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CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD:
A
LETTER
TO THE
HON. HEMAN LINCOLN.
BY
BARON  STOW, D.D.,
PASTOR OF THE ROWE-STREET CHURCH, BOSTON.
BOSTON:
GOULD AND LINCOLN,
59 WASHINGTON STREET.
NEW YORK: SHELDON AND COMPANY.
CINCINNATI: GEORGE S. BLANCHARD.
1859.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by
GOULD & LINCOLN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
BELECTROTYPED BY
W. F. DRAPER, ANDOVER, MASS.
PRINTED BY
GEO. C. RAND & AVERY, BOSTON.




CONTENTS.
PAG B
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS,.....              7
I.
THE UNION TIAT IS DESIRABLE,.                 21
I I.
CONSIDERATIONS THAT RENDER CHRISTIAN UNION
DESIRABLE,.........      31
I. THE INJURIOUS EFFECT OF DIVISION UPON THE PIETY OF
THE CHURCH,.....35
II. THE INJURIOUS EFFFT.CT OF DIVISION IN PERVERTING AND
WASTING THE RESOURCES OF THE CHURCH,..  58
III. THE INJURIOUS EFFECT OF DIVISION IN WEAKENING THE
DEMONSTRATION IN FAVOR OF OUR RELIGION,..  79
III.
SOME METHODS BY WHICH OUR OWN DENOMINATION MAY PROBABLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE PIROM3OTION OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD,....110
I. WE MAY ENDEAVOR, CAREFULLY, TO DISPOSSESS OURSELVES OF TIIE SPIRIT OF SECT..      112




nVI               C       ECONTENTS.
PA G
1I. WE MAY CULTIVATE A HIGHER DEGREE OF PERSONAL
HOLINESS,.....  117
III. WE MAY ILLUSTRATE BY OUR OWN PRACTICE THE GREAT
PRINCIPLE, THAT THE WORD OF GOD IS THE SOLE
AUTHORIZED STANDARD IN ALL MATTERS OF RELIGION, 124
IV. WE MAY CHEERFULLY SURRENDER EVERYTHING ADVERSE
TO UNION, WHICH WE ARE NOT BOUND BY OUR ALLEGIANCE TO CHRIST TO RETAIN,...                146
V. WE MAY CAREFULLY REFRAIN FROM EVERYTIIING THAT
MAY UNNECESSARILY TEND TO WIDEN THE BREACH
AMONG CHRISTIANS, OR TEND TO PERPETUATE ITS CONTINUANCE,.........                       150
VI. WE MAY COOPERATE WITH ALL CHRISTIANS IN EVERYTHING NOT INTERDICTED BY THE LAWS OF CHRIST,.  170
VII. WE MAY ENCOURAGE A PACIFIC MINISTRY,..  191
VIII. WE MAY PATRONIZE A PEACE-MAKING PRESS,.    202
IX. WE MAY IMPLORE A LARGER EFFUSION OF THE HOILY
SPIRIT,..........204




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
TO THE HONORABLE HEMAN LINCOLN:
MY DEAR CHRISTIAN BROTHER,As I have a few thoughts
upon an important subject which I wish to convey, in a familiar manner, to those Christian disciples by whose distinctive name we are both
known, and to whom we sustain endeared relations, I venture respectfully to avail myself of the
influence of your name as a valuable aid to their
transmission.
I can think of no fitter medium.  For nearly
sixty years you have been attached by profession
and by practice to the people called Baptists,
and during that period you have never wavered
from the great principles on which their churches
have ever been "grounded and settled."  Having
been led to the cross for pardon, and introduced
into the "household of faith," by that eminent
servant of God, whose memory is so fragrant in




8          CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
our American Zion, the Rev. Dr. Baldwin; and
having enjoyed, through many years, not only
the benefits of his instructive ministry, but the
peculiar advantages of a confidential intimacy
which death only could interrupt, you had the
best of facilities for acquiring a thorough knowledge of Divine truth, and becoming intelligently
established in those doctrines which are the believer's rock of strength. The result has been
seen in your history, which, by the grace of God,
has been happily protracted. You are understood
to be now, at fourscore, what you was previous
to your majority- a Baptist.  As such, you are
widely known, and as widely respected. Though
you have out-lived whole generations, and though
nearly all who knew you best have gone to their
final home, yet the name of no other layman in
our ecclesiastical connection is to-day familiar to
so many ears, and dear to so many hearts, as the
name you bear.
But it is not merely or chiefly the estimation
in which you are held that prompts me to associate with your name this particular service. Having, for more than thirty years, been favored with
your personal friendship, and also, as I believe,
with your fraternal confidence, I have had ample
opportunity to become acquainted with your opinions and feelings with respect to every question




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           9
that pertains to the Christian Life and the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. We have
often conversed upon the evil of schisms among
the friends of Christ, and the desirableness of
some cordial, successful endeavor to bring nearer
together the divided portions of that Body of
which Christ is the Head; and I understand that
your views, and those which may find expression
in this Letter, are essentially coincident. I know
not the particular in which we have ever disagreed; and the fact that our Christian sympathies
have run so long and so concurrently in a common channel, has contributed largely to the pleasure of my ministry. However the advocates of
a relaxed carefulness in Christian morals may have
regarded you as exact and scrupulous, you have
never, I am sure, been charged with anything like
narrowness or exclusiveness in your love to the
great Christian brotherhood. Immovably as you
have rested upon the fundamental truths of Divine
Revelation, as you understand them, and firmly
as you have adhered to the ecclesiastical polity
which you believe to be developed in the New
Testament, the discovery of the first indication of
sectarian bigotry is reserved for the man who has
not yet appeared.  The right of private judgment - that primary principle dear to every consistent Baptist - I have never known you to ques



10         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
tion, either directly or by implication. You have
been accustomed to respect the consciences of
others just as you would have your own conscience respected.  While you have been compelled by assured convictions to occupy essentially
the platform of a sect, yet, as fitting occasions
have offered, you have never failed to rise superior to that platform, and occupy the higher,
broader plane of Christian fraternity, manifesting your fellowship with multitudes not included
in your own denomination.  Your special connection with a people of a particular. name, you
have never felt to be a bondage. Your comprehensive brotherly love has found, in numerous
ways, unrestricted scope. You have desired no
greater freedom than you have uniformly enjoyed;
and of the privileges of a free Christian you have,
at pleasure, availed yourself, ever mindful of all
Divine limitations, ever having respect to "the
perfect Law of liberty."  Hence you have been
accustomed, during a long life, not only to associate on equal terms with Christians of other
names, but also to cooperate with them in works
of benevolence. This has been your delight; and
it has given you a wide-spread influence, conciliating thousands, not only towards yourself as
liberal, but also towards the denomination whose
spirit you represented.  In reviewing the past




CHRISTIAN BROTI-IERHOOD.         11
from your present position on the frontier of the
Better Land, you do not, I am confident, regret
that you have cherished, on so broad a scale,
this spirit, adding to your "brotherly-kindness
charity," or that you have given to this feeling of
your heart so varied and distinct an expression.
Assuredly, your eternal future is brightened by
the prospect of association with many whom
you have known here, not as Baptists, but as
Christians,-the redeemed by the blood of our
Saviour.
Some personal explanations, at this point, may
not be impertinent. While on a journey to New
York, in the autumn of 1842, I had a seat for several hours by the side of a clergyman of another
denomination, whom I had long known as a devoted Christian, and for whom I cherished a strong
fraternal affection. We had labored together in
efforts for the spiritual benefit of our fellow-men,
and on almost every point of Christian truth and
duty our views had ever been in delightful harmony. Our conversation, during those hours of
spiritual communion, turned mainly upon prayer
as a means of promoting personal holiness, and
more particularly upon the idea suggested by the
words of the apostle- "supplication for all saints."
As an illustration of his own views, my excellent




12         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
brother mentioned the happy effect upon his own
mind of a practical compliance with that suggestion. His words were: "I have been a happier
man ever since I adopted the practice of always
praying for other denominations before I pray
for my own, or even for myself. MIy heart has
been drawn out, as it never was before, in love
for all Christians. I now know what it is to sympathize in their afflictions and rejoice in their
prosperity, and they all seem to me as my Father's family." These remarks were lodged in my
memory, and became the subject of many reflections, and the occasion of some tender emotions.
A few months afterwards, being disqualified, by
the loss of my voice, for public labor, I availed
myself of the silence and solitude to which I was
subjected, to do what I never could have accomplished amid the activities of my pastoral vocation,- I put upon paper the substance of the
following communication.  The manuscript has
remained in my hands more than fifteen years, —
a period much longer than Horace recommends
to authors for purposes of revision and emendation. The whole has been since rewritten with
as much of care as was compatible with multiplied public duties. You will perceive that I
have not confined myself to a development of
the germinal thought, - prayer for all Christians,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           13
— but I have taken a much broader range, and
introduced that thought as one of a series.
I have adopted the epistolary, rather than the
didactic or the declamatory, style, as possessing
some peculiar advantages, especially as being the
more familiar and affectionate mode of address,
and adapted to the present condition of my moral
feelings.
That my views will meet from  all a cordial
assent, I do not, of course, anticipate.  Still, I
venture the expectation that by many they will
be kindly welcomed; for I am sure that, in our denomination, there are thousands in whose bosoms
is a sympathetic chord that ever vibrates at the
lightest touch of this tender subject, -thousands
who are inquiring for some path in which they
can legitimately and honestly walk towards a
consummation for which their hearts are ever
longing. To all such I would gladly render some
aid; and in the attempt I trust it will not appear
that I assume the office of censor, or even of
teacher.  My desire is to suggest, without a
breach of modesty, such considerations as may
possibly facilitate thought and activity in the
desirable direction. Should the effort contribute
in any measure towards the accomplishment of
its intended object, I shall be grateful to Him
to whom I regard myself as indebted, both for
2




14         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
the motive by which it has been prompted, and
for the Spirit under whose guidance it has been
conceived and executed.
You, my brother, understand me, and will be
apprehensive of no sinister design, on my part,
to remove any of the ancient land-marks. And
yet your observation has taught you how possible it is that I may be suspected of a tendency
to diverge from the "old paths," and a disposition to sacrifice truth upon the altar of theory.'
You are aware of no such proclivity. "I dwell
among mine own people."  From  convictions
formed in early life, and often since reviewed, I
am  conscientiously one of them, and one with
them.  I know not that I have ever felt or exhibited antipathy to any denomination of Christians.
I have seen excellences in all, such as we might
profitably imitate, and I have never seen the
hour when I was not perfectly willing, should
my investigations touching the correctness of
our belief and practice make the duty obvious,
to change my ecclesiastical name and relations,
and unite with any portion of "the household of
1 "Commonly, it brings a man under suspicion of favoring
some heresy, or abating his zeal, if he but attempt a pacificatory work." -Baxter's Reformed Pastor.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          15
faith," where truth might appear to be more fully
honored, and Christ more faithfully obeyed. But
in every instance I have returned from the examination of the infallible Word with increased confidence in the general scripturalness of our doctrine and polity. As I understand the teachings
of our Lord and his inspired Apostles, I cannot
honestly be otherwise than what I have been from
the beginning; and though I should, for all reasons, prefer the name which was given to believers
at Antioch, and am always grieved when I think
of the multiplicity of names by which that comprehensive and appropriate designation has been
overlaid and degraded; yet, as circumstances are,
-as the Christian host is divided and subdivided
into a great variety of sects, every one with its
distinctive appellation, -I am not ashamed of
the one by which we are recognized. It is not
wanting in antiquity, and, as now understood, it
is sufficiently expressive. It denotes what I really
am, and what you are, and what, without a new
revelation, we expect to be until we shall join
that portion of "the whole family" to every one
of whom is given "a new name which no man
knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." Nor am
I, by comparison, ashamed of my company; for,
although there may be some persons and some
things among us that I suppose could well be




16        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
spared, and others that might be greatly improved,
yet here are a people with whom I can happily
labor for Christian ends, and from whom I should
count it an affliction to be separated. To the
practical development of those principles which
we have learned at the feet of our great Teacher,
my life is devoted.  Whatever, therefore, you
may find in this fraternal communication, you
need not be reluctant to receive on the ground
of any apprehension that the writer has changed
his views, or is becoming indifferent to the claims
of any truth or any duty. "I can do nothing
against the truth;" my heart's desire is to do
something "for the truth."
Now, dear brother, before we proceed to another
sentence, let us bow our "knees unto the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named," imploring the illuminations of that Divine Spirit,
in whose "light we see light," and by whose
gracious influence we are ever prepared to receive,
as well as qualified to discover, the truth. Were
a form needed, we have one sufficiently appropriate in the "Collect for Unity."
"0 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace, give us
grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers
we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           17
all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may
hinder us from godly union and concord; that,
as there is but one Body, and one Spirit, and
one Hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith,
one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so
we may henceforth be all of one heart, and of
one soul, united in one holy bond'of truth and
peace, of faith and charity, and may with one
mind and one mouth glorify Thee, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen."
I take it for granted that every one, who would
make good his title to the name of CHRISTIAN,
will agree with me that the interest which seems
to be awakened with respect to the great question
of Christian union, is a very encouraging feature
of our most interesting age. Whatever may be
thought of the many treatises upon the subject
with which our heads and hearts are so faithfully
plied; or, whatever our estimate of the diversified
theories which are proposed, indicating modes by
which it is confidently insisted that the desirable
end can be attained, we must all feel and acknowledge that the very idea of harmonious concert
among Christians of every name is creditable to
the period in which it is cordially entertained;
and that the extent to which this idea, so full of
2*




18          CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
promise to-the Church' and the world, is countenanced and cherished by the present generation
of believers, concurs with- other facts to distinguish the nineteenth century from  a long series
of its predecessors.  I concede  that in  every
period since the first schism  in the Church of
Christ, there have  been good men of various
communions who  have  deplored  the  evils of
division, and lifted up a voice of strength in
earnest rebuke of the spirit of sectarianism, and
fervently implored the great Founder to re-melt,
and re-unite, and re-mould the alienated  fragments.  But, in our day, this interest is not confined to a few; it is felt, deeply and solemnly,
by the great majority of the truly spiritual, the
working class of every evangelical denomination.
The causes which have contributed especially
to awaken such attention to this important subject, may doubtless be found in certain great
facts which happily distinguish our times from
all that have preceded them since the martyrdom
of the Apostles; - such as the enlarged effusion
of the Holy Spirit, who is preeminently the " Repairer of the breach, the Restorer of paths to
dwell in;" the prevalence of religious revivals,
1 I shall often use the term Church in its broad acceptation,
as denoting the whole body of professed believers, irrespective
of their distinctive names.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          19
which are always, so far as they are genuine,
conducive to Christian affection and concord;
the efforts of all evangelical denominations to
convert the heathen to Christ-a service in
which they practically ascertain the importance
of agreement and cooperation; and the increased
acquaintance of different sects with one another,
resulting from their frequent assemblage and familiar intercourse in voluntary associations, where
they have learned to hold in courteous abeyance
their distinctive peculiarities, and, taking their
high position, side by side, on the broad maximum  of agreement, to be fraternal co-workers
in a common enterprise.  The practical tendencies of the age have given to the question a
practical form; and, while thousands have concurred in both feeling and opinion that something ought to be done to restore union,-that
union which the Saviour commanded, and for
which he prayed, - the general inquiry has been,
and still is, what? What should be done? What
can be done?  The object is good; is it attainable?  Much has been said and much written,not all, perhaps, the wisest, or the best adapted
to accomplish the cherished purpose,- yet, all
indicative of a painful conviction that somewhere
there is flagrant wrong, and that it is high time
the wrong should be sought out, and, like the




20         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
dross that hinders fused metal from welding, be
put forever away.
It is no part of my design to examine the theories which have been advanced upon this subject,
or to propose any specific plan of my own for
the reunion of the dismembered body of Christ.
My object is rather to explain what I suppose to
be the union at which all Christians should aim;
to point out some of the evil effects of disunion;
to suggest reasons why we should do all we can,
consistently with faithful allegiance to Christ, to
promote the union of all his disciples; and to
indicate methods by which we may aid in the
production of so important a result. I shall not
intermeddle with the cherished principles or the
polity of any denomination  of Christians, but
shall endeavor to confine myself to matters which.are extraneous to whatever any sect may regard
as fundamental to its own ecclesiastical organization. My present concern is more with the
spirit of sect, than with its constitution, or creed,
or discipline.
And may the Holy Spirit, "from whom all holy
desires, all good counsels, and all just works do
proceed," so inspire and direct as that there shall
be no violation of that great melting, combining
principle, the  charity which "rejoiceth in the
truth," and is "the bond of perfectness."




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          21
I.
THE UNION THAT IS DESIRABLE.
THE Saviour required his disciples to be united,
and for their oneness he prayed. Can there be
any diversity of opinion as to the extent of his
meaning, when he said, "One is your Master,
even Christ, and ALL YE are brethren?"  Or,
when he said, "Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold; them  also I must bring, and
they shall hear my voice; and there shall be
ONE FOLD, and one shepherd?"  Or, when he
said, "A new commandment I give unto you,
that ye love one another," and enforced the requirement by proposing his own example as the
model for our imitation,-"As I have loved you,
that ye also love one another?"  Or, when he
prayed with touching earnestness, "That they
may be one, even as we are; I in thee, and thou
in me, that they may be made PERFECT IN ONE:
neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
who shall believe on me through their word;
that they ALL may be one, as thou, Father, art
in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE
IN us?" The idea of union which dwelt in his




22         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
mind, while uttering such language, is unquestionably the idea which ought to exist, unmodified, in our minds, and in accordance with which
we should faithfully shape our whole spirit and
conduct. The Saviour foresaw and appreciated
the mischiefs that would result from the divisions
and alienations and strifes of his professed followers; and he as perfectly understood the benefits which would accrue, both to themselves and to
a perishing world, provided they would affectionately cooperate in their Master's service. Hence
the frequency and the earnestness with which
he referred to this point, and the diversified
methods which he adopted to impress upon his
people the importance of remaining undivided.
The kind of union that is to be desired and
sought, may be seen in the primitive Churches,
not, indeed, in absolute perfection, but in the
best form that has ever been exhibited. After the
number of disciples had greatly increased, so as
to be counted by thousands, it is testified of
them, and much to their credit, as well as to the
honor of Christianity, that "The whole multitude
of them that believed were of ONE HEART, and
ONE SOUL." No one doubts that they kept "the
unity of the spirit in the bond of peace;" that
they had "one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism;"
that they were to a degree never since surpassed,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            23
united, and that they realized in large measure
the blessedness of those who feel and act as "ONE
in Christ Jesus," for "they were all filled with
the Holy Ghost, and spake the word of God with
great boldness," and "great grace was upon them
all," and "the Lord added to the church daily
the saved."' Assuredly, the Church was then one,
presenting to the world the image of a happy,
united family; all the children of one Father;
all the disciples of one Teacher; "all by one
Spirit baptized into one body;" all "partakers
of one bread;" all actuated by one desire, and
moving in one line toward one grand result. According to the prediction, they had "one heart
and one way;" they "served the Lord with one
consent;" they were often "with one accord in
one place;" they had access through "one Mediator," by "one Spirit," to "one God and Father
of all;" they were joint-heirs to one inheritance;
"Their fears, their hopes, their aims were one,
Their comforts and their cares."
When shall the Redeemer again behold upon the
earth a scene so resplendent with moral beauty?
When shall a selfish world again yield before the
moral energy of such Christians?
This delightful union was maintained for a con1 Toubs awo'oe'vovs.




24         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
siderable period without essential change. Questions of expediency and policy occasionally arose
that threatened to interrupt the harmony of feeling; but how  soon and how happily were all
discordant views adjusted the moment they were
submitted to the intelligent and peace-loving,
peace-making, Apostles! Converts from  all nations were introduced in large numbers; and yet,
notwithstanding the wide diversities in their intellectual character, their early training, their systems of philosophy, their modes of worship, they
were so effectually assimilated by the renewing
Spirit, that they blended most harmoniously into
one body, and were no longer Jew or Samaritan,
Greek or Barbarian, Platonist or Epicurean, Pharisee or Sadducee, Circumcised or Uncircumcised,
but were all " one in Christ," and their one name
was CHRISTIAN.  Naturally enough, the converts
were particularly attached to the ministers by
whom they believed, and in a few instances, as
at Corinth, this personal preference for "my minister" assumed an objectionable form, and called
for pointed reprehension; but many years passed
before this or any other evil effectuated those
radical divisions which have since occasioned so
injurious a disruption of the ligaments of Christian fellowship.  With the exception of some
minor dissensions that were only temporary and




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             25
easily healed, and an occasional outbreak of party
spirit or selfish rivalry that a single reproof would
quell,- all indicative that the  Church in her
holiest period was imperfect,-the Christianity
of the first century was distinguished by a degree
of union among her disciples that no subsequent
age has witnessed. No divisions affected their
real unity, or prevented their affectionate cooperation in the great enterprise which their Master
had charged them  to execute.  Hence, the intelligent Waddington, when speaking of the early
Christians, justly says that "their variations were
without schism, and  their differences without
acrimony."
From  the recorded Acts of the Apostles, as
well as from their Epistles, we learn how pacific
was their spirit, and how studiously they sought
to preserve inviolate the unity and the fellowship of all the followers of Christ. Let any person read these portions of the inspired volume,
with candid and careful reference to the point
now under consideration, and he will be not only
surprised at the amount of attention which the
Apostles bestowed upon it, but deeply impressed
with the importance which they manifestly attached to it.  To such a reader it will be clearly
obvious that the idea of Christian union, of which
I have spoken as dwelling in the mind of their
3




26         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
incarnate Lord, had been, by some process, transferred entire to their minds, and that they were
earnestly desirous to transfer it, unmodified, to the
minds of all believers, Jew and Gentile. Everywhere do we find them teaching that Christians,
irrespective of national, civil, social distinctions,
are incorporated into one society, and that Christ
is the basis and the bond of this association; " for
he is our peace," said they, " who hath made both
one, and hath broken down the middle wall of
partition between us.... to make in himself of
twain one new  man, so making peace."  Well
has it been said that "this two fold doctrine is
a subject which imparts an entire character to
some of the epistles, and which furnishes a clew
to much in nearly all."  Any reader, by taking
this' clew, may ascertain fQr himself the character
of the apostolic spirit and the bearings of apostolic
influence; and, if he has any acquaintance with
the power of religious teachers, by one course
to promote Christian harmony, or by an opposite
course to foment unchristian discord, he will not
wonder, after a careful study of the writings,
the labors, and the spirit of the Apostles, that
during their lives the Church was essentially one
harmonious and devoted brotherhood.  And if
he is one who truly grieves over the separations,
and contentions, and dishonors of God's people,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERIIOOD.          27
he will mournfully exclaim,' 0 that none but
men of such principles and such tempers had
ever been found among their guides and teachers!"  Alas! how soon was the true apostolic
succession interrupted, and men of selfish motives
and belligerent dispositions allowed to disjoint
and scatter, in mangled fragments, the body which
Paul and Peter, John and James, left compactly
and beautifully one! The Lord in mercy give
to his Churches once more a ministry whose influence shall be soothing, healing, nourishing!
The desirable union among the friends of Christ
is precisely that which we find so clearly sketched
and made illustriously prominent in the New
Testament. It is that which the Saviour so tenderly and impressively enjoined upon his followers, and for the completeness and universality
and perpetuity of which he, on his way to the
Garden of Sorrows, and in anticipation of the
cross, so fervently prayed. It is that which is
so delightfully represented as having existed in
"the multitude of them that believed " at Jerusalem, - that nucleus of the Church universal, - the
very model in faith, and love, and obedience, to
which all ecclesiastical organizations should have
been faithfully conformed. It is that which the
Apostles and their coadjutors in the sacred ministry sought most studiously to maintain around




28         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
the cross as the central attraction and the bond
of fellowship, and which they were successful, to
a wonderful extent, in preserving unbroken till
the last of them went up to receive his reward.
Let all Christians be like their primitive brethren,
believing what they believed, loving as they loved,
obeying as they obeyed, and the union of the first
century will be the union of the nineteenth century.
You, my brother, will regard me as sufficiently
specific and definite. By descending to particulars, I should be liable to an assumption of the
prerogatives of an interpreter, and thus meddle
with a department that is foreign to my plan,
and subversive of my main design. And yet, I
hesitate not to say that, while I thus speak in
general terms of the union which the New Testament recommends and illustrates by examples,
as the kind of union that is desirable, I have no
difficulty in determining for myself what the New
Testament teaches upon this subject. Is it in
any sense doubtful what the Saviour required
his disciples to be and to do, that they might
be united to him  and to one another?  Does
any obscurity rest upon the inspired record of
the belief, the spirit, or the practice, of the primitive Churches?  Are the Apostles at all equivocal in their teachings with respect to the kind
of agreement and assimilation that is essential




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD              29
to real, permanent union?  Is there any reason
to suppose, that among the Christians of the first
century, there were various sects, and that their
union consisted in affectionate association irrespective of diversity of sentiment and practice?
Does any one believe that the early Churches had
different and clashing creeds, or that they administered the ordinances in various and dissimilar
forms?'The waters that encompass the globe are known
by different names, as the Atlantic, the Pacific,
the Baltic, the Mediterranean; but these names
denote only territorial distinctions, never suggesting the idea of difference of quality. They
commingle and coalesce without any indications
of either chemical or mechanical disfellowship.'
So also in the age of the Apostles there were
territorial divisions among Christians, for there
were the "Churches in Judea," the "Churches
in Asia," the "Churches in Macedonia," and in
many other countries and provinces; but these
names never denoted any diversity in creed, spirit,
or form. Christians of every country, every color,
every condition, were spiritually, doctrinally, practically one. Such is the oneness now desirable;
i "Circumquaque porro infatigati fertur fluctus oceani; unus
quidem, sed multis cognominibus instructus." - Dion.
3*




30           CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
and happy will be that day when we can speak
of the Churches in England, Burmah, Denmark,
Jamaica, Virginia, Illinois, Rhode Island, Nova
Scotia, and, knowing no other distinction than
the geographical, can recognize all these companies of believers as one; so that when their members  pass from   one  country  or one  State to
another, they may everywhere be welcomed, not
as belonging  to  a particular denomination, but
as belonging to Christ, and following in "the
footsteps of the flock."l Party names must be
dropped, party lines must be obliterated, party
spirit must be put away, party measures must
be discontinued; and all Christians must have
"one heart and  one way;" then will there be
the desirable union, —that which  the  Son  of
God requires of his people as essential to  the
full development of their character, and to their
largest usefulness as his representatives and witnesses.
1 "The union of Christians on earth is perfectly consistent
with many churches, each complete in itself. There is no
visible centre of unity on earth to the Christian Church, as
there was to the Jewish. In the Jewish Church, one candlestick with its seven branches typified the Church of God in
complete unity, as confined to one nation, with one central
place of union at Jerusalem; but in the Gentile churches the emblem is different. There are seven golden candlesticks, and in
the midst of them one like unto the Son of man." - Bickersteth.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD           31
II.
CONSIDERATIONS THAT RENDER CHRISTIAN UNION
DESIRABLE.
THESE, my dear brother, cannot be adequately
represented without a more particular and extended reference, than I could wish were necessary, to the deplorable mischiefs of division. It
would be far more agreeable to confine my observation, and solicit your attention, to the more
illuminated and cheering side of the picture,- to
that delightful state of things which we anticipate, not in our day, but somewhere in the brightening future, when shall return the palmy scenes
of primitive unanimity, primitive affection, and
primitive concert; when "Ephraim shall not envy
Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim;" when
party names shall all be merged and disappear
in the one sufficient designation, CHRISTIAN;
when "there shall be one fold," as well as "one
Shepherd; " when the whole sacramental host of
God shall rally around one standard, the bloodred Cross, all prompt to obey the orders of one
Leader, all submissively and peacefully "following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth."  How




32         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
inspiring, how soul-elevating the anticipation!
Lovely as was the landscape to the natural eye
when the "dew  descended upon the mountains
of Zion," imparting freshness to vegetation, far
lovelier to the moral vision will be that scene
of moral beauty where "BRETHREN DWELL TOGETHER I  UNITY," and in view of which all
holy beings will exclaim, "Behold, how good and
how pleasant!"  That is a scene which, with
pencil dipped in the "rainbow round about the
throne," I would fain describe.  But, alas! it is
one which has never greeted my eye, nor has it
greeted yours.  Our predecessors through long
ages, and many of our cotemporaries, have desired to see it,
"But died without the sight."
It is a state of things which we contemplate
only by the visual power of faith. Inspired history has sketched it on the Past, when the Church
was young, elastic, and fair, with a single Head
to control her movements, and a single Heart to
send the common element of life to her extremities. Imagination gives vividness to the picture;
we admire it as the ideal of moral loveliness; and
yet we admire with a sigh that it finds no actual
counterpart in the Present. Inspired prophecy
has painted it on the Future, and shown us the




