgment can go, 
 
 * found fit,' and the time for the administration being 
 
 * See Appendix, Note XII. 
 
 t I am aware that this office is of later date than the rest, having 
 been added at the last review of the liturgy, after the restoration. But 
 I suppose no one will pretend that it has not equal authority. Besides, 
 the same system evidently pei-vades all the offices, and all must be inter- 
 preted in the same manner. 
 
 X See Appendix, Note XIII. 
 
 g2 
 
Pk CHURCH OFFICE {[(MAP. VI. 
 
 come, the service opens with an addnees, which differs only 
 by the addition of the words in brackets from that, which 
 Dr. M. has quoted from the ministration of piibhc baptism 
 to infants : ' Dearly beloved, forasmuch as all men are 
 
 * conceived and born in sin, [and that which is born of the 
 
 * flesh is ^esli, and they that are in the flesh cannot please 
 ' God, hut live in sin, committing many actual trans- 
 
 * gressions ;] and that our Saviour Christ saith, none can 
 ' enter into the kingdom of God, except lie be regenerate 
 
 * and born anew of water and of the Holy Ghost; I 
 
 * beseech you to call upon God the Father, through our 
 
 * Lord Jesus Christ, that of his bounteous goodness he 
 
 * will grant to these persons that which by nature they 
 < cannot have ; that they may be baptized with water and 
 
 * the Holy Ghost; and received into Christ's holy churcli, 
 
 * and be made lively members of the same.' 
 
 It would seem nbt unnatural to ask. Are we not furnished, 
 by the words in brackets, with a criterion by which to judge 
 whether a man is ' in the flesh,' (that is, I suppose it will 
 be allowed, ' unregenerate,'*) or the contrary? They 
 who * live in sin,' f are, it would seem, by the testimony of 
 our church, as well as by the decision of St. John, * in 
 
 * the flesh;' and therefore not * born of God.' J But I 
 forbear to press this. 
 
 Dr. M.'s remarks on this address are as follow: It * is 
 
 * designed to draw tlie attention of the iiearers to the 
 ' purpose, for which baptism is administered. It consists 
 ' of two parts : an admonition to the people to pray, and 
 
 * a reason for the admonition : what they are to pray for 
 
 * partly is, that the child [or the persons] may be baptized 
 
 * See John iii, 6. i" See Rom. vi. 2. 
 
 X 1 John iii. 9. See above, p. 49. 
 
CHAP. VI.] FOR ADULTS. S5 
 
 .* with water and the Holy Ghost ; the reason for their being 
 ^ called on so to pray, is, forasmuch as Christ saiihy none 
 
 * can enter into the kingdom of God except he le regenerate 
 
 * and horn anew of water and of the Holy Ghost. Putting 
 
 * these passages together, what else is the prayer that the 
 
 * child [person] may be baptized with water and the Holy 
 
 * Ghost, than a prayer that by baptism he may be born 
 
 anew 
 
 V'# 
 
 If the words hy baptism here mean through the medium of 
 baptism^ I have no wish to dispute this inference, taken 
 with a limitation, which it may hereafter be seen that it 
 requires, t I readily admit that the church considers bap- 
 tism as being, by the very nature of a sacrament, ' a means 
 ' and pledge,' as well as ' a sign,' of ' a death unto sin 
 ' and a new birth unto righteousness.'— But does no further 
 inference suggest itself to Dr. M.'s mind from this address ? 
 In the exhortatioTTto pray, that the persons about to re- 
 ceive baptism ' may be baptized with water and the Holy 
 * Ghost,' does he not again read the doctrine of the articles^ 
 that the outward rite may be duly administered, and the 
 inward grace not be received ? The object of the petition 
 cannot be the baptism with water: that the priest has 
 power to administer, and is about to administer : it must 
 be, that baptism with the Holy Ghost may accompany it. 
 It is possible, therefore, that it should not accompany it : 
 at least it may be so, if these prayers are not made devoutly 
 and in faith. 
 
 The prayers, which immediately follow, form the best 
 comment on the address, and the best confirmation of the 
 argument which I have drawn from it. In them the spi- 
 ritual grace is the sole object of petition. We beseech 
 God ' to wash and sanctify these his servants with the 
 < Holy Ghost, that they, being delivered from his wrath, 
 
 • P. 11, 12. f Chap. xi. and conclusion of c. xii. 
 
86 CHURCH OFFICE [cHAP. VI, 
 
 ^ may be received into the ark of Christ's church : ' &c. &c. 
 And again, * We call upon him for these persons, that they, 
 ^ coming to his holy baptism, may receive remission of 
 ^ their sins by spiritual regeneration.' This passage Dr. 
 M. says, * needs no comment : it will only be recollected 
 
 * that ^e question is, What does the church of England 
 ' understand by our Saviour's expression of being born of 
 
 * water and of the Spirit.' This is, by no means, the only 
 or the principal question between us. However, I perceive 
 in this passage no further answer to that question, than that 
 the church understands our Saviour to speak of a spiritual 
 change, of which baptism is a * sign,' and may be ' a 
 
 * means : ' but which may fail of accompanying baptism ; 
 else why so earnestly pray, that these persons, ' coming to 
 
 * baptism,' may have it ? 
 
 Similar remarks may be made upon other prayers, which 
 Dr. M. cites, though he pronounces any further comment 
 upon them to be unnecessary. For example ; ' Give thy 
 
 * Holy Spirit to these persons, that \heymay he horn again, 
 ^ and be made heirs of everlasting salvation.' Does not 
 this imply, that they might be baptized, and yet not be 
 ** born again." I profess, that to me the prayers seem to 
 suggest conclusions, directly opposite to those which Dr. M. 
 would make from them. He would infer, that baptism 
 either ' is,' or ' conveys' regeneration : these prayers imply, 
 (what the articles have expressly taught,) that it is very 
 possible for regeneration not even * to accompany ' baptism. 
 
 Again, I quote, because Dr. M. has quoted, the follow- 
 ing: ^ Sanctify this water to the mystical washing away of 
 
 * sin; and grant that the persons now to be baptized 
 
 * therein may receive the fulness of thy grace, and ever 
 
 * remain in the number of thy faithful and elect children.' 
 Js it not imphed here, that it is just as possible for them 
 
CHAP. VI.] FOR ADULTS. 8^7 
 
 to fall of receiving ' the fulness of God's grace ' now, at 
 their baptism, as to fail of ' remaining ever in the number 
 
 * of his faithful and elect children' afterwards?* 
 
 But we have already passed the gospel appointed for the 
 occasion. We return to it. In Dr. M.'s words, ' the 
 
 * passage selected is the conversation, wherein Christ 
 
 * asserts to Nicodemus the necessity of the new birth :' and, 
 as our author also observes, it is made the foundation of an 
 address commencing as follows : ' Beloved, ye hear in this 
 
 * gospel the express words of our Saviour Christ, that, 
 ' except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he 
 
 * cannot enter into the kingdom of God . Whereby we 
 '^ may perceive the great necessity of this sacrament, where 
 
 * itmay be had.' 
 
 On these words Dr. M. thus triumphantly remarks : * It 
 
 * must be enough barely to quote this passage : it would be 
 
 * an insult upon any man's understanding, to attempt to 
 
 * make it clearer ; and it would be superfluous to add more 
 ' from the same office. If a bare statement of tliis fact 
 
 * does not convince a man, nothing, I am persuaded, can 
 
 * convince him, that it is by baptism, in the judgment of 
 
 * the church of England, that a man is born of water and 
 ' of the Spirit.' f 
 
 Here is great confidence, great exultation, but I, for 
 one, must acknowledge my obligation to Dr. M. for the 
 hint he has given at the close, without which I might not 
 have discovered what was the occasion of his triumph. 
 
 I can readily, indeed, perceive from this address, that 
 the church agrees with Dr. M. in understanding our Lord, 
 when he speaks of being " born of water," ' to allude by 
 ' anticipation to the sacrament of baptism, which he in-- 
 
 * tended to ordain, 'j: And in this respect I agree with 
 him also. 
 
 * See Appendix, Note XIV. t P- 14. J P. 8< 
 
8S CHURCH OFFICE [cHAP, VU 
 
 I likewise readily admit, as I have before done, that the 
 church considers baptism as not only * a sign/ but also * a 
 
 * means* of regeneration. 
 
 But neither is this a point in dispute : and, with regard 
 to points in which we really differ, I infer from the passage 
 One or two things a good deal opposed to Dr. M.'s views. — 
 Has he, I would ask, considered, with the attention which 
 it deserves, that clause, * the great necessity of baptism 
 
 * WHERE IT MAY BE HAD?* Would the church haveprc" 
 sumed to interpolate such a limitation as this, in our Lord's 
 unlimited asseveration, that " except a man be born again 
 *^ he cannot see the kingdom of God ? " Far from her 
 friends be the insinuation ! Had she, then, supposed * no 
 
 * other than baptismal regeneration to be possible in thi^ 
 
 * world,' * would she have ventured to say, * its great ne-» 
 
 * ccssity where it may he had ; ' when by Dr. M.'s own 
 confession, our Lord has declared regeneration to be * ab" 
 
 * solutely necessary^ * an indispensable requisite to salva- 
 
 * tion,' t in all cases ? — From this clause, therefore, I con- 
 elude, without the fear of refutation, that it is not by 
 baptism only, * in the judgment of the church of England, 
 
 * that a man ' can be *' born of water and of the Spirit,'* 
 in our Lord's sense of the words. 
 
 Other passages have demonstrated, that, according to 
 her judgment, a man may receive baptism * rightly admi- 
 
 * nistered,' and yet not be thus born again : and this pas- 
 sage proves to me, that, in her judgment also, a man may 
 be thus born again otherivise than by baptism. 
 
 No one, I trust, would be further than myself from de- 
 preciating * the necessity of baptism where it may be had,* 
 or of any other thing which Christ hath commanded ; but 
 yet I conceive a church, which expresses herself in this 
 manner, would not go so near to pronouncing baptism es- 
 
 * P. 33. t P. 24 and 25. 
 
CHAP. VI.} FOR ADULT*. 89 
 
 sential to salvation as Dr. M. has done.* — And I CMitend, 
 that she had authority for making the limitation in question, 
 as to the sacramental sign, though not as to the thing signi- 
 fied. The nature of Christianity furnished this authority : 
 for it is a religion standing not in external rites, (however 
 Important, or necessary, ' where they may be had,') but 
 in the substantial blessings of " righteousness, peace, and 
 " joy in the Holy Ghost." — The passage itself, as I have 
 already shewn, f furnished ground for it : for, though our 
 Lord, in one assertion of the necessity of the new birth, 
 just mentions the external sign of " water," he drops it in 
 every other instance, insisting only upon being " born of 
 ** the Spirit," as the great essential thing intended. — And, 
 finally, authority for such a limitation is fiimisbed by the 
 very words of the institution of this sacrament, which have 
 been before commented upon, and which the church im- 
 mediately proceeds to quote, as follows : * He gave conx- 
 
 * mand to his disciples, saying, Go ye into all the worlds 
 
 * and preach the gospel to every creature ; he that lelieveth 
 
 * and is baptized shall he saved^ hut he that helieveth not shall 
 ' he damned.^ By the omission of baptism in the second 
 clause, our Lord shews that he did not intend to make it 
 essential to salvation, f 
 
 ' To add more,' that is peculiar to this office, Dr. M, 
 says, * would be superfluous.' I can by no means think sa. 
 To me it appears, that this very exhortation contains much 
 more, which requires the particular attention of one who 
 would ascertain the real doctrine of the church. We will re- 
 cur to it, when we have considered some other parts of the 
 service. 
 
 After another prayer, which has already been noticed, 
 the persons to be baptized are addressed. They are re* 
 
 * See Tracts, p. 51 and 37 ; and above, c. iv. f Above, c. ii. 
 
90 STIPULATIONS. [CHAP. VI. 
 
 minded of the prayers which have been offered for them, 
 and of the promises of Christ to answer such prayers. 
 They are then admonished, that, ' after this promise made 
 
 * by Christ, they must also faithfully, for their parts, pro- 
 
 * mise, in the presence of these their witnesses, and the 
 
 * whole congregation, that they will renounce the devil 
 
 * and all his works, and constantly believe God's holy 
 
 * word, and obediently keep his commandments/ 
 
 The demands are then made, and the promises given : 
 
 * Q. Dost thou renounce the devil and all his works, &c. ? 
 
 * A. I renounce them all. 
 
 * Q. Dost thou believe in God, &c. 
 ■' A. All this I steadfastly believe. 
 
 * Q. Wilt thou be baptized in this faith ? 
 
 * A. That is my desire. 
 
 * Q. Wilt thou then obediently keep God's holy will 
 
 * and commandments, &c.? 
 
 * A. I will endeavour so to do, God being my helper.' 
 This constitutes an essentialand fundamental part of the 
 
 proceeding. It is the express accession, on the part of the 
 candidate, to that covenant of which we have been before 
 assured that almighty God is most ready to perform his 
 part. It is that, on his sincerity in which his title to the 
 spiritual blessings of the covenant altogether depends. If 
 this be wanting the transaction is vitiated, and the covenant 
 is void ah initio, through the failure of one party in his en- 
 gagement. On " the answer of a good conscience," there- 
 fore, to the stipulations thus made, St. Peter, as we have 
 seen, suspends the " saving" effect of baptism. Our church, 
 we have shewn, does the same in her articles : she does it 
 in her catechism : she does it in her homilies, where she 
 declares, that ^ liy holy promises, with caUing the name of 
 
 * God to witness, we be made lively members of Christ, re- 
 
 * <?eiving the sacrament of baptism: ' * and it must surely b« 
 
 * iiom. of Swearing. 
 
CHAP. VI.] OFFICE FOR ADULTS. 91 
 
 needless, after the quotation just given, to say, that she 
 does the same in her baptismal services. This has ever been 
 esteemed a principal part in the administration of this sa- 
 crament, insomuch that the judicious Hooker thinks it ' a 
 
 * matter not easy for any man to prove that ever baptism 
 
 * did use to be administered without such interrogatories ; * 
 and Bishop Burnet is of opinion that it ' may reasonably 
 
 * be doubted, whether such baptism be true, in which no 
 
 * sponsion is made.' * 
 
 Shall we then imagine that this part of the service is lost 
 sight of and forgotten in the declarations and thanksgivings 
 which follow? So far from it, that, I am persuaded, this, 
 in connection with the prayers of the church, forms the 
 very basis on which they proceed. 
 
 After some further prayers, which have, as far as is ne- 
 cessary, been considered, the parties are baptized ; * re- 
 
 * ceived into the congregation of Clirist's flock ; and signed 
 ' with the sign of the cross, in token that hereafter they 
 
 * shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ cruci- 
 
 * fied, and manfully to fight under his banner, against sin, 
 
 * the world, and the devil ; and to continue Christ's faith- 
 
 * ful soldiers and servants unto their life's end.' All this 
 shews what are the expectations of the church, and what 
 her suppositions respecting them . 
 
 Then follow the terms, in which, if in any thing, lies 
 the strength of Dr. M.'s cause. ' Seeing now, dearly be- 
 
 * loved brethren, that these persons are regenerate,' or, as 
 it is in another office, ^ by baptism regenerate,' ' and graft- 
 ' ed into the body of Christ's church, let us give thanks 
 
 * unto almighty God for these benefits.' And accordingly 
 the congregation are led to address themselves to almighty 
 God, saying, ' We yield thee hearty thanks, O heavenly 
 
 * Eccl. Pol. b. V. § 63. Burnet on Art. xxvii. Dr. Laurence's ai-gu- 
 ment from the office for private baptism is obviated in a note below. 
 
92 SINCERITY ASSITME1> [CHAP. TI. 
 
 * Father, that thou hast vouchsafed to call us to the know- 
 
 * ledge of thy grace and faith in thee ; increase tliis know- 
 
 * ledge and confinn this faith in us evermore. Give thy 
 
 * Holy Spirit to these persons ; that, being nmv horn again, 
 
 * and rtiade heirs of everlasting salvation, through our Lewd 
 
 * Jesus Christ, they may continue thy servants and attain 
 
 * thy promises.' Or, as it is somewhat more strongly in 
 the other offices, ' that it hath pleased thee to regenerate * 
 them ' with thy Holy Spirit, to receive them for thine own 
 
 * children by adoption, and to incorporate them into thy 
 
 * holy church.' * These words,' Dr. M. says, * must be 
 
 * left to speak for themselves. They admit of no illustra- 
 
 * tion or explanation. Language cannot be plainer.' 
 Are we then to admit his conclusions from them, that 
 
 the church supposes baptism, rightly administered, always 
 to convey regeneration ? True it is, and we have no hesita- 
 tion in acknowledging it, that she ' speaks of every person, 
 
 * whom she has baptized, as regenerate.' * But the ques- 
 tion is, on what grounds she does this ? Is it because she 
 holds, with Or. M., that baptism necessarily, or, at least, 
 constantly ' conveys regeneration to those to whom it is 
 ' rightly administered ? ' After all that we have seen, I con- 
 fidently answer. No. She has taught us in her catechism, 
 that ' repentance and faith ' are required in persons to be 
 baptized. She has constantly inculcated it upon us in her 
 articles, that * in such only as worthily,' that is, as she 
 explains it, ' by faith and rightly,' * receive the same, 
 
 * the sacraments have a wholesome effect and operation : ' 
 and does she, at once, render all null and void, by con- 
 cluding that every one, who receives ' the outwai'd sign,' 
 receives, as a thing of course, as an inseparable adjunct, 
 
 * the inward and spiritual grace ? ' Far from her be such 
 self-contradiction and absurdity ! Irresistible and over- 
 
 * Tracts, p. 21. 
 
CHAP. VJ.] IN THE CHURCH SERVICES. 98 
 
 powering indeed, and incapable of receiving any other ex- 
 plication, must he the evidence which should drive us to 
 fiuch a conclusion. 
 
 But now what is the case ? The whole appears to me t© 
 iadmit of the easiest and most natural explanation ; expla^ 
 aiation which proceeds upon the most common principles, 
 and which, in &ct, the church has herself pointed out to 
 'US. Let it be observed, that, before she thus speaks of 
 Jier members as regenerate and born again, not only has 
 i!Bhe repeatedly prayed for them, that they might receive 
 »the Holy Spiiit, and be born again, as for a blessing which 
 might be wanting, even where baptism was * rightly ad*- 
 •* ministered ; ' but she has commanded that they be * exs- 
 
 * amined ' and ' found fit,' previously to their admission to 
 baptism : she has admonished them of the necessity of 
 
 * feitlifully promising ' things, which no man who is not a 
 partaker of * repentance and faith ' does or can ' faithfully 
 
 * promise; ' and she has received their solemn vows and 
 professions accordingly. Not till all this has taken place ; 
 not till this examination has been had, these prayers offered, 
 these professions and vows made, as well as baptism admi- 
 nistered; does she speak of the persons baptized, as 
 
 * born again and made heirs of everlasting salvation?^ 
 And now let me ask. Who is there amongst us all, enter- 
 itaining even the strictest views of regeneration, as a moral 
 change, ' a change of heart,' turning man from sin to 
 holiness, and " from the power of Satan unto God,'* 
 that would hesitate to pronounce such persons ' regenerate,' 
 *^ born again," '* passed from death unto life" — only sup- 
 posing one thing — only assuming tlietn to he devout in the 
 prayers in which they have liee?i joining, sincere in the vows 
 which they have been making P 
 
 But suppose, on the other hand, all these awful forms 
 gone through ; these prayers offered up ; these vows made ; 
 all in due order, indeed, as far as man could see, but witlt- 
 
94) SINCEKITY ASSUMED [CHAP. VI. 
 
 out any devoutness, any sincerity, any seriousness in the 
 sight of God : suppose all this done, for example, by an 
 unbelieving Jew, induced, (as we have reason to conclude 
 many have been,) for the sake of wordly advantage, pub- 
 licly to profess the faith of Christ, while privately he would 
 blaspheme his name : who could, who would say, that, in 
 such a case as this, any regeneration, any spiritvial grace 
 accompanied, what was, on the part of the receiver, at 
 least, a profane and impious mummery ? And, if no spi- 
 ritual grace accompanied baptism in such a case as this, by 
 parity of reason, we should have no right to conclude that 
 any accompanied it, in other cases, where, though there 
 might be less impiety, there should prove to have been no 
 more sincerity or real devotion. 
 
 I contend, then, that the ground on which the church 
 g|3eaks of all those, whom she has baptized, as regenerate, 
 is neither more nor less than the supposition — the as- 
 sumption — OF THEIR sincerity IN THEIR PROFESSIONS. 
 I contend, that, with regard to adults, (and the case of 
 infants will be considered hereafter,) this is clear from the 
 whole of the service itself; as well as necessary to the con- 
 sistency of the service with the articles. 
 
 I have further said, that the church has herself given us 
 the clue to this mode of understanding her language. A 
 passage in the catechism to that effect will be considered on 
 another occasion : at present I confine myself to the office 
 before us. Let us turn back to the exhortation before no- 
 ticed. What do we there read? ' Doubt ye not, therefore, 
 
 * but earnestly believe, that he will favourably receive these 
 
 * present persons' — doing what? simply coming to baptism? 
 Ko, let the words be marked — ' truly repenting, and 
 
 * COMING TO HIM BY FAITH.' Here the supposition, 
 elseivhere implied and understood^ is positively expressed: 
 
CHAP. VI.] IN THE CHURCH SERVICES. - 95 
 
 * Truly repenting and coming to him ly faith' This is what 
 is supposed concerning them. It is assumed^ that they come 
 to baptism with the proper requisites for ' receiving it 
 
 * RIGHTLY,' namely, with * repentance and faith.' * It 
 would be a disbelief of God's promises to doubt, whether, 
 so COMING, they should receive the inward and spiritual 
 grace or not : whether or not they should by baptism, ' as 
 
 * by an instrument, be grafted into the church ; have the 
 
 * promises of forgiveness of sin, and of their adoption to 
 
 * be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, visibly signed and 
 
 * sealed to them ; their faith confirmed, and grace increased 
 < by virtue of prayer unto God.' -J- 
 
 Agreeably likewise to what has been now argued and 
 adduced, the baptized persons are, at the close of the ser- 
 vice, addressed as ' being made the children of God and of 
 
 * the light ' — how ? by baptism ? that indeed might be * a 
 
 * sign,' ' a pledge,' * a means :-' but the language here is, 
 
 * made the children of God and of the light by faith in 
 
 * Jesus Christ.' This again assumes their possession of 
 faith, as well as points out the real source of their privileges. 
 
 I might add that the passage of the exhortation, jutt 
 cited, is introduced by the quotation from St. Peter, which 
 has been repeatedly noticed, and in which the apostle is 
 careful to inform us, that " the answer of a good con- 
 " science," that is, the very thing here assumed, — sincerity 
 in the professions made, or a state of heart corresponding 
 to them, — is the great thing requisite to our enjoying the 
 blessing sought, and set forth to us, in baptism. 
 
 As far, then, as adults are concerned, I consider the 
 intention of our church service as clearly and satisfactorily 
 made out. No difficulty, it seems to me, need be supposed 
 to remain upon the subject. 
 
 * See Appendix, Note XV. f Art. xxvii. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Tk^ case of Infmits,-'^Church service for their haptisnir^A 
 passage in the catechism furnishes the key. — Bishop Hop- 
 kvus's views of haptisnial regeneration. 
 
 ilUT Z am ftware that the case of infants, and the services 
 appointed for their baptism, will probably be urged against 
 tije reasonings which I have used in the last chapter. 
 
 Even supposing it proved, that the adult subjects of bap- 
 tism are pronounced regenerate, only upon the assumed 
 sincerity <£ their repentance and faith, what, it may be 
 said, are we to think concerning infants, who are not capa- 
 ble of exercising repentance and faith ? Nay, seeing that 
 tibe church has used the same language respecting them, as 
 respecting adults, does not this demonstrate, that, however 
 satisfactory the arguments employed in favour of a hypo- 
 thetical construction of that language, even in the case of 
 adults, might appear, they are indeed fallacious, jmd thp 
 conclusions drawn from them unfounded. 
 
 I admit, in return, the plausibility of this reasoning, 
 but I ajoa prepared to maiutain, that it is unsound and delu- 
 mie. 
 
 In the first place I observe, that the same prayers, and 
 very nearly the same exhortations, are used in this case, as 
 in that of adults. 
 
 And, in the next place, it is much to be remarked, that, 
 though the infant is incapable of making any engagements 
 whatever, the same professions and vows are required and 
 made, as in the other case ; and consequently furnish si- 
 
CHAP. VII.] INFANT BAPTISM. 97 
 
 milar inferences to those before drawn from them. — And of 
 whom, it may be asked, are they required ? Not of others 
 as if undertaken by them for his benefit ; but of him, 
 through the medium of those who act for him. * After this 
 ' promise made by Christ, this -infant must also faithfully, 
 
 * for his part, promise by you that are his sureties, (until 
 ' he come of age to take it upon himself,) that he will re- 
 
 * nounce the devil and all his works,' &c. 
 
 Accordingly the questions run, * Dost thou, in thb 
 
 * NAME of this child, renounce, believe,' &c ? Nay, ' Wilt 
 
 * THOU be baptized ? ' — though it is the infant that is to be 
 baptized : — ' Wilt thou obediently keep God's holy will 
 ' and commandments ? ' These questions are addressed as 
 to the child himself: the answers considered as his answers. 
 By a sort of legal fiction,* to which we are no strangers in 
 the most important temporal transactions, the child is sup- 
 posed, as it were, to speak in and by his sponsor. And, 
 accordingly, after the baptism the sponsors are addressed, 
 ^ Forasmuch as this child hath promised by you his 
 
 * sureties, &c. ; ye must remember that it is your parts and 
 
 * duties to see, that he may be taught, so soon as he shall 
 
 * be able to learn, what a solemn vow, promise, and pro- 
 
 * fession, he hath here made by you.' 
 
 The engagements made are, to all intents and purposes, 
 considered as the engagements of the children themselves. 
 And accordingly, in the catechism, it is observed, that these 
 promises, ' when they come to age, themselves are bound to 
 
 < perform.' And for the explicit recognition of this obli- 
 gation the rite of confirmation is appointed, in which they 
 are asked, ' Do ye here, in the presence of God, and of 
 
 * this congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow 
 
 < that was made in your name at your baptism ; ratifying 
 *^ and confirming the same in your own persons, and ac* 
 
 * See Appendix, Note X^'I. 
 h 
 
98 OFFICE FOR INFANTS [cHAP. VII. 
 
 * knowledging yourselves bound to believe, and to do all 
 ' those things, which your godfathers and godmothers then 
 
 * undertook for you P ' * 
 
 Now all this is very remarkable. One is certainly some- 
 what at a loss for words, in which to speak of engagements, 
 supposed to be made by an infant incapable of any know- 
 ledge of the transaction. But, when such promises and 
 vows are supposed to be made, something must in like 
 manner be supposed concerning what, in another case, we 
 should call the sincerity with which they are made, — in 
 short, concerning the performance of them : and, according 
 to what is thus supposed, must be the language subsequently 
 used of the party concerned in them. Here then, as before, 
 I contend, that the church, by a hypothesis certainly not 
 more bold, than that which imaoines the infant to make 
 engagements at all, supposes something which corresponds to 
 sincerity - — supposes that the child will perform — or (what is 
 perfectly possible,) that it even now, through the grace of 
 God, possesses a disposition which will lead it, as it be- 
 comes capable of so doing, to perform its vows : and, on 
 the groufui of this supposition^ returns thanks to almighty 
 God, * that it hath pleased him to regenerate this infant 
 ' with his Holy Spirit, and to receive him for his own child 
 
 * by adoption,' as well as ' to incorporate him into his holy 
 
 * church.' 
 
 And this interpretation of the language employed, I 
 support, as before, by the explicit doctrine of the articles ; by 
 
 * ' III your name,' is the authorized and repeated explanation of the 
 words for j/ou. — Let it not be pretended that I use an overstrained inter- 
 pretation of the words, in considering the questions as addressed to the 
 infants, and the answers reputed as their's. If the reader will turn to 
 Hooker, b. v. § G4, he will find more than nine pages employed in ex- 
 plaining and vindicating the practice, under the following title : ' Inter- 
 
 * rogatories proposed unto infants in Ituptisin, and ansvvered as in their 
 
 ♦ names by godfathers. ' 
 
CHAP. VII.] EXPLAINED BY THE CATECHISM. QQ 
 
 the nature of the baptismal service itself; and by what was 
 urged above, the utter unreasonableness of supposing, that a 
 blessing must Tiecessarili/ attend the administration of baptism 
 to an infant, which, it has been proved, does by no means 
 necessarily accompany it to a grown person. — And on what 
 ground is it argued, that the church holds regeneration 
 always to accompany baptism in an infant ? There is no- 
 thing stronger for it than the language, * We yield thee 
 ' hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this 
 
 * infant.' But the same language is used concerning adults, 
 in whom the church, avowedly, does not consider baptism as 
 having * a wholesome effect and operation ' necessarily, 
 nor unless they receive it ' with faith and rightly.' But 
 that which warrants no such conclusion in one case, cannot 
 warrant it in the other.* 
 
 But, as the case of infants is obviously attended with diffi- 
 culties peculiar to itself, the church has entered into explana- 
 tion upon the subject : which, though among the passages 
 omitted by Dr. M., is of great importance in the argument. 
 In the catechism, it having been stated, that the things 
 ' required of persons to be baptized ' are ' repentance, 
 ' whereby they forsake sin, and faith, whereby they stead- 
 
 * fastly believe the promises of God made to them in that 
 
 * sacrament ; ' the question occurs, ' Why then are infants 
 
 * baptized, when by reason of their tender age they cannot 
 ' perform them ? ' Now what should we have expected as 
 the simple and natural answer to this question ? I remem- 
 ber formei-ly to have thought, that the words of the 
 twenty-seventh article, ' The baptism of young children 
 ' is in any wise to be retained in the church, as most agree- 
 « able with the institution of Christ,' would have furnished 
 
 * See Appendix, Note XVII. 
 h2 
 
loo CHURCH OFFICE [cHAP. VII. 
 
 a more obvious and more satisfactory answer, than that 
 which is given. And so they would have done, had it been 
 intended merely to assign our authority for baptizing infants. 
 But the answer returned makes it clear, that the question 
 was designed to introduce an explanation of the principle 
 upon which the church proceeds in receiving infants, and 
 considering them in the manner she does. And in this view 
 the answer is very important. It is this : ' Because they 
 
 * PROMISE them both ' (both repentance and faith,) * by 
 ' their sureties ; which promise, when they come to age, 
 
 * themselves are bound to perform.' 
 
 It is, then, avowedly, upon the ground of this promise, 
 and in the expectation of its performance, that the church 
 admits infants to baptism : and consequently it is upon the 
 same ground, that she proceeds to speak of them in the 
 manner we are considering.* 
 
 Here, therefore, is the same sj^stem of charitable suppo- 
 ■silion, which we have seen pervade the office for adult bap- 
 tism. The prayers offered are supposed to have been sin- 
 cerely offered ; the promises made, it is presumed, will be 
 performed; and, upon these assumptions, the infant is 
 spoken of as ' regenerated by God's Holy Spirit.' But if 
 these conditions fail; if the prayers have been offered in 
 mere form ; if the child, ' when he comes to age,' shews no 
 disposition to keep his vows ; then I feel myself warranted 
 to conclude, that the spiritual blessing, dependent upon 
 such conditions, is, with regard to him, null and void : 
 and that, although, having been admitted into the visible 
 church by the external sign of baptism with water, he needs 
 wot to be baptized again, yet without *' the baptism of the 
 •' Holy Ghost," without ' spiritual regeneration,' he never 
 
 * See Appendix, Note XVIII. 
 
CHAP. VII.] FOR INFANTS. ' lOl 
 
 can be a member of the spiritual church of Christ,) con- 
 sisting of all true believers,) or come to the kingdom of 
 heaven. 
 
 If it be thought that there has been some more difficulty 
 in making out this case than that of adults ; I beg to sug- 
 gest, that it is nothing more than what naturally results 
 from the condition of infants, supposed to make vows, and, 
 on the faith of those vows, pronounced regenerate ; while 
 they can give no evidence, in their conduct, either of a 
 regenerate or an unregenerate state. And, on the other 
 hand, does Dr. M. find no difficulty in the case of thou- 
 sands and millions, whom he supposes to have been actu- 
 ally ' quickened by the Holy Spirit,' and to have had 
 * a new principle of life and of action infused into them,* 
 at their baptism, whose life and actions, from their earliest 
 to their latest days, give no evidence of any such principle 
 existing within them ? 
 
 I do therefore consider the passage, which I have quoted 
 from the catechism, as furnishing, and designedly furnish- 
 ing, the true key to the meaning of the church, in the lan- 
 guage which she uses concerning infants. She requires of 
 them by their sureties, as she does of adults personally, 
 certain vows ; she assumes that, when they become capable 
 of it, they will perform those vows ; and she speaks of them 
 as (what in that case they must be,) regenerate, and the 
 children of God by adoption and grace.* 
 
 * See Appendix, Note XIX. — It deserves to be remarked, that the part 
 of the catechism, which treats of the sacraments, like the office for 
 adult baptism, is of later date than the rest, having been inserted in the 
 time of James I. : but it is equally authority with us : and, added as it 
 was, must be supposed to have been designed, like a declaratory act of 
 parliament, to furnish explanation, where explanation might be wanting. 
 — I do not take any sefiarate notice of the service for private baptism. 
 That is but a sort of inchoate and imperfect proceeding, which is after- 
 wards to be completed elsewhere. It implies, however, all tho sara« 
 
102 BISHOP HOPKINS [CHAP, VII. 
 
 Hitherto I have considered the word regeneration as used 
 only in its highest and most spiritual sense ; and have endea- 
 voured to shew, under what limitations it may, in that 
 sense, be applied as it is in these services : and this is the 
 view which I myself take of the subject. It is not, how- 
 ever, to be overlooked that there is a lower sense, which, 
 like many other terms of high import, the term regenera- 
 tion may bear, and in which many persons understand it to 
 be used in the offices of our church. 
 
 This I shall more fully explain from Bishop Hopkins ; 
 whose * Doctrine of the two Sacraments,' and ' Nature 
 
 * and Necessity of Regeneration,' well deserve the reader's 
 attentive perusal.* 
 
 He observes, that * to be sanctified imports, in the 
 
 * proper signification of it, no other than to be appointed, 
 
 * separated, or dedicated to God.' And so persons and 
 places are often said to be consecrated and sanctified to the 
 Lord, f But then there are two ways of dedication unto 
 God * . . . .the one external, by men; the other internal, 
 
 * and wrought by God himself.' 
 
 * As there is this twofold dedication or separation, so 
 
 * there is also a twofold sanctification. There is an external, 
 
 * relative, or ecclesiastical sanctification; which is nothing 
 
 * else, but the devoting or giving up of a thing or person 
 
 * unto God, by those who have power so to do. There is 
 
 things which actually take place in the public service. Bp. Burnet says, 
 
 * It may reasonably be doubted whether such a baptism be true, in which 
 ' no sponsion is made ; and this cannot be well answeied but by saying, 
 
 * that a general and an implied sponsion is to be considered to be made 
 
 * by their parents, while they desire thera to be baptized.' On Art. xxvii. 
 
 * They are to be found in the second volume of his Works, as lately 
 re-published by the Rev. Josiah Pratt, B. D. 
 
 t Exod. xiii. 2. xxviii. 41. xix. 23. Num. vii. 1. Heb. ix. 13. 2 Pet. i. 
 18. 
 
jchap. VI iJ on baptismal regeneration. lOS 
 
 * an internal, real, and spiritual sanctification : and, in 
 
 * this sense, a man is said to be sanctified, when the Holy 
 
 * Ghost doth infuse in his soul the habits of divine grace, 
 
 * and maketh him partaker of the divine nature, whereby 
 
 * he is inwardly qualified to glorify God in a holy life.' 
 
 In applying this distinction to baptism, he lays down the 
 two following propositions. 
 
 1 . ' Baptism is the immediate means of our external and 
 
 * relative sanctification unto God. — By this holy sacrament, 
 ' all that are partakers of it are dedicated and separated 
 
 * unto him.' 
 
 From this it follows, as he shews at large, ' that those, 
 
 * who are baptized, may, in this ecclesiastical sense, be 
 
 * truly called saints, the children of God, and members of 
 
 * Christ, and, thereupon, inheritors of the kingdom of 
 
 * heaven. — Doubtless, so far forth baptism is a means of 
 
 * sanctification, as it is the solemn admission of persons 
 
 * into the visible church, as it separates them from the 
 
 * world, and from all false religions in it, and brings them out 
 
 * of the visible kingdom of the devil, into the visible king- 
 
 * dom of Jesus Christ . . . .But this is only a relative sanctity, 
 
 * not a real : and many such saints and sanctified men there 
 
 * are, who shall never enter into heaven; but, by their 
 
 * wicked lives, forfeit and lose that blessed inheritance to 
 
 * which they were called. Many there are, who are saints, 
 
 * by their separation from paganism and Judaism into fel- 
 
 * lowship with the visible church ; but they are not saints, 
 
 * by their separation from wicked and ungodly men into a 
 
 * spiritual fellowship with Christ. And yet, to such saints 
 ' as these, all the ordinances of the church are due, till, 
 
 * for their notorious wickedness, they be cut off from that 
 
 * body, by the due execution of the sentence of excommu- 
 
 * nication.' * — And then immediately follow the words, 
 
 * SeeMatt. xiii.28— SO 
 
104? BISIIPP HOPKINS [chap. VII 
 
 which, it has been observed above, Dr. M. quotes, though 
 not w^ith perfect fairness : ' Such a baptismal regeneration 
 
 * as this is must needs be acknowledged by all, that will ndt 
 
 * wilfully shut their eyes against the clear evidence of scrip- 
 
 * ture ; from which I have before brought plentiful proofs 
 ' to confirm it.' 
 
 His lordship's second proposition is this : 
 2. * That laptism is not so the means of an internal and 
 real sandification, as if' all, to whom it is administered, 
 were thereby spiritually renewed, and made partakers of 
 the Holy Ghost in his saving graces. 
 * Though an external and ecclesiastical sanctification be 
 effected by baptism, ex opere operate, by the mere adminis- 
 tration of that holy sacrament ; yet so is not an internal 
 and habitual sanctification : and that, whether we respect 
 adult persons or infants. For adult persons we have a 
 famous and uncontrollable instance, in the baptism of 
 Simon Magus, who believed upon the preaching of the 
 gospel: (for so it is said Acts, viii. 13.) and, upon the 
 profession of faith in Jesus Christ, was admitted to the 
 holy ordinance of baptism. Yet, ver. 23, St. Peter tells 
 him, that he was still in the gall of bitterness, and in the 
 land of iniquity : in the same state of sin and misery, and 
 as much a blackmoor when he came out of the laver, as 
 he was before he entered into it. — And, for infants, it is 
 not easy to be conceived, what inward work can, in an 
 ordinary manner, pass upon them .... However, baptism 
 was not instituted to any such purpose, that it should be 
 an instrument of working a real change upon infants : for 
 neither can it work this change by any immediate and 
 proper efficiency, since the washing of the body cannot 
 thus affect the soul, nor infuse any gracious habits into it, 
 which itself hath not; neither can it work morally by 
 way of suasion and argument, because infants have not 
 the use of reason to apprehend apv such. Again, if this 
 
CHAP. VII.] ON BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 105 
 
 * baptismal regeneration he real, hy the infusion of lialitual 
 ' grace, how comes it to pass that the greater part of those, who 
 ' have received it, lead profane and unholy lives, and too, too 
 
 * Tnany perish in their sins P . . . .Therefore I judge it unsound 
 
 * doctrine, to affirm, that baptism doth confer real sancti- 
 
 * fication upon all infants, as well as upon some adult per- 
 
 * sons, who are made partakers of it.' 
 
 He then supposes it objected, that * the church hath ap- 
 
 * pointed a prayer in the office of baptism wherein we bless 
 
 * God, that it hath pleased him to regenerate the baptized 
 
 * infant with his Holy Spirit : ' and he remarks upon it, 
 
 * To this I answer, that the baptismal regeneration of in- 
 ' fants is external and ecclesiastical. They are regenerated, 
 
 * as they are incorporated into the church of Christ : for 
 
 * this is called regeneration, Matt. xix. 28 : Ye which haw 
 ' folloived me in the regeneration ; . . . .i. e. in planting my 
 
 * church, which is the renewing of the world To be ad- 
 
 ' mitted, therefore, by baptism, into the church of Christ, 
 
 * is to be admitted into the state of regeneration, or the 
 
 * renewing of all things.' 
 
 * But how then are infants said, in baptism, to be re- 
 
 * generated hy the Holy Spirit, if he doth not inwardly 
 
 * sanctify them in and by that ordinance ? I answer, Be- 
 
 * cause the whole oeconomy and dispensation of the 
 
 * kingdom of Christ is managed by the Spirit of Christ : 
 ' so that those, who are internally sanctified, are regene- 
 
 * rated by his effectual operation ; and those, who are only 
 
 * externally sanctified, are regenerated by his public insti- 
 
 * tution. Infants, therefore, are in baptism regenerated by 
 
 * the Holy Ghost, because the Holy Spirit of God ap- 
 
 * points this ordinance to receive them into the visible 
 
 * church, which is the regenerate part and state of tlie 
 
 * world.' 
 
 He adds two further propositions. 
 
 2 
 
106 BISHOP Hopkins's sentiments, [chap. vii. 
 
 3. ' It is not so the means of sanct'ificatioji, as if none could 
 
 * be internally and really sanctified, luho are necessarily de- 
 
 * prived of that holy ordinance. 
 
 4. * Baptism is an ordinary means appointed by Christ, for 
 
 * the real and effectual sanctification of his church. — For this 
 
 * is the great end of all gospel-ordinances, that through 
 
 * them, might be conveyed that grace, which might purify 
 
 * the heart and cleanse the life.' * 
 
 In this lower, external, and ecclesiastical sense, there- 
 fore, we may affirm, unconditionally, the regeneration of 
 all * to whom baptism is rightly administered.' 
 
 But, in the higher and spiritual sense of the term, we 
 can predicate regeneration of baptized persons only hypo- 
 thetically : namely, upon the supposition, in the case of 
 adults, of their sincerity ; and, in the case of infants, of 
 their possessing that disposition, which shall lead them, 
 when they become capable of it, to keep their baptismal 
 vows. 
 
