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68 . T HE I'RACTlCAL CHRISTIAN.


POETRY.


For the ] Jractical Christian


THE EARLY DEAD.


" The good die first."


Early one morn a maiden fair


Her garden aought ;


' I'o gather there a garland rich,


With fragrance fraught. '


She found her roses yet in bud,


Or opening new;


Sweet scented cups, from which to sip


The fragrant dew.


' I will not pluck you yet,' she said,


• So young and fair:


The morning sun shall beauty add


To beauty rare. '


She came at mid- day, and each rose


Hung low and pale,


As withered by the sun's bright rays, .


And summer's gale.


Then weptthe maid o'er beauties bright,


Thus past and goue;


And ever more her garland twined


At early ' dawn.


And thus from earth his dearest ones


God early calls,


Ere the world' s sear and with ' ring blight


Upon them falls. 3. W. s.


Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 21,1840.


ORIGINAL MISCELLANY.


EXCOMUUNI C,\ TION.


It has been the practice of religionists of all


ages Ilt~ d every system, to injure to the extent


of th eir power, all who made any innovations


upon the establish ed faith, from the idolatrous


heathen to the popular sects of our own times.


The pious Jews crucified the Redeemer be­cuuse


he was a reformer. He went beyond


the narrow circle which their creed had de­scribed,


He brought to light truths and prlu­cipleswhleh


neither Moses or the prophets


had been able to uofold. The' first Chrislians


were every where spoken ngainst, persecuted


nnd put to death, beCltllsu of their revolution ·


81' y doctrines. Their tendency was to change


the estnhlished customs, and to break up the


old ord er of things. This was conllidered


the great evil. Their new doctdnes were her­esies


every wh ere. They were every where


the excommunicuted. , But wh en Christiuns


bticmne numerous, they also followed the ex­ample


of the world, and , Irew a cir cle around


tJleir doctrines and principles, and sairl to all


who would embrace the truth, Here it is, the


whole of it, hitherto shalt thou come and no


farther. Ifany presumed to embrace greate'r


light, he was deemed aheretic, a rebel against


God and the Church, and must be made an


, example of, that others might fear, and receive I


no light or knowledge of any. truth, hnt what


was imparted by ' the guardians of th e Church,


the keepers of truth and conscience. ,' Vho


bas not read of the horrors of the inqnisition?


Calvin and Luther, and all Protestants, have


been excommunicated for their heresies. ­These


great men commenced the Protestant


reformation, stepping out of the circle formed


by the Roman Catholic creed. But they soon


drew their circle also, and Servetus pr esuming


to go beyond it, was at the instance of Calvin,


burnt to death over a slow fire ; mad e of gre en


wood. And so it has continued uutil the pr es­ent


time. Christians, as well as the worship­pers


of devils, have not ceased to devour each


other for their honest convictions. "] fone dif­fer


from the multitude, or from auy of the


doctrines of the popular, the established relig­ion,


he is a heretic, excision al1ll cOlltumely


are his portion, if bigotry and sectarianism


are able to do no more.


It is not because we have any particu lar


preference ofsect, that we pU, blish the follow­ing


case, but would protest against the bigotry


of on e, the indifference of anothcr , and the er­rors


of all. 1 shall not pretend to give all the


miuutae of the cnse, nor the precise langunge


of the discussion, bill an epi tome of the whole,


retaining all. that is important.


1\ Iury Lamson was for many years a mem­ber


of the Orthodox Church ( so culled) iu


' Vest Boylston. ' I n the year 1834, beco . ning the


wife of th e wr iter of this, she mov ed \ vith me to


Berlin , and took the nSllal ste ps io remove her


rel at ion to the Uuita ria n Chur c h in th at pla ce.


The requ est for di smission was refu scd on the


ground th at th e Church in Berlin was not


Evnngeli cal in se ntiment. She, however , be­came


a member, The last Spring we took a


r esid ence in ' Vest Boylston- i- since which the


Church has tak en her cas e in hand, und after


the usual form s, the waiting on by committees,


& c. expelled her.


' Vhen the Church met for action, she was


summon ed to appear and show cau se why the


Church should not proceed to cut her off. 1


was abs eni when this committee waited on


her, but wh en I returned, I call ed on the Rev.


!\ II'. Cross, Minister of thut Church, to 11IIow if


I should be allowed to appear on hcr behalf


He said that according to Congregational us ­age


s, she had a right to be heard hy proxy, if


sh e cho se. It would not be a, public. meetin g,


Ther e would be no time to go into a theologi­cal


di scu ssion.


