-

provision is made for the subsistence of himself and family; that whereas Christ has ordained, that those who preach the gospel should live of it, and that he that is taught in the word should communicate to him that teacheth in all good things; the business of deacons is to see to it, that every member contributes according to his ability, and that there be an equality, that some are not eased and others burdened; and it lies upon them to collect what the members give, for it is not proper the minister should collect for himself; this would be to prevent the design of the institution, which was, that those who are employed in the sacred office of the ministry of the word, should not be hindered in it. Besides, such a practice would not comport with the ease and character of a'minister, who would be obliged to receive what the people gave him, without making any remonstrance against it, as failing in their duty to him; and he might also be exposed to the charge of avarice; to which may be added, that a church would not be able to judge whether their pastor was sufficiently provided for or not. 3. The poor man's table; it was an apostolical order given to the churches, that they should make a collection for the poor saints on the first day of the week; and it seems as if it was designed to be every first day, to which every one was to give, having laid by him a store for it, as God had prospered him, 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2; which collections, and those made at the Lord's supper, are to be received by the deacons, with whatsoever gifts may come into their hands, and be distributed to the necessities of the saints; and they are, both by their own example, and by their exhortations, to stir up the members of churches to contribute liberally to the relief of the poor: and what they receive they are to communicate,-1. Impartially, that is, as the apostle expresses it, with simplicity, without partiality, and without favour and affection; showing no respect to persons, taking more notice of and giving more liberally to one than to another, which was the original complaint in the first church, and made the office necessary; and therefore the deacon should be careful to avoid any cause of it: the principal rule he should go by is, to give as every one needeth; to some more, and others less, as their case requires. 2. This should be done with cheerfulness, Rom. xii. 8, without any frowns in the countenance, and without any hard and rough words, which the tender minds of the poor, broken with distress, cannot well bear; when what is given cheerfully and pleasantly does them double good; nor should they be upbraided with misconduct in former life, which may have brought them into low circumstances. God loves a cheerful giver, and he himself gives liberally, and upbraids not.-3. This should be done with compassion and tenderness. The work of a deacon is expressed by his showing mercy, Rom. xii. 8, and he should exercise it in a pitiful and merciful manner, as sympathizing with them in their poor and low circumstances; in imitation of the great High Priest of our profession, who is touched with the feeling of the infirmities of his people.4. This office should be executed with great faithfulness; deacons are the church's stewards, and are intrusted with the church's stock; and it is required of stewards, that they distribute with fidelity what is put

into their hands, and for the uses for which it is given. The next thing to be inquired into,

III. Are the qualifications of persons for such an office; some of which may be taken from Acts vi. 3.

1. That they are to be of honest report; of whom a testimony can be given of their honesty, integrity, and good conversation; who have a good report of them that are without, of all men, of the men of the world, and of them that are within; and who are well reported of by the brethren, by the members of other churches, especially by the members of the church to which they belong.-2. Full of the Holy Ghost, of his gifts and graces; though they may not be so eminently endowed with them as Stephen and Philip were, which is not to be expected; yet that they should appear to be partakers of the grace of the Spirit, and to have such gifts as to comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, and speak a word in season to those who are in distress. 3. Men of wisdom; for as they are stewards, wisdom, as well as faithfulness, is required of them; to give to every one of the poor a portion of the church's moneys, as they need; and to distinguish cases and circumstances, requires wisdom; besides, persons in such an office are sometimes called upon to make up differences between member and member; which is often a difficult task, and calls for all the prudence a man is possessed of; and to these, or such as these, the apostle refers, when he says, Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one, that shall be able to judge between his brethren, without going to law before unbelievers.

