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 TOWARDS A STATEMENT 
 
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 ON SOME 
 
 DISPUTED POINTS 
 
 RESPECTING THE 
 
 CONSTITUTION, GOVERNMENT, WORSHIP, 
 
 AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH 
 
 OF CHRIST. 
 
 BY 
 
 GREVILLE -SWING, 
 
 MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL, GLASGOW. 
 
 " Thy villi be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.*'' 
 
 GLASGOW, 
 
 PRINTED BY W. LANG, 62, BETLL-STR EET, 
 
 AND SOLD BY M. OGLE, NO. 8, WI I SON-STREET, 
 
 J. & A. DUNCAN; OGLE & AIRMAN, EDINBURGH; E. LESLIX, 
 
 DUNDEE; M. ANGUS & SON, NEWCASTLE; R.OGLE, 
 
 295, HOLBORN, AND WILLIAMS & SMITH, 
 
 STATIONERS COURT, LONDON. 
 
 1807. 
 
i 
 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 
 
 1 HE word of God is the only authority which 
 we are bound to obey, in our Christian fellowship. But 
 ©ur heavenly Father has not thought it proper to give 
 a minute detail of the formation and the practice of his 
 primitive churches. The history of the Acts of the 
 Apostles is exceedingly short, and the facts which are 
 stated, are only a selection. The apostolic epistles 
 throw light on the subject, rather by occasional hints 
 and allusions, than by direct narrative or full descrip- 
 tion. They were originally letters cf business, most 
 of them addressed to particular churches in particular 
 situations; and we shall hardly be secure from mistake, 
 as to their meaning and application, unless we careful- 
 ly attend to the times and circumstances, in which they 
 severally appear to have been written. 
 
 Tn all inquiries, therefore, on the subject of Christ- 
 ian fellowship, it seems of primary importance, that we 
 never fail to distinguish, between those points which 
 are manifestly fixed by explicit revelation, and those 
 which are merely the result of inferences from revela- 
 tion made by the reason of man. We make this re- 
 mark with a view, not to contract, but to lead our 
 readers to endeavour distinctly to ascertain, the rule of 
 
 A 2 
 
4 
 duty; to observe, in each particular case, what is the 
 nature and extent of the obligation they are under, whe- 
 tuer they are absolutely bound to obey, or whether 
 they are not absolutely bound to regard compliance in 
 themselves or others as voluntary. That much of the 
 practice of churches must arise out of human inferences 
 from holy scripture, is generally allowed; but it seems 
 to be frequently forgotten, that, in every instance of 
 this kind, the inference, though drawn from inspired 
 premises, partakes of the fallibility of the mind which 
 draws ,t. flence it often is confidently urged on o- 
 thers, with the high claim of divine authority, instead 
 of being modestly submitted to their examination. 
 When churches fall into this mistake, they establish a 
 tyranny of opinion, which binds the conscience, where 
 Christ hath left it free; which intimidates every objec- 
 tor, or excludes him from communion;' and which d*. 
 Bounces all other churches that do not admit the divine 
 authority of what is merely human, perhaps grossly er- 
 roneous, as ignorant, superstitious, prejudiced, and cor- 
 rupt. It very seldom happens that a whole society 
 is equally imbued with this tyrannical disposition. 
 Us prevalence, at least its origin, may commonly be 
 traced to the adventitious influence of a very few 
 These may, indeed, succeed for a while, in moulding 
 others into their own spirit, and may occasion great 
 disquietude to the most harmonious churches, and area* 
 obstruction to the progress of the gospel. It is of the 
 utmost consequence, therefore, to examine the holy 
 scriptures for- ourselves; to inquire how far the light 
 of revelation really extends; to mark both our duty 
 and our liberty; and, while we should certainly make 
 conscience of yielding implicit obedience, wherever 
 
God hath interposed his own authority, to regard all 
 other things as matters of prudential consideration, and 
 mutual agreement, which Christians ought conscien* 
 tiously to arrange to the best of their judgment, and, 
 when arranged, to practise in a peaceable and loving 
 manner, without captious, fickle, and endless schemes 
 of alteration, without intolerant obstinacy, without in- 
 dulging an inclination, either to envy or to censure x o- 
 thers, whose judgment and practice may not be the 
 same. 
 
 In the present state, we are not warranted to expect 
 uniformity of Christian fellowship, among the churches 
 of Christ. Our diversities are, no doubt, to be ascrib- 
 ed, in a great measure, to remaining ignorance, and the 
 influence of improper motives; but these are not the 
 only causes. If Jesus Christ had intended, by the u- 
 nity of his disciples, a unity of church order, he would 
 have described it as minutely, as Moses does the con- 
 struction of the tabernacle, and the rites of the passo- 
 ver, or any other sacrifice. This, however, he has not 
 done. Accordingly, Christians, equally wise and good, 
 frequently differ conscientiously in opinion respecting 
 the meaning of particular passages of scripture, while 
 they agree in acknowledging no other rule. How ma- 
 ny are there, who observe several varieties of practice 
 among churches, about which they see no reason to 
 move any dispute: how many more, who cordially love 
 one another, and gladly join in occasional communion, 
 though they cannot have the pleasure of stated fellow- 
 ship, because they differ from one another, in some of 
 the inferences, concerning that fellowship, which they 
 draw, according to their best judgment, from the holy 
 tcriptures. They are conscious, that, m some things, 
 
 A 3 
 
6 
 
 they differ from themselves at a former period, when 
 they were as truly believers in Christ, as they pretend 
 to be now. They are far from supposing that the 
 change is, therefore, unimportant. But they learn to 
 state their sentiments with diffidence and forbearance, 
 and to preserve the necessary distinction, between the 
 certainty of the things which are most surely believed 
 by all Christians, and the bare probability of those, 
 which depend on the reasoning faculty of each indivi- 
 dual. 
 
 It is the object of the following pages to illustrate 
 this distinction in some imoortant instances, in which 
 the Author conceives it has, of late, been obscured. 
 He expects that those who differ from hirn in judgment 
 will oppose his sentiments in terms of lenity or repro- 
 bation, corresponding to the various degrees of confi- 
 dence with which they are in the habit of proposing 
 their own opinions. In comparing their respective 
 viewsof divine truth, it is surely desirable that Christ- 
 ians should study a liberality of spirit, and an urbanity 
 cf manners, which, without the sacrifice of any prin- 
 ciple, may at least preserve, from fatal injury, the cor- 
 diality and confidence of brotherly love. To be con- 
 \ r inced of an error, is to receive a benefit from him who 
 has convinced us; but to be assailed with unqualified 
 terms of reproach ; to be told that we are ignorant, su- 
 perstitious, prejudiced, and worldly; or that we know 
 not what that meaneth, " Let God be true, and eve* 
 **■ ry man a liar:" — such harsh epithets, such licentious 
 applications of holy scripture, however they may aid 
 the disputant in throwing odium on the man whom he 
 treats as his adversary, are not calculated to carry con- 
 viction to the mind. They make no more impression 
 
on the deliberate inquirer, than the anathema sit, that 
 favourite imprecation, borrowed also from scripture, so 
 characteristic of the spirit of the church of Rome. It 
 is however, our duty and interest to admit truth, 
 through whatever medium it may be conveyed. Let 
 us endeavour, on both sides, to attend to the argu- 
 ment, without indulging, or regarding the warm lan- 
 guage (often unintentional) of personal emotion; and 
 let our readers endeavour to judge according to the 
 strength, not of assertion, but of evidence produced. 
 
 Some of the views Avhich the Author entertains of 
 Christian fellowship have been very boldly ascribed 
 to prejudice. This charge is made with some advan- 
 tage against any opinion, which happens to have been 
 long held. But the novelty of an opinion is no secu- 
 rity that those, who have embraced it, are free from 
 prejudice. A man's views may be recently adopted, 
 and may be new to many of his contemporaries, as 
 well as to himself, and yet, if he be so attached to 
 them, as to be averse from attending to what can be 
 offered on the other side, he also is under the influence 
 of prejudice; and, if degrees might be compared in go 
 humbling a case, we would say, that the prejudice of 
 the man who is transported by a new discovery, is less 
 to be excused, than that of the man, whose sentiments 
 have stood the test of ages. But it is only the test 
 of scripture that is infallible. New and old are but 
 relative terms. There is no new thing under the sun. 
 If antiquity were an advantage, error next to truth 
 might put in its claims to a very high antiquity. Va- 
 rious species of wild speculation respecting Christian 
 fellowship have had the ephemeral existence of many 
 a successive day. If they have not stood the test, they 
 
have run the gantlet, of ages; and are probably doom- 
 ed, while the world shall endure, to repeat the round 
 of being started, exploded, forgotten, revived. They 
 shake the unstable, and give opportunity to the evil- 
 disposed to indulge their inclination. Their progress^ 
 therefore, must be carefully watched, especially by 
 the Christian bishop. But perhaps they contribute 
 to the establishment of those who really love the truth, 
 as storms do to the vigour of the plants which are ex* 
 posed to their violence. At any rate, they are per- 
 mitted by our heavenly Father, in infinite wisdom, as 
 a trial of the faith and patience of his people. How 
 thankful should we be, that the most important sub- 
 jects are the least liable to be disputed. Errors are 
 no doubt circulated on every subject ; yet the ground 
 of a sinner's acceptance with God; the rules and mo- 
 tives of Christian morality; the refuge and consola* 
 ticn of the soul under trials, especially in the prospect 
 and approach of death;, and the bright hope, which 
 is laid up for us in heaven, of which we have heard 
 in the word of the truth of the gospel, — are establish, 
 ed by evidence far more clear, full, and incontroverti- 
 ble, than that which we can obtain for the divine au- 
 thority of many of the forms of Christian fellowship. 
 
GENERAL VIEW OF THE SUBJECT. 
 
 V^hurches appear not to have been occasional or 
 ambulatory companies of Christians, but stated societies, 
 consisting of Christians resident in the particular places 
 to which the gospel had come with power. In scripture, 
 mention is frequ ntly made of the churches at Jerusalem, 
 Antioch, and elsewhere; but although we read of ma- 
 ny occasional interviews of Christians, and of long jour- 
 neys both by land and sea* which parties of them accom- 
 plished, we perceive not the slightest hint, that they 
 considered themselves or were acknowledged by others, 
 as, in these circumstances, constituting churches. The 
 strain of the scripture history leads to an opposite con- 
 clusion. The travellers were sometimes sent out by a 
 church; they " broke bread" with the brethren, 
 when they happened to arrive at a place where there 
 was a church; they gave an account of their conduct 
 when they returned to the church by which they had 
 been sent, out; they were recommended by churches 
 in one place to churches in another; all which facts 
 seem calculated to distinguish casual meetings, private 
 society, and moveable temporary fellowships of pere- 
 grination, from those stated select assemblies of the 
 called, and chosen, and faithful, which are denominated 
 . in scripture churches of Christt 
 
10 
 
 These churches appear not to have been immediate- 
 ly settled, according to the model which was to conti- 
 nue. At fir st the apostles did every thing; with the 
 assistance, however, of evangelists as fellow-labourers. 
 Various spiritual gifts were also bestowed for a while 
 on the believers, by the pouring out of the Holy Spi- 
 rit, which sometimes immediately accompanied the 
 preaching of the gospel, sometimes followed the sign 
 of the laying on of the Apostles' hands, and sometimes 
 seems to have taken place in answer to the prayers of 
 the Christians, who were taught " earnestly to desire 
 *' spiritual gifts,'* and even to make a choice of those, 
 which they were instructed to distinguish as " the 
 u best." By means of these spiritual gifts, which 
 were frequently distributed among all the original 
 members of a church, the men were enabled to conduct 
 the worship, and to edify and govern the church, when 
 the apostles, or their fellow-labourers were called: 
 elsewhere, and when the ordinary office-bearers were 
 not yet appointed. The appointment of these does 
 not, in any instance, appear to have been made imme- 
 diately on the formation of a church. Under the di- 
 rection of apostles or evangelists, they were selected, 
 after a time, from among the elders, or early converts, 
 in the several churches. Hence bishops and deacons, 
 the ordinary office-bearers in a church, are often spoken 
 of under the general name of elders, although the 
 term elder is by no means confined to them, nor in- 
 deed to office-bearers at all, but is frequently used in a 
 latitude ©f meaning, which is limited merely by th* 
 term younger. Finally, a bishop in each church* 
 seems to have been the president, and to have been pair- 
 led, the angel of the church to which he belonged. 
 
II 
 
 A stated society, then, endowed with spiritual gifts, 
 iiaving elders ordained to particular offices, one of whora 
 presided, appears to have been, in the days of the a- . 
 postles, the complete character of a church of Christ. 
 
 That the primitive churches regularly assembled, ott 
 the Lord's day, for the purposes of praise, prayer, 
 reading the scriptures, preaching, charitable contribu- 
 tion, and the Lord's supper; and that baptism and 
 discipline were administered when occasion required ; 
 there seems no reason to doubt. But no precise de- 
 scriptions, hardly any direct accounts, are given in 
 scripture, respecting the mode, the order, or the par- 
 ticular times, in which these exercises were severally 
 performed. That they should be attended to still, all 
 Christians ought to admit: How, and when, further 
 than is already stated, Christian churches may agree 
 among themselves ; but no man, no church, may im- 
 pose a law upon others, or condemn them for disre- 
 garding it, and following the dictates of their own 
 judgment. Neither ought changes in the lawful prac- 
 tice of a church to be insisted on by any individuals, 
 unless the advantage of such changes can be very clear- 
 ly proved to the satisfaction of all. There is a differ- 
 ence also between early and later churches, owing to 
 the cessation of spiritual gifts, which must always be 
 allowed for, in our attempts to imitate the example of 
 the primitive Christians. 
 
 The following sections contain a further illustration 
 of some of these observations ; and we hope that the 
 view here given of church fellowship, will be found to 
 combine the most conscientious attention to the word 
 of God, with the fullest exercise of genuine Christian 
 liberty, and the utmost extent of genuine Christian 
 forbearance. 
 
12 
 
 OF THE GIFTS OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCHES. 
 
 In Joel. ii. 28, 29, we find the following re- 
 markable prophecy. " And it shall come to pass af- 
 " terwards, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all 
 " flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall pro- 
 " phesy, your old men (your elders) shall dream 
 " dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also 
 *' upon the servants and upon the handmaids, in those 
 " days, will I pour out my Spirit." On the day of 
 Pentecost, when the disciples " were all filled with 
 " the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with ether 
 " tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance," Peter 
 declared that this pouring out of the Holy Spirit was 
 the accomplishment of the prophecy of Joel. The 
 apostle seems to have meant that it was the beginning 
 of its accomplishment, because the Spirit was after- 
 wards given with similar effect, to many who were add- 
 ed to the church at Jerusalem, and to many who form- 
 ed churches in other places, and was continued with 
 the believers of that age, probably to the end of their 
 lives, or till the complete settlement of the primitive 
 churches had taken place. 
 
 The various effects of this pouring out of the 
 Holy Spirit, are in the New Testament generally 
 called gifts, 1 Cor. xii. 31. The primary and gen- 
 eral effects of it, appear to have been the gift of 
 prophecy, and that of speaking various languages. 
 From the narrative in the 2d chapter of the A etc, 
 it would seem, that these gifts were at first u- 
 nited. They were, however, distinct from each other, 
 and sometimes were afterwards enjoyed and cukivat- 
 
13 
 
 ed separately. Other gifts were added, but these 
 were evidently the most important, at least of those 
 which were generally bestowed. It is probable that 
 -the boldness mentioned, Acts iv. 31. included both 
 these gifts: " And when they had prayed, the place 
 " was shaken where they were assembled together, 
 " and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they 
 " spake the word of God with boldness." In Acts 
 xix. 6. they are expressly conjoined: " And when 
 " Pa A had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit 
 H came on them; and they spake with tongues and 
 " prophesied " In the discussion concerning spirit- 
 ual gifts, which occurs in the first epistle of Paul to 
 Jthe Cormthians, and extends from the beginning of the 
 12th chapter to the end of the 14th, various gifts are 
 mentioned, but those of tongues and of prophecy are 
 the principal subject of regulation. 
 
 When gifts are mentioned, in the New Testament* 
 as accompanying the original propagation of the gos- 
 pel, and as exercised by the first preachers in the course 
 of their labours, or by the first converts who believed 
 through their word, whether in a private capacity, or 
 in the meetings of a church; they seem universally to 
 signify gifts of a miraculous nature. For instance, 
 Paul says, Rom. i. 11. " For I long to see you, that 
 " I may impart unto you some spiritual gift," proba- 
 bly a gift, to be imparted by the laying on of his hands, 
 the gift of prophecy for example, which tended so 
 much to the edification of believers, and accordingly 
 it is added, " to the end you may be established." 
 Some of them, on whom the hands of an apostle had 
 been laid, enjoyed this gift already, with various others, 
 (see Rom. xii. 6—8.) but Paul wished to impart 
 
 B 
 
14 
 
 some gift also to the rest. Again he says, 1 Cor. i. 
 5 — 7« u That in every thing ye are enriched by him, 
 " in all utterance, and all knowledge; even as the 
 ** testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that 
 " ye come behind in no gift." These gifts of utter- 
 ance and knowledge (tongues and prophecy) were 
 in the Corinthian believers, confirmations or evidences 
 of the truth of the gospel. The passage may receive 
 further illustration, from a comparison of it with 1 Cor. 
 xiii. 1, 2. and Heb. ii. 3, 4. In 1 Tim. iv. 14. and 
 2 Tim. i. 6. the word gift evidently has the same 
 meaning. Nor does the meaning seem to be drTerent, 
 in 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11. *' As every man hath received 
 ** a gift, (not the gift, as in the common transla- 
 t( tion,) ministering the same, as good stewards of 
 *' the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, 
 (i speaking as oracles of God (not as the oracles of 
 God, that is, agreeably to sacred scripture, as we are 
 apt to understand it, but " as being themselves oracles 
 " of God,") if any man minister, ministering as of the 
 " strength which God giveth ; that God in all things 
 " may be glorified thro* Jesus Christ, to whombelongeth 
 " the glory and the power for ever and ever, Amen." 
 
 For enabling us to understand what is intended by 
 the gifts of the primitive churches, we are furnished 
 not merely with passages where the word happens to 
 occur, but with large explanations of their nature and 
 various uses. One of the most remarkable of these 
 explanations, is that already mentioned, which occurs 
 in the 12th, 13th, and 14th chapters of the 1st epis- 
 tle to the Corinthians. In that portion of scripture, 
 some of the apostle's expressions seem, at first sight, 
 ro be obscure. When carefully examined and com- 
 
15 
 
 pared, however, they reflect much light on one another, 
 and much aid has lately been afforded to the inquirer 
 en this subject by different commentators*. We re- 
 quest the particular attention of the reader at present, 
 to 1 Cor. chap. xii. verses 8, 9, 10, compared with 
 verses 28, 29, SO. In the enumeration there given, 
 the apostle mentions, 
 
 First, the gift of " the word of wisdom." This ex- 
 pression seems to imply the whole scheme of the gos- 
 pel doctrine. In this sense we find •' wisdom," and 
 «« the wisdom of God," used in the second chapter of 
 the epistle, and Peter says, that Paul wrote his epistles 
 tl according to the wisdom given unto him," 2 Pet. iii. 
 15. This "word of wisdom," verse 8, answers to 
 " apostles," who are placed the first in order among 
 the persons who had the gifts, verses 28, 29. Agree- 
 ably to the name of their peculiar gift, they are called 
 "wise men:" compare Matth. xxiii. 34. with Luke 
 xi. 49. This gift is also called " revelation," 1 Cor. 
 xiv. 6. because the gospel, which was preached by 
 the apostles, " is not after man, for they neither re- 
 " ceived it of man, neither were they taught it, but 
 " by the revelation of Jesu9 Christ," Gal. i. 11, 12. 
 
 Under this word of wisdom is probably to be in- 
 cluded the knowledge of the mysteries relating to the 
 Christian church. The scheme of the gospel doctrine 
 is called " the wisdom of God in a mystery," 1 Cor. ii. 
 7. and "the mystery of godliness," 1 Tim. iii. 16. 
 Again, the mystery of God's calling the Gentiles to 
 be his people, without any subjection to the law of 
 
 * See Benson's Essay on the Settlement of the Primitive 
 Church, subjoined to his Paraphrase of 2 Timothy; and Mac- 
 knight on the place. 
 
 B 2 
 
16 
 
 Moses, is called wisdom: see Ephes. iii. 8, 9, 10. Col. 
 i, 9, 10—13, 26, 28, and ii. 2, 3. Those mysteries 
 are said to have been communicated by revelation, 
 Gal. i. 12. Ephes. iii. 3. Rom. xvi. 25. as the word 
 of wisdom is said to have been, 1 Cor. xiv. 6. None 
 but apostles appear to have had the revelation of those 
 mysteries. To Peter was it tint revealed that the 
 devout Gentiles should be received into the Christian 
 eburcb, without any further subjection to the law of 
 Moses, Acts x. : to Paul, that the idolatrous Gentiles 
 should be so received. This was one of the myste- 
 ries of which Paul was a steward, 1 Cor. iv. 1. and 
 he often calls it a mystery, Rom. xvi. 25. Ephes. i. 
 9, 10 and Hi. 3—9. and vi. 19. Col. i. 26, 27- and ii. 2, 
 and iv. 3. To him also was revealed the mystery of 
 God's casting off and restoring the Jews, Rom. xi. 25V 
 &c. ; the mystery that the last generation shall not 
 die, 1 Cor. xv. 51. and the mystery of iniquity, 
 2 Thess. ii. 7« To John was revealed the mystery 
 of the seven stars and seven golden candlesticks, Rev. 
 i. 20.; the mystery of God, Rev. x. "J.; and the my- 
 stery of Babylon, the woman, and the beast, Rev. 
 xvii. 5, 7. 
 
 Secondly, the gift of " the word of knowledge." 
 By this g;it seems to be meant a clear understanding 
 of the signification and design of the law and the pro- 
 phets, and of the confirmation which the Old Testa- 
 ment gives to Christianity. Paul seems to use the 
 word " knowledge ;> in this sense, in Rorn. ii. 20, 
 and 1 Tim. vi. 20. This gift is reckoned the second 
 in order of the spiritual gifts, verse 8th, as prophets 
 are, verses 28, 29. among the persons who had thos* 
 gifts. Those, therefore, who had this gift, were pei> 
 
sons who had also the gift of prophecy. The two 
 gifts, however, were perfectly distinct; and in this 
 probably were the prophets of the Christian church 
 favoured above those of the Jewish, that the former 
 knew the meaning, both of the prophecies which went 
 before, and of those which they uttered themselves; 
 whereas, the latter, as Peter says, 1 Epis. i. 1 1 . were left 
 to " Search to whom, or what kind cf time the Spirit 
 " of Christ which was in them did refer, when it tes- 
 " tified before hand the sufferings of Christ, and the 
 " glory that should follow." The speech of Stephen, 
 Acts 7th, seems to be an example of the exercise of 
 the gift of knowledge. Although the prophets of the 
 Christian church had been able to attain the true 
 meaning of the ancient oracles by the force of their 
 natural faculties, their interpretations would not have 
 had that authority to bind the consciences of men, 
 which interpretations communicated to them by inspi- 
 ration undoubtedly possessed. 
 
 Thirdly, the gift of «« faith." Faith here is to be 
 distinguished from that belief of the gospel, without 
 which men cannot be Christians at all. It was a gift 
 bestowed on particular Christians. It seems to have 
 been a firm confidence in the power of God, as 
 engaged to verify and support the gospel, and to 
 have appeared chiefly in two ways. One was in 
 the person, who was endowed with it, attempting 
 without hesitation, to work the greatest miracles, 
 when moved to do so by the Holy Spirit. In 
 this way Christ speaks of faith, in Matth. xvii. 20. and 
 xxi. 21. Mark xi. 22, 23. Luke xvii. 6. ; and the apos- 
 tle Paul, in 1 Cor. xiii. 2. " all faith, so that I could 
 u remove mountains." Another way, in which this- 
 
 B °> 
 
18 
 
 confidence appeared, was the boldness («•**?»!««■, boIJ* 
 r,ess of speech) with which the first preachers pub- 
 lished and maintained the doctrines of the eospel, both 
 ia the world and in the church. This boldness was 
 promised by Christ to his apostles, Matth. x. 19, 20. 
 Luke xxi. 15. When accordingly it was displayed by 
 Peter and John, we learn from Acts iv. 13, 2f, * that 
 it excited great astonishment in the Jewish council-, 
 and great triumph in the Christian church. But this 
 gift was not confined to apostles. We have a re- 
 markable instance of its being displayed in' both of the 
 above mentioned ways by Stephen, Acts vi. 8, 9, 10. 
 In the enumeration of the passage before us, " faith'* 
 is mentioned, verse 9, next after, " the word of know- 
 ledge," and seems therefore to have belonged to those 
 gifted men, who, in verses 28, 29, are placed after 
 M prophets," and are there called " teachers." These, 
 
 * On A&s iv. 13. it has been said, " The Sanhedrim still 
 perceived in their manner of address, that they were " unlearn- 
 " ed and ignorant men." A very incorrect representation. 
 There is no ground for ascrihing the council's knowledge of the 
 apostles' want of learning to their manner of addre. s. The 
 passage literally rendered is, " Now when they saw the bold- 
 " nessof Peter and John, and had discovered (that is, by informa- 
 tion from such as knew them to have been fishermen) " that they 
 " were unlearned and ignorant men {or private men, such as had 
 no office of teaching in the Jewish church as the scribes had) 
 " they marvelled, and they took knowledge of them that they 
 " had been with Jesus." Their manner of address, instead of 
 indicating their situation, was entirely unlike it, and therefore 
 astonished the council, when they learned what that situation 
 v as. That they had information about those two apostles ap- 
 pears from the last clause of the verse, which seems to refer :o 
 the fads mentioned, John xviii. 15 — !8 — 25 — 27. 
 
19 
 
 however, were probably not " the pastors and teach- 
 ers " spoken of, Eph. iv. 11, but rather thoRe teach- 
 ers, who, in that passage, are called evangelists, and 
 are placed in the same order as here, next to prophets. 
 When we consider the nature of the duties which Ti- 
 mothy and Titus were called to perform at Ephesus and 
 in Crete, we shall see how likely it is, that this bold- 
 ness of faith, was the gift* which Paul so frequently 
 exhorts them to stir up. See 1 Tim, i. 3, 4. and iv. 
 11 — 14. 2 Tim. i. 6— S. and ii. 1—3. Tit. i. 13. 
 and ii. \5. 
 
 Fourthly, the gift of " the inworkings of powers." 
 This is Macknight's rendering of the clause, which in 
 Our common version is rendered " the working of 
 " miracles." Though hardly English, MacJtnight'8 
 is the preferable translation, because the ether is de- 
 ficient in precision, neither distinguishing this gilt 
 accurately from '« the gifts of healings," net expres- 
 sing clearly what it seems really to have been. It is 
 put after "the gifts of healings" in verses 9, 10 but 
 ^it is put before them, in verses 28, 29, 30, where the 
 order of the gifts seems to be more particularly mark- 
 ed. " The inworkings of powers " seems to denote 
 the power of conferring spiritual gifts. It is express- 
 ed, in the plural number, to denote the variety of the 
 spiritual gifts conferred. Those who possessed this 
 gift are called "powers" (in our common version 
 ~" miracles" and "workers of miracles") in verses 
 28, 29. This name does not signify any separate class 
 of persons, but denotes an energy which the apos- 
 tles alone appear to have been enabled to exercise. 
 When the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, heard that 
 the Samaritans were converted by Philip, they sent 
 
20 
 
 Peter and John to confer on them the Holy Spirit. 
 Acts viii. 14 — 17. It was this gift of God, 'which, 
 Simon thought, might be purchased with money, 
 Acts viii. 18 — 22*. Though " the inworkings of 
 powers " be the gift which most forcibly struck the 
 minds of mankind, and raised the apostles highest in 
 their estimation, " the word of wisdom, " " the word 
 of knowledge,'' and " faith " are placed before it 
 in the catalogue, because by these gifts the gospel was 
 communicated to the world; whereas it was only con- 
 firmed by " the inworkings of powers.'' In like 
 manner, " powers," that is, persons who possessed the 
 gift of communicating spiritual powers, are placed after 
 M teachers " or evangelists, verse 28. because the a- 
 postles, in confirming the gospel by conferring spi- 
 ritual powers, exercised a gift inferior to that ©f pro- 
 phets and evangelists, who by inspiration revealed it. 
 
 Fifthly, " the gifts of healings." Here the expres- 
 sion is again in the plural number, to denote the varie- 
 ty of diseases which were healed. Our Lord promis- 
 ed these gifts to those Who should believe the preach- 
 ing of the gospel, Mark xvi. 18. Accordingly, many 
 of the first Christians possessed them, and by exercis- 
 ing them, not only confirmed the truth of the gospel, 
 but gave a striking display of its beneficent nature. 
 The apostles had " the gifts of healings " bestowed 
 upon them in common with others, only they posses- 
 sed them in a more eminent degree, and exercised them 
 in a superior-manner. Thus the shadow of Peter, as 
 he passed along the streets of Jerusalem, cured many 
 
 * With regard to Ananias conferring the Holy Spirit on Saul, 
 jee Benson and Macknight on Tit. iii. 6. 
 
21 
 
 sick people, and when handkerchiefs and aprons, which 
 had touched the body of Paul, were carried to the 
 sick in Ephesus, they immediately recovered. The el- 
 ders appear also to have enjoyed these gifts more com- 
 monly than the rest of the brethren. Hence the direc- 
 tion James v. 14, 15. ft Is any sick among you? Let 
 " him call for the elders of the church ; and let them 
 " pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name 
 " of the Lord: ard the prayer of faith shall save the 
 " sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he 
 ** have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.'* 
 In the exercise of these gifts, none of the gifted 
 men, not even the apostles, were permitted to act ac- 
 cording to their own pleasure, but were always direct- 
 ed to the exercise of them by God: otherwise Paul 
 would not have left Trophimus sick at Miletus; nor 
 have suffered his beloved Timothy to labour under 
 frequent infirmities ; nor Epaphroditus to be sick nigh 
 unto death. 
 
 Sixthly, the gift of " prophecy. " The word pro- 
 phecy does not appear, in any part of scripture, to be 
 limited to the prediction of future events, but it seems 
 always to imply speaking by inspiration of God. Of 
 old, the prophets sometimes appeared singly; some- 
 times in companies; sometimes sung with the accom- 
 paniment of instrumental music, and even with danc- 
 ing; sometimes prayed; sometimes addressed indivi- 
 duals, or assemblies of the people; sometimes added to 
 their words symbolical actions; sometimes wrote their 
 prophecies; sometimes sealed them up in oblivion and 
 wrote them not ; but, in all these cases, the proper no- 
 tion of prophecy was the effusion of a man, who spake, 
 not according to his own will, but as he was moved by 
 
22 
 
 the Holy Spirit. When Saul joined the song of a com- 
 pany of prophets, it was because the Spirit of the Lord 
 came upon him, 1 Sam. x. 6. see also 1 Sam. xix. 20 — 
 24. Those who are called sons of the prophets often 
 gave decided evidence of having revelations from God. 
 See 1 Kings xx. 35 — 43. 2 Kings ii. 3, 5, 7, and ix. 
 1 — 10. When impostors assumed the character of pro- 
 phets, they pretended to be inspired either by Jehovah 
 or by idols, 1 Kings xviii. 22. and xxii. 24, 25. Jer. 
 xxiii. 25 — 32. In like manner in the New Testament, 
 when Paul calls a heathen poet a prophet, Tit. i. \ 2. 
 he uses a name which was given by the heathen to their 
 poets, from an opinion that they were inspired by the 
 geds. 
 
 It is doubted, however, whether the gift of " pro- 
 phecy," spoken of in the 12th, 13th, and 14th chap- 
 ters of 1 Cor. were the result of inspiration, and pecu- 
 liar to primitive times; or whether it be not a talent 
 common to believers in every age, which is still exercis- 
 ed by Christian brethren, when they exhort one ano- 
 ther in meetings of a church. 
 
 In support of the first of these opinions, we remark, 
 that prophecy is spoken of, as precisely on the same 
 footing with all the other gifts, which are not denied 
 to be the effect of miraculous influence. After enume- 
 rating them, in chap. xii. 8, 9, 10, the apostle says, 
 ver. 11, " But all these worketh that one and the self- 
 " same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he 
 •' will." Accordingly prophets are classed with apos- 
 tles, ver. 28. ; it is denied, ver. 29, that all the mem- 
 bers of the church were prophets; and the very advice, 
 ver. 31, to " desire earnestly the best gifts," and chap. 
 xiv. 1. to " desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but rather 
 
23 
 
 « that they might prophecy," proves that none of 
 those gifts, and least of all prophecy, was a talent com- 
 mon to all believers even then, much less to believers 
 in every age. 
 
 Again, prophecy is spoken of as on the same foot- 
 ing with the other gifts, when they are contrasted 
 with love, that universal and essential characteristic of 
 
 the disciples of Christ. See chap. xiii. 1 3. 8 12. 
 
 Neither is any distinction supposed between prophecy 
 and the other gifts, in the way of obtaining them, 
 chap. xiv. 1. « Follow after love, and earnestly desire 
 1 " spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy." 
 Further, when the apostle, chap. xiv. discusses the 
 respective properties of tongues and prophecy, he says 
 nothing inconsistent with the belief, that the one was 
 a miraculous and extraordinary gift as well as the other. 
 The contrast runs thus, ver. 2,3,4. « He that speak- 
 " eth in an unknown tongue, speaketh not unto men, 
 < but unto God : for no man understandeth him ; how- 
 " belt in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he 
 " that prophesieth, speaketh unto men to edification, 
 " and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh 
 ' in an unknown tongue, edifieth himself: but he 
 " that prophesieth, edifieth the church." It seems 
 to be the object of the apostle to distinguish two gifts 
 which were equally extraordinary and miraculous, by 
 their several degrees of utility. The circumstances, 
 of being addressed to men; being intelligible; being 
 calculated for edification, and that not of an individual 
 alone, but of the church; have no tendency to prove, 
 that prophecy was not a miraculous gift. What is 
 said of him that prophesieth speaking unto men to 
 edification, and exhortation, and comfort, reminds us 
 
24 
 
 of Isaiah and the other prophets of old, whose writing* 
 are full of such instructive, animating, and consolato- 
 ry addresses. Having been originally spoken to the 
 people in their own language, and being accessible to 
 all, in every age, by means of translations, it is easy to 
 conceive that those writings have been more useful, than 
 the sign of tongues ever was, or ever would be, were 
 it still continued. But no one will, therefore, imagine 
 that they were not given by inspiration of God, or 
 that what is commonly called exhortation, in some 
 churches, is at all to be compared with them. It seems 
 reasonable to believe, that if it had pleased God to 
 oause as many of the prophecies of the primitive Christ- 
 ian church to be left on record, as there are of the 
 prophecies of the ancient church of Israel, they would 
 have borne a nearer resemblance to the writings of 
 Isaiah, than to any exhortations, which we can now 
 expect to hear in the meeting of a church. Christ- 
 ian prophecies would probably be more clear than 
 Jewish ones, since the Christian prophets possessed 
 tl the word of knowledge," as well as " prophecy." 
 The few instances of New Testament prophesying, 
 which are recorded, confirm this opinion. About Acts 
 xi. 28. and xx. 23. and xxi. 11. there is no room for 
 dispute. In Acts xv. 32. it is said, " And Judas 
 " and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted 
 " the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.'* 
 These words may be thought to represent prophesy- 
 ing as the same thing with exhorting. But they are 
 explained by verses 27, 28. " We have sent therefore 
 " Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same 
 " things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Ho- 
 
25 
 
 " ly Spirit and to us, &c." When Judas and Silas 
 exhorted and confirmed the brethren, they were tell- 
 ing by mouth the same things which the apostles, el- 
 ders, and brethren at Jerusalem had told by letter. 
 They w r ere telling what seemed good to the Holy Spi- 
 rit and to them, which they could not have done, un- 
 less they had been prophets also themselves, who spoke 
 by the Spirit. 
 
 But the miraculous nature of the gift of prophecy 
 is more directly intimated. 
 
 In chap. xiv. 5, the apostle declares that ** greater 
 ** is he that prophesieth, than he that speaketh with 
 " tongues." One would think that this declaration 
 might lead to the acknowledgement of some difference 
 between a prophet of the primitive churches, and a 
 modern exhorting brother. But what follows is even 
 more decisive. The prophet is greater than he that 
 speaketh with tongues, " except he interpret, that the 
 church may receive edifying." These words seem ab- 
 solutely to identify the essential qualities of prophecy 
 and tongues; and to imply that, when an external ob- 
 stacle (the ignorance of the hearers) is removed by in- 
 terpreting, the effect of both gifts is the same, and the 
 difference between the one and the other equalized. 
 This conclusion seems also to follow from the strain 
 of the apostle's reasoning, verses 6 — 19, especially 
 verses 15, 1 3 Let the man, who spoke with tongues, 
 only interpret, and he then ceased to be inferior to a 
 prophet, because he became equally useful. In both 
 cases, the speaker said the same things, and by the 
 same authority, only in the one case he was, in the 
 other, he was not understood. 
 
 Again, in verse 26, it is said, " How is it then, or 
 
 C 
 
m 
 
 ~M what then is to be done, brethren ? when ye come t«- 
 " gether, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doc- 
 " trine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an in- 
 terpretation. Let all be done to .edification. "- The 
 whole of this description seems to apply to the primi- 
 tive state of the church. Surely nothing like it can 
 be said of any church since the cessation of miraculous 
 gifts. Has every one of us, when we come together, 
 such things as these, that the regulation of them 
 should apply to us? In verse 29, those, who prophe- 
 sied, are called " the prophets." Would it be war- 
 rantable to give this name to the brethren who exhort 
 in our church meetings? All the brethren are, in such 
 meetings, at liberty to exhort; but " are all pro- 
 
 •« phets?" Chap. xii. 29 When two or three of the 
 
 prophets spoke, it is said, ver. 29, t( and let the o- 
 " thers judge " or " discern." This was a direction 
 to exercise the gift of " the discerning of spirits," 
 chap. xii. 10. One gift was accompanied by another 
 corresponding to it. The gift of discerning, as we 
 mall afterwards endeavour to show, was independent 
 of those general rules of judging, which all Christians 
 were to observe, and which are given, Matth. vii, 15-— 
 20. chap. xii. 3. and 1 John iv. 1 — 6. to aid us when 
 miraculous gifts should cease. 
 
 Finally, when one prophet was directed to give place 
 to another, verse 30, it was in the event of something 
 being revealed to that other. It is odd, that in a 
 discussion of the point in hand, a word so remarkable 
 as this, should be sometimes passed over in silence. 
 The fair interpretation of the passage seems to be, 
 that the Spirit i* supposed to have " revealed" some- 
 thing to the first, and to have " revealed " something 
 
27" 
 
 also to the second; and Paul desires that, when this 
 happened, the first should conclude before the other 
 began. When two or three brethren exhort in a mo- 
 dern church, is it because any thing has been *« re- 
 vealed" to them? Do successive revelations mark out 
 the succession of speakers? The affirmative is main- 
 tained by the people called Quakers, and they endea- 
 vour to practise accordingly ; but where is the evidence 
 t>hat any M revelation " i« made to them at all? 
 
 It has been thought, that prophecy is exhortation, 
 because it is said, verse 31, " Ye may all prophesy, 
 *' one by one, that all may learn, and all may be com- 
 " forted." Certainly all might prophesy, who could 
 obtain the gift, and therefore, verse 39, they are ad- 
 vised to "desire to prophesy." The law then was- 
 the same, as in the days of Jeremiah, chap, xxiii. 28. 
 " The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream ; 
 w and he that hath my word, let him speak my word- 
 '* faithfully. " There is no question, whether pro- 
 . phets may prophesy : it is only doubted by some, whe- 
 ther any should be acknowledged in that character,.- 
 who have not wherewith to discharge the duties which 
 belong to it, that is, who can afford no evidence of be- 
 ing inspired. The end, which was to be answered by 
 prophesying.,- " that all might learn, and all might be 
 ** comforted," has been considered in our remarks 
 upon verse 3d. 
 
 Again, it has been thought, that prophesying was 
 what is called an ordinary gift, because it is said, M De- 
 '.* spise not prophesyings." The expression, M de- 
 " spise not prophesyings," seems evidently to refer to 
 an extraordinary gift. It is explained by the precede 
 ing clause) to which it stands as a parallel. The whole* 
 
 C 2 
 
so 
 
 sure of H binding heavy burdens, and grievous to b 
 ** borne, and laying them on other men's shoulders, 
 " while he himself will not move them with one of his 
 " fingers," Matth. xxiii. 4. 
 
