tionary condition. In the state, absolute anarchy seemed about to take the place of the civil despotism, which had for some time prevailed; and the very existence of the Protestant religion in the British empire was threatened. In this emergency the friends of liberty and truth had recourse to God's ordinance of public social covenanting, for relief and encouragement. They committed themselves to God, and to one another by the will of God. Under the shield of the Solemn League and Covenant, the Assembly of Divines at Westminster sat, and prepared the Confession of Faith and Catechisms for the world. It furnished the rallying point for the best friends of religion and liberty while England was in anarchy, and Scotland in the grasp of the persecutor; and in its spirit many of the English Puritans and Scottish and Irish Reformed Presbyterians emigrated to America, and gave their aid in making our country what it is. American Reformed Presbyterians approve of the great principle of combination for good under the oath of God, which this transaction illustrates, and hold themselves in readiness, when the exigencies of the times may demand, to exemplify it themselves as the age, country, and special circumstances of their condition require.

Reformed Presbyterians are scattered over the Middle and Western States, and have a few congregations in the South. Their ministers possess much of the missionary, spirit, and spend a considerable portion of their time in preaching the gospel to the destitute of all descriptions, beyond the bounds of their own immediate congregations. The practice of expository preaching prevails universally among them; they will be found "lecturing," as it is styled, over entire books of the Bible, as a stated part of the service of the Sabbath; and as errors and delusions arise, and are propagated in society, they are among the first to enter into an examination of them, and utter the warning against them. The ministry of the Reformed Presbyterian Church has always had among its members men eminent for talent, learning, and public spirit, who in proportion to their number, have had a large share of the literary labours, and honours of the country. Among the people, meetings for prayer and Christian conference, weekly and monthly, are statedly observed. Family worship, and attention to the moral and religious instruction of the youth, as well as a personal deportment becoming the gospel, are required of them as qualifications for sacramental privileges. They have but few endowments for religious or benevolent purposes, but are liberal in the support of the gospel, both at home and abroad. It is left to others to speak of the religious character, of both ministers and people. But it may be said in gratitude to the God of all grace,

636

HISTORY OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

that he has not left them without a witness of his presence and approbation; but that from year to year he has given them the assurance, that he is employing their instrumentality as a distinct religious community, for the maintenance of his truth, the conversion of sinners to Jesus Christ, and the preparation of many saints for the celestial glory.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States is under the direction of a General Synod, composed of six presbyteries, one of which is established among the heathen in Northern India. And she numbers at present twenty-four ordained ministers, five licentiates, eight students of theology, forty-four organized congregations, and about four thousand five hundred communicants.

RESTORATIONISTS.

BY THE HON. CHAS. HUDSON, M. C.

RESTORATIONISTS believe that all men will ultimately become holy and happy. They maintain that God created only to bless; and that, in pursuance of this purpose, he sent his Son to "be for salvation to the ends of the earth;" that Christ's kingdom is moral in its nature, and extends to moral beings in every state or mode of existence; that the probation of man is not confined to the present life, but extends through the mediatorial reign; and that, as Christ died for all, so, before he shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father, all shall be brought to a participation of the knowledge and enjoyment of that truth, which maketh free from the bondage of sin and death. They believe in a general resurrection and judgment, when those who have improved their probation in this life will be raised to more perfect felicity, and those who have misimproved their opportunities on earth will come forward to shame and condemnation, which will continue till they become truly penitent; that punishment itself is a mediatorial work, a discipling, perfectly consistent with mercy; that it is a means employed by Christ to humble and subdue the stubborn will, and prepare the mind to receive a manifestation of the goodness of God, which leadeth the sinner to true repentance.*

That God was the rightful sovereign of the universe is a truth which no one will deny; and that he had a moral as well as a natural government, will be conceded by every believer in divine revelation. But man, the subject of this moral government, rebelled against Heaven, and set the laws of his Maker at defiance. In this defection, which was moral in its character, the whole world was involved. They had all gone out of the way; there was none good, no not one. Now it was to heal this moral defection, to subdue this rebel universe, and to bring all to true allegiance, that the kingdom of Christ was instituted. This lets us at once into the nature and extent of the Redeemer's kingdom, and shows most clearly the object of his reign.

* Encyclopædia of Religious Knowledge.

