rulers of the Jewish Church. They were regarded by the Jews as the fountain and spring-head of religious knowledge. They were, most of them, regularly or- dained to the position they held, and could trace their orders by regular descent from Aaron. And yet we rind these very men, at the time when they ought to have been instructors of others, full of prejudice against the truth, and bitter enemies of the Messiah !*
These things are written to show Christians that they must beware of depending too much on ordained men. They must not look up to ministers as Popes, or regard them as infallible. The orders of no church confer infalli- bility, whether they be Episcopal, Presbyterian, or Inde- pendent. Bishops, priests, and deacons, at their best, are only flesh and blood, and may err, both in doctrine and practice, as well as the chief priests and elders of the Jews. Their acts and teaching must always be tested by the word of God. They must be followed so far as they follow Scripture, and no further. There is only one Priest and Bishops of souls, who makes no mistakes. That one is
* The following remarks from Gerhard's commentary are worth reading :
" The Church is not tied to those teachers who are in the regular succession, for they frequently err from the path of truth. In such cases the Church ought not to follow their errors, but to embrace the troth as set forth in the word. Thus, Aaron setting up the golden calf — Urijah the high priest, in the time of Ahaz, building a new al- tar— Pashur and the other priests in Jeremiah's time, all erred most grievously. And in this very passage, the priests sitting in Moses' seat reject the Messiah Himself, and impugn His authority. But if those who succeeded Aaron in the divinely-appointed priesthood of the Old Testament, could err, and, in fact, did occasionally err, how much more likely to err are the Popes of Rome, who cannot prove from God's word that the Pope's office has been instituted by Christ in the New Testament."