SECTION II.

OF THE INDEPENDENTS.

THIS Communion is distinguished by maintaining that every distinct society of Christians, united for religious fellowship and worship, is, according to the Scriptures, a church, possessed of full powers to regulate its own concerns, and independent of all foreign controul. In support of this view of the Scripture word ECCLESIA, a church, we refer to a writer of distinguished learning and ability, who spent his days in a presbyterian communion. "There are in the New Testament but two original senses of the word which can be called different, though related; one is when it denotes a number of people actually assembled, or accustomed to assemble together, and is then properly rendered by the English terms congregation, convention, assembly, and even sometimes crowd. The other sense is, to denote a society united together by some common tie; though not convened, perhaps not convenable, in one place. Where the word is appropriated, as it generally is in the New Testament, by its regimen (as the church of God or of Christ) or by the scope of the place, it is always to be explained in one of the two senses following, corresponding to the two general senses above mentioned. It denotes either a single congregation of Christians, in correspondence to the first, or the whole Christian community, in correspondence

to the second. But in any intermediate sense, between a single congregation and the whole Christian community, which has been called the catholic or universal church, not one instance can be brought of the application of the word in sacred writ."

"We speak now indeed, and this has been the manner for ages, of the Gallican church, the Greek church, the church of England, the church of Scotland, as of societies independent and complete in themselves. Such a phraseology was never adopted in the days of the apostles. They did not say the church of Asia, the church of Macedonia, but the churches of Asia or Macedonia. The plural number is always used when more congregations than one are spoken of, unless the subject be of the whole commonwealth of Christ. This is also the constant usage of the term in the writings of ecclesiastic authors for the two first centuries,"

"It adds considerable force to our argument, that this is exactly conformable to the usage which obtained among the Jews. They never called the people belonging to several neighbouring synagogues, a synagogue, or church, in the singular number, but synagogues and churches in the plural. Any other use in the apostles, therefore, must have been as unprecedented as it would have been improper, and what could not fail to lead their hearers into mistakes"."

But though the common idea of a national church, composed of all the congregations in a kingdom, is thus exploded as unscriptural; presbyterians plead for what may be called a representative church, consisting of the elders or delegates of several congrega, tions convened together for the exercise of ecclesias

Dr. Campbell's Lectures on Ecclesiastical History.

tical discipline. To this also independents object, and for a statement of their reasons we may refer again to the same presbyterian divine.

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"I know of no way," says Dr. Campbell, "of reaching the sense of our Lord's instructions, tell it to the church,' but by understanding his words so as they must have been understood by his hearers, from the use that then prevailed. The word ECCLESIA occurs frequently in the Septuagint, and is that by which the Hebrew word for an assembly or sacred convocation is commonly translated. It is used in the Old Testament in two different but related senses; one is for a whole nation, as constituting one commonwealth or polity, the other is for a particular congregation or assembly, convened in the same place. Now as the nature of the thing sufficiently shows that our Lord did not employ it in the first of the two senses, so as to require that every private quarrel should be made a national affair, we are under a necessity of understanding it in the last, as regarding the particular congregation to which the parties belonged. It would then be contrary to all the rules of criticism to suppose that our Lord used this term in a sense in which it could not be understood by any one of his hearers; or that he would say congregation, for so the word literally imports,when he meant only a few heads or directors." To this we may add, that the English establishment, though founded upon a very different hypothesis, has in one of its articles asserted the principle which forms the main pillar of independency. "The visible church is a congregation of faithful men"."

See thirty-nine articles of the church of England, under the article entitled " of the church."

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It may now be enquired, of whom, according to the sentiments of independents, are these distinct churches to be composed? Of such persons as the apostles address in their epistles to the first churches. These apostolic letters always consider the Christian churches as composed of men on whom the gospel of Jesus Christ had produced those holy effects, which made them differ from the rest of the world, and from what they themselves formerly were. Here again the language of the established formulary exactly expresses the sentiments of independents, that a church is "a congregation of faithful men." Hence they say, a kingdom or parish, comprising all sorts of men who happen to be born within its bounds, whether good or bad, can never, without the greatest perversion of terms, be called a church.

It seems to have been in this sense that the first independents denied the church of England to be a true church, for which they were branded as an illiberal sect, which anathematised all who were not of their communion. But what general would honour with the title of a regiment, or an army, a promiscuous crowd composed principally of men ignorant of all military affairs; though there might be intermingled with them true soldiers, of whom he entertained the highest opinion, as worthy to form a Macedonian phalanx? And though the independents refused to prostitute the name of a church to the promiscuous communion of all who were born and baptized within a district of so many yards or miles, they still believed that there might be among them many excellent persons of whom a church, or congregation of faithful men might have been formed.

Independents maintain the right of the church, or

body of Christians, to determine who shall be admitted into their communion, and also to exclude from their fellowship those who may prove themselves unworthy members. They plead that the right of excommunication is by the lord of the church vested in the congregation of believers, when he says, " if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between him and thee alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established; and if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church, but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican." This exclusion from the fellowship of the church, is all the punishment which an independent deems it lawful to inflict for offences against religion. The fulmination of bitter anathemas, the infliction of civil pains and disabilities, well accord with the spirit of the anti-christian beast; but are totally abhorrent from the temper of Christ, who reigns in Zion" as a lamb in the midst of the throne."

The right of each church to choose all those who bear offices in it, is another important principle for which the independents contend. They agree with presbyterians in maintaining the identity of presbyters and bishops, and believe that a plurality of presbyters, pastors, or bishops in one church is taught in Scripture, rather than the common usage of one bishop over many congregations. In those independent churches, which have more than one pastor or bishop, he whose age, length of standing, virtues, labours, or usefulness, have given him the precedency, becomes, 9 Matt. xviii. 15-17.