,transcribed from the #ahfj ,joseph     
,masters edition by ,david ,price4      
,many  thanks to the ,british ,library  
for making their copy available4        
,a ,,tract ,,for ,,the ,,times4         
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,the ,,church                          
,,and                                   
,,the ,,census4                         
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,by ,,the                              
,,rev4 ,,james ,,skinner1 ,m4,a4        
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                      ,,joseph 
,,masters1 ,,aldersgate ,,street1       
,,and ,,new ,,bond ,,street4            
,,mdccclx4                              
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                      ,,printed
 ,,by ,,joseph ,,masters ,,and ,,co41   
,,aldersgate ,,street4                  
99 99 99 99 99          ,,the ,,church  
,,and ,,the ,,census4      ,i ,,desire  
to say what follows1 in all earnestness1
 to my fellow-countrymen  who have been1

 through ,,god',s goodness1 baptized    
into the ,church of  ,england4  ,i shall
 be thankful1 also1 if others will      
patiently consider  what is here set    
down4    ,there can be no question that1
 in old times1 ,,god was pleased to set 
up a  visible token1 whereby the world  
might be convinced of ,his power and    
love4  ,and this token was also a       
witness to ,,god',s ,truth4  ,no one    
doubts  that the ,jewish ,church and    
nation were the witnesses of ,,god2 and 
that  they were ,his witnesses by ,his  
own express appointment4  ,it is equally
  allowed1 on all hands1 that the       
,jewish ,church and nation failed in    
their  witness4  ,they failed--not      
because the need of witnessing had been 
taken  away2 or their authority to      
witness had been loosened4  ,but they   
failed1  because1 having the power of   
choice free--to stand by ,,god or to    
desert  ,him1 they chose to desert ,him4
  ,they failed1 because they chose to   
blind  themselves to the need of        

witnessing4  ,they failed1 because they 
chose to  set at nought that authority  
to witness with which they had been     
clothed4  ,,god',s law of always having 
,his witness did not fail4  ,the very   
failure of  the ,jewish ,church and     
nation1 in the place of witness1 was a  
witness4  ,the ,jewish ,church and      
nation could desert its place of        
witness4  ,it could  prefer its own will
 to ,,god',s will4  ,it could prefer the
 will of the  people to the will of     
,,god4  ,it could prefer the kingdom of 
this world to  the kingdom of ,heaven4  
,and it did prefer its own will1 and the
 will of  the people1 and the kingdom of
 this world4    ,look at the prophecy of
 ,hosea1 and what is there said of all  
,israel in  the name of ,ephraim4  ,read
 the seventh chapter4  ,the ,prophet is 
reproving  the sins of the princes1 and 
the great men of ,israel4  8,all their  
kings  are fallen40  ,the flame of civil
 discord has spread1 and dried up the   
sources of legitimate authority among   

them4  ,an anarchy of eleven years1     
after the death of ,jeroboam ,,ii41 has 
terminated in the assassination of      
,zachariah and his successors ,shallum  
and ,pekahiah4  8,and yet there is  none
 among them that calleth unto ,me10     
saith the ,,lord4    ,and then1 he      
denounces judgment against the people in
 the mass1 for their  hypocrisy and     
unfaithfulness4  ,whereas1 by ,,god',s  
institution1 they were a  peculiar      
people1--witnesses for ,,god1 and       
separate from the world1 8they  have    
mixed themselves among the              
people10--that is1 among the idolaters  
of  the land1--they are 8as a cake not  
turned10 as a cake baked only on one    
side2 serving ,,god by halves1 halting  
between two masters2 worshipping ,,god  
a little1 and worshipping idols a       
little1 and worshipping nothing much4   
,and so1 as a consequence1 what must    
have followed1 did follow4  ,the        
,syrians1 in the time of ,jehoahaz1     
reduced them to great straits4  ,they   

