Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1872-05-21

too often been the case, we are now
found praising and initiating one an
other. rejoice to believe that when
God sent the Methodist Episcopal
Church into America that Church was
called and elected-Eg great applause1-
called and elected to conquer this coun-
try, in order to put fervor and activity
into the Presbyterian Church, Tap
plauSe, and it has made its calling and
election sure. Great applause And
/ believe further, brethren, that you
have in many details of Christian activ-
ity taught us very many lessons which,
though we may have been slow to re-
eeive', we have Been sure to accept in
the end. / remember that twenty wears
ago, while was yeta layman, and be-
fore / was ordained to the ministry,
and yet sometimes when / preached to
Others-I remember that / was again
and again rebuked, because, as a lay
man, / dared to tell the story of Christ.
But we have now learned that laymen,
as well as ministers, can effeetually
preach the word. And, brethren, may
l be pardoned if l say think that you
have learned something from us !?
Have. we not been told to-day that this
is the first General Conference in which
the laymen have been directly repre-
sented? We are ahead of you in this.
Applause. rejoice that you have
come up to our standard in this at last.
We have always looked upon it as i'm
portant that our laymen should be rep
resented in our Church judicatories.
We have heard, too, this morning of
your love of a learned clergy, and re-
jOice in it. You have shown most fully
by your acts in late years that you see
and appreciate the power which a
learned clergy will add to the great
work of saving souls. Those honored
names, like M'Clintock, with their his
minds should be cultivated, and all our
learning and culture should be brought
and laid at the foot of Jesus for his use.
But, brethren, ] did not intend to-
consume SO much time. One word
more now before i take my seat. do
not think myself chimerical when /
believe that greater unity still viii
more and more characterize the Church
of Christ in the future. We shall find
that obstacles that have stood in Ourl
way will disappear from before our
faith and our prayer.
Reference has been made, by the
brother whO introduced me, to the late
reunion of two large branches of the
Presbyterian Church in the, United
States. You all know of this history.
1 have the honor TO be the first repre-
sentative of that United Church before
you, digniied body. Brethren, what
caused that union? Has the Old
School laid aside any of its special
views of truth ? Has the New School
buried its particular ideas in the bottomI
of the sea? Has Princeton given upl
its own views oftheOlogy, or has Union /
surrendered any particular thing to it ?
Not at all /! The Old School and New
School Of ten years are so to-day. I
Princeton remains Princeton still, and
Union is Union still. Why then this
united body? Why have we come to-
gether? l answer, because we have
come to recognizethb truth that as long
as human bodies differ, so long will va
rioIls minds differ in their apprehen-
sion of truth, and at the cross of Christ
we can agree to disagree. Applause. II
was pleased few days since when
was permitted to be present at the
semi-centennial anniversary OF Rev. !
DIR. Hodge, of Princeton, to notice that
there was not one word of Presbyteri- I
anism hut all was of Christ and the
cross from the first to the last. And so,
as the Church in apOstOlicdays was one,
and as the heavenly Church will be
one, so will the miIlenial Church be one
May God speed the day !
[ Many voices, Amen! I