1233 
 
CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 GIFT OF 
 •'inonymous 
 
CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE CHURCH-EDIFICE IN COURT STREET, 
 
 EKECTED By THE 
 
 THIRD CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY 
 
 IN NEW HAVEN, 
 
 DECEMBER 7, 1841. 
 
 BY E. L. CLEAVELAND, 
 
 PASTOR Or^THE CHURCH. 
 
 NEW HAVEN: 
 PHINTED BY HITCHCOCK & STAFFORD. 
 
 MDCCC^l. 
 

 New Haven, 13th Dec. 1841, 
 Rev. and Dear Sir, 
 
 In compliance with the wish of many members of the Third Congregational Church and 
 Society, and also of many others, we respectfully request a copy of the sermon preached at the 
 Dedication of the new Church-edifice in Court street, for the press. 
 
 Tile subscribers firmly believe that the cause of truth and piety demands, and will be emi- 
 nently promoted by, its publication. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 SAMUEL P. DAVIS, 
 CYPRIAN WILCOX; 
 CHARLES-W. HINMAN, 
 WILLIAM C. JANES, 
 ABIJAH BRADLEY, 
 
 • Society^s Committee. 
 
 To Rev. E. L. Cleaveland, Pastor of the Third Congregational Church and Society. 
 
 Messrs. Samuel P. Davis, 
 Cyprian Wilcox, 
 Charles W. Hinman, 
 William C. Janes, and 
 
 Abijah Bradley, Committee of Thud Congregational Society. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Taking into view the peculiar circumstances of the case, I have concluded to submit the c 
 course which you request for publication, to your disposal. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 E. L. CLEAVELAND. 
 New Haven, Dec. 14, 1841. 
 
SERMON 
 
 I. CORINTHIANS HI. 11. 
 
 " OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO MAN LAY, THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH 
 IS JESUS CHRIST." 
 
 In this passage of Scripture, the Church is presented 
 under the figure of an edifice, a spiritual temple, resting 
 upon Christ as its foundation. Such a conception was 
 natural to the mind of a Jew. The Jews were accus- 
 tomed to associate, perhaps to identify, religion with the 
 temple in which its rites were performed, and where 
 God was specially revealed. And when it came to be 
 understood that the true and appropriate dwelling place 
 of the Most High on earth, is the sanctified human 
 soul, and not any building made with hands, it was 
 to be expected, that in thinking of this spiritual resi- 
 dence of the Deity, the image of a temple should still 
 be retained. In dislodging from the minds of Jew- 
 ish Christians the cherished idea that God's presence 
 was specially revealed only where, under a former 
 dispensation, he had recorded his name, the apostles 
 taught that not only the individual believer, but the 
 Church as a whole, is a temple of the Holy Ghost. 
 " Ye are built upon the foundation of apostles and 
 prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- 
 stone ; in whom all the building fitly framed together, 
 groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord : in whom ye 
 
also, are builded together for an habitation of God 
 through the spirit." 
 
 To advance the growth of this spiritual house, is the 
 proper object of every literal temple. As affording 
 convenient places for the pubUc celebration of divine 
 worship, they conduce powerfully to the edification of 
 the body of Christ. They are not to be regarded as 
 the peculiar dwelling places of the Most High, only as 
 he is revealed in the hearts of his people while wor- 
 shiping in them. " For wheresoever two or three are 
 gathered together in Christ's name, there is he in the 
 midst of them." In dedicating one of these buildings, 
 therefore, to the service of God, our minds naturally recur 
 to the spiritual temple, the Church of the living God — 
 to its fair proportions, its peerless beauty, and, above 
 all, to the foundation on which it rests. Let it not, 
 then, be thought inappropriate to the present occasion, 
 if I examine the foundation on which the Church of 
 God is built. The text asserts the doctrine, that 
 
 Christ is the only true foundation of the 
 Church. 
 