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           33
Church in the vigor of meridian life, one and indivisible, well-proportioned and athletic, radiant
with glory, -"fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
and terrible as an army with banners." And here,
as we gaze, our hearts are fired with rapture, and
naught interposes to diminish the "joy of hope,"
but the saddening reflection that the scene we
are viewing still lies in the dim perspective, and
that earth may roll off many more of its probationary years before it will be hailed as a present
reality, and we cry, "0 Lord, how long?"
But while the blessed effects of genuine Christian Brotherhood belong to a department of observation where we walk by faith, the evils of schism
are present and come within the realizations of
sight. And so long as these evils exist,- and
exist they will till schism is no more,- we gain
nothing valuable by refusing to consider them,
or to open our minds to a full conviction of their
perniciousness. I may probaby be told that some
good has accrued to the Church and to the world,
from the distribution of Christians into separate
and rival sects, and that in strict justice I ought
to mention the benefits as well as the injuries of
division. Benefits of Christian disunion! And
is the brother who makes this intimation, really
in earnest?  Were I treating of the Divine dis



34         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
pensations towards the grievously imperfect, I
might show how God has manifested "the riches
of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering," by patiently enduring "their manners in the
wilderness," and proved himself wise and able to
educe some good from so great a mass of heavenhated enormity. But, surely, it will not be pretended that the benefits referred to counterbalance
one in a thousand of the known and felt evils;
or that they are really more than incidental effects
secured by the wisdom  and power of an overruling Providence; or that they constitute, all
together, any valid reason why schism should be
continued another day.  I may, then, without
the imputation of injustice or one-sidedness, pass
them  over, as not properly belonging to my subject; at the same time rendering gratitude to
God that he has applied his infinite faculties to
the eduction of good from a source so fearfully
charged with pernicious elements; that he has
so counteracted the tendencies to decomposition
as to preserve life in the divided membership;
and that he has, in any degree, caused a system
of wrong that, like all sin, is infernal in its origin,
and destructive in its bearings, to glorify his
holy Name.
As it is neither important to my object, nor
consistent with the brevity which I wish to study,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           35
that I should attempt a minute and extended
description of all the evils of disunion among
Christians, I shall limit my specifications to a few
of the more prominent; and these I mention for
the sole purpose of exhibiting more fairly and
forcibly the reasons why we should seek a restoration of that harmony which we all concur in
regarding as desirable.
1. THE INJURIOUS EFFECT OF DIVISION UPON THE
PIETY OF THE CHURCH.
The Church consists of individuals, every one
of whom is a distinct being, possessing capabilities all his own, and directly responsible for his
character and conduct to his final Judge. The
piety of the Church, therefore, is neither more
nor less than the sum  of the piety of all her
members; just as her numerical strength is the
sum of all the persons included in her membership. And there is no way of improving or deteriorating her piety but by improving or deteriorating the piety of her individual constituents.
Whatever, therefore, has an unfavorable effect
upon the personal holiness of her members, is
detrimental to the holiness of the body.
The Gospel recognizes us all as moral beings
in the process of training for a higher position,




36         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
and requires that, by availing ourselves of the
abundant provisions of the new  covenant, we
should individually aim at the formation of perfect religious character. We are not authorized
to be satisfied with anything less than complete
conformity to all the laws under which God our
Moral Governor has placed us. To the production of such a result, all the agencies and instrumentalities of the system  of Grace are wisely
adapted; and it is not only recommended as a
privilege, but commanded as a duty, and encouraged by promises, that, in the use of appointed
means, we should "grow in grace," and "go on
unto perfection."  "Be ye holy," is the unrepealable requirement.  Christ, the atoning Saviour,
"gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from  all iniquity," freely pouring out his blood
which "cleanseth us fiom  all sin."  The truths
which he communicated, and the duties which he
enjoined, and the discipline which he appointed,
and the hopes which he encouraged, all have
reference to this end, the complete sanctification
of his people. When he "ascended up far above
all heavens," he "gave gifts unto men," such as
apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors, and teachers, all "for the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           37
the spirit, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ." The Apostle
Paul assures us that the object he had in view,
while "warning every man, and teaching every
man, in all wisdom," was that he "might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."  "This
also we wish," he says, "even your perfection;"
and his prayer for his brethren was, that the God
of Peace —not the God of dissension, but "the
very God of Peace "-would "sanctify you wholly,
and preserve your whole body, and soul, and
spirit, blameless unto the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ."
Whatever may be the opinions of Christians
as to the practicability of certain attainments in
the present life, I suppose it is the desire of every
one to be "cleansed from  all unrighteousness,"
and the prayer of every one that God would
"create" in him "a clean heart," and the habit
of every one to "press toward the mark for the
prize," "perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
And I presume that every Christian, in his pursuit of that "holiness, without which no man shall
see the Lord," has found his soul entangled by
influences that interfere with his progress, - influences from which he is obliged to disengage himself before he can successfully proceed. Incum4




38          CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
bered with weights, how could the racer outstrip
his competitors? Ensnared by besetting sins, or
by anything that compresses or restrains the freeborn spirit, how can the Christian bound onward
as he should in the highway of the redeemed,
the "way of holiness " that is cast up for the convenience of the Lord's ransomed?
Have you, my brother, never perceived the
injurious tendency, in this respect, of the sectarian divisions among the professed followers of
Christ? Is not the spirit of sect enthralling in
its influence-preventing, like a tether, the ascent
of the soul into that fulness of freedom for which
it longs and sighs? And just in proportion as a
soul has been emancipated from that spirit, allowing its affections to spread out over the whole
multitude of the redeemed, has it not felt itself
unbound, and facilitated in its soarings into a
region where its atmosphere is purer, and its
horizon wider?
It was the prayer of an ancient Christian, eminent for his struggles after personal holiness:
"Coarctationes cordis mei dilata;
Et ex angustiis meis educ me."
He perceived, he felt the evils of a contracted
heart, and desired its dilatation. Confined within




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          39
narrow limits, he could neither breathe freely,
nor work effectively, and he prayed to be led out
into a larger place. Said another, whose piety
was of still higher order: "I will run in the way
of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge
my heart." And the Apostle Paul exhorted the
members of a certain Church whom he desired
to be eminently holy: "Be ye also enlarged."
The injurious bearing of this great evil, in one
direction at least, is very justly described by a
powerful writer of our own country. "Upon the
religious intellect," says the late Rev. Dr. Mason,
"sectarian feelings and fellowship produce an
effect analogous to that of the division of labor
upon mechanical ingenuity. By concentrating its
operations in a few points, or perhaps in a single
one, they render it peculiarly acute and discriminating within those limits, at the expense of
enfeebling or destroying its general power. Conversations are cherished, books are read, time
expended, faculties employed, not for the purpose of acquiring larger views of the Redeemer's
truth, grace, kingdom and glory; but for the purpose of training more accurate disputants upon
the heads of sectarian collision. Here men distinguish themselves; here they shine; here they
gratify their vanity, which they often mistake for
conscience."




40        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
Perhaps I cannot do better than to quote the
same writer's remarks touching the influence of
this spirit upon the practical judgment. "This,"
he says, "is clearly seen in the estimate which
animated sectarians form of character. The good
qualities of their own adherent they readily perceive, admire, and extol; his failings they endure
with patience; and his faults, which they dare not
justify, they can overlook and extenuate. But,
should he quit their connection, the first are disparaged, the second are no longer tolerable, and
the third swell into crimes. On the other hand,
virtues and graces in a different party, they are
apt to admit with reluctance, and rarely without
qualification. But, lo! all is altered!.... Our
breasts fill with the milk of human kindness; and
we welcome to our hearts the very man whom,
a week before, we eyed askance, and should have
thought to have been a spot in our feast of charity.
Nay, we are often summarily convinced that a
person of dubious character has been injured and
persecuted. Our inquiries are conducted with the
nicest delicacy. So gentle our temper! so charitable our construction! so large an allowance for
infirmity! so deep our sympathy!  Whence the
niracle?  Has a seraph, with fire from the altar
of God, touched these men of unclean lips, and
taken away the stains which alarmed our purity?




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             41
Oh no!  They are precisely what they were.
Wherefore, then, this change in eyesight, in feelings, in behaviour? Simple inquirer, thou knowest
nothing of party magic! They have come, or are
coming, or are expected to come, over to us."
If such are vicious tendencies of the spirit of
sect, —and who will venture the averment that
they are not? -then it is not difficult to see how
the heart may be injuriously affected, and the
quality of one's religion seriously impaired. If
the religious intellect is thus dwarfed and shrivelled down to the diminutiveness of an inferior
particular which it habitually contemplates and
elaborates; and if the practical judgment is thus
perverted and seduced into wrong estimates of
the good and evil of moral character, just according as that character is identified with our party,
or their party; surely the moral feelings will not
remain uncontracted, unperverted, unseduced, but
will inevitably suffer a deplorable deterioration.
It is an office of religion to enlarge and ennoble
the little mind, by making it familiar with great
subjects, filling it with great ideas, prompting it
to the accomplishment of great ends, opening
upon its observation great scenes, giving it a
great field for the free play of its faculties and
affections, proposing a great Model for imitation,
holding out a great prize as the reward of great
4*




42         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
endeavors. The sectarian spirit reduces the great
mind-it would the mind of an angel-to narrow dimensions, by restricting its contemplations,
its solicitudes, its aims, its efforts to insignificant
matters, often microscopic points, unbefitting the
dignity of its nature and the glory of its destiny.
Another damaging effect of the divisions among
Christians is, that, whatever the sect in which we
choose our home, we are likely to find the field of
our affections circumscribed. Few will acknowledge the truth of this statement until they shall
have examined facts and analyzed their own feelings. Accustomed to compression, we may be
unaware of the stringencies of our condition,
and think ourselves free when we are unduly restrained. Those who are without the limits of
our particular denomination, provided we think
on the whole that they are Christians, we may
regard with some favor, and we may say some
kind words respecting them, and sigh out some
occasional regrets that such good people should
not be altogether such as we are. The feeling
which we cherish towards them we denominate
by the sacred name of Charity,-a term which
has been robbed of its true import, just in proportion as the godlike quality which it denotes
has been transmuted into something spurious. In




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            43
the days and in the writings of the Apostles it
represented the crowning excellence, the uppermost stratum of the pyramid of graces, of which
faith was the lowest, resting on "the Rock of salvation."  Charity was then Love, and nothing
else; and, apart from it, as the finish and adornment, religious character was a deformity. But
in our times, the wdrd has become the name of
a mingled feeling, in which good-will, condescension, and even pity, are the ingredients measured
out with all the nicety and cautiousness of a
medical prescription. Charity! Yes, Charity, in
the modern acceptation of the term, is that which
we give to Christians who "follow not with us."
"On the whole, notwithstanding their defects, I
have charity for them," is the very significant
admission which Christ daily hears from the lips
of his redeemed, renewed, dependent disciples!
"I love them, notwithstanding some deficiencies,"
would convey to any hearer a different idea. But
"brotherly love" is too often reserved for the
party to which the individual belongs, -yes, that
is the word, belongs; fdr a party-man in religion
is not his own, nor is he Christ's,-he belongs
to his party. It is natural-and the propriety
of the feeling, within certain limits, need not be
questioned - that we should feel a special regard
for those Christians whose principles and spirit




44        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
and conduct we consider as most completely scriptural; but even here there is peculiar danger lest
we should prefer them because they coincide with
ourselves, rather than because they most nearly
resemble the Saviour, and have the largest measure of his approbation. Do we take them to our
hearts because of their attainments in the higher
Christian life, or because of their exact conformity
to our opinions and practices?  You are not
ignorant, my brother, that such is the power of
the selfishness which is nurtured by sectarian
divisions as to render it easier to regard with
special favor a man of moderate piety in one's
own denomination, than a man of uncommon
holiness who stands associated with a Christian
people of another name.
How difficult, under such circumstances, must
be the formation of a complete religious character! How difficult, when the benevolent feelings
are thus restricted, to be "made perfect in love! "
How much real excellence is there in loving those
who love us, and who love us for the same reasons
that we love them? Well did Jesus inquire, "Do
not even the publicans the same?" No increase
of such love can properly be called growth in
grace.
It is a peculiarity of the recent convert that
he loves all who exhibit the spirit and maintain




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           45
the life of the Christian; and when he thinks of
avowing publicly his attachment to the Saviour,
and connecting himself by covenant with the people of God, it is inexpressibly painful that he
cannot follow his convictions of duty without
identifying himself with a sect, and thus inclosing
himself within walls which he shall be pledged
to strengthen and defend,  walls of separation,
of which he reads nothing in his Bible, —walls
which divide believers not so much from  the
world as from other believers. Thousands in our
Churches remember well the simplicity and tenderness of their feelings at the time of their
spiritual infancy, and the process by which those
feelings were schooled into submission to what
they learned to regard as unavoidable necessity.
With aching hearts they inquired, "Why are
Christians thus broken into separate and rival
sects? Why are they not, as I read they were
in apostolic times, all one?"  And they ceased
not to ask such questions until the Christian feeling had declined, and the sectarian feeling had
gained the ascendency.  And, occasionally, at
subsequent periods, as their piety has been revived and the work of grace has been deepened
in their souls, have these questions recurred only
to remain unanswered as before; while the feeling
that prompted them, has, by a similar process,




46         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
been gradually smothered and silenced. On this
subject I deal not in conjectures; I speak what I
know, and testify that which I have seen. Every
Christian is convinced that to unite with a sect is
better than to make no profession of religion;
but there are multitudes, of more than one denomination, who regard the alternative as a choice
of evils, the whole of which they would gladly
avoid. They painfully feel the power of the temptations to which, by a sectarian profession, they
are inevitably exposed, -temptations which they
cannot successfully resist, except by withdrawing
or greatly weakening their vigilance at other
points which need their guardian forces.  The
position which they have assumed, the influences
by which they are encompassed, and, above all,
the subtle power of diabolical agency, render it
extremely difficult for them to keep their affections flowing forth, as they would have them,
over all barriers, and encircling in their comprehensive embrace the entire "household of faith."
In such circumstances, the cultivation of brotherly
love, such as the New Testament both requires
and illustrates, is a task of no ordinary magnitude, and the wonder is not, that there is so little
of this large-hearted affection among Christians
of differing sects, but that, in our divided and
alienated condition, there is any. So far as we




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          47
possess this element of Christian character, let
us be grateful, and own that by the grace of God
we are, in this particular, what we are. And let
us henceforth be doubly vigilant, lest our consciences should be ensnared by the vicious delusion that love of sect is, under our peculiar circumstances, all that our Master requires; and lest
we should illegitimately infer that the more we
have of this narrowed "love to the brethren,"
the stronger may be our assurance that "we have
passed from  death unto life."  Who are "the
brethren?" Are not all who have received "the
adoption of sons," and been made "partakers of
the Divine nature," and have one Father by their
new creation in Christ Jesus? Are not all who
"draw near to God" through the same Mediator
and by the same Divine agency? Are not all
whom God has "accepted in the Beloved," justifying them by that "righteousness which is unto
all and upon all them that believe," and shedding
abroad his love in their hearts by the Holy Ghost?
Are not all who have "good hope through grace"
warming their bosoms, and not only animating
them under all the troubles and conflicts of this
life, but promising to do so amidst the languors
and agonies of their last moments? Disobedient
they may be in some things which we think important, and yet they are believers in Christ; they




48         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
are "fellow-citizens of the saints;" their names
are in the Book of Life; they are heirs to the
heavenly inheritance.  If we love them  not as
brethren, and "heirs together with us," how can
we say that we have fellowship with God?  How
say that we love the invisible Father, when we
love not his visible children, -his "whole family?"
The unfavorable influence of our sectarian divisions is manifest also in their effect upon our study
of the Sacred Volume. It is not an unusual complaint among ministers, that they find it extremely
difficult to read the Bible for devotional purposes
without frequent distraction of mind, and diversion
of thought and feeling from their proper object.
Passages strike their attention as affording topics
for sermons, or choice proof-texts in support of
some favorite theory, and their intellects work in
that direction, while their hearts remain unimpressed, unrefreshed; and they bend the knee in
prayer with no benefit from the warming, quickening Word. Similar is the tendency of our minds,
when habituated to sectarian reflections and discussions, to wander from the true objects of Biblical
investigation, and to regard that precious treasury
of truth as merely an armory from  which may
be drawn the weapons of our warfare, not with
God's enemies, not with our own enemies, but with




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           49
brethren who do not coincide with us in all points
of systematic divinity, or all the formularies of
Christian worship, or all the triangularities of ecclesiastical organization.
Among the primary objects with reference to
which we should " search the Scriptures," one is,
that we may obtain the food requisite to the nourishing of the life of God in our own souls. The
Bible is the storehouse of spiritual nutriment, containing "the sincere milk of the word" for the
infantile and feeble, and the "strong meat " suited
to them who are of "full age."  It was the testimony of Moses, in advanced life, and as the result
of a long experience, and his statement was corroborated by the Saviour, that " Man doth not live
by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord." " Thy words were
found," said a prophet, " and I did eat them;" and
Job declared that he esteemed the words of God's
mouth more than his necessary food. Every spiritual Christian knows that he advances in the divine
life, and has his graces developed and strengthened,
only so far as he receives and inwardly digests the
nutritious truths which his provident Father has
garnered up for his family in the Old and New
Testaments. Having opened to him such a copiousness of good things, which he has often found to
be sweet to his taste and invigorating to his whole
5




50         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
spiritual constitution, he wonders not at the Divine
requirement, " Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ," and he is not
surprised to find that they who live by faith upon
God's word are spiritually "fat and flourishing,"
and strong in soul for Christian labor. Why should
it not be so, when they are fed with "the finest of
the wheat," and " satisfied with honey out of the
Rock," and refreshed daily with "water out of the
wells of salvation?"  Seest thou a professor of
Christianity spiritually lean, gaunt, haggard-know
assuredly that he lives not upon the "children's
bread."
Another object should be that we may ascertain
the duties which God would have us perform. Before the revealed Word was furnished, the inquirer
for the Divine will resorted directly to God, and
asked for specific directions. But, since the completion of the Sacred Volume, and the discontinuance of Inspiration, the inquiries of Christians, not
only as to what they shall believe, but also as to
what they shall practise, are directed to these
heavenly oracles. He who studies the Bible with
a sincere desire to learn his duties, and with a full
determination to perform them, never fails of success; for the Saviour declares that "if any man
will do," "he shall know;" and that if any man will
follow him, "he shall not walk in darkness, but




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           51
shall have the light of life." Such a Christian will
gratefully confess to God: "Thy word is a lamp
unto my feet, and a light unto my path." It is
indeed the " more sure" source of practical illumination " unto which we do well that we take heed
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place till the
day dawn," and we find ourselves in a land where
"there is no night."  Blessed Book! all "given by
inspiration of God, and profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto ALL GOOD WORKS."
A third object is, that we may become familiar
with the truths by which we are to advance the
spiritual benefit of our fellow-men. Christians are
appointed to an important agency in promoting
the salvation of men. The instrumentality which
they are required to employ, and to which the
Holy Spirit gives efficiency, is the Divine Word.
The truths of the Bible are the arrows, " sharp in
the heart of the King's enemies," that do execution.
Jesus, after declaring important truths, added,
"These things I say that ye might be saved;" and
his petition for his chosen, was, "Sanctify them
through thy truth; thy word is truth;" and he
assured them, " Now ye are clean [Ka3apoL] through
the word which I have spoken unto you."  The
Apostles regarded the Gospel - that glorious sys



52        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
ter of truth addressed to free agents —as the
grand instrumentality by which they were to
destroy sin and build up holiness in the world; and
with that instrumentality they made themselves
carefully and extensively acquainted, that so, being
" mighty in the Scriptures," they could " with great
power" execute their mission of mercy.  The
truths of the Bible are "the weapons of our
warfare," "mighty through God" to the demolition of Satan's "strongholds" in human hearts,
human philosophies, and human customs; and they
are also the implements of wondrous efficacy by
which we prepare the materials, and build upon the
one Foundation of that spiritual edifice which consists of "lively stones," "fitly framed together,"
and which "groweth unto a holy temple in the
Lord." He, therefore,-whether he be a "masterbuilder" or a "worker together with him," - who
would show himself " a workman approved unto
God, that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth," must make himself
familiarly acquainted with that "word of truth."
Let his soul be deeply impregnated with the spirit
of his Master; and then,with\the Bible in his
heart, and in his hand, and upon his tongue, - the
Bible understood, loved, and skilfully used,-he
will be "thoroughly furnished" as an agent of
good to the Church and the world.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           03
Such are the primary objects that the Christian
should have in view as he bends his faculties to the
study. of God's revealed truth. With the accomplishment of such objects the sectarian spirit most
injuriously interferes. It may prompt to the investigation of the Divine Oracles, and lead to the
acquisition of some truth; but its object is widely
diverse from those which I have specified, and from
every object which a spirit inhaled at the foot of
the cross would propose to accomplish. It is no
part, or, at best, only a secondary and subordinate
part, of its cherished design to employ its attainments in Biblical knowledge to promote the interests of personal holiness. The true sectarian does
not study the Bible so much for spiritual nutriment
as for theological argument.  He aims, not so
much at the extension of the kingdom of Christ,
as at the strengthening and defending of denominational ramparts. He trains himself to the dextrous use of " the sword of the Spirit," not that he
may win trophies to his Lord from the ranks of
the enemy, but that he may be a skilful gladiator
in controversies with a portion of his Father's children who utter not his shibboleth, or who, in the
exercise of the right of private judgment, have
chosen a name and adopted a polity of their own.
He clothes himself with a panoply, not " the whole
armor of God," as described by an Apostle, but
5*




54         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
one which he has manufactured more for the protection of his intellect than his heart, of his theological consistency than his spiritual integrity; and,
thus equipped, he goes forth to conflict- not with
"principalities and powers," the "rulers of the
darkness of this world," but with brethren whom
he knows, and, if asked, acknowledges, to be "fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of
God," and heirs with him to the promised inheritance.
Alas! what multitudes of the professed followers
of Jesus are better skilled in partisan warfare than
in the holy art of resisting the devil, and overcoming the world, and keeping the body under!
It is admitted that " he who winneth souls is wise;"
but, in their estimation, he is immensely wiser who
gets the mastery in argument, and prostrates -in
modern phrase, uses up —an antagonist brother.
Is it not a fact, a mournful fact, that a large proportion of Christians are better versed in those points
respecting which denominations differ, than those
in which they agree?
Surely it requires no great perspicacity to see
that our divisions, by encouraging the study of the
Bible with a spirit and an intent that are adverse
to the cultivation of Christian love, must have the
effect to deteriorate individual piety, and impair
individual usefulness.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           55
Mluch might be said respecting the loss which
individual piety must suffer from the amount of
feeling, time, and effort, that are almost inevitably
given to sectarian interests and sectarian projects,
rather than to the claims of personal sanctification,
or the advancement of the Christian cause. The
flame of patriotism is sure to be feeble and flickering in the bosom of that man who gives to party
what belongs to his country. It is not easy to be
a strong partisan and also a good citizen. And
there is a broader range for the affections than the
nation, though it be " our own, our native land."
The true man regards the interests of humanity as
superior to those of nationality. He is not content with loving a single nation; he loves his race,
and would benefit the whole. So is it with the
Christian, who always finds the spirit of sect incompatible with enlarged devotion to Zion's welfare,
and full allegiance to Zion's King. What he gives
of heart and endeavor to a sect, as such, is so much
withheld from the claims of general brotherhood.
And it would not be difficult to show  how
unhappily our schisms minister nutriment to the
malign dispositions, while the better qualities are
left to languish in pining atrophy. In desiring
the prosperity of his own denomination, the Christian is very liable to be willing that others should




56         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
suffer. In describing the progress of his own
principles, he is under a strong temptation to
represent the principles of others as declining
in public confidence. Only by special effort can
he command the magnanimity required to speak
justly of the excellences belonging to another
sect.  Unless he is extremely careful, he will
magnify the alleged errors and imperfections of
others, while he extenuates or conceals whatever is objectionable in his associates. A testimony advantageous to his opponents he receives
at a discount, and one that is unfavorable he
accepts at a premium.  "AMagnes mendaciorum
credulitas," is an old proverb that has not yet
lost its pertinency; for credulity is still the magnet of untruths; and many such magnets are to
be found in every place where the sectarian spirit
prevails, drawing together loose insinuations, flying
rumors, and idle conjectures, and embodying them
into forms disparaging to the reputation, and detrimental to the influence, of whole bodies of Christian believers.
Should it be said that these are not uniformly
or necessarily the results of sectarian division,
my only reply is that they are the natural, and, in
numberless cases, the actual, fruit of such division;
and that the tendency, in all cases, is to the production of such fruit. To retain tenaciously our




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           57
own views and practices, and yet feel, speak, and
act as we should towards all who differ from us,
is not indeed an impossibility, but certainly is a
difficult and rare attainment. If ecclesiastical history proves anything, it furnishes abundant proof
that good men often find it easier to tolerate
moral obliquity of conduct than nonconformity
of creed or ritual.
Well may the lovers of Christian holiness, who
are striving after higher attainments in the Divine
life, solemnly protest against the perpetuity of
an acknowledged evil that subjects them and all
their fellow-disciples to such numerous, powerful,
and unnecessary temptations.  Why should their
consciences be exposed, gratuitously, to so many
snares?  Why should their benevolent feelings
be so restricted and pent up by enclosures, beyond
which, without extraordinary effort, they cannot
pass? Why may they not read their Bibles simply and exclusively as Christians who wish to be
"complete in all the will of God?"  Why may
they not consecrate their whole time, thought,
feeling, effort, to the cultivation of holiness in
themselves and others? When they would labor
and pray for the entire suppression of malevolent
feelings, and the full development of those which
are "lovely and of good report," why should they




58         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
be cruelly encompassed with influences which
excite and nourish the noxious elements, and depress into dwarfish and sickly insignificance their
competitors, the gracious affections? Why can
they not be perfectly free to give their countenance and sympathy to "the weightier matters
of the law," and of the gospel also, without incurring the suspicion that they are becoming indifferent to denominational claims?  My brother,
you will not blame me, if I repeat, that somewhere there is flagrant wrong, which ought at
once to be repented of and put away.
2. THE INJURIOUS EFFECT OF DIVISION IN PERVERTING AND WASTING THE RESOURCES OF THE
CHURCH.
Commanded by her Sovereign to spread out
in affectionate concert, and conquer the revolted
world, and reclaim it to himself, the Church, for a
season, obeyed his instructions, and gave delightful proof of her loyalty. That the results were
salutary to herself, beneficial to the world, and
glorious to her honored Lord, authentic history
abundantly testifies.  Those were days of true
Christian Fraternity in Christian Activity. One
Head presided over the movements of the Church,
and was reverently acknowledged; one Heart




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          59
beat in her bosom, and sent to every member one
element of invigorating vitality.  "The whole
Body, fitly framed together, and compacted by
that which every joint supplieth, according to
the effectual working in the measure of every
part," moved forward under the direction of one
Will; having in view one end, the glory of Christ;
governed by one rule, the Divine Word; impelled
by one motive, evangelical Love. Thus moving
toward one point, and in one line, the Church
moved with power, and one effect was "increase.of the Body unto the edifying of itself in love."
Her prayers were effectual, for they were the
joint supplications of those who agreed as touching the things which they desired and asked; her
testimony was convincing, because it was the
concurrent testimony of thousands, among whom,
without a Satanic miracle, there could have been
no collusion; her endeavors were effective, for to
the execution of her great enterprise, her members and her resources were unreservedly consecrated. The world saw and felt and confessed
that it was plied by a moral power, before which
its depravities, and philosophies, and religions,
were like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor.
One of her number could say, that "from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum" he had "fully
preached the gospel of Christ." In less than fifty