 The gift of prophecy was bestowed on women as 
 well as men. This was agreeable to the word of Joel, 
 that M their daughters should prophesy." We read 
 of prophetesses in the Old Testament, but we have 
 reason to think, they were more numerous in the pri- 
 mitive times of Christianity. Thus, in Acts xxi. 8, 
 9. we read of " four daughters " in one family who 
 prophesied, and, from various passages in 1 Cor. and 
 1 Tim. we are led to believe, that prophecy was then 
 very frequent among the Christian women. Because, 
 in 1 Cor. xi. the apostle reproves women for praying 
 or prophesying in the church without their veils, but 
 does not blame them for the practice itself, it has been 
 supposed, that he allowed them to pray and prophesy 
 publicly, provided they did it with their heads veiled. 
 But as the apostle's intention, in chap. xi. was only to 
 show the indecency of the manner, in which the wo- 
 men prayed and prophesied in the public assemblies, 
 no argument can be drawn in favour of that practice 
 from his not prohibiting it there, because he express- 
 ly prohibits it, in chap xiv. 34. of the same epistle. 
 Some have indeed thought, that this prohibition was 
 onlv in the case of their not being inspired. For de- 
 ciding on this opinion, it may be useful to consider the 
 connection in which the prohibition occurs. The* 
 apostle, after describing the utility of prophecy, verse 
 3 and referring to the inspiration by which the pro- 
 phets spake, verse 6, and ordering them to pray or 
 prophesy in a known language,, verse 7 — 12» or if 
 
31 
 
 they prophesied in a foreign language, to do it so as 
 it might be interpreted, by some one in the assembly, 
 who had the gift of interpretation, verse 13, and after 
 giving them directions concerning the orderly exercise 
 of all their spiritual gifts founded on this fact, that 
 *' the spiritual gifts * of the prophets were subject to 
 the prophets," verse 32; he adds, verse 34-, «' let your 
 ** women be silent in the churches, for it hath not been 
 " permitted to them to speak." The prohibition 
 standing in this connection implies, that the Corin- 
 thian women were not to pray and prophesy in the 
 church as teachers, on pretence of being inspired, and 
 unable to restrain the motions of the Spirit. Besides, 
 the reasons given by the apostle show that the prohi- 
 bition was absolute and general. Christ had not per- 
 mitted women to speak in the church as teachers of 
 the men : neither had the law of Moses permitted them, 
 for it commanded them to be in subjection to the men. 
 The apostle therefore considered women's praying and 
 prophesying in the church as a renouncing of their sub- 
 jection to the men. Accordingly he terms it, 1 Tim. ii. 
 12. " usurping authority over the man. " They were 
 not so much as to ask a question in the church, even on 
 pretence of learning something, lest it might have given 
 them ahandle for enteringinto disputations with the men. 
 But if they wished to learn any thing, they were to 
 ask their husbands at home, verse 35. Nay, it was 
 indecent for women to speak at all in the church, be- 
 ing inconsistent with that modesty which is their great- 
 est ornament. — In short, to cut off every pretence for 
 women's teaching in the church, the apostle asks, verse 
 36, " Did the word of God go forth from you into the 
 
 * See Macknight on the place. 
 
32 
 
 " world? or did it only come to you by the ministry 
 ** of the men?" plainly telling them, that whatever 
 inspirations of the Spirit they might be favoured with> 
 no inspiration was given them for the purpose of efc- 
 abling them to teach publicly, or to lead the devotion 
 of the church. — If it beasked, for what purpose the 
 inspirations of the Spirit were bestowed on women? it 
 may be answered, for enabling: them to instruct their 
 own sex in private; especially those of the younger 
 sort, and those who were newly converted. Perhaps, 
 also, some of the married women, who were eminent 
 for their gifts, may, in private conversation, have occa- 
 sionally assisted the new converts among the men. 
 Perhaps Priscilla was an example of this kiod, for she 
 is mentioned along with her husband as expounding 
 the way of God more perfectly to Apollos, Acts xviii; 
 26. — The daughters of Philip aresaid to have prophe- 
 sied, but it will not follow that they prophesied in the 
 church. On the contrary, it is in the account of a pri- 
 vate visit at their father's house that their gift is men- 
 tioned, Acts xxi. S, 9. They may have uttered their 
 prophecie3 in conversation, like Anna, Luke ii. 38. by 
 which all the ends of the revelations made to them may- 
 have been answered. 
 
 Seventhly, the gift of " discerning spirits." Tm> 
 gift appears to have been bestowed to enable men to 
 know, whether a person pretending to inspiration, real- 
 ly spoke by the Spirit of God. Among the disciples 
 of Christ, there very early appeared false teachers, 
 who, to gain credit to their errors, pretended to deli- 
 ver them by inspiration. A gift of this kind was there- 
 fore necessary for preventing the faithful from being 
 led away by impostors, especially, in the first age, before 
 
S3 
 
 the writings of the apostles and evangelists were com- 
 pletely published. Hence the allusion to this gift in 
 1 John ii. 26, 27. " These things have I written unto 
 " you, concerning them that seduce you. But 
 " the anointing which ye have received of him, a- 
 " bideth in you: and ye need not that any man 
 " teach you." Though Christians were not to quench 
 the Spirit, nor to despise prophesyings, yet they were 
 to " try all things, and to hold fast that which is 
 " good," 1 Thess. v. 20 — 22. Accordingly it is said, 
 1 Cor. xiv. 29. " Let the prophets speak two or 
 " three, and let the others discern," or judge." This 
 gift was not rendered unnecessary by the declaration, 
 John x. 4, 5, " The sheep follow him: for they know 
 " his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, 
 41 but will flee from him : for they know not the voice 
 " of strangers." It was bestowed, indeed, to verify 
 this declaration, till the scriptures should be completed, 
 collected, and copied, so as to get into general circu- 
 lation. Hence the permanent rules of judging, such 
 as those contained in Matth. vii. 15 — 20. 1 Cor. xii. 
 3. and 1 John. iv. 1 — 6, seem to be different from 
 this gift, for they were given for the direction of 
 Christians when this gift should cease. 
 
 Those who possessed this gift are called, verse 28, 
 " governments," rather, " directors." The word ori- 
 ginally signifies the steering of a ship, or, the skill of a 
 pilot by which he is enabled to steer a ship. Hence 
 by a beautiful, and not uncommon figure, it is used 
 as a name for those, whose gift peculiarly fitted them 
 to sit at the helm of affairs in a church, to govern^ di- 
 recly and manage with judgment. If they could try 
 the spirits, and discern whether a man, who pretended 
 
34, 
 
 to propheiy, spoke by human presumption, or divine 
 impulse, they could surely direct the judgements of 
 the Christians, and show what regard ought to be 
 paid to prophecies, or doctrines delivered as prophe- 
 cies. The enabling of men to discern spirits was a re- 
 markable display of the favour of that God, who 
 searcheth the hearts and trieth the reins of the child- 
 ren of men, and who, in this instance, gave power to 
 his servants, in some measure to do the same. 
 
 Eighthly, the gift of speaking " divers kinds of 
 tongues." The word " tongue " is, in this passage, 
 and chap. xiv. 2. evidently used for a foreign lan- 
 guage. The gift of speaking various kinds of foreign 
 languages was one of the first means of the rapid 
 growth of Christianity. By it, the disciples on the: 
 day of Pentecost, addressed a multitude from many 
 different parts of the world, and the first preachers of 
 the gospel were enabled immediately, wherever they 
 went, to preach the wonderful works of God, with- 
 out waiting till in an ordinary way they learned the' 
 language of the country. By it also the gifted bre- 
 thren could address foreigners, who came into the~ 
 churches, in their own language, as was done with- 
 such effect on the day of Pentecost. Thus were, 
 tongues " a sign to. them that believed not," chap, 
 xiv. 22, and the means of instructing such of them as» 
 were foreigners. Although the apostle advised the 
 brethren at Corinth chiefly to desire to. prophesy, he 
 did not undervalue tongues, for he says, chap, xiw 
 18. ** I thank my God, I speak with tongues more. 
 " than you all." From these words it also appears,, 
 that the persons who were endowed with this gift,- 
 had not communicated to.them the knowledge of all 
 
35 
 
 languages; and even the languages which were given 
 them, may not have been communicated to them all 
 at once, but only as they had occasion for them. 
 
 Ninthly, the gift of « interpreting tongues." This 
 being a distinct gift from that of speaking with 
 tongues, it may be presumed, that not every one who 
 understood the foreign language in which an inspired 
 teacher spake, was allowed to interpret. The only 
 persons permitted to do this in the church were the 
 interpreters, who were endowed with a special inspira- 
 tion for that end. The doctrines of the gospel, being 
 entirely different from all the notions which heathens, 
 or even Jews had been accustomed to entertain on re- 
 ligious subjects, any interpretation of what was deli- 
 vered by the Spirit in a foreign language, made with- 
 out a supernatural direction, might have led the church 
 into error This faulty of interpreting foreign lan- 
 guages by inspiration, was, in another respect, a gift 
 very necessary in the first age. The books of the Old 
 Testament were written in Hebrew, a language not 
 then understood by the common people, even in Ju- 
 -dea, and the writings of the apostles and evangelists 
 were in the .Greek tongue, which was no where spo- 
 ken by thec-ommon people, except in Greece and some 
 cities pf the Lescer Asia. Unless, therefore, there 
 ; had been, in every church, inspired interpreters, who 
 could translate those inspired writings into the com- 
 mon language, they would have been, in a great mea- 
 sure, useless, especially at the beginning, when the 
 knowledge of them could not be obtained, by ordinary 
 study, without delaying long the general instruction 
 .of the church. Whereas every church having inspired 
 .interpreters present in their assemblies, to translate the 
 
Hebrew and Greek scriptures into the language of 
 the country, the members at large had an immediate 
 opportunity of deriving from those writings, all the 
 knowledge and comfort which they are fitted to 
 yield. 
 
 The " diversities " or " divers kinds of tongues," 
 verse 28, seem to answer both to " speaking tongues " 
 and " interpreting tongues,'' verses 10 and 30. And 
 " speaking with tongues," verse 30, seems to include 
 " prophecy, discerning spirits, and speaking tongues," 
 verse 10. For they who exercised the gift of tongues 
 did generally at the same time, pray, or prophesy, sing 
 psalms or hymns, or discern spirits, as well as speak 
 in an unknown tongue, see Acts x. 46. 
 
 These were the gifts which the apostle Paul enume- 
 rates in the first epistle to the Corinthians, as having 
 been distributed by the Holy Spirit among the primi- 
 tive Christians. The first seems to have been always 
 communicated to particular persons by an immediate 
 effusion of the Holy Spirit from heaven, and the second 
 generally in the same manner. The other gifts were 
 frequently distributed among whole churches, through 
 the laying on of the hands of the apostles, or the ear- 
 nest desire of the brethren to obtain them. They all 
 appear to have been completely distinct from the qua- 
 lities which are essential universally to the character 
 of a Christian. They were distributed according to 
 the divine will among different individuals in Christ- 
 ian churches, for the good of the rest. The possession 
 of them did not of itself ascertain Christian character, 
 Matth. vii. 22. Wonderful and important as they 
 were, the cultivation of love was " a more excellent 
 way." Without gifts, men could not become remark- 
 
ably useful in public, but though they "had all gifts, if 
 they had not love, (which was a supposable case) they 
 could not be Christians: love is amiable; kind and 
 forbearing; the very fulfilling of the law. Gifts were 
 to cease, and we see they have ceased, but love never 
 faileth. It not only was superior to the gifts which 
 were temporary, but is even the greatest among the 
 graces which abide. 
 
 We have said, that there is a difference between ear. 
 ly and later churches, owing to the cessation of spiri- 
 tual gifts, which must always be allowed for, in our 
 attempts to imitate the example of the primitive 
 Christians. 
 
 Among the primitive Christians, even the Jewish 
 converts were recently awakened from the grossest ig- 
 norance, and prejudice remained among them with a 
 degree of strength, of which we cannot easily form a 
 conception. The Gentiles were, till their conversion, 
 utterly destitute of spiritual ideas, and had very imper- 
 fect notions of morality. The sacred books of the 
 Jews were not generally known, and the writings of 
 the apostles and evangelists were not published, till 
 a considerable time after numerous churches were 
 planted in many countries of Asia and Europe. In 
 these circumstances, the knowledge which the Christ- 
 ians derived from the preaching of the inspired 
 teachers, who came to them at first, but remained 
 only for a rime, -odd not be either accurate or ex- 
 tensive. To supply that defect, the spiritual gifts 
 were bestowed. Some were fitted for speaking to 
 edification, and exhortation, and comfort, or for 
 leading the worship of the church, by prayers, or 
 psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Others were en- 
 
 D 
 
 * 
 
S8 
 
 abled to govern the body. Others translated into the 
 common languages, the discourses delivered for a sign, 
 or for the sake of strangers, in foreign tongues, as 
 well as the parts of scripture which were read in the 
 •church. 
 
 Although gifts were sometimes distributed among aU 
 the original members of a church, yet as the church in- 
 creased, the gifted brethren do not appear to have form- 
 ed a large proportion of the whole, but only such a num- 
 ber as was sufficient for their service. We gather this 
 from 1 Cor. xii. \5 — 21. where the apostle seems to 
 compare them to the eye, the ear, the organ of smel- 
 ling, and the hand, and declares, that other members 
 were as really of the body as they. In like manner, in 
 Acts xiii. 1. there were only five prophets and teach- 
 ers in the church at Antioch, and cf these, two were 
 called away. 
 
 That gifts. were necessary for enabling the primitive 
 brethren to conduct the public worship and discipline, 
 we learn from the continual reference to the enjoyment 
 of gifts, when these things form a subject of regula- 
 tion. Thus Rom. xii. 6. " PIaving then gifts, 
 
 " DIFFERING ACCORDING TO THE GRACE THAT IS 
 
 <s given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy 
 ft according to the proportion of faith: or ministry, 
 fi let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, 
 " on teaching; or he that exhortetb, on exhortation; 
 <{ he thatgiveth, let him do //with simplicity; he that 
 " ruleth, with diligence; he that shovveth mercy, with 
 ** cheerfulness." 
 
 There is another passage of scripture on the same 
 subject, which is particularly worthy of attention, be- 
 cause it not only refers, like the former, to the enjoy- 
 
35P 
 
 irient of gifts, but expressly declares in what state of 
 the church they were intended to cease, and how pro- 
 vision should be made while gifts continued, for the' 
 building of the body of Christ after they should cease. 
 Ephes. iv. 7 — 16. " But to every one of us is given 
 «< grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ, 
 " For he saith, He ascended on high, he took captivi- 
 " ty captive, and gave gifts to men. — And he gave 
 " some, indeed, apostles; and some prophets; and 
 " some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; 
 " for (the sake of ) fitting the saints for the 
 " work of the ministry for (in order to)' the' 
 «' building of the body of Christ. Till we all 
 " come to the unity of the faith, and of the 
 «* knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect 
 " man, even to the measure of the stature 
 "of the fulness of christ. That we may no 
 " longer be children, tossed and whirled about with 
 <* every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, by 
 ie craftiness for (the take of) the very system of er- 
 ** ror. But that holding the truth with love, we may 
 " make all the members grow to him, who is the head, 
 " even Christ. From whom the whole body being 
 * aptly joined together, and compacted through the 
 " service of every joint, He naaketh increase of the 
 <• body, according to a measure of energy, of each par- 
 «' ticular part, to the building of himself by love." 
 
 Whether this, or the common translation be prefer- 
 red, we may remark, on this passage, that " the pas- 
 ** tors and teachers " here mentioned, are not ordinary 
 bishops, for these were not yet ordained *. The a- 
 
 * In consulting the Epistles, it is of the utmost consequence 
 D 2 
 
40 
 
 g 
 
 postle is speaking, not of officers on whom Timothy- 
 should afterwards lay hands, for the benefit chiefly of 
 that particular church, but of gifts which Christ had 
 
 to keep in mind their several dates, as far as they can he ascertain- 
 ed. We shall therefore subjoin a table of them, in the order of 
 time, with the places where, and the times when they were 
 written, according to the opinion of Macknight, who is allowed 
 to have been very judicious and successful in this part of his 
 work. The list will be found useful to refer to in perusing 
 other parts cf these papers. It may also be convenient for the 
 reader on various occasions. 
 
 Epistles. Places. A. D» 
 
 Galatians, written at Antioch, perhaps. 50. 
 
 1 Thessalonians, - - - Corinth, end of 51. 
 
 2 Thessalonians, - - - Corinth, 52. 
 
 1 Corinthians, - - - Ephesus, spring of 56. 
 
 2 Corinthians, - - - Macedonia, summer of 57. 
 
 t> r* • .i_ V end of 57. 
 
 Romans, - - - - Corinth, < . . . - ,_ 
 ' c or beginning of 58. 
 
 EphesLns, ----- Rome, 60 or 61. 
 
 Fhilippians, - - - - Rome, summer or autumn of 61. 
 
 Colossians, - - - - Rome, 61. 
 
 Philemon, - - - - Rome, 61. 
 
 Hebrews, - - - - Rome or Italy, 61 or 61. 
 
 Epistle of James, - - - Jerusalem, 61 or 62. 
 
 1 Timothy, - - - - Nicopolis, < , . . - * 
 
 ' r £ or beginning of 6t>. 
 
 Titus, - - - - - - Colosse, 65. 
 
 2 Timothy, - - - - Rome, summer, of 66. 
 
 1 Peter, Eabvion, (probably Rome) < , . - " 
 
 ' ' vr * ' t or beginning of 67. 
 
 2 Peter, Rome, 67 or 68. 
 
 I.John, ----- Judea, 68. 
 
 _ . '£ - - - - Ephesus, between 80 and 90, 
 Jude, -------- perhaps between 90 and 95. 
 
41 
 
 given to men when he had ascended up on high, thit 
 the Lord God might dwell among them. The apostlfe 
 says, that these gifts which began to be bestowed on 
 the day of Pentecost, qualifed some for bein^ aoostles, 
 some for being prophets, some for being- evangelists, 
 and some for being pastors and teachers. One of the 
 most important ends which these s-upernaturaliv en- 
 dowed ofHce-bearers were to accomplish, for the edi- 
 fying of the church, was to «« fit the saints for the 
 " work of the ministry;" that is, we apprehend, to 
 trainmen, by ordinary means of instruction, for. the 
 office of a bishop. This work, we believe, would not 
 be neglected by any of the gifted persons here men- 
 tioned, but seems to have been particularly the charge 
 of the " pastors and teachers. " That they should 
 have a charge of this kind follows not merely from a 
 verbal criticism, but from the nature of the thing. 
 Here were men supernaturally qualified for pastors 
 and teachers. Bat men were to be fitted for the work 
 of the ministry, by the use cf ordinary means, for su- 
 pernatural qualifications were about to cease. Who 
 .should, nay, who could, fit these men, except those 
 who had been previously fitted (though in a different 
 way) themselves? It may be observed also, that in 
 fitting these men, they were to have in view the edifi- 
 cation of the body of Christ in general, and not a sup- 
 ply only of colleagues or successors in the particular 
 churches to which they belonged. The supernatu- 
 rally endowed pastors and teachers (whose names 
 seem to refer to one office) were to continue until, 
 being fully instructed by their discourses and conduct, 
 and provided with the record of divine truth in the 
 completed volumes of scripture, the believers should 
 
 D 3 
 
42 
 
 have arrived, through faith and knowledge of the Son 
 of God, at the state of manhood in their associated 
 capacity; and having among them men fitted forth* 
 work of the ministry, should be able, by the blessing 
 of God, to direct and defend themselves from error 
 and mutability, to propagate their faith in the world 
 around, and to transmit it to posterity, without fur- 
 ther miraculous interposition. 
 
 The education, then, of pious men for the work of 
 the ministry, under the tuition of pastors and teach- 
 ers, seems to be the chief allowance which ought to 
 be made for the difference of circumstances, between 
 the primitive and later churches, occasioned by the 
 cessation of spiritual gifts. 
 
 Although, in the passage last quoted, the cessation 
 of spiritual gifts is plainly referred to, and no evidence 
 of their existence can now be given, it is amazing how 
 many have, in all ages, been inclined to afitect the pos- 
 session of them. Almost all the entliusiastical errors, 
 which are recorded in church history, have arisen from 
 this source. From the preceding remarks, the read- 
 er will perceive, that the principal dispute at present 
 respects the gift of prophecy. But this has not been- 
 always the case. Many have attempted to exercise 
 other spiritual gifts. The celebrated Mr. Whist on, 
 for instance, a man of much ingenuity and learning,, 
 but at the same time of an uncommonly voracious ap- 
 petite for the marvellous, appears to have contended 
 as earnestly for the exercise of " the gifts of healings," 
 as any do now for that of the gift of prophecy. His 
 arguments may be seen at large in the memoirs, which 
 
 wrote of his own life, particularly the use which he 
 makes of James v. 14, 15, strenuously urging that the 
 elders of the church should be called to act in the 
 
43 
 
 same manner still, and alleging several supposed exam- 
 ples of its being done with the most perfect success. 
 
 At present, though prophecy is chiefly fastened on, 
 yet the word gifts seems to be very much used in 
 a sense exceedingly indefinite. Every Christian is 
 said to have gifts. Every church is encouraged to 
 expect within itself all necessary gifts. The breth- 
 ren, it is said, ought, when they come together, to be 
 called to exercise their gifts. This exercising of gifts 
 is called an ordinance of Christ. Christians are charge 
 ed to practise it, as they would not be guilty of re- 
 fusing to submit to divine authority. Pastors are ad- 
 monished to give place for a portion at least of the 
 time of public worship, every Lord's day, that the 
 brethren may have a proper opportunity of observing 
 the ordinance of exercising their gifts. Churches are 
 advised to look with a jealous eye on the education of 
 men for the ministry; to decline seeking a pastor be- 
 yond their own company ; and to trust in the Lord 
 for gifts. In short, the language held on the subject, 
 seems to imply the boldest claim possible to gifts of 
 every kind. We confess, that we cannot approve of 
 such language, because we apprehend, it will be diffi- 
 cult to show, that a single gift, in the scriptural sense 
 of the word, has existed in any church of Christ upon 
 earth, these fifteen hundred years. 
 
 Some, indeed, use the word gifts merely for the na- 
 tural faculties of Christians. These, especially consi- 
 dered, as sanctified by divine grace, and improved by 
 diligent cultivation, they call the ordinary gifts, to di- 
 stinguish them from those which they allow to be ex- 
 traordinary. They use the word, either by way of 
 accommodation, or in allusion to those passages of 
 
4* 
 
 scripture, in which reason, with all its successful ope* 
 rations, particularly in the prosecution of religious in- 
 quiries, and every holy disposition of heart, are ascrib- 
 ed to God. See Job xxxii. 8. and xxxv. 11. and 
 xxxviii. 36. James i. 5, 16, 17. To this mode of 
 speaking, when sufficiently explained, we see no objec- 
 tion. No miracle is pretended. No right is claimed 
 of acting as when there was a miracle. The use of or- 
 dinary means for individual improvement is allowed to- 
 be necessary. 
 
 Upon the whole, we may learn from the subject of 
 this Section, that Christians, those especially who wish 
 to be publicly useful, should study to acquire, by the 
 use of means, a measure of those faculties, which God 
 declared, bv miraculous interposition, to be of essen- 
 tial importance to the success of the gospel. Some 
 ©f these are, indeed, plainly beyond our reach, such as 
 " the inworkings of powers," and " the gifts of heal- 
 " ings." Others were requisite in that state of things 
 only, which obtained, while revelation was yet incom- 
 plete, such as " the word of wisdom," " 'the word of 
 " knowledge," the " faith " which wrought miracles, 
 and "the discerning of spirits." All of them were 
 most likely enjoyed in, a degree of excellence, which 
 must ever distinguish them from the little attainments 
 of man; as, in the animal creation, we see the differ- 
 ence between the perfection of instinct, and the slow 
 advances of reason. But if God has, by the original 
 effusion of these gifts, intimated that wisdom, know- 
 ledge, utterance, a power of persuasion; the knowledge 
 of the scriptures, the knowledge of tongues, and the 
 knowledge of human character, are faculties requisite to 
 the success and maintenance of the gospel of Christ; 
 
45 
 
 (and can any deny that he has given this intimation?) ; 
 it surely follows, that every friend of the gospel should 
 admit, nay, should urge, and require, the pursuit of 
 those attainments, as the bounden duty of all, who dis- 
 charge, in the churches now, those offices which were 
 discharged by the gifted men in primitive times. E- 
 ven gifted men themselves were called to diligent 
 study, for their gifts were in this way susceptible of 
 improvement*, how much more must study be neces- 
 sary to those, who have no extraordinary original" ad- 
 vantage? — The cessation of miraculous gifts is no proof 
 that the faculties of which they consisted, are now 
 to be neglected. Some of them appear to be of im- 
 portance still ; only He, who does nothing in vain, 
 ceased to interpose by miracle for supplying them, 
 when opportunity was afforded, in process of time> 
 to acquire them another way. The miraculous sup- 
 ply at first was of obvious utility, but a continuance of 
 it would have led to idleness and sloth. Divine good- 
 ness, then, seems equally manifest, in the effusion, and 
 in the cessation, of the gifts of the Spirit. 
 
 Again, we may learn from this subject, that, as 
 the gifts of the Spirit are clearly distinguishable from 
 those influences which are commonly called grace, 
 and granted to every Christian, so the means to 
 be used for acquiring or cultivating the faculties ne- 
 cessary to an instructor of others, are different from 
 an attendance on those ordinances of grace which 
 are instituted for the edification of the church at 
 large. That he ought to attend such ordinances is 
 as evident, as that he ought to be a believer, that 
 
 * 1 Tim. iv. 14, 15. See also Eccles. xii. 9, 10, 1 K 
 
46 
 
 he ought to abound in grace, and to be an example to' 
 other believers in all righteousness; but there are va- 
 rious other objects of attention, which are quite dis- 
 tinct from these, and which he cannot meet with, a- 
 mong the exercises of a church. Every one will sec 
 the absurdity of attempting to combine a church and' 
 a grammar school. Now, if natural talents, even when 
 sanctified by grace, must be improved by the use of 
 ordinary means, schools, for various branches of study, 
 must be as useful in an education for the ministry, as 
 in any education of another kind Attention to general 
 literature is necessary to enable a man to enter with 
 advantage on the particular study of the scriptures, no 
 less than on that of any other ancient writings, or on 
 any other particular branch of study; and this atten- 
 tion must be paid for the same length of time, as is 
 found necessary in other cases. When a man attempts 
 to expound the scriptures, it will soon be seen, whe- 
 ther he is retailing what he has heard in a church 
 meeting before, or has culled from some favourite 
 author; or whether he is able, to examine a subject 
 for himself, and, having examined it, to communicate 
 to others, with clearness, precision, and energy, the 
 result of his inquiries* Much may no doubt be done 
 by strong natural powers, and great individual exer- 
 tion, but, in general, the ordinary means of improve- 
 ment are of immense advantage. — Some men seem ra- 
 ther to tolerate, than to require learning in a minister 
 of the gospel. When they mention its utility, they 
 speak as if the}' - were making a concession. When 
 they would spare a seminary of instruction for the mi- 
 nistry, they feel as awkward as one who is questioned 
 about stolen goods. " What learning, say they, may. 
 
47 
 f not be useful to an elder, and if lie has it, a church 
 -« need not ask how he acquired it." A system, which 
 .requires so embarrassed an account of the matter, as 
 .this, betrays symptoms of error. It either cherishes 
 the enthusiastic notion that miraculous gifts of the 
 Spirit are poured out still; or it excludes all miracle 
 from the case, and reduces one of the most glorious 
 gifts of the day of Pentecost to the level of orSinary 
 .religious diccourse.-The word of God does not leave 
 the education of men for the ministry in a state of dark 
 and mysterious uncertainty. It explicitly says, that 
 gifted pastors and teachers were to fit saints for that 
 work. It seems a most natural inference, that those 
 who have been fitted for it themselves, and have experi- 
 ence m it, should, in all ordinary cases, employ themselves 
 m fitting others. This has accordingly been the ge- 
 neral practice from the beginning; and though the 
 imperfections of whatever is actually practised afford 
 <a handle against it, yet these ought not to be rashly 
 sustained as an objection to the practice itself. Many 
 errors, we know, have been committed in the education 
 of men for the ministry, but to take the management 
 of that education, on this pretext, out of the hands of 
 ministers of the gospel, and to put it into the hands of 
 individuals or committees, not acknowledged, nor so 
 much as alluded to, in scripture at all, and totally un- 
 acquainted by experience with the work for which 
 they would fit others; instead of remedying such er- 
 rors, will only add to their number. Let pastors of 
 churches, then, openly avow their readiness to attend 
 to this most important part of their duty; and let o- 
 thers, who desire to bring forward men to the work 
 gf the ministry, show singleness of heart, by submitting 
 
45 
 
 to the intimations of scripture, as to the persons by 
 whom the education of such should be conducted. 
 
 It has ever been the glory of Christianity to contri- 
 bute to the diffusion of general knowledge. The learn- 
 ed men of the heathen world bear no proportion to the 
 multitudes of those, who, in all ages, have devoted 
 themselves to study, from love to the cause of God and 
 truth. Never was the spirit of mental improvement 
 more strongly excited than by the primitive propaga- 
 tion of the gospel. All acknowledge the effect of 
 the reformation from popery on the republic of letters. 
 It may be affirmed, in general, that learning has lan- 
 guished when Christianity has been corrupted ; has re- 
 vived when Christianity has been reformed; and flou- 
 rishes or fades according to the degree of purity and 
 \ igour, in which Christianity is maintained. Now this 
 connection between learning and Christianity has been 
 greatly strengthened, if not chiefly preserved, by the 
 learning thought necessary to the pastoral office. We 
 justly reprobate that antichristian system, which 
 calls ignorance the mother of devotion, and discourages 
 the instruction of the common people; but does it 
 not make bad worse, if we also discourage the instruc- 
 tion of those who are to teach them? 
 
 The knowledge of the scriptures, so as to be able to 
 expound them, implies an acquaintance with a great 
 variety of subjects; but no kind of learning is more 
 immediately connected with the success of the gospel 
 than that which is commonly called classical. Since 
 miracles have ceased, let the gift of tongues be succeed- 
 ed by the study of tongues. The necessity of learn- 
 ing to cpeak foreign languages is not disputed in the 
 case of a missionary. Why should that of learning 
 
4'J 
 
 to interpret them be disputed in the case of a teacher 
 in the church ? The Bible has been given us in fo- 
 reign and in dead languages. We have much reason 
 to bless God for an excellent translation of it, but 
 that excellent translation we should never have had 
 without learned teachers. After all, however, it 
 is a human performance. And although such is 
 the kindness of God that the way of a sinner's sal- 
 vation must shine in almost every page of almost any 
 translation of scripture; yet there are many passages 
 ■which cannot well be explained without making re- 
 marks on a translation ; and one great use of a teach- 
 er must be to correct the errors, and to illustrate 
 the obscurities of a translation. Surely he is ill- 
 fitted for this part of his duty, if he cannot do it 
 from his own knowledge of the original languages. It- 
 he be ignorant of these, the church may think they 
 are enjoying the instructions of a teacher whom they 
 have chosen ; but they are mistaken ; they do not know 
 whom they have chosen ; for both they and their teach- 
 er, are at the ' mercy of his library. " I appeal to 
 yourselves," says Dr. Campbell to his students,* « f 
 " appeal to common sense, whether there be not an 
 " impropriety, not to say an absurdity m this, that 
 '« a person should be by office the interpreter of a 
 <« book, which he himself cannot read without an in- 
 " terpreter. And such surely is every one', who can- 
 «' nofe read any part of his Bible in the original, but 
 " must have recourse to translations. " Teaching al- 
 so requires a knowledge of that language which the 
 teacher himself must use. Now if that language 
 should be even his mother tongue, he cannot under- 
 J Lectures on Systematic Theology, Introductory Lecture IV. 
 
 E 
 
53 
 
 stand it thoroughly, aor speak it with a desirable de- 
 gree of clearness and precision; unless he be accus- 
 tomed to the grammatical and critical study of lan- 
 guage, and be able to compare one language vnth an- 
 other. 
 
 We should here like to mention the study of elo- 
 quence; but we have been admonished " to be con- 
 " tent to hear pkiin men speak the things of God in 
 " a plain manner; and not to indulge a fondness for 
 " fine speaking." What a fallacious way cf treating 
 the subject is this! If by speaking in a plain manner, 
 were merely meant, speaking in an unadorned manner, 
 we ought certainly to be content to hear it, and, when 
 the subject is the things of God, cheerfully to admit 
 the sentiment of trie poet, "Loveliness needs not the 
 " foreign aid of ornament, but is, when unadorned, 
 << adorned the most." In this sense, plain men speak 
 plain enough. But the most important meaning of the 
 word plain, is not that which is opposite to ornament- 
 ed, but that which is opposite to obscure. If in this 
 sense, be understood the phrase, " speaking in a plain 
 " manner," we ought not only to be content, but de- 
 sirous to hear such a manner cf speaking the things 
 of God. Here, however, the fallacy of the expres- 
 sion will be seen; for, in general, plain men, (men who 
 have not had the advantage of a liberal education) do 
 not thus speak in a plain manner. They are apt to 
 use wrong words, and too many words ; they bring out 
 their thoughts with little arrangement or connection ; 
 and they often rather speak about their thoughts, than 
 tell distinctly what they are. Shall we be content to 
 hear teachers speak the things of God in such a manner 
 as this? Shall we deny, that the studies commonly 
 
51 
 
 known by the names of logic and belles Iettres, tl 
 learning to think and speak with accuracy, method, and 
 clearness, is a duty? or shall we say, that it is supersed- 
 ed by the ordinary worship and discipline of a church? 
 As to " fine speaking," which is represented to be 
 the only alternative, it is difficult exactly to under- 
 stand the phrase; but if it be used for any kind of 
 speaking besides what is calculated to engage atten- 
 tion, to inform, to convince, and to persuade (qua- 
 lities of style not undervalued in the holy scriptures) 
 we cheerfully renounce it. 
 
 " I am sensible, (says Dr. Campbell,) that there arc 
 many pious Christians, who are startled at the name 
 of eloquence when applied to the Christian teacher; 
 they are disposed to consider it as setting an office, 
 which in its nature is spiritual, and in its origin divine, 
 too much on a footing with those which are merely 
 human and secular. And this turn of thinking I have 
 always found to proceed from one or other of these 
 two causes; either from a mistake of what is meant 
 by eloquence, or from a misapprehension of some pas- 
 sages cf holy writ in relation to the sacred function. 
 First, it arises from a mistaken notion of the import 
 of the word. It often happens, both among philoso- 
 phers and divines, that violent and endless disputes 
 are carried on by adverse parties, which, were they to 
 begin J>y settling a definition of the term whereon the 
 question turns, would vanish in an instant. Were these 
 people then, who appear to differ from us on the pro- 
 priety of employing eloquence, to give an explication 
 of the ideas they comprehend under the term eloquence 
 or oratory, we should doubtless get from them some 
 such account as this, a knack, or artifice by which the 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 periods of a discourse are curiously and harmoniously 
 strung together, decorated with many flowery images, 
 the whole entirely calculated to set off the speaker's art 
 by pleasing the ear and amusing the fancy of the hear- 
 ers, but by no means calculated either to inform their un - 
 derstandings or to engage their hearts. Perhaps those 
 people will be surprised, when I tell them, that com- 
 monly no discourses whatever, not even the homeliest, 
 have less of true eloquence, than such frothy harangues, 
 as perfectly suit their definition. If this, then, is all 
 they mean to inveigh against under the name eloquence^ 
 I will join issue with them with all my heart. No- 
 thing can be less worthy the study or attention of a 
 wise man, and much more may this be said of a Christ- 
 ian pastor, than such a futile acquisition as that above 
 described. But if^ on the contrary, nothing else is 
 meant by eloquence, in the use of all the wisest and 
 the best who have written on the subject, but that art 
 or talent, whereby the speech is adapted to produce 
 in the hearer the great end which the speaker has, or 
 at least ought to have principally in view, it is impos- 
 sible to doubt the utility of the study; unless people 
 will be absurd enough to question, whether there be 
 any difference between speaking to the purpose, and 
 speaking from the purpose, expressing one's self intel- 
 ligibly or unintelligibly, reasoning in a manner that is 
 conclusive and satisfactory, or in such a way as can 
 convince nobody, fixing the attention and moving the 
 affections of an audience, or leaving them in a state 
 perfectly listless and unconcerned. 
 
 " But, as I signified already, there are prejudices a- 
 gainst this study in the Christian orator, arising from 
 another source, the promises of the immediate influ- 
 
53 
 
 ence of the Divine Spirit, the commands of our Lord 
 to his disciples, to avoid all concern and solicitude on 
 this article, and the example of some of the apostle* 
 who disclaimed expressly the advantages resulting from 
 the study of rhetoric, or indeed of any human art, or 
 institute whatever. In answer to such objections, I 
 mast beg leave to ask. are we not in the premises of 
 our Saviour, to distinguish those, which were made to 
 his disciples, merely as Christians, or his followers in 
 the v. ay to the kingdom, from those made indeed to 
 the same persons, but considered in the character of 
 apostles, the promulgators of his doctrine among Jews 
 and pagans, and the first founders of his church? Are 
 we entitled to apply to ourselves those promises made 
 to the apostles, or even the first Christians, manifestly 
 for the conviction and conversion of an infidel world? 
 ** These signs," says Christ, " shall follow them that 
 " believe: In my name shall they cast cut devils; 
 ** they shall tpeak with new tongues; they shall take 
 " up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it 
 "shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the 
 " sick, and they shall recover." Do we now expect 
 such signs to follow upon our faith? And is not the 
 promise of immediate inspiration on any emergency 
 (which is doubtless a miraculous gift as well as those 
 above enumerated) to be considered as of the same 
 nature, and given for the same end? And ought not 
 all those precepts, to which promises of this superna- 
 tural kind are annexed as the reason, to be understood 
 with the same restriction ? When our Lord foretold 
 his disciples, that they should be brought before kings 
 and rulers for his name's sake, he adds. " Settle it 
 " in your hearts not to meditate before what you shall 
 
54- 
 
 w answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom 
 <c which all your adversaries shall not be able to gain- 
 " say or resist." It is manifest the obligation of the 
 precept can only be explained by a proper apprehen- 
 sion of the extent of the promise. But the truth is,, 
 that few or none, in these our days, would consider pre« 
 meditatiomin such circumstances as either unlawful or 
 improper. Who, even among those who inveigh most 
 bitterly against the study of eloquence for the pulpit,. 
 does ever so much as pretend that we ought not to- 
 meditate, or so much as think, on any subject before 
 we preach upon it? And yet the letter of the pre- 
 cept, nay and the spirit too, strikes more directly a- 
 gainst particular premeditation, than against the gene- 
 ral study of the art of speaking. It is more a parti- 
 cular application of the art, than the art itself that is 
 here pointed at. And as to what the great apostle of 
 the Gentiles hath said on this article, it will serve, I 
 am persuaded, to every attentive reader, as a confirma- 
 tion of what has been advanced above, in regard to the 
 true meaning of such promises and precepts, and the 
 limitations with which they ought to be understood. 
 Well might he renounce every art which man's wis- 
 dom teacheth, whose speech was accompanied with the- 
 demonstration of the Spirit and of power; that is with 
 those miraculous gifts, which were so admirably calcu- 
 lated to silence contradiction, and to convince the most 
 Jncredulous. But the truth is, there is not one argu- 
 ment can be taken from those precepts and examples, 
 that will not equally conclude against all human learn- 
 ing whatsoever, as against the study of rhetoric. Be- 
 cause the apostles could preach to men of every nation 
 without studying their language, in consequence of the* 
 
S3 
 
 gift of tongues with which they were s u per naturally- 
 endowed, shall we think to convert strangers, with 
 whose speech we are totally unacquainted, and not 
 previously apply to grammars, and lexicons and other 
 helps for attaining the language? Or because Paul, 
 as he himself expressly tells us, received the knowledge 
 of the gospel by immediate inspiration, shall we ne- 
 glect the study of the scriptures and other outward 
 means of instruction ? There have been, I own, some 
 enthusiasts who have carried the matter as far as this.. 
 And though hardly any person of the least reflection, 
 would argue in such, a manner now, it must be owned 
 that the very same premises, by which any human art 
 or institute in itself useful, is excluded, will equally 
 answer the purposes of such fanatics in excluding all,. 
 And to the utility, and even importance of the rheto- 
 rical art, scripture itself bears testimony. Is it not 
 mentioned by the sacred historian in recommendation 
 of Apollos, that he was " an eloquent man," as well 
 as mighty in the scriptures? And is not his success 
 manifestly ascribed, under God, to these advantages? 
 There is no mention of any supernatural gifts, which 
 he could receive only by the imposition of the hands 
 of an apostle ; and it appears from the history, that 
 before he had any interview with the apostles, immedi- 
 ately after his conversion, he mightily convinced the 
 Jews, and that publicly, shewing from the scriptures 
 that Jesus was the Christ. The very words used by 
 the inspired penman are such as are familiar with rheto- 
 ricians in relation to the forensic eloquence, E*«v»«s >*» 
 wt is!«/a<f ^ Ma r»iif^«« Acriter, vebtmenter, magna 
 contentione. Now, though it is not permitted to us to 
 reach the celestial heights of a Peter or a Paul, I see 
 
5<J 
 
 nothing to hinder our aspiring to the humbler attain- 
 ments of an Apollos. But enough, and perhaps too 
 much, for obviating objections, which I cannot allow 
 myself to think, will have great weight with gentle- 
 men, who have been so long employed in the study of 
 the learned languages, and of the liberal arts and scf« 
 ences. However, when one hath occasion to hear 
 such arguments (if indeed they deserve to be called so) 
 advanced by others, it may be of some utility to be 
 provided with an answer*." 
 
 When many churches were forming in this coun- 
 try, it seemed so desirable speedily to procure a num- 
 ber of labourers, that we were tempted to act, as if we 
 wished to ascertain by experiment, how little prepa- 
 ration would answer the exigency. Of the preachers 
 so prepared no complaint ought to be made. All 
 things considered, they have done astonishingly we& 
 But we are too apt in practice to yield to the pressure 
 of temporary circumstances, and then to defend that 
 practice, by a theory founded on cases of supposed ne- 
 cessity. Thus it is often asked, will you absolutely 
 admit of no pastor any where, unless he has learning? 
 May it not be asked in return, Are we at all obliged to 
 answer such a question, in order to ascertain what is 
 proper for fitting saints for the work of the ministry I 
 The institutions of God are not calculated for cases of 
 necessity. They suppose a providential supply of 
 means, and opportunity to use them. The divine 1 in- 
 stitution made it unlawful for any but the priests to 
 eat the show-bread. But if, on that account, we 
 would not admit, that others might have been reliev- 
 
 * Lectures on Pulpit Eloquence, Leciure I. p. 260 — 268. 
 
