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                                                                      	inconsistent, there in the Spirit not in the Letter:  but
                                                                      when obedience is possible in both, it is required in
                                                                      both, nor will any spiritu[n]al compliance with God’s word,
                                                                      justify a literal disobedience of it;  (To keep Sunday
                                                                      on the 6th instead of the Seventh day for instance. )
                                                                      The Rite of Baptism is commanded as the sacrament or
                                                                      instrument of blessing;  If therefore any Christian dis-
                                                                      pense with that rite he is disobedient to God, and the
                                                                      blessing would be refused to his child.  If therefore
                                                                      Parents Sponsors Minister and congregation were all ser-
                                                                      vants of God, it would be possible i f all were to unite
                                                                      in prayer to God, that he would bless their child and
                                                                      receive it as His;  and yet Omit the Material act of
                                                                      Pouring water on the Child, while He has commanded;  their
                                                                      prayers would be utterly vain:  The Act of Baptism and the
                                                                      Faith in which it is performed, are alike inefficacious
                                                                      one without the other.
                                                                      And now let us finally ask what is the Kind of Blessing
                                                                      to be expected in Baptism, and the Lowest degree of it
                                                                      which can possibly be bestowed.
                                                                      That lowest degree may be certainly defined as that which
                                                                      is bestowed in answer to the effectual prayer of One
                                                                      person and in proportion to the lowest degree of belief
                                                                      which the person can have in Christ’s Promise
                                                                      What is that Promise, and how is it to be understood.
                                                                      Now there are evidently here two questions:  first, What
                                                                      Christ’s

[Version 0.05: May 2008]