C//L trs' ft s\ a f' ■*SV? / I (t^LS '/* , '■■ m v , /^ r/t, <,J \ Ya/*S-/t /*_• \ .-%«.*.-%« *. %, % \imi\\i in ess.| J UNITED 8TATB8 Of [4/\ /^7 r <7^ 4>^L<2<7/^< - vT~, ^ • * • ? & s-/ <&^ o SERMONS DELIVERED ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, wun ADDRESSES. BY JOHN CODMAN, D. D BOSTON: PERKINS, MARVIN, & COMPANY 1834. \ ADVERTISEMENT. Human Life is made up of occasions. It soon passes away like a dream or vision of the night. But the occasions, of which it is composed, remain in connection with the history of the times in which they occurred. The life of a clergyman, at the present clay, is more than ordinarily associated with occasional services. It is no longer that still and quiet, retired and studious course, which it was in the days of our fathers. The multiplica- tion of religious and benevolent associations increases the demand upon the time and labors of the minister of the gospel. But few, who sustain the sacred office, are excused from taking a part in these efforts, to plead the cause and to extend the influence of these institutions. VJ AJ»\ JRTISEMENT. Pram a Dumb r of occasional productions, both printed and in manuscript, the author has made this selection — nut with a view of burdening the public with another book, hut simply from a. wish to gratify the desire that has been expressed by some personal friends, to preserve in a volume those productions, which are scat- tered in pamphlets and the periodicals of the day, Dorchester, Oct. 1, 1834. CONTENTS SERMON I. THE GREAT THEME OF PREACHING. Delivered in Salem Street Church, Boston, at the Installation of Rev. George W. Blagden. Nov. 3, 1830, 9 SERMON II. THE IMPORTANCE OF AN AFFECTIONATE MANNER IN THE PULPIT. Delivered in Newbury, Mass., at the Ordination of the Rev. Leon- ard Withington. Oct. 31, 1816, 40 SERMON III. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN A HOUSE OF WORSHIP AND THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. Delivered at the Dedication of the Meeting House of the Trinita- rian Church and Society in South Bridge water, Mass., and the Installation of their Pastor, Rev. Ebenezer Gay. Jan. 29, 1823, 67 HI! CONTENT SERMON IV. Tin: BENEFIT 01 1:1 LIGI01 B INSTITUTIONS. 1 1 .1 at the Dedication of the Meeting House in Wellington, tfaa Id , LO, L827, . 96 SERMON V. MINISTERIAL * OURTESY. Delivered before the Convention of Congregational Ministers of M i—clwuotto, iii Brattle Street Church, Boston. May 2k 1831 115 SERMON VI. THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. I) .' (1 in the N Bonth Church, Boston, before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery C omp a ny . Jane 5, 1820, 143 SERMON VII. THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE TOOR. Delivered in the Old South Church, Boston, before the Society tor the Moral and Religions Instruction of the Poor. Oct. 17, l--'l 167 SERMON VIII. THE CLAIMS OF THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. I» ted m Park Street Church, Boston, before the Fatherless S . 'v. Oct l«>, 1830, 189 contents; a SERMON l\ IMPORT U9CI Off BPIRl n \i. k\<>\\ LEDG1 . Delivered in the Rid church, Boston, beibre (he Propagating th- I the Indiana and otb i N arth America, N ■ L885j SERMON X. TUT. POLITICAL ASPECT OF THE WORLD, FAVORABLE TO THi: SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL. Delivered at Dorchester, at the Annual Thanksgiving. Dec. 2, L830, SERMON XI. THE FAITH OF THE PILGRIMS. Delivered at Plymouth, Mass., in Commemoration of the Landing of the Pilgrims. Dec. 22, 1831, 257 SERMON XII. REVIEW OF MINISTERIAL DUTY. Delivered at Dorchester, on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Author's Ordination. Dec. 7, 1S2S, 289 ADDRESS. Delivered at Dorchester, on the Fiftieth Anniversary of American Independence. July 4, 1626, 315 2 X CONTEN'l ADDRESS. : it Hull, m I i cration of the Landing of the Dor- :lcrs. lose II. 1830 ADDRESS. the Dofohe«tei Temperance Society. April 5, 1838, 349 SPEECH. Delivered at ■ Meeting of the Board of Overseers of Harvard Col- Feb.3,1831, 3G9 SPEECH. Delivered at the Anniversary of the American Bible Society. M ... '.'. L833 393 ADDRESS. Delivered at the Funeral of Gen. Stephen Badlam, senior deacon of the Second Church in Dorchester. Aug. 27, 1815, . . . . 404 ADDRESS. Dtlivered at Mount Auburn, at the Interment of Mr. Henry B. MeLellan. Sept. 6, 1833, 419 ADDRESS. Delivered at Braintrec, Mass., at the Funeral of Mrs. Harriet >rrs, consort of Rev. Richard S. Storrs. July 11, 1834, . . 427 S E R M O JN S SERMON I. THE GREAT THEME OF PREACHING. 2 cor. iv. 5. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants for Jesus^ sake. The duties of the Christian ministry are many and various. They are sufficient to occupy all the time, to engross all the thoughts, to engage all the affections and to employ all the powers of those who are intrusted with its sacred func- tions. A consideration of all the obligations involved in the pastoral care, would open upon us a field too extensive for our limited time. We shall confine ourselves to a single, though a prominent part of the duties of the sacred office, 2 |(l i hi: GREAT THEME SER. 1. — thai of public preaching, the great instrument, thai has ever been used l>\ the Holy Spirit in the conversion of the world. For it hath pleased God, In the foolishness of preaching, to save them thai belie) e. \c\i to the greal Preacher of righteousness, there are no better and safer models for ministers of the gospel to imitate than the apostles, par- ticularly the apostle Paul. This truly great and holy man. this devoted and laborious servant of ( 'hrist, w as eminently distinguished as a preacher. For strength of reasoning, for knowledge of the human heart, for commanding eloquence, his discourses are unrivalled. No man had clearer views of divine truth, and no one preached the gospel with greater fidelity or more success. lie was instant in season and out of season, lie labored more abundantly than any of his colleagues, lie did not hesitate to declare the whole counsel of (iod. He w as faithful unto death, and has long silUje received a crown of life that fadeth not away. Who then can be better qualified to teach ministers how to preach, than be, w ho was himself such an accomplished, powerful, and successful preacher? In the context the apostle attributes the want of success of the ministry to the inlluence of BfcRi 1 . Of PRE ACHING* 1 1 tin 4 god of this World, and not to the doctrines preached by himself and bis associates* But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them thai arc lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded tin 4 minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. In the antithetical language of the text, preaching ourselves is contrasted with preaching Christ. In order therefore rightly to comprehend the spirit of the contrast, we shall attempt to show, I. What is implied in preaching ourselves. II. What is implied in preaching Christ Jesus the Lord, — and III. The light in which preachers of the gospel ought to regard themselves — as the ser- vants of the church for Jesus' sake. To preach ourselves implies, First, that we preach our own speculations. There is a natural disposition in the human heart to rely more upon the results of human reasoning than upon the simple declarations of the word of God. The pride of intellect is too often a besetting sin of ministers of the gospel. 12 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. Prom the nature of their profession, they arc often led to the investigation of subjects, that involve the most abstruse and metaphysical rfea- BOning. We do not intend, by this remark, to discourage metaphysical speculations in their proper place, which we would, with deference, beg leave to say, is in the study rather than the pulpit. Although it ma\ be desirable, in order to a well disciplined and informed mind, that a minister of the gospel should be a profound metaphysician, it is by no means necessary that he should endeavor to make his congregation adepts in the science of metaphysics by learned lectures on intellectual and moral philosophy; and much less necessary is it that he should perplex their understandings by attempting to systematize by human art, what God has wisely left unexplained in his holy word. This dis- position to reduce every thing to a system, is, in our apprehension, one of the evils of our times, and necessarily leads to that kind of preaching, which is calculated rather to defend a favorite hypothesis than to exhibit those plain, and whole- some, and vital truths which the Spirit of God delights to Mess in the awakening and conversion of sinners, h it wise, is it benevolent, while so many precious souls are perishing all around us 9SR. 1. OF PREACHING. IS for want of the bread of life, for ministers to spent] their time in preaching the distinctions of the schools, in advocating or impugning some favorite or repulsive system of theology? Is not this preaching ourselves, and not Christ Jesus the Lord ? But secondly we remark, we preach ourselves when we exalt reason above revelation. This error has the same source with that which we have already considered — the pride of the human heart, although it leaps over the bounds which many, who preach their own speculations, sa- credly prescribe to themselves. The speculating or metaphysical preacher, though he greatly mis- judges in giving too great a prominence to the results of his own reasonings, yet bows with reverence to divine revelation. Not so the man, who exalts reason above revelation. Instead of submitting his reason to the standard of the divine will, as revealed in the word of God, he pertinaciously refuses his credence to that part of revelation which he presumes to consider as inconsistent with his reason. He preaches just so much of the Bible as his unsanctified reason approves. — Is not this preaching ourselves, and not Christ Jesus the Lord? To preach ourselves implies, thirdly, that we 1 'I THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. preach with a view to display our talents and learning, and thus gratify our pride and vanity. That this should ever he the case with any — that any should he so lost to the fear of tiod as to enter the holy ministry from such unworthy motives, is indeed matter of deep humiliation and regret. V>m we have reason to fear that there are those who, in this humiliating sense, preach themselves, — and, painful as is the sup- position, it will appear the less surprising, when we reflect upon the depravity and weakness of human nature* and upon the temptations and facilities which the pulpit affords for self-display. Self-seeking and self-approbation are deeply root- ed in our depraved nature, and even in the gra- cious heart they are but partially subdued. It requires no ordinary share of the influences of the Holy Spirit to keep down this unhallowed temper in ministers of the gospel. The most earnest prayer, the most habitual and persevering watchfulness, are necessary on the part of the minister to keep self from occupying the place which his crucified Lord should hold in his ministrations* It will be continually rising and thrusting itself forward, and seeking its own instead of the glory of Christ. No place like the pulpit affords such facilities SER. 1. OF PRE ACHING. 1 5 lor st 1 f-di^pla v. Not the bar, nor the balls of legislation. In those 1 places, indeed, though tin* orator is often listened to with breathless atten- tion, he is liable to interruption and contradiction. But in the pulpit, the sacred orator stands alone. His theme is the most engrossing that can pos- sibly engage the attention of human beings. He lias a field before him for the efforts of eloquence infinitely superior to any other. Heaven and hell, with all the glories of the one and the terrors of the other, offer their resources to the champion of eternal truth. His subject is of itself, enough to make him eloquent. If pos- sessed of popular talents and pleasing address — the pulpit orator will be followed by crow r ds, who will hang on the honied accents of his tongue, and delight to listen to one who plays well on an instrument. How powerful the temptation for the preacher, especially if young and ardent, to listen to the syren song of flattery, and to preach himself instead of Christ Jesus the Lord ! We remark fourthly, that we preach ourselves when we preach to build up a party. Party spirit, it is to be regretted, is too often to be found in those, from whose sacred character we should expect better things, — and nothing is more deeply to be lamented, than to see ministers of 16 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. the gospel actuated by the narrow, contracted spirit of party. But what do we mean by party spirit in religion,? Not, as some would represent it, an ardent, strong, persevering attachment to the peculiar doctrines of the gospel. If this is party spirit, the more the better. If this is party spirit, then the goodly company of the apostles, and the holy army of martyrs, were deeply imbued with it. No, my friends, party spirit in religion, is, in our apprehension, a very different thing. It consists rather in an indifference to the great and leading doctrines of Christianity, and an undue attachment to rites and forms, and the outward ceremonial of religion. It consists more in an attempt to introduce a new system of faith, unknown to our fathers and our fathers' fathers, — than in honest and zealous efforts in contend- ing earnestly lor the faith once delivered to the Saints. Those, in our judgment, are most remote from ;i party spirit in religion, whose zeal is directed to the essence and not to the forms of religion, who are ready to embrace in the widely ex- tended arms of their charity, Christians of every name and sect, who bear the image of their Master, who possess his spirit and imitate his SEB. 1. OF PJUE kCHING. 17 example. Party spirit is a eery different thing* It is little, mean and grovelling. It looks not abroad on the great and multiplied and diversified interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, but confines its vision to the little narrow circle in which it moves. It labors to build up its own little ant- hill, and, if that is done, cares not for all the world besides. This is party spirit. How unlike that generous, expanded, and ardent zeal for the honor of God's truth and the success of his gospel which is so often branded by that opprobrious name ! To endeavor to build up one particular de- nomination of professing Christians, to the ex- clusion and injury of every other, is to preach ourselves and not Christ Jesus the Lord. We remark in the last place, under this di- vision of our subject, that we preach ourselves when we are actuated by no higher and purer motive, than a regard to worldly support. That those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel, is not only reasonable, but expressly provided for in the word of God. If those to whom they preach have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things ; and no people, who have an enlightened view of their obligations to 3 (8 THE GREAT THEME BER. 1. the Christian ministry, will ever suffer those, who devote to them their time, their talents, and all their powers, to \\;uit the necessaries and comforts of life, that they may not only be without worldly care, but be able, through their bounty, to dd good and communicate, and to aid in the furtherance of the great objects of Christian charity. But, while it is the duty of the people to provide a competent and honorable support for their ministers, wo to that man, who is actuated by no higher and purer motive in entering the ministry, than to provide a com- fortable maintenance for himself and his family. The church has suffered deeply in every age, from the worldly inducements that have been held out to enter the sacred ministry. How many have taken upon themselves the solemn vows of ordination, and. with awful hypocrisy, professed to be moved thereunto by the Holy Ghost, from no better motive than to procure a living. Put me, I pray thee, into the priest r s office, that I may eat a piece of bread. From this source have proceeded those dreadful evils that have attended religious establishments from the days of Constantino to the present period. Blessed be God, in this free and happy land we have no established hierarchy, no orders of BER« 1. OF PItfiACHIM 19 priesthood supported by law, no compulsion of tithes, to maintain in luxurious <;im> the younger sous of titled nobility, — but religion i> with us, as it ever should be, free as the air of our moun- tains, ami uncontrolled as the current of our streams. It asks not, it needs not, any thing from government, but respect and liberty to live under the overshadowing wing of constitutional law. But, notwithstanding inducements to enter the ministry from the unworthy motive of regard to filthy lucre are not so many and powerful with us, as in existing religious establishments, still there is danger in this way of preaching ourselves and not Christ Jesus the Lord. There are yet to be found among us those, who without any previous regard to personal piety, have been educated for the pulpit as others have been for the bar and the practice of medicine. Thus have the three learned professions, as they are sometimes denominated, been equally regarded as affording the means of support, and the pros- pect of distinction to the young aspirant of future eminence. This evil has been a very serious and alarming one. Men have in this way been introduced into the sacred office, amiable, indeed, it may be, in their dispositions, correct and moral in their outward deportment, of good 20 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. talents and respectable acquirements, but, like the young man in the gospel, lacking one thing, and that, the one thing needful. In this way have men become blind leaders of the blind. But a happier and brighter day dawns upon the church. The essential prerequisite of conversion to God in those who would look forward to the Christian ministry, is more generally ac- knowledged, and a goodly number of young men are training up on this principle by our education societies and theological schools, for great and extensive usefulness in the church of Christ. The Lord, and not man, has given the word, and great will be the company of those that publish it. The generation of ministers that is now providing for the church, will, we trust, possess much of the spirit of the apostles, and preach not themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. II. We now proceed to the second division of our subject — to consider what is implied ill preaching Christ Jesus the Lord. And here, m\ friends, a boundless field opens upon us. To do justice to it in a single discourse is utterly impossible. We can only sketch a brief outline <>l the all-engrossing, all-important theme, which 3ER. 1. OF PRE LCHING« 21 should constitute the great subject of the preach- ing of every faithful minister of the gospel. It is emphatically and comprehensively expressed 1)\ the apostle — Christ Jesus the Lord, the an- ointed Saviour, the Lord our righteousness. In arranging our thoughts on this part of the subject, it is obvious to remark, that preaching Christ Jesus the Lord implies, first, that we preach the need of a Saviour, by exhibiting the miserable condition of fallen man, his native depravity as the descendant of the apostate parents of our race — his own actual guilt as the violator of that law which is holy, and just, and good, and his consequent exposure to its awful penalty, which is eternal death. These doctrines must be plainly, and fully, and frequently brought to view. They must be urged home on the conscience, that, by the accompanying influences of the Spirit of God, the sinner may be made to feel the wretchedness of his condition, the ex- ceeding sinfulness of sin, and the extreme danger of his situation, and the absolute necessity of immediate repentance. Then will the preacher of Christ Jesus the Lord, be prepared in the second place — to unfold the wonderful plan of salvation by a Redeemer — to declare to the trembling child of !! THJE GREAT THEME SER. 1. guill that God so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life — thai in the councils of eternity the covenant of peace was established between the Father and the Son, which secured the salvation of all who should exercise faith in the Saviour of the world. Ho will exhibit this wonderful scheme into which the angels desire to look, in all its varied bear- ings upon the condition and destinies of our race. But, thirdly, to preach Christ Jesus the Lord, implies that we preach the glories of his person and character. On this subject the faithful preachers of the gospel cannot be silent. On the contrary, it is a theme on which they will delight to dwell. They will never leave their hearers in doubt respecting their views of the person of Christ. They will not be ashamed of their Master, but openly assert and defend his essential divinity. Thus Paul preached Christ, as (iod manifest in the flesh — the same yes- it i day, to-day and forever. The divinity, or deity of the Lord Jesus Christ has, in all ages of the Christian church, been considered as an essential article of that faith which was once delivered to the saints. It is a doctrine which SER* 1. or PREACHING* 23 our pious ancestors, the firsl settlers of New England, considered as infinitely important. It is a doctrine which forms an article in the creed of all the reformed churches. It is a doctrine which bv main good men is considered so inter- woven into the Christian system as to constitute its very essence. Take away the divinity of Christ, and on what can a trembling sinner de- pend — on the arm of a creature like himself? "I cannot find, 55 said the late Dr. Mason, "in the lively oracles, a single distinctive mark of deity, which is not applied without reserve or limitation to the only begotten Son. All things whatsoever the Father hath are his. Who is that mysterious Word, that was in the beginning with God? Who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, the Almighty ? AVho is he that knows what is in man? Who is the Omnipresent, that has promised wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them — the light of whose countenance is, at the same moment, the joy of heaven and the salva- tion of the earth? Who is encircled by the seraphims on high, and walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks? Who is in this assembly? 24 PHB GREAT THEME SER. 1. Who ifl ID all the assemblies of his people, in ( m r\ worshipping assembly, in every holy heart? Whose hands have stretched out the heavens and [aid the foundations of the earth? Who hath created all things in heaven and on earth, viable and invisible? Who is the governor of the na- tions? Whom is it the Father's Mill that all men should honor? Before whom do the devils tremble? Who raiseth the dead? AYho weighs in the balance the destinies of angels and of men? Shall I ask a response from heaven? Shall I summons the devils from their chains of dark- ness? The response from heaven sounds in my ears — reason approves — and the devils confess. This, O Christian, is none other than the great God our Saviour! Indeed, the doctrine of our Lord's divinity is not, as a fact, more interesting to our faith, than as a principle essential to our life. If he were not the true God, he could not he eternal life. In short, the divinity of Christ 'in in the system of grace the sun, to which all its parts are subordinate, and all their stations refer, which hinds them in sacred concord, and imparts to them their radiance, life and vigor. Take from it this central luminary, and its glory is departed — its holy harmonies are broken. The 9ER* 1. Of PRE \< m\<.. 26 elements rush to chaos — the fight o£ salvation is extinguished forever. "* Bst to preaeh Christ Jesus the Lord, implies not oiil\ that we preach the glories of his person and character, but, fourthly, that we preach his con- descension in the assumption of our nature and his vicarious sufferings for our salvation. Important as the divinity and glories of the Saviour are in the scheme of Christianity, they would afford the sinner no hope, were they not associated with his humiliation, death and sufferings. Those, who would faithfully preach Christ Jesus the Lord, will not content themselves with preach- ing him as the mighty God, but as bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, as God and man mysteriously united, and thus constituting a suit- able mediator for our sinful race. An atonement holds not a less conspicuous and important place in the scheme of Christianity, than the divinity of Christ. If possible, it is a part of the gospel more interesting to sinful man than, any other, for it is the only ground of confidence, the only foundation, upon which a sinner can build his hope. Take away this, and you destroy the gospel. Rob me of this, and you deprive me of * Mason's Sermon on Messiah's Throne, delivered before the London Missionary Society. 4 26 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. my shelter from the storm — you shut me out Iron) in \ Strong tower, my city of refuge — you lake awaj my shield and my buckler, and you leave me exposed, helpless as a worm, to the just displeasure of Almighty God. Stay, bold innovator, stay thy cruel hand! Remove not the landmarks which our fathers have set. Take not away from the humble Christian his comfort in the belief of the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Deprive him not of that hope, which is as an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. Drive him not into the sea of skepticism, to be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. Fifthly, preaching Christ implies, that we preach his resurrection, ascension, intercession and care of his church. The resurrection of Christ i> a doctrine of vital importance. As it i- SO generally received by all denominations of Christians, it is not so frequently insisted upon by the ministers of the gospel, but it is no less important on that account. It had a prominent place in the preaching of the apostles. So impor- tant did Paul consider it, that he says, If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. The preacher of the cross will also point his hearers to their once crucified Lord, ascending up on high and leading captivity BER, 1. OF PREACHING. - 3 captive, and interceding at the right hand of the Majesty on high for the church which be hath purchased with his own Mood. The intercession of Christ is one oi the most important and fruit- ful subjects upon which ministers can preach. Through the Saviour's intercession, all spiritual blessings ilow* to the church of God. His care of the church, his precious promises for its secu- rity and prosperity, will afford rich and abundant themes for the ambassadors of heaven. Sixthly, preaching Christ implies that we preach all the doctrines taught by him, and his apostles by virtue of his authority. Some of these leading doctrines have already passed under review; but there are many others which must not be overlooked — such as the purposes of God, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, justification by faith alone, the final perseverance of the saints, and the future and eternal retribution of the righteous and the wicked. Those doctrines, according to their relative importance, will be distinctly brought to view by those who preach Christ Jesus the Lord. We remark, in the last place, under this divi- sion of our subject, that preaching Christ implies that we preach all the duties contained in his word — and the spirit and temper with which they 28 I Hi: CTBX \T THEME SER. 1. should be performed. Though mentioned last, it is by DO means the least important port of our subject. The faithful minister will never CCftSC to urge upon his people the vast importance of practical religion. Without this, all professions of faith, however correct in speculation — all preten- sions to religious experience, however an arm and glowing — will be vain. It is the practical Chris- tian, that can alone expect to receive the plaudit of his Judge ; Well done good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful in a few things, I will make you ruler over many things, enter into the joy of your Lord. 111. We how yet to consider the third leading sentiment in the text — which is, the light in which preachers of the gospel should regard themselves — as the servants of his people for Jesus' sake. They should, in the first place, entertain low and humbling ideas of themselves. While the) magnify their office, preachers of the gospel should never magnify themselves. Hu- mility, becoming to all Christians, is peculiarly so to ministers of the gospel. Few men are in greater danger of pride and vain-ulory. They are more exposed to Mattery than other men, — and they need a more than ordinary share of si;i;. 1. Of PRSACHMfQi 29 divine grace to keep them from falltog. Tin \ should ever bear in mind, thai the) are bnt servants of the church — they arc as the apostle adds in the conclusion of the chapter from which the text is taken, but earthern teasels — alluding, probably, to the mean and vulgar instruments by which the fall of Jericho was effected. lathe great work of the salvation of men, in which God condescends to bless their instrumentality, they should ever he ready to give all the glory to him, that the excellency of the power may be of God. Secondly, they should be willing to spend and be spent in the service of the church. They should be ready to labor for her interests in any way, however humble, to which they may be called in the providence of God. They should be willing to be hewers of wood and drawers of water, and submit to the meanest offices for the promotion of the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. In this w r ay they will best imitate the example of their condescending Master, who took upon himself the form of a servant; and of the holy apostle, who though free from all men, yet made himself ser- vant of all that he might gain the more. But Thirdly, while ministers are ready to labor for the church and the meanest of her members, they 30 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1 should ever regard as their supreme motive — their attachment to the Saviour. They are their servants for Jesus* sake. While they are the servants of the church) the church is not their master — one is their master, even Christ. They are not accountable to the church, only so far as in common with other members they are amena- ble to her discipline, — but as ministers they are accountable only to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is for his sake that they are willing to labor, to Buffer, and die — and happy, thrice happy do they deem themselves, to be employed in the service of such a master. Nor will the master whom they serve, forget their humble efforts, but will own his faithful confessors before his Father and the holy angels. It is said of an old divine who was preaching before an assembly of ministers, that in order to quicken their regard to the principle, end, and motive, from which they acted, he pointed them to the last and awful day of judgment, and having introduced Christ the judge, he represented him ;i^ calling his ministers to an account, examining how they had preached, and with what views they had undertaken and discharged the work of the ministry. ■ What did you preach for? I preached, Lord, that 1 might keep a good living that was SER. I. OF PREACHING. il left me by mv father, which, had I not entered into the ministry, would have been wholly lost to me and my numerous family. Christ says to him, stand by, thou hast had thy reward. The ques- tion is put to another. And what did you preach for ? He answered, Lord, I was applauded as a learned man, and I preached to keep up the reputation of an excellent orator and an ingenious preacher. Christ said to him likewise, stand by, thou hast had thy reward. The Judge then puts the question to a third. And what did you preach for ? Lord, says he, I neither aimed at the great things of this world, though I was thankful for the conveniences of life which thou gavest me, nor did I preach that I might gain the character of a wit, or of a man of talents, or of a fine scholar — but I preached in compassion to souls, and to please and honor thee — my design in preaching, Lord, was, that I might w 7 in souls to thy blessed majesty. Upon this the Judge called out, Room, men ; room, angels ; let this man come and sit with me on my throne ; he has owned and honored me on earth, and I will own and honor him through all the ages of eternity. 5 * Such are the rewards of those who preach not themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. * London Evangelical Magazine, 1797. 82 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. From our subject we perceive, first, the importance of the preacher's duty. M 'Tia not a tause of small import The preacher'i care demands, Hut which might fill an angel's heart, And filled a Saviour's hand There never was a greater mistake than this — that the duty of the preacher of the gospel is light and easy. Little do they understand the nature and extent of his work, who cherish such an opinion. To resist the powerful temptations to preach themselves; which are continually pre- sented by that arch-deceiver, who, while he delights to harass all the people of God, directs his most envenomed rancor against the min- ister of the cross, is of itself enough to lead him to cry out, Who is sufficient for these things? But when we consider the magnitude, variety, and extent of the subjects involved in preaching Christ, we cannot, for a moment, suppose that a preacher's duty can be otherwise than laborious and difficult. \\ hat constant and painful prepara- tion is necessary to the conscientious minister Who WOOld faithfully discharge his duty, who de- sires to bring beatefl oil into the sanctuary, and not to offer to the Lord that which costs him SKRi 1. OF PREACBINCk Bothmg! — What diligence and care to ascertain the state of bis flock, that he may know how to give to each a portion in due season ! — What earnest cries 10 Clod lor grace to warm his cold heart, that ho may impart warmth to others ! — What bitter tears over his own barrenness and unfruitfulness — what sinkings of soul under the consideration that so few believe his report — that lie labors in vain and spends his strength for nought ! If this be ease and freedom from care and labor, then is the preacher's duty an easy task. Ah, little do they know the duties and responsibilities of the sacred office, who entertain such an opinion. But, though laborious and diffi- cult, let it not be thought that it is unpleasant and irksome, and without encouragement. No, it is the most delightful and honorable work in which it is possible for a human being to be en- gaged — and, with all its trials, difficulties, and discouragements, I would not exchange it for an empire and a throne. It is the presence and gracious aid of the Master whom he serves, that lightens the cares, sweetens the labors, and re- lieves the anxieties of the preacher of the cross. It is the same cheering voice, that comforted the desponding spirit of the apostle and animated the hearts of the primitive disciples, that sustains the 5 34 THE GREAT THEME SER. 1. courage and quickens the zeal of the ministers of reconciliation — My grace shall be sufficient for thee, and my strength shall be made perfect in thy weakness — Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. Secondly, we may learn from our subject the necessit) ofpietj in ministers of the gosppl. Nothing but humble, ardent, deep-rooted, de- cided piety, will preserve us from preaching our- selves. The temptations to such preaching are irresistible to a graceless minister. How impor- tant is it then, that those who are intrusted with the holy ministry of reconciliation, should be deeply imbued with true piety! How can they teach others who are not themselves taught by the Spirit of God ? How can they preach Christ Jesus the Lord, who see no beauty in him that they should desire him — who have never been constrained by his matchless love to live not to themselves but to him who died for them and rose again. It is the grace of God alone, that can keep the preacher's eye off from himself and !i\ it upon his divine Lord and Master — that can stop his ear to the voice of flattery, and open it to the divine command, Go and preach the preach- ing that I bid thee — that can raise him above worldly motives, and lead him to entire self- 3ER. 1. 01' PREACHING. 36 devotion in his Master's service. It is true pietj alone thai can preserve the ministers al the altar from preaching themselves, and enable them to preach Christ Jesus the Lord. Lastly, \\ e may learn from our subject the duty of the people towards their ministers. If the duty of ministers is as broad and exten- sive as we have seen it to be, then it is obvious that correspondent obligations rest upon their bearers. While ministers preach Christ Jesus the Lord, the people should be careful to receive him and to walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith as they have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. While ministers are ready to acknowledge them- selves their servants for Jesus' sake, they should remember that this acknowledgment gives them no right to exercise lordship over them, and to treat them either with superciliousness or contempt. On the contrary, they should esteem them highly in love for their work's sake — they should en- deavor to manifest their attachment to them by a variety of soothing acts of kindness, to lighten the duties of their office by attending con- stantly and prayerfully upon their ministrations, that they may sustain them under their many painful and arduous trials, and add to the bright- 36 Tin GREAT THEME SER. 1. ncss of their crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord. While the subject which has occupied our attention this morning, is interesting to all who sustain the ministerial office, it is peculiarly so to you. my brother, who, in the providence of God, have been called to the exercise of your ministry in this place. Christian ministers, we have seen, are the servants of the church for Jesus' sake, and therefore the church has a rightful claim to their services. In what part of the vineyard they may be most useful, it is for the great Head of the church to decide. I bear you record, my beloved brother, that it was not without long and patient deliberation, nor without urgent and repeated solicitation, nor with- out wise and judicious counsel, nor without earnest and persevering prayer for light from heaven, that you consented that the ties which bound you to the little ilock you had been so happily instru- mental in gathering from the world, should be sundered, with a view to your entering upon a more enlarged and extensive held of usefulness. 15 ut ministers are not their own, nor are they the property of any particular congregation. They are the servants of the church for Jesus' sake ; and wherever he points by the finger of his provi- BER. 1. OF PREACHING* 57 dence, there they are bound to gOj to labor and die in his service. My dear brother, if you had consulted your own ease and Belfish gratification, you would not have relinquished the retirement of the country for the bustle, the cares, tin; temp- tations, and the responsibilities of the city. But God has ordered your lot, lie has appointed your field of labor, and you have nothing to do but to go forward in his strength, relying upon his grace to sustain you under the peculiarities of your new situation. You are called to labor in that section of the city, which is dear to the hearts of those who love the doctrines of the Puritans, from be- ing the field in which those holy men of God, Increase and Cotton Mather, of the Congrega- tional church, and, in later years, Stillman and Baldwin of the Baptist church, sowed the seed of divine truth. " That seed, though buried long in dust, Shall not deceive our hope, The precious grain can ne'er be lost, For grace ensures the crop." May this part of our city continue to be dis- tinguished for attachment to evangelical truth, and may you, my brother, be the honored instru- ment of reviving its purity, and strengthening its 38 rHE GREAT THEME SER. 1. influence, and, after having turned many to right- eousness, may you shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars forever and ever. This church and society will receive our con- gratulations on the happy re-settlement of the gospel ministry. The friends of evangelical re- ligion have, from its first organization, regarded this church with deep and tender interest. They have sympathized in the loss they sustained in the removal of their late pastor, while they have rejoiced in his restoration to health, and in his subsequent success in that cause, which from its commencement has been so dear to his own heart, and for the promotion of which he is so eminently qualified. May your fondest expectations be fully realized in the choice of our young brother to succeed him in the pastoral office, and may the great Head of the church lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes, and on that day when the Lord shall count and write up his people, may it be said of a multitude of precious souls, this and that man was born here. To this great assembly, we have only to say in conclusion, that, if the gospel which is preached to them is not a savor of life unto life, it will be a Bavor of death unto death. Solemn and awful, my beloved hearers, are your responsibilities ! U, 1. OF PREACHING. 39 () let it doI be your condemnation that light has come into the world, but thai you love darkness rather than light because your deeds are evil. For it' our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost ; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 40 SERMON II. THE [IMPORTANCE OF AN AFFECTIONATE MANNER IN THE PULPIT. LPHESIANS iv. 15. I Speaking the truth in love. Few scenes are calculated more deeply to impress the mind and to affect the heart, than that which we are this day called to witness. We are assembled together to attend, not an ephemera] transaction, which will be forgotten as soon as past, and by the result of which no one will be sensibly affected, but to unite in a service, inexpressibly interesting and infinitely important — a service whose interest is in no degree lessened by its frequent recurrence in our churches, but which is ever attended with pecu- 3ER. 2. \n AFFECTIONATE MANNER^ 41 liar solemnity, and productive of consequences momentous and lasting ;is eternity. Who is not impressed with anxious solicitude in beholding a young man entering upon the arduous and responsible work of the gospel ministry ? Who does not tremble for him in view of the difficulties, trials and temptations to which he must be exposed? What bosom dors not heave for the young soldier, when about to gird oil his armor, and for the first time to enter the field of battle? What Christian will not breathe the fervent prayer that the grace of God may be sufficient for him, and that he may ever enjoy the presence of that Saviour who has promised to be with his ministers even unto the end of the w r orld ? As it devolves upon me from the relation which 1 sustain to the pastor elect, to address this large and respectable audience, I would solicit your candor and your prayers, while I attempt, with a humble reliance on divine aid, to direct your attention to a subject, adapted to the occasion upon which we have assembled. The words of the text form a part of the apostle's exhortation to Christian unity. The sentiment which they obviously contain is this, 6 42 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. That tin* truth should be maintained with a spirit of love. That the words Speaking the truth, are thus to be understood, and not to be considered, merely, as expressing sincerity, according to some trans- lations) is obvious from their connection with the preceding \er>e. That we henceforth, says the apostle, be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine — but speaking, or maintaining, the truth in love. Here it is obvious that by the truth, the apostle means true doctrine as opposed to false, and ex- horts the Ephesians to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, by maintaining or defending the truth with a spirit of love or charity, that, thus, they may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. If this is the duty of Christians in general, surely it is the duty of those, who minister in holy things, and who are set for the defence of the gospel. There arc many and different ways in which ministers may defend and maintain the truth; but we shall confine ourselves chiefly to the con- sideration of the usual and ordinary method, that of public preaching: speaking the truth in love. ft. 2. AN UVECTIONATI MANNER, 13 Wiih this application of the text, om subject naturally divides itself into two parts. We are led to observes I. That it is the duty of ministers to preach the Truth. II. That it is their duty to preach it in Love. I. It is the duty of ministers to preach the Truth. The memorable question of Pilate, naturally presents itself in the commencement of this part of our subject. What is truth? said the Roman governor to his illustrious prisoner. To this highly important question the Son of God re- turned no answer. His silence on a subject of such vast importance, however singular it may appear, was doubtless the dictate of infinite wisdom. He well knew the motive in which the question originated. Had Pilate possessed a sincere and ardent desire to know the truth, we cannot suppose that He, who came into the world to bear witness of the truth, w r ould have treated his humble request with cold neglect. But if, as we have reason to think, this wicked judge was actuated by nothing more than a vain and idle curiosity, which was not of itself suffi- ciently strong to prompt the renewal of his I 'l importance Off SER. J. question) we cannot be surprised that our Lord, who was acquainted with his motives, should, at a time and under circumstances so peculiarly trying, maintain a dignified reserve. Neither are we tO conclude from the silence of the Saviour that any great or insurmountable difficulty attends the solution of Pilate's question. Although, for the best reasons, our Lord did not reply to the governor of the Jews, yet he hath abundantly answered this question on other occasions. It is sufficient for our purpose, to refer you to one of Christ's petitions in his intercessory prayer. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. By the 4 truth, then, which it is the duty of ministers to preach, we mean, the doctrines contained in the word of God. We are aware that with respect to these, different opinions are entertained. But these opinions, different and opposite as they are, do not affect the truth itself, nor lessen the obliga- tions of ministers faithfully to preach it. It is no argument against the reality of divine truth, that weak, erring and sinful men are divided in their opinions respecting the doctrines, which Constitute its essence. Such a diversity of sen- timent is to be expected in a world, where among tin; lew, who search for truth, more rely upon SSR« 2. an \ i i n< i ion \ 11: MANNER. 15 their own strength, than the teaching of the Spirit o[ ( rod. But the minister of Jesus musi preach what he bonestly believes to be the truth of. God, after baring diligently and prayeifullj examined the scriptures Tor himself, and formed his creed, not from the confessions and declarations of unin- spired men, but from the sacred volume alone. It is true be may be in an error, and teach for doctrines the commandments of men; but this is not likely to be the case, if he possesses a humble spirit, and is sincerely desirous to be taught the truth, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power. To all who do the will of God, our Lord hath promised that they shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God. By the truth, as it is emphatically called in many parts of scripture, is usually intended the glorious and wonderful plan of salvation by a Redeemer. In this sense it is considered as a system embracing a variety of interesting and important truths, which are denominated, by way of distinction and eminence, the truth. The truth, which it is the duty of ministers to preach, is one harmonious whole. Commencing with the fall of man, and even looking back to 46 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. the purposes of God before the apostacy, it ex- tends to the completion of the wonderful plan of redemption, to the final and eternal retribution of our fallen race — to this eventful day, when the Son, having finished his mediatorial work, having brought many sons to glory, and justified the sentence of Jehovah in the punishment of the finally impenitent — shall deliver up the kingdom to Cod, even the Father, that God may be all in all. All the doctrines of religion, which are in- cluded in this extensive view, constitute that truth, which it is the duty of every faithful minister to preach. It is perhaps unnecessary to enumerate the specific truths of which this summary is composed. Should they however be omitted in this place, the preacher might be charged with a want of fidelity and plainness. Let it then be understood, that in preaching the truth to his people, a minister should preach all those individual doctrines, which constitute the gospel of the grace of God. Such as the fall of man, and the consequent depravity, corruption and condemnation of his posterity — the promise, advent, and work of a Saviour — his divinity and atonement — the necessity of divine inlluences to renew and sanctify the heart — the doctrine of BER. 2. an AFFECTIONATE MANNER. 1 7 justification by faith — the everlasting happiness of the righteous, and the eternal punishment of the wicke<)< Other truths, intimately connected with these, but, for the sake of brevity, necessarily omitted, the faithful minister of Jesus will not neglect to speak to his people according to their relative and comparative importance. The man, who rightly divides the truth, will give a prominent place in his preaching to those truths, which more immediately concern the sal- vation of the soul. Instead of dwelling upon points of metaphysical subtlety, which have little or no influence on the Christian temper and prac- tice, he will select those subjects, the knowledge of which is essential to salvation. The two great truths which the minister of Jesus will labor to impress upon the minds of his hearers, are the miserable condition of sinners, and the ability and readiness of an almighty Saviour, to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. To omit, or but occasionally to notice, these great and fundamental truths, is to lose sight of the object of the Christian ministry. Ministers sustain the honorable and responsible office of ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ. The design of their embassy is to beseech sinners j:; IMPORTANCE OK SER. 2, in Christ's stead, to l)c reconciled to God. To fulfil in any degree the object of their mission, they must labor to convince men that they are ])\ nature opposed to God, that they bave violated his righteous laws, and that they are exposed to its penalty. They cannot therefore discharge their duty to their Sovereign, with a good con- science, without preaching, in the clearest and most decided manner, the truth of human de- pravity. They that are whole need not a physi- cian, but they that are sick. In vain shall we attempt to persuade men to apply to the most able and successful physician, while they imagine themselves to be in the enjoyment of perfect health. We must first convince them of their disease, before we can with any hope of success, prescribe the remedy. With this truth of human depravity, the min- ister of Jesus will not fail to hold up to his people this faithful saying, that Chrfet Jesus came into the world to save the chief of sinners. On this great truth, the servant of Christ will love to dwell. He will not be satisfied with introducing it occasionally or slightly into his sermons; he will not be content with distant and remote allusions to the Saviour; but will nobly resolve to know nothing among his people save Jesus SER. J. \\ .M'rr.cTiown: MANNER* 48 Christ and him crucified. This U t Ik* truth which he will speak to bis people, not onlv in the sacred desk, but in the social circle, in the pastoral visit, in the chamber of sickness, and around the bed ol death. But, though these important and essential truths claim the first attention of the Christian minister, we would not be understood that to these he should be confined. There are other parts in the great system of truth, which are not to be disregarded* Truth is a beautiful fabric. Its proportions are admirable; every part is of exquisite workmanship — and the whole bears the stamp of its divine original. It is not sufficient to direct the attention of the pilgrim to the front of the temple, where stands the door of salvation: but the minister of Jesus will exhibit the whole of the sacred edifice, and will not conceal from the view of his people those parts, the uses of which he cannot fully comprehend, and the construction of which he cannot satis- factorily explain. The faithful minister will preach the whole truth. All scripture is profit- able; though some parts of it relate more im- mediately to salvation than others. All the revealed will of God, should be faithfully made known by his servants. If God hath declared 7 50 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. that there is a remnant, according to the election of grace — this truth must be preached, though the preacher may not he able to explain its consistency with the free agency of man. If human agency is expressly acknowledged, and made the basis of the reasonings and exhortations of the gospel — then the freedom of man must be maintained, however difficult it is to reconcile it with the decrees of God. If the scriptures teach us that there is a mysterious union and equality of the Father. Son and Holy Ghost in one Godhead — we must not be ashamed nor afraid to acknowledge and preach the truth, though by such an acknowledgment we may be exposed to the charge of imbecility, bigotry, and fanati- cism. Ministers must preach the 4 truth, however unpleasant to the unrenewed part of their hearers. Some of the doctrines of the gospel are, and always will he. offensive to the natural heart. Though the truth may he preached in love, yet unregenerate men w ill not and cannot love the truth. Though we speak with the tongues of men and angels, we cannot remove their di>like to tiie truth, till God removes the opposition of their hearts by the influence of the Holy Spirit. Before we leave this part of our subject, let us consider for a moment the solemn obligations 3HU 2. an AFFECTIONATE MANNER. 51 ministers are under to preach the truth; and the encouragements thej have to perform this part of their dutj . Ministers are under the most solemn obligations to preach the truth. The vows o( God are upon them. They are sent by God to declare unto men the way of sal- vation. They watch for souls as they who must give an account. Son of man, says the Lord to Ezekiel, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand. — How awfully solemn and impressive is this charge ! Ministers are not at liberty to alter, to add to, or take from the message they have received from Jehovah. The Lord's command to Jonah may be applied to all his ministers. Go and preach the preaching that I bid thee. With the same propriety may they listen to the direc- tion given to the prophet Jeremiah. Thus saith the Lord, Stand in the courts of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah 52 impokt \nci: or SER. 2, which come to worship in the Lord's house all the woids that I command thee to speak unto them, diminish not a word. Such are the obliga- tions of ministers to preach the truth, that they cannot neglect to do it without exposing them- selves to the just, displeasure of their divine Master, from whom they have received their commission. \\ ith what confusion w ill the un- faithful pastor appear at the bar of God ! Of what avail will be the excuses which he will then offer to justify his neglect of duty? The blood of souls who have perished through his neglect, will be found in his skirts, and will cry aloud for vengeance* Ma\ God avert from each of us, my brethren, his awful doom ! Solemn are the obligations of ministers to preach the truth: Great also is their encourage- ment to perform this part of their duty. The great J lead of the church has promised to be with his ministers even unto the end of the world. He will strengthen them under all their labors, and support them under all their trials. He will stand by his faithful servants when they declare the truth, and make them to all their enemies an iron pillar and brazen walls, and they shall fight against them but shall not prevail against them. k. 2. \\ \ i f I . ( I io.\ \ u: M INNER. 63 The truth) when preached in it^ purity, is the great instrument which God delights to bless io the conversion ol sinners and the edification of saints. The correctness of this remark U at- tested by general experience and observation. How often are those ministers, who for the Mike of accommodating their preaching to the corrupt ta^te of the world, are induced to withhold or to mutilate some of the truths of the gospel, listened to with cold indifference even by those whom the) aim to please, and forsaken by others who cannot live without the constant nourishment of divine truth ; while the faithful servant of Jesus, who takes his life in his hand, and unreservedly declares all his Master's will, is heard with atten- tion, even by those who do not love the truth, and obtains a strong and lasting interest in the affections and prayers of the friends of God, who, by his instrumentality, are built up in the faith of the gospel. Though his labors may not always be attended with immediate success, he is encouraged to hope that the truth, which it is the object of his life to preach, may have its effect when he sleeps in the dust. But, should his fondest expectations be disappointed — should he labor in vain and spend his strength for naught — still he will have the 54 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. testimony of his conscience, that he has been faithful to God and the souls of his people; and may say with the prophet. Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. Having thus endeavored to show that it is the duty of ministers to preach the truth, we proceed to consider the manner and spirit with which the truth should be maintained. II. It is the duty of ministers to preach the truth in Love. Important and necessary as it is to preach the truth, it will be of comparatively little avail, un- less it is spoken in love. We trust we shall not be thought to undervalue the truth itself, nor to give too great importance to the power of per- suasion, if we assert, that the success with which the truth is attended, depends much on the spirit with which it is delivered. We are fully sensible that Paul may plant and Apollos may water in vain, if God withholds the increase. At the same time that we admit that the happy effects produced by the preaching of the truth, are to be attributed to the energy of the Holy Ghost as the cause, may they not in a great measure be in- creased or lessened according to the spirit with SER. 2. ax AFFECTIONATE MANNER. 55 which the truth i^ maintained? We know that, in blessing bis truth, God does not depart from his usual mode of operation upon the human mind; and we need not he reminded, that in receiving or rejecting any truth, mankind are greatly influenced by the manner and spirit with which it is presented. If this observation is correct with regard to truth in general, it is emphatically so as respects religious truth in particular. In the hearts of all unregenerate men, there exists a deep-rooted and determined prejudice against divine truth. Although this prejudice cannot he wholly re- moved but by the transforming influences of the Spirit of God, is it not often greatly increased by the intemperate, dogmatical, harsh or uncharita- ble spirit and manner of those, whose duty it is to exhibit the truth of God to their fellow men? Are not many hardened in their unbelief, and strengthened in their prejudices, by, to say the least, an injudicious mode of treating and deliver- ing the truths of the gospel? And arc not many, who by an opposite method would be steeled against the truth, induced to give it their atten- tion and to consider its claims by the meek and charitable temper, the mild and tender manner, the gentle and persuasive address of its ad- vocates? 56 IMPORTANCE OK SER. % It gives pa pain to entertain the thought, for a moment, that there are any of the ministers of the meek and lowly Jesus, especially of those who preach the truth, who so far forget the spirit of their Master, as not to speak tin 4 truth in lore. But do not some, from an anxious desire to ex- hibit the plain and naked truth, forget to clothe it with the garment of love, with which it should ever be adorned? To preach the truth is, as we have already attempted to show, infinitely impor- tant, but to preach it in a spirit of love, is not less SO. Iii preaching the truth, wc should be careful not to lay ourselves open to the application of the Saviour's rebuke to his disciples. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. We shall do Well to remember that the truth, the wisdom, which eometh from above, though first pure, is also peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And that the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Let us not forget that the cause of Christ, which we are anxious to defend and promote, ma\ be injured as much by a departure from a Christian spirit, as by a defection from the truth. 3ER, & w \nr.( i ion \ri: H INNER. 51 •• It is to be hoped, 91 says \h. Doddridge, in commenting upon the words of the text, M that no render. rspeeiallv none of tile SK'li'd older, will fail to observe what the apostle here so plainlj asserts, namely, that it was the design of the ministrj to preserve peace and charity, as well as orthodoxy, regularity, and discipline, in the church." 