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"THE CHURCH:
THE PILLAR, AND GROUND OF THE TRUTH;"

SERMON

PREACHED IN

PHILADELPHIA,
SEPTEMBER 36, 1858,
**?' BY THE
w REV. ADDISON B. ATKINS, Rector.

PUBLISHED BY REQ.1IKST.

-:v. PHILADELPHIA :
" ' «; JJ)HN ALEXANDER, 52 SOUTH FOURTH STREET.
MDCCCLVIII.

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"THE CHURCH:-
THE PILLAR, AND GROUND OF THE TRUTH."

A

SERMON

"$RE ACHED IN

<%ist €\mt\, §txmMm,
PHILADELPHIA,
SEPTEMBER 26, 1858,

BY THE
REV. ADDISON B. ATKINS, Rector.

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.

PHILADELPHIA :
JOHN ALEXANDER, 52 SOUTH FOURTH STREET.
MDCCCLVIII.

Germantown, Sept. 30, 1858.
Rev. A. B. Atkins, Eev. and Dear Sir : — The undersigned having heard, with
pleasure, the Sermon preached by you on Sunday morning, the 26th inst., and
being desirous of possessing a copy, of what seems to them, a clear definition
of the nature and limits of " The Church," as revealed in the Bible ; in the
hope, also, that it may be the means of successfully combating the errors now
prevalent respecting this subject; would earnestly request a copy for publica
tion. ,
Very Respectfully and Truly Yours,
P. E. HAMM, G. W. MERCHANT,
THOMAS H. POWERS, JNO. B. CHAMPION,
CHS. L. SCOTT, J. E. STONE,
CHAS. SPENCER, JAMES YOCUM,
JNO. C. KNOX, C. S. WOOD,
M. D. LEWIS, HENRY FREAS,
A. MISKEY, WM. H. WEBB,
BENJ. G. GODFREY, CHS. S. CARSTAIRS,
CHARLES Le BOUTILLIER, CLEMENT TINGLEY, Jr.
WM. C. TAYLOR, W.J3. STONE,
HENRY R. SMITH.

Parsonage Christ Church,
October 11, 1858.
My Dear Friends :
The accompanying Sermon, preached as you know, in the ordi
nary course of Parochial duty, and also, as the closing one of a series delivered
upon the Apostles' Creed ; I, with great reluctance, yield into your hands.
If its publication should in the slightest degree promote the cause of pure
Evangelical Truth, I shall be satisfied, whatever else may be the effect.
Sincerely and affectionately,
Your friend and pastor, A. B. ATKINS.
To Messrs. P. E. Hamm,
Thos. II. Powers,
Geo. W. Merchant, and others.

the church:
THE PILLAE, AND GBOTJND OP THE TKTJTH

" The Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground
op the Truth." — 1. Timothy 3: 15.
We have chosen these words for our present dis
course, rather as a motto, than as a text ; intending, as
you will soon see, to present facts and thoughts which
could not well be brought out in a sermon, logically
confined to any one verse.
As a minister of Christ, it is my chief and most boun-
den duty, to labor to save immortal souls ; to lead per
ishing sinners directly to the cross; that through the
blood of the new covenant they may be saved with an
everlasting salvation. To this one heaven -commis
sioned w.ork, as the chief burden of all my teaching, I
sincerely trust, my life is consecrated ; for this, all the
powers of my mind and all the sympathies of my heart
are engaged. In this mission, I trust, by the grace of

God, ever to be employed till my Heavenly Father
shall call me to Him in eternity.
But as a minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church,
it is, also, my duty from time to time, to give you such
discourses, on the doctrines and peculiarities of this
church, as shall establish you understandingly in your
church membership.
It is my purpose, therefore, this morning, to consider
these points :
I. The Church : invisible and visible.
II. The Church : Protestant Episcopal.
The word church, as found written in the Sacred
Scriptures, has various significations; sometimes refer
ring to the whole body of true believers, the elect in
heaven and on earth ; sometimes to the baptized Chris
tians in a particular place, or district, or house ; as, for
instance : the Church at Corinth ; the Church at Rome ;
the Church in Galatia; the Church which is in the
house of Priscilla and Aquila; and, again, sometimes
to the whole body of the baptized throughout the world,
both good and bad.* In this latter sense, the word is
used very seldom indeed. The first and second senses
are the most common.
*See Barrow on the Church. Oxford Ed. vol. iii. p. 496.

