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THE ■•'■'■■■.:''■ Assembly's Shorter Catechism, IN THE FORM OF QUESTION AND ANSWER, With Scripture References for thie use of Schools and Private ¥"80111168. BY N. LEITCH, TEACHER ST. ANDREWT5FaRISH SCHOOL, OREBSOCK. . The Chnrch in the House, Wherever I have a tent, there God shall have an altar. ^JaA|» Howard. 592. M' ^ rHR lies. ». . Address of the Free Chureh of Scotland. ^ XQ SCOTSMEN, HCIi AND OTHERS RESlbiNO IN THE URITISM COLONIES, ATTACl TO THE 8TANDAUDS OF THE CHUUCH OF SCOTLAND. Respected Friends AND Brkthren,— In the eflbvls which have been made to promote your spiulual welfare, it has hitherto heeii u*«ual to adilre** those under whotje TMistora] oversiirht you have been placed ; but the duty which you are now called to discharge in consequence ot the events which have happened in Scotland, not only jubtilies, hut demandtt a special ^^nd direct address* to yourselves. Twelve months a^o, about 500 Ministers and Profepsorp, 2500 JElders, and 150 Prohationerft, voluntarily renounced their connec- tion with the Scottish Church- Establishment, arid became the ••Free Church of Scotland." The people joined them in immense nufnbers, insomuch that many of our Congregations continued almost entire. New Congregations were alj^o formed in Parishes where the Ministers remained in the Establishment. Subscriptions A\ere set on foot for building Churches, and tor the support of the Ministry. Meanwhile temporary accom modation >-q|B provided m to\yns, chiefly through the kindness and lil)erality^|£vangelical Dissenters, 'in tl\e rural districts, the Word was pRached,. and , the Sacraments were dispense^ in the open air, ov in barns htted up lor that sacred/ purpose. No pause was permitted to occur between the hour of the disruption and the administration of Word and Ordinances in our new position.^ Ministers and their flocks were cpiigregated as before, with this^difference only, that they no longer worshipped in the churches which were liallowed by many pleasing recollections, and alqngvvith friends and neighbours, with whom we were accustomed to walk to the house of God in com- •■■-pany- : ■: ' / , ■'', Since the period to which we have now referred, the Free Church, in the face of the opposition of a hostile government, aiid a still more hostile aristocracy, has prospered to an extenV ^ar exceeding the most sanguine expectations. It^ numbers have increased— Churches have been erected, or are being erected, in every cprner of the land— it has its Pijesbyteries, and Synod^, and General Assembly. A zealous— we trust we may add, with the exceptions common to all Churches— a pious, and devout people, make provision for the sustentation of the Ministry, and other Mecessary expenses. With the divine favour, we have every reason to hope, that holding steadfastly the great principles which distinguished the Church of bur fathers, the Free Church will, a» in former times, prove an unspeakable blessing to the land of otr itaiiviiy ard. Few, if any, among you, can be in ignarance of the fact, tha^ a2 .■■•■■■:- •■■:,..v.i...-^^-— -A.- r there has been such a revolution in our Church as we hafve noxr described. It has attracted the notice, it has excited the astonish- mentpf the civilized world. It has called ^rth the admiration of many, the ridicule of a few, and the hatred and rancorous animosity of the enemies of the cross of Christ. The reuort, therefore ^icannot fail to have reached your ears; and our brethren' in North America, who have had an oppoitunity of listening to the Free Church deputations who have visited that j)art ' of the world, can be at no lofs to form an enlightened and decided opinion upon this important subject. But we have no doubt theie are many among you inclined to say, like the Jews at Rome to the Apostle Paul, "We desire to hear of tiiee whatthou thinkest; for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against." To satisfy this most reasonable dcfirc, we beg leave .respectfully and aflcctionately to submit to you the following state- raent: — Most of you are aworer that soon after the glorfous revolution in» 1688, the law of Patronage was abolished in Scotland, and the right of nominating to vacant Farishes was vested-in the Heritors and Elders, with power to the Congregation to object, on ^rouiids shewn r to the Nominee. The Act of Pariiament under which this change 80 favourable to the liberties of the Church was efTected, was repealed in 1711, during the administrationof the infamous Boling- broke; the right of Patronage in. all its force was restored, and under the said Act of Queen Anne, continues to be exercised till the present hour. The exercise of the right of Patronapre, however, was not abso- lute and unrestrained. From the era ot the Reiormation