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    fest , by their mild benevolence , peaceable deportnieut , and liberal forbearance towards every class and denomination of their Christian brethren , that they are , indeed , the followers of that Saviour whose coming announced peace and good will upon the earth , and who declared universal charity to be the distinguishing and indispensable characteristic of all his genuine disciples .

    For this gratifying token of your regard—those splendid editions of the Scriptures—you will accept my thankful acknowledgments . Such a gift is peculiarly appropriate , when presented by a congregation which adheres to the Bible alone as the great charter of Christian privileges—to pastors who resort to the Bible alone , as the pure fountain of religious truth , and the only unerring guide of faith and practice .

    To interpret the sacred volume faithfully and sincerely , is all that any uninspired mortal can pretend to . He that affects to be unerring , knows not what spirit he is of . Your pastors have no interest to serve but that of the truth , as it' is in Jesus . To whatever ,

    therefore , appears to my unbiassed judgment to be trttth , I shall , at all times , bear my testimony openly , as not being ashamed or afraid—sincerely , as in the presence of that God who searcheth the hearthumbly and modestly , as- liable to human error and infirmity—and with peace and charity , as a follower of the meek and lowly Redeemer .

    May the spirit of God illuminate our understandings and direct our will — may we study to adorn the doctrine of our Saviour in all things ; and having mutually edified , comforted and strengthened each other during the pilgrimage of mortal life , may we meet in the everlasting mansions of our Father ' s house , through Jesus Christ our Lord . James Armstrong .

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    device ; not to fashion my doctrines to the theories of men , but to speak as instructed by the oracles of inspiration . I esteem it among the great felicities of my life to be connected with a congregation of enlightened Christians , who not only allow , but expect their pastors to exercise , a perfect freedom of inquiry , and to declare , without reserve , the conclusions to which such freedom of

    inquiry , leads , however widely they may differ from popular and established creeds . For it is only when the mind is left free from the impositions of human authority in all sacred investigation , that she becomes conscious of her powers , aud can

    explore her way to Evangelical truth . Your pastors must derive peculiar satisfaction from your approval of their efforts to encourage a manly and rational spirit ; for the religion of Christ is the religion of reason , purified and sublimed , illuminated by light from heaven , and sanctified by the Spirit of God .

    Those sacred , volumes , the presentation of which you justly consider as the most suitable expression of your regard , speak intelligibly to the understanding and the heart . They teach us to worship the one Eternal Spirit , the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

    Christ , in spirit and in truth . They teach us our neighbours' rights , and we respect them ; they teach us our own rights , and we will maintain them . Happy in the enjoyment , and firm in the support of our own liberty , we allow others to be free ; aud acting on the great

    Christian rule of " doing unto all men whatsoever we would that they should do unto us , " cheerfully grant them that exercise of private judgment which is the inalienable birth-right of man . We draw no pale of exclusion round ourselves , as if we were the only heirs of salvation ; we fix no limits to the mercies of the Most

    High ; but , hoping humbly that we are in the straight path to everlasting life , we extend the same hope to all who " fear God and work righteousness , * ' in whatever region they dwell , or by whatever name they are called . Such is the genuine spirit of Christianity . It considers the greatest heresy to be sin , and the most excellent of virtues to be charity .

    To encourage you in cherishing such sentiments is equally the pleasure and the duty of your pastors . While they humbly endeavour , according to the moat faithful derisions of that understanding which God has . given them , to interpret the Holy Scriptures , and announce those truths which they deem of vital importance to the formation of the Christian character , they lay no claim to infalli

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    Intelligence . — Strand Street Congregation , Dublin . 797

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    My Dear Friends and Brethren , For your affectionate address aud magnificent present , I return you my most grateful thanks . Your approbation , next to that of my own heart , is to me the highest of all gratifications . It would be dear to me at all times—it is doubly dear to me now , by the circumstances which have called it forth , and by the consciousness , though you are pleased greatly to overrate my services , that it has been honestly obtained ; for , in the discharge of my pastoral duties , it has ever been my practice fearlessly to declare what I believe to be the genuine dictates of Holy Writ , untrammelled by systems of human

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    DR . DRUMMOND ' S ANSWER .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1828, page 797, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2566/page/69/