We read, Matt. 5. 3, 5, 6. that John the baptist had a great multitude of disciples. But Jesus made and

baptized more disciples than John. "And of them he chose twelve whom he named apostles, and sent them to preach the kingdom of God," Luke 6. 13. After these "the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself would come." Luke 10. 1. So that during our Saviour's life here on earth, he had three orders of ministers in his Church: first, Christ himself, "the great shepherd and bishop of souls," "an high priest called of God;" then the twelve apostles, and after them the seventy disciples, who are so distinguished from one another, that it implies a distinction in their office ; they are mentioned apart by different names, and sent forth at different times. In which establishment, our Saviour kept as near as was possible, to the form in use among the Jews who had their high priest, priests and levites. And that the apostles were superior to the seventy, is also evident, not only from our Saviour's parcular care and intercession for the twelve, and his dili gent instructing them more than the rest of his followers but from hence also, that the successors of the apostles were chosen out of the seventy. To what purpose was. Matthias chosen in the place of Judas, if by that choice he could receive no more power than he had in his former commission? Which proves that the apostles were superior to the seventy, otherwise it had been no advancement to the seventy, to have succeeded them.

Whilst our Saviour lived on earth, he governed his church personally, and although the apostles were superior to the seventy, and had authority "to preach," Matt. 10. 7. and "baptize," John 4. 2. yet they had no authority to commission or send others to do the same. For as Christ alone had authority to send them, so he alone had authority to send other seventy also. And

his divine right of Episcopacy, 1718. Bishop Potter on Church government, 2d. edition, 1711. Bishop Skinner's Primitive Order, 1803. Brief account of Church Government, (with remarks on Jus. div. Min. Evang. Blondel's Apologia, and Stillingfleet's irenicum;) 2d. edition, 1685, a book strongly recom mended by bishop Hoadly, in his defence of Episcopal ordination. But particularly, consult Drury's answer to Boyse, and vindication of ditto, 1709, and his divine right of episcopacy, in answer to Boyse's clear account of episcopacy, Dublin,

1714.

this he lets them know at the time of his sending them forth: "the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Pray ye, therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." Matt. 9. 37. Now these words being spoken both to the twelve and to the seventy at the very time when he gave them their commission to preach, was a plain intimation to them, that if they found more assistance necessary, they should not take upon them to commission others, but desire him who was the Lord of the harvest to send more labourers. An evident argument that whosoever has authority to minister the word and sacraments, has not therefore authority to ordain and commission others to that office; since Christ, when he gave his apostles a commission to do the one, so plainly restrained them from performing the other, and required them to apply to himself on that occasion, as to the lord of the harvest. Thus we have plainly found three orders of ministers of the christian church, whilst Christ was upon earth; first, Christ himself, the head or bishop, then the twelve apostles answering to the priests or second order, and lastly, the seventy disciples, answering to the deacons. But then it is to be observed, that when our Saviour settled this œconomy in his church, he had confined it to the Jewish nation; for when he sent his disciples forth to preach, he charged them, saying, "go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into the city of the Samaritans enter ye not, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," Matt. 10. 5. And being raised up by God to be "a prophet like unto Moses,' Deut. 18. 15.-Acts 7. 37. he thought proper, whilst he saw it convenient to have his church confined to the Jewish country, to adhere strictly to the Mosaical œconomy in the government of it; and therefore as Moses had under him, "twelve princes, heads of the tribes, and seventy elders," Numb. 1. 4.-11. 16. to whom God imparted of Moses spirit, that they might help to rule the people under him; so Christ also chose twelve apos-, tles and seventy disciples. And therefore, after the resurrection, the apostles being commanded not to depart from Jerusalem for some time, did by divine direction, fill up the number to twelve again, when a vacancy was occasioned by the death of Judas; that so long as the church was confined to Judea, they might preserve an economy

exactly parallel to that settled by Moses, even so far as to confine themselves to the same number of officers. But when they had begun to enlarge the church beyond the bounds of Judea, though they preserved the sacred economy settled by Christ, so as to retain the divers orders of ministers which he first established, yet they had no longer any regard to the numbers twelve and seventy; for St. Paul and St. Barnabas, and many others were added to the number of the apostles; and as for the seventy, we hear nothing of them after the resurrection.

