f BV 10 .H342 1805 cl Haldane, James Alexander, 1768-1851. A view of the social worship and ordinances observed by, VIEW OF THE SOCIAL WORSHIP AND ORDINANCES OBSERVED BY THE FIRST CHRISTIANS, DRAWN FROM THE SACRED SCRIPTURES ALONE BEING AN ATTEMPT TO ENFORCE THEIR DIVINE OBLIGATIONS AND TO REPRESENT THE GUILT AND EVIL CONSEQUENCES OF NEGLECTING THEM. BY JAMES ALEX. HALDANE. EDINBURGH PRINTED BY J. RITCHIE. Sold by Ogle &c Aikman, Parliament Square ; M, Ogle, Wilson's Street, Glasgow; R. Ogle, Turnstyle, and Williams 6t Smith, Stationers Court, London. 1805. [Price Four ShiUi7igs in Boards ] PREFACE. 1 HE Writer of thefe pages is aware, that the Tubjeft of them is by no means popular, even among thofe who are efteemed the difciples of Chrift. Befides the particular prejudices of va- rious perfons in favour of their own praalce, the fabjea, by a kind of general confent, has of late years been confidered as little conneaed with praaical religion. Whether this has arifen from moft parties being confcious that their own modes of worfliip are little conducive to godlinels, and that they cannot be die fended from the Scriptures, he prefumes not to determine. The religion of Jefus, in its doarines, precepts and inftitutions, is one conneaed whole ; in pro- portion as one part is overlooked, the force of all will be weakened. He who feels, as every Chri- llian muit, his pronenefe to let flip the moll im- portant truths of the word of God, will be thank« ful that the Lord has gracioufly employed various means to preferve in our minds the remembrance of them. He has revealed his will in the mo(t engaging and afFeaing manner, and has alfo infti- tuted various ordinances of worihip, ail which reprefent, and are memorials of the dodlrinejSf o£ his word. IV PREFACE. If, in reading the hlftory of the life of a great man, we had at the fame time an opportunity of feeing his anions delineated in the moft correct and the fineft paintings, it would make a far deeper imprelTion on our minds than the mere nar- rative. Things to the mind before unknown,. And ent'ring by the ear rflone^ Draw lefs attention and furprife, Than had they enter'd by the eyes ♦. The ordinances of Chrift are juft fo many fenfible images of the doftrines he taught. When thefe are obferved as he delivered them, they greatly tend to imprefs us with jufl views of the truth, and where they are in any meafure corrupted, they naturally lead us into error and mifappre- henlion. Error and mifapprehenfion in fenti- ment, mufl. always produce error in praftice ; for it is certain from the word of God, that holinefs fprings from the knowledge and belief of the truth. The great end aimed at in thefe pages, is to promote love and union amongil Chriftians, and confequently the fuccefs of the gofpel in the world. The author ia convinced, that both thefe are, in- timately connected with the fubjed of the book. True, genuine, and iincere union, is abfolutely impradicablc while profeflbrs iiegled to enquire, * Segniu5 irritant animos demilTa per aures, < niam quie funt oculis fubjecSta fidelibus. Rarat. Ars Poet, tranfl^.ted by Dr Stedmaiv. PREFACE. V to underftand, and to pra6life the direftions of the word of God refpeding foclal worfhip, and con- fequently their attempts to diffufe the knowledge of Chrift will be feeble, inconfiftent, and ineffec- tual. He will be happy to receive correction wherein he has erred, for although he is perfuaded that he- treads on fure ground refpe6ling the general prin- ciples which he has adopted, he is yet fenfible that he may, in fome refpe6ls, have committed miftakes in the application of them ; and if fo, he knows that the error mull have bad confequences on his mind. This book is not intended as a ilandard for the order of any church of Chrift. Should it b© adopted as fuch, the views of the writer would be thereby completely defeated. His defign is to ex-^ cite his brethren in Chrift to ftudy the Scriptures on this and every other fubjeft, and to appeal only to the law and to the teftimony. In fo far as it produces this eife6l, his object will be gained. He cordially adopts the language of Mr Ainfworth ; ' Jf any places (viz. of God's word) be alleged amifs or impertinent, or things gathered otherwife than the text will afford, (as through my igno- rance or unheedinefs, no doubt, many may be ;) I humbly alk pardon for the fame, both of God and his people ; and do defire the reader not to rely upon ray judgment in any thing, but as him- felf, by the wifdom of God's Spirit, fhall fee •agreeable unto truth. For, if any fhall build up- a 3 n mtfAeE, on my words, without fare ground from the law of the Lord, he fhall firft offend God, who hath given his Scriptures by divine infpiration, 2 Tim, iii. 16, n. to teach and perfuade all truth, to re- prove and correft all error ; to inftruft in righte- oufnefs., and make men perfe«9: unto every good work : he fhall injure me alfo, who have written thefe things to be tried and examined by Chrift's law, not to be accepted for a law ; and he (hall injure his own foul, by relying upon the word of frail man, whofe breath is in his noftrils, which cannot eftablifti the heart, nor aflure the confcience in any thirig. Let, therefore, the grafs wither, and the flower fade, for it is the word of our God that fhall Hand for ever !' Ifa. xl. S.* • The Author hopes that criticifms or remarks,, however juft, on the manner or ftyle in which he has written, will not be confidered as reafons for neglecting what is here laid before the Public. He now commends this attempt to place the truth before the minds of Ghriftians, to that powerful influence which can produce attention, banifh prejudice, and work efledually and pra6li» cally againfl: all oppofition ! Edinburgh, June 4. 1S05. * Preface to Ainfworth's Treatife on the Communion of Saints, p.lxxviii. Sec his two Trcatifes re-publiflied at£din* burgh, IT^S" C O N T E N T S^, Chapter I. Pag. Oh the importance of attending to every part of the word of God, - - l- Chai*ter n. There is reafon to prefume, that the New Teftament contains inftrudions concerning every part of tlie worfhip and conduct of Chriftian focieties, as well as concerning the faith and practice of individuals, - 17 Chapter HI. All Chriflians are bound to obferve the uni- verfal and approved practices of the firft churches recorded in Scripture. Seft. I. — Arguments to prove this, - 36 Seft. II Objedlions anfwered, - 55 Se6t. Ill — A more particular confideration of the obje6tion, that there are fome prac- tices of the apoftolic churches, which churches profeffing to follow their exam- ple do not obferve. The inftances confi*. dsred of the community of goods in the via CONTENTS. Pag; church of Jerufalem ; of the alleged daily obiervance of the Lord's fupper ; of con- gregational love-feafts ; wa(hing the faints feet ; the kifs of love ; arid the apoftle Paul's vow. Ads xviii. 18. - 7^ Chapter IV. On the caufes of the diverfity of opinion among Chriftians refpe£ling focial wor- Ihip and ordinances, and the evils arifing from it, - -- - lOli GllArTER V. On the conftitution of the apoflolic churches. Seft, I The apollolic churches were fmgle congregations, - - 129^' Seft. II — Objeftions confidered, viz. church denotes in Scripture elders or rulers j-— church at Jerufalem too numerous to meet in one aflembly ;•— application from the church at Antioch to that at Jerufalem, A61:s XV. ; — the alleged want of union and co-operation in lingle and independent af- femblies, - - 143 Chapter Vt. On the character of thofe who compofed the apollolic churches. Se6t. I. — They were fuch as gave evidence of being true believers, - 173 CONTENTS. ix Pag, SetEt. II. — Objeftions confidered from 2 Pet. ii. and iii. Jude 4. 12. 1(5. &:c. ; the fe- ven churches addreffed. Rev. ii. and iii. ; the prefence of Judas at the Lord's fup- per ; the parable of the tares. Matt. xiii. 24. ; remarks on this by Prefident Ed- wards and Mr Gifborne ; extrads from Dr Erfkine's account of the chara£ter and privileges of the apoftolic churches, in re- ply to thefe and the like objedlions, 187 Seft. TIL — Obfervations on the admiflion of members into the churches of Chrift, 200 Chapter VIL- Of the offices in the apoftolic churches. Seft. I -—Of the extraordinary offices, and the rule to diftinguifh thefe from the fta- ted ; of apoftles, prophets, evangelifts; of the ftated offices, elders or bifhops ; their identit}^, duties, qualifications, eleftion ; all apoftolic churches had a prefbytery, or more than one elder ; no foundation for the diftindion between preachers and ru- ling elders ; of the different talents of eU ders as explanatory of this ; right of all elders to fupport from the church, and of their duty to afford it ; of widows, and their duties j of deacons — not all of one fex, - - - - 21* Scft, II. — Further remarks on the plurality X CONTENTS. Pag, of paftors, and the diverfit j of gifts among them, and on their duties ; on the fub- miflion and obedience of the church to their paflorS j on the duties of deacons, 250 Chapter VIIL Of ordination, - - 26S Chapter IX. Of the ordinances obferved by the apoftolic churches. Seft. I. — Of the apoftles do£lrine ; of preach- ing, teaching, exhortation, and reading, 282 Se6l. II — Of the fellowfhip or contribution, 289 Seft. III. — Of the breaking of the bread, or the Lord*s fupper, - - 292 Seft. IV Of prayer and praife, 302 Sea. V Of Fafting. ^ 304 Seft. VI. — Sanftification pf the firft day of the Week, - - 30S Sea. VII Ofbaptifm, - 313 Chapter X. Of the difcipline of the apoftolic churches, 341 Chapter XL Of forbearance, - - 3"i(> Chapter XIL Of fchifm and herefy, ^ 3S4 CONTENTS. XI Chapter XIII. Pag. Excellence of the plan laid down in the New Teftament for the focial worftiip of Chriflians, and the advantages arifing from obferving it, - - 395 Chapter XIV. Hints concerning the evils arifing from ne- gled of the feparation from the world, enjoined by Jefus Chrili in focial w^orihip and ordinances, - - 408 Conclusion, - . 459 Index, » * 481 ERRATA. Page 76. line 14. dele to 86. note, 1. 1. for magno read magna 122. 1. 17. for or read and 126. 1. 6. dele it 142. 1. 17. for or read nor np. note, 1. 1. for e-e^^a^ivvg read a-ev^eftivas 258. 1. 5. for rule in read rule over 265. 1. 13. after as read it 269. 1. 6. dele the miniftry 407. running title, for sosial read SOCIAL 437. 1. 15. after any dele other VIEW OF SOCIAL WpRSHTP, : .. CHAPTEk:^?Sjim*S|^ ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING TO EVERY PART OF THE WORD OF GOD. X HE facred Scriptures contain a complete reve- lation of the will of God. They inform us of the character of God, and of the duties we owe to him. This revelation was made by degrees, but has been long fince completed, and the canon of Scrip- ture finally clofed. The utmoft perfpicuity is united with the greateft brevity in this wonderful book. Being the work of God, it poffefles the perfedion of its Author, and is able to make the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnifhed unto every good work. Chriflians regard the Bible with veneration ; A 2 THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING they are jealous of its honour, and juftly efteenrx it to be the foundation of all their hopes. On the truth of what is there delivered, they reft their eternal all ; and, trufting in the Saviour whom it reveals, they are enabled, in poverty and ficknefs, in afflidtion and death, to rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Every Chriftian owns 'he is blind, ignorant, and liable to err at every ftep ; he confiders the word of God to be a light to his feet, and a lamp to his path ; yet too many imagine, that every part of this revelation does not demand fcrupulous re- gard. Some things which it contains, they judge to be indifferent and unimportant ; nay, they do not hefitate to affirm, that attention io thefe di- verts the mind from fundamental truths. Surely good men are not aware of the confequences of fuch an opinion. It reprefents Scripture to be inconliftent, and Chfifl's kingdom to be divided againft itfelf, while it is calculated to produce dif- regard to every precept which may be contrary to our inclinations. This fentiment is highly dif- honourable to God ; it tends to diminifh our re- gard for his authority. The more we refped any perfon, and the more exalted he is, the more minute attention we pay to whatever he fays. A hint of his will is fufficient from a king to a loyal and affectionate fubje61. Muft we not then, entertain inadequate views of the v*nfdom of God, when we think that any part of his holy book may be overlooked ? TO EVERY PART OF SCRIPTURE. 3 The Bible Is one confiilent and united whole. Every part is conne«5ted ; the mod minute pre- cepts are adapted to llrengthen the influence o£ the nioft important doftrines. It is completely- different from the fyllems of men. Even in thofc which difplay the greateft human wifdom, we fometimes find inconfiftencies ; but in the reve- lation of God thefe have no exiftence. So great is the harmony, and fo intimate the con- ne6lion between all parts of the word of God, that ignorance of one part always leads to error in another. Thus men having forfaken the Scrip- tures in regard to modes of worfhip and church order, foon began to imagine that they were de- ficient in many other refpe61s, and that thefe de- fers muft be fupplied by tradition, and the au- thority of the church. On the other hand, right views of one fubje6t contained in the facred vo- lume, tend to corredi our miftakes on other fub- jecls. It is indeed poffible to be much occupied about external order, while we negledthe weigh- tier matters of the law, but this does not arife from minutely attending to whatever God has revealed, but from doing fo in an improper and partial man- ner. We may not only ruin our fouls while attending to external matters, but we may per- plex ourfelves about the greateft and mod funda- mental doctrines of the gofpel, and wreft them alfo to our own deftrudlion. It is the will of God that his people fliould be holy. To promote holinefs he has given us a 4 THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING revelation, that we, believing liis exceeding great and precious promifes, might be partakers of a divine nature. This, his grand end, is nev^er for a moment loft fight of in any precept he delivers ; and if we lofe fight of it, we can derive little be- nefit from any of the ordinances which he has enjoined. To view the matter thus is furely more to the honour of revelation, than to fuppofe . that we beft fhew our regard for its authority by overlooking fuch parts as we judge unnecefiTary. But what Iball we fay of thofe, who imagine that a diligent examination of the order eftablifhed in the firfl churches by Chrift and his apoftles, would render them lefs fpiritual, and obftrucl their growth in grace ! This is downright antinomi- anifm. It puts the means in oppofition to the end. The Scriptures, however, are wrefted to fupport this fentiment. The kingdom of God, fay they, is not meat and drink, but righteoufnefs, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft — afluredly : and therefore, fay the Quakers, it is abfurd to bap- tize or adminifter the Lord's fupper. This is car- rying the argument to its proper length ; but it is not confiftent in thofe who condemn fuch con- duct, to adduce this and fimilar paffages of Scrip- ture, as a proof that it is of little importance what external order the churches adopt. It is freely granted, that every part of divine truth is not in itfelf equally important, although all is fandioned by the fame authority. There are fome dodrines, without the knowledge ol TO EVERY PART OF SCRIPTURE. 5 which we cannot be faved. There are others of which good men have been comparatively igno- rant ; but flill every do6lrine is important. By ig- norance of one, we, in fome meafure, lofe the beau- tiful harmony of divine truth. Our refemblance to God bears an exa6t proportion to our real know- ledge of him. Thus the apoftle prays for the Coloflians, '* that their hearts might be comfort- ed, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full alTurance of underjlanding^ to the ac- knowledgment of the myftery of God, and of the Father, and of Chrift," Col. ii. 2. No man is perfed in knowledge. None can fay that in this he has attained, or is already perfedl j and if any man fay that he is fatisfied with the meafure of his knowledge, provided he could but grow in holinefs, he manifefls great ignorance of the way of falvation revealed in Scripture, where growth in knowledge and in grace are always declared to be infeparable. Paul counted all things lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift, and defired to know him and the power of his refur- redion, Phil. iii. 8. 10. Amongft the men of the world, a man's creed is thought of little confequence, provided his praftice be good. A deceived heart turns them afide. They do not perceive the connection be- tween juft views of the charader of God, and delight in doing his will. They conlider the great dodrines of the gofpel to be merely fpeciu A3 e THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING lative points, on which good men may, and do entertain different opinions. Thej juftify their indifference about thefe, by their diflike of con- troverfy. They affirm that zeal about fuch mat- ters fours the temper, and often diforders the intelleft. The man, on the contrary, who is taught of God, underflands that true holinefs is necelTarily conne6led with the belief of the truth ; that the whole of revealed truth is pradical, and eifedually works in thofe who believe. He there- fore earneftly contends for the faith once deliver- ed to the faints, and on account of his attachment to that gofpel which is the power of God unta falvation, he is branded as a bigot by the world. How much does the condudl of fome Chriflians. towards their brethren referable this ! They judge it unimportant what outward order is adopted in worfhip, provided we hold fafl the great truths of God,; and follow after holinefs. They do not perceii:€ the influence the one has upon the other; that both are enjoined by the fame authority; and that while we do the one, the other is not to be left undone. I would not for a moment be thought to put the moil important doftrines of the gofpel on a footing with order or modes of worihip. The man who worfhips God in fpirit and in truth, and he only, ihall be accepted : but order and modes of worfhip may, and mufl have much influence in promoting fpirituality,and in fix- ing our minds on the objed of worfhip, or leading them away to what will prove hurtful to our TO EVERY PART OF SCRIFTURE. 1 fouls ; yet are we told, that attention to the Scrip- tures on thefe matters tends to diflrad the mind, and only leads to difputation and controverfy. If, then, we would pay proper refpe6t to the revelation with which we are favoured, let us attend to the whole of it. The more we do fo, the more fhall we perceive the wifdom of God in every part. We fhall experience the efficacy of the belief of the truth, in fanftifying our minds, and in making us delight in holinefs, while by at- tending to the various ordinances delivered to the churches, the belief and influence of the truth will be greatly promoted. I would fay to thofe who are afraid of attending to all Chrifl's command- ments, left their minds be rendered lefs fpiritual, as Philip faid to Nathanael, " Come and fee»" External matters may indeed be contended for by carnal men, deflitute of the truth, but ftill they are a part of that Scripture which cannot be bro- ken ; and although they may be perverted and wrelled by the ungodly to their own deftru£lion, they are admirably fuited to promote the benefit and comfort of the humble follower of Jefus. The lofs we may fufFer by negle£ling any part of the revelation of God, is incalculable. Har- vey was led to the difcovery of the circulation of the blood, by confidering what might be the pur- pofe of valves in the veins, which, opening by prelFare on the one fide, and doling by prelfiire on the other, admitted the blood to flow only in one direction . He was convinced that this eco- 8 THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING nomy anfwered feme important purpofe ; he knew not what it might be, but attributing this to his own ignorance, and perfuaded that nature did no- thing in vain, he perfevered in his refearches, and his fuccefs juftified the foundnefs of the principle he had affumed. Some might ridicule Harvey for fuppofing, that attention to fuch minute parts of the human frame could lead to any ufeful difcovery, or falutary practice ; they might urge him to attend to the ltru£lure of the more important parts of the body : bat they were filenced by the event, and the prac- tice of medicine is now greatly influenced, and the welfare of mankind promoted, by this im- portant difcovery. If Chrillians entertained the fame confidence, that whatever the wifdom of God has feen fit to record in the lively oracles, is defigned for our inilru6lion, and that obedience to every precept is calculated to promote holi- nefs, they would reap much advantage and edifi- cation from it, and it would have an equally falu- tary eiFe£l on their fouls. It is not indeed elTential to falvation that we Ihould know all which God has revealed. We are all, alas ! imperfed in knowledge ; but furely it is neceflary to falvation, and the infeparable efFedt of believing the gofpel, that we dejire to know whatever God has revealed. It is undoubtedly in- confiftent with the fpirit of a Chriilian, to be indif- ferent about any part of the will of God. Let it be moil carefully obferved, that according to the TO EVERY PART OF SCRIPTURE. 9 Scriptures we can only have full evidence that wc ihall perfevere, and confequently that we (hall be faved, when we give all diligence to grow in knowledge, as well as in faith, fortitude, patience, and godlinefs, 2 Pet. i. 5. 1 1 . It is alfo ejfential to Jalvation^ that we obferve and profefs whatever we do know to be the will of Chrift. If, from regard to human authority, worldly intereft, or from that indolence which prevents men from fearching matters to the bottom, we negle£l any of his commandments, alleging that they are mi- nute or unimportant, we fin prefumptuoufly, our hearts muft condemn us, and God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things. A good fubjeft never thinks of violating human laws, un- der pretence of their being of little confequence. This would juftly be deemed an impeachment of the wifdom of the legiflature by whofe authority they were enafted, and would, in every cafe, fub- je6t him to puniihment : and fhall Chriftians treat the laws of Jefus with lefs refpeft, the infringe- ment of any one of which infers condemnation ? James ii. 10. Our extreme pronenefs to error, in regard to religion, is alfo an important reafon why we Ihould diligently attend to every part of the word of God. This difpoiition is acknowledged by all who admit the corruption of human nature. The wifeft men have always difplayed their folly in religion, when unenlightened by divine revela- tion. Many, even with the Scriptures in theic 10 THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING hands, and thefe, too, perfons appearing enrkinently pious and holy, have, by forfaking the Scriptures, and adopting human traditions, fallen into the grofleft abfurdlties. Many fuch, I doubt not, are now in heaven ; but furely their hiftory teaches us to give heed to the word of God, which we are certain cannot miflcad us. A fuppofed latitude in Scripture refpeding what were called circumftan- tials, led the way to all the abominations of Po- pery ; and we ought not to negled the admoni- tion, to prove all things, and to hold faft that which is good, efpecially as we have fuch an ex- ample before our eyes. In confequence of this natural perverfenefs and pronenefs to err, we are warned^ in Scripture, if we will be wife, to become fools that we may be wife, 1 Cor. iii. 18. ; that is, inftead of being guided by our own reafonings, we mull fubmit, as fools, to be taught of God. We are alfo aflu- red, that whofoever (hall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, fliall in nowife enter therein, Luke xviii. 17. When we receive with reverence the whole of the word of God, apply- ing each part of it to the ufe for v/hich it was de- ligned, confidering it all to be highly important, we refemble a little child fitting at the feet of its father ; but when we take upon us to decide what we Ihall receive as binding, and what we fhall negleft as unfuitable to our circumftances, we difcover a very oppofite temper. We could not admit a principle which will lead us into TO EVERY PART OF SCRIPTURE. 11 greater temptation to conformity with the world in matters of religion, and, by improper compliances, to do away the offence of the crofs. Paul, by preaching circumcifion, might have avoided per- fecution, Gal. v. 11. ; but although circumcifion was nothing in itfelf, 1 Cor. vii. 19. yet he would not give place by fubjedion to any one, no, not for an hour, in matters of religion, that the truth of the gofpel (the gofpel in its fimplicity) might continue in the churches which he had planted. If we once admit the principle of adapting order and modes of worfhip to our circumftances, inftead of adopting thofe, and only thofe, which are re- corded in Scripture, it is difficult to fay where we fliall ftop. Are all ordinances and modes of worfhip indifferent ? No Chriflian will fay fo. Can a precife line be drawn, beyond v/hich we mull not go in deviating from Scripture ? This is impoffible. To receive whatever the Scripture contains, is a clear and precife rule, capable of being reduced to praftice, wherever men are fa- voured with revelation ; but once depart from this, and we are all uncertainty ; our practice cannot be in faith, and therefore cannot be accept- able to God, Rom. xiv. 23. The arguments ufed on this fubjed equally prove the impropriety of adopting any practice in religion, not fanftioned by Scripture. Indeed the principle held by fome, that we may lawfully fet afide fome precepts formerly delivered to the churches, is always accompanied with a fuppofed 12 THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING neceflity of fupplying deficiencies. Thefe princi- ples Hand or fall together. They are equally pernicious. And although men profefs to limit their application to things indifferent, they wear a mofl unfavourable afpe6l on the perfection, ful- nefs, and authority of the word of God. But what are thefe indifferent things ? Let us hear Mr Locke on the fubjed. * Things in their own * nature indifferent, cannot, by any human autho- * rity, be made any part of the worihip of God, * for this very reafon, becaufe they are indiffe- * rent ; for fince indifferent things are not capa- * ble, by any virtue of their own, to propitiate * the Deity, no human power or authority can * confer on them fo much dignity and excellency * as to enable them to do it. In the common * affairs of life, that ufe of indifferent things which * God has not forbidden, is free and lawful ; and ' therefore in thofe things human authority has ' place. But it is not fo in matters of religion. * Things indifferent are no other wife lawful in * the worfhip of God, than as they are inflituted * by God himfelf ; and as he, by fome pofitive ' command, has ordained them to be made a part * of that worfhip which he will vouchfafe to ac- ' cept of at the hands of poor finful men : nor * when an incenfed Deity fhall alk us. Who has ' required thefe, or fuch like things, at your * hands ? will it be enough to anfwer him, that * the magiflrate commanded them. If civil jurif- ., didtion extended thus far, what might not law- TO EVERY PART OF SCRIPTURE. 13 ' fully be introduced into religion ? What hodge- * podge of ceremonies, what fuperftitious inven- * tions, built upon the magiftrate's authority, ' might not, againft confcience, be impofed upon * the worQiippers of God ? For the greatell part * of thefe ceremonies and fuperftitions confifts in ' the religious ufe of fuch things as are in their * own nature indifferent j nor are they finful upon * any other account than becaufe God is not the * author of them. The fprinkling of water, and * the ufe of bread and wine, are both in their own ' nature, and in the ordinary occalions of life, al- ' together indifferent. Will any man therefore * fay, that thefe things could have been introdu- ' ced into religion, and made a part of divine * worfhip, if not by divine inllitution ? If any * human authority or civil power could have done ' this, why might it not alfo enjoin the eating of * fifh, and drinking of ale, in the holy banquet, as ' a part of divine worihip ? Why not the fprink- * ling of the blood of beafts in churches, and e'x- ' piations by water or fire, and abundance more * of this kind ? But thefe things, how indifferent ' foever they be in common ufes, when they come * to be annexed unto divine worfhip, without di- ' vine authority, they are as abominable to God * as the facrifice of a dog. And why a dog fo * abominable ? What difference is there between * a dog and a goat, in refped of the divine na- * ture, equally and infinitely diflant from all affi- * nity with matter, unlefs it be that God require4. B 14 THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING * the ufe of the one in his worfhip, and not of the * other ? We fee therefore that indifferent things, * how much foever they be under the power of * the civil naagiftrate, yet cannot upon that pre- * tence be introduced into religion, and impofed * upon religious affemblies, becaufe, in the wor- * ihip of God, they wholly ceafe to be indifferent. * He that worfhips God, does it with delign to * pleafe him and procure his favour ; but that * cannot be done by him who, upon the command * of another, offers unto God that which he knows * will be difpleafing to him, becaufe not com- * manded by himfelf. This is not to pleafe God, * or appeafe his wrath, but willingly and know- * ingly to provoke him by a manifeft contempt ; * which is a thing abfolutely repugnant to the * nature and end of worlhip *.' This reafoning refpefts the authority of the civil magiftrate in matters of religion ; but it proves with equal force, that all will- worfhip, whatever is not ap- pointed by God, is improper, and that w^e ought therefore to receive the Scriptures, and nothing elfe, as binding in the worfhip of God. Yet are there fome pious men who, even without inquiry, would fet afide thofe parts of Scripture which feem to interfere with their own pradice, and would reprefent attention to them, as calcu- lated to divert the mind from the weightier mat- ters of the law. Before Vv'e a6l on fuch a princi- ple, we ought diligently to examine whether w^e * Locke's Letter on Toleration, p. 109, — 115. Glafg. edit. TO EVERY PART OF SCRIPTURE. l5 are warranted to do fo. But the fubje£t will not bear examination, and, as if confcious of the bad- nefs of the caufe they have efpoufed, fome good men, in certain fituations, difcourage all inquiry in fuch matters, and are ever deprecating atten- tion to what they call non-effentials. I well re- colle6t the efFed this had upon my own mind. When I turned my attention to infant baptifm, and had fcruples on that fubjeft, inftead of hear- ing fcriptural arguments alleged for the pra6lice, I heard good men ridiculing the idea of fo much attention being paid to it. This had almolt con- vinced me, that there was nothing material to be faid in its favour. Upon the whole, it feems evident, that it high- ly becomes us to attend to every part of the \vord of God. Every thing we there meet with is important. \V"ere Scripture more lludied under this impreflion, there would be a rapid progrefs among Chriftians, both in knowledge, in uni- formity of fentiment and religious obfervances, and in the practice of holiuefs. It is high time to fhake oiF that temper of mind which indifpofes us for the inveftigation of truth ; which leads us to cherifli the prejudices we have received from our fathers, and which renders us unwilling to go beyond them on any fubjedl *. This has a fhew of humility, but in fa£l it arifes from floth, * A Burgher Elder lately obferved in the Aflbciate Synod, that the ufe we ought to make of our forefathers is, to (land oa their fliouklcrs, and to try how much farther we could fee. 8 6 TflE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING prejudice, and indiiTerence about divine truth. We ought, indeed, cautiouflj to avoid being tofled to and fro with every wind of doftrine ; but if our fteadinefs do not arife from regard to the autho- I'lty of God; if it do not proceed from diligent attention to his word, it no more deferves the name of fledfaflnefs in the faith, than the parfi- ixiony of a mifer deferves the name of economy. I conclude this chapter with reminding mj readers of the folemn warning w^hich clofes the revelation of God. It demands the ferious atten- tion of thofe who do not hold themfelves bound to be implicitly direfted, in all things, by the word of God : '* I teftify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man fliall add unto thefe things, God fhall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book ; and if any man fhall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God fliall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." This decla- ration is peculiarly fuitable, not only as the con- clufion of the New Teftament, but of that part of it, in particular, which efpecially expofes to our view, and our abhorrence, the abominations of falfe religion, under the influence of which Chri- ftians have entered into forbidden and corrupt al- liance with the world, a fin which is ftyled, in the figurative language of that book, committing fornication with the kin^s of the earthy and have TO EVERY PART OF SCRIPTlTRE. 11 thus made the word of God void by corrupt tra- ditions. The warning, I doubt not, is given chiefly to prevent the Scriptures from being mu- tilated ; but it alfo admonifhes all to tremble at God's word ; to receive it as a complete and con- liflent revelation, to be embraced and refpedled in all its parts ; and to beware left, through indo- lence, or compliance with the opinions of men, we introduce diftindions founded on our own igno- mnce, and thus put afunder what God has joined. CHAPTER II. THERE IS REASON TO PRESUME, THAT THE NEW TESTAMENT CONTAINS INSTRUCTIONS CON- CERNING EVERY PART OF THE WORSHIP AND CONDUCT OF CHRISTIAN SOCIETIES, AS WELL AS CONCERNING THE FAITH AND PRACTICE OF INi)IVIDUALS. X HE Lord Jefus, in writing to the church of Thyatira, fays, " I will put upon you no other burden ; but that which ye have already, hold fail till I come," Rev. ii. 24, 25-* '. This exad- ly agrees with the awful denunciation, quoted above, againft thofe who add to or take from the word of God. ' Both evidently imply, that B 3 - 19 SOCIAL WORSHIP, IN ALL ITS PARTS, nothing befides what is contained in Scripture h to be binding on our confciences j and furely it is abfurd to introduce into religion what is not a matter of confcience. One part of the perfedlion of Scripture conMs in its being completely adapted to the character and circumftances of men. We obferved, that from the confideration of our pronenefs to err^ we ought fcrupuloufly to adhere to the directions of God. This part of our charafter alfo affords a i^rong prefumption that God has given us a full and diftindl rule, which may at once guide the humble inquirer, and render thofe inexcufeable who, refufing to hearken to him, prefume to walk in their own counfels. Had man been lefs perverfe, the fame precision would not have been ueceflary ; but as we mull fuit our inftru6lions to the capacity and chara£ler of the pupil, fo has God, we may prefume, condefcended to deal with us. Now, whether we confider the blindnefs and folly of men in matters of religion, as reprefented in Scripture, or as demonftrated by fads, the ne- ceffity of a clear and precife rule will evidently appear. This neceffity is further evident, from the in- fluence which good or bad laws muft always have upon fociety. A great part of the worfliip of Chriftians is focial. One chief defign of the gofpel is, to enlarge the afFe£tions towards man- kind, ,efpecially towards thofe who belong to Je- f\is Ghrift. The happinefs and profperity of any ENJOINED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 10 fociety depends, in a great meafure, on the laws by which it is governed. A church of Chrift is a fociety, and without proper laws it cannot fub- fift. ' Forafmuch as no fociety, how free fo- ever, or upon whatfoever flight occafion inftitu- ted, (whether of philofophers for learning, of merchants for commerce, or of men of leifure for mutual converfation and difcourfe), no church or company, I fay, can in the leafl fubfift and hold together, but will prefently diffolve and break to pieces, unlefs it be regulated by fome laws, and the members all confent to obferve fome order : place and time of meeting muft be agreed on ; rules for admitting and excluding members muft be eftablilhed 5 diflindlion of officers, and putting things into regular courfe, and fuch like, cannot be omitted *.' Whoever makes thefe laws ought to be very well acquainted, not only with the nature and defign of a Chriftian church, but with thofe circumftances which, through the corruption of human nature, may arife to fruftrate the defign of the aflbciation. Unlefs he poflefs this knowledge in a very great degree, his laws will afluredly clafti with the fpirit of the inftitution, and, inftead of repreffing, will be likely to produce confulion. Now, where fhall we find the man, fince the days of the apoftles, poffefled of fuch an extenfive ac- quaintance with the nature of Chrift's kingdom, of fuch minute knowledge of the human heart, and, at the fame time, fo uninfluenced by local * Locke on Toleration, p. 42, — 44. 20* SOCIAL WORSHIP, IN ALL ITS PARTS, prejudice, as to be capable of eftablilhing laws which {hall tend, in the greatefl degree, to reprefs corruption amongft Chriflians in their aflbciated capacity, and yet to lay their confciences under no unneceffary reftraint? If it be alleged, that I have reprefented the laws for the government of the church of Chrift, as requiring more precifion than is in fa£t neceffary, I would appeal to the efFe£l: of good or bad laws on civil fociety. What a dif- ference is there between the ilate of this country, and that of Spain or of Turkey ! Does not this arife, in a great degree, from the fuperior excel- lence of the laws by which we are governed ? But laws are Hill more important in an aflbciation wholly defigned to promote religion. God may be much diftionoured by the flate of the heart, although this be not difcovered by aftions ; and laws which are intended to promote holinefs of heart, require to be framed with much more wifdom than fuch as only extend to outward con- dua. As religion is a matter of revelation, in regard to which we are conftantly cautioned againlt lean- ing to our own underftanding, and exhorted to becomie like little children—as th^ purpofe of the formation of churches is purely religious — and as good or bad laws fo eminently tend to promote or to obftru£l the profperity of all focieties, it is furely moll reafonable to expert, that we fhall find in Scripture an univerfal rule for the direc- tion of Chriftians in their aflbciated charafter. ENJOINED IN THE NEW TESTxVMENT. 21 To thefe confiderations let us add, God's decla- red abhorrence of will-worfhip. God is greatly to be feared in the aflembly of his faints, and to be had in reverence of thofe who are about him. To introduce any of our own devices into his worftiip, is not only contrary to that reverence which he uniformly enjoins, but is marked with his deci- ded difapprobation. " Wherefore the Lord faid, Forafmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men : Therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder ; for the wif- dom of their wife men fhall perifti, and the un- derftanding of their prudent men fliall be hid," Ifa. xxix. 13, 14. Here, departure in heart from God is connefted with worlhipping him in ways of human invention, and the Lord Jefus, quoting this fame paffage, affures us, that if our fear be taught by the commandments of men, our w^or- fhip is vain, Matt. xv. 9. The fame truth is en- forced by the apoflle, when he warns Titus, i. 14, not only againft Jewdfh fables *, but againll com- mandments of men that turn from the truth. This is a maxim of univerfal application in religion, * This pride and folly of men was that which loll * Thefe Jewlfh fables deferved the name of things indifferent, much more than many others to which the term has in modern times been applied ; yet againlt thefe Titus is warned. 22 SOCIAL WORSHIP, IN ALL ITS FARTS, all knowledge of God in the world, and all obe- dience unto him. The ten commandments are but a tranfcript of the light and law of nature. The firft of thefe required that God, the only true God, the Creator and Governor of all, fliould be acknowledged, worfhipped, believed in, and obeyed. And the fecond was, that we fhould not make unto ourfelves any image or reprefen- fcation of him. Whatever he would do himfelf, yet he ilridtly forbids that we fhould, make any fuch unto ourfelves. And here began the apof- tafy of the world from God. They did not abfolutcly rejed him, and fo call off the firft fundamental precept of the law of nature, but they fubmitted not unto his wifdom and autho- rity in the next, which was evidently educed from it. They would make images and repre- fentations of him unto themfelves. And by this invention of their ov^^n, they firfh diflionoured him, and then forfook him, giving themfelves up unto the rule and fervice of the devil. Wherefore, as the way that God in infinite wifdom found out for the reprefentation of himfelf unto us, was the only means of recovery from the firft apoftafy j the way found out by men unto the fame end, was the great means of cafting the generality of man- kind unto the fartheft degree of a new apoftafy from God, whereof our nature is capable. And of the fame kind will all our contrivances, in w^hat belongs unto his worfliip and glory, be found to ENJOINED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 23 be, though unto us they may appear both fpe- cious and neceffary *.' If any fhall fay that the worjhip of God is in- deed fixed, and from that appointed mode we are not to deviate, but that other matters, in regard to the order of churches, are left undetermined — let them give us, if they can, from the word of God, a more precife flandard for our worlhip, than can be given for the conftitution of a church, the charader of church members, the ordinance of difcipline to be obferved in a church, &.c. But how much contention and bloodfhed has ari- fen about modes of worfhip ! How many, by pe- nal laws, have been compelled, againft their con- fciences, to comply with modes and forms which tliey detelied ! There are few things in religion over which men have claimed and exercifed more power, than in the mod folemn ordinances : but every a6t of a church of Chrift, ought to be an aft of worfliip, an ad of obedience to the autho- rity of the Head of the church ; and whatever they do in their alTociated capacity, ought not only to be done from regard to his authority, but as aftually in his prefence ; for he hath faid, '* Where two or three are met together in my name, there am T in the midll of them." It is faid alio, that the Scriptures chiefly regard the ftate of the heart. This is moil certain. I do not argue for any one regulation being con- * Owen on the Perfon and Glory cf Chrift, p. 101,102. Ed, edit. iSoo, 24> SOCIAL WORSHIP, IN ALL ITS PARTS, tained in the word of God, which is not defigned or calculated to promote hollnefs of heart ; but if matters of outward order are not altogether unim- portant ; if they may be framed fo as to guard us, in fome meafure, againft temptation, and to promote reverence to God and love to man, it affords a ftrong prefumption, that the word, of God contains full diredions refpefting them. It is certainly proper that our religion fliould not be loaded with unneceflary ceremonies. Now we know how very prone man is to multiply thefe. The patural efFefl of this is to divert the mind from real religion, and to harden the wicked in their infidelity. The regulations of man in religion, always ufelefs, are frequently in direft oppofition to the will of God. This arifes from his natural perverfenefs and ignorance ; and of this we have a notable inftance in the conduct of the Jews. Not fatisfied with what God had revealed, they proceeded to fupply deficiencies, and by one of the laws which they devifed, they completely fet afide one of God's com- mandments. Matt. XV. 3. This was not inten- tional. They Hill profeiTed the greateft reve- rence for God's law ; but their folly prevented them from perceiving, that as the Scripture could not be broken, as nothing fuperfluous was to be found in it, fo neither was there any deficiency to fupply ; that when at a lofs for the path of duty, they ought to ftudy it diligently, with prayer to God for wifdom to underftand it. ENJOINED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 25 The abufes which have a6lually taken place, afford a very ftrong prefumption that Scripture does not countenance that latitude in matters of external order, for which many contend. One deviation from tlie apoftolic practice took place after another, till the man of fin was feated on his throne in the temple of God, affuming the power of changing times and laws. Indeed, where this awful apollafy is foretold in Scripture, adherence to the apoftolic pradice is immediately enjoined in the moft particular manner. The apoftle having noticed this dreadful falling awajr, and having characterized the man of fin and his deluded followers, who, not receiving the love of the truth, fliould be given up to the grofiTeft delu- fion, contrafts the chara6i:er of the Thefl'alonian church with theirs : He proceeds, " Therefore, brethren, ftand faft ; and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epiftle." Here he evidently enforces regard to what he had taught, as the fure and only prefer- vative from this dreadful calamity. So long as the authority and the injundions of the apoftles were regarded as facred, an efFe£lual fl;op was put to any manifefl: defection ; but as foon as Chri- ftians afliimed the principle, that circumftances warranted a departure from their plan, anarchy, confufion, and irreligion, advanced with rapid ftrides, and foon covered the world with the grof- feft darknefs. It is moft evident, that the papal fyftem coiild C 26 SOCIAL WORSHIP, IN ALL ITS PART?, never have arifen, had the word of God been deemed a fufficient, indifpenfable, and permanent rule refpeding the order of churches of Chrift. It is no lefs evident that, confidering the folly of human nature, it was hardly pofiible but grofs corruptions muft necelTarily have arifen, if matters of order were left, in a good meafure, vague and undetermined. We may therefore reafonably pre- fume, that the Lord did not leave a breach in his fold fo eaiily acceffible to the enemy of his peo- ple, nor expofe them to fuch inroads as he might make by means of it. Of one thing we are fure, that they would have been far lefs expofed to thefe by having a determinate rule. Dr Camp- bell, in his Leftures on Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, traces the gradual corruption of the churches, and points out many cafes, in which it might be very plaufibly fuppofed that good men, while defigning to promote religion, in fad led the way to all fub- fequent corruptions. We certainly know that the corruption did take place. Now, whether is it more reafonable to conclude, that this proceeded from negle£ling a rule contained in the Scriptures of truth, or that in confequence of the Scriptures containing no fuch rule, men were almoft una- voidably led into the fnare of the devil ? A further prefumption that the New Tefla- ment contains a complete fyftem of regulations for Chriftian worfhip, arifes from God's dealings towards men in every age. W^e have nothing recorded which leads us to fuppofe, that ever ENJOINED m THE NEW TESTAMENT. 