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therly love, and with whom they are to walk in the duties of that love, and with whom not. And this is one instance of the Antichristian arrogancy of the clergy. But if you rec. kon the people church-members, whose fault is it that they are ignorant of the manifest laws of Christ, upon which alone, and not upon doubtful disputations, binding and loofing must proceed? And by what warrant have you members of a church that are obstinately ignorant of the law of brotherly love, and of what pertains to it in a church ?

As to your argument from the rule of proportion, I am not satisfied by it, unless you could let me fee,

1. That the cafe is the same betwixt two or more churches, as it is betwixt brethren in the fame church, or brethren Christians; and that the Lord Christ commands a church, or many churches, and their overseers, to do the same thing toward another church, as such, that he commandeth them to do toward their own members. I find churches charged every one with what is wrong within themselves; but I do not find them condemned for what is amiss in other churches, if they themselves be free.

2. That there is an institution for the court, that is, to bind churches when they transgress, and will not hear other churches. You have not manifested to me any such thing in this text: for, when you say our Lord here refers to the synagogue, which was but a congregation, and to its rulers; and when you alledge, that the same grant and promise is made to the court here spoke of that was before made to the supreme court among the Jews, a congregational prefbytery is hereby made the supreme court. You may as well plead for the binding of kingdoms and commonwealths as for the binding of churches from these words, "Whatfoever ye shall bind;" and if you extend it further than unto all matters wherein a church is warranted by Christ to bind or loose its members, you may as well make it to signify every thing in the world. And though two or more elders, as many more as you will, be here authorised, by agreement, to bind or loose in a church, even the church whereof they are overseers, not as lords o. ver God's heritage, but as ensamples to the flock; yet it will take a depth of metaphyfics that I never fathomed, to infer from this, that Chrift hath authorised any number of elders any otherwise assembled, or judging in any other manner, to bind or loose in his name. It cannot be manifested, that these words, as they stand in connection with what goes before, "For where two or three are gathered toge

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"ther in my name, there am I in the midst of them," do warrant elders, more or fewer, to meet together as they please, in as many different kinds of courts as they will, and bind and loose: for it will not be easily proven, that meeting in a court not of his institution, is meeting in his name: and if these words be to be taken more largely than with a reference to what was faid before of the eldership of a congregation, then it is agreeable to the context, when we are taking them more largely, first to think of two or three brethren or church. members meeting together to do his will, and call on his name for any thing wherein his glory is concerned, and which he has allowed them to afk; and there is no reason to confine it unto elders, as you do, when yet you plead for the text being understood in a latitude whereof it will not admit.

I am satisfied the law of Christ binds every profeffor of his name to affemble in a church to his power, for the obfervation of his institutions: and so every such person is by him subjected to his discipline in that church whereof he is a member, and the elders of such a church are commanded to take heed to themselves, as well as to all the flock, and that with respect unto all trespasses, the most public and hainous not excepted; and there is the fame rule of difcipline for a trespasling elder and any other church.member. And when any the least church warrantably binds or loofes its members, one or more, it is good in heaven, without being ratified by any other church or judicature on earth whatsoever; and when a church binds or looses without warrant in Christ's law for so doing, it is of itself null as if it never had been, and cannot be made good by the ratification of a judicature confifting of all the elders on earth.

But if a church trespass against Christ's law, then he judges and chaftens that church, and calls it by his word to reform; and if it do not reform, where is the court, having jurisdiction, that he hath instituted for the reformation of such a church, as the church in Corinth for instance? If a church perfift obstinately in fin, so as not to answer unto the end of Christ's institution of a church, what court is it that then cafts off that church from being a church of Christ? inform me, if you find it in the New Testament. I see the eldership of a church, with the church's consent, may caft off their mem bers; but for what I can fee, Jesus Christ has taken both the chaftening and cafting off of churches into his own hand; and this is manifeft in the case of the seven churches of Asia. If you will not be content with this, but still think visible churchpower acting over many churches necessary for remedying some evils that you are much afraid of, so that you cannot trust them in the hands of Christ, who has taken the churches under his immediate care, I would then have you ferioufly to confider the evils that not only may follow, but have actually followed upon the exercise of a visible power over the churches, to keep them from hainous trespasses, and in unity and peace.

III. Your other ground for the fubordination of judicatures, viz. the apoftolical example, Acts xv. is as clear a pattern for the congregational way, and so against the fubordination of judicatures, as is to be found in any one passage in the whole book of the Acts: and the more I confider that passage, I wonder the more how it comes to be so much infifted on as a pattern for a synod of any kind, either Roman, Scottish, or New English.

