must be that of his Moral Vertues, or of his Life and Conversation; and why fhould the Bishops of different Provinces be call'd in to judge of that? No Man ever queftion'd, (I think) but that Neighbourhood or Societies, Friends or Familiars, whether Laity or Clergy, which any Man whatfoever has been more familiarly converfant with, are the propereft Evidence, before all others, to give a juft and fatisfactory Information of this kind of Qualification. But how, and in what Manner, would a reasonable Man conceive fuch Information fhould be had? By an univerfal Suffrage and critical Majority of Voices, in fo mix'd a Multitude? Sure, if natural Reason, and common Senfe and Experience does not startle at that, yet our blessed Mafter would teach us to be very cautious (at least) in fuch hazardous Trials as thefe; when he plainly tells us, there will be Tares as well as Wheat (and 'tis well, if we must not understand it in more than Equal proportion too) in that very Field which is a Symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven, or of the Visible Church of God upon Earth; and to measure out one and t'other without Diftin&tion, as this Cafe fuppofes, could have little. Good come of it. Not this Man, but Barabbas, is a tremendous Inftance of this kind, in the moft eminent Congregation of the only Church of God then amongst Men: And whosoever fhall feriously confider, how exprefly the Spirit has foretold us, what Degeneracy of Faith, what Corruption of Manners, what perilous Times fhould come in the latter Days, when Men fhould be falfe Accufers, and Haters of thofe that are good, and the like; yet still retaining the Form

of

of Godliness, though without the Power of it; whofoever (I fay) fhould impartially confider this, must be inclin'd to think, that the Wisdom of God, who both forefaw and foretold it all, fhould fcarcely ever grant fuch an unchangeable Charter to every individual Member of a Church, to approve his Bishops and Paftors for him, in all Generations to come; as we fee, indeed, there appears no Footsteps of it in the holy Code of his Laws, by the View we have already had of them. The wife Heathen speaks a natural Truth,(not very foreign to this Purpose) which I am afraid the Chriftians in our Age would find hard to contradict: * Things don't go fo well with Mankind, (faid the excellent Seneca) that the Beft pleafe the most where Number and Multitude is, 'tis an Argument rather of the Werft. The Inference from all I have faid here is this, That notwithstanding the whole Corporation, or Society, (whether Sacred or Civil) which any Perfon is an immediate Member of, and the whole Region or District he ordinary lives and converses in, be the moft fuitable Places and Perfons from whence we fhould feek a moral Character of him; yet a few felect ones out of all the reft, if judicioully chofen, and with an upright Mind apply'd to, are as likely (at least) to give a juft and fober Account in the Cafe, as the promiscuous Votes of the mixed Multitude together can reasonably be thought to do: And K 2

if

* Non tam bene cum rebus humanis agitur, ut meliora pluribus placeant, argumentum peffimi, turba eft. Seneca de vit. Beat. C. 2.

L

if what I have faid feem too little for it, I fhall farther add, (what I learn from the judicious Enquirer himself) namely, that Ignorance and Affection, that is, Weakness in Understanding, and Byafs upon the Will, are generally to be found amongst the vulgar People of any Chriftian Church or Congregation whatsoever.

And this will clear (I hope) the third Particular I promis'd to make out, that the Enquirer himself, where he most impartially explains his Senfe upon this Subject, does not a little countenance our Opinion of it: For these are the two Qualities he | faftens upon the Common People, even of Primitive Churches and Congregations in general, [as I just mention'd once before.] They ferv'd his Turn then indeed in another View of the Cafe: He was representing to us the Primitive Custom of Neighbouring Bishops being call'd in, as neceffary to confent to the Peoples Election of a Bishop; and because it would eclipfe the Popular Power, to speak out the Whole of their Bufiness, Office, and Authority, in conftituting a Bishop over them, he smooths it over with this Glofs; (and one or two more not much unlike it, which I may confider afterwards) 1 fuppofe (fays he) the Reafon of their prefenting him to thofe Bishops for their Confent was this, left the People, thro' Ignorance, or Affection, fhould choose an unfit, or an unable Man for that Office. What Manner of Reprefentation this is of an Epifcopal Part and Office in Primitive Ordinations, I fhall not stay

to

See Enquiry, p. 48.

to observe now; I only make good the Obfervation I rais'd from it to the present Purpose, viz. That he charges the Congregation with Sufpicion of fuch Ignorance and Affection in the Choice of their Bishop, that they needed better Judges to be call'd in, as in another Place he makes them fubject to Giddinefs, Envy, or Pride, Pag. 105. He may apply, 'tis likely, the Weakness of their Understanding to the Point of judging of the Candidates Humane Learning only; but the Byafs of their Affection (which with equal Juftice perhaps he fuppofes to be in them together with the other Qualities of Giddinefs, Envy, or Pride, can never pass for a tolerable Difpofition in them, to give their Suffrage in any other Qualification whatsoever: And therefore I think it can be no Injury to fay, that where his Senfe is most impartially explain'd, he countenances, at least, our present Opinion in the Cafe.

Now, to fum up all that has been offer'd from Scripture Evidence relating to the Argument before us, the Particulars are briefly these.

First, That the principal Apostles themselves were unquestionably chofen and ordain'd Supreme Governors and Paftors of all that did, or fhould believe in their Time, without the Concurrence or Confent of any: And this was the Root and Fountain of all Church Power granted from above.

Secondly, That the fame Apostles must have had the like Ordaining Power perfonally and entirely invested in themselves alone, upon these two Accounts; 1ft, Because their Com

miffion (in this refpect) was, in exprefs Words, the very Tranfcript of the Fathers to their Lord and Master, who fent them, [as my Father hath fent me, even fo fend I you, Joh. xx. 21.] And, 2dly, Because their Paftoral Work in converting unconverted Nations, and constituting or ordaining Spiritual Governors for them, being, in that refpect, the fame alfo, did naturally require the fame Authority and Power for it. And that thofe holy Apoftles did actually exercife fuch a Power, I prov'd by the collateral Authority of Clem. Romanus, who, in fo many Words, affures us, that they ordain'd both Bifhops and Deacons fo.]

Thirdly, I fhew'd, from the Evidence of the Sacred Text itself, that thofe adopted Apostles, S. Paul and S. Barnabas, did ordain Elders for the Churches, in the fame Manner, as to their fole and perfonal A&t in it; referring the Reader to many unexceptionable Authorities, for that Expofition of the holy Penmens Words.

Fourthly, That the fame S. Paul convey'd the like Power to Timothy and Titus, requiring no Concurrence of a Popular Election with them, either in his Commission or Inftructions given to them; but, on the contrary, left Cautions with them to beware of trusting too much to any fuch Elections.

And, Laftly, I confider'd at large that single Inftruction fo often ftrain'd to prove a Popular Election by, viz. That Bifhops or Deacons must be firft prov'd, and found to be blameless; and shew'd, that neither in the Senfe of the Apostle himself, nor from the Nature of the Thing, or in the more impartial Senfe and Judgment of the

learned