upon him "the Office of Adminiftring them, "before he be Lawfully call'd and fent to exe"cute the fame.

AND in her 26th Article fhe teaches, "that the Adminiftrators of the Sacraments "do not Minifter in their own Name, but in "Chrift's, and by his Commiffion and Authority.

AND left every One who has acquir'd (tho' not justly) the Reputation of being fuch a Lawful Minifter, fhould fancy himself to have Chrift's Commiffion, because the People made choice of him, and fome others of higher Rank among them, took upon them to Ordain him, Separate from, and Independent of the Bishop;

In the Preface to her Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining, and Confecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, fhe tells us thus "It is evident unto all Men diligently reading "Holy Scripture, and Ancient Authors, that "from the Apostles time there have been these "Orders of Minifters in Chrift's Church, "Bishops, Priests and Deacons; which Offices

were evermore had in fuch Reverend Efti"mation, that no Man might prefume to exe• cute, any of them, except he by Pub"lick Prayer,with Impofition of Hands, were approv'd, and admitted thereunto by Lawful Authority. [ And what he means by this Lawful Authority, is plain by the Words immediately following.] "And therefore, &c. No Man fhall be accounted, or taken to be

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"a Lawful Bishop, Prieft or Deacon, in the "Church of England, or fuffer'd to execute $6 any of the said Functions,except he be call'd,

c. thereunto, according to the Form here"after following, OR HATH HAD FOR“MERLY EPISCOPAL CONSECRATI"ON, OR ORDINATION; whereby the confines the lawful Authority, fo evidently to Epifcopacy; that a Man must be wilfully blind who dares to deny it.

ALL which put together, fufficiently prove that by the Doctrine of this Church, the Divine Authority of the Administrator of Chriftian Sacraments, is an Effential Part of their Inftitution; and confequently, that the Di vine Authority of the Adminiftrator of Baptifm (which is one of thofe Sacraments) muft be also an Effential Part of that Holy Inftitution.

SO likewise by her Practice fhe confirms this Truth; for in her Office of Ordering of Priefts, the Bishop fays to the Prieft: "Re"ceive the Holy Ghoft for the Office and "Work of a Prieft in the Church of God now

committed unto thee by the Impofition of our "Hands. Whofe Sins thou doft forgive, "they are forgiven; and whofe Sins thou "doft retain, they are retained. And be "thou a faithful Difpenfer of the Word of "God, and of his Holy Sacraments, in the "Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, Amen. And delivering

to the Prieft kneeling, the Bible into his Hand, the Bifhop adds, "Take thou AUTHO "RITY to preach the Word of God, and to Mi"nifter the Holy Sacraments. By all which 'tis plain, that the reckons the Administration of the Sacraments to be Effential to the Office of the Priest, and that he must have Commiffion even from the Holy Trinity, by the Me, diation of the Bishop, convey'd to him, to qualify and authorize him to administer the fame. And in Conformity to this her Rule of Practice, when any Perfon, tho' formerly a Teacher, and one who has affum'd to himself before, the Power of baptizing and adminiftring the Lord's Supper, notwithstanding his having continu'd even in the tolerated Practice of these Ufurpations for many Years together, nay, tho? chofen thereto by the Confent of the People, who fubmitted to, and acknowledg'd all fuch his Miniftrations to be Valid and Good when fuch a Man, I fay, forfakes his Herefies or Schifms, and returns, or defires to be united, to her Communion, and to be reckon❜d in the Number, and to have License to act as one of her lawful Minifters, fhe will not allow him fuch a Licenfe, he must be receiv'd only to Lay Communion, if he was never before di vinely authoriz'd by Impofition of Epifcopal Hands, and now refufes to accept fuch Catho lick Ordination: She thereby declares that he wants the Divine Commiffion to act in fuch Holy Miniftrations, and that she will not acqui

efce

efce with his former Ufurpations; he muft dif claim and renounce them now, if in her Communion he would be allow'd to Officiate in the Word and Sacraments, as the rest of her Mi nifters do. But why all this, if his Power and Authority had been fufficient before, for the Purposes of the Holy Sacraments? If his Commiffion was good then, 'tis fo now, and 'tis needlefs to Re-ordain him; but if it was Invalid, the acts confiftent with her felf in refufing to admit him among her Minifters, TO WHOM ALONE fhe gives Authority for these great Purposes. And really it ought not to be diffembl❜d, that if fuch a Man's Adminiftrations of the Sacraments were before agreeable to, and not Breaches of their Inftitution, his Ministry before was alfo valid; and therefore 'twould be even ahjust to require him to take up a new Commiffion, and from ANOTHER SORT of Authority than what he had receiv'd it from at firft; because the Defign of handing down Chrift's Commiffion to Minifters, in all Ages, is, that there may be conftantly fuch Perfons to adminifter the Holy Sacraments, as he in the firft Inftitution of those Sacraments did authorize and require; But forasmuch as the Church of England requires fuch Perfons, as above-mentioned, to receive the Divine Authority, which the reckons they wanted before, to qualify them for the Administration of Sacraments, 'tis plain that this her Practice difcourages us to hope, that withs

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without the Divine Authority they are qualify'd for fuch Miniftrations; and confequently confirms us in this, that the Divine Commiffion of the Adminiftrator is an Effential Part of the Inftitution of a Sacrament. Nay, fo very Cautious is the, not to allow the contrary, that fhe makes not fo much as any Exception for Cafes of abfolute Neceffity; no, not tho' an unbaptiz'd Perfon were giving up the Ghoft, fhe has not declar'd that any one may baptize him but the Minister of the Parish, or in his Absence any other lawful Minifter that can be procur'd; as in her Office for private Baptifm, which is the only Office fhe has provided for Cafes of Neceffity: And what the means in the Rubrick thereof, by lawful Minifter, is eafily determin'd by her 26th Article of Religion, viz. One who minifters in Chrift's Name, and by his Commiffion and Authority.

But of this I have treated more largely in my Book of Diffenters Baptifms null and void by the Articles, Canons, and Rubricks of the Church of England; To which give me leave to add here, that in her Offices for Publick Baptifm, fhe repuires the PRIEST to addrefs to God in behalf of the baptized thus. "Grant "that whofoever is here (as in the Office for Infants); Or," That they being here (as in the Office for thofe of Riper Years) " DEDICA "TED to thee by OUR OFFICE AND MI, 66 NISTRY, may also be endued with heavenly 66 Virtues," &c. This Dedication of Perfons to God