When you consider and answer what I say on this passage in my reinarks on The Defence of national churches, and in my speech before the commission, I will know better how to deal with you upon it, and where your main pinch lies. But, as I can now take you, in the difference betwixt you and me about the nature of this court, you feem to depend much in your belief of its being a synodical meeting, upon your sense of the word church, as it stands in this chapter, and upon this, that Paul and Barnabas, and those that came with them from the church in Antioch, were members of that company by which the decrees were ordained. When the question is, Whether this was a congregational or a synodical meeting? it is manifeft, very much depends upon the sense of the word church, or what we are to understand by it here: and if this remain doubtful, after all that can be said upon it, the case is doubtful; but if it can be clearly manifested what is the meaning of the church here, it will do much to determine the question. It is very plain the church is distinguished from the elders, as the elders are from the apostles; so that by the church you and I will agree to understand something else than the elders in Jerufalem, or the prefbytery of the church in Jerufalem, who say to Paul, Acts xxi. 18. 25. "We have " written and concluded:" for, as I can take your meaning, you would have us by the church to understand the commiffioners from Antioch, and from Syria, and Cilicia, churchofficers that met with the prefbytery of Jerufalem.

Now let us confider all the evidence that can enter our minds from this passage, and see if it can possibly bear this meaning.

meaning. It is plain, the only commissioners we read of here are Paul and Barnabas, and those with them from Antioch; and whether these, or any other commissioners you may dream of from other places, be or can be intended in this de. fignation, we may see by considering the whole passage. We find the church, and the apostles and elders, receiving the commissioners from the church in Antioch, Acts xv. 4. and if this be the same church that concurred with the apostles and elders in deciding the question, and sending the epistle and messengers to Antioch, then it will be evident beyond contradiction, that Paul and Barnabas, and the commissioners from Antioch, were not of that church. If it be not the same church that sent the epistle to Antioch, then let me fee what occurs in this chapter to afford me any shadow of a ground to think that it is not; mean time it must be acknow. ledged, that the church in y 4. is the church in Jerufalem under the oversight of the prefbytery there. We find the whole church, with the apostles and elders, 22.; and it is manifest this church, whatever it was, concurred with the apostles in their decision of the question, and ordaining the de. crees written in the letter to Antioch. I make no doubt to agree with you in saying, that the whole church there is the same thing with the brethren in whose name the epistle was written, y 23. Neither do I question, that this whole church is there where the whole multitude is spoke of, 12.

Now this whole church, this company of brethren, was a company to which the account of the miracles and wonders God had done among the Gentiles by Paul and Barnabas was news, and to which the disturbance made at Antioch by the false teachers and their doctrine was known only by hearsay, and that from Paul and Barnabas, and the commissioners from Antioch, y 12. 23. 24. "All the multitude gave audience to " Paul and Barnabas, declaring what miracles, &c. The a. " postles, and elders, and brethren send greeting.- Foraf. " muchas we have heard, that certain - have troubled you " with words," &c. The whole church, or the brethren, with the apostles and elders, are a company from which the false teachers went out, that troubled the brethren in An. tioch and other places, and raised the question which occa fioned the coming up of the commissioners, and caused this meeting, y 23. 24. "The apostles, and elders, and brethren " fend-unto the brethren - in Antioch, and Syria, and "Cilicia. Forasmuchas - certain which went out from us

" have troubled you with words, to whom we gave no " such

* such commandment." The whole church, or the brethren, with the apostles and elders, are Jews, plainly distinguishing themselves from the brethren which are of the Gentiles, even those in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, 23. "The " apostles, and elders, and brethren, send unto the brethren " which are of the Gentiles in Antioch, and Syria, and Ci" licia." The whole church, or the brethren with the apo. stles and elders, is a company expressly distinguished from Paul and Barnabas, commissioners from Antioch, and sending men of themselves messengers to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas, and with the letter, for greater security to tell them the same things by mouth, y 22. " Then pleased it the " apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen " men of their own company to Antioch, with Paul and " Barnabas,” &c.

Now, Sir, draw the conclufion yourself, and say, whether the whole church here distinguished from the prefbytery of Jerufalem be the commiffioners from Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia, or the church under the oversight of the elders in - Jerufalem? and then I will know whether you have the regard you pretend to fcripture-consequences, when I try you upon a consequence the nearest and shortest you can easily defire; yea, I will know your regard to plain scripture-words. You make no queftion but Paul and Barnabas, and certain others of the church in Antioch that came with them, were members of that company by which the decrees were ordained, and gave their fuffrage in what was determined, as a part of that ecclefiaftic body. And it is worth notice how you make up this ecclefiaftic body: "There is a clear difcovery," say you, " of the members constitutive of this synod, in order to " consider the question referred to them, namely, from "the prefbyterial church of Jerufalem, the apostles and pref" byters, y 6.; from the church of Antioch Paul and Bar"nabas, and others fent with them by the public authority " of that church, ý 2. 12." Thus to make it look as like one of your synods as may be, you fpeak as if you imagined, that the apoftles and elders sat there as delegates from the prefbytery in Jerufalem, and so were on the same footing with those from Antioch; or at least, you would have your reader imagine so. But it seems very plain, that the presbytery of Jerufalem sat full there, and the apostles were with them; and that Paul and Barnabas being sent up to them with a question, after hearing of it, and some discourse in the church