N01685:59
The presence of Christ with the ministers of the Gospel, opened & applied in…The presence of Christ with the ministers of the Gospel, opened & applyed in…
The presence of Christ with the ministers of the Gospel, opened & applied in a sermon preached at Swampfield, January 1st. 1717[/]18. Being the day of the gathering of the church, and the ordination of the Reverend Joseph Willard their pastor. / By Solomon Stoddard, A.M. & Pastor of Northampton.The presence of Christ with the ministers of the Gospel, opened & applyed in a sermon preached at Swampfield, January 1st. 1717[/]18. Being the day of the gathering of the church, and the ordination of the Reverend Joseph Willard their pastor. / By Solomon Stoddard, A.M. & Pastor of Northampton.
printed by B. Green, 1718
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
1. That the Elders are the only Rulers in the Church; ⟨p. 7⟩Ruling in the Church is appropriated to them. They are not called the Principal Rulers, but the Rulers. None else has any authority to join in Ruling When they are said to be the Rulers, it is exclusive of any other. They that are the Rulers are distinguished from them that are Ruled If Elders are the Rulers, then it is an Intrusion for any other to intermeddle in Ruling. To Vote in matters of Rule is to Rule, therefore they that are not to Rule, are not to Vote. Elders being the only Rulers in the Church, they are to do every thing that is an act of Rule. It is an act of rule to call Offenders to an account, to Censure them and Pardon them; so to admit Members; therefore these Services are to be done by the Elders. For other Men to take upon them, to Vote in these cases, is to usurp an authority that don't belong to them. Many are willing that the Elders should be Moderators to order Church Meetings, to order Speech and Silence, to put things to Vote; but Moderators are not Rulers. A Moderator in a Council, is not the Ruler of the Council. A private Man may be a Moderator in a Church, that has no Elder, when they convene to do what is proper for them, yet he is no Ruler, he is no Church Officer.
1. That the Elders are the only Rulers in the Church; ⟨p. 7⟩Ruling in the Church is appropriated to them. They are not called the Principal Rulers, but the Rulers. None else has any authority to joyn in Ruling When they are said to be the Rulers, it is exclusive of any other. They that are the Rulers are distinguished from them that are Ruled If Elders are the Rulers, then it is an Intrusion for any other to intermeddle in Ruling. To Vote in matters of Rule is to Rule, therefore they that are not to Rule, are not to Vote. Elders being the only Rulers in the Church, they are to do every thing that is an act of Rule. It is an act of rule to call Offenders to an account, to Censure them and Pardon them; so to admit Members; therefore these Services are to be done by the Elders. For other Men to take upon them, to Vote in these cases, is to usurp an authority that don't belong to them. Many are willing that the Elders should be Moderators to order Church Meetings, to order Speech and Silence, to put things to Vote; but Moderators are not Rulers. A Moderator in a Council, is not the Ruler of the Council. A private Man may be a Moderator in a Church, that has no Elder, when they convene to do what is proper for them, yet he is no Ruler, he is no Church Officer.