had but fifty horsemen and ten chariots1
 and ten thousand footmen4 #e  ,they    
were 8made like the dust by threshing40 
,shortly after1 in the days  of         
,menahem1 they became tributaries to    
,pul1 king of ,assyria4 #f  ,and at     
length they were carried away captive   
bodily by ,shalmaneser4    ,now1 all    
this has a forcible application to a    
spiritual state of things1  and sets    
forth the condition of the ,church in   
the world1 as at other  times1 so       
especially at this time in which we     
live4    ,ephraim is the witness of     
,,god--testifying ,,god',s              
,truth1--bearing ,,god',s               
commission--appointed in the world to   
win and attract the people1--to draw    
them upward1 far above worldly measures 
of things to the divine measure  of     
things--to the things which shall be in 
the eternal ,future1 and to the  fixed  
and unchangeable will of ,,god1 on which
 that eternal ,future stands4  ,but     
8,ephraim hath mixed himself0 with the  

people1--he has 8learned their          
inventions10--he has adapted his witness
 to their demands1--he has lowered  his 
standard of ,,god',s appointment to the 
people's standard of human              
construction4  ,so that ,,god',s        
teaching and man's teaching have become 
confused and indifferently accepted1 and
 they who have fallen into grave  errors
 of faith are in no sense differently   
esteemed from those who have  maintained
 the truth as revealed by ,,god1 and as 
witnessed by the ,church  in every land1
 in every age1 by every tongue4    ,and 
so1 the spiritual ,ephraim1 who was set 
up for a witness to the truth1  has     
become 8a cake not turned10 a           
half-equipped soldier in the fight1     
with but half a heart to his ,master's  
service4    ,what is the occasion which 
now presses8  ,while many of us are     
praising  ,,god in grateful love for    
,his unspeakable mercy in vouchsafing us
 ,his  ,truth--,his determinate and     
fixed ,truth--in which alone souls are  

saved--,his  ,truth1 as divinely        
committed to the ,church 8the pillar and
 ground of the  ,truth10--and handed    
down from age to age in every           
land1--,his ,truth as  mercifully       
retained and maintained in the ,prayer  
,book of the ,church of  ,england1--set 
forth with categorical precision in the 
three ,creeds of  universal             
,christendom1 and expanded and applied  
in the offices of ,holy  ,baptism and   
the ,communion of the ,body and ,blood  
of ,,christ--while we are  keeping      
solemn festival to the ,glory of ,,god1 
and the power of ,his ,truth1  the      
8religious world0 is exciting itself    
with vexing hopes and fears  about the  
decennial ,census which the ,state is   
about to take of the  religious         
condition of the country4    ,i do not  
believe that this question excites      
churchmen1 or that they care1  except as
 a matter of political justice1 what    
becomes of it4  ,for  themselves they   
know what they are1 and where they      

stand1 and in ,whom  they trust4  ,and  
they are 8ready always to give an answer
 to every man  that asketh them a reason
 of the hope that is in them40  ,with no
  8uncertain sound10 or doubting heart1 
but with plainness and boldness1 as     
,christian men and women1 8standing fast
 in one spirit1 with one mind  striving 
together for the faith of the ,gospel1  
and nothing terrified by  their         
adversaries40 #h    ,but it is a        
question full of importance1 because of 
the evidence which it  draws out of the 
condition of men's minds among whom we  
live1 and because  of the lesson which  
that evidence reads to ourselves4    ,i 
do not enter upon the question whether  
it is right or wrong for the  state to  
ask people about their religion4  ,my   
own conviction is that1  under the      
distracting circumstances of religion in
 this country1 it would  be better and  
wiser for the state to abstain4  ,and   
yet in common sense  the state may as   
well demand information as to my        