 * Hopkins's Works, vol. ii. p. 416 — 428. Again, p. 468, he thu> 
 expresses the same sentiments : ' There is, indeed, a baptismal regene- 
 ' ration, whereby all, that are made partakers of that ordinance, are, 
 
 * according to scripture language, sanctified, renewed, and made th© 
 
 * children of God, and brought within the bond of the covenant : but 
 
 * all this is but after an external manner; as being, in this ordinance, 
 ' entered members of the visible church. This external regeneration by 
 ' water entitles none to eternal life, but as the Spirit moves upon the 
 
 * face ©f these waters, and doth sometimes secretly convey quickening 
 virtue through them.' 
 
107 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 That the hypothetical principle pervades the services of the 
 
 church. 
 
 If any thing could be wanting to reconcile us to the ad- 
 mission of a principle so natural and so common, as that 
 of supposing professions made to be made sincerely, it 
 would surely be sufficient, to find it generally adopted in 
 the services of the church. ' She puts,' as it has been 
 justly observed, ' the language of real Christians into the 
 
 * mouth of all her worshippers,' because they profess to 
 bear that character. Not only does she in the collect for 
 Christmas day use the language, * Grant that we being re- 
 
 * generate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, 
 ' may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit ; ' but in that 
 for the Epiphany, ' Mercifully grant, that we, which know 
 
 * thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of 
 
 * thy glorious Godhead.' The former of these prayers Dr. 
 M. would fain mould into an argument in support of his 
 sentiments: * but the hypothetical principle better explains 
 them both, and it alone can explain the latter. We profess 
 to be * regenerate and the children of God by adoption 
 
 * and grace,' and ' to know God by faith ; ' our profession 
 is assumed to be just, and we are spoken of accordingly. 
 
 But I would more particularly apply the remark to cer- 
 tain occasional services of the church. 
 
 And, in the first place, to the confirmation-service, which 
 Dr. M. quotes, as decidedly making for him. The bishop 
 
 * Tracts, p. 17, 18. — See Note VII. in Appendix. 
 
108 CONFIRMATION- SERVICE. [CHAP. VIH. 
 
 who presides at the office, it is true, is directed thus to pray : 
 
 * Ahuighty and everliving God, who hast vouchsafed to 
 
 * regenerate these t])y servants by water and the Holy 
 
 * Ghost, and hast given unto them forgiveness of all their 
 
 * sins ; strengthen them, we beseech thee, O Lord, with 
 ' the Holy Ghost the comforter, and daily increase in them 
 
 * thy manifold gifts of grace ; ' &c. Here Dr. M. observes, 
 
 * The assertion is plain and direct : the church affirms by 
 ' the mouth of one of her governors, and she affirms it in 
 
 * the most solemn form of a prayer to the almighty and 
 
 * everliving God, that he has vouchsafed to regenerate his 
 
 * servants, who come now to be confirmed, by water and 
 
 * the Holy Ghost : not, as has been confidently alleged, 
 
 * tvith a view to llessings contingent upon their future en- 
 
 * deavours, * but with a view to those, which at baptism 
 
 * they actually receive.' f 
 
 Now it is, in the first place, observable, that, in quoting 
 the above passage. Dr. M. stops short of the clause, ' daily 
 f increase in them thy manifold gifts of grace,' which implies 
 that already they possess these gifts in some measure ; and 
 of what nature they are, the following clauses explain.: 
 
 * the spirit of wisdom and understanding; the spirit of 
 
 * counsel and ghostly strength ; the spirit of knowledge 
 
 * and true godliness;^ &c. Again, in commenting upon 
 the passage, he entirely drops the clause, ' hast given 
 ' unto them forgiveness of all their sins;' which must 
 mean, up to the present time, and not only at baptism. 
 This is as much * affirmed,' as that God hath regenerated 
 
 * these his servants ; ' but no one, I presume, would assert 
 the present forgiveness of all the persons to be confirmed, 
 imconditionally, merely on account of their baptism, and 
 without any supposition made concerning the present state 
 of their minds. And, lastly, what is most important of all, 
 
 • The reference is to Mr. Overton, p. 104. f P; 16, 17. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] HYPOTHETICAL. lOJ) 
 
 Dr. M. makes no allusion to what has preceded, in this 
 very service, respecting ' these God's servants.' They have 
 been admonished concerning the nature and intent of con- 
 firmation, and the instructions preparatory to it ; the end 
 of which is, that, * being now come to years of discretion, 
 ' and having learned what their godfathers and godmothers 
 
 * promised for them in baptism, they may themselves, 
 ' openly before the church, ratify and confirm the same ; 
 
 * and also promise, that by the grace of God they will ever- 
 
 * more endeavour themselves faithfully to observe such 
 
 * things, as the}^, by their own confession, have assented 
 
 * unto." They have next been interrogated by the bishop : 
 
 * Do ye here, in the presence of God, and of this congre- 
 
 * gation, renew the solemn promise and vow that was made 
 ' in your name at your baptism ; ratifying and confirming 
 
 * the same in your own persons, and acknowledging your- 
 ' selves bound to believe, and to do, all those things, which 
 ' your godfathers and godmothers then undertook for you ?' 
 And to this solemn question ' every one ' has * audibly 
 
 * answered, I do.' Now, to quote the ' affirmation ' with- 
 out this admonition, examination, and profession, is, to 
 my apprehension, like quoting an engagement, and sup- 
 pressing the stipulation on which it is made. Concerning 
 persons who make, and are assumed sincerely to make such 
 professions, we may safely affirm, both that God hath * re- 
 
 * generated them,' and that he hath ' given unto them for- 
 
 * giveness of all their sins.' But he that, after observing 
 the spirit and conduct of too many who come to confirma- 
 tion, can affirm such things of them absolutely, and merely 
 on the ground of their baptism, must have not only very 
 different views, but very different feelings, than I either 
 have, or would wish to have. 
 
 I confidently conclude, therefore, that * the affirmation * 
 proceeds upon an assumption, that the profession is sin- 
 cerely made : and, if that assumption fail, the affirmation, 
 
no OTHER SERVICES [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 concerning the persons' being ' regenerate and pardoned,' 
 fails with it. — The confirmation-service, therefore, affords 
 no instance of persons being pronounced regenerate, with- 
 out regard to their present state of mind. 
 
 The visitation of the sick is the service to which we will 
 next proceed. Here occurs a form of absolution which has 
 caused difficulty to many persons. / Our Lord Jesus 
 
 * Christ, who hath left power to his church to absolve all 
 ' sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great 
 ' mercy forgive thee thine offences : and, by his authority 
 
 * committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, in the 
 
 * name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 
 * Ghost. Amen.' 
 
 I meddle not with other questions to which this formulary 
 might give rise. But can any one doubt, upon what ground 
 the absolution pronounced in it proceeds ? Will any one 
 imagine, that it is pronounced absolutely, without any 
 thing supposed concerning the state of mind of the absolved ? 
 The very words of the preamble would repel such an ima- 
 gination, for they speak only of ' a power to absolve sinners 
 
 * truly repenting and believing in Christ.' But here, as in 
 the confirmation-service, the key to the right understanding 
 of the passage is to be found in what precedes. This ab- 
 solution is not to be pronounced till after the minister has 
 
 * examined ' the sick person, * whether he repent him truly 
 ' of his sins, and be in charity with all the world : ' not 
 till he has ' moved him to make a special confession of his 
 
 * sins, if he feel his conscience troubled with any weighty 
 ' matter.' « After which confession,' it is directed, * the 
 
 * priest shall absolve him (if he humbly and heartily desire 
 ■* it,) after this sort.' 
 
 Who does not see, then, that the absolution proceeds 
 upon the supposed sincerity of the repentance, faith, and 
 charity, professed by the person absolved ? And, accord- 
 
CHAP. VIII.] ASSUME SINCERITY. Ill 
 
 ingly, as a preceding prayer had implored, that * strength 
 ' might be added to his faith, and seriousness to his repen- 
 ' tance,' (which supposes him ah'eady to possess repentance 
 and faith;) so the prayer, which next follows, pleads in his 
 behalf^ ' forasmuch as he putteth his full trust only in God's 
 
 * mercy.' 
 
 The same is the case in the service for the churching of 
 women. The woman returning thanks is assumed to be 
 
 * the servant of the Lord,' and ' to put her trust in him : * 
 and is prayed for accordingly. 
 
 Another service, which has occasioned difficulty to many 
 persons, is that for the burial of the dead. Here we speak 
 of almighty God having been pleased, ' of his great mercy, 
 ' to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother here de- 
 ' parted.' * And, again, we ' give him thanks that it hath 
 
 * pleased him to deliver our deceased brother out of the 
 
 * miseries of this sinful world.' Here no one doubts, that 
 
 * I do not cite the words which follow — < We commit his body to 
 
 * the ground. . . in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal 
 
 * life, through our Lord Jesus Christ : ' because they do not seem to me 
 to require even that simple sort of comment, which I offer on the others. I 
 cannot but wonder that friends of the church should have found such a 
 difficulty, or foes such a handle in them, as they have done. The latter, 
 indeed, have sometimes descended to direct mis-quotation in order to 
 create, or strengthen the difficulty. The fact is, that these words de- 
 scribe the Christian hope generally, without special reference to the in- 
 dividual. The language seems designedly varied for this purpose. We 
 commit his body to the ground, in sure ' and certain hope of the resur* 
 ' rection to eternal life.' It is not said of /»s resurrection, as it naturally 
 would have been had that been the meaning, but, generally, ' of thr 
 
 * resurrection.' And accordingly it immediately follows, likewise in 
 general language, * who shall change our vile body,' &c. I am far from 
 denying that the service supposes the deceased to be among those who 
 may expect a blessed resurrection : I am admitting and asserting this. 
 But that is not the thing expressed in this part of the service ; and 
 when it is afterwards expressed, it is in much more measured language ; 
 
 * that we may rest in him, as ovr. hops is this our brother Uoth.' 
 
112 CHURCH CATECHISM. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 the language employed proceeds upon the supposition^ that the 
 deceased was in reality, what he is understood to have been 
 in profession, a sincere Christian. Whether in any cases, 
 here or elsewhere, the system of charitable hope and supposi- 
 tion may have been carried too far, is not the present 
 subject of inquiry. It is sufficient for my purpose to show, 
 that that system does pervade the other services of the 
 church, and therefore that it is not unreasonable to believe 
 it to have been adopted in the offices for the administration 
 of baptism. 
 
 Finally, I maintain that the cff^ec^iim is composed upon 
 the same principle. In it children are taught to speak of 
 themselves, as * in baptism made members of Christ, 
 
 * children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of hea- 
 
 * ven.' In profession, indeed, and, as Hooker's language 
 is, * in the eye of the church,' they were undoubtedly made 
 such : * but, if the words are to be taken in a higher and 
 more spiritual sense, then it must be here supposed, that 
 they have subsequently shewn themselves to be indeed 
 
 * dead unto sin, and born anew unto righteousness.' And ac- 
 cordingly it is to be observed, that to the question, ' Dost thou 
 
 * not think that thou art bound to believe and do as thy 
 
 * godfathers and godmothers promised for thee' in thy bap- 
 ' tism ? ' the same persons, who are taught to use the above 
 language also answer, ' Yes verily, and by God's help so I 
 < will : and / Iwartily thank our heavenly Father, that he 
 ■' hath called me to this state of salvation, through Jesus 
 ' Christ our Saviour : and I pray unto God to give me his 
 
 * grace, that I may continue in the same unto my life's 
 ' end.' And again afterwards they profess faifh in ' God 
 
 * the Holy Ghost, who sanctijieth them and all the elect 
 ' people of God ?' — Here the things supposed are expli- 
 
 * See extracts from Bp, Hopkins, close of c. vii. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] CHURCH CATECHISM. 113 
 
 citly en ough avowed. Whoever does heartily purpose and 
 endeavour, * by God's help,' to keep his baptismal vows ; 
 whoever does ' heartily thank ' God, and devoutly * pray 
 
 * unto him to give him his grace ; ' whoever is ' sanctified 
 
 * by God the Holy Ghost, among the elect people of God,' 
 is undoubtedly ' a member of Christ, a child of God, and 
 
 * an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven,* in the highest 
 sense of the terms. Whoever has, from the time of his 
 baptism, possessed the disposition of mind, which these 
 things imply, has undoubtedly been such from that time. 
 But he who will affirm, that the very act of baptism ne- 
 cessarily makes a person such, seems to me to draw, from 
 a few misinterpreted expressions, conclusions alike opposed 
 to reason, to scripture, and to the doctrines of our church. 
 
lU 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 That the same principle is adopted in scripture.— ^An impov' 
 tant question in the interpretation of the sacred writings, 
 — Circumstances under which the strong language, used 
 concerning baptized persons, was introduced. 
 
 Every reader of scripture, and particularly of the 
 
 apostolic epistles, must have observed, that whole bodies of 
 
 Christians are continually addressed, as partakers of the 
 
 most exalted privileges and invaluable blessings. They are 
 
 spoken to as persons who, " being justified by faith, have 
 
 '' peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ : " as 
 
 *« those who shall be saved from wrath through him : " as 
 
 ** reconciled to God : " * as " washed, sanctified, justified, 
 
 ** in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our 
 
 *' God : " t as " sons of God, into whose hearts God 
 
 " hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son x" % as " blessed 
 
 ** with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" 
 
 as " sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the 
 
 " earnest of their inheritance : " § as persons " quickened 
 
 *' from death in trespasses and sins : " || as having all 
 
 ** their sins forgiven them for Christ's sake : " ** as 
 
 those in whom " God hath begun a good work, which 
 
 ** he will perform unto the day of Christ : " ff as " a 
 
 " chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, 
 
 '' that they should shew forth the praises of him, who had 
 
 " called them out of darkness into his marvellous light :"|t 
 
 * Rom. V. f 1 Cor. vi. J Gal. iv. 
 
 § Eph. i. II Eph. ii. Col. ii. *« Eph. iv. Col. ii. 
 
 tt Phil. I. Jt 1 Peter ii. 
 
CHAP. IX.] SCRIPTURAL LANGUAGE. lli»* 
 
 is " the sons of God, who, when their Lord shall appear, 
 « shall be like him, for they shall see him as he is." * 
 
 Now respecting all these, and an indefinite number of 
 like passages, the following question arises : Seeing they 
 are addressed to societies consisting of mixed characters, — 
 " tares and wheat growing together," — how are they to be 
 interpreted ? Does ail this exalted and delightful language 
 express nothing more, than was common to Simon Magus 
 with St. Peter? to the incestuous Corinthian with St. Paul? 
 to Diotrephes with St. John? Is its meaning to be so lowered 
 down and evaporated, that it may apply to ail professors of 
 Christianity, not excepting the most hypocritical, or the 
 most profligate, as well as to the most consistent and ho- 
 nourable ? Common readers will doubtless be startled at 
 such questions. But too true it is, that they are not su- 
 pei'fluous. A system has been devised, or at least ma- 
 tured and methodized, by an Arian dissenter, which, 
 owing to circufnstances much to be lamented, we are taught 
 to believe is ' at present extensively and increasingly pre- 
 ' valent among our clergy ; ' and according to which, all 
 these terms, apparently ' expressive of an internal state,' 
 are made to mean ' nothing but external privileges : ' and 
 from the leaven of this doctrine the author of the tracts 
 does not appear to be altogether free.f Leaving it to others 
 more formally to refute so mischievous a scheme, :{: I shall 
 content myself with briefly assigning my reasons for adopt- 
 ing a very different mode of interpretation. 
 
 I admit, indeed, that many high terms may occasionally 
 be used in describing the privileges enjoyed by persons, as 
 
 * 1 John iii. f Tracts, p. 8, 35, 45, &c. 
 
 • J I am happy to refer to a refutation of Dr, Taylor's ' Key to the 
 ' Apostohc Writings/ and to a substitute for it, in a series of papers in 
 the Christian Observer for 1807, which have been subsequently acknow- 
 ledged as the work of the late excellent rector of Claphana, the Rev. 
 John Venn, M. A. 
 
 I 2 
 
116 SCRIPTURES SPEAK OF MEN [CHAP, IX, 
 
 members of the visible church of Christ.* But this does 
 not induce me to believe, that all the exalted language* 
 which has been quoted, is so applied. To disprove this, I 
 should think it sufficient to appeal only to the common 
 sense of every serious and pious reader. Let any such per- 
 son carefully peruse, for example, six or eight verses at the 
 beginning of St. Peter's first epistle, where he addresses 
 the disciples, as " elect according to the foreknowledge of 
 *' God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit 
 " unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus : " as, 
 " according to the abundant mercy of the God and Father 
 " of our Lord Jesus Christ, begotten again to a lively 
 " hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
 " dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that 
 *' fadeth not away, reserved for them in heaven;" — they 
 being " kept by the power of God, through faith unto 
 ** salvation : " as " greatly rejoicing " in this hope, 
 ** though now for a season (if need were,) they might be in 
 *' heaviness through manifold temptations : that the trial 
 " of their faith, being much more precious than that of 
 " gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be 
 " found to praise and honour and glory at the appearing of 
 " Jesus Christ : — whom, having not seen, they loved ; ift 
 " whom, though now they saw him not, yet believing, they 
 " rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving 
 " the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls." 
 Now, I ask, Can all the sophistry of man persuade any plain 
 pious Christian, of competent understanding, that all this 
 language means nothing more, than * what belongs to all 
 ' professed Christians without exception,' * even to those, 
 ' who,' though they should persevere in their present course, 
 * shall perish eternally ? ' f The supposition carries its own 
 refutation on the face of it. 
 
 * See extracts from Bp. Hopkins, close of c. vii. 
 t Dr. Taylor's words. 
 2 
 
CHAP. IX.] ACCORDING TO THEIR PROFESSIONS. 117 
 
 But, further, not only is language expressive o^ privilege 
 thus applied to bodies of Christians, but language directly 
 and necessarily expressive of moral excellence is applied 
 with equal liberality. They are spoken of, as " dead to 
 *' sin," as well as freed from condemnation : as those who 
 had been " the servants of sin, but who have now obeyed 
 " from the heart the form of doctrine delivered unto 
 " them : "* as *' walking not after the flesh, but after the 
 ** Spirit." The Corinthians are considered as " washed 
 *' and sanctified," no less than " justified." f The Ephe- 
 sians " in time past walked in trespasses and sins," :j; but 
 it is implied, that they did so no longer. " The work of 
 " faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope " § of 
 the Thessalonians, were " remembered by the apostle with- 
 " out ceasing : " " their faith grew exceedingly," and 
 " their charity towards each other abounded." Those, to 
 whom St. Peter wrote, were sanctified " to obedience; " 
 " loved the unseen Saviour;" and "had purified their 
 " souls, in obeying the truth, through the Spirit, unto 
 " unfeigned love of the brethren." || Now whatever else 
 could, these things certainly could not, be predicated of 
 any but true, and pure, and holy, and obedient believers : 
 and therefore whatever difficulty may be imagined to arise, 
 from the application of the language in question to * large 
 * societies ' of Christians, it is not to be removed by ex- 
 plaining the whole, of things common to all professed 
 Christians. 
 
 Andy finally, the limitation, the distinction, though 
 usually left to be supplied by the common sense of the 
 reader, is yet frequently enough expressed, to prevent its 
 being overlooked or forgotten. A very few instances may 
 evince this. " Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit," 
 
 *Rom. vi. flCor. vi. J Eph.ii. §lThess.i. ||lPet.i. 
 
118 SCRIPTURES SPEAK OF MEN [CHAP. IX, 
 
 St. Paul says to the Romans, * ^^ if so be that the Spirit of 
 *' God dwell in you : " but, " if any man have not the 
 " Spirit of Christ," so far from God being ' his God, king, 
 * saviour, father, husband, shepherd,' f &c. on the ground of 
 his being a professed Christian, — " he is none of Christ's.'* 
 *' As many as are led by the Spirit of God," he says, 
 *' they are the sons of God." % To the Corinthian Chris- 
 tians the same apostle writes, " Examine yourselves whe- 
 *' ther ye be in the faith ; prove your own selves : know ye 
 *' not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, 
 ** except ye be reprobates ? "§ Though, speaking general- 
 ly to the Galatians, he says, *' Ye are all the children of 
 *' God by faith in Jesus Christ," yet he elsewhere tells 
 ihem, that he " stood in doubt of them; " and admonishes 
 them, that in Christ Jesus no faith availed, but that which 
 *' worked by love," — nothing short of " a new creature." |i 
 Addressing the Philippians, he assigns his reason for 
 thinking so favourably of them as he did : which is not 
 their baptism, but that it was " meet for him to think this 
 " of them all, forasmuch as both in his bonds, and in the 
 " defence and confirmation of the gospel, they all were 
 *' partakers of his grace." ** The Colossians he expressly 
 addresses upon the ground of their prof ession : "If ye then 
 " be risen with Christ seek those things which are above."ff 
 I do not mean to say, that such hypothetical sentences 
 were intended to convey any specific doubt of their sincerity; 
 but certainly they did convey a reference to their profes- 
 sions, and a call to act consistently with them. — In like 
 manner St. Peter says to those to whom he wrote, " If so 
 ♦' be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." :j:J And St. 
 John affirms, that, " if we say we have fellowship with God, 
 
 • C. viii. t Dr. Taylor. J Rom. viii. 
 
 § 2 Cor. xiii. 5. || Gal. iii. 26. v. 6. vi. 15. ** Phil. i. 7. 
 
 ft Col. iii. U 1 Pet. ii. 
 
«ttAP. IXJ ACCORDING TO THEIR PROFESSIONS. 119 
 
 *' and walk in darkness," or live in sin, " we lie, and the 
 *' truth is not in us : " and that hereby only " do we know 
 ** that we know Christ, if we keep his commandments."* 
 
 On the whole, then, I think it palpably evident, that we 
 are by no means to solve the difficulty, (if difficulty it de- 
 serve to be called,) arising from the general application of 
 exalted language to Christian churches, by lowering its 
 meaning so as to adapt it to all professed Christians. An 
 unspeakably easier and more obvious, I should have thought 
 it a self-evident, solution is, that of understanding pro- 
 fessed Christians to be addressed upon the ground of their 
 profession — upon the supposition of their sincerity. This, we 
 have seen, is continually done by our church : more or 
 less it must be done at all times : and never could it be so 
 natural to do it, as when the very profession of Christianity 
 brought with it many dangers to men's property, to their 
 liberty, and even to their lives. In such times the apostles 
 wrote, and in similar times the language was introduced, 
 which has led men too frequently to confound the outward 
 sign with the inward grace of baptism ; or at least to sup- 
 pose, that the latter necessarily accompanies the former. 
 In such times it was natural and reasonable to believe, that 
 professed Christians were real Christians ; that those who 
 were * baptized ' were indeed * regenerate by the Spirit of 
 * God.' And this affiards a most easy account of the means 
 by which the strong language, that has been so long in use, 
 was brought into the church. 
 
 The circumstances of those times, as compared with oifr 
 own, and the effect of them upon the language employed 
 concerning professed Christians, have been well set forth 
 by the learned prelate already fi-equently referred to. 
 Though believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and the 
 
 * 1 John i. ii. 
 
120 TIMES IN WHICH BAPTISMAL fCHAP. IX. 
 
 Saviour of the world, * is not,' he says, * regeneration, 
 
 * yet it was then almost an infaUible test of it : and to per- 
 
 * suade men to believe that Jesus v/as the Christ, was to 
 
 * prevail upon them to be truly and really converted. It 
 
 * was seldom seen among those primitive Christians, where 
 
 * there were no carnal respects, nor outward advantages, 
 ' that could commend the gospel to the secular interests of 
 
 * men ; when the only reward of professing Christ was re- 
 
 * proaches, persecution, and martyrdom : seldom was it 
 ' seen, that any were won over from heathenism or Judaism, 
 
 * to make profession of the despised name of Christ, but 
 
 * such, as were inwardly renewed by that almighty grace, 
 ' that can conquer all thedespites and affronts of the world; 
 
 * few were so foolish as to profess Christ in hypocrisy, 
 ' when that hypocrisy would endanger their own Hves ; and 
 
 * jret, because it was but in hypocrisy, it could gain them 
 
 * no benefit by his death. Therefore it is, that the scrip- 
 
 * ture speaks of those, that made a profession of the name 
 ' of Christ, as if they were regenerated, because it was 
 ' then almost an infallible mark of it. Thus you have it in 
 
 * 1 John iv. 15 : " Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the 
 ' Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God" .... 
 
 * But now, when the very name of a Christian is become 
 
 * a title of honour, and the same punishments do now at- 
 
 * tend the denying of Christ, that then attended the ac- 
 
 * knowledgment of him, men may indeed be called by his 
 ' name that never were effectually called by his grace, and 
 
 * may make a profession of the true faith, and yet remain 
 ^ Christian infidels.' * 
 
 The following confirmation of the doctrine of this 
 chapter is derived from a publication of the Society for 
 
 * Bp, Hopkins, Works, vol. ii. p. 471, 
 
CHAP. IX.] LANGUAGE WAS INTRODUCED. 121 
 
 promoting Christian Knowledge, of which more particular 
 notice will shortly be taken. * It is the way of the scriptures 
 
 * to speak to and of the visible members of the church of 
 
 * Christ, under such appellations and expressions as may 
 
 * seem at first hearing to imply, that they are all of them 
 
 * truly righteous and holy persons .... The reason of which 
 
 * is, that they were visibly by obligation mid by profes- 
 
 * sioN all this ; which was thus represented to them, the 
 
 * more effectually to stir them up and engage them to live 
 
 * according to their profession and obligation.' * 
 
 * Bp. Bradford, on Baptismal and Spiritual Regeneration. 
 
122 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 That regeneration is not restricted to baptism by the church 
 of England — by the English reformers — by the divines to 
 whose authority Dr. Mant appeals — or by the Society for 
 promoting Christian Knowledge, 
 
 I, The Church of England. — I here confine myself 
 strictly to the term regeneration, which, I contend, is not 
 restricted to what accompanies baptism, and not merely to 
 the doctrine. My proof is taken from the Homily for 
 Whitsunday. It has occurred accidentally, and might pro- 
 bably be supported by other instances, were pains taken to 
 search for them. I give the passage at length, because 
 it both exhibits the doctrine of the church on some kindred 
 points, of great importance, and presents us with, what 
 must be in Dr. M.'s eyes, an extraordinary phenomenon, 
 — a discussion on regeneration, and the third chapter of 
 St. John's gospel, without even the mention of baptism ! 
 
 * Where the Holy Ghost worketh, there nothing is im- 
 
 * possible ; as may further also appear by the inward rege- 
 
 * neration and sanctification of mankind. When Christ said 
 
 * to Nicodemus, Unless a man be born anew, of water and 
 
 * the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, he 
 
 * was greatly amazed in his mind, and began to reason 
 
 * with Christ ; demanding how a man might be born which 
 
 * ivas old. Can he enter, saith he, into his mother's womb 
 
 * again, and so be born anew ? Behold a lively pattern of a 
 ' fleshly and carnal man ! He had little or no intelli- 
 
 * gence of the Holy Ghost ; and therefore he goeth bluntly 
 
CHAP. X.] LANGUAGE OF THE CHURCH. 123 
 
 * to work, and asketh how this thing were possible to be 
 ' true. Whereas, otherwise, if he had known the great 
 
 * power of the Holy Ghost in this behalf, that it is he which 
 
 * inwardly worketh the regeneration and new birth of man- 
 
 * kind, he would never have marvelled at Christ's words ; 
 ' but would have rather taken occasion thereby to praise 
 
 * and glorify God. 
 
 * For as there are three several and sundry persons in the 
 ' Deity, so have they three several and sundry offices pro- 
 
 * per unto each of them ; the Father to create, the Son to 
 
 * redeem, the Holy Ghost to sanctify and regenerate. 
 ' Whereof the last, the more it is hid from our under- 
 
 * standing, the more it ought to move all men to wonder 
 
 * at the secret and mighty working of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 * which is within us. For it is the Holy Ghost, and no 
 
 * other thing, that doth quicken the minds of men ; stirring 
 
 * up good and godly motions in their hearts, which are 
 
 * agreeable to the will and commandment of God ; such as 
 
 * otherwise of their own crooked and perverse nature they 
 
 * should never have. That which is born of the Jiesh, saith 
 
 * Christ, is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is 
 
 * spirit. As who should say, Man of his own nature is 
 
 * fleshly and carnal, corrupt and nought, sinful and dis- 
 
 * obedient to God, without any spark of goodness in him, 
 
 * without any virtuous or godly motion, only given to evil 
 
 * thoughts and wicked deeds. As for the works of the 
 
 * Spirit, the fruits of faith, charitable and godly motions, 
 ' if he have any at all in him, they proceed only of the 
 
 * Holy Ghost ; who is the only worker of our sanctification, 
 
 * and maketh us new men in Christ Jesus. Did not God's 
 
 * Holy Spirit miraculously work in the child David, when 
 
 * of a poor shepherd he became a princely prophet? Did not 
 
 * God's Holy Spirit miraculously work in Matthew, sitting at 
 
 * the receipt of custom, when, of a proud publican, he became 
 
 * a humble and lowly evangelist ? And who can choose 
 
 * but marvel, to consider that Peter should become, of a 
 
124} REGENERATION, HOW USED [cHAP. X, 
 
 * simple fisher, a chief and mighty apostle ? Paul, of a 
 
 * cruel and bloody persecutor, a faithful disciple of Christ 
 
 * to teach the gentiles? Such is the power of the Holy 
 
 * Ghost TO REGENERATE MEN, OWt?, US it werBy TO BRING 
 
 * THEM FORTH ANEW, SO that they shall he nothing like the 
 
 * men that they were before. 
 
 ' Neither doth he think it sufficient inwardly to work the 
 
 * spiritual and new birth of man, unless he do also dwell 
 
 * and abide in him. Know ye not, saith St. Paul, that ye 
 
 * are the temple of God, and that his Spirit divelleth in you ? 
 
 * Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of tlie Holy 
 ' Ghost which is within you ? Again he saith. You are not 
 
 * in the flesh, but in t/w Spirit. For why ? The Spirit of 
 
 * God dwelleth in you. To this agreeth the doctrine of St. 
 
 * John, writing on this wise : The anointing which ye have 
 
 * received — he meaneth the Holy Ghost — dwelleth in you» 
 
 * And the doctrine of Peter saith the same, who hath 
 
 * these words : The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upo?i 
 
 * you. 
 
 ' O what comfort is this to the heart of a true Christian, 
 
 * to think that the Holy Ghost dwelleth within him ! If God 
 
 * be with us, as the apostle saith, who can be against us? 
 
 * O but how shall I know that the Holy Ghost is within 
 
 * me ? some man perchance will say. Forsooth, as the tree 
 
 * is known by his fruit, so is also the Holy Ghost. The 
 
 * fruits of the Holy Ghost, according to the mind of St. 
 
 * Paul, are these : love, joy, peace, long'Suffering, gentle- 
 
 * ness, goodness, faitlfulness, meekness, temperance. Con- 
 
 * trariwise, the deeds of the flesh are these : adultery, for- 
 
 * nication, uncleanness, wantouTiess, idolatry, witchcraft, 
 ' hatred, debate, emulation, wrath, contention, sedition, heresy y 
 ' envy, murder, drunkenness, gluttony, and such like. 
 
 * Here is now that glass, wherein thou must behold 
 ' thyself, and discern whether thou have the Holy Ghost 
 
 * within thee, or the spirit of the flesh. If thou see that 
 
 * thy works be virtuous and good, consonant to the pre- 
 
CHAP. X.] BY THE CHURCH. 125 
 
 * script rule of God's word, savouring and tasting not of 
 ' the flesh, but of the Spirit ; then assure thyself that thou 
 
 * art endued with the Holy Ghost ; otherwise, in thinking 
 
 * well of thyself, thou dost nothing else but deceive thy- 
 < self.' * 
 
 Here is the very term regeneration, and regeneration by 
 the Holy Ghost, used for a change of mind, which pro- 
 duces ' good and godly motions in the heart ; ' by which, 
 and by the conduct resulting from them, we are taught to 
 determine whether we be * endued with the Holy Ghost * 
 or not. The term is applied to the change wrought in 
 David, St. Matthew, St. Peter, and St. Paul. Now what 
 authority is there for ascribing St. Peter's change, from ' a 
 
 * simple fisher to a mighty apostle,' to his baptism ? Wliat 
 for saying one word of baptism in the case of * Matthew, 
 
 * sitting at the receipt of custom, when of a proud publican 
 
 * he became a humble and lowly evangelist ? ' And most 
 of all, what has the ' regeneration ' of David, ' when of 
 
 * a poor shepherd he became a princely prophet,' to do 
 with baptism ? — Whatever be the nature of the change here 
 described by it, the passage demonstrates, that the church 
 does not confine the term to baptism, or the effect of 
 baptism, or consider ' any other than baptismal regene- 
 
 * ration as impossible in this world.' 
 
 II. The English Reformers. — Here, again, I do not 
 pretend to have carried my investigation to any great 
 length. A few decisive passages must suffice. 
 
 * The two last paragraphs furnish a very sufficient answer to Dr. M.'s 
 assertion, p. 25, ' that, if the work of ref:;eneration is not effected by 
 ' baptism, . . . .we are left without ' any other criterion, than ' our own 
 
 * imaginations, or our own feelings, to determine whether ' we are re- 
 generate or not. ' Forsooth, as the tree is known by his fruit, so is also 
 
 * the Holv Ghost.' This is the criterion. 
 
126 THE REFORMERS. ||cHAt. It. 
 
 Archbishop Cranmer is unequivocal in declaring, that 
 the inward grace does not always accompany the outward 
 sign. He says, * As in baptism, those who come feignedly, 
 
 * and those that come unfeignedly, both be washed with the 
 
 * sacramental water, but both be not washed.with the Holy 
 
 * Ghost, and clothed with Christ : so in the Lord's supper,* 
 &c. * And again, ' Whosoever cometh to that water, 
 
 * being of the age of discretion, must examine himself 
 
 * duly, lest, if he come unworthily, (none otherwise than 
 ' he would come unto other common water,) he be not re- 
 
 * newed in Christ, but instead of salvation receive his 
 ' damnation.' — Does, then, this venerable metropolitan and 
 martyr * doubt the inward and spiritual grace of baptism,* 
 and * deny its sacramental character ? ' No one, assuredly, 
 will affirm it. — This, however, is not precisely the subject 
 ©f the present chapter. 
 
 Latimer, bishop and raartjT, speaks more directly to our 
 present purpose. — ' Christ saith. Except a man be bom 
 
 * Ofrain from above, he cunnot see the kingdom of God. He 
 ' must have regeneration. And what is this regeneration ? 
 « It is not to be christened in water, (as these firebrands f 
 
 * expound it,) and nothing else. How is it to be ex- 
 < pounded then? St. Peter sheweth, that one place of 
 
 * scripture declareth another. It is the circumstance and 
 
 * collation of places that make scripture plain. Saith St. 
 
 * Peter, H'^e be born again. How ? Not by a mwtal seed, 
 « hut by an immortal. What is this immortal seed ? By 
 
 * the word of the living God. By the word of God preach- 
 
 * ED AND OPENED. ThUS COMETH IN OUR NEW BIRTH.' % 
 
 Dr. M. § quotes from this venerable reformer a passage 
 
 * Fathers of the EngUsh Church, vol. iii. p. 835. 
 
 t Meaning the Papists. % Fathers, &c. vol. ii. p. 654, 655. 
 
 § P. 27. 
 
CHAP. X.] TH£ REFORMERS. 12? 
 
 which contains nothing decisive : but how far he is fi'om 
 sanctioning the doctrine, that regeneration or new-birth is 
 
 * conveyed exclusively by baptism,' the reader may now 
 judge. 
 
 Hooper, bishop and martyr. ' Such as be baptized must 
 
 * remember, that repentance and faith precede this external 
 
 * sign ; and in Christ the purgation was inwardly obtained, 
 
 * BEFORE the external sign was given. So that there are 
 
 * two kinds of baptism, and both necessary. The one in- 
 
 * terior, which is the cleansing of the heart, the drawing 
 
 * of the Father, the operation of the Holy Ghost : and 
 
 * this baptism is in man, when he believeth and trusteth that 
 
 * Christ is the only actor of his salvation.' — ' 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 ?iot to purge the heart ; but to confirm, manifest, 
 
 * and open unto the world, that this child is God's.' — ' A 
 
 * traitor may receive the crown, and yet be true king no- 
 
 * thing the more : so a hypocrite and infidel may receive 
 ' the external sign of baptism, and yet be no Christian man, 
 
 * any the more; as Simon Magus and others.'* 
 
 Again : ' Like as the king's majesty, that now is, imme~ 
 
 * diately after the death of the king his father, was the true 
 ' and legitimate king of England, right heir unto the 
 
 * crown, and received his coronation, not to make himself 
 
 * thereby king, but to manifest that the kingdom apper- 
 
 * tained unto him before. He took the crown to cmifirm his 
 
 * right and title. . .Though this ceremony confirm and ma- 
 
 * nifest a man in his kingdom, yet it maketh not a king. . . 
 
 * So it is in the church of Christ: man is made a brother of 
 
 * Christ, and heir of eternal life by God's only mercy, received 
 
 * Fathers, &c. vol. v. p. 169, 170, 171. 
 
128 THE REFORMERS. [cHAP. X. 
 
 * by faith, before he receive any ceremony to confirm and 
 
 * manifest openly his right and title., . .Thus assured of 
 
 * God, and cleansed from sin in Christ, he hath the livery 
 
 * of God given him, baptism, the which no Christian should 
 
 * neglect ; and yet not attribute his sanctification unto the 
 
 * external sign.' 
 
 The discerning reader will discover, in these passages, 
 corroboration of several things which have already been ad- 
 vanced, and of some which remain to be urged. 
 
 John Frith, martyr. * This outward sign doth neither give 
 
 * us the Spirit of God, neither yet grace, that is, the 
 
 * favour of God. For, if through the washing of the 
 
 * water the Spirit of grace were given, then it would follow, 
 
 * that whosoever were baptized in the water should receive 
 
 * this precious gift. But that is not so ; wherefore I must 
 
 * needs conclude, that this outward sign, by any power or 
 
 * influence that it hath, bringeth not the Spirit and favour 
 
 * of God. That every one receiveth not this treasure in bap- 
 
 * tism it is evident : for put the case, that a Jew or an in- 
 
 * fidel should say that he did believe, and believe not in- 
 
 * deed ; and upon his words were baptized indeed, (for no 
 
 * man can judge what his heart is, but we must receive him 
 ' unto baptism, if he confesses our faith with his mouth, 
 
 * albeit his heart be far from thence ;) this miscreant, now 
 ' thus baptized, hath received this outward sign and sacra- 
 
 * ment as well as the most faithful man believing. * How- 
 
 * beit, he neither receiveth the Spirit of God, neither yet 
 
 * any grace but rather condemnation.' — ' It followeth that 
 
 * the outward sign giveth no man any grace. Moreover, 
 
 * if the Spirit of God and his grace were bound unto the 
 ' sacraments, then where the sacraments were ministered, 
 
 * there must the Spirit of grace wait on ; and where they 
 
 * Qu. living f 
 
CHAP. X.3 THE REFORMERS. 129 
 
 were not ministered should be neither Spirit nor grace. 
 But that is false ; for Cornelius and all his household re- 
 ceived the Holy Ghost, before they were baptized. Here 
 we may see that, as the Spirit of God lighteth where he 
 will, neither is he bound to any thing. Yea, and this 
 example doth well declare unto us, that the sacraments 
 are given to be an outward witness to all the congregation 
 of that grace, which is given before privately to every 
 man.' — ' When we baptize one that is come unto the years 
 of discretion, we ask of him whether he believe : if he an- 
 swer, Yea, and desire baptism, he is baptized : so that 
 we require faith of him, before he be baptized, (which is 
 the gift of God, and cometh of grace,) and so it is an 
 outward sign of his invisible faith, which was before given 
 him of God.' 
 
 ' His supposition ' (Rastall's) ' is, that all men, which 
 are baptized with material water, are very Christian men, 
 and have the true faith, and are those which Paul affirm 
 eth to be without spot, blame, or wrinkle.^ But thereto 1 
 say, Nay ; for even as the outward circumcision made not 
 the Jews the elect people, and children of salvation ; so 
 doth not the outward baptism make us the faithful members 
 of Christ: but as they were the children of God, who 
 were inwardly circumcised, even so they, that are washed 
 inwardly from the concupiscence of this world, are the 
 members of Christ.' f 
 
 Clement, who escaped martyrdom by dying in prison. 
 Until the Spirit of regeneration be given us of God, we 
 can neither will, do, speak, nor think any good thing, 
 that is acceptable in his sight. Let us therefore always 
 pray to God, that he will make in us a clean heart, and 
 renew in us an upright spirit.' X Let the reader observe 
 
 * So Dr. Mant, p. 33: above, p. 35. 
 t Fathers, &c. vol. i. p. 384 — 386, 408. 
 
 X Fathers, &c. vol. iv. p. 296. Clement's confession ' may b« looked 
 
 K 
 
130 THE REFORMERS. [CHAP. X. 
 
 the connection of the parts in this sentence, and then de- 
 termine whether it be not an exhortation to us to pray fm- 
 regeneration. 
 
 Dr. M. quotes from King Edward's catechism as follows : 
 ' Baptism doth represent and set before our eyes that we 
 
 * are by the Spirit of Christ new born, and cleansed from 
 « sin ; that we be members and parts of his church, received 
 
 * into the communion of saints. For water signifieth the 
 
 * Spirit.' What confirmation of his sentiments Dr. M. 
 finds in this passage, I am at a loss to conceive. That bap- 
 tism ' represents ' and ' signifies ' these things is not dis- 
 puted : but that it was the doctrine of King Edward's days, 
 that the sign and the thing signified always went togethei', 
 no one, I think, can believe, after reading the passages 
 just recited. Of this, however, I add one more confirma- 
 tion from another catechism of great repute, I mean, that 
 usually called Dean Nowell's. It is supposed to have been 
 prepared by the same persons who drew up our articles. 
 It was sanctioned by the convocation which sanctioned the 
 articles. - It was recommended by the king's letters patent, 
 and its use enjoined by the privy council. It has also been 
 recently republished by two distinguished prelates, Bishop 
 Cleaver and Bishop Randolph. Now in what manner does 
 this catechism speak upon the point before us ? It speaks 
 in a manner which may serve as a key to the right under- 
 standing of many of Dr. M.'s quotations. 
 