 I design to show, 
 
 I. What this foundation presupposes ; 
 
 II. Of what it consists. 
 
 In reference to the first head, I remark, that in the 
 very nature of things, the work of Christ pre-supposes 
 the fall of man. Or, to resume the figure employed in 
 the text, it implies that the temple of the human soul is 
 in ruins ; that so complete is the wreck of this once 
 noble structure, as to render the laying of a new foun- 
 dation indispensable to its restitution. Man is but the 
 mere shadow of what he was. The standing, yet tot- 
 tering walls — massive indeed, but blackened with the 
 
fires of sin — proclaim at once his greatness and his 
 ruin. Alas, how is he fallen ! He came from the hand 
 of his Maker, so adorned with gifts of wisdom, strength, 
 sanctity, truth, and righteousness, that the Creator, be- 
 holding his work, pronounced it, Oood. However many 
 and monstrous the inventions man has sought out, cer- 
 tain it is, that God made him upright ; free from every 
 blemish, whether natural or moral. It is not said that 
 he was made capable of becoming upright, but that he 
 was made upright. In the same moment, and by the 
 same hand that he was made a living soul, he was made 
 a righteous soul. " The image of God," in which man 
 was created, can import no less than this, although it 
 may well include more. If this image signifies nothing 
 but the gift of moral faculties, then how can it be rep- 
 resented as restored by regeneration 1 Yet Paul in- 
 forms us, that " the new man is renewed in knowledge 
 after the image of him that created him ;" and describes 
 the new man as that " which after God, is created in 
 righteousness and true holiness." In the renovation of 
 man, then, is comprehended knowledge, righteousness, 
 and true holiness ; from whence it follows, that the 
 divine image with which he was invested at his crea- 
 tion, consisted in an intellect enhghtened from above ; 
 a will coincident with the will of God ; and affections 
 regular, pure, and holy. Thus adorned, and installed 
 lord of this lower world, man was an object for angels 
 to admire — for God to love. But alas, how soon did his 
 " blossom go up as the dust," and his glory pass away as a 
 cloud ! This blessed and beautiful creature — this fair- 
 est, noblest of the works of God, in one short houi", and 
 by one act of disobedience, is hurled from the presence 
 of his Maker, down to the abyss of sin and perdition ! 
 
And in that plunge, he carried with him the birth-right 
 privileges, the covenant blessings of all his race. Then 
 was lost forever, that glorious inheritance upon which 
 every child of Adam would have entered at the thresh- 
 hold of life — forever lost, those gracious smiles under 
 which all succeeding generations would have risen into 
 being. 
 
 Let no one be surprised that the posterity of Adam 
 should have been ruined by his first transgression. 
 What less could be expected, since the brute creation, 
 and even inanimate nature, participated in this great 
 catastrophe 1 When all the foundations of the world 
 were thus thrown out of course, it is not to be conceived 
 that the offspring of the guilty pair should alone escape 
 unharmed. " By the offense of one judgment came upon 
 all men to condem^nation." As Adam's spiritual life 
 consisted in a vital union with God, so the interruption 
 of that union, was the death of his soul. While he 
 continued upright, God's face shone complacently upon 
 him, producing, as it were by reflection, the divine 
 image in his soul. But when man sinned, his offended 
 Maker turned away his face, and of course the divine 
 image disappeared at the same moment. As when one 
 turns from a mirror, the reflection of his countenance is 
 gone, — or as when the sun sinks behind the ocean, 
 whose surface had reflected his image, and whose 
 depths had been illumined by his beams, he leaves all 
 in darkness, — so when God turned from Adam, he left 
 him destitute of the divine image, ignorant, impotent, 
 impure, and corrupt. 
 
 It was from Adam, thus abandoned and debased, that 
 all subsequent generations have descended. His chil- 
 dren were begotten "in his own likeness, after his 
 
image ;" for the clean cannot spring from the unclean : 
 " thai which is born ofthejlesh isjlesh." Explain, quali- 
 fy, disguise it as we will, the simple truth is, that all 
 mankind are born out of covenant with God, — destitute 
 of his favor, — under his wrath and curse, — being for- 
 saken by his Spirit, and left to bring forth the fruits of a 
 corrupt nature. As the body without the principle of 
 animal life, falls to decay, so the soul without the quick- 
 ening presence of God, is morally corrupt. Nothing 
 more is requisite to the entire depravity of man. The 
 supposition of a positive divine influence upon the soul, 
 producing this corruption, is as unnecessary as it is un- 
 natural. God, in anger for Adam's sin, withdrew his 
 favor from the race ; and our own consequent corrup- 
 tion has done the rest. 
 