60        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
years after the ascension of her Lord, she had
not only " filled Jerusalem with her doctrine," but,
according to the concession of an enemy, "the
world with her converts."  She was a united
Church, and her fraternal cooperation was an important element of her power. She neither per.
verted nor wasted any of her ability by devoting
it to inferior purposes; much less by employing
one parft of it to counteract another.
The Apostles were, one after another, sent home
to their reward; and their immediate successors,
partaking largely of their spirit, and acting on
their plans, led on the Church still "from conquering to conquer," every day gaining new victories for her King, and every evening exclaiming, "Thanks be unto God who always causeth
us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest by
us the savor of his knowledge in every place."
Happy, beyond description, for the Church and
the world, if that spirit had never subsided; if
those successes had never been interrupted; if
the same consecration to one work had been perpetuated!
Satan's policy is to divide and weaken. By
diligent search he found seams in the Christian
mass, and, inserting small wedges, he found ambitious men, of questionable piety, to drive them.
Stealthily, slowly, the Church became divided,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            61
and began to turn her attention from the great
service assigned her, to matters of internal policy,
"strifes about words," "vain jangling," and other
evils, against which she had been plainly and
solemnly admonished. From that period, through
long centuries, her men and her means became
largely devoted to the aggressive and the defensive operations of the indefinite number of
feeble squadrons into which she was more and
more broken. At length, by the might of the
secular arm, dissent was well-nigh crushed, and
what was called the Church assumed a consolidated form under an earthly head, and the night
of spiritual despotism was long and dreary. The
Reformation of the sixteenth  century was the
reviving of light and life. But it was an imperfect work, and was disfigured by divisions among
its leaders, and, consequently, among their followers; and Protestantism, with all its benefits,.
has entailed upon the Church the evils of schism,
multiform, virulent, disgraceful. The Papacy has
strength in her centralization, and her control of
the consciences of her millions.  Protestantism
has strength in her principles; but it is cut up
into factions, and is immensely wasted by being
perversely employed in party conflict. In Spain
we have an illustration of the practical influence
upon power of both union and disunion. Once.
6




62         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
she was united, and history is burdened with the
record of her achievements. Subsequently, she
became divided into factions, which have ever
since been preying upon one another, and thwarting all designs for the common good. Now, she
is one of the poorest and feeblest of the nations
of Europe. Were she to talk of foreign conquest,
she would be the laughing-stock of the world.
Similar have been the results of schism in the
Protestant Body. The Church is weakened and
crippled, not merely by the division and subdivision of her numerical strength, her pecuniary
resources, and her moral energy, but immensely
more by the perversion and waste of her ability
in that guerilla warfare, Spaniard-like, which has
been kept up for three centuries. "Biting and
devouring one another," sects have been "consumed one of another,"- consumed as to their
piety, their influence, their capabilities for usefulness. The result is, that her attempts at foreign
invasion are wanting in vigor, and make but a
feeble impression on the domain of the prince of
darkness. And this is not all. While the sects
have thus been employed in party controversies,
the forces of evil have been left free to perpetrate
human destruction on the largest scale. Several
hamlets on the side of Etna were in danger of
being destroyed by streams of lava that came




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         63
pouring in their direction. The inhabitants turned
out to throw up embankments and dig trenches
that might divert the currents, and thus leave
their homes and their property unharmed. But
they were of rival and disagreed hamlets; and,
heedless of the common danger, they soon began
to dispute about their work, and the way of doing
it; and from hard words they proceeded to harder
arguments, and broke their implements of labor in
rough encounter. The issue was, that the river
of fire, undiverted, rolled on, and overwhelmed
the dwellings and the vineyards of the bruised
combatants, and they mourned, too late, the folly
of their feuds and bickerings.
Am I incorrect in matters of fact?  Are my
conclusions illegitimate?  What has the Church
been doing for the last fifteen centuries? And
what have been the results of her impolitic and
unlovely procedures?  Begin with Eusebius, and
read the volumes of history which have given immortality to the humiliating record of her shame;
-I mean not the histories which have been written by her enemies, and designed to hold her up
to the derision and scorn of posterity, — nor yet the
histories prepared by violent schismatics, abounding in misrepresentation and party abuse, -but
those more impartial histories which intelligent




64        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
heads and honest hearts have commended to our
investigation, and upon whose statements of fact,
and delineations of character, and philosophical
inductions, we can rely as confidently as we can
trust anything human,- and what is the conclusion to which you come, -what, but the obvious
one, that the moral power of the Church has, to a
deplorable extent, been squandered upon unworthy and forbidden objects? Examine the books
which she has produced, only a remnant of which,
indeed, have descended to our times, and what
are the subjects of which they treat, what the
ends at which they aim, what the spirit in which
they were conceived and elaborated? If we may
judge from the specimens thought worthy of preservation, or confide in the testimony of the less
partial historians of successive ages, what have
been the aim, the temper, the character, of the
sermonizing of the Church? Have her preachers,
more than a small minority, been the "peace-makers" whom the Master would pronounce "blessed"
as "the sons of God?"  Have they not, by tens
of thousands, been distinguished for their pugnacious spirit and conduct,- the bludgeon-men of
party, contending for victory, not over sin and
Satan, but often over brethren, wearing, like themselves, the Christian name and the Christian livery?  Has not the pulpit, which was ordained




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            65
to the exhibition of Christ crucified as the Healer
of human woe, been made the arena of inflammatory debate, the platform  of catapeltic controversy, destructive rather than conservative,
more the instrument of the Furies than of the
Graces?
But we need not retire into the past to ascertain the effect of disunion upon the pulpit and
the literature of the Church, or the tendency' of
a sectarian pulpit and a sectarian literature to
pervert and waste her best resources, and thus
diminish her ability to accomplish  her proper
service. The pulpit and the religious press are
not in our day, as they should be, the consecrated vehicles of light and love. With all their
improvements, resulting from the revived spirit
of evangelical enterprise which appears in every
department of Zion, and happily promises much
greater improvements, they are still too much
the engines of party spirit and party measures.
Preachers, and authors, and editors, still feel it
incumbent on them to superintend their respective
denominational interests, and vigilantly guard, at
every point, the partition walls against the attacks
of the heretical; and in the support of these
Defenders of the Faith, saying nothing of the
aggressive class whose mission is to push invasion and make breaches, an undue amount of
6*




66         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD
Christian resources is absorbed. Nor is this the
whole or the worst of the evil. The misapplication of mental power, of time, of money, is surely
something to be regretted. But immensely greater
is the loss resulting from the spirit that is engendered, the prejudices that are strengthened, the
alienations that are aggravated. Who can estimate the evils occasioned by the enfeebling of
Christian graces, the deterioration of Christian
character, the perplexing of sincere inquirers, the
grieving of the Holy Spirit, the hardening of
unbelievers, the dishonoring of the Saviour? It
may be said that Christians of all parties, to be
honest, must defend their own creeds and practices, and endeavor to extend as widely as possible the views which they conscientiously believe
to be Scriptural.  Admitting the statement as
plausible, the fact remains, that, by this process,
there is an amount of wasteful expenditure for
which there is no plausible apology.  Physical
ability and moral power, that belong to Christ
and to his universal cause, are devoted to party;
and, therefore, as I have twice said, there is wrong
somewhere that deserves reprehension. A  state
of things which imposes upon Christians this seeming necessity, and involves such violations of the
laws of Christian economy, cannot be justified
even by sectarian sophistry.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           67
My dear brother, are not you and I and all our
fellow-disciples accountable to our redeeming Lord
for the manner in which we employ ourselves, our
time, our treasure, our all?  And when we shall
stand before him, and answer for the application
of our resources, will it be acceptable to him that
we have devoted a third, a fifth, or even a tenth,
to the maintenance of party fortifications, or the
prosecution of any mere party policy? May we
never forget our responsibility to our final Judge!
During the last half-century, the different sects
of the evangelical have, in addition to partisan warfare, commenced and carried forward operations of
a better kind, bearing a more truly Christian aspect,
and contemplating results of a higher order. How
much, in these apparently benevolent activities,
there may be of sectarian aims, impulses, and spirit,
is best known to the Searcher of hearts. But that
there is much which God approves, it would be
uncandid and unjust to question. It is delightful
to see the friends of Christ, even in their separate
and more or less sectarian organizations, going
forth to the service which has been so long and so
criminally neglected.  By these movements, imperfect as they have been, great good has already
accrued to themselves, and great blessings have
descended upon thousands of the perishing, both




68         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
at home and abroad. But the experiments which
they have made in the various departments of
Christian enterprise, have developed most strongly
the evil of which I am treating. In consequence
of the prevalent divisions and the seeming impossibility of union, -perhaps, in some cases, the absence of a desire for union, - every denomination
has organized its own system of machinery, to the
support of which the ministry and the membership
feel themselves pledged, and for the efficient action
of which large demands are often made upon their
liberality. Thus, in the United States, as in England, there are, in the single department of Foreign
Missions, a number of these separate organizations,
every one complete in itself, and any one of them
capable of conducting the operations of the whole.
Supposing that all the Christians in North America
should be united, as were the Christians of the first
century, and should agree to cooperate heartily and
fully in efforts to evangelize the heathen world, it
is not difficult to see that one Board or Committee,
with its Secretaries, Treasurer, and Clerks, could
easily superintend the whole system of operations,
however extended, thus sparing many valuable
men for other services, and saving a large proportion of the expense now unavoidably incurred in
the support of so many sets of machinery. As
matters now are, every separate missionary organ



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             69
ization is obliged to employ, for the diffusion of
information and the supply of its treasury, a large
number of agents, all of whom must be paid, and
who travel over mainly the same ground, at great
sacrifice of time, labor, and pecuniary expense. In
this particular, there would, upon the supposition
of union, be an economizing of resources not at all
to be despised.
You have, my brother, only to look at the multiplicity of societies, strictly denominational, and
yet contemplating essentially the same ends, to be
convinced that our unchristian divisions are the
occasion of a most unwarrantable perversion and
waste of our means of usefulness. And in view
of such facts, minor though they be, compared
with others, you will say that schism in the Body
of Christ is censurable. If it be asked, "Where
lies the responsibility of all this wrong?" that is
the question which I propose to my own conscience, and which you will propose to yours.
Christianity is the patron of learning; and
Christians of all denominations show their convictions of its importance by providing means for
the education both of their children and their
ministry. But such is the influence of the spirit of
sect, that every denomination has its own institutions, from the boarding school up to the Univer



70           CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
sity and Theological Seminary, with Boards of
Trustees, pupils and patrons mainly its owin, and
dependent principally upon denominational feeling
and liberality for their sustentation.  The mischievous results of such an arrangement are a
legion. Institutions are unnecessarily multiplied,
and by consequence are neither endowed nor
adequately supported.    Suitable libraries and
other parts of the desirable apparatus of education
are not furnished.  Instructors are not so well
paid as to induce them to seek the highest qualifications for their employment. An elevated order
of education is not provided for; and that for
which provision is made, is liable to take on a
sectarian coloring  and configuration.  For the
support of these institutions, large demands are
made upon the Churches, as such, or upon their
more able members, and when these demands are
presented, the appeals are quite apt to be addressed
to denominational pride or prejudice. "The 
are doing generously for their Academy or College, and they are reaping the benefits.  We must
contribute more nobly to ours, or it will suffer
in the comparison, and our interests will be injuriously affected."   Thus, while we are all the
1 See Dr. Wayland's "Thoughts on the present Collegiate
System in the United States."




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            71
friends of education, we are expected to favor it
in such forms and in such relations as that the
advantages will inure to ourselves.
Now, placing out of the account the moral
effect of such competition, it will be obvious that,
by supporting more institutions than are needed,
Christians are perpetrating a sinful waste of their
means of usefulness.  Churches are robbed of
pastors to supply presidents and professors, while
many, who might be pastors or evangelists, are
detained as instructors in small, sickly institutions.
And then the amount of funds that is annually
drawn from the Churches to relieve these institutions from embarrassment, or to sustain their halffamished existence, is no small item of expenditure, and might be more judiciously appropriated.
I may be told that more is done in this way, than
would be accomplished  under any system  of
Christian union.  Probably more is given, but
is more done?  And are sectarian motives necessary to impel Christians to a due liberality? It
may be true, according to Quarles, that
"Some faiths are like those mills that cannot grind
Their corn, unless they work against the wind;"
and it may be true that some men are the most
profuse in their donations under the provocatives




72         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
of opposition; but it is none the less true that
under this system there is an enormous misppliacation of resources.
As circumstances are, human wisdom  cannot
easily determine how this evil may be remedied.
It is the natural fruit of our divisions and their
consequent jealousies and rivalries, and, by a
reacting process, aggravates the cause in which
it originated.  The curse belongs to the spirit
of schism, and there must the corrective be applied.
We are accustomed to speak of the destitutions of our country. Large tracts of moral territory are represented as unreclaimed, and inviting the care and the toil of the evangelical cultivator. And so long as the divisions, which few
attempt to heal, are perpetuated, will these moral
wastes be likely to remain and to enlarge themselves, reproaching us for our selfishness, and
giving to the winds their cry for relief. We have
places of worship enough, and preachers enough,
in the evangelical denominations of this country,
to supply double the territory and double the
population, that are now  accommodated, with
the means of grace. There is not an economical
distribution, and the cause of this inequality will
be found mainly in the fact,-not, as some sup



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            73
pose, that the cities and large towns are excessively supplied with preachers and places of worship,-but that the spirit of sect has prevented
diffusion by crowding two, three, or more Churches
and as many preachers into small places, where
a single Church and a single pastor could and
should have occupied the whole ground.
Of course, all denominations have an equal
right to establish Churches, build houses of worship, and support preachers wherever they please,
on territory lawfully procured, accountable only
to the Judge of all for their motives, their principles, or their policy. The question with which
we are just now concerned is not one of simple
natural right,-for, touching that point, there is
little difference of opinion; nor is it one of mere
Christian comity, respecting which there is, unhappily, much laxity of conscience,-but it is a question of expediency, of practical wisdom, of prudent economy, such as concerns all who would
do the greatest good with their means, and do
it under a full sense of their accountability to
Christ. Is it becoming Christians so to differ as
to bring their efforts into collision, and make their
natural rights reciprocally destructive?  Is it a
judicious distribution of their men and money,.
to appropriate more than are needed to a small
field, when whole regions, measured by miles
7




74         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
rather than by acres, are totally neglected?  Take
a village which, with its immediate surroundings,
contains three hundred or five hundred inhabitants. One house of worship, of moderate dimensions, could accommodate all who might attend.
One minister could preach to the whole, and perform all the duties that properly belong to a pastor. But what is more common than to see, in
such a village, two or more houses of worship,
with each its vestry for social meetings, and each
its bell, heavy enough to be heard by other villages, and each its preacher, a little better, it is
contended, than the other or others. Now, setting aside, for the present, the bad moral influence which, from  humiliating  observation, we
know is the almost invariable attendant of such
a state of things, let any one estimate for himself
the loss to the general cause which results mainly
from that fruitful source of evil, sectarian division.
All the preachers, more than one, might be spared
for destitute districts. All the money expended,
beyond the sum  required for one set of ecclesiastical operations, might have been given to the
aid of feebler Churches, or the promotion of Home
Missions, or in various other ways, to advance the
general cause.
Nor is this want of economy the whole of the
evil. Where there are so many societies for so




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            75
few people, they are necessarily small and feeble.
Their houses of worship, erected under the influence of sectarian pride and competition, often cost
them more than they can pay, and they are compelled to provide for the interest of a debt, or
to call upon Churches in other places for relief
from the incumbrance. They cannot adequately
support the preachers they want, and are obliged
to borrow or beg to make up for a deficiency, or
to employ, at lower rates, preachers of inferior
ability, and, as a consequence, lose their more
intelligent hearers. Under this system, to a large
extent, have grown up two evils,-begging for
meeting-houses, and instability of the pastoral
relation, - evils which no grand jury has yet presented as nuisances.
Thus, in consequence of our sectarian disunion,
our resources, both physical and spiritual, are absorbed in the accomplishment of sectarian objects.
We are "consumed one of another," and little
is left for the higher ends of the Christian life.
There, flaming out on the inspired page, is the
unfulfilled, unrepealed command, "Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." But, no; we cannot do that: for the little
vineyards which we have been trying to enlarge,
a yard per annum, cannot spare us, or more than
a pittance of our property. Two, three, four of




76         CHRISTIAN BkOTHERHOOD.
us, all evangelical in the main, must take care
of our respective fractions of a village, come what
will of hundreds of millions who never heard the
first word of the gospel!  No; we cannot contribute for any outside objects,-often this is
sober fact, -for we have such heavy expenses in
supporting our society, that we stagger under our
burden! Is this right?  Can any unperverted
conscience think it right? The differences among
evangelical denominations may have their importance. My argument requires not their depreciation. But are they so important as to justify this
doubling and trebling of our forces in such small
fields, when seven-eighths of earth's population
are perishing in ignorance and guilt?  Are no
personal comforts to be surrendered, no desirable
gratifications to be sacrificed, for the benefit of
millions hastening to the pagan's grave and the
pagan's eternity?
This multiplication of feeble societies has also
an unfavorable effect upon the intellectual character of the ministry. A cry from the heathen,
or from the destitute regions of our own country,
seldom withdraws a candidate for the sacred vocation from his studies. The call may be loud and
piercing, but it is not heard; or, if heard, not
heeded. He feels the need of thorough training;
he must endeavor to qualify himself more fully




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           77
for his important work. In all this he may be
right. But, let an application come from some
village where are two or more rival interests,
all acknowledged to be essentially Christian; and
let him be told that the "other societies" have
each a pastor; that his denomination are suffering
exceedingly from their destitution; that the young
people are going off to the other meetings; that
the choir and the Sabbath School are diminishing,-and a chord is touched that vibrates, and
none the less because he may have in prospect certain domestic arrangements. His sectarian feelings are brought into full play; denominational
interests are depending upon his decision; and
it requires but a few more facts of the same bearing, and a little more entreaty from the deacon
or the committee, commissioned to negotiate with
him, to overcome his love of study, and conquer
all his scruples touching his obligations to the
Education Society or other patrons, and to make
him forego the advantages of a thorough course
which he has often spoken of as too important
to be sacrificed. The little society of seventy-five
or a hundred must be taken care of, and he is the
man to guard their interests against all depredators. The duties will not be severe; he can there
pursue his studies' and, on the whole, perhaps,
get as much good as by continuing a few years
7*




78         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
longer in his well-begun course. He accepts the
invitation, marries, is ordained, flourishes a while
the wonder of the village. Five years afterwards,
where is he, and what is he?
As we look through the land, we see not a few,
any one of whom might have sat for this picture;
and every one of whom is a standing proof of the
injurious influence of sectarian divisions and rivalries. These divisions and competitions, by practically reducing the standard of ministerial attainments, rob the Church of a large amount of
ministerial power. If it be said that this evil is
not universal among the denominations, I reply,
that gratitude is due to God for the preservation
of any from its baneful effects.
I might proceed further, specifying particulars
of perversion and waste of the energies of the
Church resulting from her unholy divisions. But
need I say more?  How, my brother, can the
Church of Christ consent to such an appropriation
of resources that were given her by her Lord for
other and nobler purposes?  How can she afford
thus to squander so much of her strength, when
the whole, most carefully economized, is only sufficient for the purposes specified in her charter
of incorporation?  And why does she persist in
cherishing and perpetuating the reign of that spirit




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          79
of evil- Schism- a demon whose motto, worn
on his brow in sulphureous characters, is -- Divide
and destroy!
3. THE INJURIOUS EFFECT OF DIVISION IN WEAKENING THE DEMONSTRATION IN FAVOR OF OUR
RELIGION.
When Jesus stood at the grave of Lazarus, he
prayed to his Father, as if for permission to raise
his friend to life, and assigned as a reason, that he
wished to convince the spectators of the divinity of
his mission: "Because of the people that stand
by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast
sent me."  And, after predicting a future event,
he added, "Now I tell you before it come, that
when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I
am he."  Standing alone in the world, he was
obliged to furnish proofs in himself that he was
the Sent of the Father, the Saviour long promised,
long expected. To this end he employed miracle
and prophecy, as the best adapted, in his circumstances, to produce the desired conviction. But,
when he was about to leave the world, he selected
another kind of evidence, that should be permanent and intelligible proof of the Divine origin
of his religion. Addressing his followers, he had
said: "By this shall all men know that ye are




80        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
my disciples, if ye have love one to another;"
thus indicating the way by which the world should
ascertain their relation to their Master. But, addressing his Father in that prayer which he may
have intended as a specimen of his sacerdotal
intercession, he said: " Neither pray I for these
alone, but for them also which shall believe on
me through their word; THAT THEY ALL MAY BE
ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be ONE IN US; THAT TIE WORLD
MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME."  And
again, immediately after: "The glory which thou
gavest me, I have given them; that THEY MAY BE
ONE, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in
me, that they may be made PERFECT IN ONE;
and THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW THAT THOU HAST
SENT ME, and hast loved them as thou hast loved
me."  This oneness of Christians would be something new, and would attract attention. Nothing
of the kind had appeared in any form of society,
and the Saviour knew that human nature would
never produce an association of unrelated individuals bound together entirely by love.  There
was nothing analogous to it in paganism, or even
judaism. A people drawn together from all nations
and all classes; of all possible temperaments, all
gradations of intelligence, all diversities of custom;
and so subdued and assimilated in their moral




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            81
feelings as to constitute a unity, having "one heart
and one soul,"- would indeed be something extraordinary,- a moral wonder, such as the world
had never seen, and such as would carry conviction
to the most reluctant and sceptical of the presence
and prevalence of a supernatural agency.
In this exhibition by Christ of a great principle,
we have a key that opens to us, in part at least, the
secret of the astonishing success of the early Christians. "Union is strength," says every one capable of articulating a truism; and when it is uttered, the main idea is doubtless physical. Rivers
united form the mighty Mississippi.  Snow-flakes
united form  the irresistible avalanche.  Atoms
united  form  the mountain  barrier.  Battalions
united form the victorious army. States and provinces united make the powerful empire. But who
remembers that the mere fact of union may in itself,
apart from all action, be power? Entirely apart
from  the aggressive movements of the primitive
Christians,- apart from all their preaching, exhorting, praying, - there was an unconscious influence acting  upon observers; their affectionate
harmony, their oneness of spirit, produced upon
the world impressions favorable to their character
and to the claims of their religion. As the result
of the union, multitudes were led to think better,
not only of them, but also of their Master, and to




82         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
open their minds the more candidly and receptively
to their heavenly message. Tertullian says that
this fact commanded the attention of their enemies,
and called forth expressions of admiration;  and
he reckons the brotherly love and concord of the
Church among the primary elements of her moral
power.  Gibbon, whose principal work is envenomed with subtle sneers and malignant satires,
aimed at a religion which he hated the more the
less he understood it,- even Gibbon, in his attempts to account for the rapid propagation of
early Christianity, —a fact which he admits and
endeavors to explain without an acknowledgment
of any superhuman agency, - assigns a number of
causes, and this as one of the most efficientthe union that subsisted among Christians. Poor
man! why did he not, in a manly spirit, examine
the nature and the causes of that remarkable union?
He perceived the relation of the two facts as antecedent and consequent. Christians were affectionately united, and therefore were successful wherever
they went with their message.  What was the antecedent of the former fact, the Christian union to
which such results were largely attributable? There
was a department of truth which depravity was
afraid to approach, and the intellect, restrained
1 "Vide, inquiunt, ut se diligunt; et pro alterutro mori parati
sunt."




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            83
by the heart, left it untouched. Therein was evidence of the Divine origin of the Christian system,
and to call that witness would be fatal to his case.
Be it remembered, that so long as Christians
remained united, with their ranks compact, and
their efforts directed to the conversion of the
world, the Church commanded the world's respect, and she went on increasing in numbers
and strength.  But the moment the spirit of
schism found admission, and she became divided,
and turned her weapons against portions of herself, she was dishonored in the eyes of the world,
her progress was retarded, the beginnings of her
imbecility were apparent, and she ceased to be
a reliable witness for Christ.
The innumerable divisions and bitter controversies that defaced the beauty and crippled the
energy of the Christian Church during the fourth,
fifth, and sixth centuries, prepared the way for
the successes of the false prophet of Mecca, and
facilitated the triumphs of that system of imposture which, even now, has more adherents
than the Christianity of the New  Testament.
"While the Church was one," says Isaac Taylor, "Christianity spread, or, should we not say,
burst over the world, and gathered myriads of
converts from lands within and far beyond the




84         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
limits of the Roman empire.  When Christians
became factious, when other names than the
name of Christ were called upon, then the evangelical circle drew in apace: no more conquests
were made; or they were conquests purely nominal; and, ere long, the fierce Avenger of the
Lord's quarrel with his Church, breaking bounds,
sword in hand, from his sultry Arabian sands,
drove the distracted flock from field to field, until
the Christian name was near to be quite lost from
the world."'
Who that has ever conversed with a papist, or
read a Romish book, is not aware that a standing
objection to Protestantism is its want of unity?
"You," says the Romanist, "are not one. You
are divided in creed, in ritual, in organization, in
feeling. In all these respects the Catholic Church
is one. Agree among yourselves in faith, in communion, in action, before you ask us even to examine your theory."  However remote from the
truth may be the declaration that the Catholic
Church is so completely one, and however objectionable may be her seeming unity, resulting, as
it does, from  the pressure of an unparalleled
spiritual despotism, still the argument is valid,
1 Saturday Evening, pp. 336-7.




CHRISTIAN  BROTHERHOOD.                85
so far as it applies to Protestantism; and Protestants should know  and feel that, by continuing
their schisms and dissensions, they are contributing to the perpetuity of a system of error and
superstition  which  they  profess  to  abhor, and
riveting the fetters of the papacy upon millions
of enslaved souls, for whose redemption they profess to pray and labor.l
The quarrels and alienations that prevailed
among  the Reformers of the sixteenth century,
impeded  the progress of the Reformation, and
many who sincerely desired  its success, were so
grieved at heart by these unchristian strifes, that
they never withdrew  from  the  mother Church.
And, ever since, not a year has passed but this
same argument has carried many a proselyte over
to Popery; and that argument-call it as you
please, fair or foul, legitimate or sophistical-is
at this moment successfully urged over the whole
1 " The Papal body, weak in its utter want of Scriptural support, -weak in its idolatries, its practical enormities, and its
plain hostility to the Word of God, - is yet strong in one thing
only, that it moves as a single phalanx, obedient to a single will.
Whatever it wins, it wins simply through our divisions. That
immense mass which embraces most of the manhood of our
country, stands, in the presence of these divisions, uncertain,
embarrassed, indifferent, or, at least, inactive."- Bishop Burgess.
8




86         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
territory of Protestant Christendom; and never
shall we deprive it of power for evil until we can
show that we are truly one, not only in our protests against the abominations of the Man of Sin,
but also in our views of truth, our Christian practice, and our fraternal cooperation.
Infidelity, too, has availed itself of our divisions
to barb and poison the shafts which it has aimed
at the life of Christianity.  This, it may be said,
and said truly, it has done disingenuously and
maliciously; but the fact remains unaltered, that
we have furnished fatal occasion to the disingenuous and malicious to pierce and inflame, perpetrating damage which the tears of all living
Christians can never efface, and which the labors
of many generations of the holiest can never repair. It was well said by an eminent writer of
the seventeenth century, and it is still deplorably
true, that " our controversies about religion have
brought even religion itself into controversy." 
And our attempts to apologize for our diversities of religious sentiment and practice, by the
alleged obscurity of Scripture and the consequent
innocence of contradicting interpreters, have only
1 Stillingfleet's Irenicum: A Weapon-Salve for the Church's
Wounds.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             87
aggravated the evil by virtually justifying the
rejection of a Book that is so equivocal and susceptible of such a variety of constructions.
It is also matter of painful experience, that our
efforts for the conversion of the impenitent, who
are not professed infidels, are the more ineffective
in consequence of our divisions.  Even though
we abstain from  disputes and criminations, yet
the simple fact of our distribution into sects, with
every one its lines of intrenchments, and its posted
sentinels, and its system of watchwords, is held
up by the unbeliever as a protective shield against
every argument, every appeal.  Says Dr. Carson:
"The differences that subsist among Christians
are among the chief obstacles to the progress of
the gospel.  Scoffers triumph in our divisions,
and the world in general are stumbled. By the
existence of so many religious sects, unbelievers
are prejudiced against the truth; and believers
who are blended with worldly Churches, are kept
frdm considering the duty of separation."' How
often, in our conversation with individuals, is this
fact presented by them in resistance of our tenderest expostulations; so that we make no progress till, after an awkward attempt at explanation which seldom  satisfies ourselves, we have
1 Reply to Dr. Ewing, 1809.




