The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1870-06-01

should be no substitutlonsof carlcature Tor
portraiture, of vituperation for description,
of the rash, reckless satire Of skepticism for
the calm and genial spirit Of the earnest love
of the truth. Going forth in the spirit Of
the Apostle, with the simple story of the
cross and its implied elementary truths, we
appeal to every mans conscience in the
sight of God, and, as we have seen, expound
to him the paradoxes of which his moral na-
ture is full. With positive gospel to pre-
sent to cavillers, we turn the enemy's posi-
ton rather than force it. We aim to refute
the premises of the skeptic rather than his
conclusions; to show him the antecedent
reason why he got wrong, instead of merely
convincing him against his will that he is in
error.
But on the other hand this gospel must be
preached with all the Apostles intolerance
Of error, under any Of It's disguises. For
what matters it, SO far as concerns the faith
thatis unto salvation, sEet1er the opposition
to its. fundamental ics4 and its vivifying
spirit be that of the cpeis Atheism, Deism,
Pantheism, Naturalism, Or Secularism of
pure speculation that utterly reject Christ
as imposture; or the Liberalism which ac-
cepts Christ merely as one of the phases of
the worlds religious thought, and therefore
of the eternal truths which may be assimi-
lated with the truths Of all religions without
the historic or dogmatic basis under which its
originators conceived it; OF the criticism of
the revealed word which regards Christ as
obsolete; or the Latitudinarianism, which de-
MES treaty of concord between Christ and
Belial. Are not all, however various their
degree of oAense against society, still equal.
ly hostile in spirit to the Christ of our gos-
pei, and those the most dangerous which
seem nearest to concurrence with it
The preacher then closed with the follow
ing address to the Assembly:
And now, brethren, as We gather to-day
in the high places of the church militant
whence we have lookout upon the whole
field of the Church's work, and behold the
stir and excitement, the controversies and
conflicts, that connect themselves with the
name of Jesus, our adorable King, what
thoughts can be more appropriate to our
position than those suggested by the intrepid
faith and courage of the great Apostle
thoughts of the invincible power of the sim.
pie truth as it is in Jesus, as "the power of
God unto salvation, because therein is re-
vealed the righteousness Of God from faith
to faith," and of the like inyincible power
of the gospel, as the wisdom Of God to silence
the adversaries, open or secret, of the great
King? Indeed, what other lepe have we to
encourage us to labor or .cutend for the
faith at all Just as the APOSTLE, we have
to encounter still the proud conceits of the
naughty stole, the jeers anisnsckery of the
epicurean, the rough contsnr Of the grow
cling secularist, and the ~ ribaldry of
the sensual and godlessf i as. As the
Apostle, we must enccr atitudina-
rian in Difference Z 500 net
indeed Pantheun.
gods of polytheism, but : modern
religious thought, of which tn, .ntheon was
but the type under the ancient Pagan civil
zation; broad churchism tina would pro-
vide niche in the same temple of God for
every form of truth and error alike, and
shrinks from the injunction, Earnestly
contend for the faith once delivered to the
saints.'i As the Apostle saw the apostasy
from the, early beliefs, even of Paganism, de-
velop into the dedication of Caesar, so we
see the apostasy, from admittance to human
corruption into the true belief of the gospel,
develop the deifcation of the dead woman
Mary, to be followed up by the deifcation of
the living Caesar, constituting him infallible
prophet. sacrificing priest and Divine King
On the other hand, looking at ourselves,
we perceive our body to have become least
among the tribes of Israel, who have hither-
to witnessed for Jehovah, smitten with pow
erty, exposed to reproach, and our name cast
out as evil by some, and looked upon with
suspicion by others of the very bodies of
brethren with whom we once took sweet
counsel together. This because of what
they regard as our sin, but what we regarded
as our imperative duty, to stand fast by the
testimony of prophets, and apostles, and our
martyr brethren, for the spirituality and in
dependence of the Church of Christ as the
kingdom not of this world.
Shall we, then, despond, and, as the young
man of the prophet, cry, "Alas! Master,
what shall we do" as we view the multitu-
dinous horses and chariots of Syria? Would
to God, brethren, that "the Lord would
open the eyes" of any such desponding young
men to see the horses and chariots of
fire, encamping around them who stand faith
full to the simple gospel of Christ, the Prophet
Christ, the Priest, and Christ the King; and
that if we but maintain our purity of doc
trine, "they that be with us are more than
they that be with them If only the Spirit
of God work in the hearts of our ofice-bear
ers and people alike, true, holy zeal, and
deep, strong convictions of the invincible
power of the simple gospel of God, then
should the world be made to see with wonder
how God prepared, by suffering, poverty and
isolation, people to bear special testimony
for the distinguishing truths of His gospel.
But, brethren, it would be fatal mistake
should we, in the spirit of Phariseeism, sup
pose that we need, in our own minds and
hearts, fuller and clearer development of
this gospel, which we are thus encouraged
not only to propagate, but to hold up in
the face of gain-saying and goddess world.
Are there no traces among ourselves of the
propensity to look to our own wisdom in do
ing the work of Christ, rather than to rely
simply and in childlike faith upon the re-
-vealed instructions of the great Divine
Prophet? Are there no traces in our own
minds and hearts of the bedimming of the
view of Christ as the Great Atoning Priest,
and his obedience substituted for our obedi-
ence, and his suffering and death as the
penalty for our sin, as the only ground OF
our acceptance before God? Are there not
still lamentable traces of the same lack
among ua, as among the great body of the