 The doctrine that all men are, from birth and " by 
 nature the children of wrath" is one which we are far 
 from pretending fully to comprehend. At every step 
 we take through this awful subject, w3 are reminded of 
 our insufficiency to fathom its depths. We seem to 
 be walking where wide-resounding echoes lift up their 
 voices at each foot-fall, thundering in our ears, " Be 
 still, and know that I am God!" Amidst these fearful 
 mysteries we would tread softly and reverently. Ques- 
 tions might be asked, indeed, which Scripture does not, 
 and reason cannot answer. Farther than the Word of 
 God carries us, we dare not venture ; short of that mark, 
 we dare not stop. The world may scoff", philosophy 
 may deride, reason may cavil, but we can do no other- 
 wise than confess with trembling and self-abasement, 
 that we were "conceivedin sin, and shapen in iniquity :" 
 that being " born of the flesh" we ourselves are "■flesh" 
 
8 
 
 or carnal : that having sprung from a corrupt tree, we 
 ourselves are corrupt. 
 
 Depravity being thus natural to man, is, by human 
 means, incurable. The distemper has taken so deep a 
 hold on its subject, that the whole soul lies dead in tres- 
 passes and sins : every faculty has felt and suffered un- 
 der its baleful touch. And truly appalling is the spec- 
 tacle of corruption and ruin presented to our view ! 
 The understanding, which, before the fall, was a lamp 
 of light, neither led nor leading astray from the way of 
 truth, but an unerring guide therein, has become " dark- 
 ness." The mistakes of human philosophy, not less 
 than the brutish ignorance of heathenism, make it evi- 
 dent that " the world hy wisdom knows not God." Hence 
 the necessity of a revelation, to give light and law to 
 reason. This revelation holds supreme authority and 
 absolute dominion over the mind of man ; demanding 
 implicit and unreserved submission, it allows no ques- 
 tioning, — suffers no appeal. And greatly does reason 
 mistake her office, when she presumes to sit in judg- 
 ment on the Word of God, and to receive its truths 
 only after, and because, they have successfully passed 
 the ordeal of her investigation. This implies that she 
 knows before hand, what ought to be revealed, and, 
 therefore, does not, in fact, need a revelation. " Let 
 reason," says one, " count the stars, weigh the moun- 
 tains, fathom the depths — the employment becomes her, 
 and the success is glorious. But when the question is, 
 'How shall man be just with God?' reason must be 
 silent, revelation must speak." " In the examination of 
 Scripture, then only does she show herself noble, when, 
 conscious of the presence of a King, the knee is bent. 
 
and the head uncovered." We are not ambitious to 
 ascertain how much truth we may know without the 
 assistance of that great Teacher who is himself the way, 
 the truth, and the life. Let those who will, follow the 
 rush-light of human reason through the long, doubtful, 
 and dangerous mazes of philosophical speculation, — to 
 gain, after years of painful toil, only a faint glimpse of 
 some straggling ray of truth — too much mixed with 
 error when gained — too cold and dim to affect the 
 heart ; — they are welcome to their labor. Let us have 
 it as it gushes pure, warm, and flood-like, direct from 
 the Sun of Righteousness himself Since we are to be 
 saved by the truth, not as it is in philosophy, not as it is 
 in nature, but as it is in Jesus, let us see it where it 
 shines in Jesus' face. Let us have it, not as it is cast 
 in the stinted and misshapen moulds of human wisdom, 
 but as it comes to us in the living and glorious forms 
 which Christ gives it. 
 
 Not only is the understanding darkened, but the con- 
 science is defiled ; the affections are misplaced and 
 polluted; and the will is corrupted with enmity and 
 rebellion against God ; or, in the language of the con- 
 fession of faith, adopted by the Connecticut churches,* 
 it is " utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to 
 all good, and wholly inclined to all evil." This disa- 
 bility is predicated, not of man's powers, but of man's 
 self. His faculties remain ; corrupted, indeed, but not 
 destroyed. They will begin to perform their functions, 
 as soon as he is right. Change him, and the grand 
 obstacle is removed. For this impotence does not ex- 
 clude, but always supposes in man, the natural power 
 of understanding and will. It must not be confounded, 
 
 * Saybrook Platform, p. 31. 
 
10 
 
 therefore, with the inability of speaking, in a brute, 
 which proceeds from want of the faculty ; or with the 
 inability of the paralytic to walk, which exists inde- 
 pendently of the will. Human inability is eminently 
 moral and voluntary, and therefore inexcusable. But 
 shall we conclude from its moral nature, that it may be 
 removed by the sinner 1 Here the question is, not 
 whether man has lost the faculty of willing, in respect 
 to the being of the faculty, but whether it is so corrupt 
 as to its moral qualities, that he neither does nor can 
 will any thing that is good. If we affirm that he can, 
 we go over to the camp of Pelagius, who held that a 
 good will Avas committed to the power of man. 
 