Much of the difficulty and fierce battling among theo
logians in past years, has been owing to a confusion of
these significations, and to a kind of "misty vagueness,"
with which, in the minds of many, the word church has
• ever been surrounded.
The etymological signification of the Greek word ren
dered church, is the calling out of, the separation, the
selection ; practically then, it means, the aggregate
of believers, of true Christians, as distinguished from all
others. The word is often used (as we have just
hinted) in a limited and partial sense, but this is its
original fundamental idea.
There are many eclesiastical organizations in the
world called churches, and with many distinctive
names, but there is only one true church, outside, of
which there is and can be no salvation; concerning
this church, the much used maxim : Extra Ecclesiarn
non est salus ; out of the church is no salvation, is
most true. Its members are to be found in every de
nomination of Christians, and in all periods of time.
Its Head and Sovereign is the risen Christ, who is now
seated at the right hand of God, and all they belong to
it, whether living or dead, who have believed in Christ
and been transformed into His image. No one else
belongs to it, whether a living Pharisee or a dead one ;
whether the object of a present respectful affectum or of
a proud and grateful remembrance.

This is the church whose existence does not abso
lutely depend on anything outward or human, "on
forms, ceremonies, edifices, pulpits^ fonts, vestments,
organs, endowments, money, or any favor whatsoever
from the hands of men. It cannot be destroyed — we
may hate, persecute, behead, and burn its members, but
we cannot destroy it."* Plunge it under the deep waters
and it rises the purer for its washing ; thrust it in the
fire and it comes out the brighter for its burning; crush
it in one country, it will spring up in another. It has
often been driven into the wilderness, or into the dens
and caves of the earth, by those who ought to have
been its friends. But its existence has not been dis
turbed, and plainly has history proved that, so long as
it has the presence of Christ and His Spirit, it cannot
die. In the beautiful Communion Service of our beloved
Episcopal Church — this one true church — is well de
scribed as "the myMical body of Christ, which is the
blessed company of all faithful people." This is the
church which our text calls uihe Pillar and Ground of
ihe Truth" which has never apostatized and which
never can apostatize, for Christ Himself says of it, that
even " the gates of hell shall not prevail agajnst it."f Made
up only of those who are holy, it is called in God's
*Ityle, Tract on the Church, p. 4. -fSt. Matt, xvi r 18.

9
word by such distinguished titles as these : " ihe body of
Christ" "the fold" "the family," "the household of
God." "The church tohich Christ loved and gave himself
for ; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with tlie wash
ing of water by tlie word ; ihat He might make it unto
himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing."*
This is the church mystic, or spiritual, or invisible,
and which cannot be seen or bounded by man ; it is in
one word, what we profess to believe in, when we speak
of "The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of
Saints." In looking at the standards of our own Zion, we shall
readily see, how she believes in this invisible or spiritual
church. In one of our beautiful and appropriate Collects, God
is addressed as "having knit together his elect in one
communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of his
Son, Christ our Lord."f There is no possible mistaking
here, who compose this church, for our Prayer Book
explicitly and scripturally declares "All Saints'," not
Episcopal Saints only, but the Saints of God of all ages
and under all dispensations.
In the prayer at the close of our Communion Service,
we pray that we may be made "very members incorpo-
*Eph. v: 26, 27. tColleet for "AH Saints' day."
B

10
rate in the mystical body of His Son, which is the bles
sed company of all faithful people ;" and we, also, fur
ther pray that we may have "grace to continue in that
holy fellowship."
The same definition of the church, you will find run
ning all through the Creed, the Litany, and the Te
Deum. Thus, in the Te Deum, we hear of "the goodly fel
lowship of the Prophets," "the glorious company of the
Apostles," "the noble army of martyrs;" ahd finally, (as
inclusive of the whole blessed fellowship of the Saints,)
"the Holy Church throughout all the world," in all its
revolving ages. " When thou hadst overcome the sharp
ness of death, thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven
to all believers." "We, therefore, pray thee, help thy
servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious
blood, make them to be numbered" (whatever be their
ecclesiastical names) " with thy Saints, in glory everlast
ing." How could language, my brethren, be more fitting, or
more Christ loving, to put into the mouths of Chris
tians desirous to belong to that family of Saints, which
ever have been and ever will be joined to Christ the
Head ? How sweetly fragrant with Bible truth ! How
full of Christ-like Catholicism ! Who does not delight
to see our beloved Zion in such an attitude? Thus
lowly and humble — thus thrilled with her divine theme

