DISCOURSE Iv. 597 church of Borne has imitated them exactly, and gives us her tradi- tions to clear up the darkness, and supply thedefects ofscripture. And though we justlymaintain the sufficiency of 'scripture, with- out their traditions, to teach all that is necessary to please God, always supposing the common use and exercise of our reasoning powers, yet still it must be confessed, that many of the sathe sort of things, under the gospel, are but obscurely prescribed, in comparison of the plain and express prescriptions of the Jewish law ; and much is left to be gathered by our own reasonings, from the light of nature, andthe occasional hints which are given in the history of the New Testament. Let the instance be the order of priesthood, and the persons appointed to minister in divine service. Whosoever was of the seed of Levi, was born to sacred work ; the eldest son of the house of Aaron, was the high-priest, and the inferior priesthood was all composed of his brethren and kindred. The method of theirconsecration was ' offeririg such particular sacrifices, put- ting the blood on their thumbs, ears, and toes : besides some special washings, sprinklings, and vestments, as Exod. xxix. The maimed or deformed in body were to besecluded from this office ; their maintenance was determined to arise from tithes, and some appointed portions of the sacrifices. But under the gospel, the different degrees of church-officers, bishops, pastors, teachers, seem not to be distinguished with quite so much evi- dence ; their characters are much more inward and spiritual, and therefore not :so easy to be discerned ; the method of their appointment and ordination is the subject of perpetual contro- versy ? and their support arises from the voluntary contributions of the people, of which the NewTestament has not assigned the proportion. What is now mentioned concerning ecclesiastical offices, holds true in other parts of christian administrations ; and we are forced to collect rule's for the performance of many Of them, by a comparison Of several scriptures together, bymatters of fact, circumstances, examples, and precedents, and by long trains of consequential deductions, because we find not the rules prescribed in 'any express words of command. Let the business of baptism of infants be another instance. How clearly is the appointment of the circumcision of the infant males, on the eighth day, expressed in comparison of the baptism of christian children ? Take the observation of any sabbath, and particularly of the Lord's -day, to be another example of this obscurity, of the time of christian worship, in comparison with the exact rules of Jewish sabbatisms. We have none of these things prescribed in any express words- of command. Some persons have taken laudable pains, to spew how many of these things are revealed, in the gospel, acts, and epistles, by way of rp3
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