fo doing to obferve the fame Pofitive Inftitution; but in Lay Baptifm there's a perfect Contradiction: The Pofitive Inftitution of Baptifm is broken, that by fo doing, the fame Politive Inftitution may be obferv'd and kept whole. From all which 'tis very clear and evident, that the Eating of the Shew-Bread, and the Administration of Valid Baptism (in Cafes of Neceffity) by a Lay-hand, are things infinitely different in their Nature, and confequently not at all applicable the one to the other. To which I beg leave to add, that the Eating of the Shew-Bread was NO AUTHO RITATIVE ADMINISTRATION for the conveyance of Supernatural Graces, as Valid Baptifm moft certainly is: And therefore 'tis no wonder, that God put a good Conftruction upon David and his Men's Eating that Bread to fatisfe their hunger, when no other was to be had; and yet upon all occafions, feverely punifh'd the Sacrilegious furpations of every one that attempted to officiate in fuch Autho ritative Administrations, as he had appointed for the conveyance of Spiritual Benefits; the great Neceffities that urg'd them thus to officiate, were never admitted or allowed of, fo much as but to mitigate their Crime, much lefs to make their Adminiftrations Valid: This is apparently evident in the Cafe of Saul's taking upon him to offer a Sacrifice in his great Diftrefs, when his Enemies were coming upon him, when he might have been flain before he

could

could make his peace with God, when the Prieft Samuel was not prefent; when he had waited and ftrove fo long, that he at last forc'd himself to offer a Sacrifice to procure the Divine Favour. We fee, that all this NECESSITY and the ABSENCE OF THE PRIEST; this eager defire to obtain a Bleffing; was no excufe for his affuming the Prieft's Office; God would and did punish him for it, by rending the Kingdom from him, and giving it to another, as you may fee in 1 Sam. 13. This is a ftanding Example, upon which we should always fix our Eyes, and thereby learn, that however God may excufe in fome cafes of Neceffity, he will never do it in fuch great Inftances, as the taking upon our felves to Adminifter, or willingly concurring with thofe who do Minifter in the Prieft's Office, with out being called of God, as was Aaron.

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3. AS for that other Text, where 'tis faid I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice, it will as little ferve for the Validity of Lay-Baptifm as the reft. For the occafion of our Saviour's ufing thofe Words, and the place of Scripture from whence he quoted them, do evidently prove, that the Defign of this Text is only to convince us, that fuch Pofitive Inftitutions as are here called by the Name of SACRIFICE, were never appointed to fruftrate and make void our Obligation to the Genuine Moral Duties of Natural Religion, particularly thofe of Justice and Equity, and of compaffion and charity to the M 2 Neceffities

Neceffities and Wants of our Fellow-Creatures; but that on the contrary, our Want of fuch Excellent Moral Virtues, and our being of an unjust, uncharitable and cruel temper, will make those Pofitive Duties when perform'd by us, both loathfome and abominable in the fight of God.

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THIS I fay is evident, Firft, from the occafion of our Saviour's referring the Jews to that Text, "I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice for the Difciples being hungry plucked the Ears of Corn on the Sabbath-Day, which the Pharifees obferving, affirmed, that it was a Breach of the Sabbath, and therefore unlawful for them to do at that time; but our Saviour (who very well knew the barbarous Cruelty of their temper) bid them remember the Cafe of David and his Men's Eating the Shew-Bread, &c. and then tells them, "If ye "had known what this meaneth, “I will have "Mercy and not Sacrifice, ye would not have con

demned the GUILTLESS, St. Mat. 12. 7. Whereby he prov'd the Innocence of his Difciples, that they had not at all broken the Sabbath, by thus plucking the Ears of Corn to affwage their hunger; and that confequently, the Moral Duties of Mercy, and Works of abfolute Neceffity, were never intended by the Pofitive Inftitution of the Sabbath, to be reckon'd as Breaches of the Duty of Reft, which God requir'd on that Holy Day.

2dly. THE Place of Scripture from whence Our Lord quoted thofe Words is Hofea 6. 6. I

defired