 The obvious sense of Scripture is, not that man has 
 dominion over sin, but that sin reigns over him, and 
 reigns unto death ; — that he is not its lord, but its slave. 
 And is he competent while under this bondage, to per- 
 form the vital acts of freedom 1 Can he be both bond 
 and free at one and the same time 1 If he be dead in 
 sin, must not his works be dead works 1 Works, not 
 animated by that spiritual life, not springing from that 
 faith in God, without which it is impossible to please 
 him ? How then can he by these lift himself out of the 
 pit into which he is fallen 1 If, moreover, " the joy of 
 the Lord is our strength" then he from whom God 
 withholds his gracious presence, labors under an insu- 
 perable difficulty, until the light of God's countenance 
 shines upon him. Will it be said, that if this be the 
 case, then obedience to the law ought no longer to be 
 required ? Let me ask, in reply, whether God may 
 righteously forsake the transgressor of his law ? If he 
 may, then he can be under no obligation to repeal that 
 law, or remit its penalty to meet the altered condition 
 
11 
 
 of the creature I If he has lost his right to command, 
 because man has wickedly disabled himself, then he 
 has lost his right to punish ; and sin only needs to be 
 desperate, in order to secure impunity. It is the right- 
 eousness of God's claims, that gives to punishment all 
 its justice. 
 
 Now it is because the sinner lies thus helpless under 
 the precept and curse of that law whose just demands 
 he can never meet, that "help has been laid on one 
 mighty to save :" "for when toe were without strength, 
 Christ died for the ungodly." The deep foundations of 
 his kingdom, are thus laid in the ruins of man's apos- 
 tasy. He " came to seek and save that which was lost." 
 The advent and work of Christ lays open the whole 
 truth as to man's power of self-restoration, — " hecause 
 we thus judge, that if one died for all, then ivere all 
 DEAD." — On this subject, theoretical definition is not 
 sufficient : we need more tangible and practical meas- 
 urements — something that shall make it felt, as well as 
 understood truth. This we find in the work of Christ. 
 We learn the extent of our ruin, by the vastness of the 
 preparations made for our deliverance. Would you 
 know how fallen, corrupt, and helpless man is ? Go 
 measure the height of the eternal throne, — count the 
 jewels that blaze like suns around that Head of many 
 crowns, — express the glory that beams from his counte-. 
 nance, — describe the music that celebrates his praises,—^ 
 calculate the descent from his palace in heaven, to his 
 manger in Bethlehem ; — comprehend his agony in the 
 garden, — fathom the depths to which he sunk on the 
 cross, — and weigh, if you can, the load which, by his 
 Father's hand, was laid upon him there ! These are 
 the true exponents of man's lost condition. The mas- 
 
12 
 
 siveness of the machinery of redemption, conclusively 
 proves the sinner's inability to save himself, or perform 
 the works of righteousness. 
 
 In the fullest sense of the word, therefore, man is 
 undone — his destruction is complete. He lies, without 
 righteousness, hohness, or strength, under the condemn- 
 ing sentence of God's law, and liable to enter at any 
 moment upon the pains of eternal retribution. 
 
 Such, briefly described, is the ruin that rendered the 
 laying of a new foundation necessary to man's restitu- 
 tion. — I am now to show, 
 
 II. Of what this foundation consists. 
 
 It enters into the essential principles of the divine 
 government, that sin cannot be pardoned without an 
 atonement. ' God will hy no means clear the guilty.' 
 But atonement by the sinner, is impossible : for how 
 can he propitiate God with dead works ? And even if 
 animated by a living faith, his works could no more 
 than fulfill present duty. No redundancy of merit can 
 be accumulated and passed over to the credit of out- 
 standing claims. If, then, the condemned sinner can 
 do nothing to turn away the wrath of God, must he 
 perish ? He may, but not for the want of a justifying 
 righteousness. The exigency of his case is exactly met, 
 and amply provided for, by the atoning sacrifice of 
 Christ. Representing in his two-fold nature, the crea- 
 ture offending, and the Majesty offended, he was able 
 by one offering to satisfy, in the sinner's behalf, the 
 claims of God's violated law, and so " to make reconcilia- 
 tion for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness." 
 This righteousness may be had without money and 
 without price, being freely bestowed upon every one 
 that believeth. Let the trembling sinner renounce his 
 
13 
 
 own merits, acquiesce in the justice of his condemna- 
 tion, and accept this righteousness as his all-sufficient 
 justification before God, and he may meet every accuser 
 with the triumphant challenge, " Who is he that condemn- 
 eth ?" However many or enormous the crimes he has 
 committed, " heing justified hy faith, he has peace with 
 God." 
 
