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either in the church or out of it, but more for the sake of a little paltry consequence which it confers on paltry owners among little paltry spirits. And this is a compensation for the high and beneficent authority of a spiritual order, is it! That a suitable authority is due to that order, if not in respect to the body or members, yet in respect to their Head, is evident enough; and evident enough it also is, that the end of its institution cannot be answered any how without such authority. But the proper authority of the church is spiritual, like its armour and weapons. Let the produce of the earth be authority for men of the earth; earthly too be their harsher weapons: but so are not ours. If we "walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong-holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God; and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (Cor. II. x. 3-5). Seeing, therefore, that the authority of the church, as well as the claim of all its matters and dependencies to a decent respect, will afford another foundation for piety, the good objective characteristic or class of which we are now considering, it may not be amiss to notice the same, both generally and particularly, yet in a few words only.

1, First then all the authority and importance that is conceded to the church, and to church matters, must be conceded in respect to God, its Chief, and their chief object, in order to yield the characteristic of godliness or piety, or any other characteristic indeed that is more than moral or temporal, like the particulars before mentioned. And this being understood, it may seem as orderly and regular, to derive all the spiritual authority in a state from God's Word, as all the temporal from its constitution, or government, if there be no constitution; allowing no more latitude to the ministers of one authority, than to those of the other; which is merely that of construing, declaring, and enforc

TION.

ing the same. No doctrine of Scripture owes its origin, nor consequently should owe its interpretation to any man: these doctrines all come from the perpetual Head of the church; to the church they are directed, and by the church they are to be interpreted, as St. Peter declares, “No PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE IS OF ANY PRIVATE INTERPRETAFor the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (Pet. II. i. 20, 21). By church, in this acceptation, is, however, to be understood THE CHURCH UNIVERSAL AND INVISIBLE; not any visible, or particular church; as the Hebrew, Syrian, Greek, Roman, and others, for example; as it cannot be expected, that an implicit belief should be yielded by one of these to either of its rivals in the slightest peculiarity. For the interpretations of particular churches are like "private interpretations," or but one degree beyond them, and to be estimated accordingly on the principle above mentioned; which was laid down by the Holy Ghost, and promulgated by St. Peter. The interpretations of councils and synods, too, what are they, but often any thing rather than the interpretations of the church? And where then may the COLLECTIVE WISDOM and general authority of the church be to be found, but in its COLLECTIVE ACTS ? It is not found in the acts of one council, nor of another, nor of any two, nor of ever so many; but generally in the acts of the church, such councils being included among them. Or we may say, that the collective wisdom of the church, as well as its errors, and divisions, and crosses, and triumphs, is found in their record, the sacred Scriptures, sacred histories, and other religious documents; and to be extracted therefore by sound criticism and other human means with the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Here is the record of the collective wisdom of the church and a Christian man's authority in a great measure for believing as he does.

For as every effect in the visible or material department is brought about by ways and means, and no effect is ever

produced without them; we must not expect it to be otherwise in the spiritual and invisible department which forms the main object of our present consideration: but as one is produced by its congenial means, so is the other; as houses for shelter, and temples for worship are built for example with craft and instruments, so is piety by faith, and faith by evidence, and evidence by records with the interpretation aforesaid. Such means, therefore, as these are a part of the objects of piety: so are all the signs, symbols, and other institutions by which the constituent graces of the visible church may be preserved and propagated through the very small beginning of piety in respect thereof. For the written word may be regarded as symbolical of the word conceived, and the word conceived of the pure eternal Word which is one with God. And hereby we may also observe the involution of one mean to the kingdom within another, and how one is symbolical of another continually; as for example, four-and-twenty letters first, are symbolical of so many sounds; then these combined are symbolical of words; which are symbolical of ideas; which are symbolical (sometimes) of the truth delivered to mankind from above.

2, In a due respect to these matters from all consists the general authority of the church, and the foundation of general piety, the good objective characteristic under consideration: besides which, as before intimated, the subject will also deserve to be considered more particularly in two different relations, internal and external, or the authority within and without.

—1, And first, for an internal tribunal or seat of spiritual authority, it may be recommended to every member of a Christian congregation severally and individually to judge himself before all others: "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (Cor. I. xi. 31). In addition to which every member of a congregation is here also advised and exhorted, to judge for himself, as a better way than putting it to the vote, what he shall believe or

do: LET HIM HEAR THE LIKELIEST, AND JUDGE WHAT IS BEST IC

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1: 2, Enjoying then so pure a government in one's self, one should not need to seek, if one was disposed to accept, the benefit of an external authority for the regulation of one's faith and manners, whatever one might submit to for the sake of peace: much less should one feel inclined to dictate to others. It were vain and usurping for any single person, or any single congregation, or any number of congregations. united, to pretend a spiritual authority over others against their consent, or in matters that are not regularly submitted to their decision by the parties concerned; as the question of circumcision was, for example, to the apostles and elders by the church at Jerusalem, and by them satisfactorily determined on the liberal side. For while it rested with the Hebrew church either to withhold its communion from the Gentiles altogether, or to fix its own terms, it still did not become the body, as St. Peter alleged, "to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples; which neither our fathers, nor we (said he) were able to bear" (Acts xv. 10).

Assuming therefore so moderate a jurisdiction only in their own, that is, in a spiritual way, and within their own pale or community, if the council of the apostles and elders, or any one of them perhaps had been required to decide on a question either of facts or opinions that was foreign to their spiritual character, it is most likely, that they would have answered like the Chief Shepherd himself, when one of the company said unto him, “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me:" and he said unto him, “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you ?" (Luke xii. 13, 14.) And if an unbeliever had applied for a judicial interference either to the Lord or to one or more of his apostles, the answer would >have been most likely somewhat in the words of St. Paul, taken perhaps from the forecited of our Saviour's, "What have I to do to judge them also that are without?" (Cor.

I. v. 12.) Or it may be a good excuse for any spiritual person, in case of such an appeal, which is not very probable from "one without" to answer somewhat like Dinah's brethren to Hamor and Shechem, "In this will we consent unto you, if ye will be as we" (Gen. xxxiv. 15).

This has no relation to the civil authority; which OWES equal justice to all. And no one, though he were a very heathen and worshipped strange gods, if he had any of the principle of piety within him, could bring himself to threaten or constrain any spiritual person acting or retiring in a manner so consistent with his professions. A PIOUS DEFERENCE to the authority thus described, which is the authority itself in fact, or its essence at least, and also an incidental of the kingdom, will include of course many other incidentals either as auxiliaries or embellishments; the principal of which has been already mentioned as the word of God, with signs, and symbols, and other records answering thereto; and more might be added to these not unworthy of the regard of piety, but in some cases worthy of its most favorable attention; as different supplementary institutions and ceremonies, which have been thought con venient, also forms of prayer and belief, with psalmody, readings, and exhortations for the ear; carvings, statues, paintings, and other monuments for the eye; holy days for remembrance; and something in short, to exercise every gift and faculty in the way of godliness. But these matters could not be conveniently handled at present, though there are none of them that did not deserve to be enumerated as objects of piety belonging to the sacred place and service in which a communication is kept up between God and his people.

*Sacred with all thereto belonging, be that sacred place for ever!--Favoured with the protection of the divine Being to whom it is consecrated, and honoured in the right of men beyond castles or palaces, or any other sort of habitation, long may it remain regularly attended, and fully frequented. Or, should it be otherwise; should our

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