Preface.

After leaving the Free Church, the author of this treatise had little occasion to trouble himself with the Union, or Voluntary controversies. Just recently, however, his interest in them has been revived, and, perhaps, at the last hour, and somewhat hurriedly, he has been led to put down some of his thoughts on the vitally important subject which they involve. He is painfully conscious, indeed, of his inability to treat this subject with any measure of sufficiency, but not being aware of anything coming at all up to what he conceives to be the truth of Scripture regarding it, and, at the same time, seeing the churches and the country in course of being led away into unscriptural and highly pernicious courses, he feels that he cannot keep silence, but that, however inadequately, and at whatever sacrifice of personal feeling, he must endeavour to communicate that truth by which, as he believes, present controversies and present duty must be determined. His treatise might have been entitled 'The Bible and The Nation;' but as there is no proper access to the subject, except through that of the text which he quotes, and as it is in connection with this text that he seeks to draw out the truth page 4 which he is anxious to exhibit, he has given his work its name from the text from which it takes its rise. He has earnestly sought to commit it to God, leaving it with Him to make what use of it He pleases; and he humbly submits it now to the candid consideration of his Christian fellow-countrymen in all the churches, being fully assured that, if the views propounded are recognised as scriptural, the many imperfections of his manner will be overlooked in the importance of his matter.