 It is important to remark, that this justification is 
 wholly " through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ." 
 The works of the creature, considered as causal, bear 
 no relation to it. Even faith, by which we are said to 
 be justified, is not the meritorious ground of our ac- 
 ceptance, but simply the medium through which the 
 benefits of Christ's death are received. Faith is not 
 the fruit of nature, but a grace wrought in the soul, by 
 the Holy Spirit. For man is not only incapable of 
 making an atonement, but he needs help to avail him- 
 self of that which is made. On this point, our Saviour's 
 words are decisive : " No man can come unto me, except 
 the Father, who hath sent me, draw him." " By grace 
 are ye saved, through faith ; and that, not of yourselves, 
 it is the gift of God." " Not of works, lest any man 
 should boost." 
 
 This opens to view the necessity of a new birth ; for 
 though man's justification is not founded upon his moral 
 disposition, but upon the sacrifice of Christ alone, yet 
 without a change of character, he can never have com- 
 munion with a holy God. As dead in sin, and morally 
 incapable of faith or any other good work, he needs to 
 be born again. This renewal is a supernatural change 
 in man, wrought by the special operation of the Holy 
 Spirit directly upon the heart. Stated in simple terms, 
 it is a divine work in the soul, producing a new dispo- 
 
14 
 
 sition or inclination to good, and a fixed aversion to 
 whatever is evil. " A neiv heart will I give you, a neio 
 spirit will I put within you : I will take away the stony 
 heart out of your jlesh, and I will give you an heart of 
 Jlesh." Regeneration, therefore, is the exclusive work 
 of God; and is effected, not by the persuasions of 
 eloquence, not by the accumulation of light, not by 
 stirring up man's natural susceptibilities, or so exciting 
 his love of happiness, or other constitutional propen- 
 sities, as to enable him in consequence of this stimulus, 
 to change his own heart, — but it is done by the renewal 
 of the man himself. The change does not consist in 
 adopting new objects of pursuit ; but new objects are 
 chosen because a new heart has been given. The sub- 
 ject of this work reforms his life, not that he may be- 
 come, but because he has become, a new man. The 
 tree is made good, and therefore the fruit is good. In 
 a word, it is not by assisting man's natural powers, that 
 the Holy Spirit produces this change, but by new crea- 
 ting him. The introduction of any creature-act as a 
 concurrent cause of this transformation, vitiates the 
 divine nature of the work : — " born, not of hlood, nor of 
 the Jlesh, nor of the will of man, hut of God." 
 
 It follows, that regeneration is something more than 
 a change in the method of procuring one's own happi- 
 ness. There is a change of principles as well as of 
 actions — the great end of life is no longer the same. 
 We enter the kingdom of heaven by dying to self, and 
 living to God. " Glorify thy 8on, that thy Son may 
 glorify thee" is the deepest aspiration of the new-born 
 soul. Then only, do we receive the gospel in truth, 
 when we live in that " charity which seeketh not its own." 
 
 Thus, with the renewal of man, commences the res- 
 
15 
 
 toration of the divine image in his soul. Thus he is 
 brought into sympathy with hoUness, and into com- 
 munion with a holy God. 
 
