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26 THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN.


o. w. STACY.


GERRIT SMITH'S ADDRESS ON CHRISTIAN


UNION- EXTRACTS.


" No pemo'n, acquainted with the words and


tbe heart of JesnsChrist, believe"" thllt it is His


choice to have His disciples Sell!, rated from


. each other by. party lines- wearing the hadg­ell,


and contending with ellch other obout the


peculiaritie", of their re~ pective se(: ts. He,


whose prllyerfor his disciples wus, ' that they,


all / may be . one,' wOllld have His Church all


seamless, as was Hill gllrmellt. Nor will any


perilon fumiliar with the I! IIcred volume, beliey",


tliat the Apostles preferred the division of


Christillns varioull parties to thllir collertioD


io the 8ume fold, under the t' 8me . bannera.


If Paul loved plirtillBiii tlie Church, he ' would


Dotsay, ' tbat there should be DO Ichism in ~.


' Groton, J 1~ ly 3, 1840.


. Dear Friend Staey-


You:" kind letter of in­q,:


iry of the 2d inst., directed til our mutual


frietui Boutell, has just heeu put iuto niy


hands] to which lain hllppy to JlllIke the fol­lowing


reilly.


It ill not among the objects of the proposed,


Convention, 10 decide who are Chri, tian" OT


wluu con, liIule, ChriBlian Uharacter, WertJ


this any part 01' the business of the rueering,


the measure would he perfectly QUi. TOlic.- , I


Shonld this ~ lelliion COllie lip tor decision, in


the prl" seut state ofthing.., Ihll lIIeetillg wlluld


be prolrncted 80 long that Decemher's blasts';


would be our lIIullic horne. That thill ques-tion


will eventunlly COllie up fi,.. cllnsifillrution


IllId decisiou, is v. ery certain. But no Jlfllgress


~ oulrl he mude t" wllrd~ II right disposition of


this qllesiion, nntil II preliminllry one is de­dfled,


1Iamely- Sltall ackllowlfllgetl Chrislian,


be lrealed as Buch? Thill is the tlrst ilOint de­mnluJlng


conshlerlltiolllllld flfljustll! ellt.


Since this is the IirslulI. 1 grellt ohJect of the


a)' prllllehing ClInventioll, we ClIlllwt, os a mat­te[-


ofcourse, refllse Ihe Udlllilll! illp nfrh. ose all­rrie~.


bers\ YI; ocl~ iiift~ · b; rcli~ i~ tialls, nllll wii~


ar~ fllvorable to Union. Should all oppositO


course be pursned, it ill clear thnt I~ e 8h01lld,


at the outset, decide who are ChristillllS, or


whllt con8titutell Chri" llinll chnrncter. ' · We . I


choose to lea I'e the illvitlltion ill" nil its broad­neSll-


inCl1lding " aU Ihefriend, ofIhe Redeem-er


and of Reform."


AII must insluntly see the impropriety of reo


ceiving, as Christian" allY bOlly of pl'Ofessed


118lievers in Ihe gron; Rll ther~' are IIInny un­worthy


persons in every SlIch ) lOdy. This


course' would htltRnlnmonnt to R declaration,


that all Ilersons withir; the limils ofll certain


sect, and holrlin~ a certnin system of , Ioctriues,


are Christ inns, whatever ilia)' he their spirit


and lives j allli that all others lire til be rauked


amonglltthe enemies of Christ, how lIenr soev­er


they may upproxilllute to the prillciples of ..


Ihe Gosllel in the spirit they POSSeHS, mill in '


the lives Ihey lend. Ii. order to ascertain who


ill n Christian it is necessllry to IIppl)' 10 a per­son,'


in his pel'flouml capacity ,.. fhe gl'ent tests of


the Gosllel, Rnd not those of Ihe sect to which


he may belong. And in this testing process,


the ipiril that is predominant will not he


Rlllong the Inst things to he trierl. " Now if


any mun llBve not ' the ' lJiril of Christ, he is


Ilone of his." ,


'. TllCse nrc briefly my views, and ' I trust tbat


tlll'y are those thHt will govern the Conven­tion.


No man, Ht such a place, should be


kn% n after a ' eel.


Yours, fill' Primilive Christianity,


s. HAWLEY.


l\ ly dear friend, we must hn~ e a practical,


huly, evrry- day religion, a living faith, working


by love. P; olessions amount to nothing. We


illUllt have the love of God so Iiviug in our ve­ry


souls, HS to burn our nil unbelief and then


we can live and do as the Gospel requires, 1


know of no Christlanity which will do any


good hut in ~ bediencll to the Lord and his re­quirements,


The cry now. ill ( I thiuk,)-


. " Corne out of her my people ; lliat ye partake


1I0tof her plagues," that ill, out ofBahylon, or


the nominal Church.


yours for the union ofthe Sa! l~ tll,


I, UTHER Bou · rELL.


