Robinfon, indeed, with fome ancient English and American Independents, and Lockier, one of the ancient, with fome of our modern Scotch Independents, have not scrupled to maintain that Matthias, who was chofen in place of Judas, was ordained by the hundred and twenty difciples, who were partly composed of the eleven apoftles, partly of the feventy difciples, and partly of the private members of the church. All who were present could not however be admitted to ordain Matthias, for among these "were the women, and Mary the mother of "Jefus ;" and it has never yet been alleged by any Independent, as far as I have heard, that women are to be allowed the honour of ordaining a minister. It is evident also, that no account is given of his ordination, but fimply of his election, and there is nothing very decided to lead us to fuppofe that he was even chosen by lot by any but the Apostles. "Wherefore of these "men," fays Peter," that have companied with us "(the Apostles), all the time that the Lord Jefus went "in and out among us, muft one be ordained to be a "witness with us (undoubtedly the Apostles) of his "refurrection." Befides, it merits our particular notice, that there was not properly even an election, either by the Apostles or the people. Two men were named as fit for the apostleship; and the Lord himself, in a fupernatural manner, as they drew out the lots, pointed out to them the individual. The word rvyxarsupioon (ver. 26.), which is rendered by our tranflators," he was numbered" with the Apostles, and by the Vulgate, annumeratus "eft cum undecim Apoftolis," does not intimate that he was ordained by the people, as Lockier contended; but as the learned Mr. Caudrey, in his Vindiciæ Clavium, p. 29. fays, "That seeing God had chosen and ordained

him, they accepted him by orderly fubjection to the ❝ revealed will of Chrift." Accordingly, we find the verb now, of which this is a compound, in Luke xiv. 28.

fignifying to count or reckon the coft of a thing; and in Rev. xiii. 18. it is employed to denote the counting of the number of the beaft; from which it would feem, that ovyxate&nfioon is properly rendered by our tranflators," and he was numbered," not ordained, with the Apoftles, and fimply means that he was henceforth counted or reckoned by the church as one of them.

It is argued farther, that the people must be admitted along with the pastors to ordain minifters, because when it is faid of Paul and Barnabas (Acts xiv. 23.) that "they ordained elders in every city," the word Xugotovσaves, in their opinion, properly fignifies that they chose them by fuffrage or vote; and as there were only two of them, they think that they could not themselves choose them, but fimply prefided at an election of them by the people. But on this it may be remarked, that if their translation were adopted, it would only shew that the people elected, but not that they ordained the elders, two things which are extremely different; for, in any of your congregations, for example, though the members elect, it is the ministers of other churches alone who ordain a paftor. Befides, though the word, as applied to the customs of ancient Greece, literally fignifies election by fuffrage, expreffed by lifting up the hand of the elector, it never denotes to prefide at an election. We know, too, that it means often to conftitute or appoint to an office without fuffrage or vote. Thus Jofephus, in fpeaks of " a king

his Antiquities, book vi. chap. iv.

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σε appointed by God, Βασιλευς υπο τοῦ Θεοῦ χειροτονηθείς ; and thus, too, A&ts x. 40, 41. "Him God raised up "the third day, and fhewed him openly, not to all the "people, but to witneffes chofen before of God, σε προκεχειροτονημένοις.” Since, then, it mut be plain to every person who looks for a moment at the grammatical arrangement of Acts xiv. 23. that it was Paul and Barnabas who did what is expreffed by xugovornσartes, in

ver. 23. as much as it was they who, according to ver. 22. confirmed the fouls of the disciples, and exhorted them to continue in the faith; fince this word never fignifies, as far as has been yet ascertained, to prefide at an election, where the choice is made by those who vote by lifting up the hand; fince it means to confitute, or ordain, as well as to elect; fince it is never taken in the latter fenfe, but where it is used to exprefs the act of at least more than two; and fince there were only two, in the present inftance, who did what is intended by it; it appears naturally to follow that it cannot denote in the place in queftion, that the Apostles themselves elected elders by vote in every city, and much less that they prefided at the election of them by others, but fimply, as our venerable tranflators have rendered it, that they themselves" ordained them." And with this idea the verfion of the Vulgate or Old Latin, which formerly was fo generally received by the churches, accurately coincides: "Et cum conftituiffent illis per " fingulas ecclefias prefbyteros ;" i. e. "And when "they had conftituted or ordained elders to them in every "church." But what argument can be deduced from this, for admitting the people to join with their pastors in ordaining minifters *?