21 God left his worOiippers to their own difcretion, refpe6ting the manner of worfliipping him. In every age, the fubflance of his law to his people was, " Thou (halt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart.'* But their obedience to his com- mandments was ever the proof of their love. Thefe commandments net only refpeded their duty to men, but the manner in which God was to be worihipped, and what ceremonies were to be obferved by them. He fet apart the feventh day from the beginning, and although all days were in themfelves indifferent, we cannot fuppofe that any who regarded his authority would have chang- ed this for another. It is true, we cannot fpeak particularly of the mode of wcrlhip before the law, becaufe the account we have of every thing of that date is fo very fhort. But we know God infti- tuted facrifices, and was highly difpleafed when there was a deviation from thofe which he had eftablifhed ; as in the cafe of Cain, who, inftead of God's appointed offering, brought the firfl fruits of his ground. Before the flood there was a diftin£tion between clean and unclean beafls^ Gen. vii. 2. which could only arife from the re- vealed will of God. Noah, and all the patriarchs^ evidently appear to have built an altar wherever they offered facrifices, and we find God, on one occalion, commanding Jacob to build one. Gen, XXXV. 1. Now this mufl have arlfen either from an altar being a human invention, which was thus fan,oi)v Koim, all things are common among friends^ but none underftand this in the fame way in which Luke is generally underftood in Ads iv. 32. 'He quotes many tellimonies of the fame kind from other ancient writers, where they fpeak in the fame manner, and yet evidently mean only to ex- prefs the liberality which real friendfliip produces. He obferves, that we cannot gather from the wri- tings of any author of the firft and fecond cen- tury, that fuch a communion did not exift among Chriftians as that mentioned by Luke. He quotes a number of tellimonies which mention the com- munion of goods among Chriftians in the fame language that Luke ufes, in circumftances where all confefs that nothing more than great liberality UNIVERSALLY BINDING. 85 is meant. If, then, the communion of goods mentioned by them is confident with each re- maining mailer of his own property, is it not moft natural to underfland Luke as meaning the fame ? He fays it was not till the fourth century was far advanced, that this pafTage in the A6ls was thought to exprefs that the church of Jeru- falem had their goods in common, in the fame way as the monks have, fo that probably the true origin of the communion of goods, was to fmd countenance in Scripture for the abfurdities of monkery. He concludes by thus giving the fenfe of the palTage under conlideration. ' There was truly great harmony amongft all the difciples of Chrift. None of them preferred their wealth or their property above the love they bore to the brethren; but, wherever there was occafion, moft willingly aflifted the indigent. None regarded his riches as if the ufe of them was to be confined to himfelf, but each confidered himfelf bound to fliare them with the poor. This facred love went evea farther, fo that a fort of public treafury was ella- blifhed, from whence the lick, widow^s, orphans, and others who were in poverty, were fupplied. To this each contributed according to his earn- ings, and when this was not fufficient to fupport fo great a number of poor perfons, fome who were rich, or who had lands either without the city, or houfes within it, belides what they them- felves inhabited, fold thefe poiTelTions, and devoted the price of them to the public good : and this H S6 PRACTICES OF THE FIRST CHURCHES they did the more willingly, as they were afTured that the deflmclion of Paleiline and of the Jewifli flate was approaching *.' It appears, then, that the communion of goods at Jerufalem, fo far from being an argument againft following the example of the apollolic churches, is an example worthy of imitation in every church of Chrift, which is doubtlefs bound, in the ftrong- eft manner, to provide for the poor of the flock. The only argument from Scripture for the prac- tice of daily communion, is drawn from A6ts ii. 46. " And they, continuing daily in the temple, and breaking bread from houfe to houfe, did eat their meat with gladnefs and finglenefs of heart." Now it is certain, that although the expreflion breaking bread is ufed in the New Teflament to lignify the ordinance of the Lord's fupper, it alfo * ' Magn^ vero erat omnium Chrifti difcipulcrum conCenfio et Concordia. Neque quiiquam ex illis divitias et bona annori in fratres praeferebat ; verum £\ id res ita pofcebat perlibera- liter aliorum indigentiam juvabat. Nemo opes fuas lie fpec- tabat ac fi ufus earum ad fe unice pertineret fed unufquifque i'lium efle credebat cum laborantibus ea communicare. Qi}in ]ongius fancflus ille amor progrediebatur. Ut eflet unde aleren- tur aegroti, viduae, orbi et reliqui, quos inopia premebat publi- cum quoddam condebatur aerarium hue quantum quifque pote- lat ue luis frudlibus referebat. Quumqne id non lulHceret ad tantum pauperum multitudinem fuftentandum,opu!entiores non- intlli quibus aut agri extra urbem, aut in urbe te<5la erant, prs;- teiea quje incolebant, poiT;;ffiones iftas vendebant conflatamque inde pecimiain publicis conlecrabant commcdis. Idqiie tanto fa- ciebant libentius quanto novfcrant certius ultimam Paleftirte re- bufque Judjcorum cladem imminere ' — J. L. Mopemii Dijfert. ad Hijlor. Ecclefwfi. pcrtiiimt. Vol. alt e rum, pag. 52. UNIVERSALLY BINDING. 8t denotes partaking of food at an ordinary meal. See Matt. xiv. 19. Mark viii. 19. Luke xxiv. 35. In general, there Is no difficulty in diflinguifhing when the one and when the other is meant. When breaking bread is mentioned, Afts ii. 42. in connexion with the apoftles' do6lrine, and the fellowfhip and prayers, we cannot doubt this to intend the ordinance of Chriftian worfhip, which confifts in breaking bread. So when we read of the difciples at Troas coming together on the firfl: day of the week to break bread, A£ts xx. 7. we cannot be at a lofs to conclude that this means the Lord's fupper. They met on the firll day of the week, becaufe on that day Jefus rofe from the dead. The queftion then is, Whether the prin- cipal obje£l of their meeting on the day which had come in place of the Sabbath, was to obferve a folemn ordinance intimately conne6led with the refurre£tion of Jefus, or to join in partaking of a common meal ? for certainly breaking bread, ia the one fenfe or in the other, was the chief pur- pofe of their aflembling, as is evident from the hiftory. This queftion may be anfwered without much difficulty. But if any one fhould obje6t, that there is not an abfolute certainty that the Lord's fupper is meant, let him obferve, that the church of Corinth, on the fame day, 1 Cor. xvi. 2. came together into one place, and did eat and drink, profeffing to obferv^e the ordinance of the fupper, 1 Cor. xi. 17. 20, 21. ; let him farther take notice, that the fame order of worfliip waa. SB PRACTICES OF THE FIRST CHURCIfES cflablifhed by the apoftles in every church, 1 Cor. iv. 17. and furely his doubts mull be removed. It is admitted, that we cannot yb clearly af cer- tain, whether breaking bread in Afts ii. 46. means the ordinance of the fupper, or partaking of ordinary food. But if it be at bell doubtful, no folid argument can be built on it, and con- fequently we cannot be accufed of difcarding uni- verfal and approved apollolic praftice, becaufe we do not follow what, in the opinion of fome, was the cullom of an apoftolic church. Befides, as the Lord's fupper is evidently mentioned with- in four verfes, it is not probable that an account of it fliould be here repeated. An important piece of inftruftion is contained in the 46th verfe, if we fuppofe it only to relate to their common food. It fliews how thefe Chrillians ate their bread with joy, Ecclef. ix. 1. Being accepted in the belo- ved, and having their hearts fprinkled from an evil confcience, the fatisfadtion produced by this entered into all their enjoyments and occupations, and their example is recorded that we may learn to rejoice in the Lord always. With refpeft to the praftice of churches after the apoftles days, we do not hold ourfelves bound by it, nor by any thing not recorded in Scripture. What we contend for is, the indifpenfable obligation of all the ordinances recorded in the New Tefta- ment as delivered to the churches ; or, which is the fame thing, the pra6lice of the churches men- tioned with approbation by the apollles. But it UNIVERSALLY BINDING. 89 does not appear that daily communicating was ever general, although it uas doubtlefs the prac- tice of fome churches in the third and fourth cen- turies. The Lord's fupper was firll obferved on Thurf- day. We fhall not aflert, that it is unlawful to obey Chrift's dying commandment on any day ; we only contend, that by the approved pradice of apoftolic churches, it is demonftrated to be the appointment of Chrift, that his churches mujl ob- ferve it every firll day of the week, and the evi- dence of this is juft as ftrong as that they or we are required to affemble at all on that day to fan6lify it. If a church can affemble every day, they may do fo, but at all events they muJl meet on the Lord's day, if they defire to keep his com- mandments. So, if they may eat the Lord's fup- per every day, yet they are not warranted to con- demn thofe who only obferve it on the firfl day of the week. With refpe<3: to the love feajisy we have no ac- count in Scripture which fixes this to have been the practice of the apoftolic churches at all, or which gives us any diredion with refpe£t to them. Jude indeed, ver. 3 2. fays, " thefe are fpots in your feafts of charity." But certainly this is not fufficient to afcertain the cuftom of a church regularly affembling to eat together. The ex- preffion may refer to partaking of the Lord's fup- per, which is called the Chriftian feaft, 1 Cor. V. 8. one great end of which is to promote bro^ H3 9^ FRACTTCES OP THE FIRST CHURCHES therly love ; or it may refer to Chriflians meeting- together, not as a church, but in fmaller compa- nies, jull as they now do when they vifit one ano- ther, eat and drink together, and enliven their fociety by joining in prayer, and linging pfalms, and hymns, and fpiritual fongs. Would not a falfe profeiTor be a /pot in fach a company ? But there is ftill greater ambiguity in the orr- ginal exprellion, which we render feajis of cha" rity^ (ev vuii ccyctTTctig) nor are commentators well sgreed about the meaning of the word. The apoille, waiting to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. xi. 22. fays, *' Have ye not hotifes to eat and drink in V'^ and then goes on to defcribe the Lord's fupper, the only occafion on which, fo far as we leara from Scripture, the whole church is bound to eat and drink in their collc6live capacity. He concludes the fubjeft, " If any man hunger, let liim eat at home^ that ye come not together to condemnation," ver. 34. By this he did not mean to prevent the members from eating and drinking together, but undoubtedly this difcoun- tenances the idea, that their meeting as a churchy to eat and drink, was an ordinance af Chrift. Much has been faid of the love, (calls being prac*- tifed in primitive times, fubfequent to thofe of the apollles J but Tertullian is the firft who mentions them, above two hundred years after Chriil, and he does it in fuch an ambiguous manner, that no one can fay whether he intended more than Chri- flians meeting in one another's houfes, a pradice UNrVERSALLY BINDINO. 91 highly proper, and which tends much to pro^ mote love, if thefe meetings be properly conduc- ed. The commandment for faluting one another with a holy kifs, is repeated once and again in the New Tcllament. Tn like manner, Chriftians are commanded to " wafti one another's feet,**" John xiii. 14. ; and one of the qualifications of thofe widows who were to be maintained by the church was, that they had waflied the faints feet, 1 Tim. V. 10. Hence fome Chriftians hold the neceffity of the members of a church ftill faluting one another with a kifs, and walhing one ano- ther's feet. The kifs was enjoined as a token of afFe£lion, As fuch, it was much ufed in Judea and the eaftern countries. This we learn from the Old Teftament. The apoftles, writing to thofe who lived in countries where it was cuftomary, dired- ed them to greet one another with a kifs of love , their faluting was not to be the effect of mere politenefs, as among the people of the world, but it mufl be the expreiiion of the heart. But we do not know in what way it was conduct- ed *. Confidering the jealoufy of the natives of eaftern countries ^ it is not probable that the apoftles fhould recommend, even in the cafe of * It is common in the Eaft, for equals to falute one another by killing the head, the luind, or fiioalder. See Harmar's Ofe> fervations on Scripture, vol. ii. p, 53, 54, 57. 92 PRACTICES OF THE FIRST CHURCHES admiilion into a church, that all the members fhould in this way falute one newly joined to them. Far lefs can we fuppofe, that it fhould be attended to as a piece of mere form, as per- haps it has become in fome churches which have adopted it. In this country, a kifs is at prefent by no means fo common a manner of falutation as in the Eafl. This is manifefl, both from the Old and NewTeftament, and from the account of eaftern manners to this day. Paul commanded his brethren to falute one another, according to the cuftom of the country where they lived ; and if we, as members of a church, in brotherly love, ufe the modes of falutation cuftomary in this country, we then obferve this direftion. In thofe countries where the apoftles labour- ed, frequent wajhing the feet was neceffary, both from drefs and climate. When fatigued with travelling, and overpowered with heat, the lat- ter of which might occur almoft daily, the bre- thren being ready to wafh one another's feet was highly proper ; but in this country it would be often troublefome to the perfon we intended to ferve, and confeouently a piece of mere bodily exercife, having much the appearance of volun* tary humility. Thofe amongfl us who hold its obligation, do not, we believe, differ from others who rej 6(1:1: it, fo much in practice as in pro- feffion. The Lord of glory walhed his fervants feet, no^ to eftab' fli an unmeaning ceremony, but to fhadow forth the blefllngs of his fal- UNIVERSALLY BINDINC. 93 vation, and to teach us ever to be ready, with genuine humilitj, to perform the meaneft fervice, when necefTary, for. our fellow creatures, and ef- pecially our brethren in Chrill, and when it is fo, no doubt this among the reft. We might alfo notice what is faid of long hair. This was in certain countries in thofe days peculiar to women, and hence a mark of effeminacy in any man v/ho affected it. It was confounding the di- flindion in the appearance of the fexes. Had a Chriftian in thofe days fhaved his beard, as we do, there can be no doubt it would have been equally condemned, and furely would have been highly improper. But fo long as the drefs of thofe among whom we live is confiftent with de- cency, and evidently diftinguifties the fexes from each other, we may fafely, and agreeably to the apoftolic doclrine, comply with their cuftoms— thus, in things in themfelves indifferent, w^hich vary in every country according to circumflances, becoming all things to all men, and giving none offence (cafting no ftumbling-block in the way) either to Jew or Gentile, or the church of God. We are aware of the ufe which may be made of thefe remarks. It may be argued, that if we do not literally and ftri^lly, in all things, adhere to the cuftom of the churches as recorded in Scrip- ture, we defert our own argument, as to churches now being bound to obferve exa611y the fame order with thofe planted by the apoftles. It will be granted by all, that they eftablilhed ai*^ S4 PRACTICES OF THE FIRST CHURCHES order highly expedient as circumjiances thenjlood ; but it may be faid, that we are not tied down by the letter, but by the fpirit of their traditions. The objection is fpecious, and we do not wifti to flirink from it. We trufl our obje£t is not to perplex, but to eilabliih the minds of our bre- thren in Chrift. "We obferve, then, that the fame objeftion has often been made againft feme of the moft im- portant moral precepts delivered by Chrift. He commands his difciples to pluck out a right eye, and cad it from them, Matt. v. 29. ; again, *' Who- foever fhall fmite thee- on the right cheek, turn to him the other alfo," Matt. v. 39. We Ihould condemn while we wondered at any man who lite- rally obeyed either the one precept or the other ; yet we are bound to obferve thefe precepts, we count them highly valuable, and think they con- vey much inftrudtion. Says an objedor. You admit that the language is figurative ? Undoubt- edly. He replies, Then why not confider Chrift's atonement, or the commandment to live by faith, as figurative alfo ? We Ihould anfwer, that in the one cafe it was evident we fliould a6l contrary to other exprefs precepts of Scripture ; that nothing is there required of us, but to do juftly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God ; that no man of common fenfe was in any danger of being mifled by precepts which are evidently to be obferved in their fpirit, and not in the letter ; and that, notwithftanding fuch precepts, the Bi- UNIVERSALLY BINDING. 95 ble is a very plain book, and that he alone who loves the darknefs, can remain ignorant with it in his hand, John iii. 19. Perhaps we might not fucceed in convincing him, but we fliould not admit that his objeftion was well founded. In like manner, if Chriflians will not allow that any fixed order was eflabliflied by the apoflles for the churches of Chrift in every age, becaufe we admit that the precepts which en- join the kifs of love, walhing the faints feet, and not wearing long hair, ought to be obferved in the fpirit, and not in the letter, we muft juft fay with the apoftle when writing on this order, If any be ignorant, let him be ignorant, 1 Cor. xiv. 38. But we will not admit, that to filence his objeclions we ought to enforce cuftoms, which, being merely local, and confequently unmeaning and abfurd in another fituation, would tend to make the religion of Jefus ridiculous in the eyes of men who are happy to find a ftumbling-block, and would fay it enjoined needlefs peculiarities, and an affe<3:ation of fmgularity. No. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteoufnefs, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft ; and there is not one pofitive precept in the New Teflament, which has not in view the cultivation of thefe, and not the promoting needlefs Angularity. Upon the fame principle on which our brethren tell us we difobey the apoftolic injun6lion, by omitting the kifs of love, we may charge them with negled- ing the precept to cut off a right hand, becaufe 90 PRACTICES OF THE FIRST CHURCHES they obey it in the fpirit, and not in the letter. But while we cannot commend their minutenefs, and, as we appr^ehend, their want of difcrimina- tion, we confider this extreme into which they fall, as being very different from, and much lefs reprehenfible than the conduft of thofe who fhew, by their pradice, that they think that the plaineft apoftolic pra6lice in the government of churches, may be fet aiide by the ambiguous term expediency. If we have been tedious on this fubject, it is be- caufe we thought it deferved to be enlarged on, becaufe we highly refpe£l: arguments drawn from the word of God, and think the practice founded on them deferves the greateft attention. Surely no one will fay, that when the apoftle exhorts believing women to reverence their hufbands, after the example of Sarah, who called Abraham Lord, 1 Pet. iii. 6. that in order to obey this precept, it is proper or neceflary to ufe the fame term of refpe6l ; yet this muft be the cafe, if we are not to diftinguifh between the fpirit and th^ letter. With refpedt to Paul's vow, A£ls xviii. 18. it was never fuppofed that every part of the private condu£l of the -apoftles is binding on Chriflians. They were men of like paflions with ourfelves, and confequently fell into fin ; and their failings and fins are not recorded in Scripture with ap- probation, but with cenfure. Witnefs Peter's diffimulation, and Paul's quarrel with Barnabas, But they could make no millake in fettling the UNIVERSALLY BINDING. 97 order of the churches, for which they were fo well qualified by the inftrudlions they received after the refurre£lion, A£ts i. 3. and efpecially by the abundant influences of the Spirit, which they enjoyed in fo lingular a degree, that they could add this fanftion to their decrees, *' He that knoweth God, heareth us," 1 John iv. 6. Refpecling Paul's condu(9:, Acls xxi.23. and his circumcifing Timothy, we are bound to a6l in the fame manner in fimilar circumftances. In thefe he became as a Jew to the Jews, that he might gain the Jews. We, too, are to become all things to all men, in things which are in them- felves indifferent. But let us take care how we apply this principle ; we muft, in the firft place, afcertain whether a thing be lawfu!, before we enquire whether it be expedient y 1 Cor. vi. 12. If this be not the cafe, we muft withftand even a brother to the face, Gal. ii. 11. and muft by no means make improper compliances, to render the gofpel palatable to men of any defcription. Upon the whole, then, it appears, that all Chrijiians are bound to ohferve the univerfal and appro'ued praBices of the Jirji churches recorded in Scripture; — that thefe pradlices, the exprefs precepts delivered by Jefus Chrift and his apoftles, and the reproofs of diforderly condu6t in the apof- tolic churches, furnifh us with a clear, precife, and determinate rule, for every part of focial worfhip. It appears alfo, that the arguments which are em- ployed in oppoling this conclufion, are not only I 98 PRACTICES OF THE FIRST CHURCHES calculated to introduce confaiion, to fet afide all ordinances whatfoever as binding upon the con- fcience, but may alfo be employed to fubvert our belief of the mo ft important dodlrines, and to lead us to make light of the mofl dire£t and important precepts of Chrift. This rule, it is true, is not delivered in the fame manner as were the precepts to Ifrael of old ; and the reafon will be obvious, if we attend to the nature of the difpenfation under which they were placed. The law, fays an apoftle, Gal. iii. 24. •was our fchoolmafter until Chrift ; and the heir, he adds, fo long as he is a child, difFereth nothing from a fervant, iv. 1. This procedure was, in every particular, exactly fuited to the infant Hate of the church. During this period, the Father declared his will by laying down a rule of conduct moft palpable and plain, juft as the elements of any fcience are taught. Accord- ingly we find the whole fyftem which regulated their moral conduB^ both as individuals and as a coUedive body, delivered to Ifrael exa£tly in the fame way as the direftions for their facial *worJhip. But when grace and truth came by Jefus Chrift, v/hen the people of God were to be no more fervants but fons, then we fee a different mode of inftruftion adopted, both as to moral duties and focial worlliip : the particular lines of which are not indeed fo minutely marked, but when take i as a w^hole, and ^oniidered in con- nexion with the elements already laid down, the UNIVERSALLY BINDING. 9^ execution, it has proved the great barrier of the R-omifh church in Germany againft the Refor- mation ; and as from this period the fame tempt- ation of interell did not allure ecclefialHcs to re- linquifh the eftablifhed fyftem, there have been few of that order who have loved truth with fuch diiinterefted and ardent affedlion as to abandon, for its fake, the rich benefices which they had in pofleffion*.' In every country where the reformed principles were embraced, a confeffion minutely dating eve- ry thing refpeding religion was drawn up. Thefe confeffions were coniidered to be of the highefl authority, and the zeal of Chrillians was much di- rected to maintain the authority of their llandards. To differ materially from what had been adopted, was accounted herefy, and this was attended with ferious confequences. The following celebrated paflage in the Weftminfler Confeffion of Faith, fhews how little progrefs had been made in the knowledge of religious liberty for a hundred and twenty years*. It is declared, chap, xxiii. ' That the civil magiftrate has a right to take order that unity and peace be preferved in the church ; that * See Robertfon's Hiftory of Charles V. vol. iv. p. lor, — loS. ad edit. Svo. f Luther publicly burned the decretals and canons by which the Pope's fupremacy was eftablifhed, and alfo the bull iffued againft hira at Wittemberg, Dec. lo. 1520. He was publicly expelled from the church, at Rome, by Leo X. on the 6th of January 1521. — The firft meeting of the Aflembly of Divines was held in Henry VII.'s Chapel at Weftminfter, July i. 164?, K..3 . ll^ CAUSES OF THE DIFFERENCES the truth of God be preferved pure and entire j that all blafphemies and herefies be fupprefled y. all corruptions and abufes in worlhip and difci- pline be prevented and reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly fettled, adminiftered, and obferved ; for the better effeding whereof, he hath power to call fynods, to be prefent at them^ and to provide that whatever is tranfadted be ac- cording to the word of God.' It is abundantly evident how much this fyftem is calculated to per- petuate error, by checking inquiry. It inevitably alfo lays the foundation of numberlefs divifions, for it is impoffible that Chriflians can be truly united except on the ground of truth. Error muft neceffarily gender ftrife ;: and there is in the mind of man a principle of oppofition to conftraint in regard to opinions, whith, unlefs amidfl grofs ignorance, has always, upon thefe fubjeds, fet force at defiance *. In the condud of the reformers, then, we have * • Charles V. after abdicating his throne, was peculiarly cu- rious with regard to the conftrudlion of clocks and watches, and having found, after repeated trials, that he coivld not bring any two of them to go exadlly alike, he refledled, it is faid, with a mixture of furprife and regret on his own folly, in having be- llowed fo much time and labour on the more vain attempt of bringing mankind to a precife uniformity of fentiment, concern- ing the intricate and myfterious dodlrines of religion ' — Dr Ro- bertfon's Charles V. vol. iv. p. 313, The remark is perfecflly juft; uniformity of fentiment in religion can never be produced by human authority. It can only arife from mens confciences- being brought into fubiecHiion to the authority of God, and from, th«ir diligently ftudying bis word to know his will. RESPECTING SOCIAL WORSHIP. 115 the origin of that variety of fentiments which has abounded amongft Chriftians in regard to religion, and eipecially as to modes of worfhip and difcipline. Although each party profefled to find the outlines of their fyflem in the word of God, yet none pretended that the New Tefta- ment contained a full and complete model. In- deed, without going back to what Paul calls the weak and beggarly elements, they never could have fuppofed that Scripture authorifed, far lefs com- manded, that the civil magiftrate Ihould interfere in regulating religion. If this eflential part of their fyftem was not merely omitted but difcoun- tenanced by the whole tenor of the New Tefta- ment, they could not confider it as a complete and unerring guide. They bound men, however, to the moft minute adherence to their ftandards j. and it is to be obferved of them, as of all who have vindicated perfecution, that this was direct- ed more againfl deviation from their forms and modes, than againft grofs fins. While they all endeavoured to promote perfe6l miiformity at home, they found it neceflary to cultivate a friend- ly intercourfe with each other, in different coun- tries, from an apprehenfion of the dangers to which, they were expofed by the church of Rome. Their defcendents, anxious to defend the Proteftant inte- reft againft the attacks of the Catholics, who had no fmall advantage againft them from the variety of opinions they held, began more explicitly to maintain, that greater latitude was given in Scrip. 11(5 CAUSES OF THE DIFFERENCES ture refpe£ling church order, and that it was very ranch left to the prudf;nce of men, and to the cir- cumflanccs in which they were placed. The Eraftians, as they are called, maintained, that all difcipline was left perfedrly nninftitnted, and that the civil government in each country might regulate this as they judged proper. Some accidental circumftances tended alfo to blind the minds both of the reformers and of the princes Tvho favoured them. The Anabaptifts at Mun- fter maintained that magiilrates had no authority in the church ; but they denied alfo their autho- rity over the faints even in civil matters. The abfurd fentiments of thefe fanatics, and the ex- celTes of which they vOere guilty, were calculated to prejudice men againtt any appearance of con- formity to their fentiments. On considering all circumftances, we have abun- dant caufe to be thankful, that the reformers efca- ped fo far from the prejudices of education ; but inflead of preffing forward, their defcendents have been contented to walk by their light. The ve- neration in which their miemory has been held,^ has prejudiced the great bulk of the people againft any deviation from their fentiments, and the re- fpe<9:able and lucrative fituations which adherence To eftablilbed religion has fecured, and which de- parting from it muft forfeit, has tempted many not to purfue their views of truth .fo far as other- wife they might have done. The fpeculations alfo of good men refpe6ling the ufefulnefs of the RESPECTING SOCIAL WORSHIP. 117 fituations in which they are placed, which they muft relinquifh if they fully adopt the apoftolic plan, has proved a great hindrance. Although the diverfity of opinion among Chri- ftians concerning church- order may thus be fo eafily accounted for from the fituation in which they have been placed, and from their veneration for the firft reformers, yet nothing has tended more to confirm the prejudices of men on the fub- jed, than this diverfity. The exemplary conduft, the zeal and holinefs of men in churches where there is no fcriptural order, which cannot be denied, have been brought forward to fliew that this was a matter of little confequence. This argument would equally militate againft the Reformation. Afiii- redly there were, and ftill are eminently holy men in the corrupt communion of the church of Rome. We ought to love the image of Chrift wherever we fee it ; and if we confine our love to our own party, we deceive ourfelves. If we love the Lord Jefus, we mull love thofe who are guided by his Spirit. When we fee a man loving the gofpel, dead to the world, defirous of promo- ting the glory of God, not feeking his own things, but the things which are Jefus Chrifl's — we can- not but feel our hearts knit to him, wherever he be. A man may, on the other hand, agree with us about the external order of a church, and yet we may be fatisfied that he is deflitute of real re- ligion, or at leafl; very lukewarm. Another may, in our judgment, be acting erroneoufly in conti^ ilS CAUSES OF THE DIFFERENCE^ nuing conneded with an antichriftian eftablifh'^ ment, and yet we may be conftrained to love him for the truth's fake. But ahhough there are Chri- flians eminently holy in unfcriptural focieties, and others who are not exemplary in churches which follow the apollolic praftices, we ought not on that account to conlider churchrorder to be unim- portant, ox unconnected with fpirituality and ho- linefs, any more than we fhould conclude that frefli air or cleanlinefs are not fubfervient to health, becaufe we find fome very flout children in the confined dirty lanes of a great city, and others fickly in the pure air of the country. The difproportionate zeal difcovered by fome refpc(^ing church-government, has doubtlefs alfo tended to blind the minds of Chriftians, and has prevented them from confidering the fubjeft with the attention it deferves. They have feen fome very zealous in thofe matters, who were little con- cerned to manifeft or to promote the power of religion. The end of all God's commandments is love ; and wherever the mind is diverted from following after holinefs and fpirituality of mind, by attention to order, we are turning the law of God againft itfeif, and abufing the Scriptures. We are not ferving the Lord Jefus, but our own vanity, party- fpirit, and felfifhnefs. All church- order is ordained for a certain purpofe, and if this be not kept in view, it becomes mere bodily exercife. A church may boafl of its ading in conformity to the apoftolic model. Like that at RESPECTING SOCIAL WORSHIP. 119 Laodicea, they maj fay, '* We are rich, increafed in goods, and have need of nothing, while in fad they are wretched, and poor, and blind, and naked," in a great meafure deftitute of the ex- perience and power of religion in the hearts of the members. In fuch cafes, their order has be- come the righteoufnefs in which they truft — ** The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are we." To fuch we may apply our Lord's words, '* Thefe are a fmoke in my nofe, a fire that burn- eth all the day." If we truft in our creed, our prayers, our tears, our fan6Hfication, our good works, they are all abominable before God ; but without them we cannot be Chriftians. V/e may, in like manner, pervert the order eftablifhed by Jefus Chrift, but we cannot follow him fully without obferving it, and although we may be Chriftians while inattentive to this, by neglecting his leaft commandments we ftiall fuffer lofs in our fouls, and are proportionally little in the kingdom of God. The pains taken in training a new regiment would be ridiculous parade if not conneded with its objeft. It is valuable only as it fits the foldiers for actual fer- vice. The difclpline of a church, in like man- ner, is important only as it promotes wStchful- nefs, tircumfpedion, and love in the members. This was the end of its inftitution, and we fliall uevcr attain the end fo well by forfaking the ap- pointed means, or by fubftituting others in their pbce. 120 CAUSES OF THE DIFFERENCES A body of men fuddenly called together, may individually poflefs all the qualities effential to good foldiers, but if not properly trained to aft together, they will difappoint expedation in the day of battle. A company of real Chriftians, un- acquainted with fcriptural order, exadly refemble them. They are real foldiers of Jefus Chrift ; but not being accuftomed to that difcipline, co- operation, and fellowihip which he has enjoined, many defeats will appear in their daily condudl, which this would have corrected. Another circumftance alfo may be mention- ed, which gives rife to this difference of opinion. Man is ever prone to extremes. His mind is narrow, and is apt to be exclufively filled with one objeft. One man's attention is engroffed with fuperintending the order of a few Chriftians meeting in an upper chamber. Another beholds multitudes of immortal fouls perilhing for lack of knowledge ; his foul is drawn out in prayers and efforts for their falvation ; he goes forth preaching the everlafting gofpel, gladly defiring to fpend and to be fpent for Chrift. He is filled with indignation at the fmall company, who feem defirous merely that they themfelves ftiould win Chrift ; his zeal perhaps carries him too far, and becaufe he fees them deficient in fome things, he difregards what is praife-worthy. He perceives that there muft be fome kind of order in a church, but not having attended particularly to the fub- je6V, or finding it imp'offible to obferve the order RESPECTING SOCIAL WORSHIP. 121 of the firft churches in his prefent connexion, and determined not to abandon what he confiders to be a great fphere of ulefulnefs, he treats it as a matter of indifference. The New Teftamcnt Ihews us, that the apoftles united zeal for the converfion of finners, with ftridt attention to the welfare of believers. They publiflied the gofpel to every creature, and w^hen fome believed and others believed not, they then feparated the difclples, and formed them into di- flind focieties, Ads xix. 9. Let us imitate both parts of their conduct. We fhall ever find, that attention to the practices of the churches in the New Teftament, Vv'ill tend to promote zeal for the converfion of finners, unlefs it engrofs too much of our attention, unlefs we forget the objefl for which it is appointed, or unlefs, by expe6ling too much from the means, we put them in the place of Chrill and of the end. In this cafe it is no wonder if our fouls decay, and all our exertions for fpreading the gofpel be completely paralyfed. Good men have always contended for the im- portance of the great dodlrines of Chrill, and on this account have been charged by the world with bigotry and party- fpirit, for attaching fo much importance to matters which ignorant men confider to be purely fpeculative, and little, if at all connected with pradice. Such charges, how- ever, have not led the real difciples of Chrill to undervalue the truth of God. They know that they proceed from indifference about religion, and L 122 CAUSES OF THE DIFFERENCES from difpleafure that this indiiFerence is reproved by the refpefl of others for the authority of God. But many good men, adopting an improper diftinc- tion between do<5lrine and difcipline, have fliunned difcuflion on the order appointed by Chrift for the government of his church, and have been as liberal in the application of the charge of bigotry, Sec. to fuch as regarded his authority on this fubjed;, as the world has been towards them on account of their refpeft to what are called the peculiar doflrines of the gofpel. If the order of the churches be really diftinft from what Chrift taught, the lefs attention we pay to it the better. But before we adopt the diftin£lion, and argue for the importance of the one, and the inlignificance of the other, we ought to fhew that Chrift has taught, fic dire£led his apoflles to teach, nothing concerning the order and government of his churches. No Chriftian, I prefume, will attempt to do fo. Now, whether any thing which he or they taught may be fet afide, or confidered at beft as too trifling to merit our folemn attention, will not furely be queftion- ed by Chriftians. Do6lrine and d'Kipline are indeed but words, and I do not wifti to contend merely about words ; but words are the means by which we commu- nicate our ideas, and the improp^A* ufe of them has been the great caufe of difputes both in religion and philofophy. Good men perceive the importance of jaft RESPECTING SOCIAL WORSHIP. ' 123 views of truth, and therefore contend for purity of doclrine. The world coniiders it of little confe- quence what we believe, provided we be but cha- ritable ; that is, provided we be indifferent about our creed. How much does the conduft of fome Chriftians refemble this ! They fay church- order is of little or no importance, provided a man be not a bigot ; that is, provided he be not perfuaded that the order he follows is exclufively of divine appointment, and binding on all believers. There is, no doubt, fach a thing as bigotry. Dr Johnfon defines it, ' Blind zeal, prejudice, un- reafonable warmth in favour of party or opinions.' If this be a jud account of bigotry, provided a man's zeal for a particular form of church- order be founded on knowledge, his zeal is not blind ; confequently he is no bigot. If his opinions and practice be the refult of candid invefligation, they do not arife from prejudice ; he is, therefore, not a bigot. Further, if his warmth in favour of a party be not unreafonable ; if he adopt proper methods to difTeminate his fentiments ; if he do not attach undue importance to any particular opi- nion, according to this definition, which feems a jufl one, he is not a bigot. If any man, indeed, Ihall earneflly contend for a certain order or form of government to be ob- ferved in the churches becaufe it is new, without ferioufly examining the Scriptures on the fubjed, and impartially attending to the obje6lions brought againfl his fyftem, we admit the propriety of 124 CAUSES OF THE DIFFERENCES applying the term bigotry to his conduct. If he be a zealous Prelhyterian or Independent, becaufe his father, or fon:ie eminent man to whom he looks up, was fo, we do not defend him. If his zeal for Chriftianity chiefly appear in minute attention to external order, we are far from at- tempting" to^'vindicate him: we fhould, on the contrary^ warnfudr-iof -the danger of being occu- pied with a 'fbrm''<3f ^godlinefs, or of giving heed to queftions which gender ftrife, rather than godly edifying ; for however important the fubjecl be in itfelf, it may be perverted, and will, in that event, be extremely injurious to his foul. If his attachment to a particular fyftem prevent him from cherifhing love to all the difciples of Jefus for the truth's fake which dwelleth in them, his condud is undoubtedly unfcriptural ; but if he has ferioufly, and with earneft prayer, examined the Scriptures on the order and difcipline proper to be obferved in a church of Chrill ; if, after weighing objeftions, he be perfuaded that a cer- tain order is excluiivety appointed by God, and if he attend to this himfelf, and recommend it to others, with a view to promote fpirituality of mind and holinefs of life, while he loves all the difciples of Jefus, although he judge them, in fome refpe£ts, not to be walking according to the rule of God's word, he is no bigot, nor can he be juftly charged as a£luated by party- fpirit. Such a man will ever be ready calmly to hear what can be faid a-gainU his fyftem. He has not contrived RESPECTING SOCIAL WORSHIP. 125 it himfelf, nor received it by tradition from his fathers, but confiders it to be a part of divine re- velation, and being perfuaded that he is always prone to err, and that error of every kind mud have a bad effedt upon his mind, he is ready to receive with thankfulnefs farther light upon the fubjed, and to hear with patience what may be candidly and ferioufly faid for his information. A man may be a bigotted Calvinift. From- education, or from his mind having been much employed on the points of difference between that and other fyftems, his whole converfation may turn on thefe topics ; he may lofe his temper when contradicted, he may wrefl palTages of Scripture left they fhould fecmto favour his opponents, and he may plainly (liew that he is under the influence of prejudice and blind zeal : but a man may be fully perfuaded of the truth of the fyftem called,^ Galvinifm, and be deeply convinced of its impor-- tance, without meriting the reproach of bigotry. The fame will hold true concerning church- govern- ment. A man may contend for a particular form in an unchriftian and bigotted manner. If an Independent, he may be attached to all who hold the fame fentiments, without examining what good effeft their church-order has produced on their minds, or whether they are ftudying to main- tain the power of religion. If he be of the efta- bliflied church, he may advife others to attend their parifti minifters, although the gofpel be not preached by them j thus preferring the eltablilh- L3 126 CAUSES OF THE DIFFERENCES ments and arrangements of men, to the do£trine of Chrift. In either cafe he maj well be calledf. a bigot. Another may be more fenfible of the importance of fcriptiiral order, which he may obferve, and fteadily maintain that all Chriftians. are bound to obferve m^ without the fmalleft tinc- ture of party- fpirit^. I dwell the more upon this fubjeft, becaufe due attention has not been paid to it. The fpirit of intolerance manifelled by our fathers, and their zeal for what we now plainly fee to be unfcrip- tural, has rendered it popular to declaim againll attention to church-order, under the odious name- of party- fpirit. Good men defpife the charge of party-fpirit brought againfl them by a Socinian* They pity his ignorance. Let them beware, left, while charging their Chriftian brethren with party- fpirit, becaufe they argue in favour of an exclufivft. form of church- government, they ignorantly con* demn or difcourage atteation to a fubjed which God has been'pl-eafed explicitly to reveal. How often is a fmile, or a remark on the pernicious effeds of bigotry, put in place of' argument when this fubje6l is mentioned ! By. fome, thofe who mofl; heartily defpife all concera about any particular form of churchw government^ are often moft applauded. Whence does this pro- ceed ? A perfon who was never efteemed a bigot, in anfwer to a letter wherein the writer had been fhewing his liberality by condemning thofe who amended to discipline and church- order, obferved^ RESPECTING SOCIAL WORSHIP. 12T * that thofe only (who pofTefTed any information on the fubje6t) defpifed church-order, whofe fitu- ation rendered their obfervance of the apoftolic order impradicable.' Let us not then be led away by founds. Men ought, by means of can- did examination of Scripture, to be fully perfua- ded in their own minds, what to omit, and what to perform. Without this, no religious duty is a reafonable fervice. When, inftead of fearching the Scriptures, and praying for farther light, as new born babes deli- ring the unadulterated milk of the word, we are inclined to fearch for arguments to juftify our owm pradtice, thefe will not be wanting. This ftate of mind foflers prejudices. Oar fcruples, which, if attended to, would have led us to the Scrip- tures and to a throne of grace, and ultimately, by the bleffing of God, to the path of duty, being ftifled, wear away. The lefs a man liftens to tha voice of confcience, the feebler it becomes. Many rejoice in having got rid of what they now con- Sder to be weak fcruples. Let them examine. bow they got rid of them. Was it by fairly meeting the objections which occurred to their^ minds ? Was it by fearching the fubjeft to the; bottom ? or was it by a£ting in oppolition to their convidions? Scruples may be got rid of both ways. Thofe who have received a religious education, feel many fcruples before they can rui\ to the fame excefs of riot with others ; but v/hen once fairly initiated, thefe fcruples appear weak 128 CAUSES OF THE DIFFERENCES, &C. and childifti, and they hug themfelves on their fuppofed fuperloritj to weuk prejudices. I do not here intend to enlarge on the bad efFe£ls which arife from the diflferences among Chriilians about church order. Some of them have been akeady hinted at. We know what a handle they give to infidels, and to thofe who are indifferent about religion j what alienation of mind they produce among real Chriilians ; and how much they cramp their united exertions : and however much good men, deploring thefe confequences, may endeavour to put a flop to them by enforcing mutual forbearance, from the confideration of the inconfiderable nature of their differences, experience ma/ teach us that this will never fucceed. To prove, then, that the Scriptures contain a particular ftandard and model for the imitation and government of the churches of Chrifi, which all Chriftians are enjoined by divine authority to follow, (however they may be branded as perpe- tuating divifion and party- fpirit) will be found to be the only way by which union and brotherly love can be promoted amongft Chriftians. For this union God has made provifion in the accounts of the churches in the New Teftament. In this, as in other refpecls, the foolilhnefs of God is wifer than man. Let him then that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit faith unto the churches. [ 129 ] CHAPTER V. ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. Section I. Wherever the apoftles went, tlie^r preached the gofpel, and befought and enjoined men to repent and believe it. When their preach- ing was fuccefsful, they direfted their converts to aflbciate for the obfervance of public worfnip and ordinances, always on the firft day of the week, and alfo at other times. Thefe focieties were called churches. In this they have been imitated by all Chriftians. But it is not fufficient to retain appearances. In order to follow their example, our churches muft refemble theirs ; their conftitution muft be fimilar. How much did the church of Rome, in the apoftle Paul's time, differ from the church of Rome fome hun- dred years afterwards I Obedience to the com- mandment of Chrift does not confift in preferving the name while we do not obferve the ordinance itfelf. We condemn the Roman Catholics, who profefs to obferve Chrift's dying commandment while the great bulk of the people receive only 130 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF the bread. We fay this is not to eat the Lord's fupper, becaufe while the name is kept up, the a6lion is different. The fame will apply to the conftitution of a church. Our churches muft be limilar to thofe planted by the apoftles, and ac- knowledged in the word of God as his churches ; we do not otherwife attend to the ordinance at all. The word ix-KXac-toi^ church, means an affembly of any kind. It is often -applied to Ifrael, which formed one affembly in the wildernefs, as their males did three times a- year at Jerufalem. It is fometimes applied to an aliembly called by a magiflrate, and fometimes to a tumultuous af- fembly. In Afts xix. 32. the mob is called the church, and again in verfe 40. be difmiffed the church, Verfe 39. the fame word is ufed for an affembly called by the magiflrates. I fhall here quote a pafTage from Dr Campbell on this fubjeft. ' Properly there is, in the New Tefla- ment, but two original fenfes of the word tKKXwtx^ which can be called different, though related. One is, when it denotes a number of people a£lually affembled, or accuftomed to affemble together, and is then properly rendered by the Englifh terms, congregation, convention, affembly, and even fometimes crowd, as in Ads xix. 32. 40. The other fenfe is to denote a fociety united together by fome common tie, though not con- vened, perhaps not convenable, in one place. And in this acceptation, as well as in the former. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 131 it fometinies occurs in claflical writers, as fignify- ing a Hate, or commonwealth, and nearly corre- fponding to the Latin civitas. When the word is limited, or appropriated, as it generally is in the New Teftament, by its regimen, as ra 5s», rv Hv^tHy m Xg/crl^, or by the fcope of the place, it is always to be explained in one or other of the two fenfes following, correfponding to the two general fenfes above mentioned. It denotes ei- ther a fingle congregation of Chriftians, in corre- fpondence to the firft, or the whole Chriftian community, in correfpondence to the fecond. We can hardly ever be at a lofs to know from the context which of the two is implied. That it is in the former acceptation, is fometimes evident from the words in conftru6tion, as r-/ig iKKM xuBoXiKn, the catholic or univerfal church. * But in any intermediate fenfe, between a fingle congregation and the whole con*munity of Chri- lllans, not one inilance cati be brought of the 132 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF application of the word in facred writ. We fpeak now, indeed, (and this has been the manner for ages) of the Gallican church, the Greek church, the church of England, the church of Scotland, as of focieties independent and complete in themfelves. Such a phrafeology was never adopted in the days of the apoftles. They did not fay the church of Afia, or the church of Macedonia, or the church of Achaia, but the churches of God in Afia, the churches in Mace- donia, the churches in Achaia. The plural num- ber is invariably ufed when more congregations than one are fpoken of, unlefs the fubje6l be the whole commonwealth of Chrift. Nor is this the manner of the penmen of facred writ only. It is the conftant ufage of the term in the wri- tings of ecclefiaftic authors, for the two firft cen- turies. The only inftance to the contrary that I remember to have obferved, is in the epiftles of Ignatius, on which I have already remarked*. ' It adds confiderable ftrength to our argument, that this is exaftly conformable to the ufage, in regard to this term, which had always obtained among the Jews. The whole nation, or common- wealth of Tfrael, was often denominated, 7fu(7u *i tK7cM(Ficc la-^xviX. And after the revolt of the ten tribes, when they ceafed to make one people or flate with the other two, we hear of ttuo-cc *> txxXn- * The Dotflor does not rejecH: the epiftles of Ignatius as alto- gether fpurious, but thinks they are of no authority, as it is evi- dent they are confiderably mutilated. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 133 cisx, l»^«. This is the large or comprehenfive ufe of the word, as above obferved. In regard to the more confined application, the fame term iKKM7itty was alfo employed to denote a number of people, either a6lually aflembled, or wont to aflemble, in the fame place. Thus all belonging to the fame fynagogue were called indiflerently MKXvio-iXy or rvvccyeoy))y as thefe terms in the Jewilh ufe were nearly fynonymous. But never did ihey call the people belonging to feveral neighbouring fynagogues txKMo-iXy or a-weiyayny in the lingular number, but tKKXna-icct and a-wccyuyxt, in the plural. Any other ufe in the apoftles, therefore, mull have been as unprecedented and unnatural as it would have been improper, and what could not fail to lead their hearers or readers into mif- takes *.* The apoftolic churches were collefted by the preaching of the gofpel. The apoftles were fo far from having any authority by which to induce or to compel men thus to unite, that they were expcfed to conftant and powerful oppofition in their work. Inftrudion and perfuafion were the only means they employed. By manifeftation of the truth they commended themfelves to every man's confcience. They befought men to be re- conciled to God, and to give themfelves up to him who had ftied his blood for the guilty. Although every blefling beftowed upon belic- * Campbell's Ledlures oii Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, vol, i, p. 20 j, M 134 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF vers is freely ^iven them of God, yet the Lord Jefus always beflovvs thefe. on his people, in the way of obedience to his commandments. It is with his own, in the ftri6teil fenfe, that we ferve him ; yet he gracioufly rewards our fervices. Our obfervance of ordinances is an a£t of obedience to Chrift, and we receive a prefent reward in the benefit and comfort we derive from them. The end of the inflitution of a church is abun- dantly manifeft. God fays to his people, *' Come out from among them, and be ye feparate, and I will receive you, and ye ihall be my fons and daughters." Jefus delivers his people from the prefent evil world, and commands them to aflb- ciate together, that they may have fellowfhip with himfelf and with each other. Thus was Noah feparated in the ark from the world which periihed ; Lot was feparated from Sodom ; Abra- ham from his kindred ; and Ifrael after the flefh from the nations. " Lo," faid Balaam, " the peo- ple fhall dwell alone, and Ihall not be reckoned among the nations." The ordinances of worfliip delivered to them, precluded their intercourfe with their neighbours. Their learning the ways of the heathen, was the caufe of many fevere judgments which they endured. Iti like manner, if any one will come after Jefus, he mufl deny himfelf, take up his crofs, and follow him. He muft remember Lot's wife, and not look back on the world. He muH love the difciples of Jefus, cultivate their friendfiiip. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 135 and mutually give and receive every a6l of kind- nefs. To promote love to Chrilt and to one another, they are to unite in church-fellowfhip, to watch over one another in love, and to obferve together various ordinances. Thus having for- faken all for Chrift, they receive an hundred fold in the prefent life. Every one who is a fubje£t of the King of Sion is their kinfman and brother ; and the comfort of the Holy Ghoft which they enjoy while walking in the fear of the Lord and aflbciating with his people, amply compenfates for the lofs of friends or of worldly comforts which they have fuftained. The difciples of Jefus are furrounded with enemies on every hand, and one great end of the formation of a church is, that they may ftrength- en one another in the good ways of the Lord. ** Two are better than one ; for if one fall, the other will help him; but wo to him who is alone when he falleth.'* The members of a church are bound to efteem one another as brethren, yea, as members one of Another ; for they are one body, which is repre- fented by their eating the fame bread, 1 Cor. X. ] 7. * A church is a reprefentation of the general aflembly or church above, and in pro- portion as the members walk in love, holding the * Oti «j ci^Tog iv , 01 TToXXoi 85-,w«y, Becaufe (or ra- ther, as) there is one brcad^ iL>e being many are one bcdy. The common tranllation conveys no meaning, '* For we being many are one bread," S-ic. See Whitby and Macknight. 13(5 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF unity of the fpirit in the bond of peace, the refemblance is exadt. Chriftians are bound to love all who love Jefus Chrift. The formation of a particular church, and the fpecial duties to the members thereof, by no means preclude us from expreffing general affedion for all the Ifrael of God. The more we exercife love to our brethren with v/hom we dwell, the more will our love increafe to the whole body. Chriflian love muft not only be in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth. We have little orno opportunity of doing good to the great body of Chriftians whom we never faw, nor fliall fee in the flefli ; but a church is a lingle branch of the great family of God, and in this connexion we have a fpecial opportunity of teftifying by a6tions our love to the brethren of Jefus. We are to rebuke and admonifh one another, by no means fufFering fin upon our brother. If we v/ere feeking honour one of another ; if this were our governing prin- ciple, as it is in focieties of worldly men, fuch condudt would foon gender ftrife ; but the more the ordinances of Chrift are attended to in a church of Chrift, from proper motives, the more will the members be united in love. The Lord hath beftow^ed a variety of gifts on his people, and they are bound to ufe them for each other's benefit. The exiftence of a church gives an op- portunity of occupying thefe talents for the com- mon good, and thus the edification of the body THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 137 is promoted, by every man, as he hath received the gift, minlftering the fame as a good fteward of the manifold grace of God. A Chriftian church is not only calculated to promote the edification of Chriftians, but the converfion of finners. We have feen that the formation of churches is intended to promote love amongfl Chriftians. This is clofely con- nedled with the converfion of the world. Jefus prayed that his difciples might be one, that the world might believe that the Father had fent him, John xvii. 21. A church is a city fet on a hill j a light in the world to dire6l the attention of men to the teftimony of Chrift's death, refur- re(^ion, and fecond coming. When the mem- bers of a church are not fpiritual, holy, and exemplary, this end is in a great meafure defeat- ed ; but if they make their light to fliine before men, others, feeing their good works, wnll glorify their Father in heaven. Such, it is evident from the New Teftament, was the end of the inftitu- tion of the apoftolic churches. The apoflles held out no worldly motive to induce men to become Chriftians, or to conne6t themfelves with a church. They obtained no • civil privileges by doing fo. The connexion was perfectly voluntary in regard to man. It was regard alone to the authority of an unfeen Sa- viour, and to eternal things, which led them to enter into it. If they difregarded thefe, they were anfwerable to Chrift alone. No man had M 3 13S ON THE CONSTITUTION OF a right to punifh them. God ftill caufed his fun to Cnine, and his rain to defcend on them, and thus taught his people to do them good as they had opportunity. When the fcheme of uniting the church and the world took polTeflion of the minds of men, they permitted no man to buy or fell except he had the mark of the beaft, or they fufpended this decree by an a6lof toleration ; but every thing of this kind is foreign to a church of Chrift as exhi- bited in Scripture. It is an aflbciation which has no head upon earth ; which, as a body, can re- ceive no laws from any one but Chrift Jefus» Thofe who joined the apoftolic churches were not thereby freed from their obligations to honour and to be fubjed to the powers whom God hath ordained over the things of a prefent life. The kingdom of Jefus is fpiritual^ neither interfering Axnth human governments, nor admitting their in- te^erence in its peculiar concerns. The Lord taught his difciples to render to Cefar the things which are Cefar's, and to God the things which are God's ; that is, to obey their civil governors in all civil matters, but in religion to acknow- ledge no human authority. In attending to the conflitution of the apoftolic churches, we muft obferve that Chrift is always reprefented as ruling over a willing people, and •governing by love. Love to him and to one another, was the. perfed bond, and the only one by which the churches were united. When any auxiliary bon4 is 'employed in a fociety, it no^ THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 139 longer refembles the apoftolic churches ; its con- ftitution is different. ' They are miftaken,' fays Dr Erfkine, * who think that the outer-court, Rev. xi. 1, 2. reprefents the vifible church. For the church, confidered as inwardly the habitation of God, and outwardly employed in his worfhip, is reprefented by the temple and inner- court, where was the altar, and where the Ifraelites worfhipped. But the outer-court reprefents a corrupt fociety, afluming the name of the church, whofe pretenfions God will demonftrate to be falfe, and which he will give up to be trodden down by her enemies. This may be the reafon why the angel commiffioned to meafure the tem- ple, was prohibited to meafure the outer-court^ becaufe that outer. (^urt was properly no part of the temple *.' It is not furpriling, then, that the apoilles in- filled fo much on brotherly-love. Every ordi- nance they delivered is calculated to promote it j and where love was not promoted, the end of the ordinance was not obtained. How different were thefe focieties from the world ! There, men live in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one ano- ther, yet are kept together by felf-interefl and temporal ties. In the apoftolic churches, love to Chrift cemented them together, and when this was wanting, no fubftitute was recommended. Hu- man governments only aim at regulating the con- duct. The wholefome laws under which we live * Theological DilTertations, p. 94. Lond. i?^^' 140 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF in this country, fecure our lives and properties m the midft of wickednefs. The laws delivered to the churches refpefted the ilate of their hearts as well as their external conduft ; and if the hearts of the members were not right, the outw^ard re- llraints were too feeble to prevent open rebellion againft Chrift. He is not fo careful about the appearance as the reality ; and the freedom he gives his people in their aflbciated charafter, is calculated to prove a ftumbling- block to wicked men, and to make them manifeft. Under every human government men mull part with a portion of their natural freedom, which is well exchanged for the fecurity and the bleffings it provides. This is not the cafe in the churches of the faints. The members neither become fub- je6t, ftridly fpeaking, to any individual, nor to the whole body of their brethren. The apollles warned and exhorted them to ftand faft in the glorious liberty wherewith Chrift had made them free ; to remember one was their mafter, even Chrift ; to him alone they are accountable ; to his laws alone they are fubje£l. Their brethren do not become the lords of their confciences ; while they are all to be clothed with humility, to efteem others better than themfelves, yea, all to be fubje6l one to another — they are on no ac- count to deviate from what appears to themfelves to be duty : *' Whatfoever is not of faith, is fin»'* As to any th-ing in itfelf indifferent, neither oppo* file to the fpirit of the gofpel, nor to any precept THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 141 delivered by the apoftles, fuch as the eating of . meats in the firfl churches, there they are their own matters, and in fuch a cafe, although a thing be lawful, it may not be expedient. They muft not therefore pleafe themfelves ; but if they are prevented from attending to any thing which ap- pears to them to be their duty, either by the opinion of an individual or of a church, they are evidently feeking to pleafe men, and are no^longer the fervants of Chrift. Men void of religion may frame a civil govern- ment. They may chufe fuch an one as they think bell ; but the apoftles taught believers to confider themfelves the fervants of Jefus. As fuch they entered a church, and eonfcquently no laws in that church muft interfere with their al- legiance to him. To prevent this, the apoftles delivered laws which they were to obey iii their aflbciated ftate, and thefe were neither to be in- creafed, nor diminifhed, nor changed. If any number of people form a voluntary fociety, they may exclude or receive whom they pleafe ; but fuch were not the inftrudions of the apoftles to the churches. If any one defired to join them, they were to inquire whether Chrift had received him ? and if fo, to give him the right hand of fellowfliip — for 'church -fellowfliip is an ordinance for all his people. Did it appear by the conduft of a member that they had been miftaken j that he was not living in fubjedion to 142 ON THE CONSTITUTION- OF the authority of Chrift, the church was then, atid then only, to exclude him. A member of the apailolic churches might withdraw when he pleafed j he might thus caft off the authority of Chrift : all that his brethren could do, was to warn him of the confequences ^ and if he perfifted, to behave towards him as a heathen man and -a publican. It is evident, then, that this connexion, being founded on fubjci"iion of mind to Jefus Chrift, w^as capable of being maintained without many regulations which are abfolutely neceflary in civil fociety. It is, there- fore, no objection to the conftitution of the churches of Chrifl, that it would not anfwer in civil matters. It was not intended to do fo. A form of government fuch as that of the churches of faints, is not fit for wicked men,"mor even for merely moral men, not under the influence of the gofpel. The kingdom which the apoftles fought to eftablifli, was righteoufnefs, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft. Whatever ordinances tend to promote thefe, they, under the influence of the Spirit, delivered to the churches ; and any addition, however plaufible, will have a contrary effea. Many Chriftians have grofsly erred on this fubjeft. They have been guided in their views of the government of the churches, by their po- litical opinions. No wonder that men of tlie world have fallen into the fame error. ' No bifhop, no king,' faid King James I. Whatever THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 143 form of church-order is adopted on fuch prmcl- ples, is equally abfurd. That the bifhop fliould govern with unlimited fway, is not more fo than that the people (liould be fubjeded to the authority of the elders ; and that the people fliould govern themfelves, is fully as oppofite as either to the apollolic inftitutions. Chriftians are fubjefts of a king. Jefus has, by his apoftles, delivered the laws by which his fubjeds fhall be governed, and in- formed us how thefe laws are to be adminiftered. The more we attend to his will, the more of his countenance and approbation may we expert to receive. Section II. In oppolition to the view given of the word *^ church," fome have endeavoured to fhew^, that by a church in the New Teftament is fometimes meant the elders, whom they call the repre« fentatives of the whole body ; but this is not only completely void of proof, but dire6lly con- trary both to the letter and fpirit of the paiTages where the word occurs. We find the people called the church, exclufive of the elders, Ads xv. 22. but never are the elders fo denoted without the people. ' One of the natural confequences,' fays Dr Campbell, ' of all thofi great diflindions of 144 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF the facred order was, that they made way for another, by which the minifters of religion, in a manner, appropriated the term church to them- felves. I have had occafion, in thefe ledures, to lay before you the only undoubted accep- tations wherein I find the word wkMo-hc em- ployed in the New Teftament, and have ob- ferved, that when applied to the difciples of Chrift, it always denotes either the whole Chri- flian community, or all thofe of a particular congregation, under the guidance of their own pallors. I have alfo pointed out one deviation from the latter of thefe original meanings, natu- rally confeqiient on the change that in a few cen- turies enfued, when the bilhop, inftead of the overfight of one congregation, had the fuperin- tendancy of many congregations ; that is, when his one congregation, on account of the increafe of profelytes, was fplit into feveral, and when the habit of applying the word in the fingular number to the whole of a bifliop's charge, prevailed over ftrift propriety, and the primitive ufe of the term. This prepared men for a ftill farther extenfion of the name to all the congregations of a province under the fame metropolitan, and afterwards to all thofe of a civil diocefe under the fame patriarch or exarch. * I now intend to point out another fllll more remarkable deviation ; a deviation not from the latter, as thofe now mentioned were, but from the former of the two primitive fenfes, whereby THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 145 the word is applied to the Chriftian common- wealth. Then it means, as is pretended, either the church colledive, that is, the whole commu- nity of Chriftians, or the church reprefentative, that is, fay fome, the whole clerical orders, fay others, the church judicatories, efpecially the fu- preme. And this, I acknowledge, is a diftin6lion that is favoured not only by thofe of the Romifh communion, but by moil fedls of Proteftants alfo. To many, however, and I acknowledge myfelf one of the number, it is manifefl, that it is no lefs a novelty than the former, having no foundation in the fcriptural ufage. * The Hebrew word Slip exactly correfponds to the Greek iKKXna-ix, and is commonly rendered by it in the feptuagint, the only Greek tranflation of the Old Te (lament in ufe in the days of our Saviour* Its idiom and phrafeology was confe- quently become the flandard, in all matters that concerned religion, to all the Jewifh writers who ufed the Greek language, and were commonly diftinguilhed by the name of Hellenifts. From them the term was originally borrowed by the penmen of the New Teftament. From their manner of ufing it, therefore, the general mean- ings of the word are to be fought. But though the phrafes b^^tl/^ hnp SD in Hebrew, and TTxa-x I) iKKXviTix la-^ctix in Greek, the whole church of Ifrael, do frequently occur in the Old Teftn- ment, there is not a fingle pafTage in which they are not confefTedly equivalent to the phrafes ^1J N 146 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF T'D /K"lJi^* and tcxv ra i^vo? icr^xYiXj all the nation of Ifrael. The fame may be faid of the phrafcs CD^nSiS* '^n^ and D'nh^ oy, ; iKKh;cxA«5-;« in the New Teftani^nt, as of the word SHD in the THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 14t Old i the former being the term by which the latter had been rendered almoft imiformly in the feptuagint, and which had been employed as equivalent by all the HelleniH Jews. What I blame, therefore, in our tranflators, is the want of uniformity. They ought conftantly to have ren- dered the original expreffion, either church in the Old Teftament, or congregation m the New. Terms fo perfe6lly coincident in fignification, as thofe Hebrew and Greek names are, ought to have been tranflated by the fame Engliih word. There is one advantage at lead refulting from fuch an attention to uniformity, which is this^ that if the application of the word fhould, in a few paffages, be dubious, a comparifon with the other paflages wherein it occurs, often ferves en- tirely to remove the doubt. They are the more inexcufeable in regard to the prefent inftance, that they do not refufe the title of church to the If- raelitifti commonwealth, when an occafion of giving it occurs in the New Teftament, though they would take no occafion in the Old. Thus they have rendered the words of Stephen, who fays, fpeaking of Mofes, Ads vii. 38. *' This is he that was in the church in the wildernefs." ' But in the ufe neither of the Greek word in the New Teftament, nor of the correfpondent Hebrew word in the Old, do we find a veftige of an appli- cation of the term to a fmaller part of the com- munity, their governors, paftors, or priefts, for 148 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF itiilance, as reprefenting the whole. The only paffage, as far as I can learn, that has been, with any appearance of plaufibility, alleged for this purpofe, is Matt, xviii. 17. where our Lord, in the dIre6lions he gives for removing offences be- tween brethren, enjoins the party offended, after repeated admonitions in a more private manner have proved ineffedual, to relate the whole to the church, ciTTi m iKKXn^iu ; and it is added, " If he negledl to hear the church, let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican." Now I alk, by what rule of found criticifm Ci n we arbitrarily impofe here on the w^ord churchy the fignification of church reprefentative, a fignification which we do not find it bears in one other paffage of Scrip- ture ? To affirm, without proof, that this is the fenfe of it here, is taking for granted the very point in queftion. * But we have more than merely nesfative evi* dence that the meaning of the word is here, as in other places, no more than congregation, and that the term ought to have been rendered fo. Let it be obferved, that our Lord gave thefe diredlions during the fubfiftence of the Mofaic eftablifh- ment ; and if we believe that he fpoke intelligi- bly, or with a view to be underllood, we mull believe alfo, that he ufed the word in an accep- tation with which the hearers were acquainted. Dodwell himfelf faw the propriety of this rule of interpreting, when he faid, * * It very much con.* « * Didindlion between Soul and Spirit, See. § 7. TIfE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 149 iirms me in my reafonings, when I find an inter- pretation of the Scriptures not only agreeable to the words of the Scriptures, but agreeable alfo to the notions and fignifications of words then recei- ved. For that fenfe which was moft likely to be then underftood was, in all likelihood, the true fenfe intended by the Holy Ghoft himfelf. Other- w^ifc there could be no fecurity that his true fenfe could be conveyed to future ages, if they had been themfelves miftaken in it, to whofe under- {landing the Holy Ghoft was then particularly concerned to accommodate himfelf.' Now all the then known acceptations, as I fhewed before,, of the name exKXva-iei, were thefe two, the whole Jewifli people, and a particular congregation. The fcope of the place fufficiently fhews it could not be the former of thefe fenfes, it muft therefore be the latter. What farther confirms this inter- pretation is, that the Jews were accuftomed to call thofe afiemblies which met together for wor- fhip in the fame fynagogue by this appellation,, and had, if we may believe fome learned men converfant in Jewifh antiquities, a rule of pro- cedure (imilar to that here recommended, which our Lord adopted from the fynagogue, and tranf- planted into his church. * Another collateral and corroborative evidence, that by acKXyts-tx is here meant not a reprefenta- tive body, but the whole of a particular congre- gation, is the a£hial ufage of the churchtfor the fei-ft three hundred years. I had occafiori for— N3 150 ON THE COKSTITUTION OF merlj to remark, that as far down as Cyprian^s time, which was the middle of the third century, when the power of the people was in the decline, it continued to be the practice, that nothing in matters of fcandal and cenfure could be concluded without the confent and approval of the congre- gation. And this, as it appears to have been pretty uniform, and to have fubfifted from the beginning, is, in my opinion, the beft commen- tary which we, at this diftance, can obtain on the pafTage. ' If any impartial hearer is not fatisfied on this point, I would recommend it to him, without the aid of any commentator on either fide of the quef- tion, but with the help of proper concordances^ attentively to fearch the Scriptures. Let him- examine every paflage in the New Teftament wherein the word we render church is to be found ; let him canvafs in the writings of the Old Teftament every fentence wherein the correfpon- dent word occurs ; let him add to thefe the apo- cryphal books received by the Romanifts, which, as they were either originally written, or tranflated by Hellenifl:s, amongft whom the term DttcXwiet was in frequent ufe, muft be of fome authority in afcertaining the Jewifh acceptation of the word ; and if he find a fingle paflage wherein it clearly means either the priefthood, or the rulers of the nation, or any thing that can be called a church reprefentative, let him fairly admit the diftindion as fcriptural and proper. Other wife he cannot THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 151 admit it, in a confiflency with any juft rule of interpretation. * I obferved, in a preceding ledlure, that the term acKXna-tu, is, in fome pafTages, applied to the people, exclulively of the pallors. The fame was remarked of the word jcXngo*, (not as though thefe terms did not properly comprehend both, but becaufe, in coUedives, the name of a whole is often given to a great majority) but I have not difcovered one paflage wherein either tKKXno-itt, or xM^»Sy is applied to the paftors exclufively of the people. The notion, therefore, of a church rcprefentative, how commonly foever it has been received, is a mere ufurper of later date. And it has fared here as it fometimes does in cafes of ufurpation, the original proprietor comes, though gradually, to be at length totally difpoffelTed. Should any man now talk of the powers of the church, and of the rights of churchmen, would the hearers apprehend, that he meant the powers of a Chriftian congregation, or the rights of all who are members of the Chriftian community ? And if they (hould come to learn that this is his meaning, would they not be apt to fay, ' It is pity that this man, before he attempts to fpeak on thefe fubjefts, does not learn to fpeak intelli- gibly, by conforming to the current ufe of the language ?' It is therefore not without reafon that I affirin, that the more modern acceptation, though an intruder, has jollied out the rightful and pri- mitive one almoU entirely. But as every man. 152 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF who would be underftood, is under a neceflity or employing words according to the general ufe of the time prefent, Quern penes arbitri'um eft, et jus, et norma loquendl ; when I employ^ for the future, any of the words affeded by this remark, I am always, unlefs when the connexion indicates the contrary, to be underftood as ufing them in the fenfe in which they are now commonly received. Only by the dedudion that has been given of the origin of the change, we may perceive, that from what is faid in relation to the church in Scripture, nothing can juftly be concluded in fupport of church autho- rity, or the privileges of church-men, in the fenfe which thefe terms generally have at prefent *.' The Roman Catholics maintain, that by the church is meant the Pope f , and confider the * Campbell's Ledures on Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, vol.i. p 319, -3.8. f * Thofe paflages wherein Chrift feems to give authority to the church, as that wherein he fays, that it is the pillar arul hafis of the truth, and that other, Let him who ivill not hear the church be to thee as a heathen and a publican, are all to be un- derftood of its head, which is the Pope.' See the fpeech of P'a- ther Lainez at the Council of Trent, apud Campbell Eccl. Hift. vol. ii. p. KJp. * With regard to the church, he (Wickliff) was not fond of applying the words church and churchmen merely to the clergy. As thefe were often men of bad lives, he thought fuch applica- tion a vile proftitution of thefe facred names. Befides, it had bad influence, he thought, upon the laity, feeming to exclude them from the pale oi Cbrilt's church, and to give them a difpo- THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 153 precept, " If he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as a heathen man and a publican," to imply the fubmiffion which- is to be paid to his authority, on pain of excommunication. While the importance of the office of an elder is much infilled upon in Scripture, there is not the fmalleft countenance given to any authority- over the people, fimilar to that which the clergy^ as they are called, have ufurped. The elders are, as we Ihall fee, to put the laws of Chrill in exe- cution, but only with confent, and in prefence of the church. The principal objedion againft the word church always denoting, in the New Teftament, a fmgle congregation, is drawn from the account in Scrip- ture of the church at Jerufalem. Three thoufand perfons were converted <3ii the day ot FelltGcOii, and foon after many more, A6b ii. 41. 47. iv. 4. y. 14. How could fuchlSiiiiiiSiSilii. meet in que congregation ? ;| We are but imperfectly ^acquainted with the flate of things at Jerufalem. The temple-worlhip was completely different from any thing among us. Vaft crowds of Jews came up to the great feafts from every part of Judea and the adjacent countries. We have no reafon to fuppofe that the fition for licentious pra<5lice. If they were not of Chrift's churchy they were not under Chrift's law*. He would never, therefore, have any idea fixed to the word church, but that of the whole body of Chriftians.' — Gilpin's Life of Wickliff, page 59. Lond. T766. 154 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF thoufands who believed were all fixed inhabitants of Jerufalem. Although, doubtlefs, thofe who were converted would incline to continue with the apoRles, yet we cannot fuppofe that they could with propriety remain there, while their families and occupations demanded their prefence at their own abodes. They would return, and tell what great things God had done for them, and thus the foundation of new churches would be laid. Ar- guments arifing from fuppofed difficulties, are al- ways to be received with caution, for there may be circumftances, in affairs fo remote, of which we are ignorant, which, if known, would make all plain. We learn from Jofephus, that the multitude who aflembled in the temple was immenfe. He fays, (Jewifh War, Bookvi. chap. 9. J that Cef- tius, under Nero, diredled the high priefts to take the number of the^^nhabitants of Jerufalem at the time of the paffover. They found the facri- fices to be 256,500, which, allowing ten perfons to each vi6lim (the ordinary number), amounts to 2,565,000 perfons, pure according to the rites of the law, dedu6ting thofe who by uncleannefles could not partake at this feaft. He elfewhere eftimates the number of thofe who aflembled at the feaft of the paflover at 3,000,000 *, a number to which the ufual refident inhabitants bore no proportion. The difciples at Jerufalem conti- nued to join in the temple- worfhip, Ads iii. 1. * Book ii. chap. 14. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES, 155 and of courfe might have been efteemed a new fed; of Jews. We know * that heathen writers, as Suetonius and Tacitus, thought them fuch. This may have been the cafe, and where an ob- je6lion is brought from an alleged impoflibility, it is fufficient to fhew how the accounts may be reconciled. There are difficulties in reconciling the various accounts of our Lord's appearances after his refurredlion ; but every Chriftian believes they perfectly harmonize, although, from the con- cifenefs of the narrative, he may not be able to point out the precife order of events. In an- fwering the cavils of infidels on this fubje£l:, it has been thought fufficient to fhew how the va- rious accounts may be made to agree, without affirming that an exa6t account is given of the matter f. If, then, from the ftate of the Jewiffi worffiip, the Chriftians may probably have all met toge- ther in the temple, this ought to be deemed a fufficient anfwer to an argument founded entirely on the fuppofed difficulty of the cafe. Befides, it is furely very improper to allege any difficulties whatever, in oppofition to exprefs divine tefti- mony. We have not a hint in Scripture, of the church of Jerufalem being divided into feparate congregations. It is, on the contrary^ uniformly fpoken of as one congregation, in the following words of the Holy Ghoft. " The fame day were * Claudius, cap 25. Annal. lib. xv. cap. 44. Y See Scott's Anfwer to Paine. 156 OK THE CONSTITUTION OP added unto them above three thoufand fouls. And they continued ftedfaftly in the apoftles doftrine and fello wlhip, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers," Afts ii. 41, 42. " And all that believed were toge- ther," ver. 44. *' And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple," ver. 46. ''And the Lord added to the church daily fuch as fhould be faved," ver. 47. '' And when they had prayed, the place was fhaken where they were alTembled to- gether. And the multitude of them that belie- ved were of one heart and of one foul," A6ls iv. 31, 32. " And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch *. And of the reft durft no man join himfelf to them ; but the people mag- nified them," Ads v. 12, 13. *' And in thofe days, when the number of the difciples was mul- tiplied, there arofe a murmuring of the Grecians againft the Hebrews. Then the twelve called the multitude of the difciples unto them, and faid, It is not meet that we fhould leave the word of God, and ferve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you feven men of honeft re- port, whom we may appoint over this bufinefs. * We are here exprefsly informed, that they all aflembled in Solomon's porch. To this it has been objecled, that the place was not fufficiently large to hold fo many, as is evident from the dimenfions of the porch built by him, i Chron. iii, 4- But it no where appears that this porch was the fame place wkich went by the name of Solomon in our Lord's time. We are fure that this place was capable of containing a great multitude. Under a fermon preached there, at lead two thoufand were converted, Adlsiii. II. iv. 4, THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 157 And the faying pleafed the whole nnultitude : and thej chofe Stephen, &.c. whom they fet before the apoftles," Ads vi. 1, 2, 3. 5, 6. *' The day following, Paul went in with us to James ; and all the elders were prefentr And they faid unto him, The multitude mull needs come together ; for they will hear that thou art come," A£l:s xxi. 18. 22. ** And when they were come to Jerufa- lem, they were received of the church, and of the apoflles and elders. But there rofe up certain of the fe6t of the Pharifees which believed, faying— And the apoftles and elders came together for to confider of this matter. Then all the multitude kept lilence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul. And after they had held their peace, James anfwered, faying. Men and brethren, hearken un- to me. Then it pleafed the apoftles and elders, with the whole church, to fend chofen men of their own company to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas," Adis xv. 4, 5, 6. 12, 13. 22. Let any one judge what is the plain and obvious import of thefe pafTages. Do they not all exprefs or imply, that the believers at Jerufalem were one undivided body, aflembling in one place for the worlhip of God ? By whatever rule of interpre- tation this is denied, the moft important fads and doftrines of the gofpel may be fet afide. From the view we have taken of the conftitu- tion of the apoftolic churches, it appears, that although embarked in the fame caufe, they muft have been completely independent of each other, O l-$8 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF Jefiis has not even permitted an individual to transfer to a church the fubje6iion which is only due to himfelf. Far iefs can we fuppofe, that he has given one church, or churches, dominion over others. If the diftiaftion Hated between the obje^s of a church, and thofe of any civil aflo- ciation be attended to, it will be evident that fuch an order of things would greatly retard, inftead of promoting the end which Chrift had in view in appointing churches. This is incompatible with the exercife of human authority or coercion. Here is an internal argument which is fufficient to fettle the difpute. But can any thing be found in Scripture to countenance the idea of the dependence of con- gregations of faints upon one another ? In vain do we look for it. Paul did not order the churches of Achaia to corred the abufes of the church of Corinth, although it was lituated in that region. He wrote to the church itfelf, which is exprefsly faid to have been a congre- gation of faints coming together into one place to obferve the ordinances of Chrift, l Cor. xi. 20. If regard to the authority of Chrift did not lead them to corredt abufes, they were incorrigible. No other authority could be of any avail. It would then have been evident that they had de- parted from the faith, and the only means of re- covering them would have been to have again preached the gofpel to them as unbelievers. But in coafe^uence of the alliance of what has THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 159 been called . the church and the ftate, and the maxims of the latter being applied to the former, Chriflians have connefted the idea of diforder with the want of compulfory power, and have fought for fome warrant in Scripture for the eftablifh- ment of fpiritual courts ; that is, courts exa^lly refembling civil judicatories, to decide on the concerns of a fpiritual kingdom, and to enforce obedience to their decrees by authority. On the foundation of the account given us, A£l:s xv. of a meeting of the church of Jerufalem, with the apoftles and elders, a pallagc wholly inapplicable to the purpofc, has been built the theory of fy- nods and councils, compofed of the reprefentatives of various churches, to fettle the order of the churches within their bounds *. According to Prefbyterians, this was an af- fembly, or, in their language, a fynod compo- fed of the reprefentatives of different churches* Nay, they point out to us fome of the members. The late worthy Mr Brown of Haddington thus paraphrafes Paul's words : " But neither Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcifed," Gal. ii. 3. * But to manifeft how ftedfailly I adhered to my principles relative to the freedom of the gofpel ftate, and how far I was from giving the leaft countenance to the fup- pofed neceffity of obferving the law of Mofes as * See this fubjedl fully confidered in Reafons of Separation from the EftabliOied Church, by Mr Innes, and in an Expoluioi^ of. Ads XV, by Mr Ewing, 160 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF a condition of juftlfication before God, Titus, who was a Gentile, was admitted as a minifter of Chrift, and a member of the fynod, without be- ing circumcifed.' If we attend to the account given of the meet- ing at Jerufalem, it feems a very fimple narra- tive, penned for an obvious and important purpofc, and giving no fan6lion either to fynod or council. We learn from A6ls xiii. xiv. that Paul and Bar- nabas being called by the Holy Ghofl to go upon a miflion, were recommended to the grace oS God by the church at Antioch, by prayer, falling, and laying on of hands. - Having fulfilled the work, they returned ; and having affembled the church, they rehearfed all which God had done with them, and efpecially how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. Soon after this, certain Jews came from Jerufalem, who inform- ed the Gentile Chriflians at Antioch, that ex- cept they were circumcifed, and kept the law of Mofes, they could not be faved. Paul and Barnabas, who had been employed and qualified to declare to the Gentiles the whole counfel of God, had no fmall diflenfion and difputation w^it.h' 'them, but flill they maintained their error. What was to be done ? If the Jewifli teachers . were right, the Gentile converts at Antioch were yjet in their fins. It was agreed on all hands, that ,the word of the Lcrd Md founded out from Je- rufalem. - The apoftles were ftill there, who were the choferi witftefles of the death and re- THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES, 16 1 furredion of Chrlft, A£ls x. 41. to whom, in a particular manner, the promife of the Spirit was given to guide them into all the truth, John xvi. 13. ; to whom, then, could they fo properly ap- ply? It is true, Paul was not inferior to the chief of the apoftles, although he had not been called to attend our Lord while he was upon earth. He had learned the gofpel, and the whole will and counfel of God, by the immediate revelation of Jefus Chrift, but he was the apoftle of the Gen- tiles, and but little known to the brethren in Judea. He was looked upon with a jealous eye by many of his countrymen, who were not dif- pofed to acquiefce in his decilion* He had already- delivered his fentiments, and it was of much im- portance that it Ihould be fully proved that he and the other apoftles were guided by the fame Spirit, Gal. ii. 6, 7, S. efpecially as circumcifion was pra6tifed by Chriftians at Jerufalem. Ac- cordingly the church at Antioch determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other brethren, ihould go up to. Jerufalem, that the difpute might be decided. On their arrival, they v^ere received of the church, and of the apoftles and elders. ' Thefe came together to confider the queftion of the. neceflity of circumcifion to falvation. After much difputing *, (fimilar to what had formerly * This d'fputing coa'd not be amongfl th« apoft'es, who, irs- ©rdcring the affairs of the church, were under tite infallible di- 03 1^2' 0*1^ tHE CONSTITUTION OF tak^fiv place at Antioch) between Paul and Bar- .naWs and the Jewifli brethren, Peter and James delivered their opinion. This was adopted una- nimoufly, ver. 22. and letters were written in the name of the apoftles, the elders, a;nd the whole church, declaring, not merely the opi- nion of a church that the Gentiles fliould not be circumcifed, but the decree and determination of the Holy Ghoft *. Thus was the queftion finally fettled, and the fentence inferted as a part of that Scripture which cannot be broken. Circumcifion tvas a folemn ordinance of God, and it was there- fore proper that it, as well as the law of Mofes, fliould thus publicly be declared to be no longer neceffary for the acceptable worfhippers of Jeho- vah. Had there not been a revelation from God on this fubje£^, it is more than probable that dif- ference of pra£tice, as to circumcifion, might have redlion of the Holy Ghoft, and never differed in their docflrine; and yet it has been alleged to be fimilar to the debates which take place in church courts * The exprelTion, it feemed good to the Holy Gho/l, does not appear to refer to the Spirit as guiding the apoftles, but to the teftimony quoted by fames from the wCH-d of God, concerning the Gentiles being received into the church. At every period Gentiles might be circumcifed and incorporated with Ifrael ; but their being-ftill fpoken of by the Holy Ghoft as Gentiles, while the nanoe of God was called upon them, implied that they were true vvorfliippers of God, and yet not incorporated into the Jew- iHi church If we apply the expreflion, however, to the Spirit by. which the apoftles were direifled, it will follow, that no fynod of uninfpired men can claim this as a precedent for their decrees being received. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 163 continued among Chriftians to this day ; but, by this decifion, the Jews were gradually prepared for laying it alide. It is evident, then, that this meeting bears nd refemblance to a modern fynod, compofed of re- prefentatives from different pariflies or congrega- tions, affembling for the purpofe of hearing ap- peals on cafes of difcipline, as well as on other things, and by their authority fettling any points of difference which may have arifen in thefe. Paul and others were there from Antioch, not as judges, but to obtain the decifion of the apollles. Indeed this council, as fome call it, wovild rather authorize appeals to a particular church, an argu- ment which has not efcaped the church of Rome*, * Eckius, the famous adverfary of Luther, nfed the very fame weapons againft that Reformer, which Preflayterians employ againft congregational government, * The apoftles and elders convened,' fays he. ' The Gentiles did not oppofe themfelves to the apoftles, in like manner as Luther to the councils, faying, * By what authority — By what Scripture do ye tliis ? Why do ye de- prive us of the liberty conferred on us by Chrift ?' For although during the deliberation (i. e. this recorded in A(fls xv.) they ci- ted that paffage in the 9th chapter of Amos, yet refpeiling the three things prohibited they brought in nothing, and alfo re- fpedling the decifion they adduced no paffage of Scripture — At Antioch they received the things concluded on at Jtrufalem. but Luther rejecfls the things concluded on at Rome. It appears, then, at this time, that a council had power to determine that fome things vvre neceffary which were not fimply neceffary for faith. Why (hoc td not the fame power abide in the church, fince neceflity always requires it ?' See a very fcarce and cu- rious book, entitled, ' Enchiridion Locorum Communium adver- fus Lutherum et alios Hoftes Ecclcfiae,' Paris, 1572. p. i^. — It 164 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF and thus gives a fairer fandlion to Popery than to Prefbytery. It may appear flrange, that if a revelation was to be given refpedling this matter, the whole church ftiould be joined in the decree of the apof- tles, or that they and their elders, as well as the apoflles, fhould be called together to confult. But by this means a great end was gained. The church heard all that could be faid upon the fubjed, to- gether with the decifion of the chofen witnefTes and ambaffadors of Chrift, and thus, no doubt, would be difpofed the more readily to embrace uncircumcifed Gentiles as brethren in Chrift. The apoflles well knew their fuperiority over others in the church, and, on proper occafions, boldly alTerted it ; but they avoided this without necefllty. It was their delight not to command but to entreat, Phil. 8, 9. ; and hence Peter, when addrefling elders, prefers the title of elder, that he might not feem to afliime fuperiority, 1 Pet, v. 1. For the fame reafon they added in the decree, the elders and the churchy juft as Paul in his epiftles frequently joins fome of his brethren to himfelf ; but no one fuppofes that this im- peaches the authority of the epiftle, or that it implies Timothy, Softhenes, or the brethren who were with him. Gal. i. 2. to have been infpired. would be cafy to quote from this book, on every part of the ar» gument, reafonings of perfectly fimilar tendency with thofe which are every day employed in defence of exclulivc clerical authority in national churches. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 165 Although much has been fald on this paflage of Scripture, as fan6tioning appeals to fjnods, £ic. few perfons at prefent attempt to mamtain it. Indeed the independency of the firft churches is generally admitted by the moll candid and able commentators, and by the writers of eccleliaftical hiftory. * The churches in thofe early times,' fays Molheim, ' were entirely independent, none of them fubjeft to any foreign jurifdi£lion, but each one governed by its own rulers and its own laws. For though the churches founded by the apoftles had this particular deference fliewn them, that they were confulted in difficult and doubtful cafes, yet they had no juridical autho- rity, no fort of fupremacy over the others, nor the leaft right to ena<5l laws for them. Nothing, on the contrary, is more evident, than the perfeft equality that reigned among the primitive churches ; nor does there ever appear in this firft century, the fmalleft trace of that aflbciation of provincial churches, from which councils and metropolitans derive their origin. It was only in the fecond century that the cuftom of holding councils com- menced in Greece, from whence it foon fpread through the other provinces The meeting of the church of Jerufalem mentioned in the xvth chapter of the A(3:s, is commonly confidered as the firft Chrijlian council. But this notion arifes from a manifeft abufe of the word council. That'' meeting was only of one church, and if fuch a meeting be called a council^ it will follow that 166 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF there were innumerable councils in the primitive times. But every one knows, that a council is an alTembly of deputies or commiflioners lent from feveral churches aflociated by certain bonds in a general body, and therefore the fuppolition above mentioned falls to the ground*. If we cannot find the divine right of claflical prefbytery, fynods, &c. in Afts xv. in vain fhall we look for it elfewhere in the word of God. The common defence of this-fyftem in thefe days is, that we are not bound to follow the example of the apoftolic churches, but are left, in a great meafure, to our own difcretion in thefe matters. The late Dr Hardy, a minifter of the church of Scotland, and Profeflbr of Ecclefiaftical Hiftory in the Univerfity of Edinburgh, an authorifed in- llrudtor of thofe training for the miniftry, fcru- pled not publicly, in his lectures, to treat with 'ridicule the idea of the order of that church being prefcribed in Scripture f. Some have been apprehenlive that the Indepen- dency of the churches muft prevent their union * Mofheim's Ecclefiaftlcal Hiftory, cent- T. part. ii. chap. a« See alio on this fubjecfl, the quotations from Modieim, * De Re- bus Chriftianorum ante Conftantinum/ at the end of Mr Ewing's- Expudtion before referred to. f He was in the ufe of telling his ftadents, that fynod fermons ufed formerly to be divided into four heads, proving the divine right, I. of kirk feflions — 2. of prefbyteries — 3. of fynods — 4. of general aflemblies . — What a pity, faid he, that the preachers fjiould have forgot to prove the divine right of the coraraitteess of overtures and bills \ \ THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 167 and co-operation. Union of churches is highly- important, and muft take place in as far as reli- gion profpers among them. If they are guided by the word of God, they will have the fame end in view, and confequently muft be united. But in order to union in religion being beneficial, it muft be voluntary. As love is the perfed and only bond by which the members of a church are connected, this is fufficient for uniting different churches. Love alone can produce ufeful co« operation amongft them. Confidering the rela- tion in which they ftand to each other, it is highly important that by mutual good offices they fhould cultivate brotherly love. This may be done by their giving and receiving advice ; by their pray- ing for each other, efpecially when any thing dif- ficult or important occurs ; by their joining to promote the fpread of the gofpel ; by their fend- ing melTengers to each other, as we find the apof- tolic churches did, 2 Cor. viii. 23. ; by their com- municating to each others necefiities, and by many- things fimilar. Such correfpondence is calculated to have the happieft eftecls, while it allows the moft perfect liberty and independence to each church. Stimulated by mutual love, the firft churches CO operated in relieving the poor faints at Jerufa- lem, and the fame principle will lead the churches of Chrift to CO- operate in whatever tends to pro- mote the Redeemer's will and glory. The influ- ence of human authority, whether vefted in a 168 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF Pope, a Patriarch, a bench of Bifhops, or a Ge- neral Aflembly of clergymen, is but a poor fub- llitute for this. Even voluntary aflbciations to regulate the order of churches in a certain diftridt are unfcriptural. One church may advife another as well as an individual may advife an individual, but any attempt to influence by authority the order of any church, is a departure from Scripture, and never ckn be attended with good effefts. It may be alleged, that if a church has not fome body of men to controul it, they will be apt to a6l improperly and partially. All men are liable to err, and every church needs the conftant care of the great Shepherd. But this care he ever exercifes. He has promifed to be in the midft of them when met in his name. If we view a church merely like other focieties, they may be confidered to be equally prone to err, and we may imagine it might be an advantage to have unprejudiced perfous to appeal to ; but as God promifed to Ifrael of old a fpecial fuperintendance, fo has Jefus to his churches. It was never in- tended that they fhould go on without it, and this is calculated to keep up a fpirit of dependence on himfelf, without which no church can profper We have thus traced from Scripture the confli- tution of the apoftolic churches. This is fo plainly delineated in the word of God, that many of the beft informed men in churches of an oppo- fite defcription condemn their own pradice, by THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 169 freely admitting the view which has been here given. We may learn, from what has been faid, the nature of a true church of Chrift, refpe£ling which there have been many difputes. It is a fociety formed for the fame purpofe as the churches planted by the apoftles, and whofe conllitution is the fame with theirs. Deviation from thefe ren- ders a fociety unworthy of the name. The gofpel may be preached, and fome other ordinances ad- miniflered, as baptifm and the Lord's fupper, and ftill a religious aflembly where this takes place, and in which there may be many Chriftians, may not be a church of Chrift. Fellowftiip-meetings, which have long cxifted in this country, more nearly refemble churches of Chrift than many great bodies which have affu- med the name. Thefe are voluntary aflbciations for mutual edification. They are compofed only of fuch as appear to one another to be faints. A certain difcipline is maintained in them, and they only need to obferve other ordinances to render them complete. It is worthy of obfervation, that the members of many fuch meetings would on no account admit to this private fellowfliip the great body of thofe whom they avouch to be brethren, by joining wuth them in fhewing forth the Lord's death. We may here obferve how much the Lord has countenanced what came neareft his own ordi- iiance. Perhaps the edification of Chriftians has P 170 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF been more promoted by thefe meetings, than by any other means which thofe connedted with them have enjoyed ; and the comfort which be- lievers have there enjoyed, in fellow(hip together, has prepared the minds of many for coming out of mifcriptural churches. It is not to be won- dered at, that from the beginning they have been regarded by thefe churches with a jealous eye. This was the cafe even in an early and a com- paratively pure period of the church of Scotland. * During their want of faithful minifters, many ferious people,' fays Mr Brown, ' in Scotland and Ireland, had met together on Sabbaths and other occafions for prayer and fpiritual confe- rence. Some, before tliey were driven from Ire- land, had been a little infeded with Brownifm from England, and had inclined to join the Inde- pendents in New- England. Thefe brought along with them fome of their fingularities, which were overlooked on account of their remarkable piety, till an appearance thereof happened in the charge of Henry Guthry of Stirling, afterward worthlefs biftiop of Dunkeld. The laird of Lecky, a man remarkable for knowledge and ferious godlinefs, and who had been a dillinguifhed fufFerer under the late bifliops, much encouraged fellowfhip- meetings for prayer and Chriilian conference. Several of his neighbours, who could not read themfelves, or who thought his manner more edifying than their own, attended his family- worfhip. Some, who probably came as fpies, THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 171 alleged, that in prayer he ufed feme expreffions not duly honourable to Guthry his minifler. Guthry imnnediately profecuted Lecky before his prefbytery, andgot fellowftiip-meetings condemn- ed as prejudicial to the Handing office of the mi- niftry, and got the magiftrates to extirpate them from the place. Not fatisfied with this, he la- boured to have them utterly aboliflied from the nation ; and by colle6ling and exaggerating re- ports of their imprudencies, he drew Mr Hender- fon and Mr Calderwood, who had feen the Brown- iilical diforders in Holland, and fome other lead- ing clergymen, to his fide. In the AlTembly 1638, he had attempted to foift in a complaint againft thefe meetings. But MefTrs J. Livingfton^ S. Rutherfoord, and D. Dickfon, and others, un- willing that many ferious faints fhould be publicly difcredited for the imprudence of a few, got the affair kept from any public hearing ; and it was agreed that Guthry fhould preach up the duty of family- worfhip, upon which he faid thefe meet- ings encroached, and that the eminently pious MefTrs Blair, Livingflon, and M'Lellan, who be- friended fuch focieties, fhould preach againfl night- meetings, and the abufes complained of. Their foft and Chriflian methods of correcting or pre- venting fuch abufes not pleafing Guthry, who hated to fee or hear of any others more ferious than himfelf, he continued to exclaim againfl thefe meetings in general. To quench this flame of contention, Meifrs Henderfon and Borthwick 172 ON THE CONSTITUTION OF upon the one fide, and Dickfon and Blair upofi the other, held a folemn conference on the pointi Henderfon drew up a paper of regulations or caveats for fuch meetings, bearing, That the members fhould be few, and fuch as were proper to meet together ; that the meetings fhould not interfere with public or family-worfhip, or rela- tive duties, nor be held in the night ; that they jliould be occafional, and no wife tending to fepa- rate the members from the reft of the congrega- tion ; that no impertinent queftions, nor uncha- ritable judging of others fhould be allowed in them ; that if any members in them had any ob- jedlion againft the common form of public wor- ihip, (as bowing in the pulpit, and finging the Gloria Patri)^ they fliould difcreetly lay them before the perfons concerned ; and finally, that all things relative to them fhould be conduced with holinefs, prudence, humility, and charity. This gave general fatisfadlion. But Guthry and his alTiftants, pretending that caveats brought in bifhops, pufhed the matter into this northern af- fembly, in which they expelled their friends to be ftrongeft. Guthry poured forth torrents of accufation againfl the abfent Lecky, and the fo- ciety meetings. Simfon of Bathgate feconded him ; and in the moft outrageous manner up- braided Rutherfoord, Livingfton, and M'Lellan, as encouragers of them. Supported by the Earl of Seaforth, and many of the northern clergy, Guthry and his faction thought to have carried an THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 173 atSt for the utter fuppreffion of them. But Dick- fon, Baillie, Rutherfoord, and others, fo warmly oppofed them, that they could only get it ena6t- ed, That people fhould obferve family- worlhip with the members of the family alone ; that reading of prayers is lawful, where none can pray extempore j that none but preachers fliall explaia Scripture j and that no innovation relative to the time, matter, or manner of religious worlhip, or the number or quality of joiners in it, be intro- duced without allowance from the Aflembly *.' CHAPTER Vr. OP THE CHARACTER OF THOSE WHO COMPOSED THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. Section I. I t was impoffible to confider the con- ilitution of the apoftolic churches, without, in fome meafure, anticipating our prefent fubjeft. What was faid in the former chapter, clearly * Hiftory of the Church of Scotland, vol. ii. p. i8i, — 1S3. by~ the late Mr Brcwn of Haddington. Glafg* 17S4. P3 IT4 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS lliews of what kind of perfons the apoflolic churches were cotnpofed. If the intention of Jefus in appointing that churches ftiould be col- leded, was to^ feparate between his own people and the reft of the world, it follows, that the members ought to be fuch as are his difciples. The manner in which they are to be governed, proves this with equal certainty* This is the worft pofiible for any fociety who are not his difciples. It leaves room for whifpering, ' fwel- lings, tumults, and divifions, and does not com- mit fufficient power to any individual, or to the church, to fupprefs thefe in perfons who are not under the influence of the authority of Chrift, It is well adapted, and fufficiently ftrong to curb the renmining corruption of real Chriftians ; but never being intended for worldly men, the only diredlion a church has refpeding fuch, or thofe who in their manners refemble them, and will- fen to admonition, is to put them away. , ^-formerly quoted the vlfion contained in the /fad chapters of Ezekiel*s prophecies, and obferved, that allt^fepgh we do not fully underlland it, this inui refer.\o the times of the gofpel. While there ,, M;^'--coii:iff:ant allufion to the temple- worfhip, there *i'-3re^^many things entirely different from, nay op- pdfite to this. Of this defcription is the following : " And thou fhalt fay to the rebellious, even io the houfe of ICrael, Thus faith the Lord, O ye ; houfe of Ifrael, let it fuffice you of all your abo- minations^ in that ye have brought into my fane- or THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. llS tuary ftrangers uncircumcifed in heart, and un- circumcifed in flefh, to be in my fan^luary to pollute it, even my houfe, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have bro- ken my covenant, becaufe of all your abomina- tions. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things ; but ye have fet keepers of my charge in my fanftuary for yourfelves. Thus faith the Lord God, No ftranger uncircumcifed in heart, nor uncircumcifed in flerh, fhall enter into my fanftu- ary, of any ftranger that is among the children of Ifrael," Ezek. xliv, 6, 7, 8, 9. On this paffage Mr Scott moft juftly obferves, * The introduftion of ftrangers that had not been circumcifed, to eat of the peace-offerings and oblations, or even to eat the fat and the blood, of which none ought to have eaten, would have been a grofs violation of the Mofaic law. But the uncircumcifed in hearty as well as in flefh, are here mentioned *, and there vras no law to exclude unregenerate perfbns, who were circumcifed, and rituaily clean, from the or- dinances of the temple : fo that this muft denote a different conftitution ; and it feems to refer to the proftitution of the Chriftian facraments, by admitting ungodly perfons to them, who come from fecular motives, or in hypocrify, to partake of them ; and to the admifTion of fuch perfons into the miniftry, as feek nothing but the emolu- ment ; which things are the fcandal, and threaten the ruin of the Proteftaut churches, as well as others. Thus God's covenant is broken, and ita 176 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS feals, and the moft facred inftitutions of Chri- llianity, are proftituted, fecularized, and abufed ; the charge of the moft holy things is negleded, and keepers are placed over the charge of God in the fan£luary, to pleafe the humours, to flatter the pride, or to fubferve the lufts of men. Such abufes will be terminated when this prophecy fhall be fulfilled.' In his practical obfervations on the fame paffage, he fays, ' Then the glory of the Lord filleth his fan£luary, and his people adore him •with humble gratitude ; and we fhoiild carefully meditate on thefe goings of our God and King, and hearken to all that he fays to us concerning the ordinances and laws of his houfe ; and we ihould mark well the entrance into his courts, and all the goings out of them. Thus we Ihall be able to fee how rebellioufly even profefTed Chriftians have proftituted his facraments and the facred miniftry, by throwing them open to ftran- gers, enemies, and evidently unregenerate perfons,. to the difgrace of the gofpel, the grief of true be- lievers, the diflionour of God, and the encourage- ment of wicked men. Alas, they to w^hom thefe charges have been committed, have not kept them, but have profaned them for fecular intereft or carnal aflfedtion, to feed hungry relatives, or to enrich or humour ungodly connedions. Or men have heaped to themfelves flattering teachers after their own lufts ; or they have made the feals of God's covenant the paflfport to prefer- ment. Thefe are grofs violations of the cove- OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 177 nant, and great abominations, of which it fhould fuffice all the parties concerned. They have always been the ruin of vital godlinefs, in pro- portion as they have prevailed, and, alas, they prevail almofl univerfally.' Thefe remarks are moft juft and appofite. The eld covenant was written on tables of ftone, but God promifed a new covenant, to be written on the flefhly tables of the hearts of his people ; and thofe alone are to be acknowledged as members of his churches, who fhew by their fruits that fuch is their chara£ler. That the churches planted by the apoftles were compofed of fuch as they deemed real believers, will appear by confi^'tinr^ the addrefles of the dif- ferent epiftlts. *' Par!, to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called faints : To the church of God at Corinth, to them that a /e fandlified in Chrift Jefus, called faints : To the faints which are at Ephefus, and the faithful in Chrift Jefus ; To the faints in Chrift Jefus which are at Phi- lippi : Peter, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us.'* &c. &.c. No doubt falfe brethren unawares crept in among them, Gal. ii. 4. It was not neceflary that the apoftles fliould be infallible in judging of chara6lers ; they might be miftaken. Im- preflions which appeared to be made by the Spirit of God might wear off. We have Paul's explicit teftimony concerning the church of Philippi. It was compofed of fuch in whom the apoftle was 178 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS bound to believe that God had begun a good work ; and he declares it to be meet for him to think this of them all, chap. i. 7. The fame is manifeft by the whole tenor of all the other epiflles. To adduce all the proofs of this which might be brought, would be to tran- fcribe the whole of them. Every allufion to the manner in which they were collected ; every de- fcription of the character of the members ; every exhortation ; every rebuke and warning given them, could only, with propriety, be addrefled to believers. They had put off the old man with his deeds, Col. iii. 9. were all the children of light and the day, 1 Theff. v. 5. were temples of the Holy Ghoft, 1 Cor. vi. 19. They were to purge out the old leaven, that they might be a new lamp unleavened, 1 Cor. v. 7. to beware left any root of bitternefs fpring up to trouble them, and thereby many be defiled *. The Lord condemns one church for having fome among them that held the do6lrine of Balaam, and com- mends another which could not bear them who were evil. Rev. ii. In the epiftle to the Corinthians we have a very flrong teftimony for the neceffity of purity of com- munion. The apollle, 1 Cor. iii. 9, — 17. com- pares the church of Corinth to a building of which he had laid the foundation ; and proceeds to warn thofe who might fucceed him, how they carried up the building, from the confideration of * Compare Heb. xii. 15, i5, 17, with Deut. xxix, iS, OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 179 the confequences to themfelves. Members might be added to the church who v^ere/aved^, and who gave evidence of this : thefe he reprefents under the emblem of gold, filver, precious ftones j or men deftitute of the truth might be received, whom he compares to wood, hay, ftubblef . Al- though the difference might not immediately ap- pear, yet he warns them that the great day would difcover how they had a6ted : *' If any man's work abide which he Ihall build thereon, he fhali receive a reward. If any man's work fliall be burned, he fhall fufFer lofs, yet he himfclf fhall be faved, yet fo as by fire," ver. 13, 14. Real believers would be the crown of joy and rejoicing to him by whom they w^ere added to the church ; but others would not ftand the fiery trial, and therefore, although the builder of fuch, who was himfelf a Chriftian, might be faved, yet his work ihould be burned, and his joy impaired. Having thus warned thofe who might fucceed him, of the lofs they fhould fuffer by adding to the church improper members through inatten- * 7a5 ^s impoffible to refill the force of the argu- ments which prove that the apoftolic churche? confided of men really converted to God ; but ma- ny Chrifliaub having connected themfelves with focieties of a complexion entirely different from the primitive churches, have ufed much ingenuity to jullify themfelves, by attempting to prove, as 188 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS- far as they are able, the low ftate of religion in the apoftolic churches. What is faid by the apoftles Peter and Jude concerning ungodly and impure profeflbrs, has been alleged to prove the mixture of characters in thefe churches. In every age there have been men profefling religion, who were enemies to the crofs of Chrift. In regard to fueh we have fuf- iicient directions, 1 Cor. v.. 11. and Timothy is commanded to turn axvay from fuch, although they had a form of godlinefs, 2 Epifl. iii. 5. Do Peter and Jude contradict Paul ? Did they ad-- drefs churches confiiLing of fuch charaders ? or,, do they not mention the charaClexs of thefe wick- ed men,, to guard the churches againft them ? Why did they call them fpots *, ver. 12. when they feafted with them, if not to lead them to look diligently to the characters of thofe with- w^hom they aiTociated ? But it appears from the epiftle of Jude, that thefe men had gone out from the churches of Chrift. They could not, it feems,. endure the wholefome difdpline eflablilhed by the apoftles. "Thefe are they who feparate them- felves, fenfual, {^vxi^ot, natural men^ having not . the Spirit," Jude 19. The ftate of the churches in Afia Minor, Rev. * e-7r/A«tfg$, which fhoiild rather be rendered rocks or fiielves, perfons who might be the means of others making fliipvvreck of faith and a good confcience.. Both Peter and Jude efpecially al- lude to fahe teachers who troubled the churches; they appear to be the fame of whom Paul fpeaks, Phil. iii. i8^ 19. OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES, 18^ ii. iii. is alfo brought forward to fliew, that in the firft churches there was a mixed communion. There were indeed many evils in thefe churches, but of what kind ? In Ephefus they had left their firfl love, Rev. iii. 4. Their fervour and zeal were abated, but there is no evidence of a mixed communion there of faints and ungodly men. On the contrary, they are commended for exercifing difcipline in trying and rejefting falfe apoftles, and for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans, ver. 2. 6. The church at Smyrna is not blamed. That in Pergamos is commended for holding fafl Chrift's name, and not denying his faith ; and the only thing for which they are reproved and threatened is the negledt of difcipline, in not putm ting away thofe who held falfe do6trine, ver. 13, 14, 15. The church at Thyatira is much com- mended, and is reproved only for fuffering a wo- man to feduce Chrift's fervants, ver. 20. The church at Sardis was in a backfliding ftate. Rev. iv. 1, — 6. They had a name to live while they were dead. They had loft the life and power of religion. They are exhorted to be w^atchful, and to ftrengthen the things which remain which are ready to die^ for, fays the Lord, I have not found thy works perfeEi be- fore God. They are called to remember how they had received and heard. The Lord had already ,^ by his apoftles, delivered his laws to his church, and the negleft of thefe had probably brought them into a declining ftate. The^e may 190 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS have been improper chara6lers in the church of Sardis, but this does not neceflarily follow from our Lord's words*. Do good men never need to be called to repentance ? It is highly probable that the decay of religion had produced inatten- tion to difcipline ; but are we to judge of the ftate of the apodolic churches, by the practice of one fo feverely condemned by the Lord ? Or do any fuppofe, that becaufe all Chriilians are bound to follow the pradice of the churches recorded in the Scriptures with approbation, that therefore they have a right to imitate thofe who were guilty of manifold but cenfured abufes ? Do not the examples they plead aggravate their guilt, as they are always mentioned in connexion with the Lord's difapprobation of their condud: ? As individuals, we are bound to be followers of thofe * Our Lord mentions, that there ivere a feiv names in Sardis ivho had not defiled their garments, and ivho /hould nvalk nvith hitn in ivhite, but he gives them no commaTidment to leave the church ; and hence fome infer, that Ghriflians are not bound to feparate from worldly focieties, called churches. But the cafes are completely different. Many things were indeed repre- henfible in the church at Sardis, but ir no where appears that its conftitution was changed. This was no doubt flill the fame with that of the other apoftolic churches, and hence there was no neceflity for calling any to feparate from it ; but if the church, hfld begun to walk diforderly, and contrary to the tradition re- ceived from the apoftles, all the difciples of Jefus would have been, and were called, by the authority of God, to feparate fronv it. See I Their, iii. 6. Had they negiecf^ed the admonition given them by Jefus, Rev. iii. thofe who valued his authority mufl: have turned away from them, as having merely a form of godii-. nefs, but denying the power thereof, i Tim. iii. 5. OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 191 who through faith and patience inherit the pro- mifes ; bat fhall we prefume to vindicate adultery or murder, becaufe a very eminent fervant of God was guihy of thefe ? or fhall we not rather take warning from fuch paflages of fcripture, and avoid the rocks on which others have fplit ? 1 Cor. X. 6. Philadelphia is commended, and exhorted to ftedfaftnefs. Laodicea is condemned as luke- warm, and threatened with rejeftion. Rev. iv. 15. &c. ; but we have no hint of a mixed com- munion. A believer may fall into a ftate fimilar to that of this church, and if he does not repent lie fhall perifli ; but by the warnings and threat- enings of the word of God, his people are reco- vered, while others, after all their profeflion, draw back to perdition ; and we cannot tell but in their cafe the Lord's threatening may have produced their recovery. The Lord concludes his exhorta- tion with wor 's calculated to prevent them from being fwallowed up of overmuch forrow : " As many as I love, I rebuke and chaften." — Thus it appears, that fo far from the addreffes to thefe churches countenancing mixed communion, the churches were reproved and threatened when they permitted improper perfons to remain amongfl them. Another argument has been founded on our Lord's condudt to Judas It has been faid, that he was not removed from the table, but permit- ted to eat the Lord's fupper with the other dif- 192 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS ciples, when this ordinance was inftituted. Hence it is inferred, that we may fit down at his table with ungodly people, whom we know to be facli. But we have reafon to believe that Judas was not prefent. John informs us that he went out im- mediately on receiving the fop, xiii. 30. Now, as this could take place only at the paffover, he could not be prefent at the Lord's fupper which followed it. Luke differs from the other evan- gelifts in the order in which he relates thefe events. Nor is this uncommon. But admitting for a mo- ment that he was prefent : Judas was unknown to any but to the Lord. His chara6ter was not even fufpefted. When the Lord faid to the dif- ciples, one of you {hall betray me, each or them anfwered, *' Lord, is it I ?" It is not maintained, that thofe who make a credible profeffion of re- ligion ihould be excluded, nor that hypocrites may not obtain admillion into the beft regulated churches. But what would our objeftors infer from Judas being prefent at the Lord's fupper ? If they conclude that fuch perfons ought not to be put away from the fellowlhip of Chriftians, it will follow, that murderers, and characters the mod abominable, (for we {hall not find a worfe than his), ought to be admitted, and continued among them. Thus they not only fet afide the order of Chrift's houfe, but condemn their own pra6lice in profe{ling to exercife any degree of dif- cipline whatever. The parable of the tares, (Matt. xiii. 24, — 30.) OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 103 is alfo adduced as a proof that we ought not fo to difcriminate. This proceeds on a miftake. Our Lord has told us that the field is the world^ ver. 38. not the church. But the view of the parable taken by fome would prove too much, viz. that we ought not to put away any wicked perfon from a church of Chrift, 1 Cor. v. 11. but to let both the righteous and the wicked grow there together until the harveft. I know not that any fociety, calling itfelf a church, profefles to carry matters fo far. This confequence, however, can- not be avoided, if the parable was defigned to countenance a mixed communion of Chriflians and unbelievers. In that cafe, we mull admit an exprefs contradiction in the New Teflament. But the intention of the parable was at once to teach the difciples of Jefus, that he permits no perfeciition for religion, and to fhew them the reafon of his fparing wicked men in the world. In the kingdom of Ifrael, the fword was to be ufed againft idolaters, &:c. (read Deut. xiii. 6, — 17.) but now this is at an end. Vengeance belongs to God, and although he has delegated power to magiftrates to ufe the fw^ord for the prefervation of order in civil fociety, he has given to none the power of punifhing men for unbelief and falfe religion. Befides, we are informed by Jefus ^that an enemy had fown the tares. Surely this ought to make every one of his profefled difciples (who apply the parable to church members) tremble at the R 194 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS thought of admitting improper perfons, left in doing fo they fulfil the defign of Satan. The tares were fown while men (lept ; now the difci- ples of Jefus, and efpecialiy his minifters, ought to watch particularly againll thofe devices of the enemy of which the Lord has warned them. In fhort, although the parable has been interpreted fo as to fet aiide all difcipline towards members already admitted, it cannot be converted into an excufe for neglecting the moil careful examina- tion of thofe who apply for admiflion into a church, but in this view muft be confidered as a ferious warning in regard to this. * When the devil brought in the tares,' fays Prefident Ed- wards, ' it is manifeft he brought in fomething that did not belong there. He counterafte-d the owner of the field, and did it under the very no- tion of croffing his defign. An enemy (it is faid in the parable) hath done it. How doth this confift with the tares having a lawful right, by the owner's warrant and appointment, to have a ilanding in this field ? * If the great Phyfician of fouls hath built his church as an infirmary in compaffion to thofe that are fick, for this end, that they may be brought in and healed there, (hall it be faid with furprife when fuch are found there. How came thefe fick people here ? and (hall the compafiionate Phyfi- cian who built the hofpital fay, '* An enemy hath done this." Thofe who aB on thefe principles do that at noon-day, in the prefcnce of Gody angels OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 195 and men, which the devil doth ifi the dead of nighty when men Jlept *.* The following obfervations on this parable by- Mr Gifborne, a clergyman of the church of Eng- land, are jull: and pertinent. ' God abftains from commiilioning his miniftering angels to go forth and root up the tares, left with them they ftiould alfo root up the wheat. Men, impelled by the defires, and conftrained by the ncceffities of their nature, to live according to the intention of Pro- vidence in fociety, find therafelves, in various refpeds, clofely united, not with ftanding radical differences of views and of character. Neighbour- hood, relationlliip, lawful occupations, common interefl, mutual advantage, and the requifite offices and intercourfe of life, bind together, by nume- rous and infeparable ties, the fervant of God and the fervant of Satan. The righteous and the wicked are fo firmlj connefted, that affliction can- not overtake the latter without alfo reaching the former. The tares do not grow up lingly and feparately among the wheat, but are fo twifted round it, and fo entangled among it, fo interwoven with it, that to pull them up without pulling up the wheat is impofTible. Lefs injury will refult to the crop of good grain from their continuance, than from an atte: ipt to extirpate them. ' Suppofe an individual to be diftinguiftied \vt wickednefs, proud, fenfual, diffolute, profane, a defpifer of religion, a teacher and encourager of * Prefulent Edwaids' Reply to Williams, p. 103. Eofton I75^. 106 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS fin : " Why," you aik, " is this man permitted to live and to fpread mifchief around him year after year ? no general calamity is requifite for his removal ; why does not death fingle him out at once ?" How know you but that the man may live to repent ? But not to dwell on that poflibi- lity, are there no other perfons for whofe fake he may be fpared ? Is there no plant of wheat which might be fatally injured, if this weed were now plucked up ? Has he not parents whofe prefent interefls are clofely involved in his ? Has he not a wife or a child who may be left dellitute if he fhould be cut off ? Has he neither brother, nor relative, nor friend, nor acquaintance, to whom his exiftence is at prefent ufeful, or to whom Om- nifcience may forefee that at a future period it will be advantageous ? May not even his vices be overruled by the providence of God into benefi- cial warnings to others ? May not his pride teach feme to cherifii meeknefs ? May not his intempe- rance evince the excellence of fobriety ? May not his irreligion imprefs on others the beauty of ho- linefs ? In feafons of cold, or of drought, or of immoderate rain, the profperity of a weed may for a time afford ufeful fiielter to a ftem of wheat. May not this weed be as yet fuiFered to grow that it may anfwer a fimilar purpofe * ?' I conclude this fe£tion by referring to fome paf- fages in the late Dr Erlkine's Differtation on the Character and Privileges of the Chriflian Church. * Gifborne's Sermons, vol. ii p. 183, 1S6. id edition. OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. I9t * The words iKKX/io-icc, /Hp, fignify a' people not only cal -d, but gathered by a call, who hearken to and comply with the ofFers of the gof- pel, and are called " chofen and faithful," Rev. xvii. 14. who are called by that inward call of the Spirit, which renders the outward call of the gofpel effedual. A call attended with invincible power, like that to Matthew, Matt. ix. 9. " fol- low me ;" or that, John xi. 43. " Lazarus come forth ;" nay, like that by which God " calls the things that are not as though they were," Rom. vii. 17. and " commands light to arife out of darknefs," 2 Cor. iv. &. Hence we read of the called according to God's purpofe, Rom. viii. 28r and of the purpofe of God according to election ftanding, not of works, but of him that calleth, Rom. ix. 11. So that we may define the Chri- flian church, a fociety of perfons eiFeftually called, or a company of penitents, united by faith and love to Chrift as their head, and to one another as members of his myftical body, and on every pro- per occafion outwardly difeovering this union. Now, if the church of Chrift is a fociety of per- fons who obey the gofpel call, it is evident hypo- crites are no members of that church *. For the * It is true that no hypocrite is a member of the church cf Chrift, if by the church we underftand thofe who are members of his body. But the word church, as has been fliewn, befides fignifyin^:^ the f;er.eral aflembly of the firft-born, whofe names are w .itten in heaven, alfo means a fociety of perfons who give futisfacftory evidence of difciplefhip, Falfe brethren may re» R3 1^ CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS gofpel calls to a humble penitent reliance upon Chrift, not to a bare profeffion of Chriflianity ; and invites us to fellowihip with Jefus, 1 Cor. i. 9. and a right to his kingdom and glory, 1 Pet. V. 10. not to any external fociety and advantages. The outward call of the gofpel conftitutes none members of the church, fave thofe who comply with it. Elfe even infidels, and openly profane perfons, who hear the gofpel preached, would be members of the church. We are invited to come to the church, having on the wedding garment- To come v/ithout it we are not allowed. God has no where enjoined thofe who want faith to profefs it. Indeed it is impoffible that the God of truth fhould enjoin a falfehood. When, there- fore, we require a profeffion of faith in order to church privileges, we, on the matter, acknow- ledge faith itfelf neceifary. For the only reafon why we regard a profeffion, is our fuppofing that he who makes it is a true believer. Faith, or rather the righteoufnefs it receives, we conlider as the foundation of his title to church privileges, -arid profeffion only as an evidence of that title. He who makes a credible profeffion, is accounted a member of the church, becaufe from fuch pro- feffion, as an evidence, we judge that he poffefTes tthe proper condition of church memberfhip, not main for a time in fach a fociety. Although the Dodlor's re- marks are in general excellent, there "s fome degrrr of obfcuri- ty in what he fays, from not attending to this diftindlion. OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. lOg^ becaufe fuch profeflion is itfelf that condition. So that we reckon none members of the vifible church, without reckoning them members of the invifible church likewife, or, in other words, with- out reckoning them united to Chrifl by a true and lively faith, and entitled to heaven through his perfeft righteoufnefs. The union and communion of church members, one with another, is founded only on their union with Chrifl. Confequently, where there is no real union with him, there can be no real union with the members of his myfticai body.' ' He only has a title to the honoura- ble name of Chriftian, who departs from iniquity, 2 Tim. ii. 1^. If any man has not the Spirit of Chrift in him, he is none of his, Rom. viii. 9,. Chrifl is the door of the fheep, and therefore none are God's fheep who enter not in at this door, John X. 7. xiv. 6. He that believeth not, what- ever he profefs, has no part in Chrifl's falvation, but is condemned already. Nothing external is of any avail under the golpel, unlefs accompanied with the new creature, or faith that worketh by love, Gal. v. 6. vi. 15. Old. things are done away, and all things are become new, 2 Cor. v. 17. The MefTias is of quick underflanding in the fear of the Lord, and does not judge after the light of the eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of his ears, Ifa. xi. 3. It is the heart, not the out- ward appearance which he regards. The moft fplendid performances, if without charity, he ac- 200 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS counts as nothing, 1 Cor. xiii. 2, The Lord only knoweth them that are his, 2 Tim. ii. 19. Con- fequently that which conilitutes one a member of the Chriftian church, is invifible to the human eye. Believing with the heart, as weli as con- fefling with the mouch, is a necelTary condition of the gofpel falvation, Rom. x. 9. Thofe who are only outwardly, and in profeffion religious, are of the fynagogue of Satan, Rev. ii. 9. iii. 9. fpots in our feafts, 2 Pet. xi. 13. Jude 13. children of the devil, 1 John iii. 10. tares fowed by the wick- ed one, Matt. xiii. 38. falfe brethren brought in, or crept in unawares. Gal. ii. 4. Jude 4. having no lot nor portion in the bletlings of Chrift's purchafe, becaufe yet in the gall of bitternefs and bond of iniquity, A61:s viii. 21. 23. Hence Paul pronounces a general fentence of excommunica- tion againft falfe-hearted profelTors, 1 Cor. xvi. 22. " If any man love not the Lord Jefus,. let liim be anathema maranatha." And, indeed, who can be more deteftable, and worthy of a more dreadful curfe, than he who harbours in his heart enmity againft Chrift, under the malk of pre- tended friendfliip ? In the day of judgment Chrift will profefs to all fuch. Depart from me, I never knew you, ye workers of iniquity, Matt. vii. 22. He could not have faid, in fo abfolute terms, that he was never related to them, if he had owned them, while on earth, as his church and people.