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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour gtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 l.i 1.25 i^ 111^ 1*3 1^ 190 fr'^UU. 3.2 3.6 4.0 1.4 2.2 2.0 l.b 1.6 d /APPLIED irvMGE inc 165Z East Main Street Rochester, New York 14609 USA (716) 482 -0300 - Phone (716) 288 - 5989 • Fax THE I DANGER OF DISSENT.^^^ BY THE REV. W. GRESLET, M.A. I. That it is not w^charitaUe to warn Dissenters of their danger. Christian chnrify is a term very much misunderstood or nusrepresented in the present day; and yet, «hen plan,Iy stated, its duties seem obvin,.s enough. Sup- pose we were to see a person walking on heedlessly in the direction of a dangerous pit, apparently quite «nconscu>us of his danger, what would he the con'duct T^hich Chnsf.an charity would require of us? Would It be nght to say to ourselves, ;,.r//«;,. he n.ay not fall him go on P^'''^''^'''' ""^""^ ^'^"^P' and so let No, surely; there cannot be a question that it would be our duty to call out as loudly as we could, to warn nim of nis danger. This in, in truth, the principle of all Missionary. Socet.es, and Societies ,or the Propagation of the Gospel VUbeiie-e the heathen tc.be living in a stateof danger; we bdieve that the Bible contains the revelation of God's uill,and the way of salvation and that n is (iod's c-ommand that it should be mldj known to a, nations; therefore we subscribe our njoney for the holy purpose of n.aintaining those mi- nisters whom thp h;«h«.. ..K..II ^_.K_. ^. . , n«o«„i_.....K : ' :: .•' '".""" "'"•"", as neraiUsof bfi, Church of Christ. NATION A r CAN BiBLrou ADA E NAJIONALE P3 \fiO OOi^ 2 THE DANGER OF DISSENT. Dissenters act from the same motive, though, as we believe, not regularly; still their motive we are bound to think is good and charitable. Suppose, then, that when a missionary — a Dissenter it might be — went to a heathen prince — the king of Otaiicite, or a New Z-aland chief, or the emperor of China,— and told him that he was come to warn him of his danger, and teach him the way of salvation, — the said king, prince, or emperor was to fly out into a violent passion, and say, " What do these impertinent people mean by telling me I am in danger? Do they suppose I cannot go to heaven in my own way ? Illi- beral bic;ots ! do they think ^% only know the way of salvation?" Now, there is nothing very unlikely or unnatural in this supposition. There is some seeming reason in the heathen's words; and yet the Dissenter who had conscientiously contributed to the sending out of the missionary would not consider that such a reception of his charity released him from the duty of endeavouring again and again to win the heathen to the faith. Apply now the above example to the relation be- tween Churchmen and Dissenters. I do not scruple to say that, in common with many others, I consider Dissenters to be in a state of great spiritual danger. Dissent is schism : and schism is a sin. There ought not to be any such thing as dissent. Men are not at liberty, by God's law, to dissent from that which is the true Church. They are, therefore, in sin, and conse- quently in danger. My reasons for believing so will be given hereafter. All I want now to establish is, that believing this to be the fact, and having, as I think, strong reasons for my belief, the Dissenter ought not to think me uncharitable or illiberal, if I express my fears for his safety ; on the contrary, he will do well to weigh seriously the reasons which I have to bring forward, the rather becausp \vhnt I am aK/Mif tn. aA.,r,n^^ :^ ^~* my own personal opinion only ; but, as I undertake to 1 + THE DANGER OF DISSENT. $ prove, •* is what the Church universal has received for eighteen hundred years as the doctrine of Scripture. II. Reason for believing Dissenters to be in a state of great danger. When our Lord Jesus Christ sent forth his apostles to convert and teach all nations, his commission was as follows:— "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matt, xxviii. 1 9.)— He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved." (xMark xvi. 16.) There cannot be, I suppose, a dif- ference of opinion as to the plain meaning of these words; namely, that faith and baptism are necessary to salvation. This position may be strengthened by very many passages from the Acts of the Apostles, as in the case of St. Paul the Ethiopian eunuch, and the Philippian jailor, in which it invariably appears that as soon as a new convert professed his faith in Christ, he was straightway baptized ; nor was he a member of the Christian Church, until that holy sacrament had been receii-ed. Now, I entreat ray dissenting readers, and I do so most solemnly and earnestly, to bear with my bigotry and illiberality, when I express my serious apprehen- sions that they have never received Christian baptism. What, some will say, do you unchristianize us? Was there ever such bigotry ? All I answer is, abuse, but hear me. The question is not, whether the statement is liberal or illiberal, but whether it is true or false. Let me beg of you to take the word of God for your guide, and consider whether you can prove to your own satisfaction that you have ever certainly been baptised. W' hat is baptism ? and who can perform that holy ceremony ? If any person, no matter who, throw water on me, and utter certain words, would that be Christian baptism? Would God's grace go with it? Can a child TIIU DANGER OF DISSENT. or a woman baptize ? If not, who then can baptize P Our Lord said to his apostles, " Goyp, and baprize all nations." The apostles, before their departure from the world, coinniissioned others to perform this and other ministerial functions. Again, the Bishops whom they ordained commissioned others in their turn. — There never was any doubt that persons so ordained by the bishops have authority and power to baptize; but whether any others have the same power, there is very great doubt. The authorized practice of the Church universal has been forordained ministers to baptizc,and any other baptism has been h«'ld as not valid ; that is, as being no baptism at all. It is true there have been different .s of opinion on the subject. Some have supposed that baptism by the hatid^ of one who had received the ministerial commission, and afterwards became a heretic, or separated from the Church, would still be valid. Others have thought ihat, in a case of emergency^ if a child is sprinkled with water in the name of the blessed Trinity, even by an unordaincd person, it is valid. But neither of these cases applies to imor- dained persons baptizing icithout emergency ; and there are sonie Dissenters who do not even baptize in the Dame of the blessed Trinity. The whole question is full of difficulty. The twelfth article of the Convoca- tion of 1575 declares that baptism "is only to be mi- nistered by a lawful minister or deacon ;" and in the service the Church directs that in cases of douht fulness, her ministers shall use this form of words: — " If thou art not already baptized, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Iloiy Ghost." Now, I beg Dissenters to observe the point of my argument. I do not mean positively to assert (Cod forbid!) that they have not been baptized. God is their judge; but I do assert that there is great reason to dituht whether they have been baptized or no. But i.in:t IS r. i2i-v>-ni »w:ui qiifsiiwii. iis many Bs nave been baptized into Christ," says St. Paul, "have put TUB DANGER Or DISSENT. + on Christ." (Gal. iii. 07.) If tluy have not been baptized into Christ, they have not put on Christ. "By one Spirit," lie says in another place, "ye are baptized into one body." (I Cor.xii. 13.) It' they, then, have not been baptlzid, they are not members of thai spiritual body. But why, in suth an important business, remain in doubt ? Why not make certain? If a man were informed by some kind friend of a flaw in his title-deeds, would he not ii.stantly take nu asurcs to remove it? If the deed by which he possessed his property had not been duly signed and scaled, or wit- nessed by the proper persons, would he let a day pass before he took steps to remove the flaw ? Let not the DisAenter accuse me of desiring to deprive him of any privilege which he possesses, On the contrary, my earnest hope is to induce him to take measures to possess hiuiself of what there is reason to fear he has not. I wish to prevail on him to remove the flaw and doubtfulness of his title to heaven, by going with hum- ble faith and penitence for his "sins, negligences, and ignorances," to one of those of whom there can be no doubt that they have received aconmiission to perform this necessary sacrament. This is too serious a mat- ter to be lightly regarded. III. Second reason for believing Dissenters to he in danger. The second reason which I shall state k similar to the former. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to his disciples, in a most solemn and emphatic manner, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the P^n of Man, and drink his blood, ye havt no life in you/ This was a * John vi 53. This paacage has always been considered by the Churcli to refer to the sacrament of the Lord's supper. But even suppose otherwise, still the obligation 011 all persons who have opDortunitv to nnrtnk(> nf thp boK- n.,rT,^.,^i,^^ :„ j from tlie terms of ita institution, and has never been doubted amongst Christiaiiii. THE DANGER OF DISSENT. hard saying, and it does not appear that, at the first, the disciples understood it. Subsequent events, how- ever, explained its meaning. On the niglit before his crucifixion, "Jesus took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is wy body. LikewirP, after supper he took the cup, and gave it to them, saying, This is my blood of the new Testament, which was shed for you, and for many, for