nish the means of securing the required preparation, but we know none which can be considered equal in fitness and fulness to this should our esteemed brother have life and health afforded him, and a disposition given to make the latter portion of his work still more complete, we shall hail the event as tending to increase his own reputation as an author, and as supplying a treasury of facts and arguments on baptism which will greatly enrich his own section of the church of Christ.

BAPTIST HISTORY. From the Foundation of the Christian Church to the close of the Eighteenth Century. By J. M. Cramp, D.D. London: E. Stock.

came

ACCORDING to St. Mark Baptist History dates from "the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins." He whose way was thus prepared, when he began to be about thirty years of age, from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan." That John, as the precursor of Christ, was pre-eminently "the Baptist," is universally admitted: and that neither he, nor the Coming One, either taught or practised pædobaptism, may be reasonably doubted and truthfully denied. That the ceremony of baptism was performed by the immersion of the whole body in water is so patent that Dr. Wall says, in his "History of Infant Baptism," one cannot but wonder that any are to be found who can treat with ridicule the English anti-pædobaptists merely for their use of dipping, and more especially when it is considered that it was in all probability the way by which our blessed Saviour, and for certain was the most ordinary way by which the ancient Christians did receive their baptism. From all the information which can now be collected it may be confidently affirined that the churches in the first age after Christ were what would now be called Baptist churches. Holding this belief no writer of Baptist History could consistently start from a later period than that of the foundation of the Christian

church.

This is Dr. Cramp's starting point. "With the New Testament only before

us we find baptism connected with the profession of faith. The baptism of the New Testament is the baptism of believers." After adducing the concessions made by Pædobaptists on this point, he next inquires whether the usages of the period immediately following the apostolic, accord with these views, or indicate any departure from them? Passages are selected from the writings of the Apostolic Fathers bearing on the subject of baptism, which show either that the subjects were believers, or that the mode was immersion. Two passages are also given, one from Justin Martyr and the other from Irenæus, which were wont to be considered by Pædobaptists as favouring their practises. But Hagenbach candidly confesses that the language used by Irenæus merely expresses the idea that Jesus was Redeemer in and for every stage of life-yet does not say that He became Redeemer for children by water baptism. Two hundred years after the founding of the church elapse before a single reference can be found to infant baptism. At the beginning of the third century the simple ordinance as instituted by our Lord became encumbered with some additions, which are thus recorded by Bishop Kaye in his Ecclesiastical History. "The candidate having been prepared for its due reception by frequent prayers, fasts, and vigils, professed, in the presence of the congregation and under the hand of the president, that he renounced the devil, his pomp, and his angels. He was then plunged into the water three times, in allusion to the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, making certain responses which were not prescribed in Scripture, but rested on custom and tradition. He then tasted a mixture of milk and honey, and was anointed with oil, and signed with the sign of the cross. Lastly, followed the imposition of hands." After these customs had gained ground an attempt was made to extend the rite of baptism to very young children, especially as it was believed that it had saving efficacy in it, and that any who died without it must necessarily be lost. When this attempt was made Tertullian resisted it, saying concerning these children— who it should be remembered were not infants-"Let them come when they are taught to whom they may come.

Let them become Christians when they are able to know Christ." To allow those to be baptized who were not the subjects of repentance and faith would, in his opinion, be to revolutionize the institution, and he maintained that those who were unfit by age to manage temporal affairs ought not to be admitted to baptism. "His opposition," said the late Chevalier Bunsen, "is to the baptism of young growing children: he does not say a word about new-born infants." A little later Origen flourished, the most learned and laborious Christian of his age. But in his writings the references made to baptism are to child-and not to infant baptism. He approved of child baptism when the child was capable of receiving religious instruction, and gave evidence of personal piety-contending that the benefit of baptism depended not on the sacrament itself, or on the faith of others, but "on the deliberate purpose of the baptized."