^ Does not that rebuke, Matt. xxii. 12. " Friend, OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 201 how camell thou in hither, not having on the wedding- garment," import, that hypocrites have no right to a place among God's people ? We are told, the man thus rebuked was fpeechlefs, having no excufe to make for his conduft. But he might have excufed it, if bare profeffion was all that was neceflary to render one a member of the vifible church.' ' Therefore, every parti' cular 'vifibk church was confidered by the apoftles as compofed only of true believers ; and thefe not baptized with the Holy Ghoft, were accounted by them no members of Chrift's myftical body. What then (hall we fay of thofe who in all their aftions are animated and influenced by the devil, who live after the flefh, and retain nothing of the Ghriftian fave the empty name ? Chriftians are as lively ftones, built up a fpiritual houfe, an holy priefthood, to offer up fpiritual facrifices, accept- able to God by Jefus Chrift, i Pet. ii. 5. And is that, think you, the charadter of men dead in trefpalTes and fins ?' He then confiders the de- fign of baptifm and the Lord's fupper, and clearly proves that they ought only to be adminiflered to believers : that minifters, indeed, may law- fully adminifler them to hypocrites, and fo, fays the Doclor, ' may a judge lawfully aflign you a fum of money, when, by credible witnefles, you prove your right to it, though after all you have bribed the witnelfes to perjure themfelves.' The facraments, he fays, are no inftituted means of converfion, being intended to llrengthen faith 202 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS where it is, not to produce it where it is not. He obferves, if reiledlions on the fin of unwor- thily partaking of the facraments, produce the converfion of a hypocrite, reflections on murder or adultery may do the fame. God may bring good out of evil. ' Has the unconverted profelTor of religion,' he aiks, 'a better claim to the fellowihlp of the faith- ful than the infidel or profane ? Are the living and the dead united ? Do falfehood and diiTimu- lation render men holy ? So foon as the hypocrify of a profeffor is manifefled, he is no longer look- ed upon as a member of the church.' * 1 Cor. V. 10, — 13. is brought as an evidence that men may be brethren, and within the church, who yet are covetous, extortioners, or living in fome other courfe of prefumptuous fin. But though this pafiage fliews that bad men may be tolerated in the world, and civil intercourfe lawfully kept up with them, it equally fhews, that church- fellow- fhip with thofe whom we know to be bad is un- lawful. The Ifraelites, in the time of the paffo- ver, were to fearch, and cafl out of their houfes all the leaven that was in them, and that was allow- ed to be in them at other times.' ' Hypocrites may lurk in the church, as leaven might lurk in a houfe in the time of the paflbver, notwithlland- ing the mod diligent fearch. But hypocrites have no right to be there, and, fo foon as they are difcovered, mull be turned out. They are called brethren^ I Cor. v. 11. They are mem- OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 203 bers of the church in the opmion of others. But brethren in truth thej are not. They feem to be within, and indeed are within the church, as to the body, but they are without it as to the foul. They are within, in the fame fenfe as leaven, which ought to have been without. It deferves our notice, that the apoftle does not fpeak of fome of the church as within, and of the world as with- out. All then who belong to the church are within, or members of the church invifible. Some are fo truly, and in the eyes of God ; others only apparently, and in the eyes of men. The firll have a title to be within ; the fecond have no title. If we reckon them within, it is only be- caufe their profeffion being credible, we chari- tably believe it fincere, and that coafequently they are united to Chrift. And hence, fo foon as we find from their courfe of life that their pro- feffion was deceitful, it becomes our duty to re- nounce communion with them.' * Thus it has been fufficiently proved, that a church is a fociety of faints, fincerely profeffing the fame faith, partaking of the fame facraments, interelled in the fame fpiritual privileges, and entitled to the fame heavenly bleffings ; and that therefore hypocrites belong not to that fociety. This is the Bible idea of the word church, and therefore it ought to be received, however it dif- fer from falhionable opinions.' * Tlie greater p .rt of modern Chriftians have, I acknowledge, in their Lntiments of the nature fi04 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS of the church, widely deviated from Scripture and antiquity. And the fidtion of a vifible church really in covenant with God, and yet partly made up of hypocrites, has almoll univerfally prevail- ed. What were the caufes of this I Hay not to enquire. One thing, however, deferves to be remarked. Truth, in this particular, has gained lignal advantages over vulgar prejudice and fyf- tematic ideas, even where it has not enabled men entirely to ihake off thefe fetters. Many able Lutheran divines, who efpoufe the common di- ilindion of a vilible and invifible church, and warmly oppofe the Calvinift do6trine of the per- feverance of faints, have notwithflanding aflerted and proved, that the proper notion of the w^ord church, in the New Teftament, is, the congrega- tion of the inwardly fanftified, or, as others ex- prefs it, thofe eleded to eternal life, and againft whom the gates of hell fhall never prevail.' , * The fpirit and frame of the epiftles would be perfectly unaccountable, ihould we fuppofe them partly addreffed to hypocrites and felf-deceivers, who had the form, but were flrangers to the power of godlinefs, and thus were every moment in danger of dropping into the pit of deftrudlion, Doubtlefs, had that been the cafe, they would have been calculated, as fermons recorded in other parts of Scripture dire£ted to fuch people are, to awaken in them a fenfe of their hazardous con- dition, and to excite them to fly from the wrath to come.'-— OF THE AfOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 205 * Every particular church mentioned in the New Teftament, is defcribed as confifling of per- fons united to Chrift by faith and love, and in- wardly holy. We mull either fay that in thefe times no hypocrites were intermixed with the church, or that, though intermixed with it, they were no part of it. The firft is improbable. The inftance of Simon the forcerer proves, that in ad- mitting men to the church, the apoftles did not always ad by the gift of difcerning fpirits, Paul confiders it as poffible, that men might give all their goods to feed the poor, and their bodies to be burned, who yet wanted charity, 1 Cor. xiii. 3. Ananias and Sapphira, Hymenaeus and Alexander, were for a time deemed lincere by their fellow profeffbrs.' ' Since then the apoftles addrcf- fed focieties in different places outwardly aflb- ciated for di\ane worfhip, by properties peculiar to good men, it follows, that they confidered none elfe as members of thefe focieties.' . * Churches, therefore, ought to put away from among them, thofe whofe profeffion is difcovered by their practice to have been infincere. To re- nounce fellowiliip with fuch, Chriilian charity forbids not, nay duty requires *.' — The authority of Dr Erfkine is not brought forward to eflablifh a doubtful point, but to call the attention of Chriftians to the force of truth on the mind of a man endowed with abilities for judging of it, and * Differtatiori on the Charadler and Privileges of the Apofto- lie Churches, pcij]im. s 20(3 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS ■who mufl have received a contrary bias both frtom education and habit. Section III. Having, I hope, eftablifhed the faft, that the primitive churches were compofed of fuch only of whom it was meet for the apoftles to think that a work of grace was begun in thtm, we conclude with fome obfervations on the ad- miffion of members into churches amongll our- felves. The inflruftions in the word of God on this fubje6:, although indireft, are amply fufficient to guide us. We are clearly taught of what mem- bers churches of Chrift (hould conlift, and the evidences are fully laid down by which we are to diftinguifh them. Thofe who are connected with churches where difcipline is negledled, excufe themfelves for countenancing impure communion by faying they cannot judge the heart. They maintain, that in order to admit a member, we have only to afcer- tain the irreproachablenefs of his moral character, and that he poffeffes a competent knowledge of the doftrines of the Scripture. This ftandard is, in truth, as high as can be fixed, i id higher than is applied in any national church, but it comes far ftiort of a proper tell of real religion. Good men are at no lofs iu forming a judg- OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 207 jiient of chara(5ler on other occafions. They do not hefitate to fpeak of certain perfons as real believers, and of others as at beft doubtful cha- racters. Indeed without this, there are many precepts which cannot be obeyed. We cannot affbciate with the people of God as fuch, nor ex- prefs that fpecial love which we owe to the ge- nuine difciples of Chriil, without forming a judg- ment of charaders. We cannot even fuit our con- verfation fo as to be ufeful to thofe in whofe company we are. We (hall be in danger of cry- ing peace to the formal profeffor or felf- righteous Pharifee. But Chriil has given us a ftandard by which to judge : '* By their fruits ye ftiall know them." By attending to their general con- verfation and conduct, as well as to their know- ledge and profelTed experience, we may generally form a proper judgment. A church may after all be miftaken in fome whom they admit. The apoftles probably were fo as to Simon Magus, and many others ; but this ought to make us the more careful to receive none, without what appears to us fatisfaftory evidence that Chrift has received them. W2 ought not to conlider ourfelves as having a right to receive or to exclude, but endeavour to afcer- tain by evidence who are really believers, and confider the evidence of this as Chrift's voice to the church, commanding us to admit them. Af- ter they are admitted, they muft alfo be diligently 20S CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS watched over, and retained or put away according to their fruits. There is no objection to the propriety of the diftinflion between vlfibie and real Chrillians, provided by vifible Chriftians we underftand thofe whom we believe to be real Chriflians, and who appear to us, on proper evidence, to have the Spirit of Chrifl. If by vifible Chriftianity be meant any thing fhort of the appearance of real Chriftianity ; if a man being born in what is called a Chriftian country, being baptized, and not grofsly immoral, conftitutes him, as we think, a vifible Chriftian, the term is unfcriptural and abfurd. If we do not ufe proper means to afcertain whether thofe applying to be members of a church are real Chriftians or not, we neglefl: our duty to Chrift, and caft a ftumbling- block in their way. It is not enough that a man wifties to join a church, and profefles to believe : it is not enough that he can anfwer our inquiries on the leading doftrines of the gofpel ; and that he may not be chargeable with grofs fia. This may be the cafe, and he may yet be a ftranger to Chrift. We know that the word of God efte£lually works in all who believe, and we are bound to inquire what efFe£l this has produced on him. Whenever the truth is believed, a great change takes place on the mind. We muft not fix our ftandard too high, nor confider great attainments in knowledge or in the Chriftian life to be neceflary in order to 61" THE APOStOLIC CHURCHES. QUQf- the admlffion of a perfon into a church. We are only to endeavour to difcover whether he has paiTed from death to life. If we onriit parti* cular inquiry on this fubjedt, we neither do juftice to the perfon applying, nor to the church. It is pleafnig to think that the intereft of both is always united ; if it be advantageous for a perfon to be admitted, it is for the benefit of the church, and not otherwife. If, by receiving a man into a church, we could make him a Chriftian, it would be defirable to receive all who apply ; but a church of Chrift, we have feen, is afociety of real believers, and by receiving any others but thofe, we endanger the church, for a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and we deceive t*hofe who are enemies to God, and may lull their con- fciences afleep to their eternal perdition. This may fhew us the abfurdity of what is generally fpoken of under the name of thejudgfnent of cha^ rity ; hoping, as fome fay, againft hope. Cha- rity is love, and love worketh no ill to our neigh-- howt ; but can we do one a greater injury, than to receive him as a brother in Chrift with- out endeavouring to afcertain whether this be his real charafter ? Some fay, if a man has faith it matters not to us how he came by it. True ; but the quef- tion is, Has he faith ? This cannot be known without inquiring into his experience. There may be diverfity in this ; fome have obtained precious faith, it may be, very gradually, others S3 i2i& CHARACTER OF TflE MEMBERS more fuddenly, and with circumftances more fen- fible. But every one is born fpiritually blind, and if he has been brought into marvellous light, he will furely be able to give fome fcrip- tural account of it. There is no religion without experience. If a man fay he believes, and has not felt the energy of the truth upon bis mind, ciianging the objedls of his purfuit, and making him a new creature, he deceives himfelf, and we ought not to favour the deception. It has been taken for granted by many, with- out the (hadow of a proof, that in the apoftles days a verbal profellion of faith was of itfelf deemed fufEcient. This has been argued from the cafe of the Ethiopian eunuch, A6ls viii. 2 7. Philip informed him, that-if he believed with all his heart he might be biptized, and upon his pro- feffion baptized him. But they had had previous converfation. The eunuch fhewed that he was lenlible of his ignorance, and delired inftru6tion ;. fliey had travelled fome diftance together, and Philip had reafon to judge from the manner in which he received the truth, and the remarks he made, that God had opened his underflanding. The three thoufand who were baptifed and add- ded to the church on the day of Pentecoft gave more evidence than a mere profeffion. They •were pricked in their heart, and relieved by the gofpel ; they received the word wdth joy. The powerful and viiible effe6ls produced by the truth on their mind, were well calculated to fatisfy all, OP* T«£ APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 211 that when they faid they believed in Chrift, they fpoke the language of the heart *. But a profefTion of faitH in the apoftles days was very different from the fame profeffion at prefent. By profeffing to believe, men at that time were fubje£led to many inconveniences ; the profeffion was a reproach. With us, men are offended if their Chriflianity be called in queflion. Thofe even who by their writings have mofl decidedly oppofed Chriflianity, take it amifs when they receive the name of infidels f; confequently a man faying he believes, ought to have little weight. We do not mean to allege that the way of God is flriftly uniform in the exercifes of his people. \With fome the work of converfion is more rapid, * fcs-t It alfo be obferved, that all thefe were Jews, the peo- ple of God, profeffing the faith of Abraliara. When the gof- pel began to be preached, they were not unchurched, but were informed of the joyful tidings, that God had fulfilled the promife made to the fathers, in railing up Jefus again, A(fls xiii. 23- To him they were now called to fubmit as their anointed king, and whofoever rejedled him was cut off from the people, according to God's ancient ordinance againft the difobeciient. Thofe who believed, forfeited none of their ancient privileges; on the con- trary, they were much enlarged A profeffion ot faith in Chrift made by a Jew was therefore all that was neceffary to his be- ing acknowledged as a brother. The cafe was different as to Gentiles, but in either a profejfion of faith was very different from a profeffion amo^ ; us. f See Huine's Letter to Dr Blair, apud Campbell on Mira- cles, laft edition. 212 CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS with others more gradual. Some may have been brought under the impreffion of the truth in very early years, and others may have been led fo infen- fibly from flep to Hep, that they may be unable td point out the precife time when they were brought to know the truth. This is not neceflary. The great matter is to endeavour to afcertain if in any degree they indeed know and feel their guilty and miferable condition as (inners, and are living by faith on the Son of God. Thofe who profefs to have known the Lord for fome time, may be ex- peded to give additional evidence, by their gene- ral conduct and converfation. It fliould be our great aim not to decline in judgment to the right hand or the left, neither to make fad the hearts of thofe whom God has not made fad, nor to cry peace where he hath not fpoken it. It mufl be our ftudy to feparate be- tween the precious and the vile ; we violate other wife the diAang law, Ezek. xxii. 26. ; and to the right performance of this, as of every other duty, much prayer to the Lord is necelTary. Every new member ought to be admitted by the unanimous voice of the church. All are to walk in unity as brethren, they ought therefore all to have confidence in each other as the difci- ples of Chrift. This is in fa£t the bond which unites the members, and therefore rhe fubftance of the evidence which the pallors and thofe who have converfed with them have obtained, muft OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 213 be fubmitted to the church *, that they may not only receive them as members, but love them for the truth's fake. ' Although we are not to receive any one with- out fatisfa6lory evidence of his being a true dif- ciple of Chrirt, we ought to beware of injuring the charafter of any whom we rejedl, by fpeaking evil and circulating an unfavourable report of them. We are not accountable to the world or to man for our ad mi (lions or refufals ; but when any are rejedled, it is highly important to fpeak to them faithfully and afFedlionately, and to Qiew them that our condu6t proceeds from love to them, as well as from obedience to the laws of Chrift. * It may feem in theory very difficult, that a number of per- fons (hould be of the fame mind concerning an individual's ad- miffion ; but the difficulty does not occur in pradlice. Some- times a delay may be neceffary to fatisfy certain of the church ; but it will never be found that a Chriftian will be rejecfled through humour or caprice. Were any thing of this kind to appear, it would argue a ftate of mind highly improper, and would become a fit rubje(5l of difciplinc. [ 214 ] CHAPTER VII. (9F THE OFFICES IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. Section L r X H e Lord Jefus, by the miniftry of his apo files, not only commanded his people to alTociate together, but alfo ordained that certain offices ftiould fubfift in their focieties. We have in Scripture ample directions refpefting the nature of thefe offices, and the qualifications neceffary for difcharging them. Paul, fpeaking of the afcenfion of Jefus, and of the accomplifliment of the promife that he fhould give gifts unto men, obferves, '* he gave fome apoftles, and fome prophets, and fome evangelifls, and fome paftors and teachers, for the perfeding of the faints, for the work of the miniftry, for the edifying of the body of Chrid," Eph. iv. 11. To the fame purpofe he fajs, " God hath fet fome in the church, firft apoftles ; fecondarily, prophets ; thirdly, teachers ; after that, miracles ; then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diver- fities of tongues," 1 Cor. xii. 28. It is not eafy, perhaps, to difcriminate the va- OFFICES IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 215 rioiis forts of fupernatural endowments mentioned in the New Teftament ; but of this we are cer- tain, that fome offices in the church were tempo- rary, and others intended to continue. We are in no danger of confounding the ftated with the extraordinary offices in the apoftolic churches. No directions are given refpedling the choice of perfons to occupy the latter. This the great Head of the church referved for himfelf ; nor have we a particular account of the various duties to which fome of them were called. This was unneceffary, as they were either guided by the immediate and extraordinary influences of the Spirit, in the condud they were to purfue, or were under the perfonal Infpedion of the apoftles. As to the ftated offices, the word of God con- tains minute diredtions to guide our choice, toge- ther with a clear account of the duties conne6led with them. It is to be feared, that the alleged difficulties in diftlnguiffiing between the extraor- dinary and ftated offices, have arifen more from a defire to vindicate churches evidently unfcriptural, or the adherence of Individuals to thefe, than from any darknefs in the fubje£l itfelf. Whether any miraculous gifts ffiall ever be rc- ftored to the church, time muft determine. At all events, we are fure that the ftated offices fliall continue to the end. Thefe are necefliiry to the proper reg'tkition and to the v/elibeing of every church, whereas the extiaordinary oftic^s feem not to have been ftatipnary in any church. 216 OF THE OFFICES IN" The ordinary offices are calculated for every fituation and emergency in which the churches can be placed. The extraordinary offices did not fuperfede them, nor are thefe necelTary to their exiftence. The extraordinary offices of which we read in the New Teftament, are apoftles, prophets, and evangelifts. We have already had occafion to fpeak of the of- fice of the apoftles, and of the deference which was to be paid to thofe who held it, by the moft highly favoured in the churches, 1 Cor. xiv. 37. They were even poflefled of miraculous power to pu- nifh thofe members of the churches who defpifed their authority. Thus John threatens to punifh Diotrephes, 3 John 10. They had in them a readinefs to revenge all difobedience, 2 Cor. x. 6. This power Paul, once and again, affiires the Co- rinthians he would employ, without fparing, if he found matters in the ftate he fufpe£ted. It is evident, from the nature of the office it- felf, that the apoftles can have no fucceflbrs. They fully and faithfully delivered the laft reve- lation which God ftiall give to man. Dr Camp- bell argues that the apoftles could have no fuc- ceflbrs, 1 . From the indifpenfable qualifications for the office. An apoftle muft be one who had feen Chrift after his refurredtion, 1 Cor. ix. 1. kv. 8. for he was ordained to be a witnefs of Chrift's refurreftion, Afts i. 22 x. 41. &c. 2. The apoftles were diftinguiftied by fpecial THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 217 prerogatives which defcended to none after them, receiving their miflion frona Chrift, the power of conferring the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, and the knowledge by infpiration of the w^hole do6trine of Chrift. 3. They were univerfal bifhops ; the whole church was their charge, and the whole earth their fphere. 4. We have full proof that no idea of fucceflion to the office was entertained in their own age, or in the times immediately fucceeding, for no one, on the death of an apoftle, was ever fubftituted in his room, and when the original college became extinct, the title became extin^ with it. The apoftles were ambaffadors for Chrift *, and having delivered their meflage, and declared the whole counfel of God, which is contained in their writings, it was unneceflary that any fuc- ceflbrs to them ftiould be raifed up. They are the twelve foundations of the church, Eph. ii. 20. Rev. xxi. 14. We read of prophets who foretold future events, as Agabus, A6ls xxi. 10. although cer- tainly the term prophecy is not confined to this * The term ambajfadors has been applied to ordinary mini- fters of the gofpel, but improperly. The apoftles were ambafla- dors in the proper fenfe of the word, but preachers have now on- ly to repeat, enlarge upon, and to imprefs on their hearers what they taught. To give fuch the title of ambafladors, tends to weaken the authority of apoftolic teftimony. T 218 OF THE OFFICES IJi in the New Teflament. There were alfo pro- phets in the church at Ar.tioch, A6ls xiii. 1. Perhaps Mark and Luke, who have written a part of the New Teftament, were prophets. At any rate, it was an extraordinary office, for which men were qualified, and to which they were called by the extraordinary gifts of the Spi- rit ; and thofe who held it might fay, as Paul does of his apoftleihip, ** not of men, neither by man, but by Jefus Chrifl," Gal. i. 1. It is true, prophefying feems fometimes to be put for the mu- tual exhortations of the brethren, 1 Cor. xiv. 31, ^' Ye may all prophefy, one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted ;" and he who prophefieth is faid to fpeak to men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort, 1 Cor. xiv. 3. but it is alfo evident from the palTages quoted above, as well as from others, that the term prophet is iifed in the New Teftament to denote a perfon polTelTed of extraordinary gifts peculiar to that period, and they appear, by the manner in which they are clafled, to have been next to the apoftles. Evangelijls were affiftants to the apoftles. Their charge was not confined to any particular church. Piiilip and Timothy are exprefsly flyled evange- lifts. Titus, although the name is no where given him, was evidently employed in the duties of the fame office. He was left in Crete to fet in order the things that were wanting, and to ordain elders in every city, according to the dire6lions of Paul, Tit. i. 5. Timothy was left in Ephefus, not as THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 219 ail elder or biiliop of the church, but to charge ibme to teach no other do£lrine than that dehver- ed by the apoftles, 1 Tim. i. 3. He fometimes accompanied Paul, and at other times was fent by him to viiit and confirm the churches. Both Ti- mothy and Titus were fuperintendants under the apoflles, and adled by a fpecial commiffion ; they were employed in vifiting and fetting in order va- rious churches, and to both, diredions are given refpeding the chara6lers of thofe who were to bold ftated and ordinary oiEces. The ftated offices in all the churches were elders and deacons *. It is unneceiTary to fpend much time in proving^ that bifnop and elder were, in apoftolic times, fy- nonymous terms. We juft mention one or two paiTages, which mull prove this to every impar- tial perfon. Paul fent for the elders of the church at Ephefus, and exhorted them to take heed to themfelves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghofl had made them bijhops^ iTTt^KOTrovg, Ads XX. 17. 28. Titus was left in Crete to ordain elders in eve- ry city, as he had appointed him. If any man, fays he, be blamelefs, the hufband of one wife ; for a bi/hop muft be blamelefs, &c. Tit. i. 5. 7. * Such was the judgment of Wickliffe : * Only two orders of clerks, ' faid he, * did fnffice in the church, priefts and deacons; neither was there any diftiniflion in the times of the apoftles, of popes, patriarchs, archbidiops, and bifhops. Thefe the emperor's pride did find out.' Fox's Acls and Monuments, vol. i. p. 414. edit. 1610. 220 OF THE OFFICES IN Peter exhorts the elders to feed the flock of God, iTria-KCTHivrii ; doing the office of a hijhopy not by conftraint, 1 Pet. v. 2. The apoftles were often obliged to flee from the places where they preached the gofpel. Their flay, in general, even while not perfecuted, was ufually Ihort. We read of Paul feparating the difciples, A£ts xix. 9. and, indeed, wherever any believed and were baptized, they would necelTarily be feparated from their former aflbciates . If Jews, they were cafl out of the fynagogue ; and if Gen- tiles, they could no more have fellowfhip with demons or falfe gods. The two great command- ments given by the apoftles were, that Chriftians fhould believe on the name of the Lord Jefus Chrift, and love one another. To promote faith and love, the difciples were enjoined not to for-* fake the aflembling of themfelves together. The Lord had gracioufly promifed to be in the midft of two or three met in his name ; but ftill they were incomplete, and not fully furniflied with all requifite for their fpiritual welfare, till provided with paftors or elders. To ordain fuch, the apof- tles either revilited the churches they had planted, A(3:s xiv. 21, — 23. or for this end fent proper per- fons, fuch as Titus. The bufinefs of an elder is to labour in the word and do6trine, and alfo to rule in the church of God, 1 Tim. v. 17. iii. 5. To rule means not merely to preflde in the meetings of the church, and to take care that all things are done decently THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 22% and in order, according to the will of Chrift ; but alfo to watch over the members, to admonifh or reprove them, as their circumftances require. To this rule the members were bound to fubmit. '* Obey them,*' fays the apoftle, " that have the rule over you, and fubmit yourfelves ; for they watch for your fouls as they that mud give ac- count," Heb. xiii 17. " Remember them that have the rule over you, who have fpoken to you the word of the Lord," ver. 1, ** We befeech you, brethren, to acknowledge them which la- bour among you, and are over you * in the Lord, and admonifh you ; and to efteem them very highly in love for their work's fake," 1 ThelT. V. 12. Here the peace of the church is imme- diately connected with affe£lionate regard, defe- rence, honour, and fubmiffion to the elders. Confidering the importance of this office, we might expe£l the qualifications neceflary for the difcharge of it to be clearly pointed out. Accord- ingly they are fo, 1 Tim. iii. Tit. i. The name e/der was probably borrowed from the Jews. Thofe advanced in age would natu- rally be preferred for this office, if their qualifica- tions were in other refpe6ts equal. Age com- mands refpeft, and is ufually conne£led with ex- perience and wifdom. Timothy was a young man, and this m^ght tend to prevent his recei- ving the refped due to the office he held. Hence * v^oiiafiiuvq, tranflated rw/^?^, Rom. xii. 8. i Tim, iii. 4,5. 12. V. 17. T3 222 OF THE OFFICES Ilf Paul fays, ** Let no man defpife thy youth," 1 Tim, iv. 12. A queftion has arlfen refpeftlng the ehaice of paftors. Does this belong to the people, or did the apoflles or evangelifls ordain thofe whom they thought beft qualified, without confulting them ? An argument for the latter opinion has been founded on the defcription of the charac- ter and qualifications of elders being addrefled, not to the churches, but to the evangelifls Ti- mothy and Titus, and on their being directed to lay hands fuddenly on no man. In truth, the appointment of elders^ in one view, was not left either to the apoflles or to the churches. The Lord beflowed the neceflary gifts upon thofe whom he intended for the work^ and gave commandment by his apoflles, that only fuch as poffefled thefe gifts ftiould be called to the office. All that was left to men, therefore, was to judge who were poflefled of proper quali- fications. The epiftles to Timothy and Titus treat ex- prefsly of this fubjed, and are of equal authority with every other part of revelation. They were intended, not merely as inftru6^ions to them, but to the churches among which they laboured, and to all Chriftian churches to the end of the world ► Timothy and Titus would doubtlefs enforce thefe inftru6lions on the confciences of their bre- thren ', they would warn them againft pleafing themfetves in this as in other matters, and exhort THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 225 them, by willing fubjeftion to Chrift, to approve themfelves to him as in every other part of their condu6l. This is equally the duty of any man ^m the prefent day, by whofe labours a church may be colle6led ; and if the church refufe to walk by the rule of Scripture in this or in any other refpedl, he is called, after proper confidera- tion and forbearance, to turn away from them, as negleding the ordinances of Chrift. But if he fliould attempt to impofe elders upon them (al- though it may be perfons properly qualified) without their free confent, he would manifeft a fpirit very oppofite from that of the apoftles. So far were they from trying to exclude the churches from whatever they were engaged in, that they requefted and ufed their afliftance in cafes where we might imagine they would not have confulted them. After the apoftafy of Judas, Peter addref- fed the difciples, and (hewed the neceffity of chu- fing an apoftle whofe qualifications he defcribed» Accordingly they nominated two, and then refer- red the deciiion to the Lord himfelf. The apoftles did not interfere in the choice of deacons, but left this to the brethren, A6ls vi. 3. although they would doubtlefs have pointed out their error, had they chofen men not poiTefled of the qualifications they had ftiewn to be necefiary. When Paul went to Jerufalem with the contribution of the churches, the perfon who accompanied him was not chofen by himfelf, but ordained (^^it^oroyr,6ug') by the churches, 2 Cor. viii. 19. So careful were 224 OF THE OFFICES IN thefe eminent fervants of God not to exercife lord- fliip over their brethren I That the pafloral relation between teachers or paftors and a church can only be formed by mutual \ confent, is not only manifeft from the condudl of the apoflles recorded in the Scriptui^s, but is ne- cefTarily implied in the nature of this relation, confidered in every view. It is not lefs abfurd to maintain, that becaufe we have no direct exam- ple of a church chufing its elders, that this mat- ter is left undetermined, than it would be to ar- gue, that fmce the word of God has not declared that the marriage union is to be entered into by mutual choice, it is doubtful whether j this be required. Such obvious principles as necef- farily refult from our natur: and circumilances, are frequently taken for granted in Scripture. Some may take occafion from this to affirm, that it contains no precife rule for church-order, but with equal propriety they might add, that it is as deficient reipeft ng rules for individual con- diidi. It is not eafy to fee what important purpofe would have been anfwered by that mi- nutenefs which fome appear to deem effential to perfpicuity and a divine appointment. We have already obferved, that the inftrudions which re- fpeft moral condud are delivered precifely in the fame way as thofe which refpe6t church-order. It is much to be feared, that many who at pre- fect will not admit the obligation of *the pra5 o-h f^ xXn^^g o^t is f^nyetyeg ix. yr,z AtyvTrm iv rr, i7yj)i era tt, f4,iyuM' The fame perfons are, in the fame fentence, declared to be both the Xttcg and the xM^oq. What, fays the canonift, at once laymen and clergy ? that is certainly abfurd ; the charafters are incompati- ble ; yet it did not then appear fo to Mofes. Now, would it be thought reafonable or juft, that what was allowed to be the privilege and the glory of every Ifraelite, under the more fervile eflablifhment of Mofes, fhould, under the more liberal difpenfation of the gofpel, be difclaimed by all thofe difciples of Jefus who have not been admitted into the facred order, which they, for this reafon, have called clerical. * When we recur to the ufe of the term in the New Teftament, we find one paffage, and but one, wherein it is applied to perfons. The paffage is in the firfl epiftle of Peter, the fifth chapter, and THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 233 third verfe, which is thus rendered in our verfionr *' Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being enfamples to (he flock." The words in the original are, ^tttj^' ug Kv^nvovm rm kX^uv^ uXXec rvTToi yivoficivei th TroffAVin. They are part of a charge given to the p-efb)ters, or pallors, relating to their, care of the people committed to them, wha are called God's flock, which they arc command- ed to feed, of which they are to take the overfight, not the maftery, and to which they are to ferve as patterns. The fame perfons, therefore, who both in this, and in the preceding verfe, are ftyled 7r$if^vi»v, the flock, under the directions of God's minifters, the fhepherdc, are alfo called zXti^ot, his inheritance, over whotn their pallors are com- manded not to domineeri. It is fomewhat extra- ordinary, that in the choice of diflinClions, which the church- rulers fo foon fhewed a difpofition to afFecl, they fliould have paid almoft as little at- tention to the llyle, as they did to the fpirit and meaning of the facred books. Let it be obierved then, in the firfl place, that this diflindlion, fo far from having a foundation in Scripture, Hands in dired: contradidion, both to the letter and to the fenfe of that unerring ftandard. I am not igno- rant that fome expoiitors, jealous for the priefl- hood, render the term KXtj^ct here, the church's pofleffions. Not to mention that this explication but ill fuits the context, and annihilates the con- trail between an imperious mailer and an engaging pattern, and fuppofcth an aukward ellipiis in the words, allow me to afli, What were the church's Us 234 OF THE OFFICES IN pofleflions in thofe days ? Was flie fo early vefted with lands and hereditaments, for it is to fuch only that the term xA>)§(^, when denoting property or polTeflion, is applied ? Or have thofe interpre- ters been dreaming of the truly golden age of Pope Gregory the feventh, when the patrimonies of fome metropolitical and patriarchal fees were indeed like dukedoms and principalities, and the grand hierarch himfelf could difpofe of kingdoms and empires ? In the apoftolic times, on the con- trary, the church's patrimony conlifted moftly, I may fay, in perfecution and calumny, hatred and derifion, agreeably to the prediftion of her Lord/ _* But to return to the diftinflion of the whole church into clergy and laity ; in after ages they even improved upon their predeceffors. The fchoolmen (a modeft race, all clergymen) thought it was doing the laymen too much honour to de- rive the name from Xocog, populus. It fuited their notions better to deduce it from xxxg, lapis, a flone. Take for a fpecimen a few things advanced on this fubjeft by fome celebrated doctors, as quoted by Altensfaig in his Lexicon Theologicum. * A clergyman fignifies a learned man, fcientific, fkil- ful, full of knowledge, accomplifbed, and intelli- gent. A layman, on the contrary, fignifies an unlearned man, unikilful, filly, and Jlony, On this account, the term laic or layman may be derived from the Greek word a«<*5, which in Latin is lapis ^ or a ftone. And fo every clerk or clergyman, in fo far as he is a clergyman, is re- THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 235 fpeftable ; a layman again, fo far as he Is fuch, is defpicable. Clergymen alfo are as a body juflly fu- perior, and ought to have precedency of laymen*.' To vhefe I ftiall add the fentiments of Cardinal Bona, in relation to the care that ought to be taken by the clergy, that laymen may not be al- lowed to do themfelves harm by ftudying the pro- founder parts of Scripture, which their ftupidity is utterly incapable of comprehending. He kind- ly mentions, at the fame time, the books which he thinks they will not be the worfe for, and which, therefore, they may be permitted to per- ufe. ' Concerning laymen, in whom pride the mother of blindnefs reigns, fo far as refpeds thofe things which regard faith and morals. For when, like idiots, they prefume to explain the facred writings, which are the moft profound of all wri- tings ; and again, when they happen to poflefs any external accomplifhment, they defpife all others, and being thus doubly blinded by pride^ they defervedly fall into that worfl error through which they are infatuated by God, fo that they know not how to difcern what is good and what is evil. Wherefcfre, let not laymen read all the books of the facred Scripture. For as there is * ' Capitur clericus pro viro dodto, fcientifico, perito, fcientia pleno, repleto et experto. E contra laicus capitur pro viro in- dodlo, imperito, infipiente et laptdeo. Unde laicus dicitur a A««j Graece quod eft lapis Latine. Et fie omnis clericus, in quaatu n clericus, eft laudabilis ; laicus vero, in quantum iaicus, eH v tupe andus. Cle*ici quoque a toto genere de jure prsepo- nuntur, et debent prscponi laicis.* 236 OF THE OFFICES IN" nothing fo facred, or falutary, or pious, which? hath not chanced to be abufed, fo hath it fared with books ; with refpeft to which the fault is not in the writers, but the wickednefs is in the abufe. They are not, however, to be reftrained from moral and devout works, which have no difficulty, or ambiguity, or abfurdity in their tranflation ; of which fort are the hiftories, lives, or legends of the faints, and alfo facred medita- tions *.' How condefcending is the good Doctor ! He does not abfolutely prohibit the ftupid and conceited generation of laymen from reading fome of the plainer books of Scripture,- and indulges them freely in what is better for them, flory- books and godly meditations, and the legends of the faints f.' * ' De. laicis in qulbus mater cjccitatis fuperbia regnat, qu»- tenus ad ea quas funt fidei et morum. Cum enim ficut idiotae prefumunt facram fcripturam exponere, quae eft profundiffima omninm fcripturarum. Cum iterum habeant quandara honefta- tern exteriorem, contemnunt vitara omnium aliorura, et merito hujus duplicis fnperbise excaecantur, ut incidant in errorem iftum peflirnum, per quern excaecantur a Deo, ut nefciant difcernerc quid bonum eft et quid malum. C)uare non omnes fcripturae li- bros legant laici. Quoniam nihil eft tam fanftum et falubre et pium quo non contingat abuti, lie de libris evenit, quorum non eft culpa, neque fcribentium, fed fcoelus eft in abufu: non tamen arcendi videntur ab opufculis moralibus et devotis, nullam in fe difficultatem, nee ambiguitatem, nee abfurditatem in tranfla- tione gerentibus, cujufmodi funt hiftoriae, vei vitoe, vel legendse fandlorum, nee non meditationes fandlse.' •f- Campbell's Le6iures on Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, vol. i. p 297, — 300. .'^03, — 305 Dr Campbell does not tranflate thefe paffa- ges; indeed it is impoflible to do juftice to the original. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 2'M While no fuch diilin6lion then as that of cler- gy and laity can be admitted as fcriptural, it does not follow that there may not be a diverfity of gifts among elders, nor that it is improper for each of them peculiarly to apply his mind to, and to be chiefly engaged in, that particular de- partment of duty belonging to the office, for which he is beft qualified. One man may be beft qualified for labouring in public ; another may be his fuperior in converfation, and may emi- nently promote the edification of the church by more private admonition and inftruftion. He may be very prudent and wife, well acquainted with the corruptions of the human heart, poflelTed of much knowledge of the word of God, well fitted for warning thofe who are out of the way, and comforting the feeble-minded, ikilful in mana- ging the tempers of men, while his gifts for pu- blic preaching are not fo great *. This is con- firmed by the word of God, " Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double ho- nour, efpecially they who labour in the word and dodrine," 1 Tim. v. 17. That by double honour here is meant larger temporal fupport, is evi- * Dr Franklin,fojuftly celebrated for his wifdora and genius, felflom or never made a fpeech in Congrefs ; yet fuch was the ef- timation of his judgment and penetration, that his opinion, deli- vered in a fhort fentence or two, had generally the greatefl weight. Mr Addifon had no talents for public fpeaking. Had thefe men been members of a church, and excelled as much in the knowledge of divine things as they did in other things, would they not have been eminently qualified for overfeeing or leeding the flock of God ? 238 ©F THE OFFICES IN dent, not only from the frequent ufe of the word T/^jj* in this fenfe, but from the reafon of the pre- cept ; for, adds the apoflle, *' Thou flialt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the labourer is worthy of his reward," ver. 18. This fupport is to be bellowed both on .thofe who rule and on thofe who preach, although more abun- dantly on the latter. Some, in order to avoid a diflinftion between preaching and ruling elders, confider the precept to refpedl thofe elders who are laborious in the difcharge of their duty; but this implies the ab- furdity of the church being called to fupport, in a liberal manner, elders who were not laborious. The meaning of the precept feems obvious, that the elders who faithfully difcharge their duty fhould be liberally provided for, but that this was efpecially their duty towards thofe who labour in the word and do6lrine. Their gifts were fu- perior, they were calculated for more extenlive ufefulnefs, they would require to devote more of their time to iludy and reading ; and preaching the gofpel, not merely in the church, but to unbelie- vers around them, they flood in need of more fupport from thieir brethren. If any from this text infer that the elders who rule well are not entitled to preach, they mufl alfo maintain that the elders who preach are not entitled to rule ; a reftridion which has never * Matt, xxvli. 6.. 9. Adls iv. 34, v. a. 3. vii. i5. xix. if>> xxviii. 10. I Cor. vi. 20. ^c. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 23^ been, and is not likely to be, advanced. We have the cleared evidence that all the elders were overfeers of the flock. There was no fuperiority of oflSce. The gift of one might be greater, but Itill he was but a fellow-labourer with his brethren in the prclbjtery. One might be better qualified for one part of duty, another for another ; and thefe gifts were beftowed to be ufed for the benefit of the whole. This would be befl promoted by each attending to the parti- cular line of duty which the Lord had pointed out, by the gifts and fuperior aptitude he had he- flowed. To endeavour to maintain an equality among the elders, by infifting that each fliould take his turn in the various duties of the office, would have been facrificing the edification of the churches tq^ the jealoufy which might arife in the minds of the elders. We cannot conceive good men to wifb, nor the Lord to permit this. The whole of the fpirit, if not of the letter of the precept, Rom. xii. 6, — 8. applies as well to a prefbytery as to a church : *' Having then gifts, differing ac- cording to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophecy according to the pro- portion of our failh ; or miniflry, let us wait on ourmjnillering ; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhotteth, on exhortation : he that gi- veth, let him do it with liberality, («7rAor»r/, fee 2 Cor. viii. 2. ix. 1]. 13.) ; he that ruleth, with diligence ; he that flieweth mercy, with 240 OF THE OFFICES IVt cheerfulnefs." Here again we have ruling dif- tinguilhed from teaching. The fame diftin6lion is made, 1 Cor. xii. 28. where both teachers and governments are mentioned. All agree that teaching and ruling officially in the church is con- fined to the elders. It therefore appears that fome of the elders were chiefly engaged in preaching the word, and others in ruling, becaufe thefe feveral gifts had been bellowed on them. It is indeed true, that no one can rule in a church who is not (^i^eiKlmeg } fit to teach, for it is a rule of inftru6tion and perfuafion, not of force. This, therefore, is an indifpenfable quali- fication in an elder, 1 Tim. iii. 2. But there are various ways of teaching. Some excel in gifts for teaching more publicly ; others are equally eminent, or more fo, in a lefs public manner. Nei- ther gift Ihould be loft to the church. The elder who poffelTes the latter, will perhaps be as ufeful in the church as the other. The right which thofe who preach the gofpel have to live by the gofpel, is clearly ftated in Scripture. The apoftle having quoted the Mofaic precept of not muzzling the ox which treadeth out the corn, fays, " Does God take care for oxen ? or faith he it altogether for our fakes ? For our fakes, no doubt, this is written, that he that plougheth Ibould plough in hope, and that he that threfheth in hope, ftiould be partaker of his hope. If we have fown unio you fpiritual things, is it a great thing if we fhall reap your carnal THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 241 things?" 