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1
2
3
1 2 3
4 5 6
1
THE PRAYER OP JESUS
FOR
THE OIENESS OF HTS PEOPLE ;
BEING THE
ST2ris3S^^S3'(pii ^iW mum'^^m^iE^.
DELIVERED IM
ST. STEPHEN'S HALL, IN THE riTY OF ST. JOHN.
if
KV THE
RW. J©Hi\ THOMSON, A. M.
MINISTER OF THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.
*' That they all may he o/je."— John xvii. 20-22.
SAINT JOHN, N. B.
3PRINTKD BY H. CHUBB * CO., PRINCE WILLIAM STREET.
18 5 0.
FREFArE.
The subject of Christian Union is one to which no one of
God's children can possibly be indifTerent. Believers are one,
essentially one, recognized as one by iheir Great Head. But
this essential oneness is too little felt by them ; they act, too
often, as if there were no common ties among them, yea, very
often, as if they belonged to different families, each having a
Father, a Saviour, a Spirit, a Heaven, a Hell, of its own.
The subject was brought before the Free Church congrega-
tion by the author; and many Christians belonging to other
denominations : Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, and Pres-
byterians, gladly listened to it; and the request has been
largely expressed that the whole should be given to the public.
The author regrets that the multiplicity of his engagements
has prevented him from amplifying or enlarging his notes;
they are given to the public, however, as they are, with the
earnest hope that they may awaken in the minds of many
Christians a desire for a closer intercourse with one another,
and, in all, a desire for a closer walk with God. It is the
author's dearest wish that those in this City, and in this Pro-
vince, that are " Israelites indeed," should know each other
better than they do ; and if the publication of these notes shall
call forth any practical measure in order to that blessed end,
he will rejoice.
St. John, February, 1850.
t
DISCOURSES, &c.
©mn ipibaitifjib (^1^ ^igOTSo
•• That they all may be one." — John xvii. 20-22,
Apart from the chavacter and location of its figures, the
beauty of a painting consists in the due arrangement of light
and shade ; in order to which the most diverse colours are
employed, and these are so mingled and applied as to produce
the nearest possible resemblance to the object intended to be
delineated. Not one of the colours so employed loses its na-
tural properties, yet all are so blended together, each being,
as it were, fused in the other, as that the demureness of the
darker is softened down, and the delicacy of the lighter colours
rendered stronger by mutual contact.
In nature — how discordant the elements of which it is com-
posed — fire that, if uncontrolled, would speedily enwrap our
world in a mantle of living flame — water that, if left to itself,
would, ere long, render our world an uninhabitable morass —
air that, if not rightly regulated, would lie like an irresistible
incubus on the earth, or expand itself into regions whither we
could not follow it, in either case destructive of animal vitality
— earth that^ if ungoverned by certain fixed and determinate
laws, would either refuse to bear us on its surface, or yield us
the support and sustenance which our constitutional organiza-
tion requires. Yet, how beautiful is nature : earth revolving
now around its grand centre with as precise regularity as
when at first it sprang into being— summer with its balmy
brepzes— winter with its freezing winds— spring with its reviv-
ing influences, and autumn with its golden crops. How deep
the wisdom displayed in the creation of all ! how constant the
care exercised in preserving all! Our world the habitation of
God's image— the sun its source of light and heat— the ocean
its vast watering place. Beauty, order, harmony existing among
elements in themselves discordant, yet mixing with each other,
and all together dwelling in unity.
In reffard to our congregation— ):o\v varied the tempera.
nd minds of which ihe body is composed.
rega
nients, dispositions, a
this h
a assembly that present to
an observer, however caretul he be, precisely the same features,
or nearly the same expression. There is far from a visible
uniformity, and yet there is a gladsome, lovely unity. " Of one
heart and of one mind, we are met together in one place."
" And he that walketh in the midst of the golden candlesticks
is in our midst."
In my text, Jesus prays for his people that then were, and for
all who* should afterwards believe on him, "that they may be
one." " Unity is strength" is an aphorism, the truthfulness of
which experience attests. Christ's people have many enemies,
who have on their side the strength of hell and the world's op-
position 10 true holiness, and, therefore, they require, being
•' a little flock," to stand and fight close together. But they
likewise owe thiur being to a common source ; they have one
Father; they own fraternity with Jesus, and they are wrought
upon by a common spirit ; and they fight one fight of faith ;
and they look for a common victory ; and they wait for one
home. Why should they fall out by the way 1
This subject presents a very wide field of inquiry and me-
ditation—one in which I may come in contact with the errors
of some, and the prejudices of others, and the preconceived
opinions of many more ; and yet, by none of these will I be
driven from the faithful elucidation of my subject; andl trust
I will be pardoned by those who may possibly difier from me
in the views I may advance. I accord to them what I claim
for myself, the right and the privilege of judging for myself
in matters of religion. I will not knowingly wound the con-
science of any Christian.