11
— thus covering herself, not with the "Apostolic robes
of her most venerable Episcopacy," but with that one
and ampler robe of salvation through the Crucified,
which is thrown over the whole of His "one mystical
body," which adorns "the Bride," "the Lamb's Wife,"
which clothes the sacred family, living with himself in
holy union and concord, from the first saint that
believed, to the last believer that shall be saved.
That the standard writers and Reformers of our
communion, had this same view of the church, might
easily be shown, did time permit. I will, however,
quote from two or three of the most prominent of the
Fathers of our Mother Church — the Church of England.
Archbishop Cranmer, whose blood watered the church
of the English Reformation, speaking of the phrase
"Catholic Church," as found in the "Apostles' Creed,"
says : " this word church signifies a company of men
lightened with the Spirit of Christ, which believe the
Gospel "and are saved," "It is the Communion of the
Saints, that is to say, all that be holy, of this one body
under Christ their Head." "This church. is so unknown
to the world, that no man can describe it but God alone,
who, searcheth the hearts of all men and knoweth his
own children from others."*
Bishop Ridley, of London, Cranmer's brother martyr,
* Catechism of 1548 — Cranmer's Works — Parker Society.

12
also says in words of kindred sentiment : " The name
church, which is His body, of whom Christ is the Head,
standeth only of living stones and true Christians."*
Richard Hooker, a name revered by all Episeopa*-
Hans, and to whom the title of "judicious" has been
most worthily given by theologians of every shade, says :
"The Church of Christ, we properly term his body
mystical, can be but one, neither can that one be sen
sibly discerned by any man, inasmuch as the parts
thereof, are some in heaven already with Christ, and
the rest that are on earth, albeit their natural persons
be visible, we do not discern under this property,
whereby they are truly and infallibly of that body."f
The learned, and justly celebrated Dr. Barrow, whose
works are of such undoubted authority, writing concern
ing the unity of the church, says :
" The whole body of God's people, that is, ever hath
been, or ever shall be, from the begining of the world to
the consummation thereof, who having (forinally or vir
tually) believed in Christ, and sincerely obeyed God's
laws, shall finally, by the meritorious performances and
sufferings of Christ be saved, is called the church."|
Now, beloved, from all this, we think you cannot fail
to understand, according to the teachings of our own
* Works of Bishop Eidley — Parker Society.
¦j** Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity. Book iii.
J Barrow's Works: Oxford Ed. 1818. Vol. vi. p. 497.

13
communion, what is meant by the true church — the
Church Catholic — the Church in its highest, chiefest,
broadest, truest sense. This is the church to which, as
we said at the outset, a man must belong, if he would be
saved; till therefore, you enter this through the one door
of conversion by the Spirit of God, you are nothing bet
ter than a lost soul ; you may have our beautiful Apos
tolic form ; you may, as a baptized churchman, enjoy
the highest outward privileges and have much know
ledge, but until you belong to this true body of Christ,
you have got only the shell of religion and your soul is
not saved.
Beware then, Christian brethern, how you counte
nance anything that looks like substituting the visible
and temporal, for the invisible and eternal; reform and
church membership for repentance and union to Christ's
body; man's wisdom for God's wisdom, or any human
erection, however attractive, for that temple of God,
which is built of living stones, elect and precious, and
that will, ere long, shine in all the glory of a perfect
holiness and of that bright presence of which, the
ancient Shekinah was but the earnest and the type.
Trust no visible church as a means of grace, or of last
ing benefit to mankind, over whose portals is not writ-
ten " Ye must be born again." Trust no theological
system, or church teaching, that professes to save the
lost, or raise up groaning humanity, which does not rest

14
upon the principle, that a supernatural, special, divine,
Holy Ghost working upon each heart of man is requi
site, in order to the salvation of the individual, or to
save the world from a worse ruin than overtook the
cities of the plain.
Beware of the great adversary. Beware of the igno
rance which he would feign have you possess on these
all important points, for I verily believe, that many a
generous but unfortunate one thinks his belonging to
this or to that branch of the visible church, is therefore
and necessarily a belonging to this true church.
Beware, lest you be deceived here ; lest Satan tempt
you to neglect these distinctions between words which,
though they seem small, are eternally important.
Beware, lest plausible errors supplant plain and severe
truths, and the steaming mists of the pit obscure, if not
hide, the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Hold fast
without wavering, the simple Gospel truth as it is in
Christ Crucified, and give all diligence to make your
calling and election sure.
We now come to our second head :
The Church visible.
What then is this and whom does it comprehend ?
It is the church which the Scriptures mention as in
cluding the whole multitude of those, who, by partici-