'Hie minister of Jesus, who speaks the truth in love, will carefully avoid every thing that is cal- culated unnecessarily to wound and irritate the feelings of his people. When called to reprove, it will be with the affection of a father, and not with the severity of a master. While exhibiting what he believes to be the truth of God, he will neither claim nor exercise dominion over the faith of others. To the law and to the testimony he will cheerfully appeal, as the only infallible stan- dard of faith and practice. In the delivery of truth, he will study to be tender and affectionate, endeavoring to win souls to Christ: he will seek to find out acceptable words. While on some occasions he may appear to the enemies of God to be a son of thunder, he will take more satis- faction, when duty will allow him, to administer consolation to the humble penitent. His manner will not be confident and boisterous, but mild 8 58 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. and unassuming. In the beautifully figurative language of scripture, his doctrine will drop as the rain, and his speech distil like the dew. Were it necessary to propose examples for the minister of the gospel to imitate, we might point him to the great Preacher of righteousness. He did not strive and cry, neither did any man hear his voice in the street. A bruised reed did he not break, and the smoking flax did he not quench. When addressing the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees, our Lord expressed himself in language strong and forcible, and even indignant ; but, in his invitations to sinners to accept of his mercy, his addresses are full of tenderness and affection. The manner of Jesus was peculiarly mild and engaging, as well as impressive and commanding. All bore him witness and wondered at the gra- cious words which proceeded out of his mouth. How strong and tender were his emotions, when beholding Jerusalem, the city which had so basely rejected him, and were soon to imbrue their hands in his blood, he wept over it and exclaimed — O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the pro- phets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together 9 even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not! SER. 2. AN AFFECTIONATE M \NNER. 59 Did our time permit) we might dwell on the example of Paul the apostle. His epistles are full of truth, and they are written with do com- mon share of that spirit of love and charity, of tenderness and affection, which we would recom- mend. So also are the writings of the venerable John, the beloved disciple, who to the last hour of his life, ceased not to repeat, when lie could say nothing more, Little children love one an- other. If the Christian minister possesses in any de- gree the spirit of his divine Master and his apostles, love will be the governing principle of all his conduct, and particularly of that part of it, which relates to the discharge of ministerial duty. In preaching the truth, he will be influenced by a principle of love to his Saviour. The love of Christ will constrain him to deliver the whole of his message, to be instant in season and out of season, in attempting to save the souls for whom Christ died. Penetrated with the love of Jesus, he will intreat and beseech sinners to be recon- ciled to him — he will not count his life dear unto himself, so that he may finish his course with joy, and the ministry which he has received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. GO IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. The minister of Christ, in preaching the truth, will not only be influenced by a principle of love to his Master, but of love to the truth itself. If he lias himself tasted that the Lord is gracious, and been brought to the knowledge of the truth a^ it is in Jesus, he will preach it for its own sake. Having felt its power, he will be anxious that Others also should experience it. Sensible that it is the principal instrument used by God in the renewal and sanctification of his people, that it is the power of God and the wisdom of God unto salvation, he will not cease to declare it. But another and not a trifling motive to induce the gospel minister to speak the truth to his people, is his love to their souls. When he con- siders that without the know ledge and experience of gospel truth they must perish forever, lie can- not hesitate for a moment as to his path of duty. If he loves his people, he will not trifle with their salvation. He cannot see them standing on the brink of a precipice, and remain unmoved ; lie cannot behold them crowding the broad road that leadcth to destruction, and not endea\or to direct them to the narrow path that leadeth unto life. Though at the hazard of being counted their enemy, he must and he will tell them the truth. He must warn them of their danger — he • \FFFXTION \TK MANN- mu^ w then their real dl — most plainly d< to then) the awful and inevitable - of impeota and mil If lores 1 uiiiot conceal from them tl. important truths. But. while he feels him obliged by every consideration to be faithful unto hi- peopl< . will endeavor to comply with the spirit of' the text, and to speak the truth iu love. In reviewing our subject, we cannot but re- I on the difficulties attendant on a faithful disehargc of ministerial duty. To speak the truth in love, is no easy task. Many are the temptations to which ministers are exposed to withhold part of the truth, or so to pollute it with error as to recommend it to the depraved ta-te of the world. •Many too are the excitements to a different temper and spirit from that enjoined in the text. It i- indeed a hard lesson, but one must learn and practice, so far to govern our own spirits is, in the midst of opposition to the truth, to continue to speak the truth in love. What need, my reverend fathers and brethren, have we to pray that the grace of God may be sufficient for us. and that his strength may be made perfect in our weakn ss. This subject, though interesting to all, is pecu- 62 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. liarlv so to you, my dear brother, who are now about to be solemnly separated to the work of the Lord in this part of his vineyard. From what I know of your views of gospel truth, I cannot doubt but you will endeavor to be faithful to the souls of this people. Your religious opinions you have not hastily formed, nor have you hesitated frankly and openly to avow them. While you steadfastly adhere to the peculiarities of our holy faith, suffer me to urge upon you the great importance of speaking the truth in love. This people have manifested towards you an unusual warmth of attachment. They deservedly claim from you a return of affection, and they will not claim it in vain. They will ever lie near your heart — they will ever be remembered in your prayers. You will be gentle among them ; as a nurse cherisheth her children, so, being affection- ate ly desirous of them, you will be willing to impart to them, not the gospel of God only, but also your own soul, because they are dear unto you. You are called, by the providence of God, to fill a station in his church, which has been occupied by men distinguished in their day and generation. By a faithful discharge of ministe- rial duty, animated by a spirit of love and ten- derness, by a diligent improvement of you? time, BER. 2. UN UTFECTIONATE MANNER. 63 and the talents which God has bestowed upon you, h\ a constanl and unremitting attention to the temporal and spiritual happiness of the people of jour charge, and b\ a life of unspotted purity and extensive usefulness, you will, 1 trust, mas- nifv your office, retain and confirm the affections of your people, and prove a blessing to the church and to the world. I need not assure you, my brother, of the in- terest I take in the solemnities of this occasion. You know the affectionate regards I have always entertained toward you, and you cannot doubt of the sincerity of my wishes and prayers for your future comfort and usefulness. As a member of the church committed to my charge, and sustain- ing endearing relations to several of its members, I have watched with an interest, which none but a pastor and a friend can feel, every step in your progress towards that work in which you are now to be engaged. From my first acquaintance with you, I have indulged the most pleasing ex- pectations of your usefulness in the church. Well do I remember when these fond hopes were nearly blasted, when attacked by a disease, which appeared to baffle all medical skill, you were interrupted in the pursuit of your studies, and your expectations of entering the profession 64 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 2. of vonr choice Dearly destroyed. But, my brother, fervent prayer was made without ceas- ing of the church unto God for you. The prayer was heard, and is this day mosl fully answered. To God's name be all the praise. May the life which has been thus wonderfully spared, he this day renewedly devoted to the service of God in the gospel of his Son. May i be permitted on this occasion, to use the language of Paul to Timothy his dearly beloved son — and say with him — When I eall to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee. — My dear brother, to the grace of God I commend you. May you long live with this people in uninterrupted peace and harmony, speaking to them the truth in love; and, after having turned many to righteousness, maj you shine as the stars, and the brightness of the firmament forever and ever; We present no ordinary congratulations to you, my respected friends of this church and congregation. In addition to the satisfaction We experience in beholding your speedy resettlement of the gospel ministry, we have not, as on many SER. 2. AN AFFECTIONATE MANNER. 65 occasions, to sympathize with you in the removal from this present life of your late much esteemed and beloved pastor. Called by Providence to another and a different sphere of usefulness, his connection with you has been dissolved in the most perfect harmony. Though absent from you in the flesh, yet we have no doubt he will always be with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. Suffer me to request for your pastor elect the same kind attentions which you de- lighted to manifest towards his predecessor. He is a young soldier. Leave him not alone to fight the battles of the Lord against the mighty ; but, by diligent and constant attendance on his minis- trations, by a zealous co-operation in all his plans and exertions for the increase of truth and piety, and by an uniform and affectionate remembrance of him in your prayers, endeavor to strengthen his hands and encourage his heart. Receive the truth from his lips with a spirit of love. Re- member that, if it is his duty to preach the truth in love, it is yours to attend to it with a like Christian and charitable spirit. Listen to it without prejudice. Imitate the example of the Bereans, who were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with 9 ()G AN AFFECTIONATE MANNER. SJER. 2. all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily whether these tilings were so. Much of the comfort and happiness of your pastor in this life, will be dependent upon you. Be not un- reasonable in your expectations from him. If you desire to be edified by his ministrations on the Sabbath, you must not make too large de- mands upon his time during the week. By those little attentions and kindnesses, which, though trilling in themselves, contribute much to a min- ister's comfort, you will endeavor to render his residence among you pleasant and happy. But I forbear. I know your attachment to him, and I cannot doubt you Mill do all in your power to contribute to his happiness. May you long rejoice in his light, and may he long enjoy your esteem and affection; — and, when the connection now to be formed shall be dissolved, may you meet together in that better world, where prayer shall gi?e place to praise, ordinances to realities, and faith to vision. And now, brethren, we commend you to the blessing of ( rod. Be perfect, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of peace shall be with you. The glace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all, Ami:>. en SERMON III THE CONNECTION HKTWEEN A HOUSE OF WOUS! IIP AND THE MINISTRY CWF THE GOSPEL. ezra viii. 17. That they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God. The book of Ezra contains an interesting por- tion of Jewish history. At the period in which it w r as written, that unhappy though distinguished people, were enduring the verification of their own prophecies. By the rivers of Babylon they sat down ; — they hung their harps upon the willows ; they w T ept when they remembered Zion. The spirit of patriotism and attachment to the land of their fathers' sepulchres, though smothered and enfeebled, was not extinct ; and there were some among the captive Jews, in the G8 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. reigns of Cyrus and Artaxerxes, who breathed the sentiments so beautifully recorded in the 137th Psalm. — If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Among these, Ezra was pre-em- inently distinguished, lie was a man of supe- rior learning, and unquestionable piety, a ready scribe in the law of Moses, and a great favorite at the Persian court. Such was his influence with the reigning monarch, that he granted him all his request according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. An attempt had been made by some of the captive .Jews, under the patronage of Cyrus, between seventy and eighty years previous to the time of Ezra, to rebuild the city and temple of Jerusalem. In this attempt they experienced great opposition from the enemies of Zion ; but, through the blessing of God, they finally suc- ceeded in rebuilding the temple. And the chil- dren of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house with joy. It was after these things, when probably the zeal of those who had erected the second temple had in some SER. 3. tiii: HOUSI OF ("ion. 69 measure declined, thai Ezra undertook the cause of his oppressed countrymen) and obtained a decree from Artstxerxes, granting permission to all the children of Israel) and the priests and Levites, which were minded of their own free will) to go up to Jerusalem. Encouraged by the royal proclamation, and strengthened as the hand of the Lord his God an as upon him, Ezra gathered together the chief men of Israel and departed for the city of his fathers. Before he reached the end of his journey, he and his company halted at the river Ahava. At this place he received the people and the priests, but found there none of the sons of Levi. The tribe of Levi, by the law of Moses, was separated from the other tribes for religious services. Aaron and his immediate descendants were appointed to the priesthood. The rest of the tribe were employed in acts of religious worship pertaining to the service of the temple. It appears from the context, that though some of the immediate descendants of Aaron were among the company, there were none of the rest of the tribe of Levi, and consequently, according to the Jewish ritual, the worship of God could not be regularly conducted in the temple at Je- rusalem. To surmount this difficulty, Ezra 70 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. dispatched a deputation of his chief men to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia — that they sliould bring unto them ministers for the house of their God. The deputation were successful in their embassy, and the desired reinforcement of LeviteSj and of Nethinims, who were an in- ferior ordej of servants in the temple, was ob- tained. Thus supplied with the various officers of the Jewish sanctuary, the pious leader, having proclaimed a fast, and sought the favor of God, proceeded on his way to the holy city. From this interesting passage of scripture, as thus explained, we may derive a subject of dis- course, not inapplicable to the blended occasions upon which we have assembled. We have met together, this day, to dedicate this neat and commodious edifice to the service of Almighty God; and we have also assembled, at the same time, to assist in the introduction of a laborer into this part of the vineyard, and to sanction by our prayers and counsels the endear- ing connection between a pastor and his flock. With these two solemn and interesting trans- actions in view, 1 have thought that our at- tention might profitably be directed to — the connection between a House of Worship, and the Ministry of the Gospel. 5ER- .!. Tin: HOUSE QF QOD« 71 Ezra did not think the temple at Jerusalem completely organised, until he had obtained all the officers required !>\ the Mosaic law for the regular administration of the Jewish ritual. And we must acknowledge, thatj although tin! erection of another edifice for the worship of Clod is, of itself, a subject of no ordinary gratulation — it assumes a far greatef interest, when viewed in connection with the introduction of a faithful and devoted minister of the gospel to the pastoral care of the little band of believers, who have erected this house for their accommodation. It is pleas- ant to see another golden candlestick set up in this vicinity, but it is still more delightful to behold a burning and shining light so speedily and harmoniously placed in it. May he, who walketh in the midst of the golden candlesticks, and who holdeth the stars in his right hand, command his blessing upon us, and direct our meditations on his holy word ! In the following discourse I shall endeavor to show — that the Dedication of a House of Public Worship, derives much, if not all, of its interest, from the Ministry of the Gospel. It is obvious, that there is a marked difference between the tabernacle and the temple under 72 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. the law, and houses of worship under the gospel. It pleased God to dwell with his ancient people, when they were in a wandering and unsettled state, through the medium of a moveable build- ing, called the tabernacle. Of this remarkable building, a minute and accurate description is to be found in the book of Exodus. Moses was directed to build it according to the exact pattern shown him by Jehovah himself. This tabernacle, or rather the ark which it contained, was the peculiar residence of the King of Israel, who, from between the cherubims, marched gloriously through the wilderness in the midst of his people, conducting them from place to place, till they passed over Jordan to the promised Canaan. After various removals of the ark, a permanent abode for it was provided by the erection of the temple, under the reign of Solomon. Of this magnificent edifice, we have also a particular account in the book of Kings. In this building God's visible presence was displayed. Here the Shechinah took up its residence, for the glory of the Lord filled the house. The temple was, at all times, sacred to the worship of God ; and thither the tribes of Israel were commanded to repair to pay their vows unto the Most High. The first temple remained but a short time in •;. 3. mi: BOUSE OF <-OD. all its glory, 1m\ — on, under various pre- tences, i 3 : and the glory having departed in consequence of the disobe- dience of tlir children of Israel, it was entirely 1 and demolished by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The temple was rebuilt, as ;v had occasion to notice, and con- tinued till after the time of the Saviour, when it ized to the ground in the memorable sieire of Jerusalem, by the Roman army. Under tin 1 dispensation we have no one temple to which we are commanded to repair: but the time has arrived, predicted by the Sav- iour, when, neither in the mountain of Samaria. nor yet at Jerusalem, shall men worship the Father; but when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. In the • Testament scriptures we read of no pattern for the erection of houses of worship — no promise of the Shechinah or divine presence to any partic- ular place or building. — but wherever two or three meet together in the name of Jesus, whether in an upper room, such as that to which the primi- tive disciples resorted after the resurrection of their Lord, or in dens and caves of the earth. to which the ancient Caineronians. and other 10 74 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. persecuted sects have been obliged to retreat, — there the presence of their divine Master may he expected to bless them, and make the place of their assembly — the house of God and the gate of heaven. The difference of houses of worship, then, tmder the Jewish and Christian dispensations, should not he forgotten. Under the law, God designated one particular spot and edifice as the abode of his presence, and hence holy Daniel prayed with his face towards the temple at Jeru- salem. But under the gospel, there is no such sanctity attached to any particular building, nor can this sanctity be communicated by any ex- ercises performed at the dedication of a house intended for the worship of God. Its sanctity must depend altogether upon the services that may be performed within its walls. If heartless prayers should be offered, if dangerous errors should be propagated under the name of the gospel of Christ, it can in no sense whatever be considered a house of God. By these observations, we would not be un- derstood as undervaluing the laudable practice of dedicating houses of worship by appropriate religious exercises. We only wish that the sub- ject may be properly understood, and guarded -iK. Si nii: nor 3E or <;on. 1 6 linst those abuses \\ i t li which it has been too often surrounded in Christian communities. There surely can be no objection, but) on the contrary, a very great propriety in peitinent religious services on first occupying a house, to be. in future time, devoted to the service of God; — but we must not hence conclude that any inherent sanctity is thus communicated to the edifice 4 itself. We know there are some who attach importance to a building once consecrated to the worship of God, independently of the services of the gospel ministry. They think the very walls holy. This is not surprising in Catholic countries, where the churches are filled with images, where the holy water stands continually, and where even the bells are baptized into the sacred name of the Trinity. But we can conceive of no other sanctity in such an edifice than that associated with the exercises of religion; — for what is it that constitutes an edifice a house of God? Surely it is not the style of its architecture, whereby it differs from houses erected for our own accommodation; surely it is not because it is designated by a particular name. It is because the gospel is preached w r ithin its walls, accompanied by the influences of the Holy Spirit. 76 MINISTERS FOK 3ER, S. That the dedication of a liousc of worship, then, derives much, if not all its interest, from the ministry of the gospel, will, I trust, be made to appear, in addition to what has already been suggested, from the following considerations. It is through the ministry of the gospel, accompanied by the Holy Spirit, that sinners are convicted of sin. The preaching of the gospel is the great instrument in the hand of God in the conviction of sinners. We do not say that it is, exclusively, instrumental in their conviction. God sometimes blesses the dispen- sations of his providence, both merciful and afflictive, to awaken the attention of the care- less and thoughtless to the things which con- cern their everlasting peace. Sometimes, too, the reading of the word of God and other books of piety, together with the conversation of those that fear God, is made effectual, through divine influence, to the conviction and conversion of sinners. But we believe that such instances are rare, compared with those who are brought to the knowledge and belief of the truth through the instrumentality of a preached gospel. It is l)\ the foolishness of preaching, that God is pleased to save them that believe. This is the great instrument which God has ordained in the SER. 3« THE HOUSE OF BOD. 1 7 conversion of men. It is in the house of God, under the faithful and pungent preaching of the gospel, that sinners are pricked in the heart, and led to inquire what they shall do to be saved. Their sins are set in order before them by the word of truth, sent borne to their consciences by the Spirit of God, and being convinced of all and judged of all. they worship God, and report that lie is with his people of a truth. Bul again. It is through the same instrumen- tality, that sinners are brought to hope in a Saviour. After the sinner has been pricked in the heart by the preaching of the word, with what earnest attention will he resort to that house of God where he received his first religious impressions, that he may gain a further knowledge of his own character, and learn the way of salva- tion from sin and hell! With such feelings how interesting does the house of God become ! With what breathless anxiety does he listen to the messenger of heaven, the legate of the skies, as he attempts to direct the trembling sinner to the cross of Christ ! In the name of his Master, he proclaims the gracious invitations of the gospel, and calls upon every one that thirsteth to come to the waters, and him that hath no money to buy wine and milk without money and with- 78 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. out price. As he listens to these gracious invi- tations, the burden falls to the ground, and he is enabled to rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Of /ion, of tin; house of Clod, it may now be said, that this and that man was born there; and this distinguished blessedness is to be attributed to the ministry of the gospel in the house of God. But it is not only the conversion of sinners that is effected by this instrumentality ; the comfort and edification of Christians is greatly promoted and advanced. The people of God know how to value a preached gospel. They can exclaim in the devout language of the Psalmist, How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. It is true there are other means of a Chris- tian's sanctilication, which we would by no means undervalue in our estimation of the importance of public worship. A\ ithout secret prayer, medi- tation and self-examination at home, the ser- vices of the house of God will be of little use. But to those who unite the duties of the closet with those of the sanctuary, the advantages de- rived from the ministry of the gospel in the house of God are inestimable. By regular at- tendance on a preached gospel, they acquire SER. 3. mi: HOUSE Of OOD. 7!) correct and systematic views of divine truth; the understanding is enlightened] and when the word is accompanied by the Spirit, the heart is sanctified] and growth in grace and divine knowl- edge is promoted and increased. Like holy David, thr Christian is sometimes perplexed with doubts and fears, but like David's, they are often removed when he goes to the sanctuary of God. If lie has the happiness to attend a preacher, skilful in dividing the word of truth, he often hears questions of Christian casuistry satisfac- torily answered and explained. It is by the ministry of the gospel in the house of God, also, that backsliding Christians are often reclaimed and induced to remember from whence they had fallen, and repent. The solemn appeals that are made by the faithful servant of Christ to the consciences of his hearers, are frequently blessed, not only to the conviction and conversion of the impenitent, but to the awakening of those who are at ease in Zion. Christian professors are roused from their lethargy, and excited to renewed vigilance and increasing effort in their Master's service. Our subject derives still further illustration, from the consideration that it is by the ministry of the gospel in the house of God, that the 80 MINISTERS FOR 3ER. 3. ordinances of religion are applied to the proper subjects. The ordinances of the gospel are not, like the ceremonies of the law, numerous and burdensome. They are distinguished for their simplicity. But, though simple, they arc singu- larly solemn and impressive, and arc calculated to give an additional solemnity to the place where they are ordinarily administered. When the servant of Jesus administers the initiatory rite of our holy religion to believing adults, or their offspring, that mind must be indeed desti- tute of religious sensibility that is not impressed by the transaction a\ ith reverence and awe. But, when he stands at the sacramental hoard to bless the sacred emblems of a Saviour's broken body and Bowing blood — when he directs his weeping Sock to Calvary, and points them to the bleeding Lamb who died for their redemption, that heart must be made of adamant that is not melted by the affecting scene. Such transactions, although they infuse no essential sanctity into the building where they are ordinarily witnessed, do, from the principle of association, produce in the mind a reverence and attachment to the house itself, which we would cherish with delight and satis- faction. That the opening of a house for public worship B£R. ! >. i in: HOUSE or cod. 81 derives much if not all its interest from the ministry of the gospel, will further appear, if we consider that it is by the establishment of the gospel ministry in a particular place, that the interesting relation is formed between pastor and people. A few moments 3 reflection upon the nature of this relation will tend to illustrate our subject. There are several circumstances which render the pastoral relation peculiarly interesting. It is a relation in which the interests of the soul are particularly concerned, and, consequently, its re- sults are infinitely momentous. It is a relation which calls into exercise the best feelings of our nature. It originates and confirms some of our strongest attachments. A pastor and his flock are united by ties, in some respects more en- dearing than those of natural affection, certainly than those of any civil connection whatever, ile is bound to watch for their souls as one that must give an account, and they are bound to esteem him highly in love for his work's sake. The attachment which the faithful pastor feels for his people, especially for those whom he has reason to regard as his spiritual children, is in- describably tender. This attachment is, doubt- less, reciprocal on the part of the people. They 11 32 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. must regard, with the most lively and affectionate interest, the man to whom, under God, they are indebted for instruction, consolation and Christian hope — who has devoted their offspring to God in holy baptism] and who, in their after years, has instilled into their opening minds the principles of Christianity — who has broken to them the bread of life — w ho has stood by their beds in the hour of sickness, and animated their drooping spirits by his affectionate sympathy and fervent prayers — who has accompanied them to the graves of their kindred, and mingled his tears with theirs in the house of mourning — who has, both in season and out of season, by warnings and en- treaties, by prayers and by tears, besought them to flee from the coming wrath, and allured them, by the holy felicities of the heavenly world, to immortality and glory. Bringing with them feelings that grow out of these tender relations, how interesting is the meeting of a pastor and his people in the house of God! There the pastor looks around upon his little flock, collected together into one ibid, with emotions which none but a pastor can feel. Over some he rejoices, and over others he mourns, and all he devoutly commends to the God of grace. It is this meet- EL 3. mi, iior-i: 01 (.od. 83 ing of pastor and people from Sabbath to Sab* bath, and from week to week, that glVBS Blicfc an interest to the house in which they assemble, and which loads them to connect with it SO man\ delight fa 1 and solemn association Thus, w e perceive, that it is the ministry of the gospel, accompanied by the influences of the Jlolv Spirit, that renders any particular edifice a house of God and a gate of heaven. From our subject we may perceive, first, the propriety of setting apart, in a solemn and devotional manner, a building intended for the worship of God and the ministry of the gospel. While we carefully guard against those abuses which have attended this subject in the minds of the ignorant and superstitious, we would cheer- fully admit the propriety of the custom so preva- lent in our churches, of dedicating houses of public worship to the service of Almighty God. We believe that this custom originated in the purest motives, for no people were further from a superstitious reverence for the building itself, than the founders of the New England churches. Recently separated from a national church, who attached no little importance to consecrated tem- ples, it might have been expected, that in con- 84 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3* ducting the order of their own meeting-houses, they would carefully avoid what they considered as superstition, and the remnant of popery in the church from which they seceded. It might be a subject of interesting research for the ecclesiastical historian of our country, to ascer- tain the views of our fathers on this subject, and to trace the origin of the custom, that now so generally prevails, of dedicating houses of worship. It is apprehended by the speaker, that the custom of a formal dedication is of modern origin. If viewed in the light in which we have endeavored to present it, as deriving its principal interest from the ministry of the gospel, no serious mind can object, but, on the contrary, must cordially approve of it, as calculated to cherish a reverential sense of the divine presence in the sanctuary, and to foster a respect and veneration for the institutions and ordinances of religion. Still, let it ever be remembered that a house derives its glory, not from any sanctity communicated to its walls by any services of ours, but from the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which is promulgated from its desk by the faith- ful ministers of JesUS. Secondly, we may learn from our subject the inestimable value of the gospel ministry. SER. •'. run HOUSE Of OOD. If. as we hav< a, it is the gospel ministry that eives all its interest and story to a house of worship, how unspeakably important docs it appear! It is the great instrument, in the hand of God, in the conversion of the world. It does not become as to inquire whether God might Dot have recovered a ruined world by some other method. It is sufficient for us that he has com- manded his disciples to go out into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. The preaching of the cross, is to them that perish foolishness, but to them that are saved it is the power of God. When we reflect on the momentous consequences that result from the ministry of the gospel, we know not how to appreciate its value: nor shall we ever be able, duly, to appreciate it, till we view these eonse- quences in the light of eternity — till we see, in unclouded vision, the millions of souls, which, through the instrumentality of a preached gospel, have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and made meet for the heavenly inheritance — and wit- ness the doom of those unhappy spirits, who have slighted the invitations of mercy, to whom, in consequence of their hardness, impenitence and unbelief, the preaching of the gospel has proved a savor of death unto death. 86 MINISTERS J <>K SER. 3. In view of this final consummation, how im- portant does the gospel ministry become : and how trifling and insignificant do all other employ- ments and occupations appear, when compared with his. who holds in his hands the commission of Jehovah — who, as an ambassador of the King of kings, beseeches men in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God — whose business it is to deal with the consciences of his fellow sinners in regard to the awful realities of death and judg- ment, of heaven and hell ! Well may the minister of Jesus tremble when he reflects upon his respon- sibilities. Well may he adopt the desponding, yet supplicating language of the apostle — Who is sufficient for these things? — and well may his spirit be cheered with the animating assurance, My grace is sufficient for thee, and my strength shall be made perfect in thy weakness. We learn from our subject, thirdly, that it is peculiarly desirable that every house of worship should be supplied with a faithful minister of the gospel. Like Ezra, we would not be satisfied till we have ministers for the house of our God. Much as we rejoice in the multiplication of houses of worship, our satisfaction will not be complete, till we see them all supplied with a faithful, learned and pious ministry. We have skii. 3. mi: noi BE OF cod. 87 reason foi grateful acknowledgment to the great Head of the church, for the pleasing prospects the friends of Zion are permitted to entertain on this subject. The number of pious, devoted ministers is rapidly increasing, and the prospect daily brightening, that all our churches will soon be supplied with pastors after God's own heart, to feed them with knowledge and understanding. JYe hail, as tin; brightest signs of the day in which we live, the establishment of education societies, and the institution of theological semi- naries We rejoice, that, when our churches need faithful pastors, we have a Casiphia to which we can send, to obtain ministers for the house of our God. But they which minister about holy things, must live of the things of the temple; and they which wait at the altar, must be par- takers of the altar. So hath the Lord or- dained, that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. The great difficulty with our churches in this section of our country is, not so much a deficiency of suitable men to sustain the pastoral office, as the want of means to afford them a comfortable support. Many of our churches are feeble. Some have been con- strained, from their attachments to those doctrines, 88 MINISTERS FOR BER. 3. in belief of which the fathers of New England lived and died, to withdraw from them who Beek another faith. Such churches have strong claims upon our s\ mpathv and benevolence. Their num- ber is increasing) and it is high time that the attention of the religious public was awakened to their relief. Let those societies who have for their object the assistance of feeble churches, and the repairing of waste places, receive increasing patronage from the friends of Zion. It is pleasant, amidst all the discouragements which we are too often tempted to regard, to be- hold churches and societies arising around us on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, — at- tached to that system of doctrine and discipline, which was the glory of New England in her brightest day. It is delightful to witness the erection of edifices for the worship of God, for the propagation of those sentiments which we believe to be consonant to his holy word. \\ hat greatly adds to the satisfaction we experience on this interesting occasion, is the entire confidence we feel, that this church of our Lord Jesus Christ is built on that foundation — that this house is erected for that objed — and that the man, this day to be intrusted with the care of these SER. 3, ihi: HOI BE OF GOD. 89 immortal souls, is qoi a novice, bul a scribe well instructed in the kingdom of heaven — whose past triaU, experience! and fidelity, are the best pledges of his continued usefulness. Brethren of this church and society, accept our congratulations on this auspicious occasion. You behold on this day a signal answer to your prayers — a full completion of your most sanguine hopes and expectations. God has blessed the labor of your hands in the erection of this neat and commodious edifice. It has now been so- lemnly dedicated to that God, whom you profess to adore — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. May you ever find it a Bethel for yourselves and your children. But this is not half the blessing for which we offer you our congratulations. What is this house, with all its convenience and beauty, but perishable material of wood and stone? It is but a chandelier, without the lights to give it brilliancy. We congratulate you, that it is this day lighted up — that this pulpit is this day to be filled with a man of God, whose praise is in our churches. Receive him, then, brethren, and es- teem him highly in love, for his work's sake. In the accomplishment of these united objects, we are aware you have made many sacrifices. 12 90 MINISTERS FOR SER. 3. You have done well. And are you not this day abundantly rewarded ? Be not weary in well doing. Let not your zeal decline with the com- pletion of your plans. You have built this house. See that you frequent its sacred courts, and with solemn reverence, and pious affections, pay your vows to the Most High. You have chosen this servant of the Lord to be your pastor. In this choice your unanimity and zeal have been truly commendable. I know the affection you bear him, and I know that he deserves it. But, brethren, suffer a word of exhortation. Your pastor comes among you under the most flatter- ing circumstances. He confidently relies on your warm expressions of attachment. He has been called, in times past, to peculiar trials, upon which it is unnecessary to enlarge, and he now hopes to find rest in the bosom of an affectionate people. Let not his expectations be disappointed. Avoid, as much as possible, every unnecessary controversy. Endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Let your pastor and his family ever receive from you a comforta- ble support. If he sows unto you spiritual things, is it not reasonable that he should reap your carnal tilings ? We ask not great things for him, but we feel it our duty to say that his SER. 3. THE HOUSE OF GOD* 91 life should be made bo comfortable by the people be serves in the Lord, that he may be enabled to give himself wholly to the work of the ministrj and the edification of the body of Christ. Btttj my friends, it is not by temporal favors that the heart of your minister is to be encour- aged. He seeks not yours but you. Though he may live at ease in respect to worldly provision, his heart will sink within him if he sees no evidence that the work of the Lord prospers in his hands — if he beholds sinners crowding the broad road that leadeth to destruction, and rarely hears the anxious inquiry, What shall I do to be saved ? Do you wish to make him happy ? Make your peace with God. Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Live as the grace of God teacheth, denying all ungodliness and every worldly lust, and adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour by your lives and conversations. In this way, dear brethren, you will gladden the heart of your pastor. You will make his days peaceful and happy, and he will lay down his bones besides yours, with the ani- mating hope, that in the resurrection morning, he will meet you again at the right hand of God. !>J MINIS i ERS FOR 9ER. 3. J\T\ beloved brother, to you the transactions of this day arc replete Avith the deepest interest. This house, which is now dedicated to the worship of Cod, is to be the scene of your future labors. It must depend upon your ministry, under the blessing of the divine Spirit, whether this edifice shall deserve the honorable appellation of a house of God and a gate of heaven. Our earnest prayers accompany your introduction into this part of the vineyard. May God Almighty grant, that your labors in this house may be accompanied with his effectual blessing. — When you shall declare to the people who come to worship in this house, all the words which God has commanded you to declare unto them, dimin- ishing not a word, may the Holy Spirit convince your hearers of sin, of righteousness and of a judgment to come. — When you shall administer the ordinances of our holy religion in this sacred edifice, may the God of ordinances be with you, and the Master of the least make himself known to his people in the breaking of bread. J >iit, my brother, you will not consider your parochial and ministerial duties as by any means confined to this house* You will remember the example of the apostles — who, not only in the temple, but in every house, ceased not to teach 3ER. - ; - i Hi- H0U8I o\' <.oi>. 93 and preach Jesus Christ I hesitate not to say, that, in my opinion, a minister's usefulness is greatly increased by his labors among his people from house to house. Not only in the way of parochial visitation, but in bringing them in little congregations nearer his person, where eye meets eve, and heart often meets heart ; and where, by a familiar exhortation, he more fre- quently finds his way to the consciences of his hearers, than by a more labored address from the pulpit. But it becomes not me to enlarge on these subjects to one who has had experience as well as myself, in the duties of the pastoral office. Yes, my brother, we have not only both of us had experience in its duties, but we have also known something of its trials. May these trials purify us for our Master's service on earth, and ripen us for that better state of being, where peace, and love, and union, will forever reign. In this new connection, may you see good days, according to the days in which you have seen evil. May nothing disturb the union now to be formed. May it be productive of unspeakable happiness both to you and your people, and in that great day, when the Lord shall make up his jewels, may he give you their precious souls, 94 MINISTERS FOR THE HOUSE of god. ser. 3. for the seal of your ministry, and crown of rejoicing. 13y the solemn and interesting services of this occasion, this congregation should be reminded of the account which they will have to give of their improvement of the gospel ministry in the house of God. Those of us, my brethren, who preach the gospel, and those of you, my hearers, to whom this word of salvation is sent, must one day stand together at the judgment seat. Happy shall we be, if, in that awful crisis, the blood of souls is not found in the skirts of ministers ; nor the sin of rejecting the offers of mercy, laid to the account of their people. 95 SERMON IV THE BENEFIT OF RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. psalm cxxii. 9, Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. The words selected as the theme of discourse form the conclusion of one of the most beautiful of David's psalms. It was composed by the royal author in commemoration of the annual festivals, which the Jews were accustomed to celebrate in Jerusalem, the city of their solem- nities. It breathes the language of every pious heart, when penetrated with a proper sense of the value of religious privileges. The doctrine clearly contained in the text, and to which I would request your attention, is 96 THE BENEFIT OF SER. 4. this — that a correct appreciation of the value of religious institutions, will lead to correspondent exertions to encourage and promote them. The words of the text, in their original and primary application, regarded the Old Testament church and the privileges and opportunities en- joyed by the children of Israel. At that period they were Cod's chosen people, the only de- positaries of his revealed will. In comparison with the idolatrous nations by whom they were surrounded, their privileges were indeed pecu- liarly great. While the greatest moral darkness covered all the rest of the world, the beams of divine revelation irradiated that favored spot of the globe. And while the grossest polytheism constituted the religion of every other nation, they alone were favored with the knowledge of the only true God. No wonder, then, that, in view of their comparative advantages, the holy Psalmist should break out in the exulting and transporting language of the beautiful psalm from which our text is taken. But they who enjoy the brighter and more extending light of the Christian revelation, whose lot is cast in lands upon which the Sun of Right* eoiiMiess shines in meridian glory, have much greater reason to admire and adore the source sek. i. REuaioi - [NBTi it i ions, 97 of light and the God of grace, and much higher and more powerful motives to appreciate the value of religious institutions and privileges. That we ma\ be led suitably to realize the value of our religious institutional and our correspondent obligations to encourage and promote; them, Let us, in the further prosecution of our subject, con- sider their beneficial influence, I. Upon the temporal interests of mankind. II. Upon their immortal interests and future hopes. I. Upon the temporal interests of mankind. By the religious institutions of which we speak, 1 mean to be understood the regular worship of God in the sanctuary on the Sabbath, and at other times, in Christian protestant coun- tries. That the observance of such institutions has a happy influence upon the temporal interests of mankind, cannot, I think, be doubted by any friend of man, any impartial reader of history, or any intelligent observer of men and manners. The astonishing difference in the moral condition and even in the outward appearance between those parts of the world which enjoy the regular ad- ministration of Christian institutions and ordi- nances, and those places which are destitute of 13 98 THE BENEFIT OF SER. 4. such privileges, must be obvious to every friend of order, decorum and decency, and impose irresistible obligations to employ every lawful and consistent effort to promote and encourage the establishment and increase of our religious institution^. Viewed only in a civil and political point of light, these institutions must appear desirable to every friend of his country. Where is to be found the greatest degree of order, civility, obedience to the laws, and interchange of those amiable attentions and kind offices which tend so much to sweeten the intercourse between man and man ? Where do we look for that exemption from those gross vices which degrade our race even below the level of the brutes — for that moral sense which aids the execution of just and wholesome laws, which frowns upon their infrac- tion, and which encourages the dealings of justice and equity ? Where do we find that solicitude for youthful education, that attention to the morals and conduct of the young, which is the only ba^is upon which we can ever hope to erect a nation's prosperity ? Is it not undeniable that we must look for these things to Christian coun- tries, and to protectant Christian countries? Compare, for one moment, those parts of the ,;. i. axLiGioua in- n ruTiou s< 99 world ^ % 1 1 i < * 1 1 arc under the influence of Moham- medan delusion, and even those which are at- tached to the superstitions of popery, with thai portion which has embraced the faith of the •rmation — and what an astonishing difference will von behold! Look at the savage Turk on the one hand, a fundamental part of whose religion is a justifiable use of carnal weapons, and a sensual paradise to reward its sanguinary disciples. Look at the deluded Catholic on the other, who hopes to save his soul from purgatory by a rich legacy to the church. In most, if not all Catholic countries, the Sabbath is awfully violated, and considered a day of recreation, and not of holv service unto the Lord of hosts. Dancing, and gaming, and theatrical exhibitions, are not uncommon in a Catholic country on the Sabbath. Compare the state of religion and morals in those countries, with that in a protestant land. The difference is obvious and striking, both in mental improve- ment and moral culture. And to what can attribute it, but to the influence of our religious institutions — to the influence of the Sabbath, and the sanctuary. The instructions that are dispensed in the house of God from week to week, although they may differ in their 100 ill i: BENEFIT or SER. 4. theological complexion, agree in this — the incul- cation of good morals. And it is impossible that such frequent appeals to the conscience, such powerful motives to purity of conduct, as well as purity of heart, should be lost upon the numbers that attend the services of the sanctuary. It is impossible that under such cultivation, accom- panied by the divine blessing, the wilderness should not blossom, and the barren waste become a fruitful field. Indeed, history, observation, and experience, all unite in establishing our position, that religious institutions have a beneficial in- fluence on the temporal interests of mankind ; and men, who look no further than the boundary of this terrestrial existence, who neither act nor calculate in reference to a state of beina beyond the glare, must be convinced of the beneficial tendency of religion even in this life. And it is a fact, that such men, who are deists, if not atheists, in principle, have been anxious as poli- ticians, to promote the observance of religious institutions. They readily perceive the influence which they arc calculated to exert upon the morals of the community, and, as friends to order, sobriety, good government, and the decen- ciea of life, they wish well to the institutions of religion. ;. 4. XIGIOl I IH81 in i 101 II. Bui we bare higher, nobler, and infinitely more important motive - to urge in favor of tfa institutions. We contend that their principal tellence consists in the influence tin j exert upon our immortal interests and future hoj Alan is an immortal being, destined to exist when suns shall to shine, and moons and planets to revob When we view him in the light of eternity, as commencing, in time, an existence that will last for — an existence, too, that will I)e either eternally happy or wretched, as his character is formed on earth — how infinitely important do those institutions appear, which have a direct tendency to ripen him for another state of being! That the institutions of the Christian religion have this tendency, cannot be doubted by any reflecting mind. The public worship of God. as it is conducted in Christian protestant countries, on the weekly Sabbath, is calculated to have a most salutary influence on the heart and life. It calls off the attention of busy man from the cares and anxieties of life, and gives him time to think of God and his future destiny. The instructions that are dispensed from the sacred desk, are calculated to enlighten the understanding with regard to the duties we owe 102 Till: BENEFIT OF -ER. 4. to God and man. Hero, the character of God is described — the spirituality of his law explained. Here, too, the seerets of hearts are opened, and mrii can see the plague of their own hearts, and their real characters in the glass of the gospel. And from the pulpit, too, we hear repeated from week to week, the wonderful story of a Saviour's love. Sometimes we are led by the hand of the preacher, to visit the infant Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem. Sometimes he directs our steps to the mount, where, from his grassy seat, the Saviour dispenses his instructions to the listening multitude. But it is when he points us to the cross, and bids us look to the Lamb of God who takcth away the sin of the world, that we realize something of the value of the soul, for whose redemption such an infinite price was necessary — that we see the utter insignificancy of the world, and the insufficiency of all its attrac- tions to confer substantial happiness. By the dispensation of the precious truths of the gospel, sinners are awakened to a sense of their lost and miserable condition, as under the curse of a violated law, and are led to inquire what they shall do to be saved. And through the instru- mentality of a preached gospel also, the people of God are fed, and strengthened, and animated, SER. 1. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 103 and encouraged) and trained up for glory, honor, and immortality. The prayers and praises that form an impor- tant part of the exercises of a Christian Assembly, are happily calculated to cherish the Same of devotion, and to give a foretaste of the joys of the upper sanctuary. We might dwell on the comforts and satisfactions which the Christian experiences in attending on the institutions of religion. Like David, he is ready to say, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go up to the house of the Lord ; and with the same holy man to exclaim, How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. A day spent in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door- keeper in this house than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. The Jewish tabernacle was the seat of God's special presence. It was a kind of tent that might be moved from place to place, as occasion required. It was, as it were, the palace of the Most High — the dwelling of the God of Israel, wherein the Israelites, during their journey through the wilderness, performed the chief of their religious exercises, offered their sacrifices, and worshipped God. Here God frequently condescended to manifest himself in a visible 104 THE BENEFIT OF SER. 4. glory- It is not surprising, then, that David considered the place peculiarly amiable that was honored by the special presence of God. It is true that the houses appropriated for Christian worship, arc not favored with any visible mani- festations of the divine glory. This manifestation was peculiar to the Jewish dispensation. And although we are not to expect to see the pillar of cloud resting upon our tabernacles, as a S3 mbol of the divine presence, we have reason to believe that where two or three are met together in the name of Christ, there he will be in the mid>t of them to bless them. In all places, says Jehovah, where I record my name, I will come unto tine and bless thee. Christians, too, have felt the truth of this promise in their own happy experience. They have often realized such a powerful sense of the special presence of God in his sanctuary, as to lead them to exclaim in the language of Jacob, Surely the Lord is in this place ! How dreadful is this place ! This is none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven! In the house of God, the devout worship- per finds comfort and satisfaction, encourage- ment and support, under every situation in which he may be placed in life. Is his mind u. 1. R£LIGI0U8 INSTITUTIONS. 106 laboring under conviction erf sin? The bouse of God is the place to obtain relief. There God delights to meet the sinner and speak peace to his soul. Is he exposed to temptation? The snare is best broken in the sanctuary. There he obtains renewed strength to contend with all his spiritual enemies. \s he distressed a\ itli worldly cares and perplexities? He can go to the temple of God and leave all his care behind him. Is he distressed with doubts respecting the divine government, by seeing the wicked prosper in the world: He goes to the sanctuary of God, and there understands their end. Thus, in all cases of doubt and difficulty, of distress and trouble, the Christian finds relief in the house of God. Indeed, the whole amount of spiritual and eternal benefits arising from religious institutions, will not be fully known till the judgment of the great day. It will then be said of Zion, this and that man was bom in her. The Lord shall count when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. We are taught by our text, that a correct appreciation of the value of religious privileges, will lead to correspondent exertions to encourage and promote them. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. Every 14 106 THK BENEFIT OF SEK. 4. real Christian will not rest satisfied with liis own personal enjoyment of the privileges of the gospel. It is the very nature and essence of his religion to desire that others may partake of his advantages, and share in his privileges. And the only reason \\h\ this principle of his religion is not brought more frequently into operation is, that he does not sufficiently realize the wants of others. Confined as most Christians are by the nature of their avocations to their homes and fire- sides, and ignorant as many of them are of the moral state of a great part of the world, they are apt to think that the privileges they enjoy so abun- dantly themselves, are enjoyed in the same wide extent by others. When they meet together on the weekly Sabbath in their commodious edifices for the worship of God, they do not reflect that many, who anxiously desire the same privileges, aif deprived of them, and have no convenient houses where they can meet together with their families, to worship the only living and true God. Perhaps there is no part of the world where the institutions of religion are more generally respected and observed, than in our own coun- try: but even in this highly favored land, there arc many parts of it that are rarely favored with the glad tidings of salvation, except oc- BER« 4. RELIGIOUS INS n I i "I 'IOH 9i 101 casionalty through the instrumentality of sonic itinerant missionary) who scatters the seed and then leaves it to itself. Every intelligent agri- culturist in this assembly knows that all important and essential as it is to sow the seed, but little hopes of a favorable harvest can be entertained, if it is left entirely to itself, to be choked with noxious weeds, and to be bound by untillcd earth. In like manner, many parts of our country arc suffering for the want of a regular system of moral and spiritual culture. It is not sufficient that the gospel be sent by our missionaries from place to place. It is necessary that faithful, laborious men, should be located to watch the first sprouting of the tender plant, to defend it from the noxious dews of the night, to separate it from the pernicious w r eeds that damp its vigor and hinder its growth, and to train it up with attentive care, that it may bring forth fruit to the praise and glory of divine grace. When this moral and spiritual culture is neglected, what can be expected, but tares instead of wheat. It is, therefore, the duty of all the friends of Zion, to promote and encourage religious institutions. "What Christian, who has but a spark of that heavenly love which animated his divine Master when he went about preaching in the cities and 108 THE BENEFIT OF -F2R. 4. villages of Judea, will not feel for those who are deprived of the means of grace, and resolve with the Psalmi9t 9 in the language of the text, Be- cause of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. In view of this subject, we cannot but rejoice in the pleasing prospects that open upon this part of /ion, which has been so long deprived of the stated means of grace and the regular enjoyment of the institutions and ordinances of religion. For a long series of years has this church and society been destitute of a pastor and the regular administration of Christian ordinances. They have been as sheep without a shepherd* The sanctuary, in which their fathers worshipped, went to decay, and they hung their harps upon the willows, and mourned and wept for the deso- lations of Zion. Theif situation excited the sympathy and the prayers of their brethren. They have been visited by faithful and devoted men, who have preached to them the gospel of salvation, and broken to them the bread of life. Their hearts have been encouraged, and their hands have been strengthened — and they have nobly resolved that they would rise and build a bouse lor the worship of God, where they may EIERj i. RELIGIOUS in- i I I i HONS. 109 the beautj of the I iord and inquire in his temple. God bas smiled upon their undertaking. He h;is prospered them in the work of their hands; and now thej have met together for the solemn and impressive purpose of dedicating this house, which they have built, to the service and glory of God. It is with no ordinary emotions of satisfaction that the society; under whose fostering care this church has been revived and encouraged, witness the transactions of this day. \Yc have son to unite with you, my Christian friends, in grateful acknowledgments, to the Repairer of breaches, and the Restorer of paths to dwell in, that He has heard your supplications, and pros- pered your undertaking, and has enabled you to complete this neat and convenient edifice, where you may worship God according to the dictates of your consciences — where your children, and your children's children may assemble from gen- eration to generation, and hear that wonderful story of redeeming love, which fills all heaven witli admiration and all the saints on earth with gratitude and joy. This house you have built for God, and not for man — not for the transaction of worldly business, not for the accommodation of secular interest, but for the sole purpose of ] 10 I HE BENEFIT OK BER. 4. the worship of God — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. To that glorious and incomprehensible Jehovah, then, let us now solemnly dedicate this temple. 4 O Thou, who dwellest not in temples made with hands, but whose throne is the universe and whose kingdom is everlasting, accept, we humbly beseech thee, the offering which we now present in the dedication of this house to thy sacred name. Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which we have built. Yet have thou respect unto our prayer, and let thine eyes be open towards this house night and day — that thou mayest hearken unto the prayers which thy servants shall make from time to time in this place. What prayer or supplication shall be made by any man, who shall know the plague of his own heart, then hear thou in heaven thy duelling place, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest ; for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men ; that thy people may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. When 9£Ri I. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. Ill thy people shall assemble together in this house. either on the weekl) Sabbath or on other occa- sions, do thou condescend to mee! them, and bless them, and do them good. Here may thy gospel be preached in its purity. May thy ser- vants, who may stand from time to time in this desk, determine to know nothing save Jesus Christ and him crucified. May the Spirit of God descend here like a refreshing shower, and may man) be found inquiring the way to Zion. May great additions be made to this little flock, of such as shall be saved. Accept the offering of thy people, when they shall bring their children to the baptismal font. Do thou baptize them with the Holy Ghost, and make them heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. When thy people shall assemble around the table of the Lord to commemorate his dying love, do thou, O omnipresent Jesus, make thyself known to them in the breaking of bread. Bless the congregation who may hereafter worship within these walls; revive thy work, and excite a general attention to the great concerns of religion. 