I would desire, with God's help and blessing, to set this sub-
ect before you under three different heads :—
I. I would shew what this unity is not,
II. What it is.
III. The advantages of it.
1st. This unity for which our Saviour prays is not unity
in ignorance. The ancient inhabitants of our fatherland were
Druids, as to their religion. The surface of their country was
one vast forest. In the depths of its dreary aolitudea were the
4
6
druidical altars set up. On these were offered to unknown di-
vinities the choice one of every family— the helpless infant as
well as the man of mature years. The more dearly prized the
chosen victim was by a parent's heart, or a family's affection,
just the more precious and praiseworthy the sacrifice. To
this Alolocli system of the olden lime there answers the Jug-
gernaut of modern days. There is no rival to either. Each
stands, during its day, on a basis all its own. Its mysticism
attracts the weak and the superstitious, while its cruelty checks
and thoroughly overpowers all opposition that might possibly
be offered to its sway. Is it for a unity like this that the Prince
of Peace prays 1 No. This unity is not unity in error. The
Jews are united as to iheir views of Jehovah's character and
government ; and still in their exile do they comfort them-
selves with this saying, '« The temple of the Lord— The tem-
ple of the Lord are we." Yet Jesus of Nazareth is not looked
to as their Saviour, nor the Messiah of the Bible honoured as
their King. The carnal spirit has blinded them to the spiritu-
ality of God's kingdom. They know neither themselves nor
God. The followers of the false prophet Mahomet are united
in their religious worship, and yet they know not Jesus, The
God whom they worship is a sensual God, and the heaven which
they expect to enjoy is a sensual heaven. Though they may
cry aloud from Mecca to the furthest corners of their land, "The
sword or the Koran," their unity is founded in error, and
cannot be that for which Jesus prays. The Socinians affect to
be united in their views of religion, yet, being agreed on the
very point of Christ's mere humanity, to which the whole gospel
of Christ is openly antagonistic, their unity is not that for which
Jesus prays. The Romish church pretends to this unity ; it is
not her possession. There may be in her uniformity as to
worship ; but there is uniformity in the church-yard, while there
of unity there is none. Uniformity is not unity ; or, if vaiu
men count it so, it is not the unity for which Christ prays ; for,
let one in her communion declare that Christ is the only
Saviour, that the mass is no sacrifice, and that Jesus is the true
sacrifice once offered on the cross to take away the sins of the
world, that it is contrary to the very genius of Christianity to
" make any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is
in heaven above, or tnat is in the earth beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth," and he is immediately deprived of
his liberty, and consigned to the gloo.r.y and lonlhsome
dungeon. Had our Presbyterian forefathers who by God «
help were enabled to disinter the pure word of God from the
rubbish of Popish blindness and intolerance, and to plant the
standard of Christian liberty on the ruins of that decaying
Ky<^tem,--had they laid down their conscientious convictions
at the feet of either priestly or kingly power,-had they
declared their willingness to allow that the Bible should remain
n sealed book, that it should rot unread in the cell of the
.nonaste.-v, or be chained to the reading-desk of some damp
and upfr'cquented chapel, -had they torn into shreds the
standard which conscience, echoing the voice of God, had
commissioned them to unfurl,-had they submitted to the yoke
of human ordinances, and had they consented to think only as
,„en permitted them, and to speak only as men m authority
gave them utterance,-there might have been uniformity such
as Rome may, perhaps, with justice claim : the stern monoto-
nous uniformity of death. But, oh, there could not have been
the native, heaVen-born unity, for which our Saviour prayed
How united were the sons of Abraham when, in the height ot
their self-exalting enthusiasm, they cried out, concerning him
that would have saved them : " Away with him, away with him ,
crucify him, crucify him !" How united were the fol owers ot
Mahomet when they gave to their brethren the fearful alterna-
tive • " the sword or the koran" ! How united are the devils in
hell against God's j^lory ; but, oh, their unity is the conspiracy
of the damned, and is us opposite to the unity for which the
Saviour prayed, as is light to darkness. Surely the time is
not far remote when all such unity shall be broken up and
consigned forever to the darkness whence it emanated ; when
unity in ignorance and unity in error shall together be
dissolved ; when men shall be at one with each other, as the
fruit of their union with God. This is the unity for which our
Master prayed, the unity for which we must pray and labour,
and which, when found, we must be careful to preserve : a
unity of hearts enlightened by the spirit of God, ana by h.m
sanctified. This shall be preserved without uniformity in
external things. Even as uniformity were a blemish m nature,
so were it a blemish in the church. It may be that the lack
thereof may frequently occasion controversy, yet, even then the
controversv shall bo without virulence, and shall issue only in
the clearer setting forth of great truths. There may be those
here that are opposed to all controversy, and especially upon
matters of religion. I can sympathize with you in your
feelings, and, in a measure, appreciate your motives ; but the
history of the past encourages mc to hope that, though contro-
versies shall continue so long as truth shall be assailed, yet
that these controversies shall be maintained without rancour,
and in a spirit of mutual love and forbearance. Only let it be
remembered that error seeks quiescence, it does not wish to
be disturbed, and it is ever uttering its thunders against those
that may desire to arouse it. It is ever crying " Peace, peace,
while there is no peace.' Nor does it hesitate to pronounce a
woe upon those that threaten to intrude upon its wide domain.
" These men that have turned the world upside down are
come hither also" : such was the cry once uttered against the
apostles. It was the war-cry of aroused error ; and to this day
it is sent forth against the warriors of the cross, [f, then, it
must be, that error shall rage when its domains are invaded,
give me the excitement of living truth ; far rather would I roll
in a well-found vessel on the surface of a troubled sea, than lie
like a log in the quiescence of pestilential error.
II. I would desire, in the second place, to show what this
unity is for which our Saviour prays.
