may be church officers elected where there is no church, seeing there are magistrates where there is no church. 3.  Then those magistrates, where there is no church, are no magistrates; but that is repugnant to Scripture, which accounts heathen rulers the servants of God, Isa. xlv. 1; Jer. xxv. 9:  and calls them kings, Exod. vi. 13; Isa. xxxi. 35.  And further, if there be no magistrates where there is no church, then the church is the formal constituting cause of magistrates. 4.  Then the commonwealth, as the commonwealth, is the church; and the church, as the church, is the commonwealth:  then the church and the commonwealth are the same. 5.  Then all that are members of the commonwealth are, on that account, because members of the commonwealth, members of the church. 6.  Then the commonwealth, being formally the same with the church, is, as a commonwealth, the mystical body of Christ. 7.  Then the officers of the church are the officers of the commonwealth; the power of the keys gives them right to the civil sword:  and consequently, the ministers of the gospel, as ministers, are justices of the peace, judges, parliament-men, &c., all which how absurd, let the world judge.

2d.  From the co-ordination of the power ecclesiastical and political, in reference to one another:  (this being a received maxim, that subordinate powers are of the same kind; co-ordinate powers are of distinct kinds.) Now, that the power of the Church is co-ordinate with the civil power, may be evidenced as followeth:  1.  The officers of Christ, as officers, are not directly and properly subordinate to the civil power, though in their persons they are subject thereto:  the apostles and pastors may preach, and cast out of the church, against the will of the magistrate, and yet not truly offend magistracy; thus, in doing the duty they have immediately received from God, they must “obey God rather than men,” Acts iv. 19, 20.  And the apostles and pastors must exercise their office (having received a command from Christ) without attending to the command or consent of the civil magistrate for the same; as in casting out the incestuous person, 1 Cor. v. 5:  telling the Church, Matt. xviii. 17:  rejecting a heretic, Tit. iii. 10.  And, 2.  Those acts of power are not directly and formally subordinate to the magistrate, which he himself cannot do, or which belong not to him.  Thus the kings of Israel could not burn incense:  “It appertaineth not unto thee,” 2 Chron. xxvi. 18, 19.  Likewise, none have the power of the keys, but they to whom Christ saith, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel,” Matt. xxviii. 19:  but Christ spake not this to magistrates:  so only those that are sent, Rom. x. 15, and those that are governors, are by Christ placed in the Church. 3.  The officers of the Church can ecclesiastically censure the officers of the state, though not as such, as well as the officers of the state can punish civilly the officers of the