57 
 
 ed by it in a case of necessity, we should go beyond, 
 scripture, and condemn that which David did, when 
 he was an hungered and those that were with him. 
 His case, however, made no alteration on the general 
 rule of duty* 
 
 We fondly hoped, that what could hardly be at- 
 tained by us at once, would be gradually pursued* 
 and that our plans of education would be extended 
 and improved. Unhappily, however, such of us as 
 are pastors have not perceived, ©r not actually under- 
 taken, our part in this important work. The church- 
 es have not been called by us to countenance such an 
 attempt, but rather to depend on a source of supply, 
 which is private, is little known to them, of uncertain 
 duration, and almost entirely beyond the sphere of 
 their influence. And now it is publicly recommend- 
 ed to the churches to lay no stress upon learning at 
 all; to confine themselves to such teachers as they can 
 find among themselves, whether learned or unlearned j 
 •nay, to unite purposely in the same office some of the 
 one description and some of the other. What a mon- 
 strous scheme of ignorance and confusion is this ! 
 Is it not high time to change our course, and, instead 
 of trying how little preparation will answer a suppos- 
 ed exigency, to inquire how much preparation we are 
 able to provide? Our inquiries on this point could nc-t 
 fail to be encouraging. In this much-favoured coun- 
 try, -pastors would find little difficulty in superintend- 
 ing the education of students. W T hat is rarely the case 
 any where else, the public seminaries are 1 here opened 
 to people of every religious persuasion, for no subscrip- 
 tion of articles is required of the scholar. In short, 
 the means of knowledge are so abundant, aud so easy 
 
58 
 
 of access, that it must be owing to the wilful negli- 
 gence of churches of all descriptions, if they do not 
 procure for those who are to teach among them, an 
 education as thorough and extensive, as is afforded to : 
 any class of men, in any nation upon earth. 
 
 Serious people are often afraid of training men, for 
 any length of time, for the work of the ministry, lest 
 after all, they should be found unfit for it. But in every 
 undertaking we must be willing occasionally to expe- 
 rience disappointment. When churches are free from 
 secular influence,, they have the choice of their own 
 teachers, and may therefore reject those, whom they 
 judge unfit to edify them, whatever may be their lite- 
 rary eminence. They may be imposed upon, indeed, 
 but imposition may be practised by the ignorant as 
 well as by the learned. 
 
 The training of young people for the ministry is treat- 
 ed by many with such sovereign contempt, that some 
 perhaps will think it foolish to venture to plead for the 
 practice. But surely a young Christian may be ear- 
 ly animated by a desire for that " good work, the of- 
 fice of a bishop;" and although we are by no means 
 to appoint a new convert to that office, yet there is 
 no law against preparing a.nd proving him for it. 
 Some of the most useful ministers, in all ages, have 
 been early called by divine grace, and early desirous 
 of the work to which, in the course of providence, their 
 life was to be devoted. But we go further on this 
 subject. If classical studies are to be cherished for 
 the sake of the gospel, it is of importance to secure an 
 early attention to them. Children are always the best 
 scholars in the study of languages ; whereas very few 
 indeed can prosecute that study with success, after they 
 
5a 
 
 have advanced in life. Shall wc scruple to recom- 
 mend this fact to the serious attention of Christian pa- 
 rents ? Shall we not tell them, that when revolving- 
 
 o 
 
 schemes for the settlement of their offspring, they 
 ought to inquire, not- merely what education will fit 
 them for worldly business ; but what may be done, 
 when their talents are promising, to fit them for bei 
 useful in the church of Christ, if the Lord, to whom they 
 have been committed at baptism, and in whose nurture 
 End admonition they have been brought up, should ap- 
 pear, in the issue, to have marked them for his own. 
 After all, indeed, they may not prove godly persons, 
 or may not be adapted, or even inclined, to "the work 
 c.f the ministry. But, in these cases, a ready field is 
 open to their choice in other departments of literature ; 
 and, if truly serious, a body of well educated youth 
 must be of vast advantage to Christian churches, whe- 
 ther they be called to bear office or not. Great would 
 be the absurdity of saying, that none should be admit- 
 ted to the ministry, but those who had enjoyed such 
 •early advantages ; but any thing like contempt or re- 
 proach of them seems equally subversive of the prin- 
 ciples of the gospel, and of common sense. 
 
 It is to be feared, that one reason, why the affec- 
 tation of despising learning is so popular with many, is 
 the prevalence of pride and covetousness in the human 
 heart. Men are not naturally fond of feeling the su- 
 periority of others in any respect. They are therefore 
 under a temptation of endeavouring to keep all around, 
 down to their. own level, although. it should be even 
 to their own disadvantage to do so. Besides, learn- 
 ing is attended with some expence, and many are dis- 
 posed to think that any plan, which promises to dimi- 
 
60 
 
 rush expence, is of course an improrement. It is wot 
 much to be wondered at, that those Christians who 
 are unacquainted with the thing which they disregard, 
 should undervalue learning ; but when men, who have 
 any portion of it themselves, seem disposed to encourage 
 the ignorant in their prejudice, the circumstance is ex- 
 traordinary indeed. In common cases, knowledge is 
 accompanied by the love of knowledge, and a desire to 
 diffuse and increase it ; and we are accustomed to think 
 people far gone in the progress of barbarism, who are 
 willing to countenance contempt of information. 
 
 But to return, for a moment, to the general subject 
 of this Section, we have pleasure in concluding with 
 one remark concerning it, about which, we trust, there 
 is no controversy among the people of Christ. The 
 gifts bestowed on the primitive churches form a very 
 striking proof of the divine origin of Christianity. Mi- 
 racles and prophecy have been, in every age, leading 
 parts of the evidence of revelation In the gifts of 
 the primitive churches, they were united, and display- 
 ed to mankind with the most astonishing profusion. 
 This fact must ever tend to confirm the faith of the 
 Christian, and to preserve upon his mind a lively sense 
 of the importance of the everlasting gospel. " How 
 11 shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, 
 " which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, 
 ** and was confirmed unto us, by them that heard him; 
 " God also bearing them witness, both with signs and 
 " wonders, and with divers miracle. , aad gifts of the 
 *' Holy Spirit, according to hi* owa will," Heb. ii- 
 3,4. 
 
6i 
 
 OF THE ELDERS OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCKE5. 
 
 The first converts to the faith of, the gospel 
 appear to be frequently spoken of, in the New Testa- 
 ment, under the general appellation of elders. Of 
 these, sorce belonged to the company of disciples, 
 while Jesus was yet on earth, and, with the women, 
 constituted the original members of the Christian 
 church : others were afterwards added. 
 
 The former seem to be referred to by Luke, chap. 
 i. 2. when he speaks of «« eye-witnesses #*; " such as 
 had seen our Lord in the flesh ; had conversed with 
 him, and enjoyed the benefit of his instructions and 
 example in the time of his personal ministry; had also 
 seen him after his resurrection, and could therefore 
 bear witness of that important fact. The apostles, 
 who had been ordained by Jesus himself, were of this 
 description, and perhaps are distinguished in the pas- 
 sage cited from Luke, as not only " eye-witnesses," 
 but « ministers " of the word. Out of persons of the 
 same description, was the place to be supplied, from 
 which Judas by transgression fell, Acts i. 21, 22. 
 The disciples, on whom the Holy Spirit fell on the 
 day of Pentecost were probably all of the same kind; 
 (compare with the preceding text, Acts ii. 1.); and 
 so were the five hundred, mentioned by Paul, 1 Cor. 
 xv. 6. who, at one time, saw the Lord after his resur- 
 rection. Whether the seven chosen at Jerusalem to 
 manage the charitable fund; and some of the evange- 
 
 * See Benson's Essay quoted before, Chap. III. Sect. 2. 
 F 
 
62 
 
 lists, were selected from this sort of elders, we do not 
 know. 
 
 It is pretty evident, however, that such of these el- 
 ders, as were not apostles, had trust and authority in 
 the church at Jerusalem, at a very early period. With 
 them, it seems to have been, that Barnabas and Saul 
 deposited the alms, which the church at Anticch sent 
 to the church at Jerusalem, Acts xi. 80. Whether 
 riders in this passage are to be viewed as signifying 
 .deacons we do not stop to inquire. Perhaps the rea- 
 son of sending the contribution to the elders might be, 
 that the brethren at Antioch were not certain whe- 
 ther any apostles were then at Jerusalem. We know 
 that, before the seven were appointed, charitable do- 
 nations used to be laid at the apostles' feet. It was 
 not, however, in the absence only of the apostles, that 
 the elders were distinguished. They are frequently 
 mentioned together, and the elders are placed next to 
 the apostles, as second only to them by the appoint- 
 ment of Christ and in the esteem o'f the church. See 
 Acts xv. 2, 4, 6, 22, 23. and xvi. 4. and xxi. 18. 
 
 Nay, the apostles style themselves elders, as account- 
 ing the name an honour even to them. Thus Peter 
 calls himself " the co-elder and witness of the suffer- 
 " ings of Christ, and a partaker of the glory to be re- 
 " vealed," 1 Pet. v. 1. John also calls himself em- 
 phatically, " The elder," 2 Epistle i. and 3 Epistle i. ; 
 and speaks, 1 Epistle i. 1. of "that which was from 
 " the beginning, which," says he, "we have heard, 
 -" which we have seen with our eyes, which we have 
 - e( looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word 
 et of life." In comparison of these elders, Paul, the 
 
G3 
 
 great apostle of the Gentiles, speaks of himself «* as- 
 * one born out of due time," 1 Cor. xv. 8. 
 
 Other eiders were those who were the earliest con- 
 verts added to the church, after the ascension of Christ,- 
 in consequence of the preaching of the gospel with 
 the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. They are 
 commonly called " the first fruits;" or first converts 
 to Christianity in the various places to which the gos- 
 pel came with power. Thus, those who were early 
 converted at Jerusalem were the first-fruits of the Jews 
 and of the whole world. Peter urges on the Jews the 
 consideration of the kindness of God, in commanding 
 those who preached the gospel to begin at Jerusalem * 
 «« Unto you first, God having raised up his Son Jesus, 
 " sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of 
 <« you from his iniquities," Acts iii. 26. Paul also 
 says of the gospel, that " it is the power of God unto 
 «* salvation, to every one that believeth, to the Jew 
 " first, and zdso to the Greek," Rom. i. \6. Ac- 
 cordingly James addressing Jewish Christians, in a past 
 of his letter to the twelve tribes, says, " Cf his own 
 *' will begat he us, by the word of truth, that we 
 " should be a kind of first- fruits of his creatures," 
 James i. 1 8. In like manner, Cornelius and his com- 
 pany at Csssarea were the first- fruits ol the Gen- 
 tiles. In Rom. viii. 22, '23 *. primitive Christians 
 at large seem to be distinguished as having " the first- 
 " fruits of the Spirit," from successive generation:, 
 to whom the gospel should be afterwards pre?.ched. 
 In each particular church also, the first converts were 
 the first-fruits or elders of that church. The circum- 
 
 * Ccn-;pare in the original this text with Pvlark xvi. 15. 
 
 r 2 
 
64 
 
 stance is frequently mentioned to the honour of such 
 persons. " Salute Andronicus and Junia my kinsmen, 
 " and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the 
 " apostles, who also were in Christ before me," Rom. 
 xvi. 7. Also, verse 5. " Salute my well-beloved E- 
 " penetus, who is the first-fruits of Achaia unto 
 « 5 Christ." And 1 Cor. xvi. 15, 16. "I beseech you, 
 " brethren (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is 
 *' the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have addict- 
 " ed themselves to the ministry of the saints) that ye 
 ** submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that 
 ** worketh together, and laboureth. ,, Mnason, like- 
 wise, is out of respect, called " an old disciple," 
 Acts xxi. 16. Particular honour seems also to be 
 given to the original converts to Christianity, of whom, 
 it is said, in Rev. xiv. 4, 5. u These were redeemed 
 *' from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and 
 " to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no 
 *' guile: for they are without fault before the throne 
 «-' of God." In Joshua xxiv. 31. it is said, " Israel 
 sf served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the 
 *' days of the elders who overlived Joshua, and who 
 " had known all the works of the Lord that he had 
 ** done for Israel." Perhaps a similar observation 
 might be made, concerning the elders of the primitive 
 Christian church. 
 
 From among these ciders, the first ordinary office- 
 bearers appear to have been selected. The appoint- 
 ment of ordinary office-bearers never took place at the 
 form 4 ion of a church. The original members of 
 Christian churches were enabled by the gifts of the 
 Holy Spirit to conduct the worship, and to edify one 
 another. These were made overseers or bishops inv 
 
G5 
 
 mediately by the Holy Spirit. But this kind of b> 
 shops was not to continue; for such of them as upoft 
 trial were most approved, were afterwards ordained by 
 apostles or evangelists, to be bishops and deacons. 
 Thus, in Acts xiv. 21 — 23. it is said of Paul and Bar- 
 nabas, " they returned again to Lystra, and Iconium, 
 u and Antioch, con (inning the souls of the disciples, 
 " exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 
 " that we must through much tribulation enter into 
 " the kingdom of God. And when they had ordain- 
 " ed to them elders in every church, and had prayed 
 ** with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on 
 *' whom they believed." The expression, " they had 
 <{ ordained to them elders in every church," is ellipti- 
 cal, and supposes the reader to understand what they 
 had ordained those elders to be. The persons ordain- 
 ed were elders before: they were now" ordained to be 
 bhhops and deacons to the disciples in every church. 
 The passage in the original is, X''2 ~ »•»<*»«« h <v%is tgta- 
 (i'jTi* >;? accI' ixxs.wuv Let this be compared with the 
 onlv other passage in the New Testament in which 
 the word x u Z oro ' iu occurs, 2 Cor. viii. 19. x u V TOy ^ us 
 ii-ro rim tKxKwtar *i>vex£»fAot '»pav. " Having been ordained 
 " or chosen of the churches to be our fellow tra- 
 " velier." Suppose this passage expressed active- 
 ly, it must have run thus, rswwii--avr.s «]-» 'eu fxxXnriai 
 rwiz$n/*o» '*i*ay. " The churches having ordained him 
 to be~0VR fellow traveller." fhis is the com- 
 plete expression. The reason why the purpose is 
 mentioned, for which the brother was ordained, is, that 
 being a particular purpose, it could not have otherwise 
 been known; whereas the general purposes for which 
 apostles ordained elders were so well known, that it 
 
 F 3 
 
66 
 
 was unnecessary to mention them, and it wouM havs- 
 been unnatural to have done it here, where the circum- 
 stance is noticed in so slight a manner. Had this not 
 been the case, it is probable, from a comparison of the 
 two passages above, that the reading of the first would 
 
 have been, %U£0TOmr»vlfs Si avloic Trgicfi^vi^v;., tvrnrxoxws tivxt 
 
 y.ui ha*oimvs, xmT iKx.x*.<r.x» « And having ordained to 
 ** them elderg, to be bishops and deacons, in every 
 " church." In like manner, Tit. i. 5. *« x«7«*twik 
 as«7* *»a.iv wftr&Tntpms , ought to be understood, " and or- 
 " dain elders to be bishops and deacons in every ci- 
 " tyf." In vindication of this opinion, let the fol- 
 lowing passages, in which the same word for " ordain" 
 is used, be considered. Luke xii. 14-. -'? v-* *afe/biet 
 iuutain* n vte«fa* ip V^f, " Who hath ordained me to be 
 u A judge or a divider over you?" Acts vii. 10. 
 
 ■-"/£ Kat}e(r}nrs* av\cv 'ryov,utv v i<r aiyvrr'cv, {i and Ordained 
 
 " him to be governor over Egypt:" verse 27. Ti ? 
 
 &z *u.Tttr1uert* ag^vla. kji oinxtrlvtv tf' Itf/UK, <* "Who Ordaill- 
 
 cc ed thee to be a ruler and a judge over us?" 
 See also verse 35. Heb. vii. 28. o vepos yet^ uvBcarove **- 
 Qtc-'iYiff v x^i^uc, " for the law ordaineth men to be high 
 priests." See also Rom. v. 19. 2 Pet. i. 8. 
 
 Because bishops and deacons were selected from a- 
 mong the elders, they are sometimes spoken of, un- 
 der that general name. But the term elder is by 
 no means confined to them, nor indeed to office ai: 
 all. This is manifest from the transitions which we 
 meet with from the eider to the younger, and from one 
 yex to another. Thus 1 Tim. v. 1. " Rebuke not an 
 
 f See Macknight on the place, Note 3 and Note 1, on 1 Tim, 
 
 ¥. 17. 
 
67 
 
 w elder, but intreat him as a father, and the younger 
 '< men as brethren ; the elder women as mothers, the 
 " younger as sisters, with all purity." A transition 
 of the very same kind may be seen, 1 Pet. v. 1 — 5. 
 The word elder, and the word father, appear to have 
 gone through the same succession of applications in 
 the rise and progress of all societies, whether civil or 
 sacred. At first, they had their literal meaning and 
 signified superiority of natural relationship and of age. 
 See Heb. xi. 2. Afterwards by a very obvious figure, 
 they came to be used for those rulers, which were gene- 
 rally chosen at first from among the aged *. But these 
 words have never been the exclusive and appropriate 
 designation of office alone; far less has either of them 
 ever been the most definite term for any particular of- 
 fice. The elders of Israel mentioned in Exod. iii. 16, 
 18. were very probably, either no office-bearers, or 
 if they were, they were chosen out of those, who were 
 heads of families, and whose age was revered for expe- 
 rience and wisdom. We know from Num. xi. 16 — 
 30. that out of such were the elders by office afterwards 
 appointed. In like manner, in the Christian church, 
 the word elder does not primarily signify an office- 
 bearer, but an old disciple. Office-bearing is only 
 its secondary acceptation. Neither does it ever ap- 
 pear, in the New Testament, to have become the 'pro- 
 per name of a bishop. Peter and John, not fixed of- 
 ficers of any particular church, call themselves elders. 
 On the other hand, Paul, who was not a whit behind 
 
 * This observation illustrates that step in the progress of any 
 society, which is made from patriarchal to instituted govern- 
 ment. Adam's Roman Antiquities, patres. 
 
63 
 
 the very chiefest of the apostles, never assumes the 
 name of elder *, although his enemies forced him to say 
 much concerning the dignity of his office. In 1 Tim. 
 iii. 1. we read of a man desiring " the office of a bi* 
 " shop;" but never of a man desiring to be an elder. 
 In 1 Tim. iii. 13. we read of a deacon obtaining to> 
 himself " a good degree " or step, perhaps toward? 
 the office of a bishop, the only other office mentioned 
 in the passage -j- ; but there is no hint of a deacon be- 
 ing ordained an elder. When we read of the apos- 
 tles ordai; ing elders, as in Acts xiv. 23. or command- 
 ing it to be done, as in Titus i. 5. we find no men- 
 tion of the ordaining of deacon?, as we do when the 
 ordination of a bishop is spoken of, 1 Tim. iii. The pro- 
 bable inference is, that deacons as well as bishops, were 
 included under the name elders. Unless this be ad- 
 mitted, we have no evidence, that, besides the seven at 
 Jerusalem, the apostles, ever ordained deacons in a 
 chuTh at all, and yet Paul desired this to be done by 
 Timothy. When Paul, in the Hrst epistle to Timothy, 
 directs him to ordain bishops and deacons, he never 
 calls the bishops elders, as distinct from deacons, but, 
 in the sequel of the epistle, uses elders, as a term which, 
 not only included both these offices, but was limited 
 merely by the term younger. In the disputes between 
 
 * The expression in Philemon, 9. " Paul the aged," signifies 
 " Paul grown old " in the service of the gospel: not his office, 
 but his long continuance in it. — Some think it should be read 
 " Paul an ambassador." See Benson and Macknight. 
 
 f The deacons being then taken from among the elders as 
 well as the bishops were, and of course having gifts, it would 
 naturally follow that the churches would choose those to be 
 bishops, who had previously been approved of as deacons. 
 
69 
 
 Presbyterians and Episcopalians, it is very clearly e- 
 stablished by the former, that elder frequently in- 
 cludes the office of bishop. Had there been as much 
 disputing on the subject of deacon, it would have by 
 this time, been as generally understood, that elder fre- 
 quently includes the office of deacon. 
 
 It has been affirmed, that the term elder is appropri- 
 ated to the office of bishop, in the epistle to Titus, 
 chap. i. because after saying that he was to ordain 
 elders, the reason why they should be of a certain de- 
 scription runs thus; "for a bishop must be blame- 
 less," &c. This specification of one of the offices, and 
 that the most important, to which elders were to be 
 ordained, was sufficient to enforce the direction given, 
 as to their qualifications, which was all the apostle 
 seems to have had in view by descending to particu* 
 lars. Concerning the qualifications there mentioned, 
 it is very worthy of remark that those, in verse 6. 
 which refers to the general word elders, are requisite 
 for deacons as well as bishops, compare it with I Tim. 
 iii. 12.; whereas when the apostle proceeds to enforce 
 his doctrine from the particular office of the bishop, 
 he adds the other qualifications which are requisite 
 peculiarly for it, in verses 6 — 9. It is certain that dea- 
 cons as well as bishops were to be selected from among 
 elders; for if it is said of the one office, " not a new- 
 convert," ("novice" in the common translation); 
 similar language is used respecting the other, " and 
 let these also first be proved," 1 Tim. iii. 6, 10. It 
 seems much more probable, that Titus was left in 
 Crete to do the same things which Timothy was to 
 do at Ephesus, than that the mention of " the bishop' * 
 
70 
 
 ®nly in the passage in question, should indicate a re 
 striction of his commission to that particular office, 
 and exclude the supposition that deacons also were 
 there to be ordained. 
 
 The comprehensive acceptation of the word elder, 
 even after ordinary office-bearers were supposed to be- 
 appoiuted, is exactly what might have been expected. 
 If, for instance, a hundred men had been converted^ 
 the first week that Paul was at Ephesus, it is not to 
 be imagined that they would all have been made bi^ 
 shops and deacons, when these office-bearers came to- 
 be ordained by Timothy, although that church had 
 increased to a thousand by the apostle's labouring a- 
 mong them for three years. If all the elders must 
 have been ordained bishops and deacons, Paul could 
 have had no occasion to have so particularly pointed out 
 to Timothy the character of such as he should ordain. - 
 It would have been quite sufficient to have required 
 him to confine himself to elders, and to beware of 
 mixing with them ** new converts." 
 
 The addresses to elder6 in Acts xx. and 1 Pet. v..- 
 seem not to refer exclusively to the office of a bishops 
 although that being the principal office, is no doubt 
 chiefly in view. In the former, particulaily, the apos- 
 tle seems to refer to the duties of a deacon, verses 3 4> 
 35. On both these passages, however, we shall speak, 
 more fully hereafter. 
 
 The supposition that elders were ordained at Ephe- 
 8U<5, before Timothy was stationed there, is altogether 
 unfounded. The directions about his behaviour to 
 elders, are subsequent, to those about the choice of 
 bishops and deacons.. They are by no means confic* 
 ed to office-bearing elders; and even when they do re* 
 
n 
 
 -fer to office, they may be considered as applicable, 
 either to the gifted brethren, who had from the begin- 
 ning conducted the worship and government of the 
 church, or to the appointed office-bearers, after their 
 •appointment should have taken place, and they were 
 actually engaged in discharging the duties of their 
 offices. 
 
 Reasons, which have been given, for applying the 
 term elder to a particular office, and for preferring it 
 to terms which are more precise and appropriate, ap- 
 pear to be either puerile or suspicious. Elder it seems 
 occurs frequently; but pastor only once in the New 
 Testament. Tt is asserted that elder is not a meta- 
 phorical term like pastor, and is more descriptive of 
 the qualities and duties of an overseer of a Christian 
 church. Is it necessary to remark, that both these 
 assertions are equally incorrect? It is even said, that 
 the frequent use of the term paster has a tendency to 
 mislead, by making us forget some of the necessary 
 qualifications for his office. We are sorry to meet 
 with this sentiment where we should not have expect- 
 -ed it. Let Mr. Gibbon sneer " at that favourite 
 " metaphor of the shepherd and his flock .;" but let 
 not Christians lightly esteem a mode of speaking which 
 is confessedly scriptural. Any word indeed may be 
 abused. That the frequent use of the word elder has 
 a tendency to mislead we do not affirm ; but some who 
 frequently use it seem to be mistaken as to its meaning. 
 This mistake is particularly evident in the case of 
 .those, who contend for a multitude of office-bearers 
 of all kinds in every church; because, in every church, 
 they find, as they say, a plurality of elders. It is of 
 .more importance, however, to define terms, than to 
 
72 
 
 calculate the degree of frequency with which they are 
 used. Fix their meaning, and the use of them will 
 never mislead. To avoid ambiguity on the subject 
 before us, we think it right to mention, that, in what 
 follows, by elders shall be meant gifted brethren, or 
 office-bearers in general: when particular offices are 
 meant, each shall receive its proper name. One of 
 the ordinary offices in a church, shall be called the of- 
 fice of a bishop, or of a pastor and teacher (understand- 
 ing the two latter terms as referring to one person); 
 another shall be called the office of a deacon. 
 
 In ordaining elders, the apostles and evangelists 
 had in view, not only the edification of those who were 
 already converted, but the increase of the churches by 
 additions from without, and the benefit of future ge- 
 nerations when gifts should have ceased, and the gos- 
 pel should be propagated and preserved by ordinary 
 means. A sentence from Clemens Romanus, the earli- 
 est Christian writer except one, after the apostles, will 
 be found to correspond with the views which we have 
 given in this Section. "They (the apostles) preach- 
 " ing through countries and cities, appointed their 
 " first-fruits to be bishops and deacons of those who 
 " should believe, having tried them by the Spirit. 
 " Neither was this any new thing; for it was written 
 " many ages before concerning bishops and deacons; 
 -" for thus saith the scripture: I will constitute their 
 •' bishops in righteousness, and their deacons in 
 " faith." Epistle to the Corinthians, section 42. 
 Whether Clemens has given a just translation of the 
 passage he quotes (Isaiah Ix. 17.) or made a proper 
 application of it, is of no consequence, at present. He 
 shows what he understood by the elders of the primi- 
 
-rive churches, and to what offices he knew them to be 
 appointed by the apostles. 
 
 After attending to the privileges of the elders of 
 the primitive churches, it may be useful to remember, 
 that circumstances are no ground of confidence, 
 no reason for despondency, among the people of 
 God. Particular men are raised up and qualified for 
 particular stations; but the mercy of Jesus has ever 
 "been manifested without respect of persons, or of 
 times. Happily for us, his favour was not to be con- 
 fined to the age of his appearance upon earth, but 
 to be the salvation of sinners to the end of the 
 world. " They shall come, (said he) from the east, 
 <; and from the west, and from the north, and from 
 " the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of 
 Xl God. And behold, there are last which shall be 
 " first, and there are first which shall be last," Luke 
 xiii. 29, 30. 
 
 G 
 
74 
 
 OF THE NUMBER OF OFFICE-BEARERS IN A 
 CKURCIL 
 
 Our. Saviour appointed twelve apostles. 
 These desired the church at Jerusalem to look out a- 
 mong them seven mea to distribute the charitable col- 
 lections. But on the number of ordinary office-bear- 
 ers, in all churches, nothing appears to be explicitly 
 said in the holy scriptures. Questions, therefore, on 
 this subject, might be left, we presume, to be various- 
 ly settled, according to the circumstances, and the 
 common sense of Christian societies. 
 
 This inference is by no means universally granted. 
 Many insist, that, in every church, there ought to be 
 at least a plurality, and, though they cannot tell in 
 what proportion, a rising number of office-bearers, ac- 
 cording to the increase of the church. Plurality is 
 contended for, we believe, both of bishops and deacons j 
 but about the latter, there is less occasion of dispute. 
 
 In examining what light may be derived from scrip- 
 ture on the question which arises out of this differ- 
 ence of opinion, we meet with one express instance of 
 a church having a plurality of bishops. The epistle 
 to the Philippians is addressed " to all the saints in 
 <f Christ Jesus, which are at Phiiippi, with the bi- 
 " shops and deacons.'* How many bishops there were 
 in that chutch? why there were more than one? 
 whether this continued to be always the case? we 
 have no information. But the fact of a plurality, 
 when Paul wrote his epistle, is manifest. Now, if 
 there were reason to think that this fact, solitary as 
 it if., were agreeable to what the apostles ordained in 
 
all churches, we should acknowledge it to be conclusive 
 in the present question. But, if it shall appear that 
 there are other facts in scripture, which speak a contrary 
 language; and that the very rules concerning the choice 
 of office-bearers in churches, imply that the case was 
 generally different as to the number of them from what 
 it was at Philippi; we must hold ourselves obliged to 
 consider the latter case as an exception, a singularity, 
 or at least an uncommon circumstance, owing to 
 causes of a local and temporary nature, which never 
 did exist generally, and never were intended to be- 
 come permanent and universal. 
 
 What were the peculiar causes of the plurality at Phi- 
 lippi. we are not told, and are not called to determine. 
 Philippi was a Roman colony, r;uc a chief town in 
 that pert of Macedonia. Paul had there converted 
 several persons to Christianity, who stem to have felt 
 great gratitude to the apostle, and to have distinguish- 
 ed themselves from other churches, by assisting him 
 st different times with money. It seems then a pfl&* 
 bable conjecture, that the plurality of bishops was 
 owing partly to the number of the disciples, partly to 
 their ability and readiness to support labourers in the 
 gospel, and partly to the very wide sphere of useful- 
 ness which their situation presented. The churches 
 formed by the apostles were generally in populous 
 cities, from which, as from central points, the light of 
 the gospel might be diffused around. A number of 
 b;shops might sometimes be employed for the sake cf 
 members scattered through a wide surrounding region; 
 and, though all in one church for a while, both bishops 
 and people might soon be subdivided into distinct 
 tompanies, in different quarters, in which new church.- 
 
 G 2 
 
76 . 
 
 es were thus formed. We state this merely as con- 
 jecture, and we take the liberty of doing so, because no- 
 thing certain can be said on the subject. In scrip- 
 ture we have not an account of all the churches, which 
 were early planted, but only of a few of the most nu- 
 merous and successful in propagating the gospel. 
 
 In the same style of conjecture we remark, that it 
 is possible, there was for a little time a plurality of bi- 
 shops in such churches as those at Jerusalem and Anti- 
 och. But we have no hint, in scripture, that this was 
 the fact *, and all other history expressly denies it. 
 To say the least, then, the single fact at Philippi stands 
 iaone; and, when we compare it with other facts in 
 scripture, we feel warranted to conclude, that the ge* 
 neral and permanent state of the churches was differ- 
 ent. At the same time, we do not pretend to have 
 divine authority for an absolute rule on either side. 
 Perhaps Christians are here left to their own liberty; 
 and, unless attempts be made to invade that liber- 
 ty, by obtruding human theory as the institution of 
 God, things will probably find their own level with 
 regard to the number of labourers in a church, as 
 well as in various parts of the economy of civil soci- 
 ety. 
 
 In examining texts, which are supposed to bear up- 
 on this subject, it will be of use to remember, that when 
 the apostles collected a number of converts in any 
 place, they imparted to them some of the gifts of the 
 Holy Spirit, formed them into as mwch order as cir- 
 cumstances would permit, and then left them to the 
 
 * The prophets and teachers at Antioch, which are mention- 
 ed, Acls xiii. L were not bishops, but evidently gifted brethren-- 
 
77 
 
 tore of the gifted brethren for a time, till they could 
 return, or evangelists could be sent, to ordain fixed of- 
 ficers among them. In this imperfect state were the 
 churches of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, before 
 Paul and Barnabas returned, and ordained their elders 
 to be (as we suppose) their bishops and deacond. 
 See, and compare, Acts xiii. 1 — 3. and xiv. 21, 22, 
 23, 26, 27, 28. and xv. 1.2. In this state, indeed, 
 all the churches, to whom Paul wrote epistles, seem 
 to have been, when the epistles were sent to them, ex- 
 cept the church at Philippi. In no epistle of Paul, 
 but that to the Philippiaos, is any ordinary office- 
 bearer mentioned in the inscription, or in any other 
 passage. General words for the work of g-overnincr 
 file churches are indeed used; but these, instead of 
 implying the existence of bishops and deacons, seem 
 to indicate the contrary. Thus, the " rulers " or 
 "guides," spoken of, Heb. xiii. 17. were possibly 
 some of the apostles of the circumcision, to whom 
 Paul gives testimony as Peter does to him ; or 
 they were the gifted brethren, the elders, « eye wit- 
 nesses," or " first-fruits, " having temporary manage- 
 ment; but there is nothing which fixes the apostle's 
 language to the office of a bishop. In like manner, 
 it is of gifted brethren, that we understand, ] Thess. 
 v. 12. where Paul gives them no name appropriated 
 to the particular office of a bishop, but describes them 
 in a general way, as " labouring among " the Thes- 
 salonians, presiding * over them in the Lord, and ad- 
 « monishing them ;" and desires that Christian church 
 " to acknowledge, and esteem them very highly in 
 " leve, for their work's sake:" while he seems to turn 
 to the gifted brethren, and to exhort them to " warn 
 
 G 3 
 
7S 
 
 «* the unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support tlrt? 
 " weak, and be patient towards all." In 1 Cor. xvi. 
 15, 16. the meaning may be considered as certainly 
 the same. " I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the 
 " house of Stephanas that it is the first-fruits of 
 " Achaia (the country hi which Corinth was situat- 
 ** ed) and that they have addicted themselves to the* 
 " ministry of the saints) that ye submit yourselves 
 " unto such, and to every one that worketh to- 
 " gether, and laboureth." At Corinth, no bishops- 
 and deacons appear to have been yet ordained. The 
 leaders, of faction, there, were " false apostles," 2 Cor. 
 xi. 13. The factions themselves were named, not by 
 the names of bishops, but of Christ, apostles, and evan- 
 gelists, or if Paul transferred his remarks in a figure^ 
 to himself and Apollos, it was because the factions 
 were led by persons claiming the authority of apostles 
 or evangelists. Paul does not defend faithful bishops 
 in that church, but what himself and his fellow>la- 
 bourers had preached and done among them. In like 
 manner, in. the epistle to the Romans, although the 
 salutations sent to individuals are very numerous, and 
 although notice is taken of the services which several 
 of them had performed for the advancement of the 
 cause of Christ, chap. xvi. not a single bishop is to be 
 found among them all. The presumption is, that 
 so fixed office-bearer of that kind was yet appointed 
 in that church. 
 
 If any hint be given, in scripture, about the num- 
 ber of office-bearers in a church, or about the propor- 
 tion which those who hold one office ought to bear to 
 those who hold another, we may expect to meet with 
 it among the directions concerning the choice of thenu 
 
79 
 
 Whether any thing of this kind may be remarked hf 
 the epistles to Timothy and Titus, the reader may 
 judge from the following quotations, of which ve give 
 a literal translation. " If a man desire the office of a 
 " bishop (or a bishopric, as the word is rendered, Acts 
 " i. 20.) he desireth a good work. It behoveth 
 " the bishop, then, to be blameless, husband of one 
 " wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to 
 " hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no strik- 
 " er, not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient, not a 
 " brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his own 
 «' house, having his children in subjection with all gra* 
 " vity; (for if a man know not how to rule 
 
 " HIS OWN HOUSE, HOW SHALL HE TAKE CARE O? 
 
 " the church of God?) not a new convert, lest, 
 M being lifted up with pride, he fall into the conderr.- 
 *' nation of the devil. And it behoveth him to 
 " have also a good report of them that are without i 
 " lest he fall into reproach, and the snare of the devil. 
 " It behoveth deacons also to be grave, not donble- 
 " tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of fil* 
 " thy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure 
 " conscience. And let these also first be proved; 
 " then let them act as deacons, being blameless, 
 
 M Let deacons be husbands of one wife, rul- 
 
 •« ing their children, and their own houses well. For 
 " they that have well actio as deacons, pur- 
 " chase to themselves a good degree, and great bold- 
 
 " ness in the faith, which is in Christ Jesus." 
 
 " For this cause, left I thee in Crete, that thou 
 " shouldst set in order the things that are wanting, 
 M and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed 
 M thee. If any be blameless, husband of one wife, 
 «J having faithful children, not accused of rict, or un- 
 
80 
 
 * ruly. For it behoveth the bishop to be blarr.r - 
 " less, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not soon 
 " angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to fil- 
 " thy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good 
 *< men, sober, just* holy, temperate, holding fast the 
 i( faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may 
 £ be able by sound doctrine, both to exhort, and to 
 V confute the gainsayers," 1 Tim. iii. 1—10, 12, 13. 
 Titus i. 5—9. 
 
 In these passages, the reader will observe, that when 
 Paul is speaking of a bishopric, he uniformly names a? 
 person who should be appointed to that " good work," 
 in the singular number, and with the definite article: 
 whereas, when he speaks of acting as deacons, he 
 uniformly uses the plural number, and omits the defi- 
 nite article. The definite article, which he uses when 
 speaking of the bishop, though no where translated, 
 that we have seen, except in some French versions, 
 ought not to be omitted, because it seems emphatical- 
 ly to mark the contrast between the precise singular 
 in the one case, and the indefinite plural in the other. 
 Had Paul used the singular in speaking of the bishop, 
 merely because each individual bishop must possess the 
 qualifications required; there would have been the 
 same reason for u$ing the singular in speaking of dea- 
 cons, and we can hardly suppose that be would have 
 changed his style in the same passage. Nor is it the 
 grammatical structure of sentences only, which, in 
 these passages, attracts attention. The bishop must 
 be one, who gives proof of ability to take care of 
 the church of God; by the preservation of paternal 
 authority in his own family. An analogy seems to 
 be expressly intimated between the one relation and 
 the other; and the presumption is, that both are, 
 
Si 
 
 with similar propriety, sustained by an individual: but 
 no such analogy is suggested in the case of deacon?, 
 Of these passages, then, the fair interpretation seems 
 to be, that Paul directed Timothy and Titus, when 
 they ordained elders in a church, to ordain one man to 
 be what is called the bishop, and more than one to 
 be what are called deacons. A bishop and deacons, 
 there is reason to think, were the office-bearers, which, 
 in obedience to apostolic direction, were originally or- 
 dained in the church at Ephesus, and in the churches 
 in every city of the island of Crete. 
 
 When the bishop and deacons were first ordained in 
 a primitive church, it would be very unnatural to sup- 
 pose, that the other elders, " the first-fruits," who 
 had been endowed from the beginning with the gifts 
 of the Koly Spirit, were made to retire from the 
 charge which they had previously taken. No, they 
 would continue to cooperate with the ordained office- 
 bearers till they finished their course with joy, and the 
 churches were bound to honour both alike. If this 
 remark be admitted, it will explain a much-tortured 
 passage, 1 Tim. v. 17. respecting the church at Ephe- 
 sus. «• Let the elders who rule well, be counted wor- 
 « thy of double honour ; especially those that labour 
 « in word and doctrine." Paul refers to one descrip- 
 tion of persons, namely elders; and to the good and 
 diligent exercise of the distinct gifts of those who were 
 called " governments," cr " directors," and those 
 who were called " prophets." The bishop and dea- 
 cons being appointed to be chosen from among the el- 
 ders, and to succeed them in their charge, would come 
 to be included in the apostolic precept. But the re- 
 ference is, by no means, to them exclusively, either here, 
 
m 
 
 ' 9 
 
 or in any other part of the epistle, where elders are men- 
 tioned. In like manner, in Acts xx. 17. where we are 
 told, that Paul sent from Miletus to Ephesus, and cal- 
 led the elders of the church ; if the bishop and deacons, 
 were ordained a little before by Timothy, as some 
 think *, they were, no doubt, among them ; but the com- 
 pany, as a whole, consisted of the " first-fruits," proba- 
 bly the men in number " about twelve," who are men- 
 tioned in the beginning of the xix. chapter, as having 
 been originally disciples of John, but, being baptised 
 in the name of the Lord Jesus, and receiving the Holy- 
 Spirit by the laying on of Paul's hands, " spake with 
 *' tongues and prophesied." In support of this opi- 
 nion, there is much internal evidence in the apostle's 
 farewell address. He speaks to them, not as office, 
 bearers recently appointed in his absence; but as * first- 
 *' fruits " of his own ministry in the place where they 
 resided. "Ye know from the first day that 
 " I came into Asia, after what manner I have been 
 ■■ with you at all seasons." See also verses, 19, 20, 
 25, 26, 27, 31, 34, S5. When he speaks of their 
 charge of the church, he says nothihg of a recent, 
 or of a future choice, of the bishop and deacons, or 
 of the laying on of the hands of Timothy. These 
 
 * This is the opinion of Benson, Lardner, and Michaelis, hut 
 we prefer the chrohology of Macknight, who supposes the in- 
 terview With the elders at Miletus to have taken place in the 
 spring of A. D. 58, and the fast epistle to Timothy, not to have 
 been written till the end of A. D. 64, or the beginning of 65. 
 See his preface to 1 Timothy, and his life of Paul. Had Mac- 
 knight taken our view of the passage above, it would have ob- 
 viated one of the objections to his opinion as to the date o£ 
 1 Timothy. 
 
S3 
 
 things would have applied to a few only of the comp*.. 
 ay. He says, therefore, '* Take heed unto yourselves, 
 *' and to all the flock over the which the Holy Spi- 
 V rit hath made you overseers." Some render 
 the last word " bishops," but that makes no difficul- 
 ty, for as the word deacon is often used, where the or- 
 dinary office which has got that name is not intended, 
 so may the word bishops be used here, without signify- 
 ing the ordinary office of the bishop. We have before 
 remarked, that their duties seem to have included an 
 oversight in temporal as well as spiritual things, verse 
 35. At any rate, they were made bishops, not by the 
 instrumentality of men, judging of their qualifications 
 after they had first been proved, but by *' the Holy 
 " Spirit," who had qualified them miraculously from 
 the very beginning. 
 
