the word doth import, is likewise antienter than the restraint of the word is; and consequently that power of chief ecclesiastical overseers, which the term of a bishop doth import, was before the restrained use of the name which doth import it. Wherefore a lame and impotent kind of reasoning it is, when men go about to prove, that, in the apostles' times, there was no such thing as the restrained name of a bishop doth now signify; because, in their writings, there is found no restraint of that name, but only a general use, whereby it reacheth unto all spiritual governours and overseers.". Hooker's Eccl. Pol. book vii. sec. ii. Let any unbiassed man, therefore, read the Acts of the apostles, and the epistles to Timothy and Titus, and he will see, that there were three orders of the Christian ministry; 1. apostles, or chief bishops; 2. presbyters, or inferiour bishops; and 3. deacons. We have already mentioned four apos tles, added to the original number; and that there were others, is, we think, intimated in Romans xvi. 7, and 2 Cor. viii. 23. In the latter passage, our translation calls them the messengers of the churches; the word apostle, as Hooker in the above cited passage has observed, originally signifying a messenger. St. Paul, exhorting the Corinthians to make contributions for the poor Christians in Judea, tells them that he had sent Titus to receive their alms, and that with him, he had sent two other brethren, whom he highly commends, (verses 18 & 22,) but does not name. He then adds, that if any of the Judaizing party, who were opposed to him in that church, should make any objections to their trusting these persons, and should ask information concerning their characters, they might reply, that as for Titus, he was already well known to them, having been the partner and fellow labourer of St. Paul, in founding their own church, and that, as for the two other brethren, they were from their official, as well as their private character, worthy of confidence, being APOSTLES of their churches, and the glory of Christ. "If any inquire concerning Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper, concerning you: or if our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers (nisin apostles) of the churches and the glory of Christ." Such apostles were Timothy and Titus. Of this the epistles addressed to them exhibit internal evidence. Timothy is required to lay hands suddenly on no man; not to receive an accusation against a presbyter without sufficient witnesses; to reprove, rebuke, exhort; to hold fast the form of sound words; and to commit what he had heard of St. Paul, to faithful men, who should be able to teach others. Titus was left in Crete, to set in order the things that were wanting, that is, to complete what St. Paul had left undone, and to ordain presbyters in every city to exhort and rebuke with all authority, and to reject a heretick after the first and second admonition. In the language of the new testament, they were the apostles of their respective churches; in the language of the church at a later period, Timothy was bishop of the church of Ephesus, Titus the bishop of the church of Crete, having presbyters under him in all the cities of that island. Dr. B. (p. 101.) produces the salutation of the epistle to the Philippians as an evidence that there was not one presiding officer there. "To all the saints at Philippi with the bishops and deacons." A little attention to this epistle will enable our readers to perceive how easily the objection is obviated. St. Paul being a prisoner at Rome, the Philippians raised a sum of money to supply his wants, and sent it to him by their chief officer, their apostle, Epaphroditus. When Epaphroditus returned, he carried an epistle from St. Paul to them, thanking all orders in the church for their care of him. Let any one read the epistle, and especially the second chapter, from the twenty-fourth verse to the end, and he will perceive that this was the real state of the fact. In verse 25, St. Paul calls Epaphroditus, "My brother and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger." In the original it is, uav de añosodov, but your APOSTLE. In the church at Philippi, then, there were three orders of ministers-1. An apostle; 2. bishops; 3. deacons; in modern language, a bishop, with several presbyters or deacons under him. If we look to the example of the church of Jerusalem, we shall find traces of the same mode of administration. It must be borne in mind how rapidly the Christians increased in Jerusalem. On the day of Pentecost, Peter converted three thousand souls; three thousand adults; enough to form three very large congregations. A short time after, five thousand more were added. Not more than twenty years had elapsed, before we find that there were many myriads, many ten thousands of Jews in Jerusalem who had become Christians. (Acts xxii. 20.) Ecclesiastical antiquity constantly and unanimously affirms that James the less, our Lord's brother, called by Josephus James the just, was the first bishop of Jerusalem. James the son of Zebedee, who was one of the twelve apostles, was put to death by Herod about ten years after the martyrdom of Stephen, and at the same time Peter was cast into prison. This is related in the twelfth chapter of the Acts; and in the same chapter it is mention -ed that St. Peter, on his miraculous deliverance from prison, came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together, praying. And when he had gained admittance, and had told them how he