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 Fliotographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporalion 
 
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 Un daa aymboiaa auh/anta apparattra aur la 
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 ADOBE8SED TO THE 
 
 i(fiiftfc«n ]9te0li||tftf«n Socfetff^ 
 
 or 
 
 mONTREAIi, Ii« C. 
 
 BT J. S. CimiSTHAS, PASTOR OF SAID SOCIETY. 
 
 PUBLIIHID BT THE 
 
 * 
 
 AMERICAN rRESBTTERUN SOOIETT. 
 
 roBw-TORK : 
 
 i»RnrrBi> bt e. conrad, 
 
 octobeh 18OT» 
 
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VALB9Z0T0RT ABMOMZTZOirS ; 
 
 OR A 
 
 FARE^I^EIiL LETTER, 
 
 ADDRESSED TO THE 
 
 ^metfcan ^vtuf^sUviun Sotfets, 
 
 or 
 
 JHONTREAL, 1j. C. 
 
 BY J. S. CHRISTMAS, PASTOR OF SAID SOCIETY. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 
 AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY. 
 
 NKW-YORK : 
 
 PRINTED BY E. CONRAD, 
 
 OCTOBER 182S. 
 
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FAREWELL LETTER. 
 
 TO THE V 
 
 AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY OF !>IONTREAL< 
 
 MY DEAR BRETHREN, 
 
 It is required by custom, that a minister, when 
 about to retire from the pastoral care of a people, who may 
 see his face no more, should improve the solenm occasion 
 by taking such a review of the responsibihties of the past, 
 as may with the divine blessing, result favourably upon 
 tiie destinies of the future. Reason and feeling, alike as- 
 sent to the propriety of what custom has required. If ever 
 the monitions of a parent are likely to impress the heart of 
 a wayward child, it is when all his sensibilities having 
 stirred within him, he yet lingers on the threshold, ere he 
 takes his journey to a far country. If ever the instruc- 
 tions of the Apostle of the Gentiles fell with the weight 
 of eternity, upon a people, among whom he had '' gone 
 preaching the kingdom of God, by the space of three 
 years," it was when bound in spirit, he gave them his 
 valedictory charge, just before he went up to Jerusalem 
 for the last time. An illness, that has wasted my strength 
 in the midst of my way, and during the last few days of 
 my continuance among you, brought me to look over the 
 crumbling verge of life, deprived me of tiie opportunity 
 of mingling my sympathies with yours, of uttering the 
 parting monitions of solicitude, and giving the last expres- 
 sions to affection, in the ordinary way. Now that I have 
 gained a little strength, my own inclination and your re- 
 quest, powerfully prompt me, to adopt the substitute of 
 sending you by letter, what, 1 should have been glad to 
 have delivered in person. 
 
 
 
 m: 
 
4 
 
 ^ 
 
 As it is of some imporluncc, tiiat tlic reason of my sepa- 
 ration from you, should be distinctly understood by you 
 all ; and as my last imperlect communication written from 
 a sick bed, was read in the hearing of but a portion of Ihc 
 congregation, 1 choose on this occasion to repeat its con- 
 tents. 
 
 When I first consented to become your pastor, it was 
 from the conviction, that the Providence of God, which 
 had brought me among you, almost in spite of my own 
 wishes, had clearly designated the field 1 was to occupy. 
 And tho' when mine eyes behold the King, the Lord of 
 Hosts, I cry •' Woe is me, 1 am undone, for I am a man 
 of unclean lips ;" tho' in the presence of divine equity, I 
 feel myself at best, but an unprofitable servant, still, 1 have 
 been more and more convinced, that the finger of God 
 was in the arrangement. When the peculiar difficulties, 
 and immense importance of the station, together with the 
 youth, and inexperience of him, who was called to fill it, 
 are considered, in connexion with the fact of his being sus- 
 tained and blessed in his work, beyond your expectations, 
 or his own, you are forcibly reminded how much more you 
 are indebted to the goodness of Providenco.lhan tlie wisdom 
 of your choice; and he is solemnly and attcctingly bound 
 to give the glory to God, " for his mercy and truth's sake." 
 If the enlargement and stability of your congregation, the 
 unembarrassed possession of a spacious and convenient 
 place of worship, the enjoyinenl of what you were once 
 strangers to — unity of heart, and harmony of counsel, the 
 shining of your lij^ht in darkness, which is beginning to 
 comprehend it, tho accession of moral strength, to the visi- 
 ble body of Christ, and the renovation of many immortal 
 minds, whom the lledeemer, after they have been fashion- 
 ed, and polished, shall set, as jewels, in his mediatorial 
 crown; if these be just causes of thankfulness to Zion's 
 King, we will unite in adoring tlini, who once made use 
 of the clay in opening the eyes of the blind. 
 
 r.J 
 
But, brethren, iny work among you is done. Wliethcr 
 nny thing lurther remains for me to do in the world, 1 know 
 not; but the Head of the Cliurch, by the voice of Provi- 
 dence, now as clearly calls me away, as it once, appointed 
 my sphere of action in your part of the vineyard. The 
 grounds on which J thus conclude, are, mi/ present inabilily 
 to serve you,, and the unlikelihood that, I shall br. able to do 
 so, in future, amidst the peculiar pressure of the duties of 
 the station, and the unfavourable severity of the climate. 
 This, I aver, to be my only reason, lor seeking the dissolu- 
 tion of a connexion, which has for four years so happily 
 subsisted. I dt» it with the leluctanco of a Missionary, 
 who worn down in some foreign land, is driven from the 
 strong holds he had gained, to return and breathe his na- 
 tive air — an useless invalid. I do it with the feelings of a 
 soldier, whom his general commands from ' the high places 
 of the field,' to the ignoble employment of guarding the 
 encampment. 1 do it with all the laceration of affection, 
 which takes place in being severed from a people, who 
 have been so kind, and indulgent, as 1 can testify you to 
 have been. Notwithstanding the tide of prejudice, which 
 iv Canada sets strong, and steady against a man of my 
 country, and principles ; the civil disabilities, under which 
 a persecuting law lays me as a clergyman ;* the separa- 
 
 * For the information of those, who reside in thnt portion of the earth, 
 where the word toleration is stricken from the political vocabulary, (a word 
 implying that the immunities of conscience, are lirld at the discretion of 
 mercy, and not on the j^round of right,) and \ct may glance at these pages, 
 I add a few words in explanation of a suliject generally understood in Ca- 
 nada. By the statute of the Provincial Parliament, every clergyman is 
 bound to record every baptism, marriage, and funeral, in a book of a parti- 
 cular description, every folio of which, must be signed, and parnplie'd by a 
 judge of the King's bench ; and every clergyman, who shall perform any of 
 the clerical duties above mentioned, without making the record in the said 
 book is liable to a fine, and three inontiis Inipvisoument, for every such 
 offence. A regulation tiius salutary in determining the righti of succession, 
 
 # 
 
•'-■''5^. 
 
 tiuii from tiic Kympatliics of home, niul kiiuirrd : and IIk> 
 in^ivAi anioiiiit of ministerial lalK>nr, unnliived by ex- 
 changes, whicli my sohtary position lias imposed-, 1 could 
 feel ready to say, with the Monbitcssofold, " Where thou 
 diest, will 1 die, and tliere will 1 be buried : The Louu do 
 so to me, and more also, if aught, but death part me and 
 thee." But then again, I am warned, tiiat, it would not 
 be right to cumber the ground, whicli demands a more 
 
 und legitimacy in rumilies, was not complainctl of, until it was decided in 
 the Supcriour Court of Appeals at Quebec, (his honour, tlie Chief Justice 
 Sewall presiding) that tlie law by ctergi;men, and by every variety of ex- 
 pression, with whicli it designated clerical functionaries, meant none, but 
 miniilers uf the Roman Catholic Church, and the two estahliihed Churchei of 
 En'^land and Scotland', thus placing (tvery pastor, and congregation not con- 
 nected with tlinse bodies, under the necessity of incurring the penalties of 
 the law, or relinquishing privileges, which, both conscience and convenience 
 made highly important. For myself, willing to show my readiness to " ren- 
 der to Cesar the things which are Cesar's," I have always declined to cele- 
 brate marriage, c/ responsibly to ofTiciutc at a funeral, llicsc being no neces- 
 sary parts of ministerial duty, and the civil power having a right to regu- 
 late, even though it be arbitrarily, the discharge of mere civil functions : 
 yet feeling myself bound to " render to God the things which arc God's," 
 in virtue of the commission, whicli bids us " baptise all nations," as well a» 
 " preach tlie Gospel to every creature," I felt conscientiously impelled to 
 administer baptism, in the face of the law, and its penalty, and 1 must add, 
 to the honour of the liberality of the autlioritics of the district of Montreal, 
 that 1 have never been disturbed in the discharge of this duty. 
 