religious profession1  as in respect of 
my age or worldly calling4  ,but the    
question having been  raised1 what is   
this evidence which it has brought to   
light1 and which ,i  say is so grave in 
its results8  ,there is a vehement1     
almost a  passionate resistance of the  
proposition1 that men should give an    
account of their faith4    ,it is true  
that ,,jesus ,,christ1 the very ,saviour
 and ,redeemer of our souls1  has said1 
8,whosoever shall confess ,me before    
men1 him will ,i confess  also before   
,my ,,father which is in heaven2 and    
whosoever shall deny ,me  before men1   
him will ,i also deny before ,my        
,,father which is in heaven40  #i;a     
,but people on all sides are saying1    
8not so--not before  men1--religion is a
 private and secret matter between ,,god
 and me40    ,it is true that holy      
,david declared that 8he would speak    
even before  kings and not be ashamed10 
#i;b that ,s4 ,john ,baptist 8confessed 
and  denied not1 but confessed20 #i;c   

that ,s4 ,paul1 for himself1 8continued 
witnessing to small and great10 #aj;a   
and in the name of all ,christians  laid
 it down that 8we believe and therefore 
speak10 #aj;b and that  8every tongue   
should confess40 #aj;c  ,but people on  
all sides are  saying1 8,not so--not    
confess1 not witness1 not speak1--any   
other test you  please2 number us as we 
sit here or stand there2 but do not ask 
us to  speak4  ,we prefer to take our   
place with the #8chief rulers who       
believed1  but did not confess2'--we    
believe1 but do not ask us to confess40 
,and this resistance has two sides--one 
political1 and the other                
quasi-religious4    ,political men      
resist1 because they say the ,church of 
,england holds them1  and yet does not  
hold them4  ,it holds them politically1 
gives them1 if  they demand it1 baptism1
 or communion1 or churching1 or burial4 
,yet it  does not hold them because they
 object to her services1 and usages1 and
  prefer preachers of their own1 and    

other doctrines than hers4  8,we are    
,churchmen10 say these people1 8in one  
sense1 though not in another2 and       
therefore we prefer not to define       
ourselves at all4  ,we go to #8meeting1'
  but we have not parted final company  
with the ,church4  ,and as              
excommunication can alone sever the bond
 between us1 we are glad that           
excommunication is now unknown40        
,such is one side of the opposition to  
the notion of defining their faith4     
,how shall they define it8  ,once       
perhaps when the ,catechism was fresh   
upon  the soft and docile mind of their 
childhood they might have been able1    
but now that is a mere reminiscence4    
,they know not to-day what they may     
believe to-morrow4  ,meantime they will 
hold on to the ,church as to a  secular 
institution1 and do what they can to    
secularize it4  ,it will  become more   
useful and less mischievous in their    
opinion1 just as men  cease to regard it
 as a 8witness0 for the glory of ,,god1 

and a training  school for the salvation
 of souls4    ,the other side of the    
same opposition has more appearance of  
religious  feeling about it4  ,men      
object to define their faith1 because   
really and  conscientiously they have no
 faith which they can define4  8,false  
shame10 8procrastination10              
8self-distrust in honourable minds10 7as
 it  has been mischievously called1 #aa7
 8consciousness of imperfection10  such 
are the pleas with which they           
indulgently flatter themselves4  ,they  
are not yet ripe for any 8visible       
,church20 so they ignorantly and        
complacently express it2 they mean to   
wait2 they are not unchristian  because 
they dare not make choice of a          
denomination yet4  ,surely not4  ,by and
 by will be time enough4  ,they will    
make a profession some day  though not  
now4    ,when ,i hear on every side as  
,i mix with my fellow men1 and read in  
every  newspaper1 as ,i strive to note  
down the voice of the public press as it

  gains upon the popular mind1 such     
sentiments as these1 ,i am bound to say 
that if this be not spiritually the     
reproduction of the picture of          
,ephraim1 as ,hosea drew it in the days 
of ,israel's apostasy1 and as such1  if 
it be not the accomplishment among      
ourselves of a prophetic  announcement  
which spiritually concerned the ,church 
of ,,christ1 ,i know not  where to find 
a prophecy fulfilled4  8,ephraim he hath
 mixed himself among  the people3       
,ephraim is a cake not turned4          
,strangers have devoured his  strength1 
and he knoweth it not2 yea1 grey hairs  
are here and there upon  him2 yet he    
knoweth not40 #ab    ,i will now presume
 to say something in the presence of    
this calamity  which afflicts the       
,church of ,,christ in ,england4    ,i4 
,first1 ,i will say that as ,truth is   
one and indivisible1 so your faith  as  
,english ,churchmen1 with the ,cross of 
,,christ upon your foreheads1--and  the 
bond of the 8,apostles' doctrine and    