4 And now, Lord, arise, thou and the ark of thy strength. Hallow this house, and let thy name be here forever, and let thine eyes, and thine heart be here perpetually ; let it I 1 1 tin: BENEFIT of SER. 4. please thee to bless this house, that it may be before thee forever; for if thou blessest, O Lord, it shall he blest forever. ' To Thee, then, God — Father. Son, and Holy Ghost — we solemnly dedicate this pulpit, these M'at>. and every part of this edifice. From this time, till these walls crumble into dust, let it be none other than the bouse of God and the gate of heaven. — Amen. 3 This house, my hearers, has now been solemnly dedicated to God. Regard it no longer as yours, but God's. Accept our best wishes and fervent prayers for your peace and prosperity. May you long enjoj the blessing of a preached gospel in this sacred temple. May you soon have a pastor after God's own heart, to break unto vou the bread of life — to feed you with knowledge and understanding. Be assured of the continued in- terest which the society I represent feels in your welfare — of the satisfaction they receive in wit- nessing the success of your efforts in providing for yourselves and children this neat and commo- dious edifice — and of their readiness to co-operate with you, consistently with their ability and numerous claims, in maintaining the regular ob- servance of Christian institutions and ordinan- BBBi 4i RELIGIOUS rN8TITDTI0NS« I 19 Because of the bouse of the Lord our God, h e prill Beek j our good* To this numerous and respected auditory, suffer me to address a word of exhortation in the con- clusion of this discourse. Many of you have assembled here to unite with your friends and neighbors in the congratulations of this occasion. If you should return to your homes with deeper impressions of the value of religious institutions, and with solemn resolutions to do more than you have even* yet done to promote and encourage them, we shall not have labored in vain. You may be assured that much of your happiness in this life, and especially in the life to come, depends upon the regard which you pay to them. When you return to the respective congregations with which you are severally connected, let it be your great concern, by your prayers, by your influence, and by the substance which God has given you, to promote and encourage these institutions. Let not the ministry of the gospel languish and decline among you for w r ant of a liberal support. Let not the sanctuaries of the Lord fall to decay and ruin, for want of your prompt assistance to repair them, or if necessary, to erect new edifices for the 15 114 RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. SER. 4. worship of God. If you regard the interests of society — if you value your comfort and peace in this life, your own immortal souls, and the souls of your fellow men — neglect not to provide for the worship of God. For remember, that for all your privileges you will one day have to give an account. We are all of us hastening to the judgment. In a little while we shall cease to be benefited by religious institu- tions ; we shall soon have no further necessity for houses made with hands, to worship the Most High. ll«i])])} shall we be, if, ripened by the means of religious instruction enjoyed on earth, and sanctified by the Spirit of God, we may be prepared for admission to that glorious temple, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, to unite with the myriads of the re- deemed from among the children of men, in ascribing glory, and honor, dominion, and power, thanksgiving, and praise, and blessing, to Him, who sittcth on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever. 115 SERMON V. MINISTERIAL COURTESY ephesians iv. 31, 32. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye hind one to another. The words of the text were addressed by Paul to the church at Ephesus. In that once celebrated and licentious city, he had been eminently successful in planting the standard of the Redeemer's cross. His attachment, both to the elders and members of the Ephesian church, was peculiarly strong. His valedictory address to the former, in the twentieth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, is one of the most exquis- itely tender and pathetic appeals, that can be 116 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. found in any writing, sacred or profane. After this affectionate farewell, the apostle was called to pass through a variety of painful trials, and to suffer reproach and persecution, on account of his undeviating attachment to his Master and his fidelity to his cause. Having been constrained to appeal unto Caesar to escape the implacable wrath of his blood-thirsty countrymen, he found leisure, while a prisoner at Rome, to address a letter, rich in Christian doctrine and replete with practical exhortation, to the church which he had been so happily instrumental in gathering from a world lying in wickedness. In this epistle, although addressed, in general, to the saints that are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus, it is not unnatural to suppose, that he might have particular reference to the elders of the church, whom he met at Miletus, and for whom he expressed such a deep and tender concern in his memorable address on that occa- sion. It will be readily admitted, that the various exhortations to practical duties, with which the scriptures abound, are applicable to those who sustain a public, as well as to those who hold a private station in the church, and that ministers of the gospel, as well as professing Christians generally, need to be exhorted to lay Sj:r. 6, MINISTER] u. C0UR1 ESI . 117 aside all animositj and strife, and to cherish feelings of mutual kindness and good will. Of the necessity of Mich an exhortation, no one, who is acquainted with the present state of excitement on subjects of religious controversy in this Commonwealth, can entertain a doubt It would be useless to attempt to conceal what has become so apparent, that there exists among Congregational ministers, a wide and important, and, as some conceive, a radical and essential difference of opinion in regard to the doctrines of Christianity. There are those, who adhere to the system of faith embraced by the Puritans and the early settlers of New England, and embodied in the Confession of Faith adopted at Cambridge, in the year 1680, and there are those who have departed from that system of faith, and rejected some of those doctrines, whieh their pious ancestors, in days as they suppose of comparative darkness, received as the word of God. Ministers, entertaining views of Christian doctrine so widely different, are still agreed in the form of church government, preferring the Congregational mode, as held by their venerable fathers, to the rites and forms of Episcopacy, from which their fathers dissented, or to the judicial courts of the Presbyterian church. On 118 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. -ER. 5. account of this agreement, they are still united under one denominational character, and hold their annual meetings, as in days of yore, in this city of their solemnities, for the transaction of busi- ness, the public worship of God, and the relief of the indigent widows of their departed brethren. On such an occasion, my respected fathers and brethren, 1 am called to address you. I would not appear as the advocate of either of the religious parties to which I have alluded, although I may have been indebted to the partiality cf one of them for the place I occupy. I feel it a solemn duty to forbear any expression of attach- ment to religious peculiarities, and to remember, that I am addressing the whole Convention. In selecting a subject for this occasion, I might have fixed upon some general topic, the discussion of which would not have given um- brage to any, and would have left the preacher the satisfaction of reflecting, that, if he had done no good, he had done no harm : but this reflec- tion is not sufficient to satisfy his conscience. He is convinced, that the same rule ought to be adopted in addressing an assembly of ministers, ;is in preaching to a mixed congregation on the weekly Sabbath — to urge upon them the duties most appropriate to their characters and cireum- BER, 6* MINISTER] IL ( OURTESY, I 19 stances, — and, although he feels very incompetent to the undertaking of imparting counsel and exhortation to bis ministerial brethren, he dans not neglect the opportunity afforded him on thi> occasion, of endeavoring to soften the asperity of religious party, and to infuse, if possible, a spirit of mutual kindness and forbearance into the breasts of those, who equally profess to be the ambassadors of God to man. Nor is he unaware of the extreme difficulty and delicacy of the task he lias undertaken, and, were his motive to please men, he certainly would have relinquished it as a hopeless attempt. But, if he knows his own heart, lie has a higher and nobler aim ; an aim, which, if not appreciated by all his hearers, will, he hopes, meet the approbation of the Master whom he serves. The exhortation in the text supposes the existence of a spirit of mutual disaffection in the church at Ephesus, and the necessity of the exercise of mutual kindness. In the application which we have made of the text to the occasion upon which we have convened, it would be pain- ful and unnecessary to adduce the evidence of the fact, that there exists, among the professed ministers of the gospel of our own denomination, a state of feeling and conduct, which renders the 1 JO MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SKR. 5. exhortation of the apostle applicable to them. It will not be my object to dwell upon the melancholy fact, which no one, who has eyes to read the pamphlets on theological controversy, which have issued from the press, or ears to hear the clamor and evil speaking which they have occasioned, can deny. My design is not to dwell upon what has passed, except as a beacon to our future course, but to inculcate upon my ministe- rial brethren the importance and necessity of putting away from them all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, with all malice ; and of being kind one to another. In accomplishing this design, suffer me to urge the importance of manifesting the spirit enjoined in our text, — 1. In regard to the measures, adopted by each religious party, to advance its own interests. When I speak of religious parties, I would not be understood to use the language in an invidious sense. The question is not, whether it is de- sirable that such parties should exist. The fact that they do exist, is undeniable. Nor is it now a question, whether they can be so united as to act together with mutual benefit and advantage. Candid and discerning men of both persuasions, I believe, are convinced, that it is neither judi- SEtt, ">. mini- it.ki m. COl RTES1 . 121 cious nor desirable, in the instructions of the sanctuary, nor in the promotion of doctrinal opinions ;uid the religious objects connected \\ it h them, that such a union should be attempted. Thr peace of the community is better promoted by an agreement to differ, than by a constrained attempt to unite opinions so opposite, and objects so diverse. The judicious advice of Abram to Lot is not (inappropriate to the existing state of religious parties. Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen, for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee ? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if thou de- part to the right hand, then I will go to the left. But, although those of a different faith may feel it their duty to act separately in promoting the cause of what they consider to be truth, there is no reason for the indulgence of a bitter and un- kind spirit. Such a separation ought to be per- fectly consistent with kind and friendly feelings. In this land of religious liberty, it should never be forgotten that we have equal rights, and that no one sect possesses any exclusive privileges. We may honestly believe that our sentiments are 16 1 22 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. scriptural, and the belief of them in our opinion essentia] to salvation, and that those who differ from us embrace dangerous errors ; but this gives us do right to control the faith of others, nor to entertain towards them any other feelings than those of kindness and benevolence. Indeed, the very fact that we differ, and that we view the difference important, if not fundamental, ought to inspire; the kindest feelings towards those, who, in our judgment, have enibraeed opinions that hazard their salvation. Nor ought we to regard the respeetive meas- ures, which each religious party conscientiously adopts to advance its own interests, with suspi- cion and jealousy. Do not the men of this world combine and associate together to promote their worldly objects and designs? Uo they not readily obtain from constituted authority all necessary facilities to carry their combinations and associa- tions into effect? And shall professing Christians indulge in suspicions and jealousies against those who are anxious to combine their means and influence to advance the interests of the Re- deemer's kingdom, to promote what they sincerely believe to be the cause of vital piety and practical religion? Nor should the fair and open attempts, which each religious party may make to spread SCR. 5. HINtSTIRIAL C0URTE8T. I 23 the knowledge of its own peculiarities, and to increase its numbers and influence, be the subject of severe reprehension and unkind remark. Do we not live in a land that knows no religious establishment, where no compulsion is used to enforce the belief of a religious creed, or the observance of ecclesiastical ceremonies? Has not every denomination the unalienable right of supporting itself by its own energies, of putting forth all its strength, consistently with a regard to order and the rights of others, to build its own walls, to repair its own breaches, and to enlarge its own bounds ? We may honestly differ in the views we entertain of the expediency of these measures. We may decline the adoption of them ourselves, and avoid, as carefully as we please, any participation in them. We may go further — we may express our disapprobation of them, and give our reasons for disapproving of them, with a Christian spirit ; but we are not justified, in the sight of God or man, in loading those, who favor them, with obloquy and reproach — in holding them up to the world as disturbers of the public peace — in endeavoring to excite a popular odium against them in our own community, as aiming to destroy the liberties of the people, and to fasten upon them a yoke of bondage. 121 MINISTKK1AL COl RT&BYi SER. 5« This is not the place, nor tlie occasion, to de- iVnd or oppose any system of measures pursued by any religious party ; but it is the place, and the occasion, to bear solemn testimony against the unkind, illiberal, and censorious spirit, which has beep manifested in the expression of opinions respecting these measures. And when can a more suitable opportunity present itself, for re- monstrating against the indulgence of such a spirit, than in the presence of so many of the professed ministers of the Prince of peace, of that meek and lowly Saviour, who rebuked his disciples and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of? — In this sacred temple, then, and around this altar of our Fathers, let us resolve to put away all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, with all malice ; and to be kind one to another. Permit me to enforce the spirit of the text, 2. In relation to the manner of conducting theological controversy through the medium of the press. A free press is justly considered as the palla- dium of our liberties. Any attempt to control it, on the part of arbitrary power, ought ever to be regarded with quick suspicion and watchful jealousy. Far be it from us to wish to restrain -in. 5i NUflSTKBIAL C0UftTE8Y« 1 26 this liberty. We rejoice thai we live in a land, where the press \g free as our mountain air, and although we are exposed to the violence of the tempest it sometimes occasions, it serves to purify our political atmosphere, and to preserve our civil institutions in a state of vigorous salubrity. But, although a freedom of the press, approaching to licentiousness, may be tolerated in political con- troversy, although opposing aspirants for civil office may wrestle on this public arena, — a differ- ent spirit becomes the ministers of God, whose commission breathes peace on earth and good will to men. AVe do not say, that religious controversy is not necessary, and, sometimes, even desirable; but we must be permitted to enter our solemn protest against the spirit with which it is too often conducted. Truth mav be defended, and error exposed, and, at the same time, a Christian spirit maintained. In the agitating controversy that exists among us, it cannot be denied that a spirit of bitterness has manifested itself, that has given pain to good men of every communion. The personalities that have been suffered to ob- trude themselves upon the notice of the public eye cannot but be regarded with disapprobation, by the truly liberal and catholic of every religious 126 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. sect. The attempt to fasten upon the advocates of any system of religious belief opprobrious epithets, which they not only do not admit, but expressly deny, cannot be justified by candid, impartial men. Is there not a want of kindness and impar- tiality id representing each other's religious sen- timents; Are not opinions imputed to opposite sects, which they expressly disclaim, and results from their principles charged upon them, which they unhesitatingly disavow? Are not the most extravagant caricatures offered to the public, as correct representations of religious peculiarities? I do not mean to charge any with intentional misrepresentation, but is it not the case, that those, who would shrink from such an imputation, are in the habit of regarding the religious opinions of their brethren through the distorted medium of party prejudice ? It is wrong for any one sect to represent another as sectarian and exclusive, because they are not ready to admit that others are right as w r ell as themselves, and because they deem it inexpedient and improper to interchange the services of the sanctuary with those who differ from them in opinion on the leading doc- trines of the gospel. Nor is it right for those who believe that their brethren have embraced EL 5, MINISTER! \L 0OUETB81 . 1 27 dangerous errors, to reproach them with the charge of infidelity, while thej acknowledge the inspiration and sufficiency of the scriptures* — Mutual recriminations and reflections ought to be carefully avoided in conducting religious contra- ry. They do no good, but produce much evil. The charge of bigotry, and intolerance, and exclusiveness, however loudly and widely vociferated, does not make us bigots and exclu- sionists, if we arc 4 honest and conscientious in our views of the difference between truth and error. Nor do the insinuations of deism and infidelity make us infidels, as long as we receive the holy scriptures as the rule of our faith and practice. These censorious epithets serve only to inflame the minds of the community, and to produce a spirit of bitterness and unkindness among the professed ministers of the gospel. Let them be put away from us; and in conducting a contro- versial press, if we must have one, let us avoid personalities, and severe and uncharitable reflec- tions upon each other. The cause of truth will lose nothing by a spirit of courtesy and mutual condescension. If some of our religious periodi- cals, and other controversial publications, could be expurgated from that strain of partial rep- 128 MINISTERIAL COrilTESY. SER. 5. resentation and bitter invective* which has so Strongly characterized them, the cause to which they are devoted would be more effectually ad- vanced, and the great interests of truth and holi- ness and charity better promoted- Bot it is not only as regards the manner of conducting religious controversy from the press, that our text contains a salutary caution, it may be applied, with equal pertinency, 3. To the services of the pulpit. " The Pulpit, in the sober use Of its legitimate peculiar powers, Must stand acknowledged, while the world shall stand. The meet important and effectual guard, Support and ornament of virtue's cause." J)ut how often is that consecrated place polluted with the bitter spirit of theological con- troversy ! The times have gone by in New England, when too many of our pulpits were devoted to the cause of political strife. Our ears are no longer pained with the praises and censures of the administration of our national government. But, if the clergy of Massachusetts have wisely ceased to preach political sermons, have they not unwisely indulged in theological controversy in the house of Cod ? We would not object to a calm, dispassionate discussion of SER. 5. HINIS it.ki IL COURTES! , 1 29 disputed doctrines. We hold, that it is the duty of every faithful minister of the gospel to main- tain what he believes to be the truth of God, bj sound argument and persuasive eloquence. We are ready to allow that, in course of his minis- trations, he will feci it his duty to examine those points of theology, which arc most the subjects of controversy, with a view to establish his hearers in the truth of that system of faith which he believes to be most agreeable to the word of God. But we must object to the practice of making the pulpit the theatre for polemic war — of hurling from that sacred place anathemas and denunciations against those who embrace a different creed, or, what is not the less objectionable, because the more wary and insidious, of conjuring up a man of straw, in the distempered imagination of the preacher, and then giving him a name of some opposite sect, in language too plain to be misunderstood. The habit, in which there is reason to fear some indulge, of preaching against other sects in terms of bitter invective or contemptuous ridicule, is calculated to do unspeakable injury, and to keep alive in the community that spirit of animosity, which tends to blight our social and domestic happiness, and to widen the breach which a dif- 17 130 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. ference of opinion may have occasioned. Instead of preaching against other denominations, would it not more comport with our character as am- bassadors of Heaven, to preach what we honestly believe to be the doctrines of the gospel — to exhibit those plain and simple truths which com- mend themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God — to exhort sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on the hope set before them? The noble resolution of Paul, is worthy the imitation of every minister of Christ. I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. There is enough in that great and momentous subject to occupy the whole time of the faithful preacher, and to leave none for angry controversy, illiberal reflections, and ungenerous misrepresentations. The spirit of our text may be still further ap- plied to those who sustain the ministerial office, 4. In their intercourse with each other in private life. It is unfeignedly to be lamented that a differ- ence of opinion on religious subjects should pro- duce feelings of personal coldness and unfriendly aspect among the; professed ministers of the gospeL It is true the same kind and degree of union cannot be expected to exist among those, SER. 5. IflNISTER] \r. I 01 Rl E81 . 131 who widely differ in religious opinion, is among those who speak the Bame thing, and are per- fectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Bui there is no reason why ministers, who may differ essentially in their re- ligious belief, should not treat each other with respect, with courtesy, and with kindness. This is demanded of them, as members of society, as men of education who are supposed to be acquainted with what belongs to propriety of manners and correctness of deportment, and. especially, as professedly sustaining the same high and honorable office in the church of God. This kindness of feeling and courtesy of manners is entirely consistent with the most perfect de- cision of sentiment and independence of character. It is not necessary to renounce any of our pecu- liarities, nor to alter our course of conduct as regards the distinguishing points of theological controversy, in order to cultivate that freedom from bitterness and that exercise of kindness enjoined in the text. Many are the occasions in which ministers of an opposite faith are thrown into each other's society, and it is not unfrequently the case that they are associated w ith each other by some of the most endeared connections and charities of 132 MINISTERIAL COURTES\ SER. 5. life. While, then, they maintain with iirmiu their respective peculiarities, and give the weight of their talents and influence to the cause which they conscientiously prefer, they ought to cherish feelings of mutual kindness, and embrace every opportunity to manifest this disposition in the social intercourse of life. Such opportunities are constantly occurring for the exercise of kind and benevolent feelings among ministers of a different faith. In the various relations of life, their con- gregations are frequently so intermingled, as occasionally to bring them together in the house of rejoicing and in the house of mourning. Is it not desirable that, instead of that cold and formal distance w hich is so often observed, they should meet each other with the smile of courtesy and the tear of sympathy ? Nor are their own fami- lies exempt from affliction, nor free from the visits of that messenger who is no respecter of persons or of creeds. Are the sympathies of ministers to be restrained to those of their breth- ren who coincide with them in religious belief? Have we no bowels of compassion towards those who bleed under the stroke of divine Providence, because they are called by a different name and worship in a different temple? Is it not practica- ble, to interchange the kind offices of sympathy ;. .*>. mHf8TBRIA] COURTESY* 133 and friendship, and yet retain our peculiarities and our different pursuit Bui it is not merelj in the ordinary courtesi pf life that I would inculcate upon my ministerial brethren the spirit enjoined in our text We are hound by it to be tender of each other's reputa- tion. That man is indeed a bigot, who has no ud for any but those who bekmg to his own i. and that man is worse than a bigot — I know not where to find language strong enough to express my abhorrence of his character — who can listen to false reports, unfavorable to the good name of his neighbor and especially his brother in the ministry, because he belongs to a sect different and opposite from his own. How ready are men to defend the characters of those who are connected with their own party, while they can fegard with indifference, if not with compla- cency, the vile aspersions and base calumnies that are cast upon those who are active in the propagation of what they believe to be the truth of the gospel ! Are there none among those from whom better things ought to be expected, who, when as in the days of Jeremiah defama- tion was heard on every side, have been ready to . Ueport, and we will report it? A tender regard for the good name of our ministerial 134 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. brethren, however widely they may differ from us in religious belief, ought to be sacredly cher- ished, and all attempts to injure their deserved reputation, with a view to lessen their influence in the community, to be met with the indignant frown of marked disapprobation. The religious principles of distinguished men, however erroneous and dangerous they may be considered, ought not to derogate from their literary fame. While we may deplore their errors as theologians, we may eulogize their merit as scholars, and feel a laudable satisfaction in the credit reflected by their literary labors upon the land of their birth. Nor is the preten- sion, that is sometimes boastingly made, to a monopoly of talent and learning, less offensive and disgusting. That eye must be jaundiced indeed, which can see no intellectual and moral excellence in any but those who wear the livery of its own sect, and that sensibility peculiarly morbid, that is not alive to the display of talent, the command of learning, and the force of eloquence, from the ranks of those who are enlisted under a different banner in the religious world. The Jewish prov- erb is too often adopted, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? It is time that this narrowness of party was laid aside, and that a u. 5. MINISTERIAL C0URTE8T. 136 disposition was manifested to do justice to talents, and learnings and worth, in whatever religious community thej may be found. The trulj liberal man will take more pleasure in yielding this just tribute to those who differ from him, than to those who agree with him in opinion. He w ill not suffer the dust of party strife to blind his eyes to the discernment of merit in a theological opponent, but will readily acknowledge his ability, and candidly appreciate his motives. Such a spirit would tend much to soften the asperity of theological controversy, and to promote feelings of mutual kindness among those who conscien- tiously differ in religious opinion. This spirit the professed ministers of the gospel are bound, by the most powerful motives, to cultivate. 1. The peace and welfare of society demand it. I have already adverted to the intermingling of the various relations of life in our respective congregations. It is not unfrequently the case, that members of the same family worship at different altars. We pause not to justify or condemn such a course. It is with the fact alone, that we are now concerned. How im- portant is it to the peace and comfort of those families, who are thus situated, that the spirit 136 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. enjoined in the text should be maintained by theii respective teachers and religious guides! — It is to be lamented, that, from a neglect of this spirit, the most unhappy effects arc often experienced in the domestic circle. From those whom they June been habituated to regard with a reverence perhaps too sacred, and with a credence too im- plicit, manv families are accustomed to receive impressions respecting the faith of others, and of those too whom they should highly respect and tenderly love, which future time and better in- formation will never entirely efface. The peace and welfare of our community loudly call upon those who minister at the altar, to refrain from bitter reviling, and to cultivate a spirit of mutual courtesy and kindness. Many are sick at heart of the bitter and contentious spirit which so much prevails. From scenes of polemic strife they would gladly escape, exclaiming in the language of the Psalmist, Oh that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and he at rest. But does it not depend in a very great degree upon ministers themselves, whether this unhappy state of excitement shall continue: — Would not a gen* era! compliance with the spirit of the text tend, more than any thing else, to allay this controver- >i;k. .">. KIN 181 KR1 \i. con; i i>\ . 13*3 sial fermentation, ami like the salt in Elisha't cruise heal these deadlj waters ? We do not ask you to relinquish a single point. of doctrine, nor to countenance a single error. directly or indirectly. We do not plead for in- terchange of ministerial labor, for we believe, that among those w ho differ so widely, it is both inexpedient and injurious, — but we do urge upon you, as you regard tin 4 sweet charities of domes* tic life, as you appreciate the advantages of unimbittered social intercourse, and as you value the peace of the community — to put away from you all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, with all malice ; and to be kind one to another. 2. Another motive for cultivating the spirit enjoined in the text, may be found in the respect due to our own characters, as professed ambassadors of the Prince of peace. We have all of us, my brethren, been solemnly set apart to the sacred work of the gospel min- istry, and although we may differ widely in our views of religious truth, we have been introduced by the rites of ordination into the same office. As engaged in the same profession, we are bound to treat each other with respect and courtesy. We may differ as to the qualifications for this 18 138 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 5. high and sacred office, but we are not justified in discovering any other spirit towards those from Whom we differ, than that of kindness and good will. While we claim the liberty of thinking and acting for ourselves, let us not use our liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but, by love, let us serve one another, for all the law is ful- filled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: but if we bite and devour one another, let us take heed that we be not consumed one of another. If we would regard our own characters, and the character of our profession, let us cultivate the spirit enjoined in the text. Finally, as a solemn and powerful motive for the cultivation of this spirit, let us reflect on our accountability to the Master whom we profess to serve, and at whose bar, with unnumbered mil- lions, we must soon appear to give an account of our ministry. In our professional services we often direct the attention of our people to that eventful day, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest, and every one rewarded according to bis works. At that dread tribunal, we, too, reverend fathers and brethren, must stand, and be called to give an account, not only of the SKR. 5. MINISTERIAL C0URTB8T. 139 manner in which we have discharged our duty to the flocks committed to our care, but also of the spirit we have cherished and manifested towards h other. Oh, my brethren, how awful is our Responsibility ! If, as our Lord expressly assures us, men shall give account in the day of judg- ment of every idle word they shall speak, what a solemn account will they have to give, who, ia the heat of theological controversy, have not only uttered many idle words, but have indulged in unkind and censorious remarks upon their brethren in the ministry ! The subject, which has now engaged our at- tention, will be generally acknowledged to be important and seasonable. It is the sincere desire of the preacher to have his own soul imbued with the spirit he has recommended to others. He has spoken freely and fearlessly, without regard to sect or party. He has felt that the times required that some one should lift up his voice against the bitter and acrimonious spirit that has disgraced our theological contro- versy. In the discharge of this duty he is not conscious of being actuated by any other motive than an ardent desire to allay the violence of party strife. He is convinced that peace and [40 MINISTERIAL COURTESY. SER. 6k quietness are not to be obtained by a vain attempt to unite those who are so widely separated in religious belief — but by an agreement to differ, and a readiness to allow eaeh other, in all its ge ner ous extent, the right of private judgment* Many of the evils we so much lament, if he is not mistaken, have been occasioned by a disre- gard of this important principle) and by an attempt to enforce, if not a uniformity of faith, an acknowledgment of the innocency and safety of error. When men w r ill be content to allow others to think they may have embraced dan- gerous errors, without heaping upon them terms of unmeasured reproach and obloquy, and when those w ho view their brethren as holding doc- trines that are unsafe, or rejecting those that are important, shall learn to treat them with courtesy and kindness, and manifest towards them feelings of tender solicitude and affectionate interest — then, and not till then, may we hope to see those dark and portentous clouds of party strife, which now hang lowering over our churches, dissipated by the mild and cheering radiance of the Sun of Righteousness. The importance of my subject must be my apology, for having so long detained this large EL 5. mitlSTEBl l£ 1 0URTE81 . 1 I 1 and respectable audience from carrying into effect the t ml \ benevolent purpose, which 1 doubt not bas brought them together. Of the numerous charities for which our times are distinguished, I know of no one more unexceptionable, than that to which I now have the honored privilege of inviting your attention. Having been long, offi- cially, concerned in the appropriation of the charities of this Convention, I have had occasion to know much of the circumstances of those, in whose behalf w e now solicit your charitable aid. They have seen better and brighter days. From the important stations which their departed guar- dians were called to fill, they have been conver- sant witli the most refined society, and have been surrounded, not only with the necessaries, but with the comforts of life. The removal of those on whom they so confidently leaned, has thrown them into obscurity, and, in many instances, with- drawn that pecuniary aid which was necessary for a decent and comfortable maintenance. Living, now, in great seclusion and retirement, they have little other earthly resource, than the annual charity of this Convention, to which they habitu- ally look forward with confiding trust, and always receive with heartfelt gratitude. In this charity we ean all unite. The appeal 142 MINISTERIAL COURTESY'. SER. 5. which we now make in behalf of the poor and lonely, and, in many instances, infirm and aged widows of our departed brethren, I am persuaded will not be in vain. No liberal, ingenuous mind will withhold or lessen his contribution, because their cause is advocated by one of a different faith. The thought cannot — shall not be indulged for a moment. In the appropriation of the funds of the Convention, and of the Congregational Charitable Society, I take great pleasure in stating, from personal knowledge, that the most perfect impartiality has ever been observed. It has never been made a question, and I trust it never will be, to what religious party the recipi- ents of this sacred charity belong. It is enough, that they are widows and need our aid. On this broad ground, my beloved friends, we can meet, if on no other. On this altar of charity, then, let us unite in offering our gifts, — and let the only strife and controversy be, who shall do most to make the widow's heart sing for joy. 143 SERMON VI. THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD JEREMIAH iv. 6. Set up the standard toward Zion. On occasions like the present, when we behold our civil fathers and our military guardians as- sembled in the temple of the Most High, it has been usual for the preacher of the day to avail himself of the political relations of this country with the powers of Europe, to furnish an appro- priate subject of discourse. Nor has it been difficult in times past, from the peculiar and in- teresting state both of this and other countries, to select such themes as were calculated to stim- ulate the soldier to the discharge of his duty, and to interest the citizen in the defence of his 1 I I THE CHRISTIJJJ STANDARD. 9ER« (J. liberties and rights. But, blessed be the God of peace, no such themes now present themselves for our consideration. We DO longer hear of wars and rumors of wars. The individual, whose name once spread terror through the nations, is forgotten in the distant isle of the ocean, and, were it not that he lives to publish to the world the 1 record of his deeds, we should almost have imagined his bloody career to have been but a terfific vision of the night, so completely has the sun of universal peace dissipated the darkness and gloom, which but lately overspread the po- litical horizon. The state of our own country does not now, as on former occasions, excite any other emotions than those of gratitude and praise for our inesti- mable privileges and unparalleled blessings. We have not now to burnish our arms for war, nor to dread the disruption of our rising empire by any unhappy divisions among ourselves. One heart and one soul now animates our republic ; party spirit exists in no greater degree than, perhaps, is necessary to the security of our political institu- tions; and the days of Washington seem to have returned, when the chair of the national execu- tive is filled by the man whom the people delight to honor. SER. 6. THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD* 145 Such being the pacific state of the world, and what benevolent heart does not pray that it may be perpetual, maj I be permitted to select a subject, more adapted to the period in which it is our happiness to live, and more congenial to the feelings of the friends of peace and of /ion. We will not enlarge upon the connection in which the words, prefixed to this discourse, stand in the chapter from which they are taken. It is sufficient to observe that they are capable of an interesting application to the occasion of this meeting. While they recognize the military character, they direct our attention, by the type to which they refer, to the true Zion, the church of God. It is not our purpose, like the Hermit in the eleventh century, to stir up the flame of a holy war, and to induce you to carry your arms to Palestine for the recovery of the city of God. It is to a nobler warfare that we would stimulate you, to a higher prize that we would direct your attention, a better cause in which we would engage your efforts. Let it be, then, the de- lightful business of this morning, to consider the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom as well deserving the attention of military men. Let us set up the standard toward Zion. 19 1 46 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. It is our privilege to live in an age and period of the world, when unusual efforts arc making for the spread of the gospel. The prophecies of holy writ respecting the extension of the kingdom of the Prince of peace are rapidly fulfilling. Already docs the banner of the cross wave over lands which were but recently under the dominion of the great enemy of mankind. On the ruins of pagan idolatry we behold the church of God arise in all its beauty, and in all its glory. The war whoop of the savage is succeeded by the hymn of praise for redeeming love; and those, who once sacrificed their helpless offspring to the modern Moloch 9 have learnt to offer to the true Jehovah the sacrifice of a broken and a contrite heart. The islands of the southern ocean have been Visited with the light of heaven, and a change, as great as it is wonderful, has been effected in their manners, their customs, their habits, their religion. In this astonishing revolution, Chris- tianity and civilization have gone hand in hand ; and the same men, that taught the once besotted islander the knowledge of the true God and Saviour, have also instructed him in the practice of husbandry and the mechanical arts. To idle* s, sensuality, murder and vice of every kind, have succeeded industry, chastity, sobriety and SER. 6. mi: CHRISTIAN BTAHDABD. 141 the feai of God. The Sabbath is observed with ■ regularity and propriety that would shame inaii\ Christian lands, and the duty of public prayer attended with a fervor and devotion wor- thy the imitation of all who call upon the name of the Lord. The kingdom of the Prince of peace is rapidly extending its benign influence over the earth. That ancient people, to whom were committed the oracles of God, and to whom we are so deeply indebted for their preservation, begin to excite the commiseration and to call forth the exertions of the Christian world. In this be- nevolent work our own country has taken an active and important part. She has indeed set up the standard toward Zion, and sent forth her soldiers, clad with the whole armor of God, having their loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, taking the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, and bearing for their standard the cross of Christ. They have began their march to the holy land, followed by the prayers of thousands ; and, as the weapons of their warfare are not carnal, we may hope that they will prove mighty, through God, to the 148 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. In connection with the missionary spirit that characterizes the period of the world in which We live, it is proper to notice the efforts that have been made and are now making, for the extensive and universal dissemination of the word of life. Whatever difference of opinion may pos- sibly be entertained on the subject of missions, we are confident that but one sentiment exists in this audience, respecting the duty of all to unite in the godlike undertaking of distributing the sacred volume, that only standard of our faith and practice. It is now sixteen years since the bright thought was conceived of the gratuitous distribution of the scriptures, without note or comment ; and from this period we may date a new era in the history of the Christian world. To this single event, we believe, may be traced, more than to any other, the wonderful revolution that has taken place in the opinions of men on the subject of war. Although, during that period, it is true, many bloody and destructive battles have been fought, it should be remembered that BER« 6« THE CHRIST] \N BT \M> MM). 1 VJ the effects of such a system cannot be fell in a moment. We are now beginning to experience its happy influence; and we have no doubt, that when the Bible shall be sent to every dwelling, and its blessed contents to every heart, the whole world will regard its pacific principles, and learn war no more. In considering the rapid progress of the king- dom of Christ, neither our own feelings, nor a regard to the occasion which has given rise to our subject, will suffer us to pass unnoticed the efforts, which have recently been made by Peace Socie- ties, for spreading through the community just views of the subject of war. Perhaps there was no subject on which the public mind needed to be more enlightened. Christian nations, for cen- turies past, have thought it not only necessary, but just, to engage in offensive war ; and the rulers of the earth have declared and waged war with the same unconcern and indifference, that they would pass a tariff bill, or appropriate a pension. They seem to have forgotten that the lives of their constituents, and, more especially, that their precious souls, were of any value. They appear to have been utterly unmindful of the solemn account which they must give at the day of retribution, for letting loose the scourge 160 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. of war upon a peaceful country, and exposing the lives and happiness of thousands of their fellow- creatures to the horrors of military violence. But, now, different views appear to actuate those, upon whose decision rests the all-important ques- tion of war or peace. The resort to arms is not advocated until every other resort fails ; and it is in the last extremity alone, when all reasonable efforts have been made to prevent it, that we may hope that a Christian nation will declare war. The prevalence of principles so congenial to the spirit of Christianity, so dear to the heart of every good man, is one of the happy peculiarities of the age in which we live ; and those, who by their exertions and influence have contributed to produce it, deserve the everlasting gratitude of mankind. Among these benefactors of the hu- man race, posterity will not fail to record the name of the friend of peace* who has done more than any other individual to disseminate these pacific principles, and who, by his exertions in this blessed cause, has shown us, that the best news of the Bible is, Peace on earth and good will to men. Among the great events which indicate the 1 Ilev. Noah Worcester, D. D. sek. (>. Tin: CHRISTIAN st\nd\kd. 161 iocteafting prosperity of Zion, we hail with Batis- (action) the intelligence] which has recently been received] of the abolition of that dread tribunal] the bloody Inquisition) the history of whoso horrors is enough to chill the heart of every friend of humanity. It is a source of no ordinary congratulation that the land of bigotry and despotism is at last rousing from its fatal lethargy, and assuming a rank among the free and independent nations of the earth. So important a revolution, effected in so peaceable a manner, must be regarded as favorable to the cause of truth; and we cannot but indulge the hope that, with the abolition of the holy office, the blind attachment to a national creed will give place to more enlightened views of religion — that the protestant principle of the sufficiency of the scriptures and the right of private judgment, will be acknowledged in that part of Christendom, which has so long been the seat of papal authority and blind credulity. In the view we are taking of the advancing cause of religion, we would not omit to notice the efforts that have in many parts of the world been successfully made to abolish that inhuman traffic — the slave trade ; and we had hoped to have been enabled, this day, to have boasted of 152 thi: christian standard; ber. (i. the part which our own country had taken in this cause of freedom. But our expectations have beeo disappointed — and the toleration of slavery by a free government, remains a solecism in the history of republics, and an indelible blot upon our national character. Blush my country at this record in your history! Was there no Wilberforce in our national councils, to have boldly espoused the cause of freedom, and, by the power of his eloquence, to have exhibited the gross inconsistency of holding a single slave in this land of boasted liberty and independence? Must it be proclaimed to the world that in this free and happy country, this asylum for the oppressed, the basis of whose government is the acknowledgment of equal liberties and rights, it was impossible to obtain the consent of its legislature to the restriction of slavery in admit- ting a new member into the confederacy? Yes. we must weep over this stain in the fair reputation of our country. But we will not despair. We cannot think that the time that has been spent by the representatives of a free people in the discussion of this important ques- tion, has been altogether lost. It has, doubtless, led to much information and to enlarged views of a most interesting subject; and we belic\e )\. (!. i in: CHRIST! Ill - I \m> \kd. 169 that the period is not far distant, when, as ;i nation who struggled and fought for liberty and the rights of man, we shall be sensible of the strange incongruity of encouraging slavery, and nobly resolve that we will, in the strictest sense, he free, as w ell as independent. Thus is the kingdom of the Prince of peace rapidly advancing and extending its benign in- fluence over the habitable world. In this pleas- ing, this animating prospect, what friend of Zion, what friend of humanity, does not feel the live- liest interest: and can 1 doubt, for a moment, that those of this respected audience, whose brilliant and warlike appearance this day remind us that they are ready to obey the call of their country, and to wield the sword in her defence, embrace with satisfaction the opportunity afforded bv tin 1 general pacification of the world, to turn their attention to nobler objects and higher pur- suits, than the field of battle and the art of war? They surely cannot remain unconcerned spec- tators of the great and glorious events that are taking place in the world, although they are calculated to lessen the demands upon their ser- vices in the field. In common with us all, they art 4 interested in the general spread of the gospel, and, as Christian soldiers, they ought ever to 20 154 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. remember that nothing but dire necessity can justify the use of arms, and that cessation of war, in consequence of the prevalence of Chris- tian principle, is an event greatly to be desired by every good man. They will not view the subject under consideration as unworthy their notice, if thev reflect on the magnitude and im- portance of the themes that have passed under review, and of the lively interest which they begin to excite in the hearts of those, whose exalted stations and commanding influence give weight to their opinions and sanction to their conduct. In the cause of religion we behold, with no inconsiderable satisfaction, one of the greatest monarehs in Europe, the Emperor of Russia, engaging with a decision and ardor that deserves the highest commendation, cheerfully affording the patronage of royalty to the benevo- lent exertions of the present day, in spreading the word of life and in diffusing correct sentiments on the subject of war. Animated by such high and brilliant examples, Christian soldiers, will you not enlist under their banners, and set up the standard toward Zion ? The happy period has arrived, when higher and nobler objects invite* our attention than are to be found in the pursuits of military ambition. Were sf.k. thi; un;i?ii\N Si\ni>\ki». 1 the principles of the gospel generally embraced, happy would be the I upon the state of tin 4 world at large and the military character in par- ticular. It must be acknowledged^ however reluctantly, that the pi a soldier ifl by no means favorable to the cultivation of religions principles and feelings* It is attended with manv and peculiar temptations* The crafuskw of the camp is unfavorable to demotion. The frequency of scenes of blood and slaughter, bas a tendency to blunt our sensibility, and the little regard paid to human life, to lessen our attention to the im- mortal part which cannot perish in the field of battle. And. above all. the false ideas of honor, which, we lament to say, are >tiirattached to the military profession, are calculated to weaken the sense of moral obligation, and are often the occa- sion of atrocious crime and unutterable misery and distress* When will the happy period arrive, when that man will be considered truly honorable, who fears God rather than man, who dread-. more than the finger of scorn, the frown of the Almislitv ! Our thoughts naturally revert, on this occasion, to scenes which throw a dark shade upon the bright picture we have been exhibiting, and c a cloud upon the festivities of this anniversarv. 156 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. We could have wished, had it been possible, to have forgotten the melancholy fact, that the pa. of our history is again stained wit h the record of the blood of one of the heroes of our country; shed, not in defence of her liberties and rights, but in yielding to a false sense of honor, in com- pliance with a barbarous custom of a barbarous age. Nor should we have adverted to an event, which (ills the breast of every Christian patriot with undissembled pain, did we not feel it an in- dispensable duty to embrace this opportunity, not only to bear our testimony against the crime of duelling, but to call upon the members of this most ancient military association, to interpose the weight of their influence and example to check the prevalence of a practice, so offensive to Heaven, so disgraceful to our nature, so abhor- rent to the feelings of humanity, so productive of domestic wretchedness, of private wo, and of public shame. It is asked what can be done to prevent the prevalence of a custom, which all, even duellists themselves, reprobate in theory, but which lew, if any, have the courage to decline in practice? Much we believe might be done, and much would be done, if those, to whom we look for legislative and executive authority, would exert the power committed to them, and BER. * ; . i Hi- CHRIS II \N 9T LND IRD, 157 brim: to merited punishmenl all who thus openly violate the laws of God and man. Uut we are aware thai something more is necessary to check this growing, this alarming evil. 'The best of laws will be of little use until a revolution in public opinion is effected. Duelling must be considered disgraceful, before it will be aban- doned bv those who claim the character of hon- orable men. As long as our first men in state and arms give the sanction of their example to this bloody usa^e, what can we expect of the multitude 4 who are always influenced by the con- duct of their superiors ? Had Hamilton and Decatur nobly declined a challenge, while it would have raised them high in the opinion of every friend of religion and virtue, and spared their eminently useful lives to a grateful country, it would have done more than any system of jurisprudence to have laid aside this relic of a feudal age. All that can now be done is for those of our great men, who may be placed in similar circumstances, to resolve, by the force of their example, to give a new current to public sentiment and feeling. And who can do this to greater advantage than the gentlemen, who com- pose this ancient and honorable company, which enrols in its list of members some of our first civil 158 Tin: christian standard. ser. 6. and military characters ? Were an association, so highly respectable, so truly honorable, to proclaim their united suffrage against this inhuman prac- tice, were they not only to speak, but to act, much might be done towards effecting a revo- lution in the public mind on this important subject. AVe know not that a single instance of duelling stains the fair record of this respected company, and we devoutly hope that no such blot may ever be found on its register. Let the fear of Jehovah influence your actions. Let the example of the brave hero of Prestonpans be brought to your recollection, " who, after his remarkable conver- sion, declined accepting a challenge ; — with his calm reply, which," says his biographer, " in a man of his experienced bravery, was exceeding graceful. ' I fear sinning, though you know I do not fear fighting. 5 " The prevalence of true reli- gion would soon counteract the influence of these false views of honor. The courtesy which the gospel enjoins, would prevent occasions of offence, and, when offence was inconsiderately given, the spirit of forgiveness, which Christianity incul- cates, would immediately heal the breach, and supersede the necessity of a resort to arms. Surely then every Christian soldier will ardently SEK. G. THE CHRISTIAN STAND \RI>. 159 desire the advancement of the Redeemer's king- dom — he will rejoice in all the efforts that are making for tin* spread of .the gospel — he will cheerfully set up the standard toward /ion. In directing the attention of this audience to the advancing kingdom of the Prince of peace, I may be thought by some, to have selected a theme foreign from the occasion of this meeting; and, were I called to address none but soldiers, who have no higher motives of action than those which spring from a thirst for military glory, I might, without doubt, have selected a subject more consonant to their taste and feelings. But I have not forgotten that I am addressing Chris- tians, as well as soldiers, the descendants of the Puritans of New England, who w r ould have re- joiced to have seen the things which we see, and to have heard the things w T hich we hear. But, although eminent themselves for personal piety, they lived in a period of the world when the great religious objects, which now excite atten- tion, were but partially understood. With what delight would the Cottons, and Mathers, and other holy men, who once filled our places in these churches, and animated the zeal of our fathers on these occasions, had they been per- mitted to have looked down the vale of time, 1G0 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. have beheld the enlightened efforts of the present age, to diffuse the knowledge of the word of life, to lessen the horrors of war, to advance the kingdom of the Saviour, and to ameliorate the condition of man! May their posterity, while they improve the privileges which they were denied, ever retain that purity of faith, that devotedness to religion, that holiness of life, for which they were distinguished. The descendants of such an ancestry will surely not consider the advancing cause of true religion as an unappropriate subject on the present occasion, but will rejoice that they live to see the dav, when, instead of being called to defend their civil rights and liberties with the sword, they may set up the standard toward Zion, and turn their attention to the progress of that blessed religion, which not only excites the interest of the pious on earth, but is regarded with peculiar complacency by saints in glory, by angels around the throne, and by the Eternal himself. From the view we have taken of the progress which true religion is making in the world, of the extension of divine knowledge, of the preva- lence of correct sentiments on the subject of war, and of the pacific spirit which now appears to actuate the nations of the earth, what benevolent SBR< & i hi: CHRIS 1 1 \.n I i IND \ki>. 161 heart does not rejoice in the auspicious circum- stances of the period in which it is our happiness to live! May we not indulge the pleasing thought, that the days predicted by the spirit of prophecy are rapidly approaching, when the mountain of the Lord's house shall be estab- lished in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall How unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru- salem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people ; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Still, however, we do not suppose, although we may be drawing near the millennial day, that it has actually arrived, nor, much as we desire universal peace, do we flatter ourselves that the weapons of war are yet literally to be converted into implements of husbandry. We must be allowed, as long as society remains in 21 1()J THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. 3ER. 6. its present state, to maintain tlic opinion, that defensive war may be both lawful and expedient. When our altars and firesides — all that we hold dear in domestic or civil life — are exposed to an invading foe, we are not prepared) as men or as Christians, to advocate the doctrine of passive submission. We believe that lie, who once led tin 1 armies of Israel, who taught the hands of their king to war and his fingers to fight, hath made it our duty to defend, with force of arms, the country of our birth, and the government of our choice. We. therefore, highly appreciate the impor- tance of military science, and cannot too much admire that system of military discipline, which, while it relieves ns from all the evils attendant on a standing army, and a profession exclusively that of arms, provides for the defence of our liberties and rights, by the general diffusion of the knowledge of the military art, through all elapses of the community. While the brilliancy of this occasion reminds us, that our citizens can be soldiers an hen necessity requires, their return to the peaceful duties and important avocations of civil life, assures us that their swords will never be drawn but in defence of their country. Among our military associations, the company SER. (i. rHB CHRISTIAN STANDARD. IBS whose anniversarj we this dajr observe, holds a high and important rank. Ancient, indeed) if we consider the date of its charter, and honor- able if we review the list of its members; among whom it ranks, with no inconsiderable pride, our illustrious commander in chief, who has repeatedly received the highest honors of the company, and who is again called, with increas- ing suffrages, to the highest honors of the com- monwealth. From his hands will those, who are this day, agreeably to ancient usage, to be invested with office, receive their badges of com- mand with peculiar satisfaction. We cannot but congratulate the friends of peace and of religion, that, in the executive authority of the State, is associated with the soldier and the statesman, the philanthropist and the friend of Zion, whose pious benevolence and extensive liberalities in forwarding the great objects that have this day- passed in review, will be remembered with grati- tude by generations to come. With such men for our rulers, whose respect to our religious institutions endear them to the friends of peace, we may look forward, with lively confidence, to the continuance of our inestimable privileges and to the increasing prosperity of our beloved country. 