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 VALEDICTOKY DISCOUESE 
 
 (IN SUBSTANCE) 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE 
 
 Canaira yt(Bl)!)tman €\jm}^f 
 
 ST- CATHA»RINES, 
 
 On the Eyening of Sabbath, the 21 Feb, 186/, 
 
 BY THE — 
 
 
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 REV. R. F. BURNS, D.D. 
 
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 -I* 
 
 ST. CATHARINES: 
 
 PRINTED AT THl OFFICB Of THE "POST," TOWERS* BLOCK. 
 
 1867. 
 
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 PREPATOilY NOTE. 
 
 
 
 Tho following discourse,, prepared in much liasto nud amid many interrup- 
 tions, is published by earnest request, and (witli certain omissions and additions) 
 is committed, uot to tho eye of criticism, but to tho kind indulgeuco of an 
 attached people. 
 
 Tt is hoped that any typographical inaccuracies may bo -vcrlooked, as the 
 sheets passed through the press after the writer's removal from Ht Catharines. 
 
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 SERMOlSr. 
 
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 ThiTJLnpuss 1-27. — "Onl" let your conrersation bg, as it b-- -oir^th 
 the Goflfai of Obi'st, tbnt wbe'aer 1 rome Pid scs jon, or el^ ? be abaoDt, 
 I may Lpir of yorr aft>''3, that ye stati'l lo^i in one fapirit, nilh one ni'nd, 
 Btiiv'ig toget'aer for tbe faith of the Gospel." 
 
 Pmr-Tppi^alled after Philip, the father of A'erander the Great — ^w* ^ 
 r<*> important city of Macedonia, situated near the borders of Thraco, 
 and some fiiteen or twenty miles iVom the iEgean Sea. It was the scene 
 of the celebratKl baUle between Octa 'anus (a erwonis c«>*'ed Augustus 
 Gscsar) and Marc Antqny on the one hauf', and Brutus and Celsius on 
 the other, in which the latter sustained a signal defeat, and sought relief 
 fiom the consequent disgrace, in suicide. On W<i classic so<l, associated 
 in the historical records of earth, with battles of the wanlor r <nd garments 
 rolled in blood, battles were to be waged, victories wou, captives take* . 
 bloodless trophies securer*, that would emblazon one of the most richly 
 illuminated pages in Heaven's book of remembrance. Here f rst, on the 
 shores of Europe, was the banner of Salvation ui' ••••led, and the Mighty 
 Cue girt His sword upon F'o thigh to subdue the European races uuder 
 Him. 
 
 Paul— that accomplished soldier in the army of the Lord, at whose 
 bed-foot, in world-renowned Troy, the Macedonian phantom pitifully 
 l";ckoned — was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. In a quiet 
 oratory — a proseuclte, or praying place, by the river side^among a few 
 humble women, the tirst ronquests of the Cross in that quarter of the 
 globe, were achieved. Next, into the dismal recesses of the city prison 
 streamed the light of the glorious Gospel. 
 
 That gentle woman, wh-^se heart opened to that light like the f at-^Ts 
 of a flower to the sun's ra}3 ; that rough man, who was led under the 
 frowning shadow of Sinai, amid blackness audi darkne ) and temp^^^;. , and 
 who, stavdcd icom his plumberj by the terrors of the Lord, was saved v Ith 
 fear, being pvlled out of ♦he fire, reprc'^^nt the diversities of the Spint'a 
 operations. Some are gently wafted into the Kingdom by the ba'my 
 south wind, while on others the piercing blasts of the north wmd sweep 
 down. The peace of some at once flows like a river, wh^'o others r"© 
 out on the or«an sailing at the mercy of eddying currents and ever 
 shifting gusts, with a frowning Heaven above and foaming billows around 
 them— thinkiog themselves "castaways"—- laboring in the trough of tho 
 
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e 
 
 Boa, with thft etorra nail up, aud no sun pilding tlicir horizon, no moon 
 wnlkinf,' in brightness, no star sparkling on tho brow of night. Would 
 that, in cither way, in larger racasuro, conversions were taking place 
 amongst us ! If only sinners aro saved, whether by being allured or by 
 being alarmed, by warning or by wooing, by tho drawing or tho driving 
 process, through tho still small voice of tho Gospel or tho eartluiuake, tho 
 liurricano aud tho lightning of tho law, " I do rejoico, yea, aud will 
 rejoice." . . 
 
 In I'miiiri'i souls woro born of tho Spirit after both fashions. A 
 strong church was established, amid many difficulties and trials, whoso 
 meniliers were veiy dear to Paul. Twice when ho was at Thessalonicn, 
 utid onco when ho was at Corinth, had they sent liberal donations to him. 
 And now, when he was Paul tho aged, aud also a prisoner of .Tesus 
 Christ, do they despatch Epaphroditus, their minister, all tho way, 
 to Home, that he might convey to him another practical proof of 
 their love, and cheer him in his loneliness. This excellent youug minister, 
 who had been detained at the Imperial City by a dangerous illness, 
 becomes the bearer of this epistle, iuto which more than into any of tho 
 others that boar His name, the whole soul of tho Apostle \va» thrown. 
 