downwards, except in persecuting times, when the tyranny of the House of Stuart trampled on all law, and set all princi|i1e at defiance, it had' been recognized as a fundamental principle in the settlement of Ministers that 7io Minister was to be intrmkd into any Parisit cmtrary to tlie will of the Congregation. The pastoral relation, it was justly believed, could not be constituted without mutual consent — ^the consent of the Ministei on the one hand, and of the Membets ol the Congregation on the other. For twenty years after the passing of tlie Act of Queen Anne, the patrons and Church Courto respected this principle. There were few or no settlements m the face of ^claiming; Congregations. But a party in the Churchr calling itselfi by'a stiangc abuse of language, the "Moderate party," and the distingiHshing feature of whose policy was an utter. regaidlessness of the conscientious feelings and Wishes of the people, obtained the ascendancy in our General Assemblies. For aearly a hundred year*, the leaders of that party were permitted, iij the unsearchable providence of God, to lay waste the vmeyard of- the Lord in this land. The most unqualified and unacceptable- r ee ent ec s w e r e , with thcaid of the m ilita ry a nd what were called . *ading Committees, admitted into parishes; conscientious MinistcrSr nAo lefiised to be partokera ia their evil deeds* were deposed j and 1 t k^ ■■¥*'" /•■ t «^ ^^many thousands of the population were alienated from the Estab* ^Jlfiuhinent, and becumt ihe Members of Disaeuting Congrej^utions. During the whole period in which the so-called Moderate jiarty was purHuing this retklchS and anti-chrit>tiah career, a minority in the General A«8embly struggled and protested ogainr-l it as uncon* Htilutional and illegal, injurious to the Church lOHtablishment, and hurliul to the intert'«l8 ot vital religion. Uod was pleased in mercy to send timt's ot revival to our Church and nutioir. With ii revival of spiritual religion, there was a return to Scriptural principles in the goverauM lU ot the. Church. The Kvaiigelical party— the true cOn.-slitutional parly of the Church ol IScolland— ' commenced the arduous- task ol undoing the mischief of the preceding century, or, to use the form of speech which the celebrated Alexander ilenderhon applied to Prelacy— of overthrow- in; thii Jericho of Scottish Moderatism.—'l hey aimed at reviving the spirit^ the ojden times— at giving greater vigour and efficiency to our churcK courts in the exercise of discipline — at increasing the amount ofyinrch accommodation — and restoring to Communi- cants that influei^ce in the admission of their Minicters, of which they had been crWlly and unconstitutionally deprived. > With a view toilie accomplishment of the last of these objects, the (ieneral AfsembJy, in the year 1834 and 1835, passed an Act, ;Which some of you\may have heard miscalled Xha Veto Act » in which it is declared d||g£nacfe(l, that *" if at the moderating in a Call to a vacant pastoif^iarge, the major part of the male'neads of families, members eif the Vacant congregation, and in full communion with the chWch, shall disapprove of the person in whose favour the Call M propofced to. be moderated in, such disjapuroval shall be deemeX sufficient ground for the Presbytery rejecting such persc)n, and that he shall be rejected accordingly.** The intention of the Chukh in this enactment was not to abolish or abridge any of the%gitimale powers of the Church Courts, but to revive and brife into practical operation the fundamental principle to which weChave already alluded ; virtually ■to erase l^iom our records the digfeaceful jjrecedents of former years ; and\to provide, that hencefoimno m^inister shall be intruded on a reclaiming congregation. \\ No law ever was passed by a liglslativt! Asseiiibly which worked more perfectly for the accdmpMshment ot its object than the Non-inlrufiion Act of 1835. It wenifar to content the people; it restrained the patron from the arbitraiy exercise of his rights; and above all, it took away from Presbytenes, the power of forcing an unacceptable presentee on an unwiliinajieople. Among the patrons there were exceptiorts to this remark. The JCarl of Kinnpul, pgttron of the Church and barish of Aucluerardtir, having pr e s e nted ty p e rson exceedingly obnokious to the parigh, a n immense majoiity* of the male heajds of families objected to his alinission ; he wits rejected by the Presbyter*; and the deliTerahce Of the Pres'iyter^ was ultimately coDfirm^ by the General Astern*. y Mv thi pntron and preaentee brouj^hl tlie cai«c before ihe Court . of Session, und after lengthened pleadings at the Bar and diBCUMionJ / . on the Bench, a majority at the Court found that the TrcHbytery of Auchterarder had " act»?d to the hurt and prejudice" of the i)atrnii and hiH pre w nice, " illegally, and in violation of their <»«ty. «".