164 THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. Gentlemen of the Ancient and Honorable Artil- lery Company, — It is with peculiar satisfaction, that wo meet you in the sanctuary of God. Few scenes are more interesting than that which we now behold. The sword rests in its scabbard — the thunder of the cannon has ceased — the military standard is furled — the nodding plume is laid aside — and the soldier is lost in the humble sinner, kneeling before the throne of God, and acknowledging his dependence upon the arm of the Most High. We cannot too highly commend the practice, so long continued, of mingling whh the martial and brilliant exercises of this day, the solemn duties of religion. Your grateful acknowledg- ments are due to that kind Providence, by whose care you behold another anniversary. — One of your associates and compatriots, the venerable WlNBLOW has, during the past year, finished his mortal course. By his departure, you are re- minded of your own frailty. — These splendid habiliments must soon be laid aside for the shroud, and the spirits which now animate these taberna- cles of clay, must ascend to the tribunal of God. Happy is that soldier, who, at the approach of dissolution, can exclaim, I have fought a good u. 6. mi: CHRISTIAN STANDARD* 166 fight. For him a crown of righteousness is ruserred, that fadeth not awaj . In view of the solemn realities of futurity, how fading and transitory docs the glory of the world appear, and how interesting and important do those subjects become, which have this morn- ing engaged your attention ! As Christians, you cannot pant for war, and as Christians, we cannot desire that you may ever again have the opportu- nity of signalizing your courage and trying your arms in the held of battle. But clouds and darkness rest upon the future. Our most san- guine expectations may all be disappointed. Unforeseen events may again call us to engage in war. and imperious circumstances may justify the measure in the sight of God and man. In which case, citizen soldiers, we have the most perfect confidence in your courage and patriotism. We have no doubt that the spirit which once actuated our fathers, when they fought and bled for all that was dear to them, will rest upon their sons ; and if, like them, you should ever be called to struggle for your liberties and rights, like them you will conquer, and like them receive the warm approbation of a grateful country. But we hope that brighter days and more peaceful 1GG THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. SER. 6. scenes await you. We trust your country will not oeed the interposition of your swords; but, free from foreign commotion and internal disquiet, \\ ill continue to hold a distinguished rank among the nations of the earth. Gentlemen, our best wishes follow you into the tranquil and useful walks 1 of life. May you long enjoy, with gratitude, the bounties of Heaven and the blessings of Christianity in the happiest land beneath the sun, — and when your great Commander, the captain of our salvation, shall give you your discharge, may you hang up your arms in the mansions above, and be numbered among those happy spirits, who have fought their way to glory, and washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. 167 SERMON VII THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE POOR. luke vii. 22. To the poor the Gospel is preached. Of the numerous evidences in favor of the truth of Christianity, that derived from miracles has always been considered of primary impor- tance. Although it has been assailed by the most ingenious sophistry of modern deists, it has triumphed over all opposition, and will ever remain one of the great bulwarks of the Chris- tian faith. This kind of evidence, indeed, is essential to a revelation, purporting to come from God, for in no other way are we able to conceive how a revelation can be made. Should we be thought to attach too great importance to this 168 i m: GOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. kind of evidence, we have only to plead the authority of our divine Master. In the early part of his ministry, the fame of his benevolent labors, as it spread throughout Judea, reached the damp and gloomy a\ alls where the bold and intrepid Baptist lav a prisoner for his fidelity to an incestuous tyrant. When he heard of the wonderful works which Jesus performed, he called two of his disciples and sent them to him saying, — Art thou he that should come, or look we for another ? We cannot suppose that John himself had any doubts of the claims of Jesus to be the Messiah, as he had some time before pointed him out to the multitude on the banks of Jordan as the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world ; — and had beheld the descent of the Holy (ihost like a dove on his sacred head, when he condescended to submit to receive baptism at his hands. His embassy to Jesus was more probably intended to satisfy the minds of his disciples, than his own; and to introduce them to the notice and regards of the Saviour, before he should be removed from them by the bloody act of his relentless persecutor. \\ hen the messengers of John delivered their errand, they found the Saviour engaged in his ;. 7. rO i in: POOR- 169 usual acts of benevolence and mercy, — foi in thai same hour be cured main of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and imto man) that were Mind be gave sight. These* benevo- lent miracles furnished a ready and satisfactory answer to the question of the disciples. Our Lord might indeed have returned them a cate- gorical reply, but he well knew the power of evidence on the human mind: and it was doubt- less his object, in performing these and other miraculous cures, not only to relieve the miseries of suffering humanity, but to furnish a mass of evidence sufficient to satisfy minds more inquisi- tive than were probably those of the disciples of John — evidence so full and so minute as to render perfectly inexcusable every rational being to whom it is addressed in vain. — Then Jesus answering said unto them. Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard ; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised ; to the poor the gospel is preached. In this enumeration of miracles, which our Lord adduces as evidence to support his claim to be the Messiah of the scriptures, you will observe that all but one relate to the kingdom of nature. The last, and deservedly the climax of the whole, 22 170 rilE G09PEL PREACHED -KR. 7. relates to the kingdom of grace. That the inter- esting and important fact, announced in the words of our text, max be considered \ miracle in the moral world, may be inferred, not only from the connection which our Lord gives it with the mira- cles wrought on the bodies of men, but from the consideration that it was as great a deviation from the ordinary course of proceeding at that period in the moral world, as the restoration of sight to the blind and life to the dead was from the ordinary course of nature. There is another point of light in which our text may be viewed. It may be considered as referring to another source of evidence of the truth of Christianity, viz., that arising from the fulfilment of prophecy. This branch of evidence is not less important than that arising from the miracles of Christ. To some minds it is even more conclusive ; and it is a truly astonishing fact, which can only be accounted for by the con- sideration that blindness has happened to Israel, that this evidence could have been resisted by that remarkable people, who were the deposi- taries of ancient prophecies, and who with their own eyes witnessed their exact fulfilment in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The fact to which the Saviour referred the SERi 7. PO THE POOBi 1 1 I disciplei of John, foi proof of his divine mission, was a remarkable fulfilment of a well known prediction in the prophecy of Isaiah. — The Spirit of tin 4 Lord is upon me, becau$e he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. But whether we consider the declaration con- tained in the text as a moral miracle, or as a fulfilment of sacred prophecy — it affords us an interesting and delightful subject pf meditation. For ever) work of God there is a reason: and although, for wise and good purposes, the designs and ends in the moral government of Jehovah are sometimes concealed from the view of mortals, yet they are often to be learnt by the meek and humble disciples of the Saviour, from a careful and diligent attention to the course of divine providence, and an observance of the wonderful works and ways of the Most High. To inquire, then, into some of the reasons why the gospel is preached unto the poor, may, with the divine blessings not only conduce to our edification, but be pertinent to the occasion upon which we have assembled. To understand the full force of the declaration in the text, it will be necessary to take a brief view of the moral and religious state of the world at the time of the Saviour's advent. At this 17 J THE GOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. distant and enlightened period, we can form but inadequate conceptions of the low and degraded State of that class of society denominated the poor, in distinction from the rich, the mighty, the noble, and the learned. The general diffusion of the blessings of Christianity among the lower classes of society, lias so changed their condition, and so a fleeted their moral and religious char- acter, that they appear to be almost a different order of beings from what they were eighteen centuries ago. Among the Jews, they were looked down upon with proud contempt by the Scribes and Pharisees, and opprobriously distin- guished by the appellation of publicans and sinners — and it was a charge frequently alleged against him who first came to preach the gospel to the poor, that he had familiar intercourse with such a class of men. In the gentile world, the common poor were if possible still less esteemed. They were kept in the grossest ignorance of letters and of morals. The proud philosophers of Greece and Rome gath- ered in their schools the sons of the wealthy and the noble, but never condescended to extend the blessings of learning and morals to the degraded poor. Such was the moral State of the world, when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among r, 7. ro i in: POOR. 1 73 men. Xo wonder, then, thai the Saviour should Dumber anion:: the miracles which he performed, and assign it the last and greatest place in the catalogue, the interesting and important fact, — That to the poor the gospel is preached* A new era now opened upon that long neg- lected and despised class of men. They were no longer excluded from the rights and privih of men ; they were no longer regarded on a level with beasts of burden : but their souls were felt to be of equal value with the souls of their proud oppressors — their condition was even ennobled far above the state of kings and princes, by the wonderful fact, that He who was rich became poor. Were they destitute of earthly treasures ? So was He, who had not where to lay his head. The very circumstance of the mean and low con- dition in which our Lord appeared in the world, gave new hopes and opened new prospects to the poor. Their condition was exalted at once by the fact of the Saviour's poverty. It is not surprising that the condescension which our Lord exhibited to the poor, and the gracious notice which he took of them, should have excited astonishment in the self-righteous Jews, little less than that produced by the resur- rection of Lazarus from the dead. It was as I 7 I l Hi: QOSFEL PRE kCHED SEK. 7. great a deviation from their sentiments and ex* pectationSj as the raising of the dead was from the course of nature 4 , and was therefore as great a miracle* They looked for a temporal Messiah. They expected that he would deliver them from tin 1 Roman yoke, and load them with riches and honors. I low great then must have been their disappointment, when he who claimed to be their promised Messiah, selected a stable for his palace, a manger for his birthplace, the ox and ass for his attendants, and the poor for his congregation ! Having thus considered some of the circum- stances connected with the declaration in our text, we are prepared to inquire into the reasons why the gospel is preached to the poor. The first, and most obvious reason, which presents itself to the serious reflecting mind, is, that to which all others must be referred — The sovereign will of God. Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight ! Hath not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith and heirs of tin* kingdom ? Were there no other reasons which we could discern, this would be sufficient, and ought to silence every mouth. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? There is no doubt but a great proportion of the ier, 7. ro thi. poor. I 7fi trophies oi divine grace are to be found in the lower walks of life. Not manj wise men after the fl< lot many mighty, not manj noble — but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise: and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty: and base things of the world, and things which arc despised, hath God chosen ; yea, and things which arc not, to bring to naught the things which arc — that no flesh should glory in his presence. In this striking passage, Clod is pleased to assign a reason for this choice — That no flesh should glory in his presence. The great scope and aim of Christianity ap- pears to be, to teach men humility ; to stain the pride of human glory, and lead him that glorieth to glory in the Lord. What can be better calcu- lated to effect this design, than the fact that the gospel is preached to the poor. The Jews prided themselves upon their reli- gious privileges. Viewing themselves as the peculiar people of God, they regarded with contempt the gentile nations by which they were surrounded. When the Saviour then extended his compassionate regards, not only to the poorest and most despised of his own nation, but to 1 76 THE GOSPEL PRE tCHED SHR. 7. those Who came fro!)) Tyre and Sidon, the pride, of the Jews was humbled. They lost that flat- tering distinction in which thpy boasted ; audit is oot surprising that their bosoms rankled with rage against the author of their shame and mor- tification. One object then in preaching the gospel to the poor, is to humble the pride of human greatness; to annihilate those vain distinctions which prevail in the world : and to convince mankind that the rich and poor, the high and low, arc on a level, and their souls equally precious in the sight of God. But, the principal reason why the gospel should be preached to the poor, is, that it is admirably adapted to their situation and circum- stances. This will be obvious, if we reflect upon the nature of the gospel, and upon the circumstances of the poor. The literal meaning of the word gospel, is good news or glad tidings; and surety if any thing deserves the name, it is the intelligence of peace on earth and good will to men : — the exhilarating fact that there is pardon for the guilty, and bope for the dying; — that God is in Christ reconciling the world unto him- Belf, not imputing their trespasses unto them. The gospel not onl) includes this interesting BER. 7. TO Tin: POOR. 1 1 7 intelligence, bat abounds in the greatest variety of consolations and hopes. There is do situation in life \n hich it does not reach, no ei il in this vale of tears for which it has not a halm and a solace. It '^ the sick man's friend, the mourner's con- solation, and the support of the dying. When outward and worldly comforts fail, it affords a peace which passeth all understanding. It en- livens the darkest hours. It converts a cottage into a palace — a den of lions into a Christian oratorv — and the lierv furnace into a sanctuary for the divine presence. When we consider the circumstances of the poor, we shall see how admirably adapted the gospel is to the trials of poverty. It must be acknowledged that the sufferings of the poor are often extreme. Of this extremity, we see but little in this highly favored country. So liberal is the provision made by our humane statutes for the public support of the poor and infirm, that we rarely, if ever, behold the distressing spectacle of an individual famishing with hunger, or per- ishing with cold. But, although instances of extreme poverty are rare among us, there are even in this land, flowing with milk and honey, many who feel its griping pressure, and suffer for want of those numberless little comforts which 23 178 THE (iOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. are bo necessary to the sick and dying bed. There are more who, though not in a state of actual sufferance, are constantly exposed to the most painful anxieties respecting the future sup- port of themselves and families — many who, though provided for to-day, can make no calcula- tion on the supply of to-morrow's wants. Povcrtv is not only a state of suffering, but a state of temptation. The prayer of Agur is full of meaning — Give me neither poverty nor riches. Both these conditions have their snares; but it is only with those which are peculiar to the former that we are now concerned. The temptations peculiar to poverty, are the indulgence in those lower and vulgar vices which degrade men in the sight of each other, as well as in the sight of God — such as theft, intemperance, profanencss, lewdness, and many Other kindred sins. The poor man. when he falls into those temptations peculiar to his condition, has no sympathy from those above him in rank and station. His sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment, while the sins of his opulent neighbor are more secret and concealed, and follow after him. When the poor man sins, mere moral suasion w ill have but little effect to induce him to change his course <>! conduct, and return to the paths of virtue. R. 7. TO THE TOOK. 179 The moralist will fail in persuading the drunkard to abandon his cups, and he will probably be equally unsuccessful in inducing the profane swearer to cease to blaspheme* The .joint efforts of Seneca and Epietetus would never hare reclaimed a Mary Magdalene- Something more is necessary than moral suasion to reform the manners and habits of the vicious poor, and to make them good members of society. Here We see the wonderful adaptation of the gospel to the situation and circumstances of the poor. What mere ethics could never accomplish, the gospel often effects in a moment. By the pow- erful agency of the Holy Spirit, accompanying the preaching of the word, it pierces even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The most stubborn will is subdued, the most obdurate heart melted, and the vilest $inner reclaimed. When this change is effected, the way is prepared for the reception of those promises and precepts which have a direct tendency to make the poor happy in their situation, and diligent in the dis- charge of their duty. Realizing that godliness with contentment is great gain, they learn in whatever state they are therewith to be content. 180 THE GOSPEL PREACHED SER. 7. Thej can discern a Father's hand in all the allot- ments of this changing scene. Their minds are now open to all the moral injunctions of the gospel. Let not any imagine that the gospel of the grace of God is unfriendly to true morality. So far from it, it is only when men experience this grace that they arc truly moral. They now feel the influence of the motives and hopes of the gospel, to which they were before utter strangers. They now endeavor to render to all their dues ; to do to others as they would that others should do to them ; to deny all ungodliness and every worldly hist, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the world. Patience, contentment, and submission to the divine will, are characteristics of the religioUs poor. Animated by the hope of another and a better life, they endure as seeing him who is invisible: they live as pilgrims and Strangers on the earth, and seek another and a better country, even an heavenly. That this is not a highly wrought picture of some of our Christian poor, many who hear me will believe. Have we not in all our churches some of our best, most spiritual, most devoted members among the poor? And what has pro- duced this happ) effect ? — lor happy it must be allowed to be, even by those who look no further U P0< than the infl of t ; - upon I morals oi I : not to say that it i> to be attributed, under the bl< ss g h the facilities for carrying into effect this benevolent object ? The poor it is obvious can- not, — the ministers of Jesus cannot, for they most frequently resemble their divine Master in his poverty, and they cannot, like him, render the fish and the sea tributary to the supply of their wants. They who preach the gospel, now that miracles have ceased, must, live by the gospel; and, if they would preach the gospel to the poor, as their Saviour did, they must be assisted in their labors of love by those upon 8ER. 7. rO Tilt: POOR* 187 whom the Lord baa more liberally bestowed the means. Hence we perceive the duty of Chris- tians in general to use all the means in their power thai the gospel may be preached to the poor. The poor, said .Jesus. \e have always with you, and whenever you will you can do them good. We need not go far to find suitable objects for this important charity. The poor are to be found in our smallest villages — but in cities and large towns they form no inconsiderable part of the community. Impressed with the necessity of adopting effi- cient measures for extending to the numerous poor of this metropolis the advantages of moral and religious instruction, the society was insti- tuted, whose anniversary we this evening cele- brate, and in whose behalf I now address you. In pleading their cause, I have the satisfaction of addressing an audience distinguished for their liberality to benevolent institutions. To you, the numerous societies, which have for their object the relief of the temporal and bodily necessities of your fellow creatures, have never appealed in vain ; and shall a society, whose object is to save the souls of men from death — to extend to the suffering poor the inestimable blessings of the gospel — to bring contentment to the poor man's 188 THE GOSPEL PREACHED. SER. 7. home — to administer consolation to the afflicted, comfort to the sick, and hope to the dying — shall such a society in vain solicit the benevolent aid of the Christian public? No — it cannot be. It has only to make its necessities known, and the hand of charity immediately will be extended to its relief. But why should I detain you any longer from carrying your benevolent purposes into operation? 1 will only say, that there is a circumstance in the history of this society which, while it awakens both pleasing and painful emotions in my own bosom, cannot but be deeply interesting to those who usually worship in this consecrated temple. — It is the memory of its early and constant friend and president, the ever lamented, ever beloved Huntington. If his pure spirit is per- mitted to concern itself in the affairs of mortals, ma\ we not indulge the pleasing thought, that it is hovering over this assembly, and regarding with peculiar complacency, the society which, when livings was so near his heart. — And how caw you, my Christian friends, better express your regard for his memory, than by contributing this evening) as God has blessed you, to aid the funds of ' the Boston Society for the Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor.' 189 SERMON VIII. THE CLAIMS OF THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOW. DEUTERONOMY xiv. 29. The fatherless and the widow, which are ivithin thy gates, shcdl come, and shall eat and be satisfied. One of the strongest proofs of the theocratical government of the Hebrew nation is the provision that was so amply made for the relief of the suf- fering poor. In no human government that ever existed, can be found any statutes for the relief of human misery, that can be compared with the merciful and abundant provision made in the Jewish polity, for the children of want and sor- row. The stranger within the gates, the debtor and prisoner, and above all the fatherless and widow, as well as the ministers of the altar, are 190 Tin: CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. the objects of the special regard of the almightj Lawgiver, and for them the most liberal provision is distinctly made ))\ special statutes, enacted in the court of heaven. It is the benevolence of the Jewish code, its adaptation to the wants and the relief of suffer- ing humanity, that furnishes one of the most powerful arguments in favor of its divine origin. The ceremonial and national part of the Jewish economy has ceased to be binding upon man, and is superseded by the more simple and less onerous dispensation of the gospel; but all that is strictly moral in the Hebrew ritual, can never cease to be obligatory upon those who profess to receive the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the only standard of faith and practice. And what part of the morality of the Old Tes- tament comes home to the consciences and bosoms of men with more thrilling interest, than the posi- ti\e injunctions contained, not only in our text, but in numerous other parts of the law of Moves. to provide for the poor and needy ? What heart is >o callous, so hardened to all the feelings of humanity, as can resist a claim like this? lie that cannot feel lor the fatherless and widow, let him go from the habitations of men, and herd with the beasts of the forest. He is not fit to dwell r. 8. r kTHERLESfl am> w mow . [91 with Civilized man — nor with tli - of tin 4 wilderness foi even in their hard and untutored soma is found a cord that vibrates to the claims charitj . Under the Jewish law, the fatherless and widow, as well as the Levite and the stranger, had a legal claim, every third year, to the tithe of the increase of the land. We have no such pro- vision in the laws of our country, nor indeed is it so necessary under the Christian dispensation, where individual duty is so clearly defined by the light of divine truth. We are not, as under the Jewish economy, called upon to support the Levite by the tithes of our increase. In the present enlightened age and period of the world, and in our happy country, religion is wisely left free, and unshackled by a connection with the state. It needs not now the arm of civil power to maintain its existence, and to advance its prosperity. All that it asks, is the protection of the law, and liberty to live by its own energies. Nor in this enlightened period of the world, i^ it so necessary, as under the Jewish economy, to make legal provision for the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow : for where the princi- ples of Christianity are widely diffused, and their benign influences experienced, the community 192 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. Will feel that this interesting class of human sufferers have a moral if not a legal claim on their charity, which they cannot and will not resist. This moral claim, in the court of con- science, has the force of law. To urge this claim, 1 appear before you, my respected hearers, this evening. I esteem it a peculiar privilege to be permitted to stand here, the accredited advocate of one of the most interesting, most important, and cer- tainly most unexceptionable charities that can be commended to the consciences and hearts of men. We live in an a^e, distinguished for Christian charity and benevolence. Many, and we rejoice to say successful, are the pleas which are constantly urged on the public, in favor of religious charity. We love to hear the cause of the great charter of all our hopes advocated, and to anticipate the coming day, when not only every family in our beloved land, but every family on the globe, will, through the efforts of Christian charity, be furnished with a copy of the word of life. — AVe rejoice to listen, as many of us have recently done, to eloquent and soul- stining discourses and addresses in favor of that cause, which lay so near the heart of the ascend- iog Saviour, when he commanded his disciples to BE1L 8« FATHERLESS kND WIDOW. 193 gO OUt into all the World, and preach the gOSpel to ever} creature. These arc great, and noble, and godlike efforts. They justly have many and powerful advocates — and, with the utmost sincerity, do we wish them God speed. JJut, while we cordially unite in all the (dibits that are making for the evangelization of the world, we will not forget the cause of suffering hu- manity. From the text Ave perceive that the fatherless and widow had a legal claim upon a certain portion of the income of the children of Israel. It will be our object in the following address to consider the moral claims of this interesting class of our fellow-beings upon our sympathies and charity. To enforce these claims, it is only necessary that we make ourselves acquainted with the situation of those unhappy sufferers, who by an act of God, which no human foresight nor after care could prevent, have been deprived of their nearest earthly friend, and their more efficient provider and protector. To constitute that class of the family of sor- row, for which we plead this evening, the strongest and tenderest of earthly ties must be ruptured. To these connections none of us 25 194 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. arc strangers. They form the bonds that hold society together. They are the charm of domestic life. Who of us has not felt their power and rejoiced under their influence ? Happy is that family that has a venerated and belov- ed head, upon whom the arm of the helpless and confiding sex rests with fond assurance of aid and support through the journey of life; and to whom the eyes of young and inexperienced, and often heedless and unwary youth, look for guidance and direction, aid and succor in meeting the difficulties and encountering the temptations of an unfriendly world. — But how often are the fondest expectations blasted in a moment ! The husband and the parent sinks into the arms of death, and the once happy dwelling becomes the abode of the deepest sorrow. This is no imaginary picture, for there is not a passing day that does not witness many such bitter scenes of domestic grief. No community is exempt from the painful trial. Widows and orphans are to be found in every place, and it is only in heaven that all their tears will be wiped away. But, although under any circumstances the situation of the widow and her fatherless offspring (alls for affectionate sympathy, it is not always that it requires and asks for the kind interposition SER. o. FATH£RLESS AM) WIDOW. 195 of Christian charity* It ia a subject of gratula- tion, wluMi the stroke thai removes from a family it- revered and honored head, is alleviated by the consideration that, from the avails of hornet in- dustry or patrimonial inheritance) something is secured to afford the comfort of a home to the desolate widow and her fatherless children. Comparatively few, however, arc the instances in our country where property descends to the third, if to the second generation. With the blessing of health and honest industry, a com- fortable livelihood may be easily obtained by all ; but few can expect to lay up from the proceeds of their business a sufficient fund for the support of their families after their decease. Most of the families, who by the providence of God are deprived of their earthly protector, are left in a state of comparative dependance. If young, or in middle life and in the enjoyment of health, they may by diligence and industry, succeed in earning a comfortable subsistence ; but how fre- quently does decrepitude and infirmity mark the steps of the widow. Sickness, with its numerous ills, is often to be found in her lone abode — the kind hand which once held up her weak and tottering frame, is cold in death — the heart which once throbbed in sympathy with all her 196 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. griefs, has ceased to heat — she is alone in the w ide world. Oh, inv friends, this is no uncom- mon sight. We have often witnessed it, — and the scene has caused our hearts to bleed. There is no object of distress that lias come within my knowledge and observation, that more powerfully appeals to the tenderest feelings of humanity, than the situation of a sick, infirm, destitute widow, surrounded, perhaps, by a number of fatherless children, whose tattered clothes bespeak their poverty — a widow, who has seen better days, who has been no stranger to the comforts, and it may be to the elegances of life. The husband of her youth was once prosperous and successful. Jle ploughed the mighty deep, and visited foreign climes in quest of gain. Often did he return laden with the produce of other shores. With what fond delight did the partner of his life rush to his embrace — and the children of their mutual affection cling around his knees! But, with more than the freedom with which it was acquired, was his wealth expended. Gen- erous even to credulity, he trusted to the pro- fessions of the insincere, and in an evil hour lost all that he had gained by years of toil. Again he betook himself to the deep — he once more visited lands far distant from his home. He BER. 8. FATHERLESS wn wmow. 107 labored to retrieve his ruined fortunes, and to provide for the friend of his bosom and the chil- dren of his love. But. exhausted nature sunk in a sickly clime. Jle left only a blessing as an inheritance for his family, and departed to that world where there is no change. At the expected time, the barge that bore him from his native shore returned. Its well known signal is descried bv the eagle eye of a son, watching for the return of a father. On wings of filial love he flies to communicate the glad intelligence to his anxious mother. Unmingled joy beams in the counte- nances of the little group. They wait with intense anxiety. They listen to every sound for the footsteps of him whom they love. Some one approaches — but it is a stranger. In a moment the spell of imagined happiness is dissolved. The tender and affectionate mother is a ividoiv, and her children fatherless ! Scenes like these, my hearers, are continually taking place in this world of change and sorrow. Few, if any of us, are strangers to the house of mourning. We have all felt at some period of our lives the disruption of social and domestic ties. But time has worn away the impression which recent affliction made on our minds. Our sympathies with the children of sorrow have been 198 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. chilled by our own prosperity and freedom from Buffering : and while we are enjoying the comforts and satisfactions of life, we are exceedingly apt to forget that great numbers of our fellow-crea- tares are enduring the privations of poverty, and drinking deep of the cup of human wo. A\ e need to be reminded of the sufferings of other-. We need to leave our comfortable abodes, and explore the hovel and the garret, where squalid poverty finds her wretched home. Surrounded b\ all the comforts and refinements of social and domestic life, we are apt to forget how multitudes of our fellow-creatures attempt to live. It is well, then, on occasions like the present, to make ourselves familiar with the sufferings of others. It tends to call into exercise the best feelings of our nature, and to revive the moral claims which the wretched have upon our sympathies and charity. Let me again introduce you into the abode of the miserable. And I will not go from home — I will not carry you into the crowded cities of the old world, and penetrate into the lazarettos and prisons of Europe, to bring before vour eyes objects of distress that would send the blood rushing to your heart, and make you sicken at the Mght of your own species. Ble^ed be God, Mm 8. HERl WB WIDOW. 199 not vet arrived at such a ^rnte of dm and suffering in this land of eom- ihI mor< :1 diffusion of the of T. — but in this Eood land, and in this opulent and liberal citv. are to found cases of suffering lieh one would hardly credit, were they not 90 well au- "Among the poor and d sed wid« pro, " •whom I was called to visit, was an individual, who-, situation claimed my particular attention. She was a very interesting woman, appeared to be well educated, and far above the rank of her countrywomen who resort to Amer- ica. She came to this country with her husband, apparently in easy circumstances. S »on after their arrival, however, her husband died, deeply lvcnt. leaving her with one child, in a land Grangers, entirely destitute, and without the means of subsistence. Reduced to the last ex- tremity, she sought for and obtained a place as a domestic, which enabled her for a time to support herself and child. But naturally of a delicate constitution, and unaccustomed to the dune- such an employment, she at last sunk under the accumulating weight of ill health and depression of spirits. Xo longer able to discharge the duties 200 THE CLAIMS OF THE SKR. 8. of her situation, she applied for assistance. She has since been supported by charity. Her pa- tience and resignation during all her trials and sufferings have been almost without a parallel. One tie only seemed to bind her to earth — that tie appears now to he severed. Her child is pro- vided lor. and the mother is evidently approaching the world of spirits.** She has, probably, since this account was given, gone to that world where she is beyond the reach of human charity. — But this is only one of the numerous instances of extreme suffering which it is the design of this benevolent society to relieve. " I was called," says another trustee of this interesting charity, " one very cold morning, to visit a poor widow, whom I found in the third story of a building, with four half-clad, shivering children around her. the youngest very sick, and one of the others too unwell to go out. They were very scantily provided with food, even of the coarsest kind, and all the find they had might he contained in a plate. The? poor mother's heart seemed almost broken when she said she was obliged to keep her children in bed the daytime to prevent them from freezing." Another of the trustees of the excellent society, whose cause I am permitted to plead, " called on BSRi 8i r \ rH£RL£SS ami widow . 201 a widow, during the last mater, after a severe storm, the snow and water having been vcjry deep for a number of days. She said to ber, k Have you not suffered during this bad weather for necessaries?' She replied, 'No, but on Sat- urday evening 1 had neither food nor a cent of money to buy even a piece of bread. I thought, surely I shall be obliged to fast through the Sabbath. I took down my Bible, saying, Well, I shall have uospel bread, if no other. While I sat reading, some kind friend, remembering my destitute situation, sent me a quantity of cold food, which was a fresh token of my heavenly Father's care. 5 " These, my hearers, are not pictures of the imagination. They are sober, melancholy, dis- tressing facts — facts that have taken place in your own city, in your own neighborhood, almost under your own eyes. Such facts are continually taking place, and doubtless many of them will occur the present season, — for the time is coming when the cold and bitter winds will blow, when the icicles will stand thick upon your windows, and the driving snow, and no less uncomfortable sleet, will block up your streets and send you to your firesides for comfort. Ah ! what is then to become of the poor widow and her little fatherless 26 202 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. charge, who have no comfortable hearth, no hus- band's and lather's house to receive and welcome tlirin, where they may spend the long winter evening in social enjoyment, and be safe and comfortable during the pitiless storm of a dreary winter's night. Our delightful autumn will soon br over, and the hoary frost and the fleecy snow mantle the blooming earth. It is in the w T inter months that the objects of the benevolence of this excellent institution greatly need the kind interposition of Christian charity. The present season has, therefore, been judi- ciously selected as the anniversary of 'The Father- less and A\ idow's Society' — that with their funds replenished by the liberality of this community, they may go forth to their self-denying, but most delightful employment, of seeking out the cause they know not, of penetrating into the abodes of wretchedness and want, and of wiping away the tears from the eyes of the disconsolate widow, and cheering the hearts of her fatherless offspring with kind and soothing expressions of sympathy and relief. They have chosen this mode of supplying their treasury, from a full and entire confidence in the liberality of the community in which they live. They have had proof, substantial proof, of their BER. 8. FATHERLESS AND Winow. 20;5 liberality on formei occasions. They have never made an appeal to the charity of the public in % ain. The society, whose cause I plead, has always been a favorite with this community ; and well it may be, for it has every thing to recommend it. It is composed of that sex, who have ever been active in deeds of mercy — who were last at the Redeemer's cross, and first at his sepulchre — who broke the box of ointment on his sacred person, and embalmed his crucified body with spices, and have ever been his attached, and constant, and faithful friends in every age and part of the world. And it is with the greatest propriety that this society is so constituted. AYho can so feelingly sympathize with all a widow's cares and woes, as one who is perhaps herself a widow, or if not, from the enjoyment of her own domestic comforts, is tremblingly alive to their 'loss in others? — and who can know so well how to appreciate their circumstances, and how to relieve their necessities, as those who can with propriety, mingle most in their society, and have freest access to their privacy and confidence ? Another recommendation to this excellent in- stitution is to be found in its entire freedom from 204 THE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. party spirit of any kind. In these days of excitement, both on political and religious sub- jects, it is truly refreshing to contemplate an institution so entirely above a sectarian spirit, as the admirable society whose cause I advocate. It is obvious that political rancor can have no place here ; and as to differences of opinion on religious subjects, I perceive not how they need affect this benevolent institution, as all sects and denominations of Christians will agree, that one important and essential result of pure and unde- filcd religion is, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction. In this society, then, profes- sing Christians, of every creed and name, may most cordially and efficiently unite ; and I confess it gives me no ordinary satisfaction, in these days of controversy and division, to stand this evening on a spot of common ground, and to invite Christians of every name, and individuals of ever) opinion, to come up to the help of this benevolent society — for it greatly needs the help of all. Its resources during the past year, were exhausted. It has no permanent funds, but depends, as it is meet it should do, upon the constant liberality of the benevolent. The calls upon their exhausted treasury were, during the last year, more numerous and pressing than g£R, 8. FATHERLESS AM) WIDOW. 205 in any former year. The want of funds obliged the trustees to refuse many applications whose cases were truly meritorious. This ought not so to be. It must not be so ; — and will you, my respected hearers, for it depends on you, will you authorize me to say, It shall not be so again : — no indigent, deserving widow, no poor friendless and fatherless child, shall be denied assistance during the present year. If this large and respected auditory will solemnly make this resolution to-night, it will be done. If every individual in this house will do something according to his ability, his own conscience being the judge, the fatherless and widows that are within the gates of this city, shall come, and shall partake of this sacred charity and be satisfied. The trustees of this society shall not again be constrained to say to the wretched applicants for relief, We feel for you — we pity you — but we cannot relieve you — we have not funds. It rests with you, my respected hearers, to decide whether this shall be the case or not — and it is indeed a solemn responsibility! If some poor widow, during the ensuing winter, should suffer distress, which might have been relieved by our contribution — if some houseless son of want, who has no earthly father to care for him, should, 206 HIE CLAIMS OF THE SER. 8. through our neglect, be left to pine in sickness ; will not the knowledge of the fact meet us at another day, when we come to stand before Christ in judgment, and be reminded that — inas- much as we did it not to one of the least of his disciples, we did it not to Him ? If we would avert the awful doom which awaits the unprofitable servant, let us contribute liberally this evening, to this most excellent, most interesting, most unexceptionable charity. I put it to every man's conscience — Will you give of your abundance, or your competence, or even your poverty ? — or will you suffer the widow to weep on ? Will you permit the fatherless to re- main in rags, and to beg his daily bread from door to door, when by your timely aid this evening, you might cause the widow's heart to sing for joy, and put a song of gratitude into the mouths of her fatherless children ? I know you will not. I am persuaded that you will not allow this interesting charity to languish for want of funds. The only reason why its active and indefatigable managers were not able to relieve) during the past winter, every case of distress that pressed upon them was, because you did not know their embarrassment Had you anticipated it, you ^ould have provided against its recurrence. An SER. 8. FATHERLESS and widow. 207 audience in this city, like the present, needs not the power of eloquences nor the Fascinations of oratory, to exact their contributions. All they require is the eloquence of facts — the oratory of distress. AVe have endeavored to lay before you this evening, a plain, unvarnished tale. We have stated facts, and we leave it for you to judge how far they are deserving your regard and immediate attention. Had we supposed that any adventi- tious circumstances — the voice of a stranger, or the charm of novelty, had been necessary to draw your attention to this blessed charity, we would have resigned the services of the evening into other hands ; but we have too much confidence in the intrinsic merits of this charity, and too high an opinion of the good sense and sound judgment of the inhabitants of this city, to sup- pose, for a moment, that their chanties would be effected by any circumstances independent of the just, the honorable, the benevolent, the pressing claims of the society itself. Nor do we forget that the claims of this society are identified with that high, and elevated, and distinguished charac- ter, which this revered and beloved metropolis has sustained for two centuries. Nor shall we soon cease to remember, when listening to our 208 THE CLAIMS OF THE SIR. 8. civic history, from lips of almost unrivalled elo- quence, that among the bright and glorious deeds for which this city of the Pilgrims had been so long distinguished, brightest shone — the amount of their charitable contributions. My hearers, before another centennial era re- turns, this great assembly — all the inhabitants of this populous city, will be numbered with the dend. But other generations will be here to fill our places — other orators and other poets to com- memorate the century in which we have lived. And when they come to search for materials for our future history, and to gather up the amount of the deeds of charity that filled the records of our city during the third century, may they find on one of its early pages, the generous and liberal amount of this evening's contribution, in aid of • The Fatherless and AVidow's Society.' 209 SERMON IX. IMPORTANCE OF SPIRITUAL KNOWLEIXi E. PROVERBS xix. 2. That the soul be without knowledge, it is not good. Every thing that relates to the human soul is deeply interesting to an immortal being. The body, for which we are so anxious to provide, must soon moulder in the grave. In a few years it will be incorporated with the great mass of matter, and the pains which we have taken to beautify and adorn it will be lost forever. But the care, bestowed on the soul during its residence in clay, will be felt in the world of spirits — the bias, given to its operations here, will fix its state hereafter — and the stamp, impressed upon it in 27 210 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. time, will determine its happiness or misery in eternity. That this spark of immortality is an emanation of Deity, reason as well as revelation assures us. — that it is corrupt, impure, and unlike the source from which it sprung, is the dictate of experience as well as of scripture, — that purity cannot subsist with impurity, that holiness is inconsistent with sin, is evident to the unpreju- diced understanding of every man, and that heaven, the habitation of holiness, cannot be the abode of pollution and guilt, is a conclusion that will not be resisted by a reflecting mind. How important, then, is that method, by which the human sold ma\ be restored to the image of its Maker, by which its natural prospects of eternal wrath may be changed to the certain hopes of the full and gndless enjoyment of God ! Blessed be God, that there is such a method. The salvation of the soul is the great object in the economy of redemption. To obtain this, the lather parted with the Son of his love — to secure this, the Lord of glory bled on the cross — and to accomplish this, the Holy Spirit, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into the hearts of his people, to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of SER. 0. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 2\\ God in the face of Jesus Christ. In new of the connection of knowledge with the eternal in- terests of the human soul, we are ready to adopt the aphorism of the wise man — That the soul be without knowledge, it is not good. This saying is verified by daily observation and experience. The importance of knowledge in secular concerns is generally admitted. Its ne- cessity in the various occupations of life cannot be questioned. It is indispensable, not only in those pursuits, which are usually denominated the learned professions, but it is also requisite in the ordinary and more common avocations of men. The mechanic must have a knowledge of his trade, and the husbandman must acquire, by practice and experience, a knowledge of the best mode of cultivating the soil. Without a com- petent degree of general knowledge, it is im- possible to maintain a respectable standing in society, or to be useful in the generation in which we live. The importance and necessity of knowledge, however it may be undervalued in those parts of the world, where it is the interest of the few to keep the many in ignorance, and to deprive them of the means of acquiring information, will not be denied by the inhabitants of a republican J1J IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. country, where it is ao established principle that knowledge is essential to national happiness, liberty, and order. On this principle our vener- able fathers acted, when they laid the foundation of our present prosperity and respectability, in the institution of common schools, where the son of the poor man nia\ acquire know ledge \\ ith the same facility as the son of his more? opulent neighbor« It is owing to this admirable institu- tion that knowledge is so generally diffused among all elates of the community, and that the rare spectacle of a man, who can neither read nor write, has become almost a phenomenon in this pari of our country. But, while fire rejoice in the wise institutions of our ancestors lor the general diffusion of useful human knowledge, we have reason to lament that there is among us Mirh a deficiency of knowledge, vastly more im- portant, and without which all other knowledge will he of no a\ail. It will he our object, in the following discourse, to consider, I. What that knowledge i^. the want of which is SO prejudicial to the soul. And. II. To attempt to point out some of the de- structive consequences of this baneful ignorance. SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 2M I. The knowledge s of which we speak, respects tlu 4 moral character of Jehovah — the dil ine law — the human heart — and the plan of silvation. Oi' all kinds of knowledge, that of our Creator i-. unquestionably, the most important. Com- pared with this, all other science is trifling and insignificant. Indeed, all the sciences derive much of their importance from their connection m ith thi» fundamental science. Hence astronomy, for instance, acquires an interest over many other branches of knowledge, because it treats of the wonderful works of God, and opens to the aston- ished eye worlds on worlds innumerable. But it is possible to possess a great degree of this knowledge of the Creator's works, and yet be ignorant of the divine character, although it seems astonishing that any person can admire the one and not love the other, and we are ready to say, with the poet, " An undevout astronomer is mad." We have reason, however, to apprehend that there are not a few such madmen among the votaries of that sublime and interesting science. It is the knowledge of the moral character of Jehovah, rather than a scholastic acquaintance with the laws of nature, that we are to understand by that knowledge, the want of which is so prejudicial to the soul. A man may possess all 214 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. the knowledge that has ever been acquired of the heavenly bodies, and yet be ignorant of the knowledge of God, and a man may be a profi- cient in this best of sciences, and not be able to tell the difference between a fixed star and a planet. The knowledge, then, of which we speak, re- lates to the moral character of God, as revealed in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament. In those bright pages, God declares himself to be — The Lord — the Lord God, long suffering and gracious, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and w 7 ho will by no means clear the guilty. He is represented in the sacred volume as a being possessed of every possible excellence, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Holiness is an attribute by which he is eminently distinguished. He is emphatically the Holy One. His name is holy, and the angelic host, who surround his throne, cease not day nor night to cry — Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. It is for the want of the knowledge of this one attribute alone, that so many thousands of our race are destroyed. If they knew that God was a holy being, who could not look upon sin without abhorrence, would they persist in a course, so directly contrary to the divine charac- SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 215 ter, and which they must know would expose them to his just displeasure ? If they knew that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, would they not endeavor to resemble the divine character as far as possible ? The same remarks are applicable to the other moral attributes of Jehovah, particularly his justice and veracity, the believing knowledge of which is calculated to have a most powerful influence upon human conduct. It is the want of this knowledge and belief that emboldens men to continue in sin, reckless of the awful consequences — that leads them to deal with their Maker as with a fellow worm, who may change his* purpose and commute his threatening — that induces them to cast off all fear, with the vain and fallacious excuse that the Lord doth not see, that the Almighty doth not regard them. Intimately connected with the want of know- ledge of the moral character of God, is ignorance of the divine law. We have reason to apprehend that this ignorance is more extensive than is generally imagined. In addition to the multi- tudes of our race who are not favored with a revelation, there are many in a gospel land, who are deplorably ignorant of the law of God. It is true, they know the fact, that God has promul- 216 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. gated a law as the rule of obedience for his ra- tional creatures, and that this law is contained in the scriptures. Perhaps, too, they have learnt, in their childhood, to repeat the ten commandments. But how ignorant are they of the spiritual mean- ing of the law ! Many have no idea that the law extends to the thoughts and intents of the heart. They flatter themselves that its requisitions are satisfied, if the outward conduct is not in flagrant opposition to its precepts, and thus they indulge, without restraint, in secret desires and appetites, which are, in fact, condemned by the divine law. It is melancholy to reflect on the numbers of precious souls who are destroyed for want of this important, essential knowledge ; we say essential — for it is the foundation of all other spiritual knowledge. It is by the law that we are con- vinced of sin. I was alive, said the apostle, with- out the law once ; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. The law, says the same authority, is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. If then we have incorrect, partial, and imperfect views of the law of God, it is evident that we cannot have adequate conceptions of the plan of salvation by a Redeemer. The man, who is ignorant of the spiritual nature and extent SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 217 of the law of God, can never be truly convinced of sin — can never feel that anxiety respecting his spiritual state, which is absolutely necessary to salvation. He must first realize his poverty, blindness, and nakedness, before he will listen to the counsel of the Son of God, to buy of him gold tried in the fire, that he may be rich, and white raiment that he may be clothed. It is therefore obvious that ignorance of the spirituality and extent of the law of God must be, of all ignorance, the most prejudicial to the souls of men. The knowledge of the human heart, also, is important, as the want of it exposes the soul to innumerable evils. Self-knowledge, it will be readily admitted by all, is of incalculable benefit both in temporal and spiritual things. Without a good degree of it, it is impossible to discharge the ordinary duties of life with comfort and respectability. But, if this is a necessary part of worldly wisdom, how important is it, when viewed in connection with eternal realities ! How can that man be in a safe condition, as respects his future hopes, who is ignorant of himself, who knows not the plague of his own heart, the depravity and corruption of his nature, 28 218 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. and his entire dependence upon a superior power, not only for life and its daily comforts, but for every pious thought, and every holy affection. It is truly astonishing to see men, who excel in almost every other department of knowledge, grossly ignorant of themselves, thinking that they are something when they are nothing, and flat- tering themselves with imaginary ideas of their own goodness and purity. Such characters are accurately described by the Saviour in his ad- dress to the Laodicean Christians. They think that they are rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing, and know not that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. That such ignorance is prejudicial to the soul we need not spend time to illustrate. It has always proved the bane of true piety. It discovers itself in vain boasting and carnal secu- rity, than which nothing can be more opposite to the humility and self-abasement which the gospel enjoins. It manifested itself in the proud Pharisee, who thanked God that he was not as other men. With all his learning — and the Pharisees were a sect who pretended to no inconsiderable share of it — the poor publican, who was, probably, an unlettered man, discov- ered far more knowledge of the human heart, SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 219 when he smote his hand upon his breast, and exclaimed — God, be merciful to me, a sinner ! But of all the knowledge so necessary for man to possess, and the ignorance of which is so fatal to his eternal peace, the knowledge of a Saviour, and the plan of salvation by his atoning blood, stands boldly prominent, and urges its paramount claims to our attention. We will not dwell on the situation of those who never heard of a Saviour, who sit in darkness without light, who inhabit the valley of the shadow of death. That their situation is dangerous, and ought to awaken our sympathy and excite our compassion and vigorous efforts for their relief, cannot be denied by the benevolent Christian. That it is hopeless, we dare not say — for who shall limit the mercy of the God of Israel ? — who shall prescribe to him the way of access to the human heart ? — and who shall presume to say, that the heathen, who have not the law, and are a law unto themselves, are beyond the reach of his mercy ? They are in the hands of a merciful God, who will not be a hard master, gathering where he has not strawed, and requiring what he has not given. At the same time we would not imply such an idea of their safety as would induce us to relax, for a moment, our most zealous and indefatigable 220 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. efforts to send them the gospel of peace. Most sincerely have we rejoiced — yea, and we will rejoice — in the spirit, which prevails both in Great Britain and in our own country, in behalf of missions to the heathen. May it be increased a thousand fold, until the wilderness become a fruitful field and the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose ! But whatever may be the situation of the pagan world, there can be no doubt that many precious souls in a Christian land are irrecovera- bly lost by their ignorance of a Saviour and the plan of salvation. This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. The converse of this proposition is also true, and we may safely say, that in a Christian land, This is death eternal, to be igno- rant of God and his Son Jesus Christ. If the scriptures are true, there is nothing more evident than the fact, that there is no other way of salva- tion than the one pointed out in the gospel. This is expressly stated in the sacred volume. Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. There is none other name, under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved, neither is there salvation in any other. It therefore needs no elaborate SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 221 argument to convince you, if you admit the inspiration of the scriptures, that a want of this knowledge must necessarily be in the highest degree prejudicial to the souls of men. But, it may be asked, what is this knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is so essential to salva- tion ? This question is highly important, and deserves an attentive reply. Much is doubtless implied in that knowledge of a Saviour, which is connected with eternal life. It is something more than speculative and theoretical. One may credit the fact, that such a person as Jesus Christ once appeared in our world, and was the author of the benevolent religion which bears his name. Nay more, he may acknowledge his divinity, he may believe in his miracles, and admit the truth of his doctrines, he may even conform his morals to his precepts, and after all, be ignorant of that knowledge in which consists eternal life. What then is this knowledge ? We answer, it is ex- perimental and practical. It has its seat in the heart, and its influence extends through the life. It implies, not only a belief in the divinity and atonement of the Saviour, but a cordial attach- ment to him, a vital union with him, and an entire dependence on him for justification and 222 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. sanctification — a participation of his spirit, and an imitation of his example. An acquaintance with the plan of salvation is also implied in this knowledge. It is desirable that we should have some connected, systematic views of the plan of redemption. How far an ignorance of some of the doctrines, connected with this scheme, is consistent with true piety, we do not pretend to say. We certainly do not contend that they are all of equal importance with the knowledge of Jesus Christ and him crucified. This is indeed all important, and, we hesitate not to affirm, in a Christian land, essen- tial to salvation. But how far other doctrines, connected with this, may claim the same high distinction we presume not to say. We do not wish to attach too great importance to any doc- trine that is not absolutely essential to salvation ; for we know that good men have differed in their views of articles of faith ; and much as we are attached to our own opinions — and we make no pretensions to indifference — we are unwilling to exclude from our Christian charity those who differ from us, provided they are built upon the sure foundation laid in Zion, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. But, although we will not contend that a belief of all that we SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 223 deem the doctrines of the gospel is essential to salvation, we must be allowed to say, that a systematic knowledge of the plan of mercy is highly important, and, if for the want of it the souls of men are not completely ruined, as they will be for lack of the saving knowledge of Christ, they lose much comfort, strength, edifica- tion, and spiritual prosperity, which they might otherwise enjoy. It will therefore comport with our plan, II. To attempt to point out some of the de- structive consequences of ignorance, not only of what is essential to salvation, but also of what is highly important to our spiritual confirmation. Ignorance of any important subject, especially of those subjects connected with our eternal destination, is, to say the least, much to be la- mented. None but the artful and designing, or the indolent and vicious, will openly step forward and advocate the cause of ignorance. It has been beautifully said, " where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise," and this is true in a certain sense. Of many things it is, indeed, far better to be ignorant than to be informed. It is in- finitely better to be forever ignorant of the maxims, opinions, and habits of the world, than 224 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. to acquire a knowledge of them by the sacrifice of virtuous principle. But, although this plea in favor of ignorance may be admitted, it cannot be justified in relation to the all-important subject of religion. Here, ignorance is destruction, and knowledge is life eternal. It is difficult to describe, in all their alarming extent, the destructive consequences of ignorance of those highly important subjects which have passed under review. In attempting to direct your attention to some of the most prominent evils of spiritual ignorance, we remark, 1. That it leaves the mind and heart open to erroneous doctrines and unsanctified affections. The human mind, although uninformed, or in- correctly informed, cannot be a complete vacuum, unless in cases of perfect idiocy. The mind of every rational creature will be employed on some subject. If, then, it is not rightly employed, it will be occupied by subjects which have an injurious influence upon the understanding and the heart. If the mind is not instructed, and the heart affected by divine knowledge, it requires no great discernment to perceive that it will become an easy prey to erroneous sentiments and unsanctified affections. The truth of this observation is abundantly verified by constant SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 226 experience. What is the character of those who know not God. and who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ? Is it distinguished for purity and sanctity, or even for integrity and benevolence ? On the contrary, is it not. almost without an exception, sensual and selfish ? If the throne in the heart of man is not occupied by his Maker, it will be occupied by his rival, the £reat enemy of God and man. If the heart is not the seat of holiness, it will be the abode of sin. It can never be neutral. It is either for God or against him : and. if it is not sanctified by his grace, through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, it must remain in a state of alienation from God. and opposition to his will. In this state it becomes an easy prey to temptation. The most dangerous errors meet with but a faint resistance from the mind that is not pre-occupied with spiritual knowledge. The door is readily opened for their admission by their natural ally. the depravity of the heart, which, in the absence of the knowledge of God. holds uninterrupted sway in the bosoms of men. We remark. 