88         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
extorted a reluctant, half-way concession that, as
sinners, they need a Saviour, and that Christ is
the Saviour they need. We allege, with truth,
that men act irrationally when they assign this
fact as a reason why they should not honor the
claims of personal religion. As well might they
say that they would not love their country, and
obey its laws, because there are rival and conflicting parties in politics. As well might they refuse
to dine until all the clocks in town strike twelve
together.  Their conduct in this matter is inexcusably deficient in manliness, and tends to selfruin. The fault which they perversely employ to
their own destruction, is the fault of Christians,
and not of the Christianity that requires of all
repentance, faith, and a holy life. But still the
evil is none the less real or pernicious, because
sinners perversely employ it to their own undoing.
We blame them  for the suicide, and yet supply
the weapon with which we know they may insanely take the life of their souls. Constituted as
man is, we can never prevent the consequent until
we withdraw  the well-known antecedent.  And
here, my brother, let me refer you to an excellent charge by Bishop Burgess to the clergy of
his diocese. One paragraph I cannot forbear to
quote:
"There is a blessing which, could it be attained,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            89
would remove one of the most prevailing obstacles
to cordial conviction, and would leave to the Gospel such power as it has not known for centuries.
It is the blessing of UNITY. If you ask of twenty
different men, as you meet them, their reason for
delaying or refusing obedience to the commands
of Christianity, ten of them, if not fifteen, will ask
in return how they can be expected to see clearly
where guides so differ, and where sects and churches
contend with such eagerness. With the reasonableness or even sincerity of this reply we are not
now concerned; but it is lamentable that it can be
made and cannot be refuted. It is a spectacle that
should arouse the Christians of this land, and
compel all idle strife, at least, to be silent. All
of us feel the evil; but most of us despair of a
remedy, till the mighty Spirit of God shall cause
us to see eye to eye, and produce an uniformity of
persuasion, which till now has not existed, since
at the Reformation the Bible was thrown open.
To indulge in idle projects would indeed avail
little; yet, amongst the many speculations of our
time, few might be more harmless than those
which should be directed towards Christian union
and unity; and if some sagacious minds were employed in actual efforts for its attainment, the
recollection would not be bitter to them in advancing years, nor would the story be told with dis8*




90         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
honor in coming ages. It is time that this weapon
were withdrawn from the hands of the enemy."
It is no unusual thing for the strifes and conflicts of two or more denominations whose differences of creed are not great, to give birth to
organized forms of fatal error, and to supply the
nutriment by which they thrive and overgrow the
products of evangelical truth.  Noxious vegetation rises into the rankest luxuriance on battlefields where the soil is enriched by the blood and
bones of fallen combatants. Show me the spots,
on either hemisphere, where Christians have the
most fiercely battered and bruised one another, or
where they who had every reason for living peaceably together have indulged in petty controversies about secondary interests, and I will show you
the spots where the worst errors are the most
deeply rooted and bear the most poisonous fruits.
In your journeying you come in sight of a beautiful valley, in which, along a single street, is a
village of a hundred houses, some of stone, some
of brick, but mostly of wood, and interspersed
with the offices of professional men, the stores of
merchants, the shops of artisans, and school-houses.
Through that valley meanders a stream that has
its head in a mountain lake, and is for miles a
brawling torrent, dashing wildly over rocks and




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           91
darns, and affording power for the driving of productive machinery; but here it quietly moves
between banks that are dotted with clumps of
bushes, and shaded by many a stately elm or button-wood. The valley is skirted on both sides by
hills, whose sides are highly cultivated, and at
whose bases are gentle slopes and alluvial meadows richly burdened with the green or the golden
products of industry waving in the western breeze.
From  the summit of one of these hills you contemplate the scene, and admire. Surely, you think,
Johnson must have stood here before he wrote
that luscious description of " The Happy Valley."
Behind you are -mountains through whose passes
you have threaded your way; across the valley,
in the blue distance, are other mountains whose
precipitous sides you are to climb to-morrow.
But you are thinking of neither the past nor the
future; you are enchanted by the present. The
vale at your feet, rich in natural beauty, has derived from art additional loveliness; and, as you
gaze, you wonder if the Old World can furnish
a view of equal charms. From the midst of the
cluster of dwellings, now embowered in the richest
mid-summer foliage, there loom up in dignified
prominence three edifices, differing in shape, dimensions, and color, and you at once recognize
them as devoted to the worship of Almighty God.




92         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
Not knowing the extent of the population in the
vicinity, and supposing, quite naturally, that the
supply is created by actual demand, you conclude
that the moral scenery before you is only the counterpart of the physical.  "Happy people!" you
exclaim; "how liberal the provision for thy spiritual culture! Here, surely, Piety has her cherished home! Here the fruits of holiness abound!
And if there be contention in heaven, it must be
as to who of all'The spirits in bliss
Shall bow their bright wings to a scene such as this,'
and here fulfil their ministry to the heirs of salvation!"
I grieve, my brother, to break that delicious enchantment. But what says history?  Within the
memory of the middle-aged there was in that village but one place of worship, and that was of
sufficient capacity to accommodate all in the township. Its pulpit was respectably filled by a man
of unquestioned piety, and sound evangelical principles; and of his impartiality and industry as a
pastor no one had occasion to complain. In process of time, another denomination, differing by
only a few faint shades from the former, found
favor with some of the people, and a house of




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             93
worship was erected, partly by foreign aid, and
a preacher of fair ability was settled. The result,
of course, was division, followed by a perturbed
state of the social elements, warm discussion, acrimonious debate, calumnious reports, irritated feelings, disruption of friendships, embittered alienations, and all the unlovely effects of partisan warfare.  These two Churches agreed in everything
fundamental to the soul's salvation; and yet, as
you have often seen illustrated, the strength of
their antipathy seemed to be inversely as the
square of their distance theologically from each
other.  Each minister regarded himself as " set
for the defence" of those points in which he differed from the other, and to them he devoted many
a week of study and many a carefully prepared
sermon. Their adherents, with belligerent heads,
and hearts, and tongues, rallied around their respective leaders, and pushed them on to the conflict.
A proselyting spirit became rife; and if an individual changed sides, he was hailed by the favored
party as an important acquisition, and decried by
the deserted party as no loss to be regretted. If,
by the great grace of God, a person was converted,
he was sure to be visited by both ministers, and
all the deacons, and no pains were spared, on either
side, to induce him to join " our Church."  If a
new family came to reside in the place, they were




94         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
invited to attend " our meeting," and by both parties inducements were offered, such as a pew furnished, exemption fiom taxes, and even denominational patronage in secular business. All this was
accompanied by abundance of complimentary remarks touching our minister, our meeting-house,
our singing, our Sabbath School, and the class of
people in our congregation; and as certainly by
a superabundance of detractive hints with respect
to everything  pertaining  to the other society.
At length, one of the societies concluded to erect
a new house of worship, and the subscription for
the purpose, though deficient by one third of
the estimated cost, was so large that few, without inconvenience, could redeem their pledges. A
spacious edifice, with a lofty steeple, was erected
and dedicated, with a heavy mortgage upon it.
A bell, the largest in the county, was mounted
in the belfry, and for a whole day was made to
send its echoes among the hills, taunting, with
iron tongue, the humbled and mortified occupants
of the smaller and less fashionable sanctuary. This
was too much to be quietly endured. The pride
of sect was touched in a tender point, and it was
at once resolved not to be outdone, but to outdo.
Another season the other society would have a
meeting-house a little better than the boasted best.
They were as good as their word; for what can



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            95
not the sectarian spirit do? —what, except influence mankind to love God and one another?
No matter for the expense; no matter for a debt
which should hang for years to their neck like a
millstone; no matter for anything but successful
rivalry. The corner stone was laid with a flourish;
the house went up, one foot longer and six inches
wider than the other.l The steeple stretched its
triangular points two feet farther towards the
physical heavens than its far-reaching neighbor.
A bell ten pounds heavier than the other, and of
"much better tone," was balanced aloft, and for
many a noisy hour was made to retort the provocation which had been neither forgiven nor forgotten.  Well! there they are, two large and
beautiful houses, either of sufficient capacity for
the wants of the entire population. The one has
green blinds on the outside, and the other is
frescoed inside; the one has a rosewood pulpit,
and the other has an organ; the one has gothic
windows, and the other has a colonnade in front.
The preachers prepare their ablest discourses, the
bells are rung, and the people collect, eyeing one
another askance as they pass in opposite directions; but seldom is either house more than onethird filled with hearers.
1 I know two church edifices, thus built in rivalry, where the
dimensions differed only one inch each way.




96        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
Just at this point a man of great self-assurance
and a flippant tongue comes along, and appoints
a Sabbath service in the school-house, where he
proposes to advocate a system of doctrine derived
from  any source other than the Word of God.
For several years there had been a few individuals
in the place who were inclined to that belief, and
who, in the midst of the strifes that had raged
around them, had acquired increased dislike of
evangelical religion and its professors. The meeting was fully attended, and the preacher was
invited to leave another appointment. His theory was captivating; he made the way of life
broad, and heaven of easy attainment. The result was, that within a year a society was formed
around this man, whom bothr'the preexistent societies agreed, without meaning to agree, to pronounce "an intruder."  Many, disgusted with the
dissensions by which the community had been
lacerated and inflamed, readily fell into the new
organization, knowing little and caring less what
tenets or morals they might be encouraging. The
young people, attracted by novelty as well as by
the license to sin which the new doctrine gave
them, were inclined in that direction; and thus,
by various means, the third party were strengthened and soon enabled to provide a temple of
their own.  In the meantime, the two Churches,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             97
led on by their ministers, reproached and criminated each other as the occasion of this pestilent
intrusion, damaging to both; and the belligerent
spirit took on new forms, only to alienate still
more of their supporters and turn the balance
against themselves by supplying recruits to the
common enemy.
"The peaceful Spirit, like a dove,
Flies from the realms of noise and strife."
In that community, practical godliness is little
known. Revivals have been infrequent, very limited in extent, very superficial, very equivocal in
the character of their fruits. The few who love
the truth are disheartened, and the people generally are the contemners of Christ and his claims.
That, my enamored brother, is the moral interior of a scene upon which you are lavishing your
encomiums; and, while you are so benevolently
fancying that it must be the favorite resort of the
heavenly visitants, the angel of the pit is there,
flapping his dark wings over the place, and screaming, in irony, " See, how these Christians love one
another! "
This sketch, if compared with the state of things
in many communities, may justly be considered
as exaggerated; but, in its general features, it
9




98         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
answers for hundreds of places, fairly exhibiting
the practical workings of the sectarian spirit, and
showing how disastrous are its effects, not only
upon Christian character, but Christian usefulness.
Multitudes are disaffected, then filled with prejudices, then alienated from public worship, and
made the easy prey of "seducing spirits that lie
in wait to deceive," and lead their victims in a
mass to perdition. Even if the prejudiced and
repelled assume no organized form, and rally
around no heretical standard, they become the
despisers of the Christian profession, the contemners of experimental religion, the open violaters of the Sabbath, the scornful neglecters of
all the means of grace, and, so far as human
agency is concerned, utterly unapproachable, invulnerable.  The question is, indeed, a fearful
one: Where lies the responsibility?  We may
lay the whole at the door of human depravity;
but whence comes the aliment upon which depravity and error thus fatten and thrive? One
party, and another party, may say, "We are not
in the fault." Satan takes care, for the present,
to reproach none of us, and pronounces us his
most efficient coadjutors. But what is the decision of Him, who says, " See that ye love one
another with a pure heart fervently?"  All parties, and certainly all persons, may not be equally




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            99
culpable; but which is the denomination to whom,
in this department, he might not say, "I have
somewhat against thee?"
All the sects, properly entitled to the name of
Christian, are engaged, with more or less zeal, in
efforts to propagate the gospel among the heathen,
- a service quite similar in its aims to that which
proved the devotedness, and absorbed the resources, of the primitive Church.  But, unlike
to that Church, they are going forth in separate
bands, with every one its distinctive name, system  of belief, and mode of ecclesiastical organization. Considerable success has attended the
labors of them all, and all have now their Churches
composed of converts from heathenism. It is not
apparent that God has made any distinction in
the matter of success, on the ground of their denominational peculiarities. They preach Christ,
and the Holy Spirit gives them  souls renewed
as the fruits of their fidelity. For the present,
the converts are happily ignorant of Protestant
schisms. But not very remote is the day when
they will become acquainted with the discreditable fact, that those who have so benevolently
come thousands of miles to impart to them  the
gospel, are divided among themselves; that they
interpret differently some parts of the Book which




100        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
they allege to be inspired; and that those who
sent and support them  are separated into sects
which refuse to cooperate, and are not on terms
of cordial fellowship. Naturally inquisitive, they
will inquire into the facts, and insist upon explanation. How shall they be satisfied? It will be
a sad day for the missionary, when he must disclose the real truth, and make an effort to transform his simple-hearted brethren from Christians
into sectarians. They have read in their own
tongue the Gospels and the Epistles, so kindly
translated for them, and the impression thence
derived is that believers in Christ are one. The
lessons and the petitions of Jesus upon this subject they have committed to memory.  The picture drawn by Luke of the unanimity and affection of the primitive Church, has filled them with
admiration. The teachings of the Apostles, with
respect to brotherly love and mutual forbearance,
they have regarded as beautifully adapted to produce upon earth a miniature heaven. But facts
are now developed, strangely at variance with
the impressions which they have received from
the New  Testament. They learn the state of
things in those far-off lands which the missionaries, for their sakes,'have left behind. They become acquainted, too, with the differences, both
of belief and practice, that exist among the mis



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          101
sionaries of the various denominations. They are
startled; they are perplexed; they are grieved.
"Is Christ divided?"  "No, no;" is the prompt,
unanimous reply. "Why, then, are you divided?
Why are we divided? Whence these party names?
If there be but one Lord, why are there more than
one faith and one baptism?"  These questions
will yet be proposed, and all missionaries must be
prepared to meet them. Who can foresee the
results? Will none of the converts acquire from
their explaining teachers either the spirit or the
tactics of party?  Will none of them lose confidence in their new-found religion, and decline
in their zeal for its diffusion among their countrymen?  And when the unconverted heathen
shall come to learn the facts as they are, will they
not, more captiously than ever, object to an exchange of their religion for another whose character and tendencies are thus practically exhibited?
A valuable American missionary, foreseeing this
inevitable evil, has proposed a rule of action to
be observed by all sects, which, he thinks, would
result in the greatest benefit to the Church and
the world.  "In selecting their spheres of action," says Mr. Abeel, "let each denomination pass
by the places already occupied, and fix upon those
where their services are most needed. Let it be
a mutual understanding, that if education or pre9*




102        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
dilection dispose the inhabitants of any part of
a country to a particular sect, all others will yield
the ground."  There is plausibility in this proposal; it is kind in spirit; and you, my brother,
will inquire why the experiment should not first
be tried in our home-field. But creditably courteous as would be such an arrangement for the
distribution of heathen territory, it would only
postpone the development of facts which must
ultimately be known, and the result would be
such an extension  of our divisions, geographically, as would greatly diminish the feasibility,
and render more remote the prospect, of an ultimate and happy adjustment of our differences.
Perhaps the excellent brother who expects from
the application of this rule "the most desirable
consequences," anticipates that before there should
be any actual infringement by one denomination
upon the territory of another, the predicted and
looked-for millennial period will have arrived, in
which shall be restored the glad scenes of primitive harmony and fellowship.  Happy anticipation! But, alas! how ill adapted to the production of universal fraternity and concord is the
process of extending party lines, till, like the
great circles of the astronomer, they shall not
only encompass the globe, but reach the heavens!
What progress are we likely to make towards the




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          103
desirable union, while the walls of separation are
continually strengthened, every party fortifying
them on its own side?
The injurious tendency of our sectarian divisions, to which I now refer as likely to be developed in the field of our Foreign Missionary operations, is painfully apprehended by many of the
missionaries themselves,-by all who are placed
in circumstances that direct their attention to the
subject. Where laborers of different denominations occupy the same field, as in large cities, and
have formed Churches side by side, they have
felt so deeply the importance of producing upon
all around the conviction of their substantial oneness, as to be constrained to pursue a line of conduct to which they had never been accustomed
at home, and for which they have supposed it
not improbable they might incur the animadversion of their distant supporters. I do not suggest
a suspicion that they have acted insincerely, or
that they have sacrificed the convictions of conscience upon the altar of expediency. They were
honest before God, and did what they were sure
would be pleasing to him. I mention the fact
merely to show how deep is the impression upon
the minds of those who are in circumstances to
appreciate the argument, that the divisions among
Christians are unfavorable to their influence over
the heathen.




104        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
No Christian, I presume, desires that the piety
of the present generation of believers should be
transferred to the pagan world.  On the contrary, it is matter of fervent prayer that the mould
into which the converts from heathenism might
be cast, should be more after the primitive pattern, including all the elements of a higher order
of piety than ours; a stronger faith, a deeper
humility, a warmer love, a greater deadness to
the world, and a fuller consecration of all to
Christ. Is any Christian willing to have the sectarian divisions with which we are familiar, extended to Asia, Africa, and the Isles of the Sea,
and to have reinacted there the competitions and
strifes of Protestant Europe and America? The
idea is to me inexpressibly painful and revolting;
and, while I would ask no body of Christians to
intermit their efforts for the evangelization of the
heathen, but would urge them onward by all the
motives which can be derived from the command
of Christ, the value of the soul, and the retributions of eternity, I would, nevertheless, importune
them, by the love of the Saviour, and by their
duty to posterity, not to transfer to pagan lands,
and therefore not to perpetuate at home, an evil
so manifestly unchristian, and so fatally charged
with pernicious elements.
I may be reminded that the various denomina



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         105
tions, however divided and debilitated, are doing
much and purposing to do more for the conversion of the world; and that, notwithstanding
their disunion, God blesses their endeavors, and
makes their labors effective, so that in no century
since the decease of the apostles has Christianity
achieved such extensive triumphs as we are permitted to witness. All this is readily conceded;
and with any brother I will bow my knees in
devout gratitude to the God of all grace for every
fact which he may produce from this department.
But if he wishes me to conclude from such premises that our schisms are not seriously interfering
with our Christian efficiency, and may be tolerated
as a minor evil, I must respectfully plead non
sequitir, and remonstrate with him, not only for
the illegitimacy of his logic, but also for the objectionable condition of his moral feelings. He
is not ignorant of what the New Testament requires of Christians as to both spirit and conduct.
He knows the validity of the argument drawn
from the extraordinary successes of the primitive,
missionary, united Church.  He is aware that,
mainly as a consequence of our divisions and controversies, Mohammedanism, Popery, and Irreligion still divide the more enlightened portions
of the world among themselves. He can number
the disciples of reformed Christianity, and learn




106         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
for himself that they still remain an insignificant
minority.  He will surely admit that the spirit
of disunion, "by confirming the irreligious in their
impiety, disheartening the sincere inquirer after
truth, and blinding numbers with the idea that
the sectarian spirit is true piety, is still ruinous
to the souls of men; and that, by dividing our
limited instrumentality at home, and tending to
counteract our Christian influence abroad, and,
incomparably more than all, by grieving the Holy
Spirit of God, it is still enfeebling and endangering our missionary operations, and delaying
the conversion of the world."1 And will he deliberately suggest considerations to show the comparative harmlessness or innocence of an evil that
he ought to condemn?  Will he plead for mitigation of sentence, or ask me to soften the tone
of unqualified rebuke?  He and I are involved
in the consequences of this evil. May we not be
responsible for its continuance!
Both in this country and in Europe I have
heard addresses upon anniversary platforms, in
which very charming things were said touching
the "incidental benefits of sectarian rivalries and
competitions;" and could I have felt that the
1 Rev. Dr. Harris's Prize Essay on Christian Union.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         107
speakers were not obsequiously flattering those
with whom they refused all visible fellowship, and
were not endeavoring to relieve themselves from
the conscious awkwardness of a position of seeming union to which their previous conduct supplied
no fair counterpart, and with which they did not
expect that their future course would harmonize,
I should have had more respect for their sincerity, and probably been more enraptured by
their declamation. Incidental benefits of sectarian rivalries and competitions! Fine theme for
a Christian minister when facing an audience of
thousands, and pleading the claims of the crucified Saviour, the obligations of his redeemed and
consecrated Church, and the wants of millions
perishing in sin! Apologizing for a wrong which
Christ abhors, which for fifteen centuries has
been the deformity and disgrace of Christianity,
and which is at present, however modified, a
prime curse of the Church! How much more
consistent with the dignity of his office, and the
proprieties of the occasion, to present the Cross,
and, taking his own position the nearest to it,
summon us by the miseries of humanity, by the
solemnities of the judgment, by the woes of the
lost, by the felicities of the saved, and more than
all, by the agonies and the blood of Calvary, to
join him in renewed consecration of body, soul




108        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
and spirit, time, talent and wealth, to the work
of saving a guilty, ruined race! Incidental benefits of division, disunion, alienation among the
disciples of Jesus, all jointly and severally expectants of a heavenly inheritance!  0, man of
God! tell us rather of the blessed effects of unanimity of sentiment, similarity of practice, prevalence of brotherly love, holy consolidation into
one Apostolic Church, with one name, one heart,
one way, one object, affectionately cooperating
in the Master's service. Tell us of that desirable
period when the Church shall become all that the
prophets predicted, all that the Saviour desired,
all that the apostles labored to make her. There
is to be such a period, when "the light of the
moon shall be as the light of the sun; and the
light of the sun seven-fold, as the light of seven
days;" and that shall be "IN THE DAY THAT THE
LORD BINDETH UP THE BREACH OF HIS PEOPLE,
AND HEALETH THE STROKE OF THEIR WOUND."
Tell us, servant of Jesus, what shall be the spiritual glories of those "last days," when "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on
the top of the mountains and exalted above the
hills, and all nations shall flow unto it."  Tell us
of the period of the Church's unity, and what are
the signs of its coming. Tell us how she will
appear, and what she will do, when she shall be




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         109
cordially, really one in Christ, her living, ruling
Head. "Clothed with the sun," what will be her
influence upon a dark and sterile world?  Comprehending within herself, by virtue of her union
with her Lord, all the elements of moral might;
"endued, as of old, with power from on high;"
how rapidly will her conquests be achieved, and
the seventh angel be permitted to sound, and
great voices be heard on high, proclaiming that
"the kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he
shall reign forever and ever!"
10




110        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
III.
SOME METHODS BY WHICH OUR OWN DENOMINATION MAY PROBABLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROMOTION OF CHRISTIAN FRATERNITY.
I COME, now, dear brother, to the consideration
of a branch of my subject that is chiefly practical.
Let us again bow together before " the Father of
lights," and beseech him, for the Saviour's sake,
to bestow upon us liberally that illuminating and
sanctifying Influence which alone can lead us into a
thorough knowledge of his perfect will, and incline
our hearts to do whatsoever may appear to be duty.
"The meek will he guide in judgment; and the
meek will he teach his way."
I suppose that we, as a denomination, may not
take it for granted that we are wholly free from
responsibility touching the prevalent disunion of
Christians, or that we have nothing to do towards
the healing of the breaches that have so long and
so injuriously divided the people of God.  We
may not be wrong to an extent that will require a
general or even a partial recession from the trusted
platform on which our ecclesiastical organizations
have so long immovably reposed. As I have not




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           111
intermeddled with the fundamental principles of
other denominations, so I shall leave ours untouched; and, in pursuing this course, I am influenced, not only by an unwillingness to bring constitutional questions into the discussion, but also
by the clear conviction, that, until some previous
matters shall have received careful attention, not
one of the denominations will be prepared even
to examine specific plans of union.  Such plans
have already been proposed; but, as they have
generally commenced with the assumption that
the proposing party is right and the others are
wrong, they have necessarily failed to win general
favor; and this uniform failure, together with some
acquaintance with human nature, has led me to the
conclusion, that nothing so radical can be accomplished until hearts shall be made better, and
tongues more regulated by the law of love, and
pens dipped more exclusively in the spirit of
Calvary.
By commencing at once those preliminary improvements that shall clear the way to the fundamental elements of a scriptural union, and thus
prepare the whole body of believers to perceive
the true basis on which Christ would have us harmoniously unite and affectionately cooperate, we
may render to ourselves, and, by the force of example, to our brethren of every name, a valuable




112        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
service. To this end, we should endeavor to obtain
distinct and correct views of the deplorable effects
of schism, as exhibited in the history of the past,
as daily developed in our own times, and as likely
to become apparent in the disclosures of the future. Let us conceal nothing from ourselves; let
us open our minds to the full impression which the
facts will assuredly make upon the considerate and
candid.  Let us also anticipate, as we certainly
may, without any improper license of the imagination, the delightful influence upon the Church and
the world of that cordial union which all agree to
be desirable. More than all, let us take a midnight
walk with Jesus from the table of the Eucharist to
the Garden of Sorrows, and, as we passover " the
brook in the way," hear him plead for the oneness
of his disciples in all lands, all ages of the world.
Our minds may thus be made tender and susceptible, and ready to welcome suggestions of a still
more definite and practical character.
1. WE MAY ENDEAVOR, CAREFULLY, TO DISPOSSESS
OURSELVES OF THE SPIRIT OF SECT.
This spirit I have shown to be the fruitful source
of innumerable evils; and, however difficult it may
be, so long as Christians retain their sectarian organizations, to dislodge it effectually from their




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             113
bosoms, yet I know not how, until this be done,
they can rationally hope for any thorough, satisfactory reform. Let these organizations be broken
up to-day, and, if the spirit that has so long maintained them be not also destroyed, the mass would
separate again to-morrow  and  crystallize afresh
around their old centres, as indisposed as ever
to a general consolidation.  These special affinities, constituting no essential part of Christian
character, must yield to the paramount law of
cohesion, - the great law of love, - including supreme love to Christ, reverent love to his truth,
unreserved love to one another; and then combination will be easy, for it will be natural. The
spirit of sect is the principal antagonist to Christian fraternity; for while, by a process all its own,
it unites a certain portion, it as surely, by the
same process, repels aII the remainder.  So long,
therefore, as it exists in a single mind, there cannot
be entire Christian union.
That this spirit has its home among us to a
greater extent than in other denominations, I have
no reason to believe; but that it exists and operates
among us, my observation will not allow me to
question.  The number who are entirely free from
it are, I fear, not a large majority. It crops out at
innumerable points, indicating that more is beneath.
On almost all occasions, private and public, it is
10*




114         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
more or less apparent -~' esprit du corps - giving
cast and coloring to much that is felt, and said, and
done. That it is the main-spring of Baptist activity in the religious department, it would be unjust to intimate; but that it is a spring of no
small power, we must honestly concede. It is visible in our benevolent operations, our periodical
press, our denominational literature, our schools,
colleges, and theological institutions; in our men,
women, and, children; in our prayers, preaching,
and almost every form of evangelical effort. It is
not, as we are Christians, the principal element of
our religious character; but it is, as we are imperfect Christians, an element mingled with and
corrupting that which had a better origin.  It
works covertly, damaging character by the subtle
delusion that love of sect is brotherly love, and
what we do for sect we do for Christ. We feel so
sure that we are right in all respects, as practically
to make the kingdom of heaven on earth, and our
own denomination one and the same. In this we
do not excel others; but, in our measure, we resemble them.
Now, difficult as may be the service here recommended, of removing a spirit that has become incorporated into our nature and habits, so as to
seem utterly inextricable, - a spirit to which nutriment is ministered from  so many sources; and




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           115
more difficult as it may be to effect the dislodgement
of a spirit of whose presence and malign agency
the possessed themselves are not conscious, — still
there is no impossibility in the case; for what
ought to be done, can be done; and the bare knowledge of the magnitude and heinousness of the evil,
and of the incalculable benefits that would result
from its thorough repudiation, imposes upon me
and you and every Christian the duty of attempting its immediate and entire removal. We should
all search our hearts, as the Hebrews searched
their dwellings for every remnant of the forbidden
leaven; and we should, with perseverance and holy
hatred, trace the unhallowed spirit in all its dark
and sinuous retreats, and, giving no quarter, seek
its complete extermination. The sectarian spirit!
What argument can be adduced for its allowed
existence in any shape or for any purpose, that
may not be pleaded for the perpetuity of schism
with all its progeny of abominations?  If this
spirit, which is the parent and prime nurse of all
our disunion, may be spared from annihilation or
even reprehension, then may we, then must we
spare also our execrations of the divisions which
it engenders and nourishes. Tolerate the mother
of the diabolical brood, and the offspring will not
soon become less numerous or less thrifty.
The spirit of sect is not the spirit of Christ. By