 It has been asserted, that Rev. chapters ii. and iii. 
 where epistles sent to the seven churches in Asia are 
 especially addressed to the angel of each, is the on- 
 ly part of scripture which can be adduced, as seeming 
 to say that there ought to be one bishop in one church. 
 The rashness of this assertion has, we trust, already 
 appeared. The attempts which are made to evade the 
 force of the expression, the angel of a church, do, by 
 no means, appear to be successful. It is pleaded, that 
 ,the language of the book of Revelation is highly figu- 
 rative. So it is, in general, but not in every instance, 
 -and particularly not in this instance. For the expres- 
 sion is introduced, not as a mystery, but as the expla- 
 nation of a mystery. " The mystery of the seven stars 
 " which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven 
 Ci golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the an- 
 " gels of the seven churches: and the seven 
 
S* 
 
 " candlesticks, which thou safest, are the seveh 
 6i churches," Rev. i. 20. Here we have two em- 
 blems, and two explanations. The word churches, 
 which is the one explanation, is understood generally 
 in its literal acceptation. What should prevent our 
 understanding the word angel in the same way ? Some 
 may think, its obscurity. But, if a word be obscure, 
 when considered literally, it is not likely to become 
 plainer, by supposing it to be a figure. The fact 
 seems to be, that however obscure it may be thought 
 now, the word angel was, in this passage, as clear an 
 explanation originally, as the word church. 
 
 But we are conscious of no particular obscurity be- 
 longing to the expression, the angel of a church. A 
 sufficient illustration of it will be found in the usual 
 marginal reference to Mai. ii. 7- " For the priest's lips 
 " should keep knowledge, and they should seek the 
 " law at "his mouth: for he is the messenger, or an- 
 " gel, of the Lord of hosts." What! say some, are 
 you going to make the bishop a priest? Certainly, as 
 far as the Bible does. We do not make the bishop a 
 type of Christ, the High Priest of our profession, as 
 the priests were under the law. Neither do we deny 
 that all Christians are both kings and priests unto 
 God. But there is a sense, in which the bishop, and 
 all who, agreeably to the will of God, devote their lives 
 to the preaching of the gospel, and to the service of 
 the churches, are, in scripture, compared to priests 
 and Levites; and the comparison is founded on the 
 similarity of their situation, as persons devoted to the 
 public instruction of the people, and to the conducting 
 of the public worship of the church. In remarking 
 this similarity, we do nothing towards aggrandizing 
 
85 
 
 human authority; for the priest, under the law, (un- 
 less he were inspired, which was not always the case,) 
 had no more right to go beyond the written word, in 
 his teaching or ministry, than the preacher has tinder 
 the gospel. In support of what we have said, we re- 
 fer the reader to PsaL cxxxii. 16. Isa. Ixvi. 21. Jer. 
 xxxi. 14. 1 Cor. ix. 13,14. We understand the ex- 
 pression, then, the angel of a church, as intimating, 
 that the bishop is a man sent, or appointed of God to 
 that church. It is a divine promise, " I will give 
 " you pastors according to mine heart, which shall 
 81 feed you with knowledge and understanding, " Jer. 
 iii. 15. We are also directed to " pray the Lord of 
 " the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into 
 «« his harvest,'' Matth. ix. 38. 
 
 It may still be asked, why is the expression to be 
 coniined to the bishop, when the above references seem 
 to apply to apostles and evangelists, as well as bishops, 
 and are indeed stated to be applicable to all who, with 
 divine approbation, devote their lives to the preaching 
 of the gospel, or, in any office, to the service of the 
 church? In reply to this question, we remark, that 
 the angel, here, is said to be the angel of a particular 
 church. He is generally allowed to be an individual, 
 and is manifestly considered as holding an office. But 
 if we may not apply this expression to the bishop, 
 to what other individual office-bearer shall we apply 
 it? Sliall we apply it to one of the deacons? This 
 has not been done. It seems granted, then, that it 
 must signify a bishop, and the only question is, wheihelf 
 it is merely the name of one bishop of a plurality, y 
 of one bishop in a church? That it is the name o\ 
 bibhop in a church is probable, because he is aJIc < 
 
 H 
 
86 
 
 to be addressed as president ; because there is no ap- 
 pearance of the president's office being moveable and 
 temporary, going round a number of colleagues by 
 rotation; because there is no notice taken of colleagues 
 at all. The angel, then, is neither president by 
 election, nor president by seniority, but president 
 by office. Nothing seems so well calculated to con- 
 firm this interpretation as a careful perusal of the seven 
 epistles themselves. In each of them, every thing 
 will be found to be addressed to one angel, or to be 
 divided between the angel and the church. 
 
 The plurality of elders, mentioned Acts xx. has 
 been urged as a proof that the angel of the church of 
 Ephesus did not imply only one bishop in that church. 
 "What we are to understand by the elders of the church 
 at Ephesus has already been considered. It may be 
 added here, that granting there had even been a plu- 
 rality of bishops, when Paul took leave of them, this 
 could not prove, that they were not reduced to one, 
 thirty years after. Paul had foretold much calamity 
 to that church, which was to arise partly from defec- 
 tion among the elders themselves. When the epistle 
 was written, the calamity had happened. The angel 
 had left his first love, and is called to remember from 
 whence he had fallen. In circumstances so very differ- 
 ent, the number of elders at one time, is no proof of 
 their number at another. But we mention this argu- 
 ment, merely to lessen the confidence with which 
 Acts xx. 17* has been held forth as explaining Rev. ii. 
 1 . There seems to have been only one bishop in each of 
 the seven churches, although some of them appear to 
 have been in a flourishing state. What we believe to 
 have been probably the fact is, that the gifted brethren 
 
sr 
 
 had by this time died out, or become superannuated, an<$ 
 that the ordained bishop, in each of the churches, now 
 stood alone*. In all the epistles addressed to them, 
 we have not observed the smallest allusion to the exist- 
 ence of spiritual gifts. The presumption is, they 
 were by this time extinct. 
 
 It has been asserted, that the word " angel " de- 
 notes plurality in Rev. ii. 23, 2-k where it is said that, 
 in a continued address to the angel of the church at 
 Thyatira, the plural number is used. Were this state- 
 ment allowed to be correct, it would not support the 
 assertion, because the epistles, though addressed to the 
 angels, are expressly said to contain li what the Spi- 
 rit saith to the churches. " But let any one read the 
 passage in its connection, and he will see that the 
 statement is not correct ; that the plural number is nut 
 used in a continued address to the angel, but in a ma- 
 nifest transition from the address to the angel, to an 
 address to different descriptions of persons among the 
 members of the church; and that this transition con- 
 tinues to the end of the epistle. The address to 
 the angel does not extend further than the middle 
 clause of the 23d verse, where it is concluded by a 
 threatening of such punishment of Jezebel and her dis- 
 ciples, whom the angel had suffered, as should prove 
 an awful example to all the churches. The Holy Spi- 
 rit then turns directly to the members at large of the 
 church in Thyatira, " And I will give to every one 
 of you " (the plurality not of the word angel, but 
 
 * John is thought to have survived all the apostles, and per- 
 haps the far greater part of the original converts to Christianity, 
 The book of the Revelation is thought to have been written, 
 A. D, 95, or 96, 
 
 H 2 
 
8S 
 
 of the word church) u according to your- works." He 
 next addressesparticularly the sound part of the church. 
 " But unto you, I say, and to the rest in Thyatira;" 
 that is, " to you, I say, even to the remaining mem* 
 " bers of the church in Thyatira, as many as have not 
 u this doctrine, and which have not known the depths 
 " cf Satan, as they speak, I will put upon you none 
 il other burden, but that which ye have, hold fast till 
 " I come." In these two last verses, there is not, 
 as has been alleged, one clause to the plurality of el- 
 ders, and another to the church members. The whole 
 is expressly declared to be, to the sound part of the 
 members, whether elder or younger, who had not been- 
 deceived and corrupted by Jezebel. The epistle con- 
 cludes with these animating promises, " And he 
 M that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the 
 " end, to him will I give power over the nations, (and 
 *' lie shall rule them with a rod of iron: as the vessels 
 u of a potter shall they be broken to shivers,) even as I 
 M received of my Father. And I will give him the 
 lt morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear 
 " what the Spirit saith unto the churches." 
 
 We are told that the phrase, ** angel of the church" 
 ms to be an allusion to the Jewish synagogue, and 
 we are then referred to Mark v. 22. and Acts xiii. 15. 
 to see that there was a plurality of rulers in each syna- 
 gogue. But was there a plurality of angels in each syna- 
 -OLrue? Were the rulers of the synagogue all of the 
 same description? Prideaux, has been quoted, but 
 he distinguishes between the plurality of rulers, and 
 one of them called the angel of the synagogue. The 
 rulers, he says, governed all the affairs of the syna- 
 •^oorue, and directed all the duties of religion there to 
 h f . performed. But the angel alone was the ordinary 
 
conductor of the public worship. If the passage re~ 
 Terred to has been read, it is really wonderful that 
 it should be considered as making for the purpose; 
 Prideaux was no believer in a plurality of bishops, and 
 he expressly compares the angel of the synagogue to 
 " the bishop " of a Christian church. After speak- 
 ing of the rulers, his words are, (Parr 1. bo. k 6.) 
 " Next to them (or perchance one of them) was the 
 •* minister of the synagogue, that officiated in offer- 
 " ing up the public prayers to God, for the whole 
 " congregation ; who, because he was the mouth of 
 4< the congregation, delegated from them as their re- 
 *« presentative, messenger, or angel, to speak to God 
 *< in prayer for them, was therefore in the Hebrew 
 " language called Sheliach Zibbor, that is, the angel of 
 " the church. And hence it is, that the bishops of 
 44 the seven churches of Asia are in the Revelation, 
 ** by a name borrowed from the synagogue, called the 
 " angels of those churches. For as the Sheliach Zlb- 
 
 o 
 
 44 bor in the Jewish synagogue was the prime mini- 
 44 ster to offer up the prayers of the people to God, 
 44 so also was the bishop the prime minister to 
 44 offer up the prayers of the people to God in the 
 " church of Christ." 
 
 If the church had been understood to be formed 
 on the model of the synagogue, and if in the syna- 
 gogue, there had been a plurality of angels, it would 
 havejoeen extraordinary that the earliest ecclesiastical 
 historians should so uniformly speak of one bishop, and 
 one church, as the instituted proportion. Corruptions, 
 no doubt, early began, but it is difficult to conceive 
 how that should be a corruption, which was. at once 
 
 early and universal. 
 
 H 3 
 
90 
 
 *«• Whether in the apostolic and primitive days (says 
 *' King) there were more bishops than one in a church, 
 *' at first sight seems difficult to resolve: that the ho- 
 " ly scriptures, and Clemens Romanus, mention many 
 ** in one church is certain *: and on the other hand, it 
 " is as certain, that Ignatius, Tertullian, Cyprian, and 
 " the following fathers affiim, That there was, and 
 *' ought to be, but one in a church. These contradic- 
 ii tions may, at the first view, seem inextricable; but 
 '* I hope the following account will reconcile all these 
 w seeming difficulties, and withal, afford us a fair and 
 " easy conception of the difference between the ancient 
 ** bishops and presbyters. 
 
 " I shall then lay down as sure, that there was but 
 " one supreme bishop in a place, that was the ° 'Eo-,c*e- 
 u *c$> \ the bishop, by way of eminency and propriety. 
 *' The proper pastor and minister of his parish, to 
 " whose care and trust the souls of that church or pa- 
 
 * The author's only reference here is to Clemens' epistle to 
 the Corinthians, Sect. 2. We particularly beg the reader to 
 observe, that the passage makes no mention of many eishofs, 
 but uses one of the general terms which were commonly appli- 
 ed in the apostolic epistles to the elder's, including under that 
 name, apostles and gifted brethren, who took charge, originally, 
 of the primitive churches, and most probably continued along 
 with the bishop and deacons in the church at Corinth, at the 
 time when Clemens was himself the bishop of the church at 
 Rome, which, according to Xing, v/as as early as A. D. 70. The 
 words of the quotation are 'TroTita-a-o/nivoi roiq 'nya/uiv ic 'vpuv,. 
 " Being subject to your guides." It is the very word used by 
 Faul, Heb. xiii. 7, 17. The reader wiil perhaps recollect a re- 
 mark on it in this- Section, page 77. 
 
 f Let the reader remark the consequence of the apostle's hav^ 
 Ing used the definite article in J Tim iii. 2. and Tit. i. 7. 
 
9t 
 
 t( rishj, over which he presided, were principally, and 
 "more immediately committed. So saith Cyprian & 
 " « There is but one bishop in a church at a time.* 
 " And so Cornelius objects to Novatian $, « That he 
 " did not remember, that there ought to be but one 
 " bishop in a church-* And throughout the whole 
 " epistles of Ignatius, and the generality of writers. 
 " succeeding him, we find but one single bishop in a 
 M church, whose quotations to which purpose, would 
 ** be fruitless to recite here, since the constant prac- 
 " tice of the universal church confirms it, and a great 
 ** part of the following discourse will clearly illustrate 
 " it. 
 
 " Only it may not be impertinent to remark this by 
 " the way, that by the A/«^;o*, or succession of bi- 
 ** shops, from those bishops who were ordained by the 
 " apostles, the orthodox were wont to prove the swc~ 
 " cession of their faith *, and the novelty of that of the 
 " heretics f. * Let them demonstrate the original of 
 " their churches,' as Tertullian challenges the Mar- 
 
 * Unus in ecclesia ad tempus sacerdos Epist. 55. § C. p. 138, 
 
 §'Oj*. y '/rz'i.r1a.lo 'fv« tviffxowov ^uv tivxt iv x.?Bo?itxr) 'tx»\nrtx. Ad 
 labium Antioch. apud Euseb. Hi. 6. c. 43. p. 244. 
 
 * Whether this was a good way of proving orthodoxy or not, 
 is of no consequence to the point in hand. 
 
 f " Edant origines ecclesiarum suarum, evclvant ordinem e- 
 " piscoporum suorum,ita per successiones ab initio decurrentem, 
 u ut primus ille episcopus aliquem ex apostolis vel apostolicis vi- 
 *' ris, qui tamen cum apostolis perseveraverit, habuerit autorem 
 " et antecessorem. Hoc enim modo ecclesia apostolica census 
 " suos deferunt, sicut Smyrnaeorum ecclesia habens Polycarpum 
 " ab Johanne conlocatum refert, sicut Roman orum Clementem 
 u a Petro ordinatum proinde utique exhibent, quos ab apostolis 
 
92 
 
 w cionites, and other heretics: * Let them turn over the 
 u orders of their bishops, and see whether they have 
 S( had a succession of bishops from anyone who was con* 
 •* stituted by the apostles, or apostolic men: Thus the 
 •* truly apostolic churches have, as the church of Smyr- 
 " na has Polycarp there placed by John, and t «e church 
 " of Rome, Clement, ordained by Peter; and other 
 f* churches can tell, who were ordained bishops over 
 fi them by the apostles, and who have been their suc- 
 M cessors to this very day.' So also says Irenaeus *; 
 ** * We challenge the heretics to that tradition, which. 
 " was handed down from the apostles by the succession 
 " of bishops.' 
 
 ** And in the next chapter of the same book, the said 
 M father gives us a catalogue of the bishops of Rome 
 14 till his days, by whom the true faith was successive- 
 ** ly transmitted down from the apostles; in which ca- 
 " talogue we find but one bishop at a time, and as he 
 " died, so another single person succeeded him in the 
 ** charge of that flock or parish. 
 
 " So that this consideration evidences also, that 
 " there was but one bishop strictly so called, in a church 
 " at a time, who was related to his flock f , as a pastor 
 iC to his sheep) and a parent to his children. The titles 
 «' of this supreme church officer are most of them rec- 
 
 " in episcopatum constitutes, apostolici seminis traduces habeant. 
 De Prescript, advers. Hesret. p. 78. 
 
 * " Earn traditionem quae est ab apostolis, quae per successir 
 " ones presbyterorum in ecclesiis custoditur, provocamus eos." 
 Lib. 3. c. 2. p. 170. 
 
 f" A pastore oves, et filios a parente separare." Cypr, Epist? 
 38. § \.p. 90. 
 
93 
 
 '- koned up in one place by Cyprian, which are;f;, bisl 
 " president, pastor, governor, superintendant, and priest. 
 *' And this is he, which in the Revelations is called the 
 " angel of his church, as Origen thinks f , which appel- 
 f* lations denote both his authority and office, his povv- 
 u er and duty." Enquiry into the Constitution, Discip- 
 line, Unity, and JVorship of the Primitive Church. By 
 an Impartial Hand. Chap. 1. $ 5. 
 
 Another scripture brought forward to prove that a 
 plurality of bishops should be in every church, is 
 1 Pet. v. 1, " The elders which are among you, 
 «' I exhort — feed the flock of God." Without for- 
 getting what has been said about primitive elders, 
 which entirely destroys the force of this kind of rea- 
 soning, let us; try the argument from this passage as 
 it is commonly urged. What is meant, in the passage, 
 by these words, " among you?" We learn from chap. 
 i. 1. that it means, " among you, strangers scattered 
 " throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and 
 *' Bithynia." The argument then amounts to this, 
 that if a man shall use the plural number, when he ad- 
 dresses the elders which are among the Christians scat- 
 tered throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and Ire« 
 land, we are to infer from his words, that he under- 
 stands there are more than one in every church. Ay ! 
 but is not Peter, it may be said, speaking of each 
 particular church in those countries, and exhorting a 
 plurality of elders in each to " feed the fiock of God 
 u which is among them," that is, the particular 
 
 \ " Episcopus, propositus, pastor, gubernator, antistes, sacer- 
 !t dos " Epht. €9. § 5. p. 208. 
 
 ■\ TLpoirulai rlvx; <rav ixxXr,/ri(sv y ayyi\%s X»yfo , S«< *«%? rm lcM»Vj 
 ;y rn J\/nxx?.vpiu Dc Orat. § 35. p. 31. 
 
m 
 
 ehurch, to which they, the plurality, happen to belong ? 
 Let us read the passage.- " Elders which are among 
 " you I exhort, who am the fellow-elder (of such J, 
 " and witness of the sufferings of Christ, the partaker 
 " also of the glory that is about to be revealed. Feed 
 " the flock of God which is among you, discharging 
 M the duties of oversight (acting as bishops) not by 
 " constraint, but willingly, neither for filthy lucre, 
 " but of a ready mind, neither as domineering over 
 •* God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 
 " And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall 
 M receive the incorruptible crown of the glory, (the 
 "glory to be revealed/ 7 see verse 1st.) Likewise, 
 " ye younger, submit to elders, and all being subject 
 ** to one another, be clothed with humility." In this 
 passage, there seems to he nothing like ordained bi- 
 shops and deacons. Peter is addressing elder Christ-* 
 ians, as opposed to younger Christians ; elders of \Vhom 
 he was " the fellow-elder." Neither does there seem 
 any thing like a settled church, far less a number of 
 churches. The letter is addressed not to the churches 
 of Pontus, &c. as Paul's letter is " to the churches 
 of Ga'fatia ;" but to the strangers scattered through- 
 out Pontus, &c. Those strangers formed, indeed, 
 w the flock of God " in those parts of the world, but 
 it was a flock in a state of wide dispersion. Having 
 tasted that the Lord is gracious, and coming to him, 
 in the habitual exercises of the life of faith, they had 
 a spiritual union, and maintained a spiritual fellowship 
 with God and with one another. They had, no doubt, 
 occasional intercourse in person, and occasional meet- 
 ings, probably partial and private. These would give 
 some opportunity for elders, endowed with gifts, tor 
 
<*5 
 
 feed and inspect the flock, (see chap. iv. 10, ll*); 
 
 and for all the members to discharge relative duties 
 to one another. With exhortations, accordingly, oa 
 such topics as these the epistle is occupied. But in 
 vain shall we seek here for information about the con- 
 stitution or government of a church. No allusion is 
 made to stated meetings, or to the observance of ordi- 
 nances, far less to the ordination of elders. The scat- 
 tered disciples are exhorted as strangers and pilgrims 
 to behave unblameably among the Gentiles; as perse- 
 cuted persons to sanctify the Lord God in their hearts; 
 as persons, with whom judgment had begun at the 
 house of God, not to think it strange concerning the 
 iiery trial which is to try them, to commit the keep- 
 ing of their souls to God in well doing, as unto a 
 faithful Creator, and to humble themselves under his 
 mighty hand, believing that he would exalt them in 
 due time. ' And Peter concludes with a prayer, cal- 
 culated to inspire the hope of better days even in this 
 world, when they should yet enjoy the blessings of 
 church order. " But the God of all grace, who hath 
 ** called us unto his eternal glory by Christ. Jesus, af- 
 " ter that ye have suffered awhile, restore, establish, 
 ** strengthen, settle you." 
 
 We endeavoured, in the preceding section, to show 
 that the expressions " ordained elders in every church,'' 
 and " ordain elders in every city," which occur, Acts 
 xiv. 23. and Tit. i. 5. signify ordaining elders to be bi- 
 shops and deacons. It may be proper to remark now, 
 that the expression " ordaining them in every church, 
 or in every city," determines nothing respecting their 
 Eumber. If, in an account of the church of Scotland, 
 the following words should occur, " the presbytery 
 
96 
 
 ** ordains ministers in every church, within their 
 bounds," the expression would be perfectly similar to 
 those under consideration, yet it would not enable us 
 to discover whether there was one collegiate charge 
 in the whole district. 
 
 The only other passage, which we remember to have 
 seen urged for a plurality of bishops in a church, is 
 I Tim. iv. 14. " neglect not the gift that is in thee, 
 « which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on 
 « of the hands of the presbytery. " This presbytery, 
 it is said, evidently means the eldership of a particu- 
 lar church. That a particular church should have 
 an eldership, consisting of the bishop and deacons, is 
 freely admitted, and has been above explained. Our 
 opinion, therefore, requires no further remark on this 
 passage. It may be stated, however, that the presby- 
 tery or eldership, here spoken of, is not said to belong 
 to one particular church. It was most likely the 
 company of elders, who happened to be present, and 
 to join with Paul, when he laid hands on Timothy. 
 The only further light which can be obtained on the 
 subject, is- from the history of Paul's taking him for 
 a fellow-labourer. Now we learn, Acts xvi. 1 — 4. 
 that the disciple Timothy, then at Lystra, " was well re- 
 " ported of by the brethren at Ly;tr a and Tconi- 
 " um," which is much the same as if we should say, by 
 the brethren at Edinburgh and Glasgow, for the places 
 were about fifty miles distant. Is there, then, any 
 thing unscriptural, or improbable in the conjecture 
 (and we can pretend to no more than conjecture here 
 on either side) that as Timothy was recommended * 
 by the brethren of two churches, so when Paul laid 
 his hands on him, he was joined by a company of the 
 
ciders of those two churches? In scripture we find 
 no jealousy of the cooperation of churches on such 
 occasions, and no plan for making office-bearers pri- 
 soners at large within their own churches. Here too 
 seems to be an instance of elders joining in the ordina- 
 tion of an evangelist. We see nothing in scripture to 
 prevent us from being happy to attend a meeting of 
 the eldership, or company of elders, belonging to the 
 churches, for example, of Edinburgh, and Glasgow, 
 and a dozen places more, for the purpose of ordain- 
 ing either a bishop or a missionary. 
 
 Those who think that a very slight attention to the 
 scriptures mentioned above, is sufficient for establish- 
 ing their views, may feel that we have been rather 
 tedious in our remarks; but it is often safe to give a 
 more thorough attention to that which is offered as 
 proof from scripture, than they deem it necessary to 
 recommend. The result of our investigation is this, 
 that the scriptures give no express direction respect- 
 ing the number of office-bearers in > a church ; that the 
 church at Philippi had a plurality of both bishops 
 and deacons; that the rules given to Timothy and Ti- 
 tus seem to suppose the office-bearers of a church 
 to consist of " the bishop and deacons, " implying 
 singularity as to the former, and plurality as to the 
 latter; that, from the faithfulness of the two evange- 
 lists, it may be presumed, that the ordained office- 
 bearers in the church at Ephesus, and in all the 
 churches in the island of Crete, originally were for 
 each church " the bishop and deacons;" and that 
 there seems to have been only one bishop in each of 
 the seven churches in Asia. The truth probably is, 
 that if the meaning of the word elders had not been 
 
38 
 
 mistaken, the necessity of a plurality of 'bishop* in eve- 
 ry church would never have been imagined. 
 
 We have no hesitation in admitting that churches 
 may have more than one bishop, if the one bishop and 
 the members be all cordially agreed upon the measure, 
 and if it seem to be called for by some actual exigen- 
 cy, and not by the mere love of a theory. But we 
 have found no evidence, that such a plan is^ either ne- 
 cessary, or generally desirable. To censure churches 
 because they have not a plurality of bishops, is altoge- 
 ther unwarrantable. Christians will do well to re- 
 press with firmness the attempts of those, who thus 
 endeavour to abridge their liberty. If we wish to 
 give implicit obedience to the word of God, we must 
 be as conscientious in observing where we are free, as 
 where we are bound. Corruptions in the church have, 
 in all ages, been most boldly and successfully introduc- 
 ed, when they assumed the form of addition to the 
 law of God. To propose the neglect of a duty, or 
 the commission of a sin, is a glaring, and therefore 
 z* hazardous attempt. But to discover new duties, 
 and new sins, is a most popular thing. It is delight- 
 ful to the discoverer himself, who is apt to mistake 
 every thing that is new to him for an original curiosi- 
 ty, and a proof of the success of his researches. It 
 has also a plausible appearance to others. They pre- 
 viously esteem the discoverer, and probably on very 
 good grounds. They are now astonished at his su- 
 perior discernment. They are delighted with his zeal 
 for reformation, with his disinterestedness, with his 
 boldness. They perhaps have nothing to say against 
 Iiis reasoning, or they made objections at first, which;, 
 
99 
 
 it was easily shown, were ill-founded; therefore they 
 think nothing can be said against it. Quotations from 
 scripture are liberally poured forth, a very slight at- 
 tention to which is declared to be sufficient, in so plain 
 a Case. Why then should they hesitate ? To deny 
 the obligation of so obvious a duty would be to de- 
 cline a ready and complete obedience to divine au- 
 thority. That it has seldom been acknowledged, is 
 all in its favour. Few can say, that they have seen 
 it attended with any disadvantage, or that it may 
 not be attended with all the advantages which a 
 sanguine imagination can suggest. Who knows, 
 but nine- tenths of the corruptions of the Christian 
 church may be owing to the want of this single glo- 
 rious improvement? And why should we be kept 
 from it, by the contrary opinion of others, however 
 numerous and respectable, when we know what a held 
 custom, prejudice, fear, and self-interest, have, of the 
 minds of men, especially if they have been early im- 
 bued with any suspicious tincture of human learn- 
 ing. 
 
 Besides what is offered as scripture proof, a great 
 deal has been said on the advantages, of a plurality of 
 bishops in every church. It has been argued, indeed, 
 that the duties of a bishop are absolutely impracticable 
 while he stands alone. We have a few remarks to 
 make, which have occurred to us, on the other side. 
 Were it at all evident, that a plurality of bishops in eve- 
 ry church, is required by the word of God, or can even 
 be fairly inferred from it, most certainly it would be 
 proper to adopt the plan, whatever might be the con- 
 sequences. Being persuaded, however, that the very 
 contrary is the fact, we must be indulged in a little 
 
 I 2 
 
100 
 
 freedom with the strong lanjruacre, which has been us» 
 ed on the subject. 
 
 First,, then, the principle, that it is unlawful for 
 churches to have only one bishop, seems to be attend- 
 ed with several essential difficulties. If Christians, in 
 choosing bishops, may deliberate on the subject of 
 number at all, the singular belongs to number as well 
 r.s the plural. The number, it is said, should increase 
 as the church increases, ought it not also to decrease 
 as the church decreases? for this also is a very pos- 
 sible case. May the number of bishops decrease to 
 two, and not to one? It has been said, that two 
 Christians make a church: Is there any reason to pre- 
 vent this church from having a bishep? Is there anv 
 Reason to require it to have two bishops? If an addi- 
 tional member be added, shall this addition be a reason 
 to introduce a plurality of bishops. If it be a reason 
 for this, and if the increase of bishops must bear some 
 proportion to the increase of the church, a question 
 occurs, which may be stated thus : If one member re- 
 quires the superintendence of two bishops, when the 
 church consists of three, how many will he require* 
 •when the church consists of a hundred? It is often 
 ;imcult for a learner to determine, whether a question 
 in the rule of three, should be solved by the direct 
 or the inverse rule : by which of these ways shall this 
 question be solved? On the other hand, if a very small 
 number of members be an objection to having bishops 
 at all, at what degree of the scale of increase may they 
 be introduced ? If the increase of a church be gene- 
 rally by units, why should it be destitute of the office 
 of bishops, till they can be introduced by pairs? We 
 presume, that these questions, trifling and captious as 
 
101 
 
 they may seem, mu.,t all receive a grave and satisfac- 
 tory answtr, otherwise it must be granted, that it is 
 not unlawful for a church to choose one bishop, nor for 
 one bishop to take the oversight of a church. 
 
 Secondly, Churches will more easily agree in the 
 choice of one bishop, than of many. The choice of 
 a bishop is the most critical duty in which a church 
 can engage. How often has it occasioned misunder- 
 standings in the most harmonious churches, and even 
 complete separation ! Surely then, all unnecessary dif- 
 ficulties should be avoided in the business, and perhaps 
 churches should consider it as a great mercy, when 
 such a business seldom occurs. But to insist on a plu- 
 rality of bishops, and au increase of that plurality as a 
 church may increase, must require a very frequent 
 choosing of bishops. With greater frequency the 
 d ty will also have greater difficulty. It will, in these 
 circumstances, be necessary to agree, not only on the 
 qualifications of each, but on the number proposed, 
 and on the willingness and fitness of the individuals to 
 act together ; and while we have, in scripture, a rule 
 for the first particular, we are left entirely in the dark, 
 as to the others. That one bishop should be chosen,- 
 is a definite proposal, but, if more than one, all is un- 
 certainty. How many more ? In what proportion 
 to the rest of the church ? Shall it be one in ten ? — in 
 twenty ? — in fifty ? — in a hundred ? No man can tell. 
 No church, therefore, can rationally hope to agree ; 
 unlesslndeed they consider the business not as a bound- 
 en duty, but as a voluntary measure of mere lawful 
 expediency, to be determined by the prevailing wish, 
 when others are happily disposed to gratify their bre- 
 thren. 
 
 I 3 
 
102 
 
 Thirdly, Churches ought to beware of choosing 
 more than one bishop, unless they be well able to sup- 
 port them. Besides personal, family, and public ex- 
 penses, Christians have many calls made upon them for 
 money, by the necessities of the poor, the measures 
 pursued for the propagation of the gospel, and the in- 
 stituted service of a church. They ought, therefore, 
 to take care, not to embarrass themselves, by a dispro- 
 portionate attention to one engagement, while they are 
 equally bound to attend to others. The matter of 
 expense is, indeed, made very easy, in general, by those 
 who plead for a band of bishops. Pay some, say they, 
 and let the rest work for themselves. You are not o- 
 bliged to support any of them wholly, unless they 
 need it. In many cases, it is their duty to take no- 
 thing at all. — Certainly it is the duty of all Christians 
 to be devoted, with all they are, and have, to the service 
 of God, whether they have any remuneration from men 
 or not. It is especially the duty of bishops to be dis- 
 interested, and to follow the example of an apostle, in 
 declining their right to honourable maintenance, when 
 they have reason to think it would interfere with the 
 success of the gospel. But to decline a right, is a 
 man's own voluntary deed. The duty of a society 
 can never depend on the voluntary determination of a 
 hw of its members. Those, over whom a man's right 
 extends, have no title to put him ioto such a situation, 
 that either he must decline his right, or be guilty of 
 oppression. A bishop should decline his right, when 
 a church has greater expense to bear than it is well 
 able; and this may happen, in the course of provi- 
 dence, without the fault of any. But a church would 
 be much to blame, if it should wilfully bring a burden- 
 
103 
 
 some expense on itself. Now, this is exactly what it 
 does, when it chooses more bishops than it is well able 
 to support. Whatever arrangements may be proposed 
 at first, for making- the expense moderate, there is no 
 ground to believe that they will be permanent. The 
 same reason, which dictates to one to give himself 
 wholly to his pastoral work, must apply also to the 
 rest, and especially to those of them (supposed in the 
 scheme to be the greatest number) who may be infe- 
 rior to their colleagues in talents or acquirements. 
 None of them, indeed, can tell before hand, how com- 
 pletely their time may be absorbed by the labours of 
 their ministry. When chosen, some of them may be 
 rich, but they may afterwards become poor, or their 
 families may increase, and thus they also may require 
 support. Evil may also arise from the dependence of 
 some, and the independence of others. This may be 
 particularly apprehended in pursuance of a scheme, 
 which must often be impracticable, without such a di- 
 versity of circumstances. On all these accounts, it 
 seems to be manifest, that whether a church shall ac- 
 tually support all their bishops or not; it has no right 
 to choose a number of men to that office, unless it be 
 well able to support them. The choice of one, in- 
 deed, is in any case vindicated by acknowledged du. 
 ty. When means are scanty, individuals may certain- 
 ly volunteer their services; and other churches should,, 
 if necessary, assist, as in any other hardship of pover- 
 ty. But for the scheme of a plurality, these claims 
 do not appear to exist. If a church were even able 
 to bear the expense for the present, prudence should 
 be consulted respecting futurity. To "choose a num- 
 ber of bishops, without any sufficient reason, when 
 
104 . 
 
 the members may not be able to support them, and 
 must thereby expose their labourers to distress, or be- 
 come chargeable to other churches, seems- to be an 
 impropriety of the very same kind, on the part of z 
 eh _rch, as when an individual heedlessly incurs an ex- 
 pense above his income. — Besides, pecuniary mat- 
 ters between a bishop and a church are of so delicate 
 a nature, that unless maintenance be cheerfully and 
 easily given, as a mark of honour, which is due to e- 
 very one in the same situation, a bishop must feel it 
 disagreeable to receive any thing at all. The conse- 
 quence accordingly is, that wherever churches are com- 
 pelled, by their system, to choose a plurality of bi- 
 shops, without stopping to consider how they are to 
 support them, the bishops, aware of the situation, ge- 
 nerally decline their right. Perhaps, indeed, the ex- 
 ercise of it is not always seriously proposed to them. 
 At any rate, the fact is, that they usually prefer sup- 
 porting themselves, by attending to other business. 
 This cannot but be a loss to the church, even if those 
 bishops have enjoyed every previous advantage of edu- 
 cation. How much more, when this is not the case ! 
 Churches in this situation, may think that they are am- 
 ply supplied with the means of edification, because they 
 have a plurality of bishops; but most likely, the time, 
 which can be spared for their service, by the whole plu- 
 rality, does not, when put together, amount to so much 
 a6 the whole devoted life of an individual, who might 
 receive adequate support, without burdening any. 
 And who does not know, tha the spare hours of mert 
 of business, were they even more in the aggregate than 
 we have now supposed, can hardly be occupied so ad- 
 vantageously, in pastoral duties, as the time of the 
 
105 
 
 man, who has no other object? By all means, let the 
 bishop work, if necessary : but let no scheme be adopt- 
 ed, which shall create a wilful necessity. 
 
 On the subject of the maintenance of bishops, we 
 shall, in passing, make two remarks. The first is, 
 that since scripture requires the bishop to be maintain- 
 ed, on that principle of common equity, " the labour- 
 " er is worthy of his hire ;" the wages of labour should 
 be allowed to find their level in the church, in the 
 very same way as in the world. To expect the hire 
 of which one is declared to be worthy, and to be an 
 hireling, are very different things. Speaking of the 
 provision made in the law, for the sake of securing a 
 liberal supply of temporal things to those who preach 
 the gospel, Paul says it was written, " that he that 
 * ploweth, should plow in hope; and that he that 
 «* thresheth in hope, should be partaker of his 
 « hope," 1 Cor. 9, 10. We conceive, then, that it 
 is not sinful conformity to the world, but dutiful con- 
 formity to the Bible, to recommend to- the Christian 
 man of speculation, to study the question of a mini- 
 ster's stipend, by the "help of such a book as Smith's 
 Wealth of Nations; and to the Christian tradesman to 
 decide on that question practically, as he does on the 
 prices, which he finds it necessary to demand from his 
 customers for the articles of his manufacture. 
 
 The second'remark which we shall make, is, that, 
 after examining all that is said on the subject in scrip- 
 ture, we have not found a single check given to Christ- 
 ian liberality. On the contrary, the uniform strain of 
 the word of God is, to encourage and commend it, see 
 1 Cor. ix. V — 14.. 1 Tim. v. 17, 18. Phil, iv. 15—19. 
 From this circumstance, we are led to conclude, that 
 
106 
 
 no scheme, which is calculated to excite jealousy antf 
 grudging; which calls on churches to lessen their ex- 
 ertions for the support of the bishop, or to increase 
 the number of bishops, without a proportionable in- 
 crease of the mearjs of supporting them; which propo- 
 ses to place bishops in such circumstances, that work- 
 ins: shall not be the occasional choice of the disinte- 
 rs 
 
 rested labourer, but the constant and necessary con- 
 dition of his life ; whatever pretexts be urged to render 
 it plausible, we conclude, that no such scheme has re- 
 ceived any countenance from the Spirit cf God. We 
 add, that when those, who are not bishops themselves, 
 speculate on the support of bishops, they will surely 
 agree with us, m the propriety of remembering the 
 much-admired words of our Saviour, " All things 
 ** whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do 
 •i y P even so t them; for this is the law aud the pro- 
 " phets," Matth. vii. 12. 
 
 Fourthly, Churches cannot so easily deal with a 
 bishop who falls into sin, when he is one of many, as 
 when he holds his office alone. The fall of a bishop 
 into sin, must, in all circumstances, be very distressing 
 to a church. But there never was an assertion more 
 completely contradicted by facts, than that which 
 maintains, that a single bishop is less within reach of 
 the discipline of a church, than one who has a number 
 cf colleagues. In this latter ease, the tendency of 
 things has ever been, that the colleagues have been in- 
 clined to screen one another, and the discipline has been 
 settled among themselves. Some may think that we 
 wish to exalt the power of bishops. In fact, however, 
 we are pleading for the most effectual check on it. 
 It is truly wonderful how invariably extremes, meetx 
 
107 
 
 .A scheme for appointing a number of bishops in eve- 
 ry church, is recommended, under the notion that they 
 will the more faithfully exercise discipline over one 
 another, or at least enable the. church to do so, when 
 it is notorious, that the most glaring errors and immo- 
 ralities among office-bearers, such as those which dis- 
 graced the church of Rome, and turned it from an a- 
 postolic into an antichristian assembly, were fostered 
 by an unnecessary increase of the number of those 
 office-bearers. An unbounded zeal prevailed for a 
 plurality of elders, till the elders became a consistory; 
 •the consistory became a conclave; and the conclave 
 became an inquisition — for every body — except them- 
 selves. 
 
 Fifthly, If due pains are taken to fit men for the mi- 
 nistry, churches will have less difficulty in obtaining 
 a succession of labourers, where there is usually* 
 one bishop, than where there are many. Where 
 there are many, the influence of the official band 
 may amount to patronage, if they be united: may 
 cause dissolution, if they be at variance. Bodies of 
 this kind have always been apt to interfere unduly in 
 elections. Whereas, where there is usually but one 
 bishop, the matter may be either deliberately provided 
 for, by the choice of a helper and successor; or set- 
 tled, in case of a vacancy, as when the first bishop was 
 chosen. Here too, there will be no difficulty about 
 the question, who shall preside ? which might occa- 
 sion much dissension among a number of perhaps e- 
 qual standing, whom it might be impossible to satisfy 
 .by the rule of seniority, of rotation, or of periodical 
 election. 
 
 Sixthly, When churches have usually but one bishop 
 
108 
 
 each, they can all be supplied more easily with able 
 workmen, and more labourers can be sent forth as mis- 
 sionaries through the world. Why tempt Christians 
 to choose any body, rather than be without a plurality ? 
 Or why monopolise a plurality, and coop them up in 
 one insulated church, when they might serve as many 
 churches as there are individuals in the plurality; or 
 might all but one, be sent through districts and king- 
 doms, which are completely destitute, and in some of 
 which Christ has not yet been named. Let labourers 
 accumulate where they have no call to disperse — but 
 is this the case with us ? 
 
 Seventhly, The duty of the bishop, when he stands 
 alone, is more simple and easy, than when he has to 
 act with colleagues. In the former case, the bishop 
 has to deal with the people : in the latter, he has to 
 deal with bishops and the people. Coalition is diffi- 
 cult in any kind of executive government. Would 
 it help or hamper the general of an army, to receive 
 half a dozen associates in the chief command ? How 
 seldom can even two men be found so perfectly conge- 
 nial, as to be able to act together with cordiality and 
 confidence, in so delicate a connection as thafe of col- 
 legiate bishops ! Congeniality would not be a univer- 
 sal case, although that connection were, like marriage, 
 to be formed by the mutual choice of the colleagues 
 themselves. How rare, then, must it be, when the 
 connection so much depends on the choice of others ! 
 If these remarks be just, respecting a single pair, much 
 more surely respecting an unlimited plurality. Nor 
 is it merely among themselves, that cordiality is dif- 
 ficult. There is still greater difficulty in preserving 
 it among the people. Even when the bishops may 
 
109 
 
 be true yoke-fellows, the people are in great danger 
 of making unpleasant comparisons, and of getting in- 
 to parties. This is no attempt to sound a false alarm. 
 Never were two fellow. labourers of God more united, 
 than those minister by whom the disciples at Corinth be- 
 lieved; (and, for aught we know, the teachers of whom 
 Paul figuratively spake under their names, were suffi- 
 ciently cordial with each other;) yet, among them, one 
 said, " I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos." 
 The same wisdom and goodness, then, which sent forth 
 disciples two and two, when they travelled through 
 the world to propagate the gospel, when the company 
 of a friend must have been such a comfort, and thev 
 were not statedly connected with any other society, 
 appear in placing them singly as overseers in particu- 
 lar churches. It may, in general, be said with perfect 
 safety, Tell us the number of colleagues in any 
 church, and we shall tell you the number of parties, 
 more or less discernible, in the same church. 
 