2. That the destructive consequences of spir- itual ignorance may be perceived in the temper and conduct of those who are under its influence. Every Christian, who has had much opportu- 29 226 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. nity of being acquainted with mankind, especially with those who make pretensions to religion, must have been impressed with the truth of this remark. If I am not much mistaken, he must have perceived in those who are most ignorant of spiritual things, a temper and conduct peculiarly hostile to the mild and gentle spirit of Chris- tianity. Who are the proud, self-righteous, self- willed, self-opinionated ? Are they not those, who are deplorably ignorant of the moral char- acter of God — of the spirituality of his law — of their own hearts — and of the Lord Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation through his blood ? It is often the case, that the most ignorant think they know the most ; while the best informed are ever ready to acknowledge that they know but in part — indeed, that they know nothing as they ought to know. Pride is the legitimate offspring of ignorance, and humility the lovely child of sanctified knowledge. I know nothing that calls more frequently for the exercise of the Christian graces of forbearance, meekness, and self-control, than the wayward, unsteady tempers, the stubborn and perverse wills, of those who are ignorant of spiritual things, and yet think themselves wiser than their teachers — indeed, than all the world besides. We observe, SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 227 3. That the injurious consequences of spiritual ignorance may be perceived in the unhappy state of mind which it often induces. I now refer to those cases, where there may be saving knowledge, and yet such a deplorable ignorance of the doctrines of religion, of their connection and influence, and indeed of the whole system of religious truth, as to involve the mind in doubt, difficulty, distress, and even despair. That this is sometimes the case, and that it is owing to ignorance, or rather to a want of a systematic knowledge of divine truth, cannot be doubted. It requires a good degree of knowledge, which is not obtained intuitively, but by a diligent attendance on appointed means, to understand the system of Christianity, to perceive its various relations and tendencies, and to trace the connection and agreement between its different and sometimes apparently opposite doctrines. This knowledge is of no trifling importance. The mind, imbued with it, will readily discern a beautiful order and harmony in the Christian system ; and will be relieved from many difficulties, which are continually agitating the minds of those, w T ho have but partial and disconnected views of divine truth. Such a mind will at once reconcile the 228 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. apparent discrepancies in the statements of the apostles Paul and James, with regard to justify- ing faith ; and perceive a lovely and inseparable connection between faith and works. Such a mind, while it trusts, with childlike confidence, in a Redeemer's righteousness, will not fail to realize the necessity of personal holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord ; while those, who are ignorant of this connected view of divine truth, are subject to be tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. But the destructive consequences of spiritual ignorance will not be made fully manifest until the veil is drawn that separates us from the unseen world. Then, there will be a striking and awful comment upon the words of the text. Then, those who have been wilfully ignorant of the character of Jehovah — of the spirituality of his law — of their own hearts — of the Lord Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation, will go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal. To the spiritually ignorant how awful must be the contemplation of the future world ! Impenetrable darkness hangs over the opening tomb. In vain the lingering spirit clings to life. The rough hand of death tears SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 229 him from the world — the thousand ties, that bound him to earth, are severed in a moment — and he is hurried, unwilling and unprepared, into a world, where he has nothing to hope and every thing to fear. Into that awful state we cannot penetrate ; but we are assured, by the unerring word of God, that the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be punished with ever- lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe. From our subject we perceive, First. The vast importance of spiritual know- ledge. This cannot but be obvious to every attentive hearer. If such deplorable consequences result from spiritual ignorance, as have been mentioned, then spiritual knowledge must be of infinite im- portance. Its connection with the salvation of the soul is alone sufficient to decide its vast importance. One immortal soul is of more value than thousands of worlds. The earth, which we 230 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. inhabit, shall one day be consumed with fire ; the heavens shall wax old as a garment, and be changed as a vesture ; but the spark of immor- tality shall not be extinguished, the emanation of Deity, like the source from whence it sprung, shall endure ; and of its years there shall be no end. Reflect on the capacity of the soul — on the pain it is capable of feeling — on the joy it is capable of experiencing. If such is its capacity when encumbered with flesh, what will be that of the disembodied spirit ! If flesh and blood cannot bear a wounded spirit, how great will be its misery in the world to come ! If human nature faints under the manifestations of God's love, how great will be the happiness of the soul when faith gives place to vision ! Secondly. We infer from our subject, the duty of all to endeavor to obtain spiritual knowledge. An important inquiry here presents itself for our consideration. How is this knowledge to be obtained ? It is, undoubtedly, the gift of God, and is to be sought of him in the faithful and diligent use of the means which he has appointed. Open thou mine eyes, saith the Psalmist, and I shall behold wondrous things out of thy law. If any man lack wisdom, says the apostle, let him SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 231 ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But, although spiritual illumination cannot be obtained without the immediate agency of the Holy Spirit, it is to be sought for in the use of means, and when obtained, by the use of means it is to be cherished, maintained, and increased. Spirit- ual knowledge, like all other kinds of knowledge, cannot be obtained without application and faithful and diligent study. There are some, who imagine that little or nothing is to be done on our part towards obtaining this knowledge. There never was a greater or more dangerous mistake ; and it is to be feared that this error has been the ruin of many souls. The fact is, there is no kind of knowledge that requires more constant and diligent application. It is true the same mental powers are not requisite to obtain it, as are necessary to excel in any branch of human science ; for the wayfaring man, though a fool, may be a proficient in spiritual knowledge. The Christian, however, cannot expect to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, without a faithful and diligent use of those means which God has appointed. Among these, the unwearied study of the 232 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. scriptures, deservedly, holds a conspicuous place. The Bible is the great source of information on spiritual subjects. We believe that a great share of that deplorable ignorance, which is to be found even among professing Christians, is owing to the neglect of the Bible. By a diligent and careful perusal of the scriptures, and by compar- ing one passage with another, many mistakes might be corrected, and much valuable and important knowledge acquired. It is strange how much information on subjects the most important, and which might be obtained with so much ease, is lost by neglecting to peruse the scriptures ! Is it because the Bible is so com- mon, because it finds its way, by gratuitous distribution, to the poorest cottage, that it is so little esteemed ? Shall the admirable facilities, that have, of late years, attended the circulation of the scriptures, prove the ruin instead of the salvation of souls ? Let those, who w T ould grow in grace and in spiritual knowledge, meditate day and night upon the sacred volume. Let them make it the man of their counsel, and the guide of their lives. Let them esteem it more precious than gold, yea, than the most fine gold, sweeter also than honey or the honey-comb. Attendance on the Christian ministry, is an- SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 233 other and one of the most important means of attaining spiritual knowledge. It is instituted by God himself, who is pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. We cannot sufficiently admire the adaptation of this means to the desired effect. How admirably calculated is the preaching of God's word, from Sabbath to Sabbath and from week to w 7 eek, to enlighten the understanding, and to give correct views of the subject of religion ! How many thousands, nay millions, are thus enlightened, and trained up for glory, honor, and immortality ! It is true, these means, when not improved, will only heighten our condemnation, and fit us for destruction ; but to those, who rightly improve them, they become a savor of life unto life. The last, and the most important and essential means of acquiring and maintaining spiritual knowledge remains to be mentioned — and that is, prayer. Without this, all the other means that have been named will be ineffectual. Without prayer, the scriptures will be as a sealed book ; and the preaching of the word a savor of death unto death. God will be inquired of by the house of Israel. He has commanded us to seek his face ; and, for our encouragement, he has assured us that they that seek shall find, they 30 234 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. that ask shall receive, and to them that knock it shall be opened. Let those, then, who would obtain and increase spiritual knowledge, be instant in prayer — looking to God to open their understandings, and to shine into their hearts by the light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Thirdly, and lastly. We learn from our sub- ject, that the condition of those, who are perishing for want of spiritual knowledge, claims our com- passionate regards and benevolent efforts. This inference, did our time and the occasion permit, might lead us to make an affecting appeal to your sympathy and benevolence in behalf of the many millions of unenlightened heathen, who never heard the name of Jesus, nor the glad tidings of salvation through his blood. We might describe their pitiable condition in such a manner, as would constrain you, at least, to weep over their miseries, and, I trust, to extend a helping hand to their relief. But the occasion, upon which we are convened, reminds us that there are other claims, nearer home, which, in our zeal for foreign missions, ought not to be disregarded. The state of religion in our own country, although it gives us occasion to bless God for what he has done for our infant nation, at the same time loudly calls SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 235 upon all, who are interested in the prosperity of Zion, for renewed, and vigorous, and persevering efforts. Although much has been done by the labors of our pious fathers, there yet remains a vast field for their posterity to occupy and im- prove. Even in New England — the most highly favored section of our country for the enjoyment of religious institutions and privileges — there are many dark places, where the Sabbath is not associated with the worship of God — where no sanctuary throws open its inviting doors — where no pastor breaks the bread of life — and no bap- tismal engagements designate the disciples of the Redeemer. And, if we direct our attention from this favored spot to the vast extent of territory, comprised in the federal compact, what enlarged and enlarging spheres of usefulness present them- selves to our view ! Here, surely, is a field in which the most expansive benevolence may have ample scope ! We do not say that all the good that can be done to the inhabitants of our own country must first be effected, before missions to the heathen are attempted. We have no such contracted views of the benevolent operations of the present day. We believe that the more zeal that is manifested for the conversion of the heathen 236 IMPORTANCE OF SER. 9. abroad — the more interest will be felt for the heathen at home. But we do say that that is a false zeal, that professes to seek the salvation of souls in another hemisphere, and is utterly regardless of the welfare of the many precious immortals, who are perishing, on every side, for want of knowledge ; and we affirm that every judicious and well informed Christian will give to Domestic Missions an important place in his heart and in his charity ; and, while he cheer- fully aids in sending the blessed intelligence of a Saviour's love to the Hottentot and Hindoo, and rejoices in the marvellous change which these precious tidings have effected in the once be- sotted islanders of the Pacific — he will take, at least, equal pleasure in cheering, with the hopes of immortality, the small remnant of that unhappy people, who once possessed the lands which we now call our own, and once roamed through the forests which we have converted into the habitations of civilized man. Nor, will he feel less delight in being happily instrumental in strengthening the things which remain, and are ready to die — in reviving the hopes, and in brightening the prospects of those who once enjoyed better days — and in furnishing with the means of Christian instruction and spiritual SER. 9. SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 237 knowledge the rapidly increasing population of our extensive country. It was with a view to the accomplishment of these important designs, that the societv was instituted, whose claims we now present to your respectful consideration and benevolent regards. If priority in associated efforts to spread the gospel — if the patronage of many distinguished and excellent men — if the unwearied exertions of those to whom executive duty has been com- mitted — and if a steady, uniform, and consistent endeavor to evangelize the aborigines of our country, and to supply with faithful pastors and missionaries many destitute parts of our Zion, constitute a claim upon the attention of the friends of piety and truth — then. ; The Society for propagating the Gospel among the Indians and others in North America. 5 will hold no in- considerable rank among the religious institu- tions of the present day. and will not be suffered to languish and decline for want of the vigorous and effectual support of an enlightened public. It is true, other societies, having similar ob- jects, have sprung into existence, and proffered their claims upon Christian benevolence. We rejoice in their multiplication — and, in His name, whose gospel they strive to promulgate, we cor- 238 SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. SER. 9. dially bid them God speed. There is room enough for all, and for many more. May they ever go hand in hand in the prosecution of the blessed work in which they have engaged. It will not impoverish them to contribute to our funds, nor will it impoverish us to contribute to theirs. Let us give to each and to all, as we have ability and opportunity ; and relax not our benevolent efforts, until the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. 239 SERMON X. THE POLITICAL ASPECT OF THE WORLD, FAVORABLE TO THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL. EZEKIEL Xxi. 27. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. The duties of the Christian ministry are wisely defined and clearly understood. It is the great business of the ambassadors of heaven to proclaim to rebel men the terms of reconciliation with a holy God. For this purpose they meet the congregated assembly from Sabbath to Sabbath, and urge upon the consciences and hearts of their immortal hearers, the imperative duties of imme- diate repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. But, although their first and 240 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. principal duty is to endeavor to bring sinners home to God, by direct and personal appeals to their hopes and fears, their love of happiness and their dread of misery, — it is not to be expected that their ministrations should be confined to those subjects that have a direct and immediate bearing upon the duties of faith and repentance, but that they occasionally take a more extended view of the moral and religious condition of man — of the state of the world — and of the prospects of the future progress and glories of the Redeemer's kingdom. There are times and occasions, when such topics seem more suitable for public discussion than at others. The Sabbath is, and ever ought to be, especially consecrated to prayer and praise, and those religious duties which more intimately concern the relation of man to his Maker, — and it is never without pain that we hear subjects discussed from the pulpit on the Sabbath, which, although indirectly, it is true, connected with religion, have not an immediate reference to the sinner's duty to return to that God from whom he has revolted — and to the privileges of Chris- tians to contemplate the joys that arise from pardoned sin and the hope of glorious im- mortality. SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 241 But there are other occasions, and the present is one, when it has been customary for preachers of the gospel to direct the attention of their hearers to subjects, more apparently secular in their aspect, although intimately connected with religion, and to consider the political bearing of states and nations upon the influence of religion and the spread of the gospel throughout the world. I make not these remarks by way of apology for preaching a political sermon — for the time for preaching political sermons, as they were called, has gone by ; and I take my people to record, that in those days of excitement, I was never accustomed to add fuel to the flame, by advocat- ing any set of political opinions. The subject upon which I propose to address you this day, it is true, may be considered political ; but it embraces no party politics ; and I flatter myself that I shall advance nothing in which all the friends of rational liberty in a republican country are not agreed. My design is to call your attention to the present political state of the world, and the influence it is calcu- lated to exert upon the cause of religion and the spread of the gospel. The words which I have prefixed to this dis- 31 242 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. course, were uttered in immediate reference to the approaching captivity of the Jews, and the dethronement of the last of their kings, Zede- kiah, from whom the diadem and crown were to be removed, while he and his people were to be carried away captive into the land of Babylon. This revolution was to be followed by a series of others, all of which were to issue in the disap- pointed hopes of royalty, until He, whose right it is to reign, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall come, to whom the mediatorial kingdom shall be given. The sceptre w r as now to depart from Judah, and a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh, the Prince of peace, should come. All the revo- lutions that were now to take place in the history of God's ancient people, were to be over- ruled for the furtherance of that great event which was to bless the world with righteousness, — the advent of the Messiah and the prosperity and perpetuity of his kingdom. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him. While the language of our text received its immediate accomplishment in the destruction of the Hebrew monarchy, and in the introduction of the Redeemer's throne, it may be expected to SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 243 have a more complete fulfilment in the changes that are taking place, and are yet to take place, in the governments of the world, and in the final and complete establishment of the kingdom of the Prince of peace. No man of observation and reflection can have viewed the recent events that have taken place on the continent of Europe, with indifference and unconcern ; nor without serious consideration of their probable results upon the character and destinies of the world. We have seen one of the most powerful and interesting nations of Europe, passing through a most astonishing revo- lution within a few critical and important days, — dismissing the reigning monarch with the im- mediate expectants of hereditary royalty from the throne of their ancestors, and elevating to the vacant seat of regal power the man of their choice. We have seen, too, this most astonish- ing revolution speedily acknowledged, by the powers of Europe more immediately concerned in it and affected by it ; and although, to the attentive observer of these singular scenes, there may appear to be some remains of revolutionary disquiet that yet threaten the repose of Europe, still it must be acknowledged on all hands, that a most important, and remarkable, and eventful 244 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. change has taken place in the policy of nations, that cannot but have a controlling influence upon the character and destinies of the world. It will not be so much my object to dwell upon the circumstances attending these recent events, to which I have alluded, as upon their connection with the cause of religion and the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. Al- though, as citizens of this free and happy re- public, we cannot but regard all the circum- stances attending them, with deep and lively interest ; especially those which more immedi- ately relate to our country's ancient, and true, and valued friend, whose happy lot it is in a green old age to see the same generous plant of true liberty, which, in his youth, he beheld springing up in strong luxuriance in this friendly soil — taking deep root in the land of his nativity. May his valued life be spared a little longer, to defend the tender plant from the rough hand of unprincipled licentiousness, and to interpose the weight of his character and influence between the misguided advisers of a deposed monarch, and those whose thirst for vengeance will be assuaged with nothing but their blood. Whatever may be the issue of these wonderful events that are taking place on the continent of SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 245 Europe, there can be little doubt that it will be such, as will eventually promote the cause of true religion, and advance the interests of the Re- deemer's kingdom. — It is in this light that we wish to present the subject to you this day, and it is only with a view to lead you to acknowledge the overruling hand of an almighty Sovereign in the disposal of kingdoms and empires, and the superintending and controlling influence of his providence, in educing good from evil, and in restraining the remainder of that wrath which is not made directly to praise him, that we have been willing to deviate from our usual path, and to call your attention to the political state of the world. And we conceive that much practical wisdom may be learnt, and much animating encouragement may be received, from a contem- plation of these passing events, when viewed in connection with their bearing upon the moral and religious condition of the world. Those have not well considered the subject, who are not ready to admit that the form of government adopted by different nations, has an important influence upon morals and religion. That there are good men to be found under every political constitution, however arbitrary and despotic, will not be denied ; while, at 246 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. the same time, we think it cannot be ques- tioned, that some constitutions are much more favorable to the progress of religion than others. In our judgment, popular forms of government tend more to the advancement of religion, than those forms where the power is confined to the person of the king, and the creatures of his formation. It has ever been found by the faithful record of history and experience, that in those nations where arbitrary rule has swayed the sceptre, religion has been cramped in her energies, and limited in her progress ; — while, on the contrary, in those states, where the power has emanated from the people, the mild genius of Christianity has been left to breathe in a free and wholesome atmosphere, and, un- shackled by human fetters, to extend her genial influence over multitudes, whom, under a more despotic form of government, she could have never reached. The first great experiment in modern times, of the advantages of a well-balanced republic, was tried, and has been successfully tried, by our own country ; and from the experience of more than half a century, we can bear testimony to its beneficial influence upon the cause of religion and virtue. In what part of the world has SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 247 this cause prospered with such unexampled suc- cess as in this land of free institutions ? The Spirit of God has set his seal to our religious freedom, by his gracious influences, in such a wonderful manner, as has excited the admiration and gratitude of the friends of evangelical reli- gion in all parts of the world. We have seen the happy influence arising from an entire sepa- ration of church and state. In our country, religion asks no other aid from civil government, than liberty to live by its own energies; although, strange to say, there have been persons so blinded by prejudice, as to suppose that the friends of evangelical religion have attempted to unite it with the state, — a union, which, in this country, is impracticable ; or, if practicable, would be in the highest degree undesirable. So far from desiring their union, we view it as one of the most favorable circumstances attending our form of government, that such a connection is perfectly incompatible with the genius of our political institutions ; and, distant, far distant, be the day, when a different sentiment on this sub- ject shall prevail. It was naturally to be expected that the ex- ample of this country in attaining her republican independence should be followed by other states 248 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. and nations. But the time for the successful imitation of our example had not arrived. The nations of the old world were not prepared for a revolution which proved so successful in the new. This country was originally settled by men, who, though connected with a monarchical gov- ernment, were republican in many of their opinions. They fled to these shores as a refuge from ecclesiastical domination, and from the resistance of religious tyranny; the step was easy to a resistance of political usurpation. They were far aw T ay from the seat of monarchical power, and, as an ocean rolled between them and the throne which they acknowledged, they easily began to question its authority, to remon- strate against its control, and finally to resist its usurpation of their rights. The general intelli- gence of the people, owing to the wisdom of our fathers in the extensive diffusion of knowledge, prepared them for the reception of that form of government, in which they were to take so conspicuous a part. These circumstances, w r hich tended so greatly to favor the American revolu- tion, did not exist in other nations ; and, conse- quently, the time had not then arrived for the introduction of republican principles into the old world, which had been for centuries the seat of SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 249 monarchical and despotic power. An attempt, however, was made, which some of you remem- ber, and of which most, if not all of you have heard. When the French revolution first began to discover itself, about forty years ago, the friends of freedom cherished the hope, that the princi- ples which had proved so happy in their results in the new world, would be equally successful in the old ; but they forgot, that though the princi- ples were the same, the habits, and manners, and character of the people upon whom they were to operate, were essentially different. Their expectations were soon most deplorably disap- pointed. The most dreadful scenes of outrage and bloodshed were transacted, the very remem- brance of which sends a chill of horror to the heart. It was abundantly evident, that the people of France were not then prepared for republican institutions ; and from a principle, not uncommon in human nature, a reaction soon took place ; and the same people, who brought their hereditary sovereign to the guillotine, eleva- ted a comparative stranger to the throne, and clothed him with the imperial purple. But this state of things, though it reflected a temporary glory on the great nation, as they were fond to 32 250 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. style themselves, did not long continue. Insa- tiable ambition proved the ruin of the greatest military captain our age has ever witnessed ; and he, at whose nod kings and emperors were wont to tremble, lingered out the remnant of his wretched mortal existence, on the rock of St. Helena. From the same principle of reaction which we have already noticed, this disappointed nation, failing in their attempts in the establishment of a republican form of government, and sick of military glory acquired by such immense sacri- fices of human life, sought repose in recalling to the throne of their fathers that exiled family, whose blood had flowed so freely in the reign of terror. And here, one would have thought they would have reposed for years to come. But as, in their first attempt at the introduction of re- publican principles, they were before the spirit of the age — so now, in the sufferance of arbitrary and bigoted power, they were behind the spirit of the age. From an infatuation, for which it is difficult to account upon any other principle than that ancient saying, " Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat,"* their late king was induced to * " Whom God means to destroy, he first makes mad." SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 251 control the freedom of the press and the elective franchise — rights which, perhaps, are valued more than almost any other, and to the infringe- ment of which, in this period of the world, mankind are peculiarly susceptible. Resistance was no sooner manifested than sustained, and in three short days, another revolution was effected in this great nation, the results of which, on the religious and moral conduct of the world, will not be fully known until they are discerned in the light of eternity, — but that these results have already been, and will hereafter be, still more favorable to the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, does not, in our opinion, admit of a doubt. God will overturn, and overturn, and overturn, until He come whose right it is, and he will give it Him. — And this is not a Bourbon, nor an Orleans, nor a Buonaparte — but One, with whom these potentates are not worthy to be named, — One, on whose vesture and whose thigh is written, King of kings and Lord of lords — to whom shall be given the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven ; for the kingdoms of this world shall all become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. That these events, which we have thus hastily 252 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. reviewed, could be overruled for great good to the church, will be obvious from the following considerations. — That, by the new charter of government, the exclusive establishment of any particular form of religion is expressly rejected. It is well known that the Roman catholic re- ligion has always been the established religion of France, as it now is of Spain and Italy. The late royal family, it is also well known, were not only catholics, — but the king, particularly, bigoted to that form of religion to a very great degree. They were unfriendly to the toleration of protestants, — and many have been the suffer- ings which, during their reign, the persecuted protestants have experienced. Now we rejoice that the Roman catholic religion has ceased to be the established religion, not so much from dislike to that form of worship, for we believe that there are many excellent conscientious catholics, and we hope to meet many of them in heaven — but because we dislike the legal establishment of any form of religion. We should regret to see the protestant religion established by law. We should not desire to see our own peculiar sentiments, much as we regard them, avowed as the religion of the state. We wish all forms of religion in this respect to SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 253 be on an equality. Give them but equal room and opportunities, and truth is great and will prevail. We feel no concern for the establish- ment of our own opinions. If they are correct, they will prevail — if not, they ought to be aban- doned. We view the late revolution in France, and the movements that are making in other parts of Europe and South America, as friendly to the propagation of religion, to free inquiry, to the translation and circulation of the word of life — the only charter of our civil and religious privileges, and our immortal hopes. We have no doubt, that where rational liberty is enjoyed, there religious freedom will be found in her train. Where no religious establishment is sup- ported by law, there is a greater prospect of the more immediate and general circulation of the holy scriptures — and where the Bible goes, there will go with it innumerable temporal and spiritual blessings — and there, too, will follow the heralds of the cross, to explain to a guilty world the meaning of the word of life, which is able to make them wise unto salvation. In this way the revolutions that are taking place in the world, will be overruled for the spread of the gospel and the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. God will overturn, and overturn, and 254 POLITICAL ASPECT SER. 10. overturn it, until He come whose right it is, and he will give it him. From the view we have taken of the political state of the world, and more particularly of the recent revolution in France, we may be led to several reflections appropriate to the occasion upon which we have assembled. It is a day of grateful acknowledgment to Heaven for the innumerable blessings, both tem- poral and spiritual, which we enjoy. What reason have we for deep and heartfelt gratitude to Almighty God, for our civil and religious free- dom — that, while other nations are now passing through, and have yet to pass through revolu- tionary scenes, which, in their mildest forms, are attended with many difficulties, and not a little shedding of blood ; we have accomplished our freedom, and can now sit under our own vine and fig-trees, having none to molest us and make us afraid. Let us then learn to cherish our invaluable institutions — the price of the blood of many revolutionary heroes, who struggled and expired in the cause of liberty — and let us be careful to hand them down, improved by the wisdom of experience, to our children's children. And while we cherish sentiments of lively grati- SER. 10. OF THE WORLD. 255 tude for our own civil and religions freedom, let ns sympathize with other nations in their joy, in having recently attained the object of their desires, in the establishment of free institutions. And let us not fail to implore the guidance and blessing of Infinite Wisdom, to preserve them from abusing the privileges for which they have struggled, and to teach them moderation in the use of power, especially in the exercise of it towards those who have rendered themselves obnoxious to their displeasure, by a system of policy, opposite from their own. And now we leave these themes, w r hich we trust have not been altogether inappropriate to the duties of this day, and turn to the usual congratulations of this festive occasion. We are happy once more to meet you in the house of God on the return of this ancient festival. Many, since the last anniversary, have gone to the world of spirits ; and those of them who have slept in Jesus, to spend an eternal thanks- giving in an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Let us be followers of them, who, through faith and patience, now inherit the promises. Finally, when surrounding our own festive 256 POLITICAL ASPECT. SER. 10. boards, and tasting the rich pleasures that flow from social and domestic life, let us remember those who are destitute of the blessings we enjoy — let us not be unmindful to send portions to the poor and the needy — that while we taste so richly of the bounties of God's providence, we may cause the widow's heart to sing for joy, and the children of want to eat and be satisfied. 257 SERMON XL THE FAITH OF THE PILGRIMS HEBREWS xi. 8. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. The occasion, upon which I have been invited to address you, is exceeded by none of our public anniversaries in deep and absorbing interest. It compares with none, indeed, but that, which recognizes our standing among the nations of the earth, as a free and independent empire ; a day, rescued, as long as the sun and moon shall endure, from oblivion, alike by the great event which it commemorates, and the astonishing and providential coincidences by which it has since 33 258 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. been distinguished. But to that part of this great nation, who people the shores of New England, and whose descendants have planted themselves in almost every part of this western continent, no anniversary can be more interesting than that which we are this day called to cele- brate. It is the anniversary, not, it is true, of our nation's manhood, when she sought and obtained deliverance from parentage, that had become unnatural, oppressive and tyrannical, and took her proper place among the nations of the earth, — but it is the anniversary of her infancy, and its return will ever be hailed with emotions of holy gratitude and fervent praise by the sons of the Pilgrims in every part of the land. That the occasion has ever been esteemed one of no ordinary interest, is evident from the respect that has attended its observance for a series of years. The ministers of the altar, and the most distinguished of our public orators, have succes- sively employed their talents and their eloquence in perpetuating the memory of those devoted men, who left the land of their fathers, braved the boisterous deep, and encountered the dangers of a savage wilderness, for the sake of worship- ping God according to the dictates of their con- sciences. While there is so much occasion for SER. II. THE PILGRIMS. 259 all the descendants of the Pilgrims gratefully to observe the return of this anniversary, no one can doubt that there is a peculiar propriety for those of them, who profess to adhere to the same system of Christian faith, in which their fathers believed and on account of which they were exiled from their native land, to cherish the memory of those holy men, with whom, even at this distance of time, they feel a peculiar union, and an attachment, stronger than that which mere patriotism can inspire, springing from con- geniality of thought and feeling on subjects of the most momentous interest ; — for it will not be denied by the faithful historian of New England, that the religious opinions of that little band of devoted Christian heroes, who first made a lodg- ment in this western world, were most decidedly orthodox or Calvinistic. It is not our design, at the present time, to enter into a controversial defence of their reli- gious peculiarities, nor to condemn those who have departed from their faith and have embraced a more liberal theology. In this free and happy land, we would be the last to bind, by any other means than rational conviction, the descendants of the Puritans to the faith of their ancestors, much as we revere and cordially as we ourselves 260 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. embrace it, — but, while we would allow to others the same right we claim ourselves of private judgment in matters of religious faith, we shall not be denied the satisfaction of feeling a peculiar interest in this memorable occasion, arising from our sympathies with our pilgrim fathers in re- ligious principle. Nor do we esteem it a thing of small moment that we are permitted to claim lineage in our religious faith with such men as settled the colony at Plymouth. Though we would call no man Master, and would ever keep our minds open, in accordance with the parting counsel of the venerable pastor of the church at Leyden, to all the light which may break from the sacred volume of divine truth — yet we would esteem it a source of unfeigned gratitude to that Being, who alone can preserve us from error, that, after the lapse of two centuries, there are to be found among the descendants of the Pilgrims, those, who are not ashamed of their father's faith — who believe in the same cardinal doctrines of revelation — who worship the same triune Je- hovah — and trust in the same atoning blood for the salvation of their souls. It is, therefore, most fit and proper that the adherents to the faith of the Pilgrims should cherish their memory, and observe, with devout gratitude, the return of this anniversary. SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 261 In selecting a subject appropriate to the pre- sent occasion, it would be impracticable to mark out ground which had not been traversed before. Information respecting the early history of our country has been very generally and universally diffused throughout our intelligent community. It is, indeed, a circumstance, for which we cannot be too grateful, and which we owe to the prudent foresight and pious care of those excellent men, whose memory we would this day revive, that knowledge is so universally disseminated among all ranks and classes of the community. The establishment of public schools throughout all their towns and villages, will remain a monument, more durable than brass, of the wisdom and true patriotism of our pious ancestors. But, although we cannot dwell on all the particulars of their early history, it may be proper to notice the circumstances attending the event which we this day commemorate. The origin and settlement of New England may be traced to ecclesiastical tyranny. At the close of the sixteenth, and beginning of the seventeenth centuries, a severe and cruel perse- cution arose in England, against those who refused to conform, in every particular, to the 262 THE FAITH OF SER. II. liturgy, ceremonies, and observances of the Church of England, and who, on account of their desires and attempts to obtain a purer mode of worship, were denominated Puritans. This ap- pellation, though probably given at first in derision, has become an honorable distinction, and is now used to designate a class of men, of whom the world was not worthy, and among whom New England boasts her progenitors. Such was the persecution which the Puritans experienced, that several of them were induced to remove to other countries, for the peaceable enjoyment of their religious privileges. In 1607, a small congregation of dissenters, in the north of England, under the pastoral care of Rev. John Robinson, being extremely harassed and persecuted, were obliged to leave their native land, and take refuge in Holland, that they might enjoy purity of worship, and liberty of conscience. Here they continued for several years, when they were induced, from various considerations, to project the plan of emigrating to North America. At that period this extensive continent was but little known. It was the in- tention of the emigrants to effect a settlement south of what is now denominated New England ; and for this purpose, they obtained a patent from SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 263 a company in London, called the Virginia Com- pany. But this plan was singularly overruled in Providence. A part only of Mr. Robinson's congregation embarked in this perilous enter- prise, and, after having been devoutly commended to the divine benediction by their beloved pastor, who never lived to join them, they set sail, after several unsuccessful attempts, in the early part of September, 1620. After a tedious and un- comfortable passage of about two months, they discovered land, several degrees north of the place to which they were directed in their charter. Thus their charter became useless, and they determined to effect a settlement upon their own responsibility. After remaining in Massachusetts Bay a short time, exploring a suitable place for a permanent abode, they finally fixed upon a spot convenient for their purpose, to which they gave the name of Plymouth, in memory of the last town they left in their native land. Our time will not permit us to dwell upon their subsequent history. Many and severe were the trials which these religious heroes endured in the early part of their settlement. Their number, which consisted at their disem- barkation of one hundred and one souls, was 264 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. reduced nearly one half by prevailing sickness, before the opening of the spring. Their pros- pects were gloomy beyond description. At a distance of three thousand miles from their country and friends — surrounded by savages, of whose disposition and intentions they were not yet aware, they must have been of all men the most miserable, had they not been supported by the consolations and hopes of the Christian faith. It was the religion of the gospel, that animated, and cheered, and encouraged those devoted men — that consoled them under all their trials, and strengthened them under all their discourage- ments. They were men of faith and of prayer, and the Lord did not forsake them, but gave them favor, even in the eyes of their Indian neighbors, blessed the labors of their hands, prospered the infant settlement, caused the little vine to take deep root and fill the land, so that the hills are now covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof are like the goodly cedars. In calling your attention to the character of the Pilgrims, I might dwell upon that spirit of enterprise by which they were distinguished, and hold them up to your imitation as a bold and hardy race, who feared not danger, nor re- SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 265 garded life, in their persevering course, — 1 might, as has often been done by others, enlarge on that love of freedom, which, at that period of the world, when liberty was hardly known in name, distinguished your ancestors from the age of hereditary rank and aristocratic pride in which they lived, — but themes like these would better become the orator than the preacher, and would be more consonant to a civic than a religious celebration. It is to the Christian character of our fathers, that I would, on this occasion, invite your attention, and more particularly to the exhi- bition of that holy principle of faith, which was never more strikingly illustrated in the history of any number of uninspired men, and which, in many of its peculiarities and attending circum- stances, possesses a strong resemblance to that heavenly grace, w r hich shone so bright in the distinguished patriarchal example recorded in divine revelation. By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should afterwards receive for an inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. It will not be thought sacrilegious nor pre- suming, to institute a comparison between the ancestor of the Jewish nation and our pilgrim 34 266 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. fathers ; for every one, acquainted with the history of God's ancient people and with the history of New England, must have been affected with the wonderful resemblance between them. It is true, indeed, they were not called by an audible voice from heaven, nor by visions of the Almighty, like Abraham, to leave their country, and their kindred, and their fathers' house, and go unto a land which God would show them ; — but who shall say, that they were not moved by an impulse from heaven, operating upon their minds through the dealings of an overruling and all-directing Providence, to leave their native land, and seek a settlement on this western con- tinent, of which they knew as little as Abraham did of the promised land ? Who will deny that it was the same holy principle that operated on the mind of Abraham, that led the congregation of the pious Robinson to embark in the perilous undertaking of a winter's voyage to a land, where, at that period, but few of the civilized world had made a lodgment, and which was well known to be inhabited by savages and beasts of prey ? All the circumstances attending their emigra- tion to this western world, unequivocally demon- strate, that their undertaking, from first to last, SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 267 was inspired by strong religious principle. It was faith, that holy trust and confidence in God, which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, that sustained the little persecuted remnant, that fled over the stormy wave to a land of religious tolerance, while their less favored brethren, unable to make their escape, were surrounded by the emissaries of ecclesiastical domination. It was the same divine principle, that bound the exiled flock together in holy love in a land of strangers, and kept them, in the midst of foreign customs and habits, a distinct and separate people, — and it was the same precious faith, that led them to look beyond themselves and their own genera- tion, that their children after them might remain the same peculiar people. It was faith, that led them to bid adieu to the comforts and refine- ments of civilized life in the old world, and to seek their future abode beyond the waste of waters, in a land uncleared, untilled, and un- peopled by civilized man. We have reason to believe, that, in this momentous enterprise, they took no step without their eye fixed upon God, for light, guidance, and direction. Besides their private duties of devotion, they observed seasons of special fasting and prayer, in which they 268 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. unitedly laid their cause before him, from whom all good counsels and holy desires proceed. On these occasions, several of which are on record, their beloved pastor, previous to their embarka- tion addressed them from the word of God, and strengthened their faith. On one occasion, he preached from that memorable passage in Samuel — and David's men said, Behold we be afraid here in Judah, how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines. Then David inquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hands. On another occasion he ad- dressed them from Ezra viii. 21. I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might afflict our souls before God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. In all their previous steps and preparations for their important and hazardous enterprise, they appear to have been actuated by this divine prin- ciple of faith. They embarked in it — not like the first discoverer of the western continent, from a zeal for discovery, and an ambition to hand down their names to posterity as the dis- coverers of a new world, — nor, like many of their SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 269 successors, from motives of cupidity and self- interest. Neither the love of gold, nor the love of fame, influenced the exiled congregation at Leyden in their emigration to the new world. Had the first of these motives operated upon their minds, they would have long before amal- gamated with the hospitable nation with whom they sojourned — and, had they been influenced by the last, they would never have left their native land, which held out so many inducements for honorable distinction. No ! — they were in- fluenced by higher, nobler, purer motives. It was faith in the divine promises, an assured trust and confidence in an overruling Providence, and a firm and unwavering conviction of the truth of God's revealed will in his holy word — that sus- tained them amidst all their trials, cheered them in all their undertakings, and animated them in all their efforts. It was the same holy principle, that led the Jewish patriarch to quit Haran at the divine command for the land of Canaan, that induced them to emigrate to this western world. The knowledge, which our fathers possessed of the western continent, while resident in Hol- land, must have been exceedingly limited and imperfect. Doubtless, they availed themselves of every source of information within their reach, 270 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. of the nature, extent and peculiarities of the country to which they were about to emigrate. A few settlements had been commenced by the Virginia colony, and others. But so little had been effected in the way of civilization and im- provement — and so rare and uncertain was the intercourse between the distant colonies and the mother country — that, with every source of in- formation which the times afforded, our fathers could have known very little of the condition and prospects of the new world. To them it must have been as little known as the land of promise to the believing patriarch. They were actuated by the same principle of holy faith in the efforts and sacrifices which they made for the attain- ment of their desired object. Of these efforts and sacrifices, we can form but very inadequate ideas, at this distant period, and surrounded as we are by the improvements in the comforts and conveniences of life of modern times. In these days of refinement — when there is more luxury and extravagance on that very soil, which was at the time of the landing of our fathers a dreary wilderness and the abode of savage man, than existed in the long settled country of their nativity at the time of their embarkation — it is difficult to conceive of the SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 271 sacrifices, which they must have made, and the hardships, which they must have endured, in leaving their homes and firesides, and in effecting a settlement in a savage wilderness. We are accustomed, in these times, to speak of the sacri- fices made by the missionaries of the cross, and of the trials to which they are exposed, in leaving their native country to preach the gospel in foreign lands. But what are they, when com- pared with the sacrifices and hardships endured by our pilgrim fathers ! The servant of the cross, bound to distant India, is as intimately acquainted with Calcutta, Bombay, and Ceylon, as if he had himself been a resident in those pagan cities, — and the little missionary band, w r ho have recently left our shores for the islands of the Pacific, are already familiar with the natural history of the places of their intended residence — the former and the present improved character of the inhabitants — the present state and prospects of the mission, and even with the names, if not with the persons of the individu- als, who are expecting to greet their arrival on those distant shores. Not so, with our pilgrim fathers ; — they knew little or nothing of the place where they intended to settle. They had no knowledge of the manners, customs, and language 272 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. of the savage tribes, that inhabited the country where they expected to reside. All that they knew, and all that they cared to know, was, that it was far away from ecclesiastical domination — that there was no hierarchy, to control their faith and mode of worship — no star chamber, to test their conformity with fire and faggot — no royal prerogative of lordship over the conscience. Of almost every thing else, respecting the state and condition of the new world, they were ignorant. But they listened to the voice of conscience, as the voice of God, commanding them to go out from their country and from their kindred to a land which he would show them, and by faith, like Abraham of old, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, they obeyed, and went out, not knowing whither they went. Never was there a more striking and complete exemplification of the power of faith in over- coming difficulties, that appeared to the eye of sense almost insurmountable — and in obtaining blessings, which, in the distant prospective, seemed wild and visionary — than is afforded us by the history of our pilgrim fathers. They went out, like the progenitors of the Jewish nation, not knowing whither they went — and SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 273 their covenant keeping God, at whose command, so plainly indicated by the dispensations of his providence, they embarked on their perilous en- terprise, made of them, as he did of faithful Abraham, a great people and a mighty nation. Such was the faith of the Pilgrims, considered as a vital and operative principle. It may be emphatically said of them — They were men of faith. It cannot but be a subject of the deepest in- terest to inquire what were the particular views which they entertained of divine truth. On this subject we are not left in doubt. Their creed was well known, and will not be called in ques- tion by any. It recognized all those great and leading doctrines of the gospel, which have, within the last sixty years, been made subjects of controversy on that very soil on which they trod, and in the bosom of those churches which they planted. The fathers of New England were decided Trinitarians and Calvinists. Their doctrinal views did not differ from the articles of the Church of England. It was only in reference to their forms of church government, and their out- ward rites and ceremonies, that they felt bound in conscience to dissent. Their faith was in 35 274 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. correspondence with the formularies of all the reformed churches — and it is well known that, soon after the assembly of divines agreed upon that admirable system of Christian doctrine, at Westminster, our fathers deliberately adopted it, and uniformly taught it in their congregations and in their families. And it is not, until within a very few years, in the memory of many of us, that this most excellent summary of our religious belief has been disused in any of the churches founded by the Pilgrims. That those, who have openly and professedly departed from the faith of the Pilgrims, should have laid aside this religious formula, is not surprising ; but that those, who not only profess to agree with their fathers in their religious opinions, but zealously to contend for them, should have become indifferent to that compendium of Christian doctrine, which was so precious to their ancestors, is truly deplorable. It is much to be desired that the good old prac- tice of catechetical instruction, once so common, if not universal, in New England, was revived among us. While we rejoice in the system of Sabbath school instruction, which is the glory of the age in which we live, and in the use of the Bible, as the great text book in these little nurseries of the church, we must be allowed, as SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 275 descendants of the Puritans, and as conscien- tiously attached to their faith, to express the earnest wish, that, in those families and congre- gations, who still profess to adhere to the faith of the Pilgrims, the Shorter Catechism may hold the same conspicuous place, that it occupied in the households and public assemblies of their pious ancestors. We do not contend for this, or any other sum- mary of faith, as, in all its phraseology, perfectly unexceptionable. There may be some few ex- pressions, for which we might have substituted different language. Our fathers were not so philosophical and critical, as many of their de- scendants profess to be, who agree with them in their views of religious truth. But, if their manner of expression was not, in every respect, such as would be used at the present day, no objection can, from that consideration, be urged against the doctrines, which they professed to believe. Modes of expression will vary with the times ; but truth is eternal, and can never change. The Puritans, if not so philosophical and critical in their use of language, were men of great learning, strong sense, and sound judgment. For theological science, they have not been ex- 276 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. ceeded by any former or later age. Many of those, who constituted the first Plymouth colony, were highly respectable for intellectual power. Surely no man of candor can think or speak lightly of the religious faith of such men as Robinson, and Brewster, and Carver, and Wins- low, and Bradford. I know it has been said, that they lived in a comparatively unenlightened age, and that, had they lived in these days of the march of mind, they would have renounced their theological dogmas, and embraced a more liberal creed. The farewell advice of the beloved Robinson is often made an excuse for a wide departure from his faith. But can it be supposed, for a moment, that