116        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
no power of sectarian alchymy can it be transmuted
into anything valuable. To the unpractised eye,
it may be made to resemble that element of holiness upon which the New Testament so largely
insists-love to the brethren; but it is the resemblance of a gilded spuriousness to a heaven-coined
reality. The more we have of it, the poorer we
are; for it not only constitutes no part of the "true
riches" of Christian character, but is worse than
worthless, occupying that place in the mind which
ought to be " filled with all the fulness of God."
Should you inquire what method I would propose for the removal of this wicked spirit, I reply,
that we are to put it away as we would any other
sinful affection that is deeply rooted. Something
may be accomplished by imitating the practical
farmer, who kills out the noxious from the soil by
planting and cultivating the useful. But, in multitudes of minds, a sterner and more radical process
will be requisite; for the vice has struck its taproot far down into the soul, and its thousand
branches and minuter filaments have extended into
every department of the moral nature. "Break
up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns."
Any one who is acquainted with the natural history of sectarianism, would conclude, a priori, that
"This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." We must repent before God, and the Church,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            117
and the World, that we have ever cherished a spirit
so dishonorable to Christianity, so ruinous to souls;
and our repentance must be of that effectual kind
which uproots and flings away all uncharitableness,
and prepares the soul for the full, unobstructed
growth of that "perfect love" which takes to its
bosom all the good in the universe. And connected with this there must be prayer: " Create
in me a clean heart, 0 God! and renew a right
spirit within me."
2. WE MAY CULTIVATE A HIGHER DEGREE OF PERSONAL HOLINESS.
SIN is, in the moral world, the fatal cause of repulsion and separation. It is the occasion of those
conflicts which disturb the inward tranquillity of
the individual; and to its influence we may trace
the disorder and confusion that are everywhere
reckoned as social evils. Just in proportion as sin
exists in any community, is it impossible to make
the moral elements cohere; for its nature is to make
men unlike to one another, and therefore unlike to
any common standard of character. IHence the
inspired declaration — "The founder melteth in
vain, for the wicked are irot plucked away."
HOLINESS is the great assimilating, combining,
cementing principle of the moral world. It har



118        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
monizes the faculties and affections of the individual, and produces that internal adjustment and concord which the Scriptures denominate "peace,""The peace of God which passeth all understanding." So, also, by bringing numbers into harmony
with the laws under which God has placed them,
and thus conforming them  to a common model,
holiness makes them  resemble one another, and
then they come together by the law of simple
affinity. Just in proportion, therefore, to the degree of holiness in the members of any social
organization, will be the sincerity of their mutual
attachment, the strength of their adhesion, and the
solidity and indissolubleness of their union.  In
heaven, the unanimity and the fellowship are perfect, because all the constituents of that happy
society are not only sinless, but consciously, actively holy. So, in the Church below, were we
" perfect," we should " walk by the same rule, and
mind the same thing."  Christ is the, Source of the
attractive power to all his people, whether in the
world of glory, or in this state of discipline, drawing them all into oneness around himself; and, as a
necessary consequence, the nearer they are to him,
the Centre of the moral sphere, the nearer they are
to one another.
Who does not know that the more spiritual and
heavenly-minded Christians become, the more are




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           119
they dispossessed of sectarian feelings, and the
less easily are they confined within sectarian inclosures?  Who has not seen the more devoted and
Christ-like of every denomination exhibit their
peculiar affinity, by associating for the enjoyment
of that endeared communion which they find in
familiar conversation upon gracious subjects, and
in joint addresses to the throne of heavenly grace?
Opposed to everything like schism, and therefore
unwilling to draw another dividing line by forming another party, they do not quit their respective
Churches, but continue as ever to perform  the
duties to which they are pledged by covenant relation. But, as opportunity presents, they go to
" their own company," to cultivate the friendship
of the holiest they can find, and to open their
hearts to such as can fully sympathize with their
widened views and deepened feelings.
"For the divisions of Reuben there were great
searchings of heart." The obstacles that interfere
with Christian union may all be referred to one
source, the heart.  The difficulty, therefore, is
moral rather than physical or intellectual, and
is to be overcome by moral means —by means
directed convergently to the source of the evil.
Christians may be brought together, as they are,
and induced for a season to cooperate as if sincerely united.  A  conviction of necessity may




120        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
apply such pressure as shall procure a mechanical
union that shall be of some advantage so long as
it lasts. But no sooner is that particular force
withdrawn than the elements separate as before,
indulging, perhaps, some self-complacency in the
faithfulness with which they have observed the
truce, and kept the belligerent spirit in temporary
abeyance. The union needed is such a union of
souls as nothing can effectuate but the heavenly
chemistry of holiness, that mighty principle which
assimilates  hearts and welds  them  together.
How concentrated and combined were the affections of those growing thousands in the primitive
Church! " The multitude of them that believed
were of ONE HEART."  Their purity of character
- made such by the baptism of fire - contributed
to their union, and their warm fraternal fellowship
supplied facilities for still higher attainments in
the divine life.  "Great grace was upon them
all."
To this point, then, we ought to give immediate
and earnest attention, for really it is a matter of
primary interest. Serious as are the obstacles to
the growth of individual piety which are interposed by the divisions of Christians, and especially
by the prevalent spirit of sect, still they are not
insuperable. Thousands who have worn the party
name, and sustained the party relation, have




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          121
thrown from them the shackles of all party spirit,
and risen superior to all party influences, and
walked on high with God, in sweet companionship
with the holy of all ages and all communions.
But it is impossible that Christians, with their
present measure of piety, should become generally
one.  They have too little disinterested love.
Their conformity to their blessed Head is too
incomplete.  They have within them  too many
sinful elements to admit of happy, permanent
cohesion. These elements, such as pride, selfishness, love of the world, emulation, self-esteem,
and numerous concomitant evils of a partially
sanctified nature, must be thoroughly extirpated
from individual minds before they can be qualified
candidates for such fellowship as Christ and his
apostles commended. That union does not subsist in any denomination-certainly not in ours.
We agree in some things; but we are not one
according to the New Testament pattern. I question if true gospel unity can be found in any
Church of an hundred members on the face of the
earth. No church, no denomination is yet within
itself holy enough to make its own unanimity
more than approximate. Allowing, therefore, that
our creed and practice and ecclesiastical polity are
preeminently scriptural, and that all denominations
of Christians, as the result of intelligent convic11




122       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
tion, should adopt them, and thus occupy with us
a common platform, there would not, there could
not, be true gospel union. We are not united
among ourselves; they are not united among
themselves. A conjunction of any number of disunited bodies would never make one accordant
and harmonious compound.  Let us not deceive
ourselves. The holiness of the denominations 
our own holiness - is not yet such as to justify
the hope that any combining process would be
extensively successful. The attempt, in the present condition of things, would probably result in
the creation of a new sect. We all need a much
larger measure of the Divine Influence to remove
our prejudices, to clarify our spiritual vision, to
impregnate our minds with the love of pure truth,
to assimilate us more completely to the great Magnet of the universe- the Crucified One. When
these results are accomplished in us, —and accomplished they may be, and should be, - then shall
we be prepared for union, and then, doubtless, we
shall be more attractive as well as more attracted
than we now are.
Many other reasons might be suggested why we
should cultivate a higher degree of personal holiness; but my present object confines me to this
one point - the indispensableness of an advanced
state of piety to the promotion of true Christian




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           123
union.  We are deficient in that " godliness"
which "is profitable unto all things," and therefore profitable to the harmonizing of separated
and alienated brethren.  We have devoted much
to the outward of Christianity; let us turn our
care to the inward, and give more to the culture
of piety and holy living by faith on the Son of
God. Let us endeavor, by all the helps of Divine
grace, to kill out more effectually the selfishness
of our natures, and cultivate a supreme regard for
the glory of Christ. Happy would it be for us
and for others, would we but strive, " according
to the power that worketh in us," to be more
Christ-like, to be "crucified with Christ," to be
"made conformable to his death," to be "sanctified
wholly," to have our "whole body and soul and
spirit preserved blameless," to be " filled with the
Spirit," and so to follow the Saviour as that we
"shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life."  The end to be sought is of incalculable
importance. As a means for its attainment, our
greatly increased sanctification is indispensable.
The perfection of Christian union depends upon
perfection of Christian character. For holiness,
then, we should individually, unanimously, vigorously strive; and as we press on towards higher
and still higher attainments, let us avail ourselves
of the fulness of provision in the Dispensation of




124        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
Grace, which is preeminently the Dispensation of
the Spirit.
3. WE MAY ILLUSTRATE, BY OUR OWN PRACTICE,
THE GREAT PRINCIPLE, THAT THE WORD OF GOD
IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED STANDARD IN ALL MATTERS OF RELIGION.
The falsities of the Roman Antichrist may be
generalized under three heads.
1. That a knowledge of religious truth and
duty is to be derived, not exclusively from the
Sacred Scriptures, but also and largely from other
sources, as tradition, the writings of the Fathers,
the opinions of the prelates, and especially of the
Pope, and the adjudications of Councils.  Vox.Ecclesice vox Dei, is the idea, to repudiate which
is fatal heresy. The Church, that is, the hierarchy, is not only the interpreter of God's communications, but is also the authorized teacher
of much that God has left otherwise unrevealed.
The Bible, thus interpreted, is only one source of
religious knowledge, and is not of itself sufficient
to direct a sinner in the way of salvation.
2. That the righteousness of Christ received by
faith is not the sole ground of a sinner's acceptance with God; but that other things are to be
recognized as meritorious causes of eternal life;




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           125
among which are, a particular relation to the
Church of Rome; various ceremonial observances,
such as fasts, penances, pilgrimages, invocations of
the saints and the Virgin, confessions, masses, pecuniary contributions; and especially the superabundant holiness of the saints deposited in the
Church, as a treasure, to supply the deficiency
of Christ's merits, and subject to the disposal of
the Pope and his authorized subordinates.
3. That the regeneration of a sinner is not
effected entirely by the agency of the Holy Spirit,
or even by the Spirit and the Word combined,
but in part, if not mainly, by the influence of
certain prescribed ceremonies which are represented as indispensable, not only as the mediums
of the Divine Influence, but also as possessing in
themselves a saving efficiency.
It was against these three falsehoods, in particular, so fatally subversive of the whole Christian system, that the partially enlightened and
bold Reformers of the sixteenth century vehemently protested, and from whose baneful influence they vigorously endeavored to disenthral not
only themselves, but their deluded contemporaries.
Hence, they brought out prominently the three
great principles of immortal Truth:
THE BIBLE, the only authoritative source of
religious knowledge.
11*




126       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST, received by
faith, the only ground of a sinner's justification
before God.
THE HOLY SPIRIT, the all-sufficient Agent in
the production of spiritual life in the soul of
man.
This trinity of propositions they held up to the
wondering nations, and faithful history informs us
of the power which God gave them in the emancipation of enslaved millions.
The effort to restore the Bible to its proper
place in human estimation, was the result of a
clear conviction that this Volume, the Gift of
God, teaches all we need to know and to do in
the department of Religion. The writings of the
Reformers, though marred by some errors, abound
with propositions and explanations which show
conclusively how correct was their general theory;
and in their zealous, self-denying, and often perilous endeavors to supply the people, in their own
tongues, with the whole Book of God, we find
their practice happily consistent with their theory.
And from their day to ours, the tongues and the
pens of Protestant Christians have repeated and
"'multiplied the declarations of those giants of Reform; and, during the last half century, numerous Bible associations have practically demonstrated that the principles avowed are not the




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          127
rhapsodies of sentiment, but the deliberate convictions of the understanding and the warm attestations of the heart. Who, of Protestant proclivities, has not admired, and quoted with his
own endorsement, that terse, expressive proposition of the learned Chillingworth: "The Bible,
the Bible, I say, the Bible only is the religion of
Protestants? "  And well did he add in the next
sentence: "'Whatsoever else they may believe as
a matter of faith and religion, they cannot do it
with coherence to their own grounds, nor require
the belief of it in others, without most high and
most schismatical presumption."
Yet, strong as have been the declarations of
all Protestants upon this subject, and much as
they have contributed towards the translation and
distribution of the Bible, it may be a question if
Protestants, of all denominations, have not more
or less violated the great Principle which they have
so often arfd so eloquently advocated. Luther
said that " every man is born with a Pope in his
heart." The errors of the papacy seem to be indigenous to human nature; and it would not be
remarkable, if the best of men, partially sanctified,
should betray the presence of some remnants of
the old leaven. But how stands the fact?  Do
Protestants confine themselves to the Word of
God as their sole instructor in religious truth and




128          CHRISTIAN  BROTHERHOOD.
duty?1   One of the most able  and fascinating
writers of modern times has drawn a beautiful
word-picture in the following form: "All the doctors, Greek, Latin, French, Swiss, German, English, American, placed  in  the  presence  of the
Word of God, are, altogether, only disciples who
are receiving instruction.  Men of the first times,
men of the last, we are all alike upon the benches
of the Divine School; and in the chair of instruction, around  which  we  are  humbly  assembled,
nothing appears, nothing  elevates itself but the
infallible Word of God.  I perceive in that vast
1 The Reformation in Germany turned entirely upon this
principle: "The Fathers must be tried by the Scriptures, and
not the Scriptures by the Fathers." Then, when Luther, aided
by Melancthon, had made the Bible common by his translation,
and announced the clearness and certainty of its truths, without the aid of commentators; then it was that the errors of
Popery, one by one, lost their hold upon the minds of the
people, and a oneness of sentiment and faith was given to the
whole body of reformers and their disciples everywhere, that
vibrated at all points of Christendom, and put a newness of
face on the kingdom of Christ. We, even in these days, have
in some measure degenerated from the sacred oracles. We
have had recourse to waters, collected from the living fountain,
only in the receptacles in which human authors have deposited
them, and where they are impregnated with the qualities of the
fallible and fallen minds that have distributed them. We must
drink these waters in greater purity, by retracing our steps to
their source.- Dr. Liefchild.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           129
auditory, Calvin, Luther, Cranmer, Augustine,
Chrysostom, Athanasius, Cyprian, by the side of
our cotemporaries."' If this be taken as a representation of what should be, it is more than beautiful,-the conception is sublime. If I am  desired to regard it as descriptive of actual fact, I
pause and consider. Passing over the "men of
the first times" as the lights of a period long
anterior to the Reformation, and even to the general triumph of the papacy "whose coming was
after the working of Satan, with all power and
signs and lying wonders," I would respectfully
inquire if the "men of the last times," commencing with Martin Luther and ending with whom
you please, have practically carried out in their
formularies of doctrine and practice the boasted
principle, "The Bible only the religion of Protestants? " It is no part of my purpose to detect
and expose the inconsistencies and infirmities of
others; I design merely to intimate that the loud
proclamation and earnest advocacy of a great
Truth is not always accompanied by a full submission to that Truth in its practical requirements; and that if this incongruity may be found
in others, we may not take it for granted that
we are wholly exempt from it ourselves.
1 Puseyism Examined; by J. H. Merle d' Aubigne.




130         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
We are not strictly a Protestant denomination.
We are, many of us, descendants of those brave
men and women who protested against the abominations of Rome; but, as a Christian sect, we are
not the offspring of the Reformation. Our name
is nothing but a discriminative title, denoting at
first but a single peculiarity, now standing for a
class of ideas, and could easily be dismissed for
the more comprehensive and original appellation,
CHRISTIAN.  But our principles are older than
the papacy, - older than all the corruptions of
ecclesiastical Catholicism. Along the ages there
were a series of good men who maintained those
principles, and -protested against the perversion
of evangelical Christianity and the schisms of the
Christian Church; and to them we claim affinity.
If it be asked where we were during the exciting and tumultuous scenes of the Reformation, I
answer that, although few and feeble and scattered, we were there, not bearing  indeed  our
present name, nor yet the name Anabaptist,' but
advocating essentially our distinctive principles,
1 No pains have been spared to trace our paternity to the
Anabaptists of central Europe, a fanatical sect, of whom it
has never been proved that they were immersionists. They
repeated the rite, generally in the common form of the age,
simply to render it valid; not as performed in a better mode,
but by better hands.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         131
and endeavoring to commend them to the reception of both the reformers and the reformed.
Ever from the days of the Apostles we have professed to regard the Word of God as the only
authentic source of religious knowledge, the sole
arbiter of truth in all questions of religious faith
and practice.  The great Protestant sentiment
upon this subject has always been ours; and
neither Melancthon, nor Chillingworth, nor even
the learned Professor at Geneva, ever constructed
stronger utterances in its favor than have come
from the lips and the pens of our brethren at all
points along the line of our lengthened history.
Our antiquity as a sect is of minor consequence;
but we do attach value to the continuity of certain principles, commencing in the apostolic age,
and running unbroken through the ages of papal
error. We still avow the Bible to be the only
authoritative Book of the Church, the only Rule
of Christian faith and conduct, the Judge to whom
in all religious questions our appeal is to be made,
and whose decisions alone are ultimate and binding. Whoever may say, "To the Bible and Tradition," we are accustomed unanimously to say,
"To the Law and to the Testimony," or, "To the
Bible only."
After such statements, the inquiry may be
started: "What more, my brother, do you de



132        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
sire?" Nothing more, certainly, by way of profession. The theory is " perfect and entire, wanting nothing."  And is it not equally perfect in
the spoken and the written professions of other
evangelical denominations, whose practice, in some
respects, we think, contradicts or ignores the principle?  It may, therefore, be an unexpected, if
not an unwelcome, question, if we do practically
make the Bible our exclusive standard of truth and
duty in religion. I ask not if our system of belief is concurrent with the teachings of the Sacred
Scriptures;' or, if the Christian ordinances, as administered by us, are essentially after the primitive pattern; or, if our ecclesiastical organizations
are such as the Apostles, in our circumstances,
would be likely to adopt; because these questions
may, for the present, be answered in the affirmative, and yet the inquiry be legitimately urged,
if we actually treat the Bible as we profess to
regard it; if we do ourselves repair directly and
exclusively to the Word of God for our religious
knowledge; if our profession of the Christian
faith, and our connection with a particular body
of Christians are the results of our own investigations and intelligent convictions. Has tradition no authority with us?  Has the education
we received anterior to our conversion no influence in modifying our opinions and practices?




CHRISTIAN BROTHERH1OOD.         133
Are we never drawn into the Churches of which
we are members by the power of example, of
sympathy, of natural relationship, or of partiality
to the "ministers by whom we believed," or by
whose labors we are particularly edified?  Has
the Bible with us supreme authority, not only in
theory but also in fact? Is it the Law of our
hearts, our lips, our lives? Is it always the master, and never the servant, of our reason?
Perhaps no people are more accustomed than
we to say to converts and to all inquirers after
truth, "Go to the Scriptures. Read candidly and
prayerfully, and there ascertain what you are to'
believe and what you are to practise."  And yet,
do we never depart from this most commendable
advice by throwing in something else to incline
inquirers in a desired direction? Do we trust.
them with the Bible only?  Do we never interpose the influence of names, — the names of excellent men who thought and acted, as we think,
rightly?  We complain of others, and not without occasion, that they distribute tracts and books
adapted to sectarian purposes.  Do we never
recommend and circulate human productions, as
if something more than the Bible were necessary to lead perplexed minds to our conclusions?
Of the numerous thousands who are every year
identifying themselves with us by a Christian pro12




134        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
fession, how many can truly say that the Bible
only is their Directory, -the lamp unto their feet
and the light unto their path? What is the design, and what are the practical tendencies, of the
"denominational literature" for the young and
the old? Are our rising ministry never instructed
in systems of divinity which others have prepared
for their benefit? Those systems may be strictly
scriptural; but do they who receive them always
know by personal investigation that they embody
the truth of God?  And when they are supplied
with "rules of interpretation," and told to apply
them  for themselves, are those rules not unfrequently such as are expected and intended to
bring out certain results?  Is Ecclesiastical History never made with us, as well as with others,
to mould and modify our theological doctrines
and our views of Church polity?  Do we never,
in a Summary of Faith, submit for examination
a series of doctrinal propositions, or preceptive
instructions, and recommend that they be compared with the Scriptures?  And are not the
points thus presented intended to be like the
posts in a certain kind of fence, while the prooftexts to be culled from the Bible are, like flexile
osiers, to be wattled in to complete the structure?
Have you never thought, my brother, of a pecl



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           135
liar fact in the history of theological institutions?
The different sects have these "schools of the
prophets," in all of which it is professed that a
Biblical theology is taught. They certainly differ
more or less in their instructions, else they might
be consolidated, and, as I have shown, save expense, and make a better moral impression upon
the community. They certainly train their candidates for the pulpit differently, and send them
out for services that differ. Does not the spirit
of sect rule largely in these institutions? If not;
if the Bible is made the authoritative Guide, lead
where it may; if the pupils are encouraged to
make independent investigations, and taught to
submit their reasons to the clearly ascertained
will of God, —how shall we account for it that
they so uniformly emerge as they entered, with
no change but a confirmation of their preexistent
opinions, and firmer fixedness in their sectarian
relations? And if the leaders are thus trained in
a system, where the Bible is made to serve rather
than rule, it cannot surprise us that the masses
should follow their predilections, and seldom inquire "What saith the Lord?"
At the Council of Trent it is said that a copy
of the Bible was placed upon an elevated throne,
richly upholstered, in token of its supremacy. Yet
the worthies there assembled proceeded to settle




136        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
great questions of doctrine and polity without
once referring to the Book thus nominally enthroned.  Their action, if not designedly, was
actually as bitter mockery of the inspired Volume, as was the conduct of another group, who
put upon Christ a purple robe, and a reed in
his hand!  From  that epoch, a new startingpoint in the bloody march of spiritual despotism,
the Bible ceased to be allowed even the appearance of supremacy, and its royal position was
usurped by decrees and formularies of human
manufacture. We lay the Bible upon our high
places, both at home and in the house of worship,
and treat it objectively with great outward respect;
but do we really pay it all the reverence which
these formalities would indicate?  Does it hold
the primary place as our Teacher of truth and
duty?
We are constantly saying that if all Christians,
with minds completely dispossessed of prejudice,
and sincerely desirous to learn the divine will in
order that they might do it, would devoutly repair
to the Bible, and the Bible only, for information,
they would not fail of their object; they would
assuredly come into " the unity of the faith." And
who can dispute the correctness of this assertion?
Did not the Saviour say that if any man would




CIRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           137
DO his Father's will he should KNOW  the real
truth?  The Scriptures are not like the heathen
oracles, equivocal or enigmatical, nor are they "of
any private interpretation." If they were, how
could they be "profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness?"
They are a Revelation - an a'roKaXVLs - of the
will of God, containing the doctrines which he
would have us believe, and the precepts which he
would have us obey. He has informed us of the
simple conditions upon which we may ascertain
the meaning of this Paternal Gift, and these may
be comprised under four heads:
That our motive in all be to glorify Him;
That we diligently search the Scriptures;
That we search them with childlike docility;
That we search with the spirit of obedience.
If all would follow his directions, they would learn
his meaning, and therefore agree in their conclusions. To suppose it might be otherwise, would
be to destroy confidence in the Scriptures, and
impeach the wisdom, the veracity, and the goodness of their Divine Author.
But while such are the views that we proclaim,
and that are not ours exclusively, we must not
take it amiss if a question should be raised as to
our consistency of practice. Do we examine the
Word of God free from all prejudice or preposses12*




138        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
sion, entirely divested of the spirit of sect; and
are our investigations prosecuted with that docile
and obedient spirit, and with that purity of motive, which are indispensable to the certain discovery of the Divine will? If the Bible were now
for the first time put into our hands as the one and
only source of religious truth, are our minds in the
proper attitude for the ascertainment of its true
import? Are we sure that the conclusions to
which we should come are identical with the propositions set forth in our present creeds, or summaries of faith and practice?  Have we embraced
these propositions because we first found them
clearly taught in the Scriptures; or have we
embraced them and committed ourselves to their
defence, and afterwards looked for them, and found
them  the more easily in the Divine Word?  I
may be told that it matters very little how we
came by our religious theory, provided we can
prove it by the Scriptures. To such a pleader I
respectfully reply, that unless he has, by personal
investigation, made in the spirit of candor, with
prayer for Divine illumination, and with honest
practical intentions, derived his articles of belief
directly from the Sacred Volume, he has no right
to say that they are scriptural. He should know
that almost anything may be "proved" by fragmentary citations from Scripture wrested from




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         139
their connections, and that his proof-texts may,
by a process of subornation, be false witnesses.
Surely, there is a wide difference between hearing
with docility what God says, and using his testimony to confirm what man says.  Besides, he
should not forget that in his treatment of the
Scriptures, he is not such an one as God has promised to " guide in judgment," and to "teach his
way." He has not only violated his own principle
- "The Bible only is my religion" - but he has
deviated widely from the Divine directions touching the discovery of truth, and therefore "the
secret of the Lord" is not with him. He has not
talked with Jesus by the way, and had the Scriptures opened to him by their heavenly Author;
but he has embraced his system of theological
theses, and then brought them to the inspired
Word for corroboration. The Jews at Berea were
"more noble" than this; they heard what Paul
and Silas had to say, and were deeply interested
in their interpretations and appeals; but they did
not embrace the views presented, until they had
carefully "searched the Scriptures daily whether
those thing were so." Were I addressing him,
instead of you, I would say: No, my brother;
unless you have come unprejudiced, and free from
all party bias, and with a truly humble, docile
spirit, to the prayerful study of the Bible, you are




140        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
not authorized to say that your system is scriptural. It may be so, because others before you
may have fairly drawn it from  the Fountain of
living Truth; but you do not know it to be so,
and all your selected proof-texts will never justify
you in the use of very positive language respecting
it. You have embraced the system without knowing it to be scriptural, and for other reasons than
its Biblical verification; and, more than this, you
have foreclosed the only avenue leading to that
solid ground of certainty on which you might
stand erect and challenge contradiction. Say not,
then, that it is of little importance how you came
into possession of your views, provided you can
quote Scripture in their support. The question,
Is the system yours? is legitimate and deserving
of a considerate reply. A gbod title is of some
importance in our religious as well as our secular
affairs.
But the position thus assumed is indefensible in
another respect. It practically undervalues the
Word of God, and justifies the course of those
denominations who resort occasionally to other
sources of religious knowledge. They say, " The
Bible, the Bible only," and yet in practice it is Tradition, or the Fathers, or Ecclesiastical History, or
Articles, Iomilies, Standards of Faith, Confessions, or something else in addition to the Bible.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         141
We say, "The Bible, the Bible only," and yet,
according to your theory, we may receive from
some other source our theological principles, and
employ the Bible merely for their confirmation
and sanction. Thus perpetrating the very wrong
which we profess to condemn, and which, perhaps
boastfully, we allege that we avoid, our teachings
are impaired in force by an inconsistent example.
The various plans of union which have been
proposed and recommended have seemed to recognize the practicability of Christians coming together and being one without agreement in belief
and practice. It may be presumptuous in me to
express a doubt of the possibility of such an
union; but the doubt is deeply fixed in my mind,
and every new examination of the facts confirms
it. I hear God inquiring, " Can two walk together
except they be agreed?" and I understand the
interrogation as involving a decided negative. If
the fellowship of two, the smallest number, be
impossible without agreement, I conclude that the
same impossibility extends to a thousand or a million who may disagree. Any number of individuals can walk together so far as they are agreed,
provided they consent to hold in abeyance the
points respecting which they differ; but by a fixed
law their real union cannot be stretched beyond
the particulars in which they concur. I suppose




142        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
that Christian union must have its basis in unanimity touching everything which the Scriptures
make essential to Christian character and the Christian life. The union of the primitive Church was
unquestionably of this kind. In matters pertaining
to which they had no Divine instruction, they may
have differed, nay, they did differ, and the Apostles
advised them to be forbearing and charitable respecting those differences; but in all that Christ
and his inspired servants taught them to believe
and do, they were agreed and united.  Theirs,
therefore, was not merely an union of hearts, but
also an union of minds. Their religious convictions
were coincident; their religious practice was uniform. The word of God was to them supreme
authority, and that word they interpreted alike.
One of the modes, then, by which we may promote that union among God's children which we
acknowledge to be desirable, is to promote agreement among them with respect to Christian truth
and duty. And this may be done by encouraging,
in every practicable way, the careful, candid, devout study of the Scriptures as the one source of
religious knowledge. How can we so effectively
influence others to adopt this course, as by presenting in our own conduct the true example?
THE WORD OF GOD ONLY: be that our motto,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           143
"known and read of all men." And let our action
be faithfully suited to the sentiment: " THE WORD
OF GOD ONLY, with no human addition; the Divine
Revelation, clear, limpid, pure, just as it came from
the heart of infinite Wisdom, Goodness and Truth.
Turning away from man and all his utterances, let
us apply our ear attentively, exclusively to the
Divine Testimony.  "I will hear what God the
Lord will speak." And while we show definitively
to all observers that we count as an outrage, and
even as impiety, the attempt to put anything by
the side of his Word, let us not fail to show also,
and with equal definitiveness, that we are sincerely
desirous to be enlightened and governed by that
Word. Let us ever with true meekness and docility occupy "the benches of that divine School,"
where " nothing appears, nothing elevates itself in
the chair of instruction, but the infallible Word of
God."  And when converts are multiplied around
us, let us faithfully insist that they take their places
in the same school as disciples of the Great Teacher.
Let us not introduce them into the Church, and
fasten upon them  a sectarian name, and pledge
them to the defence of a sectarian creed and the
support of a sectarian policy, and afterwards direct
them to the Bible as the Book from which they
are to learn their Master's will. The Bible First,
the Bible Always: be that our lesson, verbally
taught, practically exemplified.