 • 
 
 Wo might attempt instituting a parallel between their circumstiincen 
 and ours, but shall forbear. Some of its raoro patent features will sutrgest 
 thenjsclves to you. I can, at least, honestly say — with tho Apodtlo in tho 
 preceding context — " From tho first day (of my coming amongst you) until 
 now, I have hail you in my heart ; for God is my record how greatly I 
 long after you all, in tho bowels of Jesus Christ" — v. 7. 8. 
 
 And now that thoso cords of love which have so long and so huppi'y 
 bound us together, as pastor aud people, are al)Out to l)e severed, I can 
 find no bettor outlet for tho struggling emotions of my surcharged heart 
 thi''i in Ihc concise aud comprehensive terms before us : "Only let your 
 conversation be, as it bccomcth the Cospel of Christ : that, whether I come 
 and see you, or else, bo absent, I may hear of your affairs ; that yc stand 
 i'xit in one spirit, with one miud, striving together for tho faith of tho 
 Gospel." 
 
 In the first part of tho verso tho Apostle urges a great general duty, 
 binding with special emphasis on thoso of us, who to-day over the signifi- 
 caut symbols of dying love, have named tho name of Christ. In the last 
 part of tho verso, this general duty branches off into three particular duties, 
 to tho enforcement of which it will bo our special aim to devote ourselves. 
 With tho " Gospel of Christ " in the doctriuos it teaches, aud tho duties it 
 enjoins, together with the examples and incentives by which both are com- 
 
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 mondod, wo havo tried to make you familiar. Though, with some, this very 
 funiiliarlty with it, may havo brooded contempt, and it be regardca in this 
 progresaivo ago, aa an old fashioned, offoto theory. " I am not ashamed of 
 the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto Salvation, to every one 
 that bclioveth." .- . ■ ^ 
 
 Bohold I bring you to-night, as I havo brought you during the courso 
 of a twelve years' ministry, glad tidings of groat joy, which are to you and to 
 all people." "I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, 
 which also yo havo received and wherein yo stand ; by which also ye jto 
 saved, if yo iioep in memory what I preached unto you, unless yo havo be- 
 lieved in vain." — 1 Cor., xv. 1-2. 
 
 The "glorious Gospel of Christ,'' has been the theme of our ministry — a 
 Gospel "glorious" in ita origin, execution, aud application; "glorious" in 
 its subjects, objects, and results. This Gospel requires a conversation in 
 harmony with its character and aims. Conversation, as commonly used 
 amongst us, is limited to our intercourse with one another through the organs 
 of speech. As used by the Apostle, it includes aa well the temper of tlio 
 mind and the tenor of the deportment. It embraces the whole man, as whero 
 ho says — " Having your conversation in Heaven." " Be ye holy in all manner 
 of conversation." The expression " conversation " literally means citizenship, 
 and the duty enjoined is that of a behaviour in accordance with tho rules 
 and regulations prevailing in tho City of the living God — tho Heavenly 
 Jerusalem. Let your conduct harmonize with tho laws of that Divine code, 
 which forms tho unerring Statute Book for tho guidance of those who are tho 
 citizens of no mean city." 
 
 Tho Gospel is not a shadowy sapless, unpractical thing, to be taken ofl" 
 and put on with one's Holy Day attire, or hung up like yon bell in its lonely 
 and lofty elevation, silent through the week, and sounding only ou the 
 Sabbath. From us should " sound out tho word of tho Lord " through tho 
 day of labor likewise. Tho Gospel which wo preach and you profess, followg 
 you to tho bosom of tho domestic circle, to the bench of labor, to tho mai t 
 of commerce, through all the varying scenes of changeful life. It la\ s down 
 the principles of personal, family and social government. It prescribes 
 "laws from Heaven for life on earth." And if asked to compress into a 
 sentence the substance of our wishes in your behalf we could not embody 
 them in a better form than this — " Only, lot your conversation be as it be. 
 Cometh tho Gospel of Christ' 
 
 The general duty, as wo havo seen, divides itself into three particular 
 duties on which, in what follows, it will be our special object to dwell. These 
 duties are Steadfastness, Striving and Unity— that yo stand fast and strive 
 together, and that ye do both " in one spirit, with one mind." 
 