 Except as to the rotation of public duties, how 
 seldom can a bishop, who has got a colleague, lay his 
 hand upon his heart, and say, this man relieves me 
 of the half of my burden. The private duties of over- 
 sight are so necessarily the work of one, chat where a 
 plurality of bishops exists, they generally divide the 
 people into separate portions, to get rid of the plura- 
 lity, that each may attend to his own division. When 
 this is not done, much confusion and inconvenience are 
 likely to ensue. 
 
 Increasing the number of labourers, seems {o be 
 thought both augmenting the quantity, and improv- 
 ing the quality of the labour. M^n do not think 
 thus in ordinary cases. Is a plurality of teachers es- 
 
 K , 
 
11Q 
 
 eential to the improvement of a school? Would it 
 aid a student in any science, to attend lectures on it 
 by half a dozen professors, during the same term ? 
 The one bishop will be likely to follow some plan in 
 preaching, and the hearer will profit by a method with 
 which he gets familiar ; but he will be rather disturb- 
 ed than edified by the diversity of the many. It is 
 generally allowed by judicious Christians, that a stated 
 ministry is preferable to a constant succession of preach- 
 ers. We presume that the stated ministry of one, is, 
 jon the same principle, preferable to that of a number. 
 In private labours, each, in a multitude of bishops, 
 may be thought to have more leisure for his duty, in 
 proportion to the number of his colleagues, and may 
 therefore be expected to do it with greater care and 
 punctuality ; but unless they get rid of the plut?lity 
 as mentioned above, the probability is, that unavoid- 
 able confusion will more than counterbalance this sup- 
 posed advantage. One thinks a duty will be done 
 bv his brother, while his brother thinks it will be done 
 by him ; and this leaving of duty to one another, 
 with all the bad consequences of unseasonableness, ir- 
 regularity, and total neglect, are likely to increase, in 
 proportion to the increase of their number. It will 
 perhaps be said, these evils are indeed likely to arise 
 in a worldly society, but the question here respects 
 those who are born again: it respects churches, scrip- 
 tural churches. — In those who are born again, there 
 is, while in this world, an old, as well as a new man. 
 What are churches? what are scriptural churches? 
 but assemblies of sinful creatures, who have been taught 
 to pray, «« Lead us not into temptation. " While we 
 
Ill 
 
 use this prayer, there can be no impropriety in f< ab- 
 " staining from all appearance of evil." 
 
 These remarks are strengthened a thousand fold, 
 by the proposal of collecting a plurality of bishops, 
 of various abilities, of different degrees of information, 
 and of different habits of life. It seems equally agree- 
 able to scripture and to common sense, that those, 
 who are to act together on the same footing in any 
 employment, should be, in all respects, as similar as pos- 
 sible. But here it is absolutely part of the plan, that 
 the learned, and the unlearned; the eloquent, and the 
 slow of speech ; some receiving support, some not ; eve- 
 ry conceivable diversity of temper, character, and cir- 
 cumstance, shall be mingled. What Swift somewhere 
 says, no doubt in ridicule, is in this plan held forth as a 
 rational expectation; " They will all meet and jumble 
 u together into a perfect harmony." We shall as 
 soon believe the Epicurean theory of the formation 
 of the world. If, instead of seeking unanimity, the 
 object were to ensure endless embarrassment and vex- 
 atious opposition, as the greatest blessings which ei- 
 ther bishops or people should desire, could a more ap- 
 propriate principle be contrived for the purpose ? 
 
 The fellowship of Christians as a church, has occa- 
 sioned many inquiries respecting church-government. 
 But if there must be a fellowship of bishops within a 
 church, it is high time for us to enter on a new field 
 of inquiry, at least as necessary as the other, namely, 
 bishop-government. The men must not be left in a 
 state of equilibrium; neither must we turn them out 
 to labour at random. Where there is plurality, were 
 it but of husband and wife, there must be subordina- 
 tion. Nov/, in scripture, the bishop has many instruc- 
 
 K 2 
 
112 
 
 tions for his individual conduct towards the people, 
 but where are the regulations for the college of bi- 
 shops? 
 
 It is said, that a bishop alone, may more easily fall 
 into a state of backsliding, than where there is a plu- 
 rality. The scripture preservative of bishops from 
 backsliding seems to be the fellowship common to all 
 the members of a church. No intimation is given, 
 that a bishop must have a fellowship of bishops. \ 
 bishop is not alone when he is in the midst of the 
 brethren ; and the work he is called to, not the cir- 
 cumstance of having, or not having, companions in 
 it, will, through the blessing of God, lead him to take 
 heed to himself, and to the doctrine, that he may both 
 save himself, and them that hear him. — Again, it is 
 "said, that a bishop alone is in great danger of either 
 being lifted up with pride, or sinking under heavy trials, 
 and important duties, which he is unable to overtake. 
 The scripture preventive of pride in bishops is, not 
 grouping them together, but directing that the bishop 
 shall not be " a new convert." As to heavy trials, 
 they may arise from associates, as well as from the cir- 
 cumstan es of a situation which a man occupies alone; 
 but God is faithful, and will not, in any situation, suf- 
 fer us to be tried above that we are able. As to the 
 duties of a bishop, we intend to speak more fully of 
 some of them afterwards. They requiie diligence; 
 and in many things we all offend, and come short of 
 the glory of God; but " let us work while it is day." 
 " Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he com- 
 " eth, shall find doing his will." The race set before us 
 does not contain duties, which it is impossible for us to 
 overtake. We are not at liberty to divide with anoth- 
 
113 
 
 er the task which infinite wisdom hath assigned to our- 
 selves; far less to subdivide it, at will, gain and again, 
 Such unwarranted attempts may increase on. urden, 
 but cannot lessen it. — It is surprising to find, that 
 Eccles. iv. 9, 10. is considered as levelled against the 
 condition of a solitary bishop. Let the assage 
 read from the beginning of the 7th, to the end of the 
 12th verse, and, we believe, the reader will see, that 
 it is levelled against the condition of a wotddly-mind- 
 ed solitary bachelor. — Bishops, it is said, should be 
 provided of all the diversity of conditions which can 
 be found in a church. The rich must be taught by 
 the rich; the poor by the poor; the learned by the 
 learned; the illiterate by the illiterate; masters by 
 masters; servants by servants; and, by the same rule, 
 we should suppose, children by children. If these 
 things be right, how deficient are the directions given 
 by Paul to Timothy and Titus, on the subject of bi- 
 shops! 
 
 It may be thought, perhaps, to be an unsocial tem- 
 per, which leads us so strenuously to resist the proposal, 
 of having in all the churches fellow-labourers. But 
 the comfort of voluntary friendship is one thing: the 
 delicacy of systematic official connection is another. 
 Sympathy, advice, encouragement, and admonition, 
 may be obtained by the bishop among his people, who 
 are directed in scripture to say to him, " Take heed 
 " te thy ministry, which thou hast received of the 
 " Lord, that thou fulfil it." Frequent opportunities 
 may also be had of consulting neighbouring brethren 
 in the same office. No scripture forbids this, and 
 when men are not themselves immediately concerned, 
 they are generally in the most favourable situation for 
 
 K 3 
 
1H 
 
 aiding others by their judgment.— A church has no 
 reason to be afraid of ccmmittin any charge, however 
 important, into the hands of one man, when the word 
 of God gives a warrant to do so: neither should any 
 man be afraid to bear the weight of it, when God ap- 
 proves his " desiring the good work." Of the duties 
 of a bishop, as well as of an apostle, it may indeed be 
 said, " Who is sufficient for these things?" But if a 
 thousand were joined in attempting them, instead of 
 one, they would all find it as necessary as ever to con- 
 fess their insufficiency. 
 
 Eighthly, When a church becomes too large for one 
 bishop, it may often be more advisable to form a new 
 church with the new bishop, than to remain together 
 with the bishops as a plurality. An amicable sepa- 
 ration on such an occasion as this, seems a most na- 
 tural step in the progress of the gospel, and indeed the 
 best way to regulate the multiplication of churches in 
 the same neighbourhood. The effect of it generally 
 is, an increase both of hearers, and of church members. 
 The bishops are more useful, and the churches 
 less unwieldy apart than together; and there is no 
 reason why a friendly intercourse may not be main- 
 tained. It is not easy to say, indeed, how large a 
 church may be both gathered and superintended by 
 one bishop. When a church, however, becomes so nu- 
 merous, as to wish for separation, merely to avoid the 
 ir conveniences cf number, or to open for some able 
 workman a new sphere of usefulness, without weaken- 
 ing the hands of him who occupies the old one; it is 
 a circumstance which calls for joy and gratitude, 
 which we know by experience to be really beneficial, 
 and which we should be happy to meet with again and 
 
115 
 
 again. Shall we not welcome the accomplishment of 
 such predictions as these? Is. xlix. 18 — 20. " Lift up 
 "thine eyes round about, and behold: all these ga-v 
 " ther themselves together, and come to thee. As I 
 " live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee 
 " with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them 
 " on thee as a bride doth. For thy waste and thy de- 
 " solate places, and the land of thy destruction,, shall 
 *< even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, 
 " and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 
 ** The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast 
 ** lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The 
 M place is too strait for me: give place to me that I 
 *' may dwell." — If any be disposed to ridicule the 
 reasons which we have given, for the formation of 
 new churches in the same neighbourhood, we beg them 
 to compare those reasons with the scheme, which sup- 
 poses it necessary, that in whatever is considered as 
 one place, be it large or small, there should be but one 
 church. This is the only other principle of regulat- 
 ing the distinction of churches, with which we are 
 acquainted, and grievous, indeed, are the difficulties 
 which attend it. For instance, in a circuit of ten 
 miles, there maybe ten churches, if there be as many 
 scattered towns or villages within its boundary. But 
 if that circuit shall happen to be covered by half a 
 million of people, as in London, there must be but one 
 church, because they dwell in what is called one 
 place. 
 
 Ninthly, After all the strong language which has 
 been used, about the impropriety and even impossibili- 
 ty of one man discharging the duties of a bishop to a 
 whole church, some of those who use it most loudly, 
 
116 
 
 are in the habit of doing what they condemn. Toy 
 years, have they been acting alone as bishops in church- 
 es. From this fact, it seems- to be a fair inference, 
 that the impossibility which they speak of, must be 
 entirely of a theoretical nature, An expedient, indeed, 
 is commonly provided for saving the theory. The man 
 is willing to be the bishop in reality, but not- in name. 
 Wherever he goes,indeed,he proposes doing everything 
 which the bishop should do, although his labours may 
 be only the supply of the passing day. This is thought 
 to be scriptural; to be useful for enabling the church 
 to get the better of prejudice, and for leading them 
 on to the next step of improvement, which consists 
 in all acting as bishops together, when they can find op- 
 portunity. But if a church shall propose to appoint 
 this man to the office which he is discharging; to re- 
 commend him to the grace of God for the work which 
 he is performing; to call him by the name which scrip- 
 ture uses to denominate his character and actual situ- 
 ation; presently his system wounds his conscience. 
 Mountains of misinterpreted scripture rise up before 
 him. The thing is impossible. How can he under- 
 take so weighty a charge alone? You may make him 
 the chief speaker, if you please; you may distinguish 
 him from the rest by temporal support; but unless 
 you have a plurality, you cannot have him. 
 
 Tenthly, The hostility of 9ome to the appointment 
 of one bishop in a church, seems to be entirely direct- 
 ed against the bishop's office. They have no objec- 
 tion, on general principles, to the exercise of superior 
 power b\ an individual, in a church of Christ. A per- 
 son, without office, may have an effective, though 
 
117 
 
 nameless influence, not only in one, but in fifty church- 
 es; yet all is well. 
 
 Some may think, that many of the preceding re- 
 marks, must militate against a plurality of deacons, as 
 well as of bishops. But the cases are different. A 
 plurality of deacons is expressly supposed, in the lan- 
 guage of scripture, to be proper. This circumstance 
 alone, precludes all reasoning on the subject. We may 
 notice, however, that a plurality of deacons seems ad- 
 visable, on the same principle as that on which the apos- 
 tle directed a plurality cf persons to be sent with the 
 collections of the Gentile churches for the saints at 
 Jerusalem. We refer to 1 Cor. xvi. 1 — 4<. and 2 Cor. 
 viii. 16 — 24. which we beg may be read with atten- 
 tion. Pecuniary trusts are matters of delicacy. The 
 duties of deacons are commonly private and confiden- 
 tial. Their disbursements cannot, with propriety, be 
 published to the church. Sometimes, in case of mur. 
 murings, they ought perhaps to act as a jury, which 
 was probably done by the seven at Jerusalem. There 
 seems a propriety, then, in always having more than 
 one deacon: n Avoiding this, that no man should 
 " blame us in this abundance which is administered by 
 " us: providing for honest things, not only in the sight 
 " of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." 
 
 Upon the whole, one church, one bishop, as it was 
 the maxim of early ecclesiastical writers, so does it ap- 
 pear to have been the general rule of scripture. Two 
 bishops may, indeed, be sometimes admitted, when 
 the appointment of them is considered merely as a law- 
 ful voluntary measure of mutual agreement and accom- 
 modation in a particular church; but no part 'of the 
 word of God shows it to be necessary, and therefore 
 
118 
 
 we ought to assert our liberty from any interposition 
 of divine authority in the case. An increase of the 
 number, till we get a church of bishops within the 
 church, is unscriptural, irrational, and fraught witb 
 mischief. 
 
119 
 
 OP THE QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICE-BEARERS 
 IN A CHURCH. 
 
 If we may judge of the importance of a sub- 
 ject by the degree of notice taken of it in the holy 
 scriptures, we shall readily conclude, that question* 
 which relate to the number of office-bearers in a 
 church, are of inferior consequence to those, which re- 
 late to their qualifications. 
 
 The first remark, which we think it necessary to 
 make at present, on the qualifications of office-bearers, 
 is, that when we read the directions given by Paul to 
 Timothy and Titus, respecting the choice of the bi- 
 shop and deacons, we have reason to believe, that the 
 possession of gifts is, in each case, supposed. These 
 had been previously bestowed, in great abundance, on 
 the primitive churches; and as those who possessed 
 them, appear to have been the only persons who con- 
 ducted the public worship, it was not likely that the 
 apostles or evangelists would think of appointing o- 
 thers to offices in the church. If we may look upon 
 the seven, chosen Acts vith. as an example of primi- 
 tive deacons, it is certain, that gifts were required in 
 them. « Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among 
 " you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy 
 " Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this 
 <l business," verse 3. see also verse 8. If gifts were 
 necessary to deacons, much more surely, to bishops. 
 The silence, therefore, of Paul to Timothy and Titus, 
 respecting gifts, when mentioning the qualifications 
 of those who were fit to be made office-bearers in the 
 
120 
 
 churches at Ephesus and in Crete, is no proof that they 
 were not considered necessary. Now that gifts have 
 ceased, we must include suitable acquirements among 
 the qualifications which are requisite for office-bearers 
 in a church. If asked, whether we mean to apply this 
 remark to deacons, as well as bishops, we scruple not 
 to reply, that a certain degree of improvement is neces- 
 sary for both ; although the education which may be 
 suited to the one, is by no means so great, or so parti- 
 cular, as that which is suited tc the other. 
 
 Our next remark, on this subject, is, that the qua- 
 lifications of office-bearers ought not to be separated 
 from one another. Because men cannot be found, 
 who excel equally in them all, it seems to be imagin- 
 ed, that a choice may be made of persons who ex- 
 cel in a few of the most remarkable, although compa- 
 ratively deficient as to the rest. It is not indeed sup- 
 posed, that such a man could act in the office alone. 
 His fitness depends on other people with whom he is 
 to be matched. It seems to be thought, not only 
 that what one wants may be found in another, but that 
 defects and excellencies of different men, may be 
 made to tally and to unite, like the corresponding parts 
 of a dove-tail joint. By this means, it is hoped, that, 
 though the individuals be imperfect, the aggregate bo- 
 dy will be so nicely proportioned, and so firmly fixed 
 together, as to form, upon the whole, something very 
 sir . rior. So delighted are some with this idea, as to 
 affirm, that no office in the church was ever intended 
 to be held by an individual. If you want a good bi- 
 sK; you mu.-t obtain him thus. Choose one man 
 because he is a good preacher, though he may have 
 little fitness for ruling j and choose as an help meet 
 
121 
 
 For him another man, or half a dozen men, who seem 
 qualified for ruling, although endowed with little ut- 
 terance. The supposed necessity of this plausible 
 scheme, is strongly urged as an auxiliary argument, for 
 a plurality of bishops in every church. — We confess, 
 however, that the piecing out of a bishop, appears to 
 us to be a most absurd idea. It obviously defeats 
 the purpose which it is intended to serve. It gives, in- 
 deed, a plurality of men, but not a plurality of bishops, 
 for, by the very argument, it requires them all to 
 make one bishop. — Besides, the scheme is evidently 
 inconsistent with the doctrine of scripture. Paul 
 states all the qualifications as requisite in each indivi- 
 dual who may be appointed a bishop; and although 
 no man can be expected to excel in them all equally, 
 yet unless a man excel in them all to such a degree, 
 as to render him, on account of each of them, a pro- 
 per object of choice, he ought not to be chosen. 
 He must appear to be a fit man, when viewed by him- 
 self, and not merely when taken in connexion with 
 colleagues. . A good preacher but bad ruler, and a 
 good ruler but bad preacher, seem equally disqualified 
 for a bishop. Considering the nature of the office, 
 indeed, it seems doubtful, whether a man can be real- 
 ly good in the one respect, and bad in the other, on 
 either side. Ruling requires explaining and applying 
 the scriptures to every case which occurs; and a de- 
 gree of readiness and utterance, even greater than that 
 which is requisite for preaching, must often be neces- 
 sary to the ruler, that he may convince the church of 
 its duty, and bring all the members to agree concern- 
 ing it. On the other hand, the preacher must under- 
 stand the meaning and application of the laws which 
 
 L 
 
122 
 
 • 
 
 Christ hath given for the government of his church, 
 otherwise his preaching, to say the least, must be ex* 
 tremely defective. The choice, then, of office-bearers, 
 on this principle, must be wrong as to each individ- 
 ual. If so, what can be more monstrous, than suppose 
 ing that it will come to be right, by repeating it again 
 and again, and uniting a plurality of errors into one 
 mass ? — In speaking of the several qualifications of a 
 bishop, we do not stop to prove that we may distin- 
 guish between qualifications of character, and quali- 
 fications of circumstances, such as being married, and 
 having children, because we suppose this is not dis- 
 puted. 
 
 A third remark on this subject is, that the quali- 
 fications of office-bearers do not vary with mere situ- 
 ation. It seems often to be imagined, that a mjfl 
 who could not be a bishop in a large church, or in 
 a populous and refined neighbourhood, may answer 
 very well for the office, among a few, in a letired part 
 of the country. This opinion is now carried so far, 
 that every society of Christians is advised to choose 
 the best they can find among themselves, in the per- 
 suasion that some of themselves must be the fittest 
 bishops for them. No doubt, however deficient they 
 may all be, some will be found in every society supe- 
 rior to the rest; so that, if the rule of qualification 
 were the mere esteem of the members, every society 
 might be supplied from among themselves. But the 
 qualifications of a man who «' desires the good work " 
 of a bishop, must be judged of, not by comparing him 
 with the rest of his brethren, nor with the people 
 among whom he lives, but with the rule of scripture. 
 There we certainly learn, that some regard ought to 
 l?e had to peculiarities of situation; Paul reminds Ti* 
 
123 
 
 ♦us, that the bishop must " be able by sound doctrine, 
 " both to exhort and to confute the gainsayers," 
 with a particular view, it should seem, to the vain talk- 
 ers of the circumcision, and the unprincipled sensual 
 character of the Cretians. The qualifications of the 
 bishop, however, are evidently supposed to be always 
 the same. A man, therefore, who is not fit for a bi- 
 shop every where, is fit no where; and a man who is 
 fit any where, is fit every where. Circumstances, in- 
 deed, occasion differences of a subordinate nature, be* 
 tween one situation and another; but it is every where 
 the same gospel, and the same kingdom ; the same 
 vineyard, and the same labour. 
 
 When gifts were bestowed upon every church, men 
 might be found in each, who were qualified for the of- 
 fice of a bishop. This at least appears to have been 
 the case at Ephesus, and in the island of Crete. But 
 there seems to be nothing in this fact, which forbids, 
 while probability leads us to think, that some of the 
 smaller churches might even then have been supplied 
 with bishops from churches which were larger and 
 more richly endowed both with gifts and with grace. 
 Much less need we scruple about supplying^ churches 
 in this manner now, when gifts have ceased, and men 
 must improve in knowledge and utterance, by the use 
 of ordinary means. It will not be afiirmed that means 
 of improvement are equally within the reach of the 
 brethren in every church. Why then should it be 
 insisted on, that brethren in every church will be found 
 sufficiently improved, for performing the work of a bi- 
 shop ? When primitive churches were in different cir- 
 cumstances, as to temporal things, the brethren in one 
 place readily agreed to supply the brethren in another, 
 
 L2 
 
:t is it merely because we have scripture example 
 
 for it, that we would help our poor brethren at a dis- 
 tance? Would not the general principle of love be suf- 
 ficient to constrain us, without any search for prece- 
 dents? In like manner, though there be no precedent 
 in the case, one way or other, the general principle of 
 love ought to constrain one church to supply suitable 
 persons for the office of a bishop, when they have them 
 to spare, and when they are called for by the pover- 
 ty of other churches. That churches recently form- 
 ed, few in number, and in unfavourable situations, are 
 commonly destitute of any, who are fit for the pastoral 
 office, is a fact too evident, we presume, to be denied. 
 Where such a fact exists, the path of duty requires no 
 special illustration. Christians do not hesitate to re- 
 move from one place to another, and of course, from 
 one church to another, when called by worldly busi- 
 ness. Are such removals then only unlawful, when 
 the object is the advancement of the Redeemer's king- 
 dom? We are shocked to hear all measures of this 
 kind ascribed to the desire of worldly reputation, and 
 all who pursue them, from a wish to enjoy the divine 
 institution of a bishop, charged with making the chief 
 part of religion to consist in having a minister. We have 
 not a doubt, that the chief part of their religion may 
 be found, after all, to consist in having a Saviour. 
 Harsh language is not argument. How little impres- 
 sion would the insinuation make, were it turned the 
 other way, and those, who had used it, told, that the 
 chief part of their re]igion consisted in not having a 
 minister. The unqualified assertion is^unjustinable on 
 either side. " Why dost thou judge thy brother? cr 
 " why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we 
 
125 
 
 " shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ," 
 Rom. xiv. 10. 
 
 A fourth remark on this subject is, that since qua- 
 lifications are necessary for the offices in the church, 
 they are necessary for performing those duties, in which 
 the work of the offices consists. It must be granted, 
 we apprehend, that the offices are appointed for the 
 sake of the duties which belong to them, and cannot 
 be separated from those duties. What is a bishop, 
 but a man who is to do the duties of a bishop? Hence 
 Paul says, 1 Tim. hi. 1. " If any man desire the of- 
 " ficb of a bishop, he desireth a good work." If 
 then any male members of a church may do any of 
 the duties of a bishop, or all of them put together, 
 is not this the same thing, as saying, that any Christian 
 man may be a bishop? The want of the name, or of the 
 formal appointment is surely of little moment, when a 
 man discharges the duties of the office in fact. Is it 
 for the appointment and name, or for the duties, that 
 the qualifications are required ? Surely for the latter. 
 Now, the very requiring of qualifications marks a dis- 
 tinction between some who may, and some who may not, 
 discharge the duties of a bishop ; and warrants us to say, 
 that those only, who may be chosen to the office, ought 
 to do the work of a bishop. Where such are found, the 
 orderly way certainly is* to have them previously ap- 
 pointed, and commended to the grace of God by fast- 
 ing and prayer, for the work which they are to fulfil. 
 Where they are not found, and cannot be obtained 
 elsewhere, it seems better to feel the want, and 
 seek to God for a supply, than to substitute in its 
 place, the form of the work of a bishop, which is all 
 that can be said of the duties of that office, as perform- 
 
 L 3 
 
126 
 
 eel by persons who have not the required qualifica- 
 tions. 
 
 The principle, that churches may, and ought to do 
 every thing, by its private members, which Christ ap- 
 pointed bishops to do, seems to render churches en- 
 tirely independent of the pastoral office. But this 
 supposes that office to be superfluous. If it be an 
 advantage, it is at least no longer necessary. If it be 
 said, the authority of Christ makes it necessary, whe- 
 ther a church can do without it or not; the answer 
 is, Christ never does any thing which his people can 
 do without. He never sent prophets to declare what 
 would have been known by the church without them: 
 neither did he ever desire bishops to be appointed to 
 feed a flock, which possessed the right and the power 
 to feed themselves. Prophets had, indeed, one kind 
 of office: bishops have another. But both are equal- 
 ly the institution of Christ, and equally requisite in 
 their several places. 
 
 The principle, which we oppose, will, if followed 
 to all its consequences, set aside not only the institu- 
 tion of a bishop, but also the institution of a church. 
 If a church may do without office-bearers, what those 
 office-bearers were appointed by Christ to do; why 
 may not' Christians do, without church fellowship, 
 what that fellowship was appointed by Christ to do ? 
 •The only way of evading the force of this argument 
 is, to make the existence of a church as inseparable 
 from a company of Christians, as a man is from his 
 own shadow. This is accordingly done. Any two 
 Christians, it is said, are a church. The formation 
 of, churches is an erroneous expression. Meet with 
 
127 
 
 your friend, and the shadow appears: Leave him and 
 it is gone. 'Tishcrei — 'Tis there! — 'Tisgone! 
 
 To many, the remarks which we have made, on the 
 qualifications of office-bearers in a church, will seem 
 so obviously true, that they will wonder how it should 
 have been thought necessary to make them. There 
 is a call, however, even for such remarks as these. 
 Some among us are eagerly contending, that eve- 
 ry male member of a church may lawfully perform 
 every duty, which belongs to the oftjce of a bishop. 
 When speaking of eiders, one might really imagine, 
 they were seriously disposed to maintain, that none but 
 those who have age, or the qualities of age, might pre- 
 sume to do any of the things for which elders are to be 
 ordained. But the mistake is soon corrected, for, from 
 what they assert, in the most positive manner, it is suf- 
 ficiently manifest, that there is not man nor boy in any 
 church, who, according to their opinion, may not do 
 every duty of every office. The principle is carried in- 
 to practice. Young men are in the habit of acting, 
 in every respect as bishops, in churches. They often 
 act thus in churches to which they have been very lit- 
 tle known, and in which they are not likely- to con- 
 tinue. Wherever they go, acting as bishops is, with 
 them, matter of course. When they meet with a 
 church which shows any disinclination to such a plan, 
 they do not fail to admonish them for their error. Nor 
 is this practice at all confined to stated preachers of 
 the gospel. When such happen to be called away, 
 they desire the brethren to serve themselves. The 
 point is thought, indeed, to be so completely settled, 
 that bishops " arrogating to themselves " (as it is ex- 
 pressed) "the exclusive right of dispensing ordinances," 
 
128 
 
 lias been classed with " the pomp and ceremony,* 
 the " splendid edifices," the " ecclesiastical digni- 
 ties/' the " robes of the clergy," their pretensions 
 as " successors to the apostles ;" in short with all the 
 grossest corruptions of antichristian apostacy. Facts 
 and doctrines like these are calculated to alarm the 
 minds of many, who were enjoying, as they thought, 
 the benefits of Christian fellowship in a scriptural man- 
 ner; but who may now be ready to quarrel with their 
 bishops, or with one another, because there is not a 
 ready and universal submission to the demand, that 
 people should give and take among themselves, with- 
 out regard to office or qualification, whatever or- 
 dinances a church should observe. Bishops, on the 
 other hand, cannot but be greatly distressed by the 
 apprehension, that while they dispense ordinances, 
 in the belief that it is the proper business of that of- 
 fice, in discharging the duties of which they would 
 very gladly spend and be spent; some of the most 
 promising and dearly beloved seals of their ministry, 
 may be learning to look on their ministrations with 
 a jealous, if not a contemptuous eye, and to doubt whe- 
 ther they are indeed complying with institutions of 
 Christ, or acknowledging claims of a petty Pope. 
 
 Before taking leave of the subject of the qualifica- 
 tions of office-bearers in a church, it becomes us to 
 confess, that wherever they are found in any measure 
 to exist, they call for gratitude to God who giveth 
 them, and lay the person on whom they are bestowed, 
 under a strong obligation faithfully to improve them, 
 Before God we are all as nothing, and are counted to 
 him less than r.othing and vanity. It is by grace that 
 we are saved from our sins; and it is a wonderful proof 
 
129 
 
 of divine condescension, that any of us should, in the 
 luwest station, be employed as instruments in his ser- 
 vice. Individual endowments are intended for the 
 common benefit. Let Christians beware, then, of 
 pride on the one hand, of envy on the other. What 
 Paul said to the gifted brethren at Rome may well 
 be accommodated to the subject before us. " I say 
 u , through the grace given unto me, to every man 
 " that is among you, not to think of himself more 
 «' highly than he ought to think; but to think sober- 
 " ly, according as God hath dealt to every man the 
 " measure of faith. For as we have many members 
 " in one bodv, and all members have not the same 
 •< office: so we being many are one body in Christ, 
 u and every one members one of another," Rom fcii* 
 3, 4-. 
 
130 
 
 GF THE DUTIES OF OFFICE-BEARERS IN A 
 CHURCH. 
 
 Besides fitting saints for the work of the 
 ministry, already taken notice of, the duties of the 
 bishop may be summed up under the following heads; 
 Preaching, teaching, exhortation/ and reproof; con- 
 ducting the public worship in praise and prayer; dis- 
 pensing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's sup- 
 per; administering discipline; conversing with persons 
 in private, who desire admission into the church, or 
 who want his instruction and advice in any private 
 business; visiting the sick, and the houses of mourn- 
 ing. 
 
 Our remarks, in this section, shall respect chiefly, the 
 dispensing of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's 
 supper, and the private duties of the bishop. 
 
 A question has been moved whether the dispensa- 
 tion of ordinances be at alt peculiar to the bishop's of- 
 fice. The dispensing of baptism seems to belong to 
 the office of the bishop, whenever that ordinance is 
 called for in the meeting of a church. Whether it 
 ought, in all other cases, to be confined to bishops, we 
 do not stop to inquire. The dispensing of the 
 Lord's supper, seems also to belong to the office of the 
 bishop, and as this ordinance seems always to suppose 
 the meeting of a church, we presume, it falls more ex- 
 clusively than the other, within his province. 
 
 But it has been proposed to render the observance of 
 ordinances by a church, entirely independent of the 
 bishop's office. Churches may observe, it is said, nay ? 
 
131 
 
 they ought to observe all social ordinances, and parti- 
 cularly the Lord's supper, whether they have a bishop 
 or not, whether a bishop be present or not. Any of the 
 members may dispense it. The very expression, dis- 
 pensing the Lord's supper, is declared to be unscrip- 
 tural and unintelligible ; and we are desired to consider, 
 that the brethren are said to eat the Lord's supper, 
 but that no -notice is taken of any body giving it to 
 them. 
 
 The objection to the expression dispensing the Lord's 
 •upper, that the brethren are merely said to come to- 
 gether to eat it, can have little weight, when it is con- 
 sidered, that the phraseology referred to, occurs in short 
 general accounts of the observance of the ordinance. 
 " The society had a feast," is an expression sufficiently 
 explicit, in a general account^ of the matter. But if a 
 •imilar society is to have such another feast, it remains 
 for them to inquire, not only what it consisted of, but 
 who presided, and did the honours of the table. It is 
 sometimes said, in scripture, that persons were baptised 
 in the name of the Lord Jesus, Acts viii. 16. and xix. 
 5. Rom. vi. 3. Gal. iii. 27- Is this any proof, that 
 those persons were not baptised also in the name of the 
 Father and the Holy Spirit ? or that it is of no conse- 
 quence, in the administration of baptism, whether more 
 than one of those adorable names be named? In like 
 manner, when it is said, " the brethren came together 
 « to break bread," or « to eat the Lord's supper," 
 the concise general language used, is no proof, that 
 there was not a person appointed among them, whose 
 office it was, among other things, to dispense that or- 
 dinance. 
 
 The attempt to explode the idea of dispensing aa 
 
132 
 
 ordinance seems so exceedingly irrational, that, w 
 suppose it would hardly have been made, hut for the 
 sake of some favourite opinion, which rendered it ne» 
 cessary. In baptism, -the baptiser is surely as essential 
 as the baptised. There can be r.o ordinance, without 
 both a subject and an administrator. Can there be any 
 material difference in the Lord's supper ? In that or- 
 dinance, indeed, he who gives, will alio join the receiv- 
 ers in partaking. But is giving, therefore, no part of 
 the observance of the ordinance? May the elements be 
 placed before the members of the church, without ever 
 considering who is to give them ? Shall any one, or 
 every one, take them at pleasure? This perhaps is not 
 proposed, yet such questions are necessarily occasioned, 
 by the assertion, that dispensing, is no part of the ob- 
 servance of the ordinance. 
 
 It may be of advantage to compare this assertion 
 with Paul's account of the institution of the Lord's 
 buoper. That account is the more likely to assist us, 
 because it was introduced by the apostle, on purpose 
 to regulate the manner in which the ordinance should 
 be observed. After describing the improper behavi- 
 our of the church at Corinth, he says, " What shall 
 1 I sav to you ? Shall I praise you? In this I do not 
 1 praise. For I received from the Lord that which 
 1 also I delivered to yo«, that the Lord Jesus in the 
 1 night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and, 
 4 having given thanks, brake, and said, Take, eat; 
 1 this is my body which is broken for you: this dp iu 
 ' remembrance of. me. Likewise also he gave the 
 
 * cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the 
 
 • new covenant in my blood : this do, as often as ye 
 1 drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye 
 
133 
 
 " eat this bread, and drink this cup, show the deatTi 
 " of the Lord, until he come." Can any one read 
 this passage, and think, that dispensing is no p.art of 
 the observance of the ordinance of the Lord's supper? 
 The coming together to eat every one before other, his 
 own supper, as was done at Corinth, was no doubt a pe- 
 culiarly gross indecency. But to say, that, if a church 
 eat the supper, the dispensing of it is of little or no con- 
 sequence, really appears to be proposing an indecency 
 of the same kind. 
 
 Some suppose that we are contending for what is 
 unintelligible, and ask, what dispensing the Lord's sup- 
 per means? To dispense, means, to deal out, to distri- 
 bute. To dispense the Lord's supper, means an indi- 
 vidual leading the worship of the church, on occasion 
 of observing that ordinance, by imitating the example 
 of Christ, when he took bread, and gave thanks, and 
 gave it to the disciples, saying, take, eat, this is my 
 body which is broken for you; and when, in like man- 
 ner, he gave the cup, saying, this cup is the new cove- 
 nant in my blood: this do ye as oft as ye drink it in 
 remembrance of me. So far from being a matter of 
 inferior concern, the duty of the dispenser of the 
 Lord's suppc appears from the passage quoted above, ; 
 to be the principal means appointed of God, for pre- 
 serving his people, in all ages, from confounding this 
 ordinance with a common meal. The thanksgivings, 
 in which the dispenser conducts the devotion of the 
 church, and the words of Christ at giving the elements, 
 repeated by the dispenser on the same occasion, fur- 
 nish matter for meditation, raise the mind to spiritual 
 recollection, and excite gratitude, while the church is 
 eating and drinking. The members are kept in mind, 
 
 M 
 
J 
 
 134 
 
 that what is said and done, is confirmed by the authori- 
 ty, and illustrated by the very example of our blessed 
 Lord. And as Jesus :poke those beautiful words, which 
 are recorded in the xivth. chapter of John, after the dis- 
 ciples had received the supper -the first time, and con- 
 cluded bv sinking a hymn with them before they went 
 out; it has been most reasonably inferred, that it is proper 
 -for him who dispenses the ordinance now, to follow up 
 the observance. of At with a few suitable remarks and 
 exhortations, and to conclude in the same triumphant 
 manner. This is the substance of what we conceive 
 -to be meant by dispensing the Lord's supper. We 
 are not conscious of any obscurity, either in the phrase, 
 or in the thing expressed by it. There is reason to 
 believe, that a scriptural mode of dispensing the Lord's 
 supper has ever been found most edifying and comfort- 
 able by the great body of Christians. When a bi- 
 shop excels in this part of his duty, it generally endears 
 him to his people in a remarkable degree; yet so it is, 
 that some think it hardly worth mentioning at all, 
 zr.d, at any rate, not worth the inquiry, who shall dis- 
 charge it. 
 
 It surely is not too much to say, that if there be 
 in the church an ofliee, one object of which is to con- 
 duct the public worship, the. conducting of this very 
 delightful part of it in particular, must be the business 
 of him who holds that office. If we have given any 
 proof from scripture that gifts were miraculously be- 
 stowed, for enabling rnen to conduct the public wor- 
 ship of the churches, till men could be appointed bi- 
 shops in such a way that successors might be found to 
 resemble them, without miraculous preparation ; we are 
 .supported by all that proof, in maintaining it to be 
 
135 
 
 the duty, and a part of the peculiar business' of bishops,. 
 to dispense to churches the ordinance of the Lord's 
 supper. That this service should belong to the office 
 of deacons, nobody maintains. Unless, therefore, it 
 belong to the office of the bishop, it is not attached to 
 office at all, so that even when the bishop doe8 dispense, 
 he must be understood not to be acting as the bi- 
 shop, but merely as one of the members of the church. 
 Now there is no hint in scripture, that churches should 
 appoint any one occasionally to dispense the Lord's 
 supper; far less, that they should eat the Lord's sup- 
 per, without appointing anyone at all to dispense it. 
 The " feeding of the flock," enjoined on ail the pri- 
 mitive elders, and " the taking care of the church of 
 '* God," enjoined on the ordinary bishop, seem to re- 
 fer particularly to dispensing the Lord's supper, and 
 administering discipline, because these two branches 
 of duty, are the only ones which strictly relate to 
 " the flock," or members of the church alone. At 
 any rate, it is allowed by all Christians, that bishops 
 may dispense the Lord's supper. It lies then upon 
 those, who say that others also should- do it, .to support 
 their opinion by scripture proof. 
 
 It is confessed, however, that neither precept, nor- 
 example, nor explicit declaration of any kind, can be 
 produced from scriptu - e, in support of this opinion. 
 We are told, that this is one of these points which must 
 be supported by inferences from scripture ; yet it seems 
 to be insisted on with no less confidence, than if it had 
 a place among the ten commandments. And when we 
 attend to the inferences which are drawn in this ease> 
 the arguments which the advocates of the opinion are. 
 obliged to use, and the unavoidable consequences of 
 
 M 2 
 
!3G 
 
 adopting their system, have the most powerful ten- 
 dency to show the importance of the opposite princi- 
 ple. 
 
 For instance, they are obliged to maintain, that the 
 office of a bishop contains in it nothing peculiar at all ; 
 that the man who has been commended to the grace of 
 God by fasting and prayer, because he was chosen to 
 that office, has, in fact, nothing to do, in consequence 
 of his ordination, which it might not have been his 
 wuty to do before, and which it may not be still the 
 duty of any of the brethren to do, as well as himself. 
 This assertion is the more extraordinary, that it is 
 levelled exclusively against the office of the bishop. 
 It is admitted, that deacons have power to do some- 
 thing peculiar, in , virtue of their office. " Deacons 
 *' have no power," say they, " in virtue of their of- 
 ** fice, to do any thing which another member of the 
 *'* church may not do, except what they are ordained to 
 * { do, namely, to take care of the poor." Now all we 
 desire is, that this reasonable way of speaking, should 
 be impartially used. " Bishops have no power," say 
 we, " in virtue of their office, to do any thing which 
 *' another member of the church may not do, except 
 u what they are ordained to do, namely, " to take care of 
 " the church of God." To object to this doctrine, 
 seems to betray disaffection to the ordination and of- 
 fice of the bishop. We are sorry to remark more 
 symptoms than one of this unhappy temper. Can 
 any thing pour ridicule more directly on the divine in- 
 stitution of a bishop, than to say, that there is no dis- 
 tinction beyond what is nominal, between him and the 
 rest of the people? Can any thing more boldly re- 
 proach the wisdom of God? Can any thing more evi- 
 
137 
 
 dently tend to the contempt and destruction of all tner 
 arrangements of the church of Christ? It is in vain to 
 undervalue one divine institution, and think of preserve 
 ing another. Had the precept of the apostle been 
 the reverse of what it is, had it been, " Let ail thing** 
 *' be done indecently and in disorder;" we cannot 
 conceive a principle which would more effectually have 
 ensured its observance. 
 
 Again, they maintain, that any two Christians- 
 make a church, and that any meeting of Christians on 
 the Lord's day, however casual, ambulatory, and even 
 private (if strangers be not absolutely excluded) may 
 act, in all respects, as a church. In short, any com- 
 pany of Christians is a church ; and a church, though 
 destitute of office-bearers, is every thing. If two or 
 three of my family be agreed, as Christians, to meet 
 together on the Lord's day. whether we be visited or 
 not by a neighbour or two of the same description ; it ::•> 
 only necessary for somebody to- give thanks, before bread 
 and wineare handed about, and this mayhedone,asshou'- 
 ing the Lord's death till he come, although the meet- 
 ing were purely accidental. This is no overcharged 
 imaginary picture. It is taken from what is known 
 to have been done. If the advocates of this scheme 
 happen to be from home, with a Christian party, they 
 eat the Lord's supper every Lord's day, whether they 
 meet with a Christian church or not. Their practice 
 may show whither they would lead us. 
 
