whom the authority defcended to others, and shall reach, through a variety of hands, to the end of the world.

This is the way God hath been pleased to take to make men holy, and bring them to himself, through this dangerous world,. as he brought Noah and his family out of the old world into the new, by means of an ark, which was a figure of his church. It is therefore of infinite, confequence that we should be able to know, with certainty, whether we are in the church, or out of it. If we are out of it, we are in the world. If we had been

out of the ark, we. fhould have been drowned. It is true, we may be in the church, and yet be loft; for was not Ham in the ark, who was a reprobate? But if we are out of the church, how can we be faved?

I would not, for the whole world, unworthy as I am; I say I would not, for the whole world, and all the kingdoms of it, be in doubt whether I was tranflated, or not, into the kingdom of Jefus Chrift. I would not be in doubt, whether I have the facraments, or whether I have them not. But how can I be fure in this cafe, unless I know what the kingdom of Chrift is; where it is to be found; and what are the marks by which it may be known? Many strange abuses in religion have arifen on occafion, and under the fpecious name of reformation; a very good word; but it hath been, applied to a great many bad things, even to madnefs and blafphemy. We are fallen into times when some say, "lo, here is Chrift," or, "lo, there;" in the "defert," or in the "fecret chambers ;" and are bid to take heed that no man deceive us. What a terrible cafe fhould we be in, if we had no fufficient warnings given to us, and no rule to go by! But as the lightning which cometh from the east fhineth unto the weft, fo plain and notorious was the establishment of Chrift's kingdom in this world, together with the form of its conftitution, and the orders of its miniftry, in all the countries wherever it was planted. It would be unreafonable: indeed it would be lamentable; it would feem as if God had mocked us, contrary to the nature of his mercy, that he should publish a way of falvation, and leave it uncertain where it is to be found.

From what is faid of it in the Gofpel, it is impoffible that the church fhould be a fociety obfcure and hard to be diftinguished. "Ye are the light of the world," faid Chrift to his difciples; "a city that is fet on a hill cannot be hid." Light is fure to fhew itself; and it comes in ftrait lines, which direct us to its

1

fource. A city placed upon a mountain is fo elevated above other objects, that it cannot be difficult to find it'; rather, it is impoffible to mifs it; it cannot be hid:" and Chriftian people in all ages feem to have agreed, that it fhall not be hid: for when we approach a city in any part of Christendom, the churches are generally first seen towering over all other buildings.

Chrift hath given us a precept, that, under certain circumftances, we fhould tell our cafe to the church: but unless it be known what and where the church is, this cannot be done. The precept therefore fuppofes, that the church must be known to us. The fame must follow from the injunction of St. Paul, in his epiftle to the Hebrews." Obey them that have the rule over you, and fubmit yourselves; for they watch for your fouls, as they that must give account." Chap. xiii. 17. The rulers of the church must therefore be known to us; for it is impoffible we fhould do our duty, and fubmit ourfelves to them, unless we are fure who they are.

The church then muft, in its nature, be a fociety manifeft to all men. Some may flight it, and defpife it, and refuse to hear it; but they cannot do even this, unless they know where it is to be found.

When we enquire more particularly what the church is, it may be best to proceed as we are obliged to do in fome other cafes; first, to learn what it is not; that we may go upon right ground, and understand with more certainty what it is.

The church then, as a fociety, is not the work of man; nor can it poffibly be fo. I have laid the foundation of all my reasonings upon this fubject, in the diftinction betwixt the church and the world, as two separate parties. The church is so named *, because it is called or chofen out of the world. 'Till it is fo called out of the world, it hath no being: but it cannot call itself, any more than a man can bring himself into the world.

Our Christian calling is as truly the work of God, and as much independent of ourselves, as our natural birth. The church must have orders in it for the work of the miniftry: but no man can ordain himself, neither can he (of himself) ordain another, because no man can give what he hath not. "How fhall they preach," faith the Scripture, "unless they be fent?"

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And again,

no man taketh this honour to himself, but he that is called of

* In Greek Exxλno1q.

God, as was Aaron." Nay, even "Chrift glorified ́not himself to be made an High Priest, but he that faid unto him, thou art. my fon, this day have I begotten thee." The church must have promifes; without which, it can have no reafon or encouragement to act but no man can give it those promifes; which are "exceeding great and precious." The church must have power, without which it can do nothing to any effect: but there is " no power but of God." It must have power to forgive fins; the forgiveness of fins in the holy catholic church, being an article of the Apostles creed: but "who can forgive fins, but God only?" It must act in the name of God, or not at all; because it acts for the falvation of man: but no man can act in the name of God, but by God's appointment. No ambaffador ever sent himfelf, or took upon him to fign and feal treaties and covenants (fuch as the facraments of the church are) without being fent; that is, without receiving authority fo to do, from an higher power. The act would be fo far from beneficial, that it would be treasonable. If an army were to raise itself without commiffions, what would fuch an army be, but a company of banditti, leagued together to plunder and deftroy the honeft fubjects of an éftablished community?