I. STeADFA8TK.'.9fl.— "That ye stand fast" A veering, Tacilating lifo 
 is a vain nnd usoless one. '* Unstable as water tliou shalt not excel." 
 lu Hpite of all h'<4 generons impulses and morning cloud goodness* 
 Reuben's instability proved his bane, pnd prevented his excelling in any 
 department Ho had no fixedness of principle or purpose. Thus it is 
 with many. As in these last da} :*, perilous tim have come, it is more 
 than ever nfcersa., that ye bo "steadfast, unmovable," r^the rock against 
 which the Ocorn billows d' ^h, and over which tho fierce Euroclydons 
 sweep in vain, rnd not, as ho that waveroth: like a wave of tho sea, driven 
 by the wind end tos. )d. "Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, and 
 longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly 
 beloved." — (rv. i.) In those prirJiplei which ye have been taught, 
 and which it b's been the object of our ministry tj expound, standfast. 
 With unswerving fidelity, cling t3 those great fundamental doctrines, of 
 xa'n by the fnU ; redemption by Christ, and regeneration by the Holy 
 Spirit They balong to what Jude styles, " the common salvation;" t'lat 
 salvation, which is not the exclusive property of piy one of the Evan- 
 gelical Churches, but which is the common property of all; which 
 overleaps the narrow limits of r^ct and party, and forms the goodly 
 heritage of the entire Chilst'an brotherhood. Stand fast in your adherence 
 to what are known distinctively as the doctrinet of our Church. The sov. 
 ereignity of God and the responsibility of man. The great Atoning Bacrifico of 
 Christ, a perfect satisfaction to the distributive Justice of Ood, in the virtue 
 and value of it, sufficient for all, but, in the actual application of it, efficient 
 only for some. Human diligence and Divine dependence. Man's total 
 depravity, and the inability under which, consequently he labors, to do 
 anything as of himself, liie absolute necessity for God to work all our 
 works in us; to work in us both to will and to do; to begin the good 
 work of grace in the heart, as well rj to carry it forward, by progressive 
 stages unto the day of J-ius Christ That whom the Lord loveth, He 
 loveth to the end; that none shall be able t) separate from that love: that 
 they shall never perish, being kept by the mighty power of God. 
 These are among the truths "most surely be)<ev: I by ust" on 
 which we have loved t) dwell, and in the be'-'ef of which wr, 
 would afiectionately coun^.^l you to "standfast" Calvininn or Calvinis.'c, 
 men call them, but they are more properly PauHnian or Biblican, for it 
 was the province of that marvellors Frenchman, deemed by his cotamporari'^s 
 — at the age of 22 — ^the most Ic i ned man in Europe, and of whose v rltings 
 it is said a thoi'^and e.litions weid circulated during his lifetime, systamatlc- 
 olly to arrange, and Ivial lously and logically to expound those cardinal 
 doctrines which form tae staple of the Pauline Theology. These doctrines 
 bave bad graven on them at sundry times and divers manners the seal of 
 
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Diviae approval. They havo received the sanction of the goodly fellowHhip 
 of the Apostlofl and the noble anny of martyrs. In thoir favor God's hidden 
 ones, the good, &c., witueasod a good confoHsiou. The llpforniors before the 
 Rnfurmution testified of these, and as for the giunts of thosii duys themselves, 
 they preached no other Gosi)el than this. Those were the sunorons blastrt 
 from the silver trumpet, on which the rust of the Dark Ages had leathered 
 — the trumpet which gives no uncertain sound, but wliich had been so long 
 chained to monastic walls, with which they woke up the world from th'3 sleep 
 of centuries. 
 
 Calvi.v but removed the rubbish that had gathered round tlie true foun- 
 dation ; ho but brought out in illuminated characters those portions of the 
 precious parchments which superstition had distorted and dimmed. In this 
 respect, his pen was mightier than the sceptre of Charlemangc, or the sword 
 of Napoleon. Even the enemies themselves being judges, the illustrious 
 (jreuevan wielded a power which reached the extremities of Christendom 
 His line has gone forth over all the earth. A writer in the " Westminster 
 Review," the great literary organ of the infidels, which no one will ever suspeet 
 of Calvinistic proclivities or sympathies, acknowledges that Calvin "saved the 
 Reformation," " sowed the seeds of liberty in Europe," and "ev )ked a moral 
 energy which Christianity had not felt since the era of persecution." Though 
 confessing an " implacable antipathy to," and a " personal hate " of Calvin, 
 he nevertheless says : — "The peculiar ethical temper of Calviui::ja is precisely 
 that of primitive Christianity, of the catacomb and the desert, and was created 
 under the same stimulants." 
 
 In the doctrines of our Church then, which arc substantially those of 
 the leading reformed Churches of Christendom — " stand fast." The members 
 of this community will do me the justice to acknowledge that I have not 
 been in the habit of offensively obtruding on their notice, the features of 
 our Presbyterian polity. But I would be recreant to principles to which I 
 have sworn allegiance, and chargeable with a cowardice which the keenest 
 opponent of these principles would despise, did I fail, because good kind 
 friends from other Churches I esteem and revere, have favored us with their 
 presence, to exhort you to "stand fast" in your attachment to what are 
 known as peculiarly Presbyterian principles. These principles we believe 
 to be founded on the Word of Clod, where the Jewish synagogue with its 
 bench of elders is presented to us as the model of the new Tostanieut 
 Church. 
 
 Their grand outlines are observable amongst those Christian communi- 
 ties which were free-est from the leaven of that mystery of iniquity, which 
 even in Apostolic times did already work. These principles were held by 
 the refugees from the ten bloody persecutions of the old Roman Empire 
 
rm 
 
 10 
 
 Vigilantiua and his followers, who noblj protested against the growing 
 corruptions of the Church in the fourth century, held them. The Paulicians 
 of the seventh century held them, and fled to the frowning fastnesses of the 
 Alps to escape the wrath of the adherents of the hierarchy. They were 
 the principles of the original Church in England, for when Augustine, the 
 Monk, was sent thither from Rome, in the seventh century, he found Chuvches 
 planted that had existed since the first century, and which, it is believed, 
 were planted by Paul when he •' took his journey into Spain." These ofiered 
 the stoutest resistance to the Papal aggression. 
 
