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SCRIPTURAL UNION;
OR,
THE PROMISED HARMONY OF "THE VIEWS AND FEELINGS
OF THE PROFESSORS OF RELIGION IN THE
LATTER-DAYS.

SERMON,
PREACHED ON OCCASION OF THE
PROPOSED UNION
BETWEEN THE
TWO BRANCHES OF THE SECESSION.

BY ROBERT CULBERTSON,
JJINISTEE OF THE GOSPEL, LEITH.

"'Behold, horn good and how pleasant it is, fir brethren to daell together
in unity." Psa. cxxx. 1.

EDINBURGH :
PRINTED FOB OGLE, ALLABDICE &. THOMSON.
1819.

SERMON.

Jeremiah xxxii. 39.
AND I WILL GIVE THEM ONE HEABT, AND ONE WAY.—

1 he greatest calamities of our times may be traced up to
the influence of a spirit of contention. This restless and
malicious adversary hath been going to and fro upon the
earth, and deeply affecting the state of society wherever he has
come. There is no region which hath escaped his notice ;
nor any class of men who have not found cause to bewail
the prevalence of this spirit among them. He hath cooled
the warmest attachments of friends ; he hath roused and in
flamed the most malevolent passions of adversaries ; he hath
disturbed the peace of all associations, and burst asunder
every bond which seemed to unite man to man.
It is in the church, however, that we have the greatest
reason to deplore the mournful fruits and consequences of a
spirit of contention. Here altar is erected against altar, and
temple against temple. One is crying, Here is Christ ! and
another, Lo ! he is there. Many humble, patient, and ear
nest inquirers, after truth, are greatly perplexed and bewil-
A

dered, and do not know to what hand they should turn, or
with what society of professing Christians they should con
nect themselves in the bonds of church fellowship.
Divide and conquer, is the maxim upon which Satan
hath acted from the beginning. He accordingly excited
and fomented an unhappy quarrel between the two first
brothers, which issued in the murder of the injured party.
And since the blood of righteous Abel was shed, he hath
been continually scattering the seeds of discord among bre
thren, that their spiritual profiting might be marred, and
the cause of God and truth might be loaded with an intole
rable burden of reproach. It does not however appear, that
the contentions of brethren were ever more violent, or that
their fruits, in the way of rending and dividing the visible
body of the church, were ever more abundant in any age,
than our own. Within these last fifty years, party names
and distinctions have increased in a ratio to which those of
other times bear no proportion. The church has the ap
pearance of an army which hath suffered a total defeat.
Her broken and scattered legions are flying in all directions.
They have lost the standard of a common profession, about
which they were accustomed to rally ; and seem as if they
could no longer unite their counsels and their energies to
resist and itepel the attacks of their enemies.
Whether the spirit of religious ^contention be receiving
any check ; or, Whether the present remarkable movements
in the churches of the Secession, be only a stratagem of the
enemy more completely to divide and distract them,— it
would be presumptuous in present circumstances for $ny
person to hazard an opinion. A short space of time, how
ever, will be sufficient to determine their character. As
these motions are exceedingly rapid, so the two bodies will
soon be in a state, of contact; and then it will require no
thing but an ordinary share of penetration to discern, whe*

flier it was the God of the church, or her implacable adver
sary, that gave them the impulse.
I am not without nope, that the proposed union will be
brought to a favourable conclusion ; and therefore, nothing
can be farther from my intention than, in the sequel of this
discourse, to foster an opposite opinion, or excite any degree
of alarm. But while the union between the two parties is
not yet established, and while any mind may easily perceive,
that the consequences of a failure would be extremely perni
cious to one or other, or to both, — it is impossible for any
true friend of the cause of the Secession, to look with indif
ference upon what is going on, or divest himself of every
degree of anxiety or fear. These painful feelings are not
excited by' an apprehension that the question of union is
cumbered with many or with great difficulties ; or that there
is any thing in the present state of the two churches, which
could justify the conduct of the one in refusing to give the
right hand of fellowship to the other. They originate in
a suspicion, that both societies contain many individuals
•who are fired with an intemperate zeal in favour of an union;
and that there are others, who, if not strongly prejudiced
against it, are nevertheless very coldly affected to the mea
sure. The former, it is dreaded, will not be inclined to
wait the slow motions of the latter ; and the latter will be in
danger of blaming the steps of the former, as if they were
rash and precipitate. ' Hence, in this divided state of views
and feelings, a general union can hardly be expected ; and
nothing surely ought to be deprecated more, than an union
which is merely partial. Instead of diminishing, it would
increase the number of sects and parties among us ; it would
kindle up anew the flames of the hottest contention; it would
strengthen and confirm the prejudices of the enemies of the
Secession ; and prove more injurious to the common cause
in which all Seceders are embarked, than any thing that has

6
happened since the mournful controversy respecting the
burgess oath was agitated. May the God of mercy and of
kindness interpose, and prevent any union which would be
fraught with such pernicious consequences !
It is our earnest wish, to promote the cause of an union,
which may be so general as to combine and consolidate all
the ministers and members of the two churches, in one
great association. It is no less our desire to further the
establishment of it upon such a basis, as would leave an open
door for the return of those brethren who have lately gone
out from us-*— brethren whom we cannot but love in the
Lord, and whose return would be hailed and welcomed like
life from the dead ! In order to advance this good work,
by lending our feeble aid to check extravagancies, and re
move prejudices, which, if left to their full operation, might
lead to a very different result, it is proposed to direct your
attention to that happy union of heart and way, which
is predicted and promised in the words of our present
reading. The text consists of two distinct branches, which may be
considered in the order before us.
I. The Promise of One Heart.
The term heart is sometimes put for the whole soul, or
the soul with all its powers and faculties ; at other times,
it is taken to denote the affections only. In this last accep
tation the word is used in the text ; because the affections
being the active powers of the mind, are to the soul what
feet and hands are to the body ; and therefore, in accordance
with this view of the term, we fead in the next clause, of the
way or path in which those to be endowed with one heart
shall walk. In general, this promise seems intended to de
scribe and secure those kindred feelings and sympathies,
which shall unite the members of the church in the latter-
days. — It includes.

