to the foregoing doctrine, which constituted the unadulterated creed of the primitive Church, man, previous to his Fall, had the adoption of a son, and, consequently, the spirit of adoption. And in this sense the same great Divine afterwards expressly interprets himself, where he says, that " that by the Holy Spirit we aré "restored to Paradise, we regain the "kingdom of Heaven, we return to the "adoption of sons *." "We have re"cieved," says the Apostle, "the adop❝tion of Sons, whereby we cry, Abba, "Father."

This fundamental doctrine of the primitive Church in strict correspondence with the history of man, as recorded in Scripture, we have the satisfaction to find fully acknowledged by that Church to which we have the happiness to belong; one of whose distinguishing excellencies consists in its near conformity to the pri mitive pattern. In her xth Article, our

* « Δια πνευματα αγις, ημεις παραδεισον αποκαλαςασις βασιλείαν Βράνων ανοδο η εις υιοθεσιαν επανοδο. Basil. Lib. de Spirit. Sanct. Cap. ix.

Church

Church expressly maintains the corrup tion entailed on mankind by the Fall, "whereby man is very far gone from "original righteousness, and is of his own "nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh "lusteth alway contrary to the spirit; " and this infection of nature doth re"main even in them that are regene"rated." With an eye to this entailed inherent corruption, the service of our excellent Church, from the regeneration of the baptized party, in the Sacrament divinely instituted for that purpose, through all its successive parts, has for its object the divine scheme of redemption, in the restoration of man's fallen nature to that state of spiritual perfection, which might qualify it for those spiritual employments in a better world; for which, after a certain probationary continuance on earth, man was originally designed *,

* "Hinc discimus, tum quis sit finis regenerationis nostræ, hoc est, ut Deo reddamur similes, ac in nobis " reluceat ejus gloria; tum quæ sit Dei imago, cujus mentio fit apud Mosem, nempe totius animæ rectitudo ét "integritas, ita ut homo sapientiam Dei, justitiam, et bonitatem quasi speculum representet."

Calvin in Col. iii. 10.

From

From the words of the text then, we learn what is the end of man's regeneration; namely, that he put off the old man, and put on the new man, being renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him, and in what the image of God consists, of which mention is made in the Mosaic history; namely, the rectitude and integrity of the whole soul, whereby man, as in a glass, represents the wisdom, righteousness, and goodness of God. This regeneration takes place in baptism, "the fountain of the new birth ;' as it is called in one of our Homilies* ; which regeneration, to make use of another figure, may be regarded as the seed time of the future evangelical harvest; it being the appointed commencement of that life of holiness, which under the renewing power of the Holy Ghost is expected to be led to its end, in conformity

to this spiritual beginning.

"

For baptism,

as our Church instructs us, is not only a 'sign of profession, as it has been sometimes erroneously represented,

"but is

"also a sign of regeneration, or new birth;

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whereby, as by an instrument, they that "receive baptism rightly, are grafted into "the Church; the promises of forgiveness "of sin, and our adoption to be the sons "of God by the Holy Ghost are visibly "signed and sealed."

It follows then, that this spiritual seed sown at baptism must, like other seed, be properly cherished and cultivated, in order to its regular progress to maturity. It must for instance be refreshed from time to time, with the dew of divine grace; and duly warmed and invigorated by the sun of righteousness shining under the Gospel; to enable it to bring forth fruit to perfection. And it is on the charitable supposition that all things go on as they ought in this spiritual generation, by which fallen man is "begotten again to a "lively hope;" in the words of our baptismal service, that the Christian does actually lead the rest of his life according to his spiritual beginning in baptism, that he is said to be saved by the washing of regeneration; considered as the divinely appointed ordinance for the re

newing of the Holy Ghost. And hence it is, that the Church militant on earth, taken in connection with the Church triumphant in Heaven, is but one and the same spiritual kingdom; differing only in time and degree; the future state of the baptized party being but the completion and perfection of his present condition, considered as his happy arrival at that fullness of stature in Christ, to which his faithful use of the means of grace is sup posed to have gradually advanced him.

In conformity to which idea, believers, in Scripture sense, are already in a state of salvation. In the words of the enlightened Apostle, "They are already

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come unto Mount Sion, unto the city "of the living God, the heavenly Jerusa"lem, and to the general assembly of all "its glorious inhabitants." Heb. xii. 27. And what is this but the New Jerusalem, mentioned by St. John in the Apocalypse, which finally consummates and compleats the whole revelation of Him, who was, and is, and is to come; the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last,