In the middle of the third century a certain bishop in Northern Africa wrote to Cyprian, of Carthage, for advice as to the time of baptizing-telling him that some had insisted on the ceremony taking place immediately after birth; but stating that he could not consent to this, inasmuch as it was customary to receive the baptized person with a brotherly kiss, and that a newly-born infant could not be so received. He thought at least eight days should elapse, and that baptism should be deferred as long as circumcision had been under the law. The case was submitted to the council of Carthage, 252, after which Cyprian reported the decision, with the reasons by which the council had arrived at it. We are so disgusted with the whole procedure that we will not transcribe any part of the letter; and we blush for those who have no older or higher authority than that of this benighted and bestraught assembly for their babyish ceremonial. At the same time, and in the same enlightened place, North Africa, infant communion was consistently tacked on to infant baptism. But as the bread could not be eaten, the two elements were abridged into one, and that one, the wine, was poured into the mouth at the risk of its not arriving at the throat! Notwithstanding that we thus find infant baptism and its fitting associate infant communion so com

271

paratively early in the church's history, it may still be maintained, as expressed by Chevalier Bunsen in his "Christianity and Mankind," that the church adhered rigidly to the principle that no one could be in membership with it but by his own free act and deed. "It was with this understanding that the candidate for baptism was immersed in water, and admitted as a brother upon his confession of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." "With Christian children the condition was the same, except that the term of probation was changed according to circumstances. Pædo

baptism, in the more modern sense, meaning the baptism of new-born infants, with the vicarious promises of parents and other sponsors, WAS UTTERLY UNKNOWN IN THE EARLY CHURCH."

To this primitive period Dr. Cramp devotes a comparatively few pages of his Baptist History. He is equally and as wisely brief in sketching the transition and the obscure periods. He dwells longer on the periods of revival and reformation, but is most copious in his account of what he truly calls the troublous period. Then follows the history of the quiet period, and this is succeeded by a chapter of statistics and reflections. Considering it to be desirable that the members of Baptist churches should know something of their own denomination, and that such knowledge could not be attained without the purchase and perusal of large and expensive works, Dr. Cramp resolved on the writing of this portable volume-a volume which we earnestly hope will become eminently popular. First of all no minister or deacon, especially if his library is destitute of Crosby's, or Ivimey's, or Taylor's, or Wood's History, should fail to secure a copy of Dr. Cramp's. No Baptist chapel or school library should be without it. And as one means of promoting its circulation we advise those Sunday schools which are accustomed to give prizes, either at their anniversaries or when their scholars leave, to put this excellent work into the hands of every one who has evinced a decided attachment to the denomination in which he or she has been trained. The book abounds with information. divided into chapters which are most appropriately named, and into sections of suitable length. The style in which

It is

it is written is adapted to any class of readers-younger or older, and more or less intelligent. And if, as Luther long since said, "it is a rare worth which belongs to histories," we deliberately say that this "Baptist History" is one of exceeding value.

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

The Baptists and the Bible SocietyLay Agency. The Circular Letter of the Baptist Churches in the Counties of Nottingham, Derby, and LincolnFarewell Sermons by the Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel-An Address to Pope Pius The Sunday Magazine - The Scattered Nation-The Sword and Trowel-The Church--The AppealThe Hive-Old Jonathan, &c., &c.

The Rev. Dr. Ginsburg, of Liverpool, has set himself to the laborious task of making such an examination of the various authorities from which may be drawn the Text of the Old Testa

ment. A Hebrew scholar of no mean pretensions, and extensively read in Hebrew literature, he has for seven years directed his attention specially to the great question of the correct text of the Old Testament as exhibited in the system of the "Masorah." In endeavouring to collate the best copies that exist, he has examined several near at hand; he has compared others at Halle, and discovered and examined ten MSS. in the Library at Erfurt. Access has been readily granted to him to other great libraries upon the Continent, and, if means can be provided, he proposes to visit several of them in the course of the next few months. He proposes to examine the valuable MSS. preserved in Dresden, Munich, and Berlin, in Rome and in Paris. And especially to collate most carefully the fine copies obtained by the Russian Government from the Karaite Jews in the Crimea, and lodged in the Library of the University at St. Petersburg.

