find acceptance with thy Maker, whilft thou art violating his laws, by trefpaffing against thy brother. And therefore firft go and be reconciled to thy brother, by making a fuitable reparation for the injury done, repent of thy wicked action; and then come and pay thy refpect to God with acceptance. To the perfon offended Chrift's advice is, Matt. xviii. 15, 16, 17. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between him and thee alone, if be Shall hear thee, thou haft gained thy brother; but if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witneffes every word may be established. And if he Shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican; that is, efteem him no longer as a Chriftian. Again,

Chrift hath given Chriftian focieties fome cautions and directions with refpect to their devotions. Matt. vi. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. But when ye pray, ufe not vain repetitions as the hea then do, for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking; be not ye therefore, like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye afk him. After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father, which art in heaven, &c. Whether we confider this as a form of prayer, or only as a guide and a direction to Christian focieties with refpect to the object and fubject of their prayers, and the difpofitions and qualifications of the perfons praying, and the grounds of their ac ceptance with God, it comes to the fame; because the fame useful instructions are held forth in either cafe. Here Chriftian focieties are taught

to

!

to direct their defires, not to any mediator or in terceffor with God, but to God himself, their fa-` ther in heaven, who as his power enables him, fo his fatherly kindness difpofes him to do more abundantly for his dutiful children, than they can ask or think. Here Chriftians are given to understand, that the foundation of God's moral government and kingdom amongst men, and the foundation of Chriftian obedience, is laid in the heart; by mens being poffeffed with a juft and worthy fenfe of the moral character of their maker. Here Chriftians are taught to bound and confine their defires to the comforts and conveniencies of life, (which is all that is worth feeking) and not to let them rove after the fuperfluities and abundance of this world. And here Chriftians are taught to expect that God will deal with them, not according to, or for the fake, and on the account of, the merits and interceffion of his Son; but according as they behave themfelves one to another. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, ver. 12. For if ye forgive men their trefpaffes, your heavenly father will allo forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trefpaffes, neither will your father forgive your trefpaffes. Verfes 14, 15.

Ourthly and lastly, that the gospel might be preached to all nations, and that the Gentiles as well as the Jews, might be brought under its influence, and confequently might share

in its benefits, Chrift chofe twelve men, (of which one proved a traitor to him, and to fill up whose place Matthias was chofen) to be with him in his preaching and ministry among the Jews, to be witnesses of what he both taught and did, and whom he intended to appoint and qualify to preach the fame gofpel to the rest of mankind. And accordingly, Chrift, after he was put to death by the Jews and Romans, rofe again from the dead, on purpose that he might strictly charge and command, and that he might excite and enable, thefe his Apoftles to preach his gofpel asaforefaid; and thereby purfue the great end and purpofe of his coming. Luke xxiv. 26, 27, 28, 29. Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Chrift to fuffer, and to rife from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remiffion of fins fhould be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerufalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. -And behold I fend the promife of my father unto you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerufalem, until ye fhall be endued with power from on high. (This promife of the father, or the enduing them with power from on high, as it confifted in working miracles like as Chrift had done before, and to answer the fame end; fo it was made good to them at the feaft of Pentecoft following.) Mark xvi. 15. And be faid unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Matth. xxviii. 13, 19. And Jefus came and Spake unto them, faying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth; go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them, &c. To the perfons before-mentioned were afterwards added two more, viz. Paul and Barnabas, that in the ex

ercife of their miniftry up and down the world, these fourteen Apostles might offer to all without diftinction the gofpel of Chrift, and acquaint them with the true contents of it, and by their example and perfuafion might invite and encourage others voluntarily to undertake and profecute fo gracious and good a work.

Chrift having thus preached the gospel to the Jews in his own perfon, having wrought a multitude of miracles to awaken their attention, and to ftamp a divine character upon his preaching and ministry, having lived in a strict conformity to that gofpel, and died a martyr for it, having laid a foundation for friendly focieties, or families of love, to answer the purposes aforefaid, and having chofen and qualified, and having strictly charged and commanded his Apostles to go out into the world and preach the gofpel to all without distinction; in a word, Chrift having done every thing that was proper, to render his gofpel fuccefsful, and to make it have its proper effects and influence upon the minds and lives of men ; he then left it to make its way through, and to take its fate in the world. And indeed, when we confider that the gofpel of Chrift is founded in reason, and is ftrictly conformable to our na tural notions of things, and that it is nothing more than an addrefs to men, in order to engage them upon rational principles, to be wife for themselves in an affair of the greatest importance to them; in this view of the cafe, it might have been expected that the gofpel would have been univerfally received, and that all who received it, would carefully frame and fathion their minds and lives according to it. But alas! the event

I 2

has

has fhewn the cafe to be otherwife; the grounds of which miscarriage will be hereafter confider'd. And

Here, I beg leave to obferve to my reader, that when the Apostles of our Lord died, the Apoftolick office died with them, they having no fucceffors. John xx. 21. As my father bath fent me, even fo fend I you. Here we see the utmost extent of the Apoftolick commiffion, namely, that it extended to the perfons of the Apostles, and no farther. Our Lord did not fay, as my father hath sent me, fo fend I you, and fo do you fend others, and they others, and fo on to the end of the world; but he only faid, as my father hath fent me, even fo fend I you. And though many, after the example, and by the perfwafion and encouragement, of the Apostles, might engage in the good work of preaching the gospel to the unconverted world; yet in this they were volunteers, they not having any special call, nor any particular appointment from Chrift to that work; and therefore they were not Apoftles, nor were they so esteemed. And as the Apoftolick of fice ceafed, by, and at the death of the Apostles; fo whatever power or authority the Apostles might be fuppofed to be invefted with confidered as Apoftles, that power ceafed by, and with the ceafing of the Apoftolick office as afore said. Most vain and affuming muft it therefore be, for any man, or any fet, or order, or body of men among Chriftians, to pretend fuccefforfhip to the Apoftles, to lay claim to any Apoftolical power or jurifdiction upon that account, feeing the Apofles had no fucceffors, as I obferved above.

The