from the one only Bride of Christ. But for her, if ye wish to learn her origin, ye must go to the gospels and epistles. She has her foundation upon the Rock of Ages, and other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid. She may

be despised and rejected of men; it was the fate of the Bridegroom himself. But let them do this, or whatsoever else it may please them; they can never induce him to repudiate her. They can never prevail with him to accept a second bride, in preference to the Church,' which he loved and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word; That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

From these observations, brethren, you must perceive, that the present discourse is merely introductory to a series upon the same subject, which I propose to deliver on the morning of as many sabbaths, as may be necessary to complete them, and in which I design to give as condensed a view as possible of the apostolick Church, at whose altar, it is my happiness to minister. Those features I mean, which serve to distin guish her from the various protestant denominations of our country. By the divine blessing, I will prove from the scriptures her divine origin. I will show, that her three orders in the ministry, and particularly the episcopal order, spring from the same holy and unerring wisdom. I will endeavour to convince you, that in some other important particulars, such as the holy rite of confirmation, and the use of precomposed forms of prayer, in the publick worship of God, she conforms closely to the pattern of heavenly things, exhibited in the sacred volume.

Nor shall I omit the testimony of the Christian fathers; of those men, who either lived in company with the Apostles, or who succeeded them in the ministry during the first centuries of the Christian era. Many of their writings yet remain, and from them it will appear, that no other Church, but our own, was ever heard of, by those who first believed in Christ. They

had the same three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons in the ministry, and of these, bishops alone possessed the power of ordination. It was neither claimed, nor exercised by others. It would have been deemed unscriptural and unauthorized; a usurpation of power never granted by the great Head of the Church, and therefore conferring none of the attributes of his ministers, no authority to preach the word, or administer the ordinances of the gospel.

In performing this service, in which it will be necessary to examine every supposed objection, to recur to the records of history, and to speak freely, though I hope discreetly and advisedly; I shall be guided by a sense of duty, by a desire to put you in possession of every material fact required to arrive at a correct decision in your own minds, and by the expectation of its contributing in some degree, however slight, to the prosperity of a Church, built upon the foundation of the Apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. It ought not to excite unpleasant feelings in any bosom. It is not intended to excite them. My great object is, to inculcate 'the principles of the Church among those, who compose my own congregation. Religious controversy I ever have and ever shall deprecate. But the fair, open, manly, and peaceable investigation of truth must not be denied to the Christian minister, and this I shall adopt and pursue, in a manner as unexceptionable as my own infirmities and the nature of the subject will allow. It certainly does lead me to the conclusion that ministers, who are not episcopally ordained, are acting as such, without any lawful authority; but this has always been the doctrine of the Church, and as is also contended, the doctrine of the Apostles and primitive Christians. Whether I shall be able to satisfy you on these points must be left to your own future judgment. In the mean time, give me your patient attention, and be determined to embrace the truth as it is in Jesus, however it may comport with, or contradict, opinions already formed.

Amid the multitude of sects into which the mystical body of

Christ our Saviour is now rent and divided; a circumstance so foreign from his doctrine, and so opposed to the holy counsels of his Apostles; it surely must be an object of extreme solicitude to every honest and sincere believer in him, to ascertain where his ministers rightfully exercise the functions of the priesthood; where they rightfully preach, and baptize, and celebrate the supper of the Lord. You shall know, as far as my humble powers and diligent examination will allow me to promise. It is a topick to which I have already devoted many hours of calm, dispassionate study, and the result has confirmed me in the opinion, that schism is the greatest curse of Christendom; that it is attended with more fatal consequences than the united attacks of infidelity and vice; and that the world will never be converted to Christianity, until its present professors discard their existing animosities and divisions, and cordially unite together in the Church, which is thus described by St. Paul; There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism.' For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free.'

May God therefore, of his infinite mercy, direct us into that Church, whether it be Presbyterian, or Baptist, or Methodist, or Episcopal. May he possess all Christian people with light to discern, and readiness of mind to embrace it. The wounds of many festering hearts would be healed. The jealousies of many bitter partisans of rival standards would subside. The joy of all the faithful and godly in these denominations, and many of other communions would abound. Peace and order would be substituted for rancour and strife, for confusion and every evil work. In due time, the heathen would hear of it and be glad. The news would be wafted upon the wings of the wind. Messengers of grace and love would carry it to them in every direction. There would be none to molest or to make them afraid, convinced as all men would necessarily be, by this happy fulfilment of the sure word of prophecy; convinced

as all men would be, that the Lord God Omnipotent reigned, that the Zion of his beloved Son was indeed deserving the praise of the whole earth, and that 'her righteousness ought to go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth.' AMEN.

SERMON II.

ISAIAH lxii. 1.

For Zion's sake will Inot hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

THE ardent affection and zeal for the welfare of Zion and Jerusalem, expressed in these words by the prophet Isaiah, combined with the object of these discourses, already announced, render it proper to remark, that the two names are equally applicable to the Church of the living God.

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Zion signifies, a monument raised,' 'a heap of stones set up;' Jerusalem, 'the vision of the perfect or of the pacifick,' 'the vision of peace, or the possession, or the inheritance of peace.' The latter name was given to the city of David, which contained the temple of the Lord God of Israel, and the former was applied to the mountain upon which it was built. 'Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth,' says the Psalmist, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.' Its application to the Jewish Church pervades the 'old testament, and in the new, the Apostle Paul applies it from Isaiah to the Christian; As it is written, Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone, and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.' He also speaks o 'Jerusalem which now is,' and of Jerusalem which is above;'

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in this manner designating the Church militant and the Church triumphant.

In perfect coincidence with the language and feelings of Isaiah, I may therefore express the warmth of my attachment, to what I believe to be the true apostolick Church, in his own devout and fervid vow; For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth."

The scriptures of the new testament are, indeed, full of encomiums upon the organized society of the disciples of Jesus, which is there emphatically described as the Church.

Having reminded you of several upon the last sabbath, I shall merely recite upon the present occasion, the solemn declaration of our Lord to one of his Apostles; And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' The object is not to contend against the peculiar interpretation of this passage maintained by our fellow Christians of the Roman Catholick persuasion; but in every attempt to discuss a controverted subject, it is important to understand the precise import of terms. What then did our Saviour mean in this celebrated text by his Church? It has been defined, an assembly of faithful men, of believers, of true Christians. But the definition is not strictly correct. For Judas belonged to it during our Lord's ministry. Simon Magus was baptized into it by Philip, one of the seven deacons, and among other parables, Jesus put forth one, in which he described it, as a field containing wheat and tares, and said, 'Let both grow together until the harvest.' So that to speak of his Church, as comprising those only, among the various denominations of Christians whom God shall perceive and acknowledge to be faithful and true, is directly at variance with this description, and the two examples which have been adduced.

I prefer therefore a more scriptural explanation. I prefer to consider that portion of men, who have submitted to the