1st, The invaluable and comprehensive blessing of a new
heart. This view of it is confirmed by the interpretation
of a parallel text in the prophecies of Ezekiel. Says the
Spirit of God by that prophet, " I will give them one
heart ;" and he immediately adds, " I will put a new spirit
within you ; and I will take the stony heart out of their
flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh *." And indeed
every idea that we can form of the character of the Pro-
miser, must necessarily lead to this interpretation. For as
God cannot be the author of sin, so he cannot infuse any of
those evil qualities and propensities into the soul, which
constitute the old heart. Hence, the blessing promised in
this text, must be meant of those holy habits and disposi
tions which are communicated by the powerful operation of
the Spirit in effectual calling, and are usually denominated
the new heart.
The church has never been without individuals who were
possessed of sanctified affections. She could not subsist
without them. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us
a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and
we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Neither could
the fabric of the universe continue without these pillars to
support it. The holy seed are the substance of a nation ;
they are the salt of the earth, and the lights and the pillars
of the world. But hitherto they have been such a small
remnant, as to bear almost no proportion to the world lying
in wickedness ; and in comparison even with the visible
body of the professors of religion, they have been only like
two or three berries on the top of the uppermost bough, four
or five in the utmost fruitful branches thereof. What an
affecting proof does the shattered and divided state of the
church furnish, that these precious sons of Zion, compar
able to fine gold, are rare characters in the present day!
••Ezek. xL 19.

Whence have come those wars and fightings which have
desolated the earth, and disgraced the human character?
Have they not issued from the deadly fountain of the old
heart ? If the blessing of the new heart had been more ex
tensively bestowed, dissentions would have been less fre
quent, and their consequences far less mournful. Seldom
would there have been an appeal to the sword by the state ;
and equally seldom would the strong measure of separation
have been adopted by the members of the church.
The principle of grace is a very powerful cement. It can
subdue the most inveterate and deeply rooted prejudices ;
it can break the arm of the most furious and revengeful
passions ; it can unite parties in the closest bonds of friend
ship, who never could lo'ok upon each other, but with feel
ings of indignation, or of terror. It can make the lion to
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard to lie down with the
kid; and even from among persecutors themselves, it can
select and send forth preachers to propagate and defend that
faith which they had endeavoured to destroy. The principle
of grace, not only brings men into the relation of a holy
brotherhood, but it endows them with all the feelings and
dispositions of brethren. It teaches them to study those
things which make for peace, and wherewith they may edify
one another. Hence, upon the very first symptoms of dis-
sention, it lifts up its voice in the soul, and says, as Abra
ham did to Lot, " Let there be no strife, I pray thee,
between me and thee, or. between thy herdmen and my
herdmen, for we are brethren *." Accordingly, when the
promise contained in this text meets with that extensive ac
complishment which we are warranted to expect, church
members will then place their delights in one another, as
the excellent ones of the earth. Their party views will
he, changed, and the way prepared for walking in comfortable
fellowship together. " Gen. xiii. 8.

3d, Though this promise necessarily includes the blessing,
of a new heart, it seems chiefly intended to describe the
more prominent features of character which adorn it, and to
secure their bestowment in a. very plentiful degree. We are
led into this train of thought by the numeral term One,
which reminds us of a striking contrast between the new arid
the old heart.
First, The new heart is remarkable for its simplicity ;
but the old is no less remarkable for its deceit. Hence, the
former is called one heart ; but the latter is described as a
sort of complex or double heart, and is therefore called a
heart and a heart *. The old heart is a mystery of deceit
and wickedness. It is said to be deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked. No dependance whatever can be
placed upon it; for even when its protestations and pro
mises are made in the most solemn manner that can be con-
cieved, they may be nothing but the fruit of dissimulation
and falsehood. Like the treacherous Joab when he took
Amasa by the beard and kissed him, and inquired after his
health, saying, Aft thou in health, my brother, but stabbed
him beneath the fifth rib that he died ; so the old heart
may make the greatest professions of friendship, when no
thing but blood and violence are intended. — But the new
heart is a principle that is void of deceit. By whatever
name it is called, it is just truth itself inscribed as a principle
in the inward part. Hence, those that are endowed with it,
speak as they think ; and though they swear to their heart
they change not. Simplicity and sincerity are so essential
to the frame of the renewed soul, that no person can be en
titled to the name of a saint who is destitute of them.
This view of the promise suggests additional matter of
encouragement, respecting a cordial and well consolidated
union among the members of the church in the latter-days ;
* Psa. xii 2.

1Q
because there is nothing which has a more direct and imme
diate tendency to beget a favourable opinion in the minds
of others, than a sacred and inflexible regard to truth. It
is such a fundamental principle of morality, that no person,
whatever be his rank or talents, can be respected, who is
known to be destitute of it. On the other hand, the artless
simplicity of a Nathanael, will command the veneration
of every good man, and make even his enemies to be at
peace with him. Hence, the more that this amiable feature
is manifested, with so much the greater readiness will church
members repose confidence in each other, and cleave so
much the more closely together in the bonds of sincere
affection. Secondly, The new heart is widely distinguished from the
old, by its kindred feelings and associations. There is a
happy understanding among the members of the family of
grace in the renewed soul. They have no quarrels or dis-
sentions, because they have no separate interests to manage.
Nor is there one of them which has a wish to gratify, at the
expense of doing the smallest injury to another. But though
the principles of iniquity combine in their operations against
God and man ; they have no bond of union among them
selves. All of them are so selfish, that they have no kindly
sympathies or feelings to each other ; and frequently their
interests are so much opposed to each other, that there is
nothing but hostilities between them. To meet the demands
of avarice and prodigality at once, or to secure a good name
for deeds of piety and benevolence, and yet to wallow in the
grossest immoralities, are absolute impossibilities. Hence,
sinners are often like men distracted, and at their wit's end,
and know not what to do.
It.may likewise be mentioned, that wherever the principle
of true grace is given, it produces the same kind of heart or
disposition in all those that partake of the privilege. Sane-

