"the Lord." And perhaps this may help us to explain those texts, which speak of counting the elders that rule well worthy of double honour h; knowing them which are over you in the Lord (poisauéves vμav), and to esteem them highly in love; and of remembering or obeying (which word however is not always the fenfe of the Greek word πείθεπε) them that have the rule over you (Toïs yeμévois), and fubmitting yourselves *; as the younger are to fubmit (or pay respect and deference) to the elder: or, as we are all to be subject one to another; or to be clothed with humility. All which texts perhaps mean no more than that they should be of a yielding temper; and that, when prudent methods were propofed to them, they thould be ready to fall in with them, where the prudence of those methods plainly appeared; and not to thwart them from a perverfe, four, and untractable spirit. This, at leaft, we may be pretty fure of, that the προϊςάμνοι ἐν Κυρίῳ, which we tranflate "thofe that are over you "in the Lord," does not fignify any fixed ministers, rectors, or Bifhops; fince we find no trace of any in that church; either in the addrefs of the epistle, 1 Theff. i. 1. as there is in that to the Philippians, chap. i. 1. nor in i I Cor. xiv. 37. I Theff. v. 12, 13. I Theff. v. 12, 13. h 1 Tim. v. 17. tho 66 Ι m the falutation, I Theff. v. 26. And fince we find the brethren are charged to do those things which must be fuppofed to have been the office of the bishop, rector, or prefbyter, if there had been any fuch; namely, "to "warn the unruly, comfort the feeble-mind"ed, fupport the weak; to withdraw from a diforderly brother, and to note or mark him, and yet to admonish him "." So that the very admonishing which was performed by thofe that were over them, and for which they were to esteem them highly in love, was but what the brethren could do; and therefore can here only fignify fome gift of the Holy Ghost, by which the brethren who had this gift in this church performed fome of the miniftrations in it, as we have feen already they did in other churches, and fhall fee, by and by, they did in almost all of them: and therefore the poisappo must here denote fome who had fome or other of thofe gifts, and perhaps thofe of ruling, in the fenfe I have explained it. The fame may perhaps be faid of the ηγέμμοι". I cannot but have a very mean opinion of writers who will put on the appearance of affurance and certainty, that they may carry the guife of perfect knowledge and judgement. to the bulk of their readers, in points where they are far from being at that certainty which I Theff. v. 14. a Heb. xiii. 7 17. they affect fo much to be thought to have: and every one must have a much worse opinion of those who give themfelves this air only to ferve party or private views. The firft proceeds from a degree of pride, to which human nature is more easily carried; whilst the fecond arifes from a degree of dishonesty, that has been contracted by lower acts of it, repeated from time to time, till it is grown habitual, and ends in venturing on this high injury to mankind. The firft moral virtues of a writer are to diveft himself of these enormous paffions; to search for truth alone, and to propose it to his reader, with that degree of evidence and certainty, or of doubt and difficulty, which it has in his own mind. Confidering himself as accountable to God, for mifleading any man by the fuperiority of his talents; and as accountable to his reader, for the infolence of endeavouring to impofe on him, by means of any real or imagined advantage he has over him. If these virtues were practised by every writer, we should receive more profit from the best, and less hurt from the worst, than we now reap from either of them; and writing would then be in the best state that this state of imperfection will allow. Upon thefe confiderations, I think myself bound to acquaint my reader, that though what I have writ on the two laft gifts of the Spirit, namely, helps and zubepvcas (which our tranflators render governments), may feem plaufible to him, as it has to me; yet that I am under a good deal of uncertainty about them. I think myself bound to give him this notice, that fo he may ufe a more than ordinary care and attention whilft he confiders what I have faid on those two heads. I will exprefs the state of my thoughts about them as fully as I can, in order to give him the best assistance I am able in forming his own. The words helps and governments (VTIλήψεις και κυβερνήσεις) occurring in no other place but I Cor. xii. 28. and there without much connection: and the words wgoisao, προεςῶτες, ἡγέμθροι (which may be thought words of the fame import with governments, and have been generally understood fo), but feldom; and not always in one fenfe; and these last occurring with little more connection than the two firft; and being all of them words of a pretty general and indetermined meaning, I have interpreted all of them agreeably to what I thought the state of things in the apoftolic age, as they are hinted here and there in fcripture, required; and to facts, which I found in the acts and epiftles of the apostles, correfponding to that state of things. The state of the church wanted gifts of the Holy Ghost to qualify deacons, meffen gers, gers, evangelifts, and rulers or advifers, for thofe functions and fervices; as well as gifts to fit teachers, inferior prophets, fpeakers of languages, or interpreters, for theirs; and it is plain in fcripture, that fome had gifts of the Spirit to qualify them for the former, as well as the latter of these functions, in the church. Thus far I am clear in my opinion. I confefs too I imagined it pretty natural, that in 1 Cor. xii. where the gifts of the Spirit feemed at first to me to be enumerated, thofe which qualified perfons to be deacons, evangelifts, and rulers, fhould be mentioned aswell as others. At least, I thought thefe words would give me occafion to confider thofe gifts, which it was neceffary for me to confider, if I would anfwer my design, and confider every one of them that occurs in fcripture. For these reasons therefore I chose to treat of these gifts of the Spirit, as if they were couched under the words, helps and governments. I likewife chose to confider xuenas in the fenfe our verfion gives it, to fhew how far a scheme to fupport power, in fome in the church, over the body of the reft of the church, can be carried from fcripture with any fair appearance from this word, or words in fcripture that may be thought to fupport this fense of that word, even by those who have the greatest temptations to carry it the fartheft. And in thefe views, what I |