« contrary to the provisions of certain Sialules UMkd on. Ihii judgment was carried by appeal to the House of Lords, the Court of the last'reaort in Britain, and affirmed. The Presbytery, acting in obedienre to the injunctions of the General Assembly, ofTered no farther refistancc to the claims of the patron and presentee to the emoluments of the benefice of Auch- terarder; but, regarding admission to the spiritual charge as a , right or duty \nlh which the Civil Court was not m any ca«c entitled to interfere, and convinced that they could not admit the presentee without a gross infringement of the fundamental principle • above mentioned, they refused to take any farther steps towards hisBettlementj whereupon Lord Kinnoul and the presentee insti- tuted an action for damages to the amount of X16,000. H^J^ also the Presbytery was unsuccesslul, both in the Court belol^ and in the House of Lords. Contrary to all former practice, to the dicta of the most eminent Judges in former times, aiid m opposition to the recorded opinions of six out of the thirteen Scottish Judges before whom th? question was brought, the Civil Court found that it was competent for it t8 of j the kingdom of Heaven." C Xxiii. b. 3, - • «• God alone is Lord of the conncicnce, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandmentH of men, which jire in anythmK contrary to hiu Word» or bi>»ide4l in maltt'r of laiih and woihhip. The fame doctrine iH admirably and conciwiy expresaecl i|» lltf ^ Second Book of Diiicipline, in the following 8entt«ncf8:— ■ i ♦. It is proper to Kings. Princes, and Magistrates, to be called Lords and Dominators over their subjects, whom they govern civUlr. But it is proiier to ChiiM only to be called l/)n and Master. #lho Spiritual government of the Kirk ; and ««• "^h^-^" f^"^ [♦'V ^Jl* therein ought not to usurp dominion therein, nor be called lord*, but only ministers, disciplis. and servants; tor it .s Christ's proper office to command and rule in his Kirk universally, and every , particular kirk, through his SiVirit and Word, ^by the inin.stry of men." * * ' * . . .. "The Maaistrate ought neither to preach, mmislerthe sacraments, > nor executrthc censures of the Kirk, nor yet proscribe any rtile how it should be done, but command the ministers to observe the rule commanded in the Word, and punish the transgressor by civil means." , , .. i In accordance with these principles, so clearly and unambiguously expressed, the Established Church of Scotland, until a very- recent w& held, as the Free Church of Scotland holds, that the ciyil ww« Sot lawfully interfere with the Church in the exercise Ks^?S jurisdiction, nor the Church with thee V.I power in its jurisdiction in matters secular. It acknowledges^ the supremal^y of the Civil Courts in arfl cjuestipns o .«^'v.l right; i^ claims for itself the same supremacy in adjudicating on matters spiritual. If. as may sometimes happen, the sentence of a Church Court affect the civil rights of an individua. thyChiirch admits, that it iscompetent forthe Courtto judge of said sentence, m far w to determine the question of civil right, but d^n^s expressly its competency to touch the spiritual procedure, or alter m the least ^Zrthe ^ntence of the Spi«taal GotirtH and effects. . " ,- x These are principles and rules of judicial, procedures ^^ctioned " and enforced by far higher authority than Books o Discipline, ConfSiB ofVaith, fnd Acts of ^^-^^^ J^^^J^ principles of tlie Word of God, and ar^ essenlml to the existence of pu?e and undehled Christianity. They are^enJ«'n*/J>y;*»5 authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, the alone king and Head of his Church, who ha5 promised to be with h.s servants in the observance of them to the e4id of the world. lU kingdom is not of this world ; it has its own Sovereijgn. its own l^^^j^ff !^ts.own rulers, its own laws, with none x)f which the princes ot this worW, whether in their own arsons, as in the days of tlie Stuarte, or by their judges, as in our day, are at liberty to intertere. Admit the ^I^f^ppf 8 /..■ «/- right of the civil power to interfere^ and you conTeit the kingddti\ i ot Christ into a kingdom of, this world. You dethrone the iCing of Zion. and put an earthJy ruler in his place. Admit the ri^ht of the civil magistrate to interfere' either in the settlement of Ministers, or in any other part of the spiritual province, and no man can telJL how far that mterference may go. Liberty of conscience' is -endan^red-^we had almost said, is at an end. Prelacy, Popery, ahy system of false religion, may be thrust upon you. On thie contiary, hold fast the great priiiciple of the exclusive jurit^diction of the Church in mairers spiritual. .Let Ihe Church rule huprt me wilhin it$ ovrn province, and the civil courts in theirs ; and though cx^casionally there may be collisions between'them, it will not be ot long duration, • or of fatal consequences — the honour of Christ as the Head ol his Church will be maintained, good prder will be preserved, religious liberty will be safe, and a>?