11
tified affections are not one thing in one person, and some
thing different in another : they are one and the same kind
of heart in all that are endowed with them. All saints are
partakers of like precious faith : they have the same good
hope through grace ; they have an interest in a common sal
vation ; the same law is written upon their inward parts ;
the same love is shed abroad in their hearts ; and in so far .
as they are sanctified, they are striking models and likenesses
of each other. There is no doubt a wide difference
among them, in respect of the degrees of their attainments.
But in the youngest convert, sanctification is the same kind
of work with that which is now far advanced in the oldest ;
and it gives to the mere babe in grace the same spiritual like
ness which was possessed by the father in grace, when he was
in that early stage of his Christian life.
Irregenerate men have a striking family likeness; but
they are nevertheless destitute of those kindred feelings and
sympathies which ornament the character of brothers. They
are hateful and hating one another ; and dreadful as those
depredations are, which they commit upon one another, were
it not for the restraining grace of God, their acts of vio
lence would be far more numerous and calamitous. When
once the restraints of conscience are taken off, no beast of
prey is seen to possess a more ferocious disposition than man.
Without these restraints, when the slightest provocation was
given, every man would prove himself to be a Cain, a mur
derer of his brother.
But when any person is renewed in the spirit of his mind,
he is then endowed with the same kind of heart or disposi
tion which is bestowed upon all other saints ; and as persons
of kindred feelings have no disposition to quarrel, so the ful
filment of this promise, will secure a good understanding
among the members of the church in the latter days.
Thirdly, The new heart is widely distinguished from the

12
old, by the sincerity and warmth of its attachments. The
one is full of enmity ; and the other is full of love. The
one breathes nothing but* threatenings and slaughter ; and
the ^ther has no other desires than such as are the offspring
of the purest love. Those who are endowed with the new
heart, wish well to the whole human family, especially to
those that are sanctified in Christ Jesus. And so remark
able will be the benevolence and attachments of saints to one
another, in the latter days, that as if they were all to be ani
mated by the same soul, or the blood which would circu
late among them should pass through the ventricles of the
same heart, we are here told that God will give them one
heart. To the honour of the primitive Christians, it is mentioned,
that the " multitude of them that believed were of one heart
apd one soul *.n They loved as brethren, and they lived as
such. They were knit to one another in the truth ; and for
the sake of the truth. They studied to owe no man any
thing, but to love one another. It is long since that golden
age of the church passed away ; but this text contains ample
security for its return, and that it shall not meet with any
sudden or unexpected interruption. For " God will give to
the people one heart and one way, that they may fear him
for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after
them." Since the primitive times of Christianity, none of the so
cial affections has suffered more severely than love to the
brethren. This amiable feeling has almost forsaken the
earth. There is still a glow of affection among those who
belong to the same party ; and there is too great reason to
fear, that party attachments have been frequently mistaken
for it. But. there are hardly any two things which can be
more* easily distinguished. The one is a very narrow, con-
* Acts i?. 32.

13
tracted, selfish, and illiberal principle. Whatever acts of
kindness it is inclined to perform in behalf of those who are
of the person's own sect, it breathes nothing but a spirit of
hostility against others. Hence , apostates from any party
seldom fail to load the character and the cause of their old
connexions with all manner of abuse ; and hence it has
sometimes happened, that the party which was persecuted
and oppressed in one age, became the persecutors and op
pressors in the next. But the exercise of true brotherly love
is not confined to the narrow sphere of any particular party.
It clings to the friends of Christ wherever it can discern them,
and to whatever denomination of Christians they belong. It
fosters the belief, that there are good men, and conscientious
too according to their views, in other communions as well
as in the person's own. It can discern and appreciate what
is good and commendable, even where there are many things
that are worthy of reprehension ; and with the same spirit
of benevolence and affection that it extols the one, it repro
bates and condemns the other.
But though brotherly love is not limited in its exercise,
either of benevolence or complacency to the individuals of
one's own party, it must nevertheless be admitted, that the
existence of party and of party-spirit, has a native ten
dency to cramp and fetter its operations. All parties are
rival associations ; they are therefore in some respects op
posed to each other ; and hence you often find nothing but
jealousies, heart-burnings, and contentions between them;
and what must render their spirit of hostility so much the
more odious, is, that the fewer and the slighter the shades
of difference between them, they generally manage the con
test with less evidence of a Christian spirit.
But when the Lord shall give to the people one heart,
Ephraim will no longer envy Judah, nor Judah vex Eph.-
raim. Brotherly love, with all its kindred feelings and as-

14
eociations, will revive. Church members will take a deep
interest in the concerns of each other ; they will feel as
brethren of the same family usually do ; they will rejoice
with those that do rejoice, and weep with those that weep ;
they will bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ. But this happy state of Christian feeling and be
nevolence will be more distinctly apprehended, after we have
considered that unity of way, which is promised in the next
clause, and to which I shall now direct your attention.
II. The Promise of One Way.
This mystical way must be understood of some law or rule
by which the principles of action in the renewed soul are
regulated. For what a way or path is to the body, so is a
law or rule of action to the mind. Hence David says, " I
will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt en
large my heart. Teach me, 0 Lord, the way of thy statutes,
and I will keep it unto the end *."' This view of the figure
lays a foundation for the following observations :
1st, This promise secures, that the holy Scriptures shall
be universally adopted as the rule of faith and worship.
Though they are already given to the church for a light to
the feet, and a lamp to the path of her members ; and though
every one that bears the name of a Christian, professes some
degree of veneration for the Scriptures, — yet very few, even of
the strictest sect of professors, can be said to have adopted
them as a rule either of faith or worship.
That numerous body called the church of Borne, has of
fered the greatest indignity to the Scriptures, by represent
ing them as containing only an imperfect sketch of the mind
of God to man. She maintains, that they are defective on
various important articles ; and that the meaning of no part
can be ascertained by the obvious sense of the words, or the
* Psa. cxix. 32, 33,

15
connexion of the passage, but only by the decisions of
councils, and the writings of the Fathers. Instead of adopt
ing them as a rule* she has done every thing that fraud and
violence could accomplish, to deprive the people of the
Scriptures ; and as if they were the most heretical book that
ever was published, the efforts that are presently made for
their free circulation, without note and comment, are repre
sented in the late infamous bulls of the Pope, as the most
monstrous of all crimes.
Besides the members of the church of Rome, there are
numerous tribes of heretics, whose faith rests entirely on the
wisdom of man, and not on the word of God. They admit,
that the Scriptures contain many good rules of morality ; but
they refuse that they ought to be received as the rule of re
ligious belief With them, it is reason and conscience, and
not revelation, which is the rule. This opinion is held, not
only by those who are professedly Deistical in their opinions,
but by the greater part of such as have embraced a Socinian,
Arian, or Unitarian creed.
When you consider, that the church of Rome is still a far
more numerous body than any, or all those taken together, who
have separated from her ; and that there are vast multitudes
, within the limits of- Protestant states, who are either infidels
or heretics of the worst description ; you will easily perceive,
that whatever veneration is outwardly paid to Christ by
wearing his name, yet the largest half of those who are called
by it, do not adopt the statute book of his kingdom for the
rule of their subjection to him as a sovereign.
With respect to the other half, it is a painful considera
tion, that hardly any thing more favourable can be stated on
this head concerning them. What multitudes continue to
be grossly ignorant of the precious contents of the Scrip
tures ! How many are bending under the infirmities of age,
who never could read a line of the wonderful works of God,

