Excerpt from Christianity, Its Past Struggles, Its Present Position, Its Future Prospects: An Address, Delivered Before the Theological Society at Union College on Sabbath Evening, July 25, 1847 Permit me to congratulate you as aspirants to the sacred office. Instead of seeking distinction through the crooked mazes of political adventure, or acquiring riches in the labors of com mercial enterprise, you have chosen the better part in a volun tary dedication of the future energies of your being, to advance the glory of God and the welfare of your species. May your lives be preserved to enter on its holy functions; may you be baptized with the living fire of the divine spirit, purifying and consecrating you to his service; may his influences abundantly accompany your ministrations without which the most burning eloquence and most perspicuous exhibitions of truth will be una vailing; and when well stricken in years, and unfitted for further service here, may the ascending chariot convey you to the church of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where, associated with patriarchs and evangelists, and the redeemed ones, they that have turned many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.