1st. It is a unity of faith and profession. Paul exhorteth both
the Ephesian and Philippian churches " to be of one mind" ;
and he presseth upon the members of the Corinthian church
'♦ to speak the same thing, being perfectly joined together in
the same mind and in the same judgment." And how beauti-
ful is the picture given us of the primitive church, when the
remembrance of her departed Master was yet green in her
memory : the members thereof were " of one heart and of one
mindy Eden was fair, and the world in its first estate was very
good ; God himself pronounced it so : no sin, no sorrow, no
curse there. So, the church in her first love, and in her
original habiliments, stands before us one : one in faith and
one in profession. There were in her many minds differently
constituted as to character and capacity — Philip was not
Andrew, nor Peter, John ; yet they were one in faith. Peter
displayed his in his ardent zeal ; John his, in his holy meek-
ness \n6 child-like spirit. They had consented to be taught
by the Holy Ghost, to receive the things that he shouU bring
i
9
to their romcmbrAnce coiiocrninR Jcsufl ; and ihey had resolv-
ed to " hold forth the word oflife." The pride of their hearts
and their narrow prejudices had all been laid aside, and they
had learned to look even upon a converted Samaritan as a
brother or sister in Christ Jesus. This \h the unity for which
Jesu« prays: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." A unity of
faith and a unity of profession. It is true that tlic church in this
Province is divided into many sections; but the ark was, by
God's command, divided into many chambers, and yet there
was but one ark after all. So, there is but one ark— the Chris-
tian church—divided, though it be, into many separate com-
partments. Who 80 foolish as to attempt to prove that because
the animals in one cliambor of the ark dilVered from those in
another chamber, that there were more arks than one ? Or,
perhaps, because the first animals introduced into the ark
might be elephants, therefore, all the rest must be elephants
likewise? Equally futile were the attempt to prove that
because there are many sections in the Protestant church of
this land, there is really more than one church : one cadiolic
spouse of the Lord Jesus. Whatever be the external develope-
ment of that one faith, if the interior arrangement be according
to the mind of God, if the great fundamentals of our most holy
faith be hid in the heart, if to maintain these we hold not our
lives dear unto us, if to advance these we count no labour too
arduous, no sacrifice too costly, and all with the view of pro-
moting the glory of God and of his Son Jesus Christ : then call
us Presbyterians, call us Episcopalians, call us by any other
human name, however opprobrious it may be deemed, yet we
are brethren. For the same Holy Spirit hath taught us the same
holy truths, and though we may be able to bring out each
a different development of these truths ; yet their native purity
is not diminished, nor is their enduring and life-giving influ-
ence repressed. The same light both in kind and degree
may be sent forth through many various media ; and yet it is
not the medium which makes the light, nor is it the medium
by which the brilliancy of the light ought to be measured ; so
in regard to the essentials of our faith, they may be sent forth
through our medium of Presbyterianism, or through that oi'
Episcopacy, or through that of Independency ; and yet the
faith is one, and the profession is one, though as to variety or
density, the channels of its manifestation may differ. " We
have this ireasure," naid ihe apostle, " in earthen vesieln." Wliu
80 foolisli as to confound the treasure with the vessel— the
jewel with the casket. If even Paul the Apostle of the Gen-
tiles could, in all sincerity, acknowledge himself to be hut an
earthen vessel, surely none of those who claim the monopoly of
successionship will set themselves above their head. Then,
my hearers, what respect and reverence soever ye may pay to
the earthen vo^ssel, never forget that that which is truly valu-
able is tjje treasure that is within. l*resl)ytcrianism and Epis-
copacy are only the vessels. " Christ crucified" is the golden
treasure. See, then, that ye prefer tiot the shell to the kernel.
Adorn the mere vessel as you may, give it the support of the
kings of the earth, and eno^rave upon its exterior the most
splendid array of an earthly heraldry, still it h but the vessel;
yea, a vessel of earth; and ere many ages shall have passed
by, it shall have crumbled and disappeared for ever, while the
treasure within, disencumbered of its earthly adornments and
costly appendages of human growth, shall stand forth most
beauteous in its very nakedness— most worthy of honour and
of all praise when rising above the rubbish of human systems.
Nor is this truth hidden from believers now. Bring Chrislian.s
together in friendly intercourse, and they will soon recognise
and own each other as brethren, and in the holy communion
of heavenly feeling, in the sweet interchange of Christian sen-
timent, and in the general acknowldgment of indebtedness
to sovereign grace— the more externals of religion are lost sight
of— .«' the beauty of the Lord" is admired.
2d. The unity for which Jesus prays is unity of affection.
It is only among Christians that real affection has its dwelling-
place. There is a principle that bears its name among men in
general, but what a changeful thing it is— now here, now there
—like the tiny feather floating aloft and now below, just as the
breeze's fitful energy urges it forward, lifts it upward, or leaves
It unsustaiued to gravitate towards the eartii. But true love
dwells in the hearts of God's children. It is the first fruit of
the Spirit that dwelleth in them. "The fruit of the Spirit is
love." This love in them embraces the whole human family,
and hence their prayers and labours lor the world's conver-
sion unto God. It embraces specially the brethren, and hence
their sympathy with each other, both in joy and in sorrow. It
is unhappily true, that in these days this joyous principle is
10
but inefficient. We do not discover many evidences of its
power, yea even of its very existence. My hearers, is it not so
that even among ourselves there is very little of this holy affec-
tion displayed ? Enmity, with its many strings, gives forth
discordant soundy amongst us. Do we not profess to hold by
Jesus Christ, one Lord— do we not pray for His Spirit that He
may influence and actuate us in all we do— do we not pray
that the same mind may be in us which was also in Christ
Jesus— do we not speak as if our hearts had been really
opened, as if we had in reality received the truth, as if the
Spirit were indeed sanctifying, and quickening, abd preparing
us ibr the joy and blessedness of the upper sanctuary 'i Yet
surely the very breathings of enmity in our hearts must be in
opposition to the Spirit's work, even as they are hateful to the
Spirit's love and meekness. He that nourishes hatred in his
heart towards a "brother is deserving of the highest reproba-
tion ', bow much more when that exists in the family of Jesus.
The love of Jesus is the pattern of the Christian's love. How
deep, how earnest, how constant, how unsearchable the love of
Christ— it shone forth iii his every look, yes, even when he
looked upon poor fallen Peter it was a look of love. It softened
his very rebukes : " O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou
doubt.'' There was deep love there— love that would not al-
low Him to " break the bruised reed, or to quench the smoking
flax." And even when suspended in bitterest agony \ietween
the earth and heaven, he died loving His life was a life of
love— his death was a death of love. From the manger to the
cross, and from the cross to glory, His whole career is just a
full and ck^ar development^of love, for "God is love." And m
living, and in dying, and in living again. He only developed
Himself. Oh, it is by forgetting Jesu3-it is by forgetting his
neerless excellence, by closing our eyes to the bright halo by
which he was surrounded during his brief sojourn on our
earth— that we lose sight of the sum of all his teaching. '' A
new commandment give I unto you that you love one another."
