could have determined this question by their extraordinary gifts, without convening in a council or synod: but probably the providence of God so ordered it, that even inspired apostles should meet and debate this point in a synod, on purpose to teach all succeeding churches what is to be done in such a case, and to shew how their difficulties and controversies should be authoritatively determined by synods, even to the end of the world.

Answer I. And I have as much right to say, perhaps the apostles Peter and James, &c. did not know this matter so well before, and therefore could not have determined this question without convening in a council; for their divine revelations of many particular things were made to them not all at once, in the days of pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon them; but this was done by degrees, and at particular seasons, as the occasions of christianity and the churches required it. Peter did not know that he must preach the gospel to the heathens several years after that day of pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell upon them in cloven tongues, till a vision from heaven taught it him, when Cornelius was directed by an angel to send messengers to call him to Cæsarea. And it is probable, God ordained this council to be called, not only to teach the church at Jerusalem, as well as the apostles, a full answer to the question in dispute, but to render the unanimous direction and appointment of so many inspired persons more public, more weighty, and efficacious, than the voice of a single apostle would have been in so important a case of controversy between the Jewish and Gentile converts.

Answer II. I will allow that providence, perhaps, might appoint this council of wise and knowing men at Jerusalem to be convened, to teach the following churches and ages what they should do in cases of doubt and difficulty; that is, that they should meet together, and advise with one another, and debate matters freely and sincerely, according to that great rule of human prudence which Solomon also teaches us: In the multitude of counsellors there is safety; Prov. xi. 14. And great deference should be paid to the advice of many aged, learned, and pious men, met in council. But if no inspired men are among them, they can only draw up their conclusion thus: It seemed good to us, fallible men, to give our opinion and advice so or so; but not to determine absolutely for other persons, and make rules to bind the consciences of others, unless they could add, It seemed good to the Holy Spirit also, as well as unto us; for if the vote of a council of fallible men could bind us, why should not the council of Trent, or any other councils, bind us to all their antichristian decrees? The best constituted church or council may in time grow degenerate, and if they have such authority given

them, they may make heathenish or hellish decrees, and bind them on the consciences of men.

Answer III. And yet further, in the third place, I add, if this decree at Jerusalem had not been the direction and determination of the Holy Spirit, by the lips of inspired men, why should the churches at Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia; Acts xv. 23. submit to a vote or opinion of the church at Jerusalem, any more than the church at Jerusalem should submit to an opinion of the church at Corinth, or Rome, or Antioch? What was done at Jerusalem by inspired men once, on an extraordinary occasion, cannot be made a binding example or rule, for the determination of conscience in all following times, and in ordinary church-affairs, where no inspired persons are present; for by this precedent, one church would have power given it to determine for another; which I know no church pretends to, but that of Rome.

And finally, It is plain, if this scripture give authority to uninspired men in ordinary cases, it gives this dominion to the whole church at Jerusalem, not to the bishops or elders only; for this was not a council made up of the elders, bishops or representatives of the churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, but of the apostles, elders, and brethren of the church at Jerusalem; and yet they authoritatively determined the case for the churches of the Gentiles, which they should never have done, if there had been no apostles or inspired persons there. Whatsoever therefore the church at Jerusalem determined as a duty for the Gentile churches to practise in a dubious case, because it had apostles, and many inspired persons in it, can be no sufficient authority for synods, convocations, or councils of bishops, or elders of modern churches, to determine other dubious cases, for their own or other congregations, and bind their consciences to any point of faith or practice merely by their authority, when they have no inspired persons among them. But I only glance at these things, and will not enter into a debate about them at present.

VI. Though baptism and the Lord's-supper are ceremonies of divine institution, yet is not the New Testament in a great measure silent as to the persons who shall celebrate them?

I answer, the scripture acquaints us, that the commission to baptize was plainly given here to those who were appointed to teach the nations; Mat. xxviii. 20. And the light of nature shews us, that those persons who are furnished with talents, and chosen, and called, and solemnly appointed to preach the gospel to men, to offer up their prayers and praises to God, and to lead the worship in churches, are certainly in the nature of things, the most proper persons to administer or celebrate such rites or ordinances, as should be attended with the word and prayer ;

for by the word and prayer is every thing sanctified to its proper purposes in the kingdom of Christ; 1 Tim. iv. 5. And yet, if no ministers, elders, or bishops, are near at hand, nor the ministrations of any such are to be obtained, without sinful compliances, perhaps it may be better that some private member of that congregation, if sufficiently furnished with proper gifts, should be deputed or desired by the church, to perform these solemnities once or twice, than that these institutions of Christ, which are so plain and express, should be omitted for a long time together, merely on account of doubtful disputables. Christ has most expressly commanded this duty; but who shall administer this ordinance, and how ministers should be ordained, is much more obscure. If a congregation want a regular minister, yet the church should assemble for prayer; and exhortation or teaching, by reading or preaching, should not be utterly neglected: Why then should they neglect the Lord's-supper? If a neighbouring minister cannot conveniently be obtained, may not a brother of the congregation, who has competent abilities, be desired to pray, or to read a sermon, or to exhort, rather than the church be without any public worship, or spend their Lord's-day at home, and that for weeks or months together, for a considerable time? And may not a person thus qualified, if no minister be within reach, be deputed or called by the church, to break bread to them; rather than live without obeying the express commands of a dying Saviour:

Now I have ventured so far in giving my opinion here, I may the more confidently add, that this should not be practised on every little common occasion, lest great inconveniences arise thereby: And for this reason, every destitute church should furnish themselves, as soon as may be, with a pastor or minister of their own, to go before them, and in a regular manner, celcbrate these divine rites of christianity, which ought not to be long neglected. Some other cases might be mentioned, which may fall out in a christian church, wherein we can find no plain direction or example in scripture; and then reason and prudence must direct us: Where revelation is silent, reason is our guide.