Ir we that time no more beget,
Two hundred hearts will ne'er forget
A sunny day on which we met,

All blithe and hale,
The while each happy thought was set
On Miller's Dale.

And still we see the winding hill,
The stream that somehow finds the mill
Round rocks that lean so wise and still
To hear its tale,

While leaf and bird with music fill
Sweet Miller's Dale.

By winter fires, when wind and rain
Are blindly beating at the pane,
That lovely scene will shine the same,
Though storms assail

The leafless boughs and night holds reign
In Miller's Dale.

And when with common cares opprest
The heart in memories seeks its rest,
Or we with sadder griefs distrest
Are sick and pale,

Thoughts may come back to soothe the breast

From Miller's Dale:
Chapel House, Castle Donington.

For there Jehovah's praise was sung,
Which sweetly swelled until it rung
In chorus full from old and young;
So will prevail

The prayers that rose from heart and
tongue
In Miller's Dale.

And every charm in that sweet place
Spelt out His name who loved our race;
We heard the whispers of His grace
All through the vale,
And knew we saw His smiling face
In Miller's Dale.

And yet one thought would have its tear-
We to each other grow more dear,
But miss some loved ones year by year :
O, life so frail !

No more we all shall wander here
By Miller's Dale.

The sorrow glanced and took its flight,
Hope came with pinions strong and bright
To bear us towards the fadeless light
Behind the veil-
With hope we went, while fell the night
On Miller's Dale.

E. H. J.

LETTER FROM THE HON. W. H.
SEWARD, UNITED STATES.
TO THE EDITOR-

DEAR SIR,As Secretary of the Association at Birmingham in 1865, I forwarded an epistle of condolence and sympathy with Mrs. Lincoln and the American Government and people on the occasion of the assassination of President Lincoln, and I have now received a large and handsome volume containing all the letters and addresses sent at that time from all parts of the world. This volume is deeply interesting, and valuable, and I purpose sending it to the Library of our College at Chilwell, that it may be easy of reference, and may be the property of the denomination.

I am, my dear sir,

Yours most truly,

THOMAS BARRASS. Peterborough, Aug. 18th, 1868. P.S.-I annex a copy of the letter which I received and acknowledged. 'Department of State, Washington, December, 10th, 1867.

To the Rev. Thomas Barrass, Pastor of the Baptist Church, Peterborough, England. Pursuant to the Provisions of a Resolution of the Congress of the United States, approved March 2, 1867, a copy of which is hereunto annexed, I transmit a copy of a volume, which you will please accept from this Government as a testimonial of the grateful appreciation by the people of the generous expressions of condolence and sympathy in the late National Bereavement, which were communicated in so touching a manner by the representatives of the Baptist Churches of England to the Department of State of the United States. WILLIAM H. SEWARD."

AMERICAN CORRESPONDENCE. Concord, N. H., June 15, 1868. REV. J. BURNS, D.D.—

Dear Brother,-At the last session of our General Conference held in Lewiston, Maine, on the first week in October, 1865, I was instructed to continue the correspondence on our part with the General Baptists in England. I intended to have written a letter for presentation at the next ses

T

sion of your Association; but I forgot to write at the proper time, and I fear it is now too late for a letter to reach you before the meeting of your Association. I will, however, send you this note that you may learn the reason why a letter from us was not sent to the Association. Our people, as a denomination, we trust, are making some progress in the right direction. Our institutions of learning are flourishing, and having a good degree of prosperity. We are prosecuting our mission work with increased interest. Our Foreign Mission force has been enlarged since our last General Conference, and during the present season it is expected that two brethren and their wives will leave us to join our mission band in India. Our mission among the Freedmen is still advancing. Normal schools have been established at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, and Cairo, Illinois, and a charter has been obtained for a college at Harper's Ferry, and more than 20,000 dollars have been raised for this object the past year.

