God, the truth maintains its ground against the attacks of its opponents, and the misdirected attachment of those who knew its name but not its power—for truth in Jesus ever sanctifies and energizes those who receive it. Many chapters on church history might be written illustrating this, and most important, though deeply humiliating, would be the lessons we should have to learn; but truly we can extol the infinite wisdom of the great Head of the Church, who did not in the days of his flesh commit the keeping of his sacred person to men, though many believed on Him, because He knew what was in man; and does not now entrust his Name and his truth to any portion of his people exclusively, but has given Himself for all, and his truth to all; and any claim to the exclusive possession of that which is the heritage of the whole family of God, is an assumption which God will not justify, who loves all who love his Christ.
Amongst many truths brought prominently before the Church of God during the last forty years, we may particularly enumerate the second advent of Christ, and the unity of the Church of God. In enforcing the former subject upon all who had ears to hear, no voice was more owned of God than was that of Edward Irving, who seemed raised up to proclaim throughout Christendom the cry, “Behold the Bridegroom cometh.” He spoke and was listened to as few have been since, but his sun set in darkness; and under the delusion of a “Catholic and Apostolic Church” usurpation did he die, a slave to the system he had reared—a beacon to all who have eyes to see; while the doctrine of the speedy return of our blessed Lord lives over his cold grave, and gains ground daily; for he was only an instrument used to proclaim it, and not the author or the sole possessor of it. In connexion with the latter, there arose in the hearts of many of the children of God, a desire for that Christian fellowship which unites all who love the Lord; and which has led to the development of many of the efforts to bring Christians together which we now witness around us. The late Mr. A. N. Groves, who felt much the importance of this, thus wrote from Exeter in 1828 :—
“My full persuasion is, that, inasmuch as any one glories either in being of the Church of England, Scotland, Baptist, Wesleyan, Independent, &c., his glory is his shame, and that it is Anti-christian; for, as the Apostle said, ‘Were any of them crucified for you?’ The only legitimate ground of glorying is, that we are among the ransomed of the Lord, by his grace, either in ourselves or others. As bodies I know none of the sects and parties that wound and disfigure the body of Christ, as individuals I desire to love all who love him. Oh! when will the day come, when the love of Christ will have more power to unite, than our foolish regulations have to divide the family of God. As for order, if it be God’s order, let it stand; but if it be man’s