 « Master. Thou seemest to make the water but a certain 
 ^ figure of divine things. Scholar. It is a figure, indeed, but 
 ' not empty or deceitful, but such as hath the truth of the 
 
 * things themselves joined andknitunto it. For, asin baptism 
 
 * God truly delivereth us forgiveness of sins and newness of 
 
 * life, so do we certainly receive them. For God forbid that 
 
 < upon as an account of the belief of the professors in those days.' 
 Strype. 
 
CHAP. X.] THE FATHERS. ISl 
 
 ' we should think that God mocketh and deceiveth us with 
 
 * vain figures.' — Now had Dr. M. observed this passage, 
 would he not have deemed it decisively in his favour? But 
 hear how it is interpreted in what presently follows. — 
 
 * Master. Do all generallyy and without difference, receive 
 '■ this grace ? Scholar, The only faithful receive this 
 
 * FRUIT, but the unbelieving in refusing the promises offered 
 
 * thejn by God, shut up the entry against themselves, and go 
 
 * away empty. Yet do they not t/wreby make that the sacra- 
 
 * m£nts lose their force and nature.' — No doubt many 
 of Dr. M.'s authorities are to be understood in the same 
 way : -that is, they speak only of those who ' receive the 
 
 * sacraments rightly,' though he has understood them to 
 speak of all, to whom the sacraments are * rightly admi- 
 ' nistered.' * 
 
 III. The Fathers and other Divines cited by Dr. 
 Mant. — I had not intended at all to meddle with any other 
 of Dr. M.'s authorities, than the scriptures, and the sanc- 
 tioned writings of the church of England : and I have in- 
 timated as much in a note on a former chapter. My rea- 
 sons were partly, that I consider no other authorities, 
 however respectable, as binding upon us, either as Christ- 
 ians or as churchmen : and partly the time and labour, 
 which the examination of various authors, to collect their 
 sentiments upon a given topic, must cost. But, in turning 
 over the pages of a valuable periodical publication, I have 
 met with a number of passages, which may sufficiently an- 
 swer my purpose, and which will doubtless add to the rea- 
 der's satisfaction. 
 
 Dr. M. avails himself with great confidence of the au- 
 thority of the fathers : and I readily admit, that he may 
 
 * Dr. Laurence observes, that certain writings ' must always be 
 ' UNDERSTOOD, when alluding to the case of adults, to confine the appli- 
 ' cation of regeneration in baptism ' to those only who believe/ 
 Vindication, p. 61, 62.— For the sentimenti of Bishop Jewell, see 
 Appendix, Note XX. 
 
 k2 
 
132 THE FATHERS. [CHAP. X. 
 
 adduce many things from them which may be really, and 
 many more which are apparently, favourable to his views. 
 He observes, * Baptism, indeed, and regeneration, the 
 
 * terms which specifically denote the outward sign and the 
 
 * spiritual grace, appear to have been employed by early 
 
 * Christians, as expressions of the same import.' But 
 would he hence infer, that the two things were believed to 
 be the same, or inseparably connected together ? St. Aus- 
 tin, as quoted in the ' Homily of common prayer and the 
 ' sacraments,' will furnish him with a better explanation of 
 the fact. He saith, ' If sacraments had not a certain simi- 
 
 * litude of those things of which they be sacraments, they 
 
 * should be no sacraments at all. And of this similitude they 
 ' do, for the most part, receive the names of the self-same 
 ' things they signify.' Combine with this, what was observed 
 at the close of the preceding chapter, concerning the cir- 
 cumstances of the primitive times, and the comparatively 
 few instances, in which the profession of faith was separated 
 from a veal conversion of the heart unto God; and the 
 interchange of the terms for each other will be satisfactorily 
 explained, without supposing that, among primitive Chris- 
 tians, the sign was confounded with the thing signified, or 
 the one supposed to be inseparable from the other. 
 
 This may account, as far as it is necessary to account, for 
 the language so frequently quoted from Justin Martyr. 
 
 * Whoever are persuaded and believe that the things taught 
 
 * and said by us are true, and undertake to live accarding to 
 
 * them, are led by us to a place where there is water, and 
 
 * are regenerated in the same manner, in which we were 
 
 * regenerated.' * 
 
 St. Austin is the only father whom Dr. M. cites, besides 
 Justin, and the language ascribed to him has been noticed 
 above, t To Dr. M.'s quotation I beg leave to oppose what 
 
 * Tracts, p. 38. f P. 33, note. 
 
CHAP. X.] THE FATHERS. 133 
 
 follows. * Theodoret's opinion, as often quoted by the old 
 ' writers ... is, Gratia sacramentum aliqimndo prcecedit^ ali- 
 
 * quando sequitur, aliquando nee sequitur.* St. Augustine (on 
 ' the 77th Psalm) thus resolves, Omnes eundem potum spi- 
 ' ritualem biberunt, sed non in omnibus bene placilum est Deo : 
 
 * et cum essent omnia communia sacramenta, non communis 
 
 * ei'at omnibus gratia, quce sacramentorum virtus est. Sicut 
 
 * et nunc, jam revelatd fide, quce tunc velabatur, omnibus, in 
 
 * nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti baptizatis, com- 
 
 * mune est lavacrum regenerationis ; sed ipsa gratia, cujus sunt 
 
 * sacramenta, qua membra corporis Christi aim suo capite re- 
 
 * generata sunt, non communis est omnibus, f In his fifth 
 
 * book against the Donatists, c. 24, he says, Christ is put 
 
 * on sometimes, usque ad sacramenti perceptionem, as far as 
 
 * t/ie receiving of the saci-ament, sometimes also unto sanctifi- 
 
 * cation of life ; the first is common to good and bad, the other 
 
 * is proper to the good and godly. St. Chrysostom, in his 
 
 * fifth homily on St. Matthew, observes. Many are baptized 
 
 * with ivater, who are not baptized tvith the Holy Ghost ; they 
 
 * seem to be the sons of God in respect of their baptism, but 
 
 * indeed they are not the sons of God, because they arc not 
 
 * baptized with the Holy Ghost. St. Jerome has a similar 
 
 * passage, in his commentary on the third chapter of the 
 
 * Galatians.':}: 
 
 * * Grace sometimes precedes the sacrament, sometimes follows it, 
 and sometimes does not even follow it.' 
 \ ' All did drink the same spiritual drink, but not with all was God 
 
 * well pleased ; and when the sacraments were all common, the grape 
 
 * was not common to all, which constitutes the virtue of the sacraments. 
 
 * So also now, when faith is revealed, which was then veiled, the laver 
 t of regeneration is common to all, who are baptized in the name of the 
 
 * Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; but the grace itself, 
 
 * of which they are sacraments, and by which the members of the body 
 
 * of Christ are regenerated with their head, is not common to all.' 
 
 X Christian Observer, 1804, p. 565. Many valuable papeis, con- 
 nected with the subjects of this work, are dispersed through the volumes 
 
134 EMINENT [CHAP, X. 
 
 More direct contradiction to Dr. M.'s principles cannot 
 easily be conceived. Instead of regeneration being always 
 conveyed by baptism, ' Grace sometimes precedes, some- 
 
 * times follovi^s, and sometimes not even foUovi's, the sacra- 
 
 * ment.' Instead of all baptized persons being spiritually 
 regenerate, * The washing of regeneration is common to 
 
 * all, but not so that grace of the sacrament, by which the 
 
 * members of Christ ai*e regenerated with their head.* 
 ' The putting on of Christ, as far as the receiving of the 
 
 * sacrament, is common to good and bad ; the putting him 
 
 * on to the sanctification of life is peculiar to the good and 
 
 * godly.' * Many are baptized with water, who are not 
 ' baptized with the Holy Ghost ; and these are not indeed 
 
 * the sons of God.' 
 
 These passages evince, both that, in the judgment of 
 these fathers, regeneration is not restricted, either as to the 
 name or the thing, to what takes place at baptism ; and 
 that baptism may be * rightly administered' and no spiritual 
 regeneration conveyed.* 
 
 Hooker may be deservedly placed at the head of the more 
 modern divines of whose authority Dr. M. avails himself. 
 In the same place, from which I have taken the above quo- 
 tations from the fathers, I find the following account 
 of his sentiments on the subject before us, which I take 
 to be perfectly just : ' No author is more express as to 
 
 * the efficacy of the sacraments, and the necessity of our 
 ' using them, than he is ; but, by comparing different parts 
 
 * of his works together, it will appear, that he did not 
 
 * extend their virtue in that unlimited and indiscriminate 
 
 * manner ' which some now wish to do. * Speaking as he 
 
 of the Christian Observer. See particularly vol. for 1802, p. 764 : 1803, 
 p. 396, 561 : 1804, p. 565 : 1809, p. 794 : 1811, p. 584 : 1812, p. 36S : 
 1813, p. 161, &c. 
 ♦ See Appendix, Note XXI. 
 
CHAP. X.] ENGLISH DIVINES. 135 
 
 * generally does, in the name of real believers/ he uses 
 language, which constitutes Dr. M.'s only quotation from 
 him, as follows : ^ As we are not naturally men without 
 
 * birth, so neither are we Christian men, in the eye of the 
 ' church of God, but by new birth ; nor, according to the 
 ' manifest ordinary/ course of divine dispensation, new born, 
 
 * but by that baptism, which both declareth and maketh 
 ' us Christians. In which respect we justly hold it to be 
 ' the door of our actual entra?ice into God's house, the first 
 ^ APPARENT beginning of life ; a seal perhaps to the grace 
 ' of election before received, but to our sanctification here 
 
 * a step that hath not any before it.' * 
 
 If the reader will duly attend to the words marked in 
 italics, and which are certainly very important to the sense 
 of the passage, he may find the whole much less favourable 
 to Dr. M.'s sentiments, than might at first be supposed. 
 Hooker speaks principally of what takes place ' in the eye 
 ' of the church ; ' of * our entrance into God's house,' or 
 the church ; of ' the first apparent beginning of life ; ' of 
 
 * the manifest ordinary course of divine dispensation ; ' and 
 of * our sanctification here : ' which last expression, when 
 compared with his avowed sentiment, that ' grace' and ' the 
 ' inward baptism ' may precede the outward, must evidently 
 mean our separation and outward consecration to God, as 
 before explained from Bishop Hopkins. 
 
 On the whole, the following passages will be found, I 
 think, much more clearly against Dr. M., than this appears 
 to be in his favour. 
 
 * They,' the sacraments, ' are not physical, but moral 
 
 * instruments of salvation, duties of service and worship : 
 
 * which unless we perform as the author of grace requireth, 
 ' they are unprofitable : for, all receive not tlie grace of 
 ' God luhich receive the sao'aments of grace' f How does 
 
 * Book V. § 60. p. 248. f Book v. § 57. p. 989. 
 
136 KMINENT [chap. X. 
 
 this accord with Dr. M.'s notion of a sacrament's neces- 
 sarily or constantly conveying the inward grace of which it 
 
 is a sign ? 
 
 * If outward baptism were a cause in itself possessed of 
 
 * that power, either natural or supernatural, without the 
 
 * present operation whereof no such effect could possibly 
 
 * grow ; it must then follow that. . .no man could ever re- 
 
 * ceiye grace before baptism : which being apparently both 
 ' known, and also confessed to be otherwise,' * &c. 
 
 Again : ' It is on all parts gladly confessed, that there 
 
 * may be in divers cases life by virtue of inward baptism, 
 ' even where outward is not found.' f 
 
 Is not this regeneration before baptism, and without 
 baptism ? Yet Dr. M. says, ^ no other than baptismal re- 
 
 * generation is possible in this world.' % 
 
 Bishop Andrews is one of Dr. M's authorities. Yet ii^ 
 a sermon which Dr. M. himself has adopted from this pre- 
 late, and published among his own ' Sermons for parochial 
 
 * and domestic use,' we have, in that very edition of it, 
 these words : ' If we do not receive the Holy Ghost, no- 
 
 * thing else that we receive will do us any good. Receive 
 
 * the word, it is but a killing letter ; receive baptism, it is 
 
 * but John's baptism, but a weak and beggarly element, § &c. 
 
 Bishop Beveri4ge is an author whom Dr. M. repeatedly 
 quotes : and certainly the language which in one sermon he 
 uses, respecting the connection between regeneration an^ 
 baptism, is very strong. Yet the following passages, from 
 his seventy-third sermon, (on 1 Pet. i. 3.) shew, that there 
 was no small difference between his sentiments and those of 
 Dr. M. 
 
 * Book V. § 57. p. 246, 247. f Ibid. p. 250. 
 
 X See Appendix, Note XXII. 
 
 § Mant's Sermons, vol. i. p. 330, 331. 
 
CHAP. X.] ENGLISH DIVINES. J 37 
 
 * When a man believes in Christ the second Adam, and so 
 
 * is made a member of his body, he is quickened and ani- 
 
 * mated by his Spirit, which being the principle of a new 
 
 * life in him, he thereby becomes a new creature, another 
 
 * kind of creatm'e from what he was before, and therefore 
 
 * is properly said to be born again, not of blood, nor of the 
 
 * will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. . .His 
 
 * whole nature is changed. . .He hath a new set of thoughts 
 
 * and affections, a new sight and sense of God, a new bias 
 
 * upon his mind, so that he is now as much inclined to virtue 
 
 * as he was before to vice ; and of a foolish, proud, sinful, 
 
 * and carnal creature, is become wise, and humble, and holy, 
 
 * and spiritual. . .And, whereas other men are born only of 
 
 * the flesh, such a one is regenerate, or born again of the 
 
 * Spirit, according to that remarkable saying of our blessed 
 
 * Saviour, That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that 
 
 * which is born of the Spirit is spirit : . . .every thing being of 
 ' the same nature with that, from which it proceeds. . .Hence 
 
 * all such are called the sons of God, and are really so.' *' 
 All this, and much more to the same effect, occurs under 
 
 the first general head of the sermon, namely, ' That the 
 
 * saints of God are begotten again by him.' The venera- 
 ble prelate quotes John iii. 5, yet he says not a word of 
 baptism in the whole discussion ! Naj', were it possible 
 for any one to persuade himselfj that such a change, as he 
 describes, is made in the nature of every man by his baptism, 
 the bishop shews, that he, at least, has no such thing in his 
 contemplation ; for he expressly refers it to the time, 
 
 * when a man believes in Christ,' not to the time when he 
 is baptized. 
 
 The learned Joseph Mede is quoted by Dr. M. for the 
 sentiment, * that in the baptism of Christ the mystery of 
 
 * Beveridge's Works, vol. i. p. 609, 610. 
 
138 EMINENT [chap. X. 
 
 * all our baptisms was visibly acted ; and that God says to 
 
 * every one truly baptized, as he said to him in a propor- 
 
 * tionable sense, Thou art my son, in whom I am well 
 
 * pleased.' * Now surely it is but reasonable, unless the 
 context irresistibly determine otherwise, to understand here, 
 by ' truly baptized,' what our church expresses by ' receiving 
 
 * baptism rightly.' For who would presume to affirm, that 
 God says to a wicked man, hypocritically receiving baptism, 
 •' Thou art my son, in whom I am well pleased ? " — And 
 that Mede's sentiments do indeed correspond with this in- 
 terpretation, as well as that he does not confine regeneration 
 to the period of baptism, will be evident from the following 
 extract. ' Regeneration, or new birth, consists of these 
 
 * two parts, repentance towards God, and faith towards our 
 
 * Lord Jesus Christ : . . .that is, the whole mystery of rege- 
 ' neration, whereby a man becomes the child of God, and 
 
 * a member of the kingdom of heaven. Both joined to- 
 ' gether make a new birth, or a new 7nan' f How does this 
 agree with the idea, that the new birth is inseparable from 
 baptism, and ' that no other than baptismal regeneration is 
 
 * possible in this world ? * 
 
 In his second tract, Dr. M. twice refers to Barrow. The 
 reader who will turn to the second volume of this great 
 man's works. Sermon 34, will find, that he ' represents re- 
 
 * generation to be a spiritual change, effected by the influ- 
 ' ence of the Holy Spirit, on the mind, the will, and the 
 
 * affections of an adult sinner,' % and even describes, some- 
 what minutely, the sort of process by which it is produced. 
 ' Both these operations together,' he says, ' (enlightening 
 ' our minds, sanctifying our will and affections,) do con- 
 
 * stitute and accomplish that work, which is styled the 
 
 * REGENERATION, renovatiou, vivification, new-creation, re- 
 
 * Tracts, p. 36. t Mede's Discourses, 1652, p. 30. 
 
 % Christian Observer, 1812, p. 342. 
 
CHAP. X.] E^NGLIStt DIVINES. 139 
 
 * mrrectton of man ; the faculties of our souls being so 
 
 * improved, that we become as it were other men thereby . 
 ' able and apt to do that, for which before we were altoge- 
 
 * ther indisposed and unfit/ Barrow, therefore, is a stranger 
 to Dr. M.'s distinction between regeneration and renova- 
 tion : nor does he appear to have any idea of confining 
 regeneration to baptism. 
 
 The following passage is from Archbishop Tillotson's 
 sermon on Galatians vi. 15. * After many strugglings and 
 
 * conflicts with their lusts, and the strong bias of evil 
 
 * habits, this resolution, assisted by the grace of God, does 
 
 * effectually prevail, and make a real change both in the 
 
 * temper of their minds, and the course of their lives ; and 
 
 * iL'hen that is dojie, and not before, they are said to be rege- 
 
 ' NERATE.' 
 
 If then, in preaching regeneration to baptized adults, 
 we be guilty of fanaticism * and heresy,' we have the 
 satisfaction of knowing, that the profound Barrow, and 
 the ' proverbially sober ' Tillotson, have erred before us, 
 and set us the example ! 
 
 Some extracts from Bishop Wdson, another of Dr. M.'s 
 authorities, have been given in a note upon a former 
 chapter. * 
 
 I add only the following sentence from the work, to which 
 I have acknowledged myself indebted for many of these 
 extracts. * It is almost unnecessary for us to remark, that 
 
 * it is usual with our old divines to speak of bad Christians 
 ' as being unregenerate men : frequent instances of this 
 
 * occur in the writings of Dr. Jackson, Dr Hammond, 
 
 * Bishop Hall, Bishop Sanderson, and many other di- 
 
 * vines.' f 
 
 * See Appendix, Note VIII. 
 
 t Christian Observer, 1804, p. 566.— See also Appendix, Note XXIII, 
 
 2 
 
140 SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING [cHAP. X. 
 
 IV. The Society for promoting Christian Know- 
 ledge. — My proposition is, that neither has this society, 
 in the works which it has circulated, been at all accustomed 
 to restrict regeneration to any thing, which takes place at 
 baptism. To ascertain the fact, I have looked into no more 
 than three of its tracts, each of which decisively proves my 
 assertion. 
 
 The first is the ' Directions for a devout and decent 
 
 * behaviour in the public worship of God,' which, it has 
 been already observed, point out the collect for Christmas- 
 day as ' a Prayer for Regeneration : ' directly contrary to 
 Dr. M.'s principle, that we are not to be * instructed to 
 
 * pray after baptism for regeneration.' This at least, was 
 the case, if 1 mistake not, with all editions of the tract up 
 to the year 1812.* 
 
 The next is, * An account of the beginnings and advances 
 
 * of a spiritual life,' which, though written by another 
 hand, has always accompanied Scougal's ' Life of God in 
 
 * the soul of man.' The two works were first introduced 
 to the world by Bishop Burnet, who wrote a preface to 
 them. My quotations are from * the fourteenth edition, 
 
 * carefully corrected,' and published by the society in 
 1801. In this tract, we find much concerning ^converted* 
 men, * the beginnings of conversion^' ' first awakenings^* 
 
 * the inward leadings of God's Spirit, perceived by us,' and 
 other matter, which might have been thought very enthu- 
 siastic, had it proceeded from a less unquestionable source 
 than the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge. But, 
 besides this, one section is expressly entitled, ' The be- 
 
 * GiNNiNGS OF REGENERATION.' Nor docs this, or, as far 
 
 * The history of the change may be seen, Christ. Ob. 1814, p. 293. 
 
 * The objection rested on the words' containing false doctrine, since we 
 < were regenerated in baptism only,' 
 
CHAP. X.] CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. 141 
 
 as I have observed, any contiguous part of the book, make 
 even an allusion to baptism ! On the contrary, the author, 
 having shewn ' the state of most young persons,' that too 
 many of them ' will not let ' themselves ' think seriously, 
 lest the impressions of their 'education return upon* 
 them : and others have ' nothing to think of, having never 
 had a right scheme of religion set before ' them : proceeds 
 as follows : ' But when God hath a purpose of love towards 
 any such, as are either lost in vice, or ruined in an insen- 
 sible neglect of God and divine things, he usually begins 
 to deal with them upon great and sudden emergencies, by 
 a sickness, some great and outward trouble, or the loss of 
 a dear friend, which have brought on melancholy ; and 
 perhaps sometimes upon the commission of some great 
 sin, that fills the conscience with horror : any of these 
 cases meeting with some serious good sermon, or the 
 converse of a sincerely pious and affectionately devout 
 person, or the reading of some good book, will often 
 occasion a great excitation of mind, to consider the con- 
 dition and danger such a person is in ; and though I deny 
 not but some are insensibly, and, by degrees, slowly 
 wrought to a change of heart and life, (and indeed there 
 are no rules to be given to the Almighty,) yet commonly 
 the change is notable in the first beginning ; a horror for 
 past sins, and sad apprehensions of the judgments of 
 God usually break in first.' 
 On this ' horror for past sins ' the next section is em- 
 ployed : and the author judiciously observes, ' that none 
 
 * are to measure their first regeneration, either by the 
 ' vehemence or by the continuance of their sorrow, but by 
 
 * the effects it produceth.' 
 
 And again, in a subsequent section, (p. 130,) he says, 
 'God does very often meet young converts with sensible joy 
 
 * in his ways . . . .and thus generally there is a strong fer- 
 ' vour about the beginning of regeneration. 
 
 .5 
 
14.2 iOCIETY FOR PROMOTIN(i [CHAP. X. 
 
 Now surely, it is not for a society which has been, 
 through a century past, thus teaching us to preach regene- 
 ration to baptized persons, and to professed Christians a 
 CONVERSION in many cases sensible, now to turn round, 
 and, through the medium of a book, which it has newly 
 taken up, to charge us with ' heresy,' and I know not 
 what * irreconcileable opposition to the unequivocal and 
 
 * numerous declarations ' of the church to which we belong: 
 merely because we have taught in conformity with the in- 
 structions which it had itself given us ! and, I must say, 
 have not often taught in language less measured than 4s 
 found in some parts of these extracts ! 
 
 Were we disposed to retahate, here is full scope for the 
 application of the resolve, 
 
 Dixerit insanum qui me, totidem audiet, atque 
 Respicere ignoto discet pendentia tergo.* 
 
 The last tract, to which I appeal, is * A Discourse con- 
 
 * cerning baptismal and spiritual Regeneration : by Samuel 
 « Bradford, D. D, then Rector of St. Mary-le-bow, Lon- 
 ' don ; and afterwards Lord Bishop of Rochester.' The 
 text is Titus iii. i> — 7, a passage which has already engaged 
 our attention. My copy is of the seventh edition, printed 
 for the society in 1810; with the following advertisement 
 prefixed. ' This seventh edition is published at a time, when 
 
 * it is hoped, that so judicious and scriptural a discourse 
 ' may be of service to settle the minds of good Christians, 
 
 * in some present disputes concerning baptismal and spiri- 
 
 * tual regeneration.' 
 
 Let us then hear the doctrine of this 'judicious and 
 ' scriptural discourse, for the settling of 07ir minds respect- 
 ' ing the present dispute.' The fourth general head is 
 
 * He that calls me fanatic shall hear as good in return, and be taught 
 to consider what hangs unobserved upon his own back ! 
 
CHAP. X.] CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, l^S 
 
 announced in these words : ' To shew that the ivashing of 
 ' regeneration may be separated from the renewing of the 
 
 * Holy Ghost ; and that if it be so, the end for which it is 
 
 * used, namely, our saluation^ cannot be obtained; the 
 ' latter being absolutely necessary in order to our being 
 
 * saved, in the complete sense of that word.' 
 
 Now I am well aware, that Dr. M. will be ready with 
 the demand, ' What is there in this contrary to my doc- 
 trine ? I contend, indeed, that spiritual regeneration 
 takes place exclusively at baptism ; but I distinctly admit, 
 that the subsequent " renewing of the Holy Ghost " is 
 necessary to the attainment of salvation.' And thus, it 
 may be thought, that the whole of what is to be adduced 
 from this discourse is obviated. But such is by no means 
 the case. For, though Dr. M. makes a broad distinction 
 between spiritual regeneration and " the renewing of the 
 " Holy Ghost," Bishop Bradford is to be added to the 
 number of those divines, who do no such thing. He inter- 
 prets his text precisely as I have proposed to do, and not 
 as Dr. M. does. He considers the two clauses, " the 
 " washing of regeneration," and " the renewing of the 
 ^' Holy Ghost," as ' exactly correspondent ' to our Lord's 
 expression " born of water and of the Spirit ; " * and 
 accordingly refers the former to ' the outward and visible 
 
 * sign of baptism,' and the latter to ' the inward and spi- 
 ' ritual grace.' With him, therefore, " the renewing of 
 " the Holy Ghost " and * spiritual regeneration ' are pre- 
 cisely the same thing, f 
 
 • P. 10, 11, and see above, p. 30. So likewise Bp. Beveridjie ou 
 this text. * By the washing with water as the sign of our regeneration, 
 ' and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost as the thing signified.' Work?, 
 vol. i. p. 304. 
 
 t Not further to encumber my text, I throw the following proofs of 
 this into a note. 
 
 Page 11, he says, that in John iii. 3, 5, * born, and born again, plainly 
 ' answer to regeneration in his text, as renter and the Spirit answer to 
 
Hi SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING [CHAP. X. 
 
 This being established, let us return to the fourth head 
 of the Bishop's discourse. The express object of it is to 
 show, ' that the washing of regeneration may be separated 
 
 * from the renewing of the Holy Ghost ; ' that is, as we 
 have proved, that baptism may be separated from spiritual 
 regeneration. Let it be observed, that his lordship does 
 not merely drop a casual expression or two of this ten- 
 dency, but that he sets himself to prove it, as a distinct pro- 
 position, and founds upon it a whole head of his sermon. 
 He elsewhere thus expresses his meaning : * that external 
 ' regeneration, if not accompanied with the internal, will 
 
 * not avail us to the end for which it is designed.' * And, 
 in confirming his proposition, he reasons thus : Though the 
 apostles speak of ' the visible members of the church of 
 
 * Christ under such appellations and expressions as may 
 
 * seem at first hearing to imply, that they are all of them 
 
 * truly righteous and holy persons,' yet ' it is too evident, 
 i from divers passages in their writings, and experience has 
 ' confirmed to us the same thing, that both in their times 
 ' and ever since, there have been many who have enjoyed 
 
 * the washing of regeneration, and the reneroing of the Holy Ghost,* 
 " Born of the Spirit" is, therefore, being " renewed by the Holy 
 « Ghost." 
 
 Again, in the ^ame page, * Regeneration ... is frequently applied to 
 
 * baptism ; ' it also " particularly denotes the renewing of the mind by 
 
 * the divine Spirit.' 
 
 P. 22, 23. Hedefines " the renewing of the Holy Ghost " ' an altera- 
 < tion of the temper of our spirit, effected by the power of the divine 
 ' Spirit.' It is the same, he says, with " giving men a new heart and 
 " a new Spirit: with " God's putting his Spirit within them, and causing 
 " them to walk in his statutes : " with " being spiritually minded," and 
 " transformed by the renewing of the mind : " with putting on the new 
 " man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him who cre- 
 " ated him." And then, having quoted these and some other scriptures, 
 lie adds : ' Finally, this is what our Lord himself means, in his discoure 
 
 * with Nicodemus, by being born of the Spirit^ as well a» of tcattx* 
 
 * P. 11. 
 
CHAP. X.] CHRISTIAk KNOWLEDGE. 145 
 
 * the ivashing of regeneration, whose tempers and manners 
 ' have demonstrated that they were not also renewed by the 
 
 * Holy Ghost,' that is, in his sense of the words, were not 
 " born again of the Spirit." ' Simon Magus,' he adds, 
 ' was a notorious instance to this purpose, who, though the 
 < text tells us that he believed and was baptized ; yet was 
 f soon after told by St. Peter, that lie had iieither part iwr 
 
 * lot in that matter, namely, the gift of the Holy Ghost,'* 
 
 &c. 
 
 Exactly after the manner of our church articles, but in 
 
 a style very different from that of Dr. M., he insists upon 
 
 * the right use,' and not merely the right administration ' 
 of the sacraments, in order to their proper effect. Baptism 
 
 * becomes to us a means whereby we are saved,' as for 
 other reasons, so ' as it is, in the right use of it, a means of 
 
 * obtaining those blessings which it represents.'! And again, 
 ' All the institutions of Christianity are represented as so 
 ' many means, in the use of which the divine Spirit will be 
 
 * certainly communicated, if we use tJiem aright : which is 
 
 * the true reason,' he adds, ' why baptism and the gift of 
 ' the Spirit are so frequently joined together, as if they 
 
 * were inseparable, as here in my text,' in John. iii. and in 
 Acts ii. 38, 39. X ^ ^s if they were inseparable,' he says, 
 evidently implying that they are not really so. 
 
 * Nor can it be otherwise conceived,' he observes again, 
 
 * that God should accept of men only upon account of their 
 
 * having complied with some external and rituaj institu- 
 . * tions, whilst they had no regard to the design of them. 
 
 * The institutions of Christ do not work like charms : but, 
 
 * being appointed to be used by reasonable creatures, there 
 
 * is a disposition of mind in the person using them, neces- 
 ' sary to the rendering them effectual.' § 
 
 Under the fifth and last head of his discourse, he proceeds, 
 
 * P. 37,38. t P- 13, 14. J p. 19. § P. 39. 
 
 L 
 
146 SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING [CHAP. X. 
 
 therefore, * to inquire, How those persons, who have had 
 
 * the washing of regeneration, but are not yet renewed by tlie 
 
 * Holy Ghost, may attain to this renovation : ' that is, ac- 
 cording to what we have demonstrated to be, in his view of 
 things, synonymous language. How they who have received 
 
 * external regeneration,' but are strangers to ' the internal,* 
 may become ' spiritually regenerate.' And this he does, 
 because he says, * it is to be feared, nay, it is evident, that 
 
 * many ' are in this case.* 
 
 "We have here, then, a spectacle presented to us, which 
 demands the very serious consideration of the members of 
 the society at large, and of the heads of our church in par- 
 ticular. Up to the year 1810, or 1812, and perhaps later, 
 the Society for joromoting Christian Knowledge circulates 
 throughout the kingdom, under the high sanction of its pa- 
 tronage, works which teach us, that baptism is by no means 
 inseparably connected with spiritual regeneration ; which 
 admonish us, therefore, notwithstanding our baptism, to 
 look to ourselves, lest, after all, we be not " born again of 
 ** the Spirit," and * to pray for regeneration ; ' which 
 describe to us * the beginnings of regeneration and conver- 
 
 * sion,' and point out to us how we are to proceed in order 
 to obtain spiritual regeneration, if we be yet strangers to 
 it : — the society circulates tracts containing these sentiments, 
 as * judicious and scriptural,* and suited, in the year 1810, 
 to * settle the minds of good Christians in some present 
 
 * disputes concerning baptismal and spiritual regeneration ; ' 
 and then, in 1815, it adopts and circulates, under the same 
 authority, tracts which teach, that ' by baptism exclusively * 
 is spiritual regeneration conveyed ; that * no other than 
 
 * baptismal regeneration is possible in this world ; ' that to 
 suppose baptism separated from spiritual regeneration is 
 
 • P. 41, 43. 
 
CHAP. X.] CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. l^V 
 
 * to Strip it of its sacramental character/ to deny its inward 
 and spiritual grace, — is ' heresy ' — is, ' in some sense, doing 
 
 * despite to the Spirit of grace ! ' Surely there is much here 
 to unsettle ' the minds of good Christians ! ' Surely, I 
 cannot but add, there must be some great mismanagement 
 at the helm ! Can one forbear saying. Here is a noble 
 vessel, ample in her dimensions, firmly built, well found 
 with all manner of stores, capable of great service : to 
 whom is it owing, that she has been left thus to float to and 
 fro on the face of the deep, without a certain destination.* 
 
 • See Note XXIV. at the end. 
 
 12 
 
'-^■i .: us 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 That, by Dr. Manfs own concession, every adult pei'son, * re- 
 * ceiving baptism rightly,' is regenerate before he is bap' 
 tized. 
 
 Dr. M. admits, that being « born of God" is the 
 same thing as being " regenerated." * On the ground 
 of this admission, which, indeed, seems to be unavoida- 
 ble, I undertake to prove the proposition at the head of 
 this chapter : and that, independently of any peculiar no- 
 tions which I may be supposed to entertain of regenera- 
 tion. And my proof is very short and simple. It is as 
 follows. 
 
 We are justly taught by our church, that, in order to 
 the right reception of baptism, by a person come to years 
 of discretion, repentance and faith are necessary, t 
 
 Now St. John assures us, (I Ep. v. 1.) that " whosoever 
 *' believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born," yeyewriTat, has 
 been born, " of God." 
 
 Hence it inevitably follows, that every grown person 
 who, ' by faith and rightly, receives ' baptism, has been 
 previously " born of God," or regenerated. He must 
 have been so, before that faith could exist in his mind, 
 without which baptism could not be rightly received. X 
 
 Nor is this taking an unfair advantage of a casual ex- 
 pression. Indeed I can form no idea of casual, or, in other 
 
 • P. 35, 44. 
 
 f See Catechism, and Art. xxv. xxvi. xxvii. and compare Mark xvi. 
 16. Acts ii. 38. viii. 37, &c. &c. 
 X See Appendix, Note XXV. 
 
CHAP. XI.] DR. M.'S CONCESSION, AND 1 JOHN V. I. 149 
 
 words, of incautious expressions in inspired writings.* But 
 independently of that consideration, I take it to be the ge- 
 neral and established doctrine of scripture, that true faith 
 is, in all cases, the effect of the regenerating influence of 
 the Spirit of God upon the mind. 
 
 And accordingly it will have been observed, that many 
 pf the eminent writers, quoted in the foregoing chapter, ex- 
 pressly admit the priority of regeneration to baptism, at 
 least in its commencement : and, in particular, the great 
 champion of our church avows, both that a man may ' re- 
 
 * ceive grace before baptism,' and that ' it is on all parts 
 
 * gladly confessed, that there may be in divers cases life by 
 
 * virtue of inward baptism, even where outward is not 
 
 * found.'! 
 
 But if spiritual regeneration have, in many cases, com- 
 menced, at least, before baptism, how is it pretended, that 
 
 * by baptism exclusively ' is regeneration conveyed, and 
 that * no other than baptismal regeneration is possible in 
 
 * this world ? ' 
 
 I claim no merit of novelty for this argument. It has 
 been often urged before ; and I shall here repeat it from a 
 work to which frequent reference has been already made. 
 
 * Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is bom of 
 
 * God ; and every one that loveth him that begat, loveth him 
 
 * also that is begotten of him. Now if every true believer 
 
 * in Christ has been born of God, and if none, as adults, 
 ' are properly admissible to baptism, except those who pro- 
 
 * It is a valuable observation of Dr. Doddridge's on our Saviour's ar- 
 gument from David, by the Holy Ghost, calling the Messiah his Lord, 
 that he ' always takes it for granted, in his arguments vs'ith the Jews, 
 
 * that the writers of the Old Testament were under such an extraordi- 
 
 * nary guidance of the Holy Spirit as to express themselves with the 
 
 * strictest propriety on all occasions.' On Matt. ix. 45. 
 
 t Eccles. Pol. b. v. § CO. Vol. ii. p. 247, 230, Oxf. Ed.— See further 
 authorities, Appendix, Note XXV. 
 
150 DR. M/S concession, and 1 JOHN V. 1. [CHA*. XI. 
 
 * fess faith in Christ ; and none, as adults, receive baptism 
 < aright, except true believers ; then it inevitably follows, 
 ' that all ' such persons * in the primitive church, and all 
 
 * in every age, who rightly have received baptism, have 
 
 * been previously born of God. He that believeth, and is 
 
 * baptized, shall be saved. — IVhat doth hinder me to be bap- 
 ' tized ? If thou believest with all thy hearty thou mayest : 
 
 * and he ansivered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the 
 
 * son of God : — and he baptized him. Is it not clear, from 
 « the apostle's assertion, Every one that believeth that Jesus 
 ' is the Christ, has been born of God, that regeneration 
 ' preceded baptism, in respect of this Ethiopian? And is 
 ' it not equally clear, that it does so, in the case of all, 
 ' who receive baptism, on a sincere profession of faith in 
 ' the Lord Jesus ? How then can baptism be regeneration ; 
 ' or be uniformly connected with it ? '* 
 
 * Scott's Remarks, &c. vol. i. p. 199. 
 
151 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 On the importance of the question at issue, and the practical 
 tendency 'of Dr. Mant's doctrine. — The author's conclu- 
 sions concerning the effect of baptism. 
 
 Considering how far Dr. M. sometimes carries his 
 concessions, concerning * the privileges of the new birth 
 
 * being forfeited ' by those who do not ' grow up in faith 
 
 * and obedience ; ' * and concerning the necessity of a 
 change of heart and character in ' every one who is satis- 
 
 * fied with mere nominal Christianity, or with any thing 
 
 * short of true Christian holiness of heart and life ; 'f some 
 may be ready to conclude, that we are at issue chiefly about 
 the meaning and use of a word. I cannot, however, admit 
 that this is the case ; nor will Dr. M. himself admit it. J 
 
 We have seen that he considers all, to whom baptism is 
 
 * rightly administered,' as having * a new principle put 
 
 * into them,' even * the Spirit of grace,' which ' makes 
 
 * them heirs of salvation,' and ' entitles them to eternal 
 
 * life.' And he is so far, at least, a believer in ' indefectible 
 
 * grace,' as to hold, that what is thus given can never be 
 withdrawn, and need to be communicated anew ; § though 
 
 * the privileges ' attached to it may be ' forfeited.' 
 
 But this is not all. Simply on the ground of their bap- 
 tism, he applies, to professed Christians, at large, scrip- 
 tural terms, expressive, one would imagine, of the highest 
 and most spiritual privileges. He speaks of them, without 
 
 * P. 11, 20, 46, 47. t p. 60, 65, 23. 
 
 X See p. 48. § P. 49. 
 
152 ANTINOxMIAN TENDENCY [CHAP. XII, 
 
 limitation, as entitled to ' be filled with all jay and peace in 
 
 * believing that they partake ' of the ' new birth.' * He 
 contends, that such language as that of St. Peter, " Blessed 
 " be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, 
 *' according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again 
 " unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
 " from the dead ; " and that, again, of St. John, " Be- 
 " loved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet 
 " appear what we shall be ; but we know that, when he 
 *' shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him 
 *' as he is ; " was applied to the ' immense societies of 
 
 * Christians, scattered throughout the East,' solely on this 
 ground, that ' their regeneration was the effect of an ordi- 
 
 * nance, (baptism,) of which all Christians in general par- 
 
 * take.' f Consequently these passages must be applicable 
 to all baptized persons now. He puts into the mouth of a 
 supposed character, of whose moral habits not a word is 
 said by way of qualification, the following language, as 
 what he might without impropriety employ, in describing 
 the views he had been taught to entertain of his own situ- 
 ation : * When an infant, I was baptized according to the 
 
 * order of the national church : and the minister pronoun- 
 
 * ced, by her directions, that I was regenerated by the 
 ' Holy Spirit, and received by our most merciful Father as 
 
 * his own child by adoption. As soon as I was able to learn, 
 
 * I was taught what a great blessing was then con- 
 
 * ferred upon me ; and that by having been admitted to 
 
 * baptism, I had been made the child of God, and had un- 
 
 * dergone a death unto sin and a new birth unto right- 
 
 * eousness. When I had been sufficiently instructed to be 
 
 * confirmed by the bishop, I heard from him a repetition 
 ' of the comfortable assurance, that God had vouchsafed 
 
 * P. 24. t P. 35. 
 
PHAP. XII.] OF DR. MANT's TENETS, 153 
 
 ' to regenerate me by water and the Holy Ghost, and to 
 
 * give me forgiveness of all my sins.* And I have since 
 ^ periodically joined with my brother Christians, in making 
 
 * our grateful acknowledgments to Almighty God, for being 
 
 * regenerate and made his children by adoption and grace.' f 
 He goes on to suppose such a person, concerning whose clia^ 
 racier, dispositions^ and conduct, he has not given a single- 
 ijitimation, to have been authorized by the church to con- 
 sider himself as ' a Christian,' ' a child of God,' and * in 
 
 * the way of salvation.' In another place he also affirms, 
 that to suppose ' in every Christian congregation two sorts 
 
 * of people, some that know Christ, and some that do not 
 
 * It will be observed, that all this is here rehearsed without one word 
 of the vows and professions which precede it, and are mixed up with it, 
 as it stands in the services of the chui-ch. Thus torn from its connection 
 and dependencies, it no longer represents the doctrine of the church, 
 however it may convey Dr. M.'s sentiments. — Can any thing be more 
 direct antinomianism than to assure a person * now come to the years 
 
 * of discretion,' merely on the ground of his baptism, received in in-: 
 fancy, that God ' hath giveii him forgiveness of all his sins ? ' Not 
 merely did forgive him his ' original sin ' at baptism, but hath forgiven 
 him all his sins up to the present time ! This might be a very * comfor- 
 
 * table assurance,' but is it so certain, that it would be very safe, either 
 to the giver or the receiver } 
 
 f P. 49. Dr. M. supposes his imagined character, having been subse- 
 quently ' seduced from the words of truth and soberness ' by the preach- 
 ers of ' the modern new birth,' to proceed : ' What can I think of such 
 
 * a church i* Can I regard her as a pillar and ground of the truth ? Can 
 
 * I reverence her, who so grossly deluded me by a visionary regeneration, 
 
 * and threw an impenetrable veil over that which alone is effectual ? 
 ' who taught me to think that I was in the way of salvation, when I had 
 
 * not yet passed the threshold ? who made me believe I was a child of God, 
 
 * when I was still a child of the devil? who treated me as a Christian, 
 
 * when I was nothing but a baptized heathen?' The answer to here- 
 turned to a person, declaiming in this way, is very obvious. It is no 
 other than this : ' Sir, you have entirely misunderstood the church, by 
 
 * adopting Dr. Mant's interpretation of her formularies, instead of stu- 
 
 * dying her articles, her homilies, and the whole of her liturgy taken to- 
 < gether.' 
 