the remis- sion of sins. Drink ye alt, of itr Again, in the Second Epistle to the Corinthian:^, St. Paul said, " The cup which we bless, is it not the conununion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" (See Mait.xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 17; 1 Cor. xi. 23.) In accordance with these and various other passages of Scripture, the Church of all ages has held of this as of the sacrament of baptism, that it is "get)erally ne- cessary to salvation ;" that is to say, that unless any obstac5e prevent, we cannot be saved without it. As by baptism we are grafted into the body of Christ, so by the sacrament of the Lord's sn()per, rightly admi- nistered and faithfully received, we continue therein : "we dwell in Christ, and he in us; we are one with Christ, and he with us." Now if there was a doubt as to the possibility of baptism being duly administered by one who has not received God's commission to do so, the doubt is very much greater with regard to the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. The cup which we bless, said St. Paul, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? The cup which icho bless ? The cup which any man, woman, or child blesses, is that the communion of the blood of Christ — the means of conveying to us his most sacred blood ? No, surely ; the cup which was blessed by the apostles, and those who, through thera, received the Divine commission to do so. In every age of the Church these have 'oeen well known as the persons who are authorised to consecrate the bread . THE DANGER OF DISSENT. f and wine. Persons presuming to do so without the Divine commission have been looked on as exceeding sinners, and their act as null and void. The most serious und alarming consideration is in- volved in this doctrine; ivduwly, whct/tcr Dissoiters have ever eaten the bodi/, or ilnink the blood of Christ, without which, we are expressly told, " there is no life in us." Whether the sacrament which they have par- taken of be not a mock sucrameht, that is to say, no sacrament at all. But this is not the whole. If any man wilfully has thus profaned the holy sacrament, it is much to be feared that he has eaten and drunk his own condetnnatioti, not considering the Lord's body. Even in the case of those who fuive ignorantly partaken of such mock-sacrament (of which class I verily believe most Dissenters to be,) still, with whatsoever good in- tention they have partaken, it cannot be supposed, at least it cannot be proved, that an iinreal sacranient can have conveyed to them any benefit, or in any way have strengthened or refreshed their souls. If the food which we receive into our natural bodies pos- sess not in itself any real wholesomeness or power of nourishment, it matters not with what appetite we eat it. And here again, let it not be said that we seek to deprive the Dissenters of any benefit or privilege: on the contrary, we would earnestly entreat them to come and partake of alhhe privileges which we have to ohcr, *' without money and without price." IV. Third reason for believing Dissenters to be in great danger. The third reason which I shall mention is, their separation from the one Catholic and Apostolic Church. This topic requires some previous explanation. — The Dissenter believes in an invisible Church, con- sisting of all those who truly believe in Christ. And 8 THE DANG£S OF DISSENT. 80 do wc, in common with the Church of all ages, believe in an invi ible Church— a union of all saints and martyrs, and holy nien of old who have lived and died, and those who now live in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. 'Jhis we call the " conmmnion of saints." Rut we also believe "one Catholic and Apostolic Church;" a visible body mercifully founded by Christ, in order to constitute the point of union of Christians in all ages, as well as for various other providemial uses. In denying this doctrine of a Ca- tholic Church, OS well as a conununion of saints, the Dissenter maintains an opinion in direct opposition to the Apostles' Creed, which has been received in the Church from the begiiming. The doctrine in question may be proved also from several texts of Scripture. — O^ir Saviour says, if a man "neglect to hear the Church, let him be fo thee as an heathen man and a publican." (Matt, xviii. 