15
pation in the ordinances of the Gospel, profess the faith
of Christ, and hence are called Christians.
But the question might be asked : Do you mean that
there are really two churches ? We answer no. The
two, though apparently and in a certain sense distinct,
are one ; they co-exist and run into each other. The
visible church is the church as seen of men; in the
mixed mass of the true and false; the genuine and
counterfeit people of God. The invisible church is
the same church, as seen only of God, in the un
mixed company of all his faithful people. The one is
that great flock, gathered together by the preaching of
the Gospel, from all parts of the earth, and baptized unto
the professed following of the Good Shepherd, in which
the sheep of his pasture are mingled with the goats
that know him not, and are none of his ; all, however,
visibly, that is professedly his flock. The other is sim
ply so much of the unmixed multitude, as do truly hear
the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him, together
with those who have been already saved, and unto
whom He hath given eternal life.*

*See a little treatise on this subject, by Bishop Mcllvainc,
entitled "Holy Catholic Church," a volume of great merit, and
which might bo read with profit by every Episcopalian. See
also the more elaborate, but unanswerable, work of Litton on
the " Church of Christ."

16
St. Paul when he used such expressions as these:
"ihe Church in Judea" "tlie Church of ihe Tliessalo-
nians" "ihe Church of Galatia" "the Church at Corinth"
&c, plainly spoke of the visible church, and meant the
bodies of baptized Christians in those countries.
In our day, this visible church has many branches,
such as the Church of England, the Church of Scotland,
the Greek Church, the Lutheran Church, the Syrian
Church, the Church of Rome ; some more or less pure ;
some corrupt and cursed with sin and deadly error.
As we read "Holy Scripture and ancient Authors,"
our branch of this visible church, called in this country
Protestant Episcopal, is, in its polity, form of govern
ment, and mode of worship, nearest perfection, that is,
Scriptural and Apostolic. But for our branch of the
visible church, notwithstanding we consider it so prim
itive, so beautiful, and so Scriptural, or for any other
branch, like the corrupt Church of Rome, the Greek
Church, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, or the
Genevan Church, to arrogate to itself the exclusive title
" We are ihe Church" it has no right. As well might
some mountain stream, pouring its limpid waters into
the ocean, say, "We are the ocean;" or some star glitter
ing in the firmament say, " We are the Hght of heaven."
No, brethern, let us bless God that the Articles, Homi-r
lies, and Standards of our beloved Zion, put forth no

17
such unchurching claims, whatever may be the assump
tions of some of her children.
In connection with this, we wish you to notice the
language of the Ordinal, or Preface to the Ordinal, which
indicates the spirit of our whole system.
"It is evident," says this document, "unto all men
diligently reading Holy Scripture and ancient Authors
that, from the Apostles time, there have been these
orders of ministers in Christ's church, bishops, priests
and deacons. And therefore no man shall be accounted
a lawful bishop or deacon in this church, except * * *
he hath Episcopal consecration or ordination."
This language is note-worthy ; men who held to the
dogma that all sacraments and orders are invalid, which
are not Episcopal, would never have used such a very
measured style of expression as this. They would not
have spoken for their own communion merely, but for
Christendom. They would have said -with openness
and plainness, that not only have there been three
orders in the ministry from the beginning, but that such
a ministry is the only true one — the only one that can
do God's work anywhere. They would have warned
the people against supposing, that the use of water in
the name of the Trinity, or of bread and wine, as em
blems of Christ's body and blood, no matter how sound
the doctrine preached, or how holy the life of the
preacher, could by any possibiHty be in non-Episcopal