There are other qualifications of a deacon observed in 1 Tim. iii. 1-12.-I. As to his personal character; he must be grave in his speech and gesture, and not light, frothy, and vain; and not only modest, chaste, and honest, and of good behaviour, but as the word may signify also, one that has some weight and influence, who is venerable and respectable, and has some degree of reverence and esteem with the people: Not double-tongued; so as to express pity to the poor, yet show no concern to relieve them; and to say one thing to them, and another to the church and minister; or to say one thing to one member, and another to another, which may tend to alienate the affections of one from another. Not given to much wine; which, though lawful to be used, yet not to excess; which would both destroy his character in the church and in the world, and render him unfit for the business of his office. Not greedy of filthy lucre, or covetous: such may be tempted to make a wrong application of the church's money; and besides, persons in such an office, should be liberal themselves, according to their abilities, and set a good example to others; or otherwise they cannot, with a good grace, stir up others to liberality, which is one part of their office.-2. Others concern his domestic character; he should be the husband of one wife; it is not necessary that he should be a married man; but if married, he should have but one wife, that is, at the same time; polygamy had been much in use among the Jews and Gentiles; and the first Christians were not soon

4 Σεμνους.

and easily brought to the disuse of that practice; but the apostle, by divine inspiration, judged it necessary that no officer of a church, bishop or deacon, should have more wives than one; since it would serve to continue and encourage the practice, set an example of it, and expose to reproach and censure: the apostle adds, Ruling their children and their own houses well; both wife, children, and servants; such ought to keep a good decorum in their families; or how else can it be expected that the affairs of the house of God, so far as they are concerned therein, should be despatched with honour, faithfulness, and diligence? The apostle has also thought fit to give the qualifications of their wives, who must be grave in their speech, gesture, and dress; as well as modest, chaste, and of good deportment not slanderers, or accusers; false accusers, acting the part of the devil, as the word signifies; for such may do a great deal of mischief in the church, through their influence on their husbands: they must be sober, temperate, not given to excessive drinking, which would be scandalous; faithful in all things, respecting their husbands and family; and this is the rather mentioned, since otherwise they might have opportunities of embezzling the church's money, and which, in some cases, they might be intrusted with to dispose of to the poor, in the absence of their husbands. 3. With respect to the spiritual and evangelical character of deacons, they should be such who hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience; are sound in the gospel, and the doctrines of it; for by faith is meant the gospel, the faith once delivered to the saints; and by the mystery of it, the more sublime and mysterious doctrines of the gospel, especially the doctrine of the Trinity; which, with the Jews, was commonly called the mystery of the faith; and is the same the apostle calls the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, Col. ii. 2; such doctrines which relate to the distinction of Persons in the Godhead; the divine Sonship, proper Deity, and distinct personality of Christ; the Deity, personality, and operations of the Spirit; the incarnation of Christ, and the union of the two natures in him; the resurrection of the dead; with others these things deacons are to hold, with a conscience purified by the blood of Christ, and with a holy, becoming life and conversation this qualification is necessary in them, that they may be able to instruct and establish others in the faith, and to confute the erroneous; for should their principles be bad, their influence on others might be pernicious and fatal. Now these must first be proved, and then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless: not that they are to exercise any part of this office first, that it might be known how capable they are of it; but that it should appear that they are men of the above characters and qualifications; are of some standing in the church, and are well known and approved of for their soundness in the faith and purity of conversation. There is but one sort of deacons of this kind mentioned in Scripture; unless it can be thought there were women-deacons, or deaconesses; and, indeed, Phebe is called diaкovos, a deacon, or deaconess, of the church of Cenchrea; we render the word

:

· Διαβόλους.

servant, Rom. xvi. 1; and some render the wives of deacons, their women, 1 Tim. iii. 11; and by them understand deaconesses; and if the same with the widows, as some think, their qualifications, as to age, character, and conduct, are described, 1 Tim. v. 9, 10; and it seems certain there were such in the second century, whether virgins or widows; such seem to be the two servant-maids Pliny speaks of, whom he examined on the rack, concerning the Christians, and by whom he says they were called ministra, ministresses, or deaconesses; and Clemens of Alexandria, in the second century, makes mention expressly of women-deacons, as spoken of by the apostle in his epistle to Timothy; so Jerome ", in the fourth century, speaks of them as in the eastern churches: and, indeed, something of this kind seems not at all unnecessary, but of service and usefulness; as to attend at the baptism of women, and to visit the sisters of the church, when sick, and to assist them. In the third century, an officer was introduced, called a sub-deacon, an under-deacon, who seems to have been an assistant to the deacon, when the churches became large, and their poor numerous, and the deacons required assistance; though it would have been much more proper to have increased their number of deacons ; but as for that meteor, as Dr. Owen calls him, an arch-deacon, he was not heard of until the fourth or fifth centuries; and then not as the creature which now exists under that name.

