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Th« tol Thi poi ofl fliiv Orii bafl the aioi oth fira aioi or I Thfl aha TIN whi Mai diff anti bai^ rigli raq mai 10X 14X 18X 22X 2SX 30X A 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here hee been reproduced thenke to the generoelty of: Library of the Public Archives of Canada L'exemplaire fllmA fut reprodult grice A la gAn^rosltA de: La bIbliothAque des Archives publiques du Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition end legibility of the original copy and In keeping with the filming contract specifications. Las Images suivantes ont tt€ reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet* de rexemplaire flimA, at en conformiti avec ies conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies In printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the lest page witii a printed or Illustrated Impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. 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PRINTED BY ANDRKWS, rBENTISS AND STUDLEV, DEVONSHIllE STREET. I Unitarian Cliurch, Montreal. Tablet in front of Churcb. * « i 4 f ;:i DISCOURSE. 2 Corinthians iv. 13. WE UAVINO THE SAME SPIRIT OP FAITH, ACCORDING AS IT IS AVRIT- TEN, 1 BELIEVED AND THEREFORE HAVE I SPOKEN, WE ALSO BELIEVE AND THEREFORE SPEAK. i f We have assembled to dedicate a building to the uses of Christian worship. It is not an unusual oc- currence in this city. Ifet it can never take place without interesting many hearts, and claiming some attention from a community who wish that good morals and Scriptural piety should prevail among them. Some measure of sympathy even, it misfht be thought on the naked statement of the purpose im: which we have met, would be felt by such as should learn that another edifice would now be added to the number of those which are designed to extend and deepen the influence of religion, in a metropolis abounding with the temptations of secular engage- ment and worldly pleasure. But there is this pecu- liarity in our present dedication, that most of the citizens of this place probably look with unkind or G doubtlul regards upon the services which we cele- brate. Many good people would account it a duty rather to discourage than to assist the enterprise of which this structure reminds them, and of the success- ful prosecution of which it aftbrds an indication, if not an assurance. Crowds of ignorant though honest, and yet other crowds of ignorant and dishonest per- sons, and still others whose prejudice or opposition cannot seek a shelter behind their ignorance, as they look upon these walls, will find no pleasure in the sight. They who have built this house have studied no concealment. They have placed upon its front the word " Unitarian," though it be offensive to many eyes, and by some observers be deemed a contradiction of the title of " Christian " with which it has been united in the same inscription. The circumstances under which we have entered these doors seem therefore to determine the course of remark which is most suitable to the occasion. The dedication of the first avowedly Unitarian church in British America almost requires of us that we explain and justify ourselves in such a step. When there are so many other houses of public worship in which the members of this society might have found opportuni- ties of religious service, and so many other names under which they might have arranged themselves in the division of the Christian forces, why have they thought it necessary to erect a sanctuary bearing the distinctive name of Unitarian ? What is the import of this name ? What are the reasons for adopting it ? And what are the differences which it indicates be- tween the worshippers here and those who gather J • • I . 'i 5t around other altars ? These arc questions that natur- ally arise ; and in answering them 1 believe that I shall more directly meet the wants of the present hour, than if I should discourse of the propriety or the character of Christian worship in general. According to my ability then would I speak on these points — the truths, the justifications, and the differences of Unitarian Christianity ; — by invitation from this society, but not with any authority except such as belongs to honest private conviction, and a somewhat large acquaintance with the opinions enter- tained by other Unitarian believers here and else- where. They have no accepted creed which I may quote, no formularies of faith nor symbolical books which they recognize as containing the only accredit- ed exposition of their views, and no ecclesiastical body from which such an exposition might emanate. The right and duty of personal inquiry, which are the elementary principles of their religious state, preclude any attempt to utter other than private persuasions or the impressions which a wide and careful observation may have given. Such observation will lead any one to a knowledge of certain great doctrines which are held in common by Unitarians in America and in Europe, and will show that they accord in respect to the grounds of their belief, and in their dissent from many popular representations of the Gospel. What are the truths of Unitarian Christianity? What do Unitarians believe ? This is the first ques« tion, and it is one