THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. Opening Sermon by the Retiring Itioderator, S. M. HOPKI.NS, D.D. "Then had the Churches rest . . and were edified : and walk ing in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the holy Ghost, were multiplied."—Acre ix. 31. Rest in the Church on earth, like rest in Heaven, implies the truest activity. With the ceasing of the Sauline persecution, the Churches had rest; but it was riot the rest of inaction. It was a rest which implied progress, labor, and growth. Resting, they walked in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and were multiplied. The Church's persecutions have interfered with her rest, by compelling her to stand idle; driving her from her work, while the storm lasted. But these interruptions; if sharp,'were short, like a thunder gust in harvest, The great causes which have in terfered with the .Church's restful activity, have been her own mistakes and vices; the fruitful pro geny of Ecclesiastical pride and ambition. It can not be denied with truth, nor confessed without shame, that nine-tenths of the Church's. entire force, has been expended in internal contention; and to this, more than to all other causes combined, it is due, that. after eighteen centuries, Christianity is still so lodal, and still so feeble: No wonder that look ing at a Church, composed of a hundred discordant sects, men should be disposed to keep outside a; house, so perpetually and thoroughly divided against itself. From a Divine religion we expect concord and unity. But as often, as wearied humanity has looked with longing eyes toward the Church and cried, Do you bring us Peace, 0 Church of Christ? the reply has been, 1 tell you nay, but rather divi sion. I do not refer here to those inevitable discussions and controversies, by which the great truths of the Christian system, were disengaged from their re lated, or simulated errors. Christianity first brought the great questions involved in the fact of redemp tion, into collision with the human mind; and it was inevitable, that the awakened Christian intellect shoulttoccupy itself with a study of the records and their interpretation, with the Christian facts and their philosophy. A ManichTan controversy, a Sabellian controversy, an Arian controversy, a Pe lagian controversy, even an Arminian controversy, were in the series of necessary events. Those con troversies repeat themselves in the experience of every active and speculative mind. To each inquir ng spirit, the question comes, Is this world eternal ? or is it the work of an infinitely wise and good Cre ator? and if so, whence come sin and death? Is , God essentially One in Three, or is He eternally One, .and Three only in his Creative and Redemptive ac tivities? Are Son and Spirit co-ordinate Deity, or only manifestations of the Father? Is man ruined, or only damaged by the originttl apostasy? and is he wholly or only partly dependent on Divine Grace, for salvation ? There is no thoughtful mind in which this whole series of controversies does not sporadically origi nate; and 'human nature very commonly starts with accepting the wrong conclusion. As old Fuller quaintly says, that all men are naturally Pelagians: and think better of themselves than they ought, so it may be said with almost equal truth, that they ~ . are naturally .Manichmans, Sabellians, and Arians, with the younger members of our minrstry,l would and think worse of God than they ought. beg them to cultivate a love for the Church, Ido not refer, therefore, to those controversies by and a zeal for its growth and influence; leavin,g,our which the Church has been led to develop and de- brethren of other communions, with a hearty God fine her doctrinal system, in its fundamental arti- speed, to cherish the same sentiment tolvarda the ties. I refer to those minor disputes, by which, in- Churches in which Providence has placed , them. ' side the limits of essential truth, the Theolo,gic Most of them are not backward in this respect. mind has kept on refining; and insisted that men Thruer -.--,wisely atterided to their own interests. shall not ondl iii- d mQl,9dpie_in their facts. but ortho- Tlf flovern l ahstained from hybridizing, themselves do' 11 1 ) Anis —The death of' lign?S'aiiiii / e T i S.lo.Aldrill, names or 06-I :Systems; And the consequence Congressman from the Eleventh District, is report- Indians.—E r b os been characterized by an. ed. He was Democratic nominee for Speaker of ence at Fo r t ,:hich within proper limits is not the Fortieth Congrese.—;-Thirteen hundred buildings latter have Wm, but it is directly expressive of areinC • going up Chicago.—ln Chicago real estate is lion of die and all His people. out of the reach of any but the rich. Four and five on boor bp eschew all the false cant of a chari 7 miles south of the business -centre of the city real rAportsvpeopleso es other much, as to have no estate is selling at'from $3O to $3O per foot. At ~,r, aiffrections or activities for the home circle, Hyde Park, six miles south, small two-story hours .1 these sentiments are . thought, to, to savor of on small lots, sell from - $6,000 to $lO,OOO, and ... " Churchionty," it is at least true that we are far from $4OO to SSOO a year.