144        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
In this way we may contribute to Christian harmony. We shall thus take an important step towards the qualification of ourselves as a constituent
portion of the great united whole. We shall become practically and really, what very many are
now only theoretically and apparently, the disciples
of Him who said, "Learn of me." We shall occupy
ground upon which, if all come, all will agree, and
upon which, if there be in all the proper moral
feelings, there will assuredly be the union for which
the Saviour prayed.
An incidental effect of such study of the Divine
Word, and further contributive to the general
result, is the spirit that will be nurtured in our
own bosoms, —a spirit as far removed from the
schismatical as is the spirit of heaven. A man who
has adopted his theological principles, and arranged
his system of religious ethics, and then comes to
the Bible merely to corroborate and sanctify his
preconceptions, pursues a course that will be likely
to strengthen all his tendencies to separation and
exclusiveness.  He will be more of the controvertist than the peace-maker; more of the sectarian
than the Christian. But the man who reverences
the Word of God as supreme in excellence and
authority; who comes to it, emptied of all human
notions, and communes with it, sincerely desirous




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          145
to be made wiser and better; who opens his soul
fully to all the influences and impregnations of the
truth, "as the truth is in Jesus," - will be sure, not
only to learn how he may be saved, and what he
must believe, and the duties he must practise, but
also to imbibe a spirit that will render him more
lovely in the eyes of both earth and heaven, and a
more fit subject for that union which is yet to be
realized, and for which high spiritual qualifications
are indispensable. He lays his thirsting soul down
to that "stream  which makes glad the city of
God," -the one stream of truth with which mingle no inflaming ingredients.  He drinks in the
spirit of the Bible, and it becomes incorporated
with his moral being, and his spiritual improvement
is obvious to all around him. It is seen that his
feelings and disposition are formed after the New
Testament model, and opponents of his views take
knowledge of him that he has "been with Jesus,"
and learned of Him who is " meek and lowly in
heart."  Among the graces of his character are
courtesy, gentleness, forbearance, condescension,
kindness, simplicity, godly sincerity. He is " tender-hearted," " kindly-affectioned," and "follows
after the things which make for peace, and things
whereby one may edify another."  The sermon on
the mount he has heard with profit, for he is a
living illustration of its practical excellence. The
13




146       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
lesson of Jesus in the washing of his disciples' feet
has not been lost upon him, for its spirit is wrought
into his soul, and developed in his life. His visits
to the Garden and the Cross have not been in vain;
for he has there learned to endure suffering without a murmur, to be patient under goading provocations, to pray for his harshest tormentors, and to
surrender all to the will of his Heavenly Father.
How completely is his moral nature baptized into
the spirit of the Bible; how thoroughly is he
impregnated with its subduing, mellowing influence; how suitable a candidate is he for membership in that One Church which is a thing of the
future 
4. WE MAY CHEERFULLY SURRENDER EVERYTHING
ADVERSE TO UNION WHICH WE ARE NOT BOUND
BY OUR ALLEGIANCE TO CHRIST TO RETAIN.
Under this head may be reckoned every sentiment or practice that cannot be shown to be scriptural; every feature in our general polity which
we may know to be of human origin; everything
that interferes with the healing process, and is not
required of us by the Master. Surely, for the sake
of such a good as the cordial union of the followers of Christ, we can afford to surrender whatever
lies outside of the realm  of prescribed duty.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           147
" Yes," you say, and all say, " anything but Truth
and Conscience."  Let us, then, be candid and
thorough in our investigations, and detect and
repudiate whatsoever in us may unnecessarily hinder the reunion of a fractured, divided Church.
We do not, for we cannot, pretend to infallibility. Such an assumption we leave to the blinded
papist, and to his foster son of the Oxford family,
who welcomes the relation, and obsequiously........... "  dextr...
Implicuit, sequiturque patrem non passibus sequis."
Dr. Oswald has said that "the possibility of
error attends every mathematical demonstration."
This possibility may be predicated of everything
human; and Christians who are supposed to know
their own weakness, their facility of aberration,
and their exposure to misleading influences, are
expected to be the last to claim exemption from
this universal liability. We can afford to be the
latest of the last to assume, either directly or by
implication, that the whole truth, exclusive of all
error, is assuredly with us. However willing we
may be to submit our system to the most rigorous
scrutiny, we lose nothing by the admission that
there may be mistakes which we have overlooked. And however kindly we may think that




148         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
we feel towards other denominations, and however
charitably we may suppose that we carry ourselves
towards them, it is quite possible that in these
respects there may be some things not conformable to the divine standard.
Those who are under the influence of the sectarian spirit are unwilling to examine their religious
scheme. They are committed to its support, and
their humility is not equal to the trial that would
ensue upon  the discovery of an error, which,
knowing it to be such, they could not honestly
retain. But what is the benefit of a retention of
error?  Truth only can make us holier, happier
more useful. It is for our interest to discover and
renounce whatever is unscriptural, and we should
be grateful to any being, Divine or human, who
might assist us in the purifying process. If ours
be certainly "the faith  once delivered to the
saints," then may we "earnestly contend " for it
against all encroachments; but, as there is a possibility that it may, at some points, be either more
or less erroneous, it is surely befitting that our zeal
should be tempered with carefulness and modesty.
The main stream may have issued absolutely pure
from  the Fountain of Truth; but rivulets from
other fountains are constantly seeking to become
its tributaries, and that man knows little of the
history of doctrinal theology and of Christian




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          149
morals, and little of the insinuating power of
error, who apprehends no danger of the infiltration of foreign mixtures. God has, in his goodness
to man, kept the Bible pure. Happy, indeed, if
we can preserve in their purity the living waters
as they flow in the channels that man has excavated. Hardly here can we be too vigilant, too
faithful.
If challenged to designate any particular in our
system which is unscriptural and at the same time
an obstacle to the desirable union of Christians, I
reply that such a service would be alien to my
design. I simply commend to others what I propose to myself — self-censorship. If we rigorously
examine ourselves, and the whole ground we
occupy, and thoroughly repudiate whatsoever is
truly objectionable, we take an important step
towards the contemplated result. "For if we
would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."
I request no brother to surrender any part of the
gospel, be it either doctrine or precept; no, not
even for the sake of peace; and were I to propose
a measure involving such a result, his allegiance to
the Saviour should prompt him to rebuke me for
the unworthy suggestion. In making Christian
union the altar upon which he is invited to lay a
sacrifice, I ask not that Christian truth may be the
13*




loO       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
victim, or that he may be the officiating priest.
But I do entreat him, as I would charge myself
before God, to examine with candor, and see if
there be nothing about us that is extra-evangelical, and that we can spare in perfect consistency
with all our relations to Zion's King and Zion's
cause. Whatever denominational pride may suggest to the contrary, let us heed rather the impulses of Christian love, and scrupulously put far
away every such element of evil, We constitute,
in this country, one of the largest portions of
Christ's visible Body.  Let us renounce everything that-disqualifies us for a happy reunion of
the dismembered parts, and be not the last, but
the first, to take our place in the line of Truth
and Holiness, awaiting with prayerful hope the
hour when the world shall again have a manifestation of real Christian Brotherhood.
5. WE MAY CAREFULLY REFRAIN FROM EVERYTHING,THAT MAY  UNNECESSARILY  TEND TO
WIDEN  THE BREACH AMONG CHRISTIANS, OR
TEND TO PERPETUATE ITS CONTINUANCE.
One objectionable feature in all the plans for
Christian union which I have examined, is the
apparent confidence with which certain positions
are assumed as true which are really points in




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             151
debate.  There is too much of what logicians call
petitio principii-the taking for granted of a
fundamental proposition  which  remains to be
proved.  Were I to propose a plan, I might perpetrate the same mistake, and demand of others
that they concur with me touching some points in
relation to which they have serious, conscientious
difficulties. Hence the purpose with which I commenced, to abstain from  the exhibition of a formal plan, and confine myself mainly to suggestions that presuppose ourselves as well as others
to be unprepared for the consideration of any
such plan.  There cannot be union until there
shall be agreement, assimilation, and mutual attraction.  We must all be deeply imbued with
the spirit of Christ, and conformed in principle
and practice to the Bible standard of Christian
character; then may we unite and cohere with
a fair prospect that our union will be permanent.
But never can the desired result be approached
by any attempt that involves this offensive begging of the question, a course of conduct that
generally aggravates the original difficulty.l We
1 The treatise of the late Dr. Harris, of England, entitled
"Christian Union: or the Divided Church made One," a work
of great ability, and commendable spirit, is unhappily disfigured by several of these unwarrantable assumptions. Vide
Boston ed., pp. 85, 86, 110, 122, etc.




152        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
feel ourselves repelled by a proposition to unite
upon terms that require us to renounce what we
consider, and are known to consider, as gospel
truth or gospel duty. We say, if we speak at all,
that "We desire union as much as any class of
Christians upon earth, and are willing to make
any sacrifice for the object which we think our
Master will approve; but you must not ask,us
to do violence to our convictions, deliberately
acquired and honestly maintained."  Occupying
this dignified and defensible position, we should
remember that others may be as conscientious
and as sensitive as ourselves, and that any proposition for union coming from us that involves a
sacrifice of principles which they regard as important, is likely to receive the answer which we
have so firmly and properly given.  He who
would promote good feeling, and draw more
closely the bonds of fraternal confidence, and
open most widely the avenues to conviction, must
cautiously abstain from all trespass upon the domain of Christian consciences. "Come over to
us, and we will be one," may seem to be a very
simple and easy mode of adjusting the whole
matter; but wherever it is attempted, the probability of success is by the very act diminished.
" Come, brethren in the Lord, let us examine the
whole subject of our agreements and our differ



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          153
cuces, and let us pray together for light and
grace," would be a far more courteous proposition,
and a more likely mode of reuniting and healing
the broken ligaments.
Other denominations have sometimes spoken of
us with severity as uncharitable, bigoted, exclusive. May not some of this have been provoked
by the manner in which we have spoken of them?
The question is not gratuitous, and should lead to
inquiry. We are accustomed, I believe, to attribute their bitter utterances to other causes more
nearly connected with our distinctive belief and
practice; but let us candidly inquire if some of
the responsibility may not belong to ourselves,
and if at this point there may not be gain both to
ourselves and to the cause of God by greater carefulness. Where there is error, show it; where
there is wrong reprove it; "considering thyself
lest thou also be tempted."  But let us abstain
from the use of harsh judgments and reproachful
epithets, which only irritate and provoke retaliation. It would seem as if some men  Christians,they are called-had "no greater joy" than to
see how their opponents will smart and writhe
under their stinging sarcasms. Surely, their only
motive for the discharge of such barbed missiles
must be self-gratification; for they are not capable
of supposing that any real good to others, or any




154        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
glory to God, can result from this conduct. Are
the wounded convinced of error, or more inclined
to embrace the views of such assailants? Is any
truth developed or recommended by this process?
Is the Saviour pleased with such acts, or such a
spirit? And who are these wounded ones? Are
they not the disciples of Jesus? And is it not
possible that through them the envenomed points
have reached and pierced the Master of us all?
If we desire to convert to our views others
whom we regard as in error, but little knowledge
of human nature is requisite to show us that our
truly politic course is to avoid everything like
sneer, ridicule, or denunciation. "A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city."
Their views may be unscriptural and of pernicious
tendency; but what is the most effectual mode
of soliciting attention to these facts, and producing in their minds the conviction that shall lead
to the desired changes? Every man can instantly
decide upon the expedient course, which here is
the right course, by one honest inquiry of his
own heart. By omitting all that can give unnecessary pain, and adopting the language, tone, and
manner of true Christian kindness, we conciliate,
attract, and endear. I may be told that others
are often the aggressors, and that we are only
showing a becoming resentment, paying them iu




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          155
their own coin. Indeed! and have we forgotten
what the Saviour says of retaliation, of non-resistance, of forgiveness, of "forbearing one another
in love," of the charity that "is not easily provoked" but "endureth all things?"  "Becoming
resentment!"  What words are these from lips
that monthly or bi-monthly press the cup of communion, and that were taught in early life to lisp
the Lord's prayer! Have we yet to learn the
lesson, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome
evil with good?"  The reflex influence of kind
words and acts upon our own hearts is softening
and soothing; upon the hearts of others, subduing and melting; and such hearts soon clasp and
throb in unison. Call a brother an opponent, and
treat him as such, and, whatever he was, unless
he has a large measure of the spirit of Christ,
he becomes an opponent, and places himself in
an attitude of resistance, if not of defiance. But,
allow him the name by which he chooses to be
called; concede to him the right of private judgment; attribute to him no motives which he disavows; assume no airs of superiority, but approach
him as an equal; respect the delicacy of his conscience, and reason with him in the spirit of fraternal gentleness and affection, - and he is surely
one of that small class of the intractable and irrecl:imable, if he does not reciprocate your spirit,




156        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
and welcome with gratitude the very impressions
which you would fain leave upon his mind.
Much of that feeling among Christians which
passes by the sacred name of Charity, is little
else than masked disaffection, and, stripped of
its disguise, would be denominated hypocrisy.
What Leighton says of Humility, that he never
heard it discoursed upon in an humble manner,
is quite as true of this much-abused, dishonored
Charity, which is often the most misrepresented
in spirit by those who commend it most in word;
it is explained and recommended in a most uncharitable way. You, my brother, I venture to
say, have read many a book, and heard many a
sermon, and listened to many a conversation upon
Charity that exposed a painful deficiency of the
lovely grace. The uncharitable - that is, all such
as do not agree with the writer or the speaker —
are considered as fair game, and every now and
then there is a cut or a thrust which somebody
must feel to the heart's centre. Alas! how imperfect we are! How often we are the victims
of self-deception! Here is a point of special danger where we need to set a double guard. Malignity, hidden behind a Christian grace, shoots envenomed arrows, and injury is done which brings
that grace into disrepute.  Unless our Charity




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           157
is genuine, let us not talk of it. If it be genuine,
it needs no talk. It is eminently a practical grace,
and shows itself sufficiently in tone, temper, and
action. They who have the most of it are generally the least aware of it themselves, and therefore never boast of it.
We all profess to deplore the schisms among
Christians, and to desire that they may be healed;
and yet, how often do we hear regrets and wishes
upon this subject accompanied by expressions of
the most schismatical tendency. It is too common to endeavor to fix on others the guilt of
schism, and to represent ourselves as the innocent
victims of the wrong. I well recollect an instance
in which a considerable number of Christians of
different denominations agreed to meet once a
month on the broad basis of their "maximum of
agreement," and pray and labor jointly for the
advancement of religion in the place of their residence. They desired, they said, to draw more
closely the bonds of Christian fellowship, and
show to the world that, in the main, they were
agreed and united. At the first meeting remarks
were made by the presiding clergyman with respect to the origin of divisions among Christians,
and the causes which prevent an entire and cordial
union, that deeply wounded many present, and
14




158        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
proved fatal to the whole project. What is the
real value of an union, where each constituent
denomination says, "We are disposed to enter
into the proposed combination, but we do it with
the distinct understanding that we are right and
you are wrong?"
You, my brother, have doubtless admired those
beautiful and affecting words which Milton represents Adam as addressing to Eve, after they had
wearied themselves and wounded each other with
mutual complaints and recriminations:
" But, rise; let us no more contend, nor blame
Each other, blamed enough elsewhere; but strive,
In offices of love, how we may lighten
Each other's burden in our share of woe.
And you have admired still more the address of
Abraham to his kinsman, Lot, - an address which
has acquired for him the designation of "The first
gentleman," as for other reasons he is called "The
Father of the Faithful:" — "Let there be no strife,
I pray thee, between me and thee, and between
my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we are brethren."  Investigation might have led to a discovery of the original offender, and the true guilt
of each party might have been ascertained. But
cui bono?  Where would have been the advantage of such a result? Justice might have been




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          159
administered, but alienation and animosity would
have been deepened and perpetuated. "Where
lies the responsibility?" is, I admit, a question
of some importance; but is it not far better, if
we sincerely desire the restoration of harmony,
for every party to confine the inquiry to itself,
and thus avoid everything like crimination and
reproach?
Controversy may sometimes be unavoidable,
and, within certain limits, and governed by certain rules, it may be useful. It has been said to
be "the wind by which truth is winnowed," and
also that, by the collision of mind with mind in
the process, "the sparks of truth are elicited."
But the history of sixteen centuries will show
conclusively that whatever may be its advantages
in other departments, its utility in the Christian
Church is extremely limited. Strange as it may
seem, yet honesty requires the admission, that religious controversies have often been distinguished
by peculiar acrimony and bitterness. Who does
not know that even now they inflict wounds that
fester long and deeply, and heal slowly and imperfectly?  Who has not witnessed the exasperation of feeling produced by a single tract or
pamphlet, not by the clearness or cogency of its
arguments, but by the rasping character of its




160         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
hints and surmises, implications and caricatures?
Mischief is sometimes done by a newspaper paragraph of twenty lines, that cannot in a whole
generation be repaired.
It is a delightful fact that controversy among
the evangelical denominations has of late years assumed a milder form, and therefore produces less
of inflammation. Its spirit has become subdued,
and far more candid, as if brethren were dealing
not with carnivorous antagonists, but with brethren,
the children of one Father. Certainly, on our own
side, we have occasion to be grateful that the discussion of one class of disputed subjects has fallen
into the hands of such men as Baldwin, Chapin,
Judson, Ripley, Jewett, Hague and Curtis.  Of
their argumentation I say nothing; of the temper
exhibited in their productions I might speak in
terms of the highest commendation.  And upon
all questions, whether of Christian doctrine or of
ecclesiastical polity, the spirit of controversy has
undergone a favorable modification. Misrepresentation and wholesale abuse are not so common as
formerly, and Christians can oppose one another's
principles and practices with less of personality, and
less of unjust, gratuitous insinuation. " Her Ladyship of Babylon " is not so frequently named as the
foster-mother of all denominations but one, and
reproachful epithets are current at less value than




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           161
in the days of our fathers. God grant that these
improvements may proceed, and that the time may
speedily come when everything unnecessarily vexatious and irritating shall be discarded, and when
all comparisons of opinions and all discussions of
differences shall be conducted in the gentle and
generous spirit of the gospel. How comprehensive
and yet how definite that phrase from an Apostle's
pen, specifically translated, " Speaking the truth in
love" - aX.OJEVovres iv yLJr, - truthing in love, 
being, thinking, feeling, speaking, acting affectionately true, at all times, in all places, towards all
persons!
Is it not possible that we may sometimes, with
wrong intentions, or in a wrong spirit, remind
others how unkindly their ancestors treated our
fathers?   History certainly tells some  exciting
tales upon this subject; but is it profitable to ourselves, or to the cause of God, to remember them,
and to use them either for attack or defence in denominational controversy? Those who perpetrated
the foul wrongs, like the victims of their severity,
liave all gone to a world where wrong is equitably
rectified, and right satisfactorily vindicated. The
successors of those persecutors are no more the
inheritors of their guilt, than we are partakers
of the sufferings of our abused predecessors. Let
14*




162         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
us rejoice that a change has come over the once
oppressive and persecuting sects; and, so long as
they exhibit not the spirit, and justify not the misdeeds, of their fathers, let us not taunt them with
their ecclesiastical lineage, or hold them responsible
for wrongs in which they did not participate, and
in the condemnation of which they may be as sincere as ourselves.
We are every year receiving into our Churches
ministers and private members who have seen occasion, as the result of new views, to change their
ecclesiastical relations by embracing our principles
and adopting our distinctive practice. It is very
natural for us to be pleased when such changes
occur, and to refer to them as corroborative proof
of the correctness of our system. Surely, it is said,
if the evidence did not preponderate very much in
our favor, such persons would not have yielded
to it all their prejudices of education, or sacrificed
so freely their social interest, or exposed themselves
to so much obloquy from their former associates.
But, in proclaiming the facts, is it necessary to
speak as if signal victories had  been  gained?
From  the prominence given to such cases, the inference is drawn that more importance is attached
to acquisitions of this kind than to conversions
from  the world.  The ordinary effect of such




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          163
boasting is irritation of feeling and provocation
to a more embittered resistance, if not tor reprisals.
Just in proportion as we magnify the value of such
converts, will others be likely to detract fiom their
worth, and hold them up to the world as losses
of minor consequence.  In disputes about loss
and gain, the warfare is likely to become personal,
damaging the reputation and diminishing the future
influence of the seceders; or, if character escape
unscathed, they are liable, under such a goading
process, to be driven to an extreme, and to become
the most fierce and intolerant of all sectarians.
"He that departeth from evil maketh himself a
prey." But, whatever the effect upon the individuals concerned, the almost certain result is an
aggravation of party spirit. The breach that separates Christians, like the fosse in military fortifications, is made broader and deeper and more
impassable than ever; and the very bridge over
which these brethren passed in their transition is
hewn away, and the probability of further conversions is greatly diminished.  How  much  more
Christian-like, and how much more pacific in its
tendencies, would be our conduct, if in such cases
we should carefully abstain from everything like
exultation or triumph! How much more certain
might we be of the approving smile of our Lord;
how much more conservative and healing would




164        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
be our influence on his riven, bleeding Body! By
pursuing this prudent and conciliatory course, I
see not that we yield anything of principle, or that
we compromise any interest of our adorable Master. On the contrary, we should, I cannot doubt,
subserve the best interests of that kingdom which
is not of this world, and which needs not the spirit
of this world for its advancement. I plead for
nothing cowardly or craven-hearted. Let us not
flinch from the manly defence and the wide-spread
propagation of the whole truth as we derive it
from the Word of God. Let us pour abroad the
whole current of our moral power in order to bring
all men to " the knowledge of the truth," and to
"the obedience of Christ;" and then, if other
Christians fall in with us, singly or in groups, we
may certainly be both pleased and grateful. But
let us, as followers of Him who studied more to
soothe than to irritate, more to persuade and allure
than to provoke and repel, be cautious as to the
language we employ, the measures we adopt, and
the spirit we exhibit. Let the victories, great or
small, which the truth achieves, all go to grace, not
our triumph, but the Saviour's.
Learned men of other denominations have made
extraordinary concessions touching our interpretation of certain Greek terms in the New Testament,




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           165
as also with respect to the conformity of our peculiar practice to the meaning of those terms, and
to apostolic and ancient usage. These concessions
are certainly of some value in argument; but it
may fairly be questioned if we have not sometimes
employed them disingenuously, and in a way more
fitted to offend than to convince.  It is hardly
honorable to select detached sentences, or fragments of sentences, and so remove them from their
connections as to make them express more, or less,
or something else, than the author intended to convey.  Some writers have complained of our injustice in this particular; and it is not improbable
that hereafter, in their attempts to avoid the possibility of misrepresentation, authors may be less
candid.
We are accustomed to speak freely, perhaps
sometimes complacently, of our great and rapidly
increasing numbers; and we not unfrequently do
it in such relations and in such a manner as to indicate that hundreds of thousands are a very strong
argument.  Once we were few and feeble, and
claimed to be regarded as the "little flock" to
whom was promised the kingdom. Now, we are
so large a people, and annually increasing by such
numerous additions, that surely the Lord must be
on our side, and we must be his special favorites.




166        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
We have indeed an immense number of communicants, and it would be occasion for joy could we
see that they are distinguished for personal godliness, for a high order of religious culture, for
united vigorous efforts to evangelize the world.
Considering well the real facts, have we not occasion for humility and solicitude?  It is a very
serious question if our numerical strength is not
likely to prove our moral weakness, and, consequently, if our anticipations of a glorious future
should not be moderate. Why, then, should we,
by such frequent reference to growing numbers,
minister nutriment to denominational pride, and
institute comparisons adapted, if not intended, to
mortify other sects, by reminding them of their
numerical inferiority?  Bad passions are stimulated
on both sides, and obstacles to a greater Christian
fraternity are multiplied.
Pointed arguments to incite our Churches to
benevolent activity are often derived from sectarian sources.  "Other denominations are active,
and, unless we move with greater speed and energy, will take the ground."  "Other denominations are supplying the destitute with ministers,
and schools, and books, and, unless we bestir ourselves, we shall be left far in the rear." Such
motives we hear urged, and often with greater




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          167
earestntess than the higher considerations, —the
command of Christ, the value of souls, the obligations of humanity.  These appeals may not
harm  other denominations, except, perhaps, by
goading them  on to additional efforts for the
lengthening of their own sectarian cords, and the
strengthening of their sectarian stakes. But their
influence upon our own people is not of the most
healthful kind. They learn to regard others as
our competitors for territory, and to consider as
lost every acquisition which others may make, or
may prevent us from making. They learn to l]ok
upon the religious enterprises of the different sects
as struggles for precedence,- as the means of
extending and strengthening party influence; and
their contributions are liable to be made, not so
much for the advancement of Christ's kingdom,
or the salvation of souls, as for the pushing forward of denominational aggressions, and the preoccupancy of coveted territory. The moral bearing of such appeals to the spirit of sect can easily
be apprehended. The effect must ever be such
as the lovers of true benevolence and Christian
harmony will deplore. How much better, in all
respects, would it be to say: "Come, brethren in
the Lord, redeemed by precious blood, let us consider our duty to Christ and to perishing men,
and enter vigorously upon its faithful performance.




