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bounds of a prefbytery, are only a greater part of the church, or more numerous congregation:Thofe, again, within the bounds of a fynod, are only a ftill greater proportion of the church, fubjected to a more extenfive prefbytery :—and the whole congregations, within whatever bounds, who agree to walk together under the fame denomination, are only the fubjects of a more extensive synod.

According to this reasoning, where Christians are fo agreed, it makes no difference as to the pro. per criterions of a gospel church,-whether their refidence be confined to fuch an island as Mileta, or extended through fuch an ifland as Great Britain; no fort of difference, whether their numbers be circumfcribed by hundreds, or fwelled to as many thousands.

The idea, we know, of a national church cannot be admitted by many ferious perfons, because there is no precedent to be found of it in the NewTeftament. And if that quality of our church implied an indifpenfible obligation upon every individual to fubfcribe one creed, and be of the fame communion,-Who amongst us could accede to the propriety of it?

But, in that forbidding fenfe, the epithet of national by no mean belongs to us. For, though fome in all different parts of the kingdom, arenot obliged, only agreed to walk together in a church capacity;-what vaft numbers, in every corner, chufe to be of other communions?

After all of the Epifcopal perfuafion,-all the Burgher and Anti burgher Seceders,-all the conftituent members of Relief congregations,-all Independents and Anabaptifts,-all Methodifts and Cameroniaus, all Moravians, Quakers, and Roman catholics,-befides the dreadful fhoals of in

fidels

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fidels and profane perfons, who treat every denomination of Chriftians with equal contempt; after all thefe are deduced, is it not easy to fee, in what a different fenfe ours is a national church?

In the fame nation, according to the various compartments mentioned, there are actually many churches; and feverals of them, in their ecclefiaftic capacity, equally complete, as any national church whatever ;-whether they may be known in law, or not.

One congregation, for inftance, in the remotest corner, with proper officers, agreed to walk together as a church of Chrift,-though connected with no other congregation at all; would be a Gofpel church, no lefs complete, than a greater whole, made up of many fuch parts. And, to refume our former conclufion :

Must it not, upon the fame principles, be allowed, that if never fo many congregations, fcattered never fo wide, agree to join and walk together, in all the ordinances of Jefus Chrift, as one church; -muft it not be allowed, that fuch a church, -call it national, or what you will, is equally complete, and no more than complete ?-Can it be proved, that a thousand Chriftians, with proper office-bearers, are not a church as agreeable to the gofpel order, as a very few ?-And if a thoufand, why may not ten, or even an hundred thousand, if they chufe, agree as conftituent members of one church-Or, what in the New Testament forbids them to do fo?

The connection of our church with the State, we take to be rather accidental, than any way ne-ceffary to her ecclefiaftical conftitution; and tho', in fome of its confequences, we will not pretend to argue for that connection, yet, in as far as the fupL 3

port

Fort and maintainance of minifters depend upon it, and are fecured by it, much might be faid.

For, if church-members are bound, by the laws of Chrift, to communicate to their paftors and rulers,-thofe, who were entrusted with the legislative. power, at the dawn of this connection, did no more than agree to fulfil that law, when they rendered: fuch communion of their carnal things a fixed, inftead of a precarious, encouragement.

True, indeed, that was a kind of fecurity, which the firft Chriftians never gave; but, it is equally true, that, in their circumftances, they could not give it. Unless, therefore, fomething, pofitively contrary, be afferted in the New Teftament, we may, without the leaft abfurdity, contend, that, if thofe in authority, during the minillry of the apostles, had made fuch provifion for their fupport, without requiring any thing finful in order to their enjoyment of it, even the apoftles might have thankfully embraced the favour.-For, why fhould the woman have refufed to be helped by the earth?

OBSERVATION II.

That, in the church at Antioch, so constituted, there arofe a question, about which the prophets and: teachers could not agree.

Upon one fide, there were certain men which came down from Judea, Acts xv. I.

That these men were office-bearers may be inferred from their acting in a public capacity;

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they taught the brethren," Ibid. And, that they were conftituent officers in this very church, is more than probable,-both, becaufe " prophets "came from Jerufalem unto Antioch," Acts xi. 27. -and because, upon their having come, "certain

prophets

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58' prophets and teachers" are faid to have been "in" that church, Acts xiii. 1.-Not only Agabus, who is expressly condefcended on, Acts xi. 27. but others alfo, who were fcattered abroad after the death of Stephen, Acts viii. 1: and might, by this time, have taken part of the ministry there.

Upon the other fide of the question, Paul and Barnabas (who were both office-bearers, and called to act in that capacity at Antioch, as will appear) are condefcended on. They had no fmall "diffenfion and disputation with" the "men which came down from Judea," Acts xv. 2.

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The brethren, or Chriftians at Antioch were, no doubt, deeply interested in this matter, as the controverfy refpected a doctrine which they behoved to receive or reject at their highest peril.-" Ex"cept ye be circumcifed (faid one party) after the

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manner of Mofes, ye cannot be faved," Acts. xv. 1. And, "behold, (faid the other) if ye be circum. cifed, Chrift fhall profit you nothing," Gal. v. 2. Nevertheless, when it came to be publicly canvaffed, they prefumed not to go from their own fphere, by claiming any locum ftandi with the of fice-bearers of the church, or light of acting in their exclufive capacity.

Whether they should acquiefce in the deliverance to be given, was an enquiry entirely open to the difciples, and competent for them afterwards; but previous to fuch decifion, prayer for direction was the chief, if not the only, thing to which they were called.

In oppofition to this, I am aware, it may be faid, That, as an evidence of the brethren's judicative right, Paul's epiftles were directed to them, as well as to their office-bearers.

If this, however, proves any thing to the purpose, it proves, by far, too much. For that a

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poftle

poftle directed none of his letters to a fociety where office-bearers are mentioned, except one; and, therefore, if what is inferred from his directing them to the brethren holds, all the churches, to whom he wrote, had a right, the church at Philippi excepted, not only to exercise discipline, but to exercife it without any officers at all.

In any view, fince it appeared before, that a fociety of profeffing Chriftians, without elders, fometimes bears the denomination of a church;we may as warrantably alledge, that every epiftle, where church officers are not mentioned in the addrefs, was fent to the Chriftians or brethren alone, as others may interline office-bearers, where the facred text is filent. But, becaufe Paul judged it his duty to correfpond with fuch focieties, muft it thence follow, that the power of church discipline was vefted in them?

To begin, for example's fake, with the first, aecording to the order of our New Teftament,-how does he address his apostolic letter to the Romans? -To the conftituted church at Rome, elders as well as brethren?-Then, indeed, we behoved to I old our peace. But, if the apostle may be allowed to 1peak for himfelf, and if his words are underflood according to the common rules of interpretation, no fuch thing will ever be inferred. The addrefs is, "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, "called faints," Rom. i. 2. And will these terms, without fqueezing, bear any meaning fo natural, as an addrefs to Chriftians in their private capacity?

His firft letter to the Corinthians, indeed, is directed to "the church of God," which was "at "Corinth," Cor. i. 2. But, as if Paul had foreseen what wrong ufe might be made of fuch a general addrefs, to prevent men's forcing an in

terpretation