"Love one another even as brethren." In order to believers
loving each other, as Jesus hsth given them commandment, it
is not needful that all see alike, or obtain equally clear views ot
Christ's loveliness. Their views, their desires, their hopes
are alike in kind, but by no means in degree. Noah, with all
1 . /? J •„/-'--» e ""* "" T^"'^''b r\f wlinm it is Stated
s of its
it not so
ly afTec-
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hold by
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And in
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believers
dment, it
views of
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, with all
is stated
I
I
that "he walked with God;" and Peter, with his honest,
straight-forward znal, was not a John—they were like-minded
in this respect — they were each ' orn again from above, and they
acted each for the honour and glory of the Lord Jesus ; but
being differently constituted in poinf of attainments and capa-
city, they employed each his own endowments and peculiar
graces to advance the same great end. So must it be in the
church of Christ : differences in constitution, and greater or
less communications of grace, must make no difference in the
love of saints ; we must still love each other even as brethren.
Piiilemon must love Onesimus— servant though he be— and all
the more because the servant with the master acknowledges
one Jesus, one Saviour, and one faith. My dear fellow-Chris-
tians—and I speak to members of every Christian denomina-
tion in this city— forget your differences ; forget the points
upon which ye differ from each other, and remember more
frequently the points on which ye are agreed. Be persuaded
to draw the brush across your apparent discordancies, and to
magnify your real unity so far at it goes. Why should it not
be said now, «' Behold these Christians how they love one an-
other?" It cannot be that the "new commandment" is for-
gotten, or that the name of Christ is less precious unto you
than it was to the early Christians— it cannot be that ye have
no desire to carry out the spirit and design of our Saviour's
mission into the world. Why, then, cease to shew that ye love
one another. The candle is not lighted that it may be placed
under a bushel. If the love of Christ dwell in you, oh, be per-
suadea to shew that love towards the brethren which the love
of Christ will induce. It may be that mountains may rise and
broad oceans roll between you and the land on which ye
breathed your first breath; but is that land forgotten; oh no,
the land of your adoption may yield you many comforts and
much enjoyment, still there is an invisible something that con-
nects yoii with the '' old coiintri/''— the hill-side, or the valley—
the church-yard, or the village-green— the placid loch, or the
rough sea-shore. The right hand may forget its cunning, but
never can a Briton forget the land that gave him birth.—
So let the love arising from the new birth grow ; let it range
over all countries, and through all climes ; let it hail the breth-
ren on the ice-bound shores of Greenland, and among the
eunny isles of the southern sea ; let it take up the song of the
13
sons of " Senim," and waft it across to tlie Indian shore ; like
the outstretched arms of the dying Saviour, let it embrace men
of every kindred, and nation, and people, and tongue.
3d. The unity prayed for, is a union of " living stones" — of
spiritual men in Christ Jesus — of men joined to Christ. Oh,
it were well that this were rightly and fully understood ;
because the question of union, by whomsoever propounded,
and at whatever time, if grounded on Scriptural principles, of
necessity embraces the question, in regard to those whom
it is sought to unite: "Are they joined to Christ"? — for
this is held to be a pre-requisite to enduring and profi-
table union. A union of mere professors were of little, yea,
I may say, of no value ; for a union, though formed amongst
them, never could be lasting. Fancies and dreams, and the
forth-puttings of puffed up minds, would soon separate them,
and would only serve to widen and deepen the breach that
their union at first promised to fill up. A union formed be-
tween life and death — between living saints and dead profes-
sors — were of no advantage. It is just as if one were to pour
the water from the stagnant pool into the living crystal spring.
No such unions as these I have enumerated can ever con-
vince the world of sin, or constrain the world to believe in
Jesus as the Saviour from sin. Once and again it has been
tried to identify the pagans upon whom the water of baptism
has been sprinkled, with the holy and peculiar people of God.
How vain the attempt — how dishonoring to Christ — how delu-
sive to many souls ! The sheep may bear the brand of the
shepherd, and by that brand be known as bis ; but though all
the dogs and all the wolves by which that flock la surrounded
were branded with the same brand, it would not change their
nature, it would not make them sheep. It is easy, then, to see
that not such is the union for which our Master prayed. But
certainly he did ^ray that all they that should believe on his
name might be one ; and this stamps the union prayed for both
subjectively and objectively. It is composed of believing men,
and the end for which this ostensible union is desired, is,
•' that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
Is it, then, a settled point, that those who truly believe in
Jesus, who are joined to Him, must be looked for and sought
out in any one visible community on earth? I trow not, my
hearcm. I am a Pre sbvteriati- becn.UBC it is mv confifmeH hpH^f
beti
13
that the leading way-marks of Presbyterianism are laid dovrn
in the Holy Scriptures. But I am not so strongly attached to
my Presbyterianism as to say that they only are Christians
who can swallow my creed as to ecclesiastical government, and
that all who cannot so do are beyond the pale of the Redeem-
er's flock. Oh, no. Nor will 1 hesitate to condemn, and to
hold up to ridicule and scorn, the man, to whatsoever visible
community of Christians he may belong, who, in the spirit and
with the pride of ancient Judaism, will claim for himself and
his brethren, a monopoly of Heaven's best gifts, and the right
of dispensing Heaven's richest treasures. It were assuredly
better for believers themselves and better for the world, were
they all ostensibly, even as they are virtually, one. But that
any one Christian denomination embraces and includes the
Christianity of the world, is a libel upon common sense, an
averment to which the Holy Scriptures give no support, and
the truth of which our common experience disclaims. I cannot
help thinking, my hearers, and I guess there are many who
agree with me in thinking, that, it is the sure sign of a failing
cause, when its present, its now, is insufficient to shew its
origin and to indicate its end. There have been corrupt
churches : the church of Ephesus was one. There are corrupt
churches: the church of Rome is one, and the church of Eng-
land is another. Nor, concerning the vast Presbyterianism of
the world, will I say that there is no element of corruption, no
evidences of spiritual gangrene in it. No, nor will I offer such
an assertion concerning that portion of the Presbyterian
church with which I am connected; no, even though she has
been called by men not of her communion, and justly too,
" the fairest daughter of the reformation." Where, then, arc
believers? Not in any one church, but, I believe, in all the
churches ; not under any one system, but under all systems.
