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he delegated authority in this his spiritual empire, not to kings or other civil magistrates, but to apostles, as destitute as himself of all secular power, and as far from claiming any. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.'-' I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me.' I have given unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained; whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven: and lo! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.' I scarcely need remark to you, that these expressions imply, not merely a delegation of authority, but also that it was delegated, not to the apostles alone, as individuals, (because they, as individuals, were mortal, and Christ therefore could not always be with them,) but also to their successors, the bishops and pastors of the church, whom they doubtless under the direction of the Holy Spirit, ordained to fill those offices, and who have continued in unbroken succes

sion down to the present day. Nor can it be necessary to reply at length to the empty cavil, that the force of this uninterrupted succession is destroyed by the series having passed through the Romish church, whose manifold abuses, and whose usurpation of secular power, obliged Protestants to separate from her communion; or, rather, to make such a reform as induced the Romish church to withdraw from theirs. It is evident that the misconduct of their predecessors cannot divest them of their right to ordain successors in that authority which was really theirs. If a former king of Great Britain have advanced a groundless claim to the crown of France, this cannot invalidate the right of his descendants, who have renounced that claim, to inherit their own proper dominions."*

This is strong. And it is rendered stronger by reference to the well-known directions given by St. Paul to his ordained successors Timothy and Titus, and the clear distinction afterwards recognized by our Lord himself, be

* Letters on the Church. London 1826 pp. 59, 60

By an Episcopalian,

tween the angels or messengers of the churches in Asia, and the churches themselves.*

* In the face of scriptural testimony so abundant and unequivocal, it was with sincere regret that I read such passages as the following in the journal of that devoted servant of God, Mr. Groves." It is that yoke of mere human ordination, the necessity of a title from man to preach, and administer, as it is called, the sacraments, of which not so much as a hint is contained in the New Testament; it is that awful distinction between laity and clergy, which are the things that tie up all hands, and put bodies of men into situations of trial, who, but for this delusion, would be without any comparative difficulties." The writer of the introduction to that journal says, in a similar tone" In these very epistles (to the seven churches of Asia) there is a commendation for disregarding, for the truth's sake, the highest titles of ecclesiastical office. Thou canst not bear them which are evil: thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars." It is here taken for granted, that the persons in question had received the highest titles of ecclesiastical office: and it is boldly asserted that the passage contains a commendation for disregarding these titles for the truth's sake. But how can either of these statements be proved? The persons referred to said they were apostles: on trial by the angel of the church of Ephesus, they were found liars; they had said what was not

I appeal moreover to the plain language addressed by the apostle to the christian Hebrews, as not only implying the standing and recognized distinction between ministers and people, but also containing that general exhortation to obedience, which renders submission to the ecclesiastical ordinances of man, a duty founded upon the word of God. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account.* the spirit in which this obedience is to be rendered, is beautifully described in the first Epistle to the Thessalonians. We beseech

And

you, brethren, to know them which labour

true. They were not apostles. They could not stand the trial of this faithful minister: They had neither the miraculous signs which belonged to apostles sent by the Lord himself, nor the " titles of ecclesiastical office," which belonged to apostles sent by apostles and therefore their pretensions were vain, and they were evil men, though they might have learned (as many evil men and false pretenders have learned) to be orthodox preachers; and therefore the Ephesian pastor is commended for his discriminating zeal in detecting and rejecting them.

*Heb. xiii. 17.

among you, and are OVER YOU IN THE LORD, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love, for their work's sake.*

Nothing can be more obvious, than that such instructions were given by the apostle to the christian laity, concerning the first pastors or angels of the churches. Obey your church rulers, and submit yourselves, saith the Holy Ghost by the apostle, for they are over you in the Lord. Their official authority, in virtue of which they require your obedience, is not arrogated of man, but ordained of God; and therefore submission is inculcated as a matter of conscience towards God.

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The favourite mode of evading all this, adopted by separatists, is to say, first, that the pastors here spoken of by the apostle were all men of personal piety, and preachers of scriptural truth: and then, secondly, that obedience to them is enjoined in virtue of their character altogether, and not at all in virtue of their office. Thus, restraining the precept to such pastors as they are pleased to consider faithful men, and to them, only as * 1 Thess. v. 12, 13.