The defection was universal. It reached back to the commencement of time, and onward to the consummation of all things. It consisted in an alienation of heart and a perverseness of mind. It was, in a word, a moral epidemic, affecting every individual of our race. Such was the nature and extent of the disease; and the cure must be correspondent. Christ's kingdom, then, is moral in its nature, and universal in its extent. It is not an empire over matter, but over mind. He was placed at the head of this kingdom, not to exercise mere physical power, and thus subdue sinners by brute force; not to operate upon men mechanically, and by the application of natural laws to restrain their outward actions. No; he was invested with regal authority, that he might by the employment of moral means subdue the evil propensities, and implant virtuous affections in the heart-that he might induce men to return to their allegiance, become reconciled to God, and own him as their lawful sovereign. His kingdom is purely moral-the rod of his empire is persuasion, and the sword he wields is the sword of the Spirit. By an exhibition of his Father's love, by a display of the joys of heaven, by kind entreaty and stern rebuke, by promises and threatenings-by these, and means such as these, he assails a rebel universe. With such weapons he will subdue our unregenerate hearts, and re-establish the reign of righteousness throughout the vast empire of the King Eternal.

The nature, design, and extent of Christ's kingdom involve each other. His kingdom being moral, must apply to every moral being. Being clothed with authority to put down rebellion, it must extend to as many as have rebelled. Being sent to heal the leprosy of sin, the healing medicine must be applied to as many as are diseased. No reason can be assigned for the establishment of this reign, which will not apply equally to every individual of our race. Did it flow from the love of God? That love is universal, and embraces the whole intelligent creation. Was it to bring men to their rightful Sovereign? All were estranged from God by wicked works, and needed alike this reconciliation. Was it to subdue rebellion, so that the laws of God might be obeyed, and his character respected? Our whole species had revolted from heaven, and were alike in opposition to the reign of God. Every reason therefore which can be assigned for the establishment of the mediatorial kingdom, shows that that kingdom includes the whole offspring of Adam.

There is another consideration which proves beyond a doubt the universality of the Redeemer's kingdom. The very idea of a kingdom supposes laws, and these laws are binding upon all the subjects. No sovereign, how great soever may be his power, or extensive his do

minion, has a right to command the obedience of a single individual who is not a subject of his kingdom. The Czar of Russia, potent as he is, and absolute as his power may be, has no right to extend his laws a single inch beyond his dominion. Wherever you limit his kingdom, you limit his right to command obedience. And the same principle applies to the divine government. Jehovah himself in the plenitude of his power, has no moral right to extend his authority beyond his own kingdom. His right to command obedience is unlimited, simply because his kingdom has no bounds. If you could limit the one you would at the same time limit the other. To whom then does Christ address his laws? Who are under obligation to obey those moral precepts which flowed from the lips of the dear Redeemer? The true answer to this question determines the extent of his kingdom. And surely there can be no dispute on this subject. Every enlightened Christian will allow that his precepts are universally binding; that every human being, from our first progenitor down to his latest descendants, is under obligation to obey all known gospel requisitions, and ascribe glory to God and the Lamb. This settles the question in the most satisfactory manner, and proves beyond controversy that the kingdom of Christ is universal.

From this view of the subject it appears that the kingdom of Christ is moral or spiritual in its nature, unlimited in its extent, and benevolent in its design; that it was instituted by God to put down rebellion, and to bring all his creatures to the worship and enjoyment of himself. Do you ask from what scriptures we prove these positions? we answer, from the whole Bible. They are the fundamental principles of divine revelation. That all have sinned, and that Christ came to save sinners, is the summary of the Old Testament and the compendium of the New. The very existence of the Christian scriptures shows that Christ came to save sinners, and reconcile to God a world lying in wickedness. The Gospels prove it without the Epistles, and the Epistles without the Gospels. You may expunge from the New Testament any verse you please, any chapter you please, or any book you please, and the residue will clearly sustain these positions. Nay, you may expunge from the New Testament any five books you please, and you leave the positions we have stated untouched. They are deeply interwoven with the whole New Testament. They constitute the bones and sinews, the letter and spirit, the life and soul of the Christian scriptures. Take from the New Testament the important facts that Christ came to save sinners, that his kingdom is moral in its nature, and extends over all, and you sap the foundation of the gospel-you extract the life-blood of the living oracles of God.