 A petition for the redress of tlie grievance, was presented to the Provin- 
 cial Parliament, in the winter of l8i2o, which passed unnnimonsly among the 
 Roman Catholic members of ihchouae, and was almost as unnnimously opposed 
 by the Protestant Episcopal representatives, and needed nothing to make it a 
 law, but tlie sanction of His Kxcellency the Earl of Dalhousie, who having 
 reserved it for the signification of his Majesty's pleasure, notliing further has 
 been heard of the humble petition, and religious rights of many thousands of 
 his Majesty's must loyal subjects. May it not be hoped, that this monopoly 
 of ecclesiastical privile{;c, this invasion of the rights of conscience, unpa- 
 ralleled in Britisii dominions, and the nineteenth century, will soon be en- 
 tombed in the grave where the bpirit of Knglisii liberty lins already con- 
 signed the Corporation and Test Acts, by the most august and public expres- 
 sion of the sense of the Empire. J. S. C. 
 
 ':^!' 
 
dVu ient lubouicr, nor rqui(al)Io to deprncl upon the good- 
 ness of a ppoplc, to w honi in my Iccble liculth 1 could ren- 
 der no c(|uivnlenl. The highest medical nuthorities, here 
 interposed to say, that a continuance of my parochial du- 
 ties would jeopard my life; and (he Highest Divine autho- 
 rity assured my conscience, that I had no right to throw 
 that life away. No longer able to hesitate, as to the path 
 of duly, 1 have given you notice that, " if the Lord will,'"* 
 I shall, at the ensuing autunmal session, of the first pres- 
 bytery of the city of Ncw-^'ork, make application for the 
 formal dissolution of the pastoral relation still subsisting 
 between us. This is an event, solemn and interesting to 
 us both. My ministry among you, with all its eternal, 
 and unchangeable consecjuences, is sealed up to the judg- 
 ment, when disclosures shall be made important, and tre- 
 mendous to every individual, who Ins in any way, come 
 beneath its influence ; to be benefited, or injured ; to be 
 enlightened, or exasperated ; to be awakened, or stupified 
 in the slumbers of spiritual death. The exhibition of 
 Christ is a test of human character, which never fails to 
 show a man ' what manner of spirit' he is of; and in 
 proportion to the fidelity, with which it is made, and the 
 vividness, with which the Holy Ghost applies that exhibi- 
 tion to the heart; does it concentrate the responsibility of 
 a moral agent, aggravate the guilt of the impenitent, acce- 
 lerate the process of hardening, or conversion, and con- 
 verge into the compass of a small moment, the scattered 
 influences, and the ordinary means of many years. That 
 such an era, happy or unhappy, has passed with many of 
 you, the continual and sometimes powerfully manifested 
 presence of llic Spirit of the living God among us, leaves 
 not a shadow of doubt. In trembling hope, we must leave 
 this subject to rest unexplored, till the Lion of the tribe of 
 Judah, shall open the seals of the book, and then ' shall 
 the thoughts of every heart be made manifest,' and * the 
 
 # 
 
 i 
 
8 
 
 day sliall dpclarc,' and tlie fire shall ' tiy every man's 
 work, of what sort it is.' 
 
 Meanwhile, it is not without anxiety, that I revert to 
 your present destitute condition. Yet let those, whose 
 hearts are trembling for the ark of God, in recollecting all 
 that is past, learn •' To trust him for all that's to come." 
 Has llie Lord brought you through the Red Sea, that he 
 might slay you in the wilderness, you, and your little ones? 
 How often when danger has threatened, has his over- 
 ruling Providence smiled, and seemed to say of the clus- 
 ter which the hand of the gleaner had not conveyed to his 
 basket, " Destroy it not : for there is a blessing in it." 
 jVly prayer is, that " 3'our eyes may soon see your teach- 
 er," that he may be a shc|)herd that " sliall feed you with 
 knowledge," one who shall 
 
 ' Deal sincerely with your souls 
 And preach the gospel for the gospel's sake,' 
 
 that upon the foundation already laid he may build witU 
 gold, silver, and precious stones, and that he may see the 
 temple of the Lord, in silent majesty arise until the top- 
 stone be laid, with the shoutings of" grace, grace unto it!" 
 Immense responsibility is devolved upon you, as a church 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though planted near the very 
 frontier of Christendom, you are situated in the New- York 
 of the North, already the centre of knowledge, and com- 
 merce, and soon to be the centre of political influence to 
 the Canadas. Your lot is cast in a land, here presenting 
 the interesting spectacle of the old feudal forms of society, 
 moved by the impulse of mind beneath, just beginning to 
 break up, from the long congealment of the wintry ages 
 gone by; and there, of another portion of the community, 
 warm with all the fermenting elements of modern activity, 
 about to re(;pive the stereotype impression, which the pre- 
 sent day sliall instamp on the present, and future genera- 
 tions. Was there ever an age, 1101 excepting the first, or 
 
 
 
9 
 
 the sixteenth centuries, presenting such a field for mordl. 
 influence, or richer in the budding; prospects of Millennial 
 maturity ? IVJy dear brethren, I am, above all things, 
 anxious that you should feel the spirit of the times, that 
 made acquainted with the hour of the day, you should no 
 longer sleep as do others, bul awake to put on the whole 
 armour of God. To ' seek the things which are Jesus 
 Christ's,' cordially to fall in with, and urge forward tlie 
 great plans of his benevolence ; is a higher, and a more 
 important object, than even to seek your own salvation. 
 The conquests of the church have, in other ages, been 
 made at the expense of />/oog< ,* her peaceful triumphs must, 
 now be sustained, by the tribute-money of her children. 
 The cause of Christ has needed the argument of patient 
 suffering ; it will now best be benefitted by the efforts of 
 self-denying activity. And if those, who now enrol them- 
 selves among the soldiers of the cross, have so little love 
 for the kingdom of Christ, that with great reluctance they 
 spare a pittance of the property entrusted to their steward- 
 ship, for the Gospel's sake, and the sake of all its blessed 
 successes ; with what cowardice, would they have shrunk 
 from the honourable dangers of those ranks, which, in 
 other ages, were daily filling up for martyrdom ? This is 
 a view of the conditions of discipleship, which should in- 
 duce " great searchings of heart" in the camp of Israel. 
 If a man will ' serve the Lord Christ,' he must lay himself 
 out for sacrifices, and ' prefer Jerusalem above his chief 
 joy.' And doing so, he will not be long, in this world of 
 misery and pollution, without finding some object, upon 
 which, he may expend the labour of love. If he cannot 
 give property, he may give personal exertion, and if dis- 
 abled from this, he may in the act of intercession, lay hold 
 on the arm of omnipotence, and bring down blessings, 
 which no gold can purchase, which no human agency can 
 supercede. If you esteem yourself but a drop in t ho ocean 
 of needed benevolence; " be a drop,^'' And if thro' your 
 
 
10 
 
 % 
 
 whole little orb, you lie open to tl>e bright bcuins of the 
 Sun of Righteousness, the highest angel in heaven could 
 ask no more. 
 