W

IV. The encouragement given to the diligent and faithful performance of the office of a deacon.

1. Such purchase, or get, to themselves a good degree. The conjecture of Dr. Owen's is very trifling, which I should not have expected from so great a man, as that it signifies a place of some eminence, a seat more highly raised up to sit in, in church-assemblies; something like the chief seats in a Jewish synagogue: nor by it is meant a higher degree in his own office; for there are no degrees of higher and lower in the office of a deacon; no sub-deacon nor archdeacon, as before observed: nor is it preparatory to a higher order; as of presbytery or eldership; since the office of a deacon lies chiefly in the management of temporal things; and not in study and meditation of spiritual things. În after times, in the third century, such a practice began to take place, as to go through all ecclesiastical offices, to the office of a bishop, as Cyprian says Cornelius bishop of Rome did; and it is said to be ordered by Caius, bishop of the same place, in the same century, that the degrees to a bishopric, through which men should pass to it, were a door-keeper, a reader, an exorcist, an acolyte, a sub-deacon, a deacon, a presbyter, and then a bishop'; but this is all of mere human and antichristian appointment: nor is a greater degree in glory meant, which is questionable whether there will be any; but rather an increase of gifts and graces is designed; which, under a divine blessing, may be attained, through a deacon's more intimate conversation with the pastor and the members of the church, and even Stromat. 1. 3, p. 448.

* Ep. 1. 10, ep. 97; vide Pignorium de Servis, p. 109.

u Comment. in 1 Tim. iii. 11. w True Nature of a Gospel Church, ch. 9, p. 184. I lb. p. 187. z Platinæ vit, Pontis. p. 34,

Ep. 52, p. 96.

the poor of it; though it seems chiefly to intend a good degree of honour in the faithful discharge of his office, from both minister, church, and poor. 2. Such obtain boldness in the faith; in the exercise of faith at the throne of grace; and in asserting the doctrine of faith; and in vindicating their own character before men; and in reproving for immorality or error.

V. The duties belonging to a church and its members to persons in such an office.

1. To supply them with what is sufficient to relieve the wants of the poor; for they are not to supply them out of their own purses; but to distribute faithfully what is put into their hands by the church. 2. They should be applied unto for direction and counsel in any private matters, and especially which relate unto the church; since they are supposed to be men of wisdom, and capable of judging of things, with respect to particular persons, and between one member and another.-3. They are to be esteemed highly for their work's sake; their office being a very useful one to the church, when diligently and faithfully performed.-4. To be prayed for; for if we are to pray for all civil magistrates and officers, then certainly for all ecclesiastical officers; not only pastors of churches, but deacons also; that they may be supported under all discouragements and difficulties; and that they may be able to discharge their office with reputation and useful

ness.'

OF THE DISCIPLINE OF A CHURCH OF CHRIST.

THOUGH the light of nature, and the laws and rules of civil society, may be very assisting in the affair of church-discipline; and may in many things serve to illustrate and confirm it; yet it does not stand upon human, but divine authority. By the light of nature it may be known, man being a sociable creature, that men may form themselves into societies for mutual good; that they have a right to make laws and rules binding on each other, which are not contrary to justice and truth; to admit such into their societies who have a right to dispose of themselves, and assent to the rules of the society, and to keep out or expel such who refuse to be subject to them; and to choose and appoint whom they think fit to preside over them, to see that their laws and rules are put into execution; with other things of like nature. But Christ is sole Head, King, and Lawgiver in his house and kingdom; and no man, nor set of men, have a power to set up a church-society, but what is by direction and according to the rule of his word, and the pattern of his house; nor to make laws and rules, but what he has made; nor to appoint any other sort of officers in his house, but.whom he has appointed and directed to, and described the qualifications of; to whom he gives gifts and abilities, office-power and authority to rule under him in his church: nor are any to be admitted into it, nor excluded from it, but according to his directions and orders; hence Ezekiel, after he had described the gospel church in its purity, as it will be in the latter day, is ordered to show the house to the house of