168         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
Our brethren of other denominations are in the
field, and laboring with commendable zeal and
encouraging success.  God honors their efforts
with his Spirit's blessing, and they are doing an
immense amount of good.  Let us gird ourselves
for the service, and go forth where others have
not gone, and endeavor to do the work assigned
us by our Master. Time is short, and our period
of labor is hastening to its conclusion. Sinners
all over the world are dying and passing away
to the retributions of eternity. Let us not linger.
Constrained by love to Christ and love to souls,
let us act with promptness and energy, and endeavor, before we go to our final account, to do
something for the salvation of men and the glory
of our Redeemer."'
"The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." This brief statement reveals much respecting not only the spirit that prevailed in those
parties, but also the means by which that spirit
was kept alive and active.  In their secular, as
1 Andrew Fuller travelled much in England and Scotland on
behalf of the Serampore Mission. It is said that he took the
largest collections when he preached on the love of Christ, and
made no reference to any lower class of motives. He bore
to the treasury many a liberal gift from persons of various
denominations.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          169
well as their spiritual affairs, they avoided all
intercourse. They were shy of each other's society, and studiously refrained from everything that
might soften the asperity of their hatred, and lead
to some reciprocity of kind offices. Thus was
the breach between them widened year by year,
and Gerizim  and Jerusalem  became more and
more the rallying points of hated and hating
partisans. And have you not, my brother, witnessed a propensity among religious sects to confine their social intercourse and their secular patronage within sectarian limits?  Have you not
seen men in every line of business expecting and
receiving the preference, solely on denominational
grounds?  And have you not seen the effect of
all this upon Christian character, contracting the
heart, narrowing the circle in which the sympathies play, and giving to the whole moral being
an aspect of illiberality and exclusiveness altogether unlovely?  I submit the question, if to
counteract these anti-social tendencies of the spirit
of sect, we ought not to take special pains to
bring Christians of different denominations more
together, and to secure more of that familiar acquaintance which we all believe would produce
favorable results? And should we not render
good service to the Christian cause by regarding
less than we do, in the distribution of our social
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170       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
attentions and our secular patronage, the influence of sectarian considerations?  The law of
brotherly love may justify many preferences; but
the danger lies in the limitation of our brotherly
love within too small a circle. It is bad enough
that the lines of division are so distinct in our
ecclesiastical organizations.  Why should these
lines run through social and commercial life, and
keep Christians of different names from coming
in contact at any point? Is there nowhere upon
earth an unexceptionable place where those who
may warrantably hope to meet in heaven, may
come together, and look one another in the face,
and read in one another's character the lineaments of a holy relationship?
6. WE MAY COOPERATE WITH ALL CHRISTIANS IN
EVERYTHING NOT INTERDICTED BY THE LAWS
OF CHRIST.
The laws by which our conduct, as citizens of
Zion, is to be governed, we ascertain, not from our
covenant engagements to any particular Church,
not from any usages of our denomination, not
from any Declaration or Confession drawn up by
men, however wise or holy, - but from the Word
of God, candidly and prayerfully examined by
ourselves.  "There is one Lawgiver," the Lord




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          171
Jesus Christ, and he allows no one to stand between him  and his subjects as the authoritative
interpreter of his laws. The interpretations of
neither the minister nor the Church are binding
upon the membership. Christ, as Legislator and
Judge, holds us individually and directly responsible, both for a right understanding of his laws,
and for complete obedience to their requirements.
Our allegiance to him is paramount to all other;
and we have no right to enter into any association, or become subject to any authority, that
will interfere with entire submission to his will
as expressed in his inspired Word. No Church
or combination of Churches, no minister, or convention of ministers, not even "The Denomination,"-that great, indefinite abstraction,-has any
prerogative in the department of conscience, either
to make new laws for the regulation of our Christian conduct, or to suspend any law which Christ
has given us. The statement that fell from his
own lips is worthy of repetition: "One is your
Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren."  By
becoming acquainted with his will, we shall know
how far we may proceed in any direction, and be
able to determine, on all occasions, the prescribed
boundaries within which our action must be faithfully confined. If we are desirous to know what,
in any given case, we should do, Jesus says ex



172       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
pressly to every one of us, as he did to the lawyer, "What is written in the Law?  How readest
thou? " He authorizes us to expect no new revelation, but ever remands us to the one we have.
If we would ascertain the limits of our responsibility, and discover the line beyond which we
must not go, even though prompted by the best
of motives and treading in the steps of the best
of men, we hear our Master saying, " Search the
Scriptures, -they contain the statutes of my
kingdom."  If we would discover the spirit by
which we should be governed in our intercourse
with the Church and the world, this also is matter of Law, and every necessary direction will
be found in the New Testament.
It is not for me to specify how far any one,
beside myself, may go in his intercourse and cooperation with Christians of other sects; for this
would be an invasion of the sacred domain of
his conscience, an unwarrantable interposition of
my private opinion between him and his spiritual
Sovereign. I can determine for myself the extent and the limitations of my own duty, and no
man or body of men, secular or religious, shall
dictate to me my duty in this or any other department of Christian action. I shall make up
my own estimate of the courtesies which I owe
to the disciples of Jesus of every name, and shall




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.            173
pursue that course of conduct which accords with
the laws of Christ as I understand them. This
right I have surrendered to no denomination, no
voluntary association, no Church. It is inherent
and inalienable by virtue of my sonship in Christ;
and it is the indefeasible right of every Christian
disciple.
And yet I suppose I may, without assumption or
immodesty, exhort my fellow-disciples to inquire
carefully, and see if we cannot, consistently with
our allegiance to the Son of God, and in ways that
will be pleasing to him, exhibit towards other
denominations more of the truly fraternal spirit
than we have sometimes manifested, and make
some additional advances towards that union which
all the truly spiritual admit to be desirable. I ask
them  not, as I would not be myself asked, to
transcend any scriptural limitations; but I surely
may entreat them to examine anew, and decide for
themselves if the friends of Christ cannot be more
familiar with one another, more affectionate in their
intercourse, more disposed to join their forces in
efforts for the advancement of the common cause.
It might not be wholly pertinent for me to inquire
how Christ and his Apostles would act in this matter, were they to reappear on the.earth and be
placed in our circumstances, for that is a point concerning which no one could give a better answer
15*




174         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
than his own opinion; and yet it is well often to
propose the question, and to bring, our minds, with
such light as we have, to the formation of an
opinion that may have some bearing upon our
conduct. It is certainly better than to ask the
advice of any sectarian in Christendom. But the
true course, unquestionably, is to consult the teachings and the life of Christ, and the instructions and
examples of his inspired Apostles, and thus, in the
fear of God, and in full view of our responsibility
to the Head of the Church, discover for ourselves
individually the path of duty, and ever walk in
it with all humility and firmness. If we enter upon
this investigation divested of the spirit of sect, and
resolved, as duty may seem to be indicated, to act,
fearless of all denunciation, domestic or foreign,
we may find that our views upon this subject have
been too narrow, and our policy too restricted. I
say not that there has been bigotry, for that is a
word which ought to be sparingly used; but I
cannot avoid the conviction that there has often
been in ourselves, as well as in other sects, a spirit
of exclusiveness quite uncalled for by the requirements of the gospel, and exceedingly pernicious in
its effects upon both our Christian character and
our Christian usefulness.  It may be said that
we are often provoked to it by the treatment we
receive from others. Be it so, as matter of fact;




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           175
and thus we learn the tendency of exclusiveness
to alienate and drive farther asunder the different
sections of God's people; and thus, also, we see
what must be the reaction upon others of our own
exclusiveness. Why should we, even under provocation, pursue a course to which we find it painful
to be provoked? And should we not exhibit more
of the spirit of Christ, and set a better example,
by patiently enduring the provocation, and steadily
persisting in a kind, conciliatory course of conduct?
Should we not more effectually subdue the wrong
spirit in others, and win them over the more certainly to the path of fraternal concord, by forgiving than by resenting the injury? It seems to me
that one of the primary lessons taught us in the
New Testament, is the art of overcoming evil with
good. There is a philosophy in the power of forgiveness and kindness worthy of our profoundest
study. Who has ever availed himself of that power
to its full extent? God accomplishes wonders by
it, we ourselves being witnesses. Every reader of
the Sacred volume must be aware of the special
pains taken by Christ and his Apostles to show,
both by precept and example, how much more can
be effectuated by endurance than by resistance, by
the " soft tongue" that " breaketh the bone" than
by harsh retorts that madden the spirit. When
shall we see the lessons upon meekness and gentle



176        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
ness which they have taught us fully exemplified?
When shall we see a fair experiment of the efficacy
of Christian patience and forbearance to dissolve
the frost of sectarian prejudice, and promote the
restoration of Christian fellowship?
But, says one, - and he possibly speaks for
many, - "I cannot conscientiously associate in
ally religious relation with such a sect, lest I
should countenance certain things in their system
which I firmly believe to be wrong."  He suggests
an underlying principle of great importance. We
certainly must not countenance wrong by act any
more than by word.  But the question now pertains to his application of the principle. It requires
a nice discrimination to draw the line beyond which
he may not proceed without countenancing what
he ought to reprehend. And he may be rendered
thoughtful by an inquiry with respect to his consistency. Is there nothing wrong in his own denomination, or in the Church where he holds his membership, which, if free association involves the
offence, he is constantly countenancing? Where,
in such a case, is his conscience? Does he not sustain religious relations to many, and openly cooperate with them in religious organizations, whom
he knows to be derelict in Christian morals?  Alas
for the deceptions which we practise upon our



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          177
selves! How easy, where love is wanting, to find
occasion for the stringent application of conscientious scruples! As in the Church we too often
place opinions above piety, so in society we place
them  above morals; and while we shrink from
social intercourse with persons who hold some
errors, though of the most correct conduct, we
do not hesitate to act in fraternal concert with
professors of our own creed of very doubtful character. We do well not to countenance anything
objectionable; but were we far more tolerant of
opinions, and less tolerant of immoralities, we
should exhibit much more of the spirit of the
gospel.
The grave question, and one that involves great
interests, is this: May we not go much farther
than we do, in association with all the friends of
Christ, without violating any law of the Master,
without damage to any principle or practice that
is properly dear to us, and without any harm to
our personal godliness? If others show a disinclination to any such increase of familiarity and
cooperation, and repel our generous approaches,
then the responsibility of separation is theirs, and
we shall have the delightful reflection that we have
made a sincere movement, from which we anticipated healing results; and that by so doing we have




178        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
endeavored to comply with the apostolic direction
to " follow after the things which make for peace."
But, allowing that our advances are repulsed, may
we not hope that their repetition, in a Christian
manner, and with much prayer for the Divine
blessing, will be ultimately successful? Is not
the issue sought of sufficient importance to justify
persevering and long-continued effort?
There is certainly some common ground upon
which all the regenerated can meet, and show to
one another and to the world that there are some
ligaments that remain unbroken. Let us ascertain that common ground, and be ever ready
to occupy it on equal terms with all who love
the Saviour.- The exhortation of the Apostle to
the Church at Philippi is exactly appropriate:
"Whereto we have already attained, let us walk
by the same rule, let us mind the same thing."'
Here, it is assumed as a principle that agreement
is the basis of union; it is taken for granted that
on some points all Christians must agree; it is proposed that, as far as they do agree, they should
cordially unite and cooperate; and it is more than
intimated that by such a course they would most
1 See an excellent Discourse from these words, entitled "The
Principle of Christian Union," by Rev. William Hague, D. D.
Boston: 1841.




CHRISTIAN  BROTHERHOOD.               179
effectually promote further coincidence of opinion.
"If in anything  ye be  otherwise minded, God
shall reveal even this unto you."' By walking
harmoniously as far as we are agreed, we may
rationally expect such additional illumination as
will enable us to see other points alike, and thus
to go on step by step until all differences shall
disappear, and we find ourselves "one in Christ
Jesus."  The same Apostle expressed himself as
painfully anxious for his brethren at Colosse, at
Laodicea, and as many as had not seen his face
in the flesh, "that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all
riches of the full assurance of understanding, to
the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and
of the Father and of Christ;" thus plainly intimating that union of hearts would conduce to
1 "Our testimony against error is surely far more exemplary
and striking when we walk with our fellow-Christians as far
as we are agreed, and leave them at the point where they
diverge from the right path, than when we refuse to accompany them at all. By the former mode of conduct, we prove
that, if we depart from any of the opinions or observances
of our brethren, it is only at the irresistible voice of duty to
God, and not from want of love towards them; while, by pursuing the ordinary course of sectarianism, we rather appear
to disapprove of characters than of sentiments, and to contemn our fellow-Christians more than their errors."- Mrs.
BRomeo Elton.




180        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
the extension of their acquaintance with divine
things, and, consequently, to a multiplication of
the points of agreement. By the cultivation of
kind feelings, and the exhibition of a liberal spirit,
and the adoption of a generous course of action,
we might hope, with aid from on high, to bring
Christians more frequently and more closely together, that so they might familiarly compare
their respective systems with the Word of God,
and elevate the whole into entire conformity to
that one perfect standard.
It deserves serious inquiry if great good might
not result from the extension of our reading on
a more liberal scale. An English writer, of much
celebrity, says: "It would be a considerable help
to the enlargedness of view and feeling, which
this junction of the various religious bodies in
our own country and in other parts calls for, were
Christians to accustom  themselves to read the
works of writers of other religious denominations,
as well as of their own; both those which detail
their operations for the spread of the gospel, and
which announce their particular views of Christianity in their own language. They would thus
learn to give men credit for integrity and diligence in espousing opinions different from their
own, whom they had previously imagined to be




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         181
the slaves of prejudice, or victims of indolence.
They would see that there were reasons for those
opinions, which might easily determine the adoption of them by a certain class of minds, without any impeachment of their sincerity or piety.
They would be gratified, too, by perceiving how
much of truth and godliness had been established
in the earth by the exertions of others not in
conjunction with themselves, and hail as fellowlaborers those who, though they wrought in a
different field, and after a different manner, were
sowing the same seed of truth and righteousness,
and reaping the same results as themselves, under
the evident token of the Divine approbation and
blessing."  Our obligation to patronize a denominational literature cannot be paramount to our
obligation to subserve the higher and broader
interests of the Christian cause. Were it suita —
ble, I might name religious newspapers published
by other denominations in which our brethren
would find immensely more than they may have
expected to approve and admire.  We might
occasionally meet with an offensive paragraph;
but, leaving it as an offset to some things equally
objectionable on our own side, we should learn,
and rejoice to learn, that other Christians are
laboring for the promotion of truth and righteousness in the world, that they have at heart the
16




182       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
good of souls and the glory of Christ, and that
they have in large measure the Divine favor.
Those publications advocate in the main the same
great principles as our own; they exhibit essentially the same spirit; in ninety-nine parts of a
hundred they contain nothing exceptionable, nothing that even sectarian optics can detect as contrary to the views which we entertain. It may
be said that the courtesy which I recommend
would not be reciprocated, and our effort would
be practically useless. So we judge, a priori,
and not, I am sure, as the result of experiment.
Let tl  attempt be made in the true spirit of
conciliation, and, if it fail, the world will see
that we have done, in this direction, the fiiendly
thing.  This want of confidence in the utility
of kind, pacific endeavors, and especially in the
promise of Him who has appointed them as the
means of overcoming evil, is the bane that paralyzes all effort for the restoration of harmony.
And here is a point where Satan, the arch-divider
of the Church, applies his perverse ingenuity. "It
will do no good," he says, and we believe him.
"Patronize exclusively your own publications," he
adds, "and let others take care of theirs;" and we
take his advice. The Saviour looks down, and
repeats his own words, "All ye are brethren."




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          183
Several instances, like those of Douglas of
Cavers, Jenkins of Assam, Wylie of Calcutta,
Frye of Baltimore, Hill of Boston, and others,
have occurred, where members of other communions have generously contributed to the aid of
our Foreign Missions, and we have hailed them as
indications of a truly liberal spirit. We love such
donors, not for the sake of their gratuities, but
because we perceive in them elements of character
that raise them superior to all party distinctions,
and lring them into fellowship with all who love
and serve the Son of God. Were we to know
that prominent individuals among us are annually
or occasionally contributing to aid the benevolent
activities of other denominations, should we consider them as manifesting the same lovely spirit,
and entitled, for the same reasons, to a similar commendation? We should not, I suppose, deny their
right to make such contributions; but would not
many question the propriety of their conduct?
It would be said of them, that they were diverting
so much from the treasuries of their own societies,
and that they were countenancing error and assisting in its propagation. But a careful analysis
of all the feelings and principles involved in this
double objection might reveal the presence of sectarian selfishness.  When others make donations
to our funds, they do it, not because they subscribe




184       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
to all our views, but because they regard us as
Christians engaged in a good work. What should
hinder us from reciprocating the favor, and on the
same broad basis? In patronizing the missionary
efforts of any of the evangelical denominations,
how much of error or of wrong should we countenance?  Should we not, on the contrary, encourage a great amount of good? And, taking
into the account every consideration, may we not
believe that " with such sacrifices God " would be
"well pleased?"  If it be not inconsistent with
our allegiance to Christ, then surely it is a service
from which we need not be repelled by any apprehension suggested by sectarian casuistry.  Were
these acts of kindness and confidence more frequently interchanged by different denominations,
the effect would be salutary upon themselves, and
the impression upon the world would be more of
that kind which we all regard as desirable. It is
not the money benefit, but the moral advantage,
for which I plead, -the multiplying and the
strengthening of the connectives which unite the
people of God. Take an illustrative fact. A lady
in England, soliciting contributions for a Missionary Society in the town where she resided, called
upon a pious tradesman who was not, like herself,
of the Established Church. On entering, she said,
"I wait on you, sir, from the Church Missionary




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.         185
Society, because I have undertaken to call at every
house in my division; but, as I believe you are not
a Churchman, I cannot presume to calculate upon
your subscription; and, though we are happy to
receive support from any one, I ought not, perhaps,
to expect it from you; and, therefore, having fulfilled my engagement by calling, I will now cheerfully take my leave." -" Stop, madam," said he;
" I cannot suffer you to go away thus. It is true
we have a Missionary Society of our own; but,
when I consider how long I have lived in this
place, and how little, comparatively, has been done
here in a religious point of view until the formation of your society, I am truly thankful to God
for his goodness, and you shall take the names
of my wife and daughter, as humble but cheerful
contributors."  While he said this, "the springs
which were in his head" —to use the quaint
phraseology of John Bunyan —" did send the
waters down his cheeks."  The lady, after receiving the subscription of the Wesleyan, said, "Now,
sir, as you have been so kind and liberal towards
our Society, you must allow me to give you a
testimony of my good-will towards yours."  Accordingly, she insisted upon his accepting fiom
her own purse a donation for the Wesleyan Missionary Society. "Truly," says Dr. Hague, after
mentioning these facts, " when a charity so candid
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186       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
and reciprocal as this shall pervade the Church,
divisions will be comparatively nominal and harmless; for, as the body without the spirit is dead,
so sectarianism bereft of its selfish spirit is dead
also." 1 To all this, from the pen and the heart of
an esteemed brother, I cordially subscribe, with
the wish that he may live to see sectarianism die
of quick consumption, and to officiate at its interment.  He will pronounce no eulogy upon the
departed, and have none to comfort with the hope
of a resurrection. The Devil and his angels will
be the only mourners, and in mid-heaven will be
heard the anthem, long since hushed, " GLORY TO
GOD IN THE HIGHEST; AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOODWILL TOWARDS MEN."
Among the means that would contribute to the
desired result, I must include especially prayer, -
enlightened, earnest, universal prayer.  Through
Christ we all have "access by one Spirit unto the
Father."  We all believe in prayer as an instrument of wondrous power, not only in its reflex
influence upon the character of the petitioner,
but also in its mysterious effectiveness in securing
blessings that God has to bestow. According to
the Word of God, much is made dependent upon
1 " Principle of Christian Union."




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.             187
prayer, much is promised to prayer, much has
been  accomplished  by prayer.   United  prayer
is encouraged; and the assurance of success is
given to the smallest number who shall agree in
the service.  In the very atmosphere of a prayerroom  there is something that rebukes all selfishness, and pride, and strife, and intolerance, and
every evil of imperfect humanity, and that stimulates and nurtures "whatsoever things are lovely
and of good report." Christians who pray much
together have their views harmonized and their
feelings assimilated, and they become attached to
one another by bonds that are not easily broken.
Were different denominations to come together
"Around one common Mercy-Seat,"
and pour out in union their supplications to their
common Father, through their common Mediator,
we might rationally expect that many of the obstacles to a fairer understanding and to closer fellowship would be removed.  Who, then, more
appropriately than ourselves, can make advances, in
the spirit of Christian love, towards a measure from
which the happiest results may be anticipated?
1 The year 1858 will long be remembered as a period of " Union
Prayer Meetings," and history Will record results of a marked
character. God has signally manifested his approbation of such
fraternity.




188       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
I never heard an objection to union for such a purpose that did not contain internal evidence of its
origin in a narrow, jealous, unlovely sectarian spirit.
But whatever may be the barriers in the way of a
general union for prayer, it certainly is possible
for us as individuals to cultivate the habit of supplication for all Christians. The godly in all sects
can pray, they do pray, for one another, saying
from the heart, " Grace be with all them that love
our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity."  Bishop Burgess, speaking of the desirableness of a fuller public recognition of one another as Christians, says:
"I ask no other acknowledgment than that which
is made by each in his secret chamber, in his private conversation, in his prayers for all who profess
and call themselves Christians; and in his hopes of
union hereafter with just men made perfect." Setting out of the account the blessings which may
descend upon others in answer to such prayers, we
may. be sure that to those who offer them  will
accrue no small advantage. When Job offered
prayer for those with whom he had been disputing,
and by whose reproaches he had been deeply
wounded, his captivity was turned, and the smile
of heaven rested again on his tabernacle. Many a
Christian has found deliverance from  the bonds
of spiritual gloom, and had his feet set in a large
place, the moment he has sacrificed the selfishness




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           189
of his prayers, and sincerely prayed for all Christians as the objects of his fervent affection. "Pray
for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper
that love thee."  How much of this kind of prayer
there may be in secret is known only to Him who
seeth in secret; but we know full well that our
public devotions are not overburdened with it.
Occasionally from the pulpit is heard a petition
"for Christians of every name;" but seldom  is
there anything to indicate earnestness in the request. It is one of a stereotyped series, beginning
with " all that are in authority," and ending with
" thine ancient people the Jews." You, my brother,
have heard language in prayer, that showed a prudent regard to some system of divinity, by the
introduction of a conditional clause: "Do thou
bless all denominations so far as they have the
truth."  How considerate to define the limits
within which God may consistently bestow  his
favor! Is He in danger of countenancing error
by blessing those who hold it?
Were I addressing one of a different spirit from
yourself, I would say, Let us pray more for all
who are " the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus." In all our private devotions, let us take
their case as well as our own to the footstool of
mercy, and let us there espouse it as our own,
and feel that in the success of our suit important




190       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
results are involved. Let us pray for others before we pray for ourselves, and let our plea for
them be as long, as particular, as urgent, as the
plea for ourselves. When we surround the domestic altar, let us remember all Christians, and
devoutly entreat the same gracious benedictions
upon the entire "household of faith."  In the
place of social prayer, that "scene where spirits
blend," let us not fail to implore "the God of all
grace" to bestow upon all his children "the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ." In
the public sanctuary, let not the occupant of the
pulpit, as he leads the devotions of his people,
contract his or their desires for the Divine favor
to the narrowness of a sect; but let him enlarge
the solicitudes of his heart, and open his mouth
wide, and make "supplication for all saints," and
plead for the holiness, the usefulness, the happiness of all who love the Lord. The effect of such
a service upon ourselves will assuredly be conservative and healing.  And were we to know
that others are in like manner praying for us,
should we not feel our hearts drawn out towards
them?  And when we might meet them, should
we not extend to them a warmer hand, and cast
upon them  a more confiding look of brotherly
love?  And would not they and we be in tho




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.              191
best of all moods for a candid examination of the
grounds of our difference?
7. WE MAY ENCOURAGE A PACIFIC MINISTRY.
"Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be
called the sons of God." This is one of the first
lessons which the Great Teacher gave to his theological pupils, the future ministers of his Church.
This lesson they thoroughly learned  from  his
varied teachings and illustrative examples; with
its spirit they were deeply impregnated; under
its influence they proceeded to every department
of their labor, seeking everywhere to promote
peace both between man and his God, and between man and his fellow-man. Theirs was peculiarly "the ministry of reconciliation," and with
commendable fidelity they executed their trust.
We have but to read the narrative of their labors,
as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, and the
1 At a late meeting of colporteurs, an Episcopal clergyman, -
Rev. Dr. Johns, of Baltimore, - speaking of " an excessive denominationalism," said: " Wherever this goes beyond love for
souls, something is wrong. So fearful am I of this spirit, that
I have been accustomed for years, in passing a house of worship of some other denomination than my own, to lift my
heart to God in prayer for that minister and his people." How
Christlike that spirit! Would that there were more of it!




192        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
letters which they addressed to communities and
to individuals, in order to discover how pacific
was their spirit, how anxious they were for the
prevalence of love and concord, and how keenly
they felt when there appeared the least indication
of schism or disunion. It would be a profitable
service for any minister of Christ to analyze the
Epistles with special reference to this one point,
— the peace-loving disposition of the primitive
ministry. He would be surprised to find how
frequently, how strongly, and in what a variety
of forms, "the elders" and "all the holy brethren" are exhorted, entreated, commanded to cultivate mutual affection, and to guard against everything that might tend to grieve and alienate and'
divide. In the letters to Timothy and Titus, especially, he would find counsels pertaining to this
department well worthy to be, considered by himself and by all who, as the messengers of "the
Prince of Peace," are appointed to preach and
to exemplify " the Gospel of Peace; "- counsels
which clearly indicate that it was an original design of the ministry to preserve in the Church
good-will and undisturbed harmony, as well as
sound doctrine and faithful discipline. And how
plain, how severe, are the remarks of the Apostles
with respect to those self-willed and contentious
teachers who pervert their facilities for promoting




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          193
peace to opportunities for kindling strife and inflaming hatred!  "From such turn away."
The Church has largely experienced both good
and ill from the men whom she has received as
her spiritual advisers and guides. The confidence
reposed in them as the accredited representatives
of Christ, the sacredness of their office, the knowledge of Divine things which they are supposed
to possess, and the freedom of intercourse with
the people to which they are generally welcomed,
all contribute to their influence in determining
the principles, and moulding the characters, and
tempering the spirit, and directing the conduct,
of the great mass of professed disciples. It will
not be denied that they have often employed this
influence in fomenting " discord among brethren,"
in aggravating the ferocity of party spirit, in rearing higher and stronger the separating barriers,
in rendering the separated more belligerent and
more implacable. With them commenced the first
schisms that disfigured and crippled the Church.
By them mainly have schisms been multiplied, and
widened, and deepened, and perpetuated. They
have been the guardian sentinels, posted along
the lines of party entrenchments, to superintend
their integrity, and, whenever invasion is threatened, to give the trumpet a certain sound. Jerome,
one of the Christian Fathers, has these words:.
17




194        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
" Searching the ancient histories, I can find none
who have more rent the Church of God than
those who sustained the office of ministers." Martin Luther is said often to have prayed: "From
vain-glorious doctors, contentious pastors, and unprofitable questions, good Lord, deliver us."
The religious controversies which have inflicted
so many wounds upon Christianity and upon
Christian consciences, have generally been commenced and continued by factious ministers. No
others could or would have originated or maintained them. Common Christians had no interest
in them, and felt a repugnance to them, except
so far as they became partisans and sympathized
with their guides. Let the people of the United
States interpret for themselves our Constitution,
one of the plainest documents in the English language, and they would understand it alike. Their
leaders misdirect them, and draw them off into
parties rallied around some unintelligible, abstract construction, and teach them to regard one
another as the enemies of their country and the
generators of all political mischief. So, if the
Bible, no part of which is "of any private interpretation," had been put into the hands of all
Christians, and kept There, and they had been
properly instructed to read and interpret it for
themselves, the Church, we may believe, would




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           195
never have been  disturbed  and harassed with
those subtle distinctions and endless logomachies
which have so grievously torn her own vitals,
and often made her despicable in the eyes of
unbelievers.  Ecclesiastical History tells a most
humiliating tale of centuries, with respect to the
spirit and behaviour of a large portion of the
Christian priesthood, their ambition, their contentiousness, their acrimony of spirit, their disregard
of all courtesy, their inflammability of temper,
their violence of denunciation, their bitterness of
invective, their ingenuity in belligerent tactics,
their rage for party victory; and to such men
-demons they would in any other relation be
called —may chiefly be traced the divisions and
the hostile feelings and attitudes of the various
sects which have successively appeared, and, like
the renowned controvertists of Kilkenny, disappeared.
The minister of the gospel, especially the pastor of a Church, occupies a post of influence, and
it is in his power to do much either for peace or
for war, according to the end which he proposes
to accomplish, the means he employs, and the
spirit by which he is moved. He can promote
good-will and harmony, or he can excite disaffection, and drive the divided farther asunder. He
can be a fountain of bland influences that shall




196        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
soothe and heal, or he can be a volcano pouring
forth sulphureous elements that scorch and blacken
and devastate.
Can we for a moment hesitate respecting the
character and the spirit which we ought to encourage in the ministry of the Church?  Have
we any pleasure in the labors of a man who makes
the pulpit the vehicle of inflammatory appeals,
and who never seems to be better pleased than
when he sees that he has propagated his own
spirit, and kindled in other bosoms the flame that
has charred his own? Is he the pastor for us who
is fond of irritating other denominations by pungent witticisms, and sarcastic ridicule, and then
applying the fiery caustic to the excoriated surface to see how the victims will writhe and scowl?
Is he our preferred spiritual guide who, instead
of leading us into green pastures and beside the
still waters, conducts us into the sectarian battlefield where hearts bleed and love weeps?
If there be a spot on earth where the spirit of
peace and love should have its cherished home,
it is the pulpit. If there be a man on earth who
ought to be baptized in that spirit, it is the minister of Jesus. It is good to come near to such
a pulpit, sacred to Love, and to find it occupied
by such a minister, "full of the Holy Ghost and
of faith."  It is good to pass our Sabbath hours




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          197
in a sanctuary where there is a Calvary, and on
that Calvary a Cross around which we may gather
in humility, repentance, confession, faith and hope,
and by the power of which we may feel ourselves
drawn together somewhat in likeness of heavenly
companionship.  And it is good to be led to that
Cross by a pastor who dwells near it himself, and
breathes the atmosphere that surrounds it, and
walks in the light that it pours upon the humble, and speaks the sentiments that it inspires,
and prays like Him who bled upon it and gave
it all its glory. He preaches the truth as he
derives it for himself directly from the Word
of God; but he does it without bigotry or dogmatism.  " Set for the defence of the gospel," he
"contends earnestly for the faith once delivered
to the saints;" but he does it not factiously or
provokingly. He warns all wrong-doers of "the
wrath to come;" but he mingles with the holy
wrath of God no wrath of his own. If he uses
hard arguments, his words are soft. He is "patient towards all men," "gentle unto all men,"
"in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves." As "the servant of God," he does not
"strive," and he stirs no strife among others.
He is never satirical, except against immorality.
Against persons he utters no reproachful epithets.
He inflicts no unnecessary wounds. For the sake
17*