18
hands, Christian baptism, or the Christian cucharist.
But so far from drawing or inculcating any such infe
rences as these, they put the fact, from which all infe
rences here must be drawn, in a simple and unexagge-
rated way. They do not assert a divine precept for any
particular form of the ministry; they only assert a
practice, and even this they do not declare can be
gathered with certainty at a glance from the records of
the past, whether inspired or uninspired. They say,
" It is evident to all men diligently reading Holy Scrip
ture and ancient Authors, &c." How utterly unlike
this, much of the crude teaching of some among us, who
ought to know better ! Let individual members of our
Zion, then, be as exclusive as they choose, thank God,
our church is not exclusive. She extends the right
hand of fellowship to all Protestant churches, (even
though imperfect in their outward regimen,) provided
they hold to Christ the Head, and in them, the word of
God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered.*
Again, observe the language of Article XIX : It
clearly defines " The visible church of Christ" to be " a
congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of
God is preached, and the sacraments be duly adminis
tered according to Christ's ordinance."
* Eor a distinct exposition of what has always been the teach
ing of our church, upon the Validity of Orders, see the learned
and able work of Goode, on " the Validity of Orders of the Scotch
and Foreign non-Episcopal churches."

1!)
You will liere notice that the article like the ordinal,
does not say that the visible church, is only that having
Episcopal ministry, and where the sacraments are Epis-
copally administered. No ; such is not at all the language
of our church. She simply states what is necessary to
the being of a pure branch of the visible church, and
most justly unchurches no one, who bears the Christian
name, who wears the Saviour's image, and who faithfully
observes the outward ordinances.
Oh ! that this wise moderation of our church fathers,
and the liberal, loving spirit which characterized our
Zion in her earlier clays, could but now so rest upon all
those who rejoice to be called her children.
The same spirit runs throughout our whole Prayer
Book service.
In our Communion service, there is the beautiful
prayer, entitled "¦ For the whole state of Christ's church
militant." She there prays "for all who do confess his
holy name, that they may agree in the truth of his holy
word, and live in unity and Godly love."
In our Institution service, we pray " That by the ope
ration of the Holy Ghost, all Christians may be so joined
together in the unity of spirit and in the bond of peace,
that they may be a holy temple acceptable unto God."
Again, in that most appropriate prayer, in our Morning
service, known as the " Prayer for all conditions of
men," we pray "for the holy church universal, that all

20
who profess and call themselves Christians, may by the
guidance and governance of God's good spirit, be led
into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of
spirit in the bond of peace and in righteousness of life."
It is weil to mark here that the universality of the
visible church turns upon the profession of Christ,
through the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's
Supper. But I have quoted enough to show you very
plainly, what is the doctrine and teaching of our com
munion, concerning the visible church, suffice it to say,
that this same definition is invariably given by all the
Reformers of the Church of England, without a solitary
exception, and never was the contrary doctrine of ex-
clusiveness, i. e. the unchurching theory held, till put
forth by Archbishop Laud of unpleasant memory.
Whilst then our branch of the Church of Christ con
siders all non-Episcopal bodies, that have the pure-
preached Word and the Sacraments duly ministered,
as churches, whilst she fraternizes, and gladly co-operates
with them in works of Christian love, she does not how
ever, consider them, as having all the outward and
Scriptural perfection that she herself has. In their re
jection of the three orders — of primitive usage and Epis
copal polity, she considers them imperfect and defective,
and lacking those means of grace, which, while not essen
tial, are very important to the full efficiency and pros
perity of the visible church. At the time of the Refor-

21
mation, when the Reformers in our mother Church of
England, sympathized with the Reformers of the Conti
nental Churches, in their effort to purify the church, and
to bring to light the long-hidden gospel — while they
sympathized to such an extent, as to interchange pul
pits one with the other, they nevertheless differed in
their mode of carrying on the reform.*
The Continental Reformers, were radical; the Church
of England Reformers, were conservative ; though not
narrow. Protestant to the core, and resolved to
cut off all that was corrupt, they were equally
determined to retain whatever was good. Seeing that
there had never been a time since the Apostles, when
the visible church had been without Bishops, they saw
no occasion to abolish the Episcopal office and order.
Seeing too, that the Christian church, had never been
without a Liturgy, they deemed it a duty to adhere to
universal usage in this respect also.
Banishing everything like superstition and Popish
corruption, they for the same reason retained that beau
tiful and ancient " form of sound words," which is con
tained in our Prayer Book, which had been embalmed
by the tears of saints, and watered by the blood of holy
martyrs. Since the Reformation, the history of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, is too well known to require any
* See Zurich Letters. Letter C.