- a Church and people you may look: with contidence for the blessing of the Almighty. It was under Jhe infliience of these solernnizing, and deeply affecting considerations, that the Ministers, Elders, ^ndl'eople of the Free Church, contended so earnestly for the exclusive jurisdic- tion of the Church Courts in matters spiritual, , and that, des( airing of the rec(;)very of their lost liberties, they came to the pamful determination of dissolving their connection with the Slate. The last judgment in the Auchteraitter case wa^ not only the sentence :of the Civil Court by which the Church's iibertieis were infringed, and its constitution subverted, but similar cases weielji ought before the Court of Session, which gave occasion to ntw and more extia- orduiary encroachments on the spiritual juri.sdiction. Of these we give the follow ing specimens, selected in substance from- the Church's Claim of Kight, to which we fchaiialiti wards rekr more particularly. 1. In the Marnoch case the Court of Ses»ion required and ordained a Church Court to take on trial and admit a probationer to the office of the holy ministr}, and to intrude him on a congregation contrary to the will of the people. ; 2. It prohibited the Communicants of the Ohnrch and Parish of i>aviot from intimating their dissent from a Call pro|;osed to Le given to a candidate for the ministry to become theii pastor. 3. In the Stewarton case the same court granted an interdict (in £n^land, — -injunction) agaijist constituting a new Kirk -session in a parish, to exercise discipline, and against altering its existing state •* as re^rds pastoral buperintendeuce, in Kirk'session, and juris- diction thereto belonging." 4. It interdicted the preaching of the Gospel and the administra- tion of ordinances throughout a whole district, by any Minister of ]lhe Church, under the authority of the Church Courts, thus irt,va- ding^ the privilege common to all the subjects of this lealm,- of Having freedom to wotship God according to their consciences, and itfider the guidance of the Ministers of the communion to* which. ♦ ^'*:V:ii^: the I belong. 4 ■x. • \, : ■; 5. It interdicted a Preebytery from proceeding with a libel against a licentiate lor gross immorality— it suspended Church censures, inflicted by Church judicatories— it interdicted the execution of a sentence of deposition from the office ol the holy ministry ; and, Lastlu. It assumed tc/ judge of the right of individuals elected Members of the General Assembly to sit therein, and interdicted them from taking their seats. ► ^ ."^ These example^? may serve to show to What an alarming extent the Civil Court had carried its invasion of the spiritual jurisdiction.' The Church, indeed, was accused ol aiming at a Popish supremacy, and the boundary line it was pretended, could not easily be drawn between things civil and things^irilual, but in all the cases which arose, there was not the shaipr of a ground for charging the Church with confounding that which was spiritual with that which was secular, and, in point of fact, such an allegation had not once been made from any quarter whatever. Not a vestige, then, of owr spiritual liberty remained. All was strcpt away by the powerful arm of the courts of law. What, then, remained to be done ? Ii was in vain to appeal against these illegal and unconstitutional proceedings, to the House of Lords. The expenses incurred^ by former appeals were enormous ; and, looking to the opinions wbicli the law lords then pronounced, and to the principle and rule^f law laid dowri in the second judgment in the Auchterarder case, 'the ^ most sanguine could stearse^ritertain any hope of redress, i;^ » In these circumstances, the first impulse on our mind was to lea;ve the Establishment. It wa^ impossible lor us to act under the law as declared by the Civil Courts, without deeply wounding our' consciences, and violating our ordination engagemenls; and it was ' nearly as impossible to withstand the coercion of the Civil Courts. 