profligate sinner can retort upon them and say, "Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law, dishonourest thou God?" It must needs take off very much from the veneration of the Sacrament of Baptism, to have a man pretend to wash away the sins of others, who is himself polluted and profane; and equally diminishes the reverence which is due to the tremendous mystery of the Eucharist, to have it ministered with unholy hands. It cannot relish well with men, to hear an unsanctified mouth giving blessing to others, who in effect is cursing himself; praying that the blood of Christ may preserve others to eternal life, while he himself is eating and drinking his own damnation, not discerning the Lord's body. But above all, such a man cannot with any tolerable decency or freedom, discharge the office of punishing and correcting others, who is himself more justly liable to rebuke and censure. With what face can he debar others from Baptism or the Eucharist, who is himself unqualified to receive either? or exclude others from the Church, who is himself unworthy to enter into it? Nothing can be a greater engagement upon Ministers to lead holy and pure lives, than the consideration of the commission which Christ has given them, to retain or remit other men's sins, whether in a sacramental way, or a declaratory way, or a precatory way, or a judicial way: because without purity, they can by no means answer the end of this office, and the nature of their trust; but their mal-administration will rise up in judgment against them and condemn them.
2. A second thing which this office of retaining and remitting sins requires of Ministers, is great diligence in their studies and labours, without which they can never be able sufficiently to discharge it. The Church, indeed, has made some part of this work tolerably easy, by a prudent provision of many proper general forms of absolution: to which in her wisdom She may add proper forms of excommunication and judicial absolution. But when this is done, there still remains a great deal more belong-
