Miffion having receiv'd Authority, as by that Unction he receiv'd Ability for this High Employment in Perfon: while he liv'd upon the Earth (that he might not leave the World without providing for his Flock thofe, that should feed and govern it in his Abfence till his fecond Coming) chofe out certain Perfons for this Very Purpose, to whom he imparted his Authority, by mak ing them Partakers of his Miffion just before his Afcenfion, in these words, As my Father fent me, fol fend you; and his Ability, by making them Partakers alfo of his Unction, by the fending of the Holy Ghost upon them foon after it. But here it is to be obferv'd, that as foon as ever our Blessed Lord had pronounc'd that Commission, as my Father fent me, fo I fend you, and breath'd upon them, and faid, Receive ye the Holy Ghoft, which was the firft Act of his Mediatorial Office after that all Power was given unto him in Heaven and in Earth,(Mat. 28. 18.) by this outward fignificant Action, and thefe operative and effectual Words, they were invested with all the Authority that they could have, and receiv'd Power too, fufficient for the Execution of All that. part of their Office which was Ordinary, and was to continue for ever in the Church,, when gather'd, tho' they were commanded to wait a while for the more extraordiT 2/

nary

nary Power, which was neceffary to the Ga thering of it: fuch as was the Gift of Tongues, the Working of Miracles, Prophecying, and the like, which they receiv'd not till the more plenteous Effufion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecoft. The Holy Ghoft then indeed came upon them, in a more ftupendious manner, like a rubing Mighty Wind, to enable them for fuch great and aftonishing Works; but for the conftant and orderly and lafting, the ftill tho' no less effectual Work of the Miniftry, which was never to ceafe from the Church, they were enough enabled, when He came into them by the gentle Breathing of our Lord. And This Authority, which was of standing Use and for ever Neceflary, was not for that reason to expire with them; and therefore with it they receiv'd Power alfo of conferring it upon Others, and they also on Others Succeffively for ever, according to our Saviour's Promife, Go ye therefore and teach all Nations, and lo I am with you always to the end of the World,Mat. 28. 20. And it is manifeft, that they actually exercis'd this Power, which they receiv'd. And St. Paul afterwards, who had the fame Power given him by our Saviour from Heaven, which the rest of the Apostles receiv'd from Him on Earth, as he fent Timothy and Titus, fo he gave Them Power to fend Others alfo ;

as

as is plain by his faying to the One, Lay hands fuddenly on No Man ; and to the Other, For this Caufe left I thee in Crete, that thou fbouldeft fet in order the things that are wanting and ordain Elders in every City, as I appointed thee. And all this the Apoftles did by the Power of the Holy Ghoft given them by Chrift, by which, as they were enabled to perform perfonally their Apoftolical Funtions, fo they were impower'd alfo to ordain others to the fame, whofe Office therefore, as Theirs was, is alfo from the Holy Ghoft. Which St. Paul Himfelf fhews, fpeaking to the Elders of Ephefus, to whom, tho' they were certainly ordain'd by fome of the Apoftles, probably by Himfelf, yet his charge is, Take ye beed therefore unto yourselves and to all the Flock, over which the Holy Ghost has made you Overfeers, to feed the Church of God (Acts 20. 28.) And thus, as under the Law there was a fucceffive Priesthood continued by a Carnal Propagation, and by a Natural Descent they were to proceed Out of Aaron's Loyns, who were to Succeed in his Office; So now, after that Chrift Our High-Priest is made a Prieft for ever after the Order of Melchifedech (who was without Fa ther, without Mother, without Defcent) That Carnal Propagation justly ceafing; thro' the Virtue of the Holy Spirit convey'd by Apoftolical Ordination, there is a never ceafing,

uninterrupted Minifterial fucceffion Spiritually propagated to the end of the World.

Thus have we briefly out of Holy Scripture fhewn the Source and Fountain of all that Authority, which the Minifters of the Gofpel are endued with, which is no other than the Commiffion of Chrift himself, and the Power of his spirit given to his Apostles, and thro' them and their Succeffors, as thro' fo many living Channels, derived down in a direct Courfe to the Church in this prefent Age. And if we confider the whole Compafs, and Extent, and the feveral important Changes of fo High an Office, we fhall fee the Reasonablenefs as well as the Truth of all this, we shall perceive not only that it is fo, but that it is abfolutely Neceffary that it should be fo. Indeed the want of a due Confideration, or worthy Efteem of all thofe feveral and diftin&t Ács, fo Excellent and Divine, about which their Ministry is converfant, is the great or rather only, caufe why any have doubted or argued against the Neceffity of a Divine Miffion, as will plainly appear to any One, that examins what either the Enthufiafts or Socinians (or Limborch out of them) oppose against it. Now it is confeffedly the Duty of a Minifter of Chrift, as on the Part of the People, to offer up their Prayers to God; fo on God's Part, to Sigo and Seal the par

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don of their Sins to them, and Blefs them in his Name. And as no Man can (for another Man like himself, without being legally commiffion'd by him,) feal Covenants in his Name; much lefs can any One take upon him to put the Seals, which are the Sacraments inftituted by Chrift, to the New Covenant, without his exprefs Warrant and Commiffion. Such a Proceeding between Man and Man is Forgery, between Subject and Prince is Treafon; but between Man and God is Sacrilege, is Blafphemy, is an Impiety beyond what Thought can reach, or Words exprefs. The whole Employment of a Minister of the Gofpel is not Only to Preach the Gospel, tho' that indeed in Scripture is fometimes by a Synecdoche taken for the whole Office of the Miniftry. For that was a Glorious and Audacious Work, when the Commiffion for it was first given, and is fo ftill, and ever fhall be to the end of the World; but even then, when Certainly it was more neceffary than it can be now, after near Seventeen hundred Years Poffeffion that the Chriftian Faith has had over the whole Earth, even then it was but a part of the Commiffion, and preparatory alfo to the other parts of it. Let us put together what at feveral times, and on feveral occafions Our Saviour has given in Command to his Apoftles, Feed My Sheep, Teach all Nations

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Baptize