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ever; and Obedience to his Laws about Fun damentals, is most certainly the best Edifica tion: Otherwife, He who is Omniscient Wif dom it felf, would never have made fuch Laws. And therefore, with Submiffion, there feems to be no Neceffity for Empowering the Governors of the Church "to relax his Stated

Rules, no not in Cafes that appear neceffary "or expedient. Befides, if Christ has made Stated Rules for the Effentials of Christian Sa craments, without providing for fuch pretended Cafes of Neceffity; the Hierarchical Powers must certainly run a great Hazard of Sin, in attempting to difpenfe with Things for which he has made no Provifion; and the Perfons difpens'd with can have no juft Satis faction in fuch Difpenfations; especially when the feeming Caufe of them is remov'd, as it certainly is in the Cafe of Perfons baptiz'd by Unauthoriz❜d Lay-men, contrary to the Stated Rule, who may afterwards obtain Epifcopal Baptifm agreeable to the Law of Chrift, if the Hierarchical Powers will but give them Leave.

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THIS I fay in Oppofition to those who affirm, that the Hierarchical Powers ARE "ACTUALLY ENDOWED with Authority hito difpenfe with Chrift's Laws, and to relax "Stated Rules, in Cafes that appear nece eceffary "and expedient"; which the Learned Author, whofe Words they ufe, does not fay. All that he intimates, is only, that they MAY BE empower'd to do fo: Which plainly fhews,

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that he would not venture to affirm that they really are; and 'tis reasonable to believe, that upon Second Thoughts, he will not allow fo much, as that they may be fo empower'd: Becaufe what may be, may not be, as far as we know. Nay, 'tis more agreeable to Reveal'd Religion, to fay, that they are not so em power'd; because a Thing of fo great Moment would never have been left out of the Divine Oracles, to be handed down to us thro' all Ages, by the UNCERTAIN METHOD of Oral Tradition only. And therefore, 'tis very unfafe for us to truit in fuch [may be's ], when the Receiving, or not Receiving, of Spiritual Supernatural Privileges and Benefits, depends upon the Truth or Falfity of fuch a Difpenfing Power, as it certainly does in the Administration of Chriftian Sacraments. "He "retical, Schifmatical and Mimical Baptifms, are in this Objection acknowledg'd to be "not "Entire or Valid in themselves; therefore in themselves thery are utterly and entirely In valid; (by the Corollary of the Third Propofition.) It is also faid, That "as to any Spiritual Graces, "they are not to be had thereby, till, &c. Which is a plain Indication, that of THEMSELVES they are of no Efficacy to the Purposes of Chri ftian Baptifm; the Adminiftration whereof is certainly efficacious for the Conveyance of Spiritual Graces. Again: They are call'd here" Defective and Irregular Acts. But why! are they Defective; except but for their being

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uncapas of producing the proper Effects of true Baptilm? And why fhould they be term'd Irregular Acts; except only but for being contrary to the Stated Rule, (or, which is the fame) the First Institution of Chriftian Baptifm?

SO that the External Rite perform'd by thefe Heretical, Schifmatical and Mimical Baytizers, being thus acknowledg'd to be contra ry to the Inftitution of Baptifm, and utterly incapable in it felf of being the Means to convey any Spiritual Graces; what has it to do with Christian Baptifm? Certainly it must be a mere Nullity,, and all one as if it had ne ver been perform'd: Because, if it had no Virtue to confer Spiritual Graces, it had no Virtue to confer any Benefit at all; for even the outward Privileges are no Privileges, when feparate from the Spiritual Graces. Thus, all Perfons, on whom the faid External Rite was perform'd, can receive by means thereof none of the Benefits of Chriftian Bap-. tism; which are all Spiritual and Supernatu ral; and confequently, must remain in the State of the Unbaptiz'd, till they receive True Chriftian Baptifm; which, how they can receive, without repeating the External Rite by a Proper Adminiftrator, is utterly inconceiv able. It is faid indeed, That" thofe Defective. " and Irregular Acts (i. e. the External Rites of thofe Heretical, Schifmatical and Mimical Baptifms) are Supply'd, Righted, and Confirm'd L

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" by the Chrifm of the Bishop, or Impofition of his "Hands, &c. For Answer to which, I refer the Reader to the Corollary of the Third Propofition and further add, That this is only faid, and not prov'd; and I believe never will, till it can be demonftrated, that, that which before was no Baptifm at all in the Chriftian Sense of the Word, is now made True Chriftian Baptifm, (without the Act of Baptization) merely by the Bishop's Chrifin, or Impofition of his Hands. Either the first External Rite was the ONE BAPTISM the Scripture fpeaks of, or it was not; if it was, then it was Entire and Valid Baptifm, and confequently wants no fuch Act of the Bishop to fupply and right it; but if it was not that ONE BAP TISM, then nothing can make it fo, but the very Act of Baptization by a Chriftian Minifter: For it may with as much reafon be af firm'd, that Baptism is Adminifter'd really and truly by fuch Act of the Bishop, to all other Unbaptiz'd Perfons as well as to thofe; and fo at laft, Baptifm it felf will be render'd needlefs, when the want of it can be fo easily fupply'd: But no less than a Divine Revelation will fuffice to convince us, that this is true; and till that is produc'd, we must continue to believe, that not all the Acts of the Higheft Created Powers on Earth, are fufficient to make that which before was no Baptifm,to become Chriftian Baptifm, without the Act of Baptization by a proper Minifter, as Chrift has appointed

in the Inftitution: And that confequently, they who never receiv'd any other than LayBaptifm, are ftill unbaptiz'd, notwithstanding their being fuppos'd to have been confirm'd by the Bishop.

Thus far, upon Suppofition that the Ancient Heretical and Schifmatical Baptifms were of the fame Nature with thofe of Unauthoriz❜d Lay-men's Baptifms; which this Objection feems to reprefent them to have been; because it fays, that they were not Valid in themfelvės That no Spiritual Graces were to be bad thereby, &c. Tho' in truth thofe Heretical and Schifmatical Baptisms were not of the fame Nature with Unauthoriz'd LayBaptifms; for they were perform'd by Perfons who had receiv❜d Epifcopal Ordination, and fo were authorized to Baptize. So that, whatsoever was the Fault of thofe Baptifms, the Churches who allow'd them, reckon'd that they were Valid in themfelves (as wanting no Effential Part of the Inftitution) tho' accidentally Criminal, by reafon of the Uncharitableness of the Separation of those Hereticks and Schifmaticks, who administer'd and receiv'd those Baptifms: And during this Uncharitableness, they reckond, that the Baptiz'd receiv'd no Benefit by their Baptifm, till they came into the Unity of the Church; when, upon their Repentance of, and Abfolution from, the Guilt of their Uncharitable Separation, by Impofition of the Bishop's Hands,

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