154 ANTINOMIAN TENDENCY [CHAP. XIl. 
 
 * know him ; some that are converted, and some that are 
 
 * strangers to conversion ; ' is * a conceit which revelation 
 ' warrants not, and which reason and experience disclaim.'* 
 
 Our succeeding chapter (which will be employed on Dr. 
 M.'s second tract, on conversion,) will bring further evi- 
 dence of this kind before us. But already, I apprehend, 
 enough has been adduced to evince, that it is no mere dis- 
 pute of words in which we are engaged. With Dr. M. I 
 exclaim, ' Far indeed, very far from it ! ' f I take my stand, 
 in this entire argument, as pleading the cause of holiness and 
 practical religion, against an error which threatens the sub- 
 version of both. I contend, if not against " a faith without 
 *' works," yet against a regeneration without effects. 
 Very seldom, I fear, is the regeneration, of which we now 
 hear so much, seen to exert any salutary influence on the 
 heart and life : :]: but whether it do or not, men, it seems, 
 are to be taught to place great practical reliance upon it. 
 Yet what can be more gross antinomianism, than to rely 
 upon a religious distinction, which is unaccompanied with 
 the purification of the heart and conduct ? 
 
 But shall I be told that Dr. M. pleads for no such thing? 
 With his intentions I have nothing to do: but for what he has 
 in fact done, I appeal to all which I have just cited from him. 
 He authorizes a man, merely on the ground of his baptism, 
 and without a single supposition inserted concerning his pre- 
 sent conduct, to consider himself as ' having been made a 
 
 * child of God, and having undergone a death unto sin, 
 ' and a new birth unto righteousness : ' as ' having heard 
 
 * the comfortable assurance, that God had vouchsafed to re- 
 
 * generate him by water and the Holy Ghost, and to give 
 z^him forgiveness of all his sins:' and as warranted to * be 
 
 * filled with all joy and peace in believing that he partakes * 
 
 * P. 60, 61, 63. t P- 48. 
 
 X < We admit the fact/ Archdeacon Daubeny here says, * and lament 
 <it.' 
 
 2 
 
C»AP. XII.] OP I>R* MANt's TENETS. 155 
 
 of that change, * of which our Saviour speaks in such lofty 
 « language ' in the third chapter of St. John. And I cannot 
 consider his doctrine otherwise than as having a strong and 
 direct tendency, to encoui'age men to take all this * com- 
 ' fortable assurance ' to themselves, not hypothetically, — 
 certain suppositions being made concerning their character 
 and conduct, — as our church allows them to do, but uncon- 
 ditionally and unreservedly. 
 
 I appeal, yet further, to other passages of his work. 
 Baptismal regeneration, he says, ' makes us heirs of sal- 
 
 * vation,' and ' entitles us to eternal life.' * We argue for 
 
 * baptism being the vehicle of regeneration, because it is 
 
 * THE VEHICLE OF SALVATION.' * Not Only SO : withoUt 
 
 one exception or limitation, he says of baptism, ' ordained 
 
 * as it was by Christ himself, with a promise of SAL- 
 
 * VATION ANNEXED TO ITS LEGITIMATE ADMINISTRA- 
 
 * TiON.'f Christ's promises are all sure, and indubitably 
 true : not one of them shall fail of being fulfilled in its 
 season. If, therefore, he has ' annexed a promise of sal- 
 
 * vation,* (which is not merely the commencement, but 
 the great and final consummation of our hopes,) to the 
 
 * legitimate administration of baptism,' then all who have 
 been ' legitimately baptized ' must infallibly be saved. — I 
 know that Dr. M. does not own such a conclusion : :{: but 
 tvill not his words teach men to draw it ? and does it not 
 unavoidably follow from them ? — One would surely have 
 thought it impossible, for a learned protestant divine, in 
 the nineteenth century, delivering theological lectures in 
 one of the first universities in Christendom, to use language, 
 so unmeasured, and so unwarrantable ! and still more so, for 
 a society, which may almost boast itself The Society of the 
 Church of England, to adopt the lecture, and circulate it 
 
 • P. 35. t P. 51. X p. 21. 
 
156 ANTINOMIAN TENDENCY '[^HAP. XII, 
 
 through the kingdom, * to convey correct notions ' to * the 
 
 * community at large ! ' * , -■. * 
 
 To treat the subject with unmixed seriousness. Should 
 such doctrines as these come to be prevalent ; should they 
 be at all generally heard from our pulpits ; should they be 
 embraced by * the community at large ; ' it would be in vain 
 for us to think of counteracting their antinomian ten- 
 dency, by a few cautions against forfeiting * the privileges* 
 of that regenerate state, which, it would appear, is itself so 
 irrevocable, that no further regeneration is ' necessary, or 
 
 * expedient, or possible.' f A speculative man may try to 
 persuade himself that Dr. M.'s restrictions of this kind ren- 
 der his doctrine harmless ; but the great practical question 
 is, How will it impress the mass of ' the community,* 
 among whom it is to be disseminated ? For a time his cau-s 
 lions and limitations may seem to bear some tolerable pro- 
 portion to his broad positions of a contrary nature : be- 
 cause the former fall in with all that we have been used to, 
 and with the suggestions of that conscience, which God has 
 implanted in the breast of man : while we hesitate at the 
 latter as novel, and almost incredible ; and conclude that 
 they are to be received in a qualified sense, even where it 
 is not so expressed. There may have been health enough 
 infused into the constitution from other sources, to enable it 
 to resist the poison for a time. But, in the lapse of a few 
 years, if such instructions become common, the case will 
 be altered. The cautions and limitations will gradually fall 
 into oblivion, while the broad assertions, and obvious but 
 dangerous inferences from them, may be expected to fix 
 
 * It is to be recollected, that seldom can those persons, who occupy 
 high stations in such societies, take a very active part in the proceedings. 
 Generally the business is transacted by a few individuals, T^ho happen to 
 be on the spot, f Mant, p. 49. 
 
CHAP. XII.] OF DR. MANt's TENETS. 157 
 
 themselves in the memory, to become principles in the 
 heart, to govern the hfe, and, consequently^ to ruin the 
 
 ml* ' 
 
 And it is not only from Dr. M.'s writings that such dan- 
 ger is to be apprehended. In another work, to give all 
 possible effect to which no pains have been spared, we meet 
 with such statements as follow : ' Those who are baptized 
 are immediately translated from the curse of Adam to the 
 grace of Christ ; the original guilt which they brought 
 into the world is mystically washed away ; and they re- 
 ceive forgiveness of the actual sins which they may them- 
 selves have committed ; they become reconciled to God, 
 * partakers of the Holy Ghost, and heirs of eternal hap- 
 piness; they acquire a new name, a new hope, a new 
 faith, a new rule of life. This great and wonderful 
 change in the condition of man is as it were a new nature, 
 a new state of existence ; and the holy rite, by which 
 these invaluable blessings are communicated, is by St. 
 Paul figuratively called regeneration, or new-birth. Many 
 similar phrases occur in the New Testament, such as 
 b(ym of water and of the Spirit; begotten again unto a lively 
 hope; dead in sins, and quickened together tvith Christ ; 
 biiried with Christ in baptism ; born again, not of corrupti^ 
 ble seed, but of incorruptible : these expressions all re- 
 late to a single act once performed upon every indivi- 
 dual — an act essential to the character of a Christian, 
 and of such importance, that it is declared to be instru- 
 mental to our salvation.' * 
 What is the tendency of such doctrine as this ? What, 
 but to reduce the scriptures to a mere caput mortuum, — a 
 dead, inefficient mass ? to strip them of whatever in their 
 contents was most suited to arrest the attention, to awaken 
 
 * Refutation of Calvinism, p. 83, 84. 
 
158 APPEAL TO FACTS. [CHAP. XII. 
 
 tlie conscience, to interest the feelings, to stimulate the 
 hopes and fears of mankind. Not one important passage 
 only,* but numberless passages, which the Christian world 
 has been used to consider as most solemnly descriptive of 
 the character and condition of those, who are in the way 
 to be saved, as contradistinguished to those who are yet 
 " dead in their sins," are henceforth, it seems, to be un- 
 derstood of nothing but what is common to us all ! They 
 
 * ALL RELATE to a single act once performed upon every 
 
 * individual,' namely, at his baptism ! 
 
 All these high things, be it observed, are said to be ef- 
 fected not only upon infants, when they are baptized, but 
 upon any person receiving baptism ; as is manifest (if proof 
 were necessary,) from the clause, ' they receive forgiveness 
 ' of the actual sins which they may themselves have com- 
 ' raitted.' Yet not a word is said of the necessity of * re- 
 ' pentance and faith ' accompanying the reception of this 
 sacrament 1 
 
 But how is it possible, that the promulgators of such 
 doctrines can fail to be struck with a consideration of the 
 following kind ? In the country, in which we live, though 
 the great majority are baptized in their infancy, yet there 
 is a competent number of persons who are not. We have 
 many quakers, and many anti-paedobaptists among us, whose 
 children uniformly grow up without baptism. Now as baptism 
 makes so ' great and wonderful a change ' in those who 
 receive it, that they ' are immediately translated from the 
 
 * curse of Adam to the grace of Christ; . . . .become recon- 
 
 * ciled to God, partakers of the Holy Ghost, and heirs of 
 
 * eternal happiness ; acquire a new name, a new hope, a 
 
 * new faith, a new rule of hfe,' nay * a new nature, a new 
 
 * state of existence : ' we may naturally expect to trace a 
 
 ♦ John iii. 
 
CHAP. XII.] APPEAL TO FACTS. 159 
 
 striking practical difference, as they grow up, between the 
 mass of those young persons who have been baptized in their 
 infancy, and those who have not. We may expect to see 
 the former class, if not uniformly, yet very commonly, 
 make it manifest, by the virtues of " the new man," that 
 they are in * the grace of Christ, partakers of the Holy 
 
 * Ghost,' possessed of ' a new nature, heirs of eternal hap- 
 
 * piness.' The latter, (awful spectacle ! ) it may be antici- 
 pated, will uniformly, or almost uniformly, shew them- 
 selves, by the prevalence of wicked tempers and habits, to 
 be under ' the curse, unreconciled to God,' destitute of 
 
 * the Holy Spirit,' and of ' the hope, the faith, the new 
 ' state of existence,' which characterize the others. 
 
 But now, in point of fact, is any such striking difference 
 of character to be generally or frequently traced between 
 our children, who are baptized, and those children of dis- 
 senters, who grow up without baptism ? Does any marked 
 distinction between them appear, which we are warranted 
 to ascribe to the enjoyment of baptism among one party, 
 or the want of it in the other ? Or is it consistent with the 
 avowed principles of scripture to believe, that, among a 
 number of persons, -some are " children of wrath," and 
 the others * children of grace,' and ' heirs of eternal hap- 
 
 * piness,' while no perceptible difference can be pointed out 
 in their spirit and character? Is this agreeable to the maxim, 
 " In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, 
 " nor uncircumcision, but a new creature," — but " faith 
 *• which worketh by love ? " Is this exhibiting God as 
 " no respecter of persons ? " Or rather is not this falling 
 precisely into the errors which proved fatal to the Jews ? * 
 
 * The observation may possibly have reached Dr. M.'s ears, that his 
 doctrine respecting one sacrament a good deal resembles that of the pa- 
 pists respecting the other, or indeed respecting both. And the grounds 
 of this observation may now appear. They are twofold. First, as tran- 
 substantiation requires us to believe contrary to the evidence of our 
 
160 FALSE CONFIDENdE. [cMAP. TLIU 
 
 To extinguish all true and spiritual * religion amongst 
 us ; to reduce Christianity to a system of external distinc- 
 tions : and to substitute for its humble, holy, vital spirit, 
 that compound of self-righteous pride and antinomian li- 
 centiousness, which characterized the Jewish church, in its 
 last and worst days; is, to my apprehension, the direct 
 tendency of such doctrines as we are contemplating. 
 
 - The Jewish church, — let me impress the sentiment upon 
 the members of an estabhshment, whose welfare I have 
 deeply at heart, — the Jewish church stands a beacon to 
 warn us against the fatal tendency of a false confidence, 
 like that which these doctrines tend to generate in us. The 
 Jews were ever ready to exclaim, " The temple of the Lord, 
 
 senses, so this doctrine, concerning ' the great and wonderful change ' 
 produced in the very ' nature ' of those who are baptized, requires us to 
 behave contrary to experience : and in both cases, the demand seems to 
 be made upon us equally without authority of scripture. Take two 
 pieces of the wafer, the one consecrated, the other not. Examine them : 
 you find no difference : yet you are to believe that one is bread, the other 
 flesh and blood ! In like manner, take two young persons, one baptized, 
 the other not: you catechize, and you observe them : you find, it is very 
 likely, no diiference in their knowledge, their spirit, their conduct : yet 
 you are to believe the one ' transferred from the curse of Adam to the 
 * grace of Christ — reconciled to God — of a new nature;' for he is bap- 
 tized : the other, the reverse of all this ; for he is unbaptized ! — The se- 
 cond ground is, that, if this doctrine be thoroughly received, we, who 
 bear the priestly office, certainly need not despair of regaining that su- 
 preme influence, which was possessed by our predecessors, before iheir 
 power to open or shut the kingdom of heaven at pleasure, by giving or 
 withholding the sacraments, fell into discredit. 
 
 It is, further, natural to remark, that, if it be in the power of bap- 
 tism to do so much for us, as the last and some other quotations repre- 
 sent, it is surely to be regretted that the practice, once prevalent, has not 
 been retained, of deferring baptism till the very article of death, that 
 the receiver of such inestimable benefits may not be allowed the oppor- 
 tunity of forfeiting them again ! See Appendix, Note XXVI. 
 
 * John iv. 23, 24. 
 
CHAP. XII.] OF THE JEWS. 161 
 
 " the temple of the Lord " are we ! ' We are the church, 
 the true church of God, his children, and the exclusive 
 heirs of his kingdom ! ' They confided in being " the 
 " descendents of Abraham," admitted into covenant with 
 God by circumcision, as we are by baptism. In this con- 
 fidence they esteemed themselves secure ; and fell into the ne- 
 glect of that " righteousness and true holiness," to which all 
 their privileges and distinctions were intended to lead them. 
 
 Against such false confidence their prophets of old had 
 frequently warned them. But when the forerunner of the 
 Messiah, and when, shortly after, the Messiah himself and 
 his apostles appeared, they, with united voice, exerted all 
 their energies against it. " Repent ye," they exclaimed, 
 " for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Bring forth fruits 
 " meet for repentance, and think not to say within your- 
 " selves, We have Abraham to our father ; for I say unto 
 " you, that God is able even of these stones to raise up 
 " children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid 
 " unto the root of the trees ; therefore every tree which 
 " bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into 
 *' the fire." " There cometh one after me," cried the 
 holy Baptist, " who is mightier than I, whose fan is in his 
 " hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather 
 " the wheat into his garner, but he will burn up the chaff 
 *' with unquenchable fire." *' I say unto you," proclaimed 
 our blessed Lord himself, " that many shall come from the 
 " east, and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and 
 " Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven : but the 
 " CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM " — thosc wlio arrogated to 
 themselves this character, while strangers to the dispositions 
 and conduct which might justify their pretensions — " shall 
 " be cast into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and 
 " gnashing of teeth." * 
 
 The discourse to Nicodemus is in the same strain. In 
 
 * See Matt. iii. jind viii. 
 M 
 
162 CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING [CHAP. XII. 
 
 opposition to the Jewish confidence in a lineal descent fi'om 
 Abraham, it declares, that Jews as well as gentiles must be 
 " born again," or they could never see the kingdom of God. 
 
 And, to name no more, St. Paul, in the epistle to' the 
 Romans, lays down the principle, that " not all are Israel 
 " which are of Israel : " and proclaims, in language, to 
 which we have on a former occasion bespoken attention, 
 " He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that 
 " circumcision which is outward in the flesh : but he is a 
 " Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of 
 " the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose 
 " praise is not of men, but of God." * And, as he had 
 lived to witness the fatal consequences of his countrymen's 
 neglecting all the warnings which had been given them, 
 and persisting in their errors, to the rejection of him who 
 would have redeemed them, he most passionately deplores 
 the event, declaring himself ready to have endured any 
 evils which might have been a means of preventing it. 
 
 Far be it from me to insinuate that Dr. M. would will- 
 ingly produce a false confidence, and an unrighteousness of 
 life, like those of the Jews : I believe the very contrary : 
 and I forget not the cautions which he puts in against such 
 a construction. But I am not concerned with his intentions, 
 but, in the first place, with the foundation which there may 
 be for his doctrine in scripture; and, that having been 
 shewn to be none at all, with its tendency, and the practical 
 effects which are likely to flow from its prevalence amongst 
 us : and these 1 do solemnly apprehend to be of the worst 
 possible kind, f 
 
 Before we finally quit the consideration of baptism and 
 its effects, it may, perhaps, be expected, that I should state, 
 
 * Rom. ii. ix. &c. f See Appendix, Note XXVII. 
 
CHAP. XII.] THE EFFECT OF BAPTISM. 163 
 
 what is the result of my inquiries, and what the conclusions 
 I come to upon the subject. And this I will do for my own 
 satisfaction, as well as that of the reader. 
 
 With respect to persons come to years of discretion, 
 
 1. I fully concur with Bishop Burnet, that the external 
 act of baptism, apart from light dispositions in the receiver, 
 does no more than admit to external privileges. God may, 
 indeed, make the administration of baptism the means of 
 *' quickening the soul," that came to it " dead in trespasses 
 " and sins : " but this is a more sudden conversion than we 
 are in ordinary cases warranted to expect. 
 
 2. In those who ' receive baptism rightly,' I believe, 
 with our twenty-seventh article, the inward blessing com- 
 municated to them to be ' the confirmation of faith, and 
 
 * increase of grace' already received. Regeneration, if 
 confined to the sense of the Jirst infusion of ' a new 
 
 * principle of life and of action,' * or, as Hooker's words 
 are, ' the first disposition towards future newness of life,' 
 cannot be received by these persons in baptism, for they 
 already have it before they are baptized. They are parta- 
 kers of ' repentance and faith,' and consequently possess 
 the grace of God before they come. All they need is, to 
 have these spiritual graces confirmed and increased : ' which 
 they may confidently expect in this sacrament, * by virtue 
 ' of prayer unto God.' 
 
 And with this latitude it is both natural and necessary to 
 understand ' the death unto sin and new birth unto riffht- 
 
 * eousness,' mentioned in the catechism as ' the inward and 
 spiritual grace ' of which baptism is * a means,' as well as 
 
 * a sign and a pledge.' There is no need to confine the 
 terms to the very first communication of grace to the soul : f 
 and to suppose them so confined in this place, would' be to 
 contradict both the article, which assumes ' grace ' to have 
 
 * Mant. f See Appendix, Note II. 
 
 M 2 
 
li}4f CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING J[CHAP. XII. 
 
 been previously given ; and the preceding sentences of the 
 catechism, which require ' repentance and faith ' in persons 
 to be baptized. — Accordingly the exhortation after baptism 
 inculcates, as a duty inaimbent throughout life, upon all of 
 ' us who are baptized,' this very thing which the catechism 
 describes as ^ the inward and spiritual grace of baptism/ 
 that we should ' die from sin, and rise again unto right- 
 
 * eousness.' 
 
 i add, finther^ that, as the article most properly states, 
 persons receiving baptism rightly have ' the promises of 
 
 * forgiveness of sin> and of their adoption to be the sons 
 ' of God by the Holy Ghost, thereby visibly signed and 
 < sealed : ' all which must greatly conduce to their comfort 
 and the confirmation of their faith. — As internal sanctifica- 
 tion is the real seal and attestation of our acceptance with 
 God ; so baptism, which represents sanctification, is the 
 outward and visible attestation of it, which is given by 
 the church, and ratified in heaven when given to a proper 
 subject.* 
 
 3. With respect to infants : baptism admits them into the 
 visible church, and so fkris certainly a relative sanctification 
 or regeneration of them. But, as to their regeneration in 
 a higher sense of the word, this, like that of adults, can be 
 declared of them only hypothetically. In the one case, 
 sincerity in the professions made, and, in the other, the 
 anticipated fulfilment of their baptismal vows, as they be- 
 come capable of fulfilling them, must be assumed, as the 
 basis of the declaration. The event of their conduct must 
 determine, both in one case and the other, whether the 
 persons baptized have received ' the sanctification of the 
 
 * So, under the old dispensation, circumcision represented the mortifi- 
 cation of sin, or sanctification; but it was " the seal of the righteousness 
 " of faith," that is, of justification. Rom. iv. 11. 
 
 The xxviith of our Church Articles treats the whole subject in a very 
 explicit and accurate manner. See Appendix, Note XXVIII. 
 
CHAP. XII.] THE EFFECT OF BAPTISM. 165 
 
 * Spirit ' — ' a new principle of life and of action ' — or 
 not* 
 
 I have occasionally spoken not merely of the fulfilment 
 of their baptismal vows being expected and anticipated, but 
 of a disposition, which shall lead them, as they become 
 competent to do it, to fulfil those vows, being even now 
 supposed to exist in infants, when they are pronounced re- 
 generate. That they are capable, even in infancy, of re- 
 ceiving from almighty God such a disposition, seems to me 
 as clear, as that they may and do, by nature, possess a 
 contrary disposition. And that he may be mercifully pleased, 
 in many instances, to communicate such grace, especially 
 to the children of pious parents, presented to baptism with 
 devout and fervent prayers, I can readily hope and be- 
 lieve, f 
 
 If, after all, any persons complain, that I reduce the 
 effect of baptism to narrow limits, as to the most of those 
 to whom the ordinance is administered : I reply, that their 
 thinking so may possibly be to be ascribed to their having 
 entertained unreasonably high ideas of the efficacy of this 
 sacrament — much higher, probably, than they entertain of 
 the efficacy of the other sacrament. I refer them, also, to 
 the beginning of the third chapter of the epistle to the 
 Romans, where the apostle answers the same objection 
 brought against his doctrine concerning circumcision. And 
 I caution every one against reputing it a small privilege, to 
 have been * called to a state of salvation,' by being received 
 into the visible church of Christ ; placed under Christian 
 
 * The apostle's language, Heb. iii. 14, is remarkable, and to our 
 present purpose, " We are made," or " have been made, partakers of 
 " Christ, if we holdfast the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto 
 " the end." Either they had, or they had not, been " made parta- 
 " kers of Christ" even now, but it is referred to the event to decide 
 which was the case. So the fulfilment of our vows can alone proy^ 
 that we have received the inward and spiritual grace of baptism. 
 
 * See Appendix, Note XXIX. 
 
166 EFFECT OF BAPTISM. [CHAP. XII. 
 
 instruction ; numbered among those " to whom the oracles 
 *' of God are committed," * and addressed, on whom all 
 Christian duties are binding, and to whom all Christian 
 privileges are specially offered. ' Whosoever,' says Bishop 
 Hopkins, ' are partakers of baptism are reckoned visible 
 ' members of the church, and have an interest in all the 
 ' prayers of the saints, for their brethren on earth. And 
 ' this ought, by every sober Christian, to be esteemed a 
 ' great benefit, that his children, by their being baptized, 
 
 * are wrapt up in the prayers of all the saints throughout 
 
 * the world, and so daily presented to God, though to them 
 
 * unknown.' 
 
 I add the following remarks from works already before 
 the public, without venturing to pronounce any very confi- 
 dent opinion on the point to which they relate. 
 
 ' A large proportion ' of the clergy called evangelical 
 
 * do suppose, that some special gracious effect attends the 
 ' due administration of infant-baptism,' f beyond the mere 
 admission of the children to the privileges of church-mem- 
 bership. 
 
 ' This is certainly our own sentiment : We find no dif- 
 ' ficulty whatever, in considering the baptismal rite as an 
 
 * assurance and pledge, on the part of God, that the 
 ' person hereby admitted into personal covenant with him 
 
 * through the second Adam, shall not perish through the 
 ' fault of the first.' t 
 
 * " What advantage then hath the Jew ? or what profit is there of 
 " circumcision ? Much every way : chiefly because that unto them ztere 
 '* committed the oracles of God." Rom. iii. 1, 2. 
 
 So again it was represented as a great privilege of the Jews, that 
 they were " the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which 
 *' God made with their fathers, saying unto Abraham,' &c : though it 
 was not supposed that they were, without tlieir own personal repen- 
 tance and faith, interested in the spiritual blessings of that covenant. 
 Acts iii. 25. 
 
 f Scott's Remarks, &c. vol. ii. p. 212. 
 
 X Christian Observer, 1812, p. 370.— See Appendix, Note XXX. 
 
167 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 On Dr. Manfs second Tract, on Conversion. 
 
 Of Dr. M.'s second tract a much more cursory notice 
 may be sufficient. He here pretty clearly marks the dis- 
 tinction between the several parties on whom he animad- 
 verts : and a large proportion of his tract is employed on 
 extravagancies, with which I have no concern but to deplore 
 them. 
 
 Justice, however, would seem to require, that, while the 
 faults and errors of men, who, like Whitefield and Wes- 
 ley, effected great good, though they have produced also 
 much evil, were exposed, some notice should be taken of 
 their public acknowledgments of those errors and faults. 
 As this has not been done by Dr. M., I shall transcribe a 
 few sentences upon the subject, from a work, to which no 
 candid person, who has a competent acquaintance with its 
 contents, will refuse to listen on this occasion. 
 
 * It is enough briefly to say, that, although the language 
 
 * of Whitefield and Wesley, upon divine communications, 
 
 * occasionally merits the severity of Dr. M.'s censure ; yet 
 
 * perhaps some little tenderness might have been shewn to 
 
 * men who had finally and nobly avowed their fault — had 
 
 * confessed that the impressions they had mistaken for di- 
 
 * vine influence, had often " proceeded from the state and 
 ' disposition of the body " — " were genuine instances of 
 < enthusiasm," were " vain and blasphemous conceits." 
 « How few men, idolized hke Whitefield, would have de- 
 « graded themselves to plead guilty in such language as the 
 « following : '^ I came soon into the world, I have carried 
 
168 V.iilTEFIELD AND WESLEY. [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 high sail whilst running through a torrent of popularity 
 and contempt, and by this means have sometimes been in 
 dano;er of oversetting. I know that I am a man of like 
 passions with others, and consequently may have mistaken 
 nature for grace, imagination tor revelation, and the fire 
 of my own temper for the pure and sacred flame of holy 
 zeal, which cometh from God's altar. Alas, alas 1 in how 
 many things have I acted wrong ! I have been too rash 
 and hasty in giving characters both of places and persons. 
 I have too much made impressions, without the written 
 word, my rule of action. Being fond of scripture lan- 
 guage, I hare often used a style too apostolical, and at 
 the same time I have been too bitter in my zeal. Wild 
 fire has been mixed with it, and I find I have frequently 
 written and spoken in my own spirit, when I thought I 
 was writing and speaking entirely by the assistance of the 
 Spirit of God." — Many have been weak enough to trans- 
 gress with Whitefield, but few great enough to offer such 
 an atonement for their faults.' * 
 
 And again, with respect to instantaneous conversion, * it 
 would be ungenerous to forget that Wesley and White- 
 field both made a living avowal of their errors also upon 
 this subject — that they made it to thousands, upon whom 
 they might almost have imposed what sentiments they 
 pleased — that they made it in the face of implacable 
 enemies — that they made it amid scenes of unparalleled 
 success, when they sometimes preached to twenty thou- 
 sand auditors, and when one half of these were either 
 dissolved in tears, or otherwise violently agitated. Such 
 an avowal might, in any court of equity, be pleaded, and 
 would be received in mitigation of punishment.' f 
 
 Had Dr. M.'s attack, then, been confined to ' the found- 
 ers of methodism,' I had left it to others to repel it. Or 
 
 * Christian Observer, 1813, p. 159, 160, f Ibid. p. 163. 
 
CHAP. XIII.] SUDDEN CONVERSIONS. 169 
 
 had ' sudden and instantaneous conversion ' been the only 
 thing to which he objected, I had not undertaken its de- 
 fence, any further than to assert, that, as the day of 
 pentecost, in 'ancient times, and, in modern, the case of 
 Colonel Gardiner demonstrates, conversion may be sudden 
 and yet effectual ; * and, likewise, that if conversion be a 
 *' passing from death unto life," a " quickening of those 
 ^' who were dead in trespasses and sins," there must be n 
 moment when life commences ; though, perhaps, that mo- 
 ment is as much out of the reach of human discovery with 
 xespect to spiritual, as with respect to natural life. 
 
 Nor am I disposed to except against what Dr. M. has 
 delivered concerning the nature of conversion. In his 65th 
 page, he assents to Mr. Overton's statement, that it consists 
 in ' the actual reformation of the heart and character ; that 
 
 * the author of this happy change is the Holy Spirit, but 
 
 * that it is generally effected, and is always to be sought 
 
 * Dr. M. seems to concede as much himself, p. 73, 74. He says, 
 
 * Not that I would be understood to assert, that Providence may not 
 
 * perhaps, even in the present day, be sometimes pleased to interpose in 
 
 * a manner more awful and impressive, than is agreeable to the ordinary 
 
 * course of his proceedings, and to arrest the sinner in his career of in- 
 
 * fidelity or wickedness, and to turn him from darkness unto light. But it 
 
 < is the error of enthusiasm to invert the order of God's proceedings, and 
 
 < to mistake that for the rule, which in reality constitutes the exception.' 
 To all this I fully assent. 
 
 So also Dr. Paley, in his latter days, very beautifully : ' I do not, in 
 
 * the smallest degree, mean to undervalue, or speak lightly of such changes, 
 ' whenever or in whomsoever they take place ; nor to deny, that they 
 ' may be sudden, yet lasting ; (nay, I am rather inclined to think, that 
 ' it is in this manner that they frequently do take place ;) nor to dispute 
 
 * what is upon good testimony alleged concerning conversion brought 
 ' about by affecting incidents of life ; by striking passages of scripture; 
 ' by impressive discourses from the pulpit ; by what we meet with in books, 
 
 * or even by single touching sentences, or expressions in such discourses 
 
 * or books. I am not disposed to question these relations unnecessarily, 
 ' but rather to bless God for such instances, when I hear of them, and 
 ' to regard them as merciful ordinations of his providence.' 
 
170 NATURE OF CONVERSION. [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 * after, in the diligent use of the appointed means of grace: 
 ' that it is no instantaneous operation, which finishes the 
 
 * luhole business of religion at once, but that it is the serious 
 
 * commencement of a work, which it requires the vigorous 
 ^ exertions of the whole life to complete.' All this is ex- 
 cellent : nor is Dr. M.'s own description of it materially 
 different. He says, p. 57, ' Conversion, according to 
 
 * our notions, may not improperly be said to consist of a 
 ' rational conviction of sin, and sense of its wretchedness 
 
 * and danger ; of a sincere penitence and sorrow of heart, 
 
 * at having incurred the displeasure of a holy God; of 
 
 * steadfast purposes of amendment, with the blessing of the 
 
 * divine grace; of a regular and diligent employment of all 
 
 * the appointed means of grace ; and of a real change of 
 
 * heart and life, of affections and conduct, and a resolute 
 
 * perseverance in well doing.' This differs not, I think, 
 from the former passage, except it be, that it contains 
 not so explicit a recognition of the Holy Spirit as the 
 authojL' of ' the rational conviction of sin,' * the sincere 
 ' penitence,' and ' the steadfast purpose of amendment.^ 
 I take it for granted, however, that Dr. M. irieans 
 it to be understood, that all these * holy desires, good 
 
 * counsels, and just works ' proceed from the operation of 
 God's Holy Spirit on the mind ; and also that a deep and 
 heart-affecting ' conviction of sin,' such as we see exempli- 
 fied at the day of pentecost, or in the penitent publican, is 
 ]io more than is perfectly ' rational,' These things being 
 understood, I am well content that Dr. M.'s description 
 should be received as a just account of conversion.* 
 
 And, further, with respect to the proper subjects of con- 
 version, he is sometimes pretty liberal in his concessions. In 
 
 * It has been justly, however, remarked as singular, that Dr. M. 
 should not have explicitly, at least, included in his definition one of the 
 most important and fundamental of all properties, faith in the Saviour, 
 and reliance on him for the pardon of sij:\. 
 
CHAP. XIII.] SUBJECTS OF CONVERSION. 171 
 
 the primitive days he allows that * universally, both among 
 ' Jews and among gentiles, those who were living under the 
 
 * dominion of sin, or were not duly convinced of the neces- 
 
 * sity of a Redeemer,' needed to be ' converted from their 
 
 * errors, whether in principle or in practice.' * And ' now 
 ^ also,' he says, ' every unbeliever and every sinner, al- 
 
 * though made by baptism a member of Christ and a child 
 ' of God, must be, in a certain sense, converted, if he 
 
 * would ultimately succeed to his inheritance of the king- 
 
 * dom of heaven.' f And so again, after reciting Mr.' 
 Overton's words, as above quoted, he declares, ' considering 
 
 * conversion in this light, I can cheerfully concur with our 
 
 * brethren in maintaining the necessity of such a change 
 
 * to every one, who is satisfied with mere nominal Christi- 
 ' anity^ or with any thing short of true Christian holiness 
 
 * both of heart and life J % And yet again he admits, that 
 
 * previous habits of irreligion and worldly-mindedness ren- 
 
 * der it necessary.':]: At the same time he is of opinion, 
 that we should do better to ' decline the phraseology of en- 
 ' thusiasm,' by calling the change ' true repentance^ rather 
 than conversion. § Why he should so speak of the term 
 conversion, I feel rather at a loss to determine, after having 
 read, only a few pages before, his description of ' conver- 
 
 * sion, according to the notions ' entertained of it by him- 
 self and his friends : and when, in the interval between the 
 two passages, he declares, from the late Bishop Randolph, 
 that ' in scripture we find conversion conjoined with repcn- 
 
 * tance'as one and the same J \\ 
 
 But now, after all this, what must we think of such sen- 
 tences as the following ? ' We are not told in scripture, as 
 
 * we are now imperiously called upon, to divide our hearers, 
 
 * being believers in Christianity in common, into the classes 
 
 * P. 59, 60. t P- GO- X P- 65. § P. 65, 66. \\ P. 64. 
 
1T2 OBJECTIONS TO THE [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 * of converted and unconverted.' ' That among men, bap- 
 
 * tized as Christians, taught from their infancy to beheve 
 
 * the doctrines and practice the duties of Christianity, a 
 
 * special conversion also at some period of their life is ne- 
 
 * cessary to stamp them true Christians, is an unheard of 
 
 * thing in the gospel, and is plainly a novel institution of 
 
 * man.' * 
 
 I fear this indicates, that Dr. M.'s objection, like that of 
 too many persons who raise an outcry against ' sudden con- 
 
 * versions,' is not merely to the suddenness or extravagance 
 of some professed conversions, but to conversion itself; at 
 least, when represented as a change necessary to turn even 
 those who * profess and call themselves Christians,' from 
 what they are by nature, to what they must be before they 
 can be fit for heaven. 
 
 Here also we see the practical influence of Dr. M.'s 
 views of baptismal regeneration. The change which it has 
 produced in men seems to be thought, of itself, a reason 
 against preaching conversion to them, even though they 
 should have ' forfeited their privileges ' by a sinful life. 
 
 But in the last passage much depends upon the meaning 
 of certain terms, which are sufficiently lax and indefinite. 
 What is meant, by ' taught from their infancy to believe 
 
 * the doctrines and practise the duties of Christianity ? » 
 Does it mean no more than instructed by man that they 
 ought to do so ? or inwardly " taught " t and inclined to 
 do it, by the grace of God, accompanying outward in- 
 struction ? If the latter, then the persons have been and 
 are converted, and turned from a state of nature to a state 
 of grace. If the former, let all experience as well as scrip- 
 ture declare, whether outward instruction supersedes the 
 necessity of a conversion by divine grace, turning the heart 
 from sin to God. 
 
 * P. 63, 64. t John vi. 45. 
 
CHAP. XIII.] PREACHING OF CONVERSION. 17S 
 
 Again, what is meant by a ' special conversion ? ' Does 
 it mean a conversion of which the pei'son can distinctly 
 specify the time, the means, the manner, the beginning, 
 and middle, and end ? If so, I know none of * om' self* 
 
 * denominated evangelical brethren,* who insist upon its 
 necessity. We are happy to believe that there are * some 
 
 * humble Christians, who, having been once regenerated 
 
 * by water and the Holy Spirit, have so followed his hea* 
 
 * venly motions,' * that, though we should not think of 
 saying of them, somewhat quaintly, and not a little pre- 
 sumptuously, ' their angels may not blush to behold the 
 ' fate of their heavenly Father ; ' f yet we often do des- 
 cribe them as persons, whose conversion * began so early, 
 and has proceeded so gradually^ that it exceeds the power 
 of man precisely to trace its rise and progress.' But if ' a 
 
 * special conversion ' mean only a real, a great, a radical, 
 a divine change, then we certainly do maintain, that it has 
 passed, or must pass, upon every man in order to his being 
 a true Christian. * 
 
 But whatever ambiguities, leaving an opening for moffr 
 favourable interpretation, there may be in these sentences, 
 which are borrowed by Dr. M., but borrowed with high 
 commendation, I am sorry to say there appears no such 
 thing in the following passage, for which he alone is an- 
 swerable. « To suppose,' with Whitefield, " that in every 
 
 * Christian congregation there are two sorts of people, 
 i some that know Christ, and some that do not know him, 
 
 * some that are converted, and some that are strangers to 
 ' conversion ; " — this is a conceit which revelation warrants 
 ' not, and which reason and experience disclaim.' :j: 
 
 It is really difficult to read this conclusion without excla- 
 mations of astonishment. To say nothing of * revelation * 
 
 *■ Mant, p. 01. t Mant, p. 61. J P. 60,61. 
 
174 THE PREACHING OF [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 — nothing of our Lord's solemn declaration to the Jews, 
 " Ye say that he is your God, but ye have not known 
 " him : " — nothing of St. Paul's admonition to the Corin- 
 thian church, " Some have not the knowledge of God, I 
 " speak this to your shame : " — nothing of St. John's rule 
 for trying our * knowledge of Christ,' " Hereby do we 
 ** know that we know him, if we keep his commandments: " 
 — not to dwell on these, or a thousand other passages of 
 holy writ, I notice only the appeal to * reason and experi- 
 
 * ence,' which, it is affirmed, ' disclaim ' as a vain ' con- 
 
 * ceit ' the supposition, that, ' in every Christian congre- 
 ' gation, there are some that are converted, and some that 
 
 * are strangers to conversion/ 
 
 Of course Dr. M. does not mean so far to take advantage 
 of the strictness of the term ' every Christian congregation,' 
 as to point out assemblies of literally " two or three " pious 
 individuals " met together in the name of Christ," as the 
 exceptions. If that were his meaning, he would be con- 
 tending without an antagonist. He must mean, that, at 
 least, the better sort of Christian congregations ought not 
 to be considered as containing unconverted persons. Re- 
 stricted beyond this, his censure will have no application. 
 
 Take, then, his own descriptions of the characters who 
 need to be converted, ' Every unbeliever and every sinner ' 
 — * all those who are living under the dominion of sin ' 
 — ' those whose previous habits of irreligion and worldly- 
 ' mindedness render it necessary' — ' everyone who is sa- 
 
 * tisfied with mere nominal Christianity, or with any thing 
 
 * short of true Christian holiness of heart and life : ' * — every 
 such person, ' although made by baptism a member of Christ 
 ' and a child of God, must be, in a certain sense, convert- 
 ' ed, if he would ultimately succeed to his inheritance of 
 
 * the kingdom of heaven ; ' f and he (Dr. M.) ' can cheer- 
 
 * P. 59, 60, 65. t P. 60. 
 
CHAP. XIII.] CONVERSION DEFENDED. 175 
 
 * fully concur in maintaining the necessity of such a change,* 
 as Mr. Overton describes under the name of conversion, 
 to all these characters.* Yet ' reason and experience,' he 
 says, * disclaim,' as an unwarranted ' conceit,' the suppo- 
 sition, that ' our hearers ' are to be divided ' into the two 
 
 * classes of converted and unconverted ! ' f Were it not 
 well known, that Dr. M. is ' Chaplain to his Grace the 
 ' Archbishop of Canterbury, and Rector of a parish in 
 the metropohs, might not one have supposed him a recluse, 
 who had lived all his days immured in a college, and was 
 utterly unacquainted with the state of the Christian world, 
 nay, with all that was passing in the university itself, beyond 
 the precincts of his own rooms ? Would it not be natural 
 to suppose this, when we hear him allow, that so many and 
 so comprehensive descriptions of persons need to be con- 
 verted, and yet reprobate the supposition, that almost all 
 Christian congregations contain ' persons that are strangers 
 ' to conversion,' as well as those that are converted ? f 
 
 * P. 65. t P- 61, 65. 
 
 X How much more rational, and wise, and right, as well as more 
 scriptural, the following observations of Dr. Paley ! — ' Of the persons 
 
 * in our congregations, to whom we not only may, but must preach the 
 ' doctrine of conversion plainly and directly, are those, who, with 
 
 * the name indeed of Christians, have hitherto passed their lives without 
 
 * any internal religion whatever ; who have not at all thought upon the 
 ' subject; who, a few easy and customary forms excepted, (and which 
 
 * with them are mere forms,) cannot truly say of themselves, that they 
 
 * have done one action, which they would not have done equally, if there 
 
 * had been no such thing as a God in the world ; or that they have ever 
 
 * sacrificed any passion, any present enjoyment, or even any inclination 
 ' of their minds, to the restraints and prohibitions of religion; with whom 
 ' indeed, religious motives have not weighed a feather in the scale against 
 
 * interest or pleasure. To these it is utterly necessary that we preach 
 ' conversion. At this day we have not Jews and gentiles to preach to; 
 ' but these persons are really in as unconverted a state, as any Jew 
 ' or gentile could be in our Saviour's time. They are no more Christ- 
 
 * ians, as to any actual benefit of Christianity to their souls, than the 
 
 * most hardened Jew, or the most profligate gentile was in the age of 
 
 S 
 
176 TENDENCY OF DR. M.'S CENSURES [CHAP.XIII, 
 
 But seriously, what a mockery is it of the feelings of a 
 Christian minister, sincerely labouring to turn sinners to 
 righteousness, to tell him, that he must by no means con- 
 sider his congregation as consisting partly of those who are 
 converted, and partly of those who are unconverted ! What 
 conffregation is there, in which no drunkard, no swearer, 
 no fornicator, no sabbath-breaker, no unjust dealer, no 
 covetous, ' irreligious, worldly-minded ' man is to be found ? 
 in which there are none who have been * satisfied with mere 
 
 * nominal Christianity, or with something ' far ' short of 
 ' true Christian holiness of heart and life ? ' And must not 
 all these persons " turn " and be " converted " unto God, 
 if they would not " die " eternally ? Must they not " re- 
 " pent and be converted," if they would have their " sins 
 " blotted out ? " To what purpose, then, is it to interrupt 
 those, who are seriously calling upon such characters " to 
 
 * the gospel. As to any ditTerence in the two cases, the difference is 
 
 * all against them. These must be converted, before they can be saved. 
 