that truly great and liberal man, in that admirable exhortation, ever meant to coun- tenance such departures from the Christian faith, as the denial of our Lord's divinity and atone- ment, when he expressed his belief, that the Lord had more truth yet to break forth out of his holy word ? — They, who can indulge such an idea, must be strangely, if not perversely, ignorant. The Arian and Socinian heresies were well known to the learned pastor of the church at Leyden, and, doubtless, were held by him, as by all the orthodox of his day, as most dangerous SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 277 and fatal errors. Nothing could be further from his mind, than to sanction them by his parting counsel to his beloved people. It is more probable, that he had reference to doctrinal views of minor importance, or to the order and disci- pline of the church, which, at that period, was the subject of no inconsiderable controversy. But, whatever might have been his meaning, he certainly could never have intended to have given the sanction of his venerable name to the revival of errors, that had infested the Christian church from the earliest period, when he exhorted his beloved flock to receive whatever truth should be made known to them from the written word of God. Let not that truly catholic and excellent valedictory of the pious Robinson any longer be perverted to favor religious views, which would have filled his holy soul with grief and with horror, but, in the true spirit of that remarkable document, let us ever keep our minds open to the reception of truth, by whatever instrument it may be communicated. Let us call no man Master — neither Luther, nor Calvin, nor any uninspired man; — but, while we are not ashamed to acknowledge, that we agree with any of them in their views of divine truth, let us make the 278 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. scriptures the only standard of our faith and practice. This, we believe, is the true spirit of Protestantism, and the true spirit of the cele- brated and often quoted address of the pastor of the church at Leyden. We freely confess our attachment to the faith of our fathers. But it is not simply because it was our fathers' faith, that we feel this attach- ment. We readily allow, that our faith in those great truths of revelation, to which the Pilgrims gave their assent, is, by that circumstance, strengthened and established. We feel a satis- faction, which we cannot, and would not disguise, in the reflection, that our views of divine truth harmonize with those of our puritan ancestors. We cannot deny that our faith receives additional confirmation from the fact, that men of such purity of motive, of such strength of mind, of such a disinterested and devoted spirit, and of such active and persevering effort, entertained the same views, with ourselves, of religious truth. But if, upon an attentive and prayerful examination, we did not find the faith of our fathers agree with the law and the testimony, — highly as we revere their memory, we would, unhesitatingly, reject it. We acknowledge no SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 279 other authority than the scriptures — no other Master than the Lord Jesus Christ. The sufficiency of the scriptures was the great principle of the reformation; it was acknowledged by our fathers, and we hope will never be aban- doned by their posterity. The Pilgrims took the Bible for the standard of their faith, and the regulation of their conduct; and the humble and diligent study of the sacred volume, with the firm and unwavering conviction of its entire inspira- tion, led to the acknowledgment of that system of Christian doctrine, which has been so long associated with their memory, and which, we doubt not, will be handed down, with the recol- lection of their virtues, to the end of time. The faith of the Pilgrims, therefore, is not to be regarded as of mere human authority, but as drawn, directly and immediately, from the unadulterated source of all truth, the word of God. No men more highly reverenced, and more laboriously and faithfully investigated, the meaning of the Spirit in the dispensation of the word, than the Puritans. Some of them were men of extensive learning and critical research, and, as a body of divines, we hesitate not to say, spent far more time, in the acquisition of profound and varied learning, than the active and stirring 280 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. spirits of the present age. They were not only profoundly studious, but eminently holy men. They studied the scriptures on their knees, and wet the sacred pages with their tears. They lifted up their souls to heaven, with the prayer of the Psalmist — Open thou our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Who will not reverence those principles, by whatever name they may be distinguished, that had an influence in the formation of such characters as our puritan ancestors ? It will not be denied, that any system of religious belief will, in some measure, be appre- ciated by the character of its disciples. By their fruits ye shall know them — was the test estab- lished by the divine Author of our religion. And, if we judge of the excellence of their system of faith by the effects it produced, we shall obtain a testimony highly honorable and satisfactory to the creed which the Pilgrims professed. That their characters were formed, in a great degree, by their religious principles, no candid man will, I think, be disposed to deny. What their char- acters were, as men of the purest and most exemplary morals, the impartial historian of their times will decide. We would not, blindly, receive the creed of SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 281 any men, however excellent, and however de- serving our esteem and regard ; but we cannot withhold our admiration from those principles, which evidently had such a controlling influence on the minds and pursuits of the fathers of New England — which led them to make such sacrifices of personal ease and comfort, and, like Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive as an inheritance, to obey, and to go out, not knowing whither they went. On a review of the brief sketch, which we have given of the history of the first settlement of New England, and a consideration of that faith, by which our pilgrim fathers were so eminently distinguished, we are led to admire and adore the wonderful providence of God. We have heard with our ears, and our fathers have told us the wonderful works of God in their days — in the times of old. He must be a skeptic, indeed, who can read the history of New England, without acknowledging a particu- lar providence. The history of the Jewish theocracy does not afford a more unequivocal evidence of the special agency of Jehovah, than the history of our venerable ancestors. View 36 282 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. the hand of God in conducting the little flock, that sought refuge from ecclesiastical domination, from their native land to a neighboring country ! To what, but the suggestions of his good Spirit, can we attribute the design of emigration to this western world ? How signally were the circumstances, attend- ing their removal, overruled for good ! He, who holds the waters in the hollow of his hand, pre- served them on the mighty ocean, and directed them, contrary to their own design, to effect a settlement in this part of the country — a part of the country, prepared, as it were, in the most wonderful manner, for their reception — a fatal epidemic among the Indians, a few years before, having depopulated the place where they landed, so that there were none to disturb and molest them. Had they arrived at almost any other spot, than the one to which they were divinely directed, they might have found it exceedingly difficult, if not impracticable, to have effected a settlement. The hand of God is also gratefully to be ac- knowledged, in their subsequent prospects and success. With few exceptions, they experienced the most friendly attentions from their Indian neighbors. Little can we conceive of their SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 283 joyful surprise, when the first native, they beheld, addressed them in their own language, — Wel- come, Englishmen ! — Welcome, Englishmen ! In the whole course of their history, the pious mind will not fail, gratefully to acknowledge the wonderful providence of God. Their descend- ants would be ungrateful indeed, did they neglect to make this acknowledgment ; for how great is our debt to that Being, who planted our fathers in this good land ! Let us dwell, for a moment, upon the wonder- ful change, effected in this western hemisphere, particularly in our own vicinity, within the last two centuries. — This land was once a wilderness, the abode of savage men, and of the wild beasts of the forest. No cultivated fields, no thriving farms, no comfortable dwellings, then met the eye on every side — no busy hum of industry, no songs of praise, no voice of prayer, then reached the delighted ear — but all was dreary, wild, and comfortless. No object relieved the eye, wan- dering over the gloomy waste, save where the curling smoke denoted the vicinity of savage man. No mortal sound disturbed the deathlike silence, unless it were the war-whoop, arousing the savage tribes to blood and slaughter. How different the scene we now behold ! On 284 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. every side we witness cultivation and improve- ment. The cleared woods now open the most delightful vistas to the wondering eye. The splendid dwellings of the opulent, and the no less comfortable and neat habitations of the in- dustrious and enterprising — the lofty domes of the capital, and the innumerable spires that adorn our villages — the labors of the husband- man, the mechanic, and the artisan, united with the various employments of other classes of society, — the colleges, academies, and schools, which are continually watering, with their salu- brious streams, the cities, and churches of our God, — all conspire to produce, in the hearts of the sons of the Pilgrims, admiring thoughts of the wonderful providence of God. Truly the lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places, and we have a goodly heritage ! From a review of our subject, we perceive the power of faith, and the energy of religious principle. It was faith in the promises of God, and a regard to religious truth, that influenced our fathers in their emigration to this country. We do not say that no other principle is strong enough to lead men to leave their native shores, brave a boisterous ocean, and, in the midst of SER. 11, THE PILGRIMS. 285 accumulated difficulties, effect a settlement in a savage land. Ambition, and love of conquest, have often done it. But we have reason to bless heaven, that we are indebted to the operation of no such principle for the settlement of New England. It w 7 as faith, like that of Abraham's — it was the energy of religious principle, that sup- ported those holy men, who landed on the shores of Plymouth. It was the same divine principle, that breathed through all their institutions, and made them perpetual, so that we now enjoy their benefits, and partake of their advantages. How strong, — how sacred, must have been those principles, which have not yet ceased to operate, and, we trust, will never cease to operate, as long as the sun and moon endure ! While we venerate the religious principles of our fathers, let us adopt them, so far as they were agreeable to the gospel. Let us remember, that it was their religious principle, that gives, even at this remote period, such a splendor to their character. While we would not implicitly receive their faith, nor that of any body of uninspired men, without searching the scriptures, whether it is agreeable to the sacred oracles, we ought to be more than careful, how we renounce a creed. 286 THE FAITH OF SER. 11. which had a powerful influence in forming such characters as the fathers of New England. In view of our subject, we also perceive the blessing of a pious ancestry. The pride of ancestry, so far as it relates to birth, and wealth, and honor, cannot be justified. It is of little consequence, whether we are descended from a prince or a peasant — whether noble blood flows in our veins, or whether our origin is humble and obscure. But, surely, it is of no trifling importance, to be descended from pious ancestors ; for, in addition to the divine promise, that the blessing of the fathers shall descend upon the children, we may rationally expect much from the prayers, instructions, and example, of godly progenitors. The circumstance of having pious ancestors, furnishes a powerful motive to follow their example, to imbibe their spirit, and to imitate their virtues. Let us follow them so far, and so far only, as they followed Christ. " An affec- tionate and respectful remembrance of those worthies, who have laid the foundation of our multiplied enjoyments, 55 says one of our own orators, " is a debt of gratitude. We possess a goodly heritage, and it should heighten our sense of obligation, to recollect, that a generous fore- SER. 11. THE PILGRIMS. 287 sight was a distinguished characteristic of our ancestors. An ardent desire to lay a solid and lasting foundation, for the best interests of posterity, influenced all their plans of policy, so expressive of their wisdom. In every stage of their enterprise, they were prompted by an enlightened humanity, and a prospective refer- ence to the happiness of their descendants. To contemplate the character of such men, is no less our interest than our duty. " Just men they were, And all their study bent To worship God aright, and know his works, Not hid, nor those things least which might preserve Freedom and peace to man." To be descended from such an ancestry, is, indeed, a high and inestimable privilege. Let us, then, my respected hearers, realize that we are the children of the Pilgrims, and let us live as pilgrims and strangers on the earth. Our fathers, where are they ? — and the prophets, do they live forever ? Several generations have passed away, since the scenes were transacted which have this day been brought to remem- brance. In a little while, we, too, shall be gathered to our fathers. The clods of the valley 288 FAITH OF THE PILGRIMS. SER. 11. will cover our dust, and the spirits, by which it is now animated, will take their flight to other regions. Happy shall we be, if we can leave to our children such a legacy, as we have received from our fathers. 289 SERMON XII REVIEW OF MINISTERIAL DUTY GENESIS xxi. 38. This twenty years have I been with thee. It has been the custom of mankind in all ages, to perpetuate the remembrance of events by periodical observances ; and as a year is the largest division by which we are habituated to measure time, these observances have generally been annual, and thence denominated anniver- saries. The ecclesiastical and civil calendar is replete with days set apart by the Christian and the patriot, in commemoration of interesting and re- markable events in church and state. Almost every individual, too, has his days, the annual 37 290 REVIEW OF SER. 12. return of which refreshes his mind with scenes that are past, either of a pleasant or a painful nature. The anniversary of our birth — of endeared con- nections in life — and of striking events in our personal history — cannot but be regarded with interest by every reflecting mind. The pious, in all ages, have been accustomed to observe, with meditation and prayer, the return of certain seasons, in which they have signally experienced the interpositions of a kind and gracious Provi- dence. And it must be granted, that these observances, where they are not unreasonably multiplied, are admirably calculated to promote serious reflection, and self-examination. Their return will be interesting, in proportion to the importance of the events they are designed to commemorate, and to the sphere of action to which they relate. The anniversary of an event, which may be of deep and thrilling interest to an individual or to a family, might be entirely devoid of interest to every one else. The same remark will apply to most of our annual commemorations ; to all, indeed, excepting those in which we are inter- ested in common with all the children of men, — such as the commencement of a new year, the birth of a Saviour, and the various eras in scripture SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 291 history. Most of our other anniversaries are of a private or local nature, and derive their in- terest from the importance which we attach to the events they commemorate. To you and myself, my respected friends of this church and religious society, the return of this day is fraught with no ordinary interest. It is the anniversary of our union, as pastor and people — and is rendered peculiarly noticeable, because it forms an era in our history. This day, twenty years will have expired since I was solemnly ordained to the work of the ministry, and to the pastoral charge of this people. To me it is a day of peculiar interest, and I trust it is to many who now hear me, especially to those who were then committed to my pastoral care, and who, with myself have survived the changes that have taken place during that period of time. Much as I feel on this occasion, I would fain have kept the feelings to which it gives rise within my own bosom, were I not constrained by a sense of the duty which I owe to you, to endeavor to make a suitable improvement of the return of an anniversary in which you are equally interested with myself. It is unpleasant to me to be obliged to say so much of myself as I shall be under the necessity of doing, consis- 292 REVIEW OF SER. 12. tently with the plan I have intended to pursue, — which is, to take a brief retrospect of my ministry among you for the last twenty years. It is unnecessary to notice the connection in which the words of the text stand in the chapter from which they are taken. The coincidence between the number of years in which Jacob served Laban and the number of years in which I have endeavored to serve you in the gospel, being my only reason for affixing them to this discourse. — My object is to take a brief retro- spect of the principles upon which I have acted — the doctrines I have preached — and the events and changes that have taken place during the twenty years that I have been with you. The subject, I repeat it, is to me one of the deepest interest. It involves a large and most important period of my life. It embraces the strength and vigor of my days. In looking back upon it, my first emotions are those of deep humiliation. I sensibly feel that I have been an unprofitable servant, and am astonished at the forbearance and long suffering of my Master, in continuing me in his service. I am also over- whelmed with a sense of obligation to that SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 293 gracious Saviour, who has been pleased, in any degree, to own my feeble and humble instru- mentality, to deliver me from severe and painful trials, and to continue to me, in the midst of many discouragements, as I trust and have rea- son to believe, a place in the affections of my people. First. In reviewing the principles upon which I have acted during the last twenty years of my life, if I deceive not myself, I have the testimony of my conscience that I have ever endeavored to act with a single eye to tha glory of God and the good of souls. These principles may be wrong, for I pretend not to infallibility. All I can say is, that I have never yet been convinced of their erroneousness, or I should have renounced them with the same frankness and decision that I have embraced and maintained them. The principles to which I refer, and by which my ministerial conduct for the last twenty years has been gov- erned, are these, — That there are certain doc- trines peculiar to the gospel of Jesus Christ ; and that among these, conspicuously stand, the supreme divinity and atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ — the reality of experimental reli- gion — and the necessity of a moral renovation by 294 REVIEW OF SER. 12. the special agency of the Holy Ghost, as essen- tial to the character of a Christian. On the firm belief of these opinions I have uniformly acted ; and have been unwilling to admit, as instructers of the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made me an overseer, those who do not clearly and unequivocally preach these, in my opinion, essential doctrines of the gospel. These are the principles which, in the early part of my ministry, exposed me to severe trials, and which, to this day, have loaded me with obloquy and reproach. Let it be remembered that the extent of my offending has been a reluc- tance on my part to have my own people, so- lemnly committed to my watch and care, taught a system of religion which I honestly believe essen- tially defective. I have never presumed to judge others, nor to infringe upon the rights of others. I have uniformly been the warm friend and advocate of religious liberty ; and all that I have ever asked is, the liberty to feed my own flock with such food as I judged wholesome and salu- tary, and not suffer them to be fed by others who would adopt a regimen entirely different and opposite from my own. This was the offence for which I was brought before councils, and once excluded from this pulpit. My neglect to SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 295 exchange ministerial labors with ministers of Unitarian sentiments was the well known source of the memorable controversy, which agitated this religious society soon after my settlement. On a review, this day, of those principles, after an experience of twenty years, I see no reason to change them. They have since been adopted and acted upon, not only by Trinitarian but by Unitarian ministers ; and it is now generally admitted, that the difference of sentiment is so great, as to render this course highly expedient and desirable by both parties. That much spiritual good has resulted to my own congregation, cannot be doubted. We are no longer a divided, but a united people, of one heart and of one mind — the Holy Ghost has accompanied the plain and faithful preaching of the gospel with his effectual power, and great additions have been made to the number of the church, of such as we hope will be saved — we are at peace among ourselves — our congregation has increased, as well as the church, and the places of those who went out from us, are more than filled by the accessions that have been made to our society. Have we reason to think that such effects would have been produced by the adoption and practice of different principles than 296 REVIEW OF SER. 12. those upon which I have acted ? We might possibly have been a more wealthy, and perhaps, though not very probable, a more numerous con- gregation : but should we have been so united in sentiment — should we have seen so many sur- rounding the table of the Lord — should we have witnessed such flourishing Sabbath schools — would so much have been done to promote the great cause of evangelizing the world, or the support of education, and bible, and missionary, and tract societies ? — God, I verily believe, has owned and blessed the principles upon which I have acted ; and although, for my persevering adherence to them, I may have made many enemies, and have encountered many difficulties, yet my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. I have the testimony of my conscience, and some little success with which God has been pleased to own and bless my ministry. However others may differ from me in opinion, they will not deny that I have been consistent, and, I trust, will also allow, that I have been honest and con- scientious in my principles. I proceed now, secondly, to take a retrospect of the doctrines I have preached to you for the last twenty years. SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 297 Before my settlement in this place, I distinctly informed my people of the doctrines I intended to preach ; and, at the time of my ordination, I exhibited to the ordaining council, a full, distinct, and plain confession of my faith. These doc- trines I have endeavored to preach for the last twenty years. When I came among you, I de- termined to know nothing, save Jesus Christ and him crucified ; and I call you all to witness this day, that I have been faithful to this determina- tion. The system of faith which I have endea- vored to explain and enforce to you during my ministry, is that which is usually termed evangelical, or Calvinistic. I have not been fond of dwelling upon the deep and abstruse points of this system. Secret things, I have always considered as belonging to God ; but things that are revealed, to us and to our chil- dren. My preaching has been rather experi- mental and practical, than doctrinal : at the same time, I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. I have preached to you the entire depravity of human nature — the divine sovereignty — the election and perseverance of the saints — the divinity and atonement of Christ — the personality and offices of the Spirit — the nature 38 298 REVIEW OF SER. 12. and necessity of regeneration — the necessity of immediate repentance and faith — and the inter- minable duration of happiness and misery in a future world. But I have not preached to you (as we have been misrepresented by those who are opposed to our religious opinions) the horrible doctrine of the damnation of infants, for I have never believed it ; and I never yet knew a minister of the gospel who did believe it. On the contrary, I have uniformly expressed my full and entire belief in the salvation of infants, and I have repeatedly stated to you the grounds of this belief, — not because I think they are born into the world pure and innocent, for I believe that they inherit from fallen Adam a depraved nature ; but because I believe they are interested in that full atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is abundantly sufficient for the salvation of the whole world. And yet, notwithstanding I, and other orthodox ministers, have repeatedly and most solemnly declared that we not only never preached but that we abhor this doctrine — there are those who will continue to propagate this base slander, with a view to injure our characters and lessen our influence. — I have never preached, nor believed, that in order to be saved, we ought to SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 299 be willing to be damned ; for I have ever consid- ered such a sentiment as a palpable absurdity. — I have never taken delight in dwelling upon the terrors of the Lord, nor in expatiating upon the miseries of the lost ; for I have ever consid- ered it an awful subject, and when I have been constrained, from a sense of duty, in order to con- vince sinners of their danger, to lift the curtain from the world of wo, it has always given me as much pain to speak, as it has you to hear. The subject upon which I call you to record I have most loved to dwell, has been the wonderful love of Jesus. On this I have never tired, but it is as new and as fresh to me to-day, as it was the first time I ascended this desk. I have loved to lead you to the fountain opened in his pierced side for sin and all uncleanness. How often have we sat together under his shadow, with great delight, and "oft when feast- ing on his love in rapture we have been." In my preaching I have ever endeavored to lead you to look into your own hearts. I have always considered that preaching as most useful, which leads the sinner to think of no one but himself, and the relation in which he stands to his Maker. Although my ministry for the last twenty 300 REVIEW OF SER. 12. years, has been in a period and in a region dis- tinguished for religious controversy, I believe I can appeal to you for evidence of the fact, that my preaching has not been controversial. We have been willing to allow to others the same liberty we claim ourselves — the right of private judgment ; and I have never thought it wise or expedient to preach against other denominations of Christians. Especially have I endeavored to cultivate a spirit of Christian union and harmony w T ith those denominations, who differ from us merely in external forms, and hold the great essentials of vital and experimental religion. With such I have ever lived and wished to live on terms of Christian and brotherly love ; and I desire no higher eulogy, when I sleep in the dust, than to be remembered as the friend of real Christians of every denomination. But with regard to the doctrines I have preached to you, and the manner in which I have conducted myself among you, it becomes me not to be more particular. You have known me for twenty years. And it is a satisfaction which I trust I possess, that however my motives may have been misrepresented, and my character assailed by an unfriendly, envious world, I have the confidence and affections of my people. SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 301 Upon that, next to my trust in a higher Power, I repose in the midst of all my trials ; and it is a solace that cheers many a desponding hour, to reflect, that when this short life shall be over, and I shall be gathered to my fathers, I shall live in the hearts of my people. We are now, thirdly, to look back upon the events and changes that have taken place during the last twenty years ; — and oh, how many and great have they been during that period. One generation has passed away, and another arrived on the stage of action. How few remain, of those who were active and leading members of this church and society twenty years ago. Many have gone to give up their account. We might mention the names of several fathers of the church, and several mothers in our Israel, who are now with God ; but they are fresh in your remembrance. May we be followers of them, who through faith and patience now in- herit the promises. For the greater part of the time since the memorable controversy to which I have referred, we have enjoyed great peace and harmony as a society ; and rarely has any root of bitterness sprung up to trouble us. But it cannot be ex- 302 REVIEW OF SER. 12. pected, that, situated as we are in this vicinity, surrounded by congregations of a different and an opposite faith, that we should be wholly unaf- fected by the collision. The effect of extraneous influence will be occasionally felt, and there will always be some who will be shaken from their steadfastness by listening to the insinuations of those, who are unfriendly to this society, — but, with these una- voidable exceptions, we may safely say, that few religious societies in the commonwealth enjoy a greater degree of peace and quietness. We are a band of volunteers, enlisted, not from compulsion but from a willing mind. We have stood by each other in many trials. We have been through the war together, and to- gether have enjoyed the sweets of peace. Our covenant God has been with us, and no weapon formed against us (though many have been formed against us) has been suffered to prosper. Although we have passed through many changes, we have reason to bless God for our present prosperous and happy condition. The means of religious instruction have increased, an addi- tional place of worship has been provided for the accommodation of part of our society,* and many * In July, 1828, a chapel was opened in the flourishing village in the south part of the town. Since which, a neat and commodious meeting- house has been erected, and a minister settled. SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 303 souls are brought under the influence of the gospel. For all this we have reason to thank God and take courage. In reviewing the events and changes of the last twenty years, it seems the proper place to introduce a summary of the various baptisms, admissions to the church, marriages, and deaths, that have taken place during that period of time. There have been 429 baptisms ; 344 admissions to the church; 163 marriages; and 347 deaths.* — Several of those I baptized in infancy have been admitted to full communion with the church, — and this fact is not one of the least interesting that the present occasion brings to recollection. It has been one of the most delight- ful of my ministerial duties to admit to the table of the Lord those who in tender infancy I so- lemnly consecrated to God in holy baptism. And when I look around me upon my numerous bap- tized children, who are fast growing up to man's estate — when I reflect upon the various snares to which they are exposed in the spring time of life, and of the great importance and value of * From the date of this discourse to the present period, October 1, 1834, there have been 124 baptisms, 112 admissions to the church, 47 marriages, and 105 deaths. Making in the whole since my ordination, upwards of a quarter of a century, — baptisms, 553; additions to the church, 456 ; marriages, 210 ; deaths, 452. 304 REVIEW OF SER. 12. early piety, I cannot but feel deeply concerned for their spiritual welfare, until Christ be formed in them. In giving this statistical account of the church and society during the last twenty years, we ought to remark, that in the number of baptisms, adults are included with infants, and with very few exceptions the administration of the ordi- nance has been confined to the infants of believers. — On my first settlement in this place, I found the prevailing practice of indiscriminate baptism, on what was very erroneously called the half-way covenant. Without any formal resolu- tions of the church on this subject, the opinions of our society have undergone a gradual change, and I believe the inconsistency of any other offering in baptism, than that of faith, is generally, if not universally acknowledged. It seems now to be understood by all those churches that are usually denominated orthodox, that the ordinance of baptism is to be administered to believers and their offspring only, and the other practice seems to be confined, in the congregational churches, to those who entertain different and opposite views from us on the peculiar doctrines of the gospel. We have reason for gratitude and humility for the additions that have been made to the number SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 305 of professing Christians among us during the last twenty years. Of this number many have died, and a considerable number has been removed to other churches. Of the eighty-eight members which constituted the number of the church at the time of my ordination, but thirty-seven* now remain with us, and of them, many are advanced in life, and must soon be gathered to their fathers. The number of deaths has not been large, considering the extent of the congregation, averaging a little over seventeen a year for the whole period. Of late years, owing to the increase of the society, the number has been larger. In this list of mortality are to be found some of the most valued members of our church and society. It is remarkable that the church has lost but one of its officers by death during that period — but his loss was great indeed, for he was a host in himself. To his wisdom and prudence, to his decision and firmness, in times that tried men's souls, is this church deeply indebted for its present peace and prosperity — and the name of deacon Badlam will be handed down with the history of this church to the * Of the 37, only 16 remain. October 1, 1834. 39 306 REVIEW OF SER. 12. remotest posterity — the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. In reviewing the events and changes that have taken place in this society during the last twenty years, it is proper that we notice the various religious and benevolent associations that have been formed during that period. — At the time of my ordination, the only religious associations of which I had any knowledge, were a meeting for reading and prayer before the communion, that was denominated a family meeting ; and a young men's society, usually held at a private house after public worship in the afternoon. This last society is of very ancient origin,* and has several times been revived" after it has been suffered to decline. It is now attended in this immediate neighborhood by several young men attached to this church and congregation. Similar meetings, I believe, have been, and continue to be, held in the north part of the town. Soon after my ordination, I endeavored to establish a female prayer meeting, and frequently conversed with the sisters of the church on the subject ; but as the plan was novel in this place, there was a reluctance at first to adopt it. The circumstances under which it was finally estab- * Instituted December 25, 1698. SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 307 lished, are too memorable not to be preserved in this discourse. — On the 19th of April, 1810, a parish meeting was held with a view to the adoption of measures for the removal of their minister. What argument and persuasion could not accomplish, was immediately effected by this attempt to banish the gospel. A few pious women could no longer resist the call to united prayer, but, with one consent, they re- sorted together to the throne of grace on that day, to pray that God would interpose in their behalf — make the wrath of man to praise him— and turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolish- ness. That their prayers were answered, we are this day the living monuments. From that day to this, this female weekly prayer meeting has been continued, and I hesitate not to say, that I attribute what little success I have had in the ministry, and the present happy and flourish- ing state of our society, under God, more to the prayers of those pious women who have labored with me in the gospel, than to any other cause whatever. The other religious and benevolent associa- tions that have been formed among us, are a Female Benevolent Society, for the relief of the poor, instituted January 1, 1813 — Branch of the 308 REVIEW OF SER. 12. Norfolk Auxiliary Education Society, instituted 1816 — Maternal Association, formed December 25th, same year — Sabbath School Society, insti- tuted 1818 — Female Tract Society, instituted 1822 — Gentlemen, Ladies, and Juvenile Associa- tions, instituted 1826 — and Female Working Circles, one for foreign and the other for home missions, instituted the past year. During the last twenty years, the sum of $3,802 57, has been collected by public contri- butions in this house, for various benevolent and religious objects ; and probably as much more by private subscriptions and donations to our be- nevolent societies. In reviewing the changes and events of the last twenty years, and particularly in considering the additions that have been made to the church, we are led to remark, that the attention to religion among us, has usually been gradual and constant. In but one instance have we been favored with any special excitement on the subject, that could, with propriety, be denomi- nated a revival of religion. In the year 1827, sixty-five were added to the church ; and the gleanings of this revival still remain to be gath- ered in. We cannot but hope that God will SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 309 again pour out his Holy Spirit and revive us, that his people may rejoice in him. Having thus completed my design and re- viewed the principles upon which I have acted — the doctrines I have preached, and the events and changes that have taken place during the last twenty years ; had our time and the occasion permitted, I might have taken a retrospective view, on a more enlarged and general scale, of the state of religion in this vicinity, and through- out our country and the world, during that period of time ; and seldom, if ever, have any twenty years been pregnant with events of deeper interest to the church of Christ. But such a view would not comport with the time or the occasion. It will furnish, however, a most delightful and extended theme for the future historian of the church. We have time only for a few reflections that naturally arise from our subject. The preceding discourse is capable of a two- fold application. It applies first, to the minister, and secondly to the church and society. It has been said of some excellent old divine, that he never preached a sermon to his people, 310 REVIEW OF SER. 12. before he had first preached it to himself ; — and if ever there was a sermon that ought first to be preached to the author, it is the one which I have now delivered. I have been deeply pained to have been under the necessity of saying so much of myself; but I must say still more, in making this personal application. I am constrained to acknowledge that on a review of my ministry for the last tw r enty years, I feel justly condemned, not in view of the prin- ciples upon which I have acted, for I have no wish to retract them — not on account of the doctrines I have preached, for were this my last sermon and my dying day, I should desire it should be known that I lived and died in the faith of those sentiments, — but, on account of my many short comings in the discharge of my min- isterial duties — on account of my coldness and inactivity in the service of the best of Masters — on account of the many precious opportunities of doing something more for God and for the souls of men that I have forever lost. May God forgive me that I have not done more for his glory, that I have been such an unprofitable servant. I ask your prayers for me, my Chris- tian friends, that if my life is spared I may be more faithful in the discharge of my duty, and SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 311 more devoted to God, both as a man and as a Christian. In the exercise of my ministry for the last twenty years, you well know I have had to encounter much and powerful opposition. The course I have pursued has made me many ene- mies. It was to have been expected. In the great religious controversy that has existed in this region, it was my lot to be placed in the front of the battle — and if I could have been removed from this watch-tower, it would have been the signal for a general attack upon other important posts. The duty I owed to the cause at large imperiously demanded that I should maintain my ground. It is not surprising then, that in doing this I should meet with enemies from those whose schemes were thwarted and plans defeated by my continuance here. I had embraced, too, the unpopular side of the ques- tion — of this I was well aware ; but I trust I have been willing to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Entire justice to my motives and conduct I do not expect will be yielded till the fever of religious controversy has subsided, and not, perhaps, till after I have slept in the dust. But this I can say with the utmost sincerity, 312 REVIEW OF SER. 12. that if I have enemies, they are enemies to me and not I to them. I freely and fully forgive all who have attempted to injure me, and I know not the individual against whom I harbor a re- vengeful thought. Were this my last expiring day, I would declare that on my part I am at peace with all mankind. Soon must ministers and people appear together at the bar of God. The secrets of all hearts will then be made manifest, and happy will those be who have maintained a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man. To you, my respected friends of this church and society, our subject also addresses itself in personal application. How have you improved the ministry of the gospel for the last twenty years ? To some of you we hope it has been a savor of life unto life, and to some of you, we fear, it has been a savor of death unto death. Have you not also cause for humiliation that you have not more faithfully improved the privi- leges of the gospel ? Let me entreat you, my beloved friends, to be more faithful and diligent and active for the time to come. In this event- ful day, you have much to do for God. You can do much to strengthen the hands and to encour- SER. 12. MINISTERIAL DUTY. 313 age the heart of your minister. Remember that he greatly needs your aid and co-operation in the great work in which he is engaged. Let not an unkind word, nor an ungenerous want of confidence, discourage his heart. He can bear the taunts of his enemies, but he cannot endure the reproach of his friends. But I bear you record this day, that, as a people, I have no cause to make this complaint. You have ever been kind and affectionate — much kinder and more attentive than my deserts. I have ever felt a confidence in your affections, and it is a source of inexpressible comfort. In few cases I believe has the mutual attachment between a minister and people been stronger and more constant than has existed among us. You have hitherto resisted all the ungenerous attempts that have been made by those unfriendly to us to weaken this attachment ; and I feel that my character, reputation and happiness are safe in your keep- ing. To God, and the word of his grace, I com- mend you, who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. This discourse has been altogether retro- spective. We have been looking back upon 40 314 MINISTERIAL DUTY. SER. 12. what seems now the comparatively short term of twenty years. — Bat it seems a much longer time to look forward. When twenty years more have expired, where shall we be ? Solemn and impressive thought ! Many of us, no doubt, will be in the world of spirits. Upwards of three hundred of our society have departed during the last twenty years ; an equal if not greater number must leave us before the expira- tion of a similar period. — And who of us will remain? It is known only to Him to whom the book of life is always open. By the preacher, this extension of life is not expected. By many of you, who are his seniors, it surely cannot be calculated upon ; and to you who are now in the bloom of life, it is very uncertain whether it will be granted. O that we were wise, that we understood this, that we considered our latter end. Solemn and affecting are the monitions which we continually receive of our frailty. Let us prepare to meet our God. With some of us the day is far spent and the night is at hand. Let us do with all our might whatsoever our hands find to do, that when the Master shall call for us, we may be ready to meet him, and enter with him to his glory. 315 ADDRESS, ON THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. We have this day arrived, fellow citizens, at a most interesting period in the history of our country. We have reached an elevation, from which we can look, both backwards and forwards, with admiring gratitude and exulting hope. Half a century has rolled away, since thirteen feeble colonies of Great Britain declared them- selves FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES. The cir- cumstances, under which this successful declara- tion was made, cannot too frequently be brought to your recollection. It was not an ebullition of party strife, that separated the colonies from the mother country. It was not an aversion to the land of their birth and of their fathers 5 sepulchres, 316 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF that prompted them to renounce their allegiance to the British government. It was not a vain desire of national consequence, that induced them to throw off the colonial yoke, and assume the attitude of an independent power. When the spirit of a high minded people was first roused by the attempt to secure a revenue from the colonies without their consent, nothing was, probably, further from their intentions than to attempt their independence. Their only ob- ject was to resist oppression. This they unhes- itatingly manifested in their opposition to that odious act of the British parliament, which only tended to stamp its authors and abettors with disgrace. — Had the British ministry learnt wis- dom by the unsuccessful attempt to enforce the stamp act, the revolution might, at that period, have been, probably, arrested in its progress, and the provinces of America, though destined to be a free and great people, might have remained, a little longer, in quiet subjection to the empire of Britain. The infatuation of the British ministry, in prosecuting the hateful system of taxation, in defiance of the urgent and respectful remon- strances of the aggrieved colonies, and in oppo- sition to the warm and powerful eloquence of AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 317 such men as Chatham and Burke, can only be accounted for from its connection with a chain of causes, which, under the all-wise superin- tendence of the great Ruler of the universe, was leading on to an issue of such vast importance to the destinies of the world. — Lord North and his associates, with their high ideas of parliamentary supremacy, and their fastidious and jealous no- tions of royal prerogative, accelerated a crisis, which, though it could not have been eventually prevented, might have been long delayed by a more prudent and accommodating administration. The fate of the first attempt to tax the colonies without their consent did not open the eyes of the British ministry. They continued to persevere in a system, to which they had become inor- dinately attached, and which they were too proud to retract. The same principle, which rendered the stamp act so obnoxious, was adhered to, in an act of parliament for granting duties in the British colonies, on glass, paper, painting colors, and tea. These duties, although trifling in themselves, were intended to establish the great principle at issue in the two hemispheres, and were, of course, immediately and resolutely resisted. The general and powerful excitement which these arbitrary 318 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF measures produced in all the colonies, and the resolutions and addresses occasioned by them, together with a universal agreement not to im- port British goods, induced the parliament to relax in their arbitrary measures, and to repeal all the duties they had imposed, excepting a trifling tax on tea. It was evident to the discerning minds of the colonists, who were now wide awake to the designs of the British ministry, that this was only a pitiful attempt to evade a difficulty, and that they still adhered to the prin- ciple of unrepresented taxation. The difficulties might even here have subsided, — for the patriotic spirit, that then prevailed, had prohibited the use of the taxed commodity. But a combination between the British parliament and the East India company to enforce upon the colonies the use of tea, led to a train of conse- quences, which terminated in the declaration of that important event which we this day cele- brate. Our time will scarcely permit us to give even a brief summary of the events of the revolution. They ought to be familiar to every individual of this crowded house — to every individual of this extended empire. Hoary heads should teach them to lisping infancy, and generation to gen- AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 319 eration should hand them down to our latest posterity. From the time of the destruction of the tea, in the port of Boston, the clouds began to thicken in the horizon of our country. This audacious act, as it was viewed by the British ministry, drew down their vengeance upon the town where it was so resolutely and yet so calmly committed. The Boston port-bill was the rod which they prepared to correct that seditious town ; but, like the rod of Moses, it became a serpent in their hand — and they fled before it. The distress, occasioned by the operation of this arbitrary measure, awakened the sympathies of the colonies, from New Hampshire to Georgia. It was an electric shock, that spread from heart to heart, — and, from that moment, they resolved to live or die in the cause of liberty. The gauntlet was thrown, and they had crossed the Rubicon. To look back was impossible. They looked forward, with steady eye, to the con- summation of their hopes, — their release from oppression, and their independence as a nation. If any thing could heighten the resolution, which then actuated the colonists, it was the knowledge of the preparations, making by the British government, to reduce them to obedience. Not content with setting father against son, and 320 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF son against father, in this unnatural strife — not satisfied with levying their own troops to carry on a civil war — they employed upwards of fifteen thousand mercenaries from the continent of Europe, which, together with the savage barbari- ties of their Indian allies, they thought would be irresistible by the poor and defenceless colo- nies, untaught in military tactics, and untrained to military discipline. But greater was He, that was for our fathers, than they that were against them. An unshaken confidence in the justice of their cause, and in the smile of approving heaven, was a striking trait in the character of the heroes of the revolu- tion. Days of fasting and prayer were very generally appointed to seek the blessing of heaven upon the success of their arms. Minis- ters of the sanctuary rushed from their pulpits to the tented field, to encourage by their prayers, and to animate with their exhortations, their fellow citizens in the cause of liberty. And he, who, by the finger of God, as well as universal consent, was appointed to lead the American army in their arduous struggle — he, who was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, the illustrious Washington, was no less distinguished for his AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 321 piety, than his valor. His ever ready acknowl- edgment of his dependence upon heaven, and his firm and unshaken confidence in the providence of God, both at the head of his troops, and on the floor of the national council, give an inex- pressible charm to a character, as perfect as humanity will admit, and a finishing stroke to a picture, which, as long as mankind are able to appreciate the beauty of moral excellence, will be the admiration of distant ages to the end of time. It was in the midst of this glorious struggle — - when the prospect before them was rather dark than encouraging — before they had obtained any hope of assistance from foreign powers — relying upon their own resources, and the help of their God, — that the British Colonies, by their rep- resentatives in Congress assembled, declared themselves free and independent states. After the declaration of independence, our countrymen began to feel the want of that regular discipline, which distinguished the British army ; and, for a while, success seemed to favor the cause of their enemies. Our different cities were, by turns, obliged to yield to superior force. The flattering prospects in Canada were blasted by the untimely fall of the gallant Montgomery 41 322 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF at the gates of Quebec ; and, though the friends of independence never despaired of its cause, its enemies abroad began to triumph. At that interesting crisis of our public affairs, a young nobleman in France, of high distinction, enthusiastically attached to the cause of liberty — not deterred by the gloomy prospects of the country, nor discouraged by the American com- missioners at Paris, who thought it but honest to dissuade him from the perilous enterprise, em- barked his fortune and his life in the cause of American Independence. Such disinterested heroism, such ardent patriotism would have seemed more like the high-wrought picture of the imagination, had we not twice proved its reality, — once by the substantial services of the youthful warrior, and once again, after the expi- ration of nearly half a century, by embracing, with our warmest affection, and welcoming to these shores of freedom — the venerable La- fayette. With what inexpressible emotions will the patriot Sage, whose presence gave such intense interest but a year ago, to the celebration on the heights of Charlestown, regard this Jubilee of our Independence, in the bosom of his family, and in the quiet of La Grange ! AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 323 Happy man ! and happy nation who can rank him among her adopted sons ! May the close of his life be as serene, as its career has been glorious, — and, when his earthly course shall be finished, may his memory descend, with increas- ing freshness, to the remotest age, while a monument, more durable than brass, is raised in the heart of every American, bearing the asso- ciated names of Washington and Lafayette. With the acknowledgment of our independ- ence by the court of France, which soon took place through the unwearied exertions of the illustrious Franklin and his associates, and the efficient aid to be expected from our new allies — the prospects of our infant nation began to brighten. The memorable capture of Burgoyne, in the preceding campaign, had restored anima- tion to the sinking spirits of the newly formed States, and, together with the alliance of the king of France, gave new life to their high enter- prise. There now scarcely remained a doubt in reflecting minds, that, however long the struggle might be protracted, the independence of the United States was secure. We will not trace the events of the Revolution, from the capture of Burgoyne in the north, to the surrender of Cornwallis in the south. — With this 324 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF last failure of their arms, the hope of the British ministry, to reduce the colonies to submission, seemed to expire. Nothing now remained but to acknowledge, with the best grace they could, that independence, which could no longer be withheld. Thus terminated a revolution, unparalleled in the historv of mankind — and thus arose a nation to her place among the nations of the earth, which is destined to exert a most powerful influ- ence over the habitable world. The independence of the United States, with the subsequent formation of its constitution of government, was considered an experiment in the history of republics. The experiment has now been tested by the experience of half a century. Many were the forebodings of the friends of monarchical and aristocratical govern- ments, that, long before the expiration of half a century, this infant republic would become a prey to faction, and be rent with internal division. Even her friends were anxious with respect to the result of this great experiment. They re- membered the history of other republics, and, while they hoped to avoid the rocks upon which they were wrecked, they could not but feel the most intense solicitude respecting their own final AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 325 success. — Their most sanguine expectations have been more than realized, — and those early friends of the revolution, who this day survive, have the unutterable satisfaction of beholding the liberties, for which they fought, strengthened with the growth of half a century, and the government of their choice, consolidated on a basis so firm and strong as to remove all doubts of its continuance and perpetuity. Experience has proved that there was a stamina in the constitution of the American republic, which was wanting in the republics of former and later times. This stamina is the intelligence and moral sense of the people. The universal diffusion of education among all classes of the community and the influence of moral and religious principle, formed a broad foundation, upon which to erect a government, that will stand, we trust, for ages, as a confutation of the long received opinion of the instability of re- publican institutions.— -For want of this, the boasted republics of Greece and Rome lost their glory, and the later experiment among the people of France utterly failed. It is not every people that are capable of being free ; and of maintaining and preserving their freedom. The American nation has shown to 326 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF the world that she knows how both to appreciate and preserve the blessings of liberty. While she is justly regarded as chief among republics, let all those, who would imitate the model of her government, be careful to lay the same broad foundation in general education, piety, and virtue. Then, and not till then, will their liberties be complete, and their independence secure. The present condition of our country is such, as must fill every patriotic bosom with admiring gratitude. The rapid increase of our population from three to twelve millions of people — the addition of several new States to the original confederation — and the present unexampled pros- perity of our nation, are subjects upon which we might dwell with untiring delight. But the time devoted to this exercise will not admit of further enlargement. We can only offer to each other our mutual congratulations on this auspicious occasion, and unite in fervent thanksgivings to that sovereign Power, who fixes the bounds of our habitation, that the lines have fallen to us in such pleasant places, and that we have such a goodly heritage. What obligations do we not owe those illustri- ous men, by whose wisdom and valor, by whose patience and self-denial, we obtained the blessings AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 327 of liberty and independence! — Heroes and states- men of the revolution! we would, this day, offer the tribute of our gratitude to your revered memory. We would cherish the recollection of your deeds of valor, and teach our children the story of your high achievement. — Within the lapse of half a century, how many of these distinguished men have been numbered with the dead ! Some of them remain, however, to this day, — and we are yet permitted to number, in the list of living worthies, an uninterrupted succession of the chief magistrates of our country since the administration of Washington. — Vener- able men ! we congratulate you on the arrival of this national jubilee. We rejoice that a gracious Providence has protracted your lives to this interesting period in the history of our country ! If any thing can increase the satisfaction you feel on this memorable day, it must be the con- sideration that the chair, which you so long occupied, is filled by one, who inherits your virtues, and walks in your steps. Rising superior to cotemporary jealousies and sectional partiali- ties, we doubt not that he will retain the con- fidence of the nation, and that his administration, like that of his predecessors, will be alike honorable to himself, and to his country. 328 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF But, while we rejoice that so many of the patriots of the revolution jet survive, our joy is chastened by the intelligence we have, this moment, received, that the revered and honored parent of our beloved chief magistrate is ap- proaching the confines of the eternal world. In the midst of the pleasant recollections and fes- tivities of this occason, we cannot but pause to notice this most striking and solemn dispensation of the providence of Almighty God. The hand, that subscribed the Declaration of our Indepen- dence fifty years ago, is, while we are speaking, stiffening in death. The spirit, which was so actively employed for the good of this nation, is, perhaps, at this passing hour, taking its upward flight from its earthly tabernacle and this sub- lunary state.* But what reason have we for gratitude, that a life so valuable, has been spared so long ; and that the venerable man has lived to see his son occupying the same high station which he once filled, and to leave his country, at the close of half a century, not only free and independent, but in a condition of unexampled prosperity. Although his expected removal is calculated to * President Adams departed this life at half past six o'clock, P. M.. July 4, 1826. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 329 cast a gloom over this joyous occasion, we may say with the sons of the prophets, when their master was taken from them, — The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha. In dwelling upon the present happy and prosperous state of our nation, we would not reflect, with haughty self-complacency, upon the governments and people of Europe, nor magnify the value of our national privileges by a contrast with the defects in their systems of government. There has been too strong a disposition to boast of our liberties, and to consider ourselves the only free and happy people on the face of the earth. The excitement produced in our revolutionary struggle, by the infatuated conduct of a mis- guided administration, served to blind some of the friends of liberty to the excellence of the British constitution itself, and to induce them to regard all the inhabitants of Britain as inimical as their ministry. But it ought not to be for- gotten, that, during the heat of the controversy, there was always a party in favor of the strug- gling colonies, and that most of the eloquence and talents both of the Lords and Commons, were decidedly opposed to the measures of gov- ernment. 