which thousands might ask under a profound ignorance even of the nature of the reply that would be given. So little pains have been taken « to lenrn what wo really hold as truth, and so great misapprehension prevails, that the simplest statement of our faith may not he out of place. We believe, then, in God, as the Supreme, Perfect, and Infinite Being, Lord of heaven and earth. Author of all life, Source of every blessing, Searcher of hearts, and Judge of men. We believe in his universal, constant, and righteous providence, through which alone the frame-work of the creation and the processes of ani- mate or inanimate existence are sustained. We be- lieve in his moral government, which he exercises over all beings endowed with intellectual or moral capacities, and which, as it is riglitfully exercised, so is inflexibly administered. We belie: in his paternal character, in which he has been pleased to reveal himself to our admiration and love ; a character which never shows him to us as weakly indulgent or capri- ciously tender, but as always consistent with his own perfections while full of parental regard towards men. We believe in the requisitions of duty which he has promulgated, by which are laid upon us the obliga- tions of outward and inward righteousness, and it is made incumbent on us to cultivate purity, devotion, disinterestedness, and the harmonious expansion of our nature, that the result may be an excellence which shall redound to the glory of God. We believe in his mercy, which enables him, without impairing the in- tegrity of his government or subverting the original conditions of his favor, to forgive the penitent sinner and admit the renewed soul to an inheritance of eternal life. We believe in his revelations, which he has made by those of old times who spake as they ■^ were moved by the lioly spirit — Moses and the Di- vinely inspired teachers of tl»e Jewish people, and in n later age hy Jesus Christ, the Son of his lovo and the Messenger of his grace. Wo believe that God is one in every sense in which the term can be applied to him — one in nature, in person, in character, in revelation; and therefore we are Unitarians. Wo believe that Jesus was the Christ — the Anointed and Sent of God, whose truth ho proclaimed, whose authority ho represented, whoso love ho unfolded; and therefore we are Christians. We believe that Jesus Christ came on a special mission to our world — to instruct the ignorant, to save the sinful, and to give assurance of immortality to those who were sub- ject to death; that such a Teacher and Redeemer was needed ; that he spake as never man spake, lived as never man lived, and died as never man died. We read the history of his life with mingled admira- tion and gratitude. We are moved by his cross to exercises of faith, penitence and hope. We rejoice in his resurrection, and celebrate him as Head of his Church, the authoritative Expounder of the Divine will, the faultless Pattern of the Christian character, the Manifestation and Pledge of the true life. We believe that man is a free and responsible being, capable of rising to successive heights of virtue, or of falling into deeper and deeper degradation ; that sin is his ruin, and faith in spiritual and eternal realities the means of his salvation ; that if he sin, it is through choice or negligence, but that in working out his own salvation he needs the Divine assistance. We believe that man in his individual person is from early child- 2 10 hood, through the force of appetite, the disadvan- tage of ignorance, and the strength of temptation, Hable to moral corruption ; that social life is in many of its forms artificial, and in many of its influences in- jurious; and that both the individual and society must be regenerated by the action of Christian truth. We believe that all life, private and public, all human powers and relations, all thought, feeling, and activity, should be brought under the control of religious prin- ciple and be pervaded by Christian sentiment. We believe that piety is the only sure foundation of moral- ity, and morality the needed evidence of piety. We believe that ' perfection from weakness through pro- gress ' is the law of life for man ; and that this law can be kept only where an humble heart is joined with a resolute mind and an earnest faith. We believe that men should love and serve one another, while all love the Heavenly Father, and follow the Lord Jesus to a common glory. We believe in human immortality, and a righteous retribution after death; when they who have lived in obedience or have reconciled them- selves to God through sincere repentance shall enter upon a nobler fruition of life, while they who have been disobedient and impenitent shall realize the con- sequences of their folly in shame and suffering. We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- ments, as containing the authentic records of God's wonderful and gracious ways, seen in the history of his ancient people, and in the miraculous works and Divine teachings of Jesus and his Apostles ; and to these Scriptures we appeal as the decisive authority upon questions of faith or duty, interpreting them in 4 11 van- tion, nany ;s in- iciety truth, iiman tivity, prin- We noral- We I pro- lw can fvith a le that .11 