death. It quickened the spirit of Milton, when he cried Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold; Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold A hundred fold, who having learned thy way, It kindled in his heart a pure devotion, when, having returned from Italy to take part in the contest for freedom at home, he breathed his prayer to Heaven, saying, "Thou, therefore, that sitst in light and glory unapproachable, Parent of angels and men! next, Thee I implore Omnipotent King, Redeemer of that lost remnant, whose nature thou didst assume; ineffable and everlasting Love! And thou, the third subsistence of divine Infinitude, Illuminating Spirit, the joy and solace of created things, One tri-personal Godhead, look upon this thy poor and almost spent and expiring church, leave her not thus a prey to these importunate wolves that wait and think long till they devour thy tender flock, these wild boars that have broke into thy vineyard, and left the print of their polluting hoofs on the souls of thy servants! O let them not bring about their damned designs that stand now at the entrance of the bottomless pit, expecting the watchword, to open and let out those dreadful locusts and scorpions, to reinvolve us in that pitchy cloud of infernal darkness, where we shall never more see the sun of thy truth again, never hope for the cheerful dawn, nor hear the bird of morning sing!"* We believe it is a principle which will be caught by other mighty minds, and diffuse its inspiring energy through coming generations, till at last the church shall stand forth in the beauty of her pristine independence, and though our outward order may not be uniformly observed, the victories of a spiritual and apostolic christianity shall be hailed and celebrated through the nations, on whom the sun of righteousness will then have arisen with healing in his beams. III. Although I have occupied so much time in looking back upon the annals of the past, yet I cannot forbear ere I close, to call upon you, in view of the lessons of history and our position * Milton's prose works, p. 933. in the world, to feel the necessity of our cultivating as a people the elements of future progress. It would be ruinous to any community to count themselves already to have attained, or to be already perfect. The spiritual nature of christianity and the possession of liberty, urge us alike to put forth all our moral might in doing good, promoting virtue, in exemplifying and extending the influence of pure religion. Liberty is a sacred trust, a gift of heaven, and he who has it, may well" rejoice with trembling," lest he prove unfaithful to it. Liberty is only a means of good; spiritual progress is the end to which it stands properly related, and he who loses sight of this connexion, may err as fatally in idolizing liberty as others have erred in idolizing uniformity. Liberty only removes the burdens with which the human spirit has been heavy laden, and gives all the powers of the mind and the affections of the heart free play; it does not hold forth the grand and ultimate object of exertion. This, Christianity holds forth, when she bids us labor to promote the good of mankind, the true dignity of the church, and the honor of him who hath called us to glory and virtue. In "reaching forth to things which are before," we are loudly called upon by the signs of the times which utter the voice of Providence, to be zealous in the diffusion of light and knowledge among ourselves and around us. To set a high standard of secular and christian education for our youth, and to furnish every facility to our rising ministers for the cultivation of knowledge, should be considered not only as a wise policy, but an imperative duty. To the first object, the whole public are becoming more and more alive; the second demands of us a more concentrated attention. In pursuing it, the conduct of our ancestors in England, may shed light upon our way. As soon as sufficient liberty was allowed them for open and efficient organization, a Baptist convention in London, called upon all the churches to raise a general fund for a twofold purpose; first, to aid poor churches, and secondly, "to assist those who may be disposed for study, have an inviting gift, and are sound in fundamentals, in attaining to the knowledge of the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages." As early as 1689, measures were taken to carry this design into effect, and while we rejoice to see that from their deep poverty "the riches of their liberality abounded," we would fain open our eyes and hearts to the influence of such an example. It becomes us too, to cherish in a higher degree than ever, the missionary spirit. As it exists in a free and enlightened mind, it is another name for christian philanthropy. It was the glory of the first age of christianity, and I trust that in future times, it will appear to have been the glory of the present century. In ages past, establishments of religion have tended to destroy it, not only because they corrupted the church, but because, from its very nature, an established church is anti-missionary. Where a state directs ecclesiastical affairs, its relation to other states, forbids much agency in the spread of religion, because religion then assumes a national and political aspect. However pure may be the faith of the church, and however desirous she may be to extend it, she is crippled by such a connexion. After this country became independent of England, the English Church could not even consecrate bishops for America, until an act of Parliament had given her liberty to do so. Thence, Dr. Provost and Dr. White, went over to England, "and on the 4th of February, 1787, were consecrated according to an act of Parliament, by Dr. Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury. Since that day, the Episcopal church in this land has become, as a church, devoted to the cause of missions, and appears in a new and noble attitude, which she could never have assumed had not the formal bond between her and the church of England been broken. *Caswell's America and the American Church. |