16
in their own, or in any other language ! And how small the
proportion of bibles, in comparison with the extent of the
population of some countries which are called Christian,
though not under the jurisdiction of the See of Rome ! In
this highly favoured part of the world, where we have been
so liberally supplied with bibles, that a labouring man, at
little more expense than the earnings of a single day, might
furnish himself with a copy, we could hardly suppose that
the deficiency in other countries was so great as it is now
ascertained to have been. In some places, the proportion
was not so great as one is to a hundred ; and in different
extensive districts of the Greek church, neither ministers nor
people had a bible among them. Persons in such circum
stances as those to which we have just referred, could not
be said to have adopted the Scriptures for their rule. They
know nothing about them but by report.
But even with respect to others who were placed in very
different circumstances, and whose measure of intelligence
was far superior to theirs, of what multitudes might it be
said, that they adopted another rule than the Scriptures !
How many have been filled with such a stupid veneration
for antiquity, as to prefer the opinions and practices of our
reforming ancestors to every other rule ! To dispute thfiir
opinions, or to challenge the propriety of their enactments ;
to find fault with any thing that they either said or did, — has
been accounted a crime of no less magnitude, than to remove
some old land mark, or to break down the finest of the
carved work of the sanctuary.
Great deference is no- doubt due to men who Were
the ornaments and public blessings of the age in which
they lived, and to whom, under God, we stand indebted
for every thing valuable that we enjoy, whether as Chris
tians or as men. But we ought never to forget, that
they were only men, and not gods ; and that to adopt any

17
opinion, or to follow any particular line of conduct, merely
because it was theirs, is to walk by another rule than the
Scriptures. It is not to copy, but to pervert the example of
our reformers. Their independent minds scorned to be the
dupes of human authority in the matters of religion. - They
were disposed to follow no man, nor any set of men, farther
than they were satisfied that their opinions and practices
were conformable to the rule of the word of God.
The £ge, however, of blind attachment to antiquity, is
hastening to a close. Another sera has commenced, in
which the testimonies and contendings of the reformation
are very seldom the subject of inquiry, and therefore very
little known. The greater part of the professors of the
present day, seem to have adopted the creeds and confes
sions of their more immediate progenitors, without much in
quiry whether they be agreeable to the principles of the
reformation, or the Scriptures of truth. This remark, it
will not be questioned, is applicable to multitudes in the
national churches of Europe. I am afraid, that it is no less
applicable to many individuals in all those denominations
who have separated from them. And whether it be not
, equally applicable to any of ourselves, is a subject which
claims the serious consideration of us all. Every sentiment
that we now hear uttered in favour of union, is a call in
Providence to all those who may have taken up a religious
profession upon trust, to examine whether it be genuine or
spurious. It is a call to others, who may have acted a far
more conscientious and honourable part, that they renew
their investigations as the best means of increasing their at
tachment to the truth, that they be not shaken from their
steadfastness by the impulse of public feeling, or by any
other cause. On all points in which religion is concerned,
every man is bound to think for himself; and those who do
not give themselves the trouble to think and1 to compare

18
their sentiments with the Scriptures, but adopt a system of
religious; opinions, because it was held by a class of men
whom they had been accustomed to revere, and not because
they were fully satisfied from its scriptural evidence that it
is agreeable to the mind of God, are unworthy of being
called by the name either of Seceders or of Christians.
This text carries forward our views to a future age of the
church, when the traditions of the elders will be discarded ;
when the consciences of men will be subjected to the autho
rity of God speaking in his own word ; and when creeds and
confessions will no longer usurp the place of the Bible, and
be received as the grounds and reasons of faith ; but em
ployed as declarations of the genuine sentiments of church
members to one another, and to the world around them.
In that age of inquiry, religious opinions will not be taken
upon trust. The sacred Scriptures will be consulted, and
religious opinions will be received or rejected, as they har
monize with this standard, or differ from it.
Here we cannot but admire the present plan of Providence
with respect to the Scriptures. Societies are formed in al
most all the different regions of the Christian world for
their dissemination, and seem to act with that degree of vi
gour, which promises that men of every colour, and of every
climate, will soon hav& the wonderful works of God an
nounced to them in their vernacular tongue. How striking
the contrast with the miserable times of the French revolu
tion ! A more daring combination was never formed against
the Scriptures, than that revolution disclosed. But popular
opinion has now taken an opposite direction, and the way
seems to be fast preparing, that the inhabitants of all coun
tries may adopt the Scriptures as the only rule of their
faith and worship.
M, This promise secures, that the professors of religion
shall yet be brought to a very near conformity of views, re-

19
specting the subject-matter, or contents of th-e Scriptures.
For as two cannot walk together except they be agreed, so
they could not regulate their motions by the same rule,, un-
less there was something like a common understanding
among them respecting it. What Paul earnestly desired
among the Corinthians, will yet be fully realized in all the
different parts of the Christian world- " Now I heseech
yim. brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that ye aU speak the same thing> and that there be no
divisions among you ; but that ye be perfectly joined toge
ther in the same mind, and in the same judgment *."
The word of God is, and can be only one rule. But
while persoris continue to entertain different and even oppo
site seu-imeflts upon it, it is impossible that there can be an
uniformity of acting among them ; because each applies the
rule according to the judgment which he has formed respect
ing it. And hence, though the Scriptures be only one rule,
yet through the blindness of the mind, and the bent of the
heart in favour of this or that particular opinion, it is ren
dered as various as those sects and parties into which the
Christian world is divided. Accordingly, one sect or party
move in one direction, arid another in a different.
The present divided state of professors, is a melancholy
propf that they are for from being joined together in the
same judgment. On various articles, both of faith and
practice, they are so much opposed to each other, that what
one affirms, another denies ; and what is strenuously contended
for as a duty by one party, is testified against as a serious
evil by another. There are no subjects on which opinions
are so much at variance, as those of religion ; and as each
supposes that his own views are scriptural, so the existence
of sects and parties, furnishes a decisive proof that their
• 1 Cor. i. 10.
B

