forbad them to fpeak. When they intended to have seen Bythinia, they stayed their journey, the Spirit not giving them leave to go. Before TIMOTHY was employed in thofe Epifcopal affairs of the church, about which the Apostle PAUL ufed him, the HOLY GHOST gave fpecial charge for his ordination; and prophetical intelligence, more than once, what fuccefs the fame would have. And fhall we think, that JAMES was made bishop of Jerufalem, EVODIUS bishop of the church of Antioch, the angels in the churches of Afra bifhops; that bishops every where were appointed to take away factious contentions and fchifms; without fome like divine inftigation and direction of the HOLY GHOST? Wherefore let us not fear to be herein bold and peremptory; that if any thing in the church's regiment, furely the first inftitution of bishops was from heaven, was even of GOD; the HOLY GHOST was the author of it." HOOKER's Ecc. Pol. book vii. If we fay then, that in every church that was planted, the offices of bishop, prieft, and deacon, anfwering to those of high-priest, priest, and Levite, under the law, were to be found, we fhall fay no more than the history of the primitive church will warrant. It being certain that the oeconomy of the

Christian church correfponded as nearly to that of her elder fifter the Jewish church, as the different nature of their respective services would permit. Indeed, from the parallel fubfifting between the law and the Gofpel, the one being confidered as the type or figure of the other, it was no uncommon thing for the primitive fathers, in fpeaking of the government of the Christian church, to argue from the diftinctive offices in the Levitical priesthood, to a fimilar diftinction in the Chriftian. "CHRIST and his Apoftles, (fays the learned HICKES) who were the reformers of the Jewish oeconomy into the Chriftian church, did build with many of the old materials, and conformed their new houfe, as much as they could, after the platform of the old. This will ap pear from baptifm itself, which was a ceremony by which profelytes, both men, women, and children, were initiated into the Jewish church; which ceremony our SAVIOUR confecrated in the place of that of circumcifion, to be the facrament of initiation into his church, and a feal of the righteousness of faith.* So likewife the other facrament of the LORD's Supper was certainly of Jewish original, as

*SELDEN de jure, I. ii. c. 2.; de Synedr. l. i. c. 3-LIGHTFOOT Hora Hebraicæ, p. 42.-HAMMOND on MATTH. ii. I.-JACOB ALTINGIUS de Profelytis.

*

hath been fhewed by many learned men ;† and the correspondence of the bishops, présbyters, and dea cons, to the high-prieft, priests, and Levites, doth fhew, that the fubordination of the Christian hierarchy is taken from the Jewish church; as ST. JEROMÉ obferves in his epiftle to EVAGRIUS," what the high-prieft, priests, and Levites were in the temple, that the bishops, prefbyters, and deacons are in the church, according to the apoftolical constitution taken from the Old Teftament." "Et ut fciamus traditiones Apoftolicas fumptas de veteri Testamento, quod AARON, et filii ejus, et Levitæ in templo fuerunt; hoc fibi epifcopi et prefbyteri et diaconi vendicent in ecclefia."‡

Thus, in correfpondence with the fame established idea, St. CLEMENT, one of the first bishops, a fellow

† MEDE, I book, disc. 51, 6, 11-GROT. Opufc. tom. iii. p. 510. CUDWORTH on the LORD's Supper.-THORNDIKE, C. 10. Dr. TAYLOR'S "Great Exemplar;" p. 1; Difcourfe of Baptifm.

↑ The reader will find a masterly illuftration of the connection between the Jewish œconomy and Christian church, (a subject neceffary to be underftood by all Chriftian divines, who, according to Our SAVIOUR's description of the doctor "rightly instructed unto the kingdom of GOD;" fhould be like unto an houfholder, "who bringeth out of his ftorehouse new things and old:") in the difcourfe previous to the "Cafe of Baptifm, by the very learned' Dean of WORCESTER." See London Cafes, No. 15.

labourer with St. PAUL, writes to the members of the church at Corinth, for the exprefs purpose of preffing upon them the duty of ecclefiaftical fubordination and obedience. To the high-prieft," fays he, were allotted his proper offices; to the priests their proper place was affigned; and to the Levites their services were appointed; and the laymen were restrained within the precepts of laymen.'

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Now were there no fimiliarity at that time acknowledged between the Jewish economy and Christian church; were there no offices in the latter corresponding with those of high-priest, priest, and Levite, in the former; the force of argument, otherwife to be deduced from the application in this cafe, must have been totally loft upon the parties to whom it was addreffed.

But upon appeal to St. PAUL's writings we find, that part of the charge delivered to TIMOTHY, appointed bishop of the church in Ephefus, was, that "he fhould lay hands fuddenly on no man," that he fhould receive no accufation against a prefbyter, but before two or three witneffes; and that the deacons in his church fhould be men of fober and orderly converfation. Here, then, we have the form of the Christian church, after the model drawn out

by the Apostles themselves, with its officers diftinguifhed by their refpective stations; the bishop, as fupreme governor, anfwering to the high-priest under the law; the prefbyters and deacons to the priests and Levites, as fubordinate minifters in it. And by an appeal to ecclefiaftical hiftory it will be found, that immediately from the death of the Apostles, or a very few years after, the government of the Chrift ian church throughout the world was in every part of it fettled upon this fame Apoftolic plan.

Under this form of government has the church continued, from the days of the Apoftles down to the present time; and, doubtless, will continue fo to the end, whatever occafional interruptions it has met with, or may ftill meet with from the prevailing paffions and prejudices of finful men. For it is impoffible," we are told, "but that offences will come;" and "there must be herefies; that they which are approved may be made manifeft." LUKE Xvii. 1; 1 Cor. xi. 19.

Should further teftimony in favour of the government of the church, as here defcribed, be neceffary, we are furnished with what must be deemed direct to the purpose, in the writings of ST. CLEMENT above-mentioned; where he fays, in his first epistle