 Concerning that practice, it seems quite suOieient to 
 say, what can never be gainsaid, that in aii the scrip- 
 tures, there is not a single instance of any man, who 
 was not an office-bearer, ordinary or extraordinary, or 
 who was .ct endowed 1 for acting as an office-bearer 
 
 M 3 
 
138 
 
 with miraculous gifts, performing in any church, any 
 one of the peculiar duties of " feeding the flock," or 
 *« of taking care of the church of God." Neither is 
 there a single instance of any company of Christians, 
 whose meetings were merely occasional, who were 
 not united for the purposes of stated fellowship as the 
 church of Christ, in a particular place, observing the 
 ordinance of the Lord's supper. And as we have no 
 example, we have no precept for such I hings, not so 
 much as a hint that they may be done. Are churches, 
 then, to be required, without the shadow of scriptural 
 authority, to consent to these things? Are they to be 
 treated as prejudiced and corrupt, unless they will com- 
 ply with them? Is it for edification, that the minds of 
 Christians should be occupied, agitated, and alienated 
 from one another, especially from their office-bearers, 
 by questions, to say the very least, of so doubtful a na- 
 ture? 
 
 But, it is urged, that the propriety of a church eat- 
 in^ the Lord's supper, without office-bearers, is so 
 clearly deducible from scripture, that it is wrong to 
 
 doubt it. 
 
 For instance, an argument, in favour of this practice, 
 is drawn from the truth, that the observance of ordi- 
 nances is a duty. All social ordinances, it is said, are 
 the same. Churches, therefore, ought to observe them 
 all, in all situations All social ordinances are appoint- 
 ed, indeed, by the same authority, but they are not 
 the same in kind. There may be circumstances, there- 
 fore, which admit of the observance ol some, and do 
 not admit of the observance of others. It is no where 
 said in scripture, that churches ought to observe all 
 erdinances in all situations. Circumstances may render 
 
139 
 
 a duty impossible, and impossibility always supersedes 
 obligation. One luty must also be taken in connec- 
 tion with another. The same Lord who enjoined the 
 observance of the supper, enjoined the ordination of 
 bishops, whose bu iness it is, among other things, to 
 dispense that ordinance. It is a duty, then, to have 
 the bishop, as well as to eat the supper, and the one 
 should be provided, that the other may be enjoyed; 
 But churches are not criminal for not having a bishop, 
 when they cannot ;et one, (as may often, in the course 
 of providence, be for a while the case): neither are 
 they criminal for n )t eating the supper, while they are 
 without the office bearer, whose duty it is to feed 
 them, by dispensing it. The proposal, then, receives 
 no support from the truth, that it is a duty to eat the 
 Lord's supper, because the question necessarily occurs, 
 who shall dispense it? This seems as unavoidable, as 
 the question, who shall receive it ? Nay, it would not 
 be more absurd for a church to sit down to the Lord's 
 supper, where the elements were not provided, than to 
 do so, where the office-bearer appointed by Christ to 
 feed the flock is not provided. 
 
 Again, it is said, churches execute discipline with- 
 out bishops, why rfot also eat the Lord's supper? — Be- 
 cause discipline may be often necessary to their very 
 existence as a church: the Lord's supper is not. It 
 is only on the plea of necessity, that we could justify 
 the exercise of discipline in a church without a bishop. 
 But something of this kind is often necessary in the 
 very origin of churches. The brethren may be brought 
 together in the coirse of providence, and may receive 
 one another on a mutual profession of faith, without 
 the instrumentality cf any other church, or of any 
 
1W 
 
 preacher of the gospel. Churches must, in all situa- 
 tions, receive members, otherwise they might soon be- 
 come extinct. They must also exclude members who 
 give offence, otherwise they would no longer be a se- 
 lect body. They must also choose bishops, -else they 
 could never obtain them. These are cases of necessity. 
 They must occur at the original formation of every 
 church, and they must he expected to occur after- 
 wards, in every church occasionally. But the Lord's 
 supper, though very comfortable and edifying, is not 
 necessary to the existence of a church, for many church- 
 es have existed for a time without it. If the want of 
 it be wilful, it is no doubt wrong; but, if it arise from 
 unavoidable circumstances, it is a privation which they 
 ought to submit to, with resignation to the will of God. 
 Nor can they reasonably expect that edification and 
 comfort from the ordinance, which it is calculated to 
 yield, if they observe it at the expense of neglecting 
 the order which the account of the institution appears 
 to prescribe. 
 
 Further, it is remarked, that the primitive churches 
 ate the Lord's supper, immediately on being gathered* 
 and yet they seem to have had no bishops for some 
 time; from wl .'_h an inference is drawn, that they 
 must have eaten it without bishops. — How the wor- 
 ship of the primitive churches was conducted, we have 
 already seen. The necessity of now having men fitted 
 for the work of the ministry, and appointed bishops, to 
 discharge the duties of that work, cannot be more 
 strongly shown, than it is by this fact, that, until they 
 could be appointed in an ordinary way, a miracle was 
 wrought to answer the exigency. All the primitive 
 churches had, from their very formation, miraculous 
 gifts distributed among them. Where these were not 
 
141 
 
 enjoyed, there migh tbe association, and such exercises 
 as prayer, reading the scriptures, and religious convex 
 sation, probably in private; but no observance of ordi- 
 nances. We are led to make this distinction, from the 
 circumstance mentioned in Acts xix. that Paul found 
 certain disciples at Ephesus, to whom he said, " Have 
 " ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed ?" 
 These disciples were evidently associated, and we are 
 told their number was about twelve. As they happen- 
 ed to be disciples of John, their exercises could only 
 be such as John taught his disciples to practise. For 
 any thing the apostle saw, however, they might have 
 been disciples of Jesus: nay, he actually supposed 
 them to be so. His question seems to have been put, 
 merely from a desire to know whether they were in a 
 condition to enjoy ordinances. This fact surely im- 
 plies, that disciples of Christ might have been associ- 
 ated, might have been in the habits of a more private 
 worship, and might have abstained from the observ- 
 ance of ordinances, till apostles or evangelists visited 
 them, or till they received the gifts which were ne- 
 cessary for that puipose, before bishops were appoint- 
 ed. It appears to have been customary with the apos- 
 tles, to lay hands on persons who already believed, 
 that they might be enabled to discharge to one another, 
 and to ethers who might be added to them, all the 
 duties of church fellowship. Thus, it is said, Acts 
 viii. 14—17. " Now when the apostles which were at 
 « Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word 
 " of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, 
 " when they were come down, prayed for them that 
 " they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet he 
 " was fallen upon rone of them : only they were baptis- 
 
142 - 
 
 " ed in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they 
 tl their hands on them, and they received the Holy 
 " Spirit." Thus also, when Paul found, upon inqui- 
 ry, that the disciples at Ephesus knew not whether the 
 Holy Spirit were yet given, and had only been baptis- 
 ed unto John's baptism ; he called them, by a testimo- 
 ny which John had given, to believe on Christ Jesus, 
 (see verse 4.); and when hearing this, they were bap- 
 tised in the name of the Lord Jesus, the apostle laid 
 his hands on them, and " the Holy Spirit came on 
 " them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied. " 
 All the apostles probably acted in the same way, where* 
 ever they went. Now what churches might do, while 
 miraculous gifts were among them, is no rule fcf 
 churches, in which such gifts do not exist. 
 
 We certainly have l\o desire to prevent our fellow 
 Christians from enjoying all the edification and com- 
 fort of the Lord's supper, when their situation per- 
 mits them to observe it, in a scriptural manner. But 
 to observe it, on principles subversive of the pastoral 
 office, and of all the provisions which have ever been 
 made for the utility and decency of public worship, 
 appears to us to be extremely dangerous. In such a 
 way, Christians are not likely to derive from the ordi- 
 nance, any real advantage, and may, contrary to their 
 intention, cause it to produce upon the mikds of o- 
 thers, a very different impression from that which it 13 
 calculated to produce, when properly conducted. For 
 the reasons stated above, we conclude, th.it dispensing 
 the Lord's supper is a part of the good work of a bi* 
 shop. That a bishop may discharge this, and similar 
 parts of his office, wherever he may, in providence, 
 meet with a church; that a bishop may invite ani 
 
143 
 
 Vishop to officiate in his room; and that a church may 
 . avail themselves of the occasional services of a bishop, 
 in the absence, or want, of a bishop of their own, we 
 shall afterwards endeavour to show. 
 
 It was also proposed, in this section, to make some 
 remarks on the private duties of the bishop. 
 
 The private duties of the bishop are so described by 
 some, as to make it appear impossible that one man 
 should be able to overtake them amonp - more than a 
 very kw. This kind of representation may serve the 
 purpose of recommending the scheme of a plurality, 
 or rather a multitude, of bishops in every church ; and 
 it is much used for that purpose. But it does not 
 seem to be scriptural, it narrows the sphere of the bi- 
 shop's usefulness, and it has a very pernicious effect 
 on the sentiments and habits of the people. 
 
 The office of the bishop seems to require, that, in 
 private, he should converse with every one who makes 
 profession of faith, with a view to admission into the 
 church; both,, that he may, as overseer, be satisfied 
 himself, and that he may be able to concur with the 
 testimony of the two or three witnesses, on which it 
 will be lawful for the church to admit, or to reject 
 the application. He ought also to be peculiarly atten- 
 tive to the rule of going to a brother, and belling him 
 his fault alone, when a brother shall trespass against • 
 him. Acting in this way, is exceedingly suitable to 
 the character of a shepherd, and is likely to have the 
 happiest effect, as members of a church will often hear 
 the bishop, when they would* not hear one another. 
 It seems proper, too, that he should receive informa- 
 tion in private, of every offence which must be told to 
 the church, because a man cannot well preside in any 
 
144 
 
 society, unless he previously know whatever business 
 is to come before it. By this means, he will often have 
 an opportunity of acting as a peace-maker, and may 
 succeed, when the attempts of others have failed. 
 Thus, he may often prevent the necessity of telling the 
 church at all, (and surely, to avrid going to extremi- 
 ties, is always desirable, when it can be done consist- 
 ently with faithfulness;) or, if the affair must be told, 
 he will be able to give a distinct and full account of it, 
 so that the witnesses will have nothing to do, but to 
 establish every word by their testimony, and the 
 church will easily understand the case, and their duty 
 concerning it. His house ought also to be open to 
 those who desire private instruction, on any portion of 
 scripture, or private advice on any particular circum- 
 stance in their own situation. Wherever he sees a real 
 desire of information, he ought to encourage it. In 
 cases of difficulty, he ought to act as a friend and a fa- 
 ther, listening with attention, sympathy, and patience, 
 preserving inviolable confidence, and showing great 
 faithfulness, affection, and prudence. At the call of 
 sickness, or of any kind of distress, he ought ever to be 
 ready to attend ; and he ought to show that he thinks 
 it better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to 
 the house of feasting. 
 
 In all private duties, the bishop ought to show the 
 same cordial attention to the rich and to the poor. 
 He ought to be distinguished for circumspection in all 
 his deportment, whether among his people, or among 
 other men ; that he may retain the good report which 
 he ought to have of them that are without, and that he 
 may be habitually promoting the cause of his Lord. He 
 should study, with a union of gentleness and persevering 
 
115 
 
 •zeal, to improve opportunities of stating and enforcing 
 the truths of the gospel, and of testifying against unbelief 
 and all sin. This habitual endeavour to promote and 
 adorn the gospel, both in public and private, seems to 
 be what was exemplified by the apostles, when "daily 
 " in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not 
 •' to teach and preach Jesus Christ," Acts v. 42.; 
 and what was recommended by Paul to the imitation 
 of the elders of the church at Ephesus, when he said, 
 * Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, 
 f* after what manner I have been with you at all sea- 
 " sons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, 
 " and with many tears and temptations which befel 
 " me by the lying in wait of the Jews: and how X 
 " kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but 
 " have showed you, and have taught you publicly, 
 " and from house to house; testifying both to the 
 " Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance towards 
 " God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 Acts xx. 18 — 21. These words do not necessarily 
 require periodical rounds of visitation. Neither do 
 they suppose that the bishop should distinguish him- 
 self by going from house to house, unit ss particular 
 occasion call for it. Their plain meaning is, that the 
 bishop should never lose sight of the object to which 
 he is devoted ; that he should use unwearied diligence 
 in Christian instruction; that, besides public labours, 
 he should, like the Israelites of old, talk of the word' 
 of God, when he sitteth in the house, and when he 
 walketh by the way, and when he lieth down, and 
 when he riseth up. 
 
 His oversight of the church requires a continuance 
 of the same kind of knowledge of the character of each 
 
 N 
 
U6 
 
 jnember, as that on which the member was received in- 
 to the church. It seems scriptural to acknowledge 
 any one a Christian, who makes a credible profession 
 of faith. Now if the credibility of a profession may be 
 confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses 
 at first, it may continue to be so confirmed afterwards. 
 The original testimony supposes, that a sufficient de- 
 gree of acquaintance with members of the church was 
 established at the beginning, which will naturally con- 
 tinue, or rather, increase; and this seems, not only all 
 that is necessary, but, generally speaking, ail that is 
 proper. 
 
 The scheme of " intimate acquaintance " with all 
 the members of a church, and such a host of bishops as 
 should be able to be daily visiting every one in the 
 church, and observing all their personal and family af- 
 fairs, and that with the view of qualifying themselves 
 to interfere in all these things, and to allude to them, 
 if they thought fit, in their several sermons; seems to 
 be as completely subversive of the Christian morality 
 of private life, as the endless succession of allusions m 
 public, giving pleasure to some, pain to others, and ex- 
 citing curiosity among those who were not immediate- 
 ly concerned, must be of the harmony and benefit of 
 public worship. This scheme may suit a system of 
 suspicion, but never of love. Something like it may 
 be found among worldly institutions, when men have 
 shown that they are not to be trusted, and that they 
 are apt to combine for the purpose of screening one an- 
 other in fraud. Thus, troops of inspectors and super- 
 visors (all overseers such as they are) have been long 
 employed for collecting the customs and excise. But 
 if they should be introduced into a church of Christ* 
 
147 
 a profession of faith might soon come to be as little re- 
 garded as a customhouse oath; purity of communion 
 might be considered as depending entirely on the vi- 
 gilance of the officers ; sin might indeed be hunted after 
 in the one case, as smuggling is in the other; yet it 
 might be difficult to determine whether the evil was like- 
 ly, by such means, to be cherished or restrained. Pri- 
 vate intimacy does not necessarily extend with the 
 sphere of church offices or of church fellowship. It is, 
 in every case, a select, a mutual, and a voluntary thino-. 
 Christ had his disciple whom he loved, and his chief in- 
 timates, distinguishable from the rest of the twelve a- 
 postles. It is wrong in a Christian to form close 
 friendships with persons who are not Christians, but 
 within the denomination of genuine Christianity, pri- 
 vate intimacy, whether of bishops or people, is, aid 
 must be, perfectly free. 
 
 We are the more disposed to dwell on this cub'ect, 
 because where the contagion of universal intimacy 
 creeps in, its pernicious influence spreads from bishops 
 to people; and where it may net be encouraged, mis- 
 takes may give rise to discontent, as if a blessing were 
 withheld. It is to be feared too, that what is profita- 
 ble here, has often been kept back, because it is un- 
 popular. The consequence is, that, under the notioli 
 of scriptural fellowship and great brotherly love, such 
 plans are proposed, as would absolutely render it im- 
 possible to be a member of a Christian church, and 
 at the same time to enjoy any of the advantages of a 
 life of retirement. This " intimate acquaintance " be- 
 tween bishops and people, and among the people them- 
 selves, interferes with the duties of men in their several 
 staler.:; with an industrious quiet attention to bus*. 
 
 iN 2 
 
14<9 
 
 mess; with die love of home; with regular hours; 
 with family and secret worship; with the attention 
 due to near relatives according to the flesh; with the 
 diligence and fidelity of servants; and with habits of 
 serious reading and meditation. Religious conversa- 
 tion degenerates, in these circumstances, into mere 
 table talk, including all the evils of captious, trifling 
 disputation, idle curiosity, tale-bearing, and private 
 scandal. In short, matters may be carried to such a 
 length, that a man cannot be a member of a church 
 without molestation. Hence, many of the most pain- 
 ful cases of discipline, with which, indeed, some may 
 be delighted, regarding them as the proper means of 
 keeping alive the zeal and activity of the church; but 
 which we must ever regard as symptoms of prevailing 
 corruption, and requiring a preventive, rather than an 
 excitement. 
 
 If we examine the doctrine of scripture upon this 
 subject, we shall see, that there is no occasion for forc- 
 ing, but much for restraining, intimacy of private inter- 
 course among the people of God. " Withdraw thy 
 " foot (says Solomon, Prov. xxv. 17.) " from thy 
 *' neighbour's house: lest he be weary of thee, and 
 u hate thee." Literally thus, " Let thy foot be sel- 
 *' dom in thy neighbour's house: lest he be full of 
 * thee, and hate thee." As a proof of the import- 
 ance of this precept, we can say with truth, that of 
 all the quarrels among Christians, which we have had 
 occasion to attend to, in nine cases out of ten, at the 
 very least, the first fault was excessive intimacy. We 
 beg Christians to consult their own recollection, whe- 
 ther they ought not to bear a similar testimony. Our 
 Saviour cautioned the seventy disciples against gossip- 
 
149 
 
 iflg, when he sent them out to preach the gospel. " In- 
 " the same house remain, eating and drinking such 
 " things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of 
 " his hire. Go not from house to house," Luke. x. 7«- 
 " We hear (says Paul, 2 Thess. iii. 11, 12.) "that 
 n there are some who walk among you disorderly, 
 " working not at all, but are busy-bodies. Now them 
 " that are such we command, and exhort by our Lord 
 " Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat 
 M their own bread." Again, in 1 Tim. v. 13. "And 
 " withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from 
 " house to house; and not only idle, but tatlers also, 
 " and busy-bodies, speaking tilings which they ought 
 " not." In like manner speaks Peter, in his 1 Epist. 
 iv. 15. " Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a 
 •* thief, or an evil doer, or a busy-body in other men's 
 " matters." Such, without a single instance to the 
 contrary, so far as we remember, is the strain of the 
 doctrine of scripture, respecting private intimacy a- 
 mong the servants of God. 
 
 There seems to be no impropriety in saying, that 
 the habits of the bishop ought to be in unison with 
 these precepts of scripture, and that with regard to 
 them, as well as to other things, he should be an en- 
 sample to the flock. The flock will derive more be- 
 nefit from the fruits of his secret devotions and studi^r, 
 than from an incessant frequency of visiting. The 
 knowledge, which enables him to preach suitably to 
 various characters and situations, is the knowledge of 
 human nature and human life, which by r.o means ne- 
 cessarily supposes an intimate acquaintance with every 
 individual of a church, but may be collected, (besides 
 what books can teach), within the circle of private ac- 
 
 N 3 
 
150 
 
 quaintance, and private observation. The effect of 
 suitable preaching is generally lost, if the hearer per- 
 ceives that the preacher is, from personal knowledge, 
 aiming at him. In case of speaking agreeable thing?, 
 the attention which it discovers will gratify: incase 
 of reproof, it will always be likely to offend. Both 
 effects are distinct from the proper effect of the truth. 
 On the other hand, nothing is so striking to hearers, 
 as to find that, while the speaker does not, and can- 
 not, know particular circumstances, he is nevertheless 
 directed to say what is exactly suited to them. In 
 this case, encouragement or reproof comes home with 
 double advantage, because it is equally free from the 
 suspicion of adulation and malice. 
 
 Upon the whole, it would be uncandid and foolish, 
 rot to confess, that a bishop may be too reserved in 
 his manners, and may herein offend, as in all other parts 
 of his duty. Perhaps studious habits may sometimes 
 tempt him to improper seclusion. And if his reserve 
 arise from pride, it is utterly detestable. But when 
 a church feels no inconveniency from its numbers in 
 other respects, the bishop may learn so to arrange his 
 duties, as to discharge with faithfulness and success, 
 those which are private, no less than those which are 
 public. There is no necessity for what has been call- 
 ed " making deacons a kind of pastors." From their 
 appointment to oversight in temporal things, they are 
 presumed to be men of approven fidelity and judgment ; 
 and they are, no doubt, encouraged to distinguish them- 
 selves, by general usefulness, among brethren, of whose 
 confidence and attachment they have received so strik- 
 ing a proof. One kind of oversight has a natural con- 
 section with another, in any society. Hence the busi- 
 
151 
 
 sess which always belongs to a president, a secretary, 
 and a treasurer, aided perhaps by a committee of di- 
 rectors. In a church, a peculiarly close connection is 
 evidently supposed to exist between the bishop and 
 deacons. It would be most unseemly, if he and they 
 did not, on all occasions, act cordially together; and 
 they will do so with the greater certainty and ease, 
 that they severally remember their proper department. 
 
 It is painful to be compelled to vindicate the duties 
 of an office, as if, from the circumstance of holding it, 
 we were- contending for a right, an honour, or a privi- 
 lege, of a personal nature. All that has been said, 
 will, perhaps, obtain from many, no other reply than 
 this; the bishops are always for arrogating every thing 
 to themselves. No doubt, ambition is natural to them, 
 as it is to other men. But ambition operates two 
 ways. Some men it inspires with a desire to climb up 
 on high: others with a determination to pull down all 
 that is above them. The inquirer will find it the part 
 both of wisdom and of safety, to disregard the imputa- 
 tion of motives on either side. The only question 
 ought to be, what is the will of our blessed Lord? and 
 this, however it may distinguish particular offices, or 
 those who hold them, it must be equally the interest 
 of all to maintain. 
 
 In discussing questions respecting duty, the Christ- 
 ian ought surely to confess his own utter inability and 
 his absolute dependence ondivine direction and strength, 
 whatever the nature of the duty may be. " Abide 
 " in me, (said Christ) and I in you. As the branch 
 ** cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the 
 " vine: no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I 
 " am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth 
 
\&2 
 
 «' in me, and I in bim, the same bringeth. forth much. 
 " fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John xv^ 
 4) 5. 
 
 OF FEMALE OFFICE-BEARERS IN A CHURCH. 
 
 When gifts were bestowed on the primitive 
 Christians, they were enjoyed by persons of both sexes. 
 Women as well as men were endowed particularly 
 with the gift of prophecy. We have already had oc- 
 casion, however, to remark, that although several of 
 the gifts possessed by the men', were bestowed for the' 
 purpose cf enabling them to conduct the public wor- 
 ship of the churches, this was not the case with the 
 gifts which were bestowed on the women*. No ar- 
 gument can, therefore, be drawn from the primitive 
 distribution of gifts, for the propriety of employing 
 women as public office bearers in a church. 
 
 At the same time, it is a fact, that women have been, 
 and may be, employed by churches, in a private way, 
 and in particular circum:itances. In Rom. xvi. I. 
 Phoebe is called " a deaconess of the church in Cen- 
 chrea;" and in 1 Tim. iii 11. and v. 3.— 10. and Tit. 
 ii. 3. directions are thought by many to be given re- 
 specting female deacons and female elders, who were 
 to be employed in the churches in Ephesus and Crete-. 
 In these passages, the duties which they were to dis- 
 charge, are all supposed to be of a private nature, and 
 
 * See Tages 3C — 32, 
 
153 
 
 there is reason to think that the employment of them 
 was not a general practice. 
 
 The scriptures never speak of female office-bearers, 
 in any of the churches in Judea. On this negative 
 fact we should lay little stress, were it not that the em- 
 ployment of females in the Grecian and Asiatic church- 
 es, is allowed to be owing to a circumstance*, which, 
 it is known, did not exist in the country of Judea. In 
 Greece and Asia, women were not in the habit of see- 
 ing persons of the other sex, in private, except such as 
 were their near relations; so that the ordinary office- 
 bearers of a Christian church could have had no con- 
 versation with the female members privately, without 
 giving offence. Now, since this was the state of man- 
 ners, wherever female office-bearers are spoken of, and 
 since no mention of them is made in any church, where 
 the same jealousy did not exist; the proper inference 
 seems to be, that churches should have recourseto them 
 in those situations only, where the state of manners may 
 require their assistance. They have been found high- 
 ly useful, for instance, in churches established in vari- 
 ous missionary settlements. But the want of them, 
 where they are not thus called for by circumstances, 
 is no scriptural defect. It is a proof rather of a 
 wise, because a discriminating, conformity to scrip- 
 tural precedents. There can be no propriety in 
 always having deaconesses to attend to the wants of 
 the female poor, as some have pleaded, because it was 
 expressly to attend to the wants of female poor, that 
 the seven men were at first appointed -f-. 
 
 * See Macknight on Rom. xvi. 1. Note 3. and on 1 Tim. iii, 
 11. Notel. 
 f See Ads vi. 1. 
 
154. 
 
 Even where female office-bearers may be necessary, 
 it seems altogether without scripture authority, to 
 make the appointment of the individuals employed, 
 matter of church election, or public ordination. Itr 
 may be perfectly proper, that the proposal of having 
 such persons should be made in the presence of the 
 church, and executed with their consent; and that pray- 
 er should be made in the church for a blessing on the 
 measure, when it has been adopted. But to suppose, 
 that the qualifications of particular women should be 
 made the subject of church deliberation, and perhaps 
 discussion j and that when their respective merits were 
 settled, they should either at first, or ever after, appear 
 in any manner as office-bearers before a church; is 
 6urc!y repugnant to all those feelings of decency, which, 
 even nature possesses, and which scripture approves* 
 
 . H 
 
155 
 
 OF A CHURCH. 
 
 Im Mattb. xviii. 19, 20. our Saviour says, "If 
 ** two of you shall agree on earth as touching any 
 " thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them 
 " of my Father which is in heaven. For where two 
 " or three are gathered together in my name, there am 
 ■" I in the midst of them." This gracious promise is 
 a very seasonable encouragement to private social pray- 
 er, and to the mutual confidence and friendship of 
 fellow Christians, in their private intercourse with one 
 another. Occurring as it does, immediately after the 
 case had been supposed, of one brother offending an- 
 other, and continuing obstinate in the offence, it is 
 well calculated to prevent the frequent occurrence of 
 such a case. Christians, remembering the advantage 
 of cordial unanimity, with a friend who can unite in 
 their supplications at the throne of grace, will be lothe 
 to forfeit that advantage, and will, on all sides, en- 
 deavour with the greater earnestness, to maintain the 
 unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. The parti- 
 cular promise made to two disciples who shall agree in 
 prayer, is confirmed by a general declaration, " where 
 " two or three are gathered together in my name, there 
 " am I in the midst of them." The connection shows, 
 that being gathered together in the Lord's name, signi- 
 iies meeting in consequence of being agreed as touching 
 any thing that they shall ask in his name, and his being 
 in the nidst of them is the security that his Father ia 
 heaven will do for them what they ask. The general 
 declaration is very comprehensive. It assures us, that 
 
156 
 
 every meeting of Christians for the exercises of wor- 
 ship, few as well as many, in private as well as in pub- 
 lic, and in any place, shall enjoy the presence of the 
 Lord. Viewing the passage in this most extensive 
 sense*, we nevertheless conceive it to be a very great 
 mistake, to argue from the words of our Saviour, as 
 some do, that any two Christians may consider them- 
 selves a church of Christ, and may act in every re- 
 spect in that capacity. 
 
 The agreement of the two individuals, mentioned 
 verse 19. is evidently distinct from " the church," 
 mentioned verse 1 7» to which the two individuals are 
 supposed to belong. Addressing the church, our 
 .Lord says, verse 1 8th. " Verily, I say unto you, 
 ** Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound 
 ** in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, 
 " shall be loosed in heaven." He then makes a 
 marked transition from " the church," to particular 
 members of the church, considered*as meeting private- 
 ly, by mutual agreement, for a particular purpose, 
 and in a separate place from the rest of their brethren, 
 " Again," (the true reading is, " Again, veri- 
 ly, "f ) " I say unto you, that if two of you," 
 &c. The general declaration, in verse 20. does not 
 at all determine what is a church, or what either a 
 church, or any meeting of Christians, ought to do. 
 It supposes the exercise to be lawful, and it simply 
 confirms the belief, that two shall be heard when they 
 make their united supplication, because wherever two 
 
 * See another view of verse 19th, in Doddridge's Family Ex- 
 positor, note h 
 f See Wetstein and Gnesbach. 
 
157 
 
 or three are gathered together in the name of the Lovd, 
 whether as a church or not, he is present. If the de- 
 claration were confined to the meeting of a church, 
 it would afford no encouragement to the two individ- 
 uals, who are evidently supposed to be only members 
 of a church. Although, therefore, it certainly in- 
 cludes church meetings, it must be understood here 
 in an application to private meetings; for, in this sense 
 alone, has it any connection with what goes before. 
 It would be a perversion of the promise to the two 
 individuals, if we did not explain it with limitations 
 elsewhere mentioned, such as " if they ask any thing 
 " according to his will," and " in the name of Christ." 
 In like manner, it would be a perversion of the gene- 
 ral declaration respecting the presence of Christ with 
 two or three gathered together in his name, if we 
 understood it as a warrant for every two or three 
 Christians to observe among themselves all things 
 whatsoever Christ hath commanded his people, with- 
 out ever inquiring whether they were in that state, 
 which the right observance of some of those things 
 seems to require. After all that is said, then, in this 
 passage of scripture, to encourage any two or three to 
 meet together in the name of Christ, and particularly 
 for private social prayer; the questions return, What 
 is a church of Christ? And when can a church of 
 Christ observe, in a scriptural manner, the ordinances 
 which he hath appointed? 
 
 We have already endeavoured to show, that a church 
 of Christ, whether many or few in number, is a fixed 
 society; and that this fixed society should have the 
 appointed officers of a church, at least the officer whose 
 duty it is to conduct the public worship, in order that 
 
 O 
 
158 
 
 -it may, with propriety, observe public ordinances 
 The same authority hath commanded both, and the 
 one hath been appointed for the sake of the other. 
 
 Those, who contend, that any two Christians may 
 act as a church, say, that it is lawful for them to do 
 so, only when it is impossible for them to observe the 
 ordinances with a larger society. This condition is 
 attended with manifest difficulty. In a populous place, 
 where there are many Christians, it requires that they 
 should all meet in orje society for the observance of 
 ordinances. Now it is surely possible for many more 
 to meet together, than can with any comfort worship 
 together. Is it not better, then, to regulate the ques- 
 tion about the observance of ordinances, not by the 
 possibility of meeting with a larger society, but by the 
 conveniency with which a society can enjoy the ser- 
 vices of the same bishop and deacons? Again, in a 
 place whether populous or not, where there are few 
 Christians, this condition requires those few to ob- 
 serve all ordinances, although from simplicity, and want 
 of utterance, they may all be equally incapable of do- 
 ing it, either to their own edification, or to the con- 
 version of others. In this way, the gospel maybe 
 least recommended, where it requires most a strong 
 recommendation. The notion, that, because the doc- 
 trines of the cross are offensive to the natural man, 
 therefore whatever gives offence to such men, in Christ- 
 ian worship, is on that very account likely to be right, 
 receives no sanction from the word of God. The pre- 
 cept, that " all things should be done decently and in 
 '< order," is a direct appeal to that sense of decency 
 and order, which is common to Christians, and to all 
 mankind." Besides, if Matth. xviii. 19, 20. be of it? 
 
159 
 
 Ifeifa sufficient warrant for any two Christians to ae.t 
 as a church, there can be no authority for this condi- 
 tion at all. The two or three are laid under no obliga- 
 tion to inquire about any other society. No reason 
 can be given, why a man, who has a fellow Christ- 
 ian, in his family, should ever go for the sake of ordi- 
 nances, beyond the threshold of his own door. Let 
 the two meet in " the guest-chamber;" let the rest 
 of the family be invited to attend ; let the stranger who 
 calls at the house be admitted; and here is a church. 
 This consequence, w hich to state is sufficiently to ex- 
 pose, seems to be a necessary result of the opinion 
 which we combat. Nor do we know any suitable 
 remedy, except this principle, that the ordinances of 
 a church-require the organization of a church. 
 
 Next to the impropriety of observing ordinances 
 without office-bearers, is that of confining all attempts 
 to obtain them, to the circle, be it wide or narrow, of 
 the church, in which they happen to be wanted. That 
 God will supply his church with all things needful, 
 is a well-founded expectation. But has he limited 
 himself, as to the quarter, whence that supply shall 
 eome? Has he promised so- to supply each particular 
 ehurch as to cut oif ail communication with the rest ? 
 Has he ever done this in temporal things? Why should 
 we assert- that he does it in spiritual things? Were 
 not the churches of Macedonia and Achaia in the 
 right, when they made a contribution for the poor 
 saints at Jerusalem ? This was of carnal things, but 
 were not the contributors previously indebted to the 
 others for spiritual things? Why should supply from 
 a distance be a lawful thing, as to apostles, evangelists,, 
 and missionaries, for the propagation of the gospd r 
 
 O 2 
 
160 
 
 and not as to bishops, for the continuance of it? We 
 have already seen, that the qualifications of the bishop 
 have lit tie connection with circumstancesof alocalnature. 
 A man, fit to be chosen the bishop in one church, 
 cannot be very unfit in another. What is one church, 
 and what is another? Are not both, portions of that 
 *• all, that in every place call upon the name of Jesus 
 fi Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours?" Why then 
 insist on excluding one of the most important occasions 
 of friendly communication between them? Can we 
 hope to profit by a promise of supply from God, when 
 we object to any lawful means, which he puts in our 
 power, for obtaining it ? Would that school be likely 
 to prosper, in which the scholars should meet without 
 a teacher, till one or more of- them were supposed to 
 have made sufficient progress to undertake that office? 
 Bidding churches wait till members become qualified 
 for bishops, is like bidding Christians wait till they be- 
 come qualified for sitting at the Lord's table. If the 
 only, or the most likely person, which a church knows, 
 and judges fit for the bishop, be a person residing at 
 a little distance, and therefore belonging to another 
 church; shall this local, trivial, circumstance, be a so- 
 lid objection to his being invited to remove his abode, 
 and to join his neighbouring brethren, with the view of 
 discharging among them those duties, on account of 
 which they stand in need of him? Are those, who 
 contend for this principle, able, with the conviction of 
 their own minds to say, that, if it had been acted upon, 
 in all the lately formed churches in this country, it 
 would not have retarded the progress of knowledge? 
 Are they now prepared to act on the principle, which 
 they recommend; or are they net stilldoing, in fact, what 
 
161 
 
 fhey condemn in theory? What shall we think of an 
 advice to churches to confine themselves for bishops 
 to their own number, given by persons who deal more 
 largely and freely in the transplantation of ministers, 
 than any we have ever known? 
 
 We are aware of the language commonly held for the 
 principle which weave combating. The apostles, it 
 is said, directed the church at Jerusalem to *.* look 
 K out among them," men who should be chosen dea- 
 cons; and Paul speaks to Timothy and Titus, as if the 
 choice of both bishops and deacons were to be among 
 the members of the respective churches, in which the 
 choice was to be made. As to the direction given to the 
 church at Jerusalem, where could they lookout men, 
 except in their own church, when as yet there was not 
 another church on the face of the earth ? And although 
 there had been ever so many, the church at Jerusalem 
 was so richly endowed with " men of honest report, 
 " full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom," that there 
 could have been no occasion to seek beyond their own 
 company. This last remark will apply to all the pri- 
 mitive churches, of the ordination of v.hose office-bear- 
 ers we have any account, and distinguishes their con- 
 dition from that of modern churches. The church at 
 Ephesus consisted at the very beginning, of about twelve" 
 men, who " spake with tongues and prophesied." 
 There is no reason to doubt that the churches in Crete 
 were in a similar situation, for Paul had been there, 
 and after laying his hands, as we may suppose, on the 
 believers, left Titus to set in order the things that 
 were waning, and to ordain elders in every city. If 
 any of tne churches in Crete had been destitute of gifts, 
 nothing said by Paul to Titus can lead ui toconclude, 
 
 O 3 
 
162 
 
 that the evangelist would not have recommended that a 
 member of a church in one city, should be invited by 
 a church in another, to come among them, with the 
 view of being chosen the bishop. 
 
 The same common sense, which will lead a church 
 to choo-.e one of her own members, when judged fit, 
 will lead her to choose one from another church, 
 when her own are judged not fit. It may be thought, 
 indeed, that a recommendation from others, is not 
 a sufficient ground to choose a man a bishop. We 
 do not say that it is. But it is a sufficient ground 
 ior inviting him to labour, upon trial, in word 
 and doctrine. Letters ftom the brethren at E- 
 phesus procured A polios reception as a preacher a- 
 mong the brethren in A-chaia, Acts xviii. 27. There 
 could have been no harm, if one of the churches in that 
 country had afterwards chosen him the bishop* 
 
 When we combine the principle, that any two 
 Christians make a church, with the principles, that a 
 church may, in any state, observe all ordinances, and 
 that it may expect every thing needful for its edifica- 
 tion within itself; it seems evident, that the conse- 
 quence must be a system of continual subdivision. 
 Let all, who, in a large church are weak, ignorant, 
 and slow to learn, be distributed by twos or threes, into 
 distinct churches. Presently they come within the 
 hope of the supposed promise, that every thing need- 
 ful for a church shall be found within itself. The men, 
 who were before slow as learners, may be expected 
 now to become fit for constituting a plurality of elders. 
 H,ere is an easy way of promoting the improvement 
 cf the saints: an easy way also of increasing their num- 
 ber. '•' Lei them meet together," it is said, " on the. 
 
163 
 
 * Lord's day, and attend to his ordinances. He will 
 " add to. their number, and bestow on them even- ne- 
 
 * cessary gift for their edification." We have al- 
 ready seen, that the condition attached to this advice, 
 
 that it must be followed only when it is impossible for 
 the few to meet with a larger society, has no authori- 
 ty. The obvious tendency, then, of the advice, is, let 
 the churches be divided and subdivided to the utmost 
 possible extent; and, whenever increase admits repeti- 
 tion, let the divisive course be followed again and again. 
 Let there be a church not only in every city, but in 
 every street and lane of the .city. One place is mere- 
 ly a relative term. It may apply to one house, as 
 well as to one kingdom. One church in one place, is 
 a maxim, which admits of being explained by conveni- 
 ence and inclination. In one sense, indeed, it can 
 never be violated, for it is impossible that two churches, 
 or two things of any kind, should be in one place at the 
 same time. Subdivision, then, to the utmost extent, 
 with all possible frequency, and with unwearied perse- 
 verance, comes to be the true method, both for the 
 improvement cf Christians, and for the enlargement 
 of the Redeemer's kingdom, Naturalists tell us, that 
 the polypus possesses all that is essential to life, in every 
 part of its body, so completely, that if cut to pieces, 
 each piece becomes a polypus. Some have therefore 
 gone so far as to maintain, that a pair of scissars might 
 be used as an effectual means of multiplying the species, 
 It may be so ; yet it must be a cruel experiment. Such 
 is the experiment recommended K; the subdivision 
 system. We earnestly hope, that Christians will not 
 rashly consent to treat a church like a polypus. 
 
 In Mr. RoBERTsoN's-pamphletabout lay-preaching, 
 
ret 
 
 there are certainly many things, which we are not lik?- 
 Ty ever to approve. One sentence, however, has struck 
 us of late, with peculiar force. " It is clear as noon 
 " day, says he, that any system which holds forth a 
 "' slight preparation as necessary for the ministry, tends 
 " to degrade that office in the eyes of mankind ; and 
 u is liiely in the end., to terminate in another system t in 
 w which any few individuals may erect themselves into a 
 ft church , and mutually administer the ordinances of the 
 " g 0S P c 't t0 one another" This sentence we once 
 treated as an unfounded and wild conjecture;- it be- 
 comes us honestly to confess now, that, events have 
 given to it the appearance of a prophecy." Our prac- 
 tice hitherto, has, no doubt, favoured the opinion, that 
 a slight preparation for the ministry is sufficient. B^t 
 there is nothing in the plan of congregational churches, 
 which requires a continuance of this practice. There 
 is a learned, as well as an unlearned, independency. 
 Many churches of the independent denomination, in 
 different countries, have as well educated bishops, as 
 any churches whatever. We rejoice that so many 
 among ourselves 3ee the importance, in this- particular, 
 of imitating their example. 
 
 As we have mentioned what is called the independ- 
 ency of churches, it may be useful to remark, that in 
 holding it, Christians should take care, that they go 
 not violate the unity of churches. The preaching 
 of the gospel, began at one place, and, as it' proceeded 
 through the world, churches were gathered in various 
 places, in full communion with one another. The in- 
 telligence of a new church was received with joy, and 
 paved the way for friendly intercourse. Members of 
 one church were members of every church to which 
 
165 
 
 • they were recommended, when providence called them 
 to change their residence; and we have reason to be- 
 lieve, that exclusion from one church would infer ex- 
 clusion from all the rest, till repentance was manifested. 
 No doubt every church had a right to judge for itself; 
 but it would have been a o-reat breach of confidence, 
 
 o 
 
 if a church had lightly reversed the discipline of ano- 
 ther, or had even been willing to review it on the mere 
 representation of the subject of taut discipline. In most 
 cases, at least, he would be advised, to &efek reconcilia- 
 tion with the brethren whom he had offended. But 
 for this mode of proceeding, discipline must have been 
 soon brought into contempt, and the unity of the 
 churches utterly destroyed. 
 