—The Chicago :c./' of enough at present from any such vice. The ten says the 'workingmen of that city hays stem of denotes of our system are .by no means in that di -01:10 by their recent demonstration. am, Romish rection. We can cultivate a Church spirit industri ges and damage done in the riot.—prch, Evan- ously for some time to come Without hazard of ex from Riot sth of March, when the stormed, Gon- cess; without reaching the point where it becomes phobia was first sounded, up to A pr zhe Non-Con- necessary to ask, if we are not loving Christ's insti have be7m slaughtered in Chicaoo At; among the tution more than we love Christ himself. • Misso=l.-I'he Kansas City the subject be- 11, The second duty of the hour is CHURCH Utql COMVrty Outlaws have been h an ,,,,sting. We come FICATION. 7I approach a subject my brethren, on at lengthq. ttee, in Johnson and ~, w hich seem to have which you have all reflected anxiously and prayer been permiti, ,-i sorin g ,_.Thence of God, to Show fully, and on which which you will naturally ex- sn.. how mean and . odious the divisive spirit among pect me to speak. I cannot hope to suggest any- Christians may become in its last analysis: thing, which has not alrendy.occurred to your own. And this has been the occupation of Christians .tninas. If I can interpret your Views, and in this for these three centurieS past ; a univerk-al intestine ,public,' and official way, sum up the sentiment you melee 1 Each polemic, 'fighting tor his particular generally feel, I shall have contributed my part to philosophy of the Christian filets; and careless that -ward an end dear to all, who, love our Zion. to gain a vantage-ground against error, he planted You have not failed to notice with profound in both feet on the prostrate body of Charity. terest, the tendencieO toward unlon, throughotif the And so the work of the Reformation stood still ; great Presbyterian body, both in Europe and Ame for three hundred years, true. Religion has made no rica, We cannot-disguise from ourselves the fact, appreciable progress in Europe, and next to none - that the free vigorous life which our theology nour in Heathendom. When we might have built a city, ishes, has proved in many cases too strong for the whose walls should encompass . the nations, .and a cohesive power of our. polity. , The great material tower. whose summit should glow in the perpetual principle of Protestantism which we exalt, and sunlight of heaven, Theological pride and ambition which_ renderS political despotisin intolerable, has confounded our tongues, and we left off' to build. led us in too many cases to revolt against the con- Let us congratulate_ _ourselves, and bless G d, trol even of our own mild government. The rights that this polemical spirit seems now to have run its of the individual conscience have been so dear, course. The sects have all been formed, It must that we would hot consent to an outward union, be a mind ingenious in evil, that can devise any new wedge to rend the Church asunder. •Through out the Christian world, there is no doctrinal con troversy raging ; and we may hopefully affirm that it is well nigh impossible to originate one. All the great questions that can arise, in regard to sin and redemption, have been discussed and set tled. The results of the investigation are embodied in the creeds of the Church. The Arian, the Pela gian, the Socmian opinions, have been convicted and condemned. It is not necessary to fight the battle over again. in the sixth circle of the Inferno, the crowd of Heresiarchs are seen fastened in red-hot open tombs, from which they vainly struggle, from time to time to come forth— Qui son gli ereliarche Co' for seguaci d'ogni setts, einolto Piu the non crediy son le tomb° carche There let them burn, till the marble lid falls down upon them at the day of judgment. , They are dead and damned. If in their ignorance of the history of doctrine, they attempt to lift themselves up into the light of the present day, the Church does not gird on her armor and march forth to combat them; she simply replies to the threatening spectre: Back to your sepulchre! you are not alive but dead. if you do not know it, consult the council of Nice, the Synods of Carthage, and the Westmin ster ASsembly, where you will find you were regu larly tried, sentenced and executed, and that no resurrection is possible for you! And now if we had only some equally convenient arrangement, for those few surviving champions, who think it incumbent upon them, to rush every now and then on the walls of 'Lion, and rattle the bones of Stapfer or Ilarmensen, as a challenge to all comers, we might believe, that the golden age of Christian unity was at hand. And do we flatter- ourselves too highly, when we think