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and succeeded them in the care of the church.

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When St. Paul sent Titus to Corinth for the work of the ministry, he confidently assured him that he would be received by the church with that respect and attention which were due to his office and character. The apostle's expectation, in this particular, was amply verified, as he afterwards ac knowledges. Our boasting, says he, which I made before Titus, is found a truth; and his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obe dience of you all, how with fear and trem bling ye received him. Erejoice, therefore, that I have confidence in you in all things. (2 Cor. vii. 14.)

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And again, when he sendeth one of his fellow-soldiers and companions in labour to the church at Philippi, it is with this injunction Receive him, therefore, in the Lord, with all gladness; and hold such in reputation. (Phil. ii. 29.)

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In the first epistle to the Thessalonians, the duty of paying just respect to the authorised ministers of the church, is thus inter

woven in a charge to preserve its unity and internal tranquillity:- Wherefore, comfort. yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do: and we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love, for their work's sake: and be at peace among yourselves. (1 Thess. v. 11-13.) Timothy is thus instructed in the government of the church: Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. (1 Tim. v. 17.)

And finally, the thirteenth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews contains some remarkable passages to the same purpose.Remember them, says the apostle, which have the rule over you-an official charge of superintendance-who have spoken unto you the word of God; WHOSE FAITH FOLLOW, considering the end of their conversation : Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Be not carried about with various and strange doctrines; for it is a good thing that the heart should be established with grace. (Heb. xiii. 7-9.) And again:

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Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief:for that is unprofitable for you. (v. 17.)

Thus it appears that, in the apostolical church, the ministers and people are placed in a state of mutual obligation and respon sibility. The former are entrusted with a commission to superintend the flock, to direct and instruct them in the pure faith and holy discipline of the Gospel. As this is a most weighty charge, upon the due execution of which the welfare of the church greatly depends, we find they must render to their common Master a strict account of their stewardship. The people, on the other hand, are required to hold their ministers in high respect and honour. It is not meant that they should indulge them in whatever self-importance they may think proper to assume; for personal respect must, in a great degree, depend on the personal cha racter which the individual supports: but ministers are to be respected, in their official capacity, with a reverential regard to him whose authority they bear.

It is also required of the people to submit to the ministers of Christ, as vested with his authority, to receive the faith and the rules of Christian conduct which they teach out of the Holy Scripture, as coming from Christ himself: not to give heed to varioús and strange religious doctrines, which originate in human imagination; but to take care that their heart be established in the divine grace of the Gospel; for they also are concerned in the account which their ministers must render to God, being re sponsible for the improvement or abuse which they have made of the means of salvation.

And a religious observance of the duties which arise from this mutual relation, between the ministers and people, is an essen tial part of that general obedience which is required to the laws of Christ. And it is even contrary to human reason, to suppose that any of his disciples has a right to dispense with this obedience, upon which the unity and harmony of his church necessarily depend.

Were we to hear the subject of a civil state exclaiming in the streets, "Of those.

magistrates who are regularly commissioned by our sovereign, I take not the least account. I am free. I have a right to constitute what magistrates I please, and am determined to acknowledge none but those who are of my own choosing: "-Were he to open the volumes of the law in our presence, declaring, "In this statute I perceive a fitness and propriety, and am, therefore, content to observe it; but as for that clause and the next, I wholly reject them, and counsel all my friends to resist their operation: "-Were he to say, when called upon for his contribution to the support of government, “All those taxes which are imposed upon me by the statutes of the realm I am resolved to disallow to pay them, were an offence to my principles, and to my conscience. I will contribute what I think proper, in what way I please, and when it suits my own convenience. But this I will not pay to the appointed officers. I am the proper judge of those persons who ought to receive my bounty:"

Were we to hear such language and witness such conduct, should we not be impressed with a full conviction of this man's disaffection to the lawful government

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