love IS to a rtality, 1 they them- enter have le con- We Testa- God's itory of ks and and to ithority hem in f the devout exercise of that reason, through which alone we are capable of receiving a communication from Heaven. We beheve in the Christian Church, as a consequence of the labors and sufferings by which Christ has gathered unto himself, out of many nations and communions, " a pecuhar people," em- bracing his Gospel and cherishing his spirit — the Church on earth, with its ministry, its ordinances and its responsibihties, the anticipation and promise of the Church in heaven. Such are the prominent truths of Unitarian Christ- ianity, I conceive, as held by those who adopt this name as the designation of their faith, and who, how- ever they may disagree on questions of inferior moment, would probably concur in this exhibition of the articles of their belief. And now what need is there that we should enter upon a vindication or defence of such a faith ? Does it not carry its own justification in the elements of which it is composed ? Does it not sound right ? Does it not look right? Has it not the aspect and savor of truth ? Does not reason approve, and Scripture sanction it? We can answer these ques- tions in but one way. We are satisfied that ours is a correct faith, of which we need not be ashamed, but in which we may glory before men, and by which we may hope to obtain eternal salvation. Yet to many ears and eyes it wears a suspicious character. It is not the popular, the prevalent, the " Orthodox " faith. Strictly orthodox, as we contend, emphati- cally Evangelical, these titles are deemed inapplica- ble to it by most of the Christian denominations 12 I'M by which we are surrounded. They account it as at best grievously defective, if not radically unsound. We are driven therefore to the necessity of proving that we hold the essential and sufficient truths of reli- gion. And I must now proceed to give such a reply as the time will permit to the second question we proposed to answer — what are the grounds on which we rely for the justification of our belief. First, 1 remark, it finds justification in our nature ; as both the capacities and wants of this nature pro- nounce in its favor. Let me however anticipate here an objection, with which we are familiar, — that the acceptableness of our views of religion to a depraved nature is a proof of their falsehood. It is not of the tastes of a depraved mind or the tendencies of a corrupt heart that we speak, but of inherent, indestructible characteristics of the nature which God has given us, and of necessities which arise out of the constitution imposed by o.r Creator. The human being and the Christian religion came from the same Source. They must be suited to one another, for Christianity was intended by its infinitely wise Author to meet the exigencies of humanity. Unless, therefore, we recognise a correspondence between our religion and our nature, we conclude against God, imputing to him a defective performance of his gracious designs. Is not this to " charge him foohshly" and ungratefully ? Of the capacities which consciousness reveals to us let us select two, — one of which marks us as rational, and the other as religious beings ; for no one will deny that we are capable of religious, as of intellectual exer- lii 13 as at 3und. Dving " reli- reply •n we which iture ; e pro- cipate — that to a lb lO lencies herent, ^hGod of the human e same »er, for Author erefore, reUgion nputing [racious » and ds to us rational, rill deny lal exer- •■> 3 i cises. Take then he rational faculty; and let it examine the truths . hich we have just repected. Is there one which it would not approve ? Not one, we confidently affirm. There is nothing here, at which reason need be or would be oftended, nothing at which it must " stand aghast," or from which it must turn away in contempt. If this seem but small praise to bestow on a religious system, let it be remembered that as much cannot be said for all the theology in the Christian world. As we look over the history of opinion in the Church, we esteem it no slight recom- mendation of the views which we entertain, that they harmonize with the conclusions to which reason is brought by a study of the works and ways of God, and the constitution and sitsiation of man. But farther, not only is each article of our belief when separately considered such as reason may accept with- out injury to its prerogative of distinguishing between what is worthy and what unworthy of reception, but there is no contradiction or inconsistency between these articles. Each finds support in every other, and each gives support to all the rest ; yet not through an artificial arrangement, but from the harmony that always prevails among the different portions of truth ; which, like the disjoined members of a perfect figure, when brought together are seen to belong to each other. Now we cannot but value our faith for this sentence of approbation which reason is compelled to pass upon it, for we do not believe that revelation was intended to put such an affront on that faculty which was the greatest previous gift of the Creator to man, as would be implied in disregarding its decisions. 