ORD. 421
governors of the Church ; and "because there should he a succession of them continued in all ages, for the peace and preservation of those Churches which they had planted, therefore it is necessary that there should he a power lodged some where, to set apart some distinct orders of men to those public offices, and this is called Ordination. Many dissenting Sects hold it necessary that there should be such a power, but they dispute where it is. Some affirm that a man ought not to take upon him the ministry without a lawful call, which is very true. They likewise agree that Ordination ought to he continued, and they define it to be a solemn setting apart of some person to a Church office; but they say it is only to be done by preaching Presbyters, and that those who are not set apart themselves for the work of the ministry, have no power to join in setting apart others for that purpose; and this form of Ordination was proposed to the parliament, in the year 1643, by an assembly of those persons, in order to be ratified." There are another sort of people who hold, that where there are no such preaching Presbyters, in such case other persons, sufficiently qualified and approved for their gifts and graces by other ministers, being chosen by the people, and set apart for the ministry, by prayer and fasting in the congregation, may exercise that office; so that some place the power of Ordination in simple Presbyters, and others in the people. There are others who maintain that Ordination is not to be justified by Scripture; and that the word itself signifies a lifting up of hands, and is used in Scripture for giving a vote, which in all popular assemblies is customary even at this day; from whence they infer, that the Christian Churches were at tirst democratical, that is, the whole congregation chose their pastor; and that by virtue of such choice he did not pretend to any peculiar jurisdiction distinct from others, but he was only approved by the congregation for his parts, and appointed to instruct the people, to visit the sick, and to perform all other offices of a minister; and at other times he followed his trade, and that the Christians in those days had no notion how a pastor could pretend to any succession to qualify him for the ministry, for that the pretence of dispensing Divine things, by a mere human constitution, was such an absurdity, that it could