favor Zion should be at hand? What if there should be a general effusion of the Divine Spirit upon all our religious societies? What if the attention of both ministers and people every where, should be awakened to the object we are pursuing, and they should, like the men of Israel, fall in to our assistance in abundance? What if the numerous inhabitants in the new settlements should generally be formed into large and flourishing churches? What if the poor heathens should have an opportunity and a heart to embrace the gospel? In a word, what if this whole continent should be both civilized and gospelized, through the instrumentality of this and other missionary societies? Who would not have reason to rejoice? And who would have more reason to rejoice, than those who were the most sincere, active, bold, and zealous in bringing about such happy events? These are not imaginary prospects. If God intends to make us a happy, he will make us a holy people; and if he intends to make us a holy people, he will employ the proper means to effect his purpose. Let us then, my brethren, take courage; let our hearts and hands be strong; for there are certainly prospects within our view, which, whether realized, either before or after we are laid in the dust, will abundantly reward us for all that we can do, to build up the kingdom of our Divine Redeemer. SERMON XIII. UNITY OF SENTIMENT. PREACHED BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF CONGREGATIONAL MINISTERS, IN BOSTON, MAY 31, 1804. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all UNITY of sentiment has a happy tendency to promote and preserve that mutual affection, which ought to reign in the hearts of all the followers of Christ. There is nothing which can disturb the peace, or alienate the affections of any society of christians, while they really believe and openly profess the same religious sentiments. The church at Corinth, which Paul planted, abounded in brotherly love, so long as they mutually agreed in believing and professing the peculiar doctrines of the gospel. But when a disagreement in their religious opinions appeared, it destroyed their mutual attachment, and involved them in bitter animosities and contentions. apostle, perceiving the primary cause of these deplorable evils, laid the axe at the root of the tree, and entreated them to unite in sentiment, as the only proper and effectual way to recover their former peace and tranquillity. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you." By this he did not mean to inculcate insincerity, or urge them to speak the same thing, while they did not believe the same thing; and therefore he immediately adds, "but The that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." Such a unity of faith seems to be his darling theme, in his writings to other churches. In his epistle to the Philippians, he says, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded; and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing." And in his address to the Ephesians, he enlarges upon the subject, and represents Christ as appointing the means of grace for the particular purpose of uniting all his followers in the belief of the same truths. "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine." These passages confirm the construction we have given of the text, and leave us no room to doubt that the apostle meant to enjoin it upon all christians, to be united in their religious sentiments. It is, therefore, the intention of the ensuing discourse, to illustrate the propriety of this divine injunction. Paul was a man of sound judgment, and of extensive information. He had studied Moses and the prophets. He had read the writings of the heathen sages, and thoroughly examined their religious opinions. He had been well acquainted with the Jewish teachers, and had once been carried away with their vain traditions. And besides all this, he had, upon clear conviction, renounced his former creed, and cordially embraced the pure principles of Christianity. Hence he knew, by experience as well as speculation, whether men ought to be required, notwithstanding their various talents, their various means of information, and their various modes of thinking, to become united in their religious sentiments. Upon this subject he was the most impartial and the most competent judge. And since he has solemnly enjoined it upon the whole Christian world, to speak the same thing, and to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment, it must be presumption to call the propriety of his own precept in question. But though we may not dispute the propriety of the apostle's injunction, yet we may inquire into the reasons upon which it is founded. And there are two very plain and obvious rea VOL. I. 24 reasons, why christians should be required to think alike upon religious subjects. One reason is, that God has given them an infallible rule of faith. His word contains a complete and connected system of divine truth. All the doctrines which compose this system are to be believed, and all which stand in opposition to it are to be rejected. It is a perfect standard, by which all religious opinions are to be tried and decided. Hence those who are assaulted by false teachers, are directed to regulate their faith by this criterion. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." The apostle agrees with the prophet, in representing the sacred oracles, as an unerring guide in matters of faith as well as practice. He asserts, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." God having given christians such a complete system of divine truth, there is a plain propriety in his requiring them to believe not only that it is a complete system of divine truth, but also to believe all the particular truths, which compose the system. For it would be absurd to require them to believe the system in general, and yet allow them to disbelieve any or all the particular truths contained in it. So that if it be conceded that the Bible is any rule of faith, it must be acknowledged that it is a perfect rule of faith. And since all christians have this perfect rule of faith in their hands, God may justly require them to form their religious opinions exactly according to it; which is precisely the same thing as to require them to unite in their religious sentiments. For it is a universal maxim that when two things agree with a third, they also agree with each other. If therefore, we say, as we ought to say, that God may properly require all christians to agree with the Bible; then we must say that he may properly require them to agree with each other, or to "be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." But since it may be thought that this argument is lame, because christians are imperfect creatures, who are incapable of understanding and following that perfect rule of faith which God has given them; it seems necessary to observe, In the second place, That the word of God is not only a perfect rule of faith, but sufficiently plain and intelligible to every capacity. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." The word of God is no less plain than powerful. It must be plain, because the truths contained in it naturally result from the character of God, and from the various relations which mankind bear to him and to one another. All who are capable of knowing that they are the creatures of God, are equally capable of knowing what he has required them to believe concerning himself, and concerning their own character, their present situation, and their future state. This may be easily illustrated. The doctrine of moral depravity, for instance, is agreeable to the observation and experience of all the children of men. The doctrine of divine decrees is level to every one's capacity, who is able to form any just conception of the existence and character of God. The doctrine of Christ's atonement is agreeable to the common sense of mankind, who have always entertained some idea of a Mediator between them and their offended Sovereign. The doctrine of divine influence upon the human heart, in the production of its moral exercises, has been generally believed by heathens as well as christians. The doctrine of God's existing a Trinity in Unity, and the doctrine of the personal union of humanity and divinity in the glorious Immanuel, are as easy to understand, though not so easy to explain, as any other doctrines in scripture. Nor is it any more difficult to remove all plausible objections against these high points in theology, than to remove all plausible objections against the existence of motion, or spirit, or personal identity, or any other visible or invisible object. These observations might be extended to every doctrine of the gospel; but there is a shorter and easier way to demonstrate the plainness of that rule of faith which we find in the sacred oracles. The Bible is the word of God; he gave it to be a rule of faith to all; he knew the characters, the circumstances, and the capacities of all; it must therefore, be plain and intelligible to all. To deny this, is to impeach both the wisdom and goodness of God in giving us his word. Now, if God has given a perfect rule of faith to all, which all are capable of understanding, then there appears to be a propriety in his requiring all to believe and speak the same things in matters of religion. It is no less proper that he should require all to believe alike in respect to the whole system of revealed truth, than that he should require all to believe alike in respect to any single article of Christianity. But who will say that it is not proper that he should require all to believe alike, in respect to any one doctrine of the gospel? But if we allow the propriety of his requiring all to believe alike in one, in two, or in ten points, we must be constrained to allow that it is equally proper that he should require all to believe alike in all points. No reason can be assigned for a single |