fellowship0 in your hearts1--and  the   
,prayer ,book with its ,catholic witness
 in your hands1 is fixed1 and  easily   
defined4    ,it is fixed1 because       
otherwise it could not be the ,truth4   
,and you  possess that which is fixed1  
because otherwise that which you possess
  could not be true4  ,the ,church of   
,,god is 8the pillar and ground of the  
,truth20 #ac and you have the ,truth    
from the ,church of ,,god4    ,the      
,church of ,,god does not create the    
,truth4  ,the ,church of ,,god does not 
even give force and power to the ,truth4
  ,but the ,church of ,,god is the      
depositary of the ,truth4  ,the ,church 
of ,,god has the ,truth to keep1 and to 
maintain1 and to hand down4  ,the       
,church of ,,god is the orb1 out of     
which  the glorious light of the ,truth 
shines and overspreads the earth4  ,the 
,church of ,,god is the candlestick     
which holds the light4  ,the ,church of 
,,god is the pillar on which the        
proclamation of the ,truth is written1  

and  held up and heralded through the   
world4  ,you learn truth from that      
pillar4  ,and that pillar is the ,church
 of ,,god8    ,what ,church of ,,god8   
,the one ,holy ,catholic and ,apostolic 
,church of ,,god4  ,the same which      
delivered the 8decrees of the ,apostles 
and elders at  ,jerusalem30 #ad the same
 which confounded ,arius at ,nica3 the  
same which  overwhelmed ,nestorius at   
,ephesus3 the same which silenced       
,macedonius at  ,constantinople3 the    
same which vanquished ,eutyches at      
,chalcedon3--the one  ,holy ,church     
throughout the world4    #b4  ,next1 ,i 
desire to lay down this--that1 contrary 
to what the advocates  of a religious   
census seem to imply--truth and numbers 
have no relation  one to the other1     
unless it be that truth is with the few4
  ,the greatest  number of mankind is   
yet in darkness and error2 as ,s4 ,john 
says1 8the  world lieth in wickedness40 
,all ,,god',s ,word testifies that1     
compared with the many who forsake the  

truth1 or who never accept it1 or who   
deny it and lose its fruits1 those  who 
receive it1 and live by it1 and enter   
into its reward1 are few4  ,of  all the 
world at the time of the ,flood only    
eight persons were worthy to  be        
rescued4  ,among all the guilty families
 in the cities of the plain1  only      
,lot's escaped destruction4  ,of all the
 six hundred thousand ,hebrews          
delivered out of ,egypt1 though blessed 
with the same miracles1 conducted  by   
the same ,guide1 and nourished by the   
same ,manna1 two only entered the       
promised land4  ,in the taking of       
,jericho1 of all the houses in the city 
only the harlot ,rahab's was spared4    
,of all the thirty and two thousand     
soldiers of ,gideon1 but three hundred  
were found worthy to contend for  the   
,,lord4  ,and so1 of all those olive    
berries and clusters of grapes set      
forth by the ,prophet to describe the   
called of ,,god1--there shall be saved  
only 8as the shaking of the olive tree1 

