his holy church;" and it is added, that "God for his part will most surely keep and perform his promise of releasing him from his sins, sanctifying him with the Holy Ghost, and giving him the kingdom of heaven and everlasting life.”—In the service of Private Baptism, immediately after the baptismal words are pronounced, it is said, this child being born in original sin, and in the wrath of God, is now by the laver of regeneration in baptism, received into the number of the children of God, and heirs of everlasting life." And the service of Baptism of such as are of riper years, begins thus, "Forasmuch as all men are conceived and born in sin, and that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and they that are in the flesh cannot please God, but live in sin, committing many actual transgressions; and that our Saviour Christ saith, None can enter into the kingdom of God, except he 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 church, and be made lively members of the same." And after the baptismal words are pronounced, the persons baptized are

declared

declared to be "regenerate and new-born again." -It is impossible for language to be more explicit and decisive than these passages quoted from our three Forms of Baptism.

In the Catechism it is said, that the inward and spiritual grace of baptism is, "a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness; for being by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath, we are hereby made the children of grace."

In the office of Confirmation, the Bishop, after the renewal of the baptismal vow, but previous to the laying on of hands, prays thus, "Almighty and everlasting God, who hast vouchsafed to regenerate these thy servants by water and the Holy Ghost, and hast given them forgiveness of all their sins," evidently referring to the rite of Baptisin. And in the Collect for Christmas-day, again in allusion to our Christian Baptism, and to a passage of Scripture already quoted, we pray to Almighty God, that "we, being regenerate and made his children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by his Holy Spirit;" here, "being regenerate," is a translation of regenerati, having becn regenerated by baptism (m). To these positive proofs we may add an argument of a negative nature, namely, that in all the numerous passages of our Liturgy, which suppose the sinfulness of Christians

(m) Vide Nicholl's Preface to the Supplement,

Christians after baptism, and enforce the duty of repentance and amendment, the word Regeneration is not once used. Whence we may conclude, that our Reformers, who were perhaps more accurately acquainted with the doctrines and language of the New Testament, than the Divines of any other age or country since the days of the Apostles, did not think it consistent with the principles of the Gospel to require Regeneration from those who were already baptized. Nor do they ever apply the word Regeneration to any operation of the Holy Ghost, except at the time of baptism.

In the 9th Article, those "that are regenerated" and those "that believe and are baptized' are mentioned as the same persons. The 15th Article speaks of all Christians as being "baptized and born again in Christ." And the 27th Article says, that "baptism is a sign of Regeneration or new-birth,” meaning, that the external form is a sign of the internal effect. These are the only instances, in which the word Regeneration, or any expression of the same import, occurs in the Articles.

In the Homilies we find the following passages. in speaking of Churches, "wherein be ministered the sacraments and mysteries of our redemption," it is said, "the fountain of our Regeneration is there presented unto us; the partaking of the

body

hody and blood of our Saviour Christ is there offered unto us (u)," signifying Baptism and the Lord's Supper: "Our Saviour Christ altered and changed the same [the practice of frequent washing among the Jews] in his church into a profitable sacrament, the sacrament of our Regeneration or new-birth (o)," that is, baptism. "He saved us by the fountain of the new-birth, and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he poured on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that we, being once justified by his grace, should be heirs of eternal life, through hope and faith in his blood (p)."

Hence it appears, that neither Scripture, nor the writings of our Church, authorize us to call upon those who have been baptized, whether in their infancy, or at a mature age, to regenerate themselves, or to expect Regeneration through the workings of the Holy Ghost. It is highly proper to exhort them to repent and to reform (q), to preserve or to repair that regenerate state which the Spirit once gave them; to remind them, as St. Paul (n) P. 229. (0) P. 243. (p) P. 345. (4) "Though inculcating perpetually, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, is indispensably needful; yet preaching the necessity of being regenerated, as a thing still absolutely wanting to a great part of those who call themselves disciples of Christ, is using a language

St. Paul reminded his converts, that "they were buried with Christ by baptism into death, and that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so they also should walk in newness of life (r)." But this is very different from teaching them to wait for a second Regeneration-a sudden conversion-a sensible operation of the Holy Spirit effecting a total and instantaneous change in their hearts and dispositions. Let them rather be admonished to take a serious, strict, and impartial review of their past lives; let them compare their conduct with the unerring rule of God's written commandments; let them consider the folly and danger of continuing in sin; let them determine to abandon their wicked ways; let them earnestly and faithfully pray for spiritual aid; let them thus renew their minds, and they may rest assured that their pious resolutions and virtuous exertions will be strengthened and promoted by power from on high." Regeneration of those, who are already baptized, by the forcible operation of the Spirit, is one

of

guage not conformable to that of Scripture, nor indeed of the primitive Fathers, or the offices of our own Liturgy; which declares every person who is baptized, to be by that very act, regenerated and grafted into the body of Christ's church." Secker's Sermons, V. 5. p. 390. (r) Rom. c. 6. v. 4.