42 330 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF The American party in England has been growing stronger and stronger since the ac- knowledgment of our independence ; and the events of the last war, whatever might be the views of its justice and expediency, have served greatly to raise the American character in the estimation of the nations of Europe. Her flag is now respected wherever it waves. And — since she has proved herself able to cope with that power, which once styled herself the mistress of the ocean — America has nothing to fear from insults at sea, or invasion at home. Safe from all danger of foreign aggression, she may now devote herself to the arts of peace — to the im- portant objects of internal improvement — to the cultivation of her soil, and to the encouragement of those necessary manufactures, which will render her as independent in her resources, as she is in the constitution of her government. The spirit of improvement appears to be spreading through every part of our country, and new objects of enterprise, and new sources of wealth, are calling forth the energies of our growing population, and adding fresh beauty, increasing convenience, and substantial advan- tages to our highly favored land. It is difficult for the imagination to conceive the mighty results AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 331 of this spirit, at the completion of the remaining part of the centennial existence of this nation. Whoever lives to see that period, will witness a surprising change in the natural, intellectual and moral condition of our country. Not one of the actors in the revolution will then be living, to tell the story of his nation's birth ; — but the generation, which will then fill their places, born under the shadow of liberty, and nurtured in the school of freedom, will, we trust, adhere, with undeviating firmness, to the principles of their fathers, and prove to mankind, that the human character, instead of deteriorating, rises, in in- tellectual and moral excellence in the western world. We cannot but indulge the pleasing expecta- tion, that the close of the century will find these United States, not only, as at present, free and independent, but rich in resources and strong in power, — that no civil discord will interrupt their union, but, bound together by ties, strengthened and confirmed by time, they will present an object of admiration to their friends, and an invincible phalanx to their foes. — In the mean time, we, who are now in active life, have duties to perform, and responsibilities to meet, as mem- bers of this rising empire. Let us remember, 332 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF that the welfare and glory of our nation is inti- mately connected with the principles we imbibe, and the characters we sustain. Realizing the vast importance of knowledge, morality and re- ligion to the existence and perpetuity of our republic, let us diligently foster all those insti- tutions whose object is to extend their influence. Especially let us ever remember, that religion is the best and only security for the continuance of our liberties. As a minister of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the orator of your appointment, I feel it to be my indispensable duty, on this occasion, so deeply interesting to our beloved country, to urge upon you the supreme and paramount importance of the Christian faith. As descendants of the Pilgrims, who sought these shores two centuries ago, to enjoy unmo- lested the rights of conscience, this audience, surely, need not be reminded of the duties, of the blessings, and the hopes of Christianity, nor need they be told, that they only are truly free, who are liberated from the bondage of sin and the service of Satan, by the grace of the Son of God. How can an ambassador of Jesus Christ close an address of this kind, with more propriety, than AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 333 by directing the attention of this great assembly, from scenes of oppression and contest, to the peaceful dominion of the King of Zion — from the tribute of gratitude, so justly due to the saviour of his country, to the praise of him who died to save a world ! It becomes, then, the character of the speaker and this sacred place, to lead your thoughts to, subjects of higher interest than the concerns of time — to remind you of your accountability to that Being, in whose sight all the nations of the earth are as a drop of the bucket and the small dust of the balance. Before his dread tribunal heroes and statesmen, rulers and people must one day stand, with unnumbered millions of the human family. Comparatively trifling, then, will be the distinctions of government, the pride of kings, and the glory of republics. Happy will they be, who have been made free from sin by the sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God, of whatever nation, kindred, tongue and people, while they will have forever to deplore their wretched condition, who have rejected a Saviour and indulged in iniquity, though they might have lived under the purest government, and enjoyed the highest privileges. With the joyous celebration of this day, let a 334 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF deep sense of our obligations to heaven, and our accountability to the Judge of men be united. Let religion chasten the festivities of the occa- sion ; and let us remember, that as Christians, as well as citizens, we have abundant cause for grateful acknowledgment and fervent praise. In imitation of God's ancient people, let us, this day, cause the trumpet of Jubilee to sound throughout all the land, and let us hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land, to all the inhabitants thereof. In the general and almost universal celebration of this national jubilee, the inhabitants of this ancient town are happy, most cordially, to unite. A few are yet remaining with us, who remember the scenes of the Revolution ; and the memorable heights of Dorchester, although now annexed to the neighboring capital, will ever be associated, in the history of this town, with deeds of former years. We may well congratulate ourselves, not only on the blessings of liberty and independence which we enjoy, in common with our fellow citizens of this happy republic, but on our peculiar local advantages. In the immediate vicinity of the capital of New England — possess- ing a soil, strong and fertile, and streams, AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 335 favorable to manufacturing enterprise ; with scenery, almost unparalleled for its beauty and variety — the farmer, the mechanic, the manufac- turer, and the man of retirement from business, can scarcely find a spot in New England more conducive to his comfort and more favorable to his pursuits. To all these local advantages, if we may add the prevalence of good and friendly feeling — of moral and religious principle — we need nothing mere to render our situation as desirable as any part of our extensive country. Let us, then, cultivate these feelings and cherish these prin- ciples. On this our national birthday, let us unite, as a band of brothers, in all the interesting recollections and social enjoyments of the occa- sion ; and, while w 7 e cherish the memory of the patriots of former years, let us endeavor to act well our parts on the stage of life, and to transmit to our children the liberties so dearly purchased by the blood of our fathers. 336 ADDRESS, DELIVERED AT HULL, JUNE 11, 1830, IN COMMEMORA- TION OF THE LANDING OF THE DORCHESTER SETTLERS. This day completes a second century, since the first settlers of the town of Dorchester landed in this western world. It was on the 30th day of May, O. S., 1630, corresponding to the. 11th of June, 1830, N. S., that a ship, called the Mary and John, commanded by Capt. Squeb, arrived at this place, w 7 here we are now assem- bled, and landed her passengers, consisting of two eminently pious and devoted ministers, Rev. John Wareham, and Rev. John Maverick, with the members of their church, which had been gathered with a view of emigrating to America, in the beginning of the same year, in the new hospital in Plymouth, England ; at which time DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 337 and place, those holy men were solemnly set apart to the pastoral office, after having observed a day of fasting and prayer to seek divine appro- bation and assistance. The Rev. Mr. John White, of Dorchester, in the county of Dorset, England, who was an active instrument in promoting the settlement of New England, being present, preached in the fore part of the day, and in the latter part of the day the newly installed pastors performed. They set sail on the 30th of March following, in a vessel of four hundred tons, and arrived at Nantasket, as I have observed, on the 30th of May, where the captain put them ashore, not- withstanding his engagement w r as to bring them up Charles river. With regard to their passage, I have not been able to collect such particular information as could be desired. It is said in Blake's Manu- script Annals, a book which contains much infor- mation of the early history of Dorchester, that the ministers either preached or exhorted, every day on their passage, from the word of God. There is reason to think, from an old poem writ- ten by Gov. Wolcott, of Connecticut, that they had a boisterous passage, and were in danger of foundering at sea. As it is so pertinent to this 43 338 LANDING OF THE occasion, I shall take the liberty of quoting a part of this singular poem, commemorating the events which we this day celebrate. Speaking of the piety of the first settlers of Connecticut, to which colony many of the church, that arrived in this place two hundred years ago, afterwards removed, the poet says, " If to declare their worth, is what you ask, Then I must beg your pardon. That's a task So worthy due performance, and so great, As goes beyond my utterance and conceit. Bat virtue never fails. Succeeding days Shall much regard their merits, and shall raise Men of bright parts, and moving oratory, Who shall emblazon their immortal glory. Religion was the cause. Divinity Having declared the gospel's shine should be Extensive as the sun's diurnal shine. This moved our founders to this great design, And sure the Holy Spirit from above, That first did quickening on the waters move, Inspired their minds and filled them with intents To bring to pass such glorious events. And now they wholly to this work devote, Mind not the country they are going out, Their ancient homes they leave to come no more, Their weeping friends and kindred on the shore, They bid adieu, and, with an aching heart, Shake hands — 'tis hard when dearest friends must part. But here they part, and leave their parent isle, Their wholesome, happy seat. The winds awhile DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 339 Are courteous, and conduct them on their way To near the midst of the Atlantic sea; When suddenly their pleasant gales they change For dismal storms that on the ocean range, For faithless iEolus meditating harms, Breaks up the peace, and, priding much in arms, Unbars the great artillery of heaven, And, as the fatal signal by him given, The cloudy chariots threatening take the plains Drawn by winged steeds hard pressing on their reins, These vast battalions in dire aspect raised Start from the barrier's height with lightning blazed, Whilst clashing wheels resounding thunder cracks, Struck mortals deaf, and heaven astonished shakes. Here the ship captain, in the midnight watch, Stamps on the deck, and thunders up the hatch, And to the mariners aloud he cries — Now all from safe recumbency arise — All hands aloft, and stand well to your tack — Engendering storms have clothed the sky with black — Big tempests threaten to undo the world- — Down topsail, let the mainsail soon be furled — Haste to the foresail, there take up a reef. 'Tis time, boys, now if ever to be brief — Aloof for life, let's try to stem the tide— The ship's much water, thus we may not ride — Stand roomer, then let's run before the sea, That so the ship may feel her steerage way — Steady at heim. Swiftly along she scuds Before the wind, and cuts the foaming suds. Sometimes aloft she lifts her prow so high, As if she'd run her bowsprit through the sky. Then from the summit ebbs and hurries down, As if her way were to the centre thrown. 340 LANDING OF THE Meanwhile, our founders in the cabin sat, Reflecting on their true and sad estate, Whilst holy Warehcmi s sacred lips did treat About God's promises and mercies great. Still more gigantic births spring from the clouds Which tore the scattered canvass from the shrouds. And dreadful balls of lightning fill the air, Shot from the hand of the great Thunderer. And now a mighty sea the ship o'ertakes, Which, falling on the deck, the bulkhead breaks. The sailors cling to ropes, and frighted cry — The ship is foundered — we die, we die. Those in the cabin heard the sailors screech, All rise, and reverend Wareham do beseech That he would now lift up to heaven a cry For preservation in extremity. He, with a faith sure follovv'd on the word Of him that was of sea and winds the Lord, His eyes lifts up to heaven, his hands extend, And fervent prayer for deliverance sends. The winds abate, the threatening waves appease, And a sweet calm sits regent on the seas. They bless the name of their Deliverer, Who now they found a God that heareth prayer." You will excuse this long quotation, as it serves to give you a specimen of the poetry of former years, as well as to record a fact concern- ing the passage of the ship's company, whose arrival in this place, two hundred years ago, we this day celebrate. It is to be regretted that we have no particular account of the transactions of DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 341 that memorable day ; although there can be no doubt of the manner in which it was observed. We know that it was the Sabbath, and w 7 e cannot doubt that it would be deeply interesting to our pious fathers, first to behold the American shore on that day, of all days the best. Doubtless their first employment was to worship the God who had so graciously preserved them during a long and dangerous passage. — On this very spot, or very near it, two hundred years ago, stood the venerable and holy men, Wareham and Maverick, and round them gathered their little flock, to listen to their fervent prayers and pious counsels. It is not my object, on the present occasion, to trace the history of our fathers from their first arrival in this place, two hundred years ago, to the present time, nor to remark on the settlement of the town of Dorchester, which took place a week or ten days after they landed. This will be done the next week, by a much respected native of the town, selected for the occasion.* We will there- fore only say — that ' when they arrived here, they were left in a forlorn wilderness, destitute of any habitation and most of the necessaries of life. Some of them, however, had the good * Rev. Dr. Pierce, of Brookline. 342 LANDING OF THE fortune to procure a boat of an old planter, and went over to Charlestown, but met with poor accommodations there, and no encouragement to tarry ; for though they saw several wigwams, they found but one Englishman in a house, where they ate a boiled bass, but no bread. They returned therefore to the boat, and taking an Indian interpreter went up the river to where it grows narrow and shallow, and then, with much labor and difficulty, landed their goods, the bank being very steep. Their fears were greatly alarmed by being informed that three hundred Indians were encamped near them. They sent immediately their interpreter to persuade the natives not to molest them, and to assure them of their own pacific intentions. The next morn- ing, when the Indians appeared, they offered no violence, but sent some of their number, holding out a bass, and our people sent a man to meet them, with a biscuit, and so they exchanged not only then, but afterwards, a biscuit for a bass, and the Indians were very friendly to them, which our people ascribed to God's watchful providence over them in their weak beginnings. All the company had not come up the river, but only ten men to seek out the way for the rest. Those that tarried behind, were to take care of the DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 343 cattle they had brought, and prevent them from wandering and being lost in the wilderness. Those who had gone in quest of a place to settle on, did not tarry away but a few days, during which time the rest of the company had found out a neck of land joining to a place by the Indians, called Matapan, that was a fit place to turn their cattle upon, with less danger of their straying ; and so they sent to their friends to return. Accordingly, they repaired to the place, and began a settlement about the beginning of June. They named the place Dorchester, be- cause several of the settlers came from a town of that name in England, and also in honor of the Rev. Mr. White, of Dorchester, to whose church some of the emigrants belonged.' — Such is an authentic history, derived in part from the historical collections of Massachusetts, of the arrival in this country, and in this very place, of those devoted men, who settled the town of Dorchester, to which we belong. A few of us have taken the opportunity this day to visit the spot where our pilgrim fathers first landed, just two hundred years ago.* We feel obliged to the inhabitants of this interest- * A paper giving an account of this visit, subscribed on the spot by ninety-nine individuals, was left with the town clerk of Hull. 344 LAJNDING OF THE ing and sequestered town, for the privilege of meeting in this place, where they occasionally hold their religious services, for the purpose of offering our tribute of praise and thanksgiving to their God and ours, for the blessings we have mutually derived from the event which we this day celebrate. Our fathers, my hearers, were men of fajth and of prayer. They held those doctrines which are commonly called the doctrines of grace. Such as the entire depravity of human nature — the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit — the divinity and atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ — and the interminable state of the right- eous and wicked after death. These are the very doctrines which they believed two hun- dred years ago, and which, notwithstanding all the changes that have taken place in religious opinion, I am happy to say, are now believed and maintained by the church under my pastoral care. To us, then, who profess to believe as the Pilgrims believed, it is not surprising that the return of this centennial anniversary should be deeply interesting. Yes, we venerate the memory of those holy men who first unfurled the standard of the cross on this spot on the 30th DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 345 of May, 1630, and we love the spot that then resounded with the praises of our God and Saviour ; and on that account we feel a tender interest in the spiritual welfare of those who now inhabit the place where Wareham and Maverick preached and prayed. We rejoice in the return of this most interesting anniversary, and shall number among the happiest and brightest events of our lives, that we were permitted, by religious exercises, to commemo- rate, the arrival of our pilgrim fathers at Nantasket, on the very day, that completes a second century. Descendants of the Pilgrims ! — I am happy in the opportunity of addressing you on this inter- esting occasion. By the reverence you bear the memory of your pious ancestors, let me entreat you to cherish their principles and imbibe their spirit. As I address myself principally to pro- fessors of religion, suffer me to urge upon you the maintenance of their religious principles. Beyond a doubt, those principles were what are now termed orthodox or evangelical. However some of their descendants may have departed from these principles, and embraced a more lax system of theology, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we have retained the faith of 44 346 LANDING OF THE our fathers, and that the church with which many of us are connected, openly and decidedly acknowledges the same system of religious belief which was professed by Wareham and Maverick, and their flock, that landed on this shore two hundred years ago. Surely, a system of faith which could prompt its professors to such great and painful sacrifices, must have possessed no ordinary power. We are not ashamed to believe w 7 ith the fathers of New England. We will cherish their principles and hand them down to our latest posterity. My beloved friends, how solemn and impres- sive is this occasion ! Before another century arrives, not one of us will be here to celebrate the deeds of our fathers, nor to witness the maturity of our rising country. We shall all sleep in the dust, and our spirits will have mingled with the spirits of our ancestors. Our children, or children's children, may come to this venerated spot, and while they look back with admiring gratitude on the early history of our country, it will be no inconsiderable satisfaction to trace the names of their more immediate pro- genitors who visited this place on this memorable day. Let us be careful to transmit to our chil- dren the principles we received from our fathers, DORCHESTER SETTLERS. 347 which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from our children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. HYMN, SUNG ON THE OCCASION. Tune— St. Martin's. In days of yore, a pilgrim band Came o'er the great, wide sea, Far from their homes and native land, To enjoy their liberty. 'Twas on that bright and holy day — The sacred day of God — That here our fathers found their way, And on this isthmus trod. Two hundred years this day have fled, Since first they landed here ; Though long been numbered with the dead, Their spirits hover near. Two hundred years, — those holy men Stood where we stand to-day, And on this spot, uncultured then, Began to praise and pray. 348 Here Wareham led his little flock Their grateful thanks to pay, And on the great eternal Rock Their future hopes to stay. And Maverick, here, with holy zeal, Their fainting souls sustained, And taught them, while their cares they feel, The Almighty Saviour reigned. And, here, the church, with holy love, Around their pastors thronged, While notes of praise, like those above, The sacred time prolonged. Thus on this wild and rocky shore, Begirt with the blue wave, The Pilgrims did their God adore. And felt his power to save. God of our fathers ! from thy throne, In heavenly mercy shine, Oh may we trust in thee alone, And be forever thine. 349 ADDRESS, DELIVERED BEFORE THE DORCHESTER TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. The change in public opinion within the last few years on the subject of Temperance, is truly astonishing. The pious mind, in contemplating the wonderful effects that have been produced by this change, cannot but exclaim with holy admiration, What hath God wrought! For, although the agency of human effort has been employed to produce it, the design, the means, the success, are all of God, and to his great name shall be all the praise. No nation has been more highly distinguished for rich and varied blessings, for civil and reli- gious immunities, for personal and social enjoy- ments, than the American people. Our free 350 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. institutions have raised us to an eminence among the nations of the earth, that has excited the admiration and the envy of the world. The western continent had become the refuge of the oppressed from the tyrannical governments of Europe. The poor and the distressed, whose prospects in the old world were entirely hopeless, here found a country and a home. The unparalleled prosperity of our country had become, not only the envy of the world, but was regarded with malicious eye by the enemy of our race. In an evil hour he entered this Eden of nations, and with the cunning of the serpent, enticed numbers of our free and happy population, not indeed to eat of the forbidden fruit, but to drink of the fatal cup. — Yes, my friends, the demon of intemperance had well nigh destroyed this happy land. It is a well known fact, that the use of ardent spirits, which had been allowed to the army by whose gallant prowess our glorious revolution was achieved — a use which nothing could have justified but the darkness of the public mind on this subject — had created a habit which followed many of the revolutionary soldiers into their retirements, and spread its baneful influence in their families and in their neighborhoods. To ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 351 such an extent had this moral poison spread throughout our otherwise favored land, that " at the close of the first half century of our national existence," as stated in the last Report of the American Temperance Society, " the diseased appetite of our countrymen demanded annually for its gratification more than sixty million gallons of ardent spirits, and that, while the article cost the consumers at least thirty million of dollars, it caused more than three quarters of the pauper- ism, crime, and wretchedness of the community — blunted the moral sensibilities of all who freely used it — increased the number and violence of diseases — deprived multitudes of their reason — swept more than thirty thousand annually into the drunkard's grave— and was threatening to roll its curses in broader and deeper streams over all future generations." Such was the awful consequence of drinking of the fatal cup. Such were the ravages which the diabolical monster Intemperance had made over this fair land. But, blessed be God, a remedy was in store to bruise the head of this poisonous serpent, and it was reserved for our times and for our country to discover and apply it. The awful effects of this growing evil had 352 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. been long felt and deeply lamented by the wise and good ; and by none more so, than by the friends of virtue and correct habits in this vicinity. The first systematic effort for the sup- pression of intemperance, was made by the Massachusetts Society. Their exertions were important ; and to them belongs the praise of being the first regularly organized society, for attempting to arrest this enormous evil. But they had not discovered the simple but powerful antidote to this fatal poison. It was reserved for a still later period, and for another association, to make this important discovery. The bright thought then dawned upon the mind of some gifted individual, or individuals, that the only way to check the progress of intemperance, was for temperate men to abstain entirely from the use of ardent spirits, and to combine their influ- ence by solemn pledges. The thought, I doubt not, was the inspiration of heaven ; and the names of those who first entertained it, whether known to us or not, are inscribed on the page of immortality. Benefactors of mankind ! you will be associated, by a grateful posterity, with Howard, and Wilberforce, and Raikes. Your names will stand at the head of a new era of the world, and millions who would have gone down ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 353 to the drunkard's grave, will bless your memory. When this thought was first conceived, which is to bruise the head of the odious serpent intem- perance, it was regarded by many as Utopian. It was looked upon as the visionary dream, of good intention indeed, but as utterly unequal to the correction of the evil it aimed to destroy. Many doubted, and at first held themselves aloof from the pledge. Heaven smiled upon the effort. The most sanguine expectations of its friends were more than answered, and results, as delightful as they were extraordinary, astonished the world- More than a million of persons in the United States, we are officially told, have ceased to use ardent spirits — more than a thou- sand distilleries have been stopped — more than three thousand merchants have ceased to traffic in the article — and more than three thousand drunkards ceased to use intoxicating drinks — more than ten thousand persons, as appears from numerous facts, have been saved from becoming drunkards, who, had it not been for the change of sentiment and practice in the community, had before now been involved in all the horrors of that loathsome and fatal vice. The quantity of ardent spirit used in the country has been greatly diminished, and pauperism, crime, sickness, 45 354 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. insanity and premature deaths, have been di- minished in proportion. Such have been the results which have been already produced by the adoption of that simple, but powerful principle — entire abstinence from the use of ardent spirit. But greater results than these, we doubt not, are yet to follow. Should this principle be generally adopted throughout our country, it would save annually, more than one hundred million of dollars, and more than thirty thousand valuable lives. The honor and praise of this moral antidote to the poison of the fell destroyer, belongs to our own country and to our own section of it. " This is a subject," said a member of the United States' senate, at the late temperance meeting in Washington, " upon which I appeal not only to the patriotism, but to the national pride of the American people. It is the invention of our country. It is not imported from a foreign land. It had its origin with us. What citizen of the United States, while he acknowledges our indebtedness to the parent state for much of our science, literature and institutions, does not feel his pride of country rise and expand when he reflects that we are paying back, in the means of moral improvement; that we are making payment ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 355 in a coin, brighter, richer and better refined, than that in which the debt was originally contracted. We know the prejudices which exist in Great Britain against every thing American. They are slow to believe that American mind can produce any thing superior to their own inventions and improvements, — but no sooner was this remedy for intemperance presented, than it was imme- diately and cheerfully adopted and practised." The temperance reformation has crossed the Atlantic and obtained a firm footing in the land of our fathers 5 sepulchres. Flourishing societies exist in Ireland and Scotland ; and recently has been formed, under the most favorable auspices, a British and Foreign temperance society, a so- ciety w 7 hich promises much by its powerful influ- ence to extend the principles of this sacred and benevolent cause throughout the world. But the most gratifying intelligence has recently been received, that the temperance reformation has not only crossed the Atlantic, but found its way, and effected a permanent lodgment in those distant isles of the Pacific, whose untutored inhabitants have long been cruelly debased by their intercourse with Europeans. This inter- esting class of our fellow beings, who have long suffered by the odious vices of intemperance and 356 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. debauchery, have been visited by the benign in- fluence of Christianity, — their idols have been given to the moles and to the bats, and on their ruins have been erected altars for the worship of the only true God. From the Sandwich islands we have recent accounts of the formation of a general temper- ance society. A society was formed by the chiefs and the people, and about a thousand subscribers immediately obtained. The four governors of the islands are the general super- intendents of the society. The constitution is simple, and the principles of the society are as follows. We will not drink ardent spirits for pleasure. We will not deal in ardent spirits for the sake of gain. We will not engage in distilling ardent spirits. We will not treat our relatives, acquaintances, or strangers with ardent spirits. We will not give ardent spirits to work- men, on account of their labor. — The young king of those islands, has ordered a cask of spirits, on board one of his brigs, to be poured into the sea. The British consul, it is said, applied to the governor of Oahu for permission to buy up rum for his Britannic majesty's ships of war, and has been denied. Other individuals applied to the ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 357 governor for the privilege of selling ardent spirits to foreigners. — The governor's reply was, " To horses, cattle, and hogs, you may sell rum ; but to real men you must not, on these shores." In order to estimate correctly the work that has been accomplished in favor of temperance, and how great a change has been wrought in the character and example of the chiefs in this respect — it should be remembered that ten years ago the inhabitants of the Sandwich islands were a nation of drunkards. The king and principal chiefs, instead of restraining the people by laws or by examples, were themselves habitually addicted to the grossest intemperance. It was no uncommon thing to see whole villages, the chief men and common people, male and female, in a state of beastly intoxication — and now, the traffic is denounced as immoral, and prohibited under severe penalties by government. What a blessed change has been produced by the gospel of Christ and the temperance reforma- tion — and this reformation, we doubt not, is destined to extend to every part of our globe where the destroying serpent has instilled his fatal poison. Measures have been taken to form temperance societies in Sweden and Germany, 358 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. on the continent of Europe, and on the shores of Africa ; "and there is reason" to use the language of the last report of the American Temperance Society, "to expect that their influence will soon be felt in every country on the globe — that wherever the gospel goes and exerts its legiti- mate influence over the mind of man, abstinence from all that intoxicates and that wars against the soul will be its sure and invariable attendant. The Hottentot and the Hindoo, the Greenlander and Tahitian will unite with the inhabitants of the Emerald isle, the Caledonian, European, Asiatic, African, and American of every name, in ceasing to do evil. Then, under the means of God's appointment, will they learn to do well. The word of the Lord, unobstructed, will run very swiftly, and pouring, with double energy, its mighty all-pervading influence upon the whole mass of minds, will be like the rain and the snow that come down from heaven and water the earth, and cause it to bring forth and bud. The frost and the snows of six thousand winters will be forever dissolved, and the spring time of millennial beauty, and the autumnal fruit of millennial glory, open upon the world." While the unparalleled success of the tem- perance cause is occasion of joy and gratitude ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 359 to its friends, it imposes upon them increased obligations to persevering effort. Without per- severance, all will be lost that has been already- gained, and a fearful re-action will be produced on the public mind. Although much has been done, yet much, very much more remains to be done — nor should the friends of this cause of humanity relax their efforts, until that fatal poison which destroys both soul and body, shall be found only on the shelf of the apothecary, labelled by the side of arsenic. We have taken a bright view of the subject, by dwelling on the success with which it has pleased Him, from whom all good counsels and benevolent designs proceed, to crown the efforts of the friends of temperance. But we have said nothing of the extent of the evil that yet remains to be cor- rected, nor of the means to be immediately and perseveringly used for this purpose. We learn from the last Report of the American Temperance Society, that " in the four cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, containing about five hundred thousand inhabitants, more than six thousand persons are licensed to sell ardent spirit, and thus become accessary to the ruin of their fellow men. If they have daily ten customers each, and they each spend for this 360 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. poison only ten cents, it would be more than six thousand dollars a day, or more than two millions a year. Upwards of six thousand men, more than one in twenty of all the men over twenty- one years of age, are, for a little money, licensed to carry on a trade which is proved by a vast accumulation of facts to be among the greatest curses which have come upon the human family ; which has caused a loss to the people of the United States of more than ninety million dollars a year ; and brought down more than seventy thousand persons to an untimely grave. And this is continued, after it is proved by the experi- ence of more than a million of persons, that men, in all kinds of business, are better without the use of it ; and those who profess to be good men are furnishing it to all who will purchase, and thus assist to perpetuate this mighty ruin down to the end of the world." We might dwell on the extent of the evil that yet remains to be arrested, and hold up to your view in most appalling colors, the miseries that are hourly brought upon our race by the odious vice of intemperance. This we have been in the habit of doing, more or less, from year to year, on the return of this anniversary. This is now the less necessary, as these evils have been vividly ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 361 depicted in numerous addresses and appeals from the press. It is more important that we should consider the means to be used for the prevention of this dreadful evil. The antidote to this fatal poison has, as we have seen, been discovered. It remains only that it be applied. Let every friend to. his country, to his species, to virtue and religion, come for- ward, and give his name and his influence to this humane and benevolent cause. It is by the combination of the friends of temperance, by their united and visible example, embodied, and exhibited in the formation of temperance societies, more than by any other means, that this great object is to be accomplished. I know there are not a few, and among them some whom I sin- cerely respect and esteem, who object to this public method of promoting the cause of temper- ance. They think they can do more good by their private example, and feel a reluctance to the publicity and ostentation which they imagine is consequent upon forming a temperance society. But, have these respected individuals duly considered the force of their example ? Many of us. if we consulted only our feelings, would also shrink from this public act ; but it is not a ques- tion of feeling — it is a question of duty. It has 46 362 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. been established, beyond a doubt, that these united efforts have done extensive good ; that they have been happily instrumental in checking one of the greatest evils that have ever visited our world ; and this being the undeniable fact, no one is at liberty, with a good conscience, to withhold his support from this cause, by neglect- ing to enrol his name with those who pledge themselves entirely to abstain from the use of ardent spirits. We believe there are many who have felt this reluctance, who have overcome it from a strong sense of duty ; and we doubt not, that there are those, now present, who upon reflection, will feel it to be their duty no longer to stand aloof from this benevolent enterprise, but will give the weight of their names and influence to this truly interesting cause. If any of the respected class of men to which I have alluded, still doubt as to the course of their duty in connecting themselves with a tem- perance society, their doubts must be forever removed, by a perusal of the eloquent addresses of the first men of our nation, which, I am happy to learn, are in extensive circulation among us. When such men as Frelinghuysen and our own Webster from the senate chamber of the United States, come forth boldly as advocates of the ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 363 cause of temperance, who will not listen to their arguments, and consider well before they persist in a course which they disapprove ! " The power of example," says the former of these national orators, " spreads from heart to heart, from neighborhood to neighborhood, from county to county, from continent to continent. The great object of the pledge, proposed by the temperance society, was to correct public senti- ment — to raise the standard of moral principle. And what mode did its advocates adopt to ac- complish this desirable but difficult object? They determined to gather, one by one, individual suffrages in its favor. The power of example in a good cause, has accomplished all the wonders we have seen. This cause has at length reached this place, (the city of Washington,) not for legislation — legislation has long since exhausted all its power ; and all the sanctions of law, when opposed to the course of this desolating evil, were, but as the chaff before the mountain storm. But here is a new principle, which, in its potency, is worth whole volumes of legislation, — that mighty principle — personal example. And what might not such a principle effect, if com- municated to the constituents of all the members of the twenty-second congress. What could it 364 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. not effect, were all those members resolved to concentrate their combined example in this great cause. Should the members, one and all, both of the senate and house of representatives, send to their constituents such a blessed exam- ple, with what power would it not go down to the thirteen millions which they represent. It is not too much to say that such an example would do more for the welfare of this country, than whole years of legislation. 5 ' — With such advocates, the cause of temperance has nothing to fear. But this cause has its enemies as well as its advocates, — and so has every good cause that seeks to promote the best interests of man. But the time will come, when the enemies of the temperance cause will be ashamed and hide their heads. We have not time nor inclination to notice the usual trite objections that are made to the temperance cause. The cry of sectarianism has been raised against it, because some of its earliest and fastest friends happened to belong to that sect, which in this vicinity is every where spoken against ; but they are not the only promoters of the tem- perance reform. It has enlisted Christians of every denomination — Episcopalians, Presby te- ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 365 rians, Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, and last, though not least in their steady attach- ment to this cause, the Quakers, a sect who, from the days of Fox, and William Penn, have been the uniform advocates of temperance. The fact is, there never was a more unfounded charge than that of sectarianism. It has been said by some who are unfriendly to all benevolent institutions, that the temperance society is only another method to impose upon the public for the extortion of money. This objection would be unworthy of notice, were it not made by those from w 7 hom we ought to expect better things. In answer to this, and similar objections, it will be sufficient to state- that the support of religion, and all the benevo- lent institutions connected with it in the United States, is computed not to exceed six million seven hundred thousand dollars, while intemper- ance, with all facilities for vain and sinful amuse- ments, costs our country not less than one hundred and sixteen millions. It is difficult to conceive of any money expended to so much advantage, as the trifling sum that has been necessary to prose- cute the objects of the temperance society. But I forbear — every candid mind, I doubt not, will be convinced of the excellence of the cause 366 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. for which I plead ; — and with those, who are determined not to be convinced, it is in vain to argue. Suffer me now, in conclusion, to call upon my respected auditory to unite cordially in the support of the cause of temperance. Need I address myself to those who bear the Christian name, to remind them of their duty! With all the light that is now thrown upon this subject, is it possible that a Christian can hesitate as to the course he ought to pursue ? Many of our churches have become temperance societies — and ought not every church to be in fact a tem- perance society ? There is a gross inconsistency for a member of the church to be a manufacturer, vender, or consumer of that fatal poison, which destroys the body and soul. The only safe course is, Touch not, taste not, handle not. Nor is this duty confined to Christian professors — it is in- cumbent upon all. Every friend of virtue and of man is solemnly bound to enlist in this cause. Young men, to you we look with the deepest solicitude, and with the most sanguine expecta- tions. You are the hope of our country. Every- thing depends in this great enterprise upon the course adopted by our young men. If they come up boldly and cheerfully to the standard of tern- ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. 367 perance, the generation that is rising will be saved; but if they hold back, who can tell the extent of the evil that will ensue ? To the mothers and daughters of our highly favored land we also look for efficient aid in this work of mercy. Who can estimate the extent of female influence ? More than one hundred thousand of the lovely daughters of the last gen- eration were doomed to the tremendous curse of having drunken husbands, and rearing their little ones under the blasting, withering influence of drunken fathers. There are instances, too, in that sex, with which we delight to associate all that is lovely, of victims to the fell destroyer. And what sight on earth is so revolting, so dis- gusting, so humiliating, as that of a drunken female ! Who that thinks seriously of the fact that this humiliating sight might have been prevented by a connection with a temperance society, can doubt of the expediency of females joining such a society. I frankly confess that I had doubts of the propriety of such a measure, but when I reflected that it might operate as a restraint in the hour of temptation, I yielded my objections, and have been convinced of the expediency of the course recommended by the American temperance society. 368 ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. My respected hearers, I feel that I owe you an apology for having detained you so long on a day when you have had repeated religious services in your respective places of worship. The members of the Dorchester temperance society will accept my best wishes for success in their laudable undertaking. They will not be discouraged by difficulties. The time we trust will come, when the inhabitants of this ancient town will feel a deeper interest in the cause of temperance. In the mean time let us hope that the Fathers of the town, to whose discretion the legislature has intrusted so much power, in grant- ing licenses for the vending of this fatal poison, will fearlessly and conscientiously perform their duty, that the sources of temptation may be greatly lessened, if not wholly removed, and that this whole town may become a mountain of holiness and a dwelling place of righteous- ness. 369 SPEECH, IN THE BOARD OF OVERSEERS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, FEB. 3, 1831. [At an adjourned meeting of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, held in the senate chamber in Boston, Feb. 3, 1831, f k the Committee, consisting of Dr. Spooner, Rev. Dr. Codman, and Rev. Mr. Wal- ker, to whom were committed the Statutes establishing a Theological Faculty in the University, reported, that a majority of the Committee were in favor of recommending a concurrence with the proceedings of the Corporation. Whereupon Dr. Codman rose, and moved that the subject be recommitted and postponed to the next stated meeting of the Board. — The motion being seconded, Dr. Codman thus ad- dressed the Board.] May it please your Excellency, It is with great reluctance that I rise to offer a few remarks on the Report of the Committee now before this honorable and reverend Board, and in favor of its recommittance for further consideration. With my highly respected colleagues on that committee I had the unhappiness to differ in opinion. They were in favor, as appears by their report, of recommending to this Board a 47 370 SPEECH IN THE concurrence with the proceedings of the corpora- tion in the establishment of a theological faculty in this University. Although on many subjects that have come before this Board, as in the establishment of a professor of German litera- ture, I have cheerfully given my voice in favor of concurrence with that truly enlightened and dignified body, and although I have great con- fidence in their wisdom, and ability, and sound judgment, yet on this occasion I was constrained, I trust from honest and conscientious motives, to differ from them as to the expediency of establishing a theological department in the University ; and I feel it my duty to state to this Board the reasons of my dissent from the report of the committee. In the remarks which I beg leave to offer on this subject I shall confine myself to the question of expediency. Whether, in the existing state of public opinion on religious subjects in this Com- monwealth, it is expedient for this University to descend from that high and elevated station which it ought to hold as the University of the State, and, by the establishment of a theological department, lend its mighty influence to the support of any one sect of professing Christians. With regard to the denomination of which the BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 371 proposed theological faculty is well known to consist, I am far from wishing to make any invidious or unkind remarks. Many of my intimate friends and relatives belong to that denomination. The doctrinal views of the three professors are well known to be Unitarian. Should this be disputed, which I presume will not be, I have only to appeal to their publica- tions. The senior professor, for whose private character I have reason to entertain the highest esteem, is one of the champions of the Unitarian faith — the avowed correspondent of Rammohun Roy, the Unitarian convert and missionary in India. His son, the amiable and accomplished professor of pulpit eloquence and the pastoral care, we were told in the public prints, was the accredited representative of the American Uni- tarian Association at a public meeting of the Unitarian denomination in England ; — and the learned and talented professor elect of biblical literature, I presume no one will deny, belongs to the same class of professing Christians. Although I do not harmonize with these gen- tlemen in religious opinion, I entertain towards them, individually, sentiments of respectful con- sideration and personal regard. They have the same right to their peculiarities that I have to 372 SPEECH IN THE mine, and I should be the last person in the world to wish to deprive them of that right, or to lessen their facilities of propagating what they honestly believe to be the doctrines of Christianity. I have always been the advocate of religious freedom in its widest extent. I wish every man to enjoy the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates of his own conscience. I rejoice that we live in this land of freedom, where no religious denomination is established by law. There is nothing that I deprecate more than any exclusive advantages granted by the State to any religious sect. It is well known that in this Commonwealth there is a great diversity of opinion on reli- gious subjects. To mention no others, there are Orthodox and Unitarian Congregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians and Methodists, all highly respectable in numbers and influence — and all directly or indirectly interested in this Uni- versity. To this ancient and venerable seat of learning, patronized by themselves through their repre- sentatives in the legislature, it is natural that they should wish to send their sons to receive the advantages of a liberal education. And, sir, BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 373 could they be assured that the University was only a literary institution, and had no necessary connection with any religious sect, they would cheerfully avail themselves of the privilege of placing their children under its fostering care, and not be under the necessity, as they repeat- edly have been, and now are, of sending them elsewhere. It may be said that every college must have its distinctive religious character, — and that, as the government of Harvard University, and many of its friends and patrons, are of the Unitarian denomination, it is right and proper that they should have a theological department of that character. I would allow the force of this argument, if Harvard College had been founded by Unitarians, and if it were not so intimately and so inseparably connected with the State. But, sir, it is well known that Harvard College was not founded by Unitarians, but by Orthodox Congregationalists. The professorship of divinity w r as not founded by Unitarians, but by a Calvinistic Baptist, of precious memory, who, in the very statutes which you are advised in the report on your table, to adopt, expressly requires that his professor should be " of sound and Orthodox principles" On this subject I 374 SPEECH IN THE will not enlarge. It is attended with too many painful associations. But, sir, I would remark on the peculiar relation which this University bears to this Com- monwealth. It is the child of the State. The State has always been its nursing mother. It has contributed largely to its funds. It has ever taken a deep and lively interest in its prosperity. The executive and higher branches of its legisla- ture have, from the beginning, been its consti- tuted guardians. Sustaining such a relation to the Common- wealth, ought it to assume a controversial aspect on the subject of religion? Ought it to be de- voted to the interests of any religious sect or denomination, however excellent that sect and denomination may be ? In the present state of religious opinion, I have no wish that this semi- nary of the State should be devoted to the propa- gation of the sentiments of the pious Hollis, and of our pilgrim fathers. I venerate these senti- ments, and I honestly believe them to be the truth of God ; but I know that many, equally honest and sincere, differ from me on this subject. Let me have a theological school to which I may send my children with a good conscience, after they have received their classical education at BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 375 the University ; and let those who differ from me, also have a theological school ; but let that school be distinct from the University, and let us all have one common alma mater, who shall acknowledge us as her children, without any regard to the religious denomination to which we belong. It may be said, that a University is not com- plete without a theological department. Divinity is one of the three learned professions, and ought to be as distinctly and thoroughly taught as law and medicine. In answer to this, I would re- mark, that, if a system of divinity could be agreed upon, in which all the religious denominations in the Commonwealth could unite, the argument might have weight. But this, I am sure, all would agree, would be a Utopian scheme. No, sir, in the present state of religious opinion, it is impossible for any theological faculty, however excellent, to give universal satisfaction to the people of this Commonwealth. There is but one way in which the views and feelings of the whole people can be met, and that is, by not having any theological school connected with the University. I have no objection that the Unitarians should have a theological school — but let it not be con- 376 SPEECH IN THE nected with Harvard College. The Orthodox Congregationalists have one at Andover; the Baptists have one at Newton ; and the Meth- odists, I believe, have one at Wilbraham ;— and let the Unitarians have theirs in any of the pleasant towns or villages of Massachusetts. And let the young men of the Commonwealth, destined for the sacred office, after they shall have completed their classical education at Cam- bridge, which no college in the Union can better supply, let them, then, make their selection of a theological school. Let one go to Andover, and another to Newton, and another to Wilbraham, and another to such place as the Unitarians may think proper to designate for the location of their school. But, sir, it may be said, that the theological school is already established at Cambridge, that professors have already been appointed, and stu- dents are under a course of theological instruc- tion. — I know it, may it please your Excellency, and I deeply regret it. In the year 1815, I believe, certain funds were raised by subscription for the promotion of theological education in the University, and received and held by the corpora- tion — and in 1819, (not during the session of the legislature, but in the month of July,) a constitu- BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 377 tion was adopted for the theological department, and approved at a regular meeting of the Board of Overseers. This constitution recognizes the existence of the society for promoting theological education at Cambridge — which was represented by a certain number of trustees. It may be asked, Why were not the same objections made to the adoption of this consti- tution, as are now made to the adoption of the statutes under consideration ? Sir, I can only answer for myself. I had not then the honor of being on the committee to whom that constitu- tion was referred. Had I been, I should have felt it my imperious duty to have attended par- ticularly to the subject, and to have protested against it. It is true I was then a member of this honorable and reverend Board, and I ought, perhaps, to have been more watchful than I have been, against what I conceive to be an encroach- ment on the religious liberties of the Common- wealth. But not being called to the special service of a committee, I must confess, the con- stitution of the theological department, which passed this Board in 1819, escaped my notice. But, sir, if we have misjudged in times past in connecting a theological department in any shape with this University, shall we persist in 48 378 SPEECH IN THE our error ? Is it too late to retrace our steps ? Is it not better to acknowledge that we have erred, than to forfeit the confidence of many religious denominations in the State ? But, sir, there is one important difference be- tween the constitution of 1819, and the proposed theological statutes. The responsibility of the theological department was, according to that instrument, shared, at least, by a theological society independent of the University. By the proposed statutes it is wholly assumed by the University. The theological department is made, to all intents and purposes, a constituent part of the University, and whatever may be the char- acter of its theology, it must now be viewed, in the eyes of the world, as the theology of the University of this Commonwealth. Sir, it has been said, that the course recom- mended by your committee, is the least of two evils. Several truly liberal and high minded members of this Board, have, without hesitancy, expressed their regret, that a theological school should, in any shape, have been located at Cam- bridge. And this opinion, I have no doubt, is held by many other judicious thinking men of liberal sentiments, who love this University, and fear the consequences that may result to its pros- BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 379 perity, from the measure under consideration. — But what can now be done ? The theological school has been established at Cambridge. It has collected funds from those who were friendly to the object, to the amount, I am told, of about fifty thousand dollars ; with part of which they have erected a building for the accommodation of the school. It has already a partial connec- tion with the University, the whole funds and the appointment of the professors, being under the direction and control of the corporation. Legal opinions, it is understood, have decided that the theological school cannot now be com- pletely severed from the University, without incurring a forfeiture of these funds. Under existing circumstances, what can be done ? Sir, it is not my province to extricate gentlemen from a difficulty into which they have thrown them- selves. But I am willing, as far as possible, to endeavor to assist them. I would say, then, let the forfeiture take place. — What is money to principle ? What is fifty thousand dollars, con- tributed, chiefly, by one religious sect, to the general prosperity of the University, which is the common property of all denominations in the Commonwealth ? And let Unitarians raise new funds and establish a theological school in this 380 SPEECH IN THE city, or in Salem, or in any other town in the State, But, if gentlemen are not willing to make such a sacrifice, if they still wish to retain their money and their buildings — let them do it — and let them be under the direction and con- trol of a Unitarian theological society ; but let the president of Harvard College and the boards of corporation and overseers stand aloof from the connection. But it has been said that the proposed plan of a theological department in the University was specially designed to effect a separation between the college and the theological school, and it was thought that such an arrangement would better meet the wishes of the Orthodox part of the community, than the existing con- nection between them. But what, may it please your Excellency, is the difference between the University and the College ? The difference of a whole and its parts. Are the funds, given by the Commonwealth, given exclusively to the academic part of the institution ? Is the college or academic part of the institution, only, under the care of the corporation and board of over- seers ? If so, what occasion have we for acting on the subject now before us ? No, sir, the University is a whole — and, by the adoption of BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 381 the statutes now under consideration, it is pro- posed to make the theological department, as such, a constituent part of the University. What pledge have we that no part of the funds, munificently given, or which may here- after be given to the University by the Com- monwealth, shall never be appropriated to the theological department? True, the majority of the committee, in their report, have expressed their opinion, that this will not be the case — but it is only their opinion. Is there any such pledge contained in the statutes now before us ? Is it expressly stated in these statutes, that the theological department shall in future look only to the Unitarian denomination for support ? No, sir — the Unitarian theological society, which has hitherto directed, in connection with the corporation, the concerns of the school, are, by the proposed arrangement, to give up their powers to the theological faculty. They are about to transfer their individual responsibili- ties to the University of the State, and to place the infant, which they have brought into existence, and carefully nourished, under the special care of the University of the Common- wealth. And, sir, is the University of the Common- 382 SPEECH IN THE wealth prepared to take this child off their hands, and to adopt it as their own ? Is it prepared to give the whole weight of the in- fluence of the University, to the support of any particular religious denomination ? Is it prepared to violate the constitution of the State, which expressly provides that no subordination of any one sect or denomination of Christians to another shall be established by law. Suffer me to ask, who are to constitute the theological faculty in the University ? I would refer to the second article in the statutes. The president of the University, and the three professors above mentioned, with such other professors or officers as the corporation may from time to time designate, shall constitute the theological faculty in the University. The presi- dent of the University — and who is the president of the University ? The president of Harvard College. By these statutes he is to be officially and publicly constituted the head — I will not