, Accordingly, wh en the tim e of the meet ing


arrived , I "; llS pr esent. lI er case w ~ s the first


called III'. The c ha rges ' were rend, and , I WIIS


permitted to sp eak . I then remarked, that


1\ IIIryhnd no feelings towards them hut thos e


of perfect kindness 111111 love. She believ ed


thes e feelings hud in tim es past been recipro­cut


ed. She had enjoyed with them IIIl1ny


happy and refreshing seusons. It was painful


to her to think those seasons had gon e hy. ­Still


she loved them, and desir ed th eir syrnpa­thy


and prayers, und would he gladto co. op­crate


with them in every goodwork- c in eve.


ry benevolent enterprize- for Ihe ' advancem ent


of ' the Redeemer's kingdom. But she was


willin g it sh quld be under stood by them that


' for ull thi s, she could not compromise her lib ­erty


to associate and co - operate with oth er


Christians, wh erever she found them, or what­ever


nam e they bore, in all works of righteous.


ness.


I remarked furth er, that I did not appear be­fore


them to mak ~ them trouble or eiill18rrass


their action j to ' be captious or contentious. ­Nor


yet 10 ask forgiveness of them for her


whose cause I ad vocated ; 1' 01' the very good


reason that she was not con scions , ii-' hav ing


committed any offence again st them. Neither


beC< bu se . she feared, theh' aClion woul tl'l1O any


muterial or pennaneut injury to hel · . She


trusts in ber SuviOl', and he/ ieves she is follow-


' ing him more clos ely thnn ever before.


1 came to show thllt sh e is not guilty of Ihe


e(, arges all eged ' against her. Ali< I also he­cau


se we believe you lire ubout to do a very


gr eat wrong to yourselves and toChristinnity.


You am ah out to do th e very thing whi ch hilS


, rent the Church into so many hostile purties


in strife with each other, to the gr ent ' detri­ment


of th e Redeem er ' skingrlom on Clr th. ­But


1 will not here dw ell upon this l;~ int. 1


· come to the charges .


Mary is arraigned for her esy, and a violution


of cov enant engageme1lls.- Before the merils


ofthis case cun appear, it is necessary you


should specify wh er ein sh e hns departed from


the fuith. And also wherein she sh e has vio­lated


her covenant. 1 wish you would also


inform me, what you understand by excol~ ­municotion.


To what do es it alllouni? 1


suppose you consider yourselves to he the true


Church of Christ, and as having atJthority


fi'om him tl) cut off from that body, offending


lIIelllh ers, an, l that hy this act they are exclu­ded


trom ull the privileges and immunities of


the true Chnrch, and ar e henceforth to be reo


gard e, l as heathen. 1I0w is this?


lUI'. Cro ss, the Modemtor of the lIIeeting, re­plied-


That in regard to th, e last question,


' Excommunication wus c, nlting on e off from,


the vis ible Church.' They knew nothing


ahout th e true Chul'Ch, '; Vho belonge, l to it, und '


who did not. Heretics wer e cut off fi'orn the


visihle Church, and were regarded as helithen


and publicans. In regllrd to the oth er ques­tiolis,


the Church had deem ed Mrs. Lamson


a pl'Oper subject for discipline; and they were


not hound to give reasons for their conduct to


an individual. Nevertheless, Mr. Cross went


, on furth er to say, thut wh en he and Den . Brig­hnrn


hod called on Mrs. Lamson, she hud con­fessed


to th elll that she had changed hel' views


on the doctriu e of the trinity . And that on


thi s doctrine depend ed that of the atonement,


tOlal dcpravity, sp ecial gmc e, & c. T o tak e


thi s away, th eref(, r e, was to tak e awny the


wh ole fouudation of Christianity. Then 1\ 11'.


Cross read the COI'euullt which she mlopted


WIIOII she j oined th e Churc h.* And th en re­madwd


that Mrs. Lamsou had here solcmnly


covenanted to walk with thi s Church; thi s she


had not done, she had not communed with


them, nor worshipped with them in thishouse


for years.


Mr, Cross remarked further, we have heard


much this afternoon of Mrs. Lamson's love for


the Church, her desire to co- operate with them


in works of righteousness, & c. Of this the


Church will judge, wh en the fuct is, she hus


not been with them ° for years. This is all


special pleading; it is entirely out of ord er. e- ­And


it is tim e the Church ' took this mallei' in­to


their own hands. It is for you ' to decide


whether you ' will have your time wasted in


this manner . \ Ve have mu ch business to at­tend


to thi s afternoon- we have also n lecture


appointed at 3 o'clock. I submit this thing to


the Church. Mr. Cross 1I11111e th ese remarks


evid ently with impatient feelings.


