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the presbyter or priest being subordinate to him, and the deacon to both, which offices were evermore had in such reverend estimation, that no man might presume to execute any of them, except he were first called, tried, examined, and known to have such qualities as are requisite for the same; and also, by public prayer, with imposition of hands, were approved and admitted thereto by lawful authority.'

And the Church of Rome acknowledges seven orders, four less and three greater. The Door-keeper, the Reader, the Exorcist, the Acolyth, the Sub-deacon, the Deacon, and the Presbyter. And the Presbyterate they hold to consist of one order, but two degrees, the superior of which, is the Bishop; the Pope or Bishop of Rome, being the head of all. (a) We see, therefore, here, a sufficient variety. From the Congregationalists, who consider the ministry to be no order at all, but merely a function, to be taken up and laid down at pleasure, up to the Church of Rome with seven orders, besides the Bishop and the Roman Pontiff. Let us next examine whether in this, as in some other points, the truth of the Scriptures does not justify the middle opinion, which is about equally distant from either extreme.

In order to which, I shall first state the general ground on which we sustain our system.

Secondly, I shall consider and answer the objections. 1. The commencement of the priestly office, as distinct and peculiar, is not set forth in the Scriptures. Adam, Abel, and Cain, must, from the necessity of the case, have offered their own sacrifices. But we find priests mentioned, incidentally, in many places, before the appointment of the Aaronic priesthood. Thus, we read of Melchisedek, who was both priest and King,-of the priests of Egypt (a) Council of Trent, Sess. 23. Cap. 2.

in the days of Joseph-of Jethro the priest of Midian, who was the father-in-law of Moses; and when the Lord led his people out of Egypt, (Exod. xix. 6.) we read that he promised to make them 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' Again, (Exodus xix. 24.) we read of the priests, as if they were then a class distinct from the people, 'Let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them.' On the whole, therefore, since there certainly were priests, previous to the time of Aaron's appointment, we cannot deny that there may have been an instituted priesthood; and for aught we know, the ministry exercised in the affairs of religion, may, even at that time, have had a three-fold char

acter.

But under the Mosaic dispensation, it pleased the wisdom of God to establish a tabernacle for the abiding manifestation of his presence, and to confine the service of this tabernacle to the tribe of Levi; the priesthood being limited to one family of that tribe, namely, the family of Aaron. And here we see, distinctly, the threefold character attached to the sacred ministry, in the High Priest, the Priests, and the Levites. All others were forbidden to trespass upon this divine arrangement, and very severe were the judgments which followed the attempt of Korah and his company, to exercise the priesthood contrary to the rule laid down by the authority of God; although it might be observed, in mitigation of their sin, that Dathan and Abiram, or some others of the company of Korah, had probably possessed the honor of the priesthood, under the former practice; and that the exciting cause of their rebellion was the exclusion of themselves, consequent upon the new arrangement which confined the priesthood to the family of Aaron.

In this form we find the ministry of the Lord remaining

until the appearance of the Great High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ; and in complete analogy with it, we perceive, that soon after the commencement of his ministry, he chose twelve Apostles, and seventy disciples, 'whom he sent forth, two and two, into every place and city, whither he himself would come;' thus displaying a strict correspondence with the threefold form.

Before his re-ascension into heaven, he constituted the Apostles to be his representatives, saying, 'As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.' 'Whoso receiveth you, receiveth me; and whoso receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.' 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.' Now the very first act which we read of their performing, was the appointment of one out of the disciples to fill the place of Judas, the traitor; and soon after the organization of the Church on the day of Pentecost, we find them ordaining seven Deacons, to relieve them of the care of the poor, which was previously part of the Apostles' duty; and thus we have a threefold ministry again; the Apostles occupying the first rank, the seventy Elders the second, and the Deacons the third.

The next step of the Apostles which we have to mark, after they had established many Churches and had ordained ministers in every quarter, is their preparing to set men in their own place, to ordain and to govern the Churches after they should be no more. For we find St. Peter, in his second epistle, (i. 13.) saying, 'Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up, by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me ; moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in remembrance.' And St. Paul, near the end of his labors, writes

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to Timothy, and Titus, charging them to exercise Apostolic powers in ordaining elders, and deacons; and in judging and rebuking such as might be unfaithful.

From this we see, distinctly, that the three-fold ministry was designed to continue after the Apostolic day; and we are brought, next, to the testimony of the Primitive Church, which declares with one voice that such was the universal custom: that Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, were every where the regular officers of the Christian Church, and that there was no Church without them and that as St. Paul placed Timothy in Ephesus, and Titus in Crete, to preside over the Churches in those regions respectively, so the other Apostles had ordained the first Bishops in every other city of importance which had received the Gospel; the presbyters being the assistants of the bishop in preaching and administering the sacraments, and the deacons aiding both, in the lower functions of the ministerial office; but the superior powers of ordination and of government being confined to the bishop alone.

In cases of difficulty, demanding common consultation, the Apostles, as we read in the Book of the Acts, assembled together in council. In like manner, the Primitive Bishops assembled for similar purposes, and each Bishop possessed an equal voice in the decision. But the superior importance of the cities in which they resided, and the greater comparative extent of their official influence, soon prepared the way for a pre-eminence amongst the Bishops themselves, which led in a few centuries to the establishing of Metropolitans, Arch-Bishops, or Primates, and Patriarchs. The conversion of Constantine, the Emperor of Rome, induced a high degree of worldly consequence to be attached to these distinctions; and pride and power went hand in hand; until, finally, about the beginning of the

seventh century, the influence of the Bishop of Rome became a sort of legalized usurpation; and in a few ages more, the domination of Popery assumed the form of iron supremacy, which was broken by the reformation. Then Luther, and Calvin, and Zuinglius, who had no Bishops in their parties, were reduced to the necessity of casting aside this feature of the Apostolic system, and of going on without it; or else the progress of reform must have ceased for want of ministers. But the Church of England, through the good Providence of God, was enabled to retain this Scriptural order, and thus restored the Church to the state in which it stood, immediately after the council of Nice. While our own branch of the Church, being separated from all state connexion and influence, were able to revert to a still earlier period; and being free from all worldly titles and distinctions, having no Arch-bishopricks, no temporal powers, no landed possessions, and no political trammels, have the happiness to behold the Church restored in this respect, to its earliest and most strictly Primitive form.

2. I now turn to the objections advanced against our system: in the examination of which, the arguments on both sides can be most clearly presented to you. And as the most able and popular work upon the subject is probably that of Dr. Miller, the skilful and plausible champion of Presbyterianism, I shall take the allegations in opposition to our views from his 'Letters concerning the constitution and order of the Christian ministry,' as deduced from Scripture and primitive usage.

The first principle laid down by this writer is one in which I most heartily concur. (a) What saith the Scripture? This,' says he, and most truly, 'is the ultimate and (a) Miller's Letters &c. Letter 2. p. 25 of Ed. of 1807.