say of the church — the defender of the faith — but I must say, the head of a Unitarian theological school. Sir, no man in the community has a higher respect for the gentleman who now sus- tains that elevated and dignified station, than BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 383 myself. I admire the energy of his character, and his spirit of enterprise. I had hoped much for the prosperity of the University from his elevation to the presidential chair. I have no hesitation in saying, that of all the candidates for that responsible trust that I had heard named, I gave him the decided preference ; and if I was not active in promoting his election, I certainly did nothing to impede it. One reason of my preference was, that he was a layman. I thought, sir, that in the existing state of public opinion on religious subjects in this Common- wealth, it was highly desirable that that impor- tant office should be filled by a layman, and not by a clergyman of any sect. Although I well knew that the religious opinions of the candidate for the presidency differed from my own, I had confidence in the enlargement and liberality of his mind — in his high sense of moral and reli- gious obligation — and in the impartial course he would pursue towards other denominations of Christians. This confidence was strengthened by one of the first acts of his administration — the permission for the undergraduates to attend such places of worship as they might conscientiously prefer ; a liberty, which had never been granted 384 SPEECH IN THE before, except to members of the Episcopal church. But, sir, I never expected to see the day when the distinguished layman who now presides over Harvard College, should become the head of a theological faculty of any one religious sect. — Tell it not Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon ! — What will the enemies of our holy religion now say of a union between church and state, when they learn, that one of the most distinguished civilians, of which our country can boast, whose eloquence has been heard on the floor of Congress, who has sus- tained a high reputation in his native State at the bar and on the bench, and who has directed, with unparalleled energy, the complicated affairs of a highly respectable municipality — what will they say, when they learn, that, by a deliberate act of the constituted guardians of the Uni- versity, he has been placed at the head of a theological faculty ? Sir, I cannot but think, though I am not in cabinet secrets, that the honorable gentleman feels the embarrassment of the situation, and reluctantly consents to come before the public as the head of a religious party, and that he would feel greatly relieved if this honorable and BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 385 reverend Board would interpose their salutary veto, and negative the proceedings of the corpo- ration. Sir, if we must have a theological department in the University, let not the president of Har- vard College, the College of the State, be at its head. Separate, if you please, the Hollis pro- fessor of divinity from his connection with the academic part of the institution— and put an end to the question respecting the perversion of the Hollis legacy, which yields, I am told, only an inconsiderable part of the salary of the professor — and place him at the head of the theological school ; — and let it be as separate from Harvard College as the theological seminary at Andover or Newton. And let the Unitarian denomination support the school, and the State, as heretofore, support the College. But I shall be told that the president is only the nominal head of the theological department — that he is not to perform any of the work — not even to pray, as presidents have been accustomed to do from time immemorial in the chapel of the University — that all the drudgery of business is to be performed by another officer of the faculty, called by a name, not very familiar to our ears in this republican country, but which very strongly 49 386 SPEECH IN THE reminds us of the English hierarchy. Sir, though the youngest member of the faculty may do the work of a secretary, and even of a supervisor or overseer, it relieves not the head of the faculty from the weight of responsibility. But I shall be told that the president of the College is the official head of all the other facul- ties in the University — that he presides over the law and the medical department — that the plan of the University, according to the model of European Universities, would not be complete without such a supervision. In reply to this, I have only to remark, that the departments of law and medicine come within the cognizance and control of the State, and there can be no objec- tion to their connection with the University, — but not so with theology, unless it is intended, which may God forbid, to have an established religion. As to imitating the model of European Universities, let it be remembered that most of those Universities g,re connected with an estab- lished church. They are no models for us in this free and happy land, where no one religious sect is established by law. I regret to trespass so long on the patience of your Excellency and this honorable and reverend Board. But I wish again to refer to the proposed BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 387 statutes — to show the direct influence which the theological department is calculated to have on the academic part of the institution. The fifth article provides " that the theological professors, with any others whom the corporation shall from time to time appoint to that duty, shall perform divine service in the chapel of the University on the Lord's day throughout the year." Is this service to be performed for the benefit of the theological students only ? Then why not pro- vide that it shall be performed in the chapel of the divinity hall ? — No, sir, it is intended for the whole institution. The undergraduates, who constitute the academic part, or college, are re- quired to attend. But the connection between the two depart- ments in the University is established, beyond a doubt, by the sixth article of the statutes : " The daily prayers in the chapel of the University, and also those in the chapel of divinity ha]], shall be attended by the theological professors." — Sir, how can it be said that the proposed plan of a theological department in the University, was specially designed to effect a separation between the college and theological school ? If it was not intended that the theological department should have a direct influence on the academic part of 388 SPEECH IN THE the seminary, why not confine the duties of the theological professors to the divinity hall ? Why bring them over every morning and evening to the college chapel, to lead the devotions of the undergraduates ? The influence which such a sacred, such a tender, such a daily intercourse is calculated to have upon the young and opening mind, will be felt and appreciated by all. What better, what surer way could human wisdom devise to imbue the mind with any system of religious faith, than to bring the professed teach- ers of that faith in daily connection with the youth of a college, at the morning and evening sacrifice ? Sir, I pretend not to say that the officiating professors will introduce subjects of controversy into their prayers. I believe them to be too wise and too serious ; but, if consistent with themselves, they will certainly omit many things which the children of the orthodox part of the community are accustomed to hear from the lips of their pious parents, at the domestic altar. Sir, I hope this honorable and reverend Board will weigh well what they are about to do. The business before us is, to my mind, the most important that has come before this body since my connection with it, for more than twenty BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 389 years. The eyes of our constituents, are upon us. The people of this Commonwealth have a deep interest at stake, in the decision of this question. They are composed of dif- ferent denominations of professing Christians. They expect, and have a right to expect, that we will show no partiality. There is nothing more dreaded than a union of church and state. Let us not give any occasion for this reproach by uniting any de- nomination of the church with this child of the State. Let me put it to the conscience of every liberal minded gentleman in this assembly — If a proposition was now before this Board to establish a Calvinistic theological faculty in the University of the State, and put the president of Harvard College at its head, would not the people rise, en masse, and enter their solemn protest against such an encroachment on reli- gious liberty ? Yes, sir, and I would be one of the first to lift up my voice against it. And where, I pray you, is the difference in the principle ? Of what consequence is it whether the sect, thus to be established as the religion of the State, believes in a long creed or a short one, or in no creed at all? Sir, the religious opinions of the proposed theological faculty are 390 SPEECH IN THE well known, though they may not consist of thirty-nine articles — and there is the same in- justice in establishing, as the religion of the State, a sect which has no written creed, as in recognizing one that admits all the doctrines of the Westminster confession of faith. I repeat it, I hope this Board will weigh well what they are about to do. At any rate, I hope they will give the people of this Commonwealth time to reflect upon the subject, by postponing the decision of it to another stated meeting of this Board. Sir, I have discharged a painful duty. Gladly would I have relinquished it into other hands, but, since this honorable and reverend Board has become in part elective, no clerical member has been admitted ', though a number of vacancies have occurred — excepting of that religious de- nomination of which the proposed theological faculty is well known to consist. The impar- tiality of the chair has placed me where I stand on this important committee — and I could not, without a dereliction of principle, without a violation of conscience, and without a total disregard of the religious liberties of this Com- monwealth — withhold from this honorable and BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 391 reverend Board, my reasons for not concurring in the report of the committee. I have not the vanity to suppose, that standing as I do in so small a minority in this Board as to religious opinion, I shall be successful in arresting the establishment of a theological faculty in this University, but I do hope, and have strong confidence, that the liberal minded gentlemen with whom I have the honor to be associated, will consent to a recommitment of the proposed statutes, with a view so far to modify them, as to separate the distinguished layman, who now presides over the University, from any connection with the theological depart- ment — to make the divinity school, if we must have one, perfectly distinct for the academic part of the institution — and to secure to the Commonwealth a pledge, that it shall look only to the denomination of which it consists, for its support. Sir, I have spoken for myself. 1 have given utterance to the spontaneous, unbiassed effusions of my own mind. I have not consulted with any man or body of men, respecting the opinions I have advanced in this Board. I am the organ of no party, religious or political. Although, in early life, I was thrown, by circumstances over 392 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. which I had no control, into scenes of religious controversy, / am no controversialist. I have never appeared, nor do I wish to appear before the public in this character. I have been con- tent with my pastoral duty — and have w T ished to keep myself aloof from the din of controversy. Sir, it is because I love peace and dread polemic war — it is because I love my alma mater, and wish to see her enjoy the confidence of the whole people — it is because I love my country and am a friend of religious liberty — it is because I am conscientiously opposed to a union of church and state — that I have spoken with so much freedom. I trust I have dis- charged this duty in a spirit of meekness, and with a proper respect to constituted authority. I have stood in my lot — and although I have been obliged to differ from gentlemen whom I highly respect, I trust they will give me credit for being actuated by no other motive, than a sincere regard to the best interests of the University. 393 SPEECH, AT THE SEVENTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERI- CAN BIBLE SOCIETY. Mr. President, — It was with no ordinary emo- tions, that I saw it announced a few days since in one of the public journals, that your Board of Managers had resolved to appropriate thirty thousand dollars to the object contemplated in the resolutions, which I have had the honor to submit to this meeting. From the view which I had been taking of the opening fields of usefulness in the foreign distri- bution of the sacred scriptures by American missionaries, I had supposed that not less than fifty thousand dollars might be advantageously expended during the present year in that inter- esting department of the operations of this society. I was therefore gratified to find that 50 394 SPEECH BEFORE THE more than half the sum had been already appro- priated by your Board of Managers in view of the representations which had been made to them on this subject. In noticing this liberal appropriation, I observed also the condition on which it was made, viz. in case they are sustained by auxiliary societies and benevolent individuals. This, sir, I would hope, and fain believe, admits not of a question. We know too well the liberality of the Christian public in this country, to doubt for a moment that your Board of Managers will be liberally and cheerfully sustained in this noble enterprise. The only possible objection that I can conceive will be made to it is, that the appropriation is not suf- ficient to meet the rapidly growing demands for the distribution of the scriptures by this society in foreign lands ; and I hope that your Board of Managers will be encouraged by a slight altera- tion in the figure of their grant, to render it more commensurate with the wants of those who are perishing for lack of knowledge. Mr. President, it was my privilege to be present at the anniversary of this society a few years since, when it was nobly resolved to furnish every destitute family in the United States with a copy of the Bible within two years. It was, AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 395 indeed, a noble resolution ; and I bless God, that the pledge which was then solemnly given, has been in a great measure redeemed, — if not in the letter of it — in the spirit of it. But, sir, I well remember that 1 thought then, that, extensive as it was, it did not go far enough. Patriot as I am, and I will yield to no one in the love of my country, I did not wash to see the operations of this society circumscribed within the bounds even of the new world. It was a noble senti- ment of a heathen poet which occasioned re- iterated applause from a Roman theatre, Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. The field for the operation of this society, in the beautiful language of the Bible itself, is the world. As the first propagators of the Christian faith were commanded by their blessed Saviour to disciple all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, so should the efforts of this society have no other limits than the w 7 ants of man, beginning indeed, in the land to which it owes its birth and foster- ing care. Nor should we wait till all the wants of our own country are supplied, before we direct our attention to the perishing millions of our race in the other hemisphere. The way to operate most successfully at home, is to operate 396 SPEECH BEFORE THE diligently abroad. This is indeed a paradox to the selfish calculator, but it is perfectly under- stood by the disinterested and liberal Christian. The more that is done for foreign missions, the more will home missions prosper ; and the more that is done for the foreign distribution of the scriptures, the sooner will the wants of our own population be supplied. There is something in the nature of the re- ligion of the Bible that demands an extensive sphere of operation. It is a religion, not for an individual, nor for a family, nor for a nation merely, but for the whole world. It was a most happy designation, assumed by the parent insti- tution in Great Britain, when it commenced its benevolent work under the name of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Its name spake its design — that, while the root of the tree was planted in British soil, its leaves were for the healing of the nations. Our society is styled the American Bible Society, and it is a name which we love, and which is associated with many delightful images of home and of country ; but it is not an exclusive name, nor was it intended to denote an exclusive object. What true-hearted American does not wish to see the star-spangled banner of his nation wave in every part of the AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 397 world ? And shall the patriot desire to see the principles of rational liberty take root in every land, and will not the friend of God, and his country, still more desire to see her employed in diffusing the precious truths of Christian liberty in every nation and among every people on the globe ? And, sir, through the providence of God, our society possesses remarkable facilities for dif- fusing the knowledge of the sacred volume throughout the world. The very name she bears is her passport to every nation and every clime. The nations of the earth, that have long groaned under the iron bondage of arbitrary power, will receive from her hands, with peculiar satisfaction, that holy volume, which proclaims liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison doors to them that are bound. She is connected with no ecclesiastical establishment, which might awaken suspicion and jealousy in those of a different communion. She has no sectarian views to promote, no party objects to gain, no political designs to accomplish. Her sole aim is to distribute the word of life, as she has received it from its divine Author, unincumbered with any of the explanations and comments of fallible men. 393 SPEECH BEFORE THE And, in sending this heavenly treasure to heathen lands, she is not to seek out channels for its conveyance, nor to overcome any diffi- culties in the way of its reaching its destina- tion and accomplishing the good for which it is designed. The way is prepared, wonderfully prepared by the providence of God. Devoted missionaries from our own country, of different denominations, are the successful pioneers in this work of mercy. Their voice is heard, like that of the forerunner of Him, whose word we would distribute, crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. By their self-denying and indefatigable labors, these devoted men have prepared the way for the distribution of the scriptures in foreign lands. They have over- come the difficulties of acquiring the knowledge of heathen languages, and, what is still more difficult, through the gracious aid of the Holy Spirit, they have overcome the prejudices of the heathen themselves, who have become not only willing to receive, but ardently desirous of obtain- ing the word of life. In Burmah, at the imminent hazard of liberty and life, the Gospel has been successfully planted by our Baptist brethren — and a considerable por- AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 399 tion of the New Testament translated into the Burmese language, and now ready for circulation. In aid of this most interesting object, the Chris- tian public have learnt, with peculiar gratifica- tion, that five thousand dollars has already been appropriated by this society, and it is hoped that the whole empire of Burmah will be supplied as fast as it is prepared to receive the scriptures. The New Testament has been translated by the American missionaries at Bombay into the Mahratta language, and is already in extensive circulation. The Ceylon mission has a great field in which to operate, and admirable opportunities for circulating the scriptures. The seat of the mission is in Jaffna, the northern district of the island, containing two hundred thousand people, speaking the Tamul language. This language is also spoken by eight or nine millions on the adjacent Coromandel coast, where it is expected a branch of this mission will soon be established. It is exceedingly desirable that at least ten thou- sand copies of the Tamul scriptures, should be placed at the disposal of the missionaries at this important station without delay. China, with its immense population, is probably destined to be one of the principal theatres of American missions, and of course one of the most inter- 400 SPEECH BEFORE THE esting fields of the operations of the American Bible Society. Copies of the scriptures will soon be needed in the Malay, Siamese, and Chinese languages, particularly the latter. An edition of the Chinese New Testament will be indispensable. And to what object can the American Bible Society turn its attention with greater prospect of success than to the distribu- tion of the holy scriptures in a language, which can be understood by so many millions of our race, who have been, for so many ages, en- trenched against divine truth by prejudices more impregnable than the famous rampart of their country ? The American missionaries in the Mediterranean possess most favorable opportu- nities for the distribution of the scriptures in Syria, Constantinople and Greece, in the Ara- bic, Turkish, Armenian, Greek and Hebrew languages. The attention of the American Bible Society has already been directed to that most important and interesting field of usefulness, so successfully explored and cultivated by American missionaries in the islands of the Pacific. We are happy to learn that in their efforts to supply the Sandwich islands with the sacred scriptures, this society is sustained by one of her most powerful auxiliaries. AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 401 May we not hope, sir, that this noble example will be followed by other important auxiliary societies — that one will select the Burmah mis- sion for its appropriate sphere of operation — another the mission at Bombay and at Ceylon — another the mission to China — another the mis- sion to Palestine and Greece — and so on, till every American missionary station throughout the world has some efficient auxiliary Bible Society pledged to see it supplied with a suffi- cient number of copies of that sacred volume, without which the most faithful missionaries of the cross will labor in vain and spend their strength for nought. And, sir, is not this a duty which we owe to those devoted men, who have gone far away to heathen lands, and in some instances to un- friendly climes, to publish to the guilty dying pagan the way of salvation by a crucified Saviour ? Shall we not furnish them with that heavenly map, that divine chart, by which they may be enabled to direct, with safety, the anxious and inquiring heathen to the New Jerusalem. When, by the blessing of the Son of God upon their labors, they have succeeded in awakening the attention of the multitudes around them to the things which concern their everlasting peace — 51 402 SPEECH BEFORE THE when their doors are thronged by the old and the young soliciting a Bible or a Testament, with an importunity of which, in this favored land of Bibles, we can form no conception— shall this noble institution, whose anniversary we this day commemorate, refuse its ready assistance to supply them with the word of life without delay ? No, sir, they will not. Your Board of Managers have pledged themselves that they will not — and this pledge will be sustained by every auxiliary society in the country, by every be- nevolent individual in this assembly, and by every friend of the Bible throughout the land. Nor, sir, will we suffer American missionaries any longer to look to any other source for a supply of the sacred scriptures than to the American Bible Society. In this work the British and Foreign Bible Society have acted nobly. They have been as forward to assist American missionaries, as they have to assist missionaries from their own country, and they have actually been at the expense of printing two versions of the New Testament made by our missionaries, viz., the Mahratta, and the Armeno-Turkish. Admirable exemplification of the spirit inculcated in that blessed book, which it is the object of that society to make the prop- erty of all mankind ! AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 403 But, sir, though their disinterested aid is worthy of all praise, it is high time that they should be relieved from the necessity of supply- ing American missionaries with the means of publishing the gospel of Christ. This work belongs to the American Bible Society, and we are no longer willing that our elder sister, much as we respect and love her, should monopolize the glorious work of foreign distribution. We will share it with her ; at least we will take care that she shall be relieved from the responsibilities of supplying missionaries from this country with the holy scriptures ; and we will aspire to the high honor of being co-workers with her in the noble and sublime undertaking of furnishing every family on the globe with a copy of the word of life. And this is an object worthy the combined efforts of these sister institutions. Hand in hand, then, and heart with heart, let them go forward in this heavenly enterprise, nor cease their benevolent labors, until the knowledge of the Lord fill the whole earth as the waters do the sea ; until all who dwell on the face of the globe, of every nation and kindred and tongue and people shall read, in their own language, the wonderful works of God. 404 ADDRESS, DELIVERED AT THE FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. It is a pleasant and delightful consideration, when weeping over the cold remains of a departed friend, who has been eminently useful in his day and generation, that his virtues will survive the decay of his body, and his services be held in everlasting remembrance. This con- solation and support have the friends of that excellent man, whose mortal part now lies before us, on its way to the narrow house appointed for all the living. In this temple, in which he once delighted to worship, and where it was his privi- lege and honor to serve the table of the Lord — in the presence of this church and congregation, whose interests, temporal and spiritual, were so near his heart, and for whom he so faithfully FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 405 and incessantly labored — he now appears in the habiliments of the grave. " His languishing head is at rest, Its thinking and aching are o'er. His quiet, immovable breast Is heaved by affliction no more." We trust, however, that while we are employed in paying our last tribute of respect to departed worth, the immortal spirit, released from its prison of clay, has entered a temple not made with hands, and joined the assembly of the church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven. It becomes us then, that w T e sorrow not as others who have no hope ; for if we be- lieve that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. The character of men, while living, is not always correctly appreciated. Prejudices, some- times of a local and personal nature, tend for a time to obscure real worth, and withhold deserved praise ; and the splendor, which vicious men contrive to spread around them, often conceals the deformity of vice, and serves to delay the censure which the world will finally bestow upon 406 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. their conduct, when viewed by cool reflection aft6r they have passed from the stage of action. Posterity will generally do justice to the char- acters of men, and correct the mistakes, which may have arisen from the misrepresentations, either of envious cotemporaries or servile adula- tors. The purity of the good man's motives will be acknowledged, when those who endeavored to detract from his worth, and lessen his in- fluence, will be forever forgotten. The sinister views and selfish ends of the wicked will be discovered and condemned, when it will be no longer the interest of flatterers to blazon their reputation for imaginary virtues. Those who have never been distinguished, either for the good or evil they have done to mankind will be suffered to sink quietly into the grave of oblivion, while the memory of the wicked will survive, as a monitory example to shun the steps which they pursued to disgraceful renown, and the righteous will be held in everlasting remembrance, as a powerful incentive to tread the path, which leads to glory, honor and immortality. It is a source of satisfaction, when men who have been useful in the world are taken away, to reflect, that although they cease to benefit mankind by their active services, they continue FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 407 to instruct and serve them by their example. The sayings of the wise, and the conduct of the good, are often treasured up in the memory of the living, and produce the happiest effects. The children of a judicious and pious parent may profit by his instructions and example long after he is removed from their tender embrace. The members of a community may avail them- selves of the ability and counsel of those who once filled important stations in society, after these stations have been vacated by death ; and the world may be benefited by the effect of their labors, who, while they lived, devoted themselves to the glory of God, and the good of men. Their services will not be forgotten. Though they rest from their labors, their works will follow them. There will always be found those of their posterity, who will delight to dwell on their virtues and to cherish their remem- brance. The memorial of their name and their good deeds, to use the language of a beautiful writer, will be still fresh as the morning breeze, and fragrant as the flowers of the spring. Those, who have been distinguished during life for their exertions to benefit mankind, have a claim upon the grateful remembrance of the living ; and though to them it is of little or no 408 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. consequence to be remembered by a world, from which they are forever removed, yet the acknowledgment of their worth, and the respect paid to their memory, is not only peculiarly con- soling to their immediate friends, but tends to encourage and animate others to go and do likewise. If it is the duty of mankind in general, to cherish the memory of those who have been useful to the world, more particularly is it the duty of Christians to hold those in everlasting remembrance, who have been instrumental in aiding and defending the church of Christ. All the services rendered to the world, and of a worldly nature, are of little importance, when compared with exertions in the cause of religion, truth, and holiness. Those who have been useful to the world, by the world will be remem- bered ; — but those who have served the cause of the Redeemer, and for his sake made many sacrifices ; who have not been ashamed of his cross, but openly professed their faith in him, as the Lord their righteousness ; who have con- tended against principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places, and fought like good soldiers under the great Captain of their salvation — those are the men who shall be FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 409 held in everlasting remembrance, by God himself, by Christ, the head of the church, by the angels in heaven, and the redeemed on earth. Among those, who have been eminently useful, both to the world and to the church, may justly be ranked our excellent friend, whose remains we are now about to follow to the tomb. The relation in which he stood to this society, the church, and myself, renders it proper that suita- ble notice should here be taken of his life and character. — By his death I have lost a warm and steady friend, a wise and able counsellor. To him, more than to any other individual, are this religious society and myself indebted, under God, for our present peace and prosperity. Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the children of God. By us, my friends, I trust he will never be forgotten, but his character and services held in everlasting remembrance. General Badlam was descended from pious parents. His father was an officer of the church in Stoughton, (now Canton,) under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Dunbar. He was chosen deacon at the early age of twenty-nine, and lived only eight years to perform the duties of that important office. His son, our late respected deacon, being left an orphan at an early age, 52 410 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. had few advantages of education ; a circum- stance much to be regretted, for, had he enjoyed the privilege of liberal tuition,* he possessed a strength and power of mind, that would have qualified him to have filled with dignity and acceptance the highest stations in public life. In the year 1775, he joined the American army in defence of liberty and the rights of his country. He soon received a commission as second lieutenant of artillery, from which he was rapidly promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and then captain. He was ordered to join the army under the command of general Lee, at New York, where he formed an acquaintance with the late general Alexander Hamilton, who suitably appreciated his talents as an engineer, and, being then a youth, frequently consulted him on the subject of military tactics. He was also known to, and highly esteemed by general Washington, whose disciple, in the political school, he continued to his death. From New York he sailed for Canada up Hudson's river, to command the artillery in that department, and received for that purpose a major's commission. * Notwithstanding general Badlam was deprived of these advantages, he supplied the defect as much as possible, by his own diligence and unwearied attention, and made very respectable progress in mathe- matical science, and was distinguished for his knowledge of mechanics. FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 411 From Canada he returned to Crown Point, and took possession of Mount Independence, on the memorable 4th of July, 1776, from which circum- stance its name was given by major Badlam, and confirmed by general Gates. Here he was inter- rupted in his military career. Being seized with a violent fever, and his returning health despaired of by his physicians, he was under the necessity of resigning his commission, and retiring to pri- vate life. In the course of this illness his mind was exercised with the most serious and alarming thoughts of death, judgment and eternity ; and he then, as he has lately informed me, entered into a most solemn covenant engagement with God, that, if his life should be spared, he would devote it to his glory and the good of mankind. Of this secret transaction with heaven he was never accustomed to speak, and I presume never mentioned it to any one except to myself in his last sickness, when, with tears in his eyes, he lamented his short comings and backslidings, and trusted for pardon, only through the blood of atonement. His health, through the mercy of God, was perfectly restored, and he enjoyed an unusual share of that blessing, till that fatal 412 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. stroke of the palsy, which admonished him and his friends of his approaching dissolution. In the year 1791, he was appointed justice of the peace, and afterwards of the quorum. His commissions were five times renewed, and he held them till his death, discharging the im- portant duties incumbent upon him with great acceptance. — In the year 1799, he received a commission, appointing him general of the first brigade of the first division of the militia of Massachusetts. He was eminently useful in the gathering of the second church, and incorporation of the second parish in this town ; and in 1 808, was unanimously elected senior deacon of the church, which expression of confidence was peculiarly grateful to his feelings, as he often said he con- sidered the title of deacon a much greater honor than any other titles by which he was distin- guished. He could say in the language of the Psalmist — I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. His exertions in behalf of the second church and parish in their arduous struggle and dis- tressing controversy are well known. In this important concern of his life, he was actuated, FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 413 not by passion, but by principle ; not by party spirit, but by an attachment to the cause of peace, and truth, and righteousness. No one, who knew general Badlam, could ever suspect him of bigotry or fanaticism ; and those, who knew him best, must be fully satisfied that he engaged in the late unhappy controversy from the purest motives. Had it been merely a local and parish dispute, he would never have con- descended to have taken so decided and active a part in its prosecution. But firmly believing that not this society only, but other societies and other ministers were deeply interested in the result, he thought it a duty he owed to God and religion to interpose the weight of his char- acter and influence in favor of that cause, which he defended with such ability and success. He enjoyed the great satisfaction of living to see the difficulties in this place amicably settled, and of witnessing the increasing prosperity of the church and congregation, in which he had taken so deep and lively an interest. It was not to be expected, that in a dispute, which produced so much sensibility, he could have escaped without animadversions from those who differed from him in sentiment, and who were naturally excited by the counteraction of their views and designs. 414 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. which was principally effected, under the divine blessing, by his judgment and penetration. But injustice to his memory it is my duty to state, that he died in peace with all mankind, that he suffered no unpleasant reflections to embitter his last moments, and that he sincerely forgave those who had injured him, as he hoped himself to be forgiven by his God. The respect which is paid to his memory, and the presence of many on this solemn occasion, who have differed from him in sentiment, justifies the pleasing reflection, that, although they may not have agreed with him in opinion, they will cheerfully unite in holding his virtues and services in everlasting remembrance. When such a man, as the deceased, is removed from this scene of action, a chasm is made in society, which cannot easily be filled. The domestic circle is deprived of its centre, round which it delighted to revolve. The tears of the afflicted and disconsolate widow declare, in unutterable language, the loss of a kind and affectionate husband. As a father, he was greatly respected and beloved by his children, whom he lived to see happily settled in life. As a citizen and magistrate, he was highly and justly esteemed, and his loss will be long and FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 415 sensibly felt in his immediate neighborhood, in this town, and throughout this county. His judgment was so much respected, that in this and the neighboring towns he was frequently consulted as a referee in difficult and intricate cases, and many can bear testimony to the satisfaction afforded by his judicious advice. As a member and officer of the church of Christ, he was eminently useful and highly respected. He died in the faith of the doctrine of the cross. * The subject, upon which he delighted to converse with myself and others, was the doctrine of the atonement by the death and sufferings of Jesus Christ. On this sure foun- dation he rested his hope of eternal life. He is now gone, as we humbly trust, to receive the reward of a faithful servant in his Master's kingdom. All that remains of his mortal part will in a few moments be consigned to its native dust ; but his memory will live in the hearts of his friends, and the important services which he has rendered the church of Christ, be told in many places where the gospel is preached as a memorial of him. * He lamented, with tears, the progress of Unitarianism and Univer- salism ; the former he thought derogatory to the glory due to the Son of God, and the latter tending to weaken the bonds of moral obligation. 416 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. His afflicted family have our affectionate sympathy, with our fervent prayers that this event may be sanctified to their everlasting good. It is true, theirs is no common loss ; for it was around his fireside, and in the bosom of his family, that our departed friend appeared in the most endearing and interesting light. He will no longer labor for their welfare and delight in their happiness ; no longer share in their joys and sympathize in their sorrows. But he has left a rich legacy for them in his example, which it will be their duty to follow, so far as he followed Christ. My afflicted friends, let me direct you for support to that inexhaustible fountain of consolation, the word of God. There we are told, that the Lord doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men ; — and that no chastening for the present seemeth joyous but grievous, nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby. Let me entreat you then to trust in the Lord, and submit with- out murmuring to his will. Let the language of your hearts be — It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in his sight. The Lord gave, the Lord taketh away, and blessed be the name of the Lord ! FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. 417 Brethren of the church and of the congrega- tion, we have sustained an irreparable loss. But while we mourn our loss, let us be thankful that a life so valuable was continued so long ; that we enjoyed his services at a time when we peculiarly needed them. Let us remember, that the same God that raised him up, and qualified him to be useful in the church, can with the same ease raise up other instruments to promote his glory. Let us devoutly look to him, and earnestly pray that the mantle of Elijah may rest upon some Elisha. It now only remains that we who survive, should make a suitable improvement of this afflicting dispensation of divine Providence. Death is at all times, and under all circum- stances, serious and solemn. It should with- draw our attention from this world, and lead us to reflect on our own mortality. But the death of the eminently wise and good is calculated to make a still deeper impression on the mind, and to convey useful and important instruction to the living. While we meditate on the character of the valuable and useful man, whose remains now lie before us, let us resolve in the strength of divine grace, to live henceforth more to the glory of 53 418 FUNERAL OF GEN. BADLAM. God, and the good of mankind. Let us be encouraged to labor to promote the cause of Christ in the world, and faithfully to defend it in the midst of a wicked and perverse genera- tion — thus shall we be useful in life, peaceful in death, and, like our respected and beloved friend, be in everlasting remembrance. 419 ADDRESS, AT THE FUNERAL OF HENRY B. McLELLAN. We have assembled, my friends, to pay a tribute of respect to the memory of Henry B. McLellan, a name peculiarly dear to many whom I address, and which will be embalmed in their recollection as long as the power of reminiscence continues. Seldom do we witness a more striking instance of the disappointment of human expectation, than in the affecting event which has convened us to- gether. Our young friend had just completed his preparation for the sacred ministry. In yonder academic halls he pursued his classical course in company with his youthful associates, to whom he greatly endeared himself by his affectionate and social disposition — his bland and winning manners — his kind and courteous address. The 420 FUNERAL OF H. B. m'lELLAN. presence of several of them on this occasion, and their grief at his premature removal, testify to his unblemished reputation, and the strong hold he retained on their affections. Having finished his academic course, he made choice of the Christian ministry, as the profession to which he intended to devote his future life. With a view to more extensive usefulness, he left his native land, and devoted the last two years of his life to theo- logical studies, principally in Edinburgh, under the guidance and direction of that distinguished man and powerful preacher, Dr. Chalmers. A few months since he returned to his native coun- try, in perfect health and with the most flattering prospects of future usefulness. He was on the point of offering himself for license to preach the gospel at an association of ministers, which assembled in Cambridge a few weeks since, when he was seized with that fatal illness, which terminated his mortal career and his earthly prospects. Mysterious Heaven! how unsearchable are thy judgments and thy ways past finding out ! To us, short sighted mortals, the life of our young friend appeared peculiarly desirable. We had fondly anticipated that he would be emi- nently useful in the church of Christ. But God's FUNERAL OF H. B. m'lELLAN. 421 ways are not as our ways. He had other em- ployment for him in the world of spirits, and he has called him home in the morning, and saved him from the heat and burden of the day. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight ! But, though the expectations of his numerous and strongly attached friends are thus disap- pointed, they have rich consolation in his death. His Christian character, to those who knew him best, was most satisfactory. We have reason to believe that he lived very near to God, and enjoyed much of his presence and the consola- tions of his Spirit. He had the confidence of many highly esteemed Christian friends, with whom he delighted to associate, and to mingle his supplications with theirs at the throne of grace. He was peculiarly formed for the en- dearments of friendship ; and his friends were not confined to his own family, nor to his own land. Wherever he went, he made friends, and he has left many on the other side of the At- lantic, who will deeply mourn his early exit. I have had occasion to know much of the interest he excited in many highly esteemed and beloved friends during his short residence abroad. Letters, which I have received from much valued correspondents, breathe the most ardent and af- 422 FUNERAL OF H. B. M ? LELLAN. fectionate interest in the welfare of our departed young friend. If he was so valued by those who were comparatively strangers to him, how will his loss be felt by those who have known him from his infancy, — by his venerated parents, who have expected much satisfaction from his increasing usefulness in the ministry of recon- ciliation — by his brothers and sisters, to whom he was greatly endeared— by his early associates, who have been called to part with a pleasant companion and warm hearted friend — by his Christian brethren, with whom he delighted to go to the house of God in company ? Their loss is indeed great, but their consolations are also great. They sorrow not as those without hope. Although the nature of his disease precluded that satisfaction which is often experienced by religious conversation in sickness, his previous life is the best ground of evidence of preparation for death ; and this evidence the friends of the departed have in no ordinary degree. — Dry up your tears then, my respected and beloved friends. Weep not for him, for he is tuning his golden harp to the praises of redeeming love in heaven. Be thankful, Christian parents, that you have had such a son, and that he has ripened so soon for heaven. FUNERAL OF H. B. m'lELLAN. 423 " Ye would have sought your offspring dear A station in a temple here ; But Jesus' love prepared a place Where he beholds him face to face. Cease then to mourn his early doom, Nor wish him rescued from the tomb ; For lo! to yonder courts of light, His seraph soul has winged its flight. Rest on the Saviour's promise still, And, tarrying, wait his gracious will ; Ere long a voice shall bid you come, And Henry breathe your welcome home." Let his pious example induce all the members of the domestic circle to be followers of him, as he was of Christ. May the breach, which has been made upon a numerous and united family by sundering the fraternal tie, be sanctified, especially to those members of it, who are just entering upon life, with raised expectations of future usefulness and happiness. The associates of my young friend, especially those who have passed with him through the interesting period of college life, will accept my sincere sympathy under this affecting bereave- ment. I am well aware of the strong attach- ments that are formed on this classic ground. The lapse of thirty years has not weakened my 424 FUNERAL OF H. B. M'LELLAN. own impression of the strength of this attach- ment ; and the scenes, by which we are here surrounded, are as vivid in my recollection as they were when, with the friends of my youth, we delighted to ramble in these shady groves, which we then little thought would become the resting place for the ashes of the dead. But this quiet retreat, this scene of our youth- ful musings, this resort of our leisure [hours is well appropriated. Here, as time revolves, when we visit this consecrated asylum of the dead, and perambulate these lovely woods, and stroll along the paths, endeared to us by so many youthful associations, we may pause at the simple monu- ment that records the name of a beloved class- mate, and drop a tear over his tomb. This sad privilege will you enjoy, my young friends, as the endeared name of Henry meets your eye, in your visits to this field of graves. But while you are thus reminded of the friend of your youth, and of those days of literary pur- suit and social intercourse with which his name is so closely associated, let me urge you to regard with special interest, that holy principle of divine grace which made him what he was — which sanctified his naturally amiable temper — which restrained him from youthful levity — which ex- FUNERAL OF H. B. M'LELLAN. 425 cited in him such an interest for the welfare and happiness of others, and which led him in the bloom of his youth to consecrate himself to the service of God in the ministry of his Son. It was religion, that constituted the charm of his character ; that procured him so many attached and faithful friends ; that brightened his short course through this vale of tears ; that prepared him for his early departure and ripened him for immortality. His religion was not speculative and controversial. It was deep, experimental and practical. He learned it, not from the schools and the commandments of fallible men, but at the cross of Christ. " He came to the cross, when his young cheek was blooming, And raised to the Lord the bright glance of his eye, And when o'er its beauty death's darkness was glooming, The cross did uphold him, the Saviour was nigh." If, then, my young friends, you would imbibe his spirit and imitate his example, let me direct you to the cross of Christ, to that precious Saviour, who died that you might live. It was faith in his atoning blood, and the renewing and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit that prepared our young friend for heaven. Be per- suaded to trust in the same vicarious sacrifice, 54 426 FUNERAL OF H. B. IVt'LELLAN. and to seek the same gracious influences, that you may be prepared to join his immortal spirit in that bright and happy world where you will part no more. My hearers, how solemn and affecting is the scene we are this day called, in the providence of God, to witness ! We have seen a young man of promising talents, of the most amiable disposition, of unquestioned piety, surrounded by every thing that could make life desirable, with the most flattering prospects — cut down like the flower of the field, and consigned to the narrow house appointed for all the living. What is our life ? It is a vapor, that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away. Lord, make us to know our end, and the measure of our days, what it is, that we may know how frail we are ! So teach us to number our days that we may incline our hearts unto wisdom ! 427 ADDRESS, DELIVERED AT THE FUNERAL OF MRS. HARRIET STORRS. There are some events, in the providence of God, so completely overwhelming as to render it extremely difficult, almost impossible, to give utterance to the full feelings of the soul through the medium of words. Language refuses its aid to relieve the burdened heart ; and the op- pressed spirit finds itself more inclined to the deep silence of grief, than to the expression of its sorrows by the human voice. When the heart-rending intelligence reached us of the event that has filled our souls with grief and dismay, we felt that no language could relieve our distress or mitigate our sorrow. We were dumb : we opened not our mouth. Our hearts bled — and they bled most freely in silence. 428 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. But the solemnities of the occasion await us, and the usages of society demand, that we should attempt to give utterance, in the presence of our fellow creatures, to those feelings, which we can pour out before our compassionate God and Saviour in sighs and tears, without the inter- vention of set forms of speech. — But where shall we find words to express the depth of our af- fliction ? Where shall we find language to depict the character of the dear departed — or to administer comfort and support to the beloved survivors ? Mysterious Heaven ! how unsearchable are thy judgments, and thy ways past finding out ! We bow before that holy and righteous Being, whose inspiration gave us understanding, and who has the undoubted right to resume the gift which he bestowed. We know that all his ways are just and equal, and that he will not hold us accountable for any act, committed in the absence of that mental and moral power by which we are enabled to distinguish between right and wrong. On the painful and distressing circumstances, by which our ever lamented and beloved friend is numbered among the silent dead, we will dwell no longer than to express an entire and FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 429 unwavering conviction, that her character and present condition cannot in the least degree be affected by the manner of her removal from this sublunary state. We have not a doubt, that the spiritual intelligence, which once beamed upon us with such mild and gentle lustre, and which was, for a short season, shrouded in dark- ness, is now rekindled by the same gracious hand that so mysteriously overshadowed it — to burn, with increasing and never ending brightness, with seraphs that surround the throne of God. It is utterly impossible for the speaker to do justice to the character of our much loved friend, though it has been his privilege to have known her worth for nearly thirty years. The circle of Christians w 7 hich, at the time of his first acquaintance with her, then resided in our me- tropolis, many of whom are how 7 in heaven, were distinguished for deep and ardent piety. Surrounded as they were by fashionable and in- creasing errors, they maintained their integrity and held fast their attachment to the doctrines of grace. The precious names of Mrs. Waters, and Mrs. Mason, and other aged saints, are embalmed in the memory of many a child of God. With these venerable pilgrims was as- sociated a young disciple, who, with all the 430 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. loveliness of youthful attractions, separated her- self from the world, and consecrated herself to the service of her God and Saviour. From the prayers and conversation of these aged saints, through the blessing of God, she seemed to receive a peculiar unction of spirit, which was strikingly characteristic of her future course. In all plans of usefulness, which were small and few when compared with those which dis- tinguish this stirring age, no one took a more decided and active part. Her peculiarly affec- tionate manner ingratiated her with many, who were won by her mild and lovely spirit to con- geniality of sentiment and effort. Her useful- ness at that period, in the sphere in which she moved, was by no means inconsiderable ; but the great Head of the church had still more impor- tant and interesting duties for her to perform. There are few situations in life that present more promising fields of usefulness to a pious, devoted female, than that of the wife of a minis- ter of a united parish. Even the pastor himself, with his additional opportunities of affording instruction from the sacred desk, can scarcely exert a greater or a happier influence upon the minds and hearts of his congregation, than is often produced by the more humble, but not less FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 431 important labors of his devoted companion. Her influence is not unfrequently greater than his, especially upon her own sex, and upon the tender, opening minds of the lambs of the flock. In the promotion of benevolent enterprise, by female associations, and in maternal counsels and prayers for the children of the church, she finds her appropriate and successful sphere, though upon the whole congregation, in their varied seasons of prosperity and adversity, her silent but benign influence is felt like the dew of Her- mon, like the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion. From the more diversified and exciting scenes of usefulness in a city, our departed friend was called to the more arduous and self-denying la- bors that devolve upon the conscientious wife of the pastor of a country parish. With what un- tiring zeal, with what scrupulous fidelity, she discharged these duties, I need only appeal to this crowded, this weeping, this afflicted assem- bly ! From lisping infancy to hoary age, the testimony is one and the same. The children of affliction remember with affectionate gratitude her tender sympathy and her active benevolence. With the spirit of her divine Master, it may be truly said, that in all their afflictions she was 432 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. afflicted. Mothers, with their youthful charge, will never forget her wise counsels and her fervent prayers. The aged and infirm will pour out their benedictions upon her memory, and even babes and sucklings will lisp the praises of one, who watched with maternal solicitude over their cradles, and taught them to pronounce the name of Jesus. But, great and painful as this bereavement is to this afflicted people, — their griefs are almost forgotten, when we turn to the chief mourner in this scene of deep and heart-rending calamity. God help thee, my brother ! The God of Jacob, the Angel of the Covenant, sustain thee ! That your brethren, your people, the church of Christ, your numerous and attached friends, feel for you, you cannot doubt. Could they have averted the dreadful blow, how readily would they have has- tened to your relief. But no human precaution could turn aside the fatal stroke. Dethroned reason will find opportunity to escape the most vigilant eye, and to elude the most watchful care. But dwell not, my brother, on circumstances which were beyond human control, and which affect not in the least degree the accountability of the dear departed. Bury in the grave, to which we are soon to assign these precious relics, FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 433 as far as possible, the memory of the awful cir- cumstances that attended their dissolution, and think only of the bright and happy spirit of what she was, and what she is. O ! she was every thing which a fond husband could desire in a com- panion of his life and labors ; truly a help-mete for him in his temporal and spiritual concerns, in his family, and in his parish ; in the social circle, and in the widely extended plans of usefulness in which the devoted servant of Christ is sometimes engaged beyond the limits of his congregation. My brother, in the repeated domestic bereave- ments which you have sustained, you have in- deed been greatly afflicted ; but you have also been greatly blessed. To the lot of but few does it fall to have been united to two such com- panions to cheer them in their pilgrimage through this vale of tears. Their sainted spirits are waiting to receive you to those blessed mansions where reason holds her unclouded empire, where sighing and sorrow can never come, where death can never enter, and where sin can never defile. But not yet, my brother. The Lord hath need of you to work in his vineyard. From your repeated and heart-rending trials you will be better qualified, than ever, for that important 55 434 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. work which the Lord has assigned you in his American Israel. Go on then, my brother, and spend and be spent for Christ ; and when you shall have performed your appointed service, you shall be welcomed by those whom you have loved on earth, to the society of the redeemed — to the vision of Jesus — to the presence of God. And you, the dear and only child of the la- mented dead ! My heart bleeds for you. Your loss is indeed irreparable ; but a mother's prayers are your legacy, and they are better than thou- sands of gold and silver. How much she loved you, and how closely you were entwined about the fibres of her heart, is abundantly evident from the affecting fact, that maternal solicitude, strug- gling with departing reason, directed her to the bed of her sleeping child to bid him a last and long farewell. Although the affecting circum- stances of her removal can never be obliterated from your memory, think less of them than of the pious counsels, the holy example, the fervent prayers of your much-loved mother. Let these dwell on your mind, and they will be a restraint, a comfort, and a support to you under all the various trials of life to which you may be called. God bless you, my dear child ! May your life be spared to your surviving parent, to console him FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. 435 in his deep affliction, and to be the prop of his declining years. The near relatives of our departed friend claim and receive our tender and affectionate sympa- thy. May they, and the numerous Christian friends of the deceased, whether present or ab- sent, be graciously sustained under this painful bereavement, and bow, with humble submission, to the will of God. Friends of this church and congregation — with you too we heartily sympathize. You have been called, in divine Providence, to repeated trials. We bear record to your disinterested regard to the cause of evangelical religion in our growing country, in consenting to the arrangement by which, for a definite period, you have been deprived of the immediate services of your beloved pastor. You have hitherto had the consolation, and it has been one of no small importance, of the presence and laborious efforts for your good of the partner of his life. With what exemplary patience, with what admirable self-denial, she sustained the peculiar trials of her situation, watching around the couch of a dying brother, administering to the comfort of your late youthful pastor, adopting into her family the orphan and the fatherless, while her 436 FUNERAL OF MRS. STORRS. best earthly friend was laboriously employed in the service of the church, are well known to you all, and ought to be suitably appreciated. How far she fell a sacrifice to these painful depriva- tions — to this uncommon self-denial, is known only to Him, who is best acquainted with the intimate connection between the body and the mind. That she died in your service — in the service of her family — and in the service of her God and Saviour, cannot admit of a doubt. You will delight, I know, to cherish her memory, to dwell upon her virtues, and to imitate her example. And now, my respected hearers and friends, it only remains, that we deposit these precious relics in yonder receptacle of the dead ! there to rest, till the trump of the archangel awake the sleeping dust. Then, when the millions of the dead shall burst the cerements of the grave, we doubt not that the bright form of our departed friend, arrayed in immortal youth and vigor, will ascend to meet the Lord in the air, and enter with him into his glory. 1^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 022 216 719 A WWW* g*S.«B ildlt: - JiSSi