bishop, as they occur in the Epistles addressed to these holy men. What we maintain from these Epistles is, that Timothy and Titus received from St. Paul the office and power of a bishop; the power to ordain, and to bear spiritual authority in the Church of Christ. Timothy, for instance, "is admonished to lay hands suddenly on "no man; therefore, he had power to or"dain; and he is likewise admonished not "to receive an accusation against an elder "or presbyter but before two or three wit"nesses; therefore he had a judicial authority over that order. Directions are

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given with respect to the deacons of the

same Church; therefore, in the first "Church of the Ephesians there was a "bishop, with elders, (or presbyters,) and "deacons under himb":

From the early history of the Church, and from the writings of the primitive fathers, we find that the same manner of ordination generally prevailed immediately after the times of the Apostles: and it seems to be clear, that for fifteen hundred years after Christ, with only one or two accidental

h Jones's Essay on the Church.

and trifling exceptions, there was no Christian Church without a bishop, and that holy orders have been handed down by episcopal ordination to the present time.

If however the ministers of the Church of England are well and rightly ordained, then they are ministers of Christ, and the various passages in the New Testament, relating to the ministers of Christ, are applicable to the clergy of our Church.

And if this be so, they not only may, but ought to say to the people committed to their spiritual care, "Let a man so account of us, as "of the ministers of Christ, and stewards "of the mysteries of God;" they may and ought to say, "Obey them that have spiri"tual rule over you, and submit yourselves, "for they watch for your souls as they that "must give account:" they then have a right, though with all humility and selfabasement, to apply to themselves the words of Christ, "I am with you always, even unto "the end of the world: he that despiseth

you despiseth me, and he that despiseth "me despiseth him that sent me." As men, in our personal character and deportment, we can hardly be too humble. The

sense of the nature of our office, and of the awful responsibility attached to it, increase this feeling of self-abasement, and induce us to exclaim, Lord, who is sufficient for these things! But still we must not suffer an affected humility to prevent us from magnifying our office," from asserting its dignity, its claim to attention and respect.

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My friends, let me beg of you to consider well what has been said. I speak not now of those who have been brought up as dissenters from their youth; but I address you as members of the Church of England, that Church which takes care of you from the cradle to the grave; which baptizes you in infancy; which confirms you when arrived at years of discretion; which unites husband and wife in wedlock; which ministers to you in sickness; and which attends you with prayers and holy offices to the mansions of the dead. As such you were long since taught to submit in spiritual things to your spiritual pastor the clergyman of the parish in which you reside and must recollect, that the sacred office which he bears has a claim to your respect on the authority of Christ himself. The obedi

K

ence which you owe to Christ requires you to be present at the public ministrations of your spiritual pastor, and to receive with attention and respect the exhortations, the admonitions, and even the reproofs, which in the execution of his office, and at the peril of his own soul, he feels it right to address to you.

There are among you but very few dissenters; and I trust that none of you will be seduced to desert your regular minister for any self-constituted teacher. But, by way of caution, suffer me to remind you, that if what has been above said be true, you cannot thus desert him, without being guilty of sin.

No man of right feeling will quit the religion and worship of his forefathers, the religion in which he has been born and baptized, and brought up, unless he is satisfied upon thorough conviction, after a long and careful enquiry, that its terms of communion are unlawful. As good citizens too, you know that the Church of England is part of the Constitution of your country. The laws of the land, it is true, give every kind allowance to scrupulous consciences;

but the acts of toleration and indulgence are exceptions to a general rule; and the religion which you profess is the established national religion, which even on this account ought not to be changed or quitted without reasons of great weight. This however I say by the bye. We claim respect to our office on still higher grounds

from the obedience which you owe to Christ. Respect I say to our office; for we ask no respect as men, beyond what our personal characters may be fairly entitled to. We acknowledge, that though invested with so high a commission, we are men of like passions with you; we acknowledge that "we have this treasure in earthen ves"sels';" that we are exposed to the common weaknesses and sins of our corrupted nature, Doubtless, we ought to strive to be examples of holiness; and the knowledge that our faults will do injury to the cause of religion, will give occasion to the enemies of the Lord and of his Church to blaspheme and speak reproachfully, furnishes to us a strong additional motive for walking circumspectly. Still

12 Cor. iv. 7.