it has already dawned l Polemics almost laid aside; the rights of Christian charity vindica ted; co-operative revivals bringing Christians to feel how precious are the truths in which they are agreed, above the Shibboleths, about which they differ! Surely we may say: Now have the Churches THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 1867. iz,g2 rest, and walking in the; fear of the Lord, and in-. the comfort of the Holy Ghost, are' Multiplied. The ravage : of arms eettsolk an a the work of: edi fication succeeds. The;iSpirre of peace arid comfort. returns. The. Church'S 'rest from controversy, in augurates the era of the Holy Ghost, as the Great Peace of Rornid'iiiihered in the era of Redemption. Under these auspicious circumstances, and on this great anniversary occasion, it becomes us to contemplate the wants and duties of our own Church, as the organization through which God calls us, to operate for the advancement of His kingdom. Every Christian of us, especially every one of us Christian ministers, owes a primary duty to his own Church. Unless he is a mere marauder, who has forayed intos.it for plunder, and is equally' ready to quit it and forage-elsewhere; it is the Church of his convictions and his heart. Its faith and its wor ship are dear.to him. His experience confirms him more and more in the excellence of its polity. He. thanks God that the lines have fallen to him in pleasant places, and that he has a goodly heritage; and he is bound to honor and -exalt the Church,. above every other interest, and, above every other communion. I. I observe therefore that-the first duty of the hour, is the cultivation of a healthy and *per CHURCH LIFE. Confessedly our great lack for many years, was the want of a wholesome denominationalism. We were so .liberally co.-operative ; so broadly Catholic, that zeal for our own Church growth was almost unpopular; a mistaken sentiment, which other com- munions, wiser than ourselves, were not slow to commend, and to take advantage of. We have happily survived that lukewarm period. A generation has grown • up, which loves the Church for itself, and for its peculiar adaptations, to promote the interests of our common Christianity Our ministry consists in larger proportion of such as are home-born, and who are . not troubled with scruples lest they may, honor their Mother too high ly' but of men who at the same time, love wisely all other Christian communions, and pray fOr the peace of Jerusalem. Only sectarian zeal is dangerous, and at war with the spirit of the Gospel. "When a Church accepts its true position as apart of the general Church of Christ's people, then .denominational zeal becomes safe and a duty. Each part is bound to perfect itself to thehighest degree for the general ends which Christianity contemplates. To love the Church, in which the Providence of God has placed. us, better than we love any other Church; to honor and 'ex alt its principles; to labor in every legitimate' way for its prosperity, is only an extension of that love of family, which is the foundation of social well being. And a just application of the Apostolic dictum, will warrant us in saying, that he who provides not ecclesiastically for his own, has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. The man whb should' pretend to love every other woman as well as his own wife, and every other flock as well as his own children, would be - justly suspected of a very low grade of Morals; and the minister who is so in tensely Catholic, as .to feel no enthusiasm for his own Church, no pride in its history, no passion for its success. will come nigh being thought little bet ter than a Laodicean. If my words might have any weight therefore . _ which required the sacrifice of even the smallest religious scruples ; .and so we have divided and sub divided on questions more or less unessential, until division has come to be looked-upon as the remedy for the simplest inconvenience. It is the peculiarity of our Church, as compared with Episcopacy on the one'hand, and Independen cy on the other, that it equally insists on the theo logical principle of justification by faith, and the political principle of Church autho;ity.: • Congrega tionalism which ignores the unity of the Church, and is nothing better than a system of ecclesiastical atoms, can hold the doctrine of justification by faith, without much risk .of minuter subdivision. Episcopacy on the contrary, holds strongly to the authority and unity of the Chfirch, but feebly to justification by faith. Its theology has no disrup tive force, as against its polity. It is the ecclesiasti cal weakness of one of these systems and the theo logical weakness of the other, that prevents their dividing. Presbyterianism embodies, like the uni verse, two antagonistic principles; a polity which requires unity, and a theology which insists on the right of private judgment; and - the reason of our divisions is, that much as we honor the authority of the Church, we have been