circumstances of the Church has been their character in every age, and the changes that have been produced on these were made by Him alone. It is from a special revelation of his will that the precise character of the laws by which his Church ought to be ruled is obtained; and those ordinances for the government of his house, which are not revealed as His, are without authority. Since the close of the Canon of Scripture, no new light concerning the things of religion has been, or can be, given; and the laws of the New Testament Church are therefore fixed beyond the influence of change. There are various forms of civil government, all of which are consistent with the immutable law of God; and any one of which, accordingly, may warrantably be adopted according to circumstances. But in the Church of God, only one form of government is of Divine right: every other is an invention of man, and destitute of authority. In the course of providence, the institutions of the Church, like the doctrines of religion, will receive accessions of rich illustration; but, like these heavenly doctrines--beyond the resolutions of men, they are, according to the will of God, to stand. _Next_, as members of civil society, under Him as King of nations, they appear. Distinct from the organization of the Church, but also under Christ, is the constitution of civil society. In order to promote communion with God, were the ordinances of the former appointed. In order that God might be obeyed by men in their mutual intercourse with one another, the laws of the latter were decreed. That God might be glorified immediately, the former was constituted; that he might be glorified mediately, the latter was founded. The erection and government of the Church originated in Divine grace. The whole structure of civil government is derived from God as the moral Governor of the universe, but is put under Christ as the Mediator. The laws of the Church of God remain immutable, amid the changes that overtake the various communities of men. The laws of civil society may vary with the course of providence, and yet be still consistent with the perfect standard of moral procedure. The laws of the house of God are applicable to men of every clime. Like all the commandments of the decalogue--which, indeed, they embody, they are binding on men in all possible circumstances and conditions; but, according to the state of society, may civil enactments vary in their absolute character, without transgressing the limits fixed by the moral law. The facts occurring in providence, enlarge not the compass of those laws that were promulgated by the King of Zion to her communion, but demand their application. The laws of civil society ought never to conflict with the principles of eternal righteousness; but with observation and discovery, and every change else in providence, it behoves them to keep pace. In the former, the Lord Jesus is recognised