However, as I have already intimated, the sacred economy of three distinct orders continued in the church, whilst it was under the government of the apostles, as it had done whilst under the immediate government of Christ on earth. For as whilst our blessed Saviour was in his state of humiliation in this world, he was the chief governor of his church, under him the twelve apostles, and below them seventy disciples; and he himself executed the whole legislative power and episcopal authority in his person, and gave no power to any to ordain, or send others, till after his resurrection; so, a short time before he ascended into Heaven, he enlarged the commision of the apostles, and gave them authority to rule and govern his church in his stead, and to ordain and send others as he had sent them, for a perpetual succession to the end of the world; "As my father hath sent me, says he, so send I you," John 20. 21. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, saying, "receive ye the Holy Ghost:" and after they had received it in a visible manner, on the day of Pentecost, they began to govern the church, by those rules they had received from Christ. It was now, and not before, that they offered to ordain others, according to their second commission from their master, and that, with reference both to presbyters and deacons. Thus they ordained deacons to take care of the widows and the poor "in the daily administration,” Acts 6. But they ordained them not for that purpose only, but also to preach and baptize. For Philip, who was one of the deacons, Acts 8. 5. went to preach at Samaria, where he made many converts, and baptized them, but had no authority to lay hands either to confirm those whom he had baptized, or to ordain ministers among them; wherefore he informed the apostles of hat he had done, who sent Peter and John two of rown order, to perform those things which Philip

had no authority to do. The apostles ordained also presbyters (or elders) in every city, Acts 14. 23. These elders or presbyters are also called bishops, for so St. Paul called the presbyters of Ephesus, when he sent for them to attend his Episcopal or Apostolic visitation to Miletus, saying, "take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you (bishops or) overseers," Acts 20. 28. Thus after the resurrection as well as before, we find three orders of ministers in the church, first, the apostles, who were chief governors; next the presbyters, (then called bishops); and lastly the deacons.

The apostles, therefore, were the first bishops, (as the word is now used) of the christian church, and governed it under our Saviour, who gave them their commission for that purpose. But, although the authority given them by our Lord was in common to them all, so that they were, every one of them, bishops and governors of the whole Catholic Church, and might exercise their episcopal power in any part of it, yet they soon found it necessary to limit the universality of their power as to the executive part of it, that one might not interfere with another; and this no doubt they did by the direction of the holy Spirit, who is, "the God of order, not of confusion, in all the churches of the Saints." The first division we find made by them, is mentioned by St. Paul, who says that some of the apostles were appointed by an agreement between themselves, (and not by any command of St. Peter) to take charge of the Gentiles, and others of the Jews, Gal. 2. 9. And having thus ordered by mutual agreement, that James, Cephas or Peter, and John should take care of the Jewish Christians, and Paul and Barnabas of the Gentile christians, they then proceeded to make a further limitation, and gave to each apostle his particular district or diocese.

Thus they appointed St. JAMES, the BISHOP OF JERUSALEM; and whether he was one of the twelve or not, this is beyond dispute, that he was by compact and agreement, fixed at Jerusalem, to exercise his episcopal and apostolical authority in that city, and the country adjoining. And this is evident from St. Paul, Gal. 1. 18, 19. who three years after his conversion went up to Jerusalem, and found St. James resident there, for that place was his charge; and St. Jerom (in Gal. I.)

assures he was bishop of Jerusalem. St. Paul, fourteen years after his conversion went again to Jerusalem, and found St. James upon his charge, Gal. 2. 1. and I do not find that ever he removed from thence. In the Synod which was held at Jerusalem, about the question whether the converts from gentilism should be circumcised, Peter delivers his judgment, as one who was a member of the assembly; but James speaks with authority, and his sentence is decisive, and according to his determination the decree was enacted. And some of the Church of Jerusalem, who came to Antioch, are said to be certain who came from James; which implies that James was head of that Church. So when St. Paul arrived at Jerusalem "he went in unto James," as the bishop, "and all the presbyters," who were next in authority to him, "were present," Acts 21. 18. Why does St. James direct his Epistle to the twelve tribes scattered abroad," but because he looked upon all the Jewish Christians, who still thought it their duty to come to Jerusalem to worship, to be under his care. Upon this account, all the writers of the first ages, unanimously (says Blondel, Apolog. p. 50.) style him bishop of Jerusalem

It is objected by some, (not to the credit of Christianity,) that the church of Jerusalem was confined to a single congregation. But it is utterly impossible that the many thousands from time to time converted in Jerusalem alone, and the daily encrease of them*, could worship God in one and the same place together. Hence the necessity of their being divided into many congregations, though still but the one church of Jerusalem, "a persecution being raised against the church.”

It may be observed in this place, that where the Scriptures speak of the churches of a province, the plural number is used, as the churches of Judea, Samaria, Syria, Cilicia, &c. But where they speak of a city, they use the singular number, as the church of Jerusalem, Corinth, &c. And it is evident that there were many presbyters and congregations in one city, as has been proved by Dr. Maurice in his treatise of Diocesan Episcopacy, in answer to Clarkson, 1691, and his vindi

*Acts 1. 15.-Acts 2. 41, 47.-Acts 4. 4.-Acts 5. 14, and 6. 7. See Maurice against Clarkson, p. 9. 3d, edition,