 Happily, however, for mankind, it depends not on 
 the contingency of human volition, whether this gra- 
 cious gospel takes effect in actual conversion. Full 
 well do we know, that had the gospel included 
 nothing but the offer of salvation, Christ would have 
 died in vain : for " his own received him not'' But he 
 did not engage in this most expensive undertaking 
 upon any uncertainty. The Scripture speaks of a 
 definite number of individuals promised to him in the 
 covenant of his Father, who should be the fruits of his 
 sufferings. This decree of election is eternal, personal, 
 and unconditional. Contemplating the whole race as 
 already in being and in sin, equally destitute of right- 
 eousness, equally deserving of wrath, God takes some 
 and leaves others, not on account of faith and good 
 works, seen or foreseen in those who are chosen, but 
 merely " according to the good pleasure of his will" 
 Whatever difference of moral character there may be 
 between the elect and the- non-elect, it is not the cause, 
 but the consequence of the discriminating choice of 
 God. " 80, then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of 
 him that runneth, hut of Qod that showeth mercy." 
 " Of the same lump, one vessel is made to honor and 
 another to dishonor." Thus, while no wrong is done 
 to the non-elect, — while it throws no obstructions in 
 their way to heaven, but simply leaves them to follow 
 their own heart's desire as before, — God, by this decree, 
 has secured, what otherwise he never could have had, 
 a seed to serve him and enjoy his love, whom he has 
 
16 
 
 given in covenant to his Son, that he might " see of the 
 travail of his soul, and he satisfied." 
 
 But as this salvation is from eternity, it is also to 
 eternity. The perseverance of saints in holiness unto 
 the end, necessarily results from their election ; for the 
 gift of God is, in its own nature, not only life, but life 
 eternal. " I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall 
 never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my 
 hand. My Father which gave them me, is greater than 
 all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father s 
 hand!' 
 
 In this rapid sketch of the doctrines of the gospel, I 
 trust the foundations have been made to appear. It is 
 unnecessary to say more. All the wants of fallen man 
 are here richly provided for. Here is light for his dark- 
 ness ; righteousness for his guilt ; sanctification for his 
 pollution ; and strength for his weakness. Had his 
 salvation been suspended in any degree, upon his wis- 
 dom to discover, his goodness to merit, his disposition 
 to accept, his strength to comply with or persevere in, 
 this gospel of grace, he must have perished without 
 remedy. It is the gratuitous nature of this salvation 
 that gives it so perfect an adaptation to the fallen con- 
 dition of man. The sinner has no personal merit, and 
 no means of acquiring any : the gospel provides a right- 
 eousness for him. The sinner is too poor to purchase 
 this righteousness, — the gospel bestows upon him as a 
 free gift. The sinner cannot come to Christ except 
 drawn of the Father, — the Father enables him to come, 
 by " working in him loth to will and to do, of his own 
 good pleasure." Can any thing be better adapted to 
 
17 
 
 save the guilty and the lost ? What degree of wicked- 
 ness, what depth of misery, can lie beyond the reach 
 of such grace as this? Verily, this is a foundation, 
 solid and broad enough to sustain a universe of rebels ; 
 and he who builds his house upon it, can never be dis- 
 appointed. 
 
 Will it be said that the human heart cannot endure 
 this system of doctrine 1 That it is too humbling, 
 gloomy, and discouraging, to meet with general accept- 
 ance 1 That it is gloomy, we cannot admit. That it 
 is humbling to human pride, discouraging to human 
 self-sufficiency, and unpopular with the world, we 
 readily grant. Although we would commend these 
 truths to every man's conscience in the sight of God, we 
 do not expect to commend them to the natural heart, — 
 "for the natural man receiveth not the things of the 
 Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him ; 
 neither can he know them, iecause they are spiritually 
 discerned." Believing that this enmity can only be re- 
 moved by the renovating power of the Holy Ghost, we 
 dare not attempt its abatement by any wisdom or art 
 of man's devising. We do not look for a better recep- 
 tion of this gospel, than it has ever met with, even 
 when dispensed with apostolic skill and faithfulness. At 
 all events, whether men will hear or forbear, so we preach; 
 and so we must preach, ''for if we yet pleased men, we 
 should not he the servants of Christ." And let those 
 who would soften down obnoxious points, in the hope 
 of rendering the gospel popular with the world, beware, 
 lest in softening and refining, they take away the neces- 
 sary offense of the cross ! 
 
 As to the discouraging tendency of these doctrines, 
 we beg leave to ask, what kind of efforts do they dis- 
 3 
 
18 
 
 courage, except those which spring from self-righteous- 
 ness 1 And ought not these to be discouraged 1 In 
 order to bring men to Christ, they must first be con- 
 vinced that they are lost; — dead in trespasses and 
 sins ; — not sufficient of themselves even to think any 
 thing aright, and therefore absolutely dependent on the 
 sovereign mercy of God. And is not this a process of 
 discouragement 1 In presenting the gospel to the im- 
 penitent, the great object should be to reduce the sinner 
 to that point of self-despair, where he will cry, " Lord 
 save, I perish ! It is this felt conviction of utter inability 
 to good, that opens the door to Christ. And I will 
 venture the affirmation, that none ever found the latter, 
 who have not experienced the former. 
 
