therly love, and with whom they are to walk in the duties of that love, and with whom not. And this is one inftance of the Antichriftian arrogancy of the clergy. But if you rec kon the people church-members, whofe fault is it that they are ignorant of the manifeft laws of Chrift, upon which a lone, and not upon doubtful difputations, binding and loofing muft proceed? And by what warrant have you members of a church that are obftinately ignorant of the law of brotherly love, and of what pertains to it in a church?

As to your argument from the rule of proportion, I am not fatisfied by it, unless you could let me fee,

1. That the cafe is the fame betwixt two or more churches, as it is betwixt brethren in the fame church, or brethren Chriftians; and that the Lord Chrift commands a church, or many churches, and their overseers, to do the same thing toward another church, as such, that he commandeth them to do toward their own members. I find churches charged every one with what is wrong within themfelves; but I do not find them condemned for what is amifs in other churches, if they themselves be free.

2. That there is an inftitution for the court, that is, to bind churches when they tranfgrefs, and will not hear other churches. You have not manifefted to me any fuch thing in this text for, when you fay our Lord here refers to the fynagogue, which was but a congregation, and to its rulers; and when you alledge, that the fame grant and promife is made to the court here fpoke of that was before made to the fupreme court among the Jews, a congregational prefbytery is hereby made the fupreme court. You may as well plead for the binding of kingdoms and commonwealths as for the binding of churches from these words, "Whatfoever ye fhall bind;" and if you extend it further than unto all matters wherein a church is warranted by Chrift to bind or loofe its members, you may as well make it to fignify every thing in the world. And though two or more elders, as many more as you will, be here authorised, by agreement, to bind or loose in a church, even the church whereof they are overfeers, not as lords o⚫ ver God's heritage, but as enfamples to the flock; yet it will take a depth of metaphyfics that I never fathomed, to infer from this, that Chrift hath authorised any number of elders any otherwife affembled, or judging in any other manner, to bind or loose in his name, It cannot be manifefted, that these words, as they ftand in connection with what goes before," For where two or three are gathered toge

002

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"ther in my name, there am I in the midst of them," do warrant elders, more or fewer, to meet together as they please, in as many different kinds of courts as they will, and bind and loofe: for it will not be eafily proven, that meeting in a court not of his inftitution, is meeting in his name: and if these words be to be taken more largely than with a reference to what was faid before of the eldership of a congregation, then it is agreeable to the context, when we are taking them more largely, first to think of two or three brethren or church, members meeting together to do his will, and call on his name for any thing wherein his glory is concerned, and which he has allowed them to afk; and there is no reason to confine it unto elders, as you do, when yet you plead for the text being understood in a latitude whereof it will not admit.

I am fatisfied the law of Chrift binds every profeffor of his name to affemble in a church to his power, for the obferva tion of his inftitutions; and fo every fuch perfon is by him fubjected to his difcipline in that church whereof he is a member, and the elders of fuch a church are commanded to take heed to themselves, as well as to all the flock, and that with refpect unto all trefpaffes, the most public and hainous not excepted; and there is the fame rule of difcipline for a trespafling elder and any other church member. And when any the leaft church warrantably binds or loofes its members, one or more, it is good in heaven, without being ratified by any other church or judicature on earth whatfoever; and when a church binds or loofes without warrant in Chrift's law for fo doing, it is of itfelf null as if it never had been, and cannot be made good by the ratification of a judicature confifting of all the elders on earth.

But if a church trespass against Christ's law, then he judges and chaftens that church, and calls it by his word to reform; and if it do not reform, where is the court, having jurisdiction, that he hath inftituted for the reformation of fuch a church, as the church in Corinth for inftance? If a church perfift obfti nately in fin, fo as not to answer unto the end of Christ's in ftitution of a church, what court is it that then cafts off that church from being a church of Chrift? inform me, if you find it in the New Teftament. I fee the eldership of a church, with the church's confent, may caft off their mem bers; but for what I can fee, Jefus Chrift has taken both the chaftening and cafting off of churches into his own hand; and this is manifeft in the cafe of the feven churches of Afia. If will not be content with this, but ftill think visible church

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power acting over many churches neceffary for remedying fome evils that you are much afraid of, fo that you cannot truft them in the hands of Chrift, who has taken the churches under his immediate care, I would then have you feriously to confider the evils that not only may follow, but have ac tually followed upon the exercise of a vifible power over the churches, to keep them from hainous trefpaffes, and in unity and peace.

III. Your other ground for the subordination of judica tures, viz. the apoftolical example, Acts xv. is as clear a pattern for the congregational way, and fo againft the fubordination of judicatures, as is to be found in any one paffage in the whole book of the Acts: and the more I consider that paffage, I wonder the more how it comes to be fo much infifted on as a pattern for a fynod of any kind, either Roman, Scottish, or New English.