There are, I doubt not, Fenelons and Pascals still in the cor-
rupt Romish church. There are, I doubt not, Leightons and
Jewels in the corrupt Episcopal church. And there are still
men of the spirit of Knox and Henderson amongst their Pres-
byterian posterity, who are as ready as they were, to do battle
for Christ's crown and covenant, whenever his rights shall be
questioned or the privileges of his people sought to be impaired.
The prayer of the Redeemer has reference to all these
betlPVPrci nnW
o»ri
f\it >->
. ^^TI^tVlIVtT
cm
♦* ♦ *-» 1^ ♦ 1
r{
r^L..:_^
u a. ituic TTficxi v/uriSiiuiis saai
11
14
forget the many forms of their system in the holy oneness of
their creed : when the shibboleths of partizanship shall be
forgotten, and "Christ for us and Christ in us" shall be the
only password among the people of God. And to all such, the
cry of our Lord is, "Come out from amongst them, and be ye
separate, and touch not the unclean thing;" — "join your-
selves to your own company," of which Jesus is the living
Head, and then, and then only, will ye realize all the benefits
and blessedness of God's being your Father. Yet still carna-
lity will prompt the question, " What visible banner shall wave
in the midst of this separated sacramental host?" To this I
reply : a visible rallying-point God hath given, around which
all believers may safely take their stand ; a rallying-point
which, the nearer it is approached unto, the more diligently it
is looked into, and the more prayerfully it is contemplated, will
expel all hostility, undo all prejudices, and render all that so
survey it and so swear allegiance to its Lord, more distrustful
of the merely human, and more disposed to receive and glory
in that only which is manifestly divine. And what is this
rallying-point ] It is none of those systems to which time and
■circumstaHce, and birth, and inborn prejudice, have wedded
many minds. It is not the shibboleth of a pliant Episcopacy,
nor of a stern and energetic Presbyterianism ; it is not the
fraternal popedom of Methodism, nor that other system, whose
peculiar characteristics are immersion and close communion.
That God-given rallying-point is the Bible. Yes, that book of
books, is the visible centre to which all believers are invited to
approach ; and experience has proved that the nearer that
Christians come to the Bible, the more do they love that lovely
One of whom the Bible testifies, and the more they love Him,
just the more do they love one another. Come, then. Christian
men, and range yourselves by the side of the Bible ; let the
Bible, and the Bible alone, be the rule of your faith and the
guide of your life ; let the Bible be the standard by which your
faith and practice are alike tried ; let the Bible be the rule by
which all your differences are settled, and the sacred oil by
which your views and feelings are harmonized. Then ye will
behold each other, not in the dim twilight of your separate
systems, but in the clear and lustrous effulgence of your
common Head.
Carnality will again prompt the question, " Slice govern-
Client is needed, what shall be the form of government under
15
which this separated sacramental host shall live ?— shall it be
the monarchy of Episcopacy— the republic of Presbyterian-
ism— or shall it be the democracy of Independency ?" Though
I believe Presbyterianism to be the system best adapted for
working upon, and, finally, under the hand of God, for subdu-
ing the world's ungodliness ; and though I believe it to be a
great midway station on which the two extremes of Episco-
pacy and Independency may meet ; yet I confess I have little
hope of any one of these systems rising upon the ruins of the
others, and of any one of them, as they now appear, surviving
its brethren. Large and sate with high principle as each of
these systems may appear to its subjects, and conscientious
and sincere as each may be in holding by his own views, and
sanctioned as these views may be by the concurrent testimony
of the piety of many ages, and the erudition and high intel-
lect of many schools, yet I think the lesson God would teach
us in the present unsettledness of all the systems in the which
his believing people are to be found, is, that all these systems
must give way, and that from a fusion of the whole God will
bring forth a system which theologians will wonder that they
did not see in the Bible before : a system based on truth eter-
nal and immutable— Love, heavenly and godlike, sanctifying
the whole, and charity throwing her rich benignant mantle
over the dark spots of the weaker brethren. Then spirit shall
meet with spirit, without resting on the untoward materialism
that now first meets the eye. And what mind shall first see in
mind shall be a marked and growing approximation to the
mind of Christ.
But should even these systems, which I have mentioned, be
continued, can there be no harmony, no peace, no unity
among the abettors of all ? Is it necessary that there should
exist a perpetual rancour— a current and recurrent assertion
and denial of claims ? Surely not. A king may sit securely
on his throne, though a president may sit as chief in the
councils of his nearest neighbours. A republic and a mon-
archy, though adjoining, do not, of necessity, command en-
mity. And why should it he 'nought a thing impossible that
Christian men, from amid all .hese systems, should feel as
brethren— meet as brethren— act as brethren— and fully love
as brethren ? Is there no common tie of brotherhood among
the kindreds of the earth?— no bond nf nfflnW,- anH rflntS.-.noH-:,-.
an
u x^icivxuuouii
IC
ihal can overstep geographical boundaries, and cross broad
oceans and high mountains, and yet find its image in every
human countenance, and its influences on every shore?
There shall be when the antipathies of opposing systems shall
have ceased to rage, and when a world-wide Christianity, felt,
realized, lived, shall bid away among the records of the past
the unworthy aphorism that " man to man is an anomaly."
What has given to this aphorism so much of its seeming truth-
fulness? What but the power and prejudice of system. The
Presbyterian feels alarmed for the Episcopalian, because his
system has suflered at his hands; the Episcopalian mourns
the heresy of the Presbyterian, and complacently consigns
him to God's uncovenanted mercies; while the Independent
condemns both for that they walk in darkness and have no
light. Do not, my hearers, misunderstand me. I speak of the
systems ; and when I find myself evil spoken of by either, I
say it is the system that curses me, it may not be the man.
