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was Real and Unavoidable, the Jews were "bound to think that God did, in Confideration "of that, difpenfe with his own Precept. This 66 may be a fuft Inducement for us to believe, "That whenjoever God (by his Providence

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brings Chriftians under a Vifible Neceffity, of "being either without all Order and Joint-Wor“ ship, or of Joining in an Unlawful and Defiled σει Worship, or Finally, of breaking thro' Rules and "Methods, in order to the being united in Wor"Ship and Government; That of thefe Three, "of which one must be chofen, the laft is the "leaft Evil, and has the feweft Inconveniencies hanging upon it, and that therefore it may be chofen." Thus far the Expofitor. After whom comes another Writer, and applies all this to the Pofitive Miniftrations of the Chriftian Priesthood; and from hence would conclude, That the Baptifms of our AntiEpifcopal Diffenters, and of fome Foreigners e who are deftitute of Epifcopal Ordination, ought to be efteem'd good and valid: And fo great a Stress does he lay upon our Expofitor's Judgment in this Matter, that he gives us this great Encomium upon the abovefaid Paffage in thefe Words: "This is an Argument "urg'd by the Good Bishop of Sarum, in his "Articles, in this very Cafe I am arguing upon; " and is SO FULL to the Purpose, that I do "not think it CAPABLE of an Answer.

Afr. Because this Objection is Authoriz'd by fo great a Name; and boafted to be fo

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very full to the purpose, I fhall endeavour to refute it in a Double Refpect. First, Upon Suppofition, (tho' not granting) that all things afferted by the Expofitor, concerning the Jewifb High Priesthood and Atonement, were exactly as He in his Articles has represented them. And Secondly, Upon account of the real Truth of those Matters of Fact related by the Expofitor, concerning the Inftitution and Change of the High-Priesthood.

ift. Tho' all things concerning the Jewish High-Priesthood and Atonement, were exactly as the Expofitor has represented them, yet it will not follow from thence, that Unauthori'd Baptifms, fuch as those mention'd in the Objection,are Good and Valid. Because the Chriftian Church never was yet reduced to the supposed miferable State of the Jewish Church, and indeed never will be; for the fuppos'd Ufurpation affected the whole Church of the Jews; becaufe, the Atonement by the Jewish High-Prieft could only be made in that One Place called the Holy of Holies, which was in the Temple at Jerufalem: Even a True High-Prieft could not do it in any other part of the World; fo that, when a Ufurper had got poffeffion of the Temple, and was by force of the Civil Power maintain'd therein The Jews, if they had adher'd to the True High-Prieft could have had no benefit by his Miniftration of an Atonement, because he could have made no Atonement for them, be

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ing forcibly kept out of the Holy of Holies: But the Miniftrations of the Chriftian Priesthood are not fo confin'd to Place, they are equally Valid over the face of the whole Earth; fo that if wicked Civil Powers in one Country, fhould even Deitroy Christian High Priefts, the Bishops: Yet ftill God's Promile of being with his Apostles, his High-Priests to the End of the World, and that the Gates of Hades fball not prevail against his Church, fecures us thus much, that this Destruction, of Chriftian High Priefts, fhall not be Univerfal; fome shall be found on Earth with Powers to give Valid Ordination: if they are Deftroyed in one Dominion, they will be found in another; and the Ministrations of Baptifm by thofe who are Ordain'd by them, will be Valid in every place. Which is a very different Cafe from that of the Jewish Priesthood.

But further, the Objection does not come up to the point, in the Matter before us; it is not fufficient to juftifie the Anti-Epifcopal Ufurpations of Proteftants who dare not communicate with the Church of Rome, by reafon of her intolerable Corruptions in Doctrine and Worship; for, even in the worst times of Popery, they that reform'd without Bishops to head them, might, if they would, have procured Minifters to be Ordain'd by REFOMED Bishops in England, if their own Corrupt Bishops refus'd to Ordain them. And 'tis not fufficient to object, that the Labour N

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and Travel, &c. thus to obtain Valid Ordi nation, is exceffive great, and in many Circumstances, next to impoffible; for Men can easily remove thefe Obstacles; these mighty imaginary Mountains of Trouble and Danger, are no hindrance to them, when they are eagerly bent after Health, Pleasure, or Worldly Riches; then the remoteft Indies are not too far for them to travel; the dreadful dangerous Wonders of the Deep do not terrify them; the fear of Robbers and Pirates, nay of mercilefs Murderers too, does not hinder their eager purfuit after perishing Treasures, and many times foolish Trifles: And is not a Valid Miniftry vaftly preferable to thefe? Are not the Divine Institutions unfpeakably more advantagious, nay, Infinitely Richer, as they convey and Infure to us ineftimable Treasures of Eternal Extent and Duration? Certainly they are; and therefore no Pains, no Industry, how 'great foever, can be too much, fince 'tis no lefs than our Duty by all poffible means, to procure and obtain them. So that, whatfoever Validity may be fuppofed to have been in the Miniftration of the Jewish Ufurping High Prieft, the Church of the Jews, being by the Hypothefis, abfolutely depriv'd of any Recourfe to, or Dependance on the True One, can by no means be apply'd to Ufurping Laymen's Miniftrations in the Chriftian Church ; becaufe, the Church, where fuch Lay-men pretend to Minifter is not univerfally deprived

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of any recourse to, or dependance on true Chriftian High Priests; they may procure Ordination from fome or other of them; they may have, confequently, Inftituted Miniftrations if they will take pains to obtain them; which upon the prefent Suppofition, the Jews could not obtain with all their power, because the Atonement could be made only at the One Altar, in the Sanctum Sanctorum at Jerufalem, from which the Inftituted High Priest was (by fuppofition) forcibly kept by the Secular Power of the Romans. And therefore the Baptisms here pleaded for, being not parallel to the fuppofed Cafe of the Atonement; because Baptism can be had as it was Instituted, (which the Atonement ('tis fupposed) could not) must not be allow'd to be Valid, as the Atonement is fuppos'd to have been. And much less can it from this Inftance be inferr'd, that Baptifm by our Anti-Epifcopal Diffenters is Valid; for, they Unauthoriz'd attempt this, even where Chriftian High Priests are in the actual Execution of their Office; and they aim at the Priesthood it felf, in oppofition to, and rebellion against the Vicarious Power of Chrift, in thofe Chriftian Bishops to whom they owe Subjection; and from whofe Hands they ought, and yet refuse to receive Authority for fuch Ministrations; which is fo monftrous an Attempt of Ufurpation; and the perfifting in, concurring with, and encouraging of it, fo perverfly Impious, that the N 2

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