-LO- 
 
 AN ADDRESS: 
 
 (ABBREVIATED) 
 
 BeMverei ibefore tie Congregation 
 
 Jit. ||ark'£ I raitgclical j dtenro |jrard 
 
 )n the occasion of the laying of the Corner-stone of their new 
 House of Worship, 
 
 ■JULY 7, 18 7 C 
 
 BY THE PASTOR, 
 
 REV. ft. ALDRICH. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 AIG, FINLEY & CO., PUS., S. E. COR. TENTH AND CHESTNUT STS. 
 
 1870. 
 
 Published by Si Peter's Church, Phila., Pa. 
 

ERRATA : 
 
 Page 1st, line 7th, for lighting read lifting. 
 " 19th, after we, read cannot but. 
 2nd, " 32nd, for land read Jaw, and for seven read 
 
 severe. 
 5th, " 11th, for purity read parity. 
 6th. " 23d, for minister read ministry, 
 Sth, " 1st, for receiving read renewinq. 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 The laying of a corner-stone of a house for God is always 
 an occasion of peculiar interest, because it proclaims the tri- 
 umph of truth over error, and the advancement of Christiani- 
 ty, which is destined to " cover the earth as the waters cover 
 the sea." To you, my brethren, the laying of this corner- 
 stone cannot but be witnessed with the liveliest interest. It 
 is the lighting up again of the glorious standard of the Re- 
 
 j formation, and a tribute of your gratitude to God for the 
 unspeakable blessings of an " open Bible" and a " pure 
 Faith." I am persuaded that it is from no unholy pride nor 
 vain display you have undertaken the erection of this 
 
 k church, but from a desire that you and your children may be 
 privileged to worship the God of your fathers under your own 
 " vine and fig-tree," and perpetuate to succeeding generations 
 a faith purified from the dross of corrupt ages by the in- 
 tense fires of cruel and relentless persecution. It is a Lu- 
 theran church you are about to build. We glory in the 
 name. Not that we would exalt Luther above Christ, though 
 we revere the name of the man whose undaunted courage 
 and heroic "defense of a pure Gospel astonished kings, and, 
 
 . under God, became the means of arousing Jdie religious ener- 
 gies pf a slumbering Church. As long as history records the 
 names of the great and good, the name of Luther will remain 
 first on the list of the heroes in the Reformation. Love 
 him ! honor him ! Who can do otherwise, when Ave think 
 of what God has wrought by the hands of this great man? 
 — great in wisdom, great in courage, great in faith, great in 
 energy, great in everything that constitutes a Christian hero. 
 There are some — we grieve to say it — who would detract 
 from this honored name, and claim for themselves a separate 
 
 i and more complete reformation of the Church, but history 
 will ever laugh to scorn all efforts to establish a Protestant- 
 ism unassociated with Luther as the great leader, under God, 
 in this wonderful work. 
 
It has been objected that the name of Luther should be 
 given to a Church professing to recognize no other Lord and 
 master than Christ, and boasting of no other faith than that 
 " once delivered to the saints." We reply, this was done 
 neither at Luther's suggestion nor with his approval. Nay, 
 with great earnestness and marked displeasure he frequently 
 protested against it. The simplicity of his faith and strong 
 dislike of everything savoring of man-worship made him in- 
 sist that the Church of the Reformation should be distin- 
 guished by no other name than that of Christ; but. the ene- 
 mies of the reform, with the intention of stigmatizing it, 
 persisted in the name, and God, as if to perpetuate to all 
 time the chief instrument in this mighty work, has permitted 
 it to abide. 
 
