Page:History of Gardner, Massachusetts (1860) - Glazier.djvu/149

Rh it as the only rule of your religious faith and practice. In religion you call no man Master; for one is your Master, even Christ. You believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. To us Christians, you believe, as the Apostle Paul says, that there is hut one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we in him. In the presence of the heart-searching God and this religious assembly, you solemnly avouch the Lord Jehovah to be your God, your Creator, your Redeemer, and your Sanctifier. Repenting of all your past sins, you promise in future, constantly to endeavor, by the aid of God, to render your life conformable to his requirements. You promise, by becoming a member of the visible church of Christ in this place, to submit to the gospel discipline, rules and regulations, as established and practiced in the same." (Amen.)

"We, then, as members of the Church of Christ, welcome you to our fellowship and communion, at the table of our common Lord, whose body was broken, and whose blood was shed for the remission of sin. We promise, expecting the same from you towards us, to exercise over you the watchfulness of Christian love. May the peace of God make us perfect to do his will, that we may walk together as brethren; preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace; making us to abound in every good word and work; at last possessing a character adorned with every Christian virtue, may we all be so happy as to meet in the mansions of heaven, and unite our voices with an innumerable multitude, in the song of blessing and honor, glory and power to him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever, and ever." Amen.