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us, by the which it doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but strengthen and confirm our faith in him.

The ministration of baptism which is appointed to be used in the ritual of our church is in exact agreement with the doctrine as stated above. After having declared that all men are conceived and born in sin, and that none can enter into the kingdom of God except he be regenerate and born again of water and of the Holy Ghost, it bids us to call upon God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of his bounteous goodness he will grant to the infant child, or to the adult believer presented for baptism, that which by nature he cannot have, that he may be baptized with water and the Holy Ghost, and received into Christ's holy Church, and be made a lively member of the same: that he may enjoy the everlasting benediction of this heavenly washing, and may come to the eternal kingdom which he hath promised by Christ our Lord. Having declared his good-will towards them, it offers up a devout prayer to Almighty God to give his Holy Spirit to him, that he may be born again, and be made an heir of everlasting salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. It then

requires the person to be baptized, (or sponsors as sureties in his name, who thus become godfathers, and godmothers,) to make a solemn vow, promise, and profession, that he will renounce the three great enemies of our souls-the world, the flesh, and the devil; and that he will keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of his life.' After a solemn promise of all these things, a devout prayer is presented to our merciful God, that he may grant that the old Adam in the person baptized may be so buried, that the new man may be raised up in him, that all carnal affections may die in him, and that all things belonging to the Spirit may live and grow in him, and that he may have power and strength to have victory, and to triumph against the devil, the world, and the flesh.

In the act of consecration, the minister, sponsors, and people, offer up a prayer to the Almighty, ¡everliving God, to sanctify the water to the mystical washing away of sin, and to grant that the person to be baptized may receive the fulness of his grace, and ever remain in the number of his faithful and elect children through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is then baptized by

the minister in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, received into the congregation of Christ's flock, signed with the sign of the cross in token that hereafter he shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto his life's end. The form of sound words now proceeds to declare the person so baptized to be regenerate and grafted into the body of Christ's church, and the whole congregation yield their hearty thanks to their most merciful Father, that it hath pleased him to regenerate him with his Holy Spirit, to receive him for his own child by adoption, and to incorporate him into his holy church, and earnestly prays that being dead unto sin and living unto righteousness, and being buried with Christ in his death, he may crucify the old man, and utterly abolish the whole body of sin, and that as he is made partaker of the death of his Son he may also be partaker of his resurrection, so that finally with the residue of his holy church, he may be an inheritor of his everlasting kingdom through Christ our Lord.

The Church of England when in its form of the baptismal service it speaks of infants being regenerate, and of adult persons as having put on Christ, charitably presumes that all is well done, and in due order,-that the sacrament of baptism is rightly ministered,-and that it is received by a true and living faith, by that faith which purifies the heart, which worketh by love, and which keeps the commandments of God. "For that is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath received him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." It presumes that humble and earnest prayer has been offered up with a pure heart fervently, and in the faith of Jesus Christ by minister and people, by parents and sponsors, by witnesses and sureties, and by the whole congregation then present for the persons baptized, whether they may be infants or adults. The infant child is admitted to baptism on the promise and engagement of others, his godfathers and godmothers, as his sponsors, or sureties to the church of God, which promise,

himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish ;" and referring to the true end and spiritual design of baptism, he says, "he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

When St. Peter declares that baptism doth save us, he does not mean that our salvation is effected by the mere washing of water, or that the water has of itself any power of cleansing, regenerating, and renewing the heart; but that as appointed by Christ in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, it is the outward means of grace in applying this spiritual gift to the soul; "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." The sacrament of baptism indeed gives no promise of any cleansing, but through the blood and spirit of Christ which it represents, that blood which cleanseth from all sin, that Spirit which was to be poured out on all flesh, and which sanctifies all the elect people of God. The inward and spiritual grace of baptism is thus as our church declares, a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness; for

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