1 7.) But if the Church be invisible only, how can we know it when it speaks? Again, St. Paul calls the Church " the pillar and ground of" the truth." (I Tim. iii. lo.) How can an invisible Church be to us the pillar and ground of the truth? The Dissenters say, each man's Church or conununion is to him the pillar and ground of the truth. The Baptist's society is the pillar and ground to him, the Socinian's to him, and the Church of England to its own members. What follows? Why, first, that on this prinriple each man's own opinion is to him the pillar and ground of the truth; next, that we have a nmltitude of pillars setting forth, or upholding, contradictory truths! One pillar bearing inscribed on it, that Jesus is a mere man ; another, that he is "very God of very God." Now, that these pillars, setting forth, or upholding as the truth, doctrines directly contradictory to each other, should be all true Churches, is impossible. Therefore, it is marsifest that there must be one, and only one true Church, which by thesuperintendingProvidenceofGod, shall maintain forever the essential truths of revelation. THE DANGER OP DISSENT, 9 # Such a Church is that founded by the Apostles, which, through the revolution oi' kingdoms, and the cloud of thick darkness, that during many ages rested on the earth, has still maintained the vital and essential truths of the blessed Gospel. It was this visible Church which first preached the Gospel, and gathered in the nations to the fold of Christ. 'Vhe same Church it was that collected the holy Scriptures as we now have them, and has been "the witnesoar.d keeper" of mnch of the Church universal, the history of which, it may be presumed, he has con- 8idered= There was a time — in the reigns of Klizabeth and James — when the Knglish Church, purged of Romish corruption, and restored to her ancient purity, 10 THE DA.NGER OF DISSIMT. was one and entire, and maintained, in all essential points, the apostolic doctrine and fellowship. 'l"hen rose up certain men who "caused divisions," contrary to the received doctrine, and began to "walii disor- derly." First, the bishop of Rome, contrary to all ecclesiastical order, sent emissaries into the dioceses of the English bishops; and in several places establisiied schismatical conununion, endeavouring to bring back the corruptions and superstitions which the English Church had, with almost universal consent, removed, as inconsistent with Scripture and the practice of the ancient Churcli. Then, other sectarians, under the nameofBrownists or Independents, Socinians. Baptists, and a host of others, began to cause divisions and offences; some objecting to surplices, and some to bishops; and in the end most wickedly overturned for a while, though it was not permitted to them to extinguish, the English Church. These men were clearly guilty of great sin— Hrst, in their separation from a true Church ; then in the violence to which their separation led. And if separation was thus sin- ful and dangerous in the reign of EIizab(!th, and James, and Charles, it is impossible that it sliould not be so now. If the separatists of those days cut themselves off, as they most certainly did, from the privileges and communion of the Church, it docs not seem possible that thrir descendants should regain those privileges, except by again joining themselves to the Church from which their fathers sinfully separated. We solemnly warn Dissenters, therefore, of their danger, and exhort them at once to place themselves out of it. We do not ask them to give up the doctrine of an invisible Church; nay, we exhort them to main- tain it as a high and holy mystery; but we ask them to add to that the doctrine of a visible Catholic Church. We ask them to believe, what one would think is not very unreasonable, that it is the loill of God, that those who mre joined together in one common faith ought also i THE D AUGER OF DISSEJIT. II to he joined in outwurd union — ought to worsliip God together, and partake to^^ether of the holy communion. To set up altar against altar, and pulpit against pulpit in the same place, is palpably inconsistent with C'hris- tian charity and union, and - A inevitably bring God's displeasure on those who de - jch things. V. The foregoing reasons viewed togetlier. I beg the attention of Dissenters to the topic which I am now about to bring forward : it is a rrry impor- tant one, but one which I fear they have but little considered, if they ever heard of it. Some Dissenters, Wcsleyans for instance, say that they differ very sUghthj from the Church ; and there- fore, even supposing that they arc wrong, they cannot imagine that there can be any danger in their differences. First, let us consider the (pustion, whether, as far as we know of God's laws, he docs not sometimes inflict tremendous punishment for what may seem to us an error of judgment ? Eve would not believe the w arning of God; she ate the forbidden fruit, and died. Uzza touched the ark, which all but the priests were forbidden to touch ; he did so with the good intention, as it would seem, of saving it from falling; but he was struck dead for his error. So it is under the Christian covenant. " He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved. — He that believeth not Ghall be damned." 'I'hese instances 1 mention to shew, that by the law of God severe punishment is wont to f;dl on men for what gome may consider mere errors of judgment. But that is not the main point to which I wish to direct the mind of the Pisscnter, and principally the Wesley an. Is he sure thut his error is slight? He differs from the Church in some minor points, as he believes, and ocpaicilca tjiiiiscii tiv/tzi iivi vv/tiiinlitjiv/ii. i_»lit titi.