just men, who foreshewed the coming of the Just One, Jesus Christ. Acts, chap. vii. ver. 19—40, XVI. THE CHAPTER OF THE As the body of man is made up of Α different members and limbs, all intended for their several uses, and some of them in higher, some in lower stations; so in like manner are different men formed together into one body, in what we call society, wherein men are as necessary to one another as the different limbs are necessary to the body. In a kingdom the king is the head, giving life, strength, and direction to the whole body; and a people without a king a king are like a body without a head. As the eyes guide the feet, so do the wise and learned direct the simple. The business of the hands is to work; and in a community many are born to labour, and without them a city cannot be inhabited. As the feet go about for the service of the body, so must the lower sorts be messengers and attendants to their superiors. As the stomach receives that food and nourishment which gives strength to the limbs; so must every government receive tribute, that it may be able to maintain its power, for the exe cution of the laws, and the defence of the people.. In an army, which is another sort of body, there is one who is in the place of the king, and acts as a head to all the rest. He uses his spies, as the head uses the sight, that he may see what is necessary to be done. Some are officer's and counsellors; others are officers and not counsellors; and the common soldiers are to come and go, and do as they are commanded. A body of soldiers is called a regiment, from their being disposed to exact order, and under strict strict authority; for where there is no order, there is no strength; and where there is no obedience, nothing can be done. When the body is upright, it can exercise its power; but when turned upside down, it becomes weak and useless. God is the God of order; and he hath appointed it to prevail every where for our good. Even in the world at large, the lights of heaven bear rule, and the earth and the sea know their place. But most of all is order to be observed in the Christian society; and every thing else is but as a lesson to teach us that which is the best of all. As the body, saith the Apostle, is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ; that is, the body of Christ, which is the Church. For here the head is Christ himself; and under him, all the members, fitly placed, minister to each other, and to the good of the whole body. Some are Apostles, some teachers; some are as eyes to see for the rest; some as tongues, to speak and interpret; some as hands adminis tering tering to the necessities of others, some as ears to receive what others teach; some to govern and order things; others to be under direction in a lower station, as the feet in a natural body. But all these are to consider, that, whatever their place may be, they have but one common interest, and are all animated by the same life. In the natural body there is no schism, no division, no disputing of one part against another; all the members suffer together, and all rejoice together; and so it ought to be in the body spiritual: for to divide the body is to divide Christ, if that could be done. It is a good thing to have ran higher place, and to be of more eminent use in this body; and it is an honour much to be coveted: but the most excellent way of all, and that in which every member hath its share, is to preserve the unity of the body, by a principle of love and charity, which is the first of all virtues, and shall outlast all other gifts; for it shall survive after death, and constitute the chief happiness of heaven. The Apostle St. Paul is no where so urgent as when he presses upon upon all Christians this great and necessary duty of charity. THE QUESTIONS. Q. What doth a body mean, when it is applied to a society? A. It means a company of people disposed in an orderly form, as the members are in the body of man. Q. What doth this comparison chiefly teach us? A. The use and duty of subordination. Q. What is subordination? A. The placing of some persons in offices and stations under others. Q. Who is the head of such a body? A. The wiser sort, whose duty it is to see and learn for the benefit of the rest. Q. What was a prophet formerly called? A. A seer. Q. Who are the feet? A. The |