taught to honor still more that great foundation truth, by which the Church stands or talk'. It is in the land of John Knox, indeed; that this extreme assertion of individualism has run its most' disastrous career. But we have not been without sad experience of its working in our American Church. Twice have we been rent asunder. im partial history will affirm that neither of those di visions was necessary or justifiable. In the case of the first schism, while all were ready to subscribe the same standards, there is sup- I posed to have been a slight difference of theory, as to the mode of subscription. There were tendencies to enthusiasm in the conduct of the Revival; extra vagances and violations of order on the part of New-side ministers. But there was nothing that really. endangered the life of the Church: Suppose only the venerable and conscientious men who composed the Old-side to have said: PreS byterianism transplatited to this fresh, new world, With its sparse but rapidly growing population, must necessarily undergo some modifiPations se cannot expect nor desire to procuripalf our minis ters frimn British universities. I b. - promoting the great works of_God, we must expect some disregard of order, and exercise forbearance toward well meaniag though ili-judging preachers; By laying hold strettere Revival ourselves, we may hope to guide it to blessed issues, and gradually to coun teract what tendencies there are-to enthusiasm ;—if they could have reasoned so, the violent measures into which fear and jealousy hurried them, might have been spared. They would have saved them selves the regrets over a divided Church, and that confession of= wrong, which they made seventeen years later; *hen in - theapirit'of humility-and Chris tian meekness, they begged that-:the schism might be healed. And the terms upon which it was healed, show that it never should have taken place. A little more patience, a little more wisdom, a good deal less blind fear of consequences which never followed, and it might" have been avoided. For the, result, you observe, falsified those prophecies of fear, in re gard to the disorganizing tendencies of the New side. If they had been unfaithful to the principles and polity of the Church, as their brethren feared, they would, under such circumstances, have swung far off into latitudinarianism. _ . But the result showed, that they could neither be tempted, nor driven, to quit the home of• their of fections. They set themselves to correcting the prevalent abuses. They cultivated ecclesiastical order and propriety. While they loved the Revival no less, they felt that they must cling to the Church more. On the other hand the Old-side made a corres ponding change of base. They. came more into sympathy with the Great Awakening. They were willing to concede more to the necessities of our Church and country, in regard to a supply of min isters. So almost unconsciously, the Church found that it was in spirit and principle, one, and that there was an absurdity in its continuing formally, two; and the schism was easily and naturally healed. These ideas apply witl, equal : force, to the second schism. Let us admit that there was just ground for uneasiness, on the part of faithful watchmen on our walls. A manifest attempt was being made, to administer Presbyterianism, in the interest of a dif ferent Church order. There. was a marked hOistility to Church principles, and proper care for our own efficiency and usefulness. There, were tendencies to religious enthusiasm ; and in a few extreme cases, a laxity in doctrine, which gave color to the 'charge of Pelagianism. But the great body: of our ministers and Churches in this region, were intelligent and 'earnest Presby terians. They loved the Revival, but they loved the Church, its standards, its Courts . , its principles. They had not the least disposition to become any thing else. Even under the sting of a cruel Wrong. they could not be brought to renounce their-alle- glance. Now had our brethren thirty years ago said: The alle„ued irregularities, in the region embraced within the scope of the Accommodation Act, are, `indeed, occasion for regret and uneasiness, but they are no ground for discouragement. They are inci dental to the character' of our' Church, under the circumstances. They imply in the great body of our brethren, no defection from the principles of Presbyterianism ; and we can influence them better by maintaining than by breaking the integrity of the Church. Suppose any had reasoned thus; what sad results might have been avoided ! I know, indeed, there were influences at work to prodUce a disruption, which such considerations as these had no power to area; but there were enough, with whom such thougtA#ouldxliave had weight had they but permitted them, to prevent the catastro phe that followed. ; And now what do we find after the lapse of thirty years? These two part 'of the'Cliurch haVe been all- this time, more ,or less consciously, yearning for a re-union. We