had been delivered, he added, "Go show these things unto James, and to the brethren.". Why was James so particularly mentioned, unless it was that he was ན the presiding officer of the church in Jerusalem? In the fifteenth chapter of the acts there is an account of a meeting, or council of the apostles and presbyters, concerning the question whether the gentiles should be obliged to observe the Mosaick law; at which council we find James speaking in the language of authority, and giving sen. tence in the case, after St. Peter and others had done speaking; and to this sentence all concurred. How can it be accounted for, that one who was not of the original twelve, should have received all this respect and deference, unless we admit the solution, that he was the apostle or chief bishop of the church in Jerusalem? In the twentyfirst chapter, St. Luke thus describes the return of himself and St. Paul to Jerusalem, "And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly, and the day following Paul went in with us unto JAMES; and all the elders (πάντες οι πρεσβύτεροι, all the presbyters) were present." Acts xxi. 17, 18; see also Gal. ii. 12, where persons coming to Antioch who were members of the church in Jerusalem, are said to come "from James." If James had not been pre-eminent in the church of Jerusalem, why should his name have been singled out in this manner? View him as the apostle or bishop of the church in Jerusalem, and all is clear. It was a proper act of respect in St. Paul to visit the bishop on his arrival; and he found the presbyters there with their bishop ready to receive him. Here is all the proof of Episcopal government which the nature of the narrative admits, and it ap pears to us impossible to give a satis factory explanation of it on the ground of ministerial parity. We have seen from the twentieth chapter of the Acts, that there were a number of presbyters or bishops of the church of Ephesus. Yet in the Revelation, the epistles addressed by the command of Christ to the seven churches of Asia minor, in which F Ephesus was included, are directed to the angels of the several churches. The primary signification of the word ayyinos, angel, is a messenger or ambassador. It is therefore synonymous with apostle. St. John in his mystick vision of our Lord, saw him surrounded with seven golden candlesticks, and having in his right hand seven stars. In this symbolick representation, the seven stars were the angels or apostles of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks the seven churches. When therefore, St. John says, "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write," Rev. ii. 1. we are warranted to conclude that there was an angel or apostle presiding over the presbyters or bishops of that church. And what renders this conclusion the more certain, is the fact, that not more than ten or twelve years after the Revelation was written, Ignatius the bishop of Antioch addressed a letter to the church in Ephesus, containing among others, equally explicit, the following remarkable expressions: "Since in the name of God I have received your numerous body, in the person of my inexpressibly dear Onesimus, your bishop according to the flesh, I pray that you may love him as Christ hath commanded, and that you may all resemble him; for blessed be God that he hath made you worthy of possessing such a bishop. Likewise concerning my fellow-servant Burrhus, who by the will of God is your deacon, I pray that he may continue to be an honour to you and to the bishop. It becomes you in every way to glorify Jesus Christ, who hath glorified you, that by uniform obedience you may become perfect in the same mind and sentiment, and may all say the same thing of the subject, so that being under subjection to the bishop and presbyters, ye may in all things be sanctified." Ign. ad Ephes. sec. 1 and 2. This Onesimus appears to have been the immediate successor of Timothy; the latter, according to Cave, having received martyrdom about the year 97, and Onesimus about the year 109. But Dr. B. asserts, in terms of great confidence, that ordinations were not uniformly administered by the apos tles. "From scriptural history," says he, "it is evident, that pastors of par→ ticular churches were not uniformly ordained by the apostles, or by evan gelists during their lives. Nay, it is apparent, evangelists themselves did not always receive ordination from the apostles. St. Paul thus exhorts his son Timothy, Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, and the laying on the hands of the presbytery.' p. 105, 106. It is a little unfortunate that he should have forgotten to mention another passage, which, being collated with the above, will serve to define its meaning: "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 2 Tim. i. 6. If Timothy received the gift by the laying on of the hands of the presby tery, it is certain that St. Paul was one of them, and that he was the chief agent in the transaction. If Dr. B. had recollected this text, it would have taught him what sort of presbytery it was which thus ordained or consecrated Timothy. We think we have shown that the title of presbyter was applied to the apostles; and this is the sense in which this passage was understood by Chrysostom and Theodoret, who probably knew as much about the use of Greek words as Dr. Bancroft. But be that as it may, so long as Timothy received the gift by the putting on of St. Paul's hands, the passage in question cannot be adduced to prove that pastors "were not uniformly