by might nor
by power, but by the Spirit of God, that great moral changes are
effected, I am encouraged to fight valiantly in this good cause,
believing that I shall 'come off conqueror, and more than
conqueror'--yet not I, but Truth and Justice. It is in such a contest
that one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.
'The Lord disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands
cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own
craftiness; and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.'
'Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of
God is stronger than men.'

Little boldness is needed to assail the opinions and practices of
notoriously wicked men; but to rebuke great and good men for their
conduct, and to impeach their discernment, is the highest effort of
moral courage. The great mass of mankind shun the labor and
responsibility of forming opinions for themselves. The question is
not--what is true? but--what is popular? Not--what does God say?
but--what says the public? Not--what is my opinion? but--what do others
believe? If people would pin their faith upon the bible, and not upon
the sleeves of their neighbors, half of the heresies in the world would
instantly disappear. If they would use their own eyes, their own ears,
their own understandings, instead of the eyes, and ears, and
understandings of others, imbecility, credulity and folly would be as
rare as they are now common in community. But, unhappily, to borrow the
words of Ganganelli, a large majority of mankind are 'mere abortions:'
calling themselves rational and intelligent beings, they act as if they
had neither brains nor conscience, and as if there were no God, no
accountability, no heaven, no hell, no eternity.

'My minister,' says one, 'is a most worthy man. He supports this
Society: therefore it is a good institution.' 'Christians of all
denominations are enlisted in this enterprise,' says another: 'therefore
it cannot be wrong.' 'Do you think,' says a third, 'that honest, godly
men would countenance a scheme which is not really benevolent?' But it
is unwise for beings, who are accountable only to God, to reason in this
manner. All the good men upon earth cannot make persecution benevolence,
nor injustice equity; and until they become infallible, implicit
reliance upon their judgment is criminal. Ministers and christians, a
few years since, were engaged in the use and sale of