Church over the child must be merely nominal; and can exist to no

valuable purpose.

Thirdly. The Church possesses an indirect control over the child by the control which it has over the parents; and this it is bound to exercise in every proper manner.

The parents are members of a particular Church; and therefore subject to its discipline. Every Church is accordingly bound to require such parents, as are members of it, to instruct, and govern, their children; and to walk before them agreeably to the Gospel. The Church is bound to see, that all this is actually done; and to call to a solemn account all its members, who neglect, or violate, these duties. This is a control, which, if duly exercised, cannot fail of being beneficial to the children. Any other must, I think, be of course injurious.

Fourthly. The several members of a Church are, in my view, bound also to reprove, and admonish, baptized persons, whom they see in the commission of sin.

Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, said God to the Israelites, and not suffer sin upon him; or, as in the margin, that thou bear not sin for him. This rule appears to have the fullest application to the case in hand. Baptized persons have a peculiar claim on professing Christians for this office of love; and are bound to receive it with humility, and reformation.

Ministers ought, in my view, to make it a business of their ministerial office distinctly to unfold to them the nature of their relation to God, and his Church; and solemnly to enforce on them the duties, arising from this relation; particularly the duties of repentance, and faith in the Redeemer, of giving themselves up to God in his covenant, and taking upon themselves, openly, the character of Christians. This, I apprehend, should be done not only from the desk, but in a regular course of laborious catechetical instruction. The same things should be explicitly, and solemnly enjoined from time to time upon their parents; one of whose first duties it is, in my apprehension, to co-operate faithfully with their ministers in teaching, and enjoining, these things upon their Chil dren. Were these things begun, as soon as the children were ca. pable of understanding them, and pursued through every succeeding period of their nonage; a fair prospect, as it seems to me, would be opened for the vigorous growth, and abundant fruitfulness, of this nursery of the Church.

Should baptized persons, with these advantages, conduct themselves frowardly in a course of open, obstinate iniquity, after they have come to years of discretion; the Church may, with the strictest propriety, shut them out from these privileges, until by a penitent and becoming deportment, they shall manifest their contrition for their guilty conduct; not however without previous and ample admonition. I will further suggest, that, in my own view, it is a part of the duty of each Church, at their meetings for evangelical

conversation and prayer, to summon the baptized persons, who are minors, to be present at convenient seasons, while the Church offers up prayers to God peculiarly for them; and to pray for them, particularly, at other meetings, holden for these purposes.

Were all these things regularly, and faithfully done; (and they all seem to grow out of the circumstances of persons, baptized in their infancy) I cannot help believing, that a new face would, in a great measure, be put upon the condition, and character, of the persons in question. It must be acknowledged, that much less attention is paid to them in modern, than in ancient, times; at least by Churches in general; and less, I think, by ourselves, than by our Ancestors.

II. The Manner, in which Discipline is to be conducted, next claims our attention.

Concerning this subject, there can be little debate, or doubt. We are abundantly taught by the Scriptures, that private remonstrance, and public admonition, are ever to be administered with lowliness of mind, with entire candour and moderation; with unbiassed equity; with a spirit of meekness, patience, and forbearance. The Servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle to all men; and must here be especially upon his guard against the intrusion of every passion, and the adoption of all improper conduct; because here, as he is obliged to assume some degree of authority, and is at times employed in endeavouring to redress injuries, which himself has received, he will be in peculiar danger of departing from his duty. A false step, at the commencement of this process in private remonstrance, is eminently mischievous; because from this commencement the whole process is apt to derive its character. Yet, here, such a step is ordinarily to be expected more than in any subsequent stage of the progress. The remonstrant is often wholly unexperienced in business of this nature; often personally interested; usually in some degree agitated, and therefore in danger of being off his guard; frequently ignorant of what is precisely his duty; possessed of an authority in a great measure undefined, except by his own discretion; and this discretion less perfect in many cases, than could be wished. Thus circumstanced, the best and wisest men are in some danger of acting with impropriety; while others, of an inferior character, are proportionally more exposed. It is ever to be remembered here, that this is the stage of Ecclesiastical Discipline, peculiarly attended with hopes of success. While the subject of remonstrance is concealed from the view of the Public; pride, that insidious enemy of all men, even the best; the desire of self-justification; the fear of losing one's character in the view of one's family, friends, and neighbours; and the heat and obstinacy, produced in the course of a controversy, already advanced; are not, here, unless by some unhappy imprudence, roused to any great degree of exertion. If the mind is ever calm, and self-possessed; it is at this

time. If hope is to be ardently indulged any where; it is here. Let the remonstrant, therefore, remember; and let those who accompany him remember also; that here they are either to gain, or lose, their brother. With an object of this inestimable importance before them, there will ever be reason to hope, that the fault will not be theirs.

Here, I beg leave to give it, as my own opinion, founded, as I trust, both on the Scriptures and experience, that private controversies between Individuals of the Church, arising from supposed personal offences, should, as far as may be, without refusing the right of appeal to the Church, be terminated without being brought to its decision. This I take to be the very spirit of the text. It is intended by our Saviour, that the offen ler should hear, and yield to, those brethren, who accompany the remonstrant. St. Paul, also, finding fault with the Corinthian Christians for going to law before the unjust, and not before the saints, says, Do ye not know, that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? If, then, ye have judgments of things, pertaining to this life; set them to judge, who are least esteemed in the Church. I will not stay to comment on the translation of these verses, although I think it incorrect; because every translation of them will coincide with my own design. It is this, that the controversies between individual Christians, the secular controversies especially, are here directed by St. Paul to be brought for decision before other members of this Church; and, according to the present version, before those, even of little estimation, for their attainments, in the view of the Church. If the Corinthians were to issue their personal controversies in this manner, it is plainly reasonable and proper, that ours should be issued in a similar manner. If those, who possessed a humble character in the eyes of the Corinthian Church, were competent to determine their controversies; the superior members of our own Churches are certainly competent to determine ours.