 Let me tiien charge you, with an earnestness commen- 
 surate with the importance of the duty, to give the whole 
 weight of your influence, the full measure of your co-ope- 
 ration, and the liberal contributions of your means, to the 
 various benevolent institutions which have been, within a 
 few years, organized, and are now benignly operating in 
 your ciiy, and the province at large. It is not needful for 
 me to enforce the various claims of the Bible Society, of 
 the Tract Society, the Sabbath School cause, or the Edu- 
 cation and Home Missionary Society. May they each 
 be like " a tree planted by the rivers of water, whose leaf 
 shall not wither, and which bringeth forth its fruit in its 
 season." May they obtain favour of the Lord, by finding 
 more grace, in the eyes of his people ; and scatter increas- 
 ing light, through all the dark places of a neglected land, 
 which may well be styled, " This is Zion, whom no man 
 seeketh after." There is yet another Society, which when 
 I left you was in its infant helplessness, in whose conti- 
 nued existence, and increasing efficiency, I feel a lively 
 interest; I mean, ' the Society for the promotion of Temper- 
 ance*'' The evil which it aims to remove, and which, were 
 the temperate united in its principles, it would be success- 
 ful in removing, are of giant magnitude, and no less afflic- 
 tive to the Christian, than painful to the mere philanthro- 
 pist. With a little activity among the officers of that So- 
 ciety, I would not despair of seeing all Canada meliorated 
 by its influence, in half a score of years. The progress of 
 puljlic sentiment on that subject, has been in these United 
 States unparalleled, in the history of principle triumphing 
 over custom, and crime. I have witnessed in a large 
 parish, where two years since strong drink was an almost 
 universal favourite, and seeujed essential to all the move- 
 ments of pleasure, or business, such a reformation of sen- 
 
11 
 
 timent, that the ofillir of liquor would now be considered 
 an insult, and tiie use of it a disgrace — a town in wiiose 
 whole limits, ardent spirits can be purchased at but one 
 single shop, the dernier resort, the last unconquered posi- 
 tion of the shameless and incorrigible lovers of rum. And 
 what has taken place in that town, is what has taken 
 place, to a greater, or less degree, in hundreds of towns — 
 an effect, which has outstripped the most sanguine antici- 
 pations of the friends of temperance, and promises in rea- 
 sonable time to extirpate the deceitful gafigrene, that was 
 rapidly eating its way to the very heart of society. The 
 case is so clear, the facts so strong, and the ground now 
 taken of total abstinence, so easy and effectual, that hu- 
 man minds needed only to be enlightened on the subject, 
 and human hearts would and did feel. I need not tell you 
 that similar consequences will every where follow similar 
 antecedents. The case is so clear, the facts so strong, 
 and tlic ground now taken so easy, and effectual, that an 
 adoption of the principles of the Society seems to me to be 
 no longer a matter of choice, but of conscientious neces- 
 sity. If a man would not violate ' the royal law' of love 
 to his neighbour; if he would not risk his own virtue in the 
 vortex of temptation ; if he would not be accessary to the 
 temporal and spiritual perdition of his fellow men ; if he 
 would not continue in league with the direst enemy of the 
 interests of righteousness, and peace in our guilty world ; 
 then must he enlist under the standard of total abstinence. 
 To adopt these principles, is not enough. They must be 
 professed. Your light burns well, but it is under a bushel. 
 You owe it to God, and the community, to declare your 
 practice, by a connexion with the Temperance Society, 
 which derives strength from the union, and success from the 
 decided combination of n umbers. I now proceed one step 
 further, than the Societies for the promotion of Temper- 
 ance have gone, and as a minister of Christ addressing his 
 people for the last lime, declare my decided conviction, 
 

 Vi 
 
 that all mamifnctiirc and traffic in ardent spirits, except, se 
 far as the Apothfcnri/ niny need them, is criminal. If in- 
 temperance would be c^imin.^! iti yourself, then is it wrong 
 to supply the means of inebriation to another. If a third 
 person reap the profit of your conscientiousness by vend- 
 ing the article, which you refused lo sell, your obligation 
 is not at all diminished by his want of principle. If it be 
 criminal to add in any way to the amount of human misery, 
 then, he who multiplies the facilities of drinking, is crimi- 
 nal. Jf it be criminal to increase the difficulty of virtue, 
 and spread the snare of tempting indulgence before the 
 eye of burning appetite ; then he who, for lucre's sake, fills 
 up the fatal cup for his brother man, is criminal. If it be 
 criminal to increase the sum of human crime; then he 
 who, by his very business administers an article, which 
 adds fire to passion, and energy to depravity, is most 
 deeply criminal. Good men have doubtless, unthinkingly 
 been engaged in this traffic, but with the light now pour- 
 ing on the moral sense of the community, good men can- 
 not much longer deal in the accursed thing. Good men 
 have even commanded slave-ships, but he, who should 
 now barter in the persons, and liberties of his fellow man, 
 would be branded with an infamy — indelible as that of 
 Cain. Yet intemperance has seized on more victims, in- 
 flicted more suffering, instigated to more crime, occasioned 
 a greater waste of life, and entailed a more deplorable 
 bondage, than the slave trade, with all the horrors of its 
 burning villages, its heart-rending separations — its middle 
 passage, its irons and its bloody scourge — the barbarism 
 of its shambles, and the hopelessness of its servitude. I 
 trust in God. the time is not far distant, when public sen- 
 timent, redeemed from the infatuation of custom, and puri- 
 fied from the degrading influence of cupidity, shall deem 
 it no less an outrage on humanity, to land upon our shore, 
 a cargo of brandy, than to disgorge upon it, a ship load of 
 famished and manacled Africans. 
 
 ■>3t 
 
1« 
 
 ¥ 
 
 While llius, my brethren, by a patient continuance ia 
 prosecuting the leading aims of benevolence, you are se- 
 curing your own perseverance, and enhancing the glory 
 of your final reward, what shall hinder a triumph over the 
 gates of hell, in the experience of your particular church, 
 any more than in ilic case of the individual behevcrs, 
 which compose it, or of the church universal, of which it 
 forms a part ? What shall hinder that it may not be per- 
 petuated thro' future time, a rallying point of Evangelism, 
 a radiating centra of healing influence, and a nursery for 
 the ministry ? ^\ hat shall hinder, but your own neglect 
 of those measures, which may perpetuate your purity; 
 what, but your own guilt, which may provoke a Holy 
 God to command the clouds, that they rain not upon you, 
 till you become, like the barren heath in the wilderness ? 
 Next to those securities which shall prevent the goodly 
 fabric, in which you worship " Christ within us the hope 
 of glory," from being prostituted as the seat of formalism, 
 the mere lecture room of morality, or the judgment hall, 
 where rude profaneness shall put the crown of thorns upon 
 the Redeemer's head afresh ; next to the assurance of an 
 evangelical, and orthodox succession in the ministry ; I 
 deem important a wise precaution in the admission of can- 
 didates to the church, and a sedulous guardianship of those 
 lines of separation and defence, which like a ' wall of fire 
 around about,' shall inclose ' the glory in the midst.' 
 
 It needs but little observation to discover, that the cur- 
 rent of public opinion, evinced by a manifest aversion to 
 creeds and confessions, is sapping the ancient bulwarks of 
 the faith once delivered to the saints. The love of novel- 
 ty, the pride of originality, a contempt for the wisdom of 
 our fathers, a well-meaning zeal for the undiminished 
 authority of the Bible, and an ignorant opinion that creeds 
 are made to supercede the infallible word, may have each 
 actuated the minds of some, while others, it is to be feared, 
 are provoked in their hostility to symbols of belief, by the 
 
4 
 
 14 
 
 consciousness, thai these stem guardians of orthodoxy re- 
 buke their impatience of controuK and contravene their 
 secret attachment to heretical sentiments. It is to no pur- 
 pose, to say that churches have no right to require terms 
 of admission, which are not required in the New Testa- 
 ment. It is granted ; but they arc bound to require in 
 candidates for membership, credible evidence, that they 
 are aheady savingly united to the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 no small part of this evidence is a belief of the truth. I 
 have never known a cj^urch, however latitudinarian its 
 terms of communion ; I iiave never met with an enemy of 
 creeds, however violeij^ his outcry against the standards 
 of the church, that would admit to the privileges of Chris- 
 tian fellowship, without any regard to the principles of the 
 applicant. Be the limits of charity wide, or narrow ; still 
 every church has its limits. No orthodox church, for in- 
 stance, would admit an l/nitarian, or Universalist. No 
 Unitarian, or Universalist Church, would admit a Ma- 
 liommedan, or Budhist. All men, and all churches, then, 
 have their creeds, which must be believed, and their rules 
 of distinction, which must be applied. The controversy, 
 now resolves itself into this simple question : Shall a church 
 in order to satisfy itself, that a candidate believes the truth, 
 ask such questions on the leading points of doctrine, as 
 may extemporaneously occur to the mind of its interro- 
 gating organ ; or shall it commit to writing such a syllabus 
 of Christian doctrine, as the candidate may previously 
 examine, and having approved, assent to, with intelli- 
 gence and deliberation ? and which method will insure the 
 greatest precision, that, which leaves a confession of faith, 
 in all its indefiniteness floating in the mind ; or that, which 
 reduces it to the certainty, and explicitness of a digested, 
 and written epitome ? Or does the crime of confessions 
 consist in committing to paper that which before was ex- 
 isting in the mind, and bringing into sj'slenmtic arrange- 
 ment, that which was previously disorderly and confused ? 
 
