ment church, and the particular duties of its members; as the Old Testament was, for the faith, worship, discipline, and government of the Old Testament church, and the particular duties of its members. Compare Mal. iv. 4. with Math. xxviii. 18-20. It is farther declared that this church, fully recognizing the constitutional unity of the body of Christ, and determined by the grace of God, in obedience to the apostolic doctrine, to maintain and promote this unity, both within itself, and with all the declared and obedient disciples of the Lord Jesus, extends its fellowship to all such as have obeyed the gospel according to the above scriptures, by immersion into the one faith once delivered to the saints, as the same is expressly declared in the portions above cited; and who continue to justify their profession of said faith by a life of practical holiness, (according to the law of Christ.) Under the profession of the faith and obedience specified and provided for, in the above declaration, the undernamed disciples, in obedience to the Great Head of the church, and for the performance of the duties which, under him, they owe to each other, and to all men, have unanimously agreed to form themselves into a church to be designated as above. Done in presence of Bishops Thomas Campbell and Marcus Bosworth, invited to preside and assist for said purpose. After the enrolment of the members, Reuben Ferguson, lately an exhorter and preacher of the Methodist order, was duly and unanimously chosen a Bishop of said church; and ordained by the imposition of the hands of the said bishops and others, elderly members of said church, or assisting with it, by request, upon the occasion." Review of the History of Churches.-No. III. WHILE all of the above churches manifest a scrupulous regard to the grand constitutional principles of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, they seem to differ from each other in their views of the ordinance of the Great King on the subject of naturalization. Some of them receive unnaturalized persons into his realm on the ground of forbearance. On this subject I write with great caution, for I know this question of forbearance has in it some perplexities of no easy solution, and is at least of as difficult solution as that concerning the amalgamation of the Jews and Gentiles in the christian church, decided by the apostles and elders in the city of Jerusalem. On the scriptural propriety of receiving unnaturalized or unimmersed persons into the kingdom into which the Saviour said none can enter but by being born of water and of Spirit, little can be said either from precept or example. For it is exceedingly plain, that from the day on which Peter opened the reign of the Messiah, on the ever memorable Pentecost, no man entered the realm but by being born of water. Jew and Gentile, Barbarian, Scythian, bond and free, could find but one gate into the empire of Immanuel, and with joy they enter in at this door. As yet there was no breach in the walls, no scaling ladders, no battering rams, to find an easier way. Jesus was yet recognized as the living way; and as he came by water and by blood, so he ordained that through faith in his blood and through water, the soldiers of the cross must follow him. There were even in those hale and undegenerate days, matters on which patience and endurance must be exercised; but they were all within the constituted There was none without the gates demanding recognition from those within, on the realms. grounds of charity. But now the walls of this city of refuge, the ramparts of Zion have been broken through; and while the inhabitants of the city of God have gone out and trafficked with the world, the world has come in and trafficked with them. And now they sue for a treaty offensive and defensive. Well they urge their plea with an embassy of weeping mothers and screaming infants, and who is proof against such importunities? But the question of the greatest difficulty to decide, is, whether there should be any laws or rules adopted by the churches relating to the practice of receiving persons unimmersed in the assemblies of the saints. Whether on the ground of forbearance, as it is called, such persons as have been once sprinkled, or not at all, but who are satisfied with their sprinkling, or without any, are, on their solicitation, to be received into any particular congregation, and to be treated in all respects as those who have, by their own voluntary act and deed, been naturalized and constitutionally admitted into the kingdom. To make a law that such should be received, appears to me, after long and close deliberation, a usurpation of the legislative authority vested in the holy apostles, and of dangerous tendency in the administration of the Reign of Heaven. Again, to say that no weak brother, however honest in his professions, excellent in his deportment and amiable in his character, who cannot be convinced but that his infant sprinkling is christian baptism, and who solicits a participation with us in the festivities of Zion: I say, to say by a stern decree that none such shall on any account be received, appears to be illiberal, unkind, censorious, and opposite to that benevolence which is one of the primary virtues of christianity. Yet some will urge that if such a person is very solicitous for the enjoyment of the benefits of the church, it is no very difficult or hazardous thing for him to be immersed on his own profession, and for the objects contemplated therein. And that if his love of the christian institution will not make him forbear with himself, or in other words, sacrifice his own partialities, we are not warranted, nor warrantable, in receiving him. Now, although I could feel myself at perfect liberty, in full accordance with the requirements of the Great King, to receive into the most cordial fellowship every one which I have reason to recognize as a disciple of Jesus Christ, with all his weaknesses, as I would call them; yet I could not, and dare not, say to all the members of a christian congregation, that they must do so too; and as I have no right to dispense with any of the institutions of Jesus Christ, I could not approve the adoption of a rule to receive such persons, which, in its direct tendency, aims at the abolition of one of the fundamental laws of the cmpire. Again, if we are to fritter down the christian institution to suit the prejudices and weaknesses of disciples, it would soon be divested of every prominent feature characteristic of its grand original. There are, indeed, many matters on which there is full scope given for the display of moderation, condescension, and forbearance, without infringing