22

further remark. Who can blame us for being heartily,
not bigotedly attached to such a church? A church,
which, as we firmly believe, is conformed to the Apos
tolic model, whose confessions and creeds, and offices,
which though not infallible, are efficient barriers, against
error; "whose care for the young manifested in its sys
tem of catechetical instruction, and in its adherence to
the primitive order of Confirmation, invites the parents
of our land to enter within its fold, for the sake of the
blessings which will flow to their offspring ; whose arti
cles, studiously avoiding metaphysical subtleties, are a
clear and full embodiment of the Gospel of redemption ;
whose Liturgy is radiant with Christ, in all the precious
offices for the salvation of the world ; whose formularies
not only teach the essential principles of the oracles of
God, but literally preserves them from mutilation
through revolving years ;" whose services were framed
by the very men, who in brotherly union with the con
tinental champions of the Bible, stood forth even amidst
persecution and fire, in a common phalanx of resistance
against Popish error, and in defence of Protestant
truth. To such a church we cannot help >being affec
tionately attached. To her, even when falsified by
traitors, we will cling: —
" For her our tears shall fall,
For her our prayers ascend,
To her, our toils and cares be given
'Till toils and cares shall end."

Before concluding, let me give you the testimony of
some leading Evangelical Protestants, not of our house
hold of faith. **" The Christian religion,1' said Matthew
Henry, the great non-conformist commentator, " was on
a brink of ruin, and had it not been for the Protestant
Church of England, would have been sacrificed to the
malice of Popish enemies." Dr. Chalmers, the eminent
Presbyterian, and D'Aubigne, the great historian of the
Reformation, both speak of the Episcopal Church, when
evangelically put forth, as the great **" Church of Protest
ant truth, and the great advocate of the glorious
GosPeL" ^h%cm r h **^ J *~
The celebrated ttmptMt writer, Richard Baxter, says
of the doctrines of our church, they " are strictly
evangelical, and embrace the very substance of the
Gospel." Wesley, the distinguished Methodist, speaking of our
Prayer Book, when not forced into daily services, or
made to drive out family prayer, and closet, and extem
pore devotions, says : " For a Sabbath Liturgical service,
I know nothing in ancient or modern language like it."
But enough, brethren. What then does such a
church need ? Nothing, but a firm, steady resolve, on
the part of all its members to keep out everything that
looks like error or exclusiveness, whether coming to
us from Rome or Oxford, or from German Universities.
Nothing, but that enlarged spirit on the part of us who

21
profess to teach her doctrines of which she herself has set
us the example ; which instead of casting out — unchurch
ing, addresses with a salutation of grace, mercy and
peace, that mighty number, who marked by whatever
name, and dwelling beneath whatever sky, " love our
Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." Nothing but simple
Gospel preaching and Gospel living, and then our Zion
will become "terrible as an army with banners-" "ihe joy
of ihe whole earth." Her members filled with their Mas
ter's spirit, would be members of that true church, made
up of every ecclesiastical name, triumphant, invisible,
one and eternal in ihe heavens.
And now to conclude. All that we have said, teaches
very plainly that you may belong to this branch of the
church visible, enjoy its precious privileges, and after
all not belong to Christ's mystical body, his true
church. It comes to this one great question, am I in
that true church, outside of which there is no salvation ?
Have I come to Christ, and laid hold of him, and been
born again ? Whatever branch of the visible church I
may belong to, am / in Christ Jesus, and shall I be
found in Him, when the separation of the great day shall
be made between the true flock of Christ, and all that
only name his name ? Oh ! to be in the ark of Christ,
when the flood cometh !
Oh ! to have beside the handwriting of ordinances
upon us, when God's inquisition shall be made,

25
the handwriting of the Spirit of God upon our souls,
witnessing that we are his people ; that seal whereby
the Holy Ghost seals " unto ihe day of redemption." St.
Paul understood this, and counted "all things but loss"
all externals as worthless, compared with being "found
in Christ" and having on "the righteousness of God by
faith." Let us beloved feel his spirit. Let us press on
in his race ! Let us with him bow our knees " unto the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole
family in heaven and earth is named, ihat he would grant
us to be strengthened with might by his Spirit, in the inner
man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, that
we being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to com
prehend with all saints, what is ihe length and breadth,
and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, ihat we may be filled ivilh all
the fulness of God."
"Now unto Him, that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask, or think according to the power ihat
worlceth in us, unto Him be glory in ihe church by Christ
Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end." Amen !

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