P. S. 1 thiuk seme of the brethren williSn­swer


your letter more fully. Please circulate


the NlIIicll ofConve~ ltion in your paper.


L. B.


. MllY GOfl blessthe labors of all his filithful


children, and speed the happy < lay when love


and holiness shull unite the gool1 of every


name. 0.: 0. w. STACY.


CHRISTIAN UNtON.


Deur Bro. Ballou :


. I am giRd . that you was


led to notice in the Practical Christian, the call


for a " Union Convention," to be held at Gro­ton;


ncxt month, The suhject to he met sud


discussed at this gathering ia one of infinite


moment. Zio~ mourns on the right hand and


left at the bitterness, the wrath and clamor of


contending sects. What folly and wickedness


sectarianism engenders. Millions are Sill mb­ling


ullOn the dark mountain of sin, while


mlnisters and profeesors are w~ 8ting both time


and tale'nts' iu IIngry disputation in relation to


modes, forms and unessentiuls. The benuti­ful


badge which ih~ enrlydlsciples of Jesus


wore, is now laid aside lor the livcry of a sect.


" By this shal! ' 1111 men know ye are my disci­ples,


if ye have love one lilf nnother." But


alai! how have we . fallen l The finger of


the unbeliever is raised, snying-" lJehold how


these Christians hale one another !"


Blessed be ~ od, that so muny good s~ uls


. and true, in the vario us denominations, are


sighing ~ nd laboring fi. ra glorious reform'- 7


They will not labor ill vuin, The word ofJe"


hovKh hns gone furth- it shall not return void,


hut will accomplish the overthrow of, eclarian­i,


m. The large soul of tlie true child of God


cannot be confined within the Willi of'a petty


denominntion- the chains will, they mmt snail


nsunder, and let the true Christian go free. i- ­With


the l\ llISt~ r, the d lseiple is wont to sllY :


" WhollOever doeth the will of my Fath~ r ~ n


heaven, the " lime is my mother, and sister, and


hrother. II There is a common ' gronnd nll'on


which all pious'souis may meet- a plntforril


ofholines~, upon which all may stand Rndla­bor


for the conversion of the wol'ld. Tile eI­,


enlial, of ChristianitYlare common to all good


heartl!. We have onl1 to lay without the altar


that which is useles8, and meet in the spirit of


love to G~ d and man, and the kingdom of ilie '


dear Redeemer will soon nbsorb · the kingdoms


oftliis worl. d, 1' 1.1' t,_. B. i! Jle is c~~ ed. e~ gh


we need tio more. - Let " JioLINEss'Io lhe


uml" be inscribed on IIU ' our d(, ings- then


shall we see and enjoy heaven. . .


, At yonr suggestion, I immediaiely forwal" ll ·


ed a short epistle to a friend and brother in


Christ, who resides in Groton, mRking some'


enquiries in reference tothe groui. d of nnion


proposed by those who originRted the coming


Convention. I did not know the views ofmy


friend upon the suhject, hut liis prompt and


satisfllctory answer revellis ih" sentiments and


feelings of ! lis heart. In our/ opinions we dif ·


fer, bllt I tr~ st tiur heRrts are one. I rejoice


at the freedom my brother has, by the help of


God, obtained. He whom the Redeemer


mnketh free, is free indeed. And I am sure


he will IJermit m, e to afford others the slime


pleasure I myself enjoyed in reRding his epis-tle.


.


Groton, July .3d, 1840.


Dear Friend and Brother: -


It is with pleasure


thRt I have an opportunity of answt< riog your


enquiries, received yelterdRy hy !\ Iail. The


. Conveiltion is to be the 12th of August, tl. e


object of which is to discul8 freely the great


' truth8 that , lay at the foundation of Chmlian


UniOn. We believe that God', Bible no


", here recognizes any sellaration between his


real children, but that they are to be one­"


even as Christ Dnd the Fo/ Ither are one."


Hence we believe that all the walls. of partition


exillting between Christians, are of man's


bnilding, and therefore are I" rongand wicked,


and of coul1le ought to he immediately. allOl­ished.