and as the gleaning grapes1 when  the   
vintage is done40 #ae    ,therefore     
,religion is not for show1 but for      
reality4  ,,god is for ,truth1  and not 
for numbers4  ,and they who are truly   
wise must be content1 as the  ,apostles 
of old were content1 to have numbers    
against them1 if so it be1  and to pass 
in turn through good and evil report1 in
 the honest and  simple defence of what 
is true4    ,this facing of the ,truth  
against numbers is a necessity4  ,and if
 you seek  to shun it1 you are sure     
nevertheless to encounter it2 and with  
all the  more roughness1 for your       
efforts to escape it4  ,if you side with
 the  multitude1 you will probably be   
magnified by those who are in the wrong4
  ,but you will hardly escape being     
censured by those who are in the right4 
,and their commendation1 if it makes    
less noise1 has more value4    ,you must
 not be dismayed1 therefore1 because the
 world is against you4  ,you must not   
begin a course of action because it is  

popular2 nor must you  abandon a course 
of action because it is decried4  ,look 
to what pleases  ,,god1 not to what will
 please the multitude4  ,and then you   
will do what is  right4  ,you will be   
wise for ,,god4  ,and ,,god is over all4
    #c4  ,once more4  ,no earnest mind  
can entertain the thought of what is    
passing among us1 without feeling that  
these are sifting times4  ,times of     
division1 when errors abound1 are always
 times of sifting2 times in which  ,,god
 is trying what men are made of2 whether
 they are corn or chaff1 gold  or dross1
 wheat or tares4    ,ephraim is 8a cake 
not turned40  ,but who are guilty8  8,i 
will sift the  ,house of ,israel10 saith
 the ,,lord1 8as corn is sifted in a    
sieve1 yet  shall not the least grain   
fall upon the earth40  #ag;a  ,this is  
the one  comfort in the midst of so much
 sorrow4  ,whosoever is true grain1     
shall  not be lost4  ,see to it1 then1  
that each soul among you is true grain4 
,,god is sifting your sincerity by the  

errors which ,he suffers to compass  you
 about4  8,i hear there are divisions   
among you1 and ,i believe it10  says the
 ,apostle1 8for there must be heresies  
among you1 that they  which are approved
 may be made manifest40 #ag;b  ,and your
 stability ,he is  sifting--whether or  
not you are as ,reuben1 8unstable as    
water10 weak1 and  soft1 and yielding1  
and inconstant4  ,and your zeal1 and    
your knowledge1  and your love1--,he is 
sifting all these1 in this your day of  
probation4    ,you have had great gifts 
at ,,god',s ,hand1 unspeakable          
opportunities of  knowing ,him and ,his 
,truth--the ,word of ,,god1 the witness 
of the ,church1 and  the 8,spirit       
leading you into all ,truth0 through the
 ordained means of  grace--through      
,sacraments and ,prayer4  ,how is it    
with you8  ,are you yet  8men0 in       
knowledge1 with the 8full assurance of  
understanding to the  acknowledgment of 
the mystery of ,,god1 and of the        
,,father1 and of ,,christ1  in ,whom are

 hid all the treasures of wisdom and    
knowledge40 #ah;a  ,or are  you         
8children in understanding10 8tossed to 
and fro and carried about  with every   
wind of doctrine by the sleight of men1 
and cunning craftiness  whereby they lie
 in wait to deceive80 #ah;b    ,now is  
the test of your weakness or of your    
strength4  ,now it will be  seen who is 
possessed by that enervated and timid   
spirit which inspires  so many faltering
 hearts1 and directs so many enfeebled  
wills1 in this  day of conflict for the 
,church of ,,god4    ,and1 above all1   
your love is being sifted4  ,is your    
hold upon the ,church  and her teaching 
8rooted and grounded in love80  ,,god is
 trying your  love--your love to        
,himself1 to ,,christ1 to the ,truth4   
,the head is not a  casket in which     
,truth can safely lie enshrined4  ,it is
 soon stolen from  thence4  ,but1 if you
 have lodged it in the heart1 and       
embedded it there  in folds of love1 men
 may take out your heart1 but out of    