{£0
views and application of Scripture, are as varied as religious
parties and denominations are numerous.
This diversity of opinion is not owing to the Scriptures
themselves, as if they were either dark, or contradictory, or
ambiguous. The language of Scripture is simple; the
words have a fixed and definite meaning ; the figures and
allusions are mostly selected from the common incidents of
life; and the different parts are in perfect harmony with
each other. How then shall we account for those diverse
and strange opinions, which men have ventured to affirm
were established by the Scriptures ?
Not to mention the powerful influence which Satan, who was
a liar from the beginning, often exercises over the human mind,
there is enough in the natural ignorance, and in the party pre
judices and prepossessions of men, to account for all this di
versity of sentiment among them. Few persons look into
the Scriptures, otherwise than through a cloud of prejudice.
They do not go to the Scriptures to try their own opinions
by that standard, but to try the Scriptures by the standard of
their own opinions ; that is, they do not go to the Scriptures
to learn the mind of Christ, but to find if there be any
thing in them which may confirm and establish their own
views. It is with the keen partizans of every sect, as with
the litigious members of the civil community. With liti
gants it is seldom the question, What is the law or rule of
judgment ? But what is the interpretation which an able
counsel puts upon it ; and will his ingenuity or artifice be
sufficient to secure a decision in favour of his client ? And
so long as the understanding, and other powers of the soul,
are not subjected to the divine authority, the Scriptures
will be interpreted according to the wishes of the heart, and
the favourite opinions of the interpreter, however much
his opinions may be opposed to the plain and obvious mean
ing of the language, or the ccnnexipn of the sacred text.

SI
But when this promise begins to be fulfilled, " the Lord
will destroy the face of the covering cast over all people;
and the vail that is spread over all nations." And when
prejudices and prepossessions are removed, scriptural opi
nions will not be rejected, however humbling they may be
to the pride of reason, or contrary to former articles of belief.
When the Scriptures are permitted to speak for themselves,
they are then heard as a word behind us, saying, " This is
the way, walk ye in it." And as they cannot utter contra
dictory opinions, but uniformly speak the same things ; so
the better they are understood, the union of views among
professors will always be the closer, and they will be better
qualified and prepared for walking in the same way.
The scriptural plan of union is here, and in other texts,
represented as an union in the truth, and differs essentially
from all those which human ingenuity or artifice hath in
vented. It would lead into an endless and very unprofit
able field of discussion, were we to enter upon a review of
all those methods which have been suggested for uniting
the friends of Christ in one communion. But as our faith
and steadfastness are likely to be put to a trial upon two
which are of a very recent origin, it is necessary to pay
them some attention. One of them seems to be a plan of
fellowship without union, and another is a plan of union
without any specification of the grounds. One would sup
pose that the simple mention of them might be sufficient to
put any friend of truth upon his guard, and yet they are
meeting with a very cordial reception.
The plan of fellowship, without union, is simply this, That
all those who hold the doctrines of free grace, though differ
ing in their views respecting the order and government of
the church, modes of baptism, and other points on which
many good men have differed, should occasionally join toge-

ther in the celebration of the Lord's Supper *- It is not
meant that they should renounce the peculiarities of their
oldf professions, and unite in one ecclesiastical body; but only
that they should recognize their common Christianity, and
strengthen their Christian attachments by a joint comme
moration of the death of Christ. As distinguished from the
ordinary plan of celebration, this mode of communicating is
called free or open communion. It is liable to many objec
tions, a few of which I shall mention.
First, It is incompatible with the regular exercise of the
discipline of the church. Ecclesiastical office-bearers can
not exercise a jurisdiction over persons who never professed
subjection to their authority ; nor can mere strangers ad
vance any just claim to the privileges of a society of which
they are not members. It does not make any alteration in
the nature of this case, that all the applicants are supposed
to be persons of fair moral characters, and that they are en
titled to the seals of the covenant from the hands of that mi
nistry to whom they have professed subjection in the Lord ;
because, however precious they may appear in, the estima
tion of those to whom they have submitted the investigation
of their claims, to others they are unknown. In the place
where the sacrament of the supper is dispensed, they are
mere strangers, not only to the office-bearers of that congre
gation, but to all the rulers and members of that church.
And if one stranger has a right to sit down at the Lord's
table, why not another? Why is any man excluded?— If
the sacrament of the supper were a sort of common meal; or
if the church were a society without any kind of order and
government ; or if there were not an instituted plan of ad
mission to her pidvileges,—this mode of fellowship might do
very well. But as it is known and avowed hy all Presbyte-
• See Mr Hall of Leicester, and Dr Mason of New-York's View of
Communion,

as
rians to be otherwise, so they would act very inconsistently
with their professions and belief, if they opened the door of
fellowship to applicants, of whom they know almost nothing,
farther than that they belong to societies which, in their es
timation, are so much to be blamed, that they cannot unite
with them in one ecclesiastical body.
Secondly, This mode of fellowship-ir inconsistent with the
nature and design of the sacrament of the supper. One spe
cial use of this ordinance is tb beget mutual confidence
among the communicants, respecting their sincerity in the
maintenance of the same public cause and interest. By seat
ing themselves at the same sacramental table, they solemnly
say, that they are only one body and one bread ; and as this
profession is made over the sacred symbols of the body and
blood of Christ, it is impossible to conceive of any form in
which they could pledge their faith with more solemnity to
each other. But how is this consistent with the retention
of all the peculiarities of their old professions, and with their
continuing to be members of churches whose public profes
sions are opposed to each other ? Let their mutual under
standing be what it will; say that they avow, in the most ex
plicit terms, that they continue to be what they formerly
were, — 'this will not exculpate them from the charge of speak
ing lies at one table. Whatever they say in words, or what
ever they conceive in their own minds, neither of these things
can affect the nature of the ordinance itself. The sacramental
profession of all the communicants is, We are one body and
one bread. Is it possible to reconcile professions of this
-kind with the plan of open and free communion?
Thirdly, This plan of fellowship is not calculated to pro
duce any good effects on the church. It heals no divisions;
it binds up ho bleeding wounds ; it does not abolish a single
party name err distinction among the professors of religion.
The Presbyterian and the Independent, the Baptist and the