198        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
of peace, he yields everything except truth and
conscience. He is more concerned for the progress of the general cause than for sectarian victory; for the salvation of souls than for the increase of his denomination. He dwells more upon
the spiritual than the ritual of religion; more
upon the fundamental than  the circumstantial.
He puts truths and duties in apostolic order and
apostolic proportion, and insists upon each, in the
apostolic spirit, according to its relative importance. IHe diffuses everywhere, and by every appropriate means, the genial and sunny influences
of that heaven-born Charity which " suffereth long
and is kind, envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is
not puffed up, behaveth not unseemly, seeketh
not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh
no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth
in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things,"
and "never faileth." He possesses and exhibits,
in large measure, the wisdom that is "first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full
of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and
without hypocrisy." In him are blended two characteristics; he is wise as a serpent, harmless as
a dove. He studies to promote brotherly love,
regarding it as a proof of discipleship, and as
adapted to convince unbelievers of the excel



CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          199
lence of the gospel. Hence he exhorts all to be
"kindly affectioned one to another," "forbearing
one another in love."  He finds the Church
"wounded and half dead," and he pours in oil
and wine, and endeavors to soothe her feverish
throbbings with the healing hand of kindness.
He labors to draw off the minds of the people
from undue attention to inferior matters by presenting great truths for their contemplation, great
commands for their obedience; and thus, like a
wise physician, he skilfully administers the proper
moral alteratives. In private prayer he wrestles
with God for the peace and unity of the Church;
in public devotion he pleads for the removal of
the barriers that obstruct the free and holy fellowship of all believers. Like the High Priest
of Israel, he never enters the holy place for the
purpose of intercession, without the names of all
the tribes upon his breast-plate. As the tabernacle was the rallying point of the host in its
marches to Canaan, and the central bond of union
around which was every nightly encampment, so
this leader of a Christian flock plants the Cross
in the centre, and invites all to encircle it in close
combination, knowing for a certainty that there
the spirit of discord cannot develop itself, -there
every schismatical feeling must wither and die.
He dwells much upon the oneness of God's peo



200       CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
pie, having one Father, one Saviour, one hope,
one inheritance. He is "a lover of good men," a
lover of all goodness. For controversy he has no
taste. As instinctively as the dove-like Spirit, he
" Flies from the realms of noise and strife."
He delights to work upon that part of the spiritual temple where the sound of axe and hammer
is not heard. His great object is the conversion of
sinners and their culture in holiness, and in all
he has supreme reference to the glory of Christ,
preferring rather to jewel the Redeemer's crown
than his own. He anticipates with strong rapture
the period when the whole Body of Christ shall
be " compacted together in love," and " come into
the unity of the faith; " the halcyon days of prophecy, when the godly seed shall rise above the partition walls by which they are divided, and flow
together to certify, in the embrace of Christian
fellowship, before the face of the world, the ancient
power of godliness.  He longs for the key-note
to be struck, to which ten thousand times ten
thousand voices shall respond in sweetest harmony,
and to which angels themselves shall lend a delighted ear, finding in it the echo of their own
on that day when they sang at the advent of the
Redeemer. He is not widely known to the world;




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.           201
he aspires not to the distinctions that men confer.
His immediate influence is not far-reaching, but it
is all healthful, and will go on through numerous
channels, diffusing the beauty of holiness long after
he shall have gone to his rest and his reward.
How benign is the influence of such a pastor!
How green is the spot which he cultivates! How
refreshing to place one's moral nature under such
influences! How profitable to be trained by such
a teacher for usefulness and heaven, himself leading
the way! How great the pleasure of contributing
to the support of such a minister, knowing that we
are sustaining an agent of good, and good of the
highest order! His less tolerant brethren may
suspect him of favoring some heresy, or of abating
his zeal for the truth; but none of these things
move him.  He believes that holiness and peace
are inseparable concomitants, and that by promoting either he facilitates the advancement of
the other.  Like Chillingworth, he says, "If the
ruptures of the Church might be composed, I
do heartily wish that the cement might be made
of my heart's blood;" or, like Baxter: "I can as
willingly be a martyr for Love as for any article of
my creed."
Were all the ministers even of one denomination
thus to feel and act, would the cause of truth suffer
in their hands?  Would their Master rebuke, or




202          CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
commend them?  How long would it be before
the prejudices of others would melt away like
snow in a summer atmosphere, and the thousands
of divided Israel reunite under the peaceful standard of the Son of David? Prophecy has sketched
the picture, "a thing of beauty," on the future,
and blessed are they to whom it shall be "a joy
forever."  "The watchmen shall lift up the voice;
with the voice TOGETHER shall they sing; for they
shall SEE EYE TO EYE, when the Lord shall bring
again Zion."
"Were love, in these the world's last doting years,
As frequent as the want of it appears,
The churches warmed, they would no longer hold
Such frozen figures, stiff as they are cold;
Relenting forms would lose their power, or cease,
And e'en the dipped and sprinkled live in peace;
Each heart would quit its prison in the breast,
And flow in free communion with the rest." 1
8. WE MAY PATRONIZE A PEACE-MAKING PRESS.
The alienations and animosities among religious
people are aggravated in no small degree' by the
newspapers, magazines, and reviews, which they
read and support.  These publications are now,
what the pulpit once was, the principal arena of
1 William Cowper.




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          203
sectarian  debate.  There the pugnacious hide
themselves behind the editorial impersonality or
the fictitious signature, and carry on a warfare
which contributes far more to the embittering of
disaffection than to the evolving of truth or the
maintaining of right. An editor inflames the minds
of his readers, and the readers become correspondents, at once encouraging the editor and exasperating the inflammation in their own bosoms;
and thus the process goes on, reciprocally multiplying and envenoming its pernicious tendencies.
Does any one doubt the power of the periodical
press to evoke or allay the unchristian spirit? Let
him habitually read two religious newspapers, differing in their tone and temper, —the one kind,
courteous, fraternal towards all denominations of
Christians; the other controversial, fault-finding,
sarcastic, - and, if he will carefully observe the effect
upon his own sensitiveness, he will soon be able to
bear unequivocal testimony to the wide difference
of their tendencies. The former will ever come
like an excellent oil that soothes, refreshes, and
perfumes his inner soul; while every sheet of the
other will be to his feelings like a corrosive cataplasm, blistering whatever it touches.  The one
promotes a spirit of love and genial union; the
other a spirit of irritability, jealousy and contention.
The one strengthens the bonds of Christian attach



204        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
ment; the other harshly ruptures the social ligaments, and incapacitates them for reiinion.
As lovers of peace and harmony, we may direct
our whole influence in favor of a press whose issues
are eminently Christian. We may keep far away
from ourselves and our families the publications that
indulge in sneers at other denominations, and captious criticisms, and satirical thrusts, and ungenerous
insinuations; we may welcome those - and such
there are —that inculcate sound opinions in a
lovely spirit, striving to tranquillize the perturbed
elements, and to cultivate those feelings and habits
which shall bring nearer together the separated
flock of Christ. Happy indeed will be the day
when all writers shall be peace-makers in Zion, and
when all their readers shall be lovers and promoters
of Christian Brotherhood.
9. WE MAY IMPLORE A LARGER EFFUSION OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT.
"There is one Body and one Spirit."  So said
an inspired Apostle; and in his day there was
nothing even in appearance to contradict the assertion, or to render doubtful its correctness. The
whole company of believers was that one Body.
Though composed of a diversity of members, yet
they were, all so arranged and " fitly framed to



,CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          205
gether," as to constitute one compact, symfnetrical
whole, of which Christ was the intelligent, controlling Head. In this Body there was one Spirit,
and that the Holy Spirit, which dwelt there as the
animating, assimilating, combining Principle. So
long as the Spirit inhabited that Body as the
indwelling Life, the Body remained united. When
the Spirit departed, then the Body began at once
to exhibit signs of decomposition, and where the
carcass was, there the eagles were gathered together. From that time to the present the deficiency of spiritual life in the Church has been the
chief preventive to the reunion of her separated
elements. When the scattered fragments of a man
came together in the valley of vision, they were
skilfully combined into a perfect form. But had
not the Breath entered that form  and given it
animation, it would soon have dissolved and become as unsightly as before. So the portions of
the divided Church may be brought intb contact,
and by mechanical forces made to assume the appearance of unity; but, without the indwelling
Spirit, all will go to pieces again, and be more
remote than ever from that living unity which was
once its beauty and glory.
If, therefore, we desire to see Christians united
and happily cooperating as the members of one
Body, enlivened by one Spirit, we must, in God's
18




206         CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
appointed way, secure the return of that grieved
and alienated Agent by whom alone the work cal
be accomplished.  He only can counteract that
antagonist agent which has usurped his place and
reigned as the spirit of division and death.
In all ages, just so far as Christians have enjoyed
the presence and the fulness of the Spirit, have
they been divested of the sectarian element, and
diligently sought for some common  basis upon
which they could stand side by side evincing to the
world their oneness in Christ Jesus. And in our
day, there is among all the more spiritual members
of every denomination a strong tendency towards
a greater union. When a religious revival commences in a place, how common is it to see Christians of different names rush together, praying and
laboring as if there were no differences of opinion
or interest. The secret of this affectionate cooperation is found in the presence of the Holy Spirit,
whose power has weakened sectarian repulsion, and
given increased activity to Christian attraction.
When this extraordinary Influence is withdrawn,
how often do we see the different denominations
returning to their respective inclosures, and commencing a most unlovely course of conduct! Instead of endeavoring to nurse and instruct the
converts, they seem, by the efforts which they
make, and the artifices they employ, to be intent




CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.          207
upon nothing so much as to secure the largest possible number to swell their own denominational
triumph! Their union in the first instance made
a powerful impression upon the community, and
facilitated the progress of the good work; and
their union was sincere, for it was the product
of the Divine Spirit.  But the subsequent competitions and conflicts of partisan interests, stirred
up by the agent of all evil, sickened the community, and fastened a new stigma upon revivals.
The Spirit of God is not wholly absent from any
of Christ's genuine disciples.  Every Christian
is a temple of the Holy Ghost. Every evangelical
denomination is favored with the visits and the
benedictions of the blessed Comforter.  Consequently, all Christians have some points of resemblance, and some love one to another. But they
have not enough of the Spirit to make that resemblance complete, or to produce that mutual affection which would bind them indissolubly together.
To this point, then, we ought to direct our immediate and earnest attention. The great want
of the Church universal is ours, - the want of a
large measure of the Divine Influence. The Holy
Spirit is preeminently the "Repairer of the breach,
the Restorer of paths to dwell in," and his presence
and efficacious operations are everywhere imperatively needed. Let us take right views of this




208        CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
necessity, and open our hearts as well as our understandings to the full force of the conviction,
that for all spiritual improvement we are dependent
on the sanctifying agency of the Holy Spirit. And
let us pray for an enlarged effusion of that Spirit —
the needed blessing, and the one which Christ has
specially promised to all who ask it. Let us pray
more, and pray better. Let us be such in character
and spirit and motive, as that we may have power
with God, and prevail. Let us go alone and pray
that the Spirit may return to us and to all Christians in his fulness; that he may descend into every
one of our hearts as the purifying flame, and
consume all the unholiness of our natures, and that
thus we may be individually prepared for the great
process of Christian consolidation. Let us unite
with all who love the Saviour, to pray; and, while
we endeavor to unite in the service upon Christian
principles and for Christian ends, let us lay our
hearts together before the throne, and call down
upon them the only Influence that can melt and
blend them into One.




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in grace and guards the young Christian against many mistakes, into which he is in
danger of falling. - Puritan Recorder.
Mr. James has rendered himself one of the most popular and useful writers of the
day. -Zion's Advocate.
It is written as a sequel to the anxious inquirer, " whose praise is in all the churehes." -The subject is one of equal importance, and the author addresses himself
with characteristic ardor and success to the theme. - Southern Baptist.
CHURCH MEMBER'S GUIDE. Edited by the REV. J.
OVERTON CHOULES, D. D. New Edition. With an Introductory Essay, by the REV. HUBBARD WINSLOW. Cloth, 33 cts.
The spontaneous effusion of our heart, on laying the book down, was, - may every
church member in our land possess this book. - Christian Secretary.
A pastor writes, " I sincerely wish that every professor of religion in the land may
possess this excellent manual. I am anxious that every member of my church
should possess it, and shall be happy to promote its circulation."  Kk




CHRISTIAN'S DAILY  TREASURY.
A RELIGIOUS EXERCISE FOR EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR.
By E. TEMPLE, author of the " Domestic Altar.' A new and
improved edition. 121io, cloth, $1,00.
*I- A work for every Christian.  It is indeed a " Treasury" of good things.
If any book of modern date deserves a second and a third commendation, it is
this. We wish most heartily that this volume were the daily companion of every
disciple of Christ, in the land. Could no other copy be obtained, we would not part
with our own for ten times the cost of it. - Congregationalist.
Materials for reflection and meditation,designed for the Christian in his daily walk
with God. - Puritan Recorder.
It should be on the table and read by every Christian. - Ch. Times.
It differs from any thing we have met with. The author has a most happy tat
ent at conveying much important truth in a few words. It is an admirable work,
worthy to be read by every Christian and studied by every minister. - DR. SPPAGCUE,
Albany Atlas
A useful evangelical volume, designed to assist Christians in the work of daily
meditation on the divine word. - Christian Herald.
A grand work for the centre table of every Christian, or for the most private place,
where they hold communion with the Invisible. - Albansy Ch. Spectator.
It is one of the best of the kind that we have ever examined. It is a treasury of
evangelical truth forcibly expressed, well adapted to awaken thought. - Phil. Ch. Oh
This work might appropriately be called a guide to meditation. Many do not know
how to meditate A careful use of this volume, will do very much to form habits of
profitable meditation. -Phil. Ch. Chronicle.
Were these "Exercises " less animated and;ife like we might call them skeletons;
but skeletons have not flesh and blood,as the reader finds these to have. We prefer
them to any thing of the kind we have seen. - Dover Star.
This is a precious compendium of pious reflections, upon happily-selected Scriptures. It is superior to the numerous works of this character already published, and
will afford pleasure and profit to the minister, and private Christian. -Am. Pulpit.
We give it our most decided recommendation. It differs from the generality of
works of a somewhat similar style, in that they consist of reflections, while this more
particularly forms the outlines or materialsfor reflection and meditation. - Observer,
There is no volume having the same aim as this. can compare with it, for its suggestive properties and comprehensiveness. - Ch..2Iirror.
Itbreathes the spirit of the gospel. It is eminently suggestive and practical. It
deserves a place in every Christian's library. - N. Y. Recorder.
This excellent treasury furnishes rich, practical, and devotional instruction. It is
well to feed daily on such spiritual food. - N. Y. Observer.
A treasure, indeed, to any one who will study its daily lessons.- Ch. Index.
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. By THOMAS A KEMPIS.
Introductory Essay, by T  CHALMERS, D. D.  New  improved edition.
Edited by the REV. HOWARD MALCOM, D.D.  18mo, cloth, 38 cts.',' " This work has, for three hundred years, been esteemed one of the best practical books in existence, and has gone through a vast number of editions, not only
in the original Latin, but in every language of Europe. Dr. Payson, once said to a
young minister " If you have not seen' Thomas aKempis,' I beg you to procure it.
lor spirituality and weauedness from the world. I know of nothing equal to it."
That this admirable work may be enjoyed by all, the translation which best agrees
with the original, has been revised and adapted to use by Dr. Malcom.  IMm




RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
THE  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY, as exhibited in the
writings of its apologists, down to Augustine, by W. J. BOLTON,
of Gonv;lle and Caius College, Cambridge. 12mo, cloth. 80 ots.
This volume received the Hulsean prize (about $500) i i England. The author
is evidently a very learned student of the patristic writings and the whole circle
of ecclesiastical history. He has presented to the world in this essay an admirable compendium of the arguments for the truth of Christianity advanced in
the works of the Apologetic Fathers during the third, fourth, and fifth centuries
of the Christian era. These arguments are classified as being deduced from
antecedent probability, from antiquity, from prophecy, from miracles, from the
reasonableness of doctrine, from superior morality, and from the success of the
Gospel. - N. Y. Commercial.
We thankfully accept such an effort as this of a profound and highly-cultivated
mind. - Puritan Recorder.
The work bears the marks of great research, and must command the attention
and confidence of the Christian world.- Mercantile Journal.
THE  BETTER  LAND; or, Thoughts on Heaven.   By A. C.
THOMPSON, Pastor of the Eliot Church, Roxbury.  12mo, cloth.
$1.00. Just published.
THE  MISSION  OF THE  COMFORTER; with copious Notes.
By JULIUS CHARLES HARE. Notes translated for the American
edition.  12mo, cloth.  $1.25.
Rich in spirituality, strong and sound in theology, comprehensive in thought,
vigorous and beautiful in imagination, affluent in learning. - Congregationalist.
We have seldom read a book with greater interest. - N. Y. Evangelist.
The volume is of rare value, and will be welcomed as an eloquent and Scriptural exposition of some of the fundamental doctrines of our faith. - 1. Y.Recorder
THE VICTORY  OF FAITH. By JULIUS CHARLES HARE, author
of" The Mission of the Comforter," etc. 12mo, cloth. In press.
FIRST  LINES OF  CHRISTIAN  THEOLOGY. In the form of
a Syllabus, for the use of Students.  Royal octavo. $5.00.
4V- A most important work for ministers and theological students.
THE  RELIGIONS  OF  THE  WORLD, and their relations to
Christianity. By FREDERICK DENISON MAURICE, A. M., Professor of Divinity in King's College, London. 16mo, cloth. 60 cts.
The effort is masterly, and, in any event, must prove highly interesting by the
omparisons which it institutes with the false and the true. - Method. Quarterly.
GUIDO  AND  JULIUS.  THE DOCTRINE OF SIN AND TlHE PROPITIATOR; or, the True Consecration of the Doubter. By F. AuG
0. THOLUCH, D.D. Translated by JONATHAN EDWARDS RYLAND
Introduction by JOHN PYE SMITH, D.D.  16mo, cloth.  60 ota.
@G  Preeminently a book for the times-full of interest, and of great pcwes
(i)




IMPORTANT WORK.
KITTO'S POPULAR CYCLOP}EDIA OF BIBLICAL
LITERATURE.  Condensed from  the larger work.  By the Author,
JOHN  KITTO, D. D., Author of "Scripture Daily Readings," &c. Assisted by JAMES TAYLOR, D. D.  With over 500 Illustrations.  3,00.
This work is designed to furnish a DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE, embodying the
products of the best and most recent researches in biblical literature, in which the
scholars of Europe and America have been engaged. The work, the result of immense labor and research, is pronounced, by universal consent, the best work of its
class extant. It is not only intended for ministers and theological students, but is also
particularly adapted to parents, Sabbath school teachers, and the great body of the reijiious public. The illustrations, amounting to more than 300, are of the highest order.
A condensed view of the various topics comprehended in the work.
1. BIBLICAL CRITICISM, - Embracing the History of the Bible Languages; Canon of Scripture; Literary History and Peculiarities of the Sacred Books; Formation
and History of Scripture Texts.
2. IISTorn, - Proper Names of Persons; Biographical Sketches of prominent
Characters; Detailed Accounts of important Events recorded in Scripture; Chronology and Gencalogy of Scripture.
3. GEOGAPiHY, - Names of Places; Description of Scenery; Boundaries and Mutual Relations of the Countries mentioned in Scripture, so far as necessary to illustrate the Sacred Text.
4. ARCISOLOGY, - Manners and Customs of the Jews and other nations mentioned in Scripture; their Sacred Institutions, Military Affairs, Political ArrangeIments, Literary and Scientific Pursuits.
5. PEITSICAL SCIENCE,- Scripture Cosmogony and Astronomy, Zoology, Minelalogy, Botany, Meteorology.
In addition to numerous flattering notices and reviews, personal letters from a
large num7ber of the most distinguished Ministcrs and Laymen of different religious d..
nominations in the cotuntry have been received, highly commending this work as ad,
mnirably adapted to ministers, Sabbath school teachers, heads of families, and all.J'ble students.
The following extract of a letter is a fair specimen of individual letters received,am each of the gentlemen whose names are given below:" I have examined it with special and unalloyed satisfaction. It has the rare merit:. being all that it professes to be; and very few, I am sure, who may consult it will
t;ny that, in richness and fulness of detail, it surpasses their expectation. Many
-,inisters will find it a valuable auxiliary; but its chief excellence is, that it furnishes?jst the facilities which are needed by the thousands in families and Sabbath schools,
Who are engaged in the important business of biblical education. It is in itself a iirary of reliable information."
W. B. Sprague, D. D., Albany; J. J. Carruthers, D. D., Portland; Joel Hawes.
1). D, Hartford, Ct.; Daniel Sharp, D. D., Boston; N. L. Frothingham, D. D., BosSon; Ephraim Peabody, D. D., Boston; A. L. Stone, Boston; John S. Stone, D. D.,
- rooklyn; J. B. Waterbury, D. D., Boston; Baron Stow, D. D., Boston; Thomas I.
tinner, D. D., New York; Samuel W. Worcester, D. D., Salem; Horace Bushnell,:. I., Hartford, Ct.; Right Reverend J. M. Wainwright, D. D., New York; Gardner
iring, D. D., New York; W. T. Dwight, D. D., Portland; E. N. Kirk, Boston; Prof.: eorge Bush, author of "Notes on the Scriptures," New York; Howard Malcom,
I). D.. author of " Bible Dictionary;" Henry J. Ripley, D. D., author of " Notes on
f   Scriptures;" N. Porter, Prof. in Yale College, New Itaven, Ct.; Jared Sparks,
"Iward Everett, Theodore Frelinghuysen. Robert C. Winthrop. John McLean. Si-,-on Greenleaf. Thomas S. Williams.- and a large number of others of like character and standing of the above, whose names cannot here appear.         H




IMPORTANT WORKS.
ANALYTICAL CONCORDANCE OF THE HOLY
SCRIPTURES; or, The Bible presented under Distinct and Classified Heads or Topics. By JOHN  EADIE, D. D., LL. D., Author of
the "Biblical Cyclopedia," "Dictionary of the Bible," &c., &c.
One volume, royal octavo, 836 pp. Cloth, $3.00; sheep, $3.50. Just
published.
The publishers would call the special attention of clergymen to the peculiar
features of this great work.
1. It is a concordance of subjects, not of words. In this it differs from the common concordance, which, of course, it does not supersede.
2. It embraces all the topics, both secular and religious, which are naturally
suggested by the entire contents of the Bible. In this it differs from Scripture
Manuals and Topical Text-books, which are confined to religious or doctrinal topics.
3. It contains the whole of the Bible without abridgment, differing in no respect
from the Bible in common use, except in the classification of its contents.
4. It contains a synopsis, separate from the concordance, presenting within the
compass of a few pages a bird's-eye view of the whole contents.
5. It contains a table of contents, embracing nearly two thousand heads, arranged
in alphabetical order.
The purchaser gets not only a Concordance, but also a Bible, in this volume. The
superior convenience arising out of this fact, - saving, as it does, the necessity of
having two books at hand and of making two references, instead of one, - will be
readily apparent.
The general subjects (under each of which there are a vast number of sub-divisions) are arranged as follows, viz.:
Agriculture,- Animals,-Architecture,-Army,-Arms,-Body,-Canaan,-Covenant,-Diet and Dress,-Disease and Death,-Earth,-Family,-Genealogy,-God,
Heaven,-Idolatry, Idols,-Jesus Christ,-Jews,-Laws,-Magistrates,-Man,-Marriage,-Metals and Minerals,-Ministers of Religion,- Miracles,-Occupations,Ordinances,-Parables andEmblems,-Persecution,-Praise and Prayer,-Prophecy,
Providence,-Redemption,- Sabbaths and Holy Days,- Sacrifice,- Scriptures,Speech,-Spirits,-Tabernacle and Temple,-Vineyard and Orchard,-Visions and
Dreams,-War,-Water.
It is adapted not only to assist the student in prosecuting the investigation of
preconceived ideas, but also to impart ideas which the most careful reading of the
Bible in its ordinary arrangement might not suggest. Let him take up any one of
the subjects - " Agriculture," for example - and see if such be not the case.
No Biblical student would willingly dispense with this Concordance when once
possessed. It is adapted to the necessities of all classes, - clergymen and theological students; Sabbath-school superintendents and teachers; authors engaged
in the composition of religious and even secular works.
A COMMENTARY ON THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. By Horatio B. Hackett. D. D.,
Prof. of Biblical Lit. and Interpretation, Newton Theological Ins.
[ New, revised, and enlarged edition. In Press.
a   This most important and very popular work, has been throughly revised
and considerably enlarged by the introduction of important new matter, the result
of the Author's continued, laborious investigations since the publication of the first
edition, aided by the more recent published critcisms of other distinguished Biblical Scholars, in this country and in Europe.                          (y)




IMPORTANT NEW WORKS.
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE: Social and Individual. By PETER
BAYNE, A. M. 12mo, cloth.  $1.25.
Contents.  Part I.- STATEMENT. The Individual Life; the Social Life. Part. —EXPOSITION AND ILLUSTRATION. First Principles; Howard, and the rise of
Philanthropy; Wilberforce, and the development of Philanthropy; Budgett, the
Christian Freeman; the social problem of the age, and one or two hints towards its
solution; Modern Doubt; John Foster; Thomas Arnold; Thomas Chalmers. Part
II.- OUTLOOK. The Positive Philosophy; Pantheistic Spiritualism.
Particular attention is invited to this work. Its recent publication in Scotland proiuced a great sensation. Hugh Miller made it the subject of an elaborate review in
his paper, the Edinburgh " Witness," and gave his readers to understand that it was
an extraordinary work. The "News of the Churches," the monthly organ of the
Scottish Free Church, was equally emphatic in its praise, pronouncing it "the religious book of the season." Strikingly original in plan and brilliant in execution, it far
surpasses the expectations raised by the somewhat familiar title. It is, in truth, a
bold onslaught (and the first of the kind) upon the Pantheism of Carlyle, Fichte, etc.,
by an ardent admirer of Carlyle; and at the same time an exfibition of the Christian
Life, in its inner principle, and as illustrated in the lives of Howard, Wilberforce,
Budgett, Foster, Chalmers, etc. The brilliancy and vigor of the author's style are
remarkable.
PATRIARCIHY; OR, THE FAMILY: ITS CONSTITUTION AND
PROBATION. By JOHN HARRIS, D. D., President of " New College,"
London, and author of "The Great Teacher," "Mammon," etc.
12mo, cloth. $1.25.
The public are here presented with a work on a subject of universal interest, by
one of the most able and popular living authors. It is a work that should find a place
in every FAMILY, containing, as it does, a profound and eloquent exposition of the
constitution, laws, and history of the Family, as well as much important instruction
and sound advice, touching the family, family government, family education, etc.,
of the present time.
This is the third and last of a series, by the same author, entitled " Contributions
to Theological Science." The plan of this series is highly original, and thus far has
been most successfully executed. Of the first two in the series, "Pre-Adamite
Earth," and "Man Primeval," we have already issued four and five editions, and the
demand still continues. The immense sale of all Dr. Harris's works attest their intrinsic popularity.
"The present age has not produced his superior as an original, stirring, elegant
writer." —PEILADELPHIA CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE.
GOD REVEALED IN NATURE AND IN CHIIST;
Including a Refutation of the Development Theory contained in the' Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation."   By the author of
"The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation."  12mo, cloth.  $1.25.
The author of that remarkable book, " The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation,"
las devoted several years of incessant labor to the preparation of this work. It furnishes a new, and, as it is conceived, a conclusive argument against the "development theory " so ingeniously maintained in the " Vestiges of the Natural History of
Creation." As this author does not publish except when he has something to say,
there is good reason to anticipate that the work will be one of unusual interest and
value. His former book has met with the most signal success in both hemispheres,
having passed through numerous editions in England and Scotland, and been translated into four of the European languages besides. P is lso about to be translated
into the Hindostanee tongue.                                       (m)