When you confider and answer what I fay on this paffage in my remarks on The Defence of national churches, and in my speech before the commiffion, I will know better how to deal with you upon it, and where your main pinch lies. But, as I can now take you, in the difference betwixt you and me about the nature of this court, you feem to depend much in your belief of its being a fynodical meeting, upon your fenfe of the word church, as it ftands in this chapter, and upon this, that Paul and Barnabas, and thofe that came with them from the church in Antioch, were members of that company by which the decrees were ordained. When the question is, Whether this was a congregational or a fynodical meeting? it is manifeft, very much depends upon the fense of the word church, or what we are to understand by it here: and if this remain doubtful, after all that can be faid upon it, the cafe is doubtful; but if it can be clearly manifefted what is the meaning of the church here, it will do much to determine the question. It is very plain the church is distinguished from the elders, as the elders are from the apoftles; fo that by the church you and I will agree to understand something else than the elders in Jerufalem, or the presbytery of the church in Jerufalem, who fay to Paul, Acts xxi. 18. 25. "We have " written and concluded:" for, as I can take your meaning, you would have us by the church to understand the commif fioners from Antioch, and from Syria, and Cilicia, churchofficers that met with the prefbytery of Jerufalem.

Now let us confider all the evidence that can enter our minds from this paffage, and fee if it can poffibly bear this meaning.

meaning. It is plain, the only commiffioners we read of here are Paul and Barnabas, and those with them from Antioch; and whether these, or any other commiffioners you may dream of from other places, be or can be intended in this de fignation, we may fee by confidering the whole paffage, We find the church, and the apoftles and elders, receiving the commiffioners from the church in Antioch, Acts xv. 4. and if this be the fame church that concurred with the apoftles and elders in deciding the question, and fending the epiftle and meffengers to Antioch, then it will be evident beyond contradiction, that Paul and Barnabas, and the commiffioners from Antioch, were not of that church. If it be not the fame church that fent the epiftle to Antioch, then let me fee what occurs in this chapter to afford me any fhadow of a ground to think that it is not; mean time it must be acknow. ledged, that the church in 4. is the church in Jerufalem under the oversight of the prefbytery there. We find the whole church, with the apoftles and elders, y 22.; and it is manifeft this church, whatever it was, concurred with the apostles in their decifion of the question, and ordaining the decrees written in the letter to Antioch. I make no doubt to agree with you in faying, that the whole church there is the fame thing with the brethren in whose name the epistle was written, 23. Neither do I question, that this whole church is there where the whole multitude is fpoke of, 12.

Now this whole church, this company of brethren, was a company to which the account of the miracles and wonders God had done among the Gentiles by Paul and Barnabas was news, and to which the disturbance made at Antioch by the falfe teachers and their doctrine was known only by hearsay, and that from Paul and Barnabas, and the commiffioners from Antioch, 12. 23. 24. "All the multitude, "All the multitude gave audience to "Paul and Barnabas, declaring what miracles, &c. The a "postles, and elders, and brethren fend greeting.-Foraf "muchas we have heard, that certain-have troubled you "with words," &c. The whole church, or the brethren, with the apostles and elders, are a company from which the falfe teachers went out, that troubled the brethren in An tioch and other places, and raised the queftion which occa fioned the coming up of the commiffioners, and caufed this meeting, 23. 24. "The apoftles, and elders, and brethren "fendunto the brethren in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia. Forafmuchas certain which went out from us have troubled you with words,-to whom we gave no

"fuch

« fuch commandment." The whole church, or the brethren, with the apostles and elders, are Jews, plainly distinguishing themselves from the brethren which are of the Gentiles, even thofe in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, 23. "The "apoftles, and elders, and brethren, fend unto the brethren "which are of the Gentiles in Antioch, and Syria, and Ci"licia." The whole church, or the brethren with the apo. ftles and elders, is a company expressly diftinguished from Paul and Barnabas, commiffioners from Antioch, and fending men of themselves meffengers to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas, and with the letter, for greater fecurity to tell them the fame things by mouth, y 22. "Then pleased it the "apostles and elders, with the whole church, to fend chofen "men of their own company to Antioch, with Paul and "Barnabas," &c.

Now, Sir, draw the conclufion yourself, and say, whether the whole church here diftinguished from the prefbytery of Jerufalem be the commiffioners from Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia, or the church under the overfight of the elders in Jerufalem and then I will know whether you have the regard you pretend to fcripture-confequences, when I try you upon a confequence the nearest and fhorteft you can eafily defire; yea, I will know your regard to plain fcripture words.

You make no queftion but Paul and Barnabas, and certain others of the church in Antioch that came with them, were members of that company by which the decrees were ordained, and gave their fuffrage in what was determined, as a part of that ecclefiaftic body. And it is worth notice how you make up this ecclefiaftic body: "There is a clear difcovery," fay you, "of the members conftitutive of this fynod, in order to "confider the queftion referred to them,namely, from "the prefbyterial church of Jerufalem, the apoftles and pref"byters, 6.; from the church of Antioch Paul and Bar"nabas, and others fent with them by the public authority "of that church, 2. 12." Thus to make it look as like one of your fynods as may be, you fpeak as if you imagined, that the apoftles and elders fat there as delegates from the prefbytery in Jerufalem, and fo were on the fame footing with thofe from Antioch; or at leaft, you would have your reader imagine fo. But it seems very plain, that the presbytery of Jerufalem fat full there, and the apoftles were with them; and that Paul and Barnabas being fent up to them with a question, after hearing of it, and fome difcourfe in the

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