15 
 
 Since creeds operating as a test of the religious principles of 
 candidates must exist, either oral, or written ; and as no 
 man could well object to that which is oral being transferred 
 to a regular and written form, the only remaining objec- 
 tion does not exist against having creeds and written 
 creeds, but against the form and contents of creeds. If 
 the objector denies some of the fundamental truths of our 
 religion, and is therefore hostile to a form of sound words, 
 we perceive at once, the utility of the creed, which has 
 already separated the chaff from the wheat. If he be a 
 good man, and embraces the Evangelical System, and 
 yet maintains, that such a confession, as was made by the 
 Ethiopian nobleman, " I believe that Jesus Christ is the 
 Son of God," is as much as we may demand ; let him be 
 instructed, that that confession in the Apostolical age car- 
 ried more meaning, and formed more decisive evidence of 
 having cordially embraced Christianity, than can at the 
 present day, be expected from the most extensive decla- 
 ration of faith. If he still prefer, that no question be put, 
 but the single one, " do you receive the Scriptures of the 
 Old and New Testament, as the word of God, the only 
 infallible rule of faith, and practice ?" let him for a mo- 
 ment reflect, that every heresiarch would promptly re- 
 spond in the affirmative, and the church speedily resem- 
 bling the ark of the world's second progenitor, become the 
 receptacle of every species of creature, clean and unclean. 
 If he next prefer, that the test should be, " Do you believe 
 the doctrines taught in the Scriptures ?" the question is a 
 good one; but he must immediately perceive a necessity, 
 in order to a mutual understanding, that the person give, 
 in his own uninspired, and unequivocal words, an outline 
 of what he considers the doctrine taught in the Scriptures 
 to be ; in other words, the man must give a confession of 
 his faith. Where then, is the difference between this, 
 and your putting into his hands a confession already pre- 
 pared, for his examination and assent, but the single cir- 
 
16 
 
 cuuistance, that the latter method, is by far the most con- 
 venient, especially in its operation on the mort; illiterate, 
 who would find no little difficulty in throwing their views 
 into a correct and intelligible form. Let the churches 
 however remember when they propose the terms of faith, 
 on which they will, and without which they will not re- 
 ceive into their fellowship, that they are answerable to the 
 Great Head of the church, that, they be none other, than 
 the doctrines of the New Testament ; that their confession 
 be not so general, as to be indefinite, nor so particular as 
 to embrace points not essential, and which the young 
 believer, whose eye yet resting on the central glories of 
 the great redemption, cannot reasonably be supposed to 
 have surveyed with discriminating attention. While there- 
 fore the confession made by candidates for the Christian 
 communion, should cover the whole ground of fundamen- 
 tal truth and no more; it may be expected, that, the tests 
 proposed at the ordination of deacons, and ministers, 
 whose larger opportunities, and maturer experience have 
 enabled them to examine the connexion and importance 
 of every part of revealed truth, be more minute and exten- 
 sive. That the church of Christ may have c?rred, in de- 
 termining the dubious line between the essential, and the 
 important in the one case ; and the important and unimpor- 
 tant in the other ; we may reasonably conclude. That 
 the natural indolence of the human mind may have led 
 thousands to adopt a human creed, as the infallible stan- 
 dard of truth, instead of using it, as a convenient expres- 
 sion, of what tiiey believed the infallible word of God to 
 contain, may be concluded with equal safety. And yet 
 neither conclusion w ill warrant us, in the position, that 
 creeds may be dispensed with. Without them, the finger 
 of discipline could point the heretic to no violated stipula- 
 tion. Without them, the church would present to the 
 world, no exhibition of the system of truth which she prized 
 and guarded; and when the mind of the inquirer was 
 
IT 
 
 drifting at random, in llio open sea of speculation, or driv- 
 ing by night, upon the hidden rocks of error, no flaming 
 beacon would cast its friendly ray athwart the darkness. 
 Without them, there uould he no way of learning the sen- 
 timents of associated bodies ol professing C 'hristains, in 
 order to ascertain, whether an unity of faith formed any 
 common ground of fellowship, and co-operation. Till I 
 know, that a minister preaches Jesus, and his Gospel, I 
 cannot place myself beneath his ministrations. Till I 
 know that a church believes in that Jesus, and embraces 
 his Gospel, I cannot place myself at the table of its com- 
 munion, and till two churches be satisfied that each other 
 hold the common salvation, they can never unite, in any 
 common plan for the extension of the kingdom of Christ. 
 Tho' some misguided men of worth join, with others of 
 doubtful integrity, and raise the outcry against every form 
 of sound words to the loudest note of violence ; let us not, 
 brethren, relinquish a means of purity, which the church 
 of Christ has in every age found of such essential import- 
 ance ; and because our confession of faith may not be per- 
 fect, abandon it altogether, and prostrate every barrier 
 that separates the garden of Christ, from the wide wilder- 
 ness of the world. While we encourage that activity of 
 mind, which ' proves all things ;' let us retain the firmness 
 of purpose, which 'holds fast that which is good.' And 
 if from the strong hold of a Scriptural creed, from whence 
 the invader has never been able to dislodge the truth, we 
 can look with composure upon his feeble efforts to lay 
 waste the heart of our territory ; why should we for the 
 miserable compensation of an enemy's praise of our libe- 
 rality, throw open our gates to the march of the destroyer ? 
 While therefore you would retain the spouse of the Re- 
 deemer in the unviolated sanctity of a ' garden inclosed,' 
 ' a spring shut up,' ' a fountain sealed,' ' go thy way forth 
 by the footsteps of the fiock.'' " Thus saith the Lord, 
 Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, 
 
18 
 
 where is the gooil way, and wall; tlierein and yc sliaii I'md 
 rest to your souls." 
 
 It is only so long as the church is in tlio purity of her 
 doctrine, ' fair as the moon,' in the diflusivoncss of her he- 
 nevolencc ' clear as the sun,' that she appears to the eye 
 of the beholder, ' beautiful as Tirzah,' and to the apprc- 
 prehension of her enemies, ' terrible as an army with ban- 
 ners.' It is only so long as you continue the depository 
 and guardian of the truth, that your influence will be salu- 
 tary and hallowed. And it is only so long as it is such, 
 that you may expect the care of Israel's unslumbering 
 Watchman, and the safety of dwelling beneath the sha- 
 dow of the Almighty. Therefore is it, that I am so strenu- 
 ous to confirm your love of the truth, and to deepen your 
 abhorrence of error. While it is delightful to think, that 
 the various denominations into which professing Christen- 
 dom is divided, are working a far larger amount of good, 
 than, a less spirited unanimity would have secured ; while 
 it is charitable to believe, that these various sections of 
 Israel's camp are, in their respective allotments, marching 
 under the guidance of the same cloudy pillar ; it is still 
 christian to maintain, that, there are errors fundamental, 
 and heresies damnable. My brethren, you must expect 
 to meet with those, who clamorous for peace and fierce 
 for toleration, will stigmatize with puritanical pervcrsc- 
 ness, the Christian fidelity which will not assign to sin- 
 cerity in error, the place of obedience to truth ; which will 
 not esteem it indifferent whether we be the subjects of a 
 radical moral change, or die with all the elements of hell 
 in our bosom ; whether the Saviour on whom we are to 
 lean, when our heart-strings are breaking in death, be an 
 arm of flesh, or the Eternal God, the Father of our spirits, 
 and the Lord of that world, on which we enter. No ! 
 you cannot, as many of you as have been ^ taught of God,' 
 you cannot, as many of you as are illumined by reason — 
 God's responsible giil — for a moment hesitate, whether the 
 
If 
 
 dilTercncc between the two systems be not great, radical, 
 and of hopeless brendth — a breach, wide and deep as the 
 sea, which no lalwur of charity can ever close, no line of 
 libcralily ever span. And if the difference be thus irre- 
 concilcable ; I beseech you, by all that is important in 
 truth, by all that is transforming, and transcendant in the 
 light uf the glory of God, as it shines in the face of Jesus 
 Christ, never to think for one moment, of coming down 
 from your high ground of inflexible principle, to treat with 
 the smooth-tongued disciples of error, the religious vo- 
 taries of the world, whether they be clothed in the more 
 respectable garb of the Unitarian, or in the coarser habili- 
 ment of an Universalist. Be they irreproachable in civil 
 life, respectable for their wealth, or desirable for their 
 numbers, still covet not their alliance. Their influence 
 will secularize, their wealth will corrupt, their numbers 
 overpower in all leading questions, which involve the pu- 
 rity, and of course the real prosperity of your Ziou. But 
 I need not enlarge, for as on this point you are particu- 
 larly exposed ; so here too, 1 believe you are especially 
 guarded. Of this I am the more confident, as already in 
 my absence, when one came unto you and brought not 
 the doctrine of Christ, you received him not into your 
 house of worship, neither bade him ' God speed.' See II 
 J no. 9. 10. It was a good precedent, and shows with 
 what solemnity you have pondered the question, " If the 
 foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do ?'' 
 