ordained by the apostles." But "Paul and Barnabas," says Dr. B. (p. 106,)" as well as Timothy, were separated to their work by the imposition of the hands of the presbytery." Yes: one is quite as likely as the other. St. Paul says of himself, bas; but it was to the work, whereunto he had called them formerly. This separation was simply a recommending them to the grace of God by prayer." Macknight Comm. in loc. vol. iii. p. 108. Any one, who is at all acquainted with ecclesiastical antiquity, well knows, that it was a common practice whenever the blessing of God was invoked to accompany the invocation, by the laying on of hands. Gal. i. 1. that he was "an apostle, Antioch. The Holy Ghost indeed ornot of men, neither by man, but by dered the prophets at Antioch (Acts Jesus Christ and God the Father;" xiii. 2,) to separate Paul and Barnathat is, as Macknight, a presbyterian writer, paraphrases it, "Paul, an apos tle, not sent forth from any society of men, neither appointed by any particular man, but by Jesus Christ. He received his commission as the first twelve did, directly from our Lord himself." The fact to which Dr. B. alludes, and which has led him into this strange mistake, is as follows: In the thirteenth chapter of the Acts it is said, that "there were in the church We have now, with some diligence, that was at Antioch, certain prophets examined Dr. B's. account of the pri and teachers; as Barnabas, and Sime- mitive church; and we give ourselves on that was called Niger, and Lucius some credit for patience in thus inof Cyrene, and Manaen-and Saul. vestigating assertions, made with a As they ministered to the Lord, and hardihood which may go down in fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate Worcester, but which certainly cannot me Barnabas and Saul for the work be very composedly tolerated by men whereunto I have called them. And who know that there are other people when they had fasted and prayed, and in the world, beside Calvinists and laid their hands on them, they sent unitarians. Perhaps our readers have them away." Now from the very considered their patience quite as much terms of the narrative, this could not exercised in the perusal of our lucuhave been an ordination. Barnabas brations, as we have thought ours to and Saul were already possessed of have been, in the lucubrations themthe same powers as Simeon, Lucius, selves. We shall therefore reserve and Manaen. They are all spoken what we have to say further with regard of as already prophets and teachers. to Dr. B's. book, for another number: What Dr. B. mistakes for an ordination, was merely the solemn invocation of the divine blessing on them, for a particular work, namely, that of visiting the churches of Asia minor; and it is expressly stated, Acts xiv. 26, that they returned to Antioch, "whence they had been recommended to the grace of God, for the work which they fulfilled." The most candid and intelligent presbyterian writers, have acknowledged, that this was not an ordination. "Paul," says Macknight, "was first made an apostle by Christ, when he appeared to him, in the way to Damascus, Acts ix. 15. And three years after that, his apostolick commission was renewed, Acts xxii. 21. So that he was sent forth, neither by the church at Jerusalem, nor by that at and shall conclude at present, with a quotation from Hooker, which expresses our own convictions, and which will, we hope, be equally expressive of those of our readers. "A thousand five hundred years and upward, the church of Christ hath now continued under the sacred regiment of bishops. Neither for so long hath Christianity been ever planted in any kingdom throughout the world, but with this kind of government alone; which to have been ordained of God, I am, from mine own part even as resolutely persuaded, as that any other kind of government in the world, whatsoever, is of God. "We are not through errour of mind deceived, but some wicked thing, bath undoubtedly bewitched us, if we for sake that government, the use whereof universal experience hath for so many years approved, and betake ourselves unto a regiment, neither appointed of God himself, as they who favour it pretend, nor 'till yesterday ever heard of, among men. "The time may come, when bishops, whose regiment doth now seem a yoke, so heavy to bear, will be longed for again, even by them that are the readiest to have it taken off their necks. But in the hands of divine Providence, we leave the ordering of all such events." For the Gospel Advocate. EXTRACT FROM THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. To slaves of heaven, as they crouch! O seer, Of slaves that bow to God. Yet wert thou nought But a poor prophet, whose chimerick dreams, kind. Will'st thou work miracles, now have thy wish, Translated from the original German of Seer of mortality; for Satan leaves His raptur'd feelings. So the sage's soul, That, long the future pondering o'er, yet doubts Of future life, and trembles in itself And feels repose; and is again immortal. That thou should'st thus the race of man affront? I am, replied a voice of deaf'ning awe, Satan, the world's true king; the lord of those That live, unconquer'd spirits, 'neath my realm; An occupation, which methinks more bright, And more exalted is, than those ordain'd ADVOCATE, VOL. II. 37 The field to thee, and soon his mighty foot Shall cleave a blasting passage thro' the depths Of ocean and of earth till straight again, King, he return to claim his wrested world. But, e'er A part, die wretch! he said, and |