 In the disjointed state of things, which hath long 
 existed in the world, Christians may often be in situa- 
 tions where they must protest against prevailing cor- 
 ruption, and begin to walk with one another in fellow- 
 ship anew, according to the directions given in the holy 
 scriptures. But when the new fellowship begins to be 
 diffused, the pi ogress should resemble that of the gos- 
 pel at first. Every additional church should be ac- 
 knowledged by those which have been previously ga- 
 thered, and should acknowledge them in its turn. A 
 friendly intercourse should be opened, and ail occasions 
 of cultivating it should be readily embraced. Hence, 
 the propriety, and the general practice among churches, 
 of supplying one another's wants, whether of the good 
 things of this life, or of suitable labourers in the one 
 ■vineyard of their common Lord. Hence, the friendly 
 ^attendance of office-bearers from neighbouring churches 
 to conduct the worship, and of other members to join 
 in it, when, office-bearers are ordained in a church where 
 
166 
 
 they arc wanted; and the desire which a church, ha 
 such circumstances, generally manifests to enjoy these 
 visits. Hence, the happiness, which the bishop of 
 ©ne church feels, in having the occasional assistance 
 of the bishop o£ another; and the engaging affection 
 with which the church receives his service. Hence 
 also, the disinterested sympathy with which a right- 
 hearted bishop will labour, as he may have it in his pow- 
 er, in a church destitute of an overseer; and the gra- 
 titude, both to providence and to the instrument, with 
 which the church will enjoy the occasional supply. Is 
 not all this exactly as it should be? Do not the recom- 
 mendations in scripture of persons who bore office ia 
 one church, mention the office, when they were going 
 to another. Even Phoebe the deaconess at Cenchrea, 
 is introduced to the church at Rome, as a deaconess, 
 and not merely as a sister, Rom. xvi. 1. that the Christ- 
 ians, to whom she was recommended, might receive 
 her with the greater confidence, and be more excited 
 to assist her in whatsoever business she had need of 
 them. Titus is introduced in a similar manuer to the 
 church at Corinth, 2 Cor. viii. 23. Tychicus is men- 
 tioned both to the Ephesians and Colossians, as a faith* 
 ful minister of the Lord, Ephes. vi. 21. Col. iv. 7. 
 Epaphras is approven of in the same way, Col. i. ?• and 
 Tv. 12. Timothy also in 1 Thess. iii. 2. And we re- 
 member no instance of an office bearer in one church, 
 being acknowledged only as a private member in an- 
 other. It will be a poor s-ubterfuge to say, that these 
 references apply chiefly to evangelists, and therefor? 
 prove nothing concerning bishops. There is no proof 
 that those who are called ministers were all evangelists 
 The words rendered minitttr and ministry are applied 
 
167 
 
 in scripture to all the offices, ordinary and extraordi- 
 nary, in the church of Christ*. Since, therefore, we 
 see, that all who held an office, were recommended to 
 other churches, not merely as Christians, but as hold- 
 ing their particular office, we are naturally led to con- 
 clude, that this is proper as to every office, and that, 
 on all such occasions, there ought to be a respectful ac- 
 knowledgement of the office-bearer as fit for his office, 
 and as likely to refresh the brethren by the exercise of 
 it, as far as circumstances permit, in whatever churck 
 he may be occasionally received. Accordingly, it has 
 always been a custom, and a very comfortable and 
 edifying one, to ask bishops from other churches, 
 when such were present, to preach, and to dispense 
 ordinances. Surely, if, in choosing the bishop, as 
 well as in other things, what is done, agreeably to the 
 will of Christ, by a church on earth, shall be ratified 
 in heaven; it may well be acknowledged thus far, by 
 other churches, in every part of the earth. No ! say 
 the -advocates of the subdivision system. Bishops 
 may be admitted to communion as members of other 
 churches. We cannot refuse that. But they are bi- 
 shops at home only. Let them keep silence here. 
 We do .not need assistance, and we will not have it, 
 except ^mottg ourselves. What sour repulsive lan- 
 guage is thisi We are happy to say, that we "have 
 " not so learned Christ." 
 
 If it be the duty of churches to endeavour to main- 
 tain union with one another, it is also the duty of indi- 
 viduals to endeavour to maintain union with the churck 
 tQ wfrich they belong. His private affairs, a man may 
 
 * See Macknight on Ephes. iv. 12. Note 5. 
 
16$ 
 
 manage, as he pleases, provided he do it not in a sin- 
 ful manner. But there seems to be a difference as to 
 the general interests of the gospel, and the supply of 
 what is wanting in churches. The fitting of men for 
 the work of the ministry ; the sending of them away 
 from churches to which they belong, to labour in the 
 gospel elsewhere; the going oneself from year to year 
 on so important a business; are measures, which are 
 so exceedingly excellent in themselves, that wherever 
 they are pursued, we could wish to find, that the church 
 is acknowledged, and consulted, and asked to bid the 
 labourers, God speed! 
 
169 
 
 OF THE WORSHIP OF A CHURCH* 
 
 It has been a custom in the recently formed 
 churches in this country, for the bishop to call on bre- 
 thren to pray, and to give them a general invitation 
 to speak or exhort from a portion of scripture. This 
 is usually done on a week day, when the meetino- is 
 not so numerously attended by strangers ; and, in some 
 of the churches, the subject of exhortation is confined 
 to the passage of scripture, which occurs in a regular 
 course of reading, that all the members may be prepar- 
 ed on it, if they please, and that the bishop may not be 
 taken by surprise, on a subject with which he is not fa- 
 miliar, while, at the same time, he may feel the neces- 
 sity of an immediate attempt to give further i lustra- 
 tion, or to correct something which has been said amiss. 
 This custom is both comfortable and edifying, 
 when modestly followed as a social exercise of Christ- 
 ian liberty. Viewing the meeting, while employed 
 in this manner, as a fellowship society on a large scale, 
 we have much pleasure in attending it, and should 
 be very sorry to see it discontinued. By a fellowship 
 society, we mean a voluntary society for worship, 
 reading the scriptures, and religious conversation, such 
 as is practised among many serious people in this 
 country of all denominations. When these exercises 
 are carried on in so large a society as a church com- 
 monly is, it is requisite that a president should be em- 
 ployed to keep order. Where there is a bishop, and 
 he is present, the duty will naturally devolve upon him. 
 This general kind of society is enjoyed by all the 
 
 P 
 
170 
 
 members, both male and female; and is free from some 
 disadvantages to which smaller fellowship societies, 
 containing only portions of a church, and having no 
 president, or overseer, are certainly liable. 
 
 It is highly probable, that in fitting out men for 
 the ministry, and in order to discover who should be 
 j fitted out for it, the early bishops encouraged brethren 
 to engage in prayer, and to speak from scripture, ei- 
 ther in a more private, or more public way, as they 
 thought them capable. Thus would individuals give 
 proof of their abilities and improvement, by preaching 
 in the churches* and be the more qualified to preach to 
 the world. In a church, as in any other society, those 
 only have a right to speak, who have the consent of 
 the society to do it: elsewhere, any Christian may 
 speak; and if he be not found to speak what is errone- 
 ous, or little to the purpose, churches should rather 
 encourage, than restrain him. But, if brethren ever 
 spoke in a church meeting, after the cessation of mi- 
 raculous gifts, they did it by permission of the over- 
 seer, and under his superintendance. The exercise, 
 which is commonly called exhorting, when agreed 
 to by a church, ought, with their consent, to be still 
 regulated in the same way; and the circumstances of 
 time, place, and manner of conducting it, are, like the 
 exercise itself, matters to be judged of entirely by 
 Christian prudence. 
 
 This view of the practice of exhorting by the bre- 
 thren at large, is by no means satisfactory to some, who 
 have written on the subject. They conceive that ex- 
 horting is nothing less than prophesying; that all the 
 passages of scripture where exhorting is mentioned, 
 without express reference to ofSce-bearers, should be 
 
171 
 
 expressly understood of the brethren in general; that 
 because exhorting is enjoined, in connection with as. 
 sembling, therefore exhorting by the brethren at large* 
 is an ordinance of Christ, to be observed at every meet- 
 ing of a church; and that, because the churches meet 
 on the Lord's day, therefore this ordinance ought to 
 form a part of the stated exercise of the churches 
 every Lord's da v. 
 
 The difference between prophesying and exhorting^ 
 we have already attempted to explain*. A few re- 
 marks remain to be made on those scriptures, which 
 enjoin exhortation; from which it will probably ap- 
 pear, that the voluntary exercises of the members at- 
 large, in a fellowship meeting, as described above, do 
 not necessarily interfere with the ordinary public la- 
 bours of the bishop. 
 
 Gur first remark is, that the scriptures seem to re- 
 present public exhortation, as substantially the same 
 with preaching and teaching. Thus, it is said of the 
 BaptL;, Luke iii. 18. "Many other things in his 
 " exhortation preached he unto them;" of Peter 
 preaching on the day of Pentecost, Acts ii. 40. " And 
 *' with many other words did he testify and exhort." 
 We are informed, Acts xiii. 14, 15. that when Paul 
 and his company went into the synagogue at Antioch 
 in Pisidia, and sat down, it was urderstood as signify- 
 ing a desire to speak f, for which leave was given in 
 
 * Seepages 2? — SO. 
 
 f It was customary, in the synagogues', for anyone who taught, 
 to sit down. The congregation at large, were not accommodat- 
 ed with seats. Hence, the act of sitting down, attracted notice, 
 because it intimated an iritenticai to teach. See Matth. v. i x 2. 
 andxtYi; Z 5. Luke iv. 20. John viii. :?. 
 
 P 2 
 
172 
 these terms, « The rulers of the synagogue sent unto 
 " them, saying, brethren, if ye have any word of ex- 
 « kortation for the people, say on." Here was 
 nothing like any Jew, who thought proper, begin- 
 ning to exhort. An invitation was given by the rul- 
 ers, on their perceiving the ordinary signal of a desire 
 to address the congregation; and Paul, on receiving 
 the invitation, preached the gospel. In like manner, 
 the work of Paul and Barnabas in revisiting several of 
 the churches xvhich they had planted, is expressed thus; 
 Acts xiv. 22. "confirming the souls of the disciples, 
 « exhorting them to continue in the faith, and 
 " saying, that we must through much tribulation en- 
 " ter into the kingdom of God." Again, Acts xx. 
 2. it is said of Paul, « And when he had gone over 
 " those parts, and had given them much exhorta- 
 " tion, &c." In 1 Thess. ii. 2—4. the language is 
 very explicit. « We were bold in our God, to 
 " speak unto you the gospel of God, with much 
 " contention. For our exhortation was not of 
 " deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor of guile: but as we 
 " were allowed of God to be put in trust with the 
 * gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but 
 " God, who trieth our hearts." Nothing can more 
 distinctly represent preaching, teaching, and exhorta- 
 tion, as substantially the same. 
 
 A second remark is, that public exhortation in 
 churches is expressly said to have been practised by 
 apostles and prophets, and enjoined as a duty upon both 
 evangelists and bishops. Of apostles exhorting we 
 have given some instances already The following 
 may be added. 1 Thess. iv. 1. "We beseech you, 
 w * brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, 
 
1 t J 
 
 Sec." Chap. v. 14-. " Now we exhort you, brethren, 
 " warn them, &c." 2 Thess. iii. 12. " Now them 
 " that are such, we command and exhort by our 
 ** Lord Jesus Christ, &c." 1 Tim. ii. 1. " I ex- 
 " hort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, &c.'* 
 Of prophets it is said, Acts xv. 32. " And Judas 
 ** and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhort- 
 " ed the brethren with many words, and confirmed 
 " them." 1 Cor. xiv. 3. " He that prophesieth 
 * f speaketh unto men to edification, and exhorta- 
 " tiou, and comfort." In like manner, exhortation is 
 enjoined on evangelists. 1 Tim. iv. 13. "Till I come, 
 " give attendance to exhortation." 2 Tim. iv. 2. 
 " Exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." 
 Tit. ii. 6. " Young men likewise exhort to be so- 
 ber-minded:" verse 9. " Exhort servants to be o- 
 M bedient to their masters:' ' verse 15. " These things 
 " speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority,, 
 " Let no man despise thee." As to the bishop, one 
 reason why dis' inguished qualifications are to be sought 
 in him is, that he also is called to the duty of exhort- 
 ing. Tit. i. 9. si Holding fast' the faithful word, 
 " as he hath been taught, that he may be able b/ 
 " sound doctrine, both to exhort, and to confute the * 
 " gainsayers." 
 
 A third remark is, that public exhortation is no 
 where said to be the duty, or the practice, of private 
 members, in the primitive churches* Exhortation ii 
 often spoken of in a geneial way, as we shall see pre- 
 sently ; but there is no instance in which private mem- 
 bers are distinctly enjoined to exhort, or said to have 
 exhorted, as in the cases stated above, of apostles, pro- 
 phets, evangelists, and bishops. If, then, it be an ot- 
 
 P 3 
 
174 
 
 dinance of Christ, that, besides the labours of the bi- 
 shop, public exhortation shall be practised by private 
 members of a church: i this must form part of the 
 exercise of every Lord's day; if the bishop must be 
 silent till it be observed; it seems a reasonable ques- 
 tion, Where is the account of the institution of this 
 ordinance? To this question, we confess that we have 
 never seen, and are unable to give, a satisfactory an- 
 swer. 
 
 A fourth remark is, that where exhortation is spo- 
 ken of in a general way, it may be fairly referred, either 
 to the possession of miraculous gifts, or to the exercise 
 of the church in singing the praises of God, or to the 
 performance of the duties of the bishop, or to the dai- 
 ly improvement of occasional intercourse. It may be 
 referred to the possession of miraculous gifts, in Rom. 
 - A \{. Q — 8. "Having then gifts, differing according to 
 «' the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let 
 ef us prophesy, according to the proportion of faith; or 
 «' ministry, let us iva'it on our ministiing; or he that 
 " teacheth, on teaching; or, he that exhorteth, 
 *■'- on exhortation." — A reference to gifts, though 
 not so express, seems to be made again, in Rom. xv. 
 14, — 16. " And I myself also am persuaded of you, my 
 " brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with 
 " all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 
 *' Nevertheless, brethren, I hav* written the more bold- 
 44 ly unto you, as putting you in mind, because of the 
 " grace that is given to me of God, that I should be 
 44 the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, &c." 
 "When Paul spoke of gifts, in the former passage, he 
 mentioned the distribution of them among the Roman 
 believers. He now declares his persuasion, that they 
 
175 
 
 had such a share of those gi r ts, as to be " able to ad- 
 «* monish one another." That he is referring to gifts, 
 in this passage, will seem very probable, if we compare 
 the language of the 14-th verse, with that of 1 Cor. i. 
 4 — 7« where gifts are certainly spoken of. The words 
 are very much the same. " I thank my God always 
 " on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given 
 " you by Jesus Christ; that in every thing ye are en- 
 " riched by him, in all utterance, and all knowledge, 
 " even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in 
 *' you; so that ye come behind in no gift." Now, to 
 return to Rom. xv. while the apostle acknowledges 
 the gifts of the Roman believers, he reminds them of 
 his own superior gifts as an apostle, and the apostle of 
 the Gentiles, " because of the grace that was given to 
 11 him of God;" and declares, it was on this account 
 that he had so boldly written to them. — Col. iii. 16. 
 has been thought to refer to exhortation by the breth- 
 ren, but it is evidently to such exhortations as are con- 
 tained in the psalms, which the brethren call mutually 
 to remembrance, when they sing the praises of God. 
 *' Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wis- 
 u dom; teaching, and admonishing one another, in 
 ** psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with 
 '* grace in your hearts to the Lord." This sentence 
 is sometimes, indeed, pointed in such a manner, as to 
 refer the " teaching and admonishing " to what goes 
 before; and the " psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs " 
 to the exercise of singing, which is mentioned after- 
 wards. But the natural interpretation will be found 
 in the parallel passage, Ephes, v. 18, 19. which ought 
 .to be translated thus; ** Be filled with the Spirit: 
 " speaking to one another in psalms, and hymns, and 
 
116 
 
 ft spiritual songs, singing and making melody in youf 
 " heart to the Lord." Both these passages speak of ait 
 exhortation, which is given in the singing of praise ; and 
 when we examine the psalms, we find them abounding 
 with exhortation, addressed, indeed, both to the ser- 
 vants of the Lord, and' to mankind at large, inso* 
 much, that singing them may be considered as an ani- 
 mated way of preaching the gospel.— ^-1 Thess. iv. 18; 
 and v. 11. have also been thought to support the" 
 same view of exhortation. The first passage seems 
 immediately to refer to what Paul had just been say- 
 ing, about those- who sleep in Jesus. Having given 
 the most consolatory information concerning them, l.e 
 adds, " Wherefore comfort (or exhort) one another 
 "with these words." Is this the institution of 
 an ordinance? Is it not simply the improvement to 
 be made by women, as well as men, of the particular 
 information which "he had given; while they heard it 
 read, and rehearsed it to one another in conversation^ 
 especially when they visited brethren who had been 
 bereaved of Christian friends, a thing peculiarly fre* 
 quent in a church under persecution? The second, 
 passage is little more than a repetition of the first', 
 after exhorting survivors to be in habitual readiness to 
 live or die, as the Lord should call them; ki Where- 
 *' fore comfor/t (exhort) yourselves together, and edi- 
 " fy one another, even as also ye do." This practice 
 does not appear to be the giving of public exhortations 
 by the brethren at large. Like the former, it was 
 what the women were called to, no less than the men, 
 and public exhortation seems to be alluded to, in the 
 very next verse, as the distinct employment of those 
 gifted brethren, who then conducted all the exercises 
 
177 
 
 of public worship. " And we beseech you, brethren, 
 " to know them which labour among you, and are o- 
 « ver you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to es- 
 " teem them very highly in love for their work's sake." 
 
 Fhe only other passages, which we remember to 
 
 have seen brought forward on this question are Heb. 
 iii. 12, 13, and x 24, 25. It is obvious, and seems 
 indeed to be admitted on all hands, that the first of 
 these refers to the daily improvement of occasional in- 
 tercourae. «« Take liet-d, brethren, lest there be in 
 « any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing 
 " from the living God, but exhort one another daily, 
 "while it is called to-day ; lest any of you 
 " be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." The 
 other passage is, " And let us consider one another 
 « to provoke unto love and to good works : not for- 
 " saking the assembling of ourselves together, as the 
 " manner of some is, but exhorting one another : and 
 " so much the more, as ye see the day approach- 
 « ing." Many understand the exhorting here recom- 
 mended, to be mutual encouragement, given by in- 
 dividual Christians to one another, to assemble statedly 
 for the observance of ordinances, notwithstanding the 
 persecution which deterred some from the practice. 
 Thus Newcome's translation is, " not forsaking the 
 " assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of 
 " some is ; but exhorting to It ; and so much the more, 
 « &c." But, granting that it does speak of the ex- 
 ercises of their assembled churches, it cannot be un- 
 derstood as referring to a particular ordinance, far 
 less, as fi ing the manner in. which a particular ordinance 
 should be observed; because the word " exhorting," is, 
 in the acceptation supposed, a general term for all the 
 exercises of social worship taken together. We know 
 
178 
 
 from chap. xiii. 7> 17« that the Hebrews had persons 
 among them, who either as apostles, gifted brethren, 
 or bishops, had " the rule over them," — " watched 
 '* for their souls" — and " spoke to them the word 
 " of God." We have seen that persons of these de- 
 scriptions were enjoined to give public exhortations. 
 If we allow that r in the passage in question, Paul, in 
 a single word, alludes to the whole exercises of their 
 assembled church ; ought we not to refer this allusion 
 to the work of those, whose duty it is known to have 
 been, to conduct those exercises ? Must we set aside 
 the exhortation of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pas- 
 tors, and teachers, in order to make way for exhorta- 
 tion by other brethren, who are never said in scripture 
 to have attempted any such thing? May we even 
 add this last sort of exhortation to that of the others ; 
 when it cannot be done, without taking the unwar- 
 rantable liberty of understanding in a particular sense, 
 a word which is evidently used in a general one ; and 
 doing so, without support from any- other more expli- 
 cit portion of scripture ? 
 
 From these remarks, it appears, that the exercises- 
 of church members in a fellowship meeting, have no 
 claim to be brought forward as an ordinance, to the 
 setting aside of any of the public labours of the bi- 
 shop. 
 
 Many inconveniences must attend the practice 
 which has been recommended If churches shall si- 
 lence the bishop, for a part of the time, in which he 
 has been accustomed to address them on the Lord's 
 day, that any other members, who choose, may address 
 them in his stead ; they are not likely to be, during 
 that time 3 -so well taught. They must, in some de- 
 
17§ 
 
 Free, be deprived of the choice of their teachers. 
 They cannot tell who may choose to be their teachers. 
 Some may rise, who had no previous intention of do- 
 incr so, and of course, without any premeditation what 
 they shall say, merely to carry on the exercise. O- 
 thers, who are most ready, may be most unfit. It is 
 allowed, indeed, that the bishop may check any one, 
 who speaks improperly, and may admonish such as 
 are very incapable, from again making the attempt. 
 But much time may be occupied to little purpose, be- 
 fore matters can be carried this length. There can be 
 no preventing a first attempt. In the continual ac- 
 cession of new members, therefore, there must be con- 
 tinual risk of improper attempts at exhortation. The 
 exhorting brethren themselves, cannot be very sure 
 when they shall have an opportunity to exhort ; for 
 no previous arrangement is proposed; while one is yet 
 rising, another may be up before him. If any of 
 therri, then, prepare what they are to say, they must do 
 it under the disadvantage of uncertainty, whether they 
 shall, after all, have it in their power to speak. 
 
 These inconveniences do little harm in more private 
 meetings ; but if the practice which they accompany, 
 be introduced at all meetings of a church, much evil 
 may be justly dreaded. The bishop may, indeed, be 
 tempted to encourage the plan, because it exempts 
 him from a portion of that public labour, which he 
 may have been in the habit of protracting, or repeat- 
 ing on the Lord's day, to a degree beyond his strength. 
 But the church had better remain together for a short- 
 er time, or meet less frequently, and occupy the time 
 that remains, in the exercises cf family and secret 
 worship, than spend it .in public, in a way little adapt- 
 
180 
 
 ed to the general edification of the members, and very 
 likely to diminish the attendance of others, by giving 
 them just ground of offence. We have granted, that 
 advantages may arise, from sometimes allowing breth- 
 ren to pray, or to speak from scripture, in a church. 
 Nor should we absolutely object to such liberty being 
 given on the Lord's day, when churches are collected 
 from distant parts of an extensive district; when they 
 cannot meet conveniently on another day of the week; 
 when they can overtake the exercise, without unduly 
 shortening any of the ordinary exercises of public wor- 
 ship; and when they are willing to keep it in its own 
 place. In short, if it be adopted on that day, by par- 
 ticular churches, as mere matter of expediency, leav- 
 ing others to that liberty, respecting such arrange- 
 ments, to which they are left in the word of God, we 
 have no desire to make any objection. But when it 
 is contended for as an ordinance, which must be ob- 
 served by all churches, on the Lord's day ; for which 
 room must, at all events, be made in the order of pub- 
 lic worship; and for want of which, a church is judg- 
 ed to be in a state of corruption ; we hold ourselves 
 bound to resist the scheme. It is not required by the 
 word of God. And if we should allow it, without 
 contradiction, to be said, that the occasional observa- 
 tions of private members, who profess that they come 
 together to be taught, are as much for edification, as 
 the stated labours of the bishop, whom they have 
 chosen to be their teacher; we should feel ourselves 
 guilty of a f lse modesty, or rather of the vile: t affec- 
 tation. No! instead of yielding to the stream of 
 what seems to be popular on this question; we niust 
 remember the salutary admonition of the apostle James, 
 
181 
 
 ** My brethren, be not many teachers, knowing that 
 " we shall receive greater judgment, " James iii. 1. 
 
 Another subject, connected with the worship of a 
 church, on which it may be proper to touch, is the 
 proposal, which has been made, to alter the time of 
 eating the Lord's supper, from the afternoon to the 
 morning. It would never have occurred to us, to ob- 
 ject to the hour of the day, at which a church may 
 find it convenient to observe this ordinance. But since 
 a discussion is moved on a point of this nature, it is ob- 
 vious to remark, that the Jewish passover, and the or- 
 dinary meal, anciently called the supper, were eaten 
 about three or four o'clock in the afternoon *. This 
 then, was about the time of the day when the Lord's 
 supper was originally dispensed. Hence the name of 
 the ordinance. It was probably observed afterwards, 
 about the same time. That this was the case at Co- 
 rinth, may be gathered from the name of the common 
 meal with" which they confounded it. " This is not 
 " to eat the Lord's supper," saith the apostle, " for 
 " in eating, every one taketh before other, his own 
 *' supper," 1 Cor. xi. 20, 21. Now, it so happens, 
 that the churches, who observe the Lord's supper eve- 
 ry Lord's day, are generally in the habit of doing so, 
 about the very same hour as it appears to have been 
 observed at, in the primitive times. Surely, it is an 
 inordinate love of alteration, which, rather than not 
 change, proposes to change from the right to the 
 wrong, and uses a great deal of reasoning to persuade 
 us, that even such a change as this, must be a great 
 improvement. 
 
 * See Ainsworth on Exod. xii. 6. and Adam's Roman Anti- 
 quities, Coena. 
 
 Q 
 
182 
 
 Another subject, which has often agitated the 
 Christian world, and has oflate been revived with con- 
 siderable zeal, is the actions or postures of body which 
 may be proper in the worship of a church. Although 
 these are incidentally mentioned in scripture, we con- 
 ceive that there is no interposition of divine authority 
 respecting them. If any Christian be of a different 
 opinion, that Christian does not act according to his 
 principles; because he does not yield to the authority 
 which he acknowledges, except in one or two instan- 
 ces of his own choosing. In praise, the first bodily 
 exercise, which we read of in scripture, is dancing. 
 H Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a 
 " timbrel in her hand ; and all the women went out after 
 *' her, with timbrels and with dances/' Exod xv. 20. 
 •'* David danced before the Lord with all his might," 
 2 Sam. vi. 14.; and he says, Psai. cl. 4. " Praise hirn 
 •* with the timbrel and dance." We do not under- 
 stand these passages as intended to signify more than a 
 reference to what was of old customary; yet, accord- 
 ing to the undistinguishing mode of interpretation a- 
 dopted by many, we might say, that here is both pre- 
 cept and example of the most explicit nature, and 
 might take it upon us to reprove our brethren, for not 
 yielding a ready obedience. The point, however, 
 which is insisted on at present, -is, standing while we 
 sing praise. That churches may stand durirgthis ex- 
 ercise, if they please, we fully grant. But we are re- 
 quired to admit the duty of standing, among the arti- 
 cles of our creed; and if we will not do this, and act 
 accordingly, we sometimes see individuals, in the 
 warmth of their zeal, bearing a practical testimony a- 
 gainst the heresy of a sitting congregation, by stand- 
 
I8S 
 
 ing in the midst of them, during the praises of God, 
 In these circumstances, we hold it Our duty to say, 
 what we know to be truth, that there is not the sha- 
 dow of an interposition of divine authority on this sub- 
 ject. Israel was called to "'stand up, and bless the 
 '* Lord their God," Neh. ix. 5. but on reading the 
 passage, it will be found, that this was a call to stand 
 up at prayer. Psalms cxxxiv. 1. and cxxxv. 1 — 3. 
 have been quoted as proofs, that they stood and rang 
 the praises of God.- It may be added, that they stood 
 and performed every other part of divine service. They 
 did so, for this good reason, that in the court of the 
 tabernacle and temple there were no seats. These 
 passages do not call for a particular posture in singing; 
 they do not say, " Stand, ye who praise the Lord;" 
 they call for singing from those who are in the habit, 
 and in the general posture of watching and attendance. 
 "' Bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, who 
 " by night stand in the house of the Lord." — " Praise 
 " ye the Lord, — O ye servants of the Lord, ye that 
 " stand in the house of the Lord." If the?e words 
 prove any thing respecting bodily attitude, they prove, 
 that we ought to stand throughout the whole continv- 
 ance of public worship. In ail the New Testament, 
 there is not a single hint, what posture was customary 
 among the primitive Christians, in singing the praises 
 of God, or whether any one posture was preferable to 
 another. Standing is, indeed, the posture in which 
 the saints are represented before the throne, Rev. vii. 
 9. Yes! " the great multitude, which no man C2n 
 li number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, 
 * £ and tongues, stand before the throne, and before 
 4i the Lamb, ciothfd with white robes, and 
 
 Q 2 
 
184 
 
 M palms in tkeir hands:" a description not of pri- 
 mitive worship, but of future glory; an object of hope, 
 surely not a pattern for present imitation. 
 
 If standing in praise, be pleaded for, merely on the 
 ground of a sense of decency, we are perfectly recon- 
 ciled to it. We will stand with the standers, and sit 
 with the sitters ; and sometimes we will do the one, 
 sometimes the other. A sense of decency, is a thing 
 entirely distinct from divine authority. With our 
 sense of decency, we may very lawfully compare our 
 circumstances of accommodation. When congrega- 
 tions could not sit, without sitting on the ground, it 
 seems to have been common to stand, during every part 
 of divine service. But places of worship came to be 
 seated, that the practice of standing constantly might 
 be discontinued. If it be decent to stand in praise, 
 it is important that the mind be not distracted in that 
 exercise, by the fatigue of standing. Standing in 
 praise, is less likely to fatigue a congregation, where a 
 change of posture is provided for, in the accompany- 
 ing part of worship, by kneeling in prayer. This 
 posture is quite as evidently scriptural as the other, al-" 
 though not at all insisted on at present in this country. 
 But if the manner in which our places of worship are 
 seated, be sustained as a reason, why we do not kneel 
 in prayer, (and we know no other reason why we do 
 not); our standing in prayer, is a reason equally good, 
 why we should not always stand in praise. To do so, 
 in a crowded congregation, and in narrow pews, dur- 
 ing both prayer and praise, is distressing to many, who 
 cannot be numbered among the infirm. At any rate, 
 if a thing is urged on us, under the notion of scripture 
 authority, when 3 in fact, there is no scripture autho« 
 
185 
 
 tity In the case, it is of consequence for churches to 
 assert their invaded liberty, not merely for their own 
 sake, but for the sake of preserving the holy scrip- 
 tures from that contempt, to which they must be ex- 
 posed, however unintentionally, when they are applied 
 to purposes which they were never intended to serve. 
 
 On the subject before us, ail the Christians in the 
 world, however they differ in other things, agree in 
 this, that none of them follow all the examples in scrip- 
 ture. Points of universal agreement are so rare, that 
 when they do occur, they are worthy of notice. In 
 this point, we are happy to think our brethren in the 
 right. We should be shocked to see worshippers danc- 
 ing to their praise. Neither would it greatly delight 
 lis (though we shall not be surprised to hear that it 
 is recommended) to see a church reclining on sofas at 
 the Lord's supper. It might easily be shown, were 
 it necessary, that we are not required to view such 
 things as precedents. Now, if God desires not uni- 
 formity of worship, why should it be desired by man ? 
 How carefully should we avoid moving " foolish and 
 " untaught questions, knowing that they do gender 
 " strifes !" 2 Tim. ii. 23. We read with wonder, of 
 the furious zeal, which fined, and imprisoned, and ba- 
 nished men, because they would sit, and would not 
 kneel, at the Lord's supper. We exclaim, Were not 
 the persecutors, and the persecuted, equally conscious, 
 that neither of these postures was the primitive one? 
 But is the case very different, when men argue from 
 the scriptures, to alter our faith, about sitting and 
 standing, during the singing of praise? It is time we 
 had done with such trifling discussions. ** The hour 
 ** cometh," said Jesus, " and now is, when the true 
 
 O 3 
 
US 
 
 < { worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit a-nd in 
 «' truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
 m God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must 
 <* worship him in spirit and in truth," John iv. 28, 
 24*. " We are the circumcision," said Paul, " who wor- 
 '* ship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, 
 " and have no confidence in the flesh," Phil, iii- S. 
 
187 
 
 OF THE DISCIPLINE OF A CHURCH. 
 
 Under this head are included the admission 
 of members, and the treatment of such as are guilty 
 of offences. The question, respecting these particu- 
 lars, which requires our attention at present, is, whe- 
 ther they ought to be transacted privately, or in pub- 
 lic? 
 
 When the application, which any one has made for 
 admission, is mentioned to a church, it never can be 
 known, whether he will be finally received, or reject- 
 ed. Whatever may be the excellence of the pro- 
 fession of his faith, or the strength of testimony given 
 by two or three witnesses to his character; facts may 
 be known to others, which shall form a solid objection 
 to his admission, or at least require that it be delayed 
 for the purpose of investigation. On this account,, 
 the applications for admission, are very properly men- 
 tioned, in most of our churches, after strangers have 
 been requested to withdraw. It is not thought rea- 
 sonable to publish people's names to the world, as be- 
 Severs of the gospel, before we know, whether we- 
 shall ourselves acknowledge them in that character. 
 
 When a person is received into a church, the fact 
 is published, by his appearing among the brethren, 
 when they come together in public to break bread. 
 fn the scripture accounts of people being added to 
 the church, we have no intimation that their names 
 were read out, or that they were received with any 
 particular address or ceremonv. All we learn is, that 
 they were joined to the multitude of the disciples, that 
 
1-88 
 
 w, were allowed to associate with thtm, as belonguig' 
 to their number ; met with them when they assembled 
 for public worship, and especially when they engaged 
 in that part of worship, which makes it necessary 
 for disciples to form a distinct company from stran- 
 gers. 
 
 When a person, who has been receivecrinto a-criiirc'hy 
 behaves in such a manner as to suffer exclusion, the 
 fact is published) by his ceasing to appear among the 
 brethren, when they come together in public to break 
 bread. When he is dealt with by the church, his of- 
 fensive behaviour is not mentioned publicly, for the 
 same reason, that his original application was not men- 
 tioned publicly, namely, that it cannot be known, in 
 the first instance, to what it may amount. Facts of 
 aggravation, or facts of extenuation may be known 
 to some of the members, in addition to what is ori* 
 finally stated, although on the testimony of two or 
 three witnesses. Much also- may depend on the be- 
 haviour of the offending brother, when he is called 
 to account. It must surely be premature to call the 
 attention of the public to a case, before the nature of 
 that case be ascertained. — In like manner, when he 
 comes to be excluded, his exclusion is not mentioned 
 publicly, because his original admission was not men- 
 tioned publicly. Agreeably to what appears to have 
 been the primitive mode, he was received into the 
 church, without any particular publication of his name 
 and character, and became known to the world as a 
 member, merely by being seen among the disciples 
 at the table of the Lord. He is now excluded from 
 the church, without any particulai publication of his- 
 aame and character, and becomes known to the world 
 
189 
 
 as no member, by ceasing to be seen among the disci- 
 ples at the table of the Lord. Why should a person 
 be admitted tacitly, and be expelled by proclamation? 
 This would not be a fair, but a partial publicity of dis- 
 cipline. Perhaps some churches make too great a 
 noise about the members whom they receive; and may 
 therefore be under a temptation to make too great a 
 noise about those whom they put away. But the gos* 
 pel does not enjoin that eager disavowal of one who 
 has deceived us, or that clamorous vindication of our- 
 selves from the suspicion, under which we may, for a 
 moment, lie on his account, which is so congenial to 
 human nature, and so common in all kinds of world- 
 ly society. If it should even be at the risk of leaving 
 it uncertain, whether the excluded person were cut 
 off, or had himself withdrawn, it seems advisable, that 
 the church should preserve a silence, at once full o£ 
 dignity, of meekness, and of self-denial. The interests 
 of holiness are sufficiently provided for, by the fact of 
 the offender's separation. If he be disposed to misre- 
 present their conduct towards him, they will be sim- 
 ple, indeed, if they appear along with him at the bar 
 of the public. 
 
 The argument, which is sometimes used, for pub- 
 lie discipline, stands thus. Paul ordered the incestu- 
 ous person among the Corinthians to be put away, 
 when they were gathered together. But, from what 
 is said about the exercise of the gifts of tongues and 
 prophecy, we find, that when they wer gathere i to- 
 gether, a stranger might come in. Their meetings 
 were therefore open and public; and whatever is to 
 be done in the meeting oi a church, must bt done in 
 public. — This reasoning can stand only on the suppo- 
 
19CF 
 
 sition, that what was the case during one exercise of j* 
 church, must be the case during all its exercises. But 
 this is a supposition for which we have no authority, 
 either in the laws of reasoning, or in any declaration 
 ef scripture. That a stranger might come in, during., 
 the exercise of spiritual gifts, is expressly mentioned, 
 and we see a reason for it, namely, that tongues were 
 lor a sign to them that were without, and prophecy 
 equally adapted to the conversion of strangers, and- 
 the edification of the church. During the exercise of 
 these gifts, therefore, there can be no doubt, that the- 
 meeting was public, just as it is with us, during pub- 
 lic worship. But that a stranger might come in when 
 the incestuous person was put away, is not mention-' 
 ed, and we see a reason against it, namely, that the 
 measure was enjoined for the safety of the church, but- 
 had no immediate reference to those " that were with-- 
 H out." Executing. discipline publicly has been call- 
 ed a necessary way of exhibiting the gospel to the- 
 world. But the alleged necessity of this kind of ex- 
 hibition seems to be entirely a refinement of modern- 
 speculation. We see nothing of it in scripture. The- 
 exhibition of the gospel, to the world, which is insti- 
 tuted there, is, " Preagh the gospel to every crea- 
 « ture." This is an exhibition, not by the administra- 
 tion of discipline, but by public speaking. The Co- 
 rinthian believers were to put the offender away, know- 
 ing that " a little leaven leaverreth the whole lump.'* 
 They were to M purge out, therefore, the old leaven, 
 " that they might be a new lump, even as they were 
 6 * unleavened. For even Christ our passover (saith 
 rt the apostle) is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep- 
 ♦* the feast, not with the old leaven, neither with the 
 
191 
 
 '* leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the un- 
 i( leavened bread of sincerity and truth." These con- 
 siderations are entirely of an internal nature. They 
 have no application to any, except members of a church. 
 The very account of their meeting, on the occasion, 
 *eems to imply, that none were present, besides them- 
 selves, and the great Head of the church. " For I 
 ** verily as absent in body, but present in spirit, have 
 " judged already, as though I were present, concern- 
 <s ing him that hath so done this deed; in the name of 
 " our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered toge- 
 " ther, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord 
 " Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for 
 4t the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit may be 
 
 " saved in the day of our Lord Jesus," 1 Cor. v. 3 
 
 5. The manner too, in which the apostle concludes 
 the discussion of the subject, shows, that he viewed the 
 business of the church, in such cases, entirely as an 
 internal concern. " For what have I to do to iudo-e 
 61 them also that are without? Do not ye judge them 
 " that are within? But them that are without Goi. 
 "judgeth," verses 12, 13. 
 
 The rule given by our Lord, Matth. xviii. respect- 
 ing offences, is in the true spirit of that love, whicii 
 " covereth all sins," Prov. x. 12. Absolute secrecy 
 is the first step. A limited privacy the second. The 
 last resource is, « Tell it to the church." Is not that 
 a bold inference, which would interpret this last direc- 
 tion as of the same import with, " Proclaim it on the 
 " house tops?" Yet it must be understood as at once 
 enjoining equal publicity with the preaching of the 
 gospel, if all discipline is to be administered in public. 
 We believe the fair interpretation to be, Tell it to th« 
 
192 
 
 church when met by themselves. There is no warrant, 
 and there ought to be no inclination, to tell it to ano«. 
 ther living creature. 
 
 One of Paul's directions to Timothy, respecting the 
 treatment of elders, has been sadly hackneyed on this 
 subject, for no reason, which we can see, except that 
 it is thought to call for public discipline. The fact, 
 however, is, that, while it calls for discipline before 
 the whole church, it is absolutely inconsistent with 
 the supposition of having it in the presence of stran- 
 gers. M Against an elder, receive not an accusation, 
 * ( except upon the testimony cf two or three witnesses. 
 " Them (those elders) that sin, rebuke before all, 
 " that the others also may fear. I charge thee before 
 •' God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect an- 
 " gels, that thou observe these things without prefer* 
 " ring one before another, doing nothing by partiali- 
 " ty," 1 Tim. v. 19—21. When Timothy was to 
 behave towards elders, as here directed, the presence 
 of none is supposed, except that of all the members of 
 the church, together with that of the Head of the 
 church, and the elect angels. The reason subjoined 
 to the direction confirms this remark. The rebuke 
 was to be given before all, that the others, or the rest 
 {'«/ Xoikoi}, might fear. But the rest could have no 
 cause, from such rebuke, to fear, unless, as being mem- 
 bers of the church, they were liable, in case of trans- 
 gression, to the same discipline. 
 
 We recollect no part of scripture, which hints at the 
 presence of a stranger, during the administration of 
 Christian discipline. The fact, that a stranger might 
 come into the primitive churches, while the gifted bre- 
 thren were prophesying, no more proves that he might 
 
193 
 
 also come in, while they were administering discipline; 
 th an the fact that a stranger may come in, while we 
 are engaged with preaching, proves that he is also 
 welcome to do so, while we are engaged with disci- 
 pline. — In like manner, the fact that churches came 
 together to break bread on the Lord's day, is no 
 proof that they did not occasionally meet for other 
 purposes on other days. When James said to Paul, 
 " the multitude must needs come together;" it was 
 not because of the coming of the Lord's day, (which, 
 it is contended, is the only day, on which a church 
 should meet, for any purpose;) but because, "they 
 " will hear (says he) that thou art come," Acts xxi. 
 22. As the administration of discipline is always oc- 
 casional, there seems a propriety in having occasional 
 meetings for the purpose. The supposition that 
 " meetings for business on week days have been called 
 " church meetings, by ivay of eminency abo^e the meet- 
 " ings on the Lord's day," would hardly have oc- 
 curred to any man's mind, who was not endeavouring 
 to bring them into disrepute. 
 
 There is something in the scheme of administering 
 discipline in public, which seems by no means con- 
 genial with the spirit of the gospel. So far from re- 
 quiring us to drag every offender forward, and to ex- 
 hibit him as in a theatre before the world, we find a 
 sacred writer commending the desire of concealing a 
 supposed culprit, whose conduct, had it been such as 
 appearances indicated, musi have been of the most fla- 
 gitious nature. When Joseph suspected his wife of 
 adultery, he was not willing to make her a public ex- 
 ample. O what false delicacy ! would some be ready 
 to exclaim, in such a case now. What a corrupt way 
 
 R 
 
194 
 
 ©f huddling up. matters! How improper, to depriye 
 the world of so edifying an exhibition of the nature 
 of the divine law! We find, however, a very different 
 language made use of, in the gospel according to Mat- 
 thew. " Then Joseph her husband, being a just 
 '* man., and not willing to make her a public example, 
 il was minded to put her away privily," Matth. i. 19. 
 We cannot but add, that it is very unpleasant, to see 
 sinful creatures, labouring to stretch the rules of dis- 
 cipline, either in the interpretation or application of 
 them, to the utmost possible degree of severity. In 
 the case of penal laws among men, it is allowed to be 
 an excellency of the administration, when the most 
 lenient interpretation is followed. We see no reason 
 why the same principle should not be admitted, in ad- 
 ministering the laws of the church of Christ. " So 
 " speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged 
 *' by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment 
 *' without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and 
 ** mercy rejoiceth against judgment," James li. 12, 13. 
 We have heard it remarked, by a person of great ex- 
 perience in such matters, that the most severe creditors 
 are generally people on the brink of bankruptcy them- 
 selves. We should be sorry to see reason given for a 
 similar remark, by the indulgence of severity of spirit 
 among the disciples of Christ. 
 