 Even three centuries thereafter, Elfric — a Saxon bishop — in announcing 
 the orders of Church officero, insists on the elder and bishop being of equal 
 rank, and names the elder first. " There is no more diflerence between him 
 and the Bishop. Both indeed are one and the same order." 
 
 The first form which Christianity assumed in Ireland WfiS Presbyterianism. 
 Succat — a Scotchman — afterwards called Patricius, now St. Patrick, planted 
 in that lovely island 365 churches, to each of which he assigned a Bishop or 
 Presbyter, with a bench of elders for the government of the Church ; and 
 the historians of Ihese early days, when Ireland was known as the ''Island 
 of Saints," and was a centre of light to the world, assure us " their churches 
 were modelled like all other Apostolicu! churches, after the Jewish 
 synagogue." , 
 
 The Culdees, whose Theological Seminary at lona was the source whence 
 the religion of Jesus circulated through Scotland, were Presbyterians 
 Columba, the Irishman who paid back to Scotland the debt which his 
 then favored island owed to Patrick the Scotchman, sowed in concert with 
 twelve Presbyters, the seeds of Presbyterianism in that land, which is now 
 its headquarters. The great Reformation gave to it a mighty impetus. 
 With marvellous rapidity it spread over the European continent, and now 
 it has secured a foothold in almost every nation under heaven. Martyr 
 memories gather round it It has been true to the ancient motto — " the 
 bush burning, but never consumed." 
 
 Among our honored fathers we rank " God's slaughtered saints, whose 
 bones lie scattered on the Alpine mountains coid." The Israel of the Alps, 
 in whom was fulfilled the Patmos seer's vision of the woman fleeing into 
 the wilderness to escape the Papal Dragon, preserved amid the smiling 
 valleys of Piedmont, and the rugged grandeur of those everlasting hills 
 which stood aa watchful sentinels over their peaceful homes, preserved in 
 their primitive purity, those time honored principles which are dear to the 
 hearts of all Presbyterians, till the myrmidons of the Papacy came down like 
 wolves en the fold, and, for thy sake, O Jesus, they were killed all the day 
 long, and were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
 
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 The Covenanters of Scotland and the North of Ireland served them 
 selves heirs to the Waldenses of the Oothan Alps. 1'hey were tortured 
 not accepting deliverance. They had trials of cruel raockings and sconrgl 
 ings. Yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment, raid perils of waters, mid 
 perils of the wilderness, mid perils among false brethren, mid wearyings and 
 painfulness and watchings often, and hunger and thirst and cold, and naked- 
 ness, did they testify and witness a good confession. Many a lowly cairn 
 and moss grown stone and blood dyed hillock form a mute memorial of 
 the "great meetings" of that crowd of witnesses. Be worthy sons of such 
 worthy sires. Barter not away privileges wrung from the grasp of crowned 
 and mitred tyranny at such a price. Set a high value on principles which 
 have made so many lives sublime and so many deaths glorious. 
 
 Especially in those last times when latitudinarianism is rife, and hydra- 
 headed error stalks abroad, and so much that is plausible is in circulation 
 to entrap tlie unwary. Be sober, be vigilant Hold fast the form of sound 
 words. St;iiid ye in the ways and see, ask for the old paths ; where is the 
 good wiy, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 
 
 Stand fiist in yovv personal attachment to the living and loving Christ. 
 You have this day, anew, joined yourselves to Him in an everlasting 
 Covenant Each of you that has named the name of Christ, is pledged to 
 stand fast " I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back." 
 " Should Buch an one as I flee ?" Hold fast the profession of your faith with- 
 out wavering. If others turn back, like Orpah, unto their people and theii' 
 gods, be it yours with the tendency and tenacity of Ruth, to cleave unto 
 Jesus as the beloved of your souls. With purpose of heart, " cleave unto 
 the Lord" " Therefore, iake unto you the whole armour of God, that yo 
 may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." 
 
 II. The second special duty enjoined is that of 
 
 Stkiving. — " Striving together for the faith of the Gospel." Let there 
 be a striving together to secure this inestimable blessing. Of no avail will 
 it be for you to know that there is bread enough and to spare, if you do not by 
 an appropriating faith, feed on Him whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose 
 blood is drink indeed ; or, that there is a balm in Gilead and a physician 
 there, if you do not, by a personal application, test the value of that great 
 Physician, and the virtue of that healing balm. Nor is the faith of tho 
 Gospel to be got without a struggle. Why do we sit still ? Why stand ye 
 all the dry idle ? Heaven is not to be gained on flowery beds of euae. Vaiu 
 wishes will not do. There must be energetic, persistent eflforta. He that 
 would reach the Celestial City must run for it The Kingdom of Heaven 
 must sufier violence, ^e in earnest, that all of vou may obtaia like procious 
 
raith with those of whom we have reason, with some measure of confidence, 
 to say — " What is our joy or crown of rejoicing ? Are not eren ye in the 
 presence of our Lord Jesus at hi^^ coming ?" One thing is needful. It is the 
 " principal thing." Mind it Seeic it first. Kesolvo what to do. Let this 
 be the one thing you desire and earnestly seek after. " This one thing T do. 
 Btkivk (agonize) to enter in at the straight gate. 
 