 There is yet another topic, on which I wish to commu- 
 nicate a few thoughts, and that is the subject of religious re- 
 vivals. The progress of these extraordinary manifestations 
 of divine power has in this country, been long identified 
 with the progress of vital piety, and the man, who, acquaint- 
 ed with their nature, does not hail their extension, isjustly 
 suspected of being offended with the purest specimens of 
 the power of godliness on earth. By these effusions of the 
 Spirit, the Most High God, has in latter times distinguish- 
 
9U 
 
 cd this land ubovu nil olhcis, and almost designated the in« 
 heritancc of our pilgrim fathers, us 'the land of promise.' 
 And 1 look upon it, as a most auspicious token for Canada, 
 that, it has been already visited, with that most glorious 
 form of the dispensation of the Spirit. It was like offering 
 before the altar of the Lord, the wave-sheaf of the first fruits, 
 by which the whole harvest becomes consecrated to God, 
 and a pledge is given, that the entire productions of the year 
 shall yet be joyously gathered in. It was like marking, 
 and sealing your province with the cnrnesl of redemption, 
 and designating its populous extent as the scat of revivals, 
 when along the peaceful shores of its majestic river, and 
 thro' the neat and smiling villages of its fertile plains, salva- 
 tion shall roll its gladdening streams, and 4hc light of life^ 
 throw a brighter tinge over all the associations of its land- 
 scppes. Oh! my brethren, let not the coal kindled from 
 heaven upon your altar be extinguished, till the sacred fire 
 be conveyed in many a direction and lighted in many a place 
 around you. 
 
 But you know well, that the subject is not thus favoura- 
 bly regarded, by the great body of Protestants in the pro- 
 vince. Ministers and people, and even those, in whom 
 there appears ' something good towards the Lord God of 
 Israel' have viewed the revival, with which we were bles- 
 sed, with scorn, suspicion, or indifference, according as the 
 state of their moral feelings, and the point of their observa- 
 tion modified their impression. While one worthy clerical 
 brother who turned aside, to examine the character of this 
 religious phenomenon, new to him, exclaimed, that the fin- 
 ger of God was in it of a truth, and has since rejoiced in the 
 fruits of such a season of refreshing from the presence of the 
 Lord, among his own people ; another clergyman of my ac- 
 quaintance, has told me, that 1 should regret ever hav- 
 ing had a part, in such a scene of fanaticism, and delusion. 
 You know how often, it has been repeated in the outskirts 
 of our camp, and how chill an intimidation it has thrown 
 
31 
 
 into tlic hearts of less informed, ami courn genus brethren, 
 that " there were no revivals in Great Britain ;" at I ne samo 
 time, insinuating, that as they were a (Mi iiliarily of the 
 Western world, lliey could be no drsirabk-, or genuine 
 form of Christianity ; nay, that they were n monstrous ex- 
 crescence of feeling, from which the piety ol Europe was 
 happily free. Bui is it true, let me ask, that there have 
 been no revivals in that land of noble deeds, and hallowed 
 associations i Not to revert to the scenes of the Kei".>rma- 
 tion, when rapid and simultaneous conversions were eve- 
 ry where occurring, what is the testimony of Gillies' His* 
 torical Collections, of Fleming's Scripture F^ulfilled, the 
 narrative of the Cambuslang Revival, and the lives of such 
 men as Baxter, Wesley, Whitefield, Grimshaw, Berridge, 
 and a host of others ? It is true, their mantles have not fal- 
 len upon men of like spirit, and power. No Boanerges of 
 the British Pulpit, at the present day carries that demon- 
 stration of the Spirit into the darkness of the heart ; or mov- 
 ing with their moral puwei', throws such extensive conster- 
 nation, and defeat into the ranks of sin. There are many 
 there who adorn the ministry with the rich treasures of 
 learning, sacred, and profane. Many there are who bring 
 the splendour of genius, the ardour of piety, and the elo- 
 quence of feeling under the tribute of Immanuel's service. 
 An increasing number labour within the two Establish- 
 ments, and without, with the tokens of God's blesssing on 
 their ministrations, manifested in the increasing spirituality 
 of Christians, and constant, and sometimes unusual acces- 
 sions to the number of tiie professing brethren. But still 
 what may be termed revivals, in the extent, rapidity, fre- 
 quency and Pentecostal power of those, which charac- 
 terize the United States, are there unknown. If the fact 
 were doubted, it could be easily confirmed, by the state- 
 ments of their own writers, and religious journalists. How 
 shall we answer the question then, that revivals do not 
 occur in the pure churches, and beneath the pious minis- 
 
a-2 
 
 1 rations of Britain ? We dare not say, that the Spirit in 
 ins more extraordinary operations, is restricted to this side 
 of the ocean. Nor may we resolve it into a matter of un- 
 searchal)le sovereignty. The constituted connexion be- 
 tween human exertion, and the divine blessing, authorizes 
 MS in the conclusion, that there must be an adequate mo- 
 ral cause in the Transatlantic churches, to account for 
 their destitution of the richer blessings conferred on the 
 Zion of the new world. May it not resolve the difficulty 
 to ascertain, whether the churches of Britain, after all the 
 promises of faith's omnipotence in prayer, ever supplicate, 
 or having supplicated, ever expect such manifestations of 
 the Redeemer's power over the hearts of men? A few 
 individuals, animated by the accounts they have received 
 of American revivals, have begun to associate, and plead, 
 if peradvenlure, the Ijord would in like manner open the 
 windows of heaven upon them, but the smallness of their 
 numbers is conclusive, that the churches in a bodi/y have 
 not put themselves in the attitude of agonizing, and pre- 
 vailing intercession with that God, who '' will be inquired 
 of the house of Israel for these things." The inquiry may 
 again be pertinently made, whether our British brethren 
 in the ministry, notwithstanding all that is respectable in 
 their acquirements and lovely in their piety, and attractive 
 in their ministrations, do ever distinctly aim as the result 
 of their labours at such apostolical displays ol all-conquer- 
 ing grace, do ever secure the co-operation of their church 
 members to obtain a grand concentration of human means, 
 and divine energy to bear upon the unconverted portion of 
 their charge ? It may be asked, whether with an impres- 
 sive sense of their own utter helplessness, yet laying hold 
 on the strength of the Most Mighty, and keeping their 
 heart, and their eye steadily fixed on the great obiect to 
 be secured, tliey follow up the impression made by one 
 portion of pungent truth, with the exhibition of another of 
 still more ronvinring power; and not content, while one 
 
 &. 
 