Den. Brighum thou ght the ge ntleman WII S


out of ord er, lind ou ght not to he allowed to


waste our pr ecious time in this manner. If


1\ Irs. Lumson wished to he re stored to the


Church, let her rep ent of her s ins, come for­ward


and nsk th eir pard on, and th en the


Church could determinewheth er th ey would


forgiv e her. But ifs he \~ IlS not prepa red 10


do thi s, he hop ed the Church would dispcse


ofthe subj ect at onc e, SOllie oth ers mad e re ­lIIarks


to the effect that I ought to be silenced,


But th ese remarks having subside d, and the


Church not presuming to silence me peremp­torily,


I again proceeded to rern nrk e.


" I' hat I did not wish to euilmrrn ss th eir nc­tion


; for from it. I wish ed them to uct un­derstandingly,


I wish ed to testify ugain st


wh at was wrong, and in fUVOI' of what ' was


right. And 1 would snyaguin, that I , did not


come to usk at their hands forgiv en ess for !\ Ill'


ry, 1' 01' she was not con scious of having COIll­milled


any offen ce agaiu st them, Besides, she


had 110 sort of confidence in th eir authority to


forgive sins. !\ II'. Cross suid with mn ch IIppU'


rent feeling, that they did not pretend to fin"


give sins. Then said I, whut means nil this


talk ubout , her repenting, coming tor \ vurd,


confessing her sins to the Church, hein l( pal::'


dou eu- n1l1I- I'estored? lUI'. Cross snys, ' It. is liS


pluin ns the sun lit noon. If a lIlan strilw me


in the face to · day, 1II1l1 to- lnOITOW cOllle nnd


ask lily forgiv eness, I clln for give hilll. Hut


he wonlel s rill huve to ask God's forgiv en ess


also , So is the elise of lUI's. Lalllson- sh e


/ lillY he forgiven by ' rhe Chllrch, but has still


to lIsk God's forgiven ess.' I relllurked Ihut


thi s was not a parallel cllse. lUI'. Cross said,


' It was exactly a parallel case.' Ilut I WOIII on


to show thut it was not. This. Church pre­sumes


to he a branch of the tme Chmch, the


Church of Go, l, 1I , lIIellll. ler of Christ's mystical


body. An offen ce, th er efill'e, against this


Church, is against Chrisl, allli ugainst GOIJ. ­This


is th e offence for which 1\ I1I~ y is 81Taign­ed


01111 tri ed, lind fill' which you . pres lllne to


have a right to forgive her, or COllllelTln her. ­'


Vhat is hcr offence aguinst you? Is it lIOt


that Ilhe hilS don e a wrong to Christianity, and


thus sinned a gllinst God. It is not pretend ed


thllt she hus done any injury to YOUI' person s,


propert y, or repntations- and therefore I say,


she is not gnilty ofany sin like ' strikiug yon


in th e filce.' The offeu ce nlleg ed is aguin st


religion alone. A depllrture. frolll ils fiJlJdu­mental


do ctrine!:', and II neglect to cOlll'lIIune


with yon lit the Lord's t/ lble, lind worship with


you ut this altar. '


If God oilly can forgiv e this sin commirted


against himself, lind his religion, he alone has


a right to sit in juclgment upon it. I do not see


any occasion for the sen sith'eness manifest ed,


at your o~ n idea of pardoning sin, while you


pre snme to condemn lind pnnish it- or, ~ vhich


is the same, excommunicnte for it. If you


hav e anthority to do the one, you have IIlso to


do the other. The on e follows fi'olll the oth­er.


I shall say som ething in regllrd to this


pointhel'eafter. ' Ve deny thllt you have uu­thority


to do either.


But in ol" ll er to uvoid th e IIhove diffi culties;


you mak e a distinction betw een the true und


Ihe vi sible Church. To what docs thIS Ilis­tinction


1I11l001llt? To e xc ommunicllte, say


you, is to cut offfrom the visible Chmch and


uot from the true. Do you mean to say that


)' ou heing II branch of the ' visihl e Chnrch; ilo


lIOt therefor e bclong \ 0 the tru e Cllllch? Un­less


)' OU IllOun thi s, )' our distin ction nmounts


to nOlhing. But yOll mean 110 such thin g: ­You


elaim ill this action to be thc true Ch ure:"


aud to act with divine authority . Otherwise,


to what does YOUI' ac tion amount? You be­lieve


th at to cutoff from YOUI' body, is to cut


off from th e Church of God, from all its privi­leges


and immunities, and from the heavenly


inheritance.


