LECTURE,

ADDRESSED TO THE STUDENTS

OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.

MY DEAR BRETHREN,

In entering anew upon my duties in this institution, I feel constrained to acknowledge the goodness of God, by which I have been so kindly preserved, and restored to the field of labor to which he has called me. As it was a desire to become more useful to you, that led me to leave, for so protracted a period, my friends and country, my heart has been constantly turned towards this institution; and it frequently occurred to me, that should I live to return to my native land, I would endeavour to impress upon your minds, the practi. cal truths which the circumstances of foreign states and countries, had deeply impressed upon my own. It is true, the vividness of these impressions has faded away, but the convictions in which they resulted, remain. Although the truths referred to, are obvious, and their importance admitted; and although I may fail to bring before your minds, the various circumstances which impress them upon the mind of an American Christian in Europe, it may still be useful to state some of these points, and some of the grounds on which the opinions entertained respecting them, are founded.

I. One of the most obvious lessons which an American Christian is taught, by a residence in Europe, is, the great importance of civil and religious liberty.

We are apt, I know, to indulge in unthinking declamation on this subject, and to cherish exaggerated notions of our pe

culiar advantages in these respects. Nor can it be questioned, that much of our dislike of the peculiar forms of foreign governments, arises from no very pure feeling. The impressions, however, commonly entertained regarding the amount of personal liberty, enjoyed under these governments, are doubtless erroneous. In many cases, the most distinguished stations in every department are accessible to all classes, and there is no doubt, that in some of the more despotic even of these governments, the laws are made with as pure a regard to the best interests of the cominunity, and are administered with as much impartial justice as they ever have been, or are likely to be in our own. It is clear too, that when the authority is vested in the hands of one individual, good may be much more promptly effected than when it is Lodged in the mass of the people. Is it not a subject of constant complaint among us, that measures designed and adapted to the mental and moral improvement of the people, cannot be carried into effect, because the least enlightened portion of the community is opposed to them? It is, however, very far from my design, and would be very unsuitable to the present occasion, to enter upon any discussion of the comparative advantages of different forms of government. I merely wish to state, what I think would be the impression made upon any candid individual on this subject. He would doubtless see, and be ready to admit, that many of his early opinions were unfounded; that there are advantages attending the European systems which he had not previously properly appreciated, and yet, he would be deeply convinced of their general evil tendency, and of the inestimable blessing which we enjoy in our own. The great advantage which constitutes in the eye of the Christian the value of our system, is its elevating effect upon the mass of the population. Where the people have nothing to occupy and excite their minds beyond the mere routine of their daily labor; where they are never called upon to think and act in reference to important and general objects; where

passive obedience is substituted for active co-operation; there the mind inevitably sinks-a heavy unexcitable character is induced which nothing can change. Notwithstanding, therefore, the advantage which in some countries of Europe the people enjoy of early education, yet returning at an early age to the dull duties of a peasant's life, they soon relapse into a state of unthinking apathy and sluggishness. The contrast between them and the cultivators of the soil in our own country is immense. This mental inactivity is itself a great evil-man is degraded-he is less an intellectual being, and less susceptible of moral or intellectual impressions. It is in this light and for this reason, that we are called upon as the friends of religion, and human improvement, to rejoice in the free institutions with which God has blessed our happy country.

I have already, however, dwelt longer than I intended upon this part of the subject. The view in which liberty is most interesting to us, is in reference to the church. The kingdom of Christ is not of this world, but it constitutes in the world, a self-existent and independent society, and as such has all the rights of self-government. Among these essential rights, which the church can never resign and which can never be lawfully taken from her; are the rights of deciding upon the terms of membership, selecting and ordaining her own officers, regulating her internal concerns, the exercise of discipline, and in short, all those rights which are inherent in a voluntary association recognised by the laws. When the church is so united to the state as to lose this individuality of character, and resign the rights of self-government, it becomes a mere branch of a secular system. The head of the state is the head of the church, and exercises, as such, either directly or indirectly, the governing power. Under such a system, ministers of the gospel, are servants of the crown, (Staatsbeamten, as they are called in the Prussian laws,) appointed for the instruction of the people in religion, as judges and civil officers are appointed for the administration

of the laws. The church is governed by men appointed by the civil authority, it cannot choose its own officers, make its own laws, or cast out unwholesome members.

However beautiful it may be in theory, to regard the king as the father of a great family; and as such, bound and authorized, to provide for all its wants, secular and spiritual; it never can, in the present state of the world, be carried into practice, without either making the state subservient to the church, or the church an engine of government to the state. The former has been the result in Catholic, the lat

ter in Protestant countries.

The evils resulting from this union are obvious, and unavoidable. The church being put into the hands, and under the direction of statesmen, is of course, used for attaining the object which the state, as such, has in view, viz. the temporal well-being of society. They require in its officers, no other qualifications than such as this object demands; they take cognizance of no offences but such as obviously militate against it. When the church is thus secularized, that the clergy should become worldly, would seem inevitable. Besides this, civil rulers, were they ever so well qualified to exercise the governing power in the church, in many cases, cannot do it without injustice, for in their hands ecclesiastical discipline becomes a secular punishment. To depose a man from the ministry, is often virtually to banish him his country; to prevent a profligate parent from presenting his child for baptism, is to deprive that child of most of the rights of citizenship. It is next to impossible to preserve either purity of faith or practice, under such circumstances. When the church has once fallen in errors however serious, how is the evil to be remedied? Should a number of scattered ministers become orthodox and pious, what can they do? They can preach and write, but having no authority, they cannot stop the tide of irreligious men constantly flowing into the sacred office. They are completely fettered, and weep in silence over the desolations which they cannot re

store. A free community is a living community, it can throw off its own impurities, and if it fall can rise again.

One of the most striking illustrations of the advantages of self-government in religious societies, is exhibited in the case of the Moravians in Germany. During all the desolating reign of infidelity in that country, they have retained their faith and piety. In some instances, the fervor of religion has declined among them, but the vital principle remained, and the society as a whole, is probably to this day in as favorable a state as any other equal portion of the Christian church. Their settlements, even in their external appearance, from their order and neatness, and the elevated character of the people, are like verdant spots in the desert. And while infidelity prevailed all around them, here the gospel was still preached and loved. Another equally striking example may be cited in the Dissenters of England. I am aware that effects of this nature are seldom attributable to any one cause, but I am persuaded, that among the various causes which combine in the production of the effect now referred to, that of self-government is one of the most important. It is, at least, an important fact, that the freest churches are the purest. In those sections of Prussia, where the church has retained most of its rights, it has retained most of its purity. In the Rhine Provinces, the reformed churches, surrounded by a Catholic population, were allowed by their Catholic sovereigns, to manage their own affairs, and, since their union with Prussia, have retained more or less of their power. Here the influence of infidelity was the least felt, and the soonest thrown off: and here religion is in a more flourishing condition than in any other part of the country. The same may be said with some limitation of several cantons of Switzerland. The clergy of the canton of Basle, are as a body orthodox and pious; a large portion of those in the canton de Vaud, is of the same character. But with regard to Switzerland, it is difficult to

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