24
Paedobaptist, no sooner rise from the sacramental table,
than they range themselves under the banners of their re
spective ecclesiastical connexions, and are precisely the same
as before they sat down.
Finally, If this mode of fellowship be warrantable at the
Lord's table, it ought to be extended to all the other public
institutions of religion. And if it be warrantable at one
time, it must be equally so at another. Hence it fixes a stigma
upon those who participate in it, of rending and dividing the
church without a sufficient cause ; for, if mixed communion
be warrantable, their subsisting at other times in a state of
separation never can be vindicated. Why at any other time
celebrate the sacrament of the supper by themselves ? Why
retain the name and form of churches which are distinct and
separate from each other ?
The plan of union without any specification of the
grounds, is shortly this, That ministers, belonging to differ
ent denominations, should occasionally exchange pulpits, and
minister to one another's congregations *: I am at a loss to
perceive any thing that could be gained by this plan of com
munion, unless it were to familiarize the people with the mi
nistrations of those in other communions, that they might be
gradually amalgamated into one body, without being per-
pleked With settling the points of difference between them.
It seems to be a proposal either, first, to unite, and then to
settle the terms of the agreement, which is certainly very
preposterous; or, secondly, it is a proposal to unite without
ever thinking upon what basis the union either now or af
terwards shall be established. But how persons, who are sa
tisfied that the peculiarities of their profession are scriptu
ral, and who have a conscientious and tender regard for
them, could think of uniting with others, without making
• See Observations on the Proposed Union between the Two Branches of
the Secession, by a Seceder.

25
some stipulations or agreement for their preservation, I am
at a loss to conceive. Again and again we are called to hold
fast that which we have received. Whereunto we have at
tained, we are to walk by the same rule. We are to buy
the truth, and not to sell it. However little any article
may be esteemed by others, if it is a part of the declared
mind of God to the church, none of her members are at li
berty to throw it away.
The Scripture plan of union is essentially different from
both these we have been considering. It is simply this :
An union in the truth, and for the sake of the truth. To
parties who are now greatly divided, the God of truth and
order will yet give one way ; they will be perfectly joined
together in the same mind and judgment. " The watchmen
of the church shall lift up the voice ; with the voice toge
ther shall they sing ; for they shall see eye to eye, when the
Lordv shall bring again Zion." Party names and distinctions
will be abolished ; but this great revolution will not be ac
complished in the way of each party throwing their respec
tive peculiarities aside, and meeting one another upon those
grounds on which they were formerly agreed. Each party will
retain whatever is scriptural and valuable in their former
profession, and abandon only those things which ought never
to have had a place in it. And when the dross is separated
from the pure ore, the precious metal will be picked up and
preserved, not as the exclusive property of this or that party
of professors, but as belonging to the common stock or trea
sure of the church. Societies which had travelled farthest
on the journey toward perfection, or churches whose attain
ments were greater than others, will not need to renounce
them, in order to meet their brethren who were lagging be
hind. These last will either be brought up at once to the
same standard of excellency, or give such clear and decisive
evidences of their zeal for the truth, so far as they are ac-

qUainted with it, and of their disposition tp go on to perfec
tion, as will render it perfectly safe and honourable for their
stronger brethren to bear With their present infirmities) knd
to unite with them iii the closest bonds of church com
munion., It is not to be expected, even in tlfe best times of the
church, that all liei- members will think on all points alike.
Some of them will have much more correct and enlargea
views of the truth than others ; and some may entertain
opinions on different articles, Which are opposed to those of
others. But thdugh there be a difference* and even some
opposition of sentiment ambng them, this will not prevent
them from living in comfortable fellowship together. It is
one thitig to entertain a difference of opinion from others,
and another to disturb the peace Pf a whole neighbourhood
With it. So long as the church in her judicative capacity,
has not interfered and expressed a judgment respecting the
points of difference, she has not embodied the Opinions of
the one, or of the other, intb her public profession. Ac
cordingly, when these persens sit doWn at the communion
table, or join together in the celebration of any other ordi
nance which belongs to the public worship of the church,
they cannot be chargeable with inconsistency or contra
diction ; because their private opinions do not constitute any
part of the matter of their public profession.
The doctrihe of forbeiirance has been very little under
stood, and therefore too seldom acted upon, in modern
timek As if every difference of opinion had been a sufficient
plea for separation, divisions have been multiplied, till it is
how next to impossible to say, What in some cases are the
real points of difference between them. To give any thing
besides genel'al principles a place in the creeds and formu
laries of the church, is tire way to break and fritter down
the visible body into an endless variety of parts. When

27
our reforming ancestors agreed upon general truths, they
did well ; but When their descendants attempted to give every
corollary and supposed deduction from them, a place in
their public profession, they did wrong. They opened a
wide door for the spirit of division to enter, and t« prouucb
the most mournful effects in the church.
It is readily admitted, that however subordinate the
place Which this or the other article of truth holds in the
system, no individual nor any society is at liberty to con
demn it. The least article of Bible truth, is like the filings of
gold ; it is a thing of value, and ought to be carefully pre
served. And when ence the church, which is the pillar and
ground of truth, has hung it up in the tablet of her public
professipn, that it may be known and read of all men, she can
not, but in manifest inconsistency withhercharacter,either blot
it out, or disfigure it. Whatever is scriptural, either in her
doctrine or order, belongs to her attainments, and must not
be parted with, even for the sake of peace.
Here then, some may be inclined to say, that there can
not be the smallest hope of accommodation between the two
branches of the Secession, because a decision was passed by
the one patty, to which the other has never yet acceded ;
and as the friends of that decision are not likely to reverse
it, nor is it probable that those who have hitherto been in
opposition to it, will ever give it the sanction of their ap
probation; what prospect is afforded of any comfortable
union between them ?
In order to the solution of this difficulty, it is necessary to
remind you, tnat the decision respecting the burgess oath
related to a matter of practice, and not to a point of prin
ciple ; and as the practice is now fallen into desuetude, and
as the liberal spirit of the Sage is sufficient to prevent its re
vival, that decision cannot any longer affect the state of
their communion. Admitting that each party retain all

