hren, the Lord in his mercy
did at last reveal unto me the dark places of my soul wherein lurked
pride, prejudice, vindictiveness, and all uncharitableness; and, like
the publican, I cried, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner!'

"For several years I have had at times an idea that in the position
taken by this church in 1803, you were perhaps right and I wrong. A
sermon by a strange preacher in a distant county last June further
tended to convince me of this; but still I struggled with stubborn
hardihood against the truth that was threatening to crush me. It was
reserved for the Lord's own stroke to smite the rock and bring forth
the sweet waters of repentance and confession. To-day I am here not so
much because I have surrendered one jot or tittle of my former
doctrinal tenets, as because of the conviction that no system of dogma,
however true and logical, is of importance compared to this, that the
professed followers of Jesus Christ should be a united people. I now
see that whether the doctrines formulated by Calvin or those
promulgated by Arminius be true, the acceptance of either
interpretation of these disputed points does not constitute the vital
essence of salvation. They are but matters of opinion, instead of the
one supreme article of saving faith--belief in the redeeming efficacy
of the sacrifice upon Calvary.

"As I now understand the position taken by this congregation in 1803, I
see that so far as it may be considered a distinctive religious
movement, it is distinctive only in its denial of the binding authority
of human organizations, and in its renunciation of humanly devised
creeds as unscriptural and as opposed to the simplicity and unity of
Christian people. Therefore, leaving out of the question all matters of
opinion upon doctrinal theology, and standing, as you do, upon the one
sure foundation-stone, faith in and reliance upon our crucified
Redeemer, I come to you to-day, begging forgiveness for my opposition
and vindictiveness, and asking that my own and my wife's name be
replaced upon your church book, and that we be restored to your
fellowship."

Before he had finished, Barton Stone was beside him grasping his hand,
but too overcome to utter a word. The congregation sat a moment in
breathless silence, tears of sympathy and thankfulness in the eyes of
even the most stolid. Then Mason Rogers, striding down the aisle, and
facing the people, with one arm thrown over the shoulders of his old
friend a