your heart they  cannot take the ,truth4
    ,it is for want of love that so many
 men among us are cowards1--that so     
much is sacrificed to the first         
appearance of danger1--that so much is  
offered up to expediency1 to popularity1
 to success4  ,the world is a           
worshipper of success4  ,but the world  
has no love for the ,truth4  ,the  world
 knows nothing of the blessed joy of    
undergoing persecution and  danger1 and 
making ventures1 for the ,truth's sake4 
,and so1 as 8,ephraim  has mixed        
himself0 with the world1 he is as 8a    
cake not turned10 and  8strangers have  
devoured his strength10 in this age of  
concession and  falling away4    ,but   
what says 8,he ,who sitteth upon the    
throne80  8,he that overcometh  shall   
inherit all things40 #ai  ,but the      
8fearful0 or cowardly1 7the  17 and the 
unfaithful or 8unbelieving0 7the 17 the 
deserters who fall off from want of     
faith and patience1 what of them8  8they
 shall have their part with murderers1  

and whore-mongers1 and  idolaters1 and  
liars1 in the lake which burns with fire
 and brimstone1  which is the second    
death40 #bj;a    ,and what says the     
,apostle8  ,when love is perfect #bj;b  
then we have  8boldness in the crisis10 
or judgment1 or trial1 of faith2 and    
8love  casts out fear40  ,and fear is   
the parent of all unlawful concessions4 
,we owe the ,truth an external service  
as well as an internal devotion4  ,and  
they have no love for the ,truth who    
withhold an external service4  ,the     
faith of the heart will no more avail   
without the confession of the  mouth1   
than the confession of the mouth will   
avail without the faith of  the heart4  
,if it be enough for ,,christ that you  
know ,him1 though you confess ,him not  
before men1 it will also be enough for  
you that ,he knows you1 though1 at  the 
last1 ,he confess you not before men4   
,it is not enough to say1 8,i  hold the 
,truth in my heart1 but ,i am silent    
before the world40  ,and1  therefore1   

,,christ does not say1 8he that         
confesseth ,me in his heart20  but      
,,christ says1 8he that confesseth ,me  
before men40  ,they are vital  words1   
these words of ,,christ4  ,lay them up  
in your hearts1 and live by  them4      
,hear them at length4  8,whosoever shall
 confess ,me before men1 him  will ,i   
confess also before ,my ,,father ,which 
is in ,heaven4  ,but whosoever  shall   
deny ,me before men1 him will ,i also   
deny before ,my ,,father ,which is  in  
,heaven4  ,think not that ,i am come to 
send peace on earth1 ,i came not  to    
send peace but a sword4  ,for ,i am come
 to set a man at variance  against his  
father1 and the daughter against her    
mother1 and the  daughter-in-law against
 her mother-in-law1 and a man's foes    
shall be they  of his own household4    
,he that loveth father or mother more   
than ,me is  not worthy of ,me2 and he  
that loveth son or daughter more than   
,me is not  worthy of ,me4  ,and he that
 taketh not his cross and followeth     

after ,me is  not worthy of ,me4  ,he   
that findeth his life shall lose it1 and
 he that  loseth his life for ,my sake  
shall find it40 #ba                     
,,postscript4      ,,while these pages  
are passing through the press1 the      
,government has  yielded the point at   
issue4  ,it has yielded1 against its own
 convictions4  ,it has yielded to       
pressure1--and to pressure from those   
whom it considers  wrong-headed1 and    
unreasonable1 and unjust4    ,the       
,government believed and declared that  
it was fair1 and right1 and  just1 and  
necessary 8for legislative purposes10   
that the people of  ,england should     
confess the religious profession which  
they make--each  man his own4  ,the     
,government still believes in the       
fairness1 and justice1  and necessity of
 such a declaration4  ,but1 because some
 persons object to  it1 on the ground   
that no man ought to be asked what his  
religion is1 or  whether he has any     
religion at all1 and because those      