Experience has, in my view, long since proved, that controversies of this nature are apt to be begun with resentment, and maintained with violence; and to wear, at their commencement, and throughout their progress, the aspect of a common litigation. Of course, they are often attended with all the evils of such a litigation, and many more; are carried on with bitterness and animosity, and end in riveted hatred; are the means of impairing Christianity in the parties, of leading them into many and great sins, and of leaving them in a state, little fitted for improvement or comfort, of splitting a Church into divisions, and of injuring, if not destroying, the usefulness of its Minister. At the same time, they disturb the peace of a neighbourhood; expose the Christian character to shame, disgust, and reprobation; wound the prosperity VOL. IV.

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of religion; and become a subject of triumph to the worst of its enemies.

Admonition and Excommunication should be administered with the same dispositions, which have been mentioned as proper accompaniments of Private Remonstrance; united with a solemnity, firmness, and authority, becoming the character of a Church. To the dignity of this tribunal, calmness, moderation, and tenderness, are indispensable. The wisdom, which should preside in it, is that which is from above, pure, peaceable, gentle, and easily entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Before this tribunal, also, no causes should be permitted to come to trial, of which the subjects are not distinctly specified; together with the time and place, at which they have existed; and all the material circumstances, by which they were accompanied. All these ought, also, to be communicated to the person accused, a sufficient time before the trial, to give him a full opportunity for preparing his defence.

When a trespasser has been excommunicated; every proper inducement should be holden out to him to return by repentance, and reformation. For this end, the Minister, and other persons of weight in the Church, should take every proper and promising occasion to give him their best counsels, and exhortations. As this ought to be done for a Heathen, and a Publican; it will, I presume, be acknowledged to be due to him.

Formerly, Excommunication was accompanied by many expressions of a spirit, not more hostile to the trespasser, than to Christianity. The Object of it was cursed in form, and solemnly consigned to perdition. Happily for us, no severities, even of form, exist in this sentence here, beside those, which are plainly authorized by the Scriptures.

III. The Ends, for which Christian Discipline was instituted, are the following.

1. The AMENDMENT of those, who transgress.

For this end, every part of Ecclesiastical Discipline is calcu lated, as if it had no other object. The attention, paid to it, is, however, perfectly justified by its importance. This is no less than the reformation of a lapsed Christian Brother. His peace; his Christian character; his worthy participation of Christian priv ileges; his recovery of the Divine approbation; his future usefulness in the present life; the measure of his happiness in the life to come; and even his salvation itself; are all deeply concerned, and oftentimes, absolutely involved, in these administrations. That these objects are at times accomplished by Private Remonstrance, and Public Admonition, will probably not be doubted. With equal certainty are they accomplished by Excommunication. This is directly declared by St. Paul, 1 Cor. v. 4, 5, In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, being gathered together, in better language, being

gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of my Spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, I command you lo deliver such an one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

2. Another End of this Discipline is the Purification of the Church from unworthy members.

Tares, we know, are sown in this world; and will grow together with the wheat until the harvest. So long as they are undistinguishable from the wheat, it is unlawful for us to eradicate them, lest we root up the wheat also; but when they are clearly discovered in the field of Christ, they are to be removed. The rules which are given us for this purpose, are perfect, so far as it may be safely entrusted to the prudence of man. As a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump; Christians are required to purge out the old leaven, that the Church may become a new lump, pure and unleavened.

3. Another End of this System, is the Preclusion of unworthy members from the Church.

The Church is probably kept pure by preventing unworthy members from uniting themselves with it, more effectually, than by excluding them after they are united. Wicked men never love Christian Discipline; and are often prevented from attempting to become members of the Church, by the fears of falling under its censures. To good men it is only a privilege. Faithful subjects of an earthly government regard its wholesome laws with all their penalties, and the just execution of them with all its pains and terrors, as eminent blessings. These laws they so entirely choose to obey; to this administration they intend to be so uniformly subjects; as hardly ever even to think of their severity, and to feel nothing but their beneficial influence. Whatever apprehension they may at times inspire, such men consider them, only as a useful motive to a more uniform and faithful obedience.

Indeed, this subject furnishes a beneficial criterion for the determination of our religious character. If we cordially relish the Discipline of Christ's Church, and are sincerely desirous to add. to other motives those, which it furnishes us for diligence, fidelity, and exactness in the Christian life; there is solid reason to hope, that we love that, which is good; and are, therefore, real followers of the Redeemer. If, on the other hand, we are impatient of this mild and equitable government, and live in a continual and slavish dread of its terrors; there is but too much reason to conclude, that we love the conduct, which this system punishes; disrelish the purity which it requires; and, of course, have made a profession, which is unfounded and insincere.

Ecclesiastical Discipline, more than all other means, has contributed to preserve whatever purity has been found in the Church of Christ; and in a greater degree prevented it from being crowded by unworthy members. Christians, therefore, cannot fail to regard their Discipline as an invaluable blessing.