 " Strive together '' also for the support of the Gospel. Its interest 
 arc entrusted to your keeping, its institutions claim your countenance. Keep 
 your foot from the Sabbath from doing your pleasure on God's holy day. 
 Count it a delight. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as 
 the manner of some is. Be regular and reverent in your attendance on 
 ordinances. Thomas, called Didymus, onTof the Twelve, missed much by 
 being not with them when Jesus came. 
 
 Strive together for the support of the Prayer Meeting. It is the ther- 
 mometer of the Church. Rejoice in such a blessed break and breathing time 
 through the week. Be willing to watch with Jesus one hour. 
 
 Strive together for the support of the Sabbath School. It i'^ the nursery 
 of the Church. By volunteering as Teachers, by occasional visiting, by sec. 
 iiig that your children attend, and that they learn the prescribed lessons, by 
 Kpeakiug in its favour, by giving ana praying in its behalf, you may do much 
 to promote the progress of an institution which is essential almost to the 
 being, at least to the well-being of our Church. 
 
 Closely linked with the Sabbath School is the Baud of Hope. It has 
 already done not a little to indoctrinate our young people into the principles 
 of a Bible temperance, and to give them an abhorrence from ihe most suscep- 
 {i')Io pjriod of life, of that accursed thing which is shattering the constitu- 
 tion, staining the character, rifling the pockets, beggaring the families, ruin- 
 i iig the souls of such vast multitudes. When the enemy, in this form, " comes 
 ill like a flood," a fiery flood, on whose bosom so many from within the 
 >sacred fences of the Church and the home are being floated downwai-ds to 
 tlie lake that burneth — it behooves every lover of his Saviour and of his kind 
 by the help of the Lord, to lift up a standard against him. Strive together 
 to '' take away this reproach from Israel " — to roll away this stone from tho 
 door of the sepulchre, where the entombed lie " twice dead," a stone this 
 which has been the heaviest crusher of human hearts and hopes, with which 
 we ai'e acquainted, and the most formidable obstacle to the progress amongst 
 us " of the faith of the Gospel." 
 
 In these "perilous times" in which so many are departing from the 
 truth — some even whom we supposed had obtained sure anchorage, drifting 
 from their moorioffs ftnd " moved away from the hope of the Gospel" — it 
 
 ' 
 
\ 
 
 I 
 
 , 
 
 "13 
 
 becomes more than ever necessary that yo be " striviug together " for it« 
 defence. We fear not the issue in the coming struggle. We know ihut no 
 weapon formed against the Gospel faith shall ever prosper, and that the 
 weapons now wielded by the mustering forces of the enemy arc but the old 
 ones that have been shivered into fragments time and again, re-formed and re- 
 furbished ; the ancient cannon that have been spiked or turned on the retreat- 
 ing foe, re-moulded and re-mounted. Recent attacks have owed almost every- 
 thing to the fact that they have come from unexpected quarters. They have 
 had the power of a masked battery. Passing strange that the armour of a 
 Voltaire and a Volney should glitter through academic robes and prclatic 
 vestments. But the blessed "faith of the Gospel," which hxs borne for 
 thousands of years *'tho battle and the breeze " of scepticism, of scorn, o^ 
 every conceivable species of opposition, which times without number ha.s been 
 weighed in the balances but never found wanting, which has shown its power 
 of adaptation to every order of intellect, to every rank in society, to every 
 description of temp'' and taste, which has been put into the crucible only to 
 have the lustre of its Divine image and superscription more clearly seen, and 
 the ring of its true metal more distinctly heard, is not to be summarily got rid 
 of by a few oracular utterances of pretentious dogmatism or petty figuriugs 
 in the Rule of Three. 
 
 That ye may stand, however, in this evil day, it is necessary that ye be 
 clothed in the whole armour of God, ye contend earnestly for the faith onco 
 delivered to the Saints, and be able to give to everyone that asketli, a reason 
 of the hope that is in you. It will not do to trust in the tradition of the 
 elders or to pin your faith to the dictum of mere human authority. A hered- 
 itary, second-hand religion will go down in the clash of cOi. Lending opinions. 
 But he that believeth, hath the witness in himself. Standing on the impreg- 
 nable, imperishable Rqck, against which the waves of error dash in vain, and 
 the gates of hell can never prevail, you may boldly say — 
 
 "Should all the forms that men devise, - 
 
 Assail my faith with treacherous art, 
 
 I'd call them vanity and lies 
 And bind the Gospel to my heart." 
 
 It is our heart's desire and prayer also, that ye be striving together for the 
 diffusion of the Gospel. While holding fast, it becomes you to hold forth the 
 Word of Life. This day is to us a day of good tidings. If we hold onr 
 peace, mischief shall befal us. How can we endure to sec the destruction that 
 shall come upon our kindred. Rousing ourselves from our lethargy, let us 
 haste to the rescue, if so be that the Lord may have mercy upon them, that 
 they perish not. We are verily guilty concerning our brother, if when we Sbu 
 the anguish of his soul, we refuse to hearken. If we altogether hold our 
 
14 
 
 peace, ibon shall enlargement and deliverance come to them From another 
 source, and who knows but that we have come to the Kingdom for such a 
 time OS this ? 
 