14 If now we turn to the religious element in human nature, we find that it demands just such opportun- ity of exercise, such encouragement, guidance and help, as are presented to it in the exhibition we have made of the Divine character and of the relations of the Supreme Being to his children on earth. Where shall piety find an Object to whom it may rise, even from the dust, in grateful confidence, if not in the Father whom it is our privilege to portray in terms which we think authorised by his chosen Messenger ? Again, the moral is intimately associated with the reli- gious part of our constitution ; whence shall this draw instruction so suitable and adequate, at once so tender and so stringent, as from the exposition we give of duty ? How can the conscience be quickened to a faithful performance of its work more directly, than by the language we use respecting the obUgation of personal righteousness? Or what motives can be addressed to the will more persuasive, than those which are embraced within our representations of the dependence of honor and happiness, both here and hereafter, upon character ? So does the Gospel as interpreted by Unitarian believers justify itself to the capacities of our being. But there are also deep wants in this nature of ours — wants which religion alone can relieve. It is needed for the protection of our frailty, for the satisfaction of our best desires, for the comfort of our sorrows ; and in respect to the demands which each class of these wants makes upon a true religion, Unitarian Chris- tianity fulfils the conditions required of it. How it assuages the grief of the mourner by its revelations of f ^ 15 •A '■i>: :i Divine love, of spiritual discipline, and future blessed- ness, or how it offers to our purest desires the satis- factions which God and heaven alone can give, needs no illustration. I will only speak of the necessities which follow upon the exposure of such a nature as this which we inherit to the incidents and influences of an earthly life. The consequence, as we see, is sin ; not because we are naturally wicked, but naturally weak. We need to be kept from falling by means of truths which shall stand around our souls like heavenly guards ; and when notwithstanding their presence we have fallen, we need friendly voices that shall save us from despair and restore us to our former position. Others may regard this as the last claim which we should presume to urge in favor of our interpretation of Christianity, but we do not hesitate to assert in its behalf, that it is preeminently suited to meet the wants of man as a frail and sinful being ; alike as it reveals to him the origin, and the remedy of his state. It tells him that he is a sinner because he chooses to be one, it sets before him the guilt of such voluntary estrange- ment from God, and it opens to him the conditions of a mercy large enough for the greatest of sinners. Behold here that union of reproof and pity which must be most effectual for the end which it contem- plates. The time does not allow me to expand this argu- ment as I could desire. Its importance entitles it to consideration ; for as in the material creation the wonderful adaptations which we discover bespeak a Divine Author, so the admirable fitness of the religion of the New Testament to the beings for whom it was i IG given is a proof of its superhuman origin, which has been justly insisted on by Christian writers, but the full force of which can be felt only where the true features of the revelation are discerned. Whether on the one hand we look at man as a being, the intellect- ual, social and spiritual elements of whose constitution require culture, or on the other hand as a being whose appetites and infirmities call for means of restraint, or again as a being whose history includes that terrible fact of sin which gives a new aspect to all his relations and creates a before unknown class of wants, the most urgent which he can feel, we perceive in the truths and influences of our faith just that supply of direction, assistance, and redeeming grace which is needed. His intellect finds the loftiest exercise alike for its dis- cursive and its meditative powers ; his social affections are led forth to the happiest results by the constraint of that law of love to which they are subjected ; his spiritual faculties obtain the freedom and elevation which they crave ; his animal propensities are placed under the discipline of an habitual self-denial ; his infirmities receive aid or admonition as they may require ; and for the evils which sin has brought upon him provision is made, equal, and more than equal to all the necessities of which it has become the fruitful source. But I must leave any farther illustration of this point, to notice a second ground of confidence in our theological statements. They are founded upon Scrip- ture. We take our faith from the Bible. Unitarian Christianity is the Christianity of the New Testament. We find it there on every page, and we find there (•'. xi ■i)' nl W 1 17 I has the true ix on Uect- ution ^hose rit, or srrible ations ) most truths jction, ceded, its dis- ections istraint jd; his evation placed al; his 3y may it upon qual to fruitful of this e in our n Scrip- nitarian stament. id there •^ nothing which suggests to us a different exposition of the Divine will. It is