But still the question remains—" Can the unity of brother-
hood not be realized though manifested under different sys-
tems?" I say it can— it ought— it must be, if Christianity be
the truth of God. I find in the word of God what the basis of
Christianity is. It is " Christ for us, and Christ in us"—
" Christ for me, and Christ in me." That is the sum of my
creed. It lies deep in the confession of Thomas — ''My Lord
and my God.'^ It is embraced in the declaration of Paul con-
cerning Jesus—" Who loved me nd gave himself for me."
It is the very life of every one who can say, "God hath re-
vealed them unto us by his Spirit." But is there no Roman
Catholic that holds by this grand scriptural dogma ? Has the
spirit of a Fenelon, indeed, gone forth from the hundred mil-
lions of men and women worshippers? Is there now no Luther
in the monastic cell ?— no meek Melancthon in the halls of
learning? I cannot doubt it; and God will bring them out of
her. Is there no Episcopalian who holds by this truth f Yes,
many, very many of God's peculiar people. So among Pres-
byterians, and so among Independents. But I might as' , is it
because we are attached to a system that we have arrived at
that blessed truth ? Certainly not. Apart from all systems
that truth has stood ; and when the systems that now are, shall
have passed away, that truth shall stand— the bulwark of each
believer's hope— the joy and rejoicing of each believer's soul.
17
Oh, yes, that truth made Patmos a paradise to John, and the
prison in Rome a palace to Paul ; and wherever it is now re-
alized, and by whomsoever it is felt, it still connects our hearts
'/vith heaven, and fuses some measure of the spirituality of
heaven with the aspiring materialism of earth.
Now I have arrived at that point in the inquiry when it be-
comes necessary to declare, at least, my opinion, whether unity
—the true miitas Fratnim—can exist without an external uni-
formity. Most unhesitatingly I declare my opinion in the
affirmative. It may. And whether it be owned or no, it does
so exist. Yes, and if time shall not disclose its existence, eter-
nity will. But it appears to me that unity in diversity is a law
of nature, and that it more manifestly sets forth the glory of
the great Creator than would the existence of a stern and un-
varying uniformity. Look to this assembly, bow varied are
the countenances— not two exactly alike. Look to earth's
families— uniformity even there is regarded as a monstrosity,
whdc unity is sought for as in its own place. Look to these
heavens, « one star differeth from another star in glory ;" and
yet the absence of uniformity only brings the whole before us
m brighter and more pleasing array. Yes, and a few more
brief years will shew, in the firmamentof the church, the same
blithesome rule prevailing— unity in diversity— the lion and
the lamb lying down together.
Let me appeal to you that now hear me. I may be right or
wrong in the sentiments ' have advanced— but be assured I
give them honestly, and I give them without fear. In many
breasts they will find an echo, and in many more they may
appear as the chimera of a distempered imagination. Let me
appeal then, I say, to you all upon this one point. Is there
any thing involved in the principles upon which the eccle-
siastical systems are founded that must of necessity keep apart
and separate from each other those that are joined unto Christ?
I say no. Then why is it that men while tliey are professedly
enamoured with an indefinite something called the Church,
why is it that they can without compunction obscure the glory
of Christ's supremacy by limiting his kingdom lo their own
narrow fraternity ? Why is it that men professing to know the
truth and to teach the truth, are yet so much strangers to the
very genius of truth as to deny its existence, and its influences
upon and among- all who are not with them ? Oh ! let not your
c
18
systems usurp the throue that Christ should occupy. Come
near, O Christians of every denomination, come near and
nearer to each other. Is there common to you all '' One Lord,
one faith, one baptism,"— one liighvvay to the city of Zion—
one bright vision of glory to be revealed ?--then let your
love eradicate your divisions, else be assured that your di-
visions will soon eradicate your love. Under whatever system
it may be your's to sit, oh ! never forget that " One is your
x>Iaster,even Christ," that "He is no respecter of persons,"
that " neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircum-
cision, but a new creature." Can ye rest in these principles,
can ye rejoice in these principles, and yet remain aloof the one
from the other ? Oh, no ! ye cannot. If Jesus be to you the
grand centre to which your thoughts, desires, and longings
tend— then did ye never observe the spokes in a wheel, how
that the nearer they come to the centre the nearer they ap-
proach each other— so, my beloved brethren, the nearer ye
come to Christ the centre, just the more closely will ye draw
towards one another. There will then be a mutual bearing
of one another's burdens— a mutual helping influence realized
—the living stones made manifest. It will then be felt that in
the temple of the Lord, just as in the habitation of men, the
more closely the stones lie to each other the stronger does
each become, while at the same time the strength of the whole
building is established. Such is the union for which our
Master prayed, and for it each believer is bound to pray and
labour. And yet my hearers I cannot close this discourse
without adverting to one point on which I would not wish to
be misunderstood. I have said that Christ for us and^Christ
in us, and not our connection with any special ecclesiastical
system, is the joy of the Church— and yet I would not be un-
derstood as condemning all systems,— nor according to the
principles, which I have laid down, is the condemnation or
even the denial of all systems necessary in order to the osten-
sible oneness of Christ's people. I am attached to my system,
and I admire it, and the more because I believe that I can
clearly trace its lineaments on the page of inspiration. So I
believe does the intelligent Episcopalian view his episcopacy,
and the Independent his independency. In order to this
union, it is not required that the smallest jot of what is be-
lieved to be truth should be compromised or yielded. No, the
10
Come
ir and
; Lord,
Zion —
it your
uur di-
system
s your
rsons,"
lii'cum-
iciples,
;he one
ou the
ngings
3I, how
ley ap-
arer ye
e draw
jearing
realized
that in
en, the
er does
3 whole
ich our
ray and
iscourse
wish to
d Christ
siastical
t be un-
r to the
ation or
le osten-
system,
It I can
1. So I
jcopacy,
to this
at is be-
No, the
songs of Zion may ascend as gratefully to the mercy seat
from the heart of a godly Episcopalian as from that of a Pres-
byterian. My advice to all of you would be, look for your-
selves into the word of Gorl, and hold by that system that you
believe comes nearest to the mind of Christ. Hold by it.
