The SEVENTY. The TWELVE. against unclean spirits, to cast Lord of the harvest, that he them out; and to heal all would send forth labourers inmanner of sickness, and all to his harvest. Go your ways: manner of disease. Now the behold, I send you forth as names of the twelve apostles lambs among wolves. Carry are these; the first, Simon, neither purse, nor scrip, nor who is called Peter, and An- shoes: and salute no man by drew his brother; James the the way. And into whatsoson of Zebedee, and John his ever house ye enter, first say, brother; Philip and Bartho- Peace be to this house. And lomew; Thomas and Matthew if the son of peace be there, the publican; James the son your peace shall rest upon it: of Alpheus, and Lebbeus, if not, it shall turn to you again. whose surname was Thad- | And in the same house remain, deus. Simon the Canaanite, eating and drinking such things and Judas Iscariot who also as they give: for the labourer betrayed him. These twelve is worthy of his hire. Go not Jesus sent forth,and command- from house to house. And ed them, saying, Go not into into whatsoever city ye enter, the way of the Gentiles, and and they receive you, eat such into any city of the Samaritans things as are set before you; enter ye not: but go rather to and heal the sick that are the lost sheep of the house of therein; and say unto them, Israel. And, as ye go, preach, The kingdom of God is come saying, The kingdom of hea- nigh unto you. But into whatven is at hand. Heal the sick, soever city ye enter, and they cleanse the lepers, raise the receive you not, go your ways dead, cast out devils; freely out into the streets of the same, ye have received, freely give. and say, Even the very dust of Provide neither gold, nor sil- your city, which cleaveth on ver, nor brass, in your purses; us, we do wipe off against you: nor scrip for your journey, nei- notwithstanding, be ye sure of ther two coats, neither shoes, this, that the kingdom of God nor yet staves; for the work- is come nigh unto you. But I man is worthy of his meat. say unto you, That it shall be And into whatsoever city or more tolerable in that day for town ye shall enter, inquire Sodom than for that city. Wo who in it is worthy; and there unto thee, Chorazin! wo unto The TWELVE. The SEVENTY. abide till ye go thence. And thee, Bethsaida! for if the when ye come into an house, mighty works had been done salute it. And if the house be in Tyre and Sidon, which worthy, let your peace come have been done in you, they upon it but if it be not wor- had a great while ago repentthy, let your peace return to ed, sitting in sackcloth and you. And whosoever shall not ashes. But it shall be more receive you, nor hear your tolerable for Tyre and Sidon words, when ye depart out of at the judgment than for you. that house or city, shake off And thou, Capernaum, which the dust of your feet. Verily art exalted to heaven, shalt be I say unto you, It shall be thrust down to hell. He that more tolerable for the land of heareth you, heareth me; and Sodom and Gomorrah, in the he that despiseth you, despiday of judgment, than for that seth me; and he that despiseth city. Behold, I send you forth me, despiseth him that sent as sheep in the midst of wolves; me." be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me." If, after all, the twelve were an order superiour to the seventy, the evidence, whether in these or other parts of the evangelical narrative, is too subtle for our clumsy senses. The Layman, however, whose perceptions are not so dull, has been more fortunate. Let us betake ourselves to his aid. "The twelve," says he, "were superiour to the seventy, both in dignity and power." They were superiour in "dignity." 1. "The apostles are every where spoken of, as the constant attendants of our Lord." Therefore, they were of a higher rank than the seventy! The Layman is as active as he is sharp-sighted; but the ditch between his premises and his conclusion being rather too wide for us to leap, we cannot conveniently follow him. But the Layman has forgotten that there were others, beside the apostles, who are mentioned as the constant attendants of our Lord,* and who received from that circumstance no pre-eminence of authority whatever. The Layman's first argument, then, is "good for nothing." 2. "The commission of the apostles was much more general" than that of the seventy. The latter "were sent before our Lord into the cities whither he himself would come.". The former were directed" to preach the gospel to all the Jews." A minister, therefore, who should be instructed to make a preaching tour through the United States, would be of a higher grade than one whose labours should be confined to the state of New York. If this argument of the Layman is not very satisfactory, it is at least ingenious. There is something vastly pleasant in regulating the grandeur of the priesthood by the length of a journey; and determining its grades with a pair of geographical compasses! 3. "The inauguration of the twelve was much *Acts i. 21. more solemn than that of the seventy." Therefore, they must be of a superiour order. Because all the world knows that it is impossible to appoint, though on different occasions, officers of the same rank without the very same degree of solemnity. This is demonstration! Is it not, good reader? But in what was the inauguration of the twelve more solemn than that of the seventy? "In relation to the first," replies the Layman, 66 we find our Saviour directing his disciples to pray to God to send labourers into the harvest. We find him continuing himself a whole night in prayer. In the inauguration of the seventy there was nothing of all this solemnity." P. 154. Nothing! if we read our bible correctly, there is the same direction about prayer to the Lord of the harvest, for labourers in his harvest, coupled with the mission of the seventy, and of the twelve. With respect to his continuing in prayer the whole night previous to the choice of his apostles, is the Layman sure that their appointment was the special cause of our Lord's being thus employed? That he never prayed in this manner upon any other occasion? And particularly, before the election of the seventy? And supposing him to be sure of all this; how does it affect relative dignity ? Christ prayed all night before appointing the twelve, and not before appointing the seventy, therefore, the twelve were a superiour order of ministers! It seems, then, that it was not preaching the gospel, nor performing mighty works in his name, which lay so near the Saviour's heart when he was about to send forth his messengers, as to engage him all night in prayer; but it was the desire to set off a superiour order of them with suitable eclat!-When the twelve are to be commissioned, he prays all night. When the seventy are to be commissioned, he is not at the same trouble; and this merely to show that they are not of such high dignity as the others! Poor disciples! To have the same duties and the same trials with your twelve superiours, and much less interest in your master's affections and prayers! It was no small matter, we see, to be a bishop or something like one, in the days of his flesh: And if the Layman will undertake to prove that the successour-bishops have still the same enviable privilege, we shall not refuse him the praise of courage! However, if they act up to the principle of his argument, there is one inference which we think may be drawn from it with rather clearer evidence than his own for the pre-eminence of the apostles above the seventy; and that is, that when the hierarchy is about ordaining bishops, she prays most fervently; and when presbyters are to be ordained, she does not think it worth while to pray at all! The Layman proceeds: "The apostles were, likewise, superiour," viz. to the seventy, "in power." p. 154. How is this proved? Thus : |