We also . see that these barriera come


up, in the shape of humaft creed,- hence we


go against all creeds. Wedo not believe the


great Head ~ fthe Church has given man any


right to legislate ' for. his Church. Yott en­qllire-"


how broad is to be tho' platform of


union?" Ans. As broad , as the Bible; to


unite in the one faith of the Gospel all that


hRve the same fnilh or belief that Peier hud


whe~ he exclaimed-" Thou , art the Christ,


the Son ofth6 living God." They ' must have


a faith which will regulate their life, and pu­rify


the heart. ' All that live godly. in Christ


J" us- aU thai Christ reeei'lIB, we are to re · .


cliYe, ' for " we are all baptized by one spirit


into one I> ody." '


despair of II IIIn's redemption from all tllllt en­thralls


and degrades him. Read the fbllowing


articles on the suhject under notice. ,


Mendon,. August 1, 184.0,


THE PRACT- ICAL CHRISTIAN.


ing from religious selfishness, pride and am­bition.


We have " ighed for the sound ofa


' heavenly trumpet, which should summon the


good and the true- the holy and faithful- the


elect ofGod- out of the Babylon of Sectariau~


ism, to rally around the great standard of prac ·


ticalChrisuanity • . . We want to see personal


holiness and Christian perfection, enltell


above creeds, names,' forms and ceremonies. .


This will ere long take place. God grant we


may , find thut the , present movement is the


commencement of the desired renoYBtion.-'-


I


Who then will " c, orne up to the , help of the


Lord u( ainst the mighty?" Who will now


kneel down and 10( 1 the waters of'self- denial ?


A trial is before those . wlio are sincerely for


union, and' yet are fettered ' by sectarian at­tachments


and prejudices. It is to be seen


whether they can uneet as equals and lo,,~ as


brethren those whom they have been aeCUI'


' tomed to contemn and 0P( los". We who lire


associated in the publicariou of this little ( la ·


per have already taken our ground for Chris­tian


U~ ion. We. · areready to enter in good


faith upon any plan of union . with all Christ­ians,


which does not ahridge our individual


liberty as the freemen ofChrist. In thisl'ree­dom


we must stand fast without wavering.


We will enter into such Christian fellowshiJI


ami intercourse with all who love our Lord


Jesus Christ iu sincerity, as is based on social


equality and brotherly love. We have no


sect or party to build nil- we are emphutical­Iy


free and independent- ready and willing to


meet on the great level of true Christianity our


brethren of ull speculative 011inions, and to


treat thelll as fellow disciple!! 01 the one Lord.


" Holiness to the Lord" is the grand in~ crip­tion


ofall the faithful. Where we behold this


it is enough. We have, indeed, onr faith, our


hope, our opinions, our speculutions, our pe.


culiarities. We can allow no ilion or. body of


men to touch our liberty of thought, sent iment


and speech in respect to these matters. Neither


CHRtSTIAN UNION. will we touch the ' lii18rty ofothers in any~ uch


In No. 5 we published with some remarks a mailers. We will do nnto other", as we would


, . notice for a Convention of the friends ofChrist- thllt othel1lshould do unto us, The o~ ly Iler­ian


Union, to be hoillen during the present inanent foundRtion of Christian Uni" n i8.. one'


," omh; ( Augu" t,) at Groton, M_ · TbiaCon~ .. oOrue ~ ndividualliberty · .- On- this fOUbd) ltioll :


vention is to be holden on the 12th instead of let us aU meet, having for our chief aOltiition


. the 10th of the lJIonth~ and will Ilrobably con- 10excel in · charity.


tinue in session two or ' three days. ' We are But this whole affuir will be ridiculell a.. d


indebted to ~ lIr beloved Br. Stacy lor very ~ al. denounced by ' the wise and prudsnt of the


uable information cllllcerning the object and Sects. Heaven grant thut it~ issue may be nei ·


character of the intended Convention. Imme- ther an abortion, nor the old evil rellroduced.


diately on seeing onr call lor information in The great ones of the CI~ urch will array the~ ­No.


5, Br. S. addressed a letter of inquiry to a selves in unappeasable hostility to nil effonsfor ·


worthy frieOl\ in Groton, which was promptly Christian Union, noi tendilig to glorify their


llllswered by two letters with two printed doc- own Zion. The worthy and the good, who,


IIments, explan!, tory ofthe principles on which if left to them~ elves, would mingle like kinr


Christian Union may he effected. The repu · dred drops into one, are now kept in separate


ration of the two brethren who answer Br. folds; or, it occasionally all,? wed to graze to ·


StRCy, is well sustained by the ~ p i ri t and teno, r gether, are so. marked with the paint of their


of their letter&. We h ~ ve had good report of owners, as to be readily tsken into we keep­these


brethren as stallnch friends of humabity, ing upon the first manifest~ tions ofcordi~ 1 in ·


and repose confidenfe in their moral in- timar- y. It will continue. more or lells so/ for a


tegrity. ' \ Ve have reud their answers to Dr. long time to come. But we are on the eve pf


St. acy with deep interest, Rnd a growing hope a great moral reV'OlutioD, which will ultimately


of forth · coming good to the cause of practical overwhelm all sects in otie common ruin. ­Christianity.