*' Sell it not." But oh let not your views of the mere circum-
stantials of your faith overwhelm the Divine amplitude of the
Christian spirit. Draw near the grand centre — and from the
throne of our Mediator King the holy fire shall descend and
shall lick up the bitter waters that have gathered in the trenches
of jealousy, and shall kindle the fuel that ought ever to be kept
blazing on the altar of Christian charity. Ye will then recog-
nize your brethren, not by the badge upon their shoulders, but
by the image of Jesus engraven on their souls. Ye will look
at them, and watch their growing meetness for the saints'
inheritance, and admire the growing brilliancy of that which
is their joy and crown, not as they are members of an earthly
fellowship, but as they are members of Christ's body, and con-
secrated kings and priests unto God. Nor need you fear, with
such a spirit in you, to survey each other's systems, for then
your controversies shall be without virulence, and your con-
versation without rancour. Instead of exposing each other's
weaknesses, ye will strive to conceal them. Alexander the
Great commissioned a celebrated artist to take his likeness.
The artist consented ; and yet there was a scar over Alexan-
der's eye, which occasioned him great perplexity. He feared
to oiiend the fickle conqueror by transferring the scar to the
canvass ; but, after some study, he produced a faithful likeness
and yet concealed the scar; for he represented Alexander rest-
ing his head upon his hand, the fore-finger of which hid the
unseemly thing. So, my brethren in Christ Jesus, when ye
are called upon to depict your neighbour's system, do not
expose its scars. Rather bring out in high relief the good that
it contains, and the good that it hath done, and these will
palliate and conceal what may appear to you to be evil.
1 will now proceed to open up another view of that union
for which our Saviour prayed, (viz. :) As it respects the opera-
tions of the church in and upon the world. What has been
already advanced in regard to unity of faith, and profession,
and love, and character, will have prepared you for the remark
which I am now about to make, (v?'.) that the church of Christ,
2{1
compost'd as it is of spiritual men— born from above— and in
virtue of Christ's atoning death made heirs of glory, sustains
a certain relation to the world without, which relation is not
sustained in its power and integrity by any one sector by any
particular system. This remark is of more importance than
may at first sight appear, inasmuch as it strikes at the root of
that dogmatical pride, which, as it exists in more than one
sect of our little day, constrains them to manifest a self-exalt-
ing spirit, as if to them and to them alone belonged the great
Divine Commission, and as if it were the duty and the privi-
lege of universal man to forego the rights of reason, and to
render, without enquiry, an implicit and unquestioning faith
in certain great and important announcements. I will only
observe, that the day of implicit faith in any assertion that is
not directly taught in the Holy Scriptures, or that is not a legi-
timate inference from what the Holy Scriptures do teach, has
passed by. Men now-a-days will read, and think, and enquire
for themselves ; and it is not the dogmatism of the mere eccle-
siastic that will impress upon his teaching the stamp of in-
fallibility, or carry it home to the enquiring intellect with all
the power and ascendancy that truth is fitted to bear. To the
church, then, composed as it is of living stones, a great work
is entrusted. It is neither more nor less than the ingathering
of the sheep into Christ's fold. And until that the number of
God's elect shall have been accomplished, the prayers and
labours of every living stone in the Divine temple must be con-
tinued. This is the work, I say, of Christ's purchased inheri-
tance—of his church— not of any one sect, or parly, or denomi-
nation, with which the people of God may be connected, but
solely their work, to the carrying out and accomplishment
of which, it is theirs to give their individual and united la-
hours. The hostility of the natural man to the high claims
which the church prefers in the name and on the behalf of her
exalted King, and only Head, renders the work of his church
of a twofold character. She occupies a position in which it
behoves her to act both aggressively and on the defensive.
Not only is she attacked from behind and from within, and
from every side, by those who are strangers to her origin, and
hostile to her high pretensions, but it behoves her, as in posses-
sion of the great Divine Commission, to make headway in the
world. If it be not 'veil with human schemes and systems
21
that arc born lo last but for a day, vvlicn tbc aim of their up-
holders is low, or when their strength begins to fail, when there
seems an end to all their exertions and endeavours in their be-
half, then, also, it is not well, when all that a church is content
to do is to hold her own. She was born that she might grow,
that her boughs might extend over all rivers, and that under
her branches all nations might find a shelter. She shews too
much of a self-dependent spirit, when, because assaulted by
adversaries on the one hand, or tossed by internal dissensions
on the other, she waxes weary in the great work, and sets her-
self down on her own inability to do anij ffond thing. The
edge of the axe is only sharpened by repeated revolutions of
the grind-stone. So, my hearers, by repeated conflicts with
the enemy, God will have his church to increase in might and
beauty. It evinces the most culpable forgetfulness of her great
commission, the very design of her creation, the very glory of
her constitution, when she loses sight of the subtilty against
which she has to defend herself, and the hostility against which
she has to make head. It is not to exalt herself, nor to exhibit
boastingly her fair proportions, but to glorify God in the salva-
tion of his people, that God called her into being. Now, the
question is, can the church, when disunited and divided into
rival parties, fulfil aright her great commission. Can she act
faithfully and fully against the opposition by which she is as-
sailed on the one hand, and the error and ungodliness that
meet her on the other 1 Most unhesitatingly I give it as my
opinion that she cannot. God's believing people may and do
labour under the diflerent systems to which they are attached,
and it may be with all the zeal and faithfulness that they can
command. And yet there is a wanting what will give range
and strength to their labours. Yea, there is a wanting what
will give them a hearing at the hands of those upon whom they
may attempt to operate. There are a wanting that peace and
concord, that heartiness and unanimous zeal, that command re-
spect and admiration wherever they appear. And thus it is
that though each sect and party, where heartiness and zeal ap-
pear, endeavours to carry out the purposes for which it is be-
lieved that it is called into being; yet the labours of such
being detached and uncombined are not productive ?ven in
our day of the permanent and beneficial results that we might
expect were the Christian forces consolidated and their ener-
•>»
gies com'oiiiod. 'riiougli tlieic bo iIkmi a unity among the
people of God— u unity uhicli is*, alas, by reason of prejudice
and system, in a great measure unfelt, and, therefore, unpro-
a prisoner for Christ, had arrived at Apii Forum» and heU
counsel with the brethren who came to condole with him, it is
«aid, that "he thanked God and took counage." Yes, roy
dear hearers, it is by this sweet communion of kindred spirits
that the conviction is borne in upon our minds, " that we are
not solitary," we travel not alone, the perils that may assail ui
in our pilgrimage are not our ;?«cuZtar destiny— other travellers
there are on the same road with us— they have their sorrow*
and their joys too— each one may deem his own the heaviest—
" the heart knoweth its own bitterness." Yet still the Chris^
tian's enquiry will be, " Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,
where thou makest thy flocks to rest at noon, for why should
I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions."