1 Cor. ix. 9, — 11. Again^ " They which wait at the altar, are partakers with the altar ; even fo hath the Lord ordained, that they which preach the gofpel fhould live of the gof- pel," ver. 13, 14. The church then who had the ability, without the inclination, to fupport one or more who ihould devote their time wholly to the work of the Lord, would, it appears, be highly blameable. The peculiar advantages pof- f^fTed by a perfon who gives himfelf wholly to the word of God and prayer, are obvious ; but although this is ftrongly implied in Scripture, the exhortation to the elders of Ephefus to labour with their own hands, as Paul had occafionally done, A6ts xx. 35. removes the objection that fome churches are prevented, by poverty, from enjoying the benefit of a plurality of elders. If a church be able to maintain their elders, it is their duty to do fo ; but however poor and incapable of this, they may have their bifhops and deacons, as well as the richeft. Although women were not fufFered to fpeak in the church, 1 Cor. xiv. 34. nor to teach or ufurp authority over the man, 1 Tim. ii. 12. yet it is evident that women were employed in in- ilruding their own fex in private. Had not this been the cafe, there would not have been fo many mentioned in the Scriptures as labouring in the gofpel. Prifcilla is thus fpoken of in feveral places. She, with her hufband, is ftjled a helper or fellow-labourer in Chriil with Paul, Rom. X 242 OF THE OFFICES IN" xvi. 3. In the fame chapter, '* Salute," fays he, ** Tryphena and Tryphofa who laboured in the Lord. Salute the beloved Perfis (n«g«r<5« %¥ ecyx- Trnrnv) who laboured much in the Lord." '* I in- treat thee alfo, true yoke-fellow, help thofe wo- men who laboured with me in the gofpel," Phil, iv. 3. It appears, that where proper perfons could be found in the churches of the female fex, they were employed in teaching and watching over their own fex. In 1 Tim. v. 9, 10. the apoflle gives directions refpefting their qualifications : ** Let not a widow be taken into the number under threefcore years old, having been the wife of one man, well reported of for good works ; if Ihe have brought up children, if (he have lodged Urangers, if fhe have waflied the faints feet, if ihe have relieved the afflided, if {he have diligent- ly followed every good work." ' This, and the other good works,' fays Dr Macknight, ' men- tioned by the apoflle, being attended with great expence, the poor widows who defired to be ta- ken into the number cannot be fuppofed to have performed them at their own charges. I there- fore fuppofe the apoflle is fpeaking of female deacons^ who had been employed in the ofHces here mentioned at the common expence ; confe- quently the meaning of the direftion will be, that, in choofing widows^ Timothy was to prefer thofe who formerly had been employed by the church as dtv^connefLs, and had difcharg d that THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 243 office with faithfulnefs and propriety. For fince thefe women had fpent the prime of their life in the laborious offices of love mentioned by the apoftle, without receiving any recompence but maintenance, it was highly reafonable, when grown old in that good fer\dce, to promote them to an honourable fundlion, which required know- ledge and experience, rather than bodily llrength, and which was rewarded with a liberal mainte- nance *.' The fame perfons are fpoken of Titus ii. 3. " The aged women (Tr^iT/Svlt^x^y the female elders^ as fome render it) likewife, that they be in beha- viour as become^h holinefs, that they may teach the young women f ," &.c. We may eafily fee how ufeful fuch perfons were likely to prove, ef- pecially when jealoufy rendered the intercourfe of men and women, ufual among us, either difficult or improper. That this office continued in the Chriftian churches for feveral centuries, appears from Epiphanius, Theophylaft, Theodoret, and other ecclefiaftical hiftorians. See Suiceri Tbefaur, on the Word, II. p. 289. and Bingham's Origines Ecclejtajiic. Book II. ch. 30. Chryfoflom (as quoted by Whitby) fays, that the apoftle in thefe * See Macknight on the Epiftles, in loc. \ It is evident that thefe women were in fome office, for a^e and chara(5ler were not neceffary to entitle a widow to fiipport ; this is due to every poor member. This view of thefe direc- tions alfo explains the precept of refufing the younger widows. The cares of a family would unfit them for this work, and' they might even marry heathens, and draw back to perdition. -44 OF TH£ OFFICES IN places fpeak-s of what becomes the miniflry. See Dr Whitby on i Tim.iii. 11. In Ads vi. we have an account of the origin of the office of deacons in the church of Jerufa^ lem. The church at Philippi alfo had its dea- conSj^Phil. i. l. and we have the charader necef- fary for the office, delineated with the fame precifion as that of elder, 1 Tim. iii. To the poor the gofpel is preached. Among them it has been principally fuccefsful, and every church of Chrift will have the poor ever with them ; this office then muft always be neceflary. There were no honorary offices in the churches of Chrift. The faithful difcharge of the duties of any office certainly entitles a member to re- fped from his brethren ; their defign, however,5 was not to raife one member above another, but to promote the welfare of the whole body. As the deacons were appointed to attend to the cafes of the poor, and to dillribute the alms of the church, their office neceiTarily called them to vifit the members, efpecially thofe of the poorer fort. This alfo would afford them an opportu- nity of giving fuitable admonitions, and their cha- rafter, which is defcribed to dirett the churches in the choice of them, {hews that they muft be well qualified for this duty. It is unneceflary to infift on the advantages which muft arife to a church from perfons conducing themfelves properly in this office, Kct>.ai-, ^i»iKevm^xvli?y 1 Tim. iii. 14. The deacons are probably mentioned under the name TrtE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 245 of helps, 1 Cor. xii. 28. They were indeed helps to the elders. The chief objedt of the latter of- fice is the fpiritual concerns of the members, Vi^ithout however excluding attention to their tem- poral necefTities. The great obje£l of the former ofRce is the care of the temporal, but not to the exclufion of fpiritual concerns. The deacons in the apoftolic church were not all of one fex. Phebe was a deaconefs of the church of Cenchrea, cva-ecv hetKovev, Rom. Ixvi. 1. and we have diredions for chufing them, as well as thofe of the other fex, 1 Tim, iii. 2. ryyat^x*? ^o-ccvia>§ TifAmq, "In like manner muft the women be grave." This is the proper verfion of the origi- nal, and not as we read it, their wives *. It is very common to deem whatever is un- tifual to be abfurd, and, to fome readers, this will probably feem fo. However, to fhew that the perfuafion that fuch an office exifted is not a no- velty, I fliall quote Dr Macknight's note on the Terfe. ' In tranflating rvy«/xa?,' fays he, ' by the word women, I have followed the Vulgate, which hath here, Mulieres Jimiliter pudicas, the women * yuv>) is always tranflated ivoman, unlefs the connedlion limits it to a wife. This is not the cafe here. A Proteftant tranflator, in his zeal againft the Romifli celibacy, tranflated Adls i, 14. ** Thefe all continued in prayer and fupplication with their wives." His tranflation, and the comraon one of this pafl«ge, are of equal authority, Archbifhop Newcome ren- ders it in his tranflation, the female deaco7ie£'es, as alfo in Roim xvi. I, X3 24(5 OF THE aFFICES IN in like manner mull be modefl ; becaufe I fee no reafon for its being made a qualification of dea- cons to have wives vigilant and faithful in all things ; efpecially as it is not made a qualification of bifhops to have wives of that charafter. Be- fides, Chryfollom, and the Greek commentators, with the moll ancient Latin fathers, were of opi- nion that the apollle, in this paflage, is fpeaking both of thofe women who in the firft age were employed in minillering to the afflided, and of thofe who were appointed to teach the young of their own fex the principles of religion. As the manners of the Greeks did not permit men to have much intercourfe with women of charac- ter, unlefs they were their relations, and as the Afiatics were Hill under greater rellraints, it was proper that an order of female teachers ihould be inftituted in the church for inftru6ling the young of their own fex. Of thefe, 1 think, the apollle writes in his epillle to Titus, ch. ii. 3, 4. where he gives an account of their office, and calls them, Vie^iT%vri^ui^ female elders^ becaufe of their age* And it is believed that they are the perfons call- ed widoivs, of whofe maintenance by the church the apollle fpeaks, 1 Tim. v. 2. and whofe cha- racter Hud Hate he there defcribes, ver. 9, 10. Farther, Clement of Alexandria reckons widows among ecclefiaflical perfons, Psedag. Lib iii. cap. 12. * There are many precepts in Scripture conterning thoTe who are chofen, fome for priells^ others for billiops, others for deacons, others for THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 24t widows.' Grotius tells us, thefe female prefby- ters or elders were ordained by the impofition of hands, till the council of Laodicea ; and for this he quotes the eleventh canon of that council. From what is faid of Euodias and Syntyche, Phi- lip, iv. 2. it is probable they were female prefby- ters. Perhaps alfo Prifcilla, Tryphgena, and Tryphofa, were of the fame order, with fome others, whom in his epiftle to the Romans he fa- lutes, Rom. xvi. 3. 12. as labouring in the Lord. ' For thefe reafons, I think the apollle in 1 Tim. lii. 11. defcribes the qualifications not of the dea- cons wives, but of the women who in the firft age were employed by the church to minifter to the fick and afflided, and to inftru£t the young of their own fex in the principles of the Chriftian faith.' The Doctor's note on Romans xvi. 1. is to the fame purpofe. * Cornelius Nepos, in the preface to his hiftory, fpeaking of the manners of the Greeks, informs us, that it was not cuflomary with them to have free accefs to the company of women of virtue, unlefs they were their relations. His words are, * Many things are efteemed pro- per amongft us, which appear fhameful amongil them. What Roman is ever afhamed to intro- duce his wife to a feaft ? or what miftrefs of a family does not fit at the head of the table, and entertain the company ? But in Greece it is very different ; for there a woman is not admitted to an entertainment, unlefs the company confift only 248 OF THE OFFICES IN of relations of the family. They alfo fit in a re-^ tired part of the houfe, which is called FwuiKdvin^, into which only near relations are admitted*.' In Afia, the female fex were under ftill greater reftraints. Wherefore, as the Chriftian religion was firft fpread in Afia and Greece, it is evident that fuch of the female fex as needed other in- flrudion befides what was given in the public af- femblies, muft have received it in private from fome of their own fex who were appointed to teach them. Accordingly we learn from the New Teflament, and from the moft ancient Chri- Hian writers, that even in the apoflles' days, fome women remarkable for their knowledge, pru- dence and piety, and of a fit age, were chofen to inftruft the newly converted and the young of their own fex, and to exhort the fick and comfort the afRifted, who could not attend the public mi- niftrations. Thefe female teachers are mention- ed under the appellation of widows^ 1 Tim. v. 3^ where alfo, ver. 9. their eharaBer and eleEiion are defcribed. Farther, as the firft Chriftians were remarkable for their love to each other, they ap- pointed in every church men to whom they gave * • Pleraque noftris moribus fuot decora, quse apud illos tur- pia putantur. Quern enim Romanorum. pudet uxorem ducere in convivium ? aut cujus mater famillas, non primum locum te- net aetlium, atque in celebritate verfatur ? quod nlulto fit aliter in Grjecia. Nam neque in convivmm adhibetur, rili propinquo- rum : neque fedet, nifi in inteiiore parte jeJium, quae Tvvxix.- cyirift gy?icecomt is adpellatur, quo nemo accedit, nifi propinqua cognatione conjongitur.' THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 249' the appellation of deacons, whofe office it was to make colledions for the poor, and to apply thefe colledions in relieving widows and orphans who were deftitute, the lick alfo, and the imprifoned for their religion, whom they vifited and com- forted with the greateft tendernefs. In like man- ner, they appointed women whom they oiamed deaconeffes, to perform the fame offices to the diilrefled of their own fex, and whom for that purpofe, they fupplied with money out of the church's funds. The charader and office of thefe female deacons the apoftle has defcribed, 1 Tim. V. 9., and, verfe 10. orders the widows, or female preibyters, to be chofen from among them. The deaconefs is alfo defcribed, 1 Tim. iii. 11. and in the apoftolical conftitutions, lib. iii. cap. 15, U^ox,ii^to-ec( Sg Ket$ hxtiovov vtrnh K«t< «cy/ loc. See alfo Scott, Guife» Doddridge. Grotius, KaniiTiond, Le Clerc and Whitby, on I Tim. v. who all underftand the paffage ia this fenfe. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 25l under great temptation, either to become felf- willed, and to endeavour to rule according to his own pleafure, from having no equals in the church ; or, on the other hand, there is a danger left he be defpifed, and his opinion, being confi- dered only that of an individual, not to be regard- ed fo much as it ought. He will alfo be very apt to fall into a carelefs, flovenly way of carrying on the bufinefs of the church. This is almoft the certain confequence of any perfon having too much to do. Befides, where there is but one elder, if he die or leave the church, they are in an impcrfed ftate, and without any ruler until another be chofen. Under a confcioufnefs of his pronenefs to err, a fingle tlder cannot but be difpofed, on fome oc- cafions, to confult thofe on whofe judgment he moft relies. Through the corruption of human nature, this is apt to excite jealoufy in a church, and to make the members confider themfelves as in part ruled by thofe who are not in ofEce. Eve- ry caufe or occaiion of jealoufy in a church (hould, as much as poffible, be prevented. Now there is lefs danger of jealoufy being excited by a preiby- tery, than by perfons not in office. Befides, we have more reafon to expeft that the Lord will guide thofe whom he fets over a church, when confulting about its affairs. If there be only one elder, and if he does not confult fome of the bre- thren on any difficult cafe which may come before the church, he may fall into an error, and be the 3f52 OF THE OFFICES IN occafion of much lin ; but in a multitude of couti- fellors there is fafety. Befides the example of the firft churches, there are alfo important reafons for each church having a plurality of deacons as well as elders. It would be improper that an individual fliould have the charge of money matters. This might give birth to very unjuft fufpicions. The number of elders or deacons is not mentioned, unlefs in the cafe of the feven at Jerufalem. We muft a£t refpefting this according to circumftances. A large church requires more than a fmall one. We are not pre- vented from exercifing our judgment in the ma- nagement of the churches ; only we muft beware left our notions of fitnefs and expediency fet afide any ordinance of Jefus, however minute it may appear. In the rule or overfight of the church it is evi- dent, unlefs it be very fmall, one man can do but little. The ordinary walk and converfation of the members cannot be fo well known, as when feveral confider this to be their peculiar care. We have feen, that although thofe who preach the gofpel have a right to live by the gofpel, the churches are not, in all cafes, burdened with the fupport of their paftors. If, indeed, their circuna- ftances admit of it, and they negle6l it, they dif- regard the appointment of Chrift, who commands that thofe who are taught communicate to their teachers in all good things. It is by no means, however, abfolutely neceHiiy that all, or even THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 253 that any one of the elders ihould leave their worldly employments, unlefs the concerns of the church render it neceffary, and they be able to provide for them. When paflors of Chriftiati churches lay alide fecular bufinefs, this ought not to be for the fake of obtaining worldly refpeda- bility, but becaufe their attending to this, and to their pafloral duties, is apt to interfere. The elders of Ephefus were exhorted to labour with their hands, not merely for their own fupport, but that they might be able to relieve others. It is of much importance that the elders fhouid ufe their feveral gifts for the edification of the church ; that thofe who chiefly excel in public preaching fliould thus be employed, while their brethren in the prefbytery are attending to that for which they are befl qualified. This is com- pletely according to the fpirit, and in no degree oppofite to the letter of Scripture. The, elders are all equals in ofl^ice, but an equality of gifts among them is not to be expefted. Where the elders and the church are of a proper temper, there will be no difputing on this head. To require a confiderable meafure of gifts for public fpeaking, as effential to an elder, muft pre- clude the exiftence of a prefbytery in moft, at leaft in many churches. As to public preaching, the number of the church is of no confequence. It is as eafy to preach to five hundred as to fifty. The gifts of fome are at once calculated to attraiSt the attention of the carelefs, and to edify believers. y 254f OF THE OFFICES IN" In this country, the members of the church oftea form a fmall proportion of the affembly on the Lord's day. Ought we not to iludy to promote the glory of Chrift in their converfion and inftruc- tion ? Are not all things to be done to edifica- tion * ? Is it neceflary that, becaufe the church requires feveral elders, theyfhould, in their turn^ condu6l the public fervice ? Where this has beea the cafe, what has been the confequence in fome churches? few, befides the church, have attended, and an apparent difregard about the converfion of iinners, and a difufe or negledl of the means by which it is effe6led, have taken place, to the great injury of the power of religion, even in the mem- bers of the church. Every church ought diligently to feek after the converfion of others, and to caufe the gofpel to found out from them. If a church grow indiffe- rent about thofe who are without, it is a proof that religion does not flourifh within f . * This is a general rule, provided we never employ It to fet afide or add to the ordinances of Ghrift. f We know that the apoftles remained in Jernfalem after el- ders were ordained. However well qualified thel'e elders were, we cannot fuppofe them equal to the apoftles in gifts for edify- ing the church, or for alarming the carelefs. In this cafe we may well fuppofe the apoftles would generally preach in public, efpe- cially when unbelievers were preftnt ; and yet the elders had much to attend to, in overfeeing the brethren, and inftrucfling them in private. Now, though the apoftles have no fucceffbrs as fuch, and the elders are all equal, can there be any impropri- ety in each ufing his peculiar gifts for the glory of Chrift ? Nay, THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES, 255 The ftate of our own country is peculiarly fa- Tourable, in fome refpeds, for fpreading the gof- pel. Amidft many evils attending that indifcri- minate profeffion which is fo general, there is one advantage. Many come to hear the gofpel, and fuch ihould ever be encouraged, by the beft ac- commodations in our power, to be prefent at the meetings of the churches of the faints ; nor fhould any thing be omitted to attract their attention, un- lefs it mifreprefent or corrupt the gofpel, or the inftitutions of Chrift. No ftumbling-block Ihould be put in the way of Jew or Gentile, or of the church of God. Pallors and churches fhould be- ware left the miniftry of reconciliation be blamed for their faults, errors, or weaknefles. It feems very defirable that there fhould be at leafl one paftor in every church, whofe time fhall be wholly devoted to the work of the miniftry, who fhall give himfelf wholly to reading, medi- tation, and prayer, 1 Tim. iv- 15. A paftor fup- ported by the church that he may be thus em- ployed, is nowife fuperior to his brethren in the elderfhip ; but if his gifts, or education, or his ftudies, fit him not only to edify the church, but peculiarly qualify him to afFeft the carelefs, ought not thefe to be employed as his ftrength will permit ? It is true, the apoftle fuppofes that an unbe- liever may come in when the brethren were ex» are they not bound to do it, unlefs Scripture has faid that eaclt elder is to attend exactly to the fame thing ? 256 OF THE OFFICES ITf horting one another, and be convinced and eon- verted, 1 Cor. xiv. 23. 25. and no doubt God may, and does blefs the exhortations of the brethren ; but experience proves what we mull reafonably expedl, that where means are not ufed to draw the attention of the carelefs, few attend, and com- paratively little good is done. Indeed the appa- rent indifference of fome churches, and their ne- gleft in ufing proper means for the converfion of finners, has prejudiced many of God's people al- together againfl: fcriptural churches ; giving too much reafon for the charge, that their numbers have been kept up by Chriftians leaving other Societies, while few have been brought to a know- ledge of the truth amongil themfelves. Surely,, there muft have been utterly a fauh in their fyf- tcm, or God would have countenanced his own ordinances, not only for the edification of belie- vers, but for the converfion of finners. We arc by no means, however, to exclude mutual exhor- tation in the churches. This is enjoined by the Lord, and anfwers many important purpofes. It is obje£led to elders being engaged in fecu- lar bufiiiefs, that they have not time for fludy- ing the Scriptures fo as to teach others ; but if a man's mind be fpiritual, if he meditate day an4 night on the law of God, he will, through the grace of Chrift, be fitted for inftruding his brethren, provided he has fuitable gifts for the work. Whether the elders of the church of Ephefus had the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 25T vre cannot tell. It is probable that they had. But extraordinary gifts did not preclude the ne- cefTity of ftudj, for it is enjoined upon Timothy, 1 Tim. iv. 13, 14. who was pofTelTed of thefe. A man may redeem time for ftiidy, particularly in fome kinds of buiinefs ; but when circumflances admit of it, let him, by all means, give himfelf wholly to thefe things, that his profiting may appeaf to all. When the Waldenfes and Albigenfes were re- proached by the church of Rome on account of their paftors being engaged in fecular bufinefs, they replied, this was from neceffity, not choice. They were too poor to fupport their paftors, but they did not confider this to be a fufficient reafon for negledling tli^ ordinances of Chrift, or for remaining in an antichriftian church. The elders muft watch as thofe who are to giv^e account, endeavouring, by every means in their power, to promote the power of religion in the members, by public and private exhortation and admonition from houfe to houfe. They muft vilit the fick, and obferve that the poor are properly taken care of ; for they are over- feers of the whole flock, whether deacons or others. They muft manifeft in their own lives, the power of the do6trines which they teach, being examples to the believers in word, in Gonverfation, in charity, in fpirit, in faith, in pu- rity, bearing the infirmities of the • weak, and lifting up the hands which hang down. They Y3 2dS 0f the offices m rauft particularly attend to any impropriety of condud, or any erroneous opinions in any mem- ber of the church, and ad according to the laws of Chrift, without partiality. They are to pre^ fide in, and to rule »me church, and the bre- thren are required to fubmit themfelves. Here a queftion may arife refpedting the extent of their authority. On the one hand, they are not to be lords over God's heritage j on the other, they muft let no man defpife them, but rebuke with all au- thority, Titus ii. 15. How far then, it may be- alked, are the members bound to fubmit ? This queftion could not be anfwered were there not laws laid down in Scripture, in all re- fpeds fufficient for the government of the churches* But this being admitted, there is no greater diffi- culty in replying to it, than in afbertaining the power of a magiftrate under a well regulated government, or the authority of a judge when< prefiding at a trial by jury. The magiftrate is appointed to carry the laws of the country into effect ; he has no power to make laws. The fame holds with refpe6t to the paftors of a church- There are certain laws by which they are ta rule ; if they be unacquainted with thefe laws, or not qualified to apply them, they are unfit for the office. They cannot require the church, or any individual member, to fubmit,^ unlefs they can (hew that the authority of Chrili enjoins fub- Hiiffion in that parf'cular caff. Bat although the office of the magiftrate and of THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 2S9 the paftor thus far agree, they, in fome refpeftsy materially differ. It is abfolutely neceflary that tivil government ihould be maintained. Al- though a magiftrate is liable to be afterwards called to account for an illegal exercife of power, he muft, in the mean time, be fubmitted to. Hence, if any one under his jurifdidion refufed to obey his orders, fuch a perfon would be liable to immediate imprifonment, or to fome other puniQiment. This may be an inconvenience at- tending the adminiftration of human affairs, but it is unavoidable. There would be an end of all authority, if a man might refufe to fubmit when- ever he chofe to allege that the authority of the magiflrate was not fupported by the laws. But the end of all Chrifl's laws is to promote real religion. This mull be a reafonable and willing fervice, and does not admit of coercion. The pallor mull rule only by perfualion. By ex- plaining and inculcating the laws of Chrifly he is to commend himfelf to every man's eonfcience. He mufl neither require nor accept of obedience to himfelf. The obedience he demands mull be for the King of Sion. Even the apoflles, though really infallible in delivering the laws of Chrift, were not lords over God's heritage *. They pro- * Chrift clearly pointed out to his difciples the difference of the government any of them were to exercife, from that exerci- fed by civil magiftrates. *■ The kings of the Gentiles exercife ]ordftiij> over them, and they that exercife authority upon them are called bencfa^flors ; but ye (hall not be fo," &c. Luke xiik 26& OJF THE OFFICES IK t-ed their apoftollcal authority by figns, and won- ders, and mighty deeds, 2 Cor. xii. 12. ; but they difclalmed the idea of having dominion over their brethren, and hence we find them exercifing the utmofl: patience, even avoiding vifiting the churches until they had ufed every argument to reflify abufes, and given time for thefe arguments to- have their full efteft. This could not take place in civil government. However difpofed magiflrates may be to mercy^ they mufl: without delay punifti the difobedient for the fafety of the ftate. But the power of Jefus is too great, and his government too ftrong to be lliaken. If any are not reclaimed by exhor- tation and forbearance, their foot (hall Aide in due time, and in the mean time he will make the wrath of man to praife him. It furely then becomes pallors to be jealous left the people fubmlt to them inftead of fubmitting to Chrift. He is the moft faithful paftor who has leaft defire for undue perfonal influence, and who ftrives moft earneftly to promote implicit fubjeftion to the laws of Chrift. This can only be attained by in- ft:ru6ling the people, and by not ftiunning to declare the whole counfel of God. However wife and pious a paftor may be, however well he may know what the church ought to do in any fitua- 25, 26. He is not here fpeaking of tyrannical governors, but of Ihofe who were efteemed benefactors, and fo called, as Ptolemy Energetcs, (i. e benefactor) by their fubjecfbs but the autho-^ rity of the apoftles was to be completely of a different nature. THE APOSTOLIC CJiURCHES. 2Q1 tion, he ought not to wiih the people to walk by his light. A temporary peace maj be maintained, or rather, filence may be obferved in a church by their implicitly following the opinion of a paftor or a prefbytery ; but fuch peace is always deceitful, and does not reft on a folid foundation. When the members of a church are well inftru£led ; when every a6l of the church is an adl of obedience to Chrift 5 although matters may go on more flowly^ and much forbearance may be neceflary on all fides, yet greater progrefs will be made, and there will be lefs danger of falling into, and per- fifting in fpecious errors. The wifeft man may err, and I fuppofe there is no paftor who has been in the habit of hearing the members of a church deliver their opinions on the cafes of dif* cipline which have occurred, without receiving inftrudion from them. It is of much importance to underftand the na- ture of the fubjeflion to the paftors of a church, enjoined by Chrift. From not undcrftanding this fubjedl, many offences have arifen in churches. A paftor, on the one hand, is perfuaded that he is to rule ; on the other hand, the people know that he is not to exercife lordftiip ; and mutual jea« loufies arife. He thinks he is only contending for the power committed to him, which is necef- fary for the good of the church. They think they are maintaining their rights, refifting en- croachments which may prove very hurtful, and ftanding faft jin the liberty wherewith Chrift ha^ 262 OF THE OFFICES IN • made them free. He may have witneffed much confufion, ftrife, and debate, from the want of paftoral authority, and therefore be more jealous of lofing his ; while they, knowing what prieft- craft has been exercifed by men calling themfelves minifters of Chrill, may be afraid of becoming the fervants of men. But when it is clearly underftood that a paftor is only to carry into execution the laws of Chrift, and that wuth the confent and in the prefence of the church, all grounds of jealoufy are removed. He has lefs temptation to want of forbearance, and they have ample fecurity againft gradual en- croachment. Should it be thought that this leaves the churches without a government fyffi- ciently effedlive for the prefervation of peace amongft them, we can only anfwer, N'o other go- vernment is warranted hy Scripture ; and we have no right to lay on the churches any other burden than Chrill has laid. Beddes, his kingdom is purely fpiritual ; he reigns in the hearts of his people, and no coercive or penal laws are fuited. to promote his defign. This is perfectly confif- tent with the paftors of a church receiving due refpe£l from their brethren. They are over them in the Lord, appointed by his authority, and they muft acknowledge them as their lawful rulers, and efteem them very highly in love for their work's fake. As the edification of the church depends, in a great meafure, on the piety, ability and faithfulnefe THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 263 of elders, the members ought to bear them much on their hearts before the Lord, that like workmen who need not be afhamed, thej may rightly di- vide the word of God ; that their condud and converfation may be holy and exemplary j and, that they may be direded in all which concerns the church. There ought alfo to be a degree of deference entertained for their judgment, for if they are (as they ought to be) beft qualified for edifying their brethren, doubtlefs their judgment on any fubjed: deferves peculiar confideration. Befides the qualllicatlons which pointed them out to their brethren, as fit objeds of their choice to the paftoral ofFice, the office itfelf being the in- ftitution of Chrill, there is reafon to expe6l, on this account, that, through the prayers of their brethren, they fhall have wifdom to go out and in before the people ; and this confideration ought to produce a fpirit of fubmiffion to them. This fpirit indeed ought alfo to be cherifhed amongfl the members, one towards another, *' All of you be fubject one to another, and be cloth- ed with humility," 1 Pet. v. 5. Each fhould efteem others better than themfelves, and not be wife in their own conceit. It ought peculiarly to be cherifhed towards thofe who have diftin- guillied themfelves by devotednefs to God. '' Ye know," fays Paul, " the houfe of Stephanas, that it is the firfl fruits of Achaia, and that they have addi6led themfelves to the miniflry of the faints, that ye fubmit yourfelves unto fuch, and to every S64 OF THE OFFICES IN one that helpeth with us and laboureth," 1 Cor. XvL 15, 16. This fplrit of fubje6lion to the el- ders, and to one another, is perfe6lly confident with the church not being the fervants of men, and where this fpirit does not fubfift, religion muft be at a low ebb. Should an elder aft improperly, it is the duty of the church to admonilh him. This we find exprefsly commanded in Scripture : " Say to Archippus, Take heed to the miniilry which thou haft received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it," Col. iv. 17. By becoming an elder, a man is not raifed above the laws of Chrift, and the precept. Matt, xviii. 15, 16. is equally applicable to elders as to any others. The deacons ought alfo to be highly refpefted in the church. They devote a portion of their time to the care of the poor, and to other good works, and their characters are fuch as entitle them to much confideration. Their office gives them no authority to rule * in the church, but as they are peculiarly engaged in the Lord's work, they are entitled to fpecial regard. Befides the fupport of the poor, various ex- pences are incurred by a church. The fupport ♦ Attempts have been made to fupply the want of a pref- bytery, by the deacons acfling in fome refpeJ by or through the inflrumeutali- ty of the laying on the hands of the preibytery, as he affirms was the cafe in laying his own hands on him, 2 Tim. i. 6. but it was given him by prophecv. fiiTce, with the laying on the hand.s of the preibytery. ("he irnpoiuion of their hands in fetting him apart to the miniftry, accompanied, or was added to theimpofi- tion of the apoftle Paud's hands whereby ha received the gift. OF ORDINATION. 2"I1 It ought therefore to be obferved, where this can be done, according to the example given us in Scripture. ' Laying on of hands appears a folemn and proper mode of defignation. The a6l itfelf may- be indifferent, fo is kneeling in prayer ; but there are many bodily a£ts which, from cuftom, obtain a fignificant meaning, and it feems improper to change them when fanftioned by the word of God, The laying on of hands with prayer, is a fcrip- ture ufage in the cafe of bleffing and of devoting, or fetting things or perfons apart to any fervice or work of God to which he appoints or calls them, and can therefore be ufed after revelation is perfected, and after the extraordinary gifts and ligns are ceafed. But it is w^hoUy without foun- dation in Scripture, to make the being of church officers, or of a Chriflian church, to depend upon fuch a declarative ceremony. All that can be faid of fuch an ufage is, that it ought not to be neglefted where it can be done, as we ought to pray Handing, or kneeling, or proflrate on the ground, and lifting up our hands ; but it would be odd to fay that a Chriftian cannot, and muft not pray at all, when he is not able to put him- felf in fuch pollures *.' Ordination is at this day confidered by many aa conferring an indelible character f. Although, * GIa5. t Wickliffe rejedcd ihis indelibility. Vide Dial, lib. IV. cap. XV. 1315. 212 OF ORDINATIOIT, fay they, a man may preach without being or-^ dained, he miift not baptize nor adminifter the Lord's fupper ; but afterward.^, he is not only en- titled to do fo in his own, but in any other church. To fay nothing of the impropriety of conlidering the difpenfation of the ordinances of baptifm and the Lord's fupper as fuperior to the preaching of the word, which plainly reverfes the fcriptural order, if it be improper for a man who is unordained toad- minifter thefe ordinances in a church, it is equally fo for a man ordained over one church, to admi- niiter them in another. A man who is ordained an elder, receives no ofHce except that of an overfeer in a particular church ; juft as one who is appointed a magiftrate in one city, has thereby no jurifdiftion in another. When a man who has been ordained gives up his charge, one would fuppofe he muft return to his former pri- vate flation ; but this is not generally deemed pro- per. An unknown fomething has been communi- cated to him, of which he cannot be deprived with- out what is called depolition. * The fteps I have already mentioned and explained,' fays Dr Camp- bell, ' advancing from prefbytery to parochial epif- copacy, thence to prelacy or diocefan epifcopacy, from that to metropolitical primacy, and thence again to patriarchal fuperintendancy, together with thofe methods I have pornted out to you, whereby the miniflers of religion diftingulfheci themfelves from their Chriftian brethren, inft ;li Jy prepared, the minds of the people for the notion, that in or- OF ORDINATION". 213 dination there was fomething exceedingly myfle- rious, and even infcrutable. It came at length not to be coniidered as a Iblemn manner of appoint- ing a fit perfon to difcharge the duties of the paf- toral office amongft a particular flock or congre- gation, and of commuting them to his care, but to be regarded more efpecially as the imprinting of a certain chara£ler, or unperceivable and in- comprehenlihle llgnature on a perfon, a character which, tho-agh, in confcquence of human means employed by the proper miniRcr, it was conferred, could by no power lefs than omnipotence be re- moved. And though at iiril hearing one would be apt to imagine, that by this tenet they dero- gated as much from the ecclefiaftic power on one hand, as they enhanced it on the other, fince they maintained that the perfons who gave this cha- racter could not take it away, the efFe£l on mens* conceptions was very different. If a iingle cere- mony, or form of words, could with as much facility withdraw as confer a gift in its nature inviiible, nobody would be impreflfed with the conception, that any thing very wonderful had been either given or taken. The words or cere- mony of ordaining would be confidered as nothing more than the eftabliflied mode of invefting a man with the right of exercifing canonically the facred fundion ; and the words or ceremony ufed in the depofition, as the mode of ftripping him of that right or privilege, fo that he fliould no longer be entitled to exercife it. In this way he would be :274 OF ORDINATION. under the fame canonical incapacity he lay under before his ordination, which anfvvers to what was for many ages called in the church, reducing a clergyman to lay-commu7iion. There would be nothing more extraordinary here, than the crea- ting of a lord high fteward, for inftance, by cer- tain folemnities accompanying the delivery of a white baton into his hands, and placing him on an eminent feat, and his putting an end to his office, by publicly breaking the baton, and coming down from his feat. Whereas for a man to do a thing, which nothing lefs than Omnipotence can undo, and which even that, in fadl, will never be employed in undoing, to imprint a charadler, a fomething which, in fpite of angels, men, and devils, fliall to eternity remain indelible, appears the refult of ,a power inconceivable indeed, and little lefs than divine. * Whence ideas of this kind originated, ideas that do not feem to quadrate with the fo much boafted power of the keys, which implies, alike, that of opening and that of /hutting, admitting and excluding, binding and loofing ; ideas of which the apoftles and evangelifts have no where given us the flighted hint, and of which it is plain they had not themfelves the fmallell apprehenfion, 13 a matter of curious inquiry, and clofely eon-t necled with the fubjefl of the hierarchy. I (hall therefore endeavour briefly to trace the rife and progrefs of fo ftrange a doctrine. '- Ecclefiaftical degrees were not inflituted ovu or ORDINATION. 275 glnally under the notion of dignities, pre-eminen- cies, or honours, as they became afterwards, but as miniftries, charges, and what the apoflle Paul called i^yx, works, 1 Tim. iii. 1. ** If a man defire the ofrice of a biihop," fays he, " he defi- leth a good work." Confequently, if in any thing denominated the office of a bifhop, there be no work to do, it cannot be the office whereof the apoflle fpeaks ; for the mifapplication of the name can never aker the nature of the thing. The perfons accordingly poffefTed of fuch offices were llyled^ both by our Lord and by Paul his apoflle, i^yoclat, labourers, workmen. *' The labourers are few," fays the former, "and the w^orkman is worthy of his meat." The latter recommends it to Timo- thy to acquit himfelf as " a workman that need- eth not be afhamed." * For fome time, indeed, it could hardly enter into the mind of any man to think himfelf entit- led to decline executing perfonally, whilft able to execute, a truft folemnly committed to him, and which he had himfelf undertaken. For the terms ordination and appointment to a particular pajio- ral charge^ were perfe6tly fynonjmous. If one, however, in thofe truly primitive times, (which but rarely happened) found it necefTary to retire from the work, he never thought of retaining either the title or the emoluments. And though the miniilers were of two kinds, the one called anciently the miniftry of the word, and, in later timeS; the cure cf fouls, and the other a miuiflry 276 OF ORDINATIOK. in things temporal, for the fupport and relief of the poor and infirm, as was the deaconfhip, thofe in both offices were equally held bound to perfo- nal fervice *. Nor would any one have thought, in the earliefl ages, of ferving by a deputy, unlefs for a Ihort time, and on account of fome remark- able and unavoidable impediment ; much lefs would he have accepted another charge that was incompatible with his former one. But to be made a bifhop, and in being fo to receive no charge whatever, to have no work to execute, could have been regarded no otherwife than as a contradiction in terms. * Indeed the name of the office implied the fer- vice, without which it could not fubfift, that is, without which there w^as no office. The name biihop, as I have obferved, means overfeer, and this is a term manifeftly correlative to that which exprefTes the thing to be overfeen. The con- nection is equally necefiary and effential as be- tween father and child, fovereign and fubjeCl, huf- band and wife. The one is inconceivable with- out the other. Ye cannot make a man an over- feer to whom ye give no overfight, no more than ye can make a man a ihepherd, to whom ye give * The word minijiry\ like that of ordination, has been much niifapplied. It is generally confivied to thofe who labour in the word of dodrine. The view given of it by the Docflor is per- fectly juft. pHftors have a particular miniftry or fervice to per- form, and deacons one of a diiferent kind. Both are miniflers In the church. OF ORDINATION, 277 the charge of no fheep, or a hufband to whom ye give no wife. Nay, in fad, as a man ceafes to be a hufband, the moment that he ceafes to have a wife, and is no longer a fhepherd than he has the care of fheep, fo in the only proper and ori- ginal import of the words, a bifhop continues a biftiop only whilft he continues to have people under his fpiritual care. Thefe things, indeed, are fo plain, that one is almofl afhamed to attempt to illuflrate them. Yet the changes that too foon enfued, have turned matters fo entirely off their original bottom, that propofitions which, in the age of the apoflles, mull have appeared felf- evident, require a careful developement to us moderns ; fo much is the import of names and phrafes altered in the courfe of fome fucceffive centuries *.' Dr Campbell proceeds to fliew how the primi- tive idea of ordination was perverted by the prac- tice of ordaining men without a charge, and after- wards by the fidion of an indelible charafter be- ing communicated by ordination. He confiders this to be equally abfurd as to make a man a king without a kingdom, or a hufband without a wife, and inquires, if unmeaning words will fatis- fy, why may not the myflical, invifible, indelible charader of hufband be imprinted by fuch a mar- riage as well as that of priefl or bifhop by fuch an ordination ? * Campbell's Leaures on Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, vol i. p 335, Aa 278 OF ORDINATION. It is to be regretted that fuch unfcriptural fen- timents are not yet exploded. Some miffionaries, when going abroad, are ordained. They are then clergymen, and entitled to the appellation of Re^ verend^ while they are accompanied by fo many lay-brethren, who are alfo intended to preach the gofpel. What is meant by this diflinftion ? Doubtlefs, ail miffionaries ought to be commend- ed to the grace of God for his fupport and affift- ance ; that is, ordained to the work in which they are engaged. As to rank, in civil fociety, Chriftianity leaves the officers of churches juft as it finds them, nei- ther raifing nor lowering them in the fmalleft degree. It does not interfere with worldly titles and diftinclions giving honour to whom honour is due, but it does not bellow fuch on any religious account, which are always an evident token of its corruptions. There are indeed various fervices to be performed in a church of Chrift, and thefe give rife to different offices, to the difcharge of ■whofe duties fome of the members muft be call- ed. But it is of importance to remember, that all diftinftion created by holding fuch offices, is •wholly of a religious nature, confined entirely to the relations in which thofe who hold them ftand to their brethren in the church, and do not, in the fmalleft degree, affe£l any of the relations of civil life. A feparate and diftincl order of men in fo- ciety, created by official fituation in a church of Oi" ORDINATION. 279 Chrift, is fomething entirely foreign to the nature and fpirit of the New Teftament difpenfation. The diftin6lion of clergy and laity has how- ever been eagerly maintained, and this has been kept up by peculiarity of drefs, and by certain titles. It may feem trifling to notice thefe, but cir- cumllances, infignificant in themfelves, have more influence in the world than many fuppofe ; ' Men are but children of a larger growth.' It has been obferved that the world is ruled by names, and experience fliews that there is much truth in the remark. The Lord did not think the fubje£t too infignificant to fpeak on. He once and again notices the drefs of the Scribes and Pharifees. '* They make broad their phyladeries, and enlarge the borders of their garments ; they defire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets," Matt, xxiii. 