man renders impossible. Nevertheless, the defects and deformities ought to be attended to, that, as far as practicable, they may be removed. But let it be done with a friendly hand, yea, with a skilful hand, lest, in the very correcting of its defects, its beauty and proportions should suffer. The excrescences which have grown upon her venerable walls ought to be taken away; yet those must indeed be adversaries to all that is good and great that would attempt to do this by an enemy's artillery, instead of the careful, considerate and judicious hand of a friendly architect!

Human considerations, however, may fail to convince; the zealous pleadings of the Christian minister may fail to prevail,-let then the consistent appropriation of a word of scripture plead with its own peculiar power---and the word, which I would address to opposing Christians, is that whereby Moses strove to conciliate the contending Hebrews---" Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one another?"

The object for which in two Discourses we have now been pleading, is the promotion of Christian unity. And by the sanction of the sacred Scriptures, and in accordance with the words of our Liturgy, we urge the Christian duty of supplicating the Divine Majesty " to inspire continually the universal Church with the Spirit of

truth, unity, and concord." And whilst thus we pray, we authoritatively "beseech you, brethren, by name of our Lord Jesus Christ," that ye all strive after unity in speaking, unity in thinking, and unity in judgment. The blessed effect of an earnest effort for the attainment of this desirable end, if simultaneous and universal throughout the Christian world, would be such as no one could fully anticipate. Hitherto has the Christian body been wantonly sundered, as if a son of Belial were amongst us blowing a trumpet and crying---" every man to his tents, O Israel!" Oh let us resist this pernicious, dispersive influence; and seeing that we have one God and Saviour over us all,---one Prophet to whom we all look for instruction, one High Priest in our spiritual temple, one King over our spiritual Jerusalem, let us all unite ourselves in a holy and loving compact of which each one admiringly and exultingly may say, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"

Whilst thus we plead for the unity of the Church-"Who are they," it may be asked, "that are capable of being united?" Is it attainable, even by possibility, that the vast and widely differing population of the world should be united in one mind and one judgment? Brethren; the

union of which we have spoken, and for which we have been pleading, is the concentrating of the body of Christ-the bringing into a goodly fellowship all 'who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.' But there is a definite limit to this union. In its strictest sense, as in a future Lecture we shall have occasion more particularly to show, the unity of Christ is confined to His own faithful Disciples. If then, beloved, you are anxious with us that the violence done to the Lord's body should be corrected; surely you yourselves are desirous of participating in the holy union? And if so, this one thing, above all others, demands your most solemn regard, that you should attain to the requisite meetness for becoming members, individually, of the body of Christ. You profess to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; and it is well: you profess to believe all the articles of the Christian faith; and it is well. You are avowedly members of a truly apostolical Church; and it is well. But, my brethren, the grand personal consideration is this

-are ye vitally members of Christ? Have you attained to "a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness?" Have you repented with the repentance unto life? Have you believed to the saving of the soul? Have you received the Holy Ghost? If you have, this is indeed well; yea it is superlatively well and blessed; for then

shall your souls be bound up with the souls of all the Lord's people, and with the Lord of glory himself, in the bundle of life. But if not-seek ye, beloved, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment with His true Disciples; seek ye for the living faith which connects with all covenant blessings; then shall you yourselves combine in the glorious union of God's dear children, and participate in the blessed privilege of being one with them, as Christ and the Father

are one.

LECTURE III.

ON PREVALENT ENTHUSIASM.

ROMANS X. 2.

I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

MUCH harm is done to efforts for the promotion of Truth, by a jealous suspicion as to the sincerity of those who differ from us. With hypocrites we cannot expect to prevail, because arguments, however powerful, are mis-spent, and fall uninfluential, like the most vigorous exertions of him that beateth the empty air. But with those who are sincere in their profession-no matter how erroneous their views or mischievous their tendency-we shall always gain the most by admitting, as far as we conscientiously can, every truth we hold in common, and by putting the most charitable construction upon those particulars in which we differ. And such is the method of St. Paul in the words before us. Solemnly