(Song i. 7).
3d. This unity is a special part of the covenant; yes, the
very covenant in which God engages to write his law on our
hearts, and to put his fear in our inward parts, contains also
this precious promise—" I will give them one heart and one
way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them and
«f their children after them."— (Jeremiah xxxii. 39). Oh day
to be longed for and prayed for, when " the Lord shall be King
over all the earth : in that day shall there be one Lord, and hie
nameone."— (Zech, xiv. 9). We cannot, my hearers, approach
the altar without praying, that this spirit of unity may be more
abundantly given to the church ; and what shall we plead in
prayer but these sweet promises of God, that " are all yea and
amen in Christ Jesus." O let your cry come up before God,
that if for his own glory He would hasten on this blessed time
when heart-rending divisions shall cease— when the bones of
The church, long torn on the rack of dissension and un-
brotherly strife, shall all be put in joint again— when the
church of Christ shall stand forth before the world " fair as the
moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners."
4th. This unity for which Jesus prays is one of the instru-
Mentalities by which the world shall be brought to the belief
of the truth. It is needless to enlarge upon this, seeing that
Christ himself, in my text, explicitly lays it down, '' that they
all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that
tbf V also may be one in us ; that the world may believe that
1-- j:j
thou hast sent me ;" so that what preaching and taifuCies ui«
in other days, we may expect to see bropht about by unity
and mutual love. Counsels, invitations and warnings, may be
I
F'
]}
98
3U ar.Ue unheeded. b,U .. ^:;^^ ::^,^-:^1S,
hearing '"fluences of "^ «ospel n ^^__^^^^^,.^,__ ^„j j„
but f«"'«'''^^;'' ""1''!! Irld see by your self-denial, by
your o«n cond. .-^ .he »o.ld s y J^^^^^,,^^^^ ^,,, ^,^.
•"'•" ••'^t'dfscharj of duty, and especially by the love .ha,
""be:: ' e wardfanotber^what .he self-idencing power
': lll.^ .r.«h is and .he world - -^-fia^ het'.
rxtritstfirtiatn^arirwho re.
leaeueof holy brotherhood, is. to say the least of it, certainly
worthy of the world's most earnest consideration.
^ IN CONCLUSION.
In drawing my observations - f^-j^JXron^^^
,,llbe allowed the remaru:^^^ ^
least of God^s ^'^^^ 7"^*?^" g^, -^ct to which your attention
that 1 have advanced. 1 ^.f ,'Yiprverv near to my own heart.
Uas been ^-,^f J,Vt^n"th ta Tnd'Jarth of m'y feelings, I
and It may be. tl^^i m he »«^^ ^.^^j^^ to some may have
may have given "^jf^"^^^'°i regret it; and from such, my ap-
appeared too ^tron^^i^^^^^^^^ [jThlarts. I have not designedly
peal IS to the ^^«' f .^'^'^'l^er, with God's help, to conciliate
nought to offend any, butiather,w^ have my
and in her comnmnion ; «"^j;^ PJ^.?'hev may be found faith-
:-'jr"Vot.eiT„ f jg^s oj^if rht-tr"yo^^
prayers they h»ve..and shall have Oh e. ^"^ ,^„:^ ^„d
lUo. God .s shaking •"'''' '^"S%,Vlong, be taken out of
the .hings Iha. may be ^^^''^"^^'^""'^'ot be shaken shall re-
,Ue way; and .hose jhings h" I'^^^^'^ZmlnMion, and of
™ain-(lleb. X.,. 2 .-i7 ■ A' "t e»e7_ ^.^^^^- i ,™,h, I
every "■'"'». »''"«ve «be '^'"5^ ,he Lord multiply merc.e.
love, and for "'/"' ' P"',,,,) ,hat call upon his name; may
upon them that fear Him, and l"^' "" J* brethren ; may
,lle Lord give you to ''"»""« ^""'''ILt^et of "rror, and ani-
he root out ('"^"X^:^^'^^^ "" T' »•"'' 'T
raos.ty and strife, »nrt K'^,^ >".V,„ „„ without, redeeming Ihe
;IS.'e^"7„d1o" aX^ame br.he prVise and glory. A..«.
)ence-
ieved,
nd in
al, by
d ala-
/e that
power
God's
heart,
t in a
rtainly
close, I
3 of the
lything
Ltention
n heart,
lings, I
ay have
, my ap-
lignedly
)riciliate
lave my
:olland ;
ve all in
d Jesus ;
I Church
at home
, that, in
md faith-
leir joys
fessed to
;n." My
ve yours
now; and
;en out of
I shall re-
►n, and of
id truth, 1
y mercies
me; may
ren ; may
, and ani-
;, and "to
eming the
Amen.
■