have been growing towards each other during these 'years of separation.' The injury was not irremediable. It was a fracture, not an amputation; and the vis medicatrix of our Church life, has set np a natu ral and gentle process of cure. There was a nisus of bone to its bone ; and the flesh and sinews strug gled toward a coalescence. We have never on either side, consented to the idea that we were two deno minations. We have always felt that we were one Church, temporarily parted, but destined inevitably to come together, when early irritations had ceased, and early suspicions had been proved baseless by time. And now our brethren; who, under the influence of false information, acting on excited passions, rashly struck a blow at the integrity of the Church, have come to us in the spirit of Christian humility and solicited our co-operation in bealingthe wound. In sending their committee on this errand, they Re. solved, " That this Assembly expresses its fraternal affection for the other branch of the Presbyterian Church, and its earnest desire for re-union at the 'earliest time consistent with agreement in doctrine, order, and policy, on the baSis• of our common standards, and the prevalence ,of mutual confidence and love, which are so necessary to a happy union, and to the permanent peace and prosperity of the United Church." I say fearlessly, that no Church Council, ever wore an aspect of truer dignity and, greatness, than did the General Assembly which volunteered this overture. If there are any who love to look for sinister or interested motives in the proceeding, lam not one of them. • Neither am I afraid myself of being misunder stood by any candid man on either side. I speak in the interest of Christian charity, and of the whole Chtirch. We have no occasion ourselves, well-or ganized, united, and prosperous as we are, specially to desire or-urge re-union. But when such overtures were made to us, you know the hearty response we gave to the generous sentiments of our brethren. We tendered them in reply our cordial Christian salutations and fellow ship; and the expressiOn of our earnest wish for re union on the basis of our common standards, re ceived in a common spirit. None who were present can ever forget the great scene they witnessed when at the meeting of the two Assemblies for the interchange of fraternal sen timents, and on the proposition by my honored brother Stanton, that all who were in favor of an organic union of the Church at the earliest possible moment, should express it by rising, the whole con gregation, started as one man to their feet. You know also, that when the Assemblies separ ated, and the proceedings came to be laid before the body of the Church, on neither side did the tide of feeling, rise quite up to the high-water mark, to which the conjunction of the great bodies of St. Loids had swept it. We were a little in dan ger of the same reception liont our constituents, as the Greek Commissioners encountered on returning from the Council of Florence. When the' deputies of the Eastern and Western Churches met together in 1439, after an exasperated-schism of four hun dred years, it was found possible by friendly expla nations and saving clauses, to lay a basis for the long deferred and much desired union of the Church. But no sooner had the Commissioners returned home, and the terms on which re-union was to be. effected came to be canvassed by the body of the clergy, then a storm of fanaticism broke out, which swept away the work in an instant. What I tole rate the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist! PurChase the restoration of unity by admitting; the obnoxious filioque into the creed ! Save the Empire from overthrow, by agreeing that Christians may fast - on Saturdays. Sooner fall Constantinople to its foundations! Sooner the Sultan's moons glitter over the towers of St. Sophia I Unity is dear but the faith of the hOly orthodox Church is dearer; And so the last hope of union departed; and the shadow of doom fell dark over the city of Constantine. It is alinost impossible to bring together a body of Christian men, who have been separated by ac cidental causes, while still one in faith and, order,. without their finding that re-union is both more`de sirable and practicable than they had before imag ined. The fraternal overture, the frank acknowl edgement, the candid concession, the courtesy and deference, that marks the manners of Christian gentlemen, the mutual sympathy that speaks through voice and eye,—all this, tends to dwarf mi• por differences into their true proportion. It seems 'the easiest'thing in the world to step over the flim sey chevaux de frise, which busy polemics on both sides, those wonderful sappers and miners of the Christian army have erected, and mingle in a mu tual embrace of brotherly affection. But with the great body of the Church who have not shared in the softening issues retain of such per sonal• intercourse, the old ssues retain all their original consequence. The