 We are Lutherans, then, first, because our opponents would 
 have it so; second, because the name identities us with the 
 movement from which all Protestantism has had its begin- 
 ning. We honor the man because God honored him, and 
 we look back with peculiar pride upon his heroic deeds in 
 the defense of a pure Gospel and a regenerated Church. If 
 there are any who dislike the name, we rejoice in the liberty 
 they have of adopting any other they please, since the great 
 bond of Christian union is not in name, but " in the truth 
 as it is in Jesus Christ." For ourselves, we are content to 
 receive it as connecting us with the history of the past, and 
 as fostering a spirit of utter indifference to the opinions of 
 men when theyfctand opposed to the plain and unerring 
 teachings of God's Word. It was for this that Luther strug- 
 gled, and, in the strength of his Lord, at last prevailed. In 
 thought we are carried back to the time when, as an humble 
 monk, he sought relief from a burdened conscience and the 
 terrors of an offended land in seven self-inflicted penances, 
 until the tortured body could endure no more, when, as if 
 by accident, but really under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 
 he found, (as some historians tell us,) a Bible chained to the 
 wall in one of the cells of his monastery. That Bible he 
 opened and continued to read from day to day with unceas- 
 ing interest, until at last the glorious truth illumined his 
 mind — "The just shall live by faith." From that moment 
 the clouds of darkness that had so long a time obscured his 
 
moral prospects, were dispersed. He beheld the cross of 
 Jesus Christ; he saw the sufficiency of the atonement made 
 upon that cross to meet the demands of the law ; his soul 
 leaped with joy, and breaking loose from the shackles of a 
 gloomy superstition and cruel self-abnegation,' he proclaimed 
 the praises of Him " who by one offering hath perfected for 
 ever them that are sanctified." That Bible unchained, he 
 brought forth from its dusty cell and opened wide for the 
 perusal of an astonished and delighted world. The Church 
 awoke from her death-like slumber, and under the energizing 
 influences of the Holy Spirit, broke in twain the fetters with 
 which for centuries she had been bound, stepped forth into 
 newness of life to assert her rights, kindle her watch-fires in 
 every quarter of the civilized world, and in trumpet-tongued 
 notes sent forth her preans of victory, until mountains and 
 valleys, hills and plains, cities and hamlets, were vocal with 
 the praises of Him who is the sole Head of the Church and 
 God over all blessed forevermore. 
 
 My brethren, the history of your Church is a glorious one. 
 Let no man rob you of the honor of being a member of this 
 Mother Church of the Reformation. Forever cherish the 
 name of him who was your champion in the great battle of 
 religious rights, and achieved, in the strength of the Lord, a 
 most glorious triumph. Preserve in your heart of hearts the 
 great and glorious principles for which he fought. Impress 
 them upon the minds of your children, that in turn they 
 may be transmitted to your children's children, so that from 
 generation to generation there may be found in this commu- 
 nity representatives of that Church the corner-stone of one of 
 its places of worship you have this day laid. 
 
 But it is sometimes asked, what are the distinctive features 
 of the Lutheran Church? My heart fires with holy indig- 
 nation at the bare suspicion of a doubt that our Church has 
 nothing by which she is to be distinguished from the great 
 body of Protestant Christians which surround her. It is 
 true, she has much in common with them all ; for how can it 
 be otherwise when she is the source from which their Pro- 
 testantism sprung? But it is not true that she has nothing 
 peculiarly her own. If she has nothing else, there is at least 
 her noble and time-honored Confession. Of this no other 
 
Church can rob her. It is essentially her own, and before 
 it all other Protestant creeds bow in reverence. Framed by 
 Luther, perfected by Melanchthon, and admitted even by the 
 Roman Catholics to be the great symbol of the Lutheran 
 Church, who will venture to assert that it docs not distinguish 
 her as the mother of all Protestantism ? 
 