'We had long contemplated the possibility ol such an issue. Many of us were fully prepared to adopt that last— that fearful resolution. But we were not at liberty Jto do so until we had used every expe- dient which our judgments suggested for averting the disruption, if might be, ulthnately the overthrow of om» National Church. Accordingly, as one ^ the last of these expedients, the Genera* Assembly of 1842 adopted, and tranawilted to Government a doctt' meat, enticed, •*The Church of Scotlamd's Claim of Right," w which after quoting eairalyamddttipassionately the varioOB Treaties and Acts of Parliament by which the liberties of the Church of ScotlMid were ratified and secured, the General Assembly in vu equally calm aiid dispassionate manner, proceeds to enumel^e what k regarded as the hrfiactiona of these Laws and Nationad Treaties by the Civil Coiirt», asks ledress f rom ^heir «icon»tituti»naJ an* illegal encroachnients— declares that it eannet submit to these enccoachments, and solemnly protests against them as void and nnllr and of ho legal force or efltect Noanswer was nade to tlii»eemm«nicationv until, in the month of Novembev fellowing, a Memonal oh the same subject wa» presented to Her Majesty's GovenmeHtr by the Cwamission of the '%■ ■ ■ .-. ."■■ ■■ ■••■.■ .■-■.:■' •• ■■ ■ \v •■- -v- Oeneral Assembly, when the Moderator received a reply from Sir James Graham, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which was the very reverse of eatislactory. < One duty, and only one, now remamed to be performed. It was from the State that the Church received its status and endowments it was by the State that its liberties as an Estabjisiied Churcti were ratified and confirmed. We had appealed to the Houee of Lords— we had Memorialized Her Majesty's Ministers in vain. We had iot y«t gone to Parliament— Parliament had not expressed its mmd upon the subject. An extraordinary meeting of Commission of the General Assembly was therefore called on the Slst of January 1843 when a Petition was prepared, which was afterwards presented to the House of Commons, by the Right Hon. Fox Maule,and on a motion for inquiry by the same gentleman, was taken under consideration on the 7th and 8th Maixh. After a lengthened and animated debate, the Motion was negatived by a large majority, not of Scotch Members, 0or we rejoice to t^ay there was a majority of cur liepresentalives in our favour), but of English and Irish Members. The day «tt length arrived which was to try the- strength of our faith— the sincerity of our olt- repeated professions Jehovah , granted an answer to many prayers. He sent help from hia sanctuary, and strengthened us oiit of Zion. On the 18th oi May, 127 withdrew from the General Asf^emlly of the National Church, and on the Tuesday following, along with other Brethren, 3^4: who held their principles, resigned their sfafws imd emoluments as Ministers of the Established Church, casting themselves arid their families on the Providence of their Maf^ler whom they served, and ■• j)referring poverty and want, with tie api robalion of God, and ' their own con scieiige, to the comiorls and worldly advaniages of a fallen and dishonotired Church. \ , / ' V We trust it has been shown in the statement of facts which has lieen laid before you, that the dissolution of our connection with the Establishment was unavoidable. It was the result of ^ a succession of events in Providence^ over whichwe bad no-control. : No mesons- were neglected .which, in our judgment, could avail to wai-d off so great a national calamity as the disruption y)f our Nati/onal Church. Only one alternative was left. Either we must sacriiice oiiir principles, and with them our peace, and the interests of vjt^l .Christianity, or our J«fa/tw and. emoluments as Members of the Scottish Establishment. We chose the lalteF part of the *Uetn»tive— we haye never repented oi ^ step which we tookj 4nd we have been confirmed in the truth and righteousness of our cause, by the fact that no attempt has been made to answer the pil)^pst, w.hif^ we laid upon the table of the General AsBejpbly of ■ the Established Church. ' V ^ ^ ; := ; You vim be inclined, however, to ask whether, since the ~ di^roptioni, the evils complained off ha v e not been r e m e di e d by th fe S^tch Benefices Act, commonly galled Jx)r^ AberdeeD*8 Act^ II and whether, on. the gpround of thut enactment, the door has not been opened for our return to the Establishmeni In answer to this inquiry, we think it Bcarcely necewary to do more than quote a description which onc^ of our number has given of the enactment referred to:—" It gives,'* said our reverend . brother, " as. much power to the people as the Presbytery chooses to grant, and as much power to the Presbytery as the Court of Session will allow.