SECT. VI.-Christian Churches formed like Civil Societies, upon the plain Nature and Reason of Things.

Permit me here to give a little specimen, by way of similitude, how naturally a christian church is formed, when we suppose there are several christians within the reach and knowledge of one another, in this sinful world. It is raised in the same manner as any other civil society may be formed among men, especially among several natives of one country meeting together in a foreign land: And while I am representing their procedure,

you may carry your thoughts of the formation and constitution of a christian church along with you in the simile, and apply it all the way. Suppose three or four Englishmen, who have their residence in a city of China, happen to meet one another, and by conversation, finding that they speak the same language, they make it known to each other, that they are natives of the same country; they all profess allegiance to the same king, George the Second; and though they sojourn for a season in a foreign land, and are engaged in many secular affairs there, yet they declare their resolution to behave as becomes Englishmen, while they are waiting for a call from their sovereign to return home. They hereupon agree to meet once a week, in order to converse about the affairs of their own nation, to learn some tidings from it, to pay some special honours to their absent king, to learn further notices of his will, and to prepare for their return homeward. The day which they appoint for their assembly, is the day of the accession of their king to the throne, in its weekly return: The place is also agreed among them, such as may be convenient for their frequent attendance.

Other Englishmen, who are in that city, bearing of this society, come to their assembly, one after another, and desire acquaintance with their countrymen and brethren: They make it appear, that they are natives of the same land, that they own the same sovereign, that they are doing his will, and preparing to return home at his orders: And, in the mean time, they desire the privilege of being admitted into their society. Upon such a profession, and by the approbation of the society, they are received into this English fellowship with pleasure.

Now it is not be supposed, that every one of them is capable of taking proper care of the best interests of this society, nor of speaking in an instructive and profitable manner concerning the things that relate to their native country, their laws, and rules of conduct; their king, and their common design of a return. They agree therefore to chuse one person amongst them, who shall devote himself to this work, shall study the laws of their country, the rules of the proper behaviour of Englishmen, and the mind and will of their king: One who shall present their common allegiance to their sovereign, in frequent addresses sent to England, and shall spend a hour or two every week, in setting before them what honours they owe to the king of England, what are the blessings of their native home, what are their duties in a foreign land, what dangers they are exposed to among the heathen Chinese, and how they may best avoid them; what are the enjoyments they expect at their return, and the best methods of preparation for it. This man accepts the office, and by a solemu vow of allegiance to the king, and faithfulness to his countrymen in this trust, he enters upon his office.

Besides this, once in a month, suppose they meet together, according to an appointment of their prince, to eat a morsel of bread, and drink a glass of wine together, in memory of some great benefit which the whole nation of England received by a difficult and bloody enterprize of the king's son, when in former years, he took a voyage from England to China; and they keep up this feast in honour to his name, wherein the provisions, after a short speech, are distributed to every member of the society, by the person whom they have appointed to instruct them in English affairs. Now because this man spends a great part of his time in letters, or dispatches to England, and in the study of English affairs, that he may the better entertain the assembly of his brethren at their solemn weekly meetings, the community agree to release him from the secular businesses of life, and join their liberality to maintain him with honour. But here let it be observed, that though they pay so much respect to the person whom they chuse to be their instructor, and to go before them in the honours due to their king, yet they do not entrust him to invent any new ceremony to testify their allegiance, nor to impose on them any new law or custom, but what he can find prescribed among the laws of their nation, and appointments of the king, or of his ambassadors to China. In these matters indeed, he may require obedience in the name of their king; but in all other things he must act according to the agreement or opinion of the society; which must be testified by the vote of the major part.

Among this community, some happen to be aged, or sick, or disabled for work; or they are fallen into poverty, and their circumstances are sunk in the world, notwithstanding their diligence and labour: These are not capable of maintaining themselves; the society therefore chearfully contribute toward their support: And they entrust two or three persons with this money, and desire them to take care that the table of the poor be supplied. They entrust also with these persons what money they collect for the honourable maintenance of their teacher; and desire them to take care, that every thing necessary toward their weekly meetings at a certain time, and at a convenient place, be provided at their public charge. They go on in this manner with much comfort and mutual assistance, in every thing that relates. to their welfare in a foreign land; and rejoice in their hope to meet one day in England. And as they are ever adding to their society by admitting new members, upon their credible profession and appearance to be true Britons, in the room of such as are yearly called home; so if any among them prove to be false and insincere, and are guilty of crimes highly disgraceful to their profession of being natives of England, and their allegiance to their king, they have no other punishment for them besides that they are cut off from the society, and forbid to enjoy the privileges thereof any longer.