common indeed to deny us this occasion of rejoicing, and to charge upon us irrever- ent or violent treatment of Scripture. We repel the charge as wholly false. It is upon the testimony of the sacred volume that we plant ourselves, as on a sure foundation. The Bible is in our favor from be- ginning to end. An English writer whose works are just now in great repute on this side of the Atlantic has remarked, in a sentence whose rhetorical point is a poor compensation for its audacious falsehood, that "to be a worthy member of the Unitarian or rather Socinian community, a man must be prepared to reject nine-tenths of the Old Testament and the whole of the New ! " " Nine-tenths of the Old Tes- tament ! " On what page of the Hebrew Scriptures is there a line that asserts any other doctrine than the absolute unity of the Divine Nature ? Where from Moses to Malachi — where from the history of the creation to the last words of Jewish prophecy — is there an intimation that God exists in three persons, or that Christ was an Infinite Being ? The Jews discovered no such doctrine during the centuries in which they A^ere the sole possessors of these sacred books. And if the principles of sound interpretation, which are observed in regard to every other book in the world by any person laying claim to intelligence or honesty, be followed in the perusal of the Bible, not a passage can be brought thence which militates with our faith. " The whole of the New Testament " must be " rejected ! " When, if there be a collection of Unitarian writings on earth, it is what has there been 3 18 given us by Evangelists and Apostles. 1 wish not to use cautious or equivocal language on this subject, for we have a right to speak in the most positive terms. The whole, (1 make no exception of a tenth or a twentieth part,) the whole of both the Old and New Testament must be misconstrued to yield any other than a Unita- rian interpretation. Does any one demand proof of this declaration, so bold, 1 am aware, as it may be esteemed by others, but so obviously true as it appears to us ? The proof could be furnished in detail only by examining every text in the Bible. To such a trial of the correctness of the assertion we shall always rejoice to see it sub- jected, but this is not the time for such an investigation. 1 can only remark, that we place a two-fold reliance on the support which Scripture gives to our views ; first, as its general tenor is clearly and strongly in their favor; and then, as particular passages — num- berless in amount — confirm the impressions which we derive from the prevalent complexion of thought and style of expression. Let an unbiassed reader take up the Bible for the first time and peruse it carefully, without commentary or friend near him to suggest what it ought to mean, and the conviction would grow stronger upon him as he proceeded from writer to writer, that they knew nothing about Trinitarianism, or many other doctrines which we have discarded from our theology. Let him then fall upon such passages as these, " Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Lord ; " " This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent ; " " To us there is but one God, the Father, iii I ''if 19 use '■« ' we m The '(f' tieth V. Tient 4 4 nita- n, so .'A 4 thers, 1 proof every 1 ctness .'7 t sub- ;ation. liance ifi views ; 1 gly in ^£ -num- 4' which jt lought ■' ,>'.'. iv take refuUy, suggest d grow riter to ianism, -A from assages is one it know >m thou i Father, 1 .ll and one Lord, Jesus Christ," — and these are speci- mens of innumerable similar declarations, — and what judgment could he form but that the Bible recognizes the distinction on which we insist between Him who alone is God and him who is the Mediator between God and man. We stand by the Bible, and the Bible stands by us. We love and honor the Bible, without which we should live in darkness, and die as the lleadiens die. Precious volume ! whose meaning the wisest cannot exhaust, yet the simplest may comprehend ; book of books ; treasure of treasures ; source and summary of all good influences ! Never may the hour come when wc shall cease to cling to the Bible ; for then shall we give up the main justifi- cation of our faith, and be thrown upon a fathomless sea of doubt. We adduce the testimony of our nature, as in its various elements — whether we consider its power or its weakness — it proclaims the validity of our interpretation of religious truth; and we cite the whole instruction of Scripture, whether contemplated in its general character or examined in detail, as concurring in the same result. To add only one other ground of confidence in the opinions which we hold, they prove their title to the estimation we bestow on them by the effects which they have produced. It may not become us to cite our own experience on this point, — to speak of the restraint they lay upon our passions, the stability they impart to our princi^ pies, or the peace with which they fill our hearts. We cannot press the argument in this form, for we feel how unworthily we have used the grace of 20 1 God which he has shown in bringing us to the knowl- edge of himself through his dear Son. But we may refer to those who have lived and died in this precious faith. We have seen — the