 I have attempted, in this discourse, to present as com- 
 prehensive a statement as time would permit, of what 
 I consider to be the great, constituent elements of the 
 gospel of our salvation. Whatever difference may 
 exist in the body of Christ, they ought not to affect its 
 integrity or disturb its harmony, so long as there is a 
 cordial agreement in these fundamental articles of our 
 faith. Through remaining corruption, the " gold, silver, 
 and precious stones" which are to form the walls of 
 this spiritual temple, may be defaced and injured by 
 " wood, hay, and stubble." But these, though unsightly 
 and injurious, do not destroy the foundation. That 
 will remain, when they shall be consumed by the fire 
 that is to try every man's work. With our feet on this 
 rock, there is no form of evil that may not be either 
 mastered or endured. But " if the foundations be de- 
 stroyed, what can the righteous do ?" 
 
 How momentous, then, is the trust committed to the 
 
19 
 
 Church 1 This body of Christian doctrine, so essential 
 to her own vitality, she has received it in solemn charge 
 to hold, maintain, and faithfully transmit to posterity. 
 When assailed, she is bound to defend it. And if she 
 remains true to her glorified Head, vain vs^ill be every 
 attempt to call her off from that defense, by laying at 
 her door, the evils of controversy. These evils she 
 will lament, but esteem them of little moment compared 
 with the consequences of suffering dangerous error to 
 make an unresisted progress through the world. The 
 advocates of false doctrine would have us believe, that 
 to " contend for the faith" signifies nothing but a want 
 of piety; whereas "Reason teaches us," says Lord 
 Bacon, " that in ignorance and implied belief, it is easy 
 to agree, as colors agree in the dark ; or if any coun- 
 try decline into atheism, then controversies wax dainty, 
 because men think religion scarcely worth the falling 
 out for : so that it is a weak divinity to account con- 
 troversies an ill sign in the Church." 
 
 In an age whose boast it is, that all systems, however 
 ancient, sacred, or established, are subjected anew to 
 the analysis of reason, and nothing is to be received by 
 faith ; it ill becomes the Church of Christ to be dream- 
 ing of peace and safety. 
 
 If any other argument were necessary to incite us, 
 my brethren, to the discharge of this duty, it might be 
 found in the voice that reaches our ears to-day from 
 the past. We are standing where, two hundred years 
 ago, our Pilgrim fathers laid, in humble faith, the foun- 
 dations of these Churches. And is it for us, their chil- 
 dren, surrounded by their graves, and the rich memo- 
 rials of their wisdom and piety, to think lightly of the 
 solemn commission we have received at their hands I 
 
20 
 
 We cherish their civil institutions ; we venerate their 
 characters ; we extol their heroism and their deeds of 
 valor : — and it is well that we do so. But let us not 
 forget that that which quickened them to so majestic a 
 growth, was " the faith once delivered to the saints." It 
 was their fidelity to this, that gave them courage to face, 
 fortitude to endure, and strength to overcome the perils 
 of their exodus from the land of their nativity, and of 
 their sojourn in this western wilderness. And shall it 
 be said that the sons of the Pilgrims, blind to the true 
 glory of their inheritance, ignobly suffered it to be lost ? 
 God forbid ! Not yet, I trust, has the spirit of our 
 fathers so entirely deserted us. The time is not yet, 
 and may it never come! when there shall be wanting 
 among their children, a seed to perpetuate their tes- 
 timony for the truth, — to maintain against all opposition, 
 the doctrines for which they suffered, and by which 
 they triumphed. In these days of speculation in the 
 Church, and of infidelity out of it; of new experi- 
 ments in the theory, and new measures in the practice, 
 of religion; it becomes us, my brethren, as faithful 
 stewards of the mysteries of God, to " stand in the ways, 
 and see, and ash for the old paths, where is the good way, 
 and walk therein, that we may find rest to our souls." 
 Those paths have led millions to the gates of glory ; — 
 need we any better ? Shall we exchange a certainty 
 for an uncertainty ? experience for experiment ? the 
 eternal truth of God, for the doctrines and command- 
 ments of men ? Before we attempt so hazardous an 
 adventure, let the words of the Apostle be our warning — 
 " Other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, 
 which is Jesus Christ." 
 