 If we be not striving together for this end, the opportunity may go past. 
 The Macedonian cry is wafted on every breeze. Time is pressing. Souls are 
 perishing. A dying world pleads pitifully in the ears of a slumbering Church. 
 If she responds not to the appeal — " awake, awake !" — the Master may come 
 as when the torches of his foes flickered amid the trees of the Garden of Agony, 
 and flashed on the half-awakened eyes of the drowsy disciples, and say — " Sleep 
 on now, and take your rest." The chance of watching with me, of working for 
 me, is gone. I have no further need of your services. It is enough. The 
 hour is come. I will not let you labor for me. " I will take no bullock out 
 of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy fold." So stone will I privilege you 
 with putting in that great living temple whose foundations were laid on 
 Calvary, and whose top-stone will be brought forth with shoutings of " grace, 
 grace," unto it 
 
 iix. Unity. — " In one spirit, of one mind." No conversation can be 
 more unbecoming the Gospel of Christ than when its professors fall out by 
 the way, instead of endeavoring to be of one mind. Amid the heat of 
 debate and the hurricane of human passion, too often the still small voice of 
 love incarnate has been drowned, and the Heavenly Dove haa been driven 
 away. Hence the exhortation — " Watch ye, stand fast iu the faith, quit you 
 like men, be strong," which rings like a trumpet blast in the ears of the 
 many weak, and sickly and slumbering Corinthians, is immediately followed 
 up by the important appendix — " Let all your things be done with charity." 
 In his affecting farewell to these same Corinthians — " Be perfect, be of good 
 comfort" — is succeeded by the exhortation — " Be of one mind, live in peace." 
 Sectarianism had eaten, as doth a canker, into the Corinthian Church. 
 Parties had been formed, who made tests of their respective shibboleths, and 
 ranged themselves under different party banuei-s. One said — '' I am of Paul, 
 and I of ApoUos." , ' • 
 
 This v/m in direct antagonism with the spirit of the veteran Apostle 
 who had drunk in so much of the mind that was iu Him — the burden of 
 whose intercession, commenced in the upper room and continued in the upper 
 bet vens waa, " that they all might be one." View him on his knees pleading 
 with those who were disposed to be querulous and quarrelsome,' to study the 
 things that make for peace. " And now, I beseech you, brethren, by the name 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ — (and the simple mention of that holy name by 
 which they were called was enough to quench the smoking flax of pride and 
 passion) that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no division 
 among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together, iu the same mind and in 
 the same judgement." 
 
 i 
 
 

 I 
 
 ' I 
 
 Hence, too, the affecting appeal — " If there be, therefore, any consola- 
 tion in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any 
 bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy ; that ye be like-minded, having the same 
 love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife, 
 and vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than 
 themselves." — Phil. ii-1:2:3. 
 
 " Be yo of the same mind one toward another. Now the God of 
 patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another, 
 according to Christ Jesns." — Rom. xii-16:xv-5. It was thus with the Prim- 
 itive Christians fresh from the altar of Calvary, where each had received a 
 live coal. They were all with one accord in one place. " The nmltitude of 
 them that believed were of one heart and of one soul." We have tried to hold 
 up this spirit as worthy of all imitation. We have tried to exemplify it in our 
 intercourse with the ministers and members of other denomiuations. If it 
 be possible as much as lieth in u.«, we have wished to live peaceably with 
 all men. Wherin we have failed, let it be put down to human infirmity and 
 not charged to the religion we profess. 
 
 Let not this Unity, however, be misapprehended, as if it was expected 
 that all should think alike, and losing all individuality, be cast in the same 
 iron mould, and conformed to the same stereotyped rule. No two blades of 
 grass are formed alike. No two faces precisely resemble one another- 
 Charles II, the world-renowned Emperor of Germany, after an active and 
 stirring life, retired to a monastery, where he amused himself by constructing 
 clocks. The ICmperor is said to have expressed no less regret than astonish- 
 ment at the remembrance of his own folly, in having used such violent mea" 
 sures, to make about twenty millions of people agree in their religious senti- 
 ments, when he found, after repeated experimentrf, with all his skill, he was 
 unable to make two clocks go exactly alike for any length of time. There 
 may be difference without opposition, variety without discord, shades of 
 difference without any real diversity of sentiment. 
 
 The nearer we come to the great centre, like the spokes in the wheel, 
 the neai'er we come to one another. I have more affinities with a Methodist, 
 or Baptist or Episcopalian that is a Christian, than with a Presbyterian who 
 is not a Christian. Love the Brotherhood, then ; and let your love be witL" 
 out dissimulation. If truly united to Him of whom the whole family in heaven 
 and earth is named, then you will realize that there is one body and one 
 spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of jour calling, one Lord, one faith, 
 one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, 
 and in you all. 
 