** The Act of Lord Aberdeen has sealed the fate of the Established Church— it has extinguished at once the* Non-intrusion principle, and the doctrine of the Supremacy of Chiist Far from remedying, the mischief occasirfned by tl^e illegal jndgments of theCivil Courts, it has confirmed them by the greater power of an Act of the Legislature. It mocks the people by professing to give them a right of objecting for reasons assigned ; whilst it renders the possession ot^ that right altogether nugatory by the nature of the evidence required in proof of the objections. It gives them nothing — it has taken everything away. , We wish it to be particutarly observed, that in bringing forward the Bill, it was not professed by Lord Aberdeen, or any of his coadjutor^ in Parliament, that it Was their intention to restore the spiritual jurisdiction of which the judgments in the Auchlerarder Case had deprived us! On the contrary, every one of them reputliated in the strongest languj^e that great and essential principle, and our determined adherence toit has been thecauseoflhe dissolv- ing of our connexion with the Established Church ; and Sir Robert Peel, referring to this subject.in his speech on the Irish question, has expressed himself in language so strong as to leave iibt the shadow of a doubt respecting the meaning and intention of the Act 1 The Civil Courts have, under form of law, done that in our da)^ which the Sovereign did, in a. more arbitrary manner, in the 16th and 17th centuries. The liberties, in defence of which ptir torefathers shed their blood are no more— at least they no longer exist in the Established Church. Bereit of the freedo|n which was its chief glory — despised and deserted by the peoplei it stands forth the miserable fragment of a once noble edifice, about to be razed to its foundations by the first popular commotion, or by the powerful hand Of a strong hostile Administration,; All our Missionaries, and almost all the Protestant Churches, in our own and foreign countries, have declared in the warmest manner their approval of our principres, and of the course which we have pursued. l^Ve earnestly invite you seriously and prayerfully to consider th0 Statement which we have considered it ouwluty^ to lay before you J and to avow your adherence to those sacred principles for which I we, itter the example of our forefathers, have heeii required to contend and suffer. Weneed hardly say that we address this invitation to you, from' no hope or desire of receiving arty temporal advantage from your compliance with our request. It is not unionrcthat is, incorporation witp you), that we desire ; we wish to. se^y^ias free and independent of us, andof every other Church IB Britain, as our brethren in England have lataly prodaimtl then- telveii to be. Our earacftt wish and pmyt r is, that you may be one with us in principle. We would have you clear f ro^n the heinous sin of dishonouring your Divine Master, by denying the Bui)rejn«iy of His Wotd, and virtually admitUng the right ol the Civil Ruler to come between your conscience and the eommandments of the li^g God. The doctrine of Christ's supremiwy is not peculiar to the Fice Church. It is. or ought to be^ the fundamental pnncii>le of every Church. The Chnicb which .disowns it, whether in its standards, or in its practice, forfeits its title to he regarded as a Church of Christ It matters not in what part of the world men Eve, or under what peculiar form of eivilgovemroent, the obligation to maintain the principle of the spirituaT jurisdiction is the same. In the performance of their religious duties, whether as private persons, or as spiritual rulers, they mustobey God rather than man. It has grieved us exceedingly to learn, that in some of the colo- nies the Church Courts have issued a somewhat uncertain sound on this important and momentous question ; and that* by the con- ' fession of some of their members, they have been induced to adopt this course by the fear of putting in peril their temporal interests- The Free Church Colonial Committee has already addressed your Church Courts on this subject, and we fondly hope that our expos- tulation has not been in vain. We rejoice to know that, as in Scotland the adherence to F^ee Chur<5h Principles is^^vater in pro- portion on the part of the people than of ihe ministers, so it is with you ; and that some of your pastors are alive to the necessity of an unequivocal declaration of thcfir attachment to the first prin- ciples of Protestantism, and of religious liberty. If the spirit v^hich * actuates her Majesty's Government at home be felt in an e^ual degree in the colonies, these faithful pastors may* and in all like- lihood will, suffer for their fidelity. We are persuaded^ that you will not desert them in the hour of trial. By every act of kmdness in your power, convince them that they have the sympathy of the people; and that yoii will, through God's Grace, be ready td sufer Witn them, and to aid and enc;ourage them in their suflerings.^. Make it-evident to the world in these times of spiritual daSiger and alarm, that you will not be moved by any temporal considemtions to desert the post of duty, and the spmiual leaders who continue faithful to Zion's Kinff. Be valiant jfor the truth. 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