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    unceasing prayer , tve wielded to good effect against the combined , the mighty , and innumerable forces of opponents . Our only hope , confidence , and strength was the Lord . In this humble war against such fearful odds , we firmly stood , gained

    gfoTind 7 ~ aTTd"prevailed-beyond ^ all ~ cal culation . Public opinion was in our favour , and multitudes crowded to the standard of truth and liberty . Here pride , that busy sin , imperceptibly began to inflate us on account of our successes ; and what might have been our end , had not

    the scourge of Shakensm been inflicted , God only knows . This was a bitter , but a humiliating pill ; and , though an evil , yet overruled for our salvation . Again we rallied our broken and discouraged forces ; again

    renewed our fervent applications to God for help , and humbled ourselves at his feet ; again he heard and restored us ; and again his truth was attended to by many , and received in the love of it .

    * Here is another error into which we fell . Rescued from the destructive snares of Shakerism , some of our brethren wished to make a stand , and to set up a formulary of doctrine , which should speak , " Hitherto thou mayest come , but no farther . " This

    was thought necessary to guard us against similar evils to those just before experienced . Confidence in the Bible , to effect this , was considerably lost . This plan was warmly and successfully Opposed by a large majority , who were determined to stand or fall with the Bible alone . The

    minority withdrew from us , and united with the different sects around us , and soon , very soon , drank deeply into their spirit , and became our bitter opposers , ? Now it was confidently predicted

    that we must fail . The pride and boast of party were against them . Their overcharged artillery , levelled at us , burst on themselves to their great injury , but none to us . Here again we erred j we substituted of-

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    fensive instead 6 i defensive war , arid , attacked our opposers in their strongly entrenched speculations and opinions . In this we appeared to succeed ; and the judgment of multitudes was , that our opinions were more correct . In this offensive

    warfare-we » -gained-popularity , _ biit _ lalt much of humility and fervent piety . The loss infinitely exceeded the gain . This was seen , felt , and deplored . We had zeal , but it was too much to increase our numbers and to disseminate and confirm our opinions . For a world in ruins there were , comparatively ! few tears , few sighs , and but feeble exertions ; sectarians

    were proscribed by some , not in the spirit of meekness and love , but with a bitterness unbecoming a humble Christian . Many seemed to gfery * in the flesh ; I mean , in having many persons of influence and wealth to join our ranks . Here , truly , have we erred and gone astray . These acts 1 disappf ove , and am ¥ sframed ~ tif them /— Christian Messenger , vol . vi . pp . 198 , 199 .

    The statements , sometimes made in the journals unfriendly to the Christians , that they are declining in numbers , and losing their hold on the public favour , are , we are conndent , without foundation , at least as regards the "West . Mr . Flint , who , as we have shown , adopts the lowest estimates of the churches and

    communicants iri their conhexidii , sfys of the present year : * The Christians , who are Unitarian in their sentiments , have 400 flourishing congregations in Ohio and Kentucky . ' They are also to be found in ; considerable numbers in Tennessee , Indiana , Illin ois ^ Alabama and Georgia .

    We copy part of a letter from Georgia , as throwing considerable light on the condition and policy of the Christians . August 2 lst , 1839 , Brother Stone ,- —The brethren and friends of the north-wfesttffn

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    38 UNITARIAN CHRONICLE . ,

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 1, 1833, page 38, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2607/page/6/