 For the divisions of Reuben there should be great searchings of heart 
 A brave British tar mentioned to the Rev. Mr. Williams that the keenest 
 
f 
 
 struggle in which he was ever engaged was wheOi in the darkness, the 
 vessel to which he belonged ran foul of another British vessel. Cannon 
 roared, and cutlasses flashed, till the first streaks of early dawn revealed tho 
 same dear old flag flying at each mast-head, and fluttering over decks smear- 
 ed with fraternal blood. Time was when, withont such plea, those 
 enlisted under the banner of Christ have attacked each other with equal 
 fierceness, and with the same disastrous consequences. 
 
 It comes within the scope of our text, also, to counsel you that ye be " at 
 peace amongst yourfc,elves." We have nmch ground for gratitude that 
 diversities in our previous national and ecclesiastical connexions, or those 
 differences v'hich are inseparable from the faithful government of the Church, 
 have not in the least prevented the uniform manifestation amongst us of that 
 " one spirit and one mind," which the Apostle inculcates. Thank Cod, Dio- 
 trepheses have here found no place, and we trust they never will. When 
 bereft of a stated pastoral 8ui)erintendauce, causes of variance sometimes 
 arise, and there are those who wait for your halting, who would love to have 
 il so. See that ye i'all not out by the way. Let all bitterness, and wrath, 
 and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you. Where envying and 
 strife is, there is confusion and every evil work, and in such an element the 
 Lamb of God and the Dove of Heaven cannot dwell! Behold how good and 
 how jileasaut a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in Unity. In all 
 your intercourse one with another, cultivate that charity which sufl'ereth long 
 and is kind, which rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, which 
 beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth al' 
 things. 
 
 We stand this day, my dear friends, in peculiarly solemn circumstances. 
 The sacred tie, which for nearly twelve years, has bound us together, is now 
 severed. We no longer sustain to one another the close and endearing 
 relation of pastor and people. It may not be out of place in me to glance 
 with the utmost brevity at the steps taken in the bringing about of this 
 change. Towards the end of December I received the first formal notice of 
 the Call from the Chicago congregation. I took tho earliest opportunity 
 of meeting with the Session and informing them of it. We had the most 
 frank and friendly conference. The Call came into the hands of tde Presby- 
 tery. It remained for it to adopt the course customary in all such cases 
 The congregation were t:ummoued to appear for their interests and to show 
 cause, if they saw fit, why the translation should not take place. You are 
 aware of what followed. It was not in my power to express my views 
 openly till the matter came up again before the Presbytery for final settle- 
 ment Had I brought it before the congregation myself I would have 
 fallen into a double error. I would have erred in the first place by giving 
 vent to my mind before it was made up; by coming out with an opioiou 
 
17 
 
 formed on insufficient grounds, when I had not an opportunity of hearis|f 
 both parties and seeing both sides. 
 
 I would have erred, in the second place, by virtually taking the 
 matter out of the hands of the Presbytery, and forestalling its action. 
 It is a fundamental principle of our time-honored system of Church 
 Government, that in all such matters the Pastor does not deal directly 
 with the people. The Presbytery stands between. It is with that 
 Court he has to do. Had I acted, therefore, otherwise tlan I did, I 
 would not merely have been guilty of rashness in committing myself 
 before the time, but would have seriously deviated from the letter and 
 spirit of that constitution to which, when ordained, I took the oath of 
 allegiance, and thus laid myself open to the accusations of my consciene* 
 and the censures of the Church. I have deemed it right to allude to- 
 this, for your satisfaction and my own vindication, as several of yon,. 
 I understand, have supposed that I should, at an earlier stage in th« 
 proceedings, have nnburdened myself to you. I trust you may be enabled 
 on reflection, to discover that by such a line of procedure I would hare 
 seriously compromised, and would have failed to act out the Apostolic 
 precept, of letting all things be done decently and in order. 
 
 Into the reasons which have prompted my decision, it is unnecessary 
 now to enter. I stated them to the Presbytery, and most of you are 
 familiar with them. I trust, however much any of you may differ with 
 me on the merits of the case, you will give me credit for sincerity and 
 conscientiousness. I have no mercenary or personal objects to gain, . 
 I will not have any more wordly ease or emoluments where I am going 
 than where I have been. Were I to confer with flesh and blood, on many 
 accounts it might be thought better to remain. But we must not consult 
 our own feelings where duty is concerned. After mature and prayer- 
 ful consideration, it is my decided convictions that it is my duty to go. 
 I am not my own. Bought with a price, I am the property of another,, 
 whose will I must acknowledge, whose work I must do. I am under 
 authority, and if my Master says "go," or "come," I am not at liberty tO) 
 resist: I must act accordingly. I am perfectly aware that a frail and 
 fallible creature may err in interpreting the Master's mind in such a case as 
 this ; that many elements may enter in to dim the eye and warp the 
 judgment It has been my wish to lie passive in His hands, to mark the 
 developments of His Providence. " What would'st thou have me to do 7" 
 has been my prayer. I feel that I would not be justified in refusing a 
 Call which seemed to bear hie seal 
 
 Such a season as this is solemn and suggestive. It throws us back 
 on the past It touches the springs of feeling. It induces sifting self 
 
 kn;Mf I 
 
18 
 
 Bcratiuj', Twolvo yoarn, six hundrefl Sabbaths, between forty ami fifty 
 Comrauuiou seasons ! What u field for contemplation is here opened up. 
 For our own part, we look back with deep humiliation, and yet with 
 lively gratitude. We have been with you in weakness and in fear, and 
 in much trembling. Duties and trials have pn^ssed on ns, which have made 
 as feel ♦' who id sufficient for these thing.s,'" We are humbled at the 
 thought that we have done comparatively so little, and that iu so much 
 there has been seen in us uu end of all perfection. 
 