 * The course of their thoughts must be changed, the very principles 
 
 * upon which they act must be changed. Considerations, which 
 
 * never, or which hardly ever entered into their minds, must deeply and 
 " perpetually engage them. Views and motives, which did not influence 
 
 * them at all, either as checks from doing evil, or as inducements to do 
 
 * good, must become the views and motives which they regularly consult, 
 '■ and by which they are gnided : that is to say, there must be a revolu- 
 ' tioii of principle : the T-isible conduct will follow the change; but there 
 
 * must be a revolution within. A change so entire, so deep, so import- 
 ' ant as this, I do allow to be a conversion, and no one, who is in the 
 
 * situation above described, can be saved without undergoing it; and he 
 
 * must necessarily both be sensible of it at the time, and remember it all 
 ' his life afterwards. It is too momentous an event ever to be forgot. 
 
 * A man might as easily foi-get his escape from a shipwreck. Whether 
 < it was sudden, or whether it was gradual, if it was effected, (and the 
 
 * fruits will prove that,) it was a true conversion : and every such person 
 
 * may justly both believe and say it himself, that he was converted at a 
 ^ particular assignable time. It may not be necessary to speak of his 
 *" conversion, but he will always think of it, with unbounded thankful- 
 ' ness to the giver of all grace, the author of all mercies, spirituul, as 
 ' well as temporal.' 
 
 '■I 
 
CHAP. XIII.} TENDENCY OF DR. M.'s CENSURES. 177 
 
 ** repent and turn (or be converted) to God, and do works 
 ** meet for repentance," — with the charge, that they are 
 doing ' a thing unheard of in the gospel ? ' What means 
 it to iiold such useful labourers up to the wicked, whose 
 conversion and salvation they are seeking, as persons ac- 
 tuated by ' conceits, which revelation warrants not, and 
 * which reason and experience disclaim ? ' What object 
 does all this promote, but one, which ought to be the most 
 opposite to all the desires and feelings of a Christian minis- 
 ter's heart — " to strengthen the hands of the wicked in his 
 *' wicked way " — and to furnish arms to him, wherewith to 
 resist all the attempts made to bring him to a better mind ? 
 It is impossible not to write with a degree of zeal and ear- 
 nestness against sentiments and passages, so big with prac- 
 tical mischief. * 
 
 But there is a passage of Mr. Overton's in which, it 
 may be allowed, we are all concerned, that incurs the 
 same condemnation, of exhibiting ' a conceit which re- 
 ' velation warrants not, and which reasoii and e^^perience 
 
 * My feelings prompt me to decline, and my judgment does not urge 
 me to meddle with, all those parts of Dr. M.'s tracts which are meie de- 
 clamation, and appeal to the passions and prejudices of his readers, 
 against the opinions he controverts. Were not this the case, I must se- 
 riously call upon him to consider the tendency of such passages as that, 
 in which Milton's description of the lazar-house is applied to the metho- 
 distic conversions. I am no more friendly than Dr. M. to the extrava- 
 gances animadverted upon : but the imaginations of wicked and libertine 
 men, furnished with such images, will not confine the application of them 
 to the distortions which have deformed religion, but will infaUibly asso- 
 ciate them with things of a very different, and even of the most 
 sacred nature. The wicked have ever been ready to charge their faith- 
 ful reprovers with " desiring the woful day," which they did but foretel ; 
 and they will be ready to avail themselves of the countenance which Dr. 
 M. may even seem to afford them, for representing such persons as 
 * dwelling with horrible delight on the terrors of God's wrath.' P. 77 
 —79. 
 
178 WHO NKED NOT CONVERSION. [cHAP. XIII. 
 
 * disclaim.' It is this : ' that in order to a state of salvation, 
 ' a change of mind, of views, and dispositions must be ef- 
 
 * fected in every person, wherever born, however educated, 
 ' and of whatever external conduct.'* 
 
 On this sentiment Dr. M. proceeds to reason thus: 
 
 * Some humble Christians undoubtedly there are, who, 
 
 * having been once regenerated by water and the Holy 
 
 * Spirit, have so followed his heavenly motions, and im^ 
 ' proved his sanctifying graces ; have so pursued the calm 
 
 * and blameless tenor of their way ; have preserved that 
 
 * childlike simplicity of character, and that childlike inno- 
 
 * cence of conduct, that their angels may not blush to be- 
 ' hold the face of their heavenly Father. — Such was the 
 ' conversation, even under the Jewish law, of Zacharias 
 ' and Elizabeth, " who were both righteous before God, 
 
 * walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the 
 
 * Lord blameless.". . .And are we to be told that Christians, 
 
 * such as these, must experience an entire change of heart, 
 
 * a thorough conversion of their ways ? ' — I answer. Cer- 
 tainly not. Nor would Mr. Overton, or, I believe, any 
 other writer whom Dr. M. has quoted, say that they must. 
 Is it possible for Dr. M. to have understood Mr. O. to 
 assert, that even the truly converted man must undergo 
 another conversion, or be excluded from heaven ? This is 
 scarcely credible : yet, upon any other supposition, what 
 avails all this reasoning? Dr. M. has himself immediately 
 furnished the answer to it ; though with some confusion of 
 language, as to the distinct provinces of the atoning blood 
 of Christ, and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 * By the blood of Christ,' he says, these persons * have 
 
 * been purified from the original corruption of their nature ; 
 
 * by that blood they have been cleansed of theii* actual sins ; 
 
 * by the Holy Spirit of God, they liave been regenerated ; 
 
 * Mantj p. 61, and again p. 65, quoted from Overton, p. 160. 
 
CHAP. XIII.] WHO NEED NOT CONVERSION. 179 
 
 * his preventing grace ^//i conducted them; his assisting 
 
 * grace hath co-operated with, and given effect to their 
 
 * zealous endeavours to persevere in the course of piety and 
 
 * virtue; his sanctifying influence renews and invigorates 
 
 * thera day hy day. Let God have all the glory of their 
 ' continuance in their Christian career ; but let it not be 
 
 * judged necessary that they should undergo " a change of 
 
 * mind, of views, and dispositions," when that change 
 
 * must be from holiness to sin.' * 
 
 Is there any thing in this contrary to Mr. O.'s doctrine ? 
 
 Let the reader examine the whole passage in that author, 
 
 and judge whether it furnished a shadow of reason for the 
 
 perversion which it has suffered. 
 
 ' It is our opinion,' Mr. O. says, ' that, in order to sal- 
 vation, a change of mind, of views, and disposition 
 must be effected in every person, wherever born, however 
 educated, or of whatever external conduct. Is it said, this 
 change is effected in us at our baptism? We answer : have 
 you then indeed kept your baptismal vow ? Have you in the 
 uniform and habitual tenor of your life been " renouncing 
 sin, the world, and the devil ; following the example of our 
 Saviour Christ ; and daily becoming more like unto him?" 
 Have you indeed experienced the inward and spiritual 
 grace, of which the washing of water is the external em- 
 blem, " a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteous- 
 ness ?" And, are your views, tempers, and pursuits 
 indeed such, as in scripture every where characterize the 
 regenerate children of God ? If so, it is well : but, if 
 NOT, remember, we add, the apostle's reasoning respect- 
 ing circumcision, that " if thou be a breaker of the law, 
 thy circumcision is made uncircumcision." . . . Consider 
 also, we proceed, upon what high authority it is declared, 
 
 . . . that " a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit," but 
 
 • P.62, G3. 
 n2 
 
180 SCRIPTURAL USE OF [CHAP. XIII 
 
 ' that " evil fruit " is a certain proof of " a corrupt tree; " 
 ' and that an evil conduct can only proceed from an " evil 
 * heart."* Can any man, without direct injustice, read 
 over this passage, and then represent Mr. O. as, in it, de- 
 claring conversion to be still necessary for those who have 
 been, and are acting agreeably to their baptismal vows ? I 
 do not charge Dr. M. with intentional injustice ; far from 
 it : but I see not how he can be cleared of the want of that 
 care and attention, without which great practical injustice 
 often cannot be avoided. No one can read Mr. O.'s para- 
 graph with half the pains which should precede criticism 
 upon it, and understand him to say prospectively, with 
 regard to every person, converted or unconverted, that he 
 must hereafter undergo such a change ? His observation is in- 
 troduced by an express reference to the subject of his preced- 
 ing chapter, human depravity, and evidently relates to the na- 
 tural state of fallen man, and to a change which either has 
 taken place, or must take place in him, in order to his sal- 
 vation. In those who are really such Christians as Dr. M, 
 describes, the change is already made, and needs not to be 
 made again. 
 
 I do not think it necessary to enter into any minute ex- 
 amination of the scriptural use of the term conversion. Dr. 
 M. has not attempted to shew, that this is such as should 
 restrict its application to the bringing over of infidels to 
 the faith of Christ, or even to the turning of profligates to 
 righteousness of life. The Jews are continually called 
 upon "to turn" or " be converted ; " and that not only 
 when it became their duty to embrace Christianity, but by 
 their own prophets, during the continuance of their own 
 dispensation. The term is applied in the New Testament 
 
 * Overton's True Churchman, p. 160, 161. It may be remarked 
 that Mr. O. does not, in this whole passage, use the obnoxious term^ 
 conversion. His chapter is on * the doctrine of repentance.' 
 
CHAP. XIII.] THE TERM CONVERSION. 181 
 
 to the reclaiming of a professed Christian, who had fallen 
 into sin or error. " If any of you do err from the truth, 
 " and one convert him, let him know, that he, which con 
 " verteth a sinner from the error of his way, shall save a 
 *' soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." * 
 Our blessed Lord applies it to the recovery of Peter from 
 his fall : " When thou art converted, strengthen thy bre- 
 *' thren : " f and even (in a passage which bears a re- 
 markable resemblance to his declaration of the necessity of 
 regeneration in John iii.) to the change which still needed 
 to be made, or at least carried forward, in the minds of his 
 disciples : " Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted^ 
 ** and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the 
 *' kingdom of heaven." % — This is extending the use of the 
 term much further than those persons commonly do, who 
 fall under the censure of Dr. M. 
 
 But why need we adduce particular instances, when Dr. 
 M. himself^ with high approbation, cites the authority of 
 a learned prelate, declaring that ' in scripture we find ' con- 
 version and repentance * conjoined, as one and the same?' § 
 If it be an unquestionable matter, that we are to preach 
 repentance ; and if in scripture conversion be * conjoined 
 
 * with repentance, as one and the same;' I see not on what 
 ground we are to be condemned for preaching conversion 
 or repentance, indiscriminately : or what pretence there is 
 for ranking the term conversion with ' the phraseology of 
 
 * enthusiasm.' || Further questions may remain, respecting 
 the nature of conversion, (on which, indeed, it would seem 
 that we are not at variance with Dr. M., **) but, if repen- 
 
 * James v. 19, 20. t Luke xxii.32. 
 
 X Matt, xviii. 5 — 8. Dr. M., quoting these words, says, ' such was 
 
 * our Saviour's warning to the unbelieving Jews.' (P. 58.) The fact is, 
 they were addressed to our Lord's disciples, asking of him, " Who is 
 " greatest in the kingdom of heaven ! " 
 
 § P. 64. II P. 66. ** Above, p. 240, 241. 
 
182 CONVERSION, WHY DISCARDED. [CHAP. XIII, 
 
 tance and conversion be ' the same ' thing, this must 
 demonstrate, that to condemn the preaching of conversion, 
 wherever we allow it necessary to preach repentance, is 
 * frivolous and vexatious.' 
 
 I do not, however, agree in the accuracy of this repre^ 
 sentation, that in scripture conversion and repentance 
 mean exactly the same thing. As applied, indeed, to the 
 first bringing of a sinner to repentance, it may be pretty 
 nearly true : but not as applied to that daily repentance, in 
 the exercise of which the Christian lives. We all need re- 
 pentance at all times : our continual imperfection and sin-»> 
 fulness demand it. But we do not all, in the same way, 
 need conversion. In scripture, as well as in modern lan- 
 guage, this term generally includes the idea of a commence- 
 ment of true religion, which in many has happily taken 
 place, and does not need to be repeated. And, I appre- 
 hend, it is from feeling this difference that many persons 
 are more willing to hear of repentance than of conversion. 
 They are willing to acknowledge themselves sinners, and 
 imperfect, and therefore needing repentance : but they are 
 not willing to be told that they are so * far gone from ori- 
 ' ginal righteousness,' so perverted and estranged from 
 God, that they must have " a new heart created, and a 
 " right spirit put within them," and that otherwise they 
 can never serve God acceptably on earth, or inherit his 
 heavenly kingdom hereafter. A dutj-^, which is common to 
 them with sincere and devout Christians, they will consent 
 to hear of, at least in a general manner : but of what is ne- 
 cessary to make them true and devout Christians they can- 
 not bear to be told, because it suggests unpleasant truth 
 concerning their present state. 
 
 Let repentance be preached, such as the necessities of 
 one, who has hitherto been ' satisfied with mere nominal 
 ' Christianity,' require, and such as the term met«voj£s (a 
 
CHAP. XIII.] REPENTANCE, HOW ADMITTED. 183 
 
 change of mind) implies ; and the doctrine of repentance, 
 I fear, will prove no less unpalatable than that of conver- 
 sion. But it is because something much short of this may 
 be understood by the word ; something which resembles not 
 " the washing of the hands, and the head," and the whole 
 man, but that of him, who, having already been in the 
 bath, " needeth not, save to wash his feet," and is then 
 *' clean every whit : " * it is, I apprehend, because repen- 
 tance is conceived to mean only something of this slighter 
 and more general kind, that it is less offensive to the fasti- 
 diousness of modern ears. — There is great justness in the 
 following observations, which have been made upon this 
 subject. ' Not a few either exclude the words conversion 
 and regeneration from their vocabulary, or are extremely 
 sparing of such expressions. They prefer the use of the 
 teJfm repentance : but the repentance of which they speak 
 is interpreted by the body of their hearers to be something 
 very slight and transient. It is construed to mean regret 
 on account of some few specific acts which have been 
 wrong, or a sorrow which may be supposed to have suffi- 
 ciently manifested itself by consenting to the confession 
 in the church service while it was read. It is not habitual 
 contrition on account of corruption, which the penitent 
 now perceives to have pervaded the heart and life. — The 
 amendment of conduct also, which many persons of this 
 class labour to enforce, seems to consist chiefly in the re- 
 nunciation of gross sins, and in a due observance of the 
 public ordinances of the church. They represent man as in 
 a safe and good state, unless and until he, by some course 
 of immorality, forfeits his title to the Christian hope ; 
 and though they treat of sins as acts which provoke 
 God and bring guilt on the perpetrator, they sfeldom 
 
 * John xiii. 6 — 10. 
 
IS^ INFLUENCE OF MIRACULOUS [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 ' speak of them as indicative of an unpardoned and ge- 
 
 * nerally unsanctified state.' * 
 
 Two or three more points are all which I shall notice, 
 and my remarks upon them will be very brief. 
 
 Dr. M. endeavours to establish a marked distinction, 
 among the conversions recorded in scripture, between those 
 which were effected suddenly, and those which were more 
 gradually accomplished. The former, he says, were ' the 
 ' consequence of miraculous evidence ; ' the latter, * of a 
 ' deliberate attention to the ordinary methods of conviction, 
 ' and a willing and rational acquiescence in the result.' f 
 Of the one he adduces as instances the three thousand ad- 
 ded to the church at the day of pentecost : the five thou- 
 sand who subsequently ' believed the word preached by 
 
 * Peter and John ; ' the people of Lydda and Saron, Acts 
 ix ; the two persons whom he calls ' the proconsul of Asia,' 
 and ' the jailor at Thyateira ; ' :]: and, finally, St Paul, of 
 whom he expressly says, ' It was the light from heaven 
 
 * above the brightness of the sun, and the voice of the 
 ' heavenly vision, which converted' him. — Among the others, 
 
 * Christian Observer, 1808, p. 170. f P. 68, 71, 72. 
 
 X p. 68. The inaccuracies into which Dr. M. falls in his appeals to 
 scripture are not a little extraordinary, especially in a learned commen- 
 tator. We have just seen him adducing our Lord's admonition to his 
 disciples, (Matt, xviii. 3,) as * his warning to the unbelieving Jezcs.' He 
 here, and again, p. 84, mis-names the " deputy," or proconsul, of the 
 island of Cyprus, * the proconsul of Asia.' In three different passages 
 lie calls the man, who is known to every one as the Philippian jailor, 
 ' the jailor at Thyateira,' or alludes to what occurred in connection with 
 his history, as happening ' at Thyateira,' a city of Asia, instead of at 
 Philippi, in Macedonia. P. 68, 81, 86. The source of the mistake is, 
 I suppose, there happening to have been at that time at Philippi " a 
 " certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thy- 
 " atira." — All this occurs after Dr. M.'s Lecture has passed the press 
 not less than six or seven times ! 
 
CHAP. XIII.] EVIDENCE ON CONVERSION. 185 
 
 he instances the Bereans, (Acts xvii.) who, he says, were 
 
 * not wrought upon by the Spirit of God, operating inde- 
 
 * pendentlyof, and in a manner distinguished from evidence, 
 
 * and argument, and moral suasion ; but (they beheved) 
 ' subsequently to, and in consequence of, their daily in- 
 
 * vestigation of the scriptures, and ingenuojis comparison 
 
 * betweeen them and the doctrine of the apostle.' 
 
 It is readily allowed, that the evidence of miracles, which 
 was afforded to some of these characters, as weU as the 
 study of the scriptures, for which the others are so justly 
 praised, was a means by which their conversion was brought 
 about. But does Dr. M. suppose, that miraculous evidence 
 rendered any influence of the Spirit of God upon the mind, 
 ** to take away the heart of stone, and to give the heart of 
 *' flesh," or "to work in men to will and to do, of his 
 " good pleasure," superfluoys ? If so, he is, I conceive, 
 at variance with all sound and orthodox divines, as he cer- 
 tainly is with the doctrines of the church to which he be- 
 longs. And further, if miraculous evidence were sufficient, 
 without any such inward operation of the Spirit, how 
 came it to pass, that, while many were so happily affected 
 by it, many more were only moved to enmity and opposition, 
 proportioned to the overbearing nature of the proof, by 
 which a hated conviction was forced upon them ? * 
 
 Does he, again, conceive either miraculous evidence, or 
 such an operation of the Spirit upon the mind as I have 
 described, and as the scriptures certainly much insist upon, 
 to be incompatible with ' argument, moral suasion,' and 
 
 * a deliberate attention to the ordinary methods of con- 
 
 * viction ? ' If so, I should be sorry to take his views of the 
 subject. I understand miracles to have furnished argument ; 
 and to have excited attention to argument ; and the gracious 
 influence of the divine Spirit on the mind to be designed 
 to enlighten the understanding, and to incline the will to 
 
 * See, for example, Johii xi. 47 — 57. xii. 10, 11. 
 
186 DISPOSITION FOR CONVERSION. [cilAP. XIII. 
 
 that ' deliberate attention,' and to that * ready acquiescence 
 
 * in the result ' of ' deliberate attention, to the ordinary 
 ' methods of conviction,' of which Dr. M. speaks. 
 
 But this connects with another point which demands out* 
 notice. Dr. M. is of opinion, that ' there is some dispo- 
 ' sition and temper of mind more apt than others to receive 
 
 * the effectual impressions of tlie gospel.' ' Such,' he says, 
 from an author whom he styles ' invaluable,' ' is the honest 
 
 * and good heart in the parable : such are the honest and 
 
 * meek, and the poor in spirit : such as do the truth and 
 
 * the will of God, so fer as their information serves them ; 
 ' such as are the weary and heavy-laden, and the like ; they 
 
 * aare resembled to sheep and to babes ; and are said to be 
 
 * of God, to have learned of the Father, and to know him. 
 
 * These are said to be ordained, that is disposed,* and in a 
 
 * fit posture for eternal life; and of this ingenuous and 
 ' noble temper were the people of Berea.' f That such a 
 difference of character exists, there is no doubt : the only 
 question is. Whence does it originate ? Is it from nature, 
 or from * the preventing grace of God ? ' How our church 
 answers the question, may easily be judged from her tenth 
 article ; from her thirteenth article ; from the passage quo- 
 ted from her homilies at the beginning of chapter x ; and 
 from her prayers, which teach us to ascribe ' all holy de- 
 
 * sires, all good counsels, and all just works,' to God. In 
 a sense somewhat different than Dr. M.'s author appears to 
 mean, such persons have been " taught, and have learned 
 " of the Father : " hence it is, that they are ' disposed' to 
 " come unto Christ." 
 
 * Both this author (Womack) and Dr. M. would fain have the word8> 
 (Acts xiii. 48.) " As many as were ordained to eternal life believed," to 
 mean, as many ' as were Jit or well-disposed for the kingdom of heaven.' 
 They do not however, venture to assert, that Taa-s-jc-Sai ever expresses 
 disposition of mind. -f P. 73.. 
 
CHAP. XIII.] DIVINE AGENCY. 18? 
 
 The last passage on which T offer any remark is the fol- 
 lowing. It professes to be directed against the methodists, 
 but its principle strikes directly at the doctrines of our 
 common Christianity. It is as follows, p. 75 : * It is true, 
 
 * we hear them telling their deluded followers, that they 
 ' ought to be converted ; expostulating with them for not 
 ' choosing to be converted, and for putting off their con- 
 
 * version, for not turning to God directly ; intreating them 
 
 * to repent and be converted; yet wherefore? when in 
 ' almost the same breath they tell them, that the author of 
 
 * this conversion is the Holy Ghost ; that it is not their own 
 
 * free will ; it is not moral suasion ; that nothing short of 
 
 * the influence of the Spirit of the living God can effect 
 
 * this change in their hearts.' 
 
 Now what is the principle which Dr. M. here assumes? 
 It is this, that nothing, which cannot be effected without 
 
 * the influence of the Spirit of the living God,' is to be 
 made the subject of exhortation ! That it is absurd and 
 self-contradictory to exhort us to that, of which the Holy 
 Ghost must be * the author * in us ! In this principle, Dr. 
 M. is again in entire unison with persons whose doctrines, 
 I am sure, he abhors — the antinomians, who hold that re- 
 pentance, that faith, that prayer, is no duty to men in gene- 
 ral, because none of these things can be performed aright 
 but by the grace of God. Dr. M. holds, that it is absurd to 
 exhort men to that, which they cannot perform but by ' the 
 
 * influence of the Spirit : ' and the shocking perverters of 
 Christianity, just named,agree with him ! — But is not repent- 
 ance the gift of God ? Is not faith the gift of God ? Are not 
 love, and joy, and peace, and long-suffering, and gentleness, 
 and goodness, and meekness, and temperance, " the fruits of 
 *' the Spirit ?" And yet is it not our duty to repent, to believe, 
 and to exercise all these Christian graces ? And are we not to 
 be exhorted to perform this duty, though ' nothing short of 
 ' the influence of the Spirit of the living God * can enabl« 
 
18S DIVINE AGENCY [CHAP. XIII* 
 
 US to do it ? Do not ' all holy desires, all good counsels, 
 ' and all just works proceed from God?' And yet is it not 
 our duty, and are we not to be exhorted, to conceive holy 
 desires, to form good counsels, and to execute just works ? — 
 In short, has Dr. M. never heard of it, as a first principle 
 in all sound theology, indeed as a fact which presents itself 
 on the very face of the scriptures, that there is nothing 
 which almighty God, in one place, engages to work in us, 
 which he does not, in another, exhort and command ns to do, 
 as much as if all depended upon ourselves ? Is it promised 
 in Deut. xxx, " The Lord thy God will circumcise thy 
 *' heart to love the Lord thy God ? " it is commanded in 
 Deut. X, " Circumcise your heart, and be no more stifF- 
 *' necked." Is it the gracious engagement of God, (Ezek. 
 xxxvi.) " A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit 
 *' will I put within you, and I will take away the heart of 
 " stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of 
 <' flesh ? " it is his injunction and exhortation, by the same 
 prophet, (c. xviii.) " Make you a new heart, and a new 
 " spirit ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel." Is it 
 *' the Lord " who must " direct our hearts into the love of 
 " God ? " and are we " kept by the power of God, through 
 « faith, unto salvation ? " (2 Thess. iii. 1 Pet. i.) We 
 are charged also, (Jude 21.) " Keep j'ourselves in the love 
 " of God." Are not repentance and faith the gifts of God? 
 Yet it is our duty, which we are commanded to perform, 
 " to repent and believe the gospel." 
 
 If these things present a difficulty, and a speculative dif- 
 ficult)', it is allowed, they do present, he who has not felt 
 his own system encumbered with it, either has not embmced 
 the system of scripture, or has veiy little considered what 
 he has professed to embrace. But, though a difficulty is 
 admitted to exist in speculation in this point, none can be 
 felt in practice. Then do the commands and exhortations 
 answer their purpose, when they excite us to seek of God 
 
CHAP. XIIlO AND HUMAN DUTY. 189 
 
 the fulfilment of his prmnises : and when we plead his pro- 
 mises in earnest prayer, then shall we be enabled to obey 
 his commands. And accordingly we may add, to the maxim 
 above laid down, the following: That there is nothing 
 which is in one place made the subject of command^ and in 
 another of promise, which is not in a third place made the 
 subject of prayer unto God. Thus, " Create in me a clean 
 ** heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me ! " 
 Hexe the thing enjoined in Ezek. xviii., and promised in 
 Ezek. xxxvi., is prayed for in Psalm li. And the same 
 might be shewn of every other duty and blessing. 
 
 But what shall we say if Dr. M. has not only, in the 
 basis of this argument, contradicted the first principles of 
 sound theology, and scriptural knowledge, but if he has, 
 at least as directly, contradicted himself? This is the case. 
 In page 65, he professes his ' cheerful concurrence ' with 
 Mr. Overton, who declares, that ' the author of the happy 
 ' change' of conversion ' is the Holy Spirit.' In page 75, he 
 argues the absurdity of certain persons ' intreating men 
 
 * to repent and be converted,' and ' expostulating with 
 
 * them for not choosing to be converted ' — because ' in al- 
 
 * most the same breath they tell them, that the author of 
 
 * this conversion is the Holy Ghost I ' 
 
 Can a writer who falls repeatedly into such self-contra- 
 dictions ; who so frequently mistakes the scriptures ; who so 
 lightly, and even unconsciously, goes about to subvert esta- 
 blished principles of orthodoxy ; be justly set up for a com- 
 petent guide of public opinion ? Shall we think him pro- 
 perly selected ' to convey, to the community at large, 
 
 * correct notions,' on the most important theological sub- 
 jects? — I should be sorry to say one word, tending to lower 
 Dr. M.'s reputation as an author, did I not think that re- 
 putation employed to give currency to opinions, contrary 
 to the real doctrines of the church of England, and to 
 " the truth of the gospel " of Christ. But, as that is my 
 
190 CONCLUSION. [chap. XIII. 
 
 <3eliberate judgment, I offer no other apology for -what I 
 have written. 
 
 Here, then, I close my strictures on Dr. M. To any 
 one who may think of honouring these pages with an 
 answer, I beg leave to say as follows : All I ask in an oppo- 
 nent is fairness. Give me an antagonist, who shall ' feel 
 
 * an instinctive aversion to vain and fruitless contentions 
 
 * concei'ning the mere outsides of questions ; ' * one who 
 shall ' wish to meet fairly the real points in dispute, and to 
 
 * grapple with them ; ' * and I am satisfied. Such an anta- 
 gonist I have endeavoured to shew myself to Dr. M. ; and, 
 should I meet with one who proceeds upon the same prin- 
 ciple in return, I hope I shall be ready to avail myself of 
 any light and instruction he may have to afford me. But 
 I must say, that the plan on which replies are too often con- 
 ducted is nauseating to every sincere lover of truth, and 
 every really honest mind. I have known replies made, 
 wherein a few detached points were selected, on which a 
 little wit, a little eloquence, or a little seeming argumenta- 
 tion might be displayed, but in which all the main questions 
 at issue were either misrepresented, or passed over in si- 
 lence: insomuch that, on reading over again the book 
 which was to be answered, and noting in the margin the 
 topics which were left untouched, their amount scarcely 
 fell short of nine-tenths of the whole. Now this is offensive 
 and disgusting. — So, in the present instance, nothing can 
 be more easy than to re-state, with confidence, assertions, 
 which have been already made ; nothing more easy than to 
 collect again a few detached sentences from our church ser- 
 vices, (the meaning of which is one great point in dispute,) 
 and to say of them, ' They need no comment: language 
 
 * cannot be plainer : ' — nothing more easy than — to do many 
 
 ♦ Deau of Carlisle. 
 5 
 
CHAP. XIII.] CONCLUSION. 191 
 
 things which I could name, and which may raise the shout 
 of victory among a man's own partizans : but all this can 
 advance us nothing in the pursuit of truth : it can afford no 
 satisfaction to the honest mind. Let us see the question at 
 issue fairly stated: let us see the arguments which have 
 been adduced upon it from the scriptures — from the articles 
 and liturgy of the church — from the analogy of the other 
 sacrament — from the use of the same language concerning 
 adults as is employed concerning infants — though, in the 
 former, one would suppose a right state of mind must by all 
 be allowed necessary to prove ' the sanctification of the 
 * Spirit : ' Let these and other arguments be fairly met and 
 canvassed, and I say again, I am satisfied; I will regard 
 the man, who thus combats me, not as an adversary, but 
 as my coadjutor in the investigation of truth. 
 
 Nov. 29, 1815. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Note I. Page 9. 
 
 1 HE treatment which the quotation here made from 
 Bishop Hopkins has met with from Mr. Archdeacon Dau- 
 beny, in his ' Considerations on Regeneration,' recently 
 pubHshed, is not a hltle extraordinary. ' On the authority 
 ' of Bishop Hopkins,' he says, ' v/e are here given to nn- 
 ' derstand, that baptized infants (for to these subjects I 
 ' confine myself,) ai-e translated by baptism, from a state of' 
 
 * nature, into a state of grace, that they are thereby justified 
 ' and accepted to God's favour. But still, it seems, they 
 ' are unsanctified : their sanctification remaining to be evi- 
 
 * denced by the future influence of the Holy Spirit on the 
 
 * disposition and habits of their souls.' * P. 67. 
 
 In the first place, Bishop Hopkins is here speaking nei- 
 ther of ' infants ' nor of adults, in particular, nor at all upon 
 the subject of baptism, or the sacraments : but simply of the 
 two distinct but inseparable blessings of justification and. 
 sanctification. Secondly, Mr. D. grounds upon the quo- 
 tation the conclusion, that the good bishop, and others of 
 us, after him, hold certain subjects to be ' justified and 
 ' accepted to God's favoui',' but yet to be ' unsanctified : ' 
 directly contrary to the words which he himself cites — 
 distinct though inseparable. But, thirdly and chiefly, the 
 words above printed in italics are given by Mr. D. under 
 double inverted commas, as if they were the very words of 
 Bishop Hopkins : yet the reader will have seen that the 
 passage contains iiothing like them ; nor do they at all con- 
 vey his sentiments ! Afterwards also Mr. D. asks, ' What 
 
 * becomes then of the essential distinction between those 
 
 * who are said to be justified and accepted to God's 
 
 * favour, but are still left deficient of sanctification ? ' 
 P. 70. 
 
 * Can Mr. D. conceive of infants 'evidencing' their sanctification 
 very distinctly while they are infants ? However the sanctificution may 
 be present, I should suppose the evidencing of it must necessarili/ be 
 iuture in them. 
 
 9 
 
] 94 APPENDIX. 
 
 He further rejects the distinction — than which none can 
 be more clear in itself, and which has been generally con- 
 sidered as very important, in order to preserve ' whole 
 
 * and undefiled ' the doctrine of ' justification by faith ' only 
 — between justification and sanctification ; pronouncing 
 it * a distinction without a difference, as it strikes him, a 
 
 * mere creature of Bishop Hopkins's imagination.' P. 68. 
 Yet only a few pages before, he had cited, with approba- 
 tion, from Hooker, the self-same distinction between ' that 
 
 * saving grace of imputation which taketh away all former 
 
 * giiilti?iess,' and ' that infused divine virtue of the Holy 
 
 * Ghost, which giveth to the powers of the soul, that first 
 
 * disposltioji towards future newness of life.' P. 48. 
 
 It is to be observed, however, that Mr. D. expressly 
 contends for a sanctification of the dispositions of the mind 
 — ' a change of heart for the time,* ' in some degree taking 
 
 * place ' in infants at their baptism. Without it he thinks 
 that ' the Holy Spirit, in the case of infants, must have 
 
 * performed his part imperfectly.'' (p. 68, 69.) My other 
 opponent. Dr. Laurence, on the contrary, holds up every 
 Such idea to ridicule, as a figment of Calvinism. 
 
 Note II. Page 1 1 . 
 
 On the term Regeneration. 
 
 In the former edition, I more closely restricted the term 
 regeneration in this place to ' the commencement ' of sanc- 
 tification, than appears to me necessary, or perhaps proper, 
 especially in considering the writings of the church of Eng- 
 land, which use a less confined and systematic language 
 than is employed by many modern divines. I had, indeed, 
 deviated from such a restricted use of the word before the 
 close of my work, when, in the conclusion of c. xii. speak- 
 ng of the inward and spiritual grace of baptism as described 
 n the catechism, namely ' a aeath unto sin, and a new 
 birth unto righteousness,' I observed ; * there is no need 
 to confine these terms to the very first commmiication of 
 grace to the soul : and to suppose them so confined in 
 this place, would be to contradict both the article, which 
 assumes " grace" to have been previously given, and 
 the preceding sentences of the catechism, which require 
 repentance and faith " in persons to be baptized.' To 
 this I now add, that the exhortation after baptism incul- 
 cates this very thing, which the catechism describes us th« 
 
APPENDIX. 195 
 
 spiritual grace of that sacrament, as a duty incumbent 
 throughout life upon ' us who are baptized,' namely ' to 
 ' die to sin, and rise again unto righteousness.' 
 
 It would further seem that the xxviith Article would not 
 so restrict the term, since it speaks of ' faith confirmed and 
 
 * grace increased ' as the benefits conveyed to the right re- 
 ceivers of baptism, though all, I presume, agree, (however 
 the running title of Dr. Mant's tract may imply the con- 
 trary,) that ' regeneration,' in some sense of the word, is 
 
 * the spiritual grace of baptism.' 
 
 Writers also of various descriptions concur in this ex- 
 tended use of the word. Luther (a great authority, with 
 Dr. Laurence, for explaining the doctrines of our church,) 
 says : ' Sacramentum vel signum baptismi, id quod videmus, 
 brevi perficitur ; verum significatio ejus, et .spiritualis hap- 
 tismus, DEMERSio scilicet peccatorum, ilia per hanc totam 
 vitam durat, et non nisi in morte perficitur. Tum enim 
 vere demergitur homo in haptismum, et verefit quod baptis- 
 mus significat.^ Op. torn. I. p. 283. edit. Jence. Calvin, 
 quoted by Dr. Laurence, thus explains his sentiments: 
 Regnum Dei incipere in hominibus sentimus, quando 
 regenerantur. Tunc autem regenerari dicimus, quando 
 illuminantur in Christi fidem, reformantur in obedientiam 
 Dei ipsorum corda; et, in summa, quando in ipsis in- 
 stauratur Dei imago. Sed regenerationem nego momenta 
 perfici. Satis est, si quotidianos facit progressus usque ad 
 mortem.' Op. vol. viii. p. 518. Dr. L. himself admits, 
 tliat ' regeneration has been sometimes appropriated, not 
 to the single act of spiritual birth, but to continued acts of 
 spiritual reviviscence, embracing the whole period of the Chris- 
 tian life ; ' and that the writer of the homily for Whit- 
 sunday evidently ' comprehends under the term regenera- 
 tion, not only the commencement^ but also the completion, 
 of sanctification.' — Vindication, p. 11 and 98. Arch- 
 deacon Daubeny also speaks of ' the use of the word lege- 
 neration, not in its exclusive application to baptism, but 
 in its unrestrained and comprehensive sense, as applica- 
 ble to the whole work of the Holy Spirit, from the sacra- 
 ment of Christian initiation to the end of the Christian's 
 life ; ' and affirms that ' the more restrained, together with 
 the more extended, use of the term regeneration ; in its 
 application to the first communication of divine grace in 
 baptism ; to the continued supplies of it in the subsequent 
 stages of the Christian life ; to the reneival of it alter 
 forfeiture; or to some mare than ordinary manifestations 
 
 o2 
 
196 APPENDIX. 
 
 ' of it under particular circumstances ; constitutes that com' 
 
 * prehensive doctrine of the church of England on this impor- 
 
 * tant subject, ivhich all her sound divines hold in substance, 
 
 * under ivhatever terms, or by whatever distinctions, they at 
 
 * different times have thought proper to describe it.' Conside- 
 rations, p. 41, 42, 56, 84, 90. He further quotes from 
 Archbishop Tillotson's Sermon on Regeneration the fol- 
 lowing passages : ' It is said that regeneration only signifies 
 
 * our first entrance into this state (of grace), and sanctijica- 
 ' tio7i our progress and continuance in it ; but this is a great 
 ' mistake , for thougli it be true that regeneration does 
 
 * signify our first entrance into this state, yet it is not true 
 ' that it only signifies that; for it is used in scripture to 
 
 * signify our continuance in that state; for Christians 
 ' are said to be children of God, and consequently in a 
 
 * regenerate state, not only in the instant of this change, 
 ' but during their continuance in it. Beside that our first 
 
 * change is as well called sanctijlcation, as our progress and 
 ' continuance in a state of holiness; so that neither is there 
 *• any difference between regeneration and sanctification, 
 
 * They both of them signify both our first entrance into a 
 
 * holy state, and our continuance and progress in it; though 
 ' regeneration do more frequently denote the making of 
 ' this change, and our first entrance into it.' Considera- 
 tions, p. 83, 84.* Thus also an article (said to proceed from 
 a very respectable quarter,) in a periodical publication : 
 
 * Another occasion of doubt has been the use made by 
 
 * many divines of the word regeneration, when they 
 
 * were not speaking of baptism. There needs be no 
 
 * embarrassment from any such cause. Every act of the 
 ' Holy Spirit upon the mind of the Christian, conducing 
 
 * to form in him the new life, is an act of regenerating 
 
 * power ; ever}' advance of the Christian in that new life is 
 
 * an increase of his regeneration. The first gift of new 
 
 * life in baptism is most properly called regeneration, 
 
 * because it is the first : setting aside that accident of its 
 
 * being the first,f the reason of man shall never be able to 
 
 * I omit Mr. D.'s repeated parentheses, in wliich he suppHes the 
 archbishop's deficiencies, as to our first change or regeneration being 
 •made in baptism. I do not find that his grace says one word of baptism, 
 in all this part, at least, of his discourse. 
 
 ■f- I profess myself utterly at a loss to anderstand sensible writers 
 thus speaking of the communication of divine life as always first made 
 in baptism, even while they admit that in adults repentance and faith 
 must precede baptism, and that without these Christian graces no spiri-- 
 tual benefit is obtained by such recipients of baptism. 
 
APPENDIX. 197 
 
 * pronounce wherein it differs from any subsequent gift 
 
 * conducing to the furtherance of the same state We 
 
 * do not perceive any difficulty in understanding how men 
 
 * may be regenerate in baptism, and yet divines be conti- 
 
 * nually speaking of another and subsequent regeneration. 
 
 * The use of discriminating terms is always of service ; but 
 
 * for the credit of our whole body of theology, we wish to 
 
 * say, that the promiscuous use of the word is strictly 
 
 * correct, though it has proved inconvenient. For the 
 
 * circumstance of priority in point of time is not a 
 
 * sufficient ground of making two terms for a subject 
 
 * otherwise agreeing in itself. It is one of the differences, 
 ' which the analysis of language seldom attends to.' Quar- 
 terly Review, July 1816, p. 504. 
 
 Note III. Page 12. 
 
 Nature of Regeneration, 
 
 1. ' If regeneration be really synonymous with baptism, 
 that is, with pouring water on the person in the name of 
 the blessed Trinity, then the question is at an end : bap- 
 tism is regeneration, and regeneration is baptism : bnt 
 then, the minister being the only agent, it would be absurd 
 to talk of " regeneration by the Holy (i[iost."* — 2. If 
 regeneration be only a badge of external profession, so 
 that a person is thenceforward to be reckoned a Christian, 
 and called so, without respect to any spiritual operation 
 which may or may not have passed on his mind, then it 
 would be equally nugatory to speak of the Spirit as effect- 
 ing regeneration. — 3. If regeneration be further enlarged 
 to the remission of all past sin, original and actual, but 
 nothing more, still the agency of the Holy Spirit would 
 be questionable : at least, all the prayers for personal 
 holiness in the baptismal service would be misplaced ; 
 nor would the term regenerate be made at all synony- 
 mous with " sons of God," " born and begotten again," 
 (as even Dr. Mant would make it,) inasmuch as both in 
 scripture, and by our church, these last terms are insepa- 
 rably connected with^a pure and holy state of mind. — 
 4. Once more : if regeneration be considered to stand 
 only for an external, and what we may call official, but 
 
 * Our church says, baptism is ' a sign of regeneration.' Art. xxvii. 
 Can a thing be the sign oj itself ? 
 