 Those, who do not agree to administer discipline in 
 public, are charged with attempting to conceal disci- 
 pline. This is an unfounded charge. "We do not 
 unnecessarily expose the persons, who may happen to 
 be under discipline, but we give the discipline itself 
 all that public manifestation by its consequences, 
 which the word of God appears to us to require.-— 
 
195 
 
 We are told that cases of discipline will be reported at 
 any rate, and probably with exaggeration; that there- 
 fore it would be much better to publish them ourselves. 
 This is really like prescribing the guillotine as a cure 
 for a headache. Is there no difference, between using 
 tenderness to individuals, as far as we can; and saying, 
 to preserve you from whisperers, we shall set you on 
 the pillory? — To say, that administering discipline 
 privately, and on a week day, is to do it, as a secular 
 society manages worldly business, is a very unwar- 
 rantable assertion. Who hath told us, that the church- 
 es of Christ cannot act in faith, except in public, and 
 on one day in the week ? We have had as much reason 
 to be convinced of the faith and obedience of a Christ- 
 ian church, when assembled by themselves, and on a- 
 week day, as ever we expect to have, in any other cir- 
 cumstances. Nor does it seem presumptuous to hope, 
 that, if a church be found to have obeyed the laws of 
 Christ, by conscientiously applying them to every case 
 of discipline which may have occurred; it will not be 
 condemned for having done so, on one day of the week, 
 rather than on another. In all that the Spirit saith 
 to the churches, there is nothing like distinctions e£ 
 this nature. 
 
 On the qiaestion respecting public discipline, we are 
 exposed to assaults from various quarters. The vindi- 
 cators of national churches boast much of the publici- 
 ty of their church courts, and affect to compare our 
 secret meetings, (as they sometimes term them.) with 
 the hidden tyranny of the inquisition. — Were our 
 churches political institutions, like a national church, 
 it would certainly be proper to transact all the busineis 
 of them in public, because the interests of the public, 
 
 R 2 
 
196 
 
 in the country where they were established, would be 
 involved in the measures which might be pursued. 
 But our churches are voluntary societies, unknown 
 among the institutions of human legislation. Their 
 measures affect the interests of their own members 
 alone. The presence of all, whom it may concern, 
 is surely publicity sufficient for the prevention of ty- 
 ranny, and the security of every possible privilege. 
 
 There is one case, however, in which we cheerfully 
 allow, that strangers should be admitted into any meet- 
 ing of a church. If the civil magistrate shall think 
 it necessary for the safety of the state, either to de- 
 mand admission for himself, or messengers; or to 
 ordain that no society shall, under pretence of reli- 
 gion, do any thing with shut doors, we are willing to 
 remove all jealousy of suspicious practices, by open- 
 ing our doors. Our discipline contains nothing, which 
 in itself requires concealment. However innocent 
 ourselves, yet, in the case supposed, we should hold 
 ourselves bound to believe, that there must be good 
 reason, as to the country at large, to require the de- 
 manded security, for our loyalty as subjects of the 
 state. It is one thing to admit strangers when cir- 
 cumstances require it: another, to do every thing pur- 
 posely in their presence. A frank disclosure of our 
 principles and conduct, for the satisfaction of the ci- 
 vil government, in the land in wh'.ch we live, is equally 
 distinct from an uncalled for exhibition of internal 
 affairs to every occasional spectator, and an acknow- 
 ledgement of the right of civil power, in things sacred 1 
 if it should endeavour to interfere with the administra- 
 tion of the laws of Christ. 
 
197 
 
 ©F CHARACTERISTIC HABITS AMONG MEMBERS 
 OF A CHURCH. 
 
 It is a curious fact, that the members of al- 
 most every religious society may be known, by some- 
 thing remarkable in their appearance, manner, or lan- 
 guage. These distinguishing features may, in a great 
 measure, arise naturally from the mutual attachment 
 of the society in which they exist ; but they are often 
 greatly strengthened and multiplied, by the stress 
 which happens to be laid on things of an external na- 
 ture. 
 
 Some religious societies wear a uniform dress, as pre- 
 cisely defined, as that of the army. Others content 
 themselves with a general imitation of some eminent 
 example. In many, there seems to be a continual fer- 
 mentation going on, (though often gently and slowly), 
 owing to mistakes about the doctrine of scripture on 
 this subject. Although all may acknowledge that 
 there is no authoritative rule for dress; yet it is very 
 common, to see individuals endeavouring to establish* 
 the authority of their own notions on the subject, 
 which, of course, are various, and contracted or enlarg- 
 ed, indulgent or austere, according to their respective 
 age and situation in life. At times, too, a violent e- 
 bullition takes place. We have even heard of mi- 
 nisters and brethren making particular articles of dres?, 
 the subject of animadversion, in their sermons and pub- 
 lic exhortations. 
 
 Such a practice, popular and frequent as it has been 
 among Christians of all denominations;, could only have 
 
 R 3 
 
198 
 
 arisen from a misapprehension of the doctrine of scrip- 
 ture. We have no reason to think that particular ar- 
 ticles of dress are there prohibited. It is the pride, 
 and vanity, and impudence of dress, which the sacred 
 penmen condemn. See Isakh iii. 16- — 26. On the 
 contrary, they do not prescribe what Christians shall 
 wear, but what they shall consider as their " adorn- 
 " ing," or rather the adorning of the doctrine of God 
 our Saviour. il In like manner also, that women a- 
 
 " DORN THEMSELVES IN MODEST APPAREL, WITH 
 " SH AMEFACEDNESS AND SOBRIETY: not with broi- 
 
 <l dered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but 
 * £ (which becometh women professing godliness) with 
 " good works," 1 Tim. iu 9, 10. " Whose adorn- 
 " ing, let it not be that outward adorning, of plaiting 
 ** the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on 
 " of apparel: but let it be the hidden man of the 
 " heart, in that which is net corruptible, even the 
 M ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the 
 " sight of God of great price. For after this manner 
 " in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in 
 '* God adorned themselves, being in subjection to their 
 " own husbands; even as Sara obeyed Abraham, call- 
 " ing him Lord : whose daughters ye are as long as 
 " ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement," 
 1 Pet iii. 3 — 6. In these passages, it is not so much 
 dress, as temper and conduct, which are the subjects 
 of exhortation. It is true, indeed, that temper may 
 be shown by dress; but the cure contains not the pro- 
 hibition of particular articles, but a general caution a- 
 gainst an imitation of the proud, the vain, and the las- 
 civious. What! it may be said, is there not an ex- 
 press disapprobation of " plaited hair," and wearing 
 
199 
 
 u gold, and pearls i" Yes; and, in the same way of 
 interpreting, there is an express disapprobation " of 
 " putting on of apparel." No man supposes that Pe- 
 ter disapproved of the use of clothes. Ke is under- 
 stood as disapproving of expensive clothes, of " costly 
 ** array," as Paul calls it. But, expensive, is a re- 
 lative term. What is expensive to one, is not so to 
 another. It is not the high price, but the fondness of 
 wearing what is of high price; neither is it gold and 
 pearls, but the fondness of wearing them, that Peter 
 condemns. It is worthy of notice, that where he gives 
 this exhortation, he refers to the holy women in old 
 time as a pattern. Now, there is no doubt, that they 
 adorned themselves as the apostle here recommends. 
 There is as little doubt, however, that their sobriety 
 of dress did not imply the absolute refusal to wear 
 gold. See Gen. xxiv. 22. Exod. iii. 22. 
 
 We are sensible, that very improper dispositions may . 
 be both manifested and excited by means of dress. It 
 is, therefore, of great importance, that Christian- be 
 prudent and exemplary in this particular. Whatever 
 people wear, and in whatever station they be, it will 
 easily be seen, whether this be the case. In propor- 
 tion as we are desirous that the utmost propriety and 
 decency be observed; we should be desirous that all 
 mistakes about the nature of the duty be removed; 
 that as little food should be furnished by the homely 
 garb to spiritual pride, as by the " costlv array," to 
 wantonness and vanity. It may be proper to add, 
 that no dress can be decent, which is wilfully nasty. 
 Deep poverty may be a difficulty in the preservation 
 of cleanliness. But it is wonderful how much even 
 the poorest can attain, when they are really inclined 
 
200 
 
 to it. Their endeavours, in this way, are heaiih, ho- 
 nour, economy, and comfort. But want of cleanli- 
 ness, is a fault which may be found among many, who 
 are not poor. Many are guilty of it, who could easily 
 afford more than all the expence, which opposite prac- 
 tice would require. When dirtiness is an attendant 
 on idleness and debauchery, it is where it ought to be- 
 But it is a most degrading notion of godliness, which 
 supposes, that it renders people t-lovenly in their per- 
 sons, or houses, or habits of life. The typical dispen- 
 sation of Moses strongly contradicts it; and, although 
 we have no desire to confound trie literal, and the figu- 
 rative, meaning of purity, we confess that we can hard- 
 ly conceive, how any man can be said to respect his 
 brethren with whom he sits in fellowship, to possess 
 his vessel in honour, or so much as to cherish his own 
 flesh, who is disgustingly negligent of that important 
 quality, , even in the lowest sense. 
 
 While some religious societies may be known by 
 their dress, many more distinguish themselves by their 
 mode of speaking. How easy is it, in many instan- 
 ces, to recognise the phraseology of those preachers, 
 or writers, who were the founders of the society! 
 Some fall insensibly into the continual use of certain 
 terms or phrases, which they find in scripture, and 
 which they think peculiarly suitable in the conversation 
 of Christians. Attachment to one class of words, 
 commonly begets antipathy to another. Because scrip- 
 ture words may be held sacred, other words are con- 
 demned as profane. At last, it becomes exceedingly 
 popular, to affect nicety about language; to discover 
 faults in words, in which they were never discovered 
 before j to dwell upon ether words, as if they alone 
 
201 
 
 had the privilege of expressing things that are right $ 
 and to denounce all, who deviate from the authorised 
 diction, as friends of corruption and error. Surely, 
 if we must have a human form of sound words, it will 
 be better to compose a written standard at once, that 
 we may all subscribe, or sing, or say it, and so become 
 orthodox beyond contradiction. That the words so 
 employed, have been taken from scripture, is no ef- 
 fectual preventive of abuse. Nay, such words, when 
 used in this manner, are liable to an abuse peculiar to 
 themselves. Those, who attempt to find scripture 
 terms for every thing, are sure to pervert many of them 
 from their original application. Modern and colloqui- 
 al applications are consequently affixed to them by 
 many readers, when they meet with them in the scrip- 
 tures. Hence errors far more numerous and obstinate, 
 than those which have often brought on their adhe- 
 rents the denunciation of heresy. 
 
 Although these evils have not greatly prevailed a* 
 mong those, on whose account chiefly, these pages are 
 written; yet as they are not wholly unknown, and as 
 practices have been gaining ground, and attempts zeal- 
 ously made, which seem calculated to nourish them, 
 we think it right to make a few remarks on the sub- 
 ject. Far be it from us to insinuate, that language 
 is of no importance, and that all terms are indifferent. 
 Many current ones, on religious subjects, are not only 
 unscriptural, but contrary to scripture. On the other 
 hand, many which occur in scripture, are so appropri- 
 ated to scriptural truth, that it may be difficult to 
 convey it without the use of them. There are some, 
 however, which appear to us to be worthy of notice, 
 
202 
 
 because they have become objects of undue favour, or 
 ©f unmerited jealousy *. 
 
 Under the first class, we mention the words, bro- 
 ther, and sister. Better words, in themselves, we could 
 not desire. O that they were more generally appli- 
 cable! We cannot but feel, however, that, among 
 some, they are used with a frequency, which indicates 
 mistake, respecting the proper language of address 
 among the people of God. Go into some of our 
 churches, and you will hear, that brother is de- 
 sired to pray; that brother is expected to speak; 
 
 that brother has gone abroad to preach the gos- 
 pel; that brother and sister desire the 
 
 prayers of the church; and that, next Lord's day, 
 
 brother will preach in the morning, brother — — 
 
 in the afternoon, and brother in the evening. 
 
 This phraseology of the church meeting is multiplied 
 many thousand fold, in the private intercourse of the 
 members. It is introduced into the forms of saluta- 
 tion, into the style of conversation, and of epistolary 
 
 correspondence. How do you do t brother ? 
 
 hope you are well, sister ? These are a brother 
 
 and a sister of ours. — Every letter too, between mem- 
 bers of a church, or of churches in communion with, 
 each other, is begun, and ended, with, My dear bro- 
 ther, or, My dear sister. Now, we are very sensible, 
 that a member of a church is sometimes called in scrip- 
 ture, " a brother or a sister," and that on one or two 
 occasions, a phraseology, like the above, has been used. 
 See Acts ix. 17. and xxi. 20. 1 Cor. vii. 15. Philerrs. 
 
 * On the abuse of scripture language, see Foster's Essays, vc-L 
 2, Letters 3d and 4th. 
 
203 
 
 V. Rom. xvi- 1. 2 John 13. An occasional imitation 
 of it, then, is perfectly proper. But how many hun- 
 dred times are members of churches mentioned in scrip- 
 ture, without any such epithets at all! 
 
 When those, who are accustomed to the continual 
 use of this phraseology, meet with Christians, who 
 use the ordinary language of address, calling one an- 
 other Mr. and Mrs. or using the first name, accord- 
 ing to the degree of familiarity, or the station which 
 they hold in civil society; they are apt to take of- 
 fence at what they suppose to be sinful conformity to 
 the world. They are perhaps confirmed in their pre- 
 judice, by observing, that, although in the human 
 
 writings which they have seen, they read of Mr. r i 
 
 travels, Mrs. *s letters, or Lady 's poems; 
 
 they see nothing of this in the bible. There it is 
 plain Peter, James,, and John; Mary, Priscilla, and 
 Phoebe. Such persons ought to be informed, that, 
 in these instances, there is no such difference between 
 inspired and human compositions, as they have been 
 led to suppose. It is tiue, there is a difference be- 
 tween the style of one country, and that of another. 
 There is also a difference between ancient and modern 
 style. The fashion of speaking and writing is altered, 
 since the scriptures were completed. But as to ail 
 modes of address, they are perfectly conformable to 
 the human compositions of the day, or country, in 
 which they were given. When speaking of Chal- 
 deans, the penman of scripture give them their lord- 
 ly titles, Rab-mag, Rab-bhakeh, Rab-saris, aud so 
 on. The bold and upnght Nehemiah had no objec- 
 tion to use the ordinary rfom of address to an eastern 
 monarch, " Let the king Jive for ever/' Neh. ii. 3, 
 
20i 
 
 Daniel used the courtly style of " My lord/' in 
 speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, Dan. iv. 19. "I am 
 " not mad," said Paul to a Roman governor, " most 
 u noble (or most excellent) Festus," Acts xxvi. 25. 
 In like manner, Luke, to a fellow-Christian, " most 
 " excellent Theophilus," Luke i. 3. Elihu says to 
 Job and his friends, *< Let me not, I pray you, ac- 
 " cept any man's person; neither let me give flattering 
 •' titles, to men. For I know not to give flattering 
 " tit:es; in so doing, my Maker would soon take me 
 " away," Job xxxii. 21, 22. But, in these words, he 
 does not refer to any customary forms of address. 
 His style is not, and could not have been, plainer than 
 that of the other speakers. He had no controversy* 
 with them about titles; he was displeased with them, 
 because they seemed to him to be under the influence 
 of prejudice and partiality. He, therefore, conveys 
 to them an indirect censure, by protesting that he 
 will deliver his sentiments with that noble freedom 
 and honesty, which truth and the honour of God, in 
 such a discussion, demanded. The crime, which he 
 apprehended, would expose him to danger, could be 
 no other than that respect to the persons of men, 
 which would make him timid and unfaithful in the 
 cause of God. Among the Greeks and Romans, 
 the style of address was as simple as it could be, either 
 among Jews, or primitive Christians. If the Bible has 
 plain Peter, James, and John; other authors of an- 
 cient times, have plain Socrates, Plato, and Caesar; 
 Helen, Lucretia, and Cleopatra. In short, the usual 
 style of civil intercourse is not the conformity to the 
 world, which the Bible condemns. If we avoid it, 
 we are not the better: if we use it, we are not the 
 
205 
 
 worse. Some may be ready to say, if this matter be 
 absolutely indifferent, why say any thing at all about 
 it? We reply, what we say, is to prevent its indiffer- 
 ence from being forgotten. The very origin of a sin- 
 gular mode of address proves that a difference is ima- 
 gined, and its continuance must strengthen the ima- 
 gination. 
 
 Under the class of words, which have become ob- 
 jects of unmerited jealousy, we mention the word mi- 
 nister, and the phrases, minister of Christ, minister 
 of the gospel. These are not called unscriptuval, or 
 wrong in themselves; but it becomes wrong, it is 
 said, to use them, because they are misunderstood by 
 the world. When we recollect the strong language 
 used by the same persons, about the impossibility of 
 the world understanding the gospel, and the nature of 
 a Christian church, we cannot suppose them serious 
 in recommending to Christians the disuse of scriptur- 
 al terms and phrases, merely because they may be 
 misunderstood by the world. The true reason of 
 their hostility to the language, which we have men- 
 tioned, is the respectability which has come to be at- 
 tached to it. We scruple not to assign this reason, 
 because, we believe, it is not denied. Too much ho- 
 nour, it is said, has been paid to the office of the bi- 
 shop; and therefore, it seems to be concluded, that 
 too much cannot be taken away. On the degree, 
 or the kind of honour, which may be either given, or 
 taken away, we mean not at present to enter. Our 
 only remark shall be, that the objection betrays a 
 want of attention to the nature of language. Words 
 and phrases will always acquire, by association, a 
 good or a bad, a reputable or an ignominious, sense; 
 
 S 
 
206 
 
 according to the quality of the things to which they 
 are applied. The humblest word, if used to signify 
 what is respectable, will itself become respectable. 
 The word minister, signifies servant, but minister of 
 state, is an honoured appellation, by all who value 
 the institutions of the state. Jn like manner, minister 
 of Christ, or minister of the gospel, is an honoured ap- 
 pellation, by all who value the institutions of the gos- 
 pel. Nor will any change of language be a sufficient 
 barrier against that honour, which the Head of the 
 church hath been pleased to bestow on all his institu- 
 tions. 
 
 It was once pretended,* that, in an old English trans- 
 lation of the Bible, Paul, instead of * a servant," was 
 Rom. i. 1. called " a knave, of Jesus Christ." The 
 word knave, originally signified a boy, then like the 
 word puer in Latin, a servant; and it has long since 
 become so extremely humble (to use the softest lan- 
 guage) that if any English translation were now to 
 use it, instead of "minister" of the gospel, the term 
 would not surely be objected to, as likely to occasion 
 excessive veneration. Yet, if such a term could, is 
 the supposed application, obtain currency at all, it 
 would soon lose its low association, and acquire, in 
 spite of all the efforts of controversy, a degree of re- 
 spectability suited to its new situation. 
 
 Names, have, no doubt, a great influence on public 
 opinion. But wherever a name is the sign of a reality, 
 it depends for its meaning on that reality, not the 
 
 * See a curious account of the forgery in Lewis's history 
 of the translations of the Bible into English, pages 46 — 50, of 
 the 2d. edition. 
 
207 
 
 reality on it. The offices of the Christian church 
 will not be altered, either to the better, or to the 
 worse, by quarrelling with the respect which men 
 have attached to the names, by which the apostle3 
 were directed to distinguish them* Their language 
 is at least as safe, as any that is now, likely to be 
 proposed in its stead. Disusing the phrase, minister 
 of the gospel, will not deliver ignorant men, from any 
 mistake, which they may entert in of the nature of 
 the Redeemer's kingdom. On the other hand, let 
 men learn the latter, and they will sustain no damage 
 from the use of the former.- It is equally superstiti- 
 ous, to dread some words as ominous, and to be at- 
 tached to others, as if their sound were a charm. 
 
 52 
 
208 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 These remarks appear before the public un» 
 der many disadvantages. Although the result of 
 serious and deliberate investigation, they have been 
 written in haste, and with great reluctance. If there 
 had been any probability of a publication, to the same 
 purpose, from another quarttr, we should have most 
 gladly declined the task. How pleasant would it have 
 been to have undertaken a work of an opposite kind! 
 Believing as we do, that duty requires a declaration of 
 the sentiments, which we have stated, we have en- 
 deavoured to make it, in simplicity and godly sincerity, 
 with a desire to be faithful, but to offend no man. 
 We feel, however, that the situation of the churches 
 is, at present, extremely delicate and critical; and, al- 
 though blessed with many brethren whose judgment 
 we highly value, we have, in this publication, preferred 
 standing alone, that we alone may bear whatever blame, 
 may be imputed to our principles. We hope they will 
 forgive us this wrong, which has prevented us from en- 
 joying many a needful friendly correction. On the 
 subjects discussed, let every man judge for himself. 
 We freely acknowledge this right in others, and we 
 hope to retain the quiet enjoyment of it ourselves. 
 We have made no intentional concealment of any prin- 
 ciple; and we are willing to hear what can be said 
 on the ot >er side. 
 
 Although we acknowledge no rule but that of the 
 word of God, we have avoided using the tone of di- 
 vine authority. Where scripture seems to speak ex- 
 
piicitly, We profess our faith; but where the conclu- 
 sion is an inference, we study to remember our prone- 
 ness to error. When the matter is uncertain, we love 
 the language of the most hesitating conjecture, better 
 than that of decisive assertion. On these accounts 
 some may be ready to despise views, which seem to be 
 feebly maintained. We doubt not, however, that o- 
 thers will at least give them a candid examination, 
 and will compare both them, and views which are op- 
 posite, with the holy scriptures. Many mistakes 
 will probably be perceived in what we have advanced^ 
 yet we hope and pray, that some check may be given 
 to the re3iless spirit of alteration, which has long been 
 working among us privately, and has at last been pub- 
 licly displayed in a system, which threatens to lead to 
 continual anarchy and subdivision, till ignorance should 
 triumph over ali means of instruction, and the fellowship 
 of saints be completely annihilated. This wild scheme 
 will not be at once held true, because some of our views 
 may be thought erroneous. Christians will surely feel 
 it a duty, to consider the subject again and again; to 
 consider not only particular measures, but their con- 
 nection and tendency when combined; to consider the 
 actual consequences of some things which have been 
 adopted, and the probable consequences of many 
 things which are now in contemplation; before they 
 consent to abandon so much of what they have hitherto 
 held and practised, in obedience to scripture, as the 
 duty and privilege of the churches of Christ. 
 
 Nothing would we contend for, a single moment, be- 
 yond what the holy scriptures appear to sanction. 
 We earnestly pray, that Christians may be enabled 
 duly to distinguish the institutions of God, from the 
 
 S 3 
 
210 
 
 institutions, and customs, and projects of men. Chang- 
 es occasioned by a disavowal of the latter, when contra- 
 ry to the former, will ever be salutary: but a depar- 
 ture from the former must be equally criminal and in- 
 jurious. Such is the disposition of mankind to go to 
 extremes, that some who have burst the fetters of su- 
 perstition, are ready to use unwarrantable freedom 
 with regulations of every kind. Of late, we have de- 
 rived unspeakable benefit from the rejection of human 
 standards. Since withdrawing our subscription from 
 a confession of this nature, and requiring every one 
 who applies for communion, to confess his faith him- 
 self; we have had a confidence in our brethren, and 
 have studied the, scriptures with a degree of liberty 
 and comfort, which we never knew before; our situa- 
 tion has constantly led us to the Bible; and the doc- 
 trines, which we preach, are no longer modified by 
 feelings of previous stipulation, but, so far as we know 
 ourselves, are, to the best of our judgment and attain- 
 ments at the time, the truth, as it is revealed in the 
 word of God. The benefit of such a change as this, 
 has been felt by many. Now, it need not surprise 
 us, if the benefit of one change should sometimes oc- 
 casion a predisposition to changes in general. Men- 
 are often too simple, sanguine, and hasty, to discern 
 the difference between one scheme and another. 
 Those, who wish to subvert the present order of the 
 churches, are disposed to represent their new propo- 
 sals, as things that follow of course, from the steps- 
 which have been already taken. Our progress, they 
 tell us, is only partial. If we have conquered some 
 prejudices, we should also conquer others. If we 
 
211 
 
 stop where we are, we were inconsistent in having ever 
 made any change at all. This way of talking is the 
 more plausible, that certainly our progress in know- 
 ledge and holiness is partial. But the question is not, 
 whether should we be willing to make progress? 
 That nobody denies. But, whether is the path re- 
 commended, the path of progress, or of error? When 
 we come to a place, where two roads meet, is it any- 
 proof that those, who change their course, are in the 
 right, that there was a turn in the road before, which 
 we took along with them, and which we are still satis- 
 fied was right ? We may have been directed right 
 through many turns and windings, but if, on that ac- 
 count, we become partial to them, and follow those, 
 who take them most frequently, and with least delibe- 
 ration, it will be a miracle if we do not go wrong at 
 last. In short, there must be a limit somewhere, 
 however difficult it may be, completely to trace it» 
 The order of a church is not one of those subjects, 
 on which we cannot expect adequate information till 
 we get to heaven, or which successive generations 
 must employ themselves gradually to explore. It is 
 on earth that we must understand it, otherwise our 
 knowledge will be too late. Neither can we conceive 
 it to be of difficult attainment, where men enjoy the 
 privilege, and know the benefit, of reading the scrip- 
 tures? Is the fellowship of the saints, the immediate 
 privilege of every believer, and is he to spend his life,, 
 in asking, what that fellowship is? The subject must 
 be within the easy comprehension of ordinary capa- 
 cities. It does not, therefore, present a boundless 
 field of experiment and discovery to the man of specu- 
 lation j and unless we be warranted to compare its sa- 
 
212 
 
 ered institutions, to the momentary arrangement c? 
 the chaff, which the wind driveth away, there must 
 be a difference between the occasional correction of 
 manifest and flagrant abuse, and the sudden, violent^ 
 incessant, ever-varying, sweeping, dissipating, blasts 
 of innovation. 
 
 Without pretending to much precision, on a sub* 
 ject, which has baffled the discriminating powers of 
 many, we beg leave to suggest, that innovation may 
 be distinguished from improvement, in the following 
 cases. 
 
 First, When the confidence of a disputant exceeds 
 the evidence, which he is able to produce. A mo* 
 dest reasoner is most likely to be a deliberate and an ac- 
 curate reasoner. Where evidence may be had, it is sel- 
 dom kept out of view, and when produced, it will- 
 speak for itself. But when arguments are built ori 
 uncaudid statement; when scripture is quoted with 
 little regard to its connection ; when all conclusions, 
 on a complex subject, are maintained with equal de- 
 cision and pertinacity; when, on the failure of proof, 
 it is declared to be needless; when objections are 
 either bullied down, or not replied to at all; and when? 
 the principles of those who dissent, are accounted for, 
 by the ever-ready charge of prejudice and corruption; 
 it is to be feared, that something is wrong, in the rea- 
 soner, in the cause, or in both. " The dogmatist 
 «* (says Dr. Campbell) knows nothing of degrees, 
 rl either in evidence or in faith. He has properly no^ 
 *< opinions or doubts. Every thing with him is either 
 * { certainly true, or certainly false. Of this turn of 
 u mind I shall only say, that far from being an indi- 
 M cation of vigour, it is a sure indication of debility, ia 
 " the intellectual powers." 
 
2iS 
 
 Secondly, When zeal and diligence appear, rather 
 in the gratification of fickleness, ■ the exercise of 
 
 patience. If we see a man. in conversation or in writ- 
 ing, taking every opportunity of censuring that which 
 exists, and of extolling that, which is yet to be tried, 
 we have reason to suspect, that the darling object of 
 that man is alteration, and that his darling object has 
 deprived him of candour. 
 
 One of the boldest ways of gratifying a fickle dispo- 
 sition, is, the urging of religious opinions and practices 
 upon others, of the truth and propriety of which we 
 are not thoroughly persuaded ourselves. This seems 
 to be nothing less than attempting to make changes, 
 in the institutions of Christ, and in the faith and obe- 
 dience of his people, as mere matter of experiment, if 
 not of amusement. We should have conceived ourselves 
 greatly to blame, if, in the foregoing pages, we had 
 hazarded so much as the suggestion of a bare conjec- 
 ture, without a conscientious belief, in the sight of 
 God, that, as far as light could be obtained, it really 
 was the truth. We confess, that we are shocked at 
 the system, which leads people to encourage, directly 
 or indirectly, what they cannot defend, and what they 
 will even confess that they do not decidedly and fully 
 believe. If the question be still under deliberation, 
 why drive the simple headlong into practices, which 
 suppose that it is brought to the most positive deter- 
 mination? It must be a very heinous sin, indeed, to 
 tamper with the minds of the people of God. We 
 cannot do this, without tampering with the word of 
 God. To make use of religious opinions, to serve a 
 purpose, without believing them, is the crime for which 
 statesmen have been so loudly condemned, in the e- 
 
stablishment of national churches; it is converting re- 
 ligious opinions into a political engine; nay, it is re- 
 viving the principle of pious frauds. In addressing im- 
 mortal souls, respecting eternal interests, there is surely 
 responsibility enough, in the obligation we are under, 
 not to mislead, through culpable ignorance. How aw- 
 ful, then, the guilt of doing so, by availing oneself of 
 the advantage of superior discernment ! 
 
 Another illegitimate way of gratifying the love of 
 changes, is, promoting them by means of the appear- 
 ance of religious conversation. It is a duty to " avoid 
 " foolish and untaught questions " in private discourse, 
 as well as in public preaching. What a pity, then, 
 that private parties should be so often formed, for the 
 very purpose of agitating them. Even when the sub- 
 ject may deserve attention, this does not appear to be 
 a promising way of doing it justice. Sober religious 
 inquiry is not likely to be most calmly and safely pur- 
 sued, amidst the frivolity, the collision, the desultory 
 illustrations, and the fascinations of superior informa- 
 tion, address, and kind attentions of individuals, which 
 occur in colloquial discussion. Conversation may furi- 
 nish hints for future consideration ; but we deprecate 
 that plan of getting people into company, with a view 
 to mould their minds into some new fashion, which has 
 been so frequently effectual, among various denomina>- 
 tions of Christians, for leading the young and inexpe- 
 rienced into schemes, which they had never heard, cr 
 thought, of betore, which they were induced to adopt, 
 from the impression of the moment, and from which 
 others of their brethren could use no means to preserve 
 them, not being aware that such an impression ha*i 
 been made* 
 
215 
 
 When ob'iections are made to any of these ways of 
 unsettling the minds of Christians, we often hear an 
 answer, which seems to be borrowed, from a mistaken 
 view of the doctrine of providence. " Oh ! it will do 
 " much good. Inconveniences must attend all improve- 
 " ments. The measure is, no doubt, pretty strong, 
 ** but that is necessary, when people are strongly pre- 
 judiced. The subject may be difficult. Perhaps 
 " none of us have yet arrived at the truth concerning 
 " it. But the present plan will be useful, in the mean 
 " time, for removing bigotry, and preparing us for 
 •* whatever further light may be obtained." Under 
 such language as this, may be discovered, we presume, 
 what seems to be the distinguishing principle of the 
 system, which we oppose. The word of God exhorts 
 believers to steadfastness, in maintaining the doctrines, 
 and observing the ordinances, which have been deliver- 
 ed to them ; and calls them, in this way, to make pro- 
 gress in personal holiness. But the system, in question, 
 acknowledges no difference between bigotry, or blind 
 sseal, and the steadfastness of the faith and practice of 
 Christians, as to what has been delivered to them. It 
 seems to estimate men's progress, according to the de- 
 gree of their dissatisfaction, or at least, scepticism, as 
 to what is already known, because this will, of course, 
 render them more flexible to any scheme which may 
 yet be started. Now, we know that there is much bi- 
 gotry in the world; but all firmness is not bigotry. 
 We know that bigotry is an obstacle to improvement; 
 but discontent and scepticism are not the cure of bi- 
 gotry. A man may be a sceptic and a bigot still, for 
 he may be filled with the blind zeal of calling every 
 thing in question. To bring Christians into a state of 
 
216 
 
 present uncertainty is a hazardous way of preparing 
 them for future information. Men may, no doubt, be 
 thus rendered tractable, and kept on the alert. Sol- 
 diers of fortune, having no particular attachments, and 
 drilled into the single duty of following their leader, 
 are ever ready to march at an hour's warning, and ha- 
 bit makes change not only easy, but agreeable. But 
 this unthinking volatile character is not the picture of 
 the improving Christian. If he is to change, it must 
 be for the sake of an improvement, already discovered 
 and ascertained, not for the sake of a mere peradven- 
 ture, far less of a mere variety. — That the great Head 
 of the church will make all things work together for 
 good, to them that love him, is a most consoling truth; 
 but surely it would be a perversion of that truth, if we 
 should therefore do all things with equal audacity, or 
 willingly plunge our brethren or ourselves, into any cir- 
 cumstances of a dou' tful and dangerous nature. The 
 efforts of infidels have been justly thought to have serv- 
 ed the cause of Christianity. They are such, how- 
 ever, as no Christian could lawfully make. In like 
 manner, we have no doubt, that He, who bringeth 
 good out of evil, will overrule for good, those attempts 
 which are now n aking, under the notion of scriptural 
 simplicity, to level the most important scriptural insti- 
 tutions. But the guilt of those attempts, and their 
 mischievous character, are, by no means altered, be- 
 cause the power cf God will prevail in resisting their 
 effect. Let it be observed, we are not raising the pu- 
 sillanimous cry, " the church is in danger." We are 
 telling our brethren, that " they are in danger." 
 
 Thirdly, When undup stress is laid on outward 
 things. This is done, when the discourse and writings 
 
217 
 
 of Christians are more occupied about plans of exter- 
 nal arrangement, than were the discourses of our Lord, 
 and the discourses and writings of his apostles. The 
 disposition to make new ecclesiastical laws, has ever 
 been a copious source of corruption in the church. Be- 
 sides what may be seen in books, which are published 
 for the purpose, this disposition frequently forms one 
 of the most striking features in private conversation. 
 An unpleasant case of discipline cannot occur, with- 
 out occasioning some such remarks as thrse; " Do 
 " not you see that we are all wrong? This will ne- 
 " ver do. There must be an alteration one way or o- 
 ** ther." And presently, every one teems with some 
 new proposal, as if, thus, they could banish the symp- 
 toms of human depravity, and improve upon the laws 
 ©f the Lord Jesus Christ. We are aware of the an- 
 swer, that discussions about external arrangement are 
 become more necessary, than in primitive times, be- 
 cause churches have departed from the primitive mo- 
 del. Bat what we complain of, cannot be excused by 
 this fact. The apostles taught, not only the institu- 
 tions of church-fellowship, but the precepts in general 
 of Christian morality. They knew, that both were 
 connected, and that the one would be violated as well 
 as the other. Now, on which did they most insist? 
 If purity and corruption were so immediately connect- 
 ed with some recent inferences, about the duty of a 
 church, why were these never explicitly stated by the 
 apostles? why were they not as zealously urged then 
 as they are now ? why were not Christians admonish- 
 ed never to neglect them ? The apostles were evident- 
 ly jealous of the seals of their ministry. They ex- 
 
 T 
 
218 
 
 horted them with purpose of heart to cleave to the 
 Lord ; not to forsake the assembling of themselves to- 
 gether; to let brotherly love continue; to consider 
 one another to provoke to love and to good works; 
 to do all things without murmurings and disputings; 
 to be diligent in every personal and relative duty; to 
 be content, patient, and faithful unto death. But 
 where are their exhortations, to hold fast the ordinance 
 of exhorting on the Lord's day ; the ordinance of 
 public discipline; the ordinance of a plurality of bi- 
 shops ; the ordinance of observing ordinances, whe- 
 ther they had bishops or not ? Let it not be re- 
 plied, these were unnecessary, because the ordinan- 
 ces were already delivered, and then in force. So 
 ■were the other precepts already delivered, and then 
 in force. But the Spirit of God led them " constant- 
 " ly to affirm " things of the one description; and to 
 say comparatively little about things of the other. 
 The custom, with many now, seems to be the very re- 
 verse. Surely we ought to form the plan of our ex- 
 hortations on that which appears to have been left, 
 as an example, by the apostles of Christ. — This re- 
 mark is greatly strengthened, when we consider, that 
 the apostles not only taught the primitive churches, 
 but predicted the corruptions of the churches in after 
 times. Here, if outward things were of such great 
 importance, we might expect to see great notice taken 
 of them. It is the immorality, however, not the ri- 
 tual, of corruption, which is chiefly foretold. After 
 reading some modern publications on church govern- 
 ment, a man may well wonder, that he does not find 
 in scripture, some such prophecy as thisj ?• In the 
 
219 
 
 *< last days perilous times shall come, for men shall 
 "sit, when they should stand, and stand when they 
 ** should kneel ; they shall eat the Lord's supper in 
 u . the afternoon, and not in the forenoon; they shall 
 •* administer discipline on a Friday evening, and not 
 * ( on the Lord's day; they shall not attempt to act 
 " as pastors, unless they really be pastors; they shall 
 " prefer one pastor who is learned, to fifty who are un- 
 " learned ; and shall treat him with a degree of re- 
 " spect and liberality, which shall be declared to be 
 " truly disagreeable, by those who are of opposite 
 '* sentiments." It so happens, however, that the 
 genuine reading of the text is somewhat different. 
 " In the last days perilous times shall come. For 
 " men shall be lovers of their ownselves, covetous, 
 " boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, 
 f unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce- 
 " breakers, false-accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers 
 " of those that are good, traitors, heady, high- roir.d- 
 " ed, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, hav- 
 " ing a form of godliness, but denying the power 
 " thereof: from such turn away," 2 Tim. iii. 1 — 5. 
 We request the reader to observe, that we do not ob- 
 ject to paying such an attention to external things, 
 as we find paid in scripture. Whatever is there re- 
 quired, let us observe and do. Let us do it accord- 
 ing to the pattern, if one be given; if one is not given, 
 let no man presume to impose upon us one of his own, 
 but let the churches act, as they please, in the inof- 
 fensive exercise of Christian liberty, according to the 
 sense of decency and order, which they have received 
 from God. 
 
 T2 
 
220 
 
 Fourthly, When love waxes cold, preaching ceases 
 to interest the people, or to gather them so much as 
 formerly, divine countenance becomes less evident, and 
 yet men continue as sanguine as ever. With what a 
 mixture of feelings do we bear testimony to a first 
 love; a zeal to encourage multitudes to hear the gos- 
 pel ; an unceasing occupation of talents peculiarly fitted 
 for the work of itinerant preaching; and an eminent 
 and extensive blessing from God on the means which 
 were used. Far be it from us to say, that things are 
 absolutely changed. But we do fear, that they are 
 verging towards a change. When public teaching is 
 sometimes found to turn upon subjects of internal ar- 
 rangement, which might easily be settled in a private 
 meeting, and in which a stranger cannot be supposed 
 to take any concern ; when churches, once harmonious, 
 become divided, from no dereliction of first principles, 
 but from new questions, forced upon them by indivi- 
 duals, questions which they never dreamed of before, 
 and which the scriptures neither propose nor decide; 
 when church-connection is lightly formed, and as light- 
 ly abandoned; when steadiness is regarded with jea- 
 lousy, and men glory in their mutability, as if it were 
 their very righteousness; all is not well. The admo- 
 nition of the Saviour has here a most important appli- 
 cation. " Remember from whence thou art fallen, 
 '« and repent, and do the first works, or else I will 
 " come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candle- 
 " stick out of its place, except thou repent, " Rev. ii. 
 5. 
 
 We are sure it will grieve our brethren, when they 
 shall come to see, how much some of their measures 
 
221 
 
 have contributed to establish the supposed necessity of 
 retaining every abuse among churches, in order to pre- 
 serve their order and existence-. For many a year to 
 come, Babylon shall hush to silence and to terror, such 
 of her children as may prove restless and inquisitive, by 
 pointing to the dismal condition of subdivided church- 
 es. — " If you will not lie still, and slumber in my bo- 
 " som, yonder is your fate." 
 
 THE END, 
 
 W. Cang. Printer, "7 
 
 62, fieU-Strett, Glasgow. $ 
 
222 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface, Page S 
 
 General View of the Subject, 9 
 
 Of the Gifts of the Primitive Churches, . , . 12 
 Of the Elders of the Primitive Churches, . . 61 
 Of the number of Office-bearers in a Church, . 74 
 Of the Qualifications of Officebearers in a 
 
 Church, 119 
 
 Of the Duties of Office-bearers in a Church — 
 Administration of the Lord's supper — Pri- 
 vate Duties, 130 
 
 Of Female Office-bearers in a Church . . . 152 
 Of a Church — Subdivision system — Independen- 
 cy of Churches — Unity of Churches . . 155 
 Of the Worship of a Church — Exhortation — 
 Time of eating the Lord's supper — Postures 
 
 of Worship 169 
 
 Of the Discipline of a Church — Public or Pri- 
 vate, 187 
 
 Of Characteristic Habits among Members of a 
 Church — Dress — Favourite Phrases — Ob- 
 noxious Phrases, . 197 
 
 Conclusion — Difference between Innovation and 
 
 Improvement, 208 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 88, line 6 from bottom, dele comma, after Prideaui. 
 
 113, — 6 from top, "Let the passage be read," 
 
 126, — 3, for " churches," read " a church." 
 
 190, last line, " not with old leaven." 
 
 203, line 2 from bottom, " form,'" 
 

 
 
 
 
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