hath poured upon us plenteously by JESUS CHRIST Our SAVIOUR, that we being made righteous by His grace may be heirs of everlasting life." This is a sure and true word. Ye shall also diligently labour, good children, to keep and perform those promises which you made to God in your Baptism, and which Baptism doth betoken. For Baptism, and the dipping into the water doth betoken, that the old Adam, with all his sin and evil lusts ought to be drowned and killed by daily contrition and repentance, and that by renewing of the HOLY GHOST we ought to rise with CHRIST from the death of sin, and to walk in a new life, that our new man may live everlastingly in righteousness and truth before God, as Saint Paul teacheth, saying, "All we that are baptized in CHRIST JESU, are baptized in His death. For we are buried with Him by Baptism into death, that as CHRIST hath risen from death by the glory of His FATHER, so we also should walk in newness of life." And this is the plain exposition of the words of holy Baptism; that is to say, that we should acknowledge ourselves to be sinners, desire pardon and forgiveness of our sins, be obedient and willing to bear CHRIST's cross, and all kinds of affliction, and at the last to die, that by death we may be perfectly delivered from sin. And therefore we ought to hate sin, and with all our power to fight against sin. For GoD in Baptism hath forgiven us our sins, and given us the HOLY GHOST, and made us partakers of the righteousness of His well-beloved Son JESUS CHRIST. Now consider deeply, I pray you, how great benefits these be, that you may not be unkind to Him that hath done so much for you, but stedfastly believe these things, mortify sin, patiently suffer all diseases and adversities which it shall please God to send you, and then without doubt you shall be saved.

you

you

Wherefore, good children, learn these things diligently, and when be demanded, what is Baptism? then shall answer, Baptism is not water alone, but it is water inclosed and joined to the word of GOD, and to the covenant of God's promise. And

these be the words whereby our LORD JESUS CHRIST did ordain Baptism, which be written in the last chapter of Saint Matthew, "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the FATHER, and the SON, and the HOLY GHOST."

And when you shall be asked, What availeth Baptism? you shall answer, Baptism worketh forgiveness of sin, it delivereth from the kingdom of the devil and from death, and giveth life and everlasting salvation to all them that believe these words of CHRIST, and promise of GOD, which are written in the last Chapter of Saint Mark, his Gospel," He that will believe and be baptized shall be saved, but he that will not believe shall be damned."

Thirdly, if a man ask you how can water bring to pass so great things? ye shall answer, Verily the water worketh not these things, but the word of GOD which is joined to the water, and Faith which doth believe the word of GOD. For without the word of GOD, water is water, and not Baptism, but when the word of the living GOD is joined to the water, then it is Baptism and water of wonderful wholesomeness, and the bath of regeneration through the HOLY GHOST, as Saint Paul writeth, "GOD saved us by the bath of regeneration and renewing of the HOLY GHOST, Whom He poured upon us plenteously by JEsus Christ our SAVIOUR, that we being made righteous by His grace, may be heirs of everlasting life." Fourthly, if a man ask you, What doth the baptizing in the water betoken? answer ye, it betokeneth that old Adam, with all sins and evil desires, ought daily to be killed in us by true contrition and repentance; that he may risc again from death, and after he is risen with CHRIST may be a new man, a new creature, and may live everlastingly in GoD, and before GOD, in righteousness and holiness. As Saint Paul writeth, saying, "All we that are baptized are buried with CHRIST into death, that as CHRIST rose again by the glory of His FATHER, so we also should walk in newness of life." Thus ye have heard, good children, what is meant by the words of Baptism, by the which we are born again and made new to ever

lasting life. Learn these things diligently, and thank God who in CHRIST hath called you to be partakers of so large and ample benefits. And express Baptism in your life, and Baptism shall be the greatest comfort to you, both in your life time, and also in your death bed. For by Baptism we be grafted into the death of CHRIST, wherefore sin, death, or hell, cannot hurt us, but we shall overcome all these things by faith, as CHRIST Himself overcame them. And so by this new birth we shall enter into the Kingdom of GOD and life everlasting.

The which God grant us all. AMEN.

NOTE.

SOME moderns, in the heat of controversy, have affirmed that Cranmer's doctrine, touching Baptismal Regeneration, underwent a change before his martyrdom. This statement, however, is not grounded in truth; for, in his last work, his " Answer to Gardiner," he says:

"For this cause CHRIST ordained Baptism in water, that, as surely 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 appareled, 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 be harnessed with that armour. Fol. edit. 1551, p. 42.