198 APPKNDIX. 
 
 unsaving, operation by which, as in the priesthood, the 
 person baptized is brought under superior obligations, a 
 higher profession, and, it may be, greater assistances 
 towards a religious course, we still think various incon- 
 veniences would follow.' ' If fully laid down as a defini- 
 tion of regeneration, it either does away the meaning of 
 the term altogether, as standing for a real change of 
 heart and life ; or it creates a necessity for the distinction, 
 which appears to us confused, between baptismal and 
 spiritual regeneration. In fact, in this latter case, it 
 seems to affix two graces to baptism, one conferred at all 
 times and on all persons who are baptized, (contrary we 
 think to the very notion of a sacrament,) and the other 
 a spiritual grace contingent on the disposition of the bap- 
 tized person. In short, though we think that the expla- 
 nations of our baptismal service given on this principle 
 are fully sufficient to satisfy any reasonable man in the 
 use of it, and are highly instructive and profitable as a 
 basis of subsequent admonition, yet we cannot but hold 
 that there is something still more definite in the meaning 
 of our church, and that both by herself and by scripture 
 a real and effectual change of nature is clearly and 
 strongly pointed out, as intended by the terms regenera- 
 tion and regenerate. 
 
 ' We say then that regeneration, both in scripture and 
 in our church formularies, substantially refers to that spi- 
 ritual and vital change in the heart and life, by which a 
 man ma}' be truly said to be created anew after the image 
 of God in righteousness and true holiness.' We need 
 not * seek for a more full, express, and exquisite delinea- 
 tion of this state than is to be found in our own invaluable 
 baptismal service ? Every term used in that service enters 
 more or less into the notion of regeneration, which, we 
 conceive, was held by the framers of our liturgy. And, as 
 there is scarcely one petition in the whole form but we 
 could most devoutly offer both for ourselves and others, 
 during every moment of our earthly existence, so we be- 
 lieve there is not a moment in which, our church herself 
 being judge, we might not properly pray for regeneration, 
 even to the very end of our spiritual course. For the 
 exact sense of this term does not appear to us to de- 
 note merely the commencement^ but also the existence 
 of the spiritual life in the soul ; not merely the act by 
 which we become new creatures, but also the state and 
 condition in which we are new creatures in Christ Jesus. 
 
APPENDIX. 199 
 
 ' For this state we ought continually and devoutly to pray. 
 
 * Imaged to us — ^' surely witnessed and effectually signed " 
 
 * to us, upon true faith and repentance, in our baptism, we 
 
 * earnestly desire that this state, the spiritual grace of bap- 
 
 * tism, may fully take place within us : and seeing a full pro- 
 
 * mise, on God's part, signed and sealed to us in that holy sa- 
 
 * crament, we further desire, on our part, so to approach the 
 ' throne of grace that our prayers for the fulfilment of 
 
 * that promise may not be in vain in the Lord ; but that 
 " being steadfast in faith, joyful in hope, and rooted in cha- 
 ' rity, we may so pass the waves of this troublesome world, 
 
 * that finally we may come to the land of everlasting life.' " 
 — Christian Observer, 1816, p. 231, 232. 
 
 Note IV. Page 17. 
 
 Baptism called by the Jews regeneration. 
 
 Dr. M. asserts that our Lord ' adopted not only the ce- 
 
 * remony of baptism' from the Jews, ' but also the very 
 ' term, by which they had described the change wrought in 
 
 * the baptized.' His principal authority is perhaps to be 
 found in ' IValVs History of Infant Baptism.' That learned 
 writer lays it down, that the Jews called the baptism of a 
 proselyte ' his new birth, regeneration, or being born agaui.* 
 This, he says, is a very ' usual phrase of the Jews : ' 
 and he gives two proofs of it, one from the Gemara, or 
 commentary on the great collection of Jewish traditions, as 
 follows : ' If any one become a proselyte, he is like a child 
 ' new-born ;' the other from Maimonides : ' The gentile that 
 ' is made a proselyte, and the slave that is made free, behold, 
 
 * he is like a child new-born.' On these quotations I might 
 remark, 1 . That they make no mention of baptism. It is 
 being proselyted, not being baptized, that is compared to a 
 new birth. 2. That being 'like a child new-born,' and 
 " ye must be born again," are widely different language. 
 But 3dly, and principally, one of these passages was not 
 written till at least 500 years, and the other not till above 
 1100 years after our Saviour's time. They are poor evi- 
 dence, therefore, of the language prevalent when his dis- 
 course with ' Nicodemus occurred ; and I must still think 
 that Jewish teacher's being utterly at a loss to comprehend 
 our Lord's terms, a sufficient proof that he was accustomed 
 to no such periphrasis for baptism. — Wall^ Introd. § 6, and 
 Prideaiixs Connect. Part I. Book v. 
 
200 APPENDIX. 
 
 Note V. Page 18. 
 
 & 
 
 I TRUSTED that I had sufficiently guarded this passage from 
 beiiig misunderstood or misrepresented, both by the con- 
 cluding sentence of the paragraph, ' I speak here of the 
 
 * ivater, that which alone our Lord names, and that which 
 
 * Dr. M. calls the instrument ; not of the sacrament of bap- 
 
 * tism, which we consider as more than a mere sign : ' and 
 by the following note, two pages afterwards ; ' I again beg 
 
 * it may be observed, that I am not calling the sacrament 
 ' of baptism a mere emblem ; I am here simply treating of 
 ' the one expression horn of water and of the Spirit, John 
 
 * iii. 5.' Mr. Daubeny, however, makes the passage his 
 authority for representing the divines, who differ from- him, 
 as ' objecting to regeneration as conveyed by baptism, 
 
 * partly, at least, on this principle, that they cannot con- 
 
 * ceive or imagine how grace should be attached to an out- 
 
 * ward work of man upon the bod}^' He ' takes leave to 
 
 * ask me, whether I consider human conception as consti- 
 ' tuting the proper boundary of divine operations ?' refers 
 me to Socinus ; delivers the warning that we may be ' enter- 
 
 * ing on the road to hrfidelity, however insensible we may 
 
 * be to our situation ; ' and, in fine, spends many pages in 
 demolishing this fundamental objection, as he supposes it to 
 be, on our part, to the admission of regeneration by bap- 
 tism, namely, that we cannot conceive or understand the 
 nature of the process ! — I most readily allow, that, in ad- 
 mitting the principle, or in adopting the course of reasoning, 
 thus censured, we should have laid the very foundation-stone 
 of infidelity ; but I have no more to do with such a princi- 
 ple, or with such reasoning, than the learned archdeacon 
 himself has. — Consideraiions, p. 13, &c. 
 
 Note VI. Page 31. 
 Meaning of Renovation. 
 
 * Macknight, recommended by the Bishop of Lincohi, 
 
 * in his Elements of Theolog}-, to young students in divinity, 
 
 * speaks in tliis place (lit. iii. 5) of baptism as called the bath 
 
 * of res,eneration, " not because any change in the nature of 
 ' the baptized person is produced by baptism, but because it 
 
 * is anemblemof the purification of his soul from sin." *' The 
 
 * real change," he observes, " in the nature of a believer, 
 
 * which entitles him to be caJjed a son of God, is not ef- 
 
APPENDIX. 201 
 
 fected by baptism, but by the renewing of the Holy Ghost 
 mentioned in the next clause. Hence our Lord, whom 
 the apostle hath followed here, joined the two together, 
 in his discourse to Nicodemus, John iii. 5." 
 * St. Chrysostom, whom we may consider as speaking 
 the sense of the ancients, in beautifully descanting on this 
 passage, and figuratively describing the Christian change 
 as the entire demolition of the fabric of corrupt nature, 
 and the erection of a new one, adds : " God hath not 
 only as it were re-furnished us, but has re-formed us, from 
 above, for this is the meaning of the expression, and the 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost. He has inade us new from 
 above : how ? By the Holy Spirit, &c." — Indeed, the 
 whole confusion amongst the moderns respecting this pas- 
 sage seem to us to arise from a mistaken, and we must add, 
 an unscriptiirul conception of the word renewal, which 
 may, it is true, as in English, sometimes mean the restor- 
 ation of a thing, as a colour or a quality formerly existing ; 
 but which in an apostolical use would lead us rather to the 
 idea of something formed or created anew. We believe 
 that almost every instance in the New Testament where 
 this expression occurs will justify our present view of it. 
 And it is remarkable that one occasion in which the term 
 renew" is applied to a restoration to former privileges, 
 and to a former character, is not only one on which snch 
 a renewal is declared to be impossible, but also, by a kind 
 of anomaly, the word " again" is singularly added to 
 • renew," as if to mark clearly that the latter term is even 
 then used in its proper sense of the first new-creation of the 
 man. The scriptural reader will know that we allude to 
 Heb. vi. 6. — The only real exception we remember occurs 
 in 2 Cor. iv. 16 : " Though our outward man perish, yet 
 our inward man is renewed day by day ; " where it is to be 
 observed, however, that the apostle is not speaking of the 
 renewal of decayed impressions, but treats quite of a dif- 
 ferent subject.' 
 
 ' This true meaning of the word reneiv in scripture .... 
 enables us, in the most satisfactory manner, to answer the 
 challenge of Dr. Mant, which invites us to point out a 
 single passage in the whole New Testament where baptized 
 Christians are exhorted to be regenerated, or are reminded 
 of the necessity of being born again. We can now refer 
 him to that most remarkable passage in Eph. iv. 22 — 24. 
 ' That ye put off concerning the former conversation the 
 old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful 
 lusts ; and be renewed' (formed anew) ' in the spirit of your 
 
202 APPENDIX. 
 
 * mind ; and that ye put on the new man, which after God 
 
 * is created in righteousness and true holiness." In this 
 ' passage indeed the whole regenerating change is most 
 
 * accurately described, and consequently the propriety of 
 
 * general exhortations even to baptized Christians to obtain 
 
 * that change fully justified. Compare also Rom. xii. 2: 
 *' Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed 
 
 * in the renewing of your mind;" and Col. iii. 10 : " And 
 
 * have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge 
 
 * after the image of him that created him." — Christian 
 Observer, 1816, p. 170, 171. 
 
 It is remarkable that Dr. Johnson, who certainly had 
 nothing like the present controversy in his contemplation, 
 explains the word to renew y as used ' in tlwology,' to mean 
 
 * to make anew ; to transform to new I'fe.' His authorities 
 are Heb. vi. 6, and Rom. xii. 2. 
 
 Note VII. Page 42. 
 
 Prayers for regeneration. 
 
 Dr. M. demands, ' Where are we instructed to pray after 
 ' baptism for regeneration ? ' The Society for promoting 
 Christian Knowledge, which circulates his tracts, shall 
 answer the demand. 
 
 * Grant that I may effectually feel the power of thy word, 
 
 * for a thorough and entire renewal of my soul. Let me he 
 
 * BEGOTTEN AGAIN by tJic gospel, as by incorruptible seed,* 
 &c. — Plain Directions for reading the Holy Scriptures^ a tract 
 of the Society's, p. 33. 
 
 ' O Lord, make us holy through the effectual regenera- 
 
 * TiON and sanctificatioji of thy Holy Spirit, that we may 
 ' love thee with all our heart and soul,' &c. Necessary 
 dnty of Family Prayer, ditto, p. 20, 21. 
 
 These tracts are, of course, designed for distribution, 
 and for use, among baptized persons. The next passage 
 speaks for itself upon this point. 
 
 * O blessed Lord, who hast been, pleased in mercy to engrcft 
 
 * me into the body of thy holy church, grant that I may be 
 
 * also a living member thereof. Regenerate me by the 
 
 * grace of thy Holy Spirit, that I may walk worthy 
 ' of the vocation wherewith I am called.' Husbandman'' s 
 Manual, ditto, p. 41, 42. 
 
 But may not still higher authority be adduced for the use 
 of such prayers by baptized persons ? The Society, it 
 
APPENDIX. 20$ 
 
 seems, has decided, that the collect for Christmas day, 
 ' Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children 
 
 * by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy 
 ' Spirit,' is a prayer, not for regeneration, but only for 
 subsequent rewoya^iow, or improvement, the fact of our pre- 
 vious regeneration being assumed, and taken for granted : * 
 but it has not, I believe, promulgated any similar ex- 
 position of the collect for the circumcision. In it we pray, 
 
 * Grant us the true ciraimcision of the Spirit, that our hearts 
 ' and all our members being mortified from all worldly and 
 
 * ifarnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed will.' 
 When my reader shall have considered what is adduced 
 concerning circumcision in the next chapter, I will beg him 
 to decide, wherein this ' true circumcision of the Spirit ' dif- 
 fers from the regeneratioti of the Holy Ghost. And even now 
 I would refer it to him, whether that, by which ' our 
 ' hearts and all our members are to be mortified from all 
 
 * worldly and carnal lusts,' so that ' we may in all things obey 
 ' God's blessed will,' be any thing materially different from 
 ' that death unto sin and new birth unto righteousness,' which 
 the catechism considers as * the inward and spiritual grace 
 ' of baptism.' What likewise is to be said of the prayer in 
 the burial service, ' We meekly beseech thee to raise us 
 
 * from the death of sin to the life of righteousness ' ? Is 
 not this a prayer for * the spiritual grace' of baptism pu^ 
 into the mouths of baptized persons ? 
 
 * How gratuitous an assumption it is, that the participle being must 
 necessarily have, or even that it most naturally has, a retrospective, ex- 
 clusively of a prospective, meaning, in the sentence, ' Grant that we 
 ' being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may 
 ' daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit,' I should imagine every English 
 reader must feel ; and the following passages do certainly demonstrate : 
 
 * Graciously hear us — that we thy servants, being hurt by no persecu- 
 
 * tions, may evermore give thanks unto thee : ' ' Grant that thy church, 
 ' being alway preserved from false apostles, may be ordered and guided 
 ' by faithful and true pastors :' ' Osend thy word of command to rebuke 
 ' the raging winds and the roaring sea ; that we, being delivered from this 
 
 * distress, may live to serve thee.' The last example is from ' a prayer 
 ' to be used in storms at sea.' The baptismal services themselves furnish 
 ' examples. ' Wash and sanctify them with the Hoiy Ghost ; that they, 
 < being delivered from thy wrath, may be received into the ark of thy 
 
 * church; and being steadfast in faith, joyful through hope, and rooted 
 
 * in charity, may so pass the waves of this troublesome world, &c.' Will 
 our opponents say that the participial clauses here refer to past, and 
 not to future, blessings } — But on the whole subject of the church praying 
 for the regeneration of her members, I would refer my readers to a paper 
 in the Christian Observer for November 1815, p, T22. 
 
 5 
 
204 APPENDIX. 
 
 Nor can the petition, ' Create and make in us new and 
 * contrite hearts,' which occurs in the collect for Ash- 
 Wednesday, be supposed to implore any blessing essentially 
 distinct from this. 
 
 Note VIII. Page 55. 
 
 On St. John's criteria of regeneration. 
 
 On the passages from St. John's Epistle, which have been 
 here considered, I subjoin two extracts from Bishop Wil- 
 son's Maxims of Piety. Bishop Wilson is one of the 
 authorities to which Dr. M. appeals, and the tract, fi'om 
 which my quotations are made, is ciiculated by the Society 
 for promoting Christian Knowledge. I give the two 
 topics entire as they stand. 
 
 * A REGENERATE PERSON CUHUOt Sin.* 
 
 * That is, he has, by faith and the grace of God, got 
 ' such an habit of holiness, such an inclination to virtue, 
 
 * that he cannot, upon any temptation, knowingly consent 
 
 * to transgress the laws of God. Having overcome the worlds 
 
 * that is, all those temptations by which men are led to 
 
 * commit sin, he is dead to sin ; that is, he can no more 
 
 * sin deliberately, than a dead man can breathe.' 
 
 * Regeneration. 
 
 * The only certain proof of regeneration is victory. He 
 
 * that is bor?i of God overcometh the uorld.f When we live 
 
 * by faith, when faith hath subdued the will, hath wrought 
 
 * repentance not to be repented of,:}; hath conquered our 
 
 * corruptions, then, to him that overcometh, will God give 
 
 * to eat of the tree of life.' 
 
 Note IX. Page 69. 
 
 As Dr. M. professed to consider both the liturgical for- 
 mularies and the doctrinal writings of our church, I did not 
 feel myself called upon to object very particularly to the 
 order in which he chose to adduce them. Since, however, 
 
 * 1 John iii. 9. f 1 Joh" v. 4. t 2 Cor. vii. 10. 
 
APPENDIX. 205 
 
 we have seen subsequent writers on the same side confining 
 their attention almost exclusively to the services, and 
 scarcely at all noticing the articles and other didactic com- 
 positions of the church, I cannot forbear remarking this as 
 a very unreasonable proceeding. Devotional compositions 
 must be popular, and to a certain degree indefinite: and 
 those which are designed for public use must likewise almost 
 necessarily proceed, as those of our church do, upon the 
 principle, and adopt the language, of charitable hope and 
 judgment respecting the parties concerned in them.* On 
 all these accounts, however exalted their excellence in their 
 own particular line, devotional writings cannot be the best 
 adapted to furnish accurate general conclusions on questions 
 of doctrine : and in a church which has propounded pro- 
 fessed and elaborate expositions of her doctrines, to neg- 
 lect the latter in order to deduce our conclusions from the 
 former, is a proceeding that cannot be vindicated. 
 
 Though Dr. M. has not done this to the extent that 
 others have done, yet, while he spends six or seven pages 
 on the oflices, his notice of the articles is confined to the 
 extent of a single page. 
 
 Note X. Page 76. 
 
 Opus Operatum. 
 
 Dr. M. does not indeed consider baptism as working the 
 effects which he ascribes to it by any intrinsic virtue of its 
 own, but only as the medium of the Holy Spirit's operation : 
 and so far his doctrine may differ from that of the opus ope- 
 ratum. But he certainly speaks of them as wrought without 
 regard to the temper and ' inward acts ' of the receiver, and 
 in this, which is the main point at issue, the two doctrines 
 fully coincide. — ' They thought,' says Bishop Jewel, speak- 
 ing of times coeval with the council of Carthage, ' the very 
 
 * outward work of baptism itself, only because it was done, 
 
 * without any further motion of the mind, was sufficient to 
 ' remit their sins. This old error our adversaries of late 
 
 * years have taken up, and made it catholic, bearing the 
 
 * people in hand, that their mass itself, ex opere operato, 
 
 * only of itself, and because it is said, is available for the 
 
 * See c. X. — Dr Lawrence says, this might liave been safely taken 
 for granted iu all cases where adults are concerned. 
 6 
 
206 APPENDIX. 
 
 * remission of their sins. Tims they expound their own 
 
 * dream : ex opere operato, id est, ex ipsa consea-atione et ob- 
 ' latione, et smnptione venerabdis ericharistice, &c. In Ma- 
 
 * nipulus Curaiorum, which not long since was thought to be 
 ' a book most necessary for all parsons and curates, as 
 
 * containing all necessary doctrine for the church of God, 
 ' It is written thus, opus opera turn est actus exercitatus circa 
 ' sacramentum : sicut opus operatum in baptismo est inspersio, 
 
 * vel immersio aquce, et prolatio verborum. And therefore 
 
 * Cardinal Cajetan, at Augusta in Germany, requiring 
 ' Doctor Luther to recant this article, said thus : Fides non 
 *■ est necessaria accessuro ad eucharistiam ; faith is not neces- 
 ' sary for him that will receive the sacrament: meaning 
 
 * thereby that the very sacrament itself, only because it is 
 
 * ministered, is sufficient, although the receiver be utterly 
 
 * void of faith. And therefore the bishops in the late coun- 
 
 * cil of Trent have determined thus, Si quis dixerit, &c. 
 
 * If any man say that grace is not given by the sacraments 
 ' of the New Testament, even for the work that is wrought, 
 ' {ex opere operato,) but that faith only of the heavenly pro- 
 
 * mise is sufficient to achieve grace, accursed be he.' Reply 
 to Harding, Art. 20, p. 438, edit. 1611. 
 
 Note XI. Page 80. 
 
 On the limitation of Dr. M.^s principles by subsequent writers. 
 
 When I lament that Dr. M. should have * so much con- 
 ' fined his attention to the case of infant recipients of bap- 
 
 * tism,' since he could scarcely have failed to perceive the 
 extravagance of his principles when he came to apply them 
 more particularly to adults, I would by no means be un- 
 derstood to imply, that he has at all restricted their applica- 
 tion to infants. So far from excepting the case of adults, 
 he positively includes it. The reader will have seen that he 
 urges the ' sacramental character ' of baptism, or its very 
 nature as a sacrament, in proof that it must invariably con- 
 vey grace, wherever it is ' rightly,' or legitimately, admi- 
 ' nistered : ' he quotes the adult service, in common with 
 that for infants ; he adduces the instances of Simon Magus 
 and other adults; pleads the necessity of * the joint opera- 
 ' tion ' of water and the Holy Spirit in order to regene- 
 ration; and finally, pronounces * any other than baptismal 
 
 * regeneration to be impossible in this world : '-r-from which 
 
APPENDIX, 2.07 
 
 last positions it will follow, that if any person, infant or 
 adult, has failed of finding regeneration in baptism, he 
 can never become regenerate at all, and consequently, can 
 never " see the kingdom of God? " — ' The doctrine,' he 
 observes, ' being thus generally established, it rests with 
 
 * those, who contend for any other regeneration, to show 
 
 * either the exception to its taking place at baptism, or that, 
 ' having then taken place, it may afterwards be repeated. 
 ' ... .Let the authority then be adduced, Let it be shown 
 
 * from holy writ, that any person, to whom baptism was 
 ' rightly administered, was not regenerated ; let it be shown, 
 
 * that any person, having been once baptized, is described, 
 
 * under any circumstances whatever, of repentance, refor- 
 
 * mation, renovation, or conversion, to have been again 
 
 * regenerated.'* 
 
 It is the more necessary to point this out, and to keep it 
 in the reader's recollection, because all the writers on the 
 same side, subsequently to Dr. M., have given up so much 
 of his doctrine as relates to the infallible regeneration of 
 adults, to whom baptism is ' legitimately administered ; ' 
 or rather would have it believed that this had never formed 
 any part of his doctrine. Archdeacon Daubeny confines 
 the spiritual grace of baptism to those who put ' no impe- 
 ' diment in the way,' or who are ' disposed for its reception.' 
 Dr. Laurence, besides constantly adopting a different lan- 
 guage from that of Dr. M. on this point, is pleased to say, 
 that ' much of my work is occupied in refuting a position 
 ' jvhich 710 one holds — the position that supernatural grace is, 
 ' in fact, necessarily and constantly conferred by baptism, 
 
 * in the case of adults, as well as in that of infants.' And 
 the Dean of Chichester, complaining of the injurious mis- 
 representations to which he and his fi-iends are subjected, 
 states this as the first and principal, that ' such notions of 
 
 * the inseparability of baptism and regeneration, of the 
 
 * outward sign and the inward grace which it symbolizes, 
 ' are attributed to them, as he is confident, that no minister 
 
 * of our church ever did or ever could really assert.' 
 
 All this, I trust, demonstrates that the answerers of Dr. 
 Mant have not laboured in vain.f 
 
 * P. 40. The instances here appealed to must be those of adults, as 
 scripture does not distinctly record any other. 
 
 t If any reader still doubt what is the real nature of Dr. M.'s doc- 
 trine upon this point, I refer him for demonstration to Mr, Faber's 
 Reply to the Dean of Chichester, p. 16 — 24. 
 
208 APPENDIX. 
 
 Note XII. Page 83. 
 
 The following remark is very just : ' In the developement 
 
 * of his views, we do not find that Dr. Mant has fairly at- 
 ' tempted to meet one difficulty, or to explain one opposing 
 ' sentiment, not only in the authorities he has referred to, 
 
 * but even in the church formularies themselves. Has he 
 
 * reconciled the, at least, apparejitli/ conditional interroga- 
 
 * tories befoi'e baptism, with the unconditional grant which 
 
 * he maintains of the spiritual grace afterwards? No. 
 
 * Has he explained in what sense we seem absolutely to pro- 
 ' mise the baptized eternal Ufe, as well as regeneration, in 
 
 * that sacrament? No. Has he reconciled the liturgical 
 
 * views of our church with those which they seem to con- 
 
 * tradict, particularly in the twenty-fifth article ? No. He 
 
 * has left every difficulty without exception to shift for itself.' 
 The apparently absolute promise of eternal life here re- 
 ferred to deserves more particulai' notice. It occurs in the 
 exhortation which immediately follows the gospel in the ser- 
 vice for infants. * Doubt ye not therefore, but earnestly 
 
 * believe, that he will likewise favourably receive this pre- 
 
 * sent infant ; that he will embrace him' (in the service to be 
 used after private baptism, * hath received, hath embraced,' 
 &c.) ' with the arms of his mercy; that he will give unto 
 
 * him,' or ' and (as he hath promised in his holy word) will 
 
 * give unto him the blessing of eternal life, and make him 
 
 * partaker of his everlasting kingdom.' The whole of this 
 language strongly confirms the interpretation which I have 
 given of the services. It is not the language of absolute 
 affirmation that every one baptized shall certainly obtain 
 spiritual grace and everlasting life : it would confessedly be 
 absurd to suppose that, as to the latter blessing : yet both 
 one blessing and the other are placed under the same predi- 
 cament: the persons addressed are taught to expect the one 
 as surely as the other. It follows that the whole is address- 
 ed to their faith and hope, intended to excite humble trust 
 and affiance in God's mercy,;rather than to give any uncon- 
 ditional assurance. ' Doubt ye not,' do not distrust it, but 
 on the contrary ' earnestly believe^ and expect, tliat through 
 
 * God's mercy so it shall be.' — ' We would particularly 
 
 * refer to this interesting exhortation as exhibiting the very 
 ' spirit and essence of the principle for which we contend, 
 
 * and as explicable, we are bold to say, upon no other 
 
 * principle. Upon what principle, we would only ask, can 
 
APPENDIX. 209 
 
 ' the church exhort the godfatliers and godmothers abso- 
 
 * lutely " not to doubt but earnestly believe " that God, as 
 ' he hath promised, " will give unto the child eternal life^ 
 
 * and " actually " make him partaker of his evei'lasting 
 
 * kingdom : " nay, *' faithfully and devoutly to give thanks 
 
 * to God " under this impression ? ' Christian Observer, 
 April 1816, p. 238, 240. 
 
 Note XIII. Page 83. 
 
 On considering the case of adult, before that of infant bap* 
 
 tism. 
 
 This order has been strenuously objected to by Dr. Lau- 
 rence, who considers me as deducing my interpretation of 
 the church office for the baptism of infants entirely from 
 what I had previously, and, as he admits, successfully, la- 
 boured to establish, as the true meaning of the office for 
 adults. In this he is completely mistaken, as I may shew 
 in another and more proper place.* ^S^^flice it here to offer 
 a few words in justification of the order which I have 
 adopted. 
 
 Dr. L.'s objection to it is founded upon the undeniable fact, 
 that the church offices were composed, and, in consequence 
 stand in the prayer-book, in a different order. We are 
 not, therefore, he says, to suppose the infant office ' con- 
 * formed' to the adult, but, vice versa, the adult to the in- 
 fant : which is very true, but not at all contrary, I conceive, 
 to any thing which I have written upon the subject. But, 
 setting aside this single circumstance of the arrangement of 
 the church services, (which is sufficiently accounted for by 
 the fact, that no service for the baptism of adults was 
 deemed necessary at all, till the period of the restoration,) 
 every other considei'ation appears to me decidedly to recom- 
 mend the course I have pursued. By considering the case 
 of adults first, as I have stated in the text, we contemplate 
 the subject * disencumbered of any particular questions, 
 ' which the case of infants might introduce into it.' It is 
 also the natural order. Baptism began with adults, profess- 
 ing repentance and faith, and from them descended to in- 
 fants. To adults also, and adults of this description, was 
 the language which pervades om* baptismal services origi- 
 
 • Reply to Dr. Laurence. 
 P 
 
210 APPENDIX. 
 
 nally applied : and it is as applied to them, that its meaning 
 must first be traced, if it is ever to be interpreted rationally 
 and consistently. And, finally, it is almost exclusively as 
 it relates to adults, to subjects capable of repentance and 
 faith, that both the sacred scriptures, and the didactic writ- 
 ings of our church, deliver the doctrine of baptism. Nei- 
 ther the scriptures, nor our articles, say a word of that doc- 
 trine as applied particularly to the case of infants : and the 
 catechism contains no more upon the subject, than that 
 answer to the question, ' Why then are infants baptized, 
 
 * who by reason of their tender age cannot perform ' re- 
 pentance and faitli ? — which I have not omitted to consider 
 in its proper place. Should we attempt, therefore, as Dr. 
 L. recommends, to deduce the doctrine of adult from infant, 
 and not that of infant from adult baptism, we must draw 
 conclusions without premises, and rush forward in the dark, 
 without any ground to support our steps. 
 
 I would only further observe, that to deduce the doctrine 
 of infant baptism from adult is one thing, and to suppose 
 
 * the office of infant baptism conformed to the principles of 
 
 * an office of adult baptism, which did not at the time exist,' 
 or to ' limit the sense of the original by that of the copy,* 
 is another, and a widely different thing. The former I 
 would do ; the latter I would not. 
 
 Note XIV. Page 87. 
 
 I HERE ai'gue, that, when the church so earnestly praj-s 
 that spiritual regeneration may accompany baptism, she 
 implies that baptism might be administered and no spiritual 
 regeneration conveyed. Mr. Daubeny fully sanctions the 
 principle of this reasoning. He says. ' that children who 
 
 * have been made children of grace, and heirs of eternal 
 
 * happiness by baptism,' may ' continue in that state of 
 
 * grace and heirship 'is 'an event which the church ear- 
 
 * nestly and repeatedly prays for, a7id consequently an event 
 
 * ivkich she by no means takes for granted.' Considerations, 
 p. 37. And again : • When the church prays that " all 
 ' things belonging to the Spirit may live and grow " ' in the 
 baptized party, ' she at least supposes that the contrary 
 
 * may be the case.' p. 39. Does it not equally follow, that 
 when the chmxh prays, that an infant coming to baptism 
 ' may be washed and sanctified by the Holy Ghost,' and 
 ' receive remission of sins by spiritual regeneration,' she 
 
 5 
 
APPENDIX. 211 
 
 * at least supposes that the contrary may be the case ? * 
 Yet this he will not allow : and he even ridicules my con- 
 clusions drawn from such premises : p. 72, 73. 
 
 Note XV. Page 95. 
 
 On the clause ' truly repenting and coming to him by faith,* 
 
 in the adult service. 
 
 Dr. Laurence having quoted nearly the whole of the pre- 
 ceding page, in which 1 most distinctly develope my views 
 of the meaning of the church in her service for adults, ob- 
 serves upon it : ' All this is perfectly correct and reasonable ; 
 ' but,' he adds, (how accurately the reader must judge,) 
 ' it is nothing more or less than what all parties have uni- 
 
 * formly held upon the same subject. Had ' the author 
 
 * rested here, no ground of objection could have existed.* 
 — Vindication, p. 19- 
 
 It may be remarked, that this avowal of Dr. L.'s (to which 
 he does not always very consistently adhere,) seems to 
 be made almost exclusively on the ground of the clause 
 quoted from the adult service, in the passage to which this 
 note is annexed. No doubt that clause is very important, 
 and very decisive: it convinces Dr. L. that the office in 
 which it is found proceeds upon quite a different principle 
 from the infant office, in which, of course, it is not found ; 
 and it has impressed subsequent writers somewhat in the 
 same wa^'. Yet it does not appear that it ever at all arrested 
 the attention of Dr. Mant ! It did not prevent his quoting 
 the adult service as equally applicable to his purpose with 
 that for infants. Indeed he does not at all notice this pas- 
 sage. 
 
 At the same time, however important it may be, the reader 
 will have observed that my argument by no means rests upon 
 the clause in question. I adduce it as a decisive confirma- 
 tion of conclusions, at which I had previously arrived on 
 other grounds. Nor will the least use appear to have been 
 made of it in the next chapter, which treats of the case of 
 infants, and the office appointed for their baptism. I con- 
 fine my application of it entirely to the office in which it 
 stands. With what injustice, then, does Dr. L. treat me, 
 when he represents me as ' urging, that our reformers in 
 ' the reign of Edward VI. presumed, that infants, brought 
 
 p 2 
 
212 APPENDIX. 
 
 to baptism possessed the previous requisites of repentance 
 and faith, or any equivalent refjuisite, respecting which 
 the office compiled by them is wholly silent, merely be^ 
 cause in the reign of Charles II. a clause of that description 
 was admitted into another baptismal office^ adapted to very 
 different persons !' — Vindication, p. 16. 
 
 Note XVI. Page 97. 
 
 * Legal Fiction.* 
 
 X)r. LaueeNce shall furnish, and from a high authority^ 
 an illustration of my jiieaning in the use of the above term. 
 
 * The answer given by the conforming party in the com- 
 ' mission,* at the Savoy conference, in me reign of Charles 
 II., * who, as far as the act of revision proceeded, consti- 
 ' tuted what in this respect all sides must be agreed in de- 
 
 * nominating the church itself^ w^as thus worded. " The 
 
 * effisct of children's baptism depends neither upon their 
 
 * own present actual faith and repentance, which the cate- 
 « chism saith expressly they cannot perform ; nor upon the 
 
 * faith and repentance of their natural parents or pro-par- 
 
 * rents, or of their godfathers or godmothers, but upon 
 ' the ordinance and institution of Christ. But it is requisite, 
 
 * that, when they come to age, tliey shotdd perform those con- 
 
 * ditions of faith and repentance, for which also their god- 
 
 * fathers and godmothers charitably undertook on their 
 
 * behalf. And what they do for the infant in this case, 
 ' the infant himself is truly said to do, as in the courts of this 
 
 * kingdom daily the infant does answer by his guardian ; audit 
 
 * is itsual for to do homage by proxy, and for princes to marry 
 
 * by proxy. See St. Austin, Ep. 21 ad Bonifacium." ' — 
 Quoted by Dr. Laurence, Vindic. p. 124, from Proceedings 
 of the commission of review at the restoration. 
 
 The latter part of this quotation precisely explains my 
 intention in the legal fiction. Some preceding parts coun- 
 tenance other sentiments which I have avowed, and which 
 I>r. L. has impugned. 
 
 In the former etlition of my Inquiry, I had here said, 
 simply with reference to the questions addressed as to the 
 infant, and answered in his name by the sponsors, ' It is 
 
 * as if the soul of the child were considered as transferred 
 
 * to his sponsor, and as speaking in him and by him.' This, 
 
APPENDIX. 213 
 
 being a mere Illustration, and not, as Dr. L. would have it 
 thought, any part of my argument, and having been unge- 
 nerously misrepx'esented by him, is now omitted, without 
 any detriment to my reasoning. 
 
 VVheatley in his Illustration of the Common Prayer (Cia- 
 rendon-press edition, 179 i<, p. 317, 320, &c.) treats this whole 
 subject of the stipulations in a manner well suited to illustrate 
 and confirm my reasonings. * There is,' he observes, * a 
 ' mutual covenant in this sacrament between God and man :' 
 and, ' in the making of a covenant, the express consent of 
 both parties is required' And then, having ' produced 
 the warrant from Scripture, whereby it appears that God 
 is willing to receive infants into his favour ; ' &c. he pro- 
 ceeds : ' And now, no doubt remaining but that God is ready 
 and willing to perform his part of the covenant, so sooa 
 as the child shall promise on his ; the priest addresses 
 himself to the godfathers and godmothers to promise for 
 him, and from them takes security that the infant shall 
 observe the conditions that are required of him. And in 
 this there is nothing strange or new ; nothing which is 
 not used almost in every contract. . . . Much after the 
 same manner, whenever kings are crowned in their in- 
 fancy, some of the nobility, deputed to represent them 
 take the usual oaths. The same do ambassadors for their 
 principals at the ratifying of leagues or articles; and 
 guardians for their minors, who are bound by the law to 
 stand to what is contracted for them. — * Let us now pro- 
 ceed to consider the form of vicarious stipulation that 
 is here used. It is drawn up all along by way of question 
 and answer, which seems to have been the method even 
 in the days of the apostles ; for St. Peter calls baptism 
 " the answer of a good conscience : " and, in the primi- 
 tive church, queries were always put to the persons bap- 
 tized, which persons at age answered themselves, and 
 children by their representatives, who are therefore to 
 answer in the first person, / renounce, &c. because the 
 contract is propei-ly made with the child. For which reason, 
 in the first book of King Edward, the priest is ordered 
 to demand of tl}£ child these several questions proposed; 
 and, in our present liturgy, though the minister directs 
 himself to the godfathers and godmothers, yet he speaks 
 by them to the child as is manifestly apparent from the 
 third question,' ivilt thou he baptized in this faith ? ' and 
 consequently the child is supposed to return the several 
 answers which are made by the godfathers.' 
 
214 APPENDIX. 
 
 Note XVII. Page 99. 
 
 I BEG to have it observed, that my arguments concerning 
 the service for infant baptism are not at all, as Dr. Laurence 
 would represent them, inferences from what has been proved 
 concerning the service for adults. They are drawn directly 
 from the contents of the service itself; particularly from 
 the engagements required and made in the name of the 
 child. I do not indeed repeat at length the conclusions 
 which have been drawn from the same forms as they occur 
 elsewhere : that were superfluous : but it is manifest that 
 they must furnish the same deductions in one place as in 
 another. Once indeed I refer to the adult service, but it 
 is merely to repel an inference, attempted to be drawn 
 from language in the infant service, which the same lan- 
 guage confessedly does not warrant, when it occurs in 
 the service for adults. 
 
 Note XVIII. Page 100. 
 
 The Stipulations!. Mr. Daubeny and others on the case of 
 
 Infants. 
 
 We have seen above the stress laid upon the professions 
 and stipulations made in baptism. The church (after the 
 example of St. Peter,) virtually suspends every thing upon 
 the sincerity with which they are made, both in her articles, 
 her catechism, and her services. In her homily also on 
 Swearing (which may be safely attributed to the pen of 
 Cranmer,) she does the same. ' By holy promises, with 
 ' calling the name of God to witness, we be made lively 
 
 * members of Christ, when we profess his religion, receiv- 
 
 * ing the sacrament of baptism.' — In the extracts fi*om 
 Bishop Hooper, given in c. x. below, the reader will find 
 this doctrine expressly applied by the venerable reformer 
 and martyr to the case of infants. * Thus be the infants ex- 
 
 * amined concerning repentance and faith, before they be 
 ' baptized with water ; at the contemplation of which faith, 
 
 * God purgeth the soul.' 
 
 I would here present to my reader the views taken by 
 Mr. Daubeny of the case of infants, and the intention of 
 the church in the lang-uaffe whicTi she uses concerninjj them. 
 
 * The profession macle for them,' he says, (Considerations, 
 
APPENDJX. 215 
 
 p. 71.) * is received in tlwir beJialf as sincere. There is con- 
 
 * sequently, m tlie eye of charity, no impediment in the 
 
 * way of their receiving internal sanctification or spiritual 
 ' regeneration by baptism. And therefore our church 
 
 * speaks of every child that she has baptized as regenerate/ 
 Again, p. 73 : ' His prayer being put up in faith and in the 
 
 * name of Christ, the minister concludes, on the ground 
 
 * of that assurance given Matt. xxi. 22 . . . that his petition 
 
 * has been heard and granted,' and accordingly ' returns 
 
 * thanks to God for the same ; and in consequence feels 
 
 * himself authorized to declare the then baptized child to be 
 
 * actually regenerate.' — Yet again, p. 87 : ' The church of 
 
 * England proceeds in her service on tlie supposition that the 
 
 * professions of the infant by his sponsors in baptism are, 
 ' to his advantage, accepted at the thyone of grace as sin- 
 
 * cere. The infant is therefore considered by her as stand- 
 
 * ing, in the eye of God, on the same ground with the 
 
 * true believer in Christ.' — The reader will probably think 
 that he here perceives an indefinitely near approach to my 
 statements. — ' The prayer of faith,' ' the eye of charity,' 
 
 * the supposition,' ' the profession received as sincere; ' all 
 these exceedingly resemble my terms, as well as my senti- 
 ments. Mr. Daubeny, however, thinks otherwise, and, 
 what is not a little extraordinary, immediately annexes to 
 the last sentence but one, here quoted, the following con- 
 clusion : ' The church, therefore, assumks nothing on this 
 ' occasion, but pronounces on the case as it is then presented 
 
 * to her ! ' (p. 73.) 
 
 Dean Bethell explains his sentiments as follows : ' We 
 ' hold that this is invariably the case in infant baptism ; ' 
 
 * namely, ' that spiritual regeneration accompanies outward 
 
 * baptism;' ' because we believe that those qualifications 
 
 * which are required of persons to be baptized (viz. faith 
 ' and repentance) are mere fully imputed by God to those in- 
 
 * fants, who by reason of their tender years cannot perform 
 « them.' Apology, p. 5, 
 
 Dr. Laurence perceives no necessity for ' imputation.' 
 He finds the only requisite qualification for infants in ' that 
 ' innocency, or freedom from actual guilt, which is insepa- 
 ' rable ' from their ' state of being.' And what is more, 
 lie finds this qualification of innocence distinctly * pointed 
 
 * out,' and ' clearly explained ' by the church herself^ and 
 that in a service, which lays the very foundation for iniant 
 baptism in the fact, that ' all men are conceived and born in 
 
 * sin ; ' and which repeatedly speaks of the infant being 
 
2i8 APPENDIX. 
 
 ' released from his sins,' or prays that he may * receive re^ 
 
 * mission of sins by spiritual regeneration.' — flndicatioji,ip' 
 115, &c. 
 
 Note XIX. Page 101. 
 
 The following extract adds so much explanation and 
 confirmation to the doctrine I have endeavoured to establish, 
 and at the same time so well anticipates some more recent 
 refinements of Dr. M.'s principles, that I hesitate not to 
 insert it, notwithstanding its length. 
 
