ther hath sent me, so send I you; that is, I do not only send you with full authority to act for me in all things, as my Father sent me to act for him; but I also send you with the same authority to send others that I now exercise in sending you: for unless this be implied in their mission, he did not send them as his Father sent him: unless he gave them the same authority to propagate their mission to others, that his Father gave him to propagate his mission to them, how could he say, that he sent them as his Father sent him? since he must have sent them without that very authority from his Father, which he then exercised in sending them. Now the persons whom he sent were the eleven apostles, as you will see by comparing this of St. John with Luke xxiv. 33, 36. Mark xvi. 14. Matthew xxviii. 16. in all which places we are expressly told, that it was the eleven he appeared to when he gave this commission, and consequently it must be the eleven to whom he gave it. This commission therefore of sending others being originally transferred by our Saviour upon the apostolic order, no others could have right to transfer it to others, but only such as were admitted of that order; none could give it to others but only those to whom Christ gave it; and therefore since Christ himself gave it to none but apostles, none but apostles could derive it; and accordingly we find in scripture, that all ecclesiastic commissions were either given by the hands of some of those first apostles who received their commission immediately from our Saviour, or else by some of those secondary apostles that were admitted into apostolic orders by them; which secondary apostles, as was shewn before, were the same with those whom

we now call bishops; for so in Acts vi. 3, 6. the seven first deacons we read of were ordained by the apostles, the whole number of the disciples being present, but the apostles only appointing and laying their hands on them; and in Acts xiv. 23. we are told, that Paul and Barnabas, two of the apostles, ordained elders in every church, that is, of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch; and though these two were ordained apostles of the Gentiles by certain prophets and teachers in the church of Antioch, Acts xiii. 1, 3. yet there is no doubt but those prophets and teachers were such as had received the apostolic character, (being ordained by the apostles bishops of the churches of Syria;) for otherwise how could they have derived it? For so Judas and Silas are called prophets, Acts xv. 32. and yet, ver. 22. they are said to be ἡγούμενοι ἐν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, that is, rulers among the brethren, or bishops of Judæa; and afterwards we find that ordination was confined to such as had been admitted to the apostolate: for so the power of laying on of hands in the church of Ephesus was committed by St. Paul to Timothy, whom he himself by the laying on of hands had ordained the apostle or bishop of that church, 1 Tim. v. 22. 2 Tim. i. 6. so also the power of ordaining in the church of Crete was by St. Paul committed to Titus, whom he had also ordained the apostle or bishop of that church, Tit. i. 5. For this cause left I thee in Crete, to ordain elders in every city. Thus all through the whole scripture-history we find the power of ordination administered by such, and none but such, as were of the apostolic order, viz. either by the prime apostles, or by the secondary apostles or bishops. And if we consult the primitive antiquities, which,

to be sure, in matters of fact at least, are the best interpreters of scripture, we shall always find the power of giving orders confined and limited to bishops, which is so undeniable, that St. Jerom himself, who endeavours his utmost to equalize presbyters with bishops, is yet fain to do it with an excepta ordinatione, Ep. ad Evagr. Quid facit excepta ordinatione episcopus, quod presbyter non faciat? "the bishop do, except ordaining, that the presbyter may not do also ?"

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III. Another peculiar ministry of the bishops and governors of the church is to execute that spiritual jurisdiction which Christ hath established in it, i. e. to cite such as are accused of scandalous offences before their tribunals, to inspect and examine the accusation, and, upon sufficient evidence of the truth of it, to admonish the offender of his fault; and, in case he obstinately persist in it, to exclude him from the communion of the church, and from all the benefits of Christianity, till such time as he gives sufficient evidence of his repentance and amendment, and then to receive him in again. For that Christ hath established such a jurisdiction in his church is evident from that passage, Matt. xviii. 15-18. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast 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 witnesses every word may be established; i. e. that thou mayest be able, in case he doth not then amend, to produce sufficient testimony of his guilt before the church's tribunal, to which thou art next to apply thyself. And if he shall neglect to

hear them, i. e. to promise amendment upon their admonition, take them along with thee, and tell it to the church, that so she may examine the matter, and, upon thy proving his guilt by sufficient witness, may authoritatively admonish him to amend: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican ; i. e. give him over for a desperate sinner, as one that is to be ejected from the communion of the church, and no longer to enjoy the common benefits of a Christian. For verily I say unto you, that is, to you of the church, before whom this obstinate offender is cited and accused, (for now he speaks no longer in the singular number,) Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven: i. e. Whomsoever ye shall for just cause eject from the communion of the church into the state of a heathen man and a publican, I will certainly exclude out of heaven, unless he reconcile himself to you by confession and promise of amendment; and if thereupon you pardon him, and receive him into the church's communion, I will most certainly pardon him too, if he perform his promise: for that by binding and loosing upon earth our Saviour means excluding out of the church, and receiving in again, is evident from that parallel passage, Matt. xvi. 19. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven: where by the keys of the kingdom of heaven is plainly meant the authority of a steward to govern his church or family; for so, Isai. xxii. 21, 22. God promises Eliachim that he would

clothe him with the robe of Shebna, who was over the household, ver. 15. i. e. steward of the king's family, and that he would commit Shebna's government into his hand, &c. and then it follows, And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut ; and he shall shut, and none shall open; that is in short, I will make him the governor of the family, and give him power to admit or exclude what servants he pleases: and accordingly by the keys of the kingdom of heaven must be meant the government of the church; for so keys denote authority to govern, (vide Rev. iii. 7.) and by binding and loosing, the power of shutting out of, or readmitting into it; and therefore in John xx. 23. this binding and loosing is thus expressed, Whose sins ye remit, or loose, shall be remitted, or loosed; whose sins ye retain, or keep bound, shall be retained, or kept bound: for though the words are different from those in St. Matthew, yet they are of the same import and signification; and consequently our Saviour's meaning must be the same here as there, viz. Whose sins you loose from the penalty of exclusion from the church, I also will loose from the penalty of exclusion out of heaven; and whose sins you keep bound, or obliged to that penalty, I also will keep bound, and obliged to this.

This is the spiritual jurisdiction which Christ hath established in his church, to bind or loose, suspend or restore, excommunicate or absolve; and this he hath wholly deposited in the episcopal order: for in all the above-cited places it was only to his apostles that he derived this jurisdiction; they alone were the stewards to whom he committed the keys