give a witness and to be contemned; to be ill-used and to succeed. Such is the law which God has annexed to the promulgation of the truth; its preachers suffer, but its cause prevails. Be it so. Joyfully will we consent to this compact. And the more you attack us personally, the more, for the very omen's sake, we will exult in it."

NOTE L, p. 26.

ON THE SACRAMENTS.

"In all ages the devil hath stirred up some light heads to esteem the sacraments but lightly, as to be empty and bare signs.” -Bp. Latimer in Ridley's Life of Ridley, p. 453.

1. BAPTISM.-So evidently does the Church connect Baptism and Regeneration that the Puritans in Queen Elizabeth's time and the Nonconformists in the reign of Charles II. justified their secession on the ground that "the Church clearly teaches the doctrine of real baptismal regeneration."-Nonconformist's Memorial. Introduct. p. 39.

The Puritans particularly objected to our service for applying John iii. 5, to "the baptizing in the font, that being spoken, as they said, only of the operation of the spirit.-Puritan Register, p. 97. They cavilled also "at these words used in baptism, that Jesus Christ did sanctify the flood Jordan and all other waters to the mystical washing away of sin; as though we should attribute that to the sign which is proper to the word of God

in the blood of Christ; and that virtue were in the water to wash away sin."-"A view of Popish abuses yet remaining." Strype's Annals, vol. ii. pt. 2. p. 480.

Allusion is here evidently made to our baptismal service where it is expressly said that water is sanctified to the mystical washing away of sin. The Puritans also objected to the Church for teaching each baptized child to speak of himself as "sanctified," which is done in the catechism.

Among the eight things at the Savoy conference charged upon the Church as "flatly sinful and contrary to the word of God," the fourth was "that ministers are obliged to pronounce all baptized infants regenerate by the Holy Ghost." Collier ii. 885. The Rev. Thos. Scott observes,

"Indeed the Fathers, as they are called, (that is the teachers of the Christian Church during some ages after the apostles,) soon began to speak on this subject in unscriptural language"(i. e. according to Mr. Scott's idea of what scriptural language is, but he is no more infallible than the Fathers who were deep students of Scripture): "and our pious reformers from an undue regard to them and to the circumstances of the times, have retained a few expressions in the Liturgy which not only are inconsistent with their other doctrine, but also tend to perplex men's minds and mislead their judgment on this important subject. It is obvious, however, from their words above cited and many other passages, (particularly the articles on the sacraments) that they never supposed the mere outward administration of baptism to be regeneration, in the strict sense of the word."

Essays by the late Rev. Thos. Scott. Essay 12, p. 137. This is certainly a curious sentence to be written by one who had subscribed his unfeigned assent and consent to the Prayer Book; and Mr. Scott's ideas of piety must have been peculiar.

H

According to his statement, our Reformers did not believe baptism to be regeneration, but yielding to "the circumstances of the time" and "an undue regard to the Fathers," they suffered what they did not believe to remain as the doctrine of the baptismal office, though leading, as Mr. Scott would consider, to errors the most pernicious and fatal. This, a High Churchman, who, true to the principles of the English Reformation, has a due regard for the Fathers, would, I shrewdly suspect, call impiety. From this charge I shall be happy to vindicate our great reformers: and first of Cranmer. That his private views were not, as Mr. Scott suspects, different from those which he publicly avowed, may be seen from the ensuing extract from one of his last and most elaborate works, the very title of which betrays a respect, whether due or undue, for the Fathers, sufficient to shew, in addition to what has before been produced, that, whatever anathemas they deserve who in these days have respect to the Fathers, it is presuming rather too much on the ignorance and credulity of the public to accuse them of deviating from the principles of the Reformation.

"A Defence of the true and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, with a Confutation of sundry errors concerning the same, grounded and stablished upon God's Holy Word, and approved by the consent of the most ancient doctors of the Church, made by the most Reverend Father in God Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all England and Metropolitan."

"Although our carnal generation and our carnal nourishment be known to all men by daily experience and by our common

senses; yet this our spiritual generation and our spiritual nutrition be so obscure and hid unto us, that we cannot attain to the true and perfect knowledge and feeling of them, but only by faith, which must be grounded upon God's most holy word and sacraments.

"And for this consideration our Saviour Christ hath not only set forth these things most plainly in his holy word, that we may hear them with our ears; but he hath also ordained one visible sacrament of spiritual regeneration in water, and another visible sacrament of spiritual nourishment in bread and wine, to the intent that, as much as is possible for man, we may see Christ with our eyes, smell him at our nose, taste him with our mouths, grope him with our hands, and perceive him with all our senses. For as the word of God preached putteth Christ into our ears, so likewise the elements of water, bread, and wine, joined to God's word, do after a sacramental manner put Christ into our eyes, mouths, hands, and all our senses.

"And for this cause Christ ordained Baptism in water, that as sure as we see, feel, and touch water with our bodies, and be washed with water; so assuredly ought we to believe, when we be baptized, that Christ is verily present with us, and that by him we be newly born again spiritually, and washed from our sins, and grafted in the stock of Christ's own body, and be apparelled, clothed, and harnessed with him in such wise, that as the Devil hath no power against Christ, so hath he none against us, so long as we remain grafted in that stock, and be clothed with that apparel, and harnessed with that armour."

66

Cranmer's Works, ii. 302.

Of the force of this passage we have indirect evidence in the fact that when the Religious Tract Society undertook the re-publication of the greater part of the "Defence," the passage just quoted was carefully omitted. Their extracts," says Mr. Jenkyns, "are much too imperfect to convey a full and fair view of Cranmer's tenets, especially as they do not include a remarkable passage in his first book, illustrative of his opinions on Baptism.”

The passage alluded to is the one quoted above. Now it cannot be supposed that the Religious Tract Society, &c. published the tract in question, antiquated in style and controversial in manner, as being in itself peculiarly adapted to those whom the Society is intended to benefit. The object was, of course, to insinuate that the principles of the Society are in accordance with those of the English Reformers. But on one of the most important points, the principles of the Tract Society, and those of Archbishop Cranmer, are very decidedly at variance. On what principle, then, can such an unnoticed omission be justified; an omission that leads the reader to infer that the Archbishop and the Society are perfectly in union? When Bishop Sanderson's advice is followed, and we have a clear definition of what Popery is, perhaps we shall find this noted as a Popish transaction. For although I am quite sure that truly pious Romanists would disdain such an artifice as this, yet of similar offences some of their most distinguished controversialists have been guilty.

But if a yet stronger passage from Archbishop Cranmer is wanted, it can easily be produced.

"And when you say that in baptism we receive the spirit of Christ, and in the sacrament of his body and blood we receive his very flesh and blood, this your saying is no small derogation to baptism, wherein we receive not only the spirit of Christ, but also Christ himself, whole body and soul, manhood and Godhead, unto everlasting life, as well as in the holy communion. For St. Paul saith, Quicunque in Christo baptizati estis, Christum induistis, As many as be baptised in Christ, put Christ upon