 * But the question remains, with respect to infants, in 
 
 * what sense the church here also thanks God for the re- 
 
 * generation of the baptized, and seems to assume the 
 ' existence of the divine life in their souls. The case is 
 
 * peculiar, and seems to be left undetermined by the church 
 ' Itself. For it is remarkable, that having settled the 
 
 * question of the efficacy of baptism in her twenty-seventh 
 
 * article, as it respects adults, on the ground of faith and 
 ' grace previously existing, and then confirmed and in- 
 
 < creased, she simply adds, " The baptism of young chil- 
 
 * dren is in any wise to be retained in the church, as most 
 
 * agreeable with the institution of Christ : " and no further 
 
 * explanation is given. Now we think ourselves quite at li- 
 
 * bertyto argue from this circumstance, that she int3nded the 
 
 * case of infant baptism to stand upon the same principle 
 
 * as that of adults. Had she intended to make so prodigious 
 
 * a difference betiveen the two cases, as that regeneration in one 
 
 * should be only a conditional, and in the other an absolute and 
 
 * unconditional grant, is it possible she should have luholly sup' 
 ' pressed such an intention ; or have left it to be distantly col- 
 
 * lected from uncertain expressions in her baptismal service ; 
 ' which expressions mweaver stood only for a conditional 
 
 * grant in the former case of adult baptism f * The most ra- 
 
 * tional solution to our minds is, that she intended the same 
 
 < thing in both cases ; and since it had been settled in con- 
 
 * troversies as old as the Pelagian, that the same ivords were 
 
 * to be used in infant and in adult baptism, she seems to have 
 
 * wisely governed herself by antiquity on this point, and to 
 
 * have employed the same words in both cases, and in both 
 
 * cases with the same view. 
 
 * How, then, is the conditional thanksgiving for infant re- 
 
 * generation to be understood by the minister and the 
 
 * See Notes XI. and XV. above. 
 
APPENDIX. 217 
 
 bystanders ? "We answer, It is to be understood as an 
 expression of confidence in the mercy of Almighty God 
 that he hath not been, and will not be, wanting " on his 
 part " in affording every means for the full and entire re- 
 generation of this infant. The pious parent sees in this 
 sacrament a seal and token of all that he expects from the 
 promises and the mercies of God in Jesus Christ. He 
 sees in it a covenant-seal of that pardon and free justifica- 
 tion which he hopes indeed, through divine grace, may 
 be granted to all children, whether baptized or not, dying 
 in their infancy ; but which he doubts not, in answer to 
 his fervent and faithful prayers, is the sure portion of his 
 own. He thanks God for the outward and visible token 
 I of that inv/ard and spiritual grace, and for the assurance 
 given in this sacrament of a new and spiritual life, in an- 
 swer to faithful prayer. He presumes further to expect 
 that, in answer to such prayer, and through the medium 
 of his instructions, the child *' shall lead the rest of its 
 life acccording to this beginning ; " and in contemplation 
 of this issue, he undertakes, not rashly but as a humble 
 believer, to thank God for the event which he anticipates. 
 The child in baptism has " the sacrament of faith," as 
 St. Austin speaks : the parent looks forward in faithful 
 and joyful expectation to the reality of that faith, of which 
 he is now assured that the means, on God's part, will not 
 be wanting. He beholds afar off^ indeed, but in lively 
 hope, every feature of the new and divine life in the soul 
 of his child ; and even gladly anticipates the time when, 
 according to his baptismal prayers, he shall at length 
 meet " the children that God has given him " in the land 
 of heavenly rest, there to dwell together with God in life 
 everlasting through Jesus Christ. 
 
 ' If, indeed, it shall appear hereafter but too manifest 
 that the divine life has no existence in the soul of the 
 child ; if instruction shall be found vain, and every effort 
 fruitless, to kindle, instrumentally, the sparks of faith 
 and heavenly love within him ; still a parent will not ut- 
 terly despair. The divine life not yet imparted may be 
 f imparted hereafter. The baptismal prayers, the con- 
 
 * tinned supplications and unceasing endeavours, of the 
 ' faithful parent may still at some future time take effect, 
 
 * His baptism still remains valid as an ordinance : and at 
 
 * the hour of regeneration itself, the first dawnings of faith 
 
 * and love shall be hailed as in connection with the seal 
 
 * previously set, and nothing shall prevent the now repent-* 
 
218 APPENDIX. 
 
 inp^ and returning convert from taking to himself the full 
 privilege of that Christian birth, and heavenly adoption, 
 which in reversion, had been then testified to him. And 
 with this perfectly agree the answers put into the mouth 
 of tlie child, in reference to this very rite in our admirable 
 catechism : " wherein (?. e. in baptism) I was made a mem- 
 ber of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the 
 kingdom of heaven ; " and again, " I heartily thank our 
 heavenly Father, who hath called me to this state of sal- 
 vation through Jesus Christ our Saviour ; " and again, 
 • being by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath, 
 we are hereby (?. e. by regeneration, the inward and spi- 
 ritual grace) made the children of grace." We say, that 
 all these answers tend precisely to the same point ; namely, 
 to put into the mouth of the child, now supposed capable 
 of instruction, the same language of faith and hope which 
 before had been adopted by the parent himself. The 
 hope now thought fit to be inculcated on the child, is not 
 indeed the senseless assurance that a mysterious change 
 had already, unconditionally, passed on his heart and 
 disposition, in a rite where he had been as wholly passive 
 as the water which sprinkled him ; but that, in consider- 
 ation of his faith now supposed sincere, his resolutions 
 steadfast, his prayers hearty, and his mind spiritual, he 
 may look upon himself as a new creature in Christ Jesus ; 
 and that having had the sign and seal in his baptism, and 
 his present feelings testifying to the inward and spiritual 
 grace existing in his soul, nothing need prevent his taking 
 to himself the choicest blessings of the new covenant of 
 grace, and, as Dr. Mant has expressed it, now safely be- 
 coming " filled with all joy and peace in believing." 
 ' After all, should the child, notwithstanding the faith and 
 prayers of the parent and the church, tlie sound instruc- 
 tions built on a spiritual catechism, the solemn outward re- 
 cognition of his baptismal vows in the rite of confirma- 
 tion, and all other means of grace, continue to the end, 
 to all appearance, " dead in trespasses and sins," and ob- 
 stinately opposed through a perverse will to every offer of 
 divine grace; we cannot still consider the thanksgiving 
 at his baptism as wholly lost, much less a mockery of the 
 divine Majesty. " Into whatsoever house ye enter Jirst 
 say, Peace be to this house. And, if the son of peace be 
 there, your peace shall rest upon it : if not, it shall turn 
 to you again." The thanksgiving, like the invocation of 
 ytaithj shall be accepted in behalf of the offerer, if not of 
 
APPENDIX. 219 
 
 * the object ; and his " prayer shall return into his own 
 ' bosom." Neither can we conceive it to be in the least de- 
 ' gree necessary to frame the hypothesis of a barren, inef- 
 
 * ficient, external regeneration, as much without all evidence 
 
 * as without all profit, supposed to have taken place in 
 
 * every individual at baptism, in order to justify the hope- 
 
 * ful assumption of that inward, legitimate, and eflectual 
 
 * change represented by it, which, in perfect analogy to the 
 
 * divine proceedings, and to the true nature of a sa- 
 
 * crament, may take place at any other period in the Chris- 
 
 * tian's life. 
 
 * If for want of a spiritual view of their own admirable 
 
 * liturgy, subscribed originall}' by hands little less than 
 
 * apostolical, and written, we had almost said, with the 
 
 * blood of its compilers, mistaken men take up with the 
 
 * most inadequate sense of its profound expressions, the 
 
 * fault is surely not in the liturgy but in themselves. 
 ' What use has not been made by the same persons even of 
 
 * the scriptures ! And if, for centuries together, those 
 ' blessed writings have lain hid under a mass of false inter- 
 ' pretation, or suffered to pine in fruitless neglect ; what 
 
 * wonder, if for want of suitable instruction in the nature 
 'of a liturgy built upon them, even good men should 
 
 * have sometimes found themselves burdened in the use of 
 
 * it, and the enemies of the church should take occasion for 
 
 * a short-lived and inglorious triumph ? The expressions 
 
 * in our baj^tismal, as in every other service, are scriptural 
 
 * expressions, and intended for the use of spiritual persons. 
 
 * As such we believe them to be liable to exactly the same 
 
 * abuse, on the principles of carnal liberty, with the scrip- 
 
 * tures themselves ; but capable also of yielding similar 
 
 * edification in their legitimate use. The scriptures em- 
 
 * brace whole bodies of men under the appellation of saints, 
 
 * elect, faithful, &c. not because they intended nothing 
 
 * more by those expressions than outward official distinc- 
 ' tions on the one hand; nor because, on the other, they 
 
 * meant to assert that every individual " who named the 
 
 * name of Christ, had departed from all iniquity." They 
 ' affix peremptorily and unreservedly the appropriate grace 
 
 * to both the sacraments, sometimes with little or no guard 
 
 * at all, but an implied one ; not because they held the 
 
 * grace always to follow the sign, nor, on the contrary, be- 
 
 * cause they meant to merge the sign, as insignificant, in 
 
 * the thing signified. Nay, St. Paul renders thanks to 
 
 * God for whole churches, " because that their faith grow- 
 ^ eth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of them all 
 
220 APPENDIX. 
 
 towards each other aboundeth ; " when we arc sure fi'om 
 his other expressions and his whole doctrine that he must 
 have knovv'n, at the moment of thanksgiving, of some 
 one, and many more might be of that class, who " had 
 a form of godliness and denied the power thereof." And 
 even when he expresses an undoubted " confidence," to 
 appearance, " of this very thing, that He who had be- 
 gun a good work in them, would perform it until the day 
 of Jesus Christ," must he not have feared that (like that 
 very Demas wiiom he had associated with himself in si- 
 milar congratulations,) many amongst his most hopeful 
 converts might afterwards " forsake him, having loved 
 this present world." — The principle, then, most evidently, 
 on which such thanks were rendered and such confidence 
 expressed, was clearly a hypothetical one : nay, we will 
 not say so much hypothetical, as a principle oi faith, of 
 strong and fervent faith, grounded on the promise, *' If 
 thou believest, all things are possible to him that believeth." 
 It was a strong expression of hope, even of " hope to 
 the end." It was an acceptance of the assurances which 
 God had made to him : and even when these failed of 
 their accomplishment, still he was not discouraged from 
 laying again the foundations of the same hope, " building 
 himself up again in his most holy faith, praying in the 
 Holy Ghost," and believing that his very disappointments 
 would work for his good, preserve him " in the love of 
 God and in the patient waiting for Jesus Christ." * 
 
 Christian Observer, 1816, p. 235 — 237. 
 
 View taken by Non-conformists of the Church Catechism and 
 Baptismal Service. 
 
 As certain modern dissenters, sensible that they can thus 
 most advantageously assail the church, concur with the 
 adherents of Dr. Mant in contending, that his is the only 
 proper inteipretation of her catechism and baptismal ser- 
 vices ; and that the non-conformists of Charles the second's 
 days had no idea of such a sense as the opponents of Dr. 
 M. would put upon these compositions ; it becomes more 
 than a matter of curiosity to learn, what were the real sen- 
 timents of those non-con(brmists upon the question ; and 
 under what view of our formularies they refused to receive 
 
APPENDIX. 221 
 
 them. On these particulars we are furnished with impor- 
 tant information from one of their leadiiig managers at the 
 Savoy conference, the celebrated Richard Baxter. * Withal 
 
 * the godfathers and godmothers personate the child, as he^ 
 
 * lieving in Christ and renouncing sin ; and that without any 
 
 * authority for it, either from natural right or positive law. 
 
 * And the ordinance of baptism will seem to be put upon 
 
 * that insufficient bottom, by any one who sedately com- 
 
 * pares the office for that purpose and the church catechism. 
 
 * For the purpose' (meaning the promise and vow) ' of god- 
 
 * fathers and godmothers, in the child's name, is, in both, 
 
 * represented as the foundation of baptismal dedication, and 
 ' the ground of the claim, of the benefits and blessings thence 
 
 * arising.' — Baxter's Life and Times, 8vo. vol. ii. p. 211. 
 
 These persons, then, rejected the services of the church 
 takin* as nearly as possible the same view of her in- 
 tentions in them as v/e do : and, had the church commis- 
 sioners deemed it an erroneous view, it is to be supposed that 
 they would have pointed out the error. — With the opinion 
 expressed of the untenableness of the doctrine of the church, 
 in this view of it, we have here no concern. 
 
 Note XX. Page 131. 
 
 Sentiments of Bishop Jewel. 
 
 As soon as the former edition of this work had left the 
 press, I applied myself to collect the opinions of our more 
 eminent theological writers on the subjects of which it 
 treats ; and I had made some progress when the publication 
 of my excellent friend and fellow-labourer, Mr. Biddulph, 
 in reply to Dr. Mant, came to my hands. In his appendix 
 I found myself completely anticipated, and more than anti- 
 cipated : so that I immediately laid aside my design. The 
 authority, however, of one distinguished ornament of our 
 church, at the period of the reformation. Bishop Jewel, is 
 so important ; and what he has written upon the subject 
 may be considered as so complete a summary, and, at the 
 same time, explanation, of all that doctrine of the more 
 ancient divines, which our opponents would represent as 
 entirely on their side, though it is, in fact, decidedly 
 against them ; that I shall here exhibit the substance of my 
 collections from him. 
 
 I would first premise a few sentences concerning Jewel 
 and his works. * This prelate, Bishop Burnet affirms 
 
222 APPENDIX. 
 
 and it seems the general sentiment, " was the first, and 
 much the best, writer of EHzabeth's time." He " had a 
 great share in all that was then done, particularly in com- 
 piling the second book of Homilies." " His works," there- 
 fore, his Lordship observes, may with " great reason " 
 be considered " as a very sure commentary on our arti- 
 cles." * But the work, which especially immortahzed his 
 name, was his celebi'ated " Apology of the English 
 Church." It was written at the instigation, and by the 
 common advice, of the whole body of divines that were 
 assembled for the purpose of effecting the reformation. 
 It passed through many editions, and was published, both 
 at home and abroad, in various languages. It was repeatedly 
 vindicated, when attacked by the enemies of the church, 
 and contributed more, it is believed, towards its establish- 
 ment, than any other publication of the age. And, as histo- 
 rians assure us, in such equal esteem, and of such equal 
 authority, with the thirty-nine articles themselves, was it 
 in those days holden, that a design was entertained of its 
 being joined with them.' f — Such was the writer whose 
 sentiments we propose to collect.;}: 
 
 I. Of sacraments. ' Christ hath ordained them, that by 
 ' them he might set before our eyes the mysteries of our 
 
 * salvation, and might viore strongly conjirm the faith, which 
 
 * we have in his blood, and might seal his grace in our 
 
 * hearts. As princes' seals confirm and warrant their deeds 
 
 * Pref to Exp. of Articles. f Strype. 
 
 X The foUowins; are the terms in which the writer of an article, before 
 referred to, in the Quarterly Review, speaks of Jewel. — ' Had all the 
 
 * serious and learned divines of our church to give their voice in favour 
 ' of the one man whom they would hold fortli as the greatest light of 
 ' the reformation — as the person whose mind had most fully compre- 
 ' hended and laboured upon the whole compass of reformed truth, and 
 ' whose writings do still preserve the most highly sanctioned memorial 
 ' of it; — we know not whether they would name any other than 
 ' him, who having received from the great fathers of the reformation 
 ' the office of unfolding, complete in all its parts, that truth which they 
 ' with their faithful voice had proclaimed among us, first reduced and 
 ' recorded our whole national creed with its illustration and evidence — 
 ' Bishop Jewel. He, with a more leisurely sui-vey of the bearing of 
 ' e\ery doctrine, than could be taken even by the leading reformers 
 ' themselves, who, in the first eflbrt and agony of their work, with rude 
 ' and noble simplicity, threw down the fabric of error, and hewed the 
 ' granite from the quarry, and brought it for the building, he, coming in 
 
 < the close of their labours, united and perfected all that they had pre- 
 
 < pared or done, as much as any one man can be said to have done it. 
 ' To the theological inquirer, he is amaster-builder of the system of our 
 » doctrine. His formal and deliberate judgment, therefore, is of the great- 
 
 * est value.' 
 
APPENDIX. 225 
 
 * and charters, so do the sacraments witness unto our con- 
 ' science, that God's promises are true, and shall continue 
 ' for ever. Thus doth God make known his secret purpose 
 
 * to his church : first, he deciareth his mercy by his word, 
 
 * then he secileth it, and assureth it by his sacraments. In 
 
 * the word we have his promises : in the sacraments we see 
 
 * them.' Treatise OIL the Sacraments, 1570 : edit. 1611, p. 261. 
 
 His account is similar in the Apology. He there says: 
 ' Nor do we doubt to call them a kind of visible ivords, the 
 
 * signets of' righteousness, and symbols of grace.' Undoubt- 
 edly they are, as he says, much more than ' bare signs ; ' but 
 here is nothing like making them necessarily to convey grace. 
 
 ' When God would witness and stablish to Abraham 
 
 ' and his seed after him the promise of his mercy, he 
 
 ' himself ordained a sacrament to confirm the same . . .Thus 
 
 ' God ordained the sacrament of circumcision. This sacra- 
 
 * ment was a seal of God's promise to Abraham, and a seal 
 
 * of Abrcdiam^ s faith and obedience towards God.' ... St. Paul 
 ' saith, " Abraham received the sign of circumcision as 
 ' the seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had 
 
 * when he was uncircumcised." lb. p. 262, 263. 
 
 II. Explanation of the language of the Fathers. ' Saint 
 
 * Augustine saith : " If sacraments had not a certain like- 
 
 * ness and representation of the things whereof they be sa- 
 
 * craments, then indeed they were no sacraments." And, 
 
 * because of this likeness which they have with the things 
 
 * they represent, they be oftentimes termed by the names of 
 
 * the things themselves.' (Thus baptism is called regeneration.) 
 lb. p. 262. 
 
 Thus also in his Defence of the Apology: ' We must 
 ' consider that the learned fathers, in their ti*eatise of the 
 
 * sacraments, sometimes use the outward sign instead of 
 ' the thing itself that is signified ; sometimes they use the 
 
 * thing signified instead of the sign. As, for example, 
 
 * sometimes they name Christ's blood instead of the water ; 
 
 * sometimes they name the water instead of Christ's blood. 
 
 * This figure is called metonymia, that is to say, an exchange 
 
 * of names, and is much used among the learned, specially 
 
 * speaking of the sacraments. Defence of Apol. p, 218.* 
 
 III. High language concerning baptisjn. Jewel observes that 
 the fathers used * vehement and great words' concerning the 
 
 * He shews that the fathers thus expound the words, Hoc est corpus 
 meitm, '' this is ray body," fioc est figiira corporis mei, ' that is to say, 
 
 * this is a figure of my body.' Def. p. 14. Can there be a doubt that he 
 would have explained the sentence ' baptism is regeneration in the sama 
 
 * way — it is 'a sign of regeneration ? ' 
 
224< APPENDIX. 
 
 sacraments. And in this he does not scruple to imitate them. 
 * Such a change is made in the sacrament of baptism. 
 
 * Through the power of God's working the water is turned 
 
 * into blood. They that be washed in it receive the remis- 
 
 * sion of sins : their robes are made clean in the blood 
 
 * of the Lamb. The water itself is nothing : but by the 
 
 * working of God's Spirit, the death and merits of our 
 
 * Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ are thereby assured unto 
 
 * us.' On the Sacraments, p. 266. 
 
 * Baptism therefore is our regeneration or new birth, 
 ' whereby we are born anew in Christ, and are made the 
 
 * sons of God, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven : it is 
 
 * the sacrament of the remission of sins, and of that wash- 
 
 * ing which we have by the blood of Christ.' lb. p. 265. 
 And p. 263 : * The grace of God doth always work with 
 
 * his sacraments: but we are taught not to seek that grace 
 
 * in the sign, but to assure ourselves by receiving the sign, 
 
 * that is given us by the thing signified." 
 
 IV. The limitation to such language always implied, and 
 ^mnetimes expressed. — ' So saith Cyril: " As water throughly 
 
 * heated with fire burn eth as well as fire; so the waters which 
 
 * wash the body of him that is baptized, are changed into di- 
 
 * vine power, by the working of the Holy Ghost." ' The very 
 next sentence expresses the limitation. It is as follows : ' So 
 
 * said Leo, sometime a bishop of Rome: Christ hath given 
 
 * like pre-eminence to the water of baptism, as he gave to his 
 
 * mother. For that power of the Highest, and that over- 
 
 * shadowing of the Holy Ghost, which brought to pass 
 
 * that Mary should bring forth the Saviour of the world, 
 
 * hath also brought to pass, that the water should bear 
 
 * anew or regenerate him that believeth." lb. p. 263. 
 
 , And the preceding page not only makes this limitation, 
 but explicitly declares that the outward sign may be se- 
 parated from the inward grace, and that no spiritual bene- 
 fit is conveyed by this, or any other sacrament, except to 
 him who ' receives it rightly.' * If any man have the out- 
 
 * ward seal, and have not tne faith thereof sealed within 
 
 * his heart, it availbth him not: he is but a hypocrite 
 
 * and DISSEMBLER. So the circumcision of the foreskin of 
 
 * the flesh taught them to mortify their fleshly affections, 
 
 * and to cut oft the thoughts and devices of their wicked 
 
 * hearts. Therefore said Stephen to the Jews, Ye stiff-necked^ 
 
 * and uncircumcised in hearts and ears,' &c. P. 262. 
 
 Again : ' So do the faithful receive the fruit and com- 
 
 * fort by the sacraments, which the wicked and ungodly 
 
 * neither consider nor receive.' P. 263. 
 
APPENDIX. 225 
 
 And again, * Likewise saith S. Mierome, " If any man 
 hath received only the bodily washing of ivateV) that is 
 outwardly seen with the eye, he hath not put on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 ' It is the covenant, and promise, and mercy of God, 
 which clotheth us with immortality, assureth our resur- 
 rection ; by which we receive regeneration, forgiveness of 
 sins, life, and salvation. His word declareth his love to- 
 waz'ds us ; and that word is sealed and made good by 
 baptism. Our faith, which are baptized, and our con- 
 tinuance in the profession which we have made, establish- 
 eth in us this grace which we receive. As it is said. 
 
 True baptism standeth not so much in washing of the 
 body, as in the faith of the heart." As the doctrine of 
 the apostles hath taught us, saying, " By faith purifying 
 their hearts." And in another place, " Baptism saveth 
 us, not the putting away, &c." Therefore Hierome saith, 
 
 They that receive not baptism with perfect faith RECEirE 
 
 THK WATER, BUT THE HoLY GhOST THEY RECEIVE NOT." 
 
 Tb. p. 266. Also Defence of Jpol. p. 217, 218 ; where it is 
 added from St. Augustine, " Unde ista tanta virtus, &c. 
 Whence is all this so great virtue, or power of the watei-, 
 that it toucheth the body, and washeth the heart, but by 
 the working of the word? not for that it is spoken (by the 
 minister) but for that it is believed (of thefaitlful ) ? ' 
 ' We say that the sacraments of Christ, without faith, 
 do not profit.' Defence of Apol. p. 282. ' The merits of 
 Christ's death are conveyed unto us by God, and received 
 by us. God conveyeth diem to us only of his mercy, and 
 wereceive them only by faith. But the ways whereby either 
 to procure God's mercy, or to enkindle our faith, are many. 
 . . . Among other causes the sacraments serve specially to 
 direct and to aid our fixith. . .All this notwithstanding, 
 we say, It is neither the work of the priest, nor the nature 
 of the sacrament,* as of itself, that maketh us partakers 
 of Christ's death, but only the faith of the receiver.' 
 lb. p. 284. 
 
 * St. Augustine saith : " Qui indigne accipit, &c." 
 
 * Whoso receiveth baptism unworthily, receiveth his 
 
 * judgment, and not his health." Reply to Harding's Answer, 
 p. 284.. 
 
 V. That the iniiard grace may he separated- from the out- 
 ward sign, and may precede baptism. — ' In baptism, as the 
 
 * Compare Dr. Mant on ' the sacramental character.' 
 
226 APPENDIX. 
 
 * one part of that holy mystery is Christ's blood, so is the 
 ' other part the material water. Neither are these parts 
 
 * joined together in place, but in mystery ; and therefore 
 
 * they be oftentimes severed, and the one is received 
 < without the other.' Reply, p. 285. He says indeed, * It 
 ' is granted of all, without contradiction, that one end of all 
 
 * sacraments is to join us unto God ; ' yet he presently adds, 
 ' In plain speech it is not the receiving of the sacrament 
 
 * that worketh our joining with God: for whosoever is not 
 
 * joined unto God before he receive the sacraments, he 
 ' eateth and drinketh his own judgment. The sacraments 
 ' be seals and witnesses, and not properly the causes of this 
 
 * conjunction.' Reply ^ p. 20, 21. 
 
 * Touching the virtue or power of this sacrament ' of 
 baptism, ' if Mr. Harding mean thereby the outward ele- 
 
 * ment of the water, he knoweth, or may easily know, it 
 ' is a common resolution amongst all his own school doc- 
 
 * tors, Gratia Dei non est alligata sacramentis : " The 
 
 * grace of God is not tied to any sacraments." The meaning 
 
 * thereof is this : That God is able to work salvation both 
 
 * with them, and without them.' Defence of Apol. p. 218. 
 
 He says, indeed, in a general way, concerning infants, 
 
 * For this cause are infants baptized, because they are born 
 ' in sin, and cannot become spiritual, but by this new birth 
 ' of the water and the Spirit.' On the Sacraments, p. 265. 
 Yet two pages afterwards he discountenances such as ' make 
 ' doubt of those infants, the children of the faithful, which 
 
 * depart before baptism, whether they be saved or not ; * 
 and teaches us that we may rather ' thus safely reason : * 
 ' Our children are the children of God. He is our God, 
 
 * and the God of our seed. They be under the covenant 
 ' with us.* The soberest way is to speak least, and to leave 
 
 * them to the judgment and mercy of God.' P. 267. 
 
 As is justly observed in Mr. Biddulph's appendix, 
 The extracts here given are sufficient to prove that, not- 
 withstanding the strong figurative language which our re- 
 formers have sometimes used, they meant not to affirm, 
 nor did the catholic fathers, in their opinion, ever mean 
 
 • N.. B. * Under the covenant,' though not having ' the seal' of it. 
 
APPENDIX. 227 
 
 * to affirm, a necessary connection between baptism and 
 
 * internal regeneration ; or that baptism is, as Dr. Mant 
 ' contends, exclusively and hiclusively the vehicle of spiri- 
 
 * tual grace. The high metonymic language of the Greek 
 
 * and Latin fathers of the primitive church, when speaking 
 ' of the two sacraments, gave rise to the twofold error of 
 
 * popery, viz. that of spiritual regeneration as inseparably 
 
 * connected with water baptism, and that of transubstantia- 
 
 * tion as connected (and that also inseparably,) with the 
 
 * celebration of the eucharist. It appears to me that these 
 
 * must stand or fall together.' 
 
 Note XXI. Page 134. 
 
 The Fathers. 
 
 Several passages illustrative of the sentiments of the fa- 
 thers, and shewing the limitations to their strong language, 
 which they always understand, and sometimes express, 
 have appeared in the extracts from Jewel. I shall here sub- 
 join a few more, derived in general, from sources which 
 even our opponents will not object to. 
 
 The first is an extract from St. Augustine given in Wall, 
 part I. c. XV. ' Therefore, as in Abraham the righteousness 
 of faith went before, and circumcision the seal of the righ- 
 teousness of faith came after ; so in Cornelius the spiritual 
 sanctification by the gift qft/ie Holy Spirit went before^ and 
 the sacrament of regeneration by the laver of baptism came 
 after. And, as in Isaac, who was circumcised the eighth 
 day, the seal of the righteousness of faith went before, 
 and (as he was a follower of his father's faith) the 
 righteousness itself, the seal whereof had gone before in 
 his infancy, came after ; so in infants baptized the sacra- 
 ment of regeneration goes befwe and (if they put in 
 
 PRACTICE THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION) COUVersion of the 
 
 heart, the mystery whereof went before in their body, 
 comes after. . . .By all which it appears that the sacra- 
 ment of baptism is one thing, and conversion of the heart 
 another : but that the salvation of a person is completed 
 by both of them. And, if one of these be wanting, we 
 are not to think that it follows, that the other is wanting; 
 since one may be without the other in an infant, and the 
 other was without that in the thief: God almighty making 
 up both in one and the other case that which was not 
 
 Q2 
 
228 APPENDIX. 
 
 ' luilfiilly wanting. But when either of these is wilfully 
 
 * wanting, it involves the person in guilt. And baptism 
 
 * indeed may be had where conversion of the heart is want- 
 ' ing ; but conversion of the heart, though it may be where 
 ' baptism is not had, cannot be where it is contemned : for 
 
 * that is by no means to be called conversion of the heart 
 
 * to God, where the sacrament of God is contemned.' 
 
 Here we may observe, 1. That St. Augustine considers 
 
 * conversion of the heart unto God ' as the inward and spi- 
 ritual grace, or thing signified in baptism. 2. That he 
 expressly teaches that this 'spiritual sanctification' may 'go 
 
 * before, and the laver of baptism come after,' as in the 
 case of Cornelius. S. That, in infants, he expects the re- 
 verse of this to take place : ' the sacrament of regeneration 
 
 * goes before, and conversion of the heart, the mystery * 
 (or sacrament) ' whereof went before in their body, follows 
 ' after.' 4. That he suspends their reception of this bless- 
 ing, or at least the proof that they have received it, entire- 
 ly upon their ' putting in practice the Christian religion ;' 
 or, in other words, upon their performing their baptismal 
 vows — the very thing for which we contend. 
 
 Dr. Wall himself makes a remark upon St. Augustine's 
 language, which well deserves the attention of those, who 
 lay great stress upon baptism and regeneration having been 
 often used by the fathers as convertible terms ; as if this 
 proved that, in their judgment, the sacrament and its spiritual 
 grace were inseparable. He says : ' Whereas, some people 
 ' have expressed a wonder at St. Austin, that he should 
 
 * hold that all that are baptized are also regenerate; no man 
 ' living can read him without perceiving that he uses the word 
 ' (regenerate) as another word for (baptized), and that this 
 
 * with him would have been an identical proposition ; as if 
 ' one should say now-a-dajs, ' All that are baptized are 
 ' christened.' If some of late days have put a new sense 
 
 * on the word (regenerate), how can St. Austin help that? 
 ' And the church of England uses the word in the old 
 ' sense.' * 
 
 The following extracts I select out of a number collected 
 
 * The concluding remarks I take not to be very correct. We have 
 just seen St. Augustine speaking of ' conversion of" heart ' as the thing 
 signitied in baptism ; and our church defines its inward and spiritual 
 grace, ' a death unto sin and new birth unto righteousness.' If this be 
 the inward grace of baptism, and that inward grace be regeneration, vvt 
 ' have not deviated vei*)' widely in our use of the word. 
 
APPENDIX. 229 
 
 ready to my hands from Dupin and Wall, in a periodical 
 publication, to which I have already acknowledged my obli- 
 gations of this kind.* The former of the wi'itei's here re- 
 ferred to was a Roman Catholic, and therefore certainly 
 not disposed to detract from the effects of baptism. 
 
 TertuUian, in his book of Penance, ' shews the necessity 
 there is of proving and preparing oneself for a long time, for 
 the reception of this grace of baptism, by a true repen- 
 tance. He fears not to say, that baptism is to no purpose, tfive 
 hare 7iot repented of our sins and amended them ; and that it 
 is great presumption to imagine, that having led a disor- 
 derly course of life till the very day of baptism, we should 
 be made holy all of a sudden, and that we should cease 
 from sinning immediately after we have received this sa- 
 crament,' .... * 1 confess,' he says, ' that God grants re- 
 mission of sins to those who receive baptism ; but they 
 must take pains to be made worthy of it, for who would 
 be so bold as to confer this sacrament on a person of whose 
 repentance he has any reason to make a doubt ? You may 
 impose upon the minister, and so procure baptism by 
 false pretences; but God, who knows the heart, keeps 
 his own treasure himself, and does not grant his grace, 
 
 but only to those that are worthy of it Lastly, we are 
 
 not washed from our pollutions by baptism, only that we 
 might sin no more, but because we have our heart already 
 purified. Quia jam corde loti sumus.' Dupin, vol. i. 
 p. 94.t 
 
 ' St. Pacian says, " I will shew you in what condition we 
 
 * are born, and how we are renewed by baptism," &c. He 
 
 * shews, that " sin reigned from Adam till Christ, who de- 
 
 * livered mankind from the tyranny of sin ; because, as the 
 ' sin of the first man was imputed to all his posterity, so 
 
 * the righteousness of Jesus Christ was communicated to 
 
 * all men by baptism, and by the aid of the Holy Spirit, — ■ 
 ' provided that faith precede.'^ He adds, that " this regener- 
 ' ation cannot he perfected but by the sacrament of baptism, 
 ' and unction, and the ministry of the priest." There is 
 
 * hardly any of the ancients that speaks more clearly of the 
 
 * No just exception, I conceive, can be taken to the use which I 
 have made of the Christian Observer. I never appeal to it as authority. 
 When I quote its sentiments, I rely entirely for their admission upon 
 their obvious justness, or upon the force of the arguments by which they 
 are supported. In the present instance all I assume is its fidelity in 
 quotation. If that can be impeached, let it be impeached. 
 
 t Of course I do not approve of all the language used in this passage. 
 
230 ArPENDix. 
 
 efficacy of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and 
 penance. Though he speaks advantageously of the efficacy 
 of the sacraments, yet he requires very great dispositions 
 in order to their proditcing such effects as they ought to 
 have.' Dupin, vol. ii. pp. 84, 85. 
 
 * The ancient church did not give baptism immediately to 
 all those who desired it, but only to those who had given 
 signs of a sincere faith, and of the cJiange of their life by a 
 long trial, and by a course of penance.' Ibid. p. 109. 
 
 * It is difficult to open St. Cyril without discovering his 
 clear opinion, that baptism did not of itself confer the re- 
 generation of the Spirit. He twice at least, in the pre- 
 face and the third Lecture, notices the case of Simon 
 Magus : " If you do not go to the waters with a right dispo^ 
 sition," he says, " it will profit you nothing. Simon Ma- 
 gus once came to the laver : he was baptized, but he was 
 not illuminated : a^^' hk sfooTia^r) : he washed his body, 
 indeed, with water, but he did not illuminate his heart by 
 the Spirit: his body descended truly (into the water), and 
 ascended, but his soul was Jieither buried with Christ, nor 
 risen again luith him." Cyril, Praef. — Did Cyril consider 
 baptism and regeneration as the same thing ? Yet he fre- 
 quently speaks of baptized persons as regenerate.* 
 
 * Notwithstanding the declaration of Wall, therefore,... 
 that the term regeneration was uniformly used as synony- 
 mous with baptism, and in no other sense, during the four 
 first centuries, the assertion does not appear to be strictly 
 correct. Cyril, in speaking of the two last verses of the 
 tenth chapter of Acts, in which Peter commands water to 
 be brought, that those who had already received the Holy 
 Ghost might be baptized, says : " Peter commanded them 
 to be baptized in the name of Jesu Christ, that the soul 
 having been regenerated, avaytvvn^eia-i^i, by faith, the body also 
 might partake of grace by the water." He speaks of the re- 
 generation of the soul as, in this instance, prior to baptism.' 
 
 ' We leave these extracts to tell their own tale. — 1. If it be 
 true that the ancient fathers frequently used the figure 
 metonymy, as Jewel observes, putting the outward sign 
 instead of the thing signified, it is not difficult to account 
 for the " vehement and great words" which they so ge- 
 nerally adopted in speaking of the sacraments. — 2. If it 
 be farther true, that with respect to adults, they considered 
 the external rite as destitute of spiritual benefit, unless 
 accompanied by a right disposition of mind in the reci- 
 pient ; it seems to follow of course, that the authority of 
 
APPENDIX. 231 
 
 the ancients does not warrant that use of the term rege- 
 neration which has recently been maintained. It is evi- 
 dent, that they substituted the word too generally for 
 baptism : they did not commonly wait to explain and 
 define : but the theory, which makes regeneration and 
 baptism so inseparable, that Simon Magus must pass for 
 a regenei'ate person, for a man purified from all his sins, 
 sanctified by the Holy Spirit, a child of God, and an in- 
 heritor of the kingdom of heaven, before he had sinned 
 away the grace given in baptism, is not the creed of the 
 ancients.' 
 
 ' The correct view of the subject seems to be this : That 
 the early fathers required, in adult persons receiving bap- 
 tism, certain dispositions of mind ; and, on the supposi- 
 tion that these dispositions existed previous to baptism, 
 spoke of the baptized persons as regenerate. The neces- 
 sity of a prior qualification, in their catechisms, if not 
 always expressed, was, by the best writers, at least always 
 implied. 
 
 * It is true that they also adopted the term regeneration 
 in regard to the baptism of children, who, from their 
 tender years, were incapable of repentance and faith. But 
 we do not consider this circumstance as proving that they 
 accounted baptized children to be necessarily regenerate : 
 it was tacitly, at least, understood, in justification of the 
 term, that the infants baptized should keep, in after life, 
 the covenant into which they entered by baptism.* They 
 spoke, not in the judgment of certainty, but of charity. 
 ' In both cases, therefore, it appears to us that the fa- 
 thers, for a long period, acted on the same principle with 
 our church ; but it cannot be denied, that the unguarded 
 manner in which some of them have written has tended 
 to great perversion of the doctrine, and led many to sup- 
 pose that baptized persons are regenerate of course.' — 
 
 Christian Observer, 1816, p. 657—663. 
 
 I subjoin the testimony of the learned Bingham in regard 
 
 to the opinion of antiquity. * St. Austin calls it the sacra- 
 
 * ment of grace and absolution, rather than grace and 
 
 * absolution itself: because wicked men may receive the 
 ' sacrament of baptism, but they cannot receive the grace 
 ' itself, which is absolution or remission : for God grants 
 ' that to none but those who turn to him with a sincere faith 
 
 * and true repentance. IVJtenever therefore the undents call 
 
 * See extract from Augustine at beginning of this note. 
 2 
 
232' APPENDIX. 
 
 ' baptism by the name of absolution^ they are to be tjn- 
 
 * DERSTOOD WITH THIS LIMITATION ; that it IS SO Only to 
 
 ' those who are worthy receivers of it.' Antiquities, B. xi. c. i. 
 
 Note XXII. Page 136. 
 
 Archdeacon Daubeny's treatment of my quotations. 
 
 Mr. Daubeny having taken considerable pains to shew 
 that my quotations from Hooker and others do not answer 
 the end for which they are adduced, I would here briefly 
 point out the steps by which he has arrived at this conclu- 
 sion. 
 
 1 . He assumes that the doctrine for which he contends is 
 the undoubted doctrine of the Church of England. — This 
 he does uniformly throughout his work. He speaks of 
 
 * the sense definitively affixed ' to the word regeneration by 
 the church, without ever thinking it necessary to inquire 
 what that sense is. ' The doctrine of regeneration plainly 
 
 * laid down in our public formularies : ' ' the universally 
 
 * established doctrine, ' &c : this is his language. Nay, he 
 says (p. 63.) ' all reference to the authority of the church 
 
 * becomes unnecessary ' — she having ' spoken plainly ' upon 
 the subject ' for herself.' 
 
 2. He next assumes that these writers, being all good 
 churchmen, ' could not mean that their interpretation of 
 
 * scripture,' (when, for instance, they spoke ' of bad Christ- 
 
 * ians as being unregenerate men,') ' should be received in 
 
 * opposition to the established doctrine of the church on 
 
 * the sacrament of baptism.' * — Agreed : but the argu- 
 ment was, that they did not understand that doctrine as Dr. 
 Mant does, or even as Mr. D. does. 
 
 3. Having made these two important assumptions in his 
 own favour, he next makes a very important one to my dis- 
 advantage : namely this, that I quote these distinguished 
 writers for quite a different purpose than I really do quote 
 them. 
 
 For example : In Inquiry, p. 198, 1 state, that it is usual 
 with Dr. Jackson and other eminent divines ' to speak 
 ' of bad christians as being unregenerate men.' Mr. D. 
 p. 41, acknowledges that it is so, and that they were 'fully 
 
 * justified ' in this practice. Yet he concludes, p. 44, that 
 
 * P. 41, 85, 89, &c. 
 
APPENDIX. 233 
 
 the writings of Dr. Jackson (whom he accepts as a specimen 
 of the whole,) ' do not contribute an iota of proof towards 
 
 * the establishment of that particular point, for which they 
 
 * appear to have been pressed into the service.' I never 
 appealed to Dr. J. or any of the divines mentioned in con- 
 nection with him, in proof of any thing else than that 
 which Mr. D. three pages before acknowledges to have been 
 their practice ! 
 
 Again: p. 191, I observe of Hooker, ' No author is 
 
 * more express as to the efficacy of the sacraments, and the 
 
 * necessity of our using them, than he is ; but by comparing 
 
 * different parts of his works together, it will appear, that 
 ' he did not extend their virtue in that unlimited and indis- 
 
 * criminate manner which some now wish to do.' I then 
 quote from him the following passages. ' They (the sacra- 
 ' ments) are not physical, but moral instruments of salva- 
 
 * tion, duties of service and worship : which unless lue per- 
 
 * form as the author of grace requiretJi, they are unprojitable : 
 
 * for all receive not the grace of God, ivhich receive the saci'a- 
 
 * ments of his grace.' — ' If outv/ard baptism were a cause 
 ' in itself possessed of that power, either natural or super- 
 ' natural, without the present operation whereof no such 
 
 * effect could possibly grow ; it must then follow, that .... 
 
 * no man could ever receive grace before baptism : which 
 
 * being apparently both known aiid confessed to be otherwise,' 
 &c. Lastly : ' It is on all parts gladly confessed, that 
 ' there may be in divers cases life by virtue of inward bap- 
 ' tism, even ivhere outward is not found.' 
 
 On the first of these passages I ask, ' How does this 
 
 * accord with Dr. Mant's notion, of a sacrament neces- 
 ' sarily or constantly conveying the inward grace of which 
 
 * it is a sign ? ' And on the other two I put the question, 
 ' Is not this regeneration before baptism, and without bap- 
 
 * tism?' — Let anyone, that can, answer these questions 
 in the negative. In fact these sentences declare directly 
 against both parts of Dr. Mant's position, that baptism is 
 always, both inclusively and exclusively, the vehicle of rege- 
 neration. Here are the sacraments received, and grace not 
 received with them; and here are ' grace ' and spiritual ' Ife ' 
 before and ivithout baptism. — I made no other use of Hook- 
 er's authority : I did not need to do it : and, of course, it 
 would not suit Mr. D. to meet the question on this ground, 
 on which alone I placed it. In fact he could not do it : 
 for he disclaims as clearly as I do that ' unlimited and in- 
 
 * discriminate ' extension, which Dr. M.'s principles assign 
 
 1 
 
234) APPENDIX. 
 
 to the efficacy of sacraments. — How then does he treat the 
 subject ? 
 