upon the constitutional provisions of the kingdom. We may shew all courtesy, kindness, and hospitality to strangers, but to invest them with the rights and immunities of citizens, without their voluntary submission to the constitutional requirements in order to naturalization, would neither be beneficial to them, nor safe to the empire. Christians were called a sect in the times of the apostles. They had their peculiarities then; and although there first act, in the mere prelude of the great drama were no sects tolerated amongst them, they were | suffer the full result of our conduct while in the a sect as regarded all other religious communities. In divesting christianity of its sectarian character, we must not divest it of the peculiarities which made it a sect in its best days, and which will keep it a sect until all the kingdoms and religions in the world shall bow to our King. I know that there is something called charity in the world, which is very much flattered; but when dissected, is a hideous thing. To please the taste of any body and every body, it will administer to all their requirements. If medicine or poison is sought after, with equal liberality it bestows on all. Like a too indulgent mother, it defeats itself. If it would be cruel to give a scorpion when a fish is asked, it is no better to give a scorpion when a scorpion is desired, especially if he who desires to obtain it sues for it through mistake. On the same principles, it is not charity, in its true import, to gratify the vitiated humor, or caprice, or prejudice, or weakness of every body. While we are willing to go more than half way, where it is optional with us to go at all, to meet the doubting and the weak, there are certain occurrences and circumstances which compel us not to move at all, and the same charity, properly so called, governs us in both cases. But here we do not argue the merits of this question at all; but only state the result of much examination and reflection on the sub-preciated. But it so happens, that, in conseject. We have stated our reasons long since why we do not consider either the holy kiss, or the washing of the saints' feet, ordinances of the church, or public acts, to be habitually and statedly practised. If christians are to salute one another with a holy kiss in the public assemblies, reason would say that it should be when they first see each other in the morning of the Lord's day, and not after they have shook hands and asked one another how they fare. To see them first salute one another in the usual way, and then afterwards introduce the holy kiss as a religious ordinance, and attend upon it with a stiff formality as such, is neither accordant with scripture nor reason. But of this we have said enough on a former occasion. In the preceding page we gave, in lieu of the history of another church, the constituting of one among the new converts in the state of Ohio. We have had no room for remarks upon it in the present volume, and as every thing of importance in it has been so often canvassed in the preceding volumes, we do not think it so necessary to dilate on it at this time. EDITOR. quence of the common blindness of men to their true interest, the imposing influence of present fascinations, and the consequent error thereby introduced into the mind, there is nothing more generally disparaged than those efforts which are intended to put men in the legitimate course to real enjoyment. Hence the opposition with which we have to conflict in attempting to direct the public in the acquisition of the true and lasting enjoyment of truth. For although truth is opposed to the happiness of no man, there are many to oppose truth. But they oppose it thro' mistake, imagining it to be at variance with their honor, interest, or something identified with their happiness. I have long thought that truth is recommended merely because it necessarily tends to happiness, and I do not know any thing in the volume of supernatural truth which is not in its very nature promotive of the true happiness of all who know and obey it. Being aware of this, and being assured that all error ends in misery, we have occupied ourselves now for five years in directing the public attention to what we have learned to be the most important truths bearing upon the actual condition of our cotemporaries. And in closing this fifth volume of our labors, we cannot refrain from reminding "ALL things are full of labor" was no new dis-our readers that all their happiness consists in covery in the days of king Solomon. Yet all things are regularly and incessantly tending to certain ends and beginnings. The ceaseless changes in the face of nature, the varied year, are but the symbols of that spiritual and moral variety which characterize the world of minds; and every thing in the empire of thought is either beginning or ending some new condition or circumstance in the joys or sorrows of human beings. For all the rivers do not more certainly run into the ocean than all our actions tend to make us happy or miserable either in the present state or in the future. Men often do, but never should forget that all their actions, which are the result of their own volitions, have a tendency necessary and unavoidable to promote their own joy or sorrow. And as nothing is final on earth, but only tending to eternity, we ought to know and bear in mind that we can neither enjoy nor Conclusion of Volume V. knowing and obeying truth. Error is the most unprofitable commodity in the whole universe— and the sooner it is detected, the better. We oppose error because it opposes happiness. We are opposed by the same sort of characters who have always opposed reformation; and for the same reasons. There have been millions of the human family kept in vassalage, religious moral, and political; and myriads have fattened upon them, merely through the influence of error. And now, even now, if error was detected, how many who are lording ces of men and rioting in insolent ease, would be divested of their influence and livings, and would sink down to their proper level in society. How many useful persons would arise and dif fuse the blessings of light and liberty far and wide. But so long as the popular day are patronized and triumphant, both the pro over the conscien errors of the 104 "ONE thing, however, I was more than a little surprised at to hear so many, and of so many, talking about the church coming out of Babylon, and the restoration of primitive christianity and order; and to see and hear of so little exertion made to bring it about; and even its warmest advocates stating that it would not do to emerge suddenly. It brought fresh into my mind a circumstance