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"aftray? And if so be that he find it, verily I fay unto you, " he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine "which went not aftray." See † 21.22. and from thence to the end of the chapter. Peter faid, "Lord, how oft shall "my brother fin against me, and I forgive him? till seven "times? Jefus faith unto him, I fay not unto thee, Until "feven times: but, Until feventy times feven. Therefore is "the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which "would take account of his fervants.- Shouldst not thou al"fo have had compaffion on thy fellow-fervant, even as I "had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered "him unto the tormentors, till he should pay all that was "due unto him. So likewife fhall my heavenly Father do "alfo unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trefpaffes." Suitable to our Lord's great scope in this chapter, where the rule of difcipline is Jaid down, are these exhortations of the Apostle, Rom. xii. 9. 10. 16. "Let love be without diffimulation.- Be kindly "affectioned unto one another, with brotherly love, in ho"6 nour preferring one another - Be of the fame mind one "toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend "to men of low eftate. Be not wife in your own conceit." Gal. v. 26. & vi. 1. 2. "Let us not be defirous of vain glo. ry, provoking one another, envying one another. Bre"thren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, restore such an "one in the fpirit of meeknefs; confidering thyself, left "thou alfo be tempted. Bear ye one anothers burthens, " and fo fulfil the law of Chrift." Eph. iv. 1. 2. 3.—" Walk "worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all "lowliness and meekness, with long fuffering, forbearing one "another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace," Phil. ii. 1.-5. See also to this purpose what our Lord fays on this same subject recorded by the other evangelifts, Mark ix. from y 23. to the end. "Have falt in yourselves, and have peace one with another." Luke ix. 46-50. and xvii. 1.-5.

Now, feeing our Lord plainly intends the maintaining of this brotherly love among his difciples, in giving this rule with refpect to binding and loofing, it is plain they must all have a hand in it, and it cannot be tranfacted without them. The trefpafs that he speaks of in our brother is such as may give us juft ground to fufpect him, or may cool our brotherly love to him, and our dealing and the church's dealing with him is for gaining him, and for his recovery and edification

in love. If he continue obftinately in his trespass, and hear not the church, he difcharges us from the duties of brotherly love to him.

4. We may likewife notice, that in this great matter of binding and loofing, the difciples muft meet together "in the name of the Lord Jefus ;" not in their own names. It is his business they are doing, not their own: and it must be done by agreement, not through ftrife, or by parties over. ruling one another, Jam. iii. from y 13. to the end. And further, it must be managed by "the word and prayer," the proper weapons of the church. It must not be carried on with worldly wisdom, which defiles the temple of God; and as to which a man must "become a fool, that he may be wife," 1 Cor. iii. 16.-19. Neither is there any worldly power in this difcipline, or belonging to it. Human laws, with civil fanctions, have no place here; but the fpirit and power of the Lord Jefus, in whofe name the thing is done, I Cor. v. 4.

"If he will not hear thee. If he neglect to hear the "church. Again I fay unto you, that if two of you fhall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they fhall ask, "it fhall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, "there am I in the midft of them."

Now, this discipline confifts, 1. In the admitting or receiving of the difciples into the church, in the cenfuring of of fending brethren unto excommunication, and in abfolving the penitent, Matth. xviii. 5. Acts ii. 41. Matth. xviii. 15. 16. 17. 1 Cor. v. 2 Cor. ii. 6. 7. 8. 2. Unto this discipline is alfo reckoned the admitting and fetting apart of men to bear office in the church, and the fetting of them afide. As to the first of these, we have an inftance of it, Acts vi. in the ordination of the firft deacons in the church at Jerufalem; where we see what is the people's part, and what is the part of the eldership, in that matter. We have also an account of the fetting apart of a disciple to bear office among the apoftles in the room of Judas. There was fomething there extraordinary; as, the qualifications of the perfon, and the cafting of lots; because it behoved the apoftolic call to be immediate. But there was fomething in that transaction agrecing with the ordination of ordinary officers, and which ferves for a precedent. See Acts i. 16. 21. 22. 23. We have not fuch a particular account of the ordination of elders in a church. We hear of the setting apart of Paul and Barnabas to preach the gofpel through the world, by the presbytery at

Antioch;

Antioch; and of Timothy to the work of an evangelift, by the "laying on of the hands of the prefbytery" of fome o ther church: but of the setting of elders in a church we have not an account fo particular. Only, from Acts xiv. 23. we may gather, that they were fet apart to their office, after the fame manner as the deacons, Acts vi. Confidering what has happened in after-ages about ordination, (the holding of fome for minifters, because they have been brought through fome forms, without being qualified for that office by Jefus Chrift, or accepted by his people; and the rejecting of others qualified by Chrift, and accepted by his difciples, because they have not paffed through all the forms that some men judge neceffary), it may be conceived, that there is a providence in the fcripture's speaking not fo full and clear about fome things in their ordination. The most fuccessful minifter that ever was in Scotland, Mr Robert Bruce, never received, nor would admit of the very fcriptural ceremony of "laying on of hands *," in his ordination to the ministry; but he was notably furnished by Chrift, and obliged in his confcience to use his talent, and was heartily accepted by the disciples, and had his ministry "crowned with fuccefs."