 1. He is pretty lengthy where there is little occasion to 
 be so. Thus some dust and confusion are raised. 
 
 And 2, he substitutes for those partiadar points to which 
 I had applied the authority of Hooker, as above stated, his 
 own representations of the general design of my book ; and 
 then asks, Does Hooker support such a design ? Thus, 
 p. 51 : 'In short, the object of Mr. Scott's Inquiry, &c, if 
 
 * I have not misunderstood him, appears to be the setting 
 
 * aside of regeneration by baptism, (the established doctrine 
 
 * of the church of England,) by representing baptism to be 
 
 * merely the form of admission into the visible church, &c. 
 
 * For the purpose of preparing the mind of his reader for 
 
 * the establishment of this desired point, Mr. S. places 
 
 * before him the following passage from Hooker, " All re- 
 
 * ceive not the grace of God, which receive the sacrament 
 ' of his grace.'" * — No: my " purpose " was to counteract 
 Dr. M.'s position, which is directly contrary to Hooker's. 
 Again, p. 52 : The passage of Hooker is to be found in a 
 section, ' which has for its title " the necessity of sacra- 
 ' ments to the participation of Christ." Whilst the object 
 
 * of Mr. S.'s publication appears to be, to establish, as far 
 
 * as respects the sacrament of baptism, the very contrary 
 
 * position.' — Again, p. 50, on my last quotation from 
 Hooker, ' It is on all parts gladly confessed that there may 
 
 * be in divers cases life by virtue of inward baptism, even 
 
 * where outward is not found ' — as repeated in Inquiry, p. 
 211 — he asks: ' Who denies that God may communicate 
 
 * his grace to man in any way, and at any time that he 
 ' pleases ? But does Flooker mean to be understood in 
 
 * support of the position which the author in question at- 
 ' tempts to maintain, that because a man had received 
 
 * grace before baptism and consequently without baptism, 
 
 * that therefore he was incapable of i*eceiving it by baptism ? ' 
 These last italics are Mr. D.'s own : and they include a 
 very dexterous substitution. He refers to, and in part 
 quotes, a passage which ought to have quashed several of 
 the misrepresentations which have now passed under the 
 reader's eye. It it this, (Inquiry, p. 230) ' In those (adults) 
 ' who " receive baptism rightly," I believe, with our 27th 
 ' article, the inward blessing communicated to them to be 
 
 • He quotes from my title page, where it is erroneously printed sacra- 
 ment instead of sacraments. 
 
APPENDIX. 2S5 
 
 ** the confirmation of faith, and increase of grace " ah-eady 
 
 * received. Regeneration, strictly taken, in the sense of 
 
 * the infusion of " a Jieiv principle of life and of action,'* 
 
 * or, as Hooker's words are, " the Jirst disposition to- 
 
 * wards future newness of life," cannot be received by these 
 
 * persons in baptism, for they already have it before they 
 ' are baptized. They are partakers of " repentance and 
 
 * faith," and consequently possess the grace of God before 
 ' they come. All they need is, to have these spiritual 
 
 * graces ' confirmed and increased : ' which they may con- 
 
 * Jidently e'xpect in this sacramenty " by virtue of prayer 
 
 * unto God." — is this annihilating the inward grace of the 
 sacrament of baptism ? Is this making it ' a mere form of 
 
 * admission into the church ? '' Is this denying that grace 
 could be communicated * by baptism,' to those who had 
 
 * received grace before baptism ? ' It is only denying that 
 the^r^^ communication could be then made to those, who 
 had received prior communications. But Mr. D. has 
 dexterously substituted the pronoun ' it,' referring to 
 
 * grace,' for ' regeneration, strictly taken ' for the jirst in- 
 fusion of grace. 
 
 Mr. D. concludes, * It appears then, from this whole 
 
 * passage taken together, that Hooker knew nothing of 
 
 * grace received before baptism, vmder circumstances where 
 
 * the sacrament of baptism was to be had.' (P. 55.) And 
 yet (to say nothing of what has been quoted from Hooker,) 
 a man is to receive baptism with ' repentance and faith ! ' 
 Repentance and faith therefore are to be possessed and 
 exercised, without any ' grace ' having been received from 
 God ! * 
 
 Note XXIII. Page 139. 
 
 Bad Christians unrecrenerate. 
 
 * It has been no uncommon thing for divines of eminence 
 
 * to speak of bad christians as being nnregenerate men ; that 
 
 * is, men, who were not actually in that spiritual state, in 
 
 * P. 49. Mr. D. appears to consider it as a peculiarity of mine, to 
 think that repentance and faith ' are,' or ratlier imply and involve, ' th« 
 
 * first disposition to future newness of life ! ' 
 
 In the passage referred to, it wiil be admitted that Hooker refers to 
 adults, for he speaks of ' those who receive not the grace of God by 
 
 * sacraments/ because they ' receive not the siicranients as God re- 
 
 * quireth.' 
 
236 APPENDIX. 
 
 * whicli those who had been regenerated ought to be. In 
 
 * their application of the language of scripture to this un- 
 
 * restrained and comprehensive sense of the word regenera- 
 
 * ration, the divines in question were fully justified.' 
 Daubeny, p. 41. If they were * fully justified ' in speaking 
 of any persons as ' unregenerate/ I presume those persons 
 must really have bc^i ' unregenerate ' at the time referred 
 to : and that, being unregenerate, they must have needed to 
 be regenerated, or 'born again,' whatever change they might, 
 or might not, have undergone at some former period. — Fur- 
 ther, if the ' divines of eminence ' here referred to were ' fully 
 
 * justified ' in so speaking of ' bad christians,' I presume that 
 the evangelical clergy (so called) cannot deserve to be utterly 
 condemned for speaking of them in the same manner, and 
 for urging on them, in consequence, the necessity of their 
 becoming regenerate. On this ground therefore, Dr. Mant's 
 uncourteous attack upon his brethren must be ' utterly un- 
 ' justifiable.' 
 
 It is not however true that the clergy in question use the 
 term with such frequency as to authorize their opponents 
 to represent it as ' their watchword.' Even when contending 
 for the necessity of that spiritual change which they sup- 
 pose regeneration to imply, they often avoid the term in 
 order to obviate those cavils to which the use of it might 
 lead. In the words of my acute fellow-labourer Mr. Bugg, 
 ' We are not nice about terms,' and ' are wearied with 
 
 * disputes about words without meaning. Only preach in 
 
 * our ears, and suffer us to preach in the cars of our con- 
 
 * gregations, such a faith, and such a regeneration, (or 
 
 * such a state of heart and mind, by whatever name you 
 
 * choose to call it,) as shall afford evidence of the possessor's 
 
 * being now in a state of salvation, and we wish no more.' 
 Bugg' s Answer to JSlant, p. 12G. 
 
 It may be just observed, in connection with the former 
 part of this note, that, whatever others may have done, 
 Dr. Mant never, I believe, concedes that regeneration may 
 be lost, though he speaks of ' its privileges being forfeited.' 
 Nor could he admit that it might be lost, because then he 
 must allow that it needed to be communicated afresh : and 
 as, according to his views, it can be conveyed only by bap- 
 tism, and baptism is never to be repeated, he who has once 
 actually lost the grace of regeneration, must be in the state 
 of a man that has committed the unpardonable sin ! If any 
 one therefore in this controversy holds the doctrine of ' in- 
 
 * defectible grace,' it is Dr. Mant. 
 
APPENDIX. 237 
 
 Note XXIV. Page 147. 
 
 fcj^ 
 
 Report of Committee of Revision, Society for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge. 
 
 The tendency of Dr. Mant's tract, and its alleged 
 inconsistency with numerous tracts and books previously 
 on the society's lists, have caused considerable discussions 
 at the monthly board ; and it was at length referred to the 
 committee of revision to consider whether there did or did 
 not exist any doctrinal inconsistencies in the tracts of the 
 society, particularly on the subject of regeneration. This 
 committee made their report on the 14th of May last to the 
 following effect: * Your committee having received the 
 direction of the board to examine the books and tracts 
 on the society's catalogue, in order to ascertain whether 
 there be any inconsistency or contradiction therein, par- 
 ticularly on the docti'ine of regeneration, and to make 
 a report thereupon to the board, have proceded carefully 
 to examine the same, as far as respects the doctrine of 
 regeneration, and do report, that there is nothing to 
 impeach the consistency of the tracts, or involve them in 
 contradiction with each other, on the point of doctrine; 
 although, in some instances, the term regeneration is 
 used, sometimes strictly and properly, as applied in our 
 liturgical offices to the grace conveyed in the sacrament of 
 baptism ; and at other times in a larger and laxer sense, 
 by different, and occasionally by the same authors.' 
 On this report, which v/as immediately adopted as * sa- 
 
 * tisfactory ' by the board, the following observations, 
 among others, have been made. 
 
 ' Although Dr. Mant's tract, which produced the refer- 
 
 * ence, is not once mentioned in the report, the report, 
 
 * nevertheless, virtually affirms its doctrinal consistency 
 
 * with all the other books and tracts of the society. And 
 
 * yet can any doctrinal inconsistency be pointed out more 
 
 * palpable than this case exhibits ? Dr. Mant's tract main- 
 
 * tains, that regeneration, which he explains to mean " a 
 
 * death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness," is, 
 
 * invariably and exclusively, conveyed by baptism: and 
 
 * that every individual to whom baptism is rightly admi- 
 ' nistered, is, ipso facto, born of God, and can never 
 
 * afterwards be considei'ed as unregenerate. Various other 
 
 * books and tracts of the society deny the invariable and 
 ' exclusive connection of this spiritual regeneration, this 
 
 * death unto sir\ and new birth unto righteousness, with 
 
S38 APPENDIX. 
 
 * the rite of baptism, and connect it no less with other 
 
 * means, as faith, the word of God, prayer, &c. ; and re- 
 
 * present baptism as a covenant, the blessings of which 
 
 * depend not (simply) on the right administration, but on 
 
 * the right reception of the sacrament, and all those as 
 
 * still unregenerate, who, though baptized with water, do 
 
 * not prove themselves, by the holiness of their lives, to be 
 ' partakers of a new and divine nature. 
 
 * But not only is Dr. Mant's tract doctrinally inconsis- 
 
 * tent with various preceding books and tracts of the so- 
 
 * ciety, but with the society's present report. The report 
 
 * admits a two-fold sense of the term regeneration. Dr. 
 
 * Mant's tract admits but one, and condemns those as heretics 
 
 * who differ from him in this respect.' 
 
 Note XXV. Page 148. 
 
 1 John V. i. 
 
 Archdeacon Daubeny [Considerations, p. 56 — 62,) treats 
 the whole of my reasoning on this passage of St. John as 
 vitiated by the introduction of the term ' previously,' or 
 
 * previously to baptism,' into the conclusion, when it had 
 not appeared in the minor proposition. True, it had not 
 appeared ; but was it not implied in the tense ", hath beeti" 
 of which it is merely explanatory when it does appear? If 
 faith precede baptism, and regeneration be wherever faith is, 
 regeneration must, in all such cases, precede baptism. — 
 This reasoning, I conceive, is not to be disturbed. 
 
 But the Archdeacon ' thinks, on reference to the apostle, 
 
 * it may be made appear, that he had not the subject 
 ' of baptismal regeneration in his contemplation on the oc- 
 
 * casion.' Undoubtedly ! This is one principal point con- 
 tended for, that the apostle, in speaking of being " born 
 " of God," (the same thing, by Dr. Mant's concession, 
 with being regenerated,) does in no way necessarily connect 
 it with baptism, nor even appear to have had baptism at all 
 
 * in his contemplation on the occasion.' 
 
 In addition to the sentences of Hooker which follow in 
 the text, I beg leave to recal to the reader's recollection the 
 following of St. Austin : — ' In Cornelius, the spiritual 
 
 * sanctification by the gift of the Holy Spirit ivent before^ 
 
 * and the sacrament of regeneration by the laver of baptism 
 
 * came after : ' of Bishop Hooper : — ' Repentance and 
 
 * faith precede this external sign (of baptism), and in Christ 
 
 * the purgation was inwardly obtained before the external 
 
APPENDIX. 2S9 
 
 * sign was given : ' and of Bishop Jewel : — * In plain speech 
 
 * it is not the receiving of the sacrament that worketh our 
 
 * joining with God : for whosoever is not joined unto God 
 
 * before he receiveth the sacraments, he eateth and drink- 
 
 * eth his own judgment. The sacraments be seals and ivit- 
 ' nesseSf and not properly the causes of this conjunction.* 
 
 NoteXXVI. Page 160. 
 
 Archdeacon Dauheny. — Appeal to experience. 
 
 In the passage to which this note refers, I have said, 
 ' The observation may possibly have reached Dr. M.'s 
 
 * ears, that his doctrine respecting one sacrament a good 
 
 * deal resembles that of the papists respecting the other, or 
 
 * indeed respecting both.' Archdeacon Dauben}', [Const-' 
 derations, p. 24) quotes the passage, with this introduction : 
 
 * A writer, who has distinguished himself on the subject in 
 
 * question, gives his reader to understand that the doc- 
 
 * trine of the church of ENGLAND, Oil the sacramcut 
 ' of baptism, which speaks of every one whom she has 
 
 * admitted to baptism, as born again, and regenerated by 
 ' God's Holy Spirit, a good deal resembles that of the pa- 
 ' pists,' &c. ! Upon such a perversion I will make no re- 
 mark. Yet. Mr. D.'s preceding sentence opens thus : * I 
 
 * should indeed be sorry to mistake, much moi-e to misrepresent, 
 ' the divines from whom I happen to differ on the present 
 
 * subject ! ' — Nor is this a single instance. Mr. D. perseveres 
 in his misrepresentation. ' When those divines ' (he says, 
 p. 27, 28,) ' who think proper publicly to object to the 
 
 * doctrine of regeneration so plainly laid down in our baptis- 
 
 * mal formidary, presented themselves for admission into 
 
 * the ministry of the church of England, had they then 
 ' thought that tlie doctrine in question bore a near affinity 
 ' to the external formality of the church of Rome, as they 
 
 * now represent it to do, how came it to pass that they 
 ' entered voluntarily into the ministry of ^o corrupt a churchf 
 
 * Or thinking thus of the church of England, did they flatter 
 
 * themselves that the authority of their private opinion,' &c. 
 — Again, p. 30 : * On this ground I conceive the strength 
 
 * of the objection made to our baptismal service stands.* 
 He means the objection I had made to Dr. M.'s doctrine^ 
 as resembling the opiis operatum of the church of Rome ! * 
 
 * P. 9. He speaks of an apprehension entertained of * the sacrament 
 ' of baptism ' itself * bearing too near an affinity to the opus operatunif 
 kc. 
 
240 APPENDIX. 
 
 — Yet again : ' Before ministers of the establishment com- 
 
 * mtt themselves against the language luhidi the church has 
 
 * thought proper to employ, would it not be adviseable,' &c. 
 (Ibid.) Yet again : ' Having now vindicated our church 
 ' from those dreadful consequences which are supposed to 
 
 * attach to her doctrine of spiritual regeneration in bap- 
 tism,' &c. (P. 35, 36.) — P. 71. ' The known axiom is, Ex~ 
 ' ceptio probat regulam. Whereas the objection made to 
 ' the doctrine or the church is built on those excep- 
 ' tions.' * — A writer who so totally mistakes, or so grossly 
 misrepresents, the whole question at issue; who employs 
 himself in defending what was never attacked, and throwing 
 dovvn what had never been set up ; can certainly have little 
 right to expect the attention of dispassionate and candid 
 inquirers. 
 
 But the principle of the whole passage, with which this 
 note stands connected, has given, it seems, much umbrage. 
 The argument is briefly this, in the words of Bishop Hop- 
 kins : " If this baptismal regeneration be real,' say, be 
 absolute and unconditional, ' by the infusion of habitual 
 
 * grace, f how comes it to pass that the greater part of 
 
 * those who have received it lead profane and unholy lives, 
 
 * and too, too many perish in their sins ? ' — This, in fact, 
 is and ever will be, so long as either scripture or common 
 sense is listened to, the insurmountable obstacle to the ge- 
 neral admission of an ' absolute and unconditional ' rege- 
 neration by baptism : and I venture to say that even those 
 who do not yield to the argument as conclusive, cannot help 
 feeling that it possesses great force. — Butsuch an appeal tof.r- 
 perience, it is contended, is inadmissible. The Dean of Chi- 
 chester (excluding, indeed, the notion of actual sanctification 
 from regeneration,) maintains that regeneration is ' an object 
 ' of faith only, not of feeling or observation.':!; Mr. Daubeny, 
 though including ' the giving and receiving of a new life ' 
 in his notion of regeneration, yet contends, that experience 
 can ' authorise no conclusion ' here. § One writer even 
 affects to parallel my appeal to experience with Hume's 
 rejection of miracles, as ' contrary to experience.' And, 
 
 * The exceptions are pointed out to invalidate Dr. Mant's doctrine, 
 and to establish that of the church in opposition to it. 
 
 f Dr. Mant calls it, ' a new principle of life, and of action : ' and 
 Mr. Daubeny (p- 35) says it is ' the giving and receiving of a new life.' 
 He also expressly ' admits the fact,' (p. 26) that ' very seldom is this 
 
 * regeneration seen to exert any salutary influence on the heart and life.' 
 X Letter to Faber, p. 17, 21. § P. 37, &-c. 
 
APPENDIX. 2il 
 
 finally, a main attack made upon my argument is, that it 
 implies Calvinistic principles. Mr. Daubeny apprehends, 
 and Dr. Laurence is sure, that it must fasten upon me the 
 obnoxious doctrine of * indefectible grace,' or final perse- 
 verance. 
 
 Now on doctrines peculiar to Calvinism I neither have 
 delivered, nor will in this work deliver any opinion what- 
 ever ; because certainly the controversy is quite independent 
 of such doctrines. I have not here implied the doctrine of 
 final perseverance. I have not demanded to see the mighty 
 effect of baptism, if produced in infancy, in every instance 
 displaying itself in mature age, as that doctrine would re- 
 quire. I have only argued, that it is most extraordinary, 
 assuming the truth of our opponents' principles, if no visible 
 difference exists between the mass of the baptized, and the 
 mass of the unbaptized, in a Christian country. I have urged 
 that little stress is to be laid on a change, supposing it 
 made, which so generally disappears again, or rather fails 
 of appearing at all in any perceptible effects. And I have 
 pronoimced, and still do pronounce, it gross antinomianism 
 to teach adults to place any considerable reliance upon such 
 a change said to be wrought in them in infancy ; to be 
 
 * filled,' irrespectively of their present character, * with all 
 
 * joy and peace in believing that they have experienced it;* 
 and, on the ground of ' the single act then performed upon 
 
 * them,' to conclude, that all which is intended in a va- 
 riety of the most important scriptural figures and sentences, 
 has been fulfilled in them, and need occasion them no 
 further anxiety. This I must consider as of the most fatally 
 delusive tendency. 
 
 My appeal to ' experience' was nothing more than an ap- 
 peal to our Lord's principle, " By their fruits ye shall know 
 " them." It meant, in Bishop Wilson's words, that ' the 
 ' only certain proof of regeneration is victory ' — victory 
 over the world, the flesh, and the devil. Mr. Daubeny 
 may, if he pleases, amuse himself with the observations, 
 that * seed ' may have been sown, though no fruit be pro- 
 duced ; that a ' barren tree ' may have once had ' a fructi- 
 
 * fying quality imparted to it;' and with other like subtle- 
 ties. But, if no fruit has been produced, the seed must be 
 sown again, or all will be in vain ; if the tree have lost * its 
 
 * fructifying quality' it must receive it afresh, or be fit only 
 to be^' hewn down and cast into the fire ;"and if those who 
 are supposed to have been once regenerate, have become 
 
 * unregenerate^' (as he allows we may properly call * bad 
 ^ Christians,') then eitlicr they were never regenerate at alU 
 
 H 
 
242 APPENDIX. 
 
 or they must be regenerated a second time, or else excluded 
 from the kingdom of God. 
 
 But here again Mr. D. applies himself to defend ' the 
 
 * church of England,' instead of (what would be a very 
 different task,) defending Dr. Mant, whose principles alone 
 had been attacked. ' It appears,' he saj-s, (p. 35,) ' that 
 
 * our church has taken especial care to guard, as far as 
 
 * might be, against tiiose dreadful consequences supposed 
 
 * to result from the baptized person being placed in a state 
 ' of security, by his spiritual regeneration in baptism.' No 
 doubt of it : the church has done so : but the question was, 
 \MiathadDr. M. done? 
 
 The present subject has been treated by a candid and able 
 reviewer in a manner in which I can by no means acquiesce. 
 — ' It is said, if such be the benefits of baptism, if infants 
 ' be regenerated in it, how happens it that m many of them 
 
 * when they are grown up, the signs of such a change are 
 ' not more visible ? A question keenly put, and whicli 
 
 * seems to reduce us to a necessity of giving up om' first 
 ' persuasion, unless we can give such a particular proof of 
 
 * it. The case however does not reduce itself to that dilem- 
 
 * ma. We hold it to be most dangerous to our own charity 
 ' and humility, to be inchned to take up the cognizance of 
 
 * the state of others under a very precise rule, by signs of 
 ' their regeneration ; and that which is adverse to those 
 ' duties in ourselves, cannot be sound in divinity. Let us be 
 ' severe in examining oui' own state, and demand the proofs 
 
 * of it: but to presume against others, because we do not see 
 ' the mai'ks of their Christian character written in language 
 ' which w^e can understand, that therefore they are lost, is 
 
 * to judge where we are not required, and by an insufficient 
 ' criterion.' — {Ouarterhj Revieu; July, 1816, p. 499.) — 
 There is something in ail this which sounds very ' chari- 
 ' table,' and whicli therefore is sure to commend itself to 
 the present age ; but it is withal, I fear, very fallacious 
 and of very baneful tendency. God forbid that we should 
 assume the prerogative of judging definitively of other 
 men's characters, and still more that we should abuse it to 
 the making of unfavourable decisions in doubtful cases. I 
 trust this would be found repugnant to all our feelings. But 
 does it follow that there are no means of distinguishing be- 
 tween " the righteous and the wicked" in a?ii/ case? And 
 are not even multitudes of baptized persons hving in such a 
 
• APPENDIX. 243 
 
 way, that it would be sacrificing truth and common sense 
 at the shrine of a spurious charity, to affect to doubt whe- 
 ther they shew any signs, at present, of a regenerate state 
 or not ? I fear these instances are of themselves sufficiently 
 numerous to warrant my argument. — Further: we are to 
 be ' severe in examining our own state,' and tender in 
 judging of that of others : the advice is excellent. But are 
 
 • we not also, as teachers, to instruct others to act by the 
 same rule ? are we not to point out to them, from the sacred 
 scriptures, the true means of deciding concerning their own 
 state, whether they are the servants of God, or the slaves 
 of sin ; true Christians, or Christians only in name? — I 
 cannot but feel extremely jealous of such a passage as I am 
 commenting upon, lest it be employed, as similar senti- 
 ments frequently are, to counteract and condemn the la- 
 bours of those who are anxious to guard men against con- 
 tenting themselves with " a name to live," when they are, 
 in reality, spiritually dead. I must hold to the divine rule, 
 " by their fruits ye shall know them:" ^nd I must think, 
 with Bishop Wilson, ' that the only certain proof of rege- 
 
 * neration is victory.' 
 
 Note XXVII. Page 162. 
 
 Tendency of the Tracts. 
 
 ' Let us imagine the common case of a manufacturing 
 ' town or village immersed in profligacy, and in that ge- 
 ■ neral brutality of character which is the inseparable con- 
 sequence of vice; destitute of moral sensibility, dead to 
 religion, and differino- from avowed infidels in nothino- 
 except a nominal unmeaning recognition of the Christian 
 revelation. A zealous and faithliil clergyman presides 
 over them, whose first and dearest object is to effect, by 
 the divine blessing, an universal renovation of character 
 amongst his flock. He exerts himself to convince them 
 that their habits are inconsistent with the Iiopcs of a bliss- 
 ful futurity ; that they need a complete transformation of 
 character; that not only must their exterior deportment 
 be reformed, but that the internal dispositions from which 
 it sprang must be eradicated; that their hearts must be 
 changed before their conduct will be duly amended ; that 
 their reformation must not be partial or insincere, but 
 that the very fountains of thought and feeling and action 
 B 2 
 
2*4 APPENDIX, 
 
 must be purified, in order that the " acceptable fruits of 
 righteousness " may appear in the conduct. To impress 
 duly upon his hearers the radical and extensive nature of 
 this moral change, he perhaps characterizes it by the 
 scriptural expressions " regeneration," a " new birth," 
 and uses the pointed language of Divinity itself, that 
 ' except a man be born again he cannot sec the kingdom 
 of God." In all this there is evidently nothing unscrip- 
 tural or irrational. Even admitting with Dr. Mant that 
 the peculiar terms thus used, in inculcating the necessity 
 of some great change of heart and conduct, before such 
 persons can be meet for the inheritance amongst the saints 
 in light, were originally intended to be expressive of no- 
 thing more than the effects of baptism, still we see not 
 what great practical evil could arise from their present 
 application .... Now what must be the natural, the legiti- 
 mate effect of a few scores of Dr. Mant's pamphlets being 
 cii'culated in such a parish ? Why obviously the undoing, 
 as far as possible, all that had been done. An argument 
 would be immediately furnished to every profligate person 
 in the parish against the preaching of his minister, the 
 safety of his own soul, and the eternal welfare of his 
 neighbour. An obvious question of debate in every resort 
 of licentiousness would be, why should our minister dis- 
 turb our repose, with inculcating the unpleasant duty of 
 what he calls regeneration, when we are all regenerate 
 already ? Dr. Mant has learnedly proved us to be genuine 
 Christians, notwithstanding those blemishes of character 
 which our minister affects to consider of such vast impor- 
 tance. " Let us eat, drink, and be merry," for spiritual 
 regeneration into the family of God is a character which 
 we received at our baptism, and which can never be re- 
 peated; for, as Dr. Mant remarks, " no other than bai>- 
 tismal regeneration is possible in this world" . . . .Dr. Mant 
 we know would be the first to disclaim this or any other 
 inference hostile to Christian holiness, and we again asserC 
 that we are far from intending to impute any thing of thd 
 kind to him ; but we seriously think that such an inference 
 would necessarily be derived by no small number of his 
 readers . . . .What moral or religious utility could our au- 
 thor propose to himself by such a publication ? allowing 
 it to be correct, it is still inexpedient. Indeed, as we 
 before observed, it is obviously a party work : not design- 
 ed to impress upon the lower orders the necessity of per- 
 sonal religion, but to warn them against those of their 
 legally-appointed teachers who speak of the importance 
 
APPENDIX. 24<5 
 
 oF the subject in less measured terms than Dr. Mant is 
 
 * inclined to allow. How far any individual of the Bart- 
 
 * lett's Buildings Committee was justified in moving that 
 
 * the sacred funds of religious charity should be expended 
 
 * upon such a tract, we are not disposed to inquire .... We 
 
 * appeal to Dr. Mant as a man of moral and religious 
 
 * feeling, and ask what benefit can he possibly expect by 
 
 * pressing so earnestly upon the attention of a drunkard 
 
 * for instance, or blasphemer, or debauchee, that because 
 
 * he has been baptized he is fully in possession of " spiri- 
 
 * tual regeneration," a " supernatural grace," a " new 
 
 * principle of life and action," of that " sanctification " of 
 
 * the Spirit which " makes us heirs of salvation," and en- 
 
 * titles us to " eternal life; " in a word, that " no other 
 
 * than baptismal regeneration is possible in tliis world." * 
 British Review, vol. vii. p. 517, &c. 
 
 Note XXVIIT. Page 164;. 
 
 Twenty -seventh Article. 
 
 In the paragraph to which this note is annexed, Mr. 
 Daubeny says, I ' use language to which, if he does not 
 
 * misunderstand me, he feels pleasure in subscribing.' And 
 again : ' Hence it appears, thgt internal sanctification, 
 
 * which baptism represents, and of which it is the outward 
 
 * and visible attestation,* is ratified in heaven, in the case 
 
 * of all who receive baptism rightly. And this is all,' he 
 adds, ' that our church means should be understood on this head.* 
 Considerations, p. 69, 70. Might it not, then, have been 
 as well, if on the ground of this, and of the two preceeding 
 paragraphs, Mr. D. had abstained from reiterating the 
 unfounded charges which have been so liberally preferred 
 against me of ' annihilating baptism as a sacrament,' ' de- 
 ' priving it of its sacramental character/ ' denying its spi- 
 
 * ritual grace,' and ' reducing it to a mere ceremony or form 
 
 * of initiation ' into the church, ' or, more properly speak- 
 
 * ing, the public enrolment of the name of the baptized 
 
 * person into the register of a particular parish ? ' (Dau- 
 beny, pp. 9, 10, 13, 23, 45, 52, 66, 81, 97, &c. Laurence, 
 passim.) 
 
 * My words are an * attestation, which is given by the church, and 
 
 * ratified in heaven,' &c. Both Mr. D. and Dr. Laurence quote me aj 
 makintr it * a mere attestation to the church.' 
 
2-16 APPENDIX. 
 
 As I have no where In the body of my work taken that 
 distinct notice of our twenty-seventh Article, which so com- 
 prehensive and accurate a summary deserves, I beg leave 
 here to place It in the reader's view, and to offer a few ob- 
 servations upon it. 
 
 * Article xxvii. Of Baptism. Baptism is not only a sign of 
 
 * profession, and mark of difference, whereby christian men 
 
 * are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is 
 
 * also a sign of regeneration or new birth, whereby,' [^ per 
 
 * quod^ by which sign,) ' as by an instrument, they that re- 
 ' ceive baptism rightly, are grafted into the church ; the 
 ' promises of forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be 
 
 * the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed 
 ' and sealed : ffiith is confirmed, and grace increased by 
 
 * virtue of prayer unto God. — The baptism of young 
 
 * children is in any wise to be retained in the church, as 
 
 * most agreeable with the institution of Christ.' 
 
 I remark, 1. That the subjects, in direct reference to 
 whom (with the exception of the last clause,) baptism is here 
 treated of, are evidently adults, who ' receive baptism 
 ' rightly,' and in whom therefore ' repentance and taith * 
 already exist. 
 
 1, ' Regeneration or new birth ' is here introduced in 
 immediate connection witli baptism. But in what way ? In 
 a way which can give little satisfaction to those who re- 
 present it as ' the peculiar and appropriate grace,' which 
 ' can, properly speaking, be conveyed by this sacra- 
 
 * ment alone.' Baptism,' it is said, is a sign of regenera- 
 ' tion or new birth.' This, and no more, the article af- 
 firms. 
 
 3. ' Forgiveness of sin, and our adoption to be the sons of 
 
 * God,' are likewise blessings spoken of in this connection. 
 But what is taught concerning them? Are they asserted 
 to be now Jlrst conveyed to the baptized person ? Is it in- 
 timated that his ' repentance and faith,' however sincere, 
 have been previously ' ineffectual ' to give him any interest 
 in these blessings, and ' in the divine favour ? ' ^' Nothing 
 of the kind. ' The promises of the forgiveness of sin, and 
 ' of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, 
 
 ' ARE VISIBLY SIGNED AND SEALED.' 
 
 4. Is then the sacrament of baptism ' stripped of all spi- 
 
 * ritual grace ' and reduced to ' a mere sign,' a simple 
 
 * Laurence 
 
APPENDIX. 247 
 
 * mark of difference ' among men, nothing more than * an 
 
 * attestation to the church,' because it is not described as 
 the exclusive vehicle of regeneration ? Far from it ! Recur 
 
 again to its words. ' Thereby the promises of the for- 
 
 ' giveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of 
 
 * God by the Holy Ghost are visibly signed and sealed ; 
 
 * FAITH IS CONFIRMED, AND GRACE INCREASED, by virtUC 
 
 * of prayer unto God.' — The article is not so anti-scriptu- 
 ral and absurd as to suppose, that they, who are already 
 exercising ' repentance and faith,' are yet " dead in tres- 
 *' passes and sins," and have still to receive the first com- 
 munication of divine grace : they already have it : but, in 
 this sacrament, * the promises ' of God, in which they had 
 previously an actual interest, ' are visibly signed and sealed^ 
 to them ; faith is cojs firmed and grace increased ' in them. 
 So far as this is regeneration — ' a death unto sin and a new 
 
 * birth unto righteousness' — they are regenerated in this 
 very ordinance, and no further. Such is manifestly the 
 doctrine of the article, and I have never maintained any 
 lower doctrine, 
 
 Ascribing the efficacy of the sacraments so much to the 
 ' virtue of prayer unto God ; ' suspending the blessing so 
 much on the faithfulness of the prayers by which it is ac- 
 companied, might deserve notice ; but I forbear further to 
 press that point. 
 
 5. On the ' sign of profession,' the Mn ark of difference,' 
 and the ' grafting into the church,' of which the article 
 speaks, I offer no remark : we all are agreed, that baptism 
 answers these ends, though ' not only ' these, but higher 
 ends also. But this comprehensive article will enable us to 
 answer another question which is sometimes asked. Bap- 
 tism, it is said, is ' a sign, a means, a pledge ' of ' a death 
 ' unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness : ' these are 
 blessings which come under the head oi sanctijication: what 
 then has it to do with the forgiveness of sins, ox jiistijication 
 — a blessing * distinct though inseparable' from the former ? 
 The article will inform us. ' Herein the promises of for- 
 
 * giveness and adoption are visibly signed and sealed.' It is, 
 to all such as ' receive it rightly,' a divinely appointed at- 
 testation of their interest in those blessings. 
 
 This may explain the clause in the Nicene creed, ' One 
 ' baptism for the remission of sins ; ' the prayer, in the 
 baptismal service, for ' remission of sins by spiritual re- 
 
 * generation ; ' and the expression, ' after that we are bap- 
 ' tized or justified,'' which occurs in the Homily of Salvation. 
 Baptism ' visibly signs and seals ' to us f()rgiveness, justifi- 
 
218 APPENDIX. 
 
 cation, adoption, and other blessings consequent upon these. 
 — It may furthe rillustrate some passages of scripture, which 
 have before engaged our attention. Acts ii. 38 : " Repent 
 •* and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
 ** Christ, for the remission of si?is." Acts xxii. 16 : " Arise, 
 ** and be baptized, and wash away thy si?is, calling on the 
 *' name of the Lord." — Baptism is said to do what it attests 
 to be done. So Bishop Jewel explains the fathers : ' The 
 
 * holy fathers say that the sacraments of the new law ivork 
 ' salvation, because they teach us that our salvation is ... . 
 
 * wrought : ' and still more directly to the point he quotes 
 the words of Aquinas, ' We say, a thing is done^ when it is 
 
 * perfected, or known to be done! Defence, &c. p. 67. 
 
 Note XXIX. Page 165. 
 
 Dispositioji in Infants. 
 
 From those who object to every such idea as I have 
 stated in the text, I would fain learn, what conception they 
 form of * holiness,' ' the sanctification of the Spirit,' ' a new 
 
 * principle of life and of action,' ' a death unto sin and a 
 
 * new birth unto righteousness;' apart from all connection 
 with the dispositions of the mind. — What also will they say to 
 Hooker's ' infused virtue of the Holy Ghost, which giveth to 
 
 * the powers of the soul their first disposition towards fu- 
 
 * ture newness of life,' and which he considers as a benefit to be 
 received in baptism? — But whoever may object to thesuppo- 
 sition Mr. Daubeny will not. He expressly maintains that 
 
 * such a change (of heart) in some degree takes place ' in 
 infants ; and that to suppose the contrary implies ' that the 
 
 * Holy Spirit, in the case of infants, must have performed 
 
 * his work imperfectly.' Co?isid. p. 68, 69. 
 
 The Church of England defines spiritual regeneration 
 
 * a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness. She 
 
 * teaches therefore that the great moral change expressed by 
 
 * these words (a change which many will think 1 have not 
 
 * described too strongly, when I term it cm entire change of 
 
 * the mind) is experienced by every regenerated infant .... 
 
 * In consequence of the fall of Adam, every infant is born 
 
 * with a moral taint, or (in the language of holy writ) is by 
 
 * nature a child of wrath. If Adam had never fallen, each 
 
 * infant descended from him would have been born without 
 < this moral taint. But between two infants thus differently 
 
APPENDIX. 240 
 
 * circumstanced, there is a moral difference in the condition 
 < of their respective souls. . .Now where is the difficulty of 
 
 :* conceiving, tliat the soul of an infant may be as much 
 f: cleansed by regeneration from this moral taint as the soul 
 
 * of an adult? . . . .The change will doubtless be made ad 
 
 * modiim recip'wntis, but it is quite as easy to suppose, that 
 
 * the birth-tainted soul of an infant may be rnade^ as that 
 
 * the soul of an infant may be produced pure.' Fabers Reply 
 to the Dean of Chichester. — Mr. F. refers for ' some ex- 
 
 * cellent remarks on this subject' to Archdeacon Pott's 
 Observations, p. 19. 
 
 Note XXX. Page 166. 
 
 Original Sin washed away. 
 
 The last sentence quoted in the text describes, I presume, 
 that ' washing away of original sin by baptism,' of which 
 so much is so indefinitely said by many writers, but con- 
 cerning which, under the silence of scripture, little ex- 
 planation can be given, and little satisfaction attained. 
 The substance of wliat can be soberly delivered on the sub- 
 ject would appear to be, neai'ly in the words cited in the 
 text — * that the person, thus admitted into covenant with 
 ' God through the second Adam, shall not perish by the 
 
 * sin of the first, but only (if he do perish,) by his own ac- 
 
 * tual sin of heart and life.' — The language in question, if 
 used in any sound sense, must refer to the remission of 
 gailt derived or imputed to the party baptized through 
 Adam's offence, not to the abrogation oi (ieprat'i^y ; for that 
 baptized and unbaptized persons are alike depraved we too 
 manifestly see. — But then most Christians, I apprehend,* 
 are willing to believe, that this remission of original guilt is 
 not confined to infants baptized, but extended to all who die 
 without actual sin. And, if so, it will follow, that baptism 
 has the same relation to it, as to the remission of guilt in- 
 curred by actual transgression, and no other : namely, it iis 
 the pledge and attestation, — ' the sign and seal ' of it, not 
 the exclusive medium of its conveyance. — Nor is there any 
 thing in this contrary to that rubric of the church in which 
 she pronounces it ' certain by God's word, that children 
 *■ which are baptized, dying before they commit actual sin, 
 
 * Biddulph's Answer to Mant; Laurence's Vindication ; the author's. 
 Reply to Liiureuce, &c. 
 
250 APPENDIX. 
 
 * are undoubtedly saved.' She speaks with confidence of 
 those who are thus admitted into the covenant, receiving its 
 
 * sign and seal,' and who never b}' actual transgression vio- 
 late their engagement; but she pronounces nothing to the 
 prejudice of others, with whose case she had not to do, 
 and respecting whom the scriptures had given her no infor- 
 mation. 
 
 Agi'eeable to this sentiment, that baptism is said to wash 
 away the guilt of original sin in infants, only as it washes 
 away the guilt of actual sin in the penitent believer,* namely 
 as the visible sign and seal of forgiveness, is the fact, that 
 the children of christian parents are spoken of in scripture 
 as, in a certain sense, " holy " even by birth, and not 
 merely made so by baptism : and on this their relative ho- 
 liness their right to baptism has been usually grounded. — I 
 subjoin a quotation from Hooker, B. v. § 60, p. 252, 253. 
 * Of the will of God to impart his grace unto infants with- 
 out baptism ' in cases wherein it cannot be had, ' the very 
 circumstance of their natural birth may serve as a just 
 argument ; whereupon it is not to be misliked, that men 
 in charitable presumption do gather a great likelihood of 
 their salvation, to whom the benefit of christian parentage 
 being given, the rest that should follow is prevented by such 
 casualty, as man hath of himself no power to avoid. For 
 we are plainly taught of God, (1 Cor. vii. 12,) that the 
 seed of faithful parentage is holy from the very birth. 
 Which albeit we may not so understand, as if the children 
 of believing parents v?ere without si?? ; — or grace fi'om 
 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 all professors of the 
 name of Christ this pre-eminence above infi.dcls is freely 
 given; the fruit of their bodies bringeth into the world with 
 it a present interest and right to those means wherewith the 
 ordinance of Christ is tliat his church shall be sanctified, 
 it is not to be thought that he which, as it were, from 
 heaven, hath nominated and designed (designated) them 
 to holiness by special privilege of their very birth, will 
 himself deprive them of regeneration and inward grace, 
 only because necessity depriveth them of outward sacra- 
 ments.' 
 
 FeLruary, 1817. 
 
 * Acts xxii. 16. 
 
 C. tnldwin, Piir.'.i-T, 
 Kew Bridge-street. London. 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 1. Seven Sermons, chiefly addressed to young Persons, on 
 Baptism, Confirmation, the Lord's Supper, and the Sabbath: 
 a new edit. 3s. 6d. in boards. 
 
 ' The doctrines are such as have our most entire assent and approba- 
 ' tion. As illustrative of our admirable Liturgy and OfSces, no- 
 ' thing can be more useful and more intelligible, while some points 
 ' are handled in a masterly manner,' &c. British Critic, 1809. 
 
 2. The Christian Minister's serious and affection- 
 ate Address to Persons presenting a Child to be 
 baptized: 3d edit. Price 1-^f/. 
 
 3. A HuLSEAN Prize Essay, on the Internal Evidences of 
 Christianity : 2d edit. 35. in boards. 
 
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 and future revealed Designs of Providence, with regard to that 
 extraordinary People, are examined. ls.6d. 
 
 5. A Sermon on the Bible Society: exhibiting an Ej^'- 
 tome of the Society's Reports and Correspondence. 2u 
 edit. l5. 
 
 6. The fatal Consequences of Licentiousness ; a Ser- 
 mon occasioned by the Trial of a young Woman for the Murder 
 of her illegitimate Child. 5th edit. Is. 
 
 %* The Works of the Rev. Thomas Scott, Rector of Aston 
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 Scriptures, in 6 vols. 4to. price 7l. 10s. in boards (or, with 
 coloured maps, 8/. 2s.) may be had of the Author, Aston 
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 Scott, Harborough, Rugby, Warwickshire. 
 
Shortly mil be published. 
 
 A Reply to the Rev. Dr. Laurence's Work, entitled, " The 
 '^ Doctrine of the Church of England upon the effi- 
 " CAcy OF Baptism vindicated from misrepresenta- 
 «• TiON : " By John Scott, M. A. &c. 
 
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