Again" The wonderful work of God is not in the water which only washeth the body, but GOD by His omnipotent power worketh wonderfully in the receivers thereof, scouring, washing, and making them clean inwardly, and as it were, new men and celestial creatures. This have all old authors wondered at; this wonder passeth the capacities of all men's wits, how damnation is turned into salvation, and of the son of the devil condemned into hell is made the son of GoD and inheritor of heaven. This wonderful work of GoD all men may marvel and wonder at: but no creature is able sufficiently to comprehend it. And as this is wondered at in the Sacrament of Baptism, how he that was subject unto death receiveth life by CHRIST, and His HOLY SPIRIT: so is this wondered at in the Sacrament of CHRIST'S Holy Table, how the

same life is continued and endureth for ever, by continual feeding upon CHRIST'S Flesh and His Blood." p. 74.

Again:-"As in Baptism we must think that, as the Priest putteth his hand to the child outwardly, and washeth him with water, so must we think that GOD putteth to His hand inwardly and washeth the infant with His HOLY SPIRIT; and moreover that CHRIST Himself cometh down upon the child and apparelleth him with His own self." p. 444.

It may be some satisfaction to the reader to see how nearly the Archbishop agreed with his brother Reformers in the aforesaid doctrine. BISHOP RIDLEY calls Baptism regeneration, and the water in Baptism, "the fountain of regeneration." Thus,

66

And, likewise, when I consider that all that man doth profess in his regeneration, when he is received into the holy Catholic Church of CHRIST, and is now to be accounted for one of the lively members of CHRIST'S Own body," &c.-Lamentation for the Change of Religion in England, in Legh Richmond's Selection from the Writings of the Reformers, p. 142.

"The bread indeed is sacramentally changed into the Body of CHRIST, as the water in Baptism is sacramentally changed into the fountain of regeneration, and yet the natural substance remaineth all one, as was before."-Treatise on the LORD's Supper. Ibid. p. 183.

BISHOP HOOPER says,

"I believe, also, the holy Sacraments (which are the second mark or badge of the true Church) to be the signs of the reconciliation and great atonement made between GoD and us, through JESUS CHRIST. They are seals of the LORD's promises, and are outward and visible pledges and gages of the inward faith, and are in number only twain; that is to say, Baptism, and the Holy Supper of the LORD. The which two are not void and empty signs, but FULL; that is to say, they are not only signs whereby something is signified, but also they are such signs as do exhibit and GIVE the thing that they signify indeed......................

"I believe that Baptism is the sign of the new league and friendship between GOD and us, made by JESUS CHRIST; and it is the mark of the Christians now in the time of the Gospel, as in time past circumcision was a mark unto the Jews, which were under the law. Yea, Baptism is an outward washing done with water, thereby signifying an inward washing of the HOLY GHOST Wrought through the blood of CHRIST. The which Baptism ought as well to be given and communicated to little children as to those that be great, according to JESUS CHRIST His ordinance, once for all, without any rebaptizing. This Baptism is the Red Sea, wherein Pharaoh, that is to say, the devil, with his army of sins, are altogether drowned

"I believe, also, that Baptism is the entry of the Church; a washing into a new birth, and a renewing of the HOLY GHOST, whereby we do forsake ourselves, the devil, the flesh, sin, and the world. For being once rid of the old man with all his concupiscences, we are clothed with the new man which is in JESUS CHRIST, in righteousness and holiness, and with Him we die and are buried in His death, to the end that with CHRIST we may rise from death to the glory of the FATHER. And even likewise,

For I know for a surety that I am baptized, and I am sure also that Baptism was ordained of Gon, and that he which baptized me did it by GoD's commission and commandment, And the HOLY GHOST doth witness that he which is baptized hath put upon him CHRIST. Wherefore the HOLY GHOST in my Baptism assureth me, that I am a Christian man. And this is a true and sincere faith which is able to stand against the gates of hell, forasmuch as it hath for it the evidence of God's Word, and leaneth not to any man's saying or opinion. Furthermore, good children, you shall diligently learn the cause wherefore we are baptized. You have already heard that by Baptism we be born again.

The cause of this our second birth is the sinfulness and filthiness of our first birth. For by our first nativity (when we were born of our fathers and mothers) all we were born in sin, and when we issued out of our mother's womb we were laden with sin and GoD's anger, as it was at large declared unto you in the exposition of the ten commandments, and specially in the last commandment. For as Adam did sin, and by sin was so corrupted both in his body and soul, that by his own power or strength he was not able to do any good thing; even so, all the children and offspring of Adam be born sinners, so that they cannot be justified by themselves or by their own strength, but are inclined and bent to sin at all times. And as Saint Paul saith, "by nature they be the children of God's wrath."

That is to say, GOD is angry with us for those sins which by nature be, as it were, akin to us, and we be born with them into this world. But when we be born again by Baptism, then our sins be forgiven us, and the HOLY GHOST is given us,

1

"We must trust only in Gop's mercy, and that sacrifice which our High Priest and SAVIOUR JESUS the Son of GOD once offered for us on the cross, to obtain thereby God's grace and remission, as well of our original sin in BAPTISM, as of all actual sin committed by us after our Baptism, if we truly repent and turn unfeignedly to Him again."-The second part of the Sermon of Salvation. See also The first Homily of

the Passion.