world has seen — what Unitarian Christianity can do for man; how it can inspire him with a Divine energy, and clothe him in a heavenly grace, and prepare him for a glorious futu- rity. There have been examples of great excellence under almost every phase of belief which has been known in the Christian Church ; for they have all in- cluded enough of truth to become " a savour of life unto hfe" to them who have believed. But never have nobler or purer examples of the Christian character been witnessed, than have arisen beneath the influences of that " form of sound words " which distinguishes — painful rather than pleasant it is, to say, still distinguishes — us. From the days of the Apostles to our own time, through the successive periods of Christian history, there have never been wanting those who have been confessors of this faith, worthy to be numbered among God's elect. Amidst abundance and in poverty, under the sunshine of pros- perity and beneath the darkest night of adversity, have lived those who have illustrated this faith, and shown its power, whether to protect or to support the soul. Men of a true spiritual nobility and women of a heavenly charm have traced all that was good in them and all that was beautiful to their confidence in the truths of Unitarian Christianity. They who have de- parted in peace, or have triumphed over every obsta- cle and every disaster, have drawn from this armory the weapons with which they have achieved the last, I ! I 21 owl- may :ious what can I in a futu- lenco been [ill in- of life never ristian eneath rords " isant it lays of cessive r been s faith, Amidst )f pros- ;y, have shown le soul. n of a in them e in the lave de- y obsta- armory he last, if, ■A I % as all their previous victories. It is a sad mistake, tc suppose that only porsons of a refined or speculative turn of mind can (! scover in this system of faith what is congenial to their tastes or needful for their wants. I call it a system, let me observe, for though we give it no systematic arrangement under which it may be imposed on human consciences, yet such an arrange- ment it must obtain in the mind of every thoughtful disciple. But not to men of thoughtful or retired habits alone is it adapted. The humblest and plainest of England's population whom Richard Wright on his missionary tours visited in their rural homes, and the lowest among the inhabitants of a busy me- tropolis in the United States whom the ministry-at- large has searched out and gathered into the fold of Christ, can attest the efficacy of these doctrines. Nor is it, on the other hand, less unjust to represent this faith as one which can recommend itself only to persons of little intellectual force or spiritual discern- ment. This latter objection, you will perceive, is overthrown by the former, but both are contradicted by facts. When such men as Socinus and Servetus, Newton and Locke, Priestley and Wakefield and Buckminster and Channing have cherished these tenets of an unpopular theology, it is idle to call it a religion only for gross or indolent minds. The charge, common as it is, and certainly of grave import, which stigmatises this as a super- ficial, negative, or cold belief, is utterly false. The most spiritual people 1 have ever known were formed under its influence, and in no Communion have the fruits of love to God and love to man been more 22 t! largely exhibited than in ours ; — we say it not in vain boasting, but in justice to the cause of truth. It is a calumny, though it be on many lips, to affirm that this is not a religion by which men may be prepared to die, or in which they can meet death with Christian hope. Thousands and thousands have gone down to the grave in the full conviction of this faith, and when sensible that the springs of life were wearing out, have calmly waited as those who " knew in whom they had believed." Lives adorned with the beauty of holiness have been closed in the serenity of a relig- ious trust, and characters which had withstood the assaults of temptation have been found more than able to cope with the surprise and terror of death, for to them death, under whatever circumstances it may have approached, has brought neither terror nor sur- prise. If any one ask for evidence of the sufficiency of our views of religion for all the exigencies of man as a sinner or an immortal being, amidst the vicis- situdes of an earthly condition or the anticipations of a righteous judgment, we may point him to the examples of the living and the dead, whom to name would in the one case be superfluous, and in the other might be indelicate ; and we leave to his own mind our vindication from the groundless charges under which we labor. In the capacities and wants of human nature, in the general tone and express declarations of Scripture, and in the eifects produced on character and life, we discover reasons for accepting Unitarian Christianity rather than any of the forms of religious belief which prevail around us. Are they not substantial reasons ^ 4 M I ftff 23 for a departure from popular persuasions ? Do they not justifV UH in maintaining Hcparutn institutions of worHhip . VVc cannot concur with otiioi j»nrtions of the Church in adopting opinions winch thoy regard as essential to tiie vitahty of the Ciui'