23 
 
 metliod of awakei)ing remains untried, carry the awful 
 claims of religious obligation, to the private abode of every 
 slumbering sinner ? If a conclusion may be drawn, from 
 all the data respecting the state of the pastoral function, 
 which can be collected by one, who has never been ac- 
 tually on the spot, these things are never done with that 
 emphasis of feeling and action, which is frequently exem- 
 plified in this country of revivals. If then, we are not 
 mistaken in our estimate of the state of feeling with regard 
 to revivals in the churches of our Transatlantic brethren, 
 and of the state of that ministerial exertion usually neces- 
 sary for their production ; we are furnished with a suffi- 
 cient answer to the objection, we have heard so often re- 
 peated in Canada, by those who would call into question 
 those glorious things which God had done for us, and 
 whereof we were glad. May we not also hope, that the 
 attention which this subject is beginning to awake in the 
 English community, shall conduct their discrimination, 
 and their candour to the true cause, of their destitution of 
 these more remarkable triumphs of Zion's King, and ere 
 long, there shall arrive on the wings of every eastern wind, 
 the glad report, that the Redeemer has girded his sword 
 upon his thigh, and in his majesty, is riding prosperously, 
 because of meekness, and truth, and righteousness. I 
 would that those who object to the work of grace in a re- 
 vival because it is so rapid and extensive, would consider 
 a moment that the prayer, which perhaps they daily pre- 
 sent for the salvation of o// men, if answered, would be fol- 
 lowed by a revival, which in order to snatch men from the 
 bondage of sin, before they are consigned to the unalter- 
 able condition of the dead, must from henceforth be co- 
 extensive with the inhabited earth ! Benevolence surely 
 would not object to a state of things essential to the salva- 
 tion of mankind, and yet if conversions occurred no more 
 frequently than deaths, the whole face of the world would 
 present the aspect of one vast revival. Never then let 
 
 -^fef-t- 
 
M 
 
 one f(!eliiig of cliilling doubt, or timid shame, cross your 
 mind, with regard to those events, in which the church 
 has rejoiced, and angels been glad ; events, in which can- 
 dour may perceive the repetition of New Testament 
 scenes, faith recognise the fulfihnent of the divine pro- 
 mises, and benevolence hail, as the only way in which a 
 long apostate world may speedily return to God. Be 
 especially guarded against that spirit of supineness, which 
 having enjoyed a portion of reviving influence, is averse to 
 the exertion essential to the reception of more ; and watch 
 against that tincture of fatalism, with which good men 
 '\re prone to lull themselves, and one another, when sleep- 
 ing at the post of duty, by saying, " The time to build the 
 temple of the Lord has not yet come ; when the set time to 
 favour Zion has arrived, we shall enjoy those blessings, 
 which come not according to the will of man, but when 
 inscrutable sovereignty shall appoint." In this the lan- 
 guage of our indolent hearts, there is a deceitful blending 
 of truth with error, a!id a wicked evasion of present obli- 
 gation. P^or is not a revival in its two leading features of 
 elevated piety in the church, and frequent conversions in 
 the congregation, in the first place, precisely what Chris- 
 tians ought and may always feel, and in the second, what, 
 in answer to prayer, thoy might always expect and enjoy? 
 Is it not always the time to build the temple of the Lord, 
 so long as it lies dilapidated with the wastes of many gene- 
 rations, and is not the time, yea the set time for God to 
 arise and have mercy on Zion, that very time, when his 
 " servants take pleasure in her stones and favour the dust 
 thereof ?*' And shall we with promises so large, and pre- 
 cepts so explicit, disbelieve the one, and disobey the other, 
 and then take refuge under the secret will, and sovereign 
 purposes of God, which were never intended as our rule 
 of action ? " Wherefore my beloved brethren, be ye sted- 
 fast and immoveable, always abounding in the work of the 
 
 . 
 
25 
 
 Lord, forasmuch as you know, that your labour shall not 
 be in vain in the Lord." 
 
 During four years past, I have testified to you the Gos- 
 pel of the Grace of God. 1 have sedulously avoided all 
 curious questions, doubtful disputations, and every subject 
 whose radiations do not branch into the very heart of 
 Christianity. The Heart-searcher is witness that 1 have 
 l)een anxious to engrave such truths upon your mind, as 
 it were worthy an immortal spirit to bear recorded on the 
 tablets of the heart, and such as I knew must one day 
 be exhibited as evidence of what was written on my 
 own. in unfolding the message, which I have been 
 charfi;ed to deliver and enforce, you cannot have forgot- 
 ten, that the fact of your alienation from God lay at the 
 very base of all — a depravity commencing with the first 
 actual exercise of every human moral agent — a depravity 
 not seated in some physical defect, anterior to actual sin, 
 beyond the controul of the will, and of course without the 
 limits of moral government — a depravity which no array 
 of motives, no apparatus of means ever has, or ever will 
 be able to subdue — a depravity of so deadly a virus, that 
 notwithstanding all the fair morality, the sentimental ad- 
 miration, or tiie fond love of reflected selfishness which 
 unrenewed humanity daily exhibits, is still rank and bitter 
 enmity against the character and government of Jehovah 
 the Supreme. You remember too, how, notwithstanding 
 this desperate wickedness of the heart, the claims of the 
 law in all the perfection of its obedience, and a compli- 
 ance with the Gospel in all the spirituality of its meaning, 
 have been urged upon you, and urged with the fearless 
 conviction, that depravity constituted no good reason for 
 the non-performance of duty, in connexion with the fact, 
 that you can, but of your own accord never will change 
 your hearts, you have been taught, that if ever it takes 
 place, it will be by a divine influence, and that this divine 
 influence may, or may not be communicated to you, by a 
 
 o 
 
 -A-i 
 
36 
 
 lovereign God whose law you have broken, and whose 
 grace you resist in those very prayers, which anxious un- 
 regeneracy will offer, and awakened impenitence pour 
 forth. Still the duty of prayer, holy and genuine prayer, 
 has been urged upon all without exception. Such repent- 
 ance as ensures the forsaking of sin, and such faith in the 
 atoning merits of Jesus, as includes a renunciation of every 
 false ground of pardon, and a cordial acceptation of giace 
 abounding thro^ righteousness, have been proclaimed as 
 the terms of the Gospel reconciliation. You have been 
 instructed too, that the faith which accompanies pardon, is 
 accompanied by love, that holy, disinterested, supreme 
 and fervent approbation of God and his ways, that impar- 
 tial benevolence to men as creatures, and that compla- 
 cency in the saints as holy creatures, which fulfils the law 
 as far as it exists, by leading to the exercise of every Chris- 
 tian grace, and every moral virtue. The perfection, spi- 
 rituality, and sanctions of the law have been in a measure 
 developed, and most distinctly has it been announced, that 
 human character undergoes no essential moral change 
 after the article of death, which 'fixes him that is holy' in a 
 state where he shall 'be holy still ;' and 'him that is fdthy,' 
 in that world, where in the absence of all restraining, and 
 all sanctifying influences, he shall be forever and forever 
 • filthy still.' 
 
 These truths, in the effectual belief of which, consists 
 the world's salvation, have been exhibited to you accord- 
 ing to the feeblp measure of my ability, in every impressive 
 manner I could invent, repeated in the form of didactic 
 discussion and earnest exhortation, in the shape of petition 
 to God, and entreaty to man, of public preaching, and pri- 
 vate instruction, in the sanctuary, and from house to house. 
 Jn the tremendous progress of such a moral process," many 
 have been purified and made wliite and tried," but many 
 of' the wicked still do wickedly.' Some have been ex- 
 asperated, and walked no more with us. Some to escape 
 
the obligation, which the truth involves^have courted error 
 and become the dupe of lies. Some after pungent awaken- 
 ing have reverted to a state, which makes it the less likely 
 that the evil spirits of indifference and stupidity, will 
 ever be driven from their ' swept and garnished' residence. 
 Some, who worshipped with us, have gone to that world, 
 where the strong conviction of these eternal reahties has 
 burst on their unsealed vision, and have been there con- 
 vinced of those doctrines, which charity can gather no 
 reason to believe were ever cordially embraced in this 
 world of mercy's reign. How solemn the reflection to 
 you, and to me, that many have already passed to their 
 unchangeable destinies, with a moral character which re* 
 ceived its last moulding impression from my ministry S 
 ^Vnd if that bo a solemn consideration, is it not a distres- 
 sing one, that there are some who are now less hopeful 
 candidates for holiness, and heaven, than they were before 
 my connexion with you ; some who having neglected the 
 day of their merciful visitation, have ' the things which be- 
 long to their peace forever hid from their eyes ;' some whd 
 now ' joinwl to their idols,' God and his Providence, and 
 ministers, and Spirit will henceforth let alone. When I 
 think that, perhaps a little more pains-taking on my part, 
 a little more travail of the heart in prayer, a little more 
 labour of the intellect in the presentation of motives, a little 
 more toil of the body in following you with the entreaties of 
 solicitude to your dweUings, might possibly have saved 
 some one, T feel that there may be a propriety in adopting 
 the Psalmist's petition, " Deliver me from blood-guiltiness^ 
 O God, thou God of my salvatioti.^^ If there be those, with 
 respect to whom, fidelity demanded more exertion, or 
 those upon whom fidelity was exerted in vain, let me, 
 dying men! this once, renew my expostulation; and as a 
 friend embarked from the shore, waves his hand when his 
 voice can no longer be heard, let me make this last appeal 
 to your consciences, in the only mode that is now left itt^, 
 
'M 
 
 " I ain pained at my very heart — I cannot hold my peace, 
 because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the 
 trumpet, the alarm of war." 
 