21 
 
 To none can this subject have a deeper interest, than 
 to the members of this church and society. For the 
 purpose of enjoying these great principles of our faith, 
 you, my brethren and friends, have, through the good 
 providence of God, erected this house. It becomes us 
 publicly to record our grateful acknowledgments, for 
 that distinguished mercy which has crowned our exer- 
 tions with success, and given us an edifice so neat and 
 commodious. Let us bless his holy name, ' that now 
 for a little space, grace hath heen showed from the Lord 
 our God to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us 
 a nail in his holy place ; to set up the house of our God, 
 and give us a ivcdl in Judah and in Jerusalem.' 
 
 It would be doing violence to my own feelings, and, 
 I doubt not, to yours also, not to acknowledge, on this 
 occasion, our obligations to those generous friends, whose 
 liberal contributions have afforded us such important 
 aid in completing this work. May that God who loveth 
 the cheerful giver, repay them for this kindness a thou- 
 sand fold ! 
 
 Deeply penetrated with a sense of our unworthiness, 
 and of the divine goodness, and trusting for acceptance 
 only in the merits of a Redeemer's blood, we have as- 
 sembled to-day for the purpose of dedicating this house 
 by solemn prayer, to the service and glory of God. We 
 have built it as a memorial of our faith in him, and in 
 his holy Word. We have built it that we may the 
 more conveniently and appropriately celebrate his wor- 
 ship. We wish that here the whole counsel of God 
 may be constantly proclaimed in our ears, and the ordi- 
 nances of Christ's house be observed in their scriptural 
 simplicity. We wish that here infancy may receive 
 the seal of baptism — youth be led in the ways of piety — 
 
22 
 
 manhood be fortified against the love of the world — 
 affliction receive the assuagements of the gospel — and 
 old age be ripened for heaven. Before this altar, we 
 hope to see our sons and daughters entering into cove- 
 nant with the God of their fathers ; — and around this 
 table we would fondly anticipate the happiness of par- 
 taking with them, of the memorials of a Saviour's love. 
 And when he who now occupies this pulpit, and they 
 who are the first to fill these seats, shall have gone up 
 to their account, may their children and their children's 
 children, to the latest generation, here worship God in 
 the heauty of holiness, and be made joyful in this house 
 of prayer ; and may a long succession of godly and 
 faithful pastors, be raised up to break to them the bread 
 of life! 
 
 But a period will come when these walls must crum- 
 ble back to their original dust ; when all earthly temples 
 and works of art must vanish away ! And is such to 
 be the end of all our pleasant things 1 No, thanks be 
 to God ! These perish, that the saints may be gathered 
 within that glorious temple, " not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens." A time is indeed coming, 
 when the songs of Zion will resound no more within 
 our sacred palaces ; but it is, that they may break forth 
 anew among the ten thousand voices around the throne ; 
 it is, that the notes of redeeming love may swell the 
 vast tide of angel-worship. Supplications will finally 
 cease from off these altars ; but it will be, when they 
 have found their full accomplishment in the fruition of 
 holy desire — it will be, when the darkness of sin is re- 
 moved — when the redeemed sit down delighted amid 
 the unfoldings of God's mysteries — when perfect love 
 is their spring-tide, and their perpetual repose. The 
 
23 
 
 pardoning grace of the gospel will at length be offered 
 no more from the sacred desk ; — but it will be, when 
 " the ransomed of the Lord are all brought home, with 
 songs and everlasting joy on their heads ;" when Christ 
 has " seen of the travail of his soul and is satisfied!' 
 
 And shall we, brethren and hearers, be among that 
 blessed throng % We may, if, in the services of these 
 earthly temples, ' which are the figures of the true,' we 
 bow down to Christ ; " to whom coming as unto a living 
 stone, disallowed indeed of men, hut chosen of God and 
 precious ; we also, as lively stones may he huilt up a 
 spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual 
 sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ!' This is 
 that sure foundation, other than which, no man can 
 lay, — to the Jewish builders a stone of stumbling and a 
 rock of offense — but to the called of God, a corner-stone, 
 tried, elect, and precious — and he that believeth in him, 
 shall never be confounded. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 5, bottom line, after " down," omit " to." 
 
 Page 14, eleventh line from bottom, before " the flesh," insert, " the will of.' 
 
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 ^,.^ 3 1924 029 457 425