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seraphs, than with his children, servants, and neighbours; or, he is one who, while he reverences the thrones, dominions, and powers' of the invisible world, vents his spleen in railing on all dignities and powers on earth.'

What are the remedies, then, which may be applied for healing the unhappy divisions which have arisen in the Christian church? It is evident, in the first place, that we must discard the greater part of those human systems of divinity, and those polemical writings and controversies, which have fanned the flame of animosity, and which have so frequently been substituted in the room of the oracles of God. We must revert to the Scriptures as the sole standard of every religious opinion, and fix our attention chiefly on those matters of paramount importance which are clearly revealed, which are obvious to every attentive reader, and which enter into the essence of the Christian system. For, to maintain, that the Scriptures are not sufficiently clear and explicit in regard to every thing that has a bearing on the present comfort and the everlasting happiness of mankind, is nothing short of a libel on the character of the sacred writers, and an indignity offered to Him by whose Spirit they were inspired. We must also endeavour to discard the "vain janglings," the sophistical reasonings, and the metaphysical refinements of the schools, and the technical terms of polemical theology, such as trinity, hypostatical union, sacraments, &c. and, in our discussions, especially on mysterious or doubtful subjects, adhere as nearly as possible to the language of the inspired writers In particular, more attention ought to be paid

* Natural Hist. of Enthusiasm, p. 14.

to the manifestation of Christian love, and the practice of religion, than to a mere coincidence of view with regard to certain theological dogmas. For it is easy to conceive, that a man may be animated by holy principles and dispositions, although he may have an obscure conception, or may even entertain an erroneous opinion, of some of the doctrines of religion; and we know by experience, that men may contend zealously for what are considered orthodox doctrines, and yet be destitute of the spirit of religion, and trample on its most important practical requirements. And, were the spirit of our holy religion thoroughly to pervade the different sections of the church-were Christian affection more generally manifested among all who bear the Christian name, and the practical injunctions of Christianity uniformly exemplified in their conduct, we should soon behold a general coincidence of opinion on every thing that can be deemed important in religion, and a mutual candour and forbearance, in regard to all subordinate opinions, that do not enter into the essence of religion, and which ought to be left to the private judgment of every inquirer.

But I entertain little hope that such measures will be adopted, and an object so desirable accomplished, while so much ignorance still pervades the minds of the majority of Christians, and while the range of their intellectual views is so much contracted. It is only when the effects of a general diffusion of knowledge shall be more extensively felt, that a more general and cordial union of the Christian world is to be expected. Light in the understanding is the source of all reformations, the detector of all evils and abuses, the corrector of all errors and misconceptions, and the stimulus to every

improvement. It dispels the mists which prevented our distinct vision of the objects of our contemplation, discovers the stumbling-blocks over which we had fallen, points out the devious ways into which we had wandered, and presents before us every object in its just magnitude and proportions. The knowledge to which I allude consists, in the first place, in a clear and comprehensive view of the whole system of divine revelation, in all its connexions and bearings, and, in the next place, in an acquaintance with all those historical, geographical, and scientific facts which have a tendency to expand the capacity of the mind, and to enlarge our conceptions of the attributes of God, and of the ways of his providence. Wherever the mind is thoroughly enlightened in the knowledge of such subjects, the tendency to bigotry and sectarianism will quickly be destroyed, and the partition walls which now separate the different sections of the church will gradually be undermined and crumble into dust. This might be illustrated from the very nature of the thing. A man whose mind is shrouded in comparative ignorance, is like a person who lands on an unknown country in the dusk of the evening, and forms his opinion of its scenery and inhabitants from the obscure and limited view he is obliged to take of them, during the course of a few hours, while he whose mind is enlightened in every department of human and divine knowledge, is like one who has taken a minute and comprehensive survey of the same country, traversed its length and breadth, mingled with every class of its inhabitants, visited its cities, towns, and villages, and studied its arts and sciences, its laws, customs, and antiquities. The one can form but a very imperfect and inaccurate conception of the country he has visited, and could

convey only a similar conception to others,-the other has acquired a correct idea of the scene he has surveyed, and can form an accurate judgment of the nature, the tendency, and bearings of the laws, institutions, and political economy which have been the subject of his investigations. So that the accounts given by these two visitors, of the same country, behoved to be materially different. The sectarian bigot is one who has taken a partial and limited view of one or two departments of the field of revelation, who fixes his attention on a few of its minute objects, and who overlooks the sublimity and the grand bearings of its more magnificent scenery. The man of knowledge explores it throughout its length and breadth, fixes his eye upon its distinguishing features, and brings all the information he has acquired from other quarters, to assist his conceptions of the nature, the bearings, and relations of the multifarious objects presented to his view. The luminous views he has taken of the leading objects and design of revelation, and the expansive conceptions he has acquired of the perfections of Him by whom it was imparted,will never suffer him to believe, that it is agreeable to the will of God that a Christian society should be rent asunder in the spirit of animosity, because one party maintains, for example, that dipping is the true mode of performing baptism, and the other, that it should be administered by sprinkling, while they both recognise it as a divine ordinance, and symbolical of spiritual blessings,—or that such conduct can have a tendency to promote the glory of God, and the best interests of men. He can never believe that that incomprehensible Being who inhabiteth eternity, who superintends the affairs of ten thousand worlds, and who hath exhibited in his word the way

to eternal life in the clearest light-should attach so great a degree of importance to such questions, that either the one party or the other should be considered as exclusive supporters of divine truth, while they infringe the law of Christian love, and forbear "to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." For, in reference to the example now stated, a few drops of water are equally a symbol or emblem as the mass of liquid in a mighty river;-and to consider the Almighty as beholding with approbation such speculations, and their consequent effects, would be little short of affixing a libel on his moral character. The man of knowledge is disposed to view in the same light, almost all the minute questions and circumstantial opinions, which have been the cause of separating the church of Christ into its numerous compartments.

If we attend to facts, we shall find, that, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the man who is a violent party-partizan, is one whose ideas run in one narrow track, and who has taken a very limited and partial survey of the great objects of religion. He is generally unacquainted with the range of history, the facts of science, the philosophy of nature, and the physical and moral state of distant nations. His mind never ranges over the globe, nor contemplates the remote wonders of the Creator's empire. His reading is chiefly confined to the volumes and pamphlets published by the partizans of his own sect; he can run over the scriptures and arguments which support his opinions, like a racer in his course, but, if you break in upon his train of thought, and require him to prove his positions, as he goes along, he is at a stand, and knows not how to proceed. While he magnifies, with a microscopic eye, the im

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