l magistrate as a magistrate.

The _major_ proposition must be granted. For, 1st, Either then the
Church, in exercising such full power of church government, should have
usurped that power which belonged not at all to her, but only to the
magistrate; for what power belongs to a magistrate, as a magistrate,
belongs to him only; but dare we think that the apostles, or the
primitive purest apostolical churches did or durst exercise all their
power of church government which they exercised, merely by usurpation
without any right thereunto themselves? 2d, Or if the Church usurped
not, &c., but exercised the power which Christ gave her, let the
magistrate show wherein Christ made void the Church's charter, retracted
this power, and gave it unto him.

The minor proposition cannot be denied. For,

1st. It was about 300 years after Christ before any of the Roman
emperors (who had subdued the whole world, Luke ii. 1, under their sole
dominion) became Christian. For Constantine the Great was the first
emperor that received the faith, procured peace to the Church, and gave
her respite from her cruel persecutions, which was in Anno 309 (or
thereabouts) after Christ; before which time the Church was miserably
wasted and butchered with those ten bloody persecutions, by the tyranny
of Nero, and other cruel emperors before Constantine.

2d. Yet within the space of this first 309 or 311 years, all proper
power of church government was fully exercised in the Church of Christ;
not only the word preached, Acts iv. 2; 1 Tim. iii. 16; and sacraments
dispensed, Acts xx. 7; 1 Cor. xi. 17, &c.; Acts ii. 4, and viii. 12: but
also _deacons_ set apart for that office of _deaconship_, Acts vi.:
_elders_ ordained and sent forth, Acts xiii. 1-3, and xiv. 23; 1 Tim.
iv.; Tit. i. 5: public _admonition in use_, Tit. iii. 10; 1 Tim. v. 20:
_excommunication_, 1 Cor. v.; and 1 Tim. i. 20: _absolution_ of the
penitent, 2 Cor. ii. 6, 7, &c.: synodical conventions and decrees, Acts
xv. with xvi. 4. So that we may conclude,

Therefore no proper power of church government was derived from Christ
to the civil magistrate, as a magistrate.

_Argum_. 3d. The magistratical power really, specifically, and
essentially differs from the ecclesiastical power; therefore the civil
magistrate, as a magistrate, cannot be the proper subject of this
ecclesiastical power. Hence we may thus argue:

_Major_. No power essentially, specifically, and really differing from
mag