5. Luke xx. 46. Connected with their drefs, he mentions their love of titles, and forbids his difciples to receive fuch. " Be not ye called Rabbi." To fay that the title of Reverend is a matter of no confequence, is to charge this precept with being too trifling to be obferved ; and to affume or receive that, or any of fimilar import, is a dired violation of its fpirit and pur- pofe. It feems very obvious, that in this paflTage the Lord Jefus exprefsly prohibits the ufe of all honorary, exclufive titles of diflin6tion in his kingdom, as entirely incompatible with its nature* They have a tendency, not only to pufF up thofe on whom they are conferred, but alfo to create 280 OF ORDINATION". a falfe refpeft and veneration in the minds of others ; and they introduce a worldly influence, deilru£iive, as far as it goes, of Chriftian princi- ple. To violate this rule, then, is not fo light a matter as many feem to fuppofe. Thofe who are acquainted with human nature, and with the importance which many poor deluded votaries of Rome attach to the garments and titles of their priefts, will be convinced of this. Indeed thefe have had no fmall influence in maintaining that fort of worldly diftindion between minillers and people, which has been fo anxioufly contended for. As to titles, Dr Campbell juflly obferves, that in proportion as real religion declined, thefe were multiplied. The only obje6l of titles or of pecu- liarity of habits, muft be to procure refped for minifters, by working on the prejudices and weakneffes of mankind. But neither Jefus nor his apoftles ever fought honour by fuch means. They are human inventions, very neceflary, it may be, in the kingdoms of this world, but can never prove of real benefit to religion. Let mi- nifters of the gofpel, by all means, avoid con- tempt ; let them ftudy to maintain the greateft refpedability. The word of God fhews them an excellent way to obtain it : '* Let no man defpife thy youth, but be thou an example of the belie- vers, in word, in converfation, in charity, in fpirit, in faith, in purity," 1 Tim. iv. 12. Elders and deacons, we have feen, ought to be ordained by the laying on of the hands of the OF ORDINATION'. 281 prefbytery. Thus was Timothy fet apart to the work of the miniflry, 1 Tim. iv. 14. In a church newly formed, where there are no elders, or indeed where there are, it feems very proper that elders and others, as meflengers from neigh- bouring churches, fhould affift at their ordination j but this can by no means be faid to be indifpen- fable. Yet it tends to promote love and union among the churches, which is of much import- ance ; for although they are completely inde- pendent of one another, and refponfible for their conduft to Chrift alone, they ought, as ferving the fame Mafler, and aflbciated for the fame purpo- fes, by mutual good offices to cultivate brotherly love. The apoftles ordained elders by prayer and falling. This is recorded for our imitation, and certainly ought not to be omitted, confidering the importance of the office, and that all depends on receiving the Lord's bleffing on the fervice. It is worthy of remark, that while fo many difputes have taken place as to the mode arid validity of ordination, on which the Scriptures are in a great meafure filent, fo little attention fhould have been paid to the charafler and qualifications of the perfons to be ordained, which are amply defcribed in the word of God. It is ftrange, too, that even as to the mode men have fo generally departed from the Scriptures ; for fafling upon fuch occa- lions has fallen into general difufe. A a 3 [ 282 ]. CHAPTER IX. ©F THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. Jl HE apoftles not only taught the difcl- pies to aflemble together, and to chufe elders and deacons, but alfo to obferve certain ordinances » Some of thefe are mentioned in the account of the: church of Jerufalem, A6ls ii. 42. " And they continued fledfaftly in the apojiks'' doBrine, and the fellow/hip,, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers^"* all of which they obferved regularly on the firft day of every week or Lord's day. We find the church alfo, when aflembled, finging the praifes of God and engaged in falling* Section I. Of the Apofiks' LoBrine, The apoftles received a commandment frona Chrift, to preach the gofpel to every creature, Kjigv9-c- tidings of falvation. It does not mean in Scrip- ture an explanation of or a comment on a doftrine, or any chain of reafoning, but a proclamation of fadls, and of truths conneded with thefe fa6ts *. It was by the preaching of the gofpel that churches were gathered, and as we are ever prone to let the faving truth flip from our minds, it is- neceflary that the churches be conftantly put in. remembrance of it. Thus Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, '* Moreover, brethren, I de- clare unto you the gofpel which I preached unto you, which alfo ye have received, and wherein) ye ftand ; by which alfo ye are faved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unlefs ye have believed in vain : for I delivered unto youy firft of all, that which I alfo leceived, how that Chrift died for our fins, according to the Scrip- tures ; and that he was buried, and that he rofe again the third day, according to the Scriptures," 1 Cor. XV. 1, — 4. Upon this glorious truth the apoftles founded evtry exhortation which they delivered to the churches. But preaching is not exclufively a church ordi- nance. Thofe who labour in the word and doc- trine, ought to account it their duty and privilege to publifti, wherever they have opportunity, the glad tidings of falvation ; to be infliant in feafon out of feafon. Nor ought others who have talents for this lo confider themfelves at liberty * See thp J^reliniiiiary l^ifllrtations to Carapbeil's Tranllatian of the Gofpels, Difleri. vi. part 5.. 284 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED to hide thefe in a napkin. Every Chriflian, as he hath received the gift, ought to minifter the fame as a faithful fteward of the manifold grace of God. Churches ought to obferve the various endowments of their members, and to excite them to diligence in the ufe of thefe. They muft pro- voke one another to love and good works. One end of their aflbciation is to prevent any of the talents committed to them as individuals from be- ing loft, negleded or abufed. Wherever we meet with men who are ignorant of the gofpel, the law of love requires that we fhould make known to them the way of falva- tion, and call upon them to repent and believe the gofpel. Some have given up preaching ta and addrelling or entreating linnets altogether, al- leging that we have no warrant to do fo *. But the duty is fo obvious, it comes fo exprefsly un- der the precept of loving our neighbour as our- felves, and of doing as we would be done by, that before we could vindicate our neglecting to preach the gofpel as we have opportunity, it would be neceflary to Ihew that God in his word has direct- ly prohibited it. Some, who have not carried matters quite fo ♦ This objecHiion arifes from our having no exprefs commiffion exrept that given to the apoftles ; but was not this evidently in- tended for all ages? The objedlion is exadlly the fame as that made againft the dire<5lions to the firft churches being defigned for thefe in all ages, that we have only the rules defigned for the apojlolic churches. Thofe who fee the weaknefs of the reafoniflg in the one cafe, may clearly perceive it in the other. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 285 far, have jet ufed no means to induce iinners', even thofe whom perhaps they might eafily influ- ence, to come to hear the gofpel. Their worfhip is conduced folely with a view to the edification of the church. Our doors, fay they, are open ; any one may come in and hear the teftimony of the gofpel, they may alfo hear us exhort one ano- ther, and thus may be convinced and converted. But is this afting properly ? Had the apoftles fo learned Chrift ? Do their writings breathe fuch a fpirit ? or do we find that churches are lefs edified where greater zeal is difcovered for the converfion of iinners, and where fuitable and fcriptural means are employed for this purpofe ? Zeal for the general difFufion of the gofpel will always keep pace with the fuccefs of the work of God in a church. We have already feen that the elders who are qualified for it, are to labour in the word and dodrine. It is not only neceffary that the gofpel fliould be preached for quickening the dead in trefpafles and fins, but that the difciples fliould be taught to obferve all things whatfoever the Lord has commanded. Teaching includes inftru£tion in all the ordinances of Chrifl;, the explanation of their nature and end, as well as directing them in the due performance of all perfonal and relative duties. It comprehends every kind of infl;ru6lion for informing the ignorant, confuting gainfayers, and leading believers from the firfl: principles of Chriilianity through all the intermediate fleps, 286 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED to the perfeft knowledge of all the revealed will of God in the Scriptures *. In the epiftles to Ti- mothy and Titus, we have ample information with regard to that teaching which is neceflary in the churches of the faints. Timothy was to com- mit the inftru^lions which he had received from Paul, to faithful men who ftiould be able to teach others ; and it is abfolutely necelTary that an el- der be fit to teach thefe, and to open the facred Scriptures. Intimately connecled with teaching, although not precifely the fame, is exhortation. It means to excite, by v/ords fpoken, to any duty. It com- prehends entreaty, confolation, expoftulation and rebuke. Teaching means pointing out what is duty, exhortation enforces the pradice of it. Thus the apoftles exhorted the believers to continue in the faith, A6ls xiv. 21. and Barnabas exhorted them all, that, with purpofe of heart, they ihould cleave unto the Lord, Afts xi. 23. Teaching and exhortation are important parts hi the duty of elders, but are not to be confined to them. The members of a church are bound to teach and admonifh one another, Col. iii. 16. The apoftle was perfuaded of the Romans, that they were full of goodnefs, filled with all know- ledge, able to admonifh one another, ch. XV. 14. He informs the Corinthians that they might all prophefy, 1 Cor. xiv. 31. and takes notice of * See an effay on the means by which the gofpel was preach- ed in the world, Miff. Mag. Vol. I, pag. 5. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 2S7 the good effeds likely to arife from it. In the commandment that women fhould keep filence in the churches, it is implied that the men were at liberty to fpeak, and he commands the believers to exhort one another daily while it is called to- day, Heb. iii. 13. One great end for which Chri- ftians are commanded to alTemble, is, that they might have Hated opportunities of mutual exhor- tation. " Not forfaking the aflembling of your- felves together, as the manner of fome is, but ex- horting one another,^'' Thus ought all the gifts poffeiTed by the members to be turned to ac- count. Chriflians in this country have experienced the good efFefts of mutual exhortation in their fellow- fhlp meetings. In confequence of not being con- nected with churches of Chriit, they were depri- ved of this and various other advantages, and to fupply the deficiency, they met together in pri- vate. But a church of Chrill furnifhes all the means of grace within itfelf, and although it does not prevent the members from meeting more pri- vately, it does not oblige them to do fo in order to enjoy the benefit of mutual exhortation. Under the bead of the apoftles* doClrine we muft not omit another important appointed means for the edification of the churches — reading the Scriptures in their public alfemblies. The read- ing of Mofes and the prophets was long prad:ifed in the Jewilb fynagogues. Of this mention is made in the New Tellament. At a very caily 288 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED period after our Lord's afcenfion, the apollles be- gan to write and to publifti the Scriptures of the New Teflament, and it was intended that thefe writings fliould be publicly read, as is evident from the injunftions delivered to the churches. Thus Paul, in writing to the church at CololTe, '* When this epiftle is read amongft you, caufe that it be read alfo in the church of the Laodiceans, and that ye like wife read the epiftle from Laodicea," ch. iv. 16. The fame exhortation is elfewhere very ftrongly enforced : '' I charge you by the Lord, that this epiftle be read unto all the holy brethren," 1 Theff. v. 27. Reading was not an occafional duty, and the writings which were oc- cafionally addrefled to the churches by the apof- tles, were not thofe only which were read. It feems to have been a ftated exercife, and no doubt was extended to all thofe parts of Scrip- ture which were then in exiftence. Timothy is enjoined to difcharge with diligence and conftancy this part of duty : " Till I come, give attendance to readings to exhortation, to do6lrine." That this refers to public reading, feems probable from the coniideration that the apoftle*s defign is to in- ftru£l Timothy, and through him, the minifters of Chrift in all ages, how he and they ought to behave in the houfe of God : reading, alfo, is here conneded with teaching and exhortation. Indeed when we coniider, th^t, through the goodnefs of God, his whole revelation is con- tained ill a fmall volume, nothing appears more BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 239- reafonable than that a part of it fliould conilantly be read in the churches of the faints, that their views of divine truth may be enlarged, and that the word of Chrift may dwell in them richly. The word of God enjoins all things to he done to edification ; but let not this direction be abufed to fet afide any of the Lord's ordi- nances. As no order or form of proceeding on the Lord's day is prefcribed or related in Scripture, and as many befides the church frequently attend, we ought to have in view the benefit of all who hear, and to conduft the fervices in fuch a manner that this, as well as the edification of the church, may alfo be promoted. Section IL Of the fellow/hip or Contribution, We have already confidered what is meant by the church at Jerufalem having all things in common, tATrxvrx kuvx. Hence is derived Koimnx, fel- lowfliip or communion. As it was the duty of every church to aflift its poor members, and as this affiftance was bellowed by the voluntary con- tributions of all the members, the term came into general ufe. Thus Paul writes, ** It hath pleafed them of Macedonia to make a ctxt^m fellowJJjip^^^ Rom. XV. 26. The fame word occurs, 2Cor.ix. ]3. your liberal fellow/hip^ and in various other places. The Greek fathers life iXiYit4.oa-vvn, alms, Bb 290 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED as a fynonymqus term. Juflin Martyr informs us, that, in his time, after the ordinance of the fupper, every one that was able and willing, gave according to his ability, and what was gathered was committed to the care of the bilhop, who re- lieved therewith the orphans and widows, the fick. and diftrefled, prifoners, flrangers, travellers, and, in a word, all that had need thereof*. It is evident then that by the fellowfhip in which the difciples ftedfaftly continued, A£ls ii. 4r2. is meant the contribution jointly made by the church for the relief of the poor ; and this is an additional argument to prove the communion of all things in the church at Jerufalem to have been what was before fet forth. Every church ought to conlider this to be an important ordinance, and the members ought to give liberally, as the Lord has profpered them in this life, remembering the words of the Lord Jefus how he faid, '* It is more bleffed to give than to receive." This ordinance has a powerful influence in promoting love in a church, and in leading the members to view themfelves as one family. It fhews that the Lord ha5 at once made proviiion for the fpi- ritual and temporal wants of his people, when alTociated according to his will, and obferving his commandments. The apoftle feems to refer particularly to this ordinance, Heb. xiii. 10. rvig Pi iiiTTOt't'cci xeci Koivavixg f,tYi iTriXcoi^clncrk, aO not Jor~ * Lord King's Inquiry, Part IT. cli vi. See alfo the account of KaiyuvtXi Suiceri Thefaunis, Vol. IL p. 125. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 291 g€t the doing of good and the fellow Jlnp^ for with fuch facrifices God is well pleafed. With a view of fupporting the poor, feme have thought of laying up a fund, a part, or the inte- reft of which, is to be employed for this purpofe ; but this is improper, and is calculated to defeat one great end of the ordinance of the fellowfhip. In appointing this ordinance, the Lord, it would feem, not only had in view the fupplying the wants of his people, but the advancement of brotherly love and tendernefs of heart in Chri* {•ians to each other. This end will be belt at- tained by a fupply conftantly miniftered, accord- ing to the neceffities of the faints at the time they occur. This prevents money being taken out of the hands of the Lord's people, who fhould em- ploy it as his ftewards, until it be needed. It may be urged, that, without a fund, there will be dan- ger of a deficiency. Let it be remembered, that the Lord will have a feed to ferve him for ever, that the filver and gold are his, and that we have reafon in this, as in other things, confidently to expedt that, as our day is, fo ihall our ftrength be. Let us, to the utmoft of our power, then, fupport our poor brethren to-day, and let us not be afraid of to- morrow. 2Q2 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED Section III. Breaking of Bread, or the Lord's Supper, This is another ordinance appointed by Chrift to be obferved in the churches. It was obferved by the church of Jerufalem, Afts ii. 42. Paul delivered this ordinance to the church of Corinth by revelation from the Lord : '* I have received of the Lord that which alfo I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jefus, the fame night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he brake it^ and faid, Take, eat : this is my body which is broken for you ; this do in remembrance of me," 1 Cor. xi. 23, 24. The Lord's fupper is a focial ordinance. When obferving ir, we profefs our faith in the death of Jefus, as the only ground of our hope. By thus ihewing forth or commemorating his death, we declare our confidence of his refurredlion and his fecond coming, 1 Cor. xi. 26. We alfo profefs our union one with another, as many members of the one body of Chrift, 1 Cor. x. 17. Under the law, when a facrifice of peace-offering was of- fered, after certain parts had been burnt on the altar, and others given to the prieft, the offerer feafled with his family on what remained. This reprefented his fellovs^fhip with God, and the fa- tisfa^tion enjoyed in this fellowfhip. Chrift our pafTover is facrificed for us. He is our peace- offering, and we ought to obferve the Lord's fup- BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 20$ per, joying in God through Jefus Chrift, by whom we have alfo received the atonement. Eating and drinking of the emblems of his facrifice, repre- fents this. We have the fame evidence that this ordinance was a flated part of the worftiip of the churches every Lord's day, as that they flatedly obferved the day at all by aflembling together. In Afts ii. 42. we read, " They continued ftedfaftly in the apoftles' dodrine, and in the fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers." It is evident the ordinance of the fujiner is here in- tended by the breaking of bread ; for furely an account of their common meals would not be introduced between the different parts of God's worfhip ; and it feems equally plain, that they were as conftant in breaking bread, as in at- tending on the apoftles' dodrine and public prayer. It formed a part, then, of their ilated worfhip. We have an explicit teftimony to the fame purpofe, in A6ls xx. 7. *' Upon the firfl day of the week, when the difciples came together to break bread^ Paul preached unto them." The church at Troas was probably planted by PauL We learn in this chapter, that while hafting to fpend the day of Pentecoft at Jerufalem, he pafled through Troas, where he arrived on the day- called by us Monday, and, notwithftanding his haftcj tarried with them feven days, evidently- waiting for the firft day of the week, that he B b3 294 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED might give fuitable exhortation to the whole church. On the firft day of the week they aflem- bled, and we learn that the objeft of their coming together was to break bread. Doubtlefs Paul had met with fome of them before ; we may be fure he was not idle during the fix days, but he' had not an opportunity of meeting the whole church, till the firft day of the week *. Paul's anxiety to be gone is very evident, for he preach- ed till break of day, and then departed on his journey, ver. 11. ; and yet he waited a whole w^eek for the ^urpofe of commemorating the death of Jefus, and preaching to the whole church, none of whom he knew woukl omit the obfer- vance of this ordinance on the Lord's d^y. It was alfo the cuftom for the difciples at Co- rinth to come together into one place, 1 Cor. x^i'^.,- and this meeting was upon the firft day '•^^^he ' week, 1 Cor.xvi. 2. When they met, •ith'ey did eat and drink, profeiTmg to obferve the Lord's fupper. The apoiile, however, informs the'm, that they abufed it fo much that their '^djS^i^tS^Mce did not deferve the name, ver. 20. ^lid 't'hey had better not meet at all. He then pro&eeds to point out the manner of w^orthily ob- ferving the ordinance, ver. 23. 2Q. He does not fay they did it too often or too feldom, but that * This exadlly agrees with the teflimony of Jiiftin Martyr, who lived in the year 155, who fays, that on the day called Sun- day the bifliop's who'e ciiocefe, both of the city and the country, met together, when the bifliop gave them the eucharift. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 295 they did it unworthily. Can there be a doubt as to the frequency of their obferving it ? Surely not. They came together in one place on the firll day of the week, and the only objed of their meeting on that day here mentioned^ is to eat the Lord's fupper. This they muft have been taught to do by the apoftles, who appointed the fame ordinances in every church ; fo that an account of the order fettled in one, is the account of the whole. No one can fnew clearer evidence from Scrip- ture, for obferv^ing every flrft day of the week inftead of the Sabbath, than has been here given for partaking of the Lord's fupper on that day. Some fubfidiary arguments may indeed be brought for them : the honour, e.g, put on the firft day of the week, by the Lord appearing on it once and again to the apoftles ; the outpouring of the Spi- rit on the day of Pentecoft, which happened on that day ; its being called the Lord's day, Rev. i. 10. &c. But all thefc; Vv'ould be infufficient to juftify our praftice, and to render the negled of the firlt day of the v/eek a fin, exciuiive of the cuf- tom of the apoftolic churches, recorded in the word of God for our imitation. Corroborating argu- ments may alfo be brought for obferving the ordi- nance of the fupper weekly ; the Lord, it may be faid, has net limited us in the words of the inllitu- tion, " As oft as ye eat,'* &:c. therefore we are not guilty of fm, in frequently attending to this command. The ordinance was inltituted on pur- 296 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED pofe to difplaj the love of Chrill ; and if we love him becaufe he firil loved us, furely we cannot too' often bring under our review the greatnefs of his love, and, by this ordinance, have Chrifl crucified evidently fet forth before our eyes. There feems alfo a peculiar propriety, as we commemorate the refurre£tion weekly, at the fame time to remem- ber his death ; but however reafoaable fuch argu- ments may fliew our worfh.p to be, the queftion muft be decided by the revelation of God, from which, if we once depart, there is no faying where we fliall flop. Departing from Scrip- ture is the foundation of all will-worfhip ; but if we hearken to what the Spirit faith unto the churches, whether by precept or by approbation of their pra6lice, we cannot err. The praftice of the firft ages is juft what we might expe£l: from the word of God. This ought not altogether to be overlooked ; for though we pay no refped to the authority of the fathers, as they are called, their teftimony is certainly to be regarded refpedting fuch a matter of fadl as the frequency of adminiftering the ordinance of the fupper. * Confider,' fays Mr Randal, * antiquity in what view you pleafe, the elder or the later ac- counts ; — confider it among enemies or friends ; .^view it in its truth or in its lies ; — in its fim- plicity or in its fuperftitions ; — confider all the accounts which all forts of men have given, take the evidence from as diilant corners of the worldy EY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 297 and as oppofite charafters in it as you pleafe, from thofe who have no bias but to the truth, or from fuch whofe opinions and interefts would lead them to give this faft a colour if it could bear it, —and all with one voice (hall declare, that to come together on the firft day of the week to break bread, was from the beginning, and for many ages, the cuilom, the uninterrupted, un- quellioned, indifputed praftice of all Chriftian churches : — as much fo, as it was their practice to fanftify the Lord's day, or to pray, praife, and preach the apoftles' dodrine upon it : — that as this was the moll diftinguifhing part of their wor- ship, fo was it what they and their worfliip was defcribed by, (Pliny's letter), and the^ a61:ion by which, among themfelves the Lord's day was known, (dies pant's)^ what confequently they would leaft and lafl of all have omitted, while any degree of the purity of the gofpel remained among them. How flrongly then does all this place this matter before us ! how clearly does this appear as the light from the Scripture I And when all antiquity refliefts it too, in fo direft a manner to us, what can we do, but confefs it as a part of the truth coming from Chriil, that it is his will, and our duty, to continue Jiedfaftly in the breaking ofhreadyoftendoing this in remembrance cfhim^."* Dr Erlkine fliews, that during the three firll centuries no canons were made to enforce frequent ♦ Randal on the Lord's fupper, p. 3i» 298 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED communion, but that after the eilablifhm^nt of Chriflianity, many laws were necefTary^ Hiftory, fays he, informs us, that weekly communions were generally kept up till the year 450. The churches which firft of all negleded the ordinance weekly, and juftified this by a certain ancient tra- dition, were thofe at Rome and Alexandria *. The reformers were fully aware of the apofto* lie practice refpeding the Lord's fupper. Calvin thus expreffes his views : '' Every Lord's day the table iliould be fpread in the church, and though none fhould be conflrained, all Ibould be exhorted to the repaft, the infrequency of obferving which was Satan's contrivance f.' Eminent men of the church of Scotland have avowed the fame fenti- ments. ' Dr Erikine obferves, * We are told that in- troducing frequent communion is an innovation, and that all innovations are dangerous. But it is an innovation in no other fenfe, than the doctrine of juftification in the days of Luther. The trueil and purefl antiquity is on our fide ; whereas, our prefent practice is a plain defedion from the pri- mitive pattern.' It feems flrange indeed, as we have already * Dr Erfkine, having quoted Socrates the hiftorian for this facft, and obferving that probably Alexandria had followed Rome in this matter, concludes. We fee then to avhat nve onve the negleH of iveekly comtminions, evefi to the pretended tradL tions of the church of Rorne. Theolog. Diflert. p. 270. t Inftitut. Rei. Chrift. lib. iv. cap. 17. § 45, 46. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 29^ faid, to feparate the ordinances of the firfl day of the week and the Lord's fupper, the one in- tended to commemorate the death, the other the refurre6tion of Jefus ; and one confequence of do- ing fo is, that many profeffors, and perhaps even fome Chriftians, almoft forget that the firft day of the week is obferved in commemoration of our Lord's refurre^tion *. One great end of the Lord's fupper is to repre- fent the union of Chriftians with one another, through their union with their Lord. *' The cup of bleffing which we blefs f, is it not the communion of the blood of Chrifl: ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Chrift ? As (there is) one bread, we (being) many are one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread," 1 Cor. x. 16. Here we find, that the unity of thofe who join in ob- ferving the ordinance, is repreftnted by their all * Dr Doddridge obferves, that it plainly appears from the moft credible account of the primitive church, that the Lord's fupper was ufed mucli more freqnentlj among them than with us, and that it made a part of the ir public worfliip every Lord's day. He refers on this fubjedl to Pearce on the Euch. p. 174, — 177. Erfkine on Frequent Communion, pajfim. Richard Bax- ter's works, vol. i. p. 470 — 476 Calv, Tnftit. lib. iv. {t&. xvii. § 44, — 4^). Witfii Econ. Faed. lib. iv. c xvii. § 33. See Dod- dridge's Lectures on Divinity, &c. Prop. civ. f Some would here fupply oict, for " which we blefs," or ra^ ther for " which v/e give thanks." At all events it is evident, by the account of the inftitiition, that God was blefled, or thanks given to him, and that the bleffing does not refer to the bread and wine, or to what has been called their confecration. 300 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED partaking of one bread. This clearly fhews us, that the church fhould all communicate at the fame time, and not at different times, as is the cuftom with many in Scotland. This ordinance is much calculated to promote mutual love, and to reprefent the complete feparation which the gofpel makes between Chriftians and the world. It is a fign or witnefs to thofe who look for him, that the Lord will come again without fin unto falvation, and is thus intended to flrengthen their faith and hope. No ordinance has been more generally or grofs- ly perverted and mifunderllood than this. It was changed at Corinth into a common entertain- ment ; afterwards the elements came to be wor- fhipped ; and flill fuperflition and a fpirit of bond- age in regard to it, which have no foundation in Scripture, too much prevail. Some will not par- take, they are fo unworthy : are not thefe feek- ing juftifi cation, as it were, by the works of the law ? Does Chrlfl receive only the worthy ? In fuch words and thoughts there wanteth not fin, although attired in the garb of humility. Is not their "language exaftly that of the flothful fervant, " I knew thee that thou art an hard man ?" He was too humble, too diffident of his abilities to make ufe of his talent, and fome are too diffident of themfelves to fit down at the table of the Lord; but they are not aware that this arifes in faft from diilruft in Chrifl, from pride and felf-righ- teoufnefs, i. e. from unwillingnefs to fubmit to BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 301 the righteoufnefs of God, and to receive mercy as guilty finners, totally independent of their own vvorthinefs. It is a fimilar error which has produced the objeftion that weekly communion will dellroy all folemnity. Does frequency in prayer make us lefs folemn in the duty ? Does the weekly return of the Lord's day deftroy its folemnity ? Should we be more folemn at family. worfliip, if we only attended to the duty once a-month ? But the Lord's fupper, it is faid, is more folemn than any other duty. Where do we learn this ? Not in Scripture *. We mud not believe every fpirit, but try the fpirits by the tellimony of God. It may feem as if we argued again ft folemnity ; but we only argue againft attaching fuch a de- gree of folemnity to one ordinance, as tends to make us tremble to obferve it with due frequency, and diminilhes our reverence for others appointed by the fame authority. We do not argue againji the folemnity of this ordinance, we argue ybr the due folemnity of every ordinance f . * Some think that this is implied in the precept to examine oiufelves in connedtion with this ordinance, i Cor. xi. 29. But this caution was rendered neceflary by the abufe of the ordi- nance. f For a more particular account of this ordinance, fee Randal and Erikine on Frequent Communion. AHb a Letter, by the Author, to the church of Chrifl: alTembling in the Tabernacle, Edinburgh, with Mifcellaneous Obfervations. G c 302 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED Section IV. Of Prayer and Praife, We have taken notice of the gracious pro- mife which the Lord has made to his difciples, to be in the midfl of two or three aflembled in his name. This not only implies that it is his will that they fhould aflemble together, it alfo teaches the aflemblies of his people to exped his fuperin- tendance and bleffing. Yet for all the bleffings he bellows, he will be enquired of by them. Prayer is an exprefiion of our dependence on God. It implies a fenfe of our own infufficiency, and confidence in God as the giver of every good and perfect gift. It is therefore an important duty in members of the fanne church, to bear one another on their hearts before God. But we now fpeak of prayer as an ordinance of God for his people when afTembled. He has faid, that where two agree on earth touching what they fhall afk, he will do it for them, Matt, xviii. 19. Whenever any em.ergency occurs in a church, any difficulty, for in fiance, or cafe of difcipline, it is the duty of a church to be earnefl in prayer. In their ordinary and Ha- ted meetings, this ought alfo to form an impor- tant part of their exercifes. In proportion as re- ligion profpers in a church, will a fpirit of grace and fupplication make this manifeft. Praying in the church ought not to be confined BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 303 to the elders. The brethren ought to account it their duty and privilege, when called upon, to lead the worfliip. We find the brethren at Corinth reproved for the abufe of miraculous gifts, by praying in an unknown tongue in the church, and they are directed to pray fo as to be under- ftood, 1 Cor. xiv. 14. As to the pofture of prayer, we find in Scripture that both {landing and kneeling were pradifed. Praife is another delightful part of inflituted worfhip. It moft nearly rcfembles the worfhip of ." javen, where they praife God day and night. Paul exhorts us to fing in pfalms, and hymns, and fpiritual fongs, Col. iii. 16. The Pfalms, chiefly compofed by David, are a moft beautiful and ufe- ful part of Scripture. Jefus is no where more plainly predided, nor could there be a more fui- table directory for the praifes of the Old Teftament church ; but certainly, as we pray in New Tefta- ment language, we ought alfo to praife in the fame, and not always fing of the falvation of Chrift in prophecies, types, and figures. Can we fing too plainly concerning him who was dead and is alive ? At the fame time, many of the Pfalms are fo evidently defcriptive of the fuffer- ings of Chrift, and his glory which followed, that they are excellently adapted for the edifica- tion and comfort of believers. This infpired col- ledion, therefore, ought by no means to be laid afide. But furely that zeal is merely the efleil: of prejudice, and not according to knowledge^ 304 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED which would exclude New Teftament language from the foiigs of New Teftament churches ; nor can there be any good reafon why other palTages fhould not be ufed in praife as well as the pfalms. We are not limited to thefe by the word of God. Praife is an expreffion of joy. Is any man joy- ful, (gv^y^w) ? let him fing pfalms, James v. 13. As praife is an immediate addrefs to God, it is certainly proper, that the pofture in which this part of worfliip is frequently performed by Chri- ilians fliould be altered. Sitting while iii'ging the praifes of God, is equally improper with fit- ting in prayer. We may pray or fing, indeed, in any pofture ; but ftill we ought, even in the pofture of our bodies, to exprefs our reverence for God. We have no inftance in Scripture of an aflein- bly fitting while finging the praifes of God. If- rael was exhorted to ^ and up and blefs the Lord, their God, Neh. ix. 5. In the temple theyjlood and fang the praifes of God, Pfal. cxxxiv. 1. cxxxv, 1, — 3. This too is the pofture in which the faints before the throne are reprefented, Rev. vii. 9. Section V. 0/ Fa/ting, We noticed fafting as another ordinance ta be obferved by the churclies. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 30^- A religious fail is a feafon of peculiar humili-' ation before God. It fuppofes abftinence evert from lawful and ordinary enjoyments *. It may. be obferved, either with the view of promoting fpirituality of mind and deadnefs to the world, or when we are defirous that fome calamity fhould be averted with which we are threatened ; or in the time of calamity to confefs we are puniflied lefs than our iniquities deferve, and to pray for mercy. It was pra6tifed in the church of An- tioch, Ads xiii. 3. it was joined with prayer at the ordination of elders, Ads xiv. 23. Fading on extraordinary occafions is evidently an important duty. The great day of atonement was a folemn fall when Ifrael was to afflid their foula and confefs their fins. It was much pradi- fed by the people of God, and much countenan- ced by him under the Old Teflament. He calls to the duty on particular occafions : " Blow th& trumpet in Sion, fandify a fail, call a folemn af- fembly : Gather the people, fandify the congre- gation, affemble the elders, gather the children, and thofe that fuck the breads j let the bride- groom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her clofet ; let the priefls, the minifters of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them fay, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen. * Although it is fo evident from the word of God, that fad- ing implies abftinence from food, there are many Chriftians who deem this unneceflary ftricJlnefs, if not legal bondage, Cc3 306 or THE ORDINANCES OBSERVE© ihould rule over them ; wherefore fhould they fay among the people, Where is their God?"' Joel ii. 15, — 17. Jefus gives us directions how to perform it : " Moreover, when ye fall, be not, as the hypocrites, of a fad countenance , for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unta men to faft. Verily I fay unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou faftefl, anoint thine head and walh thy face, that thou appear not unto men to faft, but unto thy Father which is in fecret ; and thy Father, which feeth in fecret^ Ihall reward thee openly," Matt. vi. 16, — 18. He informs us alfo of its efficacy ; *' Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fart- ing," Matt. xvii. 21. He indeed told the Phari- fees, that it would be improper in his difciplts to fail whilt he was with them ; but that when he left them, then they would faft. That it is the duty of Chriftians to faft, is clearly implied in various other paffages of ^ cripture. Thus, " De- fraud ye not one the other, except it be with con- fent for a time, that ye may give yourfelves to fa/ting and prayer," 1 Cor. vii. 5. It is no objedion to this being a church ordi- nance that our Lord gives diredions to avoid of- tentatlon in private fafting. The fame would hold againft prayer, almfgiving, &c. We have no precept refpe£ling the frequency or the exa£t manner of obferving a religious faft. No man therefore has a right to prefcribe to another on this head. Circumftances muft be attended to j BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 30T we muft confider what our conftitudons can bear^ and what our fituations will admit. We are not called to injure our health. We may fay of fad- ing, as our Lord faid of the Sabbath, '* it was made for man, not man for it." Failing is an ordinance for his benefit, and much of the advan- tage we have reafon to expedt from it depends oir obferving it in a proper manner, whither in pu- blic or private. It is highly proper that a contribution for the poor (hould be connefted with failing. If we be under the influence of a covetous fpirit, we ar6 but mocking God. '' Is it fuch a fail that I have chofen ? a day for a man to aiHidl his foul ? is it to bow down his head as a bulrufh, and to fpread fackcloth and aihes under him ? wilt thou call this a fail, and an acceptable day to the Lord ? Is not this the fail that I have chofen ? to loofe the bands of wickednefs, to undo the heavy bur- dens, and to let the oppreiTed go free, and that ye break every yoke ? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are call out to thyhoufe ? when thou feeil the naked that thou cover him ; and that thou hide not thy- felf from thine own fieih ?" Ifa. Iviii. 5, 6, 7. The Lord does not here difapprove of outward humiliation, but expreiTes his contempt af the outward appearance, while the heart is not right with him. 308 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED^ Section VI. San&ijication of the Jirjl day of the Week, God from the beginning fanftified the fe- venth day. On that day, he rafted from his works ; and no other account can be given of his bleiling and fan6tifying it, than that he intended man to fet apart that day for religious worfliip *• Indeed, it appears that God fpent fix days in the work of creation, and refted on the feventh, be- caufe he intended that man ihould follow the fame order. We have no account of the obfervance of this day before the children of Ifrael left Egypt ; but this no more proves that it v.as not previoufly ob- ferved, than the filence of Scripture proves that there were no meetings before that time for religi- ous purpofes, or that the fabbatical year was never obferved in Ifrael, or that circumcifion was ne- gleded from Jofhua's time to John the Baptift's. We have ftrong prefumptive evidence of its ob- fervance, from days being reckoned by fevens by the patriarchs, and this appears to be the origin of the perfe£lion attributed to that number, and from the period of wee^s, which feems before that a common mode of computing time. * Dr Kennicott would interpret Gen. ii. 3. " And God reft- ed on the feventh day from all his works which he had made; and God caufed (man) to blefs and worfliip on the feventh day, and ordered hitn to fandify it." Two Diflert. on the Tree of Life, Sec. Oxford, 1747, p.iz5. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 309 God gave to Ifiael his fabbaths, commanding them to obferve them, and to do no work there- on. This was to believers a {icrn of their enter- ing into his refl, and ceafing from their works as he did from his. It alfo reminded them that the God of the whole earth had given them refl from Egyptian bondage. The redemption of Ifrael was a figure of the redemption of the people of God. The reft from Egyptian bondage was a fhadow of the reft which believers obtain. Hence the Tewifb fabbath is called a fhadow of thinos to come, Col.ii. 16. and when Ghrifl (who was the body) came, this, as other fhadows, fled away. When he who laid the foundations of the earth appeared in our nature, and redeemed his people by his blood, he rofe from the dead on the iirfl day of the w^eek. On that day, he refled from a greater work than that of creation. It is called the Lord's day *, Rev. i. 10. which feems exact- ly to coincide with the llSth Pfalm, where the refurredion of Chrift is prophefied of, ver. 22. '* The flone which the builders refufed is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's do- ing ; it is marvellous in our eyes," compared with A6lsiv. 11. It is immediately added, ver. 24. *' This is the daj God made ; we will rejoice and be glad in it :" and probably the apoflle alludes to this change of the fabbath, or refl, when he fays^ * All hiftory is a comment upon this name. However much men called Chriftians differed in other refpeflis, they agreed thii?; the firft day of the week had come in place of the feventh. 310 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED *' There remains therefore, ax/S/Sscliri^o?, a reft for the people of God," Heb. iv. 9. Life and immortality were now brought to light. New heavens and a new earth were cre- ated, in comparifon of which, the former were not to be remembered nor to come into mind, Ifa. Ixv. 17. The Lord diftinguilbed the daj on which he rofe, by appearing to his difciples once und again upon it ; and thefe appearances are re- corded for our inftruclion *. It was not necelTa- ry to enforce the obfervance of the iirft day of the week by a pofitive precept in the New Tefta- ment, as the day, not the duty, itfelf was chan- ged. We have alfo pofitive evidence that this day was ftatedly obferved by the churches. Thus the church at Troas met on the firft day of the week, and the church of Corinth did the fame, 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2. Some JewiQi believers, it appears, alfo obferved the fabbath ; but we have no hint of any who negleded the firft day of the week, nor can we conceive this to have been a matter on which the apoflle would have fpoken as he did of the other, which was now grown obfolete, Rom. xlv. 6. We know from Scripture that it is the will of God that the churches fliould alTemble on this * Surely there muft be a particular reafon for our being in- formed of the repeated appearances of our Lord on the firft day of the week. Luke xxiv. 13. Joh-< xx. 19. 26. and what fo natu- ral as the luppofition that he intended peculiar honour to this day ? SY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 311 day. Thus we keep the feventh part of our time holy to the Lord. There is indeed a change of the day, and this we fee warranted by the example of the apoftolic churches. Probably the Lord al- luded to the change, when he declared himfelf "the Lord of the Sabbath." Through his refurredlion, which on that day we commemorate, we are begot- ten to a lively hope of entering into the heavenly reft ; and obferving the firft day of the week in faith, we enjoy the earneft of it, Heb. iv. 3. It ought then to be a day of holy joy. The churches ought upon it to aifemble for the obfervance of the ordinances, and to enjoy fellow Ihip with the Father, and with his Son jefus Chrift, and thus to ftrengthen the bond of love which knits them to Chrift and to each other. In private, Chriftians ought to devote this day to religious exercifes. Every day they are to walk in the fear of God ; but in proportion as they are fpiritually» minded, they will delight in that day, and feel it their duty to exclude the world from their thoughts, and, in meditation of the glory of Chrift, to anticipate the happinefs of an eternal Sabbath. We are not to obferve a Pharifaical Sabbath, which our Lord repeatedly cenfures. We have no right to punifti the profanation of it by tem- poral penalties ; for the kingdom of Ifrael, as go- verned during the theocracy, is now at an end, and whatever Jewilh peculiarity was added to the ori- ginal inftitution is now aboliftied : but ftill we 312 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED muft not fet alide the fourth commandment. We have a ftrong proof of its univerfal obligation in its being given amongft nine others, which are always to be obferved. It is true that a cir- curnllantial difference has been made on the com- mandment by divine authority, but ftill the pre- cept of devoting a feventh part of our time pe- culiarly to God is fanftioned by the example of the apoftles. Our Lord's direfting his difciples to pray that their flight might not be on the Sab- bath, Matt. xxiv. 20. is a ftrong evidence that they were to obferve a day under the Chrlftian difpenfation, although the JewiQi Sabbath was aboliflied *, Col. ii. 16. Some pay a confiderable degree of outward re- fpetl to the firft day of the week, while they do not coofider it to be a divine inftitution, or at leaft have not their minds fully made up on the fub- je£l:. It is obvious however, that fuch a ftate of mind in regard to any part of divine truth, is hurtful ; and therefore every Chriftian fliould ex- amine the fubjed ferioufly, that his obfervance of the day may be an ad of obedience to God, and not of compliance with cuftom, or the effect of education. None will obferve this day fo con- fcientioufly and ftrlclly, as thofe who have feen with their own eyes good grounds for their prac- tice. * Some would tranflate tru/i^silm, (fabbaths) in this pafTage, aveeks, and fnppofe an allufion to be made to the weeks under the law, which were particularly holy on account of certain feaRs. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 313 Section VII. O/Baptifm, Baptism is not a focial ordinance. It is appointed for individuals. As all perfons, how- ever, who were added to the apoftolic churches were baptifed, it may be proper to confider it in this place. We have various inftances of its being ad- miniftered in private, as in the cafe of the eu- nuch, A6ls viii. the jailor at Philippi, &,c. In- deed, when the apollles came to a place where there was no church, it could not be otherwife. Thefe inftances, however, do not render it impro- per to adminifter baptifm in a church of Chrift. Where this can be conveniently done, it may cer- tainly be for edification, and parents ought highly to efteem the prayers of their brethren on behalf of their children, which in this cafe they have a peculiar opportunity of enjoying. Baptifm, like the Lord's fupper, is an emble- matic ordinance. God has been pleafed in every age, to inftrud: us by fenfible reprefentations as well as by the verbal declaration of his will. Thefe are calculated to make a deep impreffion on our minds, and to prevent our letting flip the truth from our memories. When the gofpel was preached to our firft pa- rents, it appears that facrifices were appointed^. Dd Sl-i OF THE ORDEKANCES OBSERVED Gen. iv. 4. Thus a lively reprefentatlon was given of the great fin-offering which they were taught to expe6l. "When God made a covenant with Noah, that the earth fhould no more be overflowed with water. Gen. ix. 11. he appointed the rainbow a vifible pledge or feal of its ac- complifhment. When Abraham was called to go forth from his native country, he knew not whither, he obey- ed ; and when it was naturally impoflible that he could have a child, he believed God that his feed ftiould be numerous as the itars of heaven. His faith was counted to him ,for righteoufnefs, and he was called the friend of God, and conftitu- ted the father of all believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, Rom. iv. 16, 17. God made an everlafling covenant with Abra- ham, to be a God to him and to his feed after him, Gen. xvii. 7. _ Chriil was the feed efpecially alluded to in this promife. God was peculiarly his God, and it is in virtue of our relation to him that he is our God, John xx. 17. " Hence," fays the apoftle, " he faith not unto feeds as of many, but of one, and to thy feed which is Chrifl," Gal. iii. 16. While the apoftle here ihews that the covenant was confirmed of God in Chrift, and pointedly alluded to him, he by no means affirms that it did not refpeft Abraham's natural offspring. This was exprefsly declared in the covenant, '' I will eftablifh my covenant between me and thee, and BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 3l5 thy feed after thee in their generations, for an everlafting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy feed after thee," Gen. xvii. 7. By compa- ring this paiTage with thefe words of the apoftle, we learn, 1/?, That the bleffings of the covenant were promifed to the natural feed of . Abraham. 2dlyy That thefe were not promifed to all the na- tural feed, but to thofe who were Chrift's*. The hiftory of the Jews illuflrates this. Many fliew- ed that they were not the children of Abraham, but in every age there was a remnant of his na- tural feed, "idly^ That the bleffings of the cove- nant were not to be confined to the natural feed of Abraham, but to extend to all believers who, by union with Chrift, (who is eminently Abraham's feed) were to become the children of Abraham, Gal. iii. 29. Thus the Scripture fore- faw that God would juftify the heathen through faith. Gal. iii. 8. By the preaching of the apoflles, and the Gentiles receiving repentance unto life, the myftery which had been hidden from the fons of men was at length revealed, that the Gentiles fhould be fellow-heirs of the fame body, and par- takers of his promife in Chrift by the gofpel, Eph. iii. 6. This clearly demonflrates the fpiri- tual nature of the covenant made with Abraham. The inheritance which the Gentiles were jointly to inherit with the flelhly feed, was doubtlefs the heavenly Canaan. The one were the natural- * Chrijl is fometimes ufed in Scripture to fignify his people, who are his body, i Cor. xii. 1 1, i'j» Eph. iv. i6. 316 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED branches of the olive tree, and the other grafted in contrary to nature, for with God nothing is impoffible. He is able of the ftones to raife up children to Abraham. All fpiritual bleffings were, if we may fo fpeak, exclufively entailed on his family, and it is only in virtue of their be- coming members of it that the Gentiles re- ceive thefe bleffings. Some allege that the covenant was of a mixed nature, affuring Abraham that his feed by Ifaac Ihould inherit the land of Canaan, while his fpiri- tual feed fhould obtain the heavenly inheritance. But this is not the cafe, elfe the law made the promife of none eflfe6t (Gal. iii. 17.) to fueh of the flefiily feed as fell in the wildernefs for difo- bedience, and breaking the Sinai covenant, and thus in direcl oppofition to the declaration of the Holy Ghoft, the law was againft the promifes of God, Gal. iii. 21. In this cafe alfo, the grand objeftion of the Antipsedobaptifts will meet them in all its force * j for if the land of Canaan was * An argument much urged by them is, that if fpiritual blef- fings were promifed to the flefhly feed of Abraham, all the flelh- ly feed muft obtain thefe. The apoftle however afferts, that this v/as not the intention of God, " For they are not all Ifrael that are of Ifrael ; neither becaufe they are the feed of Abra- ham, are they all children ; but in Ifrael (hall thy feed be call- ed ; that is, they which are the childien of the flefh, thefe are not the children of God; but the children of the promife are accounted for the feed," Rom. ix. 6, j, 8. Here we are inform- ed, that it was never God's intention that all the children of Abraham were to be blefled with him ; but nothing can be BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 31T^ promifed to the feed of Ifaac, how came it that nearly five hundred years elapfed before any of them obtained it ? That the covenant made with Abraham was the covenant ordered in all things, and fare, is manifefl. It is oppofed to the law, and called the covenant that was confirmed in Chrift *, Gal. iii. 17. It is called the gofpel, Gal. iii. 18. ; and the Holy Ghoft declares, that the oath whereby that covenant was confirmed, Gen. xxii. 16, — 18. was defigned to give believers of the gofpel flrong confolation, Heb. vi. IS. If it be alked why fpiritual bleflings were- promifed in language denoting temporal profpe- rity, the anfwer is obvious. From the fall un- til Chriil, the promifes of fpiritual bleflings were conveyed in parables. Life and immortality were brought to light by Jefus Chrift. Even during his perfonal miniftry, he was pleafed to teach chiefly in parables. It was not till his refurrection that he fhewed even his difciples plainly without a veil the do6lrines of God, John xvi. 25. and then by opening their underftand- ings to underiland the Scriptures, he qualified more contrary to the apoftle's meaning than the view which fome take of this paflTage, that none of Abrahagi's fleflily feed, as fuch, were blefled with fpiritual bleflings. Ifaac was as truly a child of the flefli as Iflimael, although he was alfo a child of promife. God thus taught Ifrael not to glory in their relation to Abraham. The true Ifrael was never born merely of blood, nor o£ the will of the flefh, nor of the will of man. *■ Compare this paflage with Eph. iii. 6, Dd3 Sl§ or tHE ORDINANCES OBSERVED them for explaining all the parables of the Olcf Teftament, Mark iv. 13. Many inftances might be given of this manner of teaching by carnal images, which chiefly refer to fpiritualthings. Thu^ Chrift, by death, deilroy- ing the devil, was promifed, Gen. iii. 15. under the figure of the feed of the woman bruifing the head of the ferpent. So alfo the covenant of royalty made with David, which the Holy Ghoft exprefsly applies to Chrift *. This was all David's falvation, and all his defire, at a time when earthly grandeur far children would have been difregard- ed, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. with Ifaiah v. 3. Should any doubt remain as to the fenfe in which David underftood thefe promifes, the Holy Ghoft informs us, that, being a prophet, and knowing that God« had fworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flefti, he would raifc" up Chrift to fit on his throne, he feeing this be- fore, fpake of the refurredion of Chrift, Ads ii.. SO, 31v In like manner, the promife of the land of Canaan to Abraham was but a fliadow of the true accompliftiment to the heirs of promife in the gift of the heavenly inheritance, juft as Solo- mon's grandeur was a typical fulfilment and pledge of the promife to David above mentioned. That Abraham underftood the inheritance to be fpiritual, is manifeft ; for he was in nowife difap- pointed that he remained in the land of promife * Compare i Chron. xvii. 11,-14. with Heb, i, 5. See alfo- Pfal. Ixxxix 20,-37. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 31^ as a fojourner, dwelling in tents, looking for a: city which hath foundations whofe builder and maker is God, Heb. xi. 9, 10. By confeiTmg himfelf a ftranger and pilgrim on earth, he plains ly declared that he defired a better, that is a hea- venly country, Heb. xi. 13, — 16. Not only Abraham, but all the children of God, in every age, underftood the promifes to be fpiritual. Not only did Abel, Noah, Abraham, &c. die in faith, not having obtained the pro- mifes, Heb. xi. 13. but all thofe recorded in the xith chapter of Hebrews, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promife,. ver. 39. although many of them inherited the land of Canaan, and ftiared in the greateft tem^ poral profperity which God beftowed on Ifrael. The refurreBion of the dead was the hope of Ifrael, A£ls xxviii. 20. This was the promife made of God unto the fathers, unto which pro- mife the twelve tribes, inftantly ferving God day and night, hoped to come ; for which hope's fake, fays Paul, I am accufed of the Jews, A6ts xxvi. 6, 7. with xxiii. 6. Hence the apollle proclaims to the Jews at Antioch, the glad tidings of the accomplifhment of the promife which was made unto the fathers, in the refurredtion of Chrift, the firft fruits of thofe who ilept, A6ls xiii. 32, 33. This promife was certainly none other than *' the covenant- he, made with Abraham, and his oath unto Ifaac, and confirmed the fame unto Jacob for a law, and to Ifrael for an everlafting covenaut^** 320 OF THE ORDINAMCES OBSERVED Pfal. cv. 9, 10. ; and this eftabliflies the view we have taken of the fph-itual nature of the inherit- ance promifed to Abraham and his feed. Indeed if this be not admitted, it is impoflible to account for the general belief of the refurredion in Ifrael*. It would appear that the Sadducees, who denied the refurredion, fell into the fame laiftake with thofe who underftand the inheritance promifed to Abraham to be of .an earthly nature. If any are ftill uncertain as to the nature of the inheritance, let them attend to the declaration of the Holy Ghofl, that " it is of faith that it might be by grace ; to the end the promife might be fure to all the feed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that alfo which is of the faith of Abraham," Rom. iv. 16. Now furely this mult refpedt the heavenly inheritance, for believers, as fuch, are not taught to expeft the polieffion of the earthly Canaan f. Thus we have feen that Abraham was jullified * Some, the apoftle tells us, accepted not deliverance, that fhey might obtain a better refurredlion, Heb. xi. 35, This may be illuftrated by what is recorded by the author of the book of Maccabees. He informs us, that when king Antiochus had put to death fix brethren (for not eating fwine's flefli), while their mother encouraged them to fufter by the hope of the refurree- tion, 2 Mac. vii. 23. the feventh faid, " Oor brethren, who'iiow have fuffered a fliott pain, are dead under 'Cod's coveua/it of tijerlajling life*'' ver. ;i^^, . \ Believers are taught in the Ne\y Teftament to expecft the reward of the inheritan'ceyQoh iii. Z4. alluding to the former pro- mifes. BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 321 by faith, and we know that his juftification is the pattern and pledge of the juftification of all who believe, Rom iv. 2, 3. 5. ; that the covenant made with him was in fa6l the glorious gofpel of the blefled God ; and that, though agreeably to the nature of God's dealings with man in former ages he fpake to Abraham in parables, yet Abraham underftood that by the land of Canaan was figni- fied the heavenly country. To this covenant God attached a vifible fign, and this was a feal of the righteoufnefs of the faith which he had, yet being uncircumcifed, Rom. iv. 11. God hereby declared to Abraham his acceptance of him through faith. But he alfo direded this figa to be given to all the children of Abraham. It was ftill the feal of the righte- oufnefs of faith, whatever might be the charac- ter of the child. It was fo to Kaac, and not lefs fo to Iflimael. It did not fignify to either, that they were, or fliould be, believers, but it was a pledge that, partaking of Abraham's faith, they fliould in like manner be accepted of God, and be acknowledged as the children of Abraham. If they did not believe, their circumcifion * be- came uncircumcifion, and, like every privilege which men enjoy, if abufed, it aggravated their * Much weight is attached by Antipsedobaptifts to circumci- fion leaving a vifible mark, which baptifm does not. But that mark could never lead the mind to the truth which it fignified, without being explained ; and although no mark is left in bap- tifm, it is as capable of being explained to children as the othei", 322 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVED condemnation. Accordingly when Iflimael, by- mocking Ifaac, manifefted his unbelief, he was caft out of the houfehold of faith. Not only Abraham's children, but thofe born in his houfe, were to be circumcifed. His houfehold was the true church of God, and none were to remain ii> it but the worfhippers of the true God. Many have been led to ^miftake the nature of the Abrahamic covenant, by confounding it with that made at Sinai 430 years afterwards. But although the latter was fubfervient to the former, they were perfedlly diftin6t. The church was put under the elements of this world, Col. ii. 20. as under a fchool-mafter, until Chriil, the .great oh]eSL of faith, inonld corr.f . But even under that difpenfation, all who did not, by attending to the ordinances of God, profefs the faith of Abraham, were to be cut oif from the people of Ifrael ; and ■when Chrift, the great objeft of Abraham's faith, came, all who did not, by receiving him, profefs the faith of Abraham, were caft out, and they became the concijioriy Phil. iii. 2. while believers are the circumcijion. It is obvious then, that circumcifion, the feal of the everlalling covenant, was adminiftered to the children of Abraham as fuch ; for Ifhmael, as well as Ifaac, was circumcifed, and it will be ad- mitted, that he neither had any title to Canaan,. nor was Chrift to defcend from him. It is alfo evident that Abraham's children enjoyed many BY THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 323 fpiritual privileges above others *. Many indeed appear to have trufted in their dcfcent from Abra- ham, and thus perv^erted the mercy and goodnefs of God. Hence they could not bear an intima- tion that they were equally under condemnation with the Gentiles, and immediately objedled, " What advantage then hath the Jew, ' or what profit is there in circumcilion ?'* To this the apo- Itle replies, " Much every way 5 chiefly, that unto them were committed the oracles of God ; for what if fome did not believe ? Shall their un- belief make the faithfulnefs of God of none ef- fedl: ?" No ; he was true to his promife to Abra- ham, his friend. He diftinguifhed his feed above all others, and made the privileges which they enjoyed etTeftual to the eternal falvation of many in every age + . God plainly taught the pofterity of Abraham, that unlefs they were true children of Abraham, refembling their father in faith, thdr defcent or circumcifion would profit them nothing. This * This was common to all Ab/aham's children. Iflimael re- mained a member of his family till he apoftatized. The fame is true of Efau, Heb. xii. 16, 17. f Had rircumcifion, as fome imagine, been a feal of temporal bleflings, it is ftrange the apoftle did not undeceive the Jews at once, by telling them fo. But on the contrary, he anfwers their obje(flion, by ftiewing that Ifrael alway? enjoyed fpiritual bleffings, although fome ultimately received no benefit there- from- Many err, by not diftin^uifliing between God's beftovv- ing fpiritual bieiTiiigs, and rendering them etfccflual. Ine for- mer was the cafe as to all Ifraei after the fielh, the iatter to the eleiflion of grace. 324 OF THE ORDINANCES OBSERVE© was clearly manifefted by rejeding and call- ing but lihmael and Efau, and by the deflruc- tion of thofe in the wildernefs who believed not God, and trufted not in his falvation. They fell as a warning to unbelievers in every age, and after fentence was paffed upon them, their chil- dren were not circumcifeey are directed to reil^ore him, the commandment is delivered to the whole: body, and the former a61; of difcipline is called iheir act. Sufficient, fays the apoftle, to fuch a- _^,mkii is this puniHiment which was infiifted of • . many^ 2 Cor. li. d. When the whole church joins . in an a6l of difcipline, it is calculated more to im- i>pfers the mind of the offender, to- manifeft the obedtcnce of the whole to the laws of Chrift, and . to create a greater abhorrence of fin in the church j for thus pafiing fentence on another, they con- demn themfelves if they ihould ever aft in a fimi- lar manner. All will allow that much is faid on the fubjedt of difcipline in iome of the epiflles of the New Teftamerxt. Hence the exercife of Scriptural diH THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 367 cipline tends to throw much light on the word of God, and to lead a church conftantly to appeal to Scripture, the advantage of which is manifeft* It direds the attention of church meaibers to paffages to which none elfe think of giving heed, whereby, in fad, they make them void, Almofl all the difficulties which occur in the exercife of difcipline, arife from the difficulty of afcertaining the duty of individuals in particular circum- ftances. When this is difcovered, the duty of a church is eafily ellabliflied. As thofe only can be expeded to have a com- petent knowledge of the adminiftration of human laws who have attended courts of juftice, fo Chri=- ftians become acquainted with the laws of Ghrill by witneffing their application in his churches. Thefe laws are often vilified, as productive of ftrife and divifion, from being imperfedlj underftood and improperly adminiftered. This is apt to be peculiarly the cafe with a church newly formed, the members of which have been cortr.f'dted with focieties v^^here fcriptural order was not known, or at lead not acknowledged. Such ought to be very careful, left, through ignorance and inexperierii-e, they bring reproach on the nameofChrift. I conclude this chapter, by quoting a remark- able teftlmony to the excellence of Chriftian dif- cipline by one who was not in a fituation where he could prad'fe it. ' The apoftle's order to the Corinthians,' fay& 368 OF THE DISCIPLINE OF Dr Macknight, * to keep no company with wick-- ed perfons, though feemingly fevere, was in the true fpirit of the gofpel. For the laws of Chrill do not, like the laws of men, corrc£l offenders by fines, and imprifonments, and corporal pur.ifli- ments, or outward violence of any kind, but by earneft and aifedionate reprefentations, admoni- tions and reproofs, addrelTed to their reafon and confcience, to make them fenfible of their fault, and to induce them voluntarily -to amend. If this remedy proves inefFe£lual, their fellow Chri- ftians are to fliew their difapprobation of their evil courfes, by carefully avoiding their company. So Chrifi hath ordered, Matt, xviii. 15, 16. 17. ** Moreover, if thy brother fhall trefpafs againft thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone : if he fhall hear thee, thou hafl gained thy brother ; but if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three w^itnelTes every word may be eflablifhed. And if he ihall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church ; but if he negleft to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." Earneft repre- fentation, therefore, from the injured party, fol- lowed w^ith grave admonition and reproof from the minifters of religion, when the injured party's reprefentation is inelfedual, are the means w^hich Chrill hath appointed for reclaiming an offender ; and with great propriety, becaufe being addrelTed to his reafon and confcience, they are calculated THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 369 to influence his will as a moral agent, and fo to produce a lading alteration in his conduQ:. But if thefe moral and religious means prove ineffec- tual, Chrift hath ordered the fociety of which the offender is a member to fbun his company and converfation, that he may be afhamed, and that others may be preferved from the conta-. gion of his example. This lafl remedy will be ufed with the greateft effect, if the refolution of the fociety, to have no intercourfe with the offen* der, efpecially in religious matters, is openly de- clared by a fentence deliberately and folemnly pronounced in a public affembly, (as in the cafe of the incefluous Corinthian), and is fleadily car- ried into execution. ' The wholefome difcipline which Chrill infti- tuted in his church at the beginning, was rigor- oufly and impartially exercifed by the primitive Chriflians towards their offending brethren, and with the happiefl fuccefs in preferving purity of manners among themfelves. In modern times, however, this falutary difcipline hath been much neglected in the church ; but it hath been taken up by gaming clubs, who exclude from their fo- ciety all who refufe to pay their game- debts, and fhun their company on all occafions as perfons abfolutely infamous. By this fort of excommu- nication, and by giving to game-debts the appel- lation of debts of honour y the winners on the one hand, without the help of the law, and even in contradidioa to it, have rendered their unjufl 370 OF FORBEARANCE. claims effeflual, while the lofers, on the other, are reduced to the neceffity either of paying, or of being Ihunned by their companions as infa- mous. I mention this as an example, to ftiew what a powerful influence the approbation or dif- approbation of thofe with whom mankind alTo- ciate have upon their condud ; and from that confideration, to excite the friends of religion to fupport her againfl the attempts of the wicked, by teflifying on every fit occafion, their difappro- bation of vice, and their contempt of its abettors ; and more efpecially, by fhunning the company and converfation of the openly profane, however dignified their ftation in life, or however great their fortune may be *.' CHAPTER Xr. OF FORBEARANCE. Dome churches, formed, in moft things, on the model of the New Teftament, have fallen into a very hurtful extreme concerning difcipline. They require all to be of the fame mind in all things, and do not feem to fhew that refpecl to * See Dr Macknight's view and illuftration of i Coi; v. OF FORBEARANCE. 371 the rights of confcience, and that tendernefs to perlons of different degrees of advancement in re- ligion, which we uniformly find infilled on in the word of God. Hence difcipline is apt to dege- nerate into a fyftem of terror. This tends to overawe and to prevent a member from a6ling as he thinks right, or from freely delivering his opinion, left he ftiould difpleafe others, or even be put away from the church. It leads him fin- fully to pleafe men, and to facrifice the authority of Chrift at the fhrine of the church. It may indeed produce filence and non-refiftance, and the appearance of unity, but it is the filence of ilaves and hypocrites. In confequence of this tyranny over confcience, undeferved reproach has been caft upon Chriftian difcipline. In entering on this fubjed I would make the following remarks. 1. There is an abfolute neceflity for perfonal conviction both refpefting truth and duty. No Chriftian can aft religioully upon the conviclion of another. 2. The important duty of mutual forbearance refts not only on the precepts given to the ftrong to bear the infirmities of the weak, Rom. xiv. and XV. but on every one confidering themfelves to be but learners in the fchool of Chrift. It furely ill becomes fucli to a6l as if they were in- fallible. 3. The Scriptures acknowledge no man as a difciple of Chrift, except one who habitually 3'72 OF FORBEARANCE. ftudles to know and to do his Mafter's will in all things ; therefore, 4. Although the more advanced ought to bear with beginners, yet the obftinate and ftationary profeflbr has no clainx on the forbearance of a church. We have no inllance in the Scriptures of any thing in the primitive churches being decided by votes. This appears at all times unnecelTary, and can be attended with no good efFeft. If difference of opinion fhould arife, much prayer and reference to the word of God fhould take place ; if the minds of the members are not in a very improper (late, unanimity will probably foon be reflored ; and if every individual fhould not be of the fame mind, flill the members may exercife mutual forbearance. Churches formed on the model of Scripture, and yet not exercifing forbearance, have no pope or general afTembly to whom they may appeal. The power is in the church itfelf *. To this every member is fubjedl, and defpotifm in confe- quence of this may be exercifed to a confiderable extent. It has alfo this peculiar difad vantage : a Roman catholic, or a member of the church of Scotland, may do many things without the Pope or the General AfTembly ever hearing of it. * Yet an individual, or a few, may gradually acquire a pre- eminence in the church, and may exercife power with a higher hand and with lefs jealoufy, that they do not nominally poflefs it ; this ought to be guarded againil. OF FORBEARANCE. S*3 The difcipline of tbefe churches, fuch as it is, h not very flrid ; but a member of a church of dhrift, a£ling on the plan now fpoken of, is liable to be perpetually haraiTed and controuled in the path of duty. He is laid thereby under great temp- tation to diffimulation and hypocrify,and his bond- age keeps pace with the rigidnefs of their difci- pline. Such a fyftem is completely unfcriptural. Chrift invites us to liberty, only he warns us not to ufe it for an occafion to the flefti ; but by the difregard or denial of forbearance, a church exer- cifes a lordfbip over its members which hath no place in the kingdom of Chrift. The apoftles indeed inculcated unanimity on the churches. This is greatly to be defired, but the fear of the church can only produce the refem- blance of it, and fomething greatly worfe than any differences whatever. There are young men, fa- thers, and babes in Chrift, and as their attain- ments in knowledge are different, in fome refpects they muft be differently minded, and muft a6t differently. Some things are fo plain in the word of God, as to be underftood by all ; but there are other things of which we obtain the know- ledge gradually, by examining and comparing the Scriptures. In learning a language, all the pupils muft not be placed in the fame clafs. When a boy firft goes to fchool, he muft not be fet down to Virgil or Homer. In like manner, the members of a church muft not all be con- fidered as equal in capacity or knowledge, li 374 OF FORBEARANCE. This is implied when we infift upon them to be «xa£lly of one mind, and cenfure them if they are not ; they are thus in fact trained up to be the fervants of the church. If forbearance be not exercifed, inveftigation is checked, the in- creafe of love is prevented, party-fpirit is pro- moted, and real unity is in fad obftruded, and placed further off. If it can be proved by the word of God that a member is living in fin, he muft be called to re- pentance, and if he remain obftinate, he muft be put away whether he fees his error x)r not. This we have clearly ftated from the word of God. But although we are convinced that he is wrong on fome points, if he hold fall the great truths of the gof- pel } if he be evidently living under the influence of the fear of God, in the things he underftands ; if his error arife from mifapprehenfion, and if he be willing to liften to what can be faid, he ought to be treated with all long- fuflfering. It is impofli- ble to flate the particular cafes in which forbear- ance ought to be exercifed j but in proportion as juft views are entertained of the rights of con- fcience, this will be a ftriking feature of a church of Chrift ; and when the Scriptures are diligent- ly and impartially attended to, the difficulties in pra£lice will not be great. Individual members ought alfo to exercife for- bearance toward a church ; they are not at liberty to leave it, although there may be fom'e diffe- rences of opinion among them. It is equally OF FORBEARANCE* 315- important fbr a church to aft in the fame manner towards individuals. It is true that ignorance in religion is often finful, but there are different de-^ grees of guilt. A man may be in the dark as to fome things, from the prejudices of education, ot other caufes and prejudices, while he is living near to God, and feeking to know his will more perfeftly. Scriptural forbearance does not teach us to treat the things in which we differ with others as matters of no moment. All divine truth is important *. But it is perfectly confident with llrid fcriptural difcipline, to hold communiorn with thofe who believe the gofpel and are ex- emplary in their condu£t, while they are ignorant on fome points which we. yet confider to be re- vealed by God. There does not appear to be any good reafon why a church (hould not admit to communion all who love our Lord Jefus in fincerity. Many paffages of Scripture feem to teach us to do fo. Paul having dated that nothing availed but a new creature, adds^ *' As many as walk by this rule, peace be on tliem, and mercy, and upon the Ifrael of God," Gal. vi. 16. In writing to Timothy he fays, '* Follow righteoufnefs, faith, charity, peace with them who call on the Lord out of a' * The exprefllon, agreeing to differ, in common ufe with many, is much calculated to miflead. It feems to reduce divine truth to a level with the uncertain fpeculations of philofophers. It alfo reprefents unity of fentiment, or the unity of the faith, as not only unattainable, but of little confe^uence. 316 OF FORBEARANCEr pure heart," 2 Tim. ii. 22. I cannot conceive words more exprefsly to enjoin the forbearance foi^ which we plead, than PhiL iii. 15. 16. " Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded ; and if in any thing ye be otherwife minded, God will reveal even this unto you. Neverthelefs, whereunto we have already attained, let us walk hy the fame rule, let us mind the fame things." If any have attained to faith in the fame Saviour, and to follow after holinefs, ought they not to receive one another as Chrill hath alfo received them to the glory of God ? Rom. xv. 7. The apoftle indeed befeeches the Corinthians, by the name of the Lord Jefus, that they all fpeak the fame thing, and that there be no divifions (fchifms, o-^ia-^ecrcc) among them ; but that they be perfectly joined together in the fame mind and the fame judgment, 1 Cor. i. 10. This is moft earneilly to be wilbed ; and ta this bleiled ftate fhall all Chriitians arrive when^ they fee face to face. While they are here, they ought to be diligently preffing forward towards perfeftion in knowledge and holinefs, and the greater progrefs they make, the more nearly will they agree with each other ; but in their prefent imperfe6t flate they mud forbear one another in love, eiideavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, Eph. iv. 2, 3. and this will be neceffary till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the meafure of the fta* OF FORBEARANCE. 3T7 ttire of the fulnefs of Chrifl, Eph. iv. 13. When the exhortation to the Corinthians is taken by itfelf, it may appear to countenance the ne- ceflity of the adtual exiftence of perfect unity of fentiment in the churches of Chrift ; but if we confider its connexion, we {ball perceive that the exhortation is dire6led againft ftrife, factions, anid parties^ which afliiredly ought not to be permit- ted in a church. This will be flill more manifeft, if we compare it with a fimilar fentiment, where the apoflle is inculcating mutual forbearance. Having exhorted the ftrong to bear the infirmities of the weak, and prayed that in this very thing, (to xvro) they might be like-minded with Chrift^, who pleafed not himfelf, he adds, " that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrifl:," Rom. xv. 6. Forbearance, then, is the right road to unity.- The apoftle, in the xiv^h and xv^^ chapters of the Romans, is exprefs on this fubjed, and the whole tenor of the New Teftament condemns that want of forbearance which fome have contended for under the name of unity of faith. It is true, in thefe chapters he fpeaks particularly of the or- dinances of the ceremonial law. Thefe were in faft abolilhed by the death and refurre£tion of Chrift, yet the Jewifh believers continued to ob- ferve them, and were indulged in doing fo. This, indulgence did not arife from the indiiRrence of the things themfelves, for the fame things^were pofitively prohibited to the Gentiles^ Gal. v. 3, li 3 378^ CrB^FORHEARANCE. It feems to have been partly owing to the reve- rence due to the inflitutions of God, and partly to-' his tendernefs towards his ancient people, and his unwillingnefs that they fhould perifti ; but neither of thefe caufes could operate in regard to the Gentiles, to whom the law had never been deli- vered, and inftead of leflfening, it would probably have increafed their prejudices againft the gofpeL But while God would not allow the Gentiles to be brought under the yoke of the law, he taught them to bear with, and not to defpife the weak. among the Jewifii Chriftians j on the other hand, while they were indulged in keeping the law, they were not to condemn their Gentile brethren, nor fuch ]ewifli believers, like Paul, who were Jl^. ilrong. Thus the Jews were gradually weaned from their attachment to their cuftoms, by wit- nelling the liberty of the Gentiles, and even of their brethren flronger in the faith. They were farther inftru6led by the epiftle to the Hebrews, and by the deftruftion of Jerufalem, an event fo awfully expreffive of God's difpleafure with If- rael, which deftroyed their prejudices altogether. In oppofition to this view fome maintain, that the Jews were actually bound to obferve the law of Mofes, till the epiftle to the Hebrews was written, affirming, that one revelation is necef- fary to fet afide a former one *. This is true ; * But how do vv« know when the epiftle to the Hebrews was- written ? There are different opinions refpectin^^ this. Nothing is-reveaied concerning it, and we cannot found truth or dutyup*. "on fpeculative rcafonirg. OF FORBEARANCE. 319' but Jefus had plainly intimated the conclufion of the old difpenfation. This had been declared moft clearly by his apoftles, and we know afluredly that Peter had an exprefs revelation to teach him not only to preach to, but to eat with the Gen- tiles, Afts X. 28. Paul fpeaks of himfelf and of others who were ftrong,, eating all things, while thofe only who were weak eat herbs, Rom. xiv. 2. XV. 1. Now this mull refer to the Jews, not to the Gentiles, to whom no fuch liberty of obfer- ving the ceremonial law was given. But accord- ing to the view of thefe chapters given by thofe who argue againft forbearance, what they contain was merely a temporary revelation, not calculated for our inftrudion ; the whole, however, of the New Teftament is practical, and the inftruftions there given for mutual forbearance, are intended for general and permanent ufe. Knowledge puffeth up ; and when we efleem^ our knowledge of church-order, &cc. fo great, that we cannot exercife forbearance towards the difci- ples of Chrift who differ from us, there is reafon to fear we know nothing on this fubjefl as we ought to know, l Cor. viii. 2. Indeed it is a great error in churches to fuppofe, that in every refpe61:^ even in regard to order, they are perfeft. We may be fully convinced that the conflitution of our church is fcriptural, and that on the whole we are followers of the apoftolic churches, but ftill we ought to be fenfible that we have more to- learn. 380 OF FORBEARANCE. In proportion as real religion prevails in z church, they will be able to extend the arm* of brotherly love, and embrace all who love the^ Lord Jefus ; and in proportion, on the contrary,, as the power of religion. declines, they will be unable to bear any difference of opinion among their members. Let us,i for inftance, take the queftion of infant baptifm. It is one which i^ highly important ; but why may not thofe who differ on this point hold fellow ihip with one ano- ther ? I baptife my children — I do it to the Lord I believe it to be his will — If I am wrong, I {hould be very happy to be convinced that I am fo. Another does not baptife his children — To the Lord he does it not. I am alfo bound to be- lieve that he wifhes to walk in the path of duty , that he wifhes to be convinced if he is wrong. In other things we agree. We feel the fame corruptions. We love and obey the fame Savi- our. We are equally begotten to a lively hope- by the refurre£tion of Chrifl -, but it feems we inuil not be members of the fame church on earth. Surely this is the fpirit of error. This wifdom. Cometh not from above. Indeed, if a Psedobaptift and an Antipsedobaptifl cannot be members of the fame church, or fit down together at the Lord's table, they ought not to pray together. Want of forbearance retards us in our progrefs. It alienates our afFeftions from each other. It leads us to be jealous "ft we fhould be convinced that we are in the wrongs and is a great bar in the OF FORBEARANCE. 381 way of our embracing truth. Men muft not be driven in religion. They muft be perfuaded and drawn by love. It may be faid, Confufion perhaps might arife, if thofe who differed in fuch matters were members of the fame church — It would lead to flcife. But may not the unruly be warned ? May not thofe who caufe divifions be avoided, or if they will ferve their own belly, and not the Lord Jefus Chrift, be put away * ? Want of forbearance lead^ Chriftians to con- tend about churches and ordinances in an impro- per fpirit, as if they were chiefly defirous to filence others, and to vindicate their own pra£lice, inftead of enforcing the ordinances of Chrift from a perfuaiion how much they tend to promote ho- linefs, fpirituality of mind, and deadnefs to the world. The members of a church under any form of government, may degenerate into that fpirit which led the Jews to fay, '' The temple of the Lord are thefe,". Jer. vii. 4. They may be animated by church pride as men are by national pride; valuing themfelves on account of the excel- * It is by no means intended that where there is a difference of opinion in regard to fo important a matter, believers ought not to refort to feparate worfliip. This, though the unhappy fruit of remaining ignorance in Chriftians, is not inconfiftent with mutual love. But where there is no opportunity of doing this^ it feems highly defireablc that a church of Chrift ftiould fliev/ their love to their brethren for the truth's fake, although in fome refpedls they may differ. Tt muft however always be fuppofed, that where a few apply for fellowfliip with a church with which in fome things they differ, that they alfo can make thefe the fubjedl of forbearance, and not promote ftrife in the church. 382 OF FORBEARANCE. lence of their conftitution and government, and defpifing others. Whenever this is the cafe, they are ading in a manner moft difpleafing to God, and inftead of promoting the obfervance of his ordinances, are rendering them contemptible* A tree is known by its fruit, and the ordinances of Chrlft, if properly attended to, will manifeft their own excellence by their happy effefts on our minds. The want of forbearance manifefted in churches, in other refpedls fcriptural, arifes^ I fear, from a meafure of that intolerant fpirit which is fo congenial to corrupt nature, and which has been fo much foftered by the union of the church and the world, which cannot fail to produce perfecution. It is not eafy at once to get free of the bad efFeds of the connexions in, which we were educated. While we would ftrongly enforce forbearance towards all who give evidence of loving Chrift, let it be remembered that this never implies that we are not to adt up to our views of duty, what- ever offence it may give to others. We are to obey God rather than man. Chriftians are bound to obey all the laws of Chrift. To aflbciate with a church is not the leaft important of thefe, and it is not enough that we be connedted with a fociety which bears that name, it muft alfo have the fame conftitution, and be governed by the fame laws with the churches of the New Teftament. It is of great importance that all Chriftians fhould feparate from churches, the conftitution OF FORBEARANCE. 383 of which is eflentially different from that of the apoftolic churches. Such are all in alliance with the world, and thofe formed on fimilar principles. There are Chriftians in thefe ; but ftill they are not churches of Chrift, and thefe Chriftians are not obferving all his commandments. They are tvalking diforderly, perhaps not unlike fome pi- ous kings of Ifrael, whofe hearts were right with God, and who yet facrificed on the high places. But however much we disapprove of their con- du61:, yet, confidering the prejudices of education, and other ftumbling-blocks in their way, thofe who are truly fpiritual among them, and who are not ailing in oppolition to their own light in con- tinuing in fuch conne6lIons, ought to be treated with great tendernefs and patience. By a con- trary condudl their prejudices will be more ftrongly rivetted. Although Chriftians will probably be always called to exercife forbearance to each other in x:onfequence of difference of judgment on foms points, yet in proportion as they fimply follow the word of God according to the light they have received, thefe points of difference will be dimi- niftiing. The idea, that the Scripture does not contain a complete and univerfal rule for worft]ip- ping God, the authority of great names, and the ftandards of eftabliflicd churches, tend greatly to prevent union among Chriftians < [ 3«4 ] CHAPTER XII. OF SCHISM AND HERESY. OCHISM and herefy are branded in the Scrip- tures as very great evils. It is therefore proper to examine the precife meaning of the terms. X^i(rfA»j which occurs eight times in the New Teflament, is in our verfion only once tranflated fchifm^ 1 Cor. xii. 25. It fignifies divifion, and is fo tranflated, John vii. 43. ix. 16. x. 19. 1 Cor. i. 10. xi. 18. Schifm does not imply merely fe- paratlon from a church, but any difference exift- ing in it, i, e. among the members, which caufes alienation of affedion. The differences of opinion between thofe who were weak and thofe who were ftrong in faith, did not conftitLite fchifm, unlefs thefe differences were produ£live of fa£lion and flrife, and prevent- ed their loving as brethren. In this cafe, from the want of forbearance, fchifms would have taken place. There might be alfo fchifms on account of matters of greater importance. A member might deny fome important truth, or refufe obedience to an important precept. This would produce fchifm in a church, and it could only be put an end to by his liflening to the church calling him to repentance, or by his being put away. OF SCHISM AND HERESY, 386 Although differences of opinion may exift in a church of Chrifl, without producing fchifm, yet there is always fome danger left differences in knowledge and fpiritual underftanding produce it, and hence the iniportance of Chriftians endeavour- ing to grow in knowledge. In proportion to their growth, will they be more firmly united to one another. They will be more in fubjeftion to Chrift, and lefs prone to be tolTed to and fro with every wind of doftrine by the fleight of men. The divifions, or fchifms, which exifled among the Corinthians, 1 Cor. i. 10, 11, 12. arofe from attachment to various teachers. Schifm hath in procefs of time come to fignify the fame as feparation ; all who feparate from the mofl impure communions are branded as fchif- matics, and the word in this fenfe has been bandied about as a term of reproach amongft the different denominations of profeffmg Chriftians. Herefy, oj^^st/j, is ufed in Scripture to denote a fe6l or a party, whether good or bad. Se£ls are commonly, though not always, produced by dif- ferences in opinion, but the term is expreflive of the effe£l, not of the caufe. Thus Paul fays, " Af- ter the moft ftraitefty^^ of our religion I lived a Pharifee," A6ts xxvi. 5. The Jews, A6ls xxiv. 5. charged Paul as a ringleader of they^^ of the Nazarenes, and the apoftle in reply obferves, after the way which they called a feB^ fo I worlhip the God of my fathers. Probably their intention was to excite the governor to punilh him for his Kk 386 OF SCHISM AND HERESr. religion, as he was not, according to them, entitled to the toleration with which the Jews were fa- voured. He avoids this, by declaring himfelf not to have forfaken the religion of his fathers. The Jews at Rome, A6ls xxviii. 22. defired to hear of Paul what he thought concerning a JeB which was every where fpoken againft. They neither ex- prefs a favourable nor unfavourable opinion of Chriftians by the term. * That there is a great affinity in their fignifica- tions,' '01%. fchifm and herefy, fays Dr Campbell, ' is manifeft, but they are not convertible terms. I do not find that the word o-)(^it^!x. is ever applied in holy writ to a formed party, to which the word «/g27