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As to the fetting afide of church-officers, particularly false teachers, we have a general rule to the elders at Ephefus, "to take heed to themselves as well as to the flock;" and the disciples are commanded to "beware of them," and not to "hear them," or "receive them." And we may find excommunication, the cenfure common to them with other disciples, inflicted on them: but of that which goes now under the name of suspension or depofition, we have no inftance nor example in all the word of God, nor any rule laid down for it further. And yet we have heard fome, in a fever of national zeal, crying out, that fufpenfion is God's great ordinance, which they were highly bound in confcience to obferve, and which they reckoned other mens confciences could not cafily withstand.

IV. There remains yet a fourth thing in the propofition, which deferves ferious confideration; and it will be the clearer unto us, that we have considered what is alledged on the foregoing heads.

If Jefus Chrift hath fubjected a congregation of his, with its prefbytery, in its difcipline, unto any jurifdiction under heaven, the propofition is falfe, and must be rejected; if he

* See the first book of discipline.

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hath not, then it is clear and manifeft: therefore the fcrip. ture must be carefully searched upon this head; and till something be produced from thence to make it appear, that he bath fubjected a church of his in this matter, unto any juris diction under heaven, the propofition must hold good.

But fome things may be faid from the fcriptures, which may ferve to manifeft the truth of the propofition to them that take to themselves no other rule in thefe matters but the word of God.

If we look through all the inftances of difcipline recorded in the word, we shall find, if we have confidered what is before said, they went not beyond a congregation and its pref bytery.

The fame thing appears from the fundamental rule of dif cipline, of which we have been speaking, Matth. xviii. 15. to 20. It is thus: "If thy brother fhall trefpafs against thee, go, and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if "he shall hear thee, thou haft gained thy brother. But if "he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two

more, that in the mouth of two or three witneffes every "word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear "them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear "the church, let him be unto thee as an Heathen man, and

a publican. Verily I fay unto you, Whatsoever ye fhall "bind on earth, fhall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye "shall loose on earth, fhall be loofed in heaven. Again I say "unto you, That if two of you fhall agree on earth, as "touching any thing that they fhall afk, it fhall be done for "them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or "three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the "midft of them."

Much duft has been raised to obfcure these plain words; and odd fhifts have been made about the import of the word church here. But it is plain, that our Lord gives here a ftanding rule for difcipline among his difciples, in the kingdom of heaven, unto the end of the world; and that the import of the word church must be taken from the apoftles, who have more fully laid open to us the words " that began

to be spoken by the Lord himself," in his miniftry on the earth. We have already noticed, that a church-reprefentative, as it is called, is an utter firanger to the apoftolic ftyle and way of writing; and we have heard the account they give of a vifible particular church. It is alfo very plain, that our Lord fpeaks here of a particular vifible church, before

which the brethren may bring their caufe, and which the trefpaffing brother must hear: so that we can be in no great ftrait to understand what is meant by the church in that notable text; and fo to understand where the power of this binding and loofing is lodged. But after the offending brother has neglected to hear the one or two more, where goes the offended brother next to tell his trefpafs? Is he at first to leap over the congregation whereof he is a member, with its prefbytery? Or is his firft ftep beyond that? No, this cannot be faid. And where fhould he go next? Or if the other brother judge himself lefed, where fhould he go for redrefs? No where that our Lord fpeaks of, but heaven.

Without queftion, the congregation of which the two brethren are members, and wherein they have been walking together in brotherly love and communion, with the presbytery of that congregation, their immediate overseers, are the fittest of any to determine in this matter. And our Lord is very particular in telling the steps that the offended brother is to take: "Tell him his fault; take with thee one or two "more; tell it to the church." But there it lands, and further it goes not, if the trefpaffer hear not the church. Yet it is pleaded, that because the offended brother must go first to the trefpaffer, and he must hear him; and then to the one or two more, and he must hear them next; and then to the church; therefore, by parity of reason, there must be a going from inferior to fuperior church-judicatures. But better reafon requires, that Chrift's fervants fhould ftop where he would have them stop; and what he takes wholly in his own hand, no judicature on earth can take from him. He alfo is wife, and forefaw all the confequences that we have seen or can fee; and he knew best what is for his own glory, and the unity and peace of his people, and the advancement of his kingdom: "For what can the man do that cometh after "this King?"

The account we have of the first churches set up by him after bis afcenfion, as patterns to all that should follow after, is altogether agreeable to this. They were no more but congregations, as has been fhewn, and they had every one their own prefbytery: they bound and loofed in a way of discipline, 1 Cor. v. 2 Cor. ii. And they are not fubjected herein unto any jurisdiction, but that of Chrift in heaven, who alfo is in the midst of them that are duly gathered in his name. Therefore when the apoftles ordained elders in every church, and left them, they did not commend them to the care of any fuperior judicature, B b 2

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