- - •. • j separation, even in the slightest degree, may bring in its train the most awful consequences. Those who 12 THE DANGER OF DISSENT. entered the ark were safe. All who remained without, t muttcrerl not whether at a s.naller or greater dis^ tance w,ve drowned. I do entreat the Dissenter to consider the possihle, nay probable, consequences of separation. It mm, / u,e cut him off from the Chris- tmn sacrarnems. There is a great doubt wi.ether he has ever been spiritually joined to Christ in baptism. drunk the body and blood of Christ. If n.t, he has no 7Zt ''^' /. /.m; he may have been all along eating and dnnkmg his own daumation. Hence, by natural consequence, he has no sympathy with Christ's body, tne Church ; yea, rather an hostility against it. Will not tins account for the fact, otherwise not easily explained, of the violent and unbridled wickedness to which Dissenters in times past have been led, when, begmmng with app, rently small disputes, about the use of surplices, and the cross in baptism, they caused a Scliisn, in the Church? Would it not seem that ihenc^orth the Holy Spirit ceased to guide themf And so they v,ent on until they murdered their king; drove God s servants, the bishops, from the land; and trampled under foot his most holy Church. It is impossible to conceive wickedness more awful tli n this. ^ And are not Dissenters even now in danger of falling: into the same excess of sin ? Does not the most bitter malice against the Church corrode the hearts of some^^ not of all-(;od forbid that I should say so, or think r.7^''! '" "'f ''"^'" *^ ^'^^ ««"^^ sinfulness, if deserted by (,od s Spirit. Rut in many Satan even now re gns triumphant; causing them to vilify God's holy Church- crying "Down with it, down with it, even to the ground! Let them thank Cod, who has hitherto restrained their violence. I would entreat them to consider the question which 1^ have just suggested, whether the bitterness and Violence, whidi so many exhibit, may not arise from desertion of the Holy Spirit, /. conse^iuence of the r... THE DANGER OF JDISSENT. 13 t gleet or invnlid reception of those sacraments which he has orduiued to he dispehsed, us the contiiiuul means of gruce^ through the instrumeutulittj of his visible Church, , And let those who are not conscious of any such hostility to the Church, yet live in separation from it, consider the dilennna in which they are placed. 'J'hey differ from the Church for great or for small things. — If for great things, for essential and fundamental points, then they are liable to the charge of heresy. If for small and non-essential things, why cause a Schism? and why needlessly deprive themselves of the benetit of those sacraments and ordinances which the Church has been conmiissioned to administer? It is no safe refuge for the Di: senter, that, in his separatit n from the Church, or in his hostility to it, he is acting, as it i!< erroneously termed, conscientiously. St. Paul conscientiously, as he thought, persecuted the Church; and some thought they did God service when they put the apostles to death. Let the Dissenter learn from hence into what depths of sin it is possible for a mistake nlij conscimtions man to Jail; and let him not be satisfied with the approbation of his conscience, unless he has taken those various means which Cod has afforded to make sure that his conscience is rightly informed. VI. Objections ansicered. The usual plea of Dissenters for their separation from the Church is, that there are various imperfections in it. To this I answer, that it is not competent for a man to say, 1 object to this thing and that, and there- fore I will leave the Church. He ought to try to have them amended. Those wlio leave the Church incur the loss of th' se benefits which the Church is ordained to afford. No one says that the Church on earth is npHVrt: thouLrh established bv God. it is administered by men. and therefore liable to error. If such errors go to great lengths — if the Church insists on our doing 14 THE DAXGEB OF DissENT. ?ny thing plainlv contrary to God'. I. ;^-ages and pray to saints hen as I ol^ " '' "°^^^^"> dare not co,nnm,.icate wi h hor n ""' '''^'•'' "^'^ |- and ,,e.ons a,,:!! ^ ?^T,;?f ^^ -"^^y GoJ rather tliM men " iv "« must obey «i" raise „p f„, „3 o.e w l of'irV '^"''"'^ """ «°d never heard of ,„,, "Z^^^- °\ deliverance. But I •he ehar^^e of the ni.f """""" "■• "''"''^-^ 'aid to England? SUe. ^ H^ iit:';:" f '^°'''' ^•""-" '" restored, nsuearl/asmlt ,,'■'"'■'" "^'•"l"''"^; she is s,„,„d, i„ l/. "'Y ''°' "> "'« "Postolic model- •he blemishes ,W,ieh a'c .upp:::d'ro '^''T" ""' '>'' exist i„ her, vet sinen «!,„ i "'"' <"■ ''eallvdo God's c.,n,;C:' I tiJTVr '"™ ""»' "-""a" Z™". /«. c.„,„„„;;" "'^'^ "'"' ''"Hg^'-ous to separate reJmtd a.