Page:A short account of the rise and progress of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in America.djvu/110

 the suffrage of the church. We will, therefore, only transcribe one verse from Lord King: "The Presbyters ruled in those churches to which they belonged; else this exhortation of Polycurpus to the Presbyters of Philippi would have been in vain: let the Presbyters be tender and merciful, compassionate toward all, reducing those that are in errors, visiting those that are weak, not negligent of the widow and orphan and him that is poor; but ever providing what is honest in the sight of God and men, abstaining from all wrath, respect of persons, and unrighteous judgment, being far from covetousness, not hastily believing a report against any man, not rigid in judgment knowing that we are all faulty and obnoxious to judgment." See Lord King, 4th chap, and 4th verse.

Having thus spoken of Elders, we next proceed to speak of Deacons and their duties, and in doing this, we shall only make an extract from our author, as follows: "Next to the Presbyters were the Deacons, concerning 10*