wherein it comes fhort of it, and to purge itself from every thing difagreeable to that word, and fo to come to the catholic unity and uniformity: otherwife no particular church could be condemned or approven by him the Lawgiver and Judge, for obferving or not obferving that unity.

And, what more can be said of the catholic visible unity of churches, I know not, unless I turn myself to the catholic unity and uniformity that took place in the Roman empire, after the congregations of the faints were firft corrupted by the mystery of iniquity working in them, or to fomething near a-kin to that, and much of the fame kind. And, what fhould make you point to the Roman empire, in the beginning of your argument upon this head, p. 263. I know not, except it be to turn our eyes there, that we may behold your oneness of the catholic church visible in perfection. But against all that unity and uniformity, and every thing that pertains to it, and comes of it, the Lord Chrift will fet himfelf, to confume it "by the fpirit of his mouth," till he deftroy it utterly" by the brightness of his" fecond "coming."

Yet men will be faying fomething in favour of what remains of it, after fomething of it is confumed away, and propofing wife schemes of their own, for yet keeping all the churches in visible unity. As when one or more churches depart from the gospel unity and uniformity, what should remedy that evil? Is not a catholic affembly of rulers appointed, or ought it not to be appointed, as most meet and neceffary for this? And if it ought to be ordained, certainly it was, unless we would reflect on the wisdom of Jefus Christ.

To this I answer, The wifdom of man is foolishness with him; and if one church or more churches depart from the gofpel-unity, he charges this evil upon the church that so departs, and not upon any other, nor upon the rulers of other churches, whom he commends, if they do right, let another church do never fo wrong; and he calls the erring church to reform and return; which if it do not, he will chastise it, or caft it off, according as it deferves, and that visibly. There was a care of the churches in the first formation of them, and in the laying of the plan of them, by the apoftles, prophets, and evangelifts; in whofe place, as to all that is beyond the bufinefs of paftors and teachers, the churches now have the fcriptures of the New Teftament, unto which no apostle or prophet, though now on the earth, could add any thing, not fo much as an infallible explication, which would be a new revelaVOL. I. N n tion,

tion, under the pain of the adding to him of the plagues written in that book; fo that there is no more ufe for these apostles, prophets, and evangelifts; and we cannot defire them now, without fetting at nought the work already done by them, and contemning the New-Teftament revelation, now comple ted, as being infufficient.

But if it be yet inquired, May there not be a common o, verfeer, or company of overfeers, taking care, according to the beft of their knowledge in the fcriptures, that the word be fo obferved in all the churches, as they may be one, and uniform according to it, in fubjection to their common overfight and jurifdiction? to this the head of the church anfwers, "I walk in the midst of the golden candlesticks, I ❝hold the stars in my right hand." And if any man be not fatisfied in this anfwer, let him feek another in the place of it; and I could direct him where to find it in perfection, if he be content to take up with antichrift instead of Jefus Chrift.

But while men are seeking to establish the visible unity that you are contending for, unto the remedying of evils in fome churches, or in any one church, they do not confider, that they are engaged in the fupport of that thing that served unto the corruption of all the churches, and their falling away from the true unity and uniformity. And after this univerfal falling away has taken place, and the churches are not fully recovered from it, no church can poffibly be recovered, and bring itself up to the true fcriptural vifible unity, while it cleaves to that unity you contend for, and while it departs not from it. Thus, I am of opinion, the nature of the fcriptural catholic unity is fo far from being a noble foundation for the fubordination of judicatures, that it cannot stand

with it.

4. The gift of officers for perfecting and edifying the body of Chrift in the fcriptural account of it, gives no fupport to the fubordination of judicatures, but unto congregations. Your argument, p. 88. to prove that this gift was not made to congregations, will, with equal evidence, manifeft, that it was not made to your catholic vifible body; for you say, "Chrift gave unto her apostles, who cannot be faid to be a "deed of gift to particular congregations, their commiffion "extending to the whole world." And the whole world is of greater extent than even your visible body itself. But that we may have a view of this gift or grant of officers, and the body to which it is made, let us confider that 4th chapter of

the

1

the epiftle to the Ephefians, and that they may well ferve for a key to Rom. xii. and 1 Cor. xii. You fometimes acknowledge, that the body, for the perfecting and edifying of which Chrift gave apostles, &c. is the invisible church; and, whether you acknowledge it or not, it is very manifeft, that the Apostle speaks of the myftical body of Chrift, with ap plication unto the flock at Ephefus, wherein that body was fhewed forth, and of no fuch body as that you contend for. He fpeaks of that body which is animated by one spirit, the Holy Ghoft; has one Lord and Head, Jefus Chrift, in union with whom, as the head, it is all growing unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Chrift; and one Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all; and fo it is the church of the first-} orn. This is that church that is called in one hope, even the hope of the heavenly inheritance, and hath one faith and knowledge of the Son of God, wherein it is growing unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the ftature of the fulness of Chrift; and so it is that church which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. This then is that body into which we are bap tized with one baptifm, in the name of God, the Father of it, and in the name of the Son, its head, and in the name of the Holy Ghoft, the Spirit that animates it. For the perfecting and edifying this body, the Lord and Head of it gave gifts unto men, y 10. 11. 12. 13. "He gave fome apostles, and "fome prophets, and fome evangelifts, and fome paftors and "teachers." The end for which he gave thefe is twofold. ift, "For the perfecting of the faints," pós To RaTaTIOμON ty, for the joining together of the faints; or as you, I think, very well express it, "For bringing in to joint "the faints." This is the fame thing that had been decla. red by the Apostle, chap. i. 10. ii. 6. 15. 19. and iii. 5. 6. 7. The first work about that body, whereof the first-born from the dead, Jefus Chrift, is the head, and which is made up of faints, is the joining of it together. For this end, he that was raised from the dead, and fet on the right hand, and gi ven to be head over all things to the church, gave apostles and prophets; and the evangelists miniftered unto them in that great work of gathering both Jews and Gentiles together, with the faints in heaven, in one in Chrift Jefus; and of the firft formation of the visible churches of the faints, which are for the fake of that myftical body, and ferve to fhew it forth till it appear; and therefore the Apostle, both here and Rom. xii. and I Cor. xii. accommodates what he fays of that glorious