 Then, too, look at her organ izat ion. Protestantism has ' 
 assumed many phases, but the Lutheran Church has re- 
 mained unalterably the same. It was no revolution in 
 which she engaged; no uprooting of the whole system of 
 Catholicism ; no experiment of a new organization, but 
 simply a reform of the old. It was the lopping off of the 
 withered branches, the pruning of the redundant growth of 
 a still vigorous and beautiful tree. He who has any acqain- 
 tance with the history of the Reformation knows full well 
 that, at the first, there was no intention, on the part of 
 Luther, to withdraw from the Mother Church. He sought 
 only, by exposure, to have her errors corrected, her abuses 
 removed; and when, by excommunication, this responsibility * 
 was thrown upon himself and his noble coadjutors, their re- 
 form was confined only to hurtful human traditions and un- 
 scriptural practices, alike burdensome to the conscience and 
 conflicting with the Gospel plan of salvation. In short, it 
 was simply a return to first principles, and the liberty of the 
 Gospel was extended to all things harmless in themselves and 
 not expressly forbidden in the Word of God. For this reason 
 there is to be seen in many of the European churches, and 
 in some of our own in this country, things that might shock 
 the sensibilities of ultra Protestantism, but which we look ^ 
 upon as having no tendency whatever to interfere with the 
 simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. These re- 
 marks are alike applicable to things to be found in our Con- 
 fession also. The truth is, our reformers had a scrupulous re- 
 gard for time-honored customs ; and much they knew to be 
 of human origin was nevertheless retained as a relief. to weak 
 and burdened consciences, and as affording opportunity for 
 admonishing with more directness the erring, and instructing 
 with more clearness the ignorant. 
 
 I say, then, our Church is to be distinguished by her or- 
 ganization, occupying middle ground between the corruptions 
 
of Romanism and the leveling principles of ultra Protestant- 
 ism. She neither, on the one hand, tolerates customs and 
 practices that are corrupt or corrupting in themselves, nor 
 does she, on the other, repudiate anything that is wholesome 
 and good simply because it is human and not expressly en- 
 joined in the Word of God. Like the Church of England, 
 in some sections she has her bishops ; but, unlike that Church, 
 she does not invest the office with Divine authority, nor re- 
 gard it as essential to the perfection of her organization. 
 Like the Presbyterian or Calvinistic Church, she recognizes 
 the purity of the ministry; but, unlike that Church, she tole- 
 rates and retains much which by it has been entirely rejected. 
 
 So, too, in her order of worship she differs from the other 
 Protestant Churches in that, while she is ritualistic in her 
 forms, she does not insist on their being rigidly enforced. 
 Classing them among the things that are non-essential in the 
 spirit of Gospel liberty, she permits her ministers to adapt 
 themselves to surrounding circumstances. 
 
 In her articles of faith, too, there are to be found promi- 
 nent marks of distinction. Among them we may notice the 
 two Sacraments : Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Our 
 Church regards them so necessary as not to be neglected 
 without imperiling the soul.* As regards Baptism, she 
 teaches that in the full exercise of faith it becomes the effi- 
 cient means of the renewal of the soul by the Holy Spirit, 
 so that the subject is born again "of water and of the Spirit," 
 according to the words of Christ, without which " he cannot 
 enter into the kingdom of God." In reference to the Lord's 
 Sapper she teaches that the body and blood of Christ are 
 truly present under the form of bread and wine, and are com- 
 municated to those that eat in the Lord's Supper. In this 
 belief, however, she rejects both the doctrine of Consubstan- 
 tiation and Transubstantiation as opposed to the true mean- 
 ing of the words of Christ, " this is My body," " this is My 
 blood." It is in no local or physical presence that our Church 
 teaches or we believe, but it is in a divine, supernatural, and 
 heavenly 'presence. In some mystical Avay, inexplicable to 
 the human senses, under the form of bread and wine, we re- 
 ceive the body and blood of Christ. 
 
 Note. — So does the Church of England. — G. W. M. 
 
6 
 
 Again; our Church is distinctive in that she teaches the 
 duty of Confession, not however in the Romish sense as of 
 Divine authority, but as a wholesome exercise to weak and 
 distressed souls. Nor does she, as the Romish Church, insist 
 upon a strict enumeration of all sins; for that she regards as 
 impossible — "Who can understand his errors?" but in a 
 general way, as when we are assembled in the house of God, 
 and on particular occasions, when the conscience, burdened 
 with the weight of its transgressions, would find relief in the 
 free acknowledgment of guilt and in the assurances of for- 
 giveness and acceptance with God. Especially does' she re- 
 gard it as a fitting preparatory exercise to a profitable par- 
 ticipation of the holy Eucharist. 
 