persons have  political influence1 the  
,government has yielded its convictions 
to those  persons4    ,the ,government  
loves its convictions a little4  ,it    
loves political  influence much4  ,and  
so1 this has come out clear--whatever is
 just1 and  fair1 and right1 and even   
necessary for 8legislative purposes10   
has no  chance of prevailing in the     
counsels of ,government1 unless1 first1 
the  political influence of the         
,government shall be secured4  ,if on   
the side  of injustice1 and unfairness1 
and the entanglement and perversion of  
legislation1 there should be political  
influence1 that will be the side  of the
 ,government4  ,evil consequences in the
 future are nothing4  ,present  place   
and present power are everything4    ,i 
think this ought to be a lesson to      
,churchmen not to put faith in          
,governments4  ,the ,church can never   
lose by any measures which are just1    
and fair1 and straightforward1 and open4
  ,and1 therefore1 the ,church had      

nothing to lose from the 8religious     
profession0 clause of the ,census       
,bill4  ,but as ,governments do not bind
 themselves to keep their faith1 and    
are always ready to sacrifice their     
convictions of justice to their lust  of
 power1 the ,church must have no trust  
in ,governments4    ,the object of this 
tract is not affected by the weak and   
pitiful conduct  of the ,government4    
,it never was my object to defend the   
8religious  profession0 clause4  ,i have
 said that1 considering the religious   
distractions of this country1 ,i think  
it would be wiser for the  ,government  
to leave the religious profession of the
 people alone4  ,and ,i  say so still4  
,never to have proposed a ,census of    
religious opinions at  all would have   
been wise4  ,but1 to have proposed      
it--to have stoutly  maintained the     
justice of it--to have asserted the     
necessity of it for  equitable          
legislation1--and then1 to have         
withdrawn it to satisfy an  unreasoning 

handful of ,dissenters1 who make        
themselves heard in the ,house  of      
,commons1 is not to be characterized by 
any negative form of judgment4  ,this is
 not simply want of wisdom4  ,it is more
 like that moral imbecility  which1 in  
men whom ,,god has burdened with a high 
trust1 is really a crime4    ,the object
 of this tract remains4  ,and therefore1
 notwithstanding the  course which the  
,government has taken1 ,i send it forth 
to effect that  object1 as opportunity  
shall be found4  ,i ask my countrymen   
and  countrywomen--,christian men and   
women--simply to consider1 as in the    
presence of ,,god1 these two appalling  
facts1 which the discussion of the      
,census ,bill has forced to the surface1
 in this day of ,crisis for the  ,truth4
    #a4  ,that thousands of baptized    
souls in ,england are content to believe
  nothing in particular4    #b4  ,that  
thousands more who protest that they do 
believe something in  particular1       
protest also that they cannot 8confess0 

that something  8before men40           
99 99 99 99 99             ,price #b;d41
 or #ajs4 per #ajj for distribution4    
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99               ,,joseph   
,,masters ,,and ,,co41 ,,printers1      
,,aldersgate ,,street4                  
,,footnotes4      #e  #b ,kings xiii4   
#g4    #f  #b ,kings xv4 #ai4    #h     
,phil4 i4 #bg1 #bh4    #i;a  ,s4 ,matt4 
x4 #cb4    #i;b  ,ps4 cxix4 #df4    #i;c
  ,s4 ,john i4 #bj4    #aj;a  ,acts     
xxvi4 #bb4    #aj;b  #b ,cor4 iv4 #ac4  
#aj;c  ,phil4 ii4 #aa4    #aa  ,see     
,daily ,news of ,may #aa1 #ahfj4    #ab 
,hosea vii4 #i4    #ac  #a ,tim4 iii4   
#ae4    #ad  ,acts xv4    #ae  ,isa4    
xxiv4 #ac4    #ag;a  ,amos ix4 #i4      
#ag;b  #a ,cor4 xi4 #ai4    #ah;a  ,col4
 ii4 #b4    #ah;b  ,eph4 iv4 #ad4    #ai
  ,rev4 xxi4 #g4    #bj;a  ,rev4 xxi4   
#h4    #bj;b  #a ,s4 ,john iv4 #ag1 #ah4
    #ba  ,s4 ,matt4 x4 #cb-ci4