manner in which we have discharged our duty to the flocks committed to our care, but also of the spirit we have cherished and manifested towards each other. Oh, my brethren, how awful is our responsibility! If, as our Lord expressly assures us, men shall give account in the day of judgment of every idle word they shall speak, what a solemn account will they have to give, who, in the heat of theological controversy, have not only uttered many idle words, but have indulged in unkind and censorious remarks upon their brethren in the ministry!

The subject, which has now engaged our attention, will be generally acknowledged to be important and seasonable. It is the sincere desire of the preacher to have his own soul imbued with the spirit he has recommended to others. He has spoken freely and fearlessly, without regard to sect or party. He has felt that the times required that some one should lift up his voice against the bitter and acrimonious spirit that has disgraced our theological controversy. In the discharge of this duty he is not conscious of being actuated by any other motive than an ardent desire to allay the violence of party strife. He is convinced that peace and

quietness are not to be obtained by a vain attempt to unite those who are so widely separated in religious belief-but by an agreement to differ, and a readiness to allow each other, in all its generous extent, the right of private judgment. Many of the evils we so much lament, if he is not mistaken, have been occasioned by a disregard of this important principle, and by an attempt to enforce, if not a uniformity of faith, an acknowledgment of the innocency and safety of error. When men will be content to allow others to think they may have embraced dangerous errors, without heaping upon them terms of unmeasured reproach and obloquy, and when those who view their brethren as holding doctrines that are unsafe, or rejecting those that are important, shall learn to treat them with courtesy and kindness, and manifest towards them feelings of tender solicitude and affectionate interestthen, and not till then, may we hope to see those dark and portentous clouds of party strife, which now hang lowering over our churches, dissipated by the mild and cheering radiance of the Sun of Righteousness.

The importance of my subject must be my apology, for having so long detained this large

and respectable audience from carrying into effect the truly benevolent purpose, which I doubt not has brought them together. Of the numerous charities for which our times are distinguished, I know of no one more unexceptionable, than that to which I now have the honored privilege of inviting your attention. Having been long, officially, concerned in the appropriation of the charities of this Convention, I have had occasion to know much of the circumstances of those, in whose behalf we now solicit your charitable aid. They have seen better and brighter days. From the important stations which their departed guardians were called to fill, they have been conversant with the most refined society, and have been surrounded, not only with the necessaries, but with the comforts of life. The removal of those on whom they so confidently leaned, has thrown them into obscurity, and, in many instances, withdrawn that pecuniary aid which was necessary for a decent and comfortable maintenance. Living, now, in great seclusion and retirement, they have little other earthly resource, than the annual charity of this Convention, to which they habitually look forward with confiding trust, and always receive with heartfelt gratitude.

In this charity we can all unite. The appeal

which we now make in behalf of the poor and lonely, and, in many instances, infirm and aged widows of our departed brethren, I am persuaded will not be in vain. No liberal, ingenuous mind will withhold or lessen his contribution, because their cause is advocated by one of a different faith. The thought cannot-shall not be indulged for a moment. In the appropriation of the funds of the Convention, and of the Congregational Charitable Society, I take great pleasure in stating, from personal knowledge, that the most perfect impartiality has ever been observed. It has never been made a question, and I trust it never will be, to what religious party the recipients of this sacred charity belong. It is enough, that they are widows and need our aid. On this broad ground, my beloved friends, we can meet, if on no other. On this altar of charity, then, let us unite in offering our gifts,-and let the only strife and controversy be, who shall do most to make the widow's heart sing for joy.

143

SERMON VI.

THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD.

JEREMIAH iv. 6.

Set up the standard toward Zion.

On occasions like the present, when we behold our civil fathers and our military guardians assembled in the temple of the Most High, it has been usual for the preacher of the day to avail himself of the political relations of this country with the powers of Europe, to furnish an appropriate subject of discourse. Nor has it been difficult in times past, from the peculiar and interesting state both of this and other countries, to select such themes as were calculated to stimulate the soldier to the discharge of his duty, and to interest the citizen in the defence of his