 In close connection with confession she also teaches the 
 right of Absolution, or the forgiveness of sins. But it is in 
 no general and unlimited sense she permits the right to be 
 exercised. Unlike the Church of Rome, she does not allow 
 her ministers, on their own responsibility, and simply by 
 virtue of their office, to say " do this or do that, and thou art 
 forgiven;" but, regarding them as her representatives, she 
 confines them to the letter of the Gospel, and forbids the ex- 
 ercise of this right to any but the truly penitent. It is not, 
 therefore, in her minister but in herself this right of absolu- 
 tion is vested ; and they, as her properly constituted officers, 
 do but give utterance to her assurances of forgiveness in con- 
 formity with the words of her Lord : " Whosesoever sins ye 
 forgive, they are forgiven ; and whosesoever sins ye retain, 
 they are retained." And the exercise of faith on the part of 
 the truly penitent, she teaches, will restore the peace of the soul. 
 
 Another peculiarity of our Church is to be found in her'' 
 teachings respecting the command : " Remember the Sabbath 
 day," &e. In its strict, literal, and ceremonial sense she de- 
 nies that this commandment is binding on Christians, but 
 that it was confined to the Jews as a people, and was abol- 
 ished by Christ; but in its generic sense, as requiring a 
 seventh part of our time as holy to the Lord, this she insists 
 upon as a binding obligation, necessary to the work of grace 
 in the soul ; and as Sunday has been set apart from old for 
 this purpose, she teaches that the opportunity it offers for at- 
 tendance upon the services of the sanctuary, the preaching of 
 
God's Word, the administration of the Sacraments, and the 
 performance of all other religious duties should neither be 
 despised nor neglected. 
 
 These, then, are the prominent peculiarities* of our Church, 
 and are they not sufficient to distinguish her from the vari- 
 ous branches of Protestantism by which she is surrounded? 
 The great evil to our Church has been that the most of her 
 ministers of American birth have been more anxious to gloss 
 these peculiarities as blemishes to her moral beauty than to hold 
 them up as the marks of her individuality; and the result has 
 been that thousands of her children, from sheer ignorance of 
 what she teaches, have grown suspicious of her orthodoxy, 
 and turned their backs toward her altars, to be received into 
 the communion of other churches. Thank God this day of 
 compromise^ as regards the distinctive features of our Church, 
 is rapidly drawing to its close. What is taught in her sym- 
 bols is being more openly proclaimed and insisted upon as 
 conforming to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures; and we 
 honestly believe that in the pursuance of this straightforward 
 course, so far from losing, she has everything to hope for in 
 the maintenance of her dignity, and the devotion to her in- 
 terests, which will thereby be inspired in the breasts of her 
 children. 
 
 Already in this country is she a vine of luxurious growth ; 
 and the time may not be far distant when, by immigration 
 and other accessions, she will, in numerical strength occupy 
 the front rank of Protestant Christianity here, as well as in 
 the world. I say this from no vain glorious spirit, but to 
 inspire you, my brethren ;. with energy and fidelity in the 
 work you have so nobly begun. Let not your zeal grow 
 cold, nor your faith waver. 'Tis a good work you have un- 
 dertaken, and God will prosper you. In your weakness He 
 will be your strength, and in your poverty he will give you 
 the assistance of friends. Go forward, then, bravely, cheer- 
 fully, and in humble reliance upon your God. Your diffi- 
 culties will vanish as you progress in the work, and in due 
 time the cap-stone will be laid with songs of rejoicing. 
 