 We might have boon more plain and pointed In dealiug with 
 soqIs; wiser in order to win th«ra; more earnest an(i affectionate in warning 
 tbem to flee from the wrath to come. The thought of some who have 
 left the town, or launched out on an uuprovidtd for eternity during the 
 period of our ministry, but whom we did not beseech even weeping. 
 This thought is a crushing one. Would that we could say on parting 
 ■with you as Paul did ou parting with his Ephesiau friends at Miletus — 
 "I am clean from the blood of all men." I can only pray, ''Deliver mo 
 from blood guiltiness, O God." We are humbled when we think 
 that more spiritual fruit has not resulted from theite years of labor, and 
 the opportuuitiea of usefulness that have been missed. We know God 
 often orders it that "one sowoth and another reapeth," and that he may 
 have wise reasons for withholding visible tokens of success. But we know 
 also that this consideration is often used as an opiate to lull conscience 
 aad to paralyse effort. We would be far from sheltering ourselves under 
 it But the retrospect makes us thankful too. We are thankful 
 for the health and strength so seldom interrupted and impaired 
 during our ministry among you ; we are thankful lor the ex- 
 perience we have gained ; we are thankful for the many acta 
 of kindness we have received, the remembrance of which no lapse of 
 time will ever efface. We leave behind us friends who are wound 
 round our hearts by indissoluble bonds, whose superiors iu warmth and 
 generosity of attachment we expect nowhere to meet; and on the seasons 
 of intercourse we have enjoyed, with whom we shall ever look lingeringly 
 back as among the greenest spots in our wilderness journey. 
 
 We are thankful for the state of comparative prosperity in which 
 ire leave you. ^Ve are thankful that our labors have not been altogether 
 in vain in this town and neighborhood. We are thankful for many 
 brought within the pale of the Church, and we trust savingly converted, 
 as well as for others comforted and confirmed. We are thankful for the 
 success of the feeble efforts put forth in behalf of the young, and 
 tokens for good, in other departments, shown us. We are thankful for 
 the fine specimens of practical Christianity we have met with beyond our 
 jown congregation, and the pleasure and profit we have had in co-operating 
 
 i 
 
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i 
 
 19 
 
 with them iu works of faith ami labors of love. We are thankful that 
 however imperfectly we have been enabled to preach to you, what wo 
 conceivv- to be the pure Gospel of Christ, wo think we can honestly say- 
 that we have shunned not to declare to you the counsel of God. We have 
 expounded to you no inconsiderable portiou of the New Toatameut, and 
 several portions of the old. We have discoursed either iu a systematic 
 or separate form on all the prominent doctrines of the Christian system. 
 We have made the Cross our centre; this Cross with the divine sufferer 
 it bore, and the precious truths that gather round it, we have endeavored 
 to hold up before you. We would not miss this last chance of entreat- 
 ing you to look to Calvary, to behold the bleeding Lamb, to look to him ere 
 it be too late, and be saved. Are there not some who have occupied 
 these pews during these twelve years, and hundreds of Sabbaths, of whom 
 I have told you often, and now tell you once more, that they are enemies to the 
 Cross of Christ. In that Cross thoy do not glory. It is to them a stumbling 
 block and foolishness, and into these things which arrest the flight and 
 attract the gaze of Angels, they desire not to look. How often has God 
 spoken to you in His word and by His Providence ! What solemn scenes 
 and seasons we look back on ! We have been with you when stretched 
 on the couch of sickness. We have seen the flower wither on its steni, and the 
 stock of corn fall fully ripe and be gathered into the garner. Through ex- 
 periences like these have we passed; and have they not all a voice ? You are 
 appealed to on all sides ; decide at once; delay not a moment; how long halt 
 ye. Yonder stands the cross, with the bright star of hope over it; yonder the 
 crucified one, revealing his hands and his side, and crying so meltingly, 
 — Behold me — behold me — turn ye — turn ye. 
 
 Another Minister will soon fill this pulpit; the voice you have 
 been in the habit of hearing, you will listen to no longer. The les- 
 sons we have attempted to teach, may speedily be forgotten. But there 
 is one thing we would wish you to remember, that our last opportunity 
 of speaking to you, was devoted to commending the Cross, that our last 
 
 accents were expended in praying you in Christ's stead, to be reconciled 
 to God. 
 
 " And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His 
 grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among 
 all them which are sanctified." " Only let your conversation be, as it be- 
 cometh the Gospel of Christ ; that whether I come and see you, or else be 
 absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one 
 mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel." 
 
 "Finally, brethren. Farewell ! Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of 
 one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you.' 
 
 AMEN AND AMEN.