their former views on the controverted clause in the oath ;
yet, while neither of them is chargeable with a breach of the
peace, by acting upon their opinions, there appears to be
nothing in the original cause of separation, which prevents
them from being re-united in one body *.
ScZ, This promise secures, that the mediatorial character of
our Lora an(l Saviour Jesus Christ, shall be the special ob
ject of the attention of the church in the latter-days. An
able interpreter thus explains the clause under consideration :
" One way is promised ; one way of salvation, which is
Christ ; the one and only way of access to God — of accept
ance with him — of justification before him — and of forgive
ness of sin ; the only true way into a gospel church-state,
and to eternal glory and happiness ; and which is the more
excellent way — the good old way — the new and living one-t-."
When one way is promised, it can hardly fail to remind us
of the one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ
* The Fathers of the Secession church travelled a considerable part of the
same way together. During that happy period, in which they walked in
close fellowship, they were honoured to do a great deal for the cause of God
and truth. They embarked with ardour of spirit in the cause of the Reforma
tion, as it had been contended and witnessed for, in the second period of Re
formation, and were instrumental in reviving various parts of it, which had lain
buried beneath the Revolution and Union settlements. Though they met with
very harsh and unjustifiable treatment, both from the General Assembly
and the Commission, they met with no interruption in their work from the ci
vil powers of .the country. The rulers of that age. as they have uniformly
done since, left them to manage their own affairs in their own way. The bless
ing of God crowned their labours with great success, till, it is probable, that
they became elated with prosperity, and that in order to humble and to prove
them, they were permitted to fall out among themselves, and to separate. But
as the old rock of offence is how so far moved out of the way, as to be no longer
a stone of stumbling to any of their sons, what forbids them to meet at the
identical spot where the Fathers took different directions, and from thence to
prosecute their journey in the strictest fellowship together ?
¦J- Gill in loco.

&9
Jesus, who is emphatically styled the way and the truth, as
well as the life, and who is described as that object upon
which the eyes of Gentiles, as well as Jews shall be fixed,
when " the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be
toward the Lord *." He is described as the standard about
which the scattered forces of the church shall rally, and the
way in which they will march to the land of uprightness.
" In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand
for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and
his rest shall be glorious f." "When the Lord shall esta
blish, and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth, he will lift
up a standard for the people." " Behold the Lord hath pro
claimed to the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of
Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh ; behold his reward is
with him, and his work before him J.'1 " When the parched
ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of
water, an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be
called the way of holiness §."
That the attention of the church will be particularly fixed
upon her Lord, is a necessary conclusion from the preceding
observations ; because, if the Scriptures shall be universally
adopted as the rule of faith and worship, it is impossible
that the Saviour can be overlooked : for the sacred volume is
full of him. The same conclusion may be deduced from
the comfortable and edifying fellowship, which the friends of
truth and religion shall have with one another. They
could not drink into the same spirit,- unless they were united
unto his person ; nor could they walk in the same way, un
less they were strengthened in the Lord, for the prosecution
of the journey.
In all ages of the church, Jesus Christ has been presented
as the object of contemplation and desire to her members.
• Zech. ix. 1. t Isaiah «• I0-
t Is». lxii. 7, 10, 11. § Isa. xxxv. 7, 8.

so
Faithful ministers have studied to know nothing among
their people, in comparison with Christ, and him crucified.
It is nevertheless, an affecting consideration, that in differ
ent parts of the visible body, the peculiar doctrines of the
gospel are seldom introduced into the pulpit ; and tbat when
they are brought forward, it is seldom that the discussion is
managed, so as to present them in a favourable light to the
mind; but on the contrary, to create very powerful preju
dices against them. But when times of refreshing come
from the presence bf the Lord, the mediatorial character
and work of Christ, will everywhere occupy the attention,
both of ministers and people. Union to the person of Christ,
interest ia his righteousness, and fellowship with him in all
the fruits of his mediation, will be strongly enforced, as the
best way to union among gospel hearers, and the great pre
requisites to every good and acceptable work. From the ris
ing of the sun to his going down, the name of Christ will be
great among the Gentiles;
4$i, This promise secures a happy and well consolidated
union pf all religious denominations, in one great ecclesias
tical community. To gladden the heart with a prospect of the
termination of differences, and of a lasting union among pro
fessors of religion, is certainly the principal scope and drift
of the preceding context. Though the immediate reference
is to the tribes of the literal Israel, the ultimate and special
design of the verses, is to cheer with the prospect of an
union among, all the tribes of the spiritual Israel— the mem
bers of the Christian church. There, under the emblem of
the broken and scattered condition of the literal Israel, in
consequence of the captivity in Babylon, the broken and
divided state of the Christian church, in consequence of the
jealousies, heart-ournings, and dissentibns of her members, is
symbolized ; and under the emblem of an union among the
ancient tribes, in consequence of their return to the land of

31
their fathers, a condition of the Christian church is pre
figured, in which party names and distinctions would be
sought for, but would not be found. " Behold, I will gather
them out of all countries whither I have driven them in
mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath, and. I will
bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to
dwell safely : and they shall be my people, and I will be
their God *." The same sentiment is expressed by a differ
ent figure in the text, wherein God engages to give them
one heart and one way. To the same purpose, are the de
clarations and promises of the Spirit of God by Eaekiel. " I
will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains
of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all ; and they
shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided
into two kingdoms any more at all f." And in a preceding
part of the prophecy of Jeremiah, it is said, " at that time
they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord ; and all
the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the
Lord, to Jerusalem ; neither shall they walk any more af
ter the imagination of their evil heart. In those days, the
house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel J." And
in the new testament Scriptures, our Lord himself says,
" 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 ||."
In conclusion, I must beg leave to remind you, that
though the God of truth and faithfulness has engaged to
bring about that union of heart and way, which shall ter
minate the differences and heal the divisions of the church ;
yet, he has not assigned to any of us the place of a mere
spectator, or left us nothing to dp but to lpok on and see the
• Verses 37, 38. t Em1, xxxvii- 22.
+ Chap. iii. 17,18. II John x. 16.

