The Radical Reformation Tradition: Anabaptists, English Separatists ...

110 Divergent RiversJesus, with Us thou always art, Effectuate now the Sacred Sign, The Gift Unspeakable impart, And bless the Ordinance Divine. Etemal Spirit! Descend from high, Baptizer of our Spirits thou! The Sacramental Seal apply, And witness with the Water Now! O! that the Souls baptized therein, May now thy Truth and Mercy feel; May rise, and wash away their sin Come, Holy Ghost, their Pardon seal!33 In 1784 lohn Wesley had printed The Sunday Service of the Methodists in NorthAmerica. This was based firmlyon the 1662 Book ofCommon Prayer which Wesleyloved, though with concessions to ideas of reform which were in circulation, and tothe missionary needs in America. An edition for the British Methodists was printedin 1786. In the 1784 rite, references to baptismal regeneration before the baptismwere retained, but those conceming after the baptism were removed. Wesley alsoremoved references to godparents. In his work Serious Thoughts concerning Godfathersand Godmothers (1752), he argued that they were highly expedient. However,he expressed unease about the renunciations and promises made by godparents,explaining:r did not insert them, and should not be sorry had they not been inserted at all. Ibelieve the compilers of our liturgy inserted them because they were used in allthe ancient Iiturgies. 34Instead of godparents, the rite spoke of 'friends of the child'. In his British versionthe 1662 reference to 'the mystical washing away of sin' was removed, and in placeof 'grafted into the body of Christ's Church', the infant is 'admitted into the visiblebody of Christ's Church' - suggesting that they might not be part of the invisibleChurch. In both editions, the signing with the cross was omitted.It would thus appear that, although Wesley retained much of the Church of Englandbaptismal rite for infants, he gave expression to his understanding of regeneration.That regeneration is part of the benefits of baptism is expressed by retaining it inreferences prior to the baptism; uncertainty as to whether the signum and res coincidedfor each particular infant would seem to account for its omission in the rite after thebaptism. However, the early Methodists were concemed by preaching to arouse thesecond regeneration, or conversion; and in the American context, this led to adultconverts. Wesley included an emended version of the 1662 rite for 'such as are ofRiper Years', but again, since regeneration might not coincide with the rite, referencesto it after the baptism were dropped. The emphasis ofWesley's rite would seem to be33 Cites in ibid., p. 166. 34 Works, 10, p. 508.