* It is objected farther by them, that the Presbytery who ordained Timothy to the office of an Evangelist could not be ordinary pastors, because they were greatly inferior to him, but Apostles or Prophets; and of course, that no argument can be drawn from his ordination by such a Presbytery, for the exclusive right of our prefent minifters to ordain. To this it is replied, that if, according to the fpirit of this objection, only fuperior ministers could ordain Timothy, how can it be argued that the people, who are greatly inferior to a minifter, can ordain a minifter?-that even though it were granted that the Presbytery which ordained Timothy was composed of extraordinary ministers, they did not act as fuch, but merely in the ordinary capacity of elders, as the word presbytery or eldership suggests and that for

Thus, then, it would seem that we have no authority from scripture for allowing the people to ordain pastors, and that it is the minifters of the gospel, and they alone, who are warranted by the word of God, as well as by the explicit declaration of your churches, to perform this important act of ecclefiaftical government.

Farther, while it is undeniable that the power of exercifing difcipline is committed to thofe who are officebearers of the church, it does not appear that it is vested alfo indifcriminately in all who are members.

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That the power of difcipline is conferred upon the office-bearers must be evident to us, on reading with impartiality the following paffages. "Then faid Jefus "to them again (the eleven Apoftles), Peace be unto "you: as my father hath sent mé, even so fend I you. "Whofe foever fins ye remit, they are remitted; and "whofe foever fins ye retain, they are retained:" John XX. 21. 23. Against an elder receive not an accufa❝tion, but before two or three witneffes:" 1 Tim. v. 19. And that it is minifters alone who are to receive this accufation, and examine thefe witneffes, feems manifest from this, that it is they alone who are to do it that are commanded in the next verfe, "to rebuke before all "fuch as finned, that others might fear," by whom we are certainly to understand the minifters. And again, fays Paul to Titus (chap. iii. 10.), "A man that is an "heretic, after a first and fecond admonition, reject." While fuch however are the repeated declarations of

any thing that we know, there may have been among them ordinary ministers, who might have been admitted with as much propriety, as they were already ministers, to ordain an Evangelist, as teachers, who certainly were but ordinary ministers, were allowed with prophets (Acts xiii. 1, 2, 3.), to fet apart, by prayer and imposition of hands, Paul and Barnabas, one of whom was an Apostle and the other an Evangelist, to a particular work in the city of Antioch.

fcripture refpecting the commiffion of this power to the minifters, not a fingle inftance has yet been produced where it is explicitly affirmed to be intrufted with the people. Paffages have indeed been adduced by Independents, from the eighteenth of Matthew, and the First and Second Epiftles to the Corinthians, to demonftrate that this power has been vested also in the people. But we truft it will appear from the following Letters, that it cannot be proved from either of these paffages, that the people perfonally are to exercife this power; and that, agreeably to our common modes of speaking, all that is there affirmed to be done by them, may be done by them folely by means of their reprefentatives. On the contrary, however, while not a fingle inftance has yet been brought forward, where the members of the church, as diflinguished from the minifters, or as joined to them, are intrufted with this power, the office-bearers, who are elsewhere characterized as governors, without the addition of any other perfon, are commanded to exercise it. Since the elders of the church, then, are the only perfons who are expressly declared to be vefted with this power; fince the members, as diflinguished from the elders, are never said to have received this authority, nor to be joined with them as ecclefiaftical overfeers in fuch a manner as that their vote must be asked before it can be exerted; and fince all that is faid to be done by the members could be done by them fimply through their elders or reprefentatives, without expreffing any judgment or vote of their own; it appears to be a fair and natural conclufion, that the elders of the church, without the members, are to decide in matters of difcipline as well as government.

But if the elders alone, as was now evinced, are to admit members, ordain office-bearers, and exercise difcipline, it neceffarily follows that it is they alone, in every thing, who are to govern the church. The former confeffedly are more important matters, and if in

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