 Would to God, that with a pen of iron and the point of 
 a diamond, I could write upon the nund of every unregc- 
 nerate man, whom I address, the awful conviction, that 
 his heart is to its very core inimical to infinite loveliness, 
 and that with a mind running counter to the mind of God, 
 he must feel dissatisfied and miserable, in any part of Je- 
 hovah's dominions, where his character is exhibited and 
 his government maintained! Need he any longer marvel, 
 that the lips of unchangeable truth, in conformity to the 
 everlasting principles of the divine administration, have 
 assured him that he ' must be born again V Would that 
 he realised, that having by the very bent of his heart, as 
 well as the whole direction of his life, already sinned, he 
 is already condemned by a holy law, incapable of satisfy- 
 ing its demands, or restoring its honour by any equivalent 
 of obedience, or suffering, and that the Eternal Son of 
 God, by the most wonderful movement, yet recorded in 
 the chronicles of Eternity, has done eveiy thing, that jus- 
 tice, and the interests of empire made necessary, for the 
 pardon of every human being, but secure their respective 
 and cordial acceptance of the great salvation. And will 
 you not respectively and cordially accept ? Will you not 
 love the Lord God? and loving him, can you fail to repent 
 of your aggravated offences against him, and feeling the 
 insufficiency of repentance, will you not lay your hand on 
 the head of the atoning Lamb, and so lay hold on eternal 
 hfe ? Or will you persist in sin, and die ? — Then 1 call 
 heaven and earth to witness, that I am pure from your 
 blood. Oh ! when we shall meet at the judgment bar of 
 Christ, you shall not accuse me, that I have cried ' peace, 
 peace, when there was no peace,' 'healed the hurt of the 
 daughter of Zion slightly,' and prophesied the deceits of 
 my own heart. ' For I have not shunned to declare to 
 
29 
 
 you all the counsel of God,' and would humbly trust with 
 all faithful ministers of the reconciliatioii, that ' we are 
 unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that perish,' 
 as well as ' in them that are saved.' And shall any of my 
 dear people finally, and forever perish ? Though I know 
 not who they be, or how many, yet I cannot doubt the 
 fact, without the reversion of every moral probability. 
 Oh ! then let me weep over you now — for at the judgment 
 seat, awed into perfect acquiescence with the lucid deve- 
 lopments of' the righteous judgment of God,' I shall not, 
 (if not myself a castaway) be permitted to weep over those, 
 from whom the boundless mercy of God is clean gone 
 forever. To have seen you in those minor distresses of 
 life, when your heart has looked for those consolations 
 which a Pastor's sympathy might impart, to have watched 
 your bodily anguish, or have grieved over your moral un- 
 fitness, when about to pass the tremendous limit of proba- 
 tion, were enough for human endurance : but what, lost 
 soul ! is this to the second death — to the sensations, which 
 will harrow your heart, at our next meeting, when there 
 shall come crowding on your mind, all the recollections of 
 sabbaths which came, and went witiiout improvement ; 
 of exhortations, which were heard, and forgotten, without 
 amendment ; of ministers, who spcjit their strength, and 
 wore out their frame, without blessing you ; of the Holy 
 Spirit, whose strivings were resisted, till he left you with- 
 out conversion ; of the great salvation brought within your 
 very grasp, but not embraced ; and a Saviour, whose blood 
 was shed, that you might count it an unclean thing ! Oh 
 how will you feel, when you shall look upon him whom 
 you have pierced, and see the incensed Judge upon the 
 great white throne to be the Jesus whom I have preached 
 and you rejected ! " Oh ! that my head were waters, and 
 mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and 
 night, for the slain of the daughter of my people." 
 
30 
 
 1 turn from these saddening reflections, to drop a few 
 lines to my professing brethren. We have seen the httle 
 band, who united by the tie of covenant, and the badge of 
 profession, formed tlie nucleus of our infant church, at 
 every commemoration of their death of their risen Saviour, 
 enlarged by encouraging accessions. But it is safe to re- 
 joice with trembling, and reasonable to expect, that ' all 
 are not Israel who are of Israel.' It will be so, as long as 
 those who hold the key of admission are fallible men ; as 
 long as there are candidates, who deceive themselves, or 
 may deceive others. It is not necessary to tell you, that 
 to be enrolled in the register of the church, is no evidence 
 that your name is recorded among ' the living in Jerusa- 
 lem.' But it is highly important, that you should be aware 
 of the danger, of being unconsciously a dead branch on 
 the living vine, and cherishing '■ a hope, which shall perish 
 with the giving up of the ghost.' It is enough to make the 
 blood of any one, who has not attained the full assurance 
 of his christian integrity, freeze in his veins, when he con- 
 siders the causes which may operate in the production, 
 and continuance of fatal delusion. Consider a moment 
 the possibility, that those religious exercises from which 
 you date the connnencement of your christian existence, 
 may have been the counterfeit operations of selfishness, 
 excited by the mere love of happiness, and attachment to 
 any thing which relieves its fears, or favours its views. 
 How easily may anxiety for one's state be mistaken for 
 conviction of his guilt ; the pleasure arising from the belief 
 of danger past, for joy in the Holy Ghost, and peace in be- 
 lieving ; and a fond attachment to God arising from the 
 mere apprehension, that he has become the sinner's parti- 
 cular and unchangeable friend, be substituted, for that 
 genuine love of God, which is founded on a sense of his 
 own intrinsic loveliness, and which will continue to exist, 
 whether he is viewed as reconciled, or not. How likely 
 is it, that a hope thus insufficiently embraced, will be se- 
 
 ^^: 
 
*1 
 
 dulously cultivated, from the pride of consistency, the 
 strength of self-complacency, and the love of ease — that 
 formality may be mistaken for devotion, and after so much 
 having been done for the attainment of salvation, the mind 
 be slow to entertain the conviction, that it has all been 
 done in vain. Consider, that professors by the very ground 
 they have taken, have placed themselves, where they are 
 above the range of those arrows of truth which are directed 
 against the impenitent, and bv their very familiarity with 
 the topics of religion, and the customary frequency, with 
 which they appear in that presence, where Gabriel bows ; 
 if their hearts be not touched by a sanctifying influence, 
 must necessarily lose their sense of the awfulness of sacred 
 things, and with it, their susceptibility of religious impres- 
 sion, and every ordinary probability of genuine conversion. 
 Consider that Satan and your own heart are leagued to 
 perpetuate the mistake, by every expedient of self-flattery, 
 till death shall strip the bandage off, and the light of eter- 
 nity shall pour on the mind the overwhelming conviction 
 of suicidal, of remediless ruin ! If any other consideration 
 were wanting to make one afraid, lest he should prove at 
 last, to have been a ' sinner in Zion,' and share in the fear- 
 fulness that shall ' surprise the hypocrites ;' it is the fact, 
 that, so few professors of religion ever experience a moral 
 renovation after they have once classed themselves with 
 the followers of the Lord Christ, — a fact which a righteous 
 judgment compels us to explain, not by the purity of the 
 churches, but by the hopelessness of self-deception. But 
 brethren, I would " hope better things of you, even things, 
 that accompany salvation, though I thus speak." 
 
 I have been honoured to be the instrument of the spi- 
 ritual renovation of most of you — to most of you 1 hope 
 too a helper of your faith, and a promoter of your joy. 
 This was to me a delight, which He who ' holds the seven 
 stars in his right hand' disposing of them as he will, no longer 
 allows. Still, however, my interest in your welfare shall 
 
#- 
 
 vf 
 
 39 
 
 not cease. My prayer shall still be in your nflliction, my 
 thanksgiving in your prosperity. With solicitude I look 
 forward to your various and weary progress heaven-ward. 
 Trials temporal, and spiritual, lie before every one of you, 
 that are the children of God. If you would take the ex- 
 perience of one who has made larger trial of the divine 
 goodness since he last addressed you than ever, ' Trust in 
 the Lord. O Israel! trust thou in the Lord; he is their 
 help and their shield.' ' It it belter to trust in the Lord, 
 than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the 
 Lord, than to put confidence in princes.' With Christ in 
 the vessel, fear not but you shall outride; the storm, and iho' 
 he may seem to sleep, ' his heart waketh' — and when 
 best, h(! will show his command over the elements of na- 
 ture, as well as the dominions of mind. If he think it best 
 to conduct you thro' affliction, he can make your trials, 
 like tlie duikness of night, which, while it hides this world 
 from our \ ision, discovers to our view others, till then un- 
 seen. Above all things, strive for greater attainments in 
 piety. God will be your very present help, if you stead- 
 fastly aim at the poifcction of your sanctitication, ai (] the 
 enjoyment of those unclaimed rights, which lie sealed 
 with the Redeemer's blood. 'I'he object is practicable. 
 A higher standard is attainaltle, ' for it is God that work- 
 cth in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.' — 
 Shall sloth prevent I ' What, can ye not watch one hour' 
 for the attainment of that for which your Saviour agonised ? 
 Your very temporal ha{)piness is involved in the decision 
 of this question. The men of this \Aorld may have a por- 
 tion here, but the irons of God, the legitimate heirs of hea- 
 ven, will not be allowed the same satisfaction in the plea- 
 sures of sin. If they will not walk in the light of God's 
 countenance, this earth shall be to them shrouded with 
 desolation. Why should you shrnik from a " closer walk 
 with God ?" What inir|uity have you found in him ? Has 
 he b(^en " a wiklerncss unto Israel — a land of darkness ?" 
 