front ranks are clasp ing hands and saying with moistened eyes: Why should we contend, we are brethren! while the rear ranks are brandishing their arms and shouting their ancient war cries, ready to go to death for leavened or for unleavened bread in the Eucharist. It is not to be expected of course; that so great a measure, as the reunion of our Church, involving historical facts and theological variations; invol ving some mattcsrs of principle, and inanyof feel ing, and drawing in its train a multitude of practi cable re-adjustments, should secure unanimous con currence at once The embers still smoulder under the kindly ashes; with • which time has begun to cover them, and there are not wanting " idle hands," - to pile on fresh fuel for an auto da fe of Christian charity. There are veterans scarred in our former wars, whose wounds still bleed and smart, at the return of this anniversary; There are literary and theo logical ganglia, where the nervous irritation which fhas quitted the surface, still lingers; And 'there are faithful guardians of the Church's unrest and dis order, to raise their note of warning, at the ap proach of any herald of peace ; * * * et Hylax in limine latrat. But notwithstanding all this, and in spite of the numerous difficulties of detail, which may make complete unification a work of time, I conclude that this benign result, is written -down among those "determined things," which, under the good hand of God, will hold their way to destiny ; and that; , for the following reasons: First. The actual differences, greatly exaggera ted by those passions which always see their ects through a fog, and which separated us thirty years ago, have almost entirely disappeared. Our : child ren, our intelligent laity, even our younger breth ren in the ministry, ask: Pray what is the difference between this Branch and.that Branch ? They both grow on the great central stock of Presbyterian Church principles. They-are alike in their broad foliage, their beautiful blossoming, their"-golden 'fruit; and they both, toss their tops towards the North, and wrestle with the great gales of freedom. Only the practised eyes of Theological savans, are able to point out certain minute differences of leaf and fibre; and they sometimes put their finger on the wrong spot. To the view of outside observers, we, have long been substantially one. An able but unfriendly critic, has said of us, " The two Presbyterianisins are not distinguished 'nor distin g uishable. They are sailing after the same chart, and in the same direc tion ; and every thing is arranged so much alike, that when seen together, without artificial badges of distinction, One cannot be told from the other." This was said- near fifteen years ago; and-since then the attractive tendencies oftFe 'system,"have been drawing us closer and closer together. It is true that we are sailing by the same chart, and in the 'same direction ; and we are not sailing on the asymptotes of a circle where we may approach for ever witlfout meeting. Already we bail each other across the narrowing space, with: Brothers, what cheer? and the answering hail is.: Brothers, all's well. Second. The tendencies of the age are all - in the direction of: Church unity. I need not instance those eccentric and : spurious attempts at union on the. basis of Mere ritualisM, in utter disregard of the claims of true doctrine and worship. But among Evangelical Christians there is ample evidence of. yearninas for harmon;y., The heart of Christendom is sick of controversy and schism ; and the long la bor of dead peace-makers, the sowing of so many Irenicums, Plans of Comprehension, and Formulas of Concord. seems at, length . about to burstintd a harVest. After fifteen hundred years of division, we are at length coming to accept the ancient plat form, In tzecessariis unztas, in &thus libertas,in omni bus caritas. PreSbyterianism throughout the world, longs -for that union which is strength. Our breth ren across the seas set us an example, and send us words of encouragement. The DeistiCaf sects, who hold 'that Christianity as a mere development of nature,: warn us by concentrating for more vigorous efforts. When heretics conspire, it is time for Christians to unite. Third. The young and vigorous heart of the Church on both sides, is bent on re-union. A gene ration has arisen, which is a stranger to the contro versies that divided us thirty years ago. They have been trained up in the modern co-operative revivals: Their talk is classic Christian, and - not polemik. They do, not mean to expend their lives and ener gies in disputes about unleavened bread; and what these sovereigns of the future have determined, that will be. Fourth. The necessities of the great Uonie Mis sionary enterprise, demand this re-union. The two parts of our Church are wastino• ' their strength in competing for the possession of the land There must be two sets of agents, two missionaries, two churches, where only one of each is required. We are