Revivals of religion have been witnessed in different parts of our Zion during the past year. We sustain a great loss in the death of our much lamented brother, William Burr, Editor of the Morning Star, who died at his post on the 4th of November, 1866. Our next session of General Conference will assemble on the first Wednesday of October next, in the western part of the State of New York, probably at Buffalo. We hope to see a delegation from your Association at that meeting. It would afford us much pleasure to behold your face again in our Conference. May we not expect you will be there? We shall be happy to see any of the brethren of your Association at our next Conference, or at any other time. We shall expect an epistle and delegation from your people at our next session.

Yours in the bonds of Christian love,

SILAS CURTIS, Secretary of Freewill Baptist General Conference. P.S.I here with send you the Minutes of our last General Conference, and the Reports of our Benevolent Societies. S. C.

ADDRESS TO THE ELECTORS OF ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND WALES.

[While jealous of every thing like overlegislation, we readily comply with the request of the gentlemen who have asked for the insertion of the following address. The taprooms and parlours of even village public houses are often crowded on Sunday evenings, and the noise and revelry which may be heard in passing them sufficiently prove their depraving influences on those who are within. The law which allows these

and eighty different localities of England and Wales has shown that an overwhelming majority of the people are in favour of entirely closing public houses on Sunday. Employers of labour in all parts of the kingdom have asked for the adoption of this measure, and the workpeople in some of the largest establishments of the country re-echo the cry. Never were the prospects of success greater; all that is required being prompt and energetic action.

A General Election is at hand. By the late Reform Act the people have been enabled to make their wishes not

short distances from each other urgently demands to be not merely revised but reversed.-ED.]

A SELECT Committee of the House of Commons has, by a majority of one, declared that further restrictions on the sale of Intoxicating Drinks on Sunday are not needed. The evidence

taken by that committee has proved that every restrictive measure hitherto adopted has been beneficial, and that a vast majority of the people demand that the sale of drinks should be entirely stopped on Sunday. That the resolution of the committee should be at variance with this evidence, surprises no one who knew its constitution; that it was carried by a majority of one only, and that obtained by mere accident, is a proof of the weight of testimony which the friends of Sunday Closing were able to bring forward. We congratulate our friends on the position we have gained in the House of Commons; instead of the subject being regarded as Utopian, it is recog nized as a practical measure which statesmen will have to take in hand without delay in the New Parliament to be chosen during the ensuing autumn.

The country has given unmistakeable evidence of the interest it takes in this just measure for promoting virtue and morality: 4,483 petitions signed by 487,697 persons have prayed the House of Commons to save the Lord's-day from the desecration caused by drunkenness; public meetings in nearly every large town of the kingdom have with an almost unanimous voice asked for the same boon. A householders' canvass in one hundred

sive at the poll. Other great questions will no doubt be put before you during the coming struggle. Our Association pronounces no opinion upon them, but no measure of party interest, no local question, should cause us to lose sight of the importance of rescuing the Sunday from the sale of intoxicating drinks and from the vice, immorality, and irreligion which result from it.

Within the next few weeks youElectors of England, Ireland, and Wales-will have to choose the men to whom for several years will be intrusted the power of legislating for your country. It is now in your power to make the prayer of your petitions, and the spirit of your resolutions, the voice of the legislature. Endeavour to impress upon the leading politicians in your different constituencies the importance of choosing candidates who are alive to the magnitude of this question, but if this cannot be secured let no man come before you as a candidate for parliament without your insisting on the necessity of your representatives securing for the country the blessing of a Sunday freed from temptations to drunkenness. When ever possible make those who claim your vote feel that you regard this question as a cardinal one, and that the man who will work for it, even if he should differ from you on many other points will have your vote in preference to a candidate who fails to recognise the value of social as compared to mere political improvement. Let every candidate be asked his intentions with regarded to Sunday Closing when he meets the electors at the hustings, and let the country know that whatever