Salvation Which he is to accomplish. In every matter
wherein his declarative glory and the interest of souls are
concerned, we are under manifold obligations to be workers
together with him. Clothed in the armour of righteousness,
on the right hand and on the left, we are to come forth to
the help of the Lord" against those mighty and implacable
adversaries who have divided and distracted the church, that
the cause of truth and duty might perish from the earth.
And full of the spirit of conciliation and love, we are to em
ploy every office which may be subservient to a scriptural and
well consolidated union among her members. " Blessed are
the peace-makers ; for they shall be called the children of
God." But as there is no service which is more delicate,
nor one that is more difficult to discharge, than that of the
peace-maker, I must therefore exhort you,
1st, To be upon your guard against every thing which
would either widen the breaches of Zion, or prove an ob
stacle in the way of their being repaired. The best of
causes may be lost by the fiery zeal and imprudent manage
ments of its friends ; and one false and unguarded step may
prove so injurious to the cause of the proposed union, as to
put that desirable object far beyond the reach of the present
generation.. Since the mournful separation, appearances
were never more favourable than at this moment. Let can
dour and Christian prudence have full scope; let love tb
the truth and love to the brethren be combined in their act
ings ; and then the cause will be gained, many a bleeding
wound will be healed, and the answer of many prayers will
be returned.
2<_, Cherish desires for an union only upon scriptural
grounds. On any other grounds it is more to be dreaded
than to be desired. Unless truth be the basis, and it be for
the sake of the truth that it is established, it will be a con
federacy against the Lord pf hosts, and will not stand.

33
3d, At the same time, cultivate the exercise of a liberal
spirit. By this, I do not mean that you should be blind
either to your own mistakes, or to those of other men. Nor
is it meant, that you should be indifferent with respect to the
minor points of faith or worship. True Christian liberality
is perfectly consistent with love to every article of truth, and
with the exercise of a disposition to reform abuses wherever
they are seen, and whether they be considered as small or
great. The sphere of this excellent part of the Christian
temper, lies in making every reasonable allowance for the
views and feelings of those who differ from ourselves. The
bigot is tenacious of his opinions, though he is not able to
assign a reason for them ; and is also disposed to blame and
censure every other person who does not think as he does.
But the man of a truly liberal spirit, makes the same allow
ances for others, which he claims for himself. Had there
been more of this spirit at the time of the breach, it is ex
ceedingly probable, that the unhappy controversy would
have been managed in a different manner, and brought to a
very different conclusion. We are now far removed from
that _era of contention. We have comparatively nothing to
excite any painful feeling, or to provoke hostilities against
one another. We may therefore meet the question of union
in the exercise of the spirit of meekness, and without feeling
the influence of those prejudices and antipathies, which
biased the hearts and minds of the original disputants. If
that question be otherwise discussed, it is easy to foresee what
must be the consequences.
ith, Let us offer unto God, thanksgiving for the numer
ous benefits he hath been pleased to confer upon both
branches of the Secession. Their melancholy separation
was a proof of his sore displeasure; but in the midst of
wrath he has remembered mercy. From the day in which
they parted fellowship, to this moment, he has been saying,

" Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it." Many societies
have risen and fallen since the- period of the breach ; and)
though the existence of both parties has been oftengr than
once threatened by factions and parties which have sprung
up among themselves, they have nevertheless been pre
served. Had they withered like those gourds which sprung
up and perished in a night, the consequences, with respect
to evangelical doctrine, and the interests of pure and unde
nted religion in Scotland, might have been mournful beyond
calculation. But they have not only been preserved, their
members have been so greatly augmented, that Seceding
congregations are now planted in almost every part of the
country. The ministers of these congregations have often
shamed the lazy indolence of some of the ministers in the
Establishment. They haver checked the heretical opinions
pf others, and stimulated one another to exertion, till they
have so widely and so plentifully scattered the precious seed
of the" word, that by the blessing of Him who giveth the
increase, a very abundant harvest may be expected.
The origin of the Secession has hitherto been little no
ticed in the political or ecclesiastical histories of the times.
But future ages will do it greater justice, and find that they
have cause to record it as an important benefit, not. only to
Scotland, but to various other regions of the globe. The
zeal of the Secession hath introduced the cause of evangeli
cal doctrine into various parts of England and Ireland,
where it had absolutely perished. It hath introduced the
same cause into the wildernesses of Canada and Nova Sco
tia, and assisted in the propagation of it in all the States of
America. Not a few of the ablest Missionaries who are la
bouring in the field of the Heathen, imbibed their evangeli
cal principles, and caught the fire of their holy zeal, under
the ministry of the Secession. And some also of those, who
have been most active in the formation of Bible Societies

35
throughout the different kingdoms of Europe, and forward
ing the godlike design of giving the Bible to every individual
of the human family, received the rudiments of their educa
tion in the same school.
The preservation of evangelical doctrine in both branches
of the Secession, ought to be noticed with the more lively
feelings of gratitude, that history can hardly be said to have
recorded another instance of a society continuing, during
the space of nearly a hundred years, without a single
Arminian, Antinomian, Baxterian, Socinian, or Arian mi
nister in their communion. And such is the confidence
that the ministers of the Secession have in each other
at this day, that there is not an individual among them
who is looked upon as a suspicious character, or whom they
could not admit, to their pulpits, but in the fullest con
fidence that he would entertain their hearers with the same
precious truths which are announced to them every Sabbath.
How different the circumstances in which the evangelical
ministers of the Establishment are placed ! What painful
inquiries must they sometimes make, before they dare ven
ture to edify their people with the gifts of a stranger, even
though he can produce the most incontrovertible documents
that he belongs to their own body, and that he has sworn the
same formula, or subscribed the same articles with them
selves !
5th, Finally, brethren, put God in remembrance of his
own promise. " Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep
not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish and make
Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Whatever he is pleased
to address unto us in the form of a promise, we should re
turn unto him in the form of an earnest supplication. " For
these things he will be inquired of by the house of Israel,
that he may do it for them." Let us therefore adopt the la-
mentatipn and prayer of the church, and say, " O God, thou
C

J)gg£ scattered us,, thou hast been displeased ; O tum dry-
self to us again. Thou hast madothe earth to tremble;
thojH, hast broken it ; heal the breaches thereof, .for it shak-
eth*." — Let us also anticipate the joy of that happy 'age-
when Jehovah shall be king over all the earth-; when there
shaU be one Lord, and his name one ; and when he will
give to the people one heart and one way.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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