!\ II'. Cross here denied that th ey presumed


, to do any such til ing. '" Then it seems that


your action amounts to nothing more than


separating one from merely human outward


, organization, lik~ tile Temperanco So ciety, 01'


Anti- Slavery Society. But ullowing that you


have divine authority in the cuse, the charges


hrought ngniust her lire not tru e, lind therefore


there is no occ asion 1' 01' its exe rc ise in the pre­se


ntcuse, I now come to the spec ific charges.


I st, A departure from the fuith. The on­ly


arti c. e spec ified in relati on 10 which it is al­leged


s he bus gone astr;;" y, is that involving


the trinity. She has confessed that her views


have uudergon e a chunge on thi s l! Inhject. ­She


fu rth er confess es thut s he never had clear


views of thi s doctrine, as expressed in your


formulas. ' Vhat th en is th e change she has


experieuce rl upon , this point? Is it a depart­ur


e from the fuith, even as hehl hy yourselves?


Not necessarily 1l0. The c hange is this. ­Whcr


eus her mind WIlS before somewhat in


darkness, she has nowclear and distinct views


of the character lind per son of Christ. 1\ Ir"


Cross sui. l, the fact thut she wa s a member of


II Unitariun Church, was proof that she WIIS


not II Trinirarian. I deni ed that it was, The


Church with whi ch she WIIS united, had no


creed hut tl; e Bibl e, and did not refuse to' fel~


lowship Triuitnrinus. It WIIS the Church rear­ed


up hy Dr. Puffer, who W/ IS cl/ lilne, ~ by the


Orthodox us sound in th e fitith . But 1 do not


wish to deny 1! llIt I\ llIry rej ects the doctrine of


the Trin ity, us it is express ed in your formu­Ins.


But conte nd for her sound ness in the


faith on othe r gronnds- viz: AhllOngh she


ohje': ts II) th e expression of the creeds, sh e


hold s pnH: isr.'. I' th e slim e views that all enlight­ene


d Trin ita rian s do, so for 115 tho se views are


understood, lind cleady al/ ll distinctly defined.


D. It. L.


[ To be Coucluded.]


* T he CLurch 111111 within a few veal's re­vise.


1 tlleit' covlma nt 111111 articles offi; ith, cloth­ing


thm il in different lang- ullge , hut e illiming to


hllve rl'lnin ed th e suhslllnc e of hOlh. But it


eo nld he shown dl ilt tl", y hlld 1I'" Jllrted us fill"


fro'll t1111 ori l! inal liS I\ l:' ry hud Ii'om them in ,


the articl e" ofthe Trinity.


KINDNESS BE · l" l'EIl. THAN FORCE.


The following anecdote relat ed by Dr. Coo­le)',


nt a Common School Convention in


Hampden ' county, strikingly illustrales the


force of the principle of kindness. Who can


be sceptical of the f. · wt, thllt love is the lever


hy whi ch th e wor'ld is to he moved, and the


hearts of llIen moulded into the image of Je-.


sus? G. w. s.


" Many yellrs ago, a yonng milll went into Il


district, to keep sc hool; lind, before he had heen


there a weck, lilllny persons clime to see him,


und kindly tol, l him that there WIIS one boy in


the school wllOm it lVas necesslu'y to whip


e very Juy ; leading him to infer such was the


cu stofll ' ofthe 5cho ol, and that the inference of


injustice tOWIII'lls the boy, \ vould he drawn,


wh enever he o should escape , not when he


shoul. 1 suffer. The teacher saw the uffuir in Il


different light. He treated ihe hoy with sig­lIal


kindness and uu ention. At first, this novel


course seemed to bewil< ler him .' lIe cou Id not


divine its meaning. Bu~, when the persever­ing


ki" dn ess of tile teacher begot a kindrell '


se ntiment of kindnes in the pnpil, his very na­ture


seemed tl'llnsformed. Old impulses died.


A new ereation ofm\' lives supplied th eir place.


Never was th ere a more diligent, obedient and '


successful pupil, allll now, said Ihe I'everend


gentl elllnn, in concluding his narrative, that


hoy is the ChiefJustice ofn neighhot'ing State.


Th'e re'latol' of thi s story, though he modestly


kept back the . filct, was him self the · octor. If


the Romlln~ justly hestowed u civic crown up~


ou a $ oldi erwho had sav ell th e lifeofa fellow­sollli


er in battl e, wha't honors are too gr eat fot ·


a tench cr who has Lhus rescu ed a child fi'om


I'uin ?"


A RE}' LE C' 1' I 0 N.


The past- wlrer l' is it? It hus fled .


Thl.: fUluro? It lIIuy never come.


Our friends departed ? ' Vith lhe dea,\.


Ourselv es ? Fast hastening to tlte tomb.

Page 63 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840