that transpired when I was a little boy, that I have often thought of when viewing the christian church receding from the right rule (the Scriptures) in measuring themselves by themselves: An old uncle of mine, who had use for a number of wooden pins, set me to sawing up tough rails into blocks for that purpose. He sawed off one as a measure for me to saw by, and went away. I commenced. I put the measure on for the first block. After starting the saw I threw down the measure, and held the block I was sawing with one hand till I cut it off; then made use of it to measure the next, and so on until I had sawed a great many. My uncle returned and told me I was spoiling his timber. I told him I did not know how that could be. Where is the measure I gave you? he said. I replied, I measured the first block by it, the next by the last one, and so on, and when I took a good look, I found I had about as many lengths as blocks. He recommended the propriety of hunting up the first block that he gave me, and requested me to preserve it as a measure." N. P. END OF VOLUME V. PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND CHRISTIAN BAPTIST. NO. I.-VOL. VI. BETHANY, BROOKE CO. VA., AUGUST 4, 1828. Style no man on earth your Father: for he alone is your Father who is in heaven: and all ye are brethren. Assume not the title of Rabbi; for ye have only One Teacher; neither assume the title of Leader; for ye have only One Leaderthe Messiah. PREFACE TO VOLUME VI. The Fathers, the Moderns, the Populars, and the "Our Fathers, where are they? and the Prophets, do they live forever?" Messiah. now bind men's consciences to a covenant and creed framed by the fathers of modern traditions, would have argued in the days of John Huss and Jerome of Prague, that the Bible was not to be read by the ignorant laity. ted with burning men's writings, would then have consumed their persons. Those too, who, in this century, are pleased to prove their faith and practice by an appeal to the fathers, would, AT one time we speak of our remote ances- in the days of Luther, have maintained the intors as if they had been mere children in under- fallibility of the Pope and the sovereign arbitrestanding in comparison of ourselves and our co-ments of clerical councils. And they who would temporaries; at another, we represent their views and their authority as paramount to all our compeers. If their views were congenial with our own, then they were the wisest and the best of men; but if we differ far from them, then as duteous sons, we only wish they had been more wise and less superstitious. Thus their authority rises or sinks in our estimation, as they happen to coincide with our sentiments, or differ from us in their views. In all our comparisons we are wont to make ourselves the standard of perfection. If we at all admit that we are imperfect, we are sure to make our "failings lean to virtue's side;" and when compared with the faults we see in others, our frailties are to be attributed to circumstances beyond our control, and so completely eclipsed by the splendor of our virtues, as rather to represent the dark spots in the sun, or the shade in the picture, as necessary to the brilliancy of the whole. While, in this age of invention, the winds and the waves, the rivers and the deserts, the mountains and the vallies are made to yield to scientific and mechanical skill; while the human mind is bursting through the shackles and restraints of a false philosophy, and developing the marvellous extent of its powers, it is not to be supposed strange and unaccountable that the moral and religious systems of antiquity should be submitted to the scrutiny of enlightened intellects, and that men of reflection and independence should dare to explore the creeds and the rubrics of ages of less light and more superstition. Truth has nothing to fear from investigation. It dreads not the light of science, nor But if we were to use that reason of which we shuns the scrutiny of the most prying inquiry. boast, a little more, and submit less to the sug- Like one conscious of spotless innocence and gestions of self-love and self-admiration, we uncontaminated purity, it challenges the fullest, would not only think more humbly of ourselves, the ablest, and the boldest examination. On the but we would do more justice to the merits of other hand, error, as if aware of its flimsy preothers. In that case neither the names nor the tensions and of the thin veil which conceals its authority of our ancestors would be plead as a deformity, flies from the torch of reason, and justification of our sentiments or practices, nor dares not approach the tribunal of impartial inwould their weaknesses be urged in extenuation quiry. She hides herself in the fastnesses of reof our own. They were men constitutionally mote antiquity, and garrisons herself in the fortilike ourselves, and only circumstantially differ-fications erected by those she honors with the tient. Whether they were wiser or better than tle of "the Fathers." When she dares to visit ourselves or our coevals, depends not upon any the temples of human resort, she attires herself constitutional superiority, but rather upon the su- in the attractions of popular applause, and piques periority of their or our circumstances. Their herself upon the number, influence, and respecopportunities may have been better or worse than tability of her admirers. But with all her blanours, and all the difference of a moral or intel- dishments, she is an impudent impostor, and is lectual nature between them and us must be re- doomed to destruction with all her worshippers. solved into their or our superior attention and de- But Truth, immortal Truth! the first-born of votion to truth and goodness. Heaven! by the indisputable rights of primogeniture, shall inherit all things, and leave her antagonist, Error, to languish forever in the everlasting shame and contempt of perfect and universal exposure. Many Doctors of the Church of Rome would have made first-rate Puritans; and many morose Dissenters would have made hierarchical tyrants in other times and other countries. Many in this age, whose illiberality and religious wrath are fully vented in bold invectives and ungenerous detractions, would, had they lived a few centuries ago, have found no gratification to their religious vengeance but in the racks and tortures of inquisitorial cruelty. They who are now sa To Truth eternal and immortal, the wise and good will pay all homage and respect. Upon no altar will they offer her as a victim; but at her shrine will sacrifice every thing. What, then, is Truth? Momentous question! She is Reality herself. 'Tis not merely the exact correspon |