foolishly repeating in Evangelical Protestantism the blunders of the " Babylonish Captivity;" when Christendom groaned under two Popes, two bodies of Cardinals, duplicate sets of Papal machinery, till at length the.people rose up indignant, thrust aside Popes and Cardinals, and said, If you will not re store peace and unity to the Church, we will. But this leads me directly to speak of the other great duty of the hour, viz: • 111. HOSIE EVANGELIZATION. Our country pre- sents the most remarkable instance of successful colonizing in the history of the human race. Upon the stagnant or ebbing nations of two continents, and eventually of the third, America opens like a New Atlantis ; and the tide of emigration begins to flow across the interposing oceans. Religion leads the way ; and lifts the cross in Latin or in Saxon hands, from the Northern lakes to the Floridian peninsula - . Divine Providence is busy in developing the agencies which shall fling the Christian, the Romish, the half-heathen, and the mere heathen populations of the rest of the world, upon these shores; Religious persecution, civil wars, oppres sive governments, famines, to drive them : Perfect freedom, vast space, cheap bread, dear labor, free education, and immeasurable mineral wealth, to at tract them. And these heterogeneous elements, swept together from Europe, Africa, and Asia, no sooner touch this soil, consecrated to a new national life, than through the subtle alchemy of freedom, they assimi late and fuse together into the most restless, irre pressible, indomitable aggregate, the world has ever seen. If -the nations must look to the brute tribes for their armorial emblems, the : Eagle is still our fittest symbol; keen-eyed, sharp 7 taloned, broad winged, gazing in the eye of' the.sun, wheeling his flight aloft to the stars. And now the task which God assigns to the Church of America, and pre-eminently to our own Church, is to lay hold of the swelling, tide of life, that continues to pour in upon as, and imbue it with the principles of pure-Christianity. It is safe to say, that the work of Home Evangelization, has never yet risen to its true relative importance in the mind of the Church. Acting under that false rule, which measures ethical obligations by geometrical and arithmetical standards, we have almost univer sally agreed to subordinate the Home to the For eign Missionary work. America is but a quarter of the globe and contains but a fraction of its popula tion. The " missionary enterprise" in our view, has been preaching the Gospel in Asia or Africa ; forgetting too much that geographical areas, are no measure of the value of men. A man outweighs a wilderness of monkeys; a city full of enterprising, commercial aggressivenien, tells more on the future of the world than a continent of barbarians; and if there must be any neglect, it were better that the effete races of Oceanica, should be swept away to the last savage, than that a great, state should grow up on this continent, abandoned to superstitions, and corrupt social usages. • I am far from wishing to suggest any antagonism, between these two great' departments of the mis sionary work. I only plead for a just estimate of the value of our country; I urge that our own Church in particular, should feel that this is her primary and special duty, to organize Christian in stitutions here, and make America an appanage of the kingdom of God. We have not been signally wanting, as a Church, in efforts for the conversion of the heathen ; We have co-operated freely with other Christians for this end; and we have felt no anxiety to establish our own Church order among the heathen converts. We have simply demanded, that our brethren on foreign shores, should be leftp free to associate theni selves ecclesiastically accordingt,o their own choice. But we have more or less consciously felt, that any idea of founding Presbyterianism among the Gentiles, must be futile. Presbyterianism ia self government in the Church; and can only co-exist with general intelligence and free institutions in,the State. The Apostolic and primitive Presbytecian ism, fell, because these conditions of its existence, were wanting in ancient Society. The Churches lapsed under the control of a hierarchy, becauee they had no capacity for self-government as Chriii tians, any more than as citizens. .A free, setfigov erning Church, within an enslaved and despotic state, is something the world has never seen nor will see. The experience of the present. heathen Churches will be the same. Their outward relations are de termined by their intellictual and moral crudity. No matter who convertsthem, they will fall into the hands of that ;: ecclesiastipal jackal, which prowls in the.track of the Lion of the tribe of Ju dah, to drag off the 'Prey, into its own private little particular hole.