N. n 2

καταρτισμού

glorious body unto fuch churches. So the Lord Christ gave apoftles, prophets, and evangelifts, for the joining together of the body of Chrift, and the work of the miniftry; for it is certain the evangelists are called the apostles ministers, Acts xiii. 5. 2 Tim. iv. 5.

2aly, The other end for which Chrift gave these gifts, is the edifying of this body, thus formed, till it be perfected; "for the edifying of the body of Chrift, till we all come, "in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son "of God, unto a perfect man." This fuppofes the forma tion of the body of Chrift, which was by the apostles, prophets, and evangelifts; for it behoved the body first to be, before it be edified; wherefore the Apostle now calls it the body of Chrift, when he fpeaks of this edifying. This body is edified by the adding of the elect unto it, till they all be brought in, and by their growing up in it unto perfection, till they all be perfected in one; which edifying is fome way fhewed forth in the adding of believers to the churches of the faints, which is called adding to the Lord, and in their visible growth together in faith and love, and in the professed expectation of the coming of Chrift, 2 Thef.i. For this work of edifying the body of Chrift, he gave paftors and teachers, who must continue to the end, because their work continues; and they were by the apoftles, and their minifters, planted in every church of the faints, and there fet as a light in a golden candlestick, to fhine, and fo to edify the body of Chrift.

The Apostle, on this fubject of the gift of officers, for joining together, and edifying Chrift's body, cites the 68th pfalm, where there is a glorious defcription of the Lord's afcenfion, and his receiving gifts for men, and of the erection and advancement of his kingdom by the gifts: and, among other things there spoke of, I find special notice taken of the congregations: for, when the Pfalmift describes the glorious marches of the King of the church, in the fending of the rod of his ftrength out of Zion, the true fanctuary, the fountain of Ifrael, for making a willing people to himself among all the kingdoms of the world, that he might reign in the midst of his enemies; and when he fets forth the variety of gifts and offices accompanying thefe goings or marches of his, under the figure of the Old-Teftament music, y 25. he then fays, "Blefs ye the Lord in the congregations," y 26. And I remember you once spoke to me with pleasure of the appli cation of the 27th verfe, by a certain author, unto the a poftles. And it is remarkable, that thofe very tribes are mentioned

mentioned of which they were: Paul was of Benjamin; and the brethren of the Lord, James, the Lord's brother, Gal. i. 19. and others of his brethren, 1 Cor. ix. 5. were of Judah; and the Galileans were of Zebulun and Naphtali, Matth. iv. 12. to 16. 18. Now, both the thing pointed at in the 24th and 25th verses, and the thing pointed at in the 27th verse, feems plainly to have a reference to the congregations; and I know not but they may be the holy places mentioned 35. And, truly, when 1 confider the ufe that was made of the congregations of the faints in the fetting up and advancing of Chrift's kingdom by the gifts he received for men, I have some ground to think, that the New Testament makes us underftand what is faid in this pfalm of the congregations. For, as the word of the Lord, his mighty voice, the rod of his strength, ý 36. and Pfal. cx. 2. was fent out by him from Jerufalem on earth, the figure of the true, and from the glorious true heavenly fanctuary above, the fountain of Ifrael, the true temple; fo it was fent forth from the congregations of the faints, in every one of which, the heavenly Jerufalem, the church of the firft-born written in heaven, is fhewed forth, and made fome way visible.

When our Lord gave commiffion to his apoftles, and afcended up from them, he left them in the firft congregation of his own gathering; and when they had continued for fome time with that congregation in prayer with one accord, and Matthias was put in the place of Judas, and, together with the eleven, chofen unto the overfight of that congregation, he poured down the Holy Ghoft upon them in that congre gation; and from thence went forth the word of the Lord with power in Jerufalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermoft part of the earth. There was a congrega. tion gathered at Antioch of the Gentiles; Paul and Barnabas, and others with them, prophets and teachers, are in that. congregation, and there they are fent forth unto the great work of the converfion of the idolatrous Gentile world, and of bringing presents to Chrift from the kings of the earth, of making the Gentiles of all lands ftretch out the hand to God, and the kingdoms of the earth fing unto the Lord. In order to this, there was firft a congregation or church of the faints raised at Antioch, by the word that came out of the first congregation; and from this at Antioch the rod of Chrift's ftrength went forth glorioufly, for the joining together of the faints, and making the Gentiles fellow-heirs, and of the fame body with the Jews. And it is remarkable, that the apostles,

and

as