This interest and hope have Baby ton will fall to ris,;, no more,~ not only


been enlargell by the perusal and reperusal of the papal part offhe city, but the prolutanl part


the printed documents accolDlJllllying those also• . Then will the inerchantB of the earth


letters. The first of these is " an Address, reo , weep and mOllrn over theif ruined cnft­ported


by Gerrit Smith to the ' Christian Union when n~ man b~ yeth their merchandize any


Convention,' held in Syracuse, N. Y., August more. But, why should the IItllfish, and am ·


21st, l838." The second is a " Declaration of' bitious, and bigoted be allowed to tyrannize


Sentiments," rep~ rted to the same 90nvention over the humble and holy'? Why be eneour ·


by SilM Hawley. We lay before our readera aged in drilling and training them to ' tight


copious extracts from these very'a~ le and ex · against ~ ch other? " These things ought not


celleoeproductions, and would commend them 80 to be." Let them that experimemally


to the prayerful consideration ofall our friends know the love of God ' quit their task- masters,


and brethren. We should have been glad to anil come together as the sheep of one fold,


print them entire, hut our limits are too nar- under the immediate care · of the one ' ~ at


row. What will be the result of the Conven, Shepherd and Bishop ofsou Is.


tion to be held on the 12th inst., at Groton, · ' We are happy to have become acquainted


we will not undertake to predict. 80 far as with a very ably conducted llftper, the Union


we ean penetrate the designs of its prominent Herald, of Cazenova, Madison Co., N, Y.,


friends, and calculate the probable ' topics of devoted t( J the cause of Christian Union. I We


discussion on the occasion, we anticipate good. have r! lad it with ~ uch interest' and satlefac­We


are not without faith , that something . tion, and wish its free · minded llditorabundant


may and will be done towards the union success in his arduoua work.


ofsouls hitherto unnaturally slIndered from We will only add that we purpose;' God


each otber by the bateful Willisof, eclaria. nirm. willing, to attend the CooyentioD , at Groton,


A Christian ia a ChriltiGn- one who chorishes when we expect to meet many. brethren be ·


the spirit and imitatee the example , of Christ. loved in ilie Lord. We shall go ; with


All such are virtually OM in Chrillt, and ought , hope, and yet . with a humble ' readine8ll for'


never to be marshalled out: into hOltile armies any disappoiDtDle} lt which our heavenl), Fa.


and contending bandl. We have for many ther may perinit us to experienee. W, hope


years lamented the manifold mischief. result- aU tbiDgs good, aud ullder DO circumllaDces


vine self- e~ stence, eternity and lmmortality,


are equally \ lertinent to this point. I subjoin


three or four othera, and close. " I IIlJ1 the


LOI'd, 1 change not." Mal. 3: 6. " The coun­sel


of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts


ofhis heart to all generations." Psal. 33: 11. ­"


Thy faithfulness is unto all gelleratidns." lb.


" 119: 90. " Every good gift, and every perfect


gift is from above, and eomtlth down from the


Father of lights, with whom is no variahle­ness,


neither; shadow of turning." James I: 17. ,


1 add only by way of qunlification, that this


unchangeahleness of God relates to his nature,


principles of'uction , and moral perfections­not


to the particular measures, operations, and


, dispensations of his government. For these


11ISl are wisely adopted to the ever varying


state ofa changeable creation: Because God


is on unchanging spirit,' it does b)' no menns


follow that there should be no variety and


change in the workmunship of his hand!', or


in the details ofhis administration. What we '


mean is, that in his nature, principles of ec­tiou,


general pUf( lOse, and moral character he


remains the slime from and 10all Eternity..


Here ihen ) ve may rest.-' l'here ia one su­preme


God, who is II self- existent, incompre­hensible,


and unchanging Spirit. He is one,


and on Iy One. He is supreme over all; none


other may be compared unto him. He exists


ofand within himself independent of all fates


and necessities, without a beginning, and with­out


an end, without limitation , of power,


of action or of sphere, possessing alone


' inherent immortality, : and incapable of any


pos~ ilJle change through I~ II boulldlessdura­tion.


Mny this eternal God be our refuge,


and his everlasting arms sustain us now and


for ever more.

Page 26 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840