Nothing therefore is plainer, on these confiderations, than that the church neither is, nor can be from man. It is no human inflitution; and as it acts under God, if it acts at all, it must act by his authority and appointment. It is properly called, the church of God, (of the living God, in oppofition to the profane focieties, felf-erected for the worship of dead idols) and mankind might as reafonably prefume to make God's world, as to make God's church.

Farther enquiry will fhew us, that the church is no confused multitude of people, independent of one another, and subject to no common rules; but a regular fociety, like to other focieties, in fome respects, and unlike them all in others. It is called a body, a family, a city, a kingdom. A body is a regular ftructure, the limbs of which being joined together, are subordinate and fubfervient to one another, and are animated by the same foul or fpirit. So faith the Apoftle," for by one spirit we are all baptized into one body." I Cor. xii. 13. It being alfo called a family, the members of it must have some common relation to one another: being called a city, it must be incorporated under fome common laws; and being a kingdom, it must have some

form of government and 'magistracy. Families, cities, and kingdoms, are focieties; and the church, being represented by them, must be a regular fociety. But in this the church differs from all other focieties, because they belong to this world, and their rights and privileges are confined to it: whereas the church ex tends to both worlds, the visible and the invifible, and is partly on earth, and partly in heaven. In its earthly members it is vifible; in its rulers, it is vifible; in its worthip, it is vifible; in its facraments, it is vifible. But being alfo a fpiritual fociety, it hath a life which is hidklen, and in the inward and fpiritual grace of all its outward ordinances, it is invifible. As a kingdom in which God is Judge, and Chrift is a Mediator, and angels and faints departed, are members, it takes in the heaven itself, and is' the "heavenly Jerufalem," which is "the mother of us all;" infomuch, that when we are admitted into it, our "converfation* is in heaven," and the angels of heaven are our fellow-fervants; all making one great family under Jefus Chrift, in whom "all things are gathered together in one, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth :" on which confideration, what is rightly done in the church on earth, ftands good in heaven, as if it had been done there; and the Apoftles of Chrift received from him, the " keys of the kingdom of heaven," with a power of binding and loofing, which extends to heaven itfelf: and when Chriftians go to heaven, they are not carried into a new fociety, for they are already, by the grace of God, translated into it by baptifin; whence the Apoftle fpeaks of their tranflation, not as a thing expected, but even now brought to pafs. He hath tranflated us," &c. Col. i. 13.

The church doth alfo differ from other focieties, in that it is catholic or univerfal; it extends to all places, and all times, and is not confined to the people of any nation, or condition of life, but takes in Jews, Greeks, and Barbarians, the rich and the poor, the bond and the free; and is therefore properly fignified in one of our Saviour's parables by an inn, where all that offer themfelves are accepted. The commiffion of Chrift to his Apoftles, was to teach and baptize all nations."

The church being a kingdom, not of this world, is of a spiritual nature, and in that capacity it is invisible; but as a kingdom in this world, it is vifible, and muft have a vifible administration.

* Gr. Пoxileuma, our citizenship.

To know what this is, and whence its authority is derived, we mu go back to the Gospel itself.

Jefus Chrift was fent from heaven by the Father, and invested with the glory of the Priesthood by an actual confecration, when the fpirit defcended upon him. As the Father fent him, "fo "did he fend his difciples," and gave them authority to send others; fo that the church which followed, derived its authority from the church which Chrift first planted in the world; and the church at this day muft derive its authority after the fame manner, by fucceffion from the church which went before; the line extending from Chrift himself, to the end of the world; lo," faid he, "I am with you always, unto the end of the "world" certainly, not with those very persons, who all foon died, but with thofe who fhould fucceed, and be accounted for the fame; for a body corporate never dies, till its fucceffion is extinct *.

Our Saviour at firft ordained his twelve Apostles according to the number of the tribes of the church of Ifrael. Afterwards he ordained other feventy, according to the number of the elders, whom Mofes appointed as his affiftants. When the church in Jerufalem was multiplied, feven deacons were ordained, by the laying on of the hands of the Apostles, to preach, and baptize, and minister, in diftributing the alms of the church. Here then we have three orders of men, each distinct from the other; the twelve Apostles, the feventy difciples, and the seven deacons ; and by these the first Chriftian church in Jerufalem was governed and administered. The Apoftles were fuperior in office to the difciples; because, when Judas fell from the apoftleship, one was chofen by lot out of the difciples into the apoftlethip: the deacons were inferior to both; aad it appears that they were appointed by the laying on of the hands of the twelve Apostles; for it is faid, Acts vi. 2. the twelve called the multitude of the difciples unto "them," &c. That the Apoftles appointed others to fucceed to their own order, is evident from the cafe of Timothy; who in

* “ Take away this fucceffion, and the clergy may as well be ordained by one perfon as another: a number of women may as well give them a divine commiffion ;-byt they are no more priests of God, than thofe who pretend to make them fo. If we had loft the Scriptures, it would be very well to make as good books as we could, and come as near them as poffible: but then it would not only be foily, but prefumption, to call them the word of God." See the fecond Letter to the Bishop of Bangor: Poffcript.