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er's purpose to exhibit them in this connection, nor to refer his readers to the article of the church on the subject. That article (the twenty-eighth) has these words: "The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after a heavenly, spiritual manner. And the mean, whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is faith." "The real presence of Christ's most blessed body and blood," says Hooker, "is not to be sought in the sacrament, but in the worthy receiver."

3. We are charged with holding that baptism is a saving ordinance,-that is to say, the Liturgy inculcates the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. It is impossible for us to go at large into the evidence on this point; our limits forbid it, and we can only give a very brief explanation. "When the churchman," says Bishop Hobart, in his third charge to his clergy,-" in the language of scripture, of primitive antiquity, and of the articles and liturgy of his church, calls baptism, regeneration, he does not employ the term in its popular signification among many protestants to denote the divine influences upon the soul in its sanctification, and renovation; in abolishing the body of sin, and raising up the graces and virtues of the new man. The term regeneration is used by him in its original appropriate and technical acceptation, to denote the translation of the baptised have been able to discover how much to allow for a time-serving disposition. While we are on the subject of popery, we will venture to ask whether sitting at the communion may not be termed popish, since (according to Wheatley) the great Pope always receives in that posture! The practice is not derived from our Saviour; for in his time the table posture was not sitting, but reclining.

person from that state, in which, as destitute of any covenant title to salvation, he is styled the child of wrath, into that state, which, as it proffers to him in all cases, the covenanted mercy and grace of God, and in the exercise of repentance and faith actually conveys to him these blessings, is styled "a state of salvation.”* "Whatever some few persons, or some petty sects," says Dr. Barrow," may have deemed, it hath been the doctrine constantly, and with very general consent, delivered in the Catholic church, that to all persons, by the holy mystery of baptism duly initiated to Christianity, or admitted into the communion of Christ's body, the grace of God's Holy Spirit certainly is bestowed, enabling them to perform the conditions then undertaken by them."+ Hooker calls "baptism the door of

*See John iii. 3-5. Titus iii. 5. "Whoever," says Justin Martyr," are persuaded and believe that the things said by us are true, and undertake to live agreeably to them, are led by us to a place where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner that we were regenerated, for they are baptized in the name of God the Father and Lord of all, of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. For Christ said "if ye are not regenerated ye cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven." Quoted by Bp. Mant.-Tracts of the Eng. Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, vol. vi. "He came," says Irenæus, speaking of Christ, " to save all persons by himself; all, I say, who are regenerated by him unto God, infants, and little ones, and children, and young men, and old men." Again: "The ordinary way of being freed from original sin, he says,-is baptism, which is our regeneration unto God." Quoted in Bp. Bagot's Serious Caution against the Anabaptists. The truth concerning this term seems to be, that it is borrowed from the Jewish practice. See Wall's Hist. Infant Baptism. Introduction, section vi.

† Sermon xlv. quoted in Quarterly Review vol. xv. p. 491which see, and also Barrow on the Creed, London ed. 1697, p. 443.

God's house;" in making use of it for the admission of men, the church requires faith, repentance and the promise of future and unreserved obedience as the conditions upon which she receives them.* That principle which leads us to ascribe every thing in us which is good to God leads us also to ascribe to his Holy Spirit every thing which has a tendency to draw us to himself. We neither repent nor believe sincerely, but by the influence of the Holy Spirit. Where these requisites are apparent, baptism is rightly administered, and the promises of the new covenant being in that baptism sealed to him, the person baptised may justly be said to be regenerated, or born anew. But it may be said, that many persons are baptised and of course declared regenerate, whose profession of faith and repentance is utterly insincere—a mere mockery. We know this may be the case, for the scriptures testify that Philip, Peter and John were successively imposed on by Simon Magus,-and where it is so, we can only say with those apostles, such persons have neither part nor lot in this matter. Doubtless they are in the same situation with those contemplated in the twenty-ninth article; "the wicked and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth 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." Still however, as it is impossible for us to know the sincerity of the applicant, and as it is an

* See Romans v. 12. Eph. ii. 3. Acts ii. 37-38-and viii. 36. † I. Cor. xii. 3. Acts xi. 18.

John iii. 5. II. Cor. i. 21. Col. ii. 12.

according to our assigned us, we

God that it hath

act in which he, as far as his own professions go, gives himself up to God's own government, we must leave it to him, who is head over the church, to decide; and conscious that we have done our part, best conceptions of the duty he has may, with the utmost sincerity, thank pleased him to regenerate his servant;" for, as well as we can judge such is the fact. The same remark applies to the baptism of infants; born of parents who are within the covenant, they are baptised on the faith of their parents, who, with others, are sureties to the church for their instruction in the faith. As in circumcision, what they are incpable of, is not required of them.*

4. "Bishops are able to communicate the Holy Spirit, and confer the power of forgiving sins." In the sense in which the Reviewer wishes to be understood we can with great safety deny the charge, and assert that the church assumes no such power. The form in ordination of priests, which he quotes, and which is

* See Barrow on the Creed p. 442. In a note the Reviewer says, that" Dr. Wyatt calls the baptismal font the laver of regeneration." Is he ignorant that many very learned, and able divines have done the same? For instance Cranmer, Andrews, Burnet, Barrow and others. The Reviewer, when he quoted the 27th article of the church, might have mentioned, we think, for the information of his readers, that the same doctrine is to be found substantially in the standards of Protestants generally throughout Europe; and that the very language of the article is infused into the Cambridge and Saybrook platforms. He sneers at the article, indeed, but he does not inform us on what grounds he believes its doctrines to be false. Mr. Dodwell's opinion, if such as the Reviewer quotes, and we have no reason to believe it is not, is a singular one, but we do not see what the church has to do with it.

not the form at present used, is taken from St. John's account of the manner in which our Saviour commissioned his Apostles. It is not pretended by any, so far as we are informed, that, when our Saviour uttered these words, and breathed on the Apostles, any more was meant by him than to convey the power of the ministerial office. It is certain, that this event occurred some time before the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles, and there is no ground on which to assume that they were before that descent favoured with any portion of his special influences. "The Holy Ghost may be used," says Hooker,*" to signify not the person alone, but the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and we know that spiritual gifts are not only abilities to do things miraculous, as to speak with tongues which were never taught us; to cure diseases without art, and such like; but also, that the very authority and power which is given unto men in the church to be ministers of holy things, this is contained among the number of those gifts of which the Holy Ghost is author, and therefore he which gives this power, may say, without absurdity or folly, Receive the Holy Ghost, such power as Christ hath endued his Church withal, such power as neither prince, nor potentate, king, nor Cæsar on earth can give. So that if man alone had devised this form of speech thereby to express the heavenly wellspring of that power which Ecclesiastical ordinations doth bestow, it is not so foolish but that wise men might bear with it." Upon Unitarian principles we should suppose the objection might be extended higher, for on the presumption that our Saviour was a fallible and peccable man,

Eccles. Pol. L. v. s. 77.

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