from the first, it certainly does seem more probable than not, that the persons gifted with them were the same persons as those who, by the same process and at the same time, had been ordained Elders or Presbyters. Lastly, the fact that the Prophets and Teachers are in the Church of Antioch spoken of as the same persons, (Acts xiii. 1.) is a presumption that they may have been so in other cases; and the manner in which ecclesiastical offices are assigned by St. Paul (1 Cor. xii.) to those who shared the various gifts of the Spirit, would lead us to suppose that those possessed of them were entitled to bear rule in the Church.

At any rate, whether it is thought that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were confined to Presbyters or extended to others, the office of Presbyter itself was a gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts xx. 28.) and gave a pre-eminence over all the rest of the flock, whether endowed with other gifts or not. How high are the terms in which this office is spoken of, we have already seen; and that, sharing, as they did, in many of the visible powers of the Apostles, they may likewise have had some share of those which were invisible, it would be rash to deny. Nor will it be reasonable to infer, from our finding the discharge of any spiritual duty committed to them, that such duty had in it nothing of mystery, or could be performed by ordinary men at the present day. If any doubt should appear to hang over the nature of any duty laid upon them, much more if any positive presumption, however slight,

can be adduced, to throw over it a supernatural character, it will be a great folly to treat such doubt or such presumption as if it were nothing, and to assume for certain that they did nothing but what any one can imitate'.

3. Distinct in many respects from the powers of Presbyters, were those committed to Timothy at Ephesus, and to Titus in Crete.

If, as perhaps will hardly be doubted, the Office committed to each of them was one and the same, and if consequently we may assume that what is said of or to either, is applicable to both, then from

1 [It may be remarked, that among the spiritual gifts of the Apostolic age, St. Paul reckons the diaconate; XOVTES DE χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διαφορα, εἴτε προφη τείαν. . εἴτε διακονίαν,... κ. τ. λ. Rom. xii. 6, 7. So again, as the Author observes, in 1 Cor. xii. 28, he reckons indiscriminately with supernatural gifts, such as "miracles, gifts of healing," &c. "helps" and "governments." vid. also 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11. The view contained in the last pages seems to be this; that the "gifts of the Holy Ghost" were of a miraculous nature, sometimes attended, sometimes not, with visible displays of their heavenly origin; that among other uses, they were qualifications for the Christian Ministry, in one or other of its departments, which became as numerous as those gifts; that in process of time these all ceased but the following, and those unattended, ordinarily, with outward displays of power,-the gifts of administering the Sacraments, the gifts connected with imposition of hands, such as ordaining, confirming, reconciling, admitting as catechumens, &c., the gift of binding and loosing, the gift of exorcising, the gift of ruling, the gift of preaching, the gift of ministering, &c. These have from the first been divided among three orders of Ministers, Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons.]

a comparison of the letters addressed to them we may collect the following particulars.

(1.) That the powers entrusted to them were conveyed in the same manner, indeed, as was used in conveying the inferior powers, by prayer and the imposition of Apostles' hands, but with greater solemnity, the laying on of the hands of the presbytery being an additional circumstance. (Cf. 2 Tim. i. 6. 1 Tim. iv. 14.)

(2.) That among these powers, that of ordaining presbyters themselves, by the imposition of their own hands, was one. "For this cause," says St. Paul to Titus, "left I thee, that thou shouldest ordain elders in every city;" and again to Timothy, Lay hands suddenly on no man.”

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(3.) That they had authority over the elders of their respective districts, and were the tribunals to whom complaints against them should be referred. 1 Tim. v. 19.

(4.) That they had the power of remitting and retaining sins. The proof of this important power may be thought, perhaps, to rest on very insufficient data, and so undoubtedly it does properly speaking, we have no proof of it, but only an intimation, and that perhaps equivocal. Yet, considering how short the letters are that contain it, and that they do not profess to touch upon the nature of the powers committed to [Ministers, such as Timothy and Titus] which undoubtedly had been explained fully to them, by St. Paul in person, before their ission, but are simple exhortations to a right use

of these powers, in such points as were likely to embarrass them; such equivocal intimations are all we could have expected, and are not to be set aside as if they were absolutely nothing. The expression which seems to imply that Titus had the power of retaining sins, is so translated in our version as to lose its force. The Greek words are, Xexe aire's έλεγχε

ἀποτόμως, ἵνα ὑγιαίνωσιν ἐν τῇ πίστει, which, if rendered so as to give the full meaning of the words, is, "rebuke them after the manner of a surgeon, who, having failed in healing a limb by mild treatment, has recourse to the knife and cuts it off, that so, if by no other means, yet by this, they may become sound or healthy in the faith." That all this is primarily implied in the word ȧ#oτóμws, no critic will deny; and the only question is whether in this place the metaphor has been adhered to; so that if the same expression was no where else used by St. Paul, still the argument would amount to something. It does, however, so happen, that an expression almost identical with it, is used by him on a formal occasion, where there can scarcely be a doubt that it implies, "cutting off a diseased mem

1 [Tit. i. 13. βαθυτέραν, φησὶ, δίδου τὴν πληγήν. Chrysost. in loc. τοῖ αὐστηροτέροις προσήκει θεραπεύειν φαρμάκοις. Theodor. ibid. The only place in St. Paul where the word, ȧπoτoμía, is used, is of the same kind. "Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity (ȧroтouíav) of God: on them which fell, severity, but towards thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." Rom. xi. 22. Comp. Gal. v. 12. "I would they were even cut off which trouble you."]

ber from the Church or Body of Christ," i. e. excluding him from the Kingdom of Heaven, or, which is the same thing, excommunicating him. In St. Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, it will be remembered that he gave peremptory orders for the excommunication of an offender. From the second, it appears that there were still some in that Church who rebelled against his authority; and this Epistle, after many earnest exhortations to such persons, inviting them to submit, without driving him to extremities, concludes thus; "My reason for thus writing to you, while absent, is to prevent the necessity of treating this disease, when present, according to the powers which the Lord hath given me.” ἵνα παρὼν μὴ ἀποτόμως χρήσωμαι, κατὰ τὴν ἐξεσίαν ἣν ἔδωκέ μοι ὁ Κύριος. Now I suppose it can hardly be doubted that St. Paul in this place does intimate an intention to visit the obstinate offenders with excommunication; and therefore that the same mode of expression, which is here used with this meaning, is likely in another place of similar import to be used with the same meaning. It seems, then, that without attaching undue force to a metaphorical expression, we may regard the passage above cited from St. Paul's Epistle to Titus,

1 [Let it be observed, the whole argument turns upon St. Paul's gift. That he did excommunicate, is plain from other passages, the only question is, whether he did so in consequence of a supernatural gift. (vid. note on p. 108.) If so, then Titus also, if bid by St. Paul to excommunicate, must already have had the power to do so committed to him.]