?" 
 
 Or have you not uniformly found your diligence abun- 
 dantly repaid, by the composure of your mind, by the 
 pleasantness of his service, by the indulgence of your hopes, 
 the enlargement of your experience, and the success of 
 your endeavours to serve him ? Is it nothing to you that 
 you will honour God by eminent piety ; and that you are 
 placed in those circunistances, where true religion so pe- 
 culiarly nf»eds the silent and convincing illustration of holy 
 lives ? Brethren, you do not, you cannot appreciate how 
 much your every day conduct is determining the weight of 
 your own eternal glory, how much it is moulding the cha- 
 racter, and destiny of immortal minds, on which you are 
 hourly leaving permanent impressions, which are not one of 
 them indifferent, bul all salutary or mischievous. Lay aside 
 then every weiglit that would retard ; abandon every com- 
 pany that would pollute ; relinquish every habit, that would 
 obstruct the growth, or the comfort of religion in your 
 heart. — " Let thine eye be single, and the whole body 
 shall be full of light." Let your spirit be right, and your 
 worldly business shall be no obstruction, but the very com- 
 monest employments of life shall be occasions of serving 
 the King of heaven, and the most famihar objects of na- 
 ture, and events of providence, be so many ministers of 
 instruction, and means of grace. Thus may you find a 
 living well iu ' passing the valley of Baca,' and go from 
 strength to strength, till each ' in Zion shall appear before 
 God.' Soon ' our feet shall stand within thy gales, O Je- 
 rusalem.' There is but a st. p between us and death. 
 ' Brethren the time is short : it remainctii, that both they 
 that have wives be as though th^y had none ; and they 
 that weep, as though ihey wept not; and they that rejoice, 
 as though they rejoiced not ; and they that buy, as though 
 they possessed not ; and they that use this world, as not 
 abusing it : for the fashion of this world passeth away.' 
 How rapidly have 1 seen it changing within the little cir- 
 cle of our congregation within the revolutions of four years. 
 
il 
 
 l! 
 
 84 
 
 Thro' what varieties of sickness, thro' what fluctuations 
 of property, thro' what diversities of condition, have I anon 
 some of you pass. How many who went to the house of 
 God in company with us, arc scattered in their various dis- 
 persions; some to the boundless contiguity of the wil- 
 derness, 
 
 " Where no shepherds teDts appear," 
 
 and others to more favoured locaHties of the Redeemer's 
 presence and institutions. These losses have been sup- 
 phed by more, who turning to us, as the people of the liv- 
 ing God, have said, 
 
 " Brethren ! where your altar burns 
 Oh, receive us into rest." 
 
 Already we have seen several of our brethren and sis- 
 ters falling asleep in Jesus, and have followed them with 
 hoping sorrow to the grave, over which the sward even 
 now waves green. ' The fashion of (his world passeth 
 away.' No more as your pastor shall I go in and out be- 
 fore you ; no more our supplications be mingled for Zion's 
 good; or our thanksgivings be united for supplications 
 lieard. I know that a part, perhaps the whole of you, 
 shall never see my face again. But the Gospel which you 
 have not been ashamed to embrace as men, which I have 
 not been ashamed to preach as a minister, and which none 
 of us ought to be ashamed to die for as martyrs, stamping 
 such value on the immortal soul, and leaving the body a 
 putrid carcase as it is to rot awhile, discloses the blessed- 
 ness of " the dead who die in the Lord." What if the 
 world, like the shadow of a dial has passed, even while 
 looked pn, the Sun of Righteousness has risen on the 
 great cycle of Eternity, never to set ! What if " one church 
 above, beneath" we are parted by the swellings of Jordan, 
 we shall meet when safe arrived on the other side. Is it 
 not natural to believe, and pleasant to anticipate, that 
 
:I6 
 
 ilioiis 
 aorn 
 ise ol" 
 IS dis- 
 ) wil- 
 
 ?mefs 
 n sup- 
 he liv- 
 
 ind sis- 
 m with 
 d even 
 passeth 
 out be- 
 • Zion's 
 ications 
 of you, 
 lich you 
 1 1 have 
 ch none 
 lamping 
 > body a 
 blessed- 
 at if the 
 3n while 
 on the 
 church 
 ■ Jordan, 
 Is it 
 \te, that 
 
 inombers of the same church, soldiers in the same * sacra- 
 uK'ntal host,* who have on earth mingled their prayers in 
 the same aspiration, und laid their sacrifices on the same 
 altar, will as they nrr ve one aft.r another, wait at the 
 pearly gates, and welcome each other in, as " the blessed 
 of the Lord." What a meeting will that be, when each 
 of us, having come up out of great tribulation, and ' washed 
 our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,' 
 we shall bow with the multitudes of the redeemed before 
 the throne, see the Saviour as he i», and love him as wo 
 ought ! How delightful then, to look back on all the way 
 the Lord has lt>d us, " to recount the labours of our feet;" 
 to stand surprised at the temptations we have escaped , to 
 read the interpretation of dispensations that once frowned 
 cheerless and mysterious upon us ; to view the strength of 
 the law, as annihilated ; and ' the bitterness of death* as 
 past ; to look forward to the increasing glories of Messiah's 
 reign, and adore and rejoice forever, that we have been 
 built up, component parts of that eternal temple, which is 
 even now rising the admiration of other worlds, without 
 the sound of" hammer, or axe, or any tool of iron." 
 
 With the thoughtsof that meeting which will take place 
 before many years, with the bright prospects of that world 
 which will soon stand disclosed to as many of us, as are 
 the followers of the Lamb, let us animate ourselves in the 
 toilsome strife against sin. Let us weave a song of re- 
 joicing in the house of our pilgrimage and the land of our 
 exile. Meanwhile, dear brethren, if je have esteemed me 
 faithful in the Lord — if there be any consolation in Christ, 
 if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any 
 bowels and mercies, if 1 have ever administered a cup of 
 cold water to the thirsting soul of a disciple, let me not 
 perish from your remembrance, let .ne not be forgotten in 
 your prayers ; that 1 may " glorify Gofl in the fire," and if 
 it be his will that I come out of it, I may be a purified son 
 of Levi, and be again promoted to be a hewer of wood 
 
i;- 
 
 36 
 
 and a drawer of water in the service of Israel's God — and 
 that in some iiumble measure J may bear resemblance to 
 the picture an apostle drew of himself, " We are troubled 
 on every side, yet not distressed ; we are perplexed, but not 
 in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but 
 not destroyed," — " approving ourselves as the ministers of 
 God, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good 
 report, as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown and yet 
 well known ; as dying and behold we live ; as chastened 
 and not killed; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor 
 yet making many rich ; as having nothing and yet posses- 
 ing all things." 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. That your 
 whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blameless, 
 unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the prayer of 
 
 Your affectionate Pastor, 
 
 Joseph S. Christmas. 
 Danbunj, Ct. Sept. 1 828. 
 
 »' ' 
 
od — and 
 »lance to 
 troubled 
 i, but not 
 own, but 
 inisters of 
 ind good 
 1 and yet 
 chastened 
 ; ; as poor 
 et posses- 
 le perfect, 
 !, and the 
 'hat your 
 )lameless, 
 prayer of 
 
 STMAS. 
 
 , %■■ 
 
 "W -. •Mi;. 
 
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