 Already in imagination may you witness this result of 
 your pious labors. Here, in their infancy, will your children 
 
 *JNote. — The Church of England excepted. — G-. W. M. 
 
be baptized, and by the receiving of the Holy Spirit be made 
 the heirs of eternal life. Here, in the dew of their youth will 
 they be instructed in the pure doctrines of the Word of God, 
 and be confirmed in the faith. And here, together, will you 
 bow before the altar of your God, and in holy reverence eat 
 the Sacramental bread and drink the Sacramental cup. God 
 grant that all these pious anticipations may be fully realized, 
 and that long after your mission on earth is ended, this 
 building, now commenced, may remain as a monument of 
 your zeal and devotion to His service. + 
 
 What matters it that the trees of the forest instead of the 
 more durable rock of the quarry have furnished you the ma- 
 terial wherewith to build? Its chief attraction is not in its 
 outward appearance and costliness, but in the fact that it is a 
 house for God, in which He is to dwell by His Spirit, and in 
 which, by the preaching of His Word and the effectual work- 
 ing of that Spirit, the kingdom of His own dear Son is to be 
 advanced in the world. This is it that gives importance to 
 your work, and makes it an occasion of interest to-day ; and 
 long after the materials of which this house is built shall 
 have fallen into decay, that spiritual temple, of which the 
 visible is but a sign, shall continue to expand in its propor- 
 tions, until its walls, towering high above all perishable ob- 
 jects, shall ultimately touch the throne of God, and the cap- 
 stone be laid upon it amidst the shout of angels: "Grace, 
 grace, unto it." Then, indeed, will the worth of your build- 
 ing appear in the number of redeemed souls admitted into 
 the kingdom of glory, who once worshipped within its walls, 
 and by the grace of God were enabled to build upon Christ, 
 the " Rock of Ages," " The chief Corner-stone, elect," " pre- 
 cious," in whom all the building fitly framed together grow- 
 eth unto a holy temple in the Lord, 
 
 And now, brethren, my work is done. Yours is yet tope 
 completed. This day's undertaking is a new era in your 
 congregational history. May it also prove a new era in the 
 history of your religious life, so that when your work u»i 
 earth is finished you may be received into the rest that rc- 
 maineth for the people of God. "And now unto Him who is 
 able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask 
 or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unta 
 
9 
 
 Him be glory in the Church by Jesus Christ, throughout all 
 ages, world without end. Amen." 
 
 The following is from another author. 
 
 The Protestantism for which Ave contend, is the Protest- 
 antism of Christ and his Apostles. The reformed reli- 
 gion IS NO NOVELTY. .It is not the INVENTION of LUTHER 
 and his co-laborers. The Epmanists would taunt us with 
 the recent origin of our faith, as though it sprung up in the 
 sixteenth century ; while their own is hallowed by all the 
 suffrages of antiquity. There never was a more insolent taunt, 
 Our's is the old religion ; their's is the new. Our's is at 
 least as old as the Bible; it has not a single tenet which it does 
 not derive from that Booh; but their's must be younger 
 than the Bible, for where in the Bible is the Bible said to be 
 insufficient f and where is the Pope said to be (or described 
 as) sovereign and infallible f or ivhere is sin divided into 
 mortal and venial ? where are the clergy forbidden to 
 marry, and images directed to be worshipped? and where is 
 the Church entrusted with the granting of indulgencies f 
 There is not a solitary article of Protestantism which can 
 be proved unscriptural! The Papists may derisively ask, 
 " Where was your religion before Luther came?" Our re- 
 ply is, "In the Word of the living God ; in the records of the 
 Apostles and Apostolic men: and in the practices of those 
 witnesses, who, in every age, have refused to participate in the 
 abominations of Romanism." We, on the other hand, ask 
 the Romanist, Where was your novel religion before such and 
 such an usurping Pontiff issued the unscriptural dogmas'? 
 We fix the doctrine of the Papal Supremacy to the sixth 
 century; the seven sacraments to the twelfth century; and 
 ' ' xinsubstantiation to the thirteenth century. Let the Roman- 
 ists prove them older, if they can. 
 
 Protestantism is Popery restored to its first purity, 
 cleansed of its false glosses, and freed from the rubbish ac- 
 cumulated on it by ages of superstition. 
 
 Separation from the Church of Rome is not 
 Schism. 
 
 REV. HENRY MELVILLE, B. D.