^S 1' ■ st' 7: ■'T;''™ "--" 'he called) ^'i.«./,h:„ ' i74 «^, 'f -'. - «. (so- ofsom position, or he rt^ , ' '"'" •''"""•e danger peril, talks of jo ,r pietv it? ""•"'' '''■°'" ^"o J'our leads 30U to Jpp so 1^," 1™"-'"™'''"'-'-^, and so sinfulness „„r Ijj IZa, ""'^'' "' » ««« "f tru.h, however unpalatable Ta 'a tfVf"'' '"« ''ho prophesies .,„Lth thiL to ,TZ '"'' "''''" ^e lam bounc ,:,;'^ '"-<""■ destruetion. admission to Dissenter, 'n'd ,'" '"'^ ""'= ""?»«»' the unfortunate and d ,C, ""v ' ™'' '"''•'' '"at stand is, in u.any eases mZ , n '.™ '" '"'»'■" 'hey to .ho i..activit/wl •:rp t ''tt'ch V"' ""'-• the whole nation, during a .'cat part „. f, ' f *'" =•» tury; and, in the second nl.^l 7 ^l ^ "'" '''^' «D- though entirely conZv to th ' rV" f."""'P'''' "'"A have been incdeated b711 f.V'."/^'' ^ -' "oetrine.' Church. Therp »™ r" " ""^ members of thp i here are, I am persuaded, many hundn^S^ THE DANGER OF DISSBNT. 15 and thousands of well-intentioned men living in sepa- ration from the Church, in sheer ignorance of their danger, uJid this principally because God's vnnisters have nevrr taught them the real truth. The true doc- trine of the unity of the Church, and the sinfulness of schism, has not been preached as it ought to have been from our pulpits. Many ministers have rather en- couraged Dissenters in their delusion, by telling thera that their faith is orthodox, and their differences trivial; neglecting at the s'-me time to teach them that there wa^s a doubtfulness as to the validity of their sacra- ments, and that reparation from the apostolic Church was against the laws of God. Others have contributed to the same delusion, by resting the necessity of con- formity on lower principles, such as expediency, and obedience to the law of the land. And so, many per- sons have thought lightly of separation from what they deemed a mere national establishment, who would have remained faithful, had they been taught that the Church was Christ's own divine institution. Let us hope that these things are now beginning to be better known and valued; that the necessity of the Christian sacraments,— the essential unity of the Church,— the duty of joining ourselves, through God*s appointed rxans, to tha^ which is the body of Christ, the true nature of the Church, not as a mere human establishment, which may be put down by the same power that raised it up, but as a divine ordinance of Christ, which must continue so long as the world cndurcth,— let us trust that these vital doctrines will henceforth be acknowledged amongst Christians. And when the voice of long-neglected truth has once more gone forth through the land, let us entertain a firm hope that better days arc in store for the Church. — Superstition and heresy have in times past more fear- fuUv prevailed against the Church, than now she is vexed by schism. But as the Ibrmer have, through the providence of God, been dispersed, so we doubt not 16 THE DANGER OP DISSENT. will the various sects, which now mar her beautv, again return to their h<.ly mother, when she raises her voice m accents of warning and kindness. Then will Rhe send forth her missionaries and distri- bute the word of God with 8(,me prospect of success, when all shall speak the same thing, and "utter a cer- tain sound." And we may at length hope that the bright anticipations of the elder prophets may have a literal tulhhnent; and that the knowledge of the truth may spread over the earth, as the waters cover ihe sea. VI ir. Concluding remarks. I trust that these arguments will be received by the Dissenter who reads them, in the san^e spirit in which they have been written— in the spirit of truth and charity. It is no question of private opinion between him and me. If it were so, his opinion might be as good as mme. Dut it is not a personal dispute be- tween one individual and another; it is sin.ply aques- tion whether he or the apudulic Church is right. And, after all, I would say to the Dissenter, "What unreasonable thing is it that we propose to you ?" We ask you to go with us to God's house, to take sweet counsel together, to join in our prayers and praises, to partakeofourholysacraments,toj(,ininourconnm,nion. Our churches, our hearts are open to you. We entreat you tolivewith us as brethren in h..ly fellowship. Isthis unreasonable or uncharitable on our pan ? Surely, if you refuse our fellowship, despise our ministers, and disdaia our h..ly service, the want of eha.ity rests with you. O that we could in any way overcome this lamenta- ble spirit of disunion, whether by calm remonstrance or solemn arguuient, or acts of love! What would ^^e not willingly do, consistent with God's law, to win you back to our fellowship, so that xve might be again united as oneiroid und(rone Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord? rrinied for, auU .old by. The Church Society of rhTDiT-meorivTrou^ PlOCESAN PKt8S-H.& W. ROWSELL, ToRONTO. ' i l<