* .onlrafterlong discipline in the school of Christian civilization, can they become capable of Presbyterianism. • Of all lands under the suti, our own as being the most advanced in true ideas, concerning both relig ion and liberty, furnishes the best scope' for the successful working of this thea►nthropic system; a system which combines the human and the divine elements, law and liberty, more perfectly than any other; and it therefore devolves, especially upon our own Church, to see that America is not only evanaelized, but brought under the best and most perfect Christian institutions. There are other bodies engaged in the work of Home Missions; but they labor under certain in herent weaknesses, which unfit them to perform it successfully. The reason why Episcopacy cannot operate as a controlling force, in shaping the relig ious future of our country, is because, while it pro vides sufficiently for government, its iron-bound rit ual, and its imbecile pulpit, make it incapable of grappling with the giant impulses, that are carry ing our population fotward, The reason why Con gregationalism cannot meet our wants, is because, while it provides sufficiently for liberty, it is wholly deficient in organization. . Both these • antipodal systems, agree in this : that they are intensely cen tralized, and have but a. feeble life in the extremi ties. They have no spontaneous action in hand or foot. They move, only as some directing will sup plies the galvanic force, and makes . the necessary connections. Presbyterianism on the other hand, postulates he unity of the Church, and the responsibility of each integral element. Its organizatiOn keeps even pace with its diffusion. Übi'tres, ibi Ecelesia. Where there are but three congregations, it binds them' together into a Presbytery ; and every Pre4- bytery becomes a new-focus of - life, and a -new .ceri=7 tre of missionary activity. The, life is diffused, all through the Church therefore. Each part and member, is self-moved, and the connection of each with the: whole-, is vitally maintained. - I need not refer to the eminently scriptural, cultgred and prck gressive character of our ministry. We have the forces therefore, and' the organism for prosecuting Domestic Missions with signal suc cess; and we shall be recreant to our duty, if we do not go forward bcildly to occupy the: land' for Jesus; In its various departments of preaching, publishing and church -erection, the tlome enterprise.shouldin stantly come to takelhe first place in the affections 'of our Church. There are various influences at work to: bring about the conversion of the :heathen world: com merce, colonization and the sword, as well as the missionary. The Most High who subsidized the Macedonian phalanx and the. Roman legionary as His pioneers, and who made the Franks the armed apostles of Europe, does not refffse the aid of the cannon, and the lawless adventurer, in sweeping away the obstacles, to the establishment; of His kingdom. Mr. Merivale in speaking of the influ ence of Roman arms, in introducing municipal in stitutions among the western races, observes that " the civilization of barbarians, at least their mate rial civilization, has been generally more advanced by instructors. whose moral superiority was less strongly marked. than where the teachers and the taught have few sympathies and points of contact. Rough whalers, and brutal pirws, have done more to Europeanize the natives of Polynesia, than the missionaries," But all these methods - work very slimly on the inenia of the Pagan mind, Under the most favorable circumstances, the con versiol of the heathen is a work of centuries. But here every moment is precious. Events move swiftly towards the day of decision. Ten years of neglect, or of feeble effort, might turn the scale fatally against the cause of GO(' in America. If we do not acquire control over opinion here, we know who will acquire it. Heretofore we have hardly dared to plead for our own country, except for the sake of her influence on the work of Foreign MiS sions. We have said with David: God be merciful unto us and bless us, that Thy way may be known upon the earth, Thy saving health . among all the nations. Now it becomes us to say with Jesus: Go ye not in,the way of the Geruiles, and into any city of the Samaritans, enter ye not, but go rather to the lost sheep of' the house of Israel. Finally, my brethren, the time is short Events which have occurred since the last meeting of this General Assembly, admonish us that if we wish to see the Church united and our laud redeemed, we must be up and doing. The Lord who spared long *The writer begs pardon of his brethren, for this allusion; not •on the score of justice, hut of taste. The foolish pretensions of the sect referred to, are mostly occasion for laughter; but some times, when put forward with special effrontery, they justify more serious comment. Its preference fur perverting, rather than con verting, is notorious. The writer also Icheerfullj admits that many Episcopalians are less chargeable with sectarianism, than their official organs and soi-disant `• Apostles."
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